morning win – Page 22 – Syndication Server

Steve Kornacki’s brilliance on ‘SNF’ should start a broadcasting trend

Other networks should do this, too.

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A few weeks ago NBC announced that MSNBC’s political dude who stood in front of a big screen and broke down all the votes and whatnot during the election was going to go on “Sunday Night Football” to break down the NFL playoff picture in similar fashion. I thought it would be a stupid bit and that the political fella, Steve Kornacki, had jumped the shark.

And you know what? I was wrong! He’s been great with these things and NBC was smart to bring him on.

Last night Kornacki was back on SNF pregame and halftime shows for a second straight week and once again he crushed his segment as he battled through a few tech issues while perfectly breaking down all the playoff chances for all the teams.

Kornacki uses his big screen and his engaging personality and his math to show viewers where teams started the day, where they stand at the moment, and where they will stand if certain things in Sunday night’s game happens. There are lots of percentage points, which are good. Which are necessary. Which are there to help us know exactly where things stand.

It might seem like a small thing but this segment should become “a thing” that the other networks start copying, much like they did when Fox Sports brought on Mike Pereira to be their NFL rules expert. Now all the networks have their own Mike Pereira and their roles on the broadcast feel like they’ve been there forever.

Without Kornacki, most networks put their NFL playoff pictures up on a screen and talk about it they best they can while telling us who’s in and who’s in the hunt. It’s an OK way to do it but it’s not great. It’s like watching TV in standard definition. We got used to that until we got high definition and then that’s what we all wanted and needed.

Well, Kornacki and his way of breaking the playoff picture down is the new high definition we need in our lives.

If I’m CNN’s John King, I’d have my agent making some calls for some Sunday work late in the the NFL season, because he would crush it, too.

In this day and age it’s easy to sit back and rip networks for giving us annoying announcers to listen to and boring segments to watch.

Now we need to do the opposite and applaud NBC’s vision to raise the game to a new level.

And other networks would be smart to do the same.

Quick hits: Metcalf becomes cameraman… Jacobs throws fantasy owners for a loop… Mahomes’ ridiculous sack… And more.

– Seattle’s D.K. Metcalf took over one of the TV cameras behind the end zone after scoring a TD and his footage… wasn’t great.

– Raiders running back Josh Jacobs threw fantasy owners for a loop with his pregame Instagram stories.

– Patrick Mahomes took a 30-yard sack during Sunday’s win over the Dolphins. 30 yards!

– An LSU staffer shared a picture of the shoe that could keep the Florida Gators out of the college football playoffs.

– MLB fans have decided what Cleveland’s new nickname should be.

The NFL potentially forcing the Ravens to forfeit is a bad idea

Don’t do it, NFL.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. Charles Curtis is filling in today for Andy Nesbitt.

The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers were supposed to be the Thanksgiving dessert after a day of mediocre NFL teams playing during the day, a matchup of two AFC North rivals vying for playoff spots.

Instead, due to a COVID-19 outbreak with the Ravens, it was moved to Sunday. And the bad news kept coming on Thursday — Lamar Jackson was reportedly among another group of players and staff members who tested positive. If there are more new positives on Friday, a game on Sunday that’s already in doubt could be done for.

If you were on Twitter Thanksgiving day, you saw the word “forfeit” trending, with NFL fans wondering if the the league would declare a loss for the Ravens instead of having to move the schedule around to make sure this game gets played.

It’s a bad idea, an extreme action that isn’t even close to necessary.

In a memo that was obtained by USA TODAY Sports in October, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell warned that violating league protocols would result in discipline, from lost draft picks — the Raiders lost a 2021 sixth-rounder for this very reason — to forfeiting games. We know a Ravens staff member was “disciplined” (per the franchise) for “conduct surrounding the recent COVID-19 cases.”

If the NFL finds, as it did with the Raiders, that there were blatant violations of protocol, it can strip the team of draft picks. But a forfeit opens up a Pandora’s box the NFL doesn’t want, especially when the league itself has mishandled COVID-19 in 2020. Both the Ravens AND the Steelers wouldn’t get game checks, which doesn’t seem fair to Pittsburgh (players were furious about the postponement on Wednesday). That would set a precedent if there are other team outbreaks over the next month.

