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The 2018 World Cup has now commenced. Just because the USMNT blows and didn’t make the tournament, that’s no reason for you not to pay attention to the best sporting event on the planet. Here’s everything you absolutely must know about Group C, all in one neat little video.Read more...

Lakers! No, Knicks! No, Nuggets! No, elsewhere, but definitely not Rockets! The LeBronWatch ‘18 news is coming fast and furious these days, but you can all probably stand down because Lakers owner Jeanie Buss tweeted a cryptic tweet that maybe could if you squint be a clear sign that LeBron James is due to take his…Read more...

The Japanese national team is built around an extremely solid core group of 30-somethings who have all proven themselves at the highest levels of European soccer. This is probably their last shot at World Cup glory, though they have a steep road ahead of them if they want to qualify past Colombia, Poland, and Senegal.…Read more...

Oof. We figured this Saudi Arabia team would be bad, the worst in the tournament even, but we didn’t expect that. Russia just curb stomped their Saudi opponents by a score of 5-0 in a beating even uglier in real life than it looks on paper.Read more...

This week, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick wrapped up the team’s voluntary OTAs a little early as a little treat, and he also set up an off-the-field activity for his players. (Maybe that’s the damage control required when a former player says it sucked to play for you and trade rumors about one of your best…Read more...

Despite regularly producing players who are good enough to play in top European leagues, Senegal will be making just its second-ever World Cup appearance this year. This is good news for fans who want to see extremely cool players do extremely cool things, because there are some fun guys on this squad. The only…Read more...

Discipline and rhythm and mental gruel are just a few of the things that make tennis such a compelling sport. Two players blasting crosscourt forehands at each other until one of them finally blinks and throws in a down the line shot or a drop shot that could set one of them up with a winner—it makes you grit your…Read more...

The last time the world turned its attention to an international soccer tournament, the Euro 2016 was marred by bands of violent Russian hooligans who spent a portion of the tournament, held in France, attacking fans from other countries. And as the World Cup kicks off in Russia, there’s good reason to worry that more…Read more...

For exclusive videos, pictures, and more, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Send us your confidential tips at tips@deadspin.com, call our confidential tips hotline at (347) 746-8471, contact our writers directly, or use our anonymous SecureDrop system.Read more...

The World Cup: truly a tradition unlike any other, except I guess for the Olympics which it is kind of like in the sense that a bunch of people who only care about a thing every four years suddenly care about it so much. Most of the world, of course, cares about soccer a great deal all the time, but the two people…Read more...

Here we have a highlight reel brimming with the exploits of Olivier Rioux, a 12-year-old basketball player who is said to stand at 6 feet and 9 inches. Since most 12-year-olds are not 6-foot-9, you can probably guess how this is going to go for Rioux’s poor opponents:Read more...

Nordstrom’s Clear the Rack sale is back! Plus, pick up savings on a 4K projector, a bunch of tools for Father’s Day, and more of the best deals from around the web.Read more...

Serbia’s proud history of cultivating the talents of exceptional soccer players is only surpassed by their inglorious history of choking in embarrassing fashion once those exceptional Serbs all get together with the national team. This Serbian team is even more stacked than usual. Hopefully that talent will finally…Read more...

Gizmodo Cops Are Predictably Pissed About Apple’s Plan to Turn Off USB Data Access on iPhones | Jalopnik This Test Shows Why Tesla Autopilot Crashes Keep Happening | Kotaku Ninja Takes Two-Day Break, Loses 40,000 Subscribers | Lifehacker The Tiny, Essential Google Tricks for Way Better Search Results |Read more...

Happy World Cup day! The real competition begins today. Not the soccer; the psychic animals.Read more...

When the Mets stuck Jacob deGrom with his second loss of the season on Wednesday afternoon, it was their 10th defeat in 11 games. DeGrom, who has been the best starting pitcher in the National League, allowed just one earned run and struck out seven over seven innings. The Mets didn’t get a hit off Mike Soroka over…Read more...

