New England Patriots File Tampering Charges Against Houston Texans

New England Patriots File Tampering Charges Against Houston Texans

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by | Jun 12, 2019 | Featured, NFL

Early Wednesday morning news broke that the Houston Texans had requested to interview New England Patriots director of player personnel, Nick Caserio for their newly vacant general manager position. This isn’t the first time that Houston came sniffing around New England’s front office. In January of 2018, the Texans made a request to speak with Caserio that the Patriots swiftly denied.

This time around it seems as if Bill O’Brien and Houston were not taking no for an answer. Without receiving the official okay from New England, rumor has it that the Patriots believe that the Texans have tampered in their pursuit of Caserio. The connection, former Patriots chaplain and current Houston executive vice president of player development, Jack Easterby. Easterby was present at New England’s Super Bowl ring ceremony on Friday–the same night that the Texans announced they were firing general manager Brian Gaine after one year on the job.

If New England feels that Easterby had conversations with Caserio about the Texans opening that could verify filing tampering charges. According to the NFL’s anti-tampering policy: “Any interference by a member club with the employer-employee relationship of another club or any attempt by a club to impermissibly induce a person to seek employment with that club or with the NFL.”

Caserio is a critical part of New England’s front office, while Bill Belichick has the title of general manager and often has the final say in decisions, Caserio is easily the Robin to his Batman. In a December 2014 interview, Belichick said Caserio, “contributes in a lot of different ways and I’m glad I have him. I need him.” In 2017 Belichick noted that Caserio’s impact in coaching and scouting are part of his “rare” role that he couldn’t envision another person in the NFL being able to pull it off. The last time the Patriots gave an opposing team permission to interview Caserio for a front office position was in 2014 when the Miami Dolphins requested it.

Caserio received a finance degree from John Carroll University–aka Patriots U; six members of New England’s staff attended John Carroll including offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. The ties to the lone organization the 43-year-old has worked for are deep and strong, however, with the league flush with cash Caserio could be attempting to gauge his value in the open market. Houston, led by two former Patriot employees (Easterby and O’Brien) would definitely have to pay up to steal him away, but having familiarity with the higher-ups already in place and a talented roster are big bonuses for the Texans in their chase of Caserio.

With New England not committing to allowing Houston to speak with Caserio it’s likely that he remains with the Patriots and sees either a pay raise or a change of title. Either way, it’s clear that New England feels that Houston has crossed the line in their attempts to get Caserio to speak to them. With multiple black spots on their franchise resume, it will be interesting to see how this plays out for the Patriots. After “Spygate” and “Deflategate” finally settled into the back of the collective fans’ minds, are we about to enter “Interviewgate”? Only time will tell.

Jun 12, 2019 No Comments
Cavs Make Historic Coaching Hire

Cavs Make Historic Coaching Hire

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by | Jun 12, 2019 | Featured, NBA

The Cleveland Cavaliers can make that two recent hirings from collegiate programs on their coaching staff in a three-month period. In what has been a monumental hiring in quite some time, the Cavs hired the University of California-Berkeley women’s head coach Lindsay Gottlieb as an assistant coach to update and improve the coaching core of the franchise.

Gottlieb — a Final Four and seven-time NCAA tournament head coach for the Golden Bears — is the first women’s collegiate head coach recruited to an NBA staff. In her eight seasons as the Bears’ head coach, she constructed a 179-78 record while also getting some of her girls to the WNBA.

Gottlieb will sign a 4-year deal with the Cavs, and it is reported that she will serve a prominent role alongside fellow Assistant Coach JB Bickerstaff and newly-appointed head coach John Beilein, who formerly served in the same position for over a decade at the University of Michigan. Since San Antonio’s assistant coach Becky Hammon had such a quick rise to prominence, Commissioner Adam Silver has been determined for the rest of the league to be open to welcoming more female coaches into its ranks, and Gottlieb’s stature, success and coaching credentials are unprecedented among women’s coaches in the NBA.

The initial idea to bring an experienced and tenured female head coach as part of the coaching staff was brought into play and pitched to Beilein by Cavaliers General Manager Koby Altman, sources said. Beilein got wind of Gottlieb’s potential impact on the overall team environment and became determined to bring her talents to Cleveland, and a deal was made with Gottlieb and her agent, Bret Just of CAA on Tuesday night.

