fin Page 63 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Blake Griffin was blindsided by his benching, and the end could be closer than he’d imagined
Former No. 1 overall pick and slam dunk champion Blake Griffin received a rude awakening recently when he was not only benched by head coach Steve Nash but removed from the Nets’ rotation altogether. LaMarcus Aldridge certainly appears to have more left in the tank than Griffin, so being replaced by...

Crooked Olympics organizer sentenced alongside corrupt ex-Rio governor by censured Brazilian judge who’s pals with possibly criminal president
The head of Rio’s 2016 Olympic organizing committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted on charges of corruption, criminal organization, money laundering, and tax evasion....

Deron Williams went from challenging Chris Paul for ‘best point guard’ title to marveling at his longevity
Once upon a time, Deron Williams was seen as a top-five NBA point guard alongside draft classmate Chris Paul. Now Williams is retired and admits being a little jealous of Paul and how he’s still playing at such a high level all these years later....

HBO filmed Colts’ Nyheim Hines fanboying out on Tavon Austin and it’s very sweet
I had no idea that Tavon Austin was playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Nine years ago he was the most explosive player in college football at West Virginia, and arguably one of the most dynamic players in the history of the sport. At 5-foot-8 and under 180 pounds, he was still the No. 8 overall p...

Back to the future with the USFL
Mullets, mom jeans, the United States Football League — you’d be forgiven for thinking you woke up back in the ’80s this morning. Fox Sports announced its sponsored relaunch of the short-lived league, scheduled for the spring of 2022. With an eight-team, two-conference model, spring football will re...

Giannis may seem like body armor dunking a basketball, but he has some of the same mental health issues as others
That singular focus on greatness, nothing else matters, no price is too steep, and there is always more sweat to be poured into the workspace... it turns out is not healthy. For one, where does an obsession like that even come from? For Giannis Antetokounmpo it came from a place of fear....

The NBA future is... WOWZA!
The NBA has never felt younger and more reliant on up-and-coming stars than it does today. Teams are beginning to utilize the draft more and more. We’ve seen plenty of tank-a-thons by teams in the last five years, and these efforts have panned out to varying degrees. For some, it has materialized in...

David Griffin is the problem in New Orleans
David Griffin is David Griffin’s biggest problem....

The Warriors have been good this year but could still get a lump of Klay in their stockings for Christmas
The 30-day notice to vacate has been sent out, and teams around the NBA have been warned. That’s a notice to vacate wins courtesy of your Golden State Warriors. The other half of the Splash Brothers, Klay Thompson, is on schedule to make his return to the active roster much sooner than anyone though...

Bulls currently thriving with Alex Caruso, and the Lakers could’ve brought their defensive stalwart back at a discount
The 2019-20 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers were a much deeper team than just two stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rajon Rondo, and Alex Caruso were all key contributors on a team that finished the regular season 11th in offensive rating and third in defe...

Drumming up some interest: Boilermaker coach making a name for himself with upsets
Outside of Ohio State, it’s hard to definitively say what’s real and what’s Iowa in the Big 10. The conference has had six teams ranked in the top 10 — Penn State twice, Iowa twice, Michigan and Michigan State — lose over the past five weeks. Two of those six upsets have come at (and due to) the han...

James Harden had a ‘glitch in the matrix’ moment, recreating <em>NBA 2K</em> gameplay
The start of the season hasn’t been the NBA 2K simulation that most thought it would be for the Brooklyn Nets, but James Harden had himself a moment over the weekend that sums up the Nets’ slow start this year....
![Eric Adams won't throw Kyrie, Nets an alley-oop [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/fc78b4755bef441bed0562801b34052f.jpg)
Eric Adams won't throw Kyrie, Nets an alley-oop [Updated]
Updated Saturday, October 6, 2021, at 11 a.m.: Eric Adams definitively quashed the idea of lifting vaccine mandates Friday night, negating much of the speculation below. The points made by the writer about what it would mean stand on their own. ...

Scottie Pippen is still angry and bitter, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong
Scottie Pippen is still angry about that contract. It didn’t take up much time in “The Last Dance,” which is what the released excerpt in GQ of Pippen’s autobiography entitled “Unguarded” focused on, but it’s been the guiding light for most of Pippen’s life. It filters through the article in the New...

Western Conference beware, Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets have a new weapon in their arsenal
The Denver Nuggets have struggled a bit to start the 2021-22 season. Following three consecutive campaigns with a win percentage of .630 or better, they are .500 following a 108-106 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. Still, there is encouragement for Nuggets fans, both from this game ...

Celtics’ struggles less about style of play, more about players
I don’t blame overconfident NBA players for attempting to take over a game when the only people excited for the Austin Rivers experience are opposing fans. I think it’s less, “I got this,” and more “I want to do the fun thing, too.” Who wants to watch someone play video games when you could have the...

Sixers fans chant ‘we want Lillard’ even in midst of worst shooting slump of his career
The 2021-22 season hasn’t been anything to write home about for Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard just yet. If you were present at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia Monday night, then you know 76ers fans don’t give a damn about Dame’s early-season woes. The Philly crowd didn’t w...

I’m old, so I made my kids help me rank this year’s NBA City Edition jerseys
The new NBA City Edition jerseys are out, with 28 new looks heading to the hardwood while the Jazz and Suns run it back with last season’s getups. Last year, Deadspin ranked Utah’s at No. 8 among the City Editions, and Phoenix at No. 23. Maybe it was the run to the NBA Finals, but those Suns “Valley...

Steve Spurrier is still finding a way to run up the score on Georgia, 25 years after Florida’s national championship
Florida-Georgia, “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party,” might have a little less doubt than usual about who’s going to win this year, what with the Bulldogs being No. 1 by a mile and the Gators being out of the top 25. The last three seasons, the rivalry has been a matchup of top-10 foes, wit...
