owns Page 23 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
If you can’t trust Anthony Edwards, you can’t trust the Timberwolves
I’m not anti-analytics, because data matters, but there’s no way to factor in things like your best player missing tipoff because he was a late arrival, or a coach pulling his second-best player when he’s on pace for a 70 burger. The Minnesota Timberwolves are a very good basketball team, by record,...
Might be time for Trae Young to get shoved out of the Hawks' nest
It’s tough to know when to know when to throw in the towel on an era, but the bruised and bloodied Trae Young era Atlanta Hawks are beginning to look like they should throw in the towel. The Hawks are now six years into Young’s tenure as their cornerstone and all they have to show for the rollercoa...
The Minnesota Timberwolves are the NBA’s best redemption story
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ bounce back from their 2023 nadir has been the NBA’s most remarkable redemption story. The Association may have discontinued its Comeback Player of the Year award, but the Twin Cities’ finest would deserve consideration if that were not the case. Before October, the outlo...
Remember Punt God? He just signed with the Super Bowl champs
Reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs are signing punter Matt Araiza, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. ...
With Russell Wilson on the outs in Denver, could QB-needy Pittsburgh be his next destination?
The past few years have been less than ideal in the football life of Russell Wilson. After a Hall of Fame career in Seattle, Wilson finished out his time there with a whimper. He wasn’t horrible but some could see the decline coming and this included then-head coach Pete Carroll. The Seahawks shippe...
Best landing spots for WR Mike Evans
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and wide receiver Mike Evans were unable to come to an agreement on a contract extension, meaning that the five-time Pro Bowler is set to hit free agency. Evans is a model of consistency, having never finished a season with fewer than 1,000 receiving yards. His 10 consecutiv...
5 increasingly unhinged solutions to the NBA All-Star Game
As the NBA has observed its golden era of efficiency proliferate from more streamlined offenses to load management run amok, elements of the league have fallen by the wayside. Marquee hoopers play fewer minutes, fewer games and now they barely expend energy or cross halfcourt during All-Star Weekend...
The NBA All-Star Game has never been better!
Welcome to Deadspin’s The Sports Nihilist, where all is for naught, and we are but accidental jolts of electrified meat stuck to the surface of a rock in an indifferent universe....
The NBA dunk contest is crapshoot that lacks star power
NBA All-Star Saturday was a hit once again, but one of the main events may have missed the mark. The slam dunk contest at one time was the highlight of the entire weekend. Now it’s hit or miss, year-to-year, whether we’ll be talking about it for weeks or if it’ll be forgotten by Monday afternoon. Th...
Minnesota is giving off that sham No. 1 seed vibe that the Utah Jazz had a few years ago
Next to the OKC Thunder, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been one of the biggest surprises of the NBA campaign. They’ve been in control of or hovering near first place in the Western Conference for much of the season. But we may have seen a little bit of foreshadowing brought to us by Clippers star ...
Ravens, Lions prove hard, cold truth: The house usually wins
The United States is supposed to be the land of opportunity. A place where all that a plucky individual needs is an idea and/or a skill and some elbow grease to shake up the world. Growing up is realizing that the American dream is largely a bliss that feels amazing until the 7:00 a.m. alarm stirs a...
Ohio State is buying the best team NIL can get. It better pay off
Don’t get mad, get even. Or in the case of Ohio State, get everybody you can....
If Karl-Anthony Towns drops 62 in a forest on the same night Embiid delivers 70, does it make a sound?
That sound you heard last night was Karl-Anthony Towns reminding us that he’ll always be in the shadows of his peers. On Monday night in Philadelphia, Joel Embiid painted his magnum opus en route to a 70-point, 18-rebound exhibition of scoring prowess. Embiid’s 70 also came on the 18th anniversary o...
Luka Doncic and each NBA team's leading single-game scorer
Update: Luka Doncic is the latest NBA star to drop 70+ points this season. It topped his Dallas Mavericks single-game record of 60, set in 2022. ...
The NBA 'superstar' landscape has shifted
There is no greater conduit for NBA hyperbole than the conversation around “superstars.” To have a rational, substantive debate, there must first be basic groundwork for what constitutes superstar status. First, the bad news: former Finals MVPs Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, LeBron James and Kawhi Leona...
Lamar Jackson is stepping into one of those career defining moments
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has had one heck of a season, but all he’s accomplished could be nothing but a memory if they stumble against the Houston Texans this week. Jackson was so good this year that he could become the first QB since Steve McNair in 2003 to win the MVP award with ...
In college coaching, it’s better to have a <i>Succession</i> plan than deal with a surprise retirement
So much about sports is often about who’s next. But ironically, over the last few years, we’ve seen how multiple team’s inability to look to the future in one certain area has hurt more than it’s helped. From Nick Saban and Jay Wright to what Tom Izzo has recently shared, it’s clear that focusing on...
Yes, the Ravens look strong, but the numbers say 'buyer beware'
The Baltimore Ravens will play their first playoff game of the season this coming weekend after securing a bye due to being the AFC’s top seed. They finished the season 13-4, and despite not having key players like tight end Mark Andrews or wide receiver Devin Duvernay, they trampled almost everyone...
Isn't it about time the NBA forces James Dolan to sell the Knicks?
I did not know what I was getting into when I became a Knicks fan. I got into it to find a bond between my father and me. He grew up as a New York street ball legend who listened to the Knicks on transistor radios with his buddies, huddled around a car drinking tallboys and sharing a joint. As a chu...