Month: September 2021

The weather in Buffalo can, at times, become as big of a factor in Bills games as anything happening on the field, as winds can really gust up and wreak havoc on passes and kicks.

Sometimes this is to the Bills advantage, because they’re more accustomed to those conditions, but at times it can even play tricks on them as we saw on Sunday. Up 21-7 in the second quarter, the Bills were set to receive a kickoff from the Football Team when the wind picked up and began playing tricks on the ball, which floated backwards as it came down, blowing away from the return man. The ball bounces, becoming a live ball, just as the coverage unit is crashing down the field and all hell breaks loose as it kicks around until, somehow, the kicker recovers what became the weirdest onside kick of the year.

Obviously this wasn’t planned, but it wouldn’t surprise me if, into the wind, the kicker purposefully tried to put more air under it so it would be harder for the return man. This was the ideal outcome and it helped the Football Team score a second touchdown in a row to suddenly make it a game after Buffalo had run out to an early lead. The lesson, as always, is to field the ball on a kickoff no matter what and, for the coverage team, to always bust it down the field because if this happens, you can get a big time play for your team.

For over a decade, hip-hop fans have been hoping that Outkast will get back together to make new music. There have been brief reunions to tour or do one-off shows, but for the most part, Andre 3000 seems content to pursue his new passions in music, art, and film, while Big Boi continues to put out albums and tour with Sleepy Brown.

While new Outkast music may remain simply a dream for many rather than a reality, we can take solace in the fact that the two legendary artists remain close friends, even as they’ve moved on to separate ventures. That’s not always the case when groups go their own ways after a long time together, but it is truly heartwarming to see how Big Boi and Andre 3000 continue to support each other and their families.

On Saturday night, we saw the latest instance of this when a photo from a pair of Oregon fans went viral of Big Boi and Three Stacks sitting together at the Ducks game against Arizona in Eugene, cheering on Big Boi’s son, Cross Patton, who plays for Oregon.

There is real joy in seeing the two members of Outkast still hanging out and supporting each other’s kids at games and graduations.

That’s real friendship as you get older and, whether we ever get new music or not, it’s cool to see they haven’t lost that connection.

The 2020-21 season was almost over before it started for the Houston Rockets. From the downbeat of the season, rumors were flying that James Harden wanted out of Houston and, in short order, he was moved to Brooklyn for a future-facing package of assets. That kicked off what would become a 17-55 season but, in a wild thing to remember, Houston actually opened with an 11-10 record before losing 45 of the final 52 contests.

A lot has changed in Houston within 12 months, and that includes the addition of an intriguing pool of rookies, headlined by No. 2 pick Jalen Green. The Rockets still have a few veterans and returning youngsters as well, and they enter another rebuilding year as the 2021-22 campaign begins.

Roster:

D.J. Augustin
Armoni Brooks
Josh Christopher
Dante Exum
Usman Garuba
Eric Gordon
Jalen Green
Danuel House
Matthew Hurt
Anthony Lamb
K.J. Martin Jr.
Daishen Nix
David Nwaba
Kevin Porter Jr.
Alperen Sengun
Jae’Sean Tate
Daniel Theis
Khyri Thomas
John Wall
Christian Wood

Projected Vegas Win Total: 27.5 wins

Biggest Addition: Jalen Green

Green is going to be a lot of fun. After one season with G League Ignite, Green was the No. 2 pick and he flashed his robust offensive skill package at the Las Vegas Summer League. Of course, the regular season is much different than Summer League, but Green is now the centerpiece of the franchise, and he will be given a lot of responsibility from the jump. It may not be pretty for 82 games, simply because of how rookie develop, but Green should showcase his upside and provide entertainment and intrigue.

Biggest Loss: Kelly Olynyk

Houston didn’t lose all that much, but Olynyk was good for them when he arrived. It was only 27 games, but Olynyk averaged 19 points and eight rebounds per game for the Rockets, posting a ludicrous 67 percent true shooting mark on the way. He didn’t make a ton of sense in the short term with Houston’s rebuilding effort underway, but the Rockets will at least miss what he was giving them.

