Tag: FTW

Kylian Mbappe got so many hilarious mask ideas after he broke his nose at Euro 2024

Some of these Kylian Mbappe mask ideas are a little on the nose.

The presumed favorite at Euro 2024 is France, a finalist during the last two men’s World Cups. But it might have just encountered a massive obstacle on its road to hopefully win these Euros next month.

According to Fabrizio Romano, superstar Kylian Mbappe broke his nose on a header during the late stages of Les Bleus’ 1-0 win over Austria on Monday.

The good news for France is that early tests don’t seem to have ruled out the best player in these Euros for the country’s remaining Group D games. The bad news is that France still has to determine how it will appropriately manage Mbappe’s injury while ensuring that he can be as dynamic as possible. Because, you know, he’s a human being who has to breathe through his nose while also striking the balance of not letting it get hit again.

Mbappe seems to otherwise be OK, but this is not an insignificant development. At all.

Oh, by the way: Mbappe received a weird yellow card for coming back onto the field without every referee’s approval after his nose injury. If he picks up another yellow card before the quarterfinals (should France reach that stage), he will be suspended for the ensuing game.

That is another potentially fraught situation to monitor over the next week or so.

One of the ways France will apparently try to manage Mbappe’s broken nose is by having him wear a protective mask moving forward. This assertion was implied by Mbappe taking to his Twitter account to jokingly ask for mask ideas, seemingly right after his post-game medical evaluation:

If Mbappe is in such a joyful mood, perhaps France will be totally fine! Nonetheless, his health after his nose injury is something the team will have to be extremely careful with to win its first Euros tournament since 2000.

Soccer fans had so many amusing mask ideas for Kylian Mbappe after he broke his nose

The Bengals revealed Tee Higgins’ franchise tag by seemingly pretending they didn’t tag him

The Bengals have a really funny way of saying “franchise tag.”

Monday afternoon brought the news everyone associated with the Cincinnati Bengals has been bracing for months.

Tee Higgins officially signed his franchise tag for the 2024 season after he couldn’t reach an agreement on the long-term extension he wanted with the Bengals. The signs that Higgins was unhappy with his negotiations were abundantly clear, and they’ve now set up a “Last Dance” type of scenario for the Bengals as a premier Super Bowl contender.

But the way the Bengals revealed Higgins’ tag suggests they were, at the very least, trying to assuage the messaging of their failed contract negotiations with one of the team’s best players to their fans.

You see, as many NFL fans pointed out, the Bengals worded Higgins’ tag as a “one-year contract.” Technically, that is true, and Cincinnati does mention the tender in the article on its team website, but the tweet still omits the critical information that Higgins didn’t really have a choice with the tag:

So ends the Bengals’ saga with Higgins for now.

He’ll play out the 2024 season on his tag. He’ll likely amass around 100 catches and over 1,000 yards … again. He might even make his first Pro Bowl. And whenever the Bengals’ latest campaign ends, their initial social media messaging on Higgins’ tag won’t change that this will probably be his last year in Cincinnati.

NFL fans noticed how the Bengals’ tweet about Tee Higgins’ franchise tag was misleading

Why Jerry Reinsdorf and the Bulls reportedly declined a top-10 draft pick for Alex Caruso

Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf has zero respect for the team’s fans.

There are professional sports franchises that only pretend to compete and seemingly revel in their fans’ collective misery. Then there are the Chicago Bulls — a dark pillar of perennial mediocrity enabled by owner Jerry Reinsdorf sitting on his hands time and again.

The latest example of the Bulls’ ineptitude by choice comes on the heels of an embarrassing Alex Caruso trade fiasco.

According to CHGO’s Will Gottlieb, Chicago has fielded multiple calls for the difference-making All-Defensive guard, even receiving an offer that included a top-10 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. The Bulls have ultimately declined everything, opting to stay competitive for the playoffs (read: straddle the line of the Eastern Conference play-in tournament) off an apparent mandate from Jerry Reinsdorf and Bulls ownership.

