Sports
New York Jets Jets Might Be Too Flawed for Davante Adams to Save Them
Like me, you may have spent your Sunday morning watching Aaron Rodgers throw three interceptions and 22 more incomplete passes for the Jets in London. You may have seen Rodgers’ throws glide off the fingertips of almost every pass-catcher in a New York uniform as they still managed to mount a half-hearted comeback in a 23-17 loss to the undefeated Minnesota Vikings.
I wonder if Davante Adams found himself on his couch, nursing that balky hamstring, watching this same game. Maybe he was keeping tabs on his former quarterback and the team in green and white and thinking to himself, “Yeah… these are my guys. I can work with this.”
The sinking Las Vegas Raiders are apparently ready to move on from Adams, with coach Antonio Pierce adding to the drama every step of the way. Adams, who long maintained publicly that he wanted to stay in Vegas, is now open to a trade, too.
The usual insiders have reported that trade talks “should ramp up over the next 48 hours” and that Adams would prefer a landing spot with a quarterback he’s played with before — the 2-3 Jets and Rodgers, or the New Orleans Saints and Derek Carr.
The Raiders may be able to start a bidding war pitting not only the Jets and Saints, but also other interested teams against each other. After all, a star like Adams makes any team better.
But New York is hardly guaranteed to get that much better if it pulls off the move. Of the Jets’ myriad of problems, the amount of wide receiver talent ranks pretty low, for a change.
Full disclosure here: I’m a Jets fan, reasonably young but still of the “long-suffering” variety. (If you think there’s some sort of ethical problem with me writing about this team in a professional capacity, well, if Jets fan Rich Eisen was allowed to do play-by-play for the London game, I think I’m within my rights to criticize them.)
There are several points we can make in favor of a Jets trade for Adams. Rodgers and Adams have connected on 76 touchdowns between the regular season and playoffs in an eight-year marriage in Green Bay, tied for fifth most by a quarterback-receiver duo in league history. The Jets still have faint playoff hopes because the AFC East is weaker than expected, with the Buffalo Bills at 3-2 but suddenly looking vulnerable and the Miami Dolphins feeling around in the dark without a solid quarterback.
And as hard as the past few years (or decades) have been on fans of this team, just saying “we can’t have nice things” doesn’t mean you don’t try. I saw this attitude in 2020 from antagonists of the Jets as well as some supposed fans — it went like, “Why get excited about the chance to land Trevor Lawrence? We’ll just find a way to ruin him too.” I get that this organization inspires nihilism in people, but that worldview frankly sucks.
That said, the Jets aren’t one star receiver away from a Super Bowl, just as, lo and behold, they weren’t one aging future Hall of Famer at quarterback away from becoming unstoppable. Rodgers threw two of his three interceptions on Sunday in the first quarter alone, both on pretty bad decisions, not flukes or tipped balls.
The Jets already banked so much on Rodgers transforming them. They installed his preferred offensive coordinator and signed another former Packer teammate, Allen Lazard, at receiver. (Don’t forget a very washed Randall Cobb in 2023!) Then why is the guy’s cadence and timing with his teammates so clearly off, and why would one more familiar face make that disappear?
The other big issue is that coach Robert Saleh hasn’t had the Jets prepared, seen at its worst in an ugly 10-9 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 4. So it doesn’t help when Rodgers is also utterly predictable with who he wants to throw to. He forced an unwise pass to his buddy Lazard in the red zone on Sunday before Lazard eventually scored, and he tried another extremely low-percentage shot to Tyler Conklin in double coverage at the goal line.
There’s a universe where the Jets right the ship. Maybe it’s with Adams and maybe it’s not, but most of the middle part of their schedule is eminently beatable except for the Houston Texans. Tons would have to go right — the running game has to rank better than 32nd in a 32-team league, and someone would need to wave a magic wand over an offensive line that’s barely holding things together.
Mortgaging more of your future to pair Adams with your 40-year-old quarterback doesn’t paper over those problems. And it would make ultimately missing the playoffs hurt the fans twice as much.
Sports
Braves' Spencer Strider set for season debut in finale vs. Rockies
Feb 20, 2026; North Port FL, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Strider (99) poses for a photo during media day at CoolToday Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images It’s been a long road for Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider since his 20-win All-Star season in 2023.
Strider, 27, will be out to prove he’s not a shadow of his former self on Sunday afternoon when he makes his first start of the season as the Braves bid for a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies in Denver.
After becoming the fastest pitcher to record 100 strikeouts (61 innings) in a season in modern MLB history in 2023, Strider made just two starts in 2024 before undergoing season-ending UCL surgery.
Last season, the right-hander went 7-14 with a 4.45 ERA across 23 starts in his return from injury.
Strider began this season on the injured list with an oblique strain but is prepared to rejoin the sizzling Braves. They have won both games of the weekend series to expand on the best record (24-10) in the majors. Atlanta remains the only team in the majors that hasn’t lost a series and holds a 7 1/2-game lead on the second-place Miami Marlins in the National League East.
The bad news for the Braves in their most recent win, 9-1 over the Rockies on Saturday, was the first-inning exit of star right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. due to a lower-body injury. He will undergo an MRI on Sunday.
“It didn’t look great, him coming off the field,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “I am hoping it’s just some cramping and that type of thing, but he’s getting an MRI. That’s never good when you have to get an MRI.”
Acuna hit a leadoff single in the first inning to extend his on-base streak to 23 games.
“You never like to be challenged like this,” Weiss said of the potential impact of losing Acuna. “He’s one of your best players and most talented players. If it happens, we’ll be OK. We’ve got lots of moving parts.”
