Sep 23, 2023; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart reacts against the UAB Blazers in the first half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Kirby Smart had a strong message for the College Football Playoff Selection Committee following Georgia’s big win over Tennessee on Saturday night.
Georgia entered Saturday’s game as the No. 12 team in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. While the field has expanded to 12 teams this year, the ranking would have placed the Bulldogs outside the tournament. Boise State, which was ranked No. 13 heading into Week 12, would have been guaranteed a playoff spot as the highest-ranked Group of 5 conference champion had those rankings been final.
By beating Tennessee 31-17 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., Smart’s team dramatically increased their chances of making the playoff. Judging by the comments he made after the game, Smart was not pleased that Georgia was even on the bubble.
“I really don’t know what they look for anymore,” Smart said. “I would welcome anybody in that committee to come down to this league and play in this environment. It’s a tough place to play.”
Smart’s message was also an endorsement of Tennessee. The Volunteers fell to 8-2 but still have a chance to make the playoff. Smart continued to state his case for the SEC during his postgame press conference.
“We’re trying to be a really good quality team that’s not on this emotional roller coaster that’s controlled by people in a room somewhere that may not understand football like we do as coaches. … It’s different in our league,” Smart said, via Pat Forde of SI.com.
The remarks from Smart were a reminder that expanding the College Football Playoff from four teams to 12 teams will not make the committee’s job any easier. The five highest-ranked conference champions will receive automatic bids, but there will be plenty of difficult decisions to make outside of that.
Feb 6, 2022; Paradise, Nevada, USA; The NFL shield logo is seen at midfield before the Pro Bowl football game at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Jacksonville Jaguars will face arguably their most difficult test of the season on Sunday, and the result could potentially trigger a head coaching change.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported over the weekend that the Jaguars could make a “dramatic move” if they suffer a bad loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Doug Pederson is viewed as being on the hot seat, and Jacksonville has a bye in Week 12. If owner Shad Khan is already thinking about firing Pederson, the bye week might be a good time to move on from the head coach.
Pederson is not in an ideal spot, to say the least. Trevor Lawrence has been ruled out for Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury, meaning Mac Jones will start again for the Jaguars. Jones threw two interceptions in last week’s 12-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and Jacksonville’s offense looked completely stagnant.
Rapoport notes that there are several people within the Jaguars organization who would not be surprised if Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke are fired. The way the 2023 season ended is also a factor, as Jacksonville began the year 8-3 before finishing 9-8 and missing the playoffs.
Pederson is an offensive-minded coach. The Jaguars hired him in hopes that he would maximize Lawrence’s potential, and the results have not been there. Though Pederson received a vote of confidence from Khan not all that long ago, there have been regressions almost across the board in Jacksonville. That is usually a recipe for a head coach to lose his job.
Jon Jones showed out with the president-elect in attendance on Saturday.
The MMA great Jones successfully defended his heavyweight championship with a TKO win over Stipe Miocic at the UFC 309 main event. Jones stopped Miocic in the third round with a spinning back kick followed by a flurry of punches to retain his title.
After the referee stepped in to stop the fight, Jones immediately celebrated by doing the Donald Trump dance. Trump himself was in attendance at the fight, sitting ringside along with Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Vivek Ramaswamy, Dana White, Kid Rock, and others.
Jones capped off the dance by pointing at Trump and giving him the thumbs-up. Here is the video.
Afterwards, Jones also gave his championship belt to Trump and had a brief chat with him.
With the victory over Miocic, the 37-year-old Jones improved to 28-1 on his career (with one no-contest). He has now won 16 UFC championship fights and successfully defended his title 12 different times, solidifying his argument as the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time.
As for the Trump dance, it is very quickly gaining in popularity following the Republican’s win over Kamala Harris earlier this month in the 2024 United States presidential election. Several days ago, an NFL player drew strong reactions by hitting the Trump dance during a game as well.
Fans of the popular TNT show “Inside the NBA” got the news they were hoping for regarding the future of the program.