Because of course they have. That is the least surprising news regarding any Reinsdorf-owned team and how it treats its roster and fans.

More from CHGO:

The Bulls took calls on Caruso, but never made them. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Bulls have received offers from multiple teams, consisting of multiple protected first-round picks. One of those deals included a pick in the top-10 of the 2024 draft, the source said. The Golden State Warriors were among teams who made a strong offer for Caruso, multiple sources confirmed.

Ultimately, they declined …

However, the source indicated that there was a mandate from the Reinsdorfs to fight for the playoffs. That, no doubt, impacted the front office’s decision making when it came to pulling the trigger on any Caruso deal.

Caruso is eligible for a monster four-year, $78.8 million contract extension this offseason. The veteran has earned such money. He’s also on the wrong side of 30 and, as such, fits much better with a championship-caliber team ready to compete for the NBA title, not scrap and claw for a .500 record like the Bulls seemingly always do.

But this is the situation the Reinsdorf Bulls clearly prefer.

Rather than pull the plug on the current iteration, which will assuredly never go anywhere, Chicago will double, even triple down on its current roster if it means simply maintaining the illusion of relevancy. That means likely extending another older guard in DeMar DeRozan and making no other discernible quality upgrades.

Because Reinsdorf and his family aren’t actually interested in sustained excellence or catering to his team’s loyal fans. They’re just happy if there are enough butts in seats at the Bulls’ arena come late March and early April.

Anything else for this laughable organization is gravy and takes entirely too much effort.

These 2 VAR decisions were key in Slovakia pulling off the biggest upset in Euro history

VAR singlehandedly broke Belgium’s heart in the biggest Euro upset ever.

The current iteration of Belgium men’s soccer already wasted its latest golden generation. Monday’s humiliation at the hands of Slovakia in its Euro 2024 opener was an insulting cherry on top.

The Red Devils entered this matchup ranked No. 3 in the world by FIFA. We can dispute the merits of such a questionable ranking at a different time — because it is dubious — but the fact remains that the world’s most powerful governing soccer body still thought that highly of Belgium.

Slovakia, meanwhile, was ranked No. 48 by FIFA. Again, Slovakia’s overall team quality was probably better at face value, but that’s not what some important soccer minds thought.

Yet, for most of the 90 minutes, Slovakia appeared to be the better team.

It took a 1-0 lead seven minutes into the proceedings from an Ivan Schranz goal and never relinquished it. Even with spirited Slovakian defending, it probably helped that VAR detected not one but two Belgian missteps on massive goal opportunities.

The first came early in the second half. Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku — one of the greatest pure goal-scorers ever — had an easy tap-in on the doorstep. The only issue? He was clearly offside upon the immediate VAR review.

Tough break, man:

Later, with Belgium desperately holding onto any whiff of hope, Lois Openda appeared to set Lukaku up with another perfect goal. However, after the fact, VAR determined that Openda touched the ball with his hand before getting control, thanks to a contact sensor.

Sure, it probably didn’t meaningfully change the trajectory of the ball. Still, Openda did technically break the main rule of soccer, and as such, this goal was also disallowed:

That is just rotten luck for Belgium and all supporters of the Red Devils.

By the disparity of the pre-game FIFA World Rankings, it is officially the biggest upset in men’s Euro tournament history. My goodness:

By no means is Belgium done. It still has two very winnable games with Romania and Ukraine. With that said, taking one on the chin against a considerable underdog like Slovakia is the worst possible way for this top contender to begin Euro 2024.

Brandon Aiyuk may have revealed his 49ers future in ambiguous TikTok conversation with Jayden Daniels

Brandon Aiyuk isn’t being subtle about his 49ers future.

The more time passes, the more it seems like Brandon Aiyuk has likely played his last snap with the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.

As the Second-Team All-Pro enters the final year of his rookie contract, speculation has run rampant that the salary-cap-strapped 49ers do not have the resources to retain him long-term all offseason.

