Deadspin: Athlete Culture

How Things Work When An Athlete Gets In Trouble

Barry Petchesky — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:55:00 EDT

Michigan State CB Chris Rucker got drunk and backed his car into another vehicle. It's the kind of thing that happens all the time, except for the part about the vehicle's owner, an MSU student, pleading with police to let Rucker go. More »

Oh, Fuck Off, Logan Morrison (Update)

Barry Petchesky — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:10:36 EDT

We generally like the Marlins outfielder. His Twitter account is refreshingly honest, and he's great at interacting with fans. But his misguided attempt to play the "I'm just an average joe" card failed, hard. More »

Rony Seikaly Partying Too Much For Hot Wife

Leitch — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 13:17:08 EDT

See that woman right there? Her name is Elsa Benitez, and she's a supermodel. She is also married to former NBA oaf Rony Seikaly. Pretty good, right? Way to go, Rony, yeah? More »

Sigh. More Mike Piazza Gay Rumors

Leitch — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 18:01:44 EDT

Honestly, we never get tired of Mike Piazza gay rumors. No, seriously. We love them. The newest one, as "printed" by our twisted sister Gawker, is that Mets catcher Mike Piazza and local weatherman Sam Champion are building a place together on the Jersey Shore. More »

Rosey Grier Knows Your Needlepoint Needs

Leitch — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 15:34:25 EDT

This is an actual, real book that came out in 1973: Needlepoint For Men, written by former NFL defensive star Rosie Grier. Flickr has all the photos, and look: You can even buy it on Amazon. More »

What? Sports Aren't Funny

Leitch — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 09:23:57 EDT

Funny" alt="Click here to read What? Sports Aren't Funny" src="http://cache.deadspin.com/assets/images/11/2005/07/small_dailyshow.jpg"/>

According to Daily Variety, which we don't have a subscription for, so we're gonna just link to someone else who heard about this, Comedy Central has just filmed a pilot for a sports program based on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart." The show would be an half-hour weekly program, and the channel — well, not actually the channel; some people who speak for the channel — says they plan on spending more energy and time on sports. More »

Here Come The Fat Dudes!

Leitch — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 11:10:45 EDT

The old fat men are returning to the sports world. One would think fat men would be comfortable in their post-sporting life; they could, you know, just sit around and eat. But former Red Sox whale Rich Garces and former Supersonics DNA machine Shawn Kemp are making their way back. Garces, "El Guapo," if you will, has re-signed with the Sox and is reportedly "big," which is comforting to hear. Kemp, on the other hand, is slimming himself down, saying he "doesn't want to be remembered as Flubber, which is a shame, because we all enjoyed remembering him as Flubber. On his official Web site, Kemp stays quiet, probably because he's busy working out and impregnanting. It's nice to see them back. Hey, Barkley, you hearing this? More »

Blind Item Guessing Game: Sports Edition!

Leitch — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 14:56:55 EDT

National radio DJ Ben Maller passes along this juicy tidbit: More »

Robinson Boozes It Up At The Wrong Time. Again

Leitch — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 14:40:41 EDT

We aren't one to talk about public drunkeness, but we still feel obliged to point out that when former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Koren Robinson decided to show up at his one-day jail sentence for a DUI conviction, well, he probably shouldn't have been drunk. Just a thought. The good news: Being currently unemployed, he doesn't have to show up for training camp this week. Whew: Another round! More »

Players Just Don't Care About Their Balls Anymore

Leitch — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 15:44:28 EDT

We may have mentioned this before, but back when we were young, untalented, jittery baseball players, we refused to wear a cup. We had a complicated explanation involving positioning and playing catcher, and, in retrospect, it doesn't make much sense. But apparently we're not alone. Slate reports that "kids are just not wearing jockstraps anymore." More »

Scrappy Podsednik Upgrading In Lady Department

Leitch — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 11:55:43 EDT

We've always liked Chicago White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik. He's small, he's scrappy, he plays hard, he steals bases, he likes to get his uniform dirty in the way that fans always like white players to get their uniform dirty. But we always liked his understatedness the most: Nothing flashy, just straight ahead hard work, or some such nonsense, we're kind of just quoting the press release here. More »

Cuckolded Red Sox Scuffle

Leitch — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 11:13:07 EDT

Controversy in Boston is nothing new, even when the Red Sox are coming off a World Series win. Outfielder Johnny Damon and soon-to-be-closer Curt Schilling have been having a minor scuffle, with Damon saying Schilling shouldn't be a closer and Schilling responding with, "Contrary to popular belief, I have done this before." But the source of the discord could be off the field, in the controversial field of scarves. More »

We Can't Imagine What She Might Have Been Upset About

Leitch — Thu, 07 Jul 2005 11:57:24 EDT

It appears O.J. Simpson spent his Independence Day getting beaten up by his ex-girlfriend. (You read that right: O.J. Simpson has had many girlfriends since 1994. That's a pretty lousy background check, if you ask us.) The woman, Christine Prody (who once told the National Enquirer that OJ confessed the murders to her), beat on O.J. and a friend of his repeatedly when he tried to give her back some old belongings. More »

NBA Stars Stand Trail For Beating Up Male Stripper. Yep.

