Tag: Sports

A high school punter really threw underhanded on the sneakiest fake punt ever

This high school team discovered an awesome new fake punt.

Thomas Downey High School’s football team is undefeated to start the year. Now, the California school has quite the highlight reel special teams play to put at the top of its resume.

It’s so innovative that you shouldn’t be surprised to see it at the college and professional levels soon enough.

With Thomas Downey facing a fourth and 40 last week, it lined up from a standard punt formation, seemingly ready to surrender possession and dial back in for defense as usual. Instead, the team’s punter took the snap, moved a little bit forward, and threw an underhanded pass that made it appear as if he had punted the ball, throwing the opposition’s special teams unit for a loop.

Eventually, a player from Thomas Downey came down with a long catch of the “punt” in traffic, shocking everyone:

I must admit that on my first watch, I didn’t even understand what was happening. A lot was going on at once! That made me see it was very easy to confuse this underhanded pass for a punt. The motion is similar! Now imagine being a defender there in that moment. Phew.

Kudos to the Thomas Downey coaching staff and anyone else who helped come up with this brilliant fake punt idea. You literally may have just changed the game.

12-year-old Teraj Alexander unbelievably stole home for Florida during the Little League World Series semifinal

What an all-time moment at the Little League World Series.

If you follow baseball in any context, you understand that stealing home is one of the more unbelievable plays in the game. There’s a reason we see it happen only once in a blue moon.

Now imagine doing it in a tense semifinal of the Little League World Series. Florida’s Teraj Alexander has made it a reality.

During a back-and-forth battle with Texas in the U.S. championship of the marquee Little League event, the 12-year-old Alexander saw a golden opportunity at home plate when the pitcher was a little too relaxed at the mound after a strikeout.

Alexander cruised through home to the shock of everyone, including the announcer, who fittingly captured the moment Florida took its first lead of the game at 5-4, which eventually won in a 10-7 thriller.

My goodness. I can’t fathom having the nerve to make that play in such a big spot, especially as a preteen. Kudos to Alexander for having the confidence and timing it perfectly.

Thanks in large part to Alexander’s heroics, Florida will now play Taiwan for this year’s Little League World Series title game on Sunday. Regardless of what happens next, Alexander and his Florida teammates will have this awesome to look back upon forever.

A Tour de France rider was fined for kissing his wife during the race and has no regrets

The sport’s governing body doesn’t realize these moments are actually priceless

Julien Bernard is out about $200 but will have an incredible memory for the rest of life and he seems quite alright with that trade off.

While riding in the time-trial seventh stage of the 2024 Tour de France, Bernard was racing through the streets of his native Burgundy when friends and family all came out onto the street to quite literally embrace the Lidl–Trek cyclist.

When Bernard spotted his wife and child among the crowd, he couldn’t help but stop to give a smooch. And who could blame him? This really looked like such a beautiful moment of a hometown celebrating its hero.

Well, the Union Cycliste Internationale which oversees the race didn’t think the encounter was so charming, fining Bernard 200 Swiss francs (or $223 U.S.) for “unseemly or inappropriate behavior during the race and damage to the image of sport.”

Bernard’s response? 200 Swiss francs well worth it. The cyclist mocked the fine on X/Twitter writing in French that he was sorry for having “damaged the image of sport” but “I am willing to pay 200CHF every day and relive this moment”.

That also led to a great exchange between Bernard and competitor Magnus Cort, who committed the exact same crime in the same race and got away with it.

Let this be a warning to everyone who races the Tour de France in the future: Only appear to enjoy the experience if you’re sure the broadcast isn’t showing you.

Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves absolutely punking the Nuggets capped off an epic sports weekend

What. A. Weekend.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners. Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you so much for rocking with us. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time today. I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

I certainly did. This was legitimately one of the most entertaining weekends in sports I can remember.

  • The NBA had two epic Game 7s: The Knicks ran out of gas and bodies to play. The Nuggets ran out of championship mettle. While you were sleeping, Denver had one of the most epic collapses we’ve ever seen, blowing a 20-point lead on its home court to send the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years.
  • The Panthers are rolling: Speaking of championship mettle, it feels like the Panthers might have something cooking here. Florida knocked off Boston to move on to the Conference Finals where they’ll see the Rangers, who have looked incredible this postseason. We’re about to get an amazing series, folks.
  • NASCAR had a brawl: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch got into an old-fashioned slobber knocker after the two got wrecked on Lap 2 of Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Series race. No, I can’t believe it either.
  • The Preakness happened: Sieze the Grey (9-1 odds) completely stole the show at the Preakness Stakes from Mystik Dan, who seemed so close to continuing that elusive Triple Crown journey that no horse has accomplished since Justify in 2018.
  • Xander Schauffele played the best major ever: It’s Schauffele’s first major win ever and, boy, did he grab it by the horns. His 21-under score held off Bryson DeChambeau, who might’ve had the best performance of his career at the tournament, too. All this happened and Scottie Scheffler getting arrested is still probably the lead story of the tourney.

