smith Page 25 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Early NBA season superlatives: Let’s hope this version of the Knicks lasts longer than ‘Bing bong!’
It’s hard to get a vibe on the NBA after one week of games. The Wizards started last 10-3, and New York fans were excitedly yelling “Bing bong!” before both came to depressing finishes. Klay Thompson didn’t return until midseason, and it looks like it may take Jamal Murray and Kawhi Leonard some tim...
Stop praising NFL coaches for adopting college football tactics
The NFL finally trying college offenses and mobile QBs after snubbing its nose at them for decades is like praising your child for going diaper-free at 25 years old. Not only was it long overdue, but the negligence is concerning. All of these NFL writers love to tout the innovation from this new gen...
Week 7 NFL Powerless Rankings: The losses keep piling up
It’s time to check in on the teams that can’t get out of their own way. We’re nearing the halfway point of the 2022 NFL season and it’s been unpredictable, but there are always a few teams we expect to disappoint their fan base. Now let’s get into the powerless ranking for Week 7....
The NBA’s tanking problem is more perception than reality, and a relegation system won’t fix that
During NBA Commish Adam Silver’s apology tour session with beleaguered Phoenix Suns employees this weekend, he was confronted with another concern. In addition to apologizing for suspended team Governor Robert Sarver and his decades of misconduct, Silver was also besieged by a flood of questions abo...
The NHL’s investigation into the allegations against Ian Cole are a joke
Warning: This story includes allegation of sexual coercion of a minor and may be disturbing...
It’s time for sports media personalities like Stephen A. Smith to jump off the Brooklyn Nets train
The NBA world finally got its first look at the Brooklyn Nets’ new big three, and most are already disgusted with the return they’ve yielded. It was only the first game of the season, but if lack of motivation (LOM) were a stock, this team would rise in a bullish market. Brooklyn came out on its ope...
Top 5 Heisman candidates at college football's midway point
The Heisman Trophy is awarded to college football’s most outstanding player. Entering this season, three quarterbacks — including last year’s winner — were favored to earn this prestigious honor. It’s Week 8 and that trio of QBs are each building a strong case. But they’re joined by two other stando...
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....
Kliff Kingsbury’s Big 12 offense ain’t flyin’
The Cardinals got scooped by a bigger bird when the Seattle Seahawks’ 32nd-ranked defense held Arizona out of the end zone. In Arizona’s 19-9 defeat, quarterback Kyler Murray threw for fewer than 300 yards for a third consecutive week. Murray’s contract extension has been the subject of endless scru...
If you need something to complain about, complain about MLB relievers
Having no love for the Dodgers (I was threatened with far too many stabbings in the Dodger Stadium upper deck at an impressionable age to get over it), I certainly am gleaning at least a modicum of joy over their fans’ wailing about seeing a 111-win team eat it at the first hurdle in the postseason....
10 NBA preseason takeaways that provide insight into the regular season
The NBA will give everyone their first real look at the league’s rapidly transforming landscape and its latest rookie class when the regular season tips off on Tuesday, but the preseason is a window into what to expect from certain teams. Wins and losses are mostly meaningless, so don’t read into th...
Justin Fields and a tale of two halves
The first half of last night’s primetime game between the Washington Commanders and Chicago Bears was horrendously boring. The snooze fest that was Thursday Night Football Week 5 crept over into the first half of Week 6. Three points, seven punts, and ugly play from Bears quarterback Justin Fields....
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...
NFL history tells us that the Carolina Panthers won’t hire coach Steve Wilks permanently
Sometimes a promotion is just an extended two-week notice....
The USWNT better hope their frontline is good enough
Having worrying autumn friendlies is apparently contagious in the US National team program....
Ron Rivera throws Carson Wentz under the bus as Washington’s pathetic sideshow rolls on
Last month, the Washington Commanders assumed their designated position on the NFL’s porcelain throne, and are henceforth known as the Washington Commodes (they are playing like ass). The stench has intensified since then. Losing to the Detroit Lions in Week 2 set off an avalanche. Now trapped under...
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...
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar should be upset with Kyrie Irving — but where was this energy for Jim Brown?
Kyrie Irving’s antics are infuriating. But, so were Jim Brown’s. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar seems only to be irritated by one of them. And that’s the problem....
These 10 modern-day players’ primes were squandered by inept teams
Mike Trout is the tree that falls in the forest every September. He might as well exist in the cold, vacuum of space. If there’s any evidence that sports are raw and unscripted, it’s Trout’s annual storyline. His slow fade from public consciousness as the playoffs creep closer is in stark contrast t...