The Jacksonville Jaguars were as much of a sure bet as you get in the NFL these days entering Monday night’s 34-31 shocking overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence was in a zone, delivering passes with a sniper’s precision, leading his team to wins in eight of its last nine games, with an opportunity to move into the top seed in the AFC and take a two-game lead over the 7-5 Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South.
With Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow on the sidelines nursing an injury, backup Jake Browning got the opportunity of a lifetime. This would be his second start for the Bengals, whose Super Bowl hopes went from possible to impossible with the season-ending injury to their star QB.
When you’re an unheralded backup quarterback like Browning, who was an undrafted free agent out of Washington in 2019, you have to take advantage of your chances when you get them.
The Jaguars were expected to put a nice whupping on the undermanned Bengals. Browning, the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2016, had other plans, delivering one of the great performances by a backup quarterback pressed into duty against a league powerhouse, lifting the heavy underdog Bengals to their first “MNF” win since 1990 at Cleveland.
Browning was 32 of 37 for 354 yards, and his 86.5 completion percentage is the highest all time in a quarterback’s first or second career start. He remained calm and efficient in a hotly contested back-and -forth game. Burrow himself couldn’t have done a better job of running the offense, keeping his composure and rallying the team to victory.
“We were able to run the ball really well and that’s a credit to [running back] Joe Mixon,” said Browning, who threw for 227 yards in his first career start in a Week 11 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. “Just having a week under my belt was huge. It’s not a fancy answer, but I think that’s what it was.”
There’s nothing fancy about Browning’s game, but he was remarkably efficient, and he never broke a sweat, even in the most crucial moments late in the game. When Jags QB Trevor Lawrence went down with an injury after his ankle was inadvertently stepped on by offensive lineman Walker Little, Browning seized the moment and the spotlight.
Where did that calm come from?
“I’ve had a long time to really study myself,” Browning told ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters after the game. “And how I play best, and that’s when I’m calm. I just focus on what I can control. It comes from watching Joe and other guys.”
In any event, we all love an underdog story, and Browning just gave NFL fans a new quarterback to root for. Apparently, he’s beloved in the locker room already. Reportedly, Browning’s the kind of guy that sits in defensive back meetings on Tuesday, his day off, just to go through plays with defensive backs, learn and bond with his teammates.
All of a sudden Cincy is back to .500 at 6-6 and still in the hunt for the AFC wild card, and that’s really all Bengals fans can ask for under the circumstances.
The Bengals have a multitude of weapons on offense — elite players such as Mixon and Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. If Browning can continue to keep his composure and make the clutch throws, the Bengals might be one of the surprise stories to emerge this NFL season.
As obvious as it is, it is still worth reminding people that LeBron James is a family man, and he has shown on plenty of occasions that he will gladly put his family first.
So, it came as little surprise that LeBron, who basically does what he wants in the NBA, told the Lakers that if his son Bronny James’ USC debut game falls on the same day as a Lakers game he flat-out will be leaving his team and attending his son’s game.
Bronny James was medically cleared to play last week and make a full return to basketball, after he suffered a cardiac arrest in July during a USC Trojans practice.
According to medical staff Bronny has been diagnosed with an “anatomically and functionally significant congenital heart defect” by doctors.
During this shocking time, there was no timetable for when he would return, but it seems medical staff have deemed him capable to compete.
With Bronny now fully cleared to play, many were wondering how Bron would show love to his eldest son as he officially takes his next step toward the NBA.
LeBron told reporters last week, “I’m looking forward to his first game. Whenever he’s cleared, and whenever he’s ready to have his first game, I already told my teammates that if they play on the same day we play, I’m going to have to catch them next game,”
Can Lakers Afford For LeBron To Miss Game For Bronny’s College Game?
Currently the Lakers are 12-9 and in seventh place in the Western Conference, so they will be fighting for a playoff berth all season and King James will be needed as much as possible.
First and foremost, nobody in the Lakers organization is going to stop LeBron from watching his son’s first college game. Especially because the two are still local. Bronny playing at USC and LeBron playing for the Lakers, both located in Los Angeles.
While the Lakers are trying to find a way back to the top of the NBA, it might be best that LeBron gets his day off for his son’s game and rather sooner than later.
After his eruption at Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka on Sunday, the two received technical fouls, Udoka’s being his second, meaning he automatically was ejected from the game.
According to multiple reports, LeBron reacted after Udoka said, “stop crying like b–ches,” referring to the Lakers team.
LeBron didn’t take kindly to those words, as a fiery dialogue took place between the two.
He responded, “We’re all grown men, that b–ch word ain’t cool,”
Udoka fired back saying “Soft a** boy, stop b–ching. Acting like you’re gonna do something,”
The Lakers would go on to win that game 107-97.
LeBron could use a minute to reset and enjoy watching his son play. The four-time NBA champion has a lot going on right now, and the Lakers are an average team with championship dreams. LeBron seems to be transitioning to retirement while still playing, and his attitude toward basketball seems to be one that sees the actual game as less and less important every day.
Meanwhile, until Bronny is ready to play, USC still boasts a strong roster that features standout freshman guard Isaiah Collier and Dennis Rodman’s son, forward DJ Rodman.
Won’t be long before Bron is at the game yelling on the sideline and being a proud pop. It might even be a night when the Lakers play.
On Monday, Dec. 4, ex-NFL WR Antonio Brown took to social media platform X to claim that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers paid him “hush money” to play while he was injured. This isn’t the first time AB has accused the Bucs of doing this. Last year, he said then head coach Bruce Arians forced him to play, knowing the All-Pro’s ankle was broken. AB has said that’s why he left the field mid-game in week 17 of the 2021 season.
“Thank you @Buccaneers for hush money Settlement playing me while I was hurt now u can Suck my D***! NFL money rap money” wrote AB in a caption on his X account.
The accompanying picture showed stacks of cash and a check from the Bucs corporation, made payable to AB.
AB and his lawyer Sean Burstyn appeared on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” in January 2022 and continued to make accusations against the Bucs.
