Anthony Knox Jr. is suing after a wild brawl at the NJ District 25 Wrestling Tournament led to his disqualification -- and effectively ended his high school wrestling career.
Bill Belichick has always asked a lot of his players while coaching the New England Patriots, whether it was a Super Bowl, a regular-season game or just a training camp practice.
One former Patriot said he witnessed Belichick’s stern coaching almost immediately after getting drafted.
"I guess we’ll start with how Bill put me in fat camp," ex-Pats running back Stevan Ridley, a third-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by New England, said on the "Games with Names" podcast with Julian Edelman.
Ridley said Belichick put him in "fat camp" because he was "overweight" for an NFL running back coming out of LSU.
So, how much weight did Belichick want Ridley to cut?
"You have that meeting where you come in there, and you’re a rookie. And he gives you your playing weight. And he brought me into the office because I go into the weight room, and [former Patriots strength coach Harold] Nash said, ‘Hop on the scale, Ridley,'" Ridley told Edelman.
"I hopped on the scale, and I’m about 235, 238 pounds. I played at LSU around 230 as a running back. Eight pounds is a lot, bro."
Ridley said the Patriots obviously knew he was a bigger running back, and he clearly did something to be drafted in the third round.
But Ridley claims Belichick told him he had to get his playing weight down to 220 pounds.
"How? I said, ‘You’re tripping, bro.' I said, ‘Nah,’" Ridley recalled. "[Nash] said, ‘Don’t ask me. I’m telling you what the boss man said.’"
Ridley went to Belichick’s office to hear from the head coach himself.
"I walked in and said, ‘Coach, I need to talk to you about this weight. And he said, ‘What’s the number? I can’t really remember what I had.' Two-twenty, that’s impossible. And he looked at me, and he said, ‘Well, Rid, I mean, really, I think it’s only about $563 per pound per day that you’re overweight. So, it’s really up to you.’
"I can do quick math. I’m a third-round draft pick, I ain’t got money like that. So, fat camp I went."
Ridley got to working on his weight, and it paid dividends after he made it to Belichick’s preferred playing weight of 220.
Despite what Ridley thought at first, it worked out for him.
"Quick as a cat, man," he said, laughing, when Edelman asked how he felt. "Freaking nasty, dude. Once I got to that playing weight, I was like, ‘Hey, Bill knows what the hell he’s talking about.’"
Ridley played four years in New England, running for 2,817 yards, including 1,263 his sophomore campaign during the 2012 season, which included 12 of his 22 career rushing touchdowns with the Patriots. Ridley was a part of the 2014 Patriots squad that shockingly defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the 2015 Super Bowl thanks to Malcolm Butler’s goal-line interception.
Ridley then played for the New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers after his Super Bowl-winning final season in New England.
Aaron Judge, at 6-foot-7 and 282 pounds, knows better than anyone else in the Yankees clubhouse what the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Spencer Jones is going through
A group of surfers, lifeguards, and other concerned individuals recently gathered around American pro surfer Makai McNamara after he was knocked unconscious. McNamara was wiped out by a massive wave at Banzai Pipeline in Hawaii, which is widely considered one of the world's most dangerous surf breaks.
According to Island News, McNamara was a frequent Banzai Pipeline visitor and was hit by the large wave this past Sunday. The aforementioned group of responders helped McNamara reach safety on the shore.
Eli Olson, who also surfs professionally and is described as a friend of McNamara, said the ordeal was a "freak accident."
"It was just a bad wave, kind of a freak accident, and he went head first into the reef," Olson told Island News. He also described McNamara as "one of the best [surfers] out there."
Olson estimated McNamara was underwater for two minutes before anyone was able to reach him. He also noted that responders attempted "CPR compressions" during the rescue.
"He was underwater for close to two minutes before I got to him. First thing, I just wanted to like keep his head above water so he didn't take more water in," Olson said. "I gave him a couple [of] breaths. Try to give him a couple [of] compressions."
He added, "We're getting hit by waves out here. We're getting kind of recycled in the waves and then we got him in life first, did another round of CPR compressions, and he started coughing up water."
McNamara was able to eventually regain consciousness when he was "brought him back to life on the sand," Surfer reported. McNamara was later transported to a local hospital where medical personnel placed him in an induced coma for three days.
