Duke HC Jon Scheyer expected to draw interest for 1 NBA job
Jon Scheyer has a 124-25 record in four seasons since replacing Mike Krzyzewski as the Duke men’s basketball coach.
Scheyer has a Final Four trip with Duke and has them in the national title conversation every year, so leaving Durham. N.C. might not be in the cards. But, as it turns out, Scheyer is reportedly expected to draw interest in the now-open Dallas Mavericks job, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.
Spurs assistant Sean Sweeney is expected to draw serious interest from the Mavericks after they parted ways with Jason Kidd, league sources told @ClutchPoints.
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) May 20, 2026
Dallas is also expected to reach out to Duke HC Jon Scheyer, but he is committed to his current position, sources said.
The Mavericks surprised many people by firing head coach Jason Kidd after five seasons and one NBA Finals trip, and now they are in the market for a new coach.
The Mavericks also hired former Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri, so there are expected to be quite a few changes in Dallas this summer after a disappointing couple of seasons.
As Siegel mentioned, Scheyer is “committed to his current position,” and Duke was so close to a Final Four trip, but ultimately lost to UConn on a last-second three by Braylon Mullins.
Whether or not Scheyer is considering an NBA jump remains to be seen, but the Mavericks appear to at least try to see if he is interested in the job.
NASCAR star Kyle Busch hospitalized
Kyle Busch is, without question, one of the most decorated race car drivers in the history of NASCAR.
Busch has two NASCAR Cup Series championships and a total of 234 victories across th three divisions, which is a record.
Busch was slated to participate in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, but his family released a statement, saying that Busch is hospitalized with a “severe illness” and will not race in the event.
Statement Regarding Kyle Busch from the Busch Family:
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) May 21, 2026
“Kyle has experienced a severe illness resulting in hospitalization. He is currently undergoing treatment and will not compete in any of his scheduled activities this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. We ask for…
Richard Childress Racing also released a statement after the news of Busch’s illness.
“Kyle Busch’s health is our upmost priority and he and his family have the full resources of RCR behind them,” RCR said in a statement. “Kyle is an integral part of our organization and we wish him a safe and speedy recovery.”
Austin Hill will sub in for Busch.
Busch was also initially slated to participate in the Craftsman Truck Series race at the speedway in Concord, N.C. He is also scheduled to be at the Nashville Superspeedway race on May 29 and then at the North Wilkesboro Speedway in July.
Notable update emerges on Tarik Skubal
The Detroit Tigers are waiting patiently for Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal to make his return from injury.
Skubal underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow at the beginning of May. His initial return timeline was unclear, but expected to be somewhere between 2 and 3 months.
On Thursday, an update emerged on the Skubal front as the Tigers pitcher was seen throwing a bullpen session at Comerica Park.
Tarik Skubal throwing a bullpen at Comerica Park 👀🐅@jonmorosi | #MLBCentral pic.twitter.com/5cukOC1NVW
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 21, 2026
MLB insider Jon Morosi later added that the bullpen session “went well, by all indications,” and revealed that Skubal’s return from injury could be on the “early end.”
Tarik Skubal, who won the American League Cy Young award in 2025, had a 3-2 record with a 2.70 ERA before the surgery. He even threw seven innings with just two runs and seven strikeouts on April 29 against the Atlanta Braves in his latest start.
Skubal’s agent, Scott Boras, insisted the Tigers pitcher would be back sooner than expected after they did a special procedure, now named the “Skubal Scope.”
The reigning AL Cy Young winner even saw his name circulate in some trade rumors, especially since Skubal is expected to hit free agency this offseason. However, that speculation was seemingly shut down by several insiders around the league, and the expectation is that the Tigers will ride it out this season wth the southpaw.
Report: Angels discussed major Shohei Ohtani trade with Rays in 2023
Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is arguably the greatest baseball player of all time. Ohtani’s MLB career began in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels before he signed a massive $700 million contract with the Dodgers in 2024.
