slate Page 2 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Roy Hibbert Can Never Play For Team USA, And It's All Jamaica's Fault
The United States Olympic basketball team, finding itself short on centers, wanted to add Indiana Pacers big man Roy Hibbert to its roster before the 2012 summer games. There was just one problem: Hibbert belonged to the Jamaican national team. On this week's excerpt from Slate's Hang Up and Listen ...
Does A Baseball Player's Race Affect The Value Of His Card?
Is a baseball card worth more money if the player on it is white? Perhaps! On this week's excerpt from Slate's Hang up and Listen podcast, Mike Pesca runs through the many studies have been done on the subject of racial bias and baseball card values, many of which posit that racism has long driven d...
Will Anyone Ever Run A Marathon In Under Two Hours?
One of the last remaining grand achievements to be had in the world of competitive running is the sub-two-hour marathon. The current world record—held by Kenyan Patrick Makau—sits at two hours, three minutes, and thirty-eight seconds. But many wonder, is it possible to run a marathon in under two ho...
Who Made The Not-Quite-Baseball-Hall-Of-Fame In 2013?
So we know who made up the class of 2013 at the Baseball Hall of Fame: no one. Well, OK, the veterans committee voted in Hank O'Day, Col. Jacob Ruppert, and Deacon White. But they all died in the 1930s; we wouldn't expect much in the way of induction speeches....
Meet Fred Ettish, The Folk Hero Of UFC 2
Saturday's UFC card featured one helluva beatdown: Jon "Bones" Jones turned Chael Sonnen into a bloody mess. But at least Sonnen was ready for what eventually hit him....
Why NBA Players Hate Buzzer-Beaters
The last bits of the first three quarters of NBA games bring a lot of desperate shots. (Like the one above.) But many of them are released after the whistle. (Also like the one above.) Apparently players are self-conscious about their shooting percentages. On this week's excerpt from Slate's Hang U...
Joe Flacco Wasn't The First To Consider Leaving The Sideline To Tackle An Opponent
After the Super Bowl, it was revealed that Joe Flacco had seriously considered running onto the field from the sideline to tackle Ted Ginn if Ginn had broken off a big kick return on the last play of the game. Flacco's idea was a ridiculous one, and would have resulted in the 49ers being awarded a ...
What's The Farthest Distance A Football Has Ever Been Thrown, And Did Vinny Testaverde Throw It?
Trying to figure out who is responsible for throwing a football the farthest distance in history is not an easy task. It takes one on a winding journey through message boards and YouTube clips and ends, disappointingly, at Vinny Testaverde. In this week's excerpt from Slate's Hang Up and Listen pod...
Last Night Was Probably The Closest We'll Ever Get To A Super Bowl Fair-Catch Kick, The Rarest Play In The NFL
When the Ravens intentionally took a safety, to give themselves better field position and run a few seconds off the clock, it brought the 49ers to within three points. It was the smart call, but it also raised the possibility of the rarest of all football plays—the fair-catch kick. It's only been at...
A Curious List Of Things That Floyd Landis Is Not Allowed To Say About Pat McQuaid
Pat McQuaid, former president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), has long been at odds with disgraced cyclist Floyd Landis. Recently, McQuaid filed a proceeding against Landis in a low-level Swiss court. The court ruled in McQuaid's favor, and Landis was given a list of things that he, acc...
Joe Flacco, The Big-Armed Oaf Who Saved Baltimore
Joe Flacco has played five full seasons in the NFL, and in each one, he has thrown for less than 4,000 yards and completed less than 64 percent of his throws. He has never been sacked fewer than 30 times, and he has never thrown more than 25 touchdowns. Flacco turns 28 tomorrow. He'll be a free agen...
Fox Gets Conservative: Did The Denver Coach's Risk-Averse Strategy Cost The Broncos A Playoff Victory?
NFL coaches will often refer to "playing the percentages." But if there's one thing I've learned by studying strategic decisions, it's that coaches don't have a firm grasp of those percentages. And when anyone is uncertain of the odds, he'll fall back on the sure thing. That was the case with Bronco...
What Happens When You Try To Buy Or Sell Counterfeit NFL Jerseys?
Slate's Josh Levin attended the Seahawks-Redskins game on Sunday, and, while he saw a lot of genuine RGIII memorabilia, he also saw plenty of knockoffs. So, in this week's excerpt from the Hang Up and Listen podcast, Josh dives in to this nefarious underworld. Where does counterfeit memorabilia come...
The Health Of An NFL Player Belongs To Everyone But The Player Himself
"Greatness is not given," Robert Griffin III says in his national Gatorade spot. "Greatness is taken, when the weak and distracted are resting on their reputations."...
In Defense Of Mike Shanahan
Three months ago, the head coach of a professional football team made a terrible, terrible decision. On Sept. 30, up by a point with less than two minutes to go, Carolina's Ron Rivera decided to punt the ball away to the Atlanta Falcons, even though it was fourth-and-1, even though his team was on A...
Robert Griffin III Twisted His Knee On A Dead Patch Of Sports Language
LANDOVER, Md.—After the Redskins' 24-14 playoff loss to the Seahawks, Washington's players and head coach talked about the "difference between being injured and being hurt," the importance of being there for your teammates, and how, in the words of Robert Griffin III, "you have to step up and be a m...
A Season Of Miracles In Washington: The Redskins Reappear, And The Owner Vanishes
Dan Snyder didn't even show up to his team's annual turkey giveaway before Thanksgiving. Somebody clearly told Snyder, the Redskins' unbeloved owner, that he couldn't win until his team won. And dang if he didn't listen. And dang if the team didn't win....
Dear ESPN Announcers: Please Stop Inventing Merits Of Terrible Bowl Games
We can understand why so many mediocre bowls line our on-screen guides every December and early January: They're lucrative for everyone (well, almost everyone) involved. Local dignitaries in moderate-sized middle American metropolises gotta eat. But we could really do without all the specious shilli...
Ray Lewis Is A Complicated Problem Who Played Football With Simple Greatness
It’s easy enough to be cynical about Ray Lewis, after the 17-year veteran linebacker announced his impending retirement yesterday. In the foreground, there’s the recent image of Lewis, now that the years have reduced his ability to contribute on-field: the ridiculous, spasmodic dancing; the incessa...
On Further Review, Roger Goodell Fucked Up This NFL Season From End To End
Cowboys-Redskins was the biggest matchup of the year, a win-or-go-home game for two division rivals. It turned out to be the most-watched regular-season sporting event in 15 years. But one familiar face was missing from the FedEx Field suites: commissioner Roger Goodell, who found something else to ...