Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

And now a quick bit of baseball news before we get back to our regularly scheduled lockout. The MLB shut down Tampa’s proposal to alienate their current fanbase and play half of their home series in Montreal. It was a move so stupid that whoever came up with it should’ve been fired immediately.

You wouldn’t have noticed two nights ago, or two mornings ago, as it tends to be with the Australian Open. Daniil Medvedev, currently the favorite to win the whole tournament, beat Nick Kyrgios in four sets. Kyrgios didn’t make it that easy on him, and won the third set while hitting some amazing shots along the way.…Read more...

The magical dream season that Chicago Bulls fans had longed for suddenly has the potential to turn nightmarish after a recent rash of injuries. Both Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine have missed the last few games for Chicago since last Friday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors. LaVine could be back within the next week,…Read more...

Bengals fans are some of the most loyal fans in American sports. ‘Dey’ are willing to go to great lengths to defend their favorite team. I know this, because after I wrote an article months ago criticizing the Bengals for selecting Ja’Marr Chase over Penei Sewell, my inbox was flooded with Bengal fans shaking their…Read more...

There was nothing lost in Joel Embiid’s 50 points in 27 minutes against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night because it’s impossible to talk about the 76ers without mentioning you know who. Every conversation about Philly starts and stops with, “Imagine if Ben Simmons…” Imagine if they traded him here, or if he was…Read more...

In the second season of Netflix’s Cheer, viewers receive a masterclass in how to center and give voice to the experiences of the victims of alleged child sex abuse. The show addresses the sexual misconduct allegations made regarding Season 1 breakout star Jerry Harris in an episode that could truly only be described…Read more...

Analytics can be misleading. Over the last decade, we’ve seen an influx of statistics take over the sports world, and basketball hasn’t been exempt from this revolution — just look at all the three-point attempts we see now across the NBA. But one stat in particular can be even dangerously misleading, and that is…Read more...

Sports betting is becoming more and more prevalent in the average sports fan’s life. In 2021, DraftKings saw a 60 percent increase in third-quarter revenue from a year prior. Compared to other countries with more mature gambling systems already in place like the UK, only four percent of gross gaming revenue in America…Read more...

For everything that the NFL did wrong with the Atlanta halftime show three years ago, they are trying to make up for it in a big way. When it first announced the Super LVI halftime show lineup of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem, it was clear what the league is going for with the Los…Read more...

There’s a picture of Kris Statlander and Adam Cole from last week’s Dynamite that’s been the basis for a lot of chatter on Twitter lately. It’s led to a lot of fans calling for something simple, something totally possible, and yet something not ever considered by the company itself:

What the hell is happening in Atlanta? They went on a Cinderella-esque run in last season’s playoffs, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. This year? They currently sit 12th in the East, out of the Play-In Tournament, and 22nd in the entire NBA. During the summer of 2020-21, the Hawks happily went over the cap to…Read more...

Unlike the GOAT debate in the NBA, the best player in the world conversation can change by the hour, seemingly.

Is this déjà vu?

We’ve all known that these upcoming Olympic games were a bad idea, and that’s putting it insultingly lightly. When they were first announced, even if you could get past the tiny little morsel of the egregious human rights abuses of the Chinese government (and you shouldn’t), there’s the whole thing about Beijing…Read more...

After a quarter century under their current bylaws, the NCAA will vote on a new constitution tomorrow at their convention that will peel their grip, knuckle by desperately grasping knuckle, off of the reins of college athletics regulation. Could it be that the NCAA is actually doing the right thing for once? Sort of,…Read more...

The Tennessee Titans still won’t confirm whether Derrick Henry will play on Saturday in their playoff game against the Bengals. When asked about it today during a press conference, Henry shrugged his shoulders, gave a slight grin, and said “[We’ll] see how this week goes, and see where I’m at on Saturday.”

Despite trading three first-round draft picks in order to move up to draft him, Trey Lance’s most important job with the 49ers this week will be trying to emulate Aaron Rodgers in practice. Will he get the opportunity to play like Aaron Rodgers during the Niners’ divisional round matchup against the Green Bay Packers?…Read more...

Bemoaning the impact of Vince McMahon and Bruce Pritchard on NXT has been done in many places, including this one. For some, it is truly sad to see what was once a unique and massively enjoyable product become yet another base for the boring, uncreative, and rote choices McMahon and Pritchard make with both Raw and …Read more...

For those frustrated with Kyrie Irving’s vaccine stance, and misguided logic behind his stance, on COVID vaccinations, take solace in the fact that he will not enjoy a moment of peace all season from the fans. For now, Irving can only play in road games because of New York City’s COVID vaccine mandate for large public…Read more...

“No one cares about genocide” is, to put it lightly, a concerning stance to take, but it is the stance that billionaire and Golden State Warriors minority owner Chamath Palihapitiya chose to espouse on his podcast this week.

Athletes are people. People get upset when they and/or the group they associate themselves with aren’t living up to expectations. Hence, with the Edmonton Oilers having gone 2-10-2 in their last 14 games, 2020 Hart Trophy winner Leon Draisaitl might find it a little patronizing when a reporter asks him postgame what…Read more...

The Dallas Cowboys exited the postseason early, yet again, during “super” wildcard weekend — it wasn’t all that super, honestly — losing at home to longtime rival San Francisco, 23-17. Of course, like any other NFL game, there were times throughout that Cowboys players wish they could have back, but the one moment…Read more...

It’s the 20th anniversary of the Tuck Rule Game, or the Snow Game, depending on whether or not you’re from New England. That was the night in Foxboro that the Patriots got the benefit of a controversial call on what appeared to be a Tom Brady fumble, tied and won the game on Adam Vinatieri field goals, and launched a…Read more...