However, a new report revealed that the Angels almost traded Ohtani to the Tampa Bay Rays.
MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic said the Rays and Angels discussed a swap involving Ohtani for star infielder Junior Caminero and shortstop Carson Williams.
“A blockbuster involving those players, carrying mammoth implications for both clubs, was seriously discussed before the 2023 trade deadline, according to people briefed on the conversations,” Rosenthal wrote.
But, Angels owner Arte Moreno decided not to move Ohtani and ride things out in the final year of his contract in Anaheim.
The Dodgers then struck it big by signing Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal, although a ton of the money owed to him was deferred until later.
Still, in hindsight, the Angels could’ve moved Ohtani and landed Caminero. The Rays star is just 22 years old and had 45 home runs with 110 RBIs in 2024 while being named an All-Star.
In 2023, however, Caminero played a total of seven games at the big-league level, but he was still a prized prospect in the Tampa Bay organization.
One can only imagine an alternate universe where the Angels traded Shohei Ohtani to the Rays, although the Japanese star still might’ve ended up with the Dodgers in free agency.
Joe Burrow had a 4-word reaction to the prospect of facing Trey Hendrickson
Joe Burrow and Trey Hendrickson have gone from teammates to rivals in an instant in the offseason, with the latter deciding to take his talents to the Baltimore Ravens after five seasons donning Cincinnati Bengals colors.
Now, Burrow will have to be wary of Hendrickson in almost every snap when facing the Ravens at least twice a year.
However, the three-time Pro Bowler quarterback is not backing down from the challenge, as he looks forward to seeing his former teammate on the other side of the trenches.
“That’ll definitely be fun,” Burrow said, via Shelby Dermer of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Hendrickson blossomed into a star with the Bengals, with whom he has collected all four of his Pro Bowl nods so far in his NFL career. He parted ways with the Bengals following the 2025 season, signing a 4-year, $112 million contract with the Ravens, which also keeps him in the AFC North while adding a twist to the fierce rivalry of Baltimore and Cincinnati.
During his time with the Bengals, Hendrickson recorded 61.0 sacks and 171 combined tackles in 72 games.
Burrow and the Bengals will get a first look at Hendrickson in a different uniform in Week 7 of the 2026 season, when they visit the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md.
Travis Kelce reveals Taylor Swift’s comical reaction to Jerome Bettis highlights
Travis Kelce finds it hard to shake off what his fiancée, Taylor Swift, told him about a legendary NFL running back.
During a recent episode of the “New Heights” podcast, the Kansas City Chiefs superstar tight end recalled the time when he met former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis at a dinner with Swift. Later on, Kelce showed her highlights of Bettis.
“I showed her a Jerome Bettis highlight tape, and she was like, ‘Why does he look like an offensive lineman running with the football?’ Because he was ‘The Bus,’” Kelce said, as his brother and podcast co-host, Jason Kelce, laughed in the background.
“An offensive lineman who runs the football” is the perfect way to describe Jerome Bettis 😂@reeses pic.twitter.com/WZG1McTF0T
— New Heights (@newheightshow) May 20, 2026
Bettis was indeed a force on the field during his playing days in the league.
A six-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, Bettis often left those who dared to stop him on the field feeling down bad.
Selected by the Los Angeles Rams 10th overall in the 1993 NFL Draft, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football product Bettis burned rubber for 13,662 rushing yards and 91 rushing touchdowns on 3,479 carries through 192 games for the Rams and the Steelers.
Who knows, Swift might come up with a lyric – or even a song – inspired by Bettis.
Amen and Ausar Thompson receive an offer that could change their careers
The Thompson twins may want to consider an offer from a basketball influencer.
Both Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson are now in vacation mode after their respective teams fell short of the ultimate goal in the 2026 NBA Playoffs. Amen and the Houston Rockets were bounced out of the first round by the Los Angeles Lakers, while Ausar and the Detroit Pistons were upset in the second round by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But just because they don’t have a game to look forward to this postseason doesn’t mean there’s no work to be done for either of them.
