Very few people really knew Jovan Belcher. Even fewer can begin to understand or explain why, in the middle of a forgettable Chiefs season, this NFL defender killed his girlfriend and himself. Just who was this unheralded Kansas City linebacker? More»

Wow, do we love to argue in sports -- all the time, on every subject. An instant sports controversy bubbled up over Gregg Popovich sitting his stars, and I wondered: Is there a way in today's culture to just say "I can see both sides there? More»

Tattoos send minds stumbling into booby traps of conformity, and here was an NFL quarterback, the center of every team's universe, his skin scripted to the hilt. Colin Kaepernick broke new ground for body art, but why would anyone care? More»

Championship Weekend has arrived, and while everyone's focused on Alabama vs. Georgia, there’s plenty to watch on the undercard -- from Rose Bowl bids on the line to Kent State vs. Northern Illinois, perhaps the most intriguing MAC title game ever. More»

Grinnell point guard Jack Taylor scored 138 points. It's ludicrous. 'Maybe not a great shooter,' Taylor's coach, David Arseneault Jr., said. 'But a great scorer.' The 138 was possible because of Grinnell’s unique run-and-gun play. They call it “The System.” More»

Alabama's Nick Saban is one of our national leaders in clarity. From his very first head coaching job at Toledo, that stood out. And going into Saturday's clash with Georgia, he still knows exactly what he wants from his team -- and how to get it. More»

In their last meeting four years ago, Alabama gave Georgia a butt-whipping so profound that it altered the fortunes of both teams. Since then, Alabama is 54-7 with two national titles. Georgia hasn’t even sniffed one. Can Mark Richt change that? More»

It’s still autumn, but now is the winter of the NFL’s discontent, and the ravages of cold and age are everywhere. Leave it to Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning to teach the whippersnappers a thing or two. Week 13 of the NFL Lowdown is here. More»

By sitting Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was looking to protect his team, not compromise the integrity of the game. David Stern has valid concerns, but his 'substantial sanctions' are a bigger problem. More»

There will plenty to say about this year's Baseball Hall of Fame. Predictions. Laments. Debates. Challenges. But before getting into specifics, we should try to simplify the PED discussion. It always seems to come down to one of three arguments. More»

In the NFL, as player after player gets suspended for it, Adderall is being written off as a convenient excuse or an irrelevant work of fiction. But perhaps football players are being suspended for abusing the drug because they really ARE abusing it. More»

The Thunder beat the Rockets in James Harden's return to Oklahoma City, although the crowd gave him a nice ovation. But while OKC and Harden are doing well without each other, it's far too early to render a verdict on this blockbuster trade. More»

The first New York Knicks at Brooklyn Nets game was one of those lovely sports rarities: A 50-50 crowd. I’m not sure there’s any more fun sporting event to witness in person. But true 50-50 matchups are extremely rare, and getting rarer. More»

Welcome back to Quarters Coverage, a monthly NFL abstract of power rankings, awards and essential information, where three standout running backs ran rampant over the the league in November and the 49ers lead heading down the stretch. More»

Most people, as they grow older, they get wiser. Donald Sterling gets luckier. Once the joke of the NBA, the Los Angeles Clippers have become a destination franchise. Problem is, no one wants to root for the man who's still signing the checks. More»

Even when you list the extraordinary ways in which Marvin Miller helped change baseball, it does not capture the difficulties of the task or the willfulness required. He was the right man at the right time. And it's people like that who change the world. More»

Ndamukong Suh's leg to Matt Schaub's groin is just the lastest in a series of discipline problems for the Detroit Lions. And when discipline consistently vanishes, the cause can usually be traced to the coach. Jim Schwartz is sending his team the wrong message. More»

In the first pages of Inman Majors‘ novel “Love’s Winning Plays,” a naked head coach’s toweling technique leads into a savvy bit about attacking the two-deep zone. Here's our conversation about the book, which is funny and smart about both football and life. More»

