Catégorie : Sport News

While NASCAR drivers may draft various plans for their off-season, two staples are almost always on their agenda: quality time with family and catching up on NFL games. Despite stock car racing’s popularity as the country’s most-watched motorsport genre, a recent event highlighted the contrasting popularity of the two leagues.

2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick recently attended to support the Carolina Panthers in their game against the Dallas Cowboys with his son Keelan. Before the 1 p.m. ET kickoff, Panthers safety Sam Franklin Jr. stopped by to greet the father-son duo. Franklin and Keelan quickly created a unique handshake on the spot, earning a proud smile from Harvick, who watched from the sidelines.

The NFL later shared the moment on their official X account, captioning the video, “Sam Franklin Jr. has an incredible handshake with this young fan.”

However, the post didn’t sit well with many NASCAR fans, who noted the lack of acknowledgment for Harvick in the caption. Fans expressed disappointment, feeling it reflected NASCAR’s lower visibility compared to the NFL, with some suggesting it highlighted the gap in recognition between the two sports.

Comments quickly flooded the post. One fan remarked, “If im nascar this is embarrassing, the nfl just called a former cup series and daytona 500 champions son some random ‘young fan’ lmfao.” Another wrote, “NASCAR so irrelevant the NFL admin posted Kevin Harvick the f**king 2014 Cup Series champ like hes just some nobody at a game thats crazy dawg.”

A third chimed in, “Damn they did harvick and his son dirty. Acting like they just some random ass fans. Thats a nascar champion with 60 career wins with his son. Just tells you how niche nascar has become unfortunately.”

While NASCAR continues to expand its reach, the game served as a clear reminder of the NFL’s dominant place in American sports culture.

Despite prominent examples from the league such as Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing; Terry Bradshaw, former owner of Fitz Bradshaw Racing; and Dan Marino, former owner of Elliott-Marino Racing leaving their mark in the racing series, it’s an undeniable fact that NASCAR doesn’t quite match the NFL’s massive popularity.

Ryan Blaney believes NASCAR offers better fan engagement than NBA or NFL

While many NASCAR drivers such as Bubba Wallace (a Tennessee Vols supporter),  Austin Dillon, and Todd Gilliland (Carolina Panthers fans) have a strong affinity for the NFL, Ryan Blaney believes NASCAR stands head and shoulders above other sports when it comes to fan interaction.

In a 2024 interview, the #12 Team Penske driver shared his perspective: “I think it’s something that NASCAR does really well is that access and that experience. I think we do it better than any other sporting event. I look at baseball and football and basketball, you’re not really meeting the players or the athletes before the game. You can still see the athletes up close and personal.”

It would be intriguing to hear what seasoned drivers like Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick might say on the topic, now that the dust has seemingly settled amongst the fanbase.

Max Verstappen has been the top driver in the F1 world for the last four seasons, and according to Nate Saunders, Mercedes is the only team that has actually cracked the code that could bring the Dutchman down.

The F1 journalist believes that the Silver Arrows know that they must fight fire with fire to defeat Verstappen. “Other drivers and teams are now realizing ‘if I’ve got the car to do it, that’s not going to be enough against Max’,” he said on the ESPN Unlapped podcast.

Saunders went on to highlight how Zak Brown and McLaren too, tried playing mind games by throwing in words in front of the media. However, this attempt to get under Verstappen’s skin turned out to be unsuccessful, as Lando Norris‘ title charge ended with two race weekends remaining.

At the end of the day, the team that had gotten closest to Verstappen in recent years was Mercedes in 2021. While Lewis Hamilton narrowly—some would say unfairly—lost out on the Drivers’ Championship, the 27-year-old was given a proper run for his money.

But McLaren’s 2024 season was not all that bad. The Woking-based team won its first Constructors’ Championship since 1998, perhaps by taking full advantage of Red Bull’s on and off-track misery.

McLaren and Red Bull’s war of words

All the talking this season wasn’t just happening on the track. From day one, controversy surrounded the Red Bull camp, beginning with the ‘inappropriate behavior’ complaint against Christian Horner. This led Brown to reveal that he had received numerous CVs from employees of the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Red Bull then responded by pointing out McLaren’s mini-DRS exploit to the FIA, with the Woking-based team reporting a potential differential braking device on the RB20.

Norris even joined in, describing Verstappen’s outstanding Sao Paulo GP win as a matter of luck rather than talent. The #4 driver quickly backtracked on his statement at the FIA’s Prize Giving Ceremony earlier this week, but the stage is set for more verbal jabs if both teams field competitive cars again in 2025.

After a semi-successful Buffs season, rumors started going around about Coach Prime heading out of Colorado for greener pastures. However, everyone, including the Coach himself, has denied any such plans in his future. Now, Momma Connie has put the final nail in the coffin of said rumors.

