Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young hosts free football camp for kids

Bryce Young will host a free football camp this Saturday.

Bryce Young is giving back to the community and the game of football with a youth camp that he is hosting this Saturday.

Young is coming off his rookie season with the Carolina Panthers and was the first player taken in last spring’s NFL draft. In college, he won a national championship with Alabama in 2020 and then won the Heisman the following year.

The free camp will take place at John C. Smith University (Charlotte, North Carolina) on Saturday morning.

Local high school and college coaches are staffing the event, which hopes to achieve a 10:1 athlete-to-coach ratio.

All attendees will receive an autographed item and a picture with Young.

 

The picture with Young might be intriguing, especially given reports that the Panthers quarterback has apparently made some significant muscular gains this offseason in the weight room (h/t Panthers Wire).

Last year as a rookie, Young completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 2,877 yards with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Dan Woike: Lakers will ultimately hire JJ Redick as head coach

There is more and more noise about JJ Redick being on the way to becoming the Lakers’ next head coach.

The Los Angeles Lakers seem like they will take their time when it comes to hiring their next head coach. They reportedly have interviewed James Borrego, JJ Redick and Sam Cassell, and they are set to do more interviews in the days and weeks to come.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said this week the Lakers are “nowhere close” to deciding on who their next head coach will be. However, there has been a growing feeling that it is Redick’s job to lose.

Redick, who played 15 seasons in the NBA and was a deadly 3-point shooter, is currently a color commentator for ESPN and LeBron James’ co-host on the “Mind the Game” podcast. One insider has said it is not a matter of if but when the Lakers hire Redick, and now Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times has reportedly said the same thing, according to The Lakers Review.

If Redick is indeed L.A.’s choice, don’t expect an announcement until after the upcoming NBA Finals. The series will start on Thursday of next week, and it could run until June 23 if it goes to a seventh game.

UFC 302 ceremonial weigh-in faceoff highlights video and photo gallery

UFC 302 ceremonial weigh-ins are complete, and the fighters came face-to-face one final time before Saturday’s event.

NEWARK, N.J. – UFC 302 ceremonial weigh-ins took place Friday, and the fighters came face-to-face one final time before Saturday’s event.

The weigh-ins took place at Prudential Center, which hosts Saturday’s event (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+). Check out the video above to see the athletes from all 13 scheduled matchups come face-to-face, and don’t miss the photo gallery below.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Patriots QB Jacoby Brissett impressed by rookie wide receiver

One rookie receiver in particular has caught Jacoby Brissett’s attention

The New England Patriots rookie class is already making a strong impression on the veterans. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett in particular has been impressed with wideout Javon Baker.

Baker comes to New England on the heels of a productive season at UCF. He tallied 52 receptions for 1,139 yards and seven touchdowns. He was also named a First-Team All-Big 12 player. The talent is clearly there, and now it’s about translating it to the NFL.

Baker is doing just that early in OTAs. He made several strong plays in practice on Wednesday, and that caught the attention of the quarterback, who is going to be an important veteran mentor in the offense.

“Oh, man, he made a couple of plays today,” Brissett said, via NESN.com’s Sean T. McGuire. “He’s getting better. Obviously, somebody that we are looking forward to seeing what he can become. …Good route runner, good hands, can go up and make plays like he did today. We’re looking forward to see the more he can do.”

Obviously, there is still a lot of work to be done, particularly after the Patriots organization has struggled to develop wide receivers for quite some time. However, the positive reports and Baker’s immediate progress on the field are certainly a step in the right direction.

Armando Bacot reveals his top five UNC teammates on Ian Jackson’s podcast

UNC record holder Armando Bacot reveals his top five teammates on Ian Jackson’s podcast.

These days everyone has a podcast, including incoming five-star recruit [autotag]Ian Jackson[/autotag], who asked University of North Carolina record breaker [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] the one-million-dollar question.

Who is Bacot’s top five UNC players he’s played with?

Jackson and his co-host Pat Wavy had Bacot on the Captain Jack podcast, asking him a slew of questions. The one that easily took the icing was getting the Tar Heel to answer the five best players he teamed up with while at UNC.

Bacot has played with stellar talent during his playing days with UNC, including a few current NBA players. Some names that Bacot said were a given, however, there were a few shockers that he named.

The big man had no problem naming [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag], [autotag]Cole Anthony[/autotag], and [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag], but after that things got tricky.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7m1hr-J-QV/?igsh=djk4bzZvbzZ6d3R2

It’s always fun to go down memory lane, especially seeing the onslaught of talented players Bacot laced up with. Seeing [autotag]Day’Ron Sharpe[/autotag] was a bit of a surprise, but hard to deny how unstoppable that force was.

Davis was a given, but it was also nice that Anthony got acknowledged for his freshman campaign. Picking [autotag]Brady Manek[/autotag] over [autotag]Harrison Ingram[/autotag] had to be hard, but then again, who could deny UNC’s version of Larry Bird?

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

Chiefs gave Joe Biden a helmet during their White House visit

Andy Reid and Clark Hunt presented President Joe Biden with a #Chiefs helmet during their visit to the White House on Friday. | @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chief officially had their second-consecutive White House visit as Super Bowl champions on Friday, May 31st.

After a speech from President Joe Biden congratulating the team for their Super Bowl LVIII victory, there was an emphasis to remember the many affected by the parade shooting in Kansas City.

The president called upon Travis Kelce to have an opportunity to finally address the nation after the All-Pro tight end was interrupted by Patrick Mahomes during last year’s ceremony.

“My fellow Americans, it’s nice to see you all again,” Kelce started. “I’m not going to lie, President Biden. They told me if I came up here, I was going to get tased, so I’m going back to my spot.”

