Month: August 2023

Hear Gus Johnson’s fantastically excited call of Minnesota’s walk-off field goal over Nebraska

You can always count on Gus Johnson.

You can always count on Fox Sports broadcaster Gus Johnson to nail calling a big moment, and he’s already got one fantastic finish in the books this season.

During Minnesota’s wild finish against Nebraska on Thursday night that featured a Catch of the Year candidate, Johnson channeled all of his emotion into Golden Gophers kicker Dragan Kesich hitting the game winner for Minnesota as time expired.

The broadcaster sounded like his voice was breaking up a bit in excitement as the kick went through the uprights.

It’s the kind of jubilant call that makes Johnson one of the most reliable in the business, and he just made this moment so much cooler with his commentary.

Seriously, this call just makes you want to run through the screen and go celebrate with the Minnesota players for their remarkable comeback victory.

College football might just now be getting back into the swing of things, but Johnson is already in fine form with a fantastic call like this.

Buha: Trae Young has been on the Lakers’ radar

The Lakers pursuit of a third star may not be over yet.

The Los Angeles Lakers have a history of being mesmerized by star players, and while they have struck out on several such players in recent years, they have, by and large, been pretty successful in landing them throughout their history.

Although they have a roster that looks to be championship-caliber, it hasn’t stopped them from having interest in adding a third star again.

Of course, they traded for Russell Westbrook two years ago, a deal that turned out to be a failure. Earlier this offseason, they reportedly had interest in Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving and Trae Young before deciding to stay the course and retain their core from late last season.

But according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, Young has been on L.A.’s radar for a while, and he suggested the star guard could remain on its radar (h/t Lakers Daily).

Via The Athletic:

“Trae Young has long been on Los Angeles’ radar, depending on how his situation unfolds in Atlanta,” Buha wrote.

The Atlanta Hawks guard may not be the best candidate for the Lakers if they decide to reload. While he averaged 26.2 points and 10.2 assists a game this past season, he shot only 42.9% overall and 33.5% from 3-point range.

Given that he is an inefficient, high-volume 3-point shooter who doesn’t play a ton of defense and is listed at just 6-foot-1 and 164 pounds, perhaps the Lakers have no reason to be interested in acquiring him.

Pat Dooley’s Six Pack: Quick reactions to Florida’s season-opening loss

It was a tough game for Gators fans to stomach. Pat Dooley gives his quick reactions from the gut after the loss.

Florida should be happy that the Pac-12 is about to disintegrate.

The Gators ended last season with an embarrassing loss to Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl and started this season with a 24-11 loss to Utah.

It turns out the Utes didn’t need Cam Rising.

Instead, they used two quarterbacks to dominate the first half and got a short-field touchdown at the start of the second.

That’s all they needed on Thursday night to give Billy Napier his eighth loss in 14 games as the Florida coach.

The Dooley Six Pack looks at the opening night loss to Utah.

Report: Patriots signing former first-round pick WR to practice squad

The Patriots are reportedly adding another versatile wide receiver to their practice squad.

The New England Patriots kept six receivers on their 53-man roster, but they obviously aren’t finished adding skilled players to the team. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday that the Patriots are signing recently released wideout Jalen Reagor to their practice squad.

Reagor, a former 2020 first-round draft pick with the Philadelphia Eagles, spent the 2022 season with the Minnesota Vikings.

Despite appearing in 17 games, he only mustered eight receptions for 104 yards and one touchdown. He also contributed on special teams as a punt returner. There was a bunch of receiving talent in Minnesota, and Reagor could never escape from the shadows to truly have a chance to make an impact.

Things aren’t likely to be any easier in New England. Granted, they don’t have an elite No. 1 option like Justin Jefferson, but they have several quality receivers that have fought tooth-and-nail to earn a spot on the roster.

Perhaps the team is considering utilizing him as a backup returner behind Marcus Jones.

Reagor is a versatile player with the sort of untapped potential offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien and special teams coordinator Cam Achord are probably itching to see in action.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Bengals players react to Joe Burrow’s return to practice

Bengals players are happy to see Joe Burrow back, to say the least.

The Cincinnati Bengals have welcomed quarterback Joe Burrow back to practice after he sat out the preseason with a calf injury he suffered at practice in late July.

Trenton Irwin has already said Burrow looked better than he expected him to coming off of not playing for a full month. Fans reacted to the news that Burrow was back as well.

Other teammates reacted to Burrow’s return in a video the Bengals’ official Twitter account posted Thursday.

“He has total control over the offense, and he’s just a calm dude,” Ja’Marr Chase said. “He just knows how to stay positive about the whole situation. He’s still coaching everyone when he’s on the side. I think that’s the biggest thing about him playing his role and being a leader.”

