Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

At some point on Thursday, before seeing the news that Joe Burrow was carted off the practice field, I was running over some story ideas in my head as one does in late July when very few sports are in season. The half-baked concept I was playing around with was: Are we in the middle of an Ohio pro sports renaissance?...Read more...

What happens when a seventh seed and a 13th seed meet on a basketball court in a country that doesn't have an NBA franchise? Who knows, but we're going to find out.Read more...

Coming into the 2023 season, many thought that the Oakland A's had the potential to be not just the worst team in baseball this year, but the worst of all time.Read more...

Doing the bare minimum to win seems to be England's way in this World Cup. The Three Lionesses have a pair of 1-0 wins in the tournament, including the win over Denmark early Friday morning. Already without Leah Williamson, Beth Mead, and Fran Kirby for the global showcase, Keira Walsh was taken off on a stretcher...Read more...

The St. Louis Cardinals may suck ass, but they're also petulant pissbabies too, clinging to their binky of outdated and archaic baseball theory that they can't even apply correctly:Read more...

Sean Payton knows a little something about reclamation projects. Nearly two decades after he rescued Drew Brees' career following a torn labrum in the QB's throwing shoulder, Payton has turned his attention to the revitalization of Russell Wilson. Like Brees, Wilson is an undersized passer, who thrives when he can...Read more...

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I come to you today with a philosophical query: Is it better to have more and tighter playoff races, or a more active trade deadline? In previous MLB seasons, the Los Angeles Angels would already be looking ahead to next year. They're five games out of what would've been the last play-in game spot under the previous...Read more...

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Last week at the Pac-12 Conference's annual football media days, Colorado was considered by far the league's biggest flight risk. It's USC and UCLA's last season affiliated with the West Coasters before, let's be honest, being promoted to the Big Ten. The Power Five is truly a supreme duo, with the Southeastern...Read more...

One of the worst things that can happen to an NFL player is to be taken off the field due to injury. Even worse than that is for it to happen before the season even begins. That's the situation Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey is in after being carted off the field with an apparent left knee injury. According to...Read more...

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There's a unique frustration to watching Team USA men's basketball in the Olympics after the world caught up. Yes, America has a better collection of raw talent, and when motivated, and conducted like an actual team, they can come away with gold. However, it's always a slog at some point, with savvy European countries...Read more...

Free agent running back Dalvin Cook is still on the open market as we enter the month of August. When he was released in June by the Minnesota Vikings, rumors were floating all over the internet about where he could end up, and still, nothing has come to fruition. Now it's been reported that he's set to meet with the...Read more...

This tournament started with how every organizer wishes it would, with both hosts getting wins to up the energy and buzz around the whole thing. World Cups and big tournaments are just better when the hosts are relevant and getting the home fans excited. But now both Australia and New Zealand are up against it, for...Read more...

Disgruntled NFL tailbacks are on the counteroffensive against unfavorable market forces and a collective bargaining agreement that leaves them with few options have spent the last few days discussing their current predicament amongst one another and appear to have emerged from their Zoom meeting with a few actionable...Read more...

There's nothing more infuriating than a fake ally. And no one is a better model of that than the NFL.Read more...

Unless you've been hibernating under a rock in the back of a cave for the past few months, you're likely aware of the name Victor Wembanyama and the hype around him entering the NBA. Even those who aren't necessarily fans" have heard the name, especially after his Britney Spears encounter earlier this month. The...Read more...

I would never make the mistake of thinking any sports team owner has any shame. The cash comes too easy, they're far too up their own ass because they've convinced themselves the money they have proves what a genius they are, and they're too far removed from the fans to really fear any public backlash. Because of...Read more...

The pregame chatter mostly centered around Netherlands manager Andries Jonker's quotes in the Matchday -1 press conference. It certainly had USWNT followers getting a little tight in the seat. In full:

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Like Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert became the highest-paid player in his league, inking a five-year $262.5 million extension with the team. The initial takeaway is largely the same even if the metrics by which they're measured are different.Read more...

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The shouts about Major League Soccer at large from other parts of the sports world get repetitive. Stating it's a retirement league was always a jaded view. Perhaps it was the league with the most publicity that was willing to take big names past their prime. And while a lack of promotion and relegation isn't in line...Read more...

Over the past 20 years, the marker that separates great from all-time great in the NBA has become more about how many rings an elite player wins than almost anything else. You see it in other sports like football, but the ring conversation is always most prominent with fans, media, and even players when discussing the...Read more...

