Cam’ron and the “It Is What It Is” sports show announce Michael Irvin as the show’s newest football analyst for season 5, starting September 2nd.
Michael Irvin worked for the NFL Network for 15 years as an analyst. Irvin also spent several years providing football analysis on ESPN’s First Take, GET UP, Sunday NFL Countdown, and other ESPN programs.
Before his commentary career, Michael Irvin was deemed the “playmaker” for the Dallas Cowboys. He was a key piece in the Cowboys’ football dynasty, which won three Super Bowl titles in the 1990s.
Michael Irvin is a member of the Hall of Fame All-1990s NFL team, a 5x Pro Bowler, a 1x All-Pro, and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In his 11-year career, he caught 750 passes for 11,904 yards and 65 touchdowns. He earned his 5 Pro Bowl selections from 1991-1995.
The September 3rd episode discussed Anthony Edwards’s comments about the skill set of the Jordan era of NBA legends, the NFL’s historical record of 15 Black Quarterbacks starting week 1, and whether or not Bills Quarterback Josh Allen is overrated.
The “It Is What It Is” sports show can be found exclusively on YouTube. The show can be found on Instagram @itiswhatitis_talk and X @ITISWATITISTALK
Several reports have confirmed that longtime Calgary Flames player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were struck by a drunk driver and killed while cycling through their hometown in New Jersey just hours before their sister was scheduled to get married.
According to NJ State Police who were on the scene, “Troopers responded to a motor vehicle crash at 8:19 PM on County Route 551 North, milepost 11.1 Oldmans Township, Salem County. Based on a preliminary investigation, two pedalcyclists, John M. Gaudreau, a 31-year-old male from Carneys Point, N.J., and Matthew R. Gaudreau, a 29-year-old male from Pedricktown, N.J., were traveling north on County Route 551, close to the fog line of the roadway. Sean M. Higgins, a 43-year-old male from Woodstown, N.J., was traveling north on CR 551 in a Jeep Grand Cherokee behind a sedan and SUV.”
They continued, “Higgins attempted to pass the slower-moving sedan and SUV, entered the southbound lanes of travel, passed the slower-moving sedan, and attempted to re-enter the northbound lanes of travel when the SUV in front of Higgins moved to the middle of the roadway, splitting the north and south lanes to safely pass the two pedalcyclist traveling north on the right side of the roadway. Higgins then attempted to pass the SUV on the right and struck the two pedalcyclists in the rear. As a result of the collision, the two pedalcyclists sustained fatal injuries.Through further investigation, Higgins was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, charged with two counts of death by auto, and lodged in the Salem County Correctional Facility. This crash remains an active investigation, and no additional information is available.”
Katie Gaudreau, the sister of the Gaudreau brothers, and Devin Joyce were slated to exchange nuptials on Friday(August 30) afternoon, but due to the recent tragedy the wedding has been cancelled.
Johnny and Matthew were both set to be groomsmen in their sister’s wedding and were just present at the wedding’s rehearsal on Thursday night. Johnny’s children were also listed as the wedding’s flower girl and ring bearer. Johnny’s wife and other sister were named one of the maids of honor.
Johnny, who was popularly recognized as “Johnny Hockey”, played nine out of his eleven season in the NHL with the Flames besides the last two seasons, which he played with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who issued a statement about his untimely passing. The team said they were “shocked and devastated” by the tragedy while calling Johnny a great hockey player. More importantly, they said Johnny loved his family and offered their support to his grieving relatives.
Other NHL players and athletes across the sports spectrum, including Lebron James, paid tribute to the NHL great and how heartbreaking the loss of Gaudreau and his family to the sports community.
This week’s playlist comes from Brooklyn Cyclones’ on fire infielder Junior Tilien. This 21-year-old has been increasingly delivering for the Mets organization since being signed in 2021. Tilien played for the Florida Complex League when he was signed, but was quickly called up to St. Lucie the next year at 19 years old, putting up a .248 batting average 12 homers and a whopping 44 RBIs in just 84 games.
The Dominican Republic-born right hander struggled in his first year in Coney Island and was sent back to redeem himself before he returned back to Brooklyn in 2024. After leading off the line up for the first half of the season, Tilien’s consistency at the plate got him shifted to the clean up position for a good part of the summer, even with him in the batter’s box as the DH when he wasn’t on the field. In 103 games with the Cyclones this year, Tilien BA is a modest .228, with 84 hits, including six HRs, 40 RBIs and slashing .304/.329/.632.
Now, Tilien’s musical taste is definitely culturally centered for the young man from San Pedro de Macoris, the city known among Latin baseball aficionados as the “Cradle of Shortstops”, with his selection being heavy with classic reggaeton, dembow and even salsa cuts. Check out Tilien’s one-of-a-kind playlist exclusively here from the Black Baseball Mixtape.
