st Page 614 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Draymond Green’s chasing that farewell contract, but do the Warriors love him like that?
In the aftermath of Golden State’s 2022 NBA title, the expectation was that the Warriors and billionaire owner Joe Lacob’s Midas Touch would continue forever. While reporting on Golden State’s $171 million luxury tax bill, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst referred to its championship as a checkbook win. That ...

Get your torches and pitchforks ready, it’s time for Bengals slander
The Cincinnati Bengals were every analyst’s nightmare last season. Nobody expected them to win the AFC North. They did. Nobody expected them to reach the Super Bowl. They did. Now, in 2022, everyone is expecting similar results, maybe not another Super Bowl appearance, but at least 10 wins and a pla...

The best sports calls of the 21st century
Is there anything that defines a moment in sports history quite like the announcers’ call over the sounds of a raucous crowd and a celebrating team (and your own sobs)? Do you believe in miracles, the band is on the field, the Giants win the pennant, pretty much anything Jack Buck ever said — they’r...

Is this the beginning of the end of Brittney Griner’s detainment?
From the beginning, Brittney Griner’s status has been the most unique American hostage situation in modern history. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, her celebrity status, and her identity as a Black lesbian woman have heightened the urge to get her home as quickly as possible in a wartime climate th...

Will Mike Trout regret remaining with rudderless Angels?
Do you think Mike Trout ever has regrets?...

Explain to me how every MLB team can be a 'top suitor' for Juan Soto
There isn’t anyone more desirable at this year’s MLB trade deadline than Juan Soto. He’s a 23-year-old slugger with more potential than a boulder sitting at the top of a steep hill (that’s a science joke for all the professors out there). It was clear that several teams were going to call the Nation...

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.”...

Max Scherzer is just crazy enough to be right?
Max Scherzer being a little too intense for his own good has rarely been in question. He would tell you his intensity and downright borderline psychosis when on the mound is what makes him the surefire Hall of Famer that he is. One wonders if that’s true. But that’s how he is. No changing it now. ...

Biden approves prisoner swap in attempt to bring Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan home
Brittney Griner has been detained in a Russian prison since her arrest in February of this year, while simultaneously existing in limbo as negotiations have taken place to free her. As Griner’s high-profile trial has played out in public view, the negotiations to end her Russian captivity have progr...

The Dodgers will be buyers at the deadline — here’s who they should target
The Dodgers have a few glaring holes on their roster....

NFL training camps are open and the leadership porn is sizzling
One of the more annoying things in life is when a person thinks a job title denotes leadership. Whether it’s newly-promoted assistant manager Greg trying to rally the staff during the lunch rush at Jimmy John’s, a CEO expecting underlings to laugh at all his jokes, or quarterbacks buying their offen...

Does Tony Khan have a second gear for Ring Of Honor?
It’s pretty standard now, bordering on canon, that Tony Khan will spit out a great pay-per-view whenever he needs to. And now it’s with multiple companies. Last Saturday, it was Ring of Honor’s turn, with “Death Before Dishonor.” And by any measure, it was a banger. Not perfect — rarely is a show ev...

NFL reminds Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and Kyler Murray that, despite being QB1s, they’re still second-class citizens
During the spring of 2019, New York Giants’ former general manager Dave Gettleman made a declaration during the pre-draft process after falling in love with a certain prospect. “After the three series I watched, I saw a professional quarterback. So that’s when I was in full-blown love,” he said abou...

BIG Conference needs to ask itself some BIG questions before proceeding
College football is changing faster than it can handle. There are no playbooks or 100-level courses for what’s next in the sport. It feels like when I took a journalism business class after the Recession, and the professor was asking the students for suggestions. ...

WTF! A backheeled nutmeg winner at Women's Euro 2022
It is not very English to win semifinals at major tournaments. Glorious defeat is kind of their thing, and has been for decades....

Okay, I’ll hype up the Julio Jones signing
Julio Jones is joining forces with Tom Brady....

Mike Sando’s QB tier list saved all its heat for Black QBs
Top 10 NFL lists are typically there to incite a reaction. But Mike Sando’s 2022 QB Tiers List thwacks you upside the head over and over. The exclusion of Lamar Jackson from quarterback top 10 lists this offseason is standard operating protocol, but the disdain for the league’s top black quarterback...

Cardinals give Kyler Murray a homework ultimatum
Kyler Murray has found himself in detention — or, at least, the NFL’s version of it. As details of his new $230 million contract extension with the Arizona Cardinals come out, the rockiness of his offseason relationship with the team suddenly makes a whole lot more sense. ...

It’s time to trade Ohtani — here are some possible deals for the two-way superstar
I can’t believe what I’m about to say: The Angels have to trade Shohei Ohtani....

Retirement? We all know Vince McMahon didn’t leave WWE of his own volition
Stop calling it a retirement. Without the details of alleged hush payments skyrocketing well beyond $12 million to keep various women quiet, now-former WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon would still be in unquestioned power. He didn’t leave his post of 40 years unprovoked or out of humility to trans...