Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic was supposed to be a savior. He was supposed to help pull a franchise that had been mostly irrelevant in the annals of baseball history into World Series contention. He was a very popular pick for the 2021 AL Rookie of the Year Award last year.

At some point during the time that the Detroit Lions are on “Hard Knocks,” we had better get to see Dan Campbell at Starbucks.Read more...

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has taken Hollywood by storm since he left the WWE, producing hit after hit on the big screen. Even with Johnson’s mainstream success, he’s never forgotten his pro wrestling roots. Now The Rock is teaming up with VICE TV on a series called “Tales From The Territories.”

You may have forgotten about hockey’s World Juniors championships. It’s the middle of summer after all, which is supposed to be the definitive dead time for hockey. You’ll probably need a reminder that the WJCs, in their normal slot back in December/January, had to be scrapped thanks to COVID outbreaks with three…Read more...

We’ve reached a point where a golfer has to take a blood oath on their mother’s grave while stabbing a voodoo doll of Greg Norman for me to believe that any of these amoral sociopaths are staying with the PGA Tour. My hopes weren’t high for Cameron Smith, the young Australian who just won the Open Championship, when…Read more...

Former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch was arrested Tuesday morning in Las Vegas on the suspicion that he was driving under the influence. The Las Vegas Metro Police Department stated they conducted a traffic stop at Fairfield Avenue and West Utah Avenue, a few blocks from the Las Vegas Strip, for a suspected driver’s…Read more...

Padres’ slugger Juan Soto has a multitude of great offensive skills that make him one of the most dangerous hitters in MLB. Above all else though, Soto’s greatest weapon is his discipline.

Joe Tsai, the horses have left the stable, the train is off the track, and there is no time left on the clock. You went all in to get Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant and it has not produced the return that you wanted on the basketball court.

Jumping the gun, obviously. We’re only three weeks into the HHH version of WWE, and we won’t really know what he can do until the networks and board he works for have their say over it all, and, more to the point, have their say on the ratings and revenue his vision attracts. But it’s always fun to project out,…Read more...

Atlanta’s newest basketball star has been doing a lot over the last couple of days. Dejounte Murray has been on a tear both on and off the court since his matchup in a ProAm game with Orlando Magic rookie and No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero. Murray put a nice move and ball fake on Banchero, then threw himself an…Read more...

Earlier this summer, I was at the French Open with a group of college students who want to work in sports media. It was a Friday, and the men’s semifinals were the big story, but we got there early and went to Court Suzanne Lenglen, where a women’s doubles match was playing.Read more...

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“What if — and this is purely hypothetical — we float out an unofficial depth just to see how they react?” — (Probably) Pete Carroll buzzing around a 3 a.m. coaches meeting, a few Adderall and five sugar-free Red Bulls deep, trying to figure out how to ease Seattle fans into a reality where Geno Smith is their…Read more...

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It’s easy, as a Bears fan, to use any piece of news to lament your lot in life. The slightest misfortune or misstep, and we can’t wait to find the nearest fiery pit to throw ourselves into, as long as there’s a cross we can land on briefly before watching our skin peel off (yes, I know a cross almost certainly…Read more...

Aaron Rodgers can win his third straight NFL MVP this coming season.Read more...

It is bad enough how bold the league is about its financial goals. The NFL wants to bring in $25 billion in revenue by 2027. It has been two years since the start of the pandemic, and the league generated $11 billion per Sportico. That number includes no local revenue dollars.Read more...

One of the greatest athletes ever has signaled the end of her playing career. Serena Williams will hang up the racket after the US Open, tennis’ final major of the calendar year, she confirmed to Vogue Magazine in a personalized essay. Williams, 41, has one final chance to tie Margaret Court’s all-time record, with 24…Read more...

The Dallas Cowboys seem to be hell-bent on remaining in the middle of the pack and going one and done in the postseason — if they even make it this season. According to Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, the team plans to continue playing Micah Parsons as a roving linebacker instead of lining him up more as an…Read more...

That is if reports are to be believed, and it would depend on which side this slithered out from. Smart money is on the Brooklyn side, but then again watching Kevin Durant throughout his career, this is the kind of hijinx he would think shines kindly on him.

There’s a reason that this guy made sure to select Miami in Deadspin’s mock college conference redraft. In the past, Miami fought through all kinds of disadvantages to become one of college football’s most recognizable brands. It’s a private school that plays in a professional stadium, far away from campus, in a…Read more...

As Vegas oddsmakers start trickling out their predictions for the 2022 college football season, the murkiest of pictures becomes a little clearer. Benchmarks become tangible for each team. It’s easy bulletin board material. Most of the people making these props never played the sport at a high level, so what the fuck…Read more...

That was never-quite Hall of Famer Pete Rose, responding to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Alex Coffey on Sunday, after Coffey, rightly, asked him about allegations that he raped an underage girl in the 1970s.Read more...

If you had been asleep the past year and a half to two years (and we’re all jealous if you were), this past summer probably looked pretty normal in the soccer world. The big clubs were all warring over various players from smaller clubs, and Barcelona won most of those races. They beat Chelsea to Robert Lewandowski.…Read more...

Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule must’ve bumped his head on the way to practice Saturday morning. Rhule stepped onto the field for whatever reason and decided this was the day to treat grown men like college or high school players. Following a Baker Mayfield touchdown pass, the offense participated in an…Read more...

