Browsing: Eric

Oct 28, 2025, 10:17 PM ET

SANTA ANA, Calif. — The ex-wife of a Los Angeles Angels employee on Tuesday said the MLB team failed her drug-addicted husband during a trial over the fatal overdose of one of its star pitchers.

Camela Kay testified that she previously had seen Angels players partying, drinking and passing around pills on the team plane when she traveled with her then-husband Eric Kay, the team’s communications director. In 2019, after her husband was hospitalized for a drug overdose, she said she heard that he had pills intended for pitcher Tyler Skaggs, and shared the information with the team’s traveling secretary.

Less than three months later, Skaggs was dead.

Eric Kay was later sentenced to 22 years in prison for providing a fentanyl-laced pill that led to the fatal overdose.

“I am sitting in a courtroom for two days in front of a mother who lost her son and a widow,” she said, adding that the father of her three children is in prison. “The Angels failed Eric.”

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Camela Kay testified during the civil trial for a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Skaggs’ family contending the Angels should be held responsible for letting Eric Kay keep his job while he was addicted to and dealing drugs. The Angels have said team officials did not know Skaggs was taking drugs and that any drug use involving him and Eric Kay happened on their own time and in the privacy of the player’s hotel room.

Attorneys for the family and the Angels have both said Camela Kay’s testimony about the pills is at the heart of the lawsuit.

More than six years ago, Skaggs, then 27, was found dead in a suburban Dallas hotel room before a series against the Texas Rangers. A coroner’s report said Skaggs choked to death on his vomit and a toxic mix of alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone was found in his system.

During Eric Kay’s federal criminal trial in Texas, five MLB players testified they received oxycodone from him at various times from 2017 to 2019, the years he was accused of obtaining pills and giving them to Angels players.

Medical records for Kay’s 2019 hospitalization indicated he had been battling addiction for a dozen years and had been known to use Norco, oxycodone, antidepressants and marijuana.

Camela Kay said she and other family members had an intervention with Eric Kay in 2017 over drugs. The next day, she said, two Angels officials came over to speak with him and one pulled plastic baggies containing white pills from the bedroom, which fueled her concerns that he was also selling drugs.

In 2019, Eric Kay was driven home by an Angels employee after he was found shirtless and dancing in his office at the stadium, she said. She said she found blue pills among his belongings and he was hospitalized three days for an overdose before going to rehab. She said her sister-in-law told her after visiting him in the hospital that he had told her the pills were for Skaggs.

She said she later found text messages on his phone about him getting his “candy” at the stadium and relayed the information to his supervisor at the Angels. She said she also saw messages from Skaggs asking about “candy” and Eric Kay told her while he was in rehab that he had asked his boss to “keep Tyler off his back.”

Camela Kay said she was concerned her husband was heading back to work so quickly after a six-week stint in rehab, taking on more responsibilities and traveling to Texas with the team.

Angels attorney Todd Theodora asked how Kay could know what was going on with her husband’s drug use since she was sleeping in a separate bedroom and keeping her distance from him since 2017. He also pointed out the report about pills headed toward Skaggs came up when Eric Kay was acting erratically and blurting out words during his overdose.

Camela Kay told jurors she flew on the team plane most recently between 2013 and 2016. Kay said her husband told her the pills she saw players passing around there were Percocet and Xanax.

After Skaggs’ death, Camela Kay filed for divorce, court records show.

Skaggs had been a regular in the Angels’ starting rotation since late 2016 and struggled with injuries repeatedly. He previously played for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

His family is seeking $118 million in lost earnings, compensation for pain and suffering and punitive damages against the team.

After Skaggs’ death, the MLB reached a deal with the players’ association to start testing for opioids and to refer those who test positive to the treatment board.

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  Michael RothsteinOct 27, 2025, 05:26 PM ET

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  Michael Rothstein, based in Atlanta, is a reporter on ESPN’s investigative and enterprise team. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein.

SANTA ANA, Calif. — The ex-wife of former Los Angeles Angels communications employee Eric Kay testified Monday that the organization was aware of his drug abuse multiple times before Kay supplied the drugs that killed Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019.

Camela Kay testified in the wrongful death civil trial that she witnessed team employees and players distributing nonprescription drugs to each other, including once on a team plane where she described opioid pills being handed out. Her testimony was repeatedly interrupted with objections by team attorneys.

