September 24, 2014
The Grantland NFL Podcast: Talking Browns, Fantasy Football, and Week 3
Mays and Barnwell adopt the Browns and run through the abandoned realms of fantasy football before diving into the rest of Week 3.
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The Replacements: Punk’s Gone. Bryan’s Gone. Reigns Is Gone. Who’s WWE’s Next Big Thing Now?
Taking stock of the long-shot contenders for main-event status at next year’s ‘WrestleMania’ and ‘SummerSlam.’
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East Carolina’s Sunset Sail
After knocking off ACC foes in consecutive weeks, East Carolina looks like one of the best teams in the country. While a close-fought, early loss to South Carolina means the Pirates are officially out of the College Football Playoff hunt, we owe it to ourselves and this team to keep watching anyway. Great football is still going on.
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Le’Veon Bell Is a Star, and Sometimes the Offseason Actually Matters
It’s clear there is no magic formula that makes losing or gaining weight lead to instant football success. But once in a while, working on your body does result in an improved body of work. That’s the best way to explain the Le’Veon Bell experience.
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Good-bye, Mr. November: Taking Stock of Derek Jeter’s Divisive Legacy
There’s no denying that Derek Jeter is a baseball legend. But on the brink of his retirement, it’s time to assess what legacy the 20-year vet and Yankees hero is really leaving behind.
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Fish or Cut Bait? Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins’ Tailspin
The football season is a fickle beast. In Week 1, the Dolphins had what was seen as the weekend’s most impressive upset, handling New England at home. Two losses later, everything is different.
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Reverse Ranking: The Houston Texans Quarterbacks
I have rooted for the Texans since they came into existence in 2002. I am legitimately happy when they win and I kick furniture and say lots of curse words at the television when they are losing. That’s a thing that happens more than I’d like, and it happens because the Texans have only ever had quarterbacks who are not very good.
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Diagnosing Liverpool’s Early-Season Slump
It would be easy to write this off as early-season hiccups. The problem with that thinking is that what’s dragging Liverpool down now isn’t new. These issues were present last season, they just didn’t sink Liverpool. Now they’re starting to.
Read moreSeptember 23, 2014
Jonah Keri Podcast: Mel Didier and Emma Span
Jonah Keri talks to legendary MLB scout Mel Didier about his impact on the 1988 World Series and his run-in with Fidel Castro, and to ‘Sports Illustrated’ editor Emma Span about the Mets and what we should look for in a sports commissioner.
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The Two Sides of Monsieur Zach LaVine
On Friday, September 12, the new-look Minnesota Timberwolves traveled to Texas to play an exhibition game against the new-look Dallas Mavericks. Sort of.
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Appreciating Jose Altuve, Pure Baseball Joy in a Pint-Size and Prolific Package
Jose Altuve is no longer just a short joke. He’s gone from being a second-division regular to being a six-win player, and even if he can’t sustain that level of success moving forward, there are plenty of reasons to think his improvement is legitimate. Plus, he’s so fun!
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The Pirates’ Sabermetrics Road Show
In his third season with the Pirates, 26-year-old Mike Fitzgerald has become something of a sabermetric pioneer, the bleeding-edge embodiment of the trend toward teamwide, data-driven decision-making that began before ‘Moneyball’ and has accelerated since. The former math major at MIT is comfortable with R, SQL, and other tools of the analyst’s trade, but every club has someone like him providing reports and recommendations. The difference is how the Pirates have deployed him.
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A Tale of Two Halves: What Is Going On With the Niners?
The 49ers have been two different teams this season, a dominant force in the first half and a complete mess in the second. Is it time to panic?
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Five Holdouts Who Changed the NHL
Here are five players whose training camp holdouts changed the way the NHL works.
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QB Curve: Is There Still Time for Michigan to Fix Devin Gardner?
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: Michigan’s Devin Gardner.
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The Kemba Conundrum: What Should the Hornets Do With Their ‘Franchise’ Point Guard?
it will be no surprise when Walker’s agents propose a deal north of $10 million or even $12 million per season — a salary that would put Walker in the same band as Jrue Holiday, Stephen Curry, and the similarly undersize Ty Lawson.
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The Grantland NFL Podcast: Breaking Down Broncos-Seahawks and the Rest of Week 3
Barnwell and Mays break down Seattle’s narrow victory over Denver, what it says about both teams, and the rest of Sunday’s Week 3 action.
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