Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

According to ESPN, Baltimore Ravens president Dick Cass sent a letter to season ticket holders this week, in which he blamed a dip in attendance at least in part on the fact that Ravens players knelt during the national anthem before a game in London.

When you come into some unopened packs of early ’90s baseball cards, there’s not a whole lot you can do with them. You’re basically just out a few quarters—unless one of your joys in life is sitting on some vaguely retro furniture and trying to turn faint sparks of memory into fully formed remembrance.Read more...

The improbable unto implausible XFL revival story somehow continued to take shape on Thursday. After a week of conspicuously zero coverage from his network, ESPN’s Darren Rovell published an article on the prospective league that included a few new details. The new information was broken into two parts:

‘Twas the night before Christmas

Sage Northcutt is closing out 2017 with a bang. The unnervingly muscular UFC lightweight looked as good as he ever has in a decision win over Michel Quiñones in November, and he’s already got his next fight scheduled for February. More importantly, everyone’s favorite apple-ripping Ken doll has blessed us all with…Read more...

The Cleveland Cavaliers narrowly defeated the strangely and suddenly competent Chicago Bulls last night, and they were led, as usual, by LeBron James. He scored 34 points to go along with nine assists, and he also demonstrated elite dad abilities.

Let’s all assume you already upgraded your toothbrush, so what’s the next step to whiter teeth? Well, judging by the thousands of Whitestrips have readers have purchased over the years, I might start there. These are the Professional Effects strips which means they’re a little stronger than the typical whitening…Read more...

On Thursday, the Irish government approved a permit for a golf course owned by the Trump organization to build a sea wall to prevent erosion, and—at least in the original application—to protect against the risk of sea level rise and extreme weather due to climate change.Read more...

Because it is so cruel and so stupid, so petty and also so astonishingly vast, it is difficult to fully get a handle on the $1.5 trillion tax bill that the Republicans pushed through the House and Senate on Wednesday. A disconcerting number of little fees and insults in the bill are only now becoming known, but the…Read more...

Kotaku Catherine Remake Is Already Causing Controversy | Gizmodo Of Course Apple Is Getting Sued Over the Old iPhone Throttling Fiasco | The A.V. Club A fifth woman has accused Danny Masterson of rape | Jalopnik Parking Lot Attendant Fired After King Found In Parking Lot | Lifehacker Why You Should Always Carry $20 in…Read more...

Remington’s Shortcut Pro, cash back on select Samsung and LG OLED TVs, aromatherapy diffusers, and more wrap up the last weekday of this holiday shopping season.Read more...

The Yankees are up to their old tricks, putting together a championship-caliber club with a combination of a stocked prospect pool and deep, deep pockets. Thanks to the former, they’re reportedly on the verge of trading for starter Gerritt Cole, and thanks to the latter, Giancarlo Stanton is now in pinstripes. And…Read more...

Every year, the Pittsburgh Penguins put out their own version of a holiday classic. This year it’s A Christmas Story, and I hadn’t realized this until now but the holiday season can’t officially begin until you’ve seen Kris Letang admiring himself in a bunny suit while Phil Kessel moans, “He looks like a pink…Read more...

Time to refresh your pillows? This normally-$42 Comfortac memory foam pillow is just $32 today. It has a removable cotton cover, so you can toss that in the wash without having to wash the whole bulky pillow, and the insides are made out of shredded memory foam, for a pillow that’s not quite as dense as traditional…Read more...

If you’re enough of a daredevil to give yourself a haircut, Remington’s Shortcut Pro makes the process as simple as possible.

Broadcaster Dick Enberg died today at the age of 82 from a heart attack, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune and Associated Press.Read more...

A game in which Kristaps Porzingis went 0-for-11 from the field and no starter scored more than 14 points sounds like it should’ve been a surefire loss for the Knicks. But even though that’s exactly what happened against the Celtics tonight, this one was a win—thanks to Michael Beasley, pretty much singlehandedly.Read more...

