Lincoln Riley helped turn Baker Mayfield into a Heisman Trophy winner at Oklahoma, but apparently coaching the quarterback to slide was no easy task. Riley found a hilarious way to point that out recently.
Riley tweeted a funny video on Sunday that showed a young boy messing with his baseball coach by walking toward home plate in slow motion after the coach told him to run fast. Riley said that is just how he felt trying to teach Mayfield to slide when Baker first got to Oklahoma.
Like many athletic college quarterbacks, Mayfield had a tendency to put his body on the line while trying to extend plays. Coaches would rather see that than a player being lazy or timid, but quarterbacks need to protect their health. It took Riley a while to drill that into Mayfield’s head.
Riley and Mayfield have always had a great relationship. The coach reminded us of that with the awesome tweet he sent after Mayfield’s NFL debut. That doesn’t mean Mayfield never frustrated him, and sliding seems like it may have been a sore subject at one point.
Browns fans! It’s Baker’s team in Cleveland. This Cleveland Bakers shirt is a perfect gift for you or a friend. You can buy it here.
Dennis Schroder was once a big fan of Kyrie Irving, and you would know that if you took a look at the Los Angeles Lakers point guard’s massive shoe collection. Schroder has dozen of pairs of Irving’s signature shoes, but he is now looking to unload them.
Schroder gave fans a tour of his shoe collection in a YouTube video this week. He held up one of his Irving sneakers at one point and said he has 30 to 40 pairs. However, Schroder says he refuses to wear them anymore after what took place between him and the Brooklyn Nets star last month.
Schroder spoke in his native German language in the video, but there was a translation in the subtitles.
“Kyrie Irving … I have a lot of his shoes,” Schroder said. “Unfortunately I can’t wear them no more. It’s not possible after what happened in the game. I cannot do it. Not going to wear it again.”
So what will he do with all the sneakers? Schroder plans to donate them and said anyone who knows a good place to send them should contact him.
Schroder and Irving were both ejected from a game last month for what was believed to be the first time in each of their careers. The ejections came after they began arguing over foul calls and got face-to-face with each other. Irving refused to speak about the incident with reporters, but he later implied on Twitter that he became upset after Schroder used the N-word. You can see the video of the incident here.
The Nets and Lakers are the favorites to win their respective conferences, so the Schroder-Irving storyline would certainly be one to watch if that happens.
The New York Knicks finally became relevant again this season in their first year under Tom Thibodeau, and they are hoping to use that to their advantage this summer.
As the Knicks prepare to face the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round of the playoffs, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says their front office is dreaming of landing a star player this offseason. Wojnarowski said on “The Woj Pod” this week that the Knicks have plenty of assets to offer in a trade and are on “disgruntled star alert.”
“I think they’re on disgruntled star alert,” Woj said. “They have draft picks. They’ve got picks coming still from Dallas. They’ve got their own. They’ve got some young players who showed growth with Tom Thibodeau — that might be appealing to people. It depends what level of star becomes available and (whether) you want to cash your chips in if they do. But I think they’re in the conversation now, or have the potential to be in the conversation, as an option for a player who might want out somewhere.”
Wojnarowski said he can’t see any obvious star players that might want a change of scenery at the moment, but “history tells us someone will emerge.”
The Knicks finished 41-31 this season after missing the playoffs the last seven. They’ve gone after almost every big-name free agent in recent years, but they always come up empty. We know they have their eye on some of the top free agents heading into this summer, though a trade may be their best chance to finally land a marquee star.
It seems like New York has already caught the attention of at least one of the NBA’s best young stars. Landing a top free agent or star player via trade would go a long way toward keeping the Knicks on the map.
New York Mets outfielder Kevin Pillar left Monday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves after he was hit in the face by a pitch, and it sounds like the injuries he suffered are as bad as they looked.
The Mets announced on Tuesday that Pillar suffered multiple nasal fractures. He is scheduled to meet with a facial specialist in Atlanta to determine what the next steps should be.
Pillar was batting in the top of the 7th inning with his team leading the Braves 1-0. Reliever Jacob Webb was trying to throw a pitch high but missed badly inside and hit Pillar in the face.