Ahead of the Heisman ceremony on Saturday, Travis Hunter told reporters, in no uncertain words, that Deion Sanders is not leaving Colorado next season. He said,

“Yeah, I got a lot of insight. He ain’t going nowhere. He’ll be right where he at right now.”

Momma Connie, Coach Prime’s mother, endorsed Hunter’s message as she shared his quotes from the presser on her Instagram. If she’s said it, it really must be true.

Sanders himself has said that he does not have an interest in leaving Colorado. In multiple interviews, he has denied any plans of moving to the big leagues along with his sons:

“I love it where I am. I love it where I am,” Sanders said in November.

The Buffaloes were 1-11 before he arrived. They went 4-8 last season and are 9-3 this season. Some would say that Sanders has already proven that he can turn around a Division I program and that he no longer has any reason to stay.

But waiting in Colorado is an impending loss of talent. Both Hunter and Shedeur, arguably the biggest talents of the Buffs unit are slated to leave the world of college football and declare for the draft. It can be argued that there’s much left to be done in Colorado.

With both Hunter and Shedeur leaving, Coach Prime will have an even bigger challenge on his hands as he basically tries to build up the program from scratch all over again. Will he be up for the challenge or is he really going to move to the NFL with his sons, like many still speculate?

Jared Goff’s model wife, Christen Goff, stole the spotlight with her stunning outfit while the Detroit Lions struggled against the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field. Christen chose the Lions’ blue theme for her pre-game attire, donning a Lioness Countryside top ($79) for the Week 15 game.

The former SI Swimsuit model paired it with Agolde Dame Jeans ($258), bringing the total cost of her outfit to $337. This collaboration, in partnership with Shopbop also saw Christen share a few stunning snaps of her ensemble on Instagram, wowing fans and the NFL WAGs alike.

Impressed by Christen, NFL’s very own fashion designer and 49ers’ star Kyle Juszczyk’s wife, Kristin Juszczyk, posted an adorable comment, saying, “Face of an angel.” Meanwhile, SI Swimsuit model Katie Austin, who loved Christen’s selection, observed, “Influencing me. I need this fit.”

Another fashion model, Mara Martin, admitted she is “obsessed with this outfit.” And, famous influencer Tatiana Maerrit chimed in with, “So pretty! Love the fit!”. 

Earlier in the game, Christen also posted a mirror selfie with her stylish outfit, where she offered her support to the team.

At present, the Lions have the best odds (+260), with a 26 percent chance of winning the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are a distant second (+450) in the race. 

For the past week, Jimmy Butler and the Heat parting ways has been touted as a matter of if and not when. Reportedly, the forward even has a list of preferred trade destinations, which includes the Warriors, Rockets, and Mavericks. Despite all signs pointing to a divorce between the two parties, Marc Stein believes the chatter is a bit overblown.

During an appearance on the ALL NBA Podcast, the insider poured cold water on the suggestions that Butler leaving the Heat is imminent. Not only is no deal in the pipeline, but he believes there’s a good chance it won’t happen. Explaining why, Stein said,

“[The Heat] in a tough situation because he’s only got one year left on his deal, it’s a player option. All the noise has been that he’s prepared to decline it and go into free agency… If that’s the case, Miami has to listen. They have to explore their options. It’s hard to imagine an in-season trade again because the number is so significant.”

Several teams would love to add Butler to their roster. However, as Stein explained, his contract is a deterrent to many franchises. Of the teams interested in him, only a handful have the assets and the cap space to accommodate the forward’s $48.8 million salary.

The six-time All-Star has a contract until 2026 but has a player option for next season. He’ll likely opt out and test free agency. Trading for a player who could leave for nothing in a few months is not a risk many teams would be willing to take. There’s still a chance of the Heat offering him a contract extension. However, the odds are minuscule.

Butler and the Heat’s contract differences

Before the 2024-25 season commenced, the Heat and Butler were reportedly engaged in contract extension talks. The forward wanted a max deal but the Heat didn’t want to commit long-term money to the 35-year-old forward. The two parties couldn’t find a middle ground and given the team’s history, it’s likely he’s on his way out.

Heat president Pat Riley isn’t afraid of letting superstars walk out the door. He traded Shaquille O’Neal to the Suns in 2008 only 18 months after the center helped the team win a championship. He won’t think twice before letting Butler leave if he believes it’s the right call.

Riley and the Heat would prefer trading the forward rather than letting him walk for nothing in the summer. The veteran executive will prioritize getting assets back for the forward and won’t shy away from trading him to a team he doesn’t want to join if they offer the best package.

