Twitter had a laugh when the Texans rookie shared a dinner bill he was made to pay, but the legacy of athletes blowing their fortunes is anything but funnyHere’s what passes for a good time in the NFL. A group of veteran players gather up an unsuspecting rookie and take him out to dinner. Over the next few hours they order heaping slabs of steak and bottle upon bottle of wine from the restaurant’s secret storage chest. After, they wash it all down with a couple bottles of Dom Perignon. When the bill arrives they propose a game. How about a little credit card roulette? Everyone throws their card in a hat and the waiter or waitress is asked to...
The start of NFL season was awful. But with 22 of 32 teams in playoff contention with two weeks left (and ratings on the rise!), an exciting finish loomsThe start of the 2016 NFL season was a disaster by any measure. September and October produced bad football, bad ratings and good reason to actually think: “You know, maybe reading my high school friends’ insane posts about the election on Facebook would be a better use of my time than watching this game.” But a funny thing happened on the way to the NFL joining the list of big names that passed away in 2016: it came back to life. Maybe there’s nothing that will ever erase the trauma of seeing...
A report shows the highest rate of game-day arrests at NFL stadiums isn’t in Philly or Oakland but, contrary to reputation, in sunny San Diego. Can it be true?The scene at Qualcomm Stadium is loud and booze-soaked, but you’d be hard-pressed to guess you were at the NFL’s most belligerent stadium for its most belligerent affair of the year.Earlier this year, the Washington Post for the first time compiled game-day arrest records from across the NFL. It arrived at a surprising conclusion: more people are arrested at San Diego Chargers games than anywhere else. Related: Beware the walking dead: the San Diego Chargers' $10m farewell tour Related: Why the Oakland Raiders' stunning turnaround could be bittersweet for fans Continue reading...
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...
From breathless Irish commentator Cathal Dennehy to Norway’s handball team, via Achmat Hassiem, we salute some of the year’s real championsThere are some great moments in sport that are elevated still further by a great piece of commentary. Sometimes – as with the great Richie Bernaud – these moments are embellished with quick wit and composure, but mostly – in keeping with the high-octane sport around them – it is fully-grown adults going off script, spontaneously combusting to bring the fervour of the action to the viewer or listener, making everybody’s day a little bit brighter. Related: The Joy of Six: flawed sporting competitions Related: Juan Martín del Potro inspires Argentina to first Davis Cup title in Croatia Related: Paralympics:...