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Barcelona played Real Valladolid on Saturday in a match remarkable not for any brilliant passages of play or spectacular goals, but instead for the atrocious state of Valladolid’s pitch, which looked more like a sand pit with a thin layer of grass sprinkled on top than a field of play befitting some of the world’s…Read more...

This season marks the 20th anniversary of the yellow first-down line, televised football’s single greatest innovation since instant replay. The yellow line has become invaluable, and more than that, has become a friend. And now apparently it’s not good enough anymore???Read more...

An increasingly prominent part of my life in 2018 is the urge to grab and cling onto anything that seems, even a little bit, like it might be the thing that Finally Defeats Donald Trump. No small portion of my day is spent managing my relationship to that urge, struggling against its downward pull, reminding myself…Read more...

Welcome to the Deadspin 25, a college football poll that strives to be more democratic and less useless than every other preseason poll. Leading up to the college football season kickoff, we will give you previews of the 25 teams that you, the readers, voted to be most worthy of writing about. Now, No. 6 Ohio State.Read more...

Glenn Greenwald telegraphed this one back in March:

Kotaku Mass Shooting At Madden Tournament In Florida [Updates: Three Confirmed Dead, Suspect Named] | io9 Wild Rumors About a Star Wars Star Joining The Batman | Jalopnik It Was Volkswagen That Wanted In on Tesla: Report | Lifehacker What’s Coming and Going From Netflix the Week of August 27, 2018 | The Takeout Ask…Read more...

Affordable furniture, streaming sticks, and your last chance to save 20% with Prime on preorder video games lead off Monday’s best deals from around the web.Read more...

Browns rookie cornerback Denzel Ward, who was taken with the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft, had to leave Friday’s preseason game against the Eagles with back spasms. According to Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, Ward is to blame for the injury because he made a “stupid” tackle.

Bengals QB Andy Dalton broke the longest playoff drought in major American pro sports last season, and gave the Bills their first postseason appearance since 1999, with a last-minute TD pass to Tyler Boyd that beat the Ravens in a meaningless game for Cincinnati. And Buffalo hasn’t stopped loving him for it.Read more...

Tom Brady cut short his contractually obligated Monday morning interview with WEEI after repeated questions about Alex Guerrero, Brady’s “guru” and business partner, and his seemingly resumed close relationship with the Patriots. It’s the second time in a month Brady has walked out when Guerrero’s name comes up, so if…Read more...

I’ll tell you what, back-to-school furniture is a whole lot nicer looking today than it was when I was in college. This one-day sale on Amazon includes mid-century modern-styled furniture, plus several mattresses, on sale for shockingly low prices. That coffee table above is only $55, and the shelves are only $29,…Read more...

College football season is here. Kids are going back to school. It’s a time to celebrate the university that you (hopefully) enjoyed spending four years at with this NCAA hoodie. Support your school and keep warm during the impending months and get up to 50% off this classic sweatshirt.

It sickens me to acknowledge this, but the dreaded Cardinals made a very cool play in today’s game in Colorado. They loaded the bases with two down in the top of the first inning against Rockies starter Tyler Anderson, with Austin Gomber at the plate, and the speedy young Harrison Bader at second base. Anderson threw…Read more...

By my count, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson was asked five different times about the status of Carson Wentz in his Sunday afternoon press conference. The first was something like “has Carson been cleared for contact,” and from there the assorted reporters tried out a few promising variations.Read more...

The Milwaukee City Attorney—a man named Grant F. Langley—surprised the Mayor and anyone with even the vaguest sense of right and wrong when he filed a court document in Sterling Brown’s civil rights lawsuit Friday placing blame for police actions that led to the disciplining of 11 different officers squarely on…Read more...

Whether you’re packing for a weekend getaway or just schlepping smelly clothes to and from the gym, four different sizes of Nike Brazilia duffel bags are on sale today on Amazon.Read more...