“Inside the NBA” appeared to be in limbo after TNT lost the rights to broadcast NBA games beginning next season. But according to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand and Jenna West, the Emmy-winning program will move to ABC and ESPN as part of a recent settlement between ESPN and TNT.
The iconic panel featuring Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley will all reportedly remain on board as part of the move. While O’Neal still needs to sign a contract extension, he has said to be fully committed to remaining on the show.
The agreement will only apply within the United States as TNT will retain global rights to broadcast the program outside the US.
Barkley, who had received several offers to jump ship, has repeatedly expressed his loyalty to TNT despite the uncertain circumstances. The workaround to keep the “Inside the NBA” program and crew intact is clearly a win for the Hall of Famer and his co-panelists.
Barkley became a part of “Inside the NBA” in 2000 after the end of his playing career. O’Neal joined Barkley, Johnson, and Smith in 2011.
Tensions ran high Saturday following the SWAC East matchup between Jackson State and Alabama State at ASU Football Stadium in Montgomery, Ala.
Jackson State outlasted their conference rivals Alabama State in a 16-10 affair to clinch the SWAC East title. As Jackson State players stormed the field to celebrate the feat, a few of them were seen chirping with some remaining Alabama State players.
The exchange soon turned physical as players from both sides began shoving and even trading blows. You can see the full altercation below.
Coaches and officials were eventually able to disperse the huge crowd of players and de-escalate the situation.
Jackson State rode its sturdy defense to victory. The Tigers allowed just three catches for four yards throughout the entire game. Two of the catches made by Alabama State went for negative yardage. ASU quarterback Kareem Keye went a dismal 3/9 for four yards with an interception.
With the SWAC East title in hand, Jackson State has just one more regular season game against Alcorn State before facing Southern in the SWAC Championship Game on Dec. 7.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning on Saturday called a play against Wisconsin that drew the ire of some fans.
Oregon-Wisconsin was on upset alert early as the Badgers led the Ducks 10-6 with 25 seconds left in the first half at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisc. Oregon lined up as if the team was going to simply take a knee. But once quarterback Dillon Gabriel received the snap, he handed it off to running back Jordan James in what turned out to be a fake kneel-down.
Jordan was stopped for a gain of just five yards as the score stood still to end the half.
Several spectators were not happy with Lanning’s attempt at trickery. A number of fans called Oregon out for running a “bush league” play to try to salvage a poor first-half performance against an inferior opponent.
Despite the early scare and failed sleight of hand, Oregon still emerged victorious 16-13 to preserve their unbeaten record. Oregon defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei picked off Wisconsin QB Braedyn Locke to seal the result in the closing seconds.
The Ducks improved to 11-0 and now need just one more win over rival Washington to sweep the regular season slate.
Ashton Jeanty issued his response to Travis Hunter on Saturday night.
The Boise State star running back Jeanty kept the train rolling in Week 12 against San Jose State with another monster performance on the ground. Jeanty rushed the ball 32 times for 159 yards and three touchdowns as the Broncos coasted to the 42-21 win to improve to 9-1 on the year.
After scoring his second touchdown of the day, Jeanty did a fitting celebration in the end zone — he hit the Heisman Trophy pose.
That definitely felt like a rebuttal to the Colorado star Hunter. After an interception earlier in the day on Saturday against Utah, Hunter struck a Heisman pose of his own.
At this point, it looks very much like a two-horse race for the Heisman between Jeanty and Hunter. On Jeanty’s end, he is making an incredibly strong case for himself with 1,893 rushing yards and a staggering 26 rushing touchdowns now on the season (both FBS-leading totals). The junior Jeanty has also posted six separate games with three touchdowns or more and has reached 125 rushing yards in every single game he has played this year.
Sep 19, 2019; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Ex Heavyweight fighter Mike Tyson looks on prior to the game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
Mike Tyson is holding his head high despite his loss to Jake Paul.
The heavyweight legend Tyson took to X on Saturday with his first message since his unanimous decision defeat to Paul on Friday night. Tyson offered a message of gratitude and appreciation.
