Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill tweeted that he’s the best basketball player in the NFL. Football players have long touted their abilities on the hardwood, and many pros played in college and elite level AAU before switching to the gridiron full time.
I’m the best hooper in the league 🤫
— Ty Hill (@cheetah) February 5, 2023
You know once Hill made that proclamation it was going to open up the flood gates of NFL hoopers questioning his boastful claim. Atlanta Falcons CB Casey Hayward replied with a GIF that calls Hill’s claim into question.
— Casey Hayward (@show_case29) February 5, 2023
Baltimore Ravens WR Demarcus Robinson replied, “Says who”
Says who
— Demarcus Robinson (@Demarcus) February 5, 2023
Who’s to say who the best current ballers are in the NFL? Indianapolis Colts TE Mo Alie-Cox played college basketball at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Cleveland Cavaliers DE Myles Garrett is pretty good at hoops too.
Look who pulled up to #CavsSummer 👀 pic.twitter.com/zQYN0YrSVh
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) July 10, 2022
We’ll let these guys decide who’s the best among the current players.
He retired in 2018 after his final stint with the Carolina Panthers. Peppers was a six-time All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowl player. He was one of the premier defensive players of the last two decades.
Before all the NFL accolades, Peppers played college basketball at powerhouse North Carolina.
He was a reserve on the 1999–2000 Tar Heels team that made it to the Final Four. Peppers was also a reserve on the 2000–2001 men’s basketball team. During his sophomore year he averaged seven points and four rebounds per game.
4. Jimmy Graham
He last played for the Chicago Bears in the 2021 season. Graham was a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection in the NFL. But before he starred on Sundays in the league, he played college basketball at the University of Miami.
Graham appeared in 120 games over four years for the Canes averaging four points and four rebounds per game for his career.
3. Tony Gonzalez
A 10-time All-Pro and 14-time Pro Bowl pick, he’s one of the greatest tight ends of all time.
Gonzalez played college football and basketball at UC-Berkeley. He averaged six points and four rebounds per game over the course of his three-year career on the hardwood.
During his junior season Cal advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
2. Antonio Gates
Gates played 16 years with the Chargers franchise in the NFL, retiring in 2020. He was a five-time All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl eight times. An all-time tight end.
At Kent State Gates played two seasons as a power forward. His junior season he averaged 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists per game. That season his team won its first regular season Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship in school history. That year, 2002, Kent State reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament as a 10 seed, and Gates was a huge contributor.
His senior year, he was honorable mention All-American after averaging 20 points, seven rebounds, and four assists per game.
1. Darren Fells
The tight end last played in 2020 for the Houston Texans. Fells never played college football but did play basketball for four years at UC-Irvine and turned professional in 2008.
As a senior, Fells was among the best basketball players in the Big West, ranking first in field goal percentage, third in rebounds per game and ninth in points per game.
He played professional basketball in Argentina, Belgium, Finland, France and Mexico before signing with the Seattle Seahawks in 2013.
Kyrie Irving’s trade to the Dallas Mavericks has polarized the sports world for its sudden nature, but in the mind of Jay Williams none more so than Stephen A. Smith. The two had an epic verbal sparring on Monday’s edition of “First Take” when Williams decided to call Smith out for his consistently harsh takes on Irving.
“We put a different kind of onus on our athletes, and you made mention of that on your podcast,” said Williams.
“I don’t deny that! I don’t deny that! I don’t deny that!” Stephen A. Smith said in defense of his critique of Irving.
Jay Williams isn’t lying . Stephen a smith gave Dana white and Jerry Jones a pass but acts like kyrie is the worst human on earth anytime he does anything pic.twitter.com/C62VmnFkgd
— John (@iam_johnw) February 6, 2023
Williams pushed forward on his passive-aggressive offensive.
“I’m not the one – you’re the one saying I’m being sensitive, but you’re the one that’s seeming very emotional,” Williams said. “Come on, man. Come on, man. I’m not sitting up here on national TV absolving Kyrie Irving of every decision; I’m not going back and recounting every decision. I’m just saying how it’s interesting to me; it just carries such a bigger momentum in particular with you more so than anybody else.”
Smith spoke to Malika Andrews when the trade request was made by Irving and kept it very real about how he felt about it when Andrews asked him what he felt about it.
"Idiotic… He cannot be trusted. He just reminded the basketball world of that."
Stephen A. Smith on Kyrie Irving's trade request 😳#NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/YqY1Jq2QtV
— 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐍𝐁𝐀 (@_Talkin_NBA) February 3, 2023
“Idiotic, let’s get that out the way,” Smith began. Here’s a guy in Kyrie Irving that for the last three years, who’s gotten most of his money but missed more than 50 percent of his games, enters the last year after this offseason. Obviously the situation he got into earlier this year was unfortunate but he resurrected himself from that. Was playing spectacular basketball leading amongst guards for the All Star game. Playing outstanding basketball and reminding everybody what an absolute flat-out basketball player he is. No one questioned that, all we ever questioned was, ‘Can the man go the rest of the season without being a distraction?’
“And low and behold he pulls this; and why? Because the Brooklyn Nets had the temerity, the unmitigated gall to say, ‘play the season, we’ll see because we haven’t had you for a full season without any drama,’ and here he is again. For a guy that’s looking for a long-term deal from another team, there is no question about what you’re getting when Kyrie Irving is on the basketball court. The only question mark regarding him is his commitment to not being a distraction and going out there and performing.
“The fact that he’s made headlines with this, all it did was serve to remind everybody out there, he’s spectacular, we’d love to have him in our uniform so long as we don’t have to make a long-term investment in him because he cannot be trusted. He just reminded the basketball world of that.”
Smith has railed against Irving since he decided not to get vaccinated when New York City had an indoor vaccine mandate. On “First Take,” Smith picked up on Williams’ apparently skirting his direct issue with him and challenged him to keep it all the way real.
“Jay, you know what? What I would ask you is do me a favor, stop telling us what you find interesting and just tell us what you feel,” Smith said, curtly. “You say, ‘I find it interesting.’ you always say that. Say what you saying? What you saying? What you saying?”
Jay Williams isn’t lying . Stephen a smith gave Dana white and Jerry Jones a pass but acts like kyrie is the worst human on earth anytime he does anything pic.twitter.com/C62VmnFkgd
— John (@iam_johnw) February 6, 2023
“No, my job is to be interesting,” Williams said. “I just said what I’m saying Stephen A; am I not allowed to say what I find interesting?”
Then Smith flexed the big show host muscle.
“Of course you are. I invite you on the show to say what’s interesting,” Smith said.
Co-host Molly Qerim interjected.
“He thinks you’re too preoccupied with Kyrie, too hard on Kyrie,” Qerim translated.
It sent Smith further into a steaming rant.
“Did I mention Kyrie Irving last week before he demanded a trade? We were talking football. How many times did I mention Kyrie over the last few weeks?”
The topic of Kyrie got Stephen A Smith and Jay Williams ready to fight pic.twitter.com/x8fY5v4o0V
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) February 6, 2023
Williams poked the bear.
“I don’t seem the one being triggered right now,” Williams added. “It seems personal for you.
“I’m always triggered. Oh yes, I am. Yes, I am. What seems personal? For me, with Kyrie? You, of all people, with all the interest you, have got the nerve to sit here on national television and tell me I’m getting personal with a player? I don’t lose no sleep. I don’t lose any sleep over Kyrie Irving. I’m passionate about the subjects I’m passionate about. I don’t accuse you of getting personal when you take the positions you take.”
“You have accused me of getting personal. You have Stephen A. We both got a lot to say,” said Williams.
This really touched a nerve, and Smith picked up on the energy attempting to goad Williams into saying something he would probably regret.
“You do? You do? Just say it, Jay. Just say it, Jay.”
“I’m not in here for that. I’m on your show,” Williams said before falling back.”
Smith accepted Williams’ admission that he knew better than to say what he felt about Smith on the network’s flagship show.
“Okay. We’re good,” Smith said with the pleasure of having the final word.
Smith and Williams’ “debate” was highly entertaining, and the millions of views it received in real time and on social media proved people like watching their opposing dynamic. That is why Williams will live another day on the show hosted by a man he is very passionate about calling out.
Deion Sanders, aka Coach Prime, has done wonders at Colorado in a short amount of time. The Pro Football Hall of Famer has landed a top-30 recruiting class and let it be known that the Buffaloes will be hunting the big fish. He’s not shy at all about letting the world know via social media exactly what type of player he’s looking for.
