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ESPN analyst reveals how ex-colleague's Obama comments became point of contention

Sage Steele, in a lawsuit against her former employer, ESPN, accused analyst Ryan Clark of refusing to work with her due to opposing political views.

Clark admitted recently on "The Michele Tafoya Show" that part of the accusation wasn't false, but he felt the need to clear the air.

Tafoya asked Clark about the lawsuit, which alleged Clark refused to work with Steele after she made controversial comments on former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler's podcast in 2021.

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On the podcast, Steele reflected on an appearance on "The View," in which she said Barbara Walters "ripped me" for saying it was "important" to label herself as biracial.

Steele said Walters then brought up that former President Barack Obama, who is biracial, chose "Black" when filling out paperwork for a census.

"I'm like, well, congratulations to the president. That's his thing. I think that's fascinating considering his Black dad was nowhere to be found, but his white mom and grandma raised him. But hey, you do you. I'm going to do me," Steele said on Cutler's podcast.

Clark said he disagreed with Steele on many political topics, including her vaccination stance and Colin Kaepernick's protests, but he had "no issue" with her being a conservative.

"Sage Steele being a conservative was, like, the worst-kept secret at ESPN," the former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back quipped.

However, her comments on Obama were the "only" thing that "offended" him and prompted him to speak with a producer at ESPN about hosting a segment together.

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"As a Black man who understands that no matter what President Obama decides to check off as his race, he’s going to be seen as an entire country as a Black man. He’s going to be viewed if policemen say, ‘The suspect is a Black, tall, slender, light-skinned man,’ President Obama would fit that description," Clark said. 

"He’s also a man that was married to a Black woman. He was also a man that was raising two young Black daughters. And I felt that was disrespectful to say, ‘Why would someone with that blood running through their veins want to represent that culture?'"

Clark admitted he told a producer he wanted another host, Matt Barrie, to "conduct my segment."

"Because what I know is this … chemistry is a large part of TV. It’s a large part of our ability to be able to entertain. And I didn’t want my discomfort with what she said to show on screen," Clark said.

Clark said it was a one-time thing with Steele, and they were able to "work … in a very cordial way" until she left ESPN. He added they no longer speak, "but I obviously wish her all the best in all her endeavors."

"She now has found a place where, entertainment-wise, she feels like she fits, she feels like she has a voice and she has a passion. And I feel like we all should be entitled to that, whether you agree or disagree."

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Ravens' Mark Andrews breaks silence after critical drop in playoffs led to death threats: 'Absolutely gutted'

Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews has spoken for the first time since his crucial dropped two-point conversion in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

Andrews took the high road despite facing ridicule and even death threats after a 27-25 loss to the Buffalo Bills. 

"It’s impossible to adequately express how I feel," Andrews wrote on his Instagram page. "I’m absolutely gutted by what happened on Sunday. I’m devastated for my teammates, my coaches and Ravens fans. 

"I pour every ounce of my being into playing at the highest level possible, because I love my team and the game of football like nothing else. That is why it’s taken me until now to collect my thoughts and address this publicly. 

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"Even though the shock and disappointment are unlike anything I’ve felt before, I refuse to let the situation define me. I promise that this adversity will only make me stronger and fuel us as we move forward. 

"I thank everyone who has shown me and our team genuine support these past several days. Despite the negativity, I’ve seen heartfelt love and encouragement, including from those who have generously donated to the Breakthrough T1D organization. Even when the moment seems darkest, perspective can reveal that there’s still a lot of light in this world. 

"I’m now going to do my part to bounce back and contribute to it. #GodBless"

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A GoFundMe was launched by the "Bills Mafia," which has raised over $100,000 for Andrews’ foundation. The Ravens addressed the classy move by the Bills fan base Wednesday. 

"Shout out to Bills Mafia for showing support to our guy Mark Andrews and donating to the @BreakthroughT1D organization, which works towards curing and improving the lives of those dealing with Type 1 diabetes," a Ravens’ X post said. 

Andrews’ drop couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Ravens because a successful two-point conversion would’ve tied the game in Orchard Park, New York, at 27 with less than two minutes to play in the fourth quarter. 

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw the ball perfectly to his usually trusty tight end running toward the right pylon, but Andrews couldn’t secure it in the frigid, snowy conditions. And the reaction said it all from the Ravens on the field and the sideline. 

The Bills knew they had escaped potential defeat if the game had gone to overtime. Instead, the Bills are heading to Kansas City this weekend for another chapter of their rivalry with the Chiefs.

