Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

As we covered this morning, yesterday a kind of strange story surrounding the USMNT’s Gregg Berhalter broke, because Berhalter got out in front of it. He released a statement claiming that someone had threatened to blackmail him over a domestic abuse situation from Berhatler’s teens, so the US manager decided to admit…Read more...

The San Francisco 49ers have been cooking in ways Russell Wilson hasn’t experienced in years. Since starting the season 3-4, the Niners have reeled off nine wins in a row and have already clinched another NFC West title. Much of that winning streak has come with Brock Purdy leading the way under center. Not only are…Read more...

On Tuesday night, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 55 points. He was 20-33 from the field, 15-16 from the stripe, and threw in 10 rebounds and seven assists for good measure. It was the kind of performance that people want to see, and will search out on social media, SportsCenter, or anywhere highlights can…Read more...

Scott Van Pelt knows how to advertise himself after developing a loyal fan base after more than two decades on ESPN’s airwaves. The Marylander’s Twitter bio says it best, he anchors the network’s flagship show, SportsCenter, starting at Midnight on the East Coast. Or after the game you’re watching ends, whichever is…Read more...

Shannon Sharpe returned to FS1’s Undisputed on Wednesday morning after missing Tuesday’s show due to the way he was affected by what happened to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin on Monday Night Football — and Skip Bayless’ insensitive tweet about it.Read more...

Former second-overall draft pick Ja Morant is the face of one of the best franchises in the NBA right now. The Memphis Grizzlies are 23-13, giving them the second-best record in the Western Conference, and the fourth-best record across the league. Amid all the celebration, though, comes a lawsuit against the team’s…Read more...

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To suggest that US Soccer is a byzantine organization would be to suggest that they have any sort of rules and protocols in place. It rarely feels like they do, and sort of just make stuff up as they go, with mostly everyone screaming about protecting their phony baloney jobs. It’s how Gregg Berhalter can end up with…Read more...

For those who turned on the North Carolina State radio broadcast to listen to a friendly voice narrate a bowl game, with a silly sponsorship, against a former conference foe — Maryland — who better to do it than Gary Hahn? He is in his fourth decade as the Wolfpacks’ play-by-play announcer, and surely he could get…Read more...

Prior to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin fighting for his life on Monday Night Football after collapsing in front of a horrified national audience, the ongoing NFL season was already a more regressive step back in the player safety department than any in recent memory. Hamlin being loaded into an ambulance while…Read more...

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In lighter sports news, Donovan Mitchell dropped 71 points against the Bulls on Monday night in a 145-134 overtime win. He was 22-34 from the floor, 7-15 from deep, and 20-25 from the freethrow line. It was the highest individual scoring performance since Kobe Bryant’s 81, and with that, Mitchell joined only six other…Read more...

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The best way to avoid apologizing for hitting a woman is to never do it in the first place. Guess that never went through UFC President Dana White’s brain on New Year’s Eve, when he was seen getting into a physical altercation with his wife, Anna, at a nightclub in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Eyewitnesses told TMZ, which…Read more...

Last night, we witnessed one of the scariest moments in NFL history. The image of Buffalo Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin getting up from a hit just to fall down unconscious moments later will be ingrained in my mind for a very long time. As players, coaches, and medical staff from both teams circled around Hamlin, tears…Read more...

Maybe Nathan MacKinnon is going to have to ban everyone from drinking soda again. Or let them drink soda, whatever isn’t what they’ve been doing this season.Read more...

Fox Sports 1 analyst and NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe was trending all over the place this morning for his absence across from FOX’s “Undisputed” with co-host Skip Bayless. It isn’t clear at this moment why Sharpe skipped the show Tuesday morning, roughly 12 hours after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the…Read more...

Boomer Esiason saying “there’s a douchiness” to Mac Jones’ facial expressions is like Cristiano Ronaldo calling someone a narcissist, Kobe Bryant telling a teammate they’re a ball hog, or Mike Ditka criticizing a coach for being too abrasive. The only correct response is, “MF’er, what did you just say?”Read more...

It’s time to check in on the teams that can’t get out of their own way. The final two weeks of the 2022 NFL season are upon us, and it’s been a wild season filled with ups, downs, triumphs, and disappointment for all 32 squads. Now let’s get into the Week 17 powerless ranking.Read more...

On the second day of the new year, one of the most anticipated games on the schedule of this country’s most popular sport came to a standstill in the first quarter, when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed after making a tackle against Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins. Hamlin was given CPR, loaded onto an ambulance…Read more...

I’ve spent a lot of time in this space trying to figure out the nature of fandom, the magnetism of sports, and where it all fits in our lives. The best I’ve come up with, and it’s probably not all that accurate, is that fandom is the allure of feeling part of something, of being part of a group, a sense of belonging,…Read more...

Medical personnel likely saved Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin’s life Monday night in the first quarter of a late-season NFL game between Buffalo and the Bengals. It was a terrifying moment, which was clear in the eyes of the players and coaches on that field, watching for nine long minutes as the medical team administered…Read more...

In the immediate aftermath of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffering a horrific injury that caused an ambulance to be driven to midfield of Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Skip Bayless decided it was time to make it about himself. The FS1 talk show host thought it was best on a tweet that included “This late in the…Read more...

In the middle of the first quarter of Monday Night Football, Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed after making a tackle against Cincinnati. Hamlin completed the tackle, stood up for a few moments, and fell to the turf. Medical help attended to Hamlin immediately with no quick injury designation given in the…Read more...

For 90 years, the Washington Commanders have been one of four NFL franchises to exist without a mascot. The Jets, Giants, and Packers are the other three. As part of the organization’s complete brand revamp, the Commanders commenced a fan vote for a new mascot and in September the candidates were whittled down to a…Read more...