As much as Riley appreciates everything Butler has done for the Heat, it’s a business at the end of the day. The franchise’s well-being has and always will triumph over a player’s wishes.

Bruce Bochy and the Texas Rangers went from world series champions to a third place team that won just seventy-eight games in 2024.

Injuries weren’t the entire story of the fall but they sure didn’t help. There were also a few players that simply underperformed.

Shortstop Corey Seager missed another thirty-nine games, finally shut down in September to undergo surgery for a sports hernia. Seager missed more time the previous season but played in all seventeen post season games.

Outfielder Evan Carter was projected for a huge first full season after blossoming late in 2023 and helping through the playoffs. He managed just seventy-five plate appearances in twenty-three games. A back injury ruining the twenty-one year old’s season.

Josh Jung the AL’s all star starter at third base in 2023, was hit by a pitch and broke his wrist April first. He was out until the all star break and wound up playing only forty-eight games.

ALCS MVP comes up short

Outfielder Adolis Garcia departed in September with a sprained patella tendon. He went from thirty-nine homers to twenty five and watched his OPS+ fall off a cliff from 127 to an under league average 94. That was after he mashed in the previous post season –  323/382/726.

The drop off was much the same for second baseman Marcus Semien, who went from a league best 7.4 WAR season to 4.1. Same for center fielder Leody Taveras, OPS+ from exactly league average 100 to 84.

Tavares may actually have lost his job going forward. With the recent trade for slugger Jake Burger, He most likely will grab the DH spot and with an outfield of Garcia, a healthy Carter in center and former number four overall draft choice Wyatt Langford, leaving Taveras on the outside.

The great deGrom needs health

Jacob deGrom staying healthy looks paramount. The right hander looked his same old dominant self in three late season starts. That’s just ten outings in two seasons after signing for $185 million over five years. Thirty five starts in four years because of injuries.

But a healthy deGrom plus the return of free agent Nathan Eovaldi, the hopefully recovered Tyler Mahle who has also been limited by arm woes with just twelve starts in three years. The steady Jon Gray, the emerging Cody Bradford and top prospect Kumar Rocker would give Texas a solid rotation.

After prayers for all those injured players, all they need is to once again find a closer as the ressurected Kirby Yates has left for free agency. The Rangers could contend again especially with Houston trending in the other direction.

Coleridge Bernard Stroud III, father of Houston Texans QB CJ Stroud, has missed the majority of his son’s life after getting sentenced to 38 years in prison in 2015.

During that nine-year absence, CJ went from a high school athlete to a college star and then an NFL quarterback, now leading the Texans to great heights. Bernard Stroud missed all that time, never even being able to watch his son play — something that was the result of his poor choices, which, as he admitted, stemmed from his drug use.

“I knew that the drugs were the catalyst behind my poor choices and bad decisions that I made,” Bernard Stroud said during an interview with Between The Lines.

He also stated that after getting incarcerated, there were no programs available to him (in jail) that could help him turn his life around. Getting rid of bad habits and adopting good ones, for starters. So, he decided to try his own method and reach out to the one entity he could always count on: God.

Bernard Stroud is currently serving his time at Folsom State Prison. As he revealed in the video, a group of men, including him, started reading the “Word of God” there. And they started taking “ownership” of why they had been incarcerated.

With this, Bernard Stroud was able to achieve, what he claims, “a renewed mind” that no longer conforms to the old, bad habits he once had.

Despite the progress Bernard Stroud seems to have made in his rehabilitation, sadly, he won’t be eligible for parole until the year 2040. He will turn 74 that year.

His 4-decade-long sentence came after Bernard Stroud pleaded guilty to charges like carjacking, robbery, kidnapping, reckless driving, evading an officer, and misdemeanor sexual battery. This long sentence followed what is reported as an incident in which Bernard jumped into San Diego Bay to escape from police after trying to rob a woman’s car, and even demanding her to take him somewhere for the purchase of drugs.

Bernard’s criminal record doesn’t end there; he also had several run-ins with the law in the ’90s, including convictions for armed robbery, illegal drug possession, and more.

CJ, who was distant from his father a few years ago, now sees him as a changed man. The star quarterback has been advocating for prison reforms for a while, even speaking about his father in his speeches. He once wore ‘Free Pops‘ on his sneakers to a game.

Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes career came to an end last weekend, bringing down the curtains on one of F1’s most fruitful partnerships. Hamilton had been a part of Mercedes’ program since his junior days and went on to win six titles for the team, which actually made all scenarios for his potential exit almost unfathomable.

Since Mercedes’ slump began in 2022 with the onset of new regulations, Hamilton‘s struggles began. But sacking him did not even cross Toto Wolff‘s mind, even though the Mercedes team principal had a replacement in Kimi Antonello lined up.

