smith Page 12 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Joe Burrow was chum in the water for Jim Schwartz and Cleveland's defense
Watching Joe Burrow slinging a wet ball against Cleveland’s bloodthirsty defense in Week 1 was akin to noticing a shark fin circling towards a helpless swimmer. Kevin Stefanski hired blitzing connoisseur Jim Schwartz this offseason to install a pressure scheme to activate his lethargic defense an he...
Ever wonder what the worst team of NFL starters would look like? Here it is
On an individual level, NFL Top 100 Player Lists are what get people excited. We get it. Patrick Mahomes is number one and the most competitive race is the scrum for number two. However, half of NFL fandom is groaning about the weak links on each unit. There’s enough glowing coverage of the NFL out ...
The Texas Rangers are backing up
For avid horseplayers, there comes a point in most races, especially when your steed has shot out to the lead from the opening of the gates, where it becomes pretty clear you’re going to lose. Somewhere on that far turn, your horse’s gait is shrinking, the jockey is working just a little too hard fo...
Stephen A. Smith reminds new co-host Shannon Sharpe that he's not Skip Bayless
Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless will forever be linked to each other because of their success on ESPN’s First Take. Even after seven years apart, the sports world still flashes back to when they made sports media debate shows the hottest ticket in the industry. Smith and Bayless are connected at t...
Skip Bayless’ new <em>Undisputed</em> bombs in Week 1
Week 1 of the new and “improved” Undisputed with Skip Bayless on FS1 proved to be anything but an improvement, according to most. The numbers don’t lie either, as the season debut last Monday peaked at 131,000 viewers and has only gotten worse from there. By day three on Wednesday, Undisputed was ch...
How much is Travis Kelce worth if TJ Hockenson can get $17M annually?
TJ Hockenson’s new contract makes him the NFL’s highest-paid tight end. The former Detroit Lion — who last year was traded to NFC North division rival Minnesota mid-season — will earn $17.125 million per year after receiving more targets, hauling in more receptions, and gaining more yards than only ...
Julie Ertz, the USWNT’s most irreplaceable player, retires
I’m a sucker for a midfielder. Especially one like Julie Ertz. It’s not that I played there or anything. It’s just something about a player who sees all the angles on both sides of the ball before being anywhere near it that gets me, I think. Xabi Alonso is my favorite Liverpool player of all time. ...
Ben Simmons is dreaming of taking his street clothes back to Philly
It’s that time of year when we get these Ben Simmons workout videos where he’s in the gym shooting baskets, lifting weights, knocking down three-point shots, and performing like an actual NBA star. But once the regular season rolls around (if he even plays), he morphs back into the guy who can’t see...
Mac Jones operating without a net in New England
For the second consecutive season, the New England Patriots are taking an unconventional approach to their quarterback room. A year after letting Matt Patricia and Joe Judge do some on-the-job learning as co-offensive coordinators, the team cut backup quarterbacks Bailey Zappe and Malik Cunningham. ...
HBO's 'BS High' doc is somehow more truthful than 'Swamp Kings'
I normally have a firm policy against critiquing any work that I have not entirely consumed. That is an edict that I was almost completely comfortable breaking away from as soon as I saw the trailer for Netflix’s Swamp Kings. Everything in it suggests a somewhat compelling watch, except for the firs...
Mookie Betts, not Ronald Acuña Jr., is the NL MVP
We’d all be better off if every MVP award was simply renamed, “Player Of The Year,” as it would save us a very annoying and tiresome debate about what “valuable” means. It gets doubly so in baseball, where we still haven’t quite escaped what numbers people should pay attention to, and what is overbl...
Texas Rangers' current slide is tanking their chances at postseason redemption
How the tables have turned. On Aug. 15, the Texas Rangers were riding high, 24 games over .500, and in cruise control to the playoffs, if not an American League West title. Aug. 15 now happens to be the last time Bruce Bochy’s team has won. The Rangers are on a seven-game losing streak, including an...
Jerry Jones thinks Sam Williams arrest on weapons, substance and speeding charges is sign of 'maturing'
While half of America’s electorate swoons over a reprobate ex-president, a man who was once nicknamed “America’s Mayor,” and his loyalists’ mugshots, America’s Team has embraced the same recidivism in a desperate bid to halt the Cowboys’ 30-year Super Bowl drought. Jerry Jones’ response following Da...
Skip Bayless’ new <i>Undisputed</i> co-hosts mean more ex-athletes replacing journalists
Screaming and arguing are in. Context and nuance are out. And over at FS1, the decibel levels just got louder, while the conversations just got dumber....
Shannon Sharpe partnering with Colin Cowherd's The Volume is sure to make some noise
NFL Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe is taking his talents to….The Volume. Sharpe made the announcement via social media Wednesday morning that he’s entered a partnership with Colin Cowherd and The Volume to bring his podcast, “Club Shay Shay,” to the network. So, now we’ve got Sharpe and Draym...
Did Rogers Centre kill Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s power?
Whenever the post-mortem is compiled on this Toronto Blue Jays season — they’re still very much in the hunt for a wildcard spot — it won’t be hard to find culprits for how they didn’t quite manage to take the next step from a good team to a power that most in Ontario were expecting (feels like a the...
Skip Bayless’ reign may finally be coming to an end
Skip Bayless is viewed as the godfather of this “embrace debate” culture that has consumed sports media over the past 15 years. The FS1 Undisputed host has been around to lend his disconcerting commentary style to some of the most significant events in sports for the better part of five decades. How...
Baker Mayfield’s whiteness keeps getting him NFL starting QB jobs
Baker Mayfield didn’t do anything wrong. The crime that keeps getting committed is done by the owners, general managers, and coaches who keep giving him endless opportunities. If Mayfield can keep being named a starter in the NFL, then Nathan Peterman will always have a shot at being on a team’s pay...
Dan Orlovsky is drunk on New York Jets green Kool-Aid
Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky has become one of Stephen A. Smith’s regular adversaries on First Take over the past few years. He’s become well known for some of his hot takes on the show, but Orlovsky is best known for running out of the back of his own end zone while playing for the Detroit L...
James Harden's agent thinks we aren't paying attention
The James Harden-Philadelphia 76ers soap opera is becoming the biggest NBA storyline of the summer that looks like it’ll carry over into the 2023-24 regular season. Now, Harden’s agent, Troy Payne, is trying to sell folks on the prospects of James climbing back up the mountain to league MVP status....