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  • Big Ten basketball results and standings: Wisconsin continues to win, where do they stand

    Big Ten basketball results and standings: Wisconsin continues to win, where do they stand

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    Feb 9, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Rollie Worster (24) celebrates after a three point basket against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
    Feb 9, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Rollie Worster (24) celebrates after a three point basket against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

    The Big Ten continues to provide the drama of college basketball every single week. This week was no exception, as we had some chaotic results. There’s not a safe place to play in the entire Big Ten, especially for a team on the road. Wisconsin was able to get a week with a 2-0 result and move to a more stable position in the Big Ten standings. They stay within striking difference of the top of the standings, though there’s a new leader to chase down.

    Big Ten Results

    Tuesday, February 4

    Wisconsin over Indiana 76-64
    Purdue over Iowa 90-81
    UCLA over Michigan State 63-61
    Minnesota over Penn State 69-61
    Northwestern over USC 77-75

    Wednesday, February 5

    Nebraska over Washington 86-72
    Rutgers over Illinois 82-73
    Michigan over Oregon 80-76

    Thursday, February 6

    Ohio State over Maryland 73-70

    Friday, February 7

    Purdue over USC 90-72

    Saturday, February 8

    Wisconsin over Iowa 74-63
    Washington over Northwestern 76-71
    Michigan State over Oregon 86-74
    Illinois over Minnesota 95-74
    Michigan over Indiana 70-67
    UCLA over Penn State 78-54

    Sunday, February 9

    Maryland over Rutgers 90-81
    Nebraska over Ohio State 79-71

    Team

    Big Ten Record

    Overall Record

    Purdue Boilermakers

    11-2

    19-5

    Michigan State Spartans

    10-2

    19-4

    Michigan Wolverines

    10-2

    18-5

    UCLA Bruins

    9-4

    18-6

    Wisconsin Badgers

    9-4

    19-5

    Maryland Terrapins

    8-5

    18-6

    Illinois Fighting Illini

    8-6

    16-8

    Nebraska Cornhuskers

    6-7

    16-8

    Ohio State Buckeyes

    6-7

    14-10

    USC Trojans

    5-7

    13-10

    Indiana Hoosiers

    5-8

    14-10

    Oregon Ducks

    5-8

    16-8

    Rutgers Scarlet Knights

    5-8

    12-12

    Iowa Hawkeyes

    4-8

    13-10

    Northwestern Wildcats

    4-9

    13-11

    Minnesota Golden Gophers

    4-9

    12-12

    Washington Huskies

    3-9

    12-11

    Penn State Nittany Lions

    3-10

    13-11

    The Wisconsin Badgers still stay tied at fourth this week, but with only one team now, UCLA. The Bruins technically have the tie-breaker with a victory over the Badgers. They won’t have much opportunity this week to make ground up on their two games back from the lead. However, they can cut it by a full game if they win their only game this week. That game is against Purdue on Saturday.

    The next set of games is going to be challenging for the Badgers. They will see Purdue, a top-10 matchup, followed by Illinois which was a frustrating game UW lost earlier this season. If the Badgers can come out of those two games with at least one win, it’ll be important for their resume and their season standings. A win in both would be gigantic.

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  • NFL analyst takes opportunity to fully own bad Jahmyr Gibbs take in-person

    NFL analyst takes opportunity to fully own bad Jahmyr Gibbs take in-person

     everywhere. Some of it was from the “positional value” truthers, while others noted the signing of David Montgomery in free agency and/or the fact D’Andre Swift was still on the roster. Drafting Gibbs did remove any leverage the Lions might have had in trade talks about Swift.

    Even months after the Lions drafted Gibbs, there were takes that have aged incredibly poorly after he has earned two Pro Bowl selections in as many seasons with double-digit rushing touchdowns in both campaigns.

    Some people thought the pivot from Swift and Jamaal Williams to Montgomery and Gibbs was inconsequential-or that Montgomery was a downgrade from Williams.

    It’s easy to be shown as wrong with the benefit of hindsight, and if you cover sports long enough (or not long at all) you’ll end up wrong sometimes. But it’s rare to get an opportunity to own a bad take in front of the person you had the bad take about.

    NFL analyst owns bad Jahmyr Gibbs take, in-person

    Montgomery and Gibbs did the promotional circuit together on behalf of Bounty this week in New Orleans. On “NFL Daily” with Gregg Rosenthal and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, Rosenthal took ownership of a bad tweet after the Lions drafted Gibbs.

