Browsing: Joe

The Toronto Blue Jays had some fun in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners with the unc memes featuring Max Scherzer, Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco.

Following their 8-2 win over Seattle, the Blue Jays posted the graphic with the age and experience of all three legends from their sport and captioned it, “the Unc-tion did NOT disappoint” with the saluting emoji.

There were plenty of jokes leading up to the Thursday night NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals featuring Rodgers and Flacco as the starting quarterbacks.

Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward, dubbed the quarterback matchup the “Icy Hot Bowl” earlier in the week. The NFL game turned out to be a thriller, with Flacco throwing for 342 yards and three touchdowns in Cincinnati’s 33-31 upset win.

Scherzer wasn’t even certain to make a start in the postseason. He was left off Toronto’s roster for the ALDS against the New York Yankees because of his 5.19 ERA during the regular season.

The Blue Jays tabbed Scherzer, whose last appearance was on Sept. 24, to be their Game 4 starter in Seattle trailing 2-1 in the series. He answered the call with two runs allowed in 5.2 innings to help the team get the victory and even the series at two games apiece.

If this ends up being the last game for Scherzer in 2025, he will be going out on a high note.

The Blue Jays have rebounded after losing the first two games against the Mariners at home. The two teams will play Game 5 in Seattle on Friday at 6:08 p.m. ET before the series shifts back to Toronto.

Source link

It was a night of veteran quarterbacks going vintage, as Joe Flacco and Aaron Rodgers combined for 591 yards and seven touchdowns in the Cincinnati Bengals’ 33-31 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Flacco threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns, completing 31-of-47 passes. He connected with Ja’Marr Chase for a touchdown, with Chase totaling 161 yards, while Tee Higgins added a score on 96 yards and Noah Fant also found the end zone. Chase Brown rushed for 108 yards on the night.

Rodgers battled, finishing with 249 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions, completing 23-of-34 passes. He connected with Pat Freiermuth for two touchdowns covering 111 yards and threw a touchdown to Jonnu Smith. DK Metcalf added 50 receiving yards on three catches.

With the home win, the Bengals improved to 3-4 on the season, snapping a four-game losing streak. Meanwhile, the Steelers dropped to 4-2, suffering their first loss in three games.

Fans praised the two veterans for putting on a show in an epic match on Thursday night.Â

The Steelers struck first in the opening quarter, with Rodgers connecting with Smith for a touchdown on their opening drive to take a 7-0 lead.

Cincinnati lit up the second quarter, scoring on all three possessions and forcing turnovers on two of Pittsburgh’s drives, limiting the Steelers to just a field goal.Â

Rodgers threw two interceptions, while Flacco connected with Chase and Higgins and added a field goal, giving the Bengals a 17-10 lead at halftime.

The Bengals controlled the clock after the break, adding a field goal, and Rodgers responded with a touchdown pass to Freiermuth to cut the deficit to three heading into the fourth quarter.Â

Flacco connected with Fant early in the fourth for a touchdown, but Rodgers answered with a score to Washington to keep the game within three. A field goal by Cincinnati later extended their lead to 30-24.

A 68-yard pass to Freiermuth with 2:21 left gave the Steelers a late 31-30 lead. However, with time on the clock and a deep connection from Flacco to Higgins set up the Bengals in field-goal range and Evan McPherson drilled the game-winning kick.

Rodgers and the Steelers will face his former team, the Green Bay Packers, at home next Sunday, Oct. 26, while Flacco and the Bengals host the New York Jets on the same day.

Source link

Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla says Tuesday’s pickup game between coaches and media was no laughing matter.

Clips of the game, in which media members were outscored 57-4, went viral as commenters reacted to Mazzulla’s decision to pit reporters against a team stocked with former NBA and college basketball players.

“It’ll be laughed at and joked about, but it means a lot more to humanize. We have too many interactions where it’s coach and everyone’s doing their job,” Mazzulla told reporters Thursday, per Celtics Blog’s Noa Dalzell.

Mazzulla continued, “So if anything, we have to do it more, because it humanizes the competition, and I realize how much you guys really like the game and care about it, so I hope that it doesn’t drag on as something that’s funny, it’s something that was serious.

“I meant that, and that was important that we did that yesterday. And we’ll do it again.”

In her story recounting the game, Dalzell described the dominance displayed by Mazzulla and his teammates including former NBA players Phil Pressey and Da’Sean Butler.

“To describe it as a disaster for us reporters would be an understatement,” Dalzell wrote. “The sheer gap in athleticism — speed, size, instincts, you name it — felt so insurmountable that I can hardly pinpoint what even went down.”

But Mazzulla pointed to what he described as a “shove” by Boston Sports Journal’s John Karalis on Hardwood Houdini’s Jack Simone as an example of what media members and the Celtics coaches had in common.

