smith Page 3 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Every No. 1 NFL Draft pick since 2000
The NFL Scouting Combine is the first sign for everyone to get serious about draft talk. It gives football fans just under two months to prepare for a new name to walk across the stage as Roger Goodell says, “With the first overall pick…” Will they become the new face of the league? Or will they fla...

It feels like Josh McCown is coveted more than Steve Wilks in the NFL — that’s a problem
Josh McCown might wind up being an offensive guru. Josh McCown could be a Super Bowl-winning head coach one day. Over the last few years, Josh McCown has been a highly sought-after candidate in NFL coaching circles. The only thing is, Josh McCown’s coaching resume is skimpier than the meat that new ...

We present to you February 2024's Idiots of the Month
Welcome to the first edition of Idiots of the Month for 2024 (we may have been overwhelmed with idiocy in January, and declined to choose five from the nominees — or we may have been distracted by the Super Bowl). Luckily for us, February brought us a fresh, new crop of idiots, and one idiot who is ...

NBA defenses can't keep up with the record-setting highest-scoring offenses
Complaints about NBA defensive intensity have littered sports debate television, podcasts, and columns all season. As of Tuesday, the top five teams in offensive rating will have the five highest marks in that category in NBA history. Six players have scored 60 or more points this season. Luka Donči...

When NFL teams say they have salary cap problems, don't believe them
It’s that time of year in the NFL when you’ll hear the term ‘salary cap’ about 100 times per day. Former Super Bowl-winning offensive lineman Mark Schlereth recently spilled the beans on the cap being fake and how the league/teams use fear tactics to make fans think it’s more significant than it is ...

Deadspin presents the Two-Thirds Through the Season NHL Awards
After working up a third of a season award post just so my editor would have something to publish during the Holidays, it only seems right that we do an equally meaningless one with some teams having cracked 60 games played. No, 82 doesn’t divide evenly by three, and there really isn’t a distinctive...

Ask not what a free agent running back can do for you, but what you can do for them
Saying there’s no value in running backs was always nonsense, but because bad teams think a ground game is going to make their garbage quarterback and shoddy offensive line redeemable, the stereotype gets furthered. So this offseason when some NFC South team signs Derrick Henry or Josh Jacobs or Saq...

Is trouble brewing for the USWNT?
It’s been mostly quiet on the Western front for the USWNT since last summer’s World Cup full-body dry heave. A couple of friendlies to send off legends, a couple more to close out the year with no stakes, and an easy start to the Women’s Gold Cup last week with resounding wins over the Dominican Rep...

Don't be Kenny Smith; Redick blasts Rivers; the Knicks are back; How about that ASG?
You don’t have to put on the pom-poms for Sabrina Ionescu or women’s sports, but too many broadcasters are happy to communicate that women’s participation, or records, or fandom is somehow less than. ...

New York Jets' options for Aaron Rodgers' backup/Zach Wilson replacement
The New York Jets have a ton of areas of weakness heading into the 2024 offseason, but one of their more under-appreciated needs coming up is a backup quarterback. The lack of a competent reserve signal-caller in 2023 doomed the Jets to their 13th straight year without a playoff appearance. With 40-...

Fans preparing for March Madness should know that women’s college basketball is the main draw
Football is finished and the NBA is coming off of a horrific All-Star break. That only means one thing — it’s the time of the year when the masses start paying attention to college basketball. However, many “fans” will be in for a rude awakening when they realize that the men’s game isn’t that excit...

Ranking the major sports networks from most elitist to Fox Sports
Prestige and journalism shouldn’t go hand-in-hand together. Sure, there are outlets with enough history and money to have ethics departments, fact-checkers, and paying subscribers, but the omnipresent tier — the ones controlling the rights to the big sports — are cost-cutting corporate slugs like th...

The NFL keeps giving us ‘all-access’ content that lacks access
I’m old enough to remember when “behind-the-scenes’’ actually meant what it claims, as the access that was being granted was a novelty. But, in the case of the NFL, “all-access” too often feels like limited entry....

JJ Redick says it's 'always an excuse' with Doc Rivers
Former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick is tired of Doc Rivers’ excuses. The First Take host went off on his former coach Tuesday morning, saying how he’s “seen the trend for years....

Best landing spots for WR Mike Evans
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and wide receiver Mike Evans were unable to come to an agreement on a contract extension, meaning that the five-time Pro Bowler is set to hit free agency. Evans is a model of consistency, having never finished a season with fewer than 1,000 receiving yards. His 10 consecutiv...
![Bodycam footage of Haywood Highsmith post-crash emerges [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/4325fc2604bff7a96d13883a99f34f42.png)
Bodycam footage of Haywood Highsmith post-crash emerges [Update]
Update March 6: New footage captured by police body cameras shows Miami Heat forward Haywood Highsmith visibly shaken up after he crashed his car into a pedestrian, causing him to have his leg amputated above the knee....

In this age of unprecendent access, we should take inside info with a grain of salt
We are in the age of the easiest, most direct access we’ve ever seen. That goes triple for sports which can be a good thing. But we’ve gotten to the point where we have so much access that it’s begun to have the opposite effect and become negative in many situations. With all the information thrown ...

Kenny Smith ruined Sabrina Ionescu's moment
Let’s take a look at a few of the comments after Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu squared off in a 3-point shooting contest on Saturday night, Curry topping the Liberty star by just 3 points, 29-26, both shooting from the NBA arc....

Sick, Sad World of Sports: Who started off 2024 on the wrong foot
There was no shortage of allegedly heinous behavior to start the new year, with Chicago Bulls fans booing a widow, Vince McMahon resigning in disgrace (again) and various big-name athletes unaware of the age of consent. ...

The NBA dunk contest is crapshoot that lacks star power
NBA All-Star Saturday was a hit once again, but one of the main events may have missed the mark. The slam dunk contest at one time was the highlight of the entire weekend. Now it’s hit or miss, year-to-year, whether we’ll be talking about it for weeks or if it’ll be forgotten by Monday afternoon. Th...