Juan Soto is a boy with a man’s bat. With his two–home run night in the Bronx on Thursday, the 19-year-old Nationals outfielder became the fifth youngest player in baseball’s live-ball era with a multi-homer game, and the list (Danny Murphy, Mel Ott, Ken Griffey Jr., Andruw Jones) puts him in some pretty damned good…Read more...

If you have any home improvement projects on the docket, Amazon’s running a pretty great deal on power tools, today only.

A peaceful Bark in the Park event at the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate took a turn for the better when an almost impossibly good doggo saw that the humans were throwing baseballs left and right out there, with none of his fellow four-legged buddies stepping up to do the dang retrieving:Read more...

We’ve got ourselves a near donnybrook! Hands nearly thrown! Faces nearly smashed! Scores nearly settled!Read more...

Michael Wilbon, a grumbly shithead who’s spent the better part of this millennium actively torching his own hard-won relevance, has now weighed in on LeBron James’s impending free agency. You may be surprised to learn that Wilbon—who has made it clear multiple times that he thinks D.C. is a “terrible” “minor league”…Read more...

Jordan McNair, a 19-year-old sophomore offensive lineman for the University of Maryland football team, died Wednesday, two weeks after he was hospitalized following an incident at a team workout on May 29. Terps athletic director Damon Evans announced McNair’s death in a statement released Wednesday evening.

The LeBron James free agency news is coming hot and fast now. Some important things have already been settled: LeBron is definitely joining the Lakers; LeBron definitely wants the city of Houston to sink into the ocean forever; LeBron is definitely joining the Knicks. Also something about Scottie Pippen. It’s rare…Read more...

Michigan State interim president John Engler wrote in an email that he believed Rachel Denhollander received a “kickback” for being the leading voice in the case built against convicted serial sex abuser Larry Nassar.

The 2018 World Cup kicks off tomorrow. Just because the USMNT blows and didn’t make the tournament, that’s no reason for you not to pay attention to the best sporting event on the planet. Here’s everything you absolutely must know about Group B, all in one neat little video.Read more...

Welcome back to LeBronWatch, your source for the most premium inside information on LeBron James’s next destination. He who crowned himself “King of New York” last November may soon be making that a reality. Don’t take it from us—take it from a man who has been somewhat recently employed by the New York Knicks. Kenyon…Read more...

Former NFL defensive lineman Greg Hardy had his first pro MMA fight this week, on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, and he defeated fellow former NFL player Austen Lane in 57 seconds via TKO. UFC czar Dana White was in attendance and clearly impressed.Read more...

It makes sense that Marco Pantani remains Italy’s most beloved cyclist 14 years after his death. Italy is one of cycling’s most vibrant strongholds, and like Brazilian soccer fans, the tifosi demand not just mere victory, but style. Vincenzo Nibali’s snoozer of a 2014 Tour de France win is fine, but his iconic solo…Read more...

The word “underachievers” will haunt this Belgium group for the rest of their lives unless they seriously impress at this World Cup. Even just a glance at their roster should strike fear into most opponents’ hearts, but in practice, this dream team has yet to really gel, playing much more like a loose collection of…Read more...

After hibernating through the clay season, with good reason, Roger Federer has woken up again. Today at the Stuttgart Open, he played his first match since March. Millions of fans and also his wife were pleased by this development.Read more...

The 2018 World Cup kicks off tomorrow. Just because the USMNT blows and didn’t make the tournament, that’s no reason for you not to pay attention to the best sporting event on the planet. Here’s everything you absolutely must know about Group A, all in one neat little video.Read more...

Courtney Dauwalter is a real nice girl, but competitive. She’s 33 now and married, and living in Golden, Colo., but she grew up in Hopkins, Minn. where she was one heck of an athlete—ran track and cross country, did nordic skiing, went to state a few times. One thing led to another, and now she’s into ultra running,…Read more...

Everyone welcome Tunisia back to the World Cup! They haven’t been here since 2006, and they will go to Russia seeking to win their first Wold Cup match in 40 years. They, uh, probably won’t get it.