Basketball influencer Lethal Shooter, whose real name is Chris Matthews, is reaching out to Amen and Ausar as he expresses his desire to help improve their shooting.
“Amen and Ausar Thompson all I need is a month! Let’s get it!” Matthews posted on X on Wednesday.
Although they play for different teams, Amen and Thompson have the same glaring issue that Matthews wants to address.
Matthews has become a viral sensation for his ability to make long-range shots, and he also trains pros to help them become accurate outside threats, something Amen and Ausar Thompson are simply not known for. The twins are already athletically gifted and possess strong defensive skill sets, and if they can add at least a respectable outside shot, it should make them more valuable assets for their teams.
Amen is just a career 21.9% shooter from behind the arc in the NBA, while Ausar is worse at just 20.4%.
They are still just 23 years old, so there’s definitely time and room for them to develop their 3-point shooting.
Spurs leave fans guessing on Dylan Harper’s injury status
San Antonio Spurs fans are keeping their fingers crossed about the status of injured guard Dylan Harper.
The Spurs rookie was unable to finish Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals series against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., due to an apparent lower-body injury.
Harper had an awkward fall in the third quarter before exiting the game. He tried to come back into the contest, but was instead instructed by San Antonio’s medical staff to return to the locker room.
The Spurs ended up losing the game, 122-113, with Harper’s status adding to the team’s concern.
According to Tom Petrini of Sports Illustrated, San Antonio did not provide any update on Harper’s real status following Game 2, where the former Rutgers Scarlet Knights started and scored 12 points on 5/10 shooting with 3 assists and 2 rebounds through 25 minutes of action.
With the Spurs mum about Harper’s condition, his status for Game 3 could be in question.
If he gets ultimately ruled out for that contest at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on Friday, San Antonio may end up having a much slimmer backcourt, considering that De’Aaron Fox has yet to see action in the Thunder series due to an ankle issue.
Nathan MacKinnon didn’t sugarcoat why the Avalanche lost to the Golden Knights in Game 1
For the first time in the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche find themselves behind the 8-ball.
The Avs are behind early in their Western Conference Finals series against the Vegas Golden Knights, who won Game 1 on Wednesday, 4-2, at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo.
It was a tough loss to swallow for Colorado because the team dominated the possession battle, only to struggle to find the back of the net.
The Avalanche went scoreless in the first two periods. They cut Vegas’ lead to one goal, 3–2, on back-to-back goals from Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog in the third frame before Golden Knights forward Nic Dowd put the game out of reach with an empty-net insurance goal with under a minute to go in regulation.
It all boiled down to one word for MacKinnon: execution.
“We just weren’t sharp. Execution was poor from everybody,” MacKinnon told reporters after the game, via Ryan Boulding of NHL.com.
“We had chances. They didn’t do a whole lot either. It was kind of a nothing game, and then they got a few goals. Really good team, obviously, but I thought we did a lot of damage to ourselves. Yeah, just guys kind of everywhere. Execution, like I said, needs to be better. Obviously, we’re capable of being better than that.”
Colorado outshot (shots on goal) the Golden Knights in the game, 38-28. The Avalanche had plenty of great scoring chances, but failed to capitalize. They had 16 high-danger even-strength shots to just 7 by Vegas.
Additionally, the Avs had 80 total shot attempts (shots on goal, missed shots and blocked shots) while the Golden Knights only generated 52.
MacKinnon was right to feel disappointed, but he and the Avalanche can still rectify things beginning in Game 2 on Friday at Ball Arena.
Thunder-Spurs series ended a long Western Conference Finals drought
The 2026 Western Conference Finals series between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder is turning into one of the most memorable playoff battles in recent memory.
It has been a back-and-forth affair through just two games in the series, with the Spurs taking Game 1 in an epic double-overtime marathon, 122-115, before the Thunder responded and evened the series at 1-1 with a 122-113 victory at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Wednesday.
