no Page 220 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Sorry, but I’m contractually obligated not to take it easy on Rory McIlroy
Golf is so much more fun when the players are petty. From Ryder Cup shenanigans to guys getting pissed about the pace of play, the game is infinitely more entertaining when there’s a clearly defined heel who fans can collectively hate. That’s why the past year-plus of golf was great television. ...

The NBA's participation policy wasn't meant for guys like Dorian Finney-Smith
The NBA likely implemented its player participation policy — read: anti-load management protocol — so that fans wouldn’t attend games only to see LeBron James and Anthony Davis, or Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, in street clothes. ...

Atlanta and the Dodgers have opted for playoff-only starters
While Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery still wait for their free-agent payday, two powerhouses that were also in need of starting pitching have chosen other routes. Oh, the Dodgers did splash free-agent cash, it was just for one pitcher who’s never pitched in the majors (Yoshinubu Yamamoto) and one...

The Bucks need to beat the Pacers at least twice before we dub their feud a ‘rivalry’
In order for a rivalry to become a full-blown blood feud, there needs to be a little back and forth in the games themselves. The Knicks and Celtics, on paper, should hate each other, but on the court, New York is never seriously competitive so it doesn’t really resonate. ...

Darvin Ham could be scapegoat for Lakers' woes
The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a slump and it looks like the team’s woes will be pinned on Darvin Ham. ...

Giannis Antentokounmpo says he thinks about the Pacers when he has sex
The Indiana Pacers have completely taken over Giannis Antentokounmpo’s brain. ...

From Jerry Richardson to Dave Tepper, the Carolina Panthers have written the manual on trash owners
Three million dollars (total) in fines. Two atrocious owners. One franchise. The Carolina Panthers are a mess....

Bill Belichick can go quietly — or go kicking and screaming
Nobody leaves a job with quite as much oomph as Bill Belichick. Twenty-four years ago this week, Belichick handed a note with a scribbled message signaling to New York Jets officials at a press conference, stepped to the podium, and delivered his infamous remarks. ...
![Wander Franco released, still under investigation for alleged sexual relationship with minor [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/389d8a3e9adf5fb5a9a635d8f88137ec.jpg)
Wander Franco released, still under investigation for alleged sexual relationship with minor [Update]
Updated Jan. 5: Wander Franco was granted conditional release on Friday but remains under investigation for his alleged relationship with a 14-year-old girl and giving her mom a car and hush money for her consent. ...

Wanna watch a smart woman totally body two stupid hockey men?
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...

Katt Williams channels his inner <i>Last Dance</i> Scottie Pippen on Shannon Sharpe's podcast
Katt Williams had some pissed-off at The Last Dance type of energy during his appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast. Before the episode had been entirely uploaded, clips of him skewering Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and Rickey Smiley were going viral on social media....

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...

Want to reduce college football Bowl opt-outs? Pay the players
The bowl opt-outs are a letdown, but we all saw what happened to Jaylon Smith. During the 2016 Fiesta Bowl — which was not a playoff game — his leg was mangled. A projected top-five pick fell to the second round. Since then, many star players have made the intelligent business decision to not play i...
![Fire at Tyreek Hill's house caused by child playing with lighter: Investigators [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/d03ac1bdc9ff186ddc11f06b6d952aea.png)
Fire at Tyreek Hill's house caused by child playing with lighter: Investigators [Update]
Updated Jan. 9: The Jan. 3 fire at Tyreek Hill’s house — caused by two children playing with a lighter they thought was a toy — caused $2.3 million in damages, according to the incident report obtained by TMZ Sports. ...

Luke Littler: 16-year-old dart prodigy, or Robin Williams from <em>Jack</em>?
The darts world is abuzz over Luke Littler, a 16-year-old prodigy on the verge of winning the World Dart Championship. The Englishman burst onto the scene in this tournament, going from relative unknown to the sport’s Bobby Fischer (minus the racism and genius though I’m not sure those two can be tr...
![Aubrey Huff returns to being sexist after DM exposed [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/5498badee65fe774f538c60b6486ee84.jpg)
Aubrey Huff returns to being sexist after DM exposed [Update]
Updated Jan. 5: Aubrey Huff’s X/Twitter hiatus was short-lived, as the ex-MLB player and problematic poster reactivated his account and proceeded to be predictably sexist, and offensive....

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is ascending into the MVP conversation
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the NBA’s dullest superstar, which has allowed him to sneak up behind the league while they sleep on his ascendance. On Tuesday night, SGA propelled the Oklahoma City Thunder to their latest signature win. After a two-week stretch in which they’ve made mincemeat of the NBA...

NHL contenders have something of a goalie crisis
The NHL is almost certainly delighted that it’s seen an uptick in scoring the past three seasons (though down a skosh this season from last). It probably should pull a muscle patting itself on the back for the crackdown on goalie equipment leading to lower average save percentages across the Origina...
![Jackson Mahomes pleads no contest, gets 6 months probation [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/978637fd8e8f8d2dd8766a0318bac5ba.jpg)
Jackson Mahomes pleads no contest, gets 6 months probation [Update]
Updated March 9: Jackson Mahomes was sentenced Thursday to six months probation by a Johnson County judge after pleading no contest in a misdemeanor battery case. ...

It’s time for ESPN to put an end to Pat McAfee’s Aaron Rodgers disaster
There was a time in journalism when allowing people to spew false information in a public forum was frowned upon. That was before the ghouls at FOX News realized that there was a lot of money in telling people what they want to hear — truth be damned — first as wild speculation about where former Pr...