“It’s no different than me getting pissed at [Simone’s] question the other day,” Mazzulla said, per Dalzell. “It’s a competitive reaction to the thing that’s going on.”

According to Dalzell, Tuesday’s pickup game was originally scheduled to only be played between media members. If Mazzulla’s comments are any indication, there could now be more media-coaches matchups in the future.

Mazzulla will now turn his attention to the start of the 2025-26 regular season, which his team will be entering without injured star Jayson Tatum. Jaylen Brown will be set to lead the Celtics into next Wednesday’s season opener against the visiting Philadelphia 76ers.

Source link

AEW/Triller TV

Samoa Joe and The Opps retained the AEW World Trios Championship in the main event of Wednesday’s “AEW Dynamite” portion of the three-hour broadcast, with Samoa Joe submitting Dralistico in front of his WrestleDream opponent for the World Championship.Â

The Opps, Joe, Katsuyori Shibata, and Powerhouse Hobbs, were defending their titles for the fourth time in their 183-day reign against LFI’s Rush, Dralistico, and The Beast Mortos, while World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page sat on commentary for the bout; Page will defend his title against Joe during this weekend’s WrestleDream event, with things getting heated between them after they had teamed up to oust the Death Riders.Â

The match itself saw back-and-forth action prior to the closing stretch, with all three of the Opps getting their digs in before Joe finally tagged in, dropping Dralistico with a powerslam before locking in the Coquina Clutch to secure the win.Â

After the bell, LFI attacked the champions before they had a chance to celebrate. Page then got involved, fighting Mortos off and looking for the Buckshot Lariat to Rush, but Sammy Guevara pulled him from the ring before Page could deliver the move. Joe then picked up the World Championship belt, handing it off to Page with force before walking off with his teammates to close the segment.Â

Source link

SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

HOUSEKEEPING

• Konosuke Takeshita defeated Zack Sabre Jr. at King of Pro Wrestling to become the new IWGP World Champion.

• Speaking of new champions, Mercedes Moné traveled to Denmark last Friday where she won the Bodyslam Pro Wrestling Womenâ€s Title. This win gives her a tenth championship, tying her with Ultimo Dragon. It also means that the Womenâ€s World Tag Team Titles could suddenly be interesting as it could be the one that breaks the record.

• Kota Ibushi suffered a broken femur after falling from Josh Alexanderâ€s shoulders on the turnbuckle to the floor during their match on Collision. This is just the latest in a series of injuries the Golden Star has endured the last few years. What makes this one particularly sad is that Ibushi had practically turned back the hands of time since returning in July and looked the most like his old self that he has in years. Now this setback. Hereâ€s wishing him all the best.

INTRO

Itâ€s another PPV week which means tonight is another go-home show. AEW always delivers when it comes to these and I have no doubt they will again tonight.

How Far Will They Go?

Latest Developments

Darby Allin closed out last weekâ€s Dynamite by threatening the Death Riders with a Molotov Cocktail before security intervened.

Analysis

Just when it seemed like things couldnâ€t possibly escalate much further in the war between Darby Allin and the Death Riders, Darby showed up at the end of last weekâ€s Dynamite loaded for battle. After helping cost Pac his match against Orange Cassidy, he was prepared for the inevitable Death Riders attack. He sprayed Jon Moxley with pepper spray, tasered Wheeler Yuta, and then pulled out a actual Molotov Cocktail and dared the Death Riders to come after him. Before he could light it, however, he was tackled by security and in the process dropped the bottle which shattered. The show went off the air with both sides being restrained by security.

Later in the week, in a video widely shared on social media, Darby attacked Mox while he was appearing at a NYC Comic-Con panel.
Suffice to say, this feud is out of control. The I Quit match this Saturday will most certainly not be for the weak at heart. These two are capable of damn near anything and who knows what they might do to each other to force someone to say “I quit.” I mean weâ€ve seen flamethrowers, tasers, pepper spray, and Molotov Cocktails in the lead up. I shudder to imagine what will unfold once the bell rings.

I do believe that Darby has to win the match, though. He has to get his definitive win over Mox and end the issue once and for all. The problem is that the Death Riders arenâ€t going anywhere even though they probably should. If they are going to stay around, then there has to be a significant change within the group. Mox literally saying “I quit” should be catalyst to him getting supplanted as leader of the Death Riders by Pac. Mox can go away for awhile and The Death Riders can get a new look and new mission statement with Pac at the helm.

Grade: B

To Legitimize a Champion

Latest Developments

Kris Statlander and Toni Storm will have a final war of words as they prepare to do battle one-on-one for the very first time at WrestleDream.

