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Some Minor Changes Around These Here Parts
You might have noticed some changes around here — not least of which tech issues that didn't allow us to put up our first post until 10 a.m. — so we thought we'd try to walk you through the best we understand, which is to say, not much at all....

Seriously, Lidge Is About To Turn The Corner
We didn't get to pay much tribute yesterday to Brad Lidge losing his closer's job already, but hey, it's never too late to show that video from the 2005 NLCS. It's OK to toss this in, it's not rubbing it in, because the Astros won that series. Right?...

Hirshey: Staying Awake For The MLS (Halfway, Anyway)
David Hirshey writes regularly for Deadspin about soccer....

The Big Lead, Schrutebag And The Feisty New Ombudsman
Say what you will about ESPN executive editor John Walsh, but he definitely made a fascinating choice hiring Le Anne Schreiber as the Leader's new ombudsman. Schreiber weighed in on the whole Schrutebag-Big Lead issue over the weekend, and she pulled no punches....

Everyone Deserves To Feel Pretty
This would've been much more enjoyable if it wasn't a photograph for which Randy Johnson posed, and he was instead caught doing this in the clubhouse to psyche himself up before a start. He seemed so much happier in his Mariner days ... not once since he joined the Yankees has he felt like the prett...

Report: Kevin Durant Wants To Shake David Stern's Hand
We start today with a little bit of good news for fans of terrible NBA teams. Kevin Durant, according to DraftExpress.com, has decided to play basketball for money....

Week In Deadspin: We Can Watch Baseball Again
• Baseball's back! • Bill Simmons, staying above ground. • Nothing is funnier than when Frank Thomas pegs a child. • Even though the team's not looking so hot right now, Cardinals fans remain the best. • Beer bong! • Don't fag out on us now, Packer. • We never made it to Atlanta, but Florida didn't ...

Cultural Oddsmaker: Who's the Next Minor League Mascot to Get All Dirty?
AJ Daulerio's Cultural Oddsmaker runs every Friday. Email him to let him know what you think....

We Now Return You To "The Man From Rio" Already In Progress
Now Ted, a person's life is filled with a zillion little experiences. Some which are insignificant, have no meaning, and, you know, you forget them. Others, you remember for the rest of your natural life. Now, since what we're proposing here is so unusual, so outside the norm, this is a good bet tha...

Devin Hester Is Virtually Fast
If you're like us — and Lord help you if you are — much of the summer is spent counting down the days until the new version of Madden is released. (This year, the Buzzsaw is gonna be good! Leinart to Boldin ... Buzzsaw!) Even though the NFL Draft still hasn't happened, they've already released some ...

The Big Lead: Still Down. Thanks, Schrutebag.
If you have attempted to access The Big Lead over the last 24 hours, the attractive image above — good Lord, those rectangles are ENORMOUS ... and they're headed straight for us! — is all you've been able to see. It's pretty, but it ain't that pretty....

This Hurts Us More Than It Hurts You, Colin
As some of you might be unfortunate enough to know, the man pictured here is Colin Cowherd, who has a show on ESPN Radio. Like many sports radio hosts across this great land, he relies greatly on blogs to find himself some free, juicy content. (And, of course, acting as if he just came up with it on...

Someone In The Reuters Photo Department Is Having Some Fun
Last week, the Denver Broncos held open auditions for women to join their cheerleading team. Two hundred and fifty women tried out for 34 slots. One of them was this woman....

Meet Your D—-spin Pants Party Winner (Kind Of)
Well, the final standings are in from the D—-spin Pants Party Pool, and we have a mostly anonymous winner we suspect we'll be hearing from today....

The Crack Of The Bat, The Middle Finger Of Pat Burrell
With the start of the 2007/2008 MLB season just hours away now, everyone's thoughts turn to how beautiful the game can be ... the crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, the green grass, the fathers and sons in the stands with their mitts, and the asshole in the Phillies dugout gesturing to opposin...

Buckeyes Tend To Look Old
The man on the left, Ohio State head coach That Matta, is two years younger than the man on the right, Florida coach Billy Donovan. There must be something in the water in Columbus that ages people prematurely. At this time next year, Mike Conley Jr. is going to look like Laurence Fishburne....

American Gladiators, You Have Been Missed
If you're struggling to find something to help pass the time before this evening's festival of basketball, I can't recommend ESPN Classic strongly enough right now. We're in the midst of a 7-episode American Gladiators marathon, starring Zap, Gemini, Malibu, Sunny, Joe Theismann, and a contestant na...

Week In Review: Yes, Virgina, There Is A Final Four
• Screw off, Selig. • Goodbye, George Solomon. • Peyton Manning blows us away with his ability to be vaguely amusing. • Look what happens when you get these guys together in a room. • Dance, Gus Johnson, dance. • Duke ladies. • See ya, Joe Theismann. • You, too, can coach the Wolverines. • David Hir...

Your NL West "Preview"
Whew, last one. We'd like to point out a couple of the pictures above. First, we enjoyed choosing a picture of Tony Clark for the D-Backs one, considering he's the opposite of a Diamondback this year. Second: Steve Finley is on the Rockies? Wow!...

Baseball Season Preview: Arizona Diamondbacks
You might remember, from back at the beginning of the NFL season, when we previewed each team by having a writer we liked write about their favorite team....