Howard Megdal

One Goal: A(nother) Team For NYC

Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber obviously didn't have a plan for getting a second team into the New York media market. What he had was a single goal, one that he has finally achieved, albeit in a roundabout fashion. More»
Gwen Knapp

Owning Up

Of all the energy expended over PEDs in sports, far too little has been devoted to assessing team penalties. There's a presumption that teams pay intangibly in depletion of reputation, but something more substantial needs to be done. More»
Jonathan Bernhardt

Not As Bad As He Looked

Orioles closer Jim Johnson recorded 35 straight saves. Then, suddenly, he blew three in a row. After throwing a scoreless inning Tuesday night, is he back on track, or is he just showing that he's neither as good or as bad as he looked? More»
Patrick Hruby

The NCAA's Antisocial Behavior

Welcome to the Hashtag Edition of Laboratories of Hypocrisy, where the NCAA doesn't want any sort of athletic department-endorsed hashtags sullying its sacred football fields, and where athletes' health coverage isn't exactly comprehensive. More»
Mike Tanier

Indy Soap Opera

Civil wars, family squabbles and boardroom politics often overshadow IndyCar to such a degree that stories about IndyCar are more likely to focus on front office skullduggery than on Dario Franchitti and Helio Castroneves' efforts to win a fourth Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. More»
Shaun Powell

Hot In Cleveland

Life after LeBron is looking brighter now that the Cavaliers have extended their incredible draft lottery roll with the top pick in this year's draft. This gives them the option to take Nerlens Noel or trade down. Here's how we see the rest of the first round shaping up. More»
Chuck Culpepper

There Will Be Lights

On Sept. 6, two high schools in Moore, Oklahoma will face off in a region recently devastated by an EF5 tornado. It's an event that helped the town heal once before, back in 1999, when a similar disaster hit. And things should be no different this time around. More»
Howard Megdal

We Are Family

The Reds have built their team primarily through the draft, allowing players like Devin Mesoraco, Zack Cozart and Todd Frazier to grow up together, so that they view their teammates as family and want to win or the fans and for each other. More»
Joe DeLessio

The Rangers' Richards Problem

When the Rangers signed Brad Richards to a nine-year contract in 2011, he was supposed to be one of the final pieces of a Stanley Cup contender, maximizing a brief window of opportunity. Instead, this spring could be Richards' last in New York. More»
Jorge Arangure Jr.

Contreras Content

More sensitive than many fans realize, Jose Contreras is grateful for his 10 years in the majors, his family's life in America and the support of his fans back in Cuba, where he was finally able to return in February for the first time since his defection in 2002. More»
Will Leitch

A Night Unlike Any Other

Imagine you're an NBA general manager. Then imagine you have to sit on national television and beg fate and luck to help bail you out from your mistakes. This is the basic premise of the NBA draft lottery, an event unlike anything else in sports. More»
Jonathan Bernhardt

The Profar Dilemma

Jurickson Profar made his 2013 debut on Monday, knowing that this stint in the majors won't be permanent. But at some point, the Rangers have to decide what do with baseball's No. 1 prospect, and that day's coming sooner rather than later. More»
Emma Span

Scapegoating Mattingly

We knew before the season even started that Don Mattingly would be managing for his job -- and the Dodgers are looking dreadful. Part of a manager's job is to be a scapegoat, but Mattingly isn't even one of L.A.'s top 10 problems right now. More»
Matt Brown

Rolled Eyes

The feeling is palpable through the long summer months of the offseason: Alabama Fatigue has set in. But even if there's no cure, fans of other teams have to admit that college football is more entertaining when Nick Saban and the Tide are at the top of their game. More»
Gwen Knapp

Baseball's Most Entertaining Fans

Who needs seats behind home plate when you can liven the atmosphere of a stadium from the right-field bleachers? Section 149 at the Coliseum in Oakland has become the never center of A's games, and even opposing players are in on the fun. More»
Shaun Powell

