Mar 7, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches players stretch during spring football practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Photo Credit: Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Nick Saban did not hide his frustration with Ohio State fans over their treatment of head coach Ryan Day despite their on-field success.
Saban got quite heated during Friday’s “College GameDay” as he called out fans for negativity surrounding the Ohio State program. The former Alabama head coach said the noise is a distraction to players and coaches, and has done nothing to help the team.
“I have a lot of respect for Ryan Day and how he’s tried to do it,” Saban said. “For me, I always wanted to get every player in the organization to reach their full potential. It wasn’t so much about the outcome, it was what you had to do to make everybody better. A big part of that was insulating the players from external factors — criticism, internet. I used to tell the players all the time, ‘Why do you care about what some guy puts on the internet who’s a fat guy in his underwear living in his mother’s basement? Why do you care? Why does that mean anything to you? Why does that affect you in any way, shape, or form? We should be ocused on what we control and what we can do.’
“It’s the same thing for the fans. I would tell the fans the same thing. If Ohio State wants to beat Michigan, they need to be positive about their coach and their players. There’s nobody that wants to beat them worse than the players and the coaches. That’s number one. Number two, they have an opportunity to win the national championship. Everybody ought to be supporting the hell out of them so that they have the best opportunity to do it and quit all this negative bulls–t.”
Day is 66-10 as Ohio State’s head coach, but is just 1-4 against Michigan, the team’s biggest rival. That is enough for Buckeye fans and even some former players to sour on him as head coach. The Buckeyes host Tennessee in the College Football Playoff on Saturday, and things could get very ugly for him if Ohio State does not win that game.
Saban obviously feels very strongly about this and understands what Day is going through. He faced very high standards at Alabama, where anything short of a national title was usually seen as a failure. The standards at Ohio State are not much different, and fairly or not, Day has struggled to beat his rival and has not compensated for it with any national championships. As long as those both remain true, fans are going to keep fuming.
Apr 26, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) dribbles against the Phoenix Suns during the first half of game three of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Anthony Edwards ripped into his Minnesota Timberwolves following the team’s embarrassing loss to the New York Knicks on Thursday night.
The Timberwolves were blown out at home by the Knicks 133-107. The game really wasn’t close for the final 36 minutes. Worse yet, Minnesota lost in what was a “revenge game” of sorts. The Timberwolves had traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks over the offseason for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Towns scored 32 points with 20 rebounds and was a +31 in the game.
After the loss, Edwards didn’t hold back about his team.
“We don’t have sh-t on offense,” Edwards vented while sitting in front of his locker. “We don’t have no identity. We know I’m gonna shoot a bunch of shots, we know [Julius Randle] gonna shoot a bunch of shots, and that’s all we know.”
Edwards added that he didn’t believe it was a coaching issue but more of a player matter.
“It’s not on the coaches at all; it’s on us. We out there playing. We gotta make it easier for each other. Coaches put us in great position. We just don’t do it,” Edwards said.
The Timberwolves are only 14-12 this season. This comes after they went 56-26 last season and reached the Western Conference Finals. Minnesota is also averaging 109.7 points per game this season, which is tied for 23rd in the league.
The Timberwolves are 6-2 in their last eight games, so they are headed in the right direction. But they still have lots of room for improvement.
Aug 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) warms up before playing the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The Pittsburgh Steelers are so pleased with what Russell Wilson has been able to do for them this season, they appear ready to run it back for multiple seasons.
Coach Mike Tomlin and the Steelers view Wilson as more than a bridge quarterback and look at him as a possible long-term solution to the position, according to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports. Schultz suggested the Steelers could give Wilson a new contract that is similar to the 3-year, $100 million deal Baker Mayfield got with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last offseason.
Schultz added that Tomlin in particular is a huge advocate of Wilson and that the two have an excellent relationship. Tomlin’s opinion holds significant weight within the organization as well.
There are a good amount of similarities between the situation with Mayfield and the Buccaneers last year and Wilson and Pittsburgh this year. Mayfield was brought in for a one-year test run, succeeded, and was rewarded for it. Wilson appears to be playing his way into the same situation. He is on a one-year deal, but the Steelers have gone 6-2 with him as a starter, and his 239 passing yards per game and 103 QB rating are the best numbers he has posted since his Seattle Seahawks days.
