Sports
Texas QB Quinn Ewers eyes return to face rival Oklahoma
Sep 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) talks with head coach Steve Sarkisian before the game against Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images Quinn Ewers is on target to return on Oct. 12 when Texas faces archrival Oklahoma for the first time in the Southeastern Conference.
The No. 2 Longhorns (5-0, 1-0 SEC) enter their bye week with one healthy quarterback, Arch Manning, but Ewers was reportedly close to being cleared to play last week from the abdominal strain that knocked him out of the 56-7 win over UTSA on Sept. 14.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian said the No. 2 Longhorns will lean on the luxury of time with no game this week to allow Ewers to continue building strength before diving into plans for the Red River Rivalry meeting with the Sooners in Dallas.
“He’s just rehabbing as he has been. I think he’s been making steady progress one day to the next, which is a good sign,” Sarkisian said Monday. “We haven’t had any setbacks. It’s been steady progress. I think he’s getting stronger and more comfortable and more confident, and so we’ll just kind of stay the course with that.”
Sarkisian left little to speculation on Saturday after Manning guided the Longhorns to a 35-13 win over Mississippi State.
“We need Quinn back because he’s our quarterback, and he’s our leader,” Sarkisian said after Manning passed for 324 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Bulldogs.
“I think that that impacts the entire team’s belief. But what I think we learned, and what Arch kind of learned here over the last two and a half games, is this team can count on him, too. … When we get Quinn back, we’re all going to be excited about that but we also know, gosh, what a luxury that we do have. And what valuable experience Arch got here over the last two and a half games.”
Ewers led Texas to a Sept. 7 win at Michigan and is completing 73.4 percent of his passes for 691 yards and eight touchdowns with two interceptions this season. He missed the past two games, but Sarkisian believes he’ll jump back into the Heisman Trophy conversation when he takes the field again.
“(Ewers) is going to be in New York for the Heisman (as a finalist), whether he wins it or not, but he has the ability to do that,” Sarkisian said last week. “I think he has the ability to be a top-five NFL draft pick. All of the things that I think he is capable of are still out there for him. Him not playing in this game Saturday is not going to impact those three things that I know are goals that we’ve set for him and that he’s working towards.”
Manning has 900 yards passing with nine touchdowns and two picks plus three rushing touchdowns.
–Field Level Media
Sports
An Autopsy of LeBron's Decision: And Why You Shouldn't Trust Rich Paul
Jan 13, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) wears a patch affixed to the upper right chest to celebrate his record-setting 23rd NBA season during the first half against the Atlanta Hawks at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images With the dust settling on LeBron’s surprise decision to take his talents to his fourth team in Philadelphia, we’re starting to see why his last dance would be with the Sixers. Well, more than seeing why he decided to go to Philly, we’re seeing why he didn’t go anywhere else.
Cleveland appeared to be the frontrunner to land James for most of July. Both sportsbooks and prediction markets featured Cleveland within the top two teams nearly the entire waiting period, with Golden State and Miami also briefly having the top odds as well.
Now we know that most of that was a smokescreen from Rich Paul’s Klutch Agency. Cleveland and Miami were prohibitive favorites down the stretch, with Shams Charania and even Adam Schefter predicting moves to one of those destinations; however, LeBron’s decision actually came down to Philly and Golden State.
Both of LeBron’s former teams were shocked they weren’t picked for the last dance, and more than just astonishment, both organizations have to be filled with some level of embarrassment. They were strung along by James when they were never really in the running to begin with. Cleveland has been given the most detailed autopsy as to why they weren’t able to bring LeBron home, and the specifics make the move to Philly even more confusing.
When LeBron first decided he was no longer returning to Los Angeles, his biggest reasoning was to find happiness in his final destination. Maybe creating new business connections in a location close to New York is what makes him happy, but that reasoning led many to believe a return home would be in the cards. You can’t enter LeBron’s mind as to why this location makes him the happiest, but it more so felt like he was looking to team up with specific players that Cleveland and Miami didn’t have.
His next complaint of wanting the Cavs to make a move for Jaylen Brown has a multitude of issues. Boston was never shipping Brown to Cleveland without getting Evan Mobley back in the process. Mobley is a flawed player and hasn’t met the lofty expectations laid out for him, but Cleveland has continued to view him as a franchise pillar they were entirely unwilling to move.
