MORE FROM Mike DeCourcy

March Madness bubble watch: Can Syracuse play its way into the field?

Those teams aspiring to enter the NCAA Tournament that are considered to be on the bubble and are competing today have got to be delighted with that circumstance.

Mike DeCourcy

A year after pandemic shutdown, Big East returns to Madison Square Garden — with its magic intact

Staging the conference tournament in the Garden means different things to athletes of different backgrounds.

Mike DeCourcy

The secrets of Bob Huggins' success, from those who know him best

Those who have played or worked with Huggins got a view of what drove him to his standing among most successful of all Division I basketball coaches.

Mike DeCourcy

Zags set up for perfection

It seemed as if Gonzaga might make it to March Madness lacking knowledge on how to deal with adversity. That changed against BYU in the West Coast Conference Tournament final.

Mike DeCourcy

Sporting News' 2020-21 college basketball All-Americans

Each of Sporting News' 2020-21 All-America teams contains exceptional players who accomplished extraordinary things. But it was obvious who were this season’s best.

Mike DeCourcy

Michigan's Juwan Howard is Sporting News' 2020-21 Coach of the Year

Juwan Howard is the boss of Big Ten champion Michigan, a presumptive No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed — and Sporting News' 2020-21 College Basketball Coach of the Year.

Mike DeCourcy

Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham is Sporting News' Freshman of the Year

Cade Cunningham's loyalty to Oklahoma State has been rewarded. Sporting News has chosen Cunningham as its Freshman of the Year.

Mike DeCourcy

Iowa's Luka Garza is Sporting News' first repeat winner as Player of the Year since Michael Jordan

The only other men to win it in consecutive years were Oscar Robertson (1958, 1959, 1960), Jerry Lucas (1961, 1962) Bill Bradley (1964, 1965), Bill Walton (1972, 1973, 1974) and Michael Jordan.

Mike DeCourcy

March Madness bubble watch: MSU, Memphis have tough week

The Spartans have an opportunity to upend the Wolverines in a Sunday afternoon matchup and strengthen their case for the dance.

Mike DeCourcy

Can North Carolina make the NCAA Tournament? Breaking down Tar Heels' odds

There is an old saying among those who follow North Carolina basketball, so popular they put it on T-shirts: If God is not a Tar Heel, why's the sky Carolina Blue?

Mike DeCourcy

Can Duke make the NCAA Tournament? Breaking down Blue Devils' odds

The last time there was an NCAA Tournament without the Duke Blue Devils, well, none of the current Blue Devils had been born.

Mike DeCourcy

March Madness bubble watch: Big Saturday for Big East

The conference once set a record for most schools in an NCAA Tournament, but that was lots of changes ago. The 2021 version is scrambling to get teams into the dance.

Mike DeCourcy

March Madness bubble watch: A big night for Michigan State

Here’s an essential truth about those teams that have found themselves on the March Madness bubble: Sooner or later, they’re going to tell you whether they really want to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Mike DeCourcy

March Madness bubble watch: Boise's blunder could open NCAA Tournament door for Stanford, Syracuse ... someone

Life on the March Madness bubble is a challenge for a college basketball fan. Every game your team wins feels more like relief than achievement. Every defeat seems calamitous.

Mike DeCourcy

March Madness bubble watch: Duke in new territory

Here’s what the Blue Devils and other bubble teams are up against tonight.

Mike DeCourcy

March Madness bubble watch: North Carolina takes a swing at knocking out ACC partner Syracuse

We suspect this will be a happier March for all who love college basketball than the one we endured 12 long months ago.

Mike DeCourcy

March Madness replacement rules, explained: How NCAA will select new teams to account for COVID-19 withdrawals

How late can the NCAA replace a tournament team? We cover that and more.

Mike DeCourcy

Blue bloods bring aristocratic feel to scramble for NCAA Tournament bids

These college basketball bluebloods, for various reasons in this most unusual college basketball season, find themselves fighting for the last few NCAA Tournament bids that will be awarded on Selection Sunday.

Mike DeCourcy

As UNC's Roy Williams approaches 900 wins, a look at the nine defining victories of his Hall of Fame career

There have been only four other men’s Division I coaches who reached the pinnacle Williams is approaching.

Mike DeCourcy

Is Missouri positioned for Selection Sunday disappointment?

Mizzou was the last of the 16 teams included on the selection committee’s bracket preview, and that was the best moment of its past two weeks.

Mike DeCourcy

Atlantic 10 flipping dates of men's, women's tournaments, source says; change intended to mitigate COVID-19 risk

The conference continues to be proactive as works to ensure that its qualifying teams can play in the men's NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis.

Mike DeCourcy

Conference tournament opt-outs could have long-term effects

Every capable college basketball team faces seven obstacles on the road to an NCAA championship this season: the standard six opponents that must be defeated in a 68-team bracket, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mike DeCourcy

Jalen Johnson's 'incomplete' resume will be a concern for NBA teams in 2021 draft

At least some of those whose literal job it is to decide who merits an NBA roster position and who does not believe that departing a team at this stage of the season is, to say the least, unimpressive.

Mike DeCourcy

Five takeaways from March Madness 'Bracket Preview'

The March Madness "Bracket Preview" suggests NET will be a top factor in the NCAA Tournament selections.

Mike DeCourcy

UNC's Roy Williams on players' maskless post-Duke celebration: 'Let’s not make it out like we charged the Capitol'

Roy Williams has been watching both the news and sports this week.

Mike DeCourcy

Indiana, Maryland struggles ignite debate over inclusion of .500 team in NCAA field

This has been a college basketball season without precedent, so will the selection committee be interested in breaking most or all the precedents that governed its choices over the past four decades?

