The last time Emeka Okafor appeared on Deadspin as a NBA player, he was being escorted off a ride at Six Flags America in Maryland because he was too tall. He had turned 30 a little over a month earlier, and was at that time the starting center on a deeply bleak 29-win Washington Wizards team that also featured Jannero Pargo, Cartier Martin, and the baffled rookie version of Bradley Beal. A few weeks after security removed Okafor from Superman: Ride Of Steel, Barack Obama won his second term as president. A few months after that, Okafor was diagnosed with the neck injury that led him to retire from the NBA. That was 2013, and that appeared to be that. All things considered it seemed like a pretty good run. Okafor was a brilliant college player and a very solid NBA big man on what were m…
Wednesday’s Mexico-Panama Gold Cup semifinal was an ugly affair, with Mexico winning 2-1 after being the beneficiary of bogus red card and penalty calls. The refereeing was so poor that even Mexican newspapers admitted the game was a sham. This morning, CONCACAF president Alfredo Hawit released the following statement: We met with both the Referee Department leadership and referee Mark Geiger. Mr. Geiger, one of the best regarded referees in the region with vast international experience and a proven track record, accepted that officiating errors had been made during Wednesday’s match and that these impacted the outcome of the game. We at CONCACAF regret these circumstances but accept that such human errors are part of the game. The first thing to notice is the hilariously passive…
Chris Paul, fresh off an almost-upset in the first round, took in tonight's Heat-Celtics game with a recognizable cap atop his head and some slightly less recognizable people by his side. The Yankees logo screams New York, for Paul's choice when free agency rolls around—Barry tells me Knicks fans are already irrationally excited about him— but his company said Heat, Heat, Heat. ESPN's Dave McMenamin tweets, "Chris Paul sitting right in between two members of LeBron's LRMR group. Oh boy." Meanwhile, the New York Post, the megaphone for irrational Knicks fans, writes that Paul's coming because of a toast he made at LaLa and Melo's wedding. Free fucking agency, everybody. …
Longtime major league outfielder Kole Calhoun is retiring. He made the announcement Friday night via his Instagram account. "The day has come that I announce my retirement from Major League Baseball," Calhoun, 36, began his post. "I know how extremely lucky I am to even be able to say that. Baseball was always my dream, and to make that my reality fills me with gratitude. "I have loved this game since I can remember so making this announcement weighs heavy on my heart. This day comes for all players eventually and I can honestly say that I have given this game everything I have and I walk away with no regrets." The Los Angeles Angels selected Calhoun in the eighth round of the 2010 MLB Draft out of Arizona State. He played with the Angels from 2012-19 as wel…
data-mm-id=”_eqea95ycw”>With last night's expected Titans-Jaguars stinker already behind us, let's look ahead to Sunday and Monday's NFL slate as we rank the other 14 games by watchability.14. New York Jets (0-2) vs. New England Patriots (2-0)The Patriots should send Roger Goodell a thank you card, because the NFL's schedule-makers have effectively given them three bye weeks. Their first came last week, their second comes on Sunday, and their third will come in Week 10. The difference is, they won't be credited with a win for that Week 10 bye.13. Miami Dolphins (0-2) vs. Dallas Cowboys (2-0)Is this even going to count as a sporting event? The only reason anyone would willingly watch this would be to place bets on how badly Miami will lose. Something is seriousl…
data-mm-id=”_pf500tsh5″>Despite the fact that the Patriots are 9-1, all anyone can talk about is how poorly the offense has performed so far this season (including this very website). It's fair criticism, though; New England is ranked 16th in total yards per game while averaging only 91 yards on the ground. All things considered, it's the least lethal offense that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have engineered since maybe 2015, where everyone important other than Rob Gronkowski got hurt. There are a variety of elements that have combined to create this odd alternate reality where a Brady-led team is relying almost entirely upon the defense to win games — a rotating cast of skill-position players, young guys playing key roles and struggling to pick up the offense, and Josh McDa…
data-mm-id=”_i9h1hw5ff”>Jeremy Fowler went on SportsCenter on Monday afternoon and talked about Teddy Bridgewater. Fowler sounded optimistic for Bridgewater's impending free agency, saying the former Pro Bowler's market will be strong, even if teams are just looking for a bridge starter for a year or two of transition. Here is the actual discussion. Fowler says that starters won't make around $10 million so "you've got to pay him 20-something million." Later in the afternoon, the account @uSTADIUM tweeted about Bridgewater's "strong market," threw in a random $30-million figure and attached Fowler's handle at the end, making it look like he said it, which he did not. Teddy Bridgewater is expected to have a “strong market” in free ag…
data-mm-id=”_628djkqnu”>The NFL will release the schedule for the 2020 season this week. The schedule will be official, but tentative with up to a six week contingency plan already in place that would keep the Super Bowl in February. Despite the fact that the schedule is subject to change at any moment, fans are really looking forward to this.NFL also planning to release its preseason schedule by end of this week, per @NFLprguy: “If we have to make adjustments, we will be prepared to do so based on the latest guidance from our medical experts and public health officials and current and future government regulations.”— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 3, 2020Google searches for NFL schedule have reached a critical mass, while "NFL schedule release leaks" is one of the h…
data-mm-id=”_1twipwx17″>The New York Knicks are one of two NBA franchises that have not issued a statement about the killing of George Floyd and the civil unrest that has followed it. As a result, players and team employees are reportedly furious at the team's lack of a statement. Team owner James Dolan addressed that in an e-mail to employees on Monday and it definitely didn't help matters. ESPN's Pablo Torre got a copy of the email:I'm told that Knicks players and employees are furious that the team hasn't made a public statement about George Floyd. And I just obtained the e-mail that owner Jim Dolan sent to MSG employees today defending the organization's decision to stay silent: pic.twitter.com/xG1BA7tV5V— Pablo S. Torre (@PabloTorre) June 2, 2020Her…
data-mm-id=”_cv8pr6vna”>Exactly two weeks ago, the Indiana Pacers announced a one-year contract extension with head coach Nate McMillan on the eve of the NBA playoffs. McMillan had one year left on his deal at the time of the extension. These past two weeks did not exactly go well for McMillan's Pacers as they got swept at the hands of the Miami Heat and have already left the bubble. Apparently the Pacers' brass was so unhappy about this that they reversed course entirely and fired McMillan on Wednesday morning. Official Statement: pic.twitter.com/l9kMqiYEXh— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) August 26, 2020This is quite a confounding decision. Adrian Wojnarowski later reported that the "extension" McMillan signed only gave the coach a team option for the 2021-22 season, r…