Analysis

Storm and Statlander teamed with Harley Cameron to face the Triangle of Madness in a six-woman tag team match on Collision. The match was good. Aside from continuing to build the Triangle of Madness, the purpose of this match was to see if Stat and Storm could effectively work together ahead of their match. For the most part, they did. Things almost broke down when Julia Hart ducked a kick and Stat almost clocked Storm. The resulting stare down led to both women getting taken out of the match and Harley being pinned.

On tonightâ€s Dynamite, Stat and Storm are scheduled to have a promo segment dubbed “Famous Last Words.” Obviously, talking is not Statlanderâ€s strong suit but she managed to hold her own thus far largely because Toni has gone out of her way not to overshadow her verbally. I hope thatâ€s the case tonight.

As far as the match goes, I expect both women to be motivated to put on a strong showing. The whole point of the match is to legitimize Statlanderâ€s unexpected title win last month, so I expect her to go over Toni in clean and convincing fashion.

Grade: B+

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

Check out the latest episode of the “All Elite Conversation Club” with Joel Dehnel and Gregg Kanner, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch†on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)

A Fight for Respect

Latest Developments

Samoa Joe and “Hangman” Page defined their match as one to prove Hangman is a worthy champion.

Analysis

Hangman addressed the confusing way the match came about during the face-to-face promo with Joe last week. Both men are such masters on the mic that they were able to overcome the way the match was initially set and up and really sell this match as another step in Hangman proving his worthiness as champion.

This match will be good, no doubt. I just hope that Hangman gets a real feud to sink his teeth into next. Opponents of the Month are fine for heel champions like Jon Moxley. Hangman is better when he’s focused in on an opponent.

Grade: B-

The Family That Preys

Latest Developments

The Don Callis Family continued its eternal war with Kenny Omega and battle against the Conglomeration as the internal tension between Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita continued to mount.

Analysis

After the gruesome injury to Ibushi, Omega ran down to aid his best friend. Mark Davis made his return to the DCF and got a trash can to the head from Omega as a welcome back present. Later in the show, Jack Perry approached Omega in his locker room and attempted to make peace. Omega was understandably reluctant given Perryâ€s role in the Elite’s assault on him, but agreed to team up with Jurassic Express to test the waters. Given that Andrade has a prior engagement, he canâ€t be Omegaâ€s opponent on Saturday. That leaves an opening on Omegaâ€s dance card. My vote is for Hechicero. That match could be incredible.

Elsewhere, the Don Callis Family is also feuding with The Conglomeration – specifically Fletcher feuding with Mark Briscoe. The two will have the fifth match of their series at WrestleDream where Fletcher will almost certainly retain his TNT Title.

Perhaps the most interesting thing going on with The Family is the tension between Okada and Takeshita. They won the right to fight Brodido for the tag titles last week and things were extremely awkward then. Since then, Takeshita went and won the IWGP Title.

In a video released to social media, the Don Callis Family gathered to celebrate Don’s birthday. Takeshita, fresh off his title win, sent in a video with his birthday wishes, but Okada “accidentally” cut it off midway through, barely disguising his disdain. How will these two be able to work together and when will the jealousy and animosity boil over? Those are the pressing questions for this weekend.

Grade: B+

Source link

Media covering the Boston Celtics were supposed to play a pickup game among themselves at Boston’s practice facility on Tuesday. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla had other plans.

Editor’s Picks

1 Related

The Celtics told reporters that they could use the Auerbach Center courts for a media game after practice. When asked about the game, Mazzulla shared news of a change.

“Don’t want to break it to you, but you’re not playing against each other. You’re playing against the coaches,” he told reporters.

The game went exactly how one would anticipate it to go. Mazzulla and his staff dominated the 12-minute game, winning 57-4.

Mazzulla’s staff includes multiple former NBA players such as 6-foot-9 forward Amile Jefferson, guard Phil Pressey, 6-7 forward Da’Sean Butler, who is Mazulla’s former college teammate, and God Shammgod. Mazzulla — a four-year player at West Virginia — suited up, too.

Celtics stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum watched from above the practice court.

“It’s hard to even describe what went down in the game. To describe it as a disaster for us reporters would be an understatement. The sheer gap in athleticism — speed, size, instincts, you name it — felt so insurmountable that I can hardly pinpoint what even went down,” Celtics on CNLS reporter Noa Dalzell wrote. “I’d love to take a look at a box score, but the amount of live-ball turnovers we accrued would probably make me sick.”

The media members eventually played their pickup game afterward. The white team defeated the green team 25-22 — a stark contrast from the earlier contest.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Source link

In a recent interview with STL Sports Central, former AEW World Champion Samoa Joe gave a candid assessment of his time with the company’s top title. When asked if he felt his reign “left a lot to be desired.”