    “You guys are the subject of the worst tweet I ever had”, Rosenthal said, after saying he wanted to make an apology. “And Lions fans have never let me forget it…”

    Here is the offending tweet, from April 29, 2023.

    Any screenshots that are out there would make sure it lived forever in infamy, but Rosenthal has never deleted the tweet and after talking to Gibbs and Montgomery he noted how he apologized in person.

    It was actually Montgomery who said Rosenthal needed to “eat that for a lot longer”, after he “pleaded” for them to have Lions fans get off his back. Gibbs said “that should stay on ya” and joked that Rosenthal must be “standing on it” if he hasn’t deleted the tweet.

    Here’s the clip.

    Bad sports takes usually live without whoever gave them having to own it in-person. The NFL convention that is “Radio Row” during Super Bowl week gave Rosenthal a unique opportunity to own up to his bad take about Gibbs (and Montgomery). Good for him, but it also seems the Lions’ running back duo relished their opportunity to have fun with Rosenthal about it.

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  • One star is EXTREMELY unhappy at Rashford’s Aston Villa arrival

    One star is EXTREMELY unhappy at Rashford’s Aston Villa arrival

     

    The welcome Marcus Rashford received on his first appearance for Aston Villa showed exactly how fans feel about their club’s highest-profile signing for many years.

    Rashford’s story is still to be written here and a second-half substitute appearance against a struggling Tottenham side provided few clues about how it will unfold. One thing is clear, though: between now and the end of the season, Rashford will feel the love.

    When the on-loan Manchester United forward replaced Donyell Malen in the second half, Villa Park erupted.

    This was the noise we usually hear when one of the 1982 European Cup-winning team appears on the pitch, or one of today’s stars returns after a long absence. Loan players are not usually treated this way yet Rashford is no ordinary loan player.

    Thanks also to his campaigning work during the Covid-19 pandemic, when he fought to end child food poverty, Rashford is one of the country’s most famous footballers, his every move scrutinised accordingly.

    Villa Park might be less than 100 miles from Old Trafford but compared with his exile from the United squad and the barbs from Ruben Amorim, the West Midlands must have felt like the other side of the world.

    TRENDINGRashford had not played since December 12 and is still regaining fitness and confidence yet he did enough in his half-hour showing to suggest he can help Villa this term – even though his arrival has created issues elsewhere. 

    Because in signing him, Villa have made at least one of their players extremely unhappy.When Malen joined the club from Borussia Dortmund last month, part of the attraction was the chance to play in the Champions League. 

    Malen, who cost nearly £21million, featured for the German giants in last season’s Final, when Dortmund were beaten by Real Madrid, and was eager to go far in the competition again.

    So we can only imagine Malen’s mood when he was told last week by Villa boss Unai Emery that he would not feature in Europe this season. UEFA rules permit clubs to add only three winter signings to their Champions League squads and Emery went for Rashford and fellow loan signings Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi. That left Malen and Andres Garcia as the odd men out.

    Garcia has rarely played at the top level and the defender, who signed from Spanish second-tier club Levante, could have few complaints. Yet Malen, with 51 European appearances to his name, is a different kettle of fish.

    Emery effectively admitted Malen was furious to be omitted but this was an early chance for the 26-year-old to show his manager the error of his ways.

    With Ollie Watkins injured, Jhon Duran sold to Al-Nassr and Rashford and Asensio starting on the bench, Malen was deployed through the middle alongside Morgan Rogers.

     

    Played by Leon Bailey in the 14th minute, Malen fired wildly over. When Rogers powered through Spurs’ empty midfield and saw his effort saved by Antonin Kinsky, Malen rushed at the loose ball and put into the North Stand again.

    He was then screamed at by Youri Tielemans for trying to score from a tight angle rather than square for the Belgian, who was unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box.

    Malen’s final contribution was to set up the second goal for Rogers, who is Villa’s one automatic pick in attack. It falls to Malen, Bailey, Watkins and the others to carve out a niche alongside him.

  • DeVonta Smith makes college football, NFL history in Super Bowl LIX

    DeVonta Smith makes college football, NFL history in Super Bowl LIX

     

    Former Alabama star and current Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith joins a very short list of elite players after winning the Super Bowl.

