bu Page 252 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Courtney Smith's Protective Order Detailed How She Told The Court Zach Smith Terrorized Her<em></em><em></em>
On July 20 of this year, Courtney Smith asked the court in Delaware County, Ohio, for a domestic violence civil protection order against her ex-husband, then-Ohio State assistant football coach Zach Smith. She already had made statements concerning his abuse in her 2015 petition for a divorce; that...

Let's Remember Some Guys: WrestleMania Vol. IV
“Ripping packs of baseball cards was one of my favorite things to do as a kid,” my colleague David Roth wrote in June in an essay accompanying a video of the baseball card-opening series that I’ve now somehow both wormed my way into and made about professional wrestling. “I like the experience of op...

Two Pirates Minor Leaguers Hit For The Cycle In The Same Game
Here’s something improbable: two minor league teammates in the Pirates system hit for the cycle Tuesday night, in the same game. Kevin Newman got his in five at-bats, notching a single, a pair of doubles, a triple, and finally, in the eighth inning, a solo dong to left:...

Courtney Smith's Lawyer Says Ohio State Never Contacted Her Client About Abuse Allegations
As a small number of very stupid Buckeyes fans rally around head coach Urban Meyer—who is currently on paid leave as Ohio State investigates whether or not Meyer properly reported the multiple reports of domestic abuse made against since-fired assistant coach Zach Smith—a statement yesterday from th...

Why Your Team Sucks 2018: Tampa Bay Buccaneers<em></em>
Some people are fans of the Tampa Bay Bucs. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Tampa Bay Bucs. This 2018 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the previews so far here....

Brain Worms Drive Hundreds Of Unfortunate Buckeyes Fans To Gather For Urban Meyer Rally
Ohio State head football coach Urban Meyer is currently on indefinite paid administrative leave while the university completes an investigation of reports that he knew of but did nothing about domestic violence allegations against assistant coach Zach Smith. Meyer is not dead; he is not in jail; he ...

The Browns Have Turned Yet Another First-Round Pick Into A Bag Of Shit
American sports are set up to all but guarantee that a franchise as putrid as the Cleveland Browns cannot remain putrid for eternity. All those losing seasons just add up to higher first-round draft picks, which should eventually add up to winning seasons. It take some real work to waste free ticket...

“Among the 14 versions the Post-Gazette collected, the Pirates use the slowest tempo by more than 20 beats per minute. Some teams, like the Oakland Athletics, have versions more than 25 percent faster than the Pirates.” What’s with Pittsburgh’s distinct, super-slow version of “Take Me Out to the Bal...

And Now, James Franklin's Dark Purple Butt
Penn State head coach James Franklin spoke at Penn State Media Day about, among other things, the experience of taking all his players paintballing for a recent team outing. This may not have been a great idea for a person whose job it is to push these competitive young men to endure exhaustion and ...

Urban Meyer And Zach Smith Are Defending Themselves, Even If Their Answers Don’t Quite Make Sense
In a statement posted on his Twitter account, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer admitted Friday afternoon that he knew about a 2015 incident in which former assistant coach Zach Smith allegedly strangled his ex-wife, Courtney. After initially claiming ignorance at Big Ten media day—saying, “I know nothin...

How ESPN Ended Up Paying Brett McMurphy To Post The Year's Biggest College Football Story On Facebook
Brett McMurphy, who is about as plugged in as any college football reporter can be, was always going to scoop ESPN on the Urban Meyer-Zach Smith story. But that the Worldwide Leader paid him to not publish the scoop on their own website, well, that’s the result of a very particular kind of corporate...

Let’s Remember Some Guys: Early '90s WCW With Nick Aldis
Nick Aldis is now the NWA world’s champion. Not just that, he’s a fighting champion: He defended his title 20 times recently. Sure, wrestling is scripted, but that still means Aldis has wrestled near the top of the card at 20 shows this year. Aldis is part of a wrestling family in the spotlight: His...

If You Think Urban Meyer's Career Is Over, You Underestimate The Power Of Winning<em></em>
Would it be too much to say that winning feels like great sex? The rush of adrenaline, the euphoria, the permission to scream and yell and do whatever you want in the dark of night. The sense that you are invincible and, better yet, unique and special. The scientific term for feeling as if your team...

Two Ex-Ohio State Wrestlers Say Coach Asked Them To Backtrack On Jim Jordan Accusations
NBC News reported tonight that former Ohio State wrestling coach Russ Hellickson sent text messages to two former wrestlers—who both have said they believe Rep. Jim Jordan knew about the sexual abuse done to them by their team doctor—asking the men to take back their stories and start defending Jord...

Ohio State Puts Urban Meyer On Paid Leave Amid School's Investigation Of Zach Smith
As part of its investigation into reports of domestic violence committed by former assistant football coach Zach Smith, Ohio State has placed head football coach Urban Meyer on paid administrative leave. Offensive coordinator Ryan Day will take over in Meyer’s absence....

There Are Even More Reports Of Zach Smith Allegedly Abusing His Ex-Wife While At Ohio State
This morning, Brett McMurphy reported on text messages sent from Zach Smith’s ex-wife, Courtney, to Urban Meyer’s wife, Shelley, discussing if Courtney Smith should get a restraining order after Zach allegedly abused her. This afternoon, Cleveland.com published several more police reports in which C...

Zach Smith's Ex-Wife Says Urban Meyer Knew About Abuse Allegations In 2015
Ohio State wide receivers coach Zach Smith was fired by the university after his history of alleged domestic violence became public. After Smith was fired, head coach Urban Meyer admitted to reporters that he had been aware of Smith’s 2009 domestic violence arrest, but made it clear that he had no i...

Aw, You Guys, The Pirates Are Actually Trying To Get Better
The Pittsburgh Pirates, a “small-market” MLB team whose owner prefers hoarding his money to spending it on good players, actually made a deal today to improve the team. I know, right?! These scrappy little tightwad nobodies acquired an honest-to-gosh name people have heard of in Rays starter Chris A...

Report: Bucks Fans Paying Tax Dollars To Put Private Company's Name On Arena Built Using Bucks Fans' Tax Dollars
Milwaukee’s new NBA arena will open later this summer, and will host Bucks home games starting with opening night in October. Last week the Bucks and banking software company Fiserv announced a 25-year agreement to name the new arena Fiserv Forum, but this otherwise standard piece of stadium busines...

Jacob DeGrom Is The Very Human Embodiment Of Futility
There’s a point in every typical Mets season when their astonishingly dependable ineptitude tips over from being a source of amusement to being a source of genuinely unpleasant secondhand embarrassment. Probably for Mets fans that moment reliably passes before the first day of summer; for the rest o...