Former New York Giants punter Sean Landeta wasn't too pleased with one of his former teammates after he revealed what Landeta called a false and "embarrassing" locker room story from their time playing together.
During an interview with a Philadelphia radio station, Landeta was asked about former Eagles wide receiver Freddie Mitchell’s claim that Landeta, who played with the Eagles from 1999-2002, would groom his "under regions in the sauna" in front of other players.
The two-time Super Bowl champion remained calm but was clearly irked by the question.
"Now, my first thing is – you wanna call me during primetime radio in Philadelphia and talk to me about something like that? Are you kidding me," he said in response to 94 WIP host Spike Eskin.
"I like Freddie. Good teammate and all. But what he said was absolutely false. I totally deny being in the sauna with Jon Ritchie. That never happened.
"I’m disappointed in Mr. Mitchell. I’m going to have to speak to him about that."
But Landeta, who won both championships with the Giants, turned his attention back to the radio hosts.
"You call it having fun, but it's one guy embarrassing another guy talking about stuff. Believe me, I understand how that works. Very disappointed that he would say that, especially when it's not true."
Landeta went one step further to say the question was an attempt at a ratings grab.
"I would think with the Eagles having a playoff game coming up they wouldn’t be talking about guys in saunas," Landeta said.
Landeta spent the majority of his more than two-decade career in the NFL playing for the Giants. He also spent time with the Eagles, Rams and Buccaneers.
Comedian Shane Gillis revealed a heated conversation he had with legendary college football coach Nick Saban after the former suggested the latter’s Alabama Crimson Tide had cheated while he was there, on ESPN’s "College GameDay."
Gillis spoke on the "Talk of the Town" podcast, where he broke down what led to the situation where the comedian said Saban "spazzed on me."
First, Gillis told Saban’s "College GameDay" colleagues Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit that he thought Alabama had dominated college football because they had been paying players before it was legal to do so through NIL deals.
"After I said that, we had to go into the stadium to sit at the desk, and I got in there, and he [Saban] was like, ‘I heard what you said,’" Gillis said. "And I was like, ‘Holy s–t,’ and then McAfee and Herbstreit were like, ‘He’s just breaking your b---s, dude.’
"’He loves messing with guys. Like he’s literally just f---ing with you,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, alright. I’ll f--- with him back.'"
Gillis’ antics weren’t received well by Saban, as the comedian doubled down during his Dec. 20 appearance at the Notre Dame-Indiana College Football Playoff game.
"I was just joking around. I don’t think the SEC paid players ever," Gillis said on the broadcast. Is this not a fun show? Is this a serious show? Alabama Jones is looking very serious."
"Alabama Jones" referred to Saban, who was wearing a hat that resembled the one worn by Indiana Jones.
Saban had a retort to Gillis, and he was certainly being serious.
"I do believe in integrity. I always tried to run the program that way so players had a better chance to be successful in life," Saban said. "We make more money in the NFL than any other school, 61 players in the league. That was how we cheated. We developed players."
After the cameras were off, Gillis said that Saban was actually upset after McAfee and Herbstreit said to go talk to him.
"So, I went up to him after, he was like, ‘You think the SEC dominated cause we cheated? That’s bulls---.’ He spazzed on me," Gillis said.
Saban is well known for his six national titles during his time in Tuscaloosa, as the Crimson Tide became a college football powerhouse. He also led the LSU Tigers to the BCS National Champions Game after the 2003 regular season.
Witnesses at a state legislative hearing in Boise, Idaho, on Thursday gave accounts of the "horror" that some college women's volleyball players experienced during the 2024 season amid a national controversy involving a trans athlete.
The testimonies came during a hearing to discuss passing the Fairness in Women's Sports Act, which has been proposed by Idaho state representative Barbara Erhardt.
San Jose State University, whose volleyball team rostered player Blaire Fleiming, and the Mountain West Conference is facing a lawsuit from multiple women's volleyball players alleging the school withheld the fact that Fleming is a biological male from players. The lawsuit also alleged Fleming was given a roster spot and scholarship over female players who claim to have been emotionally and financially impacted by the experience.
Fleming led the Spartans all the way to the Mountain West Championship game amid the lawsuit. However, eight of San Jose State's matches were forfeited by opponents in the wake of the controversy, including a conference tournament semifinal match against Boise State.
Boise State forfeited three total matches against SJSU in 2024, and were praised by Erhardt and other speakers at the hearing for the decision.
One parent of a player in the conference gave her account of the situation on Thursday. She also condemned all the schools who did not forfeit to SJSU.
"I am an Idaho mom who experienced it first hand with a daughter who played in the Mountain West conference," said a woman named April Cheney.
"NCAA president Charlie Baker, Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez and all the Mountain West college presidents and athletic directors who did not boycott, you failed to protect women's sports. NCAA and Mountain West conference, I blame you for the season that took way a year of eligibility, forced forfeits to record as losses, and a conference championship that was a complete shame!"
Former NCAA swimmer and prominent conservative influencer Riley Gaines, who regularly organizes with other women's athletes who have been impacted by trans inclusion and is leading a lawsuit against the NCAA over the issue, revealed her account of what the players went through, based on discussions with them.