Kendrys Morales clubbed the bejeezus out of a Vince Velasquez fastball Sunday afternoon, sending it into the stands in right field for his 21st dinger of the season. 21 is not a huge number, but here’s what’s wild: Morales has hit more than a third of those home runs in the last seven Blue Jays games.Read more...

A shooter opened fire today during a Madden NFL 19 tournament at the GLHF Game Bar in Jacksonville, FL. Three people are confirmed dead, including the suspected shooter, while a further 11 have been injured.

DeAndre Yedlin—just too old to be considered one of the American wonderkids, but still a promising youth—played a crucial role in Chelsea’s 2–1 victory over Newcastle Sunday, scoring the decisive goal in the 88th minute to punctuate a dominant Chelsea performance. Tragically, Yedlin plays for Newcastle.Read more...

Late in the first quarter of Saturday’s Dolphins-Ravens preseason tilt, Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso brought down Maxx Williams on a short completion on third-and-17, forcing the Ravens to bring on their field goal unit. Alonso kind of rolled off of Williams, then trotted over to the sideline. The Ravens sideline:Read more...

The power went out in the bottom of the 12th inning Saturday night at Dodgers Stadium, with Matt Kemp on second base and Justin Turner at the plate. For the second time this season an outage was attributed to “a disruption in the city’s power feed to the facility,” which is the same thing as saying that the power went…Read more...

The Benton Panthers and the Bryant Hornets held their annual Salt Bowl football game Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas. The game, which drew more than 38,000 fans on a steamy 92-degree day, was going along swimmingly—Bryant was leading 28-14 in the third quarter—when what sounded like gunshots…Read more...

One week after new president Jimmy Pitaro articulated his bold new vision for the future of ESPN—neuter it and lay submissively at the feet of Roger Goodell—comes a report that Jemele Hill will be leaving the company later this week:Read more...

John McCain is dead. How will he be remembered? How should he be remembered? These are two separate questions, which is fitting, because there were always two John McCains: the vision of a selfless, honorable statesman who wasn’t afraid to fight the establishment, and the one that the rest of us actually got, which…Read more...

Senator John McCain died Saturday, over a year after he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 81.

Flyers goalie Alex Lyon will apparently wear a mask commemorating goofy M. Night Shyamalan horror flick The Sixth Sense this upcoming season.Read more...

Donald Jackson, the Alabama-based attorney paid using athletic department funds to represent two players accused by a fellow student of sexual assault, ripped the Maryland athletic department Friday, describing it as “a dysfunctional viper pit” defined by “political gamesmanship, internal backbiting and administrative…Read more...

The annual National Federation of State High School Associations survey of high school athletics was released Friday. The good news is overall high school sports participation increased for the 29th consecutive year, led by an increase of more than 15,000 participants in girls’ sports. The, uh, also good news?…Read more...

Former Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson took a beating this week from the university when it was revealed that athletic department funds were diverted to hire and retain a lawyer to represent two players accused of sexual misconduct in 2017. Now it appears that Anderson might’ve been a fall guy for the…Read more...

On Sunday, August 19, IndyCar driver Robert Wickens was airlifted from Pocono Raceway after a bad wreck that left him with orthopedic injuries, pulmonary contusions, and the need for multiple surgeries. I sat in the stands watching this happen. This is the second time in four years that I’ve seen a driver flown out…Read more...

Hot-shot heavyweight Efe Ajagba came into Friday night’s televised bout in Minneapolis a pristine 5–0 as a professional, with all five fights ending in knockouts, and four of those ending in the first round. He went to bed Friday night still undefeated, having notched his fifth first-round victory, but also with the…Read more...

That Ohio State football types are willing to bulldoze the most direct path to a resumption of business as usual should surprise exactly no one—by and large this is the approach that will most suit the kinds of all-in lunatics who throw Urban Meyer rallies and shit—but Meyer’s shameless “I’m just sorry we’re in this…Read more...

It’s not the most wide-ranging supplement sale Amazon’s ever run, but today’s Amazon Gold Box does include big savings on a handful of Vintage supplements from Old School Labs, some of which are actually Amazon’s top sellers in their respective categories. I can’t say I know much about these, but the reviews are…Read more...

