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Professional athletes play sports for two reasons: They play to make money and to win games. There is no other incentive necessary, or that would even work, to get the maximum effort out of players. And what would certainly be a terrible idea, is adding a playoff game," in which the result is the winning team...Read more...

No matter how Jordan Love's season ended, it was an unmitigated success. He put himself in position to secure a bag from Green Bay this offseason, obliterated the Dallas Cowboys with a 3-touchdown performance in his playoff debut, and was an all around feel-good story despite the unhappy ending. But Love does comes...Read more...

The San Francisco 49ers advanced to their fourth NFC championship game in five years after escaping a Green Bay Packers onslaught, 24-21. While they are the favorites to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, it's clearly going to take a herculean effort by Christian McCaffrey to carry this offense to a...Read more...

The future of Sports Illustrated is up in the air as The Arena Group laid off a portion of its staff on Friday, with the rest expected to be let go in three months' time, according to Front Office Sports.Read more...

C.J. Stroud became the latest rookie QB to win a playoff game for his team. The Houston Texans shellacked the Cleveland Browns, 45-14, and the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft looked terrific.Read more...

The San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers square off in the first 1 seed-vs.-7 seed matchup in NFL history. The two teams will set a record for their 10th playoff meeting, with the Packers looking to even a series that's spanned 27 years. In a rivalry that's racked up plenty of historic moments, here's a look back...Read more...

The best duo in the NBA put on a show against the best team in the East on Friday night. Denver's 102-100 win over Boston snapped the Celtics' perfect mark at TD Garden this season, and 27-game home-winning streak overall. Nikola Joki and Jamal Murray combined for 69 points, 20 rebounds and 14 assists to remind the...Read more...

Sports are about numbers, and that isn't just because scores are kept. A player's height and weight matter, they're ages, too. But the best moments are when things occur that haven't happened in a long time, as sports are also a marker of time. We just witnessed the best seven days that a place with two peninsulas has...Read more...

We're halfway through the NHL season, which is now meant as a device to make everyone look stupid. Or really, to make me look stupid, which isn't all that hard, because I'm stupid. After 41 games, we should have an idea of who is what and who's going where. But in the Eastern Conference, we really don't. There are...Read more...

In a lot of ways, feverishly watching the flight route of a plane that wasn't everything it was cracked up to be is a pretty nice metaphor for the Toronto Blue Jays' offseason and outlook. The Jays knew Shohei Ohtani wasn't on that flight, but their fans certainly didn't. That doesn't mean that the Jays themselves...Read more...

Michael Jordan won a widow getting booed. My colleague Stephen Knox covered this yesterday, the booing of Jerry Krause's widow Thelma during the Chicago Bulls' Ring of Honor ceremony on Friday, and he isn't wrong. It's another feather" in the cap" of Jerry Reinsdorf, though he wouldn't have been involved in the...Read more...

When it was announced last week that the Seattle Seahawks were moving in a different direction at head coach, the news caught many by surprise. It was framed as though Pete Carroll and the organization had mutually agreed that Carroll would step out of the way and into an advisor's role. But now with roughly a week...Read more...

Is Gary Sheffield more Hall of Fame worthy than Alex Rodriguez, despite the fact that both are inextricably linked to performing enhancing drugs?Read more...

The Las Vegas Raiders are finalizing a deal to make Antonio Pierce their full-time head coach.Read more...

Before you jump down our throat for ranking by position in a positionless NBA, take a deep breath. It's fun. So, let it happen, and let's talk hoops. The rest of the world is catching up to America's basketball dominance. Out of the five positions, four of our picks are not from America. On the flip side, all but one...Read more...

As if on cue, one of soccer's biggest stars on one of the world's biggest clubs went down with injury in the Africa Cup of Nations. While there's not a diagnosis yet, Mohamed Salah limped off just before the half in Egypt's draw against Ghana on Thursday. This comes a day after Kylian Mbappe warned of NBA-style load...Read more...

Here is some sports trivia for you: Did you know that the legendary college basketball head coach with the most wins in the history of the sport, and who also reignited USA Basketball, was about to get their record bested by a legendary college basketball coach who started world domination for Team USA Basketball?Read more...

Three of the best quarterbacks in NFL history will take the field for Divisional Round weekend, each with a different narrative surrounding him. Patrick Mahomes is participating in the first road playoff game of his career on Sunday. He is Michael Jordan in 1993 and 1998, having to rely on his own greatness like never...Read more...

The Australian Open is already kind of geared for weirdos, at least on these shores, given that you have to sacrifice sleep and any usefulness the next day to enjoy it. But this year's edition has been off the rails, making it even more worth it for those of us who are prepared to throw ourselves off our axis for a...Read more...

After the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs, Baker Mayfield and Jared Goff have etched their names in history, joining a short list of quarterbacks to win a postseason game with two different teams.Read more...

The word from ESPN insiders is that there is no chance Zach LaVine will be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. There have been issues with him and the Chicago Bulls dating back to early last season. Last week on NBA Today, Brian Windhorst said that if the Bulls could trade LaVine in a moment's notice they would, and...Read more...

Somebody once said, Don't call it a comeback, I've been here for years." But in the case of former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury, his potential return to the NFL might be an unexpected return soon. As reported by Adam Schefter on Thursday, the Chicago Bears are interested in Kingsbury because projected...Read more...

The idea of the Saudi Pro League being a looming threat always felt just a touch out there, even if it had come to more prominence last summer. What it certainly looked like was a fertile dumping ground for clubs to offload players who were coming around to an age where a significant transfer fee wasn't possible,...Read more...

