open Page 16 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Novak Djokovic Defaulted from US Open for Hitting Linesperson with Ball
It’s been a bonkers year for just about everyone, in every sense of the word. Tennis is no different, and Novak Djokovic is no different. From his medical views derived from Mars to dismissing the risks of COVID-19 and then catching it, as well as carrying an undefeated record this year, there would...

Serena Williams Is Better Than Margaret Court at Tennis and Life
As Serena Williams approaches Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slams, some rightfully wish Court were already an afterthought....

Russell Westbrook Finally Gives Thunder Fans A Moment To Remember
The Bubble Domes continued at pace last night, and perhaps the story was OKC forcing a Game 7 against the Rockets in their first-round series. Or rather, the story within the story. ...

Mal Washington Weighs in On Activism of Black Tennis Players, and the Racism he Experienced, as U.S. Open Gets Underway
Standing alone on the baseline of his sport’s biggest stage, returning serve against systemic racism on-and-off the court, 1996 Wimbledon finalist MaliVai Washington, knows the weight of being a high-profile athlete balancing professional responsibilities with the complex dilemma of being a role mod...


Citing Growing COVID Cases, Rafa Opts Out of US Open
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal has decided to skip the U.S. Open. Nadal broke the news via Twitter, where he outlined his concerns about the spread of COVID-19....

As Much as I Miss Baseball, This Fanless, Pandemic Opener Leaves Me With an Empty Feeling
In 1943, with their roster torn asunder by players called into military service for World War II, the Philadelphia Eagles moved to Pittsburgh for the year, merged with the Steelers, and became known as the Steagles....

Sports Should Not Be Happening Right Now
We all realize all this is completely insane, right?...
![Novak Djokovic’s Tournament Unsurprisingly Had Positive COVID-19 Tests, Including His Own [UPDATED]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/qkkfw1tpr4up854arjmm.jpg)
Novak Djokovic’s Tournament Unsurprisingly Had Positive COVID-19 Tests, Including His Own [UPDATED]
A tour shutdown hasn’t kept Novak Djokovic from espousing his Tom Brady-brained thoughts on health and the coronavirus. This past weekend allowed him to pull off his pandemic coupe-de-grace, at least so far....

Even with Second COVID Wave Looming, Genius Cuomo OKs U.S. Open Tennis
Leave it to Nicholas Kyrgios, the bad boy of tennis, to suddenly become the voice of reason....

Kyrie Irving Says the NBA's Return 'Smells a Little Fishy.' He's Not Alone.
Should we boycott or should we play? ...

Roger Federer To Miss Rest Of Season, Whatever That Is
In between showing the world that only a chosen few can pull off a Panama hat, critiquing his fans’ form, or calling for major changes within his sport, Roger Federer has been recovering/rehabbing from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. It was the injury that ruined his Australian Open run (wit...

Just As Sports Leagues Gear Up To Play In Florida, COVID-19 Cases Are Peaking
The NBA is getting ready to come back in Florida. So, too, is MLS. And now it looks like the WNBA is headed there, as well. Meanwhile, whether or not the Sunshine State is undercounting COVID-19 deaths, the state’s official word is that Thursday was the day with the most confirmed coronavirus cases ...

Solution To Meaningless Games: NBA Should Go To 10-Team Conference Bracket
All reports are pointing to the return of the NBA season in late July....

For the 50th Earth Day, Let’s Remember the Threat Climate Change Poses To The Sports World
The Australian Open was hot this year. Unusually hot. Temperatures reached 111 degrees fahrenheit. Play was postponed, the roof on Rod Laver Arena closed, and one athlete forfeited her match due to smoke caused by the nearby wildfires. The extreme weather was not confined within the gates of the gra...

Major Golf Events Are Being Cancelled Everywhere, But States As Hard Hit As N.Y. Still Think It's Safe For Courses To Remain Open
Like every other sport realizing its proper place in a society in crisis, the PGA and professional golf around the globe is undergoing major shifts in its schedule. Today, the British Open was canceled for the first time since 1945, while tournaments over on this side of the pond have been shifted t...

Tennis Has A Coronavirus Problem And You Can Be Certain The Solution Will Make Everyone Miserable
While tennis will always be regarded as an upper-echelon pursuit, full of soft applause and a pastoral attitude as the fans stroke their beards, cluck their tongues, and wonder what’s to be done with the rabble outside the walls, in reality, it’s always a gentle breeze away some kind of disagreement...

No Opening Day, No Sports...My Center Won't Hold
Important disclaimer: I acknowledge this is far from the most consequential aspect of the shelter-at-home policies under which half of this country and many others around the world are enduring. And I’m aware that I happen to be one of the lucky ones in that I’m nor anyone that know personally have ...

With Opening Day Postponed Indefinitely, How Could This Season Look? Let's Break it Down
It was always pie in the sky that baseball would be able to get back up and running with Opening Day delayed a mere two weeks, which was their original postponement due to the spread of COVID-19. With the CDC saying Sunday it was recommending eight weeks of a ban on events with more than 50 people, ...

Now 15-Year-Old Coco Gauff Has Won Her First Title
Even as Coco Gauff made her runs at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open runs this summer, the prodigy did not actually beat any player ranked higher than No. 44 in the world. (Venus Williams just so happened to be No. 44 at the time.) What the 15-year-old Gauff accomplished by winning a title Sunday at the ...