Camela Kay’s testimony contradicted that of the first two witnesses of the trial — Eric Kay’s ex-boss Tim Mead, the former director of communications, and Angels traveling secretary Tom Taylor. Mead and Taylor both testified they were not aware of Kay’s drug use and whether he was providing drugs to players until after Skaggs’ accidental overdose death in a Texas hotel room in 2019.

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Eric Kay was convicted in 2022 of giving a fentanyl-laced pill to Skaggs that led to his death. Kay is serving a 22-year federal prison sentence.

The Skaggs family is seeking $118 million and possible additional damages, claiming the team violated its rules requiring intervention, including potential dismissal, of any employee known to be abusing drugs. The family asserts that allowing Kay to interact with Skaggs, when both had addiction problems, set the conditions for disaster.

Plaintiff’s attorney Shawn Holley said in her opening statement last week that the Angels put Skaggs “directly in harm’s way” by continuing to employ Eric Kay.

Camela Kay testified that, after an attempted intervention Oct. 1, 2017, when the couple was still married, Mead and Taylor came to the Kay home. She said Mead returned the next day to check on Kay. During that time, she testified, Mead came out of the Kay bedroom holding “six or seven” baggies of about six white pills each. Camela Kay used her fingers to show the size of the baggies, about 1 inch square.

“I was shocked,” she testified. “I questioned [Mead] and asked where he got those. He said Eric directed him and told him they were in shoeboxes.”

She said Mead then put them on a coffee table in front of where Eric Kay was sitting with Taylor.

In his earlier testimony, Mead said he recalled “very little of that morning” and did not remember asking Kay where drugs were, whether he went into Kay’s bedroom or if he found drugs in baggies there. Angels attorneys said in opening remarks that the team was not responsible for Skaggs’ death and was not aware of Skaggs’ illicit drug use or that Kay had provided drugs to multiple players. The defense also argued that Skaggs had used drugs when he was with the Arizona Diamondbacks, whom he played for before his time with the Angels.

Angels attorney Todd Theodora said it was Skaggs who “decided to obtain the illicit pills and take the illicit drugs along with the alcohol the night he died.”

Camela Kay testified she continued to have concerns about her ex-husband’s substance abuse and that she shared those concerns with Mead and Taylor.

She also said she never saw improvement in Eric Kay, even after he was sent to outpatient therapy following the failed 2017 intervention. Camela Kay testified — backed by text messages shown in court — that she had multiple conversations with Angels benefits manager Cecilia Schneider to get her husband into an outpatient rehabilitation program in 2017.

Kay also testified she had been on the Angels’ plane in the past and that she observed conduct on the plane that caused her concern. When asked about the conduct, she said, “I had seen them passing out pills and drinking alcohol excessively.”

Asked plaintiff’s attorney Leah Graham: “When you say observed them, who is the them?”

“Players, clubbies,” Kay replied, indicating she believed she saw Xanax and Percocet being handed out. She later said she was kept away from players on the plane, “but you can see what’s going on behind you” and when she would go to the bathroom.

In 2013, Camela Kay said, Mead and Taylor were at the team hotel after Eric Kay had a panic attack at Yankee Stadium in New York. It was there, Camela Kay said, where Eric Kay told her he was taking five Vicodin per day. She testified Taylor and Mead were there and heard the admission.

In 2019, she testified Monday afternoon, Taylor drove Eric Kay home after an episode of strange behavior at the office. She said she found a pill bottle in the gutter where Taylor’s car was parked, and she emptied the contents in front of Taylor — about 10 blue pills that she told him were oxycodone. She said she told Taylor her husband needed help. Eric Kay later went with his sister to the hospital, where he spent three days before starting outpatient rehab. She quoted Kay’s sister as saying the pills were for Skaggs.

In earlier testimony, Taylor said he drove Eric Kay home but denied that Camela Kay dumped blue pills out in front of him. He also denied that he was told they were oxycodone and that they were for Skaggs.

Camela Kay’s testimony continues Tuesday.

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LOS ANGELES — Eric Lauer does not top the list of players you would have expected to make a huge impact during this World Series, yet he came excruciatingly close to becoming Torontoâ€s latest hero in Game 3.

Lauer gave the Blue Jays all he had and then some in Monday nightâ€s 18-inning marathon at Dodger Stadium. Entering the game with one out in the bottom of the 12th, the left-hander proceeded to blank the Dodgers across 4 2/3 innings with a herculean effort out of the bullpen that should have been his signature performance.

The only problem was that Lauer was matched on the other side by another out-of-nowhere performance from Will Klein, the last available reliever for the Dodgers who shut down the Blue Jays across four scoreless frames of his own.

