Dillon Brooks still hasn’t learned his lesson about trash-talking LeBron James

Of course he hasn’t. It wouldn’t be Dillon Brooks if he didn’t talk.

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Goooood morning, Winners. Thanks so much for rocking with us this morning. We appreciate you. I hope you’re having a fantastic week.

Let’s talk about Dillon Brooks. The man is poking the bear — so to speak — again. The man is kicking off trash talk with LeBron James again.

Remember, last season during the Grizzlies-Lakers playoff series Brooks kept prodding James with all these jabs. Brooks called him old, which, yeah, he’s pretty old. Bron cooked him anyway and Brooks lost his job.

One would think that Brooks had learned his lesson there after that experience. That he’d show a bit more reverence for one of the best players to ever grace the game of basketball.

You know what they say about kids and a hot stove? You don’t ever have to tell a child not to touch a hot stove twice. After the first time, they get it.

James is that hot stove. Dillon Brooks is the kid. But, clearly, he did not get it.

Brooks was asked about seeing James again for the first time since the series in the Rockets’ upcoming matchup against the Lakers. He his answered with this: “I’m ready to lock him up.”

Surely, Dillon Brooks won’t regret this. Right?

On one hand, I just wonder why Brooks keeps poking the bear here. LeBron James is one of the all-time greats for a reason. You don’t have to kiss the ring. Brooks should never do that. But I do feel like giving James material at this point is probably not a great idea.

On the other hand? You’ve got to respect this attitude from Brooks. Is it silly? Maybe. Does it play into the hands of James? Sure. But Brooks knows he’s one of the very best defenders in the NBA. He should be confident in his skillset, too. That’s how he got here.

I just wish he wasn’t so brazen with it through the press all the time.

In Michigan’s defense…

(AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)

At some point today, Michigan will respond to the notice of discipline from the Big Ten on the sign-stealing scandal, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

It seems like that defense will be two-fold.

Part of Michigan’s reply to the Big Ten will contend that the sign-stealing scandal isn’t a Big Ten issue — it’s an NCAA issue, according to reporting from CBS Sports. The argument hinges on the fact that there’s no reference to sign stealing in the conference’s sportsmanship policy, which is true. You can look at it here.

The other part of the defense will essentially be Michigan saying “Everyone is doing it!”

Michigan told the Big Ten and the NCAA that Ohio State, Rutgers and Purdue shared info about Michigan’s signals before the Big Ten Championship Game, The Athletic reports.

This defense is a classic one. You probably recognize it. It’s like when your younger sibling gets caught for stealing from the cookie jar but then tells your mom they only did it because they saw you do it first.

Except, in this case, the thing Michigan did is far worse than the way those schools did it. Coaches are allowed to share information. They’re not allowed to create scouting rings. That’s what Michigan is accused of doing. That’s why this defense doesn’t hold up to me.

Michigan knows that. But it also needs to layer its defense as much as possible to find multiple places of cover. That’s smart. I just don’t know if it’ll be effective.

Aaron Rogers ain’t coming back, man

Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Can I ask a favor, folks? Can we stop paying attention to Aaron Rodgers when it comes to this torn Achilles thing? When he comes back, he comes back. That’ll be what it is. Because, at this point, who knows what to believe?

One second he’s joking with Derwin James that he’ll be back in a few weeks. The next second he’s walking that back. Andrew Joseph has more here:

“After the Jets’ Week 9 loss to the Chargers, mics picked up a postgame conversation between Rodgers and Derwin James. Rodgers was asked when he was coming back, and he responded, “Give me a few weeks.”

Now, Rodgers did undergo a unique surgery that is supposed to accelerate the recovery time. But appearing on Tuesday’s edition of the Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers clarified that he was just joking with James and that a few weeks wouldn’t be a realistic timeline.”

Look. It was never realistic for Rodgers to be back in November. That’s just not a thing that happens. And, if you ask me, he’s not coming back at all this season. It’s just not happening. But, at the same time, he obviously wants people to believe it’s possible.

Let’s be realistic, though. A torn Achilles is a 4-to-6-month injury for the fastest healers. And Rodgers is 38 years old. Come on now, people. Let’s just be realistic here.

It’s not happening. And I won’t believe it is until Rodgers is back on the field and under center. You should take the same approach.

Quick hits: Ohio State is still at the top … A way-too-early NFL Mock Draft … and more

— Ohio State has that top spot on lock in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Cory Woodroof has more.

— Christian D’Andrea put together a super early NFL mock draft and Caleb Williams is NOT the No. 1 overall pick. Shocking, right?

—Tom Brady using Victor Wembanyama to make short jokes about Julian Edelman is not right. But it’s also hilarious. Charles Curtis has more.

— You need to watch these TikToks of highlights to the most unconventional music. It’s really the best thing on the internet today.

— Blake Schuster has you covered with the Heisman odds tracker here. Bo Nix is out here, folks.

— Should Fantasy Football Owners be coaching the Falcons? An investigation. OK, it’s not really an investigation. But Robert Zeglinski has thoughts.

That’s all, folks. Thanks so much for reading. Have a fantastic day. Let’s chat again tomorrow. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️