Tag: Trending

Serena Williams harshly criticizes her play after Australian Open upset: ‘That’s unprofessional’

Serena lost to Wang Qiang in a three-set match in the third round of the Australian Open.

Serena Williams’ search for her 24th Grand Slam victory continues.

After fighting back to force a third set of her third-round match against Wang Qiang in the Australian Open on Friday in Melbourne, she ultimately lost. Want played a fantastic final set against the GOAT before winning the whole thing, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5, and handing Williams her earliest Aussie Open exit in 14 years.

The two-hour and 41- minute match was the longest one Serena has played in since returning to tennis after giving birth in September of 2017, according to ESPN, and it was the total opposite of the last time these two played. At the U.S. Open last year, Williams crushed Wang, 6-1, 6-0, in just 44 minutes.

While 38-year-old Serena gave credit to 28-year-old Wang for out-playing her, she didn’t shy away from criticizing her own performance. But she also said Wang played “a little different” than the last time they faced off.

“I was optimistic that I would be able to win,” she said after the match about forcing the third set. “I thought, ‘OK, now finish this off.’ I honestly didn’t think I was going to lose that match.”

Williams was particularly critical about all the mistakes she made, finishing with 27 unforced errors compared with Wang’s 20. About that, she said: “I just made far too many errors to be a professional athlete today.”

And she continued criticizing herself while still explaining that she believes a record-tying 24th Grand Slam victory is still within reach. Her last major win was at the 2017 Australian Open, which she did while pregnant.

She continued:

“I definitely do believe [I can win another Grand Slam] or I wouldn’t be on tour. I don’t play just to have fun and to lose is really not fun to play to lose, personally. I seem to do well at the last two slams of the year. I’ve won them all several times so each one definitely is an opportunity for me to go out there and win. It’s not even about the slams. It’s about just me playing good tennis, and I didn’t do that today. And that is more disappointing. So it’s not even about the win. It’s just more about I’m better than that. …

“[Wang] served well. I didn’t return like Serena. Honestly, if we were just honest with ourselves, it’s all on my shoulders. I lost that match, so it is what it is. Like I said, it’s not about the tournament. It’s just like, I can’t play like that. I literally can’t do that again. That’s unprofessional, and it’s not cool.”

Since her return in 2018 after nearly dying after giving birth, Serena has reached four Grand Slam finals but lost them all. Most recently, she lost to Simona Halep at Wimbledon and then Bianca Andreescu at the U.S. Open.

However, coming into the Aussie Open, she did win the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand earlier this month. Though not a Grand Slam, it was her first tournament win since having a baby.

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Alvin Gentry and the Pelicans made the right move to take out Zion Williamson despite his unreal debut

It had to happen.

It’s incredible that we will look back at Zion Williamson’s absolutely incredible debut — 17 straight points in the fourth quarter, 22 total, four threes, seven rebounds, all in just 18 minutes — and remember that the New Orleans Pelicans actually lost.

They might have taken down the San Antonio Spurs if head coach Alvin Gentry hadn’t taken Williamson out after one of the most unreal runs in any NBA debut. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t up to the rookie sensation.

“I ain’t the brightest coach in the world,” he told the media after the loss, “but I wouldn’t have taken him in those situations unless I was told to.”

Gentry added it was up to “the medical people.” And that’s that!

From a fan’s perspective, it’s lame, with Williamson living up to the prodigious hype and then some, and the Pels having the chance to make a run at the eighth seed in the West. Gentry’s name was still trending Thursday morning on Twitter with so many angry fans wondering why he took the forward out.

It was tough for Williamson, too:

I don’t need to be a doctor to say Williamson’s knee has to be handled with the most care. Even though everyone piled on ESPN’s Mark Jackson for talking about Williamson’s weight, we have to remember that Williamson is a physical marvel, one who blew through a shoe in college while pivoting. If the load on his knees is a concern to begin with, then it should to take a while for him to ramp up to full speed after months off post-surgery.

As we saw, the future SO bright. Scarily so. Williamson could do it all on Wednesday night — inside, outside, ferociously grabbing rebounds for unstoppable put-backs, dishing out of double-teams. They need to handle him with the utmost care for now, particularly when he might still be in the middle of adjusting his kinetic chain, to figure out how to be the most efficient with that explosive body of his.

So lay off of Gentry, lay off of the medical staff who forced Williamson to the bench. It’s one game in what could be an unbelievable career.

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Zion Williamson went off in his NBA debut and showed everyone that yes, he’s gonna be great

Zion Williamson scored 17 straight points in the fourth quarter.

Zion Williamson made his NBA regular-season debut Wednesday night as the Pelicans faced the Spurs in New Orleans.

Early on he got off to a slow start, ESPN’s Mark Jackson questioned his weight issues, and his short spurts of playing time never really let him get into any type of rhythm.

And then, wow, the fourth quarter happened and we were all reminded that yes, Zion is going to be a great NBA player.

Zion scored 17 straight points in the fourth quarter in all different ways. He hit four 3-pointers (for those questioning his range), he had a sweet alley-oop layup, and had the Smoothie King Center absolutely rocking in New Orleans.

