seanebeckwith Page 4 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

ESPN will have to say bye-bye to more Emmys if it partners with the NFL
ESPN is reportedly close to completing its full transition to propaganda production as the NFL is in advanced talks to buy a stake in the network. This comes as no surprise given ESPN’s parent company, Disney, has encountered a few well-documented, multimillion-dollar missteps of late, and the netwo...

Does Kalen DeBoer know what he’s getting into at Alabama?
It’d be interesting to see how many Alabama fans knew the name Kalen DeBoer before this season. Hell, I’d love to see the numbers a month and a half ago. It took all of two days for the Crimson Tide to find a replacement for Nick Saban, which feels fast, but with players diving into the transfer poo...

Carmelo Anthony, once bothered by the Nuggets giving No. 15 to Jokić, isn’t anymore. Or is he?
In case you were wondering what Carmelo Anthony is up to these days, he’s officially retired — and shockingly in the content business. I know. My guess would’ve been timepieces and Bordeaux, but Melo is an entrepreneur now, so he has various pens in various inks, and hopefully, he’s diversified enou...

Revenge is a dish best served in the NFL playoffs
According to Christopher Wallace’s definition, beef is when you need two gats to go to sleep; when your moms ain’t safe up in the streets; when I see you, guaranteed to be an ICU; when you make your enemies, start your Jeep; and when you roll no less than 30 deep. While I don’t know how many of this...

The NFL’s Black coaches are turning Wild-Card Weekend into a diversity showcase
There’s one storyline the NFL hasn’t highlighted heading into the postseason, and that’s probably for legal reasons. At least, I can’t imagine the league’s attorneys would advise them to showcase its entire roster of Black head coaches making the playoffs, considering Brian Flores’ lawsuit is still ...

If this is it for Nick Saban, he leaves with a real claim to GOAT status
Retirement for coaches like Nick Saban are always shocking, especially when Alabama hadn’t really lost a step. Maybe a half-step, but certainly nowhere near Bobby Bowden or Joe Paterno levels, and that’s going to lead to a ton of speculation about why he’s doing this now, as reports say the coach is...

Here are 8 candidates to fill the Aaron Rodgers-sized hole on the Pat McAfee Show
Be careful what you ax for, ESPN. The network’s decision — because it certainly wasn’t Pat McAfee’s — to terminate Aaron Rodgers’ scheduled diatribes now gives viewers little to no reason to tune into the $86 million program. Seriously, who is pining for McAfee’s armpits, censored frat humor and AJ ...

The luster on Brian Daboll’s bald head rubbed off in record time
While the New York Giants didn’t intend to undergo drastic changes this offseason, they are now. On the same day that head coach Brian Daboll said he expected both offensive and defensive coordinators to return, the latter reportedly went scorched earth on his boss before storming out. With Wink Mar...

Any GM who prefers Drake Maye over Caleb Williams is a moron
The distinction between NFL fans, and football fans, is never more apparent than with draft hype. Each year, experts laud some schmuck quarterback whose archetype fits their formula as a franchise savior, and NFL fans inhale the assessment so often, so blindly that they really believe Drake Maye is ...

Connor Stalions is the biggest victor from Michigan’s title win
Now that Jim Harbaugh and Michigan are national champions, Connor Stalions’ name is officially etched into history. Whenever U-M fans dine out on this title, which they assuredly will do, detractors, haters, run-of-the-mill conspiracy theorists, and others will shout “Connor Stalions!” as if he was ...

Sick, Sad World of Sports: Jumbo holiday edition
The holidays are a stressful time for everyone, including criminals, athletes moonlighting as criminals, and criminals moonlighting as athletes. ...

The Texans are proof that serendipity is the NFL’s most valuable asset
Think about the Houston Texans’ path to this moment. After gutting out a win over the Indianapolis Colts, 23-19, on Saturday, DeMeco Ryans and CJ Stroud locked up a playoff spot in their rookie campaigns. The team that opted out of hiring Josh McCown because it didn’t want to get sued also let the C...

The natives are getting restless at Ohio State and LSU
There’s natural staff turnover — primarily assistants getting poached for better opportunities elsewhere — and then there’s what Ohio State and LSU are purportedly doing. Each head coach is under pressure to make changes after showings not up to program standards, and if history is an indication of ...

ESPN didn’t say Aaron Rodgers was dumb, they said his joke was dumb
The firestorm engulfing ESPN is a product of its own doing, which is what makes all of this Pat McAfee-Aaron Rodgers drama so funny. The worldwide leader hired comic relief and, shockingly, he simultaneously lit Disney and Bristol ablaze from Indiana. In case you missed the fallout from Rodgers insi...

Advice to sports media people: Hype any team but the Clippers
There are certain teams as a sportswriter that you simply should not trust. Despite the way the Detroit Lions are playing, their fans won’t hesitate to tell you a size-14 steel-toe boot is about to drop at any moment. We all know what tortured souls I’m talking about so let’s spare them further angu...

Sorry, but I’m contractually obligated not to take it easy on Rory McIlroy
Golf is so much more fun when the players are petty. From Ryder Cup shenanigans to guys getting pissed about the pace of play, the game is infinitely more entertaining when there’s a clearly defined heel who fans can collectively hate. That’s why the past year-plus of golf was great television. ...

The Bucks need to beat the Pacers at least twice before we dub their feud a ‘rivalry’
In order for a rivalry to become a full-blown blood feud, there needs to be a little back and forth in the games themselves. The Knicks and Celtics, on paper, should hate each other, but on the court, New York is never seriously competitive so it doesn’t really resonate. ...

Luke Littler: 16-year-old dart prodigy, or Robin Williams from <em>Jack</em>?
The darts world is abuzz over Luke Littler, a 16-year-old prodigy on the verge of winning the World Dart Championship. The Englishman burst onto the scene in this tournament, going from relative unknown to the sport’s Bobby Fischer (minus the racism and genius though I’m not sure those two can be tr...

This week in the NFL: Pledge allegiance or go cry in the corner
Welcome to Deadspin’s The Sports Nihilist, where all is for naught, and we are but accidental jolts of electrified meat stuck to the surface of a rock in an indifferent universe....

Sports has an owner problem
There’s an owner problem across all professional sports. If you think the behavior of Carolina Panthers’ owner David Tepper was abhorrent, and it was, and needs to be eradicated from the game, and it should, wait 15 minutes until the next entitled billionaire gets fussy. ...