3+ mon, 1+ week ago (470+ words) Aug 20, 2025 | 3:53 AM EDT When asked what it would take for NASCAR to reach the "next level" of popularity, Austin Cindric initially offered a tongue-in-cheek answer " "More horsepower!" But quickly, he pivoted to a more serious point about the state of the sport and, more importantly, how insiders speak about it with a four-word'answer: "We control the narrative." "NASCAR doesn't give itself enough credit as an industry," Cindric told Jeff Gluck. "There are a lot of professional sports below our level, but we live in this bubble, comparing ourselves to stick-and-ball sports. Other sports don't compare themselves to NASCAR, but we're constantly comparing ourselves to them." " Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) August 19, 2025 Cindric specifically pointed to the role of media members and ex-insiders in amplifying this. "If you take a respected journalist that says "NASCAR is dying' or one of these ex-drivers or ex-crew…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago (485+ words) Aug 20, 2025 | 7:00 AM EDT Detroit Lions quarterback Chase Daniel (4) warms up before their NFL game against the Indianapolis Colts at Ford Field in Detroit, on Sunday, November 1, 2020. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com) " Tim Brando (@TimBrando) August 19, 2025 And let's be real"this move isn't just ESPN doing Daniel a favor. It's a strategy. A guy like Daniel brings QB brainpower, knows how to prep like a pro, and has a personality that feels approachable on air. Plus, fans love the "bag collector" narrative. Man made $43 million holding a clipboard. Now he's holding a headset. If that isn't the most Chase Daniel thing ever, we don't know what is. Before the backup bags and broadcast booths, Chase Daniel was that guy at Missouri. He carved his name into Tigers' lore with a four-year run that flipped the program's ceiling. As a freshman in 2005, he…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago (417+ words) Aug 20, 2025 | 3:52 AM EDT Credits: Instagram/ Billie Jean King "I didn't retire. I became a degenerate. I would have started drinking before noon'if I ever got up before noon," Bill Scanlon told iconic tennis reporter Michael Mewshaw at the 1983 US Open. After turning pro in 1976, Scanlon showed great promise, beating top 10 opponents before running into a rough patch. The man who pulled him out of that rough patch was Australian coach Warren Jacques. Under Jacques, Bill Scanlon made it all the way to the US Open semifinals that year. And that's what the late tennis coach did. He didn't just help athletes improve their game; he cared for them on and off the court. So when the legend Billie Jean King heard of the coach's demise, she couldn't help but recall their first meeting and the caring man she got to know…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago (438+ words) Aug 20, 2025 | 9:09 AM EDT August 19, 2025, Chicago, Il, USA: Chicago Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker looks on from the dugout in the fifth inning while not staring in game one of a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. Chicago USA " ZUMAm67_ 20250819_zaf_m67_003 Copyright: xChrisxSwedax Rookie Owen Caissie played in Tucker's place in the next matches. Caissei seized the moments, going 3-for-6 with his first career home run and four RBIs. And the Cubs swept the doubleheader with 6-4 and 4-1 wins. The second is the emergence of Owen Caissie, which may be another reason why the Cubs can move on from Tucker. As Timmers pointed out, "Maybe you just think Owen Caissie is going to be better for less money?" Whatever the reason for this slip is, it's not very clear-cut for Kyle Tucker as well. As he said,…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago (443+ words) Aug 20, 2025 | 7:18 AM EDT Streaming-first nights & access Peacock Monday: Exclusive Monday games NBC Sunday Night Basketball: Debuts Feb 1, replacing the NFL's Sunday Night Football. ESPN App: ABC/ESPN games. Just before tip-off, NBA executives huddle over schedules, mapping every game of the 202526 season across screens, devices, and platforms. The season tipped off on February 1st with doubleheaders: Lakers-Knicks and Thunder-Nuggets. Around seventy-five national games would stream exclusively. Even with every day packed, executives and fans alike wonder: Is all this expansion necessary? Behind this deal is the NBA's strategy: money, media partners, and fan behavior are center of the game. But how exactly? Beyond revenue, the deal cements the NBA's status as the world's second-largest sports league by media rights value, trailing only the NFL. This agreement positions the NBA just behind the NFL in global media rights value; the NFL's 20232033 