Month: November 2021

Ravens WR Rashod Bateman buys mother a car on his 22nd birthday

Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman bought his mother a new car for his 22nd birthday

The Baltimore Ravens selected wide receiver Rashod Bateman with the 27th overall pick in the 2021 draft. He has proven to be a great fit on the field for the team, he’s also shown that he’s an even better person off of it.

Bateman turned 22 years old on November 29th, and celebrated in a big way. He bought a car, but not for himself. Instead, he gifted it to his mother, who has been a big part of his life. The moment that Batemen showed his mom the car was documented on video, and she was extremely excited to see her new ride.

The moment between Bateman and his mother is extremely heartwarming. It has been well documented how close the two are, and the wide receiver is saying thank you for all that she’s done for him by gifting her a Mercedes-Benz.

Jags open as massive underdogs to Rams

The Jags’ matchup with the Rams consists of the highest spread margin of Week 13 currently.

The Los Angeles Rams may be enduring a three-game skid at the moment, but that hasn’t stopped oddsmakers from viewing them as heavy favorites this Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In fact, according to Tipico Sports, they have entered the week as 12.5-point favorites against the Cardiac Cats, who will be making a cross-country trip to SoFi Stadium.

With both teams on opposite ends of the spectrum, their spread marks the biggest of the week so far, with the Atlanta Falcons’ and Tampa Bay Bucs’ game coming in second place (11.5-point spread).

Here’s the money line and over/under from Tipico, too:

Spread Moneyline Total Points
Jacksonville Jaguars -12.5

-110

 +520 O 47.5
-115
Los Angeles Rams +12.5

-110

 800 U 47.5

-1o5

Sunday’s game will present an uncommon matchup as both teams have only met five times. In addition to their struggles on the west coast, the Jags have struggled against the Rams and will come into Sunday with a 1-4 record against them.

When looking at Sunday’s game, a lot will depend on which starting quarterback can get their mojo back between Trevor Lawrence and Matthew Stafford, both of whom haven’t been overly impressive through their team’s three-game skids. For Lawrence, it’s mostly due to the absence of talent around him, but he started to garner some momentum towards the end of Sunday’s game against the Falcons.

As for Stafford, he’s thrown at least a pick-six in each of his last three games. That could give the Jags’ defense a great deal of confidence heading forward after causing Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan to have a rocky performance Sunday. If they have similar success (or more), the game could be closer than expected, although the Rams should still come out victorious.

The Jags will hope to get their second win since the bye week and start December on a high note. The game is set to kickoff at 4:05 p.m. EST on FOX after originally being set for 4:25 p.m. EST on CBS.

Wisconsin LB Jack Sanborn earns All-Big Ten honors

The Badger linebacker earns a conference honor

Tuesday was a predictably eventful day for Wisconsin’s linebackers, as the Big Ten football season awards were announced.

While Wisconsin linebacker Leo Chenal took home Big Ten linebacker of the year honors, both Chenal and Jack Sanborn were named as All-Big Ten First Team linebackers.

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Sanborn finished the 2021 regular season with 38 solo tackles, 3.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery while appearing in every Badger game aside from the Michigan contest.

Wisconsin’s linebackers join Badger left guard Josh Seltzner as the UW representatives on the All-Big Ten First Team in 2021. The only defensive position to be solely represented by one school was linebacker, with both choices coming from the Badger unit.

Haskell Garrett named First-Team All-Big Ten Conference

Haskell Garrett is a first-team all-Big Ten performer. #GoBucks

Haskell Garrett, the heart and soul of the Ohio State defense, has been named First-Team All-Conference. The Big Ten announced the defensive all-conference performers earlier today as the players were voted on by conference coaches as well as members of the media.

Garrett came back to OSU after many thought he would leave for the NFL upon completion of the 2020 season. The defensive tackle was named a captain, being recognized as a leader on the team.

Big No. 92 led the Buckeyes with 5.5 sacks and was tied for the team lead with Zach Harrison with seven total tackles for loss.

Other Buckeyes on the defensive side of the ball to earn all-conference honors were Zach Harrison, Tyreke Smith, and Ronnie Hickman all earning second-team, while true freshman Denzel Burke garnered third-team honors.

Eight Buckeyes were named honorable mention which included Sevyn Banks, Cam Brown, Steele Chambers, Tommy Eichenberg, Antwuan Jackson, Bryson Shaw, Taron Vincent, and Tyliek Williams.

