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Is MLB Due for a Second Half — and October — of Parity?
The betting markets still consider the Dodgers huge favorites. But a weak group of top first-half teams seems to be foreshadowing old-school chaos…
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Neil Paine
The Rise and Fall of NBA Generations
Much has been made of the Thunder as a quintessentially Zoomer champ. But when did prior generations gain — and lose — their grip on the league? And how…
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Neil Paine
2
Which All-Stars Tend to Stay All-Stars?
Each summer, MLB’s best and brightest gather for a midseason showcase. But does it really highlight the stars of tomorrow — or just capture a moment…
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Neil Paine
The Best Damn Receiver Who Won’t Make The Hall Of Fame
Jimmy Smith racked up elite numbers despite playing in a small market and battling personal demons — yet he remains one of the best receivers most fans…
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Neil Paine
2
Revisiting the Jordan Years We Pretend Didn’t Happen
MJ’s time in Washington is often seen as a sad epilogue — but the truth is more complicated.
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Neil Paine
2
J.D. Drew and the Curse of Talent
Drew is a quintessential Hall of Pretty Damn Good Players inductee. Should he have been something more?
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Neil Paine
1
Alexander Mogilny's Hall of Fame Evolution
From defector to scorer, underachiever to champion to snub, Mogilny’s path to the Hall of Fame wasn’t a straight line.
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Neil Paine
2
The Pacers Almost Gave Us a Totally New Championship Blueprint
Despite coming up just short, Indiana might have given future NBA title hopefuls a new path for championship team-building — by breaking all of the old…
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Neil Paine
The Pacers Are 1 Win from the Greatest Upset in (Recent) Finals History
Just when it looked like order might return to the NBA, the Pacers pushed the Finals to a decisive Game 7 — and prolonged the league’s season of…
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Neil Paine
The Florida Panthers Are a Dynasty That Rose From a Sweep
Florida was once the NHL’s most irrelevant team. Now they’ve won two straight Cups — and showed the rest of the league how to bounce back from a…
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Neil Paine
1
Tiger at Pebble Is Still Untouchable
Twenty-five years later, Tiger Woods’ 2000 U.S. Open remains the most dominant major performance ever — and I have a new metric, ELDRICK, to prove it.
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Neil Paine
Is the College Football Playoff Going to Recreate the BCS' Formulaic Approach?
Everything old (and hated) could be new again (and hated).
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Neil Paine
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