2007 Page 1 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

As the Thunder return to contention, let's not forget the Supersonics
The Oklahoma City Thunder have executed one of the shortest rebuilding periods in NBA history. Since the breakup of the Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook pairing, leading into the current Thunder 2.0, only lasted three seasons of extreme tanking. Those losing efforts netted them the sixth pick in the ...

Sometimes the magic of the FA Cup is getting your teeth kicked in
Every sports fan likes to complain. That’s the main point, really. I’m a Chicago Bears fan, for God’s sake. I’m made of gripes now. But we have it pretty good over here in the States, when compared to what you might go through in other parts of the world. What we would have all gone through had we b...
![Derrick Ward pleads not guilty to robbery charges [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/35eadd976059bcfdfbd3eb25ad5d75f8.jpg)
Derrick Ward pleads not guilty to robbery charges [Updated]
Updated Jan. 4: Ward pleaded not guilty to the charges....

History says the NBA Champion will be the Finals Game 4 winner
By the end of Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night in Miami, we’ll know who will be hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy. It won’t have anything to do with the Denver Nuggets having a possible 3-1 series lead, or if the Heat have stormed back to tie the series at 2-2 before things shift back to Col...

Being a backup QB is the best gig in all of sports
Amid the controversy surrounding the holding penalty at the end of Super Bowl LVII, rumors of Andy Reid’s retirement, and people trashing Travis Kelce for saying everyone doubted Kansas City when absolutely zero people doubted them, several other storylines have been overlooked. While Andy Reid may ...

Wouldn’t you know it, Cristiano Ronaldo is being a whiny turd again
If one were interested in fairness when it comes to Cristiano Ronaldo — and I’m not for a host of reasons, including the big glaring one (actually two) — one would have to concede that being a professional athlete requires an absurd amount of defiance. At some point in our childhood, we’re all told ...

Portland Trail Blazers hired Chauncey Billups over Dawn Staley and Becky Hammon, who both won championships this year
Becky Hammon and Dawn Staley were literally right there. ...

Kevin Durant’s destiny is to complete 2010 Point Guard Bingo with Dame Lillard
Kevin Durant is under contract for one more year with the Brooklyn Nets, but based on the bevy of reports and leaks on the extremely fluid Kyrie melodrama and its potential fallout, his employment is volatile. That uncertainty has spawned a multitude of options for Durant, but only the Portland Trai...

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....