World News – AU – ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit beats up Mike Leach, says he should be « ashamed » after the Mississippi state fight

The state of Mississippi attracted all sorts of bad looks during a post-game brawl following Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl, and Kirk Herbstreit thinks one man in particular is to blame.

The ESPN commentator, who worked from home after testing positive for COVID-19, took Mississippi national coach Mike Leach to task during College GameDay on the Friday before the College Football Playoffs. Herbstreit said Leach « should be ashamed » and called the brawl a « black eye for college football ». ”

« This is a black eye for sport. . . . It’s as bad as it can get. « @KirkHerbstreit had some strong thoughts about yesterday’s brawl between Mississippi State and Tulsa. picture. Twitter. com / YW2lphdNql

« Mike Leach should be ashamed. His post-game interview and what he said, “Hey, it’s football. Hey, it’s physical. It will happen. “Are you kidding me, Mike? You should be ashamed of your program and how it works. And then after the game is the guy proud, haughty and walking away?

« This is a black eye for the sport. Maybe you don’t care about the sport, dude. It’s as bad as it could be when people sit around and watch college football and it breaks out. It’s just another black eye for college football. ”

In the moments after a 28:26 win over Tulsa, a massive brawl broke out between the two teams, with multiple punches being executed on both sides. The fight was eventually stopped by police officers working as security forces in the field.

The deepest moment came when Malik Heath, from Mississippi State, kicked a Tulsa player in the face and then ran away. Heath was later seen in the locker room bragging about kicking the player while on the ground, playing the video of his kick and repeatedly referring to the other player as a « b —-« . ”

When the fighting started, Leach was far from his players, taking photos with maskless fans in the stands during a pandemic.

When asked about his message to his team after the brawl, Leach replied bluntly, « Don’t do it anymore, » before seeming to minimize the impact:

« This is a soccer game so we’re not going to tear a rag on this deal, » Leach said before leaving the field. “Someone went to a soccer game and someone was hit. There’s a point where I won’t lose my mind. I just don’t like that we are undisciplined in some situations where if you control yourself mentally and emotionally you will put yourself in a better position. ”