With the Thunder’s triumph in Game 2, the NBA has finally seen a Western Conference Finals series tied after two games for the first time since 2018, when the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets split the first two meetings, according to Law Murray of The Athletic.
That Rockets-Warriors series went the distance and is infamous for Houston’s 27 consecutive missed 3-point attempts in Game 7, as Golden State claimed the Western Conference title on its way to another NBA championship in the Stephen Curry era.
Based on how the 2026 iteration of the West finals is going, it may be fair to expect it to reach seven games.
The first two games were both competitive down the stretch, with the Spurs showing plenty of fight despite playing in the reigning NBA champions Thunder’s territory.
In Game 3 and Game 4, it’s Oklahoma City’s turn to test its mettle on the road, with the Spurs hosting those games at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Ed Orgeron lands a fitting job at a top program
Coach O is having a big ol’ reunion.
The LSU Tigers announced on Wednesday that they are reuniting with veteran coach Ed Orgeron. The 64-year-old coach is returning to LSU as the special assistant to recruiting and defense.
LSU also posted a photo of Orgeron shaking hands with Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin inside a team facility.
Ed Orgeron is returning to LSU and will serve as the special assistant to recruiting and defense for the Tigers pic.twitter.com/dfmnEeWpsW
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) May 21, 2026
Orgeron is, of course, a very well-known figure to the university. He served as head coach of LSU from 2016-21 (after beginning his tenure at the school in 2015 as their defensive line coach).
During Orgeron’s six seasons in charge, he led the Tigers to a stellar record of 51-20 (.718). Orgeron also guided the team to four bowl wins and presided over a magical 2019 season in which LSU went a perfect 15-0 and won the CFP national championship.
But Orgeron ended up getting fired by the Tigers amid going 6-6 in his final season at the helm in 2021. Orgeron would get a $17 million buyout from the university, but a number of unflattering claims about his supposed behavior as LSU head coach later emerged.
That said, rumors over the last several months had suggested that an Orgeron reunion with LSU could be on the table (largely due to Orgeron’s longstanding relationship with Kiffin). Now the Tigers are officially making it happen and bringing back Coach O as a special assistant who will presumably work very closely with Kiffin.
Internet reacts to Stephon Castle’s unreal poster dunk on Isaiah Hartenstein in Game 2
Stephon Castle lowered the boom (and then some) during Wednesday’s Game 2.
The San Antonio Spurs guard Castle produced the dunk of the NBA playoffs on Wednesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. In the second quarter at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., Castle charged into the paint off a kick-out by his Spurs teammate Victor Wembanyama … and proceeded to commit an aggravated assault on a rotating Isaiah Hartenstein.
The seven-footer Hartenstein proved to be little more than a court decoration to Castle, who cocked the ball back with one hand and then threw down a violent dunk over Hartenstein’s head. Here is the crazy video.
STEPHON CASTLE POSTER ON HARTENSTEIN
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 21, 2026
(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/MKIyuED9xV
Check out another angle of the dunk.
THIS ANGLE OF CASTLE’S POSTER. UNREAL. pic.twitter.com/KFhCD3EwWv
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 21, 2026
Social media users were left dumbfounded by Castle’s absurd poster slam. Here were some of the best reactions to the unbelievable play.
STEPHON CASTLE GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY WHAT A DUNK pic.twitter.com/qGwJnsA8wI
— Italo Santana (@BulletClubIta) May 21, 2026
Suspect: Stephon Castle
— Ty Jäger (@TheTyJager) May 21, 2026
Victim: Isaiah Hartenstein
Cause of Death: Hammer to the Head
pic.twitter.com/bQ88sa3VYA
Stephon Castle just put I-Hart in a body bag bro my goodness pic.twitter.com/SUZ7mPiM6c https://t.co/Wl9CBke1pw
— (@bdrip1k) May 21, 2026
Stephon Castle just sent Hartenstein into witness protection sheeeeesh pic.twitter.com/ulqHwuQJgy
— Jeff Johnson (@JeffJSays) May 21, 2026
Castle is already a tall guard at 6-foot-6, and he plays even bigger than that with his cartoon-like bounce. The 2025 NBA Rookie of the Year Castle participated in the Slam Dunk Contest last year and has also wreaked other kinds of havoc with his rim-wrecking ability in the past. But Castle produced his very best work yet with that cruel attempt on the life on Hartenstein in Game 2.
