Five NFL teams that need to get off to a fast start in 2016

Separating the wheat from the chaff in fantasy football can be an arduous undertaking, particularly when rookies are involved. It’s perhaps never been more imperative to have this ability, considering some expect there to be 24 more rookies taken in fantasy drafts this year compared to 2015. The ghosts of JaMarcus Russell and Charles Rodgers […]

The dominance of Michael Phelps has crushed the Olympic dreams of these 27 swimmers

Michael Phelps is the face of the Summer Games. Team USA’s flag bearer won his 20th and 21st gold medals in Rio, giving him 25 medals in all, placing even more distance between him and Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina, the second-most decorated Olympian of all time (18 medals from 1956 to 1964). If Phelps was a country he would currently […]

Katie Ledecky could shatter an unbreakable barrier at the Olympics

Katie Ledecky proved once again she is the best female Olympic swimmer of our time on Tuesday night when she won gold in the women’s 200-meter freestyle at the Summer Olympics in Rio. She finished the race in 1 minute 53.73 seconds, edging out Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom, who won silver with a time of 1:54.08. “I […]

Fantasy football 2016: Three wide receivers primed for a breakout year

The NFL has become a pass-happy league, and each and every year new players pop up as ultra-reliable fantasy options. The following wide receivers may not initially look like they can be a valuable piece to your team, but they could very well emerge as your most savvy draft pick of the entire draft. Kelvin Benjamin, […]

The Mets need Noah Syndergaard to fix his change-up

After dominating batters through his first 13 starts of 2016, the current edition of Noah Syndergaard has been underwhelming to say the least. Since his outing on June 22nd, Syndergaard has an uncharacteristic 4.06 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 7.8 percent walk rate during the eight-game stretch. It’s possible that these issues are the product of […]

Team USA men’s basketball is dominating, but it isn’t Dream Team

What started off as a give-and-take match ended in a blowout when the U.S. men’s basketball team, a 51-point favorite, routed Venezuela 113-69 in group play in Monday. This after Team USA covered as a 48-point favorite in their first game against China, even without the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and James Harden. Without as much star power as the “Dream Team” […]

The Beginner’s Guide to Fantasy Football: The best draft picks for Rounds 1-3

Maybe a friend finally talked you into it. Or you heard an awesome new podcast on The Washington Post and thought it was time to give it a try. Whatever your reasoning, congrats on joining your first fantasy football league! Now let’s get your team off to a strong start. One way to do that is to make […]

Fantasy football 2016: Three running backs primed for a breakout year

Every single season, new players emerge as fantasy football studs. If you draft those unexpected aces, it could mean the difference between bragging rights or a dunce cap. Here are three running backs that may not look the part heading into 2016, but could very well develop into your own personal MVP. Carlos Hyde, San […]

Michael Phelps faces his toughest challenger yet — age

Michael Phelps is participating in his fifth Summer Games, a U.S. record among male swimmers. He’s already won 23 medals, including a record-setting 19 golds — including a gold with the 4×100-meter freestyle relay team Sunday night — and could add three more in Rio when he competes in the 100-meter butterfly, the 200-meter butterfly, and the 200-meter individual medley. And winning […]

Simone Biles: Risky, super-challenging gymnastics routine is the smart, safe play

When women’s gymnastics overhauled its scoring system ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the sport that had once been all about clean execution added a new focus: risk. Eight years later, there’s one gymnast who has mastered the art of execution and whose degrees of difficulty has made her the world’s best: Simone Biles. The […]

The Rangers badly needed bullpen help. They may have found it.

As the dust settled following Monday’s trade deadline, the big story for the Texas Rangers centered on two offensive pieces they acquired: Carlos Beltran and Jonathan Lucroy. While it’s hard not to focus on the stature of their newly assembled lineup, many have overlooked what may be just as important of an upgrade as they […]

Russell Westbrook could edge out LeBron James and Steph Curry for MVP honors

Russell Westbrook is staying in Oklahoma City. The Vertical reports that the Thunder guard has reached a three-year, $85 million-plus maximum contract renegotiation. This puts to rest, at least for the time being, notions that General Manager Sam Presti was about to lose his two most valuable cogs this offseason — three, if you count Serge […]

Fantasy football 2016: Five players to target who should go bonkers on new teams

Amid all the offseason changes, several notable players shuffled teams and landed in significantly situations for fantasy point productions than 2015. That can be great news for your team if you can snatch them up throughout the course of your fantasy draft. Here are the top names to target. Lamar Miller, RB, Houston Texans During Lamar Miller’s […]