Strider, meanwhile, has dominated the Rockies in three career appearances (two starts), going 2-0 with an 0.50 ERA. He struck out 16 batters and scattered two hits over eight innings in a 3-0 win over Colorado on Sept. 1, 2022, before fanning 13 Rockies in a six-inning win last June 14.
The Rockies, who have lost four of their past five games, will turn to veteran left-hander Kyle Freeland (1-2, 3.48 ERA) in the series finale. He will make his fifth start of the season.
Freeland, 32, will appear in his second outing since being activated from the 15-day IL with left shoulder inflammation. On Tuesday, he surrendered four runs on five hits across five innings in a 7-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
“I thought (Freeland) was really good,” Colorado manager Warren Schaeffer said. “I considered taking him out after the fourth, but had him go back out for one more and he was good. He competed, kept us right in the ballgame.”
Freeland, the all-time leader in franchise history in starts (235), is 1-5 with a 5.93 ERA in 10 career starts against the Braves.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Boston Celtics Title Window Could Be Closed After First-Round Exit
The Philadelphia 76ers pulled off the upset of the playoffs, knocking off the heavily favored Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the first round 109-100. Boston blew a 3-1 lead in this series and that became another brutal end to a Celtics season.
This core was able to win a finals in 2024, but outside of that important win, Boston has had a lot of disastrous playoff losses that seemingly go under the radar. The Celtics have owned the 76ers over the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown era, and that makes this loss so much worse.
Of course, Tatum was absent from game seven due to injury, but Joel Embiid was missing for the entire first half of this series, so that feels like a bit of a wash. Not only that, but the Celtics were the two seed with Tatum missing most of the season anyways.
In recent years, the Celtics have now lost to the eight seed Miami Heat in the Conference Finals, got destroyed by the New York Knicks in the Conference Semis last year, had horrible playoff performances in the final two years of the Brad Stevens era to start the 2020s. They were able to win a Finals in a very down year across the board in the NBA, but this team has had let down spots all over the place in the playoffs.
Currently, it feels like the media has put a spotlight on the Cleveland Cavaliers first round struggles against the Toronto Raptors, but at least those struggles are coming in a 4 vs 5 first round matchup. Boston was completely outplayed by the 7-seed Sixers, who were missing their best player most of the series.
Of course VJ Edgecomb and Paul George having great runs as role players helps, and Tyrese Maxey is a full blown super star; however, this series feels like it’s being swept under the rug by the media. Boston got their ring, but I’m starting to think the window from that core is quietly closing. I’m also interested to see how much grace Boston fans will give to head coach Joe Mazulla.
Boston shot themselves out of this series. This is a team that lives and dies by the three, but at some point you need to make an adjustment when shots simply aren’t falling. Not only that, but the Sixers simply just felt like the better team in this series. I don’t think it’s just bad shooting that won Philly this series. They controlled this series and were able to do whatever they wanted against the Celtics.
The Sixers now head to New York to take on the Knicks, where they are far less of an underdog at only +198 to advance. I think this is a bit of a market overcorrection, and I wouldn’t bet on the Sixers to win this series. Boston might’ve just been a bit of an overrated team, that over performed without Tatum.
Sports
Carlos Prates Strengthens Title Case After Dominant Showing at UFC Perth
The Fighting Nerds have been one of the most notable and popular things about the world of MMA in the last few years. That team has made its name thanks to the success of a number of its fighters in the UFC.
Of the bunch, perhaps the most successful and notable of the Fighting Nerds team so far is Carlos Prates. And Prates put an exclamation mark on that claim with a major win this weekend at UFC Perth, stopping Jack Della Maddalena.
It was a beating. Prates pressured JDM early, and then landed 41 significant strikes on the former champion. Prates also battered Della Maddalena’s leg with kicks, scoring knockdowns of JDM in the second and third rounds. That second knockdown would lead to Prates landing follow-up shots and scoring the TKO.
This now marks two consecutive bouts where Prates has defeated a former UFC welterweight champion. This past November at UFC 322, he put a beating on Leon Edwards, knocking him out cold in the second round.
But let’s just take a look at the picture of Prates’ overall UFC tenure thus far – and just see how much he’s accomplished.
Prates earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023, finishing a then-undefeated Mitch Ramirez.
Prates then fought four times in 2024, competing against Trevin Giles, Charles Radtke, Li Jingliang, and Neil Magny. Four wins, four finishes (all KO/TKOs), four post-fight bonuses. That is a first-year stretch that practically screams Rookie of the Year.
Prates’ sole blemish in the UFC came at UFC Kansas City in April 2025, when he took on Ian Machado Garry in a title eliminator. Prates did not seem like himself, unable to figure Garry out. Prates put a beating on Garry in the fifth, but he was unable to get a comeback finish in time.
It was a disappointing loss for Prates and the people that follow him. He’d need a big-time rebound performance next time out to ensure he’s still in the title picture.
So what does he do? Land a spinning back elbow on Geoff Neal at UFC 319 – one of the top knockouts of 2025. And now he’s followed that up with wins over a pair of former welterweight champions.
Prates has now won seven UFC bouts since 2024. He’s earned finishes in all of those fights. He’s earned performance bonuses in all of those fights. The win over JDM is the only time a fight he’s won has gone past round two.
And the only guy he’s lost to in the Octagon? That man won another title eliminator against Belal Muhammad this past November. Now, Garry is being targeted to challenge Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title in the main event of UFC 330 this coming August in Philadelphia.
That’s far from a terrible loss.
Prates may not get the next immediate welterweight title shot. But if he takes on another former champion or rising star in the welterweight ranks – for example, respectively, Muhammad or Michael Morales – and he gets another highlight finish (let alone another win) – then Prates can’t be denied a title shot any further.
Braves' Spencer Strider set for season debut in finale vs. Rockies
Boston Celtics Title Window Could Be Closed After First-Round Exit
