Kyrie Irving has been away from the Brooklyn Nets this week for personal reasons, and he may not be eligible to play right away if and when he does decide to return.
Irving has missed Brooklyn’s last three games, and no one seems to know why. On Monday night, a video on social media surfaced that appeared to show him at a maskless gathering to celebrate his sister’s birthday. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews, the NBA is looking into the video to determine if Irving violated COVID-19 protocols.
You can see the video in question here.
Wojnarowski also noted that Irving has been ruled out for Tuesday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets and is not expected to play on Wednesday or Saturday, either.
In other words, there is no timetable for Irving’s return. He may have to quarantine even when he does rejoin the Nets, so that could keep him out even longer.
Nets coach Steve Nash made some comments recently that indicated he is unsure of the reason behind Irving’s absence. Brooklyn has lost its last two games to fall to 5-6 on the season.
Ben Roethlisberger and Maurkice Pouncey shared an emotional moment on the bench together after the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday night, and we now what was said between the two.
Footage that aired on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” this week showed an emotional Roethlisberger apologizing to Pouncey. The quarterback told Pouncey “I feel worse for you than me.”
Roethlisberger and Pouncey are both entering the final years of their contracts. Roethlisberger is owed $41.2 million and Pouncey $14.4 million, so the exchange may have been an acknowledgement that the 2020 season could have been one of their last together.
Big Ben has also won two Super Bowls with Pittsburgh, and both came before Pouncey was drafted by the team in 2010. Pouncey is 31 and should have more years left in the NFL than the 38-year-old Roethlisberger, but Ben knows how tough it is to win a championship.
Another angle of Roethlisberger and Pouncey appeared to show that Big Ben was crying. After the way the Steelers started the 2020 season, you can understand why they are so disappointed with the finish.
Kyrie Irving will miss his fourth consecutive game on Tuesday when the Brooklyn Nets take on the Denver Nuggets, but no one seems to know why.
Irving missed Brooklyn’s last three games for personal reasons. It’s unclear when he will return, and Jason Dumas of KRON4 News reported on Sunday that the six-time All-Star has been “off the grid.”
Even if Irving does decide to return this week, he may have to follow NBA quarantine rules. Videos that surfaced on social media Monday night claimed to show Irving at a birthday gathering for his sister, Asia.
Some recent comments made by Nets coach Steve Nash indicated the team may not know why Irving is out and when he could return.
The Nets have lost their last two games to fall to 5-6 on the season. Kevin Durant returned on Sunday after quarantining, but Brooklyn needs both stars in order to compete.
Alabama fans were thrilled over the team’s championship win on Monday night and celebrated accordingly.
The streets of Tuscaloosa were packed after the Crimson Tide rolled to a 52-24 win over Ohio State at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
One fan even scaled a CVS.
And the police even had to come out.
Plus, let’s not forget the person who was on a stretcher.
There haven’t been a ton of reasons to celebrate for many people over the past year or so, but the championship win gave Tide fans a very good reason to celebrate.
Nick Saban doesn’t often share emotions publicly, but he did not hide them on Monday night.
Saban was unusually happy with his Alabama Crimson Tide for their performance against Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship. He was actually happy during his halftime interview, which is very unusual. He was happy in his postgame interview on ESPN too. And he was even shown crying after the team won it all.
Saban said all along how proud he was of his team’s players for maintaining their focus and overcoming all the adversity the challenging season presented. He said this was one of his favorite teams because of all they achieved given the circumstances. His tears confirm everything he felt about this squad.
Here was the last occasion when Saban got choked up.
Landon Dickerson got to enjoy a cool moment at the end of Alabama’s 52-24 win over Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday night.
Dickerson was presumed to be out for the season after suffering a knee injury against Florida on Dec. 19. But the senior transfer dressed for the championship game against Ohio State, served as captain, and even got to play for the final snap.
Saban allowed Dickerson to snap for the team’s final kneeldown to seal the game.
Dickerson then carried Nick Saban onto the field to celebrate the win.
Dickerson is beloved by his teammates and got the chance to partake in the team’s final game.
“He wasn’t supposed to play in the game, he was coming off of surgery. But he wanted to go in and snap the ball, so we let him do that,” Saban said after the game.
The Cleveland Browns sure are tired of the Pittsburgh Steelers trying to trash talk them.
On Monday, Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool said that the Browns would get bounced from the playoffs by the Kansas City Chiefs. Claypool’s comments seemed like sour grapes coming from a guy whose team got knocked out by Cleveland.
Adrian Clayborn, who is in his first season with the Browns, responded. He told Claypool to “go on vacation already.”
That’s a reference to how many players take a vacation after their season ends.
This season’s Steelers started off 11-0, but they’ll be remembered as the team whose trash talk backfired.
The only thing that could slow down DeVonta Smith in the College Football Playoff National Championship was a finger injury.
Smith suffered a dislocated finger in the third quarter of the game and left the field for the medical tent.
Trainers were seen on the sideline trying to pop Smith’s finger back into place.
Smith was later taken into the locker room.
Smith had 12 catches for 215 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half of the game, leaving Twitter users in shock.
The Washington Wizards are off to an even worse start than they were last season, and time may be running out for head coach Scott Brooks.
Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reported on Monday that Brooks is “firmly” on the hot seat in Washington. The 55-year-old coach is in the final season of his five-year contract with the Wizards.
Now 2-8 to start the season, Washington is tied for the NBA’s worst record. They have not done much since Brooks arrived in 2016 either. He holds a record of 151-177 (.460) for the Wizards with just two playoff appearances.
The former Coach of the Year Brooks is often bashed for his rotations and offensive schemes. Those are criticisms that have followed him ever since his days coaching the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Wizards’ stars sound pretty disgruntled right now as well. At this point, Brooks may be the favorite for first NBA coach to be let go this year.
Photo: All-Pro Reels/Flickr via CC BY-SA 2.0
DeVonta Smith went wild in the first half of the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday night, and users on Twitter went wild in response.
Smith had 12 catches for 215 yards and three touchdowns as Alabama went out to a 35-17 lead over Ohio State.
Smith achieved season-highs of 15 catches against Florida, 231 yards against LSU, and four touchdowns against Mississippi State. He nearly eclipsed all of those numbers against Ohio State … in one half.
He showed exactly why he won the Heisman Trophy.