“These guys at Tampa Bay Bucs tried to make an agreement with me to get me $200,000 to go to the crazy house so these guys could look like they know what they’re talking about,” Brown said.
Burstyn then jumped in to confirm the proposal from Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht.
“The offer was Antonio would basically sit on the sidelines, go on some list, and commit himself to some form of intensive mental health treatment,” Burstyn said. “We were specifically told, in writing by the general manager, twice, ‘Don’t spin this any other way.'”
Brown later added, “I have mental wealth” when asked by Gumbel about his mental health.
AB has been exhibiting strange behavior for quite some time now and it has only escalated since he stopped playing football. A look through his X timeline shows incoherent rants, a repeated stream of Kanye West lyrics and a random plea to former teammate Tom Brady to “go fishing” with him.
It’s hard to talk of Brown without mentioning the real-life drama with his ownership of the Albany Empire, of the National Arena League and his bench warrants for failure to pay child support.
None of that means that what AB is alleging the Bucs did didn’t happen.
This is the NFL. Teams force players who are injured to play all the time. Doctors shoot players up with Toradol and other addictive pain killers in the name of getting out on the field. Retired players have admitted as much.
Having AB say it makes it seem like just another cry for help or the musings of a man doing too much. He is certainly not the ideal messenger, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t telling the truth.
Last Friday Kevin Durant, the NBA’s most online superstar, got roasted via the Adidas official X account. Durant quote posted a video of Minnesota Timberwolves rising star Anthony Edwards, an Adidas athlete, saying the one NBA player he wishes would wear his shoe is Durant. In the video Edwards noted the conflict as KD is a Nike guy.
In Durant’s quote post he made it clear he would never wear Adidas shoes and it prompted a response from the official X account.
“Won’t EVER see me put a big toe in them Mfers,” KD posted.
This prompted a response from Adidas.
“U dusty bouta retire soon anyway,” the Adidas X account replied.
As this picked up steam the Adidas post was deleted and followed up with another burn directed at KD.
“meant to send that from the burner account…”
This is an excellent example of a company engaging in organic social media content. Calling one of the all-time greats “dusty” and then knowing there would be backlash, following up with the burner account dig.
For those that remember, KD was caught using burner accounts to respond to fans that were mad about him leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency to sign with the Golden State Warriors.
KD might’ve gotten the last laugh as he passed Moses Malone on Friday, in a game against the Denver Nuggets, for 10th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Not bad for someone “dusty” and close to retirement.
“It’s a long journey to be up there, mentioned with the greats,” Durant said following the game. “It takes a lot of work, a lot of preparation, a lot of people helping me get to this point. As a basketball player, I think it’s our job to go back and know the history of the game and who paved the way for us.”
At age 35 Durant is still playing elite basketball. He’s averaging 31 points, six rebounds, five assists and a block per game on 51/49/89 shooting splits. His BPM is top-10 in the league and his EPM is in the 97th percentile.
Bradley Beal has barely played this season and Devin Booker has played in 11 of a possible 20 games. Durant is the main reason why the Phoenix Suns have held their own in a loaded Western Conference.
Durant and the Suns will be in Los Angeles to take on the Lakers on Tuesday in the quarterfinal round of the inaugural In-Season Tournament. The winner advances to Las Vegas for the semifinals on Thursday.
Football is known for its layered storylines outside of the pigskin. This season, with the romance between Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and pop star Taylor Swift becoming a talking point during NFL games, another romance should also be in the conversation: the relationship between U.S. Olympian Simone Biles and Green Bay Packers safety Jonathan Owens.
The spirit of the Packers fans was in full swing last night during the Sunday Night Football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers, as the fans wanted the world to know that they are holding up Simone Biles over Taylor Swift.
The signs were in the air proclaiming, “We’re Not Here To See Taylor, We Wanna See Simone!” Biles gave the crowd what they wanted, kissing her husband on the sideline to kick off the game, which one up’s the infamous Taylor Swift appearances in the suites.
The seven-time Olympic medalist, fresh off her “married girl summer,” attended the game and showed her support from the sidelines during the frigid night in Green Bay. In the unofficial battle of romances, Biles has the ravenous and storied fan base of Green Bay behind her, and it is clear that now, when going head-to-head, Biles will be used as a talking point by the fans in the battle of supportive celebrities.
The game was Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ first start at the iconic Lambeau Field, ending in a loss. Previous matchups between the Chiefs and the Packers during regular season were at Arrowhead Stadium, and Mahomes faced a knee injury in 2019. Also, Mahomes reportedly hasn’t take part in preseason contests between the teams.
The Packers had a mid-season losing streak under head coach Matt LaFleur and first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love, but the win gave them a boost for a postseason berth.
For Love, it was redemption from the first time he faced the Chiefs back on Nov. 7, 2021, when he made his first NFL start against the Chiefs when Aaron Rodgers was out because of COVID-19. Love lost that game 13-7.
Now the tide has turned after 12 games as the Green Bay QB1, who finished 25 of 36 passing for 267 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
“Yeah, it’s huge,” said Love during the postgame presser. “For me personally, obviously I’ve had this game circled for a long time. My first start, obviously, didn’t play how I wanted to the first game. So to be able to see these guys again and get the victory is huge. It’s just a great team win tonight. Everybody just balled out, so it was an awesome win.”
Simone Biles offers an alternative to the Kelce-Swift noise for Green Bay, but in the world of high-profile athlete relationships, Biles-Owens is now a contender backed by the energy of Lambeau Field.
With five weeks left in the 2023 NFL regular season, a few of our melanated signal callers in the firmly entrenched the MVP race.
The former “Hail State” (Mississippi State) standout has been playing the best football of his very solid eight-year NFL career. Each week this season it seems as if Prescott has gotten better, and this past Thursday he was clutch. Trailing the Seattle Seahawks 35-27 in the fourth quarter, Prescott led a 14-0 run to end the game to give the Cowboys a 41–35 win and a 9-3 record. In the win the oft-maligned Prescott went 29 of 41 for 299 yards and three touchdowns.
