Flag. noun. A piece of bunting used as an emblem for military or naval purposes, signalling decoration, display, propaganda.

Flag. verb. To droop, to flap feebly, to grow spiritless.

Yep. That just about covers it. As the current England shirt flag-desecration lesbian conspiracy-rage shemozzle (imagine explaining all this, in fine detail, to a time traveller from 1993) edges into its third day, both dictionary definitions of the four-letter word at its centre seem about right.

Perhaps with a little foresight the Football Association could have avoided the unhappiness over the recoloured George Cross on its latest overpriced scratchy nylon replica shirt by suggesting this design detail was r…

The 2024 FedEx Cup playoffs tee off Thursday with the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis. The top 70 players in the standings qualified for the first leg of the playoffs, and only the top 50 after this week will move on to the BMW Championship. Our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week. FEDEX ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP Location: Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 15-18 Course: TPC Southwind (Par 70, 7,243 Yards) Purse: $20M (Winner: $3.6M) Defending Champion: Lucas Glover FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler HOW TO FOLLOW TV: Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday: 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday: 12-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2-6 p.m. (NBC) Streaming (ESPN+): Thur…

It’s Week 14 of the NFL season, and rookie quarterbacks have been front and center, with some living up to the hype and others not as much. With that, let’s look at how the 2021 rookie class fared in Week 14. 6. Trey Lance source: Getty Images Trey Lance hasn’t thrown a pass since Week 5 back in October and possibly won’t throw another one in a game for the 49ers this year. His special RPO (run-pass-option) package plays have even been scrapped from the playbook it seems. Kyle Shanahan is locked in with Jimmy Garoppolo, and as long as they are in playoff contention, that isn’t likely to change. 5. Trevor Lawrence source: Getty Images Luckily for Trevor Lawrence, his head coach’s repeated indiscretions have seemingly overshadowed his rookie season. It hasn’t been a good on…

Earlier tonight, the Columbia Journalism Review reported that the San Francisco Chronicle’s reporter on the Golden State Warriors beat, Rusty Simmons, had been suspended by the paper after writing a news story on the Warriors’ purchase of land for their new arena that was copied almost entirely from a Warriors press release. According to CJR, before the Chronicle changed and appended a note to Simmons’s story it had the same headline as the press release, and read the same besides leaving out a single word and changing a sentence with a semicolon into two sentences. Though he’s been with the Chronicle since 2002, Simmons became the Warriors beat reporter in 2009. In a by no means comprehensive review of his work during the 2009-10 and 2014-15 seasons, Deadspin found five more …

Even before the release of next season's schedule (which should happen in April, about a week before the draft) we already know who everyone will be playing in 2015. That means it's possible to calculate who'll have the toughest row to hoe, and who gets a break. The Falcons will face the weakest teams, their 2015 opponents compiling a .409 regular-season winning percentage last season. They'll face just four opponents who had winning records, but their relative cakewalk is a function of the historically bad NFC South getting to play the similarly woeful AFC South, as well as the usual six intradivisional games. In fact, the two divisions account for the eight easiest 2015 schedules. The Steelers have the toughest strength of schedule, their opponents putting up a co…

Y’see, the thing is, Trail Blazers, you can’t play-act being some sort of feminist champion organization for five minutes, just long enough to get people to notice, and then hope it all goes away when your credentials on that prove to be thinner than a playing card. You can’t dip your toe into these issues to give the appearance that you care, and then decide you don’t want any part of it when the tough part comes along. Once you’re in, you’re in. It’s not a buffet. So when you pretended that you really wanted to hire Becky Hammon as your coach, because your owner really wanted it, you open the door to all kinds of stuff when you hire a less experienced coach with a rape accusation and lawsuit settlement in his past. Because you don’t get to care, or claim to care, about…

Vikings GM Rick Spielman was trotted out in front of the media today to explain why the Minnesota Vikings decided to reinstate Adrian Peterson despite the fact that he has been indicted on child injury charges in a case where none of the facts are in dispute. Spielman explained that Peterson was deactivated on Friday, right after the news of Peterson's indictment broke, because the organization wanted to "take a step back" and "gather information." Having gathered the same information that everyone else has, including disturbing images of the physical wounds that Peterson's son had a week after the incident and witness testimony that included phrases like "Daddy Peterson hit me on my face," Spielman said that allowing Peterson to return to the tea…

McLaren Racing signed Formula One driver Lando Norris to a multiyear contract, the team announced Friday. His previous four-year deal was set to expire at the end of 2025, but McLaren wanted to assure he stayed part of the team for the long term. McLaren did not announce the specific length or financial terms for Norris, who has been with the team for six years. "McLaren's felt like home since day one," Norris, 24, said in a video posted to the team's social media. "I'm just happy to be staying with the people that I've grown up with, who have helped me develop as a driver, who made me into the person I am today. The team's as strong as it's ever been. "They are who I believe I can win my championships with. I've prepared more tha…

data-mm-id=”_lq8i208uf”>Major League Baseball is now faced with a singular question: now what? Scandal has touched baseball once again, with the Houston Astros' sign-stealing raising all kinds of questions. How did they do it? How long did it go on for? How did it impact the outcomes of games?With new proof of wrongdoing emerging seemingly by the hour, the question now becomes what sort of punishment awaits the team for its transgressions. This isn't like the steroid controversy, where Hall of Fame voters could simply decide not to elect individual players to Cooperstown. When it's apparently a team-wide conspiracy that may have lasted several years and impacted who knows how many games, what can be done?Draft Pick Forfeiture The MLB Draft is perhaps the most difficult t…

data-mm-id=”_gmjt49xkv”>Preston Tucker has collected 68 RBI in his 243 Major League games spread over three seasons. He's on a slightly more torrid pace over in the KBO. The sweet-swinging lefty, now playing for the Kia Tigers, went 4-for-4 and drove in seven runs in today's blowout victory against Doosan. Preston Tucker having a day! A base clearing double after hitting his 4th HR of the season. #KBO #KiaTigers pic.twitter.com/KOV1pVETMC— KBO Collections (@kbocollections) May 16, 2020Preston Tucker with his 4th HR of 2020. He is now tied for the early league lead with Han Dong-min and Kim Jae-hwan. #KBO #KiaTigers pic.twitter.com/LCp0QadynP— KBO Collections (@kbocollections) May 16, 2020He could have notched his second five-hit game of the young season if not for a minor…