Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

This is where you’d stick the video of Jesse Pinkman screaming, “He can’t keep getting away with it!” That depends on how you’d define “getting away” and also ignore the fact that Jesse was just a whiny loser. But the feeling is familiar to all, the lamentation that there are just some forces or beings in this world…Read more...

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Well, that didn’t take long.

It takes a second for muscle memory to kick in when you haven’t played a game in eight months. Joe Burrow and Matt Ryan seemed to forget that in the NFL, you can’t wait until the fourth quarter to focus and execute.

Saquon Barkley appears to be ready to be the player that he was at Penn State and during his rookie year with the New York Giants. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft had his way with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

I firmly believe that I’m not the only person who had a warm feeling all inside the chest region on Sunday. That lovely feeling wasn’t provided by a lovely smelling indica from the dispensary. It came from the reality that the NFL had finally returned.

You can only hope you’re witnessing history at the moment. You obviously can’t know until the perspective of time kicks in. You tell yourself that this moment or that moment feels different than other ones you think you saw. But does it? Are you just telling yourself that? You can tell yourself anything enough to…Read more...

According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Rams and Jimmy Garoppolo “had the makings of a deal” in place if the 30-year-old QB had been released by the San Francisco 49ers. Hearing this now, if it’s indeed true, isn’t shocking. Under head coach Sean McVay, the Rams have built their team on star power,…Read more...

Of course, no one is as ready for some football as Mike Tomlin. He isn’t simply employed as a football coach, he is the living embodiment of every person who has scolded someone for walking while on the field.Read more...

Candace Parker’s repeat bid being squashed by the Connecticut Sun in Friday evening’s winner-take-all Game 5 against the Connecticut Sun was the sort of hoops history-altering that will reverberate more than Queen Elizabeth. Sue Bird is the all-time point god, but her career also arrived at its firmament on Thursday.

The phrase “taking one on the chin” has never been more appropriate than in the sport of boxing. Going into the Adrian Peterson vs. Le’Veon Bell boxing exhibition, we already knew who the better NFL running back was. But now we know who the better boxer is, or at least the one who lands a better punch.Read more...

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The unassuming weeks are always the most dangerous for college football, but especially so early in the season when the rankings are more guesses than earned distinctions. Still though, when you schedule an FCS school and pay them to come play non-conference patsy during homecoming or whatever else, you better not…Read more...

To begin the Saturday marathon of college football most of us were watching the shitshow in Austin that turned into an early Heisman resume builder for defending-award recipient Bryce Young. Plenty of other weird stuff went down in the early window of intercollegiate gridiron. Aside from Alabama, the only ranked team…Read more...

This is why people can’t quit Texas. They have all the talent to hang with and beat the best teams in the country even with a backup QB, and like Mikey with a number in Swingers, fuck it up. The rest of the SEC watching wishes that version of Alabama shows up to conference play, but still someone has to stop their…Read more...

Stephen A. Smith is great television. The way he casually cascades between idioms in an excited, commanding voice is magnificent. I get jealous of his inflection just watching him. That said, he’s also had a series of brain farts that can’t be overlooked. Whether it’s ranting about nonexistent ties in hockey or…Read more...

Magnus Carlsen achieved the rank of chess grandmaster — the highest rank achievable in chess — at the age of 13 years old. The 31-year-old Norwegian mastermind is a five-time World Chess Champion and widely regarded as the best chess player in the world. He rarely loses, and that made his loss in the third round at…Read more...

C.J. Cron’s rise in Major League Baseball has been slow but steady. He’s 32 and has played for five teams and is in the middle of his second year with the Rockies. He made his first All-Star game this summer. Yet, the biggest, or should I say longest, individual play of his career took place Friday night in Denver.…Read more...

Heading into Week 1 of the NFL season, the biggest underdogs are the Houston Texans (+7), the New York Jets (+6.5), the Pittsburgh Steelers (+6.5), and the Chicago Bears (+6.5). When it comes to betting, if anybody was interested in picking one of these teams, you’d think they’d choose the spread. Any team projected…Read more...

The US Open could’ve fizzled out after Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal lost. Casual fans are conditioned to look for those four names when following a Grand Slam. While we weren’t watching for Williams’ pursuit of her 24th Slam, we were still watching for Serena. The men’s bracket was more of the same, with the most…Read more...

The Ultimate Fighting Championship isn’t having a banner week with plenty of drama and changes surrounding Saturday’s UFC 279 PPV, mostly caused by headlining welterweight Khamzat Chimaev. The Swedish fighter couldn’t wait until he entered the octagon to throw hands, first getting into a verbal altercation with…Read more...

So far in 2022, the batting average across MLB is .243 — the lowest mark for the entire league since 1968. On-base percentage sits at .312 — the lowest mark since 1972. Slugging percentage is currently at .395 — the lowest since 2014. OPS is at .707, once again, the lowest since 2014. It’s no secret that hitters have…Read more...

