Deadspin: All-star Game

NHL All-Star Game Open Thread

Sean Newell — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:08:39 EST

Enjoy Hockey's best playing offense and chat about it all down in the comments. More »

Here Are Some Pictures From The Immigration Protests That Really Didn't Intrude Upon The All Star Game

Brian Hickey — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:15:00 EDT

Outside last night's MLB All-Star Game in Phoenix, dozens of people protested for and against an anti-immigrant law. Some of them looked funny. Some didn't. Peruse Kholood Eid's photo gallery and judge for yourself. More »

Heath Bell Is A Crazy Person

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EDT

Your morning roundup for July 13, the day we met, and then ran away from, Magnet Boy. More »

Now Photographers Working The Home Run Derby Are Planking Too

Jack Dickey — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:00:00 EDT

We've tried to stay on top of this planking thing for you guys, because it's confusing and new and stressful. Last we dropped in on sports-based planking, some wealthy—but now unemployed—NBA stars got prone on ostentatious objects (Beamers, Benzes, or Bentleys, we cannot remember which). More »

A Half-Assed Statistical Analysis Of The Half-Assed Home Run Derby's Half-Assed Announcing

David Roher | Video by Emma Carmichael — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:00:00 EDT

Chris Berman said the word "BACK" 78 times last night, 66 of which were in reference to home runs. That's about .62 "BACK"s per homer, a figure we assume is much lower than in previous years. Here's a breakdown of each player's traditional and Berman statistics (distance data from MLB.com): More »

Erotica Failed To Get Michael Morse Into The All-Star Game

Barry Petchesky — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:10:59 EDT

Your morning roundup for July 8, the day Carl Monday struck fear into the hearts of the Steroid Cartels. Photo via tipster Kal. More »

Jose Bautista Is The Greatest Canadian Hero

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:20:00 EDT

Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: Bautista does it for you, Canada. More »

Ten Players Vie For Baseball's Annual Miss Congeniality All-Star Prize

Brian Hickey — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 14:45:00 EDT

Woe are the not-quite Major League Baseball All-Stars. They have to depend on the kindness of "The Final Vote" fans who already made it clear that they didn't deem 'em Midsummer Classic worthy, but those are the thinkers dictating who gets bonuses and future-contract negotiating clout. More »

Derek Jeter Leads AL Shortstops in All-Star Voting, NL Responds By Adding Extra Infielder

David Roher — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 17:10:00 EDT

It's stupid to get angry at one particular casualty of the fans' All-Star Game voting, because they annually and reliably fail to select the deserving candidates at each position. But Derek Jeter's early accumulation of 40% more votes than the second-place AL shortstop is just too awful to let go. More »

Here's What The Dunk Contest Looks Like Without The Dumb Props

Emma Carmichael — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:30:00 EST

Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan says he is done competing in any "prop dunk contest" for NBA All-Star weekend. DeRozan finished third in Saturday's contest, and he lost out to Blake Griffin, who dunked over a car with a choir singing R. Kelly in the background, and JaVale McGee, who brought out an extra hoop so he could dunk two balls at once. Serge Ibaka, who finished last, bit down on a "lost" toy hanging from the rim and gave it to a child actor who was pretending to cry at half-court. Meanwhile, DeRozan just dunked. "I'm a dunker," he said today, and continued, More »

The All-Star Game Brought A Transcendent 37 Seconds Of Slo-Mo

Barry Petchesky — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 14:45:00 EST

Glen Wesley sounded the Hurricanes Warning Siren before yesterday's game. At the time, insignificant. But in retrospect, with the benefit of slow motion, he and the surrounding men put on an exquisite zenlike display of the human condition. [Videogum] More »

Weekend Winner: Night Of A Thousand Stars, None Of Them Trying Very Hard

Barry Petchesky — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:40:00 EST

It only seemed like there were no pro sports on this weekend. But no, there was an NHL All-Star Game and the Pro Bowl, both fun and a little pointless, even though fun's supposed to be the point. More »

Your NHL All-Star Game Open Thread

Brian Hickey — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 16:15:00 EST

Here are 10 things that the Winnipeg Free Press thinks you should look for during today's NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh. Thankfully, TSN explains how choosing sides for a sporting showcase came to resemble a Strawbridge School third-grade kickball pregame. More »

Last Night's Winner: The NL, By Default And Attrition

Barry Petchesky — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:55:41 EDT

In sports, everyone is a winner—some people just win better than others. Like the National League, finally, which gets this coveted LNW spot only because there were literally no other competitive contests in the universe last night. More »

