Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

The nominees for the National Football League's Hall of Fame have been announced. Fifteen former players are eligible to be immortalized in Canton, Ohio, and the official ballot with five players will be named tonight at the NFL Honors ceremony. Here is a list of all 15 nominees.Read more...

Perhaps the juiciest story to come out of college football's National Signing Day centered not on a recruit but an ESPN analyst. According to Dominic Raiola, father of top three QB recruit Dylan Raiola, Kirk Herbstriet reached out to him to endorse Dylan flipping from Georgia to Nebraska.Read more...

Now that Dan Quinn is in Washington, the Dallas Cowboys have an important opening to fill at defensive coordinator. There are a few qualified candidates out there without an NFL gig, but one of the most intriguing (for many reasons) is current ESPN analyst, Rex Ryan. After several years on television, Ryan is meeting...Read more...

NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell continued the turf field debate Wednesday at the NFLPA news conference, pointing out that a vast majority of the player's union wants to play on natural grass fields.Read more...

The idea that you should stay out of someone else's pocket is a pretty standard societal norm - except when it comes to college athletes. Apparently, everybody gets a say in what they deserve in the NIL era. Usually, coaches are the loudest ones, like Rick Pitino.Read more...

Updated Feb. 8: SEC commissioner Greg Sankey took some time Wednesday to shed light on the new strategic partnership, insisting that there is no plan to circumvent the NCAA. Sankey appeared for an interview on The Paul Finebaum Show and stated that the purpose of the partnership was to create a more streamlined...Read more...

Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes are the alpha and omega of NFL supremacy at the NFL's most important position. With every passing season, Mahomes creeps closer and closer to Brady's legacy of excellence. There's only so much Mahomes can do in one Super Bowl though.Read more...

Even with the bye week, there is no way that San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs are at their healthiest going into Super Bowl LVIII. They have been popping pads against the rest of the NFL for 19-20 weeks. Extensive treatment and rehab will be necessary to get those bodies back to optimum health. Neither team...Read more...

I have to sit here throughout the football season, and now even a month afterwards, and read all the other jackasses on this staff say stuff about the Bears. None of them are from here, most of it's wrong, and even if it's correct what gives them the right? Everyone's got a goddamn thought and none have earned the...Read more...

Dan Marino is probably the biggest star in Miami Dolphins history. He reached rock-star level in the 1980s and 1990s as quarterback for Miami despite never winning the big one. So, when Marino talks, fans usually listen, especially those located near South Beach. Marino joined Adam Schein on Sirius XM's Mad Dog Radio...Read more...

We are 50 days away from the MLB's opening day, so let's take a look at 50 things of note for the 2024 season.Read more...

The rules in the NFL apply to all 32 teams. The compensatory draft pick rules are not exclusive to the San Francisco 49ers. They have received extra selections because they assembled a staff and front office that is not exclusively white men.Read more...

Vince McMahon, already facing a bombshell sexual assault and trafficking lawsuit, is also being accused of covering up the alleged rape of one of his former female talents - who later died by suicide - as well as sexually harassing her.

Please for the love of God stop reading this. The 2024 deadline has absolutely no pulse. Do not confuse volume of trades made with value. I repeat. Do not confuse volume of trades made with value. This is the Al Capone's vault of trade deadlines. Instead of Woj Bombs, Adrian Wojnarowski is dropping trade pellets into...Read more...

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There are enough patsies in need of a quarterback that Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles would be foolish to not take the many godfather offers that will come his way before the NFL Draft on April 25. Chief among them are the Washington Commanders, who have a new owner, new GM and new coach desperately trying to reset the...Read more...

The AFC West got a little more interesting a couple of weeks ago when the Los Angeles Chargers added Jim Harbaugh to the fold, replacing Brandon Staley as head coach. That's not just from a personality standpoint: The Chargers are expected to look much different on the field, especially on offense, which is Harbaugh's...Read more...

