si Page 403 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Champions League returns this week... all over the place
One of the rites of...well, not spring exactly, but a rite of reminding you that spring might actually arrive at some point before the light within you has completely extinguished, is the knockout stage of the Champions League. It drops into the sporting scene at the end of February, right after you...

The Lightning’s talent-development assembly line is humming along again
As we’ve commented in the past, even with most seasons across sports being thrown into upheaval, be it shortened preseasons or odd schedules and lineups that change on a daily basis thanks to COVID protocols, the chalk has remained at the top of the standings....

Remembering Leon Spinks’ forgotten upset over Ali 42 years ago
Leon Spinks passed away on February 5 due to prostate cancer at the age of 67. On February 15, 42 years ago, he starred in one of sports’ larger-than-life upsets over one of the most unforgettable boxers to have ever stepped into a ring. If you compile your own Tale of the Tape retrospective, withou...

It’s been a wacky Australian Open, even if no one’s around to see it
As we’ve previously stated, the Australian Open has a surreal quality, at least on these shores, where an already-niche sport takes place in the dark for only the truly dedicated/bewildered. It’s even more so this edition, as on Friday the live spectators were shooed out of the tournament altogether...

Kyrie Irving is having the best season of his career and it's shut up his critics
Maybe, just maybe. Some of them were “pawns.”...

NCAA reveals preseason college football Top 25 … oh, nope, wait, it’s the top 16 March Madness seeds
Top-seeded Gonzaga, Villanova (6 overall), and Virginia (9) crashed a gridiron greats (and merely goods) get-together Saturday, as the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee revealed its prospective top 16 seeds for March Madness. A preview in the mold of the pointless weekly College Football Playoff r...

HEAR IT: Whale of a performance by NWHL star with a capella 'Brass Bonanza,' because why not?
The Carolina Hurricanes are not the Hartford Whalers....

Supercool MLB pitcher Jared Hughes plays amateur Bill Nye with 'liquid nucleation' in his car (We'll explain)
As a free agent, days before spring training, Jared Hughes has some time on his hands. So, the 35-year-old pitcher, who had a 4.84 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 18 relief appearances for the Mets last year, is doing a little home science....

Valparaiso drops mascot linked to KKK & violence after already having ditched Nazi-linked name in '40s; might we suggest one?
You probably haven’t thought much lately about Valparaiso University, the Lutheran school about an hour southeast of Chicago, in the Indiana town that lends its name to the institution....

J.J. Watt's time with Texans is over as franchise star and Houston hero is released, free to go to... Steelers?
As Houston continues to revamp their team and try to resurrect their franchise from the lifeless pit of despair that former head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien left it in, the Texans and J.J. Watt have mutually agreed to part ways. Watt was released today, allowing him to search for a new te...

Recent stretch shows Carmelo Anthony could be Portland’s X-Factor as he climbs NBA all-time scoring ranks
Who doesn’t love nostalgia?...

Texans releasing J.J. Watt offers peek into racially coded language — what’s 'classy' & who gets to be the 'face of a franchise'?
When the Texans decided to release J.J. Watt on Friday, it marked the end of an era in Houston — and the continuation of an era in media’s use of coded language....

'Frustrated' Russell Wilson and Seahawks may be headed toward inevitable split
Deshaun Watson has some competition for the most dramatic quarterback situation this offseason – it looks like things are a little gloomy in the Pacific Northwest. Tensions are rising between Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks, and as Deadspin’s resident Seahawks fan, it’s my job to try and exp...


New Jags coach Urban Meyer, a domestic abuser protector, hires guy fired for persistent racist behavior at Iowa
While problematic, Urban Meyer is always consistent....

LaMelo Ball makes critics look silly with runaway Rookie of the Year bid
The fear was that LaMelo Ball’s once loud and now apparently mute father, LaVar, would be overbearing. That his seemingly reckless style of play in high school and overseas would make him an awful NBA teammate. That he won’t be able to get his jump shot corrected to produce in the NBA. That he has a...

Britt Reid is gone from the Chiefs as 5-year old Ariel remains in coma
One week after Britt Reid, Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach and Andy Reid’s son, caused a car accident and admitted to police officers that he had been drinking, many people are left wondering if there will be ramifications from the NFL and/or the Chiefs organization. Conveniently enough for the C...

NBA doubles-down on national anthem, will require all teams to play it before games
The NBA is doing the most right now....

The Makur Maker experiment at Howard failed, but, that’s no reason to start ignoring HBCU sports again
It was never going to work. Not in a million years....

Venus Williams is still there
The Australian Open is candy for the insomnia and drunk crowd, both of which I happen to be a member. I guess it has the same charm as New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom. Not only is it a must-see event, but you know that only the truly die-hard fans are watching along with you... or the trul...