"They were emotionally blackmailed into believing they were the problem," Gaines said of the players, adding that Boise State was the only university that showed administrative support to players who wished to forfeit.
"The overwhelming majority of them did not want this brought upon them. No one asked for this, this is not a situation they wanted to be in," Gaines added. "These girls were terrified, they were terrified to stand tall, they were terrified to stand up for themselves, they were terrified of the things that would potentially come if they merely said ‘Men and women are different.’"
Marshi Smith, the co-founder of the legal advocacy group the Independent Council on Women's Sports, gave a testimony where she claimed that the female athletes who joined the lawsuit felt threatened by retaliation from their university if they spoke out against trans inclusion.
"What will they do to us for speaking up?" the players often asked, according to Smith.
Smith elaborated on these players' questions in a follow-up statement to Fox News Digital.
"They’re often terrified of losing scholarships or being kicked off their teams. At San Jose State, administrators exploited these fears by telling them to stay quiet because it’s Blaire Fleming’s story to tell, not their own," Smith said.
San Jose State has provided a statement to Fox News Digital in response to the statements at Thursday's hearing.
"All San Jose State University student-athletes are eligible to participate in their sports under NCAA and Mountain West Conference rules," the statement read.
Smith also alleges that volleyball players at the University of Nevada, Reno, were threatened with legal action if they refused to compete against San Jose State in a match that was scheduled for October, but was never played.
"At UNR, school administrators warned athletes they could face legal action if they refused to compete against SJSU’s team, which included a male starter," Smith said.
Nevada has not responded to Smith's allegations upon request for comment. The university has previously provided a statement saying the athletes were free to not play the game without discipline and that it was continuing with the match in order to adhere to state law that aims to prevent discrimination against transgenders.
After the players pleaded with their university to forfeit to SJSU weeks prior to the match, the university declined the request and put out a statement insisting it would play the match. But hen the players went public with their grievances over the situation, sparking weeks of controversy. Eventually, Nevada had to cancel the match on Oct. 25, just one day before it was scheduled to be played, because it didn't have enough players willing to play.
However, even with forfeits by Nevada, Boise State, Utah State, Southern Utah and Wyoming this season, dozens of other players were still forced to play against Fleming, some without even knowing of the nature of the player's birth sex.
Their first opponent of the season, Louisiana Tech, took the court against Fleming without knowing about the biological gender of the player.
Louisiana Tech head volleyball coach Amber McCray confirmed to Fox News Digital that her team did not know about the situation involving Fleming's natural birth sex, and they did not find out until the day after the match via rumors from parents.
LA Tech athletic director Ryan Ivey suggested that if they had known Fleming's natural birth sex, the team "would have sought "a different outcome," in emails obtained by Fox News Digital.
Then there are Fleming's own teammates, including former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser, who is leading the lawsuit against the Mountain West, and has also signed on to Gaines' lawsuit against the NCAA, citing her experience with Fleming.
Slusser has told Fox News Digital that the experience has been "traumatic."
"This season has been so traumatizing that I don't even have a proudest moment," Slusser said.
In Slusser's ongoing lawsuit against SJSU and the Mountain West, her plaintiff list also includes players Alyssa Sugai, Elle Patterson, Sia Liilii, Nicanora Clarke, Kaylie Ray, Macey Boggs, Sierra Grizzle, Jordan Sandy, Katelyn Van Kirk, Kiersten Van Kirk and former SJSU assistant volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose.
SJSU has also recently acknowledged a recent mass exodus of volleyball players who entered the transfer portal, as nearly every remaining player who is still eligible is now looking to leave the program.
"Student athletes have the ability to make decisions about their college athletic careers, and we have the utmost respect for that," a statement read.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick is reportedly among the thousands who lost homes to the raging Los Angeles wildfires.
Redick’s situation was revealed after news broke that the Lakers were postponing their game Thursday night against the Charlotte Hornets, ESPN reported.
Redick said Tuesday his family members evacuated the area.
"I just want to acknowledge and send thoughts and prayers to everyone in the Palisades right now," Redick said Tuesday, according to Sports Illustrated. "It’s where I live. My family and my wife’s family, my wife’s twin sister, they’ve evacuated.
"I know that a lot of people are freaking out right now, including my family. From the sound of things, with the winds coming tonight, I know a lot of people are scared."
The Lakers released a statement on the postponement of the Hornets game Thursday, saying their focus is on "what matters most today."
"We’re heartbroken for Los Angeles," the Lakers said in a statement Thursday night. "Our thoughts are with all those impacted by this unimaginable situation. And our gratitude is with the first responders and all of you who come together when we need each other the most."
It remains to be seen what the Lakers do about their game Saturday night against the San Antonio Spurs, who are also scheduled to play in Los Angeles Monday night.
The purple and gold are not the only Los Angeles professional sports team affected by the fires.
The Los Angeles Rams may play their wild-card game against the Minnesota Vikings at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, if the fires continue to affect the Inglewood area, where their home, SoFi Stadium, is located.
The Los Angeles Chargers, though not playing at SoFi Stadium for their NFL playoff game, limited players’ time outside during Wednesday’s practice due to poor air quality. They play the Houston Texans Saturday afternoon to kick off Wild Card Weekend.
