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Yankees’ Jasson Dominguez addresses his costly blunder vs. Red Sox

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New York Yankees slugger Jasson Dominguez spoke out Saturday after committing a costly error in the team’s weekend contest against the Boston Red Sox.

The Yankees trailed the Red Sox 4-2 in the top of the 7th inning at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass. Dominguez was at second with another runner on first and two outs.

Trent Grisham, who was at the plate, swung and missed to even the count at 2-2. Dominguez seemed to think it was strike three, because he stood perfectly still in between second and third as Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez gunned him down.

After the game, Dominguez admitted to reporters that he thought Grisham’s swinging strike ended the inning.

“I have nothing to say,” Dominguez said. “No excuses. I made a mistake.”

The error proved costly for the Yankees late. New York tried to mount a comeback in the ninth inning. Doubles from Paul Goldschmidt and Dominguez scored a run to trim the lead to 4-3. But Austin Wells lined out sharply.

Fittingly enough, Dominguez was standing at second base as Wells made the final out.

Dominguez has had an up-and-down 2025 campaign for New York. The highly touted prospect electrified Yankees fans with a three-homer game in May. But his overall numbers have been middling at best. Through 56 games, Dominguez has batted .241 with 6 home runs and 26 RBIs.

Angel Reese reveals her plan to get back at trolls

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Angel Reese is looking to pull an Uno reverse card on her haters.

The Chicago Sky star Reese spoke out in a TikTok video this week about a term that was recently coined online to troll her. Reese is a very strong rebounder but is often criticized for padding her numbers by rebounding her own missed shots. As a result, the term “mebounds” was spawned to describe Reese’s style of play.

In the video, Reese fired back at the term and revealed that she plans to trademark “mebounds” in the hopes of turning it into a brand deal worth “six figures.”

“Whoever came up with the ‘mebounds’ thing, y’all ate that up,” Reese said. “[Because] rebounds, mebounds, crebounds, keybounds, tebounds … Anything that comes off that board. It’s mine. And a brand? That’s six figures right there.

“The trolling, I love when y’all do it,” added Reese. “Because the ideas be good!”

Reese also added that she was getting trolled because she was “cute” and disputed the notion that all of her rebounds came off her own misses (adding that many came off misses by teammates or opponents instead).

You can watch Reese’s full video below (but watch out for bad language).

Reese later confirmed to X that she does indeed plan to trademark the phrase “mebounds.”

The term “mebounds” is probably a legitimate criticism of Reese’s game. Of the 11.8 rebounds per game that she averages this season, 5.0 come on the offensive side of the ball. Additionally when you look some of Reese’s game tape, you will see that she can sometimes pick up four or five rebounds off her own misses within the span of just one offensive possession.

In any case though, Reese is clearly giving a lot of energy to her detractors. Reese is often responsible for bringing negative attention on herself, and now she is apparently looking for more in the hopes of being able to monetize it.

Report: 1 player named potential ‘swing factor’ in Kevin Durant trade talks

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One young prospect could ultimately decide where Kevin Durant ends up this offseason.

The trade buzz surrounding Durant is hitting a crescendo as the NBA season nears its end. A good chunk of the league has been linked to the Phoenix Suns star, who is in the final year of his current deal.

The Miami Heat are said to be among the three teams with whom Durant would sign an extension. One Heat player could be the key to KD moving to South Beach.

According to NBA reporter Jake Fischer, the Heat’s “willingness to surrender” young center Kel’el Ware is considered the potential “swing factor” in the bidding war for Durant. The move would fill the Suns’ gaping hole at the center spot, which the team has struggled to fill ever since Phoenix shipped away Deandre Ayton.

The Heat selected Ware with the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft. The Indiana product played sparingly over the first few months of the regular season, falling out of head coach Erik Spoelstra’s rotation entirely in early December.

Ware started making waves at the turn of the calendar year. He became a full-time starter in late January, often sharing the floor with undersized center Bam Adebayo. The 7-foot center showed tremendous potential as a rim protector and interior finisher.

The 21-year-old averaged 10.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 26 games after the All-Star break. His late-season improvement earned him All-Rookie 2nd Team honors.

Ware may not be within the same stratosphere as Durant as a player, but the Suns do not have much leverage given Durant’s age and contract situation.

The Heat do not have as many young pieces to offer compared to teams linked to Durant like the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets. But if those other teams refuse to give up a true asset better than Ware, then KD could be bound for Miami.

