Sports
Julius Randle is settling in with the Minnesota Timberwolves
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kyden Randle could have been the hottest kid in New York, especially amongst New York Knicks fans. The son of New York Knicks forward Julius Randle was beloved for his passion and humorousness during his father’s home games. But just two days before Knicks training camp, Randle learned he was not a Knick and broke the news to his son, who had already began school.
“The biggest impact it had was on my family,” Randle told Andscape after the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 117-115 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 24. “My oldest son went to high school. He will likely be 8 years old in December. He’s been going to high school with all his best friends for two.5 years they usually began school. It was difficult for him. This was really the hardest part…
“I gave him the news, just being honest, telling him I used to be traded to Minnesota. I told him it was best for him, our family and me personally. I attempted doing little things to excite him. He’s a giant fan of (Minnesota Vikings wide receiver) Justin Jefferson. Then he was enthusiastic about Ant (Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards) and being on the team. New house. You just need to seek out a option to trick him a bit.
Randle himself was “a little shocked by the moment” when he was traded from the Knicks to the Timberwolves on Oct. 3 for four-time All-Star forward Karl Anthony-Towns and guard Donte DiVincenzo. It wasn’t like Randle was unaware of this. trade rumors, but it surely’s rare for a trade to occur this near training camp. Although the Timberwolves have made plenty of changes over the past yr, Randle told Andscape that he thinks he’ll fit in well this season.
Randle averaged 22.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists for the Knicks during the 2019-2024 season. All three of his NBA All-Star appearances got here in New York. The 2021 NBA Most Improved Player led the Knicks to the 2020 playoffs for the first time after an eight-year hiatus. Just days before the deal, Randle also established a basketball court in New York City, named in his honor, at the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School, after raising greater than $1.3 million for the institution.
“What really unnerved me was that it was so close to training camp,” Randle said of the trade. “We had a training camp in two or three days. My mind was able to go to Charleston (South Carolina) for training camp. It took me an evening or two (to simply accept it). The next morning. I used to be very completely happy because I forgot about all the things else and considered basketball…
“It wasn’t that I assumed I could not be traded. I form of thought (trade talks) would occur, but I feel it’s going to be more during the season or closer to the trade deadline since the summer has already passed. I used to be a bit shocked by the timing. I used to be definitely completely happy with where I used to be going. “
When the dust settled, Randle was enthusiastic about what was to return in Minnesota for several reasons.
Randle worked with Edwards, certainly one of the NBA’s most enjoyable young superstars, and the Timberwolves advanced to the 2024 Western Conference Finals. To make things easier, Randle reunited with Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, who was an assistant coach with the New Orleans Pelicans when Randle played there during the 2018-19 season.
“It’s crazy because he makes the game so easy,” Randle, 29, said. “His understanding of space, on-ball and off-the-ball motion, sets and things like that, what an excellent and bad shot is. He really simplifies the game. I felt it once I was in New Orleans and I feel it here now. I do not have to force anything…
“Who apart from Finch would I wish to play for? He knows my game so well. When I began eager about this site, I got really excited.
Finch said working with Randle has “helped him a lot” as a coach. Finch added that he had at all times been a “huge fan of Julius” and that Edwards and the remainder of the players would have loved Randle’s durability, passing ability and impact on games.
“I loved Julius when we had him in New Orleans,” Finch told Andscape. “I felt like he was completely happy to return to (Minnesota). I just told him when he was traded, “You’ll like it.” You will love our boys. You will love this technique. We’re going to get the ball in your hands quickly. You can have the opportunity to play your game.
“I even have a reasonably good feeling about it. He told me he liked the freedom and fluidity we showed during the game. He liked it in New Orleans. I just told him repeatedly that we were completely happy to have him.
Randle averaged 24 points and 9.2 rebounds in 46 games during New York’s injury-plagued 2023-24 NBA season. He has the shooting, rebounding and playmaking skills to match Towns’, but in Randle’s debut with the Timberwolves, he scored only 16 points and made only 10 field goal attempts in a 110-103 season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on October 22.
During the Oct. 24 shooting in Sacramento, Finch was very blunt with Randle, telling him he needed to be aggressive on offense and stop attempting to fit in.
