Tag: Instagram

Chiefs HC Andy Reid responds to WR Kadarius Toney’s social media rant

Kansas City #Chiefs head coach Andy Reid responds to wide receiver Kadarius Toney’s social media rant.

The countdown to Super Bowl LVIII is underway as the Kansas City Chiefs are set to battle the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas on February 11th. After their upset victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game, spirits were so high that many had forgotten the unexpected message left by a team member before last Sunday’s kickoff.

During Monday’s weekly Zoom press conference, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was excited to praise his coaching staff and players for a job well done against the Ravens. Reid also took time to address the elephant in the room regarding wide receiver Kadarius Toney’s rant on Instagram regarding his injury status.

“Yeah, I actually haven’t seen it. I’ve heard people talk about it,” said Reid. “But um, yeah, he’ll be back out there. And we’ll see how he does.”

Toney was reportedly out of action for an ongoing hip and ankle injury. At the same time, reports surfaced before the AFC Championship game that he was out for personal reasons to be on hand for the birth of his daughter. Reid disputed Toney’s denial of the injury report as he seemed unfazed by the comments.

“Yeah, well, I mean, he’s been on the injury report,” Reid explained. “That part, that’s not made up by any means, but he’s been working through some things, and he’ll be back out there.”

The potential return of Toney to practice in the coming days should be something to watch out for as the team prepares for Super Bowl LVIII. Toney has missed the last six games but was vital to the team’s victory in Super Bowl LVII the previous season.

Twitter reacts to Kadarius Toney’s expletive-ridden rant about injury status

Twitter users were quick to make their voices heard about #Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney’s expletive-ridden rant about his injury status on Sunday.

Kadarius Toney won’t be participating in the Kansas City Chiefs’ matchup against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, but he gave fans plenty to talk about with an expletive-ridden post he made on social media before kickoff.

Toney, who welcomed a child into the world on Saturday, took to Instagram Live to tell fans that the Chiefs are lying about his injury status.

Check out his profane rant below, but be warned: the graphic nature of his language isn’t suitable for all audiences.

At this juncture, it is hard to tell whether Toney’s assertions are being made in good faith, or if he is merely frustrated by his status as a no-go for Sunday’s game. The Chiefs could be punished by the NFL if they are lying about their injury report but the team made it clear that Toney’s status for the game was impacted by a “personal” matter, ostensibly the birth of his child.

Fans on Twitter were quick to respond to Toney’s accusation against his team and had a variety of responses to the bizarre situation.

Check out their top reactions below:

Kadarius Toney says Chiefs are lying about his injury

#Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney took to Instagram live to tell fans that Kansas City is lying about his hip injury.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to play the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC Championship Game that could send them to their second consecutive Super Bowl.

While the Chiefs were preparing for their matchup on Sunday afternoon, one of the team’s most polarizing stars, wide receiver Kadarius Toney, took to Instagram to post an expletive-filled rant about his injury status.

Kansas City ruled Toney out due to a hip injury and personal reasons on Saturday, but according to the mercurial pass catcher, the prior designation was completely fabricated by the Chiefs.

Check out what Toney had to say, but be warned: the presentation of his rant may not be suitable for all audiences:

The veracity of Toney’s assertion hasn’t been confirmed by any other source. According to reports, he welcomed a child into the world on Saturday, which partially accounted for his status as a no-go against Baltimore. January 28 also happened to be his birthday, so Toney has had a busy weekend.

If Kansas City is lying about Toney’s injury, the NFL may be obligated to punish the defending Super Bowl champions for their deception. It is unclear why the Chiefs would choose to fabricate such a claim, but Toney has officially made it their problem after posting his impassioned rant to social media on Sunday morning.

Peyton Manning congratulates Todd Helton on Hall of Fame nod

“Was an honor to be your backup, an honor to be your fan, and it’s an honor to be your friend,” Peyton Manning told Todd Helton.

From one Hall of Famer to another, game recognizes game. For Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, his former cross-town Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton’s election to the Baseball Hall of Fame, it means a little bit more.

Helton and Manning were football teammates at the University of Tennessee. Believe it or not, Helton was actually Tennessee’s starting quarterback for a brief time in 1994, before suffering an injury that would pave the way for Manning to take the starting job — and a Hall-of-Fame career career from that point on.

Helton went on to have a stellar 17-year career with the Colorado Rockies, who selected him eighth overall in the 1995 MLB draft. After Manning took the reins as a starter for the Volunteers, he was selected first overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1998 NFL draft.

Manning and Helton shared a sports home again when Manning signed with the Broncos prior to the 2012 season. Helton finished his playing career with the Rockies in 2013.

Manning congratulated Helton on Instagram when Helton passed the 75% threshold needed to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Michael Thomas shares a pointed criticism on social media

Michael Thomas shared a pointed criticism on social media, calling out those who accept mediocrity over high achievers:

Michael Thomas shared a message carrying pointed criticism on social media Tuesday morning, in posts on both Instagram and the platform formerly known as Twitter (currently X) that sure seem to be aimed at the New Orleans Saints.

“People who accept mediocrity don’t like high achievers and high achievers don’t like people who accept mediocrity,” Thomas wrote. “If you are going to talk about setting the bar you must be willing to hold the bar.”

Now, that could mean anything. But it’s tough to read it as anything but criticism of head coach Dennis Allen and Saints quarterback Derek Carr, as well as general manager Mickey Loomis for standing behind both of them. Carr struggled through the first three months of the 2023 season but was repeatedly defended by his coach and GM, which reportedly rankled other players in the locker room.