Why are the Kansas City Royals, who remain stymied in their increasingly desperate effort to succeed again and win back the town, going on without Frank White, their hometown hero and one of the most popular players the team has ever had? More»

Let’s just say it: This might be the best college football season of all time. Any of the teams in this week’s True Top Ten could beat any of the others. It's hard to remember a season with such balance at the top, but for now it's still Notre Dame at No. 1. More»

The Tampa Bay Rays made a $100 million commitment to keep third baseman Evan Longoria in a Rays uniform for the next decade. That's a lot of money... but it might be only half of what he could have made on the open market. Taking it was the safe bet. More»

New York's basketball has been more hype than hoop of late, but maybe that changes now. Maybe the Knicks and Nets, building on their first intra-city NBA game, will rejuvenate the sport in this town. Why shouldn't this be the start of something? More»

Johnny Manziel, the freshman quarterback sensation at Texas A&M, had not spoken to the media all year. So we've only known Johnny Football through his play on the field ... and that's been strangely refreshing. He seems to come from another era. More»

Late in the game between USC and Notre Dame on Saturday, the Trojans were in position to score trailing by nine. What followed was an astonishing display of Lane Kiffin's ineptitude. Even if you didn't care who won, you were yelling at the TV. More»

For a lot of NFL teams, the season is already essentially over. As an expert in the field of cheering for a team so lousy the last month is meaningless, I can help. So here’s some handy hints for how to deal with December, when your team is done. More»

Our look at the NBA's trending topics starts with Steve Nash, whose return is critical for the Lakers' struggling offense. Meanwhile, Brook Lopez might be giving the Nets more value at center than Nash's new L.A. teammate, Dwight Howard. More»

Thirty years after making his coaching debut in middle school girls basketball, Brian Kelly has reached the pinnacle of the college profession. From his roots at small schools in Massachusetts, Kelly has Notre Dame playing for a national title. More»

The November Swoon is a myth. Eli Manning’s tired arm is an urban legend. Reports of the Giants’ death, as always, were greatly exaggerated. Just ask Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, who were beaten a dozen different ways on Sunday night. More»

Urban Meyer has been successful at Bowling Green and Utah and won two national championships at Florida. But while his 2012 debut with Ohio State may not be his most widely celebrated, it may just be his version of 'Exile on Main St.' More»

Colin Kaepernick replaced Alex Smith as San Francisco's starter under center, giving the 49ers an official, certified quarterback controversy. But even after a big win at New Orleans, we have to ask: Are the Niners really that much different? More»

The world just took two big steps toward a coach or manager winning a title one day -- and getting fired the next. Auburn canned Gene Chizik not two years after his national title; Chelsea's Roberto Di Matteo was 186 days from a European Champions League title. More»

Royals fans have been through a lot in the last 25 years. Now the team has a core of talented young hitters, good strong arms in the bullpen... and their starting pitching is a nightmare. Jeremy Guthrie and Ervin Santana are, to put it mildly, not the answer. More»

Of course the SEC is still alive. Alabama's loss to Texas A&M failed to kill its title hopes, and while we won't be getting an all-SEC national championship game, the SEC is poised to challenge Notre Dame for supremacy. Let the Professor explain. More»

Another spirited goal line stand sparked one more signature win, this time at rival Southern Cal, and now Notre Dame — which began the season unranked and has lost 10 of its last 12 bowl games — is 12-0 and playing for the national title. More»

When I worked for The Kansas City Star, I would write an annual Thanksgiving column, and I was always surprised by the reaction it would get. I've thought a lot about this since we moved to Charlotte, and it's time to revisit it. More»

For all my blessings, Thanksgiving has never worked out just right for me -- we've never had football on. That changed this year, and I finally got to watch not just any old football, but my own New York Jets, in a crucial game against New England. More»

