Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

The A’s’ time in Oakland is dwindling. We don’t know when they’ll be gone. We just know that it’s going to happen. If team president Dave Kaval’s cryptic tweets talking about the energy from sports fans in Las Vegas last year weren’t proof enough, MLB has all but confirmed our suspicions with their latest announcement.

For once, the Washington Commanders chose competence. It’s not a common occurrence for franchises whose owners are being accused of dodging a subpoena from the United States Congress. With both their home stadium and reputation crumbling by the day, one smart decision was staring them right in the face: Re-sign Terry…Read more...

Apparently, the next step after finishing up a career as a pro athlete is stepping into another one inside a boxing ring. We’ve seen this trend gain momentum over the last couple of years, and now former NFL running backs Le’Veon Bell and Adrian Peterson are set to be the next to try their hand at the sweet science.…Read more...

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It’s hard to imagine that’s how Serena Williams would end her career. There’s always the U.S. Open, where she won her first Grand Slam, where she’s rightly worshiped, where some of her biggest wins have come. And yet, it’s hard to see how the U.S. Open will go much better than Wimbledon, where she lost in three sets…Read more...

The Baltimore Orioles haven’t been good for several years now. The last time they reached the playoffs was 2016. The last time they reached the ALCS, they got swept by the Royals and they’ve finished last in their division in four of the last five seasons.

Oh, man. I feel for the American Christian right this week. After the Supreme Court’s decisions on Roe v. Wade, Maine school funding, and a football coach’s right to pray on the field, how will they get to play pretend that they’re being persecuted by society anymore?Read more...

Everything is bigger in Texas, including the hype. Arch Manning’s Texas commitment has the Longhorns dreaming of national championship glory again. By the time Manning 3.0 is eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft, it will have been 20 years since Vince Young painted his Jackson Pollack on the Rose bowl turf during the 2006…Read more...

In my two-plus decades watching wrestling, I’ve consumed a ton of content. I’ve seen basically every iteration of the art form. I believe I can see a trainwreck coming inside the squared circle quicker than most and appreciate when the symphony of sports entertainment is pulled off flawlessly. It’s also rewarding when…Read more...

If you’re at all involved in college football news, you’ve likely seen a big ol’ number floating around the rumor mill this week: $9.5 million.Read more...

Formula 1’s winningest, most visible driver, Lewis Hamilton, got called the N-word by FF1 champion Nelson Piquet in an interview during the 2021 season. Piquet is the father of 2021 F1 world champion Max Verstappen’s girlfriend Kelly. Verstappen is Hamilton’s biggest rival in F1, and that’s about as far as I got…Read more...

The Atlanta Hawks were the second best offensive team in the NBA this past season. Trae Young had the best season of his career averaging 28.4 points and 9.7 assists per game on 46/38.2/90.4 shooting splits. He kept his team’s offense rolling all season despite many injuries. Of players who averaged three or more…Read more...

LOS ANGELES — Timely Warning Crime Alert — Robbery.

The Houston Rockets and John Wall have agreed to a buyout of his contract where he’ll take a pay cut of about $6.5 million. That’s not a bad deal considering Wall just sat out an entire season and made over $44 million to do so.

Has anyone checked on Amy Schumer?Read more...

Now that Aleksej Pokuševski and Franz Wagner have understudies and Jabari Smith Jr. has a couple more guards who won’t pass him the ball, it’s time to peek inside the 2023 NBA Draft. And if you’ve done that, you’ve no doubt come across the name Victor Wembanyama. The French big man has a frame similar to Chet Holmgren…Read more...

Less than a year ago, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made it sound as if the long-awaited induction of two-time Super Bowl champions head coach Jimmy Johnson in the Ring of Honor was just around the corner. Now, it seems that has been all but forgotten by Jones.

Nothing screams free agency like the New York Knicks ready to throw millions of dollars at the wrong player.

It was one of the shorter turnarounds in the recent history of NBA free agency becoming the world’s biggest soap opera (the dawn of which is probably “taking my talents to South Beach”). Sometime yesterday, rumors broke that Kyrie Irving and the Nets could see eye-to-eye with Irving heading into a player-option year.…Read more...

After the odd calm of the 2022 NBA Draft, the next phase of the 2022 off-season begins on Thursday — free agency. Recent trends show that major free agents tend to re-sign from their current teams to reap the max amount of years and money only their current teams can offer. With that in mind, let’s look at the…Read more...

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Kevin Durant is under contract for one more year with the Brooklyn Nets, but based on the bevy of reports and leaks on the extremely fluid Kyrie melodrama and its potential fallout, his employment is volatile. That uncertainty has spawned a multitude of options for Durant, but only the Portland Trailblazers have taken…Read more...

As gross as it is that any organization would protect a member at the expense of a victim, it’s also way too common. We’ve seen it in sports, in the NFL with the Washington Commanders and USA Gymnastics with Larry Nassar. We’ve seen it in television with Fox News and Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes. We’ve seen it in…Read more...

As we’ve said a few times now, AEW always has a way out.

LOS ANGELES — It’s time for Dave Roberts to make a call to the bullpen.Read more...

The road to the NBA just got a little tougher for Bronny James. In the latest Rivals high school player rankings, James slid more than 30 spots down the list, from No. 29 to No. 60. Ranking in the top 60 players in the nation isn’t bad, but such a drop-off in four months isn’t a good look by any means.

