Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

The people that thought Brian Flores was lying have gone predictably silent.

While NC State and UConn were producing the college basketball game of the year in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, professional women’s hockey was also having a blinder on its biggest night as well.

After months of back and forth, protests, and outright refusing to get vaccinated, Kyrie Irving got his wish and was able to return as a full-time player in Brooklyn on Sunday. Irving scored just 16 points in his home debut, a Nets loss 119-110 to the Charlotte Hornets. All that build-up and noise about Irving being…Read more...

It has become tiring to describe baseball and those in it and just outside of it, as crusty. But it also hasn’t stopped me from being crusty on certain subjects that MLB has discussed to try and liven the game up. I hate the expanded playoffs. I don’t mind the DH in the NL anymore, though I used to be an ideologue. I…Read more...

When Tom Brady announced his “retirement” in January, the sports media world seemed split on whether he was really done with football. Since the announcement, Brady’s already ditched retirement. Now there’s a rumor of a potential trade out of Tampa Bay.Read more...

On the surface, it’s a patently ridiculous question. Of course the US can’t go without a player who regularly plays for one of the biggest clubs in the world, where his manager loves him, and comes up with goals for a national team that still struggles to find them. And to ask this question after just one or two good…Read more...

Welcome to the Elite Eight of the Fictional Hoopers Tournament. All the fat and sinew (Sandy Lyle and Steve Urkel) have been trimmed, and the characters left are all from powerhouse pictures. No one has been able to knock off either of White Men Can’t Jump’s main characters (celebrated last night at the Oscars, and…Read more...

Never before has a player done so much, but it meant so little. Enter LeBron James.

CHICAGO — Bill Self survived… himself.

It’s not official yet. The USMNT still has to dot the i’s and cross the t’s and all that. Which means they have to manage to not lose to Costa Rica by six goals or more on Wednesday. Quite frankly, the more impressive feat than qualifying for the World Cup would be losing by six in Costa Rica, and even then the U.S.…Read more...

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant is having a sensational season. Morant has led his team to the second-best record in the NBA and they’ve eclipsed 50 wins for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign. And Memphis still has the chance to set a franchise record for regular season wins (56) with seven games remaining.…Read more...

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — N.C. State, the top seed in the Bridgeport Regional, advanced to its first Elite Eight in 24 years on Saturday, Raina Perez’s steal and fast break layup in the closing seconds put the Wolfpack ahead to stay in their 66-63 triumph over No. 4 Notre Dame which led most of the way. Despite being the…Read more...

On Oscar weekend, Space Jam: A New Legacy is being honored with a surprising distinction that has LeBron James stans flying their flags at half-mast. This isn’t a LeBron hate space, but we’ve got to keep it 100. I used to joke that LeBron would have been the perfect casting choice for Magic Johnson in HBO’s Winning…Read more...

Former NFL MVP Cam Newton’s career has been spiraling downward over the last couple of years. Last season Newton made his way back to Carolina after a stop in New England. While he’s no longer MVP Cam from 2015, a couple of teams could still utilize his skill set, even if it’s as a backup.Read more...

Triple H announcing his retirement on Friday with Stephen A. Smith was more of a confirmation than a surprise. The dude nearly died due to heart failure, after all, and he hadn’t been in the ring in three years. He’s in his 50s too, though that hasn’t stopped a host of others. And there was still a part of us that,…Read more...

The Creighton Blue Jays became just the third 10-seed to make it to the Elite Eight in the history of the women’s tournament, and the fourth double-digit seed, after steamrolling the entire state of Iowa. This March’s second-best Cinderella story (because, come on, no one’s beating the Peacocks for that title) has…Read more...

I feel like this is somehow my fault.Read more...

Sports movies often get overlooked during Oscar season. The last time a sports film won Best Picture was 2005 when Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby took home the night’s most coveted award. Since then, it’s been crickets. Some sports movies and short films have been given some recognition with lesser awards (i.e.:…Read more...

The Washington Wizards are still playing basketball, and I thought I’d inform you because you may have forgotten about them like the empty La Croix can on your coffee table that’s been there so long it’s basically a centerpiece. “Ignored garbage” is probably the most apt way to describe this team after their hot/lucky…Read more...

CHICAGO — On a night in which most of the conversation in college basketball was about Peacocks and one of Jesus’ disciplines, in Chicago, Kansas advanced to the Elite Eight because of… cognac?Read more...

There have been six double-digit seeds to make the Final Four, and St. Peter’s – after a third straight stunning win Friday night, 67-64 over third-seeded Purdue in the East Regional semifinal in Philadelphia – is one win against North Carolina on Sunday from becoming the seventh.Read more...

I’m going to make this quick because there is far too much ink and time spent on Enes Freedom, a one-trick pony on the court who learned a new trick to stay relevant off of it. He made headlines again this week by putting up 42 points and 24 rebou— err, scratch that. That’s impossible because he’s not on an NBA team…Read more...

There’s a rumor swirling around right now that could turn this blazing fire of an NFL offseason into an inferno. According to New England Sports Network’s Dale Arnold, there’s a very real possibility that Tom Brady won’t spend the 2022 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but rather with another Florida team a little…Read more...

JuJu Smith-Schuster and Jackson Mahomes was a collab no one wanted but was seemingly forced upon us when Smith-Schuster signed a one-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. Fans braced themselves for the inevitable onslaught of TikToks featuring the pair shimmying on top of memorials and/or midfield logos.

Jordan Mailata sang his ass off and probably shouldn’t have been revealed as Thingamabob on Wednesday night’s episode of FOX’s The Masked Singer. The Eagles’ offensive lineman made the transition from blocking defensive ends to singing “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi on national television.

