David Fizdale isn’t the one who should take the fall for the Knicks’ woes

What are the Knicks thinking here?

The New York Knicks spent the last year trading Kristaps Porzingis to create cap space, whiffing on all the big-name free agents they hoped to attract with that room and then putting together a hodgepodge collage of one- and two-year contracts to surround the few valuable pieces they have.

They’re 2-8, and after a surprise press conference with president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry after Sunday’s awful loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, there’s writing on the wall.

But it’s not about their front office. Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews, Mills is starting “to lay the internal groundwork for the eventual dismissal of coach David Fizdale.”

I would say that’s a shock, considering Fizdale is in his second year with the franchise. But a backwards move like this is nothing shocking when it comes to the Knicks.

It’s not Fizdale’s fault that the previous regime couldn’t see eye to eye with Porzingis, who has resumed looking every bit like the star he was in his limited Big Apple time. It’s not his fault that the marquis names took their talents elsewhere, including over the Brooklyn Bridge. And it’s certainly not his fault that he was saddled with a roster that any coach would struggle with, one that includes a plethora of power forwards, disappointments and iffy fits.

Yet he might be the one to take the fall? Really?

Who out there believed this was the roster that would compete in the East? No one should have. It’s supposed to be a year of development for RJ Barrett — who actually looks like he’s living up to the billing of being the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft — Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson and Frank Ntilikina. The Knicks were going to be bad no matter what, although they could have taken that route by taking on bad contracts in exchange for first-round picks. It would have produced the same result with long-term dividends.

But here we are. And the kicker is part of that ESPN report:

“Rival coaches and executives see a mismatched Knicks roster slow of foot, without legitimate NBA guard play, but Mills is selling (owner James) Dolan on a poorly coached team that is underachieving at 2-8 to start the season, league sources said.”

As it seems to always be with the Knicks, it goes up the ladder. If it’s Dolan who’s demanding the franchise compete NOW and Mills has to save his job by throwing Fizdale under the bus, that’s what’s ultimately crushing any chance at putting together a winner in New York. This will keep happening — the Knicks will create cap space, no one notable will be sold on joining all this dysfunction, coaches will be axed, front offices will be remade, lather, rinse, repeat. There’s no process to trust.

This is not on Fizdale. It barely has anything to do with him — he’s just a pawn for an owner who has repeatedly failed to figure any of this out.

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Texans long snapper Jon Weeks gives back on Veterans Day

Veterans Day is special to Houston Texans long snapper Jon Weeks, who makes a point on giving back to the military community.

On Veterans Day, the United States recognizes those who fought for their freedom. For Houston Texans long snapper Jon Weeks, it means more to him; it’s family.

Weeks, who grew up as a military brat, saw his father serve 15 years in the Air Force, remembers his grandfather’s fight in World War II and recognizes his close friend who serves. He — as someone who grew up in both New York and Arizona — understands the importance of the holiday; not just for veterans, but for families like his who made sacrifices.

“Veterans day is so important. Not only are we thanking the men and women who served currently and former,” Weeks told The Texans Wire Monday. “But you got to remember how much the family sacrificed.”

Weeks doesn’t just understand the importance of Veterans Day, he also gives back. Recently, he partnered with Carnival Cruise Line to give U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Joshua Woodard a free cruise out of Galveston. The Woodard’s were also invited to the Texans’ annual Salute to Service game on Nov. 21.

Weeks’ charitable efforts with Carnival goes further than Woodard’s family. The cruise line donated $25,000 to Operation Homefront to help the organization continue its mission of building strong, stable, and secure military families.

Last week, Weeks was given the Texans’ nomination for the NFL and USAA’s Salute to Service Award. He calls the recognition an honor, one that hits close to home.

“I’m truly blessed to even tie myself into what these men and women do for us on a daily basis. It’s a true honor. I don’t think there is enough I can say about how special it is, about how close to me it hits,” said Weeks. “It’s a huge honor and it’s a privilege. I feel very honored that I was selected.”

In his 10 years in Houston, Weeks and his wife, Amanda, have been a staple at almost every military event the Texans have hosted, including the annual Houston Texans Military BBQ, where the two participated in greeting and serving food to attendees.

“The military community is so special,” said Weeks.

Last Thanksgiving, Jon and Amanda volunteered to serve Thanksgiving lunch to over 200 veterans at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston. He will be back in 2019. He calls the opportunity to meet Houston’s military community as an “unbelievable experience.”