The Texans-Lions game, which turned on a ridiculous call that allowed a Justin Forsett touchdown, left fans with a bad taste in their mouths on Thanksgiving. We deserve better than the mindless application of rules that fly in the face of fairness. More»

Thanksgiving night may have represented the low-water mark for the Jets as a team, but it was their high-water mark for self-parody. In one tragicomedic 52-second span of a 30-point loss to the Patriots, they simply upstaged any effort to ridicule them. More»

You probably missed the most remarkable Thanksgiving football game of the last 50 years. Very few people saw it. Very few knew that Edison High School in Philadelphia was the place to be that day that day in 1991. More»

It took a dozen weeks, but QB situations around the NFL have finally collapsed into their natural states of doubt, remorse, recrimination and often-hilarious ineptitude. From the Steelers to the Jaguars to Cardinals to the 49ers, Lowdown covers it all. More»

Big Ten expansion could lead to further destabilization of college sports, another sign that schools are willing to sell out decades of tradition for short-term revenue. You can make an argument that this entire issue exists because of the Big Ten Network. More»

How would you like to be Ken Griffey Jr. and be the second-best left-handed hitter born on Nov. 21 in Donora, Pa.? In honor of their birthdays, I'm reprinting the Stan Musial blog post I wrote a few years ago … with a couple of updates and an added interlude. More»

Happy rivalry weekend! As always, November goes out with a bang. Notre Dame and Ohio State are both going for undefeated seasons against their mortal enemies, while Florida, Florida State, Georgia and Oregon fight to hold onto BCS title hopes. More»

How about a little thought experiment? The Miguel Cabrera-Mike Trout MVP balloting exposed a deep divide in how people look at awards. I went back to 1995 and picked each year's league MVP and HOW -- Hero of WAR, the player with the highest Wins Over Replacement. Which do you as a baseball fan like better? More»

Tired of empty Turkey Day calories? Get lean before Thanksgiving with three healthy Playbook Page snacks: Rob Gronkowski’s past, a breakdown of Robert Griffin’s passing depth, and why the Lions can have too much of a good thing in the red zone. More»

Bitter college football rivalries can make or break seasons, and nowhere is that truer this weekend than Los Angeles, where a disappointing USC team can achieve a nice consolation prize by ruining rival Notre Dame's run at perfection. More»

Toronto has been alternately respectable and mediocre, over or near .500, for several years in a tough division. But the AL East is starting to unfreeze, and with the Jays' recent moves, success might not be assured, but it's at least easy to imagine. More»

If there's one thing about pro sports today that drives me nuts it's this: Few people try new things. I mean try REALLY new things. Crazy things. If I owned a terrible NFL team, I would get Tim Tebow and invent a whole new pro offense around him. More»

Even by the wheezing standards of NCAA jurisprudence, the opening weeks of the college basketball season have been absurd, and the situations of Shabazz Muhammad and others should make us further ponder the problems with amateurism. More»

Colin Kaepernick stole the show on Monday, and he may have swiped Alex Smith's job in the process. His breakout on the national stage deserved wild ovations and gasps of wonder. Is it impossible, just for a day, to savor that all on its own? More»

Kansas State and Oregon, the top two teams, went down within 10 minutes of each other Saturday. Now seven teams have a shot at the national title. Everyone agrees on who’s No. 1. But who’s next? That’s what you come to the True Top Ten to find out. More»

The Lakers have provided their own theater of the absurd, toggling between extremes one month into the season, but they aren't the only ones. Here are other surprising developments of the young NBA season you may not have seen coming. More»

Tropes are sometimes necessary when writing about the NFL, but some have gotten far too stale. In the name of making the NFL Internet a better place for everyone, we recommend mandatory retirement for the following five clichéd storylines. More»

We have gone from nothing on our screens besides the game itself during broadcasts, to everything -- and it happened really fast. Baseball has scaled back some, but football has gone insane. If it's changed so much in a few years, where will it be in a few more? More»