Team owner Clark Hunt and head coach Andy Reid would present President Biden with a Chiefs helmet instead of a jersey, which they had already given him last year. At the end of the ceremony, with encouragement from Kansas City’s players at the podium, President Biden took time to try on the helmet, officially making him a team member.

The ceremony seemed to be fun for the Chiefs, who continue to raise the bar on their Super Bowl celebrations. A three-peat has been the talk of the offseason and would present Kansas City’s players another reason to visit the White House in 2025.

Akron transfer quarterback Steele Wasel crystal balled to Sooners

Oklahoma is the favorite to land Akron transfer Steele Wasel after a Crystal Ball prediction from Sooners Illustrated’s Collin Kennedy.

Oklahoma looks to still be in the process of bolstering its quarterback room. While Jackson Arnold is QB1 as Oklahoma heads into the 2024 season, Oklahoma continues to ensure the depth behind him is sufficient.

The last recruiting cycle saw the Sooners bring in not one but two quarterbacks. [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag], a four-star quarterback and an Oklahoma legacy, is fighting for the backup quarterback role. [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag] also joined the Sooners after he shined as the field general for his high school team in Ohio.

To complete the transformation, the Sooners finally saw [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag], son of former Oklahoma quarterback Charles Thompson, join the program as a veteran presence.

Most recently, [autotag]General Booty[/autotag] hit the transfer portal earlier this spring and eventually transferred to the Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks.

That brings us to the latest development in Oklahoma’s quarterback room as the Sooners were projected to land Akron transfer QB Steele Wasel just from Collin Kennedy of Sooners Illustrated and 247Sports.

Wasel is an Oklahoma native from Choctaw. He has a powerful arm and has excellent size for the position, standing 6-foot-4 and weighing over 200 pounds. As a senior at Choctaw High School, he threw for 3,325 yards and 38 touchdowns.

He redshirted this past year at Akron and will still have four years of eligibility remaining.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Bryant on X @thatmanbryant.

RBC Canadian Open 2024 Saturday third round tee times, PGA Tour pairings and how to watch

The purse this week is $9.1 million with $1.638 million going to the winner.

There won’t be a title defense at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open.

Nick Taylor was among those who missed the 36-hole cut Friday at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario.

On the good side of the leaderboard is two DP World Tour grads, Ryan Fox and Robert MacIntyre. Those two are tied at 10 under, two shots better than Joel Dahmen.

The top Canadian so far is Mackenzie Hughes, tied with Andrew Novak for fourth at 7 under, along with first-round leader David Skinns.

Two-time winner and world No. 2 Rory McIlroy, shot a second round 72, six shots worse than the 66 he shot Thursday while feeling “groggy”.

RBC Canadian Open: Photos | Merchandise | Leaderboard | Tee times

Hamilton G&CC, a par-70 track measuring 7,084 yards. The purse at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open is $9.1 million with $1.638 million going to the winner. The champion will also receive 500 FedEx Cup points.

Here are the tee times and TV and streaming info for the third round of the 2024 RBC Canadian Open. All times listed are ET.

RBC Canadian Open: Leaderboard | Photos

Saturday tee times

How to watch, listen

ESPN+ is the exclusive home of PGA Tour Live. You can also watch the Wells Fargo Championship on Golf Channel free on Fubo. All times ET.

Saturday, June 1

Golf Channel/Peacock: 2:30-5:30 p.m

CBS: 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Sirius XM: 2-7:30 p.m

ESPN+: 9:15 a.m.-7:30 p.m

Sunday, June 2

Golf Channel/Peacock: 1:30-2:30 p.m

CBS: 2:30-6:30 p.m.

Sirius XM: 1-6:30 p.m

ESPN+: 8:15 a.m.-6:30 p.m

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Where does Ohio State land on USA TODAY’s preseason re-rank of college football teams?

Should Ohio State be higher? #GoBucks

Throughout the season, USA TODAY’s Paul Myerberg re-ranks college football teams based on the results and performance week-to-week. However, there is a baseline that it all starts from, and we have our first one that was released.

We are, of course, interested in where Myerberg thinks Ohio State ranks ahead of the start to the season, and if you’ve followed other preseason rankings, you probably have a good idea of where he has them? Most media outlets have OSU at either No. 1 or No. 2 and it’s no different with him.

A lot of media personalities have the Buckeyes at No. 1 with all of the offseason moves made by Ryan Day and company, but Myerberg has the Georgia Bulldogs in the top spot, followed by the Scarlet and Gray.

Rounding out the top ten is Texas (3), Oregon (4), Notre Dame (5), LSU (6), Alabama (7), Florida State (8), Clemson (9), and Penn State (10).

We think the Buckeyes should be No. 1, but I guess we’ll see how the season plays out.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Michigan standout CB Will Johnson could add WR duties in ’24

Johnson is already projected as one of the top prospects for the ’25 draft

Will Johnson is already a coveted 2025 NFL draft prospect. The Michigan standout is touted as one of the top cornerbacks eligible for next year’s draft as the 2024 college football season approaches.

Johnson could be adding some extra value and sizzle to his draft profile. According to Johnson, the Wolverines offense could tab him to play some wide receiver this fall.

“All the offensive guys love it, and they want me to (play WR),” Johnson said via Clayton Sayfie of On3. “They know what I can do, so hopefully I’m able to do it a little bit.

Johnson, a 6-2, 205-pounf junior, played both ways in hugh school. He caught over 40 passes and scored six TDs playing wideout at Grosse Pointe South High School in the Detroit area. The Wolverines lost many key offensive pieces, incluidng WRs Mike Sainristil and Cornelius Johnson to the NFL.