The Pope recently offered a “blessing” to the New Orleans Saints, you know, the NFL team, just not on purpose. He has a long history of doing this.

On November 5, the Pope tweeted out a message in which he said that the Saints were “precious pearls” that “were always living and relevant” and referred to them as an illustration of the “good news” of the gospel.

Totally normal thing for the Pope to say. The thing is, whoever is running the Pope’s social media account will sometimes add a hashtag in front of the word “Saints.” Doing so automatically associates the word with the NFL team, so the New Orleans Saints’ fleur-de-lis logo appears next to the word. The Pope’s social media manager doesn’t seem to be questioning it and the football fans replying to the tweet are all loving it.

This isn’t the first time he’s done this. Back in October 2019, the Pope tweeted “Today we give thanks to the Lord for our new #Saints. They walked by faith and now we invoke their intercession.” You bet your ass that New Orleans Saints fleur-de-lis was tagged onto the end of the word Saints. This one coincided with a Saints victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Pope’s social media team did it again today, mere hours before this article went live. At 7:30 AM EST on November 7, 2024, the Pope tweeted, “We cannot become #Saints with a frown. We must have joyful hearts that remain open to hope.”

The Saints have had a disappointing season that has thus far resulted in a 2-7 record. Next up, they face the Atlanta Falcons, who lead the NFC South with a 6-3 record while the lowly Saints are tied for last place in the division with the Carolina Panthers.

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Honoring Female Legends

To open the show Dawn Marie — an ECW women’s wrestling legend — acted as a special guest referee for Lola Vice and Jaida Parker’s hardcore match. Neither of their styles particularly favor unhinged brutality, but they certainly went out with a chip on their shoulders and something to prove. Vice used a brick as her weapon of choice which eventually led to her picking up the win in the match. Vice has been a stand out since her NXT debut in 2022; her martial arts background makes her one to watch as a future champion in WWE.

RVD Gets Revenge

Wes Lee and Je’Von Evans faced off as well, with an appearance from WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam. Last week, RVD broke up a backstage brawl between the two and on tonight’s episode he tried to offer advice to the young Lee. The former NXT North American Champion brushed him off. Instead, Lee caught him off guard by hitting him in the back of the head with a chair. While it was presumed he had gone to get medical attention for his injuries, RVD’s music hit in the 2300 Arena, getting his payback and assisting Evans with the win.

Dudley Boyz Reunite in nXT

“D-Von! Get the tables!” — while Bubba Ray was scheduled to make an appearance on the show, his tag team partner D’Von Dudley was not. Bubba teamed with Trick Williams against Ethan Page and Ridge Holland. At one point, the WWE Hall of Famer called for tables. It was D-Von who came to their aid, bringing back the Dudley Boyz. They reunited back in 2015 for one last WWE tag team run which lasted until the summer of 2016.

Reuniting the Family

Grazie! Nunzio and Tony Mamaluke entered the ring to the nostalgic F.B.I. theme. Nunzio was preparing to face Tony D’Angelo for the North American Championship. Earlier in the night, Nunzio had expressed frustration toward the champion for not calling him back. While he hasn’t appeared in a WWE sanctioned match since 2008, he has remained an active wrestler.

The Queen Of Extreme is in the Building

During the main event — a huge 10 woman tag match — ECW legend Francine was shown ringside as a spectator. While her wrestling career was relatively short, she is considered one of the ECW originals. Early on she took part in a feud with Raven, his valet Beulah McGillicutty and his tag partner Stevie Richards. She continued to bounce around ECW, aligning herself with different stars before setting her sights on WWE in 2005.

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The fallout from Jason Kelce’s phone incident isn’t over yet. After the NFL alum smashed a heckler’s phone, Penn State Police are considering the investigation into the altercation ongoing.

In the crime log from Nov. 2, one entry reads that an “officer observed a visitor damaging personal property.” It lists the potential offenses as criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.

