HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ set to follow Rams, Chargers this summer (Chargers Wire)

HBO’s Hard Knocks is changing it up this summer, following not one but two NFL teams in its 15th season of the docu-series.

HBO’s Hard Knocks is changing it up this summer, following not one but two NFL teams in its 15th season of the docu-series.

Report: Chargers, Rams planned for HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’

This will make out to be must-watch television.

HBO’s “Hard Knocks”, which features various team’s training camp and preseason action, has been a hit for years now.

This year’s is slated to be in the City of Angels.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the league wants to supersize “Hard Knocks” and follow both Los Angeles-based teams as they prepare to open SoFi Stadium this year.

No official announcement has been made because of the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chargers enter this upcoming season in an interesting position. Even though their roster is loaded with talent, this will be the first season in 14 years with someone other than Philip Rivers under center.

This would be the Bolts’ first appearance. For the Rams, this would mark their second appearance on the show. They were last on in 2016.

Report: No ‘Hard Knocks’ for the Lions in 2020, HBO double dips in Los Angeles

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that HBO’s “Hard Knocks” will feature both the Los Angeles Chargers and Rams in their 2020 edition of the show.

For the second consecutive year, the Detroit Lions have been eligible for HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series and now, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, they have officially avoided it both times.

Schefter is reporting that this year’s version of “Hard Knocks” will feature both the Los Angeles Chargers and Rams in their 2020 edition of the show, assuming there are NFL training camps open this summer.

Not only is featuring two teams an unprecedented move for HBO, but neither the Chargers nor the Rams were among the teams eligible for the show — in addition to the Lions the other eligible teams were, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Arizona Cardinals.

In order for this to be approved, HBO, the NFL, NFL Films (who produce the show), the Chargers, and the Rams all had to sign off on the decision.

Coach Matt Patricia and the Lions were featured on several “Hard Knocks”-like videos at this year’s Senior Bowl — including being mic’d up at Senior Bowl practices, the Senior Bowl game, and Road to the Draft: Senior Bowl — and it made for some entertaining viewing. But at the end of the day, this has to make the Lions brass happy because they made it clear in the past that they didn’t want anything to do with being on the show.

LeBron’s appearance on HBO’s Entourage alongside Matt Damon

Looking back at LeBron’s appearance on the HBO hit-show Entourage. In season six, episode 12 LeBron makes his cameo.

LeBron James had already hosted Saturday Night Live by the time he appeared on an episode of HBO’s hit-show, Entourage, in 2009. He had performed SNL skits on NBC with his close friend and future agent, Rich Paul. There were many classic Nike and Sprite commercials by this point as well, so LeBron and his team were no strangers to the stage. But this was a season finale episode of a mega-hit show and LeBron would make his cameo appearance alongside Matt Damon.

To this point in LeBron’s NBA career, he had played every season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He won the Eastern Conference in 2007 and led his Cavs team to the NBA Finals. There, Cleveland lost to the San Antonio Spurs in four games. LeBron would win his first of four MVP awards in the same year he appeared on Entourage. He was also a perennial All-Star who would soon be winning rings with the Miami Heat.

During the episode of Entourage that LeBron appears in, Turtle is on an emotional roller-coaster. He is trying to get over his lost love, Jamie-Lynn Sigler. In one of the most dramatic twists in the series, Turtle started dating Meadow from The Sopranos. But now, Jamie is filming a movie for 12 months overseas and thinks it’s best to break it off. Turtle is heartbroken, but determined.

Eric Murphy is chasing his ex, Sloane. He gets her to go out to eat with him during the episode. Cinematography is at its finest as Eric drives a flashy convertible alongside the ocean while plotting to win back Sloane’s love. Ari is in the midst of an agency war that has him pitted against Lloyd. Drama spends most of the episode hanging with his little bro, Hollywood superstar Vinny Chase. The Chase brothers are making their way to Italy when they bump into LeBron and Matt.

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Patrick Mahomes reveals he recently learned to read NFL defenses

Patrick Mahomes is a featured guest on Saturday night’s episode of the HBO show “The Shop: Uninterrupted” hosted by executive producer LeBron James. 

The offseason is in full swing for Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes as he’s continued to make the media rounds following Super Bowl LIV. Mahomes is a featured guest on Saturday night’s episode of the HBO show “The Shop: Uninterrupted” hosted by executive producer LeBron James.

In this week’s episode preview Mahomes reveals what he picked up along the way to winning the Super Bowl last month.

”I started playing quarterback junior year of high school, until now, which is like six years,” said Mahomes. ”I was playing safety and a little bit of quarterback. I didn’t understand how to read defenses until halfway through last year. I understood coverage, but having to be able to pick up little tendencies defenses do something like Brady and them have done. I was just playing.”

Mahomes has already won both a league and Super Bowl MVP in his short three-year career. The admission to only now understanding defenses is a terrifying thought for opposing teams looking to stop the Chiefs offense.

”This year I could actually recognize more and more stuff, and I think the more experience,” said Mahomes. “and the more I learn, then I’ll be able to go out there and call plays and do that different stuff because I’ve seen it. I still think there’s a long way for me to go there and that’s where mentally I feel like I could get better, physically I’ve done a lot of stuff I always work on the fundamentals and doing that stuff, I think mentally I could take my game to a whole another level.”

