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Mixed signals on Morant suspension

By Paul Newberry The Associated Press This is not a defense of Ja Morant, whose erratic behavior certainly seems worthy of a lengthy suspension. Then again, in a country that worships its firearms and shrugs off repeated mass killings as nothing more than the cost of living in America, we shouldn’t be the least bit surprised when a brash young athlete chooses to flash a handgun on social media. Talk about mixed messages. Morant will have to sit out at least the first 25 games of the next NBA season for briefly displaying a pistol in a video shared on social ...

Revamped conferences seek balance

By Jim Caltagirone For the Mirror As the Big Ten Conference and SEC prepare for expansion to 16 teams for the 2024 college football season, originality and creativity may ultimately dictate the shape of team schedules. The SEC recently announced that it has adopted a temporary eight-game conference schedule for 2024 and scrapped divisions. The Big Ten just confirmed on Thursday that it is sticking with nine games and will scrap its two-division format. The addition of USC and UCLA adds more glamour and opportunities to the schedule. The SEC identifies one permanent opponent ...

Welcome to MLB’s struggle sessions

By David Harsanyl Creators Syndicate The Toronto Blue Jays’ Anthony Bass is really sorry. You see, Major League Baseball teams like the Dodgers will honor men in nun costumes who hand out condoms and simulate sex on crosses —- that’s just “inclusivity.” Orthodox Christians with opinions, on the other hand, will be compelled to engage in ritual public humiliation and beg for forgiveness. Last weekend, Bass shared a post on his Instagram account promoting “anti-LGBTQ campaigns, which targeted boycotting Target and Bud Light because of those companies associated with ...

Hypocrisy is obvious with PGA Tour

By Jimmy Golen The Associated Press Major League Baseball was once so concerned about gambling it banned Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays just for working as casino greeters. Now MLB itself and almost all of its teams have official casino sponsors. The NCAA railed for decades that paying players would destroy college sports, all while raking in billions off of their unpaid labor. Now schools boast of booster collectives that help recruit top talent to their teams. So when the PGA Tour overcame its indignation and agreed to merge with LIV Golf — despite the human ...

Some terrific memories of the ABA, WHA

By Paul Newberry The Associated Press As we relish one of the greatest couple of weeks on the sporting calendar — the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final, going back and forth sometimes on alternating nights — a pair of long-forgotten leagues deserve a shoutout. Take a bow, ABA. You too, WHA. The American Basketball Association and World Hockey Association have been gone for decades, but their brash challenges to the set-in-their-ways NBA and NHL left a mark that is still recognizable today. The 3-point shot in hoops and Europeans playing key roles at the rink are two of the ...

Foreman’s journey worth watching

“Nothing ever came easy. Every day was a fight.” This quote is part of the opening narration in the film “Big George Foreman,” as the former heavyweight champion tells his inspirational life story that began with growing up in acute poverty in the Fifth Ward of Houston, Texas, during the early 1960s. Foreman’s mother, Nancy (Sonja Sohn), struggled to feed and provide for him and his four siblings while earning a meager salary as a waitress. In a touching scene, Nancy comes home from work, unwraps a hamburger, and then breaks it in pieces to feed her children. She ...