New Yorkers aren’t easily impressed -- unless the Knicks are leading the East before Thanksgiving. A lot could go wrong, but led by an MVP-caliber Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks are playing smarter, defending harder and looking like a contender again. More»

Derek Dooley's fate was finally sealed with an embarrassing loss to Vanderbilt. He had originally come along at a time when Tennessee was an emotional wreck, and, to be honest, nothing in particular suggested he would be the right guy for the job when he was hired. More»

There’s a fine line between gritty and ugly. The Ravens and Steelers crossed it on Sunday night. Their rivalry has always been gritty. But Sunday’s 13-10 win by Baltimore wasn’t just beaten with an ugly stick; the whole ugly tree fell on its roof. More»

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck may have hit his rookie nadir on Sunday, the one that had not really visited him over the first nine games. But this thudding rookie nadir just wasn't all that horrible in the long annals of thudding rookie nadirs. More»

Overtime is the NFL’s shipwreck island. Six teams beached themselves on overtime’s unwelcoming shores in Week 11, and each resembled famous castaways. Mandatory Monday explains how Houston, Tampa Bay and Dallas stayed alive. More»

The Big Ten is pursuing Maryland and Rutgers, but it's hard to argue that it's based on their merits as football teams. It’s never been a secret how much of an influence money has on college athletics, but that influence appears to grow every season. More»

We all know that the BCS college football system is incredibly stupid and illogical. We'll all be happy to see it go. But can we at least acknowledge what we might be losing? Because Saturday night was amazing, heartbreaking and awe-inspiring More»

In one of the wildest nights in college football history, Kansas State and Oregon surrendered their pole positions in the national title race in the time it took to hit one button on the remote control -- and that was something we were doing a lot of. More»

Nobody paid much attention to Notre Dame Saturday afternoon. Yet as the clock struck midnight after an all-time crazy group of games, the Fighting Irish were set to become the No. 1 team in the land, still unbeaten, in control of their own destiny. More»

I had this great podcast with my good friend, 'Parks and Recreation' Executive Producer Michael Schur. But because one wire was not plugged all the way in, his voice did not record. It was my favorite ever podcast, so I'm going to write about it instead. More»

A day after undergoing an outpatient heart procedure, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh answered questions directly and simply, without hesitation or evasion. But aside from using the word 'I' more than usual, normalcy has quickly been restored. More»

Many people thought the AL MVP award voting between Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout would be close. It wasn't. Here's why -- and why each of the four main arguments BBWAA writers made to justify their votes for Cabrera were, well, wrong. More»

This is the time when smart brackets are built. All 18-win Big Ten teams look alike in March, unless you were looking closely in November. And the 2K Sports Classic packs plenty of intrigue and star power, not to mention excellent basketball. More»

There’s always a few sets of brothers kicking around Major League Baseball. Of all the siblings currently playing, by far the most newsworthy, coveted and impressive are Justin and B.J. Upton -- and both will likely be on the move this offseason. More»

No FBI agent, wearing a shirt or not, searched my email this week, but I did -- and I found two notes to Paula Broadwell, written on Aug. 31, before she became, yes, Paula Broadwell. I wanted to ask General Petraeus about Teddy Roosevelt. More»

Have you ever wished you could go back in time? Some NFL teams do, and none quite like the Ravens and Steelers. But no Ray Lewis, Troy Polamalu or Big Ben? No problem! The Week 11 Lowdown sells out no good rivalry before its time. More»

The nation’s four undefeated teams are all in action. Oregon tries to stop the bleeding on defense, Notre Dame tries to win convincingly at home and Kansas State's Collin Klein tries to tie up the Heisman race, while ineligible Ohio State searches for attention. More»

The problem is always the quarterback. But that simply doesn't add up in New York, despite the struggles of Mark Sanchez and the irrelevance of Tim Tebow. No, the Jets have lost what made them contenders, and it did not reside under center. More»