Biggest Question: What happens with John Wall?

All indications are that the Rockets and John Wall will part ways at some point, but we don’t know when. Wall is making more than $40 million per season and, while he could certainly contribute to Houston, the team isn’t in a win-now mode and they have young guards to develop. The issue is that Wall is extremely difficult to trade, particularly when the Rockets are seemingly entrenched in a mode in which they will not attach picks to move his salary. It might be a long waiting game.

What Makes This Season A Success

Green, Christian Wood, Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba, Josh Christopher, Jae’Sean Tate, and Kevin Porter look like pieces to build around. Those are the pieces that matter for the Rockets. Everything should be focused on the development of the young guys, with Wood emerging as the team’s best player in the short term and a potential long-term building block. Houston will also want to lose games to make their own draft pick as high as possible.

What Makes This Season A Failure:

Short of winning too many games for lottery purposes, the worst thing that the Rockets could do is to block their young guys with minutes for players who won’t be around a few years from now. There is always some of that in play, but Houston should be mindful to avoid it. From there, it wouldn’t be great if Green, Sengun, Garuba, or Christopher really flopped out of the gate, or if Porter stumbled after steps forward last season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the worst franchises in the NFL, with their main competition for the title of absolute worst being the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans. They have very few redeeming qualities at the moment, and while there is hope that Trevor Lawrence can eventually drag them to respectability, right now the undisputed best part of the franchise is their mascot, Jaxson de Ville.

No one is more dedicated to their duties as a mascot more than Jaxson, who risks life and limb to do the one thing the football team cannot do: bring joy to the people of Jacksonville. On Sunday, this meant trying to get the sparse crowd fired up for a game in which they were more than a touchdown underdogs at home against Arizona, so they did a got damn backflip off a light tower and then ziplined down to the field on a bungee cord.

The Jaguars as a franchise do not deserve this level of commitment from their mascot when I’m not sure there’s a single member of the football operations staff, including the players, that can match it. Until they win a game, Jaxson should be given Urban Meyer’s salary because at least he is excelling at his job.

Tomi Lahren has already tried (and largely failed) to dunk on members of The View for testing positive for coronavirus ahead of an interview with Kamala Harris, but Donald Trump Jr. is certainly familiar with following in failed footsteps and tried his hand at it again this weekend.

What followed, of course, is the son of the twice-impeached president getting a quick reply from The View host Ana Navarro that offered a taste of his own medicine regarding his own once-COVID-sickened father. The daytime talk show devolved into chaos on Friday when two co-hosts, Navarro and Sunny Hostin, learned live on air that they were positive ahead of an interview with the current vice president.

Later in the weekend, Trump Jr. tried to weight-shame members of the cast in the wake of the positive tests by making a tasteless joke about comorbidities.

“Given the Ana Navarro news, I think it’s time for a national conversation about the dangers of Covid-19 & obesity,” Trump Jr. tweeted.

But Navarro wasn’t having it, responding to the tweet with a scathing reply that wasn’t exactly funny, but probably hurt a bit more given how personal it got.

“Fortunately for you, if you want to have a conversation about the effects of obesity on people with COVID, your dad is a phone call away…assuming he answers your calls,” Navarro said. “Or just ask your sister to call him for you.”

Trump, of course, needed experimental therapies to save his life after his oxygen levels dipped to dangerously low levels and he was rushed to Walter Reed in Washington last October after contracting the extremely deadly disease. Meanwhile, Navarro tweeted on Saturday that she had gotten a third negative test, which likely means she’s already in the clear.

What’s important is that Navarro is healthy and didn’t seem to experience any adverse effects thanks to her vaccination and routine testing on the show. And while Trump Jr. was trying to be smug about a “national conversation” regarding coronavirus it wouldn’t be a bad idea. Despite widespread vaccine availability, according to the New York Times more than 2,000 people died from COVID-19 again on Saturday, the vast majority of them unvaccinated.

Last year’s Golden State Warriors were in a holding pattern. With no Klay Thompson and an otherwise lacking roster, the team was stuck waiting for this year. The end result was losing in the play-in tournament to the Lakers and the Grizzlies and going home well before they are accustomed to.

