ti Page 779 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Hear me out, Knicks need to start Elfrid Payton over Derrick Rose to beat Hawks
Knicks fans have been fed up all season with Tom Thibodeau’s insistence on keeping Elfrid Payton in the starting lineup. After two absolutely dismal starts in the playoffs against the Hawks, in which Payton went a combined 0-for-5 shooting with one point, one assist, and one steal in 13 minutes, dur...

We have more baseball crime-scene clowning
Yesterday, Twins’ backup backup center fielder Rob Refsnyder gave us a blooper that should play in stadiums across American ballparks by... [checks date] tonight....

Ertz so good, but he’s 31
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz is a 3-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champ, and husband to a gold medalist soccer player. Those are some pretty solid accomplishments. Mr. Julie Ertz is just two years removed from a Pro Bowl season in which he caught 88 passes for 916 yards and six touchdowns. ...

We can applaud Naomi Osaka without disparaging the media
Naomi Osaka’s decision to withdraw from the French Open has sparked necessary conversation about athletes and mental health. It was so important to her that she was willing to sacrifice a potential $1.8 million in prize money to put her own peace first. That’s not the act of a so-called diva, or of ...

The Chicago Cubs are the real-life team from 'Major League'
Now you have to imagine Tom Ricketts in her dress. Have a nice day....

Players should be allowed to knock sense into idiot fans
In episode eight of the sixth season of Game of Thrones, Cersei Lannister gave pop culture one of its most popular phrases. Turned into a prisoner in her own home, the most powerful woman in Westeros was done playing politics as she felt diplomacy was no longer an option. She went with the nuclear o...

Twins’ Josh Donaldson says pitchers are cheating – and he's got proof
Three-time All-Star and 2015 AL MVP Josh Donaldson is in year two of a four-year deal worth $92 million with the Minnesota Twins. In just over a year with the club, Donaldson is slashing just .225/.343/.422, for an OPS of .765 with Minnesota — a far cry from the numbers the star third baseman was pu...

Donovan Mitchell is one playoff run away from being the best player on the planet
Donovan Mitchell really could be the NBA’s finest one day. ...

Hey, Knicks fans: At least you’re not the Maple Leafs
How bad was the Toronto Maple Leafs’ collapse? It’s better to be a Knicks fan right now....

Sports media has to change, it just hasn’t figured that out yet
You can’t ask the media to talk about a story involving the media....

Now the Leafs have the calamity they’ve always wanted
Because everything is outsized with the Leafs, the idea that they’ve been coughing up genuine chances at the Stanley Cup year-after-year has grown at the rate and scale of The Blob. Being the Leafs, everything around them is audibly multiplied by at least 12, so the sheer volume that is emitted from...

The Top 5 Idiots of May
Welcome to Deadspin’s IDIOT OF THE MONTH, in which we make fun of famous (and non-famous!) people who have done stupid things. And May did not disappoint....

If it’s not the Leafs this season, which teams have the best (worst?) shot at passing the Rangers 54-year Cup futility?
The New York Rangers are the historic gold standard for futility in the NHL, having gone 54 years without winning the Stanley Cup until finally getting the job done in 1994 (see Mark Messier with the Cup above) — after decades of being taunted with “1940” chants in enemy arenas....

This Memorial Day, let’s honor the real Pat Tillman
It’s Memorial Day, which means it’s time for the NFL and the right to start co-opting the life and death of Pat Tillman, a former safety for the Arizona Cardinals who passed on a $3.6 million deal to enlist in the Army after 9/11. Rarely mentioned is Tillman’s brother, Kevin, who left the Cleveland ...

Top 5 NHL playoff saves of all time
We always remember the goals: Bobby Orr flying through the air, Ray Bourque scoring in the Stanley Cup Finals at 40 years old, and Matteau! Matteau! Matteau! Legendary moments. But what about the goals that didn’t happen? What about the goals that were snagged away with a flash of the leather or a f...

Kristaps Porzingis needs to remember who he is
It’s time for Kristaps Porzingis to start being the guy the Mavs thought he was....

Man City's Pep just can’t help himself
Perhaps the true sign of a great manager is how long he can leave his team on autopilot once his system and tactics are installed. While each game requires minor adjustments here or there, they shouldn’t amount to much more than the grade on the tires. The engine remains the same. And no team should...

Pat Riley needs to re-evaluate his Heat
The Miami Heat season is over, and now we all have questions....

Nature is healing; fans to return to that Fourth of July Hot Dog stuffing mess
What are your summer plans? Going to get back on a plane? Maybe catch a live game or concert? How about those restaurants you’ve been meaning to try? Or maybe you’re one of the thousands of folks who want to return to Coney Island for the Fourth of July hot dog eating contest?...

Seems like old times, eh Leafs?
By now you know the key points. The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967, haven’t been to the Final since then either, haven’t beaten the Canadiens in a series since their ’67 title clash, won their first division title since 2000 this season (thanks to being in the all-Canadia...