Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

The term “measuring stick” game is seldom used in professional football. The term indicates a game that will determine whether or not a team is the real deal or not and is used more in a college football setting since those teams can change drastically from year to year.Read more...

Two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom is departing Queens for the Lonestar State.Read more...

It’s the third straight World Cup the United States men’s national team has played in where it reached the knockout stage. Losses to Ghana and Belgium in 2010 and 2014, respectively, denied the Americans an opportunity to win a game beyond the group stage for the first time at the quadrennial event against a team not…Read more...

I like the New England Patriots a lot more than most this year. They don’t have any great wins, but their defense is stout, Rhamondre Stevenson is a delight to watch, and despite operating with only one seriously capable receiver — Jakobi Meyers — they’re still middle of the pack in terms of yards per play (5.4 — 17th…Read more...

Whataboutism is a dangerous game. The comparison of apples to oranges, as opposed to just Honeycrisps and Fujis, appears to be the necessary pivot to distract from an actual issue. Walking and chewing gum at the same time is possible, preferable, and has become an impressive skill in the public eye. Was former NFL…Read more...

The transfer window for college football players doesn’t officially open until Dec. 5., but that hasn’t stopped disgruntled wide receivers, linemen, linebackers, QBs, running backs, and every other position from making their intentions known. Per ESPN, there were 3,085 transfers in 2021-22, almost double the previous…Read more...

At best, it’s a crapshoot.

If you stand with clowns don’t get mad when you wind up in a circus.

If it was up to me, Will Levis putting mayonnaise in his coffee wouldn’t only discount him from being a first-round pick, but it’d also land him in prison. People who are obsessed with condiments need serious reform in their lives. Scars from working at Subway in high school aside though, I think Levis has bust…Read more...

The idea of a particular villain, a true public enemy, still exists for most hockey fanbases. More than any other sport, one player can send an opposing arena into hysterics by merely hopping over the boards. Rivalry as an idea in sports has calmed down over the years, given player movement and other factors. But…Read more...

Japan, Germany, and Belgium all accomplished the absurd in different ways today. And that’s before we even get to Morocco winning their group. Let’s kick this pig!

Imagine you’re a college football player. You’ve led your team to a solid season this year, and are rewarded with a bowl game. In the week leading up to the contest, you’re studying film, and working hard in practice because you know NFL scouts will probably be there watching. Your future could depend on how you…Read more...

Disgraced former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown is back in trouble with the law — he has an active warrant out for his arrest. It’s allegedly for another domestic violence incident involving the mother of four of his children, per a police report obtained by FOX 13 News in Tampa.Read more...

With the Rose Bowl officially signing along the dotted line, the expansion to a 12-team College Football Playoff is official. So, starting in 2024-25, there will be a dozen schools vying for the title, and anywhere from six to 10(?) fanbases screaming about being snubbed.

Christian Pulisic put it all on the line to score his first World Cup goal. His body did the work with his legacy hanging in the balance. If the current face of American soccer couldn’t score the goal that separated the United States men’s national team from advancing to the knockout stage in Qatar from flying out of…Read more...

After losing in the national championship game in April, the AP preseason No. 1, UNC, has lost three in a row early in the season.

Love and adoration are actions, not just soundbites, and social media posts. It’s showing up for your hero’s family when he can’t.Read more...

Welcome to IDIOT OF THE MONTH, the beloved series in which we take mean-spirited potshots at sports figures who have gone off the deep end. Many of November’s cadre of idiots are veterans, joined this month by some fresh meat — including, notably, budding moron Zach Wilson of the New York Jets. Modern society is…Read more...

It’s a tired discussion, I’ll admit at the top. And maybe it’s my official entrance into the “Old Man Yelling At Cloud” club. Do I get a robe? A pipe? Some sort of plaque? Perhaps younger generations of sports fans just accept that once a team is declared a non-contender, it’s time for them to strip everything down,…Read more...

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While Ohio State fans hold the most recent grudge against Lincoln Riley, Caleb Williams, and USC, the fanbase that’s still the most upset about the Trojans’ success this year resides in Norman. Williams was supposed to be the third Heisman winner in crimson and cream under Riley, and it’s OU that should be a…Read more...

