Tim Tebow is far from guaranteed a Week 1 roster spot with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the contract he signed with the team is proof of that.
Tebow officially signed with the Jaguars on Thursday. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the contract is a one-year deal worth $920,000, which is the veteran minimum. It includes no guaranteed money, as expected.
You can certainly make the argument that signing Tebow created an unnecessary distraction for the Jaguars, but there is virtually no financial risk.
Tebow has not appeared in an NFL game since 2012 and will turn 34 before the start of the 2021 season. He is trying to make the team as a tight end, which is an entirely new position for him. Very few people believe he will do enough to show Urban Meyer he is worthy of a roster spot, though the two obviously have a long history together.
While the odds favor Tebow being cut at some point this summer, that is not stopping his fans from loading up on merchandise. We can only imagine what Mel Kiper Jr. would say about that, as he unloaded on Tebow this week for even attempting a comeback.
Photo: Sports Spectrum/Wikimedia via CC-BY-SA 4.0
Tim Tebow officially signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday, but he is far from a lock to be on the roster when the regular season begins. His fans clearly do not care.
In the roughly 24 hours since Tebow joined the Jaguars, his merchandise sales have exploded on the official NFL Shop. As ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted, the top five selling items on NFLShop.com as of Thursday were all Tebow items.
Tebow has not appeared in an NFL game since 2012. He’s trying to make Jacksonville’s roster as a backup tight end, which is a position he did not play in college or the NFL. He’ll also be 34 before the season begins.
It goes without saying that Tebow is facing an uphill battle, and one NFL analyst blasted him this week for even attempting a comeback. Fans are loading up on his Tebow’s Jaguars swag anyway.
Photo: Sports Spectrum/Wikimedia via CC-BY-SA 4.0
Lamar Odom opened up this week about how he has used the drug ketamine to help fight addiction, and the former NBA star’s doctor was happy to see Odom share his story.
During an appearance on “Good Morning America” Monday, Odom explained how he has been receiving small doses of ketamine under supervision for the past two years. The 41-year-old said the treatments have helped him avoid abusing drugs the way he did when he nearly died of an overdose in 2015.
“I went to rehab and did some other things, but ketamine came into my life at the right time,” Odom said. “I’m feeling amazing. I’m alive, I’m sober, I’m happy.”
Odom credited his ketamine treatments with keeping him from relapsing when Kobe Bryant died early last year.
“I don’t wake up looking to do lines … or feeling unfulfilled,” he said. “When Kobe passed away, you know, the old Lamar, that’d have been every excuse in the world for me to go get high, (but) doing drugs didn’t even enter my mind.”
Ketamine is an anesthetic that is used by both medical professionals and veterinarians. It has been abused by people and is often referred to as a “club drug.” The doctor who administers it to Odom, Dr. Steven L. Mandel, explained in an interview with Page Six that the drug can help people who suffer from depression, PTSD and suicidal thoughts.
Mendel, who owns Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles, is very pleased that Odom has decided to share his experience. He hopes Odom’s story and others like it will help end that stigma and show people the benefits of using ketamine responsibly under the supervision of a medical professional.
“To have a prominent person call people’s attention to this, it’s a thrill,” Mandel said. “It’s amazing. So I’m very grateful and thousands of people will benefit from his honesty and his candor.”
Odom and Bryant were close from when they were teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers. Odom considered Bryant a mentor and leaned on him heavily for guidance and support. Not long after Kobe died in a helicopter crash, Odom said he wished Bryant was still around to help him with an issue that led to fan backlash.
The Denver Broncos have been viewed as one of the most likely suitors for Aaron Rodgers should the Green Bay Packers decide to trade the star quarterback. John Elway would probably love to make that a reality, and it sounds like he and Rodgers have hung out at least one time in a very friendly setting this offseason.
Elway, the president of football operations for the Broncos, reportedly played golf with Rodgers in California recently. CBS 4 in Denver’s Romi Bean said on the DNVR Denver Broncos podcast this week that she confirmed with two sources that Elway and Rodgers spent time together both on and off the course.
“I know for a fact they were playing golf together in California,” Bean said, as transcribed by Egotastic Sports. “I know that has happened even though that’s tampering or whatever, but how else does John Elway woo guys but on the golf course.
“I actually have this story corroborated on two different sides which is pretty wild. One is from someone in the golf world who booked the rounds, which is verified. And the other end by chance I had a friend whose friends were playing at this club that weekend and John and Aaron came up and played poker with them, so corroborated on two sides and no one is talking about that.”
You think they talked football at all?
The Packers have reportedly been upset with other teams for tampering with Rodgers. It would be hard for the Broncos to argue that they’re not guilty of that if the golf and poker stories are true.
