Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

We already knew that illegitimate Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had predictably conservative political views, god-awful taste in food, and questionable finances, but does it shock you to learn that he has bad sports takes, too?

Former University of Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson showed what the school called a “serious lack of judgement” in his hiring and retaining of a lawyer for two football players accused of sexual misconduct in 2017. That’s according to a report from Maryland student paper The Diamondback, which found out…Read more...

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

Here’s Butch Hobson, who is really mad. The Chicago Dogs skipper, who used to manage the Red Sox, was so pissed off that an umpire apparently called a strike on a check swing that he grabbed himself a bat and demonstrated how the at-bat would have gone for his player had the third strike not been called. It seems that…Read more...

If you didn’t hear about one of the biggest tennis stories of the year, let me get you caught up. I’m not talking about Novak Djokovic reemerging at Wimbledon, or the melodrama surrounding the Davis Cup, or even an unholy, and wholly unwatchable six hour match between two tall men. No, I’m talking about Uniqlo backing…Read more...

This is an intricate little piece of modern-day racial insensitivity and old-school racism, so let’s start slow. Bob Lamey, who worked as radio play-by-play announcer for the Indianapolis Colts for over 30 years, retired suddenly on Sunday. News station 13 WTHR later revealed that he had used the N-word off the air,…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. 8 Georgia.

When San Francisco Giants pitcher Derek Holland went on MLB Network’s Intentional Talk with Kevin Millar and Chris Rose on Wednesday, he chose to conduct the interview with the team’s massage therapist Haro Ogawa at his side. Holland introduced Ogawa as his “hype man,” but never used Ogawa’s name or position…Read more...

It’s Monterey Car Week, where some of the most expensive and exclusive cars ever made are displayed and auctioned off. It’s the perfect event to see automotive legends—and it’s practically begging for a heist. Here’s how you theoretically could pull it off.

After a two-year absence spent looking at boats, pretending to box, and destroying a bus with a metal barricade, Irish puncher Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC octagon is finally nigh. On Oct. 6 in Las Vegas, McGregor will meet terrifying Russian pressure wrestler Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight…Read more...

SANDUSKY, Ohio — There is more than one enormous rubber duck. I did not know this when I decided to travel to Sandusky to see one, but I can’t unlearn it now. Though there was once a bigger duck in Saint-Nazaire, France, the monstrosity anchored in Sandusky comes with a registered trademark: it is the “World’s Largest…Read more...

The following is excerpted from the team chapters of the always-excellent Football Outsiders Almanac. Buy it here as a PDF, or here in print.

According to a press release from Michigan attorney general Bill Schuette’s office, former Michigan State women’s gymnastics coach Kathie Klages has been charged with two counts of lying to investigators.Read more...

You already know the rules of engagement here. If you are out in public, you should not make a show of yourself. You should not run around naked. You should not punch people. You should not watch video on your phone without without headphones. And you should not EVER, under any circumstances, engage in a max volume…Read more...

Sperry is ready to outfit your feet in any styles of shoe worth having with an extra 30% off sale styles with the code OUTLET30. That includes the boat shoes we all know and sometimes love, snow and rain boots, and even sweaters, dresses, coats, and sunglasses.

The Athletic, the venture capital-backed digital sports media venture that’s plundering sportswriters from news organizations all over the country and has said it wants to brutally kill newspapers, finally announced on Monday that it is turning its gaze to Washington, D.C. The company’s voracious recruiting, however,…Read more...

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

At this year’s World Taekwondo Hanmadang, an annual martial arts festival held in South Korea, a team of South Korean taekwondo experts from the Kukkiwon Demonstration Team put on a hell of a show. Please enjoy these insanely athletic martial artists flying around the stage and breaking the shit out of some boards:

$40 noise canceling headphones, a handy utility cart, and the ultimate Apple Watch accessory lead off Thursday’s best deals from around the web.Read more...

Lifehacker Olive Garden Is Selling an Annual Unlimited Pasta Pass Tomorrow for $300 | Gizmodo Nikon’s Z7 and Z6 Full-Frame Mirrorless Cameras Are Finally Here, and There’s a Lot to Look Forward to | Jalopnik At $29,999, Will This 1996 Dodge Viper RT/10 Have You Shouting, Snakes Alive? | Kotaku God Of War’s New…Read more...

Have you ever watched Simone Biles do gymnastics and thought, “I need to watch her again, this time in super-slo-mo so I can really appreciate what I just watched”? If so, you’re in luck, because we’ve slowed down Biles’ performance from this weekend’s national championships (where she routed the field by more than…Read more...

Courtney Smith has said, repeatedly, that she feared her ex-husband, Zach. She said he physically and emotionally abused her, in court documents, to police officers in two different states, to two reporters, including one interview on camera, and now to Ohio State investigators. All this became public knowledge…Read more...

With big wheels and a fold-up design, these Timber Ridge carts are great for throwing in the trunk to haul gear down to the beach, or just to your kid’s soccer game. In fact, I’ve seen several people at my apartment complex using them to carry groceries in from their car, so they don’t have to make two trips. The blue…Read more...

At a little before 11 p.m. on Wednesday night, Ohio State released a “summary of findings” into what investigators found happened regarding domestic violence in the home of Courtney and Zach Smith while Zach Smith was an assistant football coach for the university, as well as what head football coach Urban Meyer, his…Read more...

