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Early in training camp the Cincinnati Bengals were dealt a tough blow with starting signal-caller Joe Burrow suffering a calf injury. He missed most of camp and the entire preseason.Read more...

We're only two games into the Anthony Richardson era in Indianapolis and it's not too early to admit that the physical punishment he's subjecting himself to is a cause for concern. Four years ago, Andrew Luck retired mid-preseason from the same team Richardson now helms, to the astonishment of fans. The cumulative...Read more...

There was so much optimism entering the 2023 NFL season in Baltimore behind a revamped offense led by former MVP Lamar Jackson with newly signed Odell Beckham Jr, once one of the leagues most exciting receivers, as a weapon. Unfortunately, the injury bug didn't take long to find OBJ in a Ravens uniform. Beckham left...Read more...

It's Week 2 of the NFL season and, as a non-Chiefs fan, I am already tired of Travis Kelce. He doesn't come off as a bad person, necessarily, just a loud one, and one who likes to yell We gotta fight...for the right...to paaaarrrrrty!!" every time he's anywhere near a microphone. Here he is saying it after the Chiefs won...Read more...

Colorado nearly getting smacked with their first loss of the Deion Sanders era in a friendly atmosphere against an overmatched foe was a reminder that college football's unpredictable nature goes both ways. Eventually, the underdogs become the hunted, and fortune shifts on a dime. At kickoff, Colorado were a 23-point...Read more...

Aaron Rodgers' first season in New York came to a screeching halt last Monday after suffering a devastating Achilles injury on his fourth snap in his debut game. As football injuries go, an Achilles tear is on the severe end of the spectrum, usually taking at least six months to recover from; even for professional...Read more...

On the morning of September 7th, life was pretty good for the Chicago Cubs. They had just, essentially, ended the San Francisco Giants season by sweeping them in three games at Wrigley, leaving San Francisco 5.5 games behind the Cubs and 2.5 games out of any wildcard spot. The Cubs meanwhile were only two games behind...Read more...

This is a weird season for the SEC thus far. Only one team appears worthy of the playoff, and Georgia didn't exactly look like world beaters against South Carolina on Saturday either. Tennessee lost to Florida (who already lost to Utah), LSU lost to Florida State, and Alabama lost to Texas. Those three teams were the...Read more...

After a player dons a Los Angeles Angels uniform, it's easy to picture him in any team's colors. It's a mercenary's stopping ground, a place to get money, live in L.A., and soak up the pro ball lifestyle while not having to worry about winning or expectations. That's why every coastal elite club should throw gobs of...Read more...

With playoff baseball rapidly approaching and the standings nearly complete, this feels like a good time to point out a flaw in the new six-team format (other than increasing the number of games per round). If you're going to hand out first-round byes, give them to the two best teams in each league.Read more...

Outside of completely catering to society as a whole and pushing its current roster and storylines to the back burner, there isn't a match the WWE can put on that would draw a bigger box office than The Rock returning to the ring for a first-time ever matchup with his cousin and current Undisputed WWE Champion Roman...Read more...

You reap what you sow. And Dustin Johnson has no one to blame but himself for not making the United States Ryder Cup team. Once he sold out to Saudi-backed LIV Golf last year for a reported $125 million, his margin for error to make golf's premier team event became razor-thin. And it shouldn't be a shock to Johnson...Read more...

No matter your take on Josh Allen's style of play, what can't be denied is that his on-field success is due almost entirely to his Black teammates - the ones of the race that Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula allegedly" told to go back to Africa."Read more...

This time a season ago, the Philadelphia Eagles also were 2-0 coming off a convincing win over the Minnesota Vikings. Unlike last year though, there's a little controversy surrounding the Birds as Jalen Hurts and wide receiver AJ Brown were caught having an exchange on the sidelines. The incident was compounded by the...Read more...

It's been a wonky season for the Toronto Blue Jays. It was supposed to be the one where they leaped from just a playoff team to AL East titan. Didn't work out. Part of it is that Alek Manoah started throwing wiffle balls. Another part is that Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s power went to the zoo for most of the season. Throw...Read more...

