ja Page 558 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Gahhh! Japanese Baseball Is Terrifying, Reports Hiroki Kuroda
That smiling man up there is Hiroki Kuroda of the New York Yankees. Kuroda's first season in the American League has been a good one—he's got a 134 ERA+ in 16 starts heading into the all-star break. So he has good reason to smile now. But he didn't, way back when, writes David Waldstein in the New Y...
Rockets Help Finalize Jeremy Lin's $29 Million Deal With The Knicks
Jeremy Lin signed a four-year, $28.8-million offer sheet with the Houston Rockets tonight that serves little purpose beyond determining how much the Knicks will be paying him through the 2014-2015 season. Even with today's revelation that New York had its sights set on signing Jason Kidd, there is l...
Usain Bolt Is Lookin' Kinda Human
Usain Bolt's been the fastest non-jetpacked man in the world for four years now, and at 25, is still in a sprinter's prime. But a funny thing has happened over the last calendar year. At the 2011 World Championships in South Korea, Bolt was disqualified in the 100m final for a false start, and the g...
Prophet Or Troll? Ron Jaworski Names Joe Flacco The 9th-Best NFL QB
Remember how Ron Jaworski had Matthew Stafford 14th on his list of current NFL quarterbacks? The trolling had only begun. Jaws lists Joe Flacco ninth, and cites that noted cannon of a right arm....
Joey Chestnut Downs 68 Hot Dogs To Win Sixth Straight Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
Well that was gross. Joey Chestnut just wrapped up his sixth straight championship at the world's most popular eating contest by mashing 68 hot dogs down his gullet in ten minutes. Chestnut had the contest in hand from start to finish, and gets to go on being called the world's best competitive eate...
How To Eat 1 Gallon, 9 Ounces Of Ice Cream In 12 Minutes Without Getting A Headache: The Secrets Of Ed "Cookie" Jarvis
Tell Me When It's Over is an interview series in which we ask former athletes about the moment they knew their playing days were over. Today: Ed "Cookie" Jarvis, a 46-year-old real estate agent, married father of two, cancer survivor, and retired competitive eater....
Jaromir Jagr Signs With Dallas Stars, Is Still Old And Not Very Good
Earlier today, Jaromir Jagr—who said on Sunday that 21 teams made him offers— signed a one-year deal with the Dallas Stars. It's worth $4.5 million....
White Sox Bribing Fans To Vote Jake Peavy To The All-Star Team
It's time again for the stumpin' and campaignin' of the All-Star Game Final Vote, which I reluctantly capitalize since it's not a particularly creative branding (No "Plus One?" Or "Let's Get The Japanese Fans On Our Mailing Lists?"), and it's not particularly final, since most of these guys will get...
How To Burp Like A World Champ In 5 Steps, Featuring Competitive Eater And Burping World Champ Tim Janus
The results from the 2011 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest tell us that Tim "Eater X" Janus is the third-best hot-dog eater in the world. He owns world records for speed-eating burritos, sushi, and ramen noodles....
Four-Team Trade Sends Lamar Odom To The Clippers, ESPN Searching For New Picture Of Tadija Dragićević
The Mavericks sent disgruntled power forward/Kardashian sweetheart to the Los Angeles Clippers in a deal including four teams. The Clippers sent Mo Williams to the Utah Jazz who in turn received the draft rights to Shan Foster from the Mavericks. Dallas received the draft rights to Tadija Dragićevi...
Jay Bilas Still Wants To Talk About Men's Bodies
When Jay Bilas wasn't busy talking about "rims" he was busy talking about bodies. Last year it was all about hands, but this year the name of the game was "wingspan," "wingspan," and also "wingspan." Understandably the guy has to find something to talk about in the time that it takes David Stern t...
Discussion Discussion: A Word About Trolls And Stupid People, From The Deadspin Kinja Faeries
"Ultimately, who gives a shit?"...
ESPN's Draft Coverage Buzzword: "Rim"
ESPN's NBA draft coverage has become so predictable it's inspired its own drinking game (one Jay Bilas even referenced on the broadcast). Every year features a buzzword like "length," "scorer," or the always-controversial "character."...
Why Bernard James Should Be Your New Favorite NBA Player
The first round of the 2012 NBA Draft was a surprisingly dramatic affair, with one NBA scout equating most all pre-draft analysis to "blowing smoke up each other's asses for weeks." But the best story, arguably, came near beginning of the second round when Florida State center Bernard James was se...
Matthew Stafford As The 14th-Best QB: Is Ron Jaworski Crazy, Or Are The Rest Of Us Overrating Stafford? Discuss!
Ron Jaworski's been counting down his list of the best NFL quarterbacks, and Matthew Stafford, despite clocking in the top five in most statistical categories, landed at No. 14. Is Jaws right, and Stafford's sample size too small? Or could you stick a lump of Shaun Hill-shaped beef behind center, an...
How A Career Ends: Danny Manning, No. 1 NBA Draft Pick In 1988, Savored His Garbage Time In 2003
Tell Me When It's Over is an interview series in which we ask former athletes about the moment they knew their playing days were over. Today, with the NBA draft beginning in a matter of hours: Danny Manning, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1988 draft. ...
FBI: Ex-Stripper Mistress Of Warriors Coach Mark Jackson Extorted Him With His Own Dong Shots
The Smoking Gun has the full details, but here's the gist:...
How To Build A 21st-Century Bullpen With Failed Hitting Prospects And A Radar Gun
Earlier this month, Sean Doolittle made his major-league debut for the Oakland Athletics. It wasn't an obviously momentous event: The left-hander took the mound with two outs in the top of the fifth, with the A's trailing Texas 5-0. He struck out Nelson Cruz to end the inning, then pitched a perfect...
How "Seven Nation Army" Conquered The Sports World
The Euro 2012 semifinals kick off today, and 69 goals in, you might have noticed one fan chant being sung after every single one. How did an eminently chantable White Stripes ditty become soccer's universal goal celebration? This piece, originally published Jan. 13, 2012, has your answers....
ESPN Has Found Its New Craig James
We already knew that laughable Senate "candidate" Craig James would not be returning to ESPN—even though he's not going away, apparently—but we didn't know who'd be replacing him as part of the network's Thursday night college football telecast, aside from filling other WWL-related analysis duties. ...