Michael David Smith

I will never understand the calculations the NFL makes on suspensions. How did they arrive at Justin Tucker getting one game less than Deshaun Watson?

I'm watching a 1998 NFL game on NFL Network and it's amazing how many hits would now be 15-yard penalties, and possible ejections or suspensions. In those days a safety lowering his helmet into a receiver's facemask while the receiver was reaching up to catch the ball was just good defense.

I'm so sorry to hear this. The breadth and depth of Jordan Breen's knowledge in MMA was unmatched. He was smart, he was insightful, he was simultaneously capable of taking his work seriously and approaching his work with a kooky sense of humor. He will be missed. bsky.app/profile/capo...

Steve Wright, NFL lineman who modeled Man of the Year trophy, dies at 82 Steve Wright, an NFL lineman whose impressive stature was immortalized in a sculpture that became the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year trophy, has died at the age of 82.

I love the look of the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year Trophy, depicting an imposing player wearing a cape-like coat over his shoulder pads. Steve Wright, the NFL lineman who in 1970 served as the model for that sculpture, has died at the age of 82. www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootb...

The Ravens were incredibly disingenuous in their announcement that they have cut Justin Tucker. They can talk about "football decisions" and "our current roster" but the real reason they're cutting him right now is that he's been accused of sexual harassment by 16 massage therapists.

The Kentucky Derby's popularity is extraordinary and only growing. Last year's World Series averaged 15.1 million viewers per game. Last year's NBA Finals averaged 11.3 million viewers per game. The Derby beats that easily.
bsky.app/profile/rich...

Texans traded all seven of their original picks, used nine picks acquired in trades In the last three drafts, GM Nick Caserio has made 27 picks, and 24 of them came through trades.

I like Texans GM Nick Caserio's approach to the draft. More than any other GM, he's aggressive about trading up, trading down, and generally making sure the spot where he's picking matches the value of the player on his board. www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootb...

Andrew Berry: Browns didn't plan to draft two QBs, but we believe in positional value "We do believe in positional value, and we didn't necessarily expect him to be available in the fifth round," the Browns' GM said.

Andrew Berry's explanation pretty well articulates why I think Shedeur Sanders was a good pick for the Browns in the fifth round. If there's even a slight chance that he's going to be an above-average starting QB, a fifth-round pick is too low a price to pass up. www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootb...

I respect Mel Kiper. When I was a kid, he was one of the only sources of information about NFL draft prospects.
In this year's draft he did a bad job. He acted like Shedeur Sanders' fall was a personal affront. And he no longer provides any insight about prospects I can't get in 100 other places.

Ray Seals, who became an NFL starter without going to college, dies at 59 Ray Seals, who became notable for making it to the NFL without ever going to college, has died at the age of 59.

Ray Seals had an all-time great NFL story. A high school football star who skipped college and went straight to work at age 18 to help his family. Played in a semipro football league, earned an NFL tryout, became a starter and sacked Troy Aikman in Super Bowl XXX. www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootb...

NFL announces rule, bylaw and resolution changes for 2025 This memo was distributed by the league after voting by the 32 teams at today's meeting: NFL clubs adopted the following rules change proposals, bylaws and resolutions today at the NFL Annual Meeting ...

Now that each team is guaranteed a possession in overtime, will most NFL head coaches choose to kick or receive to start overtime? www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootb...

Raiders are the favorites to draft Ashton Jeanty, who calls them a "great organization" The Raiders will take Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty in the 2025 NFL draft, if the betting odds are to be believed.

Raiders are the favorites to draft Ashton Jeanty, who calls them a "great organization."
www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootb...

Battlehawks win UFL opener in sparsely attended game in Houston The United Football League kicked off its season on Friday night, and the game didn't have a lot to offer, not that there were many fans in the stands to complain.

In theory I like the idea of a spring football league but the UFL opener last night did not look like anything fans are going to get behind. www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootb...

March Madness should have been on all day today, with games starting back-to-back-to-back-to-back. It's dumb to have four games on a Thursday and start them at 7:09, 7:39, 9:39 and 10:09.

UFL ditches onside kicks for fourth-and-12 from the 28 In the first year of the UFL, the merged XFL-USFL used a traditional kickoff formation, with an onside option that consisted of a fourth-and-15 play from the kicking team's 25.

AAF did it in 2019, USFL did it in 2022 and UFL will do it this year: www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootb...

Of the remaining 32 teams in the NCAA Tournament, 8 are Big Ten and 8 are SEC. The Power 2 conferences have thoroughly pulled away from the rest in both football and basketball.

I still like college basketball, but replay reviews and more commercial breaks have made it a less compelling sport than it used to be. Too many long delays in the game.

Major League Baseball season is underway. I'm watching because I'm the weirdo who enjoys live sports at 5 a.m. but I don't think MLB does a good job of promoting these overseas Opening Days. I bet not 1 American sports fan in 100 is aware that the MLB season has started.

Junior Bridgeman's highest NBA salary was $350K, but he became by some estimates the wealthiest athlete in the world because of his business acumen, making smart investments in cable TV and fast food franchises. He died this week at 71. www.nba.com/news/bucks-j...

The Steelers traded a sixth-round pick for Justin Fields and can get a third- or fourth-round compensatory pick for the Jets signing Fields away. bsky.app/profile/nick...

It makes no sense to me that last year Justin Fields was available in a trade and only returned a sixth-round draft pick, and this year he's available in free agency and the Jets are giving him $20 million a year.

Agreed. They're a team that should prioritize attaining as many future assets as possible, not committing significant cap space to veteran players.

I get that Travis Kelce is one of their all-time best and most popular players, but he's not playing at a high level anymore and the Chiefs are in such bad salary cap shape that they're trading their best offensive lineman, Joe Thuney, to save $16M. I'd rather cut Kelce to save $17M if I were them.

Fans will care if the players care. The US and Canadian NHL players made it very clear how much they cared about winning 4 Nations, and that got the fans into it. The all-stars in the other sports don't care, so why should the fans? bsky.app/profile/thea...

I went to Illinois and this is my exact read on them. Team will be better. People who only look at the records and the Top 25 rankings will think they got worse.

Napheesa Collier took home the $200K first prize for winning the WNBA one-on-one tournament at NBA All-Star weekend and then pointed to the disparity between the money in the NBA and WNBA: "My entire WNBA salary is what I got in 30 minutes of playing one-on-one. Which is insane."

Saquon Barkley had 25 carries for 57 yards. If you had told me before the game that Saquon would average 2.3 yards per carry and then asked me to guess the final score, I would not have guessed Eagles 40, Chiefs 22.

I counted about 100 people on the field at the Super Bowl LIX coin toss. The contrast with Neil Leifer's photo of the Super Bowl I coin toss is illustrative of how much the Super Bowl has grown.

Loud boos for Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce as they take the field for pregame warmups. Many more Eagles fans than Chiefs fans here.

I'm a lucky man that I get to do this for a living.