The biggest weekend of the NFL season is coming up and let’s just say NFL knows how to make some money.
Super Wildcard Weekend begins on Saturday, and over three days they’ll be six playoff matchups, two on Saturday, three Sunday and one Monday night. Saturday night’s matchup between the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins has the makings of a great game, but in order to see it you’ll need to have Peacock, as the streaming service will exclusively have the rights to the game.
That means you won’t be able to just turn your television to NBC, and enjoy the festivities of Tyreek Hill facing his former team in the playoffs. In May it was reported that NBCUniversal had agreed to a deal to purchase the rights to the game for a whopping $110 million.
So, basically the NFL is making money off of its fans just as it did by selling its Thursday night football package to the Amazon Prime beginning with the 2022 season. This isn’t Peacock’s first rodeo in the exclusive viewing rights game. They also had the Bills/Chargers game in Week 16.
NFL Greed?
This has greed by the NFL written all over it, and those who don’t have Peacock will have to cough up the $5.99 to watch Saturday’s game.
Chiefs edge rusher Charles Omenihu laughed about in his social media post on X formerly known as Twitter
“Us playing on Peacock ONLY is insane I won’t lie.”
Radio host Mike Francesa, who’s known for his controversial takes, took it a little further calling it an “Utterly disgraceful, greedy reach by the NFL.”
Francesa went on a rant calling out the NFL, and he’s not wrong. Although the $5.99 isn’t a large amount, not everyone who enjoys NFL football has extra money to just shell out for a game that’s usually on local television.
Many Fans Will Still Pay The Fee
Despite the obvious NFL money grab, many fans who’ve waited for playoff action will shell out the cash for the streaming service. The NFL is also smart, the Chiefs and Dolphins matchup is easily the most intriguing matchup of the weekend.
The game features quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his former teammate and wide receiver Tyreek Hill for the second time this season, and the first time facing one another in the playoffs. With the ever-changing landscape of the streaming world, this seems to be the way things are headed.
So if you’re a diehard who plans on catching all NFL action, at times you’ll to need to buckle down and pay the fees that are required to view certain games.
The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a big win over their Crypto.Com Arena neighbors the Los Angeles Clippers. The win ended a four-game losing streak for a team that’s lost 11 of their past fourteen games since winning the inaugural in-season tournament.
Lakers players and coaches are hoping Sunday’s win can catapult them into a string of wins. During the team’s struggles there have been rumors about head Cody Darvin Ham’s job security.
When you’re the coach of the Lakers and LeBron James is on the team it’s never an easy feat, but Ham, who recently said that he has the backing of the team’s front office, seems unbothered by the chatter.
Now, either Ham is putting on a front or he really isn’t bothered by the noise. One coach who knows the pressure that comes with coaching a LeBron James-led team is Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue, and the NBA championship-winning coach chimed on what’s going on across the hall in Tinseltown.
Lue Has Been In Ham’s Shoes
After leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to an improbable 2016 title, becoming the only team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in NBA Finals history, Lue was fired after an (0-6) start to begin the 2018 season.
Lue even faced some scrutiny this season after the team lost its first five games after trading for James Harden in November. They’ve since won 14 of their past 17 as the team seems to have figured out their roles.
In speaking with the media in the aftermath of his team’s 106-103 loss to the Lakers, Lue sided with Ham.
“It’s definitely unfair,” Lue said of the blame Ham is receiving. “We said the same thing last season when they were 2-10. And they went to the conference finals. Are you giving the coach all the credit for that? I don’t think so.”
Facts being spoken by Lue, who knows how hard it is to keep everyone happy. But, in retrospect he’s definitely right about the Lakers’ shocking turnaround last season and how Ham didn’t get all the credit for their run, so why should he take all the blame for their struggles.
Roster Makeup Is A Huge Issue
In the offseason the Lakers attempted to add some wing defenders, some bigs and even a point guard. But, what they didn’t add was knockdown shooting, something that plagued them last season. In 2022-23 they ranked 27th in three-point percentage as a team (34.4 percent), and this season they’re not much better at (35 percent) which is 26th.
That’s a recipe for disaster when you consider that James and Anthony Davis need shooting around them to give them room to operate and attack the rim. While they do have three players shooting at least 38 percent from deep, including James, they’re a streaky three-point shooting team at best.
In a league that’s about pace and space and three-point shooting, they just don’t do it well enough.
Yes, Ham could be better with his lineup substitutions and things of that nature, but this team being 18-19 right now is hardly all his fault.
Pro Football Hall of Famer and Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders has been busy putting his 2024 team together.
As the team prepares to head back to the Big 12, a conference they left in 2011, Sanders is still hitting milestones he probably thought he’d never reach again.
The former NFL DPOY, who’s been battling blood clots for over two years, is as healthy as he’s been in years, and the legendary defensive back is grateful to once again be able to do something as simple as jog.
For the better part of two years Sanders has only been seen jogging out of the tunnel with his football team. 11 surgeries took its toll of the charismatic coach.
Things even got so bad in the beginning that Sanders faced a life-and-death decision.
Now, to be able to do something he’s always done once again, Sanders is reveling in the journey and his preservation.
Sanders Now Jogging On His Own
Sanders’ limited mobility over the past few years involved power walks with a very noticeable limp.
In a video to his Instagram account, Sanders one of the most gifted athletes ever, can be seen once again getting his jog on.
“This is the first time I’ve run. I run out for my team,” Sanders said in the video. “But this is the first time I’ve actually jogged and reflected on all the turbulent times: Eleven surgeries, multiple hospitals. God is so great.”
This is a far cry from what we witnessed Sanders doing in June, when he seemed completely perturbed by the constant pain and inability to do the normal daily things he used to do with ease.
In an interview with USA Today then, Sanders mentioned he was “chasing normalcy,” something he hadn’t seen as pertains to his health in years.
