sports Page 429 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
At halftime last night, you could forgive any USMNT fan for thinking they had never left 1997. I know I did. Here we all were, too late on a school night, watching a US team getting paddled in Central America with the crowd going nuts and the American manager looking utterly clueless and his players...

2021 NFL Preview - NFC West: Stacked division gets tougher with additions like Stafford and Watt
The NFC West will come down to quarterback play and which defensive unit can get to the quarterback more often this season....

A salute to Yolanda Griffith and Lauren Jackson, who enter the Hall of Fame this weekend
If you’ve been following the WNBA since it’s first season in 1997, Yolanda Griffith and Lauren Jackson may be two of the stars you remember from the league’s very early incarnations. ...

Ja’ Marr Chase says catching an NFL football is… different
Bengals rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had some interesting comments earlier this week that helped explain his preseason struggles....

2021 NFL Preview - 2021 NFL Preview - NFC South: Darnold, Winston, Ryan, and some old guy in Tampa
We could sit here all day and discuss how the Bucs are poised for another title run since they didn’t lose a single one of their starters during the offseason, or about how the Falcons should’ve drafted Justin Fields to be the heir apparent to Matty Ice despite how great Kyle Pitts can be. However, ...

Deadspin’s NFL gambling guide/futures bets to make for 2021 season
Wow, is it really that time of year already?...

2021 NFL Preview - NFC North: A dramedy of errors
If you’re the kind of person who enters into the NFL season looking for drama, welcome to the NFC North....

2021 NFL Preview - NFC East: Who will emerge as ‘unbreakable’ from this train wreck?
Welcome to the NFC East — home to the teams that engender the most yelling on Twitter and, not unrelated to that, where the entire division last season finished a combined 17 games under .500....

Maybe it’s time to buy Blue Jays shares
It was thought that this season would be one too early for the Blue Jays. All of their legacy entrants were in MLB full-time, but there would be growing pains, and the pitching wasn’t quite there. And both of those things are still true. But sometimes you can’t predict the league coming back to you ...

NHL players in the Olympics has always been better in theory than practice
Late last week, one of hockey’s more annoying fights seemed to have reached yet another conclusion, when the NHL, the NHLPA, and the IIHF reached an agreement on sending NHL players to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. As with everything these days, it’s COVID-dependent, but the NHL schedule has ...

Every coach <i>ever</i> has been called a bum at some point — but now these three add 'Hall of Famer' to their resumes
Players get all the hype. Coaches usually get all the blame. But some rise above it to reach the pinnacles of success as the masterminds behind the championship rings....

Josh Allen is ready to take over the league
There is a new sheriff in town, ready to dominate the AFC East for the next decade, and his name is Josh Allen. For a long time, the Buffalo Bills were the doormat of the division, only to be outdone by the New York Jets most years. But even the lowly Jets managed to play in back-to-back AFC champio...

Clinton Portis broke the law — but it doesn’t mean he was wrong
On rare occasions, it’s possible to be both the culprit and the victim. And in the case of Clinton Portis and the other 14 players who allegedly defrauded the NFL of millions, that seems to be it....

Cinnamon Toast Crunch sighting in last night’s Mets-Marlins game
Alright, who had cereal mascot playing umpire in the seats at LoanDepot Stadium on their 2021 scorecard? Nobody? That makes sense....

Ben Wallace is the perfect embodiment of his era
Look at a photo of Rudy Gobert in any game. Typically, he’ll be wearing the same knee sleeves with padding that most other players do, maybe an arm-sleeve or two, and that’s probably it. Let’s not make this about Gobert, though — let’s take another center: Nikola Jokić. Usually, it’s just leg sleeve...

Zeke’s gotta prove he’s not washed
This is the most important season of Ezekiel Elliott’s career....

2021 NFL Preview - AFC West: The Chiefs got better and will still rule this division and the conference
Like it or not, this is still Kansas City’s division to lose. It’s not very often we can look at a team that went to the Super Bowl two years in a row and go “Wow! They really improved this offseason.” Yet, that’s exactly what the Chiefs did. The biggest problem for the Chiefs in the Super Bowl was ...

2021 NFL Preview - AFC South: Carson Wentz is a wildcard as Colts look to contend
The AFC South is a division that could have a significant impact on the playoff picture by the end of the year....

It’s a Canadian invasion
The main story of the U.S. Open, other than the plethora of five-set matches, or three-set matches for the women, has been the surprising runs of a few teenagers in both the women’s and men’s side of the draw. The longest run so far is by a young Canadian named Leylah Fernandez, who has kneecapped a...

2021 NFL Preview - AFC North: Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson will duel for the division
All eyes will be on Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns in 2021 after making the postseason for the first time since 2002 last year. A major storyline for the Browns this year will be Mayfield’s contract status. Baker is eligible for an extension of his rookie deal, but the Browns are being caut...