The issue I have with nostalgia is it makes people sentimental. Having a deep conversation with anyone is right next to “root canal” on my list of things that I actively avoid. If you’re going to melt into a puddle of tears, I need a 5-foot buffer minimum, and I’m going to slowly back peddle to the nearest exit.

Lamar Jackson sees his market value. With the bank accounts of proven starting quarterbacks soaring, and the number of them throughout the NFL fluctuating, the Ravens starter is one of two former NFL MVPs to be active and not past their prime.Read more...

The odds have always been stacked higher than Russell Wilson’s 5-foot-11 frame. A decade into his NFL career, he’s vanquished the skeptics who thought he was too short to excel under center behind towering offensive linemen. Wilson’s high release which prevents defensive linemen from batting down his attempts from the…Read more...

Thirty-two teams. Sixteen games. Three African-American head coaches. Those stats have been tattooed in the NFL’s Week 1 box score for months. Mike Tomlin, Lovie Smith, and Todd Bowles are the lone Black coaches in the NFL this season due to new Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel identifying as “human.”Read more...

The term “same faces, new places” has never been more relevant after the NFL hosted probably its wildest and most active offseason in history. We even witnessed the greatest of all time do a complete about-face on his retirement.

The NFL has the longest offseason in American sports. Thursday’s season opener was 207 days after the Rams won Super Bowl LVI. The hype surrounding Los Angeles entering the 2022 season was palpable. According to Caesars, the Rams have the fifth-best odds to repeat as champions at +1100 with Buffalo. Tampa Bay, Kansas…Read more...

It’s not uncommon for Major League Baseball teams to sign international players at a young age. While there are certain restrictions in place to prevent teams from signing Americans until they’ve turned 16, international players are under fewer restrictions. Players in countries like the Dominican Republic and…Read more...

With all the quarterback drama swirling around the San Francisco 49ers, other important parts of the team have seemingly flown under the radar. One of those significant pieces is tight end George Kittle. What’s being called a Grade 2 groin strain looks like it will keep Kittle sidelined for the team’s season opener…Read more...

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I know that it’s just an image, from a corporate Twitter account nonetheless. It’s there strictly for engagement purposes.Read more...

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You always have to hope that the Sunday night game, or really any primetime NFL game, is a good one. Because when it’s bad, there’s just far too much dead time for Cris Collinsworth’s brain to drip out of his ear. I don’t mind Collinsworth as much as other people. He can be a little too “Everything is awesome!” in his…Read more...

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The reaction from the sports world came down quickly after Thursday’s passing of Queen Elizabeth II at 96. Tweets and other posts from athletes of British descent and others from around the globe paid tribute to the Queen, who served as the United Kingdom’s monarch for 70 years.

Since 2004, it’s become a tradition for the defending Super Bowl champion to kick off the season at home. The only exceptions came in 2013, when the Baltimore Ravens had to play on the road due to a scheduling conflict with the Orioles, and 2019, when the NFL opted to celebrate its 100th season with a Bears-Packers…Read more...

Can we please stop bothering the people responsible for your digital entertainment? First, She-Hulk doesn’t look right, then Game of Thrones had a glitch, and now the annual gripe fest that is NBA players bemoaning their ratings in NBA 2K games has returned. Please, enough with the outrage. These people have families…Read more...

People, are we really ready to do this? As a football-watching public, we’re going to stand and shout for all to hear that there is going to be a Super Bowl parade that sets a record for snowfall and broken tables.

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The NFL season is finally here, and as usual, there’s lots of optimism and expectations surrounding specific teams. Of the teams with high expectations (playoff push or better), a few have just as good a chance of disappointing their fan base as they do of meeting or exceeding set expectations.

For the first time this past weekend, and intentionally no matter what they may say, WWE and AEW ran PPVs/PLEs on the same weekend, perhaps being in direct competition with each other for the first time since NXT was backed off Wednesday nights. Feels like as good of a time as any to see where the companies are…Read more...

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Steph Curry needs to stop.

A change of scenery doesn’t change a player’s DNA. Coaching staffs can alter the way a quarterback is used and improve his production, but the flaws will surface under intense stress. It’s like Tim Tebow’s throwing motion. The guy could have the footwork of Peyton Manning and the accuracy of Drew Brees in practice,…Read more...

All trophies matter…I guess.

Logical OutcomeRead more...

Throughout this series we’ve been doing this week, we always try to start every preview with a logical outcome. What is expected from the division? How are experts and analysts predicting this division to play out come season’s end? Who’s most likely to exceed expectations, and who’s most likely to fail to reach their…Read more...

The U.S. Open went plaid yesterday.Read more...