Month: December 2024

The NFL regular season is not quite finished. There are a few issues to finalize in Week 18 but not many. Twelve of the 14 playoff spots are decided, and the Broncos and Buccaneers can clinch the two remaining spots with wins. So the Power Rankings are looking ahead to what’s next for every team. […]

The famous wrestler Sting, in describing his character change in 1996 from a clear babyface to a darker, enigmatic character, offered the perfect axiom about predicting the future. Noted the Stinger: “The only thing that’s for sure about Sting is nothing’s for sure.” This would be the same for sports media. There are some trends […]

Baylor plays LSU on Tuesday night in the Texas Bowl, Dave Aranda’s team looking for its seventh straight win to finish the season in a matchup that sets the table for the Fiesta Bowl quarterfinal. The Bears bumping right up against a College Football Playoff game is fitting because one might argue Baylor could be […]

Manchester United’s final game of 2024 felt like the moment the big top on the Old Trafford circus started to sink. Before now, United’s calamities in the last decade or so have been incubated to a tier most other clubs can only dream of: finishing bottom of a Champions League group; coming eighth in the […]

TYSONS, Va. — Byron Leftwich slips into the Northern Virginia brunch spot unrecognized and unbothered. Lean and broad-shouldered at 6-foot-5, the former NFL quarterback looks like he could still play even though his 45th birthday looms in a couple of weeks. After a nine-year playing career, Leftwich made a meteoric rise up the coaching ranks. […]

MINNEAPOLIS — The realization of what it was going to take to fully become a Minnesota Timberwolf came slowly for Donte DiVincenzo. No matter how often he said that he was happy to be in Minnesota, no matter how welcoming his new teammates and coaches were to a player they so desperately needed, DiVincenzo could […]

Offensive linemen have the most thankless job in the NFL. Go stand in that guy’s way, and if you do a good job, we’ll never talk about it. Screw up and, best case, we’ll publicly shame you. Or we’ll blame you for a loss or injury. The big lugs need a hug, and that’s why […]

Sam Darnold’s Minnesota Vikings won again, for the ninth week in a row and the 14th time in 16 games during this preposterously purple season. Of course they did. When the Vikings returned to their locker room, they hoisted Darnold onto their shoulders and tossed him around like drunken concertgoers, showering their quarterback with water […]

You get only one opportunity to turn 40 years old. LeBron James does it Monday in supernatural fashion, remaining an athletic marvel as he steps into the big 4-0 during his 22nd NBA season. While his game may not reach its familiar peaks as often as its used to, doing what LeBron is doing this […]