Az-Zahir Hakim

Newport Harbor High football coach Jeff Brinkley received a noteworthy present for his 60th birthday as the Sailors posted a 28-7 nonleague home upset win over previously unbeaten San Clemente, ranked No. 8 in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division....

We've reached the point in the season when roster depth becomes vital. Relying solely on your starters to get you to the playoffs is as risky as sending your kids to summer camp at Neverland. It's hard to imagine a roster that wasn't compromised this...

Of the NFL teams still alive in the long march toward the Super Bowl, the St. Louis Rams (8-5) face by far the most difficult remaining schedule: Minnesota (11-2), Tampa Bay (8-5) and New Orleans (8-5). But at least they'll get NFL leader Minnesota at...

Among the 18 or 20 NFL teams at or near the top of a 31-team league after the first half of the season, there is a balance of either mutual mediocrity or mutual excellence. If you agree with me, it's a balance of excellence. Pro football players all...

NFL defenses have become so complex this season that you can't possibly outguess them. So the St. Louis Rams say. So, they don't even try. They don't even think about it. "Our quarterback never calls an audible," Mike Martz, the club's offensive...

Greetings from Mo-Town. The big story in town is the Lions are trying to win two games in a row for the first time since the advent of the forward pass. Everyone's picking the Lions because they're at home and the Bears haven't exactly done anything on...

The Bears, remember them? It seems like ages ago since that Monday night pasting by the Packers. In reality it was only two weeks ago and the Bears and their fans have had the bye week to either dwell on it or forget about it. This week it's the Lions,...

Astonishing everyone who has been asleep for a month, the NFL's two big games Sunday will involve three of the four teams from the AFL's old Western Division that were not considered preseason Super Bowl favorites. The Game of the Week looks like it...

Oddsmakers think the Tennessee Titans have a better chance of making it to Super Bowl XXXV than the Dolphins. In odds released over the weekend by Las Vegas Sports Consultants, the Titans are listed at 15-to-1 to return to the Super Bowl next season. The...

In the end, it wasn't regular-season MVP quarterback Kurt Warner who seized the moment, but second-year miracle worker Tom Brady. When the confetti finally flew, it wasn't the high-powered St. Louis Rams offense that celebrated, but the gritty New...

As of the 21st century, passer Tom Brady and pass-offense enthusiast Bill Belichick are on board to succeed the Joe Montanas and Joe Namaths and the Vince Lombardis and Bill Walshes who in the 20th century topped the NFL. Since the 2000 season, when...

Ram fans, remembering that the New Orleans Saints knocked them out of the division championship last year, are wondering: Will our undefeated season begin to unravel when the Saints come to town next Sunday? New Orleans fans, noting that the Rams, en...