McNamara's father Liam provided an update on his son's status 24 hours after the harrowing incident.
"It's been 24 hours since the incident, and he's on his road to recovery," he said in a video posted to Instagram. "He feels your energy. He feels your love. He feels your positive vibes, and we appreciate each and every one of you for your support."
"I thank the lifeguards and everybody who helped, so many people. Thank you so much for helping save my son," Liam continued.
"The next two days he’ll be here in the hospital, and we just need the continued prayers and positive energy," he added. "Makai's a strong young man, and he's going to get through this."
Meanwhile, Olson described the rescue as a "team effort" and expressed his hopes that Mcnamara makes a "full recovery."
"All that matters is Makai makes a full recovery and we can laugh and share waves with him soon," Olson noted via Instagram Stories.
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is proud of the polarizing "tush push" and finds that calls to ban the play are "a little insulting."
Speaking to the media at the 2025 NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Sirianni addressed the recent controversy surrounding the Eagles' signature play.
For Sirianni, the Eagles have perfected the play, making it look easy. But make no mistake, that has required a ton of work.
"I almost feel a little insulted because we work so hard at that play. The amount of things that we’ve looked into how to coach that play, the fundamentals, there’s a thousand plays out there, but it comes down to how you teach the fundamentals and how the players go through and do with the fundamentals."
He continued, "It’s a little insulting to say, ‘We’re good at it so it's automatic.’ We work really hard at it."
The "tush push" has become a favorite for Philadelphia in the red zone. Quarterback Jalen Hurts scored the first touchdown of Super Bowl LIX utilizing the play. But for some around the league, the play has become an issue.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said Tuesday that his team submitted a proposal to ban the play, which will be reviewed by the NFL Competition Committee. The play has previously been discussed, but this marks the first formal complaint to ban it all together.
Other teams have attempted to use the play, but none as successful as the Eagles.
And Sirianni doesn’t believe they should be punished for that.
"There’s just so much time put into it. The fact that it's a successful play for the Eagles and people want to take that away, I think is a little unfair."
After previously referring to Wayne Gretzky as the "governor of Canada," President Donald Trump has declared the NHL legend a "free agent."
Justin Trudeau announced his plan to resign as Canada's prime minister earlier this year, prompting Trump to ask Gretzky if he wanted to be the country's "governor" after Trump called for Canada to become the "51st state."
However, Trump said in a Truth Social post Wednesday his "friend" is "somewhat ‘low key' about Canada remaining a separate Country, rather than becoming a cherished and beautiful 51st State."
"Wayne Gretzky is a fantastic guy! They call him, ‘The Great One,’ and he is. He could run for any political office in Canada, and win. Wayne is my friend, and he wants to make me happy, and is therefore somewhat ‘low key’ about Canada remaining a separate Country, rather than becoming a cherished and beautiful 51st State, paying much Lower Taxes, a Free and Powerful Military, NO TARIFFS, and having a Booming Economy," Trump wrote on Wednesday.
"Wayne and Janet, his wonderful wife, love Canada, and they should only support Canada, and whatever else makes the Canadian People, and Governor Justin Trudeau, happy. He’s the Greatest Canadian of them all, and I am therefore making him a ‘free agent,’ because I don’t want anyone in Canada to say anything bad about him.
"He supports Canada the way it is, as he should, even though it’s not nearly as good as it could be as part of the Greatest and Most Powerful Country in the World, the Good Ole’ U.S.A.!"
While speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago last month, Trump said Gretzky was "not too interested" in becoming Canada's "governor," but "he probably would have liked statehood."
Gretzky attended a victory party for Trump's 2024 election win after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris. Gretzky was spotted wearing a MAGA hat shortly afterward and attended Trump's inauguration.
The NHL's all-time points leader was named Canada's honorary captain for the 4 Nations Face-Off final against the Americans. Canadian and American fans booed each other's national anthem during the tournament due to political tensions between the countries.
There's a fairly decent chance that Max Scherzer, 40, is out of the majors by the time it's implemented full-time (although commissioner Rob Manfred wants it next year). But he got a glimpse of the system in his spring training debut on Tuesday.
One of Scherzer's pitches was challenged by a batter (the batter won), and Scherzer was clearly annoyed by the fiasco — while the system is in its rookie stages, it's taking a little bit longer than the 17-second average it's taken in the minors.