The reaction to Bronny James' proves how loopy the sports wing of anti-vaxxers is. Bronny James' cardiac arrest animated the worst example of disconfirmation bias plaguing. Anytime they've witnessed a cardiac incident since 2021, a segment of society rears their head to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with Pfizer and...Read more...

The latest proposed bipartisan" piece of federal legislation to regulate name, image, and likeness deals for college athletes is being roundly applauded by the NCAA, the college coach-turned-senator who proposed it, other college football coaches, Power Five conferences, and a bunch of people who stand to benefit...Read more...

His best friend told the truth about him, and he took that personally."Read more...

After Group A decided to keep everyone alive with some truly weird (and awful) soccer on Monday night, it was time to send some teams to the land of wind and ghosts on Tuesday, as Costa Rica, Zambia, and Ireland will make it home before the postcards. Let's make it happen, captain!Read more...

Austin FC parted ways with defender Amro Tarek on WednesdayRead more...

Houston Texans right tackle Tytus Howard agreed to terms on a three-year, $56 million extension that includes $36.5 million guaranteed, multiple media outlets reported WednesdayRead more...

The New York Giants signed left tackle Andrew Thomas to a record-setting $117.5 million contract extension just before the start of training camp WednesdayRead more...

Jennifer Hermoso and Alba Redondo each scored twice Wednesday to help Spain advance to the knockout stage of the FIFA Women's World Cup with a 5-0 romp over Zambia in Auckland, New Zealand.Read more...

On Friday night, Athena and Willow Nightingale had one of the best matches, not just women's matches, of 2023 on Ring of Honor's Death Before Dishonor PPV. Not only was it the culmination of a three-match trilogy through both ROH and AEW, or the budding of a rivalry that will probably last years, but it contained many...Read more...

The challenge of baseball, and the beauty of it, is the length and density of it. It's pretty much every day for six months, and every team and every player has to do whatever is necessary to even remember what day it is at this time of year and beyond. Over 162 games in 180 days or so, anybody can be forgiven for...Read more...

Two teams that see brighter days ahead will meet in a rematch Wednesday night when the San Francisco Giants go for a two-game sweep of the visiting Oakland Athletics in their rivalry seriesRead more...

Chicago Cubs ace Marcus Stroman listened to his body and skipped the All-Star Game to restRead more...

In what could easily be constructed as a second stroke of good fortune in as many games, the Houston Astros won a decisive replay review in the top of the eighth inning on Tuesday on a challenge that mirrored the one the Texas Rangers lost to end the series openerRead more...

Two of Major League Baseball's top young pitchers will be on the mound Wednesday night when the visiting Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox conclude a two-game seriesRead more...

Pete Alonso enjoyed his most productive day of a frustrating season to begin the Subway Series against the New York YankeesRead more...

Michael Lorenzen was a surprise choice for the American League All-Star team.Read more...

The Philadelphia Phillies were on the verge of another loss before rallying for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday for an improbable 4-3 win over the Baltimore OriolesRead more...

Usually, going into the deciding matchup of a three-game series with the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates wouldn't be considered a sign of good thingsRead more...

The Los Angeles Dodgers will be sporting a new look with a familiar feel Wednesday afternoon as they look to continue their momentum following a wild victory over the Toronto Blue Jays a night earlierRead more...

The visiting Cincinnati Reds will turn to right-hander Ben Lively for a chance to move atop the National League Central against the front-running Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday afternoon in the rubber game of the three-game seriesRead more...

The Arizona Diamondbacks will go for the series win over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday after snapping a five-game losing streak with a rally in the eighth inning Tuesday that included a pair of triplesRead more...

Kansas City Royals rookie Alec Marsh will aim for his first major league win when he takes the mound against the visiting Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday afternoon in the rubber game of a three-game seriesRead more...

After rallying for a stunning comeback win, the Seattle Mariners will send rookie right-hander Bryce Miller to the mound on Wednesday afternoon to face the Minnesota Twins in the rubber game of a three-game series in MinneapolisRead more...

Joey Meneses and the Washington Nationals don't have much time to enjoy the fruits of their labor after rallying for a 6-5 victory over the visiting Colorado Rockies on Tuesday nightRead more...

An off day on Monday came at an opportune time for the Tampa Bay Rays, and now they are in position to sweep a two-game series against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday in St. Petersburg, FlaRead more...