Knicks considered trading for DeMarcus Cousins

Before the 2015 NBA Draft, high-ranking Knicks officials strongly considered putting together a package to trade for then-Sacramento Kings star DeMarcus Cousins, per SNY sources. Obviously, if the Knicks traded for Cousins, he would have been the best teammate Anthony ever had in New York. (Was his most talented Knicks teammate a young Kristaps Porzingis? Tyson Chandler? J.R. Smith? Amar’e Stoudemire?)

Broncos claim DL Joel Heath off waivers

The Broncos claimed former Texans defensive lineman Joel Heath off waivers.

In addition to signing 15 players to reserve/future contracts, the Denver Broncos also acquired a player off waivers on Tuesday.

The Broncos claimed nose tackle Joel Heath, who was waived by the Houston Texans on Saturday. Denver will officially acquire Heath’s rights on Feb. 3, the day after Super Bowl LIV.

It’s an interesting move for the Broncos because Heath is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March. Denver might be planning to place a tender on the 6-6, 302-pound defensive lineman.

Heath entered the league as a college free agent out of Michigan State with the Texans in 2016. He played in 25 games in his first two years in the NFL, totaling 32 tackles and three sacks. Heath was plagued by injuries during the 2018 season and only dressed for two games this year.

Shelby Harris, Mike Purcell and Kyle Peko were the Broncos’ nose tackles this season. All three of those players are set to become free agents in 2020, but Purcell and Peko will be restricted free agents.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin calls signing Bud Dupree a ‘top priority’

The Steelers are hoping they can bring Bud Dupree back.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to have some significant free-agent decisions to make this offseason. But none will be bigger than how to handle outside linebacker Bud Dupree. This sentiment was echoed by head coach Mike Tomlin at his Tuesday press conference where he called Dupree “a top priority” for the Steelers.

Dupree had his breakout season in 2019. He finished second on the team with 11.5 sacks, an improvement of 5.5 over his best season previously. It probably sounds cliche but you could see that everything finally clicked for Dupree, who has always been an elite athlete but showed he can be an elite football player as well.

I’m not going to say the Steelers cannot re-sign Dupree. Their ability to manipulate the salary cap is unmatched in the NFL. But with the season Dupree has had, if the Steelers are serious about not letting Dupree leave, it’s going to be expensive. And quite honestly, it would be somewhat out of character for the franchise to get into a bidding war for any player’s services.

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Antonio Brown calls workout with the Saints a ‘publicity stunt’ for New Orleans

Antonio Brown never fails to make bad decisions on social media.

It’s a new year but it doesn’t look like former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown is planning to make his New Year’s resolution to make better decisions on social media.

Brown posted the above Instagram Live video on Tuesday where he referred to his workout with the New Orleans Saints as a publicity stunt orchestrated by the Saints. As if one of the top teams in the NFC needs the kind of attention having Brown as his entourage at their facility brings.

The reality is Brown thought he was going to walk in the door, run some routes and get a big fat contract. This is because Brown has lost all perspective on what his actual value is to the rest of the NFL.

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Kayla Harrison celebrates her PFL title, which she calls ‘her fourth kid’

Kayla Harrison added her PFL belt to a gold collection which includes two Olympic medals and a world judo championship.

NEW YORK — [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] has won so many gold trophies over the course of her career, she’s starting to view them like her children.

Harrison’s unanimous-decision victory over the always-tough Larissa Pacheco in the main event of the 2019 PFL Championship on Tuesday night at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden not only added $1M to her bank account, but also added to a list of remarkable accomplishments, which include a pair of Olympic judo gold medals and a judo world championship.

“Well, I won two Olympic gold medals so those are my first two kids,” Harrison told MMA Junkie after he fight. “I have a championship gold medal, so that’s maybe my third baby, so this is maybe my fourth kid.”

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Harrison, who has competed seven times in less than two years and won all seven fights, is her own toughest critic. But at the end of the day, she wasn’t about to complain about her performance after taking home a big check and a new belt.

“It’s the end of the year, I learned a lot about myself in this fight, I learned a lot about fighting in this fight, and I also got a beautiful payday and live a truly blessed life,” Harrison said. “More important than anything is I got to touch gold again and got to taste gold and become a world champion again. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t necessarily, pretty but life is not always pretty and I’m happy with the result.”

Harrison knows that some think she doesn’t appreciate what she’s accomplished to date, but she also knows that her approach has led to great success on a worldwide stage.

