Shane Battier on why Kobe Bryant was the hardest player he ever had to guard:
“Because there were guys that were faster and stronger and could, you know, fly and more talented than me, but I thought I was smarter than every player I played against except Kobe. Kobe was the one guy was mentally a guy I couldn’t wear down mentally or break. And so I had played Kobe I don’t know 40 times in my career. And he was a month older than me. His mentality was like unlike anybody I played against, right? If Kobe had 20, he wanted 30. If he had 30, he wanted 40. If he had 40, he wanted 50. If he had 50, he wanted 60. It was non-stop. So I just remember just like, you know, sitting in Marina Delray Ritz going to the Staple Centers. I’m just thinking to myself, “Oh sh*t man. I got this guy tonight. I got this monster. The anxiety was real. It was real. Kobe did a really funny thing with me. Like we played this game with each other that only knew we were playing. And one day he’d be super friendly to me. Hey Shane, what’s going on man? How’s the Family? How you doing? Playing great. Next day, man, stone cold assassin. He wouldn’t even look at me. Wouldn’t even look at me. You know, I fall, he’d step over me. Do all that bullsh*t right? Next game, hey man, what’s going on? So he was always trying to like play this psychological warfare.”
(Via @hoopinghollerin)
Unique deal for new Raiders QB Kirk Cousins. He gets the minimum from Vegas ($1.3M), with Atlanta picking up the rest of his $10 million guarantee. Then, he has a fully guaranteed $10 million roster bonus, with no offset, next March.
There’s then a two-year, $80 million team option. So it’s either a one-year, $20 million deal (and that’s almost certainly going to be it) or a three-year, $100 million deal.
Essentially, the Raiders get Cousins for $11.3 million in 2026, and Cousins gets $20 million for 2026.
The power of presence. Having all of those Raider greats on stage for the introductory press conference of Klint Kubiak really hit different. So much hope & so much to look forward to with the #1 draft pick & with all that cap space. Excited to see which coordinators we hire.
Breaking: After meeting Saturday with Las Vegas, Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak intends to try to work out a deal to become the next head coach of the Raiders, a source told @AdamSchefter.
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With a week to reflect, I’m convinced this was the greatest moment in sports history.
A 2-star recruit leads the worst program ever to a national championship, beats his hometown team that wouldn’t let him walk on, and finishes it by running over the same guy who knocked him out the year before, with his mother battling MS watching from the stands.
If it was a Disney movie, you’d say it was too much.
With the Seahawks going to the Super Bowl, the Raiders and Cardinals are now the only two teams that can interview Klint Kubiak.
Buffalo is mostly out of the picture unless they wait two weeks.
Raiders really need to hit on their next head coach. Chargers are reloading bringing in Mike Mcdaniel & the Chiefs are probably bringing back Eric Bieniemy. I think we should pluck either someone from the Rams or the Broncos. Bring in a fresh and young mind to lead the way.