Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

Despite the risk of hyperbole devolving into hot take, I'll say it: Year 6 Luka Doni looks a lot like 1988-89 Michael Jordan, or 2007-08 LeBron James. I'm not saying he's better than either of the GOATs. It's simply impossible to watch what he's doing, how he's still improving, and think any other young perimeter...Read more...

It is quite possible that Russell Wilson, 35, has played his last game in Denver after head coach Sean Payton announced he was benching the veteran play caller on Wednesday.Read more...

A-Rod's transition from tape-measure shots to three-point bombs seems to be complete.Read more...

Since 2023 has been filled with highs for Black quarterbacks, 2024 might as well keep the party going. And if things hold steady, Patrick Mahomes won't be the only one anymore.Read more...

After the Boston Celtics acquired Jrue Holiday in an early October trade with the Portland Trail Blazers, the five-time All-Defensive Team guard was billed as the solution to Boston's need for a tempo-setting orchestrator. In theory, he was also the fourth All-Star in the Eastern Conference's premier lineup.Read more...

I kind of like the idea of NFL players getting to be an honorary captain in their hometown. It would be a nice touch. The hometown kid done good can receive some love from his people. I am pretty sure, though, that is not currently standard NFL procedure. For Jaire Alexander to stroll out to midfield, uninvited and...Read more...

College football programs are as volatile as ever during the transfer portal era. This time last year, the USC Trojans were one of the hottest programs in the country. Fast forward to the end of 2023, and the Trojans' 42-28 win over No. 15 Louisville, without Caleb Williams, felt oddly necessary.Read more...

Here they are: The biggest dummies of 2023. Most of them are starting to take up permanent residence here.Read more...

In case I did not make myself clear on Tuesday, the Deshaun Watson contract is never happening again. In the future, no NFL player will ever receive a fully guaranteed contract. For one thing, Patrick Mahomes is not going to push the Kansas City Chiefs for that type of deal. Two, when the Denver Broncos extended...Read more...

Ja Morant hasn't skipped a beat since his return to the Memphis Grizzlies lineup a week ago. The city of Memphis couldn't be happier. Without Morant in, the Grizzlies' holes were glaring. In his absence, Desmond Bane tried valiantly to hold down the fort, but the offense was abysmal without his backcourt mate, With...Read more...

The Dallas Mavericks officially have a new owner as the NBA approved Mark Cuban's sale of the franchise to Miriam Adelson and her family on Wednesday.Read more...

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Christmas Day that members of the Suns organization believed that Durant had grown frustrated with the team and their current roster amid injuries to Bradley Beal and Devin Booker. According to Wojnarowski, Phoenix has got to change soon" in order to right the ship.Read more...

Travic Kelce let it all out on an episode of his New Heights" podcast with brother and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason. After the Chiefs lost three of their last four games, Travis called it a frustrating f**king experience" and said that everyone - including himself - is contributing to the offense's struggles.Read more...

The Cleveland Browns have officially hit Riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma" status. As long as they have a quarterback with some name recognition - be it Deshaun Watson or Joe Flacco - the team plays with the confidence of a much more dangerous organization. Kevin Stefanski's club could be motivated by the...Read more...

Tommy Cutlets must have stuck around the fryer too long, because his fairytale ride as the Giants' starting QB appears to be toast.Read more...

File this one under Things to Do in Denver When You're Playoff Chances Aren't Dead?Read more...

There's never been a sports journalist who enjoys coach speak." That annoyance can become anger if another journalist is the reason coach speak" is what you get whenever you ask a question. We'll never know if that's what happened when New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll didn't tell Pam Oliver he was benching...Read more...

Cade Cunningham was special on Tuesday night. He played like the best guard in the NBA. Of his 41 points, he scored 37 of them in the second half. He went 13-of-16 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the 3-point line. When the Detroit Pistons were down, 108-103, to the Brooklyn Nets with three minutes remaining...Read more...

Heading into the final two weeks of the NFL season, the Colts, Texans, Steelers, Bengals, Raiders, Broncos, Rams, Seahawks, Vikings, Falcons, Packers, Buccaneers and Saints are still alive for a playoff spot while only a game away from .500. Of those 12 organizations, which do you think has the best chance of winning...Read more...

Not everyone seems to be as disgusted" with NBA officiating as Golden State head coach Steve Kerr.Read more...

WHY? Why must professional athletics function as such a powerful magnet for stupid, impetuous people? Ugh.Read more...

With just a handful of weeks left before the end of the NFL regular season, it's time to evaluate the moves that defined the year in review. Everyone makes big deals about offseason moves and trades, but only in hindsight can we truly find the moves that defined the year.Read more...

It was about nine months ago when Lamar Jackson wanted to be traded from the Baltimore Ravens. The best quarterback in the history of two forever linked franchises - the Ravens and the Cleveland Browns - was on the open market. Jackson is the only player besides Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes to win an NFL MVP...Read more...

When rolling, the San Francisco 49ers look like they're never going to lose again. Until Monday night's loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Niners were undefeated this season when Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffery, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle are healthy. And it looked as if that trend might continue - at least for a...Read more...

Bronco's safety Kareem Jackson was released Tuesday after his roster exemption expired. Jackson has accumulated $89,670 in fines this season for repeated violations of unnecessary roughness.Read more...

When the Detroit Pistons put their mind to losing, nobody has been better for the last decade, but they've outdone themselves now by recklessly assembling one of the worst examples of an ill-fitting roster in a league now predicated on spacing, efficient scoring at the rim or behind the arc, and adaptable lineups.Read more...