deal…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago (446+ words) Aug 20, 2025 | 5:28 PM EDT Chicagoland Speedway's roaring back to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026, and it's got fans buzzing. The 1.5-mile oval in Joliet, Illinois, hasn't seen Cup action since 2019, but it's set to host a points race on July 5, with the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly Xfinity) running the day before on July 4. The return's exciting, but not everyone's sold. Chase Briscoe, a Cup Series star with a knack for speaking his mind, is waving a caution flag. His recent plea about track surfaces, sparked by Iowa Speedway's woes, has fans and drivers alike worried that Chicagoland's upgrades could mess with what made the track special. With $4 million on the line, the stakes are high to get this revival right. Chase Briscoe didn't mince words on X, tweeting, "Please don't do the Iowa repave." He's talking about Iowa Speedway's 2025 partial…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago (432+ words) Aug 20, 2025 | 7:30 AM EDT Jul 20, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors player Draymond Green and actress Hazel Renee arrive at the Red Carpet for the 2022 ESPY at Dolby Theater. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images They say some players shine on the box score while others live in the margins. Draymond Green, for his part, practically built a house there and invited the whole dynasty to move in. And just when the noise around his legacy was starting to hum again, Green got a little boost" from his wife, from his team, and even from an NBA legend who knows a thing or two about winning. Golden State's emotional heartbeat is entering his 14th NBA season, and the celebration already started on Instagram. Hazel Renee, Green's wife, reposted a Warriors highlight noting his rare statistical company: top 20 all-time in career playoff blocks,…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago (436+ words) Aug 20, 2025 | 7:03 AM EDT Jul 27, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) looks on during the second half of a basketball game against the Chicago Sky at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images "I'm officially 3 for 3 on being fined by the WNBA," Cunningham admitted. "They didn't like my comments on Paige Bueckers. I didn't even say anything bad. It's insane." For context, here's exactly what Cunningham said about Bueckers on her Show Me Something podcast last week: Sophie got fined again lmfao " correlation (@nosyone4) August 20, 2025 Apparently, that crossed the line. Whether you think that one deserved a fine or not, you have to agree that Sophie Cunningham's rap sheet this summer has been'creative: Notice the trend? After the Connecticut flagrant, every fine has come directly from what she's said online: TikTok, podcasts, social media. The league clearly wants her to…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago (433+ words) Aug 20, 2025 | 6:30 AM EDT One year ago, Diego Pavia gave an arm, a leg, and just about everything else to drag Vanderbilt back to places it hadn't been since 2013. He delivered a Bowl win and engineered a winning season when folks in Nashville had stopped believing those even existed. He even upset Alabama. What no one knew at that time was that the QB had a lot going on behind the scenes." Vanderbilt's coach Clark Lea joked that unless you chopped the leg clean off, Diego Pavia would still hobble onto the field. But the truth was less funny. His leg turned purple from top to bottom, and the man who had diced Alabama's defense a week earlier was never truly whole again. Yet he played on, because of course he did. "But that's SEC football," he said. "That's football anywhere you…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago (398+ words) Aug 20, 2025 | 7:35 AM EDT NFL, American Football Herren, USA San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals Jan 5, 2025 Glendale, Arizona, USA San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan looks on after losing to the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Glendale State Farm Stadium Arizona USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMattxKartozianx 20250105_pjc_ak4_329 This was because of No. 2 quarterback Mac Jones, who suffered a knee sprain during the game. It was late in the second quarter when Jones went down after getting hit by two defenders on an incomplete pass. He held his left leg and looked in some serious pain. In the third quarter, he returned and led a 13-play scoring drive. He was later replaced, with Carter Bradley taking over in the fourth. The veteran QB has spent the 2021 season with the team. He started out on the practice squad, and later was able…...