Category: Sports

WNBA Looks to Expand Up to Two Teams Before 2024 Season

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert’s desire to expand the W is taking some major strides, according to Chantel Jennings and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

Engelbert told The Athletic that she hopes to identify one or two cities for an expansion franchise by the start of the WNBA playoffs in September or by year’s end at the latest. The hope is that the WNBA’s newest team(s) could begin to play as early as the 2024 season. If everything goes well, the W will be adding an expansion team for the first since the Atlanta Dream was founded in 2008.

The W has whittled its list of 100 possible locations for its newest franchise(s) to 10-12 cities, according to Englebert. The League will consider each city through 25 data points within the following five categories: demographics, psychographic (market research or stats classifying population groups according to psychological variables), sports benchmarks, viewership, and fan data.

Things such as a city’s population, political affiliation and policies, and generational demographics will be factors due to the League’s knowledge that its viewership skews to young and female fans.

“There’s no crisp or clear formula, but you see cities that rise to the top pretty quickly,” Engelbert said. “And we’re also looking at our current WNBA franchise cities and comparing what lessons we’ve learned and what’s worked and not worked over the last 25 years. We really want to set up new owners for success.”

Engelbert estimates there will be an 18-24 month timeline from identifying a new team to its inaugural season. Furthermore, the timeline would be determined by “whether the city has the arena” to hot a team and can that target city “gets these contracts done and get season-ticket holders sold and corporate sponsors.”

WNBA expansion has been a priority issue since Englebert took over as commissioner. There are currently 144 roster spots in the WNBA, with the League carrying closer to 137 players due to salary cap restrictions.

The roster problem has been exasperated season alone after lottery picks were cut after their rookie seasons, and beloved vets with staying power in the League have been quietly waived during training camp before they even got to play a minute.

The WNBA has identified Nashville, Oakland, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, and Toronto as possible expansion spots. According to The Athletic, the expansion fee will reportedly be worth $15-20 million. Englebert didn’t confirm the WNBA’s expansion value but did say that the mention “sounds low, based on recent transactions and revenue multiples,” and that it could be higher due to the “average revenue of a WNBA franchise if you take it on a multiple,”

After the WNBA raised  $75 million in funding in February and Englebert raised the W’s profile with an expanded media partnership, there is no better time for ownership groups to invest in the WNBA. According to The Athletic, the WNBA has raised $475 million in funding. The WNBA’s 12 teams and the League itself are worth over $1 billion. As of Thursday, the average value of WNBA teams is more than $43.75 million.

“We have a process that we’re following, and we’re excited to get to the next steps on this,” Engelbert said. “There’s nobody that wants this more than I do. We know that it’s time because there’s such great talent coming out of the NCAA ranks into our League. You just look at the rookies who are doing so great this year. We’ll just continue to broaden the exposure for these players so that we can get this expansion done in the future.”



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NFL insider offers latest update on Odell Beckham Jr’s next landing spot

NFL insider Ian Rapoport went on the Pat McAfee Show to dish on where Odell Beckham Jr will likely play in 2022 and what the hold up on a deal is. 

The absolute frenzy of the NFL offseason has seemingly died down, but that doesn’t mean top-tier talent remains available on the open market.

Odell Beckham Jr., once lauded as the best receiver in football early in his career, is still a free agent despite the name recognition and talent he possesses. After a rocky stint with the Cleveland Browns, OBJ’s narrative completely reversed course once he was freed from Baker Mayfield and linked up with Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles.

The result was the Rams first Super Bowl victory since 1999 and the first the franchise has ever won in Los Angeles. But that was four months ago and it’s been 78 days since NFL free agency opened, yet Beckham remains without a deal.

NFL insider Ian Rapoport went on The Pat McAfee Show and shed some light on why that is and when it could change.

NFL Rumors: Will Odell Beckham Jr return to the Rams in 2022?

“I do think [Odell Beckham Jr] being with the Rams is still a possibility. They liked everything they saw from him last year and he liked them too,” Rapoport told The Pat McAfee Show.

This isn’t really anything new. Odell and the Rams have been linked all offseason and the lack of movement with other teams swooping in to steal him away seems to suggest it’s only a matter of time before a deal gets done that sees him return to Los Angeles.

So the question everyone has is what’s the hold up?

