Posts

Commissioner Roger Goodell made it official early Tuesday afternoon that the 2016 end-zone siege was over. The sudden over-emphasis on penalizing players for how they expressed their on-field joy will not continue in 2017, as numerous celebrations for touchdowns and other big plays will no longer be flagged or fined for being “excessive.” MORE: Overtime suggestions for NFL Of course, there’s room for debate about why any celebrations have to be policed at all, considering that literally everybody else in the football universe is allowed to react with as much joy as possible after a touchdown, except the person scoring it....

But lately the experts who dissect behavior patterns have begun to ruffle me with their accusations. On TV and radio, in books and magazines, they tell me I’m mistaken in thinking I play for the sheer pleasure of it. It’s a common form of self-delusion, I’m told, that leaves the victim completely unaware of the sinister forces operating below his level of consciousness. And it isn’t confined to recreational tennis players, but is shared by amateur participants in many sports....

The Colombian striker scored 13 goals this season and also had three assists to his name in the 16 appearances he made. He was the most crucial player for Marco Materazzi throughout the season and his brilliant form first took them to the semi-finals, and then his goals in the semi-finals and the final helped his team lift the trophy against the team from Goa. The 23-year-old has made a great name for himself in India and is one of the most exciting players to watch in the Indian Super League....

It is hard to balance a roster if one single player accounts for a $45-$50 million cap hit, even if it is the most important player on the team. Last night, there were reports from ESPN that Rodgers wants to be the highest-paid quarterback in the league. Rodgers won his lone Super Bowl over 10 years ago in 2011 and hasn’t reached the Super Bowl since. He could be traded, and the team he gets traded to could make him the highest-paid quarterback....

Jayasundara, an analyst with Sri Lanka Cricket, has been provisionally suspended with immediate effect after two breaches of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Anti-Corruption Code. The news comes a day after former Sri Lanka internationals Nuwan Zoysa and Avishka Gunawardene were charged and provisionally suspended by the ICC, on behalf of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), for breaching the ECB’s Anti-Corruption Code. Jayasundara’s first charge relates to Article 2.1.3 of the code - offering a bribe or other reward to the Sri Lankan Sports Minister to contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an international match....

Serkan Toto, the analyst that correctly predicted the Switch Lite, stated, “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Nintendo will launch a ‘Switch Pro’ in 2020”. Toto believes that the console will support 4K resolutions, have bigger cartridge sizes, and feature beefed-up components, with a potential release taking place “after the summer holidays” and with a price tag of about $399. In the past, rumors of a “Switch 2” also shared the $399 price point, though that leak gave a release window of January 2021....

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Monday said the state will host the World Chess Championship this November between reigning champion from India Viswanathan Anand and the challenger, Norway’s Magnus Carlsen. Making the announcement in the assembly, Jayalalithaa said: “Considering that Tamil Nadu had come forward to hold the 2012 World Chess Championship, the World Chess Federation (WCF) had requested us to hold the contest this year in Chennai without any bidding....

Champions League defeats to Atletico Madrid and Rostov and a 1-0 Bundesliga loss to Borussia Dortmund, as well as surprise home draws with Cologne and Hoffenheim, prompted questions over Bayern’s trophy hopes. However, a run of six wins in a row - including a 3-0 victory over surprise title challengers RB Leipzig - ensured that the champions head into 2017 with a three-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga table....

He held off the virus for five more years, until pneumonia caught up with him as he raced to finish his third book, “Conduct Unbecoming,” a history of homosexuals in the American military. (His first was a biography of Harvey Milk, the gay San Francisco politician who was assassinated in 1978.) When Shilts died last week in his Guerneville, Calif., home at the age of 42 he became one of an estimated 50,000 Americans who will die this year in what doctors are now calling a “mature” epidemic – one that infects about as many new victims as it kills....

“I could stop right now and be happy, because my mission was to change the hip-hop industry, and I feel I did that in one year,” says the laid-back Swizz, who co-wrote and produced the Ruff Ryders’ 1999 multiplatinum debut, “Ryde or Die,” and is celebrating the release of “Vol. II, " which debuted at number two last week. “I feel I added a power groove to the industry by making my own music instead of sampling....

Musical artist Nicholas Britell, who created the piece, just released it for the enjoyment of Star Wars fans, and it’s still just as jarring to hear such a unique song juxtaposed with a serious-looking Andor poster. Star Wars is no stranger to memorable one-off tunes, with the cantina song from A New Hope still living rent-free in the heads of many who may have only seen the movie once several decades ago....

Andre Berto survived a slow start and a third-round knockdown to claim a 12-round split decision victory over Devon Alexander in the PBC on Fox main event Saturday at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. The bout very well could have been billed as a “loser leaves town” fight considering both Berto and Alexander were desperate for a win in a crowded welterweight division. Berto will live on to fight another day and possibly land one more opportunity at a world title....

Andretti won the famous race in 1969, before going on to claim the F1 drivers’ crown with Lotus nine years later. Alonso has been released from Monaco Grand Prix duty by McLaren as he bids to achieve the second leg of motorsport’s triple crown, which consists of Monaco, the Indy 500 and Le Mans, and qualified fifth on the grid on Sunday. The Spaniard is driving for the Andretti Autosport team - run by Mario’s son Michael - who won the race with rookie Alexander Rossi in 2016....

Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble made the assertion at a court hearing. Womble requested a 30-day delay in release of body camera footage, arguing it would jeopardize the credibility of witnesses and is best for the family. Womble said the video shows that Brown’s car made contact with the police officers twice before shots could be heard on the video. “As it backs up, it does make contact with law enforcement officers,” he said....

In that speech, Rodgers acknowledged five-time MVP Peyton Manning, who presented Rodgers the award, before giving a boilerplate address. He thanked various parties and then finished by dedicating the award to the late Ted Thompson, who drafted Rodgers as Green Bay’s general manager, and the late Maura Mandt, a former ESPN producer. Among those Rodgers thanked was Packers coach Matt LaFleur, who has coached Rodgers to two of his four MVPs....

That was three years ago. A few seasons, 3,726 yards and 32 touchdowns later, Jordy Nelson somehow still “sneaks up on guys.” We’ll spare you the senseless, evasive “deceptive speed” lingo — the Packers wideout “sneaks up on guys” because he’s white. Yet here we are in 2014 and many are amazed Nelson, who’s been a burner since elementary school, continues to dust defensive backs and help Green Bay’s offense maintain its lethal nature....

Now, Paige has updated her fans about her future on Twitch and made it clear that she is staying. Paige thanked her fans for supporting her during these trying times and added that their support was instrumental in her feeling better and happier. Paige also added that she likes to stand up for what is right. She stated how she has made mistakes in the past, but has come out a better person, and wants to keep being a role model for her fans....

Carrying decades of bottled-up rage, Pearl isn’t an easy woman to romance, and she’s an impossible mother. Her overweight, divorced daughter, Bibby (Kathy Bates), feels flayed by her mother’s sharp tongue. Her other divorced daughter, Norma (Marcia Gay Harden), has retreated into fantasy after the death of her younger child. From one day to the next, she’s likely to appear as Marilyn Monroe, Jackie O or Mrs. Robinson in “The Graduate....

Chief Judge Dolores Sloviter summed up the day’s theme when she said, “I was taught in law school that people are entitled to know what it is they may be prosecuted for.” This doesn’t appear to be the case with the CDA. No one knows what “indecent” really means. If you consider, as Congress did, the (in)famous FCC ruling against George Carlin’s “seven dirty words” monologue, you might conclude that uttering a single expletive might run you afoul of this law....