If you’ve been wondering what ex-NBA referee Tim Donaghy is up to, now that he’s no longer in prison for betting on games he officiated or writing a column for Deadspin, here’s an update: He was arrested in Florida earlier this week for allegedly threatening a man with a hammer.Read more...

Florida State went 6-6 this season, a true stinker of a campaign that all went to shit the moment Deondre Francois went down clutching his knee. At least FSU’s measly six wins afforded them the consolation prize of a bowl appearance against Southern Mississippi.

It’s been widely reported that Adrián González waived his no-trade clause before he was dealt to the Braves last weekend only because he was assured that he would be released and able to pursue free agency instantly.Read more...

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

Rarely does any scenario become worse after your dick and balls get smashed to hell. But our friend here, wearing what appears to be a Bristol City or maybe an England kit, was only beginning to get acquainted with true pain when he went airborne.

Gizmodo Man Had So Many Prostate Orgasms He Couldn’t Stop, According to New Paper | Kotaku The Biggest Video Game Disappointments Of 2017 | Two Cents How Much Should You Have Saved at Every Age? | The Takeout Sadistic YouTuber made a bunch of choir boys sing while eating ghost peppers | Jalopnik How The First Toyota…Read more...

Back in June, while he was still a Piston, Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was sentenced to 12 months probation by a Michigan judge when he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of allowing a person to operate his vehicle under the influence. He reportedly violated that probation over the summer for failing a drug and…Read more...

From The Players’ Tribune comes this genuinely affecting video showing us the moment that Isaiah Thomas found out he had been traded from the Boston Celtics to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

ESPN published an interview this afternoon with Vernon Shazier, father of the Steelers’ Ryan Shazier, who was carted off the field with a spinal injury in a game earlier this month. Like other recent updates and news about Shazier’s condition, the interview is frustratingly vague, with Vernon saying before the…Read more...

Last week, news broke that former NFL Network makeup artist Jami Cantor had filed a wrongful termination suit against the network, in which she described experiencing sexual harassment from multiple co-workers. Now another former makeup artist, Erin McParland, has come forward to tell her story to Sports Illustrated.

The NFL and NFLPA announced today in a joint statement that the Seattle Seahawks will be fined $100,000 for failing to properly apply the league’s concussion protocol after a hit on QB Russell Wilson in a Seahawks-Cardinals game on Nov. 9. This fine marks the first time that an NFL team has been disciplined for…Read more...

The Los Angeles Lakers are at a crossroads. They’ve been in a lull for five seasons now, Kobe Bryant’s 60-point salvo notwithstanding, and with the looming free agencies of Paul George and, um, that guy in Cleveland, the time has come for the young players they’ve accrued over the past few years to show that they’re…Read more...

In November, news of longtime MLB executive Bob Bowman stepping down from his position came and went. Bowman, who headed up the league’s digital media arm for 17 years, was credited with making baseball “more accessible and enjoyable to millions of fans” by commissioner Rob Manfred in a statement announcing the move.…Read more...

Even as the Jaguars started winning this season, there remained a comfort in being able to continue to clown on Blake Bortles for being Blake Bortles. But not lately. The Jags are in the playoffs for the first time since the Fred Taylor era, and they mathematically still have a chance to earn home-field advantage in a…Read more...

Drew Magary’s Thursday Afternoon NFL Dick Joke Jamboroo runs every Thursday during the NFL season. Email Drew here. Buy his book here.Read more...

This year on Christmas morning, we four adult children will emerge from our various haphazard sleeping situations, my sister and I from the double bed we traditionally share, and my brothers from their makeshift beds in the unfinished basement, or perhaps one of them will have fallen asleep on the couch the night…Read more...

Not even a dozen games into his NCAA career, Oklahoma’s Trae Young is already more valuable to his team than any other player in college basketball. The freshman point guard, born and raised in Norman, entered a program coming off an 11-20 season, and without any other can’t-miss one-and-done incoming players, Young…Read more...

