Archive for the ‘Sports’ Category

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Obit watch: November 4, 2025.

Tuesday, November 4th, 2025

Diane Ladd. NYT (archived).

Other credits include “Carnosaur”, “White Lightning”, “Then Came Bronson”, and “The Fugitive”. And the pool of living “Alice” actors gets even smaller.

Former vice president Dick Cheney. WP (archived).

Victor Conte. I’m not sure how many people will remember that name: he was the founder of Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), the people who provided “performance enhancing drugs” to various athletes “including baseball stars Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and Olympic track champion Marion Jones”.

The federal government’s investigation…yielded convictions of Jones, elite sprint cyclist Tammy Thomas, and former NFL defensive lineman Dana Stubblefield along with coaches, distributors, a trainer, a chemist and a lawyer.

Posted in 1970s, Movies, Obits, Politics, Sports, TV | Comments Closed

Ice, ice, baby.

Sunday, November 2nd, 2025

Hugh Freeze out at Auburn. ESPN.

15-19 in “two plus” seasons, 6-16 in the SEC, and they lost to Kentucky yesterday, 10-3. They are 4-5 this season.

And the NYPost is reporting that, with Mr. Freeze’s $15.8 millon buyout, the count is now up to $182 million owed to fired college coaches.

Posted in Firings, Sports | 2 Comments »

Firings watch.

Friday, October 31st, 2025

Chris Grier out as general manager of the Miami Dolphins.

The spin on this is that it was by “mutual agreement”. But the Dolphins are 2-7, and lost last night to Baltimore. So…yeah.

ESPN.

Posted in Firings, NFL, Sports | Comments Closed

Your Friday loser update: week 4, 2025.

Friday, October 31st, 2025

NBA teams that still have a chance to go 0-82:

Indiana Pacers
Brooklyn Nets
New Orleans Pelicans

And today’s bonus firing for you: Scott Woodward fired as athletic director at Louisiana State University.

As you may recall, LSU fired Brian Kelly and owes him $54 million. This has attracted the ire of many, including Louisiana governor Jeff Landry. Gov. Landry went as far as to state that Mr. Woodward wouldn’t be picking the next football coach.

Additional coverage from ESPN.

On the “Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday, Landry added: “There’s a number of bad contracts that seem to have followed Scott Woodward.”

Posted in Firings, Loser, Sports | Comments Closed

Briefly noted.

Tuesday, October 28th, 2025

Former LSU coach Brian Kelly’s $54 million buyout would bring the amount of money owed to FBS head football coaches fired this season to $167.7 million, according to publicly available data and reports.

…

The $168.1 million applies to coaches who have been fired since the start of the 2025 season and does not include coaches who were fired over the offseason.

Posted in Firings, Sports | 1 Comment »

Your NFL loser update: week 8, 2025.

Monday, October 27th, 2025

They don’t call them the Cincinnati Bungles for nothing.

I apologize for being late in getting this up. I had a series of events (the good kind of event, not the bad kind) yesterday that had me out of the house until 7:30 PM. Among those events was driving down to Gruene to meet up with a relative I had not seen in at least 25 years, and maybe closer to 40. While it was fun, it’s also about 90 minutes each way in pretty heavy traffic, so I pretty much got home and went straight to bed.

Anyway, NFL teams that have a chance to go 0-17:

None.

Seriously, Cincinnati? 39-38?

Oh, well. There are still five winless teams in the NBA, and I’ll probably do an update on Friday.

Bonus firing:

Screenshot

Speaking of the war font…story here. ESPN. 34-14 over “four seasons”, but they’ve lost three out the past four games, and got beat 49-25 by Texas A&M on Saturday.

Texas A&M is 8-0. I’m wondering if there’s a chance that we might see a national champion from Texas this year…and it won’t be the one everyone expected at the start of the season.

Edited to add: also out now, LSU offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan. One story I saw said that the athletic director approached Brian Kelly and told him to fire Sloan. Kelly allegedly said “No, I want to fire these people instead,” and the response was to fire Kelly, then Sloan.

Posted in Firings, Loser, NFL, Sports | 1 Comment »

Your Friday loser update: week 3, 2025.