A public information officer for the department confirmed to the Associated Press that the entry was in reference to the Kelce incident. The officer noted that the investigation is ongoing.

Video of the shocking incident went viral over the weekend. It showed the former Philadelphia Eagles player walking through a crowd of Penn State fans ahead of the school’s football game against Ohio State.

At one point, a Penn State fan got Kelce’s attention by yelling, “Kelce, how’s it feel [that] your brother’s a f***** [for] dating Taylor Swift.”

Kelce did not take kindly to the remark about Travis Kelce’s relationship with the pop star. He stormed over to the heckler, tore the phone out of his hands, and threw it on the ground, before walking away.

Jason Kelce’s Apology

Kelce apologized for his reaction to the homophobic slur during Monday Night Football coverage.

“I think everybody has seen on social media what happened this week. Listen, I’m not happy with anything that took place,” he said. “I’m not proud of it.”

“In a heated moment I chose to greet hate with hate and I just don’t think that’s a productive thing. I really don’t,” Kelce continued.” I don’t think it leads to discourse and it’s the right way to go about things. In that moment, I fell down to a level that I shouldn’t have.”

Kelce concluded, “The bottom line is, I try to live my life by the golden rule. That’s what I’ve always been taught. I try to treat people with common decency and respect, and I’m going to keep doing that moving forward.”

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The fight to pass this law and have Missouri join the growing list of states with legal sports betting has been a long one. Tuesday’s election marked the pinnacle of the movement, as Amendment 2 on the state’s ballots was passed. Missouri will have until Dec. 1, 2025, to launch the initiative. It’s expected to be up and running much sooner, though. 

Amendment 2 wasn’t a landslide vote. It was actually much closer than some expected, as it passed by just 7,486 votes. Narrow victory aside, the decision to welcome sports gambling creates a new revenue stream for the state and new opportunities. Those reasons alone are largely why the majority of the country has greenlit the activity. According to KCTV, officials estimate up to $28.9 million annually from the move. 

Amendment 2 means Missouri will have up to 19 retail betting licenses and 21 licenses for online gambling sites, such as DraftKings and FanDuel. The professional sports teams and each casino will also be allowed to have one retail and one online licensing. 

The move makes a lot of sense, considering all the states bordering Missouri (besides Oklahoma) have legalized betting. There’s likely been plenty of lost revenue due to locals going over state lines to place bets. 

“Missourians have been exposed to sports betting now for a number of years in the neighboring states. People right now, they’re betting on the Chiefs, but chances are they’re just going across the border to KCK to do it. So, it’s ingrained,” said Joe Weinert, Executive Vice President of Spectrum Gaming Group, per Kansas City’s NBC affiliate, KSHB. 

With Missouri joining the list, there are now just 11 states that have not ushered in sports gambling. 

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Wade seemingly acknowledged as much during his speech, telling the crowd, “That’s crazy. I can’t believe that. Who is that guy?”

Additionally, in a video posted to X, Wade could be seen shaking his head in disbelief while looking at the unrecognizable statue.

The internet was equally confounded by the statue. One person wrote that it “looks like Mr. Clean pissed off because you spilled some shit.”

Other users found the statue to look more like Kelsey Grammer or Laurence Fishburne than Wade.

More people on social media weren’t shy about their discontent with Wade’s supposed honor.

One person wrote that the statue “counts as Dwyane Wade not getting his statue.” Another suggested that the Head “should’ve had a contest where they showed this picture to 1,000 fans — and anyone who guesses it’s Dwyane Wade gets to keep the statue.”

While the statue may make some think that Wade is disliked by the Heat, he’s actually one of the best athletes to ever play for the team.

Wade, a shooting guard, played the majority of his 16-year career with the Heat, winning three NBA championships with the team.

After brief stints with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, Wade returned to the Heat in 2018 to play his final NBA season.

“I know it’s bigger than me,” Wade said of cementing his legacy with the statue. “I’m here right now, we’re present right now, but I know this moment goes way beyond just now and way beyond the years that I will exist in life.”

