mat Page 9 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Sick, Sad World of Sports: Jumbo holiday edition
The holidays are a stressful time for everyone, including criminals, athletes moonlighting as criminals, and criminals moonlighting as athletes. ...

The Maple Leafs have their problems, but paying their good players isn’t one of them
The free-agent apocalypse that was going to arrive in Toronto next summer has apparently disappeared. Before last summer, Auston Matthews and William Nylander were a season away from unrestricted free agency, and John Tavares and Mitch Marner were two years away. The latter two are still in that spo...

Every NFL team's retired jersey numbers
One of the biggest honors in all of sports is to have your number retired by your respective franchise. No one else will be able to wear it after you, cementing your legacy in the rafters or in a ring of honor/team hall of fame. Here are all of the officially retired numbers by the NFL (minus the Ba...

The natives are getting restless at Ohio State and LSU
There’s natural staff turnover — primarily assistants getting poached for better opportunities elsewhere — and then there’s what Ohio State and LSU are purportedly doing. Each head coach is under pressure to make changes after showings not up to program standards, and if history is an indication of ...

Jennifer Botterill exposes hockey-culture stupidity; Kraken mascot beef comes to a head; goalie trouble for top teams
There is a segment of hockey fans that have always wanted to watch the bubble of hockey men discussing hockey things get totally pierced by even just the smallest bit of logic. For that is the true enemy of most things that have been hockey ethos. So a hearty thank you to Jennifer Botterill, who dur...

Why has MLB free agency ground to a halt?
We were told that once Shohei Ohtani signed, or promised to the Dodgers that he can take all his money after the ocean reclaims Los Angeles as a whole, the rest of the free agents would start to fly off the shelves. It’s now Jan. 3, spring training is about six weeks away, and most of the free agent...

The Bears are deluding themselves into thinking Justin Fields is their QB of the future
Near the end of Justin Fields’ triumphant win over the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears fans serenaded him with a passionate “We want Justin” chant. The chorus reached a fever pitch on a night when Fields threw for north of 260 yards and one touchdown in a blowout win over the Atlanta Falcons. Through...

Without Mo Salah, Liverpool could be screwed
I have nightmares that I’ll be seeing this in my sleep for the next decade:...

IDIOT OF THE YEAR 2023: The complete rankings
Welcome to the grand finale of Deadspin’s IDIOT OF THE YEAR festivities. Here’s hoping 2024 will be better. It probably won’t....

The Packers have much bigger problems than Jaire Alexander calling a coin toss
I kind of like the idea of NFL players getting to be honorary captains in their hometowns. It would be a nice touch. The hometown kid done good can receive some love from his people. I am pretty sure, though, that is not currently standard NFL procedure. For Jaire Alexander to stroll out to midfield...

Reminder: Joe Flacco was Nick Foles before Nick Foles
The Cleveland Browns have officially hit “Riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” status. As long as they have a quarterback with some name recognition — be it Deshaun Watson or Joe Flacco — the team plays with the confidence of a much more dangerous organization. Kevin Stefanski’s club could ...

IDIOT OF THE YEAR: More dumbasses (Nos. 20-11)
WHY? Why must professional athletics function as such a powerful magnet for stupid, impetuous people? Ugh....

IDIOT OF THE YEAR: 10 more for the worst of 2023 (Nos. 30-21)
Oh, the hell with it, you know the drill by now. Deadspin’s IDIOT OF THE YEAR continues on, as does the meaningless treadmill of existence. All is for naught and free will is an illusion!...

IDIOT OF THE YEAR: The countdown begins as we look back on 2023 (Nos. 50-41)
Dearest reader! We meet again. It is that time of the year again… uh, namely, the end of the year, when we at Deadspin are proud to present our globally acclaimed celebration of stupidity, IDIOT OF THE YEAR! We’ll be with you as we count down the haughtiest, most hypocritical, and just plain dumbest...

These are the oldest players in NFL history
The NFL is a rough, violent game. The average career length in the modern NFL is just 3.3 years in the league. This is why it’s so impressive to see these NFL legends play so deep into their 40s. How many more names will we see join the ranks of the league’s oldest players in history? ...

This week in MLB: Yamamoto's free agency adds more spice than Ohtani's; moves galore across the hot stove
The Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes are infinitely more interesting and illuminating than Shohei Ohtani’s free agency for many reasons: People have been allowed to report on them, there seem to be more suitors than just the Dodgers and a couple are based in the last few baseball-rabid markets in Amer...

This week in the NFL, NCAA: A Black vs. white game?; Aaron Rodgers fooling no one; Chargers coaching intrigue; time to talk MVP Award
The Week 15 finale on Monday Night Football has the biggest NFC playoff ramifications of any game on the slate. The Philadelphia Eagles travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks in a game neither can afford to lose this late in the season. It’s pretty apropos of these teams closing out Week 15, seeing ...

Faux conservative blames Donald Trump support on UFC loss
Colby Covington said his support of former President Donald Trump is what swayed judges to award Leon Edwards the decision in the pair’s UFC 296 welterweight title fight last weekend. ...

Zion Williamson and Anthony Edwards are why Gen-Z athletes need NDAs
You can usually tell the age of an athlete by how and where messy gossip about them is revealed. TMZ is one thing. Having a “scorned lover” display your personal life on the internet is another — and a sign that you’re probably a member of Gen Z who doesn’t know the value of non-disclosure agreement...

The NFL and NCAA football have a coaching-carousel problem
Raise your hand if you weren’t surprised that a Matt Patricia-coordinated defense caved during the waning minute of the Eagles-Seahawks game Monday. Now, keep them raised if you’re not shocked that Matt Nagy and Nathaniel Hackett are struggling to get their respective offenses in rhythm. Alright, to...