Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

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...

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that Rob Gronkowski is considering a return to the NFL. Gronkowski tweeted “I’m kinda bored,” on Dec. 21. According to Rapaport, a handful of teams reached out to him to see if he was serious.Read more...

It feels like we’ve spent all year, or at least a significant portion of it, talking about how terrible Cleveland Browns fans have been. Pre their team’s signing of quarterback Deshaun Watson, we were all able to laugh at their fans as loveable, delusional losers who thought they were going to get to the top of the…Read more...

Let’s Ride!

As we dive deeper into the single digits of our IDIOT OF THE YEAR countdown, we’ve come to a crossroads. Overall idiocy should be a factor, but as we are ranking the biggest imbeciles in sports, Kanye West finishes at No. 7. His damage was much worse than people ranked ahead of him to society at large, but West’s…Read more...

Not surprisingly, the Denver Broncos fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett after the team was embarrassed — AGAIN — in primetime. The Los Angeles Rams beat them 51-14, and Russell Wilson was once again dog shit.Read more...

Have you ever seen that classic gif/meme of the confused woman trying to figure out an equation in her head? Well, that’s what NFL owners look like when deciding on a coach.

It’s that time again to check in on the teams that can’t get out of their own way. We’re in the home stretch of the 2022 NFL season, and it’s been unpredictable, but there are always those teams we expect to disappoint their fan base. Now let’s get into the powerless ranking for Week 16.

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What a surprise. The last NFL franchise to integrate — the team named after a racial slur until 2020 — is rotten. So rotten that Congress decided to dig all the way in to see just how far it spread, and found out that it is visible as soon as the skin is removed and runs all the way to the core of the noxious fruit…Read more...

Aaron Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, and he’s destined to have a bust in Canton, Ohio, as soon as he’s eligible for Hall of Fame enshrinement. There’s another HOF Rodgers is apparently looking to join much sooner, and that’s the psychedelic crackpot conspiracy theorist’s Hall of Fame.Read more...

Christmas Day 2022 will always be remembered for how we nearly lost Landry Shamet to a senseless posterization.

For a player with such a high IQ on the basketball court, John Stockton’s lack thereof when it comes to science is simply astonishing. Stockton’s public image took a hit with many in 2022 for his vaccine idiocy, especially early in the year.Read more...

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Christmas Eve saw most of the NFL’s slate played on Saturday and it was freezing at most stadiums. Recovering from frostbite while opening presents as a family apparently was a necessary evil to some. In two of the three stadiums where fans weren’t shivering, two of the NFL’s major awards were decided. Doesn’t matter…Read more...

Merry Christmas and welcome to Deadspin’s IDIOT OF THE YEAR party! As we gear up for the unveiling of our top 10 next week, here are the first 40 dummies on our list. Enjoy.Read more...

Yes, sports is like all other major American industries — run by a handful of people who made out like bandits in this economic system of great wealth disparity. Because they have accumulated such vast wealth, they believe that is a sign of intelligence and that hubris frequently leads to poor decision-making both on…Read more...

Ho ho ho, folks! Christmas is here, and good ol’ jolly St. Nick is heading down the chimney with exactly what you asked for. If you’re an NFL head coach though, that probably means he’s headed down the chimney with a talented assistant to put on your staff to make you look even better. Until they leave for their own…Read more...

With three weeks left in the regular season, the Philadelphia Eagles have all but locked up the top seed in the NFC, needing just one win or a loss from both the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers in order to secure home-field advantage through the NFC Championship and a first-round bye. With that in mind, the…Read more...