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Incredibly, he was only said to have minor injuries after the ordeal. 

“Josh Reynolds was a victim of a shooting on Friday in Denver and received treatment for minor injuries,” the Broncos shared in a statement to 9News. “Out of respect for the legal process, we will defer further comment on this matter to the authorities.”

Reynolds was reportedly shot while getting inside a vehicle after leaving the strip club around 3 AM. A second man was struck in the back, and a third person in the car was injured from shattered glass. All three ended up fleeing on foot while calling 911 to report the incident. The shooter has not been identified. 

Reynolds has been placed on injured reserve, which means he still has at least two weeks left on the sidelines. There’s no word yet if he will miss further time in the aftermath of the shooting. 

Earlier this year, another NFL wide receiver, rookie Ricky Pearsall, was shot in an attempted mugging in San Francisco. Pearsall’s debut was put on hold after missing the first six games of the season. Likewise, the offseason also saw Houston wide receiver Tank Dell shot in Florida. Both Pearsall and Dell are now back to playing. 

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But the newly retired Woj isn’t going to be sipping margaritas on a beach for the rest of his life. He is stepping away from breaking NBA news to become an active member of a basketball front office. Woj graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 1991 and will now become the Bonnies basketball program’s new general manager. I’m not sure if breaking NBA news makes someone qualified to run an entire basketball program at an NCAA Division I school, but good luck to him.

Woj broke some massive stories in recent years, including such seismic transactions like Paul George’s trade from Oklahoma City to the LA Clippers, or his famous “clean sweep” tweet when he reported back in June 2019 that the Brooklyn Nets had signed Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and DeAndre Jordan. He broke the news that Lebron James was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to sign with the LA Lakers.

Some non-NBA transaction news highlights include his honoring of gun control activist James Brady and that time he received an email from Republican Senator Josh Hawley and replied with a simple and elegant “Fuck you.” ESPN suspended him for that one. A worthwhile suspension, honestly. 

Lost in all of the breaking news, however, is Woj’s opinion column writing, which is often considered to be some of the best sports writing of the modern era.

With Woj gone, Shams Charania of The Athletic will now become the de facto breaker of massive NBA news. Charania was once Woj’s protégé when they worked for Yahoo! Sports. Both eventually went their separate ways and became direct competitors, often tweeting out NBA transaction news within seconds of one another. But here’s a twist: Shams’ contract with The Athletic expires soon. Soon, with no other competition on the market, the biggest breaker of NBA news will become a free agent.

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It’s not often a diss track becomes a major hit, but that’s what happened this May when the LA rapper dropped his Drake diss “Not Like Us,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 while prominently calling the Canadian rapper a pedophile. 

Kendrick and Drake’s long-rumored beef had picked up last October after J. Cole insinuated that he, Drake, and Lamar were the “big three” in the industry on Drake’s “First Person Shooter.” Elsewhere on that song, Drake rapped, “Big as the what? Big as the Super Bowl,” despite never having performed there. Now, Kendrick will do it first. 

The announcement that Kendrick will headline the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show is one of the league’s bolder moves, but one that’s not as surprising when looking at the details. In 2019, the league partnered with Jay-Z and his company Roc Nation to let them handle the entertainment around the league, which includes production of the halftime shows. 

“The NFL has a great big platform, and it has to be all-inclusive,” Jay-Z told the New York Times at the time. Since 2020, the Roc Nation-curated headliners have included Shakira and Jennifer Lopez (2020), The Weeknd (2021), Dr. Dre with special guests Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar (2022), Rihanna (2023), and Usher (2024). 

In yesterday’s announcement, Jay-Z called Kendrick “a truly once-in-a-generational artist and performer.” Kendrick said his job is to “remind the world why” rap remains one of the industry’s most impactful genres. 