Having combined for 68 pitches over his previous four outings this postseason — with his highest count in one game a total of 18 — Lauer was at 68 pitches entering the 17th when manager John Schneider finally went to his last reliever available in Brendon Little, who was responsible for Torontoâ€s Game 5 implosion against the Mariners in the ALCS the last time he pitched.

“A turning point is obviously a walk-off homer,†Schneider said. “But man, I give my guys so much credit for playing the way they did and Eric Lauer pitching the way he pitched. Thatâ€s pretty unbelievable. I know Klein did the same thing for them. A lot to unpack in that game. But I couldnâ€t feel as good as I do right now about the way they went about it.â€

Lauer has been a starter for most of his seven-year big league career and made 15 starts for Toronto during the regular season. So, even though his role has been in the bullpen as of late, that starter mentality never left, especially when heâ€s been doing it for so long.

“[Schneider] came up to me a few times and asked if I was good,†Lauer said. “Of course I was good. I was ready to go, and thatâ€s pretty much all we left it at. He was like, ‘This is your game. Weâ€re going to try to win it for you. Just keep going out there and doing your thing.â€â€

Lauer did his thing all night. Facing 20 batters, he allowed just six baserunners on two hits and four walks — two of which were intentional walks to Shohei Ohtani after the Blue Jays decided they were no longer going to get beat by the two-way superstar.

Really, the whole Blue Jays bullpen did its job. After Max Scherzerâ€s 4 1/3 innings to start the game, Torontoâ€s entire bullpen — all eight relievers on the roster — combined to allow three runs in 12 2/3 innings. Sure, there were some hiccups. In addition to Little surrendering the walk-off, there was also Seranthony Domínguez allowing a game-tying homer to Ohtani — his second of the night — in the seventh. But at the end of this one, it was the offensive unit that felt like this loss fell on them.

“They did an awesome job to put us in that ballgame,†Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement said of the bullpen. “We owe them some runs tomorrow, for sure. Weâ€ll get on that.â€

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  Michael RothsteinOct 21, 2025, 03:43 PM ET

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  Michael Rothstein, based in Atlanta, is a reporter on ESPN’s investigative and enterprise team. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein.

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout testified Tuesday that a team employee alerted him to possible concerns about drug abuse by the Angels’ former communications director, Eric Kay, before the 2019 accidental overdose death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs in a Texas hotel room.

Trout said he confronted Kay directly, telling him, “You have two boys at home, and you have to get this right.”

Trout’s testimony brought the court case a step closer to establishing that Kay’s behavior was raising enough red flags to warrant team intervention before he provided the drugs that killed Skaggs at age 27. The Skaggs family is suing the Angels for wrongful death, seeking $118 million and asserting that the team violated its own rules by allowing Kay to remain on staff despite the dangers posed by his drug abuse.

Two team officials, communications vice president Tim Mead and traveling secretary Tom Taylor, testified earlier that they were unaware of Kay’s drug problem or had only indications of there being a problem with prescription medication. Attorneys representing the Skaggs family plan to call at least one witness — Kay’s wife — whose pretrial deposition ran directly counter to Taylor’s and Mead’s testimony, according to a report by The Athletic.

The Skaggs family’s lawsuit repeatedly refers to reporting by ESPN’s T.J. Quinn in October 2019, citing sources who told federal investigators that team officials knew of Skaggs’ drug use long before his death and that Kay was selling drugs to other players.

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Trout, 34, is an 11-time All-Star and became the first Angels player to testify in the civil trial.

Trout’s two-hour testimony alternated between lighthearted memories of his relationship with Skaggs and serious ones about bizarre behavior by Kay as his drug use became increasingly evident. Trout choked up at times during his testimony, and tissues were passed among Skaggs’ family members as they sat in the front row.

Plaintiff’s attorney Shawn Holley claimed in her opening statement last week that the Angels put Skaggs “directly in harm’s way” by continuing to employ Kay after behavioral issues pointed to a drug problem. Kay is serving a 22-year federal prison sentence for providing the fentanyl-laced oxycodone that caused Skaggs’ death.

Angels attorney Todd Theodora countered in his opening statement last week that the team is not responsible for activities Kay and Skaggs undertook in their off time. Team officials were not aware of Skaggs’ drug use or that Kay was providing drugs to players, the defense argues. Theodora said it was Skaggs who “decided to obtain the illicit pills and take the illicit drugs along with the alcohol the night he died.”