The three touchdown passes gave him a league-leading 20 since Week 8. The next closest players has 11 (C.J. Stroud).
Following the big win Prescott told reporters this about the negativity spewed about him daily.
“People can say whatever they want. I have the pen, I have the paper, and I’m the one writing.”
This season Prescott has passed for 3,234 yards, 26 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Albeit in a loss, Smith was very good aside from his one interception that fell into cornerback Daron Bland’s hands for his seventh pick in place of injured cornerback Trevon Diggs. Minus that throw Smith was money, and he and wide receiver D.K. Metcalf had themselves a night. Smith went 23 of 41 for 334 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and he connected with Metcalf six times for 143 yards and all three of his touchdown passes.
Smith will need to play like he did on Thursday night if he and the 6-6 Seahawks want to make a run to get into the playoffs.
This season Smith has passed for 2,918 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
C.J Stroud, Texans
Another Sunday and another solid performance by Stroud, who just doesn’t make mistakes. In Sunday’s 22-17 win over the formerly red-hot Denver Broncos, who trotted into H-Town on a five-game winning streak, the former Ohio State standout went a cool 16 of 27 for 274 yards and one touchdown. The No. 2 overall pick was in command all game, although he unfortunately lost talented rookie wide receiver Tank Dell to a fractured fibula.
It’s a big loss for the rising 7-5 Texans, who every week are proving they’re no fluke.
For the season Stroud has passed for 3,540 yards, 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Following Sunday’s win Stroud credited his defense for stopping the Broncos to preserve the win. He told CBS Sports during his on-field interview, “I just know that they’re gonna get the W for us.”
Kyler Murray, Cardinals
Since his return four games ago, the diminutive dynamo has the Cardinals offense playing much better. No, they’re not putting up crazy numbers, but they’ve become much more efficient and just a little more potent with his dual-threat ability under center.
Having gone 2-2 in the four games, including Sunday’s 24-10 road road win at the Pittsburgh Steelers, the organization is seeing that Murray is their guy going forward, and there is no need to jump up and draft another QB. Murray passed for a pretty pedestrian 145 yards and one touchdown in Sunday’s big road win, but his effect goes beyond the stats.
Jordan Love, Packers
The first-year starter and fourth-year pro went toe to toe with reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes, and he was the better QB in a surprising 27-19 Green Bay Packers win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Love, who was Aaron Rodgers’ understudy his first three years in the league, passed for 267 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. It was the former Utah State standout’s fourth game of the season with at least three TD tosses and zero picks. That’s good enough for tops in the league along with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.
Honorable Mention:
Desmond Ridder, Falcons
The second-year pro didn’t exactly light up MetLife Stadium in an ugly 13-8 win over the offensively challenged New York Jets, but what he did do was not make the costly mistakes which could’ve hurt his team. His 121 yards passing and one touchdown are not eye-popping. but that was good enough to help keep the “Dirty Birds” in first place at 6-6 in the NFC South.
Ridder has shown improvement from his first season, and while he still has a ways to go, the Falcons might be inclined to develop him, which will allow them to build out the rest of their roster.
Ever since last year’s NFC Championship loss the San Francisco 49ers have consistently said if they didn’t lose quarterback Brock Purdy on the game’s first possession that the result would’ve been different.
The Philadelphia Eagles haven’t responded outside of star wide receiver A.J. Brown asking the vaunted Philly fans to troll Samuel often during Sunday’s huge NFC matchup.
That may have been the plan coming into the game, but that didn’t work, as the Niners throttled the Eagles 42-19 sending a message to the rest of the NFC and league that when healthy, the Niners are undoubtedly the best team in the NFL.
Led by a healthy Purdy and Samuel, the Niners amassed 456 yards total yards.
Samuel’s comments about Bradberry being “trash” were made during an appearance on the “I Am Athlete” podcast following the 31-7 championship game loss. He then stood firm on his take after Bradberry was flagged for holding on the Chiefs’ game-winning drive in the Super Bowl. Last week leading up to the highly anticipated rematch, Samuel told reporters, “I don’t regret nothing I said.”
Deebo then went out Sunday and touched paydirt three times while totaling 138 yards, and a lot of that at the expense of Bradberry.
Following the win, a much more subdued Samuel downplayed all the gum-flapping leading up to the game.
“I was in a zone all week long,” Samuel said in his postgame press conference.
“Talking trash is part of the game. Hopefully, nobody took it to heart because it’s all fun and games.”
If the Niners, Eagles and Dallas Cowboys were considered the three Super Bowl contenders in the NFC entering SNF, now the Niners might be on a perch by themselves after disposing of both in convincing fashion.
In Week 5 Kyle Shanahan’s crew completely overwhelmed the Cowboys 42-10 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Sunday’s win came in raucous and rowdy Philly, where they sent the host team’s fans home early and gave Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni a multitude of things to think about.
Both the Eagles and Cowboys have problems, and they’re wearing scarlet and gold.
Kisha Chavis, the wife of ex-NBA player Joe Smith, is talking publicly about her sex life again. In a conversation on the platform “Unwine With Tasha K”, Chavis alleges she had sex with the late rapper Tupac Shakur, Kid and Play from the hip-hop duo Kid ‘n Play, and she alleges that Jada Pinkett Smith had sex with rapper MC Lyte.
“I was fu*king with Pac for a little bit. But not like his girl just you know we boned every now and then,” Chavis said.
Host Tasha K said that Tupac’s longtime “friend” Pinkett Smith would be mad finding this news out now. But Chavis had dirt to dish on Pinkett Smith as well.
“He [Tupac] was with Keisha [Morris, the rapper’s former wife] and I was the other Kisha, and he was probably smashing around that time. But Jada was also f***ing MC Lyte around that time.”
Chavis burst into the mainstream when it was revealed that she had an OnlyFans account and Smith didn’t know. The two got into an argument about it on a video that went viral on social media.
Chavis had a career as a porn actress from 1989-2006. It’s reasonable to assume the travelled in circles where she would potentially meet Shakur, and if that’s the case, she would’ve likely met Pinkett Smith as well.