Mike DeCourcy

Mahomes' run of sheer genius ends abruptly

Patrick Mahomes made it all look easy for three years. It is not easy, though, even for the most gifted and most determined athlete.

Mike DeCourcy

Comment: Reid makes all-time blunder with timeout gamble

The Chiefs coach knew Tom Brady was on the other side of the field and still gave him extra seconds to move the ball.

Mike DeCourcy

Why are Kentucky, Duke struggling? We count the reasons

There are multiple reasons why the Wildcats and Blue Devils are where they are this season. SN examines four of those reasons in depth.

Mike DeCourcy

Steelers rookie Chase Claypool has a pick for Super Bowl 55 — if that's OK

Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool believes at the close of the 55th Super Bowl that the team standing amid all that flying confetti and holding up the Lombardi Trophy will be … Wait. He’s allowed to have an opinion, right?

Mike DeCourcy

With Bucs in Super Bowl, Tampa Bay superfan Dick Vitale revels in success of adopted favorites

The past year in sports has been very kind to Tampa Bay — and Vitale has loved it.

Mike DeCourcy

Ranking every QB matchup in Super Bowl history, 1-55

We've attempted to do more than look at the names and measure one’s legend against the other’s. We've also examined what that specific player’s value was in that particular season and how the two stacked up against one other.

Mike DeCourcy

Buccaneers' devotion to coaching staff diversity an essential element in Super Bowl 55 run

Head coach Bruce Arians said that having to wait so long for his first opportunity to be an NFL head coach made him want to provide opportunities to others who might be overlooked.

Mike DeCourcy

Remembering John Chaney: So much more to his story than one moment

The Hall of Fame coach was so much more than a fiery competitor who became best known for his postgame run-in with John Calipari.

Mike DeCourcy

Sporting News' 2020-21 college basketball midseason All-America team

The greatest challenge for selecting Sporting News’ annual mid-season All-America team was not so much choosing the 15 most deserving players but deciding what, precisely, constitutes the mid-season in 2020-21.

Mike DeCourcy

NCAA lays out strict COVID-19 protocols for March Madness

The protocols will start before teams reach Indiana for the NCAA Tournament, according to a document obtained by Sporting News.

Mike DeCourcy

Kobe Bryant's death a vivid reminder of how it feels to lose a childhood hero

A generation of basketball fans must cope with the sudden loss of Kobe Bryant. It's common for these fans to feel as connected to their hero as I did to mine.

Mike DeCourcy

Brady-Mahomes QB matchup unprecedented in Super Bowl history

At its core, Super Bowl 55 between the Bucs and Chiefs is the GOAT and the player who could supplant him being on the same field.

Mike DeCourcy

NFC title game will say so much about how Aaron Rodgers' career is remembered

The NFC championship game will say so much about how Aaron Rodgers' career is remembered.

Mike DeCourcy

Philip Rivers' retirement is reminder that clock has expired for Big Ben, and Steelers need to help him accept it

To allow Ben Roethlisberger to consume 23 percent of next season’s salary cap is to engage in a wishful fantasy.

Mike DeCourcy

Changes to March Madness schedule could create greatest day (or days) in NCAA Tournament history

You’re no longer going to need a second screen or a seat in a sports bar to see all the action — just a really comfortable chair and a stocked fridge.

Mike DeCourcy

What is the worst rule in sports?

A controversial touchback ruling played a big role in the Browns' crushing loss to the Chiefs and ignited a lively discussion on Twitter: Is it actually the worst rule in sports?

Mike DeCourcy

All-Indy NCAA Tournament should make for better bracket

The NCAA Tournament seeding system is only as perfect as the people implementing it. In 2021, at least, it has one fewer obstacle to the best bracket possible: geography.

Mike DeCourcy

Chase Claypool's brutal week continues

It has been a brutal week for Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool.

Mike DeCourcy

Luke Smith's journey from Division III to Ohio Valley power Belmont has echoes of Duncan Robinson's improbable climb

This likely is college basketball’s greatest climb since Robinson rose from freshman star at D-III power Williams College to senior regular on Michigan’s 2018 Final Four team.

Mike DeCourcy

How OSU's title hopes vanished in one series

The score may indicate a blowout but, for one moment, Ohio State nearly made the CFP championship an actual game. It squandered the opportunity — and with it, its title hopes.

Mike DeCourcy

Former Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is more than an ideal candidate for a struggling NFL team

Lewis has interviewed at least twice for NFL head coaching jobs this winter, and there is reason to believe those conversations, this time, were more than ceremonial.

Mike DeCourcy

Texas' Andrew Jones marks anniversary of leukemia diagnosis with game-winning 3

Jones marked the three-year anniversary of his leukemia diagnosis in the best way: by making the game-winning 3-pointer for the Longhorns against West Virginia.

Mike DeCourcy

NFL has giant reasons to be concerned about how Eagles handled final regular-season game

To make changes based solely on the Eagles’ loss would be an overreaction. If other teams perceive the league’s current silence as approval, though, they will be tempted to follow a similar course next season.

Mike DeCourcy

Steelers' Mike Tomlin says worrying about COVID is a coach's first job each day in pandemic season

However Mike Tomlin wakes up each day, his first activity always is the same: worrying about COVID.

Mike DeCourcy

Eagles' QB decision with playoff berth at stake doesn't pass smell test

Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson told reporters he was trying to win when he replaced rookie Jalen Hurts with little-used Nate Sudfeld. NFL media weren't buying that.

Mike DeCourcy

Fields showed championship guts as he put a hurting on Clemson

The Buckeyes quarterback played hurt for more than two quarters after absorbing a hit that was ruled illegal. In that time, he inflicted tons of emotional pain on his foe as payback.