Fantasy football 2016: Four players who will vastly improve on dismal 2015 seasons

Fantasy football is a notoriously fickle operation. While there are a handful of players like Adrian Peterson who seemingly are hardwired to produce elite-level value every single season, many more are like DeSean Jackson, mixing booms with busts and alternating between sensational seasons and waiver-worthy disappointment. Last season wasn’t a banner year for any of […]

‘King’ Felix Hernandez has been dethroned

It’s been more than two months since Felix Hernandez, the man long considered the ace in Seattle, allowed fewer than two runs in a start. Now, in his 12th season with the Mariners, it appears he shouldn’t be leading the starting rotation anymore. When Hernandez won the 2010 Cy Young, he had 14 starts in which he struck […]

Jay Bruce isn’t going to save the Mets’ season

The New York Mets, in an effort to capture the magic they had with Yoenis Cespedes a year ago, acquired Jay Bruce from the Cincinnati Reds on Monday, giving them the hitter they think will solve their offensive woes. The Mets are batting .206 with runners in scoring position, dead last in the majors and the […]

Fantasy football 2016: Wide receivers are all the rage. So draft running backs instead.

Fantasy football is undergoing a transformation. For the first time in recent memory a wide receiver, Antonio Brown, is the consensus No. 1 overall pick. Odell Beckham, Jr. and Julio Jones also figure to be selected in the top-five of standard-scoring leagues, with DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green and Dez Bryant rounding out the rest of the first-round […]

Adding Andrew Miller gives Indians the best bullpen in baseball

The Cleveland Indians went all-in at the trade deadline, acquiring all-star left-hander Andrew Miller from the New York Yankees for a package that includes outfielder Clint Frazier, left-hander Justus Sheffield, right-hander Ben Heller and right-hander J.P. Feyereisen. According to Fangraphs, the Indians were already the American League favorites to win the World Series and the third choice behind […]

Mariners rookie Edwin Diaz is the best reliever you’ve never heard of

Mariners rookie Edwin Diaz has struck out 49 batters in 25 innings, giving him 17.6 strikeouts per nine innings, the highest rate in baseball history for a rookie qualifying for the ERA title. Almost a third of the 22-year-old’s strikes have been swinging (29.1 percent), and he has gone to a 3-0 count just three times this season. “His […]

Fantasy football 2016: Dominate your draft by not drafting a running back

A few years ago Shawn Siegele championed his Zero RB strategy, which suggested steering clear of running backs until the fifth or sixth round of a draft. The theory centered on the notion that the position was hard to predict and loaded with injuries, making it difficult to fully leverage the early rounds of the draft, when selections can have the most […]

Mark Melancon isn’t the closer the Nationals need

The New York Yankees received a top prospect from the New York Yankees for Aroldis Chapman, taking the flame-throwing closer off the market. Now teams, including the Washington Nationals, have turned their attention to Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Mark Melancon, in hopes of grabbing a late-inning stopper at a cheaper price. Sources: #Nationals talking to #Pirates […]

Nationals should absolutely trade Lucas Giolito for Andrew Miller

The Washington Nationals might make the move everyone thinks they should make and acquire Andrew Miller from the New York Yankees for one of their top prospects, possibly Lucas Giolito. The 31-year-old left-handed Miller is one of the most sought after players at the deadline, and instantly upgrades the Nationals bullpen to one that could help them win a World […]

Fantasy football sleepers are dead. Long live the waiver wire.

Back in the old days — before Twitter, Snapface, and Pokemon Go were even a twinkle in someone’s eye — the key to fantasy football success often relied on sleeper picks. Sleepers were those players that few knew about or had belief in, those late-round picks that blossomed into full-time starters or exceeded expectations. But now, with a 24/7 news cycle […]

Bryce Harper’s slump might not have an easy fix

What’s wrong with Bryce Harper? That’s the question on everyone’s mind in the nation’s capital. Over the past 30 days, Harper’s .188 average ranks him 177th among the 187 batters with enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title. In July, he is creating runs at a rate that is 40 percent lower than average […]

A pick-by-pick look at my fantasy football draft

On Wednesday night we held our annual Post Sports’ fantasy football draft. It’s started early so we can provide insight and analysis before you have to draft for real. The standard scoring, 10-team, 16-round league consisted of Washington Post writers, editors and friends of the newspaper. Each teams starts one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, […]

