Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

Just in time for spring, Amazon now makes its own outdoor string lights, and you can save 20% on the strand of your choice with promo code 20KINJA.

Whether you’re sitting up in bed and reading a novel, or staying up past midnight scrolling through Twitter until you’re too upset to get to sleep, your back will thank you for buying a reading pillow.

How is Mike without Mike? Fantastic, if Mike is to be believed.Read more...

Down by four points with less than one second remaining, Virginia needed a wild finish to pull off a win against Louisville. They got it.Read more...

Fox News executive vice president John Moody—who complained about a “darker, gayer, different” U.S. Olympic team in a disastrous column last month—has retired from the network, as first reported by CNN.Read more...

Every night LeBron James plays a basketball game, there is a strong probability he does something you’ve never seen a human being do before. So here’s one of those things.Read more...

Gymnast Jacob Moore is the first male victim to join the lawsuits against Dr. Larry Nassar, Michigan State and USA Gymnastics.

Less than two hours before tip-off, the Cavaliers announced that J.R. Smith would be suspended for tonight’s game against the 76ers.Read more...

Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. Onward.Read more...

Manchester City ground Arsenal to bits this weekend in a League Cup final that was deeply embarrassing for the Gunners’ players, manager, and anyone who loves them. Today’s midweek Premier League clash at home against the same opponent offered the wounded Londoners a shot at redemption. Instead, City ran Arsenal off…Read more...

Everyone had a hearty chuckle (or gasped in horror) as James Harden extracted Wesley Johnson’s soul with a crossover last night, but The Outline’s Jeremy Gordon had an offhand joke that made us think. He said Harden’s staredown of Johnson was longer than Tom Brady’s definitely normal lips-on-lips kiss with his son.…Read more...

The Arizona-ESPN saga is continuing to heat up, and shortly after Arizona’s Sean Miller vehemently castigated ESPN’s reporting, the Worldwide Leader doubled down on its initial scoop that Miller had knowingly violated NCAA rules.Read more...

Originally published in the November, 1977 issue of Sport, and featured in the Library of America’s new basketball anthology, Basketball: Great Writing About America’s Game. It is reprinted here with permission.Read more...

INDIANAPOLIS — “This is already a degrading experience.”

I was asleep last year when Warren Beatty, who last made a good movie before the advent of the steam engine, and Faye Dunaway botched the Best Picture announcement for Moonlight. I have very few regrets about this because I just watched it on YouTube the next day and because, if you go by the analytics, sleeping…Read more...

At a press conference today, Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller read a defiant statement, denying that he’d done anything wrong and calling ESPN’s report about him being caught on FBI wiretaps discussing a $100,000 payment to then-recruit DeAndre Ayton “completely false and defamatory.”

Denali is full of shit.

By now you know that NFL Commissioner and comic book henchman Roger Goodell is planning to fine Jerry Jones $2 million for DISGRACING THE SHIELD, and that Jones plans on appealing this fine to Goodell personally. If this goes the way of every other NFL billionaire quarrel, both men will leak harsh words about one…Read more...

It’s a gray afternoon on Feb. 7 and the windows of the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, North Carolina are decorated with large, human-sized tennis balls. Crows pick through the trash near a sign announcing the symphony, and someone has vomited coleslaw in the mulch near a satellite truck. It is one of the first…Read more...

The Calgary Flames had a crummy night Wednesday as they lost 5-2 to the Colorado Avalanche, but winger Johnny Gaudreau might have had the crummiest night of all. After getting high-sticked by Blake Comeau in the third period, Johnny Hockey—do people still call him that?—inexplicably received a matching penalty for…Read more...

Yesterday’s Tottenham-Rochdale match had all the ingredients for great game. It had stakes, as an F.A. Cup knockout match; it had narrative, since it pit a Goliath of a club against a lower league David; it had drama, after it went into halftime tied at one goal apiece as Rochdale fought valiantly to keep their dream…Read more...

Yes.Read more...

You’ve likely never heard of Joshua Simmons. You certainly hadn’t heard of him when he entered his name in the NBA draft. Five years ago, at 20 years old, Simmons was on the NBA’s official early entry list, despite having played just a handful of games at a junior college 30 minutes east of Greenville, S.C. By the…Read more...

Senior White House adviser and shitty businessman Jared Kushner is the subject of a New York Times report that suggests he is exactly the kind of person you’d assume him to be: a witless and corrupt cretin desperately trying to use his elevated position in the White House to keep his failing real estate business from…Read more...

You may be thinking Zappos only does shoes, but they have a ton of apparel as well. Right now, a ton of The North Face styles (shoes included) are on sale for prices that’ll make you want to stock up. If anything, pick up some of the best touchscreen gloves out there.Read more...

Here we have Demetrius Craft of Laurel High (Md.) catching what appears to be a sudden gust of wind, being tackled by a monster from the spirit realm, or pulling off the greatest flop of the year.Read more...

The engines are already pulling away by the time we get to a reported dryer fire. There won’t be any footage of flames lapping up from the basement or smoke inhalation victims being wheeled into ambulances through the drizzling gloom—not tonight anyway. The rain makes shootings unlikely too, in Adam’s opinion, but…Read more...