Noah Ruggles was named the Big Ten’s second-team all-Big Ten kicker and true freshman Emeka Egbuka was named honorable mention as a kick returner.

The Big Ten will announce the all-conference performers on the offensive side of the ball Wednesday, December 1.

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Clemson unable to overcome slow start in road loss at Rutgers

In a rematch of the opening round of last season’s NCAA Tournament, Clemson was unable to exact revenge. The Tigers fell 74-64 to Rutgers in the ACC/BIG Ten Challenge at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J. Despite David Collins turning in his …

In a rematch of the opening round of last season’s NCAA Tournament, Clemson was unable to exact revenge.

The Tigers fell 74-64 to Rutgers in the ACC/BIG Ten Challenge at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J.

Despite David Collins turning in his most impressive performance in a Clemson uniform — he recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards — the Tigers were unable to overcome an ice-cold first half, while also losing their best player to foul trouble.

While Clemson played exceptional defense throughout the course of the first half, the Tigers experienced similar struggles that have plagued them through the season’s first seven games.

Clemson went on a five-minute scoring drought in which it missed 10 consecutive shots. The Tigers finished the first frame shooting 9-of-27 from the field and 1-of-9 from beyond the arc.

What the Tigers struggled with the most was finding a way to attack Rutgers’ zone defense. While they had plenty of good looks, they just couldn’t find a way to finish.

They finally got those shots to start falling, as Clemson had a much better shooting performance in the second frame, finishing the game 23-of-59 from the field and 4-of-17 from deep.

And with just over 12 minutes remaining, they even got the lead down to just 1. Instead of letting Clemson take advantage of the momentum created, Rutgers didn’t flinch. The Scarlet Knights changed their fortunes and were able to take control of the game from there.

Nick Honor scored Clemson’s first points of the game, making a 3-point shot with 16 minutes and 50 seconds remaining in the first half. The Tigers then missed 10 straight shots from deep before Collins hit a crucial shot from the top of the key.

Al-Amir Dawes, who was held scoreless well into the second half, hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, capping off a 13-4 run.

While Clemson made its run, it’s only fair to assume that Rutgers would do the same.

In the first half, Clemson turned over the ball six times and saw three of its starters — Collins, P.J. Hall, and Hunter Tyson — all pick up two fouls in the game’s first 20 minutes.

At the beginning of the second half, Hall instantly picked up his third foul. However, Brownell left him in the game, hoping that his best player could get Clemson back into the game, and then he picked up his fourth foul shortly thereafter.

With 18:26 remaining in the game, Hall went to the bench. He didn’t re-enter the game for another 10 minutes.

After starting 2-of-9 from the field, Hall bounced back to finish with 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting. He fouled out with 4:07 remaining in the game on a foul call that was questionable, to say the least.

His absence down the stretch proved to be crucial against a physical Scarlet Knights team that has a lot of size and length.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

Ravens protect four players on practice squad ahead of Week 13

The Ravens protected four players on their practice squad ahead of their Week 13 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers

The Baltimore Ravens have done plenty of practice squad shuffling over the course of the 2021 season. They have used their elevations every week in order to get more contributors onto their roster for game day, and they have paid off, sometimes in a big way.

On Tuesday, Baltimore protected four players on their practice squad ahead of their Week 13 game with the Pittsburgh Steelers in quarterback Chris Streveler, offensive lineman David Sharpe, guard/defensive lineman Kahlil McKenzie, and defensive back Kevin Toliver.

Streveler was signed to the Ravens’ practice squad on Monday in place of fellow quarterback Kenji Bahar. Sharpe and McKenzie can provide some offensive line depth, with McKenzie also being able to play defensive line. Toliver could be a key piece in the secondary depending on how thin they are at the position come Sunday.

Washington places Joey Slye on IR, signs another former Virginia Tech kicker to replace him

Washington placed kicker Joey Slye on IR and signed former college teammate, Brian Johnson, to replace him on the roster.

The Washington Football Team placed kicker Joey Slye on injured reserve with a designation to return on Monday, meaning he will miss a minimum of three weeks. Slye pulled his left hamstring in the first half of Monday’s win over the Seahawks.

