The NBA trade deadline is rapidly approaching. General managers, agents, team presidents, and reporters are calling and texting feverishly ahead of 3 p.m. Feb. 9 deadline.
Names like Russell Westbrook, Myles Turner, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and John Collins have been rumored to be on the move.
The Los Angeles Lakers opened up trade season by acquiring Rui Hachimura. Who else is looking to be buyers at the deadline, and who is looking to sell so they can tank for Victor Wembanyama?
Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are healthy and playing good basketball. It’s now or never for L.A.’s other team. Both George and Leonard can be free agents in 2024, this is the time.
They need a backup center and a point guard. Do they have enough to acquire VanVleet from the Raptors? He and Leonard won a championship together in 2019, so he’d be an excellent fit. You’d send away John Wall and Luke Kennard’s contracts so salaries match and add an unprotected future first round pick.
The Indiana Pacers are competent and want to get their young guys some experience with a play-in and possible playoff run. Turner just signed a two-year $60 million extension, which actually makes him more tradable as he’s under contract through the extension. He’s just not going to the Lakers.
But the Lakers still need shooting. Bojan Bogdanović, Gary Trent Jr., Seth Curry and/or Joe Harris are available. The Lakers will have to part ways with that 2027 first-round pick if they want to add any or more than one of these players. Maybe Thomas Bryant gets sent somewhere as part of a deal as well.
The Grizzlies need wing shooting and to shore up their bench. They let De’Anthony Melton go to the Philadelphia 76ers, and he’s having a good year. The Grizzlies have an electric backcourt with Ja Morant and Desmond Bane. They have the league’s best defense anchored by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Jaren Jackson Jr. They can get to a conference final this year.
They’d have to send Dillon Brooks’ expiring contract, a young player like David Roddy or Ziaire Williams and a first round pick to Toronto for Anunoby, but it would be worth it.
Anunoby is a better version of Brooks without the volatility. Now, some of that volatility fuels the Grizzlies and Anunoby plays with a quiet confidence. Will that alter the team’s internal chemistry?
They are 23-26 and continue to be a Jekyll and Hyde team. It doesn’t look like Lonzo Ball will play at all this season, and we don’t know about next season. Zach LaVine has an injury history.
DeMar DeRozan has one year left on his deal, and Nikola Vucevic is on the last year of his deal. Alex Caruso who is making under $10 million a season could help a lot of playoff teams.
Move Vucevic, Caruso and if you can DeRozan for some draft capital and young talent and start the rebuild in Chi-town.
The Golden State Warriors are playing arguably their best basketball of the season. Winners of three straight, including back-to-back road wins for the first time, Steph Curry has been percolating, and his backcourt mate Klay Thompson has found his footing and looks better than pre-injury Klay.
Add in a healthier Andrew Wiggins, the grit of Draymond Green and the dynamic play of mercurial Jordan Poole. Center Kevin Looney just knows how to play. Even their bench is starting to figure it out with Donte DiVincenzo, JaMychal Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Anthony Lamb.
But where does that leave James Wiseman, the uber talented 7-footer from Memphis who hasn’t found his footing in the league as of yet?
With the Warriors in win-now championship mode, there’s been no real time for Wiseman to develop. And while it’s not his fault, it’s his and the Warriors’ reality.
Injuries last season cost him some valuable developmental time, and it just hasn’t happened for the 2020 No. 2 overall pick. Former No. 1 pick and NBA Finals star Andrew Wiggins opened up about what he sees and how he’s trying his best to keep the young center’s spirits up.
In a recent interview with NBC Sports, “Air Wiggy” had this to say when asked about that weird dynamic.
“For sure, especially as a young guy, NBA could be tough, especially playing on a good team like this championship-caliber team,” Wiggins told reporters Sunday. “It’s tough and it’s going to be a lot of ups and downs. But he’s still so young. The sky is the limit for him. So much potential.”
Potential hasn’t helped Wiseman crack the Warriors rotation since Dec. 28. That has many believing the Warriors, who are in need of some size heading into the playoffs, could unload Wiseman via trade.
James Wiseman returns for the Warriors tonight, but it'll be difficult to find rotation minutes. Draymond Green has been the starting center, Looney off the bench, JaMychal Green an option.
Steve Kerr: "Do the math. It's hard to get four centers into a game, especially in 2023." pic.twitter.com/tuWPfnRu99
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 26, 2023
Per Wiggins, the 20-year-old Wiseman hasn’t let his lack of playing time affect his effort and preparation.
“He’s grown so much,” Wiggins continued. “I don’t know if he’s seen, but himself from me watching him last year to this year is unbelievable how much he’s grown. So he’s got to keep working and keep his head on straight as ready is. He is a good kid and the sky’s the limit for him. He’s got a bright future.”
That he does, but in order to see that come to fruition it may have to happen in another city. The Warriors aren’t in a position to wait on Wiseman with Curry, Thompson and Green on the downside of their future Hall of Fame careers. And that’s the ugly part of this business; Wiseman needs reps and the Warriors can’t give him those right now as they chase championships.
As Warriors general manager Bob Myers tries to upgrade Golden State’s roster before the Feb. 9 trade deadline, he must take a hard look at moving James Wiseman, @Con_Chron writes.https://t.co/xviMvKZl4N
— Sporting Green (@SportingGreenSF) February 1, 2023
GM Bob Myers and owner Joe Lacob have been adamant about not trading any of their young core, which includes the aforementioned Poole, Wiseman, Kuminga and Moses Moody. But if the right offer comes along that can help them in the present you could see Wiseman and Moody headed elsewhere. They have to at least take a flier on it because the window of their Big 3 is closing. Wiseman needs to keep himself ready and focus on what he can control.
Donte DiVincenzo coaching up James Wiseman on the Warriors bench 👏 pic.twitter.com/VyllWeqcJW
— NBA (@NBA) January 28, 2023
Head coach Steve Kerr reiterated that very thing to Wiseman over the weekend.
“One of the things I told James is that in this league things change quickly,” Kerr told reporters Sunday. “You just don’t know. I reminded him that JK had some DNPs early this season. It’s tough. But things can change quickly, and you always have to stay ready.”
For Wiseman, the hope is he will look back on this in the future as a moment that helped make him great.
Nick Saban recently attended a recruiting event in Alabama and has spoken out against NIL yet again. He made a splash last summer when he went at Jackson State and how he claimed they paid $1 million to get Travis Hunter. He followed that up by taking shots at Texas A&M saying the Aggies bought their 2022 No. 1 ranked recruiting class, featuring eight five-star recruits. That prompted a heated exchange between Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher and Saban. Saban later apologized for both of those comments.
Despite Bryce Young racking up $3.2 million in NIL money last season, Saban still doesn’t believe in building rosters and getting talent solely based on how much NIL money you can offer a player.
Saban didn’t name the two recruits that came to him with their demands while being recruited by Alabama, but he did give details on what the demands were.
Per the report saying Nick Saban turned down a 2023 prospect's massive NIL request (https://t.co/j7IW4VogSF) – @cpetagna247 and @CoachReedLive help us read between the lines… "He's saying you're not worth it bro, go play somewhere else." #CFBToday pic.twitter.com/sOMIKg8EzR
— Emily Proud (@emily_proud) January 31, 2023
“Someone with one of the best corners in the nation came to me and asked if we’d pay them $800,000 for the player to sign here,” Saban said, according to Fox. “I told him he can find another place to play. I’m not paying a kid a bunch of NIL money before he earns it.”
Ironically, Saban said that because it is reported by CBS that Young earned nearly seven figures in NIL money before he started a game for the Crimson Tide. Young didn’t come in asking for that amount though, and he did more than enough to earn it when he became just the fourth Heisman winner in Crimson Tide history.
“Another player wanted $500,000 and for us to get his girlfriend into law school at Alabama and pay for it. I showed him the door,” Saban said, according to ALFCA president Terry Curtis.