The lines in the music, entertainment, adult entertainment and celebrity worlds get particularly blurry. Back in the 1990s before social media, people might have moved more freely between all worlds.
Chavis was also allegedly in a relationship with Kid, aka Christopher Reid, during which time she allegedly also had sex with Play, aka Christopher Martin.
“It was whack as f***,” said Chavis. “D*ck is trash. Got a little a** d*ick. Like, I f***** up good d*ck for whack d*ck.
Regardless of whether these claims are true or not, Chavis is putting a lot of people’s business out in the streets. There’s rules to the game and she is not abiding by them.
Many people on social media are saying that Chavis is clout chasing and riding out her 15 seconds of fame. We’ve seen people cash in for much less in the past, so who knows where this ends.
Smith hasn’t commented publicly about the latest noise from his wife. Some believe this whole thing is a publicity stunt and a coordinated effort by the two to parlay the fame into some money-making opportunity.
Championship weekend lived up to the hype in college football, and in the end the Michigan Wolverines, Washington Huskies, Texas Longhorns and Alabama Crimson Tide were all selected as this year’s participants in the College Football Playoff. Left out were the two-time defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs who had their 29-game win streak snapped by the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game.
The bigger surprise has to be the ACC champion Florida State Seminoles who became the first undefeated Power Five conference champion to not make the playoffs since the inception of it in 2014. Much to the chagrin of the Seminoles administration, coaches, players and fan base, and a lot of the media, the ’Noles were left out in favor of Texas and Alabama, two one-loss conference champions.
But why?
Committee Got It Right
For the bulk of the season FSU looked like a college football playoff contender, and winning the ACC, a Power Five conference, with an undefeated record was thought to be enough to get in. But the loss of star quarterback Jordan Travis, a preseason Heisman candidate a couple weeks ago, was definitely taken into account. The committee factors in injuries, and the Travis’ injury was glaring despite the Seminoles winning. In two games without Travis they passed for just 189 yards, including just 55 in the ACC championship game win versus Louisville.
Committee chair Boo Corrigan explained how the committee came to the decision of Alabama over FSU in an interview on ESPN following the announcement.
“Florida State is a different team than they were the first 11 weeks. Coach Norvell, their players, their fans, had an incredible season. But if you look at who they are as a team, right now, without Jordan Travis, without the offensive dynamic that he brings to it, they are a different team. And the committee voted Alabama four and Florida State five.”
Part of the committee’s criteria that they’ve always lived by is injuries to important players play a role in the decision-making process of what four teams make the playoffs. FSU lost the heart and soul of their offense in Travis and that’s why they’re not in, and Alabama, who beat No. 1 Georgia, is.
The Crimson Tide have been trending upward since a Week 2 home loss to No. 3 Texas, and the eye test says they’d beat a wounded FSU squad on a neutral field.
SEC Sneaks In
All week the belief was Georgia needed to and would beat Alabama to have an SEC representative. That was the case even after Saturday’s SEC Championship, because with the Crimson Tide at No. 8 at the start of the day, a move to the top four didn’t seem likely. In fact, no team that’s been No. 1 at the time of championship Saturday has missed the CFP. That changed with the Bulldogs out of it and finishing sixth.
Only one team at the No. 6 spot had ever climbed into the top four, and that was the 2014 Ohio State Buckeyes, who made an impression on the committee with a 59-0 Big Ten championship game win with a third-string quarterback. They’d go on to upset Alabama and Oregon to win the title.
Playoffs Expand To 12 Teams Next Season
In a move that’s been needed since its inception, the playoff field will expand to 12 teams next season. That means the five Power Five conference champions and seven at-large bids. That will eliminate the chaos which ensued on Sunday and showed FSU head coach Mike Norvell consoling his team after the announcement
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips took things a little further with the committee’s decision, saying, “It’s unfathomable.”
Maybe it is, and that’s exactly why it’s imperative to go to a 12-team field.
The playoffs take place on New Year’s Day:
Rose Bowl (Michigan vs. Alabama)
Sugar Bowl (Washington vs. Texas)
The world of sports podcasts has become convergent with the rap world, and although the rules for sports commentary have bent rapidly, some subjects are still taboo. Rappers and reunited besties Mase and Cam’ron have caught some traction with their online podcast, It Is What It Is; however, during a walk down memory lane, the topic turned highly toxic.
“We were gangbanging b****es,” Cam’ron said during a recent episode. “I’m glad my man lets me talk about the past. We was in the whorehouse one time, me and Murda (Mase). So we left the venue and took the b***h out the whorehouse. I had a crib on 144th; a little stash crib over there between 7th and Lennox. We brought this b**h over there.”
Let’s start a count of indictable offenses that Cam’ron is willingly admitting to while laughing profusely: one, acknowledging that you paid for sex and two, that you once owned a “stash” house, typically code for a place to conceal illegal goods.
By the way, Cam’ron was just getting started on his admissions. During the podcast, there are constant commercials for his sexual performance pills that feature the objectification of women as the primary selling point. This is relevant to what he is about to describe next.
“So Mase was kind of on the way up, he didn’t have his [record] deal, but he’s popping, it’s about to happen, and I’m his man so you know we’re still in Harlem,” Cam’ron continues. “The b***h sucked, pardon me, ladies we already talking or whatever, she sucking his dk. I got to wait, pause, to get my d**k sucked because I’m not hard yet, pause.
“I’m not getting hard off her sucking his d**k. So when he start hitting it, I go get head and so she giving me head and he’s hitting it from the back and he start hitting her saying, ‘you wasn’t sucking my d**k like that.'”
The two stressed that the young lady requested the activity. Still, during a time when Mase’s former employer, Sean “Diddy” Combs, is experiencing cancellation after settling a lawsuit for sexual abuse with singer Cassie, the timing of this information couldn’t be worse.
Sports and locker room talk are synonymous, but the ease with which Cam’ron is using his platform to weave in red-light district moments with him and Pastor Mase is not only disturbing but also could become legally dangerous. The willingness to expose what can be viewed as sexual predation during the guise of sports talk is appalling and the intersectionality is starting to go towards a dangerous place.