All Dogs in Texas where art thou? We need about 7 of y'all that has work ethic, confidence & a winners attitude. I can care less about how many stars u have I want game changers! I ain't Hard 2 Find" you better ask somebody. Let's go baby. #CoachPrime @CUBuffsFootball
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) February 7, 2023
That was evident when Sanders flipped top-ranked cornerback Cormani McClain from Miami to Boulder, joining forces with last year’s No. 1 ranked overall recruit in cornerback Travis Hunter.
Sanders has also been on the interview circuit with fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe and most recently with CBS.
In the interview, Sanders discussed a myriad of things, including the need to what he calls readjust the recruiting angle. Sanders, who’s never been one to hold his feelings, was also asked about bringing his Jackson State HBCU culture to Colorado.
CBS reporter Romi Bean asked Coach Prime about that.
“Coach Sanders, you’ve been really busy. Not just recruiting, you’ve been spending time with the legendary Bill McCartney. … You met Peggy the Super Fan. You’re going to restaurants. You’re going to games. Why is it important for you to be such an enmeshed part of this community?”
Was Bean insinuating that Coach Sanders is looking to bring his swag and what he did at JSU to Colorado?
Sure sounds that way, and it seemed to irritate Sanders.
“It’s not I’m saying let me do this strategically,” Sanders replied. “That ain’t how I get down. If I want to go to a basketball game, I’m going, OK? If I want to go meet a person or meet this person or walk around the track with Coach McCartney I’m going to do it.”
“I don’t need permission to do what’s right. I try my best to do what’s right even when wrong is present.”
Sanders is just speaking cold hard facts and letting folks know that he doesn’t care what folks think of him, as long as he’s doing what’s right.
From day one on the job in Boulder, Sanders has been adamant that the way things were done in the past wasn’t going to continue. When a program went 5-19 the two seasons prior to your arrival an overhaul is mandatory. And Coach Prime has done his best to rid the program of anything or anyone that wasn’t conducive to his plan for the Buffaloes going forward.
https://t.co/VUrrlyVMZl
Our Romi Bean talks with CU Coach Deion Sanders. As a Buffs fan…he's right. I'm hopeful for this new direction. @Romi_Bean @CUBuffsFootball— Karen Leigh (@karenleightv) February 2, 2023
Sanders’ slogan from day one, “We Coming,” has been heard over and over. In fact it’s been repeated by him so much, from the outside looking in you start to believe it. So if us fans are beginning to believe, imagine what’s going on behind those closed doors in Boulder.
It’s nothing to look and see some of Sanders’ famous friends around the facility. That was the case at Jackson State as rappers Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, NLE Choppa and the late Young Dolph all made their way to Jackson, Mississippi.
Lil Wayne at Colorado? Deion really for the culture 😂
(via @DeionSanders) pic.twitter.com/3jwoVS5K9v
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 2, 2023
Last week, Lil Wayne, a close friend of Sanders, was given a private VIP tour of the campus and top-notch football facilities. That’s just who Sanders is, and his culture is what you see, and as he stated there’s no need to strategically plan for that to happen. He’s the face of the program, and his effect on it will show.
Spring training is just around the corner, and MLB Show 23′ unveiled a new storyline to get young and old fans excited. This year’s edition of the game will feature some of the legends from Negro Leagues baseball. The game is set to release on March 28, and opening day is March 30.
The Negro Leagues are coming to @MLBTheShow.
In partnership with the @NLBMuseumKC and president @nlbmprez, #MLBTheShow is adding a new game experience this year to celebrate the history of the Negro Leagues. pic.twitter.com/v0BZeu8dc9
— MLB (@MLB) February 6, 2023
MLB, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum President Bob Kendrick, and Sony headlined the partnership to bring this feature to the game. Before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, the Negro Leagues were the professional baseball leagues for Black players.
The storyline takes you back in time to 1920 at the YMCA in Kansas City, Missouri, where Rube Foster created the Negro National League composed of seven teams from Chicago, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City and St. Louis.
Kendrick helped come up with a balanced list of players that will be featured over the multiyear project. This year’s version will only feature season 1.
“The Negro Leagues are an important part of baseball and American history, whose iconic figures are not nearly as well known as other baseball players of the era,” Sony product development communications and brand strategist Ramone Russell said in an email. “We’ve thought about introducing the Negro Leagues into MLB The Show for years, but we needed to figure out how to do it the right way for an interactive medium.”
In 2020, the Negro Leagues celebrated their 100-year anniversary, and MLB recognized over 3,000 players from the league as official MLB players.
The cover athletes will feature Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Miami Marlins and Yankees legend Derek Jeter on the iconic ‘Captain’ edition.
The storyline will feature eight legends from the Negro leagues: Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Buck O’Neil, Rube Foster, Hilton Smith, Hank Thompson, John Donaldson and Martín Dihigo.
Fans will be able to play as these historical figures with a narrative experience for each player, short videos about the players, and gameplay of their most iconic moments in their careers.
The players will also be available in exhibition mode of the game and other usable areas of the game, which will be announced at a later date. Fans can get their first preview of storylines this Thursday on Sony’s San Diego Studio Twitch and YouTube channels.
Kendrick will serve as the narrator to the storylines in the game and will also be a special guest this Thursday to talk about the new in-game feature.
San Diego Studio will also donate $1 to every NLB museum for every copy sold of the collector’s edition version of the game from now until the end of 2023.
The Baltimore Ravens and franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson have been at a contract impasse since last offseason. Unable to reach agreement, the 2019 unanimous MVP played the 2022 season on the fifth and final year of his rookie deal. Jackson once again didn’t finish the season due to injury, as he did in 2021, bringing his style of play into question.
While the Ravens won’t say it out loud, there are now concerns about Jackson’s durability, and that amongst other things is a likely sticking point in contract negotiations. Plus Jackson reportedly wanting a fully guaranteed deal, which the Ravens are seemingly balking at.
ESPNs Jeremy Fowler even reported that the two sides are monetarily a ways apart on a new deal. And while it’s still early with the league year still over a month away, rumors of trade possibilities have begun to fester.
“Those trade calls are coming. I don’t get the sense that that process has heated up, in part because teams are assuming Jackson will be tagged. It’s still very early on this one,” Fowler said.
The Ravens have the capability of franchise tagging Jackson twice if they need to. But the belief is if they do so the former Heisman Trophy winner may hold out and force a trade.
The #Ravens and QB Lamar Jackson "could possibly be" $100 million apart in contract talks over how much guaranteed money should be in his contract, according to @JFowlerESPN
"Those trade calls are coming." Fowler adds. pic.twitter.com/NctB8e56BA
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 5, 2023
Jackson’s work on the field is unquestioned. Boasting a career 70 percent winning percentage, 49-21, the dynamic Jackson has single-handedly carried the Ravens at times. Jackson deserves to be paid handsomely. He’s more successful than some quarterbacks making significantly more than he is. One other factor in Jackson’s inability to go deep in the playoffs has been his lack of perimeter weapons since arriving in Baltimore. But Jackson has still overperformed on a weekly basis, and he does deserve a significant contract.
With the contract still in limbo and reports that Jackson is going to be on the trade block, what happens with LJ8 is the biggest story of the offseason.
Just ask Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who’s constantly taken Jackson’s side. The elite cover corner said he was bombarded with that question the entire weekend at the Pro Bowl.
It’s clear that Lamar Jackson is not valued in Baltimore the way he values himself and while they’ve drafted fairly well during his tenure I don’t think he should trust that they’re actually going to commit to building a team around him. The ravens should trade him. https://t.co/kJWVKBxMrs
— Gap Scheme Gunther (@GuntherIsPaper) February 6, 2023
The former Alabama Crimson Tide star tweeted this.
“Every time I try I’m met with, are y’all gonna pay Lamar,” Humphrey wrote.
With offensive coordinator Greg Roman stepping down, this is a big opportunity for the Ravens to make some key changes. First, it’s imperative that the organization gets Jackson some quality receiver help. Rumors are Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy or Byron Leftwich could be the choice to fill Roman’s shoes, and either would do wonders for Jackson and landing quality free agents.
Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy is “really” in play for OC job in Baltimore, per @RapSheet. pic.twitter.com/213Xuqcm0i
— 𝗥𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝙇𝙄𝙑𝙀 (@LIVERavenNation) February 3, 2023
The Ravens can’t miss on this hire, it’ll go a long way in determining what happens with Jackson, their franchise player. Meanwhile, Jackson hasn’t said much, and the Ravens have said even less about where contract negotiations stand.
Brian Flores has been linked to three different job openings now as a finalist. The Arizona Cardinals named Flores a finalist along with Lou Anarumo and Mike Kafka. The Cardinals announced the news after Sean Payton, one of their top candidates, went to the Broncos in a trade last week. DeMeco Ryans, Frank Reich, and Dan Quinn were among the other top candidates.
