rant Page 42 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Sometimes you have to just sit back and appreciate what’s on offer
Perhaps I’m feeling wistful because last October, we didn’t have our normal schedule. There’s a clock to this, a rhythm, that we have spent our entire lives attuned to. Hockey and basketball start during the MLB playoffs. Go a year without it, and suddenly the axis is off, red lights are blinking, t...
Joey Gallo is this generation’s Adam Dunn
Nothing against him, but New York Yankees outfielder Joey Gallo is irrelevant in Major League Baseball right this second. His team isn’t in the playoffs. He’s never played for any of the teams involved in either Championship Series. He’s at home watching the games from his couch, the same as you and...
Bucks/Nets is still NBA’s best David vs. Goliath storyline these days… only David has a ring now
It was déjà vu in Milwaukee last night as the Bucks took on the Brooklyn Nets in their season opener — a team they had last faced in a Game 7 overtime thriller in the Eastern Conference Semifinals just a few months earlier. In that one, memorably, the Bucks were saved from a loss by none other than ...
Daryl Morey — not Ben Simmons or Doc Rivers — should be getting the blame in Philadelphia
If there was a scouting report on Daryl Morey, under strengths it would read — “uncanny ability to never get blamed for creating disasters.”...
Tyrese Haliburton would like you to care about his team
The NBA’s opening night is upon us, and one of the great things about that is all 30 teams have hope and high expectations for themselves. Every NBA fan base across the nation can say this might be their team’s year. All those hopes and dreams are still in play until a player like Tyrese Haliburton ...
Ime Udoka announces his presence with authority
Boston Celtics first-year head coach Ime Udoka isn’t wasting any time making his mark on this team. During Boston’s preseason finale against the Miami Heat, forward Grant Williams decided to argue a foul call with an official, allowing the Heat’s Bam Adebayo to beat him back down the court for an ea...
Mohamed Salah is on one
I suppose being as analytic-minded as I can get that I’m going to be hypocritical here. It doesn’t help (or hurt, depending on your point of view) that I love Mohamed Salah in every sense of the word, to an extent that my vulnerability is teetering on “highly damaging.” So take that as you will....
If Giannis did what I think he just did, the rest of the NBA is in trouble, with or without Kyrie
When we last left two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo he was ordering a cheat meal fit for a champion: 50 (not 51, not 49) chicken minis from Chick-Fil-A, with a large Sprite/lemonade. This was a month after narrowly defeating the Brooklyn Nets while we all complained about his jump shot holding ...
No Tyler Herro, you should not be in Luka, Trae, or Ja’s category
Yesterday, Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro made an appearance on a podcast and talked about how he views himself as an NBA talent. Herro responded claiming that he believes he should be in the conversation as the other young up-and-comers in the league with the potential to be All-Stars or superstars. ...
Can Westbrook thrive as a third option with Lakers?
The Russell Westbrook era is underway in Los Angeles, and after his first couple of games in a Lakers uniform, Mr. Triple-double accounted for 14 turnovers in 39 minutes. He had 9 in one game alone. Sure, it is only the preseason, and the games and turnovers don’t count, as the future Hall of Famer ...
The Brooklyn Nets’ massive star power may be their saving grace due to Kyrie Irving’s vaccination dilemma
Kyrie Irving ain’t walking through that door…tonight....
Idiot of the Month: Do you remember September? We hope not
Welcome to Deadspin’s IDIOT OF THE MONTH, in which we ruminate on some cringey happenings from weeks past....
Hear me out: Ben Simmons for Kyrie, straight up
Ben Simmons has attempted 34 three-pointers in his four-year NBA career, which is about how many shots from downtown Kyrie Irving attempts in five games. As point guards go, the two former No. 1 overall picks could hardly have more different games....
The narcissism of Kyrie Irving and NBA anti-vaxxers is inhumane
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Quite frankly, it’s mind-boggling that we’re even here. And by here, I mean this moment in which the beginning of the world’s most popular sports league’s 75th season is being sabotaged by anti-vaxxers — after some of those very same men proved that safely playing bas...
Stupid is as stupid doesn’t do
Andrew Wiggins’ refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine — as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, and backed by ESPN’s reporting — is a near-perfect intersection of inanity....
Thom Brennaman still doesn't get it: Born on third base and wondering why he’s back at first now
Thom Brennaman has been a lousy broadcaster for years. Lucky to get a job as a play-by-play man because his dad Marty was one of the best of all time, Thom got his voice and his start from his father, but proved to be as mediocre as so many silver spooners before him....
Browns fold in fourth like a restaurant napkin as Patrick Mahomes rescues his JV-level defense
The Browns are one of the most talented teams in the NFL from top to bottom....
Ben Wallace is the perfect embodiment of his era
Look at a photo of Rudy Gobert in any game. Typically, he’ll be wearing the same knee sleeves with padding that most other players do, maybe an arm-sleeve or two, and that’s probably it. Let’s not make this about Gobert, though — let’s take another center: Nikola Jokić. Usually, it’s just leg sleeve...
NHLers are returning to the Olympics... let’s build some rosters
The Olympics have always felt like the pinnacle for several sports around the world. Only the best sprinters in the world can win gold at the 100-meter dash. Only the fastest swimmers can rise above everyone else in the 200-meter freestyle. Yet, for other sports, the Olympics hasn’t felt like the to...
The Nets are even more stacked now
Yes, they’re old. Yes, we should have concerns about injuries. Sure, we don’t even know if all the players are vaccinated yet, which will matter because they’ll have to be. ...