Four years after a disappointing showing in Brazil, South Korea had the great misfortune of being drawn into a very tough group in Russia. The Taegeuk Warriors have enviable top-end talent in Son Heung-min and Ki Sung-yueng, and if they had been drawn into the groups that their fellow Asian qualifiers like Australia,…Read more...

There are usually a very limited number of ways that most fans will ever come to know that a guy like Scooter Gennett exists. He’s a player you would know if you’re the type of Brewers fan that keeps up with those 16th-round role-playing guys, ones that hang around for a few years and never really flash star…Read more...

A note before starting: This piece contains a lot of conversations that took place many years ago. They’re not word-for-word quotes, but they are pretty motherfucking close. The phone answering machine messages are exactly what was spoken.

Stephen A. Smith speaks of his adoration for butts in the way a person would speak of an old friend or an enriching life event. On Snoop Dogg’s YouTube show, Smith discusses asses fondly. They have clearly done so much for him.

At the beating heart of Amazon’s unstoppable ecommerce expansion is a very basic promise: jobs.

Stock up on snacks and energy drinks, find your most comfy chair, and get ready for the most wonderful racing weekend of the year. It’s time for the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans, a full day of magic and sweet, sweet race cars. We put together this nifty guide to tell you how you, too, can watch one of the most prestigious…Read more...

Early on in the Brewers’ 4-0 win over the Cubs Tuesday, Christian Yelich was on second base and Lorenzo Cain hit a sharp grounder up the middle. Javier Baez was there for a nice backhand play, but Yelich had already taken off for third, maybe figuring the ball was getting through. That required a rundown, which…Read more...

For years now, there hasn’t been much to do but laugh at England’s performances on the world stage. The so-called Golden Generation won nothing, and the 2014 World Cup team didn’t even make it out of their group. England did manage to make it to the Round of 16 in the 2016 Euros, but ended up getting knocked out of…Read more...

Welcome back to LeBronWatch, where we are watching LeBron. So far, our observations have provided us with two unassailable truths: LeBron James is absolutely going to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, and he believes that Houston is a city of puke. Today brings us more insider information, though coyly shared, from…Read more...

Save big on a 20-pound weighted blanket, wireless Beats earbuds and over-ear headphones, a mesh Wi-Fi router, and more of today’s best deals.Read more...

It is not uncommon to see two NBA players who just spent a game or even an entire series scrapping and talking wild shit to each other suddenly shaking hands and hugging once the buzzer goes off. It’s a particular quirk of the NBA, a league in which guys can say truly vile things during the game and then be cordial…Read more...

The Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) announced today that it has fired its national team manager Julen Lopetegui, on the eve of the World Cup, because Lopetegui did not “act the right way.” The infraction? Lopetegui accepted a job managing Real Madrid, which would have started after the World Cup, without prior…Read more...

While the rest of the world’s hatred of Donald Trump runs deep, it apparently doesn’t run quite deep enough to deprive the U.S. of hosting the World Cup. After a bit of a scare there for a while, today FIFA voted on who would host the 2026 World Cup and the joint bid by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico won. Hooray.Read more...

Things are crazy right now, and if you somehow forgot that Father’s Day is on Sunday, this deal on a 20-pound weighted blanket will keep you relaxed. This big ass blanket is just $102, the best price it’s ever been, when you use the code KFATHERD at checkout. And if your dad doesn’t want it, take it for yourself. Just …Read more...

Whether you’re filling tires or firing pneumatic tools, this 4.3 star-rated DEWALT electric pancake compressor is a great addition to any garage, and you can pick it up for $119 in today’s Gold Box. That’s over $40 less than usual, and the best price Amazon’s ever listed.

Miguel Cabrera left Tuesday’s loss to the Twins in the bottom of the third inning with what was initially described by the Tigers as a left biceps tendon strain. Cabrera took a looping cut on a Jake Odorizzi off-speed pitch and immediately winced and grabbed his bicep before walking into the dugout and out of sight.Read more...

C.C. Sabathia of the dastardly New York Yankees pegged dear Dinger Lord Bryce Harper in the funny bone in the top of the fifth inning Tuesday, with two men on and the Yankees clinging to a 2-0 lead. Scum! Murder most foul!Read more...