Tag: timely

Wizards broadcaster doubles down on Ben Simmons overrated claim

Washington Wizards broadcaster Justin Kutcher doubles down on his overrated claim of Ben Simmons.

As the Philadelphia 76ers took on the Washington Wizards on Friday night at Capital One Arena, there were some other more important storylines that mattered a bit more than the game itself.

The Sixers had just welcomed Joel Embiid back to the floor after missing a game due to the league’s contact tracing protocols and they then lost him after a knee injury that will cost him at least two weeks. Philadelphia was also playing without Ben Simmons who is still in the protocols and he also drew the ire of NBC Sports Washington.

Wizards play-by-play man Justin Kutcher was discussing the All-Star snub of Tobias Harris and he decided to take it out on Simmons who was named an All-Star despite not having the most glamorous stat line:

I’ve said it before and I know I’ll take flack for it…I think Ben Simmons is one of, if not the most, overrated players in the NBA. He’s gotten so much love and attention that people are not paying attention to what Tobias Harris is actually doing on the floor.

Kutcher then took to Twitter to double down on that overrated claim.

While Harris probably should have been an All-Star, that does not mean that Simmons did not deserve his. Sure, Simmons’ numbers don’t really pop off the page, but he does so many things for Philadelphia to win games. He is a guy who will do all of the little things from taking on the opposition’s best scorer on defense while also making his teammates better. To say he’s overrated is a bit of a reach.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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NCAA proposes a change to overtime rules

The NCAA is proposing a new rule that would change how overtime is played in college football. It would likely shorten the length of games.

One of the most common discussions in college football outside of college football playoff expansion is the overtime rules. Currently teams alternate possessions starting at the 25-yard line. Once it reaches the third overtime period teams must attempt a two-point conversion following touchdowns. A new rule proposal could shorten the overtime period, meaning a four-overtime game like the one in the Red River Rivalry is less likely to happen.

“Under the proposal, teams would be required to run a two-point conversion play after a touchdown when a game reaches a second overtime period,” the release said. “If a game reaches a third overtime, teams will run alternating two-point plays, instead of starting another drive at the opponent’s 25-yard line. This rules proposal is being made to limit the number of plays from scrimmage and bring the game to a conclusion.

“Teams can still choose whether to kick the point after touchdown or run a two-point conversion play in the first overtime. All rules changes must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, which is scheduled to discuss football rules recommendations April 22. The rationale for making the recommendation is to lessen the number of plays it takes for a winning team to be determined.

Currently, the alternating two-point conversions begin in the fifth overtime period but the new rule proposal would begin two periods earlier. This would be a step in the right direction. Now if the NFL would adopt a similar rule set and get rid of the opportunities for tie games.

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Sixers forward Tobias Harris speaks out on not being named an All-Star

Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris opens up and speaks out and not being named an All-Star.

The Philadelphia 76ers are sitting at the top seed in the Eastern Conference as they continue on with their season. A huge part of their success is due to the MVP play of big man Joel Embiid, but another big part is due to the strong play of Tobias Harris.

The veteran forward out of Tennessee is having a career season averaging 20.2 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 51.5% from the floor and 40% from deep. Those are terrific numbers and worthy of being an All-Star, but instead, he was snubbed from the team.

However, he understands that he should have been in Atlanta on March 7, but it just wasn’t meant to be. The important part is he has the Philadelphia fans back on his side after a tough 2019-20 season.

“That’s been my mentality,” said Harris on Friday. “Was I upset with All-Star? Of course, but I’ve played at an All-Star level night and night out, and listen if Philly fans understand that I’m an All-Star, these are the same fans that probably would escorted me out my house last year. If they understand then I’m good, the Philly fans understand.”

For Harris, this now must serve as motivation for him for the rest of the season. The Sixers need him in order to go deep into the playoffs like they plan to and as long as he continues his play this season, they should be in a good position.

“Me and Doc talked about I just told him ‘look I got a bounty out for coaches I didn’t vote for me, or the national media that skipped over me’,” Harris continued. “It is what it is, but you know me and Doc both discussed, you make your name known in the playoffs and leading his team and being solid and what you do day in and day out.”

