van Page 44 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

College Football’s 2022 Jekyll & Hyde QB situations
The top 25 is littered with pinpoint passers or dual threats, ranging from Bryce Young to Devin Leary to Tyler Van Dyke and K.J. Jefferson. For programs returning subpar starting quarterbacks, the offseason was about ironing out the deep wrinkles in their existing starters or hoping a clipboard-hold...

If the Packers are going to take that final step, David Bakhtiari has to be dominant
After a long 2021 — complete with a rapid heel turn — that ended with a home-playoff loss as the top seed in NFL, along with Aaron Rodgers’s second consecutive MVP, the drama appears to be over. Rodgers signed a three-year extension during the offseason that guarantees him over 100 million, and aver...

Will Pujols hit No. 700?
There’s no one on Earth hotter than Albert Pujols right now. In his last 10 games, Pujols is slugging 1.258. That is the second-highest mark of his career over any 10-game stretch, beaten only by his slugging percentage between August 6 and August 21 of this year: 1.259. Basically, at 42 years old. ...

The system doesn’t work with this Virgil van Dijk
This isn’t my beautiful house....

Disastrous season for the Phoenix Mercury ended with Las Vegas dropping a piano on their heads
Mercury has been in retrograde all season long. At least that’s been the theme of the 2022 WNBA season. Shortly after getting bombarded by an WNBA record 23 3-pointers in a 37-point loss to the Las Vegas Aces, the Phoenix Mercury had to be breathing a sigh of relief. That record-breaking performance...

The NBA is still trying to polish turds
The NBA is trying its best, guys, give them a break. Schedule releases are only a big deal in the NFL, where teams have to play their best players every week, save for a possible late-season rest. So even though Roger Goodell and his cronies show up every year with pictures of presents like a twiste...

Craig Kimbrel pitching his way off of Dodgers’ postseason roster
Craig Kimbrel needs to be left off the Dodgers’ postseason roster....

The Knicks shouldn't agree to a trade with Danny Ainge
The New York Knicks are in a tough spot. They recently gained some future first-round draft capital, but all three picks are lottery-protected next season. In fact, only one of those picks – the first-rounder from the Washington Wizards — can be at best the 11th pick by 2025. ...

Chelsea and Tottenham is why we watch
After yesterday’s fracas (it was certainly more than a game,) the temptation is to call Chelsea-Spurs the best rivalry going in the Premier League. Liverpool-City might have more quality, and the best quality in Europe arguably, but everything is pretty civil and they’re too respectful of each other...

What are the odds an offensive lineman wins Rookie of the Year?
An offensive lineman has never won the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Is that a tragedy? Or does it make sense? Offensive linemen rarely ever score touchdowns, pick up yards, or do the Griddy (although a few have tried). ...

Here’s Aaron Rodgers’ path to a third straight MVP award
Aaron Rodgers can win his third straight NFL MVP this coming season....

Diontae Johnson deserves way better
The last of the star wideouts holding out (or in) during contract negotiations, Diontae Johnson finally came to an agreeable contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. For Johnson to hold out longer than the likes of Deebo Samuel and DK Metcalf, it must have been a solid deal, one that rivaled the $25 m...

A serene Tottenham Hotspur will take some getting used to
It’s pretty obvious a team has a habit, even a reputation or history, of being a fuckaround when its very name is used as a definition of that. “Spursinees” has been a term thrown around since just about the Premier League’s beginning, which makes it clear what everyone thinks of Tottenham. No matte...

Romeo Doubs is doing his best Davante Adams impersonation at Packers camp
The initial star of the Green Bay Packers training camp was, of course, the NFL’s highest-paid player, Aaron Rodgers, arriving at training camp doing a cosplay of Nicolas Cage in “Con Air” — because of course Rodgers would do that. However, almost a week in camp, the star of the show for the Packers...

Here’s where the losers of the Juan Soto sweepstakes stand now
Light up a cigar, kick your feet up, and take a massive breath. The Juan Soto saga is over. I doubted it would happen at all, but in the end, the San Diego Padres wound up getting both Soto and veteran teammate Josh Bell for comparatively very little. Congrats to the Padres! The deal was amazing! Th...

Everyone's getting plunked — and this isn't MLB
We’re less than a week into training camp, and already we’ve seen dozens of storylines emerge from each team. The 49ers’ offense has seemed inconsistent, rookie receiver Skyy Moore is wowing audiences at Chiefs’ camp, and the Bucs are still insanely good. Who would’ve thunk?...

DK Metcalf has his flaws, but he’s worth every penny of his new contract
Fourth-year wide receiver DK Metcalf is a pretty polarizing player. Depending on who you ask, Metcalf is either a top-tier talent with elite physical attributes or a deep threat who wouldn’t be able to carry a passing attack without Tyler Lockett on the opposite side of him. You can’t deny his stati...

Okay, I’ll hype up the Julio Jones signing
Julio Jones is joining forces with Tom Brady....

Which state can field the best starting 5?
Now that the Warriors have returned to glory post-Durant, NBA fans just survived one of the most unbearable periods of the NBA. One filled with superteams and razor-thin parity between the three to four coastal teams with stacked talent (Warriors, Lakers, Nets), and the rest of the small-market team...

How much will Davante Adams’ absence affect Aaron Rodgers?
In 2021, with the help of Davante Adams, Aaron Rodgers threw for 37 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Those 37 touchdowns were tied for fourth-most in the NFL. Rodgers didn’t have much help outside of Adams. While Adams did catch 11 of those touchdowns (29.73 percent of Rodgers’ total), that’s...