var Page 9 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Another year, another Chris Paul injury
One of my favorite title teams ever was the 2006 Miami Heat, and it wasn’t because of Dwyane Wade or Shaquille O’Neal. There were three elder players on that squad who I thought deserved the validation that comes with a ring, and it was great seeing happiness ooze out of Gary Payton, Jason Williams,...
Pep Guardiola is about to complete his masterpiece
My brother had a college friend who had an overarching theory of Led Zeppelin. This isn’t much of a surprise, as I assume college students for some 40 years all had their own theory of Led Zeppelin. I remember telling a friend that I had to have a serious talk with him, made it sound really grave, t...
Just two breaks are all it takes
With all apologies to Dua Lipa, it takes more than one kiss (I feel like if I met Dua Lipa I’d have an overwhelming urge to apologize for a lot of things, BUT THAT’S NOT WHY YOU CALLED). ...
The beginning of the end starts for the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight
In the latest exhibit that the hockey gods come with a wicked sense of humor, the Toronto Maple Leafs are now tied for the longest streak of making the playoffs in the league. Thanks to the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Nashville Predators all heading for the cottage of the damned th...
CM Punk is gaslighting AEW
Here we are again. The whispers have become a rumble. CM Punk is on his way (back) to AEW. Except this time, he’s kind of gaslighting his way there. Which is strange for someone who once hated leaks to the wrestling media so much he decided to start a fight over it....
Cody Rhodes proves it doesn’t matter what you actually say
There’s a bit in my favorite stand-up special of all time, Suzy Eddie Izzard’s Dress To Kill, where she mocks most Americans for not knowing the lyrics to the national anthem but also advises them how to get around it. It’s mostly about how one looks and how one sounds, not really what is actually b...
AEW All Access doesn’t want us to know where the lines are
I’ll get my biases out of the way up top. I’ll never fully buy reality TV as “reality.” It’s hard for me to believe that anyone can act fully natural with a camera around, even if they say that after a while of being followed by them they forget they’re there. Goes for Hard Knocks, too. The conversa...
Is it finally time for the Toronto Blue Jays?
Once the Toronto Maple Leafs get Andrei Vasilevskiy’d in the first round again, it’s not like the angst level in the T.O. will fade all that much through the summer months. That’s because the Toronto Blue Jays have reached the same threshold as the Leafs passed a few years ago, where you go from you...
The best NBA action you missed last night
Mavs v. Pelicans: The Mavericks mounted a furious comeback against the Pelicans, to try and overcome a 25-point fourth-quarter comeback but fell just short. They went 10-18 from the 3-point line but still ended up losing the game 113-106. The Mavericks’ performance behind the arc explains how they g...
Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk refuses to shake hands with Russian opponent after win
As her father and grandfather remained trapped in Kyiv with war raging around them, Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk was making headlines, taking down Russian competitor Varvara Gracheva in the finals of the ATX Open on Sunday. After winning the match in two sets (6-3, 7-5), Kostyuk shook the ump...
Things you wouldn’t have believed in 2018: The Ball bros will be sympathetic figures
If Lavar Ball was to be believed, NBA fans should be nearing phase two of the Ball-aissance. Lonzo is in his sixth year, LaMelo is in his third, and LiAngelo, well, if things had panned out, he’d be somewhere in between. But LiAngelo currently has no entries on his Basketball Reference page, Lonzo i...
These are the top 10 young cores in the NBA right now
The “middle class” of the NBA is slowly eroding. Surprisingly, it’s not totally a bad thing. Almost every team has a talented young core with potential, raising parity within the NBA. Even the teams at the bottom of the standings have enough young players to have something to look forward to in two ...
The Toronto Maple Leafs load up for their first-round exit
The Atlantic Division in the NHL was already a hell gauntlet. With the Boston Bruins suddenly turning into a team of frost giants that can skate (then again, it’s probably likely frost giants could always skate, given the conditions in the Jotunheim), it’s only become more so. It’s just three teams ...
Here's what you need to know as the Champions League returns
It only feels like the Champions League is late in returning for its knockout stage, but this is the normal time of year. What isn’t normal is cramming a World Cup in between the group stages and the knockouts, which makes it seem like this season has already gone on forever even when most leagues a...
Passing pioneers: A list of the Black quarterbacks in Super Bowl history
Sixteen years after Lovie Smith and the Chicago Bears faced off against Tony Dungy and his Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI, making history as the first two Black head coaches to reach that game, Jalen Hurts and his Philadelphia Eagles and Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are making hi...
The best foods to bring to your Super Bowl party
There is nothing more stressful than knowing you have a group of people coming over in 20 minutes, but your dip in the oven takes 40 minutes. Or that you might be showing up empty-handed to the pot-luck style watch party, and you are hoping no one notices. In any case, here is a guide to bringing an...
21 Jump(shot) Street: Virginia basketball coach suits up, impersonates 13-year-old JV player
Adult sensibilities don’t belong in youth sports. Grown people take sports way too seriously. Countless times overzealous parents, coaches, and spectators have tainted the purity of amateur sports. An assistant coach on the staff of the junior varsity basketball team in Portsmouth, Virginia recently...
Why there are roughing-the-passer penalties and why there aren't answers
It’s a belabored point by now. We’ve spent enough time covering it. But every time an NFL game turns into a farce when someone has to turn to a backup QB, or wonder in vain why they didn’t dress a third, we get back to it. We rant and yell when we watch our team on the ass end of a game-changing rou...
The NFC Championship Game’s weakest links
The Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers have been the NFC’s two-headed monsters all season. For the majority of this season, they’ve been the kaijus of the conference. However, the bigger they are, the harder the fall — and one of these behemoths has to end the weekend with a gaping hole in ...
The case for trading LeBron James for Evan Mobley
I’ve seen kiddie pools deeper than the unseasoned jambalaya VP Rob Pelinka has assembled for the Lakers around LeBron James. As a consequence, James’ enduring existence on a sub-.500 borderline playoff squad has created a rift where trade speculation festers and boils. During a recent appearance on ...