Flores filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL last year after he felt he was wrongfully fired by the Dolphins. He also is a finalist for the Vikings defensive coordinator and Broncos defensive coordinator jobs.
Kafka started his NFL journey with the Chiefs in various roles for five seasons. The 35-year-old spent last season as the resurgent Giants’ offensive coordinator. The Giants offense didn’t knock anyone’s socks off, but the way they were able to get the most out of Daniel Jones was the most impressive thing.
Anarumo’s 11-year NFL coaching career began in 2012 when he served as the defensive backs coach for the Dolphins. He also had a short stint as interim defensive coordinator in 2015 for the Dolphins. He spent one season as defensive backs coach in 2018 with the Giants. The past four seasons he has served as the Bengals’ defensive coordinator and has been instrumental in their quick turnaround over the past two seasons. The Bengals have reached back-to-back AFC Championship Games and reached the Super Bowl in 2022.
Flores is the only one of the three finalists with head coaching experience. Last season, he served as the the linebackers coach for the Steelers. He plans to meet for his second interview with the Cardinals on Wednesday. He also has meetings with the Broncos and Vikings lined up for this week.
Ryans was recently hired as the Texans head coach and if Flores lands the Cardinals, then that will make two hires of black candidates this offseason in the NFL. There are still plenty of other black candidates that the trail has gone cold for.
Raheem Morris worked his way through the ranks with the Buccaneers and spent three years as their head coach from 2009-11. In 2020, he was the interim head coach for the Falcons after Dan Quinn was fired. Since, it seems like he hasn’t had a real chance of landing another head coaching gig. He interviewed for the Colts head coaching position but did not land it.
Pep Hamilton was once considered one of the brightest, upcoming offensive minds in the NFL. Now, the Howard grad has bounced around and as never been elevated past an offensive coordinator role in the NFL.
Eric Bieniemy has been a on the hot list for the past few offseasons as one of the top head coaching candidates and still hasn’t been hired. He has interviewed with several teams more than once for their head coaching vacancies in different hiring cycles. Many have speculated that because he doesn’t call plays for the Chiefs and is under Andy Reid’s umbrella that it has diminished his chances at getting a head coaching job.
Leslie Frazier, Jerod Mayo, Byron Leftwich, and Lovie Smith are also still on the market as quality head coaching candidates. These men have all been interviewed, some more than others, but have yet to land anything. NFL observers are giving the same tired excuse of “the owners can’t relate to black candidates”. It is getting old and should simply come down to if they can do the job or not. The NFL is not lacking quality Black candidates but are simply ignoring them even. The Rooney Rule can never change the way Black people are viewed in the NFL or the world.
The NFL has been accused of many unflattering things over the years, but recently one former player has accused the league of something that would rock its foundation: scripted outcomes. Former NFL running back Arian Foster said the NFL is rigged, and players receive their “scripts” back of house in the locker room during training camp every year. Foster made the statement during the latest episode of Barstool Sports’ “Macrodosing” podcast.
“We were really dedicated to it,” said Foster. “So, it was more so like that’s what practice was about — it was about practicing the script. This is what goes on, this is what we have to do; WWF, so it’s like we know what’s going to happen. You still gotta put on a show,” the four-time Pro Bowl running back.
Former NFL player arian foster admits NFL is literaly rigged pic.twitter.com/RSfqF1OwKI
— PFT Commenter (@PFTCommenter) January 31, 2023
The claim set off a tweetstorm of fans who are believers and fellow players that saw the humor in the claim and piggybacked with their examples of a scripted outcome.
When they handed me the script for our season during camp I almost walked out the facility bra 😒😒😒😒 @ArianFoster
— Alvin Kamara (@A_kamara6) February 1, 2023
“When they handed me the script for our season during camp I almost walked out the facility bra @ArianFoster,” New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara tweeted with a salty face emoji.
Former Washington Commanders quarterback turned football analyst Robert Griffin III also gave his tongue-in-cheek response with a self-effacing twist.
Reading the End of the Script for 2012 https://t.co/DeuLz9ISnq pic.twitter.com/LP9waIx2pc
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) February 1, 2023
“Reading the End of the Script for 2012,” RGIII posted with a meme of Will Smith’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air character crumbling to the floor. It was a nod to the injuries that saddled the quarterback after his stellar rookie season for the Commanders if he could have foreshadowed it.
Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Micah Parsons tweeted a cute dig at his team and their lackluster playoff results.
Smh I might show the script from playoffs!!
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) February 2, 2023
“Smh I might show the script from playoffs!!” Parsons tweeted, touching a sore spot for Cowboys nation.
During an interview with ESPN the Magazine, Foster revealed he doesn’t believe in God.
PFT Commenter, the show’s host, brought up Foster’s sarcastic claim inferring that a script would literally be dropped off at his locker at the start of the season. Commenter even pivoted to “the script” being drafted for Foster’s career when it apparently “fell off a cliff” after he stopped believing in God.
Foster’s revelation is a massive no-no in professional football, especially in states like Texas, where Foster played most of his career; in the Longhorn State, God and football are the only things that matter.
“If there is a God and he’s watching football, there are so many other things he could be doing,” Foster said to ESPN The Magazine in 2015. “There are hungry children and diseases and famine and so much important stuff going on in the world, and he’s really blessed your team? It’s just weird to me.”
The Texans released Foster shortly after that in March 2016. He finished his Texans career with 6,472 yards and 54 rushing touchdowns, which were both franchise records.
Me, a Lion, after reading our 2008 script https://t.co/x1DtpVc3I8 pic.twitter.com/mgyDVPN3Wf
— FOST (@GeorgeFoster72) February 2, 2023
With two Black quarterbacks in the Super Bowl, the script must have been made by Jay-Z, whose Roc Nation Sports entered into a long-term partnership with the National Football League as the league’s official Live Music Entertainment Strategists. They brought Rihanna as the halftime show and maybe made the pivot to an all-Black-everything Super Bowl for the culture?
The odds of that reality are not in their favor and fans can relax with one conspiracy theory debunked as a deadpan sarcasm turned viral distraction moment.
Jacksonville Jaguars Pro Bowl QB Trevor Lawrence is not planning on having kids with his wife Marissa Mowry. At least not anytime soon.
“I don’t know when that’s gonna be. I think we’re gonna wait a little while,” the professional football player said. “We’ve really just enjoyed not having the responsibility of having kids [right now]. … I wouldn’t say near future, but in the future. So, probably in the next few years. We’re just enjoying where we’re at and we wanna travel and be able to do all that before we kind of settle down.”
Exclusive: #JacksonvilleJaguars QB Trevor Lawrence and wife Marissa Mowry were high school sweethearts — but they’re not ready for the “responsibility” of having kids just yet.https://t.co/nrYqthZfzs
— Us Weekly (@usweekly) February 4, 2023
Lawrence met Mowry when they were in the fifth grade, and they married in 2021 at the ages of 21. It makes sense that he’s not ready for kids.
“We met in fifth grade, so I won’t say I knew [she was The One] in fifth grade,” said Lawrence. “We started dating seriously in 10th grade. And then we were, like everyone, kind of [were] off and on for a while and then once we got to college it got really serious.”
He and Mowry are young and need to enjoy being a young married couple. Having children, particularly if you plan to be active parents, requires time and a commitment. It’s OK not to be ready for that responsibility at 23. Prioritizing each other and that relationship is key in the early years. Something Lawrence seems to understand.
“Whether that’s going out or that’s ordering in and just hanging out and having a glass of wine or whatever just to try to spend that time together,” Lawrence shared. “Cause during the week it gets kind of busy and then, especially, when we have families coming in town on the weekends and that’s even busier. We’ve gotten better and better at making time, making sure that we have time together and really prioritizing that.”
21 savage performing at the pro bowl was pretty sick @NFL 🙌🏼
— Trevor Lawrence (@Trevorlawrencee) February 3, 2023
Lawrence and the Jaguars finished first in the AFC South with a 9-8 record, they won their wild card playoff matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. They then lost in the divisional round to the eventual conference champion Kansas City Chiefs.
So while Lawrence won’t be on the field in Arizona for Super Bowl LVII, he will be in town to watch the game and says he thinks the Chiefs will win it, “just because they beat us.”
“I’m gonna be in Arizona and I’ll be watching the game with Christian Kirk and his fiancée, [Ozzy Ozkan], and my wife,” the quarterback told Us, referring to the Arizona Cardinals athlete. “So we’ll all be together. So whatever they end up having at the house, hopefully they [get] some of [my favorite snacks, including Buffalo chicken dip and nachos]. I’ll have to let them know.”