Mike DeCourcy

Mike Tomlin's Week 17 debate: Rest key Steelers for NFL playoffs or build on momentum of Colts comeback

The Steelers are locked into the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the AFC playoff bracket. So is there a legitimate reason to play full-strength against the Browns in Week 17?

Mike DeCourcy

Steelers and Styx: 'Renegade' tradition has become 'a gift that keeps on giving' to both band and team

The Steelers and “Renegade” have become inextricably linked.

Mike DeCourcy

Beautiful noise: How college basketball bench players are working to energize their teammates in empty arenas

With spectators still not allowed in college basketball arenas, someone’s got to generate the hype.

Mike DeCourcy

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin promises a 'conversation' with JuJu Smith-Schuster about TikTok dances

JuJu Smith-Schuster’s pregame dances on the opposing team’s logo when playing on the road, recorded for the social media site TikTok, have become a motivator for opponents during the Steelers' losing streak.

Mike DeCourcy

Bearcats' perfection in 2020 will have to be its own reward

The No. 9 Bearcats figure to get no love from the committee when the CFP field is chosen because, well, they're Cincinnati and they don't play in a Power 5 conference.

Mike DeCourcy

Sermon's legendary performance saves the day for Buckeyes

The Buckeyes needed all of Sermon's brilliance to mount a comeback against Northwestern.

Mike DeCourcy

CFP created a Clemson conundrum only a Tigers win over Notre Dame can resolve

The College Football Playoff selection committee will likely hope for Clemson to beat Notre Dame in Saturday's ACC title game — preferably by a narrow margin.

Mike DeCourcy

CFP rankings debacle makes it clear: It's their party and they'll snub who they want to

Calling college football's postseason a playoff is conveying a legitimacy that the CFP hasn’t earned and doesn’t warrant.

Mike DeCourcy

Coach K strikes out in saying Division I basketball should 'reassess' whether to continue season

What would pausing the NCAA basketball season mean for the athletes who currently are playing? Would they remain on campus and continue practicing? There would seem to be no utility in that.

Mike DeCourcy

There are at least 11 reasons why the Steelers are no longer undefeated

The number of people who expected, at any point this autumn, that the Steelers would finish the 2020 regular season undefeated almost certainly was smaller than the select group of family members gathered at Heinz Field late Monday to bear first-hand witness to the end of that dream. Neither, though, did many expect that it would be the Washington Football Team who would do the honors.

Mike DeCourcy

Another slow Kentucky start does not mean Wildcats' season is doomed

If there were not panic from Lexington to Leitchfield, from Campbellsville to Caneyville, from Hazard to Hardinsburg and Wingo to West Liberty, this would not be college basketball season.

Mike DeCourcy

Power 5 have no reason to adopt puffed-up Knight Commission's football 'solution'

The Knight Commission suggested a new governing body for programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision, separate from the NCAA — but only in that single sport. Say what now?

Mike DeCourcy

Answering questions about Steelers' defense after Dupree injury

Pittsburgh remains the NFL’s only undefeated team, but now it must pursue perfection — and a potential Super Bowl title — without a second significant starter lost from its highly regarded defense.

Mike DeCourcy

Cincinnati should feel great about No. 7 CFP ranking, but there's 0.0 chance committee will let Bearcats into their club

I’ve seen this film before, and I didn’t like the ending.

Mike DeCourcy

Steve Young makes baffling declaration on Ravens-Steelers: 'You cannot play that game without Lamar Jackson'

Seriously. A former QB and current NFL analyst on an all-sports network said this.

Mike DeCourcy

Champions Classic 2020: Biggest takeaways from Kansas, Michigan State victories — and Kentucky, Duke defeats

Looking at the biggest takeaways from the Champions Classic:

Mike DeCourcy

Tom Brady looks like a Wizard in Bucs uniform — but not the kind that will create magic in Tampa

It’s always been a selfish conceit for fans or journalists to insist that superstar athletes playing well past their peaks are damaging their legacies. Brady should play as long as he wishes, and as long as someone is willing to pay him. No one should expect it to be the same.

Mike DeCourcy

Here are Mike Tyson's 10 most memorable fights, from Evander Holyfield to Buster Douglas

Of Mike Tyson's 56 fights to date, these were the most memorable and impactful over the course of his career.

Mike DeCourcy

College basketball rankings: Sporting News' Preseason Top 25 for 2020-21

There will be a season. There will be March Madness.

Mike DeCourcy

NBA Draft 2020 team grades: Warriors draw aces; Hornets, Cavaliers produce some questionable answers

We have firmly established the 2020 NBA Draft will not be one of the most productive in the league’s history in terms of generating future stars. So acing this test wasn’t like scoring a 1550 on one’s SATs. But this might turn out to be a draft deeper than many in terms of rotation-type NBA players.

Mike DeCourcy

Biggest steals, worst reaches of 2020 NBA Draft first round

The 2020 NBA Draft wasn't deep in talent, but there were players who represented good value in Round 1. Which teams were best and worst at finding those players?

Mike DeCourcy

NBA Draft prospects 2020: Ranking the top 60 players overall on SN's final big board

Our final big board of 2020 NBA Draft prospects takes an in-depth look at the players likely to be selected inside the lottery, plus a comprehensive ranking of the top 60 players overall.

Mike DeCourcy

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin sets a trap for himself with his dismissal of 'MACtion'

Tomlin neglected one major detail before employing his MAC analogy.

Mike DeCourcy

Israeli NBA Draft prospect Deni Avdija says you're looking for Luka in all the wrong places

“Obviously, we all know that people are going to compare him ... to Luka. He’s not Luka.”

