football Page 55 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

What Lionel Messi coming to MLS means — and what it doesn’t
MLS, arguably, have already gotten what they wanted from the signing of Lionel Messi. They were in the headlines the past couple days, a place the league has struggled to stay in. It is something, for the league, that ESPN.com has a Messi headline right next to a headline about Liverpool signing Ale...

Does Dalvin Cook’s departure foreshadow a Kirk Cousins exit?
The Minnesota Vikings have made it official: It’s all on Kirk Cousins. Skol and longtime running back Dalvin Cook are parting ways, according to Tom Pelissero, and thus the front office is putting the onus squarely on Cousins’ shoulders. Whether this is a new direction for the offense, or general ma...

Lionel Messi retirement tour is coming to the US, not Saudi Arabia
Labeling MLS as a “retirement league” has been unnecessarily callous for a few seasons now. It is much more than that, and has become more of a selling league, i.e. a league that is mostly interested in developing young players to sell off for big profits to Europe to then be reinvested and start th...

Clemson’s fancy NIL facility is working with latest commitments
According to ESPN, five-star linebacker Sammy Brown and four-star wide receiver Bryant Wesco have decided to play their college ball at Clemson. Brown comes in at No. 17 in ESPN’s rankings of the top 300 players in his class, while Wesco comes at No. 23. Nothing about two really good football player...

Damar Hamlin — not his body double — back on the field
It’s only been half a year since Damar Hamlin was resuscitated on the field during a Thursday Night Football contest against the Cincinnati Bengals, but on Tuesday, the 25-year-old Buffalo Bills safety was a full participant wearing a helmet in practice open to the media for the first time. The mile...

We are finally getting the Netflix Florida Gators doc we deserve
It’s finally here. Well, it’s at least on the way — reportedly....

Colts' Isaiah Rodgers investigated by NFL for betting on football
It may appear hypocritical that the NFL — and the rest of professional sports — are willing to shake hands and sign contracts with the legal sports betting companies and then turn around and punish the players for gambling, but it has to be done. For all of the ethical questions surrounding the NFL,...

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett's car was stolen during a radio appearance
Pittsburgh Steelers country is not like Los Angeles. On the West Coast, athletes are like other celebrities, people with public schedules so burglars know the best times to break into their homes. The way that Pittsburgh rides for the Steelers, it could be reasonably assumed that Kenny Pickett has f...

Kyler Murray’s career is trending in the wrong direction
Kyler Murray was considered one of the most promising young NFL quarterbacks not too long ago, and now he’s viewed in a much less favorable light around the league. After a messy contract dispute with the Arizona Cardinals, Murray got his money, and now some think they may have overpaid the former R...

Zlatan Ibrahimović retired from soccer, and the world is a bit duller today
To say we’ll be Zlatan-less is probably wide of the mark. Whatever Zlatan Ibrahimović goes on to do, you can be sure it’ll be loud and full of bravado. But he won’t be on the field, which is a loss for the sport, if only because there simply can’t be anyone like him again. First off, no one’s going...

A month before the start of the Women’s World Cup, TV rights are still a mess
In the moments after England won the Women’s European Championships last summer, BBC presenter Gabby Logan issued an inspiring call for the accomplishment to be a mere stepping stone in the growth of the women’s game. Would have been nice if her employers were listening ahead of the 2023 Women’s Wor...

How much buffoonery will UEFA allow from scum like José Mourinho?
José Mourinho has always been an asshole. Fans of the beautiful game have known this for the better part of two decades after he jumped onto the scene and won the Premier League title with Chelsea in 2005. He’s also a damn good coach — no one will ever doubt that. His pedigree of employers would cha...

Jeff Van Gundy wages war on NBA halftime and free throws
ESPN NBA color analyst Jeff Van Gundy has never been shy when it comes to speaking his mind and voicing his opinions on the game of basketball. As a former head coach in the association and broadcaster for over a decade, he knows the game’s ins, and outs better than most. However, his latest comment...

Karim Benzema is the latest to take the blood money
And people thought MLS was a retirement league. ...

Remember former USMNT striker Chris Wondolowski? He just led a team to victory as a goalkeeper
The Soccer Tournament, or TST for short, started its inaugural 32-team, 7-on-7 showcase earlier today and it’s a clusterfuck. And like all televised abnormalities of society, at least we get to watch. The nature of the tournament gives way for more unique scenarios to happen, like a goalkeeper scori...

Antonio Brown wants to catch a TD from Cam Newton, so he's offering $150k
The Albany Empire already lost eight players — including its lone quarterback Sam Castronova — after new owner Antonio Brown was allegedly behind on payroll and otherwise a dick....

Hey New York, slow your roll on the Jets to the Super Bowl
So, this is where we’re at now. Hot takes for the sake of hot takes. Any time you pick the New York Jets to do anything other than perform like the Jets, that’s a hot take. All of a sudden, because they’ve acquired an over-the-hill, entitled, cave-dwelling quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, we’re suppose...

IDIOT OF THE MONTH: Legends of stupidity return to May leaderboards
Welcome to Deadspin’s IDIOT OF THE MONTH. Please enjoy our latest offering to the pageview gods, presented thusly in a convenient slideshow format....

The past, present and future of Ted Lasso
The landing was stuck. Many storylines came to a close in the Ted Lasso season-three finale, with the main timeline of the show likely over based on the perfection that was the closing montage. There’s no way we’ve seen the last of all of these characters, whether a spinoff called “AFC Richmond” or ...

Add special teams ace Matthew Slater to growing list of NFL players against new kickoff rule
For those curious about the temperature in the room among the NFL players, Matthew Slater gave a good indication of where it is during New England Patriots OTAs on Wednesday. He discussed the league’s new kickoff rule — which Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce has called “absolutely stupid” — that w...