Saban finished with top recruiting class in the country and SEC for this year. They got three of the top-ten recruits in the class of 2023 and signed nine five-star players, which is the most in the country.
The Crimson Tide barely edged out Georgia, which finished second in recruiting. The Tide are hoping this translates on the field as well. They missed the College Football Playoffs for the first time since college football transitioned into the playoffs format in 2014. It was also the first time the Crimson Tide had two regular-season losses since the 2010 season.
NIL isn’t going anywhere and right now there is not a system in place to regulate it. So, only time will tell if Saban will stay true to his beliefs of not giving a recruit anything he wants to sign him. He does have a proven track record with 46 first-round picks and counting.
The Milwaukee Bucks are playing well, sitting at 33-17 and third in the Eastern Conference, just two and a half games behind the reigning Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics.
But GM Jon Horst and head coach Mike Budenholzer would love nothing more than to add some more wing versatility to their rotation before the trade deadline. That is highly likely to come in a trade for disgruntled Phoenix Suns wing Jae Crowder, who hasn’t played this season as he and the Suns are at odds after Crowder lost his starting position to rising shooter Cam Johnson.
That has spurned the Suns to look for the best possible trade to move Crowder and his affordable price tag of just $8.5M for this season. He’ll he a free agent at season’s end, making him a welcomed commodity by team’s looking to position themselves for a playoff run. The Bucks seem like the perfect situation for him, as he’ll provide toughness, versatility, and shooting to a team that features the interior dominance of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported this about Crowder to “Cream City” talks heating up.
“In a new development the Suns have given permission to the Bucks to meet with Crowder and they met over the weekend league sources told The Athletic. The Bucks are believed to be the only team that has received permission to visit one-on-one with Crowder, those sources have indicated.”
Reports are the two teams even have a deal mapped out.
“Both the Suns and Bucks have engaged in serious trade talks for months, with current proposals surrounding Jordan Nwora, George Hill and Serge Ibaka and second-round draft compensation to Phoenix for Crowder, according to sources. The Bucks searched for a third team to provide Phoenix with a forward — so what outcome will emerge between now and next Thursday?”
"I'm told the Suns have given permission to the Bucks to meet 1-on-1 with Jae Crowder."
Current offer:
Suns:
– Jordan Nwora
– Serge Ibaka
– George Hill
– 2nd round draft compensationsBucks:
– CrowderWho says no? 🤔
(via @ShamsCharania, @FanDuelTV)pic.twitter.com/TGXDqdEVlM
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 30, 2023
For the Bucks they hope it’s another 3-and-D player to add for their late-season and playoff run.
During the Bucks run to the 2021 NBA title, their first in 50 seasons, it was the gritty play of forward PJ Tucker, a true 3-and-D wing that was essential to their title fortunes. He provided the same toughness, versatility and defense that is a staple of Crowder’s game. Crowder is probably a better shooter, but neither is afraid of the moment and is willing to let it fly in a clutch spot, which is vital when you play with someone like Giannis.
Adding Crowder would also allow the Bucks to finish games with a unit of Giannis and Crowder along with Bobby Portis in the frontcourt and Jrue Holiday and swingman Khris Middleton in the backcourt. That would arguably be the most complete closing lineup in the league from an offensive and defensive standpoint. It’s the type of move that could make the Bucks the prohibitive favorites in the East and maybe the entire league.
Crowder is in Milwaukee. He met w Bucks FO this morning and met w Shaka Smart/Marquette this afternoon.
Sounds like Crowder to #Bucks is almost a done deal.
— Bucks Autographs (@BucksAutographs) January 30, 2023
While, Crowder isn’t a star player, his value is understood. That’s one of the reasons why the Suns want to trade him to an Eastern Conference team and the Bucks seem to have the best offer on the table. Nwora is a solid young prospect, George Hill is a savvy veteran backup point guard. They’d probably release Ibaka so he can find a team that needs him to play.
Reports say the Bucks will probably trade for Crowder, then extend him for two years and maybe $15 million to $18 million. A committed Crowder would certainly end Milwaukee’s hunt for an extra wing defender every deadline the past few years.
This move is all about capitalizing on Giannis’ peak as the game’s best two-way player and doing everything they can to compete for championships yearly. It’s a promise they made to Antetokounmpo when he re-signed with them in December 2020 for five years and $228 million.
The Miami Hurricanes are looking for a return to glory down in Coral Gables, Florida. Under second-year head coach Mario Cristobal, the Canes are hoping to recapture some of that championship glory from the late ’80s, early ’90s and early 2000s.
Recruiting at a high level is the only way that can happen, and for a good portion of the 2023 recruiting cycle it looked as if Canes Nation would land two of the best prospects in the class in five-star quarterback Jaden Rashada and five-star cornerback Cormani McClain.
But Rashada de-committed in November, and then McClain opted not to sign during the early signing period, and recently committed to Coach Prime and the Colorado Buffaloes.
So why are the Hurricanes basically negative recruiting against Nick Saban and Alabama when they aren’t the ones who flipped their two prized commits?
That’s what seemed to happen over the weekend at Miami junior day when former Canes star and recruiting director Mike Rumph made a pitch to 2024 Alabama five-star Julian Sayin, the No. 2 QB in the class.
Rumph’s pitch was captured via video and went a little something like this.
“This ain’t Tuscaloosa where Saturdays might be great but the rest of the week you’re still in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. No offense to them.”
Julian Sayin said hmmmmmm idk about that pic.twitter.com/R6pOsQt01x
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) January 30, 2023
Strange that Miami would take a shot at Alabama out of all the schools that have a lot less going on than Bama does during college football season. Guess that comes with being the standard in college football over the last 15-16 seasons.
Selling recruits on things to do in Miami versus things to do in Tuscaloosa is commonplace in recruiting, so Rumph isn’t the first nor will he be the last to do so. The number of future pros the Crimson Tide have had over that time frame, and those nine Monday nights when they’ve played for national championships will still convince recruits to come to Tuscaloosa or somewhere like Athens, Georgia, instead of Miami, which is coming off a 5-7 season.
Rumph asked recruits this:
“Who doesn’t want to be in Miami?”
Obviously, many top recruits who chose other programs during the 2023 recruiting cycle. Even with that, Cristobal landed two five-stars and 25 overall recruits, good enough for the seventh-ranked class in 2023. But those two aforementioned recruiting losses were positions of need, and they sting regardless of who else they bring in.
3 #Hurricanes recruits played at a high level during the #AllAmericanBowl #TheU | #Recruiting @SAMSONOKUNLOLA_ @rayraythaboy @fletcherjr_mark https://t.co/TmtfwsTAQE
— All Hurricanes (@AllHurricanes) January 8, 2023
The Canes haven’t been very successful at landing that top signal-caller, while Alabama has landed the likes of Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones and Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young. In fact, Tuscaloosa has become a QB factory, with Hurts, Tagovailoa and Jones all NFL starters, and Young a projected top-five pick in the 2023 NFL draft.
Sayin has all the tools and arm talent that the Canes have been devoid of. Touted for his advanced IQ, mobility outside of the pocket, and quick and accurate release, Sayin holds 25 offers, with Alabama, Ohio State and Miami in his final three.
#OhioState offered #Bama commit Julian Sayin a few days ago. #Miami hasn’t given up either, but Sayin says he isn’t wavering. https://t.co/8zEB73TsLZ (On3+) pic.twitter.com/6mWHGpI8ZJ
— ChadSimmons (@ChadSimmons_) January 22, 2023
Rumph’s job is tough. He’s there to convince players to come to Miami, but negative recruiting against a team that’s played in nine of the past 16 championship games isn’t the move.
The Philadelphia Eagles were without a doubt the best team in the NFC and one of the Top 3 NFL teams throughout the regular season. They went 14-1 with MVP candidate Jalen Hurts under center and dominated teams upfront on both sides of the football. And while offseason additions like wide receivers A.J. Brown and cornerbacks James Bradberry and Chaucey Gardner-Johnson were huge, no offseason move has been bigger than that of edge rusher Haason Reddick signing in the offseason.