“I’m always going to be my toughest critic, you know?” Harrison said. “I demand and expect nothing but the best from myself and that’s why I’ve climbed the mountain so many times. I don’t apologize for it. I think a lot of people misinterpret it for being a poor sport. Absolutely not. Hat’s off to Larissa she’s an amazing fighter but it’s just that I expect so much more for myself but for tonight, for right now, I’m going to try to be in the moment and enjoy it, I can’t wait to go back to the gym.”

At this point of the night, everything was a blur for Harrison after logging 25 minutes for the first time in her career. But while she hasn’t mentally broken down how the fight went just yet, she’ll leave New York knowing the win over Pacheco was an important moment in her MMA development. 

“I’m so in the moment that I don’t think I remember half the stuff that was going on in there, Harrison said. “But overall it was good, but I know for sure there’s a bunch of stuff I can get better at.  I feel like this time around I was a lot more composed, I took my time, I picked my shots better, every single time I am getting in that cage I am getting invaluable experience. Going five rounds, you don’t do any more than five, so it was a good test for me and it was important to use as a stepping stone to get even better.” 

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Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger a month out from an update on injury

Pittsburgh should know more about Roethlisberger’s elbow in February.

The most important elbow in all of Pennsylvania belongs to Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger injured his elbow in the second game of the 2019 season and ultimately caused the Steelers to squander a historic performance by the defense. However, hopes are high that Big Ben will be back and better than ever for the 2020 season.

But we won’t know anything about where Roethlisberger is in his recovery for a month. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media on Tuesday and noted that Roethlisberger will have an update in February and will know if and when he will be able to start throwing or even advance with his rehab.

This isn’t the news we wanted to hear but it is better than what it could be. At least the Steelers will get new information in time for free agency and the NFL draft. There’s no reason to worry until it is time to worry but let’s hope the team has a contingency plan for 2020 that involves more than Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges.

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WATCH: Rob Gronkowski spike shatters Lego bust of Steve Harvey

Rob Gronkowski may be retired but that doesn’t mean the Gronk Spike is finished.

Rob Gronkowski made an appearance on one of the many New Year’s Eve celebrations Tuesday. It doesn’t appears as if the former New England Patriots tight end made a great impression on Steve Harvey.

There was a bust of Steve Harvey made out of Legos. Gronk being the manchild he is, took the opportunity to Gronk Spike the bust and it burst in about as many pieces as there were of Legos in it.

Can’t tell whether Harvey was seriously ticked or if it was part of the shtick. What else did anyone expect the Gronk One to do when presented with such a glorious opportunity?

Bad boys are bad boys for life as the song says.

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Former Steelers WR has harsh words for Antonio Brown

Nate Washington won’t let Brown’s disrespect stand.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown crossed a line this week on Twitter when he decided to call out and insult JuJu Smith-Schuster. For a guy who can’t find a job, it was pretty bold of him to call out Smith-Schuster for a down season where he had a revolving door of quarterbacks. Needless to say, Brown took plenty of heat for this.

The heat included former Steelers wide receiver Nate Washington who took to Twitter to roast Brown on multiple levels for his disrespectful comments about the young wide receiver.

We particularly liked “I bet the jugs machine don’t even wanna throw to that boy!”

As a point of reference, when Brown and Smith-Schuster were both 23 their difference in stats is quite staggering. Brown had 85 receptions and Smith-Schuster has 211.

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Pelicans’ Alvin Gentry on Lonzo Ball: He’s playing exceptionally well

After Sunday’s triple-double performance against the Rockets which included a career-high seven three-pointers, head coach Alvin Gentry complimented Ball on the work he had put in before, during and after practice.

While many have criticized Lonzo Ball for various aspects of his game, he’s always worked hard on his game. Most recently, Ball’s continued dedication to improving his shooting mechanics and adapting to a new form has begun to show on the court.

After Sunday’s triple-double performance against the Rockets which included a career-high seven three-pointers, head coach Alvin Gentry complimented Ball on the work he had put in before, during and after practice.

“He managed to push it and create open shots. I think he’s been playing well for us. He played exceptionally well tonight. He’s put in a lot of work on his 3-point shooting: before practice, after practice, he’s spent a lot of time doing that, and you saw the results tonight.”

While Ball’s shot has drawn lots of praise in recent weeks, his overall game has been great as well. In the last eight games, he’s averaging 12.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists while shooting 40.4% from the field and 42.0% from three. In that same span, Ball has a net rating of 5.7, third-best of players who have played in all eight of those games.

He has been a key for the Pelicans in their recent stretch that has seen them creep back into the playoffs. And if the team is going to make a push to the playoffs to start 2020, Ball will likely continue to be a central figure for New Orleans.

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