Papa John’s is ready for the hurt to end. This wounded nation expected better of Papa “John” Schnatter, and his racist remarks have cut us deep. His crusade against his former company may have sprinkled red pepper flakes on the wound, but the time has come to gather around the kitchen table of forgiveness and remember…Read more...

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

Back in June, the Detroit Free Press reported that Michigan State president John Engler spiked a special issue of the alumni magazine that was supposed to focus exclusively on the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal, the victims, and the fallout. Such an issue seemed like a natural thing for the magazine given the…Read more...

It’s been a summer of historic archeological finds that have left world feeling stunned by the scope of history. These incredible discoveries have also left some with an implacable urge to eat these important specimens. Now that researchers have unearthed a perfectly preserved prehistoric foal, the ingredients for The…Read more...

Welcome to the Deadspin 25, a college football poll that strives to be more democratic and less useless than every other preseason poll. Leading up to the college football season kickoff, we will give you previews of the 25 teams that you, the readers, voted to be most worthy of writing about. Now, No. 7 Michigan.

It might not have the name recognition or cool factor of a YETI, but this 55 quart Lifetime cooler is a lot cheaper at just $97 today, and keeps ice frozen for up to seven days. It just met that threshold in this YouTube test, even when it was left outside in the hot sun. Now grab this thing and go spend a week at the…Read more...

Russian gymnastics legend Svetlana Khorkina, when she’s not busy talking about whether American gymnasts are doping and what she really thinks of WADA (hint: she likened them to a certain WWII Axis power), can be found lending her expertise to the Russian speedskating team—she’s now listed as a “specialist” for the…Read more...

Earlier this month, Marlins pitcher Jose Ureña spiced up the team’s divisional rivalry with the Braves by plunking the white-hot rookie Ronald Acuña Jr., who at the time had hit three consecutive lead-off dingers. (The HBP didn’t technically snap Acuña’s streak, although he didn’t hit a lead-off HR the next day.) The…Read more...

The New York Times reported yesterday that David Pecker, chairman of American Media Inc., which publishes the National Enquirer, has been granted immunity by the federal prosecutors investigating whether the president funneled hush money to women with whom he had affairs. Here’s how that worked, according to…Read more...

Among cycling’s three longest and most important stage races of the season, the Vuelta a España has always been the odd Grand Tour out. The Tour de France is the sports’ grandiose showcase bid for mainstream attention, while the Giro d’Italia’s extravagant pageantry and deep history have positioned it as a worthy…Read more...

Some people are fans of the Los Angeles Rams. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Los Angeles Rams. This 2018 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the previews so far here.

One day, perhaps, female athletes will be able to compete without people scrutinizing their appearance and policing their bodies. Today is not that day. As the Associated Press first reported, Serena Williams, the greatest tennis player of all time who should be able to wear whatever she damn well pleases, will no…Read more...

It’s cool when Cubs star infielder Javy Báez makes an incredible defensive play, and it is also cool when he sends a baseball howling into the sky. What’s really cool is when he does both of those things in the same game.

Are farts funny? History has long tussled with this question, and it won’t be answered today. However, if farts are or can be funny, then they are certainly funny in the story of “Paul Flart,” a 31-year-old security guard at a Florida hospital who has quietly documented his many, many farts on Instagram for the past…Read more...

On Saturday night, former UFC fighter Matt Riddle, just three and a half years into his pro wrestling career, officially made his first appearance with WWE, appearing in the front row during the NXT TakeOver live special from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. While WWE has long had an unofficial policy of telling new…Read more...

Get set for the weekend with deals on Sonos speakers, weighted blankets up to 25 pounds, truly wireless earbuds, and a lot more.Read more...

The Phoenix Mercury took down the Connecticut Sun 96-86 on the road Thursday night, advancing out of the single-elimination stage of the WNBA playoffs. Though the final score makes it appear as if the Mercury won with a little bit of comfort, their 10-0 run in the final two minutes gave them the only breathing room of…Read more...