ty Page 552 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Seahawks Player Impersonates Russell Wilson To Get Dinner Reservations
Russell Wilson's quarterbacking the best team in the NFL right now, so of course there are perks to that status. Those benefits are also available to his teammates, but only if they pretend to be him, as Michael Bennett did....

Advanced NFL Stats has made some significant tweaks to its win probability model, which now incorporates team strength and the value of second half kickoffs while adjusting the likelihood that trailing teams will attempt fourth-down and 2-point conversions late in the game. It's good stuff. [Advance...

How Would You Rank The Top 5 BCS Teams From Their Blind Résumés?
Here's a fun little thought experiment, from MrSEC.com. Some assorted strength-of-schedule and margin-of-victory measures of the top five teams in the BCS standings, with the schools unnamed and in a random order:...

Mexico City Smoke-Out Only Second Strangest Delay In Spurs History
The NBA's "Global Games" are off to a hilarious start. I mean, it wasn't funny for the 22,000 Mexico City fans who didn't get a chance to watch the Spurs and Timberwolves thanks to the arena filling up with smoke, but images like Tony Parker masking up and rushing into a burning building are pretty ...

Here's The Smoky Arena Before The Wolves-Spurs Game
You had one job, Mexico City. One. Job....

The Redskins Get Jokes, You Guys
Just when you thought Dan Snyder couldn't get any more Dan Snyder. As reported by the Post, the Redskins threatened legal action against a Washington radio station over a series of parodies, until—and this is incredible—the station explained to the team that they were just jokes....

Nets Give Lawrence Frank Four Years Of Detention
Jason Kidd and the Nets have "reassigned" head assistant Lawrence Frank, and following the change, Frank will no longer be on the bench during games or at practice. If that sounds like being fired, it is, except for the part where Frank owes Kidd a book report every day....

Angry, Dumb Red Sox Fans Call Jacoby Ellsbury A "Trader"
Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury has agreed to a deal with the Yankees. He used to play for the Red Sox. In case you are an alien or a baby born today who just learned how to use a computer, the Red Sox and Yankees are big rivals. Anyway, Boston fans are mad about Ellsbury being a traitor for ...

Yankees Sign Jacoby Ellsbury To Seven-Year Deal, Because They Can
The New York Yankees have reportedly signed Jacoby Ellsbury, because eat it. They don't care. The Yankees get who they want. (Unless it's Cliff Lee.)...

Lowsman Trophy Watch: Ohio State's O-Line Clears A Path
Each week, Football Outsiders recognizes the most outstanding college linemen, defenders and other darkhorses from the previous weekend who are habitually overlooked in the hype for that other award (whatever it's called). These are the Lowsmen....

Joyce Carol Oates Reviews Mike Tyson's Book
From the New York Review of Books:...

Knicks Trade Pitch: Our Players Only Suck Because Of Our Coach
Only at MSG. Here's this, from an ESPN column about the Knicks ongoing adventures in trading Iman Shumpert: ...

Smash
The big question for those of us jaded with the modern game of ping-pong—the oof-plock, oof-plock of devious sponge, no rally lasting longer than the cramped spin serve, the dabbed return, and the silent kill—was whether the great Marty Reisman, just one grey hair short of 70 but still refusing the ...

Here Are The Pots For The World Cup Draw
At a press conference in Brazil this morning, FIFA officials announced the pot allocations for next summer's World Cup. The draw will be held on Friday, but it's time to start imagining your groups of death, and how the U.S. is absolutely going to end up in one....

Do Nice Players Make Their Teammates Worse?
Dick Allen was known for being an unpleasant teammate who warred with teammates and divided clubhouses. In "The Politics of Glory," Bill James called him "a manipulator of extraordinary skill," and wrote,...

Myles Jack Is The Pac-12's Best Freshman On Both Sides Of The Ball
UCLA linebacker Myles Jack was named Pac-12 freshman defensive player of the year. UCLA running back Myles Jack was named Pac-12 freshman offensive player of the year. Myles Jack is whoever you want him to be, and he's better at it than you....

Slap Me Five
A few years ago at ESPN the Magazine, Jon Mooallem wrote a piece on the history and mystery of the high five:...

Antonio Smith Accuses The Patriots Of Spying
The Patriots, down 17-7 at the break, put up 27 points on Houston in the second half. That's been New England's M.O. recently, but Texans DE Antonio Smith thinks the turnaround was more than a little suspicious....

Jesse Owens's 1936 Olympic Gold Medal Is Up For Sale
A lot of times, sports memorabilia can feel like low-stakes archaeology—amusing, but vacant of context to the world beyond sports. Jesse Owens is one of the exceptions. ...

How Everyone Screwed Up On Washington's Mistaken First Down
Washington thought they had a first down. The chains moved. The stadium scoreboard said first down. Kyle Shanahan called the next play as if the Skins had a new set of downs. But the one person whose ruling mattered, referee Jeff Triplette, signaled third down. Chaos reigns....