Is Aaron Rodgers leaving Green Bay after an MVP season? Will Bill Belichick leave New England before it gets ugly? There’s no shortage of meaty NFL storylines in 2021 The NFL’s general stance on 2020 can be summed up in a nutshell: What pandemic? with the kind of bravery only offered to the greatest, and worst, and most watched on the block. Some precautions have been taken. The preseason was over. Mask mandates were in. But the bottom line was: regardless of the line-up, regardless of the ridiculousness of the spectacle, regardless of the health consequences, football is played. And in general it was a success. Covid has the potential to embarrass the league in week 17, the last week of the season, and we don’t yet know the magnitude of the health implications, but for the most part the league has fulfilled its wish: the season will close on time. As the calendar changes from 2020 to 2021, here are a few subplots to keep an eye on. The Future of Aaron Rodgers By now, Rodgers has likely engraved his name on the MVP trophy. Voters love a narrative, and the Rodgers Revenge Tour is a better narrative than « Isn’t Patrick Mahomes Particularly Good? ». It’s Michael Jordan Syndrome. (Voters gave Karl Malone an MVP award during Jordan’s heyday. That’s a real thing that happened. ) But it wasn’t long since the Packers picked Jordan Love on the first round of drafting, that Rodgers’ future was in the air, that the team had obviously chosen his replacement, that it was only a matter of when if not if Rodgers would go. Rodgers has been great this season. His game has evolved. The improvised off-script jazz artist is still around, but he married that with the on-script rhythm that defined his early years as a starter. It’s a deadly combination. The power to decide his future is now with Rodgers. Performing at MVP level, he could lead the Packers to another Super Bowl title. Green Bay will want to keep the 38-year-old until he really starts to sink. But will Rodgers take matters into his own hands this off-season? How upset was he really about the love choices? With possible quarterback openings in hot spots like New England, Los Angeles and San Francisco, could Rodgers try to push his way out of the title town as the final act of this year’s tour? A Franchise Sale, the NFL as a whole, has decently vaccinated itself against the financial losses that hit most sports leagues during the pandemic. Instead of pushing games or adding weeks, the NFL pulled back its preseason and rolled forward when there were signs of a health crisis. We play football! Who is ready to play? Who is watching? We’ll play them on Monday evening and Tuesday evening, as well as Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning. The quality of the games or the health of the players are doomed. It was a lucrative strategy for the league, just as every league makes money in the Covid era. But the league is still made up of old-school owners who made most of their money the old-school way. While several owners have mitigated the financial blow to their sports facility, many have suffered significant losses in their non-sports ventures. You just have to look to the NBA to see how even the most tech-savvy, self-proclaimed « smart » sports owner has been hit by the pandemic: Tilman Fertitta, the NBA’s youngest owner, who paid a record $ 2. 2 billion. for the Houston Rockets franchise in 2017 making his living in casinos and restaurants. His operations were reduced to 4% during the pandemic and he was forced to go public and take a working loan from the league. There are similar problems in the upper chamber of the NFL. Some owners feel the financial cost far more than others, especially those whose fortune is based on owning an NFL franchise. (The NFL remains the sports league with the most “legacy” ownership families. ) Nobody is going to shed a tear for the baddest fat cats, but NFL franchises are notoriously hard to win for the money they print for the owners. The pandemic has changed that. 2021 could usher in a group of new owners as the current owners, who have been hardest hit by the pandemic, seek to reclaim funds. Will there be Cam Newton customers? Newton’s one year plan in New England was clear: get the smartest, most creative, and most consistent organization in sport; show that he had a lot of juice left, that he just needed a break; and then sign a mega-deal in the upcoming off-season, be it with New England or elsewhere. But as much as Bill Belichick tried to sell the Patriots-Cam Newton experience as a hit to the media and fans this season, it didn’t work. The Patriots’ offensive staff were creative and dispatchable, and bypassed Newton’s quirks and lack of accuracy. But all too often, when Newton has fallen behind and tried to play with a rhythm, it looks like he’s trying to throw a medicine ball. Newton’s health is the question here. He no longer has the same type of zipper on his fastball and his throwing accuracy, which was so-so even in the best of times, has now completely fallen off a cliff. Perhaps the Patriots will persuade Newton for another season to help bridge the team’s quarterback future. Maybe they are telling themselves that he looked fine before his Covid diagnosis. Perhaps Belichick believes that, despite his shortcomings, Newton will be fine if the Patriots are able to bring back the parts of their roster that missed this season due to COVID. But that seems unlikely. It seems like Newton, the great pioneer, the paradigm shifter, will ultimately be shot. And if Belichick isn’t ready to treat themselves to another season, will another team be? And if not, what is Newton doing? Go into retirement? Suspend another year and hope to heal? It’s hard to imagine Newton making the rounds as a one-year rented gun on a tank rebuild team. Is that it for Bill Belichick? It doesn’t feel like Belichick is slowing down. But at some point Belichick will walk away from the work of the patriots. Belichick tried to turn things back for another boost this season by putting together a roster that missed the core of its defense due to Covid defects and lacked a quarterback as Tom Brady moved to Florida. Is Belichick at his advanced age after Covid ready and willing to start another reconstruction after half a year? He doesn’t have a quarterback, and the backbone of the squad who turned in the last Super Bowl is starting to creak – a majority have already left or are expected to leave this off-season. Plus: Belichick employees are expected to be taken apart again in the off-season, both on the coach side and in the Patriots’ front office. Is it possible that he will decide to walk away before things get ugly? The Rise of Justin Fields, the Jaguars locked number one in the upcoming draft. The pick is likely to be Trevor Lawrence, Clemson’s one-time quarterback prospect. But as always in a draft cycle, expect a run against Justin Fields, the Ohio state quarterback who will be the all-time top pick in a traditional year. And if former Ohio state head coach Urban Meyer shows up as Head Honcho in Jacksonville, watch out. The chatter will increase. Leaks will flow. Trade offers will arrive. Lawrence should be your first choice, but chances are Jacksonville will switch places with the jets (for a significant distance). . A JJ Watt tradeJJ Watt and the Houston Texans are synonymous with each other. But if Houston is looking for assets to improve its roster this off-season, moving Watts is one of the only options. The Texans have little to no draft capital and one of the worst internationals in the league. They also have a jumbled roster that is the walking embodiment of the broken front office that oversaw construction for the past five seasons. In the middle is Deshaun Watson, one of the most talented quarterbacks in the league. Having a great quarterback fixes a lot. In order for Texans to get back to the competition despite the squad holes and lack of flexibility in the market, it might only take five to six smart steps. One way to give some flexibility and to increase the error rate in such attempts is to continue from Watt while he still has value. It would be a difficult step financially and culturally, but it would also be a smart one. And it would allow Watt to get a shot with another organization where he could get a shot in the next 24 months to get past the divisional round. New TV Deals As noted in the Guardian’s bold 2021 predictions, the NFL’s current round of TV rights deals expires in 2022. With sport still the only place networks can rely on to produce a large live audience, and the NFL continues to be the largest provider of live content (eight of the 2020s were 10 most viewed single shows were football matches or night the games) bidding is expected to be intense and expensive. The league could try to rise again with its traditional broadcast partners. Or there could be a cheaper deal for ESPN / Disney, with the possibility of Disney grabbing a coveted Super Bowl and moving its shows to ABC. Or it could offer larger packages to a streaming customer like Amazon Prime in hopes of staying one step ahead of the live sports streaming curve or offsetting some of the revenue the league and its owners lost in 2020.

