Former All-Pro safety Earl Thomas was arrested Friday in his Texas hometown. Two weeks after a warrant was issued following his alleged violation of a court protective order, authorities said.
According to a report by WFAA in Dallas, Thomas was arrested by the Orange Police Department after he was recognized at a restaurant.
Thomas is charged with a third-degree felony for violating a protective order two or more times within 12 months.
An arrest warrant for Thomas was issued on April 27 in Austin, Texas, after police said he violated the protective order by sending threatening messages to a woman about her and her children, the Austin American-Statesman reported last week.
The warrant was issued days after Thomas pitched the idea of returning to the league. The effort to get back in the NFL was launched before the arrest warrant was issued.
It will probably be even harder for Thomas to get back into the league with all this off-the-field drama hanging over his head right now.
Lions are on the hunt for the most prestigious title in Boxing Saturday night.
Heading into his undisputed rematch with Brian Castaño(17-0-2), unified Junior Welterweight Champion Jermell Charlo (34-1-1) talks to The Source’s Bryson “Boom” Paul about preparing for his upcoming rematch, discussions with his twin brother, and fellow champion Jermall Charlo, future outside of boxing, the best advice he’s received from manager Al Haymon, and, of course, Houston hip hop. You may watch the full interview right below.
Charlo and Castaño fought to a draw last July. Remember the night, Charlo credits the draw to multiple reasons, ranging from lower back issues to giving away too many rounds to just simply not being his “best night.” He told Bad Left Hook’s Will Esco in May, “… I didn’t have my best night, I got a draw — I’m not worried about losing a 0 because I’ve already been down that road before, so right now it’s just stepping up into the ring to be the Jermell Charlo that I know I should be, and possess a different type of talent, be very talented, be very athletic and smart. With that alone, he can’t fuck with me.”
On what adjustments he’s made for the rematch, Charlo says in the same interview: “I feel like I’m gonna make some improvements just like he’s gonna make some improvements. I’m excited to be in there again, ready to do it again, ready to go, and I just know I want to get the fuckin’ knockout. I want to knock this motherfucker out ‘cause I’m 154 lb champion and I’ve been 154 lb champion, and I’ve been knocking motherfuckers out. Now I’m going back to that.”
Should Jermell win on Saturday night, he will be crowned the undisputed Junior Welterweight champion as holder of all four belts (WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF) within the division. On the other hand, Castaño has the opportunity to strip Charlo of all three titles, the WBC, IBF, WBA, currently in his possession on Saturday night. It all goes down Saturday night.
Watch Charlo vs. Castaño 2 Saturday night (May 13) on Showtime starting at 9PM ET/6PM PT.
Watch the full interview above and get ready for Charlo vs. Castaño 2 today with the preview below.
NBC Sports has appointed Maria Taylor as the next host of Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports. Football Night in America is NBC Sports’ premier studio show, airing every week throughout the NFL season and preceding Sunday Night Football – primetime television’s No. 1 show for 11 years. Taylor joined the show in 2021 as a co-host.
“Maria is the perfect choice to carry the legacy forward of anchoring the most-watched studio show in sports,” said NBC Sports Executive Producer Sam Flood.
Taylor, who was named one of Adweek’s “Most Powerful Women in Sports” for 2021, has hosted many of sports’ most-watched events and shows in the last year. She hosted the Tokyo Olympics, Super Bowl LVI Pregame Show, and Beijing Olympics and Paralympics after joining NBC Sports in July 2021. She has hosted the primetime network broadcasts of the NFL Draft and the NBA Finals before joining NBC Sports.
Taylor is executive producing and now in production on an eight-part documentary series about the history of the Black quarterback in the NFL, which will air on Peacock in addition to her hosting gigs.
The NBA presented six reimagined trophies on Thursday. The Larry O’Brien Trophy, which is given to the NBA champion, has been given a roundish makeover that is even more diametrically indicative of the basketball itself.
There will now be Conference Final MVP trophies named after Magic Johnson (Western Conference) and Larry Bird (Eastern Conference), who are both credited for improving the league’s profile in the early 1980s. Those trophies, like the conference champion trophies, lift a sterling silver ball.
The NBA today unveiled a lineup of reimagined trophies for the NBA postseason, including an evolution of the Larry O’Brien Trophy, awarded annually to the NBA champions.
The Larry O’Brien Trophy’s overall size, shape, and weight have not altered, although there have been some minor changes. The major modification is the base, which now sits on a pair of circular stacks instead of a square foundation. The names of the first 75 NBA champions are listed on the top disc. Each NBA champion’s name will be carved on the bottom disc of each new trophy beginning this year, ensuring that each team receives a one-of-a-kind trophy displaying its name.
The disc will be large enough to hold the next 25 NBA champions in the run-up to the league’s 100th anniversary season.
“Our minds were on what the trophy should look like and how heavy they should be,” said Christopher Arena, the NBA’s head of on-court and brand partnerships, who spearheaded the project. “We wanted to explore and start a new 75 years and bring some aesthetic consistency to that and have some meaning behind all the trophies we had.”
You can see the new trophies below and read more about the design of the complete line of trophies here.
Tom Brady isn’t talking retirement again right now, but he has secured that retirement bag already. During an earnings call on Tuesday, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch announced that Brady would be joining Fox Sports when he retires, taking the role of lead NFL analyst.
Tom Brady has agreed to join Fox Sports as its lead NFL analyst whenever he stops playing, Lachlan Murdoch announced.
