Sports

Lying in a hospital bed in Be’er Sheva, Ayal Young is beginning to feel stronger. He has a bullet lodged in his right cheek and he almost died when Hamas attacked his home at kibbutz Alumim last Saturday. His neighbours somehow rescued him after he was shot in the face and back, and he is on the mend after life-saving surgery.

“Families, children, men, women … they didn’t care who it was,” Young says. “They were not attacking soldiers. They were attacking people in their homes. They came and hurt whoever they saw. It didn’t matter if it was a soldier, a medic, a baby, a boy or a girl. They came to slaughter us. Luckily we could defend ourselves.”

Israeli football chief criticises Premier League over response to Hamas attac…

Ever since the New England Patriots' run of 11 straight AFC East titles ended, the Buffalo Bills have controlled the division.There's no reason to expect anything different this season.Aaron Rodgers may take a lot more than four snaps for the New York Jets in his second run with the team and the Miami Dolphins could avoid a late-season decline. And the Patriots could … nope.Nobody's buying the idea of New England being good in the first season of the post-Bill Belichick era.The Bills underachieved most of the last season before winning their final five regular-season games to reach the playoffs and overtake Miami in the division. They are seeking their fifth straight AFC East crown.Buffalo Bills Remain Contenders After Stefon Diggs TradeTrading away wideout Stefon Diggs …

Let’s get the main reason out of the way. No one outside of Portugal wants to see giant pain in the ass, huffing his own farts, twice-accused rapist Cristiano Ronaldo — who has denied the allegations — hoist the trophy. It was bad enough in 2016 when he left the final injured that he made sure every camera in the Stade de France caught him “coaching” from the sideline so that no one would be under the impression he had no influence on his country’s biggest ever result. A lot has happened since, and almost none of it good. If the soccer world not-so-secretly hopes that Lionel Messi can complete his résumé it’s partly because A) it would be the one thing that Ronaldo hasn’t won and then likely won’t and B) simultaneously hoping that Ronaldo whiffs on a penalty on the gr…

David Acord is a sound engineer for Skywalker Sound, the sound division of Lucasfilm. He’s also a Philadelphia Eagles fan. And in an article by Chris McPherson on the Eagles’ website for Star Wars Day, he reveals that there are hidden Eagles references in the two most recent movies: Acord is such a fan of [Eagles tight end Brent] Celek that he incorporated him into The Force Awakens. Acord voiced Teedo, a reptile-like scavenger, and had to create a language for it. He was learning Thai for an upcoming vacation, so he mixed in some phrases in Thai and sprinkled in the names of some Eagles players. Celek and Fletcher, for Fletcher Cox, made it into the final version of the movie. There was another Eagles surprise in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story… When Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso ar…

Some people are fans of the New York Giants. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the New York Giants. This 2016 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the previews so far here. And buy Drew’s new book here. Your team: New York Giants Your 2015 record: 6-10. It takes a year of extraordinary shame and degradation in order to purge yourself of Tom Coughlin forever. Thankfully, the 2015 Giants were up to the task. When this team fucks up, they REALLY make a scene of it. Let’s recap! •Their best defensive player blew up his hand and played half the season with a lobster claw. •Their tight end nearly had his foot amputated. •They gifted Dallas a Week 1 victory by leaving 40 extra seconds on the clock. •They lost six of their last sev…

Some people are fans of the Indianapolis Colts. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Indianapolis Colts. This 2013 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the 2013 NFL previews so far right here. Your team: Indianapolis Colts Your 2012 record: 11-5. This is the part where NERDY METRIC NERDS like me tell you that the Colts actually had a net point differential of minus-30 last season—a mediocre team that got some good bounces, in other words. It's just like the old saying goes: You are what your record says you are, unless you have a terrible net point differential, in which case you are what your net point differential says you really ought to be. Your coach: Chuck Pagano, who will actually have to get out there and COACH this year. N…

A hot new sports media startup may not be the place you’d expect to find a braindead take lifted straight from a dead-tree columnist’s 1996 notebook, but then you remember that The Athletic, in its quest to destroy all print sports sections, did hire plenty of middle-aged white guys. One of those guys is Joe McDonald, and he’s got one hell of a column out this week. McDonald is upset that the Pawtucket Red Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, are all set to leave their current home in Pawtucket and relocate to Worcester, Mass. The team is abandoning its longtime home because the local government wasn’t willing to chip in enough public money to help build a new stadium, and this has made McDonald righteously angry at the greedy sports franc—no, wait, I’m sorry, …

data-mm-id=”_rko4j5n1o”>The tweet was published at 10:03 AM EST on Monday and the sports world collectively lost its mind. Finally, a ray of sunshine in an otherwise barren sports landscape. BREAKING: As @GolfDigest reported last week, British Open is canceled, formally expected today. Other announcements: Tour will begin mid June, with no fans, at MemorialPGA Champ Aug 6; Ryder Cup Sept 25US Open Sept 17Masters to Nov— Joel Beall (@JoelMBeall) April 6, 2020Wait, sports are being played? As early as June? Surely this must be a fake report from a fake account, right? Wrong. Joel Beall is a respected writer for Golf Digest. No way he would put these dates out there if they weren't based on information he received from reputable sources. So it seems the PGA Tour will indeed restart…

data-mm-id=”_9yw8axqs5″>Gordon Hayward's career as a member of the Boston Celtics has been a story of trials and tribulations with little triumph. After signing with Boston in the summer of 2017, Hayward suffered a catastrophic leg injury that sidelined him for all of the season. He spent pretty much all of the following year trying to get comfortable on the floor, and there were some flashes with four 30-point games in 2018-19. But he clearly wasn't there yet, and it was hard to blame him. Going up for a routine alley-oop that he's done a thousand times over and having it end in a broken ankle will linger on the mind. When 2019 began, expectations were that Hayward would be something like the All-Star he was when he signed with Boston. He had a year to re-acclimate and …

data-mm-id=”_az5cei6kf”>Nelson Cruz hit 22 Major League home runs before entering his age-28 season in 2009. He has 382 since then. Two came yesterday as part of a four-hit, seven RBI outburst in Chicago against the White Sox. Cruz, now 40 and a crucial bat for the pennant-chasing Minnesota Twins, continues to age like a fine wine. Or perhaps he's Benjamin Buttoning, allowing writers to dip back into the overworked Curious Case headline files should they see fit. Something's going on and we need to get to the bottom of it. The slugging outfielder-turned-designated hitter made one All-Star Game before he turned 32. Since then, he's earned a spot in five. Over the past five seasons, he's finished in the Top-10 of MVP voting in four and in 15th in another campaign. Dur…