What a weekend, folks. I was legitimately on the edge of my seat for all of it.

And they say the sports calendar dies after March Madness. TUH. I hope you didn’t miss out.

The rise of the Timberwolves

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) laughs after the game against the Denver Nuggets during game six of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Target Center
Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

I’ve struggled to categorize yesterday’s Game 7 between the Nuggets and Timberwolves.

Yes, it feels like an epic collapse from the former champions. Denver had a 20-point lead in the 3rd quarter on its home floor in an elimination game with the best player in the world on its team. That’s a game you should win 12 times out of 10.

But, yo. The Timberwolves snatched that game from Denver’s hands. Minnesota never gave up. It fought until it made its epic 54-24 run to end Denver’s season and break Michael Malone. The Wolves took that win from the Nuggets just as much as Denver gave it away.

Minnesota hasn’t won anything yet, obviously — and I’m not saying it will! — but that’s what championship mettle looks like. This team just…isn’t supposed to have it. That’s what’s so confounding.

The Wolves haven’t made it beyond the first round of the playoffs since 2004. To go from that to making the Conference Finals is unfounded in the NBA. Usually there’s a process. We’re used to seeing teams take steps, as Yahoo! Sports’ Vincent Goodwill writes here.

Not this one. Minnesota is here now and ready to win it all.

Drake has to be having the worst month ever

(CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Getting sonned by Kendrick Lamar is one thing. Blowing $565,000 on Tyson Fury is another. Drake is taking all sorts of Ls.

Prince Grimes has more here:

“Kendrick Lamar might have won his high-profile rap battle with Drake thanks to the timing of his release of meet the grahams, which completely stepped on Drake’s release of Family Matters mere hours earlier.

But some of the lyrics of that song are appearing to be just as true as they are searing.

After Lamar twice claimed Drake had a gambling addiction in the song, a $565,000 bet the Canadian rapper just lost on Sunday’s heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk didn’t help to prove Lamar wrong.”

Maybe Kendrick was right. Keep the family away. The Drake curse is back.

Quick hits: Poor Spike Lee … Reggie Miller hates NYK  … and more

— The Pacers are flexing on Spike Lee and the Knicks with this video of him being absolutely miserable after the loss. Here’s Andrew Joseph with more.

— Speaking of trolling the Knicks, Reggie Miller is in on the fun, too. Here’s Mary Clarke with more.

— Max Homa teasing Scottie Scheffler on getting arrested is hilarious. Robert Zeglinski has more.

— I still can’t get over this foul that ended the Thunder’s season. Here’s Cory Woodroof with more.

— Caitlin Clark’s first 3 WNBA games probably aren’t as bad as you think.

— Kelsey Plum’s reaction to this Kate Martin block is the best. Mitch Northam has more.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. Check back in tomorrow for more. Peace. We out.

-Sykes ✌️

Watch cyclists battle it out at the Giro d’Italia 2024 races

Explore life in the bike lane.

On Sunday, May 12, cyclists challenged themselves to a battle of the bikers during stage nine of the Giro d’Italia.

What is the Giro d’Italia? The Giro d’Italia (or Tour of Italy) is a multi-stage bicycle race that has been hosted in Italy since the early 1900s. This year, the Giro d’Italia races run from May 4 to 26 and cover 3400.8 kilometers (roughly 2113.1 miles).

Stage nine of the races took place on Sunday, May 12. During stage nine, cyclists traveled 214  kilometers (about 132.9 miles) from Avezzano to Naples, Italy.

Meet some of the race’s winners and see some stunning Stage 9 highlight photos in the Giro d’Italia 2024 photo gallery below.

The NBA In-Season Tournament might be Adam Silver’s best decision as commissioner

The NBA’s In-Season Tournament works. We’ve seen enough.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Thanks so much for reading the Morning Win today! We appreciate you.

Adam Silver needs to call for an emergency press conference at some point today and just do the Gladiator thing the entire time. “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?” Because that man deserves to take a victory lap around the success of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.