Friday, October 24th, 2025

I had to go to the eye doctor this morning for a treatment, so I’m a little late getting this up. Also, my eyes are kind of messed up, so please to forgive any mistakes: if you leave a comment, I’ll fix them.

NHL teams that still have a chance to go 0-82:

None.

The San Jose Sharks won their first game of the season last night, and are now 1-6. This is the same record as the Tampa Bay Lightning. Just sayin’.

One door closes, another door opens.

NBA teams that still have a chance to go 0-82:

Boston Celtics
Detroit Pistons
Miami Heat
Indiana Pacers
Cleveland Cavaliers
Washington Wizards
Brooklyn Nets
Atlanta Hawks
New Orleans Pelicans
Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
Los Angeles Lakers
LA Clippers
Dallas Mavericks

“What we know about the Billups-Rozier NBA gambling cases” from ESPN.

Bonus quote of the day (well, yesterday, I think):

Director Patel responds to Stephen A. Smith claiming today’s NBA gambling takedown was revenge from President Trump: “That may be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard from anyone in modern history, and I live most of my time in Washington DC. It’s right up there with Adam Schiff.”

Posted in Loser, Sports | Comments Closed

Firings watch (plus, bonus legal news!)

Thursday, October 23rd, 2025

I know I’ve been quiet the past few days. There just hasn’t been much going on. But today is shaping up to be interesting.

ESPN is reporting the arrest of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. Also arrested: Terry Rozier, guard for the Miami Heat.

According to the NYPost:

Billups, an NBA Hall of Famer, has been charged with partaking in an alleged illegal poker ring tied to the Bonanno, Genovese and Colombo crime families, sources told The Post.
A total of 31 people across the country are charged with running rigged games, which took place in Manhattan, the Hamptons and Las Vegas, sources said.
The players involved were being paid by mobsters to play in card games fixed with technology and card shuffling machines to give the house the advantage, sources familiar with the case said.
The athletes were told to take a dive when they had to and win when they were told. It didn’t appear as if they were attempting to pay off any debts, sources said.

Rozier’s arrest is tied to another case.

Sportsbooks in multiple states flagged suspicious betting interest on Rozier’s statistics ahead of a Charlotte Hornets-New Orleans Pelicans game on March 23, 2023. An unexpected surge of bets — including 30 wagers in 46 minutes from a professional bettor totaling $13,759 — came in on the under on Rozier’s points, rebounds and assists, causing sportsbooks to halt betting on the veteran guard. Rozier, then with the Hornets, played just 10 minutes before leaving the game, citing a foot injury.

ESPN is suggesting this might also be tied to the Jontay Porter case.

Porter pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and admitted in court to manipulating his performance in two games during the 2023-24 season. He is awaiting sentencing in December.
Four men, including Porter, have pleaded guilty in the case. Two other men have been named as conspirators and have been in plea negotiations, according to court filings.

And I did promise a firing, didn’t I? This is a sports firing, but it’s an odd one: Ken Williamson has been “permanently suspended” as a SEC referee.

…following eleven complaints against the seasoned official and his crew during the Auburn-Georgia game on Oct. 11, sources told Yellowhammer News on Wednesday.
“According to sources, nine of those complaints were validated by conference officials,” the outlet wrote.
The game’s biggest controversy came late in the second quarter, when Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold lost the ball near the one-yard line during a QB sneak and was recovered by Georgia cornerback Kyron Jones.
Though multiple angles from ABC’s broadcast appear to show Jackson crossing the goal line before the ball was punched out, officials ruled it a fumble — awarding the Bulldogs possession after the recovery.

Posted in Firings, Law, Sports | 4 Comments »

Your NFL loser update: week 7, 2025. (Plus: firings!)

Sunday, October 19th, 2025

NFL teams that still have a chance to go 0-17:

NY Jets

And the Sharks are 0-5 in the NHL.

Next week: the Bengals in Cincinnati. Cincinnati is 3-4, and a slight favorite at the moment.

The worthless Bills had a bye this week. The game with the worthless Chargers is in progress at the moment, and what is up with that alternate uniform?

In other news: Billy Napier out as head coach of the University of Florida. 22-23 overall in “three plus” seasons, and the team is 3-4 this season. ESPN.

