pe Page 415 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
![Keep an eye on these 23 breakout stars in 2023: Part 1 [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/6cf68cc114d6fc425405878c9d90ecc7.jpg)
Keep an eye on these 23 breakout stars in 2023: Part 1 [Updated]
One year ago, who would have thought that Julián Álvarez would be the breakout star of the World Cup instead of Gio Reyna, or that TCU backup Max Duggan would lead the Horned Frogs to a national championship game on the 1-yard line of 2022’s closing? Trying to predict which figures will rise to the ...

Who are the top 5 defenders in the NBA?
In this current era of NBA basketball, it’s all about who can shoot and dominate on the offensive end of the court. The days of lockdown defenders have disappeared and been replaced by terms like, “it’s a make or miss league.” With all the scoring we’ve seen this season, that’s all it is. Boston rec...

Jimbo Fisher now has a creep, a racist, and a bonafide maniac on his coaching staff
After a preseason that featured an explosive back-and-forth with Nick Saban after the Alabama head coach made accusations about cheating and buying players through NIL, Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher responded by producing a disappointing 5-7 season. To turn things around he’s hiring Bobby Pe...

What is going on with the scoring in the NBA?
Wednesday was a relatively slow offensive night for the NBA. Kevin Durant was the league’s best performer and all he could manage was a season-high 44 points on 68.1/50/100 shooting splits, five assists, and four rebounds. With the way that NBA players have been lighting up the scoreboards, especial...

The Red Sox actually paid someone
At Monday’s Winter Classic, John Henry appeared, as the hockey team he owns (the Penguins) was playing the Boston Bruins at the ballpark he owns (Fenway Park, as owner of the Red Sox as well). Henry is more reclusive than a lot of owners, so it’s hard to know if he’s as deluded as some billionaires ...

Was the Cavs’ ‘random’ PED test just fateful coincidence after Mitchell scored 71?
In one of the NBA’s more conspicuously timed sequences, the Cleveland Cavs were “randomly” drug tested just hours after Donovan Mitchell’s 71-point performance Monday night. It feels all too convenient for the association to “randomly” test the Cavs for performance-enhancing drugs one day after Mitc...

Could Derek Carr be the next Matthew Stafford?
What determines a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback? Stats? The eye test? System compatibility? It’s hard to determine, and it’s arguably impossible to determine, especially for quarterbacks stuck in terrible situations for the majority of their careers. Matthew Stafford was lucky enough to find a way ...

Wrestle Kingdom puts NJPW back on track, maybe on some new ones too
The biggest event for weirdos and insomniacs, other than maybe the Australian Open, got back to normal service last night. And that’s New Japan Pro Wrestling’s biggest event of the year, Wrestle Kingdom (bell time, 3 a.m. EST). Not only did it mark the return of actually cheering crowds for NJPW sho...

God forbid ESPN shows highlights of, y’know, sports
On Tuesday night, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 55 points. He was 20-of-33 from the field, 15-16 from the stripe, and threw in 10 rebounds and seven assists for good measure. It was the kind of performance that people want to see, and will search out on social media, SportsCenter, or an...

Scott Van Pelt and Ryan Clark stepped up when the sports world needed them most
Scott Van Pelt knows how to advertise himself after developing a loyal fan base after more than two decades on ESPN’s airwaves. The Marylander’s Twitter bio says it best, he anchors the network’s flagship show, SportsCenter, starting at midnight on the East Coast. Or after the game you’re watching e...

Shannon Sharpe seems to finally be fed up with Skip Bayless — he isn’t innocent in this, though
Shannon Sharpe returned to FS1’s Undisputed on Wednesday morning after missing Tuesday’s show due to the way he was affected by what happened to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin on Monday Night Football — and Skip Bayless’ insensitive tweet about it....

Grizzlies' Ja Morant facing lawsuit for allegedly striking 17-year-old
Former second-overall draft pick Ja Morant is the face of one of the best franchises in the NBA right now. The Memphis Grizzlies are 23-13, giving them the second-best record in the Western Conference, and the fourth-best record across the league. Amid all the celebration, though, comes a lawsuit ag...

US Soccer continues to be helplessly weird
To suggest that US Soccer is a byzantine organization would be to suggest that they have any sort of rules and protocols in place. It rarely feels like they do, and sort of just make stuff up as they go, with mostly everyone screaming about protecting their phony baloney jobs. It’s how Gregg Berhalt...

UFC's Dana White admits publicly hitting wife on NYE
The best way to avoid apologizing for hitting a woman is to never do it in the first place. Guess that never went through UFC President Dana White’s brain on New Year’s Eve, when he was seen getting into a physical altercation with his wife, Anna, at a nightclub in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Eyewitness...

Did Shannon Sharpe skip Undisputed today?
Fox Sports 1 analyst and NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe was trending all over the place this morning for his absence across from FOX’s Undisputed with co-host Skip Bayless. It isn’t clear at this moment why Sharpe skipped the show Tuesday morning, roughly 12 hours after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin...

Congrats, Boomer Esiason, you’ve made me defend Mac Jones
Boomer Esiason saying “there’s a douchiness” to Mac Jones’ facial expressions is like Cristiano Ronaldo calling someone a narcissist, Kobe Bryant telling a teammate they’re a ball hog, or Mike Ditka criticizing a coach for being too abrasive. The only correct response is, “MF’er, what did you just s...

An hour is too long — Roger Goodell dragged his feet on postponing game after Damar Hamlin’s incident
On the second day of the new year, one of the most anticipated games on the schedule of this country’s most popular sport came to a standstill in the first quarter, when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed after making a tackle against Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins. Hamlin was given CPR, loaded o...

The whole human experience
I’ve spent a lot of time in this space trying to figure out the nature of fandom, the magnetism of sports, and where it all fits in our lives. The best I’ve come up with, and it’s probably not all that accurate, is that fandom is the allure of feeling part of something, of being part of a group, a s...
