Darius Slay and the Eagles were able to agree to terms on a three-year contract this offseason, keeping the 32-year-old from hitting free agency. There were times, however, when it seemed a deal would not be reached.
Speaking on the Big Play Slay podcast, the veteran defensive back admitted that he’d been in conversation with another team before ultimately re-signing with Philadelphia.
On Saturday, Slay revealed that he had a contract lined up with the Ravens in free agency, indicating that he was extremely close to making the move to Baltimore.
“I was almost… a Baltimore Raven. I was this close,” said Slay while gesturing with his fingers. “But, I wanted to be an Eagle. I stayed an Eagle because I knew me and Howie were going to figure something out. But the Baltimore Ravens were the first team that called, and they offered me just what I wanted.”
Ultimately, Slay signed a three-year, $42 million deal in Philadelphia, returning to the organization where he’s spent the last three seasons. But he made clear that the Ravens made a strong push for his signature, even meeting his demands when it came to a potential contract offer.
The 10-year veteran featured in all 17 games for the Eagles last season, as well as three playoff appearances during their run to the Super Bowl. He had three interceptions, 14 pass defenses, and 55 tackles in 2022, earning his second consecutive Pro Bowl nod.
DALLAS — Aliyah Boston ended her college career with the same poise that defined it.
When No. 1 South Carolina’s undefeated season came to an end in the Final Four against No. 2 Iowa, the senior forward was struck by the enormity of the moment. “When that buzzer went off, it was kind of just an end of an era, it feels like,” Boston said. But she did not allow herself to dwell on that. Instead, she felt called to protect a teammate. As fellow senior Zia Cooke became emotional, Boston quickly moved not just to console her but to shield her from the television cameras, granting her a moment of privacy. And then Boston went to sit in front of the cameras herself: She was soon fulfilling her press obligations with her typical grace and equanimity.
On Saturday, Boston announced she would forgo her last year of college eligibility to declare for the WNBA draft, where she is the presumptive No. 1 pick for the Indiana Fever. That ends a decorated career for her with the Gamecocks. She has won the Wooden Award and the Wade Trophy; she has been named the Naismith College Player of the Year; she is a three-time unanimous first-team All-American; she led her team to a national championship and three consecutive Final Fours. Ask her team about her impact, however, and no one mentions the awards. Instead? They talk about the example Boston set.
“She’s meant everything to our program,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “She has been the cornerstone of our program for the past four years. She elevated us. She raised the standard of how to approach basketball.”
This season was remarkable for South Carolina. It was the wire-to-wire No. 1 and stayed undefeated until the Final Four. It established the best defense in the sport. It led Division I in a slew of statistics: No one could touch its average margin of victory (28.6), two-point baskets per game (25.9), rebound rate (63%) or blocks per game (8.8). No one held their opponents to fewer points per scoring attempt (0.79) or to a lower effective field goal percentage (35.6%). It was not simply that the Gamecocks dominated teams all year. It was that they deconstructed them so thoroughly as to make them look unrecognizable. This was, of course, a team effort from a squad with the best depth in the country. But much of it came from Boston.
That meant absorbing blows as opposing defenses focused in on her. (“She’s ready to see single coverage,” Staley said when asked on Friday whether Boston should remain in college.) It meant working to facilitate both offense and defense through the players around her rather than trying to control them herself. It meant sacrificing her own numbers—letting her statistics take a step back from her incredible season last year—to better her team.
“She’s a complete person,” Staley said. “She’s a great human being. You could tell that she’s got great parenting and a great foundation that she shares herself—like, she’s a sacrificer. She’s a great friend. She’s a great teammate. She is somebody that you want to build your program around that you know is safe. She’s always going to make the right decision for our team, even if it is a detriment to her personally.”
Boston became one of the preeminent names in the sport through her four prolific seasons.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The pair have formed a special relationship during Boston’s four years in Columbia.
“She just helped me grow up,” Boston said of Staley after the team won the SEC tournament. “She helped me find my voice, especially being a Black woman in the sport and in society, and I’m just so thankful for her.”
Staley’s players frequently talk about how much it means to play for someone who looks like them, who supports them so vocally, who challenges them to be their best. In a decade and a half at South Carolina, she has created an environment where players frequently come back to campus and stay connected with the program. That was on display Friday, as a pair of alumnae sat in the front row, both clad in old Staley jerseys: Two-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson was in her coach’s old Charlotte Sting gear while her teammate Chelsea Gray was beside her in a Staley Team USA jersey. They’re just a few of the many former players who have stayed connected to the program as leaders, and now, Boston will step into that role herself.