There’s going to be at least one more run for Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. The longtime face of franchise has secured a fresh contract with the team, extending his tenure for another year. According to ESPN, Curry’s new deal is valued at $62.6 million and will keep him with the Warriors through the 2026-27 NBA season.
Sixty plus million for one year. Sheesh.
This extension brings Curry closer to joining an elite group of NBA players who have surpassed $500 million in career earnings.
As you know Curry, a four-time NBA champion, had two years left on his current $215.4 million contract, signed in 2021. However, due to the NBA’s over-38 rule, which restricts teams from offering multi-year deals to players who will be 38 or older during the contract term, the Warriors could only offer Curry a one-year extension. Currently 36, Curry has expressed his desire to retire as a Warrior, a sentiment he reiterated in a March 2023 interview with Andscape.
Curry said, “My real but fake goal was reaching my dad, who played 16 years in the league. But now, you get to this point where you realize that at 16 years, he was 37. I remember the last three years of his career he had a back spasm problem in Milwaukee. I just remember all the work he had to do to play those last three years. Times have changed in terms of what your prime is.”
The greatest shooter added, “How I feel right now is not how I thought I’d feel at 35. That number sounds crazy, but in my head, I feel like I got a lot left. The work I put into this I still enjoy. Who knows how [the future] looks? I talked to Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and other guys who have been on the other side of the halfway point. I know quarterbacking is different, but you can check yourself [mentally] into not fast-forwarding too far. They really did a good job of disciplining themselves for what is happening in real time. They’re 40 feeling like they can still play. I’m trying to stay in that mode. Thirty-five is a big milestone, but the next one is 40. The way I feel right now, who knows?”
For the ninth year in a row, all 30 Major League Baseball teams will raise awareness for childhood cancer in all ballparks during all games on Sunday.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and MLB Together continues its community-based demonstrations of support for the cancer awareness among children, including outreach to local hospitals treating childhood patients.
According to the organization, all on-field personnel, including players, managers, coaches, and umpires will wear gold ribbon decals and wristbands during all games. Additionally, commemorative base jewels and line up cards will be featured on the day.
Club activations may include youth participation in pregame ceremonies, visits from players, mascots and other special recognitions. Nonprofit partners for Clubs may include partnering with local hospital or organizations focused on cancer among children such as Stand Up To Cancer, American Cancer Society, and Starlight Children’s Foundation.
As an extension of MLB’s relationship with Starlight Children’s Foundation, all 30 Clubs will be receiving either a Nintendo Switch Handheld or a Virtual Reality headset, which will be donated to a local children’s hospital, hospital pediatric cancer care unit or a pediatric cancer nonprofit organization. To learn more, visit www.mlbtogether.com/childhood-cancer-awareness-day and www.starlight.org/mlb.
This year, approximately 10,000 children under the age of 15 are expected to receive a cancer diagnosis in the United States. Across all demographics, this disease is the second-leading cause of death by disease in children ages 1-14. MLB, alongside other committed community leaders in this cause, are dedicated to lessening the statistics of cancer as a disease affecting young people.
Some of the most common types of childhood cancer include leukemia, brain tumors, central nervous system tumors, and malignant epithelial neoplasms and lymphomas. Over the past 50 years, cancer researchers have helped to develop treatments that have greatly changed the lives of patients with a pediatric cancer diagnosis. The five year survival rate for childhood cancer is now 85% (compared to 58% in the mid-1970’s).
Pat Mahomes Sr., father of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and two time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes who himself is a former MLB pitcher, pleaded guilty to his third DWI offense at Smith County Court in Texas.
Let’s not judge but sheesh, Mr. Mahomes needs help. His son has a $500 million dollar contract with three rings. He has a bunch of grandkids. Like, what’s up?
Anyway, the 54-year-old faces a third-degree felony charge.
Get this, he is expected to receive five years’ probation, with the possibility of up to 10 years in prison if he violates the terms of his probation.
ICYMI, Mahomes Sr., who was arrested before Super Bowl LVIII, has had a history of legal troubles related to driving under the influence. In 2018, he pleaded guilty to a DWI charge and served 40 days in jail. His criminal record also includes a 2014 charge for possession of an open alcoholic container in a vehicle, which resulted in a fine.
Mahomes Sr. who had a lengthy MLB career, is scheduled to be sentenced on September 23. He also faces an upcoming pre-trial hearing in October for driving with an invalid license.
Gotta hand it to Patty Mahomes Jr. He is one of the greatest NFL players ever and his pops is literally the definition of a distraction. Hopefully they all figure this out.
Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler will be featured in a new Netflix documentary series titled “Starting 5”, set to premiere on October 9.
Gotta admit, this looks fire.
The series will provide an inside look at the lives of several NBA stars, including LeBron James, Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, and Domantas Sabonis.
