Crimson Tide lands major talent on defensive line
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Mike Norvell reveals hard truth about Florida State’s College Football Playoff snub
You don’t have to imagine what it would be like to be a member of Florida State’s football program right now.
Head coach Mike Norvell came right out and said it in a recent news conference. “[It’s been] the most challenging couple weeks of coaching I’ve ever had,” Norvell explained, per ESPN. You expect to hear of challenges in the middle of a tough season, but FSU is coming off a perfect 13-0 season in which the program beat No. 5 LSU and No. 16 Duke before beating No. 14 Louisville for the ACC Championship.
That would otherwise be a perfect season, but No. 5 Florida State found itself on the outside looking in at the College Football Playoff thanks to the CFP committee’s decision to punish the Seminoles for the fact that Heisman-contending quarterback Jordan Travis went down with a season-ending leg injury in Week 13. “As you look at who they are as a team, right now, without Jordan Travis, without the offensive dynamic that he brings to it, they are a different team,” committee chair Boo Corrigan had said.
And for Norvell and his team…that’s a hard reality to sit with. “You had to learn how to work through disappointment, hurt, frustration and anger — every bit of it — for 18-to-22-year-old kids and a 42-year-old coach,” Norvell explained. “It’s hard. But at the end of the day, you control things you can control. We did everything we needed to to win 13 games this season.” FSU does have the opportunity to make a statement with a win against No. 6 Georgia in the Orange Bowl.
The Bulldogs have won the past two national championships, after all, so a win over UGA would certainly go down as a huge win for the Seminoles. It won’t be the CFP or the opportunity to win a championship, but for Norvell, it’s still a big moment for his team. “We get an opportunity to go get better,” Norvell said. “You can’t just be good when it sounds good. … This is our reality, so you push through it and go get better.”
Bulls’ Alex Caruso Doesn’t Hold Back While Talking About Lakers’ LeBron James
Blue Jays SP wants Mike Trout traded to specific NL contender
Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian said definitively in early December that three-time AL MVP outfielder Mike Trout wasn’t going to get traded. Days later, Trout’s longtime teammate (two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani) signed a record 10-year, $700M contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
With Ohtani no longer a Halo, Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Chris Bassitt told Chris Rose that he hopes the Angels send Trout to a specific NL contender as well. Despite having 11 All-Star honors, nine Silver Slugger awards, the trio of MVPs and a Rookie of the Year award, the 2009 draft pick is still missing a World Series ring.
At this point, Angels fans and MLB followers alike would just like Trout to be able to finally win a playoff game. He’s been the face of the franchise for more than a decade since debuting in July 2011 and helped lead Los Angeles to its only postseason berth in the last 14 years in 2014.
The playoff appearance was short-lived for the Angels, however, as they were swept in the ALDS by the Kansas City Royals. Even with another year of Trout and Ohtani on the roster, the Halos finished in fourth place in the AL West at 73-89 in 2023 for their eighth straight losing season.
A move to Philadelphia would seemingly give the 32-year-old outfielder a great chance at finally returning to the postseason. The Phillies made it to the NLCS this fall before falling in Game 7 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team nearly captured their first World Series title since 2008 in 2022 but dropped a six-game Fall Classic against the Houston Astros.
With the likes of one-time All-Star hurlers Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler atop the starting rotation and two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper and star shortstop Trea Turner pacing a stacked offense, Philadelphia looks like it will continue to be annual contenders.
If Trout ever ends up getting traded, The City of Brotherly Love would surely welcome him with open arms and give him a great shot at playing meaningful October baseball.
Golden State Warriors Rumors: General Manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. Believes Dubs Roster Has…
What the latest Aaron Rodgers news means for the Packers
Despite making a heroic attempt at a speedy recovery from a torn ACL he suffered in the first game of the season, Aaron Rodgers won’t be returning to play for the New York Jets in 2023. It sounds like Rodgers could do it if the Jets were in playoff contention, but New York losing six out of its past seven games — including this past weekend’s 30-0 loss to the Miami Dolphins — has guaranteed that won’t happen.
The Jets have been eliminated from the playoffs, which means a risky (albeit historic) comeback won’t be in the cards for Rodgers. “I think the whole time it’s been hoping that we’re still in it because it was unrealistic to think that I would be 100 percent to be medically cleared at any point during the regular season,” Rodgers explained to Pat McAfee (h/t NFL.com). “I do feel like in the next three to four weeks, it would have been very possible to get to 100 percent, but obviously not there.
So the conversation was a way from 100 percent medical clearance to willingness to play, and that’s never been a problem for me.” The good news for the Jets is that Rodgers was clear that he’ll be back and healthy for the 2024 season and is not anticipating it will be his last year.
However, what does this recent news mean for the Green Bay Packers? After all, there were certain stipulations involved in the trade that made the Packers legendary quarterback a Jet. As part of the trade package, New York had sent a conditional 2024 second-round pick that would have become a first-round pick had Rodgers played in 65% of New York’s snaps this season.
The ACL tear immediately made that pick staying a second-rounder the most likely option, though there may have been some speculation throughout the season as Rodgers left the door open for an improbable return. Even with a comeback late in the season, though, that 65% mark would have been nearly impossible, and this recent admission from Rodgers officially shuts the door. So what are the final results of the trade?
