state Page 32 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The USMNT wins its last game in the pre-Balogun era
International soccer, especially this season, is highly weird. So while the USMNT’s 1-0 win over El Salvador to clinch a spot in the semifinals of the Nations League doesn’t look like much — and it isn’t — one must consider that most of the squad has been run ragged with their club teams, had a Worl...

Who the fuck are St. Louis City SC and who the fuck do they think they are?
The pattern of a first-year MLS club is pretty well set by now. Team gets announced, we all joke about the league being a Ponzi scheme (still might be!), they begin play in a stadium that looks fun as hell in front of raucous crowds, and then kind of eat it for most of the season. Maybe they pick it...

Lamar Jackson put an electrical current through some questions John Harbaugh had to answer about him
Poor John Harbaugh. All the man wants is the starting quarterback that was promised to him when the Baltimore Ravens moved up to select Lamar Jackson in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Instead, five years later he spoke to the media on a Monday at the NFL League Meetings moments after his sta...

Charles Barkley hates the playa and the game, but he should look in the mirror
Every Cinderella story needs a bitter, jaded, elderly hater. Charles Barkley is college basketball’s evil stepmother analog. One of the most maddening staples of every March Madness is TNT loaning out Charles Barkley for CBS’ NCAA Tournament studio show coverage where he dissects college hoops with ...

Caitlin Clark stands on her own after stellar Elite Eight performance
There’s a big phenomenon when conversing about sports to find the next big thing, or who a younger athlete could become when she or he reaches their potential. Kobe Bryant or LeBron James having a Michael Jordan-like arch dominated conversations for over a decade. The name of baseball’s next great p...

The best NBA games on this week’s schedule
Focus, people. There are only two weeks remaining in the NBA season....

Warriors' turnover problem submarines a needed victory
There was a four-second difference between the game clock and the shot clock. The Golden State Warriors had the lead with less than 24 seconds remaining in the game. A victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves would have put the Warriors firmly 1.5 games ahead of the play-in tournament. The Warrior...

In defense of the NFL's mid-tier quarterback contracts
The ever-changing landscape of the NFL is, in a way, just like fashion. It’s never standing still, always looking for new and creative ways to evolve and, eventually, it’ll become a cycle. It’s all about trends while in the moment. Outside zone run concepts. Lighter boxes to defend the run. Versatil...

The Seahawks significantly improved their roster, and still have both of their first-round picks
Pencil the San Francisco 49ers in as NFC West’s best in 2023 at your own risk. After the shellacking that the Seattle Seahawks suffered at the hands of the 49ers in the postseason, they have taken significant steps to shore up talent deficiencies on the roster. Come autumn, Kyle Shanahan and Co. had...

Miami Heat to honor Dade County O.G. Udonis Haslem with an entire seating section
Udonis Haslem will go down as one of the most beloved players in Miami Heat history. He may be second to only Dwayne Wade, and that’s saying something considering some of the stars who’ve played for the franchise. While the Heat haven’t exactly made Haslem’s swan song season one to remember, the org...

Florida Atlantic athletic director still speechless after Final Four berth
From the eighth-floor lobby of Manhattan’s New York Marriott Marquis hotel, Florida Atlantic athletic director Brian White couldn’t find the exact words to describe what being in the Sweet 16 meant to the Owls’ program and community as a whole. And that was nearly six hours before tipoff of FAU’s wi...

Don't call Florida Atlantic a 'Cinderella'
Don’t fall for the Cinderella trap. That’s the general consensus from Florida Atlantic superfans, boosters, and radio-play-by-play announcers celebrating the Owls’ East regional title at the Time Square Marriott Marquis well after midnight. Given the trend in this NCAA Tournament beginning with Furm...

Just look at the cost of a bracket as a ticket to the fireworks
You know that feeling you get when a new team is going to win the title? You look at the finals matchup and say, “Suns-Bucks? Cool.” Occasionally, that feeling can happen in the semis, but it’s rare. Usually, there’s a blueblood like the Patriots, Duke, Alabama, Golden State, the Astros, or some tea...

Hey Deion, there is no generational divide on privilege
If you currently play football for Colorado, you had better use a strong black marker to write your name on the tape on your helmet. The way that Deion Sanders has the program’s spring practice set up, the players currently do not have numbers. On the field is just going to be a mass of black, white...
![Pac-12 media rights deal not close despite soft deadline [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/870ee44f6c7e1ab97fc212559e5f9270.jpg)
Pac-12 media rights deal not close despite soft deadline [Updated]
Updated March 30: CBS Sports is reporting that the Pac-12's media rights deal is still up in the air....

Stop glorifying NFL Pro Days — they’re just in-person highlight tapes
Before there was Hudl and YouTube, there were VHS cassettes. And before that, film. Studying and watching footage of your opponent, yourself, or a prospect has always been a vital part of sports. There’s nothing like seeing what someone does against live competition and the variables that occur duri...

Tennessee and FAU’s ADs are brothers — and their schools faced off in the Sweet 16
NEW YORK — As the NCAA Tournament bracket was released 11 days ago, both Danny White and Brian White knew only one of their schools could get to the Final Four before they knew who Tennessee or Florida Atlantic would play to open the yearly showcase. Three complete regions had been called without a ...

Fred VanVleet has shown Chris Paul the way to an NBA Championship
A precedent has been set. It is time for Chris Paul to take action. The Phoenix Suns are gearing up for a playoff run in the most wide-open Western Conference since Dennis Rodman and David Robinson were sharing the screen in stuffed-crust pizza commercials. With Kevin Durant likely to be available f...

Is Lamar Jackson's mom telling teams he's ready to move on from Baltimore?
Another wrinkle has been added to the ongoing Lamar Jackson saga in Baltimore. The Ravens and Jackson aren’t any closer to coming to terms on a new long-term deal. Now it’s been reported that a representative for Jackson has allegedly been contacting teams claiming the former MVP is ready to move on...