Jay Norvell out as head coach at Colorado State. 18-26 overall, the team is 2-5 this season, and lost to Hawai’i yesterday. ESPN.

And a non-firing, non-loser update that I don’t have room for anywhere else: Curry College is a D-III school. They beat Nichols 71-27 yesterday, and rushed for 522 yards.

Oh, wait: did I say the team rushed for 522 yards? I mean one guy, running back Montie Quinn, rushed for 522 yards by himself. 20 carries, seven touchdowns, and a NCAA record.

Posted in Firings, Loser, NFL, Sports, Urine | Comments Closed

Your NHL loser update: week 2, 2025.

Friday, October 17th, 2025

NHL teams that still have a chance to go 0-82:

San Jose Sharks

So we’re down to the Sharks in the NHL, and the Jets in the NFL.

It’s like “West Side Story” up in here.

Posted in Loser, Sports | Comments Closed

Callahan!

Monday, October 13th, 2025

Brian Callahan out as head coach of the Tennessee Titans.

Under his leadership, the Titans finished 4-19 and ranked among the league’s worst offenses in most meaningful statistical categories.

He was coach for roughly a season and a half. The Titans are currently 1-5. Additional coverage from ESPN.

Posted in Firings, NFL, Sports | Comments Closed

Firings watch.

Monday, October 13th, 2025

Trent Dilfer out as head coach of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

(Sorry this link is so mangled. ESPN, if you prefer.)

2-4 this season, 9-21 in “two plus” seasons.

UAB actually tried to shut down their football program a while back, but there were mass protests, etc. and they went back on that decision. Maybe it is time to reconsider.

Posted in Firings, Sports | Comments Closed

Your NFL loser update: week 6, 2025. (Plus: firings!)

Sunday, October 12th, 2025

NFL teams that still have a chance to go 0-17:

NY Jets

Denver 13, NY Jest 11. It was closer than I (kind of) expected, but I did say these foreign games are unpredictable.

Next week: Carolina. At the moment, the Jets are a slight favorite.

And, in an attempt to put all the norts spews in one place for everyone:

James Franklin out after 12 years at Penn State. 104-45 overall, “the second winningest coach” in PSU history, but they lost to Northwestern 22-21 yesterday. PSU was a heavy favorite in that game.

Under Franklin this year, the Nittany Lions sit 15th in the Big Ten with the 70th-ranked total offense in the country and 27th in total defense.

They are 3-3 this season, and it looks like they lost their starting quarterback for the season. More from ESPN.

Trent Bray out as coach of Oregon State, which is 0-7 this season. 5-14 over “less than two seasons”, lost 13 of his final 14 games, and OSU was defeated 39-14 by Wake Forest yesterday. ESPN.

Edited to add: Lawrence pointed out that the Jest finished with…-10 yards passing. That’s not a typo: negative 10 passing yards. 45 yards passing, 55 yards lost to sacks.

It was also the fewest in any NFL game since the Chargers had minus-19 against the Kansas City Chiefs in Ryan Leaf’s third career start in 1998.

Wow. Ryan Leaf.

Posted in Firings, Locks, NFL, Sports | Comments Closed

Your NHL loser update: week 1, 2025.

Friday, October 10th, 2025

NHL teams that still have a chance to go 0-82:

Tampa Bay Lightning
Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings
New York Islanders
Columbus Blue Jackets
Philadelphia Flyers
Washington Capitals
New Jersey Devils
Chicago Blackhawks
Winnipeg Jets
Utah Mammoth
St. Louis Blues
San Jose Sharks
Edmonton Oilers
Anaheim Ducks

I don’t have much to say right now. It is early in the season, and, to be honest, I don’t know that much about hockey. Any predictions I would make are guaranteed to be wrong.

Posted in Loser, Sports | 2 Comments »

Loser update update.

Wednesday, October 8th, 2025

I think I am going to try to do a loser update for the NHL. (Hattip: Angus McThag.)

However, looking at the NHL schedule, I think I should hold off on doing this until Friday. While the regular season has started (as I understand it) it looks like most of the games are Thursday night.

This might become a regular Friday thing.

Posted in Loser, Sports | 5 Comments »

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