Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

Is there a better gift than a big-ass box of meat? I’m struggling to think of one. Butcher Box sells $135 e-gift cards that can be redeemed for the special holiday gift box of your giftee’s choice, and our readers can buy a card for just $120 right now with promo code KINJA.

The Rockets set a new NBA single-game record for made three-pointers Wednesday night, in a 136–118 beatdown of the lousy Wizards. The various unconscious Rockets combined to knock down 26 threes, which is one more than the Cleveland Cavaliers knocked down in an insane 25-of-46 performance against the Hawks in March…Read more...

David Fizdale has a tough job. His Knicks are 9–24 on the season. They’ve lost three straight, they’re one of the two or three worst defensive teams in basketball, and Kristaps Porzingis is out indefinitely. A lesser coach might struggle to conjure motivational messages any more vivid than “the gigantic Latvian will…Read more...

Back in May, Capitals goon Tom Wilson flattened Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Following the hit, humongous Penguins defenseman Jamie Oleksiak tried to square up with Wilson for a little fisticuffs. Wilson, perhaps noticing the way Oleksiak’s mass observably alters the…Read more...

Major League Baseball and the Cuban Baseball Federation reached an agreement Wednesday on a deal that would allow Cuban baseball players to play in America without having to defect and be smuggled into the United States. From MLB.com:Read more...

Indiana attorney general Curtis Hill filed a pair of limited objections today in USA Gymnastics’ ongoing bankruptcy case in federal court. The reason for the objections, implied by the filings and confirmed by the Indianapolis Star, is that his office is investigating the Indianapolis-based organization.

Gizmodo ‘Like Riding on a Dirt Road’: First Reviews of Elon Musk’s Underground Tunnel Are Disappointing | Jalopnik I Went to China to Race a New Car. Then Things Got Weird | Kotaku The Biggest Video Game Disappointments of 2018 | Lifehacker Why Are Rappers, YouTubers, and TV Stars Suing Epic Games Over Fortnite’s…Read more...

It’s easy to see why you—basketball reporter or blogger or TV analyst or general enthusiast not hailing from New Orleans—might salivate at the prospect at Anthony Davis and LeBron James on the same roster. I’m right there with you. It’s an enticing prospect, because it would provide a flesh-and-blood answer to a…Read more...

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

The Kansas Jayhawks under Bill Self have been so consistently good that their dominance of the Big 12 may be getting a bit boring. But if there’s ever been an especially dull Kansas squad, at least at first glance, it’s the one that’s been on the court so far this year. The Jayhawks look incredible, no doubt—they’re…Read more...

If you are anything like me, many times you have been riding the subway and have had the thought, “What is wrong with this dang subway is that it is not exponentially more expensive and slower than this.” Many times you have seethed, through clenched teeth, “Goddammit, it just churns my guts that this subway does not…Read more...

The Buffalo Bulls continued their undefeated season on Tuesday night, moving to 11-0 on the year with perhaps their most impressive win to date. After a rough start that saw them down nine early on, the Bulls rode a late charge and defeated Syracuse at the Carrier Dome 71-59. Along with an overtime win on the road at…Read more...

Reggie McKenzie is no longer there to prevent this from happening. The gods have foretold this. It is written.Read more...

Washington safety Montae Nicholson was arrested early Tuesday morning outside of World Of Beer in Ashburn, Va. and charged with assault and battery and being drunk in public. His girlfriend Sydney Maggiore was charged with malicious wounding and assault and battery, and both were taken to the Loudoun County Adult…Read more...

We’ve been fans of the BioLite FirePit Outdoor Smokeless Fire Pit Grill since it first hit Kickstarter. It’s easy to transport, minimizes smoke, is see-through for maximum fire viewing, uses wood or charcoal, and doubles as a hibachi grill. (The secret is an advanced circulation system that’s powered by a removable…Read more...

Guess what, pals? We’re starting a new series called Torch’s Old-Ass Video Game Basement, because I’m Torch, and I have a bunch of old-ass video games in my basement. Where I work, like a dirty troll. Since this is still Jalopnik, the world’s premiere webbed-site about cars and their marker lamps, I’ll be focusing on…Read more...