Lawrence was a top-10 QB this past season. He ranked seventh in DYAR, sixth in DVOA, and eighth in EYds.
At just 23 the future looks bright in Jacksonville, and as Lawrence continues to develop he should be the player that helms multiple deep playoff runs.
As he’s looking to improve to the elite tier of QBs in the league, all of his time and attention will be devoted to that. Having kids now might complicate that equation. Assuming good health for he and Mowry, playing the waiting game makes perfect sense.
Doug Williams will always have a place in history. The former Grambling State and longtime NFL quarterback broke the color barrier when he became the first Black quarterback to start a Super Bowl in 1988.
While there have been other Black starting QBs since then on Super Sunday, Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 is the first time both starters, Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes, are Black.
In an interview with TMZ Sports, the 67-year-old Williams likened the moment to former President Barack Obama winning in 2008, becoming the first Black POTUS.
“I had tears of joy in my eye because I had an opportunity to witness this,” Williams told TMZ Sports.
“Sit there, and just look at it, and say to myself, ‘Man, we got two Black quarterbacks playing in the Super Bowl.’
“Things like this gives me chills,” Williams said in including Obama becoming president in 2008 as well as Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith coaching against one another in the 2007 Super Bowl.
Doug Williams tells TMZ Sports he teared up after Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts officially made the Super Bowl. https://t.co/lCprPIVxrL
— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) February 5, 2023
Williams not only started for the Washington Redskins, but the strong-armed Williams also went out and won MVP leading his team to a 42-10 win over John Elway’s Denver Broncos.
It’s a monumental moment for Black quarterbacks, who spent much of the first 50 years of the NFL’s existence battling to break through the systemic barriers. Social barriers that have curtailed the progress of the Black quarterbacks in the NFL.
A moment like this is not one to be minimized. To see two young Black signal-callers under center in the biggest game in sports was once unfathomable.
Williams knows it, and that’s why he’s so full of joy and excitement in anticipation of the game.
This is Mahomes’ third Super Sunday trip and Hurts’ first. It’s also just the sixth time a Black QB will start the NFL’s ultimate game. Russell Wilson had two trips and Williams was the first one. Regardless of who wins the game, it will be the fourth time a Black quarterback wins a Super Bowl.
“It’s something that’s unusual,” Williams told TMZ. “So when something like this happens, you gotta get excited about it. It’s so unfortunate that everybody don’t look at it that way.
“I’ve seen a couple things on social media, that say, ‘why you gotta bring black into it, color into it?’ It’s easy for somebody to say you got to bring color into it if you don’t understand what we as black quarterbacks and blacks as a whole have been through. … It is a big deal.”
Williams also touched on how Black players weren’t allowed in the NFL until 1946, which was one year prior to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball. There was also this stereotype that Blacks lacked the intelligence required to play the position.
“One of the knocks on black quarterbacks was they’re not smart enough to navigate the landscape to lead a football team to the Super Bowl,” he said. “Hopefully, I put a little end to it, but you got two guys now who can play.”
35 years ago today, Doug Williams became the first Black QB to start and win a Super Bowl. 🙌 (via @NFLLegacy) pic.twitter.com/wGUT2P7GoG
— NFL (@NFL) January 31, 2023
Williams was drafted 17th overall in the 1978 NFL draft. He played five seasons for a pretty bad Bucs team, taking the franchise to its first-ever playoffs. When the racist ownership stunted on his money, Williams bounced to the USFL. He worked his way back to the NFL and during his final stop in Washington, he was supposed to be a backup to starter Jay Schroeder until an injury to Schroeder in the playoffs forced Doug into action. The rest is history.
Mr. Touch Of Class, as he’s affectionately known in the DMV, passed for nearly 17,000 yards, 100 touchdowns and 93 interceptions in his nine-year NFL career. While his 38-42-1 record won’t wow anyone, he did something that had never been done, and for that his career stands out.
Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant is at the center of a disturbing report regarding the conduct of a member of his game-day party.
It has been reported that following the Jan. 29 game against the Indiana Pacers in Memphis, where Ja Morant’s father Tee and Ja’s friend Davonte Pack got into a verbal altercation with Pacers players on the floor during the game, the verbal altercation continued at the loading area at FedEx Forum, where the Pacers team buses were.
Someone in Ja’s party flashed a red laser light on the Pacers’ traveling party. Members of the Pacers group reportedly thought it was attached to a gun and feared for their safety.
The NBA conducted an investigation into the incident.
“NBA Security and league investigators conducted an investigation interviewing numerous eyewitnesses and reviewing video surveillance following allegations made by the Indiana Pacers organization regarding a postgame incident on Jan. 29. While we substantiated that a postgame situation arose that was confrontational, based on interviews and other evidence gathered, we could not corroborate that any individual threatened others with a weapon,” NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said. “Certain individuals involved in the postgame situation and a related matter during the game that night have been subsequently banned from attending games in the arena. If additional information becomes available related to the postgame situation, the league office will conduct a further review.”
Morant took to Twitter to address the investigation, and said posted this on Twitter: “seen they were cappin.”
did a investigation seen they were cappin . still let a article come out to paint this negative image on me & my fam . & banned my brother from home games for a year . unbelievable 😂 https://t.co/08p4E8xhJJ
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) February 5, 2023
Whether the people with Morant had a gun or not is irrelevant. This is becoming a thing with Morant, and the Grizzlies by extension.
As we’ve discussed, they are a much-talked-about team in the league, Tee Morant is doing way too much on the sidelines. Cheer on and support your son and his teammates. Don’t get into a back and forth with other players on opposing teams. For who? For what?
Ja is being sued by a teenager for allegedly punching him in the face over a pickup game at the NBA star’s home. The teenager alleged Ja Morant continued to pummel him while he was on the ground. The lawsuit also alleges Ja held the teenager up and asked others at his home “Should I do it to him?”
In the report detailing the incident after the Pacers game Ja’s friend Pack allegedly said to the Pacers, “Come get some of this” and “You don’t know how we roll” and “I’ll show you what I got.”
It was after that moment that the vehicle Morant was in with Pack and others allegedly flashed the red laser light on the Pacers.
None of this is good business for a superstar basketball player who is poised to do big things on the court. Adopting this persona is detrimental to his long-term future. Many people have lost their lives due to senseless gun violence. Why even pretend or joke about something like that?
FS1 “Undisputed” co-host Shannon Sharpe was succinct in his critique of Ja Morant.
“I wish Ja would realize he’s not a thug,” Sharpe said. “You’re not about that life! No one looks at you and thinks you’re hood. Stop pretending!!”
Acquaintances of Ja Morant reportedly aggressively confronted members of the Pacers organization:
"I wish Ja would realize he's not a thug. You're not about that life! No one looks at you and thinks you're hood. Stop pretending!!" — @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/YSmx9lJKjC
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) February 6, 2023
ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins called out Ja and the Grizzlies last year for adopting a gangster persona.
“Here’s my advice to the Memphis Grizzlies,” Perkins said. “I love Ja, I love everything about their team. I’m gonna say that again. But y’all are not gangsters. Y’all are not hood. Y’all are professional basketball players that are really, really good. Matter of fact, y’all the best in the world. Leave the hood stuff and the hood sh-t where it’s at.”
Kendrick Perkins tells Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies that they are "not gangsters, not hood" 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/82SH9QjUjG
— Robert 💔💔 (@RobertRaymond46) June 28, 2022
The Grizzlies have lost eight of their last 10 games and no longer look like a serious championship contender.
As the leader, Ja Morant needs to look himself in the mirror and decide what it is he wants. This is not hyperbole; he and the Grizz are at a crossroads. Do they want to be a potential dynastic franchise and rank with the greats of all-time? Or do they want to be pretend to be tough guys and shift the focus away from basketball?
The choice is theirs, and it starts with Ja Morant.
Andy Reid facing his old team in the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII to Reid also firing Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni upon becoming Chiefs head coach in 2013. Then there’s the two brothers Travis and Jason Kelce, former teammates at Cincinnati University. facing off in the ultimate game.
But lost in the mix is the relationship between Eagles star wideout A.J. Brown and Chiefs rising linebacker Willie Gay. The two were high school teammates at Starkville High School in Mississippi who grew up literally minutes from one another. Brown attended Ole Miss and Gay went to archrival “Hail State,” his hometown Mississippi State.
Ahead of next Sunday’s Super Bowl, Brown made sure to acknowledge his good friend and former teammate from “The Sip,” as the area is referred to by the locals.
“Grew up five minutes from each other,” Brown tweeted. “Won a state championship together in high school together. Playing for the Super Bowl. The city is beyond proud.”