“This is one of those situations when you lost but still won,” wrote Tyson. “I’m grateful for last night. No regrets to get in ring one last time. I almost died in June. Had 8 blood transfusions. Lost half my blood and 25lbs in hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight so I won.
“To have my children see me stand toe to toe and finish 8 rounds with a talented fighter half my age in front of a packed Dallas Cowboy stadium is an experience that no man has the right to ask for,” he added. “Thank you.”
Now 58 years old, Tyson stood strong for all eight rounds against the 27-year-old Paul without getting knocked down or badly wobbled. While most fans derided the fight as a snoozefest, there definitely had to be a sense of pride for Tyson in going the distance against Paul despite his age and his recent health troubles.
Friday’s fight marked Tyson’s first time in the ring since his 2020 exhibition against fellow 50-something Roy Jones Jr. and his first professional bout since his 2005 matchup against Kevin McBride. Tyson also got paid a lot of money for the fight against Paul and even managed to give the fans a show on fight night in … a different way.
Feb 6, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers looks on during the third quarter of the game against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Doc Rivers got heated after his Milwaukee Bucks were burned by a phantom foul call late in Saturday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets.
The Hornets had possession and trailed the Bucks 114-113 with 19.1 seconds left at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. Hornets guard LaMelo Ball made his move against Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo from the top of the key with about 10 seconds left.
The referees called a foul on Antetokounmpo as Ball slipped on his way to the paint. But replays showed that Giannis hardly touched LaMelo. Even the Hornets’ play-by-play announcer said that Ball “tripped on his own Pumas.”
The Bucks had already used up their coach’s challenge at that point. Ball went to the line and sank both free throws to give the Hornets a 115-114 win.
Rivers was incredulous about the call during live action and stayed that way during his postgame press conference. He sounded more and more exasperated as his rant against the referees went on.
“I thought the final play was the ref blowing a call,” said Rivers bluntly. “This is back-to-back games now where on the final play, there’s been an incorrect call made. LaMelo Ball fell. He just fell down. Nobody was near him. Slipped on his own. [If] we come up with the ball, the game is over … there was clearly not a foul. When you watch the video, the ref that called the foul was blocked out by one of our players. You can’t guess at the end of a game … you can’t guess!”
Rivers also harped on Antetokounmpo only being awarded one free throw on the night. The Hornets attempted 21 total free throws compared to the Bucks’ 11.
Crew chief Curtis Blair later admitted in the pool report that the referees indeed got the call wrong. They determined that there was “no illegal contact” from Antetokounmpo on the play. The admission, however, does not change the sour result for Rivers and the Bucks.
The wrong call dropped the Bucks to 4-9 as their nightmare season continues.
Oct 3, 2021; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan walks on the field before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
A clip of Kyle Shanahan sounding fed up with a certain reporter has made the rounds on social media. The reporter has since responded.
Shanahan held a press conference Friday ahead of the 49ers’ Week 11 contest against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Sports Illustrated reporter Grant Cohn asked Shanahan a question about 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy’s freedom to change plays if Purdy sees something from the defense pre-snap.
Cohn tried to push the question further, which Shanahan did not appreciate.
“When you have a cerebral quarterback like Brock who’s been in your system for a few years, do you put more and more on his plate pre-snap or do you adjust your philosophy…,” said Cohn before getting interrupted.
“Have I not answered the questions that your article is already written on?” Shanahan responded with a wry smile. “Am I not giving you the right quotes?”
The 49ers coach followed up by saying Cohn doesn’t “understand” what he’s asking about. Shanahan added that he does give Purdy double and triple play calls at times, and Purdy’s seldom use of hand signals does not mean he has no freedom to adjust the offense.
Cohn responded on Saturday, claiming Shanahan’s play calls for Purdy merely give the QB an “illusion of choice.” Cohn called Shanahan “arrogant” and compared him to a chef at a Michelin-star restaurant who doesn’t want his dishes (plays) altered in any way.
Purdy has so far had a relatively similar statistical season in 2024 compared to his breakout campaign in 2023. Through nine games this year, the third-year pro has thrown for 2,454 yards with 12 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