He then came out with five minutes to go and the Pelicans lost the game, but this was a win for their future.

Zion finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds in 18 minutes.

Here’s some highlights of his scoring spree:

He already has more career 3-pointers than another first-round pick:

Fans chanted MVP! MVP! at Zion:

And his parents loved it:

That was fun.

Kansas State and Kansas got into a massive bench-clearing brawl after time expired

Things got really ugly in Lawrence.

Kansas State and Kansas are heated rivals but they took things to a whole new ugly level Tuesday night, which is going to likely lead to some massive punishments coming up.

The two teams got into a huge brawl right as the game – which Kansas won 81-59 – ended, with both benches rushing out to get involved.

The brawl spilled into the crowd behind the basket and saw coaches and assistant coaches jumping in to try to break things up.

But this thing got UGLY.

First, here’s the broadcast shot from overhead that shows you how this whole thing went down. It started with some taunting after a blocked shot at the buzzer after Kansas State tried to sneak in a layup:

Here’s another angle from inside the madness:

That is not good at all. It looked like assistant coaches were diving at guys to try to stop things.

Oh, and Kansas’ Silvio De Sousa almost used a chair on someone:

What made things even more amazing is that the refs let K-State shoot technical free throws after the fight because… why not?

https://twitter.com/Adoughty88/status/1219803432946749440

Yeah, this is gonna lead to some punishments.

Fans had wild conspiracy theory about Titans-Chiefs ref throwing penalty flag at the snap

What really happened …

If there’s anything you should always expect from NFL fans, it’s a good conspiracy theory after conference title games.

The Tennessee Titans’ season ended one game short of the Super Bowl with Sunday’s 35-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. While the Chiefs managed to take control of the game in the second half, there were a couple big calls that went Kansas City’s way, including a questionable, 40-yard pass interference penalty.

But NFL Twitter couldn’t get over a call from the Titans’ final possession of the first half. The Titans handed the ball off to Derrick Henry for no gain, but you can see the side judge immediately reach for his flag and throw it upon the snap. The call ended up being holding against the Titans.

The video certainly is suspect. Obviously, there’s no way that the side judge could’ve had that kind of quick reaction to call holding. It’s the kind of conspiracy video that predictably had Titans fans fired up.

But in all likelihood, the side judge wasn’t calling holding. He was likely throwing a flag for illegal formation.

The receiver closest to the side judge, A.J. Brown, was in position on the line of scrimmage. Since the Titans already had the tight end on the line of scrimmage (giving them a total of seven), Brown should have been positioned off the line of scrimmage.

Now, the officials only announced the holding penalty on the Titans, so at the very least, they made a mistake by not announcing both penalties. But they weren’t preemptively making calls to favor the Chiefs. There’s just no way.

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UFC fans had a lot of jokes about Stephen A. Smith breaking down UFC 246 with Joe Rogan

Joe Rogan and Stephen A. Smith teamed up on ESPN to break down UFC 246.

The great Joe Rogan has long been the voice of the UFC, working as the color analyst for all the big fights since way back in 1997.

He was working the broadcast again Saturday night at UFC 246, where Conor McGregor made his return after 15 months away form the Octagon and needed just 40 seconds to knock out Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.

Now that ESPN is the broadcast partner of the UFC, it means more ESPN analysts are getting in on the coverage, including Stephen A. Smith, who is paid well to yell about every sport in the world, apparently. He’s been there for some UFC fights and a lot of big boxing matches.

After UFC 246 we got to live in a world where Rogan and Stephen A. appeared on camera together in a segment in which they broke down the fights, and that pairing led to UFC fans having lots of jokes and thoughts:

Chiefs lineman Eric Fisher celebrated a TD by smashing two beers over his head

Stone Cold Eric Fisher.

Stone Cold Steve Austin, meet Stone Cold Eric Fisher.

The Kansas City Chiefs completely flipped the script on the Texans in Sunday’s AFC Divisional Game, scoring 28 unanswered points in the first half after trailing 24-0 to start the game. That utter dominance from Kansas City continued into the second half with the Chiefs running away with the game.

And, well, Fisher was pumped.

After Blake Bell caught an eight-yard touchdown pass to put the Chiefs up, 48-31, in the fourth quarter, a wild celebration broke out near the seats behind the end zone. We could see as Fisher grabbed two beers from a fan and smashed the beers over his head.

He went all in on the Steve Austin impersonation.

While the NFL may not appreciate the celebration (he wasn’t penalized, thankfully), I say you have to take the situation into account. The Chiefs just pulled off a historic comeback and were riding high on a dominant second half. That kind of effort deserves a beer or two.

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The Titans hilariously mocked the Ravens’ ‘Big Truss’ moment for Derrick Henry after big win

“Big Truss. Whoop Whoop. King Henry. In the flesh.”

Baltimore Ravens running back Mark Ingram had a great press conference earlier this year when he became one of the best hype men for his quarterback, Lamar Jackson.

Well, on Saturday night Tennessee Titans wide receiver Tajae Sharpe had fun copying that speech by Ingram while introducing NFL leading rusher Derrick Henry to his press conference after the Titans’ stunning victory over the No. 1 seed Ravens.