Other reports have suggested the franchise tag could be one option for the Steelers to keep Wilson. However, it sounds like they would really like to keep him in the fold for more than one season. Wilson would probably like that sort of guarantee as well.
May 19, 2022; Miami, Florida, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) brings the ball up court during the first half of game two of the 2022 eastern conference finals against the Miami Heat at FTX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
Jaylen Brown and Amile Jefferson are the latest professional sports figures to have gotten hit by burglaries.
Tiffany Chan of WBZ News in Boston reports this week that a Wellesley house owned by the Boston Celtics Finals MVP Brown was burglarized on Sunday night while the team was away on the road playing a game against the Washington Wizards. Brown’s mother was reportedly at the property during the time of the incident but was unharmed.
Chan also reports that the house of the Celtics assistant coach Jefferson in Newton (roughly six miles away from Wellesley) was also burglarized on that same Sunday night as well. The thieves reportedly stole Jefferson’s 2024 NBA championship ring with Boston. Local police are said to be investigating whether the two break-ins were connected.
In just the last few months alone, several pro sports names have had their homes burglarized while they are on the road playing games. Pro Bowlers Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Joe Burrow, and Linval Joseph are among the NFL stars who have been targeted, and Brown and Jefferson now join Mike Conley and Bobby Portis among the NBA figures who have gotten hit.
In November, the NFL issued a security alert to teams and players about the break-ins, stating their belief that the perpetrators were skilled criminals potentially linked to a South American crime syndicate (read more here). Many pro sports stars are on high-alert as a result, including this NFL QB who recently issued a stark warning to anyone looking to target his home.
Nov 28, 2021; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) looks to the bench during the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Before Myles Garrett commits to the Cleveland Browns for the rest of his career, he wants to see some changes.
Garrett spoke with the media on Friday and said that forcing a trade from Cleveland could be something he seeks in the future. Garrett says he wants to win and be headed in the right direction.
“First of all, I want to win,” Garrett said Friday. “And I want the Browns to put me and us in the position to win. I’m not trying to rebuild. I’m trying to win right now. I want that to be apparent when the season’s over and we have those discussions. I want them to be able to illustrate that for me so that it’s something I can see in the future.”
Garrett was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2017 and has spent his entire career with the Browns and has been a 3-time All-Pro selection. He’s a productive player in the middle of his prime. He wants to stay with Cleveland, but more importantly, he wants to win.
“I’m going to stay loyal to a team that showed loyalty to me and faith in me by drafting me. But we have to do what’s best for us. If we have the alignment where this is something that is still possible in the near future — winning, or going deep in the playoffs … I think that would really keep my mind at rest, keep me settled,” Garrett said.
Garrett wants to see a concrete plan from Cleveland that proves they will try to win in the near-term.
“It’s gotta be drawn out. There’s gotta be a plan of action and gotta know where things are going. I want to be a Cleveland Brown. I want to play here. But if we choose to do a rebuild and [winning] is two, three or four years out, I want to compete and play at a high level. Play meaningful games. Play past January.”
Garrett is in the middle of a 5-year, $125 million deal and would be a highly desirable player if he became available in trade talks. The Browns are 3-11 and heading in the wrong direction following their 11-6 season last year.
Here are Garrett’s comments from Friday.
Feb 5, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; A view of the Denver Nuggets logo on the court prior to the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
After Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left in free agency over the offseason, the Denver Nuggets could now be parting ways with a second starter from their 2023 NBA championship team.
Veteran NBA writer Marc Stein reported to Substack on Friday that the Nuggets have weighed whether to trade away forward Michael Porter Jr. ahead of the February deadline. Stein does note though that Denver may potentially prefer to trade Porter for two starting-caliber players rather than for a singular star with defensive limitations like Chicago’s Zach LaVine.
Porter is a career-long Nugget who started on that 2023 title team for Denver and offers a meaningful two-way impact with his jump-shooting ability as well as his length at 6-foot-10. The former lottery pick has also improved his all-around scoring game with 18.4 points per night on 51.4 percent from the field this season. Porter is in a contract sweet spot of sorts too in Year 3 of a five-year, $179 million deal at 26 years old.
We heard earlier this week that the Nuggets were looking into a potential trade for an All-Star scorer on a $35-plus-million contract. Attaching Porter there would be a realistic way to make that deal happen, but it sounds like Denver is also considering moving him for a two-wing combo at SG and SF.