Jaylen Brown is being linked to 2 teams in trade rumors
Jaylen Brown’s trade market appears to be heating up.
The Boston Celtics star Brown is being linked to both the Atlanta Hawks and the LA Clippers as potential tradde destinations, Celtics reporter Alex Goldberg revealed in a recent appearance on the “Third Apron” podcast. Goldberg notes that the Hawks and the Clippers have been floated as possibilities to take on Brown as a third team involved in a bigger trade that would send Giannis Antetokounmpo to Boston.
Antetokounmpo, the disgruntled Milwaukee Bucks star, is widely expected to finally get traded this offseason. Meanwhile, we have been hearing for over a month now that the Celtics could potentially break up their core this summer in order to trade for Antetokounmpo.
Brown, the 29-year-old former Finals MVP, is at the peak of his value right now. He just enjoyed a career year for Boston, averaging 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game as co-star Jayson Tatum missed most of the year while recovering from Achilles surgery.
But the Celtics went on to lose in the first round of the playoffs, blowing a 3-1 lead to the No. 7 seed Philadelphia 76ers. There has also been some chatter over these last couple of weeks that Brown is supposedly frustrated right now in Boston.
Both the Clippers, who own the No. 5 overall pick in this year’s draft, and the Hawks, who own the No. 8 pick, have some connections to Brown. The Clippers are a West Coast team (Brown played his college ball at Cal) and also employ former Celtics consultant Jeff Van Gundy as an assistant coach. Meanwhile, the Hawks hit even closer to home for Brown, who is a native of nearby Murietta, Ga. and has already been linked to an Atlanta-area return in years past.
Brown is on a massive contract with Boston (owed roughly $183 million over the next three seasons), so the only feasible possibility for a trade is if he is indeed included as part of a multi-team Antetokounmpo blockbuster. That said, it now appears there are multiple teams that could make such a possibility happen with the Celtics and Bucks.
Video shows Victor Wembanyama mean-mugging Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during MVP ceremony
Victor Wembanyama has definitely got that dawg in him.
Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs kicked off their Western Conference Finals series vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday with a 122-115 double-overtime victory in the game of the NBA season thus far. The seven-footer Wembanyama dropped a massive 41-point, 24-rebound line to lead his team to the win.
Before the game, Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received his 2025-26 NBA MVP trophy in front of his home crowd at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. Viral video emerged on Wednesday of Wembanyama angrily staring down Gilgeous-Alexander from the bench as NBA commissioner Adam Silver was presenting the trophy to him.
You can see the video at the link here.
Gilgeous-Alexander, 27, earned the MVP award for the second consecutive season. He averaged 31.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game to lead the Thunder to an NBA-best 64-18 record. Gilgeous-Alexander edged out Wembanyama, 22, who put up 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, and a league-high 3.1 blocks a game for the 62-20 Spurs.
Wembanyama definitely wanted to win the award and even laid out his reasoning back in March as to why he was the rightful MVP. But with Wembanyama proceeding to decimate the Thunder on both ends in Game 1 (while also producing an incredible aura moment along the way), it only adds to the lore of the Frenchman’s historic display in the WCF opener.
Pete Crow-Armstrong gives up a ridiculous Little League home run to the Brewers
It appears to be Little League Home Run Week this week in Major League Baseball.
The Chicago Cubs played Wednesday against the NL Central rival Milwaukee Brewers. In the top of the second inning at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Ill., Brewers infielder David Hamilton came up to the plate with two runners on and one out with the score tied 0-0.