Harris is still only 28-years old. He still has a lot of basketball ahead of him if he can continue to stay healthy and keep up his work ethic. The important is, the Sixers are still winning basketball games and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.

“You move on,” Harris finished. “You move on with life and it won’t be the first time I’ll be in contention to be an All-Star, I believe, in my career and that’s how I look at it.”

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Les Snead: ‘Definitely some players’ Rams have a shot to re-sign

The Rams have limited cap space, but Les Snead sounds confident in re-signing some of their own free agents.

The Rams could be on the verge of losing a number of starters in free agency this offseason, with the likes of Leonard Floyd, Troy Hill, John Johnson and Austin Blythe set to hit the market. The Rams are in the worst financial situation of any team in the NFL, too, sitting $33 million over the salary cap.

It doesn’t take a cap guru to understand it will be a challenge for the Rams to re-sign many of their own players. Floyd and Johnson will command top dollar, while Hill might be looking for a raise elsewhere.

But GM Les Snead remains cautiously optimistic that the Rams will be able to bring back some players once they get under the cap. He was asked this week about which positions the Rams might try to target, to which he said this.

“I can’t totally do that without maybe giving some teams a leg up in the draft if they wanted to move up and jump us per se at a position, but there’s definitely some players that we feel like we have a shot – once we get under the cap – to re-sign during whatever we call that period when we can negotiate,” he said. “… But we’ll have to adjust based on that because there’s no guarantee that you can re-sign.”

Re-signing Johnson will be a real challenge. The same goes for Floyd. The Rams chose not to use the franchise tag on either player and seem poised to let them test the market. There’s no doubt they’d like to bring back both defenders, but their cap space is limited.

Blythe, Hill and Darious Williams are more realistic targets to re-sign, as is Morgan Fox. Expect the Rams to make a push to re-sign those players – especially considering Williams is a restricted free agent – than Floyd, Johnson, Gerald Everett and Josh Reynolds.

Sixers confident in Dwight Howard, depth in wake of Joel Embiid injury

The Philadelphia 76ers feel confident in Dwight Howard and the backup center depth in the wake of Joel Embiid’s injury.

The Philadelphia 76ers welcomed Joel Embiid back to the lineup on Friday night after he missed a game to contact tracing protocols, but they then lost him again in the third quarter of their win over the Washington Wizards due to a knee injury.

The Sixers were still able to win the game thanks largely in part to Embiid’s efforts before the injury, but as well as their bench unit.

Dwight Howard came in and provided six points and 10 rebounds and Tony Bradley also had six points and three rebounds in his nine minutes of play. The fact that the Sixers can turn to Howard as well as Bradley if Embiid is to miss significant time is a big help.

“Obviously, Joel is MVP of the league,” said coach Doc Rivers. “But having Tony and Dwight and Vincent (Poirier), having Mike Scott’s ability to play the 5. Hopefully, if Joel’s out at any point, we can hold the fort.”

One thing is for sure, if Embiid is to miss time, Howard will be ready to step in right away and produce, as will Bradley. The two of them combined for 32 points and 17 rebounds in Thursday’s win over the Chicago Bulls and they played well again on Friday.

They just have to keep it pushing.

“When you just look at his body of work through his whole career and kind of how he recreated his game in his last two years in the league, Dwight’s a great leader for our team,” said Tobias Harris. “There’s a lot of things that he does behind the scenes in team meetings and team get-togethers and in the huddles that is always encouraging guys.”

Howard, especially, has a bit of an up and down season when it comes to his consistency, but he is a guy who brings a lot of energy and positivity to the floor. At this point, he just needs to be able to keep his head high and keep going forward.

“The last few games, you’re just seeing all that come together and he’s been playing great basketball for us and he has been all year,” Harris added. “That’s just really what we expect of him. Even in the Chicago game, we’re out there watching I was like ‘dang like this is, this is like primetime Dwight right now that we’re seeing’ so it’s great to see.”