Stop me when you hear this: A professional athlete on a zillion dollar contract barely old enough to rent an Enterprise car is in trouble. It happens so often that we’re barely paying any attention, which likely we were when Dwayne Haskins, the underperforming quarterback for the Washington Football team, was cut last week. It’s worth ranting against black on sports television.

Clemson, who starts middle linebacker James Skalski, was kicked out of the Sugar Bowl for knocking out Ohio quarterback Justin Fields for a game. Officials concluded that Skalski had committed the target by leading with the crown of his helmet when he struck Fields in the ribs. The fields stayed in place for a few minutes before moving to the sidelines.

A bowl win that put Mississippi State’s overall win this season to four and No.. 1 increased. 22 Tulsa’s failed attempt to add another unlikely comeback to its impressive collection this season took a back seat to the hand-to-hand combat that erupted shortly after the Armed Forces Bowl ended on Thursday. True freshman Will Rogers scored his first quick touchdown of the season and had a 13-yard TD pass to lead the State of Mississippi past Tulsa 28-26 in a tense game from the start. « I’m not sure what exactly caused that, » said Mississippi State trainer Mike Leach, who called the altercation a « mosh pit ».  »  » It was also something before the game.

Florida coach Dan Mullen wasted little time identifying problem areas after his team’s worst defensive season in over a hundred years. Mullen fired second coaches Ron English and Torrian Gray, someone familiar with the situation. English coached Florida’s security for the past three seasons and Gray coached cornerbacks for the past two seasons.

« She has all the tools it takes to be a bloody coach in our league, » Gregg Popovich said before handing the reins to Becky Hammon on Wednesday.

LaMelo Ball had its best night of the season on Wednesday, making history and proving that it is a worthy top pick for the Hornets.

The Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James played pretty well but had a fun blooper in the first half of Friday’s game.

Edinson Cavani’s teammates past and present have stood up to the Manchester United striker over his three-game ban on discriminatory language. . The Uruguayan striker had accepted charges of wrongdoing by the FA and an « aggravated violation » of his racing rules because of his « Gracias negrito » Instagram post in « solidarity » with the fight against racism. Despite his suspension, United insisted that Cavani « is not racist and there was no racist intent in his post » and asked the FA to impose his 100% fine. To invest £ 000 in anti-discrimination initiatives, please, the governing body appears to be honoring. A governing body spokesman told The Daily Telegraph: “The FA is a non-profit organization that distributes all winnings to all levels of the game each season. This includes investing in a number of important equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives across English football. But Cavani’s ban has been disappointed by current and former teammates. Former United midfielder Herrera, who played with Cavani in Paris Saint-Germain, wrote: “If they ban you for it. The world will s ***. Big hugs and stay strong Edi. « Cavanis United team-mate Marcos Rojo, the Argentine defender, added, » Those you know know the kind of person you are !!! « 

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly was upset after Notre Dame lost 31:14 to Alabama at the Rose Bowl.

After the NFL, college football is America’s most popular sport at 47. 5 million fans are going to games in 2019 and their 392 regular TV shows reach more than 145 million unique items. . .

Brennan Carroll, the Seahawks-run game coordinator and son of head coach Pete Carroll, is leaving Seattle. The University of Arizona has hired Brennan Carroll as offensive coordinator and offensive coach under new head coach Jedd Fisch, who is himself a former assistant to Pete Carroll. “Brennan and I have known each other for [more]

Nick Saban wasn’t thrilled when he walked into the locker room at halftime of the Rose Bowl

As we tiptoe into 2021, the Sixers are still watching James Harden, and a trading package is taking a small shape. By Adam Hermann

In Westlake Village, Lakers star Anthony Davis just sold his amenity-laden mansion with a movie theater and basketball court for $ 6. 6 million.

Cincinnati came so close to falling a Power 5 opponent on a big stage. The sixth-placed Bearcats had a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter of the Peach Bowl on Friday, losing their perfect record when Jack Podlesny scored a 53-yard field goal in the final seconds of Georgia’s 24:21 win. After order was restored and Georgia started, the Bearcats had time for one final game – a sack of Desmond Ridder for safety when the time ran out.

Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski has not traveled to Tallahassee with his team and will miss Saturday’s game against Florida State.

Mississippi State Bulldogs Football, Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football, Bowl Game, Armed Forces Bowl, College Football, Mike Leach, Mississippi State University, American Football