Even if they were to trade him, a starting lineup of James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, and Jarrett Allen would have one of the worst defenses we’ve ever seen in NBA history. And it wouldn’t have just been on defense; those five paired together would have little synergy on offense, a problem I foresee occurring for the Sixers this year as well.
Lastly, the most egregious reason from the Klutch team is that the Cavs no longer had Darius Garland. For the last two years, Rich Paul had asked for Cleveland to move Garland elsewhere, and they did that for him.
Cleveland moved on from Garland, a player who had become exceedingly unreliable, for another unreliable option in Harden. Nevertheless, Cleveland was finally able to get over the hump and make it to the Eastern Conference Finals by moving off of Garland.
I find it patently ridiculous that Paul requested that Garland be traded, then used that as leverage to remove Cleveland from the equation. If those are truly LeBron’s reasons for picking Philly, a lot of mended bridges between James and Cleveland have been burned back to the ground.
Not only should Cleveland feel scorned by this entire endeavor, but the entire league should be over the Klutch Agency. They put out completely fake news to hinder other Eastern Conference teams during the early stages of free agency, when they never had a real chance at LeBron.
This past season, the Cavs gave James a tribute video that led him to tears. While they will always be thankful for his championship run in 2016, I think the city has truly soured on him this time around. For now, Cleveland will be angry with LeBron, but in the future, I feel it won’t be anger, but apathy. One of the greatest players of all time has continued to make short-sighted moves for his legacy, all in the vein of trying to chase down Jordan in the win column. Unfortunately for LeBron, his legacy is now set, and he will never be looked at like Michael Jordan.
Sports
Report: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope joining 76ers after Grizzlies buyout
Feb 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3) in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is set to reunite with former teammate LeBron James after agreeing to a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and planning to sign a one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, ESPN reported on Saturday.
Caldwell-Pope, 33, who played with James on the 2020 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, must clear waivers before signing with Philadelphia.
Per the report, the Grizzlies and Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul — Caldwell-Pope’s agent — finalized the buyout on Saturday, a day after Sixers agreed to sign James to a two-year, $8 million deal.
Caldwell-Pope, who also won an NBA title with the Denver Nuggets in 2023, missed the last 31 games of the 2025-26 season after surgery to fix a misalignment on his right pinkie finger. He finished with averages of 8.4 points, 2.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 21.3 minutes in 51 games.
A 13-year veteran selected eighth overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2013 NBA Draft, Caldwell-Pope has averaged 11.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 29.2 minutes with the Pistons, Lakers, Washington Wizards, Nuggets, Orlando Magic and Grizzlies in 963 games (784 starts).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Trey McBride says Cardinals fans not so bad after all
Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride speaks to the press during training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on July 25, 2026. Arizona tight end Trey McBride made some waves with criticism of the Cardinals’ fan base earlier this offseason. On Saturday, he attempted to walk back some of his earlier remarks following training camp practice.
In a June appearance on Will Compton and Taylor Lewan’s podcast “Bussin’ with the Boys,” McBride noted that a significant portion of Arizona’s population is transplants, and he criticized the Cardinals’ fan base for being too focused on other teams.
“Living in Arizona, no one’s from Arizona,” McBride had said. “Everyone has kinda moved in from another state, so they’re all fans of their own teams, so now you have the Arizona that sits there and there’s no Arizona fans in Arizona.
“So, it’s a tough deal. Hopefully, we start winning some games and we can bring some of those fans back.”
Saturday, possibly because of some backlash, McBride was singing a different tune.
“Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have said that,” McBride said. “It came out wrong, and obviously the fanbase is great. We have a tremendous fanbase. Arizona’s been here, loyal fans to all the sports teams here, and we’re very lucky to have a lot of these guys, and we’re going to have a great season.
“I love it here in Arizona, and I hope they love me too, but it’s a special place. The fans are great, and I’m excited for this year to give them something to be proud of.”
In 2025, McBride signed what was the richest deal for a tight end in NFL history, re-signing with the Cardinals for four years and $76 million.
He backed that figure up last fall, posting career highs with 126 receptions for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns, leading the Cardinals in each category while earning his second straight Pro Bowl berth and being named first-team All-Pro.
A second-round draft pick in 2022, the 26-year-old has exceeded 1,000 yards receiving in each of the last two seasons.
–Field Level Media
An Autopsy of LeBron's Decision: And Why You Shouldn't Trust Rich Paul
Report: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope joining 76ers after Grizzlies buyout
