Aaron Rodgers had some fun teasing a reporter over the man’s Crocs-wearing style at Green Bay Packers camp on Tuesday.
Matt Schneidman, who covers the Packers for The Athletic, tweeted Tuesday morning that he was “getting bullied” by Rodgers for wearing Crocs with socks. Schneidman was obviously joking around, because he joked that the Packers should consider internal discipline for the quarterback.
Hi @packers I’m currently getting bullied by your starting QB at practice because I’m wearing crocs with socks because I decided to wear comfortable footwear and don’t need my bare feet sweating in this heat. Please consider internal discipline.
Another Packers quarterback got in on the fun. Kurt Benkert praised Schneidman for at least having his Crocs in “sport mode.” Crocs have various “modes” based on the placement of the band.
Schneidman probably never thought in a million years that his tweet would end up becoming internet fodder, but here we are. You have to love football season.
Errol Spence Jr. isn’t the only fighter to suffer an eye injury recently that resulted in a canceled fight.
Fabian Maidana was set to fight on the Spence-Manny Pacquiao undercard on Aug. 21. He was going to meet Yordenis Ugás in the ring. Unfortunately, Maidana suffered a cut below his left eye in training on Monday.
Errol Spence Jr. withdrew from his Aug. 21 fight against Manny Pacquiao due to a torn retina in his left eye. The eye injury has some wondering whether Spence was struggling in sparring.
A video leaked and was posted on July 30 on YouTube stating that Spence was being “lit up” in sparring.
Spence is in the green tank and blue head gear in the video. He did not appear to be getting “lit up” to me. In fact, it’s hard to judge anything off sparring, because one doesn’t know whether a fighter is working on anything specific with the training. However, some people were buzzing about that video and the timing of Spence’s eye injury.
Spence, 31, is 27-0 and holds the WBC and IBF welterweight titles. He was likely going to be tested by Pacquiao, who will now face Yordenis Ugas instead.
Ben Simmons sounds ready to make things real uncomfortable with the Philadelphia 76ers if necessary.
ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins said this week on “The Jump” that the Sixers star may sit out of training camp if the team does not trade him.
“Ben Simmons is not answering the phone calls,” said Perkins. “He don’t want to be with the 76ers. From what I’ve heard, he’s willing not to report to training camp. [He’ll] go as far as it takes for him to get out of Philly.”
Jalen Green is looking forward to his early shot at revenge against the Detroit Pistons.
The Houston Rockets rookie called out the Pistons this week for passing on him in the NBA Draft. The two teams face off against each other on Tuesday in Summer League play.
“I’m sorry for y’all,” said Green of the Pistons, per Rockets writer Jackson Gatlin. “I’ma keep working, keep perfecting my craft. Every time I step on that floor, Detroit especially, I’m coming.”
The Pistons had the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft and selected Cade Cunningham. It is pretty tough though to fault them for their choice because Cunningham was unanimously seen as the top prospect in the 2021 class.
Still, this is the right attitude for Green, who went to Houston with the very next pick, to have. The Rockets may have always been the right destination for him. But that still won’t stop Green from trying to stick it to the Pistons for overlooking him.
Carmelo Anthony is the latest NBA player to catch a stray from former coach George Karl.
Anthony, who signed with the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason, spoke this week about how the continued pursuit of his first championship motivates him. The ten-time All-Star said that his lack of a ring “keeps me up at night.”
Karl, who coached Anthony for several seasons on the Denver Nuggets, responded by taking a shot at the veteran forward on Twitter.
“And it kept our coaching staff up at night a decade ago when we were stressing the importance of team play and defense!” Karl wrote.
And it kept our coaching staff up at night a decade ago when we were stressing the importance of team play and defense! https://t.co/riomQd667N
Karl elaborated in a subsequent tweet, calling Anthony “one of the great scorers the game has ever seen” as well as “a HOFer” whose jersey should be retired by the Nuggets. But Karl said Anthony “wasn’t a team first player or good defender here in Denver.” He also expressed bitterness that Anthony asked for a trade from the Nuggets in 2010 after Karl fell ill with neck and throat cancer.
I’ve said it before – one of the great scorers the game has ever seen. He’s a HOFer and his Jersey should hang in Denver.
He Wasn’t a team first player or good defender here in Denver. And it upset us when he asked for a trade especially after I was sick.
Bill Belichick is trying to navigate his way through a new chapter of his coaching career, and Ron Rivera is among those who are looking forward to seeing how the future Hall of Famer handles it.
With Washington and the New England Patriots set to square off in a preseason game this week, Rivera was about his counterpart on Tuesday. He had high praise for Belichick.
“The best thing about coach is there are no apologies for who he is,” Rivera said, via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. “He’s true to form. … I enjoy watching him. … They were a dynasty basically, and now they’re rebuilding and it’s going to be fun to watch.”
Belichick and Tom Brady terrorized the NFL together for the better part of two decades. Brady then signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and immediately won a Super Bowl, which has almost certainly motivated Belichick even more.
There will be a lot to watch in New England this season with Cam Newton in his second year with the team and rookie Mac Jones pushing him. Belichick recently shared a hint about the quarterback situation, but no one ever knows what he’s going to do. That can be as captivating for rival coaches as it is for fans.
Manny Pacquiao has been preparing for his upcoming fight against Errol Spence Jr., but the Filipino legend will now have to face a different opponent.
Spence suffered a torn retina in his left eye and is pulling out of his fight against Pacquiao, according to a press release. Pacquiao will instead face Yordenis Ugas, who was initially scheduled to defend his welterweight title on the undercard. The new fight will still take place on Saturday, Aug. 21.
“I’m very disappointed that I won’t be able to fight Manny Pacquiao on August 21,’’ Spence said in a statement distributed to the media. “I was excited about the fight and the event. Unfortunately, the doctors found a tear in my left eye and said I needed to get surgery on it ASAP and that there was no way I could fight with my eye in that condition. I’d like to apologize to everyone. You know I’ll be back as soon back soon. We’ve come back from worse.’’
Pacquiao has not fought since 2019. Spence, 31, is 27-0 with 21 KOs. He is younger and in his prime, which is why the fight would have been a tough one for Pacquiao.
Pacquiao announced in February that he was preparing for his next fight. There were rumors about him facing Terence Crawford, but that fell through. Then it looked like he might fight Mikey Garcia, but Pacquiao’s team may have just been keeping Garcia on the hook while they negotiated with Spence. In any event, Pacquiao-Spence is off.
The NFL on Tuesday released its annual video explaining rule changes and points of emphasis. One of the biggest takeaways is that players had better think twice before taunting opponents this season.
One section of the five-minute video explained how the NFL has instructed officials to be less tolerant of taunting. Two taunting penalties will result in an automatic disqualification, which has always been the case. The NFL says players could also face fines and suspensions.
“We saw an increase in actions that clearly are not within the spirit and intent of this rule and not representative of the respect to opponents and others on the field,” the video stated. “Game officials have been instructed to strictly enforce the taunting rules, and players and coaches are reminded that two taunting penalties committed by an individual player will result in automatic disqualification. In addition, the taunting player may be fined and/or suspended depending on the severity of the actions.”
There haven’t been any rule changes with taunting, but the NFL feels it became a league-wide issue last season. Because of that, we may see more unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in 2021.
Many fans feel that gestures like this are all in good fun and make the game more entertaining. The NFL apparently does not agree.