Hamilton slapped a base hit into center field … that became much more than that after Cubs star outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong misplayed it. Crow-Armstrong saw the ball squirt right past his glove and roll all the way to the edge of the warning track.
Both runners scored easily, and Hamilton also hightailed it around the basepaths in a hurry for an inside-the-park home run. Here is the video of the play.
The ball gets away from Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Brewers get a little league home run! pic.twitter.com/IGs7LeZ6A2
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 21, 2026
That was definitely a pretty poor effort from the 2025 All-Star Crow-Armstrong. Even after the ball got away from him, he seemed somewhat nonchalant in trying to run it down, allowing Hamilton to get all the way to the plate to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
Crow-Armstrong is definitely not having a good week right now as he was also just disciplined by MLB after a profane incident with a fan during a game over the weekend. Meanwhile, Little League home runs are all the rage lately as both the Washington Nationals and the Arizona Diamondbacks also produced them over the span of the last 24 hours.
Notable update emerges about Anthony Edwards after playoff exit
The Minnesota Timberwolves are apparently dealing with some anxiety right now after their second-round exit.
Minnesota has a fear that All-Star forward Anthony Edwards will request a trade, Darren Wolfson of KSTP-TV reported on Wednesday on the “Flagrant Howls” podcast. Wolfson notes that the possibility of Edwards asking out is still nowhere close but that the Timberwolves want to satisfy their franchise player regardless.
Edwards, still only 24, was Minnesota’s No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and has since blossomed into one of the league’s top young talents. He is now a four-time All-Star as well as a two-time All-NBA selection and just averaged a career-high 28.8 points per game for the Timberwolves this season.
It also appears that Minnesota has done enough to maximize Edwards’ potential up to this point. They made back-to-back Western Conference Finals trips in 2024 and 2025 and also swung blockbuster trades over the last several years for the likes of Rudy Gobert (who completely transformed their defense) and Julius Randle (who has been a 20-ppg scorer all throughout this time with the Timberwolves).
But Minnesota fell in their second-round playoff series this year to the San Antonio Spurs. With both the Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder looking poised to dominate the Western Conference for at least the rest of the decade, more drastic moves may be required for the Timberwolves to continue to compete.
Edwards remains under contract through 2029 and will be making roughly $52 million per year in that span. While it does not sound like Edwards will be asking out any time soon, Minnesota could still pull an extreme move this summer out of fear (especially with Edwards sounding lukewarm on the topic of his future a little while back).
Former SEC head coach emerges as candidate for Bulls job
A former college basketball coach and top NBA assistant has emerged as a candidate for the vacant Chicago Bulls head coach position.
The Bulls have interest in Jerry Stackhouse as their replacement for Billy Donovan, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. Stackhouse was most recently an assistant for the Golden State Warriors.
Another name for the Bulls' coaching search: Jerry Stackhouse, fresh off a stint as a Warriors assistant, has emerged as a candidate in Chicago, sources tell @JakeLFischer and me.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 20, 2026
More coaching carousel coverage here: https://t.co/t2les20urH
And here: https://t.co/D3owWXcS0T https://t.co/8cyvifp3KN
An 18-year NBA veteran, Stackhouse was a two-time All-Star while spending time with eight different teams. As a coach, he led Toronto’s G League team for two seasons, and later became head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores, where he went 70-92. He has also been an assistant with the Raptors and Memphis Grizzlies.
Stackhouse spent two seasons as an assistant under Steve Kerr in Golden State, which has generally been a good stop for those looking to re-establish themselves as future head coaches. Luke Walton, Willie Green, Mike Brown, and Kenny Atkinson are among those who have landed head coaching positions after being a part of Kerr’s staff.
The Bulls are likely headed for a full rebuild and will hire a new coach accordingly. It is a hire they seemingly did not want to make considering how badly they wanted to keep Donovan before they ultimately parted ways mutually.