Every fantasy football player knows the name Travis Fulgham as someone who either lost them a matchup or won them several matchups during the middle of last season. Fulgham was the Philadelphia Eagles’ leading receiver in 2020. Between Weeks 5 and 8, Fulgham recorded 27 receptions, 378 yards, and three touchdowns. He…Read more...

The clock has struck midnight and the Chicago Bulls 2021-22 Cinderella season has turned into a pumpkin at the halfway point. It started with their big Wednesday night matchup last week against the Brooklyn Nets who, at the time, had all three of their stars on the court. After a competitive first half to that game,…Read more...

Another head coach is about to meet their demise and banishment from the LeBron James bubble, which currently in Los Angeles. According to a report by The Athletic, it appears Frank Vogel is officially coaching on a game-to-game basis for the Lakers.Read more...

Everything’s coming up Odell in 2022. Halfway through the fall, Odell Beckham Jr.’s future in the league looked dim. Season after season had been shortened by one injury or another, and he was in the middle of what was quickly turning out to be the worst year of his career — he hadn’t scored a single touchdown with…Read more...

It’s not wise to assume anything about Lakers fans, but, in this case, I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and believe they know that they can’t expect 7-9 from the field and 10 points in the fourth quarter on a regular basis from Stanley Johnson. He was a one-man wrecking crew on Monday night for the Los…Read more...

Late in the third quarter of last night’s Wild Card matchup between Arizona and Los Angeles, Rams head coach Sean McVay drew up a stretch play to the left side on 2nd & short. Left tackle Joe Noteboom sealed the edge and running back Cam Akers reached the first down line without being touched. As he turned upfield and…Read more...

Before the Steelers got run out of Kansas City like everyone predicted (including their quarterback), Pittsburgh was up 7-0 five minutes into the second quarter. I thought that maybe they had a chance because all this team has done with a problematic corpse or Mason Rudolph playing QB over the past couple years defies…Read more...

Over the last couple of weeks in this NFL season, we’ve seen instances of multiple fan bases lashing out at their teams, expressing their frustration with inept franchises and the way they’re operated. Add Arizona Cardinals fans to that list of those who have had enough and think it’s time for a change. The Cards’…Read more...

In a world where the Patriots didn’t exist (and what a world that would be), perhaps the gold (and black) standard for bucking against the tides, refusing to be victims of a salary cap and system specifically designed to prevent sustained success, and just general obstinance would be the Pittsburgh Penguins. We’re…Read more...

If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. magically rose from the dead, he would be dumbfounded by what America has become — and still is. But, he would soon realize one thing in particular that hasn’t changed: how infuriating the white moderate remains to be, as sports business analyst Darren Rovell decided to prove on Monday…Read more...

The NFL got its first Monday night playoff game. It’s got its first expanded playoffs in a non…well, less COVID season (barely). And it was all something of a bust. One good game, five ass-kickings, some wondering what all the fuss was about.Read more...

I’m sure Kyler Murray will look forward to another year of questions about whether or not he has a big win within him. Last season, the Cardinals only needed to win one of their last two to make the playoffs. Murray put up a 66 rating in Week 16 against the Niners, and then was hurt for the season finale.

The word cloud was way too much.

The moment of truth has arrived.

Novak Djokovic has effectively chosen to remain unvaccinated over his bid to break the men’s Grand Slam singles record. That may not have been his aim, but his choice nonetheless has consequences.

Black Monday was last week in the NFL and with a slew of coaches receiving their pink slips, it was time for another tradition in pro sports: Teams anonymously skewering their recently-axed coach, especially if the firing came as any sort of surprise.

This is a bit of advice to all the high-profile public figures out there in the social media world. Double-check your tweets before sending them out into the Twitterverse. When you make a mistake, there’s always someone waiting to call you out on it, whether they consider themselves a fan, follower, or troll. Shannon…Read more...

Dallas did it again. It got your hopes up only to do what it always does.

It has been an up-and-down, one-step-forward one-step-back kind of a season for the Brooklyn Nets. Their next 4-6 weeks might go down, back, and off to the side as resident MVP candidate Kevin Durant will be sidelined for that span. The Nets today announced the results of an MRI, which showed that Durant had suffered…Read more...

Let’s be honest, the NBA All-Star balloting process is one of the most absurd in professional sports. Growing up, I was never a fan of the fan vote, basically determining who plays in the game. But I don’t blame the fans entirely because fan is short for fanatic, after all. I blame the NBA for keeping this “tradition”…Read more...

It’s finally over. Novak Djokovic’s appeal of the revocation of his visa by Australia’s Immigration Minister was rejected, and the country finally got to punt his water-mutating brain elsewhere. Which means Djokovic will not be breaking the record for most Grand Slam titles in Melbourne, though that will come soon…Read more...

It’s unusually harsh on Newcastle supporters, who are one of the more tortured fanbases in any sport you can find. Imagine if Pirates owner Bob Nutting owned a soccer club, that’s what Newcastle fans just went through. Mike Ashley was not only a raging asshole, but incredibly cheap when it came to the club, and did…Read more...

It’s a bit shy of 50 years since the Raiders got knocked out of the playoffs by The Immaculate Reception, a play that wasn’t just dramatic, but controversial.

The question is not really so much who brings a dildo to a football game. People bring things to places. Maybe it’s a good-luck dildo. That’s really your own business, although it could be the business of Buffalo’s stadium, whose rules prohibit many items from the premises, among them:

And here I thought bowl season was over.

Atlanta Falcons’ wide receiver Calvin Ridley has been the subject of much criticism this year. His decision to step away from his team in the middle of the season was admirable, but not exempt from the criticism of NFL “fans.” Even when he was playing, Ridley underwhelmed. After finishing tied for fifth in the NFL in…Read more...