Yeah, I know. We do this every few months. Have for basically our entire lives, except for maybe that brief Jozy Altidore interlude…right until he popped his hammy in Brazil. And we’ll continue to do this every few months for the rest of our lives, pinning our hopes for a genuine No. 9 for the USMNT on yet another…Read more...

The Dodgers couldn’t care less about the Padres and the trade deadline.

All eyes are on Matthew Stafford and his nagging elbow injury as the defending Super Bowl champs navigate training camp.Read more...

The Padres certainly have a way of stealing the headlines. And that’s not a bad thing, always, especially as the Padres do it by being one of the few teams that are constantly adding good players. Even great ones at times. Which they kind of have to, given that they’re in a division with the Dodgers. Last year they…Read more...

The Chicago Bears offense. Those words could be presented to children to teach them the meaning of the word oxymoron.

The offseason drama and turmoil in Cleveland will apparently carry over into the regular season. DeShaun Watson’s punishment was handed out last week to the tune of a very underwhelming six-game suspension, which has been appealed by the NFL. Now one of Cleveland’s primary offensive weapons, Kareem Hunt, is not only…Read more...

Steph Curry’s new moniker, The Petty King, feels contrived. He’s on this post-Finals MVP mission to call out everyone who’s ever slighted him. Cool, man, your legacy is as pristine as they come. Why didn’t this persona come out before his long-sought Finals MVP, when you were still vulnerable?Read more...

Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme: “Brady’s gonna fall off this year.”Read more...

It took Darwin Núñez 13 minutes to notch his first goal in the English Premier League, but it came at the 64th minute because he was brought on as an £85m super sub during a swirling match at Craven College that saw Liverpool and newly promoted Fulham finish in a 2-2 draw. This is the first game of the season, so Reds…Read more...

Most people thought Jimmy Garoppolo would be traded long ago. Yet, with barely more than a month until the start of the NFL regular season, Garoppolo is still a 49er. At this point, it’d be easy to assume that Garoppolo will remain on the team for at least a few weeks of the season. Some sportsbooks disagree with that…Read more...

In the barren wasteland that is sports in August, there are only baseball and speculative NFL stories to write about. And since we just wrote about Aaron Judge and he didn’t hit a dinger Friday night, we’ve got football chatter for you. Today’s anecdote comes from former New England Patriot offensive lineman Rich…Read more...

In a recent anonymous survey, The Athletic detailed how a few MLB executives felt about the recent trade deadline. Most of the answers were normal, everyday responses to basic questions.

The Dodgers have three All-Stars in their starting rotation this season, but their best arm wasn’t even part of the Midseason Classic.

With impending, ill-timed, why-the-hell-did-you-schedule-it-on-a-Saturday-afternoon-when-I-told-I-have-a-wedding fantasy drafts looming, if you’re not skimming random internet top 100s to solidify your consensus top 100 list, you’re infringing on the unwritten rules of procrastination. You know the rest of the drunk…Read more...

It’s never happened. In the current digital age, baseball has never had a true chase for the sport’s most sacred single-season record. Aaron Judge is making his games appointment television in a transcendent way that the Major Leagues haven’t had for a non-playoff game since Barry Bonds’ 73-home run campaign, which…Read more...

The last of the star wideouts holding out (or in) during contract negotiations, Diontae Johnson finally came to an agreeable contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. For Johnson to hold out longer than the likes of Deebo Samuel and DK Metcalf, it must have been a solid deal, one that rivaled the $25 million per year…Read more...

Miguel Cabrera was the easy comparison for Juan Soto when he was made available and then eventually shipped out of DC to San Diego. Miggy was the last historically good hitter to be traded at a still pre-peak age. He was 25 when he started in Detroit after coming up with Florida.

I’m here to make a case for a Joey Gallo turnaround.

I know football is a physical sport, but when it’s your first time at OTAs, and you’re trying to make an impression that will keep you on an NFL roster for years to come, getting in fights with your teammates doesn’t seem like the best course of action.

Do you know how we can tell Russell Wilson has that “it” factor? Because everything he does this offseason seems to spark a chain reaction on the wavelength of a butterfly causing a hurricane. It might be that Pennywise the Clown “It” factor to some, but “it’s” something, nonetheless.Read more...

It depends on how you define drama whether or not you find any in the Premier League season. We pretty much know that either Manchester City or Liverpool will win the title. Some combination of Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, and maybe United will fill out the other Champions League places. Perhaps Newcastle can stage a…Read more...

Before your Thursday gets worse, ask yourself if you’re really surprised that a self-indulgent huckster, the inspiration for Roy McAvoy’s storyline if “Tin Cup 2” ever happens, would be pro-Saudi tour. John Daly sets up HQ at a Hooters near Augusta every April, will sign anything from a cocktail napkin to a love…Read more...

After more than six months of incarceration since her February arrest for having less than one gram of cannabis oil in her luggage at a Russian airport, eight-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison on Thursday for drug possession and smuggling. That harsh but expected final decision…Read more...

The biggest offseason addition for Texas football every year isn’t an offspring of the Manning family or a QB from the Ohio State discard pile. It’s hype. People point to recruiting rankings, staff changes, the Texas flag, the sky, an armadillo, and, presto, people who follow college football develop amnesia and…Read more...

Sports fans, especially NBA fans, I’m sure are familiar with the family of viruses the “Miami Flu,” the “LA Flu,” etc. It can be caught in places with a pleasant year-round climate and a plethora of places for young, rich people with lots of energy to party when their teams visit. The result, especially if the game is…Read more...