Trout testified he saw Skaggs drink alcohol but had not seen Skaggs use drugs other than marijuana and that Skaggs showed no outward signs of using drugs. Trout said he was surprised to learn that multiple teammates had been using illicit drugs. Multiple ex-Angels testified at Kay’s 2022 criminal trial that Kay provided them with oxycodone.

Trout testified that he was unaware of players taking illicit drugs or purchasing them from Kay, but he “may have heard” that when a player wanted Viagra, Kay would go to a doctor to handle that.

Trout said that when he became aware that Kay might be using drugs, he limited Kay’s ability to get autographs from Trout to make sure Kay wasn’t “misusing them” — that is, selling autographed material and using the money to buy drugs.

“I made sure when he brought them [autographed items] down, I knew who they were going to,” Trout said.

Before confronting Kay, Trout said he dared the communications employee to do multiple acts deemed as “horseplay” for varying amounts of money, including taking a 90 mph fastball to the body, eating a bug off the clubhouse floor and another crude act.

Trout’s descriptions pointed to the desperate extremes Kay was willing to go for money. Trout said he stopped offering to pay Kay for the acts when clubhouse attendant Kris Constanti suggested Kay was using the money for illicit purposes. Trout was asked in court how he interpreted that.

“The first thing that came to my mind was drugs,” Trout said. “That’s what I got out of it. I don’t know what kind of drugs.”

Trout said he saw Skaggs for the last time on an elevator at the team hotel the night of his death and that he broke down in tears during a team meeting the following day when he learned Skaggs had died.

He recalled Kay asking Trout to speak to the news media, which Trout said “would be tough.” The days after Skaggs’ death included an emotional home game at which Skaggs’ mother, Debbie Hetman, threw out the first pitch. Trout recalled how all the Angels players wore Skaggs jerseys and that Trout hit a home run in his first at-bat during a combined no-hitter for the Angels that night.

“It felt good to hit the homer,” Trout said. “But emotional.”

Hetman sat in the front row of the courtroom Tuesday next to Skaggs’ widow, Carli.

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  Michael RothsteinOct 15, 2025, 09:52 PM ET

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  Michael Rothstein, based in Atlanta, is a reporter on ESPN’s investigative and enterprise team. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein.

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Tim Mead, the former head of communications for the Los Angeles Angels, admitted Wednesday to searching the desk of his former employee, Eric Kay, three times looking for potential illicit drugs or drug paraphernalia in Kay’s final years with the franchise prior to the 2019 death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.

The revelations came during the first day of testimony in the wrongful death civil suit brought by the family of Skaggs against the Angels. Kay, a former communication director for the Angels, had previously been convicted in federal criminal court in 2022 for providing Skaggs the fentanyl-laced pill that led to his overdose in a Texas hotel room and is serving 22 years in prison.

“Three times we went through Eric’s drawers in his desk to look for what it was, I don’t know, but look for a syringe or powder or cutting tool,” said Mead, the trial’s first witness. “I had suspicions and doubts but never found anything. I felt almost relieved I didn’t find something, so I continued to believe what I was being told.”

Whenever Mead discussed Kay’s potential drug issues, he responded by saying that he believed Kay was taking “prescription medication” and mismanaging it while dealing with bipolar disorder and other mental health issues. He said he didn’t have reason to believe Kay was using illicit drugs, but he also said he searched Kay’s desk. Mead said what he was told about Kay’s conditions was bolstered by what Kay and Kay’s family told him about Kay’s issues.

Mead testified about multiple “off days” for Kay, incidents that caused concern but never rose to Mead reporting the behavior to Angels brass. Mead did involve the Angels’ employee assistance program and, at one point in 2017, a human resources employee in an attempt to get Kay help.

The lengthy testimony led to testy exchanges between Mead and the plaintiff’s lead attorney, Rusty Hardin. Late Wednesday, Hardin asked Mead if he played God when it came to decisions with Kay.

“I didn’t play God, counselor,” Mead said in one of the final questions of his first day of testimony. “I tried to help an individual and his family. … And I made decisions based on asking the questions … processing the information I was given.”

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Hardin alternated between painting Mead as a concerned friend and boss and focusing on the unreported incidents. Hardin showed Mead’s concern in multiple text conversations between Mead and Kay’s wife, Camela, about a failed intervention with Kay in 2017 and Kay’s continued erratic behavior.

Mead walked the jury and a crowded courtroom through multiple incidents from 2013 through 2019, including Kay’s hospitalization in 2018 after a problem at Angels stadium where Kay was “sweating and in one of his off periods.” It was, Mead said, the worst he’d seen Kay and when he realized there was a problem he couldn’t handle on his own.