“It’s something I’m very passionate about,” said Weeks. “As long as the opportunities to give back are out there, I’m going to give back.”

For Weeks, 2019’s Veterans Day will be spent practicing with his teammates after the Texans’ Week 10 bye. However, he makes sure that he completes his annual tradition: calling his dad, thanking him for his service and his sacrifice to halt his career in order to bring stability to his family.

“Honestly, it’s just a call to my dad, thanking him for what he did, thanking him for his service,” said Weeks on his Veterans Day tradition.

Giving back on Veterans Day does not have to involve a checkbook. Rather, as Weeks states it, it is simply thanking those who served and striking a conversation with them.

“Find your closest veteran possible and just go visit,” said Weeks. “These veterans just love the opportunity to sit down, talk and have a conversation and just talk to people… Find your closest veteran possible and just go hang out with them.

“At the end of the day, I always say I don’t think people thank them enough but, as always, thank you for everything.”

Max Holloway explains battery of medical tests before booking UFC 245 title defense

UFC champ Max Holloway explains why he felt the need to go through medical tests before booking his next title defense at UFC 245.

Before being booked at UFC 245, [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] refused to seriously discuss his next UFC featherweight title defense until he knew he was medically clear.

A cloud of concern has hung over Holloway (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) after an ugly 2018 campaign that saw him withdraw from three consecutive title fights. The latter of those withdrawals was most worrisome, with Holloway pulling out of a scheduled bout during fight week with a still unknown medical issue.

Since then, Holloway has been hyper-cautious. After beating Frankie Edgar at UFC 240 in July, “Blessed” was immediately confronted about his next title defense against Alexander Volkanovski (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC). He said he welcomed the challenge, but not before ensuring he had a clean bill of health.

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Holloway, 27, explained why he felt the need to go through a battery of tests.

“At the end of the day I only care about my long run,” Holloway told MMA Junkie. “I care about my longevity. These guys work for (my son) Rush, they don’t work for me. They want to make sure I’m there for Rush, so that’s what we did.”

Holloway said his tests came back clear of any issues after beating Edgar over the summer, and at that point he was ready to pick up the phone.

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The UFC came calling with the matchup against Volkanovski, which serves as the co-headliner of the Dec. 14 card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Volkanovski has insisted he’s going to be the one to dethrone Holloway and bring an end to his historic winning streak in the featherweight division. Holloway, as always, welcomes to the challenge, he said.

“He’s the No. 1 contender, he’s the next cupcake on the list,” Holloway said. “I can’t wait to taste the flavor.”

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Michigan on ‘high alert’ for MSU’s ‘Super Bowl’

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Let the back-and-forth begin. It’s hate week in Ann Arbor, with in-state rival Michigan State coming to town on Saturday. The Spartans come in reeling, while the Wolverines are flying high, with the former having just melted down, …

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Let the back-and-forth begin.

It’s hate week in Ann Arbor, with in-state rival Michigan State coming to town on Saturday. The Spartans come in reeling, while the Wolverines are flying high, with the former having just melted down, having surrendered 27 points in the fourth quarter to Illinois to fall to 4-5 on the season, while the latter is just now putting it all together at 7-2.

But, that doesn’t mean that the Wolverines are expecting to cruise to an easy victory.

It is a rivalry, after all, and as Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh says, there’s no letting up, regardless if it seems that the two teams are moving in different directions.

“On high alert for everything,” Harbaugh said. “Specifically, yeah — we understand that Coach Dantonio is a master motivator. There could be trick plays. Special teams, punt fakes, field goal fakes. Everything needs to be alerted and prepared and ready for.”

But coaches coach in games, and players play in them. So getting the players’ perspective is key.

For the local Michigan products, this game means a little bit more, because they grew up playing with and against a lot of the players on the other side of the ball. Such is true for former Detroit (MI) King standout Ambry Thomas, who played alongside MSU LB Tyriq Thompson and against WR Cody White while in high school.

While there’s chirping back and forth the week of the game, Thomas says he understands what this game means, especially for the reeling Spartans.

“You can’t let them get a heads up,” Thomas said. “You’ve gotta step on their throat and stay there all game. We know they’re going to treat this game like their Super Bowl. We’ve gotta be prepared and just attack them, like they’re gonna try to attack us.”

Of course, talk and the action borne thereof fuels this rivalry.