LeBron James posts 8-word message about Caitlin Clark

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LeBron James is definitely happy to see Caitlin Clark hooping again.

The WNBA superstar Clark made her return to the court for the Indiana Fever on Saturday. Clark missed a couple of weeks due to an unexpected injury but was back in the lineup for a weekend showdown against the defending champion New York Liberty.

Picking up right where she left off, Clark dropped a gaudy stat line of 32 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists. That included 11/20 shooting from the field and seven three-pointers on 11 attempts as the Fever handed the Liberty their very first loss of the WNBA season, winning by a convincing 102-88 final score.

Among those impressed by Clark’s performance was the Los Angeles Lakers star James. In a post to X on Saturday, James shared an eight-word message about Clark.

“The CC EFFECT!!” James wrote. “WELCOME BACK! You were missed!”

James and Clark share a relationship of mutual admiration. The four-time NBA champion James has defended Clark against her detractors multiple times in the past, and Clark has also come out and called James her NBA “GOAT.”

The WNBA is obviously a much bigger draw when the 23-year-old sensation Clark is playing (as you can tell by how ridiculously cheap the game tickets got when she was sidelined with injury). Now that Clark is back and healthy again though, the viewers are coming back in troves to watch her, including James.

Mavericks player destroys fan with windmill dunk at local gym

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Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford just taught a local gym goer a valuable lesson in staying humble.

Gafford recently visited a gym in the Dallas County suburb of DeSoto, Texas. It’s never a dull affair when an NBA player pulls up to the local gym, and Gafford’s trip was no exception.

One fan challenged Gafford, claiming he could block the Mavs veteran’s shot. The challenge went the way most would have predicted. Gafford brought out the windmill and jammed over the top of the fan.

Gafford explained what happened by commenting on one of several Instagram posts showing his merciless dunk.

“He said he could block my shot. So I tested that theory of his,” wrote Gafford.

Gafford is a 6’10” high-flyer nicknamed “The Landlord” due to his ownership of the shaded lane. The fan, who looked about a foot shorter than Gafford, never stood a chance.

The Mavericks center dealt with a few knee issues last season. But even a hobbled Gafford can posterize civilians who get a little too cocky.

In 57 games (31 starts) last season, Gafford averaged 12.3 points and 6.8 rebounds.

Willson Contreras rips ‘f–king p—y’ Rhys Hoskins after game

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Willson Contreras is letting us know exactly how he feels about one Milwaukee Brewers player.

The St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Contreras was involved in an incident during Saturday’s game against the Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisc. During the third inning, Contreras was manning the bag at first and recorded a putout on a Caleb Durbin groundball. However, Contreras appeared to back into the path of Durbin, causing a collision on top of the base.

As a result, Milwaukee’s Rhys Hoskins, who also plays first base, began yelling at Contreras from the dugout. Here is the video.

After the game, which St. Louis won 8-5, Contreras went scorched earth on Hoskins (while specifically avoiding mentioning Hoskins by name).

“One of their players, he liked to talk from far away, but then when he got in my face, didn’t say s–t,” said Contreras, per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. “I was looking for more than that. He seems to be tougher. He’s a f–king p—y. I’m not gonna name no names. He knows who he is.

“He didn’t say nothing to me,” Contreras added in clear reference to Hoskins. “I was expecting for him to say something, but he was looking away already. Look at my face. Just say it to my face, whatever you say from the dugout. And he was looking away.”

Contreras indeed later reached first base on a hit-by-pitch in the fifth inning. It sounds like he was expecting Hoskins, who was manning first at the time, to say something to him … only for Hoskins to apparently not do so.

The three-time All-Star Contreras began his career as a catcher but is now in his first full season of playing first base primarily. While Contreras might not have all the fundamentals of the position nailed down just yet, it is worth noting that Hoskins does have a history of antagonistic behavior towards opposing players.

Kevin Durant names the 3 teams he would sign extension with

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The Kevin Durant shortlist has reportedly been whittled down to three teams.

Durant has become the offseason’s biggest prize. Reports emerged earlier this month that the Phoenix Suns have gotten “aggressive” in searching for a suitable trade partner to offload Durant.

Durant’s contract status is a critical factor in the negotiations. The 15-time All-Star is entering the final year of his current deal, which will pay him $54.7 million next season.

On Saturday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Durant is only willing to sign a long-term extension with three teams: the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, and Houston Rockets.