Andrews’ teammates were quick to console him on the sideline, where he looked shocked at what had transpired. And though he admitted feeling gutted after the game, Jackson defended Andrews, saying it was a team loss.

Andrews, the third-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft has played seven seasons with Baltimore. He finished his 2024 campaign with a career-high 11 receiving touchdowns among his 55 receptions for 673 yards. 

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Chiefs may have one advantage over the Bills ahead of the AFC Championship, Andy Reid says

The Kansas City Chiefs are no strangers to playing in big games, especially against the Buffalo Bills.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was asked on Wednesday if the Chiefs had an advantage over the Bills in the AFC Championship game due to so many players having experience in these types of games. 

"Listen, it normally doesn’t hurt, for sure. I don’t know how you weigh out the advantage of it, but I feel like we play these guys all the time. They know us, we know them but … to answer your question, I’m glad we have all those guys, and you’ll need all of them," Reid said in his press conference. 

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The Bills were the only team to beat the Chiefs when they played their starters in a game this season in Week 11.

The Bills won 30-21, capped off by Josh Allen's 26-yard touchdown run on fourth and two to seal the game. 

That matchup was in Buffalo, while the AFC Championship game is in Kansas City.

The Bills are 4-3 against the Chiefs in their last seven games, however those three losses have all come in the playoffs.

Last season, the Chiefs eliminated the Bills in Buffalo in the AFC Divisional Round before beating the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship. 

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The Chiefs beat the Bills 42-36 in overtime in the Divisional Round a couple of years ago in one of the most legendary playoff games in recent memory.

In the season prior to that epic Divisional round game, the Chiefs outlasted the Bills 38-24 in the AFC Championship.

This season, Kansas City went 15-2 and earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC and a first-round bye and an easier path to the Super Bowl than Buffalo. 

The Chiefs beat the Houston Texans 24-13 in the AFC Divisional round, while the Bills had to play two games. 

The Bills beat the Denver Broncos 31-12 in the Wild Card round and then beat the Ravens 27-25 in the Divisional Round.

Round four between the two AFC powerhouses will come on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

Only then will Reid find out wherher his players' big game experience will give them an advantage.

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3 people charged with selling forged Jason Kelce memorabilia

Three adults have been charged with forgery, theft and other charges related to selling fake Jason Kelce-signed memorabilia.

Robert Capone, LeeAnn Branco and Joseph Parenti allegedly forged Kelce's signature on more than 1,100 memorabilia items that were valued at least $200,000 total.

Jerseys, mini-helmets, hats, photos, footballs and other items were sold by Capone's Overtime Promotions and Parent's Diamond Legends after being verified by Branco, an employee of Beckett Authentication Services, documents say.

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Kelce himself appeared at a signing event on June 11 at the Valley Forge Casino Hotel near Philadelphia, where Kelce played 13 seasons with the Eagles. Branco took a photo of Kelce to make the items seem more legitimate.

The police were notified by a Pennsylvania-based memorabilia company that had been in contact with Kelce to sign the items.

"The investigation found that Capone, Parenti and Branco conspired to use Branco’s Beckett Authentication Services credentials to create counterfeit autographed sport memorabilia and then offered it for sale as authentically contracted-for products signed by Kelce," authorities said in a press release.

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Capone, Branco and Parenti are charged with 60 felony counts. Capone was released from jail after posting $100,000 bond.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 5.

Kelce is in his first season as a former player after winning a Super Bowl, making the Pro Bowl seven times and being named six times a First-Team All-Pro.

Kelce's former Eagles are in the NFC Championship Game for the second time in three years and the third time since the 2017 season. The Birds won both of those contests but have split their latest Super Bowl appearances.

The Eagles need to get by the Washington Commanders for a third time this season if they want to compete with either the Kansas City Chiefs or Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl LIX. Kansas City defeated the Eagles in the Super Bowl two years ago as the first half of their back-to-back reign.

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Ichiro Suzuki wants to sit down and talk to Hall of Fame voter who kept him from being a unanimous inductee

Baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki isn't overlooking the fact a single voter prevented him from becoming the second unanimous Hall of Fame inductee in the sport's history. 

Suzuki, who was inducted Tuesday but fell just one vote shy of being unanimous, said during a press conference Thursday he wants to meet with the one person who voted against him. 

"I would like to invite him over to my house, and we'll have a drink together and have a good chat," Suzuki said via a translator. 

