Sport

80-1 shot Rich Strike wins Kentucky Derby

Rich Strike wasn’t in the Kentucky Derby field when head trainer Eric Reid woke up Friday morning. After a late scratch to Ethereal Road, a spot opened up for a 21st horse in the 20-thoroughbred field. And one of the longest shots in the field at 80-1 at post time just won the 148th Kentucky […]

Sport

Welcome back, baseball

I spend a lot of time here pointing out everything that’s wrong with baseball. Maybe even most of my time. And for good reason. Baseball is broken, and the latest CBA doesn’t do nearly enough to address the problems. And those who are in a position to do anything about it aren’t interested in doing […]

Sport

MLB has tried nothing and it’s all out of ideas

I guess that’s not completely fair. They have one idea. It’s a Hail Mary to try to reclaim the PR battle for themselves which the players union has had in their pocket ever since Rob Manfred started throwing all of his toys out of the crib about the reduced schedule of 2020. It’s half of […]

Gambling Sport

Is tanking illegal?

Among the many incriminating allegations in former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL’s obvious and rampant discrimination lies what could perhaps be the most legally damning accusation: Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered to bribe Flores to “tank” games in the 2019 season in order to obtain a… Read more…

Sport

Will Urban Meyer get a shot at redemption? Let’s look at how other coaches bounced back after failing miserably

Urban Meyer is out as coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars after going 2-11 in his only partial season at the helm. While that’s 13 more games than Meyer ever should have coached in the NFL, and he leaves with a lower winning percentage in the league (.154) than Marty Mornhinweg (.156), it somehow doesn’t feel […]

Sport

Hawk Harrelson would love this horse

I don’t know what the future holds for horse racing, or if there’s much of one to hold. It feels like it could be consigned to the past within the next decade. Or maybe sports gambling will revive interest as more tracks get their own sportsbook to go with the slots they needed years ago. […]

Sport

MLB definitely wants to die like horse racing

Either MLB’s PR people are locked in a room with no escape, no windows, and all communications shut off to the outside world. Or it’s just a team of koala bears stoned to the bejesus and lying on the floor. That’s the only conclusion you can draw when, on the same day it looks like […]

Sport

Bob Baffert’s attorney gets eviscerated on CNN

After Kentucky Derby winner* Medina Spirit failed his first drug test, his trainer, Bob Baffert, did the media rounds to blame cancel culture and everybody besides himself for his horse’s unusually high levels of betamethasone. Read more…

Sport

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. Read more…

Sport

Bob Baffert inexplicably blames ‘cancel culture’ for horse-doping controversy

Trainer Bob Baffert’s horse, Medina Spirit, who won the Kentucky Derby on May 1, tested positive for a banned substance. Apparently, according to Baffert, this happened because one of the groomers decided to take a piss on the hay in the horse’s stall after taking cough medicine, and the horse consumed it. This seems… Read more…