Replacing Slye on the roster will be Brian Johnson, who Washington signed off the Chicago Bears practice squad. An interesting note about Johnson is he was the kicker who replaced Slye at Virginia Tech.

Johnson entered the league in 2021 as the Bears signed him as an undrafted free agent. He remained on the practice squad until the Saints signed him to their active roster on Oct. 12. Johnson kicked in four games for the Saints before he was waived on Nov. 19. Four days later, Chicago signed him back to its practice squad.

In those four games, Johnson all eight of his field-goal attempts, including one from 52 yards. However, he missed three of his eight point-after attempts, leading to his release.

Johnson, a Washington, D.C. native from Gonzaga High School, improved each season at Virginia Tech. He never missed a PAT in college and hit three field goals from over 50 yards in his senior season.

Johnson becomes Washington’s fourth kicker of the season. Slye had solidified the position since signing earlier in November. He made all six of his field-goal attempts and five of his six PATs. The one he missed on Monday night was blocked and returned for two points. That’s also when he was injured.

Slye is expected to return as Washington’s kicker once he’s healthy.

Brooklyn Nets player grades: Nets show Knicks why they run New York in win

James Harden and Kevin Durant combine for 61 points to help defeat the Knicks. Here are the player grades from Tuesday night.

In what was a revival of a nine-year rivalry between the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks on Tuesday, the two Eastern Conference contenders delivered a thriller in their first meeting of the season. After it was all said and done though, the Nets showed exactly why they still run New York.

James Harden (34 PTS, 10 REBS, 8 ASTS) was a man on a mission to start, scoring 15 points in just the first quarter on 4-of-5 accuracy from the field. He helped to set the tone with Kevin Durant (27 PTS, 9-23 FG) not looking as sharp as he usually is on any other given night.

Brooklyn made sure to put pressure on New York’s defense all game by attacking the interior and it paid off. They got to the line to shoot 25 times and overall, the team scored 46 points in the paint. Getting buckets in the paint has been something that Nets head coach Steve Nash has stressed in these early stages of the campaign.

After building a 16-point lead, it seemed like the Nets where in control of the game going into the final period. Well, that was until New York finished the third quarter on a 16-4 run. This helped to trim the deficit to a four-point lead to go into those final 12 minutes.

It came down to the final two possessions of the game to decide a winner. With the score knotted up at 110, James Johnson (7 PTS, 2 REBS) was the hero for Brooklyn after making himself an option for Durant with mere seconds left in the game after he was getting doubled.

Johnson drove and got to the free-throw line, where he sealed the deal for the Nets. With no timeouts and just 2.2 seconds left in the game, Evan Fournier (13 PTS) put up a shot from half-court, but it didn’t fall.

Nash and his squad will look to keep the momentum going on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Barclays Center.

How to watch Wisconsin volleyball’s NCAA Tournament opener

The Badgers begin their NCAA Tournament journey against Colgate

Wisconsin volleyball will once again host the first portion of the NCAA Tournament as the Badgers secured a top four seed in the Big Dance.

The Badgers will face Colgate in the first round, with the start time set for 7 p.m. CT at the UW Field House on Friday. Friday’s UW Field House slate begins with Texas Tech vs. FGCU at 4:30 p.m. CT.

The first two Badger matches (assuming they can take care of Colgate) will be streamed on ESPN+. If Wisconsin can beat the Patriot League champs, the Badgers will face the winner of Texas Tech vs. FGCU at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday.

Vikings have tryout with RB Kerryon Johnson

The Vikings gave a tryout to a free agent running back on Tuesday.

The Vikings are deep at running back — but an injury to its starter has sent the team looking for more options.

Vikings primary back Dalvin Cook suffered a shoulder injury in the loss to the 49ers on Sunday. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Cook is expected to miss at least two weeks.

Minnesota still has running backs Alexander Mattison and Kene Nwangwu — in addition to A.J. Rose on the practice squad —but it could always use depth.

Enter Kerryon Johnson, a running back who had a tryout with the Vikings this week, per the transactions wire.

In 2021, Johnson appeared in one game for the 49ers. But he had 181 rushing yards in 16 games for the Lions the year before.

Mattison will be the primary back with Cook out. Then, Nwangwu can add something as a speedy back who can thrive on outside carries. He can maybe even contribute in the passing game. Rose is a player who made a big impact in the preseason and might be able to find that same spark.