So what’s the solution? There have to be some schedule hoops the NFL can jump through and move games around, which is what the league has done in the past. Or there’s the “Week 18” idea that’s been talked about all year — move the game to after Week 17 and bump the playoffs and Super Bowl a week. That opens up scheduling flexibility for other teams should outbreaks happen with them as well.

It’s an unprecedented solution, but it’s an unprecedented year.

Quick hits: A really bad-looking turkey … An NFL Fumblerooski! … Picks against the spread … and more

– Gordon Hayward’s Thanksgiving turkey didn’t come out looking so good.

– Washington Football Team ran a Fumblerooski play!!

– The Cowboys ran a ridiculously bad fake punt attempt in the blowout loss to Washington Football Team.

– Here are Steven Ruiz and Charles Curtis’s NFL picks against the spread for Week 12.

Antonio Brown’s suspension is over, but should the NFL welcome him back in?

While some will wonder where Antonio Brown will sign, it’s worth asking if the league should even want to be in business with him.

This is the Morning Win. Nate Scott is filling in for Andy Nesbitt today.

Antonio Brown’s 8-game suspension from the NFL is over, and fans and writers around the league have taken to wondering where, exactly, he could fit in. The Seahawks? Somewhere else?

After Brown shocked the football world by signing with the New England Patriots last year, we can’t help but wonder: What team will make the headline-grabbing signing this time?

This isn’t the same situation, however. The question we should be asking ourselves is not: What team will Antonio Brown be signing for? It’s: Should the NFL want to be in the business of Antonio Brown?

It’s easy to forget what with every other thing happening in the nightmare of a world we live in right now, but Brown was cut by the Patriots and suspended by the league in the midst of an investigation into accusations of sexual assault made by an artist who was working in his home in 2017.

Brown was also charged with felony burglary with a battery charged, to which he pleaded no contest, after an incident with a moving company at his home in Florida.

Brown completed his punishment, and the league (I imagine) considers the matter finished. Brown is most likely still a talented wide receiver who could perhaps be a game-changer for a team looking to make a run at a Super Bowl. He still has friends in the league — even after everything, Tom Brady, for example, still defended Brown publicly.

Maybe it’s as simple as that. Maybe Brown has learned his lessons, served his punishment, and should be allowed back into the league. I can’t speak to the man’s heart.

What I do know is true is that the thing that matters above all else in the NFL is optics. If Brown can sign without a public outcry, he’ll play. If there is a public outcry, he won’t. That’s the only thing, most likely, that matters here to the NFL.

Quick hits: Chris Pratt, Trevor Lawrence, and more

– Our own Hemal Jhaveri explained why the internet has finally turned on Chris Pratt.

– We looked at the future of Trevor Lawrence, and concluded that even the terrible Jets won’t convince him to stay in college.

– This delightful World Series fan caught a home run, then threw his glove onto the field. Why? We have no idea.

The Los Angeles Dodgers just can’t catch a break

The nightmare continues.

This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. Charles Curtis is replacing Andy Nesbitt for today’s edition.

The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to be snake-bit.

This is the franchise that’s won its division eight straight times and fallen short of a title — and huge expectations — in each of those years. They’ve kept tinkering with trades and signings that seem to make each team better than the next … and then they falter in soul-crushing ways.

All hope isn’t lost yet in 2020, but after Tuesday night’s 8-7 loss to the Atlanta Braves, it isn’t looking great. That was a game in which Clayton Kershaw — who’s had his share of postseason struggles compared to stellar regular seasons — was scratched due to back spasms. Tony Gonsolin made the start and gave up five earned runs. Then, down 8-3 in the ninth, the Dodgers bats came alive for four runs … and Mark Melancon got A.J. Pollock to hit into a groundout with Cody Bellinger — who’s had himself quite a playoffs — on third. Atlanta has a 2-0 lead in the NLCS.

Credit absolutely goes to the Braves, who have a balanced lineup and a young pitching staff that’s been lights-out the entire playoffs.