Andrew Luck was put in an almost impossible situation as the No. 1 overall pick replacing Peyton Manning in Indianapolis. Only halfway through his rookie year, Luck has looked mature beyond his years for a team that was supposedly rebuilding. More»

The SEC owns the last six national titles, but this year it might not even have a team in the championship game. Why? Six teams, ranked 4-9 in the BCS, conducted a season-long playoff of sorts, knocking each other out in the process. More»

Jeffrey Loria, have you looked at your new Miami Marlins roster? Do you actually live in Miami? Do you actually watch baseball? Have you noticed that your previous history as a Major League Baseball owner is an uncanny predictor of how you’ve acted in the last few days? More»

I can’t stop watching the video of Rick Reilly demanding that Stuart Scott credit him for a tweet. Just look at those words: 'Rick Reilly demanding that Stuart Scott credit him for a tweet.' Can you imagine such an indignity five years ago? What in the world happened? More»

In 1942, Ted Williams won the Triple Crown, but Joe Gordon won the MVP. This was 70 years ago, but we seem to be having a similar argument now about Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout. The difference is we now have much more information available. More»

The Marlins gave up on the baseball fans of Miami, and not for the first time. So on Twitter just after word of the trade broke, I asked: Why would anybody go to a single Marlins game in 2013? Fortunately, several brilliant readers had ideas on that. More»

Every fall, the Wildcats start over. They roll out a team filled with freshmen who look raw at first but will eventually figure it out in time to make a strong tournament run ... and leave for the NBA. But the Cats usually manage to age gracefully and quickly. More»

If the Marlins-Blue Jays megadeal goes through, Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle will be among six players headed to Toronto, and the team that Jeffrey Loria seemed so eager to spend for last winter will have been obliterated. More»

He was the second-best player involved in last summer’s Dwight Howard blockbuster, maybe even the grand prize. Andrew Bynum may soon measure up to all that, but right now his bum knee is keeping him from even suiting up for the Sixers. More»

Brad Keselowski was fined $25,000 for having his cell phone with him on Sunday during the AdvoCare 500. The idea of a NASCAR driver with a cell phone in his car seemed as bizarre as, oh, a director of the CIA who couldn’t hide a secret relationship. More»

Chip Kelly’s excellence as a college coach is unquestioned. His qualifications to be an excellent NFL head coach are mostly wishful thinking. He should stay at Oregon, a lesson that he (and we) should have learned from the Steve Spurrier fiasco. More»

It’s easy to forget just how beholden the Cy Young Award used to be to pitcher wins. They're still important, but they no longer mean everything. If David Price (20-5) beats Justin Verlander (17-8), though, won-loss record will be a big reason why. More»

Heading into last weekend, Kansas State was the unbeaten with the biggest cause for concern: the health of Collin Klein. But the star quarterback led his team past TCU, Texas A&M upset Alabama, and look who's back atop the True Top Ten. More»

Most concussions are the results of the accidental contact that is inevitable in a game of collisions. But hits like the one that the Texans' Tim Dobbins laid on the Bears' Jay Cutler are premeditated and vicious in their design and execution. More»

Sunday was a glorious day for NFL player health and welfare: Seven players suffered cranial trauma and had to undergo neurological testing. The positive is that a seven-concussion day is not a sign of an injury epidemic, but of a diagnosis epidemic. More»

What makes Manager of the Year such a volatile award? Both likely 2012 winners, the Orioles' Buck Showalter and the Nationals' Davey Johnson, have won in the past -- and been fired soon after. What is it they do that works some years and not others? More»

Parents always overrate their own influence. But one way I know I can make a difference is with the sports teams my son cheers for. The only thing on earth that’s exactly the same in my life now as it was when I was six years old is my love of my sports teams. More»

