Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

The first week of the NFL season had all of us scratching our heads more than usual. There were more than a few games where we just had to stand back, pause for a moment, and go: “What did I just witness?”

Thom Brennaman has been a lousy broadcaster for years. Lucky to get a job as a play-by-play man because his dad Marty was one of the best of all time, Thom got his voice and his start from his father, but proved to be as mediocre as so many silver spooners before him.Read more...

For Urban Meyer, January probably feels like it happened eight years ago, instead of eight months ago.

Here’s a headline: ESPN’s Bart Scott says if 49ers lose to Eagles, he’ll shave his eyebrows.

What in the name of sweet baby Jesus is going on here?Read more...

There were dozens of rumors involving Julie Ertz’s husband during the 2021 NFL offseason. There was a time where if you’d asked 50 random people on the street where they thought three-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz was going to play next season, you would’ve gotten fifteen different answers. What ended up happening…Read more...

Last spring, when news of the Super League first started to break, I was pretty dismissive. Heard it all before — that type of leak tended to break on a cycle of every few years or so, and would quickly fade into the background. In reality, it did fade into the background pretty quickly. It just did so a lot more…Read more...

If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.

Washington Football Team backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke might just cost Daniel Jones his starting job.Read more...

“Those pesky grounds crews are ruining hitters’ concentration and what not! AHHH! They make me sick!”

Rules were made to be broken. And it’s no surprise “That Girl” may be the reason why one of them changes.Read more...

We’re entering Week 2 of the NFL season and already talking about the Dallas Cowboys in a must-win situation. Dem Boyz travel to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers in their home opener as Dallas looks to avoid their first 0-2 start since 2010.

The sixth time might be the charm for troubled wide receiver Josh Gordon.

Every guy knows the pain of getting hit in the balls. It’s excruciating. Depending on the severity of the baby-maker bruising, even the toughest guys could be down for the count for 10-15 minutes. Yesterday, in an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Aaron Rodgers set the record straight about his performance against…Read more...

Monday night’s tilt between the Ravens and Raiders brought about one of the wackiest endings to a game we’ve ever witnessed. There were last-minute field goals to send the game into overtime, some late-game heroics from receiver Bryan Edwards, a touchdown called back and placed at the 1-yard line, an end zone…Read more...

“Yesterday’s price is not today’s price” — Fat Joe.

(TW: Sexual assault)Read more...

An interesting name has popped up as a potential candidate in the USC coaching search.

Simply by the numbers, Connor McDavid had one of the more incredible seasons in NHL history last year. 105 points in just 56 games, which would have averaged out to 154 points over a full, 82-game season. His 1.87 points-per-game was the best rate seen in 25 years. It came with the caveat of the unique scheduling,…Read more...

There’s not enough sage in the world to burn in order to cleanse the vibes of Kyrie Irving’s takes on science.

Kyler Murray has already started making grown men look silly this season.

Every year when Roberto Clemente Day rolls around, the refrain comes back around that the legend’s No. 21 should be retired by Major League Baseball, the same honor given to Jackie Robinson and No. 42.

We already know what Mike Piazza’s politics are, as the Hall of Fame catcher appeared at a rally for Donald Trump last October. We can try to forget about it, and just appreciate the greatness of his career, but Piazza insists on continuing to stan the absolute worst candidates running for office.

It’s been one of the longer lasting sagas in American sports, as the U.S. Women’s National team seeks either a new contract or a resolution to their lawsuit against U.S. Soccer that sees them make huge gains in pay for representing their country. U.S. Soccer would have you believe that it’s recently made an offer that…Read more...

Predicting who is going to win major awards across the Big 4 American sports is one of the nation’s most popular pastimes. Oftentimes, arguments can be made for several different players. That’s why several years ago, ESPN put out its Cy Young Predictor, an AI system that would take a pitcher’s stats and determine how…Read more...

The Cincinnati Bengals accomplished something they hadn’t done since the 2018 season on Sunday. The Bengals won their season opener, beating the Minnesota Vikings 27-24 in overtime, making this their first win in a season opener at home since 2007. Carson Palmer was the Bengals starting quarterback for that 27-20…Read more...

