Depending on which team executive is speaking, the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas really doesn't begin until the second overall pick, or maybe even the fourth. That's how bunched the talent pool gets after the first pick, which likely will be Boston University center Macklin Celebrini getting selected by the San Jose Sharks. "Even though the players are quite distinct from each other, the values are very similar," Anaheim Ducks assistant general manager Martin Madden said of the players behind Celebrini. "It's going to be an interesting first round." Celebrini, a Vancouver native, is said to possess the type of skill, instinct and determination that easily could have made him the No. 2 overall pick last year behind Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard…

After Ruth Jebet won the 3000-meter steeplechase yesterday, she stood on the top step above fellow Kenya native Hyvin Jepkemoi, received her gold medal from another Kenyan, Paul Tergat, then turned to watch the Bahraini flag ascend to the top of the flagpole. The 19-year-old Jebet was born in Kenya, but she began running internationally for Bahrain in 2013. She earned the tiny gulf nation’s first gold medal the same day that Eunice Kirwa, another runner from Kenya, won them their first silver. Bahrain has a total of three Olympic medals, all earned by East African runners who switched their nationalities to compete for Bahrain. Athletes competing for nations has been around as long as Games themselves. Even in the ancient Olympics, athletes would occasionally compete for rival city-st…

Some people are fans of the Minnesota Vikings. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Minnesota Vikings. This 2019 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the previews so far here. Your team: Minnesota Vikings. JUGGERNAUT Your 2018 record: 8-7-1. This team had Super Bowl aspirations after GM Rick Spielman, who looks like a televangelist who does vanity HGH treatments, neatly rounded out a roster that had already gone to the NFC title game the year prior (although what happened in that game and its final score escape my memory). He broke the contract mold for QB Kirk Cousins. He got a bargain deal on Sheldon Richardson. He drafted Mike Hughes to spruce up an already loaded secondary. He hired John DeFilippo, fresh off an Eagles Super Bowl win, to ca…

Overall—and I’ll spare you the details—my football gambling track record isn’t pretty, so when I ended the 2016 regular season well in the black, I knew something was off. And after reaching out to a bookie on the West Coast, my suspicions were confirmed. No, I had not finally cracked the football gambling code. My winnings were simply part of a larger trend. “Usually around 10 percent of the guys finish up on the year,” the bookie said. “This year, it was probably 22 percent.” Local bookies aren’t the most sympathetic figures; it’s hard to feel sorry for a guy whose business model is contingent on fathers drunkenly betting the family’s Christmas fund on the Cleveland Browns. (“Sorry, sweetie, Santa must have run out of Shopkins. Maybe next year.”) Still, du…

Holy shit. Thanksgiving's, like, next week. That means it's time for you to do something constructive for a change by giving us your nominees for this year's Deadspin Hall of Fame induction class. We're going to do this just like we did last year, albeit without waiting till March to finish the job. Give us a list of three worthy nominees by leaving them in the discussion below. We're cutting this process off at noon (EST) tomorrow, OK, jagoffs? Our prestigious Hall of Fame committee will sift through your submissions and present you with your Hall of Fame ballot next week, so you'll be able to vote for all inductees before you start cramming turkey into your maw for days at a time. The inductees (and their plaques) will be unveiled whenever we feel like i…

Some people are fans of the Detroit Lions. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Detroit Lions. This 2012 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read the other Why Your Team Sucks 2012 previews here. 1. Nice timing! I can't think of anything more appropriate than the Detroit Lions finally turning into a decent team a mere three decades after the team's hometown has been economically buried and left for dead by the rest of America. I went to Michigan a couple months ago. There are weeds growing out of weeds there. Nature has already fully reclaimed the state. It looks like The World Without Us. The only people who can afford decent Lions tickets are six mildly competent car executives living in Grosse Pointe, and five of them are from Italy. The …

The time has come, ladies and gentlefolk. (We're actually starting a little bit late.) The 2008 Sportshuman Of The Year awards are about to grace you with their presence, and, as always, we need your nominations over here. This is the third annual SHOTY tournament. The first winner died, and the second one may have tried to kill himself, maybe. So it's quite the honor. The voting itself will begin next Monday, but, as always, we ask for your nominations for the 16-human bracket. (In the comments, or emailing me, Mr. Emeritus, at [email protected].) Pairings, and Mr. Jim Cooke's arty brilliance, will be unleashed upon an unsuspecting planet then. So hit it up. SHOTY 2008 Fever … CATCH IT. …

data-mm-id=”_i5rm56bq5″>Magic Johnson joined the chorus of tributes pouring out in the wake of Kobe Bryant's death on Sunday. Johnson sent a string of tweets paying tribute to a player and a person he knew well. As I try to write this post, my mind is racing. I’m in disbelief and have been crying all morning over this devastating news that Kobe and his young daughter, Gigi have passed away in a helicopter crash. Cookie and I are heartbroken. pic.twitter.com/X2vF0M0a1u— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 26, 2020I love him, his family and what he stood for on the court and off the court.— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 26, 2020My friend, a legend, husband, father, son, brother, Oscar winner and greatest Laker of all-time is gone. It’s hard to accept.…

data-mm-id=”_dunllkj6q”>The New York Giants have the fourth pick in the 2020 NFL Draft next week and there are a number of options available to them. Here's a look at a few potential choices general manager Dave Gettleman could make, including the decision he probably should end up making. Isaiah SimmonsSimmons might be the best individual player in the 2020 draft class this side of Chase Young. While the Clemson linebacker doesn't player a premium position like quarterback or defensive end, he's almost certainly the draft's best playmaker. At 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, Simmons was a hybrid defender for the Tigers, originally listed as a safety before evolving into a linebacker. In 2019, Simmons was a first-team All-American, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and …

data-mm-id=”_bzr1j5p2m”>I imagine many Philadelphia 76ers fans' hearts dropped on Wednesday evening around 6 PM, when Ben Simmons limped off the floor while battling against the Washington Wizards. It was a frightening moment because it was one of those non-contact injuries where it didn't look like anything was wrong until Simmons grimaced and then immediately headed to the locker room. The Sixers would eventually come back and defeat the Wizards, but the fate of Simmons was unknown. It became known today as all your favorite NBA insiders tweeted that Simmons was out indefinitely with a "subluxation of the left patella," which a quick Google search reveals is a partial dislocation of the kneecap. Definitely not great, but by no means a devastating injury. Official …