ball Page 55 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

This week in the NBA: Kevin Durant unhappy in Phoenix?; Ja Morant in more hot water; Cade Cunningham can't save Pistons
Well, it didn’t take long for Kevin Durant to find something to complain about it on his new super team....

Jalen Hurts’ fugazi QB record is evidence that sometimes numbers do lie
The NFL’s Big Data complex, including Next Gen Stats and Pro Football Focus, would have you believe that numbers don’t lie, but the truth is that numbers can be untrustworthy little digits. They don’t explicitly generate faux stats, but accurate statistics can be framed deceptively. For instance, on...

IDIOT OF THE YEAR 2023: The complete rankings
Welcome to the grand finale of Deadspin’s IDIOT OF THE YEAR festivities. Here’s hoping 2024 will be better. It probably won’t....

Old beef still sells. Just ask the Cowboys and Jimmy Johnson
As long as the nostalgia of 1990s beef still sells, I’ll never feel old. I was but a child then. A child who looked at box scores in the Chicago Sun-Times and followed the daily drama of the 1997 Chicago Bulls contract negotiations. Even as a youngster, I recognized that Jimmy Johnson and the Dallas...
![Terrence Shannon Jr. taking Illinois to court, seeks reinstatement [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/ad793e73838ec457aca1da63063acc88.jpg)
Terrence Shannon Jr. taking Illinois to court, seeks reinstatement [Update]
Updated Jan. 9: Terrence Shannon Jr. is seeking legal action against the University of Illinois which would allow him to return to the basketball team while facing a rape charge....

Question Luka Dončić all you want — just be OK with the eventual ‘I told you so’
Despite the risk of hyperbole devolving into hot take, I’ll say it: Year 6 Luka Dončić looks a lot like 1988-89 Michael Jordan, or 2007-08 LeBron James. I’m not saying he’s better than either of the GOATs. It’s simply impossible to watch what he’s doing, how he’s still improving, and think any other...

A-Rod set to become majority owner of Timberwolves, Lynx
A-Rod’s transition from tape-measure shots to three-point bombs seems to be complete....

Lamar Jackson is inching closer to joining Patrick Mahomes as the only Black QBs with multiple MVPs
Since 2023 has been filled with highs for Black quarterbacks, 2024 might as well keep the party going. And if things hold steady, Patrick Mahomes won’t be the only one anymore....

Derrick White’s All-Star bid is about to become the NBA’s ‘Brock Purdy for MVP’
After the Boston Celtics acquired Jrue Holiday in an early October trade with the Portland Trail Blazers, the five-time All-Defensive Team guard was billed as the solution to Boston’s need for a tempo-setting orchestrator. In theory, he was also the fourth All-Star in the Eastern Conference’s premie...

The Packers have much bigger problems than Jaire Alexander calling a coin toss
I kind of like the idea of NFL players getting to be honorary captains in their hometowns. It would be a nice touch. The hometown kid done good can receive some love from his people. I am pretty sure, though, that is not currently standard NFL procedure. For Jaire Alexander to stroll out to midfield...

IDIOT OF THE YEAR: It's the final countdown (Nos. 10-1)
Here they are: The biggest dummies of 2023. Most of them are starting to take up permanent residence here. ...

Travis Kelce isn't in the honeymoon phase anymore
Travis Kelce let it all out on an episode of his “New Heights” podcast with brother and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason. After the Chiefs lost three of their last four games, Travis called it “a frustrating f**king experience” and said that everyone – including himself – is contributing to the offe...

Reminder: Joe Flacco was Nick Foles before Nick Foles
The Cleveland Browns have officially hit “Riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” status. As long as they have a quarterback with some name recognition — be it Deshaun Watson or Joe Flacco — the team plays with the confidence of a much more dangerous organization. Kevin Stefanski’s club could ...

Brian Daboll kept his QB change from Pam Oliver — it’s fair to wonder if this is the Charissa Thompson-Erin Andrews effect
There’s never been a sports journalist who enjoys “coach speak.” That annoyance can become anger if another journalist is the reason “coach speak” is what you get whenever you ask a question. We’ll never know if that’s what happened when New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll didn’t tell Pam Oliver...

Cade Cunningham did all he could to keep the Pistons out of the record book
Cade Cunningham was special on Tuesday night. He played like the best guard in the NBA. Of his 41 points, he scored 37 of them in the second half. He went 13-of-16 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the 3-point line. When the Detroit Pistons were down, 108-103, to the Brooklyn Nets with three ...
![Wander Franco detained in D.R. [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/738c47b73626a017a1209194e3da352b.jpg)
Wander Franco detained in D.R. [Updated]
UPDATE: Wander Franco was detained in his home country of the Dominican Republic after being interviewed by prosecutors regarding his alleged inappropriate relationships with young girls....

Steve Kerr officiating complaints come across as sour grapes to some
Not everyone seems to be as “disgusted” with NBA officiating as Golden State head coach Steve Kerr....

Lamar Jackson might win MVP, yet no other teams wanted him during the offseason?
It was about nine months ago when Lamar Jackson wanted to be traded from the Baltimore Ravens. The best quarterback in the history of two forever-linked franchises — the Ravens and the Cleveland Browns — was on the open market. Jackson is the only player besides Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes to ...

How did the Detroit Pistons become the NBA’s lump of coal?
When the Detroit Pistons put their mind to losing, nobody has been better for the last decade, but they’ve outdone themselves now by recklessly assembling one of the worst examples of an ill-fitting roster in a league now predicated on spacing, efficient scoring at the rim or behind the arc, and ada...

All this talk about Mike Tomlin needs to stop
The conversation surrounding Mike Tomlin is so confusing. Pittsburgh is a game over .500, and with trips to Seattle and Baltimore remaining, the worst-case scenario is the coach’s 16-year streak of winning seasons snaps with an 8-9 record....