Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

Herm Edwards, who hasn’t coached football since 2008, is now in charge of the Arizona State Sun Devils. The school’s athletic director and Edwards’s former agent Ray Anderson is convinced that this will be a successful idea. Try to parse this press release while keeping in mind that it is about a man being hired to…Read more...

PORTLAND, Ore.—Here is a story from Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike, J.B. Strasser and Laurie Becklund’s 1993 book about about the company’s early days. In 1975, Nelson Farris, Nike’s first employee—he still works there, “Chief Storyteller” or some such thing—went to a women’s track meet to sell some shoes. He…Read more...

Touchdown celebrations are cool. Touchdown celebrations that pantomime sex are even cooler.Read more...

Kicker Robbie Gould’s 11-year tenure with the Bears came to an unceremonious end when the team released him a week before the 2016 season started. GM Ryan Pace believed that Connor Barth was better and more affordable than Gould, though Barth was cut last month for Cairo Santos. On Sunday, Gould, the Bears’ all-time…Read more...

Today LeBron James spoke briefly about the grim saga of Derrick Rose, whose desiccated body drifted back to Cleveland this morning. LeBron’s comment was unremarkable in Rose-related insight, which it seemed explicitly crafted to avoid. But it was amusing in its insight on the human condition. In the middle of a…Read more...

Lim “Larva” Hong Gyu proved last night that he can win a StarCraft: Remastered match with his foot. During the finals of the Zotac Cup Masters Showmatch, Larva made quick work of his opponent’s base, and in the game’s final moments, he lifted his bare left foot onto the keyboard to tap in a few final button presses.

Well, another week has passed, and with it, another Jacksonville Jaguars victory game. (Higher score.)Read more...

Rob Gronkowski, a palooka with a new mean streak, somehow avoided an ejection after he crushed Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White well after the play was over. (White had to leave the game and be evaluated for a concussion.)Read more...

One year after losing 19 of its players in a plane crash that killed 71 people, Brazilian club Chapecoense clinched qualification to the Copa Libertadores—the South American Champions League—with a last-second stoppage time winner scored by Túlio de Melo.Read more...

Last week, before a basketball game between Eagle Grove and Forest City in Forest City, Iowa, two local radio broadcasters were heard cheerily expressing their disdain for the “Español people” who played for Eagle Grove High School, before wishing they would “go back to where they came from.”

Ben McAdoo said after yesterday’s loss in Oakland that he’s “going to coach this team as long as my key card works.” The Giants allowed his key card to work just long enough for him to get in the door at team HQ, and then they fired him.

Diving is an impressive sport. Athletes train endlessly so they can nail near-perfect dives, over and over. Even at the high school level, it’s pretty cool.Read more...

Giancarlo Stanton in St. Louis? Giancarlo Stanton in San Francisco? If you’re dreaming about where the defending National League MVP might end up next season, there’s no sense in dreaming any bigger than that. The Stanton sweepstakes are reportedly down to the Cardinals and the Giants, and Stanton will have full and…Read more...

Former NFL player Greg Hardy is trying his hand at MMA, and won his debut fight in 32 seconds on Nov. 4. On Friday, he won his second fight in 96 seconds, and the video footage indicates that it was the dumbest fight in history:

Guard Derrick Rose, who abruptly left the Cavaliers back on Nov. 24 to, like, go sit on a boardwalk and watch happy couples stroll by and stare at his reflection in a rainy window while a mopey Stan Bush track plays in the background, has returned to Cleveland, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowksi:

Why is fast food a pejorative? It carries the perception of mediocrity, as food for people of a lower social standing, and I’ve always found that unfair and classist. Truth is, that a restaurant could expeditiously serve a fried chicken with the consistency and quality of Popeye’s—even if it’s been sitting under a…Read more...

Joe Flacco, last week’s Bad Quarterback of the Week, was actually quite good in yesterday’s 44-20 stomping of the Detroit Lions. Flacco threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns, and was feeling so good after the game that he opened his press conference by clowning Jameis Winston.

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In the end—or, in the beginning, I suppose, given that it took him all of two days to eliminate 23 teams from the running—Japanese two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani’s criteria for a Major League team had nothing to do with money, and nothing to do with the DH. Instead, the very first cut apparently came down to pure…Read more...

Buying ornaments to hang on your tree or around the house is a tradition, but sometimes those decorations are just...really old. Amazon can help you bring your decor into 2017 with this one-day sale on ornaments, LED lights, candles, and more. Whats a holiday without new decorations that you’ll see for three weeks and…Read more...

If you saw Gizmodo’s recent review for the Tim Cook-approved Nebia Spa Shower, and decided you wanted one as soon as it got a little cheaper, today’s your lucky day.

Patrick Ewing, a walking and dunking sweat fountain during his playing days, was apparently also a big-time germophobe, according to this cool series of stories from former NBA trainer Timmy Walsh, via Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.Read more...

This is just a six-second video, but like any great Vine-length work of art, I’ve already slowed it down and watched it frame by frame multiple times, trying to parse its genius.Read more...

Clemson demolished Miami yesterday in the ACC Championship, in Charlotte. You can imagine, a blowout like that generally leads to unhappy fans of one side or another. This being football we’re talking about, there is a very great chance that unhappy fans will wind up punching and kicking each other in a drunken brawl.…Read more...

Kansas City cornerback Marcus Peters had a meltdown late in a one-possession game after a penalty was called against the Chiefs on a failed New York Jets two-point conversion.Read more...

