As the season progressed and their team failed to drag themselves clear of the relegation battle Watford were forced to draw up detailed contingency plans in case the worst was to happen, but until Sunday they continued to believe they would find a way out of danger. Those who had assembled the squad were convinced of the quality of its leading lights – players such as Ismaïla Sarr, Abdoulaye Doucouré, Gerard Deulofeu, Troy Deeney and Étienne Capoue – and whatever the mounting evidence presented by the league table they found it inconceivable they would fail.
On Monday they gathered at the training ground at London Colney, separated by a hedge from the Arsenal team whose victory over them, and the defeat to Aston Villa, during the fin…
The international players’ union, Fifpro, has said the decision of the adjudicatory chamber of Fifa’s ethics committee not to sanction an Argentinian women’s football coach accused of sexual harassment and abusive behaviour raises “extremely serious questions about how professional football keeps players safe”.
Five female players gave evidence to Fifa accusing Diego Alberto Guacci of verbal abuse and sexual harassment carried out over a number of years. Guacci is technical director of the Argentinian women’s under-17s and under-15 girls’ national teams, a Fifa instructor for women’s football and a Fifa technical expert and mentor.
A Fifpro statement said: “The players were extremely brave to chall…
In four matches at the 2022 World Cup, Gregg Berhalter started three different center forwards. Haji Wright was the only one of the three to score – a mere consolation goal in a 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands in the round of 16. The US men’s national team’s dearth of quality options at the No 9 position was exposed for the world to see.
Folarin Balogun’s decision in May to play for the US over England and Nigeria considerably changed this landscape. Widely considered one of the world’s best young strikers, the Arsenal academy graduate has started the USMNT’s last six matches. Berhalter is building around Balogun.
Monaco are trying to do the same after spending $42m on Balogun in the summer transfer window…
The summer of Boston and of fathers and sons is expected to get more clarity over the coming weeks as NBA free agency kicks off Sunday, just days after the draft was completed.The champion Celtics won't be too impacted by free-agent departures, while other teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors each have key decisions ahead.Here is where the top NBA free agents could land in advance of the 2024–25 season:LEBRON JAMES, Los Angeles Lakers (player option)Bronny James is now a member of the Lakers after he was selected in the second round Thursday, and any chance his famous father would leave the organization is long gone. LeBron James still figures to opt out of his current deal, but only to come to terms on a new multi-ye…
After massive rainfall delayed the construction of the Los Angeles NFL stadium by one year, NFL owners voted today to give the 2021 Super Bowl to Tampa Bay and push L.A.’s Super Bowl back to 2022. The Inglewood, Calif., stadium, which will be shared by the Rams and the Chargers, had been scheduled to host the 2021 Super Bowl. But after record-setting rain this winter, the teams said it won’t be completed until the summer of 2020, and the league worried that was too close to the Super Bowl date in early 2021. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said: So what we felt is the right thing, is don’t put any risk to the Super Bowl, which is an incredibly complex event. God forbid if there’s some other natural disaster, or some other thing that might affect the schedule. The $2.6 billio…
Some people are fans of the Seattle Seahawks. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Seattle Seahawks. This 2019 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the previews so far here.Your team: Seattle Seahawks. Your 2018 record: 10-6, with a 6-1 finish. It was supposed to be a rebuilding year for this dilapidated shitpile, but it turned out that the Seahawks were still good enough to go the playoffs and get curb-stomped by Zeke Elliott. That’s gonna be your best-case scenario for every season well into the next decade. Prior to that wild card loss, beloved safety Earl Thomas held out and then returned just in time to break his leg and give his own coach the finger during his ride off the field. He will never play in a Seahawk uniform again. Seabass w…
Former Lions wide receiver Titus Young has been sentenced to four years in California state prison after pleading no contest to battery in connection with an assault early last year, according to court documents. Young was convicted of battery, inflicting “serious bodily injury,” according to the California penal code. TMZ reported last year that Young was arrested for assaulting someone in a street fight in January 2016. The prison sentence caps a downward spiral in the 27-year-old’s life. After a bumpy college career, Young was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft, disciplined for punching a teammate in May 2012, released from the team in February 2013 after other incidents, claimed by the Rams, and then cut days later. In May 2013, he was ar…
Lennay Kekua was the heartbreaking story of the 2012 college football season. She was the young, beautiful girlfriend of Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, but she died that September. The way the narrative went, her death served as an inspiration for what would become a charmed season, both for Te'o and for the Fighting Irish. Only none of it was true. Kekua was a hoax who never existed. Do you think Manti Te'o's dead girlfriend belongs in the Deadspin Hall of Fame? Cast your vote below. You have until Sunday at 11:59 p.m. (EST) to make your voice heard. Keep in mind that 75 percent is the threshold for induction. Other nominees: Drunk Papa John Buttfumble Rocket Frog Horrifying Diarrhea Sludge Vodka Samm "Go fuck yourself" Relatedall football betting sit…
If you missed our NFC fantasy preview, you can find it right here. And now, it's time for the AFC portion of our annual Deadspin fantasy guide … FLESH FOR FANTASYYYYYYYYY!!! Joining me for part two is Yahoo fantasy expert Andy Behrens. You can get your preview two ways: via podcast (available here or in iTunes; split into two parts for the AFC due to a Behrens kitchen malfunction), or you can get my write-up of it down below. This is NOT a hater's guide. Our goal is to provide you with actual, useful information here. We go through every team just to remind you who's gone where and shit like that. And I'm crazy excited to forget recent preseason injuries and holdouts when I draft. SO STOKED FOR MJD IN WEEK 1 YOU GUYS. AFC North Steelers: As of now, wide receive…
So the much ballyhooed MLB Network invades the airwaves on January 1st and has set up permanent residence in Secaucus, N.J., home to the most depressing stop on the Northeast Corridor Line of New Jersey Transit and what was once considered the stinkiest place in America. But now Secaucus is home to Harold Reynolds, Mitch Williams, Al Leiter and a handful of other ex MLB players who've signed on to the network as analysts. NJ.com has a slide show of the fancy new offices. And, hey — Friday lunches are free! To up the baseball geek factor they've also lassoed SI's Tom Verducci and Jon Heyman. And they've also signed on former NESN reporter Hazel Mae and former FSN-er Trenni Kusnierek, to keep your hot stove-loving hearts cozy all winter. Over/under on weeks before…