Football’s best players can’t chase titles in the same way that NBA players do – not if they also want to get paid what they are worthThe former Detroit Lions star receiver Calvin Johnson has come to understand something in his retirement that thousands of current and former players have already learned. The NFL is an owners’ league. Last week Johnson lamented his inability to jump ship to a football dynasty the way the NBA superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant were able to do with the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. He decried the unfairness of enduring losing while not having the power to get himself to the Patriots or Broncos or some other championship-ready franchise....
The regular season’s Pick Six contest is done and dusted, and now Pick the Playoffs can begin. This week, go for Houston, Seattle, Pittsburgh and Green BayFor NFL teams, the playoffs represent the culmination of months of hard graft. But here on the Guardian sport blog, they simply represent a fresh start. Our regular season Pick Six contest is at an end, but now it is time for the Pick the Playoffs to begin. First, though, we must crown our regular season champion. In past years, this has often been a close-run thing, but this time it was not at all; castigers has led the way for weeks and held off one final late push from the chasing pack to...
Detroit have been impressive at home this season but Aaron Rodgers is a man who does not know when he is beatenThe final weekend of the NFL’s regular season is upon us. And so too, therefore, is the final week of our Pick Six contest. We’ll be following up with Pick The Playoffs, of course, from next week, but this is your final chance to call a full slate of six games correctly - just like aalipour, carloscontrole, denothemeno, Fraser Hartley, Gruagain, Robert Rudolph, Switchskier, TheBandit79 and xartec did last time out. Do join me in giving them each a virtual pat on the back. I’ll have the overall standings up in the comments section shortly, but can confirm that...
The Lions looked to have wrapped up the NFC North but suddenly Green Bay have found a running back in the most unlikely of placesYou can almost feel the dread coming from Detroit this morning. This is a familiar sensation for Lions fans, after all. Their team has never been to a Super Bowl, has won just one playoff game in 59 years and last celebrated a division title in 1993. People want to talk about the suffering in Cleveland, but you can’t talk about misery without understanding the darkness that has been the NFL in Detroit.On Sunday the Lions practically held the NFC North title in their hands. All that had to happen was they beat the New York...
The Lions are riding a five-game winning run, but Matthew Stafford’s finger injury could spell trouble. Plus, go for the Vikings, Steelers and CardinalsThe finish line is in sight. Only three weeks remain in the NFL’s regular season, and that means you only have three more shots at a clean sweep in our Pick Six contest. Nobody managed it in week 14, although castigers did make a big move up to the top of our overall leaderboard with a solid five out of six. Related: How the Seattle Seahawks became the NFL's most outspoken team Continue reading...