ant Page 321 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Daryl Morey — not Ben Simmons or Doc Rivers — should be getting the blame in Philadelphia
If there was a scouting report on Daryl Morey, under strengths it would read — “uncanny ability to never get blamed for creating disasters.”...

Deandre Ayton — and Suns fans — deserve better
Usually, opening day is met with optimism. Teams have yet to get blown out by 50, lose a key player to injury, or quit on a coach. (Well, except for that Ben Simmons situation.)...

Can we make a ‘Habs-not’ joke real quick?
It was no secret that this season was going to be tougher for the Montreal Canadiens. They had to sneak into the playoffs last year when all they had to do was beat out the rest of the trash Canadian teams, and then went on a run because Carey Price was able to channel 2014 for a few weeks. ...

KAT’s new icky pre-game ritual has Harambe rolling in his grave
Well, that’s one way to get your head in the game. Earlier today, Minnesota Timberwolves’ center Karl-Anthony Towns said his new pregame ritual to get him pumped up before games is to watch videos of gorillas… fighting to the death?! ...

Tyrese Haliburton would like you to care about his team
The NBA’s opening night is upon us, and one of the great things about that is all 30 teams have hope and high expectations for themselves. Every NBA fan base across the nation can say this might be their team’s year. All those hopes and dreams are still in play until a player like Tyrese Haliburton ...

This NBA-<i>Succession</i> mashup will have you from the opening piano chord
Rise and shine, it’s NBA day....

Who will succeed Bill Belichick/Logan Roy?
“Succession” is back, and everyone is amped to glorify rich assholes again. The fervor for its highly anticipated return is usually reserved for things like the McRib, mask-free vacations (still waiting on this one), the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” trailer or, as this post would have it, the NFL seaso...

Odell Beckham Jr. to the Packers?!
An intriguing trade was proposed recently on First Take by Stephen A. Smith, where he lobbied for the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns to make a deal that teams Odell Beckham Jr. with Aaron Rodgers. Ultimately, I know this comes down to Smith wishing for anything that might knock the Dallas Co...

Don’t celebrate just yet, Atlanta
If there is one town that shouldn’t take part in a premature celebration, it’s Atlanta....

If anybody in the Pacific is going to disappoint, it’s Golden State
We here at Deadspin sometimes have differing opinions. That might be hard to believe, but it’s true, and as we get closer to the start of the NBA season, many of us have conflicting ideas on how the season will play out. For example, my co-worker Criss Partee believes that with a healthy Klay Thomps...

Did you know that L.A. County wants Vanessa Bryant to take a psych exam?
In a few hours, the highly anticipated 2020-2021 NBA season will begin, and Ernie, Chuck, Kenny, and Shaq – a cop and Kobe Bryant’s former teammate – will be broadcasting live from Los Angeles – in the same place where the county is putting Bryant’s widow in a peculiar position....

‘Grow, evolve and improve?' George Steinbrenner would never have uttered such kumbaya bunk
Hal Steinbrenner made things very clear on Tuesday morning....

Assuming LeBron James wants to win a fifth championship (duh), it will take less effort from him instead of more
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has played a combined 61,090 combined regular season and playoff minutes, per Basketball-reference.com data. That is just 1,669 total minutes less than Hall of Fame forward Karl Malone and 5,207 minutes less than Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the tw...

Ime Udoka announces his presence with authority
Boston Celtics first-year head coach Ime Udoka isn’t wasting any time making his mark on this team. During Boston’s preseason finale against the Miami Heat, forward Grant Williams decided to argue a foul call with an official, allowing the Heat’s Bam Adebayo to beat him back down the court for an ea...

Washington screws up Sean Taylor jersey retirement ceremony, because obviously
It appears that the Washington Football Team’s retirement of Sean Taylor’s number on Sunday was what it looked like, read like, and felt like — a half-assed PR ploy....

2021 NBA Central Division Preview: Woe is the Cleveland Cavaliers
This is a hard division to diagnose. But I believe of all the possible letdowns in the Central, the Cavaliers are most likely to disappoint....

2021 NBA Atlantic Division Preview: Why the Knicks will let you down this season
When spring rolls around, the New York Knicks will be in the playoffs. It will be the first time the franchise has made consecutive trips to the postseason since the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons. But, that doesn’t mean that they’re going to win a series — something they haven’t done in almost a d...

2021 NBA Southeast Division Preview: The Hawks are going to break your heart
The Atlanta Hawks appeared in the franchise’s second Eastern Conference Finals last season, and their fans are preparing for what they think could be another long playoff run this year. In 2015-16, the Hawks ran into LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East Finals, resulting in a 4-0 Cav...

Christian McCaffrey’s injuries drastically change Panthers' offense
Here we go again for Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey. For the second consecutive year, McCaffrey will miss significant time on the field due to an injury. The Panthers have placed their All-Pro running back on injured reserve with a strained hamstring, and he won’t be eligible to ...

Mohamed Salah is on one
I suppose being as analytic-minded as I can get that I’m going to be hypocritical here. It doesn’t help (or hurt, depending on your point of view) that I love Mohamed Salah in every sense of the word, to an extent that my vulnerability is teetering on “highly damaging.” So take that as you will....