Before her days as a head coach at a major D1 program, Gottlieb had a 56-39 record with an NCAA bid in her three seasons as the head coach at the University of California-Santa Barbara. She’s also been featured on the coaching staff for several national teams for USA Basketball.

As it stands, Gottlieb is the eighth female assistant coach to be hired in the NBA, but her signing is historical in the fact that she comes from a Power 5 conference team that is known for their consistent top-25 presence and a gratuitous college salary that has eclipsed over $700,000. She is expected to make an immediate presence with the Cavaliers to either share a player development or assistant coaching role.

Gottlieb is no stranger to the NBA whatsoever. She was a habitual visitor to Golden State Warriors practices, courtesy to head coach Steve Kerr and general manager, Bob Myers. She was also spotted at the LA Clippers’ training camp last year.

As the Cavaliers prepare for their impending top-5 pick in the draft on June 20, a possibility that could turn into reality is that Gottlieb will be on the summer league staff in June into July.

Jun 12, 2019 No Comments
Free Nationals Newest Single “Time” (Feat. Mac Miller & Kali Uchis)

Free Nationals Newest Single “Time” (Feat. Mac Miller & Kali Uchis)

Celebs

by | Jun 12, 2019 | Celebs

Today Anderson .Paak’s band Free Nationals have released “Time,” featuring the late Mac Miller as well as Kali Uchis. Marking Mac’s first official posthumous release. Premiered on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 Radio show as his World Record this is the groups first official release since 2018’s “Beauty & Essex.”

Mac Miller passed away in September 2018 of an accidental overdose at 26, the lost has been felt throughout the Hip-Hop community. Leaving a void and longing to hear unreleased material from the late rapper, .Paak, who dedicated the song “Dang!” to Miller during his Coachella performance this year  went to Twitter to share the announcement of Free Nationals new track writing, “6/12 be ready.”

“Mac Miller was a humble rock star, he was a rapper’s rapper, he was a[n] actor, a comedian, a musical genius […] Mac Miller was a brother, he was my friend,” said .Paak “I loved him and I still love him.”

Over a smooth mellowly groove, Kali provides her lush vocals, as Mac raps about the struggles of a relationship and how both sides are dealing with it (“I’m making the wrong decisions and you sick of it all/But don’t leave me, don’t leave me”), which Kali doubles down on with the hook (“I gotta take some time to grow/But I don’t want to let you go”).

There have been many projects started in Mac Miller name such as MusiCares launched the  Mac Miller Legacy Fund to help young people who are struggling with substance abuse. (For more information, visit here) As well as a documentary on the Pittsburgh rapper, which last week was halted at the request of his family and management.

Listen to “Time” below.

Jun 12, 2019 No Comments
Cyrus’ Long Overdue Apology

Cyrus’ Long Overdue Apology

Celebs

by | Jun 12, 2019 | Celebs

Once trying to distance herself from the genre, Miley Cyrus is making her return to Hip-Hop with the released “She Is Coming”  EP, which includes contributions from hip-hop stars Swae Lee, Ghostface Killah, and Mike Will Made-It. The reception is lukewarm at best following her comments in 2017  in a Billboard interview, claiming she was no longer interested in rap because of the materialistic and sex-driven messages.

“I also love that new Kendrick [Lamar] song [“Humble”]: ‘Show me somethin’ natural like ass with some stretch marks.’ I love that because it’s not ‘Come sit on my dick, suck on my cock.’ I can’t listen to that anymore,” she told Billboard. “That’s what pushed me out of the hip-hop scene a little. It was too much ‘Lamborghini, got my Rolex, got a girl on my cock’—I am so not that.”

The tone-deaf comments made in the interview had critics labeling Cyrus as a culture vulture, someone to use the genre of Hip-Hop in order to sell. A year after leaving hip-hop behind for more hypothetically lucrative pastures, for a folkier (and whiter) sound. Cyrus is staging her return.

