Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

It’s generally a lot more fun to humiliate coaches for clock mistakes than praise them for managing it well, but Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh went deep into his bag of tricks on a kickoff late in the game against the Chiefs so he could save a timeout, and it was pretty dang nifty!

Falcons safety Keanu Neal suffered a pretty bad injury to his leg just before halftime against the Colts on Saturday. That much became clear when he threw his helmet in frustration and was crying by the time the training staff got to him. While the pain certainly played a part in his emotional state, what likely added…Read more...

None of us can ever know the true identities of those who play in the NFL. Shrouded in armor—with helmets covering most of their faces, and jerseys that reveal merely half of their true names—American football players work in the shadows, anonymous to all but their closest friends and family members.

Early in the first quarter of Cowboys-Dolphins, Miami quarterback Josh Rosen tried to find receiver Allen Hurns and threw a pass towards the middle of the field. Also tracking the ball was Dallas safety Jeff Heath, who collided hard with Hurns as he was going for the interception. Since neither player seemed to notice…Read more...

Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel has had a rough go of it lately. Heading into his Saturday appearance against the NL East-leading Cardinals, he had already tied his career-high for home runs given up in a season with seven. While that might not sound too bad, it’s important to keep in mind that he accomplished this feat in…Read more...

The main event of UFC Fight Night: Yair Rodríguez vs. Jeremy Stephens on Saturday night ended in a no contest after just 15 seconds when an accidental eye poke by Rodríguez on Stephens meant that the American couldn’t continue, even after the allotted five minutes of recovery time. The Mexico City crowd, who were…Read more...

On Saturday night, Antonio Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that a few teams had shown interest in signing the wide receiver—provided that Rosenhaus gave those teams updates “regarding [Brown’s] legal situation and the NFL investigation” following the player’s messy breakup with the Patriots…Read more...

Only the true East Coast degenerates—not even myself, if we’re coming clean—would have had the guts and belief to stick with UCLA’s game at Washington State after 1 a.m. Sunday morning, when the No. 19 ranked Cougars went up 49-17 on the winless Bruins midway through the third quarter. But those who toughed it out…Read more...

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Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines had their asses handed to them in a 35-14 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon. Michigan was fresh off a bye, mercifully given two weeks to prepare for the Badgers and their scary-good running back Jonathan Taylor, and it went about as poorly as it could go. Michigan was…Read more...

In his first time seeing playing action, Ole Miss backup quarterback John Rhys Plumlee led a pretty fabulous-looking comeback down the stretch against Cal Saturday afternoon. Alas, it wasn’t enough.

In the third quarter of Morgan State’s game against Army, Bears sophomore running back Demerius Goodwin caught a short pass before colliding with Army defender Cam Jones. The play, scary to watch, looks like grounds for an offensive targeting call—as the broadcast team points out, Goodwin seems to lower his helmet…Read more...

I’m not sure what’s better here: the profane exclamation, or the fact that it seems like the play-by-play broadcaster stopped what he was saying to give the fan some space to get his point across.Read more...

Early in Saturday’s game against Boston College, Rutgers quarterback Artur Sitowski connected with wide open running back Raheem Blackshear, who took off for a 74-yard touchdown and got the Scarlet Knights tied up 7-7.

University of Iowa administrators have reopened an investigation into reports of physical assault, as well as sexual and verbal abuse, against the marching band at the hands of Iowa State fans last Saturday, according to a report from Vanessa Miller of The Gazette. The decision comes after members of the band openly…Read more...

Reggie Bush, as the NCAA’s draconian sanctions of USC stipulate, has been permanently disassociated from the program; his records were never set, his wins were never won, he’s not allowed sideline access to practices and games. In fact, you’re not even allowed to think about Reggie Bush’s career at USC. Are you…Read more...

It had been a while since Joe West made his way into the spotlight, so the umpire decided that the bottom of the ninth in a one-run game was a good time to give his despised brand of officiating a solid boost. Blue Jays closer Ken Giles had just thrown a 97 mph fastball to Brett Gardner well outside of the plate on a…Read more...

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So, this is silly: The NBA Board of Governors unanimously passed a stricter package of anti-tampering rules. Small-market teams scared of voracious big-market rivals, teams recently burned in free agency, and teams who just want to vote in lockstep so as not to look suspicious—whatever their varying incentives,…Read more...

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

For the second time in as many weeks, Antonio Brown has been cut. The wide receiver played exactly one game for the Patriots before they released him today, one day after Sports Illustrated released threatening text messages Brown had sent to an artist who accused him of sexual harassment. Brown announced the news…Read more...

When one Premier League player, whose name is being protected by the authorities, walked into Natalie Wood’s hotel room last year and began to undress, he must’ve believed he was only in for another night of fun and sex with the woman for whom he’d been cheating on his partner. Instead, before the pair got down to…Read more...

During the fourth quarter of Florida’s comeback win over Kentucky last weekend, Florida QB Kyle Trask came up short on a two-point conversion attempt. As he got up from the pile, he looked behind him and stepped up to Kentucky linebacker Kash Daniel. Though it wasn’t initially clear what sparked the disagreement, it…Read more...

I didn’t know that an electric Smart car racing series existed until last night, and I’m absolutely heartbroken that I didn’t get to see the series’ Vallelunga race live. If you haven’t seen the clip yet, then strap in and get ready to see the most absurd racing accident you’ve ever seen.