Shams did clarify that Phoenix is not afraid to trade Durant to a team outside his preferred trio of destinations. The Suns have reportedly informed “six-to-eight seriously interested teams” that they plan to take whatever deal that gives the Arizona-based franchise the best return for KD.

Earlier this week, Charania revealed the three finalists for Durant. His list then also included the Rockets and Heat, but had another team listed instead of the Spurs.

San Antonio has been heavily linked to Durant over the past several weeks as a way to jumpstart its rebuilding process around Victor Wembanyama. But the Spurs are rumored to have a legitimate concern with the idea of adding Durant.

Fans react with disbelief to latest photo of Bryce Harper

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Bryce Harper is 32 years old, but he looked a lot older than that in the latest viral photo of him.

MLB’s official X page posted a photo of the Philadelphia Phillies star Harper this week as part of a cross-promotion with the new “How To Train Your Dragon” movie. However, it was not the promo that got everyone’s attention, but rather it was Harper’s appearance.

Fans were in disbelief over how much different and older Harper looked in the picture. Some cracked jokes while others just expressed their incredulousness. Take a look below.

That photo may have just been a combination of an awkward angle and bad lighting. But it safe to say that Harper did not quite look his best there.

The former NL MVP Harper is still at least looking good on the field though. While he is only batting .258 overall this season for the Phillies, Harper has still managed to produce nine home runs, 34 RBIs, and eight stolen bases through his first 57 games.

But Harper is actually on the injured list right now as he deals with a somewhat troubling wrist injury. Perhaps he will be looking a little more energized once he returns to the field for Philadelphia again.

Nationals fans all said the same thing after Dave Martinez threw his players under the bus

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Several Washington Nationals fans believe the writing may be on the proverbial wall for Dave Martinez.

The Nationals entered their Saturday matchup against the Miami Marlins on a six-game losing streak. Washington’s fortunes did not change, as it lost 4-3 to the division-worst Marlins at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

During his postgame press conference, Martinez was asked who was to blame for the Nationals’ sputtering offense. The 60-year-old head coach told reporters that his coaching staff was not at fault in any capacity.

“It’s never on coaching,” Martinez said, via the New York Post’s Thomas Gamba-Ellis. “Never on coaching. Coaches work their asses off every single day. We’re not going to finger-point here and say it’s coaches. It’s never on the coaches. They work hard. The message is clear. All the work is done prior. So, sometimes, they have to go out there and play the game. It’s always been about the players. Always.”

The Nationals don’t necessarily have a roster that rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Yankees. But it’s not often that a manager or head coach puts the blame entirely on his players.

Many Nationals fans believed Martinez’s quote was a sign that he was about to get fired.

Saturday’s loss dropped the Nationals to 10 games under .500 for the first time this season. The team’s offense has produced just 2.5 runs through 12 June contests en route to a 2-10 record. Nine of their 30 runs in June came in an 11-9 loss to the Marlins on Friday.

Martinez has been the team’s manager since 2018. The Nationals have not had a winning season since their 2019 World Series run. Over the last six seasons, Washington has a 318-460 record under Martinez.

Martinez is in the final year of the two-year extension he signed in 2023.

Dwight Howard ejected from BIG3 debut for fight with Lance Stephenson

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Dwight Howard and Lance Stephenson are going at it like it’s 2012 all over again.

The former NBA All-Star center Howard was involved in a large skirmish as he was making his debut in the BIG3 on Saturday. Howard now plays for the LA Riot in the 3-on-3 league founded by Ice Cube, and the league officially began its 10-week season this weekend.

During the Riot’s game on Saturday against Miami 305, Howard got into a fight with another former NBA player, Miami’s Lance Stephenson (who was also making his BIG3 debut).

Howard and Stephenson were in each other’s faces exchanging words when the former pushed the latter away. Stephenson responded by seemingly attempting to tackle Howard, and Howard returned the favor, successfully throwing Stephenson to the floor.

Here is the wild video (in which you can see that the two continued to grapple while on the ground).

Both Howard and Stephenson got ejected for the fight. Miami ultimately went on to beat LA by a 48-44 final score.

Tensions had already been building earlier in the contest when ex-NBA guard Jordan Crawford, who also now plays for the LA Riot, stuck his finger into Stephenson’s nose.

Howard, who is 39 years old now and last played in the NBA in 2022, was known for these kinds of altercations during his career in the Association (even with teammates). As for Stephenson, now 34 and also having last played in the NBA in 2022, the same can be said of him as well (especially if you ask LeBron James). Getting those two characters to butt heads in the BIG3 went just about how you might expect it to.