“He neglects too much,” Finch said before the Kings game. “In the previous few days we told him, ‘You should be more aggressive. You should try harder to do your job. We like the incontrovertible fact that you actually attempt to fit in and find yourself just causing plenty of damage to your teammates. But I also imagine that he’ll make the right play and he must proceed to impose himself in the game, be a bit more aggressive.
“This is the best option to do it. Get on the market, be yourself. We will discover about it during the trip. But when you’re talented enough to delay the decision, we now have to do what you do best… So he seems to get this and that message.
Randle proved he understood by dominating against Sacramento: 33 points on 13-of-17 shooting and 5-of-6 three-pointers, along with adding five assists and 4 rebounds in 35 minutes. Tonight, Randle and Edwards also showed they’re a formidable duo.
“Finchy told him (Thursday) morning: ‘Don’t fit in with us. We adapt to you. You’re a star, Ju. Be who you are. And (against Sacramento) that (expletive) was amazing. This is what we need,” Edwards told Andscape.
Randle and Edwards each scored 24 points in the Timberwolves’ 112-101 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. Edwards told Andscape he is very enthusiastic about what Randle adds to Minnesota.
“It means we can give him the ball, get out of his way and tell him to bring us the bucket. And that’s what we need. Sometimes we go a little overboard with it. Swing. Swing. We are stagnant across the board. We need someone other than me who can go get the bucket. And he showed us that,” Edwards said against Sacramento.
“He does really well on and off the court. He is very happy to be here. The guys really liked him,” Finch said.
Beginning his NBA profession with the Los Angeles Lakers, Randle played with Kobe Bryant, certainly one of the NBA’s biggest players and the Lakers’ all-time leading scorer. Edwards is an Olympic gold medalist and two-time NBA All-Star known for his scoring, high-flying dunks and electric moves.
Is Edwards as intimidating offensively, skillfully and athletically as Bryant?
“I didn’t play with Bean in his prime,” Randle said. “But the mentality is very similar. Without hesitation. Ant gets right to it. He is special. Physically he is talented. In terms of skills, he is talented. Dude is different. There aren’t many players like him.
“Now I see his leadership, charisma and energy. He makes everyone believe. It’s unique.”
After the Timberwolves’ first road trip, Randle joined his wife and two young sons at their recent home outside Minneapolis on Friday. The considered his boys graduating from highschool in New York by early 2025 was out of the query for Randle because “they have to be with me.” He is currently in the third yr of a four-year, $117 million contract with a player option through the 2025-26 season and is open to a contract extension. The Dallas native added that he’s “in a great place” mentally.
Although Randle said he is preparing for the cold winters, he is optimistic about life with the Timberwolves. He believes the changes will likely be good for Minnesota.
“I’m extremely excited from top to bottom,” Randle said. “From life, to organization, to coaching, to the way things are done here. It’s really a breath of fresh air for me… We can be really good. We have to take it one day at a time. But as a group we can be special. If we compete, we can be really good. As good as we want.”
Sports
Michael Jordan invests in the Courtside Ventures VC fund
After adding greater than $2 billion to his personal fortune after selling the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, basketball legend Michael Jordan put a few of his money right into a sports fund to boost $100 million.
According to Sportico, Jordan does investing in the Courtside Ventures enterprise capital fund, which focuses on sports, lifestyle and gaming.
The media received a text message from certainly one of Courtside Ventures’ business partners, Curtis Polk, confirming the details about Jordan’s investment. The amount he invested was not disclosed.
Polk is Jordan’s business partner and co-owner of the NASCAR 23XI Racing team.
Company website lists The Athletic, 100 Thieves and Jackpot.com as a part of its portfolio. According to Courtside Ventures’ LinkedIn profile, the company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in New York.
The partners are Deepen Parikh, Vasu Kulkarni and Kai Bond. The group’s advisors include former NFL player Larry Fitzgerald and former DraftKings executive Sean Hurley.
In June, the company submitted approx Form D with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission outlining Courtside Ventures’ intentions to boost $100 million in its fourth round of funding. A complete of $190 million was raised in the first three rounds.
