koblin Page 4 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Here's What Led Rafa Nadal To His Second U.S. Open Title
The Rafa Nadal-Novak Djokovic men's final tonight was an endless highlight reel. We showed you that 54-shot rally earlier but let's show you another fantastic rally in what was an incredibly high quality tennis match. Djokovic grabbed the second set 6-3 and it looked like he had just enough headwind...

Here's That Insane 54-Shot Rally In The Djokovic-Nadal U.S. Open Final
Last year's final had a 54-shot rally too. This one's better. It energized the wildest U.S. Open men's final crowd Arthur Ashe has hosted in some time, and gave Djokovic his first break of the match. He'd take the second set 6-3, and he's currently up a break in the third in what's shaping up to be...

Serena Williams Finally Has A Real Rival: Vika Azarenka
Over the past week, it's been tempting to compare Roger Federer with Serena Williams, two tennis greats approaching the same bad end of the aging curve in very different ways. Federer, 32, lost last week to Tommy Robredo in a three-set blowout in the fourth round. Federer didn't win a Grand Slam thi...

Dominant Serena Williams Unleashes A Spectacular Double "Come On!"
Let us celebrate Serena Williams's dominant 6-0, 6-3 win over Li Na in the women's semifinals with, not one, but two successive come ons. The double come on. These were two of approximately 78 come ons she unleashed in her win this evening. Williams plays Victoria Azarenka in the women's final on S...

Why Do Tennis Players Say "Come On!" So Much?
On Tuesday, in front of a small crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the inconsistent Serbian Ana Ivanoivc had an early lead on Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round at the U.S. Open. At the end of a 14-shot rally late in the first set, Ivanovic slapped a weak forehand into the net. ...

"Iron Stan" Wawrinka Blows Out Andy Murray In US Open Quarters
So, who had Stan Wawrinka in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 over defending U.S. Open champion Andy Murray? That's what just happened....

The Bryan Brothers Quest For Golden Slam Ends In Semifinals
The Bryan Brothers, two wins away from winning the golden Grand Slam, lost today in the men's doubles semifinals to Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Bob and Mike Ryan were on the verge of becoming only the second men's doubles team to win all four Grand Slams in a single year. It happ...

Here's Why Federer And Nadal Have Never Played Each Other At US Open
Two days ago, Serena Williams was told that two great rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, have never played each other at the U.S. Open. ...

Roger Federer Upset (Again) At US Open
And once again, Roger Federer is out prematurely at a Grand Slam. Federer was upset in the 4th round at the U.S. Open tonight to Tommy Robredo, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4. ...

Did Disney's General Counsel Urge ESPN To Wimp Out On Concussion Doc?
So why did ESPN end its relationship with Frontline less than two months before their co-reported, two-part documentary on the NFL and concussions was set to air? We know that ESPN president John Skipper found the trailer for Frontline's documentary to be "sensational" and "over the top." We know t...

How An ESPNer Found Out The "Battle Of The Sexes" Was Probably Fixed
As usual, this one started with a tip. It came courtesy of Hal Shaw, a 79-year-old man who lived in Florida. ESPN investigative reporter Don Van Natta Jr. knew him. The two had met when Van Natta was researching his 2011 biography of Babe Didrikson Zaharia. Shaw once worked at the country club that...

MLB Network Beat Fox Sports 1 In Primetime Last Week
The ratings are in: Fox Sports 1 finished its first full week about 1.94 million viewers behind ESPN. Variety reports that Fox Sports 1 averaged 161,000 viewers in primetime, behind ESPN's 2.17 million, ESPN2's 473,000, the NFL Network's 383,000 and MLB Network's 193,000. The good news for Fox is th...

How ESPN Pulled A Bullshit Colin Kaepernick Story Out Of Thin Air
By pulling out of its partnership with Frontline, ESPN reminded us, yet again, where its newsroom stands. It's second fiddle to the company's business interests. So, let's show you what the flagship show of ESPN's newsroom does in lieu of participating in a documentary that the NFL is afraid of. It...

ESPN Producer: We Made "Conscious Decision" To "Get In Bed" With PBS
So why the hell did ESPN pull out of its collaborative relationship with PBS and Frontline? PBS's statement says that ESPN news executives were supposed to have "editorial input" into the League of Denial documentary. ESPN's statement says the network backed out because it had no "editorial control"...
![ESPN Pulls Out Of <em>Frontline</em> Concussion Investigation [UPDATE]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/18xu3t2m015jijpg.jpg)
ESPN Pulls Out Of <em>Frontline</em> Concussion Investigation [UPDATE]
For a while now, ESPN's big alibi, the thing Bristol would trot out any time someone questioned the company's journalistic bona fides, was its joint investigation into NFL head injuries with PBS's Frontline. Now that's done with. PBS announced the news. It reports:...

<em>SportsCenter</em>'s New Set Will Be Roughly 10,000 Square Feet
We got a preview of this before, but here's a new video showing off SportsCenter's new set, narrated by Steve Levy. He says the set will be nearly 10,000 square feet. Watch the video and it looks like it also includes approximately 750 anchor desks and 48 different studios. But seriously. Christ. T...

Last Night On Fox Sports 1: The Worst Sports Panel Discussion Ever
Above, Donovan McNabb, Andy Roddick, and Gary Payton discuss Ichiro's legacy and—I don't even know. This is such a mess. Roddick can barely speak. McNabb is really into doubles? I'm not convinced they know who Ichiro is. Everyone had a stat or fact or two to memorize and they can't pull that off. F...

Here's How The Jets Train Their Players To Be Boring With The Media
Yesterday Jets players went through media training, where they were taught things like "body language." During the session, they were also handed a list of "media bridges," which I'm guessing are a bunch of really horrible, studiedly dull transitions to use in conversation with reporters. The photos...

Despite Layoffs, ESPN Will Soon Have "More Employees Than Ever"
Earlier this year, ESPN went through a unexpected series of layoffs, in the end shedding somewhere close to 400 people. It was done, ESPN folks were told, as a critical cost-cutting measure in the run-up to the launch of Fox Sports 1 and with higher fees looming for Monday Night Football and basebal...

NFL Sunday Ticket On YouTube? That Could Happen
The worst thing about NFL Sunday Ticket—the broadcast service that offers access to every NFL game, including out-of-market ones—is the part where you have to subscribe to DirecTV. The $225 you have to spend during the season to watch any game you want? Not that bad. So, what if you could just watch...