The former Temple Owls walk-on and Haddon Heights, New Jersey, native who grew up an Eagles fan, has provided a consistent pass rush for a unit that, including the playoffs, has 80 sacks this season. That is good enough for third-most in a single season.
Reddick had a whopping 16 sacks this season, second-most in the league, making him the first player in NFL history to record double-digit sacks for three different teams in three consecutive seasons. He also did it with the Arizona Cardinals in 2020 and Carolina Panthers in 2021. In fact, in just two postseason games, Reddick has the fifth-most sacks (3.5) in franchise history behind, Brandon Graham, Derrick Burgess, Hugh Douglas, and the late, great Reggie White.
Following Sunday’s big 31-7 NFC Championship Game win over the 49ers, Reddick told reporters this in the locker room.
“This right here is crazy,” Reddick said in the locker room with an “NFC Champions” cap on his head. “They got to put us in a movie. This is a script. I’m telling you this is a script.”
Without Reddick, Philly would still be a good team, but his game-changing plays throughout the season have played a huge role in their gaudy 16-3 record and why they’re 60 minutes away from the second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. He’s been the leader of that vaunted pass rush that’s completely dominated offenses.
Haason Reddick Regular Season + Playoffs:
– 19.5 Sacks
– 30 QB Hits
– 13 TFL
– 6 FF#DPOY pic.twitter.com/1RwXKAcTXQ— Word On The Birds (@WordOnTheBirds) February 1, 2023
Oddsmakers believe Niners edge rusher Nick Bosa will win Defensive Player of the Year, but Reddick is definitely deserving of consideration. He’s currently seventh in odds.
Teammate Kyzir White believes Reddick is the DPOY, and he told USA Sports such.
“Best defensive player in the game,” White said. “It ain’t close. I know he humble, laid-back quiet. He’s the best doing it. Now it’s time for people to put some respect on his name.”
That three-year, $45 million deal the sack master signed in the offseason looks like a real bargain right now for the Eagles.
Don't put a TE on Haason Reddick ✍️✍️ pic.twitter.com/lN8jqEcEFz
— PFF (@PFF) January 30, 2023
Just as he did to Niners quarterback Brock Purdy in the NFC title game, Reddick is no stranger to forcing fumbles. Since 2020 no player in the league has forced more than his 13, to go along with 39.5 of his 47 career sacks.
Haason Reddick had a stellar performance in the NFC title match 🔥 pic.twitter.com/496XGIdSOG
— NFL (@NFL) January 31, 2023
Fellow defensive lineman Javon Hargrave told USA Sports that his teammate is “a monster.”
That description might tell it all, and if that monster shows up in Glendale, Arizona, in two weeks, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will have to pull off some more of that “Mahomeboy Magic.”
Nicole Lynn has made her mark in the sports world and her hard work is paying off. She is the agent for Eagles star quarterback Jalen Hurts, among many other NFL players. Hurts has led his team to the Super Bowl and has put himself in line for a huge new deal with the team that will be led by Lynn.
The 34-year-old is a graduate of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in business Management and Doctor of Law (J.D.) with honors. She has spent time on Wall Street as a financial analyst early in her career before she made her pivot into the sports world in 2015.
In 2015, she became the first female agent to represent a top NFL agency when she took on the role at Players Rep. The company was acquired by Young Money APAA Sports Agency in 2107, owned by rap superstar Lil Wayne. Then, in 2021 she took her talents to Klutch Sports and became their new President of Football Operations.
“The adversity I experienced as a child definitely shaped my mindset as an adult. I knew that I wanted to escape that life, and I had to work hard to do it. So I have always done just that. I owe every bit of success I’ve achieved to my extremely dedicated work ethic and my unwavering faith in God,” said Lynn in a statement on her official website.
Lynn represents a variety of football players that includes rising NFL stars all the way down to rookies and future NFL stars. Her clientele list includes but not limited too: Quinnen Williams, Jalen Hurts, Devontae Smith, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Bailey Zappe. She also inked Will Anderson and Bijon Robinson, both players will be in the 2023 NFL draft.
She provides representation for players from 15 different NFL teams. Lynn provides representation for former Buccaneers defensive line coach Lori Locust, the first female assistant to win a Super Bowl.
“I know the agent world in the NFL, and all sports, is very male-dominated,” Hurts told Sports Illustrated in a 2022 interview. “But Nicole was really on top of her stuff. She was prepared. She knew what she was talking about. She was hungry. And she was determined. And I feel that determination like that never rests. Once you come across such a determined individual, that just hits me a little different.”
Lynn has ground hard to climb up the professional ranks in the sports agency world, but still found time to document her journey. She released a book in 2021, “Agent You,” that goes in depth about her being a trailblazer in a profession dominated by white males. They account for 68.6 percent of all sports agents in the U.S., and women account for just 23 percent. Black men and women only account for 10.4 percent.
I’ll be in New York City tomorrow. Hope to see you at my book signing!https://t.co/0FDQTu0L6Z pic.twitter.com/zHxVWMW3ZA
— Nicole Lynn (@AgentNicoleLynn) July 12, 2021
Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson stopped by Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” to drop gems on how he kept his wealth by not getting caught up in keeping up with the Joneses while a player in the NFL. Chartered flights? Nope. Forget Jack Harlow’s “First Class” song; Chad has settled on a budget airline and a basic seat, utterly changing how a baller talks about balling.
“Fly private? Sh*t, I ain’t flying private,” Johnson said to Sharpe on his “Club Shay Shay” episode. “Spirit. Put me on Spirit. Exit row. Window seat. That’s all I need. As long as I get from point A to point B. I don’t need private.”
.@ochocinco saved 83% of his salary by flying Spirit & wearing fake jewelry pic.twitter.com/RMC7AYPREa
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) January 31, 2023
Nearly four out of five former NFL players either go bankrupt or suffer intense financial distress within two years of retirement, per Sports Illustrated. Ochocinco avoided the trappings of purchasing expensive items like vehicles during his career, taking an alternate route but still achieving the look of ultimate success.
“Probably some of the cars, maybe in year four,” Ochocinco continued. “But I didn’t purchase them; I leased everything. Bugatti, Ferrari, I did it all.”
He knew that he was building his brand through his athleticism and subsequent pop culture relevance. That allowed him to devalue luxury brands and place proper value on himself.
“Athletes, more so, if you can get to a point in your career where your name becomes bigger than anything you can purchase, there’s your value,” he continued. “My name itself, Ochocinco at one point, even still to this day, is bigger than [anything]. Why am I driving a Ferrari? Why am I driving a Rolls-Royce and I’m Ocho?”
That thought process extended to adornments like jewelry, of which Johnson happily wore the costume version.
“I never brought real anything when I was playing. Never,” he said. “What was the point? I went to Claire’s. For what? What am I doing it for? The women are going to deal with you anyway, because of who you are, and then the other women, who are really doing their homework done Googled how much you making already. Why am I buying a $50,000 watch, $80,000 watch?”
“Everybody is caught up in image and looking a certain way and being rich. It’s me. It’s pointless,” he said with a shrug. “You know how hard it’s to live like that all the time, consistently, and be fly every day?”
Still, Johnson buys his family the authentic items they want but with caution.
“The kids, I allow them to do the designer and the nice stuff because I saved 80-83 percent of my salary, so it’s OK, and I have stuff coming in already,” Ochocinco added. “So life is good because I was able to sustain and keep most of my wealth that I made when I was playing.”
“I allow the kids to enjoy, but I need them to understand there’s gonna come a time you’re gonna have to get off that payroll, but for right now, I will always be there for them. No matter what they want. Long as you don’t try to live a lifestyle that you know you can’t afford.”
From his nutritionally unsound but fiscally low McDonald’s habit to placing his brand value over that of corporate luxury, Chad Johnson is the role model that the NFL body politic didn’t know it needed.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady announced his retirement — again — on Wednesday. The seven-time Super Bowl champion says it’s “for good” this time. How can we make sure Brady stays retired?