Aiyuk has fanned these flames seemingly without a second thought.

At first, he stayed politely neutral about any negotiations with the 49ers after they lost Super Bowl 58. Later, he tweeted directly at his “twin” in Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin as trade rumors with the Steelers apparently simmered. Later, Aiyuk packed an Instagram story with emojis, seemingly and unsubtly saying, “Money talks, [expletive] walks.”

Now, in a new, somewhat ambiguous TikTok on his profile, Aiyuk is shown talking to ex-college teammate Jayden Daniels (now a member of the Washington Commanders). Aiyuk refers to “them” (the 49ers) not wanting him back.

Phew, we might finally be reaching the end of this needless saga:

@brandonaiyuk

Im laughing but im crying fr

♬ original sound – Brandon Aiyuk

OK, look. We’re more than halfway through June. Does anyone want a 26-year-old superstar receiver in the prime of his career? Anyone at all?

Because it’s starting to seem like the 49ers apparently don’t.

Soccer fans were livid with the way Fubo and Fox Sports botched the Euro 2024 rollout

Fox’s Euro 2024 deal with Fubo really betrayed soccer fans.

Fox was supposed to have a nice and seamless presentation of its Euro 2024 coverage in Germany. Thus far, through the early parts of the group stages, American soccer fans’ viewing experience has largely been anything but.

It began on Saturday during Switzerland’s Group A game against Hungary. Not only did a Fox network not carry the game, but it was also broadcast exclusively on the somewhat niche cable streaming service Fubo. Considering the steep price point of $79 a month to take in just a few matches (after a short free trial), it sure felt like Fox and Fubo were pulling a fast one on fans.

READ MORE: Ranking the 11 best players at Euro 2024

This was after the rational assumption that Fox would exclusively broadcast the tournament. Nope! In order to watch five of the 24 Euro 2024 games, one must subscribe to Fubo. Never mind the already countless subscriptions TV companies are asking of people these days.

It gets worse when you realize that Fubo didn’t even have a score bug for Switzerland vs. Hungary — a bog-standard informative element of quite literally any sports broadcast in 2024:

All of this consternation carried over to Monday morning when soccer fans began openly mocking the idea of Fubo’s broadcast while apparently missing most of its latest game between Romania and Ukraine in Group E.

But hey, at least there was a score bug this time! A small victory!

Soccer fans were upset with Fox, Fubo, and this entire Euro 2024 broadcast fiasco

Luka Doncic acknowledged the holes in his game after an awful start to NBA Finals

Luka Doncic has to grow up.

By no means are the Dallas Mavericks technically out of these NBA Finals. It’s just that no one has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in league history, and it seems exceedingly unlikely Dallas will be the first team ever to do so — especially against Jaylen Brown and his juggernaut Boston Celtics.

Luka Doncic’s glaring shortcomings are arguably the biggest reason the Mavericks will already be fighting for their season this Friday night.

After carrying Dallas to the Finals, the 25-year-old superstar has struggled defensively as the Celtics have relentlessly targeted him. At the same time, Doncic has faded hard late in all three Finals games — even inexcusably fouling out of Game 3 — and showed an apparent (and not new) lack of conditioning that’s cost him and his teammates everything so far.

During his press conference on Thursday, Doncic admitted he has holes in his skill set. While the Finals aren’t over, it’s abundantly clear they’re something he’ll have to address for his Mavericks to win a title:

It’s not unprecedented for stars of Doncic’s mold to experience a little heartbreak before they finally break through. Losing and learning where you have to improve to succeed has been a rite of passage for every major star in NBA history. Everyone from Michael Jordan and LeBron James to Nikola Jokic went through this kind of challenging trial in some capacity.

Doncic knows what next steps he has to take to lift the Mavericks over the top. That’s half the battle. And no matter what happens during the rest of these Finals, he still has plenty of time to grow.