Aaron Judge gets stunning reception at Fenway Park

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Aaron Judge’s aura is on a completely different level right now.

The New York Yankees superstar Judge received a stunning reception during Saturday’s game against the Boston Red Sox. Judge stepped up to the plate in the first inning against Red Sox starter Hunter Dobbins at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass. and received audible “MVP” chants from the crowd. The loud chants could be heard on the FOX national television broadcast.

Take a look at the hard-to-believe video below.

Those were obviously traveling Yankees fans who had taken over Fenway Park rather than Red Sox fans. But that was still an absolutely flooring spectacle to witness at the home ballpark of the Yankees’ most hated rivals.

Judge, now a two-time AL MVP winner, certainly deserves those chants and more right now. While he would go on to strike out during his first at-bat on Saturday, Judge entered play hitting a monstrous .390 on the year with a 1.265 OPS. His 26 home runs and 99 hits lead all major-leaguers, and Judge has rounded out his season-long stat line with an AL-leading 65 RBIs and 60 runs scored too.

When it comes to the opposition, Judge continues to receive the Barry Bonds treatment as well. Now the six-time MLB All-Star Judge has managed to do something even more unbelievable by receiving “MVP” chants at Fenway Park as the star of the New York Yankees.

Former MLB All-Star tore his hamstring during a Savannah Bananas game

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Savannah Bananas games are supposed to be fun for players and fans alike, but one former MLB All-Star hustled a little bit too hard while suiting up for the team.

The Bananas played an exhibition game at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Oh. on Friday, and longtime Reds first baseman Sean Casey made an appearance and took an at-bat during the game. The 50-year-old drew a walk, but when ball four got away from the catcher, Casey hustled down to first and even tried to round the base for second.

Unfortunately, Casey’s hamstring gave out on him as he made the turn around first, and he wound up having to hobble back to the dugout for a pinch-runner.

At that point, this was just a funny highlight and nothing to really take note of. That changed Saturday, when Reds play-by-play announced Jim Day revealed during the broadcast of their game against the Detroit Tigers that Casey had completely torn his hamstring while rounding the base.

“He got a massive ovation. And he was at the plate. And he was rounding first base, thinking about going to second. And the crowd was cheering him on,” Day said, via Dave Clark of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Now he grabbed his hamstring. I thought he was just playing to the crowd. You know like, ‘Hey, I’m an older guy and it’s hard for me to run.’ Turns out he completely tore his hamstring. He completely tore the hamstring off the bone. He’s got surgery this week. Took one for the team. … We wish Sean Casey the best. That’s a tough one right there.”

Casey posted on X about the experience Saturday morning, but did not allude to anything more than a tight hamstring at that time.

Casey was a three-time All-Star during his MLB career and was a lifetime .302 hitter. Since retiring after the 2008 season, he has primary worked as an MLB Network analyst, though he took on a surprise role as New York Yankees hitting coach for part of the 2023 season.

There is some irony in that Casey was never fleet of foot as a player, and there is a famous viral video of him getting thrown out at first from left field in 2007. It seems that running the bases got him here, too, even though it was just an exhibition game.

Andrew McCutchen accuses MLB of manipulating baseballs

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At least one high-profile Major League Baseball player believes the league is manipulating baseballs to ensure that they travel less.

Pittsburgh Pirates DH Andrew McCutchen suggested Saturday that the league had admitted to him that the baseballs being used in 2025 are different and do not travel as far as previous ones. McCutchen responded to a video of a ball hit Friday night by Mets star Juan Soto that looked like it was going to be a home run off the bat, but only reached the warning track.

“I was told by a rep for MLB that the balls are indeed different this year,” McCutchen wrote on X. “They stated ‘higher seams’ which produces more drag on baseball, causing baseballs to not travel as far as they should. When asked why, I was told ‘every baseball is hand sewn so no ball is the same.’ When I asked if there is something that can be done about correcting the current performance of this years baseball, I was told there was ‘nothing’ that can be done about it this season BUT, they are ‘working hard on getting to the bottom of why the seams are higher.’”

Claims that MLB is doctoring baseballs are nothing new. In the past, one Mets player argued that MLB manipulates the balls depending on the upcoming free agent class. It is worth noting that the 2025-26 MLB free agent class is not necessarily strongly weighted toward position players or pitchers, though outfielder Kyle Tucker is the marquee name.