We might have to retire our opinions on Primetime Kirk.Read more...

Stadium's Shams Charania reported on Wednesday that the Houston Rockets are looking to trade Kevin Porter Jr. The Rockets are even ready to send several second-round draft picks along with him. In return, Houston is reportedly looking for a player who can play immediately."Read more...

At one point, Dwight Howard was one of the biggest stars in the NBA. An eight-time All-Star and All-NBA selection, Howard made five All-Defensive teams and took home Defensive Player of the Year honors three times. After playing with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2021-22 campaign, Howard wasn't...Read more...

I can't think of a more apropos recent example of a roller coaster during baseball's regular season than this year's Texas Rangers. In the month of August, the Rangers were viewed both as the American League's leading contender to make the World Series and also had a large swath of their fan base throw in the towel...Read more...

Just how well is a GM/executive reign supposed to go when the first task given to them is to trade the best player in baseball? That was the road set out for Chaim Bloom, who came to Fenway from Tampa, probably with hopes that he could set up a Rays-with-money set-up like Andrew Friedman in Los Angeles. And then he...Read more...

This week, ESPN's College GameDay is setting up shop in Boulder, Colo., for Prime University's cakewalk contest against Colorado State. Colorado are 23-point favorites, but the Worldwide Leader needs a reason to hop onto the Deion bandwagon before it loses steam once the schedule toughens up. Even before the season,...Read more...

The internet has created a phenomenon where people see a news story, and then rush to explain to those with (assumed) lower brain function, why they shouldn't believe what they see. A perfect example of this is the ditty about DraftKings refunding all bets related to Aaron Rodgers after his Jets career lasted all of...Read more...

Last weekend, allegations that now-suspended MSU football coach Mel Tucker had sexually harassed anti-sexual assault advocate Brenda Tracy hit the news and, as always when a prominent man in the world of sports is accused, X/Twitter and other social media platforms were besieged by those speculating about how Tracy's...Read more...

Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the brightest stars the NBA has to offer. He's a two-time league MVP, NBA Champion, Finals MVP, seven-time All-Star, and All-NBA selection, among many other accolades. You might wonder how a guy who's accomplished so much before age 30 keeps the fire lit to come back better each year....Read more...

Secretly, the grossest thing about this Mel Tucker scandal - outside of all the unverifiable tips being sent to the Deadspin general email - is that Michigan State might actually benefit from its own incompetence. Tucker would be owed an $80 million buyout if he were fired for being an abhorrent football coach as...Read more...

Sometimes you just have to put the request in despite already knowing the outcome. That was the case when Colin Kaepernick's agent reached out to the New York Jets after Aaron Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles on Monday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills.

While Atlanta fans apparently are pretty touchy about any perceived criticism of their club, even we have to admit there's something pretty baller about clinching the NL East one day after the Philadelphia Phillies broadcasters were bitching about the bravado Atlanta showed as they were kicking the Phils' ass once...Read more...

Entering the 10th and final year of the 4-team College Football Playoff, we have a 2-time defending national champion in Georgia, who is one of only five teams to win a title in the post-BCS era. It's been an oversaturation at the top with the same teams playing in the most important games of the year. And if you're...Read more...

The arrest of Kevin Porter Jr. on charges of felony assault and strangulation related to the beating of his girlfriend Kysre Gondrezic early Monday at the Millenium Hilton in Manhattan. was the last straw for the soon-to-be-former Houston Rocket. Prosecutors say Porter punched Gondrezick with an open fist and didn't...Read more...

The 2022-23 season was supposed to be the revenge of the Milwaukee Bucks. Their championship defense in 2022 was cut short when Khris Middleton was injured in the first round against the Chicago Bulls. A season that had already been dampened by Brook Lopez missing all but 13 regular-season games. Giannis Antetokounmpo...Read more...

