Welcome to the return of Hot Takedown, FiveThirtyEight’s sports podcast! On today’s episode (March 19, 2019), we discuss Mike Trout’s deal before we jump into March Madness. It looks like conference tournament wins didn’t help out with bracket seeding for a few key men’s teams, and Jay Williams of ESPN’s “First Take” makes the case […]
In an era when NFL success is defined by passing, one New York team said goodbye to one of the most electrifying young receivers in league history, and the other decided to make a 27-year-old running back the centerpiece of its new offense. Odell Beckham Jr. is out in New York football, and Le’Veon Bell […]
In a sudden, potentially league-altering deal, Mike Garafolo reported late Tuesday that the New York Giants have agreed to trade their enigmatic star receiver, Odell Beckham Jr., to the Cleveland Browns. In return, New York will receive safety Jabrill Peppers and the 17th and 95th picks in the 2019 draft. Beckham will be reunited with […]
After reports late last week that Antonio Brown was heading to the Buffalo Bills, the Pittsburgh Steelers will instead reportedly trade their star receiver to the Oakland Raiders for a third- and a fifth-round pick in the 2019 draft. When the deal is finalized on Wednesday, Brown will have a restructured contract from the Raiders […]
No position in professional sports is more important or more misunderstood than the quarterback. NFL scouts, coaches and general managers — the world’s foremost experts on football player evaluation — have been notoriously terrible at separating good QB prospects from the bad through the years. No franchise or GM has shown the ability to beat […]