The Chargers released a statement Wednesday night, pledging $200,000 in targeted funding to wildfire relief efforts in the area.
LA County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone announced Thursday the Eaton Fire, which claimed at least five lives, has been "significantly stopped."
LA City Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley told reporters the Palisades Fire, which remains 0% contained, is "one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles."
Other reports since indicate that the illness has subsided in recent days, but players are not out of the woods yet.
The Fighting Irish are riding high headed into Thursday's Orange Bowl after taking down the second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in the quarterfinal last week.
Notre Dame earned the seventh seed in the bracket, which got them to host a home game against No. 10 Indiana. That was a rather easy victory, but Thursday may just be their toughest test yet.
Penn State held Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty to just 104 rushing yards last week, his lowest of the season. That is not necessarily great news for the Irish, considering Riley Leonard had just 90 yards passing against the Bulldogs.
The Nittany Lions are the sixth seed in the bracket.
The Fighting Irish's season seemed to be dead in the water after losing at home to Northern Illinois in the second week of the season, but they have since rattled off a dozen consecutive wins to find themselves just one victory away from their second national title game in the last 15 years.
However, if they can get by what seemed to be a program-altering loss at the time, a bug seems to be just a minor speed bump.
This is the third time the Fighting Irish are in the playoffs, having lost in the semifinals in both 2018 and 2020.
Jeff Hardy is one of the most popular pro wrestlers of his generation.
Hardy’s death-defying stunts will live in the minds of fans for the rest of their lives. He performed in WWE in three separate stints between 1994 and 2021. He and his brother, Matt, became a beloved tag team and won several championships in his career. He was also a WWE champion and World Heavyweight champion during one of his runs.
The heights of Hardy’s career in WWE were derailed because of legal trouble and his battles with addiction. However, the North Carolina high-flyer said in an interview with WFAA-TV that he believes he could have been bigger than John Cena.
"The way I was living life in my 20s and 30s, if I was living life the way I’m living life now, oh my gosh, there’s no telling," he told the station on Tuesday. "I would probably be bigger than John Cena today. I was born with such a gift to be a pro wrestler. It just felt so natural, like I was totally created to do this thing.
"The cool thing is I’m still here, have life and feel good. As Matt had mentioned, we’re big ice baths, and that’s been crazy beneficial for me mentally and physically. I don’t put a number on it. I’ll just pretty much wrestle until I can’t wrestle anymore."
The 47-year-old is still one of the biggest acts in the industry. Aside from WWE, he has performed for TNA Wrestling, Ring of Honor and All Elite Wrestling.
The Hardys are the current tag-team champions for TNA Wrestling. They defeated The System and ABC in a triple-threat full metal mayhem match at Bound for Glory last year.
Pierce insinuated Monday, the day between Las Vegas' season finale and the team firing him, that a conversation was expected between owner Mark Davis and Telesco.
The news comes a day after reports circulated that Tom Brady, who purchased a 5% stake in the team last season, would have a big role in picking the team's next head coach. Apparently, he even reached out to Bill Belichick, who joined the University of North Carolina last month.
Telesco joined the decimated Raiders prior to this season, stuck with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell as his quarterbacks after getting rid of Jimmy Garoppolo after a tumultuous campaign in 2023.
It was clear Telesco was hitting the reset button, and the team's 4-13 should not surprise anybody. But Telesco struck gold when he selected Georgia tight end Brock Bowers with the 13th pick. Bowers' 112 receptions this season are the most by a rookie in NFL history.
Prior to joining the Raiders, Telesco spent 11 seasons with the Chargers in San Diego and Los Angeles.
The Raiders are one of three teams looking for a new general manager, along with the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans. The Raiders hold the sixth selection in the NFL Draft behind the Titans, Browns, Giants, Patriots and Jaguars.
Olympic gold medalist Gary Hall Jr. was among the thousands of California residents displaced by the wildfires raging across the Los Angeles area this week, and like many, he lost all of his priceless possessions – including all 10 of his Olympic medals.
However, for Hall, he is grateful to have walked away with his life.
In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Hall recalled the moment he first saw a "plume of smoke" coming from his backyard. He was on the phone with his daughter when disaster struck.
"I saw the flames erupt and houses start popping. There were explosions. I didn’t have a lot of time," he recalled in the interview. "Sunset Boulevard was a complete logjam. People abandoned cars and were running for their lives. Police were telling them to do that. My girlfriend was trapped in her car around smoke."
The wildfires spread quickly. Hall only had time to grab the essentials – his dog and a few personal items.
The home in Pacific Palisades that he was renting was burnt down, and with it all of his Olympic medals, including five gold, three silver and two bronze. He thought about them at the moment, but the seriousness of the situation did not allow him to grab them.
"I did think about the medals. I did not have time to get them," Hall told the outlet. "Everyone wants to know did the medals burn? Yeah, everything burnt. It’s something I can live without. I guess everything is just stuff. It’ll take some hard work to start over. What can you do?"
Hall described the scene as "worse than any apocalypse movie you’ve ever seen and 1000 times worse." More than losing his medals, Hall’s home, where he ran a business teaching kids to swim, is now completely gone.
