putin Page 3 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Social athlete-fan interactions keep getting worse
Player fan relationships moved into an entirely new realm over a decade ago when social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter began to pop up. Not long after came Instagram and later TikTok. These platforms have become staples in our lives, not just in the United States but around the ...

When presented with the lesser of two evils, pray
I’ve never watched 90-Day Fiancé because I’d rather take an eyedropper full of corrosive acid to the iris, but I imagine Chelsea fans are awaiting the sale of their club with the same angst and uncertainty all these 90-Day Fiancé idiots have during their short courtship. (If that’s not how that show...

NFT hacks Jeff Passan at height of lockout negotiations, completely whiffs opportunity
You know, back in the day, when things made sense and air was fresh and all french fries were crispy, when you hacked someone’s Twitter or Facebook or email, you did it for entertaining reasons. Remember the days of “Wetbutt” breaking Cubs trades (“Days Of Wetbutt” was an underrated Cinderella album...

U.K. finally gets around to sanctioning Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich
Roman’s got to go. Hand in your keys to the club before you do more damage to those who don’t deserve it. As it turns out, plenty of people who said politics had no place in sports really meant politics that they don’t agree with had no room at the table. Loud banishment of policy came at the inters...

Whew… we need to talk about the Russian gymnasts
This morning, I woke up to the sight of a river of people, from the elderly down to the babies carried in their parents’ arms, trying to escape Ukraine. I watched my TV in horror as they slipped and slid uphill, some of them falling, wondering if they were going to get back up again. Behind them, a ...

America has failed Brittney Griner
Brittney Griner should be at home right now....

Biathlete Yevhen Malyshev killed defending Ukraine
Nineteen-year-old Ukranian biathlete Yevhen Malyshev was killed in action on Tuesday while fighting for the Ukrainian military against the ongoing Russian military invasion. His death was confirmed Wednesday by the International Biathlon Union, who wrote, “Above all, the IBU expresses its deepest co...

What of Alex Ovechkin now?
I haven’t made any attempt to hide my enjoyment of Alex Ovechkin when writing about him in the past. I find his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s goal record to be one of the more fascinating aspects of the NHL right now. His metronomic yet stratospheric production over 17 years now is really astonishing, ...

Roman Abramovich is getting out of Dodge and he’s going to leave Chelsea behind
Remember when NCAA programs, basketball or football, would impose sanctions on themselves in the hopes it would keep the NCAA’s great wandering eye from looking at them too closely? And then if that didn’t work, the coach would have to fall on his sword? That’s sort of what’s happening with Roman Ab...

IDIOT OF THE MONTH: Annex a history book, you dummies
Welcome to Deadspin’s IDIOT OF THE MONTH, our monthly series (hence the name!) in which we make fun of people in and around the sports world. And, boy, are the pastures green this month. But first: an honorable mention!...

Why you never dance with devils
The reckoning has finally come for the sports organizations that have played footsie with autocratic nations. And not just FIFA and the International Olympic Committee, but for the Premier League, Formula One, and any sports league that has cashed checks from questionable international sources while...

Tennessee mayor Glenn Jacobs, WWE’s Kane, attempts to tweet about Ukraine and fails miserably
Glenn Jacobs sounds like the name of a serious-minded small-town Southern mayor with libertarian sensibilities but a stable worldview. That is until you realize that he spent the last three decades playing Kane, a character who can best be described as Michael Myers but obsessed with fire instead of...
![FIFA doesn’t want to ask itself the hard questions [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/a44dd2b11a33459944cad5312eacef87.jpg)
FIFA doesn’t want to ask itself the hard questions [Updated]
It is so simple, at least to anyone not entangled in the middle of the mess. All of Poland, Czechia, and Sweden have said they will refuse to play Russia in World Cup qualifiers at the end of March. While a ban from FIFA isn’t going to end Russia’s occupation of Ukraine, there is no pressure point t...

Ovechkin ‘calls for peace’ but fails to denounce Putin’s invasion of Ukraine
Alexander Ovechkin finally addressed the crisis in Ukraine, saying some words in a press conference in Philadelphia that sounded nice but were ultimately meaningless....

Klitschko brothers, HOF boxers from Ukraine, plan to fight for country
The scenes coming out of Ukraine are intense, surreal, and incredibly concerning. “World War 3” also trended on Twitter on Thursday, and the impact of the conflict continued to reach across the sports world. ...

Washington D.C.’s most famous athlete is notably silent on Putin invading Ukraine
As far as approval ratings go, Alexander Ovechkin’s standing among Washington, D.C., natives is as high as it gets. He’s arguably the greatest professional athlete to call the District of Columbia home. He’s been there for 17 seasons. He’s a 12-time all-star. He led the Capitals to a Stanley Cup tit...

Fedor Smolov is that guy
After years of political tension between the countries, Russia officially invaded Ukraine on Wednesday, bringing swift sanctions and reaction from around the world, as countries almost unanimously opposed the actions spearheaded by Russian President Vladimir Putin....

Champions League Final likely to be moved out of Russia over Ukraine conflict
Not less than a week after the Russia Olympic Committee won 32 medals — second most overall but somehow ninth in the standings because of questionable Russia shit — Vladimir Putin appears to be preparing to invade the Ukraine. Now, the sporting world seems to be paying attention to the crisis in rea...

No Miracle on Ice, at least not for USA
So, about those Miracle on Ice comparisons for the United States men’s hockey team in Beijing…...

Funny how the little white girl who skates got treated differently than the fast Black girl who sprints
Unsurprisingly, Emmanuel Acho doesn’t have anything to say. ...