The Broncos passed on drafting a quarterback in the first round, and that may have been because of the Rodgers situation. We actually heard a positive report this week on where things stand between Rodgers and the Packers, but Elway is going to make sure Denver remains a part of the equation for as long as necessary.
Washington Wizards fans now have an iconic photo to enjoy.
A photo of Russell Westbrook celebrating as Bradley Beal dunks the ball behind him went viral on Thursday:
The photo came from a play in the third quarter of the Wizards’ 142-115 win over the Indiana Pacers in their play-in game. Westbrook delivered a bounce pass to a cutting Bradley Beal, who had a massive baseline dunk.
The photo led to a few funny tweets like this one:
Westbrook had 18 points, 8 rebounds and 15 assists. Beal had 25 points in the win. Now Washington will face Philly in the first round of the playoffs. Game 1 is on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and their fans were all over Josh Reddick on Thursday night.
Reddick’s contract was purchased by the Arizona Diamondbacks, meaning he played for the team against the Dodgers on Thursday. The timing was great.
See, Reddick was part of the 2017 Houston Astros who beat the Dodgers in the World Series. Those same Astros were later found to have cheated in the postseason.
Every time Reddick came up to bat, he was booed heavily and called a cheater.
But the best part came when the Dodgers’ organist played Ace of Base’s “The Sign” for a Reddick at-bat.
That was a fantastic reference to the Astros stealing signs and relaying them with a trash can in real-time.
When news of the scandal was first confirmed last year, Dodgers fans had the harshest reactions of all. It makes sense considering the Astros beat their team in the World Series.
The Houston Astros are confirmed cheaters and deserve an asterisk. Send that message by wearing our Houston Asterisks T-shirt! You can buy it here:
The news on John Tavares is positive so far following a scary incident on Thursday night.
Tavares was taken off the ice on a stretcher after being clipped in the head by a knee from Corey Perry. The incident took place midway through the first period in Game 1 of the playoff series between Tavares’ Toronto Maple Leafs and Perry’s Montreal Canadiens.
Tavares gave a thumbs up as he left the ice. Perry, who kneed him in the head inadvertently, went over to Tavares as the stretcher was taking away the Leafs captain.
Many were wondering about the status of Tavares following the incident. Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe gave encouraging updates and said all tests came back clear.
Tavares, 30, is in his third season with the Leafs after spending nine season with the Islanders.
The Washington Wizards on Thursday beat the Indiana Pacers 142-115 to secure the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The win means the Wizards will face the No. 1-seeded Philadelphia 76ers.
Almost immediately after Washington’s win, an old clip of Russell Westbrook talking about Joel Embiid went viral.
Here’s the clip, but beware of the foul language.
The video dates back to a January 2019 game between the Sixers and Thunder. Westbrook was driving to the basket and got fouled hard by Embiid while going for a shot (video here). Westbrook was asked after the game whether he and Embiid were cool, and that’s when Westbrook gave his response.
It’s unclear whether their relationship has since improved. Their teams will go at it in the first round of the playoffs, and we’ll get a chance to see.
The Denver Nuggets will be far from full strength entering their first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers. But Damian Lillard certainly does not think that will make them an easy out.
Speaking with Sam Amick of The Athletic this week, the Blazers star made clear that he is not taking Denver lightly in spite of their injuries.
“I mean, they’re not at full strength but a wounded animal is the most dangerous animal,” said Lillard. “I’m not going into here even thinking about who’s not on the floor, because the MVP of the league is on the floor. They’ve got a lot of talent.”
The Nuggets are without star guard Jamal Murray, who suffered a torn left ACL last month. Will Barton and PJ Dozier, two important parts of Denver’s rotation on the wing, will also likely miss the start of the series with injury.
Portland, meanwhile, is mostly at full health heading into the playoffs. But Denver’s talent, including MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic, and their slight history with the Blazers means that they will probably make for a handful for Portland in this first-round series.
Yes, it’s true: Tim Tebow is part of the Jacksonville Jaguars … for now. And we have a video to prove it.
WJXT 4 in Jacksonville shared this video on Thursday showing Tebow in his No. 85 jersey. Tebow was seen approaching teammate Tim Jones, who is trying to make the Jags as an undrafted free agent.
The Jags are undergoing Phase 2 of their offseason team activities. They are preparing for their first season under new head coach Urban Meyer.
Tebow has not played in the NFL since 2012. He is trying to make a comeback at age 33 and playing a new position in tight end. He is facing several obstacles in trying to make the team but is prepared for them.
Photo: Sports Spectrum/Wikimedia via CC-BY-SA 4.0
