Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

This is the kind of goal that makes me want to laugh and puke at the same time. On the one hand, it’s objectively hilarious when world-class athletes are reduced to helpless props in a pinball blooper. On the other, if Marcos Alonso or Antonio Rüdiger were positioned just inches differently, they could have been saved…Read more...

Are you one of the beautiful people heading to the frosty North for Super Bowl LII? Well then, you can toss all your other Super Bowl party invites in the urinal, because Deadspin is having a Very Large Adult Game party of its own. And it’s gonna be SO exclusive (open to the public) and SO fancy (a $10 ticket gets you…Read more...

Maybe you’re already convinced on the question of standard-issue egomania of celebrity chefs, but anyway let me feed you some real quotes from Esquire about a chef-guy putting some bread on coals:

The Cleveland Cavaliers suck. They can’t play defense. They’re accusing each other of faking sick. And while it has become ritual for this team to endure a prolonged stretch of eating shit in the regular season before getting their act together in time to brush the rest of an eternally weak Eastern Conference aside in…Read more...

Are you ready for the next era of Leeds United soccer? Are your ears pinned back to howl at the moon like a wolf, only it’s not the moon, it’s Leeds’ new club crest??? Do you love, uh, celebrating fans?????

On Monday night, WWE celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Monday Night Raw flagship television show by splitting the telecast between Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the Manhattan Center’s Grand Ballroom, which was Raw’s original home. Based on the limited history of pro wrestling cards from multiple venues, the…Read more...

Imagine a world, one that very much resembles our own, set in some not-too-distant, semi-dystopian future. A sort of bizarro version of our modern Western society, where the increasing imposition upon society of otherwise benign technology and social media has warped the very fabric and structure of our lives and…Read more...

When a survivor of Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse makes her impact statement to the court, she is first asked to state and spell her name for the record. And then Judge Rosemarie Aquilina asks her, “What would you like me to know?”

The U.S. Olympic Committee has been curiously quiet during sentencing of former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State doctor Larry Nassar. Right as Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison this afternoon for 10 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct—and after 156 women* gave statements describing Nassar’s…Read more...

At the final day of Larry Nassar’s sentencing hearing today, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina read excerpts from a letter that Nassar wrote two months after agreeing to plea guilty to 10 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. In his letter, Nassar came off as defiant and wrote as if he was still somehow innocent,…Read more...

Larry Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison today by Judge Rosemarie Aquilina for 10 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. The sentence came down following the seventh day of victim impact statements in the Ingham County, Mich., courtroom, after 156 women spoke in open court about the damage done…Read more...

The short answer here is: “Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, define ‘worry.’”Read more...

You can save $50 off this 12-piece stainless steel set or $25 off this nonstick set in today’s T-fal Gold Box. These are not your favorite All-Clad tri-ply pans, but I’m sure they get the job done for the occasional cook. If you’re not in the market for a new cookset, this ceramic nonstick square pan is a good $15…Read more...

On the opening night of Overwatch League, a Dallas Fuel fan at the Blizzard Arena hoisted a sign with the alt-right meme frog Pepe on it, and had it confiscated by event staff before the night was over. But that was only the first meme with racist associations to worm its way adjacent to Blizzard’s big mainstream…Read more...

The Tallahassee Democrat is reporting that Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois is being investigated in connection with a domestic violence incident that occurred early Wednesday morning.

With Chris Fowler busy hand-waving away Tennys Sandgren’s alarming political views and hateful beliefs, and the rest of tennis media cowed into silence by Sandgren scolding them for asking about his beliefs after he encouraged them to ask him about his beliefs, Serena Williams called for Sandgren to apologize for the…Read more...

Bob Costas won’t be at the Super Bowl this year.Read more...

Oakland Raiders wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson recently swung through New York City. While he was in town, Deadspin sat him in front of a camera to ask him a bunch of stuff.Read more...

When we last saw Cam Newton, he was once again at the center of an NFL concussion protocol controversy. After taking a blow to his head during his team’s playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints, Newton was slow to get up and eventually went to the ground as he tried to return to the sidelines. From any objective point…Read more...

Gizmodo Rebuffed Flat Earth Rocketeer Says He Will Actually Launch Himself Into the Sky at 500 MPH This Time | Jalopnik Tesla Driver Who Slammed Into Parked Firetruck On California Freeway Says Car Was On Autopilot (UPDATED) | The A.V. Club Star Wars: Episode IX can fill Leia’s absence by embracing its forgotten queen…Read more...

Hyeon Chung defeated Tennys Sandgren 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Before that, under the new scrutiny that comes with being one of the last eight remaining players in one of the biggest tournaments in tennis, Sandgren deleted all his tweets, including one that expressed support of the…Read more...

Amazon’s January fitness sales continue unabated today, with great prices on both an exercise bike and a rowing machine.

The NBA continues to be cranky as hell. Last night Kevin Durant got ejected again, for the fourth time this season, late in the Warriors’ 123-112 win over the Knicks. Then in his post-match presser, he called out referee James Williams by name for targeting him.Read more...

When it became clear late in the third set that American Tennys Sandgren was probably going to lose his Australian Open quarterfinal match to South Korean 20-year-old Hyeon Chung, ESPN commentators Chris Fowler and Patrick McEnroe decided it was the time for a perfunctory discussion of how Sandgren used his public…Read more...

It’s been one week since Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin’s office issued a citation recognizing Jan. 17 as a day for boxer Floyd Mayweather, a move that made and makes no sense.Read more...

It is—with good reason—generally very difficult to smuggle anything that could be considered a legitimate or even semi-legitimate threat of violence or distraction into a major sporting event. How do bad fans get around that? They use whatever they might find waiting for them in the stands. Like, at an Alpine Ski…Read more...