For whatever it is worth, the ball Soto hit Friday night came off the bat at 110.8 MPH, according to Baseball Savant, and carried with it an expected batting average of .990.

MLB has always maintained that they do not make any changes to baseballs, but there is some natural variability in how they perform because of how they are manufactured. That explanation will not satisfy some players who clearly think something is going on, and McCutchen is among them.

Tyreek Hill doubles down on his challenge to Noah Lyles

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Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill continues to up the ante as he prepares to challenge Olympic sprinter Noah Lyles to a race.

On Friday, Hill shared video of himself running a 100-meter race as he appears to be training for a showdown with Lyles. Based on the video, Hill ran the 100 in 10.15 seconds at a Last Chance Sprint Series event in California.

At the end of the video, Hill holds up a sign that reads “Noah Could Never.” That appears to be a reference to Lyles holding up a similar sign targeting Hill at a February event.

Hill’s problem is that Lyles could, in fact, match that time. He ran a 9.784 in the 100-meter final to win Olympic gold last August. As great as Hill’s time is, it would not even have qualified him for the final in Paris.

Hill and Lyles have said they plan to race at some point this year, though the details have yet to be announced. Hill clearly seems to be taking the challenge seriously and is working on lowering his time. He still has a lot of work to do to best Lyles even based on these numbers.

Pirates fans protest against owner Bob Nutting during US Open

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Pittsburgh Pirates fans are taking their protests against team owner Bob Nutting all the way to the US Open.

A number of Pirates fans were in attendance for the US Open at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa., just outside of Pittsburgh. They made themselves heard on Friday after Scottie Scheffler teed off on the 16th hole.

After Scheffler teed off, a group of Pirates fans could be heard yelling “Sell the team, Bob!”

This effort was coordinated, but Pirates fans hardly need to work together to share the sentiment. The chant has been heard at Pirates games, though the team’s TV broadcasts have seemingly tried to keep it from getting on television. They had no such ability here.

Nutting has owned the Pirates since 2007, and has been heavily criticized for a perceived lack of investment in the team. They have one winning season since 2015, and critics have made the argument that Nutting could afford to spend far more than he actually does to upgrade the roster.

Nutting has never shown any interest in selling, and there is nothing Pirates fans can really do to compel him to unload the franchise. As long as that remains the case, they will just have to try to shame Nutting publicly like this.

Bill Simmons takes aim at Pat McAfee

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Bill Simmons has resurrected his feud with Pat McAfee by taking aim at the ESPN personality’s in-game wrestling promo during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday.

As he has throughout the playoffs, McAfee took on the role of hype man during Friday’s contest between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, In. McAfee used Friday’s monologue to call out the fact that the Thunder were still betting favorites to win both Game 4 and the series, even though the Pacers had a 2-1 advantage at that point.

During Saturday’s edition of “The Zach Lowe Show,” Simmons questioned the timing of McAfee’s promo. He pointed out that it came at a crucial point in the game with roughly ten minutes left in regulation, and that a hype speech about the Pacers being underdogs clashed with the reality that they were trying to see out a fourth quarter lead.

“My big note is that McAfee did this monologue with, like, ten minutes left,” Simmons said. “This was a crucial part of the game, and he was doing this thing about, ‘We were six-point underdogs, and this is Indiana.’ It was the wrong timing. I would have gone second quarter for that. It was this massive part of the game, and they actually had to stop the game and wait for the monologue to finish before they started playing again. I thought that was really weird.”

Simmons is not criticizing McAfee’s message as much as he is questioning the timing of it, though he doesn’t seem too enamored with the former Indianapolis Colts punter leaning into the underdog narrative either. Obviously, the Pacers went on to let a late lead slip away, and the Thunder tied the series as it shifts back to Oklahoma City.

McAfee’s WWE-style promos have not even been universally popular among Pacer fans during the playoffs. Simmons is right that this one, in particular, probably would have played better earlier in the game than in a crucial fourth quarter.

H/T Awful Announcing

Marlins pitcher made the most embarrassing mental mistake

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Miami Marlins pitcher Ronny Henriquez had a pretty embarrassing moment during the second inning of Saturday’s game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

Henriquez was brought into the game from the bullpen with one on and nobody out in the second inning, relieving opener Cade Gibson. He allowed an infield single, then struck out Josh Bell for the first out of the inning.

Clearly, Henriquez lost track of how many outs there were at that point. He started walking off the mound after the strikeout, only to have to freeze and go back to face the next hitter.

