Posts

That’s part of the reason Alabama made the College Football Playoff instead of Big Ten champion Ohio State. We can talk wins, losses, strength of schedule, resumes, branding and whatever metric for that argument, which the Crimson Tide won over the Buckeyes. Perception prevailed. It’s that image of Clemson beating Ohio State 31-0 in the Fiesta Bowl last season, or Alabama beating Michigan State 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl Classic in 2015....

On Oct. 2, 1965, Dooley took the No. 10 Bulldogs up to the Big House to face No. 7 Michigan two weeks after beating No. 5 Alabama. A crowd of 43,000 Big Ten fans welcomed Georgia, which Dooley called an “eye-opener” for the players. The Bulldogs won 15-7, and Dooley would get his “eye-opener” a few hours later. MORE: 25 best Big Ten-SEC matchups | Top 15 programs since 2000...

But despite what will likely be high-quality play, the Big Ten is light on elite NBA prospects. MORE: College basketball’s most impactful returning players The league has zero lottery players in Sporting News’ preseason prospect rankings, and only three players listed in the top 30. In addition, the Big Ten has the lowest-rated top prospect among Power 5 leagues, and few players in the conference have the potential to rise into that high-upside rung....

Aaron Judge agreed to a massive nine-year, $360 million deal to remain in pinstripes after an MVP-winning season in which he launched 62 home runs with a slash line of .311/.425/.686. Judge’s contract with the Yankees immediately places him in the upper echelon of the highest paid athletes in the world, and the figures above the dotted line make the deal one of the richest both by total value and in average annual value....

Raimondo, the former governor of Rhode Island, was confirmed to her Cabinet role in the Biden administration by an 84 to 15 Senate vote on Tuesday. In an interview with MSNBC broadcast Thursday morning, Raimondo raised concerns about China and reiterated that the Biden administration plans to take a tough stance against the East Asian nation. “First, we have to be honest which is to say China’s behavior is anti-competitive, coercive—their human rights abuses are horrific....

The latest figure, released by news site and data aggregator Real Clear Politics (RCP), placed Biden’s lead over Trump at 6.4 points as of Thursday. The number averaged national election survey results collected between July 21 and August 5. One month earlier, RCP’s national averages pointed to a 9-point Biden lead, as Trump’s approval ratings dropped amid resurgences in coronavirus cases, soaring unemployment and the federal government’s response to the Black Lives Matter protests occurring across the country....

After less than five months of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the United States has spent $8 billion, which is more than we spent during the first five years in Afghanistan. Western officials, including NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, have been warning that Russia’s war in Ukraine will last for years. And President Biden is planning to keep the spigot open indefinitely. In June, Biden said the U.S. would provide support to Ukraine “as long as it takes” to win its war against Russia....

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin was amassing nearly 200,000 troops around neighboring Ukraine, and on February 24 he invaded, starting the first war in Europe since the 1990s. Five days later, Biden gave his first State of the Union address, in which he reiterated his intention to apply an array of punishing economic sanctions on Moscow, as well as his pledge not to send U.S. troops to Ukraine. The speech seemed to reflect the general public sentiment: outrage, but not so much outrage that it required the dispatch of American troops to yet another faraway conflict....

While speaking in Albuquerque, New Mexico, about his administration’s plans to tackle student debt relief, Biden looked toward New Mexico Democratic Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez and asked if they were currently in her district. Fernandez, who represents New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District, said “no” in response. Following her response, Biden laughed and continued to speak, saying that “the district we are in is pretty good too.” The president then looked toward Fernandez again and said, “I can tell you lack enthusiasm, congresswoman, and it’s contagious....

Speaking from the U.N. headquarters in New York City, Biden opened his speech by telling his counterparts, “Let us speak plainly: A permanent member of the United Nations Security Council invaded its neighbor, attempted to erase the sovereign state from the map.” “Russia has shamelessly violated the core tenets of the United Nations charter,” the president said. Although Biden offered stark criticisms of Russia, he also said Russia should refrain from using its veto power “except in rare, extraordinary situations to ensure the Council remains credible and effective....

Early-season losses to LSU and Oklahoma led to a five-loss season, and Herman enters his fourth year still trying to close the gap with five-time defending champion Oklahoma. That’s the trick with the Big 12 coach rankings. Lincoln Riley is a no-doubt choice at No. 1 and a top-five coach in our 1-130 rankings. The rest of the conference is trying to catch up. Herman, however, faces more pressure than the rest of those coaches because of the Texas brand....

The last time these two teams met was earlier in the season where Jason Sangha and Daniel Sams starred for the Thunders in a rain-curtailed match. Glenn Maxwell and co will be hoping to continue their winning ways by avenging their earlier loss to the Thunders. With both teams aspiring to make it to the semi-finals, a win over the other would certainly propel them even more closer to the title....

Not his teammates. “He’s so loose before games,” Winnipeg center Bryan Little said. “He’s a joker, definitely the prankster on the team. It’s strange for me to see him talking to you guys in front of the camera. It’s like, ‘That’s not who I know.’” The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Byfuglien is making a big impression on the NHL playoffs on both ends of the ice as the Jets have muscled their way to within one win of Winnipeg’s first berth in the Western Conference Final....

Australian skipper Tim Paine won the toss at the Manuka Oval and put his side in on a flat track conducive to batting, a gambit that paid off after some early wobbles. At stumps, they were a commanding 384 for four with Burns not out 172 and Kurtis Patterson, who was dropped first ball, on 25. Head fell for 161 after a 308-run stand with Burns – Australia’s first stand over 200 since Steve Smith and Mitch Marsh achieved the feat in the third Test against England in December 2017....

The crash occurred on Lap 35 when Matt Kenseth drifted low to avoid hitting Brad Keselowski and slammed into the car of Joey Logano, igniting a chain-reaction crash. MORE: Dale and Danica | Can she win? | Petty stands firm | Engine troubles Also involved were Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick. No one was injured and Stewart, who was returning from a 15-race absence, was able to climb from his car....

Big E and Kofi Kingston of The New Day took the knee on a recent episode of SmackDown in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Randy Orton is another Superstar who revealed in an interview with CBSSports a few weeks ago that his opinions about the Black Lives Matter movement had changed ever since he made THAT tweet in 2016. Orton said that he was embarrassed to admit that he finally gets the movement and he fully supports the cause....

The two sides took contrasting approaches to the transfer window, with European champions Liverpool largely setting for the same squad again, as Arsenal splashed out on Nicolas Pepe, Kieran Tierney and David Luiz. But both tactics have been rewarded with early season results, meaning the division’s only remaining 100 per cent records are on the line at Anfield. At least one of those winning starts will end and, with the help of Opta data, we take a look at the intriguing contest ahead....

But don’t tell that to Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth or Joey Logano. There were five wrecks at Talladega Sunday, but the Big One included just 14 cars. They are often bigger — much bigger. And there were just two big crashes, the 14-car pileup and one that collected eight cars. There’s usually more. But that’s no consolation for Gordon, Kenseth, Logano, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and others who wound up in the garage on Sunday....

Only last month, the presidents and chancellors from the 14-team league voted 11-3 to postpone all Fall sports until the spring. Not long after, the Pac-12 postponed its athletics schedules. However, the ACC, Big 12 and SEC went forward with Fall schedules, including football—with fans in the stadiums. The Big Ten on Wednesday unanimously voted to kickoff its season on the weekend of October 24. The teams will try to play eight conference games in eight weeks, culminating with a conference championship game on Dec....