state Page 15 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

It’s going to be a good winter in Buffalo
Obviously, it’s never a good winter in Buffalo. And winter never stops, so I’m told. Anyway, the one thing that can make the time pass in the darkest months on the shores of Lake Erie is a hockey team worth watching. Kids, the Buffalo Sabres will very much be worth watching this season. So the resid...

Michigan State is pathetic for connection to Urban Meyer rumors
Despite the rumors, Urban Meyer isn’t going to be the next head football coach at Michigan State. Despite logic, let’s not act like Michigan State hasn’t turned itself into a place where many would welcome him with open arms. Drawing the line at Meyer after employing Larry Nassar and Mel Tucker isn’...

Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith cupping his breasts is oddly soothing
The Oregon State Beavers and coach Jonathan Smith were shunned by their Pac-12 brethren before the season as every school but Washington State abandoned them for greener conferences, and now everyone (but Wazzu) is subject to the ire of Corvallis. On Friday night, DJ Uiagalelei and the No. 19 Beaver...

Pablo Torre (might) know what Jordan Poole said that got him punched in the face
In the history of NBA talkers, Draymond Green is top five. He’s burrowed into the heads of far more opponents than vice versa, but it’s always the ones closest to you who know how to hurt you, and though Jordan Poole didn’t say anything that offensive to get decked in the face, it was enough....

Sorry, Mark Cuban, but you need to calm down
I guess you saw those numbers, Mark Cuban. ...

Notre Dame chokes, and Dan Lanning steals Coach Prime’s soundbite
Throughout the Notre Dame-Ohio State game, the booth constantly reminded viewers that Irish skipper Marcus Freeman said he wasn’t going to coach scared like he did a season ago against the Buckeyes. For 57 minutes in South Bend on Saturday night, he did that, and the Irish lost, 17-14 as a result. ...

Notre Dame-Ohio State should show us how far their QBs can take them
While the big media outlets fall all over themselves to slurp Deion Sanders, there is an actual marquee matchup Saturday that could have real ramifications for the College Football Playoff. No. 6 Ohio State and No. 9 Notre Dame are set to finish their home-and-home stand in South Bend, and it should...

Black coaches must remain a priority in XFL-USFL merger
If you’re gonna do it, do it right. And, if the XFL and the USFL are on the verge of a merger, then the new league must continue the XFL’s trend of hiring and employing Black coaches....

Draymond Green needs a refresher course on journalism
The Golden State Warriors are interested in Dwight Howard. This information is public because of good reporting from KRON4’s Jason Dumas, which Draymond Green confirmed on social media. Green gave kudos to Dumas for doing good work, but couldn’t resist taking a shot at him getting that scoop.The Wa...

Bobsledder Aja Evans is the latest Olympic athlete to accuse a trainer of sexual abuse
I was once discussing the Catholic Church abuse scandal with some friends. The main thrust of the conversation was this: Is there something about the Church that specifically causes priests to abuse children? Or are predators attracted to the Church because they know they can abuse there? We never c...

Mel Tucker keeps overlooking his own words in this he-said-she-said with Brenda Tracy
I have no idea if Mel Tucker thought things were consensual — or if he even asked. I’m clueless when it comes to knowing if Brenda Tracy had a motive. But what I, and you, know is that Mel Tucker owned up to doing what he did — making “sexual comments” about Tracy while “masturbating” during a “late...

Welcome to the Pac-12 funeral procession
Stating “we’ve never seen something like this before” in sports is usually overused. ...

XFL, USFL wisely begin talks to merge leagues
Nearly everything Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has touched over the past 20 years in sports & entertainment has turned into gold. His Midas touch began in pro wrestling behind Vince McMahon and the WWF/WWE, then carried over to the big screen in Hollywood. Johnson revamped McMahon’s twice-failed XFL pr...

Name something dumber than Jay Norvell talking smack about Deion Sanders
This week, ESPN’s College GameDay is setting up shop in Boulder, Colo., for Prime University’s cakewalk contest against Colorado State. Colorado are 23-point favorites, but the Worldwide Leader needs a reason to hop onto the Deion bandwagon before it loses steam once the schedule toughens up. Even b...

Michigan State should not benefit from Mel Tucker, but it will
Secretly, the grossest thing about this Mel Tucker scandal — outside of all the unverifiable tips being sent to the Deadspin general email — is that Michigan State might actually benefit from its own incompetence. Tucker would be owed an $80 million buyout if he were fired for being an abhorrent foo...

Here is what we kind of learned from the USMNT’s week
As we and many others stress, international friendlies are weird. Especially when everyone has to fly over from Europe for two games that don’t count for anything while trying to not get hurt. And for the USMNT, there weren’t really too many players trying to carve out a role, or a bigger role, with...

Michigan State thinks the answer to another public sexual misconduct scandal is more Mark Dantonio
In February 2020, Mark Dantonio — by far the most successful football coach in Michigan State’s history — retired. The stress of managing 120 student-athletes every year wore on him, Dantonio said. He wanted to make his life less complicated, so he was stepping away from football and East Lansing....

LeBron James is Team USA’s shadow GM and possibly its next director
LeBron James is back to doing what he does best, flexing those roster construction muscles as the league’s greatest shadow GM. According to Shams Charania and Joe Vardon’s report in The Athletic, an effort to recruit Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum and Draymond Green, is being...

Mel Tucker was the highest-paid Black coach in college football history — he blew it because he’s a creep
Two years ago, Mel Tucker blazed a trail for Black head coaches. One day ago, Mel Tucker set them back....
![Michigan State's Mel Tucker has been suspended [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/662f342034a41f1815def2e3503f5c03.jpg)
Michigan State's Mel Tucker has been suspended [Updated]
[Updated at 4:17 pm ET] The Title IX investigation into sexual harassment claims against head football coach Mel Tucker has been ongoing since December of 2022, but it only took a few hours of media scrutiny for MSU to decide to discipline him. Funny how that works....