Paul Pierce played his last game in Boston today, four years after the Celtics traded him away. In the starting lineup for the first time in more than a month to celebrate his final game at his old stomping grounds, Pierce got a standing ovation from the crowd in recognition of the 15 years he spent as a Celtic. The Clippers put him back in for the game’s final seconds, which was long enough to hit one last three-pointer and earn an emotional round of cheers from the crowd: …

Crystal Palace will have had over two weeks’ rest by the time they travel to Leicester on Monday so it will be interesting to see whether they are rusty or recharged against Brendan Rodgers’ side, who in that time followed up victory in the FA Cup semi-finals with an impressive dismantling of West Brom. Leicester appear to be back in their groove, with James Maddison making a successful return to action and Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho continuing to thrive together up front. Sometimes this season Leicester have struggled to penetrate defences who sit deep at the King Power but there is good reason to believe they will find ways through Palace. Paul Doyle

Monday 8pm Sky Sports Premier League

Venue King Power…

Well, there’s a thing. Maybe there is something to be said for these so‑called experts after all. For 53 minutes of this 1-1 draw Germany and Spain played out a carefully hedged, engrossingly mannered game of football. This was a game of midfield squared, of Big Midfield Energy, a quiet debauchery of midfield.

Al Bayt Stadium is essentially a vast illuminated fibreglass tent dumped down in the desert scrub. It was packed here, or almost packed. But at times in the second half it was so quiet in the stands you could hear the air conditioning hiss. This is, it seems likely, not a sentence that has been typed before in a football report.

The game wasn’t dull, or unengrossing. But it was oddly samey and controlled…

When Nico Williams turns up, everything changes, except him. At the end of Spain’s 1-0 destruction of Italy on Thursday night – and, yes, there is such a thing as a 1-0 destruction – King Felipe VI made his way down to the dressing room to congratulate them. There was a brief address, something about having to win even if it was with an own goal, and a smattering of polite applause. The king went round the room: handshakes, smiles, the occasional word. “Sixteen?!” he said, standing before Lamine Yamal, putting his head in his hands. The players laughed a little awkwardly, nodded, said thanks.

And then, just as Felipe reached the end of the line, shook David Raya’s hand and started to say he was going now, he was suddenly interrup…

I don’t know what we expected. Despite the best efforts of a good chunk of America, everything continues to be a flaming dumpster fire. Why should the NFL’s first Moment of Unity be any different? In case you missed it, those were fans at the NFL opener in Kansas City booing the Moment of Unity. While the Chiefs remained on the field, arms linked, for the playing of Lift Every Voice and Sing (also known as the “Black National Anthem”) and the Star-Spangled Banner, the Texans returned to the locker room for the playing of both anthems. Afterwards, both teams met at mid-field for a moment of silence to honor the fight for racial justice. And that’s when the booing started. Because this is where we are as a country. We can’t even acknowledge that racial equality is a laudable…

Ohio State football has already started to feel the effects of Urban Meyer’s decision to retire at the end of this season for health and family-related reasons. Two of the Buckeyes’ seven commitments from the 2020 recruiting class have announced on Twitter that they’ve decommitted from the program. The first was four-star safety Lejond Cavazos. The second prospect, and admittedly the more notable one, is four-star offensive tackle Jake Wray—the 56th-ranked player from the class of 2020. Wray cites his older brother Max, a freshman offensive lineman who plays for the Buckeyes, as a reason for why Ohio State will remain as a top choice for his commitment, but the Georgia-native can keep his options open as he has offers from 24 schools including Alabama, Michigan and Oregon, accor…

Some people are fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers. This 2018 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the previews so far here. Your team: Pittsburgh Steelers. “Why can Tomlin use that word but not me?” Your 2017 record: 13-3, but I assure you that it was unwatchable from beginning to end. This team can make any 13-3 season feel like an 8-8 season. The only thing I remember from them last season is when one of their linebackers had his spinal column severed, and for some reason I was supposed to feel GOOD that he didn’t manage to die out on the fucking field. Actually, I do remember some other crap, like this play: Amazing how I would have had sympathy for ANY other team had they …

The writers at Deadspin asked their moms and dads what they thought of the site in 2015. Here are their unedited responses. Ley’s Mom: I thought the growth of the website last year was fairly significant – it was much more so this year! Frequently seeing and hearing news and other media outlets cite to Deadspin’s stories and postings attests to the credibility you all have built up over the last few years. I am not sure the established media actually respects Deadspin, in fact they probably resent you all – but they do now acknowledge the site on a regular basis as a source for stories they cover. You guys often get there first – that makes me proud! Drew’s Mom: They did a fabulous job. Drew’s Dad: Better than a Georges Duboeuf vintage. I’m in as long as they take ca…

For 10 straight years, Felix Hernandez has been the Seattle Mariners’ starter on Opening Day, making him one of only seven MLB pitchers to start a decade’s worth of season openers. Since debuting for the Mariners in 2005, Hernandez has become synonymous with Seattle baseball like Ichiro and Edgar Martinez, but in a little over a week, his era will come to a symbolic end. For the Opening Day matchup between the Mariners and A’s in Japan, Hernandez won’t be the starter. This comes as a surprise to nobody, really, not even Hernandez himself. But still, it’s a real bummer hearing him trying to process his career’s decline. Via AP: Asked if he was upset, Hernandez said simply, “Yeah,” but declined to elaborate on his emotions. “I knew it was going to happen,” he added.…