Free Republic

The Super Bowl hasn’t even kicked off yet, but the halftime show is already a fumble in the eyes of over 100,000 disgruntled fans. A viral petition demanding the NFL ditch Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny in favor of country legend George Strait has gained a lot of internet interest, racking up more than 122,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning. The petition, started in October 2025 by Kar Shell, argues that Strait — the Texas-born country music icon with more than 60 No. 1 hits and decades of chart-topping success — better represents “American music’s rich heritage” and would be...

A Doberman pinscher named Penny wins best in show at the 150th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Four-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti will return to competition in the Feb. 28 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event during the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Franchitti, whose career was cut short by injury, will make his return to NASCAR competition for the first time since 2008, driving the No. 1 Toyota for TRICON Garage on the streets of St. Petersburg. In a partnership between TRICON, Jimmie Johnson and Legacy Motor Club, Franchitti will drive the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Dollar Tree has joined the effort and will serve as the primary sponsor for the Scotsman’s first...

Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia — who was listed at 6-feet tall and 207 pounds on the Commodores’ website for the 2025 season — was measured at 5-9 ⅞ inches and 198 pounds while at Senior Bowl practices on Monday. Saturday’s Senior Bowl game will showcase the top senior prospects for NFL scouts and coaches as a precursor to the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, which runs Feb. 26-March 1 in Indianapolis. “My size has been doubted my whole life,” Pavia told reporters Monday. “I feel like the only thing the NFL cares about is can you win, and I view myself...

The Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium has been postponed to Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. ET on FOX due to historic snowfall in North Carolina over the weekend. The National Weather Service reported Winston-Salem, North Carolina, received 8-10 inches of snow Saturday while the Charlotte area — roughly 80 miles south of Bowman Gray and home base for most NASCAR Cup Series drivers and teams — received 11 inches of snow, according to local television affiliate WCNC. Out of an abundance of caution due to hazardous road conditions, NASCAR and the City of Winston-Salem agreed to move...

Play for Round 3 was suspended at 4:18 p.m. due to unplayable conditions on No. 17. Due to continued high winds through sunset, play will not resume today. As we prepare for Sunday, the LPGA has worked closely with Hilton Grand Vacations and our Golf Channel and NBC partners to implement a plan that provides the strongest opportunity to complete the final round while delivering the best possible experience for players and fans, given the forecasted conditions. The third round will resume and the final round concurrently will begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 1. The final round will...

In a New York Times opinion piece in August, Canadian writer Stephen Marche wrote: “Canada is living through an era of acute, sustained, profound and abiding rage. The source is President Trump; the object is the United States.” The month before, he launched an eight-part podcast series on Canada’s freshly fraught relationship with what had been its forever friendly neighbor, the United States. The name of the podcast series: Gloves Off. Hockey term. Of course. Once arm in arm, the two countries now are squaring off politically, economically—and on the ice. The modern version of their hockey rivalry was spiced...

Engine start was initiated using the onboard battery. Afterwards, following an initial unsuccessful start of the left engine, both engines were started around 9:53 a.m. But problems continued to mount as the aircraft taxied toward the runway. During taxi, the pilot and two pilot-rated passengers discussed that a thrust reverser indicator light for an unspecified engine was inoperative, though they believed the thrust reverser itself was working properly. Meanwhile, the right-seat passenger attempted to contact ZTL ATC and activate the flight’s IFR flight plan three times between 10:08 and 10:10 but was unsuccessful due to the controller’s workload and associated...

Kane became the highest-scoring United States-born player in NHL history, passing Mike Modano with an assist for his 1,375th point Thursday night for the Detroit Red Wings against the Washington Capitals. "It's nice to have it over with in some ways and worry about the rest of the season," Kane said after Washington's 4-3 shootout win. Kane passed the puck from the boards to Alex DeBrincat in the left circle, and DeBrincat set up Ben Chiarot for a tying goal from the point midway through the second period.

The Seattle Seahawks will go up for sale after Super Bowl LX, league and ownership sources familiar with the arrangement told ESPN, ending years of questions about when the team would seek new ownership following the 2018 death of former owner Paul G. Allen. Sale discussions have taken place at ownership and league levels for at least the past week, the sources said. The Seahawks and the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers have been owned by Allen's estate since the former owner and Microsoft co-founder died in 2018 after a yearslong battle with cancer. His sister, Jody Allen, has controlled the...

