Author: Shekari Philemon

Jack Campbell stood in the visitors’ locker room at the new Highmark Stadium on Thursday night and put the blame squarely on himself. The All Pro linebacker’s voice cracked as he spoke, and he refused every available excuse for a 41 to 31 loss to the Buffalo Bills. What did Jack Campbell say after the loss? He was direct about it. Jack Campbell praised Buffalo, said his own play was poor and repeated that accountability starts with him rather than with anyone else in the room. He said the only thing left to do is look in the mirror and…

Sean McVay would prefer the Los Angeles Rams never return to Australia, a sentiment he offered Thursday while trying to put a disappointing season opener behind his team. He was careful to note the crowd was not the problem. What did Sean McVay actually say? The Rams coach told reporters he hopes the franchise does not play in Australia again, then immediately flagged that the remark would be stripped of context. The atmosphere at the venue was not his complaint. The result was. He described the mental approach as trying to wipe the memory clean entirely, a bit of coachspeak…

The Buffalo Bills opened Highmark Stadium on Thursday night with fireworks, a sellout crowd and a performance that turned a christening into a statement. The final score read 41 to 31 over the Detroit Lions, though the night rarely felt that close. How did the Bills open the new stadium? Buffalo raced to a 21 to 0 lead and never allowed Detroit to pull within reach. The Bills moved to 2 and 0, making Joe Brady the first coach in franchise history to win his first two games. Brady had said before kickoff that he did not want his team…

Ben Shelton will not play the Laver Cup in London, a late roster change announced Thursday that reshapes Team World days before one of the most watched exhibitions on the tennis calendar begins. Who takes the open spot on Team World? Brandon Nakashima steps in. The 16th ranked American will make his Laver Cup debut at the O2 arena, a notable moment for a player who has built his ranking through steady results rather than breakout runs. He joins a roster that already carried significant depth, and his addition keeps the American presence on the team intact. Why did Ben…

The Cleveland Cavaliers have promoted Brandon Weems to general manager, handing one of the league’s most scrutinized front office jobs to an executive who has been in the building for years. The decision became public Friday and places him directly under team president Koby Altman. Who is the new Cavaliers general manager? Brandon Weems has spent the past decade inside the organization, climbing from scouting and personnel work into senior leadership. He has held the assistant general manager title since 2022, a stretch that covered draft preparation, trade evaluation and the long process of building a roster that now carries…

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving has offered to pay the $11,941 NFL fine levied against Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair for writing the name of a Palestinian girl killed in Gaza on his eye black during Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills. The fine is standard NFL procedure. League uniform and equipment rules prohibit players from displaying personal messages without prior approval. Al-Shaair wrote the name Hind Rajab on his eye black. Rajab was killed in 2024 along with six members of her family after their car came under fire in Gaza City. The Israeli military acknowledged last month for…

Baker Mayfield faces the Cleveland Browns and Deshaun Watson on Sunday in Tampa, and the man who coached him in Cleveland in 2018 has not softened his view of what was given away when the trade happened in 2022. Ken Zampese, now the Buccaneers’ senior offensive assistant and pass game specialist, told ESPN that the Browns had the guy and gave him up. He said that in 2018, when they went 5-3 in the second half of the season after the organization had started 1-31 across the previous two years, the city came alive because they had finally found a…

Max Verstappen completed the Max vs 100 go-karting challenge in just 14 laps and 35 minutes Wednesday at Silverstone, well inside his 30-lap, 75-minute allotment, and was already joking about raising the stakes. He had been given 30 laps to pass 100 rivals from the back of a 101-kart grid on a custom-built 2.45-kilometer track made up of 1.3 kilometers of permanent Silverstone infield karting track and 1.15 kilometers of temporary circuit built specifically for the event. The race was broadcast live globally on ESPN and Disney Plus. After finishing, Verstappen told reporters that maybe 200 drivers are next, and…

The WTA Finals are moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, starting in 2027, with the tour’s headquarters also relocating from St. Petersburg, Florida, the organization announced Wednesday. The year-end championship will be held at Spectrum Center, home of the NBA’s Hornets, from 2027 to 2029. The arena seats approximately 19,000 and has hosted tennis exhibitions the past two seasons. The event will run five days rather than the current eight, adjusted to accommodate the Hornets’ schedule. The financial context WTA chairperson Valerie Camillo acknowledged the tour’s difficult financial position on a call with reporters Tuesday, saying 2026 is a year of…

The Phoenix Suns are signing center Duop Reath to provide frontcourt depth while Mark Williams recovers from shoulder surgery expected to sideline him for several months, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Wednesday. Reath, 30, spent three seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers before being traded to Atlanta in February and subsequently waived. Portland signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and converted him to a standard NBA deal midway through a breakout rookie season in which he averaged 9.1 points and 3.7 rebounds. His minutes declined over the following two seasons. Phoenix’s frontcourt also includes Khaman Maluach,…