“I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning, I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first,” Brady said in a video on Twitter. “I won’t be long-winded. You only get one super emotional retirement essay, and I used mine up last year, so really thank you guys so much to every single one of you for supporting me.”
Truly grateful on this day. Thank you 🙏🏻❤️ pic.twitter.com/j2s2sezvSS
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) February 1, 2023
Brady informed the Buccaneers of his decision early Wednesday morning before posting the video.
#ThankYouTom 🙏🐐 pic.twitter.com/VTOYBpAk2R
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) February 1, 2023
First, let’s get the adulation out of the way. Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time.
He won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady ends his career as the NFL’s leader in career passing yards (89,214) and touchdown passes (649). He’s a five-time Super Bowl MVP, three-time league MVP, six-time All-Pro, and 15-time Pro Bowl pick.
Is he the greatest NFL player ever? Jerry Rice and Jim Brown may have something to say about that. But Brady is on the short list.
Regardless, he needs to stay retired. We don’t need another comeback story from a 45-year-old that’s accomplished all he has.
Family Time
Brady just went through a public divorce with supermodel Gisele Bündchen, after 13 years of marriage. He needs time to process and heal from that situation. He has three kids that he might want to spend more time with now that he’s not consumed by playing NFL football.
The risk isn’t worth it
Part of the reason Brady’s marriage failed was Bündchen’s concern over his long-term health. American football is a violent game. Brady’s earned well over $300 million on the field and countless millions off the field in endorsements. It’s time to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Why try and play again and risk catastrophic injury? He’s got too much good going on away from the field.
The 31 NFL teams need to resist the urge to call, text, or reach out to gauge his interest in playing again. Save that man from himself.
There’s always TV
If Brady is so addicted to the game that he can’t leave it alone he could head to the broadcast booth like many QBs before him have done. A seven-time Super Bowl champion that just retired is exactly what makes NFL broadcast booths so good. You’ll have the greatest QB ever telling you why decisions are being made, why mistakes happen, what players/coaches can do to adjust etc.
Brady can immediately begin working as an analyst for Fox Sports, which signed him to a 10-year, $375 million contract this past summer. He also has his own clothing line and his health and wellness brand called TB12 Sports. Like many modern athletes, he also founded his own production company, 199 Productions.
“My family, my friends, my teammates, my competitors — I could go on forever, there’s too many,” Brady said in the video. “Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.”
A tip of the cap to the greatest QB in NFL history. Now it’s time to stay retired and be great at something else.
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo might have thought twice before saying a racial epithet live during the AFC Conference Championships as an NFL color commentator. Now the world is left wondering what he meant to say as a viral video of former TMZ reporter Van Lathan watching the game with friends has begun circling the internet. In the video, Lathan suggests that during a replay Romo was on the cusp of saying the N-word.
“Let’s be fair, let’s watch it one more time and see if he was about to say “n****r,” Lathan says to the camera. “Aight, let’s be fair to Tony Romo. Let’s be fair.”
Did Tony Romo almost say the N word? 😳@VanLathan investigates (w/ @TheRachLindsay 😂) pic.twitter.com/HQzih0UBgW
— No. 1 Rudy Gobert Hater (@JomiAdeniran) January 30, 2023
It all started near the end of the pivotal Chiefs-Bengals game. Kansas City running back Isiah Pacheco made a huge catch. During the play, Mahomes passed the ball to the tailback, who evaded three Cincinnati defenders and picked up some extra yards, to Romo’s elation.
“The extra yards, the tough yards, the finish on the play,” Romo said during the game. “Right there, you got three n–,” Romo said during the replay. Although he stopped at the “n,” it felt to Lathan like Romo was about to use a word that’s popularized culturally and colloquially as if “he’s used it before.”
Hmmm…
Twitter was ablaze with speculation about Romo’s intentions, and a user asked Shannon Sharpe if he would talk about the incident on his “Undisputed” show. Shannon tweeted back, and his responses told about his view on Romo’s suspected gaffe.
“@ShannonSharpe y’all gotta talk about this on the show @undisputed it’s def a topic of discussion frfr !!!” Twitter user @Craig_Head1 posted.
Sharpe replied.
It’s 📺. You get hyped and 4get sometimes where you are. https://t.co/t8Dp3VtA1d
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) January 30, 2023
“It’s (tv emoji). You get hyped and 4get sometimes where you are,” Sharpe tweeted back.
Another Twitter user shot back at Sharpe and came for him with a narrative prevalent in the culture that he makes white people, namely his controversial “Undisputed” co-host Skip Bayless, feel comfortable.
“So what! That means he says it when no one is around. Y’all letting these yts get too comfortable,” tweeted Twitter user @coordiNATE89.
Sharpe, who has been checking all disrespect lately, both to his co-host Skip Bayless after his ill-timed Damar Hamlin tweet and in person, and courtside against the Memphis Grizzlies and Ja Morant’s father Tee Morant at Crypto.com Arena, clapped back.
What do you want me to do about how some1 talks when ppl aren’t around? What’s my role https://t.co/ND8A5zFT09
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) January 30, 2023
“What do you want me to do about how some1 talks when ppl aren’t around? What’s my role,” Sharpe tweeted back at the assumption of his moral obligation to hold Romo accountable in the future on television.
As CBS’s lead NFL analyst, Romo called his first game in 2017; Raiders at Titans. His uniquely affable style translated to the network signing him to a substantial 10-year contract in 2020 for $17.5 million per year. He was placed in a veritable broadcast training camp to help him round out and become an actual broadcaster.
Yeah but I never had "tony romo almost dropping the n-word on @nfloncbs" on my 2023 bingo card https://t.co/WVsZsUxhLc
— chip goines (@chipgoines) January 30, 2023
“I did so many practice games on my own,” Romo said on the SI Media podcast in 2021. “I give CBS credit. We put together a plan as we went through it because usually you get hired, you do one game, and they see you, and you’re out there, and it’s like, ‘go ahead.’
“It was just trial and error and gaining an understanding of what I would want to hear. When I listened to it, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I am the worst announcer ever. I am so boring.’ I cringe, already listening to myself, but that, I was like, ugh, disgusting.”
However, Romo is here and calling big-time games. In the aftermath of this almost debacle, the real question is how CBS feels about football fans assuming his word choice.
A 22-year-old assistant coach on the Churchland High School JV girls basketball team, Arlisha Boykins, impersonated a 13-year-old on the team and suited up for a game. Boykins was fired and the players and parents of the Virginia-based school decided not to continue with the season.
A 22-year-old assistant coach on a JV girls basketball team in Virginia impersonated a 13-year-old player that was out of town
The coach was fired, and the team has opted out the remainder of the season https://t.co/JTggSf9T2q pic.twitter.com/eqwsYr1bCS
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 31, 2023
One of Churchland’s players wasn’t available for the game with Nasemond River — as she was away for a club basketball tournament. So the coaches, in their infinite wisdom, thought it would be a good idea for the 22-year-old assistant coach to play under the name of the player who wasn’t available.
You can’t make this up. Grown adults made this decision for a JV basketball game.
The JV head coach, along with the head coach of the varsity girls basketball team, were fired. The varsity coach was allegedly “encouraging the behavior” during the game.
No Churchland school officials were present at the game. They were notified after through a complaint from Nasemond.
“Coaches always preach to the kids about integrity and those types of things, so I was just shocked,” the father of the 13-year-old said.
“While I cannot discuss details of the investigation since this is a personnel matter, I can confirm Arlisha Boykins is no longer an employee of Portsmouth Public Schools,” district spokesperson Lauren Nolasco said in a statement.
Historically Black colleges and universities produced some of the greatest college and professional football players until the traditional Power Five schools started to recruit and lure those players to bigger programs in the mid to late 1970s.