But this nightmare keeps happening to L.A. There was losing to the Nationals last year in extra innings in Game 5 of the NLDS thanks to a Washington comeback from a 3-0 lead early. In 2018, the Red Sox were a buzz-saw that kept the Dodgers’ bats mostly quiet. You know what happened in 2017 — the Astros won in seven World Series games and then everyone found out their sign-stealing tactics a couple of years later. The year before, it was the NLCS loss to the eventual champion Cubs. It goes on and on.

I get that you’re probably making the Joe Kelly face right now, that maybe you don’t feel so bad for a team that’s second in payroll (per Spotrac) and can afford to give Mookie Betts a huge contract extension. But I completely understand the frustration that this team just can’t live up to the hype.

Quick hits: Snoop Dogg’s new ink … What’s next for Dak Prescott … The Bachelorette is back … and more.

— Snoop Dogg got an incredible new Lakers tattoo with a Kobe Bryant tribute.

— Our Henry McKenna breaks down how the Cowboys could approach Dak Prescott’s deal in the offseason.

— If you’re a fan of The Bachelorette, you must read Nick Schwartz’s breakdown of the 2020 cast.

— LeBron James got his daughter a miniature house!

The rules that led to Novak Djokovic U.S. Open default completely justify his disqualification

It more than makes sense.

I would hope there aren’t too many arguments being made regarding whether what Novak Djokovic did on Sunday at the 2020 U.S. Open should have resulted in him being disqualified.

But if there are, let’s put them all to rest and examine the rulebook.

The No. 1 seeded Djokovic was frustrated in the first set of his match against Pablo Carreño Busta, hitting a ball off the wall that then struck a line judge in the neck. Djokovic apologized on Instagram and said that his actions were unintentional.

The ITF rulebook spells out what led to his disqualification: under the “physical abuse” section, players are penalized if the violation happens during a match.

“In circumstances that are flagrant and particularly injurious to
the success of a tournament, or are singularly egregious,” it reads, “a single violation of this Section shall also constitute the Major Offence of ‘Aggravated Behaviour’ and shall be subject to the additional penalties hereinafter set forth.”

A default can be for a “single violation.”

It’s pretty clear-cut. Even if Djokovic didn’t intend to hit the line judge, his behavior was egregious and dangerous, and did end up with someone getting injured. On a court filled with officials and others, you can’t start smacking around tennis balls out of anger, and when it ends up with someone getting injured, the punishment is absolutely justified.

The weekend’s biggest winner: Jadeveon Clowney

The defensive end signed a one-year deal with the Tennessee Titans and could earn a big contract after this season. Reportedly, the NFL shut down a wild sign-and-trade move with the Saints that would have melted Twitter if it had happened.

Quick hits: Some potential Steelers drama involving a “Bachelor” contestant… A pitch nearly hit a butterfly… Jimmie Johnson dressed like Dale Earnhardt… And more!

– The Steelers signed QB Josh Dobbs, who was dating Bachelor finalist Hannah Ann Sluss … who is now dating Steelers QB Mason Rudolph.

– Cameras captured Patrick Corbin coming thisclose to nailing a butterfly with a pitch.

– Jimmie Johnson honored Dale Earnhardt before the Southern 500.

T.J. Warren, the Spurs and 5 other huge surprises from the NBA bubble

Warren for bubble MVP!

What the heck has gotten into T.J. Warren?

I’m really asking! I have no idea.

The Indiana Pacers forward has been a good scorer in the past few years, including in 2019-20. But ever since NBA action has kicked off in the bubble, he’s EXPLODED. He’s averaging 39.7 ppg in the Pacers’ three wins (that includes 53 against the Sixers), and that’s with Victor Oladipo playing too. Whatever it is, Indy is going to keep feeding him until he slows down, and it’s made the Pacers a suddenly-intriguing squad in the East.

He’s not the only surprise from Disney World. Let’s review some others:

1. The Spurs’ four-guard lineup: I just declared San Antonio was suddenly the team who could grab the No. 8 seed in the West, and our Mike Sykes put them at the top of his power rankings of the teams vying for the last Western spot in the postseason. Coach Pop has once again figured out how to adjust with what he’s got. With no LaMarcus Aldridge, he’s gone with a small lineup surrounding shot-blocker Jakob Poeltl, while upping the pace too. It’s working!

