smith Page 29 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The NIL era is offering new avenues of exploitation
Name, image, and likeness deals were appropriately celebrated after the NCAA announced it was finally allowing the people making them billions of dollars to also get paid. However insane that sounds, NIL deals are a large step from what was the norm. Unfortunately, the gluttons at the table won’t ev...
Still awaiting major blockbuster before MLB trade deadline
By the time you read this, the MLB trade deadline might have been set aflame. So far the only big name to pack his bags for a new home is Frankie Montas, who will be a Yankee the next time he puts on a hat for his job. He’ll fit in nicely as a No. 2 behind Gerrit Cole or No. 3 behind Nestor Cortes i...
DK Metcalf has his flaws, but he’s worth every penny of his new contract
Fourth-year wide receiver DK Metcalf is a pretty polarizing player. Depending on who you ask, Metcalf is either a top-tier talent with elite physical attributes or a deep threat who wouldn’t be able to carry a passing attack without Tyler Lockett on the opposite side of him. You can’t deny his stati...
Looking back at the NFL's QB roulette
Who will win this year’s NFL quarterback roulette?...
Moving to a 16-team College Football Playoff isn’t easy — but may very well happen
“Sixteen just seems to be out there,” Gene Smith, Ohio State’s athletic director, said at the Big Ten media days. “You can’t ignore it.”...
Let’s talk about this horrendous 2023 MLB Hall of Fame class
The 2022 Hall of Fame class was loaded. When Jimmy Rollins, Tim Hudson, and Prince Fielder are some of the low-end first-years, and two of them don’t even receive five percent of the vote, you know it’s an insane class. Between Álex Rodríguez, David Ortiz, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens, 2022 was on...
Our Conference Mock Draft: ACC Edition
This new ACC is all about the show. We kept a couple of rivalries but our main goal is to entertain you. There are Hurricanes, Badgers, three different Tigers, and some of the most annoying people on the planet wearing their stupid scarlet. So lean back in your drop top, and turn on the 8 Ball & MJG...
Nonsensical arguments are only cute when they’re harmless, Chuck
A few months ago, amongst the very early Saudi golf league discussions and defections, Charles Barkley said that he gets it — “If somebody gave me $200 million, I’d kill a relative,” he told Pat McAfee. “Even one I like.”...
Stubbornness and health — that’s all Russell Westbrook has left
Short guards are notorious for aging poorly in the NBA. When quickness is your best asset, losing a step can be fatal. Only the craftiest players — think Jason Kidd, or Chris Paul — can remain effective. Whether it’s changing their playing style, using so many defensive tricks it borders on dirty pl...
'Fair' has got nothing to do with it
An organization can do everything right during a rebuild: Hire a good, young coach, make shrewd, smart personnel decisions, lead the NFL in rushing, make the playoffs. Those are all signs of a team trending upward....
The Jimmy G to Tampa Bay rumor was asinine, but another NFC team makes sense
Now that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is on the mend following shoulder surgery in March, trade rumors are starting to resurface, with one sounding too ridiculous to be true. The rumor that Tampa Bay is interested in bringing Garoppolo to Florida has been floating around....
A.J. Brown is off and running in Philly after laying the smack down on Micah Parsons
Philadelphia Eagles’ new star wide receiver A.J. Brown is diving-in headfirst to the NFC East rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys. Brown participated in a charity softball home-run derby hosted by teammate DeVonta Smith. In the final, it was Brown against Micah Parsons, with A.J. coming away the victor ...
Raiders make NFL history again, but it’s another instance of a minority being brought in to clean up the mess
The Las Vegas Raiders are making NFL history again in the front office by hiring Sandra Douglass Morgan as the first Black female team president. The Raiders were also the first team to have a female CEO in the NFL when Amy Trask took on the role in 1997....
USWNT qualifies for World Cup, but we still don’t have all our answers
It’s hardly a surprise, but the USWNT walloped Jamaica 5-0 in the CONCACAF Women’s Championship to qualify for the 2023 World Cup, where they carry the heavy but illustrious burden of being two-time defending champs....
Travis Kelce’s age, not Tyreek Hill’s absence, is the key to Kansas City’s season
Before I start, Travis Kelce should still be the first tight end off the board in this year’s fantasy football draft. He’s going to get an increased workload with Tyreek Hill in Miami, and Patrick Mahomes will lean on him early like you lean on that one person you know at the wedding before the alco...
KD is a superstar player, but not a great talent evaluator
In an era where title-starved NBA owners are increasingly taking responsibility out of the hands of their front office and handing their organizational control to their superstars, it’s telling that Kevin Durant personally issued his trade request from Brooklyn with owner Joseph Tsai....
Good luck Arkansas
The Arkansas Razorbacks football team is coming off one of their best seasons of the 21st century: nine wins, their most since 2011 and a victory in the Outback Bowl. Yes sir, things are really starting to look up for the Razorbacks. Even better, most of their key players are returning for the 2022 ...
The U.S. Open Twitter account went all in clowning a Seattle Seahawks fan and Drew Lock
The Seattle Seahawks are about to embark on a long NFL season. And whoever runs the U.S. Open’s official Twitter page knows that and isn’t shy about throwing it in the face of Seahawks fans. The tennis account fired back at a Seahawks fan that said tennis wasn’t a sport. They took down that fan, the...
Big bucks for wide receivers is bad news for several other positions
There are currently 12 wide receivers in the NFL with contracts that earn them an average annual value of $20 million or more. Nine of those contracts — Chris Godwin, DJ Moore, Cooper Kupp, Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, Mike Williams, A.J. Brown, Terry McLaurin, and Stefon Diggs — were signed during t...
Which players have played on the most teams in each sport?
Adjusting to the environment around you is key to success in any sport. Even with NBA rosters having the smallest maximum roster size of the big four North American leagues with 15 players, there are personnel changes all the time. Imagine having to deal with that in new cities with new teammates an...