2007 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

![Derrick Ward pleads not guilty to robbery charges [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/35eadd976059bcfdfbd3eb25ad5d75f8.jpg)

The JaMarcus Russell story is much more complicated than you think
JaMarcus Russell really does feel like one word. That’s the way that it goes for athletes like him, Tony Mandrich, Ryan Leaf, Anthony Bennett, and Trent Richardson. The reason for that, only one word comes to mind at the thought of them: Bust....

Horrors at Southern Hills
Death threats, mob executions, unbearable heat — the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., where the 2022 PGA Championship will be hosted next week, has quite the spine-chilling history. In honor of it being Friday the 13th and all, let’s dive into the scariest stories that the club has to of...

Al Horford’s season-saving Game 4 was a reminder that he has been a rock
If the Boston Celtics go on to win an NBA championship, Al Horford’s Game 4 performance will live in Boston sports lore until the east coast breaks off into the Atlantic Ocean, or however climate change really sinks its teeth into this planet....

It isn’t Barry Trotz, it’s Lou Lamoriello
There’s no question that Barry Trotz has a shelf life with any team he coaches. His high-intensity defensive style is never going to be something players are going to want to do year-after-year, especially now when more and more teams are crashing in goals left and right. He was in Nashville forever...

Caleb Love was the villain Coach K and Duke deserved
A scythe has stalked Coach K’s career since he announced his plan to retire last July. On Saturday night, Duke’s final Final Four of the Mike Krzyzewski era came to a grisly end. UNC’s 81-77 victory over their arch-rival also featured a familiar slayer in Caleb Love....

From zero to hero: NFL stars whose stock dropped at the Combine
The combine giveth and the combine taketh away. As prospective NFLers from colleges throughout the country come together to mark down 40-yard dash times, 225-lb bench press reps, broad and vertical jumps, and more, there’s a real pressure to perform, particularly for those right on the cusp of getti...

Jon Lester just gave more of a s–t than you
Sadly, the, “You’re not winning this game,” term used to describe a transcendent performance from an athlete that just seems a Herculean or galactic level of defiance and denial has been co-opted by Bill Simmons. Which means it’s become as cartoonish as he has....

We can’t run from the Penguins and Capitals
This will be the third standings system or alignment the NHL has used in the past decade. But no matter how they shake out the teams or decide how they get into the playoffs, it’s a safe bet that the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals will be at the top. Part of that is the NHL basically we...

What A Time To Be Alive: A Look At How The University of Florida Was The Place To Be In 2007
You know that whole “turn to the left and to the right of you” thing some colleges and universities do during freshman orientation?...

Teenaged Aaron Hernandez Punched A Bar Employee After Refusing To Pay
Aaron Hernandez sucker-punched a Gainesville bar employee in 2007, injuring the man seriously enough that police recommended felony charges be brought against the then 17-year-old Florida Gators player....

Your SHOTY Winner: Isiah Thomas
We would like to congratulate Isiah Thomas on his ascendence to the lofty perch of 2007 Deadspin Sportshuman Of The Year....

SHOTY Title Game: Kige Ramsey Vs. Isiah Thomas
Well, we've come this far, and now it's time to crown a 2007 Sportshuman Of The Year. Fortunately, it didn't take very long....