Mead, who left the Angels organization to take a job with the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019, had multiple contentious exchanges with Hardin, including when Mead said he did not recall finding small baggies of drugs in Kay’s home the day after a failed 2017 intervention and when Mead smiled when giving an answer about potential violations of the Angels’ drug policy.

Hardin then asked Mead the meaning of the smile. Mead explained it was about performing in a fit condition. Mead began giving examples of himself taking medication for a head cold and would he be sent home because he wasn’t in peak condition.

Hardin responded: “You know these examples you just gave have nothing to do with what this is about. If Eric Kay was on the job intoxicated at any time, prescribed or not, was that a violation of this policy.”

Mead responded, “Yes sir.”

Mead also recalled a 2013 panic attack Kay had at Yankee Stadium but denied Kay told him at the time he was taking five Vicodin a day. At the time, Mead did alert the Angels’ EAP program about Kay and tried to get him help.

Mead admitted he never required Kay to take a drug test and didn’t ask the Angels about it until Kay began dealing with the club’s EAP program.

Mead testified he never went to human resources with potential complaints against Kay or when Kay exhibited poor decision-making or behavior. That included two incidents with interns: one where Kay had an affair with an Angels intern in another department, and another a few years later when a separate intern complained to Mead about Kay yelling at her.

Mead said he didn’t report the affair because he “looked at it as a very personal issue.” He spoke slowly as he testified about this, saying he instead talked with “both of them about judgment” and how it was “inappropriate.”

In the yelling incident, Mead had the intern write an official letter but reached a resolution with Kay and the intern before submitting it to human resources. Mead held the letter until he left his job.

Mead testified he admonished Kay multiple times over the years for his behavior and decisions. Mead said multiple times he was just trying to help his longtime employee.

At the end of testimony Wednesday, Hardin asked Mead if sometimes good people can be negligent. Mead responded affirmatively. Hardin asked whether people trying to do the right thing can make mistakes. Mead responded affirmatively again.

Then Hardin asked Mead if this “maybe” happened here. Mead said, “No sir, I don’t.”

Mead’s testimony continues Friday when the trial resumes in Orange County Superior Court. The Skaggs family is seeking $118 million in estimated lost wages plus an undetermined amount in damages from the Angels.

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NEW YORK — Following a difficult campaign that saw them miss the playoffs on the seasonâ€s final day, the Mets are significantly shaking up their coaching staff.

Hitting coaches Jeremy Barnes and Eric Chavez and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner are among those who will not return, the team announced. The Mets are also parting ways with bench coach John Gibbons and third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh, while catching instructor Glenn Sherlock is retiring.

Manager Carlos Mendoza, whom the Mets will bring back for the third and final guaranteed year of his contract in 2026, will enter that campaign with a markedly different cast around him.

“Itâ€s normal after any season to do a coaching staff evaluation,†president of baseball operations David Stearns said earlier this week. “When you come off of a disappointing season like this, itâ€s certainly going to be a little more intense.â€

Barnes, 38, had been part of the Mets†hitting program since 2022, after serving one year in a player development role. He became the clubâ€s hitting coach the following season and shared that job with Chavez the past two years. Before that, Chavez, 47, had served as the Mets†bench coach for one season under Buck Showalter.

Under Barnes and Chavez, the Mets finished fifth in the Majors in wRC+ (112), eighth in batting average with runners in scoring position (.260) and tied for ninth in runs per game (4.73).

Hefner, 39, spent six seasons in the organization. Originally hired by Brodie Van Wagenen to serve as Carlos Beltránâ€s pitching coach, Hefner survived multiple front-office and managerial changes to become the Mets†longest-tenured coach.

Last year, Hefner led a surprising Mets pitching staff to a 3.96 ERA, enjoying notable success with free agents Luis Severino and Sean Manaea while also helping establish the organizationâ€s high-tech pitching lab in Port St. Lucie, Fla. But the team took a slight step back this year due in part to a slew of injuries (Manaea, Kodai Senga, Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill, Frankie Montas and A.J. Minter were among those to miss significant time), producing a 4.03 ERA as a staff. That ranked 18th in the Majors.

Assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel and bullpen coach José Rosado have been given permission to speak to other teams, pending the Mets†selection of a new head pitching coach. Itâ€s unclear at this point if either will return.

