the Page 104 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Naomi Osaka has returned to tennis, but will tennis treat her right this time?

Naomi Osaka is a lot of things. She’s a woman. She’s a mom. She’s great at her job. She’s Black. She’s Asian. And when you’re more than what simple people can comprehend, they usually don’t know how to treat you. Here’s to tennis learning from their mistakes when it comes to Osaka — but we shouldn’t...

Oscar Pistorius being released from prison is spit in the face of Reeva Steenkamp's memory

South African Olympic track and field star, and convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius was released from prison today after serving seven and a half years for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp....

The NBA was on fire in its return to Thursday night on TNT

My original plan was to write about Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama going head-to-head on Thursday night. These two skyscrapers, who were born on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, played basketball like the Empire State Building if Dr. Octopus’ metallic arms were attached. Those two ...

NFL scriptwriters couldn’t have penned a better ending to the regular season than Bills-Dolphins

Give the NFL credit. The league obviously hired writers from disparate backgrounds to arrange the season’s plotlines. On Sunday, the Week 18 finale will climax with an end-of-season clash of genres between the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, who couldn’t be more different. The Dolphins even have a...

NCAA-ESPN's new broadcast deal is great for women's sports

The NCAA and ESPN agreed to an eight-year, $115 million annual deal to broadcast 40 different championships including the women’s college basketball tournament....

Darvin Ham is not the reason the Lakers are losing

News flash: The Miami Heat are a better coached team than the Los Angeles Lakers. It showed in the fourth quarter of their Wednesday night matchup. Erik Spoelstra has been with the Heat organization since 1995 — its head coach since 2008. Following nine seasons as an NBA player, Darvin Ham was an as...

The NFL Pro Bowl is basically Niners vs. Ravens

Stephen A. Smith weighs in on Pat McAfee and, as usual, gets it wrong

Last time I checked, Stephen A. Smith, a man who epitomizes the “embrace really loud debate” and who, just this week, had a man sniffing a female colleague’s shoe on his show, has decided to speak for journalism....

Sorry, but I’m contractually obligated not to take it easy on Rory McIlroy

Golf is so much more fun when the players are petty. From Ryder Cup shenanigans to guys getting pissed about the pace of play, the game is infinitely more entertaining when there’s a clearly defined heel who fans can collectively hate. That’s why the past year-plus of golf was great television. ...

The NBA's participation policy wasn't meant for guys like Dorian Finney-Smith

The NBA likely implemented its player participation policy — read: anti-load management protocol — so that fans wouldn’t attend games only to see LeBron James and Anthony Davis, or Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, in street clothes. ...

From Jerry Richardson to Dave Tepper, the Carolina Panthers have written the manual on trash owners

Three million dollars (total) in fines. Two atrocious owners. One franchise. The Carolina Panthers are a mess....

Bill Belichick can go quietly — or go kicking and screaming

Nobody leaves a job with quite as much oomph as Bill Belichick. Twenty-four years ago this week, Belichick handed a note with a scribbled message signaling to New York Jets officials at a press conference, stepped to the podium, and delivered his infamous remarks. ...

Wander Franco released, still under investigation for alleged sexual relationship with minor [Update]

Updated Jan. 5: Wander Franco was granted conditional release on Friday but remains under investigation for his alleged relationship with a 14-year-old girl and giving her mom a car and hush money for her consent. ...

Katt Williams channels his inner <i>Last Dance</i> Scottie Pippen on Shannon Sharpe's podcast

Katt Williams had some pissed-off at The Last Dance type of energy during his appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast. Before the episode had been entirely uploaded, clips of him skewering Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and Rickey Smiley were going viral on social media....

Want to reduce college football Bowl opt-outs? Pay the players

The bowl opt-outs are a letdown, but we all saw what happened to Jaylon Smith. During the 2016 Fiesta Bowl — which was not a playoff game — his leg was mangled. A projected top-five pick fell to the second round. Since then, many star players have made the intelligent business decision to not play i...

Fire at Tyreek Hill's house caused by child playing with lighter: Investigators [Update]

Updated Jan. 9: The Jan. 3 fire at Tyreek Hill’s house — caused by two children playing with a lighter they thought was a toy — caused $2.3 million in damages, according to the incident report obtained by TMZ Sports. ...

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is ascending into the MVP conversation

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the NBA’s dullest superstar, which has allowed him to sneak up behind the league while they sleep on his ascendance. On Tuesday night, SGA propelled the Oklahoma City Thunder to their latest signature win. After a two-week stretch in which they’ve made mincemeat of the NBA...

NHL contenders have something of a goalie crisis

The NHL is almost certainly delighted that it’s seen an uptick in scoring the past three seasons (though down a skosh this season from last). It probably should pull a muscle patting itself on the back for the crackdown on goalie equipment leading to lower average save percentages across the Origina...

It’s time for ESPN to put an end to Pat McAfee’s Aaron Rodgers disaster

There was a time in journalism when allowing people to spew false information in a public forum was frowned upon. That was before the ghouls at FOX News realized that there was a lot of money in telling people what they want to hear — truth be damned — first as wild speculation about where former Pr...

Kyrie says he's not reason rabbi's 'I'm Jewish and proud' sign removed [Updated]

Updated Jan. 5: Kyrie Irving denied being why Jazz security asked a rabbi to put down his “I’m a Jew and I’m proud” sign despite an interaction between the two. ...