Mike D'Antoni is not Phil Jackson, and that's fine, because nobody is Phil Jackson -- perhaps not even Phil Jackson anymore. The Lakers got the Beamer instead of the Benz, and you know who’s complaining in the organization? That’s right. Nobody. More»

What an idyllic Chicago football Sunday. The rain came at a menacing slant, just like they draw it up in the city planning. The Bears lost. It was like walking through a museum biosphere aimed at depicting essential Chicago football. More»

The NFL has every incentive to perfect the prompt detection and treatment of brain trauma. But the uncertain way 49ers quarterback Alex Smith's concussion revealed itself emphasized the imprecision of the science and the elusiveness of that goal. More»

There has never been a season in which two players, so young, played as well as Bryce Harper and Mike Trout, who are locks to win Rookie of the Year honors as MLB awards week begins. The only question for these two involves the possibilities. More»

The missing quality to all of the Veterans Day celebrations at sports events over the weekend once again was veterans. Did anyone else notice this? Times have changed, and long gone are the days of Ted Williams serving. Well, except for Bernard James. More»

Sunday was the day that the last undefeated team lost and the defending champions got clobbered, a day for doubters and skeptics. But somewhere between optimism and pessimism lies realism, and Mandatory Monday is here to find answers. More»

Next Veterans Day, we should honor America’s military personnel by not trying to play basketball on aircraft carriers. We can acknowledge the sacrifices and achievements by recognizing that the deck of a naval craft is not a playground for sweaty civilians. More»

Why did Jeff Kent want to go on 'Survivor?' He doesn't need money, and he has nothing to sell us. He wasn't playing for charity, either. He was in it for the love of the game. So what was it that Kent loved? I watched a whole show and tried to figure that out. More»

The perception is that Phil Jackson walked away from the Lakers’ job two summers ago -- when, in truth, he hobbled. His 67-year-old body turned coaching into a chore. But everything else is still there: desire, confidence, and ability to connect with superstars. More»

Texas has a lot of songwriters, and some budding Lyle Lovett is surely composing “The Ballad of Johnny Football,” because Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel took the Aggies into Tuscaloosa and stunned the top-ranked team in the country. More»

This is the scenario nobody was really prepared for, even if some put Alabama on upset alert. Title hopes remain alive for both Bama and Georgia, should two of the Kansas State-Notre Dame-Oregon group lose in the next three weeks. But that seems far-fetched. More»

The Lakers didn’t just push the panic button, they pounded it harder than a Kobe Bryant stare after losing four of five games to start the season. Coach Mike Brown was fired on Friday, and now the Lakers can't afford to make another mistake. More»

A month before the great referendum on juicers in Cooperstown, baseball has had a streak of PED amnesty: the Rockies interviewed Jason Giambi, and the Dodgers hired Mark McGwire. How would people within the game handle the Hall of Fame vote? More»

Bears cornerback Charles Tillman received some unnecessary backlash when he revealed he could miss a game for the birth of his daughter. Luckily, we appear to be mostly past this kind of debate. But why would anyone argue against it in the first place? More»

When I was a kid, managers were managers. Period. But when the Colorado Rockies hired Walt Weiss to be their manager, something in my mind kind of clicked when that happened. Like other recent hires, I saw his whole career as a player. More»

Waiting is the hardest part as the NFL enters Week 10. But while Bud Adams redecorated Titans headquarters, Rex Ryan dipped into the suggestion box and Tom Coughlin acted goofy at a press conference, the Lowdown arrives right now. More»

This Saturday won't be as intense as the last, but that doesn’t mean there’s not plenty to watch. We’re in crunch time for all four top unbeaten teams, and Alabama and Kansas State will be under the microscope again with potentially tricky matchups. More»

The most interesting race in the NBA involves healing powers. The Knicks, Pacers, Bulls and Sixers are all staring at the clock in the doctor’s office and tapping their fingers, but so far the Knicks have surprisingly risen above the drama. More»

