In January, photographer Deanne Fitzmaurice was on assignment for Sports Illustrated when she went to a San Francisco gay bar, HiTops, during the 49ers-Falcons NFC Championship game. She was assigned to get a photo that would accompany a story about the diversity of 49ers fans. Her photo, above, was a dream shot: Two guys making out, just as the 49ers took a fourth-quarter lead. Fitzmaurice, who won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography, annotated the photo for us. Click on the numbers below the photograph to read the back story. Earlier: This Photo Of Two Male 49ers Fans Making Out Is Awesome …

Our weekly college football shame index. The Season in Shame Not so very long ago, the 2012 season was like a maternity ward with 124 babies, each one full of promise and possibility. What would life hold for wee Auburn, or Pitt, or even poor underfed Maryland? The world was a big place, and they all had the chance to grow into a champion. But not all of them did, and today, we give them their due. ACC Obvious disappointment: Boston College Dear athletic directors currently conducting searches for a new head coach: As much as you'd like to think that one hire cannot make or break a football program that relies on dozens of staff members and scores of players, you absolutely can fuck this up. For proof, look no further than Frank Spaziani, deposed BC coach and the fifth-place tro…

Mike Barnicle, the plagiarist, fabulist, and all-around journalistic fraud, interviewed Terry Francona and Theo Epstein for a piece about how there's still room in the stats-conscious Boston Red Sox organization for ol' fashioned, gut-instinct, classic baseball managin'. There is, Barnicle wrote, a deep contrast between the two men: They are characters out of a kind of baseball version of Upstairs-Downstairs the old PBS series about class and expectation. One is Ivy League. The other is Summer League. One grew up dreaming of baseball. The other played it, raised in a house with a father who made a living at it in the major leagues. Terry Francona is 52 years old, a baseball lifer from New Brighton, Penn., where the median annual family income today is roughly $31,000. T…

data-mm-id=”_k746fz1h6″>According to CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora, Mike McCarthy is planning an NFL comeback. The former Green Bay Packers boss is reportedly watching film and building a potential staff in anticipation for a 2020 comeback. So which teams could most use McCarthy's services? Washington RedskinsWe might as well start with the one team that is more or less guaranteed to have a vacancy, having already seen the canning of Jay Gruden. Washington is currently is a state of patience when it comes to potential franchise man Dwayne Haskins. The team has finally allowed him to take the field, but Haskins has struggled in the early going, despite having the services of fellow Buckeye Terry McLaurin at receiver. McCarthy's experience with Aaron Rodgers and his transit…

data-mm-id=”_i3ua654mu”>Say what you might about Skip Bayless: the man likes to have fun. That certainly has not changed as the Undisputed host traipsed around Miami in the week leading up to Super Bowl LIV. Some on the internet enjoy calling him "Drip Bayless" for the various pictures of his fly outfits and shoes that he enjoys posting on Twitter. Well, there has never been a, uh… drippier version of Drip Bayless than what we've seen from him in Miami. I mean, look at this: Ready for the beach today on South Beach ahead of tomorrow’s big Undisputed Super Sunday show on big FOX from 11a to 12p ET. See you then. pic.twitter.com/u0kkOM0Wdk— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) February 1, 2020My man is 68 and looking spry as ever. The intense gaze does make me a little un…

data-mm-id=”_m812nxkza”>NBA commissioner Adam Silver held a press conference on Friday in which he declared that everything was on the table for the league and its return. He did say there was "no compromise" for the well being of the players. From the content of the call it sounds like the league is hoping to return but also preparing for the potential of canceling the rest of the season. ESPN's Marc J. Spears had a summary of the call on his Twitter timeline, and the biggest takeaway is that there are a wide range of potential outcomes. Silver said every option is being considered, even some "bubble-like concepts." We assume that means something like the Las Vegas plan of having all the teams in one city and locked in hotels, etc. The league is apparently als…

data-mm-id=”_7fyw92t2z”>Kyle Kuzma hit the game-winning 3-pointer over the outstretched arms of Bol Bol on Monday night as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets, 124-121. Kuzma finished with 25 points, six rebounds and three assists in a performance that appeared to confirm the Lakers officially have a Big Three.KUZ CALLED GAME pic.twitter.com/XrSsmPHvN4— gifdsports (@gifdsports) August 11, 2020After the game, Kuzma was asked about the shot and told reporters he would have still taken the shot even if Jesus was in front of him. While this sounds like confidence, it's actually not that impressive. Jesus, based on some Internet research, was probably 5'5", with some believing he might have been only 5'1". There would have been a Bible chapter written a…

data-mm-id=”_p5o12ycn0″>On Wednesday, LSU announced it would self-impose a one-year bowl ban due to a NCAA investigation into the school's football program. This is the right move by the Tigers, especially given their stellar record of … *checks notes* … 3-5. Yeah, they sure were ticketed for a great bowl game, what a brave stance. NEWS: #LSU has imposed a bowl ban for this year. pic.twitter.com/jMVG1G9XYs— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 10, 2020LSU has two games left, a matchup at Florida this weekend and the Tigers are scheduled to host Ole Miss at some point. There's virtually no chance they finish above .500. While the NCAA did waive bowl eligibility requirements for this season, LSU would have been in an awful game even if it made one. So this announcemen…

data-mm-id=”_ie29vlipt”>The Denver Nuggets are fresh off a sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers and are headed for the NBA Finals for the first time since, well, ever. The only other time the franchise has made the Finals was in 1976 under head coach Larry Brown in the ABA. People were still wearing Denver Rockets shirts to games. And yet despite this unprecedented accomplishment, all people want to talk about is how no one is talking about the Denver Nuggets or Nikola Jokic. The thing is, Denver should try to enjoy these last moments of being "ignored" by the national media. The same national media that voted their five-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA center MVP twice. But that doesn't matter. The Nuggets want the A-block so we should give them all the A-Block topics. Mike …