Was it a sign of a new era of Warriors basketball, or a second unlucky year in a row after Curry only played five games in 2019-20? This year is the year that question gets answered.

Roster:

Stephen Curry
Klay Thompson
Draymond Green
Andrew Wiggins
James Wiseman
Otto Porter Jr.
Moses Moody
Jonathan Kuminga
Nemanja Bjelica
Jordan Poole
Kevon Looney
Juan Toscano-Anderson
Gary Payton II
Damion Lee
Mychal Mulder
Chris Chiozza

Projected Vegas Win Total: 48.5

Biggest Additions: Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga

Beyond Klay Thompson, who returns from injury, Golden State added two more young pieces in the draft in Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga. It’s unclear how much either will play, but they give Steve Kerr younger, more athletic options in the rotation if he decides the team needs some juice. The Warriors also brought back Andre Igudoala, who is not what he was a few years ago, but is probably a lock to be in their playoff rotation if healthy.

Biggest Losses: Kent Bazemore, Eric Paschall

These are not major losses — neither would be a lock to be in the rotation where they on the roster this year. But with Bazemore and Paschall gone, it increases the likelihood of Moody and/or Kuminga seeing minutes this year. It’ll be interesting to see how much patience Kerr and the Warriors will have in getting those two (and James Wiseman, for that matter) minutes while trying to win now with Curry, Green, and Thompson.

Biggest Question: What can Klay Thompson offer after two seasons away?

There’s just no way around wondering what Thompson can give the Warriors as he comes back from achilles and ACL injuries. Thompson is 31, so he should still be in his athletic prime even if injuries have taken something away. But he’s coming off of two significant injuries that have kept him off the court for two years. That is going to have some impact on what he is and it’s impossible to know how big that impact will be until he plays games again.

If Thompson can come back and ramp back up the All-Star guy he was pre-injury, that’s the best case scenario. Even if he takes most of the year to get back and looks poised to fully bounce back in 2022-33, that’s an outcome Golden State can live with. But if Thompson has suffered a big slip at all — in terms of his defensive ability, his mobility, his ability to stay healthy — it’s going to limit how good the Warriors can be. He absolutely needs to be peak Thompson if the Warriors are going to make a serious title push.

What Makes This Season A Success: A deep playoff run. There’s no getting around this: It’s a deep playoff run/Finals appearance or bust for the Warriors. The time is now for Curry, Green, and Thompson. They maybe will have another few years left after this, but the entire core is on the wrong side of 30. They have to make a push now or it just might not happen again. If they can’t go far in the playoffs, there’s just nothing else that can make up for it.

What Makes This Season A Failure: An early playoff exit. See above. This year is all about winning in April, May, and June for Golden State. Nothing else really matters. At the same time, it’ll be a problem for the Warriors if their young pieces don’t develop at all this year. Even if Wiseman, Kuminga, and Moody don’t play significant roles this year, it’ll matter for the team’s long-term hopes if these players can take steps forward this year. That’s especially true for Wiseman, whose rookie year was disappointing and hampered by injury.

NFL players are no longer supposed to get suspended for marijuana use thanks to the league’s new collective bargaining agreement with its Players Association, but La’el Collins apparently went the extra mile to earn his five-game suspension thanks to a bribery attempt.

The Dallas Cowboys lineman was suspended five games earlier in the month, and we now know it was for a long series of errors that included skipping tests and committing light financial crimes in an attempt to bypass a drug test that reportedly wouldn’t get him suspended otherwise.

As ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Sunday, Collins “multiple missed tests” and then tried “to bribe the test collector” on his way to earning a longer-than-normal suspension after all that mess. In fact, as Schefter noted, Collins actually got a five-game suspension that was then negotiated down before an arbitrator rejected that plan based on evidence of the bribery.

The NFL initially was preparing to suspend Collins five games for his actions, but the NFL Players Association — aware of the intended five-game suspension — helped negotiate a reduction to what would have been a two-game ban.

