hoaxes Page 2 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

No, Aaron Hernandez Wasn't Found Not Guilty
There's an article floating around—mainly on Facebook, but also on Twitter—claiming that Aaron Hernandez was found not guilty of all charges, and will play for the Patriots next season. It is a hoax. A surprising amount of people have believed it....

Hey, Let That Fake Investor Teen Live
Let’s begin by stipulating that Mohammed Islam, the Queens teen who lied about making dozens of millions of dollars via after-school financial investments, probably is a dingus. He is a teen boy. It’s a safe assumption. He is also, in his way, a hero....

That Image Of "Paul George's X-Ray" Isn't Really His
You pretty much know what an X-ray of Paul George's compound leg fracture from Friday night might look like. But lots of folks wanted to see scans of his specific snapped tibia and fibula. So, starting this weekend, this image started making the rounds:...

Prankster Poses As Ukraine Eyewitness, Calls MSNBC Host "Dumbass"
MSNBC's Krystal Ball couldn't foresee being called a "dumbass" by a prankster posing as an eyewitness to today's MH17 flight disaster, even after the guest—claiming to be stationed at the U.S. embassy in Kiev—claimed the plane was shot down by "a blast of wind from Howard Stern's ass."...

The "FIFA Corruption" Twitter Account Is Fake, Of Course
Shortly after Germany won the World Cup final 1-0, a Twitter account popped up claiming that the match was fixed, and it had some seemingly convincing evidence. Alas, it was a (clever) hoax....

No, Johnny Manziel Was Not Drinking A Beer At The NFL Draft
Here's an image of Johnny Manziel drinking a beer at the draft tonight. It's been sent around by everyone. It's not real!...

Dear Abby Runs Clearly Fake Letter From Woman Asking What Twerking Is
How many letters do you think "Dear Abby" receives in a day? Hundreds? Thousands? Enough, surely, that the advice column (now written by Jeanne Phillips) wouldn't need to run a fake letter. But you'll probably find this one in your local paper today, and we're pretty sure it's not authentic....

Shaka Smart-To-Marquette Reports Came From Student Journalist
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel now tells us Shaka Smart is not likely to take the head basketball coaching position at Marquette. Why, then, were TV stations in Milwaukee all breathlessly reporting the breaking news that he'd be the new leader of the Golden Eagles? A source inside one of those newsr...

Dominica's Fake Ski Team Scammed The Olympics And The Press
After the opening ceremony, the Olympics were one long ungroomed trail for Gary di Silvestri and Angelica Morrone, the most-publicized husband-and-wife carpetbagging oldies act in cross-country-skiing history....

PSA: That Viral News Blooper Someone's About To Send You Is Fake
Here is a purported news blooper in which a reporter says, of a missing woman, "I'd fuck her. I'd fuck her right in the pussy." It is not real....

Police Arrest Prankster Who Offered Tony Dungy The USC Job
When last we met Ken Tarr, he was riding high off the Dungy-to-USC prank and planned on offering Will Muschamp a middling position at a middling program just to "see if he gets insulted or not." Now he's in a Los Angeles jail, on suspicion of felony eavesdropping. ...

Coaches: High School And Its 20-Year-Old Star "Stole" D.C. Hoops Title
Long after the credits should have rolled in the soap opera that was Junior Etou's high school basketball career, we have a plot twist....

Who Is John Allen, The Baseball Reporter Revealed As A Twitter Hoax?
Winter is baseball's silly season, filled with silly trade and free agent rumors even from reputable sources. But sometimes those sources are not-so-reputable. Sometimes they don't even exist. Like KCNBC's own John Allen....

Meet The Prankster Who Offered Dungy The USC Job. He's At It Again.
[Update, Dec. 9: Tarr has been arrested and charged with felony eavesdropping.]...

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo Sued Over The One True Thing He Told Manti Te'o
Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who masterminded the hoax behind Manti Te'o's fake dead girlfriend, is being sued in Los Angeles Superior Court by a friend who claims he suffered brain damage after a March 2012 auto accident while riding in a car driven by Tuiasosopo....

How An ESPNer Found Out The "Battle Of The Sexes" Was Probably Fixed
As usual, this one started with a tip. It came courtesy of Hal Shaw, a 79-year-old man who lived in Florida. ESPN investigative reporter Don Van Natta Jr. knew him. The two had met when Van Natta was researching his 2011 biography of Babe Didrikson Zaharia. Shaw once worked at the country club that...

Atlanta Braves Batboy Uses Actual Bat In Cruel Hoax
A real, winged bat flew onto the field in the middle of last night's Phillies-Braves game. If you've seen this story by now, you probably think that the batboy scooped the bat from shortstop Paul Janish's glove and then ran, cradling it, to the Braves dugout. You may have read or incorrectly invoked...

Fake Shane Spencer Hoaxes Radio Show, Implies Jeter, Rivera Used PEDs
When you have a former Major League Baseball player on to admit steroid use, it is very, very important to make sure he's actually a former Major League Baseball player....

Somebody Took Over Manti Te'o's Old Twitter Account And Is Reviving His Old Tweets—Including Those To Lennay Kekua
Just when we thought things on the Manti Te'o/Lennay Kekua front were over, they got weird again. Earlier this month, an unknown individual assumed control of Manti Te'o's deleted Twitter account, recreated its appearance, and started tweeting. The tweets weren't original, though; they were recycled...

Phil Jackson's Typo-Riddled Tweet, The Most Heartwarming And Nonsensical Story Of The NBA Season, Is A Hoax.
It's a crummy commercial....