Pillar went down immediately and blood came spouting out of his nose. You can see the video here, but beware that it is quite graphic.
Webb and many other players were visibly shaken following the incident. Pillar was fortunately able to walk off the field under his own power, but there was so much blood around the batter’s box that the game was paused so the grounds crew could clean it up.
Pillar is in his first season with the Mets and struggling somewhat at the plate, batting .247 with a .661 OPS. We hope he has a speedy recovery, but it sounds like he could be out a while.
Solomon Hill faced a lot of backlash two months ago for the role he played in LeBron James suffering an ankle injury. Los Angeles Lakers players made it clear they were unhappy about the play, and LeBron shares that frustration.
LeBron suffered his sprained ankle when Hill collided with him while diving for a loose ball. James spoke about the injury this week and said he was playing some of the best basketball of his career prior to it. The way he described the play made it obvious he is still bitter about it.
LeBron said he was playing some of the best ball of his career before the ankle injury.
“I had a grown man diving at my leg for a loose ball.”
Said there is frustration about what could have been that he’s tried not to focus upon. But defending title obviously the big goal.
You could maybe make the argument that Hill was being reckless, but it seemed like the Atlanta Hawks forward was just scrambling for a loose ball. The injury has been the most significant one of LeBron’s career, though he recently dismissed concerns about.
Charles Barkley has never shied away from making bold predictions, and the Hall of Famer looks pretty good now after one of the ones he made at the start of the 2020-21 season.
During TNT’s NBA tip-off show back in December, Barkley decided to go out on a limb and guarantee that two of the Eastern Conference’s worst teams last season — the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards — would make the playoffs this year.
The Wizards, of course, had just acquired Russell Westbrook in a trade with the Houston Rockets. They finished ninth in the East last season without Westbrook, so that prediction wasn’t all that wild. It was more bold of Barkley to express confidence in the Hawks, who won just 20 games last year and finished 14th in the East.
The Hawks had a huge turnaround this year and finished 41-31, which secured the No. 5 seed in the East. Washington went 34-38 and will travel to Boston as the No. 8 seed to face the No. 7 seed Celtics in a play-in game.
The 2021 NFL Draft has passed and rookies are already reporting to camps. It’s time for some of them to show what they can do and prove they were worth the draft picks.
Who were some of the best under-the-radar selections? Which Day 2 and Day 3 picks will have the biggest impact as rookies in 2021? And do any of them have what it takes to win some awards? Here’s a look at five players who will answer most — if not all — of those questions this season.
5. Walker Little, OT, Jacksonville Jaguars
This is a tricky one because Walker Little, although possessing the talent of a first-rounder, does come with some legitimate medical red flags. He has taken just 72 snaps over the previous two seasons. He suffered a knee injury that ended his season in 2019, and then opted out last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That means there’s going to be quite a bit of rust to knock off, and that’s assuming Little can stay healthy. However, if he can, the Jaguars landed a potential starting tackle of the future at pick No. 45 overall. The 6-foot-7, 309-pound Little logged a 93.3 pass-blocking grade (PFF) over the course of his college career and allowed just one pressure. Limited opportunities or not, that’s impressive.
4. Nick Bolton, LB, Kansas City Chiefs
At 6-foot and 231 pounds, there’s no denying that Nick Bolton is an undersized linebacker. It’s part of the reason why he slipped to the Chiefs at No. 58 overall and part of the reason why some believe he was still a reach at that point. We’ll argue that he was a steal, instead. Size aside, Bolton is an extremely instinctive linebacker who excels in coverage. One of those things can’t be taught, and the other is a welcomed benefit in today’s pass-happy NFL. Bolton will also willingly step in and play special teams, adding more versatility to his resume. Bottom line? Don’t let the size fool you — Bolton has superstar potential and landed in the exact right spot with Kansas City.
