ow Page 196 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

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 ...

May old acquaintance be forgot: The notable athletes who retired in 2023
As the curtain falls on 2023, the sports world bids adieu to a tapestry of legends and underdogs across all sports. We highlighted the legacy names who decided to hang it up in 2023. Many on this list are cemented in record books and in the hearts of their die-hard fanbases. Let’s pour out a drink a...

If Florida State’s goal is to never get snubbed again, leaving the ACC is a terrible idea
Florida State’s rush to leave the ACC is reactionary in every way. After getting snubbed from the College Football Playoff, the school tried to use the courts and Gov. Ron DeSantis to overturn the committee’s decision. Those methods predictably failed and now the Seminole brass is onto the next dumb...

I hope Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo knows he’s in Shaq’s dog house
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo got a little carried away Wednesday on First Take. I know, that is his job on the show. The guy invented sports-talk radio volume. His takes are somehow louder than his voice. In small social media clips, I find Mad Dog entertaining. I even find some of his perspectives on life...

Why does the NFL refuse to return the bench press competition to Pro Bowl weekend?
The list of events for the Pro Bowl games was released on Wednesday. This annual celebration of the NFL’s top players has turned into summer camp. Like summer camp for kids, not training camp or an Illinois music festival. The players compete in events like dodgeball and tug of war, and the game is ...

Devon Toews is not pleased with his Avalanche teammates
Last week, the Colorado Avalanche showed off that despite their warts and occasional hiccup, they still have a gear that few if any other teams can reach (Look at this now!). It looked as if the Avs were kind of picking their way through the regular season and hitting their stride in the spring. Aft...

If Florida State leaves the ACC, where does it go?
Updated Dec. 21: Florida State University’s Board of Trustees will meet Friday, with the Seminoles’ conference affiliation as the meeting’s central focus. According to a report from Yahoo Sports, the school may seek a declaratory judgment action in an attempt to argue that it is not bound to its con...

A Black vs. white NFL game might teach league talent evaluators to give white players a chance at all positions
I do not agree with Rashard Mendenhall, entirely. In my humble opinion, people of all races and ethnicities talk entirely too spicy about professional athletes. No professional is above criticism just because the critic is not one. However, regardless of whether someone can dunk at an open gym or be...
![Derrick Ward pleads not guilty to robbery charges [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/35eadd976059bcfdfbd3eb25ad5d75f8.jpg)
Derrick Ward pleads not guilty to robbery charges [Updated]
Updated Jan. 4: Ward pleaded not guilty to the charges....

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...

This is what happens when you put Matt Patricia in charge
Philadelphia’s newest defensive coordinator is off to a rough start. ...

Drew Lock put on for his city and kept Seattle's playoff hopes alive
They put in Drew Lock and the Mizzou boy went crazy. Philly had nothing for him as he went crazy....

This is what Eagles fans want
We all knew the truth. Eagles fans weren’t comfortable being the swaggering nobility of the NFL, or even the NFC. Oh, they’ll tell you loudly enough when the Birds, or any Philly team, is good. But it’s at such a volume that it’s easy to sense the insecurity hidden within. Maybe they don’t throw bat...

The Flyers are good right now, but having faith in them might be like believing in Santa Claus
For the past 10 years or so, the Flyers have just muddled. There has never been any particular direction. Sometimes they’ve been kinda good, but nowhere near good enough to do anything that mattered. Sometimes they’ve been kinda bad, occasionally really bad, but never by design with their sights set...

The Cowboys getting beat down by the Bills might help them in the long run
Taking an ass-whooping can is a part of life. Whether getting physically dominated or simply enduring a hard loss, that moment is eventually almost unavoidable for most people. The Dallas Cowboys got their ass kicked in a physical sense all throughout their Week 15 matchup against the Buffalo Bills....

It's time to take a hard look at who deserves to win NFL MVP
We have three Sundays left. Three more Sundays until that IV is ripped out of our arms and we are forced to trudge through the subsequent eight months not being able to start the week with at least 10 NFL games. With the holidays on the way to provide a bit of a distraction from that fate, let’s tal...

Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs beat the Pats but still look out of sync on offense
Entering Week 15, the Kansas City Chiefs were in the midst of a rough patch where they’d lost four of their last six games. That includes the previous two weeks against Green Bay and Buffalo, games most assumed they’d win coming in. Despite not performing like Super Bowl champs, the scheduling gods ...

We’re being held hostage by bad or pointless football
The first two games of the NFL’s Saturday football lineup featured four backup quarterbacks. Instead of Joe Burrow, Kirk Cousins, Anthony Richardson and Kenny Pickett, we got Jake Browning, Nick Mullens, Gardner Minshew and Mitch Trubisky. Thank god for Jared Goff and Russell Wilson in the night gam...

This week in MLB: Does Shohei Ohtani really improve LA?; Julio Urias facing charges; Tyler Glasnow has a week to remember
Much like Susie Izzard (Drink!) says chiropractors “LIVE FOR THE NOISE!” I too live for the noise of the offseason. We can’t get much more than Shohei Ohtani and his reps donated to us, or at least their methods of sending the baseball press into orbit did. There should be much more to come, but the...