“A lot of the alum, they come back. They come to practice,” Boston said before the Final Four. “They want to support us and give us tips where we are, and they just want to see us grow. For us helping the underclassmen right now, they’re our sisters. We want to see them shine, because we understand at some point we’re not going to be on the same team as them, and they’re going to be the new leaders of the program. So we want them to continue the tradition that we have.”
To hear the underclassmen tell it, Boston and her fellow seniors have taken their obligation to that tradition seriously.
“Every day, she just shows us what it’s like to be a pro,” redshirt freshman Raven Johnson said in the locker room before the Final Four. “She teaches younger players about leadership… There’s not a day you don’t hear her voice. She’s always talking, she’s always uplifting people.”
Her voice may be absent from the program next year as she departs campus. But she’s ensured her legacy will endure.
HOUSTON — New NCAA president Charlie Baker is commuting between the women’s and men’s Final Fours this weekend. After being in Dallas Friday night, he popped in for a brief, impromptu conversation with the media here Saturday afternoon.
Baker riffed on a few of the hot-button topics in college sports: basketball tournament expansion; the women’s tourney as an independent revenue source; Name, Image and Likeness legislation; transfer rates; and more.
On potential tournament expansion beyond the current 68 teams: “That committee has been remarkably successful managing this tournament for a number of years. They’re going to start talking about this after this tournament is over, and my guess is this summer, late fall we’ll have some recommendations. But I’m gonna let them do their job. They’ve done a really good job with this tournament, and I’ve been on the job for 30 days.”
On putting the women’s tournament out for bid as a separate entity, coming off a high-interest Final Four: “The investments made have had a tremendous return. The timing on the bid associated with this is perfect. This thing going out this year, on the heels of the most successful tournament ever had…let’s see what the market thinks it’s worth. I think it will be worth a lot.”
On working with Congress for national NIL legislation: “The big challenge we have with NIL, states are passing laws that basically say whatever the rules of the NCAA are, don’t comply with them. That’s hard for conferences on their own, but it’s really hard on an interconference basis. They’d like all the rules to be the same. That’s why we’ve been talking to Republicans and Democrats. I think, based on those conversations, the feds are pretty serious about doing something, and I’m encouraged by that. If you want to have a national standard for how NIL works, it’s going to be very hard to do that without federal legislation.”
On transfer rules: “The transfer rule, onetime free and the next time make a case for it, is the best way to handle this.”
The 2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament continues Saturday with a Final Four matchup between San Diego State and Florida Atlantic. Check out highlights and in-game analysis here!
As his legendary career calling the Final Four comes to a close, Jim Nantz was once again emotional in CBS’s pregame show ahead of his final NCAA men’s Final Four.
Nantz, who has been overcome with emotions whenever discussing his final run at the Final Four, clearly has a lot of attachment to the event he’s called for decades.
On Saturday, Nantz shared the names of those who were part of his journey both on set as well behind the scenes.
The longtime play-by-play announcer discussed the impacts of the voices he got to work with: Grant Hill, Bill Raftery, Tracy Wolfson, Steve Kerr, Greg Anthony, Clark Kellogg as well as most notably the late Billy Packer, who passed away in January.
“I got to be with Billy for 18 years,” Nantz said. “I was in awe of being next to Billy and I got to call 18 Final Fours and hundreds of games with him. I was in awe of him as a little boy, never imagining I could sit next to him. I have Billy in my heart.
“I have Pat McGrath, my stats guy, who suffered a fatal heart attack on the eve of this tournament after 30 years by my side, I am going to miss them. I wish they could be here in so many ways, to be part of this celebration.”
“I’ve always wanted the fan to feel like they had a seat at the table” ❤️
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 1, 2023
Nantz didn’t stop there, also paying tribute to Curt Gowdy, Dick Enberg, Brent Musburger as well as Gary Bender.
The renowned broadcaster, who has been behind the mic for 32 championship contests, has become as iconic as the yearly rendition of “One Shining Moment” simply became of this focal point: “I’ve always wanted to make sure fans felt like they had a seat at the table”.
Atlanta Braves’ Matt Olson hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning to extend the lead over the Washington Nationals 7-0. It was Olson’s second home run of the day.
Every year, sports teams and personalities across the world tend to rile up their fans on April 1, pranking their supporters with April Fools’ Day jokes. This year was no different, as a slew of organizations posted false news blasts or other joke tweets in order to get a reaction from their fans.
While some of these efforts were rather uninspired, other social media teams stepped up to the plate with some hilarious April Fools’ jokes on Saturday, successfully fooling their supporters and getting laugh from their fanbases. Any sports fan who temporarily forgot what day it was likely had a wild ride scrolling through Twitter before making the realization that it was April Fools’ Day.
