zac Page 7 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
<i>Hard Knocks Episode 4</i>: Finally, something other than Aaron Rodgers
I would estimate that more than half of the fourth episode of Hard Knocks had nothing to do with Aaron Rodgers. Outside of an extended practice sequence that portrayed him as a conquering hero for turning the offense around after a poor drive, his lecture to Zach Wilson about Bluetooth EMF waves, an...
HBO's 'BS High' doc is somehow more truthful than 'Swamp Kings'
I normally have a firm policy against critiquing any work that I have not entirely consumed. That is an edict that I was almost completely comfortable breaking away from as soon as I saw the trailer for Netflix’s Swamp Kings. Everything in it suggests a somewhat compelling watch, except for the firs...
Newcomers at USC, Notre Dame could impact College Football Playoff
Notre Dame and USC both debuted Saturday, and with it, a couple roster additions who could alter the playoff picture this season. Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman had as many touchdowns as incompletions (four) for the Irish during a 42-3 romp over Navy in Ireland. Trojan true freshman Zachariah Bran...
Hard Knocks: New York Jets rookies are thoroughly unentertaining
I so badly wanted to focus this column on Robert Saleh’s competitor speech. If there are four different levels of competitors, one of those four levels cannot be titled “competitor.” By saying there are different levels of competitor means that no matter the level, everyone is a competitor. That spe...
Indianapolis Colts putting on a clinic on how not to develop a rookie QB
The quote that keeps coming to mind every time a piece of news comes out of Indianapolis Colts camp is from Javier Bardem in Skyfall: “What is this if not betrayal? She sent you after me knowing you are not ready, knowing you will likely die. Mommy was very bad.” Anthony Richardson in this case in J...
If ever there was a year for unbridled Jets enthusiasm, this is it
If you are or have ever been a New York Jets fan, this is the year to double, triple, and quadruple down on the team. If you quit the franchise like Fireman Ed, this is the year for a reunion. This year, more than any since Broadway Joe, is the year to root for gangrene. ...
Aaron Rodgers and the familiar NFL faces in new places
After silly season, and training camps around the country are well underway, most of the big moves of the NFL year have already taken place. Those who hoped for greener pastures found what they believe is an upgrade from their last situation, despite no proof to the contrary, yet. Some of the bigges...
Do you know just how bad the Colorado Rockies have been?
It’s a baseball axiom that the Colorado Rockies are clueless, helpless, directionless. They don’t have any stars, they don’t have any prospects, and they don’t have any idea how to get or produce either. Their ballpark presents a unique set of problems, but the Rockies are certainly not the organiza...
Aaron Donald rules over the institution that is John Madden Football
The release of Madden NFL ‘24 is just days away, a massive event in the gaming world. This year five NFL players will enter the season with 99 overall ratings; Aaron Donald is once again at the head of the class for a record seventh time in his career. With that, he passed Hall of Fame quarterback P...
The Bengals had better hope Joe Burrow doesn’t have one of those NBA strains
Super Bowl Championship expectations are rare for the Cincinnati Bengals. Before Ja’Marr Chase was drafted they hadn’t won a playoff game since Bo Jackson played football. In 2023, the sports books have the Bengals as one of the top-five favorites to win the Super Bowl. However, they are currently d...
The Tampa Bay Rays are running out of dudes, and ESPN somehow becomes more of a farce
The Rays might be the best developmental organization in baseball, staying on top of an AL East where they’re constantly outspent by factors of three by their competitors by consistently bringing dudes through their system and onto the MLB roster. Or they toast other organizations in trades and turn...
Feel free to use the NFL's Hall of Fame Game as background noise
Aaron Rodgers will be making his national television debut in New York Jets colors on Thursday, but not in an actual uniform. NBC will surely keep its cameras on him throughout the Hall of Fame Game, but his only physical interaction with the Cleveland Browns will be his post-game dap with Deshaun W...
The Oakland A’s might not even be the worst team this year, let alone all time
Coming into the 2023 season, many thought that the Oakland A’s had the potential to be not just the worst team in baseball this year, but the worst of all time....
No, $262.5M doesn’t mean more pressure on Justin Herbert
Like Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert became the highest-paid player in his league, inking a five-year $262.5 million extension with the team. The initial takeaway is largely the same even if the metrics by which they’re measured are diff...
These NFL teams haven't been on HBO’s <i>Hard Knocks</i>
Football season is near, which means HBO is gearing up to give us another season of all-access on Hard Knocks that won’t feature anything worth seeing....
Deebo Samuel chucks up deuces on national radio host Zach Gelb
Some days you wake up, and you’re just not in the mood for anybody’s shenanigans, no matter how innocent they might be. San Francisco 49ers All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel must’ve been in one of these moods when he appeared on “The Zach Gelb Show” on CBS Sports Radio. During the interview, which...
If the New York Jets can’t revive Hard Knocks, HBO needs to cancel it
Congratulations to the New York Jets, the winner of a prize no NFL team wants: The honor and privilege of being on this season’s Hard Knocks. The show, which has gone from one of HBO’s bell cows to regularly scheduled programming, has lacked purpose for years primarily because teams and the NFL aren...
College basketball is still the best route to the NBA, but maybe not for the stars
Of the 58 players selected in the 2023 NBA Draft, 46 went the traditional route: They played collegiately. NBA teams have drafted a handful of players outside of that pathway for years, especially in the second round. Nearly 80 percent of players selected coming through the college ranks might appea...
The Columbus Blue Jackets hate their players
In the discussion of most irrelevant franchises in North American sports, the Columbus Blue Jackets would be high on the list, if not on top of it, if anyone could remember them enough to add them. You’d think they’d take some inspiration from one of their former fellow whos-its, the Denver Nuggets,...