Mike DeCourcy

With shooting now a valued commodity, Utah State's Sam Merrill could be a steal in 2020 NBA Draft

If Merrill’s shooting touch were a stock — and that’s how NBA Draft analysts treat such qualities — it would have risen in value every day the playoffs continued. And as the 2020 NBA Draft approaches Wednesday, it would appear still to have great worth.

Mike DeCourcy

March Madness 2021, explained: Answering questions about NCAA Tournament's 'controlled environment' plans

Here’s what we know now about plans for March Madness in 2021 after the NCAA's announcement that the tournament will take place inside a "controlled environment" at one central location, most likely Indianapolis.

Mike DeCourcy

Gavitt: 'Fully confident' Division I season will start on schedule

Since early September, the opening day of the NCAA Division I basketball season has been established as Nov. 25. And that is when college basketball season will begin.

Mike DeCourcy

Steelers have a perfect record, but lots of imperfections to address

To succeed in the playoffs, Pittsburgh must make substantial improvements in a number of areas.

Mike DeCourcy

Steelers make wrong choice in going by the book with handling of COVID pandemic

Pittsburgh abided by the accepted NFL protocols for avoiding a coronavirus outbreak, but that does not mean it was the right choice.

Mike DeCourcy

'Literally, totally, just euphoric': An oral history of the only March Madness in 2020, and the day COVID stopped it

This is the story of March 7 and its immediate aftermath, told through the experiences of those who made it so extraordinary, and, certainly not by choice, enduring.

Mike DeCourcy

Tom Izzo: 'No clue' how I got COVID-19; people need to 'stick to' protocols

The Spartans' Hall of Fame head coach says he has "no clue" about how he contracted the virus, but he says the protocols that are in place to limit its spread should be followed.

Mike DeCourcy

Rick Pitino says Iona is a 'stepping-stone' job for him — to eventual retirement

Pitino said the role gives him the opportunity to “recruit at a really high level — believe it or not, just as high as Louisville.”

Mike DeCourcy

USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter demonstrates unexpected gift for recruiting top talent in Dest, Musah

Berhalter might not be the sort of coach whose approach will have a player aching to run through a wall, but it appears that he can get the players he wants to wear the U.S. Soccer crest on their jerseys.

Mike DeCourcy

With star safety Paris Ford departing the Pitt Panthers, let's opt to call this what it is

Had the Panthers not blown games against N.C. State and Boston College and were sitting at 5-2, would he be making the same decision? One can surmise the answer almost certainly is no.

Mike DeCourcy

Stripping UMass women's tennis of Atlantic 10 championship could be the worst miscarriage of NCAA justice, ever

“The committee on infractions, by punishing the student-athletes, is sending the message out … that we had cheated. And, obviously, we didn’t."

Mike DeCourcy

Duke's Mike Krzyzewski offers assurance about coming season: We will have March Madness

If you’re a college basketball fan looking for assurances from on high, now isn’t a bad time to hear from Coach K.

Mike DeCourcy

Duke freshman Jeremy Roach must earn his standing among Coach K's long line of legendary point guards

Mike Krzyzewski has demonstrated he is willing to put his basketball team in the hands of a freshman. So long as it’s the right freshman. And he earns it.

Mike DeCourcy

ESPN's bubble popped, but that doesn't mean college basketball should give up on regular season

Safety is an indispensable consideration for those competing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not optional. Convenience, though, is no more than a convenience.

Mike DeCourcy

MLB's analytics revolution is striking out with many who love the game

Crash Davis was right: Strikeouts are boring. They're also having a toxic impact on the viewing experience.

Mike DeCourcy

Villanova coach Jay Wright hopes Wildcats, promising soph Bryan Antoine, can make up for summer lost to pandemic

We have seen enough over the past decade to recognize Villanova’s players value hard work and preparation, but more than ever they are appreciating the chance to prepare for the 2020-21 college basketball season. Especially sophomore Bryan Antoine.

Mike DeCourcy

Ohio State needs to be perfect on, off field to get into CFP race

Already, such teams as Clemson, Alabama and Notre Dame have played at least four games and won them all. That’s a lot of ground for the Buckeyes to make up in a short time.

Mike DeCourcy

If there were an Electoral College to choose the NBA's GOAT, the incumbent might be in trouble

One might think this is a loopy way of annointing the greatest player in the history of basketball, but hey, that’s sort of how we are going to determine who runs the country for the next four years.

Mike DeCourcy

College athletes inch closer to goal of earning while competing

A new rule would mean they can earn money with far fewer restrictions while they are active college athletes.

Mike DeCourcy

UCLA's Mick Cronin: Schools should emphasize games 'the players want to play' in pandemic scheduling

The NCAA announced on Sept. 16 the approved date for the start of regular-season competition, as well as the limit of 27 games, and still few conferences have announced their schedules and almost no teams have finalized non-league play.

Mike DeCourcy

Le'Veon Bell got lots of money from Jets for little work, but still sold himself short

If the goal was to obtain the most amount of money in exchange for the least amount of football, then certainly Le’Veon Bell scored big.

Mike DeCourcy

Lakers' title as legit as any other, if only because of the journey

LA spent three months in the Orlando bubble before reaching their goal of being the last team standing in the playoffs. This was a unique achievement that should not be dismissed.

Mike DeCourcy

LeBron looked a lot like MJ in passing up final shot

LeBron James made the correct play, something he says he always tries to do, when he passed to a wide-open Danny Green. The pass looked very much like a couple that helped win titles for MJ's Bulls.

Mike DeCourcy

Accusations against Marshall aren't total shocker

As shocking as the allegations against him are, anyone who works in college basketball knows Marshall’s sometimes-difficult disposition hardly was a secret.