Last year, it started with the pregame stunt by MSU, as they were late doing their traditional field walk, meaning Michigan was already on the field warming up. The Wolverines refused to vacate, so the Spartans walked through, refusing to unlink for some — like Devin Bush — while others like Khaleke Hudson didn’t make physical contact. After that incident, Bush famously tore up the Spartans logo with his cleats, and after the game, then-defensive end Chase Winovich spoke on FOX about MSU being ‘little brother,’ harkening back to the words spoken by Mike Hart after the 2007 contest.

Those words continue to be spoken in regards to the rivalry, including on Monday, in terms of how both teams treat it.

“Right now, it’s the most important game on our schedule,” Thomas said. “It’s about who’s the big brother, who’s the little sister in this state. That’s what it’s really about. We plan to give it our all, just like they plan to give us their all.

“You come to Michigan to play in this game right here and that team down there in Ohio. But you come to Michigan to play in these two games and these are must wins for us.”

The Spartans may be reeling, especially on the offensive side of the ball, but that’s not the team that the Wolverines see.

Perhaps it’s an added respect given, knowing that the two teams can prove it on the field this Saturday. But MSU’s offense has been nothing short of erratic, with the Spartans gaining 526 yards in the loss to Illinois, but struggling to get much of anything going against the Wisconsins, Penn States and Ohio States of the world.

Still, Thomas sees an offense that could be tough to stop, should everything come together.

“I see a team with a lot of talent, honestly – they just haven’t figured it out yet,” Thomas said. “They have a lot of talent. We know we just have to show up, ball out, do what we do.”

Michigan hosts MSU at The Big House with kickoff set for noon EST on FOX.

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Who was emergency OL for Chiefs in Week 10 against Titans?

We now know who would have played if the Kansas City Chiefs needed an emergency offensive lineman vs. the Tennessee Titans

The Kansas City Chiefs suffered some attrition along the offensive line late in the second quarter against the Tennessee Titans in Week 10.

Back-to-back injuries occurred at the right tackle position that left the Chiefs dangerously thin along the offensive line. First, starting right tackle Mitchell Schwartz suffered an injury, which ended his long consecutive snap streak. A play later, it was left guard Martinas Rankin who had shifted to right tackle. He was injured on his first snap at the position.

Kansas City only had seven offensive linemen dressed to play on Sunday. Starting left tackle Eric Fisher and starting right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif were both ruled out ahead of the game. With the two injuries to Schwartz and Rankin, the Chiefs would be faced with an emergency situation had they suffered another injury.

So who would have been the emergency backup offensive lineman for the Chiefs had they suffered an injury? Andy Reid let us in on the doomsday plan during his Monday conference call.

“It would be one of the tight ends,” Reid said via 810 Sports Radio’s Soren Petro.

Reid didn’t exactly say which tight end it would be for the Chiefs, so you’ll have to use your imagination on that. Blake Bell would stand to reason, given his usage in blocking scenarios, but he was also banged up with an ankle injury. Travis Kelce is the most veteran tight end on the team and probably the most comfortable with the blocking schemes.

Luckily, the Chiefs didn’t have to try this out. Schwartz was able to return to the game after just a few snaps. I have a feeling this scenario would be much less enjoyable to watch than seeing emergency third-string QB Anthony Sherman run the Chiefs offense, which could have happened in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos.

Report: Giants have no plans to fire Pat Shurmur

The New York Giants reportedly have no plans to fire head coach Pat Shurmur or force a coaching staff shakeup.

Following a 34-27 loss to the New York Jets in Week 10, New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur said he did not envision making any coaching staff changes during the bye week, which is something he doubled-down on during a Monday afternoon conference call.

“Having slept on it, no, I am not going to make any coaching changes,” Shurmur told reporters. “It’s important that we coach and play better, period. In terms of coaching changes during the season, I think you have to look at each one independently. Some situations they help, others they don’t.”

Although Shurmur made sure his staff knows they are safe, there’s still a belief that he could soon meet the firing squad. However, if he’s been given that indication (or anything to the contrary), he’s not spilling the beans.

“Obviously, we are less than 24 hours out from the game, this is the second time you’ve asked me this question in less than 24 hours,” Shurmur said when asked about meeting with owners. “If I would’ve had that conversation, it’s not obviously something that I would share publicly.”