High school teammates A.J. Brown and Willie Gay will face each other in the Super Bowl 🤯 pic.twitter.com/nthhRL9qiR
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) January 30, 2023
Both Brown and Gay have played major roles in their team’s success this season. Brown was a huge draft night addition by the Eagles, pretty much giving them the missing weapon they needed to get to this point. He teamed with former Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith to become half of one of the best wide receiver tandems in the league. Brown’s big play ability and physicality has been a welcome sight for the Eagles physical offense.
This season Brown had 88 receptions for 1,496 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Gay solidified a Chiefs front seven that for years has struggled at the linebacker position, teaming with the dynamic Nick Bolton for 248 tackles, five sacks and four interceptions. It’s Gay’s physicality at the point of attack that stands out and at over 240 pounds he possesses great speed.
Gay flashed last season, and his play forced head coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to increase his reps. Based on the results, it was a brilliant move.
Before AJ Brown (@1kalwaysopen_) & Willie Gay (@WillieG___) made their marks in the SEC/NFL, they led Starkville to a state championship in 2015. Now, they'll square off in the Super Bowl.
Coach Ricky Woods didn't hold back.
"They're the best players I've ever coached."
More: pic.twitter.com/ghE0yk2dkg
— Jon Sokoloff (@JonSokoloff) January 31, 2023
Coming out of Starkville High School, Brown and Gay were highly sought after. Both were four-star ESPN Top 100 recruits, with Brown the No. 47 overall ranked player and fifth-ranked wideout. Gay was ranked No. 70 and the No. 3-ranked outside linebacker.
Both went on to have stellar collegiate careers at opposite state schools, and one of them will become the first Super Bowl champion from Starkville High School.
Egg Bowl in the Super Bowl.
Former high school teammates A.J. Brown and Willie Gay will square off in the big game.#HottyToddy https://t.co/L5pK2xPzHe
— The Grove Report (@TheGroveReport) February 3, 2023
There will be no shortage of players in this year’s Super Bowl from the state of Mississippi. From Chris Jones to Fletcher Cox, to Darius Slay, to the aforementioned Brown and Gay. They play some serious football in “The Sip.”
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who’s now an NFL on CBS football analyst has wowed viewers with his knowledge of the game and risen up analyst ranks quickly. From his calling out plays before they happen to his breaking down situational football, Romo has been a natural since joining the top CBS duo with the legendary Jim Nantz as an in-game color analyst.
That is until this season, where Romo has sounded unprepared and off kilter weekly. It sounded as if he was winging it most of the season, and that’s not going to work in that profession.
In fact, Romo was so off at times that Andrew Marchand of the New York Post mentioned on his podcast with John Ourand of Business Sports Journal that CBS wanted to have an “intervention” ahead of the 2022 season. He then stated that situation “has not gotten better.”
Marchand also said Romo’s struggles stem from his lack of study time and focus on perfecting his craft.
“Tony Romo needs to study more. He needs to he better prepared. As you move away from the sidelines, you need to do more work. I know CBS is aware of this. They tried an intervention last offseason. They knew, they anticipated this. That’s a credit to them, the people in charge there. But it has not gotten better.”
CBS had attempted an “intervention” with broadcaster Tony Romo in advance of the 2022 season, but things “did not get better” per @AndrewMarchand
Romo signed a 10-year, $180 million contract with CBS in 2020 after rising quickly to start his career but suffered a decline since. pic.twitter.com/ct4BLC5rNQ
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 3, 2023
Romo seems to think he can just show up and call the game. But it requires preparation, just like anything you do, but it also means he must study film of the two teams for that week so he can professionally inform the viewers of things they may not know.
Upon his arrival to the booth, this was actually one of Romo’s strengths.
No one can forget how the former Cowboys signal caller was during the 2020 and 2021 AFC Championship Games. He didn’t miss a beat; he was so locked-in it sounded as if he was in the facility with each team all week. But that wasn’t the case during last year’s matchup between the Chiefs and Bengals, and things reportedly got worse during last week’s rematch, where Romo stumbled over his words at times, was delayed in his answering simple football questions. The effect caused folks to wonder if he really did the required legwork leading up to the game.
Tony Romo was about to say 3 n*ggas on live TV 😭 pic.twitter.com/iLg1Jnh9Yw
— GhettoGronk (@TheGhettoGronk) January 30, 2023
Awful Announcing’s Sean Keeley summed up Romo in the booth with this statement.
“Two years ago, Romo was hailed as the next great color commentator, seemingly able to predict plays in real-time and provide interesting game analysis. Since then, however, he seems to have devolved into a human catchphrase and exclamation machine who can’t even be counted on to be ready to speak when asked a question. Critics are out in full force wondering what happened, and his performance on Sunday during the AFC Championship Game didn’t do much to quell their concerns.”
Tony Romo went from "insightful, predictive announcer" to "Bob Saget narrating America's Home Videos" in two years
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) January 30, 2023
Romo is making $18M per year, and just finished year three of a 10-year, $180M contract, so it’s highly unlikely he’s removed.
With measures like taking trips to visit with Romo, dinner meetings and even reviewing tapes being taken by CBS execs, this is more serious than they want to lead on, but they were also to say it wasn’t an intervention. CBS spokesperson Jen Sabatelle told reporters so.
“To call this an intervention is a complete mischaracterization, we meet regularly with our on-air talent,” Sabatelle said.
While it may not be to the extreme of an intervention, it’s definitely something that’s concerning to those decision-makers at CBS. If not, there’d be no reason to disclose this.
And with next year’s Super Bowl on CBS, Romo needs to pick it up, and fast.
It’s pretty obvious that stars breed stars, and there are tons of athletes, entertainers, and overall celebrities whose children are destined to become stars in their own right, and the leaders of the new school in whatever they choose.
While this may be a reach because of how old he is, Krue Cozart, the 8-year-old son of legendary Chicago rapper Chief Keef is definitely doing some spectacular things right now on the basketball court.
On Saturday, My Mixtapez tweeted out that Krue had hit a game-winner in his basketball game.
https://twitter.com/mymixtapez/status/1622009564697890817
In the video, it’s clear that the 8-year-old had traveled and taken one too many steps before shooting, but things like that probably don’t get called as often in a youth basketball league such as that. More importantly, Krue pulled up just outside the right wing of the three-point line and the ball rolled around the rim slightly before falling through the hoop.
An ecstatic Krue paraded around the court in triumph celebrating his buzzer-beater/game-winner shot to lift his team over their opponents. As he ran around the court he was flocked by his teammates while also being hyped up by a grown man who could possibly be the team’s coach.
While he may need to get his dribbles right and eliminate the travels as he moves up in age, his shot is water. Surely, basketball at a more competitive level should be in the back of his mind as he gets older, but for now, he’s a young baller who won a game for his team in the dying seconds of the game. It shows character.
Though Chief Keef, real name Keith Cozart, couldn’t be reached for comment after his son’s game-winner, he’s almost certainly extremely proud of his young assassin on the court.
Meanwhile, Chief Keef has been hard at work balling in the studio. He was featured on a few songs from rapper Trippie Red’s latest album “MANSION MUZIK,” and also featured on a bunch of other songs in 2022.
But what’s big for Chief Keef is that he has a full-length album coming out in April this year called “Almighty So 2,” a sequel to his 2013 album “Almighty So”.
Chief Keef is already viewed as one of the most influential hip-hop artists of all time. Some claim that he created the violent and widely spread subgenre known as trap music. Meanwhile, others contest that he just pioneered it and gave the world some of the hardest trap songs while doing so. He took off in the early 2010s with songs such as “Don’t Like,” “Faneto,” Bang,” “Love Sosa,” and plenty of other trap anthems.
These songs coincided with the heavy violence he, his peers, and local rivals were all embroiled in for a many years. With the concoction of violence going on in the southside of Chicago, and the intense violent trap music with plenty of disses and bars aimed at their enemies, the music blew up quickly with the whole world watching.
Chief Keef and other Chicago artists such as Lil Durk, King Von, and G Herbo all had a meteoric rise to fame. But while these songs and lyrics glorified violence, gangs, drugs, and hatred, there was plenty of loss on all sides of the gang wars in Chicago. All of the aforementioned artists have lost someone close, and one of those artists, King Von, was unfortunately killed in 2020.
While they all led dangerous lives, even while subsequently becoming famous and rich from their music, most of these rappers eventually made it out of their dangerous cities and are doing very well for themselves and their families. Chief Keef can say the same, because instead of dealing with daily violence, he’s dropping albums, and his son is hitting game-winners.