Stephen Strasburg Shouldn't Just Make The All-Star Game — He Should Start It

Barry Petchesky — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:50:59 EDT

Much ink has been spilled and airtime devoted to the question of whether Strasburg deserves to go to Anaheim. Well, frankly, it doesn't matter worth a damn if he deserves it. More »

Last Night's Winner: Kansas City

Barry Petchesky — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:30:03 EDT

In sports, everyone is a winner—some people just win better than others. Like the good people of Kansas City, Mo., who received the 2012 MLB All-Star Game, for some reason. No clear reason, actually. More »

Teagarden Affair Once Again Exposes All-Star Voters As A Bunch Of Morons

Barry Petchesky — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:35:16 EDT

Here's your triannual reminder that sports fans are stupid, and should be protected from themselves: currently fourth in the voting for AL catcher is a player who has one measly hit on the season, and currently plays in Double-A. More »

Ridiculously Early All-Star Voting Makes A Mockery Of Popularity Contest

Barry Petchesky — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Two weeks into the season and already they want us to cast our votes? Enjoy watching Ty Wigginton, Casey McGehee and Scott Podsednik, America! And I'm sure I-Rod's going to still be hitting .500 come July. [MLB.com] More »

A Children's Treasury Of Mascots Eating People

David Matthews — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:05:01 EST

Mascots are running wild at our sporting events, both home and abroad. Who will put a stop to the madness? And why won't the music coordinators at these arenas use Temple of the Dog in place of Weird Al? More »

And The Crowd Goes Meh: A Gallery Of Bored People At The Slam Dunk Contest

Tommy Craggs — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:00:49 EST

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Gawker.TV's David Matthews watched Saturday's dunk contest and collected all the indifferent reaction shots of a crowd that seemed to think it was watching the Bob Hope Classic. Here's Dwyane Wade, dislocating his own jaw out of sheer boredom. [Gawker.TV] More »

Ichiro and Obama Talk Fashion, Of Course

Barry Petchesky — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:00:00 EDT

"I realized after seeing him today that presidents wear jeans, too. So my hope is that our skipper, [Don] Wakamatsu, was watching that and we can wear jeans on our flights as well." [MLB.com] More »

Fixing The President's Throwing Motion

Tommy Craggs — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:30:24 EDT

As you know, our commander-in-chief took the mound last night and did an excellent impression of a man trying to throw a party balloon. I asked some experts to evaluate Obama's mechanics and explain just what needed to be fixed. More »

All-Star Economics, And The NL's Futility

Barry Petchesky — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:30:00 EDT

This year's All-Stars are the biggest collection of stars in one place, but surprisingly, they're not the most expensive. And for one league, they might not even be good enough to compete with a real team. More »

It's The Obama All-Star Game Sponsored By Taco Bell

Barry Petchesky — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:40:00 EDT

No tie, no 15-inning thriller this year. Instead this year's All-Star Game will be remembered for one thing: It's All About The Roosevelts, Babay. More »

Oddsmakers Like Obama's Chances Of Not Humiliating Himself Tonight

Tommy Craggs — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:30:52 EDT

Bodog is taking prop bets on whether the president will bounce his first pitch at the All-Star Game and thus send his country spiraling into a Depression or something. At present, the moneyline's liking Obama's arm: More »

Why Pete Rose Didn't Ruin Ray Fosse's Career

Dashiell Bennett — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:15:51 EDT

No list of All-Star memories is complete without Pete Rose's decision to lower the boom on Ray Fosse, single-handedly destroying the young catcher's career in 1970. Unfortunately for the enemies of hustle, that's not quite how the story goes. More »

Finding Mustachioed Men In St. Louis Will Win You All-Star Game Tickets

Ben Cohen — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:45:00 EDT

The All-Star Game is rife with "bare-faced mortals," so the American Mustache Institute — bless their whiskers — is sponsoring a so-called Stache Dash. Find playing cards of mustachioed legends, win bleacher seats. No facial hair necessary. [AMI] More »

MLB All-Stars Voted In, Red Sox Aplenty

A.J. Daulerio — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:41:40 EDT

The All-Star rosters have almost been finalized, but there's still the online-popularity contest spot open. Vote Flyin' Hawaiian '09, if you know what's good for ya. [MLB] More »

Obama To Throw Out First Pitch At All-Star Game

Dashiell Bennett — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:00:37 EDT

