Locker Page 55 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Luka Dončić proves there’s few problems that $207 million can’t solve
It was just six weeks ago that the NBA world quaked a little when reports of Luka Dončić’s unhappiness first slithered out of Dallas. A report of strange dude in the front office who had somehow charmed Mark Cuban. Dissatisfaction with the roster around him. Then some longtime organizational stalwar...
![Just like the rest of the leagues… [UPDATED]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/8c1e4cfc97e3fb50092c5622d7adac21.jpg)
Just like the rest of the leagues… [UPDATED]
The Olympics ended yesterday, which allowed the president of the IOC to declare the Games a success. You could have the debate over what constitutes “success” for the Olympics all day. The actual completion of them doesn’t really feel like it qualifies, because there was never any other choice. Whic...

Mauricio Llovera makes baseball history for wrong reasons
The Phillies are now atop the National League East by a game and a half over the Mets, whom they’ll send back to New York as a second-place team after Sunday’s series finale. Philadelphia’s 5-3 win on Saturday ensured that, after the Mets had held the lead since May....

Yes, it's a gold medal for Team USA, but what does that mean?
Nobody is going to argue that this was the best men’s basketball team the United States has sent to the Olympics. They’re gold medalists today thanks largely to Kevin Durant — throughout the tournament and including the title game against France; deciding that play time was over, and proceeding to w...

Kirk Cousins isn’t good enough to make everyone deal with this bull
Yeah, I know. It shouldn’t matter what a player’s performance has been or will be to justify what their feelings are on the vaccine. Everyone who doesn’t get it is a moron. They can come up with whatever reason they like, but they’re either stupid, selfish, or some combination thereof. So I’m not a...

Why is this trade allowed to happen?
It’s not official, and the NFL still has time to act before it becomes so. Not that it will, and Roger Goodell will get that blank look with the pursed lips that he always gets when he’s asked anything resembling a tough question and all the wires in his brain fizzle and short. If you look into his ...

Life shouldn’t be so bad that you can’t take time to laugh at the Cardinals
Nolan Arenado and the St. Louis Cardinals struggling through disappointing season...

NBA Free Agency doesn’t wait around
We always expect the dawn of NBA free agency to be on the bonkers side, and yet are always surprised with how bonkers it gets. With the offseason once again crunched as the league desperately claws back an 82-game season from players who will barely be able to stand at the end of it, teams are proba...

I probably owe Gregg Berhalter an apology
You’ll have to excuse me, as I’m writing this Mourning After while giggling incessantly. The U.S. Men’s National C team, B- at best, beat a close-to-full-strength Mexico squad in the Gold Cup Final, 1-0. It was a tournament that manager Gregg Berhalter was using as a laboratory to find out who could...

White Sox rookie catcher Seby Zavala makes baseball history
Seby Zavala was the White Sox’s 12th-round pick in the 2015 draft out of San Diego State. It took until 2019 before the catcher made his major league debut, at the age of 25, and in that cup of coffee the catcher went 1-for-12 with nine strikeouts....

Hey look, it’s the first QB controversy of summer
The Rockies didn’t trade Trevor Story, so that’s pretty much the last bit of intrigue for baseball season in Colorado, just in time for the early days of Broncos training camp....

The Cubs finally let go of the burden of being good
It started before Kris Bryant was called up. Fuck, it probably started the day Anthony Rizzo signed his extension. This was the day the Cubs told everyone they dreaded, but secretly couldn’t wait for....

Deadspin fixes American sports: We need to abolish trades
Admittedly, I’ve spent the week in a blind rage thanks to the trade deadline in MLB. And that’s due to my former baseball flame, the Cubs, making a spectacle of themselves. But I’ve written that article, and may have to write it again later today should this be the day the Cubs ship Kris Bryant off ...

The dealing Mariners had the right idea, the execution was just iffy
You can’t really expect Mariners players to get it. Although the idea that GM Jerry Dipoto has to come down to the clubhouse to OK any decision he wants to make isn’t how things work in any company. The fans are probably in between, because they went into this season pretty much only looking forward...

Some proper baseball beef
It’s been a bit since we’ve had some proper baseball beef. As any wrestling fan will tell you, the best storylines that pay off biggest are the ones that cover a long time, sometimes years. Clearly that’s the lesson that Javy Baez and Amir Garrett have learned. Last night’s chapter:...

The Padres just don’t give a damn
It seems like the Padres kick off every phase of transactions now. They started the offseason when they went after Blake Snell and Yu Darvish. And now they’re just about the first to move before Friday’s MLB trade deadline, as they moved to save Adam Frazier from baseball irrelevance in Pittsburgh. ...

Team USA women debunk 3x3 basketball ‘adjustment period’ myth
There’s a lot of talk about how 3x3 basketball is different from regular basketball, and it absolutely is. It’s faster-paced, more physical, harder to play defense — lots of stuff. There’s also a funny sense that the best 5-on-5 basketball players in the world might have trouble at 3x3, and need an ...

Another 'promising' young man gets a pass
Logan Mailloux didn’t apologize in his statement this week to the woman he admitted violating with a “stupid mistake.” He apologized in an interview with Daily Faceoff, but not in the statement he released to the world....

Look, I’d love to blame Tony La Russa too, but…
It makes for an easy narrative, and one all of us that wants to see baseball evolve into something more fun can easily grab onto. ...

Giannis did it, dammit
It’s what you see when you squint on draft night. They walk up to that podium — in normal times at least — too skinny in that suit. They’re always too skinny. But every fan starts doing it, imagining nights like Tuesday’s, and the path to get there. What the offense will look like, how much he’ll ha...