Another chapter in the process ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft is in the books.

Quite frankly, I’m not a huge fan of the NFL Scouting Combine. I’ve never really loved it, but it is what it is. It serves as an event to get touchpoints and confirmations about what’s been shown on film. It also allows teams to meet with players behind the scenes. 

We’ve made the event into something a little more than that, turning it into entertainment.

I enjoy it from an entertainment standpoint, but I’m not sure how much we should glean on what happened in Indianapolis over the weekend in the draft evaluation process.

Still, there were a few things I noticed that happened during the athletic testing that impressed me and I wanted to weigh in on a debate that was sparked by what one of the top prospects said at the combine over the weekend. So, here are my combine takeaways.  

In tandem with his late-season run and his run at the combine, I think Golden has improved his stock. His 4.29 in the 40 is going to raise some serious attention in draft circles and around the league. 

After all of those scouts clicked their stopwatch at the end of Golden’s 40 run, they had to have taken note in some way. You need fast players to win, especially at wide receiver. 

But Golden’s not just a track star out there. He can make plays. By the end of the season, he was really the go-to guy in the passing game for Texas.

By the way, how about Texas just having blazing fast 40 times in the last couple of years? Steve Sarkisian’s motto for Texas is “All gas, no breaks.”

That’s literally what the Longhorns have been doing over the last couple of combines, with five Texas players posting a sub-4.4 40 time. Wide receiver Isaiah Bond was one of those players, running a 4.39 after saying he’d break Xavier Worthy’s record.

That time’s nothing to scoff at, but you better run quicker than a 4.39 if you’re looking to break Worthy’s record of 4.21. It looks slow in comparison, even though it’s not.

The passing largely ran through Golden. So, he’s shown that he can be the No. 1 guy for a CFP team and has the speed to back it up. 

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Kevin Garnett just gave us a wild behind-the-scenes look at the Olympic Village! He said they dumped 10,000 condoms in the middle of the room

NBA legend Kevin Garnett recently shared an eye-opening and hilarious story about his experience at the 2000 Olympics during an episode of All The Smoke.

While the Olympics are usually celebrated for their intense competition and national pride, Garnett revealed a wild, behind-the-scenes reality of life inside the Olympic Village.

“Let me tell you something, the Olympics is all gang banger. You go through the village, yo. So I’m going to go ahead and say something I probably ain’t going to say, but yeah.

So the dopest part about the Olympics, y’all, is day one when you get there. They got a place that only the athletes can go.”

Witnessing 10,000 condoms disappear in less than 30 seconds as athletes from around the world scrambled to grab them like it was a Black Friday sale.

“So you come in the village—me, Ray Allen, Jason Kidd, and Dice walk through the village on the first day. We go to the game room. This game room is probably about 10,000 square feet.

It’s got games. It’s got everything you can do in here. Everybody is in the middle hitting the table. Every athlete that’s in the Olympics is in this room hitting the table.”

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India vs Pakistan LIVE Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Virat Kohli is unbeaten after scoring his 74th ODI fifty while Shreyas Iyer is also close to his half-century

Virat Kohli is unbeaten after scoring his 74th ODI fifty while Shreyas Iyer is also close to his half-century as two-down India cruise in chase of 242 runs against Pakistan in Dubai.

After getting an invitation to bowl first, India put up a disciplined show to bundle out Pakistan for 241. Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan stitched a crucial 104-run stand to help Pakistan recover from 47 for 2.

Shakeel scored 62 while Rizwan slammed 46. After the duo departed, Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals and ended up at a score below 250. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for India with figures of 3 for 40. (Live Scorecard)

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According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is not expected to return to the sidelines this season. Popovich has not been with the team for quite some time now after suffering a stroke in November.

San Antonio Spurs’ Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich is not expected to return this season, and his future is uncertain as he recovers from a mild stroke suffered in November, league sources tell ESPN.

“San Antonio Spurs’ Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich is not expected to return this season, and his future is uncertain as he recovers from a mild stroke suffered in November, league sources tell ESPN,” Charania said via X.

There are questions about his long-term status with San Antonio too. Charania says Popovich’s future is “uncertain” at the moment after spending nearly three decades with the franchise.

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ESPN announced yesterday that it is terminating its partnership with Major League Baseball.

Citing the $550 million annual rights fees as excessively high. As a result, baseball will no longer be featured on the network starting in 2026.

If ESPN finds the $550 million figure unsustainable for MLB, it raises questions about the viability of their staggering $2.6 billion annual agreement with the NBA.

This deal is being criticized as potentially the worst in the history of sports television.

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NYP

The Big Baller Brand co-founder, who’s the father of Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, Bulls guard Lonzo Ball and former NBA player LiAngelo Ball, recently underwent a procedure to have his right foot removed and is said to be in great spirits and doing well, according to the report.

There were no further details disclosed as of Wednesday.

Ball, 57, and his sons have yet to publicly address the situation.

The Ball family patriarch has made headlines for being outspoken while championing his sons’ basketball careers.

Lonzo was the second overall pick by the Lakers in the 2017 NBA Draft and LaMelo was the third overall pick by the Hornets in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Ball and the Bulls agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract extension in February after he dealt with a knee injury in 2022, including multiple procedures, that kept him out for more than 1,000 days.

LaMelo won the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2021 and he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team that year.

LaMelo, who’s averaging 27.3 points this season, has been dealing with an ankle injury.

LiAngelo last played for Mexican club Astros de Jalisco and has since launched a rap career.

