Pau Gasol has officially called it a career.
Gasol announced on Tuesday that he is retiring from playing basketball. He delivered the news in a press conference in Spain, during which he called the decision a difficult one that he made to protect his health.
Gasol, 41, played 19 seasons in the NBA after beginning his professional year with FC Barcelona. He returned to Barcelona when he signed a contract with the club earlier this year.
Gasol previously said he wanted to join his brother Marc with the Lakers, but Marc has since been traded by the Lakers and waived.
After being named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2002, Gasol went on to make six All-Star appearances. He won two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also spent time with the Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks.
Photo: Patrickpedia/Wikimedia via CC-BY-SA 4.0
The Jacksonville Jaguars may not fire Urban Meyer over the embarrassing video of the coach that went viral, but team owner Shad Khan clearly is not happy with him.
Khan issued a statement on Tuesday in which he described Meyer’s behavior as “inexcusable.” He said Meyer must earn back the trust and respect of the organization and that he is “confident he will deliver.”
Khan’s statement came not long after an anonymous Jaguars player blasted Meyer. The player said Meyer has “zero credibility” in the locker room and ripped him for the way he has handled all of the drama over the past several days.
The original video that featured Meyer went viral over the weekend. It showed a woman rubbing up against the 57-year-old coach, and Meyer appeared to have his arm serving as a barrier between him and the woman. However, another angle that surfaced on Monday was a much worse look for Meyer.
Meyer stayed in Ohio last week after his Jaguars lost to the Cincinnati Bengals to fall to 0-4 on the season. He has been criticized for not traveling back to Jacksonville with the team, though even his wife defended him on Twitter.
A report on Tuesday claimed the Jaguars met behind closed doors this week to discuss the possibility of firing Meyer. Khan’s statement indicates the team is sticking with its first-year coach, at least for now.
Urban Meyer has been the coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars for only nine months, but it sounds like he is already in danger of losing the locker room — if he hasn’t already.
Meyer is currently dealing with a lot of negative publicity after a video went viral that showed a woman rubbing up against him at a bar in Ohio. According to a new report, Jaguars players do not appreciate the way Meyer has handled the situation.
Michael Silver of NFL.com said Tuesday that he was told by a Jaguars player that Meyer has “zero credibility” with the team. The player said he and his teammates were unhappy after Meyer canceled a team meeting on Monday so he could deal with the fallout from his off-field drama. The player also claimed the team burst out laughing after Meyer explained what happened between him and the young woman.
Shortly after Silver published those anonymous quotes, Jaguars owner Shad Khan released a statement. He called Meyer’s conduct “inexcusable” and said the coach must earn back the respect and trust of the team.
A previous report on Tuesday claimed the Jaguars met behind closed doors this week to discuss the possibility of firing Meyer. Khan’s statement seemingly indicates that the team has not gotten to that point yet but is unhappy with Meyer.
In the original video, Meyer appeared to have his arm serving as a barrier between his personal area and the woman. Another angle then surfaced on Monday that showed the 57-year-old coach being handsy with the young woman.
Meyer’s wife Shelley said she knew Urban was at a bar and that he deserved to blow off some steam after a tough loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last Thursday night. It’s unclear if she felt differently after the latest clip surfaced on Monday.
Meyer apologized on Monday for becoming a distraction to the Jaguars.
In addition to his actions at the restaurant, Meyer has also faced a lot of criticism for not flying back to Jacksonville with the Jaguars after their loss last week. He had some dramatic things to say after the team fell to 0-4 on the season.
Deandre Ayton is eligible for a maximum rookie contract extension this offseason, and the assumption has been that the Phoenix Suns will eventually give it to him. At the moment, a deal is not looking likely.
The Suns are reluctant to offer Ayton a max extension, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Ayton is eligible for a $172.5 million extension, with escalators that could reach $207 million. The deadline to complete extensions on rookie contracts is Oct. 18.
According to Wojnarowski, Phoenix’s ownership does not believe Ayton is in the same class as some of his peers who were also drafted in 2018. Trae Young, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Michael Porter Jr. have all signed max extensions, and Ayton does not intend to take anything less.
Ayton, 23, has improved significantly over the last two years under head coach Monty Williams. The former No. 1 overall pick averaged 14.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game last season. He seemed to take his game to a new level while playing alongside Chris Paul, who signed a four-year, $120 million deal to return to the Suns this offseason.
If Ayton does not sign an extension, he will become a restricted free agent next summer.
ESPN has settled on a new host for “NBA Countdown” after all the drama that unfolded in recent months, and the job has reportedly been given to one of their most recognizable faces.
According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, ESPN has named Mike Greenberg the new host of “NBA Countdown.” Greenberg will be joined by Stephen A. Smith, Michael Wilbon, Jalen Rose and Magic Johnson for marquee games.
Greenberg, who makes $6.5 million per year at ESPN, has been the host of “Get Up!” since 2018. He also has a show on ESPN Radio and hosts the NFL Draft. By adding “NBA Countdown” to Greenberg’s responsibilities, ESPN executives are hoping to elevate the program after years of a rotating cast that never seems to compete with TNT’s “Inside the NBA.”
Rose is the only analyst who worked on “NBA Countdown” last year that will be returning. The show has been completely revamped after Maria Taylor left following a high-profile contract dispute that also cost Rachel Nichols her job. Taylor now works for NBC.