Super Bowl LIX is in New Orleans, and many had wondered if the headline honor might go Lil Wayne—arguably the city’s most famous rapper, who also happened to have discovered and mentored Drake early in his career, signing him to his record label Young Money Entertainment in 2009. 

Master P, a fellow New Orleans icon, was tapped to be the Entertainment Ambassador for the upcoming Super Bowl. He congratulated Kendrick on Instagram before adding that “one of the greatest Hip Hop artists alive” should be included in the event, referring to Lil Wayne. Some fans were more pointed in their criticism.

Still, it’s not out of the question that Lil Wayne could make an appearance: Kendrick and Lil Wyane have worked together before, collaborating on 2018’s “Mona Lisa.” In fact, Lil Wayne appears on the current list of Roc Nation-curated NFL “songs of the season,” on a feature for the Roc-signed athlete and artist Flau’jae Johnson. 

Could another major superstar also find her way onto the stage? We know there’s a major connection between Taylor Swift and the NFL, thanks to her Super Bowl-winning boyfriend Travis Kelce. She and Kendrick Lamar teamed up for “Bad Blood” from her 1989 album, and her appearance would send shockwaves, maybe even literally. 

No matter what, conspiracy theories will surely abound. Super Bowl LIX will take place on February 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. 

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The brothers were riding bikes in their home state of New Jersey when they were struck by a vehicle. The suspect, Sean Higgins, is accused of being under the influence at the time of the fatal accident and is being charged with two counts of death by auto. 

Higgins had attempted to pass a slower-moving car on the right side of a county road when he hit the brothers, according to the New Jersey State Police in information obtained by The Columbus Dispatch. Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played for the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

The incident occurred in Oldmans Township, which is about 15 miles from Gaudreau’s hometown of Salem. The brothers were back home to serve as groomsmen in their sister’s wedding on Friday. Gaudreau leaves behind two children and a wife. 

Being from New Jersey myself, and particularly South Jersey, I had the privilege of interacting with Gaudreau multiple times over the years through interviews and hearing stories from friends who played hockey with and against him. In the few conversations I had with him, it was obvious how down-to-earth and family-oriented he was. I had the chance to attend and cover his jersey retirement ceremony back at his high school in Gloucester Catholic and witnessed the impact he had on that school. Waking up to see the news of his shocking passing was a gut punch I wasn’t ready for. 

Hug your loved ones today—it’s what Johnny always made time for. 

The Columbus Blue Jackets released this statement:

“The Columbus Blue Jackets are shocked and devastated by this unimaginable tragedy. Johnny was not only a great hockey player, but more significantly a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to his wife, Meredith, his children, Noa and Johnny, his parents, their family and friends on the sudden loss of Johnny and Matthew. Johnny played the game with great joy, which was felt by everyone that saw him on the ice. He brought a genuine love for hockey with him everywhere he played, from Boston College to the Calgary Flames to Team USA to the Blue Jackets. He thrilled fans in a way only Johnny Hockey could. The impact he had on our organization and our sport was profound, but pales in comparison to the indelible impression he made on everyone who knew him. Johnny embraced our community whe he arrived two years ago and Columbus welcomed him with open arms. We will miss him terribly and do everything that we can to support his family and each other through this tragedy. At this time, we ask for prayers for the Gaudreau family and that their privacy be respected as they grieve.”

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The story really began back on June 26. Jansen, a catcher, was playing for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Boston Red Sox. It started raining, so the game was suspended while Jansen was at bat. They couldn’t resume the game until August 26, but by that point, Jansen had been traded to the Red Sox. Jansen brought out his entire family to watch him make some very odd baseball history.

Jansen started the rescheduled game, which was part of a doubleheader, as a Blue Jay and then later stepped in as catcher for the Red Sox. They split the doubleheader. He hit a single in the fifth inning, a flyout in the seventh, and struck out in the ninth. So maybe his performance was not quite up to the historical standards of the day, but who cares? The official scorebook of that game is going directly to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for preservation in Cooperstown. 

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