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FBI Docs: The Sad Story Of The FBI Agent Who Was Ordered To Unclog George Steinbrenner's Toilet
On Thursday, we described the FBI's internal investigation into Steinbrenner's curiously close relationship with the bureau's Tampa field office. We will now commence with the presentation of amusements and oddities found in the nearly 700 pages of new Steinbrenner records the FBI turned over to us....

Heading Into 2012, Oddibe McDowell's Water Bill Is Once Again Past Due
Bad news for Oddibe. With the new year approaching, he still hasn't paid his water bill. More as the situation warrants....

2011 Deadspin Hall Of Fame Nominee: Penn State
Sandusky. Paterno. The whistle that no one blew. The sweatpants riots and the sad, sad bros and the news van tipped over like some sort of Holstein cow. Penn State was horror and farce, all at once—the whole range of human folly on display. 1-800-REALITY, indeed....

Here's How Dan Orlovsky (With The Help Of The Houston Texans) Ruined Christmas For Colts Fans
Down 16-12 to the Houston Texans with 1:50 left in the game, no timeouts, and the ball on their own 22, the Indianapolis Colts would have been heavy dogs to win even with Peyton Manning playing quarterback. But win they did, thanks to the heroics of backup-backup QB Dan Orlovsky and some timely pe...

The Dennis Erickson Era At Arizona State, Encapsulated In One Play
Arizona State fired head football coach Dennis Erickson almost a month ago, but allowed him to coach the team through the end of the season—including tonight's Las Vegas Bowl matchup against Boise State. If there's any play that demonstrates the futility of the Sun Devils under Erickson's tutelage...

FBI Docs: George Steinbrenner Thought The FBI Was The "Nearest Thing To Perfection"
When we published my October profile of Howie Spira, the gambler who tangled with George Steinbrenner and wound up in prison, I knew the story wasn't over. In the course of my reporting, I'd submitted a few Freedom of Information Act requests to the FBI. These things can take a while for the federal...

Kobe Is (Allegedly) A Better Womanizer Than He Is A Basketball Player: A Statistical Analysis
The National Enquirer dropped one of its perhaps-truth bombs this week on Kobe Bryant's marriage (here's a summary, since the Enquirer wants you to splurge in the supermarket and didn't put its story online): The tab reports that Bryant had affairs with 105 women during the 10 years he was married t...

Recruit Says Bruce Pearl Sent A Beautiful Girl To Tell Him To Attend Tennessee
Small forward Jordan Adams is one of the many prospects out of Oak Hill Academy, and ESPN has him ranked as the 50th best recruit in the nation. He's going to UCLA in the fall, but they weren't the only ones who were interested: Bruce Pearl, while still at Tennessee, apparently called in the service...

Readers: Tell Us Where To Watch Sports While Eating Chinese On Dec. 25
Christmas is on Sunday, and while most public activity shuts down so the Christians and semi-Christians can worship American consumerism and baby Jesus, our nation's Jews will be eating Chinese food and watching hoops like it's just another Hanukkah weekend. What a world!...

Football In The Dark Is An Illuminating Thing
We're doing a season-long NFL roundtable with our friends at Slate. Check back here each week as a rotating cast of football watchers discusses the weekend's key plays, coaching decisions, and traumatic brain injuries....

Dutch Soccer Has A Fan Problem
Predictably, in the aftermath of AZ Alkmaar keeper Esteban Alvarado being attacked by a fan, defending himself, then being sent off, the focus is on Alvarado's and the referee's actions. The Dutch FA has ruled that while the referee was correct in showing a red card, Alvarado will not receive the ma...

Two More Women Allege Bill Conlin Molested Them Years Ago
There are new stories in today's Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News regarding long-time Daily News columnist Bill Conlin, and, alongside the claims in Tuesday's Inquirer story, they paint a grim picture, if true....

Everything's Bigger In Texas, Except When You Get Posterized By North Carolina's P.J. Hairston
Texas guard Julien Lewis is 6'3", and should probably know better than to try and stop North Carolina 6'6" freshman star P.J. Hairston. But he didn't, and it's to all of our benefit to be able to watch. [ESPN]...

The Atlanta Braves Wish You A Merry Christmas By Performing The Worst Rendition Of "Jingle Bells" Imaginable
Kris Medlen (the puffy-cheeked one with the bent brim) is the only one who gives it any effort, and he's followed by Chipper Jones's smug sunburnt visage. Ugh. Merry Christmas....

The Wonderful Miracle Of Mass Confusion On The Football Field
We're doing a season-long NFL roundtable with our friends at Slate. Check back here each week as a rotating cast of football watchers discusses the weekend's key plays, coaching decisions, and traumatic brain injuries....

The Attorney For The Lady Suing Monta Ellis Will Not Let You See The Dong Shot Ellis Allegedly Texted Her
"The only reason we showed it to the press was so they would know we were serious," attorney Burt Boltuch told me. "No. I don't want it out there in the media." I told him we did this kind of thing here. Didn't change his mind....

Our NBA Players Are Still Growing
The lockout? Totally worth it. Because it seems the tallest people on earth spent that extra time getting even taller....

Gifts For People Who Read Books
When we have time, we at Deadspin like to read (and also sometimes write) books. These are the books we read and wrote this year that we think would make a great, last-minute gift for any literate people you might know, or even as a special treat for yourself....

A Conversation With Bill Conlin The Day Before The <em>Inquirer</em> Dropped Its Molestation Story
The first email arrived at 4:28 p.m. Monday. Subject line: "Hot button issue."...

David Stern Says That Once The Season Starts, Everyone Will Forget About That Silly Little Chris Paul Trade Veto
Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: Dance, puppets!...