Monday night, Luka Doncic became the fastest player since Michael Jordan to hit 10,000 career points in the Mav's win against the Suns. It puts him seventh on the list of players to hit 10,000 points the fastest in their careers. Here are the rest of the top ten fastest to reach the plateau in league history.Read more...

Well, it didn't take long for Kevin Durant to find something to complain about it on his new super team.Read more...

This wouldn't happen to Kellen Moore, Ben Johnson or Mike McDonald. But for some odd reason," Antonio Pierce has to deal with it.Read more...

The conversation surrounding Mike Tomlin is so confusing. Pittsburgh is a game over .500, and with trips to Seattle and Baltimore remaining, the worst case scenario is the coach's 16-year streak of winning seasons snaps with an 8-9 record.Read more...

Of all the oldest players lists that we have compiled, the NBA's is easily the most star-studded. The list of players who played well into their 40s is decked out with Hall of Famers, All-Rookie players, and NBA Champions, a feat that few on our other lists can manage. Those who have the longevity and endurance to...Read more...

Oh, the hell with it, you know the drill by now. Deadspin's IDIOT OF THE YEAR continues on, as does the meaningless treadmill of existence. All is for naught and free will is an illusion!Read more...

Welcome once again, dearest and most beloved reader, to Deadspin's vaunted IDIOT OF THE YEAR awards, the global phenomenon in which we say churlish things about people we dislike. Huzzah!

Generally, this comes up at the quarter-mark or halfway through the season. But hey, it's Christmas, so let's hand out some Christmastime NHL awards just to get into the spirit of the thing! Who is leading in the various categories that the league likes to hand out some weird looking silverware for at a very awkward...Read more...

Hockey players are a different breed. While most sports see their stars fizzle out by the time they reach their late thirties, the NHL routinely has their stars shine well into their forties. Hockey players play the game with grit and resilience, unlike any other athlete. Maybe that's why they boast some of the oldest...Read more...

Dearest reader! We meet again. It is that time of the year again... uh, namely, the end of the year, when we at Deadspin are proud to present our globally acclaimed celebration of stupidity, IDIOT OF THE YEAR! We'll be with you as we count down the haughtiest, most hypocritical, and just plain dumbest people, places,...Read more...

The NFL is a rough, violent game. The average career length in the modern NFL is just 3.3 years in the league. This is why it's so impressive to see these NFL legends play so deep into their 40s. How many more names will we see join the ranks of the league's oldest players in history?Read more...

Baseball is America's oldest and most storied professional sport. The lengthy history of the game, coupled with its non-contact nature, has made these players by far the oldest to appear in a game in the history of North American sports.Read more...

Welp, so much for that idea. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a Los Angeles Dodger, and the New York Mets are still the Mets. After putting on a full-court press for the Japanese ace, giving it 115 percent, and leaving it all on the field, owner Steve Cohen's efforts amounted to diddly squat. Now it's back to the drawing board,...Read more...

The best time of year, when you get to go back through all the wrestling you watched and definitely not think your life has a sum total of jack and sh*t. Better to focus on trying to get back to the feeling that these matches generated inside of you when you were watching live, because that's the whole point.Read more...

Money talks. After entertaining offers from an array of clubs, Yoshinobu Yamamoto has reportedly agreed to a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.Read more...

By and large, sports are pretty awesome. I have learned to keep my childhood favorite teams at a healthy distance and I advise all Chicago sports fans to do the same. I spend most of the year in awe of the artistic displays of the most brilliant athletes in the world.Read more...

It hasn't worked in Pittsburgh. While the Penguins made perhaps the offseason's splashiest move by trading for Erik Karlsson, pairing another surefire Hall of Famer with the three they already had, they're still only being propped up in the Metro Division by the pointless Blue Jackets. They're only three points out of...Read more...

The Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes are infinitely more interesting and illuminating than Shohei Ohtani's free agency for many reasons: People have been allowed to report on them, there seem to be more suitors than just the Dodgers and a couple are based in the last few baseball-rabid markets in America. - Sean...Read more...

A former NBA G-League player confessed to strangling a woman with the help of his ex-girlfriend, who planned the murder plot, according to court records obtained by KCRA 3. - Mackenzie Meaney Read MoreRead more...

The Week 15 finale on Monday Night Football has the biggest NFC playoff ramifications of any game on the slate. The Philadelphia Eagles travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks in a game neither can afford to lose this late in the season. It's pretty apropos of these teams closing out Week 15, seeing how it's been as...Read more...

As the curtain falls on 2023, the sports world bids adieu to a tapestry of legends and underdogs across all sports. We highlighted the legacy names who decided to hang it up in 2023. Many on this list are cemented in record books and in the hearts of their die-hard fanbases. Let's pour out a drink and tip our hat to...Read more...

Updated Dec. 21, 2023: The Erie County District Attorney's Office approved Carson Briere, the son of Philadelphia Flyers GM Daniel Briere, and Patrick Carrozzi's applications for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, a special program for first-time, nonviolent offenders.Read more...

The NFL is laying off the commercials for a night . . . game on a holiday weekend that airs on Peacock. The Buffalo Bills-Los Angeles Chargers matchup on Saturday will feature a 40 percent reduction in ads, with zero commercials during the final 15 minutes. Ideally, that'll be accompanied by a running clock because I...Read more...

One of the biggest Christmas Day showdowns since Shaq vs. Kobe 2004, and Rocky vs. Drago is taking place on Dec. 25, 2023. The No. 1 seed in the AFC - the Baltimore Ravens - is going up against the top NFC seed - the San Francisco 49ers. Personally, I prefer when the NFL does not insert itself into the sporting...Read more...