national-s Page 11 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Is The Scripps National Spelling Bee Evil?
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—That fucking bell. There’s always a split-second between the moment a contestant at the Scripps National Spelling Bee finishes a word and the moment that bell rings out, and in that split-second you can see everything: panic, fear, terror, embarrassment, denial, anger ... all of...
Searching For Anything But Bobby Fischer At School Scrabble Nationals
There are 45 tables set up down in Exhibit Hall C of the Woodley Park Marriott in Washington, D.C., a hotel roughly the size of the Pentagon. Each table has a black tablecloth, a Diamond Anniversary Edition Scrabble board, a crushed velvet tile bag, two racks, four all-purpose banquet chairs (able ...
The Goon Show
It'll come as no surprise that my favorite series at Grantland is the "Director's Cut" feature curated by Michael MacCambridge. He does a beautiful job and I'm always eager to see what gift he gives us next. Here's an especially good one—"The Making of a Goon," by Johnette Howard, which originally ...
The National Spelling Bee Will Now Include Vocabulary Tests
When you're watching the spelling bee, do you ever get the sneaking suspicion that some of the kids simply memorized the dictionary? ...
Questions About National Signing Day? Ask The Best College Football Minds In The Country
National Signing Day—the day when college football fans spend a lot of time waiting for teenagers to put on hats—is well underway. It's already treated us to some excitement and sparked a necessary, thoughtful discussion....
Arkansas Recruit Can't Commit Because His Mother Ran Off With His Letter Of Intent
Alex Collins, one of the top RB prospects in the nation, was going to Arkansas. He said as much Monday night, making as official an announcement as one can make before National Signing Day. Well, today's signing day, and Collins was not in attendance at the ceremony—a placard with his name was set u...
Boy Kicked Out Of National Scrabble Championship After Getting Caught With The Worst Cheating Strategy Ever
Division 3 isn't exactly the big time in the Scrabble world—It's roughly the skill level of "any great living-room player out there," says the National Scrabble Association's executive director—but this is still the championship. Not a county championship, not a state championship, but the national ...
Dick Vitale Weighs In On The Death Of Al Qaeda's No. 2
Dipsy-doo drone-a-roo, baybee! [Twitter]...
Samantha Steele Mixes Up Her Indian-American Spelling Bee Contestants
After a National Spelling Bee filled with children holding back tears in front of a national audience, the academic equivalent of pageant moms, and every appearance from the wonderfully weird home-schooled girl from Philly, it took ESPN's poor sideline reporter to give us the most cringeworthy mom...
ESPN Misspells Simple Word In Spelling Bee Graphic
South. S-O-O-U-T-H. South....
"Sabermetrics" Was A Word In The Scripps National Spelling Bee
The Scripps National Spelling Bee, which alongside poker, cheerleading, and hot dog eating constitute the E for Entertainment in ESPN, featured an actual sports word in the third preliminary round of its competition today in Washington, D.C. as "sabermetrics" made its appearance....
The 6-Year-Old Who Qualified For The National Spelling Bee Might Be An Alien
At the tender age of six, Lori Anne Madison just became the youngest person ever to qualify for the Scripps National Nerd Olympics, otherwise known as the Spelling Bee. But despite the media attention and mounting pressure, Lori Anne says she's not nervous at all. "I've been in competitions with old...
Where Have You Gone, Pert Coed Rumps Of The Alabama Fax Cam?
Last year Bama livened up the roll call that is National Signing Day by pointing a webcam at their fax machine, and sending female staffers to post the latest commitments. But some other SEC school complained, and this year Alabama is back to the boring big board. How do you expect me to read those ...
The 1990 U.S. Men's World Cup Team Will Never Live Down This Video
Numerous shots of half-naked players doing the running man on the beach to bad rap. O.J. Simpson. Strange hands rubbing Paul Caligiuri's hairy chest. This is either a brilliant homoerotic rip-off a Newport Full Flavor ad or the most disturbing video I've ever seen....
The Curse Is Over, Cleveland!
America's newest tween spelling champion is Anamika Veeramani. Her sponsor for the Scripps National Spelling Bee? The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio. Here's a word for you, Bron-Bron: F-A-C-E-D!...
The Human Dramedy Of The National Spelling Bee
Whether by design or accident, the kids at this year's spelling bee were decidedly less wacky than last year's crop of home-schooled rascals. (I do like the Canadian, though.) However, the event was not without its chuckles or....stunning twists!...
Signing Day Was Best Ever, Says Every Coach Everywhere
Now that the first letters of intent have been signed and sealed, one indisputable fact emerges: every single school had its best recruiting class of all time. Let's look at the not-at-all hyperbolic statements from around the country....
Seantrel Henderson Won Signing Day
It's good to be a five-star recruit. The Minnesota product was flown to New York by the CBS College Sports Network to announce his choice. But that pales in comparison to the treatment his suitors gave him....
Demar Dorsey A Perfect Fit For UM
RichRod yesterday: "There's nobody on this football team that we've signed that has a felony conviction. There's nobody on this football team we signed that has a misdemeanor conviction." Today: Dorsey burglarized two homes in one day in 2007. [Freep]...
That's C-O-A-C-H-K
Laodicean? No problem for Kavya Shivashankar, but I almost feel bad for this girl. For the rest of her life, people are going to ask her to spell things like Krzyzewski, and she's going to have to feign interest. It's not S-H-I-S-H-E-T-S-K-Y; just say N-O and move on. [ESPN]...