With the romance between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce still as intriguing and polarizing as ever for some, both advice and skepticism are still flowing by the pound toward the couple.
Recently, two-time NBA champion Lamar Odom gave his advice on the relationship and steered his energy toward Kelce, whom he believes understands the pressures that will come from crossover fame.
“My advice would be to be strong and stay by her and be as close to her as possible,” Odom said to The Messenger. “There are going to be millions of women that want to taste what Taylor Swift is tasting and it can be overwhelming because we’re men. He just has to be strong and stick by his girl and he’ll be alright.”
Odom knows more than most as the ex-husband of Khloé Kardashian. The two were married in 2009 on an episode of the reality show “Keeping Up With The Kardashians.” The show catapulted him into the pop culture world, and he ran into many pitfalls while being famous, like drug and sex addictions.
Kelce, who has participated in reality dating shows and had public relationships before, experienced a momentum shift in popularity this season while dating Swift. His relationship became a talking point for the NFL and exposed him to a larger global audience of fans who already love Swift.
Since entering the NFL in 2013 and winning two Super Bowls, it took ten years and a new girlfriend for Kelce to experience the level of public interest and scrutiny under the microscope that he is currently.
Still, some don’t believe their romance is authentic, but rather is a manufactured ploy to help market both their brands and the NFL.
“Yeah, I believe it’s 100 percent fake. I think that the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce’ love story,’ I believe it is 100 percent fake,” OnlyFans model Paige VanZant, a former UFC fighter, said on a recent episode of her podcast. “Come for me, Swifties. You know, I have UFC fans coming for me, I think I can handle the Swifties.”
“I believe it is 100 percent fake. It is publicity,” VanZant continued. “One, it’s huge for the NFL because, yes, the NFL is big. … Taylor Swift is huge. And now she’s getting an entirely different demographic to come watch the NFL. I think of the wives that are buying Travis Kelce jerseys now.”
“It’s a huge publicity play on both fronts,” she added. “It’s good for Taylor Swift. It’s good for the NFL. It’s good for Travis Kelce. There’s so much strategic stuff that’s happening.”
Travis Kelce is experiencing life in the pop lane and that comes with its share of supporters and haters and when you are dating Taylor Swift, expect plenty of both.
For weeks now we’ve heard how fast New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is recovering from a torn Achilles suffered just four plays into the season. During his weekly appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show” the former four-time MVP has also mentioned that he’s amazed at how good he’s feeling and how his rehab is coming along. If cleared medically, Rodgers is open to returning this season, which would be unprecedented.
With the Jets not in the playoff picture as of now at 4-7, Rodgers, who turned 40 on Saturday, also says the team’s playoff positioning or lack thereof also would play a role in his own personal decision if he’s actually cleared to return to play. Never has a player returned from a torn Achilles in the same season, so Rodgers would be attempting something we’ve never seen before.
Speaking with the media on Thursday, when asked if he feared hurting himself again, a pretty upbeat Rodgers sounded like someone who’s hoping to defy the odds.
“My thing is: what’s the worst that can happen?. In my opinion, there’s not a downside to coming back and reinjuring it.”
This sounds like something Rodgers would be willing to attempt, and the biggest reason would be because no one else has done it. That’s also something that Jets head coach Robert Saleh alluded to when asked about it himself.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh, who’s had some real interesting interviews this season, was asked this week about what his star QB is attempting to do. In an interview Thursday, the embattled third-year coach did his best to explain what’s in it for Rodgers to attempt something that’s never been done.
“Is there motivation to be the first to ever do it? Sure. That’s OK. That’s his why,” Saleh said. “I think it’s a testament to who he is as a human. Obviously, there’s a little bit of that drive that he wants to prove that he wants to prove it can be done faster than anyone’s ever done it before. That’s OK, that’s just part of his mental makeup.”
When the Jets traded for Rodgers’ prior to the 2023 NFL draft, he was looked at as the missing piece to get the Jets to the playoffs, and after a strong offseason many had them as Super Bowl contenders. But without him their offense has been downright inept.
The belief is Rodgers has the ability to keep the Jets coaching staff intact for next season if he decides to return next season. This is significant, because if he doesn’t return the entire staff could be shown the door.
When the Jets traded for Rodgers they also signed two of his receivers (Allan Lazard and Randall Cobb) from Green Bay, so Rodgers has plenty of pull as it pertains to personnel decisions.
Tyreek Hill, known for his lightning speed and dynamic playmaking ability, once played for the Kansas City Chiefs, where he left an indelible mark on the team and the NFL. He went to two Super Bowls with the Chiefs, winning one in 2020. However, the overriding narrative on that version of the Chiefs was that tight end Travis Kelce was quarterback Patrick Mahomes’s favorite throwing target.
“Pat had (Travis) Kelce and I was kinda jealous. I was hurt. Patrick, you ain’t never invited me over to your house like you did Kelce, that’s why we here where we at now,” Hill joked on Robert Griffin III’s “RG3 and the Ones” podcast.
Mahomes joined Hill and Kelce on the Chiefs in 2017. Kelce was drafted in by the Chiefs in 2013 and Hill in 2016, with head coach Andy Reid coming over from the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013. When the team drafted Mahomes, it was the first time in Chiefs franchise history that the team groomed a quarterback from the draft and delivered championships.
Kelce has had more receptions than Hill in four out of five seasons played together with Mahomes. During the Chiefs’ second Super Bowl win in 2020, Kelce had more total receptions, with 105 to Hill’s 87, and 1,416 total receiving yards to Hill’s 1,276.
Although in Hill’s last season with the Chiefs in 2021, Hill had more receptions and total receiving yards than Kelce, Hill surprised the world by leaving to go to the Miami Dolphins for the 2022 season.
“I’ve never been anybody’s side chick before. Always, my whole life,” Hill said. “High school, middle school — all the quarterbacks’ main chick. I go to K.C., now I’m the side chick. I’m like, ‘What’s going on with that?’ I want to go to Capital Grille. I want to go to Eddie V’s. You taking me to Joe’s BBQ. I don’t want no BBQ. I want to go to the fancy restaurants.”
