league Page 197 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Alex Nedeljkovic may not win the Calder Trophy, but he’s undoubtedly been the NHL’s most valuable rookie
Earlier today, the three finalists for the 2021 Calder Trophy were named....

Lions coach bizarrely dons helmet — probably to minimize damage from banging his head against the wall
Dan Campbell is already acting like a coach whose team has won eight games in two seasons. ...

The Cleveland Avengers, really?
When a team changes its name, there’s so much potential for creativity. Obviously, there are some aspects that need to be avoided. You don’t want to pick a name that will marginalize or stereotype any groups. You also want to choose something that represents the city, state, or area you’re playing f...

USFL may be back, but without the fool who ruined it the first time
In case you missed the news, the USFL is back!...

MLB doesn’t need a 'face of baseball,' and the proof is in the playoffs
Mike Trout has as many MVP awards as career playoff games played, with three, and for as much talk as there might be in baseball — even from the commissioner — about MLB’s need for the best player of his generation to take on the mantle of the face of the game, no amount of marketing can make up for...

If only playoff hockey could just be playoff hockey and not these garbage hits
When hockey fans tell you, and they will tell you, that playoff hockey is the best thing in sports, what they’re imagining is that every game, every series, looks like Game 2 of the Avalanche and Knights. The thing is, of course, it doesn’t, and a lot of series are just noisy slogs as coaches really...

Saints’ Michael Thomas is going to prove all his haters wrong in 2021
If you ask a bunch of random people on the street who the best receiver in the National Football League is right now, you’d probably get a wide array of different answers. Green Bay’s Davante Adams would probably get a couple votes. Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins would as well. Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs,...

Billy Hamilton (yes, him) is finally a fan favorite, as he was always meant to be
Major League Baseball is chock full of fun, meme-able characters that everybody loves to mock — but loves to root for even more. Take Bartolo Colon. He’d always been a solid player (even earned a couple of All-Star appearances in his final years), but was never one of the dominant arms in the game. ...

Oakland A’s minor league teams postgame meal is straight outta Fyre Festival
You’re a minor league ballplayer. The stadiums may be smaller, the team busses are no private jets, but your physical workload? Well, you’re a professional athlete. That means you probably need to eat a healthy meal after games or workouts. Which… is not asking for a lot. It’s pretty much the bare m...

Bob Brenly has always been a turd
This story can be done pretty much every season, and it’s so fucking tired, but yet you can’t help but be surprised at its regularity. Bob Brenly complains about modern baseball in a not-all-that-vaguely racist way. Last night’s target was Marcus Stroman:...

We have more baseball crime-scene clowning
Yesterday, Twins’ backup backup center fielder Rob Refsnyder gave us a blooper that should play in stadiums across American ballparks by... [checks date] tonight....

Ertz so good, but he’s 31
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz is a 3-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champ, and husband to a gold medalist soccer player. Those are some pretty solid accomplishments. Mr. Julie Ertz is just two years removed from a Pro Bowl season in which he caught 88 passes for 916 yards and six touchdowns. ...

MLB’s first entry into NFT craze – Lou Gehrig's speech – doesn’t pass the smell test
Add “non-fungible” to the list of words that define 2021....

The Chicago Cubs are the real-life team from 'Major League'
Now you have to imagine Tom Ricketts in her dress. Have a nice day....

Twins’ Josh Donaldson says pitchers are cheating – and he's got proof
Three-time All-Star and 2015 AL MVP Josh Donaldson is in year two of a four-year deal worth $92 million with the Minnesota Twins. In just over a year with the club, Donaldson is slashing just .225/.343/.422, for an OPS of .765 with Minnesota — a far cry from the numbers the star third baseman was pu...

Now the Leafs have the calamity they’ve always wanted
Because everything is outsized with the Leafs, the idea that they’ve been coughing up genuine chances at the Stanley Cup year-after-year has grown at the rate and scale of The Blob. Being the Leafs, everything around them is audibly multiplied by at least 12, so the sheer volume that is emitted from...

The Top 5 Idiots of May
Welcome to Deadspin’s IDIOT OF THE MONTH, in which we make fun of famous (and non-famous!) people who have done stupid things. And May did not disappoint....

If it’s not the Leafs this season, which teams have the best (worst?) shot at passing the Rangers 54-year Cup futility?
The New York Rangers are the historic gold standard for futility in the NHL, having gone 54 years without winning the Stanley Cup until finally getting the job done in 1994 (see Mark Messier with the Cup above) — after decades of being taunted with “1940” chants in enemy arenas....

Top 5 NHL playoff saves of all time
We always remember the goals: Bobby Orr flying through the air, Ray Bourque scoring in the Stanley Cup Finals at 40 years old, and Matteau! Matteau! Matteau! Legendary moments. But what about the goals that didn’t happen? What about the goals that were snagged away with a flash of the leather or a f...

Man City's Pep just can’t help himself
Perhaps the true sign of a great manager is how long he can leave his team on autopilot once his system and tactics are installed. While each game requires minor adjustments here or there, they shouldn’t amount to much more than the grade on the tires. The engine remains the same. And no team should...