The Packers traded away Rodgers and the 15th and 170th picks in the 2023 NFL Draft. Those picks became defensive end Will McDonald IV at No. 15 and thanks to a trade, LSU safety Jarrick Bernard-Converse at No. 204 and Old Dominion tight end Zack Kuntz at No. 220 for the Jets.
The Packers received pick No. 13 in 2023 which turned into Iowa defensive end Lukas Van Ness; the 42nd pick became Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave; and Auburn kicker Anders Carlson in the sixth round.
And we can now officially say that the 2024 second-round pick will stay a second-rounder. The only thing that remains to be seen is where in the round it will be — though we do know it will be near the beginning.
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Yankees give Red Sox fans another reminder of blundered blockbuster trade
The New York Yankees claimed infielder Jeter Downs off waivers from the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. The seemingly minor move puts the 25-year-old in position to become the second “Jeter” to don the pinstripes.
The transaction also allows the Bronx Bombers to remind their rival the Boston Red Sox (for the second time this month) of a particularly blundered blockbuster trade involving former AL MVP Mookie Betts from nearly four years ago.
As New York Times senior sports editor Benjamin Hoffman notes, the Yankees now have two of the three players who the Red Sox acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in February 2020, when they sent Betts, former AL Cy Young award winner David Price and cash considerations out west. Before Tuesday’s news, Boston traded outfielder Alex Verdugo to New York on Dec. 5. Downs was named after Yankees Hall of Fame shortstop and former captain Derek Jeter.
The native of Colombia was selected late in the first round of the 2017 draft by the Cincinnati Reds before being traded to the Dodgers in December 2018 as part of a seven-player deal that included former All-Stars Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood and Matt Kemp, among others.
Downs was once one of the most highly touted prospects in the Red Sox minor league system but after debuting with Boston in June 2022, he struggled mightily over 14 games and was designated for assignment last December.
He was soon claimed off waivers by the Nationals but played just six games with the big club in 2023.
Washington designated Downs for assignment last week before New York picked him up on Tuesday. In four seasons with the Red Sox, Verdugo recorded 43 home runs and 206 RBI with a .281/.338/.424 slash line over 493 regular season games. Since making the big leagues in 2021, catcher Connor Wong has registered 10 home runs, 44 RBI and slashed .231/.288/.382 across 159 contests.
Betts, on the other hand, has continued to craft a Hall of Fame career. Since joining Los Angeles, the 31-year-old has a pair of NL MVP runner-up finishes, two Gold Gloves, three Silver Slugger Awards and three All-Star honors, as well as a 2020 World Series ring. Price opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and went 7-2 across 79 games (11 starts) with Los Angeles in 2021 and 2022.
He didn’t pitch in 2023. Tuesday’s news on Downs is nowhere near as important as the team’s recent trade for All-Star outfielder Juan Soto, but Yankees fans will take any chance to rub it in the faces of their rivals in Beantown.
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Ja Morant’s game-winner caps huge Grizzlies comeback in return
Following a 25-game suspension, Grizzlies guard Ja Morant needed just 24 minutes to get back to All-Star form. Morant ran into the backcourt to get a running start before driving to the rim for the game-winning bucket and a 115-113 Memphis Grizzlies win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
He finished with 34 points, eight assists and six rebounds in his first game of the 2023-24 NBA season, immediately changing the fortune of a Grizzlies team that struggled to a 6-19 start before Tuesday.
Memphis trailed by as many as 24 points and was down by 19 at halftime. Morant started slow, making just two shots in the first two quarters. But in the second half, he and his teammates caught fire, thanks to Morant’s relentless attack on offense.
A 36-point quarter got the Grizzlies within ten points, and they kept coming. A Morant bucket with 1:22 remaining gave the Grizzlies their first lead since the 7:06 mark of the second quarter. He followed with a sprinting layup on the next possession to put Memphis ahead.
After Herb Jones tied it with his high-speed layup, Morant and C.J. McCollum traded missed shots before Morant ended it. 27 of Morant’s points came in the second half, with 14 in the final quarter.
It wasn’t just his scoring that put pressure on the Pelicans’ defense, but his passing too. He also created opportunities at the free-throw line, which was a welcome sight for the Grizzlies, who are second-to-last in the league in points off free throws.
Morant went 10-of-12 from the line, and thanks to the chaos his drives created, Jaren Jackson Jr. took 15 free throws, making 11, and got several dunks. It was a huge return for Morant, suspended twice by NBA commissioner Adam Silver for brandishing a handgun on Instagram live streams.
He’s stayed out of trouble since the last incident in June and reportedly complied with all of the league’s requirements. He’s also clearly stayed in shape, looking like the most energetic player on the floor down the stretch despite playing nearly 35 minutes.
The game also served as a referendum on the 2019 NBA Draft, where Memphis picked Morant at No. 2 after the Pelicans selected Zion Williamson. Williamson had 13 points and was 5-of-12 for shooting, getting only half as many rebounds (three) as Morant (six).
Memphis still has a long way to go to make up for their poor start. But with their 24-point comeback and Morant’s return, it’s easier to believe they can climb the standings in the Western Conference.
