ti Page 689 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Wizards of odd
It feels like such a long time ago that the Washington Wizards were in first place in the Eastern Conference, winning 13 of their first 20 games. Since Nov. 29, however, Washington has gone 8-13, dropping it all the way down to ninth place in the East at 21-20. Talk about a fall from grace....

In a league of inconsistent-to-bad teams, Memphis is neither
There are currently nine NBA teams hovering around .500 and in or tied for the playoffs/play-in tourney. If that seems like an abnormally high number, that’s because it is, and the Mavs barely missed out on this list because they’re technically four games above .500....

Za’Darius Smith is back for the Pack, and it couldn’t come at a better time
There was a welcome sight at practice for the Green Bay Packers today....

AFCON gets some CONCACAF refereeing
The African Cup of Nations gets a rough ride from most of the soccer world, and it’s mostly because of its place in the calendar. It deprives several clubs in Europe of some of their best players for most of January every two years, which isn’t exactly met with acceptance and gratitude. So it can ac...

The NFL’s latest naked cash grab: Selling playoff ticket NFTs
NFTs are the latest craze in the world of crypto. These digital pieces of artwork use blockchain technology to help everyday people like you and I invest in an online setting. Ever since NFTs became a big thing, several athletes, like Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and Rob Gronkowski, and a host of othe...

Jon Lester just gave more of a s–t than you
Sadly, the, “You’re not winning this game,” term used to describe a transcendent performance from an athlete that just seems a Herculean or galactic level of defiance and denial has been co-opted by Bill Simmons. Which means it’s become as cartoonish as he has....

Shaun White isn’t worthy of a spot in the Olympics — discretionary or otherwise
The 2022 Winter Olympics are almost here and that means everyone needs to bone up on their winter U.S. athlete checklist. Let’s see here. Lindsey Vonn retired, so she’s gone. Mikaela Shiffrin isn’t the new Vonn, she’s substantially better and will probably win a gold or two. Fan favorite Chloe Kim a...

It was a very NHL day in the NHL
No one does “all over the map” quite like the NHL. And almost all of it is by accident, because there isn’t a guiding light to the league as to what it wants to be, or how it would get there if it did. Stuff just happens every day in this league, most of it makes you slap your forehead. Though somet...

At this point, Anthony Davis is what he is
The 2021-22 season has been less than stellar thus far for Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers, and much of that falls on the shoulders of the former No. 1 pick. This was supposed to be the year Davis took over as the Lakers’ best player, but that blueprint hasn’t worked out the way it was draw...

There is at least one thing heart-warming about the Beijing Games
The world’s top-ranked woman in 500-meter speed skating is headed to the Olympics to represent America. Erin Jackson, 29, made history in 2018 as the first Black woman to make the U.S. Olympic team in long-track speed skating only four months after picking up the sport. She made history again in Nov...

It’s been a rough year in Chicago, NFL award voters, give Bears fans a hug and give Roquan Smith some love
I don’t know if anyone knew this, but the 2021 season was a rough one for the Chicago Bears. They finished with their worst record since 2017. Of course playoff hopes being extinguished before the fire ever got to really burn will anger any fanbase, but it’s not like a double-digit loss season is un...

Score one for basketball
Saturday night in Philadelphia, the NFL kicked off its latest Scorigami, as the Cowboys defeated the Eagles, 51-26, in a game that otherwise meant next to nothing as Dallas had already clinched the NFC East and the Birds had already locked up a wild-card spot....

Teams are lining up to give Evander Kane his 34th chance
If we’re midway through another NHL season or thereabouts, it must mean that Evander Kane has fucked up in some way....

Three straight deep shots with a national championship on the line? Explain yourself
Up until the final minute, last night’s college football national championship saw Alabama and Georgia within one score of one another for the entirety of the game. Even when Brock Bowers waltzed into the endzone with 3:33 left on the clock, the extra point only made it an eight-point game....

Screw the celebrity boxing nonsense, let’s get Canelo Alvarez and Jermall Charlo in the ring ASAP
The biggest attraction in legitimate boxing, Canelo Alvarez, could be announcing his next major championship fight soon. The bout that seemed like a pipedream just a few short months ago, pitting Canelo against Jermall Charlo, now has the chance of coming to fruition by May. According to ESPN’s Mike...

If you have some time to spare on Super Bowl Sunday, the new<em> Fresh Prince of Bel-Air </em>might be worth a watch
If Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre performing doesn’t give you enough ’90s West Coast nostalgia during Super Bowl LVI, NBC Universal has you covered with the premiere of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air reboot, Bel-Air....

Nick Saban and Kirby Smart are totally concerned about the little guy
The NIL contracts for “student-athletes” have been an overwhelming success, according to many people, including us. They give an unpaid workforce access to a revenue stream, make for great stories when used right, and end this ruse that college athletics should be an altruistic endeavor because kids...

Don Maynard, Hall-of-Fame Jet, dead at 86
Don Maynard, a wide receiver who played in two of professional football’s landmark games during his Hall of Fame career and son of Texas, died on January 10 at the age of 86....

Rookie Quarterback Rankings: Steady play wins the race
It’s Week 18, and we’ve made it to the end of the season, and so have our rookie quarterbacks. Now let’s look at how the 2021 rookie class finished out the year and the final ranking....

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: With Alabama and Georgia set to play in national championship game again, let's look back at the players from four years ago... then and now
It’s been four years since that classic national championship between Georgia and Alabama. A lot has changed in that full recruiting cycle since true freshman Tua Tagovailoa threw that 41-yard game-winning touchdown pass to true freshman DeVonta Smith in overtime after taking a 16-yard sack the prev...