2. The Grizzlies’ struggles: Maybe this isn’t a huge surprise to everyone given their inexperience and the fact that the bubble is like a playoff scenario. But they’re 0-3 and just lost Jaren Jackson Jr. for the season.

3. The Nets’ win over the Bucks: Let’s not read too much into Milwaukee’s play against an extremely decimated Brooklyn squad. But the Nets pulled off the biggest upset from a betting perspective on Tuesday. You can’t get more surprising than that.

4. The Rockets’ small ball experiment is mostly working: I had my doubts, but as long as James Harden and Russell Westbrook don’t have bad games like they did in the loss to the Blazers on Tuesday, they’ve got a shot in the West. The only problem, as we keep seeing in the bubble, is they keep getting outrebounded BADLY (on Tuesday, they grabbed 39 boards to the Blazers’ 64). Something to watch going forward.

5. The robot sideline cam is awesome: Who knew we needed a camera angle on the floor of an NBA game that isn’t under the basket?

Tuesday’s biggest winner: J. Cole.

The rapper might be training in an attempt to make it to the NBA, and the Pistons said on Twitter they’d give him a tryout.

Quick hits: Kelly Stafford, Indy 500, Chicago Sky

– Kelly Stafford called out the NFL about its COVID-19 testing system after Matthew Stafford had a false-positive.

– As our Michelle Martinelli wrote, the Indy 500 made the right call to exclude fans.

– Chicago Sky players wore shirts that took a shot at Atlanta Dream owner Kelly Loeffler, calling for people to vote for her opponent in a U.S. Senate race.

With Anthony Davis playing like this, the Lakers are unbeatable

Look out, NBA.

I will be the first to admit it: I had my doubts about the Los Angeles Lakers heading into the restart.

I figured the Clippers had better depth and defensive stars. I thought the Bucks would steamroll through the East with the Greek Freak taking a big step forward AFTER he won MVP last year. Heck, there was a moment there — it was Sunday, to be honest! — when I dreamed the small-ball Rockets had the chance to pull off an upset, or that the Nuggets had a chance. I told anyone who would listen they should worry about the Blazers who are now at full strength and could grab the No. 8 seed.

I worried about the Lakers’ bench with two new members — JR Smith, known for the 2018 NBA Finals Game 1 epic gaffe, and Dion Waiters — fitting in. I wondered if the time off had stopped their momentum.

Nope. I’m convinced now. And it’s because of Antonio Davis.

It’s not that we’re forgetting LeBron James here. We know what to expect from him every night — nearly triple-double numbers night to night — and as we saw in that close win over the Clips, no one is more dominant or dependable these days in the final minute.

Davis scored 34 against the Clippers and dropped 42 against the Jazz on Monday night, including a game-clinching step-back three-and-the-foul in Rudy Gobert’s face. He’s my pick for defensive player of the year because of what he does both in the paint and guarding smaller players on switches.

When’s the last time James played with a star of that caliber? It’s probably Kyrie Irving when they won as Cavs, but Davis’s defense inside and out brings an entirely different dimension that gives James a break on both ends of the floor.

The Lakers, now the No. 1 seed in the West, are no-doubt favorites. And it’s all because of The Brow.

Monday’s biggest winner: Katie Ledecky

If you haven’t watched the five-time Olympic gold medalist swim the length of a pool with a cup of chocolate milk on top of her head, you need to. She didn’t spill a drop. It’s incredible.

Quick hits: NHL players kneel, Simone Biles, Doris Burke

– Players from the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights — including Ryan Reaves, Jason Dickinson, Tyler Seguin and Robin Lehner — took a knee before their game on Monday.

– Simone Biles is now Instagram official with Houston Texans safety Jonathan Owens.

– Doris Burke roasted her ex-husband during Monday’s Pelicans-Grizzlies game.

It continues to be the worst to be a Mets fan

Ugh.

The New York Mets continue to be a laughingstock, and it feels never-ending.

Which makes being a fan — full disclosure, I’ve been a die-hard since birth — the worst.

You always feel like if just this one or two or ten things turn around, maybe they’ll FINALLY get on track to a really good season. That’s the hope that keeps us all afloat.

But then it feels like luck is never on the franchise’s side, and stuff like what happened on Sunday happens.