“That’s all I want,” he said. “I want normalcy. I want to be able to walk in two shoes and not be in pain, not taking meds all night.
At one point, man, I was taking so many darn pills every night, it was like c’mon. I can’t live the rest of my life like this. It was double-figure pills.”
Sanders didn’t reveal if he’s still taking all those pills, but his jogging on his own is a for-sure sign that he’s in much better health than he was a few months ago.
Deion Excited For 2024 Season
As the Buffaloes prepare for the 2024 college football season they’ll need to replace both coordinators from last season.
Offensive coordinator Sean Lewis left to become the head coach at San Diego State, and defensive coordinator Charles Kelly took a job at Auburn.
The defections were surprising, but Sanders seemed to be prepared for it.
Now he’ll be looking to add two top-notch play-callers to lead his team on both sides of the football.
Having upgraded the offensive and defensive lines, the next coordinators will have much more talent and depth at their disposal.
The New York Knicks are on a roll and looking like legitimate threats to be in the Eastern Conference Finals when playoff time rolls around. This is in no small part to the newest Knick, OG Anunoby.
You know when a fan base says the common phrase, ‘We’re just one piece away’, that may very well be the New York Knicks, and they might’ve just found that vital piece in Anunoby.
The former Toronto Raptor had been a hot trade target on the trade block for quite some time before the Knicks took a chunk of their youth and core out to acquire the 6-foot-7 two-way forward on Dec. 30.
New York traded away 2019 third overall pick RJ Barrett, standout guard Immanuel Quickley, and a 2024 second-round pick for Anunoby’s services.
Since then, the New York Knicks are 4-0, and Anunoby, who turned 26 years old on Monday, seems to fit into the team’s scheme very well. He had 17 points and brought plenty of energy in his Madison Square Garden debut as a Knicks player.
On top of being a defensive-minded player that can execute to the level of expectations set by Tom Thibodeau, his defensive-minded coach, Anunoby, a 2019 NBA World Champion with the Toronto Raptors, also set a historic stat for himself as a Knick.
According to reports, “through his first four games as a Knick, Anunoby carries a plus-minus at plus-85, which stands as a high-water mark for anyone in their first four games in blue-and-orange. That’s also the second-highest in NBA history, behind only Quentin Richards (plus-91). “
Through his first four games with the Knicks, Anunoby is averaging 12 points, 1.5 steals, 1.3 assists, and 5.3 rebounds.
An even more impressive stat that has Anunoby’s name written all over it is the fact that after the Knicks’ 121-105 win over the Washington Wizards, they top the league in fewest points allowed at just 100.5 points per game.
RJ Barrett was a fine player, but the move to acquire Anunoby shows that the Knicks are trying to establish themselves even further on the defensive end to complement and maximize the performance of their stars who can score at a high clip, such as Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle.
“I think we have a good core that’s been together for a while now. So I think that can absorb people coming in, and then a guy like OG is very serious,” Thibodeau told reporters. “He wants to do well, and I think his mind is open. He plays incredibly hard on every possession, so even if it’s not perfect right now, it’s still gonna be good.”
The most recent example of how elite the Knicks are becoming was their 33-point domination over the Eastern Conference juggernaut Philadelphia 76ers.
According to Thibodeau, Anunoby is only going to grow and get better in this system.
“Your hustle can make up for a lot. And that’s really what he’s doing. And each day, he’ll get better and better, and guys are starting to figure him out as well. So that takes a little bit of time. But help where you can, hustle, be in passing lanes, get deflections, help out on the boards, play physical, run the floor, move without the ball.”
Anunoby wanted to grow as an offensive player and a viable scoring option in Toronto. It didn’t work out as planned, but he has new life with New York, and with excellent defense it’s only a matter of time before he gets his offensive opportunities. He doesn’t need to do much more than he’s doing now. His presence has elevated the Knicks one more notch.
Following every NFL season, coaches and front offices prepare for what has become known as Black Monday.
That’s usually when coaches are told their services are no longer needed. Thus far the 2024 version has gone on without much movement, with only the Washington Commanders ridding of Ron Rivera and the Atlanta Falcons moving on from Arthur Smith. Falcons owner Arthur Blank didn’t waste any time relieving Smith of his duties, with reports ringing out late Sunday night.
As for Rivera, he was spared the firing on Sunday as he celebrated his 62nd birthday. But Monday brought an end to an ugly four seasons for the NFL’s lone Hispanic head coach, who was put in a very tenuous situation when he was hired in 2020 under former owner Daniel Snyder.
For a day that’s usually very busy, Monday wasn’t that, but be patient, there are still some moves that could come later this week or in the near future.
Commanders And Falcons Owners Decide To Look Elsewhere
The writing was on the wall for Rivera from the time the new ownership group bought the team. It didn’t help that Rivera was almost too loyal to former defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, who was finally fired after a Thanksgiving Day blowout loss to the archrival Dallas Cowboys.
Coming into the season the team’s defense was supposed to be a strength. When Del Rio was fired they ranked dead last.
The merry-go-round of nine starters and Rivera’s inability to develop a franchise QB while going 26-40-1 was all the ammunition Washington needed to move on.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who reportedly was on the fence about relieving Smith of his duties up until a couple weeks ago, issued a statement on the move:
“Decisions like this are never easy and they never feel good. We have profound respect for Coach Smith and appreciate all the hard work and dedication he has put into the Falcons over the last three years. He has been part of building a good culture in our football team, but the results on the field have not met our expectations.”
Smith hurt himself by trying to make second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder a franchise QB. Additionally, Smith’s offensive scheme was atrocious at times, and he underutilized dynamic running back Bijan Robinson for most of the season.
That seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back for Smith, who finishes 21-30 in his three-year tenure.
