rist Page 36 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Wouldn’t you love to hear what executives for the Panthers and Jazz are honestly thinking right now?
Professional sports are like many other industries. The goals of management and the employees are not always aligned....

Despite getting handled by the Chiefs, the 49ers have the formula to be the most dangerous team in the NFC
Don’t be fooled by the 49ers’ Week 7, 44-23 loss to the Chiefs. San Francisco is good, and they’re only going to get better as the season moves along. Kansas City has rolled over many teams similarly during Patrick Mahomes’ tenure. Remember, there isn’t a Chiefs equivalent in the NFC. The Niners pos...

Every James Bond villain’s sports owner counterpart
It’s a struggle to get billionaire owners to see themselves as the public views them. When you’re heavily isolated and surrounded by yes men, it’s easy to think your plan for league domination is flawless, and your various exploits are on the level and wouldn’t get any person without an army of lawy...

Houston, we have a champagne problem
Champagne isn’t the only thing the Houston Astros are keeping on ice. ...

The NFC is trash
There are two NFC teams playing in Week 7 of the NFL season with a winning record. That’s right, one for each middle finger to average gridiron play. There’s only four in total. Two are on a BYE? Philadelphia (6-0) and Minnesota (5-1). Dallas, using mostly a backup quarterback to get to this point...

For the Houston Astros, it can be as simple as one pitch
I am guilty, as well as many others, of thinking of the Astros as the same Godzilla offense as they were in 2017, whatever means they used to get there. I hear Astros and think whatever batter they’re sending to the plate sends thousands of Tokyo residents scurrying for cover. And the Astros offense...

Christian McCaffrey traded to 49ers
Carolina Panthers’ do-it-all back Christian McCaffrey was sent packing Thursday night to the San Francisco 49ers for second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-round pick in 2024, first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter....

Wouldn’t you know it, Cristiano Ronaldo is being a whiny turd again
If one were interested in fairness when it comes to Cristiano Ronaldo — and I’m not for a host of reasons, including the big glaring one (actually two) — one would have to concede that being a professional athlete requires an absurd amount of defiance. At some point in our childhood, we’re all told ...

Catching up with the soap opera drama of the NBA
The NBA is one of the longest-running unscripted nighttime soaps on television. Even outside of tip-offs and the final buzzer, its headliners are some of the most accessible figures in professional sports. The rosters are smaller, their faces aren’t obstructed, their games air nightly for at least h...

Week 6 NFL Powerless Ranking: The stench is overwhelming
It’s time to check in on the teams that can’t get out of their own way. The first few weeks of the 2022 NFL season have been somewhat unpredictable, but there are always a few teams we expect to disappoint their fanbases. Now let’s get into the Powerless Ranking for Week 6....

A small win finally for the Carolina Panthers
They’ve lost three consecutive games, all by double digits. A team that was supposed to have an outside shot at the playoffs in a weak NFC South, currently is the frontrunner for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Bryce Young sweepstakes may not be the international story of the NBA’s...

Yes, Tua Tagovailoa cleared concussion protocols — he still shouldn’t play
There’s a bunch of traffic while you’re behind the wheel. It’s frustrating you can’t get to your destination when you want. As soon as the road opens and you see the accident causing the congestion. It gets your complete attention for a few seconds before moving on with your life. That’s the scenari...

With offense winning titles in other sports, playoff baseball is still about pitching
The Dodgers, Braves, and Yankees combined to win 311 regular season games over the course of the regular season, but the playoffs have been a beautiful disaster so far. Mid-’90s alternative rock references notwithstanding, all three clubs received first-round byes, and only New York isn’t on the bri...

Is this why Daniel Snyder hasn’t been drop-kicked out of the NFL?
It’s still blackmail if it’s done in plain sight. Daniel Snyder’s alleged antics to uncover disparaging information about other league owners — and possibly NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell himself — were detailed in Thursday morning’s near-8,000-word ESPN expose written by Don Van Natta Jr., Seth Wic...

College Football Marty McFly Rankings Week 6: Tennessee, L.A. football, and Texas are all back
Like a poorly thought-through movie-to-TV series, it appears the Marty McFly rankings are on life support. The actor I hired to play Michael J. Fox’s character is no Michael J. Fox, the de-aging for Christopher Lloyd is too expensive, and the DeLoreans keep breaking down. Never mind that these are t...

NFL Week 5: MVP and LVP
Who had the better four-touchdown outburst, Travis Kelce or Taysom Hill? Kelce and Hill showed that efficient production trumps volume in wins. In the red zone, Kelce has a knack for getting open, and despite only gaining 25 yards on seven receptions, he maneuvered himself open for Mahomes on nearly...

The Maple Leafs are going to try again with Matt Murray and that’s great for the rest of us
The NHL season kicks off for real tomorrow night (the two appetizer games in Prague don’t count, especially because they involved the Sharks), or as it’s known for most of the hockey covering world, “Six months of how does this affect the Leafs?” Yep, the sport’s biggest soap opera, the question of ...

Serious question: Was this the worst primetime football game ever?
The J-Lo and Josh Duhamel movie trailer that came on after this game ended was better than the game itself. I don’t even remember the title, but the sheer jubilation I received after I no longer had to watch that football game made that trailer all the more enjoyable. HOLY SMOKES! Both teams were al...

USWNT-England exhibition set as specter of NWSL abuse scandal looms
There’s no doubt about it. Friday’s far-from-friendly, friendly between the United States women’s national soccer team and the Lionesses from England is the biggest glorified exhibition in American soccer history, regardless of gender. It’s the first women’s soccer match — non-World Cup edition — to...

Packers' QB Aaron Rodgers finally deigns to show confidence in young WRs
Sports fans can easily become spoiled when teams and players exhibit certain levels of excellence over an extended period. The Green Bay Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers are excellent examples of this, and the level of expectations he’s set over the years. Rodgers is a four-time league MVP and ...