Liberty coach inspired team’s comeback win with great promise

Liberty put together a nice comeback to beat Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, and they were inspired by a great promise from their coach.

The Flames were down 63-53 with seven minutes left in the game and came back to win 80-76. After the game, Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay said he told his team that if they came back from the 10-point deficit, he would treat them to In-N-Out Burger.

Question: "What did you say to the team when you were down 10?"

Liberty coach Ritchie McKay: "I told them if they won we could go to In-N-Out Burger."

— michael phillips (@michaelpRTD) March 23, 2019

Liberty is located in Virginia and playing in the San Jose pod for the tournament, so they’re close to the West Coast burger chain, which is considered by many to be a treat due to its high-quality food and limited locations. In fact, we’ve even seen teams have it delivered to them at an airport after big wins.

Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield not worried about Iowa fans

Tennessee Volunteers star Admiral Schofield made some comments that could ignite Iowa fans for Sunday’s game between the teams.

The Vols got sent to the South region of the NCAA Tournament and are playing their first two games in the Columbus, Ohio pod. Tennessee escaped a close game against Colgate on Friday and will face Iowa in the second round after the Hawkeyes beat Cincinnati.

Schofield knows there might a good contingent of Iowa fans at the game given the location, but he’s not worried.

#Vols’ Admiral Schofield: We’re in the Midwest, and I know how passionate Big Ten fans are, so I’m sure it’ll feel like an Iowa home game Sunday. But that’s fine. It’s not like they’re as passionate as BBN or anything like that.

(BBN is “Big Blue Nation,” AKA Kentucky fans.)

— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) March 23, 2019

Saying they’re not as passionate about basketball as Kentucky fans may be true, but it could lead Hawkeyes fans attending the game to be extra loud.

The two-seed Vols are 8-point favorites for the game.

Robert Kraft’s attorney accuses law enforcement of illegally obtaining evidence

The attorney for Robert Kraft has gone on the offensive.

Kraft’s attorney issued a statement on Friday in which he said the evidence against his client was obtained illegally.

“There was no human trafficking and law enforcement knows it. The video and the traffic stop were illegal and law enforcement just doesn’t want to admit it. The state attorney needs to step up and do the right thing and investigate how the evidence in this case was obtained,” attorney William Burck told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Kraft has pleaded not guilty to two charges of solicitation of prostitution after he was recorded participating in sex acts at a massage parlor in Jupiter, Florida back in January. The New England Patriots owner will not accept any plea deal that involves him admitting any guilt.

The video was obtained and arrests made as part of a sting operation regarding sex trafficking. Kraft’s attorney issued his statement the same day a sheriff involved in the case said he expects the video evidence to eventually be made public. Kraft’s legal team is fighting to have the video kept private.

Bre Tiesi speaks on Johnny Manziel marriage issues: ‘Vows were broken’

Bre Tiesi and Johnny Manziel’s relationship status has been the subject of public attention this week after numerous changes were noticed on their respective Instagram profiles.

Tiesi dropped “Manziel” from her name and deleted all pictures of Johnny from her profile. Manziel deleted his page.

On Friday, Tiesi posted a photo to her Instagram profile from Bali. She also responded to comments on the post about her issues with Manziel. In posts, Tiesi responded to those who said she was with Manziel for money.

“maybe u should wonder why I would leave him instead of worrying about “money” lucky for him I don’t air out personals and lucky for u you are behind a screen u low life,” Tiesi wrote back in one comment.

In another comment, Tiesi says she was “betrayed” and “vows were broken.”

“u been married? U been betrayed? I don’t do betrayal for a person I was devoted to period. Vows were broken f— money and f— u and every other loser on here,” she wrote (commented edited due to profanity).

The nature of the vows that were broken are unclear. The two began dating in 2016 and were engaged in March 2017 before later getting married. Manziel was cut by the CFL last month amid odd circumstances and has since joined the Memphis Express in the AAF.

H/T The Spun

Raptors coach not focused on securing top seed in East

The Toronto Raptors are not focusing on the conference standings as they close out the regular season.

Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said Friday that while the team is focused on winning games, they’re not super concerned with the seedings.

Nurse reiterated the Raptors will not be chasing the 1st seed or 60 wins, at least not specifically: "We're gonna play this out and we're trying to win each night. Where we end up seeded we end up seeded."

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) March 22, 2019

The Raptors enter play on Friday two games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the top spot in the East with 10 games remaining. Earning the top seed would be helpful because it would give them homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, but even if they remain in the second spot, they would still have homecourt against everyone except the Bucks.

That’s probably a good attitude. The only thing the Raptors can control is their games, not Milwaukee’s. Nurse is also prioritizing rest for his team at this point in the season.

A case study in rest vs rust tonight. Raptors, who are virtually locked into a top-2 seed in the East, opted not to shoot around this AM, prioritizing rest once again. Thunder, who are battling for positioning in the West after losing 10 of 14, were on the court for over an hour.

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) March 22, 2019

Colgate loses best player Rapolas Ivanauskas due to contact lens issue

Colgate gave Tennessee a tough game in their first round matchup of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, and they did it despite being without their top player for much of the game.

Rapolas Ivanauskas was dealing with a contact lens issue and ended up missing half the game.

Even without Ivanauskas, Colgate starts the second half on an 8-0 run! The Raiders have also now hit 9-3’s and only trail the Vols by 6 at 47-41 @wvltrick pic.twitter.com/hkrWjhYZ6P

— WVLT News (@wvlt) March 22, 2019

The junior forward entered the game averaging a team-high 16.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game for Colgate. His last action in the game came when he missed a shot with three minutes to go in the first half.

Ivanauskas went 0-for-4 with no points, four rebounds, and an assist in the 77-70 defeat.

Colgate finishes the season 24-11. The Vols advance to face Iowa in the second round on Sunday.

Oakland Raiders sign backup QB Mike Glennon

The Oakland Raiders have found a replacement for AJ McCarron.

The Raiders announced on Friday that they have signed quarterback Mike Glennon. Glennon should slide in as the team’s backup, behind Derek Carr and in front of Nathan Peterman, who was signed to a reserve/future contract.

Glennon spent last season with the Arizona Cardinals and attempted 21 passes in two games. He spent the first four seasons of his career with Tampa Bay, then went to the Chicago Bears in 2017 before landing with Arizona last year. He has passed for 35 touchdowns and 20 interceptions in his NFL career.

Glennon is likely coming at a cost savings compared to McCarron, who was released to save $5 million.

Kentucky star PJ Washington to miss Saturday game with foot injury

Kentucky will be without star sophomore PJ Washington for Saturday’s second round NCAA Tournament game.

Washington entered the tournament with a foot injury and is in a cast and walking boot.

So this is PJ Washington tonight. pic.twitter.com/nKtnjT3g7G

— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) March 21, 2019

The Wildcats still ran Abilene Christian out of the gym 79-44 on Thursday playing without Washington. Many were wondering about his status for the second round, and CBS’ Seth Davis says Washington will miss the game.

PJ Washington won't play on Saturday for Kentucky. This is officially a thing.

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 22, 2019

Similarly, Coach John Calipari told ESPN’s Alyssa Lang that Washington was unlikely to play in the game.

This is what Coach Cal told me about the status of PJ Washington for the rest of the weekend: pic.twitter.com/sHtCDGWC1z

— Alyssa Lang (@AlyssaLang) March 22, 2019

Washington is Kentucky’s top scorer (14.8 points) and rebounder (7.5 rebounds) this season.