Three NFL teams that should consider adding Nick Foles

Two years after he led the league in quarterback rating and less than five months after he was handed a $6 million bonus, Nick Foles was released. “We have been in contact with Nick and his representation throughout the offseason and we feel that this is the best decision for all parties involved,” Los Angeles […]

Among NFL’s Super Bowl favorites, Seahawks are contenders, Cowboys are pretenders

Football training camps have officially opened, which means there are 32 NFL teams with Super Bowl aspirations. But the fast majority of those teams should roll back those Lombardi Trophy expectations. Despite big changes during the offseason that included the retirement of quarterback Peyton Manning and the departure of his backup, Brock Osweiler to the Houston […]

Sam Bradford should be the Eagles’ starting QB

The Philadelphia Eagles face a conundrum: Who should take the lion’s share of snaps under center? Five months ago, this was hardly a conversation worth having. Sam Bradford, the incumbent starting quarterback, had just been given a two-year deal worth $36 million, with $26 million guaranteed. However, the Eagles decided to not only take a quarterback […]

O’s Dylan Bundy has the pitches he needs to be an effective starter

After being drafted in 2011, Dylan Bundy has finally gotten his chance to be a member of the Orioles starting rotation. In his two outings, Bundy has been very good (5 IP, 0 ER, 5 Ks) and very bad (3.1 IP, 4 ER, eight base runners). What can we expect to see from the 23-year-old […]

The 10 NFL players who deserve bigger roles in 2016

NFL training camps start in earnest this week, and with them position for every roster in the league. But before those get underway, we are able to use our Pro Football Focus grades and data to identify some quietly productive players from last season who deserve bigger roles in 2016. Here are the top 10 players who need more […]

Fantasy football 2016: Why Rams RB Todd Gurley should be the No. 1 draft pick

Heading into the last days of July, there was a clear choice between two players deserving of the No. 1 overall pick in standard-scoring fantasy football drafts, both members of the Pittsburgh Steelers. For those who relish the passing game, there was wide receiver Antonio Brown, who caught a league-high 136 passes for 1,834 yards and […]

The Cubs had a weakness. Now they have Aroldis Chapman.

The Chicago Cubs made good on the rumors and reportedly acquired closer Aroldis Chapman from the New York Yankees for a package centering around Single-A shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, Double-A right fielder Billy McKinney and reliever Adam Warren. Entering year, Baseball America had Torres as Cubs top prospect & McKinney #7. Add Warren and a 4th player. That’s a solid haul […]

Fantasy football 2016: The smartest projected first-round picks

After a year in which running backs disappointed fantasy players by the truckload, wide receivers have become the most popular first-round picks. The preference for wideouts gained even more momentum after it was announced that Pittsburgh Steeler’s running back Le’Veon Bell may miss four games due to a missed drug test. According to mock drafts conducted between July 22 […]

Jonathan Papelbon is doing the Nats more harm than good

Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon was disappointing again Sunday, this time allowing four hits, a walk and four earned runs in the top of the ninth inning with two outs against the San Diego Padres. Manager Dusty Baker tried to cover for his closer, suggesting having him pitch three days in a row was the problem, but Papelbon seemed […]

How Sam Allardyce can save England

After a disappointing European Championships capped off by a loss to Iceland, England parted ways with manager Roy Hodgson. His replacement is Sam Allardyce, who has left his position with Sunderland to take the national team job. Allardyce is a fixture in English soccer, a former Premier League defender with now over two decades of […]

Nats trading Lucas Giolito and Trea Turner isn’t as crazy as it sounds

On Friday, Mark DeRosa of MLB Network threw out a very out-of-the-box trade idea that caught the attention of social media when he advocated including highly touted Nationals prospects Lucas Giolito, Trea Turner and Victor Robles in a trade to the Chicago White Sox for Chris Sale and Adam Eaton. .@markdero7 has lost his mind pic.twitter.com/uZ3KRMHOuE — MicheleS (@aNatsFan) […]

Already amazing, Odell Beckham Jr. on pace to be one of NFL’s greatest receivers

The NFL recently released it’s list of the Top 100 players in the league, with current NFL players voting New York Giants’ receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. as the 10th-best overall player in the NFL and the third-best receiver, behind Antonio Brown and Julio Jones. Beckham, the youngest player in the current top 10, was ranked No. 32 last year. And yet it […]

Fantasy Football: How does a suspension impact Le’Veon Bell’s draft stock?