     

    Ex-Alabama and current Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith made college football and NFL history in the Super Bowl game.

    Ex-Alabama and current Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith made college football and NFL history in the Super Bowl game.

    DeVonta Smith made all kinds of history as the Philadelphia Eagles clobbered the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, thwarting pro football’s first would-be three-peat, and putting his own name in the record books in the process.

     

    By catching a 46-yard touchdown from quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Eagles wide receiver became the first player drafted from Alabama to score a touchdown in a Super Bowl game.

     

    Granted, a few Alabama players have been responsible for touchdowns in a Super Bowl before ─ notably quarterbacks like Bart Starr, Joe Namath, and Ken Stabler ─ but the NFL doesn’t technically count touchdown passes as individual points credited to a player, and thus, not to a college.

     

    But not only that, Smith also became the fifth player ever and the first wide receiver in history to…

     

     

    Alabama produced four Heisman Trophy winning players during Nick Saban’s head coaching career, but Smith is the first Crimson Tide alum to complete this historic trifecta.

     

    Smith is also the Alabama record-holder in three critical categories, finishing his collegiate career with 235 total receptions, 3,965 receiving yards, and 46 receiving touchdowns.

     

    He completed his legendary Crimson Tide career by catching 117 passes for 1,856 yards and scoring 23 touchdowns during Bama’s national title run in 2020.

     

    From there, Smith was selected as the No. 10 overall pick in the NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, the first step towards his becoming a Super Bowl champion.

     

    Over his NFL career leading up to this year’s Super Bowl game, Smith has 308 catches for 4,011 yards and 27 touchdowns over four seasons.

     

    Who are the other players to win a national championship, the Heisman Trophy, and the Super Bowl? It’s a very short list.

     

    Tony Dorsett: The legendary running back won the national championship at Pittsburgh in the 1976 season, rushing for 2,150 yards and 22 touchdowns, the same year he won the Heisman Trophy.

     

    The No. 2 overall draft pick to Dallas the next year, Dorsett went on to win Super Bowl XII with the Dallas Cowboys in 1977 while rushing for over 1,000 yards and earning Rookie of the Year honors.

     

    Marcus Allen: The former running back was on a national championship team at USC in the 1978 football season, one that is recognized by the Coaches Poll, when he was backup to Heisman running back Charles White.

     

    Allen then won the Heisman himself in the 1981 season after rushing for a career-high 2,342 yards and 22 touchdowns. He went on to win Super Bowl XVIII with the Los Angeles Raiders after the 1983 season, defeating the Washington Redskins, 38-9.

     

    Charles Woodson: The cornerback won the Heisman Trophy as a rare defensive honoree in 1997, the same year he and Michigan won a share of the national championship.

     

    Woodson won Super Bowl XLV as a member of the Green Bay Packers and finished his Hall of Fame career in a three-way tie for the most defensive touchdowns in NFL history.

     

    Reggie Bush: The former USC tailback won the Heisman after his 1,740 yard performance in the 2005 season.

     

    USC won a share of the national championship in 2003 — AP voters broke with the BCS despite LSU winning the designated title game and named the Trojans the No. 1 team in the country — and another title in 2004, and then Bush won Super Bowl XLIV with the New Orleans Saints in 2009.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Devonta Smith made unbelievable Alabama Crimson Tide history in Super Bowl LIX win with his touchdown for Eagles

    Devonta Smith made unbelievable Alabama Crimson Tide history in Super Bowl LIX win with his touchdown for Eagles

     

     

    Devonta Smith and the Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl LIX champions. And while that’s special for Eagles fans everywhere, how the game played out is even more unbelievable for wide receiver Devonta Smith and the Alabama Crimson Tide history that he made!

     

    Believe it or not when Devonta Smith scored his long touchdown on a perfect pass from Eagles (and former Alabama) quarterback Jalen Hurts it was the first time ever that a player drafted out of Alabama had scored a rushing or receiving touchdown in a Super Bowl!

     

    Yes, Jalen Hurts had scored rushing touchdowns in Super Bowl(s) and did so on Sunday too, but he finished his career with Oklahoma, so that doesn’t technically count. Still, it was special to see two former Alabama greats connect on the dagger touchdown score, sealing the Super Bowl LIX win for the Eagles before the third quarter was even over.

     

    And while the touchdown was special enough, it wasn’t the only NFL history that Devonta Smith made in Super Bowl LIX. He became the first Alabama player to ever win a Heisman, national championship, and a Super Bowl!