Aug 28, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; A Baltimore Ravens helmet sits on a box on the sidelines during the second half of their game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
The Baltimore Ravens have put an end to the brief tenure of one of their top trade deadline acquisitions.
The Ravens waived wide receiver Diontae Johnson on Friday. Johnson is on a minimum salary after his trade to the Ravens, so any team could essentially claim him for no real cost.
Johnson’s troubled tenure with the Ravens never got off the ground. Baltimore acquired him before the trade deadline at little cost, a move they were widely praised for. Perhaps the Carolina Panthers knew something, because Johnson was a non-factor in Baltimore, catching one pass for six yards in four games. He refused to enter the Ravens’ Week 13 loss to Philadelphia, which effectively ended his brief tenure with the Ravens. The only consolation for the organization is that the move was low-risk to begin with.
Johnson was already set to become a free agent at the end of the season. The 28-year-old had a 1,000-yard receiving season for the Steelers in 2021, and was a big part of the team’s offense as recently as last year. It remains to be seen if he lands somewhere before the end of the current season, but either way, he will likely have a lot of work to do in 2025 to rebuild the value he once had.
The NBA is once again admitting to an erroneous technical foul.
San Antonio Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama was whistled for a very questionable T in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. Wembanyama got posterized on a drive from the right wing by Atlanta forward De’Andre Hunter, who then proceeded to stare down Wembanyama as he hit the deck. Wembanyama then responded with a couple of words for Hunter … and the two players were given double technical fouls.
While the technical for taunting on Hunter was appropriate, Wembanyama’s technical might have been the first time ever that we saw a player get T’d up for being dunked on and stared at. The NBA agreed too that Wembanyama’s T was mistaken and announced on Friday that they were rescinding it upon league review.
Wembanyama also got the last laugh on Hunter during the game, ripping off eight points in the overtime period that ensued to finish with 42 on the evening and lead the Spurs to a 133-126 victory over the Hawks.
This now marks at least the third time this season that the NBA has retroactively taken away an incorrect technical foul call. Russell Westbrook got a soft technical foul rescinded last month, and just a few days ago, an Oklahoma City Thunder player had a T for celebrating reversed as well.
East Rutherford, NJ October 22, 2023. Daniel Jones of the Giants on the sidelines in the second half. Photo credit: Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
Quarterback Daniel Jones had a classy gesture for some of his former New York Giants teammates, even though he is no longer with the organization.
Jones gifted the Giants’ offensive linemen limited edition bottles of tequila despite no longer being on the team, according to Jordan Ranaan of ESPN. The quarterback, now with the Minnesota Vikings, sent the gifts this week.
It is tradition for quarterbacks to reward their offensive linemen with a gift at the end of a season, as Joe Burrow did with the Bengals this week. That Jones went out of his way to do so even though he is not on the team anymore speaks pretty highly of his character.
Jones started ten games for the Giants this season before being benched and released in November. Jones’ handling of that situation drew criticism from one NFL legend, but his former teammates might disagree based on gestures like this.
The drama surrounding Colorado star Travis Hunter and his longtime girlfriend Leanna Lenee reached new heights this week thanks to an infamous social media parody account.
A fake screenshot went viral on social media Thursday that claimed to show a comment Lenee left on one of Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards’ Instagram posts. The screenshot showed Hunter’s fiancee commenting with two emojis — one heart eyes and another that featured a smiley face with dollar signs.
The post was from NBACentel, which is a fictional parody page. It is designed to look like NBACentral, a popular NBA news aggregator, and intentionally create confusion.
A lot of people fell for the joke, but no one fell harder than Bow Wow. After seeing the fake screenshot, the 37-year-old rapper took to social media to unload on Lenee and urge Hunter to call things off with his fiancee.
“From one playa to the next, hey, my n***a, I ain’t gonna tell you what to do, but open up your eyes,” Bow Wow said. “There’s no reason why she commenting on another n***a page — an NBA n***a — with a heart eyes and the motherf–ing money tongue out. That’s your fiancee. Wake up, young brother. Fiancees don’t move like that.”
You can see the video, but be aware that it contains a lot of cursing:
Lenee has received so much backlash online in recent weeks that she decided to address a lot of it in a lengthy video. She even called Hunter out for cheating on his previous girlfriend, though she said she had Hunter’s permission.
Bow Wow listed a lot of reasons why he thinks Hunter should break up with Lenee, but the rapper was most disgusted with the completely fake Instagram comment.