Jordan plays the role of an influence player. According to , he recently became the owner of a brand new Gulfstream G650ER private jet, useful for roughly $65 million.
Jordan has turn out to be an astute businessman since he retired from basketball and commenced investing in many ventures that increase his profits.
He and Polk, together with their 23XI Racing partner, racer Denny Hamlin, recently filed an antitrust lawsuit with one other automotive owner, Front Row Motorsports, against NASCAR and CEO Jim France, alleging that it engaged in anticompetitive practices to forestall fair competition on the sports market.
Sports
Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has the experience and influence of being an NFL coach
As the next NFL recruiting cycle begins, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is once more a number one head coaching candidate. And rightly so.
Over the course of three seasons leading an impressive Lions offense that’s amongst the best and fun to look at in the league, Johnson has established himself as an astute X’s and O’s man. It’s easy to see why franchises trying to fill top coaching positions have been courting him over the last two cycles.
Perhaps franchise owners must also take an extended take a look at Johnson’s defensive counterpart, as Lions defensive quarterback Aaron Glenn is value far more attention. As it seems, Detroit coach Dan Campbell made a fantastic move by hiring each of his top lieutenants.
Although Glenn didn’t achieve his Detroit colleague’s rock star status during interviews, he played a serious role in the band’s impressive turnaround under Campbell. This season, Glenn has received high praise from around the league for keeping the Lions defense healthy, which lost several key players to injury, including star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson for the remainder of the season in Week 6.
Campbell praises Glenn for his work ethic and willingness, traits Campbell has admired in his friend since their days as NFL teammates and their time together as an assistant coach with the New Orleans Saints. What sets Glenn aside from many coaches is the way he runs, Campbell says, and any team owner can be sensible to present Glenn his own shop to run.
As the NFC North’s top team prepares for Sunday’s road game against the Indianapolis Colts, Glenn, 52, is making all the right moves on a defense shorthanded. While injuries are a component of life in skilled sports’ most dangerous workplace, some losses are far more difficult to beat than others.
In a 47-9 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, Hutchinson suffered two broken bones in his left leg and underwent season-ending surgery. The Pro Bowler entered the game leading the NFL in sacks, quarterback hits and pressures. The Lions were missing Marcus Davenport, who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 3.
Then, during a 52-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 11, linebacker Alex Anzalone suffered a broken forearm. He is predicted to be sidelined for a maximum of eight weeks. Detroit decided to step up its passing game by acquiring linebacker Za’Darius Smith in a trade with the Cleveland Browns, but it surely’s as much as Glenn to shoulder the defensive load and find latest ways to best utilize his remaining energetic players.
The evidence shows that Glenn performed well under duress.
Against Detroit, opponents rating an average of 17.7 points and 94.8 rushing yards, which supplies the team fifth place in the league in each categories. The Lions (9-1) lead the Philadelphia Eagles by one game in the race for the top overall seed in the NFC playoffs, and Glenn is earning rave reviews for his contributions to their success.
The evidence of Glenn’s coaching acumen is each indisputable and overwhelming, said Troy Vincent, the NFL’s vp of football operations.
“Throughout Aaron’s NFL career and now in his current position as the Lions’ defensive coordinator, he has demonstrated extraordinary leadership, development and creativity,” Vincent wrote to Andscape in a text message Wednesday. “There is no denying his tremendous coaching ability, as evidenced by the Lions’ vastly improved defense.”
Since he and Glenn had briefly been teammates with the Dallas Cowboys, Campbell believed Glenn had what it took to in the future change into a fantastic coach.
Taken twelfth overall in the 1994 NFL Draft, Glenn had a 15-year profession with the Jets, Houston Texans, Cowboys, Jaguars and Saints. The three-time Pro Bowl running back then moved on to coaching and scouting, eventually working his way as much as the position of director of the Saints’ secondary under then-coach Sean Payton. Campbell coached the Saints on tight ends, and the Texas A&M graduates formed a bond.
After Campbell became Detroit’s coach in 2021, Glenn followed him to run the team’s defense. Make no mistake, hiring Glenn was one of Campbell’s most significant moves in his efforts to show around the troubled Lions.