Just two days after Kyrie Irving requested a trade by the Brooklyn Nets, the All-Star guard is on his way to the Dallas Mavericks to team up with MVP candidate Luka Doncic. The Mavericks are sending Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029 to the Nets in exchange for Irving and Markieff Morris.
Does this move make the Mavericks legitimate title contenders? What about Kevin Durant and the Nets?
Kyrie Irving is said to be “ecstatic” about the trade to Dallas Mavericks and “looking forward” to joining forces with Luka Dončić, a league source tells @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 5, 2023
Let’s start with Brooklyn. This was the best possible outcome for them. Irving made it clear he was not going to re-sign with the team this summer even if they offered him a maximum contract extension. But the Nets were never going to do that.
The reason we got to the Irving trade request is because the Nets wanted to place incentives and clauses in any potential contact with Irving.
Why?
Irving played 143 of a possible 278 regular season games during his Brooklyn Nets tenure. That’s barely half. Every year since he signed with Brooklyn in 2019 there has been an issue.
During training camp in Santa Barbara in 2019 the team’s performance staff, as it has always done, wanted the players to use wearables to track metrics. Irving balked. On the trip to China later that summer Irving refused to remove his hat for a team photo.
That season he played in only 20 games as he dealt with an injury and disagreed with the team on how to manage it. Depending on what reports you believe, he was instrumental in having Atkinson fired that same season.
The following season he took an unexcused 10-day absence from the team. During that absence he was seen at a birthday party violating the league’s COVID-19 safety guidelines and on a Zoom session for Tahanie Aboushi, a former Democratic candidate for Manhattan district attorney.
Last season he refused to comply with the New York City COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the only Nets player to do so, and was ineligible for home games. His refusal brought media and public backlash upon his organization and his limited availability negatively impacted team chemistry as he only played in 29 games. It led to James Harden demanding a trade and forcing his way to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Then of course there was this season where Irving was suspended for promoting an anti-Semitic video and refusing to apologize.
Irving is a brilliant basketball player and one of the most skilled players of all time. But he cannot function within a team dynamic. His time in Brooklyn, Boston, and the end of his tenure in Cleveland prove that.
Rather than let him walk for nothing, the Nets were able to reunite with Dinwiddie who is having an excellent season. Finney-Smith is a defense first, 6-foot-8 wing who is a career 36 percent three-point shooter. The Nets also receive three draft picks. Important, since they don’t control their draft for the next five seasons due to acquiring Harden from the Houston Rockets.
Sources: Brooklyn Nets received Los Angeles Lakers’ proposal that did include team’s two first-round picks (2027, 2029) and Phoenix Suns’ offer of Chris Paul, Jae Crowder and unspecified picks: @NBATV pic.twitter.com/cJuABbaYGy
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 6, 2023
As for the Mavericks, this move reeked of desperation. Governor Mark Cuban is worried Doncic will grow unhappy and wield his power in a way that makes things difficult. Doncic now has a proven playoff performer in Irving. A player who has demonstrated he can be the second star on a title team. But Doncic isn’t LeBron James, so it will be interesting to see how he’s able to blend with Irving’s mercurial tendencies.
Offensively the Mavericks will be tough to guard, whether Doncic or Irving is on the ball. In crunch time Doncic can spray the ball to a cutting and moving Irving who can shoot, attack off the bounce or create for someone else.
The Mavericks defense will take a step back without Finney-Smith, but maybe their overwhelming offense in a Western Conference with no juggernaut will be enough.
Irving wants a long-term extension. Given his track record it’s hard to imagine any team volunteering to get into a four-year marriage with him. But it only takes one. How he finishes the rest of this season will go a long way in determining who that team is.
As for the Nets with the return of a healthy Durant, this roster is pretty good. Dinwiddie doesn’t replace Irving’s 27 points and 50/40/90 shooting. But he’s above average and dependable. Knowing he will show up every night is an advantage.
Expect the Nets to make another move for a big man to pair or back up Nic Claxton. Depending on how that team finishes the season and the playoffs will go a long way in determining whether Durant is long for Brooklyn after his bestie asked out and got his wish.
Rudy Gobert has been one of the NBA’s most consistent players and an elite defensive force. His production and paint presence is what attracted the Minnesota Timberwolves to pursue him as a centerpiece for their star-studded core.
Right now they’re surging and surprising folks who slept on the talented squad. This is the best they’ve been in recent years, and Gobert’s fit right in. The center says he has one thing on his mind right now, winning a championship.
The 7-footer recently discussed his move to the Timberwolves over the offseason, his renewed vigor to chase a championship with his new team, as well as what the trade from Utah to Minnesota meant for him personally.
First and foremost, Gobert doesn’t feel like the nine-year seasoned veteran that he is. In fact, Gobert says moving to Minnesota and starting fresh is reminiscent of his rookie year back in 2013.
“I would say that a new cycle in my life and career has started with this change. I’m getting to know a new group, a new organisation and a new city. It’s all very exciting.” Gobert said. “I was in the same franchise for nine years that I never left. So it’s a situation that I’ve never experienced in the NBA before.”
Gobert wasn’t the one who initiated the trade to Minnesota.
The Jazz and Minnesota reached a deal to move the Frenchman to the T-Wolves, and before everything was finalized the Timberwolves reached out and spoke to Gobert about wanting to play for them, and Gobert was perfectly fine with the idea.
“I was fortunate that Minnesota spoke to my agent and asked me before signing if I would enjoy playing for them, if I liked the challenge the club offered me. I said, ‘Yes, I’m interested,’ and the agreement was quickly reached.” Gobert told VegasInsider this past week.
Nonetheless, the mission in chilly Minnesota is the same as it was in Utah, win a championship. Though Gobert only made it as far as the semifinals with the Jazz, he has newfound hope that he can surpass that level of success with the Wolves.
“My goal is still to win the NBA title and I feel like I can get that with my addition to this team.” Gobert told VegasInsider.
Gobert also aspires to improve himself as a person in Minnesota.
“I also realized that I should come here for my personal development on and off the court. I’m in Minnesota to try to get this team up and try to get me up there too.”
He’s got help in pursuing those goals. Playing alongside certified star Karl-Anthony Towns, current all-star snub Anthony Edwards, and stud point guard D’Angelo Russell allows Gobert to do what he does best.
This is a group of guys that can score at a very high clip, and what they need to balance them out is defense.
That is where the Steiffel Tower steps in, and currently he’s just focusing on finding some chemistry with them so that they can start cranking out wins.
“Of course we still have a lot of work to do to achieve that and the chemistry has to be right, but it can work well, I’m absolutely convinced of that. It will definitely go well if we maintain the right momentum.” Gobert stated.
The Western Conference is as competitive as it gets, and with teams like the Suns, Warriors, Pelicans, Nuggets, Grizzlies, the Wolves are going to need the best of Gobert on a nightly basis.
Antonio Brown believes his former teammate, James Harrison gave him CTE, and he went live on Instagram to tell the world as much. The revelation came unexpectedly, and since Brown has been adamant since he departed from the NFL that he cannot know if he has CTE until his brain can be examined, after death, his latest rant is surprising.
Brown believes he got CTE from a hit compliments of former teammate, Steelers linebacker James Harrison.
Former #Steelers WR Antonio Brown claims LB James Harrison gave him CTE after hitting him with his helmet. (@BlitzGuyOG)
"Ever since he hit me I've been super aggressive. So blame James Harrison for my CTE." pic.twitter.com/vy8PR9YNuI
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 4, 2023
“I wanted to tell you guys that I think James Harrison gave me CTE,” Brown said. “James Harrison had an illegal helmet for over 20 years in the NFL and he hit me one time. And ever since he hit me I’ve been super aggressive. So blame James Harrison for my CTE.”
During the IG Live session, fans wrote concerned and speculatory comments like, “Dude what’s going on” and “AB on drugs.” For many, Brown’s behavior has been erratic for years, and with no other explanation, many have speculated that he is suffering from some form of head trauma.
Harrison heard the chatter and returned with a perfectly calm tweet and meme.
Me realizing why I had 150 text messages this morning. 🤯😂 pic.twitter.com/KmfYilqpbG
— James Harrison (@jharrison9292) February 4, 2023
“Me realizing why I had 150 text messages this morning, Harrison added a head-blown along with a crying laughing emoji. The tweet featured a meme of actor Idris Elba’s shocked reaction to a chicken wing hot sauce challenge leaving him speechless.
Many believe Brown is confusing training with Harrison to a devastating hit he received from Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict. During a 2016 wild card round matchup between the Bengals and the Steelers, Burfict delivered a high impact to Brown’s head late in the fourth quarter on an incomplete pass. As a result, Brown suffered a concussion from the play, with Burfict receiving a personal-foul penalty.