James Harden did one of the meanest things you’ll ever see in a basketball game last night, when he crossed Wesley Johnson into the floor and then just stood there, for what felt like an eternity, and stared at Johnson before eventually splashing a three. Harden was asked about the long stare after the game, and…Read more...

Pick up deals on two surround sound systems, a reader-favorite Brother laser printer, $50 off a robotic vacuum, and more.Read more...

Imagine there’s a video game that you’ve played for hundreds and hundreds of hours. It’s the only game you really play. You think you’ve seen everything there is, and then one day, you see a YouTube video, or a thread on Reddit, or maybe a tweet. Someone says they’ve found something new. Someone says they’ve found a…Read more...

Gizmodo Putin Nukes Florida in New Animated Video Showing Russia’s Futuristic Weapons | Jalopnik Florida Highway Patrol Car Caught Racing A Lamborghini Aventador On Video | Lifehacker How I Lost 45 Pounds in a Year | Kotaku The Internet Reacts To Brigitte, Overwatch’s New Hero |Read more...

A thing I’d like to impress upon you is how difficult it can be to get the Patriots to comment on a story. Let alone on a story that could be characterized as gossip. Let alone on the record. Trust me, I know. That said, here’s a statement from the Patriots, via the Boston Globe:

We’re no strangers to Anker deals, but today’s Amazon Gold Box features four particularly good deals from our readers’ favorite charging accessory company.

Wesley Johnson’s poor ankles went the way of all flesh tonight, sadly before their time. James Harden—who provided half of the Rockets’ scoring in a 34-point first quarter—was responsible:

Nick Young did not come close to making this shot. Not remotely. But he played it off as if he did, and sometimes that’s all you need. Announcer Bob Fitzgerald fell for it, hard.Read more...

As part of the ongoing legal battle over claims that former Arizona football coach Rich Rodriguez serially harassed his assistant, Rodriguez’s legal team has released Arizona’s “Hideaway Book” of team rules from 2015. Rodriguez’s accuser said in her lawsuit that the Hideaway Book’s purpose was to “establish secrecy…Read more...

Much of the Miami Marlins’ roster from last season has departed, but the team’s true centerpiece—the home run sculpture in the outfield—is set to remain, at least for now. That’s not for lack of trying by CEO Derek Jeter, who’s indicated that he’s not a fan. But the fact that the statue is considered public art (due…Read more...

Texas Wesleyan has announced that head baseball coach Mike Jeffcoat is under investigation for saying that he wouldn’t recruit players from Colorado, because they cannot pass drug tests.

A mother whose daughter played volleyball under coach Rick Butler has filed a federal lawsuit against Butler and his wife, Cheryl, saying that Butler sexually abused “no fewer than six” underage girls and that the Butlers hid the abuses so their coaching business could continue. The lawsuit goes into detail about how…Read more...

Red Sox owner John Henry said last August that he would consider changing the name of Yawkey Way, since Tom Yawkey was a racist who owned the last major-league team to integrate, and also once rejected a deal for Willie Mays. Today, the team announced the switch.Read more...

The 2018 Winter Olympics are over, and there was one clear winner: Soohorang, mascot of the Pyeongchang games.

A month after ordering the entire USA Gymnastics board to resign in the wake of the Larry Nassar sex abuse case, U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun has also resigned.

It’s tough to know what to expect from Ronda Rousey in WWE, but most observers weren’t expecting much going into last weekend. Yes, she’s an Olympic medalist and past MMA champion with a long history as a wrestling fan and great respect for what the grind of pro wrestling entails. On the other hand, she’s an…Read more...

USA Today’s Sam Amick obtained a memo that Adam Silver sent to all 30 NBA teams a week ago, warning them that they faced the “swiftest and harshest response possible” from the league office if they get caught outwardly trying to lose games. The memo was sent on Feb. 21, the same day that Silver fined Mavericks owner…Read more...

INDIANAPOLIS — Greetings from the bowels of the Indiana Convention Center, where the media sausage is churning its way through the 2018 NFL scouting combine. If you just got here and can’t find the shitter, make your way toward Podium 1, where Colts general manager Chris Ballard (pictured) has wrapped up his presser,…Read more...

Kei Nishikori, you were missed. The Japanese star popped a tendon in his right wrist in mid-August, closed up shop for the year, and then sat out the Aussie Open last month. Since then he’s warmed up with some low-key Challengers, and this week entered just his second tour-level event since his injury, at Acapulco.Read more...

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert said today that injured linebacker Ryan Shazier won’t play in 2018. “He knows that, and we know that, and we’re gonna continue to support him in his recovery,” Colbert said, adding that they will keep him on the roster next year. “We know that’s a challenge, ‘cause we’ll be at 89 players and…Read more...

The Clymb has everything you could need to get outdoors and do it properly, for a whole lot less than you’d think you’d need to pay. Right now, take your pick of apparel, gear, hiking accessories, and more, and grab 15% off when you use the code KinjaFifteen, today only. With brands like Prana, Burton, Merrel, New…Read more...

Although Rob Gronkowski goes about his everyday life like an ageless high schooler, he’ll be 29 in May and has had a bunch of surgeries to his back and limbs. Add in his marketability and the fact that he’s already sealed up a Hall of Fame spot whenever he walks away from the NFL, and it’s not completely shocking that…Read more...