More Moves Could Come This Week
What happens in New England with Bill Belichick?
Is Bob Kraft ready to move on?
What happens with Mike Vrabel in Tennessee? He reportedly doesn’t have the greatest relationship with general manager Ran Carthon.
The Raiders saw interim coach Antonio Pierce go 5-4, including a win at Kansas City after the firing of Josh McDaniels. All of the players want him to return, but will he land the gig permanently?
Instead of doing the obvious and hiring a head coach who has proved that he is the man for the job, Las Vegas is reportedly waiting on Jim Harbaugh, who won the CFP National Championship on Monday night with a 34-13 shellacking of Washington, to make a decision on his future.
So much to unpack but with so little movement on Black Monday, the waiting game begins.
Boxer Ryan Garcia had himself a dynamic weekend.
He went from an expectant father and husband to a father of two and a single parent all in the span of 24 hours.
According to Garcia himself, he welcomed his first baby boy, Henry Leo Garcia, on Friday evening.
“Honored To announce my Beautiful First Born SON PRAISE THE LORD. I am so thankful, I love him so much already. He is so fast already haha. Took him just 8 min to arrive You know where he got that speed from lol. GOD DID! And GOD WILL … THANK YOU LORD I LOVE YOU.” Garcia posted on Instagram.
Almost immediately after he posted the birth of his child, he then took to social media to publicly announce that he and his wife, Andrea Celina, who just birthed his child, were getting a divorce.
In the since-deleted post, Garcia wrote “As I enter a new chapter in my life, it is with great regret that I share that ‘Drea’ and I have decided to divorce”.
This is shocking news considering majority of the public didn’t even realize that Garcia was married. The backlash was pretty severe.
But the obvious shock value of this situation comes from the fact that his wife just had his kid right before he announced their divorce.
The couple already shares another child together and, according to Garcia, “it’s important to emphasize that our relationship as co-parents remains our top priority.”
Andrea Celina did not post the same statement addressing their divorce, but she did post some very cryptic messages on her Instagram story.
Ryan Garcia has yet to further elaborate on his reason for the divorce, and, more important, the timing of the announcement.
All things considered, Garcia might be dealing with some tough internal conflicts, because not only did he pull a double whammy on Celina by immediately breaking up with her after she birthed his child, but the lightweight fighter also recently backed out of his highly anticipated bout with Devin Haney that was supposed to happen sometime in 2024.
“I’ve notified my team I’m going a different route,” Garcia posted Saturday morning on X formerly known as Twitter. “My intent now is to fight Rolando Romero.”
Haney doesn’t care if Garcia is going through something internally either, and he held nothing back in his response to Garcia’s cancellation.
“Don’t ever mention my name, p—y boi,” Haney said.
The two notoriously clashed three years back, and were tip-toeing around a potential fight with each other, but as Garcia has decided that the two will not be fighting.
As of right now there is no telling if Garcia’s family situation has anything to do with his decision to cancel the fight between him and Haney. Inquiring minds will continue to want to know what made him throw his wife under the bus on the same day that she brought his second child into the world.
If anything, he needs a better PR team.
Arguably the most valuable skill in today’s NBA is shooting. The more shooting you have on your team, the more space you have for your offense to operate. The hardest thing to do in this league is guard elite offensive players in space. So who are the league’s best shooters right now?
Looking at three-point percentage, mid-range percentage, and shot volume we have a good idea on who these players are. Keep in mind this is as of right now at this point in the season. Not all time or who will be the best five at season’s end.
Yes, a 7-foot center and the reigning league MVP is one of the five best shooters in the game right now.
Ten of his 21 shot attempts per game come from 9 feet and in toward the rim. But eight of his 21 shot attempts come from 10-19 feet, and he’s shooting 54 percent on those shots, and he’s shooting 35 percent from three.
If you look up heliocentric offense in the NBA dictionary you’ll see a picture of Doncic, right next to one of peak Houston Rockets James Harden. The usage rate is absurd, and Doncic has remained efficient on high volume.
On 23 shot attempts per game he has an 57.4 and 62.4 eFG% and TS%. He is shooting 38 percent from three on 10 attempts per game.
According to some advanced metrics he is the best offensive player in the game, and for those that dismiss advanced stats for raw metrics, hard to argue those either. He’s averaging 25 points per game on 50/42/84 shooting splits.
His eFG% and TS% are a ridiculous 60.7 and 65.3 respectively. Haliburton is shooting 53 percent in the midrange and 42 percent from three on nearly nine attempts per game.
It almost feels sacrilegious placing the best shooter of all time second on any shooting list. And in all honesty you could rearrange any of the top three depending on what you value the most.
Curry is shooting 41 percent from three on 11 attempts per game. Despite what is statistically his second-worst shooting season from three, he remains elite. That shows you how great this man is as a shooter. He also boasts 58 and 64 eFG% and TS% efficiency splits.
The master of the midrange leads the league in three-point shooting percentage at 48 percent on nearly five attempts per game. He’s still excellent in the midrange and just about everywhere else on the floor.
Durant is posting 58 and 64 eFG% and TS% efficiency splits on nearly 20 shot attempts per game. High volume and high accuracy.
Boxing is the red light district of sports not only because it has had a shady reputation over the years but also because of the unpredictable nature of the sport. Late last year, Deontay Wilder shocked the world when he lost handily to Joseph Parker in his Saudi Arabian debut. The fight tanked a planned matchup against Anthony Joshua.
Now it is revealed that Joshua will face former UFC heavyweight champion turned boxer Francis Ngannou on March 8 back in Saudi Arabia.
The fight is the second professional boxing match for Ngannou and the second-biggest name he will fight after losing controversially to current WBC champion Tyson Fury last October.
Joshua’s promoter made it official with a post on X on Jan. 5.