As such, Wolff was glad when Hamilton decided to leave on his own. “I couldn’t make the decision from a personal standpoint,” he said. “We owe him so much.”

Presumably having given up on Mercedes’ ability to field a championship-winning car, Hamilton announced that he would be leaving in 2025. Wolff, however, suggested that Hamilton may have understood Mercedes wanting to put Antonelli in his place regardless. “It was something that I almost had in the back of my mind that that would happen.” 

Antonelli’s signing was an inevitability

Wolff once had the opportunity to sign Max Verstappen even before the now four-time champion was a part of the Red Bull family. However, his apprehension in putting a 17-year-old Verstappen in the F1 seat led to the Dutchman pulling away, and causing him so much headache in the years to come.

Wolff wasn’t going to let the same happen to Antonelli. “It’s just a bit surreal but we had this 17-year-old in the pipeline,” Wolff revealed about Antonelli.

Antonelli will be filling in big shoes in 2025 and will arrive in the F1 paddock as one of the biggest talents in motorsports today. After skipping F3 to compete directly in F2, the Italian driver finished P6 with 113 points in his rookie season, which was enough for Mercedes to sign him.

However, he will have to deal with the pressure of replacing Hamilton and also the comparisons with Verstappen. Both World Champions had flawless rookie seasons in their respective cars, and Antonelli will be hoping for the same.

The 2024-2025 NBA season hasn’t started as the Nuggets envisioned. They are sixth in the Western Conference with a 13-10 record. However, it could have been much worse had Nikola Jokic not been in MVP form. Denver has realized they need more firepower, perhaps another star player, to save the season. But Marc Stein believes they cannot trade for one because they don’t have the resources for it.

On the ALL NBA Podcast, the NBA insider downplayed the possibility of the Nuggets making a groundbreaking move before the trade deadline. He said,

“Let’s face it, the Nuggets would love to make a trade. I mean, I’ve been hearing that now for over a week. Not just that they’re looking but they’re eager to try to do something to shake things up. But again, the Nuggets just have a very limited supply of tradable assests.”

Denver is in dire straits. They have exceeded the second apron of the salary cap and are only allowed to make one-for-one trades. They don’t want to trade Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., and Jamal Murray, who are the only players on the roster worth a dime.

They’ll either have to part ways with one of their key players or see the season out with their current roster. However, opting for the latter is a dangerous ploy given how poorly the team has played this season.

Nuggets are failing to capitalize on Jokic’s career season

Nikola Jokic is already the reigning MVP. However, this season, he has elevated his production even further to make up for his teammate’s deficiencies. His 31.4 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game are the only reason Denver is above .500.

Jamal Murray, the Robin to Jokic’s Batman, has been of little help to the Serbian center this year. He’s averaging only 17.9 points per game, the lowest mark since his sophomore season. The Canadian guard signed a four-year, $207 million contract extension in the offseason, which kicks in next year.

The Nuggets cannot trade him as no team will likely give anything of value in return due to his upcoming deal. Denver has no choice but to hope he finds his form as the season progresses. If he doesn’t, Jokic’s historic season will go to waste.

Patrick Mahomes’ mother, Randi, keeps her fans abreast of her day-to-day life through her online presence. In her latest excursion, she took a trip to New York City with her kids, Jackson and Mia.

And it seems they had a great time, as Randi shared a carousel of pictures from the trip on her Instagram story. Her flight home, however, was delayed—a potential sour note to the trip—but it was brightened by a comment from another traveler.

Randi tweeted on X that she overheard someone saying there were too many Chiefs fans at the airport while she was waiting for her flight. The remark brought a smile to her face.

Of course, the mother of Mahomes is going to enjoy seeing red in enemy territory. But clearly, some New Yorkers were sick of it. The post riled up support for Randi and her Chiefs fans, though, with some noting how the Chiefs kingdom, a term used to describe their passionate fanbase, has no boundaries.

Randi’s Instagram page also featured fun pictures and videos that detailed her and her kids’ experience in the city. She first showed her kids how to flag down a taxi — something that has become archaic with the invention of Uber.

The trio also went to Louis Vuitton and took a picture of the cafe, and of course, Times Square, as that’s the number one tourist attraction in the city. Randi also shared a picture of Saturday Night Live bracelets at the show.

Randi rounded out her series of stories with a photo of her with comedian and actor Adam Sandler. She then posted another photo with musician Gracie Abrams. Her final picture on her story was a photo at the Rockefeller Center with SNL star Heidi Gardner.

All in all, it looked like a fun trip for the mother of the NFL star and her kids. They hit all the main attractions the city has to offer while also getting to meet A and B-list celebrities. And while nobody likes dealing with a flight delay at the end of their trip, it allowed Randi to hear a quote that arguably made her day.