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ABC30.com

The Dodgers have agreed to a contract with Clayton Kershaw, per multiple sources. The signing will become official once he has completed his physical

Kershaw, who turns 37 in March, had foot and knee surgeries in November after he was limited to just seven games last season.

He made his season debut July 25 and pitched 30 innings before reporting damage to his toe, which turned out to be a ruptured plantar plate and arthritis in his left foot.

The 2014 NL MVP didn’t pitch in the postseason. He has been a mainstay in the Dodgers’ rotation, spending his entire MLB career in Los Angeles, and is just 32 strikeouts shy of reaching 3,000 for his career.

Kershaw pitched on one-year contracts in 2022 and 2023 before signing an incentive-laden $5 million deal for 2024 that included a 2025 option for $10 million, which he declined. With incentives, he earned $7.5 million in 2024.

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ABC

The 49ers have granted Deebo Samuel and his agent Tory Dandy permission to find a trade partner for the wide receiver, Samuel told ESPN. This comes after Samuel asked San Francisco to trade him during the players’ exit meetings after the season.

“It was a hard conversation to have with Kyle (Shanahan) because of the relationship that we have,” Samuel said today.

“But I have to do what’s best. I’m more than thankful for the Niners giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, but now I think it’s best that we find another team.”

Trading Samuel would come with significant salary cap ramifications for the Niners. They restructured Samuel’s contract in September, a move that means if they were to trade him before June 1, they would absorb a $31.55 million dead money hit on the cap.

Samuel is also due a $15.4 million option bonus on March 22, which means the Niners would almost certainly want any deal completed before then.

If a trade can’t be consummated, the possibility remains that the Niners could release Samuel despite general manager John Lynch saying on Jan. 8 that such a move isn’t an option.

In that scenario, the 49ers could use a post-June 1 designation on the transaction after the new league year begins on March 12 and before his option bonus is due; if they do that, that cap hit would be decreased to $10,751,753 over the next two years.

“Deebo is under contract,” Lynch said then. “[He’s] a good player and has done a ton for this organization and we’re not in the business of letting good players out of here.”

But unlike Samuel’s 2022 trade request, the Niners are more inclined to part ways him this time around. Samuel’s previous request came when he was going through contract negotiations with the 49ers. When those discussions were slow to materialize, Samuel grew frustrated and asked to be dealt.

At the time, Samuel was coming off his best season, nearly leading the Niners to a Super Bowl appearance, and he was viewed as a key part of the team’s future. San Francisco never seriously entertained offers for Samuel then and ultimately signed him to a three-year, $71.5 million extension in August 2022.

This time, Samuel, 29, is coming off arguably his worst season, with 806 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns (both career lows save for a 2020 season in which he played just seven games).

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KRON

The trade deadline deal set to send Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for rookie wing Dalton Knecht, veteran Cam Reddish and future draft pick swaps has been rescinded, according to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania.

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1888415642371686502?t=6eA2AmK9mUbe6G9nPX16hQ&s=19

The Lakers announced that the trade was rescinded “due to failure to satisfy a condition of the trade,” per NBA insider Marc Stein.Los Angeles initially agreed to acquire Williams from Charlotte in exchange for rookie Dalton Knecht, forward Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap prior to Thursday’s trade deadline.

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Tomsguide

Fire TV devices and displays prove some of the best for experiencing this incredible event, offering you a robust platform with tons of content to enjoy.

With some of the best streaming services and even some of the best cloud gaming services, Fire TV is undoubtedly a powerhouse in the TV interface game with loads of cable TV alternatives and free content to lose oneself in well past closing time on Super Bowl LIX.

Super Bowl 2025 is within reach, kicking off on February 9 at 6:30 PM ET. So, while wrangling that 77-inch Samsung OLED TV that’s 50% off, you might be asking yourself how best to watch Super Bowl 2025 on Fire TV without spending a whole bunch of cash.

But to determine how to watch the game on your Fire TV device of choice, you’ll want to decide where you’ll be watching the main event. Some of you might already have a cable TV package or a cable alternative that gives you access to Fox, which is airing the Super Bowl this year.

We love Sling TV or Fubo TV if you’re going that route, though keep in mind that Sling only offers Fox in select markets. Or you can watch it for free this year on Tubi, which is showing the Fox broadcast in 4K for free on compatible devices.

For the full scoop, here’s how to watch Super Bowl 2025 on Fire TV devices.

There’s a wide range of options when looking for the best Fire TV device to watch the Super Bowl on. Amazon just launched a brand new Fire TV Stick HD, which isn’t a bad budget option at $34. But for just a little more, you could nab our recommended pick in the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. It’s one of the best-rated Fire TV streaming sticks across all streaming devices we’ve ever tested thanks to the 4K Max’s incredible 4K HDR performance.

Deals are aplenty in the lead-up to Super Bowl 2025, including the Fire TV stick HD at Amazon for just $24. But, if you want the ultimate Fire TV Super Bowl experience, you can’t go wrong with the Fire TV Cube for $109 at Amazon, netting you tons of Alexa features, Wi-Fi 6E support and so much more.

Tubi is here to save the day with a totally free 4K livestream of Super Bowl 2025. No strings attached. All you need to do is sign up using a valid email address.

Or you could skip a streaming device and just go with a Fire TV. The Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED 4K starting at $389 is a QLED TV with some serious brightness at an unbeatable price. Plus, you get 4K Fire TV viewing built right into the TV, no dongle required.

Or if you want Fire TV’s MVP, check out the Panasonic Z95A OLED TV that’s $2,499 at Amazon, which is a stellar Fire TV display and one of the best TVs bar none.

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