Miami is Awful and Manny Diaz Doesn't Seem to Have a Plan

data-mm-id=”_f774lg4sf”>Miami and new head coach Manny Diaz made a lot of noise this offseason. Diaz loudly claimed he wanted to bring swagger back to "The U" and wound up landing a number of big-name transfers. Hype increased and the Hurricanes were expected to show some life this season. That hasn't happened.Miami lost to Florida International 30-24 on Saturday in a monumentally embarrassing upset. The Hurricanes were favored by 21 points and somehow lost to a terrible FIU squad. It was the third time Miami has lost as at least a 14-point favorite this season. It has been 40 years since that happened in college football. With the loss to FIU, Miami becomes the only team in the last 40 years to lose three times as a 14-point favorite in a single season. Canes lost to VT…

Jermaine Jones Just Lit U.S. Soccer on Fire

data-mm-id=”_0jxpagruw”>Jermaine Jones has never been a man to hold back his opinions, and in a new interview with Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl, he went off on the way U.S. Soccer is currently run. Jones often used the phrase "with all due respect" before absolutely annihilating an aspect of the U.S. Soccer system. A brief sampling is below.On Bruce Arena:”“Bruce Arena, with all due respect, is the worst coach I ever had in my whole career. The worst. And he’s like the No. 1 American coach.””More on Arena:”“With all due respect, how can you go from Bob Bradley and Jürgen Klinsmann to Bruce Arena? Like, what are you doing, guys?””On long-time U.S. national team player Tim Ream:”“Tim Ream is not a national team captain, with all due respect. He’s a nice m…

The Burden of Expectations Await the Next Clippers Head Coach

data-mm-id=”_odf5h5gun”>The Los Angeles Clippers blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets, and now wholesale changes are taking place. Adrian Wojnarowski dropped a patented Woj Bomb on Monday evening when he reported Doc Rivers was out as head coach of the team. Coach Doc Rivers is out with the Clippers, sources tell ESPN.— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 28, 2020This is a surprise because it was only Doc's first year with the star pairing of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George that came together last summer. And it was obviously quite a weird year, what with the pandemic cutting the season short and the playoffs taking place in neutral territory while players were, for the most part, unable to see friends or family. Losing a series in seven games after going up 3-1 is definitely…

Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo Upset the Ringer Union During a Podcast

data-mm-id=”_9mvqojlyx”>There is unrest at The Ringer following remarks by two of the site's most high-profile voices on the Bill Simmons podcast that was uploaded to the Internet on Monday. On an episode entitled, "A Truly Sad Week in America, Plus the 2005 NBA Redraftables With Ryen Russillo," Simmons was joined by Ryen Russillo to discuss the protests across America in the wake of George Floyd's death. The discussion did not go over well with co-workers.During the free flowing conversation, Russillo praised Simmons' diverse hiring practices. Via the New York Daily News: ““Look at you, Bill, look at the people you’ve hired, look at the company that you’ve started, look at the jobs and opportunities that you’ve given a diverse group, which I know you�…

Derwin James Suffers Meniscus Injury in Huge Blow to the Chargers

data-mm-id=”_99ynvxstb”>Derwin James was poised to have a big third season for the Los Angeles Chargers, but that's after he suffered a meniscus injury during practice on Sunday. He's expected to be out for a while. The safety is a budding star but missed 11 games last season thanks to a foot injury. A breakout was expected in 2020. That may be on hold.#Chargers star safety Derwin James is likely to miss significant time with a meniscus injury he suffered during today’s practice, I’m told. James was expected to be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate and will now have to wait and see when he will be back on the field.— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 30, 2020This is an enormous blow to the Chargers' defense. James was a sleeper Defensive Player of the Year can…

Bad News for ESPN With Chiefs-Patriots Moved to Monday Night

data-mm-id=”_awk2meeg9″>ESPN is coming off its most successful Monday Night Football broadcast of the season, drawing an average of 14 million viewers, which was up 36 percent year-over-year, for the Chiefs win against the Ravens. Week 4 won't be so kind. With the Chiefs game against the Patriots being moved to Monday night this week following Cam Newton being diagnosed with COVID, ESPN will now be competing against the top broadcast booth in football (Tony Romo and Jim Nantz) and for viewership against CBS. Even worse, it will do so starting from behind. Chiefs-Patriots has been scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET on Monday night and, as mentioned, will be broadcast on CBS. Packers-Falcons will kick off at 8:50 p.m. ET and will broadcast on ESPN. It's kind of like the season-opening …

Kevin Durant and James Harden Have a Long Way to Go to Catch Wilt Chamberlain and York Larese

data-mm-id=”_42fw0pdva”>James Harden and Kevin Durant are off to a heck of a start together in Brooklyn. The Nets have won their first two games since acquiring Harden in a blockbuster trade with Houston. On Monday night they beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 125-123. Harden and Durant combined for 64 points and have scored 138 over their first two games together in Brooklyn, the second-most ever by two new teammates.York's got some "me and Wilt combined for 100 points one night" energy going one here https://t.co/UGt1pUMkhi— CJ Fogler 6'7" IQ 269 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) January 19, 2021That's right. Wilt Chamberlain and York Larese. As for the joke about combining for 100 points with Wilt, that's not quite true. Chamberlain and Larese actually combined…

LeBron James is a Billionaire

data-mm-id=”_t016rwnl3″>LeBron James is the most famous basketball player of the century and everything about his profile supports that claim. LeBron suits up on the court every year but his outside interests are beginning to permeate pop culture with more regularity. He starred in Space Jam 2. He started up his own production company. He invested in the Fenway Sports Group to become a minority owner of the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Liverpool FC. All this happened within the last five or so years. On Thursday, the news we all expected to come eventually appeared: LeBron James has become a billionaire. Per Forbes: After another monster year of earnings–totaling $121.2 million last year–Forbes estimates that James has officially become a billionaire, while still playin…

Pat McAfee Ripped Skip Bayless During ESPYs Speech

data-mm-id=”_s5zpo8jvc”>The 2023 ESPY Awards took place last night and since there was no host for the first time ever there were a variety of speeches given by various personalities. Pat McAfee was tasked with giving the opening monologue, which should not come as a surprise. He is built perfectly for something like this. Coupled with his status as ESPN's newest big-ticket hire and he was always going to get some screentime at the ESPYS this year. McAfee's speech touched upon Damar Hamlin, who was in attendance last night to present the Pat Tillman Award For Service to the Buffalo Bills' training staff. While telling the story of the night the staff saved Hamlin's night McAfee took a shot at Skip Bayless, to the great delight of the crowd. Damar Hamlin is an ABSOLU…

Welcome to Screw York

data-mm-id=”_p0q3t5flh”>The NFL's official bio on X is an homage to a Taylor Swift song. The league's Instagram bio points out that the Kansas City Chiefs are a perfect 2-0 in games the singer has attended. Those contest have come against the truly pathetic Chicago Bears at Arrowhead and the plucky but limited New York Jets across the river from the place Swift famously welcomed people and assured the city had been waiting for them. Swift's newish but intensely covered budding relationship with All-Pro tight end and podcaster Travis Kelce is the platonic ideal of when sports and pop culture merge. It's pure Americana and if given the afternoon to get baked, a person would be able to come up with a 5,000-word thinkpiece about her new era of bringing back the monocult…