As Rapoport puts it, this isn’t about money or other contracts getting in the way — namely a new deal for Aaron Donald. Rather, the ACL injury that OBJ suffered in the Super Bowl is what has both slowed the timeline down and also seemingly eliminated the sense of urgency to get something done.

Something else that Rapoport mentions, which illuminates why teams like the Packers, Bears, or Chiefs have likely held off on signing Beckham in favor of other free agent options, is the timing of the ACL injury. That it happened in the Super Bowl — the absolute deepest into the NFL schedule it could happen — means that he won’t be playing a full season in 2022.

“He’s such an interesting case because he’s probably not going to play the first several games, might be half of the season. The timing of the injury was so bad for someone who was playing as well as he probably has since his first or second year with the Giants.”

“It’s not like Odell is going to be getting $15 million in Year 1 because he’s probably not going to play the first little bit [of the season].”

This doesn’t take teams around the league out of the running for OBJ once he gets healthy enough for a deal to become a reality. Aaron Rodgers would likely love to have him in Green Bay and the Packers were reportedly close to acquiring him from the Browns last season before getting beat out by the Rams.



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Tottenham ‘frontrunners’ for Championship star this summer


Tottenham Hotspur have emerged as frontrunners for Middlesbrough defender Djed Spence, amid competition from Premier League rivals and former side Nottingham Forest.

Spence spent the season on loan with Forest, helping them get promoted with 42 Championship appearances across his season in the midlands. Out of contract in 2024, he seems certain to leave Middlesbrough this summer, who are set to make a significant profit on the man they added on a free transfer from Fulham four years ago.

Spence seems unlikely to want to return to Championship football once more either, having enjoyed the success of promotion. It all points to a move away.

And, as per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, it is Antonio Conte and Tottenham who currently lead the way for the Englishman, in a deal that could be worth up to £20m.

Speaking to Caught Offside, he revealed that ‘Djed Spence has already received many important approaches from clubs for next season since March’.

Nottingham Forest are still ‘trying to find an agreement with Middlesbrough to have Spence in the Premier League’, but at present Tottenham are the ‘frontrunners’ for the defender.

Could Adama be another option?

Should Tottenham want a more experienced wingback, they could reignite their interest in Adama Traore. Barcelona have confirmed that they will not be exercising the option to buy on the Spaniard, who spent half a season on loan at Camp Nou after joining in January.

BARCELONA, SPAIN – APRIL 24: Adama Traore of FC Barcelona runs with the ball during the LaLiga Santander match between FC Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou on April 24, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Now down to 12 months left on his current deal at Molineux, and showing no sign of penning a new one, he could be a cut price alternative should Spence prove difficult to win over.

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Premier League table

# Team MP D P
1 Manchester City 38 73 93
2 Liverpool FC 38 68 92
3 Chelsea FC 38 43 74
4 Tottenham Hotspur 38 29 71
5 Arsenal FC 38 13 69
6 Manchester United 38 0 58
7 West Ham United 38 9 56
8 Leicester City 38 3 52
9 Brighton & Hove Albion 38 -2 51
10 Wolverhampton Wanderers 38 -5 51
11 Newcastle United 38 -18 49
12 Crystal Palace 38 4 48
13 Brentford FC 38 -8 46
14 Aston Villa 38 -2 45
15 Southampton FC 38 -24 40
16 Everton FC 38 -23 39
17 Leeds United 38 -37 38
18 Burnley FC 38 -19 35
19 Watford FC 38 -43 23
20 Norwich City 38 -61 22
Player Team Goals
Salah, Mohamed Liverpool FC 23
Son, Heung Min Tottenham Hotspur 23
Ronaldo, Cristiano Manchester United 18
Kane, Harry Tottenham Hotspur 17
Mane, Sadio Liverpool FC 16
De Bruyne, Kevin Manchester City 15
Jota, Diogo Liverpool FC 15
Vardy, Jamie Leicester City 15
Zaha, Wilfried Crystal Palace 14
Sterling, Raheem Manchester City 13
Bowen, Jarrod West Ham United 12
Maddison, James Leicester City 12
Toney, Ivan Brentford FC 12
Mount, Mason Chelsea FC 11
Saka, Bukayo Arsenal FC 11
Mahrez, Riyad Manchester City 11
Richarlison Everton FC 11
Pukki, Teemu Norwich City 11
Raphinha Leeds United 11
Watkins, Ollie Aston Villa 11



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Giants defense about to show ‘so much aggression’ led by Kayvon Thibodeaux & Co. – NFL Nation

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants defense will look different this season, which isn’t a bad thing considering it ranked 21st overall last year. When teams wanted — and needed — to score on them, they usually did.

