As hard as I try, I can’t remember the exact moment that I was introduced to sports. I just know that it has always been a part of my life like the air I breathe. My viewing ranged from basketball, football, baseball, tennis, gymnastics, and swimming, but my love of football and basketball reigns supreme.
When I am not watching, writing, talking or thinking about sports, I love to eat! I am a self-professed foodie and I love to try new restaurants and cuisines. I also love listening to music, dancing, traveling, and bowling.
In this episode of What's The 411Sports, the panel of Keisha Wilson, Bianca Peart and Mike McDonald, are talking about:
• Ronda Rousey's comment about having suicidal thoughts
• Sean Marks, former Assistant Coach, San Antonio Spurs, becomes new General Manager of the Brooklyn Nets
Sean Marks, Brooklyn Nets General Manager
• Peyton Manning's checkered past: what’s in the future for Manning given the sexual harassment allegations against him stemming from University of Tennessee
• Jenrry Mejia gets lifetime ban from Major League Baseball
• Brooklyn Nets new training facility
Brooklyn Nets new Training Facility. Photo Credit: Kathleen Malone Van-Dyke
• Outlook for Brooklyn Nets west coast swing not looking good, but the team’s two standouts continue to be Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young
• New York Knicks interim head coach Kurt Rambis’ Twitter account gets hacked
• Professional boxer and Floyd Mayweather nemesis, Manny Pacquiao, gets dropped by Nike after his disdainful homophobic comments
Edited by: Ruth J. Morrison
Cincinnati Bengal linebacker Vontaze Burfict will be suspended without pay for the first 3 games of the 2016 season.
The suspension comes on the heels of the AFC Wild Card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers where he delivered a hit on Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown knocking him out of the game and the next round of playoffs.
This isn’t the first time that Burfict has found himself on the wrong side of the NFL rulebook. Burfict was fined four times for violations in 2015.
Burfict has the right to appeal the decision.
The Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are set to begin on August 5th and there is an issue that may not be getting the attention it requires.
The Summer Olympics has events that occur on both land and water but there is danger lurking in the water in Rio. According to tests commissioned by The Associated Press, there are high viral and in some instances bacteria counts along shorelines and in the bay or lagoon where aquatic events such as rowing, canoeing and sailing will take place.
As of December 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) only requires Brazil to test for bacterial markers although high viral counts have been recorded. Rio’s waterways are highly contaminated because sewage is not treated. The water contamination is so bad that 6-7% of athletes who competed in pre-Olympic rowing and sailing events in Rio became ill. In their bid to host the Olympics, Brazil promised to clean their waterways by the time the Olympics rolled into town but officials have acknowledged they are falling short of that promise.
The Brooklyn Nets are reportedly interested in pursuing former Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau to fill its vacancy at the head coach position.
Thibodeau, affectionately known as Tibs, coached the Bulls for five seasons winning 65% of his games and reaching the playoffs all five seasons. The Nets are not expected to make a move to fill the coaching vacancy until a new general manager is named. Possible candidates for the GM role are Danny Ferry formerly of the Atlanta Hawks and Bryan Colangelo formerly of the Phoenix Suns and the Toronto Raptors. Both Ferry and Colangelo were general managers at their former organizations.
Tony Brown will continue to act as the interim head coach.
NY Giants announced that offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo has been promoted to the position of head coach. The hiring of McAdoo makes him the second-youngest head coach in the NFL behind the newly crowned Miami Dolphin head coach Adam Gase. Even though other candidates were interviewed, the Giants decided to promote from within thus keeping the continuity that the organization cherishes most. The offense, under McAdoo, has been successful and gave Eli Manning’s statistics a nice boost. It remains to be seen how McAdoo will address the defense which ranked dead last in the league and set all of the wrong records.
Former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has landed in San Francisco. The 49ers have announced the hiring of Chip Kelly as their new head coach. This announcement comes after management fired Jim Tomsula after one season. Unlike the last year of his tenure with the Eagles, Chip Kelly will not be in control of making player personnel decisions, allowing him to solely focus on coaching. In the 49ers, Kelly has two quarterbacks in Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert who can be good fits to run his style of offense but it is also a team that has lost talent due to retirement or trades.
Cleveland Browns hired former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson. Jackson was a hot name in the head coach carousel and was on the interview list for the NY Giants opening. He spurned the stability of the Giants opting to join an organization in transition as the offseason firings affected the head coach position as well as the front office. In his first move as head coach, Jackson will not hire an offensive coordinator opting to the plays himself. While he is not the first or only head coach to call the offense, most coaches still retain the services of offensive coordinators.
Tennessee Titans named former interim coach Mike Mularkey as their new head coach. He had a 2-7 record with the Titans as the interim coach. The Titans also hired a new GM and more changes are likely now that Mularkey has the head coach position. Many of the assistants that he inherited from predecessor Ken Whisenhunt's regime have contracts that expire on February 15th.
Philadelphia Eagles named Doug Pederson as their new head coach. The Eagles pursued former NY Giants head coach Tom Coughlin for the vacancy. All indicators seemed to point to Coughlin taking the reigns but ultimately Coughlin withdrew his name from consideration. Pederson was a quarterbacks coach under former Eagles head coach Andy Reid and Pederson followed Reid to Kansas City becoming an offensive coordinator.
Tampa Buccaneers promoted offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter to head coach replacing former head coach Lovie Smith. Once Smith was let go, it was believed that Koetter was the person management wanted to fill the void.
Three basketball players from Ooltewah High School located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, were charged with raping a fellow teammate while attending a tournament in Gatlinburg, TN on December 22, 2015.
The three teens are charged with aggravated assault and aggravated rape as a result of the incident. The victim was hospitalized and required surgery as a result of the alleged assault.
Although the investigation is ongoing, the school superintendent has cancelled the remainder of the season.
Cleveland Browns backup quarterback Johnny Manziel once again finds himself benched, but this time not by the Cleveland Browns, but by LRMR a marketing agency co-owned by Lebron James. LRMR handled Manziel’s endorsements after he was drafted by the NFL.
CEO and co-founder Maverick Carter released the following statement:
“I will continue to support and advise him as a friend. However, because Johnny needs to focus on personal growth, the next phase of his career and because LRMR continues to expand beyond marketing, we made the mutual decision that it was best to terminate our business relationship.”
The Miami Dolphins hire former Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase as their new head coach, making Gase the youngest head coach in the league.
It is worth noting that Gase will be the ninth head coach for the Dolphins since 2004.
Lovie Smith was fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after two seasons as head coach. The Bucs ended the season with a 6-10 record. The six wins recorded was more than the two acquired during the Smith’s first year in Tampa Bay. The firing came as
The firing came as a surprise for most, as the Bucs with rookie quarterback Jameis Winston, seemed to be on an upswing despite the losing record.
Pop superstar, Beyonce, has been added to the lineup to perform during half-time at NFL Super Bowl 50.
This isn’t the first time that Beyonce will step on the stage during the Super Bowl half-time show. Beyonce previously performed a few years ago at Super Bowl 47 in New Orleans. She joins Coldplay and Bruno Mars on the list of performers.