In anticipation of SportsGrid, Mediaite's upcoming sports baby (babies having babies!), we've decided to count down our list of the top 25 most influential sports bloggers, writers, and tweeters currently shaping the online sports narrative. (more...)

Those who doubted Lindsey Vonn's injuries when she soared to a gold medal finish in last night's women's downhill skiing event can now believe. Vonn, who had been suffering from an injury on her right shin sustained during a practice run, held the pain back just enough to win her medal last night, but just crashed while seeking her second medal in the women's super combined competition. NPR reported that she was visibly limping and complaining that the injury was "not good" this morning. She managed to maintain her lead during the downhill portion of the competition, but wiped out, giving up the lead-- and the gold medal-- to her friend Maria Riesch of Germany. (more...)

The overnight numbers are in, and last night's Vikings-Saints game is expected to be the most watched television program of any kind, excluding Super Bowls, since the series finale of Seinfeld. FOX's telecast of the NFC Championship game drew 57.9 million viewers, monster numbers that were fueled by the promise of a high-scoring game, interest surrounding Brett Favre's unretirement, and the galvanizing effect the Saints have had on New Orleans in the years following Hurricane Katrina. Evidence of the city's unwavering support of the team can be seen in the stunning 63.2 rating in the New Orleans market, the highest rating ever for any NFL telecast (including the Super Bowl). (more...)

The Washington, D.C. area is about to become a one-newspaper sports town with the demise of the Washington Times' sports section, announced Dec. 30 by the conservative paper's top brass. The Unification Church-run paper slashed 40 percent of its staff and will focus on national news and politics, while shuttering its Sunday edition. (more...)

There was one thought going through the minds of Bill Belichick-hating sportswriters as he gambled and lost in Indy last night: "We've got him!" With just over two minutes to go in last night's much-hyped Colts-Patriots game, Belichick elected to go for the first down on a 4th and 2 from his own 28 yard line. Tom Brady's pass to Kevin Faulk was bobbled and caught, but Faulk came up a half-yard short, leading to a Peyton Manning touchdown pass and Colts victory. Yesterday was the loss, and today is the backlash. (more...)

video MSNBC, 12:50pmET: By now, everyone has likely seen the video of the hair-pulling, punching female college soccer player who has been suspended indefinitely. Dr. Nancy Snyderman took this as an opportunity to delve into the topic of whether women athletes are just too darn aggressive and emotional these days. (more...)

News reporters like to catch readers’ attention with a few zingy lines at the start of an article. Sometimes, these so-called “ledes” go horribly wrong. But sometimes, they’re great! In Today’s Best News Ledes, we highlight the cream of the crop: (more...)

140 characters is mightier than...well football players and the military, apparently. Two stories came out today about two very different but very powerful organizations deciding to ban the use of Twitter. First up the New York Times is reporting that the NFL does not want any of its players twittering at practice, or about practice, or basically about anything football related at all! (more...)