Now these programs are fighting to get back to the glory days by making splash head coaching hires to help recruit the bigger names from high school. Hue Jackson, a former NFL head coach, is making his mark at Alabama State. Deion Sanders built a solid foundation at Jackson State to set them up for a bright future before he departed for Colorado’s head coaching job.
Let’s take a look at some of the greatest offensive weapons the NFL has seen that came from HBCUs.
Rice was selected 16th overall in first round by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1985 NFL draft. He was a 13-time Pro Bowl selection, 10-time All-Pro selection, 1987 NFL MVP, Super Bowl XXIII MVP, two-time all-decade team selection for the 1980s-90s, NFL 100 All-Time team member, and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
He spent 15 seasons with the 49ers, four with the Oakland Raiders, and one with the Seattle Seahawks. His 22,895 receiving yards and 197 receiving touchdowns in his career still both stand as NFL records for a wide receiver. He is also highly regarded as the greatest receiver of all time.
He sits second on the list behind Emmitt Smith in rushing with 16,726 yards for his career. Payton was the fourth overall selection in the first round by the Chicago Bears in the 1975 draft. He was a nine-time Pro Bowl player, five-time All-Pro selection, 1977 NFL MVP, and currently has an award named after him called the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year.
Payton was named an all-decade player in the 1970s and 1980s. He also was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. He received no offers from SEC schools, so he decided to take his talents to an HBCU. In 1984, he broke Jim Brown’s NFL all-time career rushing record until Smith broke his record in 2002.
Shell attended current-day Morgan State University and was the 80th overall pick in the 1968 draft. He played all 14 seasons with the Raiders organization that moved from Oakland to Los Angeles during his career.
He is in the 1989 Pro Football Hall of Fame class and was named to the NFL 100 All-time team. He was an eight-time Pro Bowl player and two-time All-Pro selection.
Slater was a teammate of Payton while at Jackson State and was selected 86th overall in the third round of the 1976 draft. It took three years for him to become the full-time starter with the Rams, but he eventually would make eight Pro Bowls.
He played all of his 19 NFL seasons with the Rams in Los Angeles and St. Louis. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
Sharpe is affectionately known as everyone’s television “Unc,” but before that Shay Shay had one of the greatest careers for a tight end. He is the younger brother of South Carolina standout Sterling Sharpe and holds the single-season record for yards in a game by a tight end with 214 yards.
He set the all-time tight end record for receptions (815), receiving yards (10,060), and touchdowns (62). He was the first tight end to surpass 10,000 receiving yards in his career. He played 11 seasons with the Denver Broncos and two with the Baltimore Ravens. He was selected 192nd overall in 1990 draft and switched his position from wide receiver to tight end just to make the Denver Broncos roster.
Sharpe is eight-time Pro Bowl pick, four-time All-Pro selection, three-time Super Bowl champion, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
The University of Florida offered McNair a scholarship to play running back out of high school, but he turned it down. He then set his sights on Alcorn State, where he went on to become the third overall pick in the 1995 draft by the Houston Oilers.
McNair 12 NFL seasons with the Oilers, Titans, and Ravens. He was co-MVP in 2003 with Peyton Manning. McNair led the Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV but came short when they failed to punch it in from 1 yard out.
Hayes gave life to the name utility player and paved a new lane for players like Darren Sproles and Taysom Hill. His speed set him apart, and he was able to turn that into an 11-year career with the Cowboys and 49ers. Hayes returned kicks, punts, and occasionally lined up in the backfield. He was a three-time Pro Bowl player, two-time All-Pro selection, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
Now part of the 1993 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, Little went undrafted out of Bethune-Cookman. He was a two-time Super Bowl champion, seven-time All-Pro selection, and a five-time Pro Bowl player.
Little also coached at his alma mater from 1983-91 and won MEAC Coach of the Year in 1984. He won over 100 games as a coach at Bethune-Cookman and North Carolina Central.
He spent nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns and had the most rushing attempts with 1,727 in the league during his playing career. He was the true definition of a workhorse running back. Kelly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994, was a six-time Pro Bowl player, three-time All-Pro, and part of the 1960s All-Decade team.
Williams didn’t have the playing career like many other players on this list, but he has one title that can’t be taken away from him as the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. He led the formerly known Washington Redskins to Super Bowl XXII and was named MVP of the game. During his time in the NFL, he was the lowest-paid quarterback, but ultimately became a legend and one of the most significant people in NFL history.
WR John Stallworth (Alabama A&M) — Stallworth had a 14-year NFL career with the “The Steel Curtain” as one of the best pass catchers to ever do it after graduating from Alabama A&M. Playing alongside Pro Football Hall of Famer Lynn Swann, Stallworth became a four-time Super Bowl champion (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979), three-time Pro Bowl player (1979, 1982, 1984), two-time NFL All-Pro (1979, 1984) and NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Stallworth was one of four future Hall of Famers taken by the Steelers in 1974.
WR Charlie Joiner (Grambling State) — Joyner was one of the most prolific receivers in NFL history out of legendary HBCU program Grambling State. Joyner played 18 NFL seasons and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection (1976 1979, 1980) and two-time NFL All-Pro (1976, 1980). Joiner retired in 1986 as the NFL’s career leader in receptions, receiving yards and games played, before being inducted into Canton’s Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
When Deion Sanders left Jackson State to become the head coach at Colorado, the Pro Football Hall of Famer assembled an elite coaching staff.
He took many of the coaches that were with him at JSU, and even added some who weren’t. One of those he brought to Boulder is Vincent Dancy, the former head coach at Mississippi Valley State. Dancy and Sanders built a close relationship over Coach Prime’s three years at Jackson State, and he wanted to give Dancy a chance to continue to pursue his coaching dreams on a bigger platform.
For Dancy it was a no-brainer to step down as head coach at MVSU, the school with the lowest budget amongst football-playing Division I programs and join Coach Prime at the Power Five Pac-12 school.
Recently, Dancy sat down with Deion Sanders Jr. of Well Off Media, to discuss how it’s been going from running his own program to now being an assistant under Sanders.
“You don’t have to be the main guy to learn and get better. At the end of the day it’s all about the opportunity or the situation. Any situation or opportunity can help you grow and become the man again. But learning to adapt to the two, the three — I don’t mind. I’ve been at that level. I’ve been a head coach at that level. Right now, I think it’s a better opportunity for me, one day, when I’m like 50 years old — to be a head coach again and just get under some great coaches and learn from the best.”
Dancy went 9-38 in four seasons as the head coach at Mississippi Valley State. He’s a graduate of Jackson State, where he played linebacker, so he’s SWAC through and through. Now he’s onto an opportunity he just couldn’t pass up.
Mississippi Valley State University Head Coach Vincent Dancy has resigned will join Coach Sanders Staff at Colorado
Courtesy: Blake Levine WJTV Sports Director pic.twitter.com/GncIwRvoYm— HBCU Premier Sports & More (@HBCUSports1) December 8, 2022
While Dancy’s isn’t in an on-field position, he’s very vital to the success of the program. Being a defensive analyst means he’ll be involved heavy in the game planning weekly with defensive coordinator Charles Kelly.
That will allow Dancy to learn some of the nuances of that side of the ball at the Power Five level. And it also means he’s first in line to get an on-field position when one becomes available. Dancy told Sanders Jr. he’s content and excited about the opportunity.
“It’s just about playing your part and doing what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do it,” Dancy said. “It’s not about being the man or being at the top. I know some people at the end of the day want to be the guy — until you be the guy. Now you’re hit with all the problems, and you’ve got to answer every call and adjust and make sure it’s taken care of.”
Dancy doesn’t have to recruit anymore, with that being something analysts aren’t permitted to do. Which in essence isn’t a bad thing, and it will allow him to sharpen his skills for a bigger role going forward.
Some may look at it as a demotion. It’s not. Maryland head coach Mike Locksley and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian were once analysts under Nick Saban at Alabama as a way to get back into the head coaching ranks. That position led them to offensive coordinator roles at Alabama before becoming head coaches again.