Hill stopped just short of saying Mahomes would have taken him to The Cheesecake Factory if this were an internet date. In actuality, Mahomes and Kelce got close during Mahomes’ rookie year after they partied one night and both showed up late to practice.
Now, as a member of the Miami Dolphins, Hill’s speed, which earned him the nickname “Cheetah,” has transformed the team, and his pairing with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is unparalleled for the last two seasons. The two have become a nightmare for opposing defenses, and Hill is looking to be on track to surpass the 1,710 total receiving yards he delivered last season.
Tyreek’s legacy with the Kansas City Chiefs underlays his rich tapestry of breathtaking plays. However, his journey to Miami may have little to do with a public bromance between Mahomes and Kelce and more his desire no longer to be the side chick on a Mahomes field.
The top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs entered Saturday’s SEC Championship versus the rival Alabama Crimson Tide riding a 29-game winning streak. The last time the Bulldogs lost a game was a 2021 SEC Championship loss to the Bryce Young-led Crimson Tide. Since then the Bulldogs have won back-to-back national championships, including winning their first title in 42 seasons with a 33-18 win over the Crimson Tide.
That is until Saturday, that’s when another Alabama quarterback etched his name into SEC Championship game lore with a great performance. First-year Alabama starting quarterback Jalen Milroe was named game MVP after finishing with 221 total yards and two touchdowns.
He led a 27-24 win over the Bulldogs, giving legendary head coach Nick Saban his 12th SEC title overall and tenth at Alabama. The dynamic dual-threat saved his best for last with two backbreaking runs that allowed the Crimson Tide to salt away the clock in the waning moments.
With Sunday’s College Football Playoff committee set to announce its top four teams on Sunday at noon, the waiting game begins for both the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs. Both sit at 12-1, but only one has a conference championship on its résumé. For the Tide, getting to this point is a testament to Milroe’s mental toughness and play that’s gradually gotten better each week. Following a Week 2 home loss to the Texas Longhorns, Milroe was benched, only to get his job the following week, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Speaking with reporters after the huge win, Milroe talked about how the team was viewed after that Week 2 loss.
“A lot of people doubted this team. I never gave up on this team. That’s the biggest thing.”
That’s right, since that loss the Tide run off 11 consecutive victories including Saturday’s win. Milroe has grown leaps and bounds along with first-year offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, whom many were calling for his job early in the season. He and Milroe have found what works, and it’s gotten the Crimson Tide to the doorstep of the CFP.
The win comes on the heels of Milroe’s heroics last week against archrival Auburn in the Iron Bowl. It took a fourth-and-31 pass to by the strong-armed quarterback to win it and preserve any hope for the Tide as a playoff team.
The win made Saban 5-1 against Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, his former defensive coordinator and protégé. That includes 3-0 in the SEC Championship, in which Saturday the Crimson Tide were 5 1/2-point underdogs. In his postgame presser the seven-time national championship-winning coach gave UGA credit but shouted out his team’s resiliency.
“Georgia’s got a really good team. But our guys overcame. They proved today they can win against anybody.”
In a year where it looked as if QB issues would derail any hopes of a chance at a CFP spot, here they stand with a shot.
Now it’s up to the committee. We find out today at noon on ESPN.
Dwight Howard’s child’s mother, Royce Reed, is talking, and the stories she’s telling do not make the former NBA player look like an ideal father. During the COVID-19 quarantine, Howard invited multiple people to his home for parties, and Reed was curious if the people were tested for COVID-19. She also describes the acts of debauchery she witnessed that were happening while her young son was around.
When asked by DJ Vlad during a free-ranging interview if there were signs that Howard might be gay or bisexual, she discussed the quarantine parties.
“There were a lot of parties, and we are supposed to be on quarantine,” Reed said. “There were all types of people. Every pronoun was there. I was shocked because I had actually gone to sleep. I walked out, and I felt like I was in an episode of something because there were people throwing up over the balcony, people cursing each other out, calling each other b***hes. I’m like, ‘Where’s my child.'”
“I see him [Howard], ‘Where’s Braylon?’ Reed says to Howard. “‘I don’t know he’s somewhere,'” Howard said in response. “Seriously? So I walked into the house, and that’s when I saw all the paraphernalia on the table, some with peanut butter, and I lost it. There’s a girl who peed in the seat.”
Reed described a panic moment when she sees a room full of intoxicated adults and didn’t know where her child was located.
“I went upstairs and I found Braylon who was in a room connected to a room with a TV,” Reed continued. “I had to keep asking him what was wrong, and then he finally told me that he was hungry and that he went downstairs to get something to eat; he wanted a snack.
“I remember grabbing him and being like, ‘Did you take anything off that table?’ He swore ‘No,’ then he asked what it was. He said he wanted some peanut butter, and he asked why his Dad was being so mean. We wound up going to my room [in] the guest house.”
Reed describes going back to the party while her child watched TV away from the action and seeing multiple aggressions at the party, including people who are involved in “polygamy stuff.” The next day, someone threatened to shoot up the entire house because of some “gay s**t,” but she didn’t understand what the issue was.
She then said that one of the attendees began posting “all these videos “over YouTube,” and she realized she needed to leave because the situation was “child endangerment.” She said Howard was “on something” and threatening her if she tried to leave. However, Reed stayed vigilant and left with her child between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m.
As more alleged details regarding Dwight Howard’s personal life are revealed, the scope of the recklessness of the Hollywood high life of a professional basketball player sounds more toxic than enjoyable.
When Deion Sanders hired Sean Lewis to be his offensive coordinator after becoming the Colorado Buffaloes head coach last December, the belief was it would be a match made in heaven. Lewis’ fast-paced uptempo offense with quarterback Shedeur Sanders at the helm sounded like trouble for the rest of the Pac-12. Things got off to a blistering start in Boulder, with the Buffaloes beginning the season 3-0. With offense the strength of their team, the Buffs put up numbers but didn’t win but one more after that quick start.