"It’ll be a range of emotions, particularly when it’s time to go back to where the house stood. I’ll shift through the ash and see if the medals melted together. Will I be able to find anything worth saving? Probably not. I don’t know."
Thousands of California residents were evacuated as fierce wildfires fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds tore through Southern California this week. At least five people are dead as the fires continued to burn more than 27,000 acres on Thursday.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday was postponed as wildfires in the Los Angeles area continue to rage on.
The team confirmed the multiple reports about the postponement, as the Lakers released a statement on X telling fans to "please hold onto your tickets. They will be honored for the rescheduled date."
The California wildfires have devastated Los Angeles County, with at least five dead and burning more than 27,000 acres, officials say. Thousands of homes have also been burned down.
An ESPN report added that Lakers head coach JJ Redick lost his home like so many others who live in the area.
"We’re heartbroken for Los Angeles," the Lakers said in a statement on Thursday night. "Our thoughts are with all those impacted by this unimaginable situation. And our gratitude is with the first responders and all of you who come together when we need each other the most.
"Tonight’s game will be rescheduled to focus on what matters most today. We’re with you, LA."
The purple and gold are not the only Los Angeles professional sports teams that are being affected by the fires.
The Los Angeles Rams could potentially play their wild-card game against the Minnesota Vikings at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, if the fires continue to affect the Inglewood area, where their home, SoFi Stadium, resides.
The NFL released their contingency plan on Wednesday night shortly after saying it was monitoring the situation in Los Angeles.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the air quality index read over 280, with 150 and above considered unhealthy.
The Los Angeles Chargers, though not playing at SoFi Stadium for their own NFL playoff game, limited players’ time outside during Wednesday’s practice due to air quality. They play the Houston Texans on Saturday afternoon to kick off Wild Card Weekend.
The Chargers released a statement on Wednesday night, pledging $200,000 in targeted funding to wildfire relief efforts in the area.
LA County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone announced Thursday that the Eaton Fire, which claimed at least five lives, has seen growth "significantly stopped."
LA City Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley also told reporters that the Palisades Fire, which remains 0% contained, is "one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles."
The late Frank Wycheck, who is remembered for the pass that started the iconic "Music City Miracle" play, suffered from an advanced stage of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), researchers said.
Wycheck died in December 2023 after he sustained a fall at his Tennessee home. He had made clear that he wished to work with experts on CTE research and related brain injuries.
A study of Wycheck's brain conducted by researchers at Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center confirmed the former Tennessee Titans star tight end also suffered from the degenerative brain disease during the final years of his life.
Wycheck was diagnosed with CTE stage III. Stage IV is the most severe form of the disease and can lead to dementia, memory loss and depression. CTE can occur after repeated head injuries, such as concussions or blows to the head, according to the Mayo Clinic.
A 2017 study conducted by the Boston University CTE Center concluded that the brains of 99% of former NFL players had at least trace amounts of the neurodegenerative disease. Researchers studied the brains of 202 former football players.
Wycheck, a three-time Pro Bowl tight end, played in the NFL from 1993 and 2003, starting with Washington and finishing his career with the Houston Oilers organization, which moved to Tennessee and became the Titans.
Wycheck’s family said in a statement they are grateful for this diagnosis, which they believe further highlights the concerns around CTE in contact sports like football. They want to honor his legacy with a stronger commitment to player safety and support for those affected by head injuries.
His daughters said their family had challenges understanding both the physical and mental changes Wycheck was experiencing, thinking he was just missing the spotlight of his career.
"We witnessed our father becoming increasingly isolated and experiencing drastic mood swings. He became more impulsive, and often inconsistent and undependable," Deanna Wycheck Szabo said in a statement. "Now in hindsight, I understand that he was suffering from the symptoms of CTE due to the repeated trauma his brain and body endured over 11 seasons in the NFL."
Szabo said Wycheck loved football and his teammates. She said he fought for years after retiring to bring attention to the symptoms and struggles he knew stemmed from CTE, feeling too often ignored and helpless. Szabo also said she wishes her family had been educated on CTE symptoms to know what to look for and now hope for increased intervention, education and support for NFL alumni and their families.
"Instead of believing that something was inherently wrong with him, we now know he was doing the best he could as a father and friend under circumstances beyond his control," Szabo said.
A federal judge in Kentucky blocked the Biden administration’s attempt to redefine sex in Title IX as "gender identity," striking down the change nationwide.
The U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky Northern Division made the ruling in Cardona v. Tennessee on Thursday.
"Another massive win for TN and the country!" Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a post on X. "This morning, a federal court ruled in our favor and vacated the Biden admin's radical new Title IX rule nationwide.
"The court's order is resounding victory for the protection of girls' privacy in locker rooms and showers, and for the freedom to speak biologically-accurate pronouns."
The ruling came months after the Supreme Court rejected the Biden administration’s emergency request to enforce portions of a new rule that would have included protections from discrimination for transgender students under Title IX.
The sweeping rule was issued in April and clarified that Title IX’s ban on "sex" discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and "pregnancy or related conditions."
The rule took effect Aug. 1, and, for the first time, the law stated that discrimination based on sex includes conduct related to a person’s gender identity.