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We, as fans, almost never get one over on the villains in our various sports. Of course, they’re out there, we’re up here, so the natural dynamic of the whole relationship is that we’re losers. That’s understood.Read more...

Is there a current NBA player who invokes more disgust, loathing, and aversion than Kyrie Irving? The Brooklyn Nets guard is on his way to imploding his third team. First, he demanded out of Cleveland after tiring playing second fiddle to LeBron James. Then he aggressively bounced out of Boston, creating a mutual…Read more...

The redemption narrative is the easy one. Everyone loves it, and it usually writes itself, which is why writers will flock to it at every opportunity (especially hockey writers who by the time the Stanley Cup Final is over are barely sober enough to find their hotel room key), and it feels good to anyone reading it.…Read more...

Superteams are having a tough go of it in 2022. Tina Charles’ “contract divorce” with the Phoenix Mercury was the type of clean, drama-free breakaway from an underwhelming superteam Kyrie Irving could only dream of. Charles, 34, is at the tail end of her prime and reportedly upset with her role on the Mercury, so the…Read more...

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara could soon know his fate stemming from the fight he was involved in during Pro Bowl weekend in Las Vegas. Kamara is facing at least a six-game suspension and could also be on the wrong end of a civil suit brought on by the man he allegedly beat up.

One month after his Dallas Mavericks were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, Luka Dončić has not yet taken a day off. He is playing for the Slovenian national team, and he does not look like the same person who scored 28 points in that elimination game on May 26.Read more...

The idea of MLS as a retirement home has been a misnomer for a while. While the league might not pull in the biggest players in the world in their prime, it certainly isn’t waiting around until they can’t move anymore, for the most part (those watching Douglas Costa for the Galaxy might disagree). Two of the league’s…Read more...

Dick’s Sporting Goods has yet again provided the template for how American companies can respond to politicians’ refusal to act with their own private policies. Following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, the company’s CEO announced that employees and their dependents who need to travel out of state to get…Read more...

If it were not already apparent that Steph Curry is the popular kid who dictates whether 10th graders one- or two-strap their backpacks, fans needn’t look no further than the WNBA for proof. I debated if Sabrina Ionescu hitting a game-clinching 3 and striking the Steph “night night” pose against the Atlanta Dream on…Read more...

It’s May 25, 2011 and the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants are playing against the Florida Marlins. The game is tied 6-6 in the 12th, but the Marlins have runners on first and third with only one out. Emilio Bonifacio lifts a fly ball to right center. The Giants’ Nate Schierholtz has plenty of time…Read more...

Nearly a decade after being selected No. 1 overall in the MLB draft, RHP Mark Appel will make his major league debut at 30 years old for the Philadelphia Phillies today.

Ric Flair’s self-descriptors are outdated. Jet-flying, kiss-stealing needs to be the AARP-promoting, Werther’s Original-loving, slow-moving son of a gun! There’s no discounting the now-73-year-old Flair as the greatest American professional wrestler ever. His combination of entertainment and athleticism is unmatched.…Read more...

The Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors Finals was one of the more engaging championship fights of recent memory. The Celtics were on a Cinderella tear on their way to facing a retooled, post-Kevin Durant Warriors. Both teams had organically built the backbone of their roster through adept drafting and shrewd,…Read more...

I remember a time when an athlete would retire and mean it. However, after years of players like Brett Favre, Randy Moss, Marshawn Lynch, and Tom Brady all pulling the ol’ “Just kidding! We’re back!” on fans, you can’t help but feel skeptical that Rob Gronkowski’s retirement is also temporary. After all, he “retired”…Read more...

When Kenny Atkinson ultimately passed on the Charlotte Hornets head coaching job, the thought was at least Mike D’Antoni will keep LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and the rest of Buzz City entertaining. After the former Houston head coach’s meeting with part-owner Michael Jordan this week, it seemed all but done.

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Do you remember the book RG3 was writing? Announced in late November, it was going to be a tell-all tale of his time in Washington, detailing the sexual harassment and medical mismanagement he endured. It was titled Surviving Washington. Do you remember this? Maybe when I brought it up just now you did, but odds are…Read more...

The ever-optimistic “Texas Is Back” believers have much to rejoice in the coming years, as football royalty’s heir apparent, Arch Manning, announced a somewhat surprising commitment to Texas on Thursday. Heavily recruited by a number of SEC schools, including Ole Miss where his grandfather and namesake Archie Manning,…Read more...

I had the ESPN broadcast of last night’s NBA Draft on while cooking dinner, and even with my hands occupied by a pot of mac and a large spoon instead of my phone and internet, I knew Kendrick Perkins was going to get broiled over hot Twitter embers.

One day after country celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX becoming federal law, a milestone for the landmark case prohibiting sex-based discrimination at any school or program receiving federal funding, The Supreme Court struck down a humongous constitutional right for women in overturning Roe v. Wade in a 6-3…Read more...

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani’s days in red are numbered.

The Yankees have already put the AL East mostly to bed. If they haven’t tucked the Jays, Sox, and Rays in yet, it’s only to taunt them more. So it’s hard to get too juiced about anything left in the regular season, unless there’s some historic choke on the horizon. Still, the Astros showing up to the Boogie Down is…Read more...

The 2022 NBA Draft’s starting lineup is exactly what we thought it would be with a zesty twist.Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren, Jaden Ivey, and Keegan Murray flew off the shelf to kick off the evening. After reports emerged earlier in the day that the Orlando Magic were sinking their hooks into Jabari…Read more...