Collins, however, appealed the suspension, and the appeal was heard by an arbitrator appointed jointly by the league and the NFLPA. The arbitrator not only rejected Collins’ appeal but also ruled that, based on the evidence, the suspension should be increased back to the original five games.

As the ESPN report notes, the suspension was initially revealed on September 10, and he’s already served a game of that five-game suspension. But news of the bribe is certainly new, as is the number of tests he skipped: seven.

He believed he had legitimate reasons for missing seven drug tests, one of which was scheduled for the day that Cowboys strength and conditioning coach Markus Paul died in November. Collins missed another drug test the day of his uncle’s funeral.

Collins is not the first NFL player to attempt to circumvent the league’s drug-test policy. In 2013, the NFL suspended Denver Broncos star Von Miller six games after he was caught attempting to corrupt the drug-test program with the help of a urine collector.

Before the suspension, Collins had missed just one game for the Cowboys since he joined the team in 2015. If the suspension holds, he’s scheduled to return to the roster on October 18.

Netflix named an entire fan event after the noise its streaming service makes as it boots up, and it certainly gave fans what they wanted on Saturday. With plenty of teases for The Witcher and Stranger Things also came a first look at Season 2 of Bridgerton, which while it may not have Regé-Jean Page looks to have plenty of drama and steamy intrigue in its second season in Shondaland.

While Simon, the Duke of Hastings, and Daphnie won’t appear in Season 2 the show seems set focused on Anthony’s drama, including getting grilled by a new character after overhearing his lofty expectations for an ideal wife. The brief clip shows Kate, played by Simone Ashley (Sex Education), turning the tables on Daphnie’s older brother by making it clear she isn’t exactly impressed by him, either.

“Viscount Bridgerton, when you manage to find this paragon of virtue whatever makes you think she will accept your suit?” the newcomer asks. “Are the young ladies of London truly so easily won by a pleasing smile and absolutely nothing more?”

Anthony tries his best to be charming, pointing out that she thinks his smile is pleasing. But there’s a pretty strong burn about his horse-riding skills that follows, which is about as bad as it gets as far as period-accurate insults go. It’s likely the first of many back-and-forths between the characters in the season ahead. But the preview shows them not starting on very good terms. Only can go up from there, I suppose.

Last year went pretty well for the Denver Nuggets. Despite a laundry list of injuries, namely in the backcourt, the team made its way to the second round of the postseason behind the trio of Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and 2020-21 NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Entering this year without Jamal Murray for some period of time, there seems to be optimism that the Nuggets can continue to build on what it has so that when Murray gets back into the fold, their hat will be tossed in the ring with the other teams that have hopes of winning a championship. So long as Jokic is in town and playing at the level he’s capable of reaching, that’ll be the expectation, and the big man is more than capable of getting them to the promised land some day. Could 2021-22 be that day? It might be hard without Murray for a lengthy stretch, but these Nuggets are good, nonetheless.

Roster:

Will Barton
Bol Bol
Facundo Campazzo
Vlatko Cancar
Petr Corneilie (two-way)
PJ Dozier
Aaron Gordon
JaMychal Green
Jeff Green
Markus Howard
Nah’Shon Hyland
Nikola Jokic
Monte Morris
Jamal Murray
Zeke Nnaji
Michael Porter Jr
Austin Rivers

Projected Vegas Win Total: 47.5 wins

Biggest Addition: Jeff Green

Unless you’re a huge fan of rookie guard Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland (which, his name is BONES HYLAND and he’s quite good, so no one would blame you), the team’s biggest addition is Green. A perpetually steady hand who can provide them good minutes in just about any role, Green can slide into the starting lineup at the 4 or give them backup 5 minutes to keep Nikola Jokic a little fresher ahead of next postseason. With how much the Nuggets decided to lean into running it back, Green is a safe option here.

Biggest Loss: Jamal Murray

Paul Millsap is the biggest free agent loss, but man, potentially not having Murray for this entire season stinks. It was in a very small sample size, but following the Aaron Gordon trade last year, Denver looked like it was going to be a straight-up juggernaut. And then, Murray tore his ACL in April. Perhaps he’ll be able to return at some point this year, but even if he does, it’s hard to fully imagine him coming back and being Jamal Murray right away. On that note…

Biggest Question: How high is this team’s ceiling without Murray, or with a rusty Murray?

