sports Page 216 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
We’ve reached the Ringling Bros. part of the NBA schedule
You know we’re nearing peak NBA midseason slog when teams resort to parlor tricks to attract fans and viewers. Case and point: The San Antonio Spurs hosted a game at the Alamodome on Friday that broke the NBA attendance record. ...
Bettors are hoping to ride the hot hand
The San Francisco 49ers have a long road ahead of them if they want to win their first Super Bowl since 1995. Not necessarily because they’re going to face a lot of strong competition — the NFC is rather weak this year — but because they have to win four straight games with 2022's Mr. Irrelevant und...
NFL Playoffs: The 2 NFC teams on upset alert are overshadowing the 1 that’s not
There’s been a ton of chatter this week about who’s on upset alert, and most of that talk has surrounded two NFC teams prone to losing in the most extravagant ways possible when it comes to the playoffs. The Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings are 2.5- and 3-point favorites, respectively, in ma...
Could bluebloods Kentucky and North Carolina both wind up in the NIT?
Both North Carolina’s and Kentucky’s men’s basketball teams have already lost six games this season. Two of the college basketball’s blueblood programs are struggling, and the NCAA Tournament might not be in the cards for them — but it’s not like this hasn’t happened before....
Umpires will definitely handle being challenged well
Automatic strike zones, or ABS, or Robo-umps, have been the Valhalla for a certain section of baseball fans (one I happen to be a part of). Watching Angel Hernandez or Doug Eddings try and guess where the strike zone is today and then acting like the world’s biggest ass-boil when anyone points out t...
Here are the 11 best possible Super Bowl LVII matchups
The NFL postseason is upon us, and as usual, anything can happen when it’s, win or go home. This year’s AFC field feels like a three-team race, while the NFC looks pretty open. Some teams don’t have a great shot, but it’s always fun to play matchmaker and look at the most exciting potential Super Bo...
NFL gets it right picking Atlanta as venue for possible Bills-Chiefs AFC Championship game
The NFL didn’t actually mess this one up. My apologies for bracing for impact on anything the league does these days, especially when it involves Buffalo. The league announced that a possible AFC Championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills would happen at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Be...
Nic Claxton is a major reason why the Brooklyn Nets have played so well lately
Thursday night’s playoff rematch between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets will be like many big-time NBA regular-season matchups — incomplete....
What is Derek Carr's legacy with the Raiders?
So, it looks, feels, and now sounds like Derek Carr is officially done with the Raiders organization. Carr has been a big part of Raider Nation since entering the NFL in 2014. Carr was benched to end the season, and just days after the 2022 campaign ended, he posted what can only be categorized as a...
Apple’s MLS channel begins to take shape, we’re just not sure what shape
The MLS season always comes out of the weeds in a surprise fashion, mostly due to its placing its start right when the business end of the European season begins (Champions League knockout rounds, closing stages of domestic seasons, etc.). It’s only 44 days until MLS starts its season, and though th...
Slow start or bad investment? NFL’s TNF ratings drop after move to Amazon
Is it at all surprising that a more difficult entry point for Thursday Night Football games led to a drop in ratings? With the news that Amazon had to compensate advertisers because it didn’t meet the expected viewership numbers, it might be time to ask: How suitable is the streaming model for live ...
Sportsbooks will find a way to avoid paying out, won't they?
You know what’s more impressive than surpassing your season expectations? How about surpassing them with one fewer game than the rest of the league? Prior to the current NFL season, most sportsbooks listed the Bengals projected win total at 9.5, while the Bills were listed at 11.5. They ended the se...
The Odell Beckham plane footage — like the wide receiver — is a non-starter
We now have video evidence of why no NFL teams were willing to sign Odell Beckham Jr. to a late-season contract. Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, etc. all passed on the mercurial wide receiver. What team would ever sign him after such deplorable behavior? Being removed from a plane crosses the line of...
The sports figures we lost in 2023
Here is where we look at some of the athletes and sports figures we’ve lost in 2023. That list includes football legends Jim Brown, and Dick Butkus, basketball HoFer Willis Reed, former men’s college basketball coach Bob Knight, hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, Heisman Trophy-winning running back Ch...
Chicago Bears name B1G commish Kevin Warren as team president
Soon-to-be former Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren is expected to take over as CEO and president of the Chicago Bears, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The move comes amid a rebuild with the team finishing the year 3-14, and landing the No. 1 pick in the draft. This is a vital stretch for t...
Black coaches should boycott the Houston Texans so they can’t fill their Rooney Rule quota
When the Houston Texans fired Lovie Smith on Monday after only a year on the job, the sorriest franchise in the NFL was following the same script from last year when they fired David Culley after one season. The last three men to have the title of “coach” within that organization have all been Black...