Kids are captivated by the most random things, including some athletes who weren’t actually all that great. Let’s remember some guys—here are some of the Deadspin staff’s old, strange loves, with varying levels of explanation:Read more...

Tyrod Taylor and T.J. Yates, the Buffalo Bills’ starting and backup quarterbacks, are both concussed. This sounds like a job for...hold on, let me flip this card over—Keith Wenning.

A USA Gymnastics memo from 2000 that circulated on social media last week specifically advised young gymnasts to seek out Larry Nassar at night when they had problems at a training camp. Nassar, the former national team physician, has pleaded guilty to federal pornography charges and is awaiting trial on multiple …Read more...

Liverpool have spent the last generation in a strange state, a sort of high-end irrelevance. They’ve remained, for all but the topmost tier of players, a destination club—one with plentiful resources, a winning tradition, and one of the strongest fan bases in world soccer. The problem, though, is that even this…Read more...

Some people are fans of the New York Giants. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the New York Giants. This 2017 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the previews so far here.Read more...

If you’re a man who can stand upright without anything hurting, you’ve got as good a shot as anyone to win the 2017 U.S. Open. Gone are the elites usually clotting the late rounds of majors. Of the top 11 players in men’s tennis, five of them are too hurt to play: No. 11 Milos Raonic, No. 10 Kei Nishikori, No. 5 Novak…Read more...

Sexy Star, best known in the U.S. for her appearances on Lucha Underground, is being accused of intentionally injuring the arm of another wrestler, Rosemary, in an apparent shoot at a major Mexican wrestling card over the weekend.

Already at this early stage of the season, is there anyone who still thinks Arsenal’s decision to bring back Arsène Wenger was a good idea?Read more...

Art Briles, who coached the Baylor football team during a period in which his players are alleged to have committed up to 52 rapes, has found himself a new job. The CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats have just announced that Briles has been hired as an assistant head coach.

The truth can sometimes be too on the nose: The Jets are signing a safety named Armagedon Draughn, who played at four different colleges and was briefly on a CFL team. A perfect fit for a roster stricken by pestilence.Read more...

The Mariners are playing meaningful baseball late in the season and have a chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 2001. With this execution, though, they’d be lucky to hang with the Little League champs.Read more...

San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid took a knee for the national anthem during Sunday night’s preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, explaining after the game that he decided to resume his protest after conversations with Colin Kaepernick and after seeing what real “un-American” protests looked like in…Read more...

As the summer transfer window wanes and clubs are stressing over Ousmane Dembélé, Philippe Coutinho, Kylian Mbappé, Neymar, and other flashy strikers making (or not making) big moves around Europe, Torino’s 23-year-old big shot Andrea Belotti is over in Italy cooking up a storm. He’s long been linked to some of the…Read more...

Sixty-four at bats into his career, Rhys Hoskins is Babe Ruth.Read more...

io9 The Game of Thrones Finale Wasn’t Perfect, But It Made the Season a Hell of a Lot Better | Jalopnik Live News Team Covering Hurricane Harvey Saves Flooded Truck Driver’s Life | Kotaku Offensive Remarks At Sega’s Yakuza Event Cause Controversy In South Korea [Update] | Lifehacker How to Stay Safe on a Subway That’s…Read more...

Punters: Are they cool now? Marquette King and the recently retired Pat McAfee have spent the last few seasons trying to convince us that they are, and now they have the support of Bengals punter Kevin Huber.

Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, no stranger to unpaid time off, is has received a five-game suspension for a dirty hit laid on Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman in a preseason game earlier this month. The suspension would be for violating a newly installed NFL rule offering “defenseless player” protection to…Read more...

Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. There’s no one above you.Read more...

Raise your hand if you’ve heard this one before: an important Pelicans player has suffered a major injury, and the Pelicans are, as a result, screwed.Read more...

If there’s one thing baseball needs more of, it’s inside-the-park dingers. If there’s a second thing baseball needs more of, it’s mascots racing everyday jamokes around the warning track. But if there’s a third thing baseball needs more of, surely it is the triple play. The Phillies turned a delightful, confusing,…Read more...

The Mets jumped out to a quick start today in the first game of a doubleheader against the Nationals, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning against Nats rookie pitcher Erick Fedde. With the score already 3-0, Travis d’Arnaud smoked a liner foul up the line in left field, where it bounced into the stands…Read more...

While many were watching one circus in a ring last night, a different, better one was taking place on Twitch. Streaming exclusively to the platform was the AAA Lucha Libre Worldwide TripleMania XXV, a spectacular wrestling event featuring high-flying maneuvers and death-defying drops.Read more...

Your vile protein shakers fill my clean heart with dread.Read more...

Floyd Mayweather went into the M Casino sportsbook Saturday afternoon and tried to plunk down $400,000 in cash on at least one bet on himself, according to this ESPN report.Read more...

Fresh off reports that the Cavs weren’t especially happy with the state of Isaiah Thomas’s injured hip, Adrian Wojnarowski last night reported that the Cavaliers will ask the Celtics to include more assets in the Kyrie Irving trade, with the threat of a veto looming over re-engaged negotiations:Read more...

