red Page 136 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The latest problem for the Yankees? Their equipment truck
It wasn’t supposed to be this way for the Yankees. The pundits proclaimed 2021 could be their year. But it’s just not....

Steelers release David DeCastro, and I feel for Najee Harris
I’m a big fan of strong O-lines. A great offensive line can make an average quarterback good. It can make a bad running back look great. Consistent high-level offensive line play almost guarantees a playoff appearance. That’s why I always scratch my head when a team makes a move like the Steelers di...

Driving pitchers crazy is the point — you can tell from Rob Manfred’s grin
You can be forgiven if you thought the MLBPA had figured out Rob Manfred’s game. The way they left him completely naked over last year’s 60-game season, or refused to move the season back a month this time around which would have opened up the CBA again, the union seemed to have finally figured out ...

Rick Wise had the greatest game in baseball history 50 years ago today
Fifty years ago today, Rick Wise performed arguably the most impressive single-game performance in baseball history, throwing a no-hitter while hitting two home runs. The feat has never been duplicated, and is in no danger of being matched unless Shohei Ohtani goes off in a National League park....

That dumb MLB moon ad was just about crypto
Nothing could possibly be more fitting than Major League Baseball being sponsored by currently-plummeting cryptocurrencies. FTX is now the “Official Cryptocurrency Exchange brand of MLB,” according to a release, because apparently MLB thinks they’re cool and hip and “with it.” ...

Lightning keep cashing in on ex-GM Steve Yzerman’s masterfully built roster
The NHL playoffs have been robust, entertaining, competitive, hard-hitting, and full of intrigue. Last night, however, was none of those things. The defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning absolutely waxed the New York Islanders 8-0. Although former General Manager Steve Yzerman has retur...

‘Sticky stuff’ enforcement theater captivates baseball world as press buries real issues
Major League Baseball’s crackdown on sticky stuff began on Monday, and the program already is a sweeping success....

Bonds’ and Clemens’ last year on the Hall of Fame ballot will set precedent for today’s Spider Tack pitchers
2022 will be Barry Bonds’ and Roger Clemens’ final years on the Hall of Fame ballot. The two baseball superstars of the ‘90s and ‘00s have garnered more and more votes each of their last eight years on the ballot — increasing their percentages from about 35 percent each in 2014 to approximately 61.5...

The Pelicans have to do right by Zion
It’s only been two years, and Zion Williamson isn’t extension eligible until next summer, but we’re already looking ahead to one of the most important seasons in the history of Louisiana basketball....

The Sixers chose Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Brett Brown over Jimmy Butler in 2019 and now they’re living with the result
Look at how we view the 2019 Toronto Raptors because a ball bounced in....

There’s no place like home: Arizona Diamondbacks Edition
At this point, I’m pretty sure the Arizona Diamondbacks have angered a higher being. Twenty-two straight losses on the road — tied for the longest such streak in MLB history. Starting with a loss to the Miami Marlins on May 4, the Diamondbacks have yet to win a single game away from Chase Field, and...

The biggest snubs so far in first round of MLB All-Star voting
Yesterday, MLB released its first All-Star voting update after the polls first opened on June 3. However, phase one of All-Star voting does not finish until June 27. When that day comes, only the top-three vote-getters (nine for outfield) at each position will advance to phase two of voting which wi...

This is what happens when you’re always reacting
I’ve remarked numerous times that MLB owners can only see the one dollar right in front of their face instead of the three that might be waiting down the road. Most of the decisions that were just about cashing in now are why baseball’s popularity is currently diving down in a way that DC won’t let ...

Deadspin looks at all the injuries that have affected the NBA playoffs
When Kyrie Irving went down with an ankle injury halfway through the second quarter of Sunday’s Bucks and Nets Game 4 matchup, basketball fans simultaneously let out a loud groan. The injury bug had hit another star in a season that may be remembered for who was left standing, instead of who was the...

A 'NATIONAL' DISASTER: How wild, reckless spending sent this country's first and last sports daily to an early grave — from someone who was there
Born on death row, The National Sports Daily perished of its own hand 30 years ago today, June 13, 1991....

Is Albert Pujols ... good again?
It’s been a minute … maybe even millions of them....

Cool take: Four hours is too much baseball
Ryan Butcher started the 10th inning for the Diamondbacks in their game against the Angels on Friday night, with Jared Walsh serving as the courtesy runner at second base. But it was another of baseball’s unnecessary and irritating new rules that really wound up causing trouble for Arizona....

HEAR ME OUT: The infield fly rule is dumb and needs to be done away with
Last night’s Astros-Red Sox game had everything. There was a divisive fan moment before the game when a kid called Alex Bregman over under the guise of wanting to get a picture only to pull the rug out from underneath him and call him a cheater. There were six lead changes — more than any game since...

Surely, Ukraine’s latest soccer kit won’t incite any international controversy
On Sunday, the president of the Ukrainian Football Administration, Andriy Pavelko, revealed his country’s newest kit, which included a yellow shirt with a few Ukrainian slogans and an outline of the country — wait… is that Crimea?...

Euro 2021: Memphis Depay gets to try again
To make it to the very top levels of any sport as an athlete, it must take an unfathomable reservoir of self-belief. With all the obstacles, the sheer amount of work, and all the days where the dream must seem as close as one of Saturn’s moons, one would have to be able to call on a never-ending sup...