Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

April Fools’ jokes are always exhausting or unoriginal or impressively tone deaf, except when, every once in a while, they’re not. And this year, it was ESPN of all places that managed to pull off a genuinely good April Fools’ Day prank, mostly because the butt of the joke was ESPN’s resident idiot Will Cain.

The University of North Carolina released a vague and ominous statement today about their women’s basketball program, announcing that the entire coaching staff has been put on paid administrative leave while a law firm conducts a review and “assesses the culture of the women’s basketball program.” The school did not…Read more...

We see a lot of deals around the web over on Kinja Deals, but these were our ten favorites today.Read more...

The true identity of God has been a subject of much fascination and debate since the beginning of time. The Christian Bible contends that Jesus Christ is God. Old Dirty Bastard believed it was The Black Man. Others say God is actually Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi. Pope Francis, a man intimately familiar with…Read more...

At the exact moment Duke lost to Michigan State on Sunday, our sporting Borg collective went through the following thoughts, in this order and all within a second:Read more...

On Friday, Lucy Flores, a former member of the Nevada Assembly, recounted how Joe Biden made her feel “powerless” when he came up behind her, planted a kiss on her head, and smelled her hair without warning and without her consent.

The disbanding of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, and the narrowing of North American women’s hockey back down to one professional league—the USA-based NWHL—is not exactly surprising, even if the sudden announcement on Sunday may have come as a shock. For a quite a while now, the people in a position to create one…Read more...

After throwing his fist through the face of Brazilian kicking master Edson Barboza in a bout last weekend, Justin Gaethje concluded his fifth fight under the UFC banner in brief, brutal fashion. In that span, he’s scooped up six post-fight bonus awards, which somehow seems insufficient for someone as reliably violent…Read more...

Everton and England keeper Jordan Pickford, who is nearly a year removed from becoming a certified World Cup hero, returned to his home city of Sunderland, England over the weekend for a night out. Perhaps he was hoping to celebrate Everton’s 2-0 victory over West Ham with some of the local lads, but instead he got…Read more...

Don’t you dare check any luggage the next time you’re boarding a flight. If you want to take the upcoming spring and summer travel seasons by storm, consider going all in on this TravelPro Platinum Elite 21" Expandable Carry-On, now marked down to an all-time low price of $199.

There have been a number of significant hints that MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association are headed for some very combative collective bargaining in 2021, but the two sides being willing to talk about economics ahead of schedule will stand out to anyone who has ever been through this kind of…Read more...

BULVERDE, Texas — Bronc riders’ bodies are wreckage sites, but they are also evidence of lucky streaks on the roulette wheel of survival. Daryl McElroy’s body is like that. He has broken too many bones to remember. He has fractured more lumbar vertebrae than not and come perilously close to rupturing the tether to…Read more...

One of the more heartwarming stories from this NCAA Tournament, provided you can forget about the horrors surrounding Michigan State as an institution, was the big shot hit by Spartan senior Kenny Goins in their Elite Eight win against Duke. Goins, a former walk-on, nailed a three with half a minute to go that put MSU…Read more...

Vinay Pimplé doesn’t need your sympathy.

WrestleMania is Sunday! It’s time to crack open a cold one and get ready to sit in front of the television for anywhere from six to nine hours. And it’s also time for the wider public to pay attention to WWE for a week.Read more...

Joe’s New Balance Outlet is running a deal on the ultra lightweight Men’s and Women’s Fresh Foam Sport style that will speak to your soles. Right now, use promo code KINJADEALS to snag a pair in one of 12 color combinations for just $40 — that’s $10 less than what they’re currently going for on site. You’ll want to…Read more...

If you’re reading this, it is hopefully because you are interested in pitching a story to Deadspin, and you want to know exactly what a good Deadspin pitch looks like. If all goes well, you will have your answer by the time you reach the bottom of the page and will be fully prepared to send your own pitch to …Read more...

io9 It’s a Cold Day in Hell on The Walking Dead Season Finale | Kotaku Japan’s New Imperial Era Revealed For The First Time | Jalopnik The 2020 Jeep Gladiator Is Even Better Than the Wrangler Truck You Dreamed Of | Lifehacker What’s Coming and Going From Netflix the Week of April 1, 2019 | The Takeout Hear me out: KFC…Read more...