“In the end,” tweeted the Times’s sports Twitter account, in the aftermath of Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s 10th-round TKO of UFC star Conor McGregor,“McGregor didn’t have enough stamina to beat the world’s best boxer.”Read more...

A Title IX complaint and a subsequent letter from a former player describe Auburn’s softball program under recently retired head coach Clint Myers as one where players were subjected to a pattern of inappropriate, sexualized attention by the coach’s son, according to an ESPNW report.

Now here’s some solid fight analysis: As Stephen A. Smith talked about how Floyd would’ve won tonight’s fight more easily if he were younger, a man in a Boston Celtics cap jumped in front of him and yelled, “Fuck the Mayweathers!” Of course.Read more...

The Big Dumb Super Fight of the century ended in a rather predictable manner after a somewhat surprising start. Conor McGregor took a few rounds off of Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who was content to play matador for the purpose of dramatic tension. McGregor landed the odd jab, but nothing really heavy landed. It was nervy…Read more...

Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. This masquerade is getting older.Read more...

Some Kentucky all-timers participated in an alumni game at Rupp Arena yesterday. The rosters were cool—Rex Chapman and Tony Delk were on the same side as Karl-Anthony Towns and Trey Lyles—and the action seems to have taken the form of your basic All-Star game: very little defense, lots of fancy passing, your basic…Read more...

Maybe it is time for the Nationals to consult a witch doctor. Their list of injuries this season is ridiculous, and now you can add to it Ryan Zimmerman, who reportedly screwed up his shoulder sliding home in the 11th inning of their Thursday night extra-innings win over the Houston Astros.Read more...

ESPN’s Chris Haynes is reporting today that Nerlens Noel will sign the qualifying offer to stay with the Dallas Mavericks, choosing to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2018 instead of signing what he apparently believed was a below-market long-term deal in restricted free agency this summer. Someday…Read more...

Albert Breer of MMQB reported today that an MRI has confirmed that Julian Edelman sufered a complete tear of the ACL in his right knee. That is almost certainly the end of his season.

Roughly one week after head coach Doug Marrone suggested that the job was up for grabs, the Jaguars starting quarterback competition has reportedly been settled. The man to lead the offense for your 2017-2018 Jacksonville Jaguars will be Blake Bortles.Read more...

There’s a fascinating boxing match on TV tonight between a faded, formerly great champion and a younger brawler with limited skills, but enough about the Cotto-Kamegai match on HBO. Instead of watching a real fight, millions will tune in for a glorified staring match between a middle-aged, retired, three-time ex-con…Read more...

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the news last night that the Cavaliers are “considering possible ramifications” after putting Isaiah Thomas through a physical after he was acquired from the Celtics in the Kyrie Irving trade.Read more...

Earlier this week, Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves filed paperwork to sever his relationship with agent Bill Duffy and BDA Sports. This is notable, in part, because Duffy had just wrapped up negotiations on a max extension for Wiggins to stay in Minnesota, reportedly a five-year, $148 million contract.…Read more...

Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. Big fight this weekend.Read more...

Terry Funk, along with being a legendary professional wrestler, deserves recognition as a sort of godfather of the Boxer vs. Other fight, a matchup of differing combat disciplines of the type that will captivate the world for however long Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Conor McGregor lasts.

Here is a picture that was posted and then quickly deleted from the Ball State football team’s Instagram page. If you are like me, you will find it very confusing:Read more...

At long last, some good news for FC Barcelona. Both Barça and Borussia Dortmund have now officially announced their agreement to send budding French superstar Ousmane Dembélé to Spain for a staggering fee that could reach as high as €145 million. And as far as news for Barça fans goes, this really couldn’t be any…Read more...

Tuesday evening, it was announced that UFC light heavyweight champion and greatest fighter of all time candidate Jon Jones failed a drug test. Again. This pissed off legions of fans, a contingent of whom have been taking it out on a game developer named Jon Jones, who—just to be clear—is not a disgraced UFC champion.

What’s there to be done when a bear crashes your barbecue and decides that he would like to enjoy some meats as well? As Josh and his buddies have demonstrated here, very little.Read more...

LAS VEGAS, Nev.—“This man needs no introduction,” said Leonard Ellerbe, longtime member of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s inner circle, before giving a very long introduction, listing off a bill of stats, records, and bona fides of the greatest active boxer. He really didn’t need an introduction, because at this point, we…Read more...

This dog may not have caught the frisbee, but he achieved flight.

Some people are fans of the Miami Dolphins. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Miami Dolphins. This 2017 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the previews so far here.Read more...

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is boxing Conor McGregor this weekend, and the whole thing is completely awesome. While the traditionalist fight press sees this simply as a capitalist exercise with an inevitable result and no titles on the line, that’s not exactly the case—at least not officially, that is.

Many people die as they live. There are the Reinhard Heydrichs who go out feeling the same pain they caused in their lives run through their urethras before the light flickers out, the King Fahds who sit in luxury as their hearts murmur then finally flatline, and the Michael Jacksons who perish in circumstances as…Read more...

Now that there’s a quarterback battle a brewin’ down in Jacksonville, what did we learn from last night’s preseason loss to the Panthers? From the Jags’ official team website (emphasis mine):Read more...