01 Page 226 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Here Are The FIFA Rankings That Will Determine The World Cup Draw
FIFA's world rankings are, almost without exception, meaningless. This is that exception. The rankings released today determine the top seeds at next summer's World Cup. That's a valuable reward: they get to avoid each other....

Will Ferrell Introduces The Dodgers Before Game 5 Of The NLCS
For what could be their final home game of the season, the Dodgers pulled out all the stops and had Will Ferrell handle today's player introductions. As one might expect, it was very Will Ferrell-y....

UEFA's Stacked 8-Team Playoff Guarantees World Cup Heartbreak: A Guide
Yesterday, we saw 53 European World Cup hopefuls get cut down to just 17. Nine teams—Belgium, Italy, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, England, Switzerland, Bosnia, and Russia—advanced to next year's tournament in Brazil. There are still four spots up for grabs, to be fought for among the next eight ...

With The World Cup Clinched, USMNT Players Must Now Fight For Spots
The United States men's national team is take on Jamaica this evening in what is, thankfully, a somewhat meaningless World Cup qualifying match. That's because the Americans already whooped Mexico, as well as everyone else in CONCACAF, to clinch a spot in next year's tournament in Brazil. So what's ...

English Soccer Is Dead, And It Deserves To Be
World Cup qualifying runs this week, and a lot of what's going on involves glorified exhibition play. Continental giants like the Netherlands and Italy are booked for Brazil, as is our great nation; other teams of interest, like Germany, Spain, Portugal, and France are more or less box-checking. The...

Pirates-Cardinals, Game 5 Of The NLDS: A Very Deadspin Preview
Tonight's game is win or die. Here's Emeritus and me breaking down everything you need to know....

Dodgers To Start Clayton Kershaw Tonight On Short Rest
Had they lost last night, the Dodgers let it be known, they would have considered starting Clayton Kershaw tonight in what would have been an elimination game. Sensible enough—Kershaw is the best pitcher in baseball, after all! No reason not to start him in an elimination game. But then they went ou...

Stephen Vogt Is Your Newest Unlikely Postseason Hero
The most compelling bat of last night's Tigers-A's game came in the bottom of the seventh. Oakland had runners on second and third with two outs, and backup catcher Stephen Vogt did his best to make Justin Verlander look mortal....

Oh Look, Russia Is Brutalizing Its Olympic Migrant Workers
While we're all still worked up about Qatar's blatant mistreatment of the many thousands of migrant workers who will soon begin building infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, here's a reminder that Qatar doesn't have the market cornered on turning international sporting events into humanitarian cri...

Johnny Cueto Gets Jeered, Drops Ball, Gives Up Home Run
PNC Park finally got to host playoff baseball, and the fans in Pittsburgh made it a party, screaming and chanting and jeering from the moment they passed through the turnstiles. And while there's no way to know for certain, it sure looked like the standing-room-only crowd got to Reds starter Johnny ...


USMNT Moves Up To 13th In Latest FIFA World Rankings
FIFA's September world rankings were released this morning, and we found out that U.S. Soccer, after being ranked 19th just last month, jumped six more spots to 13th in the world. The Americans also were able to hold onto the top spot in CONCACAF. Mexico, second in the federation, fell one spot, and...

How USMNT Reduced A Fiery Mexican Side To Ashes
The United States of America are going to the 2014 World Cup. In the end, it was never in doubt. And in the end, how they booked their ticket to Brazil was perfect, poetic. The Americans clinched at home, in a storied, claustrophobic stadium in front of a raucous, unapologetically and overwhelmingly...

Stakes Are High In Tonight's USMNT Match Against Mexico
After 12 straight wins, which included improbable triumphs against world powers like Germany and Bosnia and dominant victories against all comers during the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the USMNT finally lost on Friday, 3-1, in a World Cup qualifier away to Costa Rica. Costa Rica, for some reason still seethi...

The Complete "Why Your Team Sucks 2013" Archive
We've finally wrapped up our 2013 Why Your Team Sucks series. Below are links to all 32 of this year's entries, just in case you missed any....

Why Your Team Sucks 2013: Dallas Cowboys
Some people are fans of the Dallas Cowboys. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Dallas Cowboys. This 2013 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the 2013 NFL previews right here....

Why Your Team Sucks 2013: Washington Redskins
Some people are fans of the Washington Redskins. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Washington Redskins. This 2013 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the 2013 NFL previews so far right here....

Why Your Team Sucks 2013: Philadelphia Eagles
Some people are fans of the Philadelphia Eagles. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Philadelphia Eagles. This 2013 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the 2013 NFL previews so far right here....

Why Your Team Sucks 2013: New York Giants
Some people are fans of the New York Giants. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the New York Giants. This 2013 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the 2013 NFL previews so far right here....

Why Your Team Sucks 2013: New England Patriots
Some people are fans of the New England Patriots. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the New England Patriots. This 2013 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the 2013 NFL previews so far right here....