In the 2008-09 season, the Lions went 0-16. Before the arrival of Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes, the Lions last won the league title in the 1993-94 season. Detroit hasn’t won a playoff game since the 1991-92 season. Last season, the Lions achieved each feats en path to the NFC Championship Game.
To their credit, the Lions have picked up on offense quicker than defense (they lead the league in scoring at 33.6 points per game), which contributed to Johnson being more wanted to potentially fill coaching vacancies than Glenn. However, Glenn has been interviewing for the last three cycles and Campbell is confident that Glenn is prepared to guide the entire team.
“He has great vision to put together a plan,” Campbell told reporters in Detroit. “He understands football thoroughly. And if you start talking about his leadership, he’s one of those guys, he’s special. He is special. He has.
“His ability to communicate, relate, push, grind, love and demand – he has it all. He is an excellent speaker, he is an outstanding teacher. … That’s why I say I’m lucky to have him working with me.”
For Glenn, nothing is more essential than all the time setting the right example.
“I try to do everything I can to focus on the players,” Glenn said. “I’m trying to do everything I can to focus on the team and get the most out of… my staff to make sure we’re on track in terms of playing good defense. Everyone is different. And that makes it nice to be able to take advantage of each player’s unique characteristics and put them in the right positions (to be successful).”
Glenn’s coaching philosophy is easy: be authentic and make a positive impact on those around you.
“The most important thing is to be yourself,” Glenn said. “Players know a fake once they see one. And if you attempt to cheat this business, you’re going to get kicked out of it in a short time because then the respect factor disappears.
“For me, leadership comes down to one word –… How do you influence players? What influence do you have on coaches? Leadership isn’t about me giving pathetic speeches. They’ve heard this before. That’s how I influence these guys.”
The buzz around the league is that while Glenn has been considered for the head coaching position in previous cycles, he’s well-positioned to be a finalist for the position on this one. He can be one of the strongest candidates, said Rod Graves, leader of a gaggle that advises the NFL on diversity, equity and inclusion in the hiring process.
“Aaron has proven to be one of the best coaches in the NFL,” Graves, executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, wrote to Andscape in a text message. “He joined the league’s elite as an excellent strategist.
“The Detroit Lions have developed an attitude of toughness, physicality and attention to detail. Aaron is a big reason for this. He trains like he plays.”
“There is an expectation that Aaron will undoubtedly be involved when head coaching positions become available. Maybe he will be the beginning of Coach Campbell’s tree,” Vincent wrote in a text message.
Even if Johnson continues to be the first to branch out on his own, Glenn definitely seems capable of rising higher. It’s only a matter of whether team owners pay more attention to others who’re improving.
Sports
Netflix sued over streaming issues during Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight
More than 60 million viewers reportedly tuned in to observe the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match, with many experiencing issues while streaming the event on Netflix. Given the issues one man needed to cope with because of streaming difficulties, he sued the streaming giant for $50 million.
According to , Florida resident Ronald “Blue” Denton filed a class-action lawsuit on November 18. The lawsuit related to a fight between the 2 men on Friday, November 15, which resulted in a unanimous decision victory for Paul over Tyson. The viewer is suing the corporate, amongst others. for breach of contract.
reports Denton wrote: “60 million Americans were thrilled to see “Iron” Mike Tyson, “The Baddest Man on the Planet,” versus award-winning YouTuber Jake Paul.” What they saw was “The Worst Streaming on the Planet.”
As the fight continued, many individuals on social media complained that they were having trouble watching the fight. Some complaints included buffering issues or inability to access the app.
Stating that “over 100,000 people have complained online,” the lawsuit said that “boxing fans, in addition to average Americans wanting to see the legend in what is probably going his final fight, have been faced with legendary issues including lack of access, streaming glitches and buffering issues.”
reported that Netflix admitted it was aware of its customers’ streaming issues during the boxing match.
“We don’t want to downplay the bad experience some members had and know we have a lot of room for improvement, but we still consider this event a huge success.”
Netflix announced that the fight was watched by 60 million people worldwide and peaked at 65 million concurrent streams.
Tyson (58), who has not boxed for several years, is over 30 years older than Paul (27).
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