11:30 AM ET The day began like any other in December for a college football program shut out of bowl season. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano sat in his home office, fully immersed in recruiting. Scarlet Knights quarterback Noah Vedral relaxed at home in Nebraska. Vedral and his teammates had scattered after exams, traveling to places
11:12 AM ET ESPN News Services Matthew Slater is a finalist for the third straight year and fourth time overall for the NFL’s Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. The league announced Thursday the eight finalists for the honor that recognizes players who best demonstrate the qualities of on-the-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game
12:29 PM ET Associated Press NFL executive Troy Vincent hopes hiring minority candidates becomes so common that the Rooney Rule is unnecessary. “We should be creating a workplace culture that doesn’t require mandates to interview people of color and minorities,” Vincent told The Associated Press on Thursday. “They should be doing the right thing for
11:34 AM ET ESPN News Services The NFL will hold a moment of silence before all its Week 17 games for Hall of Fame coach and broadcasting icon John Madden, who died Tuesday at age 85. “As you know, the NFL lost a true giant on Tuesday with the passing of John Madden,” NFL commissioner
9:31 AM ET First is first and second is nowhere, as the saying goes, so Thomas Tuchel and Jurgen Klopp fill need to find a way to motivate their Chelsea and Liverpool players ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge. Unless Manchester City suffer an unprecedented collapse in the title race over the
11:08 AM ET MIAMI — When Michigan asked coach Jim Harbaugh to take a pay cut to return as head coach this past offseason, he didn’t have to think much about it. Harbaugh on Thursday said it was “no big deal” when asked how he reacted to the request, which cut his base salary from
11:40 AM ET While Alabama might have taken a little longer to get on track this season than coach Nick Saban would have preferred, he said Thursday his patience wasn’t necessarily tested. “I don’t have any patience, so anything that happens is a test of my patience, including sitting in this chair right now,” Saban
10:24 AM ET Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minnesota — The Minnesota Wild signed coach Dean Evason and his staff to multiyear contract extensions Thursday, a reward for keeping them as one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Evason, 57, is in his second full season as Minnesota’s coach after replacing Bruce Boudreau in
10:39 AM ET PITTSBURGH — Acknowledging that he doesn’t speak in “definites” or “guarantees,” Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said Monday Night against the Cleveland Browns will likely be his final home regular-season game with the franchise. “Looking at the bigger picture, I would say all signs are pointing to this could be it —
9:57 AM ET Michigan defensive back Daxton Hill, an All-Big Ten selection, is not currently in Miami as the Wolverines prepare to play Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh left open the possibility that Hill could join the team in time for Friday’s game,