data-mm-id=”_8xi2v6ja5″>The 2019 NFL regular season was full of surprises. These were the biggest.Ryan TannehillTannehill was a revelation this season for the Titans. A castoff after six years with the Dolphins, he signed a one-year deal with Tennessee to back up Marcus Mariota. He replaced Mariota as the full-time starter on October 13 and never looked back.In 12 games, Tannehill completed 201 of 286 passes (70.3 percent), for 2,741 yards, with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. He led the NFL in yards per attempt (9.6) and passer rating (117.5). In the 10 games he started, the Titans went 7-3, and he led them to a playoff berth. The 2019 season represented quite a renaissance for Tannehill, who could never take his game to the next level in Miami. Now the 31-year-old is in line for a big contract this offseason. San Francisco 49ersThe 49ers had a massive turnaround this season, from 4-12 in 2018 to 13-3, an NFC West title and the top seed in the conference in 2019. Head coach Kyle Shanahan and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh both deserve a ton of credit for San Francisco's incredible transformation. The 49ers ranked fourth in offensive yards per game (381.1), second in rushing yards per game (144.1) and second in points per game (29.9). Defensively, the 49ers ranked second in yards allowed per game (281.8), first in passing yards allowed per game (169.2) and eighth in points allowed per game (19.4). The Baltimore Ravens and 49ers were clearly the best teams in the NFL this season.The 49ers were expected to be improved this year with Jimmy Garoppolo back healthy and an improved defensive front, but no one expected them to dominate the NFC all year. Lamar JacksonI mean, obviously Lamar Jackson is on this list, he's the runaway favorite to win the MVP award. While some expected Jackson to work out in the NFL, very few — if any — experts thought he'd be this good. Jackson was incredible in 2019. He completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 3,127 yards, averaged 7.8 yards per attempt, and had an NFL-best 36 touchdown passes and just six interceptions. He ranked third in the league in passer rating (113.3) and first in QBR (81.7). He also ranked sixth in rushing yards (1,206), averaging an incredible 6.9 yards per rush, which was tops in the NFL. In concert with Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman, Jackson improved dramatically in his second season. He went from completing 58.2 percent of his passes as a rookie, averaging 7.1 yards per attempt and 4.7 yards per rush, to dominating in 2019.Jackson didn't just have a great individual season, he led the Ravens to a 14-2 record and the top seed in the AFC. He earned every bit of his almost certainly incoming MVP award.Shaquil BarrettWhere they heck did this come from? In four seasons with the Denver Broncos, Barrett had 14 sacks. In his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he led the NFL with 19.5, and also forced six fumbles. How did this happen all of a sudden? What changed to suddenly make him one of the NFL's best edge rushers?Barrett was undrafted out of Colorado State in 2014 but became a rotation player in Denver. The Buccaneers gave him a one-year deal this offseason and he's elevated himself to an All-Pro level in Tampa. Barrett is in contention to be named Defensive Player of the Year and is one of the best stories of the 2019 season.
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data-mm-id=”_4ciphuaf6″>The NBA season has been postponed. The timeline for its return remains undetermined, but the possibility of playing games with no fans has already been floated as everyone tries to figure out the best and safest way for basketball to re-enter our lives. LeBron James expressed his reservations about playing with no crowd earlier this week, saying there's no excitement or joy without fans; the idea of sports is not complete without fans, and LeBron doesn't see much of a difference between a playoff game and a scrimmage if there's no one in the arena. Jay Williams went on Get Up on Friday afternoon to argue that sports are important enough to enough people that, if the NBA decides it's the best course of action, LeBron and his peers should play …
data-mm-id=”_gc2q9h3s9″>There are a lot of really fast players in the NFL. But there's speed, and then there's speed. Julio Jones is fast, but he isn't DeSean Jackson fast. It seems a small difference, but when we're talking about fast versus really fast, the gap is larger than one might think. Tyreek Hill has made a very good case over the last few seasons to be considered the fastest receiver in the league. It usually only takes watching a quarter or so of Chiefs football before you'll see Hill streaking behind the defense with a Patrick Mahomes pass arriving right on time. Marquise Goodwin is probably one of the few receivers who could make an equally strong case to be the swiftest wideout in the land. Hill decided he didn't want to leave this to hypoth…
data-mm-id=”_s4i66xaa6″>The Ivy League is set to cancel all fall sports in a move that could reverberate nationwide. Sources: Ivy League programs have been informed that fall sports have been cancelled.The conference will not entertain any sports being played until after January 1st.Winter sports will have an update in mid-July on their respective practice schedules.— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 8, 2020The conference won't entertain any sports competitions until after January 1. That obviously means several winter sports that begin during the fall will have shortened seasons on top of the fall sports disappearing for the year. That's an enormous move, and the Patriot League could be following closely behind. Ivy League schools don't rely on the money generated f…