Friday press conferences for NFL head coaches tend to be fast affairs. A lot of the regular beat reporters typically take the day off, and most of the salient questions usually get asked earlier in the week. Bill Belichick’s presser today—the day after Sports Illustrated’s Robert Klemko published a report about…Read more...

If all you knew of Impact Wrestling came through articles on this here website, you would probably view it as the most interesting wrestling company on earth. It was where NFL veteran DeAngelo Williams had a pro wrestling match, but it’s also a company that also has notorious difficulty converting TV viewers to paying…Read more...

Calvin Johnson sat down for an interview with Sports Illustrated to discuss his NFL career and the reasons behind his early retirement from football. Johnson comes across as a guy who is very much at peace with how his career turned out, and who isn’t shy about revealing some of the uglier aspects of playing in the…Read more...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—As much as a Bernie Sanders rally can have a theme, considering the Vermont senator has been fighting for the same things for decades, the message of Thursday’s rally at the University of North Carolina was this: Bernie Sanders can beat Donald Trump, and yes—there is a difference between him and…Read more...

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Two different-sized Instant Pots, Friends: The Complete Series, Apple AirPods 2 with Case lead off Friday’s best deals from around the web.Read more...

On Thursday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced that he was committing the world’s largest online retailer to meeting the terms of what he christened “The Climate Pledge.” Broadly outlined, signing the pledge, which Bezos hopes others will do as well, commits a company to meeting the emission reduction targets set forth…Read more...

If the catch of the year happens in a late September baseball game between the Orioles and Blue Jays that maybe a few hundred people on Earth watched live, is it still the catch of the year?

The Jaguars’ toilet party looks a little less toilety with the rise of Gardner Minshew, but Jalen Ramsey still wants out. Ramsey played and excelled in Thursday night’s 20-7 home win over Tennessee, which was and is expected to be his last game as a Jaguar after requesting a trade following a sideline confrontation…Read more...

When Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on September 20, 1999, reviews took issue with the righteousness of its lead characters Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliott Stabler (Christopher Meloni), and its dark subject matter. “I don’t think we need an entire show dedicated to the subject matter,” Rosie…Read more...

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Houston-Tulane was one of those college football matchups that, on paper, looked like its sole purpose was to serve more as gambling fodder than as a legitimate competition for each program. But, as often happens with these low-expectation games, it turned out to be quite entertaining with an ending that was pretty…Read more...

In a group chat that included his lawyer, and at least one close confidant, Antonio Brown sent threatening text messages to the artist who accused him of exposing his barely covered penis to her while she worked on a mural in his home, according to Sports Illustrated’s Robert Klemko. Brown’s messages included insults…Read more...

The legend of Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II grew on Thursday against the Titans. No, it was not because of any particularly impressive play—though he certainly had a couple of those—but instead it’s because he’s already getting the kind of calls you’d expect a future Hall of Famer to receive in just his…Read more...

Former Michigan State staffer Curtis Blackwell said under oath that three football team staffers warned head coach Mark Dantonio about serious potential issues with four-star recruit Auston Robertson before the program signed him in 2016, according to multiple reports. In 2017, Robertson was charged with third-degree…Read more...

Anthony Rizzo was thought to be done for the regular season after he rolled his ankle on a divot while trying to field a bunt on Sunday against the Pirates. Shortly after the game, the Cubs announced he would have to wear a walking boot for the duration of his recovery. But Cubs fans were given a welcome surprise on…Read more...

The start of this NFL season has been frustrating for the Broncos, who dropped their Monday night opener in Oakland then lost to the Bears because of a soft roughing-the-passer penalty on Bradley Chubb. There are many culprits to blame for the team’s general malaise on offense, and one of them is starting left…Read more...

After the Clippers pulled off this NBA offseason’s most startling move by signing Kawhi Leonard and acquiring Paul George, it was tempting to view Leonard as some devious, silent puppet master.

At first glance, the Steelers’ decision this week to trade for Dolphins defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick was a bit of a head-scratcher. Here was an 0-2 team whose franchise quarterback is now out for the season giving up a prime long-term asset—a 2020 first-round pick—in exchange for an immediate upgrade at a…Read more...

Sports radio station WJFK in D.C. reported today that Tony Wyllie has quit as Dan Snyder’s communications director to take a job with the Special Olympics. If any good PR came Snyder’s way during Wyllie’s nine-year run with Washington’s NFL team, it doesn’t come to mind. As for the gaffes on Wyllie’s watch, well, the …Read more...

Even leaving aside the headaches and nausea that are specific to the fans of the Jets and Giants, and the flu-like symptoms that universally apply to all AFC South games, watching the NFL does something to a person. You may sit down in front of a game as a normal human—again, not applicable to Jets or Giants fans—but…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.

Mike Francesa has really stepped in it this time. The sleepy goofus had a standing weekly interview with New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur every Monday on WFAN, but the relationship between grouchy radio host and grouchy organization has reached its breaking point. Shurmur said today he will no longer appear on…Read more...

Since 2017, eight women have gone to civil court and said they were sexually assaulted by the Wall Street financier Howard Rubin. One woman has since dropped her claim, but seven remain—six are suing as plaintiffs in one lawsuit in federal court, while another woman is suing on her own in state court, all in New York.…Read more...

New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán has been placed on paid administrative leave, MLB said in a statement this afternoon, as the league investigates the 27-year-old starter under their domestic violence policy. Germán’s leave could last up to seven days, after which, barring an extension, the commissioner can…Read more...