Following a Week 8 loss to the UCLA Bruins, which also followed a blown 29-0 lead and subsequent 46-43 double overtime loss to the Stanford Cardinal, Sanders decided to make a change at play-caller. He demoted Lewis in favor of longtime NFL coach Pat Shurmur, and what’s odd about that is the offense was then the least of the problems for a very flawed Colorado football team. Lewis, who was the head coach at Kent State prior to taking the Power Five gig with the Buffs took the demotion in stride, but this week he left to become the head coach San Diego State.
Lewis Stays Classy When Talking About Sanders
During his introductory press conference with the Aztecs, Lewis was asked about his time in Boulder, and not once did he take a shot at Sanders. He instead kept it classy and took the proverbial high road.
“Coach does an unbelievable job of telling a story, of giving unfiltered access,” Lewis began. “I think that’s a beautiful way to tell things and the uniqueness of the characters that are within our club.”
“Coach Sanders does an unbelievable job of speaking belief into existence, right? There’s an unwavering belief of how he does things and the conviction that gave the whole team as we went forward,” he added.
Nice words from Lewis, but nothing he mentioned had anything to do with the team’s on-field play or his demotion. One which saw an offense got from over 400 yards and scoring over 35 points in five of the team’s eight games with him as play-caller, to just over 20 points and under 275 yards per game offensively with Shurmur.
Not exactly an endorsement-ringing move.
Sanders’ move was questioned then by many and it’s still being questioned now with Lewis gone. The timing of it was odd as well, during a week with a 4-4 record. An anonymous coach called the move “embarrassing” in a feature by The Athletic on the Colorado season.
He also mentioned that he saw Shedeur and Lewis began to have problems when the signal-caller would hold the ball longer than necessary in Lewis’ quick-hitting attack. Add in the major protection issues, which saw Shedeur and his backup sacked 56 times. That reportedly played a role in Sanders making the move, but that’s not Lewis’ fault when you consider what he was working with.
The anonymous coach also said Sanders must be careful doing things like demoting someone who was a head coach prior to joining you. Lewis then turned right around and landed an even better gig after the demotion. He also believes Sanders’ actions could even deter others from wanting to come to Boulder.
Lewis is a well-respected offensive mind in the college game, and stripping him of play-calling duties wasn’t a good look. Especially in-season for Shurmur, whose best days as a primary play-caller are long gone.
The Washington Wizards are one of the worst teams in the NBA and Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole are statistically the worst duo in the league.
The Wizards’ on court problems begin on the defensive end. They are the 29th-ranked defense in the league and their two best players, at least in terms of salary, are among their worst defenders. What is going on in D.C.?
“We can’t guard a stop sign. That’s kind of really what it boils down to. We let anybody get whatever they want on us,” Kuzma said after Wednesday’s loss to the Orlando Magic. “So, until we change that, then that’s probably going to be the result.”
Admitting you have a problem is the first step, right? At least Kuzma knows that defense is the problem. He and Poole have not bathed themselves in glory on that end of the floor, ranking in the eighth and seventh percentile of defensive EPM.
There is no disposition to play defense on that team and the franchise doesn’t seem to genuinely want to be good. Otherwise why construct the roster the way they have?
No defensive presence, a bunch of small offense-first guards and ballhandlers. Rookies and young guys who get no playing time, and often injured veterans.
Kuzma and Poole have a combined -32.1 net rating. That essentially means the Wizards lose when those two are on the floor. The team only has three wins, so everyone is a culprit. But as the highest-paid players, we look at them first. They’ve combined for 43 turnovers due to bad passes, and have had 31 shot attempts blocked.
Kuzma is at least good offensively, it’s just that for every point the team scores while he’s on the floor, they give it back on the other end.
Poole has been a disaster on both ends. He’s in the 42nd percentile in offensive EPM at -1.5. Two seasons ago when he helped the Golden State Warriors win a title he was +2.2, 92nd percentile.
“Everything that needed to be done in Golden State got done,” Poole told YahooSports before the season began. “I got a ring. Made sure my family is straight. A good situation to come in and just kind of have my own team.”
Perhaps that soundbite is at the heart of Poole’s and thus the Wizards problem. Having won a title and securing a four year $128 million contract, he has arrived. Those are markers that signify an elite player. But the thing is truly elite players never stop there or are satisfied. They have a disposition to dominate.
That’s not something we can say about Poole.
We’ve all seen the highlights — or in this case lowlights — of him and Kuzma. Idiotic decisions on the court, celebrating made threes only to realize you actually missed. A general lackadaisical attitude about everything on the court. None of it suggests greatness.
The Wizards are an unserious basketball franchise and have been for a long time, and Kuzma and Poole are unserious basketball players.
NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, who has talked in the past about his mental health struggles, opened up recently about an episode of depression he suffered after his friend Ryan Blaney won the 2023 NASCAR Cup series championship. Instead of sticking around to celebrate his friend’s first championship, Wallace flew immediately home and dealt with low feelings. Wallace is another athlete in an increasing number that are open about their mental health struggles, and that is a good thing.
“Sitting here on the couch questioning everything,” Wallace posted on social media after the championship. “You would think your bud winning the championship would bring that joy and excitement back. Sadly it did not.
“It’s the helpless feeling that really kicks ya. My wife can see that I’m off but I don’t have the what or the why that I’m feeling this way to allow her to help me. To my peeps out there staring at a blank wall, I’m with you. Tomorrow is another day. Another opportunity. Keep after it.”
Professional athletes are among the most popular and recognizable people in the world. What they say and do carries weight. It’s why they are selected to endorse products.
The fact that Wallace, tennis champion Naomi Osaka, GOAT gymnast Simone Biles and others are so open in talking about their struggles with mental health; it makes the topic mainstream. It destigmatizes some of the archaic and dangerous views society holds about mental health.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “depression (also known as major depression, major depressive disorder, or clinical depression)” is a common but serious mood disorder. It causes severe symptoms that affect how a person feels, thinks, and handles daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working.”