Adam Silver has done a lot of good things for the NBA. Players are raking in obscene amounts of cash now. The league is making more money than ever before. He’s also managed to ditch not just one, but two, problematic owners through his tenure as commissioner.

But, as far as basketball goes, the In-Season Tournament has got to be Silver’s crowning jewel as a commissioner. Whenever he chooses to step down, this tournament will be the thing he leaves behind.

There’s something about single-elimination sports tournaments that just works so well. Every single time. There are automatically stakes and drama, even without an extra $500,000 on the line.

Oh, and by the way, enough with saying the players won’t care about that. Look at how excited some of these dudes on the Pacers’ bench are knowing they’re about to advance. Tell me they don’t care about that money.

The courts are wonky. The jerseys are goofy. But this basketball is good, man. It was great to watch Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers get excited about cooking against one of the best defenses in the league. It was fun to watch the Pelicans put together a complete win without an incredible game from Zion Williamson. That’s the stuff the fans need to see. It’s the most important function of this tournament.

RELATED: Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers just put the NBA on notice

Earlier in October when the season started, Adam Silver said he wanted to change the way the NBA is covered. There wasn’t enough talk about the game — at least not compared to all the fluff around it.

This tournament changes that. It brings the focus back to basketball again. Honestly, watching it has been extremely refreshing.

I don’t know how the rest of this thing is going to go throughout this week. But I’m confident enough in what we’ve seen already to say this: The NBA In-Season Tournament works.

When this is over, can we do this again in March? Please, NBA?

Jake Browning just earned himself a contract, didn’t he?

I had no idea who Jake Browning was before last night, but I absolutely know who he is now. And so does the NFL after his stunning performance against the Jaguars on Monday night.

RELATED: Here are all the NFL’s backup quarterbacks

Browning kept the Bengals’ playoff hopes alive in a 34-31 win over the Jags that came down to a last-second field goal. Browning was brilliant in this one, completing 32 of his 37 passes for 354 yards and a touchdown. He’s the first undrafted player to put up numbers like this at quarterback since 1967, per ESPN.

Like I said, the NFL knows who he is now. It’s just one game, so he’ll have to keep this up. But I totally expect this dude to get the Matt Flynn treatment down the line.

Speaking of backup QBs, the Jaguars seem to have a situation on their hands now with Trevor Lawrence spraining his ankle. C.J. Beathard is the current backup and seemed decent. But will he be able to keep the Jaguars afloat at the top of the division? We’ll see.

If not, here are other options presented by our Christian D’Andrea.

What’s up with the Jets?

Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Apparently, the Jets want to name Zach Wilson the starting quarterback for the team. But, in a wild twist, he doesn’t appear to want the job? Even after Aaron Rodgers tried to convince him to take it, he said no.

It’s weird, man. Robert Zeglinski has more.

“The New York Jets made their bed. Zach Wilson thinks they should lie in it.

As the Jets’ 2023 season finishes spiraling down the drain, news that they wanted to turn back to Wilson as their starting quarterback caused a major fervor on Monday. The development was unsurprising given how poor Tim Boyle has been and that Aaron Rodgers really won’t play this year.

But Wilson — outside of contractual obligations, of course — owes the Jets nothing. Never mind that at seemingly every turn, they’ve been determined to undermine the former No. 2 overall pick: why would Wilson want to play and risk his personal health for a team that’s demonstrated it probably doesn’t care all that much about him?”

It’s hard to blame Wilson here, honestly. He stinks. We know that. Wilson playing won’t make a difference. His future isn’t with this team and we learned that when Robert Saleh went in a different direction with Tim Boyle. From Wilson’s perspective, that’s the choice the organization made and it’ll have to live with it now.

That’s tough, Jets. But, hey! Look on the bright side. At least Aaron Rodgers can practice again.

Quick hits: NFL Power Rankings are here … Put the Pacers on national TV more … and more

— Here’s Christian D’Andrea and Robert Zeglinski with your weekly NFL power rankings. The 49ers look like the real deal, man.

— NBA fans think Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers should be on national TV more and, yeah, I agree. Bryan Kalbrosky has more.

— Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t think FSU got a fair shake with the College Football Playoff. Cory Woodruff has more.

— Darvin Ham is speaking on the Ime Udoka and LeBron James beef and, yeah, you’ll want to hear what he has to say. Meghan Hall has more.

— Is…Is Jordan Love good now? Christian D’Andrea seems to think so.

— Here’s Tyler Nettuno with the takeaways from Conference Championship weekend in College Football.

That’s all, folks! Thanks so much for reading TMW today. We appreciate you. Let’s chat again tomorrow. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️