MONTERREY, Mexico — When I left Monterrey in 2004, I didn’t know that I wouldn’t be back for 13 years. I knew we were moving to San Antonio, Texas. I knew that the Harry Potter movie that had just come out, the one directed by a Mexican, was the best one yet. But I could not have known the turn of events that would…Read more...

Over at ESPN, Ian Begley has chronicled the festering relationship between former Knicks boss and unbearable weed pedant Phil Jackson and former Knicks star Carmelo Anthony. It’s a long string of satisfying anecdotes but my favorite one captures the purest essence of both characters:

Xavier Woods and his WWE tag team may have failed to regain the tag titles in the squared circle at last weekend’s Clash of Champions, but Woods fared much better a few days before in some 2-on-2 Windjammers competition. The superstar jumped into the Northeast Championship fighting game tournament and, with his…Read more...

If you have any kids (or large adult Nerf gun lovers) left on your holiday shopping list, Amazon’s pushing out one last big toy sale for the holidays, with discounts on action figures, board games, and more. Just remember that these prices are only available today, or until sold out.

For the long-suffering Pittsburgh Steeler fans watching the 1972 AFC playoff game, the season appeared to be over. Trailing 7-6 to the Oakland Raiders, the Steelers faced fourth and 10 from their own 40, with 22 seconds left in the game and no timeouts remaining.

Hey, here’s something rare: two dudes breaking down a Star Wars movie in needlessly painstaking detail. Yes, we’re still talking about The Last Jedi, and that is the subject of this week’s Deadcast.Read more...

Seahawks teammates Bobby Wagner and Earl Thomas caused a bit of a stir after last week’s loss to the Rams, when Thomas told reporters that he thought Wagner was wrong to try and play through injury and Wagner responded with a jab on Twitter.

Kotaku The Last Jedi’s Porgs Are Just Puffins, Which The Film Crew Couldn’t Get Rid Of | Jalopnik Here’s Why You Should Never Take Your Car To A Carwash | io9 Another Familiar Face Will Return for the Halloween Sequel | The A.V. Club We’re pleased to inform you that Zelda is actually the boy | Skillet How to Make…Read more...

The Oklahoma City Thunder have not been a very fun basketball team to watch this season, which is a weird thing to say about a team featuring many players who are known for doing spectacular things on a basketball court. It’s not even the 16-15 record that’s been a downer, but the gross basketball that’s produced it.

Look, I’m not judging you on the fact that you’re buying gifts less than a week before Christmas, but here we are. Amazon has a great watch sale, with brands like Casio, Nixon, Daniel Wellington, Timex, and more for to help you not have an “Oh shit” moment come the night of the 24th. But time’s a-tickin’ on this deal…Read more...

The mighty terriers of Wofford knocked off No. 5 North Carolina tonight for their first-ever win over a ranked team with a 79-75 victory.Read more...

More than two years before the serial sexual abuse of athletes by USA Gymnastic and Michigan State doctor Larry Nassar became widely known and discovered, the university failed to protect the women in his care. Police reports, originally obtained by the Lansing State Journal, show that Michigan State allowed Nassar to…Read more...

There’s an argument to be made that the ideal bat flip should be one-handed—casual, effortless, I am so good and now you must look at how little I care for you or your family or my beautiful bat.Read more...

The Turkish government is seeking a four-year prison sentence for New York Knicks center Enes Kanter for insulting president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Twitter last year, according to an ESPN report on information from a state-run news agency in Turkey.Read more...

The driver of a semi truck carrying a dumpster filled with dirt had to be taken to an Oregon hospital with “serious” but non-life threatening injuries after he crashed into the swimming pool of Portland Trail Blazers guard Evan Turner this morning. A team of at least eight rescuers worked to save the driver from the…Read more...