and Page 456 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

2020 AL Central Preview
“Flyover Country” in the American League contains history’s greatest home-run squad (Minnesota, somehow), perhaps the league’s most exciting team….and then three teams not even trying. This is pretty much the norm in baseball these days, a division that has one or two teams fighting over actual priz...

NBA Bubble Wrap: The Snitching Begins, and How Damian Lillard Celebrated His Birthday
As with every waking day this pandemic continues, so does the physical aging of our bodies....

How LeBron James' Decision Ended Up in a Greenwich, Connecticut Boys and Girls Club
When Bob DeAngelo got the call, he almost died....
![This is Going Great: Where MLB Stands with COVID [UPDATED]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/l7mwly4hdzrxf1al3uhy.jpg)
This is Going Great: Where MLB Stands with COVID [UPDATED]
When last we left our intrepid MLB, it was crowing about getting guys into summer camp (sponsored by Camping World!) and making a naked bid to get Domino’s Pizza to sponsor their health “plan.”...

HBCUs Need More than Makur Maker, They Need NBA Money Makers, Too
The only thing Historically Black Colleges and Universities need more than a five-star basketball recruit like Makur Maker is cash....

Who Are the Best Athletes to Come From an HBCU? We Found a Few
The decision of top college recruit Markur Maker to turn down scholarship offers from Kentucky, UCLA and Memphis to attend Howard University, in D.C., an Historically Black College and University, has put the focus on HBCUs, once home to some of the best student-athletes in the country. When souther...

The NFL's Decision to Play the 'Black National Anthem' Before Games is its Dumbest Decision Yet
Justice. Equality. Fairness. Accountability. Anti-Racism. Reparations. Colin Kaepernick’s employment. ...

5-Star Recruit Makur Maker Committing to Howard Could be Game Changer for HBCUs
Maybe Makur Maker’s decision will be the spark....

Will Colleges Cover Medical Bills for Athletes Who Get COVID-19? Don't Count on It
The efforts to keep college football on track to play as close to a normal season as possible this season are a farce showing just how much schools value the “student” part of “student-athlete” at a time when many schools are bringing football players back to campus while planning to keep academics ...

Iceland’s New Crest Will Make You Want to Fight the Nearest Bear
The Football Association of Iceland released its new crest today, and to describe it “as the most metal thing you’ve ever seen” does it an injustice. From now on, any heavy metal song will now be described as, “That’s Iceland’s crest.”...

Pitino is the Voice of Reason: Delay College Hoops Until January
One of college basketball’s most contentious coaches is speaking out on the start to the 2020-21 season in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic....

Ian Desmond, Baseball, and Living in Someone Else's Home
A friend messaged me early this morning about an Instagram thread by Ian Desmond that I had to read....

UFC’s Poirier Delivers Instant Classic En Route to Emergency Room as Dana White Tweets About Fight Island
If you like a good, old-fashioned fistfight, we got an instant classic for the “Just Bleed” crowd last night in Las Vegas....

The NWSL Takes a Knee
Twenty-two starters clothed in Black Black Lives Matter T-shirts from the North Carolina Courage and Portland Thorns knelt during the national anthem before the National Women’s Soccer League kicked off their first game of the Challenge Cup Saturday. ...

As COVID Spikes in Texas, Sugar Land Skeeters Will Open with Fans in the Stands
Texas is one of the hottest of hotspots for coronavirus right now, and Governor Greg Abbott announced on Friday that the Lone Star State’s aggressive reopening will be rolled back some, with bars closing and river-rafting banned....

Morehouse Cancels Football Season Over Coronavirus Concerns
Morehouse College announced that the school is choosing its students’ health over dollars. The school is shutting down all fall sports....

As the NWSL Tournament Nears, Utah COVID-19 Cases Continue To Rise
Another bubble is about to burst in the sports world and no, this one’s not in Florida....

If a Team Based in Orlando Thinks it’s too Dangerous to Leave, Why Would Other Teams Go There?
While baseball haggles over finances and hockey tries to figure out where to place its bubbles, the concept of sports returning gets shakier every day. With spikes in Texas, Florida, Arizona, and may other states, more and more reports of players losing their enthusiasm for a return have popped up. ...

Gov. Cuomo: Mets and Yankees Will Be Back in New York IF Spring Training Resumes
Andrew Cuomo is one of those guys who calls it “the MLB.”...

The Odds of Sports Gambling Legalization in a Pandemic
2020 was supposed to be the year sports betting exploded. But a pandemic hit, the economy tanked, and major sporting events were canceled across the country....