It led to more than two dozen attorneys general suing over the rule, arguing it would conflict with some of their state laws that block transgender students from participating in women’s sports.
"When Title IX is viewed in its entirety, it is abundantly clear that discrimination on the basis of sex means discrimination on the basis of being a male or female," the court’s opinion read. "As this Court and others have explained, expanding the meaning of ‘on the basis of sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ turns Title IX on its head.
"While Title IX sought to level the playing field between men and women, it is rife with exceptions that allow males and females to be separated based on the enduring physical differences between the sexes."
The decision came as Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is set to push the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to the Senate Floor.
A procedural vote on it will happen on Friday.
Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
It’s safe to say Josh Allen doesn’t want his offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, to go anywhere this offseason with teams requesting to interview him for their head coaching vacancies.
A reporter asked Allen what Brady meant to him during a press conference on Wednesday.
"Nothing. He hasn’t done anything for us, teams should stay away from him," Allen said with a smile on his face.
Then Allen took a more serious tone, praising his coach.
"He’s been fantastic, you know, coming into a situation last year, it’s not easy to switch play-callers’ mid-year, and he came in and from that day on, if you look at our splits, our success that we’ve had as a team, it’s noticeable. He’s one of the most positive guys in the building, he’s always got juice and energy for the guys. I think that’s something we love and appreciate about him, and he’s as real as they come," Allen said.
With the Buffalo Bills' success this season, offensive coordinator Brady is getting asked for head coaching interviews.
The Chicago Bears, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars have requested Brady in interview for their vacant head coaching positions, per numerous reports.
The Bills fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey after the Bills dropped to 5-5 last season, and Brady took over play-calling duties.
After Brady took over, the Bills went 6-1 down the stretch and won the AFC East.
With last season’s success, Brady remained as offensive coordinator, and his explosive offense, led by Allen, had the Bills at 13-4 going into the playoffs with Allen a favorite for the MVP award.
The Bills average 30.9 points per game, which is second in the NFL to only the Detroit Lions, who average 33.2 points per game.
Under Brady this season, Allen has played some of the best football of his career. The Bills star has completed 63.6% of his passes for 3,731 yards with 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
Allen has also been dynamic with his legs, rushing for 531 yards with 12 touchdowns on the ground, averaging over five yards per attempt.
Brady will have an opportunity to further entice teams when the Bills take on the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card Round at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday,
The Broncos pose a good test for the Bills, as they give up the third-fewest points per game in the NFL, giving up just 18.3 points per game.
Frances Tiafoe might be among the top-ranked American tennis pros, but he admittedly gets a little starstruck just like anybody else.
During a recent interview on "The Pivot" podcast, the 2024 U.S. Open semifinalist spoke about his breakout success and the recognition that came with that, including the attention from other celebrities and athletes.
"I’ve said it in real time, whoever I’m with, like, ‘Yo, I’m out here taking shots with Taylor Swift," Tiafoe said, adding that he is admittedly a "Beyoncé guy."
"But at the moment I’m like, man, like, this is crazy, she’s the biggest star out here."
Tiafoe, 26, said the turning point in his career was when he defeated legendary tennis pro Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of the 2022 U.S. Open. The win would advance him to the quarterfinals, making him the youngest American man at 24 to reach the quarters since Andy Roddick did so in 2006.
However, shots with Swift is only the tip of the iceberg.
"Trav and Mahomes, they’re like ‘Yo, we gotta have you in [Kansas City]. Them saying that is wild to me and then they rolled out the red carpet for me," he continued. "It’s crazy because playing tennis and being able to reach that many people and people want to meet me and hang out and actually do stuff, those are the things of why you do what you do."
Despite enjoying the company of celebrities, Tiafoe also relishes in his relatability to fans.
"A lot of people can see themselves in you… I’m just a regular dude, man. I’m just a dude from Maryland that just loves tennis."
Tiafoe did not go into details about when the hangouts with Swift, Kelce and Patrick Mahomes took place, but the Kansas City Chiefs duo were spotted at the 2024 U.S. Open for the men’s singles final between American Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner.
The North Carolina Tar Heels and Bill Belichick landed a top defensive lineman in the transfer portal from the UConn Huskies amid rumors the legendary head coach has an interest in NFL jobs.
The Tar Heels landed defensive lineman Pryce Yates, who won Defensive MVP honors in the Fenway Bowl as the Huskies topped the Tar Heels, 27-14, ESPN reported Wednesday. He had 21 tackles and 3.5 sacks in seven games. He missed some time due to injuries.
The latest transfer endeavor came as the NFL Network reported that Belichick and Tom Brady spoke recently about him possibly taking the Las Vegas Raiders job. The report also mentioned the Jacksonville Jaguars as a possible landing spot for Belichick.
The Athletic reported Belichick has no plans to leave North Carolina.
Belichick led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles along with Brady, who recently became a minority owner of the Raiders. He was there through the 2023 season before the two sides mutually parted ways.
Belichick was out of the league in 2024 after no team made him their head coach. He interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons but failed to win the sweepstakes. He spent the season as an analyst before making the surprising move to take the Tar Heels gig.
