Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

The hypocrisy of Celtics guard Marcus Smart is mind-boggling.

You would have thought that after going through a disaster of an era with a phony-tough gasbag (who might also be a rapist) as a coach, the Detroit Lions would try and go the other direction. Maybe hire someone simply smart who is good at his job and might think about moving the team in the general direction of this…Read more...

There’s few things hockey fans love more than a goalie goal. You might get one per season, and they’re met with joyous celebrations, as we’ve all just seen something rare and beautiful. Like the perfect breakfast sandwich where the egg yolk runoff is still contained within the sandwich (yes, I’m hungry, why do you…Read more...

Much like a couple of nights ago, the slate tonight is thinner than your life-span when flying an airplane in Grand Theft Auto V. Seriously, even nearly eight years later I still can’t get the hang of it. Sucks when virtual condos just get in your way sometimes.Read more...

He’s commanding in the octagon, but polarizing in real life. He’s also breakable and heavily flawed. And now, Conor McGregor is being sued by the woman who accused him of sexual assault back in 2018.

We tuned in to see the return of Kyrie Irving as he was finally going to join James Harden and Kevin Durant in the most offensively-gifted trio in NBA history. What we wound up getting was a coming-out party from a rising star, as Cleveland’s Collin Sexton crashed Brooklyn’s bash as the Cavs defeated the Nets 147-135…Read more...

The NHL isn’t dealing with anything the other leagues haven’t already. On a day when the NBA had to postpone its sixth straight game for the Wizards, the NHL took the MLB route and pinned the blame on the players. Four Capital players were placed on the COVID unavailable list — Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Samsonov, Evgeni…Read more...

Philip Rivers has officially announced his retirement, capping a long career and leaving a 2020 playoff team now without a starting quarterback. The Indianapolis Colts have a very strong roster and should be considered a contender entering next year, but it will largely hinge on who will be under center.

If you emerged from the seed of Sean Patrick Flanery, it is a must that you learn self-defense.

You can always count on the hockey press to give time to a former coach who gave them time back in the day. That train is never late. One of the more archaic things about hockey, and a way it still drags miles behind, is that the press will almost always side with a coach and GM in a dispute with a player. Because…Read more...

As former wrestler and renowned social scientist The Iron Sheik once noted: “THE POLITICS AND THE WRESTLING SAME THING.” This holds true even when we zoom out to the sports world at large, where the fates of athletic luminaries often intertwine with the whims of the federal government. These whims occasionally…Read more...

We all figured this day was coming.Read more...

Joe Biden is the 46th President of the United States, which means, among other things, that we’ve reached the end of “TRUMP 45” jerseys being presented at the White House — at least by teams that visit the White House, which now figures to be a regular thing again.

The Baseball Hall of Fame punishment should come to an end.Read more...

We’ve got two and a half weeks till Super Bowl LV. Luckily, you don’t have to wait to place some prop bets.

The day is finally here. The day of change. The day of a new beginning. The day the franchise enters a new realm. The day we could finally experience new heights. A fresh start. A clean slate. A new vision.

If it feels like the Mesut Ozil and Arsenal soap opera has lasted longer than most actual soap operas, you’re not alone. It’s been over three seasons, spanned two managers (and an interim one), a couple different Arsenal regimes, and certainly countless social media posts and anonymous whispers from the club itself.…Read more...

For most of the offseason, the Toronto Blue Jays have been desperately waving money and prospects at any passerby, hoping to attract just about any available player with a pulse to come try some Tim Horton’s and Molson Dry (mmmmm...Molson Dry…). They were in on D.J. Lemahieu, Francisco Lindor, Cory Kluber, called on…Read more...

Deshaun Watson wants out of Houston.Read more...

On a day where it’s been made clear just how shitty of an arena sports can be for women, there’s also an example of the sliver of progress that has been made. Sarah Thomas will become the first woman to officiate the Super Bowl, as she was named the down judge for the NFL’s showpiece. She can look forward to having…Read more...

Stephen Curry is used to being flagrantly disrespectful on the court with his handle and ability to drain a shot from 40-plus feet. But the stray shot Acie Law caught from the two-time MVP after the Warriors’ MLK Day win against the Lakers might be Curry’s best work.

I know you’re incredibly shocked by this, but Colin Cowherd said something stupid. Again.Read more...

If you’ve been paying attention, Dan Le Batard has been subtly leaking his and his radio show’s ambitions on his own pirate platform since exiting ESPN. The functionally dysfunctional show — driven by Le Batard and disrupted by Stugotz — vaguely discussed their pending array of moves on today’s program in light of a…Read more...

It’s Trashing talking Tuesday, and today I’m trashing Saints QB Drew Brees.Read more...

There are four teams left in the quest for the Lombardi, all of whom are playing fantastic football. This weekend, we will have the NFC and AFC Championship games take place, and man are they ripe with storylines. Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers, Rodgers’ first NFC Championship game at home in Lambeau (which seems…Read more...

For some, the sporting calendar is even more off this month than normal. That’s because the Australian Open would be entertaining insomniacs, alcoholics, angry loners, and the unemployable late at night under normal circumstances. The tournament has been pushed back three weeks to better fit in Australia’s strenuous…Read more...