According to the newly released summary of findings from Ohio State’s investigation into Urban Meyer, the OSU coach had a “concerning” first reaction to reports that he and his wife, Shelley, were both aware of Courtney Smith’s allegations of Zach Smith’s abuse in 2015. After Brett McMurphy published his report on…Read more...

A whole lot of nothing happened in Columbus for most of Wednesday as Ohio State’s Board of Trustees met to deliberate on the findings from the investigation into Urban Meyer’s handling of domestic violence allegations against his former assistant coach, Zach Smith. The meeting, which began at 9 a.m., continued…Read more...

After nearly 12 hours of meetings on Wednesday, Ohio State University announced at a nighttime press conference that Urban Meyer will be suspended for the first three games of the Ohio State season, following an investigation into his handling of domestic abuse allegations against former assistant coach Zach Smith.Read more...

Dallas Cowboys starting center Travis Frederick, who’s been with the team since he was drafted in 2013, was battling nerve irritation ahead of this season, putting his availability in doubt. In a statement posted Wednesday on Twitter, Frederick clarified the details of his situation, revealing a diagnosis that will…Read more...

During the process leading up to the 2014 NBA Draft, Baylor center Isaiah Austin’s career ended before it could even begin when he was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue. The NBA ruled that the chances of Austin’s enlarged aorta bursting were too dangerous for…Read more...

About a week after Spain’s La Liga and U.S. sports marketing firm Relevant Sports announced a deal that would see one regular season La Liga match played in the U.S. every year for the next 15 years, the Spanish league’s players have weighed in. It turns out they think the idea is trash.Read more...

The White Sox are not all that good at winning baseball games, but you have to hand it to them: they sure can cook up a stupefying baserunning highlight. In a fitting followup to yesterday’s rather odd back-to-back rundown situation, today Yolmer Sanchez got caught off third base when a grounder got sent straight to…Read more...

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

RPI, the long-bemoaned metric used to determine who’s in and who’s out of the NCAA tournament for the past 37 years, is dead.

The Japanese High School Baseball Championship—better known as the Summer Koshien—is where legends are made. A young player could do nothing else notable in the sport of baseball ever again, and still be revered as a Japanese icon should he have a world-class tournament. It’s perhaps the single most important…Read more...

In December, Larry Nassar—the former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State physician who sexually abused hundreds of women and girls under the guise of medical treatment—was sentenced for the first of three times. In that case, Nassar was sentenced to 60 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to possession of child…Read more...

Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez hasn’t pitched since June 21, in a rough one-inning appearance against the Angels. After he exited that start, Sanchez went on the 60-day DL for a bruised right finger, and he’s now touring the rehab-start circuit.Read more...

After what feels like an eternity of emotionally disintegrating in public, Bernard Tomic is somehow only 25 years old, with plenty of talent to spare, and was as recently as last season a top-30 player on tour. This season he’s been fighting to qualify for the majors, though the tortured former No. 17 player still…Read more...

Texans defensive end Christian Covington is not a particularly handsome man. He’s not an ugly man, either, just an average-looking one. Still, as unremarkable as Covington’s face may be, he does not resemble the creepy, poorly rendered avatar the folks at EA assigned him in Madden 19, as he has discovered today much…Read more...

The White Sox’s offense failed them last night as they lost 5-2 to the Twins, but they really livened up the eighth inning with some creative baserunning. Adam Engel was caught taking a big lead from first base, and really should have been thrown out, but Minnesota’s Joe Mauer nonchalantly flipped the ball past…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. 9 Wisconsin.

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

Golfers are used to having to contend with environmental hazards, from violent winds, to prehistoric swamp monsters, to fires spewed forth from the bowels of the earth. During one recent round in Massachusetts, golf aficionado Daniel Adams was confronted with the added challenge of a thieving fox. After several of his…Read more...

ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan is putting together an excellent series this week on mental health in the NBA, and today’s piece focuses on how players decide whether or not to medicate, a decision often loaded with myths and stigmas. Shane Larkin, who played backup point guard for the Celtics last season and now plays with…Read more...

Over the last month, a series of reports have detailed the squalid living and practicing conditions that players for the NWSL’s Sky Blue FC—including USWNT legend Carli Lloyd—have had to endure. As The Equalizer and Once A Metro reported in July, and Deadspin reported earlier this month, the team’s practice facility…Read more...

Papa John, the person, has constructed his latest weapon against Papa John’s, the pizza company: the blog.Read more...

Many players have scored more goals than Dimitar Berbatov, but few have scored as many flatly stunning ones, or done so with the flair and insouciance that made nearly every one of his goals legitimately preposterous. It was preposterous that any human body could, as a simple matter of physics, execute the delicate…Read more...

With the Dodgers down by three in the bottom of the ninth, Justin Turner looked like he had a sure hit to possibly spark a rally. Then Kolten Wong happened.Read more...

How do companies learn how to stay “union-free?” They are taught by consultants provided by their local Chamber of Commerce. And here is exactly what that looks like.Read more...

It’s been nearly two years since then-Vikings (and current Jets) quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a catastrophic knee injury during practice. Now, the doctor who performed the surgeries to repair Bridgewater’s ruined knee, Dan Cooper, has shared some of the details of what went down with ESPN. They are pretty…Read more...

Bob Wylie has 25 years of NFL coaching experience, with another 20 years in college and the CFL. The Browns’ offensive line coach even helps the programmers for the Madden series develop realistic-looking O-line play. According to his Browns bio, he’s also “a licensed pilot, an amateur magician and an accomplished…Read more...