April 30, 2012
2012 NFL Draft: Did the Browns Blow It?
The Cleveland Browns had an interesting first day of the 2012 NFL draft. On the one hand, Cleveland got two of the draft’s most productive players: Brandon Weeden, quarterback from Oklahoma State, who threw 71 touchdowns over the past two seasons, and Trent Richardson, an absolutely ferocious running back who rushed for more than 1,600 […]
Read moreBryce Harper’s Super Sweet-19 L.A. Coming-Out Party
We went there, in an attempt to witness History. We sat in a seemingly endless queue of cars on Elysian Park Avenue on Saturday, stuck in the kind of L.A. traffic that Angelenos never tire of complaining about and everyone else never tires of hearing about (you guys love it, right? We knew it!), listening […]
Read moreAbout Last Weekend: Clippers Tame the Grizzlies
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here’s what you missed in sports over the weekend. The Clippers finished with a 28-3 run to stun the Grizzlies 99-98 in Memphis and take a 1-0 lead in the first round of the NBA playoffs. It didn’t help matters that a fatigued Zach Randolph […]
Read moreApril 27, 2012
Grantland Network Podcast: The Basketball Jones
On today’s show, The Basketball Jones break down all eight series in an NBA Playoffs preview podcast. Do the Mavs have any magic left? Are the Spurs a Finals lock? Are the Bulls stronger than last year going into the postseason? Can the Grizzlies smother Chris Paul? And is there any chance the Knicks can […]
Read morePut Your Feet on Warren Buffett’s Face
Publicly, this Web site prides itself in being an intersection of sports and pop culture. Behind closed doors, though, the real goal has always been to eventually establish itself as the Web site people think of for stories concerning the intersection of leisurely jogging and financial investing. Today, those privately acknowledged dreams finally come true. […]
Read moreVideo B.S. Report Archive: Bill Simmons and Flea
At some point later today, we’ll be posting my NBA playoff preview column. Why? I don’t know. It’s not like I have any credibility left. During a podcast with Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea (a die-hard Lakers fan), we were arguing about the Lakers and Clippers when Flea objected to my prediction of a […]
Read moreGrantland’s NBA Playoffs Staff Predictions
Grantland is brimming with NBA playoff excitement. You may have already noticed. Since we couldn’t wait for the games to get going, we asked our staff to make three predictions — one realistic, one reach, one pipe dream. Chuck Klosterman Realistic: Whoever ends up playing Dallas (Ed. note: It’s Oklahoma City.) loses (or very nearly […]
Read moreBrandon Inge Shall Be Released
Brandon Inge has been released from the Tigers, and Detroit imploded. My god, has there ever been an average player who inspired so much deranged passion? Inge’s jerseys rival Justin Verlander’s in ubiquity. I am not kidding you. And yet he is booed mercilessly at Comerica Park. The sports radio call-in shows are unable to […]
Read moreTankonia: The Bobcats Show the Knicks How to Lose
A couple weeks back, the Knicks’ Jared Jeffries suggested the Chicago Bulls were a more vulnerable playoff opponent than the Miami Heat. But even in an era where offhand comments are megaphoned into brash proclamations, no one cared. One reason Jeffries’s statement failed to cause much conflagration: He’s Jared Jeffries. The other? He was clearly […]
Read moreNBA Playoffs Playthrough: Celtics vs. Hawks
Back in February, we wrote about Anthony Richardson, a brave new voice in NBA commentating. Or at least a brave new voice in commentating during computer vs. computer NBA 2K12 games. Well now it’s time for you to be brave, because Richardson has trained his sense of humor, fleeting grasp of basketball rules and regulations, […]
Read moreThree Lessons From the Champions League Semifinals’ Second Legs
Chelsea Finally Got Some Luck Chelsea have long been blamed for committing modern football’s original sin. Just replace the forbidden fruit with a soft drink. As the story goes, in 2003, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich nearly took control of Tottenham Hotspur, but when a meeting to purchase the North London club fell through, Abramovich bought […]
Read moreA Visit to the Meadowlands on the Occasion of the NFL Draft
Before we ask whether the Chiefs were nuts to take Dontari Poe, can I share one NFL draft story from the Olden Times? If you were really interested in the NFL draft around, say, 1993, here’s what you had to do. You had to wait for Mel Kiper Jr. to come on a local sports […]
Read moreAfter Game 7 Wins, (Brief) Relief for Rangers and Devils
Derek Stepan knows the drill. The Rangers had just defeated the Ottawa Senators 2-1 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, and Stepan was asked how long the team could celebrate the victory before turning their thoughts to the next round against Washington. “Probably an hour,” he said, kidding-except-actually-serious. Shortly afterward, in his postgame […]
Read moreFive Up, Five Down From Day 1 of the NFL Draft
Slapping a grade on an NFL draft the day after it happens is dumb. Slapping grades on teams in the middle of the draft? Well, that’s even dumber. Everyone knows this, but we still write and read draft-grade articles at any possible time of draft reflection because the idea that a team might have just […]
Read moreAbout Last Night: Colts Are Down With Luck
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here’s what you missed in sports on Thursday. On Day 1 of the NFL draft, Andrew Luck was taken first by the Colts and Robert Griffin III was taken second by the Redskins. The Jets opted for Quinton Coples with the 16th pick, a defensive […]
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