AC Milan had a 2-1 lead on last place Benevento in the 95th minute today, with Benevento setting up for a free kick deep in Milan territory. You know what that means: the underdogs pulled keeper Alberto Brignoli forward to load up the box. And is there any way I would be showing you this video if Brignoli hadn’t done…Read more...

Rob Gronkowski apparently forgot what sport he was playing late in New England’s game against Buffalo. After an interception from Tre’Davious White, Gronkowski ran up and, for no particular reason, decided to plow his elbow into the back of White’s helmet while the defender was still on the ground. He got a personal…Read more...

Tyrod Taylor was carted off the field in the fourth quarter of the Bills game against the Patriots, as he’s dealing with a knee injury.Read more...

A top-level Gears Of War player should exhibit certain attributes: accuracy, dexterity, quick thinking, and communication. At this weekend’s Dallas Open, several teams showed it’s also beneficial to be skilled at trash talk.Read more...

Here’s this week’s NFL celebration that makes little sense: After Leonard Fournette’s five-yard touchdown run today, some of the Jacksonville Jaguars lined up for a free throw.

Jimbo Fisher arrived today at College Station, Texas, as the new head football coach at Texas A&M. He was greeted on the tarmac at Easterwood* Airport by a marching band and a literal red carpet, as happens in a sane world with a healthy appreciation for amateur sports:Read more...

Nothing gets a fan screaming in fear and disgust like a punt returner running the wrong way, but when the 49ers kicked to the Bears’ Tarik Cohen, the Chicago returner made the worst possible decision seem like a perfect one. Cohen received the punt at his own 40 yard-line and ran back to his 25 while trying to escape…Read more...

The Atlanta Falcons’ stadium hosted the SEC championship game Saturday night. A crew spent all night repainting the field in order to have it ready for today’s Vikings-Falcons game. They did a nice job, with one exception: The hashmarks were in the wrong spot.Read more...

We can probably rule out Tiger Woods winning this weekend’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. He was right in it after two rounds, but a Saturday 75 dropped him well back of the lead, and Rickie Fowler has spent Sunday birdying literally all the damn holes, so Tiger is out of it.Read more...

The Dota 2 pro circuit is starting to shake out, and over the course of the year thus far, one team has stood out in particular. With a huge win in Sweden today, Team Secret is cementing its place as the team to beat going into 2018.

The first three teams announced for the college football playoff were no surprise. Clemson was number one, after their savage beatdown of Miami last night, and they were followed by Big 12 champion Oklahoma and SEC champs Georgia, who will play each other in the Rose Bowl.

Last night was a miserable one for the Lakers. They lost to a Nuggets team missing all of Nikola Jokic, Paul Millsap, and Wilson Chandler, after taking a four-point lead into halftime. Frustration and befuddlement mounted throughout the second half, until, by crunch-time, the Lakers were more or less just handing the…Read more...

The Phoenix Suns were actually up by two on the Celtics in the third quarter in Boston yesterday, but they didn’t show much interest in keeping that lead. With the Suns on defense, some miscommunication led to Marcus Smart having an entire half of the court to himself. Smart couldn’t knock down the three, but when the…Read more...

The Pontiac Silverdome wanted to stick around a little longer.

Whether your team has a chance of winning the NBA Finals this year, or you’re a fan of anyone except Golden State, there’s a deal for you on Amazon today. A whole bunch of NBA-branded apparel is on sale in today’s Gold Box, including plenty of cold weather gear to get you through the winter.

If you asked me to guess how much money a person could make from robbing a Wawa, under no circumstances would I guess anything close to $13,000. But I am told, in this report from the Inquirer, that that is more or less the score allegedly taken by young Isheem Young, a Penn State football commit, who is accused of…Read more...

Austin Rivers, hilariously spastic and wonderfully confident basketball player, has reportedly been fined $25,000 for scolding a court-side Clippers fan during the team’s Thursday night loss to the streaking Utah Jazz:Read more...

You’re never going to win one of these:Read more...

Third-ranked Oklahoma jumped out to a 17-0 lead over TCU after just four total possessions this afternoon, and very much looked poised to run away from the Horned Frogs. A nine-play TCU touchdown drive made it 17-7, and, after a missed Oklahoma field goal, the Horned Frogs got right back to work, using eight plays to…Read more...

I have, myself, been mad at beer. One time I drank several too many Smithwick’s at a pub quiz, and the following morning had the worst beer shits in the history of mankind. Fuckin’ beer! This is not like that: Seattle Sounders fans are mad at beer for, like, appropriation, or whatever.Read more...

South Carolina State senior guard Tyvoris Solomon collapsed on the bench during a timeout in today’s game against N.C. State, triggering a terrifying sequence where EMT responders performed CPR on Solomon as he lay on the floor near the S.C. State bench:Read more...

Oh man. Georgia Tech spent the final ten minutes of their game Friday night against underdog Grambling State scrambling back from a 16-point deficit, finally grabbing a one-point lead on a Jose Alvarado three-pointer with 1:02 left on the game clock. The teams traded free throws over the next 30 seconds, and the…Read more...

Hearthstone is an online card game with a significant amount of randomness. Sometimes, that random generation can lead to immense failure, but it can also lead to impossibly improbable victories.Read more...

The Yankees will hire ESPN analyst and one-time Red Sox destructor Aaron Boone to replace the fired Joe Girardi, according to reports from the New York Daily News and ESPN.Read more...

Yesterday’s matches at the Dota 2 Dream League Major got a little intense, especially for commentator Toby “TobiWan” Dawson. You can follow this weekend’s matches on the Dream League Twitch channel.Read more...