Deadspin > Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise

Months of pre-tournament preparation, weeks of controversy and VAR and stress, days of hand-wringing—they’ve all led us here. Since the Women’s World Cup draw back in December, the United States and France, the two best teams in the world, have been on a collision course that unfortunately all but guaranteed that the…Read more...

Kevin Durant has declined the one-year player option on his contract with the Golden State Warriors, which would have paid him $31.5 million next season. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent next week. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news on Twitter.Read more...

There are 12 teams across the Big Four leagues named after birds, and to be honest, it’s a pretty raw deal for the birds. The teams get, for free: an entire graphic identity based around attractive and charismatic wildlife to put on shirts and hats and stuff to sell for a ton of money. The birds, each a marvel of…Read more...

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest and likely most disappointing son, really loves Instagram. His feed is full of tribute pictures of his father, racist or otherwise bigoted right-wing memes, and the occasional selfie. And it’s in the latter category that a pattern emerges: observe enough photos of Trump Jr. and…Read more...

In the hopefully not-too-distant future, everything will just plug straight into USB-C, and all will be good with the world. Until then, if you own a laptop or tablet that only has USB-C ports, you’re probably going to need a hub to plug in old flash drives, hard drives, monitors, and other legacy peripherals.

Wayne Farris, better known as The Honky Tonk Man, demanded Seagram’s Extra Smooth Vodka. It was 2007, and the man who made his name touring the wrestling territories and eventually the WWE with an indestructibly greasy pompadour, a Memphis jumpsuit, and a frequently weaponized acoustic guitar was getting ready to sit…Read more...

Kotaku The Human Cost Of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 | Gizmodo This Is How You’re Being Manipulated | Jalopnik American Car Companies Still Aren’t Making the Most American Cars | Lifehacker The Best iOS 13 Tricks You Haven’t Tried Yet | The Takeout Ask The Salty Waitress: How can I report an employer who’s skimming tips?Read more...

On Tuesday, a clip went viral of U.S. Women’s National Team star forward Megan Rapinoe informing a reporter that she would not be “going to the fucking White House,” should the USWNT win the World Cup. You knew right then and there that somehow, eventually, we would get a Tweet.Read more...

According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, who got his number from someone else, there is around $474 million in available cap space to be flung about the NBA this summer, more than the last two seasons combined, and his conclusion from the resultant analysis is that the most important thing a team can have in these…Read more...

The last time we checked in on freshman Vanderbilt pitcher Kumar Rocker, he had just vanquished the vile Duke Blue Devils with a 19-strikeout no-hitter that also featured some well-earned shit-talking. That start saved Vanderbilt from postseason elimination, and now they are facing off against Michigan in a three-game…Read more...

Usually we only get to hear the juicy stories behind NFL Draft machinations when someone wants to brag, about finding a hidden gem or putting one over on another team, but in all cases, it involves a successful pick. Well, this is not that, but it’s also sort of that, in the sense that Jack Del Rio wants to brag that…Read more...

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It was an extremely unimpressive night for the Cincinnati Reds, who suffered a 5–1 loss against the Angels in Anaheim. They gave up their first run of the night on a leadoff inside-the-park dinger to Tommy La Stella, and they gave up the final run of the night when Wilfredo Tovar scored from second base on a Shohei…Read more...

It is now late June, which means if you can’t at least feign excitement about a leadoff inside-the-park home run in an interleague baseball game, you are staring down a summer of relatively slim pickings, VAR-marred World Cup soccer notwithstanding. Please, before you reduce yourself to hunting for Bears OTA updates,…Read more...

I don’t know why Javy Baez (or whoever’s giving him signals) would have so much faith that a pitcher making only his third plate appearance in the major leagues would be able to hold up his end of the suicide squeeze, but the overconfidence of Baez and the pure stupidity of Willson Contreras over on second combined to…Read more...

If there’s one thing a top-heavy Western Conference contender built on the ball-dominant shot-creation of two ornery superstars locked in an “unsalvageable” personality conflict needs, it is an infusion of noted mature adult in the room and agreeable teammate Jimmy Butler. Thankfully, that is exactly what the Rockets…Read more...