Jared Porter is out as general manager of the Mets, and that’s good. The new ownership in New York promised accountability, and after ESPN’s detailed report Monday night on Porter’s harassment of a reporter with dozens of text messages, including a dick pic, Porter was given the heave-ho on Tuesday morning.

The amount of fingers Kendrick Lamar tells you to put in the air during HiiiPower is higher than the amount of NBA games scheduled for tonight. Fret not, misled degenerate, that makes the evening more enticing, not less. If you subscribe to the preference of being a big fish in a small pond, these two games were made…Read more...

Jackie MacMullan is one of the world’s best sportswriters and has covered a Black league in the NBA for decades. As a woman working in a male-dominated industry, you would think she would have a good grasp on the diminished role minorities have historically played in sports.Read more...

It had been one of the few Mets offseasons with a glow. A new owner who, at least at the moment, wants to run the team like it should be run. The acquisition of possibly the most fun player in the league in Francisco Lindor. But this is the Mets, and stepping on a rake is never more than two strides away for them…Read more...

The false narrative will be ramped up.

If Martin Luther King Jr. hadn’t been assassinated by the predecessors of the political party that will misuse his quotes today, he’d have been 92, and I imagine rather pleased with the role that sports have played in society.

The Divisional Round is over, and for the 14th time, Tom Brady is on his way to a conference championship game. Brady and Aaron Rodgers will meet in the NFC Championship Game, while Josh Allen will square off with reigning Super Bowl Patrick Mahomes, as long as he’s healthy.

Nine games scheduled; we’ll see if that stands. Hopefully you’re reading this before noon, otherwise, you’ll have missed the Knicks vs. the Magic. If you did that on purpose, I’d understand. (The Knicks are pretty fun so far, though!) Anyway, we’ll begin tonight across the bridge from them in Brooklyn. Oh, and if you…Read more...

The Browns and Chiefs played a very good, entertaining, tense playoff game. It was close, came down to the last possession, and ended on one of the ballsier calls a head coach has made in a long time. It was nearly dreamland for the Browns, and the Chiefs were able to survive having the most important player in the…Read more...

Patrick Mahomes has been ruled out of the game after suffering a head injury. The QB left the field in the third quarter after a hit left him struggling to stand up.Read more...

I hate bad rules in sports. I hate them even more when they cost teams a game. I hate them even more when it potentially costs a team a playoff win. The Browns were the subject of my least favorite rule in sports – the shitty end zone fumble touchback thingy.

Perhaps no match felt weirder without fans than the biggest rivalry in English football. Usually the atmosphere for a Liverpool-Man United match can be described as overly passionate, vitriolic, psychotic, poisonous, and/or blood-thirsty. Without the 55,000 baying until their lungs shriveled and filed for retirement,…Read more...

Joe Ricketts, actual owner of the Chicago Cubs and producer of a special class of doofus-progeny, wants to get back into the news game. You can look forward to any personality that attains any popularity on this network to be shipped off as soon as they ask for a raise, replaced by a college sophomore.Read more...

Over/Under: 52Read more...

Let’s be honest, it’s not like anyone needed more ammo to have a strong distaste for the Montreal Canadiens. Their fanbase’s sense of entitlement even though the Canadiens have barely managed to cling to the label of “relevant” for 27 years since their last Cup (the last championship won in Montreal was the US’ World…Read more...

Hindsight is 20/20. But in 2021 you should’ve known to take underdogs on Wild Card Weekend and favorites in Saturday’s Divisional round.

Pam Oliver is a legend who doesn’t need anyone to defend her. She’s been producing stellar on-air work since before many of the people trolling her were even alive. But after a report during the divisional matchup between the Rams and the Packers on Saturday, many people decided to come for the broadcasting veteran.Read more...

In one week, the Bills will be in the AFC title game for the first time in 27 years, when, perhaps in a bit of foreshadowing — depending on the outcome of Sunday’s divisional playoff — Buffalo hammered Kansas City, 30-13, to advance to Super Bowl XXVIII.

The first half of the Divisional Round is done, and I am #shooketh. I thought the Rams might have the recipe to beat the Packers, and I definitely thought the Ravens would roll past the Bills.

James Harden’s debut with the Nets was a successful one, as the new Brooklyn superstar notched a triple-double with 32 points, 14 assists, and 12 rebounds in a 122-115 win over the Orlando Magic.Read more...

Hockey warmups always have a little bit of danger to them, with every player on the ice having their own puck, and everyone skating around all at once — but it’s really organized chaos. It’s not like everyone is shooting on the goalie at the same time.Read more...

James Harden might have thought that his trade from the Rockets to the Nets was a godsend. For Caris LeVert, it really might have been.Read more...

Because COVID, the NFL Scouting Combine for 2021 has been canceled. Not a big surprise. But NFL teams are going to have to get even more creative about how they analyze the skillsets and personalities of prospects for this year’s draft.Read more...

The NFL Playoffs are wonderfully bizarre this year, and I love it. As the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs kicks off later this afternoon, there are some fascinating storylines to watch – some of them can be beautifully illustrated with numbers. I previously did a breakdown of the matchups, as well as highlighted…Read more...