data-mm-id=”_iv2is8awu”>On Monday we learned that Indiana Pacers star Victor Oladipo is looking to move on this offseason via The Athletic. Oladipo became an All-Star during the 2017-18 season as the former No. 2 overall pick realized his potential in Indiana. But back-to-back injury riddled seasons have lessened the 28-year-old's value as he's been trying to lock down a contract extension with the Pacers. The two sides are far apart and it feels like they are headed for a breakup. During his last fully healthy season (2017-18), Oladipo was a lockdown perimeter defender who averaged 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from 3-point range. He also showed a penchant for hitting clutch shots. Oladipo still…
data-mm-id=”_2sc2n6x5t”>The New Orleans Saints beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-3, on Sunday Night Football. Jameis Winston even got in the game against his former squad in the fourth quarter as both teams waited for the clock to hit zero. After the game Drew Brees was interviewed by NBC and was interrupted by teammates making faces and calling him the "real GOAT." And it also featured another appearance by Jameis.Jameis eating Ws again pic.twitter.com/xcPVsqdznu— CJ Fogler #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) November 9, 2020Yes, Jameis Winston again ate a "W" on camera. This was perhaps the most famous thing he did as a member of the Bucs.What an incredibly awkward moment that remains three years later. The fact that he revisited it after this win is actually kind of cha…
data-mm-id=”_58lsc4gon”>Craig Kimbrel was making his third appearance as a member of the Chicago White Sox on Friday in a game against the team that traded him to the South Side last week. Kimbrel entered the game against his former team with a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the 8th. The Cubs didn't let him enjoy his return. Kimbrel opened the inning by allowing a single to Matt Duffy. He followed that up by getting Ian Happ to fly out to left, but Frank Schwindel added a one-out single to center that moved Duffy to second. Greg Deichmann followed with a pop out to short and it looked as if Kimbrel would avoid the damage. Andrew Romine had other plans. Kimbrel fell behind Romine 2-0, but a foul ball and a swinging strike on a 96 mph fastball evened the count. The eight-time All-Star cl…
data-mm-id=”_4rgy7lobu”>Ted Lasso has returned, starting its third and final season with two very long episodes. During the second episode, which dropped a night early on AppleTV, there is a scene where the eponymous coach played by Jason Sudeikis makes a reference to Hallmark Christmas movies and no one knows what that means because they apparently don't have those in England (or the various other places Richmond AFC players are from). This leads to Sudeikis explaining what a Hallmark Christmas movie is to Roy Kent (played by Brett Goldstein). It is the most perfect and succint explanation of the genre possible. I liked Ted Lasso explaining what a Hallmark Christmas movie is. pic.twitter.com/K8rLZY9LmO— Jawn Cena (@27inchZenith) March 22, 2023More Articles About Christmas Shows…
data-mm-id=”_joxvqhfy6″>Takeo Spikes was invited to come pump the crowd and watch the Buffalo Bills-Las Vegas Raiders game from a suite at Highmark Stadium yesterday, which is a nice reward for four years of service. The linebacker was not thrilled with the accommodations, though, and put the team on blast via X, showing a picture of his obstructed view. A situation so unacceptable he simply had to leave. Congrats to @BuffaloBills for getting a dominant win in home opener. I wish I could've stayed for the entire game but seating accomodations were NOT the standard. How you gonna have the @NFLLegends supporting with this obstructed sample size of a view!? Felt like I was in timeout https://t.co/RT8kAvLomK pic.twitter.com/DTBDMmccJX— Takeo Spikes, M.B.A (@TakeoSpikes51) September …
data-mm-id=”_544gm0u10″>The Dallas Cowboys were embarrassed by the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, losing 28-16 in the biggest upset of the 2023 NFL season so far. After the game, as expected, Stephen A. Smith took to social media to troll the Cowboys and their fans. Check it out:Haaaaaaa pic.twitter.com/xj1b2WWsjP— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) September 24, 2023He does this every time the Cowboys suffer a bad loss and you can basically set your watch by it. Frankly, I don't even think he does it to troll anyone other than his former partner, Cowboys superfan Skip Bayless. Skip had his own reaction to Sunday's performance. Spoiler alert: he isn't happy. Smith had a right to troll. The Cowboys entered the game looking like the best team in the NFL and completely laid a…
data-mm-id=”_whqivmjhg”>The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday. Taylor Swift was not in attendance, which pretty much explains all the of the Chiefs' struggles. It's hard not to believe that Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropped that easy touchdown from Patrick Mahomes or Travis Kelce played poorly again just because Swift chose to stay in Argentina, rather than travel to Missouri to sit next to her boyfriend's mom during the game. Of course, if she had been in attendance, we only have a small sample size saying the Chiefs would have won and Kelce would have excelled. Perhaps it really would have been like the final match in Dodgeball with Travis Kelce playing Justin Long's character and Taylor Swift distracting him with her proclimation of love ri…