Denver is far more well-equipped to survive without Murray than it was last year, when its backcourt was super worn down by the time the second round of the playoffs rolled around. There is more than enough here — between their guards and the ability that guys like Nikola Jokic (definitely) and Aaron Gordon (as a complimentary piece) have as playmakers — to be able to win a ton of games while he’s out and as he’s getting himself back up to speed post-injury.

The question, though, is whether he’ll be able to contribute to the point that Denver can be a legitimate title contender. At his best — with Jokic doing everything he does, Michael Porter Jr. providing nuclear scoring, and Gordon doing all the stuff he does on both ends of the floor — Murray is such a perfect fit in this offense that it’s hard to imagine anyone stopping them all that consistently. But coming back from a torn ACL takes time, both in getting onto the floor and finding your form once you’re on it. Perhaps this means Denver won’t be a legitimate title contender until 2022-23, which would be totally fine. Without Murray, though, they should still be a very good team, one that does not need to play-in tournament to make the postseason.

What Makes This Season A Success: Championship contenders. This doesn’t necessarily win a ring. Heck, Denver can probably afford to make the playoffs and lose in the first round depending on the matchup they draw and how well they play. But they need to be in the hunt for a championship and look like a team that, when fully functional, is right there with anyone.

What Makes This Season A Failure: A wholly unconvincing year. Maybe Nikola Jokic can’t get back to being an MVP-level player. Maybe Michael Porter Jr.’s contract talks linger and he seems distracted all year. Maybe Aaron Gordon falls back into some of his bad habits from Orlando, or Jamal Murray doesn’t come back at all, while none of their role players do more than tread water. This is still a playoff team almost regardless — Jokic is just that good — but “playoff team” and “championship contender” are two things, and it’d be a failure if Denver doesn’t look like it’s trending towards the latter.

Fresh off dispatching Max Holloway in back-to-back title fights, Alexander Volkanovski (23-1) earned his 20th consecutive win in an instant classic over Brian Ortega (15-2) Saturday night at UFC 266 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Volkanovski spent much of the first round chopping down Ortega with leg kicks. Ortega looked to his length advantage, but Volkanovski used his speed to snap and evade. The fight began to open up toward the end of the round, with both men opening cuts on their opponents.

The champ continued to lay it on in the second, mixing up leg kicks, body kicks and big shots up top. Ortega continued to move forward, opting for counter strikes and occasionally beating Volkanovski to the punch. With less than a minute remaining, Ortega began to find his range with the leg kicks, but that didn’t seem to slow Volkanovski.

A much more aggressive Ortega came charging into the third round, but Volkanovski met him right in the middle, charging in with big shot after big shot. An apparent head clash looked to have Ortega hurt momentarily, but he continued to try to find his range. Ortega hurt Volkanovski late in the round and dropped into a guillotine, but the champ escaped and found his way into mount. From the ground, Ortega jumped into a triangle, but again, Volkanovski escaped and jumped back into the mount and poured it on. Ortega was saved by the bell and looked absolutely spent going into the fourth round.

Volkanovski picked Ortega apart to open the round, when Ortega yet again earned a takedown and went for the guillotine. Volkanovski worked his way out and jumped back on top to toss haymakers at Ortega. From a standing mount, it looked like the champion was about to earn the TKO, but Ortega rolled out and was able to get to his feet.

To open the fifth, Volkanovski yet again went on the offensive. The champ walked Ortega back, but the challenger refused to give in. He looked energized and tossed counter strikes before sending Volkanovski backwards. Volkanovski and Ortega continued to toss hands right until the bell, sending the bout to the judges.

Volkanovski entered his title fight with Ortega with no losses in his UFC career, having won 19 consecutive fights.

Saturday night offered Brian Ortega his first title fight since 2018, when he was handed a fourth-round TKO loss to Max Holloway. Ortega returned to the Octagon in 2020, when he exploded onto the scene with a decision victory over Chan Sung Jung.