van Page 52 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Saquon Barkley is the only reason to watch the Giants
The only reason to watch the Giants — or justify putting them on national television — is Saquon Barkley. New York shopping him around is like getting rid of the last real tiger left in their depressing traveling circus. The only acts remaining would be a sad clown of a quarterback and the high-wire...
Jaylen Brown injury speaks to the fragility of Boston’s makeup
I almost wrote about the Celtics on Tuesday because I heard about these projections that had them with heavy title odds, but when I went to FiveThirtyEight to try to find them, it felt like I was trying to decipher binary code. So I held off to wait to see if anything came of the research I loosely ...
The best NCAA Women’s Tournament teams at each seed
For the first time this year, the NCAA Women’s Tournament will expand to 68 teams, matching the men’s showcase, which expanded to that number of teams chasing a national championship in 2011. That’s more chances for a longshot to make a run and take down the sport’s elite....
Making a case for the Utah Jazz
It wasn’t supposed to go this way. This essay was going to make a case for why the Utah Jazz could finally win a championship this season. But when it was all written out, the facts just didn’t line up. Can the Utah Jazz do it? Can they win it all? It seems unlikely, doesn’t it? Especially with the ...
Jesse Marsch tries again, this time at Leeds United
You can’t accuse Jesse Marsch of being unambitious. He replaced Julian Nagelsmann at RB Leipzig, and Nagelsmann had only left for Bayern Munich — one of the biggest jobs in the world — and is considered maybe the leading young genius on the European continent (whether this letterman’s jacket is evid...
Get ready for the next bunch of NBA bigs
Glance around the basketball landscape and you’ll see skyscrapers cast a shadow over the courts again. A whole new host of bigs are on the verge of challenging the convention that the NBA is a guard’s league....
No, Aaron Rodgers, we’re not going to take your ‘gratitude’ post at face value
Aaron Rodgers jumped back in the spotlight very quickly after last night’s viral Instagram post. The lengthy post was his first since the day of the NFL Honors ceremony in which he took home his second consecutive MVP award. What makes it intriguing, is that it has the tone of a person saying goodby...
Kupp was phenomenal this season, but he’s not the best WR in the league, yet
I know he had an amazing, arguably perfect year, but let’s chill out on the talk of Cooper Kupp being the greatest receiver in the game....
Frisky NFL teams that could get friskier with the right QB
Watching the Rams walk a tightrope without a net this season was exhilarating. They traded two first round picks for Matthew Stafford, and people who hated the deal were a Tom Brady comeback away from laughing at Stan Kroenke and Los Angeles for being so frivolous with their assets. (I would’ve been...
Odell Beckham wasn’t the only Ram expecting a newborn during the Super Bowl
In a Super Bowl aftermath filled with narratives from OBJ’s unlikely comeback, to Eric Weddle going back into retirement, to discussions of whether Joe Burrow would be back, there’s been one wholesome moment that has captured the attention of football fans throughout the country — the story of Van J...
Super Bowl LVI NFL Betting Primer: Best over/under, spread, teaser and prop bets
There’s nothing quite like Super Bowl Sunday, but sadly, the drama and theatrics that come with it also bring about the realization that we’ll be making our final football wagers until early September (or August for those who very daringly elect to bet on preseason action)....
Longtime Team USA snowboard coach under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct
You can add “Sexual misconduct allegations against a U.S. coach” to the list of off-the-slopes issues overshadowing the on-snow and -ice accomplishments at the Winter Olympics. In a series of Instagram posts Friday, former U.S. snowboard cross athlete Callan Chythlook-Sifsof alleged current U.S. sno...
Pittsburgh's well represented in the Super Bowl
Super Bowl LVI will be considered by some a homecoming for LSU. Former Tigers who will be playing in this game include Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase for the Cincinnati Bengals, and Odell Beckahm Jr. and 2003 National Champion Andrew Whitworth for the Los Angeles Rams. LSU is tied with Florida for the...
Possible Super Bowl one-hit wonders
The Super Bowl is the most covered single sporting event on the American sporting calendar every year. No pregame leaf unturned by the gaggle of broadcast and print media, tugging at the heartstrings of even the most jaded sports fans. There’s going to be a package about how Bengals quarterback Joe ...
Automated offside is here, and it’s pretty damn cool
Even through its many, many bumps and hiccups (the kind of hiccups where you feel like you’ve pulled an oblique) I have been pro-VAR. It is hardly perfect, and far too much of it still depends on the whims and judgements of people. Except now being in the hands of whatever is floating between one pe...
If you didn’t already know Caitlin Clark’s name, you'd best learn it
Steph Curry is arguably the most exciting player to watch in the NBA right now. His ability to expand the floor with the range of an ICBM can make stone-faced humbugs raise an eyebrow and crack a smile in astonishment and awe. Women’s basketball hasn’t had anything like that in recent memory, that i...
Nathan Chen deserves every second of the Olympic spotlight he’s about to get
The Winter Olympics are always sports’ most unique event. For the most part, it’s a collection of niche sports getting international attention all at once. Exceptions have existed with men’s ice hockey, with five straight Olympiads allowing the NHL’s stars to participate for their countries, last ta...
A youth baseball coach accidentally ripped apart Mike Trout’s swing
Over the weekend, former Chicago White Sox hitting strategist Matt Lisle tweeted out a video of his “friends’ son” taking BP. ...
The Bengals are in the Super Bowl, but don’t expect them to pick up a check in L.A.
The Cincinnati Bengals have overcome quite a bit of adversity to get to Super Bowl LVI. They had to claw their way to an AFC North championship after some bad regular-season losses, including the infamous 400-yard Mike White game against the New York Jets, followed by getting smoked by Cleveland Bro...