Tag: Odell Beckham Jr.

LeBron makes incredible Odell Beckham-like catch before assist to KCP

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is buddies with Cleveland Browns star Odell Beckham and took a page from his book Friday night.

LeBron James brought a lot of fury and activity in the first half of the Los Angeles Lakers game on Friday night against the same Oklahoma City Thunder team they played on Tuesday in L.A. But his ferocious dunk in the first quarter of Friday night’s proceedings was only a taste of what was to come later in the first half.

James and Davis were again leading the way for the Lakers while the Thunder offense made the Lakers No. 1 ranked unit look very regular compared to the elite level they displayed in the first month of the regular season. Down by four points, the Lakers closed the first half with a crucial 3-pointer created by an Odell Beckham Jr.-type catch by LeBron and a pass to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Caldwell-Pope has been a monster over the last three games as he has started in place of the injured Avery Bradley, which continued into Friday night. Caldwell-Pope had nine points and two assists in the starting role. Kyle Kuzma also had 10 points off the bench playing through an eye abrasion.

But despite LeBron’s heroism and the other solid offensive play, the Lakers  find themselves in a rare position for this season: trailing on the road in a hostile environment, 67-66.

Flashback Friday: Giants take down Bears in OT in 2018

In our Flashback Friday, we go back just one year to a thrilling overtime game between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears.

One doesn’t have to go back very far in the annals to find the last memorable game between the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears. It was just last Dec. 2, when the Giants edged the Monsters of the Midway, 30-27, in overtime at MetLife Stadium.

The Giants, who led the playoff-bound Bears, 27-17, with 1:49 remaining, allowed Chicago to score 10 points in the final 1:13 to tie the score at 27, forcing overtime.

No one in the building had much confidence the Giants would come away with the victory after blowing a two-score lead, but they did. The Giants received the ball first and drove 49 yards on eight plays to take a 30-27 lead on a 44-yard field goal by Aldrick Rosas.

The Bears then took possession, but the Giants defense made a stand. They forced quarterback Chase Daniel to fumble three times (the Bears recovered them all) and thwarted them on a 4th-and-8 from their own 40 to end the game.

But there were a ton of highlights. This Giants team, which won for the third time in four games, had some life. They were fun to watch, unlike this year’s dreary bunch.

Linebacker Alec Ogletree returned an interception for a touchdown. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. threw for a 49-yard touchdown to Russell Shepard and then caught a touchdown pass himself several minutes later.

Giants rookie running back Saquon Barkley rushed for 124 yards on the day, but his signature play of the afternoon was when he hurdled fellow Penn State product Adrian Amos in the open field for a first down.

This week’s contest is probably not going to have the pizzaz of last year’s, but the groundwork is there. Daniel could see action again under center with Mitchell Trubisky (hip) hurting, and Barkley is slowly coming around from the high ankle sprain that has limited him most of the season.

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Ex-Giant Odell Beckham Jr. feels targeted by NFL over drug testing

Former New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. feels like he’s a target of the NFL’s random drug testing policy.

A year ago, Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid suggested that the NFL’s random drug testing policy wasn’t necessarily random at all, implying he was a target of the league.

Fast forward to this week and former New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who now plays for the Cleveland Browns, is echoing Reid’s sentiments.

“[The NFL] made me come in Monday when we had an off day. Had a drug test,” Beckham said, via Cleveland.com. “Made me come in Thursday after the game. Had another drug test.

“Nobody is getting tested like me. I know people who didn’t get tested for five months in the offseason and I’m getting tested every time.”

By the very nature of the system being randomized, some players will get tested more than others. Some will be tested repeatedly and others will never have to fill a cup to the yellow line — that’s just how a randomizer works.

Still, Beckham has felt like a target of the NFL for years and it has to do with a lot more than random performance-enhancing drugs checks — a test Beckham has never failed, by the way.

But the league maintains it has no control over the random names that are chosen for tests.

“Neither the union or the league are involved in the random selection of players to be tested,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy told Cleveland.com. “By means of a computer program, the independent administrator determines which 10 players will be randomly selected each week.”

An independent investigation into Reid’s claim revealed no wrongdoing, and Beckham is free to request a similar inquiry.

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Current, former Giants react to Myles Garrett meltdown

Current and former members of the New York Giants reacted to Myles Garrett hitting Mason Rudolph in the head with a helmet.

Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett went off the rails during a Thursday Night Football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, ripping the helmet off of quarterback Mason Rudolph before proceeding to strike him in the head with it.

The incident sparked field-wide chaos including several isolated fights, leading to multiple ejections and what will amount to some serious suspensions and fines.

After the games, Garrett faced the media and took responsibility for his action. Former New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. joined him in shouldering the blame on behalf of the Browns, saying that incidents like that have no place in football.

“It’s not what direction we’re headed in as an organization,” Beckham said, via Browns Wire. “It just was not where we’ve been going. And it does feel like we lost the game.”

Several other current and former members of the Giants reacted during and after the event as well.

Just a crazy scene — one unlike the NFL has ever seen before.