He is 302-165 as a head coach between the Patriots and Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett shared a touching moment with Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Roger Rosengarten on Saturday during their Week 18 finale.
After a Ravens play, Rosengarten was heard asking Garrett to swap his jersey when the game was finished. The jersey swap has become a major part of the game for players in recent years.
Garrett, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2017 draft, won the Defensive Player of the Year last season and is angling to win the award for the second straight time. Rosengarten was the Ravens’ second-round pick in the 2024 draft. He has started in 14 of the 17 games he appeared in this season.
Rosengarten talked about the moment on Wednesday, according to the team’s website.
"It was just me and him walking after Derrick's big run for a touchdown. I was like, 'He's right next to me. Why not? No one else is around.' Actually, the whole world saw it," he said, adding that he wished he would have called himself a rookie instead of a "nobody."
The Ravens will play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Deion Sanders made clear last month before the Alamo Bowl that he planned on staying to coach the Colorado Buffaloes for the long-term future despite rampant rumors he could jump.
On Wednesday, Sanders appeared to throw in a caveat to his previous statement. He suggested the only way he would ever leave for the NFL was for an opportunity to coach his sons.
"You know what? The only way I would consider it is to coach my sons," he said Wednesday on "GMA3." He put an emphasis on "sons," suggesting he would want to coach both Shedeur and Shilo Sanders.
"I love Colorado. I love my Buffaloes. I love everything we’re building. I love what we’re doing, and I love Boulder, Colorado," he added.
He said in a trailer for the upcoming season of "Coach Prime" on Amazon Prime Video that the 2024 season was special because he was "99%" sure it would be the final opportunity for him to coach his sons.
Sanders could very well do that, but it would take a lot.
Of the top 10 picks in the NFL Draft, the New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears each have head coach openings. Only the Raiders could really have a shot at selecting a quarterback.
Shedeur Sanders is expected to be one of the first players taken in the draft, but it will all depend on what the five teams in front of them do. The Tennessee Titans definitely need a quarterback and will likely choose one if they stay at No. 1. The Cleveland Browns need a quarterback but could opt to go for a veteran free agent. The New York Giants are also in need of a quarterback, but they also have a bunch of other needs to address as well.
Shilo Sanders may not be a first-round pick, which could make it easier for Deion Sanders and whatever team he may coach to select him.
It is a lot of hypothetical work for each of the Sanders boys to play together. A perfect storm will have to be created, but crazier things have happened in the NFL.
Former NASCAR star Danica Patrick wondered why water was an issue for firefighters and first responders who were called upon to battle the raging California wildfires this week.
Several wildfires popped up across the Los Angeles area on Tuesday and through Wednesday, which were fueled by the high winds that plagued the region. The widespread flames immediately put a strain on the water system in the city, according to FOX Weather.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) CEO and Chief Engineer Janisse Quiñones said Wednesday teams have struggled to maintain water pressure on the system, which allows water to be pushed into fire hydrants used by firefighters.
"The strain that this fire has put on the water system and the hydrants, they’re just not designed for that type of usage all at once for 15 hours straight," Los Angeles County Fire Department Captain Sheila Kelliher Berkoh told FOX Weather.
"California has 840 miles of coast line and 3,000 lakes and reservoirs. Why don’t they have enough water to fix any and all fires?" she wrote on X.
"At some point I have to imagine it’s getting difficult for hardcore cali lovers to accept the state of their state and how it’s managed."
She then wrote that it would be time for Gov. Gavin Newsom to resign, only using the term "Newscum" as President-elect Donald Trump has done in his jabs toward the California leader.
By Wednesday night, another fire had broken out in the Hollywood Hills near the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Sheila Kelliher described the scorched hillsides as "dramatic and apocalyptic" in an interview with Fox News.
Kelliher said she watched winds "whip up to 70, 80, even 100 miles an hour," further fanning the flames."
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is leading the charge for a national ban on trans athletes in college sports.
Tuberville previously told Fox News Digital he will be re-introducing the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to Congress after the new House rules package passed last week, which would punish schools financially if they allow trans athletes to compete against girls and women.
For the Republican, who has been a longtime advocate for the bill, certain decisions that have been made over the last four years under the Biden administration are the driving force behind his urgency on this issue.
"It's just a shame what's happened here over the last four years. It's been an attack on gender, it's been really an attack on women, all women," Tuberville said during an interview on OutKick's "Don't @ Me With Dan Dakich."
"They don't like women," he said. "They like everybody to think when they're born, ‘you’re not a woman, you're actually a man in women's clothing.'"
The Biden administration, alongside other Democrats, has taken sweeping actions over the last four years to enable trans athletes in women's and girls' sports.
On Jan. 20, 2021, just hours after President Biden assumed office, he issued an executive order on "Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation."
This order included a section that read, "Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports."
Biden issued a sweeping rule that clarified that Title IX’s ban on "sex" discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and "pregnancy or related conditions," in April. The administration insisted the regulation does not address athletic eligibility. However, multiple experts presented evidence to Fox News Digital in June that it would ultimately put more biological men in women's sports.
Multiple states filed lawsuits and enacted their own laws to address this issue, and then the Supreme Court then voted 5-4 in August to reject an emergency request by the Biden administration to enforce its sweeping changes in those states.