And low standards have been the story of the Saints as of late. They’ve missed the playoffs in each of the first two years with Allen as head coach despite facing the easiest schedule in the NFL. They barely won nine games this season, Allen’s first winning season in five years a head coach. At a time when better coaches like Mike Vrabel, Pete Carroll, and Bill Belichick are getting shown the door, Loomis appears committed to standing by Allen. Carr has never won a playoff game after a decade in the NFL. Allen has lost 46 of his 70 games as a head coach. By all accounts the Saints plan to run it back with both of them.

That has to be frustrating for highly competitive pros in the locker room like Thomas. He knows what high standards look like, having seen them firsthand while working hard to break NFL records with Drew Brees and Sean Payton early in his career. That winning culture has deteriorated over time, and Allen’s poor influence on the locker room has openly set it to rot.

Thomas was a key figure in recruiting Carr to New Orleans, so you have to imagine there’s some sort of buyer’s remorse at play when the quarterback didn’t meet expectations for much of the season — particularly in getting the ball to Thomas, hesitating to throw passes on the quick in-breaking routes that Thomas thrives with. The Saints did structure their last extension with Thomas so that there’s an option for him to return in 2024, but if the choice is Thomas or Allen and Carr, well: we might have seen the last of No. 13.

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We asked DALL-E to turn NBA players’ Instagram bios into images

Social media and AI have taken over the world in recent years. Almost all NBA players are now on Instagram, for example, posting their daily lives, workouts, as well as game photos. Their Instagram bios, often a mix of quotes, hometown shoutouts, …

Social media and AI have taken over the world in recent years. Almost all NBA players are now on Instagram, for example, posting their daily lives, workouts, as well as game photos.

Their Instagram bios, often a mix of quotes, hometown shoutouts, or, in cases like LeBron James, simply emojis, tell a story. We took this a step further by using DALL-E, an AI program, to transform these bios into visual representations.

Here’s a glimpse into how these NBA players’ Instagram bios have been creatively visualized through the lens of AI:

Lions downgrade Alex Anzalone, former Saints LB won’t play in Week 13

Alex Anzalone will miss Sunday’s matchup against his old team due to injury, but the former Saints linebacker found an important silver lining:

The Detroit Lions have officially ruled out linebacker Alex Anzalone for this week’s game versus the New Orleans Saints, downgrading his status from doubtful on Saturday.

This was Anzalone’s first opportunity to play against his former team. Not only will he not play, he won’t travel to New Orleans either. There’s a silver lining for him: Anzalone and his wife Lindsey announced the birth of their daughter on Friday through his official Instagram account, so the young family will have a weekend to themselves.

Anzalone isn’t the only former Saints player sidelined for this game due to an injury. C.J. Gardner-Johnson will also miss this game with a torn pectoral. He suffered this injury early in the season, and it’s unsure if he’ll return by year’s end. It’s the second time an injury has taken Gardner Johnson out of a matchup with the Saints in as many years. The Lions-Saints reunion now starts and stops with the coaching staff.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0VFcvPRlks/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

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Jason Pierre-Paul says goodbye to the Saints after joining the Dolphins

Jason Pierre-Paul said goodbye to the New Orleans Saints in an Instagram post after joining the Miami Dolphins, his hometown team:

It’s official: Jason Pierre-Paul is leaving the New Orleans Saints after just one game in the black and gold. Pierre-Paul announced his previously-reported departure for the Miami Dolphins in a post from his official Instagram account, which was shared by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. Because Pierre-Paul was on the Saints’ practice squad he was free to entertain offers from other teams willing to sign him to their 53-man roster, so the Saints will not receive any compensation for his loss.

Pierre-Paul is from South Florida where he starred at Deerfield Beach High School in the Miami suburbs. For him, this is a homecoming.

His exit leaves the Saints in a tight spot at defensive end; they signed Pierre-Paul to the practice squad in the first place because they were missing recently-drafted young pros like Payton Turner and Isaiah Foskey due to injury. Compound their absences with an underperforming pass rush (New Orleans has just 18 sacks so far this season, tied for second-fewest in the league) and the need for more help off the edge is obvious. Let’s see where they turn next.

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Notre Dame’s leading receiver is entering the transfer portal

Farewell, Chris.

With the regular season in the books, the dominoes regarding the transfer portal are starting to fall. Notre Dame already is losing defensive end Nana Osafo-Mensah to the portal. Now, the Irish can add Chris Tyree to the list after he made the announcement on Instagram:

Tyree converted from running back to receiver during the past year and made the most of it. He finished the regular season as the Irish’s top receiver with 484 yards on 26 receptions, three of them going for touchdowns. He also has the Irish’s only punt return for a touchdown this season.

While we obviously wish Tyree the best moving forward, the Irish’s receiving corps just took another hit ahead of their bowl game. [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag], the tight end right behind Tyree on the receiving chart, is out for the season with an injury. That leaves [autotag]Rico Flores[/autotag] as the top remaining receiver with 392 yards on 27 receptions and one touchdown. Best of luck to [autotag]Gerad Parker[/autotag] in planning for the final game of the season.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Brooks Koepka trolls LIV Golf by asking about unreleased schedule for 2024

Only one of 14 events for 2024 has been announced so far.

Aside from a few releases talking about free agency and the upcoming promotions event, it’s been relatively quiet on the LIV Golf front since the end of the 2023 season last month.

With just a little more than a month left in the year, the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has yet to release its schedule for 2024.

Brooks Koepka is less than thrilled.

The 33-year-old has never been shy about speaking his mind and over the last week has taken to social media to voice his displeasure that the schedule hasn’t been announced.

Koepka commented on an Instagram photo on Saturday, and then doubled down with another comment on Sunday. He then started talking to LIV fan accounts.

Only one stop on the league’s 14-event schedule has been announced so far, the return to Australia for 2024 LIV Golf Adelaide, April 26-28, at the Grange Golf Club.

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