In the void left behind by Bill Belichick, Joe Mazzulla's introverted-ness has risen to the occasion. And no, I'm not talking about the Boston Celtics giving the New England area a front-runner they desperately need. Mazzulla is the boorish head coach of a major professional franchise that the affable Jerod Mayo...Read more...

The path back to winning for Bill Belichick is as easy as parroting Tom Brady's search for a contending roster following his departure from the New England Patriots. Like Brady at 42, the 71-year-old Belichick doesn't have too many of his best years left either, which is why the QB targeted Tampa Bay.Read more...

We're halfway through the NHL season, which is now meant as a device to make everyone look stupid. Or really, to make me look stupid, which isn't all that hard, because I'm stupid. After 41 games, we should have an idea of who is what and who's going where. But in the Eastern Conference, we really don't. There are...Read more...

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Last week, my colleague Sean Beckwith wrote about the NFL possibly buying a stake in ESPN, and the potential for the self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader in Sports to become nothing more than the PR arm of the most popular league in America (at least, more than it already is). Yesterday, over at The Nation, Dave Zirin wrot...Read more...

Good news, Chiefs fans. Shawn Hochuli will be the referee for Kansas City's AFC Divisional round game against the Buffalo Bills.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has had one heck of a season, but all he's accomplished could be nothing but a memory if they stumble against the Houston Texans this week. Jackson was so good this year that he could become the first QB since Steve McNair in 2003 to win the MVP award with fewer than 25...Read more...

The 2023 NFL regular season is over, and the league's defensive leaders have been decided.Read more...

The 2023 NFL regular season is over, and the league's offensive leaders have been decided.Read more...

The NBA trade market is open for business and one team in particular would like you to know that it is jarringly open to offers. The Portland Trail Blazers might not have issued a news release saying as much, yet when your starting center misses a game due to too much ice, the telltale signs of rebuilding apathy have...Read more...

While the NFL is trying to make its game safer by banning helmet-first hits to mitigate concussions, it seems that the low hit by defenders is the new high hit.Read more...

So much about sports is often about who's next. But ironically, over the last few years, we've seen how multiple team's inability to look to the future in one certain area has hurt more than it's helped. From Nick Saban and Jay Wright to what Tom Izzo has recently shared, it's clear that focusing on your next head...Read more...

It seems that the right only wants athletes to stick to sports - unless the non-sports talk is something they like.Read more...

Winter is throwing quite a wrench in the professional sports calendar. Outside of rainouts in baseball, weather does not cause many game cancellations. The worst months of the year for weather in the United States are usually January-March. That is hockey and basketball season and those sports are played indoors....Read more...

When studying bewildering decisions that Jerry Jones makes - like deciding to keep the consistent playoff dry heave Mike McCarthy, the guy who could only get to one Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers - it's important to remember how he and the Cowboys got here. It was a long time ago now and a lot of NFL fans might not...Read more...

The Buffalo Bills are the greatest what-if franchise in NFL history. They've repeatedly brushed up against greatness without it rubbing off on them. Next month, Buffalo is approaching the 30th anniversary of Marv Levy's K-Gun Bills' fourth Super Bowl loss.Read more...

The calendar has not yet reached February, but the Indiana Pacers have decided to kick the trade deadline into high gear. The No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference made a win-now move with darkhorse MVP candidate Tyrese Haliburton currently sidelined with a hamstring injury. Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowksi, the Pacers...Read more...

Jerod Mayo won his introductory press conference. Robert Kraft told the media that it was instinct that led him to choose Mayo as the new head coach of the New England Patriots. In his first public moment in this new role, Mayo's message was one of both collaboration and boundaries. Once the staff and front office are...Read more...

Mark Davis is making this coaching situation more complicated than it needs to be. Interim head coach Antonio Pierce is the obvious permanent choice. This really is the hire that should've happened already. The odds of the Raiders luring one of this year's top candidates to Las Vegas are slim. Pierce is the best and...Read more...

It looks like Saints fans should expect more of the same come 2024. New Orleans Saints executive vice president and general manager Mickey Loomis held his annual end-of-season press conference Wednesday. Despite firing longtime offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael on Tuesday, Loomis remained steadfast in his decision...Read more...

Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevi has died at the age of 46, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on X Wednesday afternoon.Read more...

The Raptors' fire sale continues. The Indiana Pacers are finalizing a trade to acquire Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, according to a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Woj, the Pacers will send Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora and three first-round picks in the deal. The New Orleans Pelicans will...Read more...

In a lot of ways, feverishly watching the flight route of a plane that wasn't everything it was cracked up to be is a pretty nice metaphor for the Toronto Blue Jays' offseason and outlook. The Jays knew Shohei Ohtani wasn't on that flight, but their fans certainly didn't. That doesn't mean that the Jays themselves...Read more...

The Baltimore Ravens will play their first playoff game of the season this coming weekend after securing a bye due to being the AFC's top seed. They finished the season 13-4, and despite not having key players like tight end Mark Andrews or wide receiver Devin Duvernay, they trampled almost everyone around them.Read more...

The only streaming platform fans want a sporting event aired on is one in which they already have a subscription. That's why, on the surface, Amazon buying a minority stake in Bally Sports is a rare win for the people who make these franchises profitable. (No, not the owners. The fans.) The move announced Wednesday...Read more...

The funny thing about Gio Reyna, and more to the point, all the noise about him - the controversy with his family and Gregg Berhalter, the anticipation of any appearance with the national team, the confidence that he's the country's most talented player - is that it is built on such a tiny foundation. Everyone has...Read more...