Suzuki would have joined legendary New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera as the only other unanimous Hall of Fame inductee in MLB history. 

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News that Suzuki was a vote shy of being unanimous prompted widespread outrage from fans and media pundets on social media in the hours after the announcement. 

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Suzuki is the first player from Japan to be inducted. 

Suzuki moved to Major League Baseball from Japan as a 27-year-old in 2001 and joined Fred Lynn in 1975 as the only players to win AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP in the same season. Suzuki was a two-time AL batting champion and 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder, hitting .311 with 117 homers, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with the Seattle Mariners (2001-12, 2018-19), the New York Yankees (2012-14) and Miami Marlins (2015-17).

Suzuki is perhaps the best contact hitter in baseball history with 1,278 hits in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball and 3,089 in MLB. His combined total of 4,367 is higher than Pete Rose's MLB record of 4,256. Suzuki had a record 262 hits in 2004.

CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner join Suzuki in the 2025 Hall of Fame class. 

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Ohio State's Emeka Egbuka reflects on how Buckeyes rallied from Michigan loss to win national championship

Two days after Thanksgiving, Ohio State's national championship hopes seemed all but over.

The Buckeyes, ranked second in the nation at the time, were three-touchdown favorites at home against bitter rival Michigan.

Despite the Wolverines being the reigning national champions, this year's squad was not close to last season's team. So, it should have been an easy win for OSU.

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But they lost, calls for Ryan Day to be fired grew louder and there were serious doubts about what the Buckeyes would be able to do in the College Football Playoff.

They got over it quickly and dominated every team in their path en route to a national championship earlier this week.

Emeka Egbuka went 0-4 against the Wolverines in his career. He admitted in a recent interview with Fox News Digital he'd "have to think about" trading his new national title for a sweep of the Wolverines, considering those games are "almost as big as" the championship.

If the playoff remained at four teams, the loss would have ended the Buckeyes' hopes of a title, and they would have been playing, in Egbuka's words, "another meaningless bowl." But, with the expansion to 12 teams, the Buckeyes had a chance at revenge and took it.

"It was definitely tough to be able to walk into the building the next day and look at my brothers in the face and look my coaches in the face knowing that we hadn't achieved what we set out to achieve," Egbuka said. 

"But, you know, in that moment, we had a choice to make, because we knew we were going to be in the playoffs. We could have just rolled over and died, or we could have said, ‘We have the opportunity to be able to finish this the right way.’ So we all gathered together as brothers, and we were like, 'We're gonna do this thing.'"

The anger of the loss lingered after the game, when members of both teams brawled after Michigan players planted a UM flag at midfield. The pressure was on Day, but Egbuka admitted that the short memory came from players-only meetings, not necessarily from anything Day did.

"It wasn't too much what coach Day said. To be honest, we did a lot of player meetings. Just the leadership on our team and our seniority really shined through," said Egbuka.

"When you look at some of the greatest teams in college football history, they all have great leadership.
They all have great seniors, and that's really who you remember being on the team. We really took that to heart. 

"We knew that the team was gonna run through us. Coach Day is a phenomenal coach, but he can only do so much. We're the ones on the field. We have to go out and play. And we just needed to permeate our mindset throughout the rest of the team because that's what great leaders do, and that's what we tried to do in that moment."

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Egbuka was part of Celsius' Essential Six. The energy drink partnered with Egbuka, Travis Hunter and four other college stars as part of a stacked roster before the season began. Egbuka said his record-setting season, during which he became OSU's all-time reception leader, wouldn't have been possible without his daily 200 milligrams of caffeine in the morning.

"Ever since our partnership, the product is great. It's energizing and fueling me all the time. The fuel that I got from it and everything and just helping it start my days. I mean, this has probably been the most intense season of my life. 

"When it comes to meetings and practice, I'm waking up every day early in the morning, and I don't get home till, you know, 9, 10 p.m. That's hard to do with low energy, so I think Celsius has really helped me with that."

There isn't much time for celebration, though. After a parade Sunday, Egbuka will be in NFL Draft mode and will have to start training for next month's combine.

It's practically a nonexistent offseason for him, but Egbuka is ready for it.

"I am. I'm ready for this next chapter in my life. It is important to take breaks and take rests. So, I have a couple days where I'll spend with loved ones leading up to training for the NFL. But it's the life I signed up for. 

"So, can't complain about it too much. I'm just grateful to be in this position. 
A lot of people aren't able to get here."

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