Brazilian skater Felipe Nunes lost both of his legs at the knee in a train accident when he was six years old. At age 13, he picked up skateboarding—at first, simply a way to get around without a wheelchair. Now, at 19, he’s one of the world’s most intriguing skateboarders, having basically reinvented the sport…Read more...

If you missed out on all the Black Friday Switch deals, there’s still time to (sort of) save right now. Amazon’s tossing in a $25 Amazon.com gift card when you buy the console today, which’ll get you nearly halfway to the mandatory copy of Smash. Or the mandatory copy of Breath of the Wild. Or Mario Odyssey. Or Mario…Read more...

The streak wasn’t mentioned much. Sure, everyone wearing a purple Eutectics hoodie on campus knew that the St. Louis College of Pharmacy men’s basketball team hadn’t won a game in four years—that sort of ineptitude earns a modicum of notoriety—but future pharmacists don’t generally spend upwards of $35,000 a year to…Read more...

Today in highly curated but genuinely heart-warming parenting moments: LeBron delivering a pick-me-up talk to teary 11-year-old son Bryce after a basketball game. The specificity really sells it:

It’s entirely possible—and would have been merciful—if you briefly blacked out under the strain of constant Trump scandals unearthed during his presidential campaign, and missed this one. If so, it’s worth rectifying that: Few scandals so better display our president’s venality, his poor business acumen, and his…Read more...

Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell was suspended 40 games by MLB last year for violating the league’s domestic violence policy. The suspension followed his ex-wife, Melisa Reidy-Russell, sharing details of the abuse she says she suffered at Russell’s hands while they were married. Now, another woman, Mallory…Read more...

2018 was the best of times, and the worst of times. We’re here to talk about that second bit, though we’re keeping things focused on video games. If we went any broader, this would take all day.

The best price we’ve seen on the latest iPad, reader-favorite travel mugs, and a huge sale on coats are here to get you over the hump.Read more...

On Sunday night, Sports Illustrated producer Jessica Smetana delivered, to no one in particular, a mild criticism of the very bad Sunday Night Football theme performed by Carrie Underwood. The musician saw it and was mad.

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine soft-bodied, sweet-passing Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as the kind of blue-chip superstar who can carry a team all by himself. Part of this is due to that aforementioned body, which manages to be both gangly and plump, and totally out of place during an era in which the NBA is ruled by…Read more...

Cold drinks in winter should be a crime. Keep your beverages toasty warm for hours on end with our readers’ most beloved Contigo’s Autoseal West Loop insulated travel mug, now on sale in Amazon’s Gold Box. Both 16- and 20-ounce mugs are available in metallic and matte finishes for $9 to $17. And while Contigo will…Read more...

Former Bills quarterback Nathan Peterman is reportedly doing the rounds this week, hoping to catch on at the bottom end of some poor team’s depth chart and begin rebuilding his football career. He worked out with the Buccaneers on Tuesday, and his tour will reportedly soon take him out west, where a certain…Read more...

The Nuggets have that glow these days. Competent role-players are oozing out of the woodwork. Dumb shots are falling. Mason Plumlee is dusting Harrison Barnes with a slick behind-the-back dribble and a lefty scoop layup to beat the buzzer and put a goofy exclamation point on a 74-point first half, wait what—Read more...

Let’s face the facts; you don’t need the iPad Pro. The standard 2018 iPad is a terrific tablet for both consuming and creating media. (And it works with the Apple Pencil, the first non-Pro model to do so.)Read more...

They say that in times of intense stress, human beings can manage to perform impossible, superhuman feats of “hysterical strength.” I can’t think of a more terrifying situation than seeing LeBron James barreling directly at you with eyes on a monster slam, but for young Brooklyn Nets big man Jarrett Allen, adrenaline…Read more...