“Tonight we confirm it’s a Done Deal! @anthonyjoshua v @francis_ngannou collide on a huge night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – press conference Jan 15 in London with full details dropping soon!”
The first sanctioning body to jump on the Francis Ngannou train was the World Boxing Council (WBC), which ranked the cage fighter as the No. 10 heavyweight after his fight against Tyson Fury. The 37-year-old knocked Fury down in their match, and many feel Ngannou won the fight, as he lost on points by a small margin. Luckily, his WBC title was off the line for Fury then, but that was before the WBC ranked Ngannou.
Ever since Floyd Mayweather Jr. fought Conor McGregor, an influx of MMA fighters have dared to be great and wanted to fight boxers in the ring. Thus far, besides McGregor, only Ngannou, Anderson Silva, and Anthony Pettis, who fought Roy Jones Jr. and won, have been successful. All except McGregor had to leave the UFC to accomplish those goals.
The biggest winner is Ngannou before the bell even rings for the first round because he was thought to be dead in the water after he left the UFC. However, since then he has struck an amazing deal to keep fighting MMA for the Professional Fighters League and begin bringing fights to Africa; Ngannou is from Cameroon.
With chatter surrounding the idea that Deontay Wilder may be on the undercard against Zhilei Zhang (26-1-1), a 2008 Olympic silver medalist in the super heavyweight division who knocked out Joe Joyce twice in his last two fights, the deck is looking stacked against Wilder.
In boxing, only one punch can change a career, but for Deontay Wilder, in the shadow of Tyson Fury, Saudi Arabia might be where he hangs up the gloves.
The Houston Texans are headed to the playoffs, and to add a cherry on top they’re also hosting a wild card playoff game after winning the AFC South division with the Jacksonville Jaguars losing to the Tennessee Titans in Sunday’s regular-season finale.
It’s the franchise’s first division title since 2019.
Texans Make History
DeMeco Ryans and CJ Stroud made history as the fifth postseason team with a rookie head coach and QB duo. The tandem is also the first Black duo to do it in NFL history, which should be noted. Together, they make the Texans a team that nobody really wants to face in the playoffs.
The other duos are Chuck Pagano/Andrew Luck (2012), Rex Ryan/Mark Sanchez (2009), Jon Harbaugh/Joe Flacco (2008) and Mike Smith/Matt Ryan (2008).
Stroud is only the 15th quarterback since at least 1950 to lead his team to the playoffs in his rookie season while starting at least 10 games, according to Stathead.
Stroud took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to say:
“Letssss Goooooo!!!!”
Rookie edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. also chimed in….
“We didn’t come this far to come this far.”
The Texans a projected five-win team this season went from three wins in 2022 to ten wins in 2023. Unreal turnaround under first-year coach DeMeco Ryans.
Stroud Has Looked Elite
From the moment he was drafted Stroud has looked like he has the “IT” factor. His absence was felt pretty heavily when he missed back-to-back games in December versus the Titans and Browns.
The team went 1-1 in those games, but when he the strong-armed gunslinger returned the team won its final two games clinching a playoff berth and subsequent division title. Following Saturday’s win an emotional Stroud told reporters this in his postgame interview.
“To be my first season and make the playoffs man, it’s been a heck of a year. I’m blessed enough to be in this position for this great organization, this great city of Houston. Man, I’m just blessed. Words can’t explain how proud I am of my teammates. Without them, there’s no me or no winning, you know what I’m saying? It’s just a blessing just to be able to be part of something special.”
Stroud has been the biggest part of this improbable season, and for his efforts he’s the favorite to Offensive Rookie of the Year.
In 15 regular-season games Stroud passed for 4,105 yards, 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions.
He’ll be tested in the wild card round by a very aggressive Cleveland Browns defense. Stroud missed the first matchup between these teams, a 36-22 home loss in Week 16.
The Washington Huskies (14-0) and Michigan Wolverines (14-0) are set to lock horns on Monday night in Houston. Winning the CFP national championship game would be the first national title since 1991 for the Huskies or 1997 for the Wolverines.
While most believe the Wolverines will finish the job and win it all, the Huskies and their super senior signal-caller Michael Penix Jr. are saying not so fast.
All season the so-called subject matter experts kept waiting for the Huskies to fold, and all they kept doing is winning. Led by Penix Jr., they’re now 60 minutes from winning the national championship in the final season of the 108-year-old Pac-12 conference. If there was ever a contrast in styles in a title matchup this one is it, and Penix gives the Huskies a great chance to knock off the favorite Wolverines.
Penix And Huskies Will Test Wolverines Stout Defense
All season the Wolverines have been stout defensively. In their 27-20 semifinal win over Alabama, the Wolverines held the Crimson Tide to 288 total yards and bottled up quarterback Jalen Milroe to the tune of 116 yards passing. Dealing with a passer as accomplished as Penix Jr. won’t be easy, especially with him coming off the third-most passing yards 430 in CFP history in the Huskies’ 37-31 semifinal win over the Texas Longhorns.
It was arguably the best performance we’ve seen in the CFP era from a quarterback, and that includes former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow’s 2019 unbelievable run. Penix Jr. embodies the leadership, toughness and savvy that second-year head coach Kalen DeBoer knew he needed when he got the job in 2022. The two were together in Indiana in 2019, and the minute DeBoer landed in Seattle he had to have Penix Jr.
The move has paid off with the Huskies 25-2 in two seasons under the DeBoer and Penix Jr. regime. Ahead of Monday’s game DeBoer talked about his star quarterback and what he’s meant to the success of the Huskies program.
“I just knew that he’s a guy you could build a team around,” DeBoer said. “That, production-wise, would go out and give you everything you needed throwing a football, running an offense, leading a football team.
“As a person he’s a guy you’re never going to question having out front and center in moments like this, or out in the community. He’s going to know what to say and how it always brings our team closer,” DeBoer added.
With DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb running one of the most innovative offenses in all of college football, Penix Jr. has thrived, passing for nearly 9,300 yards, 66 touchdowns and just 17 interceptions in two seasons, including a nation-leading 4,698 this season. It’s an offense that accentuates Penix Jr.’s elite arm strength and the best receiver room in college football, led by future first-round pick Rome Odunze.
That offense is something the Wolverines haven’t seen all season, and especially with a quarterback as talented as Penix Jr. leading the way.
Injuries Are Why Penix Is In Sixth Season
When he entered the transfer portal in December 2021, there was no shortage of teams that attempted to add the gunslinging lefty. But only DeBoer was willing to give Penix Jr. the assurance that the offense would utilize his entire skill set.
Coming off four injury-riddled seasons (2018 and 2022 ACL injuries) and (2019 and 2021 shoulder and clavicle injuries), those injuries didn’t scare DeBoer, and that leap of faith has paid off in a huge way.
Now, all of Seattle and the surrounding areas of Washington state are hoping the two have just a little more magic left in the tank. If they do the Huskies will be hoisting an improbable CFP trophy sometime Monday night.
Coming into the season Green Bay Packers fans didn’t know what to expect. For the first time some 1991 they wouldn’t have Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre or future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers under center.
That situation caused some apprehension amongst the cheesehead faithful, who had no idea who they were getting with the surprise 2020 first-round pick who coming into the season had just one career start under his belt.
First-year starter Jordan Love did his best to instill the notion that things would be OK, just give him some time. That’s exactly how it played as the talented former Utah State quarterback led his Packers team to the postseason with a 17-9 season finale victory over the Chicago Bears. The win means Love did something Favre and Rodgers failed to do in their first season as the team’s starting QB. This season Love proved that the Packers brass led by head coach Matt LaFleur made a smart decision in 2020.
In the win Love went 27 of 32 for 316 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. His 84 percent completion percentage shows just how locked in he was for this mammoth game.
In wake of the wild-card-clinching win that evaded them in last year’s season finale, LaFleur was excited to heap praise on his young and steadily rising signal-caller. In his postgame interview the Packers fifth-year coach had this to say:
“He’s just resilient. Those are things you cannot coach. You can sit there and talk about it till you’re blue in the face. However, that’s something he possesses, and I admire him for that, his ability to stay even keel, to battle through adversity, to lead our team.”
Star cornerback Jaire Alexander took things further with his comments.
“I said it back in camp, he’s the best quarterback in the league,” Alexander said. “And he’s been proving it in these past few weeks.”
Love Led Team From 2-5 To Playoffs
At 2-5 things looked bleak for the Packers, but behind Love they won seven of their final ten games to finish 9-8. Not bad for the youngest team in the entire NFL, who now have a trip to face the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys in the wild card round.
The kid never flinched, and LaFleur never wavered in his approach with him even amidst some midseason struggles, trusting that Love would figure it out.
For the season Love passed for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions. That’s nearly a 3-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Not bad at all for any NFL starter, but especially one in his first season at the helm.
Thirty-eight-year-old Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco was sitting on his couch just about all season. That’s when an injury to Browns starting quarterback Deshaun Watson allowed the former Super Bowl MVP to return to the field. After not having one workout for a team all season, Flacco was added to the Browns practice squad as insurance. Not long after that the former Baltimore Ravens star was then upgraded to the Browns’ active roster.
Flacco’s rebirth has not only elevated the Browns to a playoff spot, it has also boosted his profile with the team’s faithful fans. Per a report from TMZ Sports, Flacco’s jersey sales has increased 400 percent. That’s remarkable and shows how quickly a few wins can change things for a player. It looked as if the former Delaware Blue Hens star’s time as a quarterback was up following his stint with the Jets the last two seasons, and then this.
Flacco Should Win Comeback Player Of The Year
As of Sunday Flacco isn’t the favorite to win Comeback Player of the Year, he trails Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. But, if there’s a silver lining in Flacco’s favor it’s the fact that he’s actually played, versus Hamlin, who’s been inactive just about the entire season. As courageous as the Damar Hamlin story, he hasn’t been on the field. As for Flacco he’s gone (4-1) in five starts with 1,616 yards and 13 touchdown passes.
In Flacco’s five starts the Browns have averaged 28.6 points which is a full touchdown more than the 21.7 points they averaged in the 11 games the team played prior to him joining the roster.
If some of the past winners (Alex Smith 2020, Joe Burrow 2021, and Geno Smith 2022), are any indication, Flacco has a great shot at winning the award. Especially as in Smith’s case he played just six games, going 5-1 and leading the Washington Commanders to the playoffs. Sounds a lot like what Flacco did.
Browns Believe Flacco Can Lead Team To Super Bowl
The relationships between the Browns and Flacco has been beneficial for both sides. Head coach Kevin Stefanski told the media this on Saturday. With a defense that’s Super Bowl-ready, adding Flacco gave the Browns offense and team a real shot in the arm and belief that they can win the Super Bowl.
“Joe has been there, done that,” Stefanski told reporters. “I mean, he’s been to the Super Bowl, won the Super Bowl. He’s been in those big moments. So, I think he carries that with him. He doesn’t tell anybody that. I mean, the players know that. But in these games, when you’re in the huddle and you have a guy that you trust in those moments, I think it resonates with the offense, certainly, and probably with the team as well.”
That type of experience and leadership are things you just can’t measure, and Stefanski and his team are excited to have Flacco on their side.
They begin their quest next week in a road wildcard matchup versus the Houston Texans.
The NBA is bursting with young talent. Particularly talent under the age of 25. We’ve never had this many players this young and skilled in the history of the league. Who are the best under-25 prospects?
