NFL free agency got started, Steph Curry made a half-court shot because duh, Russell Westbrook had an incredible triple-double, and Holy Cross made the tournament… and they are probably even more surprised than you are. We get to all that and much more, here at the Thursday Cheat Sheet.
We had a wacky day one of 2016 NFL free agency
Day one of NFL free agency came on Wednesday, and we had some huge surprises, led by quarterback Brock Osweiler signing with the Houston Texans on a four-year, $72 million deal.
There are two obvious reactions to that move:
1. Wow, that’s a crap ton of money for a pretty unproven quarterback that is full of question marks.
2. Welp, who the heck is going to be the Broncos’ quarterback now?
And the second reaction is of course the one getting the most talk. I mean, these are the defending Super Bowl champs and they’ve now lost the top two quarterbacks on their depth chart (though they likely didn’t want Peyton Manning back anyway). The names being mentioned most by national reporters and those surrounding the Broncos are Colin Kaepernick and Robert Griffin III. If it’s either of those two joining a win-now team, that would be pretty damn interesting. We should get more clarity on that very soon.
A few other notable moves :
The Giants gave Olivier Vernon a five-year, $85 million deal with $52.5 million in guaranteed money… it’s the biggest deal for a defensive end ever. It’s more than JJ Watt got in his recent extension. The Giants handed out over $200 million in contracts on Wednesday. That offseason Super Bowl usually works out so well for teams (no, no it doesn’t)!
30-year-old running back Matt Forte will be a Jet after spending his entire career with the Bears. That one will be important to keep in mind for fantasy football purposes, as well as former Dolphins running back Lamar Miller joining Osweiler in Houston.
There was also this huge story: Chiefs docked two draft picks, fined for tampering with Jeremy Maclin (for the handling of his signing last March).
Oh, and ESPN got duped by a fake Jay Glazer account.
For much more, check out Rotoworld’s live free agency tracker and their top 50 free agents left.
Steph Curry makes a layup, er, half-court shot, in Warriors win
The Warriors played on Wednesday, which means Steph Curry made a half-court shot on Wednesday.
Steph Curry from just beyond half court. pic.twitter.com/Wt4C7unuuy
— ⓂarcusD (@_MarcusD_) March 10, 2016
By May we’re going to be creating Vines of Steph Curry misses from half court https://t.co/D1ONHwxXT9
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) March 10, 2016
Speights mentioned the Warriors shoot half court shots to decide who’s awarded a guy’s late fine. Says Steph is banned from that now — Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) March 10, 2016
“Everything the light touches is Steph Curry’s range.” pic.twitter.com/yFot9uewhN — Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) March 10, 2016
The Warriors (obviously) beat the Jazz, 115-94, and remain ahead of the 1995-96 Bulls’ pace with 19 games remaining:
Warriors: 46th straight home win dating back to 2014-15 (extends NBA record). Their 57-6 record is the best through 63 games in NBA history — ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 10, 2016
Russell Westbrook’s crazy triple-double vs Clippers included 20 assists
Russell Westbrook’s numbers in the Thunder’s 120-108 win over the Clippers on Wednesday in OKC: 25 points, 20 assists, 11 rebounds. You will take that production.
Russell Westbrook (20 assists) had more assists than the following teams on Wednesday: – Pistons (19) – Cavaliers (17) – Suns (16) — ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 10, 2016
Russell Westbrook: 4th player in NBA history with 25 points, 20 assists and 10 rebounds in a game (@EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/i4N142VXs3 — ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 10, 2016
Westbrook’s superstar teammate Kevin Durant — who had 30 points himself and certainly helped Westbrook’s assist total — put it well in the postgame:
Kevin Durant on Westbrook’s 25-20-11 line: “NBA 2K. On Rookie (mode).” pic.twitter.com/meNM2MMWBV — Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 10, 2016
The highlights of Westbrook’s insane night:
Holy crap, Holy Cross
The Holy Cross Crusaders are Patriot League champions and headed to the NCAA Tournament… and how they made it happen is absolutely unbelievable.
Holy Cross went 5-13 in league play (9th place), & went 0-9 in conference road games. Won 4 straight road games in conference tourney. — The Comeback (@comeback_sports) March 10, 2016
Peak #SPORTS stuff.
Quick Hits
– Beautiful goal by Alex Morgan leads the USWNT over Germany.
– Your daily Jim Harbaugh update: He’s endorsing Judge Judy for Supreme Court nomination.
– Joseph Randle is a total mess. The former Cowboys running back’s February 21st arrest apparently stemmed from an argument about beer pong.
– The ‘LeBron James kid’ introduced LeBron James at the Kings-Cavs game. This is awesome.
Related: Did the Warriors break LeBron James?
– Professional ballplayers gambling on baseball is becoming quite a problem in Japan.
– Ruben Amaro Jr. says the Phillies’ anti-analytic image was a ruse to gain a competitive advantage. LOL suuuuuure Rubes.
– Illinois is selling tickets like crazy since hiring Lovie Smith.
– Jordan White ranks the biggest WTF moments this NBA season.
– The Columbus Crew has its own beer for the new MLS season.
– Ian Casselberry ranks every actor appearing in a Marvel and DC comic book movie.
– George R.R. Martin wants Game of Thrones fans to know he’s alive.
– Dos Equis retiring its ‘Most Interesting Man in the World’.
– A new poster for Finding Dory, the Finding Nemo sequel.
– So imagine you’re stuck in traffic and all of a sudden THERE’S A GODDAMN TIGER IN THE ROAD.
One last breath of gratuitous procrastination
Here are a kangaroo and a dog playing tag. One of the few times I’m going to go against dogs as let’s be honest, pretty unfair advantage here for the kangaroo. Might as well be on PEDs.
Source <a class=”youtube-link” href=”https://youtu.be/BjJU_2QuryA”>https://youtu.be/BjJU_2QuryA</a>
