Friday 5 – May 3, 2024
Darvin Ham
You win some, you lose some, and if you don’t win quickly enough in the NBA, you get fired. After two seasons as head coach of the team, the Los Angeles Lakers fired Darvin Ham. Another good lesson here, if you’re going to coach a LeBron James team, try to stay on good terms with LeBron James.
Ham went 90-74 during his two regular seasons with the Lakers and 9-12 in his two postseasons – this last record was the dagger, with the most recent series lost coming to the Denver Nuggets this week. He had two years remaining on his contract.
Let the coaching search begin.
Caitlin Clark’s WNBA Debut
Just a few weeks removed from the Iowa Hawkeye’s NCAA Women’s Basketball championship loss, their star, Caitlin Clark, will make her professional debut on Friday in Dallas, when the Indiana Fever take on the Wings in the preseason.
Clark’s home preseason debut will be next Thursday, May 10 against the Atlanta Dream, with the Fever’s regular season starting May 14 in Connecticut against the Sun.
Her first regular season home game is May 16 against the New York Liberty.
Odell Beckham Jr.
It seems that wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has a new home, as he and the Miami Dolphins have reportedly agreed on a one-year deal up to $8.25 million.
Beckham will compete to be WR3 behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. His competition for the spot are veterans Braxton Berrios (who’s kind of a TikTok star now, but that has nothing to do with this), River Cracraft and Erik Ezukanma, as well as rookies Malik Washington and Tahj Washington. That’s a lot of people.
OBJ spent last season with the Baltimore Ravens, where he had 35 catches, 565 yards and three touchdowns.
NFL News Bites
- Per New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh, QB Aaron Rodgers will have “no restrictions” when OTAs begin on May 20. Rodgers had surgery to repair his Achilles eight months ago.
- The Buffalo Bills are signing WR Chase Claypool to a one-year deal.
- The Pittsburgh Steelers declined the fifth-year options for RB Najee Harris and QB Justin Fields for 2025. The first is somewhat surprising. The second is not.
MLB News Bites
- After undergoing elbow surgery in August of 2022, Dodgers’ pitcher Walker Buehler will return to the mound at Dodger Stadium for the first time in nearly two years.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates have activated catcher Yasmani Grandal (foot) from the 10-day IL.
- The Chicago Cubs hope to get pitcher Justin Steele (hamstring) back to their rotation on Monday for the first time since Opening Day.