Moving on is never easy, but, as Dancy stated, it was necessary and what was best for him. He’ll do well with Coach Prime because he’s willing to learn and get better.
“It was fun, don’t get me wrong, I learned a lot,” he told Sanders Jr.
But right now it’s a different chapter in my life and I look forward to working with Coach Prime and making sure that Colorado gets the best of me.”
The Prime Coaching Staff: Why Vincent Dancy Followed Deion Sanders to Colorado#HBCU @HBCULegends @DeionSanders #SWAC @KTMOZEhttps://t.co/ZMcsNlCVsZ
— HBCU Legends (@hbculegends) December 11, 2022
Deion and the Buffaloes just finished junior day, where over 35 recruits descended on Boulder, including four five-star and 17 four-star recruits.
On Wednesday, five-star recruit Cormani McClain, the nation’s top cornerback and the No. 14 overall recruit is expected to put pen to paper and sign his national letter of intent on national signing day.
Does Coach Prime have another surprise up his sleeve? Stay tuned.
With experienced leaders like Dancy playing key roles in the development of this new Colorado team, Sanders is in good shape.
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes pulled off an epic performance during the AFC Championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday. Mahomes was dealing with a high ankle sprain he suffered in the AFC Divisional Round against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mahomes said the performance wouldn’t have happened without the team’s athletic trainer, Julie Frymyer.
Mahomes was 29-43 for 326 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. His mobility was impacted due to the high ankle sprain.
What differentiates a high ankle sprain from a traditional sprain is the location. A high ankle sprain is when you tear or damage the high ankle ligaments that connect the tibia to the fibula. The high ankle sprain is tricky and can often take a long time to heal.
That Mahomes was able to throw the ball so well on essentially one leg is incredible. He was able to scramble with enough speed to gain five yards on the game winning field goal drive.
“I didn’t expect to be able to run very much, just from the way it felt,” Mahomes said. “But the training staff and Julie (Frymyer) did a great job of giving me enough mobility that I was able to protect myself. At the end of the game there, I had to run to get the first down and it got us into field goal range. Credit to them and just trying to stay on it. Now, we’ve got two more weeks, so we’ve got to keep doing it.”
Julie WAS the reason i was the guy i was on the field today! It takes everyone but she lead the charge all week!!! Now let’s get Super Bowl ready!! https://t.co/glPKlL9Qz3
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) January 30, 2023
Mahomes is the key to the Chiefs Super Bowl hopes. He is the best QB in the league and it is not close. The level of confidence he infuses the team with is immeasurable. With #15 there is always a chance.
Frymyer received her undergraduate degree at Westchester University, her masters at Florida International, and her Doctor of Physical Therapy at the University of St. Augustine. Before working for the Chiefs, she was an assistant athletic trainer at Princeton University.
Football is a high-risk sport and injuries occur every game. Having players prepared week to week takes a lot of work on behalf of the training and performance teams as well as the players.
Now the challenge ahead of Frymyer and the staff is how to ensure Mahomes is ready for the Super Bowl in two weeks. The additional week will help. But after the wear and tear of the AFC title game, Mahomes’ ankle didn’t get better.
The normal recovery time for this injury is four to six weeks, and during that recovery time the motion of the ankle is to be limited, and once the acute inflammatory period ends you can begin physical therapy to strengthen the muscles in the lower leg.
Playing in the AFC title game does not allow for that kind of recovery to take place.
Frymyer and the staff will work from a new baseline as it relates to Mahomes’ injury. Once whatever re-swelling that occurred as a result of the game has subsided, they can begin their new rehab plan.
Minnesota Timberwolves third-year guard Anthony Edwards says he eats 21 bags of Chester’s Hot Fries per week. Not the ideal diet habits for an ascending NBA baller, but Edwards has been showing out of late and the Timberwolves are winning games. We know his teammate Karl-Anthony Towns is not a fan of the diet, but is this Edwards’ secret fuel?
“The best chips that were ever made,” Edwards said. “I’ve been eating ’em since I was probably, like, 5 years old. I probably eat, like, three a day. You do the math … what’s that, 21 bags? Yeah, I eat that many!”
Edwards revealed his snacking habits during the GQ Sports 10 things he can’t live without interview published earlier this week.
This isn’t the first time Edwards’ diet made headlines. Earlier this season Edwards would talk about his fast food runs to the popular Popeyes chicken joint. He also struggled at the beginning of the season in back-to-backs, citing feeling sluggish. After a loss on the second night of a back-to-back where Edwards played poorly Towns took that as an opportunity to call attention to the diet.
“Maybe I could do a better job of teaching him how to take care of his body, diet and everything,” said Towns. “That’ll be on me. I know you all think it’s funny up here when he talks about Popeye’s and all that s***. That doesn’t make me happy to hear. We’re high-level athletes.”
https://youtu.be/P1YnXdxnK8M
Because it’s the social media era and everyone wants to get involved in every conversation, it became a talking point earlier in the season. Popeyes’ social media account even got in on the action.
Good luck to every high level athlete who eats Popeyes regardless of what their teammates say 🏀
— Popeyes (@Popeyes) October 27, 2022
The Ant-Man is behaving like any other 21-year-old. When you’re young and physically gifted you take diet for granted because fast food doesn’t have the effect on you as if you were older or out of shape, etc.
Going forward, if Edwards wants to realize his potential and be among the best in the league, All-NBA level, etc., taking care of his body will need to become priority No. 1.
In an interesting sequence of events, Towns suffered a right calf injury on Nov. 28 and hasn’t played since.
The Timberwolves have gone 11-5 in the month of January and sit in ninth place in the West. Only a half game out of sixth and a game out of fourth, which would give them home-court advantage in round one of the playoffs.
A big reason for their resurgence after a dismal start is Edwards.
Over his past 10 games he’s averaging 29 points, six rebounds, and five assists on 49/44/80 shooting splits. His eFG% and TS% are at career highs after a very slow start to the season. The offense has simplified without Towns, as Edwards is the unquestioned No. 1 option.
Anthony Edwards tonight:
34 PTS
10 REB
6 AST
5-7 3PAnt is averaging 34/6/5 in his last 5 games. pic.twitter.com/PHJe7Ltt5m
— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 29, 2023
His strong play and the Wolves’ winning month have vaulted Edwards into the All-Star reserve conversation. His slow start might be too much to overcome, but he seems to understand the bigger picture.
“I just know my team needs to win, so I’m going to go out there and do everything that I can do to help us win,” Edwards said Saturday after putting up 34 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a 117-110 victory over the Sacramento Kings. “I don’t care if he’s [De’Aaron Fox] an All-Star or I am. Whatever it is, as long as my team is in the playoffs I’m good.”
It may take Edwards awhile to give up his Chester’s Hot Fries and Popeyes, but he knows what the ultimate objective is.
This year’s Super Bowl will be a win-win for the culture as the clash between Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes will mark the first time two Black quarterbacks have faced off in the Super Bowl.
Hurts led the Eagles to a 14-3 record this season and the top overall seed in the NFC. Mahomes also led his team to a 14-3 record this season and a share of the top overall seed in the AFC with the Bills.
Now that history has already been made, let’s take a look at the history of the two quarterbacks and the history of Black quarterbacks in the NFL.
Super Bowl LVII will feature two Black starting QBs for the first time in Super Bowl history 🙌 @brgridiron pic.twitter.com/ndXuqUDXmh
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 30, 2023
NFL owners and general managers once believed that Black men were not smart enough to play the position of quarterback. Now, they are dominating the position and their play style seems to be duplicated at every level of football.
The season started with 11 starting black quarterbacks, and that number could be even higher at the start of the 2023 season. C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young seemed to be locks as top five picks that will be the future franchise quarterbacks for whichever teams draft them. Jordan Love is also waiting to take over for the Packers, as they are seemingly finally ready to move on from Aaron Rodgers.