Denver’s lovable weirdo Nikola Jokic snapped on Sunday night, talking his way into an ejection late in the fourth quarter of the Nuggets’ close home loss to the Washington Wizards by getting in the face of referee James Capers over a no-call.Read more...

An Eufy RoboVac, Tide’s Eco-Box, and a McCafe Gold Box lead off Monday’s best deals from around the web.

ESPN has obtained emails and text messages that provide more information about the rape allegation made against Mavericks star Kristaps Porzingis. The alleged rape was reported to the NYPD last week by a woman who lived in Porzingis’s building when he played for the Knicks. ESPN also has the details of a handwritten…Read more...

The Blue Jays and Tigers split a four-game series to open the season. The primary highlight of the series came on Saturday, when Brandon Drury fouled off a pitch in the fourth inning. A fan behind home plate did not flinch with the ball headed straight at her head.Read more...

It is one of those historical ironies of the sport that Duke is heading home because the refs didn’t call many fouls on them. Usually, the free-throw disparity—the Blue Devils took 13 to Michigan State’s six—and perceived favoritism works in Duke’s favor. But not on Sunday, not in the closing seconds of the Spartans’…Read more...

At 43", this TCL 1080p TV is probably smaller than you’d want for your living room home theater, but it could be an awesome bedroom TV, and $170 is the best price Amazon has ever offered.

With two-and-a-half minutes remaining in regulation, Zion Williamson attracted a double-team in the post and found an open RJ Barrett at the top of the three-point arc so that his Canadian teammate could give Duke a 64-63 lead. No one knew it at the time, but that shot would wind up being the last positive…Read more...

I mean, yeah, nobody likes Joey Gallo for his defense. The Rangers outfielder is a man whose dingers are to be admired and whose mediocrity in the outfield is to be ignored if you want to fully enjoy him as a player. But somebody’s gotta play out in left for Texas, even if he represents a grave danger to his own…Read more...

It couldn’t have been easy for Auburn to believe that they could win against Kentucky today. Chuma Okeke, the hero of their Sweet 16 win over North Carolina, tore his ACL in that victory, and even with their sophomore center, the Tigers wouldn’t have been favored against a Wildcat team that had beaten them twice…Read more...

It’s easy to make a wisecrack like this article’s headline on Opening Day, when a player smashes one out of the park to begin the season. But when that statement still rings true by the time game four rolls around, the dad joke goes from silly to pretty damn special.Read more...

After two straight years of coming up short in the Elite Eight, triple-double queen Sabrina Ionescu and her Oregon Ducks finally beat a one seed in the NCAA Tournament, and with their 88-84 win over Mississippi State, they book a trip to the first Final Four in program history.Read more...

Rafael Reyna, a 47-year-old Dodgers fan, is on life support with a fractured skull and other head injuries after he was attacked in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium sometime after Friday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Cops say Reyna was punched in the head by another man and fell to the concrete.Read more...

For the first time since before their historic streak of Final Four appearances began, the Connecticut Huskies weren’t favored by the NCAA Selection Committee to win their region and advance. UConn was a surprising two seed, not a one this year, but in their Elite Eight battle today against top-seeded Louisville, the…Read more...

Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock was understandably furious after his relegation-threatened squad lost 2-1 to Chelsea on Saturday when Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored a heartbreaking late goal in the 91st minute. Once the referee signaled that the match was over with a whistle, Warnock left the technical area and went…Read more...

Liverpool got a humongous two points in the title race on Sunday when what looked like a 1-1 draw with Tottenham suddenly turned into a 2-1 win off a late own goal from Spurs defender Toby Alderweireld.Read more...

After 12 seasons of play, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League has announced that their board of directors has decided to end operations, effective May 1.Read more...

Dwyane Wade’s retirement tour came to New York for the final Madison Square Garden game of his career. In 27 minutes off the bench, he dropped 16 points, collected seven rebounds and even got a block and a steal. The Heat won the game 100-92 and Wade literally kissed the court goodbye after the final buzzer, planting…Read more...

