The Los Angeles Lakers got their championship rings on Tuesday, and Snoop Dogg helped them celebrate.
Snoop appeared in a video for the Lakers in which he congratulated them on winning the 2019-2020 NBA championship. Snoop, who is a big Lakers fan, was wearing a gold chain with a Larry O’Brien Trophy replica hanging from it. He also shared his hopes that LeBron James would bring them another title.
Just getting the championship last season was big, but Snoop already has his eyes on more. That’s a lot to ask of James, but those are the expectations from the Lakers’ fan base.
Lakers fans, show everyone who runs LA with this great T-shirt. It makes a perfect gift for you or a friend. You can buy it here.
Photo: © Glenn Francis, www.PacificProDigital.com via CC-BY-SA 4.0
The TNT crew roasted Kevin Durant after he gave them a stiff interview on Tuesday night.
Durant’s Brooklyn Nets beat the Golden State Warriors 125-99 in the season-opening game. Durant had 22 points in his first game since injuring his Achilles tendon in the NBA Finals over a year and a half ago.
Following the game, Durant gave an interview to the TNT crew, but he showed very little personality or emotion while talking with the hosts. Afterwards, the crew of Shaq, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith mocked Durant for it.
There is some background to the situation.
First off, Durant has long had issues with the media for twisting things he says. His teammate Kyrie Irving even stopped talking with the media. Barkley has been hard on Irving in public comments, which likely explains the chilly interview.
Maybe this will serve as some motivation for Durant to provide a better quality interview in the future.
Here is Durant’s full interview:
Charles Barkley believes the Houston Rockets should stop messing around and trade James Harden already.
During halftime of the season-opening game between the Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors, the TNT crew talked about the Rockets’ situation. Barkley mentioned how he liked what he saw from some of the Nets’ players, like Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie. He suggested the Rockets trade Harden to the Nets for some of those players.
“That’s why I don’t understand what them fools at the Rockets are doing,” Barkley said. “Give me Allen, LaVert and Dinwiddie, you got a deal.”
Barkley proceeded to call Harden a “headache.”
“They’ll be rid of the headache. So I think they should make the trade. If you put those three players with John Wall … the Rockets are just going to be dissension behavior … it’s proven they’re dysfunctional. A man is going to show up when he wants, play when he wants to, practice when he wants to. So I would do the trade.”
Harden showed up to the team’s workouts late, though he gave an explanation. There has also been talk of him showing up overweight based on this photo.
Harden isn’t talking about his desire to be traded, and the Rockets haven’t shared their plans. Expect more day-to-day drama regarding the situation until we get a resolution, which might not come any time soon.
The San Francisco 49ers made a surprising addition on Tuesday by signing Josh Rosen off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ practice squad. It’s not very often that a player gets signed off another team’s practice squad the week of a game. But there were some circumstances that led to the signing.
49ers starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been out since Week 8 due to an ankle injury. Nick Mullens had been starting in Garoppolo’s place, but he is now out for the season with an elbow injury.
C.J. Beathard is the team’s third-string quarterback and set to start in Week 16 at Arizona. Josh Johnson was signed in early November to serve as the team’s fourth-string quarterback. He ordinarily would have been set to back up Beathard on Sunday. However, Johnson was just placed on the COVID list.
Down to only one quarterback available for Sunday, the Niners needed at least one other option. They found a QB in Rosen, the former first-round pick.
Remember, the 49ers couldn’t sign a free agent because they needed a player who was already in the league’s COVID testing system so that they would be eligible to play on Sunday. The NFL even just approved a new rule that allows teams to add players off another team’s practice squad. The reason for this new rule was clear: they wanted to avoid another Denver Broncos situation. Rosen is already in the league’s testing protocol, which made adding him convenient.
This was awful timing for Johnson, who would have had a shot at backing up in a game on Sunday. But it’s a good opportunity for Rosen, who has bounced around two teams this year but has not gotten any playing time. He’ll just have to learn a new system now.
Former NFL linebacker Antonio Pierce is reportedly a serious candidate for the Arizona Wildcats head coaching job.
Arizona is searching for a new coach after firing Kevin Sumlin following an 0-5 season that ended with a 70-7 loss to rival Arizona State. Pierce is a co-defensive coordinator for the Sun Devils and helped orchestrate the defense that shut down Arizona.
According to Sun Devil Source, Pierce has had serious conversations with Arizona and is very interested in the Wildcats job.
Pierce, 42, played at Arizona in college and later signed with Washington as an undrafted free agent. He played for both Washington and the New York Giants in the NFL. He made a Pro Bowl and won a Super Bowl during his career.
Pierce began his coaching career as the head coach at famed Long Beach Poly in 2014. He then was recruited to join Herm Edwards’ staff at ASU in 2017 and served as their linebackers coach for two years. He has a major presence in recruiting and was promoted to co-defensive coordinator, which he shared with Marvin Lewis.
