Best was a standout sprinter in high school before playing football at California. He was a first-round pick of the Lions in the 2010 NFL Draft, but his career ended after just three seasons after a series of concussions. MORE: Every NFL team’s single worst moment “When think the road I have traveled to get here I get tons of emotions. A couple of years ago my lifetime dream was crushed,” Best told NBC Sports....
MORE: Inside the 2017-18 Blues Allen went 33-20-5 last season and has notched 16 wins since the 2016 All-Star break. He credits his strong performance a year ago for his emerging confidence in 2017. Three games in, he has looked sharp with a .930 save percentage, making a case to be one of the league’s most reliable netminders. He made 29 saves against the Penguins, 38 against the Stars and 40 while facing the Islanders....
McCaul was one of 175 GOP representatives who voted last week against forming a bipartisan commission to investigate the events of the Capitol riot. While the bill was able to pass in the Democratic-led House, it failed in the Senate Friday when 35 Republicans voted against the legislation through a filibuster. On State of the Union, Tapper pressed the Texas Republican on why he voted against the bill, which would have been modeled after the 9/11 commission in order to investigate the facts and circumstances that led to the January 6 attack....
MORE: ‘Very low risk’ Rio Olympics will further spread Zika Jamaican sprinter Kemar Bailey-Cole revealed Sunday he contracted the virus while training at home. Bailey-Cole, a member of Jamaica’s gold medal-winning 100-meter relay team in London, said the symptoms were minimal at first. “I was experiencing back pains and muscle soreness, but I thought it was just soreness from the exercises I was doing,” he said, via The Associated Press....
James’ dog is the cutest little thing ever. Did you see Mr. James’s new car? We reached out to James’ lawyer, but he didn’t provide any further comment. James’ record was broken by Brown at the latest track meet. We reached out to James’ lawyer, but he didn’t provide any further comment. James’ record was broken by Brown at the latest track meet. James’s research agrees that ginger can help with an upset stomach....
Houston gives up 106.3 points per 100 possessions, only beating out the Kings, Lakers, Pelicans and Bucks in that category. The Rockets allow opponents to shoot 46.2 percent against them, slightly better than the Bucks, Pelicans, Suns and Kings. They give up the fourth-most offensive rebounds per game. There’s no way to verify this, but they also likely lead the NBA in points given up because players — mostly James Harden — don’t care enough to try....
It’s a good thing there were no defensive plays involved; otherwise, the outcome may have been different.
With a barrage of 3-pointers from five different players, the Rockets were able to pull away immediately with a 45-22 first-quarter score. All five starters scored in double figures, and the bench had its best combined effort of the series. While still led by James Harden, their unquestioned leader and go-to guy who had 45 points, this victory was a team effort. And that stands out because it’s the only game this series where Harden has had the help he needs....
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, playing with KD and Kyrie Irving with the Nets is “resonating” with the Rockets guard. The teams have not yet engaged in trade discussions, Wojnarowski reported. Harden isn’t the first Houston star to think about being traded recently. Russell Westbrook is rumored to be involved in trade discussions as the NBA Draft approaches. If Brooklyn were to acquire Harden, then it would make him teammates with Durant again after they spent three seasons (2009-12) together with the Thunder early in their careers....
As Alexander left the mound Monday trailing No. 1 Oklahoma 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth, fans — both in JMU’s purple and gold and Oklahoma’s crimson and cream — stood on their feet to applaud the redshirt senior. The Sooners advanced to the College World Series finals with a 7-1 win against James Madison. MORE: Ole Miss’ Tim Elko continues home run surge — with torn ACL — in College World Series regionals...
Speaking on CNN on Thursday, Mattis said Moscow had “mucked around” in American elections, something that his former boss has refused to admit despite extensive evidence. However, Mattis again refused to openly criticize Trump on his Russia strategy or any other issue. Mattis appeared with CNN host Jake Tapper to promote his new book: “Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead,” which was released earlier this week. The book promises insight into Mattis’ long career in the military and his reputation as one of the great military strategic thinkers of his generation....
Now they’ll adhere to basic NCAA policies and procedures while working to establish Wiseman’s eligibility to play in the 2019-20 season. After six days and two games’ worth of open defiance of NCAA authority, the Memphis athletic department has consented to follow the organization’s methodology for eligibility cases and declared Wiseman ineligible on Thursday. That is the first step in the process of getting him onto the court permanently for the Tigers, without future repercussions....
Including, it would seem, coaching. Georgia Tech posted a viral clip Saturday of the entertainer portraying a football coach. Not only did Foxx get the Southern accent right, but also added some football terminology, colorful language and physical comedy to really tie the performance together. All told, it’s a wonder everyone around him didn’t try to suit up and take to the field: MORE: Creating a college football ‘Super League’: These 15 schools would make the cut in 2021...
McMurray won for the first time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series since 2010, not having to worry about a charge from Dale Earnhardt Jr. because Dillon spun coming out of the second turn. The only other driver collected in the crash was Casey Mears, who slammed into Dillon's car and sent it flying before it came back down upright. A race known for massive crashes was essentially trouble free....
The House committee is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow an appeals court’s earlier ruling, which said that the National Archives should give them access to the documents, to stay in place. Trump’s lawyers have sued to block the National Archives from turning over the documents, claiming that the select committee has “no legitimate legislative purpose” for seeking access to them. They also claimed that providing those documents would damage for future presidents the power of executive privilege, which the former president invoked to keep the documents out of the committee’s hands....
Elsewhere, there’s plenty of business to be done - both in and out - at the opposite end of the Premier League table. Arsenal is on the lookout for a new striker, while Man United is fielding enquiries about Dean Henderson, Eric Bailly, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard. MORE: Man United , Arsenal , Newcastle transfer roundups Stick with Sporting News throughout the day for the latest transfer news, with the biggest stories for January 12 below....
The Green Falcons and the Samurai Blue reinstated their three-point lead over Australia in Group B of Asia’s World Cup qualifying after Jackson Irvine and Mathew Leckie’s goals had seen the Socceroos past the UAE in Sydney. Postecoglou lashes out at formation critics Japan crushed Thailand 4-0 in Saitama with Leicester City’s Shinji Okazaki setting up Borussia Dortmund’s Shinji Kagawa for the opener and then scoring the second himself....
Arima is not alone in his disillusionment. Recent opinion polls suggest that more than half of the Japanese electorate now share his view that neither party offers convincing solutions to problems that worry the public. While that’s bad news for everyone, it could prove particularly devastating for Abe, who is facing an important parliamentary election later this month. That’s because undecideds or swing voters are historically more likely to back for the opposition, whomever it is—if only to say no to the ruling party....
“After writing this very dark, intense book,” Zauner tells Newsweek, “I really wanted some lightness. I just placed a lot of importance on artists who have long discographies, and what a third album means. For me, it was a record that should be just so full of confidence. I wanted it to just be a really bombastic, big confident record. Early on, I loved the title ‘jubilee,’ and so I wanted to write a record that felt like it belonged on an album called Jubilee....
More than just maintaining cultural heritage, food in Zauner’s household served as a sign of her mother’s love. Especially during those times when she would fly back home to Eugene, Oregon, from college, Zauner would be greeted with a celebratory and lavish meal prepared by Chongmi. “The thing that I always associate with her is her kalbi (Korean short ribs) recipe,” the New York City-based Zauner recalls. “She would marinate kalbi a couple of days before I came home....