The Sixers do have a day off on Saturday to figure things out before hosting the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, but if Embiid can’t go, it is nice to have reinforcements.

“It’s a long season so at the end of the day, hopefully it’s not something where we lose him, obviously,” said Rivers. “Our guys will be good, we’ll be ready.”

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Sixers praise Matisse Thybulle for all-around effort in win over Wizards

The Philadelphia 76ers were happy with Matisse Thybulle’s performance in their win over the Washington Wizards.

While the Philadelphia 76ers are still processing the news of Joel Embiid leaving their win on Friday after hyperextending his knee, the team did come up with a win over the Washington Wizards. It was their first road win over the Wizards since November of 2013 so it still counts for something.

A big reason for the win was the all-around play of Matisse Thybulle. He earned another start in place of Ben Simmons who is still in the league’s health and safety protocols and he played well on both ends.

He defended Wizards star Bradley Beal fairly well as he was a big reason why Beal only scored 19 points. He shot 8-for-13, but he did not get many opportunities to even touch the ball against Thybulle. For those who forgot, Beal scored 60 points in his last game against the Sixers.

“We trapped him a lot more,” said coach Doc Rivers. “We didn’t trap him much in that first game and I thought the adjustment of trapping him, we started Matisse on him. We didn’t start Ben on him in the last game, we were gonna wait, we started with our best defender on him at the beginning of the game.”

Then, on the offensive end of the floor, he had eight points on 4-for-6 shooting. He did not attempt any triples, but he was still active and looking for his shot. He was also finishing better around the basket going up for dunks instead of layups. That is a big deal.

“He’s making shots, he’s aggressive, you’re really seeing him get into this flow and his rhythm,” said Tobias Harris. “He started the season off had a nagging injury, which I think was slowing down a little bit, but now you see them at full health, full speed, and full confidence so exactly what we need from him. Especially as we’re approaching the second half of the year and playoff so sky’s the limit. Always has been for him and he just got to keep on going.”

The one bad spot on Thybulle’s stat line is that he did pick up four fouls. That is something that he still struggles with as he continues his development as a young player in this league.

“He’s very active,” said veteran Danny Green. “We know what he can do the defensive end on the floor and that leads to his offense…I think the biggest thing is staying out of foul trouble, but because he’s so aggressive, so active. I’m okay with his mistakes.”

As the Sixers move forward, it is clear that Thybulle will continue to play a huge role on this team. He just has to continue to grow and develop while staying out of foul trouble.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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What Lincoln Riley, players had to say after Oklahoma Pro Day

What Lincoln Riley and players had to say after Oklahoma Pro Day on Friday morning in Norman.

2021 Oklahoma Pro Day took place on Friday on Norman, with the Sooners heading to April’s NFL Draft getting the opportunity to work out and showcase themselves in front of professional scouts before teams get the opportunity to select them to be a part of their organization.

Without a scouting combine this year, there is certainly an extra emphasis on pro day’s all around the country as really the best available time between now and draft day to put in some key measurements for teams to evaluate. This was a chance to impress scouts with the stage all to themselves for the Oklahoma players on Friday.

The big winner of the day was Creed Humphrey, who wowed all day long. A solid 40 time, great vertical jump and a really good 20-yard shuttle performance among other things had the big center turning some heads at the Everest Training Center.

After things wrapped up, head coach Lincoln Riley along with the participants all met with the media to discuss the days events. Here are some of the highlights of what they had to say:

Nebraska elects to move forward with game against Oklahoma

Nebraska has elected to move forward with the scheduled game against Oklahoma in Norman set for September 18th.

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Friday has been a weird day regarding the upcoming September football matchup of storied rivals Oklahoma and Nebraska. The two programs are set to rekindle their series this season much to the delight of both fan bases and college football fans everywhere, but it was reported early Friday that the Cornhuskers were looking to back out of the game to instead play a home game that weekend against a non-power five school.

That was met with immediate backlash from basically all parties as the game has been a highly-anticipated one ever since it was announced and put on the schedule. Both Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione and head coach Lincoln Riley gave no impression that the game wouldn’t happen saying they anticipated the game would be played as planned and that the Sooners were looking forward to it.