Leitch — Thu, 07 Jul 2005 11:13:35 EDT

Somewhat underreported around these parts, the trial of NBA players Gary Payton, Sam Cassell and Jason Caffey began yesterday in Toronto. More »

Indians Gay Porn Reliever Sent Down (Again)

Leitch — Wed, 06 Jul 2005 11:17:08 EDT

A sad day in Cleveland: reliever Kazahito Tadano has been sent down to the minor leagues. Who's Tadano, you ask? Oh, how quickly you forget: Tadano is the Japanese player who had to apologize to his Indians teammates for making a gay porn film back in Japan. (That's him in the screen shot above.) More »

What Is A Groupie, Exactly?

Leitch — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 15:33:32 EDT

From a fascinating discussion on the NFL Wives Yahoo Group: More »

Terrance Shaw, Reggie Brown: DOGS!

Leitch — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 13:58:53 EDT

Today's hot topics on the NFL Wives Yahoo Group: More »

Luis Alicea Will Pee For You

Leitch — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 12:26:16 EDT

Former St. Louis Cardinals infielder Luis Alicea is now the manager of the Lowell Spinners, the Class A minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Last week, the Spinners were selected for random steroid testing. Alicea says the test wasn't too tough. More »

What Clinton Portis Likes In A "Bad Bitch"

Leitch — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 13:01:08 EDT

An update to the wht kinds of groupies does Clinton Portis like item: More »

David Beckham No Longer Fantasized About In Prison

Leitch — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 11:29:02 EDT

Apparently, athlete culture's a little different in England than it is here. Soccer "megastar" David Beckham — also, in England, you don't necessarily have to be all that good at your sport to be the most famous — lamented to the soccer press that he is losing all of his gay fans to rugby star Gavin Henson. You heard that correctly: A major athlete saying he's disappointment that more gay men don't want him. More »

This Is What You Get For Drafting Someone From Miami

Leitch — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 16:02:00 EDT

More details have come out from the arrest of Redskins safety Sean Taylor, and they're ugly. According to The Washington Post and police reports: More »

Well, If Any Of You Are Bored Tonight ...

Leitch — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 14:31:34 EDT

Via the indispensable NFL Wives Yahoo Group. Free admission for the ladies. And you can meet the Vikings' Larry Ned! Get there early! More »

The Loves Of Derek Jeter

Leitch — Tue, 21 Jun 2005 16:29:41 EDT

The enterprising folks at Yankees Critic have put together a not-quite-comprehensive-but-still-entertaining rundown of all of Derek Jeter's ladies. They even provide a lineup and scorecard, though the middle of the lineup is a little empty. Jordana Brewster leads off, followed by Lara Dutta, Vanessa Minnillo, Jessica Alba and, of course, Mariah Carey. Conspicuously missing? A-Rod, of course. More »

Kutcher, Iverson and T.O All Punk Each Other And Smile

Leitch — Tue, 21 Jun 2005 10:24:53 EDT

Remember the story of Ashton Kutcher punking Alex Rodriguez? Essentially, Kutcher and his "Punk'd" buddies pulled a prank on A-Rod where they had a Red Sox fan get all belligerant with him. Supposedly — Rodriguez refused to sign the waiver for the footage to be shown — A-Rod freaked out and became a whining, crying, angry baby. Somewhere, Kutcher has this footage in his basement, and he shows it when Bruce Willis comes by to see the kids, or P-Diddy comes by for coffee and Scrabble. More »

Clinton Portis Much More Selective Than Most NFLers, Definitely

Leitch — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 12:51:53 EDT

Redskins running back Clinton Portis might have been a disappointment for coach Joe Gibbs last year, but he apparently keeps on keeping the ladies satisfied. More »

When A Fine Isn't Really A Fine At All

Leitch — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 12:12:12 EDT

Whenever an athlete does something wrong — skip a practice, get caught with some of that ganja, stab a coach in the face — they end up either be suspended or, more often, having to a pay a fine. Typically, fans scoff at fines; players make so much that a fine is no punishment at all. More »

Eagles Ready To Party!

