Month: October 2024

We got a “movie trailer” version of the Indianapolis Colts under Anthony Richardson last season. 

The rookie quarterback led the Colts to a 2-2 record as the starter before a shoulder injury in Week 5 folded his first year in the pros. In that short glimpse, Richardson proved potent as a dual-threat QB, especially for those of us taking his “touchdown anytime” odds (he scored four TDs).

But like most movie trailers, we didn’t get a complete picture and were left to speculate on the quality of the full film. Is Richardson & Co. a blockbuster for NFL bettors or pretty much every Terminator movie after T2: Judgement Day? Awesome trailers. Crap movies.

Get the popcorn ready. Here’s my Indianapolis Colts 2024 b…

Whatever happens when Chelsea visit Aston Villa on Sunday evening, Thomas Tuchel is bound to be in more of a festive mood than he was last year. “I’m very confident that I will survive Christmas with my job this year,” Tuchel said, thinking back to Paris Saint-Germain axing him on Christmas Eve 12 months ago. “We are in a fine place. We are not happy with the results we had in the home games: Burnley, Everton and Manchester United. But we are confident. We are competitive.”

The German’s spirits were high after Chelsea set up a Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham by winning 2-0 at Brentford on Wednesday night. After a week of fretting over positive Covid tests, suddenly the air felt a little lighter. Tuchel had seen Chelsea k…

Impossible. Even just thinking of something like that. I have been repeating this to myself every day for weeks: if they had told me Cristiano Ronaldo, Leo Messi, Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho, Sergio Ramos, Romelu Lukaku and many others would have moved in the same summer, would I have believed it? The answer is simple: no, absolutely not. I have had the privilege of experiencing the transfer market for years and it is the most beautiful thing in the world for a reason: you never know what will happen.

Every prediction can change in an instant, due to a fax, a commission, a late phone call. Everyone – agents, managers, club presidents and owners – had been repeating for months: it will be a very poor window, the clubs are in crisis and th…

It looked like a marriage of convenience when Vincent Kompany returned to the north-west of England to take up the role of Burnley manager last summer. The former Belgium defender had spent an illustrious 11 years down the road in Manchester, where he had met his Mancunian wife and brought up children whom he was bringing home. But after last night’s 2-1 victory at Middlesbrough, with goals from Ashley Barnes and Connor Roberts, he can add promotion to the Premier League to his romantic regional ties.

The Clarets had spent a decade under the rule of Sean Dyche, which petered out with his sacking and the club’s relegation last May. Many of the senior players left and there were serious concerns over the club’s finances, so the appointme…

BELIEVABLE, JEFF

Confirmation of the Football Association appointing Thomas Tuchel as head coach of the England national team has prompted a variety of responses from the usual quarters, much of it measured and an unsurprisingly large amount of it totally and utterly deranged. Opinion seems divided into three distinct camps: those who think he’s the best candidate who is currently available and aren’t particularly fussed that the 51-year-old’s a forrin; those who would rather have an Englishman in charge of the national team (unless the man in question happens to be Pep Guardiola); and those who have been sent to the brink of total madness by the apparently extraordinary decision to hire a forrin so GERMAN, they f…

Nope, not really! But my editors and management insist that these posts are longer than three words, so I guess I’ll have to explain. If Manchester City waltzed to last year’s trophy, only really sweating in the final for about an hour against a stubborn Inter, they very well may never get out of a rolling beach chair to this year’s trophy. Even some of the usual powers like PSG and Bayern Munich look weaker than they were, and City kicked Munich’s ass up to their ears last year anyway. But they’re still going to play this, so we should run through the themes. I guess. So why should I watch if the outcome is already decided? Maybe you’ll feel wistful about the format? This is the last season of the “eight groups of four” system. Next season, the tournament will expand to…

Some people are fans of the Indianapolis Colts. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Indianapolis Colts. This 2017 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the previews so far here. Your team: Indianapolis Colts. Your 2016 record: 8-8. Oh, the indignity. But we’ve only just begun! After all, who can forget the time they blew a 23-9 fourth-quarter lead against Brock Osweiler. Only a team coached by Chuck Pagano and overseen by tire company brand manager Ryan Grigson could pull off such things. They also cut Antonio Cromartie after an Anthem protest (27th ranked pass defense in the league). Then the punter retired so he could work for fucking Barstool. Good punters can play for 20 seasons and retire without catastrophic physical problems, an…

Some people are fans of the Baltimore Ravens. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Baltimore Ravens. This 2014 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group.
Your team: Baltimore Ravens
Your 2013 record: 8-8. God, wasn't it nice to have them out of the playoffs? It felt like a vacation.
Your coach: John Harbaugh, who is the worst Harbaugh. I can't believe any Harbaugh is worse than Jim Harbaugh, but at least Jim has some small, deeply cloaked understanding that he is a psycho who wears terrible pants. John lacks this final, molecular trace of self-awareness, and thus, he is the fucking worst. I hate him. I hate his face. I hate the way he bitches after every single goddamn play, like a scientifically formed hybrid of an NBA player and a W…