Now, it seems that public pressure has won out as Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos released a statement saying the game would indeed go on as scheduled.

“The University of Nebraska is looking forward to playing Oklahoma in Norman on September 18th,” Moos said in a statement released on Twitter. “Due to the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to Husker athletics and the local community, our administration did explore the possibility of adding an eighth home game this fall. That option would have helped us mitigate cost-cutting measures and provide a much-needed boost to our local economy. Ultimately, the decision was made to move forward with our game at Oklahoma in 2021. We have the utmost respect for the University of Oklahoma, and this storied rivalry, and I know our fans have been excited about this series for a long time. Go Big Red!”

As Moos said in the statement, the claim is that Nebraska was hoping to pick up a home game for the financial boost of it in the place of a trip to Norman. Still, the public perception was heavily negative toward the Cornhuskers with most perceiving it as an attempt to avoid a potentially blowout loss to one of their old rivals.

Nevertheless, this peculiar story has seemingly come to an end with the status quo. The game is back to being planned to go as normal with Nebraska playing at Oklahoma later this year in September.

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Former Oklahoma OT Daryl Williams signs three-year contract with Buffalo Bills

Former Oklahoma offensive tackle Daryl Williams signed a fresh three-year deal to remain with the Buffalo Bills on Friday.

One of the more underrated former Oklahoma players in the NFL inked a new deal on Friday as former Sooners offensive tackle Daryl Williams signed a three-year deal to remain with the Buffalo Bills.

Williams played his first five professional seasons with the Carolina Panthers after they selected him in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He then signed a one-year deal with the Bills last April and started all 16 games to help Buffalo win the AFC East and reach the postseason. He now signs a three-year contract to stay in Buffalo and help protect rising star quarterback Josh Allen.

At still just 28 years old, this deal allows Williams to be on a contender through the prime of his career while still allowing him to hit the market again at a good age in just a few years. The Bills’ offensive line ranked as the tenth best in the league at year’s end by Pro Football Focus a year ago, so keeping one of their best pieces of that unit intact was surely a priority for the front office.

Buffalo doesn’t pick until the No. 30 slot in the upcoming NFL Draft, so that added some extra incentive as well to ensure they have a strong player like Williams for the years ahead to give them the flexibility to use their pick on other areas as opposed to offensive line if they so choose.

Oklahoma Creed Humphrey Wowed at Pro Day

On Friday at Oklahoma’s Pro Day, C Creed Humphrey put on a grand showcase of athletic ability.

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After an impressive Senior Bowl performance, the trend continued for Oklahoma center Creed Humphrey at Pro Day. The 6’4, 302-pound interior lineman wowed scouts from 31 NFL teams on Friday in Norman with his athleticism. He had a heck of a day between the hash marks putting up stellar numbers including a quick 40; a difficult feat for a man his size.

For some context:

Broad 9.4
Vertical 33
40-Yard 5.09
20 Shuttle 4.46
3-Cone 7.54
Bench 29

 

In one of the most pressure-filled days for NFL hopefuls, Humphrey eased through drills looking calm and collected. Pro Day, especially today’s simulation of the NFL combine, holds tremendous weight in moving a player potentially up or down on draft boards. On Friday, Humphrey likely climbed on many across the league in need of a dominant centerpiece. Sure, it has been a known fact that he possesses enough athletic ability for zone schemes and to take on double teams, but Pro Day confirmed and validated his skillset.

A performance that sparked high praise from onlooker, head coach Lincoln Riley, “One of the more impressive Pro Day workouts that I’ve seen.”

Looking at his metrics from Friday, a person from the outside looking in would not guess he plays the center position. Of course, Humphrey possesses the necessary grit and nastiness that accompanies an offensive lineman under Bill Bedenbaugh’s tutelage.

The Oklahoma native proved he belongs amongst the elite offensive lineman category in April’s 2021 NFL draft class. Friday showcased the limitless ceiling for Creed Humphrey and promising career ahead at the next level. Someone to keep an eye out for in the early rounds.