Pat McAfee praising Shams Charania on ESPN over an Adrian Wojnarowski report is certainly a choice

Pat McAfee does know Adrian Wojnarowski is on his team … right?

At this point, Pat McAfee has become well-known for not only putting his foot in his mouth but also kind of, sort of antagonizing his own employer, ESPN. On his program, The Pat McAfee Show, it’s the worst of both worlds.

McAfee seemingly continued these bizarre antics during a weird interview with NBA reporter Shams Charania on his show Thursday.

After the Los Angeles Lakers officially fell out of the Dan Hurley sweepstakes, McAfee had Charania on (again) to discuss the latest in L.A.’s coaching search. As Charania bragged about staying consistent in his reporting about the situation — namely, the suggestion that Mr. “Ethical Scorer” JJ Redick was the favorite for the Lakers’ job all along — there was no pushback from McAfee.

None whatsoever, even though it sure felt like Charania was taking a shot at fellow NBA scoop master Adrian Wojnarowski, who had the Hurley revelation first. You know, the very same Wojnarowski who is McAfee’s teammate at ESPN. In fact, McAfee made the awkward decision of actually praising Charania on air after only the slightest, vague referral to saying he’s “Completely OK with other NBA guys being our [ESPN’s] guy.”

This was certainly a choice:

I’m not going to pretend to know what’s going on behind the scenes at ESPN. But I can’t imagine the higher-ups were happy to see this apparent Wojnarowski slight enabled by McAfee … live on one of their shows.

After everything, it’s so odd but completely unsurprising to see McAfee essentially feed this NBA scoop reporter beef.

Featured image courtesy of The Pat McAfee Show

Netflix’s ‘Receiver’ trailer showcases 49ers’ run to Super Bowl 58, with an emphasis on George Kittle for some reason

Netflix apparently considers George Kittle … a receiver?

Fresh off the success of Quarterback last summer, the documentary series chronicling the in-season NFL life of superstars like Patrick Mahomes, Netflix is officially running it back.

This time, though, the streaming giant will highlight another pro football position: Receivers, especially of the star variety.

On Thursday, Netflix revealed a dramatic trailer for Receiver, an in-depth inside look at the on and off-field dynamics for top football playmakers dropping this July 10. And while there are familiar names like the Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson and Detroit Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown featured, for some reason, George Kittle — a tight end — is also involved.

I mean, I guess Kittle technically catches passes, as he explains in the video, so he qualifies as a “receiver.” Still, he’s also a 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end who is probably an in-line blocking behemoth first and foremost. So, what are we doing here?

Ah, whatever, he’s in the show, and there’s a lot of 49ers talk as they make a run to Super Bowl 58:

For posterity, the five players featured in Receiver will be:

  • Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
  • Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
  • Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
  • Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers
  • George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

If this is even halfway as good as Quarterback — which gave us a lot of terrific behind-the-scenes moments — then look for Receiver to be an absolute gem.

Featured image courtesy of Netflix

Tom Brady shared his kids’ beautiful tribute video commemorating his Patriots career

Tom Brady’s kids know how to pull at the heartstrings.

Tom Brady is busy preparing for his first season as Fox’s No. 1 color commentator of NFL games, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t reminisce about his playing days every now and then. (His Netflix roast notwithstanding.)

On the day when he gets inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame, it’s probably even better when he gets to share such treasured memories with his family.

On Wednesday afternoon, the legendary quarterback shared an awesome tribute video on his Instagram showcasing Brady at different points of his New England Patriots career. It’s an artistic piece in which if one continually zooms in on a specific frame of a photo, it takes you to a different scene, a different game, and a different moment. It’s really cool to see it slowly unfold in real-time.

The best part? Brady says his kids surprised him with the video as a gift. Aww:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8H1ueDsyqd/?igsh=enJ4Y3NxNWQ1OHlz

That’s one way to pen the nearly two-decade chapter of Brady’s iconic time with the Patriots.