The Giants were outscored 79-0 in the final two minutes of first halves in 2021. They were spared even more embarrassment because the opposition usually didn’t need to do it again in the final two minutes of the game during a 4-13 season that included 10 double-digit losses.

Defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale inherits a group that pressured opposing quarterbacks on just 24.2% of dropbacks last season, fifth worst per NFL Next Gen Stats. General manager Joe Schoen addressed the issue, using the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft on edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux to headline what is expected to be an aggressive defense that relies on the perception of pressure from all over the formation to stress opposing offenses.

“You want to dictate to the offense instead of sitting there and letting them dictate to you,” Martindale said last week. “I think this is a game of adjustments and matchups and everything else, but I would rather them have the headache and stay up five nights before we play them figuring out what we’re going to do and [we will] try to present different looks every time we play, because pressure does break pipes. That’s our philosophy.”

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It is embraced by his players.

“Oh, Wink, it’s really fun. I think we’re all enjoying it,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “You know, just so much aggression. It’s just giving us energy. We’re able to go out there and play without worrying about making mistakes, so it’s just giving us a lot of freedom to just go play, go attack and be the playmakers that we have on our defense.”

Martindale blitzed more than anyone in the NFL during his four years as the Baltimore Ravens‘ coordinator, when his defenses ranked first (2018), fourth (2019), seventh (2020) and 25th (2021) overall. Those units led the league in blitzing in his first three seasons at 39.6%, 54.9% and 45.3%, respectively, before dropping to sixth last season (31.1%) according to Pro Football Reference.

“Puts a lot of people at the line of scrimmage,” is how one scout described a Martindale-led defense. “He doesn’t coach scared.”

Enter Thibodeaux, whose first step and speed will be utilized throughout this defense. The belief is he’s the high-end pass-rusher the Giants have been missing for years, a player who can be the centerpiece for Martindale. New York has had only one true edge rusher (Markus Golden in 2018) record double-digit sacks over the past seven seasons. Baltimore also only had one edge rusher (Terrell Suggs, 2017) reach double-digit sacks during that same span, yet Martindale had defenses ranked among the top 10 in three of his four seasons as coordinator.

Martindale and outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins’ viewed Thibodeaux as the top-ranked edge rusher in the draft, in part because they can envision him rushing from various positions, including inside where they believe his speed can be a matchup nightmare against an overmatched interior lineman.

“He was just such a great fit for us in Wink’s defense,” Wilkins said. “He has all the skill sets we look for. He can be a dominant edge-setter, explosive, violent, relentless pass-rusher and then everything else you can see that is required.”

Martindale’s pressure often leaves his cornerbacks on an island, and in his four seasons as coordinator Baltimore played the fifth-most man-to-man defense (39.9%) in the NFL according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

It proved to be a problem last season when an injury-ravaged secondary contributed to the Ravens’ ranking last in pass defense.

“Don’t go to DoorDash to find a backup corner,” is what Martindale said he learned.

It could get tricky this season in New York, because the Giants lost top cornerback James Bradberry recently as a salary-cap casualty. Adoree’ Jackson, who has missed 22 games over the past three seasons, is their No. 1 corner and 2021 third-round pick Aaron Robinson is the favorite to win the other starting job.

The Giants secondary has a combined 111 career starts, which makes it a serious question mark entering the season considering what Martindale wants to do. Jackson welcomes the challenge.

“I feel like everything, it turns into [man-to-man coverage],” he said. “Whoever comes down and I’m playing whatever it is, zone, I’ve pretty much got them. I end up matching [up]. … It’s third-and-5 and he runs an 8-yard out? You’re going to match it … You’re not just going to stay in your third [of the field] because that’s what your task tells you to do. At the end of the day, it’s about being a football player and understanding what’s going on.”

With a retooled pass rush and questions in the secondary — the Giants signed unemployed former Ravens cornerbacks Maurice Canady and Khalil Dorsey on May 18 — the bar is set rather low for Martindale’s defense this season. He doesn’t seem to care.

