mat Page 6 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Diversity in hiring is working for the 49ers, and other NFL teams don't like it
The rules in the NFL apply to all 32 teams. The compensatory draft pick rules are not exclusive to the San Francisco 49ers. They have received extra selections because they assembled a staff and front office that is not exclusively white men. ...
Here's what it will take to win Super Bowl LVIII
Football fans across the globe, be sure to enjoy the build-up to Super Bowl LVII, San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs. Another NFL game of significance will not be played until Sept. 5. That Thursday evening will be in the midst of an American presidential election campaign, and we should all...
A lack of relationships curbed the NFL’s enthusiasm for Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick’s offseason job search ended in pitiful fashion last week. For unknown reasons, a bevy of general managers vying to keep their jobs in a highly competitive industry opted to hitch their wagons to young, unproven coaches they’ve had prior relationships with rather than an eight-time Su...
Dude, it's only second-grade basketball . . .
There has been a lot said and written about horrible youth sports parents. Just recently, former NBA player Matt Barnes allegedly told a high school student announcing a game between Harvard-Westlake and Crespi Carmelite High School — where the small forward’s son plays — that he’d slap the sh*t out...
![Matt Barnes removed from Sacramento Kings broadcast [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/bcbb4072e4d668fd7e20eec343b0dad9.jpg)
Matt Barnes removed from Sacramento Kings broadcast [Update]
Updated Feb. 21: Matt Barnes has been removed from the Sacramento Kings broadcasting team, weeks after the news of him putting his hands on a high school broadcaster, a spokesperson from NBC Sports California told The Sacramento Bee. ...
Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker saved Arsenal’s season
We spend a lot of time trying to unearth the little tactical nugget, or superlative performance from one player, or decoding the 3D art that most soccer matches at the highest level usually are to figure out why one team won or lost and why this team is higher in the table than the other. But someti...
These are the current and former NBA players who need their own podcast
A decade ago, who would have thought that current and former players would be the best analysts and commentators in the NBA? A novel idea, eh? Former players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson’s “All The Smoke” and Gilbert Arenas were early purveyors of player-run podcasts. It’s since evolved to includ...
The last year each MLB team reached the World Series
Baseball’s World Series has seen everything, from the breaking of curses to cheating scandals, to huge wins and dynasties, it has also seen almost every team. Here is the last time every team has been in the championship game. ...
Penguins on the edge; The Canucks are for real?; A bad hockey take for the ages
No one ever wants to admit the end is coming, much less is here. Especially when there are signs that it’s still a bit of a ways off, if one knows where to look. There will come a day when the Pittsburgh Penguins will recede into the background, which they haven’t really done since the beginning of ...
The 10 best NHL All-Star Game moments
The 2024 NHL All-Star game is this weekend. Every year, there is seemingly a new memorable moment for fans and players to look back on. Last year it was headlined by performances from stars like Connor McDavid, Matthew Tkachuk, and Elias Petterson. Let’s take a look at some of the best moments from ...
Hey, let's give Chelsea a swift kicking while they are down
Far be it from me to kick Chelsea while they’re down after a 4-1 fustigation at the hands of Liverpool . . . wait, that’s precisely what I’d do! So let’s get to it! It’ll be fun!...
Dan Quinn is another uninspired hire by the Washington Commanders
Anytime new ownership takes over an NFL organization, it’s an exciting, yet strange time as they figure out things along the way. It’s an even bigger deal when that new group in charge is tasked with fixing the franchise from top to bottom as is the case in Washington Commanders. It was announced on...
Ranking the new NFL head coaching hires
With the Washington Commanders hiring Dan Quinn, the NFL’s head coaching cycle has officially concluded. Barring any unforeseen firings, eight coaches have new jobs, and none of them are Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, or Mike Vrabel. With the dust finally settled, it’s time to see how each team fared...
Maybe we have to take the Vancouver Canucks seriously
I know, the words “take seriously” and “Vancouver Canucks” having a get together in the same sentence is awkward for everyone. At least everyone outside of Vancouver, as there perhaps is no team that takes itself more seriously than the Canucks, which is what underlies their never decreasing sense o...
Has everything 'Bill Belichick' been shadow banned by NFL franchises?
The NFL’s coaching carousel is done spinning, with two of the seemingly most sought-after candidates — Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel — still on the their plastic horses. When the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans announced they were moving on from their respective coaches, I would’ve bet my...
The last year each NFL team reached the Super Bowl
The San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs will once again square off in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs — who won the previous meeting, 31-20 — are in their third Super Bowl in four years. ...
It’s been a positive hiring cycle for Black head coaches in the NFL, but . . .
All of life’s wins should be celebrated, but parades are meant for special occasions. And despite how progressive this hiring cycle for Black head coaches in the NFL has been, anyone who has already poured the champagne is an idiot....
How a Chicago Bears fan learned to love Dan Campbell
This is hard for a Bears fan to admit, and I might, later on, decide to deny I ever said it, but I was pulling for the Detroit Lions (God, that was uncomfortable to type). It hasn’t always been this way, of course. There was the heated rivalry between Chicago and Detroit during the Barry Sanders yea...
The Lions cannot be happy with 'just being there' against the Niners
The Detroit Lions are in the NFC title game. No, it’s not a dream, it is reality and they’ve got folks believing. Detroit can turn the page, beginning a new chapter in their history. Appearing in their first Super Bowl and beating one of the NFL’s most successful franchises to advance would be an ex...
Nathan MacKinnon is doing things to Avalanche fans
Seeing a four-goal game is perhaps the rarest thing a hockey fan can witness in person. It’s not too far off from seeing a no-hitter. I’ve been going to hockey games for 364 years, and I’ve seen one. Steve Thomas vs. the Devils in March of 1990 at Chicago Stadium. I didn’t have to look that up (well...