Football Page 1286 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Worst National Anthems Ever
These are the five we included in our poll on Sunday. As of this writing, Roseanne Barr's version is the "worst anthem" clubhouse leader by a substantial margin (she has nearly 50 percent of the vote, with Carl Lewis checking in at 28). Facebook users can vote here....

Tom Coughlin And Tom Brady Are Assholes, According To Pastry
Your morning roundup for Jan. 24, the day we could have learned the secrets of Goldman Sachs. Photo via Kyle M. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors....

Why The Giants Targeted A Player Prone To Concussions
The day after a conference championship game, there is an avalanche of coverage, usually sticking to the main storylines. But other than this New York Magazine story, it's odd that no one had made much of a fuss over two Giants saying they specifically targeted Kyle Williams because he had a history...

Billy Cundiff Rushed His Kick Because Of An Error On The Gillette Stadium Scoreboard
We're doing a season-long NFL roundtable with our friends at Slate. Check back here each week as a rotating cast of football watchers discusses the weekend's key plays, coaching decisions, and traumatic brain injuries....

Randy Moss Is A Sideline Reporter For The Pro Bowl, But, Unfortunately, It Is Just Some Guy Named Randy Moss
It takes a lot to make one really angry about the Pro Bowl. No one cares about the Pro Bowl—not football fans, not gamblers, not even the players in the game. It's a nice Hawaiian lark before the Super Bowl....

"You Don't Have To Worry About Me Jumping Off A Ledge": An Interview With Billy Cundiff
We're doing a season-long NFL roundtable with our friends at Slate. Check back here each week as a rotating cast of football watchers discusses the weekend's key plays, coaching decisions, and traumatic brain injuries....

This Is How Close Chip Kelly Was To Leaving Oregon To Coach The Tampa Bay Buccaneers
What you see above are two versions of this morning's front page of the Register-Guard of Eugene, Ore. No, that's not an error, nor is it a do-over on a report that wound up reaching the masses. A source told the newspaper last night that Kelly, 34-6 in three seasons as the University of Oregon's f...

Why We Scapegoat
Because Billy Cundiff exists, Ravens fans don't have to come to terms with the fact that one of the best rushing teams ceded the turf to one of the worst. Or that they could only turn three New England turnovers into six points. Or that their offensive line turned to soggy swiss cheese at the merest...

Kristin Cavallari And Jay Cutler Are Gonna Have A Baby
So what if Jay Cutler got injured and missed six games of the Bears' season, causing the team to miss the playoffs? He's more POTENT than he's ever been!...

This Baltimore Fan Is Rather Perturbed About The Ravens' Loss
Your morning roundup for Jan. 23, the day we learned a little bit of luck can go a long way. H/T to Zachary F. for the video. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors....

Bill Belichick And Tom Brady Stank Their Way To The Super Bowl
We're doing a season-long NFL roundtable with our friends at Slate. Check back here each week as a rotating cast of football watchers discusses the weekend's key plays, coaching decisions, and traumatic brain injuries....

Eli Manning's Facial Expressions Are America's Greatest Natural Resource
While Eli Manning eventually got the best of the 49ers in last night's NFC Championship game, it wasn't a jaunty romp for the Giants quarterback. This fourth quarter sack by San Francisco's Aldon Smith sent Manning through all five stages of the Kübler-Ross model in the span of a second. [Fox]...

What Went Wrong On Billy Cundiff’s Missed Kick?
We're doing a season-long NFL roundtable with our friends at Slate. Check back here each week as a rotating cast of football watchers discusses the weekend's key plays, coaching decisions, and traumatic brain injuries....

Terry Bradshaw: (Old) Ladies' Man
That's Terry Bradshaw being accosted by Ann Mara, widow to the late Giants owner Wellington, after New York's NFC Championship victory. It's believed to be the first time ever captured on video that Bradshaw actually tries to shy away from a woman. [Fox]...

Did Lee Evans Catch A Game-Winning Touchdown For The Ravens?
We're doing a season-long NFL roundtable with our friends at Slate. Check back here each week as a rotating cast of football watchers discusses the weekend's key plays, coaching decisions, and traumatic brain injuries....

New York Giants At San Francisco 49ers: Your NFC Championship Game Open Thread
Welcome to the last open thread before the Super Bowl. I hope you've enjoyed yourselves and continue to do so down below....

Steven Tyler's "Star-Spangled Banner" Was Terrible. But Was It The Worst Ever?
Aging rockers often struggle to hit high notes, but Steven Tyler's juxtaposition of screaming and a languid pace made his rendition of the National Anthem before the AFC Championship in New England especially difficult to listen to. (His liberal lack of adherence to the actual lyrics didn't help.)...

Baltimore Ravens At New England Patriots: Your AFC Championship Game Open Thread
We only have three more of these left and by day's end, just one. Let's cherish our time down in the comments....
![Joe Paterno Is Reportedly "Near Death" [UPDATE]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/18j4nbxonp1lxjpg.jpg)
Joe Paterno Is Reportedly "Near Death" [UPDATE]
Twitter has been abuzz in the last few hours with plenty of rumors about Joe Paterno's deteriorating condition, but Michael Sisak of the Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) Citizens' Voice, citing a source, says Paterno is "near death":...

Michigan State Head Coach Mark Dantonio Acts Like Michigan's Little Brother
During a panel discussion on recruiting before the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association, Mark Dantonio stoked the flames of the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry. While Michigan State sent its head coach to the event, Brady Hoke was busy being honored as a finalist for the Bear Bryant Aw...