Gibbons, 63, a former Mets player who later spent two stints managing the Blue Jays, had served as bench coach the past two seasons. His hire before the 2024 campaign was significant because it gave Mendoza, who at the time had no Major League managerial experience, a veteran hand in the dugout.

Sarbaugh, 57, spent two years as third-base coach following an 18-year run in the Guardians organization.

Sherlock, 65, had been the Mets†catching coach for the past four seasons, working closely with Francisco Alvarez and other Mets backstops. He previously served as a base coach for the Mets from 2017-19.

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  Eric KarabellOct 3, 2025, 07:10 AM ET

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  Eric Karabell is a senior writer for fantasy baseball, football and basketball at ESPN. Eric is a charter member of FSWA Hall of Fame and author of “The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments”.

Charlotte Hornets PG LaMelo Ball averaged a career-high 25.2 PPG last season, along with 7.4 APG and 3.8 3PG. Those are major numbers we love in fantasy hoops, but they lack some context.

Deni Avdija and Christian Braun scored more points last season. Bub Carrington and Scotty Pippen Jr. dished out more assists. Gary Trent Jr. drained more 3-pointers. Ultimately, 297 fellows appeared in more NBA games than Ball last season, and 177 played more minutes.

This theme of extreme absence is hardly new for Ball, a wonderful talent who expertly runs an offense and enjoys many strengths, but staying healthy and active is, unfortunately, not among those traits. The No. 3 selection in the 2020 NBA draft played in 51 games as a rookie, then a surprising 75 games in his second season. Over the past three seasons, Ball has played in a total of 105 games. His 2024-25 campaign ended in March with surgeries on his ankle and wrist.

Ball, 24, is productive, but c’mon, 105 games in three seasons? Including playoffs, Indiana Pacers reserves T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin appeared in 102 games last season alone!

Enough about Ball, who is preliminarily going in the third or fourth round. It is optimistic, but with so many durable, productive players on the board, I will pass. We know Ball is a great player, but great players are not enough in fantasy sports. For our purposes in basketball, even in daily leagues in which we can work hard and manipulate volume, we still need more volume and consistency.

Of course, Ball is hardly alone when it comes to missing games. Here are others to fade because their ADP treats them like “this is the year they will play ’em all!”

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• Ja Morant, PG, Memphis Grizzlies (ADP 28.4): From physical ailments to personal issues, Morant has played in 59 games over the past two seasons. He has yet to play more than 68 games in a season. It’s more than that, though. Unlike Ball, Morant scored, rebounded and assisted less last season than he did in 2022-23. Perhaps those numbers rise now that Desmond Bane left town, but a third-round ADP remains too optimistic considering all factors. Morant is a talented player and a nightly highlight reel, but not for enough nights.

• Zion Williamson, PF, New Orleans Pelicans (ADP 35.3): Williamson appeared in only 30 more games than you and me last season. He’s a champ when it comes to scoring production per minute, but again, we need more minutes than what Neemias Queta and Adem Bona provided last season. Williamson appeared in 70 games two seasons ago, but his production was way down. This is not a 30 PPG option. Williamson has never been a relevant rebounder or blocker of shots, and he hurts fantasy teams in free throw percentage. Fade him in the first five rounds, at least, and treat LA Clippers SF Kawhi Leonard similarly. It isn’t only the missed games. Leonard simply does not provide the fantasy numbers most think he does.

• Joel Embiid, C, Philadelphia 76ers (ADP 56.6): This ADP is going to rise in October because it always does. The 76ers will claim their MVP-skilled centerpiece is healthy, and then something will go awry. Embiid played in 19 games last season, mainly due to a left knee injury that never seemed to get better, and his production was way down when he played. Even if he is ready for opening day, the team must be cautious during the season. I will say getting Embiid in the sixth round is quite a feat, even if he plays in only 50 games. Still, let someone else deal with this. Cs Myles Turner and Jalen Duren are going later. Get them.

  Injuries are already a problem

  Paul George has durability issues and is coming off summer knee surgery. Bill Streicher/Imagn Images

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• We don’t know when we will see Dallas Mavericks PG Kyrie Irving, but it won’t be soon. Perhaps you can stash Irving in an injured list spot, but do not invest in the first 100 picks in redraft formats. Irving tore his left ACL in March, and even if he returns to play by the All-Star break in February, he isn’t playing close to every game for a playoff-bound team. Irving last suited up more than 60 times in the 2018-19 campaign.

