sports-leagues Page 8 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Covidmania is here and it's attempting to ruin sports… again
Well, here we go again. It’s Covidmania in professional sports right now, and no league seems exempt from the ramifications of powering through the pandemic. The NBA announced early Sunday afternoon that it had postponed five games due to the glut of players in COVID-19 health and safety protocols. ...

Soccer, much like football, didn’t come home either
I wanted to resist the urge to give into the Timbers Army’s desire to claim Portland as “Soccer City USA.” It’s quite a label to bestow on yourself, and having grown up in direct opposition to Detroit’s “Hockeytown” self-flagellation, my alarms don’t need much prodding to go off. ...

With a little luck, the Jazz can make a deep playoff run
The Utah Jazz have been a “Yeah, but… “ team for a few years now. And while it’s better than just being butt, it’s frustrating. You can tell how much of a pretender a team is by how mad their fans get when the media disregards their relevance despite the team winning 50-plus games every year. ...

The Philadelphia Union got screwed, but there was probably little MLS could do
We don’t think any of the current seasons taking place now as “COVID seasons” like we did of the previous ones played in empty stadiums/arenas or in weird, neutral venues altogether. But it still very much is, which the Philadelphia Union learned the all-too hard way yesterday....

After another setback for Zion, the New Orleans Pelicans had better know what they’re doing
Today was supposed to be the big day for New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson. A fractured foot has kept him off the court for this entire season as the Pelicans have sputtered to a 6-18 start. Williamson was cleared on Friday to participate in full team activities, and The Athletic’s Shams ...

Wait, I thought the NBA was lowering the age for draft eligibility?
The G League celebrated its 20th season of competition this season but is only on its second of genuine interest to NBA fans. Instead of the occasional player who makes the leap from AAA to a rotation player or a raw draft pick trying to hone their skills, there wasn’t too much to get amped about un...

Max Scherzer is the big name (so far) in this week’s frenzy, but does it mean anything?
No, I’m not asking, “Does it mean anything for the Mets?” Because as we all know, everything is meaningless to the Mets. Look for Scherzer to head for an MRI in June and discover that there are dozens of tiny, ambulatory gummy bears living in there. This is the Mets, after all. ...

Noah Syndergaard and Mike Francesa got into some Twitter beef over the weekend and yes, it’s glorious
There are times when watching people argue on social media isn’t depressing or infuriating. When it’s not about whether marginalized groups of people deserve rights or if the scientific method is anti-freedom, watching two grown people argue in front of the entire world can be quite amusing — especi...

How much do innings matter?
Nothing gets pretty inane arguments going like individual baseball awards. I can’t claim to be above them, but I also have never claimed to be a functioning member of society. To a lot of people, and they aren’t completely wrong to think so, who we give a Cy Young or MVP award to is a statement on w...

Every player can’t be the MVP, so let’s stop chanting it at everybody
There’s a growing trend that’s gained too much momentum lately in arenas around the NBA. Fans chanting “MVP” for any player that gives even a halfway decent performance on a given night. This isn’t meant to discourage fans from chanting, but I’m only asking if we can think of something more suited f...

The NBA future is... WOWZA!
The NBA has never felt younger and more reliant on up-and-coming stars than it does today. Teams are beginning to utilize the draft more and more. We’ve seen plenty of tank-a-thons by teams in the last five years, and these efforts have panned out to varying degrees. For some, it has materialized in...

Nikola Jokić went all WWE against the Heat Monday night and laid out Markieff Morris
Every now and again in life, you just have to fight back and say “enough is enough.” Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokić had a come-to-Jesus moment Monday night when he shoulder tackled Markieff Morris of the Miami Heat....

Freddie Freeman is why Atlanta won’t repeat, whether he stays or not
Atlanta has its first World Series title since 1995, which happens to be the year right before the Yankees began their dynasty with four championships in five years. Those New York teams of 1998-2000 also are the last repeat champions baseball has had....

At least it’s over
The urge after any postseason is over is to draw some overarching narrative out of it. To learn what it means to be a champion in that particular sport in that particular era, or what it means for that sport in general. I’m sure if MLB had any inkling to discover what Team Cheaters vs. Team White Fl...

Andrew Wiggins comes to his senses
Golden State Warriors’ forward Andrew Wiggins is finally vaccinated. ...

New Liga MX-MLS Cup is way cool, and might set up more cool stuff (I said ‘might’… this <i>is</i> MLS after all)
If I were the cynical sort (perish the thought!), I might suggest that MLS realizes its main stream of income, expansion, might be drying up in the coming years. That’s if you go by the “MLS is a Ponzi scheme” theory, which one has to admit has some legs. Charlotte and St. Louis join the league in t...

The NBA needs to follow the WNBA’s lead on vaccination rates
As NBA training camps open next week, while most of the sports world is focused on college football and the NFL, the leading story around the league has centered on the drama in Philadelphia with Ben Simmons. However, there’s something else people should still be discussing — COVID-19....

Can we please get promotion/relegation in women’s soccer now?
The growth of women’s soccer in this country took another step forward with the announcement that the USL, which runs the second tier league on the men’s side, will form a second-tier women’s league in 2023, the USL Super League (are we seriously going with this term now? Whatever.)...

NBA seemingly hits De’Aaron Fox with drug test for posting regular workout picture
The NBA is notorious for “randomly” drug testing its players after seeing things that might be out of the ordinary....

Sporting Kansas City and the Rapids were unclear on the concept last night
As I’ve said in the past, I’m still something of an MLS novice. This is the first season I’ve truly tried to work against my “europhile” ways and really get in up to the elbow in America’s domestic league....