A SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE editorial states that driver Jimmie Johnson's seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup championship is "arguably significantly more impressive" than either Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt reaching that mark. Johnson "did it in an era in which NASCAR competition is more intense than ever, with a large number of skilled drivers and many well-funded, technologically advanced driving teams" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 11/22).
PUT 'EM UP: In Las Vegas, Ed Graney wrote boxing "isn't dead, but it’s slipping further and further behind the UFC for excitement and intrigue and star power." Boxing at many levels "continues to fade from relevance." MMA fighter Conor McGregor and his "skill and antics and personality have made sure of that." The latest example of boxing's fall is how promoters "failed badly in not putting the professional debut of two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields on the PPV portion" of last Saturday's card headlined by Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 11/20).
SKATING IN FRONT: In Toronto, Kevin McGran writes the NHL has "really set the template" for other leagues with how its uses instant replay. There is "very little to quibble with ... from the mandatory reviews, to the coach's challenge, to the angles, to off-side." McGran: "The NHL was really on the forefront of replay technology, with the other leagues consulting with the NHL ... then adapting replay for their own use" (TORONTO STAR, 11/22).
