ALAMEDA, Calif. — Soon after the NFL approved the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas, coach Jack Del Rio wondered if anyone had a handbook on how to handle being a lame duck in Oakland. While there might not be a book about how to handle playing in a city a team plans to abandon for [...]
PHOENIX — Clemson is back in Arizona, hoping to celebrate a College Football Playoff victory in the same stadium the Tigers came up just short of a national championship last season. Ohio State’s postseason game last season was also here, though the memories for the Buckeyes are much better. No. 2 Ohio State (11-1) and [...]
COLUMBUS — Whether Ohio State can beat Clemson in the College Football Playoff Saturday could depend on which version of the wildly inconsistent Buckeyes offense shows up to play in the desert. Will it be the score-at-will unit that averaged more than 53 points through the first five games and blew away Nebraska and Maryland [...]
NEW YORK (AP) — Playing in the NFL brings many challenges. Money management might not seem to belong on that list. Yet experts say it should be a high priority — even for players just entering the league. No one is suggesting the fans who spend their hard-earned wages to support pro football should sympathize [...]
COLUMBUS — Never mind that No. 2 Ohio State’s clash with No. 3 Michigan this week is the most meaningful contest between the bitter rivals in a decade. In Columbus, the game against “The Team Up North” doesn’t need any additional hype. Legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes hung the “TTUN” moniker on Michigan so [...]
The stage is finally set for Michigan and Ohio State, and if their most recent work is any indication, points will be hard to come by Saturday at the Horseshoe. The Buckeyes edged Michigan State 17-16 on Saturday, and then the Wolverines had problems of their own in a 20-10 victory over Indiana. What enabled [...]
COLUMBUS — The giant video screen in Ohio State’s indoor practice facility ran a loop of MMA fighters beating each other senseless, coach Urban Meyer’s way of reminding players that they have one swing to knock out Michigan State this week and keep their championship dreams alive. With all the playoff talk swirling after a [...]
SAN DIEGO — Voters called the San Diego Chargers’ bluff, leaving the NFL team to decide whether to try one more time to get a new stadium built here or pack the moving vans for the trip up Interstate 5 to Los Angeles. Measure C, which would have raised $1.15 billion from increased hotel occupancy [...]
CLEVELAND — There’s a light in the Cleveland Browns’ locker room at FirstEnergy Stadium that splashes the phrase “Expect to Win” on the carpet for all the players and staff to see. The sign doesn’t mention anything about when the winning is supposed to start. Not that it matters. At this point, it’s anybody’s guess, [...]
COLUMBUS — After an excruciating, exhilarating overtime win at Wisconsin, Ohio State is preparing this week to play in another loud, hostile environment. Penn State’s Beaver Stadium, with a capacity of more than 106,000, is known as one of the toughest places to play in the country. Add that it’s a Saturday night and the [...]