Later on, the new Toronto Blue Jay seemed to sarcastically challenge a pitch of his own — he lost.
"I'm a little skeptical on this. I get what we're trying to do here, but I think major league umpires are really good," Scherzer said after his outing. "They're really good. So what are we actually changing here? We know there are going to be strikes that are changed to balls, and balls that are changed to strikes. ... So we're going to basically be even. So are we actually doing to improve the game? Are the umpires really that bad? I don't think so."
"Can we just play baseball?" he added. "We're humans. Can we just be judged by humans? Do we really need to disrupt the game? I think humans are defined by humans."
This spring, teams will get two challenges per game, but are able to retain each challenge won. Only the batter, pitcher, or catcher can challenge a call, and it must be immediately after the call with no help from the bench or other players.
It is yet another big change to the sport commissioned by Manfred, who implemented a pitch timer, larger bases, and shift limits in 2023. However, fans seem to like the changes, as attendance increased in each of the last two years.
Taylor Swift watched the Kansas City Chiefs' hopes of a three-peat fizzle earlier this month when the Philadelphia Eagles steamrolled the Chiefs to win the 2025 Super Bowl.
Swift traveled to New Orleans in support of the Chiefs and her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. At one point, Swift was shown on the Caesars Superdome big screen at the game.
Some fans inside the building appeared to disapprove of Swift's presence and promptly directed some loud boos at the music star. During his visit to Indianapolis this week for the NFL Scouting Combine, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid complimented how Swift handled criticism.
Reid described Swift as a "good girl," saying she has used the right approach when she's faced scrutiny.
"She’s a good girl," Reid told Pro Football Talk. "She handles that whole thing the right way. That’s a tough deal. She does a great job of handling it."
Reid also lauded Kelce for his response to the increased noise.
"Kelce, I think, does a great job with handling it," the coach added.
Reid suggested that critiques of NFL players' loved ones often come with the territory.
"She’s part of the team and, like the other girlfriends and wives, they’re part of it. And that’s all part of the process."
The boos targeting Swift appeared to coincide with some of the boos Chiefs players had to contend with from a seemingly pro-Eagles crowd as they emerged from the tunnel before the Super Bowl kicked off.
Swift and Kelce have maintained a relatively low profile since the Super Bowl. On Feb. 18, the "New Heights" podcast announced there would not be a new episode that week.
"No new episode this week, but WE’LL BE BACK with offseason episodes with amazing guests soon," the podcast's official account posted to social media.
Travis and Jason Kelce routinely post new episodes of the podcast on a weekly basis.
Much of the chatter about Travis lately has been about whether he will return to the Chiefs next season. During a recent "New Heights" episode, Kelce said he was "kicking every can I can down the road" as it relates to his retirement decision. He turns 36 in October.
Reid said he urged Kelce to take some time to "get away" before making a decision about his football future.
"I told him ‘Get away. Don’t think about all that. Just relax man. Chill down, and then we got time for that," Reid said at the combine. "I know it’s out there that there is a deadline, but he and I talk all the time. So, I’ll figure it out from him."
The Super Bowl loss also brought Kelce's 12th NFL season to a disappointing end. He finished the regular season with 823 receiving yards, the second consecutive year the star tight end did not reach the 1,000-yard mark.
Last month, during an appearance on "The Stephen A. Smith Show," Kelce admitted his thoughts on retirement tend to fluctuate, but he plans to "reevaluate" during the offseason.
The NFL veteran also said Swift continues to offer her full support for his playing career.
"She’s fully encouraging me to enjoy playing this game," Kelce told Smith. "I got all the support in the world to keep chasing these dreams."
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach suggested Kelce is leaning toward playing in 2025.
"How we left at the end of the season is that he was fired up. He has one more year under contract," Veach said.
"Still think he has that fire and desire to play and, as far as I’m concerned, there is no deadline. I think we left (it) as he’d be back, and we’re excited to get him back and get him going."
Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado made the three-hour, cross-state drive to play in an exhibition game Wednesday against the Yankees, among the teams that may be open to acquiring him in a trade.
Diana Taurasi, 42, is leaving the game of basketball on her own terms after 20 WNBA seasons. The news of her retirement, which broke Tuesday, shouldn’t have come as a surprise and yet still felt shocking