Darrell Royal, University of Texas legend, would shout out: 'Red light! Red light!' So you stopped and listened. Not because Royal made you, but because he was Darrell Royal and you weren’t. He had won all those games. He made Texas football big. More»

Why Oregon? Oregon wins. It thrills. It reels off points that read like a fan's good dream: 57, 42, 63, 49, 51, 52, 43, 70, 62. It lends tranquil fourth quarters full of steady pulses. And it upgrades public health. Worry, like sedentariness, is bad for you. More»

Why Kansas State? It is completely, utterly and entirely self-made. It is a program with no advantages, in a hard-to-get-to town in a small state. K-State is about reality -- and bending it. Because Bill Snyder refuses to allow his team to be ordinary. More»

Why Alabama? The Bear. Fourteen national titles (at least by their count). Under Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide wins the same way it won under Bryant, and it does it with the weight of all that history and passion on its shoulders, every week. More»

Why Notre Dame? The gold helmets. The fight song. Manti Te'o. Ronald Reagan as George Gipp in 'Knute Rockne All American.' Having the Irish back as the benchmark of excellence would finally restore order to the college football universe. More»

Tribalism is a problem in the world. But it isn’t in sports. In politics, people go after you in a second if they’re on the opposite side of the aisle -- and that's pretty much the way sports is all the time. Year-round, sports is like the last days of an election. More»

Dwight Howard is unhappy with the NBA's decision to remove the center designation from All-Star ballots, but the possibility of including three forwards represents progress for an event that's supposed to be all about entertainment anyway. More»

The 2013 NFL Draft is several months away, but it might already be time for Chiefs fans to start debating which college quarterback they like best. We talk Smith vs. Barkley, 'crunch-time' QB performances and more in this week's NFL Mailbag. More»

The international skiing federation, in rejecting Lindsey Vonn's bid to enter the men's World Cup race, encouraged her to request a spot as a forerunner. That may sound condescending, but for now Vonn's focus should be on challenging herself. More»

Alabama's schedule didn't stack up with the other top contenders through the first two months of the season. But after winning on the road against LSU, the Crimson Tide has finally earned the right to take hold of No. 1 in the True Top Ten. More»

The new and impro-- erm, the new and different AL West is already off to a hot start in the Hot Stove. And the biggest move has already been made: the Houston Astros will be joining the division, effectively ending the West’s one-year reign as the strongest in baseball. More»

Guan Tianlang could be just one remarkable boy or he could be some sort of golf signpost. By qualifying for the Masters at 14 years old, he certainly sends the brain running off and scampering around and turning up with crazy thoughts. More»

The Colts' Andrew Luck drew rave reviews for his rookie-record 433 passing yards on Sunday, but the 23-year-old's breakout day was weeks in the making, and his rapid maturation has moved him to the head of the class of first-year NFL signal-callers. More»

Which team would be better, a team with the best right-handed hitters in baseball history or a team with the best left-handed hitters in baseball history? And, really, what better time to do an election between right and left than right now? More»

I’m a sports fan, and a pretty serious one. But I have no illusions that any of this is important. Playing after Sandy, the Knicks and Nets said they hoped to 'bring a little joy during difficult times' -- but I think these are just things teams tell themselves to feel better. More»

Brandon Jennings is the most gifted player from the 2009 NBA draft to be denied an extension from his rookie-scale deal. The Bucks say he's part of their future, but now his open audition begins. See what else is trending this week in the NBA. More»

It’s hard to recall the context of any sporting event changing as quickly and dramatically as that surrounding this year’s New York City Marathon. Much of New York’s sporting world did go on, but the city was not ready for a race so quickly. More»

The clip of Chuck Pagano's speech to the Colts is one minute, forty seconds and it is everything that matters in sports. 'I’ve got circumstances,' he said. 'You guys understand it. I understand it. It’s hard to beat.' This is when the cheering in the locker room started. More»

