data-mm-id=”_48s2vu3yx”>Major League Baseball floated a radical change to its postseason and it feels like a version of liquidating assets for a nice short-turn return without pause for what it will mean in the big picture. One of the motivating factors of expanded playoffs is to increase inventory for interested television rights holders. More meaningful games conceivably means more money. That's easy enough to understand.But the idea that a reality-television-inspired selection show in which the best teams choose their opponents has the ability to be a major draw, ratings-or interest-wise, doesn't pass the smell test. First, there's the inevitability of the selections leaking before broadcast, killing all suspense. This has happened during the NCAA Tournament selection…
data-mm-id=”_q1bm670ll”>Tyson Fury dominated Deontay Wilder in their highly-anticipated rematch Sunday night. The Gypsy King lived up to his word and destroyed the American heavyweight champion from the first bell, earning his spit atop the boxing world. Referee Kenny Bayless called it to a halt in the seventh round, as Wilder's corner threw in the towel. It was a good decision as Fury had owned the fight. Fury is now the lineal, WBC and The Ring heavyweight champion and boasts an incredible 30-0-1 record with 21 knockouts.The fight began with both fighters feeling their way through, jabbing and occasionally looking to follow. Both fighters had solid flurries but neither was in trouble despite a few power punches finding a home. Then, out of nowhere, Fury put Wilder down with a hu…
data-mm-id=”_twfqry0ph”>Nearly two months have passed since Rudy Gobert's positive test for COVID-19 essentially shut down the NBA. March 11th was the last time Kevin Huerter and the Atlanta Hawks took the floor for an NBA game. "Travis [Schlenk] had been telling us once one team gets shut down, everybody gets shut down," Huerter told The Big Lead. The Hawks learned of Gobert's positive test during halftime of the Knicks game and knew that meant the season would likely be on hold by the end of the game. Afterwards, the team was informed by Schlenk and team owner Tony Ressler that they should not come into the team facility for the next two days. After that, there were informal workouts allowed that weekend that the entire team showed up to, but come Monday, their pr…
data-mm-id=”_0h4biyrsv”>Malcolm Jenkins added his voice to the chorus of NFL players ripping Drew Brees for his stance on kneeling during the national anthem. On Wednesday, Brees claimed he'd never support that form of protest and was quickly condemned by many current and former NFL players. Jenkins may have given the most passionate rebuke of his New Orleans Saints teammate. The All-Pro safety posted a video to his Instagram page in which he lays out his disagreement with the future Hall of Fame quarterback: View this post on Instagram As I was trying to muster up the energy and find the words to address Drew Brees’s comments I recorded this video. Before I could post it, Drew reached out to me to discuss his point of view. All in all, I’m still posting this…
data-mm-id=”_vitw1yaik”>Legendary Georgetown coach John Thompson Jr. passed away at the age of 78, his family announced today. The first black head coach to win a college basketball national championship in 1984 and the man who helped Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo and Allen Iverson launch their careers into superstardom in college, Thompson is commonly known for his greatness as a basketball coach. Today, however, we learned he was also an important mentor to many who never played basketball, including long-time ESPN personality Michael Wilbon.Wilbon appeared on First Take to discuss the impact Thompson made on his life dating back to the early 80s when Wilbon was covering Georgetown for the Washington Post. It was a moving segment and showcases the depth Thompson had…
data-mm-id=”_rxyz9u4ga”>The Houston Texans have started this season by losing four straight games. Coming off a season in which they not only advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs, but had a 24-point lead over the eventual Super Bowl champs in Kansas City, hopes were high. But Houston has simply not gotten it done in 2020 so far, and things aren't about to get any better, either. See, the Texans are currently on pace for a 4-12 season that would probably have them selecting top-five in this year's draft. Which can be a good thing! But Bill O'Brien, in all his wisdom, traded the team's first and second-round pick this year for Miami Dolphins left tackle Laremy Tunsil in summer 2019. It was a win-now move that represented the team's only path to immedi…
data-mm-id=”_58f2kzatb”>Aaron Rodgers' place in the NFL quarterback pantheon is secured no matter what happens the rest of his career. A two-going-on-three-time MVP and Super Bowl champion, there's little debate against him being among the 10 best slingers of the pigskin in football history. However, there is one glaring blemish on his resume that's currently impossible to ignore. The man has absolutely sucked in NFC Championship games throughout his career. Even the year the Packers made the Super Bowl with Rodgers, it was because his counterparts on the Bears sucked worse. Not because Rodgers pulled a trick using his magical hands. This weekend against the Bucs, he could change that narrative and erase that blemish. However, it won't come easy against a Bucs defe…
data-mm-id=”_lporjehbv”>The Major League Baseball schedule is, as always, jam-packed with top-notch pitching matchups this week as we head toward the All-Star break. If low-scoring pitchers' duels are your jam, you'll want to make sure you're locked in on the following matchups. Find all MLB tickets at our trusted ticket partner TicketSmarter.com today.Taijuan Walker (5-2) vs. Sandy Alcantara (7-2)New York Mets @ Miami MarlinsFriday, June 24th at 6:40pmSandy Alcantar had an outstanding 8-inning performance against the Mets just last week, giving up two runs in a win. Taijuan Walker was only slightly less impressive in 6 and 2/3 innings as the Marlins won the day before. This could make for a great low-scoring matchup on Friday night.Tyler Anderson (8-0) vs. Luis Castil…
data-mm-id=”_9s8mf054u”>The Seattle Times has fired recently-hired columnist David Volodzko after he wrote one piece for the paper. Volodzko was a member of the Times' editorial board — briefly — and was let go on Thursday, a day after he tried to "well, actually" Adolf Hitler's track record of evil. Here's the statement issued by the paper:pic.twitter.com/nYUtPtBAWJ— Seattle Times Co. (@SeattleTimesCo) July 13, 2023The paper's newest scribe wrote a column about the famous statue of Vladimir Lenin in Seattle and why it should be removed (it's on private property, FYI). After the column was published, he took to Twitter and claimed Hitler was less-evil than Lenin because, according to Volodzko, Hitler only targeted people he believed were harmful t…
data-mm-id=”_1laau9yk6″>Wednesday will mark yet another day in the House of Representative's struggle to elect another Speaker of the House. Jim Jordan was the popular pick on the left side of the aisle but a small contingent of Republicans appear to absolutely despise him and will not vote with their party to get the majority required. The carousel continues 'round and 'round. The latest solution gaining momentum would be to elect Republican Patrick McHenry of North Carolina as temporary Speaker. It has support on both sides of the aisle given the Nov. 17 deadline to pass a new spending bill and avoid a government shutdown. However, it obviously does not solve any of the issues facing the House right now and would only prolong what has been a disastrous attempt by Repub…