An exhilarating World Cup round of 16 rematch between the Netherlands and Japan got decided in favor of the Dutch in the 90th minute, thanks to a penalty kick converted by forward Lieke Martens. The PK gave the Dutch a 2-1 win over the same team that kicked them out of the 2015 World Cup, and it put them in the…Read more...

To err is human; to forgive, divine.

There is something about a mustache that disorients a person. It is a grooming decision first and foremost, but also and in a broader sense it is a choice. Growing a bunch of hair on your upper lip and then getting like marinara sauce and old bits of cake in it is, at bottom, a decision that you make for yourself—for…Read more...

Today, we’re talking about bathroom boogers, Law & Order, forgettable football teams, office beers, and more.

NBA free-agency opens on July 1, and if the rumors and anonymous reports are to be believed, at least one big star already has his destination picked out: Kyrie Irving, on his way out of Boston, has his eyes on the Brooklyn Nets. For the Nets, signing Irving—particularly if it’s done with an eye toward adding Kevin…Read more...

Despite what our lovely commentariat might believe, we here at Deadspin do not have a quota of anti-VAR posts to hit. If it feels that way during the Women’s World Cup, it’s only because FIFA, through the kind of casually negligent behavior that typifies its treatment of the women’s game, has put its referees in an…Read more...

Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala is currently out promoting his new book, and this morning he stopped by the Breakfast Club to chat about everyone’s least favorite ESPN NBA commentator, Mark Jackson. Jackson coached the Warriors for three seasons until he was fired in 2014, one year before Steph Curry won MVP and…Read more...

Markelle Fultz, the former No. 1 pick banished from Philadelphia in favor of sunny and commercialized Central Florida, has had a quiet few months of rehabilitation. After Fultz finished up some shoulder work in California and crashed his new teammates’ party on the way to the playoffs, it seemed like he would maybe,…Read more...

What happened to James Harden and the Houston Rockets? This time last year, Harden was receiving his coronation as the league’s MVP and the Rockets were seen as the only real challengers to the Warriors’ dynasty, which they very nearly ended through an almost religious adherence to what we’ve devotionally named…Read more...

The idea, which is not an unreasonable one on its face, is to “get it right.” The less inspiring extension of that is “to avoid something horribly embarrassing.” There are examples that spring to mind when it comes to justifying VAR’s existence—the people in charge are probably thinking of moments in the vein of…Read more...

Some NFL players will tell you the league is like prison—prison with paychecks. Each well-paid inmate has a reputation for violence, and every day on the yard, someone gets shanked. Every week, a few guys get released and a few guppies show up. The guys who leave feel a sense of relief, but they soon realize they’re…Read more...

A Levi’s jeans Gold Box on Amazon, an Instant Pot egg tray, and Burrow’s customizable couches lead off Tuesday’s best deals from around the web.

Two things that we know for sure are that the New York Yankees are going to acquire some starting pitching before this year’s trade deadline, and that the Toronto Blue Jays are big-time ass. The Blue Jays are also in possession of 28-year-old starter Marcus Stroman, who, along with everyone else, seems to think he’d…Read more...

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Edinson Cavani secured Uruguay a big win over Chile yesterday with a stunning goal in the 82nd minute. The goal itself was sweet, as it meant Uruguay finished atop their group in the Copa América. But what made it even sweeter was that Cavani scored it over the guy who once stuck his fingers up Cavani’s butthole.Read more...

Early Monday evening, the Knicks briefly wrested back the crown for the New York metropolitan area’s largest tire fire. Briefly. Because only a little later Monday evening, the Mets were in the news again. And when the Mets are in the news, it’s never, ever for anything good.

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In the bottom of the eighth inning Monday night in Arizona, a young woman ran from the stands and into right field, where she appeared to awkwardly hug Dodgers superstar Cody Bellinger. Needless to say, this ended with the young woman being arrested.Read more...