Slugger Yoenis Cespedes — who signed a huge deal with the franchise in 2017 and then battled injuries until he returned as a DH in 2020 — opted out of the season, which of course is his right and understandable. But it was the way in which it all went down that was just so Mets: he was reportedly nowhere to be found, didn’t report to the ballpark and apparently left without telling anyone he was done.

And if, as reports say, that his frustration could be contract-related? In the first time he’s been healthy in years (even though he was off to a somewhat slow start)? It’s another situation that could have everyone else laughing once again at the Mets.

On top of that, a team with some potential is once again in the basement of the NL East standings. Behind a two-time Cy Young-winner Jacob deGrom (who, as Mets fans always note, seems like never gets run support in his dazzling starts), the pitching depth isn’t great, especially with Noah Syndergaard out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. A lineup that actually looked really solid is mostly off to a slow start (maybe they’ll get that Tim Tebow guy in at DH?)

And, on top of that, there’s that team across town. The Yankees have lost just one game in this season, have Aaron Judge hitting practically everything he sees over the wall and have free-agent signing Gerrit Cole pitching well as usual.

What’s going to happen with the upcoming sale? Instead of that being a bright spot for Mets fans, we’re all nervous about it being a disaster. And that’s what life is like as a die-hard for a franchise that just can’t get it right.

Sunday’s biggest winner: Everybody who thinks a tomato looks like Larry Bird.

Seriously. Someone took a photo of a tomato that looks like the Boston Celtics legend and it REALLY does. We all win. It’s amazing.

Quick hits: Trevor Lawrence, Jack Flaherty, the Raptors

– Trevor Lawrence threw his support behind Pac-12 players who are threatening to boycott the season.

– Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty turned his hotel room into a bullpen. That’s innovative!

– The Raptors keep proving they don’t need Kawhi Leonard.

The Chicago Bears were the biggest losers of Patrick Mahomes’ record-breaking deal

Monday was a rough day for Bears fans.

This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

Patrick Mahomes became a very, very, very, very rich man on Monday when he signed a 10-year extension with the Kansas City Chiefs that could earn him $503 million bucks when all is said and done.

Yup, you read that right. He could make HALF A BILLION dollars with the Chiefs. This deal is the biggest in SPORTS history, which is just insane. But you know what? Mahomes is definitely worth all that cash.

The QB was ecstatic about the deal but there doesn’t seem to be an ounce of complacency in the QB’s body because he tweeted a great hype video on Monday in which he thanked the Chiefs fans and told them the goal now is to become a dynasty.

While all of this is great news for Chiefs fans, it was hurtful news for another big fanbase, one that had to watch their team pass up Mahomes in 2017 for a very mediocre quarterback instead.

I’m talking, of course, about the Chicago Bears.

The Bears made one of the worst moves in sports history in the 2017 NFL Draft when they traded up(!) a spot so they could take Mitch Trubisky with the No. 2 overall pick. Mitch. Trubisky.

The Chiefs, as we all know, were more than happy to take Mahomes with the 10th pick of that very same draft.

Mahomes now has the biggest deal in sports history and is coming off a Super Bowl victory in which he was named the MVP.

Trubisky, meanwhile, didn’t have the fifth year option of his rookie contract picked up by the Bears this offseason and will now have to compete with Nick Foles for the starting job in Chicago.

Ouch.

Monday was another rough day for Bears fans, as this history got brought up once again on Monday, as Trubisky was trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons.

Bears fans just had to sit there and take it on Monday, knowing their team traded up for a guy who likely won’t be with the team much longer and never lived up to the hype of a No. 2 pick. I mean, trading up one spot to get Trubisky should be a fireable offense and be something that fans of football should be encouraged to laugh at for years to come.

The Chiefs, meanwhile. couldn’t be happier about how things played out in 2017. Mahomes has all the talents to be the best to ever play the game and now they have him locked in for the next 12 years. You gotta think Mahomes will be playing in many more Super Bowls during that time while the Bears will still be trying to find a QB that can just win a playoff game.

Monday was a great day for Chiefs fans.

And it was a terrible day for Bears fans.

Monday’s biggest winner: Chiefs fans!