• Pelicans PG Dejounte Murray tore his right Achilles on New Year’s Eve, and early reports claim he might not debut this season until January. Fantasy managers should not expect typical statistics when he does return. Murray’s scoring was down to 17.5 PPG in his first season with the Pelicans, though we love the assists and steals. Be cautious with expectations. There is a time to stash an injured player, but chances are most fantasy managers will lose patience by Christmas, so the draft pick is wasted.

  At least with Boston Celtics PF Jayson Tatum, Portland Trail Blazers PG Damian Lillard and Indiana Pacers PG Tyrese Haliburton, each of whom tore an Achilles during the NBA playoffs, we can fade them on draft day knowing they will likely miss the entire season. There is no need to stash them. Don’t be fooled by anyone likely to miss the first few months. They almost always miss more time than that.

• Year 1 with the 76ers did not go well for veteran PF Paul George. He is not a durable player to start with, so we could harp on him missing half the season, but he never became comfortable in his new offense. Don’t blame Embiid, either. They barely played together. Overall, George played passively, averaging only 13.9 FGA and scoring 16.2 PPG. Things might not improve much if the 76ers have relative health. George is already on the mend from summer knee surgery, and this should push his start date back and his ADP out of the top 100. We have no problem investing in Ball, Morant, Williamson, Embiid, George and others if their ADP slips. Drafts are about value. George could have value.

  It’s not always about the injuries

• The good thing about New York Knicks SF Mikal Bridges is he never misses a game. Like, really, he plays every single night, and that surely matters in fantasy. The problem is the fantasy numbers aren’t special. Bridges has never contributed many rebounds and assists, and while he is a solid defender, it does not translate to steals and blocked shots. Volume is nice, certainly for points formats, but even a Round 5 ADP remains too generous. His Villanova/Knicks teammate Josh Hart rebounds and passes considerably more, so he is better value.

• New Atlanta Hawks PF Kristaps Porzingis is far from durable and may belong with the injured folks, but he isn’t injured today, at least as far as we know. Porzingis probably isn’t approaching 20 PPG or 7 RPG on this Hawks team, with a PG with super-high usage in Trae Young and emerging C Onyeka Okongwu handling the boards. Porzingis no longer carries a top-50 ADP, but he may disappoint investors several rounds later, too.

• Give new Clippers PF John Collins credit for averaging 19.2 PPG and 8.2 RPG for last season’s Utah Jazz (even if it was only 40 games), but it is hard to see that production coming with his new team. The Clippers also boast a usage-heavy PG in James Harden, scorers in Bradley Beal and Kawhi Leonard, and C Ivica Zubac led the NBA in total rebounds last season. Collins might average numbers like his final season with the Hawks (13.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG), which is fine if you get him later than the first 10 rounds or so.

• New Trail Blazers PG Jrue Holiday has certainly enjoyed a successful career, as he has earned defensive plaudits and won a pair of NBA titles. He just isn’t much of a fantasy option anymore, even with an ADP coming after the 10th round. Perhaps PG Scoot Henderson (No. 3 pick in 2023) will never become a star, but the Blazers must find out. When Portland does move Holiday to a contender in trade, the numbers still won’t match what we remember from his Milwaukee Bucks seasons. We harped on this narrative a year ago in describing Mavericks SG Klay Thompson, and Thompson delivered his worst season since he was a rookie.

• Mavericks SF/PF Cooper Flagg is going to matter in fantasy right away, but he is the exception when it comes to rookies. Most fail to produce fantasy relevant statistics during their first season. Last season, San Antonio Spurs PG Stephon Castle won the Rookie of the Year award, but most of his numbers came after the All-Star break, and he didn’t finish in the top 100 on the Player Rater. Flagg will. He is special. Don’t expect Spurs PG/SG Dylan Harper, 76ers SG VJ Edgecombe or other top draft picks to deliver relevant fantasy statistics in Year 1. Flagg seems likely to be overdrafted in most every league, as it would be surprising if he matches most of his Duke stats initially (19.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.4 BPG), but he should be good enough.

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Veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks reportedly declined an offer to join the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad this week.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday that Kendricks was visiting with the Ravens before following up Wednesday with a report that Kendricks turned down a contract that would have seen him start out on the practice squad.

Pelissero added that Kendricks is “in peak shape now and determined to keep playing” after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery.

Originally selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft out of UCLA, Kendricks is now a 10-year veteran in the league.

He spent his first eight seasons in Minnesota, earning the only Pro Bowl and First Team All-Pro selections of his career in 2019 when he recorded 110 tackles and a career-high 12 passes defended.