“Look, we’ll control the narrative. That’s what I’ll tell you,” Martindale said. “People can say what they want to say. We’ll see when it’s time to kick it off down there in Nashville [against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1]. We’ll see where we’re going to be at by then. But we control the narrative in the room, and I’m excited about this season.”

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Tom Brady hints that actual retirement is coming after this season

Is Tom Brady planning to be one-and-done after coming out of retirement? Something he said during The Match 2022 hints at his plans.

Tom Brady has already retired once. Since he unretired, the football world can now look forward to “Tom Brady Retirement Watch 2: Electric Boogaloo.”

Or not.

Brady may already be indicating what his plans for 2023 are and they might not involve football.

During The Match 2022, the Buccaneers‘ quarterback reportedly told Patrick Mahomes that he will have more time on his hands next year.

Tom Brady hints that actual retirement is coming after this season

Brady was talking to Mahomes about an event in Hawai’i that he’s going to miss.

“I’ll let you know in advance next year,” Mahomes told him.

“Way in advance, though I should have a lot more free time next year,” Brady responded, according to Christopher Powers of Golf Digest.

There are a thousand reasons Brady could have more free time next year. One big one could be he doesn’t plan to go through the NFL offseason and all its hurdles.

Obviously, that doesn’t mean he is definitely retiring after the 2022 season. And even if he does, we already have a precedent of him retiring and unretiring. This could turn into a Brett Favre scenario easily enough.

For now all we can speculate. He’ll be 45 years old in August and would have to play the 2023 season at the age of 46. Who knows what he’ll end of doing or if he even knows his own future at this point.



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Falcons bringing back red helmets in 2022 to reach NFL uniform nirvana

The Atlanta Falcons are bringing back a beloved old look in 2022 with a red helmet highlighting their 1966 throwback uniforms.

The Falcons have something special for fans to enjoy in Week 6 thanks to a throwback look paying homage to their 1966 team.

For the first time since 2013, familiar black jerseys will be paired with a classic red helmet for the throwback event on Oct. 16 against the 49ers.

The team revealed the look on social media to widespread praise.

Falcons bringing back red helmets in 2022 to reach NFL uniform nirvana

The helmet features a throwback logo, a white and black stripe and gold trim. It has a grey facemask. It’s paying tribute to the helmets the team wore from 1966 to 1969, which were actually designed with the color schemes of Georgia and Georgia Tech in mind.

As for the jerseys, they will be black with white numbers and red and white trim. The pants are white with red and black stripes.

Here’s how fans reacted:

Atlanta wore similar uniforms twice a year from 2009-13 but the NFL changed rules to stop teams from changing up their helmets. When the throwbacks came back, they featured a black helmet instead.

Thankfully, the NFL has updated its policies to allow teams to get funky with their helmets once more, allowing alternates with throwback and color rush looks.

It’ll be fun to see Kyle Pitts and the rest rock those uniforms this fall. The only complaint is that it’ll only be around for one game.

Now that the red helmet is back, fans can also amp up the call for a red-on-red look in the future.



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Tom Brady’s absolute shank at The Match finally proves he’s mortal

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 01: Tom Brady plays a shot during Capital One’s The Match VI – Brady & Rodgers v Allen & Mahomes at Wynn Golf Club on June 01, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images for The Match)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady proved that he is human after all with an all-time shank of a shot during The Match VI.

Even though the NFL season is still months away, there were four quarterback s doign battle, but it happened on the golf course. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers teamed up to face Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in The Match VI, live from Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas, NV. During the competition, Brady showed that he is mortal after all.

At one point during the competition, Brady attempted to get his golf ball close to the hole. But when he swung his club, the ball shanked wide right.

Tom Brady massively shanks a shot during The Match

Those who were watching the event took to Twitter to say that even Brady is like the rest of us after shanking the golf ball.

His teammate in Rodgers also had a relatable golfer moment, as his practice drive sent his golf ball directly into a tree.

The Match has been filled with entertainment and trash talk. Brady has participated in quite a bit of it. He actually responded to Allen using golf balls with Brady’s shirtless NFL Combine photo on it by holding up a golf ball with an image of the Lombardi Trophy on it, asking the Buffalo Bills quarterback if he has ever seen one of those before.

Just in case you were frustrated with your golf game, you had to feel good after watching a seven-time Super Bowl champion hit a golf ball wide right on national television.