Lane Kiffin shares his biggest regret about his Ole Miss exit
Lane Kiffin would like a do-over on one aspect of his departure from Ole Miss.
Kiffin appeared on “Pardon My Take” recently and said he regretted fighting to stay and try to coach the Rebels through the College Football Playoff. The new LSU coach said the right thing to do would have been to just leave for LSU and let the program get on with its business.
“Yeah, I think I would have just came in and said, okay, I’m leaving,” Kiffin said, via Nick Kosko of On3. “I’m very appreciative of everything. You know, I spent a lot of time right there fighting to coach the team, trying to keep everything together. Totally respect their decision … but I was trying so hard to keep that together, like, hey, let us all coach, let this whole thing, you know, let’s see if we can go win the whole thing.”
Kiffin did admit, however, that even that gesture likely would not have prevented a lot of the animosity toward him as he left. Presumably, it would have at least helped him to avoid the public falling out with his former Ole Miss superiors.
Kiffin was ultimately prohibited by Ole Miss from coaching in the College Football Playoff. His replacement, Pete Golding, did so instead, winning twice before falling in the semifinals against Miami.
Kyrie Irving could be next player to leave Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks appear to be cleaning out everyone strongly associated with the previous regime, and that has led to speculation about the future of guard Kyrie Irving.
ESPN’s Shams Charania appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” Wednesday and suggested that teams around the league are monitoring Irving’s situation in Dallas.
“We’ve seen owner Patrick Dumont flush away anyone that was even around the Mark Cuban regime,” Charania said. “Nico Harrison, Jason Kidd, they were all brought in by Mark Cuban. Luka Doncic, a Mark Cuban guy. The only Mark Cuban guy left on that team right now is Kyrie Irving. … There are multiple contenders around the NBA that are very much monitoring what Kyrie Irving’s future is right now with the Mavericks.”
"The only Mark Cuban guy left on the Mavericks is Kyrie Irving..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 20, 2026
There's multiple contenders around the NBA that are very much monitoring what happens with Kyrie Irving in Dallas" ~ @ShamsCharania #PMSLive https://t.co/m3jxOPUDFk pic.twitter.com/kNKAUqfwbj
New Mavericks president Masai Ujiri has made it clear he wants to see Irving and Cooper Flagg on the floor together, but the rumors certainly make sense. The team appears to essentially want to start over with Flagg as the centerpiece, and 34-year-old Irving coming off an ACL injury might not fit with that vision.
The Mavericks and Kidd parted ways on Tuesday in a decision that is said to be mutual. Ujiri is calling the shots now, and there are likely more changes to come at this point.
James Harden had the lamest comment about getting torched by Jalen Brunson
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden spent much of Tuesday’s Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 getting torched by Jalen Brunson, and his comments about the performance are not inspiring much confidence that things will change in Game 2.
Harden admitted that Brunson made some “tough ones” during the Knicks’ dramatic comeback win over Cleveland at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. However, Harden seemed unwilling to take much of the blame for Brunson’s eruption, and said the Cavaliers had to do a better job on him as a team.
“He made some tough ones. He’s a great one-on-one player,” Harden said. “I think anybody on an island, it’s going to be difficult, so we’ve got to do a better job of making sure he sees bodies. They do a good job of supporting him and helping him when he’s on an island.
“We’ve got to do a better job as a team, just because it’s not a one-man job.”
"He made some tough ones"
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 20, 2026
– James Harden on his defense against Jalen Brunson pic.twitter.com/VSQmLLArkP
Team defense, of course, is hugely important, and there is a degree of truth to Harden’s words. On the other hand, Brunson and the Knicks were actively hunting and targeting Harden on defense. They were doing so for a reason. Harden is the weak link on defense for Cleveland, and teamwork can only do so much to cover for that.
The Cavaliers will have to account for the reality that Harden is going to keep getting targeted on defense and adjust their gameplan accordingly. Otherwise, Brunson cooking him is likely to become a recurring theme in this series.
