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I notice 40s, 50s, and 60s across the northern US today. So quit yer whinin' and bellyachin', clear the remaining snow off the ball diamonds, set some sod, lay in some hot dogs, crank up your "hope springs eternal" attitudes, follow closely the last three weeks of spring training, and get ready to P L A Y B A L L !!!

The Eagles settled the long-running debate over whether Nick Foles is their quarterback of the future, as they neared completion Tuesday on a trade that will send him to St. Louis for QB Sam Bradford and what would seem to be a swap of second-round draft picks, a league source said, confirming a report by ESPN's Adam Schefter. Bradford, 27, the 2010 No. 1 overall pick, has missed the past two seasons with ACL tears and would seem just as poor a fit as Foles for the read-option part of Chip Kelly's offense.

Basketball is in the headlines, but football is the great corrupter in college sports. Headlines, even in sports, can be deceptive. But it’s hard getting around the contrast in last weekend’s banners regarding two universities that are involved in one of the greatest (though temporarily suspended) rivalries in college basketball. On one side is Syracuse. Having already removed themselves from postseason play due to self-reported academic infractions, the Orange were hit by the NCAA with more severe penalties: five years’ probation, twelve forfeited scholarships over the next four years, and the vacating of 108 wins accumulated with the efforts of...

The American Civil Liberties Union is siding with the Washington Redskins in a court battle over the team’s name. The ACLU filed papers last week supporting the team’s position that canceling the Redskins trademark violates the team’s free-speech rights. […] On Monday, lawyers for the Native Americans who challenged the trademark said the ACLU should not be allowed to intervene in the case. …

The first NFL veteran combine came and went with no Tim Tebow. But the left-handed college football analyst could show up at the next one after extensive training with Tom Brady's quarterback coach. Per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, Tebow's been working with Tom House in Los Angeles for the past two years. House told Volin Tebow's improved greatly. "He went from being a little inaccurate and didn't throw a whole lot of spirals, to throwing very accurate and real good at spinning the ball," House said.

Stephen A. Smith is too smart to come right out and call Chip Kelly a racist. Smith knows that an accusation like that would require evidence, and Smith has none. So what Smith did on ESPN First Take today is he merely implied that Kelly is a racist, going over a selection of Kelly’s recent roster moves and then hinting that Kelly might not want black players in his locker room.

GENEVA—Cycling officials let doping flourish and broke their own rules so Lance Armstrong could cheat his way to becoming the superstar the sport badly needed, according to a scathing report into its drug culture. The International Cycling Union was severely criticized for failing to act during the doping era dominated by Armstrong, but the 227-page report the governing body released early Monday found no evidence that he paid to cover up alleged positive tests. The report was commissioned by the new UCI leadership to investigate doping that shredded cycling’s credibility and led to Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour...

SIERRA VISTA — There was one thing a grizzled cowgirl shared with a freshly stationed Yankee to Fort Huachuca as the Grand Canyon region of the National International Collegiate Rodeo Associate kicked off its spring schedule this weekend. Uncertainty. “My whole weekend was unsure, she was coming back from injury, I was on a new calf horse I’ve never taken anywhere,” New Mexico State University sophomore cowgirl NaLynn Cline said. Cline won the region last year in barrel racing as a freshman, but her horse of six years was coming back from injury and she was third in the event...

Sports betting is having a big moment in the United States. Prominent voices from professional sports and politics have indicated they’re willing to discuss expanding sports gambling, which is legal only in a handful of states. Meanwhile, Nevada has broadened the types of wagers it offers, and people appear to be betting on sports more than ever before. CALLS TO EXPAND The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, passed by Congress in 1992, made sports betting illegal in almost every state. Nevada, Oregon, Montana and Delaware are exempt from the law, but beyond Nevada, wagering is allowed only on a...

Chris Johnson, the NFL running back cut by the New York Jets last month, was injured in a drive-by shooting early Sunday morning in Orlando, Florida, when an unknown gunman or gunmen pulled up alongside the Jeep in which he was a passenger when it stopped at a red light and opened fire. The assailants then sped off. When the shooting was over, Johnson was shot in the shoulder but the driver of the Jeep, 28-year-old Dreekins Oricko Johnson, was dead, according to news reports out of Orlando Sunday.

The Miami Dolphins have reportedly agreed to a massive contract that will land them the most prized free agent of the NFL offseason: former Detroit Lions star Ndamukong Suh.

Ohio State currently sits in first place after the first day of the 2015 Big Ten Wrestling Championships in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes surpassed the No. 2-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, who were in first place after Session 1, which took place earlier on Saturday. Ohio State tallied 102.5 points, 1.5 points ahead of second-place Iowa. The Buckeyes are seeking their first conference title since 1951. OSU advanced four wrestlers to tomorrow’s final round of the Big Ten Championships. The finalists are redshirt senior Logan Stieber (141 lbs.), redshirt freshman Nathan Tomasello (125 lbs.), redshirt freshman Bo Jordan (165 lbs.) and true...

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Chicago Blackhawks fan Alexis Bovard was attending her first NHL game on Friday night, and had pretty sweet seats – right by the glass. But here’s the thing about the glass: Sometimes it’ll get dislodged on a big hit. Like the one Benoit Pouliot of the Edmonton Oilers laid on Niklas Hjalmarsson of the Hawks early in the first period. The glass fell out onto a cameraman, and then changed direction and toppled onto Bovard’s head. She grabbed her noggin in pain, and she was bleeding. “If I even remember correctly, I was watching the game and you know the...

New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy will no longer address his religious beliefs and will stick to baseball, a team spokesman said Wednesday. On Tuesday, MLB ambassador for inclusion Billy Bean addressed Mets players after general manager Sandy Alderson invited him. Murphy subsequently told media that day that while he would embrace Bean as a teammate, he does not approve of his homosexuality. Bean concealed his sexual orientation during his playing career and later said that he was gay.

Everyone knows that women and guns have been on the rise during these last 4-5 years. Pink and Leopard print guns have made its way into the marketplace and manufacturers have been catering to the women industry. There has been some interesting findings in what women really want in terms of why and which type of firearms they really own in the recent NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation) report. -Guess which type of gun is the most favored with women. -Guess what percentage of women actually own those Pink print guns. -What percentage of women want a gun because it's...

If you’ve ever been to a public shooting range you might have experienced long lines to check in, buy targets and buy ammo. Well one shooting range in Pennsylvania is taking a more efficient approach to selling the ammo. The Beaver Valley Rifle & Pistol Club has installed a vending machine for ammo at their range. Also, the guy who installed it? He’s running for county sheriff. Sam Piccinini is a Republican candidate for sheriff who also owns the small ammo company that operates the machine.

he Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills agreed to a rare blockbuster challenge trade on Tuesday, sending shockwaves through the NFL. The Eagles are flipping two-time All-Pro running back LeSean McCoy to Buffalo in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso, NFL Media columnist Michael Silver reports, via a source involved in the deal. The swap will not become official until the new league year starts on March 10.