If you’re wondering why Marshawn Lynch is so beloved by fans, look no further than this video.
Lynch showed up at an Oakland city council meeting on Wednesday night to advocate for the A’s to remain in Oakland with a new ballpark. He was wearing a hoodie with the hood on, sandals, and a backpack as he spoke.
Lynch’s point was straightforward and made sense: the area is losing the Warriors, who are moving across the bay to San Francisco; the Raiders, who are moving to Las Vegas; and he does not want to lose the A’s too. Lynch is from Oakland, went to high school there, and remained there for college at Cal. He even joined the Raiders to play for his local team.
Lynch was advocating for the A’s to get a new ballpark. The A’s have unveiled plans to build a stadium at the Port of Oakland’s Howard Terminal next to Jack London Square and are seeking progress with that proposal.
Beast Mode may not be contributing to the Raiders due to injury, but he’s doing his part for the city of Oakland. As he’s shown us many funny times before, he is a man of the people.
We’ve seen plenty of bad fantasy football beats over the years, but this one may top them all.
Barstool Sports’ “Laces Out” Twitter account a screenshot of a fantasy football owner’s result from the semifinals in Week 15. That owner lost their semifinal matchup by .01 points — 128.77 to 128.76. According to the tweet, the person lost because of Drew Brees’ kneel-down on the final play of the game.
Brees took a knee with 35 seconds left to run off the remaining time in a 12-9 win by the New Orleans Saints over the Carolina Panthers on Monday night. He lost one yard on the play, finishing with 2 rushing attempts for -2 yards. He also took a 1-yard loss for his kneeldown before halftime.
Do we need to begin a campaign to make sure kneeling down on the final play of a half does not affect a player’s rushing stats? Seems like that would only be fair. Oh, and if you want to compare bad beat stories, we’ve got plenty more here.
Russell Westbrook was on a mission to prove a point to De’Aaron Fox during the Oklahoma City Thunder’s game against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.
During the second quarter, Westbrook grabbed a defensive rebound and blazed up the court in transition, dribbling around Fox while going up for a layup. After the basket, you’ll notice that Westbrook taunted Fox by saying, “I’m too fast!”
That wasn’t a coincidence.
Earlier in the day, Chris Haynes shared a video clip of Fox saying on his podcast that he was the fastest player in the league.
If there’s anything Westbrook needs to fuel him, it’s comments like that from Fox. Westbrook loves to be slighted because it gives him the motivation he needs to be at his best. He’ll take that fuel anywhere he can get it, and this time it came from Fox.
Dion Waiters has been out for nearly a year recovering from multiple procedures on his foot and is trying to work his way back. While he was out of commission recovering from the foot and ankle surgeries, he was unable to move much, which led to weight gain.
Waiters looked overweight in the Miami Heat’s media day photos and was mocked online for his weight gain. The heat guard saw the comments and did not appreciate them.
“I don’t do it for the internet,” Waiters said in a feature for SI by Rohan Nadkarni. “F— it. Some people live for that s—. It’s one big-a– circus. I could’ve been posting pictures this whole time. I won’t be their clown. I don’t play for social media. That’s coward s—.”
Tell us how you really feel, Dion.
Waiters has not played since Dec. 22 last year, though he has been cleared for contact. Now that his body is better, he’s probably in much better shape and won’t have to worry about the haters and ugly criticism from the internet trolls, unless he has another bizarre food episode.
Two Oklahoma City Thunder players were suspended for leaving the bench during a scuffle with the Chicago Bulls on Monday night, and head coach Billy Donovan is not happy about it.
Donovan on Wednesday expressed his disappointment with the 1-game suspensions handed to Dennis Schroder and Raymond Felton. He felt both players were trying to be peacemakers and not escalate the situation. He also was upset with the timing of the announcement, which came the same day as the team’s game against the Sacramento Kings rather than their off day on Tuesday.
Here are Donovan’s comments as shared by The Oklahoman’s Erik Horne:
The NBA’s policy about suspending players for leaving the bench during fights is as firm as it gets. They don’t want more players getting involved in scuffles because they feel it will only make things worse, regardless of the players’ intent. That’s a rule the players need to know and learn.
Boston Celtics center Aron Baynes is expected to miss about a month after suffering a broken left hand.
Baynes injured his hand early in the Celtics’ game against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night. He got tangled with Deandre Ayton and came away grimacing in pain.
The Celtics quickly declared Baynes out for the night. The Athletic’s Shams Charania later reported that Baynes suffered a broken left hand and will undergo surgery.
Baynes is averaging 5.5 points and 4.4 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game this season. This is a tough break for Boston as they’re already without Al Horford, who is dealing with knee soreness.
When you think of the perfect football player, what pops into your head? Maybe someone with the size and strength of an Aaron Donald, or the versatility to play multiple positions like a Myles Jack pre-knee injury. A guy with the build and speed of an Adrian Peterson might come to mind. But for Herm Edwards, that’s not at all what the perfect player looks like.
Herm’s perfect player is his “Mandrake.” Here’s a video of him showing off the player:
From the looks of things, Edwards’ perfect player needs to have a six-pack and muscles, and wings like a griffin. If you ask me, Herm’s perfect player kind of looks like Iron Man wearing a football helmet.
So if you’re a recruit and you’re asking yourself whether you’re right for Arizona State’s program under Herm, take a look at the graphic and make the call.
Justin Fields is still planning to play in Georgia’s bowl game despite seeking a transfer from the school.
Fields, a top recruit coming out of high school, has seen limited action as a true freshman this year behind Jake Fromm. He was frustrated with his lack of playing time, which has spurred his decision to transfer.
Even though he will be leaving the program, it sounds like Fields will still play in the Cotton Bowl against Texas on Jan. 1.
“He decided he wanted to play in the Sugar Bowl, and I told him ‘absolutely, we want you there,’” Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said Wednesday night, via Dawg Nation. “Justin is working extremely hard, he’s in the meeting rooms, he’s still rolling with our twos. I’m pleased with his work and demeanor, he has had good reps.”
Smart also said that Fields has made up his mind about staying and that they won’t be able to change it. They even flipped a quarterback recruit from Ohio State over to Georgia because they knew Fields was leaving.
Seeing Fields suit up for Georgia in the bowl game despite knowing he’s leaving the program will be odd, but the Bulldogs are open to it.
Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois will leave the school to either transfer or go pro, according to a report.
According to Chris Hays and Chaunte’l Powell of the Orlando Sentinel, Francois is expected to evaluate his NFL stock in the coming weeks. If he gets positive feedback, he is expected to enter the NFL Draft. If not, he is expected to transfer.
Francois has one season of eligibility left and would be able to play next season as a graduate transfer. Should he remain in college, he would look for a school with a need at quarterback and a good offensive line.
The frustration Francois has with his protection is pretty clear at this point. He’s battled injuries and been hit a lot during his Seminoles career, and he showed signs of being pretty fed up with it this season. It sounds like priority number one if he does stay in school.
UPDATE: Francois denied the report.
The Alabama Crimson Tide had a successful National Signing Day on Wednesday, but Nick Saban wants everyone to know that it’s not the last one.
The Crimson Tide had scarcely finished announcing their signings, highlighted by five-star defensive lineman Antonio Alfano, when Saban warned the media to be careful in their reporting. After all, there’s another signing day in February, and there are plenty of spots available for recruits then, too.
It’s classic Saban. He knows how the media works and has been known to make suggestions about how they should cover his team, and not the way one might expect him to. It’s clear that he feels he has more work to do in recruiting before 2019.
