Jim Balz
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Tailgate Truths from Jim Balz: Where Food Meets Fandom
Hairy Times readers — Jim Balz here, stepping out of the sports section and into What’s to Eat with something I’ve believed for years: the best part of game day happens before…
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The League-Wide Truth Serum — What Training Camp Really Tells Us
Training camp is the NFL’s annual festival of delusion. Every team arrives undefeated, every coach has “the best group I’ve ever worked with,” and every fanbase convinces itself that *this* is the…
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NFC Training Camp Reality Check: The Real Contenders, The Pretenders.
The Training camp Reality Check. That magical time of year when every team is undefeated, every rookie is the next Hall of Famer, and coaches tell us with straight faces that the…
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USMNT’s Reality Check: Belgium Exposé Proves Hope Isn’t a Strategy
Well, that went exactly as poorly as the pessimists predicted and worse than even I feared. The United States Men’s National Team didn’t just lose to Belgium—we got systematically dismantled, outplayed, outthought,…
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Suspension Reversal Gives USMNT a Fighting Chance—But Winning Requires More Than Luck
The United States Men's National Team catches a break heading into tonight's Round of 16 clash, and frankly, it's about damn time. The reversal of our key player suspensions—a decision that had…
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The USMNT Choked Again, Your FIFA Quarterfinals Are Set, Is France Going to Win This Whole Thing
The stats don’t lie: the US controlled possession for stretches, created chances, and showed genuine quality moments
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The Footnotes Said We Couldn’t Win — So Why Does It Keep Happening?
The parade route was planned before the final whistle. Not officially, of course — New York City doesn’t pre-authorize confetti cannons based on optimism alone — but the sanitation workers knew. The…
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Harry’s Right About the Avs — And That Makes Me FURIOUS
Listen, I hate agreeing with my brother more than I hate losing money on sports bets, and brother, I REALLY hate losing money on sports bets. But Harry’s post-mortem on the Avalanche…
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Avs Got Punched in the Mouth—Now We See What They’re Made Of
Colorado Avalanche playoff hockey revealed its character in game one. Listen up, hockey heads—that Avs-Knights opener was UGLY, and I’m not here to sugarcoat it like some soft-serve sports blog. Colorado came…