The Bobcats Vs. The NBA Gods

The Bobcats are changing their nickname when they really need to change their unofficial motto: "Everything seems so right, and yet everything goes so wrong." Bad luck in the lottery and the draft, combined with poor decisions, is a franchise-killer. More»
Tommy Tomlinson

Going Big In a Lost Cause

There's something noble about being brilliant in a loss. Miguel Cabrera's 4.250 single game OPS in a loss this weak reminded this writer of a former Brave great who was similarly brilliant in a losing effort and memorable for his monster blasts. More»
Will Leitch

Overwhelmingly Himself

Tony La Russa hasn't managed a baseball game since Game Seven of the 2011 World Series, except for last year's All-Star game. Maybe that's because his style isn't in vogue in baseball today, where coaches are expected to smile and go with the flow. More»
Will Leitch

The Will Leitch Experience Episode 1.26

Jay Jaffe, writer for SI.com & Baseball Prospectus, looks at the baseball season after the first month and a half with Will. Plus, robot umpires vs. Angel Hernandez. More»
Howard Megdal

LOOGY In Name Only

In Brian Matusz, the Orioles have an elite bullpen option for many years to come. But the team didn't select him with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 draft -- right between Eric Hosmer and Buster Posey -- hoping for a situational lefty. Will he ever return to the the rotation? More»
Chuck Culpepper

Don't Tell

Brittney Griner recently said that Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey preferred that Griner not disclose her homosexuality in public while the star was enrolled in school, lest it hinder recruiting. After all, recruiting brings the avoidance of losing, and losing is unacceptable. More»
Jonathan Bernhardt

The Return of Big Papi

The Red Sox are surprise contenders, and they've been propelled their by their old leader, David Ortiz. Since coming of the DL, Ortiz has looked like the Big Papi of old, which is exactly what Boston needs. So, at 37, can he keep it going? More»
Mike Tanier

Mandatory Monday: The Average QB

In almost any other profession, Andy Dalton would be thought of as one of the world's best at what he does. In the NFL, he's average. That label is loaded with paradoxes, and where Dalton goes from here could depend on the Bengals around him. More»
Mike Tanier

The Rob Gronkowski Surgery Roundtable

Rob Gronkowski will undergo forearm surgery on Monday, and he may need back surgery after that, putting him in doubt for the start of the season. With that in mind, we assembled the Tailgater Team of Experts to provide comprehensive May injury analysis. More»
Shaun Powell

Eastern Conference Finals Preview

It's hard to believe now that Miami was Dwyane Wade's team even after LeBron James signed in 2010. Times have changed, though, and heading into the Eastern Conference Finals, Wade is trying to re-establish his stardom on LeBron's Heat. More»
Mike Tanier

Analyzing the RGIII Wedding Registry

You can learn a lot from perusing the Bed Bath & Beyond wedding gift registry of Robert Griffin III and his fiancée. For example: Hey, I prepare my chicken with the same cutlery that RGIII wants! Really, we are all alike under the oven mitt. More»
Amanda Rykoff

Catching Up With Pedro

Pedro Martinez, now a special assistant to the Red Sox, talks about drinking Mama Juana with his teammates before Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, advising -- and being wowed by -- today's young pitchers, and why "it's always interesting in Boston." More»
Shaun Powell

Spurs Have Grizzlies' Number

The Western Conference finals may come down to a bunch of countermoves and adjustments, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich left the starting blocks with Usain Bolt-like speed. San Antonio had Memphis all figured out before the ball went up. More»
Howard Megdal

The Knicks Bow Out

J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks didn't play like either their November or April selves in May, and were booted from the playoffs, falling one game and seven points short of facing the Heat for the Eastern Conference title. More»
Chuck Culpepper

The Fabulous Preakness

It was another silly day at the annual Triple Crown chase, a cold dud that ruled out the Kentucky Derby winner Orb as a behemoth for the ages, defining him as merely fantastic, not historic, as once again there will be no Triple Crown winner. More»

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