ball Page 66 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Why has MLB free agency ground to a halt?
We were told that once Shohei Ohtani signed, or promised to the Dodgers that he can take all his money after the ocean reclaims Los Angeles as a whole, the rest of the free agents would start to fly off the shelves. It’s now Jan. 3, spring training is about six weeks away, and most of the free agent...

Want to reduce college football Bowl opt-outs? Pay the players
The bowl opt-outs are a letdown, but we all saw what happened to Jaylon Smith. During the 2016 Fiesta Bowl — which was not a playoff game — his leg was mangled. A projected top-five pick fell to the second round. Since then, many star players have made the intelligent business decision to not play i...

What’s going on at Harvard with Claudine Gay is similar to how the NFL, sports, and America operate
Claudine Gay is the new Nikole Hannah-Jones in the same way that Eric Bieniemy is the latest version of Sherman Lewis. And while there’s a big difference between being a leader at an institution of higher learning and coaching football, the common denominator remains the same — excluding Black peopl...

This week in the NFL: Pledge allegiance or go cry in the corner
Welcome to Deadspin’s The Sports Nihilist, where all is for naught, and we are but accidental jolts of electrified meat stuck to the surface of a rock in an indifferent universe....

Billionaire NFL owner gets $300K fine for Tepper Tantrum
Billionaire Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper received a slap on the wrist from the NFL Tuesday evening for his “unacceptable conduct” during the Panthers’ 26-0 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. ...

The College Football Playoff semifinals felt like the glory days of the sport
From the moment that Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard and Joey Galloway breathed a sigh of relief after Rece Davis said “naysayers” on College Gameday, the College Football Playoff semifinals were off and running. With Michigan taking on Alabama and Washington going up against Texas, there were great expe...

The Bears are deluding themselves into thinking Justin Fields is their QB of the future
Near the end of Justin Fields’ triumphant win over the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears fans serenaded him with a passionate “We want Justin” chant. The chorus reached a fever pitch on a night when Fields threw for north of 260 yards and one touchdown in a blowout win over the Atlanta Falcons. Through...

Why, exactly, does Omar Vizquel deserve a second chance?
If there’s one thing you can count on in sports, it’s the desire of a certain segment of the media to rehabilitate their favorite players and coaches, no matter the harm done. There was the infamous Adam Schefter softball interview with Greg Hardy shortly after he was accused of doing this to his th...

Chris Mortensen, Carl Weathers and the sports figures we've lost in 2024
Here is where we look at some of the athletes and sports figures we’ve lost in 2024....

Sports has an owner problem
There’s an owner problem across all professional sports. If you think the behavior of Carolina Panthers’ owner David Tepper was abhorrent, and it was, and needs to be eradicated from the game, and it should, wait 15 minutes until the next entitled billionaire gets fussy. ...

The wacky ways these NFL teams can make — or miss — the playoffs
As the NFL heads into the final week of the regular season, there are still division titles and playoff berths to be decided....

The Texas Longhorns’ season-long bank heist fell short at the vault
The horseshoe that’s been up the Texas Longhorns’ ass finally fell out Monday night. Hours after its claim at legitimacy flamed out, with Alabama squandering a seven-point fourth-quarter lead to a semi-lethargic Michigan team, UT repeatedly looked like frauds. ...

You, too, can help an Alabama Crimson Tide player in need
Alabama lost in the Rose Bowl to Michigan and the Crimson Tide’s NIL collective wants your money. ...

After defeating Alabama, only haters are still hating on Michigan
Michigan vs. Everybody isn’t just a catchy phrase on a t-shirt. It’s more than a rallying cry when the entire sports world is cheering against you. It’s a declaration that anybody can get it — line ‘em up and knock ‘em down. On Monday night, Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide got their names cr...

Immanuel Quickley is the key to Toronto winning the OG Anunoby-RJ Barrett trade
On Saturday morning, the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors put their litigation aside long enough to agree on a trade exchanging OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn with RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a 2024 second-round pick....

Michigan’s talent level stops another Jim Harbaugh dry heave
There were many who had their headlines and stories written, piling on a third-straight CFP semifinal loss for Jim Harbaugh on top of his lost Super Bowl and two lost NFC Championship games. Nice sets come in threes and all that. And he still may add that next Monday. ...

I love it when Dan Campbell gets that crazy look in his eyes
From the jump, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has shown zero interest in moral victories, and Saturday in Dallas was further proof of that. Down 20-19 with 23 ticks, the coach eschewed the tie and went for two and the win three consecutive times. After an illegal touching penalty overruled a ...

Celebrating 2024 with the best players to ever wear 24
Happy New Year! We’re on to ‘24. Years have become synonymous with athletes and their jersey numbers recently (ask any 23-year-old how their “Jordan Year” is going). In honor of the trend, here are the greatest athletes to ever wear No. 24....

Here are the New Year's resolutions I'd like to see for the NBA
The NBA has never been more fun. Three-point bombing, higher-than-ever talent, a global player pool and the best product in professional sports. But it’s far from perfect. We’ve pinpointed five resolutions we want to see in 2024 that can improve the game on and off the court. ...

Baltimore Ravens to honor RB who assaulted fiancee in elevator
Ray Rice, the former NFL running back whose career ended after he assaulted his then-fiancee — the charges were dropped — will be honored by his former team Sunday....