Nichols is still being paid by ESPN but has been removed from all on-air programming. There has been talk that she could return to her former employer once her contract with ESPN expires.
ESPN writer Seth Wickersham has published more bombshell stories about the New England Patriots over the past several years than any other member of the media. He claims to have spoken with dozens of sources inside the organization, but Bill Belichick recently insisted he has never been one of them. Wickersham was surprised to hear the coach say that.
Wickersham is publishing a book on Oct. 12 about the Patriots’ dynasty called “It’s Better to Be Feared.” Several snippets from the book have already made headlines, and Belichick said Monday that he has never even spoken with Wickersham.
“Well I don’t think any of us are surprised by that type of media coverage,” Belichick said during his weekly appearance on WEEI, via Hayden Bird of Boston.com. “I mean I don’t think I’ve ever even talked to the guy, so I don’t know.”
On Tuesday, Wickersham described Belichick’s claim as “curious.” He said he has spoken with the future Hall of Famer on several occasions.
Wickersham also shared a passage from the book in which he described what it is like to interview Belichick.
Obviously, Wickersham is not lying about having spoken with Belichick. The coach simply doesn’t want to breathe life into all of the juicy narratives Wickersham has shared. Wickersham’s book includes stories about the time Belichick almost got into a fistfight with Eric Mangini, how Belichick supposedly snubbed Brady after Brady left the Patriots, and more. It’s no surprise Belichick is unhappy with some of what has been written.
Urban Meyer has made headlines over the last several days for stories that have nothing to do with football, and it sounds like the Jacksonville Jaguars are very unhappy with their first-year head coach.
NFL analyst and former front office executive Michael Lombardi, who hosts “The GM Shuffle” podcast, said Tuesday that he was told by two Jaguars sources that the team has held closed-door meetings about Meyer this week.
Sports legal expert Michael McCann then speculated that the Jaguars could be discussing firing Meyer if he violated some sort of “morals clause.” Lombardi responded and said “that’s exactly what is being discussed.”
That, obviously, is not good news for Meyer.
Multiple social media posts and videos have surfaced since Saturday showing Meyer at his restaurant, Urban Meyer’s Pint House in Dublin, Ohio. The original video featured a woman grinding on Meyer, and it looked like Meyer had his arm blocking and serving as a barrier between his personal area and the woman. However, things got worse for the coach on Monday when a new angle appeared to show the 57-year-old getting handsy with the young woman.
Meyer’s wife Shelley said she knew Urban was at a bar and that he deserved to blow off some steam after a tough loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last Thursday night. It’s unclear if she felt differently after the latest clip surfaced on Monday.
Meyer apologized on Monday for becoming a distraction to the Jaguars.
In addition to his actions at the restaurant, Meyer has also faced a lot of criticism for not flying back to Jacksonville with the Jaguars after their loss last week. He had some dramatic things to say after the team fell to 0-4 on the season.
Michael Jordan issued a statement on Monday after Bubba Wallace won his first NASCAR Cup Series race.
Wallace was declared the winner in a weather-shortened YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. The race was postponed until Monday due to rain. Then it was also called after 118 laps of a scheduled 188 due to the poor weather conditions.
Wallace became the first black driver since Wendell Scott in 1963 to win a race in NASCAR’s top series. He was elated to learn the news.
Wallace drives for the 23XI Racing team, which is owned by Jordan and Denny Hamlin.
“I’m so happy for Bubba and our entire 23XI Racing team,” Jordan said in a statement. “This is a huge milestone and a historic win for us. From the day we signed him, I knew Bubba had the talent to win and Denny and I could not be more proud of him. Let’s go!”
This is the first year of racing for 23XI, and they already have a winner.
It’s not only a milestone win for Wallace, but the victory also has sentimental value due to where it happened.
The NBA has at long last made some good changes to its foul rules. It’s just going to take Steph Curry and some other players to adjust accordingly.
During Monday night’s preseason game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors, Curry tried jumping into a defender to draw a foul. The move used to result in a foul being called, but that’s no longer the case. Take a look:
You have to love Blazers TV analyst Lamar Hurd telling Curry “not this year.”
He’s exactly right with his message.
The NBA decided to implement new rules this season that eliminate foul calls on plays where shooters try to draw fouls with unnatural shooting motions. That was exactly the case with Curry’s move. And based on Curry’s comments from before the game, he has a lot of learning to do.
It’s about time the NBA cracked down on that. The point of basketball is to see how well a player can shoot or score, not see how well they can jump into a defender to draw a foul.
Not this year, and hopefully never again.
ESPN punches up its “Monday Night Football” broadcasts with some proprietary animation graphics. During the Las Vegas Raiders-Los Angeles Chargers Week 4 game on Monday night, they drew some attention for an extra special graphic.
After the Raiders started to make a second half comeback against the Chargers, ESPN showed a graphic of Jon Gruden dancing next to the Chucky character from the “Child’s Play” horror movies. Chucky, of course, is Gruden’s nickname for his resemblance to the horror character.
People online reacted instantly to the graphic:
If you ask me, this was their greatest graphic yet. You have to love the way Gruden was twisting like John Travolta in “Pulp Fiction.” The only question is whether that was Gruden pictured or Frank Caliendo dressed as Gruden.
