New on Sports Illustrated: Patriots Conveniently Bury NFL Punishment With Cam Newton Signing

-

Was it a coincidence that the Patriots announced Cam Newton's signing on Sunday night?

The Patriots Bury Cheating News (Again)

The Patriots surprised fans Sunday night when they

signed Cam Newton to a one-year deal reportedly worth up to $7.5 million. The timing of New England's news suddenly seemed convenient when the NFL reportedly handed down its punishment for the team illegally filming the Bengals' sideline last season.

The team received a $1.1 million fine, was docked a third-round pick in 2021 and was banned from shooting games during the 2020 season, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The punishment stems from a Patriots staffer filming Cincinnati's sidelines during the first quarter of a Bengals-Brown game on Dec. 8, 2019.

Schefter reported Newton's signing exactly 17 minutes before his colleague Mike Reiss shared news of the NFL's punishment. Coincidence? Oh, the sleuths on Twitter sure weren't fooled. This isn't the first time the Patriots have tried to hide cheating news.

Mississippi lawmakers vote to change the state flag

Both the House and Senate of Mississippi passed a bill Sunday to remove the Confederate battle emblem from its state flag. The state has faced pressure to change its flag over the past month amid nationwide protests over racial injustice. 

The sports world has also called attention to the flag debate. Earlier this month, NASCAR banned Confederate flags from all of its races, and the SEC even threatened to prohibit conference championship events from being held in Mississippi until action was taken. The NCAA later expanded its Confederate Flag policy to prevent any championship events from being played in states where the symbol has a prominent presence. 

Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill used his platform and tweeted that he wouldn't "be representing this state anymore" unless the flag was changed. Bulldogs coach Mike Leach and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin joined a group to lobby in front of state legislature late last week, urging for the change.

On Sunday night, Hill thanked the universities that helped with the policy change and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey issued a statement praising their leadership.

The best of SI

As COVID-19 threatens the 2020 college football season, what if we blew up the system entirely? ... How could the rest of the NFL let Bill Belichick get Cam Newton? ... Many broadcasters’ livelihoods are contingent upon playing games—so what happens during a shutdown? ... MLB teams have released their 60-man player pool rosters for summer training camp.

Around the sports world

Communities around college campuses face potentially existential losses in population, jobs and revenue. ... Johnny Manziel says his football career is probably "in the past." ... MLS confirms 26 more coronavirus cases ahead of the MLS is Back Tournament in Florida.

Benzema's assist is pure art

Maybe Nike knew about the Cam Newton signing all along

Lil Wayne paid tribute to Kobe Bryant at the BET Awards

This kid has some crazy skills

He's pretty talented too

MLB is heading to summer camp

Not sports

A Starbucks barista got $65,000 in donations after a customer's mask complaint. ... Drive-in movie theaters are becoming the go-to spot for recreation during the coronavirus. ... A Tampa man found a kidney donor after a chance encounter at a traffic light.

An iconic Irish trio meets in a confessional booth

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow him on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request, he's made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New on Sports Illustrated: NBA Draft Big Board 3.0: Top 80 Prospect Rankings

-
Image
Ranking the top 80 players in the 2021 NBA draft with the NCAA tournament in the rearview. View the original article to see embedded media. With three months until draft night and the NBA’s regular season winding down , the league at large has begun shifting full focus to the off-season. Players have until May 30 to declare as early entrants for the draft, after which point the predraft process will open up in full, leading up to the combine and lottery at the end of June . Our Big Board is long overdue for an update, and fully expanded out to 80 prospects as we all attempt to make sense of the big picture moving forward. As usual, the Big Board is primarily based on my personal evaluations from both live viewings and on film, in many cases dating back several years. The rankings also incorporate feedback and opinions I glean from NBA executives, scouts, and others around the industry. This is not a mock draft, and team fit is not considered, but it is also intended to be somewhat
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: The Patriots’ Post-Brady Era Begins Now

-
Image
In Mac Jones, Bill Belichick drafted a Round 1 quarterback for the first time ever—and looks to usher in a return to dominance. Of course the first time Bill Belichick drafts a first-round quarterback, it’s one for whom he could get an unvarnished scouting report from good buddy Nick Saban —and without even having to do any draft-day maneuvering. Now, the post-Tom Brady era in New England really begins. The Patriots treated 2020 as something of a gap year, with a league-high eight opt-outs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a starting quarterback, Cam Newton, who didn't sign with the team until June. They were, for the first time in two decades, mediocre, but that 7–9 record bought them the ticket to a fresh start: the No. 15 pick, which they used Thursday night on Alabama QB Mac Jones. The oft-cited statistic that Belichick had never drafted a QB higher than pick No. 62—used on Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014—was inherently flawed, given that Belichick had Brady as a starter for 19 of
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: NCAA Board of Governors Unanimously Votes to Extend Mark Emmert’s Contract

-
Despite recent controversy, the NCAA Board of Governors voted unanimously to extend Mark Emmert's contract through 2025. The NCAA Board of Governors unanimously voted to extend president Mark Emmert's contract through Dec. 31, 2025. The news was announced Tuesday as a one-line news item buried within a larger update after the board's quarterly meeting. He's the fifth president in NCAA history and has been in the role since 2010. Emmert previously held high-ranking roles at Washington, LSU, Connecticut and Montana State. His base salary is reportedly $2.7 million.  Within the announcement, the Board reaffirmed its commitment to updating name, image and likeness rules. Dellenger: Inside the Hidden Industry of Name, Image and Likeness and the Changing World for College Athletes Emmert came under fire after disparities were shown between the men's and women's college basketball tournaments this year, specifically the weight room. Prior to the public backlash,
Read more