The NCAA has formally opened an investigation of Michigan State due to the university’s failure to address repeated reports of sexual abuse by former employee Larry Nassar, who is already in prison for child pornography and is currently being sentenced after pleading guilty to several counts of criminal sexual conduct.Read more...

In an overtime battle against Oklahoma State last Saturday afternoon, Trae Young put up one of the wildest statlines imaginable. The Oklahoma freshman used 51 percent of his team’s possessions, scored 48 points, and took 39 total shots. (He was 6-of-19 from two, 8-of-20 from three, and perfect on 12 free throws.) It…Read more...

Vince Carter turns 41 on Friday, and he’s the oldest dude in the NBA. But that didn’t stop him from showing young Aaron Gordon how to throw it down tonight.Read more...

John Geddert—the owner of Twistars USA Gymnastics Club in Lansing, Mich., who has been called out numerous times during the Larry Nassar sentencing hearing for his own abusive behavior toward gymnasts—sent an email signed by him and his wife saying he was retiring, the Lansing State Journal reported today. It comes…Read more...

Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle has apologized to Salah Mejri after yelling at the center during last night’s game—specifically saying, “you have two fucking points, get the fuck out of here” after Mejri was ejected with his second technical foul in the third quarter—and says he will try harder to build a…Read more...

Here’s a rock-dumb hypothetical the staff has been arguing about for a few hours: If you were forced to choose two groups of fighters from the following draft class of eight kinds of animals and one guy with a gun, what’s the best possible defense you can construct for yourself against the remaining seven?

There is perhaps no active player who has been as owned by the Big Four as painfully as Tomas Berdych. Poor, big-hitting Tomas Berdych, one of the fixtures of the men’s game, constantly found loitering in the later rounds of the majors, but never winning them. The Czech quasi-star has surged as high as No. 4 in the…Read more...

Kotaku The Great Graphics Card Shortage Of 2018 | Gizmodo Man Says He Spent Thousands on Bitcoin Mining Rig and Got Boss Baby DVD Instead | Jalopnik Never Ever Agree To Let Someone Make Payments When They Buy Your Car | The Takeout Ask The Salty Waitress: Am I the worst if I only order water? | Lifehacker Here’s…Read more...

Put on your finest denim jacket and pour yourself a big glass of maple syrup, because we’ve got a fine Canadian controversy. It involves a man named Rush Hulk—not his real name—who is a fan of the Saskatchewan Rush box lacrosse team.Read more...

Liberian president-elect George Weah was inaugurated yesterday in Monrovia, marking the first peaceful transition of power in Liberia since 1944. Weah was one of the best soccer players throughout the 90s, when he played for Monaco, PSG, and AC Milan. He won the Ballon d’Or in 1995. The striker won Serie A twice,…Read more...

Thirty-two more women spoke today in an Ingham County, Mich. court during the sixth day of Larry Nassar’s sentencing hearing, bringing the total number of victim-impact statements to 155 so far. The former Michigan State Athletic Department and U.S. Gymnastics doctor, who is already serving a 60-year sentence on…Read more...

In an interview on local radio show Staudt on Sports, Michigan State board of trustees member Joel Ferguson reinforced the university board’s stance that the majority of board members still support university president Lou Anna Simon, saying, “there’s so many more things going on at the university than just this…Read more...

At 12 p.m. I ate a destination salad from Chop’t. I knew it was too early for salad and that I’d be hungry before the day was over. Now it’s only 4:20 p.m. and it’s already Hoagie Time.

Every Hall of Fame voting season, a few narratives get beaten into the ground. What to do about steroids. What to do about the 10-year rule designed to screw over steroid guys. What about the war over WAR? But here’s one argument that still deserves to be used as a bludgeon against the BBWAA: The 10-vote limit per…Read more...

It’s currently -5 degrees Fahrenheit in Pyeongchang, where the Winter Olympics will kick off in just over two weeks. Even if it’s not quite that cold at the Opening Ceremony (although it probably will be) I wouldn’t begrudge the American athletes any sartorial compromises made to stay as warm as possible. Which…Read more...

Joe Flaherty’s obituary for Sonny Liston originally appeared in The Village Voice (January 14, 1971) and is also featured in At the Fights. It appears here with permission.

Today, LeBron James congratulated himself for scoring his 30,000th career point, a feat he will likely accomplish tonight as he’s just seven points shy of the mark.

Time for your weekly edition of the Deadspin Funbag. Got something on your mind? Email the Funbag. Today, we’re talking pancakes, crooked refs, point guards, meat, and more.

Pro wrestler Enzo Amore, whose real name is Eric Arndt, was released by WWE today. In a statement announcing his suspension yesterday, WWE said that the organization has “has zero tolerance for matters involving sexual harassment or sexual assault.”

Give a Larabars a try with this variety box, just $18 after the $6 off coupon. If you’re unfamiliar with Larabars, they’re gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, vegan bars, mostly made from dates. This brand has a bunch of interesting flavors, blueberry muffin is my personal favorite, and this variety box is a good…Read more...

In an interview with ESPN earlier today, surprise Australian Open quarterfinalist Tennys Sandgren said he ran a program to clear out his tweets, like the one where he believed that Hillary Clinton participated in a Satanic ritual. At the time of the interview, the program had cleared several consecutive months of…Read more...

The Undertaker last appeared at WrestleMania 33 in April. He lost to Roman Reigns. WWE played it up as Undertaker’s last match. On Monday night, he returned to WWE Raw last night for Raw 25, an episode celebrating the show’s 25th year on the air. It was lame.

DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis are now 63 games into their career together, and the Pelicans are 34-29 over that span. That’s not any sort of record to be ashamed of, but it’s also just a little too heavy in the loss column to provide any assurance that Boogie and AD’s partnership will survive in the long term,…Read more...