Pride Fighting Championships veteran Henry “Sentoryu” Miller has died at the age of 56 after a lengthy battle with a myriad of health issues. News of his death was first reported by Japan-based outlet Chunichi Sports on Friday. Born in 1969 to military family stationed in Tokyo, Miller moved to St. Louis, Missouri, as a child and grew up there while learning wrestling. After graduating from high school, the man who would soon become “Sentoryu Henri” did not go to college to train further or pursue the Olympics. Instead, he returned to his birth country to become a sumo wrestler,...

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Purpose and Policy. For over 100 years, American INDYCAR racing has set the pace for motor sports. With speeds topping over 200 miles per hour, the cars and drivers inspire awe and respect in all who watch this quintessentially American sport. It has given us racing legends such as A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti, and continues to thrill every Memorial Day weekend when people travel from across the globe to the Indianapolis 500, the...

With support from George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson and Hall of Famer Jared Allen, a new pro league for the winter pastime is working to engage fans beyond the Olympics.Just a few miles from the buzz of Nashville’s Broadway strip, past the honky-tonks and pedal taverns, sit four curling sheets inside a warehouse-like building called Tee Line. There, current and former NFL players George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson and Jared Allen are pushing the roaring game of curling into a new era. Through the NFL offseason, and more often for the retired Allen, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, they swap...

At 6.38pm CST on Saturday January 24, Indiana Pacer star Tyrese Haliburton posted on X: “Alex Pretti was murdered.” The NBA star was one of the first athletes to respond to what can only be described as the public execution by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Pretti’s death was the culmination of a weeks-long campaign of terror conducted against residents of the city, including Renee Good, who was herself killed by DHS forces just two weeks earlier. Indeed, “Operation Metro Surge” in Minneapolis has accounted for two-thirds of homicides in the city...

President Donald Trump ripped the decision to keep Bill Belichick out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot on Wednesday. Belichick didn’t get the 40 votes needed from the 50-person panel of media members and other Hall of Famers, ESPN reported, citing sources. The snub drew outrage from across the sports spectrum, including Patrick Mahomes, LeBron James, Jimmy Johnson and others. Trump added his voice to the chorus in a post on Truth Social, while also criticizing the NFL’s dynamic kickoff rules. "It is the same mindset that gave pro football the new and unwatchable ‘Sissy’...

Bill Belichick won’t have “first ballot Hall of Famer” on his resume. If you’re shocked by this fact, you’re not alone. The NFL world was baffled by the news reported by ESPN on Tuesday evening that Belichick, the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Patriots, was not elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on his first appearance on the ballot. Belichick fell short of the requisite 40 votes of 50 votes from the voting committee — made up of at least one media representative from each football city and other at-large members — needed...

Warriors coach Steve Kerr again used media availability to comment on national politics Monday night after Golden State completed a back-to-back against the Timberwolves in Minneapolis. After winning on Sunday, the Warriors dropped Game 2 in a rough 108-83 loss. The two games came under unusual circumstances. Sunday’s matchup was rescheduled after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents near downtown Minneapolis, an incident that sparked protests across the city. Before Sunday’s game at Target Center, the Timberwolves held a moment of silence for Pretti. During the tribute, obscenities were shouted by fans directed at ICE. Kerr addressed...

Last Sunday night, Sean Payton sat in his office at the Denver Broncos facility, watching film of his opponent in the upcoming AFC Championship Game: the New England Patriots. He wanted to have the Los Angeles Rams-Chicago Bears divisional round game on in the background. He turned on one of the flatscreens in his office. He flipped around, somehow ending up on Nickelodeon and "Dora the Explorer." He finally found the right channel, just in time for the Bears to make a critical decision on their first drive. On fourth-and-2 from the Rams 21, they elected to skip a gimme...

“I can’t watch the new NFL Kickoff. Like many others, I just turn my head,” he wrote on Truth Social. “The ridiculous new Kickoff Rule takes away the prestige and power of the game,” he continued. He concluded by saying he hoped college football didn’t follow suit. The league instituted a new format for the 2024 season in which the kicker stays on his team’s 35-yard line but the rest of the coverage unit lines up on the opposing team’s 40-yard line. They cannot move until the ball hits the ground or a player in the designated landing zone —...

At least 11 people were killed and another dozen injured when gunmen opened fire on locals who had gathered at a football pitch in the city of Salamanca in central Mexico on Sunday. Witnesses said armed men arrived at the grounds in several vehicles and shot at those gathered there seemingly indiscriminately. Many families had stayed behind to socialise after a match between local clubs. At least one woman and one child were among those killed. The motive behind the shooting is not yet clear. Guanajuato, the state in which Salamanca is located, registered the highest number of murders in...