The Steelers ultimately won the game 18-16.
The NFL subsequently suspended Burfict for three games after the hit with the league citing “repeated violations of safety-related playing rules” when they handed down the penalty. Burfict had multiple penalties that year and paid a few fines for his hard hits. It is not an uncommon practice.
Harrison was the NFL’s boogeyman of hits in 2010 when he drew four fines totaling $125,000 for nasty hits. The NFL’s focus on player safety, Harrison, along with other former players like Ryan Clark, Brandon Meriweather, and still active Ndamukong Suh, built reputations as the most fined players in the league. Both Clark and Harrison were teammates of Antonio Brown.
The life choices of AB are always questionable as he has seemingly gone more and more extreme over the years. Most recently, he posted a sexually explicit photo to Snapchat on Tuesday, Jan. 17. The woman in the picture, Chelsie Kyriss, shares children with Brown and has had issues with him.
Antonio Brown Posts Sexually Explicit Photo On Snapchat | 2023 Same Ol’ AB
Last year, his primary target was his former teammate Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady, and his ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen. “AB” poked the bear at Brady’s crumbling marriage, posting suggestive imagery that appeared to show his relationship with Bündchen as something more than cordial or professional.
As Antonio Brown’s journey unfolds, it seems even he is trying to get to the bottom of his behavior. James Harrison never imagined he would be thought to be the cause of it.
The Dallas Cowboys have been habitual underachievers for almost three decades.
The franchise once dubbed “America’s Team” hasn’t advanced to a conference championship game or Super Bowl since the 1995-96 season. And it hasn’t been for lack of talent or resources, it’s because of on-field performance and an egomaniacal owner in Jerry Jones, who’s still very much involved in the day-to-day while being the league’s fifth-oldest owner.
Over the years Jones has said some very outlandish things, but to take pride in beating Tom Brady for the first time after seven losses might take the cake. Brady, who finally retired for real this time, is 45 and is nowhere near the guy that won seven Super Bowls and played in ten conferences championship games over his illustrious 23-year career.
In an interview at the team’s headquarters in Frisco, Texas, Jones told reporters this.
“I’m proud of that win,” said Jones, speaking to reporters this week at the Senior Bowl.
“I’m going to hold that Tampa Bay win up just like I do that Herschel Walker ball … “
“When we won one game that first year, in 1989, and that was my prize,” Jones explained.
Jerry Jones on Tom Brady retiring. He compared the only win over Brady in the postseason to the only victory the Cowboys had in 1989. pic.twitter.com/rqR1MD8wON
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) February 1, 2023
1989 happened to be Jones’ first season as owner of the Cowboys. The Cowboys went 1-15, with that lone win coming against the archrival Washington Redskins. That’s also the year the Cowboys made a franchise-changing trade with Minnesota Vikings for Walker, one that netted them some key pieces in their dynasty which ran from 1992-96, winning three Super Bowls in four seasons.
Things in Dallas have gotten so bad that they are now celebrating moral victories.
For a team that’s had back-to-back 12-win seasons end against the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs, Jones’ enthusiasm with beating a Tampa Bay team that looked slow, disinterested and disjointed as a unit all season, speaks volumes to where the Cowboys as a franchise are mentally.
Brady’s play regressed, and he also went through a very public divorce from wife Gisele Bündchen. Yes, it was a playoff win for the Cowboys, but it was influenced by many outside factors.
Most Super Bowl Wins in NFL History
Tom Brady 7
Patriots 6
Steelers 6
49ers 5
Cowboys 5 pic.twitter.com/8uXpNNyFND— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) February 1, 2023
What’s even funnier is during Brady’s career he amassed 35 playoff wins, the most of any player by 19 wins. Joe Montana has 16. Those wins are also seven times the amount the Cowboys had during his career with five. Dig a little deeper and you’ll see that Brady himself has more playoff wins than every NFL franchise other than the Patriots (37), Steelers (36), Cowboys (35).
QB Dak Prescott had the worst season of his NFL, throwing a league-high 15 interceptions. He failed to justify his $40 million per season salary in the eyes of most Cowboys fans. Earlier this week Jones showed confidence in his signal-caller, saying he believes Dak is their guy for the next 10 seasons, and he’d like to extend his contract.
Another gem from our chat with Jerry Jones he said Dak Prescott will be better and fans should have hope because of QB1 and the team has won 24 games last two seasons. pic.twitter.com/Xxefz6TxW1
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) February 2, 2023
Jones is a businessman first, and extending Dak would be beneficial for the Cowboys as far as salary cap purposes go. It sounds good to hear him say that, but it’s definitely a blur and silver lining involved.
Now that we have counted down the greatest offensive players to come from HBCUs, it is time to shift our focus to the defensive side of the ball.
Deacon Jones was a five-time All-Pro selection, eight-time Pro Bowl selection, part of the 1960s All-Decade team, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980. He spent 13 seasons with the Rams, Chargers and Washington. He is also part of NFL 100 All-Time team. Jones totaled 173.5 sacks in his career, which is third on the all-time sacks list.
Lanier changed the middle linebacker position for Black players. Before him, NFL coaches considered Black players to be not smart enough to play critical positions such as quarterback and middle linebacker.
He was an eight-time Pro Bowl pick, three-time All-Pro selection, on the NFL 100 team, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986. He also helped the Chiefs win Super Bowl IV with a standout performance of seven tackles and an interception to seal the gane.
His career was delayed because he had military commitments, but he was the 181st selection in the 1956 draft by the Browns. Sacks weren’t kept as a stat at the start of his career, but Davis is credited with 99.5 sacks. He is on the 1960s All-Decade team, is a five-time Pro Bowl pick, five-time Pll-pro selection, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981.
Apparently, an old folk tale states that Packers head coach Vince Lombardi never yelled at Davis because he always played hard and never made mental mistakes.
These two men are members of both the @BCFHOF and the @ProFootballHOF. @SouthernU_BR’s Mel Blount and @MorganStateU’s Willie Lanier enjoying the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic in Canton this weekend. 🏈✨#HBCUs #Pioneers #BCFHOF pic.twitter.com/P0tC1aGBLq
— BlackCollegeFootball (@BCFHOF) September 7, 2021
Before Revis Island and Primetime, Blount was considered one of the best shutdown cornerbacks to play the game. He was a master at press coverage and had the speed to recover if you just so happened to beat it.
He was the main reason the 1978 rule was adopted that defenders can only make contact within the first five yards of the line of scrimmage.
Blount is on the NFL 100 team, 1975 Defensive Player of the Year, two-time All-Pro selection, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
Before J.J. Wyatt came along, Buchanan was the king of swatted passes. He made it famous in the 1960s because of his 6-foot-7 frame. He was credited with 16 batted passes in the 1967 season and finished his career with 70.5 sacks.
He was the first Black college player selected in first overall in any professional sport. He was a part of the 1990 Hall of Fame class, first overall pick in the 1963 AFL draft, 256th overall in the NFL draft that same year, an eight-time Pro Bowl player, four-time All-Pro selection, and part of the 1960s All-Decade team.
Strahan set the single-season sack record of 22.5 sacks in 2001 that is now tied with T.J Wyatt 22.5 sacks in 2021. While at Texas Southern, he set the school record with 41.5 total sacks in his college career.
Michael Strahan Gifts Alma Matter, Texas Southern, New Football Gear
He was a leader on the 2007 New York Giants team that beat the undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. He has also been a trailblazer with post-career success as co-host of “Good Morning America,” co-host of Fox NFL “Sunday Game Day Show,” “Live with Kelly & Michael,” and has started his own suit collection line.
Strahan is a Pro Football Hall of Famer, seven-time Pro Bowl selection, four-time All-Pro, Defensive Player of the Year in 2001, and part of the 2000s All-Decade team.
Houston was three-sport athlete in college. He played football, ran track, and was on the swim team. He was a 12-time Pro Bowl selection, two-time All-Pro pick, on the NFL 100 team, Hall of Famer, and is on the 1970s All-Decade team.
#SWAC100 Alumni Spotlight@PVAMUPanthers Ken Houston once held the NFL record for most return touchdowns in a single season.
The Hall of Famer was a 12-time Pro Bowler, tied for second-most selections all-time, and a 12-time All-Pro (NFL & AFL) combined. pic.twitter.com/7LJ7iYxMjA
— Southwestern Athletic Conference (@theswac) July 22, 2020
Dent was the leading force of one of the best defenses in NFL history, if not the best. In 1985 he lead the Chicago Bears with 17 sacks, two interceptions with a pick-six, and was the Super Bowl XX MVP.