Seriously, this video that Mahomes shared on Monday after he signed the biggest deal in sports history is probably going to be watched a billion times by Chiefs fans. Mahomes wants to build a dynasty and now he’s locked in for 12 years to do just that. I like his chances.

Quick hits: Donald Trump’s incredibly dumb and wrong tweet… Bubba Wallace’s perfect response to that incredibly dumb tweet… Name suggestions for the Cleveland Indians… And more.

– Donald Trump tweeted something dumb and wrong about Bubba Wallace.

– Bubba Wallace had a really smart and thoughtful reply to that dumb tweet by Trump.

– The Cleveland Indians need a new nickname and here are seven fan suggestions.

– My pals Chris Korman and Steven Ruiz are back with another great episode of their NFL podcast “The Counter” and this week they have a good talk about a Tom Brady story that is so Tom Brady.

MLB owners are running an old negotiating playbook, and fans shouldn’t fall for it this time

The latest ploy by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was called out as such in about three hours. The owners aren’t understanding the moment.

This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

Major League Baseball is currently locked in an ugly battle over the delayed start of the season, with players and owners disagreeing on just about everything. Length of season, salary, safety procedures … you name it, they disagree.

I won’t go into the whole history of all this, because I’d need about 5,000 words to do so, but the main gist is: The owners want a shortened season to help cut costs, and they want to pay the players as little as possible. The players, health concerns aside, want to play, and want to get paid to do so.

Anyway, it looked like the two sides were headed finally toward an agreement this week, when on Monday MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred (who I’ll remind you works for the owners) said he wasn’t sure they’d get a season in.

He said this just five days after saying he was “100 percent” certain they’d get the season in.

It was a stunning statement, one that called into question all the reporting from the last week. Maybe the two sides wouldn’t get a deal done. Maybe they weren’t that close.

Though, just as quickly as Manfred said what he did, players (including Trevor Bauer, notably) took to social media and explained pretty bluntly what was going on here — The owners were trying to run the clock.

See: The owners want to play as few games as possible to fulfill TV contracts and season obligations before getting to the money-making playoffs. But with the two sides closing in on a deal too early, Bauer explained, Manfred needed to buy time. So Manfred gave an ominous interview implying the sides were far apart.

Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP

It took a couple hours, but anyone closely following the negotiations saw Manfred’s statement in a new light. Twenty years ago, this doesn’t happen, but right now? Of course it does.

If a factor in these negotiations is trying to win over the public, MLB team owners are running an outdated playbook, and they’re getting worked right now.

Owners can’t just use cheap negotiating tactics, then leak stuff to reporters and get their story out there. Well, they can, but now players have a direct line to the fans in a way they never did before.

Years ago, Manfred would say the season was at risk of being called off. The newspapers would run the story the next day. A day later, an agent would leak it to a reporter that Manfred was using this as a negotiating tactic. Maybe the paper would run it in a column, and a day later some other reporters follow up. Manfred then had to be given the chance to respond.

Now it would have been a full week, and the public would be either uninformed of the entire thing or confused, and the owners had successfully run a week off negotiating time.

Now? It doesn’t work like that. Manfred says what he says. Two hours later players are on social media spreading a new narrative. It’s aggregated and parsed. By the time people are in bed, the story is shifted and they’re right back to where they were. No time bought at all, or at most, a few hours.

MLB owners have the money, so they have the power. Always. But young MLB players have a deeper understanding of this moment, and they’re using it to their advantage in these negotiations. They might not win, but they’re dominating in public opinion.

Tuesday’s Big Winners: Oklahoma State football players

Hours after a photo of head coach Mike Gundy appeared showing him wearing an OAN t-shirt — a far-right “news” website favored by the president — OSU players threatened a mass boycott, speaking up quickly and forcefully against the coach. It might spell the end of his tenure there, and shows that players, when binding together, can enact real change.

Quick hits: Ezekiel Elliott, Vanessa Bryant, Star Wars

– Ezekiel Elliott reportedly tested positive for COVID-19. He floated out a one-word tweet that’s VERY interesting, and our own Hemal Jhaveri explained why it’s a harbinger of things to come.

– Vanessa Bryant had to block Kobe Bryant fan accounts and the reasoning is extremely sad.

– There’s a new Star War. It has some cameos of some kind.