The NHL returns to training camps in a couple weeks, with the season just about a month away. The league wants to make a big deal of its new TV contracts, putting a new shine and look to the league, with both ESPN and TNT picking the national coverage. The hope, as forlorn as it always is, was that either channel, or…Read more...

ESPN’s Monday Night Football MegaCast debuted last night during the Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders season opener — but Peyton Manning had thoughts about the Silver and Black’s entire season off just their first play. Turns out the rest of the game didn’t quite bear them out.Read more...

Ever since Peyton Manning retired following the 2015 season, we’d been hoping for Manning to jump into the broadcast booth. His remarkable mix of analytical takes and hysterical mannerisms would make for a fantastic listening experience over NFL games. For five years, we were left empty-handed. Just two years after…Read more...

Despite the attempt to kill it from Europe’s leading clubs last spring (and UEFA’s eventual success in doing so in the coming years), the Champions League returns today in its usual form. While it has become the nexus point in all that’s wrong with soccer and has certainly widened the gap between the haves and…Read more...

The 2021 NFL Draft class will be a focal point of the NFL for years to come. The class included five quarterbacks who have a chance to make a significant impact on their franchises this season and beyond.

Pump the brakes on Matthew Stafford.Read more...

The San Francisco Giants are the first team to clinch a playoff spot this year, and congratulations to them for that, especially given that it’s a rare case in sports when a team can do something like this and really play the “nobody believed in us” card.

Robert Griffin III is apparently lobbying for a comeback tour in Washington as the Football Team’s new quarterback. Washington lost more than just the game in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Starting QB Ryan Fitzpatrick went down with a hip injury in the first half and did not return. Taylor Heinicke came in…Read more...

When you get to the top of the capitalism totem pole, the only thing that matters is money. And when it comes to acquiring an NFL franchise, it’s about how quickly you can deliver those funds to the league.

The old adage is that fans shouldn’t read too much into Week 1 of NFL play.Read more...

The 2021 NFL season is finally underway. This means we can finally see which team is about that action and which team is not.

Now that we have a full baseball season again, after 2020’s season-in-a-can, we can get to choosing our award winners on normal calibrations. Thankfully, Shohei Ohtani made the AL MVP choice academic by having the most unique and unmatched individual season in baseball history. Pretty easy to hand him an MVP when he’s…Read more...

A once-inconceivable happy ending was finally in sight — even though it was still a few miles away. And just as it seemed like the divide between the University of Michigan, Chris Webber, and the Fab Five was inching closer to reconciliation, it was hit with another roadblock just days before Webber’s long-awaited…Read more...

Once in a while we are blessed with a visual representation so perfectly accurate that it can’t be ignored. And, indeed, that is what we have here, captured on video: a burst sewage pipe at FedEx Field, leaking filthy shit-water on paying fans.Read more...

The 2021 NFL season is officially here. This season will likely give us a lot of good moments. Many teams have a chance to make some things shake.Read more...

The Browns are one of the most talented teams in the NFL from top to bottom.

I’ll take Who Saw That Coming? for $800 Aaron.

After falling behind early in the game, the Kansas City Chiefs survived a brief scare in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns with a 33-29 win. The Chiefs looked to be suffering from a Super Bowl hangover in the first half as they headed into halftime down 22-10. The Browns came out ready with their two-headed…Read more...

Mets fans finally got a Francisco Lindor game.

The overwhelming emotion as Novak Djokovic simply ran out of gas in the U.S. Open Men’s final against Danil Medvedev was how fast it all left.Read more...

On Saturday night, Triller Fight Club held its Legends II pay-per-view card from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. After this event, it is painfully clear that these “legends fight nights” have a short shelf life at best.

The Carolina Panthers are going to be an interesting football team to watch this season.

Year 4 of Jon Gruden’s second tour through Raider nation should prove to be a pivotal one for the Super Bowl-winning head coach. Gruden has yet to get Las Vegas into the postseason since returning to the sidelines in 2018. Overall, the franchise hasn’t played a postseason game since 2016 under head coach Jack Del Rio.Read more...