Democrats have proposed other federal legislation that would allow for more transgender inclusion in women's sports. These include the Equality Act, which was proposed in 2019 and has seen revisions that "would force public schools to allow biologically male athletes who identify as transgender on girls’ sports teams."
In March 2023, Democrats advocated for a transgender bill of rights, proposing a resolution "recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights." The resolution specifically called for federal law to ensure that biological men can "participate in sports on teams and in programs that best align with their gender identity; [and] use school facilities that best align with their gender identity."
Multiple national scandals erupted as a result of these laws, and other Democratic laws at the state level, in 2024 alone. The issue became one of the strongest attack points by the Trump campaign and other Republicans as they re-took control of the White House and both houses of Congress in November, as many Democrats have withdrawn from their past support for trans-inclusion amid insurmountable backlash. Biden's department of education was even forced to withdraw a proposed rule that would outlaw states from banning trans inclusion in December.
A national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of "Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls and women’s bathrooms," as important to them.
Additionally, 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important."
Now, Tuberville's bill will be their first step toward making good on their election-season stance on the issue.
The measure would maintain that Title IX treats gender as "recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth" and does not adjust it to apply to gender identity.
The bill would also ban federal funding from going toward athletic programs that allow biological men to participate in women's and girls' sports.
The measure is co-sponsored by 23 Republican senators, including Sens. James Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho, Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Thom Tillis and Ted Budd of North Carolina, Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., James Lankford, R-Okla., Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy of Montana, Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Mike Lee, R-Utah, John Kennedy, R-La., John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.
New Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has already granted Tuberville's bill the proper blessing to move forward, and a vote on the measure could come as soon as the end of the week.
JuJu Watkins says she has a goal that she keeps in the back of her mind.
That goal is to break the NCAA all-time scoring record, currently held by Caitlin Clark. It is a realistic goal for her, statistically.
"Naturally, being on pace, it's always in the back of my mind," Watkins told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. "The goal is to continue to produce at this level, and do it as efficiently as I can."
Watkins played the 50th game of her college career on Wednesday night in a 79-74 win over Maryland, bringing her career point total 1,318 over those first 50 games. Clark put up 1,328 points over the first 50 games of her college career. Watkins was outpacing Clark in career scoring after a 40-point game against California Baptist on Dec. 3, but slowed down over the next eight games compared to the same stretch in Clark's sophomore season.
Still, Watkins has the benefit of possibly playing more games in her career with an expanded Big 10, compared to the one Clark played in, and potentially more postseason games.
However, even with that competitive pace, Watkins only "wishes" she could play like Clark, who is far and away the better 3-point shooter.
"I wish I played like her," Watkins said.
Watkins also has multiple opportunities to do what Clark never could in college – win the national championship game. That first opportunity could come as early as this March. Watkins has led her squad to a 15-1 start and a top-four national ranking. They just have to get past the big sister in town, as rival No. 1 UCLA is undefeated, with two matchups to play against Watkins late in the season.
Clark's direct interference may or may not play a role in whether Watkins ends up doing any of that. At some point this season, or any in the future, Watkins has the option to ask Clark a question.
"I met her once," Watkins says. "She offered her number and she said, if I ever have any questions, she would answer them."
Watkins added, "It will probably just be a spur of the moment type of thing," when she does reach out.
There is plenty she could ask when that time comes. It might not even have anything to do with playing basketball. At just 19 years old, Watkins has already been anointed a subcultural icon.
She has a devout and visible following in her home community of Southern California and has taken the reins as the most popular player in the college game, nationally, in the aftermath of Clark's departure for the pros.
On her first road trip to the East Coast as a player in the Big Ten Conference for USC's inaugural season, Watkins made a stop in New Jersey to lead a 50-point blowout win against a Rutgers team reeling from the dysfunction of a mysteriously-benched star player. However, nearly the entire crowd stayed the whole game to watch Watkins.
On Thursday in Maryland, she put up 21 points before fouling out of the game, beating an undefeated top-10 team in front of a devout crowd of many of her own fans, while a national audience watched on Fox Sports.
"The attention wasn't always there, so to just see the eyes on it and people respecting the sport more, and young girls getting into the sport more, it's a dream come true," Watkins said, crediting Clark for bringing the attention.
Before it was playing in front of home court-type away crowds thousands of miles from home, Watkins' dream had plenty of harder moments along the way.
Watkins remembers all the hard moments. One particularly glaring moment came during the COVID-19 quarantine in 2020. Watkins was just a sophomore in high school and admitted she was probably out of shape because of the lifestyle restrictions during the pandemic.
"I was out of shape, I was so out of shape," Watkins said.
So Golden State Warriors player Draymond Greene came knocking with a workout offer.
"I will never forget it," Watkins said of the experience.
Watkins said Green's workout had her dribble up and down a court and shoot the ball over and over again until she threw up.
"I was done," Watkins said, adding that she did not even talk to him after the workout. "I don't even think I could speak, honestly."
Green spoke about this workout with Watkins during an episode of his podcast in February.
"It's not your typical NBA workout," Green said.
