ja Page 268 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

SEE IT: Doug Polk’s absurd fold vs. Phil Hellmuth may be 'greatest' ever on High Stakes Poker
Whispers of a notable hand involving Doug Polk have been circulating ever since his high-stakes grudge match vs. Daniel Negreanu started last fall. Although Polk had “retired” from poker, he came back to score a cool $1.2 million. During live streams of the match, commentator Jamie Kerstetter allude...

It’s never a good sign when a star athlete like Baker Mayfield sees UFOs
The Cleveland Browns are in some serious trouble....

The Sixers continue to show a different gear in win over Jazz
In a COVID-riddled season especially, it’s still too early for definitive NBA Finals ride-or-die predictions that aren’t stupid or clout-chasey. That said, the Philadelphia 76ers proved something last night by taking the team with the NBA’s best record (how much longer will we say this about the Uta...

Houston plans to retire James Harden’s number? Aw, Hell no!
The Houston Rockets have lost their damn minds....

COVID could make next FIFA international window a bigger mess than usual
The club vs. country fight is a long and storied one in soccer, with clubs always more than a little peeved about releasing the players they’re paying millions to travel to different training schedules and medical staffs, for games they aren’t compensated for. Players getting hurt on national team d...

Reports of Kemba Walker’s demise have been greatly exaggerated
Depending on who you ask, Kemba Walker might be anywhere from overly washed to overly joyous....

Creighton has failed every black player and coach that’s ever been in Greg McDermott’s program
If you read the “Mission Statement” on Creighton University’s website, it’s easy to see that it serves as propaganda, falsely claiming that the university is a place that’s “dedicated to the pursuit of truth in all its forms and is guided by the living tradition of the Catholic Church.”...

Welcome to The Ladies Room, a Deadspin Sports podcast ... this week, Lesley Visser talks being the first, and the GOAT, at everything
Welcome to the Ladies Room - A Deadspin Sports Podcast....

Twitter beef allows us to welcome back Soulja Boy & Randy Orton as headline names
I would have never thought that I would look at my timeline and see an active Twitter Beef between WWE legend Randy Orton and Soulja Boy, but it’s 2021 and anything is possible. ...

NBA is granting two-way players postseason-eligibility, per report, which could help some teams
Suddenly, depth may become even more important in this year’s playoffs. ...


Comeback not-kid Alex Smith reportedly will soon be out of Washington, so here are his best landing spots
The 2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year will not be back in Washington. According to Ian Rapoport and Kim Jones, Alex Smith is expected to be released by the Washington Football Team anytime now. He could be a free agent as soon as [checks notes] today....

When it comes to guys like Mickey Callaway, sports are the problem, can they be the solution?
I suppose the small flower growing out of the fertilizer of the way women are still treated in sports currently is that while organizations like MLB and the Angels dither about what should be done with Mickey Callaway, it only gives masterful reporters like Britt Ghiroli and Katie Strang, and the br...

Carmelo Anthony squashes the “Melo” “debate” between him and LaMelo Ball
It’s been a point of contention for a little while now between the younger Gen Z kids and the older millennials about who should claim the name “Melo” in the NBA these days....

Has to be said: Kawhi Leonard-Clippers marriage has been a failure
Kawhi Leonard has been a bust in L.A....

Bucs host world’s largest girls flag football tournament during a pandemic
I’m all for girls’ flag football tournaments, but hosting the “world’s largest” anything in a global pandemic may, I dunno, not be a great idea?...

NCAA Tournament or NIT: Where will Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas & Michigan State end up?
Depending on when you read this, it’s been at least 712 days since the last men’s NCAA Tournament began and at least 692 days since a tournament game has been played. We understand if you’re a little rusty, have forgotten how to fill out a bracket, or if you don’t even remember that Virginia is stil...

After Duke loss, predictable silence from the Jalen Johnson critics
Duke came back from a 12-point deficit on Saturday to take Louisville to overtime, but Cardinals senior Carlik Jones scored seven of his 25 points in the extra session, and the Cardinals went on to an 80-73 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium, snapping the Blue Devils’ four-game winning streak and dea...

U.S. Soccer nixes ban on anthem protests, and one guy's dissent exposes the hypocrisy of the right wing
U.S. Soccer has had a rule since 2017 that players must stand for the national anthem. As of Sunday, that rule is gone, allowing American players to do the most American of things: use their freedom of speech to express themselves by taking a knee if they so choose....
![Former NFLer, Notre Dame D-lineman Louis Nix III found dead at 29 — report [UPDATED]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/epq7no4utqeiwx2ubshp.jpg)
Former NFLer, Notre Dame D-lineman Louis Nix III found dead at 29 — report [UPDATED]
Updated Feb. 27, 2021 at 9:30 p.m.: Louis Nix III, a former Notre Dame defensive lineman who was drafted by the Texans, and played four games for the New York Giants in 2015, was found dead on Saturday after having been missing since Tuesday, according to a report from Action News in Jacksonville....