Reports: Celtics Will Trade 2017 First Overall Draft Pick To Philadelphia

According to multiple reports, the Celtics have agreed to trade the number one overall pick in Thursday’s NBA draft to the Philadelphia 76ers, clearing the way for the Sixers to finally add a guard—any guard, please God let it be a guard—to their young core. The Sixers are expected to use the first overall pick on Washington freshman Markelle Fultz. The specifics of the deal, first reported by David Aldridge, appear to be as follows: Boston will take back the third overall pick in this year’s draft, as well as the Los Angeles Lakers’ pick in the 2018 draft, currently owned by the Sixers. Reports from Woj and ESPN indicate that Lakers pick will have some interesting protections on it: if the lottery ultimately places it in picks two through five it will not convey to the Ce…

The Non-Soccer Fan's Guide To The 2014 World Cup

We get it. Soccer is confusing, and it's hard to know where to start. You know what a big deal the World Cup is, and this is the year you're finally going to get into it, and then you check in over at Deadspin and, well, fuck no, you're not reading 3000 words about Algeria. Don't worry about it! This is just dudes kicking a ball around, and today's as good a day as any to jump in. The guide below, which gets into everything you wanted to know about the World Cup but were maybe afraid to ask, has you covered. …

The 2009 Washington Nationals: A Season Of Bigger Failure

Despite appearances, the New York Mets are not baseball's worst team. That honor belongs to the Washington Nationals, a organization whose legendary incompetence should be memorialized on the marble arches of the great city that wishes they played elsewhere. Since Pierre L'Enfant is no longer around to accurately convey the majesty of their ineptitude, this humble blog will attempt to do it with pretty pictures. It's more than what's needed, but less than they deserve and it will hopefully make Mets and Pirates fans feel a little bit better about themselves. [Photo via. Special Thanks to Dan Steinberg and the rest of the Washington Post crew for their thankless coverage of this team.]
February 17: Sports Illustrated reports that Esmailyn Gonzalez—a highly-to…

A Special Balls Deep Message To The Class Of 2010

It's graduation time across the country. I've done this post the past two years running, and I don't see new college grads getting any less annoying. So we'd best do it again. As you know, this time of year brings any number of asshole celebrities and dipshit politicians to college campuses to regale you outgoing seniors with sage advice and plug some fucking book they just had someone else ghostwrite. Nothing they tell you will be worth a shit. And you know why? Because they aren't really there for YOU. They're there because they get their rocks off on being considered inspirational enough to merit a celebrity grad speaker gig. OOOH, LOOGIT ME! I'M OPRAH WINFREY AND MY LIFE EXPERIENCE PROVIDES ME WITH GREAT WISDOM! I've been to these graduation c…

Adam Schefter: The Panthers Could Trade Cam Newton in the Offseason

data-mm-id=”_wpvir7cvp”>The Carolina Panthers started the season 0-2 with Cam Newton as their starting quarterback. Newton had zero touchdowns and one interception before he was shut down with a foot injury. Since then the Panthers have gone 4-0 with Kyle Allen starting at quarterback. There has been speculation that Cam's time in Carolina could be over for a month now, but on Get Up this morning, Adam Schefter revived the rumors by saying that the Panthers could trade Newton in the offseason.Obviously, this is not a report, but it still makes sense that Newton won't be in Carolina next year. If Allen keeps winning and playing decent football, he makes the most financial sense to be their quarterback next season. There should be plenty of willing trade partners. Predicting Ne…

How The Big Lead Staffers Are Spending the Holidays This Year

data-mm-id=”_cmyzi6lzk”>Holiday season is here in full force. We here at The Big Lead were so inspired by the transparency on display from Vogue that we've decided to share our plans for the season with the you, our dear readers. Here's some highlights from their survey, which certainly revealed a certain lifestyle. Absolutely losing it at this incredibly relatable feature with the Vogue editors https://t.co/UVEVErKZGn pic.twitter.com/WnhkFAok0Z— Benjamin Tassie (@benjamintassie) December 21, 2019Without further ceremony, here are the chestnuts and bolts:Liam McKeoneI will not be spending Christmas with any family members, and will instead be traversing the various youth hockey rinks of suburban Massachusetts to observe Hockey Dads in their natural habitats as they scream a…

Highest Paid NFL QBs in 2020 by Cash is a Cautionary Tale

data-mm-id=”_fekrwm1vf”>The NFL's salary-cap system is confusing, to say the least. Guaranteed at signing, total guaranteed, cap hit, total salary, signing bonus; they're all different, important and convoluted. Yet, one thing we all can wrap our heads around is cash. Cold hard cash makes sense and for the most expensive position in the NFL (QB), it's a big number. It's also proof/a reminder that some quarterbacks are woefully overpaid. Top 10 2020 QB Cash 1. Russell Wilson, $53M2. Kirk Cousins, $40M3. Carson Wentz, $39.3M4. Ryan Tannehill, $37.5M5. Jared Goff, $31M6. Dak Prescott, $30M7. Jimmy Garoppolo, $25.2M8. Brady/Brees/Rivers, $25M9. Teddy Bridgewater, $24M10. Ben Roethlisberger, $21M— Spotrac (@spotrac) March 22, 2020With the exception of Russell Wilson an…

Sports World Mourns Death of Long-Time LA Times Writer Chris Dufresne

data-mm-id=”_jfh1rasqf”>Chris Dufresne, who worked in the Los Angeles Times sports department for over 30 years, passed away on Monday. Christopher Gabriel first reported the news. Dufresne was 62 years old. No cause of death has been released, but the last story he wrote, which captured his ability to mix in humor with information and educated opinion, was questioning whether he would ever attend another live sporting event. According to the story, he had a relapse of childhood asthma last year. He wrote about the dangers people like him faced in this pandemic and how he felt like they were being used as sacrificial lambs. He never did get to see another live sporting event. I am a 62 year old sportswriter with a history of asthma wondering: will I ever attend another live sporting …

Tiffany Park Showed Up on ESPN, Absolutely Crushed It

data-mm-id=”_cr4pum2kg”>The daily routine of rising and firing up some KBO has become quite comfortable and ESPN has done solid work putting together compelling broadcasts half a world away focusing on a league most people knew nothing about only months ago. Part of the proven calculus has been to stack guests upon each other to discuss baseball and baseball-adjacent things. One could argue that a more conversational and collaborative approach would work for the network's Sunday night broadcast, but that's a topic for a follow-up post when the content well really dries up. Of all the personalities who have passed through the camera lens, few have been as engaging and provided as much added value as Sin Young (Tiffany) Park, who hopped on this morning to provide a unique voice…

There Will Be No NBA Games to Watch on Christmas This Year

data-mm-id=”_8tlvbgoj8″>Against all odds, the NBA successfully created a bubble to host the 2020 playoffs. It's a remarkable achievement that will not fade as time goes on. But that's only the first step in trying to right the basketball ship after the season was postponed for four months. It will probably be at least a year, if not more, before we go back to the October-June schedule that we've all gotten used to over the decades. The first priority will be ensuring the bubble comes to a close with no further issues, with the last possible NBA Finals game set to take place in the second week of October. Then the arduous process of scheduling the 2020-21 season will begin. Initially, the NBA wanted to have the next season start up in December, but that plan fell apart as…