Mike DeCourcy

Dolphins' decision to stick with partial attendance shows the football teams in Florida are smarter than the governor

The COVID-19 pandemic now is the fourth-worst mass casualty event in U.S. history, behind only the Civil War, the 1918 flu pandemic and World War II. Governmental indifference could push COVID into the top three.

Mike DeCourcy

Lakers' Anthony Davis steals spotlight with performance against Heat's Jimmy Butler worthy of a capital D

With the Heat on the verge of extinction if not elimination two days earlier, Butler had authored a majestic, 40-point triple-double that injected the possibility of genuine suspense into this series. Davis erased that Tuesday night.

Mike DeCourcy

'I really wanted to play this season': Why opting in to Big Ten football became the rage for top NFL prospects

When the conference reversed course and decided to play in 2020, something surprising happened. Players who had previously opted out began opting back in, and for the loveliest of reasons.

Mike DeCourcy

Reds' offensive meltdown in playoffs suggests curse of being Cincinnati sports fan might never relent

A freaking nightmare, indeed. There have been so many.

Mike DeCourcy

Landon Donovan cites 'tremendous pride' in San Diego players after USL forfeit because of alleged anti-gay slur

“We have to stick up for what we believe in.”

Mike DeCourcy

How the Heat can recover from Game 1 blowout

Erik Spoelstra is one of the rare coaches who has won the NBA title — multiple times, in fact — after dropping Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Mike DeCourcy

'Chasing Indiana's Game': New book explores beauty of Hoosier State's obsession with basketball

Three years ago, the Indiana Pacers hit on an idea for a marketing slogan and instead found they’d conjured a phrase that defines an entire state: “We Grow Basketball Here.”

Mike DeCourcy

Louisville coach Chris Mack fires up Cards fans with sarcastic video aimed at archrival Kentucky, John Calipari

There has been no competition since the afternoon of March 12, when Creighton and St. John’s were informed that their Big East Tournament was over after they’d played the first 20 minutes. Louisville coach Chris Mack chose to fill that void with a video Tuesday evening.

Mike DeCourcy

NBA Finals 2020: Central dilemma for Lakers is how best to handle Heat's red-hot Bam Adebayo

The NBA no longer is a center’s league. And yet, the crucial matchup of the 2020 NBA Finals is at center.

Mike DeCourcy

Mississippi State coach Mike Leach's facemasking violation reveals unwillingness to sacrifice for the team

Mike Leach does not get it. He is paid millions, literally as part of the higher education system in the state of Mississippi, and yet he chooses to remain uninformed.

Mike DeCourcy

LeBron James has won the GOAT debate

The debate probably ought to have been settled when James turned the city of Cleveland into a champion for the first time in five decades, but it persists.

Mike DeCourcy

Classic film 'Brian's Song' now serves as fitting eulogy to both Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers

The film’s narration ends with a simple line: “When they think of him, it’s not how he died that they remember. It’s how he lived. How he did live.” The words were written about Piccolo then. They apply to both him and Sayers now.

Mike DeCourcy

Pat Riley's process with Heat: Scouting and evaluating rather than tanking and losing

There was no self-aggrandizing phrase conjured to advertise the reconstruction of the Heat when they were through dominating the early part of the previous decade.

Mike DeCourcy

How LeBron made major impact on final play of Game 2

Let's be totally honest about what happened Sunday night. LeBron James won a game for the Lakers by standing still.

Mike DeCourcy

Weston McKennie's move to Juventus is not the first stunning development in his career

It has been a dizzying ascent for the young soccer player.

Mike DeCourcy

College basketball's 2020-21 season is officially happening, even if the details are murky

This is the best day for college hoops in a long time.

Mike DeCourcy

Ohio State must be perfect — on and off field — to gain favor with College Football Playoff committee

The Buckeyes wanted a chance to safely compete for a national championship this fall. The'll have it now, albeit it with the implied stipulation that anything less than perfection will be insufficient.

Mike DeCourcy

Steelers must unwrap full potential of their offense if they want to pass Ravens in AFC North

While Ben Roethlisberger missed 90 percent of 2019 with an injured elbow, the Steelers replaced him with two quarterbacks who entered the season with zero NFL snaps between them. It looked for a while against the Giants as though their coaches had become nostalgic for those days.

Mike DeCourcy

As pandemic rages, college basketball players should get same NCAA eligibility extension as baseball, football

Coaches would appreciate getting word on this concept soon because it would aid with planning for the season as well as recruiting.

Mike DeCourcy

Messi says he will stay at Barca, but 'lately I have not found happiness within the club'

At his home in a pair of shorts and flip-flops, not quite relaxed or at ease but certainly in his element, Lionel Messi made it clear in an exclusive conversation with Goal that he adores Barcelona as a city and FC Barcelona as a club as he plans to remain for a 16th season.

Mike DeCourcy

Heat's Erik Spoelstra starting to wear the look of elite coach

Spoelstra looks too young to be wise, but check his work instead of his hairstyle.

Mike DeCourcy

Trump's comments about Big Ten football seem like a political Hail Mary

The Big Ten Conference has said there is no game. But the president of the United States insists the ball is “on the one yard line!”

Mike DeCourcy

Remembering Georgetown legend John Thompson

It may seem too convenient to declare, “He was a giant,” but how often does one get to say those words and have it be true in every sense?

Mike DeCourcy

Remembering Lute Olson, an underrated coaching legend

There was little that Lute Olson did not accomplish as a college basketball coach and few honors he did not attain.

Mike DeCourcy

Why NBA players' call to continue season is the right move

In the continuing fight for racial justice, NBA players have one hell of a platform. Their decision to continue is essential for that reason and some even more acute.

