One of my favorite plays in football is the “catch from behind/chase-down” — in which what looks like a long touchdown play is thwarted by a gritty player who makes a lung-searing sprint to keep the ball out of the end zone. I always have had a sort of romantic attachment to this kind of […]

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At this moment, only one story commands the attention of European sports fans. And that would be the misguided attempt by a dozen of the continent’s best-known clubs to break away from the European Champions League and form their own elite competition — which they plan to call the Super League. Twelve clubs have announced […]

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The National Football League’s Super Bowl is not a big deal in France. That may be mostly because the game kicks off at about 12.30 a.m. (technically, Monday morning) in Central European time. For people with jobs that begin before noon, it’s rough because dawn is about to break when the typical SB ends. (I […]

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I am not going to argue against any reasonable trade the Rams could make to replace Jared Goff at quarterback. And I certainly will not criticize a deal that brings in clutch quarterback Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions in exchange for Goff and three high draft picks. It was in the middle of this […]

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The Lakers, kingpins of the National Basketball Association. The Dodgers, top of the heap in Major League baseball. The Rams, still in competition for the Super Bowl. Thus, it is possible, if still improbable, that the champs of the three most popular American professional sports leagues could all be found in Los Angeles.

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I might have suggested the Los Angeles Rams would take a page from the “psyching ourselves up” playbook and lecture fans and the media about “how nobody believes in us,” ahead of their game against Arizona on Sunday. But we couldn’t go there because Rams fans, perhaps more enthusiastic than informed, apparently helped bet a […]

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If ever the timing of an NFL injury could seem propitious, Jared Goff and his broken right thumb would be in the discussion. Until he sustained the injury, late in a 20-9 loss at Seattle on Sunday, the leading post-game topics were going to be about the Rams quarterback, who had another lousy performance, and […]

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Has Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay gotten over that 23-20 home defeat inflicted last week by the previously winless New York Jets? I haven’t. Last Sunday, kickoff was a bit after 1 p.m. The Rams, however, didn’t show up until about 2, when a field goal got them to 13-3. (That score again!) What […]

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How good are these Los Angeles Rams? Check back at about 8:30 (PST) tonight. By then, we should have the results of the Rams versus the New England Patriots in the NFL’s Thursday night game. This is a big game for both teams. The Rams are 8-4, atop the NFC West, and are pursuing a […]

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Why aren’t more people talking about this? Is it just me? “Stuck” over here in France, getting a limited amount of NFL in my TV diet? The Los Angeles Rams moved heaven and earth (and six high draft picks, to Tennessee) so that they could make Cal quarterback Jared Goff the first pick of the […]

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