Sports Perspectives

With military challenged like never before, football as important as ever at West Point

A member of the United States Military Academy football team wears the 82nd Airborne Division patch alongside an emblem honoring fallen Cadet Brandon Jackson during the season opener at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, Aug. 31, 2018. <br>Brian Stephenson/U.S. Army

A football titan but decades of futility, as Army comes to Oklahoma on Saturday night, the Black Knights are no longer standing on the side of the road.

related: Army football to face stiff challenge from fifth-ranked Oklahoma

Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Jones tackles Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson as he fumbles in the first quarter of an NFL football game at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday Dec. 11, 2016, in Miami Gardens, Fla. <br>David Santiago/Miami Herald/TNS

Column

Fantasy football bust? Hold or fold on David Johnson, Allen Robinson and others

We’re two weeks into the season, so you don’t want to be too hasty in abandoning the players you scouted and drafted. But by keeping dead weight on your roster, you risk passing up some hot commodities on the waiver wire.

Redskins quarterback Alex Smith throws a second quarter touchdown pass to running back Chris Thompson on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018 in Glendale, Ariz.<br>John McDonnell/The Washington Post

Scoring is up and QBs are having their way with defenses. It's just what the NFL wanted.

The question at some point may become: Has the NFL gone too far to tilt the competitive balance toward offenses and, in particular, quarterbacks? But nobody appears ready to make any declarations about that quite yet. For now, it's simply all about marveling over the offensive eruption.

From left are 2018 file photos showing New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola and Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer. <br>AP

Column

A pitcher for NL MVP? The numbers make a compelling case

With 2½ weeks left in the season, it's time to ask: Should Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer or Aaron Nola be MVP?

In this Friday, Sept. 7, 2018 photo provided by the Ocean Springs School District, Ocean Springs High School's 2018 Homecoming Queen Kaylee Foster holds her football helmet while wearing a tiara on the field in Ocean Springs, Miss.<br>Justin Sutton/Ocean Springs School District via AP

PERSPECTIVE

Homecoming queen swaps tiara for her football helmet, kicks winning point

It turned out to be a busy night for Ocean Springs High School homecoming queen and football kicker Kaylee Foster, whose two field goals from 20 and 30 yards out accounted for all the Greyhounds' scoring during regulation play.

Serena Williams, right, talk with chair umpire Carlos Ramos as Naomi Osaka, of Japan, listens during the women's final of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018, in New York.<br>Adam Hunger/AP

Column

Sexist power play ruins powerful final

Chair umpire Carlos Ramos managed to rob not one but two players in the women's U.S. Open final. Nobody has ever seen anything like it: An umpire so wrecked a big occasion that both players, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams alike, wound up distraught with tears streaming down their faces during the trophy presentation and an incensed crowd screamed boos at the court.

In a September, 2016 file photo, Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks (95) goes after New York Jets' running back Khiry Robinson during the first quarter in a preseason game in Philadelphia.<br>TNS

PERSPECTIVE

A linebacker and a Harvard whiz get themselves in a heap of trouble over stock tips

Mychal Kendricks said he was drawn in by the allure of being more than just a football player. But that did not stop him from worrying the first time he got involved with insider trading.