the-u Page 28 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The cringe factor in Bengals-Chiefs is off the charts
The Cincinnati Bengals are looking for a second consecutive trip to the Super Bowl this weekend, and in their way lies a familiar foe. For the last five years, the road to the Super Bowl has run through the Kansas City Chiefs. Fortunately for the Bengals, they’ve got experience beating the Chiefs. T...

Player and team activism may be lost on you, but you’re not everyone
A week ago tonight I sat here and wrote about why I didn’t want to touch on the Memphis Grizzlies getting into a verbal altercation with Shannon Sharpe during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The point of that article was to illustrate why it’s important to stay current on issues that actually...

A rising tide lift all boats and it's time we threw Jason Whitlock’s ilk overboard
Choosing between women’s and men’s sports is a false choice. If you’re a certain blogger for Glenn Beck’s conservative Blaze media, revisionist history can be a comfort zone that vilifies feminism in sports as your woke sports boogeyman, but makes you look like a headass instead. Jason Whitlock’s re...

How can the NWSL become misconduct-free?
There are two new names to add to the list of firings due to misconduct in the NWSL – Portland Thorns assistant coach Sophie Clough and head athletic trainer Pierre Soubrier. ...

Bally Sports possibly plunges baseball toward caring about what happens on the field
MLB’s biggest problem in the last few years is that too many teams have not really cared about whether their teams win or lose. They’ll say all the right things, and maybe make just enough signings or trades to fool their idiotic portion of their fanbases into buying tickets or for a new Carlton Fis...

NFL QB candidates for the Daniel Jones ‘Don’t give up on me just yet’ award
One of the biggest stories to come out of a very eventful New York Giants season was the emergence of Daniel Jones. Jones went from not having his option picked up to being nicknamed “Vanilla Vick” and the team most likely franchise tagging him. There are two narratives to come of this development. ...
![Everything we know, right now, about Patrick Mahomes' ankle [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/8af7f38c76e30ae915550ef16e20e6b4.jpg)
Everything we know, right now, about Patrick Mahomes' ankle [Updated]
It’s conference championship week. With only four teams on the NFL schedule this week — the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, and Cincinnati Bengals — one interesting storyline can dominate the entire conversation leading up to the games. This time, it’s QB Patrick Mahome...

Are the Jets trying to lure Aaron Rodgers to New York with Hackett hire?
The 2023 New York Jets are going to have a different quarterback than they did in 2022. I’m not a fan of the team, but even I’d be damned if the Jets opted to compete for an AFC East title with Joe Flacco, Mike White, or Zach Wilson again next year. Luckily, Gang Green is seen as the frontrunner for...

US Soccer is rebooting the USMNT…again
There’s burning the ships, and then there’s this. ...

Dana White’s <em>Power Slap</em> is the worst thing I’ve ever seen
Power Slap: Road to the Title is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. The new “hit” show on TBS that airs at the coveted 10 p.m. ET time slot on Wednesdays is so bad that it puts viewers in the shoes of the participants, because you feel like you’re getting a concussion watching it. As a lifelong fan o...

Another AFC championship loss and the Chiefs’ run will begin to resemble the Pistons of the 2000s
Over the last five years, the Kansas City Chiefs have been the closest thing we’ve seen to a dynasty in the NFL. Having won only one Super Bowl, the clock is ticking on their opportunity to claim the dynasty title. Playing in five consecutive AFC title games is an accomplishment but bringing home ju...

The NFC Championship Game’s weakest links
The Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers have been the NFC’s two-headed monsters all season. For the majority of this season, they’ve been the kaijus of the conference. However, the bigger they are, the harder the fall — and one of these behemoths has to end the weekend with a gaping hole in ...

The AFC Championship Game’s weakest links
A championship-caliber unit is only as strong as its weakest link. Entering Championship Weekend, the rosters are so deep, and refined that it gets tougher to find dents in their armors. These aren’t the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears. The Kansas City Chiefs found a way around their lack of go-to ...

I need a ruling on how we’re supposed to feel about Bronny James
Despite being the only prospect outside of the top 23 that made the McDonald’s All-American team, Bronny James is the game’s headliner. The 34th-ranked recruit in 2023 is getting a dramatically larger brand bump from his last name than Arch Manning, and I don’t know whether to be outraged or sympath...

Is it the coach or the team?
Determining an NFL head coach’s value is difficult as hell. Sometimes it’s easy, like with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Urban Meyer, or the New York Giants and Brian Daboll. But most of the time, figuring out how much of a team’s success is based more on the coach or the talent on their roster is an...

Sports networks will invest in just about anything before women’s sports — including pickleball
In a sign that ESPN and other networks can choose to devote broadcast hours to new and emerging sports, the American sports cable channel announced that it was adding pickleball to the lineup....

Sami Zayn must win the Royal Rumble
WWE kicks its Wrestlemania season into fifth gear this week with Saturday night’s Royal Rumble. Even those who have soured on the product New York has been putting out come back in for the Rumble — for the most part — due to its uniqueness and penchant for surprises, and setting up what the build to...