3. Elijah Molden, CB, Tennessee Titans
Cornerback prospects dropping based on the perceived value of the slot position is an interesting dynamic in the NFL. Considering the league has become so pass-happy, you’d think executives and scouts would place a greater emphasis on the slot position, but that’s still not the case. It’s also why Elijah Molden slid all the way to pick No. 100 overall despite being, arguably, the best slot corner prospect available. Shame on the rest of the NFL for missing out on what Tennessee now adds to their defense. Molden has earned Pro Football Focus’ highest slot grade (91.2) and forced more incompletions (21) than any other slot corner in college football since 2014. He’s also a sound, fearless tackler despite his size (5-foot-10, 190 pounds), which will pay huge dividends in the NFL.
2. Tommy Togiai, DT, Cleveland Browns
Tommy Togiai was overlooked in the 2021 NFL Draft for two very sound reasons: lack of experience and lack of size. The 6-foot-2, 300-pound Togiai is considered a bit undersized to play the 3-technique, and his 660 total college snaps weren’t enough to sell most teams. However, the Browns looked beyond those concerns and saw a player who despite some of his shortcomings, found constant success in his limited number of snaps. Togiai is a quality defensive end who can stop the run, eat up multiple blocks, and rush the passer from the inside. He’s disruptive and graded out highly among DT prospects leading up to the draft, often finding himself grouped among the likes of Christian Barmore and Alim McNeill. He’s not going to be a three-down player in Cleveland, but he’ll get his fair share of playing time and likely make the most of it.
1. Jaelon Darden, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The 2021 NFL Draft was packed full of talent at the wide receiver position, which is why a player like Jaelon Darden slid silently into the fourth round only to be snatched up by the defending Super Bowl champions. Usually, Day 3 picks and undrafted rookie free agents struggle to make the 53-man roster. But Darden is not only a likely lock, he could play a significant role this season. He capped off his career at North Texas with 74 receptions for 1,190 yards and 19 touchdowns in just nine games. He will immediately step into a slot role for Tampa Bay. With a ton of talent around him and quarterback Tom Brady throwing him the ball, Darden is a sneaky Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate. Yes, he’s that talented.
Shohei Ohtani’s impressive season for the Los Angeles Angels has led J.J. Watt to take notice, though maybe not enough other people have taken notice.
Ohtani on Monday clubbed a 3-run home run for the Angels in their game against the Cleveland Indians. Ohtani now has 13 home runs, which leads all of MLB. On top of that, Ohtani has a 2.10 ERA in 25.2 innings as a pitcher this season.
He’s the league leader in homers, and also putting together a strong season as a pitcher.
Watt sent a tweet saying that a lot of people are talking about what Ohtani is doing, while not enough are talking about it.
It feels like a lot of people are talking about Shohei Ohtani but still nowhere near enough people are talking about Shohei Ohtani.
The issue is probably that Ohtani entered MLB with so much hype in 2018 that the buzz has worn off. Ohtani got injured in 2018, missed all of 2019 as a pitcher, and last year was the shortened season. More than three years have passed since Ohtani got hyped up. He didn’t live up to the hyperbolic billing, which probably accounts for why not as many people have taken notice this year.
But yes, Ohtani is doing the sort of thing people thought he was capable of, just doing it a few years later, with less buzz.
The Kings have gone 31-41 in consecutive seasons under Walton. That’s below where they expect to be, but sadly the team’s second-highest winning percentage since 2009.
Walton will likely need to show improvement next season otherwise his job status could become in jeopardy. Walton has completed two seasons as head coach of the Kings, which followed three lackluster seasons as the Lakers’ head coach.
Gabriel Landeskog pummeled Brayden Schenn as revenge for a hit on Mikko Rantanen Monday night.
Landeskog’s Colorado Avalanche were facing Schenn’s St. Louis Blues in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. The game was scoreless midway through the first period when Schenn caught Rantanen with a trip. No penalty was called.
That set the stage for what came next.
Landeskog, the Avalanche captain, went right after Schenn and proceeded to beat him up.
Landeskog of course ended up in the penalty box, but it was worth it for him. That helped get his Avalanche going, as they quickly took a 1-0 lead. It could have been more if not for the great play by Jordan Binnington in net.
Now that’s how to send a message not to mess with one of your players.
