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#pounditFriday, May 17, 2024

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Dave Roberts makes surprising admission about Max Scherzer injury

Dave Roberts in Dodgers gear

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is having to try to come back in the NLCS without a healthy Max Scherzer. In retrospect, he’s confident the difficult spot he’s in was preventable.

Roberts said Saturday that the decision to use Scherzer to close out the NLDS against San Francisco has contributed to the muscle soreness the pitcher is battling. Roberts admitted that he didn’t think having Scherzer pick up that inning would lead to any long-term issues like this.

Roberts doesn’t really sound like he regrets his decision. Obviously, Scherzer was going to want to pitch. Roberts would have vetoed it if he really thought it would cause serious problems.

Scherzer has said his current issue isn’t a “true injury” and he is preparing to start a potential Game 7. The Dodgers just have to get there first.

Max Scherzer clarifies nature of arm issue

Max Scherzer in a Dodgers uniform

Max Scherzer’s arm issue will prevent him from pitching on Saturday as the Los Angeles Dodgers look to avoid elimination in the NLCS. Now he is clarifying what exactly he is dealing with right now.

The Dodgers righty addressed the condition of his arm prior to Game 6 against the Atlanta Braves.

“My arm has been locked up the past couple days,” said Scherzer, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. “I got to day four [after the start] and it felt like day one.

“This isn’t a true injury,” Scherzer added. “It’s just muscle fatigue.”

Scherzer also said that he felt as if he turned a corner on Saturday and that he could start in a Game 7.

The 37-year-old Scherzer pitched in Game 2 of the NLCS series last Sunday, lasting just 4.1 innings in a 5-4 Dodgers defeat. Afterwards, Scherzer made some concerning comments about his arm. He had pitched in relief to close out the team’s NLDS series against San Francisco three days prior to that.

The Dodgers will instead turn to Walker Buehler on short rest to start Game 6 as they trail in the series 3-2. While it is unclear how much a single extra day of rest will benefit Scherzer at this point, he seems to be trending in the right direction for a Game 7 if the Dodgers can get there.

Aug 10, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) walks towards the dugout against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Illinois beats Penn State in 9 OTs days after Bret Bielema calls out roster

Bret Bielema on the field

Maybe Bret Bielema knows what he is doing at Illinois much more than his critics.

Bielema’s Illini defeated Penn State 20-18 in a record 9 overtimes on Saturday in Happy Valley. They got the huge win under Bielema days after he called out the roster.

Bielema, who is in his first season as the program’s head coach, effectively said on Monday that he was left with a poor roster. He later defended the remarks and said they did not have proper context.

In his comments, Bielema specifically pointed to the offensive line as a weakness.

Guess what? The line responded by pushing around Penn State for 357 rushing yards in the road win. Bielema even loaded up with jumbo packages to convert in short yardage situations.

Even though both teams struggled to score in the overtime periods, Illinois finally won when they got a 2-point conversion and stopped Penn State. They are now 3-5, while Penn State is 5-2.

Photo: Oct 2, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema walks onto the field before his team s game with the Charlotte 49ers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Video: LeBron James dissed Suns player during blowout loss

LeBron James

LeBron James was not having any bit of the trash talk that a Phoenix Suns player sent his way during Friday’s blowout loss.

A clip of James chirping at Suns guard Cam Payne from the bench went viral this weekend. In the video, which you can see here, James told Payne, “Stay humble. You was at home a year-and-a-half ago, now you wanna pop off?”

The clip appears to have been from the third quarter, in which the Lakers fell behind by as many as 32 points. James still had a team-high 25 points in the loss, which dropped the Lakers to 0-2 on the season. Meanwhile, Payne finished with just four points in 19 minutes off the bench.

While the Lakers got charbroiled on Friday, you certainly can’t accuse James of not knowing his stuff. Payne was indeed out of the NBA playing in the G League a year-and-a-half ago before signing with the Suns. Thus, this has to be James’ best clapback since the one we saw in Chicago a couple years ago.

Photo: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Video: Army fake field goal backfires in worst way

Army fake field goal try

Fake field goals are always a huge risk. There are so many ways they could go wrong, and they often do.

Still, Army’s attempt at one on Saturday against Wake Forest was particularly notable for how badly it backfired. Backup quarterback Cade Ballard was tasked with throwing the pass, but the lame duck lob was intercepted by Traveon Redd, who had nothing but green in front of him.

The decision makes some sense from Army’s perspective. The game was a shootout and they weren’t going to beat Wake Forest by kicking field goals. That said, they might have been better off just sending the offense out on 4th and 4.

Army coach Jeff Monken can take solace in the fact that even the very best can look stupid on fake field goals. It probably won’t be much comfort, though, as Wake Forest went on to win 70-56.

Video: Caleb Williams saves game for Oklahoma with quick thinking

Caleb Williams play

Caleb Williams’ grip on the Oklahoma starting quarterback job seems to tighten every week.