Election Day, like the midpoint of the NFL season, is a time for citizens to decide once and for all whom they most disbelieve in. As Mandatory Monday explains, Week 9 offered a test of faith for unbeaten Atlanta, as well as many other constituencies. More»

Doug Martin rushed for a franchise-record 251 yards in Tampa Bay's win over Oakland -- the 10th-best rushing day in NFL history. Running backs have short shelf lives, but the record book makes a strong statement about youth at the position. More»

Either Notre Dame’s 'luck' will run out, or it will stay unbeaten but outside the top two, making it one of the most controversial teams in BCS history. That's only fitting: What’s the use of Notre Dame being “back” if it isn’t ridiculously polarizing and dramatic? More»

Every time you looked, Oregon was eating up big chunks of the Coliseum field with precision and speed. With Kenjon Barner leading the way, the explosive Ducks had a historic night vs. USC, moving them a step closer to the BCS title game. More»

A guy from Mobile, quarterbacking Alabama, against LSU, under the lights, rough night, looks doomed, comes through, then starts crying? If that scene doesn't end up in a national championship, then no storyteller had any say in the matter. More»

The capital of basketball is always on the move, and this year, the place to be is Los Angeles. But while much of the attention continues to be on the Lakers, who are a surprising 0-3, the Clippers are the ones leaving fans breathless. More»

In our mysterious memory banks, incidents often outweigh longevity. That's certainly the case when remembering the career of former pitcher Pascual Perez, who was found dead this week in the Dominican Republic at the age of 55. More»

An Ohio State victory. A Romney triumph. Ohio voters -- Ohio Republicans -- can only pick one. Ridiculous thought exercise? Gimmicky election-pegged column conceit? If a recent paper published by a trio of economists is right, think again. More»

As he rode in the Giants' second victory parade in three years, manager Bruce Bochy would have been a prime candidate for ego expansion. After two titles, Bochy might start taking himself seriously. But if he does, it will rank as one of baseball's great upsets. More»

James Harden has only just arrived in Houston, and there’s still plenty to prove. But he brings a buzz to the Rockets in a star-driven league, and if he is truly capable of a leading role, they will look even smarter for prying him from the Thunder. More»

From hurricanes to Halloween to a presidential election, it can be hard to stay focused on football. But don’t let the post-trick-or-treat sugar rush keep you from focusing: The Week 9 NFL Lowdown and the Falcons are your keys to a balanced diet. More»

Alabama, LSU, Oregon and USC aren't all undefeated like many thought they'd be. But Saturday night still marks a big step toward sorting out the national title race. A few of the biggest tests of the season are on deck, so who will come out on top? More»

ESPN senior writer Keith Law visits the Poscast to discuss the recent World Series, the upcoming Cy Young and MVP awards, this offseason's top free agents, and other wide-ranging baseball topics. More»

The Alabama-LSU rivalry spent most of its first 111 years in varying states of tepidity. It didn't preen or scream for attention the way it's doing right now, when the first Saturday in November shouts from the Alabaman and Louisianan calendars. More»

Lane Kiffin seems molded by destiny to be the coach at USC. The problem is, nobody really likes him, and his career record in the NFL and college is 36-30. Attention follows him, but the hyped Trojans have two losses and Oregon next. More»

The football field has become a battlefield for issues ranging from separation of church and state to the appropriateness of specific religious messages. Football and faith seem such odd bedfellows -- but this has been happening for about 150 years. More»

It probably felt great in the moment, the Comic Sans, the fury, the ... guarantee? Yes, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert regrets a screed that guaranteed Cleveland would win a championship before LeBron. But all you can do is let go, clean up and move on. More»

If the new college football playoff format was in place this season, things would have worked out just perfectly. But it's not. So with one month left to play, four teams -- Alabama, Oregon, Kansas State and Notre Dame -- still have some issues left to sort out. More»