The Chargers opened the 2023 regular season in a thrilling game in Los Angeles against the Miami Dolphins, where they came up short, 36-34. Austin Ekeler did his part for the Chargers, rushing for 117 yards, a touchdown, and adding four receptions for another 47 yards. Ultimately, this wasn't enough, and the Chargers...Read more...

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Count Dallas Cowboy linebacker Micah Parsons among those who thought Daniel Jones should've been relieved, at some point, during the Cowboys thrashing of the New York Giants on Sunday night. Speaking on his podcast that I will never listen to, Parsons - who recorded one of Dallas' seven sacks of Jones - said Brian...Read more...

As we and many others stress, international friendlies are weird. Especially when everyone has to fly over from Europe for two games that don't count for anything while trying to not get hurt. And for the USMNT, there weren't really too many players trying to carve out a role, or a bigger role, within the team. The...Read more...

Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books, and as usual, we've got some extreme overreactions to some of the action. We see this every year early on when teams play far above their expected output or well below. So, let's figure out which teams may have fooled the masses during the opening week of this 2023 campaign.Read more...

The sizzle of the grill, the smell of the pizza, the crack of the beer can, and the sound of brass bursting through the speakers, are all signs that football season has arrived. While activity and news from the sport are followed year-round, nothing replaces a week of real game action.Read more...

There hasn't been a performance-enhancing drugs scandal in basketball. At least, not to the level of, say, the likes of BALCO and Major League Baseball. As close as we came was when the NBA started testing players for HGH before the beginning of the 2015-16 season. The trendy thing to do online at the time, was to...Read more...

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The problem with Wrexham becoming such a story within the soccer world, thanks to the efforts of Ryan Reynolds, and Rob McElhenney making them so, is that the suspense is kind of removed from Season 2 of Welcome To Wrexham. We know how this one ends. Wrexham win the National League, and get promoted. Which has been...Read more...

Josh Allen's trio of picks thrown to New York Jets safety Jordan Whitehead and his two fumbles on one play, were the kiss of death for the Buffalo Bills in their loss to a New York Jets team whose Super Bowl aspirations disappeared after Aaron Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles. However, being humbled by the Jets...Read more...

It's always interesting to see how leagues and players' unions react to injuries. Zaza Pachulia stepped under Kawhi Leonard's foot, and now NBA defenders can't impede a shooter's landing zone. Buster Posey getting blasted by Scott Cousins led to MLB banning plays at the plate. On Monday, Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles...Read more...

Stephen A. Smith has two options. Stand by his man and deal with the consequences, or apologize and hold Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones accountable for past and present racist allegations that have become too big to ignore.Read more...

Perhaps it's because the higher-ups at MLB have wanted to discount the Steroid Era for so long and so passionately, with the hopes that we might erase all the numbers from our memories. Back then 50 homers was pretty much a buy-in. Some pretty silly names got to the mark. My favorite is probably Brady Anderson. Still,...Read more...

David Stearns coming back to New York to become president of baseball operations for the Mets was about one of the worst-kept secrets in baseball. The Mets asked to talk to him after he stepped down from his post in Milwaukee and were denied access after last season, but it didn't take a cocaine-addled private...Read more...

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It's time. Point blank. The Los Angeles Angels need to deal Mike Trout and rebuild. It's a layered dynamic that'll have people around Hollywood already upset that their beloved American superhero doesn't figure into future plans. It'd have more substance if Mike Trout had ever been a part of a team that has won a...Read more...

White America doesn't accept racism until they've seen it broken down in percentages, watched an innocent Black man be murdered by police in Minneapolis - on repeat - or read a document that encompasses just how systemic this country's original sin is. The claims in Jim Trotter's racial discrimination/retaliation...Read more...

Alabama football rarely takes L's, but that may not be the case this season, and it's a good thing because, by god, are they sore losers.Read more...

Hockey doesn't even need to start to be stupid, especially when it comes to a needlessly recycled coach like Mike Babcock. If you don't recall Babcock since he got fired from the Leafs, you may remember him from such episodes as making Johan Franzen's life an utter hell or tricking Mitch Marner into throwing all of...Read more...