An estimated 21 million adults in the United States had at least one major depressive episode. This number represented 8.3 percent of all U.S. adults, according to NIMH.
The frequency “of major depressive episode was higher among adult females (10.3 percent) compared to males (6.2 percent),” and “the prevalence of adults with a major depressive episode was highest among individuals aged 18-25 (18.6 percent).” Also of note, the prevalence of major depressive episode “was highest among those who report having multiple (two or more) races (13.9 percent).”
Fortunately for Wallace, this episode did not appear to last too long. The championship race took place on Nov. 5 in Phoenix and Blaney called Wallace a few days later.
“He called me a couple days later and I was like, ‘Man, I guess you winning the championship sent me into depression.’ Like congrats, but I don’t want to see that,” Wallace said to The Associated Press on Thursday.
It’s also good that Wallace is able to maintain a sense of humor about it and have some kind of perspective.
Ryan Garcia has been at odds with his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions, but now his ire is directly directed at the typically neutral Bernard Hopkins. During Thursday’s press conference for his fight against Oscar Duarte on Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston, the 25-year-old Garcia gave Hopkins a piece of his mind on everything he wasn’t feeling.
Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) also claimed that his promoters want him to lose to Mexico’s Duarte (26-1-1, 21 KOs), a Golden Boy client.
This is the second time Golden Boy has been at odds with its star clients after famously losing Canelo Alvarez after his disputes with Oscar de la Hoya. Alvarez and Golden Boy Promotions officially parted ways in November 2020 after Alvarez’s lawsuit for breach of contract against Golden Boy and streaming service DAZN was settled.
“You know, one thing that’s been on my heart is the statements that Bernard made, where he’ll decide if I’m gonna finish or if I should continue boxing after this fight,” Garcia said at the final press conference for this weekend’s fight against Oscar Duarte.
“He don’t decide that. My coach does, my team does, everybody that, you know, grinds wit’ me day in and day out, that’s who decides, and ultimately God decides. Not him. Nobody was telling him when to stop boxing. You know, he stopped boxing at what, 45? So, kudos to him. But he don’t determine that.”
The Hall of Famer fought until he was 51, retiring in 2016 after Joe Smith Jr. knocked him out of the ring in the eighth round at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Hopkins gave his opinion in a couple of interviews that made Garcia feel some way.
In an interview with Fight Hype, Hopkins was critical of Garcia’s future when he said, “I will see how Ryan looks and then make my personal decision on whether he should fight again.
“There’s one thing about this sport that I love and that’s why I talk so passionately about it, and some take it wrong and I don’t care. I’m not apologetic, I stand on what I say: Boxing will call your bluff. And one thing about this, it won’t be a secret, it won’t be in the dark. It will be in the light.”
On an earlier interview when Garcia was asked about those comments, he sounded off on Hopkins.
“What does he mean, ‘I’ll make the decision?'” Garcia said on The Last Stand podcast. “He ain’t gonna make s**t. He can’t make ** about me. The crazy thing is I’mma box my ass off … for a team that don’t even believe in me, but damn they’ll collect that money that I’m making them. They collect that $6 million, though, but you don’t know if I should box again? But you made that money off that [Davis] fight, though. Yeah, shut up.
“Watch, when I win, I’mma gonna look at them, ‘Bro, don’t even mess with me.’ Don’t even mess with me. I’m so sharp right now, I have no worries that I’m going to look great, amazing. They’ll be like a salty ex, like, ‘f—, I wish I stayed with him. I wish I was nice to him. Why didn’t I speak better to him.’ … Shut up.”
Garcia’s relationship with Golden Boy will not last long, but with the public way that Garcia is beefing with leadership like Canelo once did, the real question is whether more fighters will jump ship.
The Colorado Buffaloes just finished their first season under Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, and while the 4-8 record may not look like much let’s go behind the numbers and show why it was a solid season. After a surprising 3-0 start in Boulder, things came crashing down when conference play began. The Buffs went 1-8 in Pac-12 conference play, but they were really only outclassed versus Oregon, UCLA and Washington State. In every other conference game Coach Prime’s guys had multiple chances to win the game. Still to go from one win to four is an accomplishment in itself and it’s to be commended.
Maybe that’s why Coach Prime sounded so confident in his postgame presser following the team’s season finale loss at Utah. The always upbeat NFL legend showed no signs of panic or worry that things with his program could go left. In fact, he even told reporters that his Buffaloes program is just getting started. The confidence shown by Sanders makes you believe he’s onto something, but in reality what he did in 2023 shouldn’t be understated or overlooked.
Sanders Makes Promise
“We pretty much put a mark in college football and what we’re going to do from here on in will never be the same, I can promise you that, because I know how we’re recruiting, I know what I know, and I know where we’re heading. You got to be crazy if you can’t see it.”
That’s the confidence that Sanders has always carried, from his playing days on both the gridiron and diamond to now coaching young males. He believes they’re close despite what anyone else may think. And considering where they were prior to his arrival he may be right.
Positives From Year One Outweigh Negatives
Some positives from the Buffaloes first year under Coach Prime were his son and quarterback Shedeur Sanders proved he could play on the Power Five level. Sanders was one of the best signal-callers in the country this past season, passing for 3,230 yards, 27 touchdowns and just three interceptions despite being harassed and battered weekly by opposing defenses.
So, for everyone who claimed he was only the QB because he was Deion’s son, that narrative was put to rest this season. Shedeur was so good that he would likely be one of the first QBs taken in the 2024 NFL Fraft if he declared.
We also saw the evolution of two-way threat Travis Hunter, the do-it-all cornerback and wide receiver who early in the season was playing over 100 total plays weekly. Hunter finished the year with three highlight-reel interceptions and five passes defensed. On offense he tallied 57 receptions for 721 yards and five touchdowns.
Coach Prime’s other son, Shilo, showed he can play and has made himself a projected draft pick in 2024 or 2025.
Sanders’ arrival also restored life into a dormant Colorado football program and fan base that hasn’t been relevant since the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Let’s see what Coach Prime can muster up in 2024 with the program moving to the Big 12.
