mac Page 12 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Once again, we’re left to ask the big question about Rafael Nadal
No one gets the Pete Sampras, except for Pete Sampras, obviously. It’s so rare to see a tennis player walk off the court for the final time having just won a Grand Slam, still capable of more but sated with what was already accomplished and unable to ignore the poetry of that particular signoff. The...

Who gets 'the yips' and why?
Monday night, Dallas Cowboys’ kicker Brett Maher, a man who has made more 60-yard field goals than anyone in NFL history, went one for five on extra points. Because Tampa Bay basically had their asses handed to them by Dallas, (despite the ESPN crew’s insistence that “you can never count Tom Brady o...

Is Georgia football poised to take over from Alabama?
On New Year’s Eve, Georgia experienced — for the first time all season — how hard it can be to repeat as National Champions. On Monday night, the atmospheric river that dumped rain all day on Southern California may have been more of an obstacle for the Bulldogs than TCU was....
![Keep an eye on these 23 breakout stars in 2023: Part 2 [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/e08bdbb97c11892cea1c15abaa73e766.jpg)
Keep an eye on these 23 breakout stars in 2023: Part 2 [Updated]
We’ve already brought you the first 13 figures on this list. Check out the rest below....

Someone tell the Avalanche the season started a few months ago
Maybe Nathan MacKinnon is going to have to ban everyone from drinking soda again. Or let them drink soda, whatever isn’t what they’ve been doing this season. ...

Congrats, Boomer Esiason, you’ve made me defend Mac Jones
Boomer Esiason saying “there’s a douchiness” to Mac Jones’ facial expressions is like Cristiano Ronaldo calling someone a narcissist, Kobe Bryant telling a teammate they’re a ball hog, or Mike Ditka criticizing a coach for being too abrasive. The only correct response is, “MF’er, what did you just s...

For Sale: Lightly-used NFL quarterback
The Las Vegas Raiders’ 2022 offseason had fans filled with optimism for the team’s future. After acquiring All-Pro receiver Davante Adams from the Green Bay Packers in March, the Raiders signed their franchise quarterback Derek Carr to a three-year extension. The two of them played together in colle...

IDIOT OF THE YEAR No. 1: Herschel Walker
2022 is the year Herschel Walker rebranded himself as a generational IDIOT OF THE YEAR talent. There had been glimpses before, but he showcased his full-range of idiocy in 2022. Each week, the former UGA and NFL running back humiliated himself in pursuit of power and influence he seemed to have no p...

Big bank take little bank — and their coach and QB, too
Seeing as college football bowl season now doubles as open season on potential transfers due to the NCAA’s new transfer windows, part of the buildup to the bowl games is addressing rumors. North Carolina’s Drake Maye has been the subject of speculation, and even his own head coach helped fuel them....

The NBA’s poverty franchises
The competitive lifespan of an NBA franchise is delicate. A team’s championship relevance depends on many factors, including the front office’s competence, coaching staff, and the totality of star power on the court. “Poverty” in the NBA sense can be defined by the corrosion of the team’s ethics and...

It’s hard to be the smartest guy in the room without the GOAT
The debate about who was more responsible for the Patriots’ dominance — Brady or Belichick — ended pretty quickly when Brady won a Super Bowl in his first season with Tampa Bay. Since Brady left New England, Belichick’s record is an even 24-24, and 0-1 in the playoffs, with that lone postseason game...

And now back to the shitty side of international sports
It’s not that the World Cup on the field erased what we all know about the World Cup off the field. It is actually possible for something to be two things at once. Qatar got what it really wanted out of all this, which was a heaping pile of money the size of Kilimanjaro. Only they will know whether ...

Lotta goals in the desert - World Cup Daily Diary: The Final
How do you chuck the trophy away twice and still walk away with it?...

A Massachusetts politician will be the next NCAA prez
What a weird hire. The dumpster-fire organization known as the NCAA had to make the right move in naming its next president. Mark Emmert’s tenure left the NCAA a mess so bad people questioned why the organization even existed in the first place. To fix all the issues at hand, Massachusetts Governor ...
![Mike Leach, renaissance man [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/7769d662c8b0822220e88909069f3194.jpg)
Mike Leach, renaissance man [Updated]
Former Texas Tech head football coach Mike Leach will be posthumously inducted into the school’s Hall of Honor, along with his former QB Kliff Kingsbury. Leach won 84 games during his tenure, which lasted from 2000-09....

No, the San Francisco Giants’ offense isn’t suddenly elite with Carlos Correa
After missing out on Arson Judge, it was only a matter of time before the San Francisco Giants used their massive spending budget on one of the few elite hitters left on the open market. For weeks, the Giants-Carlos Correa speculation had been swirling with some people considering San Fran the front...

Lotta goals in the desert - World Cup Daily Diary: Day Argentina
Sometimes those who cover the game have to fistfuck a narrative into fitting. And then sometimes Lionel Messi does that. ...

The New England Patriots won, but their problems remain the same
It’s easy to laugh when your team is up by two touchdowns. Jokes and giggles are plentiful when the Colt McCoy-led Arizona Cardinals — Kyler Murray left the game after suffering a non-contact injury — turn the ball over on consecutive possessions, the first of which was converted for a touchdown....

Week 14 NFL Takeaways: Byemaggedon Part II, Ugly Wins Attack
There were a handful of upsets in Week 14, but for the most part, chalk held up. The teams that were expected to win, and also contend in the playoffs, held serve during the final week of byes in the 2022 season....

The 10 best college football games of the 2022 season
With bowl season rapidly losing its significance and only really three games that matter remaining, now feels like as good a time as any to look back on the best of college football’s regular season. From upsets to heated rivalries and Heisman-defining moments, there was no shortage of great games i...