Luka Doncic and Trae Young are 25 and thus ineligible. And a top-5 list means really good players are going to be left off. Reigning DPOY Jaren Jackson Jr., big-man sensation Alperen Şengün, 2019 No. 1 overall draft pick Zion Williamson, and rookies Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama, all under 25, just miss our top 5.
The only reason he’s not higher on the list is he missed the first 25 games of the season due to suspension. He’s been electric in his return, but the other players have been dependable all season and are better at the moment.
But don’t get it twisted. He’s averaging 26 points and eight assists per game and is a paint scoring demon. His ability to get by his man keys everything the Memphis Grizzlies’ offense does. His shooting needs to improve if he’s to become an MVP candidate.
No James Harden. No problem. He has taken over as Joel Embiid’s pick and roll partner, and they might be the best one-two combination in the league.
Maxey is +4.2 in EPM, the 95th percentile. He’s averaging 26 points and six assists per game on 46/38/88 shooting splits and 54 eFG% and 60 TS% efficiency splits. He is the betting favorite to win Most Improved Player at -250.
Along with Morant, Edwards is the most athletic of the top 5. His first step and leaping ability are the stuff of legend.
He is the No. 1 option on the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Edwards is averaging 26 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game on 45/38/84 shooting splits. He is +4.3 in EPM, the 95th percentile, and is having the most efficient shooting season of his young career.
His defensive capabilities put him ahead of Maxey and Morant.
At 6 feet 7, his size gives him a versatility that the previous three can’t match. In a sport where the rim is 10 feet above the ground, size matters. Size plus skill means you have the potential to be elite.
He is playing full-time point guard and is averaging 21 points, just under 10 rebounds, and just under six assists per game on 48/39/76 shooting splits. He too is having his most efficient season. He is +4.7 in EPM, the 96th percentile, and the only player in the top 5 in the 90th percentile or higher in both offensive and defensive EPM.
This young man is an offensive dynamo. The engine that paces the league’s No. 1 offense. Haliburton is averaging just under 25 points and a league-leading 12 assists per game on 50/42/84 shooting splits. He’s the most efficient scorer of any of the top 5 by a good margin.
He is +5.9 in EPM, the 98th percentile. He is No. 1 in the league in offensive EPM at +8.2. That is ahead of Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid. But Haliburton is one of the worst defenders in the league, 3rd percentile.
His offense is so elite that he’s a top-5 player in terms of impact and production despite abysmal defense. If he is to become an MVP candidate he will need to be passable on defense.
It’s no secret that steroids heavily affected the MLB and the legacy of plenty of players. There are plenty of players who have tarnished legacies because of steroid usage, or they were able to become immortalized as great players because of their use of steroids. But one player says his legacy suffered in comparison because other players benefited from doping.
Former shortstop Gary Sheffield spoke about the doping epidemic in the MLB in the late 90s and 2000s, touching on the fact that he tried to talk about it and expose different players for using it while being accused of using steroids himself.
“I had a personal problem with it because I know for a fact, and I did the Bryant Gumbel special when I was with the L.A. Dodgers, and I trained like you wouldn’t believe in the off-season, and I was still hitting 30 and 40 home runs a year,” Sheffield told Foul Territory.
“Now he has 150 home runs more than me that’s impossible, and so that’s when I said that, but then once I started speaking like that. Major League Baseball tried to hush me up.”
Sheffield didn’t specify who he was speaking about. Still, he was referring to a particular player who he was sure was using steroids at the time, which he felt was hindering his recognition and ruining his season and his overall legacy.
Sheffield was included in the Mitchell Report, which featured plenty of baseball stars who were accused of using steroids. While being accused, Sheffield claims that he wasn’t doping and that the guys who were using steroids were winning awards and stealing the glory from him.
“I was the first guy to bring up the steroid situation because I had a problem with it because I felt like they were taking MVPs away from me,” Sheffield said.
Now, when Sheffield tried to speak on the situation and bring attention to the usage of steroids in the MLB, he claimed that the league wanted to shut him down.
“[Then-commissioner] Bud Seelig called me in the office and told me to stop it with this steroid stuff because I’m drawing too much attention to the game in a negative way,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield also claimed that the league was trying to get him out of the league in an attempt to shut him up and stop the attention he was bringing to steroid usage, which would hurt baseball’s reputation.
“My whole career, on every team I played on, I was the best player. I had the best numbers, but what they do is they were trying to get me out of the game a long time ago.”
This certainly classifies as a “what-if” for Sheffield if his greatness was never overshadowed by other players whose steroid-fueled seasons outranked his. Sheffield is a nine-time all-star, Major League Player of the Year, and a five-time silver slugger. His legacy would only be more remarkable if he had more awards that he possibly missed out on.
Around the holidays, giving is always a godsend, and when a professional athlete uses their money selflessly, it becomes even more inspirational.
USC freshman JuJu Watkins is a perfect example of working hard and giving back to the community that raised her. According to Sports Illustrated’s Fan Nation, the USC basketball sensation used money and sponsorship from her NIL deal with Nike to give back to her community in Los Angeles for Christmas.
Watkins is among scarce companies as one of the few college basketball players with NIL deals with Nike. She joins fellow USC basketball star Bronny James, Kentucky’s DJ Wagner, and UConn’s Paige Bueckers as the only college hoop stars to align themselves with Nike.
She is using that alignment to give back Nike shoes and various accessories and gear to some of the up-and-coming hoopers in the Crenshaw, Jordan, and Finish First Academy high schools for the holidays, and she announced as much on her Instagram.
“Spreading #GoodJuJu in Watts this holiday season was truly special! Huge thanks to @nike for helping me gift some fresh gear to the next generation of ballers at Crenshaw, Jordan High, and Finish First Academy. Let’s keep spreading the #GoodJuJu all year long! #GoodJuJu” Watkins wrote on Instagram.