We are used to Zion Williamson’s rare combination of dump truck size and comic book athleticism putting the opposition in grave danger, but this is maybe the first sign that young Zion can truly fuck himself up if he isn’t real careful out there:Read more...

Tennessee’s 102-92 victory over Memphis on Saturday featured a very chill imitation of a scuffle between the two teams in the final minute. A few days after the game, however, this once-lean beef is starting to look pretty appetizing. At his Tuesday press conference, Memphis first-year coach Penny Hardaway threw some…Read more...

AZ Alkmaar plastered PEC Zwolle in the Dutch Cup today by a score of 5-0. However, due to some wicked backspin and an insanely precise smack off the crossbar and the possible imposition of dark magic, AZ forward Mats Seuntjins’s 15th-minute strike somehow was not one of those five goals:Read more...

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

I’m as guilty as anyone of stockpiling unused tech accessories in my drawers, but a new charging accessory company called Nimble really made me stop and think about where all this stuff comes from, and where it goes when we’re done with it. And yeah, they also make good products.

Over at The Athletic, author Robert Andrew Powell wrote an entertaining and comprehensive story about Mike Piazza’s disastrous two-year tenure as owner of third-tier Italian soccer team Reggio Emilia, and it has everything: Piazza’s obvious desire to recapture the thrill of his playing days (Piazza after a game: “I’ve…Read more...

Jim Nantz is too fundamentally bland as a human for a conflict of interest to be concerning, but what fresh hell was this? During Sunday’s Patriots-Steelers game, the CBS broadcaster betrayed his WASPy exterior with an ejaculated moment of unrestrained happiness for his good chum Tom Brady. “Mr. Cool”? What?

In the nine years since Monopoly-man-come-to-life Joe Ricketts and his cartoonishly wealthy progeny purchased the Chicago Cubs from the Tribune Company, the Ricketts dynasty—publicly represented by 55-year-old investment banker and public transit enthusiast Tom—have found themselves in repeated disagreement with the…Read more...

Miami has arguably been hit harder by the pro sports stadium scam than any other city in America. When former Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria managed to get a publicly financed stadium built in 2012, he stuck Miami-Dade County with a stupefying bill that will eventually cost taxpayers $2.4 billion. Given these…Read more...

Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie—who after a patchy early career just inked a three-year, $34 million extension with Brooklyn, and seems to be a generally hilarious dude—has a refreshing worldview on the brands. Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic wrote about the population of NBA players who navigate the league without a…Read more...

Today, we’re talking about chuds, Nick Foles, Home Depot, overpopulation, and more.Read more...

University of Toledo freshman Maison Hullibarger killed himself on Dec. 4. He was 18. Hullibarger’s Dec. 8 funeral in Michigan was spoiled by not only the Catholic priest overseeing the service, but his former high school football coach who wasn’t invited. Quite a team effort.Read more...

This excerpt from Sam Anderson’s new book Boom Town, a book on the rapid rise of Oklahoma City and its NBA franchise, joins the team at home for Game 46 of the 2012-13 season, and considers the least-heralded member of what looked at the time like a rising dynasty.Read more...

The Detroit Lions lost 14-13 to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, a result that guaranteed both a losing season and official elimination from the playoffs. It’s never a good thing for a team to have its season effectively ended by a one-point loss, and it is an even worse thing to have that loss come against the damn…Read more...

I once picked up the first novel in Elena Ferrante’s bestselling series, after the very impressive Argentine mother of a dear friend described the books as erotic masterpieces that can never be appreciated in America so long as they have such hideously Victorian book covers. When I abandoned this first attempt to…Read more...

Way back in January of last season, Devin Booker was ejected from a game after gently shoving Enes Kanter in the Suns’ 107-85 loss to the Knicks. Kanter, being as exhaustingly online as he is, made an insipid meme depicting Booker holding a large “L” right after the game.Read more...

It’s that time again: time to take stock of the year that was 2018. We’ll start with the nice stuff.Read more...

James Harden is one of the very best basketball players in the world and the NBA would be worse off without his handles and shooting and creative abilities. He’s also an annoying pile of crap!