Williams and the Sooners faced an upset bid from the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday, with the game coming down to the final possession. Oklahoma faced a 4th and 1 from their own 46 with 3:20 left and went for it, knowing that failure would give Kansas the ball back with excellent field position.

It looked like the Jayhawks had done their job. The defense wrapped up Oklahoma running back Kennedy Brooks behind the line of scrimmage. That was when Williams improvised, grabbing the ball from Brooks as the running back was being pushed backward.

https://twitter.com/FTBVids_YT/status/1451988808329674752

The play was reviewed and confirmed. The fact that Brooks was behind the line of scrimmage helped Oklahoma’s cause, though there was certainly a case to be made that he should have been down by forward progress at that point.

Williams replaced Spencer Rattler at halftime two weeks ago and the Sooners have not looked back. They took a while to get going against Kansas, but they got the win in the end. It was largely due to this sort of quick thinking that few had ever seen before.

The scariest part? Williams is an 18-year-old true freshman and he’s doing stuff like this. No wonder Rattler might be on his way out.

Magic Johnson had incredulous reaction to Lakers bench altercation

Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard have a bench altercation

Magic Johnson sounded like a disappointed dad after witnessing the incident on the Los Angeles Lakers bench during Friday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Johnson reacted on Twitter to the altercation between Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard during a timeout in the first half of their 115-105 defeat (video here).

“Dwight Howard and AD got into a physical altercation on the bench,” the retired Lakers legend tweeted. “In my 42 years of being associated with the Lakers organization, I’ve never seen something like that smh.”

Johnson, who was drafted by the Lakers in 1979, summed up the reactions of many to the shocking incident. Teammates get into each other’s faces all the time. But it was very surprising to see the altercation between Davis and Howard turn physical, in a nationally-televised game no less.

The Lakers are now 0-2 to start the regular season after going 0-6 during the preseason. The microscope will only intensify further if they continue to lose. At least the Lakers succeeded in getting Johnson to show more emotion than he usually does on Twitter.

Kansas desperate to get fans to game during Oklahoma upset bid

Kansas Memorial Stadium crowd

The Kansas Jayhawks made a bid for a stunning upset on Saturday, and the school was desperate to get people to the stadium to witness it.

The Jayhawks were 38.5-point underdogs at home Saturday against unbeaten Oklahoma, but the first half unfolded in surprising fashion. Kansas managed to hold the high-powered Sooner offense scoreless in the first half, taking a 10-0 lead into the locker room. Oklahoma did score a touchdown in the third quarter, but Kansas answered with another score of their own to take a 17-7 lead.

As it became apparent that Kansas was at least going to make a game of this, the school made a rather desperate bid to get some fans into half-empty Kansas Memorial Stadium. At halftime, the university sent out a message to the student body urging anyone with an unused ticket to get down to the game.

Things only escalated from there. In the third quarter, Kansas opened up the stadium to anyone in town, no ticket required.

The Jayhawks had good reason to try to get more fans in. As ESPN showed in a series of photos, the crowd started out sparse and didn’t fill in all the way, even by halftime.

It’s a somewhat sad state of affairs that the Jayhawks have to resort to these measures. Still, this is a football program that has generated so little excitement over the years. They might as well try to make the best of it — as long as the power doesn’t go out again, at least.

Video: Michigan band goes viral for amazing beer pong routine

Michigan marching band

The Michigan band put on a show at halftime of Saturday’s game, featuring a hilarious routine that took a shot at rival Ohio State.

The Wolverine marching band staged a halftime skit depicting a game of beer pong. They even had an Ohio State ping pong ball that fell well short of the “cup.” Naturally, the Michigan ball made it into the cup.

How funny is that? Impressive, elaborate, and includes a shot at the school’s main rival. What more can you ask for?

The Michigan marching band is one of college football’s most famous. They’ve been renowned for their halftime skits and formations for some time, and this is only going to further their legend.

Photo: Michigan marching band takes the field before the game between Michigan and Western Michigan at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021.
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Video: Oklahoma-Kansas game briefly halted due to power outage

Kansas power outage

Saturday’s game between Oklahoma and Kansas was halted due to a brief power outage in Lawrence.

With just over ten minutes to go in the first quarter, Kansas Memorial Stadium lost power. All the scoreboards went down, prompting an official timeout. The succinctly stated reason was that “everything is off.”

https://twitter.com/FTBVids_YT/status/1451945609254948868

The Oklahoman’s Ryan Aber, covering the game from the press box, said everything except the stadium lights went down.

The delay was a brief one, lasting less than ten minutes. Kansas wound up scoring a touchdown on the drive to take a 7-0 lead.

Power outages can be a fact of life during games, and are uncommon but not unprecedented. It’s kind of an awkward look for Kansas, but there were no real problems as a result, so they can more or less laugh it off.