As Watkins alluded to in her Instagram post, the event was named the “Good JuJu Holiday Giveback.” Watkins hails from the Watts area of Los Angeles; it was only fitting that she collaborated with Nike and The Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC).
“This is what it’s all about,” Watkins said, according to Sports Illustrated’s Fan Nation. “Just giving back to my community and inner city.”
Watkins is not only doing right by her community off the court, but she’s also putting on for California at USC on the court.
Watkins is averaging 26.9 points, second in the nation behind Caitlin Clark. She is also averaging 7.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Watkins is also leading a great USC team, as they are currently ranked No. 9, and just recently handed Oregon State their first loss behind Watkins’ 28 points.
She is a star in college and is already doing what many stars do: she’s giving back to her hometown significantly. Watkins is already showing us that she doesn’t mind using her money and connections to help enrich the lives of others who have to come up the same way.
As she eventually transitions to the WNBA, which is a surefire thing, we expect her giving spirit and philanthropic nature to grow tremendously.
In the world of professional sports bosses, Mark Cuban should be on every potential hire’s list of who to work for simply because of the financial perks. Cuban announced that he and the new ownership would pay over $35 million in bonuses to the team’s staff.
Talk about a happy new year.
“As a thank you for all your hard work making the Mavs an amazing organization, each of you will be receiving a bonus from myself, and the Adelson and Dumont families,” Cuban said in a message to employees read, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “In total, we will be paying out approximately $35 plus Million Dollars in bonuses to you all.”
The bonus amount will be calculated with a “framework that took into consideration how long you have worked for the Mavs,” according to Cuban.
Last month, the NBA approved the sale of the Dallas Mavericks to the families that run the Las Vegas Sands casino company for $3.5 billion. Cuban will reportedly still control basketball operations. Late last year, the families of Miriam Adelson, Sivan, and Patrick Dumont announced their intent to buy the club. Patrick Dumont will serve as the Mavericks governor.
Dumont is the son-in-law of Miriam Adelson and president and chief operating officer of the Las Vegas Sands company. Adelson is the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. With all the talk surrounding a potential Las Vegas NBA franchise, the Mavericks plan on staying in Texas.
However, Cuban plans to upgrade Dallas, and his partnership with the Las Vegas Sands feeds into a long-term goal of building an arena in downtown Dallas that includes a hotel and casino. Gambling is illegal in Texas. However, the Las Vegas Sands company has diligently worked to change that.
“It’s a partnership. They’re not basketball people, I’m not real estate people. That’s why I did it,” Cuban said to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.
Cuban also announced that he would leave “Shark Tank” after season 16 to spend more time with his family.
“I feel like in doing ‘Shark Tank’ all these years we’ve trained multiple generations of entrepreneurs that, if somebody can come from Iowa or Sacramento or wherever, and show up on ‘Shark Tank’ and show their business and get a deal, it’s going to inspire generations of kids,” Cuban said on the “All the Smoke” podcast.
Today’s generation is inspired to fill out a Dallas Mavericks application based on Cuban’s generosity with his employees.
Ron Rivera will likely coach the final game of his tenure as the Washington Commanders Sunday versus the archrival Dallas Cowboys, who with a win can clinch the NFC East. In the coming days it’s expected that new owner Josh Harris and his ownership group will begin an exhaustive search to find the franchise’s new coach, who will also be their coach. As the team prepares for the game, Rivera, who came to Washington at the height of scandal that involved former owner Daniel Snyder, reflects on his tenure in Washington.
In four seasons, while the results on the field haven’t been anything to write home about, Rivera has done a very good job in changing the culture. Unfortunately for him, that isn’t enough in a results-based based business, and for that the aforementioned Harris must move on. All week during his media sessions leading to today’s game, Rivera has been asked about his job security, and each time he sounds like someone who knows it ends soon, but he’s also shockingly proud of some of what his regime accomplished.
Heading into Sunday’s season finale, Rivers’s record with Washington is an abysmal 26-39-1, with no winning seasons. He did win the division title in his first season (2020) with a losing record of 7-9. But his tenure just hasn’t translated to wins.
“Well, I’d like to think we’re in a better place,” Rivera told reporters. “Probably a fair way to say it. I most certainly do appreciate my time here, and we’ll see what happens.
“What we’ve done with the culture — I think that was one of the things that somebody asked me the same question —I said the biggest thing more so than anything else I think I kind of like where we are,” Rivera later continued.
Rivera is correct on the culture. It is much better since he arrived, and Snyder sold the team in July. But the on-field product has been downright embarrassing at times, and that falls on his shoulders. He’s made some very questionable moves in the draft and free agency. And having nine starting quarterbacks over a four-year span is never good.
That’s just not a recipe for success, and because of it Rivera will likely be removed of his duties, which included pretty much managing until five weeks ago when he fired then-defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and took over the defense.
Rivera’s 62nd birthday is Sunday, and, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, that firing won’t take place on Sunday. But the expectancy is things will begin to change soon thereafter.
As for Rivera, this will also likely be the final time he’s an NFL head coach, and probably one at any level of football. He came into a tough situation, and while he did the best he could, he’s paid to win football games, and he just didn’t do enough of that.
Led by legendary coach Mike Tomlin the Steelers got a much needed 17-10 road win at bitter division foe Baltimore. The win gave them the division sweep over their longtime AFC North nemesis. The win also means the Steelers finish the regular season 10-7 and clinch head coach Mike Tomlin’s tenth double-digit win season in his 17 years as a head coach. It also pads his NFL-record streak of 17 consecutive non-losing seasons to begin a coaching career.
For the Ravens (clinched home field advantage last week), Saturday’s game was about nothing more than trying to prevent rust with some of their guys and hoping to end the Steelers’ playoff hopes. That didn’t happen, and now the Steelers need either a Bills or Jaguars loss on Sunday to clinch one of the AFC playoff spots. For their sake the Bills and Dolphins play an AFC East division-deciding game on Sunday night, meaning neither team will sit key players.
