rio Page 86 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

NCAA swears fealty to NIL collectives, pauses investigations
The NCAA pretty much had its last real vestige of power stripped after the ruling in the Tennessee case last week, and on Friday, announced that it’s pausing all investigations into booster-backed collectives or other third parties making NIL deals. Despite the chaos and malfeasance that will contin...

Sean Payton has a Russell Wilson problem; Cam Newton fight nonsense; Bears owners trying to get over on school kids; Patriots ruled a failure by players
Earth to Sean Payton: Russell Wilson is still on the Denver Broncos’ roster. There is nothing the Denver coach can say to make that $85 million in dead salary go away. The NFL salary cap for the 2024 season will be $255.4 million. That dead money would account for a third of their cap space, and the...

Every No. 1 NFL Draft pick since 2000
The NFL Scouting Combine is the first sign for everyone to get serious about draft talk. It gives football fans just under two months to prepare for a new name to walk across the stage as Roger Goodell says, “With the first overall pick…” Will they become the new face of the league? Or will they fla...

The Patriots sure put the F in family
The New England Patriots are not a family-friendly organization. Color me surprised. ...

Non-working showers, tiny locker rooms, and having to play for Josh McDaniels: NFLPA releases team report cards
If the NFL Players Association’s annual team report card, which is voted on by the players from each franchise, is any indication, playing for Cincinnati Bengals’ owner Mike Brown is only a few steps divorced from suiting up for fictional Cleveland MLB owner Rachel Phelps — complete with non-working...

You probably forgot these NFL players were on these teams
The NFL is pretty good at keeping home-grown stars at home, but even some of the most iconic players end up with teams other than the ones they made their careers with. Even players with two iconic runs have a weird bump in the road every now and then. We all know the Tom Brady stint with the Tampa ...

Don't be Kenny Smith; Redick blasts Rivers; the Knicks are back; How about that ASG?
You don’t have to put on the pom-poms for Sabrina Ionescu or women’s sports, but too many broadcasters are happy to communicate that women’s participation, or records, or fandom is somehow less than. ...

Here's a second-half NBA prediction: Intermittent switch-flipping
It felt like the NBA used to be a lot more consistent. The teams that were good in the regular season also were good in the postseason, for the most part, and if you looked and/or played like a scrub, you were usually dismissed like one. During this era, it’s almost as if you should wait to lay futu...

We need to talk about MLB's ugly new uniforms
By now, you’ve probably seen the pics of MLB players posing in jerseys and pants that look like little more than toilet paper draped to fit a human form. The uniforms are designed by Nike and manufactured by Fanatics, who appear to be doing a really great job of cornering the market on sports mercha...

RIP the 12-team College Football Playoff
Hours after it was announced that the College Football Playoff would adopt a 5+7 format, the conference commissioners leaked that 14- and 16-team formats have been discussed. Jim Phillips, ACC commissioner and captain of a drowning vessel, said “At the end of the day, it’s about the right model.” Th...

Here are the possible landing spots for Bears QB Justin Fields
Justin Fields’ days as a Chicago Bear might be coming to an end. With rumors circulating about if the team will draft a new QB — undoubtedly former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams — with that No. 1 pick, keep Fields, or trade him, here are six teams who have either emerged as front runners for ...

Is Bill Belichick’s gap year a post-dated suspension for Spygate?
The New England Patriots dynasty ended when Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay, but now it’s officially over as the Pats’ run is getting The Last Dance treatment. Yes, only a season past Bill Belichick’s departure, Apple+ has a nine-parter called The Dynasty coming out whenever. What they won’t tell you i...

Best landing spots for WR Mike Evans
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and wide receiver Mike Evans were unable to come to an agreement on a contract extension, meaning that the five-time Pro Bowler is set to hit free agency. Evans is a model of consistency, having never finished a season with fewer than 1,000 receiving yards. His 10 consecutiv...

The top 10 winningest coaches in NCAA basketball history
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma passed Mike Krzyzewski for second place on the all-time wins list. While he surpassed the former Duke coach, Auriemma still trails Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer. In addition to those three legendary coaches, here are the all-time NCAA Division I basketball coaching leader...

Mike Tannebaum's Jets prediction makes you wonder how he ever became a GM in the first place
A Get Up segment by former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum just created a hypothetical NFL locker room so chaotic it hurts to think about. ...

Sick, Sad World of Sports: Who started off 2024 on the wrong foot
There was no shortage of allegedly heinous behavior to start the new year, with Chicago Bulls fans booing a widow, Vince McMahon resigning in disgrace (again) and various big-name athletes unaware of the age of consent. ...

Who is Mr. Franchise for each NBA team in the 21st century?
Michael Jordan will always be synonymous with the Chicago Bulls. Same thing for Magic Johnson with the Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird with the Boston Celtics. But since the turn of the 21st Century, some teams have gone a decade without a face of the franchise (think the Detroit Pistons and Orlan...

Jordan Poole has been revealed; Kyle Kuzma loses his marbles; Steph Curry nails 100-footer from tunnel
If every NBA player were awarded a mulligan season in their career, this would be the one Jordan Poole would choose to erase and make sure no one ever spoke of again. Entering the 2023-24 campaign, Poole’s first in Washington, there were high hopes of what could be alongside Kyle Kuzma. We’re just a...

Caitlin Clark wasn't the only women's basketball player making history last night
Caitlin Clark wasn’t the only person who broke women’s basketball records last night. The Iowa Hawkeyes star scored 49 points as she overtook the record for most points in NCAA women’s basketball history. But another record fell, too....

See it: Steph Curry drills insane full-court shot from tunnel
The Golden State Warriors may not look like their usual, dominant selves, but Steph Curry’s still got it. ...