Leitch — Fri, 03 Jun 2005 17:20:09 EDT

The Eagles might be suffering from a bad case of quarterback-wide receiver discord, but it's not keeping the players from having a ripping some crap up. From the NFL Wives Club Yahoo Group: More »

Gays Tell Press To Get Off Niners' Back

Leitch — Fri, 03 Jun 2005 13:02:53 EDT

In the wake of all the hullabaloo and rigmarole resulting from the now-infamous 49ers' "training video, the organization has been accused of just about everything under the sun. But the fine folks at OutSports.com say that people should cut the team a break. More »

CSI: Jamal Lewis Edition

Leitch — Fri, 03 Jun 2005 12:39:29 EDT

Ravens running back Jamal Lewis was released from prison yesterday, and his reward is having to talk to a room full of reporters. (He probably wishes he had stayed in jail.) More »

Guess The Athlete!

Leitch — Thu, 02 Jun 2005 13:35:57 EDT

Which former football player said the following, during an interview with a video game Web site about the upcoming "Blitz: The League," which follows professional players' lives both on and off the field? More »

Lewis Free To Roam Backfields Again

Leitch — Thu, 02 Jun 2005 10:44:34 EDT

Our long national nightmare is over: Ravens running back Jamal Lewis is released from prison today. No word yet as to what prison tats Lewis will come out with, or whether he'll have made a very special new best friends named Bunny (or Sarge). He does want to skip his halfway house in Atlanta to head back to Ravens' minicamp, but authorities say that's unlikely. But hey. Prison. That's funny. More »

Blue Jays: All Gay, All The Time

Leitch — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 15:25:10 EDT

Say what you will about the homophobia inside locker rooms, but in team's front offices, well, whatever pays the bills. The Toronto Blue Jays have announced their plans to host Toronto Pride Day at the SkyDome on June 23. The promotion is called — no kidding — "Men With Bats." (Subhead: "They Wield Them With Pride.") As OutSports.com points out, other teams are having similar days, including the Cubs, Pirates, Phillies and Giants. (Hmm. Blue state, blue state, blue state, blue state and Canada. We won't even pretend to act surprised.) More »

How To Get Fired From Your Football PR Job

Leitch — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 14:43:22 EDT

Hoo boy. Sometimes this site writes itself. More »

Nick Lachey's Typist Really Mad

Leitch — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 09:52:37 EDT

Really Mad" alt="Click here to read Nick Lachey's Typist Really Mad" src="http://cache.deadspin.com/assets/images/11/2005/06/small_nicklachey.jpg"/>

Honestly, the city of Cincinnati just drives us crazy. On one hand, they arrest people for trying to show art. On the other, Jerry More »

That Sound You Hear Is Teri Hatcher's Rapid Footsteps

Leitch — Tue, 31 May 2005 15:37:48 EDT

A couple of weeks ago, word escaped that Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher had hooked up with former Detroit Piston and current Best Damn Sports Show co-host John Salley. Well, we don't expect that relationship to last much longer. More »

Well, At Least He's Not Fighting Anymore

Leitch — Tue, 31 May 2005 14:52:13 EDT

The show: Dancing With The Stars More »

Rose Goes In The Front, Big Guy

Leitch — Tue, 31 May 2005 10:58:38 EDT

From a profile of Mike Lieberthal in the Delaware Country Times (Pa.): More »

Another Non-Descript Gay "Comes Out"

Leitch — Fri, 27 May 2005 13:40:31 EDT

OK, we'll be honest: We're getting tired of gay athletes. What, you ask? You didn't know of any gay athletes? Well, the only gay athletes that exist, apparently, are those who play obscure sports at tiny universities. (The most only thing wrong with gay athletes is how they inspire every journalist who writes about them to think they're going to win a Pulitzer.) More »

Tell Us Where On The Doll The Coach Touched Himself

Leitch — Fri, 27 May 2005 11:12:38 EDT

From the Motivational Speaker File: Miami high school baseball coach Lazer Callazo resigned yesterday after a curious attempt to pump up his team. To quote The Miami Herald: More »

Jamal Lewis Soon To Be Nobody's Bitch

Leitch — Thu, 26 May 2005 17:12:34 EDT

We are but a week away from Jamal Lewis' freedom. On June 2, the Ravens running back will finish his four-month prison sentence for drug trafficking. Apparently he's been doing fine during incarcertion, working in the prison toolshed and checking out library books. (Right.) How will Jamal adjust to life outside? Tough to say, but we'll get a better feel for hard time was like by how loudly he yelps the first time he's knocked on his ass. (Sorry.) More »