Alex Rodriguez Suspended Through 2014

Major League Baseball announced it will suspend Alex Rodriguez for the remainder of this season and all of 2014 for his role in the Biogenesis scandal. It becomes effective Thursday. That's 211 games, by far the longest PED suspension ever handed out by baseball. He will appeal, and is expected to be in the Yankees' lineup tonight. From MLB's statement, the unprecedented punishment is based on his use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including Testosterone and human Growth Hormone, over the course of multiple years…for attempting to cover-up his violations of the Program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioner's investigation. Of the dozen players under i…

Michael Vick Coming to a UFL Field in 2009?

Note the U. The UFL, United Football League, is a six team start-up league with decent backers—Mark Cuban among others. The UFL plans to begin play in 2009 (originally planned on a 2008 start) and would play all of their games on Fridays in the fall. Teams would be based in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Orlando, New York, and Hartford. UFL games would be on Friday because, interestingly, the NFL is banned under federal anti-trust law from playing any games on Friday (after 6 in the evening) within 75 miles of any high school or college game. Who's reporting that Vick might be a target of the UFL? Peter King, of course. King talked with the league's President, Michael Huyghue, who had this to say:
He said the chances of a UFL team signing Michael Vick to play the 2…

Nick Nurse Rips Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

data-mm-id=”_4gotp7n65″>Nick Nurse coached the Toronto Raptors to an NBA title last season and now doesn't seem to have any patience for the new players on his roster. On Wednesday he was asked how new arrivals Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson were fitting in. He was brutally honest.Here's what Nurse had to say:”Nope. Nope. Nope. Those guys have not understood A) how hard we play, B) our schemes, that defense is a priority for them, etc. We’ve got some work to do with that crew. I tell them there’s a couple spots, come Tuesday night there’s a couple spots there open if somebody wants them. And I keep telling (them) show me you’re going to play defense, show me you’re going to play hard, show me you understand our coverages. And then whatever you do on the other end…

Biggest Losers From Week 15 of the 2019 NFL Season

data-mm-id=”_g83aqj49z”>Another week of NFL football is in the books. As always, it was a crazy week with some unexpected twists and turns. Here's a look at the biggest losers from Week 15 of the 2019 NFL season. Josh GordonGordon was suspended indefinitely on Monday for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances and substances of abuse. It is his fifth suspension during his time in the NFL and may well be his last. Los Angeles ChargersThe Chargers got annihilated at home by the Vikings, 39-10. To make matters worse, they endured that beating in front of a crowd that was 90 percent Vikings fans. On top of it all, the photo below summed up the franchise's entire move to Los Angeles:Amazing pic by @latimes photographer Robert Gauthier capturing Fan Appr…

Ryan Tannehill Got Paid for his 2019 Numbers, Which Are Not Sustainable

data-mm-id=”_el7gjege3″>Ryan Tannehill got a big new contract from the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, in a deal that was based almost entirely on what he did during the 2019 season. The problem for the Titans is that the eye-popping numbers Tannehill posted in 2019 are wildly-unsustainable given his history. This could wind up being a terrible deal for the franchise. The Titans paid Tannehill like a franchise quarterback, giving him a four-year, $118 million contract with $62 million fully guaranteed and $91 million in total guarantees. When you consider that Tannehill made just 10 regular season starts in 2019 and barely threw the ball in the postseason, it really is a puzzling deal. When you go deeper inside Tannehill's numbers, things get even more worrisome. Tannehill's stat…

You'll Want to Watch Another Hour of Michael Jordan Drinking, Smoking Cigars, and Being Extremely Candid

data-mm-id=”_outxhirwc”>So this one is going to take a bit of exposition. And that's fine. I feel up to the job, like a fringe character shoehorned into a movie to provide much-needed but clunky backstory after some bad studio notes. In 2017, Michael Jordan sat down with Marvin R. Shanken, a man who enjoys the finer things in life and publishes multiple magazines about them, with Cigar Aficionado being the crown jewel. The two men had a frank and engaging conversation for an hour while sucking down fancy cigars and Jordan nursed some brown liquor. It ruled. Parts of the interview have been released before, used for this or that and bandied about. But the full sitdown was only posted online less than a week ago. Our brave aggregating community has only begun to cultivate it for jui…

Trevor Bauer And Aubrey Huff Are Fighting on Twitter

data-mm-id=”_auas2ghmg”>Trevor Bauer and Aubrey Huff apparently don't like each other and got into a running fight on Twitter Tuesday morning. Frankly, I'm shocked the site hasn't melted down and gone offline as a result. On Monday, Bauer ripped both sides in the MLB's ongoing labor dispute in a Twitter thread. He finished it off with the following tweet:I have so much more I want to say about this whole thing but out of respect to my fellow players I’m going to continue holding my tongue. If any of you would like to talk about it please hit me up privately.— Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) June 22, 2020Frankly, the Cincinnati Reds righty made some good points in his thread. It was an unusually reasoned rant from a guy who often courts controversy. Huff — who is a…

Allen Robinson Seems Done With the Chicago Bears, Has Asked For a Trade

data-mm-id=”_35dlb6kak”>Allen Robinson is easily the best receiver on the Chicago Bears but that relationship may be coming to an end. The 27-year-old may be done with the team, as he's in the final year of his contract and just deleted all references to the franchise on his social media accounts. Allen Robinson has taken the Chicago Bears out of his bio and has since deleted all of his ‘Bears’ photos on his Instagram. pic.twitter.com/UC9oiLlIAh— Dave (@runbackdave) September 15, 2020Robinson is in the last stages of the three-year, $42 million deal he signed as a free agent back in 2018 and it's pretty shocking the Bears haven't re-signed him yet. Teammate Tarik Cohen immediately rushed to Twitter to endorse his teammate:#ExtendAR— Tarik Cohen (@TarikCohen) Sept…

New Mets Owner Has More Money Than Anyone Else in Baseball, But Will That Translate to Wins?

data-mm-id=”_e7lq8zjrz”>Steve Cohen is (almost?) the new owner of the New York Mets. When that becomes official, Cohen will become the richest owner in Major League Baseball. As this chart illustrates, he will be the richest by a very wide margin. Steve Cohen's bid to buy the Mets has been approved by MLB's Ownership Committee, per @soshnick.Cohen's net worth ($14.6B) makes him wealthier than the next three richest MLB owners combined. In a league with no salary cap, that's significant.https://t.co/HprflYLkyI pic.twitter.com/8XeVChnn6j— Kendall Baker (@TheKendallBaker) October 21, 2020At quick glance, that seems like a big deal. As noted in that tweet, MLB has no salary cap. The Mets can spend as much as they want and Cohen can easily afford it. The sky is seeming…

Most Likely Landing Spots for Mitch Trubisky in Free Agency

data-mm-id=”_h7wppmqzl”>Mitchell Trubisky's time with the Chicago Bears is reportedly over. After trading a lot to move up one spot and select Trubisky with the second pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Bears are moving on after one good season, two decent seasons, one bad season and two playoff losses. The Bears reportedly have their sights set on Russell Wilson, but what is next for Trubisky? Here are five possible free agency destinations for the one-time Pro Bowler.Bears are planning to allow Mitch Trubisky to leave and address their QB concerns via free agency or trade, per @JFowlerESPN, @DanGrazianoESPN pic.twitter.com/pMs2NuUWbP— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) March 14, 2021Washington Football TeamAlex Smith is a free agent. Dwyane Haskins went to Pittsburgh. Taylor Heinicke mig…