up Page 318 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Opening Night Overreaction: Mike Evans is officially washed
Last night, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys kicked off the 2021-22 NFL season. What was supposed to be a blowout in many fans’ eyes, turned into an absolute thriller that had two lead changes in the final two minutes, as well as a classic Tom Brady last-minute comeback drive to lead to a...

NFL getting in bed with sports gambling is not a good idea
Tony Dungy is standing on moral ground. The NFL is standing on legal ground. But in the end, the players could wind up on shaky ground....

Don’t be shocked if Dallas comes away with the win tonight
Before I start, I just want to say that I totally believe Tampa Bay will win this game, but should Dallas pull off the upset, I wouldn’t be that surprised. The more I look at this game, the more I see factors pointing in favor of the Cowboys....

Next stop on the Le’Veon Bell traveling road show: Baltimore
The dreaded injury bug is already affecting NFL teams, and the season is just ready to get underway this week. The Baltimore Ravens are one of these injury-stricken teams that must now look to waiver wires and other means to fill out their roster. In need of help in the backfield after losing J.K. D...

2021 NFL Preview - NFC West: Stacked division gets tougher with additions like Stafford and Watt
The NFC West will come down to quarterback play and which defensive unit can get to the quarterback more often this season....

Deadspin’s NFL gambling guide/futures bets to make for 2021 season
Wow, is it really that time of year already?...

2021 NFL Preview - NFC East: Who will emerge as ‘unbreakable’ from this train wreck?
Welcome to the NFC East — home to the teams that engender the most yelling on Twitter and, not unrelated to that, where the entire division last season finished a combined 17 games under .500....

NHL players in the Olympics has always been better in theory than practice
Late last week, one of hockey’s more annoying fights seemed to have reached yet another conclusion, when the NHL, the NHLPA, and the IIHF reached an agreement on sending NHL players to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. As with everything these days, it’s COVID-dependent, but the NHL schedule has ...

Every coach <i>ever</i> has been called a bum at some point — but now these three add 'Hall of Famer' to their resumes
Players get all the hype. Coaches usually get all the blame. But some rise above it to reach the pinnacles of success as the masterminds behind the championship rings....

Josh Allen is ready to take over the league
There is a new sheriff in town, ready to dominate the AFC East for the next decade, and his name is Josh Allen. For a long time, the Buffalo Bills were the doormat of the division, only to be outdone by the New York Jets most years. But even the lowly Jets managed to play in back-to-back AFC champio...

2021 NFL Preview - AFC West: The Chiefs got better and will still rule this division and the conference
Like it or not, this is still Kansas City’s division to lose. It’s not very often we can look at a team that went to the Super Bowl two years in a row and go “Wow! They really improved this offseason.” Yet, that’s exactly what the Chiefs did. The biggest problem for the Chiefs in the Super Bowl was ...

2021 NFL Preview - AFC South: Carson Wentz is a wildcard as Colts look to contend
The AFC South is a division that could have a significant impact on the playoff picture by the end of the year....

It’s a Canadian invasion
The main story of the U.S. Open, other than the plethora of five-set matches, or three-set matches for the women, has been the surprising runs of a few teenagers in both the women’s and men’s side of the draw. The longest run so far is by a young Canadian named Leylah Fernandez, who has kneecapped a...

2021 NFL Preview - AFC North: Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson will duel for the division
All eyes will be on Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns in 2021 after making the postseason for the first time since 2002 last year. A major storyline for the Browns this year will be Mayfield’s contract status. Baker is eligible for an extension of his rookie deal, but the Browns are being caut...

2021 NFL Preview - AFC East: Fate of division rests on arms of young QBs
The AFC East has been one of the NFL focal points this offseason....

We totally forgot that this USMNT hasn’t played very well
Perhaps I doomed them last Wednesday when I told my editor the US Men’s National Team would qualify for the World Cup easily. The power of the motherfuck grows every day. That won’t comfort anyone, especially me, as the US has certainly stubbed its toe in its first two qualifiers, even if it hasn’t ...

NFL RedZone Previews, Part 4: The Prime Time Players
The NFL’s television partners don’t necessarily take the best teams in the league for the most primetime games. They take the teams that are going to get the biggest audiences and make the networks the most money....

NFL RedZone Previews, Part 3: The Quad Boxers
Every week during the season, NFL RedZone is packed with action from across the league, and there are some stalwarts who carry the action every Sunday afternoon from 1 to 8 Eastern....

NFL RedZone Previews, Part 2: The Bathroom Breakers
One of the things that’s exciting about the NFL is that, with only 16 games — sorry, with only 17 games in a season, a couple of unexpected wins or losses can change the entire complexion of a season. A bad team can make the playoffs, while an otherwise good team can miss out because of a couple of ...

NFL RedZone Previews, Part 1: <i>Every</i> Touchdown? From <i>Every</i> Game? Really?
The NFL’s television schedule doesn’t tell you everything about who’s expected to be good in a given season. The Cowboys and Steelers will always get plenty of games in prime time, because no matter what, they’re going to draw eyeballs....