It is rare to see a pitcher lose track of how many outs there are, and even rarer for it to happen when there is only one down. One certainly has to wonder if Henriquez was fully aware of the game situation he was brought into.

Henriquez recovered to get the next out, then issued back-to-back walks, the second coming with the bases loaded to force in a run. He was removed from the game after that, and no further damage was done.

The Marlins may not be the worst team in baseball, but they are certainly proving to be among the most comical. They actually wound up winning Saturday’s game 4-3, holding off a late Washington rally to do so.

Henriquez entered Saturday’s outing with a 3.34 ERA and 14 walks and 44 strikeouts in 32.1 innings of work. He might have to answer for his mental error after this latest outing.

Rockets give huge contract to veteran bench player

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The Houston Rockets are paying big money to retain a player who served in a rotation role for the team last season.

The Rockets are signing center Steven Adams to a three-year, $39 million contract extension, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. The new deal will ensure that Adams does not become a free agent this summer.

That is a hefty $13 million per season for a player who averaged 13.7 minutes per game for Houston in 2024-25. Adams was a useful piece for a young 52-30 team that started to come into its own this season, however, and the Rockets obviously value his leadership and his presence in the locker room. Plus, the team originally liked him so much that they traded him while he was out for the season with an injury back in 2024.

In total, Adams averaged 3.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in 58 games for Houston last season.

The Rockets will want to break through in the Western Conference next season after their first-round exit this year at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. Reports suggest that they may be lining up a huge move to help in that goal. Whatever happens, Adams will clearly be a part of that future.

Ben Roethlisberger shares his bold Aaron Rodgers prediction

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The Pittsburgh Steelers solved their quarterback problem for 2025 by signing Aaron Rodgers, but nobody believes the 41-year-old is a long-term solution. Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is skeptical that Rodgers will even get a second year with Pittsburgh.

Roethlisberger predicted on his “Footbahlin” podcast that the 2025 season might be Rodgers’ “last go.” He cited Rodgers’ return from injury and compared it to how he felt after returning from the elbow injury he suffered in 2019.

“I don’t think he’s got much more after this year,” Roethlisberger predicted. “This might be it for him, personally. I’m just guessing. Coming off my elbow, my first year back, I felt like I was 100. You don’t realize you’re not 100 until the next year, when you are 100. He’s coming, one year last year off his Achilles, he’s probably like, ‘I felt pretty good.’ This year, he’s going to be better, in the sense of (his) body feeling better. That doesn’t mean he’ll play better. There’s a lot of other factors on that.

“I think this might be his last go.”

Rodgers signed a one-year contract with Pittsburgh, which suggests that he might know this is his last ride. There have been claims that he actually wants to play two more years, but we do not know that for sure.

Roethlisberger seems to have fairly modest expectations for Rodgers. He played two more years after his elbow injury, and it sounds like they were fairly difficult. He might believe that Rodgers is about to have a very similar experience.

North Carolina GM addresses Bill Belichick-Jordon Hudson speculation

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North Carolina football general manager Michael Lombardi addressed the ongoing speculation about the relationship between Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson and whether it is impacting the football program.

In an appearance on ESPN Radio’s “Marty & McGee” Saturday, Lombardi dismissed much of the speculation about Hudson’s involvement with Belichick as “noise” and said the program did not want to add fuel to the fire.

“I mean, a lot of it is just noise,” Lombardi said, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “And for us to be distracted by something that has no bearing, that has no relevance whatsoever, that is a complete falsehood, in terms of what people are saying or what they’re writing. It’s comical. And for me, to really even attack anybody who’s saying it, gives them credibility. Which I don’t, because it’s a completely false narrative.

“The noise out there comes from a direction of people trying to be disruptive within our program. We’re not going to allow it. We’re not going to acknowledge it. We’re gonna move on. And look, let’s face it, the proof’s in the pudding. We’re having a tremendous recruiting class. We had a tremendous portal, and we’re going to continue to get better every day.”

This is a bit more in line with the traditional Belichick stance of not giving oxygen to outside noise. That approach has been undermined by Hudson’s controversial presence around the North Carolina program, where there have been conflicting reports about how extensive her role is. Belichick has claimed that Hudson has no real role within the program, though others seem to feel differently.

For the moment, Belichick and his cohorts have quieted some of the noise and avoided giving it any new fuel. However, the speculation will continue, especially since it would be very easy for Belichick to leave his role as North Carolina head coach at this point.

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