John Brannen’s tenure as head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats was brief.
Brannen has been fired by Cincinnati, the school announced on Friday. The news comes a week after Brannen was placed on paid leave amid an investigation.
Cincinnati began looking into the program after six players entered the transfer portal during a one-week span in March. Brannen did not break any rules as coach, and there were reportedly no allegations of abuse. The issue seems to be that many players clashed with Brannen over his style.
Brannen, 47, only spent two years on the job at Cincinnati. The program went 20-10 in his first season and won the conference. They were just 12-11 this past season.
Bryson DeChambeau is once again struggling at the Masters, and you can probably guess how much sympathy fans are showing him.
DeChambeau is known for his unique style of play and ability to hit monstrous drives. Because he can hit the ball so far, DeChambeau said last year that he views Augusta National as a par-67 course for himself rather than a par-72. His rationale was that he can reach all four of the par-5 holes in two shots and nearly drive the short par-4.
“I’m looking at it as a par 67 for me because I can reach all the par-5s in two, no problem,” DeChambeau told the media leading up to the Masters last November. “If the conditions stay the way they are, that’s what I feel like par is for me. That’s not me being big-headed. I can hit it as far as I want to …”
He has not played well at Augusta since making those comments. After barely making the cut last year and finishing T-34, DeChambeau posted a 4-over 76 in the first round of the 2021 Masters on Thursday. He struggled a bit on Friday as well. Twitter showed no mercy.
DeChambeau’s length obviously gives him an advantage, but that’s only one aspect of golf. He still has to hit solid shots and putt well. The latter proved to be particularly difficult in the first two rounds of this year’s Masters, as the greens were extremely firm.
DeChambeau had one of the worst breaks you will ever seen during the Masters last year (video here), but he knows no one is going to feel badly for him.
Deshaun Watson’s attorney has filed a motion seeking to force several of the women who have accused the quarterback of sexual assault to reveal their identities, but no court ruling will be necessary for several of them.
Tony Buzbee, the lawyer who represents the 22 women who have filed sexual assault lawsuits against Watson, said Friday that nine more of the alleged victims have chosen to voluntarily reveal their identities.
One of the nine women is Ashley Solis, who delivered a powerful statement this week in which she spoke about how Watson’s alleged misconduct has negatively impacted her career and life. You can see the video here.
A hearing was held on Friday regarding 12 of the women who have filed lawsuits against Watson. A judge ruled that all 12 must refile their lawsuits and attach their names to them, according to Aaron Reiss of The Athletic. That means the three women who did not volunteer to publicly reveal their identities must now do so as well.
Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, maintained that the quarterback is innocent in a statement issued on Thursday. He accused Tony Buzbee of using “anonymous allegations to destroy Mr. Watson.” Hardin has been saying for weeks that Buzbee should have to provide the names of the accusers so Watson can defend himself properly.
All of the lawsuits against Watson to this point have been civil in nature, but Houston police said last week that one criminal complaint has been filed.
Watson’s agent has publicly accused at least some of the alleged victims of lying for financial gain. The 25-year-old’s legal team also claims he was a victim of a blackmail attempt in at least one of the cases.
Mike Trout smashed a baseball into orbit during the Los Angeles Angels’ win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night, and it is a good thing school wasn’t in session when it happened.
The Blue Jays have been playing their “home” games at minor league facility TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Fla., this season due to the pandemic. Curtis Fundamental Elementary School is located right behind the park in the direction of the home run Trout launched in the top of the fifth inning on Thursday night.
The home run traveled an estimated 444 feet. Someone did the math on the distance the ball went using a satellite view of the ballpark, and it is safe to conclude that it hit the elementary school.
If you remember, Trout had a funny exchange with David Price recently (see it here) about MLB supposedly taking some of the juice out of baseballs. Anyone who was inside Curtis Fundamental Elementary School at the time of Trout’s moonshot might question whether that actually happened.
The home run was Trout’s third in seven games.
Allen Iverson was one of the fiercest competitors in the NBA during his Hall of Fame career, and we were reminded of that again this week with a great story that former Philadelphia 76ers general manager Billy King told.
King was a guest on the “Audacy NBA Show” with Ryan McDonough on Friday, and he spoke about how difficult it was to keep Iverson sidelined when the former point guard was injured. King said the Sixers had to literally hide Iverson’s game jersey from him to prevent him from suiting up.
“When he was injured and we knew he couldn’t play we used to hide his jersey. Because he would come to the locker room looking for his jersey, we’d lock it somewhere so he couldn’t get it,” King said.
The former GM then recalled a specific instance where the 76ers wanted Iverson to sit out a game in New York. Iverson was able to find his jersey but not his game sneakers. He tried everything he could to find a pair of shoes he could use.
“One time, in New York, he found his jersey but didn’t have any shoes,” King said. “He was trying to send the ball boy to the Foot Locker around the corner. He said, ‘Just give me a pair of their Reeboks. I can play in those.’ Then he pointed to an attendant (and said), ‘What size are you, just give me those shoes,’ because he wanted to play so bad.”
There were many questions about Iverson’s level of commitment during his career. We’re all familiar with his famous “practice” rant, and there were certainly some troubling reports about his state of mind when that happened.
All that said, anyone who played against A.I. knows how dominant he was and the effort he gave night in and night out. Clearly, he never wanted to leave the court or be held out.
