Month: October 2024

South Korea and Japan have been feuding over a pair of tiny, barely inhabited (and even then, only to gain an upper hand in the dispute) volcanic islands almost exactly halfway between the two countries for over half a century. So naturally, the former used the upcoming Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang to flout their current control. And, well, it didn’t go unnoticed by the latter. In 1905, Japan incorporated the islands, which it calls Takeshima, into Shimane prefecture, citing centuries-old territorial rights. But following post-World War II peace treaties, Korea drew up new borders that included the islands, known there as Dokdo, stationing members of the coast guard (and a single citizen couple) on the rocky cliffs. The two countries also disagree over whether the water surrounding…

As reported yesterday, MLB, the players' union, and the umpires' union have agreed on three rule changes to be implemented immediately, all with the express purpose of—and, I believe, a very good chance of—stopping baseball games from taking so damn long. It's official now, and we have the details. "The most fundamental starting point for improving the pace of the average game involves getting into and out of breaks seamlessly," commissioner Rob Manfred said in remarks distributed by MLB this morning. An ad break in a local game is two minutes long. Going forward, there will be strict scheduling on pitchers warming up and batters getting ready to start the next half-inning, designed to put hitters in the batter's box just as the broadcast returns from c…

The slumping Washington Capitals will try to salvage the finale of their four-game road trip when they visit the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon. The Capitals have been outscored 14-5 on the road trip thus far and will be looking to reverse course ahead of their bye week and the All-Star break. Dallas is heading in the other direction, having won two straight and five of seven after rallying for a 4-3 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night. Thomas Harley scored the game-winner 38 seconds into overtime. Fellow defenseman Miro Heiskanen scored the game-tying goal in the third period and Matt Duchene and Craig Smith also scored for the Stars. Jake Oettinger made 18 saves. "There's a real good composure to our group," Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. …

data-mm-id=”_ovvczho8e”>We're through our second Sunday of the 2019 NFL season and there are already four NFL coaches who should be fired. Check out our list below.Pat Shurmur, New York GiantsShurmur is in his second year with the Giants, and after going 5-11 in 2018, he's opened 2019 with an embarrassing 0-2 start. The G-Men got smoked by the Cowboys 35-17 in Week 1, and were outclassed by a bad Bills team 28-14 in Week 2. On top of that, he patently refuses to give rookie Daniel Jones a chance to replace the awful Eli Manning.Shurmur clearly believes the Giants can win now given his marriage to Manning. I'm here to tell you, the Giants can absolutely not win now. Shurmur has had Eli for a year and still somehow thinks he's a viable NFL quarterback. He's wasti…

data-mm-id=”_c2d8rrhbd”>Myles Garrett should be done for the season. After the brawl late in Thursday night's matchup between the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Garrett needs to be suspended for a very long time. In fact, the Browns' defensive lineman is lucky not to be in jail after he ripped Mason Rudolph's helmet off and swung it at him. With less than 10 seconds to go in the game and the Browns leading 21-7, Garrett took down Rudolph after he released a pass. He took the Steelers' quarterback to the ground roughly, and Rudolph took exception and grabbed Garrett's helmet. Garrett responded by attempting to lift Rudolph off the ground by his helmet, then ripping it off, then swinging it violently at him. Video of the incident is below:Here&#03…

data-mm-id=”_znzmjaq67″>The Dallas Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, 130-111. After putting together a three-game winning streak, the Kings now head into the All-Star break with two straight loses and a 21-33 record. During the third quarter of the loss, Luke Walton got a technical foul and then turned his attention to Luka Doncic. Walton yelled at Doncic to give the referees autographs because they were fans. Kings coach Luke Walton after picking up a technical in the 3rd quarter, calls over to Luka Doncic and says: "Hey Luka, do me a favor, give him your autograph after the game. (points at official) – He's a fan, he's a fan of yours." ?? pic.twitter.com/HU1SQ5oQe7— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) February 13, 2020There was a time when Luke Walto…

data-mm-id=”_y5qrai224″>Kirk Herbstreit shined during his Monday Night Football debut last week and is getting a second chance to prove he's ready for the pros. ESPN announced today that Herbstreit will help lead their Monday night MegaCast on ESPN2 for the Saints-Raiders Week 2 showdown, which features the Radiers debuting their new Las Vegas stadium. Herbstreit, who calls ESPN's college football game of the week in primetime, was mentioned as a potential candidate to join their Monday Night Football booth this past offseason. ESPN ultimately went with Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick in the booth. Here's ESPN's PR release about Herbstreit's involvement with the MegaCast. “The MegaCast presentation on ESPN2 will feature Rece Davis, from ESPN’s stud…

data-mm-id=”_vc3c0tufh”>It's getting to be that time of year, as March Madness is right around the corner. We're just more than a week from the NCAA Tournament kicking off. At this point of the season we all know who the prohibitive favorites to take home a title are. Both Gonzaga and Baylor have jumped out from the pack and really anyone inside the top 10 has a shot to win it all. But there a few teams lurking just outside mainstream thought that have a great chance to make deep runs in the tournament. Here's a look at five sleeper college basketball teams who could wind up winning the national championship this year. If you're looking for outside the box options in your bracket this year, consider these squads. HoustonAt this point, Houston probably shouldn't…