Ted Karras and Tee Higgins also commented on Burrow’s return, talking about the expectations for the team.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

5 takeaways from Florida football’s Week 1 loss at Utah

Florida Gators football is back! Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well in the season opener against Utah. Here are five takeaways from the 13-point loss.

Despite facing Utah’s third and fourth-string quarterbacks, the Florida Gators gave up an early 70-yard passing touchdown and never recovered as things went from bad to worse in a 24-11 season-opening loss on Thursday.

Florida’s two-headed monster at running back was anything but. Montrell Johnson Jr. and Trevor Etienne both had trouble getting things going, leaving Wisconsin transfer quarterback Graham Mertz to create most of the offense. The defense was perhaps even more disappointing, though.

A 70-yard touchdown from the Utes set the tone for the evening, and Florida’s fourth-quarter push ended almost as soon as started.

Here are five takeaways from Thursday’s humbling loss.

Daniel Jackson’s improbable, toe-dragging touchdown for Minnesota already a Catch of the Year candidate

A COLLEGE FOOTBALL CATCH OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE IN AUGUST!!!

It’s not even technically September yet, and we’ve already got a Catch of the Year candidate for college football this season.

It’s all thanks to Minnesota wide receiver Daniel Jackson as his team trailed late in its home game against Nebraska on Thursday night.

On a 4th-and-10 play in the red zone late in the fourth quarter, Golden Gophers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis fired a long ball to the corner of the end zone for Jackson, who improbably came up with the catch by properly dragging his toes right as he caught it at the barrier of the out-of-bounds line.

Once the referee signaled it a touchdown, it gave Jackson one of the definitive highlights of the college football season and sent Minnesota fans into a frenzy for the dramatic catch-and-score.

The touchdown helped lead to an eventual walk-off field goal that gave Minnesota the victory.

What a night for Golden Gophers fans!

Back to the catch: It’s a genuine shock that Jackson was able to catch this and somehow keep his feet in bounds. How did he do this?!

If you’re like us, you’re going to be rewatching and rewatching this incredible catch for the next few days, trying to figure out just how Jackson pulled this off. It’s truly a stunning highlight for the Minnesota wide receiver.

USA Today Sports predictions favor South Carolina

Here is who USA Today Sports analysts picked between the UNC football program and South Carolina.

We are just a few days away from kick-off as the North Carolina Tar Heels are set to face off against South Carolina in Charlotte on Saturday.

The game will be in the national spotlight, being shown on ABC as one of the best games of the weekend. As we get set for the game, it’s time to look at some predictions and what experts have to say about the game.

In the USA Today Sports’ projections of every Top 25 game,  the Gamecocks picked up 4 of the 6 predictions among the panel. The only analysts to pick the Tar Heels is Erick Smith and Scooby Axson. The rest of the analysts, Dan Wolken, EddieTimanus, Jace Evans, and Paul Myerberg all predicted South Carolina to win.

North Carolina is the favorite going into the game as the No. 21 team in the nation and are looking to get the season off on the right foot. They will be led by Heisman hopeful Drake Maye but are going to need the defense to step up if they want any shot.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Stephen A. Smith thinks the Bengals should feel disrespected

A fun thing to consider from a well-said rant from Stephen A.

The Cincinnati Bengals have been to back-to-back AFC Championships and lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl two seasons ago, but Stephen A. Smith believes they should feel disrespected that people aren’t talking about them enough.

On First Take, Smith talked about how he was impressed with their powerful offense and defense that has improved over the last few years.

“They should not be flying under anybody’s radar,” Smith said. “The Cincinnati Bengals are no joke, and Joe Burrow is clearly one of the best quarterbacks and one of the best players in the National Football League. And for us to not be talking about them more, if they took that as disrespect I would understand that.”

On the show they also mentioned that the Bengals offensive line has been somewhat of a weakness for the team since Joe Burrow was drafted. He has been sacked 153 times in three years as the Cincinnati quarterback, and he missed a large chunk of the 2020 season because of an injury he suffered from being sacked.

However, the offensive line has improved with the signing of Orlando Brown Jr. and Smith thinks they could be a much better team because of that.

“They did what they did over the last two years with a highly suspect offensive line,” Smith said. “Imagine what they’ll do when they get more protection for Joe Burrow.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

Best photos from Panthers’ 2023 preseason

With the month of August coming to a close, let’s take a look back at the best photos of the Panthers’ 2023 preseason.

Exhibition play is all wrapped up, the 53-man rosters are in and the month of August is over.

So, as we begin to transition into the fall football that really counts, let’s take a look back at the best photos from the Carolina Panthers’ 2023 preseason: