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The Dork RPI
So here's something we wish we would have had before we filled out our bracket: A complete dissertation of The Nerd Factor, a definitive way to predict college basketball games by alloting for a particular team's "nerd atmosphere" and how it relates to on-court success. Factors include:...

Home Run No. 715 — Welcome to Thunderdome
It's out there somewhere, tucked into a box with several of its brethren, sitting in an equipment room somewhere in a National League City — just chilling. It's the baseball that will eventually be hit by Barry Bonds to pass Babe Ruth's career home run mark, and shouldn't we stop for a moment to i...

Team USA Gets Extra Week Of Spring Training
The wailing and gnashing of teeth, the rending of garments, is upon us: The United States has been eliminated from the World Baseball Classic. The team finished 3-3 for the tourney, and some people are screaming that Team USA was a "debacle" and that it's a shame that the "world has passed the cou...

Last Call For Pool Entries
All right, you just have about a half hour left to join the official Deadspin Bracket Pool. There's no charge, obviously, because gambling is the work of the devil, and we even have some prizes for whoever wins this mammoth thing. (Currently at about 1,350 people.) The "prizes" are mainly just items...

Cuba Crashes Everybody's Party, And It's Awesome
As usual, we had trouble sleeping the night before the NCAA tournament started, so we revved up our MLB.tv last night and watched both World Baseball Classic games. They were, both, amazing. The second game was the one most important to Americans, with Korea winning an extremely tense 2-1 game, le...

NCAA Pants Party: Kentucky Vs. UAB
Kentucky Wildcats (21-12) vs. Alabama-Birmingham Blazers (24-6). When: Friday, 9:55 p.m. Where: Philadelphia...

NCAA Pants Party: Texas Vs. Pennsylvania
Texas Longhorns (27-6) vs. Pennsylvania Quakers (20-8). When: Friday, 9:50 p.m. Where: Dallas....

Four Tiny Tidbits On: The Pirates
We re only a couple of weeks from Opening Day, so it s time to start previewing the season. Inspired by an old feature on The Black Table, we re going team-by-team and distributing Four Things You Don t Know about them. If you have suggested oddities on your team, send them to us at tips@deadspin....

NCAA Pants Party: North Carolina Vs. Murray State
North Carolina Tar Heels (22-7) vs. Murray State (24-6). When: Friday, 9:40 p.m. ET Where: Dayton, Ohio....

The End Of Team USA Is Nigh
Amidst all the "The WBC Is So Much Better Than We Thought!" stories, the performance of Team USA continues to be blasted by anyone with a laptop. As much fun as it might be to see A-Rod lose, we can't quite get behind the "they're spoiled athletes!" maxim that people are always applying to nationa...

NCAA Pants Party: Kansas Vs. Bradley
Kansas Jayhawks (25-7) vs. Bradley Braves (20-10) When: Friday, 9:40 p.m. ET Where: Auburn Hills, Mich....

NCAA Pants Party: Villanova Vs. Monmouth
Villanova Wildcats (25-4) vs. Monmouth Hawks (19-14). When: Friday, 2:50 p.m. Where: Philadelphia...

We've Established What You Are. We're Just Haggling On Price
At first, when we heard about Fan For Hire, we yawned a bit. At first glance, it's just another sports fan trying to make a bit of cash by "auctioning off" his "loyalty." We have no problem with this — there are so few opportunities sports fans have to actually make money rather than, you know, sh...

NCAA Pants Party: Connecticut Vs. Albany
Connecticut Huskies (27-3) vs. Albany Great Danes (21-10). When: Friday, 7:25 p.m. Where: Philadelphia...

NCAA Pants Party: California Vs. N.C. State
California Golden Bears (20-10) vs. North Carolina State Wolfpack (21-9) When: Friday, 7:20 p.m. Where: Dallas....

The Tao Of Zach Duke
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is running a spring training journal by Pirates' pitcher Zach Duke, but it's not your typical "Today they served lasagna for our post-game meal" type of offering. Oh, no. Zach is, as your kid's first grade teacher would say, "A very interesting child." Excerpts from h...

NCAA Pants Party: Michigan State vs. George Mason
Michigan State Spartans (22-11) vs. George Mason Patriots (23-7). When: Friday, 7:10 p.m. Where: Dayton, Ohio....

NCAA Pants Party: Pittsburgh Vs. Kent State
Pittsburgh Panthers (24-7) vs. Kent State Golden Flashes (25-8). When: Friday, 7:10 p.m. Where: Auburn Hills, Mich....