Category: Sports

One aspect that sets NASCAR apart from the major American team sports is that drivers can officially line up a job for next year while the current season is still playing out. The NBA or NFL would call that tampering. Defending truck series champion Sheldon Creed and others in motorsports call it moving up the ranks. Creed is the latest driver to announce plans for 2022. He’s both moving up a notch within NASCAR’s three major circuits and joining a bigger-name team. It’s a natural progression after eight victories over the past two seasons in the Camping World Truck Series. It’s also confirmation that the system works for guys like Creed and Austin Cindric. Sheldon Creed celebrates after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series In It To Win It 200 at Darlington Raceway on Sept.

Fantasy football owners everywhere were understandably upset with running back Ezekiel Elliott’s performance for the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 (well, unless you were playing against him). But given Elliott’s history, we all expect him to bounce back and have a big game in Week 2 or 3. Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk, though, is concerned for Elliott. In fact, he thinks it could be a “rough year” for the Ohio State product if he doesn’t get help from his quarterback, Dak Prescott, and the Cowboys’ amazing cast of wide receivers. Ezekiel Elliott had a poor Week 1 showing for the Cowboys No one can blame Ezekiel Elliott for the way he played in the Cowboys’ Week 1 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They were facing one of the best defensive lines in football, and he on

Lionel Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain earlier this summer (Photo by Erwin Spek/Soccrates/Getty Images)Paris Saint-Germain are unbalanced and are ‘weaker’ with Lionel Messi in the side. That’s the controversial opinion of former Liverpool and Manchester United striker Michael Owen, who was not impressed with the Ligue 1 side’s shape in a 1-1 draw against Club Brugge on Tuesday night. Mauricio Pochettino’s side failed to beat the Belgians, with Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe failing to impress up front in the disappointing draw. The former Spurs boss has struggled to find a balance between the side’s star-studded front line and the rest of the team so far this term. And Owen believes Messi’s introduction has actually made the side weaker, with the former England ace backing...

Emery’s Villarreal are also in United’s group (Picture: Getty)Villarreal boss Unai Emery insists Champions League group F is now wide open after Young Boys’ shock win over Manchester United this week. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side took the lead early on through Cristiano Ronaldo in Bern on Tuesday night but after having Aaron Wan-Bissaka sent off, conceded twice in the second-half to fall to a dismal defeat. On the same night, Villarreal were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Atalanta with the group already looking tight after just one round of games. Former Arsenal manager Emery, who led Villarreal to Europa League success after beating United in last season’s final, is wary of the threat Young Boys now pose in the group, insisting qualification is now more difficult than ever. ‘T...

Jesse Lingard produced a costly mistake as Manchester United were beaten by Young Boys (Picture: Getty Images)Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba have joined other Manchester United stars in offering support to Jesse Lingard after his mistake on Tuesday night cost the Red Devils against Young Boys. It was a shock defeat for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side after Cristiano Ronaldo gave them the lead in Switzerland, but an Aaron Wan-Bissaka red card let the home side back into the game. Young Boys equalised and then a misplaced back-pass from Lingard allowed Jordan Siebatcheu to score an injury time winner for the underdogs. Lingard, who has found game time hard to come by under Solskjaer, was left upset after his mistake, posting an emotional message on social media. ‘Last night hurt,’ ...

With Paul Pierce enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, it was only a matter of time before all the Pierce stories were told. One such story had Mark Cuban saying the Mavs had a “deal done” to acquire the Boston Celtics star after the 2007-08 season. Danny Ainge, the former Celtics President of Basketball Operations recently shot down Cuban’s story, saying none of that ever happened. Mark Cuban said the Mavericks nearly pulled off a trade for Paul Pierce It gets better. We had a deal done. We had a 3 way trade done. All teams agreed to their part of the deal. When we get on the trade call, the 3rd team killed the deal because they didnt know that a first was going to the Celtics. They chose not to do the deal at all.— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) Septe

Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid | Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesCoach Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes are The Kansas City Chiefs Andy Reid is an experienced, decorated, respected head coach. He has coached up his passing protégé, Patrick Mahomes, to become one of the best players in the NFL. In the 2021 offseason, Mahomes added a new title to his already impressive resume and is now a father. Just like Reid prepares Mahomes to go into an NFL game, he’s also helping the QB prepare for an even tougher battle: changing diapers. Patrick Mahomes welcomed a baby girl in the offseason Sterling Skye Mahomes.Pat and Brittany welcome their new baby girl @brgridiron pic.twitter.com/sX47IBmp8O— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 21, 2021 Patrick Lavon Mahomes II is in his fi

NBA 2K League The NBA 2K League recently wrapped up its season with Wizards District winning for the second year in a row, but that doesn’t mean the 2K League is totally finished for this year. The inaugural 2K League All-Star game is quickly approaching. The best NBA 2K players in the league representing the East and the West will team up on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. ET on Twitch and YouTube. The All-Star game will be a 5-on-5, best-of-three series with players competing on PS5 consoles in NBA 2K22’s Pro-Am mode. The NBA 2K League will award a $25,000 prize pool, with the winning and losing team receiving $18,000 and $7,000, respectively. We’ll be sure to find out more information in the coming days, but Dime did manage to snag an early look at the 2K League All-Star jerseys. De...

Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greatest players in NBA history. Shaq finished his illustrious career with 15 All-Star appearances, 14 All-NBA selections, four NBA Finals victories, and three Finals MVP Awards. He has also carved out a successful media career as one of the main studio analysts for NBA on TNT. O’Neal joined ESPN’s First Take to discuss a variety of NBA topics with host Stephen A. Smith. When asked who the top threat was to his Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference, Shaq gave a surprising answer. Shaquille O’Neal thinks the Utah Jazz are the biggest threat to the Los Angeles Lakers The Lakers hold a special place in Shaq’s heart. In eight seasons wearing the Purple and Gold, O’Neal averaged 27 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game while winning thre

Led by Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs‘ high-powered offense has been the most feared group in the league since 2018. The Chiefs have an elite quarterback and a bevy of weapons on the outside who can score from anywhere on the field, and they’ve been the subject of many coaches’ nightmares over the last few seasons. Even though Mahomes gets most of the praise for Kansas City’s lethal offense, none of it would be possible without the mastermind behind it all: offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. But after just one week of the 2021 NFL season, the Chiefs are reportedly in grave danger of losing Bieniemy to the newly available head coaching job at USC. Eric Bieniemy is the mastermind behind the Chiefs’ explosive offense Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes shakes ha

NFL fans had a plethora of questions about Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers this offseason. “Is Rodgers going to retire?” “Are the Packers going to trade him?” No one knew what the future held until the reigning NFL MVP showed up to training camp. However, once Green Bay took the field for Week 1, the team’s play somehow brought up even more questions, as the New Orleans Saints essentially dominated in every area of the game. But Rodgers doesn’t seem worried. In fact, the legendary QB seems almost as cool as he did when he calmed Packers fans’ nerves by telling them to “R-E-L-A-X.” The Saints dominated Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Week 1 The Week 1 contest between the Packers and New Orleans Saints wasn’t even competitive. New Orleans led 17-3 at halftime before ou

Michael Jordan called Scottie Pippen his best teammate of all time in ESPN’s The Last Dance docuseries. The Chicago Bulls legends dominated the ’90s together, winning six championships in an eight-year span and going undefeated in the Finals. Not only were Jordan and Pippen nearly unstoppable as a basketball duo, but they were also brothers off the court, so much so that MJ gave Pip an incredible Christmas gift in 1997 to show how much he appreciated him. Michael Jordan gave Scottie Pippen his red Ferrari According to Chicago reporter Melissa Isaacson, Jordan gave Pippen his red Ferrari as a Christmas gift in 1997 since he knew how much the small forward wanted it. Initially, His Airness planned to give Pippen a box of cigars, but he reconsidered after seeing the gift his part

Kendrick Perkins believes LeBron James (L) and Anthony Davis have a shot at taking the Lakers past the 70-win mark this season. | Robert Gauthier/ Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesIf you watched the 2020–21 Lakers, you might need a program for this season’s edition. It’s easier to count who remains from that roster rather than roll through the encyclopedia of players that departed. James and Davis are back. Or, and they re-signed restricted free agent Talen Horton-Tucker. End of list. Besides ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins is excited about the 2021–22 Los Angeles Lakers. The team features three of his former superstar teammates (Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James), so there’s likely some bias. And despite the club having an average age closer to AARP eligibility than

Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is aware of a lucrative quirk of boxing: It’s easy to get paid for losing. That’s how he got started as a 12-year-old in the first place, by his own admission. That Pacquiao ended up having a long, successful run as a pro fighter was due to his developed talents; psychologically, he was always ready to lose. However, there’s one way he won’t take a big L for big money. The recent run of stunt fights, from celebrity bouts to YouTubers taking on retired fighters, has garnered no love from the thoughtful boxing great. It’s a grim future for boxing if these are the only draws for the sport. Pacquiao wants no part in the ongoing circus. Manny Pacquiao isn’t impressed by Jake and Logan Paul’s feats in the ring Manny Pacquiao | YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/GAMMA-RAPHOIn a