The Atlanta Falcons announced on Sunday that they have traded Julio Jones, and they had a tribute video ready to go after they parted ways with the All-Pro wide receiver.
The Falcons have traded Jones to Tennessee for a second-round pick next year and a fourth-round and sixth-round pick in 2023. Shortly after they made the news official, they shared a touching tribute video to Jones on Twitter.
Jones played 10 seasons in Atlanta and made the Pro Bowl seven times. He has been one of the most dominant wide receivers in football, which is why his new teammates are so ecstatic to have him.
The Falcons freed up more than $15 million in salary cap by trading Jones. They held negotiations with multiple teams, but it’s possible they gave the 32-year-old some say in where he ended up.
Photo: Lisa Ferdinando/U.S. Secretary of Defense via CC-BY 2.0
The Tennessee Titans acquired Julio Jones in a trade on Sunday, and you can probably guess how their top players feel about the move.
The Atlanta Falcons have agreed to a deal to send Jones to Tennessee for draft picks. AJ Brown, who has long been an admirer of Jones, could not contain his excitement and shared an awesome photo on Twitter of him, Derrick Henry, and Jones in a photoshopped Titans jersey. He included a very simple message for the rest of the NFL.
Ryan Tannehill was equally stoked.
Brown was one of several Titans players who openly recruited Jones when the Falcons began shopping the 32-year-old around. He also had a very public show of respect for Jones prior to a game last year.
With Brown and Jones as his top two receiving options and Derrick Henry behind him, Tannehill should be in for a huge year. A quarterback can’t ask for a better wide receiver duo than the one he now has.
Jason Kidd has withdrawn his name from consideration for one NBA head coaching job, and Damian Lillard is likely going to be very disappointed.
Kidd told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday that he will not interview for the Portland Trail Blazers’ head coach job.
“Portland’s a first-class organization and will have great candidates for its head coaching job, but I’ve decided not to be one of them,” Kidd said. “Whoever they choose will have big shoes to fill from Terry (Stotts).”
Lillard said immediately after Stotts was fired that Kidd is “the guy I want.” That public endorsement actually backfired, as Wojnarowski says Kid was uncomfortable with the idea of pursuing the job after receiving Lillard’s endorsement. Kidd felt it would put the Blazers in an awkward spot if he pursued the job.
Portland’s list of candidates will now reportedly include Chauncey Billups, Jeff Van Gundy, Mike D’Antoni and Juwan Howard.
Kidd, who has been the top assistant under Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel for two seasons, is reportedly expected to receive consideration for at least one other high-profile job.
The Atlanta Falcons have finally found a trade partner for Julio Jones, and the All-Pro wide receiver is heading to Tennessee.
The Falcons have agreed to trade Jones to the Titans, the team confirmed on Sunday. Atlanta will get a second-round pick in next year’s draft and swap its 2023 sixth-round pick for Tennessee’s 2023 fourth-round pick.
The Titans emerged as the frontrunner for Jones last week. Several teams had expressed interest, but the Falcons may have allowed Jones to have some input in the trade if the offers were similar.
Jones, who is 32, had said he wanted to go to a team that would give him a chance to win. The Titans should fit that description, and Ryan Tannehill seems like the type of quarterback Jones wanted to play with.
With Jones and A.J. Brown on the outside, Tennessee’s passing attack should be one of the best in the league in 2021.
Photo: Lisa Ferdinando/U.S. Secretary of Defense via CC-BY 2.0
Klay Thompson went viral on Saturday when he went on Instagram live and interacted with fans while absolutely loving life on the open water, and Drake couldn’t resist the opportunity to mock the Golden State Warriors star.
Drake shared a video on Instagram on Sunday that featured a side-by-side of him imitating “Boat Klay.”
Thompson should probably be flattered that Drake took the time to master that, though it was pretty funny. The two have a history together, of course.
Drake is a superfan/ambassador for the Toronto Raptors. He traded a ton of trash talk with Warriors stars during the NBA Finals two years ago. Drake blatantly trolled Thompson after one of the games, so the boat video is just the latest chapter of the friendly rivalry.
Essential Quality and Hot Rod Charlie turned Saturday’s Belmont Stakes into a match race that culminated in a great finish.
Hot Rod Charlie led for the first mile of the race. Essential Quality, who was the favorite, hung close to Hot Rod Charlie. But as they turned the final corner towards the home stretch, Essential Quality started to kick it into high gear.
It was just the two horses down the final stretch battling to see who would win. The final stretch was thrilling:
The 153rd running of the Belmont Stakes went to Essential Quality, who is trained by Brad Cox. No Bob Baffert-trained horses were involved in the race, as Baffert was banned by the New York Racing Association.
Over 11,000 fans attended the race in New York. This marked the first Triple Crown win for Cox and jockey Luis Saez.
A comedian’s tremendous Charles Barkley impression went viral and even made its way onto TNT.
Danny Rouhier, who is a co-host with Grant Paulsen on 106.7 The Fan in Washington D.C., posted a great video on Twitter Thursday. He did an impression of Barkley breaking down the first half of the Nuggets-Blazers game.
The impression was fantastic, and the best part was the way he kept butchering names.
Rouhier’s impression was even played on TNT Saturday night:
In extremely fitting fashion, Chuck of course butchered Rouhier’s name after the bit ended. That was fantastic.
Rouhier is really giving Frank Caliendo some competition for best Charles Barkley impression.
Soccer player Conor McGlynn scored an unreal goal on Saturday for his Hartford Athletic.
Hartford beat the New York Red Bulls II 7-0 in their USL game. McGlynn made it 5-0 with his goal, and it was one he scored from farther than midfield. Take a look:
Boy did he ever bomb that ball for the goal! Maybe that will teach the goalie not to drift out so deep next time.
Hartford is 3-0-1, while New York has lost three in a row, which probably isn’t a big surprise.
Kevin Durant had a hilarious blunder against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
Durant’s Brooklyn Nets beat the Bucks 115-107 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series. Very early in the game, Durant went to take out the ball from under Brooklyn’s basket following a Milwaukee bucket. Durant tried to casually flip the ball into the court, but the ball hit the backboard and went out of bounds.
That was the easiest turnover the Bucks ever received. Unfortunately for them, the rest of the game did not go so easily. Durant rebounded with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Blake Griffin broke out with 18 points and 14 rebounds, and even had a disrespectful act at the end.
The Nets lead the series 1-0 with Game 2 on Monday.
Jon Rahm issued a statement on Saturday regarding his COVID-19 situation.
Rahm was informed after his round at the Memorial Tournament that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Rahm tested positive both after his second round on Friday and before his third round on Saturday. He received the news upon completing his third round and was devastated.
Rahm acknowledged in his statement how disappointed he was. He also said that how he responds will define him.
“I’m very disappointed in having to withdraw from Memorial Tournament. This is one of those things that happen in life, one of those moments where how we respond to a setback defines us as people. I’m very thankful that my family and I are OK.
“Thank you to all of the fans for their support and I’m looking forward to watching the showdown tomorrow afternoon with you all,” Rahm wrote.
Rahm will be in isolation through June 15. He is currently asymptomatic.
The 26-year-old golfer was 18 under for the tournament and leading the field by six strokes when he was forced to withdraw.