While no one at the Giants will publicly address Shurmur’s job status, they are apparently talking about it in private. And unsurprisingly, Shurmur is in no danger of being fired in-season, reports Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.

A team source confirmed, though, that there were no immediate plans for ownership to either fire Shurmur or to force any staff shakeup in the wake of the Giants’ 2-9 record – at least until the end of the season.

. . .

It’s much more likely, the source said, that the Giants will revisit Bettcher’s status after the season, especially if the rookies and young players don’t show signs of improvement in the final five games.

As for Shurmur, he seems safe for now too, and very likely into next season as well. Giants GM Dave Gettleman seems to believe the franchise is headed in the right direction and he has always been one of Shurmur’s biggest supporters. And though the final call will belong to co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, Gettleman is obviously a powerful ally for a head coach to have.

For those who have followed the Giants for decades, this shouldn’t even cause a batted eye. Firing Ben McAdoo in-season was the exception to the rule and not the rule itself — Mara has never been shy about his desire to avoid repeated shakeups.

If the Giants lose out, that could obviously sway the opinion of ownership, but even at 2-8 entering the bye week, Dave Gettleman, Pat Shurmur, James Bettcher and Mike Shula are all safe and staying put.

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The secondary is primary for Wisconsin if it wants to beat Minnesota

A look at the Wisconsin Badgers’ secondary heading into the final stretch of the regular season.

There is a difference between playing poorly and playing “not well enough.” This reality is a good framework to use when assessing the Wisconsin Badgers’ secondary the past few weeks.

Solid and competent through two and a half or three quarters, the Wisconsin secondary has let down its guard in the fourth quarters of recent games against Illinois in October and then this past Saturday against Iowa. The similarities between the two games are very obvious, and they inform how the Badgers need to improve before the clash against the Minnesota Golden Gophers later this month. Beating Minnesota will enable this season to be remembered with a sense of satisfaction. If the Badgers are to build themselves to a point where they can withstand all of P.J. Fleck’s arrows and spears, the secondary — which hasn’t been bad — needs to be a lot better.

If a team or position unit does its job for two and a half or three quarters, it doesn’t deserve extremely low grades, but if that unit has enough lapses in the final 15 to 20 minutes of a game, no one will care how good the first two and a half quarters were. Such was the reality for Wisconsin after the Illinois game. That scenario very nearly unfolded again versus Iowa, but Chris Orr’s tackle on the 2-point conversion spared the Badgers an overtime period and a possible crisis.

Wisconsin led Illinois 20-7 deep into the third quarter. Illinois scored 17 points in the final 16 minutes to win. Wisconsin led Iowa 21-6 after three quarters. Iowa scored 16 points in the final 15 minutes to very nearly forge a tie. The Badgers’ secondary is like LeBron James in his disastrous 2011 NBA Finals series against the Dallas Mavericks: He wasn’t worth a dollar because he always came a quarter short.

LeBron couldn’t solve the fourth quarter in that series, as a member of the Miami Heat. The Mavs raised their game, and LeBron froze instead of becoming sharper in the cauldron of pressure. Something akin to that has happened with the Wisconsin secondary against Illinois and now Iowa. The Badgers gave hardly anything away and put an opposing offense on lockdown for nearly 45 minutes, and then lost the plot in the final 15.

Iowa’s Tyrone Tracy got free on an intermediate/deep-intermediate pass and outraced the Wisconsin defense the rest of the way for a 75-yard touchdown which changed the tone and trajectory of Saturday’s fourth quarter in Camp Randall Stadium. Illinois produced pass plays of 48 and 29 yards against Wisconsin to fuel its comeback. The Illini also got a 43-yard touchdown run in their late rally.

The big pass plays which have struck Wisconsin’s secondary have not been long bombs, either. These are not cases of quarterbacks throwing 50-yard heaves and the receivers outleap Badger cornerbacks. These are intermediate or deep-intermediate throws which involve a long run after the catch is made. Angles, reactions, positioning, and responsibility all enter into these shortcomings. They keep recurring, and they have to be nipped in the bud.

Wisconsin has a 75-cent defense right now. Finding that fourth and final quarter of quality is primary for the Badgers and their secondary.

MSU star Cassius Winston shares emotional message to brother on Instagram (Spartanswire)

MSU star Cassius Winston shared an emotional message to his brother, Zachary, who died by suicide Saturday night.

MSU star Cassius Winston shared an emotional message to his brother, Zachary, who died by suicide Saturday night.