November 12, 2014
The Grantland NFL Podcast: A Look at the NFL’s Bottom-Feeders
Mays and Barnwell run through the bottom-feeders of the NFL in recapping Week 10 on Wednesday’s podcast.
Read more
Wins, Losses, and Draws: The NFL Form Guide
Another week, another opportunity to steal a concept from European soccer and apply it to American football.
Read more
Watching the Thunder in the Middle of the Storm
There’s a difference between knowing the Thunder are struggling and watching them get worked by Zaza Pachulia and O.J. Mayo. Forget the future, what’s happening now is crazy enough. You should watch a Thunder game because we’re either going to look back and be amazed that OKC could ever come back from this, or we’ll look back and remember this as maybe the most snakebitten season in the history of title contenders. Either way, the Perk post-ups will be part of history.
Read more
The 2014-15 NBA Hype Video Awards
For teams with long and storied histories, the hype video can connect current circumstances with the golden glories of the past. For teams transitioning between eras, it can restate an overarching culture. And for others, it can be used as an excuse to be super-weird.
Read more
College Football Playoff Realpolitik Top 10: Guys, Don’t Worry, Alabama Is Still in This Thing!
In Playoff Realpolitik, we reorganize the Top 10 according to each team’s chances of actually making the playoff field in December, regardless of its ranking on a given weekend.
Read more
2014-15 NCAA Basketball Preview: The American Athletic Conference
Can Kevin Ollie, Ryan Boatright, and Rodney Purvis lead UConn back to the promised land?
Read more
MLB Preseason Predictions Revisited: How Well Do Players and Executives Know Their Own Teams?
Continuing his annual tradition, Ben Lindbergh has scoured the Internet for predictions that players or executives made about their teams before Opening Day 2014. While it’s always entertaining to revisit predictions, there are plenty of reasons for team personnel to exaggerate, ranging from raising trade value to inflating fan interest to instilling clubhouse confidence, so we shouldn’t assume that all of these statements reflect the speakers’ actual beliefs. Still, it’s useful to keep these pronouncements in mind when deciding how much stock to put in similar statements this coming spring.
Read more
Birthday on the Bayou: The LSU Faithful Live On After a Loss; Plus, a Q&A With Traditional Scorpio Les Miles
Not even a loss to the division rival Crimson Tide can keep the Bayou Bengals Faithful down for long. Just ask Birthday Boy Les Miles, who also has some thoughts on officiating, youth, and economic theory.
Read moreNovember 11, 2014
B.S. Report: Zach Lowe
Grantland’s Zach Lowe and Bill Simmons take a look at the problems with the L.A. Clippers, marvel at Gregg Popovich and the Spurs, and ask whether the Raptors could make the Finals.
Read more
QB Curve: Nick Marshall and Auburn, Down But Never Out
Quarterbacks: There are a lot of them! Each week, QB Curve will keep you up to speed on the game’s most important position by putting a different college signal-caller in the spotlight and putting the rest of the field in perspective. This week’s subject: Auburn superstar Nick Marshall.
Read more
The Five Best First-Half Performances of the Fantasy Football Era
What do Aaron Rodgers, Shaun Alexander, Randy Moss, Tom Brady, and Michael Vick all have in common?
Read more
There Will Never Be Another Randy Moss
If I find out someone doesn’t like Randy Moss and Allen Iverson, it’s a pretty clear sign we could never be real friends. The inverse works, too. If I find out someone remembers either one of them the way I do, suddenly we’re speaking the same language. I know I can trust this person.
Read more
Heisman Watch: Bloomin’ Boykin
Everett Golson has officially decided to reinvent himself as turnover-happy Tommy Rees, ending his Heisman campaign. That’s good news for TCU’s Trevone Boykin, who’s more than ready to fill the void.
Read more
Requiem for the Panthers: How Carolina’s Playoff Hopes Went Bust
Last year’s 12-4 juggernaut has fallen to 3-6-1, with only the overwhelming mediocrity of the NFC South auguring any hope for a Carolina return to the playoffs.
Read more
The Hall of Fame Candidacy of Daniel Alfredsson
Alfredsson is weighing a comeback attempt, but if his career ended today, he’d become one of those tough calls that make Hall of Fame debates so much fun.
Read more
It’s Not Me, It’s You: Gerrard, Touré, and the Complicated Case of the Aging Midfielder
Is Father Time finally catching up with two of the best midfielders the league has ever seen?
Read more
King Beats Brow: Witnessing NBA Present and Future in Cleveland
A report from the Anthony Davis–LeBron James clash at Quicken Loans Arena.
Read more
Taking the NBA’s Temperature: Clearing Up Some Big-Picture Questions
Presenting some of the early big-picture questions, quirks, and story lines to watch in the NBA. Plus, 10 things to like (or not).
Read more