Mike DeCourcy

Pro Football Hall of Fame missed too many chances to make Steelers' Bill Nunn a living legend

Bill Nunn was 89 years old when he passed from this Earth on May 6, 2014, so he certainly gave everyone plenty of opportunity to fully acknowledge his greatness while he still was around to appreciate the recognition.

Mike DeCourcy

Carmelo Anthony, once 'washed' and out of the NBA, is the most underrated athlete of this era

There isn't any doubt Anthony has struggled on multiple levels in the late stages of his career, but his greatness shouldn't be questioned.

Mike DeCourcy

If Villanova's Jay Wright declines a call from Sixers, status as college basketball legend awaits

Wright will turn 59 during the course of the next college basketball season. In decades past, that might have meant having another good four or five years in him, but the experience of Jim Boeheim, Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams suggest he easily could coach beyond age 70.

Mike DeCourcy

NBA Draft prospects 2020: Ranking the top 60 players overall on the SN big board

Our big board of 2020 NBA Draft prospects takes an in-depth look at the players likely to be selected inside the lottery, plus a comprehensive ranking of the top 60 players overall.

Mike DeCourcy

Champions League final: Only Alphonso Davies has the speed to get this far, this fast

Sunday, at age 19, Alphonso Davies will play for the right to lift the most prestigious trophy in club sports.

Mike DeCourcy

How crazy was it for 12 teams to ignore Michael Porter Jr.?

How crazy was it for each of the 12 teams to ignore Michael Porter Jr.? We rate them.

Mike DeCourcy

UCL quarters: Davies, Bayern show their superiority against Messi, Barca

The Canadian teenager made big contributions to the German titlists' 8-2 humiliation of the crumbling Spanish side in their Champions League quarterfinal match.

Mike DeCourcy

'We've got to vote': Moved by George Floyd's death, college coaches teach players to change their world

A grassroots movement has gained momentum, which was underscored Thursday when the NABC introduced the Coaches’ Voter Engagement Playbook, a 12-page document offering ideas and guidelines.

Mike DeCourcy

Adams in select company after netting UCL match-winner for Leipzig

Adams' first goal for RB Leipzig couldn't have been much more important.

Mike DeCourcy

Nebraska's commitment to remaining in Big Ten was only wise choice available

If Nebraska really had wished to challenge the Big Ten in order to preserve a 2020 football season, it would have meant abandoning the opportunity to play games against Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State in perpetuity for a single autumn of games against whatever schools are still competing and engaging in out-of-conference competition.

Mike DeCourcy

With season in flux, Heisman Trophy board hasn't decided how to handle 2020 award

What does the Heisman do if roughly half the players are active in the fall and the rest in the spring?

Mike DeCourcy

Damian Lillard’s 61-point performance shows college didn’t hurt his 'upside'

Analytics are telling teams that the age of players entering the league matters relative to their success, but there are ways to make numbers tell the story you want.

Mike DeCourcy

In delaying season, Pac-12 at least provides tangible date

The Pac-12 included college basketball in its statement canceling all sports until the end of the calendar year. That, at least, provides a target date for the 2020-21 season.

Mike DeCourcy

Big Ten's bearer of bad news

None of the issues that have plagued the college sports landscape since March is the fault of Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren. It's still on him to deal with the fallout, especially in his conference.

Mike DeCourcy

This season, a football field might be the safest place for players

One certainly could argue that football players always would be safest not playing football, but if we’re talking strictly about the pandemic, that might not be the case.

Mike DeCourcy

Champions League bracket 2020: Teams, standings, schedule & more to know for UEFA Round of 16 matches

After a five-month break, the Champions League is back as the Round of 16 continues. Here's everything you need to know about the restart.

Mike DeCourcy

MLS is Back knockout round schedule: Dates, times, TV channels

The MLS is Back tournament moves to the elimination rounds; here's the schedule all the way to the championship match.

Mike DeCourcy

DAZN teams with Steve Nash on Champions League video series

Canadian basketball star Steve Nash teams up with Stu Holden to recreate key Champions League moments as the 2020 tournament returns.

Mike DeCourcy

NBA Draft 2020 withdrawal deadline winners & losers: Baylor stays strong, Stanford steps backward

It’s a lot easier to find the winners in this circumstance, but there are some teams on the opposite side of the ledger.

Mike DeCourcy

Reds and Tigers show seven-inning MLB doubleheader might not be here to stay — but will be cool while it lasts

There was an extraordinary gravity to each development in those two games because of the tightened time frame.

Mike DeCourcy

Request to remove Rupp's name from UK arena leads to 'complicated' discussion

Was Adolph Rupp such a horrific racist to warrant the same posthumous treatment as a Confederate leader such as Robert E. Lee or Stonewall Jackson?

Mike DeCourcy

Luka Garza returns to Iowa from the NBA Draft with a new mission

The Sporting News Player of the Year is one of the rare talents to return to college following the coronation.

Mike DeCourcy

MLS is Back tournament updated schedule

Here's a guide to the MLS is Back tournament, including a full schedule with TV channels plus what to know about the format and groupings.

Mike DeCourcy

Dosunmu needs to focus on development as much as title in return to Illinois

Dosunmu probably won't get the championship or the lucrative draft position he desires without toning up his jumper.

Mike DeCourcy

MLB is learning how to deal with COVID-19, but it may be too late to save season

Baseball has begun to realize that hope is not an effective plan to stage a season in the age of COVID-19. One wonders if the adjustments made are arriving too late to realize MLB's planned conclusion.

Mike DeCourcy

NCAA approves uniform change to allow social justice statements by players

College programs in all sports that wish to promote the Black Lives Matter movement or make another social justice statement no longer are constricted by NCAA rules.