Russell Wilson and Mahomes are only quarterbacks to win the Super Bowl since Doug Williams broke through in 1988 to win it for the Washington Redskins (now Commanders). There have been only seven quarterbacks to play in the game: Doug Williams, Steve McNair, Donovan McNabb, Colin Kaepernick, Cam Newton, Wilson, and Mahomes.
Wilson (2) and Mahomes (3) are the only Black quarterbacks to play on multiple Super Sundays. Hurts will look to become just the fourth Black quarterback to win the big game and Mahomes looks to become the first Black quarterback to win multiple Super Bowls.
The “Black quarterbacks are not smart enough to play the position” stereotype is pretty much now dead. Guys like Lamar Jackson, who certain brainless GMs suggested would serve better as a running back, have won MVP at the QB position.
And the stereotype that “Black men are not active fathers in their children’s lives” need to die with it.
Hurts’ father, Averion Hurts, has been present and active in every step of his life. Hurts grew up as a coach’s kid and was coached by his dad for the majority of his life. He taught Hurts to play the position of quarterback and stand up to adversity. He was there when he committed to Alabama. He was there the night Hurts was benched in the 2018 national championship game. He was there when Hurts decided to transfer to Oklahoma. He’s also been there every step of the way of Hurts’ NFL journey so far.
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
The same thing goes for Patrick Mahomes Sr and his son. Mahomes Sr. juggled being a professional baseball player and fatherhood from 1992-2003. He played for six different MLB organizations but still made time for his family. He taught his son how to throw his first football and baseball. He also gave him the genes to make those ridiculous throws we see every Sunday in the fall.
Former football player and now NFL analyst Ryan Clark went on Fox’s “Get Up” and gave the two fathers praise.
“So many times the narrative about black fathers and Black families are that we come from broken homes and they have these stories they want to tell at the Super Bowl. Well let’s tell this story,” said Clark. “So many times we focus on the big picture and miss the small picture, the NFL has come so far as it pertains to this position from how these men were raised by their fathers and now how they are leading locker rooms.”
When the Kansas City Chiefs traded all-world wideout Tyreek Hill, pundits all over began saying things like they would fall off and wouldn’t be nearly as successful without their dynamic playmaker.
Fast-forward ten months later, and the Chiefs won more regular season games, 14, than they ever did with Hill. And they advanced to the Super Bowl, something they failed to do in Hill’s final season with the team.
We all know about Patrick Mahomes, and he’s one-of-one, and in line to win his second NFL MVP and possibly his second Super Bowl. Then there’s all-world tight end Travis Kelce, and of course head coach Andy Reid at the helm. But the Chiefs hit several home runs in the 2022 NFL draft, with nine of their ten draft picks from the 2022 class making prime time plays in the team’s biggest game of the season.
No group of rookies stepped up more than K.C.’s defensive backs. Thrust into action against arguably the best trio of pass-catchers in the league, Trent McDuffie, Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson and Brian Cook all stepped up with performances that even surprised their head coach.
📹VIDEO: Trent McDuffie talks the importance of #Chiefs rookies: "This will always be Arrowhead Stadium" pic.twitter.com/7gee6bPebW
— Aaron Ladd (@aaronladdtv) January 30, 2023
The aforementioned McDuffie is a starter and is the first-round pick KC received from Miami in the Hill trade. But when starter L’Jarius Sneed suffered a concussion early in the first quarter that called for rookies Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson to step up alongside McDuffie.
The duo combined for nine tackles, five pass breakups and two interceptions. In his postgame presser, Reid praised his young trio of corners for their play.
“It’s crazy how things work, but the kids stepped up.” Reid said. “They didn’t lose their confidence. I was optimistic, but you don’t know how the journey is going to go. Here we sit, and they did a great job.”
Also included in that group is rookie safety Bryan Cook, who was beaten by Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase on a fourth-and-6 early in the fourth quarter, only to come back and make a play on a deep ball that was picked by Williams with the game in the balance.
.@Chiefs rookies in secondary are making one big play after another. What a draft class. @Jwilliofficial out of Fayetteville St.! #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/0uILLsYprn
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) January 30, 2023
Rookie edge rusher George Karlaftis also played well, recording a sack and three QB pressures.
They all grew up in the biggest moments of the Chiefs’ season. Those draft picks stepped up and made plays.
Rookie running back Isaiah Pacheco totaled 85 yards and added some huge, tough-yardage third-down conversions.
Newbie wideout Skyy Moore, who’s underwhelmed in his rookie season because of lack of playing time, exceledy with starters JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kadarius Toney and Mecole Hardman all injured at some point during the game.
Moore totaled just three receptions, but it was his huge 26-yard punt return with 30 seconds left that put the Chiefs at midfield with room to operate en route to their game-winning field goal. It was refreshing to see Moore have his moment and go through his rookie growing pains.
Impactful day for the Chiefs’ draft class
CB Trent McDuffie: 6 tackles, 2 PD
DE George Karlaftis: Sack
WR Skyy Moore: 3 catches, key punt return
S Bryan Cook: 4 tackles, PBU
CB Joshua Williams: INT
CB Jaylen Watson: INT
RB Isaiah Pacheco: 85 total yardsFrom Round 1 to Round 7.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 30, 2023
The play of these rookies is a direct result of having a great scouting department and elite player development once they arrive in K.C. It’s a tribute to both of those areas of the Chiefs’ staff and a real testament to Reid, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s trust in their first-year players.
The Chiefs’ pass defense has been an Achilles’ heel for the past half decade, despite the overall success of Pat Mahomes and the team. That weakness has been transformed into a lethal weapon with cover skills that have led to more sacks from edge rushers such as Chris Jones, who had 0 sacks in the first 14 games of his playoff career.
What a welcome sight for a franchise that’s likely to be in this situation a few more times with No. 15 under center.
Social media and Twitter in particular can be vile and toxic place. But every once in a while, we see the power of its connectivity and humans rallying together for good.
A young Ugandan baseball player named Kasumba Dennis has been posting videos of himself training and practicing his baseball skills, including stringing a seriously worn catcher’s mitt and using makeshift equipment all in the name of chasing his dream.
Dennis hopes to one day be a catcher in the Major Leagues.
According to his Twitter posts he makes his own equipment because he doesn’t have the money to afford baseball equipment and gym time consistently.
Baseball fans and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler have all worked to help this young man get better equipment to chase his dream.
I’ll join
— Walker Buehler (@buehlersdayoff) January 28, 2023
Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford also offered to help.
How can I get some equipment out to you and your hometown?! I want to help you out brother 🫡 https://t.co/3fxdHg5Zj7
— jp crawford (@jp_crawford) January 28, 2023
Dennis’ commitment to getting better is strong. His desire to work despite the clear disadvantages is incredible.
Training continues even without gloves hard papers also work as gloves. Everyday single day comes with its own challenges sometimes it's so hard but the only choice I have is to keep going at it with all I got. I trust the process more so I will stay working hard pic.twitter.com/MeGJANaaI1
— KASUMBA DENNIS (@KASUMBADENNIS4) January 27, 2023
Playing elite level baseball in America at the youth level costs tens of thousands of dollars annually between leagues, private coaching, etc.
I believe in step by step process pic.twitter.com/Yp0lDP9H62
— KASUMBA DENNIS (@KASUMBADENNIS4) January 30, 2023
A person’s economic status shouldn’t determine their ability to pursue their athletic dreams.
I made my own equipment not because I don't need equipment but I don't know where I can get. And equipment is very expressive for me and I never miss my training with excuses of not having a glove or other equipment when I have Brain. I WANT TO PLAY BASEBALL ⚾ pic.twitter.com/7mOF9z0akm
— KASUMBA DENNIS (@KASUMBADENNIS4) January 27, 2023
The videos began garnering attention last Friday. As they continue to gain traction and pitchers and catchers start to report for spring training, it’s likely MLB and some teams get involved in sending over equipment and possibly getting Dennis in an environment where he can be scouted properly.
The African continent does not have a rich history of MLB players, but if he’s good enough to make the big leagues Dennis wouldn’t be the first.