Mahomes and James were joined in the discussion by co-executive producer Maverick Carter, Chadwick Boseman, Trae Young, Roddy Ricch, Tiffany Haddish, Steve Stoute, and Paul Rivera. Interesting to see what else Mahomes will reveal on this Saturday night’s full episode.

Larry David blames Jets for killing his friend in new episode of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’

The Jets found themselves in the plot of an episode of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Even in the offseason, the New York Jets still find ways to make headlines.

The Jets found themselves in the thick of the plot in Sunday’s episode of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” In the episode, Larry David’s friend, Carl, kills himself because of the aggravation that comes with being a Jets fan. David is a lifelong Jets ran in real life.

Carl’s demise was brought about by news that Le’Veon Bell was out with a season-ending injury. This did not actually happen, thought the episode referenced plenty of nonfictional Jets disasters.

“I can’t take any more disappointment,” Carl wrote in his suicide note.

David goes on to tell a couple of his friends about Carl killing himself over the Jets, but he did attribute some of the blame to another New York franchise as well.

“The Jets killed Carl — and a little bit of the Knicks,” David said.

David then brings up Sam Darnold’s mononucleosis in a conversation later on with a friend.

“Last year started with such promise. Then Darnold gets mono, season’s over by Game 3,” David said.

Toward the end of the episode, David is sitting with Carl’s widow, Veronica, and explains why he thinks Carl killed himself.”The [expletive] Jets,” Veronica responded.

“He loved them so much,” she continued. “The Jets ruined our marriage. I couldn’t stand to be around him.”

The two then fought over the Austin Seferian-Jenkins fumble that cost the Jets an opportunity to beat the Patriots in 2017.

David is an avid Jets fan, but, like Carl, has been frustrated with the organization for years. So, he made them the subject of his show and got a few hilarious jabs in. Maybe that’s just David’s way of coping with all the pain Gang Green has brought him.

Trevor Bauer says pitchers are still using pine tar to boost spin rates

In a conversation on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” Bauer says he believes that 70% of pitchers are still using pine tar to boost spin rates, hiding it on their gloves, hats, and belts.

In a conversation on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” Bauer says he believes that 70% of pitchers are still using pine tar to boost spin rates, hiding it on their gloves, hats, and belts.

NFL fans noticed that Marshawn Lynch made an appearance in the new ‘Westworld’ trailer

Did not see that one coming.

The HBO series Westworld is a visually stunning show with an exceptional cast. It’s often difficult to follow and paces slowly, but still, if you can get past being confused for 40 percent of the time, it makes for an entertaining watch.

Oh, and Marshawn Lynch will be in Season 3.

HBO dropped its latest trailer for the third season of the futuristic sci-fi thriller set for March 15, and fans quickly noticed that Beast Mode made an appearance in the trailer.

The trailer, which had a lot of Aaron Paul (yeah, science!), also had the Seattle Seahawks running back walking behind Aaron Paul with Lena Waithe for about a second. Here’s the entire trailer — Lynch makes an appearance around the 55-second mark.

Yeah, that’s Beast Mode. It’s unclear what role exactly Lynch will play in the show, but he’s made appearances in television before on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The League and Good Kidd. So, it may be more than a mere cameo.

Fans were not expecting to see Lynch in the trailer, though.

It’s just another reason to tune in come March.

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Marshawn Lynch makes appearance in HBO’s ‘Westworld’ trailer

Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is continuing his acting career, set to appear in Season 3 of HBO’s “Westworld” in March.

The Seattle Seahawks brought back a former fan favorite last year when they signed running back Marshawn Lynch to the roster after Rashaad Penny, Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise suffered season-ending injuries ahead of the team’s playoff run.

Lynch has yet to indicate whether or not he plans to return to football in 2020 but he’s been staying busy this offseason.

On Thursday morning, HBO’s series “Westworld” introduced its trailer for the upcoming third season and Lynch made his appearance at the .55 mark.

“Live without limits in a world where every human appetite can be indulged,” reads the description on the show’s website. “This dark odyssey follows the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. Now renewed for Season 3.”

Lynch’s role in the series has yet to be revealed but it certainly isn’t his first foray into acting. His personal IMDB page lists a number of credits, including appearances in the “The League” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” among others.

Season 3 of “Westworld” premieres on Sunday, March 15 on HBO.

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5 teams that are eligible for Hard Knocks 2020

Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Training camp starts in July but for a lot of fans, the NFL season doesn’t start until they hear the sound of Liev Schreiber’s voice narrating over a training camp practice. It is the sign that the football season …

Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Training camp starts in July but for a lot of fans, the NFL season doesn’t start until they hear the sound of Liev Schreiber’s voice narrating over a training camp practice. It is the sign that the football season is getting close. For those not in the know, that last reference was about “Hard Knocks,” the hit HBO show that follows a team around their training camp and preseason games. Last year we were treated to the last season of the Oakland Raiders and it was interesting following around Jon Gruden, Antonio Brown, Derek Carr, and the rest of the silver and black. This year, the Raiders are exempt from the show. In fact, a lot of teams are exempt from the show since the NFL put in new rules about what teams may be forced onto their small bit of reality television. Teams that have made the playoffs in the past two seasons added a new head coach, or have been on the show in the past 10 years can certainly volunteer to be on “Hard Knocks,” but there’s little chance of that happening in today’s NFL. That leaves us with five teams eligible for this year’s version of the show. Let’s get to them in alphabetical order — this is not a ranking, but just what teams can be forced on by the league.