June 18, 2015
Pitches in Radar Gun Are Slower Than They Appear: Identifying Baseball’s Perceived Velocity Kings
Miami reliever Carter Capps isn’t a household name, but he may be the most unhittable pitcher in the game. How is that possible? Answering that requires understanding the difference between actual and perceived velocity.
Read more
‘Cheap Heat’ Podcast: ‘Money in the Bank,’ Brock Lesnar’s Return, and Remembering Dusty Rhodes
The guys discuss the passing of Dusty Rhodes, ‘Money in the Bank’ fallout, and the return of Brock Lesnar.
Read more
Dirty Birdies: The Schadenfreude-Filled Cardinals Hacking Scandal
The “Best Fans in Baseball” just got an abject lesson in the dangers of the information age.
Read more
Sacrificed to the System: Sorting Through Chip Kelly’s Decision to Release Evan Mathis
All of this seems like yet another indication that Kelly’s system — and filling it with players who get in line — is what matters above all else.
Read moreGrantland Channel: ‘Tough Calls’ With Karl-Anthony Towns
NBA draft prospect Karl-Anthony Towns visits the Grantland studio to play “Tough Calls” with Chris Ryan. He is forced to decide whether to have Justin Bieber as his bodyguard, whether to eat LeBron’s fingernails, and which Harrison brother he would take with him to escape from Jurassic World.
Read more
‘The Grantland NFL Podcast’: June Mailbag
Mays and Barnwell get to ‘Jurassic World,’ hypothetical animal fights, and game shows during today’s mailbag edition of the podcast.
Read more
Ryen Russillo’s NBA Draft Confidential: Real Scouts on Towns, Russell, and Okafor
Raw reports on the top three prospects.
Read moreJune 17, 2015
Golden State Warriors Illustrated
They got here in their own unique way, and it’s worth visualizing some of their most dominant characteristics.
Read more
The USWNT Has More Attacking Talent Than Any Team in the World, and That’s a Good Thing … Right?
Even though it’s tiny, you can’t pick up the World Cup trophy unless everyone pitches in.
Read more
The Best Breach in Baseball: The Most Incredible Things About the Cardinals-Astros ‘Hacking’ Investigation
FBI and Justice Department investigators are looking into whether the St. Louis Cardinals breached the Houston Astros’ internal network. Ever since the news hit Twitter, we’ve been emitting a low-pitched hum of pleasure, like an old refrigerator, because we cannot get over how perfect this is. Let us count the ways.
Read more
The Warriors Were Too Good at Everything to Ever Really Lose Anything
What makes the Warriors so dominant? We didn’t really find out until they were tested by LeBron and the Cavs, but the only correct answer is “everything.”
Read more
Blue Jay Binary: Can Toronto’s Punishing Offense Overcome Its Awful Starting Rotation?
Guess how many teams have finished among the three worst run-prevention clubs in their league and still made the postseason? Five — but the Blue Jays might soon make it six.
Read more
‘The Jonah Keri Podcast’: Scott MacArthur on the Blue Jays, and Justin Halpern on the Padres
Jonah Keri talks to TSN 1050 reporter Scott MacArthur about the surging Blue Jays. Then, for ‘My Team Is a Joke,’ Grantland contributor Justin Halpern rants about the Padres.
Read more
The Champs Are Here: A Guide to the Elite and Unlikely Cast of Characters Who Defined the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors
It’s official: The Warriors are NBA champions. Now is the time to look back at the cast of characters who helped turn them into a 67-win juggernaut with a point differential — in both the regular season and the playoffs — that puts them among the greatest teams in league history.
Read more
NBA Shootaround: We Made It
The Warriors win it all, Iggy wins Finals MVP, Draymond goes off, LeBron runs out of steam, and all the other sights and sounds from Game 6.
Read more