Kinda overdo, a show like this but if you don’t know the NBA is super strict with authorizing access to the teams, and hence the stars during the season. Brand protection and it makes sense.
“Starting 5” will go beyond game footage, showcasing behind-the-scenes moments from the players’ daily lives, both on and off the court. Like Hard Knocks but multiple teams and focused on stars only.
Butler, known for his vibrant personality and media day antics, including last year’s viral “Emo Jimmy” hairstyle, will likely captivate viewers with his off-court endeavors.
The series may also delve into Butler’s various side projects, including his coffee brand “Big Face Coffee,” his appearances in commercials and music videos, and his passion for sports like soccer and tennis. He’s gonna be a riot.
As the Miami Heat prepare for the upcoming season, fans can look forward to getting a closer look at Butler’s life through this highly anticipated Netflix series.
Hundreds of Dodgers fans were lined up at Dodgers Stadium as early as 11am this morning(August 28), but it wasn’t to get a good seat at today’s game.
The game against the Baltimore Orioles will definitely be one to see, with the O’s just one GB the Yanks in the AL East, but fans lined up in Dodgers Stadium’s Chavez Ravine for first grabs of Shohei Ohtani’s bobblehead. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PST, but baseball fans, ahem, Ohtani fans are making sure they don’t miss out on the future HOFer’s collectible.
The first 40K fans are promised one of the prized bobbles ,which features Ohtani and his dog Decoy. The bobbleheads come in the natural color and a gold plated version.
Back in May, the Dodgers released an Ohtani statuette and baseball memorabilia collectors were spending hundreds to buy the figurines on the secondary market. Some even spent thousands to purchase the limited edition versions.
What ya’ll thought, Bronny was going to be passing the ball to his father in a game yelling “Daddy?” We didn’t either.
So here we go. As the Los Angeles Lakers prepare for a unique season featuring both LeBron James and his son Bronny James on the same team, LeBron has established a key rule for their professional relationship: no calling him “Dad” on the court.
“We’ve already laid that down,” LeBron said in an upcoming episode of ‘The Shop,’ which was filmed in Paris during the Olympics earlier this month. “He cannot call me ‘Dad’ in the workplace. Once we leave the practice facility and the gates close, I can be ‘Dad’ again.”
Unless you were under a rock in the sports world, Bronny was selected by the Lakers with the 55th overall pick in the NBA Draft earlier this summer after one season at USC. He secured a four-year, $7.9 million guaranteed contract with the team, an unusual achievement for a second-round pick. During the Lakers’ Summer League in Las Vegas, Bronny showed promise by scoring in double figures in several games, despite initially struggling from the three-point line.
LeBron has long expressed his desire to share the court with his son before retiring.
He is about to get his wish.
When they eventually play together in an NBA game, they will become the first father-son duo to be teammates in the league’s history, and only the fourth such duo in major American professional sports.
However, it’s still uncertain how Bronny will fit into the Lakers’ roster under first-year head coach JJ Redick, who recently replaced Darvin Ham.
The Lakers cleaned house and got rid of the entire coaching staff. JJ is not playing around.
The dynamic between LeBron and Bronny as teammates is another question mark.
LeBron is confident about the name change on the court, but here’s what else he said:
“It’s easy for me. It’s going to be an adjustment for him,” LeBron said. “But we can not be running down the court, and he be like, ‘Dad, push the ball up. Dad, I’m open! Dad!’ No, he cannot do that.” We concur, Bron.
The Empire State definitely represents in Major League Baseball, as both Players of the Week come from New York teams. The players who were voted as the best of the American and National Leagues should be no surprise to real baseball fans.
Aaron Judge and Francisco Lindor have been named as the American League and National League’s Players of the Week in the last full week of August, which leaves a little more than a month before the Pennant races begin in late September. Judge and the Yankees faced the Detroit Tigers, the Cleveland Guardians, and the Colorado Rockies last week, while the Amazins took on the Orioles and the San Diego Padres. The Mets broke even in their series against San Diego, edging the Padres by one run in both wins, while the Bronx Bombers beat the Rockies 2-1 in their 3-game series and the same results against the O’s.
Individually, both Lindor and Judge have put up phenomenal stats that would easily put them in the MVP conversation of either league. The 6X All-Star maintained a whopping .381 BA this week, with seven homers and 11 RBIs. Mets’ superstar shortstop boasted a .345 batting average last week, with four doubles, 3 HRs, and six RBIs.
This week, the Mets have to take on the NL West’s second-place Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox, who currently have the worst win-loss record in MLB. The Bombers have a three-game series against the Washington Nationals, with the Yanks already ahead after yesterday’s 5-2 victory. This weekend, the Yankees begin their series against the NL Central’s third-place Cards.