Deshaun Watson’s attorney filed a motion earlier this week seeking to force the quarterback’s alleged sexual assault victims to reveal their identities. A judge ruled in Watson’s favor in one of the cases on Friday morning.
Harris County Judge Dedra Davis ruled at an emergency hearing that one of the 22 plaintiffs who is suing Watson for sexual assault must identify herself by refiling her lawsuit with her name attached, according to ESPN’s Sarah Barshop. The alleged victim had previously been referred to as Jane Doe in her lawsuit.
A similar hearing regarding at least 12 of the other plaintiffs will be held later on Friday.
Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, maintained that the quarterback is innocent in a statement issued on Thursday. Hardin also accused Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing the alleged victims, of using “anonymous allegations to destroy Mr. Watson.” Hardin has been saying for weeks that Buzbee should have to provide the names of the accusers so Watson can defend himself properly.
Watson has been sued by 22 women who say he sexually harassed and assaulted them while they were giving him massages. Two of the alleged victims publicly revealed their identities on Tuesday. One of the women, massage therapist Ashley Solis, delivered a powerful statement in which she spoke about how Watson’s alleged misconduct has negatively impacted her career and life. You can see the video here.
Marcus and Markieff Morris have accomplished a lot together during their lives, most notably starring on the basketball court in high school and college before going on to enjoy successful NBA careers. But on Thursday night, the twins found a new — albeit unintentional — way to bond.
Marcus and Markieff were both ejected during the fourth quarter of their teams’ respective games. Markieff got into an official’s face over a non-call late in the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the Miami Heat. Marcus had a similar incident in the Los Angeles Clippers’ win over the Phoenix Suns.
You can see both ejections below:
After the game, Marcus quickly caught wind that his brother had also been ejected. He sent a funny tweet about it:
The Morris twins are known for having tempers, so seeing them get into it with an official or opponent is certainly nothing new. The fact that they were both ejected in the fourth quarter of different games on the same night is something they are unlikely to forget.
Trevor Bauer is being investigated by MLB for possibly using a foreign substance on baseballs during his start on Wednesday, and the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher is already firing back.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on Thursday that MLB has collected “multiple” baseballs that were thrown by Bauer on Wednesday. The balls reportedly had “visible markings and were sticky.”
Bauer responded on Twitter Thursday night. He ripped both Rosenthal and MLB.
Bauer’s point seemed to be that he is being targeted by Rosenthal for “clickbait.” MLB sent a memo to all 30 teams in late March informing them that there would be a crackdown on foreign substances being used by pitchers this season. According to Bauer, balls have been inspected in just about every game this season but little has been written about it.
Of course, Bauer was extremely vocal in bashing the Houston Astros over their sign-stealing scandal. He also openly wondered in 2018 if Astros pitchers were cheating, so you can understand why it would be such a big story if Bauer did something illegal.
Arch Manning is one of the top recruits for 2023 and a highly-coveted quarterback prospect. His recruitment will be a story to follow as he passes through high school. And he may have given some clues about schools in which he has interest.
Arch, who is the son of Cooper Manning and nephew of Peyton and Eli, told 247 Sports’ Steve Wiltfong about which college coaches he’s talked with.
“I’ve been talking with a bunch of coaches,” Manning told 247Sports National Analyst Steve Wiltfong. “Coach (Steve) Sark(isian) at Texas, Coach (Jake) Peetz and Coach (Ed) O(rgeron) at LSU and I’ve gotten the opportunity to talk with Coach (Nick) Saban too. Really all those guys are good at what they do and they’re great to talk to and it’s just been great to get the relationships and bonds already.
“I just really love building a relationship. Really getting to know all of the coaches is important to me.”
Manning only listing those coaches doesn’t mean those are the only coaches he’s talked with. However, it is notable that those ones specifically came to mind for him, which could be an indication of programs he’s considering.
Arch will be a junior in the fall at the Isidore Newman School in the New Orleans area.
Arch’s grandfather, Archie, father Cooper, and uncle Eli all went to Ole Miss. Uncle Peyton went to Tennessee. Despite the family’s history, Arch has actually been getting pressure to join another SEC school.
Adia Barnes shared a sexist remark when talking about coaching men’s basketball players.
Barnes is coming off leading the Arizona women’s basketball team to the championship game in the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Stanford. Arizona’s men’s program is looking for a new basketball coach after firing Sean Miller on Wednesday.
Barnes isn’t viewed as a candidate for the men’s job but was asked during a recent interview whether she would consider the job if they wanted her. She told The Johnjay & Rich Show’s “After Words” podcast that she would say no because men don’t listen.
“Absolutely not. Zero interest,” Barnes said of the job, eliciting laughs from the hosts. “Guys don’t listen to crap, no. You tell a guy to go right, he going left three times. No, they don’t listen.”
That doesn’t seem at all like a broad generalization of men. Not at all.
Barnes said she didn’t even know that Miller had been fired. She told the hosts that she had a good relationship with him.
“I really liked him a lot. We were friends and helped each other, and I talked to him throughout the tournament so I’m sad because you develop these friendships with great people. It is a business, and it’s hard. Our business is really cut throat, so it’s just kind of the nature that comes along with it,” she said.
Barnes, 44, played in college at Arizona before going pro in the WNBA. She has been Arizona’s coach since 2016 and has successfully turned around the program.
Barnes received some attention after dropping an F-bomb in celebration after one of her team’s wins and defended herself for it.
