Nov 30, 2020; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Seattle Seahawks strong safety Jamal Adams (33) walks off the field after win against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
The Tennessee Titans on Saturday made a significant move with safety Jamal Adams, who has played sparingly for the team to start the season.
The Titans placed Adams on the reserve/non-football injury list, ruling him out for at least four games. The safety has been dealing with a hip injury since joining the team.
The move suggests the team sees Adams’ hip issue as fairly significant. Notably, Turron Davenport of ESPN reported that Adams had been frustrated with his lack of playing time, and had hoped to at least contribute in a part-time role. The safety had only played 20 defensive snaps in three games before Saturday’s roster move.
Adams signed with the Titans in the offseason, and he seemed to be looking forward to playing his preferred role in the team’s defense. Ultimately, the move has not worked out for either side so far.
Ja’Marr Chase’s pocketbook is a little bit lighter this week.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported Saturday that the Cincinnati Bengals star receiver Chase has been fined $19,697 by the NFL for “unsportsmanlike conduct/violent gesture.” The fine apparently stems from a touchdown celebration that Chase did in Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens.
During the second quarter of that game, Chase got loose for a 41-yard TD reception from quarterback Joe Burrow. Chase did his customary “Griddy” dance in the end zone, but he also finished his celebration by pretending to lift up the side of his jersey.
Here is the video.
That definitely did not look like very much. But the gesture may have been interpreted by the NFL as Chase showing off an imaginary gun tucked into his waistband.
For the three-time Pro Bowler Chase, that was his fourth touchdown of the season as well as the 33rd of his pro career. He is no stranger to monetary discipline from the NFL though as he already got fined for his in-game behavior earlier this season.
The Alabama Crimson Tide narrowly avoided another upset, this time at the hands of the South Carolina Gamecocks. Despite the victory, they showed a remarkable lack of defensive awareness on the game-winning play.
The Tide required a fourth-quarter rally after falling behind 19-14 in the third quarter, but scored twice in the fourth to go ahead 27-19. Undeterred, South Carolina rallied for a touchdown, then recovered an onside kick after failing on a two-point conversion.
South Carolina failed to get anything going after recovering the onside kick, leaving them to attempt what amounted to a desperation heave on third down from just past midfield. The pass was intercepted by cornerback Domani Jackson, who made the pick inside the 5-yard line, then let his momentum carry him back into the end zone. Jackson was about to take a knee, but safety Malachi Moore quickly realized that could lead to a game-tying safety, and he was able to get that message across to Jackson so the cornerback could run the ball out of the end zone before going down.
It is not completely certain whether this would have been a safety, but Jackson did seem to establish possession outside the end zone before pulling back. At the very least, it was a risk that he simply could not afford to take.
South Carolina wide receiver Nyck Harbor did not seem to realize the situation either, as he made no effort to try to tackle Jackson in the end zone, even though he seemed to have the opportunity.
Moore faced some criticism last week, when he threw an on-field fit at the end of Alabama’s upset loss to Vanderbilt. He certainly redeemed himself with his heads-up moment on Saturday.
Sam Mitchell and Chris Miles may be trying to do some damage control after their very awkward on-air moment this week.
Mitchell and Miles made headlines on Friday night with a tense exchange live on NBA TV. During a segment previewing the NBA preseason, Miles cracked a joke about Mitchell’s paycheck from the network. Mitchell then responded by going off with personal barbs about Miles’ own finances. At one point, Mitchell even appeared to leak the supposed address to one of Miles’ rental properties in Florida while still live on the air.
You can watch the bizarre exchange here.
On Saturday morning, basketball writer Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson spoke with both men, who issued clarifications about their exchange. The two both said that they were just joking around, and Mitchell added that the address he supposedly leaked was a fake one that he had just made up.
“Chris and I were joking, and the address is one that I made up in my head,” Mitchell was quoted as saying. “I don’t even know if that address exists. He knows that’s not my address. For people to think that I would actually know another man’s address to his rental property is stupid. It was a joke. Chris was laughing, and I was laughing. Case closed.”
Miles echoed that same sentiment as well.
“We saw [the stir] on social media and we were surprised,” Miles told Robinson. “We’re not just co-workers. We’re neighbors, and we’re friends. This is how we joke. I was shocked that it went this far on social media. It’s all good!”
Mitchell and Miles are putting on a united front after the fact, but there definitely seemed to be something very personal going on with that on-air exchange. At one point, Mitchell even said to Miles, “I done told you, young fella. You’re gonna stop messing with me on national TV,” (indicating that something had already been brewing between them).
The 61-year-old Mitchell, the former Toronto Raptors coach who won NBA Coach of the Year in 2007, has had several on-and-off stints with NBA TV (from 2008-10, from 2013-15, and now from 2016 to the present day). Meanwhile, Miles has been working for NBA TV ever since 2017.
May 24, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban walks on the court before game four of the 2022 Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Mark Cuban’s decision late last year to sell his stake in the Dallas Mavericks came as a big surprise to many, but it was definitely a well-thought-out one.
The longtime Mavs owner Cuban appeared this week on “The Big Podcast with Shaq.” During the episode, Cuban spoke out on why he decided to sell the team.
Cuban said that he had two main reasons behind his decision. First, he did not want to put any undue pressure on his kids, who are now 15, 18, and 21, to have to take over the team. Secondly, Cuban said that the NBA landscape was shifting towards an emphasis on real estate development and building new arenas, something that he admitted he knows nothing about.