Henry was once again a beast for the Titans as he rushed for 195 yards on 30 carries. He became the first RB in NFL history to rush for over 170 yards in two straight playoff games and now he was the Titans in the AFC title game.

Sharpe gave him the great introduction:

Well played.

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NFL fans react to the Ravens’ shocking loss to the Titans

NFL fans roasted the Ravens.

The Tennessee Titans are going to the AFC Championship game, and the duo of Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry are just one win away from playing in Super Bowl LIV.

The Titans weren’t given much of a chance against the No. 1 seed Ravens on the road, but the 10-point underdogs dominated the game from the first quarter in a stunning performance. Likely NFL MVP Lamar Jackson racked up both passing yards and rushing yards that didn’t translate to points on the board, and the Titans picked off Jackson twice.

The Ravens had no answer for NFL rushing champ Derrick Henry, who bulldozed through Baltimore defenders for 195 rushing yards. Henry also threw an ultra-rare touchdown pass, the first by a running back in the playoffs since 1987.

The Titans will go on the road to play either the Chiefs or the Texans. NFL fans were blown away by the result.

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5 takeaways from the 49ers’ dominant win over the Vikings

Can anyone stop the 49ers from winning the Super Bowl?

It felt like there was a new man leading the Minnesota Vikings. Quarterback Kirk Cousins stepped up in primetime during the wild-card round against the New Orleans Saints in way he hadn’t done before.

But in the divisional round, Cousins flopped. The Vikings were a mess.

The San Francisco 49ers did what they’ve done all season. They worked the ball methodically with an efficient running game on offense, and erased their opponents’ best playmakers on defense. With a 27-10 win, Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers are headed to the NFC Championship Game against either the Green Bay Packers or the Seattle Seahawks.

Here are our takeaways from the game.

1. A healthy 49ers defense is unstoppable

We already knew this defense could likely get San Francisco to a Super Bowl. We already knew the unit was one of the best in the NFL. But they also reached new heights on Saturday. The 49ers finished as the No. 1 seed, but they didn’t peak too early. They’re still getting better, in part because defensive end Dee Ford, linebacker Kwon Alexander and strong safety Jaquiski Tartt returned from injury this week,.

San Francisco is now the Super Bowl favorite, because of their defense.

2. Kirk Cousins disappointed on Saturday, but he took a big step forward this offseason.

Cousins was the easy target for those looking for a lazy take: Oh, the quarterback folded under pressure — again.

Cousins’ stats weren’t pretty: He was 21 of 29 for 172 yards at 5.9 yards per pass for one touchdown and one interception. He also took six sacks. And frankly, the stats are flattering when compared to what he looked like on the field, particularly in the first three quarters. San Francisco had Cousins completely boxed in after they took away running back Dalvin Cook (nine carries, 18 yards).

But Cousins took a step forward this postseason. His performances against the Saints in the divisional round was praise-worthy. There aren’t many quarterbacks who would play well against that 49ers defense. Minnesota should feel better than ever about their investment in Cousins.

3. Stefon Diggs probably won’t be around to help Cousins on his upward trajectory.

It’s hard to imagine Diggs staying in Minnesota. He wanted out during the early part of the season, and he got five targets for two receptions, 57 yard and a touchdown in what may be his final game with the Vikings. Considering how this postseason ended, he may be ready to move on in 2020. He may remind the Vikings he wants a trade.

Adam Thielen may take an even bigger role for Minnesota next year. Diggs, meanwhile, would be a good fit in places like Indianapolis, Buffalo, Arizona and Oakland. They all have copious cap space and plenty of upside for Diggs to help them take a step forward. Diggs’ offseason could feel a bit like Odell Bekckham Jr.’s last year.

4. Jimmy Garoppolo’s run this offseason could feel something like Tom Brady’s in 2001.

When was the last time a quarterback won the Super Bowl in his first postseason? It was Tom Brady in 2001.

When Garoppolo tried a quarterback sneak on the goal line, it felt like a Brady impression. (Brady is famously effective at the sneak.) Even Garoppolo’s lead blocking efforts got the same amount of love as those from Brady earlier this year. But in a more meaningful way, Garoppolo is getting his footing as an NFL starter while supported by one of the NFL’s best defenses. The quarterback has managed the game, even if that has meant the 49ers aren’t asking much of him. That was the story surrounding Brady in 2001.

If Garoppolo pulls off a Super Bowl win, the run may feel a lot like Brady’s first title in New England.

5.  Kyle Shanahan is special

The last time we saw Shanahan in the playoffs, he was needlessly calling for passing plays against the Patriots in Super Bowl LI. The aggressive (and perhaps foolish) play-calling contributed to the Falcons’ historic collapse. Shanahan’s play-calling was so atrocious that some wondered whether the wunderkind deserved the 49ers’ head coaching job.

He’s come a long way since then. Shanahan is one of the NFL’s brightest offensive minds. He’s the reason why so many of the San Francisco skill players have developed into standouts. He has proven himself as one of the elite NFL coaches.

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