In 2017 Gift Ngoepe, then of the Pittsburgh Pirates, became the first African-born player in MLB history.
Last year, Dennis’ countrymen, Ben Serunkuma and Umar Male became the first Ugandan-born players to sign a professional baseball contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Both players will began their professional careers at the Dodgers Academy in the Dominican Republic.
“The Dodgers hope the success of these three young men will continue to grow the sport and inspire a new crop of potential professionals players from the Pearl of Africa,” commented Will Nolden, a Youth Development coach for the Dodgers.
Perhaps the continent can be an untapped resource of baseball talent. The sport is struggling at the MLB level when it comes to Black participation.
According to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), Major League Baseball has a smaller percentage of Black players now than it has had in any year since the early 1990s.
On Opening Day 2022 38% were players of color. About 28.5 percent of those players were Hispanic or Latino, 1.9 percent were Asian players, and less than 1 percent were Hawaiian/Pacific Islander or Native American.
Black players represented only 7.2 percent of all MLB players at the start of last season.
This has been an issue MLB has supposedly taken seriously over the last several years, but the results don’t seem to be changing.
Maybe investment in nations and regions where the populations are overwhelmingly Black would help change the situation, if that’s what the people in charge of the MLB really want.
Regardless, seeing people rally behind Dennis in support of his dream is a positive sign that somewhere in this unforgiving world that people do want to see and do good.
Quitting is not an option. I will keep struggling till I became better at this. pic.twitter.com/RgolAS3fDS
— KASUMBA DENNIS (@KASUMBADENNIS4) January 30, 2023
Black women haven’t had much representation in gymnastics, but that seems to be shifting in a positive direction over the past decade.
Fisk University created the first gymnastics team at a HBCU recently, and they have been dominating this season with numerous top-five finishes.
Now Trinity Thomas is the latest Black woman to make headlines in the gymnastics world. She flawlessly led her second-ranked Florida Gators to a win over the 17th-ranked Georgia Lady Bulldogs on Jan. 27 in a historic finish.
Thomas scored a perfect 10 on the vault and recorded her fourth career gym slam en route to her perfect score. That helped the Gators squeeze a narrow win over Georgia in the dual meet and remain undefeated.
Before 1980, no Black woman qualified with enough points to make the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic team.
Luci Collins
Luci Collins broke through those barriers in 1980 at the age of 16 years old.
The California native had her dreams crushed when the U.S. government decided to boycott the Moscow Olympic Games. She was never able to officially compete in the Olympics after her career was cut short due to an injury.
Dianne Durham
In 1981, Dianne Durham emerged as a major competitor after winning the junior elite title in back-to-back years. Durham became the first black woman to win the all-around title at the 1983 U.S. Gymnastics National Championships.
Afterward, she had a knee injury that slightly put her career on hold. Then, in 1984 she withdrew from the U.S. Olympics Competition Team. She went on to become a judge and a coach.
Dione Foster
The 1990s ushered in a wave of new young Black gymnasts. Dione Foster became the first elite gymnast from Alabama at the age of 13. She went on to help the University of Alabama capture the 1991 NCAA Gymnastic Championship.
Betty Okino
Betty Okino burst onto the scene in 1990 after she brought home the gold medal in the balance beam and silver medal in the all-around category at the U.S. National Championships. She continued to make history when she was the first Black woman to bring home multiple world championships medals with two silvers and one bronze. In 1992, she brought home the team bronze medal at the Barcelona Olympics.
Dominique Dawes, aka “Awesome Dawesome,” placed third in the all-around junior division at the 1990 U.S. National Championships. In 1992, she wowed the world at the USA versus Japan meet when she scored a perfect 10 with her tumbling skills. Dawes earned four medals at the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Olympics. She became the first Black woman to win individual medals and gold medal for gymnastics at the Olympics.
The trail cooled down a bit for Black women, but Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas broke through in 2010 to put the world on notice that Black women can still dominate the sport. Douglas brought home the gold medal in the uneven bars category at the Pan American Championships and a team gold medal as well that year.
In 2011, she continued her dominance by bringing home another gold team medal at the 2011 Tokyo World Championships. Douglas saw her most dominant year in 2012 when she won gold for uneven bars and team gold at the Pacific Rim Championships.
She followed up that performance at the London Olympic games when she brought home gold for the team and all-around with “The Fierce Five.” Douglas then brought home gold at the 2016 Olympic Games for the team in Rio De Janeiro.
Last, but certainly not least, Simone Biles blew the competition away with her record-setting 30 medals she won in the Olympics and World Championships.
In 2022, three Black women claimed the top spots at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Tampa, Florida. Konnor McClain, Shilese Jones, and Jordan Chiles became the first Black women to sweep the podium.
For The First Time In History, Black Women Finish 1-2-3 At U.S. Gymnastics Championships
McClain won gold medal on the balance beam and top all-around ranking at just 17. Jones, 20, came in second, and 21-year-old Chiles came in third.
According to AP News, in 2020 Black women accounted for nearly 10 percent of scholarships at the NCAA Division I level, which was an increase from 7 percent in 2012. Also, more than 10 percent of USA Gymnastics membership self-identify as Black. The numbers are slowly rising, but the influence of Black gymnasts like Biles, Thomas, McClain, and many more is having a strong impact on getting more Black girls involved.
The Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans reportedly have mutual interest, and many believe it’s only a matter of time before he’s the franchise’s fourth coach in four seasons. Ryans, fresh off leading the dominant Niners defense to the NFC Championship Game, is now available to become a head coach.
Following Sunday’s disappointing 31-7 NFC Championship Game loss to the Eagles, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted this.
“Houston Texans now are expected to pursue 49ers’ defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans to try to make him their next head coach.”
Ryans will interview with the team that drafted him in 2006, and the expectation is he’ll land the job. He’s arguably the top candidate in the pool this offseason, with the Saints reportedly wanting first-round picks for the rights to their former coach Sean Payton.
The Houston Texans haven’t had the best track record as pertains to Black head coaches. The past two seasons the franchise hired David Culley, a longtime assistant who’d never been a coordinator. He was fired after one season on the job. They then promoted Lovie Smith from associate head coach and defensive coordinator to head coach. And after one season they moved on from him. In essence, it looks like the Texans used those two Black coaches to tank and rake in draft capital.
That probably won’t be the case with Ryans, who’s a lot younger than the aforementioned Culley and Smith. Also Ryans just led the league’s best defense the past two seasons, and probably could’ve become a head coach after last season’s run to the NFC Championship Game as well.
Houston needs a young, vibrant coach to lead, and Ryans seems ready to assume that role.
DeMeco Ryans Could Be The Next Mike Tomlin | Teams Should Really Consider Hiring The Hidden Gem
With all the cap space and draft capital, the Texans have, Houston has a chance to change the trajectory of their dormant franchise.
As a member of the Eagles in 2014, Ryans tore his ACL on the turf at NRG Stadium home of the Texans. In 2016, a lawsuit seeking $10 million was filed, as Ryans claimed the injury was caused “due to the dangerous condition of the field.”
The statement at the time read like this.
“The Achilles injury at NRG Stadium prematurely ended DeMeco’s noteworthy NFL career,” the lawsuit read. “But for the NRG Stadium field, DeMeco would have, in reasonable probability remained in the league for another five years.”
Following years of back-and-forth litigation, the NFL and Texans were dropped from the suit. Ryans reportedly reached an agreement with Harris County, the stadium management company, and the company who installs the turf.
The @NFLGameDay Notebook with @MikeGarafolo and @TomPelissero: #49ers DC DeMeco Ryans is the clear front-runner for the #Texans HC job; The #Bucs are not ruling out a Tom Brady return in OC search; All about the #Broncos secret meeting with #Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh this week. pic.twitter.com/idD8LAbHp3
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 29, 2023
Now that all that seems to be behind the two sides, the expectancy is that an agreement will be reached this week making the former 2006 Defensive Rookie of the Year the next head coach of the Houston Texans and just the third Black head coach in the league.