"You go shoot some spots and go to the next like we go and she came to our workout and the first day like you could tell her skill was there and like all the things, but she was struggling to get through the workout a bit and and like you know I'm pushing her like ‘hey come on Ju you got it come on.'"
Green said he has seen other athletes refuse to come back the next day after their first session, but Watkins returned for more punishment.
"I've had NBA players come to my workouts, throw up, not come back, you know. I've had, I've seen all different types, and she came back the next day, and I was like that ‘that young lady has a future in this game,’" he said.
What happened next?
Watkins went on to have such a strong sophomore season amid the crisis of a pandemic, that she won the 2020 Sports Illustrated Kids' SportsKid of the Year award. Her reputation started to really spread. Then she went on to win Gatorade National Player of the Year and Naismith Prep Player of the Year, and became the top-rated college recruit in 2022.
She shocked the nation when she turned down an offer to play for Dawn Staley at South Carolina, instead staying home in Los Angeles to play for USC.
Then came what she calls the hardest experience of her life.
"The adjustment from high school to college, and getting used to the rigorous schedule of it all, it was just a big adjustment for me. It was a big change," she said. "It gave me a new perspective on life."
Watkins did not get into too much detail about what that adjustment looked like. However, the numbers say she was able to adjust in time for the start of her first season. She got on pace to potentially break Clark's record right away with a historic freshman year and has stayed on course ever since.
A period of growth for women's basketball is also a time of diligence for players like Watkins. She is highly aware of the importance of players maintaining leverage as they negotiate their dues, rights and privileges from the WNBA and NCAA.
"It's so important to advocate for our rights, especially in this field as women," she said. "That's where true change comes, being able to voice our opinion and change things that don't seem fit for us."
In 2024, WNBA players got access to charter flights for the first time. Now the players' union, the WNBPA, is taking the league back to the negotiating table. The union voted to opt out of its current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in October, and the league could see a work stoppage if a new deal is not met by the end of the 2025 season.
The next CBA that the union negotiates will determine just how many rights and benefits Watkins will get as a player when she enters the WNBA in 2027 or later. So, she is rooting for the union to get as much as it can, especially after the wait for charter flights.
"Charter flights, that was long overdue," Watkins said. "It's what these women deserve, they work so hard, the least they can get is chartered to their games."
Watkins' passion for this is rooted in her family history. Her great-grandfather, Ted Watkins, organized and founded the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) in 1965. He organized it just months before the infamous "Watts Rebellion," also known as the "Watts Uprising" and "Watts Riots." This incident saw thousands of residents in the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles riot out of anger over issues that included employment discrimination and poverty.
After the riots, Ted organized the youth to clean up blighted vacant lots, plant grass and flowers and turn them into vest-pocket parks, according to the WLCAC website.
Ted Watkins' committee grew to prominence as a community self-help agency aiding thousands of residents in gaining employment and essential services. He was involved in the construction of a financial institution and hospital in Watts, as well as the development of low-income housing and youth programs.
"My great-grandfather is a big part of our family and one of my role models just to look up to for my city of Watts and just for so many people," JuJu said.
However, she also understands the importance of growing the sport as a whole to ensure that it can provide as much as possible for those players.
The WNBA has not been profitable in a single season in its history.
Clark's arrival in 2024 appears to be the league's best opportunity to change that for the first time. Clark's arrival, and the new wave of followers and media attention she has brought to the game, has also sparked controversy and criticism from WNBA veterans and former players.
Watkins, who is now seeing the spoils of all the attention Clark brought to the college game, is ready to embrace it all.
"I don't think anyone has changed the trajectory of the sport so much," Watkins said of Clark.
As Watkins looks to break Clark's scoring record, she hopes many of the new fans of women's basketball, even the ones who cause her "headaches" and "don't know what they're talking about sometimes," will come to cheer for her. But Watkins will also embrace these fans and the attention if they "hate" her.
It was a tough season for the San Francisco 49ers, and with it came Brock Purdy's worst stretch as a starter.
Certainly, Purdy did not benefit from injury issues all over the offense, most notably from Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk, butPurdy's numbers were worse in 2024 than last season.
He threw for roughly 400 fewer yards, went from 31 touchdowns to 20, and threw one more interception (12) than he did in 2023. After posing QB ratings of 107.3 and 113.0, it dipped to 96.1.
After missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 season, though, general manager John Lynch has no plans on letting Purdy walk out the door.
"What we know about Brock is that he's our guy. We have interest in Brock being around here for a long, long time," Lynch told reporters on Wednesday. "He's done so much for our organization. He's won big games and had a little tougher task, as we all did this year, with some of the things that happened throughout the course of the year. We just never could string games where we were all together. And through that, he continued to lead, he continued to play at a high level, so we have every interest in him being around."
Purdy is eligible for a large contract extension – as the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, his base salary this past season was less than $1 million. He could see a wild increase, as Spotrac says his market value is $59.7 million annually, which would be the largest in the league.
The site says he could be slated for a four-year deal worth nearly $239 million, which would be more than Kyler Murray, Deshaun Watson, Tua Tagovailoa, Jordan Love, and Jared Goff.
If he were to sign such a deal, he'd become the 14th QB in NFL history to surpass to $200 million mark, with each of the previous contracts having begun since 2020.