Fox’s play here is to make Brady the face of their NFL coverage. While Brady is excited about the new opportunity, he knows he has unfinished business on the football field to deal with first.
Murdoch said that Brady “will not only call our biggest NFL games with Kevin Burkhardt but will also serve as an ambassador for us, particularly with respect to client and promotional initiatives.” Murdoch also said that the timeline for Brady to join Fox Sports is uncertain, likely meaning that he hasn’t revealed to Fox when he’s going to retire permanently.
Brady pumped-faked everyone when he announced retiring shortly after the Super Bowl. Weeks later, he changed his heart and said he would be back for another season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With his retirement plans in order, Brady can focus on championship number 8.
Phoenix Suns Monty Williams has been named 2022 NBA coach of the year. A season after coaching the Suns to the NBA Finals, Williams led Phoenix to the NBA’s best record in 2021-22.
The honor is a first for Williams, who’s in his eighth season as an NBA head coach. He spent five seasons as the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans head coach before joining the Suns in 2019.
Williams won the award over Taylor Jenkins of the Memphis Grizzlies and Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat. Williams is the third Suns’ coach to win the award. Mike D’Antoni was the last Suns coach to win the award in 2005.
Williams coached through some brutal injuries to star players. The Suns went 18-6 without Deandre Ayton, 11-6 without Chris Paul, and 8-6 without Devin Booker.
The suns still manage to have the best record in the league and third rank defense in the league.
“I’m sorry I ruined your plans [for a fall trilogy fight against] Gennadiy Golovkin, maybe,” Bivol said. “Congrats to [Alvarez], he’s a great champion and I respect him. But if you don’t believe in yourself, what do you do? You won’t achieve anything. I believe and my team believes.”
Bivol’s jab kept Alvarez in check all fight long. Alvarez tried to get inside and work on Bivol’s body, but with the jab being so effective he couldn’t get inside and didn’t seem to have a backup plan for Bivol.
“I felt his power. As you can see from my arm, he beat my arm up but not my head,” Bivol said. “It’s better. He had a good speed and power. Maybe his mistake was he threw only hard punches. After hard punches, he relaxed and tired.
“He’s a great champion. Sometimes in boxing, you win or lose. I lost today and he won,” Alvarez said. “He’s a really good fighter. He’s a fighter who comes in and goes out. I also felt his power. It was a good victory for him.”
After the fight, Alvarez expressed his desire to wanting a rematch to which Bivol is down for that.
“A rematch? No problem. Let’s talk about a rematch,” Bivol said. “I took this fight because I just wanted the opportunity and I appreciate the opportunity. I am ready for the rematch, I just want to make sure I win and am treated like a champion now.”
Snoop Dogg continues to update his business portfolio. The west coast icon, along with PayPal co-founder Ken Howery, spent over $600,000 to purchase an ownership stake in Ice Cube’s BIG3 league. The pair now have a 40-percent ownership stake in the Bivouac team in the league.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have Snoop, Ken, and their communities on board with the BIG3,” said BIG3 co-founder, Ice Cube. “Having someone with Ken’s knowledge and experience wanting to be a part of our league demonstrates that we are moving in the right direction. Snoop is an undisputed legend who has jumped headfirst into the Web3 space and clearly understands the importance and the value of what we are trying to create. Together, I know they will take Bivouac to new heights and we can’t wait to get started.”
Snoop and Howery purchased 25 Fire-Tier editions of Bivouac priced at $25,000 each. Meaning, the team’s stock was divided into blockchains for sale.
“The BIG3 is on the leading edge of enabling blockchain technology as utility,” said PayPal co-founder Ken Howery. “The league’s embrace of NFTs as ownership rights is both visionary and practical; key features of every smart investment.”
Howery and Snoop have some work to put in on The BIG3 as the Bivouac squad went winless last season due to injuries.
BIG3 is the official creator of the new global sport, FIREBALL3, the league is returning for its fifth season on June 18 with coverage live across CBS and Paramount+.
Snoop is buying 2 teams in the BIG3. Better get in where you fit in and join the BIG3 Ownership Discord. pic.twitter.com/RvXABl3XXh
A Dallas Mavericks fan was booted from Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals game after he was engaged in an incident with Chris Paul’s family. The young fan was stated to have harassed the family and physically made contact with Paul’s mother.
A source familiar with Chris Paul’s tweet after Game 4 told ESPN that Paul’s mother had hands put on her by Dallas fans and Paul’s wife was also pushed. To make matters worse, Paul’s kids witnessed it. “They felt very unsafe,” the source said.
After the 111-101 defeat, Chris Paul spoke about the moment on Twitter. “Wanna fine players for saying stuff to the fans but the fans can put they hands on our families … f— that!!” Paul typed.
Wanna fine players for saying stuff to the fans but the fans can put they hands on our families….fuck that!!
In attendance was Paul’s mother, wife and two children. Paul’s mother had hands put on her and his wife was pushed.
The Mavericks organization releases a statement after the game: “It was unacceptable behavior and will not be tolerated. The Mavericks, along with American Airlines Center, swiftly removed the fan from today’s game.”
The Joker has gone back to back. Nikola Jokic has been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for a second consecutive season. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news and added a special announcement that would be made later in the week.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been voted the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for a second consecutive season, sources tell ESPN. A formal announcement is expected this week.
In becoming the back-to-back champ, Jokic joined names like LeBron James, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Michael Jordan, and Larry Bird as the names to do so. Jokic would beat out names like Giannis Antentokounmpo and Joel Embiid to win this year.
(@brayyroq) 