As the common wisdom goes, the average length of an NFL career is 3.3 years. Being drafted highly lengthens the average career considerably, but there are still no guarantees for the rookies entering the league this year that they’ll stick around for long.But some rookies have even more to prove than simply why they deserve their roster spot. Here are the five under the most scrutiny.Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago BearsBeing the first overall draft pick promises you nothing but pressure. Will your career path turn out like Peyton Manning’s or JaMarcus Russell’s?Williams may have been one of the highest-graded quarterback prospects in recent history, but now his job is to translate his talent to the big leagues—for a team that chased Justin Fields out of town after 38 starts to make r…

In a tough-yet-fair decision by an organization known for them, FIFA has decided to strip Qatar of hosting privileges for the 2021 Confederations Cup. In explaining the group's reasoning, FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke revealed something no one had previously considered: Qatari summers are way too hot for playing soccer. On one hand, this quite a blow for Qatar. The Middle Eastern nation has been trying to increase its profile by bidding for hosting rights for a number of international sporting competitions. It just recently put on the Men's World Handball Championship, and is the scheduled home for the 2019 track and field championships and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Indeed, Qatar's Confederations Cup was a customary bonus for winning the World Cup rights. The Con…

Some people are fans of the Green Bay Packers. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Green Bay Packers. This 2019 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the previews so far here. Your team: STUPID FUCKING CALL! Your 2018 record: 6-9-1, including a last-second miracle win against … C.J. Beathard. Like watching history unfold right before Joe Tessitore’s bugged eyes. The Packers also needed Aaron Rodgers to work his gimpy magic to pull out comeback wins against the Bears and the, uh, Jets. Plus they needed Daniel Carlson to blow a kick to salvage a tie at home against the Vikings, and Carlson merrily obliged them. In other words, 6-9-1 was the best-case final record for a season in which the Packers, in terms of both play and morale, collapsed…

After my first week of work here, I had dinner with my parents. My dad expressed concern that I’d used a swear word (“f***”) in my second blog. My mom, full of motherly intuition, replied “No, that’s part of his job now.” Here’s what our elders thought of the site this year. Ashley’s mom: The only posts I’ve read are yours, so it’s been fantastic! [upside-down smiley face emoji] Not very sports related though Hannah’s dad: Whenever I read one of the sites, including Deadspin, I am acutely aware of the fact that my demographic is not the target audience. Nonetheless, I enjoy the approach, even as I admit that some of the verbs are not part of my vocabulary. I am a child of the 60's, and it seems to me that the unconventional, overtly liberal, extremely judg…

Derrick Mehmen landed a shot on the side of Rolles Gracie's face that didn't seem particularly brutal in the second round during Saturday night's World Series of Fight 5. Oh, but it was. It actually looked like Gracie was going to walk it off, but then he kept walking, and probably muttered something like, "I don't feel like punch anymore," before crash-landing on the mat. …

Some people are fans of the New Orleans Saints. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the New Orleans Saints. This 2012 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read the other Why Your Team Sucks 2012 previews here. 1. "Is you taking notes on a criminal fucking conspiracy?" Even though this is the Internet and even though column space on the Internet can scroll on forever, there STILL isn't enough room here to express how badly the Saints buttfucked their way through this entire offseason. It's one thing to have a super-top-secret bounty program in place for years and years and years (despite the fact that players come and go to other teams regularly and can blab about it at any time). It's another thing to put that program IN WRITING, t…

Isn't it horrible how this untrue stereotype about Asian people enjoying eating dogs is out there? I mean, the Chinese can't even put on an Olympic event without instructing the restaurants in Beijing to take dog off the menu. Oops. As the AP reports, "Waiters and waitresses should 'patiently' suggest other options to diners who order dog, it said, quoting city tourism bureau Vice Director Xiong Yumei. At least Asian men still have huge penises. Dog meat off the menu during Beijing Olympics [MSNBC] …

data-mm-id=”_1o2colvr3″>Mookie Betts on the San Diego Padres? Oh yeah, it could happen. Dennis Lin of The Athletic is reporting the Boston Red Sox and the Padres are discussing a deal for the former AL MVP. A trade like that would make sense, as Betts would fit perfectly in San Diego.The Padres have an incredibly deep farm system that is widely-considered the best in baseball. At the major league level they are sorely lacking a consistent right-handed corner outfield bat. Betts obviously checks those boxes. The Red Sox desperately need to add inexpensive talent to their roster. They have been committed to reducing their payroll, and you do that by getting young, controllable players. The Padres have a lot of those in the pipeline. The current talks have reportedly involved the Padres s…

data-mm-id=”_5f4bq7a2r”>Late at night on April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg. Long before a movie would be made about that, one of the survivors turned down the opportunity to have both legs amputated and went on to win six Grand Slam events and a gold medal. That survivor was Richard "Dick" Norris Williams II. Williams was traveling in first class with his father, Charles Duane Williams, when the Titanic went down on her maiden voyage. After the ship hit the iceberg, Williams broke down a door to help a trapped passenger. A steward threatened to report him for damaging company property. James Cameron apparently nodded to that story in this scene. After that, Dick and Duane tried to get into the ship's bar, but another steward told them it was against regulati…

data-mm-id=”_oo0stk8vm”>Networks want nothing more than to have a Super Bowl. Broadcasters want nothing more than to be given the opportunity to see their names on the call sheet. The NFL's crown jewel is also the crown jewel of pop culture, a remaining visage of shared experience. As such, the presentation is studied and considered from more angles than usual, as the world gazes upon the biggest stage. With that in mind, we got to thinking about who our preferred guides have been for this experience through the years. Who has made the Super Bowl an even more memorable experience compared to their peers? Who has excelled at their given role?We endeavored to create the ultimate Super Bowl broadcast across space and time, selecting a play-by-play announcer, a booth analyst, sideline…