Joe stated that any time a wrestler is not holding the world title, it should be viewed as a personal failure and a source of motivation. “Oh, you’d be absolutely correct,” he said. “Anytime that you are not the possessor of the AEW World Championship, you should be taking it personally.â€

While acknowledging that his championship run did not reach the heights he had hoped for, Joe made it clear that he views the situation as unfinished business that he fully intends to resolve in the future. “So yes, 100% correct, it was not what we would hope it would be, but like all things in the future, this too can be amended,” he stated.

Samoa Joe won the AEW World Championship from MJF at the Worlds End pay-per-view in December 2023. He held the title for 113 days before losing it to Swerve Strickland in a three-way match that also included “Hangman” Adam Page at the Dynasty event in April 2024.

Since losing the championship, Joe has remained a dominant presence in AEW. He will challenge Page for the World Title at WrestleDream this Saturday.

Source link

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was among the masses who were caught off-guard by the Cleveland Browns sending veteran quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals in a rare in-division trade last week.

“It was shocking to me,” Tomlin said Monday, per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “[Browns general manager] Andrew Berry must be a lot smarter than me or us because it doesn’t make sense to me to trade a quarterback that you think enough of to be a day 1 starter to a divisional opponent.”

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked about Tomlin’s criticism of the Flacco trade on Monday, and he told reporters, “I don’t have a comment on that.”

Cleveland had benched Flacco and inserted rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel as the starter in Week 5. Rather than holding onto the aging vet, the Browns traded him to the Bengals, who were struggling at the quarterback position after losing star signal-caller Joe Burrow to toe surgery.

The Steelers easily handled the Flacco-less Browns with a 23-9 win on Sunday. Gabriel completed 29 of his 52 passes for 221 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions while being sacked six times.

Rather than facing Flacco with Cleveland on Sunday, Pittsburgh will meet its old nemesis when it faces Cincinnati on Thursday Night Football to kick off Week 7. In his Bengals debut, Flacco threw for 219 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions on 29-of-45 passing in Sunday’s 27-18 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The Steelers will be seeking their fourth straight win on Thursday, so it can be expected that Tomlin will have his players amped up to take on Flacco and the Bengals as they try to continue to establish supremacy in the AFC North.

Source link

It wasnâ€t exactly a secret what the Brooklyn Nets†goal was for this season: They used all five of their first-round picks last June, then this summer they traded or let walk Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Dennis Schroder and Dâ€Angelo Russell. Brooklyn is going to lean into Cam Thomas — playing for his next contract on the qualifying offer — and Michael Porter Jr. to drive their offense.

But if you had any doubts about the plan, here is what team owner Joe Tsai said while on the All-In podcast (hat tip RealGM).

“I have to say weâ€re in a rebuilding year. We spent all of our pick (in the 2025 NBA Draft). We had five first-round draft picks this past summer …

“We have one [first-round] pick in 2026, and we hope to get a good pick. So, you can predict what kind of strategy we will use for this season. But we have a very young team.â€

This upcoming NBA Draft is considered a strong draft at the top with Darryn Peterson (Kansas), A.J. Dybantsa (BYU) and Cameron Boozer (Duke) all in the mix for the No. 1 pick, with some other real talent such as Nate Ament (Tennessee), Mikel Brown (Louisville) and Tounde Yessoufou (Baylor) worth keeping an eye on.

Brooklyn isnâ€t the only team starting this season with an eye toward the draft, the same idea is playing out in Utah and Washington, and you can be sure a few other teams with long-shot postseason hopes will be pivoting to the strategy early.

The Nets control their own pick this season, but in 2027 the Houston Rockets have swap rights. Starting in 2028, the Nets will have their own first-round picks and/or first-round picks or swaps coming in from the Knicks, 76ers and Nuggets.

Source link

SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

SHOW SUMMARY:PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents the Tuesday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast with guest co-host PWTorch columnist and PWTorch podcast host Greg Parks. They discuss these topics:

• Did Samoa Joe or A.J. Styles build a more impressive body of work in their careers?
• Thoughts on “Hangman” Page vs Samoa Joe, the build so far and the match
• Thoughts on John Cena vs. A.J. Styles, the build and what to expect in the match
• A preview of TNA Bound for Glory
• Analysis of the Don Callis Family
• Reaction to the NXT vs. TNA Showdown special on Tuesday
• What is WWE getting out of this TNA alliance? Is there a master plan or end game?
• And more

FREE VERSION:AUDIO LINK

AD-FREE VIP VERSION:ÂVIP AUDIO LINK

NOT VIP? NO PROBLEM… CLICK HERE FOR VIP SIGN UP INFO

OTHER LINKS…

Or support us on Patreon…

–

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel…

–

–

Emails…

wadekellerpodcast@gmail.com

kellerwade@gmail.com

pwtorch@gmail.com

Source link