He’s Lionel Messi’s boss. He’s also one of the most recognisable sports figures on the planet. So, when David Beckham strode through the car park outside St Andrew’s shortly before Birmingham City vs Wrexham kicked off, it was perhaps understandable that the heads of supporters also making their way into the stadium should turn so…

COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the stadium clock approached seven minutes until game time, nobody could be within 25 feet of the flame when Ohio State unveiled its new pyrotechnics machine. In the press box at the top of Ohio Stadium, Ericka Hoon and Caleb Clark focused on the flame, communicating with staff on the field…

Uh oh, Brock Purdy. Your detractors are lining up. The fellowship of Purdy Truthers can smell the validation. They prayed for times like these. Their contention this whole time is that you, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, have been all hype, that you didn’t belong in the company of the game’s elite. They’ve been saying…

The Kansas City Royals are good for baseball, and not just because they’re a small market team vying for a postseason spot or because Bobby Witt Jr. is one of the game’s brightest young stars.  No, the Royals are good for baseball because they’re a shining example of what every organization in professional baseball should…

It’s Week 3 of the NFL Power Rankings, and Tennessee Titans coach Brian Callahan speaks for all of us. What the (heck) are you doing, National Football League? In Week 2 action, the Vikings beat the 49ers, the Raiders beat the Ravens, the Buccaneers beat the Lions, Malik Willis and the Packers beat the Colts.…

Every contending team has star players, but they also have those special players who often fly under the radar yet are indispensable to a team’s success during a playoff run. These players have intangibles that aren’t always seen by the public, and with the focus mostly on stars, they often get overlooked, particularly outside their…

It’s a weekly challenge for college football fans: Let’s not make sweeping declarations after one game. It becomes even more challenging when the quarterback position is at the center of the conversation. It’s the most important position, in a game and the trajectory of a program. As we look across the country, several situations have…

PHILADELPHIA — Kirk Cousins didn’t want to say it, but Jessie Bates III finally admitted it. This is what the money is for. The Atlanta Falcons upset the Philadelphia Eagles 22-21 at Lincoln Financial Field on “Monday Night Football” on the backs of their most expensive free-agent acquisitions from the last two offseasons. Cousins orchestrated…

Eric DeCosta was on vacation on Cape Cod, his last downtime for many months. Training camp was still a few weeks away, and the Baltimore Ravens had no pressing issues at the moment. The mind of a talent evaluator, though, never rests. DeCosta’s childhood dreams of finding and developing players, drafting and building a roster…

On Jan. 11, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers posted a video to more than 200,000 followers on Instagram. In it, he signed a trading card with his face and added a message below. “I’m coming back,” he wrote, holding the card up to the camera. The top comment on the post? “Yall gonna lose manning (sic),”…