Game of the day: Mexico 2 - 1 Saudi Arabia

Oft-injured, but damn near unhittable when healthy, former New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom was bound to draw numerous suitors once free agency started, and while the rumors haven’t been circulating at quite the speed we expected, deGrom’s market has heated up recently, but the heat hasn’t come from the markets we’d…Read more...

The organizer of a women’s basketball tournament so shoddy it drew comparisons to the Fyre Festival is a former Division I coach with a history of sexual abuse allegations, according to public records.

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The New York Yankees have offered star slugger Aaron Judge an eight-year deal, worth roughly $300 million, according to ESPN insider Jeff Passan.

Former longtime NFL player? Check. Talking head on the Worldwide Leader? Check. High school football coach? Check.Read more...

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Coming into the season, the Los Angeles Clippers were viewed as one of the favorites to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. That pick was contingent on a healthy Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The supporting cast that owner Steve Ballmer has assembled around his dynamic star duo is good enough to make…Read more...

This week’s NFL slate is so loaded that it’ll be easy to overlook the biggest story of Week 13 if you try — and the Shield is definitely trying to talk about anything other than the return of Deshaun Watson. The most coverage Watson has received, outside of Cleveland, for coming back from a nearly two-year hiatus over…Read more...

Over the weekend, the Washington Commanders revealed a new “statue” memorializing Sean Taylor, a former safety who played for the organization from 2004-07, earning two Pro Bowl nods before his death at 24 years old. Taylor was a phenomenal young talent, family-oriented, and a hell of a workhorse on the field.Read more...

I didn’t realize that Jeff Bagwell had become that guy at the end of the bar who tells you about the time he saw the original The Wall Tour every single time you enter the place. Not what I would have picked for him during his playing days, but here we are.Read more...

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And this is where the plot thickens. For the next four days, teams will move on, teams will meet the sword, and the drama ramps up to 11. I’m here to be your space coyote for it!

Rudy Gobert is NBA fans’ favorite punching bag. Whenever something goes wrong on his team, he’s the first person people blame. It could be that he’s French, whiny, overrated, overpaid — or all four — and that’s fine. You’re not going to hear me argue with Minnesota Timberwolves fans about how bad the trade was, or his…Read more...

3-0 would have worked too, kids.

Take a look at the current NFL standings, would you? How many teams are above .500 with less-than-optimal situations under center? The New York Jets, New England Patriots, and Tennessee Titans are all on the playoff bubble and have all either endured mediocre-to-poor quarterback play, and the Titans even have an out…Read more...

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Fans of the Denver Broncos went from reluctantly embracing #LetsRide in the early weeks of the season to forcing Russell Wilson to stop using, uttering, or even thinking about it by early October.

The Dallas Mavericks have limped out of the starting blocks in this marathon known as the NBA season to a 9-10 record after nearly one quarter of the year. Luka Dončić is off to another MVP-caliber tear, but he’ll still finish empty-handed without much team success. Coming off the team’s conference finals run last…Read more...

This should be easy, with the second word of this story being the most important: SHOULD. Even with the politics and affinity for the Southeastern Conference and other big-name schools, the College Football Playoff committee can’t mess this one up, right? There are only two scenarios that can unfold this week. All…Read more...

Monday night was bigger than a game between two bad teams. It was proof of how confusing the process is of becoming an NFL head coach.Read more...

The Steelers’ run game mainly saved Pittsburgh last night against the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football. The Steelers have struggled on the ground for much of the last two seasons, but Pittsburgh pounded the ball against Indy all night for 172 yards.Read more...

It’s time to check in on the teams that can’t get out of their own way. We’re approaching the final quarter of the 2022 NFL season, and much of it has been unpredictable, but there are always a few teams we expect to disappoint their fanbases. Now let’s get into the powerless ranking for Week 12.

Watch out now.

It would be hard to convince everyone that USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter was preparing for exactly this, last spring. I would like to believe he was, just because I would like to believe fully in Berhalter. Maybe he sensed it was a possibility. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.Read more...

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Game of the day: Serbia 3 - 3 Cameroon

The Philadelphia Eagles have dominated the NFC over the first three months of the season en route to a league-best 10-1 start. Besides the game against Washington a couple of weeks ago, Philly has found a way to slither out with a win every time. They’ve already beaten two of the top three teams chasing them in the…Read more...