Mike DeCourcy

What to watch for as the NBA season resumes

Even with eight games of the regular season and a full 16-team playoff ahead of us, who doesn’t believe we’re on a collision course with Bucks vs. Lakers?

Mike DeCourcy

MLB whiffed like no other sport in its first true challenge of COVID-19 pandemic

MLB failed in all areas in this circumstance, which is not how it has worked to date in other sports that have returned to competition.

Mike DeCourcy

Reds broadcaster Jeff Piecoro will learn what it's like to cover the sidelines when not allowed near

What does a dugout reporter do when not allowed near the dugout?

Mike DeCourcy

Comment: Senators ooze hypocrisy in criticizing NBA's dealings with China

The two lawmakers seem to be emphasizing appearance over principle.

Mike DeCourcy

Even four months late and closed to public, Opening Day remains a 'sacred' tradition in Cincinnati

You could spend a significant portion of your life in Cincinnati and never fully understand the Opening Day phenomenon.

Mike DeCourcy

Comment: HBO's one-sided piece on college sports and COVID was predictable

HBO has done some important sports journalism over the years, but its track record on coverage of college athletics is predictable and abysmal.

Mike DeCourcy

Filip Petrusev's decision to turn pro in Serbia won't crush Gonzaga's NCAA championship dreams

Gonzaga’s Filip Petrusev isn’t waiting around for the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline — or even for the NBA Draft. He is going pro. Now.

Mike DeCourcy

There is nothing golden about decision to cancel Ballon d'Or awards because of pandemic

It would be fair to say France Football’s condescension has turned it into the Ballon de Farce.

Mike DeCourcy

UConn's return to Big East becomes family affair as Dan Hurley's son, Drew, joins Huskies program

The profound influence on the game of basketball exerted by the Hurley family now may extend to a third generation.

Mike DeCourcy

If NFL is bold enough to force out Snyder, it must do better job vetting his replacement

Washington’s NFL team has been an embarrassment on the field. Many in the media have declined for years to use its nickname. Fans have evacuated by the thousands. And, as it turns out, the worst aspect of the operation was not fully revealed until this week.

Mike DeCourcy

Kuminga 'pathway' decision boosts pressure on NBA

No player is going to excel at the game’s highest level without accepting and comprehending what it means to compete.

Mike DeCourcy

Field of 96? How a one-off expansion of NCAAs in '21 could be justified

A larger field would reduce the pressure on the selection committee to decide among teams whose records are abbreviated and parochial.

Mike DeCourcy

Cam Newton promises he'll give Patriots an upgrade over Tom Brady in at least one area

In a roundtable conversation with former New York Giants star Victor Cruz, Browns wideout Odell Beckham and Rams running back Todd Gurley on a YouTube program called “The Bigger Picture,” the new Patriots QB declared that he is undaunted in replacing Brady.

Mike DeCourcy

Explaining the challenges college basketball could face amid COVID-19

If college basketball were to be placed in a circumstance where there were few or no non-league games to help establish how much comparative value there is in winning a conference game, the NCAA's Dan Gavitt said he believes the selection committee is well-positioned to select, seed and bracket a tournament field.

Mike DeCourcy

Patriots' Julian Edelman offers DeSean Jackson opportunity for 'uncomfortable' conversation — at Holocaust Museum

Patriots receiver Julian Edelman, the MVP of Super Bowl 53, offered to accompany Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson to the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center in Washington to help facilitate a “conversation” after Jackson posted false and anti-Semitic statements on social media earlier this week.

Mike DeCourcy

Why NFLPA's case against NFL is an incomplete pass

Players Association president J.C. Tretter of the Browns makes some good points, but also engages in needless hyperbole.

Mike DeCourcy

Why FC Dallas' removal shouldn't cause MLS is Back to be shut down

The Florida bubble still looks to be MLS's best option for resuming play even as one of its teams is forced out of action because of a large number of positive tests.

Mike DeCourcy

Reigning MVP Carlos Vela opts out of MLS is Back Tournament

Vela did participate in training once teams were allowed to return to work in June. But his wife is pregnant, and he made the decision to remain home with her and their 3-year-old son.

Mike DeCourcy

Because 'hope is a good thing,' hoops writer keeps counting down to season

CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, who is as in love with the sport of college basketball as anyone is in love with any sport, believes in the power of hope.

Mike DeCourcy

What channel is Manchester City vs. Liverpool on Thursday? Time, TV schedule for Premier League showdown

The official Premier League champions of this season, Liverpool, will take on last season's champs, Man City, in a game that will be about their personal competition.

Mike DeCourcy

9 FC Dallas players, 1 coach test positive for COVID-19

With the MLS is Back Tournament set to begin July 8, FC Dallas currently is preparing without nine players and one coach who tested positive for coronavirus.

Mike DeCourcy

2020 champions will deserve your enduring respect, not your asterisk*

Winning a title in 2020 could be called one of the toughest championships ever won. Players will have had to compete with limited training and life in a bubble, while playing during a pandemic and fighting for Black Lives Matter.

Mike DeCourcy

Michigan State, Bates could be in for a long engagement

There are lots of potential distractions for Emoni Bates — the top 2022 recruit in high school basketball, perhaps the best since Anthony Davis — before he formally enrolls at MSU.

Mike DeCourcy

Latest Patriots punishment feels like it's meant to be a joke

The Patriots were caught cheating. Again. But the NFL's lenient punishment only reinforces the team's win-at-any-cost approach.

Mike DeCourcy

All players kneel for national anthem as NWSL returns

Members of the Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage unanimously took knees as the Star-Spangled Banner was played in advance of Saturday's game.