Deshaun Watson wants to be “hands-on” in the Cleveland community — a poor choice of words, perhaps, given the 22 ongoing civil lawsuits against him for sexual misconduct.

Bugs is the best bunny left in our Sweet 16

Providence Friars head coach Ed Cooley is in the damn building — that building being, of course, Chicago’s United Center, where the Friars will face top-seeded Kansas tonight in the Sweet 16.Read more...

In the end, Gregg Berhalter did everything we asked, what most USMNT fans asked. He didn’t treat the trip to the Azteca as something to just get through. It wasn’t just a lottery spin. It wasn’t about keeping the powder dry for Sunday. Berhalter looked at the Mexico squad, looked at his, and thought, “We can win…Read more...

One of the favorite pastimes of sports enthusiasts has always been player comparisons. That’s especially true with college players heading into any professional sport. With basketball prospects, these comparisons begin in high school and follow them through college and into the NBA for those that make it.Read more...

With Opening Day slated for April 7, Major League Baseball fans are giddy with excitement to see their favorite players take the field once again. However, that doesn’t mean fans have forgotten about the lockout that threatened the cancellation of much of the 2022 season. Fans were left in limbo for over three months…Read more...

Major League Baseball may soon have another fight on its hands. There’s a reason that there was never a USFL or an ABA to challenge MLB in the 20th century. The league has always been exempt from the antitrust laws passed in the Sherman Antitrust act of 1890 that attempt to ensure open competition in the free market.…Read more...

It might be time to stop bringing grandpa around the kids. Well, I don’t know if John Stockton is technically a grandfather yet, he’s just spouting conspiracy theories and claiming to have evidence of things that didn’t happen — again.

The Miami Heat are the only NBA contender built like a UFC promotion. Knowing that it was inevitable that Heat culture nearly turned that energy inward during a lousy loss to the Golden State Warriors. Udonis Haslem threatening to beat Jimmy Butler’s ass and Eric Spoelstra asking if Butler wanted to “fight him” is the…Read more...

Complaining about officiating after a loss is one of the more annoying things that a sports fan can do. Coming from a coach or player who has just suffered a tough loss that they feel was unfairly called, the complaint may be easier to stomach, but it still doesn’t really sit right. It comes across as an excuse, a way…Read more...

Brandon Nimmo wants everyone to know that he’s “thankful” for New York mayor Eric Adams’ decision to cave in to Kyrie Irving and other giant babies who don’t care if you live or die, so long as they don’t have to get a shot, and lift the city’s vaccine mandate for athletes and performers.

Right off the bat, I know all the logic the US might keep something in reserve tonight at the Azteca vs. Mexico. The USMNT has not been able to thread the three-matches-in-seven days windows all that well. The Panama game is the real crunch one of the three this time, as a win there basically guarantees qualification…Read more...

Yesterday, the Miami Dolphins sent five draft picks to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for star receiver Tyreek Hill. While the Dolphins may not have any draft picks in the first two rounds of the 2022 draft, they still have an extra first-round and third-round pick in 2023, courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers.…Read more...

We often hear about consistency in sports, yet it feels like it’s rarely rewarded without the proper narrative or flair behind it. That’s the case for Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker. All Booker does is step on the court and average 26 points per game like clockwork for the best team in the NBA. He’s really stepped up…Read more...

If Zach LaVine and Demar DeRozan thought backup was coming in the form of Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, or Patrick Williams, they might want to try buddy-copping their way out of the jam Chicago is in now. Fake argue like Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, or mix karate with charisma like Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, or call…Read more...

The Ukrainian people aren’t losing one of their resistance fighters to protect themselves from Russia’s needless war against their country. Bellator Ukrainian welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov already has a fight on his hands and won’t defend his championship as scheduled on May 13.

Patrick Mahomes was duped.Read more...

I’m not surprised that Kevin Durant has a great deal of respect for Dirk Nowitzki’s game. Prior to Dirk becoming one of the best players in the league, all the basketball players who were bigger than most of the other basketball players were scoffed at for not playing with their back to the basket. Chris Webber and…Read more...

Update (3/24): Jorge Masvidal was arrested Wednesday night and charged with aggravated battery and criminal mischief, both felonies, for (allegedly) slugging Colby Covington twice in the face. If this truly is a pro wrestling-style work, as we hypothesize below, the level of commitment is impressive.Read more...

This can’t be the season Knicks forward Julius Randle envisioned coming off a career year where he averaged 24 points per game, led his team to the playoffs, was named Most Improved Player, and became a first time All-NBA selection. The Knicks are in 11th place in the East now, with no real chance at the postseason,…Read more...

We’ve all been down this road before, except so few want to call it what it is. It’s probably because Jimmy Butler is so eager to give the media what it wants, and that is juicy quotes and stories and also to make them feel like one of the guys. He’s happy to have them along, if not outright bring them along. Which,…Read more...

James Harden should have waited.

The coronavirus pandemic is going to wreak havoc on long-term baseball achievements for years to come. Obviously, anyone chasing career records took a hit from the 60-game season in 2020, and a lot of players were in and out of the lineup last season due to the virus. That also means interruptions to streaks, like Max…Read more...

Malik Willis played quarterback at Liberty University (yuck and yuck) for two years after transferring from Auburn. He measured in at the combine at 6½-feet tall, and in Liberty’s biggest game of the year, at Mississippi, he threw for less than 200 yards, three interceptions, and rushed for less than three yards per…Read more...