Month: October 2024

Adolpho Birch became the highest-ranking NFL executive so far to publicly address Ray Rice's two-game suspension for domestic violence, a penalty that many found lenient. But in his appearance on Mike & Mike this morning, one of Roger Goodell's top deputies had no good answers. Both Mikes were good here, hammering Birch, the league's senior VP of labor policy and government affairs, for his and the NFL's lack of a proper explanation of Rice's suspension. (All emphasis mine.) Q: How did you and the others involved in the decision-making process arrive at two games' suspension for Ray Rice? A: "I think the way we did that is the way that we determined discipline in all of these types of cases, and that is, the commissioner elicits a number of perspe…

The Champions Basketball League, a scammy-seeming startup league that took hundreds of thousands of dollars from investors but has yet to play a single real game after failing to start its season multiple times, is now embroiled in three lawsuits. Two months ago, league CEO Carl George sued the Big3 league for $250 million, alleging that the CBL failed to get off the ground not because it was mismanaged, but because it had been deliberately sabotaged by the Big3. The Big3 responded by filing a defamation suit against George and the CBL. Now George is being sued for breach of contract by former NBA players Earl Monroe and Henry Bibby, who were both associated with the league. According to the suit, Monroe signed a contract with with the CBL on Aug. 7, 2016, agreeing to act as president…

In addition to the murder of Odin Lloyd, Aaron Hernandez is under investigation for a drive-by shooting outside a Boston nightclub that killed two men. Now, one of the survivors of the car that was shot up tells Fox Boston that he recognized Hernandez as the shooter. The unnamed man, who has told his story to investigators, said he only realized it was Hernandez after his arrest in June. "When I see his face, I just recognize his face. Compare his face that night to his face now. It's that face that I remember," he said. On July 16, 2012, an apparent fight at Cure in Boston's South End took place between two groups of people, one of them including Hernandez. As the other group left the club, an SUV pulled up alongside and sprayed the car with bullets, killing Danny…

Many many years ago, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo were coworkers in Boston. Doc Rivers was their coach. They won the 2008 NBA championship together; then, later, some of them went on to work in other places. Some of them don’t really like each other. They don’t all come to each others’ life events and work functions anymore, a decade after they won that championship and a full six years after the last time all of them were coworkers. Absolutely nothing about this is the least bit interesting or unusual, so far. Do you still hang out with all the people with whom you shared a professional context six years ago? Do you go through life with the expectation that you will be close personal friends with all of your former coworkers more than six fucking years a…

data-mm-id=”_uuuz7hyo8″>Few players in sports feel more pressure than a field goal kicker trying to win or tie a game for his team in the closing moments. Some wilt under that pressure (Mike Vanderjagt). Others thrive (Adam Vinatieri). And some get unfairly lumped into the former category, when moments earlier they were squarely in the latter. Enter 49ers kicker Chase McLaughlin and ESPN play-by-play announcer Joe Tessitore. Shortly after McLaughlin nailed arguably the most pressure-packed field goal a kicker can make (trying to tie the game on the last play in regulation), he missed a kick in overtime to try and win it. While the OT miss was bad, it didn't change the fact that McLaughlin had kept the 49ers in the game with a 47-yard field goal (not easy) with six seconds left on …

data-mm-id=”_jhgwyoqsz”>The Chargers are officially moving on from Philip Rivers. Earlier today, The Big Lead listed the best landing spots for Rivers' future. Reverse it, and here is a ranking of the five best options at quarterback for the Chargers post-Rivers this offseason:1. Tom BradyTom Brady — Chargers / Maddie Meyer/Getty ImagesTurning the year-long fantasy rumor into reality is priority No. 1 for the Chargers this offseason. Tom Brady is well past his prime and is a two-year option max. But Brady's value for the Chargers exceeds his play on the field — which is an upgrade over Rivers. The fan-less Chargers are moving into a new stadium in desperation for relevance. Brady gives the Chargers the following: A home-field advantage eight times a year, primetime games…

data-mm-id=”_bqrwsbp2x”>Over the weekend, news broke that the NBA would consider allowing teams to re-open their practice facilities in states that have relaxed stay-at-home orders put in place to prevent spread of the coronavirus. On Monday, a series of reports emerged that the league faced pushback from multiple teams over the idea as the Atlanta Hawks said they wouldn't be re-opening their facility despite relaxed restrictions in Georgia. Hawks President of Basketball Operations/GM Travis Schlenk tells ESPN that Hawks won’t be opening team facility to players Friday. “We are going to wait and see what happens in the state over the couple of weeks,” Schlenk tells ESPN. Georgia relaxed stay-at-home policies.— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 27, 2020NBA has received si…

data-mm-id=”_y637rvnze”>The Kansas City Star Editorial Board published an article today asking the Chiefs and local government to reconsider allowing fans at the team's season opening game. The current plan is to allow 16,000 fans into Arrowhead Stadium in three weeks. What they will require is masks and ask that fans only interact with the other fans in their ticket pods. If you think this is just more media fear mongering, let's see what the people allowing this to happen think. Here's mayor Quinton Lucas and KC health director Rex Archer. Via KC Star: “Interestingly, Lucas — a vocal and visible Chiefs fan — said he may not go to Arrowhead Stadium. “I understand the risk,” he said. “I don’t know if I plan to go to a Chiefs game this year.”

Rex Archer, th…