ew Page 2178 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Calgary Flames were undone by a gimmick
While sneaking into the bottom rung of the playoffs is something to be eschewed in the NBA given that it rarely leads anywhere, there’s still a perception in the NHL that all you have to do is “get in.” The NHL has dined out for decades on the idea that the playoffs set everything anew, and that one...

When Rajon Rondo retires, no one will remember him like my mom will
Love is a mysterious thing. It can’t always be explained. It involves a certain kind of alchemy. Sometimes the people you love are widely adored. Other people hear about your love for them and think, “Gee, that’s only natural.” Other times, the people you love are misunderstood, overlooked, or even ...

The Masters was supposed to be LIV’s big moment, but a Brooks Koepka choke turned it into their big disappointment
It’s the obvious joke, so let’s get it out of the way. The LIV Golf representatives at The Masters aren’t used to playing 72 holes! That’s why Brooks Koepka crapped the bed on Sunday and blew his lead, only to be passed by Jon Rahm, who won his first green jacket by four strokes! If only the Saudi-b...

The Tampa Bay Rays can sure beat the tar out of awful teams
You can only play who is on the schedule. That’s an axiom as old as baseball, and it’s mostly true. The Tampa Bay Rays got to start their season with nine games against MLB’s kids with mittens pinned to their jackets year-round, and they’ve done all they can do. Which is to beat the ever-loving piss...

Aaron Ramsdale’s fingertips may have saved the Premier League title for Arsenal
There isn’t another league that can produce the utter chaos, at least as consistently, as the Premier League can with yesterday’s 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield. It starts with the end-to-end action, two teams waylaying into each other for various periods of the game. Which is the...

Who will win as the Lakers, Timberwolves, Pelicans, and Thunder battle for play-in spots?
The 2022-23 NBA regular season has come to a close, and it’s time again for the league’s newest tradition, the play-in tournament. This year the Western Conference had the race to watch down the stretch as it was tighter than spandex in the wrestling ring. In fact, the west was close for most of the...

Treat Rudy Gobert worse than Draymond Green — at least his punch was behind closed doors
It’s not about what was done, it’s about who did it. And if you don’t believe that, this week will be a sports debate-off on the events from the final day of the NBA’s regular season — which included Minnesota Timberwolves star center Rudy Gobert taking a swing at teammate Kyle Anderson on the bench...

At Princeton, a turnaround one man saw coming
“I was born delusional,” said Chris Ayres, Princeton’s head wrestling coach, earlier this year. “But I think — I really do — that delusion is a good thing.” He just proved his point. At Tulsa, Oklahoma’s NCAA wrestling tournament last month, Ayres pulled off one of the least likely turnarounds colle...

The Mavericks give away the game
Well now it’s pretty obvious what NBA teams really think of the play-in tournament. The Dallas Mavericks spent the weekend doing everything they could to drop right out of the 10th seed and into the draft lottery, which they successfully did. Mavericks fans are probably most excited about the season...

Don’t be so quick to count out the Western Conference's top-seeded teams
A large swath of NBA media is out on the top seeds in the Western Conference — and it makes sense, because, for the first time since the 1996-97 season, the East is far and away superior....

Redefining what it means to be a unicorn
“Unicorn” is up there with “new normal” and “positionless basketball” as far as terms I would love to see removed from my brain. Any big man with guard skills is dubbed a unicorn, and we’re led to believe the NBA is a mythical universe populated by elves, dragons, and wizards. Well, technically the ...

Vince McMahon is in charge again, in case you couldn’t tell
The first hour of this week’s Raw was commercial-free and contained two minutes of actual wrestling. Brock Lesnar appeared in both the opening and closing segments, opposing Roman Reigns (if only for a moment in the end), culminating in a nonsensical heel turn. Then there was a rerun of a women’s ta...

Tyreek Hill announces future retirement, and I own a goldfish
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. Fuck you....

Is it time to start talking about Aston Villa?
The Premier League, at least this season, has become stratified in a way it never has before. There seem to be only two categories. You’re either fighting against relegation or you’re in the race for the Champions League. It’s a little more nuanced than that under the hood, though not by much. From ...

The Baltimore Ravens are doing everything they can to agitate Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson has suffered a plethora of indignities at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. Add one more to the mix. Traditionally, MVP-caliber quarterbacks negotiate for top-dollar extensions that set the standard for the quarterback compensation model. Throughout their battle with Jackson, Baltimor...

The Isiah Thomas-Michael Jordan beef still going strong decades later
I guess if Michael Jordan gets to remain bitter about events from 40 years ago then everyone else from that time should be granted the same courtesy. In 2021 it was Scottie Pippen — promoting his bourbon and book — who was publicly critical of Jordan. Since the NBA 75 Greatest Team gathered at the 2...

Erie County should tell the Buffalo Bills to kick rocks
Terry Pegula is worth $6.7 billion. ...

John Elway parts with Broncos, gets out before draft history sinks in
John Elway’s tenure with the Denver Broncos was mercifully sent to the glue factory Wednesday, and he can now add “consultant” alongside “general manager” and “Super Bowl-winning quarterback” to the list of roles he formerly occupied for the organization. Thankfully for Donkos fans, Elway got out be...