     

    Only one other player in the history of the NFL had done that too. Marcus Allen won the Heisman Trophy in 1981, a national championship with USC in 1978, and then won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1984.

     

    Allen of course went on to make it into the Hall of Fame. Could that be in the future for Devonta Smith?

     

    It’s still quite early in Devonta Smith’s NFL career, but he’s represented the Alabama Crimson Tide well as a star wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles. Smith already has over 4000 yards and 27 touchdowns (in the regular season) through just four seasons of NFL play. Now he adds Super Bowl champion to his already unbelievable resume. Smith, still just 26 years old, has plenty of time to make much more history here soon, but for now it’s just time to celebrate. Congrats, Devonta.

     

     

  • Marcus Rashford’s instant Villa debut impact speaks volumes after Man Utd exile

    Marcus Rashford’s instant Villa debut impact speaks volumes after Man Utd exile

     

    After nearly 60 days without kicking a ball, Marcus Rashford made his Aston Villa debut in the FA Cup against Tottenham on Sunday evening.

     

    The forward, who joined Villa on loan until the end of the season in the final days of the January transfer window, had been left out of the Manchester United squad by Ruben Amorim.

     

    His last appearance was in United’s 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League. On Sunday, Unai Emery named him on the bench for Villa’s FA Cup fourth round clash with Spurs, alongside fellow loanee Marco Asensio, with Donyell Malen and Jacob Ramsey named in the starting XI.

     

    Playing on the left wing, he won a header against Kevin Danso to loud cheers from the home crowd, and further endeared himself to his new supporters when he nutmegged Pedro Porro outside the box.

     

    Marcus Rashford made his debut for Aston Villa against Tottenham(Image: PA)

    In the dying minutes of the match, Rashford then had a moment to round-off his debut in the perfect fashion when he sprinted through one-on-one with Archie Gray. Unfortunately, the Spurs defender did well to marshal him wide and win a free-kick.

     

    Both Villa and Rashford’s parent club United were victorious in the FA Cup this weekend, but if they are drawn together in the fifth round, loan rules mean Rashford will be unable to play against United.

  • What happened to Marcus Rashford speaks volumes for Man United after Aston Villa debut

    What happened to Marcus Rashford speaks volumes for Man United after Aston Villa debut

    After nearly 60 days without playing football, Marcus Rashford made his return on Sunday evening, making his debut for Aston Villa in the FA Cup against Tottenham.

    Rashford joined Villa on loan for the remainder of the season during the final days of the January transfer window after being excluded from Manchester United’s squad under Ruben Amorim.

    His last appearance came in the 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League. Amorim included him in just one more matchday squad before allowing him to leave the club. His last appearance came in the 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League. Amorim included him in just one more matchday squad before allowing him to leave the club.

    READ MORE: Man United loanee Antony criticizes Real Betis teammates shortly after debut

    READ MORE: Ryan Giggs criticizes Man United chiefs for ‘poor decisions’ and sends Ruben Amorim a message

    On Sunday, Rashford was named to the bench by Unai Emery for the FA Cup fourth-round clash against Tottenham, alongside Marco Asensio, who also joined on loan from Real Madrid. With Villa leading 2-0 thanks to goals from Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers, Rashford replaced Donyell Malen in the 67th minute. Within just a minute, he was greeted by a warm reception from the Villa fans. Playing as a left-winger, Rashford outjumped defender Kevin Danso to head the ball, which was met with cheers from the crowd. The 27-year-old then received even more love from his new fans when he nutmegged Pedro Porro just outside the box.

     

  • Piece of Ipswich Town history selling for £460 on Ebay

    Piece of Ipswich Town history selling for £460 on Ebay

    Part of the goal net from Town’s promotion-winning game against Huddersfield Town in the Championship on May 4 has been listed on Ebay.

    Over the summer, the club shop released a limited number of framed goal net souvenirs, selling each one for £55.

    Only 300 were made as fans snapped up a piece of Town history to own something that was on the pitch that momentous day.

    The original items sold out within minutes of being on pre-order and there were a limited supply available from the club shop following its release.

    One seller, however, has listed their edition on Ebay and it has received 24 bids since being put up for sale.

    The item is currently at £460 – £405 more than what it retailed for in Planet Blue.

    The item has been unopened and is being sold as new.