Shaq denied shooting his shot with Megan Thee Stallion via Instagram Live.
Shaq wrote a comment on the rapper’s Instagram Live session in which he said “watching that booty” earlier this month.
Many interpreted that as Shaq hitting on the rapper. Even Shaq’s son, Shareef, agreed with his dad.
Shareef posted a copy of Shaq’s comments on TikTok and added “I feel you pops.”
But, no, Shaq says he wasn’t hitting on her.
“This is what happened America … I was in [the IG Live session]. Somebody said, ‘What are you doing in there?’ And, I typed what I typed. I wasn’t trying to hit on her,” Shaq told TMZ.
So there you have it. It was just one innocent comment and just Shaq telling people what he was doing. Nothing more than that.
If you believe Shaq, wait until you read what his ex-wife said about why he got divorced.
Tom Brady had an incredible response to a slight from Tony Dungy.
Dungy appeared on Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast and was asked by the host why he had Brady ranked as the sixth-most difficult quarterback to defend.
“I’m never putting Tom Brady ahead of Peyton Manning, so the best he could do is two. Peyton is my guy. So who gave me real problems? John Elway. You could do everything right, have the perfect defense. He’s going to move around and make something happen and kill you. He killed me enough, he was difficult. Steve Young was the same way. Those mobile quarterbacks. That’s who I put ahead of Tom. Aaron Rodgers, John Elway, Steve Young, guys who could move.
“Not to say Tom wasn’t great; he is great. But the extra dimension meant something to me. So that’s why I would only put him at six. Just my opinion,” Dungy said.
Brady heard the slight and replied on Twitter. He roasted Dungy by posting a photo of the banner the Colts hung in their stadium for being the 2014 AFC finalist.
The Colts were mocked for celebrating second place in their conference. They lost 45-7 to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. Meanwhile, Brady won six championships with the Patriots, including that season.
The point is what matters most is winning the big prize, not being ranked higher on a list from Dungy, who coached the Colts from 2002-2008 and won one Super Bowl.
Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski have teamed up yet again! Treat yourself or a friend with this great Tampa Fiesta shirt. You can buy it here.
Auburn is turning to the Boise State pipeline for their next head coach.
The Tigers are hiring Bryan Harsin away from Boise State to replace Gus Malzahn. Yahoo’s Pete Thamel first reported the news.
Harsin, 44, is from Boise and played quarterback at Boise State in the late ’90s. He served on their coaching staff in various offensive roles from 2001-2010 before leaving for Texas for two seasons. He went 7-5 as the head coach at Arkansas State in 2013 before returning to Boise State to replace Chris Petersen in 2014. Harsin has been Boise State’s head coach ever since.
Harsin has gone 69-19 in seven seasons at Boise State. Coincidentally, Harsin replaced Malzahn at Arkansas State when Gus left to take the Auburn job. Now Harsin is replacing Malzahn again.
Though plenty of other names were mentioned in connection with the Auburn job, Louisiana’s Billy Napier and Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables were said to be the other serious candidates.
Auburn is rivals with Alabama and plays in the highly competitive SEC West, which makes it arguably the most difficult college football job in the country. Best of luck to Harsin.
The Denver Nuggets can put together a very competitive trade package for James Harden, but one particular player is off-limits for them.
Mike Singer of the Denver Post reported on Tuesday that the Nuggets will not trade Jamal Murray in any potential deal for Harden.
Murray, 23, was a breakout star of the Orlando bubble, helping lead Denver to a surprise Western Conference Finals berth with his sharp shooting and knack for taking over in the clutch. Murray also has tremendous chemistry with Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic, the other untouchable on their roster.
The Nuggets still have some intriguing young players to offer in a Harden deal. Michael Porter Jr., Bol Bol, RJ Hampton, and PJ Dozier are all 24 or younger with varying levels of upside. Gary Harris, Will Barton, and Monte Morris are also quality rotation pieces who are still in their 20s as well.
The Harden situation in Houston seems to be worsening daily, so it seems at least plausible that Denver could get him without having to give up Murray.
Tyronn Lue was a widely popular head coaching candidate this offseason, but one NBA star was definitely not a believer.
The Athletic’s Bill Oram and Joe Vardon reported Tuesday that Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid was against the team hiring Lue to be their next coach. Embiid reportedly opposed Lue for Xs and Os reasons and was also concerned about the optics of such a hire. Lue has ties to top agent Rich Paul, who represents Philadelphia’s other star, Ben Simmons.
Lue, an LA Clippers assistant last year, formally interviewed for the Sixers’ opening in late September. The job ultimately went to Lue’s former boss Doc Rivers, who was fired by the Clippers, instead however. That paved the way for Lue to be promoted to head coach of the Clippers.
We had heard previously that Lue was a source of tension for another team whose stars wanted him to become their next head coach. It sounds like the opposite was true in Philadelphia however.
