D.K. Metcalf Blows the Lid Off Antarctica: "I think there is another civilization inside of Earth," said D.K. Metcalf. "Why can’t you just book a trip to Antarctica? ... [W]hy is there a meeting between every world leader of every country in Antarctica, specifically?"

posted by rcade to football at 09:59 AM - 0 comments

SEC Threatens to Expel LSU: A vote by two-thirds of the schools in the SEC could take place Thursday that would kick LSU out of the conference after 93 years. It probably won't come to that but SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is mad enough to speak the words "lack of institutional control," which by coincidence was the motto of SMU in the 1980s. But in Latin: "defectus moderationis institutionalis."

posted by rcade to football at 05:54 PM - 3 comments

Enter the SportsFilter NFL Pickem: Our long-running NFL Pickem is back starting with a Wednesday-night opener of the Seattle Seahawks hosting the New England Patriots. That is a weird day to play a football game. Pick the winners and spread, making any and all a stone cold lead pipe lock to heighten the contradictions between victors and vanquished. Good luck!

posted by rcade to football at 09:51 AM - 8 comments

Clippers Lose 5 First-Round Picks for Cheating Salary Cap: The NBA has taken five first-round picks from the Los Angeles Clippers and $30 million, as well as suspending owner Steve Ballmer for one year, for circumventing the salary cap when signing Kawhi Leonard four years ago. The league found that Leonard was rewarded with over $28 million in side deals orchestrated by the team. Leonard also has to give back $700,000.

posted by rcade to basketball at 04:59 PM - 11 comments

Join the SportsFilter Fantasy Premier League: The Premier League kicks off tomorrow afternoon. If you're playing Fantasy Premier League, use the link to add yourself to our league. You can be in multiple leagues and we all pick from the same pool of players with a 100 million pound budget.

posted by rcade to soccer at 05:37 PM - 0 comments

Dodgers Acquire Tarik Skubal for 3 Top Prospects: The Los Angeles Dodgers, already loaded, have traded top-30 prospects Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith for Tarik Skubal. The best team in baseball adds the best pitcher in baseball. Bah humbug.

posted by rcade to baseball at 12:29 PM - 1 comment

NFL Coach Kyle Shanahan Injured in Car Crash: San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan broke three ribs, a hand and his nose when his Tesla collided with an SUV earlier this month in downtown Palo Alto. Police issued no citations. Shanahan is still experiencing concussion symptoms two weeks later and hasn't fully resumed work.

posted by rcade to football at 09:01 AM - 0 comments

LeBron Chooses the 76ers: After considering retirement, LeBron James has chosen to sign a two-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, where he joins Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown. Philly were last NBA champs in 1983 behind Dr. J and Moses Malone. LeBron's salary is only $4 million a year unless I'm mistaken but he makes $80 million a year in endorsement money so he might be OK financially.

posted by rcade to basketball at 01:31 PM - 6 comments

New York Knicks Are NBA Champions: For the first time since 1973, the New York Knicks are the champions of the National Basketball Association. Jalen Brunson scored 45 points as New York erased a 31-15 deficit against the San Antonio Spurs. No lead was safe for the Spurs in these Finals.

posted by rcade to basketball at 11:37 PM - 5 comments

NBA Playoff Pickem: NBA Finals: The New York Knicks play the San Antonio Spurs in game 1 of the NBA Finals tonight at Frost Bank Center. Pick the series winner, number of games and a bunch of props. BornIcon is leading the pickem standings with one round to go.

posted by rcade to basketball at 03:13 PM - 10 comments

Enter the SportsFilter CFL Pickem: The Canadian Football League kicks off Thursday night when the Montreal Alouettes visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. SportsFilter is running a CFL Pickem contest that covers the 21 weeks of the regular season and the playoffs. Make your picks.

posted by rcade to football at 09:40 AM - 6 comments

NASCAR Driver Kyle Busch Dies of Illness at 41: NASCAR driver Kyle Busch died today after being hospitalized hours earlier with a severe illness. The two-time NASCAR champion was 41 and won a truck series race just six days ago, savoring the win in the post-race interview by saying "you never know when the last one is."

posted by rcade to auto racing at 07:08 PM - 3 comments

NBA Playoff Pickem: Conference Finals: The San Antonio Spurs play the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight in game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers face the New York Knicks tomorrow in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Pick the series winner, games required and the usual props. Good luck!