Mike DeCourcy

As some pros hesitate to return, San Jose's Tommy Thompson says he feels 'safe' with MLS is Back event

The first game is not for another two weeks, but already Tommy Thompson and his teammates with the San Jose Earthquakes are inside “the bubble” at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex.

Mike DeCourcy

Indy 500 plan for fans shows it's possible to move too fast in auto racing

Opening to 50 percent capacity seems a needless exercise in hubris.

Mike DeCourcy

Liverpool fans waited so long for title; now there's plenty of time to enjoy it

Now that Liverpool has secured its first true Premier League title, fans are going to have plenty of time to bask in the victory.

Mike DeCourcy

Comment: NCAA needs to spare Oklahoma State after Cunningham's decision

For the sake of justice, it always was important that the members of the NCAA infractions appeals committee remove the one-year ban on postseason play installed earlier this month against the Oklahoma State basketball program. Now, for the sake of those who follow the game, it’s essential.

Mike DeCourcy

Famous NBA fathers and sons

To celebrate Father’s Day, we look at a dozen of the most prominent active father-son duos (or trios, as the case may be).

Mike DeCourcy

Davies beats tough competition to Bundesliga Rookie of the Year award

Canadian Alphonso Davies was named as Bundesliga’s Rookie of the Season, and though it was not a difficult choice, the competition actually was fierce.

Mike DeCourcy

From Blake Snell to Fay Vincent, those closest to MLB continue to misunderstand fans' relationship to game

If MLB wishes to dismiss the threats from fans to abandon the game for good if there is no clear solution to the 2020 season, or no solution soon, it does so at its own peril.

Mike DeCourcy

Every Aston Villa, Sheffield United player kneeled before Premier League restart in support for Black Lives Matter

None of the 22 players on the field were American, but the movement reignited by the killing of George Floyd last month obviously has superseded national boundaries.

Mike DeCourcy

Five things to watch as Premier League returns to work on completing 2019-20 season

If Liverpool’s victory is an inevitability, what’s compelling about the return of the Premier League? We're glad you asked.

Mike DeCourcy

If MLB loses the 2020 season, a salary cap should be part of its vision for the future

Baseball can at least use a nixed year as an opportunity fix its woefully short supply of competition.

Mike DeCourcy

A lonely Premier League title for Liverpool will be 'odd,' but so much better than a 'null and void' season

With the restart of the Premier League season, the Liverpool fan base, which stretches far beyond England, is eager to see its club finally end its championship drought.

Mike DeCourcy

Alphonso Davies breaks Bundesliga speed record, adds league title to meteoric rise with Bayern Munich

The Edmonton teen has become a key member of one of the giants in international soccer, and fast.

Mike DeCourcy

Reds' Trevor Bauer is right to lament exclusion of Barry Bonds, other 'Steroid Era' stars from Hall of Fame

Sunday's airing of "Long Gone Summer," ESPN's nostalgic documentary on MLB's 1998 home run chase, reignited the Hall of Fame debate for steroid users synonymous with an era that some credit for reviving baseball.

Mike DeCourcy

NBC will use artificial crowd sounds to enhance Premier League broadcasts

All sports arguments may be noise, in a sense, but this one actually is about noise.

Mike DeCourcy

'Racial insensitivity' from Liberty U leadership leads basketball guard Asia Todd to transfer portal

Ordinarily, the announcement of a transfer by player who averaged 8.6 points for a team that finished second in the Atlantic Sun Conference would not generate much attention. These are not ordinary times.

Mike DeCourcy

Tottenham star Dele Alli gets Premier League suspension for social media post mocking coronavirus

The excitement about the return to competition for the Premier League might be muted for Tottenham Hotspur fans after star midfielder Dele Alli received a one-game suspension for a SnapChat video he posted that was deemped "insulting" by the Football Association.

Mike DeCourcy

Drew Brees among 1,400 sports figures supporting Players Coalition drive to end 'qualified immunity' for police

Not every person who signed the petition organized by the Players Coalition to endorse the Ending Qualified Immunity Act is an NFL player, and not every NFL player’s name is on it. But there are a ton of them, more like many tons, and that weight is both literal and figurative.

Mike DeCourcy

Bayern Munich rising star Alphonso Davies ranked among top 10 most valuable players in the world

Davies’ star has ascended rapidly since his transfer to Bayern Munich in 2019 for a fee of $14.75 million, which is going to turn out to be one of the great steals in world soccer history.

Mike DeCourcy

Villanova forward Saddiq Bey's commitment to stay in NBA Draft will make some GM look very smart

In a few years, a number of the players drafted will inspire puzzled looks and the inevitable question: They picked him over Saddiq?

Mike DeCourcy

Frequent COVID-19 testing makes MLS players comfortable with return to regular training

Some MLS clubs returned to full-squad training Monday after an extended absence resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mike DeCourcy

Pacers star Victor Oladipo: Modern resources can create racial progress 'no one has ever seen before'

“This is just the beginning. At the end of the day, it takes time to do anything powerful.”

Mike DeCourcy

With NBA Draft date set, NCAA announces new withdrawal date

The NCAA chose to remove its original date after the NBA had announced it was postponing the draft.

Mike DeCourcy

Johnny Majors' reinvention of Pitt still resonates, as a memory for fans and target for today's Panthers

Majors raised the standard, elevating a football program from joke to force.

Mike DeCourcy

Capitals goalie Braden Holtby expresses hope that protests can build bridge over America's racial divide

“You’re bringing pride to every person who believes in the universal value of a human being. Keep fighting, and I vow to demonstrate and educate what you are fighting for.”

Mike DeCourcy

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