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, one of the projected top picks in fantasy football this year, is facing a four-game suspension for violation of the NFL’s drug policy. According to reports, the suspension is the result of a missed drug test, not a failed one. For the past several weeks, the #Steelers had known Le’Veon Bell […]

Terence Crawford holds a number of critical advantages over Viktor Postol

The top two 140-pound fighters on the planet meet Saturday at Las Vegas’s MGM Grand to unify the junior welterweight division. WBO champion Terence Crawford, the favorite, and WBC champion Viktor Postol each sport unblemished 28-0 records, with Crawford holding the knockout advantage, 20-to-12. So rare is the opportunity to watch two world-class fighters meet to […]

Despite win streak, Yankees should sell! Sell! Sell!

Just when the New York Yankees seemed to be entering the acceptance phase of their season they won four in a row, including three straight from the Baltimore Orioles, and are now two games over .500 for the first time since April 12. The four-game win streak is impressive. According to Elias, it’s only the second time over the […]

Fantasy Football 2016: If you like Antonio Brown, bet big on Ben Roethlisberger

Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers is by all accounts the consensus No. 1 pick in fantasy football this season, and for good reason. The 28-year-old wideout caught 136 of his 193 targets in 2015 for 1,834 yards and 10 touchdowns, his second straight year of double-digit scores, and is projected to make 127 catches […]

Trading Kyle Schwarber to the Yankees would be a big mistake for Cubs

It is fair to say this season has not gone the way the New York Yankees had hoped. Thought to be in contention for a wild-card spot this season, the Bronx Bombers are instead 47-46 with just an 8.2 percent chance at reaching the postseason, putting them in a position in which they aren’t used to being: […]

Here’s why Stephen Strasburg won’t win the Cy Young award

Stephen Strasburg is once again living up to the hype that surrounded him when he was selected No. 1 overall in the 2009 MLB draft. The 28-year-old Washington Nationals ace has won 13 of his 17 starts without a loss, striking out 138 batters in 114.2 innings with a 2.51 ERA. In full command of his […]

Five pitchers teams will want at the MLB trade deadline

Baseball’s non-waiver trade deadline is on Aug. 1, and with big names Carlos Beltran, Jay Bruce, and Jonathan Lucroy on the trading block, there should be a flurry of activity over the next two weeks. One pitcher who should get a lot of interest is Rich Hill of the Oakland A’s. Prior to being removed on Sunday because of a […]

Three college QBs who could replace Kirk Cousins on the Redskins

If anything’s been made abundantly clear in Washington, it’s this: the team isn’t yet ready to commit to Kirk Cousins for the long-term. Cousins will bank $19.95 million this season, all of it fully guaranteed, via the franchise tag. He’ll be the first quarterback since Drew Brees in 2005 and the second quarterback ever to play […]

Why teams want to trade for pitcher Rich Hill

Rich Hill started his career in 2005 with the Chicago Cubs and fell into anonymity until his renaissance in a Boston Red Sox uniform last fall. Now he features a sparkling 2.25 ERA with the Oakland A’s, matched with an elite 10.66 strikeouts per nine and a 1.09 WHIP that has turned heads around the league. Hill […]

Five hitters teams will want at the MLB trade deadline

Baseball’s non-waiver trade deadline is just weeks away, and with the trade-rumor mill in full swing, here is a look at the five batters teams should covet the most. Jay Bruce, outfielder, Cincinatti Reds Bruce earned his first all-star nod in four years when he batted .267 with 18 home runs before the break, reversing a trend in which […]

Three teams the Cubs should be worried about

The Chicago Cubs appear to be on cruise control this season. By mid-June, the team had jumped out to a 47-20 record with a 171 run differential, the highest in the major leagues. The Cubs create runs at a rate that is 7 percent higher than average after accounting for league and park effects, and are one of baseball’s teams when it […]

If Alabama is the top team in college football, who is No. 2?

Alabama is the reigning national champion after a 45-40 victory over Clemson, so it isn’t surprising the Crimson Tide is a popular choice to repeat. The current consensus No. 1 football team in the nation, the Crimson Tide have seven first-team all-Southeastern Conference picks — 13 selections total — and was the top team in several preseason polls and magazines, including ESPN […]

Man, the 2013 NBA draft was truly awful. Actually, it was the worst ever.

Anthony Bennett, whom the Cleveland Cavaliers selected No. 1 overall in 2013, is difficult to classify as anything but a bust. The power forward out of UNLV never started as a rookie. He was shipped out of Cleveland in his second year as filler in the Andrew Wiggins-Kevin Love trade before landing in his native Toronto in Year 3, who […]

Drew Pomeranz makes the Red Sox the team to beat in the AL