rb Page 45 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

It’s only a matter of time until an employed head coach opts out of a bowl game
College football programs are as volatile as ever during the transfer portal era. This time last year, the USC Trojans were one of the hottest programs in the country. Fast forward to the end of 2023, and the Trojans’ 42-28 win over No. 15 Louisville, without Caleb Williams, felt oddly necessary. ...

The Broncos have money problems with Russell Wilson, but at least they’re not the Browns
In case I did not make myself clear on Tuesday, the Deshaun Watson contract is never happening again. In the future, no NFL player will ever receive a fully guaranteed contract. For one thing, Patrick Mahomes is not going to push the Kansas City Chiefs for that type of deal. Two, when the Denver Bro...

Travis Kelce isn't in the honeymoon phase anymore
Travis Kelce let it all out on an episode of his “New Heights” podcast with brother and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason. After the Chiefs lost three of their last four games, Travis called it “a frustrating f**king experience” and said that everyone – including himself – is contributing to the offe...

Reminder: Joe Flacco was Nick Foles before Nick Foles
The Cleveland Browns have officially hit “Riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” status. As long as they have a quarterback with some name recognition — be it Deshaun Watson or Joe Flacco — the team plays with the confidence of a much more dangerous organization. Kevin Stefanski’s club could ...

Broncos seemingly give up on playoffs, bench Russell Wilson for rest of regular season
File this one under Things to Do in Denver When You’re Playoff Chances Aren’t Dead?...

Anybody up for a game of boff, marry, kill with some fringe NFL playoff teams?
Heading into the final two weeks of the NFL season, the Colts, Texans, Steelers, Bengals, Raiders, Broncos, Rams, Seahawks, Vikings, Falcons, Packers, Buccaneers and Saints are still alive for a playoff spot while only a game away from .500. Of those 12 organizations, which do you think has the best...

IDIOT OF THE YEAR: More dumbasses (Nos. 20-11)
WHY? Why must professional athletics function as such a powerful magnet for stupid, impetuous people? Ugh....

Lamar Jackson might win MVP, yet no other teams wanted him during the offseason?
It was about nine months ago when Lamar Jackson wanted to be traded from the Baltimore Ravens. The best quarterback in the history of two forever-linked franchises — the Ravens and the Cleveland Browns — was on the open market. Jackson is the only player besides Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes to ...

The San Francisco 49ers need to take an improv class
When rolling, the San Francisco 49ers look like they’re never going to lose again. Until Monday night’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Niners were undefeated this season when Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffery, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle are healthy. And it looked as if that trend might continu...

IDIOT OF THE YEAR: The annual descent into madness continues (40-31)
Welcome once again, dearest and most beloved reader, to Deadspin’s vaunted IDIOT OF THE YEAR awards, the global phenomenon in which we say churlish things about people we dislike. Huzzah!...

Let’s hand out some NHL awards. It’s Christmas after all!
Generally, this comes up at the quarter-mark or halfway through the season. But hey, it’s Christmas, so let’s hand out some Christmastime NHL awards just to get into the spirit of the thing! Who is leading in the various categories that the league likes to hand out some weird looking silverware for ...

IDIOT OF THE YEAR: The countdown begins as we look back on 2023 (Nos. 50-41)
Dearest reader! We meet again. It is that time of the year again… uh, namely, the end of the year, when we at Deadspin are proud to present our globally acclaimed celebration of stupidity, IDIOT OF THE YEAR! We’ll be with you as we count down the haughtiest, most hypocritical, and just plain dumbest...

These are the oldest players in NFL history
The NFL is a rough, violent game. The average career length in the modern NFL is just 3.3 years in the league. This is why it’s so impressive to see these NFL legends play so deep into their 40s. How many more names will we see join the ranks of the league’s oldest players in history? ...

Behold: My list of most memorable wrestling matches from 2023
The best time of year, when you get to go back through all the wrestling you watched and definitely not think your life has a sum total of jack and sh*t. Better to focus on trying to get back to the feeling that these matches generated inside of you when you were watching live, because that’s the wh...

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...

NFL's and NBC's ploy to get people to watch Saturday’s game on Peacock
The NFL is laying off the commercials for a night . . . game on a holiday weekend that airs on Peacock. The Buffalo Bills-Los Angeles Chargers matchup on Saturday will feature a 40 percent reduction in ads, with zero commercials during the final 15 minutes. Ideally, that’ll be accompanied by a runni...

The Ravens have their bulletin board material ready for their biggest game of the year
One of the biggest Christmas Day showdowns since Shaq vs. Kobe 2004, and Rocky vs. Drago is taking place on Dec. 25, 2023. The No. 1 seed in the AFC — the Baltimore Ravens — is going up against the top NFC seed — the San Francisco 49ers. Personally, I prefer when the NFL does not insert itself into ...

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...

It’s fun to watch MLS get smacked down
We get pretty used to sports leagues doing whatever they want, and whatever they want is usually not in any interest of the fans. It’s almost always about control and profit, which runs in direct opposition to fans’ desire to see competition, accessibility and the game we remember that got us all he...

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...