Unbeaten British heavyweight Kash Ali got DQ-ed from his bout with David Price on Saturday, picking up his first loss in the fifth round because he inexplicably decided to bite his opponent while tackling him in the ring, neither of which you are allowed to do in boxing. The attack left a visible mark on Price’s…Read more...

A rocky first half for Virginia in their 80-75 OT win over Purdue appeared to get even worse with a couple minutes to go and the team down by four. On a Boilermaker possession, a defending Kyle Guy got tangled up with Purdue’s Eric Hunter. The UVA junior guard went down with what looked like a painful right ankle…Read more...

An ecstatic Elite Eight duel between Virginia and Purdue on Saturday night ended in Boilermaker heartbreak. Despite the superhuman efforts of junior guard Carsen Edwards, who tried with all his might to drag Purdue to the Final Four, the Cavaliers came out with an improbable 80-75 victory.Read more...

Citing a “high-ranking” source in the New York City Police Department, the New York Post reports today that former Knicks and current Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis has been accused of rape by a woman who spoke to police on Thursday. The NYPD’s Special Victims Division is investigating.Read more...

Texas Tech locked down Gonzaga in the second half and beat the Bulldogs 75-69 to earn a trip to the Final Four on Saturday, and one of the biggest plays of the game was a block from Red Raiders big man Tariq Owens on Gonzaga standout Rui Hachimura. Down by six with a minute to play, Hachimura got the ball in the…Read more...

There are goalkeeper errors, and then there are goalkeeper boners, and AC Milan’s star wonderkid between the sticks found out the difference on Saturday. 20-year-old goalie Gianluigi Donnarumma gifted Sampdoria a goal in the first minute by nonchalantly kicking the ball directly at opposing striker Grégoire Defrel,…Read more...

Sure, LeBron’s season was already more-or-less over as far back as three weeks ago, when it became clear the Lakers weren’t going to make the playoffs and LeBron’s role would be limited for the rest of the year. But L.A. made it totally official with a statement today, declaring that they’ll sit LeBron for the…Read more...

The Clippers play the Cavaliers today, and Cleveland forward Kevin Love won’t be a part of the game. If you believe the official reports, Love is out (shoulder soreness). But if you were looking at LeBron James’s Instagram this afternoon, you might be inclined to believe that Love is out (sloshed).Read more...

It’s something golf fans have been salivating about for years: Tiger Woods against Rory McIlroy, in a one-on-one match play showdown. Thanks to Woods’s well-documented decline, it felt like it would never happen—after all, the former GOAT hadn’t competed at a World Golf Championship match play event since 2013. To…Read more...

It looks so damn easy to stop, this latest entry into Lionel Messi’s lightyear-long highlight reel. The free kick from just outside the box hangs in the air for an eternity, seemingly giving the goalie, or a defender, or a fan sitting at the top of the upper deck ample time to track the ball, move towards it, and keep…Read more...

There’s no shame in losing to Manchester City, particularly if you’re a relegation side, but Fulham deserve to be heavily scrutinized for their performance on Saturday, losing 2-0 at home to the Premier League leaders. Honestly, it was so much worse than 2-0 implies; City got started with a 5th minute goal from…Read more...

At this point late in the season, it behooves the Red Wings as a franchise more to lose for Hughes than it does to play good hockey. But that hasn’t stopped Detroit’s players from winning six of their last seven games, and it hasn’t held young speedster Andreas Athanasiou back from enjoying a springtime hot streak.Read more...

The way to beat Duke is to make Tre Jones take threes, or so the thinking went until the Blue Devils’ 75-73 win over Virginia Tech on Friday night. The freshman point guard, who is now shooting 26.5 percent from long range after last night, was left to do whatever he wanted at the arc when UCF almost upset Duke in the…Read more...

Kentucky was only supposed to get 15 minutes from PJ Washington on Friday. The Wildcats’ star player had been out since spraining his left foot back on March 16, in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament against Tennessee. He had missed both of Kentucky’s first two NCAA Tournament games, a stomping of 15-seed Abilene…Read more...

It’s a unitasker, I know, but there’s just no good substitute for a pizza cutter wheel, and this model from Kitchy is one of the most popular and highly rated (4.8 stars! 2,800 reviews!) you can buy.