Once his run in Minnesota came to an end, Kendricks spent 2023 with the Los Angeles Chargers and last season with the Dallas Cowboys.

The 33-year-old remained productive, racking up 117 tackles and 3.5 sacks with the Chargers before following up with 138 tackles, three sacks and three forced fumbles last season in Dallas.

Kendricks became a potential option for the Ravens this week after the team piled up a multitude of defensive injuries during their Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Star middle linebacker Roquan Smith was arguably the biggest among them, as a hamstring ailment suffered during the first half ruled him out for the rest of the game. The Ravens were also without veteran linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who missed the game with a hamstring injury.

If Smith and Van Noy are unable to play against the Houston Texans on Sunday, it would leave the Ravens with rookie fourth-round pick Teddye Buchanan, 2023 third-round pick Trenton Simpson and former undrafted player Jake Hummel as their best options at linebacker.

Kendricks would have provided some much-needed experience and leadership, although it sounds like the Ravens wanted to ease him in rather than placing him directly on the active roster.

As teams become more desperate due to injuries over the course of the season, it is possible Kendricks could receive offers to bypass practice squads in the not-too-distant future.

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AJ Styles is set to hang up his boots soon. The former WWE Champion announced that he would be retiring in 2026, following the retirememt tour of fellow former champion John Cena. In a new interview with “Busted Open,” one of Styles’s compatriots from WWE and TNA, Eric Young, had high praise for the former TNA X Division Champion.

“You could argue that he’s maybe one of, if not the best, to do it, bell-to-bell, ever,” Young said. “And for me, more importantly, he’s an unbelievable man, you know? A good person. And he’s never changed. He’s the exact same AJ Styles that I met in 2004. Smarter. Maybe not quite as athletic or as quick. We’re all gonna slow down, AJ. Sorry about that. The guy’s got a legacy a mile long.”

Young says that AJ has a case to be on a pro wrestling “Mount Rushmore.” Young doesn’t feel there are many wrestlers who could squeeze Styles out of his top 4 or 5 list.

“Most importantly, he’s just an unbelievable human being, and I’m proud to call him my friend,” Young gushed.

Styles is set to face John Cena one last time, as the two former WWE Champions will battle in Australia at the upcoming WWE Crown Jewel event. Cena had been paying homage to Styles in his retirement matches, and both men had bemoaned not wrestling each other as a way to gin up fan interest in the match without using up Cena’s few remaining appearances.

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The nWo might still be one of the most iconic factions in pro wrestling history, but its mastermind, Eric Bischoff, isnâ€t seeing a dime from its continued merch success. Even in 2025, nWo shirts are among WWEâ€s top sellers—but Bischoff says heâ€s left completely out of the payday.

On a recent episode of 83 Weeks, Bischoff opened up about the irony of creating the nWo and watching others cash in while he remains empty-handed. He explained that as a Turner Broadcasting executive, he never had ownership rights to the factionâ€s intellectual property. Setting the record straight, Bischoff explained why he doesnâ€t earn royalties from nWo merchandise:

“Yeah, thatâ€s, you know, when the original idea—when I came up with it—and was involved in it, I was an employee of Turner Broadcasting. As an employee, especially as an officer, as President, I didnâ€t get royalties on anything. I got a salary. It was a good salary. I got stock options. I got a lot of other cool s** that talent didnâ€t get. But I didnâ€t get royalties.â€*

While Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan, and Kevin Nash all scored lucrative WWE deals that included cuts of merch sales, Bischoff stayed behind the scenes. That decision may have cost him long-term.

“And I didnâ€t go over with Scott and Kevin and Hulk to WWE during the time period weâ€re talking about. Had I been a part of that group, I would be getting royalties because I would have gone on board and gotten a cut of the nWo merch just like they did. But I wasnâ€t. I wasnâ€t a part of it.â€

Bischoff added that Kevin Nash isnâ€t shy about sharing just how much the nWo brand still pays off:

“So I get to sit back and have Kevin tell me each and every time he gets a six-figure check for his nWo merch.â€

Despite being the man behind the curtain who launched the revolutionary faction that helped change wrestling in the late ‘90s, Bischoff remains cut off from its financial legacy. Meanwhile, Nash and others continue to profit from a brand that wouldnâ€t exist without Bischoffâ€s vision.

Wrestling fans might wear the black and white proudly, but the man who created it? Heâ€s still watching from the sidelines—without a royalty check.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.

Do you think Eric Bischoff deserves to be paid for n Wo merch? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.

September 28, 2025 8:37 am

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