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Patrick Mahomes cracks open Coors Light during The Match and fans love it

Patrick Mahomes cracked open a Coors Light during The Match as he and Josh Allen looked to overcome an early deficit.

As if the people couldn’t like Patrick Mahomes more, he proves them otherwise after three holes of The Match.

Even as one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks,  Mahomes, knows a cold beer helps on the golf course, and after three holes, he had to crack open a Coors Light.

He and Josh Allen struggled the first three holes, and Mahomes decided it was time to enjoy the round a little more. Fans loved it, and of course, Twitter provided us with some of the best reactions to seeing an NFL quarterback enjoy an American classic.

The “oh no, oh no” video makes our hearts happy because we’ve all been there, and it’s funny watching him react to losing the ice and making sure his mountains stay blue.

However, this video isn’t the best reaction. There are so many good ones.

Patrick Mahomes opens Coors Light trailing in The Match and fans love it

Barstool’s Big Cat weighed in on it, and then it blew up as the world realized how relatable Mahomes is when his wife and brother aren’t stealing the thunder.

Then Mahomes weighed in on cracking open a cold one and how it’ll help him some, but he must be careful not to get carried away with it. He wanted to wait until the fourth hole, but that wasn’t happening with the young bucks down to Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.

Some fans even judged him for choosing Coors Light, but at the same time, who cares what he drinks because at this point, he is one of us, and that is all that matters.

Now that some fans know he is a Coors Light guy, it makes him more likable, and we love that for Mahomes.

Sometimes golf without a beverage isn’t as fun as golf with one, so kudos to Mahomes for choosing to enjoy himself.

Mahomes is one of the best athletes, and while Brady is a health nut, Rodgers is in his universe, and Allen is rocking cheetah golf shoes — Mahomes had to be the regular guy.

The Match is a great place for them to show off their personality, and these videos of Mahomes dropping ice and drinking Coors Light show he is a regular guy who just happens to play football for a living.

 



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Aaron Rodgers gives fans relatable golf content, cranks drive right into tree

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MAY 31: Aaron Rodgers takes a practice shot at Wynn Golf Club on May 31, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images for the Match)

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers practiced on his drives ahead of The Match, and hit a tree right in front of him.

The NFL offseason may still be going on, but fans have the chance to watch four quarterbacks compete. On June 1, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers teamed up to take on Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in The Match VI.

Ahead of the golf competition, the quarterbacks took some practice swings. The Green Bay Packers quarterback decided to use his driver. On one swing he hit the golf ball…which immediately bounced off of a tree directly in front of him.

Aaron Rodgers hits tree on his practice swing ahead of The Match VI

That is what practice swings are for. Because when the swings counted, the back-to-back NFL MVP made the most of them.

Rodgers did get off to a hot start, as he crushed a golf ball down the middle of the course when using his driver. That helped Rodgers then set up the birdie putt to win the first hole for him and Brady.

This past season, Rodgers won his fourth NFL MVP after completing 68.9-percent of his passes for 4,115 yards, 37 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Early on in The Match, the veterans have the bragging rights over the youngsters after the opening hole. Who will have the ultimate bragging rights?

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Warriors Close to Full Health For Game 1 of the NBA Finals

Heading into Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Warriors look to be as close to full health as in several months.

Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., and Andre Iguodala were announced as questionable for Game 1 but did participate in the Warriors’ brief, full-contact scrimmage at Chase Center on Wednesday. The three injured Warriors players’ participation is welcome since all three weren’t on the court for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.

“We’ll see how they turn up tomorrow, but it was a good sign that they were able to take contact,” Kerr said.

During Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinal series, Payton II suffered a broken elbow against the Memphis Grizzlies. Dillon Brooks fouled Payton hard as he attempted to attack the rim on a fast break opportunity. Payton averages 5.5 points per game off the bench during the Golden States playoff run to the Finals.

The former Oregon State Beaver missed three other games in the playoffs due to foot soreness in both feet.

“Still got a couple boxes to check off,” Payton said. “Still not quite there yet. But excited. Getting better every day so.” He said he needed “a couple green lights” from various people inside the Warriors’ organization — presumably team medical personnel.

Iguodala hasn’t been on the court since Game 4 of the first round with a disc injury in his neck.

NBA Finals begin on Thursday, with Golden State hosting Game 1 in San Francisco.



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