He played for the Bears, 49ers, Colts, and Eagles over his 14-year career. He was a four-time Pro Bowl pick and is a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟔, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟔
The Bears defeat the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX to win their first ever Super Bowl Championship. Defensive End Richard Dent was named Super Bowl MVP. https://t.co/1MGH2ILYRn
— This Day in Chicago Sports (@ChiSportsDay) January 26, 2023
Williams was a highlight waiting to happen during his NFL career. He intercepted 64 passes, had 14 defensive touchdowns, and was part of the Rams team that made it to Super Bowl XXXVI. In his later years he made the switch to safety but still was considered as one of the NFL’s greatest ballhawks.
Mathis set the NCAA I-AA sack record with 20 during his time with the Bulldogs. He then carried that over to the NFL with 123 total sacks, which is the second-most in Colts history. He helped the Colts win Super Bowl XLI. He and Dwight Freeney wreaked havoc in 2000s and 2010s along the Colts defensive line that went to two Super Bowls during his playing career. He finished his career 20th all-time on the NFL sack list.
The NFL attempted to honor the legacy of Black quarterbacks ahead of Super Bowl LVII, but many believed they missed the mark by excluding Cam Newton. In a graphic posted to the NFL’s social media channels, a collage of images featuring past Black quarterbacks behind Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts was meant to conjure a historical juxtaposition.
The five legacy quarterbacks include Warren Moon, Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, and Doug Williams, the first Black quarterback to start in the Super Bowl and win, among the examples.
Although it might be difficult to place every notable Black quarterback from the game on the graphic, some fans seemed extremely dissatisfied with Cam Newton’s exclusion. It opened a view into the widely held belief that the NFL picks and chooses its heroes and that the qualifications for ones of color are contingent on the perceptions of their humility.
Honor the past, work hard in the present, and leave a legacy for the future. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/9rfk1KzEKd
— NFL (@NFL) February 3, 2023
Cam Newton is one of the most successful quarterbacks in NFL history. He never won a Super Bowl, but in 2015, he appeared in Super Bowl L. During that same year, he became one of four African-American quarterbacks to be nominated for MVP and is the first to win the distinction.
During his college career, he bounced from the University of Florida to a junior college, Blinn College, to Auburn, where he won the 2011 BCS national championship game as a junior and a Heisman trophy in the same year before being selected first overall by the Carolina Panthers. Newton is undoubtedly a legend in Carolina. He made Superman’s chest rip, iconic in Carolina blue, and raised the team’s stature.
Newton received many awards during his time on the Panthers, including NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2011, and was on the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team. He also has has series of firsts from his start in the league as the first rookie quarterback in the NFL to throw for 4,000 yards in a season and the first to throw for 400 yards in his NFL debut. On top of that, Newton set the season record for quarterback rushing touchdowns.
He was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and NFL Offensive Player of the Year, both in 2015. He also was First-team All-Pro in 2015 and is a three-time Pro Bowl quarterback (2011, 2013, 2015).
https://twitter.com/CJSUpNextt/status/1621699471703740424?s=20&t=P5sXz-EThkRiHyUWS8VXMQ
Newton is anything but humble in the way that the NFL likes to market its stars. His style is in stark difference to those of Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts. His unapologetic Blackness is an extension of his father and the city of Atlanta that raised him as he evolved in the public eye. The early low haircut sprouted into high-rising loc’d hair and a penchant for an off-the-field flamboyance that the NFL wants to reserve for the second coming, style-wise, of Joe Namath only, currently reserved for Bengals QB Joe Burrow.
His podcast and various interviews over the past few years have given an authentic look into the polarizing of Cam Newton, and the reception was mixed. Newton doesn’t fit into a neat package, and since his departure from the game, albeit one he didn’t ask for, it is clear that the league seems finished with him.
Damn the disrespect pic.twitter.com/ZlsuCbsLnj
— 5⭐️Goat (@UnbotheredGoat) February 4, 2023
After almost ten years with the Panthers, Newton spent a year with the New England Patriots in the post-Tom Brady era. It ended badly with Mac Jones taking the starting spot, and the team eventually waived Newton. His last NFL appearance was a full circle moment as Newton returned to the Panthers, not with the standout performances that made him Carolina royalty. Instead, his return ignited the fans’ nostalgia for his early tenure.
Newton did enough to be considered one of the best Black quarterbacks ever and one of the league’s greatest ever. The Black History Month snub is the latest way the league picks and chooses how the narrative of its athletes forms.
Jalen and Averion Hurts are a model father-son dynamic for the NFL world: athlete and coach. His father, a football coach at Channelview High School in the Houston metropolitan region, coached Jalen to excellence throughout his son’s high school career. The father-as-trainer dynamic is most prominent in boxing, but the Hurts family is spotlighting it in professional football as Jalen Hurts heads to his first Super Bowl.
The Hurts father-son athletic dynamic also largely dispels the myth of the Black absentee father and other harmful Black familial tropes.
The enthusiasm around Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona, the first where two Black quarterbacks are facing each other, is at an all-time high. Coupled with the fact that the game occurs during Black History Month and the two stars both have athletically inclined Black patriarchs, the cipher is complete. Patrick Mahomes is the son of former Major League baseball player Pat Mahomes. Not to mention Rihanna is performing at halftime.
This season began with 11 Black QBs starting in Week 1. The finale comes with an equally historic matchup. All the cultural nuances of the matchup are not lost on Averion.
“I think it’s huge,” said Averion Hurts to ABC6 Philadelphia. “We understand how it was and how it’s been for a long time and the narratives that used to be out there on what African Americans could do at the quarterback position.”
However, a young future Super Bowl-caliber quarterback Jalen Hurts was soaking up the game by having a coach literally in his home daily. Although for the young Hurts, it came with benefits, Jalen had a healthy measure of pressure as well.
“I think being a coach’s kid just means you’re around football, you’re around a field house, or whatever that sport is all the time,” Averion Hurts continued. “When you’re a coach’s kid, it’s a little extra stuff when you’re growing up because people are gonna think you’re gonna get favoritism and things like that because your dad’s the coach. … That puts you learning to be mature at a faster rate at a younger age.”
Averion Hurts graduated in 1986 from the high school he would make his future coaching home. Per his Channelview bio, he attended Howard Payne University on a football and track scholarship, graduating in 1990 with a bachelor’s in marketing. As a player, he earned All-Conference honors as a senior offensive lineman and was a six-time All-American in track and field. However, in 1994, a knee injury curbed his professional football career, and he began working his way through the regional coaching ranks of his local Texas area.
He and his wife’s three children went to Channelview, with his firstborn, Averion Jr. being his first test of the coaching-the-son dynamic.
Patrick Mahomes Sr, & Averion Hurts are present fathers that raised great men. The narrative of the absent black father is pushed through the media. So, let’s remember to push this as well. Salute to you both for changing the narrative. I know Jalen & Patrick appreciate you. pic.twitter.com/yFyLbzDmy1
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) January 30, 2023
“Not as hard with him [Jalen] because I learned with his brother,” Averion Sr. continued. “You know, I had his older brother first, so that one was hard because I didn’t really know how to handle it. I had some other coaches that coach their sons, and they were like you’ve got to enjoy it, and it’s kind of hard, especially when you’re playing quarterback. I always wanted a lineman, but we were unfortunate with that.”
His misfortune became the fortune of many institutions that thrived with Hurts as their gunslinger. As a senior, he passed 2,384 yards with 26 touchdown passes and rushed for 1,391 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Hurts was a second-team all-district selection as a sophomore and was named the District 21-6A Overall MVP as a junior during his high school playing years. A four-star recruit, Hurts was ranked among the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the Class of 2016 and Texas A&M’s coveted choice after the then-starting quarterback, Kyler Murray, left.
Hurts ultimately committed to the University of Alabama in 2015, leading his team to win the 2016 SEC Championship over the Florida Gators. The accolades that followed were supreme: SEC Offensive Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year, and graced the cover of the 2016 Sports Illustrated College Football Playoff magazine. During the 2017 season, Hurts led the Crimson Tide to a 13–1 season, where they played Clemson in the 2018 Sugar Bowl, and Hurts became the offensive MVP.
In 2019, Hurts transferred to the University of Oklahoma for his final year of eligibility and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting to current top NFL quarterback Joe Burrow. After a performance in the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers, where he threw for 121 yards and had 39 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in his first NFC Championship victory, Hurts is Super Bowl-bound.
“That’s just him by nature. He is a very driven, very determined person,” Averion continued. “Whatever he sets his mind to, he locks in on it and he goes for it,” said Averion Hurts. “He’s very steadfast in what he believes in and he doesn’t allow any outside factors to deter him.”
Jalen Hurts the product of his coaching environment, helmed by his father.
