fl Page 297 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Report: Roger Goodell Is A Feckless Stooge
The Washington Post published a profile today of divisive NFLPA leader DeMaurice Smith, portraying him as a combative man who maybe comes off a bit too paranoid and pretentious to earn the full trust of the of the players. The most insightful parts of the article, though, are about Smith’s foil: NFL...
The Forgotten All-Star Game That Helped Integrate Baseball
When Cleveland celebrated its sixth time hosting MLB’s All-Star Game last week, it might have seemed an odd event to commemorate baseball’s integration. But when Jackie Robinson stepped onto the field in a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform in April of 1947, becoming the first African-American to play in whit...
Hair-Pulling Considered Rude In Every Sport But Football
In the midst of play a few weeks ago, WNBA player Liz Cambage’s arm got all wrapped up in her opponent Kalani Brown’s hair. At first the tangle seemed to be an accident, but soon there was pushing and shoving and intentional hair-pulling, and Cambage walked away from the encounter with a flagrant fo...
The NBA Offseason Doesn't Get Better Than This. Unfortunately.
And now, the longer view on the Russell Westbrook–Chris Paul deal that you haven’t seen yet:...
Jim Bouton Woke Up America
In 1969 and 1970, two books were published that demystified two of the most hidebound American institutions—presidential campaigns and major-league baseball. By and large, both were exercises controlled at their very top by Penis-Americans who were so white that they barely cast a shadow. They were ...
Grayson Allen Ejected From Summer League Game For, You Guessed It, Being A Goon
Former Duke shithead Grayson Allen was part of the trade that sent Mike Conley from the Grizzlies to the Utah Jazz last month. You may have lost track of Allen in Utah, where he played just 38 games and spent a bunch of time in the developmental league, and you may therefore be surprised and disappo...
Nothing's Happening Today
This is the worst time of the year, but not for the reason you think. It’s because everyone in sports media all the way down to a three-watt radio station in Cow Skull, Saskatchewan, tells you it’s the worst time of the year. “Nothing’s happening,” “Nothing’s going on,” “We’re so bored,” and “I know...
Mike Vrabel Says He Would Gladly Chop Off His Own Dick To Win The Super Bowl
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is known for a bold, confident style of coaching that could accurately be described as “cocky.” However, as he explained on a recent podcast, Vrabel would be willing to make himself cockless if it meant he could lead his Titans to a single Super Bowl victory....
Waiting For The Revolution At Soccer Analytics Bootcamp
When the 2019 Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham kicked off, I wasn’t jammed into a sports bar downing beers with hundreds of other soccer-mad Americans, as I had originally planned to be. Instead, I was dead sober, watching the game in a lecture hall situated on the Columbia Uni...
Does Rob Manfred Even <i>Like</i> Baseball?
Baseball giveth, and baseball taketh away. In these perilous times when every little moment is a referendum on whether the game will survive until Christmas, and every act of untrammeled joy comes with two asterisks that scream, “Yeah, but they’ll screw it up because it’s baseball and only old peopl...
When The Allies Wanted A German Nuclear Scientist Dead, They Sent A Ballplayer To Kill Him
The following is an excerpt from The Bastard Brigade: The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb, by Sam Kean. The book is out today and can be purchased here....
How Concrete And Steel Built Baseball
The opening of Yankee Stadium on April 14, 1923, was a triumph for baseball....
Today's NFL Would Have Been Perfect For Doug Flutie
It’s been 14 years since he last played professional football, but Doug Flutie is suddenly relevant again. In the run-up to the draft, there was a big feature in the Washington Post, along with a 15-minute chat on The Rich Eisen Show. When I first reached out to ask about an interview, Flutie’s agen...
It's Time To Get Upset About Sneakers Again
Earlier this week, Nike pulled the release of what the Wall Street Journal described as “a U.S.A.-themed sneaker” that had been slated to be released on July 4. The sneakers, which featured the circa-1770 “Betsy Ross flag” on the heel of the shoe, were shipped to retailers and then recalled. “Nike h...
Football Destroyed Ken Stabler's Brain. Why Isn't His Family Getting A Cent From The Concussion Settlement?
Ken Stabler, the late Hall of Fame quarterback, suffered from CTE and Alzheimer’s before his death; not even the NFL or its lawyers dispute that. Yet Stabler’s family will not collect any money from the NFL’s class-action concussion settlement, which has proven to be a disaster for hundreds of forme...
The Florida Panthers Found Their Goalie
The reinvention of the Florida Panthers continued today with a massive new contract for free agent goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, worth a reported $70 million over the next seven years. By signing the two-time Vezina winner and former Blue Jacket, the Panthers hope that they’ve captured a key ingredie...
Treat The Knicks Like What They Are
Kevin Durant could have chosen better than to make Brooklyn the new center of the universe. For example, he could have joined Kawhi Leonard in Toronto and taken on the entire National Hockey League at its very core by making basketball Canada’s new national pastime. I mean, it’s one thing to kick th...
Recently Promoted Spanish Soccer Club Renamed As Flat Earth FC
After earning promotion to the Spanish fourth flight division, the club formerly known as Mostoles Balompie got a complete rebrand from president Javi Poves and was renamed Flat Earth FC. Poves confirmed in a video statement that the change was intended to support one of the dumbest fringe beliefs:...
The Man Who Walked His Life Away
George Wilson stepped out into the medieval-walled prison yard and began to walk. He was 47 years old, beaten-down, and half-starved. His squat frame and stubby legs hardly suggested athletic excellence. But Wilson was well-known as a perambulator, a peregrinator, and a master of “leg-ology.” He was...
Let's Fix All The Bird Logos In Pro Sports
There are 12 teams across the Big Four leagues named after birds, and to be honest, it’s a pretty raw deal for the birds. The teams get, for free: an entire graphic identity based around attractive and charismatic wildlife to put on shirts and hats and stuff to sell for a ton of money. The birds, ea...