Here is the full clip of Cuban’s remarks.
Cuban, now 66, took over as owner of the Mavs back in 2000. He has long been known as one of the most hands-on and enthusiastic owners in the league and helped usher in a period of sustained success for Dallas (including three NBA Finals berths and a championship in 2011).
But Cuban has since handed off the reins of the team to the Adelson family (led by Miriam Adelson and her son-in-law Patrick Dumont), completing the sale of his majority stake in the Mavs to them in Dec. 2023. That said though, Cuban still holds a minority stake in the team, the title of alternate governor (Dumont is now the main governor), and control over the day-to-day operations of the Mavs as part of an interesting deal.
Shortly after the news of the sale broke last year, it was revealed that Cuban had a grand vision for the Mavs based around a new arena and on legalized sports betting. But rather than taking the lead on that himself, Cuban opted to pass the torch to an ownership group with more expertise in those fields than him.
The Washington Huskies got three points in controversial fashion in Saturday’s game against Iowa, as they were given credit for a field goal on a kick that appeared to go over the uprights at best.
Washington kicker Grady Gross lined up for a 34-yard field goal late in the first half, but his kick appeared to veer to the right. In spite of that, the officials ruled the kick good, much to the confusion of Iowa players and coaches.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz attempted to challenge the call, but was not allowed to do so. Kicks that go over the upright are not reviewable, and it was determined that was what happened here.
Kicks that go over the upright can create a real problem for the officials, and that has certainly happened in the past. This one never particularly looked close to going through the uprights, though, and one can certainly understand why Iowa was so furious.
Fortunately for Iowa, it didn’t end up mattering, as the Hawkeyes got a field goal before halftime and wound up blowing the Huskies out.
Lane Thomas hit a massive grand slam for his Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of their ALDS against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday.
Detroit had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the 5th inning on a run-scoring hit off the wall by Kerry Carpenter. In the bottom half of the inning, the Guardians rallied and got ace Tarik Skubal into trouble.
Skubal loaded the bases with one out and then hit Jose Ramirez with a pitch to tie the game. The next batter was Thomas, who slugged a grand slam to left field to put Cleveland up 5-1.
That was a game-changer by Thomas.
Skubal got the next two batters out to end the inning, but the damage had been done.
Skubal had not allowed allowed a run in the entire postseason until that inning. For Thomas to get the AL Cy Young frontrunner on a grand slam was absolutely massive.
Sep 28, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy (13) on deck in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Max Muncy took a shot at some of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ doubters following the team’s 2-0 Game 5 win over the San Diego Padres in their NLDS on Friday.
Muncy went 3-for-18 with a home run in the NLDS against San Diego. He went 0-for-2 with a walk on Friday but still was in a boastful mood after the game.
In the Dodgers’ clubhouse, Muncy was captured on video shouting a message to the team’s doubters.
“80 percent of you f–kers didn’t believe in us. 80 percent of you f–kers thought we were gonna lose,” Muncy said.
Muncy may have been referencing the predictions from the MLB on FOX pregame crew, where only Dontrelle Willis had picked the Dodgers to win the series after the Padres had taken a 2-1 lead.
Though the Dodgers had the best record during the MLB regular season, there have been doubts about their ability to win in the postseason due to their pitching concerns. They exclusively used relief pitchers in Game 4 and are thin on starters with Shohei Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow injured, and Bobby Miller demoted.
Now it will be between the Dodgers and Mets with the NL pennant on the line.
Jan 27, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Sydney Sweeney arrives at the 25th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Dan MacMedan-USA TODAY NETWORK
Actress Sydney Sweeney responded Saturday to a message from the Oregon Duck mascot.
Puddles, the Ducks’ mascot, wrote a message on a poster that it held up behind ESPN’s “GameDay” set Saturday. The msssage said “Sydney Sweeney Call Me Back.”
Sweeney responded via her Instagram Story Saturday. She posted a screenshot of Puddles holding the poster and wrote in response, “Sorry. Changed my number haha.”
Sweeney is one of the most popular celebrities in the country. She has over 22 million followers on Instagram. So when it comes to admirers, Puddles is in good company.
Maybe someone can give Puddles the new number.
Aug 12, 2022; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson looks on during the first quarter of a preseason game against the Cleveland Browns at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson may or may not be on the hot seat, but the team’s owner is not piling on additional pressure right now.
In a new interview with Demetrius Harvey of the Florida Times-Union, Jaguars owner Shad Khan gave a vote of confidence to both Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke. Khan said he was an admirer of what Baalke and Pederson have done, and said his primary focus was on supporting them and figuring out what he could do to help them win more games.
“I still believe in them. I believe in the players, I believe in the coaching staff. I believe in Trent,” Khan said in the interview. “Obviously, the results are disappointing for all of them, just as well as me or any other Jaguar fan, but, the key thing one has to understand [is] we have evolved and really got to a level. I think we’ve got the players, we’ve got the coaching, we’ve got the facilities.”
Khan added that the Jaguars have been competitive in three of their four losses and could have easily won those games, and that he is more concerned with how the team finishes, not how they start.
This might relieve some of the pressure on Pederson, but only temporarily. There have been reports that he is in danger of losing the locker room, though he has denied this. They have two straight games in London against the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots, followed by a tough stretch of four games against the Packers, Eagles, Vikings, and Lions. If things don’t get better, Khan might not be quite as forgiving by that point.
