Month: October 2024

The UFC has its problems, but one stands out as more serious and scary than the rest: Fewer and fewer people are interested in what it’s selling. Even as UFC president Dana White touts his company’s record profitability in 2017, there’s no getting around the basic fact that the company isn’t doing well in the medium and long term. By several different metrics, the UFC’s audience is declining. Moreover, if the ubiquitous commercials for male vitality products like Nugenix during broadcasts weren’t a big enough clue, the audience that remains is aging out of the coveted youth demographic that the promotion used to sell itself to advertisers for so long. Anecdotally, fan enthusiasm seems to be at a low ebb. But every actual metric suggests that things are even worse than they…

As of last week, we are halfway through 2015. As usual, most of the year’s “prestige” movies aren’t out yet, but that doesn’t mean that the past six months didn’t have some terrific films. To make sure they aren’t forgotten come year-end-list time, Grierson & Leitch today present our favorite movies of the first half of 2015. Here’s our Top 12, with six from each of us. Grierson Eden: Filmmaker Olivier Assayas received strong reviews this year for the deft Clouds of Sils Maria, starring Juliette Binoche and a sneakily terrific Kristen Stewart. All the same, I prefer his wife’s film. Director Mia Hansen-Løve (Goodbye First Love) drew from her brother’s memories of being a DJ during France’s 1990s dance-music scene to make a meditative drama about an aspiring DJ (…

This week's Deadcast guest is Hold Steady guitarist Tad Kubler (Listen here, iTunes here.) DOUBLE WHISKY COKE NO ICE. I ask Tad all the tough questions, and submit him to a deadly gauntlet of asskissing, the likes of which he may never recover from. I also ask him questions from Deadspin readers, and he was nice enough to answer all of them with honesty and good humor. Is the band working on a new album? YES! Does he still drink? NO! Because he almost died from pancreatitis! RAWK Do double guitars serve any other purpose than to look awesome on stage? YES! Was the song "Slapped Actress" written to inspire Tony Parker? NO! Is he a Packer fan? YES! FUCK HIM! Has he ever trashed a hotel room? SEVERAL! What the fuck is the deal with Ybor City? NO ONE KNOWS! How do…

Golf Digest is not a political publication. Recent stories include “ 2018 Ryder Cup frequently asked questions” and “ Web.com Tour introduces the Evans Scholars Invitational to schedule, with all proceeds aiding caddies’ college scholarships.” Many of the cover lines in the monthly print issue are about improving your golf game. It’s a niche mag for golf nuts. And it got an innocent man out of prison. Yesterday, Valentino Dixon walked free for the first time in 27 years. Dixon had been convicted of the 1991 murder of Torriano Jackson; another man confessed in court to the crime, and Dixon’s conviction was vacated. He left a Buffalo courthouse to cheers and hugs from family and those who had become involved in his case. It’s a great story. It’s been covered extensiv…

data-mm-id=”_3gho9ds37″>DETROIT — Like so many Michiganders of a certain age, the episode of Home Improvement where the Taylors go to the Lions game on Thanksgiving and Tim causes a power outage was a formative part of growing up. Yes, that's right: the one with Rodney Dangerfield. It does not, in fact, get enough respect.
Watching this sad sack franchise lose a football game instead of spending time with my family on a holiday became a Bucket List item I wasn't sure I'd get to check off. But folks, I am happy to say that dream came true yesterday and the experience lived up to expectations. All the elements were there. An absurdist reality in which the Lions started a third-string quarterback. A too-loyal crowd willing to part with hard-earned money to see this social…

data-mm-id=”_jbukutbkf”>CM Punk made his return to the pro wrestling world last week, and to drum up attention for his appearance on FS1's WWE Backstage this week he sent out a tweet in which he tagged all the other show contributors, Vince McMahon, and, randomly, AEW boss Tony Khan. Khan came back with a zinger about recent travel and possible diplomatic snafus as WWE wrestlers returned from the Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia:No one is safe? Sounds like a plane full of wrestlers in Saudi Arabia!— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) November 18, 2019Randy Orton, who recently signed a long-term contract extension with WWE, jumped in the fray and things got personal:I thought you only tagged me in your posts when you were grasping for leverage. That article’s over a year old + is about bas…

data-mm-id=”_hvvwds875″>Jennifer Hudson gave an incredible performance Sunday evening before the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. In a tribute to Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, she sang "For All We Know" as photos of the two flashed behind her. It was a truly moving performance. Check this out:.@IAMJHUD delivers a powerful pregame performance to honor Kobe #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/XwdSes5w97— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 17, 2020That was stunningly good and emotional. Given what Hudson has been through in her life, she was a perfect person to deliver that performance. Before that, Magic Johnson led the arena in an eight-second moment of silence to honor Bryant and David Stern:.@MagicJohnson leads an 8-second moment of silence for Kobe Bryant and David Stern before the #N…

data-mm-id=”_uplnp0lfy”>Premier League clubs met via video conference on Friday to discuss proposals for resuming the 2019-20 season. The league has been shut down since March 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Among the conclusions reached by the league's 20 clubs is that the remaining games must be played without fans and at neutral sites. The plan to restart the league — the aptly-named Project Restart — would still need to be approved by the British government. The proposal insists that all 92 remaining matches must be played. They would be contested without fans and at neutral sites to help avoid the crush of fans potentially gathering outside of venues during matches. Potential neutral sites would include Wembley Stadium, some current Premier League stadiums and potential…

data-mm-id=”_xac157l7g”>Tom Benson's legacy in the NFL and New Orleans is complicated. From repeated rumors of moving the team from New Orleans to the legal issues he faced near the end of his life, Benson was a polarizing figure around the league. But no one can deny that he made a genius move when he bought the Saints on this day in 1985 for $70,204,000. Forbes most recent valuation of the Saints was $2.275 billion. While inflation would increase Benson's purchase of the Saints from $70 million to around $171 million today, it's clear he made a smart investment when he bought the team from John Mecom. After buying the Saints, Benson had an up-and-down career as their owner. The highs started immediately when he hired Jim Mora as coach and they made their first playoff …