Monday night Milwaukee Bucks destroyer of worlds Giannis Antetokounmpo became the first European import to win the NBA Most Valuable Player award since Dirk Nowitzki in 2007, and the first NBA player ever to win MVP after having won the NBA’s Most Improved Player, which Giannis won after the 2016–17 season. Giannis’s…Read more...

A lowlife Kansas City radio host invoked the 2012 death of Andy Reid’s son Garrett as part of an overarching criticism of Reid’s approach to personal accountability, in yet another sign that sports radio should be made illegal immediately.Read more...

Dallas Mavericks sensation Luka Dončić won Rookie of the Year honors Monday night at the annual NBA Awards, inexplicably broadcast live on TNT, which presumably ran out of rerun episodes of Bones with which to fill their primetime schedule.Read more...

Former Sacramento Kings and Miami Heat chief revenue officer Jeffrey David was sentenced to seven years in prison Monday for embezzling $13.4 million from two Kings sponsors in an arena naming rights scheme he executed in 2015. David pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges back in December.Read more...

On the same day that another New York professional sports team was punished by its league for a manager and pitcher picking a fight with a reporter over a benign salutation, the New York Knickerbockers incredibly managed to retain their crown as the pettiest and least professional team in the Big Apple. It took some…Read more...

The Mets Metsed a lot yesterday, and in response to that Metsing, they prepared some apologies today. Sadly, they Metsed those, too.

When former Canadian national team player and current TSN pundit Kaylyn Kyle criticized the USWNT for their goal celebrations during the historic 13-0 win over Thailand by saying, “I think, as a Canadian, we would just never ever think about doing something like that,” it raised the question of whether it were true…Read more...

In some MLB injury news that felt as sadly inevitable as it is disappointing, St. Louis Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks is likely out for the long-term future, as the team announced today that he tore the UCL in his right (throwing) elbow. The Cardinals said they are “determining the next course of action” for Hicks,…Read more...

Earlier this year, two California state senators introduced SB 206, much to the chagrin of NCAA bureaucrats. The bill, which is also known as the Fair Pay To Play Act, would allow college athletes to make money off of their own names, images, and likenesses starting in Jan. 2023. The state Senate approved the bill…Read more...

This weekend, Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton was filmed as he tried and failed to negotiate with a fellow traveler for a more comfortable seat on a flight from Paris to the United States. The 6-foot-5 NFL player had no choice but to go back to his standard, uncomfortable seat.Read more...

Yes, the United States beat Spain 2-1, thanks to two soft-ass penalties converted by Megan Rapinoe, to advance to the Women’s World Cup quarterfinals. And yes, we will get the clash of the titans between the USWNT and France on Friday in Paris. But it should not have been this difficult. The United States controlled…Read more...

It wasn’t the type of breezy victory that defined the USWNT’s run through the group stage, but in their first knockout game of the 2019 World Cup, the U.S. gutted out a tough, unpretty 2-1 victory against Spain in which two Megan Rapinoe penalties outweighed one disastrous defensive mistake.Read more...

If you made some relatively poor decisions this weekend, at least be thankful that they (probably) haven’t impacted your career. The same can’t be said for Mahaveer Raghunathan, a Formula Two driver who screwed up so bad at the feature race ahead of the French Grand Prix that he racked up enough penalty points to be…Read more...

IMPERIAL, Calif. — On Andy Ruiz Jr. Day in Imperial, the temperature had already climbed past 90 degrees by 9 a.m. The cooler wind that had been blowing earlier in the morning had retreated back to the Laguna Mountains to the west, whose peaks were now shrouded in a marine layer that refused to push past to cover this…Read more...

MMA rules allow fighters to use a rather comprehensive suite of techniques to knock out or choke their opponents into submission, but even in a sport this brutal, some parts of the body are off limits. I’m talking, of course, about the butthole area.

Everybody knows that WWE is in a crowded and deeply boring creative trough at the moment, but not enough people know that the “Hidden Gems” section of WWE Network, updated every Thursday morning, serves as a weekly reminder of just how good and how fun WWE wrestling can be. The section works as an enthusiastic,…Read more...