Image result for miley cyrus

Cyrus has owned up to her mistake in the comments section of a fan-made video titled Miley Cyrus Is My Problematic Fav…Sorry. Cyrus admitted she still had a lot to learn and acknowledged her privilege as a white musician, writing:

“Just watched your video. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak up. Being silent is not like me at all. I am aware of my platform and have always used it the best way I know how and to shine a light on injustice. I want to start with saying I am sorry. I own the fact that saying … “this pushed me out of the hip hop scene a little” was insensitive as it is a privilege to have the ability to dip in and out of “the scene.” There are decades of inequality that I am aware of, but still have alot learn about. Silence is a part of the problem and I refuse to be quiet anymore. My words became a divider in a time where togetherness and unity is crucial. I can not change what I said at that time, but I can say I am deeply sorry for the disconnect my words caused. Simply said: I fucked up and I sincerely apologize. I’m committed to using my voice for healing, change, and standing up for what’s right. Miley”

As the saying goes man lie, women lie, but numbers don’t; her sixth studio album “Younger Now”, was lackluster debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 and sold 45,000 units in its first week, and failing to go gold. Compared to “Bangerz”, which went number one with 270,000 in sales its first week and certified triple platinum. Needless to say, this genre brought her the most success she’s seen in her career, with more money to be made Cyrus’ pivot back to hip-hop is understandable.

Jun 12, 2019 No Comments
Carolina Panthers Spotlight Cam Newton’s Return to the Field

Carolina Panthers Spotlight Cam Newton’s Return to the Field

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by | Jun 11, 2019 | Featured, NFL

After starting the season 6-2 the Carolina Panthers looked well on their way to becoming one of the top teams in the NFL. The reason? Quarterback Cam Newton was setting the league ablaze in his first year operating within offensive coordinator, Norv Turner’s system. Newton had logged 15 touchdowns to just four interceptions. If that production had remained level for the rest of the season Newton could’ve challenged Patrick Mahomes in the 2018 NFL MVP race.

Yet, the Panthers lost six of their final seven games and ultimately missed the playoffs. What changed during the second half of the season? Cam Newton’s health. The team reported in Week 16 that he had been experiencing pain in his throwing shoulder and with Carolina’s postseason hopes all but gone they opted to rest the face of the franchise for the remainder of the season. By then, Newton petered off and finished with 24 touchdowns and 13 interceptions on the year.

Newton would undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his right shoulder nearly a month later on January 24th. It would be his second shoulder surgery–rotator cuff surgery in March 2017–in as many years, doubt was seeping in around the organization of what the future would look like for their superstar quarterback. The Panthers would even select West Virginia quarterback Will Grier in the third round this spring.

On Tuesday, Carolina opened up their three-day mandatory minicamp and nonetheless, there was Cam on the field, dressed, and tossing the ball around. The Panthers live-streamed a 27-minute portion of their first day, highlighting Newton being involved in warmups and three drills.

It is obviously great news that Newton is on the field and throwing a ball less than five months after surgery, however, Newton was still slightly limited. The pecking order for reps went as follows: Will Grier, Kyle Allen, Taylor Heinicke, Cam. Also during the drills shown Newton was selective in the attempts he took. Newton connected with D.J. Moore (twice), Chris Hogan (twice), Curtis Samuel, and Greg Olsen on a combination of shorter routes (hitches, quick outs, drags, and speed ins).

Word out of Carolina is that he’s limited right now to throwing to stationary targets only. The feeling is that the team doesn’t want to stress the shoulder so early into his recovery with throws that would put more force and wear on the surgically repaired shoulder. The Panthers felt that before Newton was sidelined for the final two games a year ago that when he was healthy he showed great progress in the footwork department and had the requisite zip and tight spiral on his throws.

It is unknown whether or not Carolina will choose to stream a portion of practice for the remainder of their minicamp, but even if they don’t, this short glimpse of Cam on the field served its purpose. Though the attempts were few and far between and the reps didn’t always come with the first-team, Newton looked like his usual self. He was bouncing around, dancing, laughing, talking, being an energetic and exuberant presence that the team could rally around.

The Panthers firmly believe that they have the necessary pieces around Newton to be an elite team. In the end, it won’t matter how great those players are if Cam can’t get back and stay on the field.

Jun 11, 2019 No Comments