February 21, 2014
The Designated Player: On the Death of a Goat
Results on the field have been poor and marketing outreach off the field abject, but the fact is, as problematic as each of these symptoms have been, they’re just that: symptoms. The root problem — and here’s where New York City need to watch carefully — has been the very project itself.
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ICYMI: ‘Playboy’ Magazine’s 1980 Winter Olympics Preview
Inside, there were 18 pages on the then-upcoming 1980 Winter Olympic games in Lake Placid, New York — essays, predictions, and advertisements. It’s a phenomenal time capsule for where the country, world politics, and the Winter Olympics were at the time, and evidence of how much all three have changed.
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Three Sheets of Ice, Three Different Stories in Sochi
So much possibility rests upon a fresh sheet of ice. What transpired in women’s curling, figure skating, and hockey Thursday showed the full range of all that can happen atop a layer of frozen water. The ice can help you soar at speeds and in ways not otherwise possible. It can also slip you right up.
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Mark Titus’s Triangle NCAA All-Stars: The ‘Captain Planet’ Team
The game has exploded to all corners of the globe, and international talent has made its mark on NCAA basketball.
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Grantland NFL Podcast: The Scouting Combine!
Bill Barnwell and Robert Mays discuss the merits of the scouting combine, Michael Sam’s stock, and more live from Indianapolis.
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Russell Westbrook: The Point and the Counterpoint
Are the Thunder better without Russell Westbrook? Your answer to that question depends on which types of “facts” you lean on.
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The Jalen Rose Report With David Jacoby (With Video!)
Jalen Rose and David Jacoby take a look at the NBA trade deadline, give their thoughts on the video of Ray Rice, and disapprove of KD’s new nickname.
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Why Haven’t Athletes Protested at the Sochi Games?
Before the Sochi Games, many expected athletes to become engaged politically and challenge Russia’s anti-gay propaganda laws, but there were very real blockades that would prevent that from becoming a reality.
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Olympic Hockey Grab Bag: Is It Time to Panic Yet?
Welcome to a weekly grab bag of thoughts and observations from the past few days and/or decades of hockey.
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Breaking Down the Complete Madness of USA-Canada’s Gold-Medal Game
The only open questions were who would win, how it would end, and just how crazy things could get in between. The answers: Canada; in overtime; and “beyond anything you could imagine.”
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Snow Remorse: Carolina Storms to Victory
I just watched Duke, which I believe to be among the best teams in the country, lose a game because of three classic mistakes: choking under pressure, choking under pressure, and choking LIKE STUPID $%#*^$ IDIOTS under pressure.
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About Last Night: Blame Canada
In case you were busy saying a long good-bye to Steve Blake, here’s what you missed in sports on Thursday.
Read moreFebruary 20, 2014
Triangle Cheat Sheet: Your Duke-UNC Men’s Basketball Primer
Everything you need to know and read about the best rivalry in college basketball.
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House of Lakers: What If Frank Underwood Were the Los Angeles GM?
God bless America. And God bless the NBA trade deadline.
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Anonymous in Sochi: When Putin Comes to Your Home
During the Sochi Olympic Games, Grantland will be posting updates from an anonymous blogger, a member of the LGBT community who is traveling to the Olympics this month. This project is created with the help of You Can Play, an organization that promotes diversity and LGBT inclusion in sports.
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NCAA Puts Impermissible Pasta Story to Sleep (With the Fishes)
How awful is the NCAA? It couldn’t even let us have Pastagate for more than a few hours.
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Champions League Pass & Move: German Engineering
A look back at this week’s Champions League action.
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When Russia Loses, Everyone Loses (Sorry, Finland)
Sure, any team’s fans are going to be heartbroken when their guys don’t win, but there’s a sincerity and depth to how so many Russians think about hockey that this loss, in this way, was shattering.
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NBA Shootaround: Dunk in Love
Kevin Love comes home, Big Al goes to work, and the Spurs machine breaks down Portland.
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True Knicks Detective
I mean, how many times have we had this conversation, detectives? About what the Knicks will do, which moves they’ll make? How many times have we been in this room, talking about the team being over the cap, giving up assets for moves, that at best, move the team sideways on their little infinite track of space-time?
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Marcus Thornton: Brooklyn Bound
Thornton’s shot chart does not look like that of an $8 million player, but the Nets are hoping his disappointing form is an anomaly, and that he can regain some of his bygone effectiveness, particularly from beyond the arc.
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About Last Night: Orange Is the New Black
In case you were busy giving college kids too much pasta, here’s what you missed in sports on Wednesday.
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