posted by rcade to basketball at 02:13 PM - 10 comments

Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini Does Not Matter: If an NFL coach had an extramarital relationship with a national NFL reporter, do we have to care? No, argues Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal. "If it was my job to cover extramarital affairs about owners, executives, players, coaches, I’d never cover the games," he said. The argument that it matters because people care about it is circular. The public is titillated by all kinds of things that don't matter.

posted by rcade to football at 10:53 AM - 2 comments

NBA Playoff Pickem Round 2: Conference Semifinals: The second round of the NBA Playoffs begins tonight with Sixers/Knicks at 7 p.m. Eastern and Wolves/Spurs weirdly 90 minutes later. Hey, Adam Silver, you can schedule doubleheaders in February with no overlap but not the playoffs? BornIcon leads the pickem standings by 8 over ic23b. Make your picks.

posted by rcade to basketball at 02:55 PM - 10 comments

Orlando Magic Fire Jamahl Mosley After Playoff Collapse: Seven days ago, the Orlando Magic took a 3-1 lead in the first round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons. Today they are out of the playoffs after a collapse that included a 45-minute stretch of game 6 in which the team scored no points. Head coach Jamahl Mosley has been invited to succeed elsewhere.

posted by rcade to basketball at 11:25 AM - 3 comments

Philadelphia Eagles Draft Pick Has Never Played Football: In the seventh round, the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Uar Bernard, an athlete from a small town in Nigeria with no football experience at any level. "I've not played football, but I've gone through some drills," he said. It helps that he is 6 foot 4 and 306 pounds with 6% body fat, ran the 40 in 4.63 seconds and jumped 39 inches at International Player Pathway Pro Day. That 40 time is the fastest ever by a 300 pounder, according to YardBarker.

posted by rcade to football at 12:03 PM - 4 comments

Bill Belichick Had No Players Drafted from North Carolina: Considered by many the greatest coach in NFL history, Bill Belichick didn't produce a single draft-worthy player in his tumultuous first year at the helm of North Carolina. He's going into this season with 61 new players, four-star freshman quarterback Travis Burgess and offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.

posted by rcade to football at 09:05 AM - 4 comments

Enter the NBA Playoff Pickem: The NBA playoffs tip off Saturday at 1 p.m. with the Toronto Raptors facing the Cleveland Cavaliers. Our playoff pickem is here and will get its final two teams tonight. Pick the series winners and four props. Good luck.

posted by rcade to basketball at 10:24 AM - 11 comments

NBA Pickem Week 18: Magic Time: Another packed week of NBA on the tube. Games to pick begin Thursday night with a doubleheader on Prime, starting with the Houston Rockets at the resurgent Orlando Magic. Desmond Bane is playing like a league MVP lately. We all had pretty good weeks, though a blown lock on Nuggets over Warriors prevented Ufez from winning the week. Make your picks.

posted by rcade to basketball at 12:54 PM - 8 comments

Sheffield Wednesday Earliest Relegation in EFL History: Sheffield Wednesday became the first team in the history of the English Football League to be relegated in February after a loss to rivals Sheffield United on Sunday. The Owls were hit with 18 points in penalties and transfer embargoes because their former owner let player wages and taxes go unpaid. They're still waiting to emerge from administration with a new owner.

posted by rcade to soccer at 11:43 AM - 1 comment

NBA Pickem Week 17: Two Months to the Playoffs: The NBA returns tomorrow with Pistons/Knicks and Celtics/Warriors on Prime and eight national games in total. In the pickem standings I'm leading and hit a perfect dunk on the Spurs over the Warriors by 13. Call me Mac McClung.

posted by rcade to basketball at 12:16 PM - 4 comments

NBA Pickem Week 16: All Star Edition: There are four NBA games airing nationally before the All-Star Break, starting with an ESPN doubleheader Wednesday night of Knicks/Sixers and Spurs/Warriors. On Thursday night Prime has Bucks/Thunder and Mavs/Lakers. Ufez and Howard won the week with 39 (standings). Make your picks.

posted by rcade to basketball at 04:35 PM - 4 comments

NFL Playoff Pickem: Super Bowl 0x3C: The Seattle Seahawks meet the New England Patriots tomorrow night in the Super Bowl of American football. Seattle is favored by 4.5. I'm leading the pickem standings by 7 but there are extra props to shuffle the standings. Make your picks.

posted by rcade to football at 11:59 AM - 12 comments

NBA Pickem Week 15: Swap Meet Edition: There are nine national NBA games to pick in this late start week, starting tonight with a Bulls/Raptors and Warriors/Sun doubleheader on Amazon Prime. Current standings. Make your picks.

posted by rcade to basketball at 09:26 AM - 6 comments