He will be the first president to attend an All-Star Game since Gerald Ford, but only the third White Sox fan to get drunk and beat up a first base coach. [MLB.com] More »

Crosby Pulls Out Of All-Star Game

Dashiell Bennett — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:00:23 EST

The NHL All-Star Game loses its biggest star as Sidney Crosby will not play on Sunday. Yes, it's quite a showcase. [Fanhouse] More »

How To Ruin Your Favorite League's All-Star Game

Dashiell Bennett — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:45:19 EST

From the moment the NBA, NHL, and even the NFL opened up their 2009 All-Star Game voting to the public, folks have been trying whatever means necessary to screw with the results. Sometimes it even works! More »

The Royals Rule The All Star Game

Leitch — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 11:40:36 EDT

This is Gil Meche, the Kansas City Royals' "All-Star" for last night's game. Like Albert Pujols, he didn't get in the game. For Royals fans, this is the furthest thing from unusual. Their All-Star history is so checkered that the last Royals to get a hit in an All-Star game was ... Bo Jackson. More »

In Case You Forgot Who Was Managing The NL ...

Leitch — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 09:15:49 EDT

We only caught the last couple of innings of the All-Star game on DVR last night/this morning, so we can only conjecture forthwith that, if the last inning was any indicator, this was actually one of the fun ones. Ichiro hit an inside-the-parker, A-Rod was thrown out at home, the immortal Victor Martinez went deep. But because this was a game managed by Tony La Russa, of course, it came down to the whole story being about Tony La Russa. More »

It's Your All-Star Game Live Blog, Ya'll

Leitch — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:05:59 EDT

We run this picture, not because there's any particular reason to run it, but because it's the All-Star Game tonight, and we will never, ever tire of looking at this picture. It has been five years since the ultimate Bud Selig befuddled moment — honestly, just look at that picture again; doesn't it just make you want to laugh and dance? That's what it does to us — and it's pretty much the first, last and every image we think about it anytime the game comes back around. It makes us happy. It just does. More »

Back ... Back ... Oh, Forget It

Leitch — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 09:26:05 EDT

The best description of last night's Home Run Derby — won by Vladimir Guerrero, shown here with a friend who's a tad too excited about the whole business — was in the comments this morning: "Why does an event that has 8 participants require 9 people to cover it?" This made a certain mad sense to us. More »

Prepare For The Brain Explosion That Is The Home Run Derby

Leitch — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 17:50:38 EDT

We know we got yelled at just this morning for recycling — consider the "Year Ago In Deadspin" feature toast — but it's Home Run Derby, and that means just one thing: It's the day Chris Berman lives for, and the day the rest of us pray for a quick, merciful death. (Last year, we actually watched six Berman Derbys in a row on ESPN Classic. We're just now recovering.) More »

Dane Cook Is The Face Of Postseason Baseball

Leitch — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:05:20 EDT

If you're Major League Baseball, you have a veritable cornucopia of options of whom you should choose to serve as your postseason spokesperson. You could use Tommy Lasorda, like last year, though there's always the dangerous possibility he could ask Joe Buck to show off his swirly move. You could use old standby Scott Stapp. (We're sure he's available!) You could even take a page from the NBA and dial up David Blaine, if he isn't busy tending to his giraffes or something. More »

Vote Neshek, Everybody!

Leitch — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 14:30:59 EDT

Twins reliever Pat Neshek is having a rather outstanding year, with an ERA at 1.37 and pitching in that submarine way we always find charming. He's actually one of the five finalists for the last American League All-Star spot, voted on by fans on MLB.com. And he's unleashing his secret weapon to bring out the vote: His entertaining blog. More »

Don't Let LaRussa Drink And Select

Leitch — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 10:00:20 EDT

This is Brian Fuentes, who, until two days ago, was the closer for the Colorado Rockies. He had kind of a rough weekend; he blew saves on both Friday and Saturday, and then gave up two runs in the eighth inning Sunday after manager Clint Hurdle said he was taking the closer's job away from him. It's reasonable; he'd blown four saves in a row. More »

Somebody Was Too Blasted To Pitch In A Meaningless Game

Leitch — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 14:30:46 EDT

So you remember that whole All-Star game travesty from five years ago — yes, it has been five years now, which is kind of amazing — when they had to call the All-Star Game a tie because everyone was out of pitchers? (That game is the reason the American League has freaking home-field advantage every year now.) More »