Off The Couch?
As the teams left the field following the Steelers, the aforementioned Tomlin could he heard yelling, “Off the couch!”
That’s in reference to a lot of his players who contributed in Saturday’s win. Hampered by injuries, the Steelers used many players from the practice squad and even one player (Myles Jack) wasn’t even playing football a few weeks ago.
For Tomlin and his team, the Ravens not playing their starters doesn’t change the fact that they’ve won seven of the last eight matchups with their bitter rival. That could be heard in Tomlin’s tone coming off the field.
Steelers Wanted This One BAD
Running back Najee Harris who reached the 1,000-yard rushing plateau for the third consecutive season, rushed for 112 yards on 26 carries and scored one touchdown. The former Alabama standout and Doak Walker Award winner told reporters that it didn’t matter who played for the Ravens Saturday they were gonna feel it. ,
“Whoever was in there, we wanted to play so physical that if they did play their ones, their guys, we wanted John Harbaugh to say, ‘We gotta get them out of there, because of how physical we’re playing.”
That’s nothing new in this heated rivalry that’s become surprisingly one-sided the past four seasons. Even the two coaches who have the utmost respect for each other but don’t really like each other have had a spat or two in the past.
Tomlin leads the head-to-head matchup with Harbaugh 20-15. Saturday’s win also made Tomlin the only coach in the Super Bowl era with 20 wins versus two different coaches, the other being former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis.
If you need further proof on who’s calling the shots for the New York Jets just look at the award they just gave quarterback Aaron Rodgers despite him playing just four downs this past season. Rodgers, who tore his Achilles and was lost for the season in the team’s season-opening win over the Buffalo Bills, has definitely kept a high profile despite not being on the field.
On Friday the team announced that the former four-time league MVP has been awarded the Dennis Byrd Award. That award recognizes the team’s “most inspirational player.” The team believes Rodgers has been inspirational because he’s stayed around the team as he rehabs from his injury. He’s also reportedly been very helpful to backup Zach Wilson and others.
Rodgers somehow even got back on the practice field this season as the team even opened his 21-day window to possibly return, which was never a reality.
Being named the recipient of this award is a pretty big deal when you consider what it represents. Byrd was paralyzed making a tackle in 1992. While Byrd was never able to play football again, he was able to walk again after multiple surgeries to repair his fifth cervical vertebrae. That in itself is definitely inspiration, and Byrd embodied that.
None of us are in the Jets facilities or around the team daily, but it’s kind of awkward to hear Rodgers and the word inspirational being mentioned in the same sentence.
It seems like another sign that Rodgers is running the Jets and having plenty of say-so in what goes on behind the scenes.
This week in typical Rodgers fashion, the one-time Super Bowl champion signal-caller inexplicably took a shot at late night television host Jimmy Kimmel.
During his weekly Tuesday spot on “The Pat McAfee Show” Rodgers mentioned that Kimmel was a part of child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s entourage. The comment seemingly caught McAfee and his other members of the show completely off guard.
Kimmel quickly responded with a threat to involve his lawyers if Rodgers continued. In an effort to clean things up Mike Foss, who’s ESPN’s VP of digital production, released this statement on the serious matter. Foss called it “a dumb and factually inaccurate joke.”
“It never should have happened,” Foss said in his statement. “We all realized that in the moment.”
Foss also mentioned that there’s no plan to remove Rodgers from his Tuesday spot. In fact, it sounds like he’s here to stay.
“The show will continue to evolve,” Foss told Front Office Sports. “It wouldn’t surprise me if Aaron’s role evolves with it.”
The New York Knicks have won their past two games, but before that they lost three in a row. The team sits eighth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 19-15, and even though they have wins over the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, and Milwaukee Bucks this season, the Knicks remain the bane of their fans’ existence.
Still, the faithful have stayed, and although the team may not have any recognizable stars in exchange for the little foundation that could, a Knicks fan stays a Knicks fan. However, the so-called biggest Knicks fan, Stephen A. Smith, talked greasy about the team and has many fans speculating about his loyalty while he trashes the players.
“They can’t get a star,” Smith said during “NBA Countdown” on ESPN on Wednesday. “You had a chance. This is the mecca and stars come to visit, we never have any. Do you realize that there’s a legitimate argument that Stephen A. Smith is one of the big stars in New York?
“I am a bigger star than most of the New York Knicks,” Smith proclaimed. “That’s a damn shame,”
Smith constantly makes bombastic statements, and his frustration at the team’s shortcomings is routine until he inserts himself insultingly into the picture. Recently, the Knicks acquired swingman OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors and gave up former No. 3 overall pick RJ Barrett and rising young guard Immanuel Quickley, along with a 2024 second-round pick that now belongs to the Detroit Pistons for Anunoby. For many, this signaled the only move the team could make.
However, many believe they are not done building up the team. Despite Smith’s remarks, the Knicks still have eight first-round picks to trade, including the following four: Julius Randle, Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes, and Donte DiVincenzo, all trade-eligible before this season’s trade deadline on February 8, 2024.
For Smith, its all speculative and he just wants results, especially in the post-season. With the Knicks reportedly targeting Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell but Mitchell and the Cavs not looking to split, Smith’s frustration is apparent.
“The New York Knicks have been out of the first round twice in 24 years,” Smith said. “I’mma say it again, I had an afro — hairline was two feet forward.
“When you have an opportunity to get a Donovan Mitchell — I understand that he’s not the biggest star or whatever, but he’s a No. 1 scoring option — give me somebody that I can say, ‘Here’s the ball. Take me there,’ and we got a chance,” Smith pleaded. “You couldn’t even do that, and you’re the Knicks.”
