e Page 7115 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Even Italy's A Little Racist Toward Mario Balotelli
This cartoon ran in Sunday's Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy's top-selling sports newspaper. It's Balotelli, fresh off the Azzurri triumph over England, climbing Big Ben. (Fun fact: It's officially "Elizabeth Tower" now.) Yes, Balotelli is playing the part of a giant gorilla, and yes, 90 percent of Euro...
Better Know An Umpire: Fieldin Culbreth
Welcome to Better Know An Umpire, an effort to educate ourselves on the human elements who have ultimate decision-making power over some 2,500 Major League Baseball games a year. (All cumulative statistics are through the 2011 season, unless otherwise stated.)...
How "Seven Nation Army" Conquered The Sports World
The Euro 2012 semifinals kick off today, and 69 goals in, you might have noticed one fan chant being sung after every single one. How did an eminently chantable White Stripes ditty become soccer's universal goal celebration? This piece, originally published Jan. 13, 2012, has your answers....
Here's Why Chris Berman Calling An NFL Game Is A Terrible Idea (In Case You Needed A Reminder)
Over the years, ESPN has used the second game of the annual Week 1 Monday Night Football doubleheader as a kind of test kitchen, to see just how much bullshit American sports fans can tolerate. We've been subjected to Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic, and Mike Ditka, all at once. Twice. And now, as the ch...
ESPN Finally Relents And Will Let Chris Berman In The Booth For One <em>MNF</em> Game
For years, Chris Berman has wanted to call a pro football game—something he hasn't done in all his time at ESPN. Before the 2009 season, we've heard, Berman asked the network if he could call just one game, maybe a late-season nothingburger like Cardinals-49ers. And ESPN, as it always has, slammed t...
Raven Wanted To Rent <i>Buffy The Vampire Slayer</i>, And We Didn't Have It In Stock: More Wrestler Run-Ins
Inspired by the saga of "Wrestling Superstar Virgil," pro wrestling's saddest man, we continue with readers' encounters with the titans of the squared circle. If you've had your own run-in with wrestlers past or present, e-mail us, subject line "Virgilbag."...
Dewayne Wise's "Catch": Plucky Gamesmanship Or Low-Down Dirty Cheating? Discuss!
OK, obviously, what happened down the left-field line at Yankee Stadium last night was some ludicrous, amazing bullshit, and umpire Mike DiMuro is a disgrace. But what about Dewayne Wise? By acting as if he had the ball in his empty glove, was he cleverly grabbing any available competitive edge, li...
Person Goes Kite Surfing During A Tropical Storm, Gets Swept Right Over A Pier
Before watching this video, I had no idea kite surfing was a thing. It seems to involve standing on a surf board in the ocean while holding on to a giant kite, a hybrid of surfing and paragliding. Sounds like loads of fun, but also like an incredibly dangerous thing to do in the middle of a tropic...
The College Football Playoff Is The Best Sports Innovation Of Our Generation
I remember being baffled by college football from the very beginning. I was the only sports fan in my family. My parents didn't give a shit about sports. My brother and sister didn't give a shit about sports. If I wanted to learn how different sports functioned—how to watch them—I was more or less o...
![Now Some Guy Who Says He's Brooks Bollinger's Cousin Has Decided To Get In On Accusing Jerry Sandusky Of Molestation [UPDATE]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/17r2pc5rxcuf2jpg.jpg)
Now Some Guy Who Says He's Brooks Bollinger's Cousin Has Decided To Get In On Accusing Jerry Sandusky Of Molestation [UPDATE]
Now that Jerry Sandusky has been convicted, additional victims are likely to come forward to allege he abused them. Some of those stories will be credible. Others, highly suspect. File this one under the category of "looks like lunatic bullshit."...
Youth Hockey Coach Arrested On Charges He Tripped An Opposing Player In The Handshake Line
In a refreshing reminder that it isn't just the United States dealing with the problem of psycho youth sports coaches, a kiddie hockey league coach in Vancouver is in hot water with authorities after allegedly tripping an opposing player in the postgame handshake line, breaking the child's wrist....
A.J. Hawk Shoves Guy Into Lake During Pickup Football Game
A number of Buckeye alums in the NFL, including A.J. Hawk, Troy Smith, Doug Datish and Bobby Carpenter, took part in a charity golf tournament over the weekend. The event, in Warren, Ohio, raised money for a group providing after-school programs for at-risk youth, so that's great. Even better was ...
Stray Bullet Falls Through Tropicana Field Roof, Hits Fan
During a game against the Marlins two weekends ago, a Rays fan visiting from the Florida panhandle felt something strike his leg. It hit so hard, he thought it was a foul ball. But another fan nearby rooted around on the ground and came up with a bullet....
Tyler Clippard, Giant Jerk Animal Lover, Spits On Feeds Baby Ducks [UPDATE]
Reader Curtis took in the Nationals/Rockies game at Coors Field last night, another Rockies loss. As the game wound down he walked around the stadium only to come along a duck family that had wandered into the visitors' bullpen. Clippard purposefully walked between the ducklings and their parents,...
Wimbledon Is Weird
Grantland sent the great Brian Phillips to Wimbledon, and it's paid off. Here's a snippet: "From up on my gangplank, the players looked like holograms, or ghosts. And that's the point of Wimbledon, isn't it? To make you feel like you can ride the 493 through SW19 and wind up in 1896 (only with fold-...
An Interview With The Woman Selling Photos Of A Supposedly Masturbating Terrell Owens
Yesterday, TMZ published an item about a woman who had approached them offering to sell some pics of Terrell Owens. Those photos, according to TMZ, were "some VERY graphic images featuring himself ... with himself." Translation: The woman says T.O. was fapping. Here's more:...
Rob Ryan: Colorful Individual
Our favorite stadium reporter Jim Knox was at his best last night during the Tigers-Rangers matchup, locating Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan enjoying the ballgame. Ryan's choice of multicolored polo sans undershirt is the kind of bold wardrobe choice we've come to expect from the guy who dr...
Manny Gonzalez Submits His Nominee For Worst Blown Call Of The Year
Manny Gonzalez is not an MLB staff umpire, and he had only umped 53 games at the highest level through last season. (He doesn't even have an official profile.) Indeed, he's been bouncing around the minors since the early '90s, and it appears he may never get the permanent call to The Show if he kee...
Reds Closer Aroldis Chapman Celebrates A Save By Doing A Double-Somersault
Reds hurler Aroldis Chapman is in a weird spot. The triple-digit flamethrower is hearing calls to yank him from the closer role, and possibly put him in the Cincinnati rotation. That's not to mention his stripper issues and other stretches of bizarre behavior....
![The Greatest Trick Dewayne Wise Ever Pulled Was Convincing The World He Caught This Ball [UPDATE]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/17r17aparlxnxjpg.jpg)
The Greatest Trick Dewayne Wise Ever Pulled Was Convincing The World He Caught This Ball [UPDATE]
Outfielder Dewayne Wise is used to making athletic catches. He saved Mark Buehrle's perfect game once upon a time. But it turns out he's also pretty good at selling an obvious drop on a sensational effort. He fooled YES announcer Michael Kay, he fooled the tens of thousands of other fans who didn't...