Among the jokes tossed around this year was the Steelers announcing that Snoop Dogg had signed with the organization, the St. Louis BattleHawks informing their fans that they’d be following in the footsteps of the Rams and moving to Los Angeles, and Victor Wembanyama shaking up the NBA Draft with a major announcement.
Here’s a look at some of the other best jokes made around the sports world on a memorable April Fools’ Day:
We have agreed to terms with WR Calvin Broadus Jr.
For the first time since 2005, WWE will take over the city of Angels, as the company hosts the 39th edition of the grand spectacle that is WrestleMania.
Boasting a grand total of 13 matches, WrestleMania39 will offer many of the WWE’s best a glorious opportunity to decide champions and settle long-held grudges on the biggest stage in the world. WrestleMania39 will take place inside SoFi Stadium—the home of the NFL’s Rams and Chargers—in Inglewood, Calif., marking the company’s first WrestleMania in Los Angeles since hosting WrestleMania21 inside the formerly-named Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena).
The widely-anticipated showcase will again feature two nights of action for the fourth-straight year, with Night 1 set to kick off on April 1 followed by Night 2 on April 2. Both nights will begin with a two-hour kickoff show that will feature interviews and backstage segments, set to air on Peacock beginning at 6 p.m. ET.
The main card of WrestleMania 39 will begin at 8 p.m. ET (Peacock), with singer Becky G set to open Saturday night with a live performance of “America The Beautiful.” This year’s slate of action will kick off with a United States championship match for the ages, as champion Austin Theory defends his belt against the iconic John Cena—a match happening 19 years after Cena won his first U.S. title at WrestleMania 20.
A pair of vicious grudge matches stand out among the highlights on the card, with The Usos taking on Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens for the undisputed WWE tag team titles and Rey Mysterio facing his son Dominik Mysterio. Also slated for Night 1, SmackDown women’s champion Charlotte Flair will defend her title against 2023 Royal Rumble winner Rhea Ripley, Seth Rollins will take on Logan Paul in a possible show-stealer and Hall of Famer Trish Stratus will team up with WWE women’s tag team champions Becky Lynch and Lita (Stratus’s fellow HOFer) to face Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky).
With the big event just hours away, check below for a recap of the full match card for Night 1 of WrestleMania39:
WrestleMania 39 Night 1 full match card:
Austin Theory vs. John Cena for the United States championship
The Usos vs. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens for the undisputed WWE tag team titles
Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley for the SmackDown women’s championship
LSU guard Alexis Morris watched how Iowa star Caitlin Clark sagged off, and at different moments of the game, did not guard South Carolina’s Raven Johnson during the Hawkeyes’ Final Four win against the Gamecocks on Friday night and immediately thought that the Big Ten program wouldn’t be able to do the same against the Tigers.
Morris, who thrives in transition play and knocking down mid-range jumpers, told reporters on Saturday that Iowa’s defensive strategy against South Carolina will not work Sunday when the Hawkeyes face the Tigers in the women’s national championship game. Even more, Morris spoke confidently about Iowa having to “guard” her and her teammates in the game.
“I don’t think they can guard us that way,” Morris said. “I don’t think you can just leave me open on the perimeter or leave us open on the perimeter. Me personally, I find it very disrespectful, so I’m going to take that personally going into that game. You’re going to have to guard us. That’s just the competitor in me, and the will to win.”
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) April 1, 2023
According to HerHoopStats, LSU ranks No. 72 in the country in three-point percentage (33.7%) and 180th in the country in three-pointers made. However, LSU scores a majority of its points from inside the arc as the Tigers are second in the nation in two-pointers made (874), 40th in two-point percentage (49.8%) and second in free throws made this season.
In comparison, South Carolina sits at No. 171 in the nation in three-point percentage (31%) and No. 209 in three-pointers made this season, per HHS.
Given the differences between the two SEC teams, Clark admitted to reporters that the Hawkeyes’ plan to slow down LSU will not be the same as it was when guarding South Carolina.
“Obviously, with South Carolina, you’ve got to pick your poison,” the Iowa star said. “If they were going to beat us, we were going to let it be by the 3-point line. … We can’t guard everything. … You know player personnel. … That’s what we were going to give up. We had all the respect in the world for South Carolina, and especially their post play.”
This season, Morris is averaging 15.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 42.9% from the floor. However, in LSU’s last two games, the Tigers second-leading scorer recorded 21 points against Miami in the Elite Eight and 27 in the Final Four win against Virginia Tech on Friday.
Both Iowa and LSU will be seeking to win their program’s first women’s basketball national championship when taking the court on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.