With all apologies to the Vancouver Canucks, actually, no, no one should ever apologize to the Canucks for anything. They know what they are and what they've done. While they may be on top of the Pacific Division, the other teams in that division are still going to measure themselves against the Vegas Golden Knights....Read more...

When we last checked in with Brett Favre, he was attempting to fend off allegations that he knowingly played a role in diverting funds from Mississippi's welfare fund to his pet project, a volleyball court at his alma mater where (surprise!) his daughter played on the team. In addition to (maybe) paying back his...Read more...

There are athletes with celebrity doppelgangers. Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff bears a resemblance to actor Ryan Gossling. Former Super Bowl-winning signal-caller Nick Foles kinda looks like Napolean Dynamite star Jon Heder.

The Super Bowl is where legacies are defined. We can debate a quarterback's success all we want, but at the end of the day, those arguments come down to rings. These are the quarterbacks who showed out on the game's biggest stage.Read more...

The new joint venture between ESPN, Fox and Warner is something sports fans have been craving since the streaming wars started. Instead of flipping back and forth between apps, illegal streams and cable, all while juggling borrowed passwords and other people's logins, we'll be able to stay on one service and watch...Read more...

The Kansas City Chiefs are making their sixth Super Bowl appearance. This will be the seventh trip to the Big Game for the San Francisco 49ers.

No team in recent memory has failed to build around a generational superstar more than the Dallas Mavericks have with Luka Doni. We are not talking about Anthony Davis in New Orleans. Doni is a consistent top-five MVP candidate and First-Team All-NBA every season, one of a handful of players of this magnitude,...Read more...

There's strength in numbers, but bad planning can weaken anything. When the XFL and USFL officially announced their merger as the UFL in December, it was to expand pro football in a country that's obsessed over the game.Read more...

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving made his return to the Barclays Center for the first time since being traded. With Irving's 36-point outburst in the Mavericks' 119-107 win over Brooklyn, it bears wondering why one of the guard's best performances ever in the Barclays Center is coming while in a road uniform.Read more...

ESPN, Fox, and Warner Brothers have announced that they will launch a joint streaming service sometime this year, dedicated to broadcasting live games across 15 networks and all big four leagues.Read more...

Football fans across the globe, be sure to enjoy the build-up to Super Bowl LVII, San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs. Another NFL game of significance will not be played until Sept. 5. That Thursday evening will be in the midst of an American presidential election campaign, and we should all try to avoid...Read more...

It's easy to tell when there will be leather popping and maple and ash cracking on some distant Florida or Arizona field. No, it's not the fact that it doesn't quite get dark at 4 pm anymore. Not even Valentine's Day or President's Day. Nope, spring training is always around the corner when the PECOTA projections come...Read more...

Bill Belichick's offseason job search ended in pitiful fashion last week. For unknown reasons, a bevy of general managers vying to keep their jobs in a highly competitive industry opted to hitch their wagons to young, unproven coaches they've had prior relationships with rather than a eight-time Super Bowl champion.Read more...

If there is one aspect of sports which the NFL should have an unquestioned expertise, it should be in the maintenance of its playing surfaces. If the NBA and NHL can share stadiums and puzzle piece courts together over ice, then the NFL should be able to have the grass in pristine condition at the Super Bowl host...Read more...

Katie Sowers was a member of Kyle Shanahan's coaching staff the last time the San Francisco 49ers were in the Super Bowl. That was back in 2020, when the Niners took on the Kansas City Chiefs, whom Sowers would join as an offensive assistant the following season.Read more...

A meniscus injury might be the most dangerous of all knee injuries for the simple fact that it's not treated like a major knee injury. Reigning MVP Joel Embiid just underwent a procedure to repair a meniscus injury in his left knee, and will be reevaluated in four weeks, but for someone with his history of ailments,...Read more...

This is going to be the biggest Super Bowl for gambling in recent memory. The American Gaming Association estimates that Americans will wager a combined $23.1 billion on the Big Game this year, up from $16 billion year-over-year.Read more...

