ew Page 2204 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Rob Manfred’s dumb ghost runner is here to stay
The start of the World Series always means that whichever ghoul is the commissioner of MLB is going to emerge from the damp and dark dwelling in which he inhabits. That’s the rule for every league of course, so it’s not to single out baseball. A Super Bowl, a Stanley Cup Final, the NBA Finals always...

The Second Coming of Dennis Smith Jr.
Maybe all he needed was to come home. Smith is from Fayetteville, North Carolina, and is now playing with the Charlotte Hornets, just a mere three hours from his hometown. The Hornets are Smith’s fifth team in six seasons. Last year, he split time between three teams, including the Hornets. So why h...

Just in time for Halloween, these are the scariest athletes of all time
In order to make money as a professional athlete, a person’s body must be able to defeat another person with a body that has gone through the same rigorous training. All of these people would be intimidating to those of us just trying to consistently get to the health club three days per week....

Welp, it turns out the Bills were every bit as good as advertised
While there is no guarantee that the Buffalo Bills will win the Super Bowl this season, there is no reason to remove them from their perch as championship favorites....

Who let Philadelphia be the sports capital?
In one light, there probably is no better place than Philadelphia, the epicenter of North American sports right now. There might not be a place where the teams matter more to the fans and residents, which of course leads them to some very curious words and deeds at times. You have to be truly dizzy ...

Should a player’s legacy be defined by postseason results?
Justin Verlander has a great shot at winning the American League Cy Young award this year. He pieced together a dominant season — at age 39 — after recovering from Tommy John surgery and helped lead the Houston Astros to another World Series. ...

Anti-vaxxer, flat earther...anti-Semite?
Do you know how easy it is to not promote antisemitism? If you’re even uncertain as to whether a tweet or a message of any kind would be controversial and alienate the Jewish people, Google it. Give a little bit of effort. And Kyrie Irving didn’t do that, or didn’t care to. And both are awful. ...

Still amazed by the Phillies? You haven’t been watching them
The Houston Astros entered the World Series perfect for the postseason. They extinguished the sizzling Seattle Mariners, and then sent New York Yankees fans spiraling. And in Game 1 of the World Series, they looked inevitable, getting out to a 5-0 lead after three innings with Justin Verlander perfe...

There are 10 unbreakable NFL records
Nowadays, in the NFL, it feels like there’s a record broken every week in almost every game. Once the league moved to an 18-game schedule, certain records — such as most catches by a rookie, or a team’s single-season mark — have been surpassed. But then there are those feats that have — and will — s...

Gus Johnson, not Ian Eagle, should succeed Jim Nantz as the voice of March Madness
Ian Eagle is really good at his job. Gus Johnson’s just better....

I could play this New York Times umpire game for hours
I love umpires. I don’t love to hate them like other baseball fans do, though. I’ve always leaned in the direction of leniency. I know that officiating in any sport is difficult, thankless, and downright hazardous to your health in some situations. Umpires get it the worst though, perhaps because th...

World Series X-Factors: Who needs to step up for Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies to win the title?
The World Series kicks off tomorrow night between two teams with wildly different expectations heading into the postseason. On one hand, the Astros were the top seed in the American League. Houston reached the World Series in three of the last five seasons and reached the ALCS in all five. Everyone ...

Oh look, everyone — Jason Whitlock demands your attention… again
In the for-profit universe of attention-whoring, there’s no such thing as bad press. Saying anything to get your name trending and increasing your social media following is the name of the game. To have others spend time and energy either agreeing with or lambasting your takes is the ultimate addict...
![Cross Donda Academy off the list of landing spots for aspiring hoops stars [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/d6b2cba62de8c036e29798d9b9e5583e.jpg)
Cross Donda Academy off the list of landing spots for aspiring hoops stars [Updated]
Kanye West has been in the Tom Cruise Bat-shit Crazy Celebrity Zone for so long that it’s been renamed the Ye Bat-shit Crazy Celebrity Zone. I’m assuming you’ve read the anti-semitic statements by now, and saw that Jaylen Brown and Aaron Donald — like almost every other sane person/company — cut tie...

This World Series is a beautiful juxtaposition
If styles make fights, then this World Series is for you. While the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies have their similarities (like green mascots), they also occupy opposing poles in a lot of ways. And also the perception of them is actually opposite to reality in some ways as well. There are...

Don’t applaud Jaylen Brown and Aaron Donald for severing ties with Kanye West
You know you’ve f*cked up when the head of your former agency is run by a clown like Antonio Brown....

Mullett Arena is somehow dumber than you’d imagine something called Mullett Arena could be
I’m one of many hockey observers that Coyotes fans, whoever they may be, claim to have an agenda at all times against the Yotes. And on some level, it’s fair, because it is hypocritical to talk often at length about the place teams have for fans in their lives and the public trust that they really a...

The rumored MLS Playoff changes are almost there
Apparently, taking a good hard look at the fairness of your playoff format is contagious these days. ...

Has Aaron Judge played his last game in pinstripes and a look at some notable 2023 MLB free agents
MLB wants everyone to focus on the World Series right now. The organization wants the baseball world’s focus on the matchup between Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander and Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper; the Aaron Nola vs. Yordan Alvarez showdown; and the fact that it’s a 1-seed going ag...

Will have some more of this, thank you
Tuesday night was Klay Thompson’s 651st regular-season game as a Golden State Warrior. When you add the 145 playoff games, Thompson’s been a part of 796 games in his career, and he’d never been ejected from one — until Tuesday night in Phoenix. ...