Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

The Athletic, the subscription-based sports news startup aiming to make local newspaper sports sections obsolete, has all the momentum in the world. It’s raised more than $90 million in venture-capital funding, has expanded to nearly 50 cities in the U.S. and Canada, and is now launching English Premier League…Read more...

You hear stories. A man out west, they said. A healer, a powerful man, possessed with riches untold about which he is unaccountably humble. Of course, in the Guy Remembering game you hear all kinds of things. Memory is complicated, memory is variable; the story as you tell it is not as you heard it, and neither is…Read more...

Jia Tolentino, a staff writer at the New Yorker, is on the precipice of releasing her first book, Trick Mirror, a collection of acutely observed essays that is befittingly receiving a compendium of breathless reviews, many of which designate her as the Joan Didion of our time. These accolades are well deserved, of…Read more...

One of the earliest signs that the Fast and Furious film franchise has finally flown too close to the sun comes within the first 10 minutes of Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, the ninth installment in the now 18-year-old series.

It looks like Wayne Rooney’s vacation in the United States will only last 18 months. Derby County manager Phillip Cocu confirmed, per the Guardian, on Tuesday that the 33-year-old Englishman will be moving back across the Atlantic in January to join Derby as a player-coach.Read more...

The Texans and Packers held a joint practice yesterday, and as is often the case when two teams that are already grumpy from practicing every day in high temperatures get together, a fight broke out. This was different from your standard training-camp fight, though, because it was instigated by one player who was so…Read more...

The cycle’s a weird baseball thing to celebrate, as baseball things go. It’s good, obviously, because it means four hits and 10 total bases. But replacing the double with another home run would be even better. Replacing the home run with another triple would be rarer. Still, there’s something to be said for…Read more...

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The internet shared a chuckle over the weekend at the expense of actor Robbie Amell, who in a viral clip from the 2015 movie The DUFF appeared to have no actual idea how to throw a football, in a scene where he is meant to be playing a star high school quarterback. Have a look at this mess:Read more...

NBA general managers will say a lot of things to hype up or defend or justify a personnel move. Every player who changes teams suddenly becomes a hard worker, a true professional, and a locker-room leader, if only during that initial flush of excitement. But this might be a new one: Wizards general manager Tommy…Read more...

Head coach Freddie Kitchens wishes to make it known that under no circumstances will any sensitive or inside information be leaked from the Cleveland Browns organization under his watch, period. Or, at the very least, there will be hell to pay for anyone who passes such information along to the press.Read more...

It’s in the nature of a racing motorcycle to try and buck its rider off, and it’s always impressive when a rider manages to hold on for dear life when the going gets really very rough. Science can not explain how Steven Odendaal managed to hold on to his bike during last weekend’s Czech Republic Grand Prix.Read more...

Facing the reigning NL Cy Young award winner in your first ever MLB game is a tall order. Marlins rookie Isan Diaz went 0-for-2 in his first two at-bats against Jacob deGrom Monday afternoon, but in his third try, on a 1–2 count, Diaz took a mighty rip at a grooved fastball and crushed it deep to right-center. His…Read more...

Vince Carter is reportedly running it back with the Atlanta Hawks. Holy moly! He’ll turn 43 before the all-star break. He has been on this Earth over twice as long as the Hawks’ stars, John Collins (21) and Trae Young (20). In his last season with Atlanta, gray-bearded Carter logged 18 minutes a night, which he mostly…Read more...

Belgian professional cyclist Bjorg Lambrecht died this afternoon after he crashed during the third stage of the Tour de Pologne. The Lotto-Soudal rider was 22 years old.

When the news first broke of Tom Brady’s new Patriots contract, it was reported as a two-year extension, running through 2021, at $70 million. After years and years of having to write the same blog, I’m as surprised as you are that scoopsters didn’t wait for the details of the contract to see what it actually meant.…Read more...

The fee itself, as gargantuan as it is, isn’t really an issue. Manchester United are one of the few clubs in the sport for which money truly is no object, and so their decision to break the defender transfer record is no cause for alarm. If there is an issue with the Red Devils paying Leicester City £80 million for…Read more...

While Quinnen Williams was still a player at Alabama last December, he had a funny moment on press row where he overrode his impulse to say something interesting about his team’s Orange Bowl opponent, then-Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray. Now with the New York Jets, Williams is still struggling with his sound bites.Read more...

The most telling anecdote about self-styled UFC welterweight heel Colby Covington, from an ESPN profile ahead of last weekend’s fight against Robbie Lawler, was the revelation that Covington was supposed to be cut from the promotion three fights ago, even though he carried a four-fight win streak and a 7-1 record.

Will Leitch is the founder of Deadspin, and for the first year of this site’s existence, there were only two bylines: His and Rick Chandler’s. Rick has been hospitalized since a stroke last month, and he had another stroke on Friday that, according to his sister, “has left Rick in a non-responsive state.” The family…Read more...

A spokesman for the Miami Marlins apologized today for a bit of spicy Twitter banter in which the Marlins’ account blamed the Tampa Bay Rays for Steve Irwin’s death, Miami radio host Andy Slater reported.Read more...

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Surely you have your own coping strategies for getting through a long week of work: caffeine in elephantine doses, clear communication with colleagues, well-timed breaks, or steady stress-eating.Read more...

Some people are fans of the Cincinnati Bengals. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Cincinnati Bengals. This 2019 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the previews so far here.

Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown visited a foot specialist over the weekend to address an injury that has kept him from participating in most of training camp. Thanks to Brown’s Instagram page, we have a pretty good idea of the specific nature of that injury.

I do not consider Hard Knocks a part of my sport-watching schedule, so I come to this conclusion solely without bias and based entirely on the hearsay of others, minimal news reports, Antonio Brown’s balloon arrival, and the law of diminishing returns:

Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette may not have been as heralded as the organization’s other much-hyped prospect with a big-leaguer dad, but in his first week as a major-league player, the 21-year-old has shown himself to be just as worthy of attention. Toronto’s new shortstop has yet to go hitless in his first…Read more...

An on-sale smart plug, discounted Stila Cosmetics palettes, and an under-desk elliptical lead off Monday’s best deals from around the web.

Anker Roav Jump Starter Pro 1000A | $86 | Amazon | Clip the $20 coupon and use code ROAVRR44Read more...

Braves phenom Ronald Acuña Jr. had an exciting weekend against the Reds. On Friday, he hit a 463-foot homer. On Saturday, he earned the first walk-off hit of his career, smacking a ball down the left-field line to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Then on Sunday, with his team down 3-1 in the…Read more...

When times are troubled, when disasters happen, when it feels like we are facing an unfolding national crisis, it is natural to hope that our leaders, our power structure, our elected officials will come to our rescue. We need to stop hoping. They will not save us, because they don’t care.Read more...

Not on the field, mind you, where New York had the best weekend it could’ve hoped for, completing a four-game sweep of Boston to preserve the best record in the league and all but end the Red Sox’s playoff hopes by putting them 6.5 games out of the second wild card. No, the Yankees are coming apart at the seams in the…Read more...

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During the goal celebration after he scored in today’s D.C. United-Philadelphia Union match, Union midfielder Alejandro Bedoya picked up a pitch-side microphone and said into it,“Hey Congress, do something, now! End gun violence!”:

The Philadelphia Phillies filed a lawsuit on Friday against the New York company that created the team’s beloved mascot, the Phillie Phanatic, after the company threatened to make the Phanatic a “free agent” if a contract signed in 1984 was not restructured.

During a match between Zenit St. Petersburg and FC Krasnodar, Zenit supporters revealed a banner with a message to those at the head of their club that read (roughly translated): “Thank you leadership for loyalty to traditions.” The sarcastic statement was made in response to the club signing ex-Barcelona midfielder…Read more...

Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue brought his 11-day holdout to an end on Sunday and reported to training camp without the new contract he had been looking for.

Manchester City have won back-to-back FA Community Shield trophies for the first time in club history after defeating Liverpool 5-4 on penalties. Brazilian youngster Gabriel Jesus was the hero for Manchester City, scoring the winning penalty after Claudio Bravo came up big to save Giorgino Wijnadlum’s shot from the…Read more...

When a white supremacist manifesto allegedly posted by the El Paso shooting suspect first began making the rounds on Saturday night, it was hard not to feel a sense of familiarity.

The Naval Academy announced on Friday that the football team would be changing the team motto for the upcoming season from “Load the Clip” to “Win the Day,” according to a report from Chase Cook of the Capital Gazette. The change was made after reporters raised questions during the motto’s official unveiling about how…Read more...

Through 4.5 innings, the Indians had not done jack shit against the Angels on Saturday. Needing to find something that would get the home crowd excited for some 0-0 baseball, the camera operators in Cleveland panned to Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield in the hopes he would do something entertaining, and he certainly…Read more...

The tears were already rolling down Ed Reed’s face on Saturday as he prepared to unveil his bust that would physically symbolize his enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But once the cover of the bronze sculpture was removed, the emotions appeared to flow at an even heavier rate than before for the former…Read more...

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Super Cup matches are usually glorified friendlies—unless your team wins, then they’re vastly important—but they can still tell us something about the upcoming soccer season. This is doubly true when two bitter rivals battle over a trophy no one cares about, and so I’m prepared to declare Jadon Sancho the best player…Read more...

21-year-old Nick Marchington made a dream run at poker’s biggest event last month, eventually busting out on night one of the final table, cashing a cool $1,525,000 in the process. That’s when his problems began, however. According to poker website Pocket Fives, the seventh-place finisher in the 2019 World Series of…Read more...

Just a couple of days after Mets right fielder Jeff McNeil turned into Spider-Man thanks to the new extended netting in Chicago, Gio Urshela, the other New York team’s third baseman, used the netting at Yankee Stadium to snag a foul ball without toppling into the stands, saving himself and one lucky fan from a world…Read more...

Lionel Messi’s 2019 Copa América odyssey is back with a vengeance. After receiving a one-match ban for his bizarre red card alteraction with Chile’s Gary Medel, Messi has been handed a three-month ban from CONMEBOL. According to a report by AFP, Messi was banned for his comments in the wake of Argentina’s 2-0 loss to…Read more...

How much is defense worth in the NBA? According to the Golden State Warriors, the price of an elite defensive player is a cool $25 million a year. Per an Adrian Wojnarowski report, the Warriors have locked Draymond Green up with a max four-year extension, worth $100 million:Read more...

UFC president Dana White fired the latest salvo in his ongoing feud with Cris Cyborg in a video released by the company on Friday. White spends a good portion of the 17-minute video defending himself against accusations that he has bullied Cyborg, before stating quite clearly that he intends to release the 34-year-old…Read more...

Here’s another one for the Nick Kyrgios Files.Read more...