Sports video games are notoriously awful. Rarely anything about them changes from year to year aside from roster updates and an occasional graphics overhaul. Gameplay stays relatively the same, thus the fun stays about the same as well. Actually, the fun may be decreasing as several sports franchises turn their…Read more...

Happy new year and welcome to the grand finale of Deadspin’s IDIOT OF THE YEAR festivities — here’s hoping 2023 will be better. It probably won’t.Read more...

The Las Vegas Raiders’ 2022 offseason had fans filled with optimism for the team’s future. After acquiring All-Pro receiver Davante Adams from the Green Bay Packers in March, the Raiders signed their franchise quarterback Derek Carr to a three-year extension. The two of them played together in college and anticipated…Read more...

Sometimes the narrative writes itself. And then, when you’re extremely lucky, it just falls in your lap. The Big Ten had two opportunities to send at least one representative — either Michigan or Ohio State — to the College Football Playoff.

2022 is the year Herschel Walker rebranded himself as a generational IDIOT OF THE YEAR talent. There had been glimpses before, but he showcased his full-range of idiocy in 2022. Each week, the former UGA and NFL running back humiliated himself in pursuit of power and influence he seemed to have no plans to yield it…Read more...

If there were any justice in the world, NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre would have been canceled long ago, after two massage therapists for the NY Jets sued him back in 2011, claiming they lost their jobs as a result of a crude text message Favre sent to one of the women. Favre denied the allegations and the lawsuit was…Read more...

Nearly a full year after Brian Flores’ lawsuit ignited a flame inside the NFL that would go on to engulf a potential partnership between Tom Brady and Sean Payton, those two may finally get to join forces in 2023. Payton needs to be sure to walk away from that potential blaze and never look back.

Do you know how easy it is to say “I’m sorry!” or that you’re not antisemitic? Apparently, it was a tremendous challenge for Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving. Everyone’s allowed to make mistakes, but hot damn, you’re not allowed to be that negligent with a public spotlight and not face consequences. Right after Kanye…Read more...

After a long bout with colon cancer, Brazilian football legend Pelé died on Thursday at the age of 82. As one of the most prolific talents in the history of the “beautiful game,” Pelé is still referred to as the “king of football.” Pelé’s transcendent talent transcended the globe and generations later is still…Read more...

For the second time this season, a Tua Tagovailoa head injury is being investigated by the NFL.

Seeing as college football bowl season now doubles as open season on potential transfers due to the NCAA’s new transfer windows, part of the buildup to the bowl games is addressing rumors. North Carolina’s Drake Maye has been the subject of speculation, and even his own head coach helped fuel them.

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Getting suplexed by the lowly Steelers and Kenny Pickett on Sunday Night Football finally broke the spell Derek Carr has on the Raiders. On Wednesday, Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels decided to bench the Raiders’ starting quarterback of the last nine years for the final two weeks of the regular season. Jarrett…Read more...

Wrestling fans never thought they’d see the day. Vince McMahon is no longer the mover and shaker of professional wrestling. The former chairman and CEO of WWE, the squared circle’s biggest promotion, was forced to resign back in July after multiple sexual misconduct allegations were made public alongside more than $12…Read more...

Last week, a female rapper from Texas gained some solace when a jury found the man who shot her guilty after so many men — and women — didn’t believe her. Last week, the fiancée of the men’s head basketball coach at the University of Texas took back her claim that she was strangled after so many men — and women — were…Read more...

Boston ace Chris Sale is set to be 34 years old in 2023. He has a career 3.03 ERA and is the all-time leader in strikeouts per nine innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio. From 2013 to 2018, Sale never finished worse than fifth in AL Cy Young voting. He’s also pitched only 48.1 innings since the start of 2020 — has…Read more...

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera usually seems to have his finger on the pulse of his team and what’s best in most situations. But Rivera’s latest decision to sit Taylor Heinicke and elevate Carson Wentz back to the starting lineup might be the most absurd move of the year in Washington. Well, on the field,…Read more...

Can I interest you in a non-sexual game of “would you rather?” I know watching people ponder is not as fun as watching them squirm, but this is a sports site, not the living room of your college slum. So, who would you rather trust: The Brooklyn Nets or the Philadelphia 76ers?

As an unemployed 12-year-old with homework, no driver’s license, and being required to ask a parent/guardian for permission to leave the home, shopping at the mall was a luxury.

The downfall of Zach Wilson in 2022 coincided with the rise of Justin Fields. For every errant throw from Wilson, there is an impressive Fields pass or explosive run, and that disparity has many people looking back to the 2021 draft and wondering “How in the world did Fields go from the consensus No. 2 quarterback to…Read more...

How long are the Mavs going to keep doing this? We’re 11 years removed from 2011 (almost 12), and the organization still has a franchise player surrounded with just enough talent to keep him from demanding a trade. If you missed it, Luka Dončić broke the Dallas record for points in a single game, pouring in 60 points,…Read more...

You knew he was gonna make this list sooner or later. We probably don’t even have to tell you why Antonio Brown is an idiot. Just go to his Twitter page, press the follow button, and wait 15 minutes for him to do his next big dumb stunt. Why would an NFL player worth millions feel the need to sell a counterfeit watch?…Read more...

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As 2023 approaches, it gives media outlets opportunities to do wrap-ups, year-end lists, and rank anything else in the timeframe of the past 12 months. It’s really the only upside of time being arbitrary and a construct of people in power to make sure the plebeians arrive at the salt mines at 9 a.m.

James Harden is a deeply unserious franchise cornerstone. However, in the midst of a pivotal, legacy-defining season for his career, Harden may be eyeing a return in free agency to the Rockets franchise he forced his way out of two years ago, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.Read more...