Now that this year's coaching musical chairs are done, we can focus on those passed over by NFL organizations. One of the most unexpected names on this list is former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. On top of that, one of the excuses circulating around the water cooler for why he wasn't hired is completely...Read more...

A Nevada teacher's union doesn't believe that $380 million in public funds that could be put towards education should be used to fund the new home of the Las Vegas A's, and they're suing to stop it.Read more...

Somehow, the New York Knicks are MacGyvering their way to the top of the East in a super soldier league in a manner we haven't seen since the 04 Pistons. OG Anunoby's arrival has fortified Tom Thibodeau's defense into the NBA's Fort Knox, and once Mitchell Robinson returns, the paint in Madison Square Garden will be...Read more...

John Fisher, who might be the luckiest idiot alive because no dunderheaded maneuver he makes can seem to deprive him of the money that must've been chucked out of a moving car at him, has once again caught a break in that, with the Super Bowl being in Vegas this week, it'll mask that the latest indignity he faces....Read more...

Every year, people tune into the Super Bowl to watch the two best teams in the league give everything they have to win the game and hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Companies, on the other hand, fight each other for those elusive and expensive moments of airtime to promote their brand. Everyone in the world is watching, so...Read more...

There is nothing more stressful than knowing you have a group of people coming over in 20 minutes, but your dip in the oven takes 40 minutes. Or that you might be showing up empty-handed to the pot-luck style watch party, and you are hoping no one notices. In any case, here is a guide to bringing and making the best...Read more...

It's hard to know whether the ads or the halftime show has become the bigger attraction of the Super Bowl. It feels like the combination of the two has made the game ancillary. Certainly, nothing exemplifies the bombast and ridiculousness of the occasion more than the halftime show, with a two-hour show's worth of...Read more...

Super Bowl LVIII week is upon us, as we're merely days away from the showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. For a couple of decades now, we've had Super Bowl simulations played out via EA Sports' John Madden Football video game. It's been a crapshoot, in large part, with some years getting it...Read more...

Of all the pop culture to come out of Las Vegas, very little of it has been flattering. From Nicky Santoro killing a guy with a ballpoint pen to Clark gambling away the Griswald family savings, and the Sin City graphic novels in between, it's very difficult to overlook the city's unsavory history - unless you're a...Read more...

They got rid of Jim Trotter. They moved the Commissioner's annual Super Bowl press conference to Monday - and made it invite-only. They thought they did everything they could to protect Roger Goodell. They thought wrong.Read more...

If there's a surer sign that baseball has had a winter of discontent, at least for everyone outside the LA metro area, it's that the highest payroll in the American League Central belongs to the Kansas City Royals. That's after they inked star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to an 11-year extension that's worth $288 million....Read more...

The Kansas City Chiefs allowed Kadarius Toney to board their charter flight to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. With only one game remaining on the schedule, the Chiefs have no reason to limit the pool of players available to play on Sunday. Even if that player disputed the reason he was listed as inactive for the team's...Read more...

Chris Mad Dog" Russo is largely a loveable relic from the sports radio past. He's strident, over the top, and plays into this character that he created 40 years ago. While doing his What are you Mad about," segment on ESPN's First Take, Russo has admitted that it's stupid and his antics are ridiculous. His loud and...Read more...

LeBron James sure does love stringing Knicks fans along. It wouldn't be a pre-agency year for the all-time scoring champ if he weren't using the Knicks as leverage. In 2010, the Knicks thought they had him. Donnie Walsh had Mike D'Antoni installed as head coach, the cap room to Carmelo Anthony, the foundation of...Read more...

The San Francisco 49ers will play in the franchise's eighth Super Bowl on Sunday in hopes of joining the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots as the only franchises with six Lombardi trophies. It's such a historical game for many reasons on both sides, but for the Niners, there's so much on the line,...Read more...

Travis Kelce didn't miss too much on Grammy night 2024. Los Angeles is not the most fun place to be when an atmospheric river is parked over it like the alien ship in Independence Day. Gloomy and wet is not how Southern California is usually described. While there would have certainly been a damper put on the party...Read more...