Browsing: All news

He’d never agree with this characterization, in part because Aaron Rodgers likely would never agree with anything I’d ever have to say. But with the NFL’s annual free-agency negotiating window open, this is not a subject for fair debate. Rodgers officially is holding the Packers and Jets hostage.

One of the best things about the magic of the NCAA Tournament is it usually delivers the greatest Thursday in all of sports.
From late morning on an otherwise routine day of the week until late night spins the first round of March Madness on day one. This Thursday could continue to be like no other.

There’s nothing like watching March Madness in person. OutKick will be in Birmingham and Greensboro for the first two rounds. Join us by getting your own seats through StubHub, the easiest place to buy/sell tickets to all the biggest games.

NCAA Tournament Top 5 First-Round Matchups
No.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was just as upset as every other Rutgers fan on Monday as the Scarlet Knights were left out of the field of 68 for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Despite being ranked 35th in college basketball analyst Ken Pom’s rankings, having a NET ranking of 40 and picking up victories over Purdue, Northwestern and Penn State, Rutgers was out of the tournament even as teams with lower NET rankings made it into the Big Dance.
Murphy tweeted his displeasure with the NCAA Selection Committee.

The reported move frees up cap space for New England ahead of free agency.
The Patriots are trading tight end Jonnu Smith to the Falcons, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. New England gets a seventh-round pick in return and the team clears some cap space ahead of free agency.  
Smith was the No. 2 tight end for the Patriots behind Hunter Henry and he appeared in 14 games this past season, starting in eight of them. He caught 27 passes for 245 yards but failed to score a touchdown. Now with the Falcons, he’ll likely be behind former first-round pick Kyle Pitts.

The reigning champion, South Carolina, takes the No. 1 seed in this region.
Selection Sunday took place on March 12, meaning the women’s NCAA tournament is on the cusp of beginning.
The reigning champions and the now No. 1 seed in the Greenville 1 region South Carolina will take on No. 16 Norfolk State in the first round. South Carolina went 32–0 this season, becoming the only undefeated team during the year. 
The Greenville 1 region begins Wednesday, though, as Illinois and Mississippi State face each other to earn the No. 11 spot and matchup vs. No. 6 Creighton.

The flagship radio station of Syracuse University athletics parted ways with a host for being too negative on the air.
Brent Axe, a radio personality for ESPN Radio in Syracuse was fired over the weekend by Galaxy Media Partners, the local radio affiliate that hosted his show “On the Block with Brent Axe.”
The reason given for his firing? He was being too negative on his radio show with his commentary about Syracuse athletics.
But there’s a twist.

Seattle knew what it had in its quarterback before much of the public did.
More from Albert Breer: How the Daniel Jones Contract Negotiation Came Down to a Pinkie Swear Four Minutes Before the Deadline | Inside the Bears–Panthers Trade: Deal Was All About QBs for Both Teams | NFL Free Agency 2023: Who’s Going to Land the Big-Money Deals
John Schneider likes to look at the success of Geno Smith, and the Seahawks, in their first year post–Russell Wilson as a triumph of the culture that’s been built in the Pacific Northwest over the past 13 years.

NCAA tournament upsets are inevitable. Here’s who we think have great shots to advance in Round 1.

Photo by Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images
The Rockets need to maximize the Alperen Sengun-Jabari Smith Jr. fit for their future. Here’s how it’s going
When you’re the 15-52 Houston Rockets and your team owns the second-worst record in basketball, there isn’t really much you can hang your hat on.
With that said, one of the few bright spots in the series of unfortunate events that has been this season for the Rockets is the emergence of second-year big man Alperen Sengun into one of the most promising players of the 2021 draft class.

Manager Mark DeRosa hopes to bounce back from the second-worst loss by a U.S team in tournament history, but he is hamstrung by pitching staff constrictions and a lack of star power.
PHOENIX — Justin Verlander, Dylan Cease, Alek Manoah, Shane McClanahan, Shane Bieber …
Team USA may have the deepest lineup they have ever assembled for the World Baseball Classic. They may have three MVPs at the top of their batting order. They may have so much star power they carry $2 billion worth of active contracts. But there is something they don’t have.