On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
Watch: Bill Belichick gets unfriendly welcome at Hurricanes game
Bill Belichick has gained countless new fans since he agreed to become the head coach at North Carolina, but it does not sound like many of them attended Tuesday night's NHL playoff game between the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes.
Belichick was in the building for Game 2 between the Devils and Hurricanes at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. The arena is located roughly three miles from the NC State campus. UNC is a bit further out at about 20 miles.
Apparently not many UNC fans made the drive to the NHL showdown. That became evident when Belichick was showered with boos when he was showed on the video board during the game.
Bill Belichick in a Carolina blue suit… in NC State’s arena. Big Wolfpack crowd showers him with boos. pic.twitter.com/EJlCXmMdIg
— Gabriel Trevino (@GabeCTrevino) April 23, 2025
Belichick has simultaneously become one of the most beloved and most hated people in the state of North Carolina. That is something he is going to have to get used and a big change from when he had his feet kissed all over New England.
Wolfpack fans seem to be a lot more passionate about the Hurricanes than their Tar Heels rivals.
More must-reads:
- TCU, North Carolina to kick off 2026 in Ireland
- Hurricanes out for more 'chaos' vs. short-handed Devils
- The '2008 NFL playoff coaches and QBs' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
TODAY'S BEST
CFB Week 0 winners, losers: Fourth-down decisions loom large in ranked Big 12 showdown
Three takeaways from UNLV’s 38-31 dogfight win over Idaho State
LAS VEGAS—The Dan Mullen era for the UNLV Rebels did not get off to the flying start they anticipated, but they do start on the right foot. On Saturday, the Rebels got their 2025 season started with a 38-31 victory over the Idaho State Bengals at Allegiant Stadium. The Rebels get their season started with a 1-0 record, although their performance in this game does raise some questions. Here are some of the takeaways from a game that was far more competitive than expected for the Rebels. The Jet takes flight It took only one game for running back Jai’Den Thomas to establish himself as the best player UNLV has this season. Thomas broke out for explosive plays on the ground regularly, including touchdown runs of 39 and 70 runs in the second quarter. He finished the afternoon with 147 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. With Thomas as an explosive home run threat, Mullen has someone he can rely on to score points in a hurry. Defense cause for concern Whether it was due to a lack of chemistry or Idaho State being more explosive than anticipated, the Rebels defense took a beating against the Bengals. They allowed far too many explosive plays, giving their FCS opponent the opportunity to pull off the upset. Bengals quarterback Jordan Cooke threw for 380 yards and a touchdown, while running back Dason Brooks ran for 132 yards and two touchdown on 18 carries. With a short week of practice ahead, defensive coordinator Paul Guenther is going to have a lot on his plate getting his group right. Locking in late Despite all of the issues throughout the game, the Rebels were able to get things going when they needed to the most. Tied at 31 in the fourth quarter, linebacker Marsel McDuffie intercepted a pass to start a UNLV drive in Bengals territory, ending in an Alex Orji 11-yard touchdown run to take the lead. Another fourth-quarter interception did not end in points, and the Bengals were given one more shot to tie the game. However, a critical sack on second down by McDuffie lead to a call for intentional grounding, and the Rebels defense was able to lock in and give the offense the chance to ice the game.
Angry Mike Vrabel vows to find 'rats' within Patriots organization who leaked major news
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel wasn't mad about how the backups performed in the team's 42-10 preseason loss to the New York Giants. He was angry that someone had leaked the news that wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk would need season-ending shoulder surgery. When asked if he had anything to add to the reports that Polk would miss the season, Vrabel didn't give the media anything aside from his unvarnished feelings. "I'd like to find out where some of these [reports] come from. Some of these rats around here. So, we'll figure that out," he added in a news conference on Thursday. Coaches and reporters are hardly the best of friends on a good day. Often, a coach will deflect if they don't want to add fuel to a report the team hasn't made official, but usually they won't deflect and promise to get the "rats" providing this information. NFL insider Jordan Schultz broke the news ahead of the Patriots' preseason finale against the Giants. According to Schultz, the decision for Polk to undergo surgery was made to ensure the 2024 second-round pick would be healthy for the 2026 season. Polk dealt with health issues throughout the offseason. It was during the second quarter of New England's preseason opener against the Washington Commanders that he took a nasty hit on a one-yard run, leading to the shoulder injury that will sideline him for 2025. Last season, Polk had a tough rookie debut, catching just 12 receptions for 87 yards and recording two touchdowns. The hope for 2025 was that he could redeem himself and become a reliable enough target for second-year quarterback Drake Maye. Expectations for Maye are much higher now with the return of Tom Brady's old offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels. Without Polk to run routes, though, the already-thin wide receiver room is nearly devoid of talent behind veteran receiver Stefon Diggs. The Patriots signed Diggs to a three-year, $69 million contract in the offseason. However, Diggs has brought some unwanted attention to the team through his offseason antics and is recovering from a torn ACL that ended his time with the Houston Texans. While Patriot fans should feel some hope in the direction of the team under Vrabel — a former defensive star for New England during the dynasty years — this roster is still in the midst of a rebuild. And with such a troubled roster, losses may pile up, and the team's relationship with the media could worsen if another season feels like a waste. So, Vrabel being upset by Polk's injury is fair, but what doesn't feel fair is to single out Patriots staff and players who are potentially talking to reporters as hostile to the organization. It's perhaps not surprising that Vrabel is willing to voice his frustrations, as he's shown no fear when breaking up practice scrums. Still, it's the job of any journalist to build relationships with staff and team members to gain reliable sources who can help them accurately report the news. While the "rats" moniker for those in the building talking to NFL insiders and the New England sports media will be swallowed up by all the other headlines as Week 1 nears, it's notable that Vrabel's time as head coach in New England is already off to a contentious start.
49ers pull off trade for disgruntled Commanders star
Brian Robinson‘s tenure with the Washington Commanders is coming to an end as expected. The fourth-year running back will spend the coming season in San Francisco. The San Francisco 49ers and Commanders agreed to terms on a Robinson trade Friday, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. A 2026 sixth-round pick will head the other way as a result of the swap. San Francisco had been in the market for a backfield addition, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Efforts to pull off a move have now paid off ahead of roster cutdowns. Washington will retain a portion of Robinson’s 2025 salary ($3.4M), Garafolo adds. It recently became clear Washington was looking to move on from Robinson, who did not dress in the team’s second preseason game, with a trade looming. The team’s Dan Quinn-Adam Peters regime has been open to a trade since last year, and with a swap now agreed to it will proceed with its other in-house RB options. Washington has veteran Austin Ekeler in the fold along with 2023 draftee Chris Rodriguez and seventh-round rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who has enjoyed a strong training camp. Quarterback Jayden Daniels led the Commanders in rushing last year, and today’s deal indicates he will once again be counted on as a central element of the team’s ground game. Expectations are high after Washington made a surprise run to the NFC title game during Daniels’ rookie campaign. Robinson will not play a role in the team’s efforts to duplicate that success, though. Racking up 570 carries across his three seasons in the nation’s capital, Robinson was a key figure on offense with the Commanders. The former third-rounder saw his touchdown total and yards per attempt figure increase with each passing campaign. That included eight scores and 4.3 yards per carry in 2024. Instead of retaining Robinson on the final year of his rookie pact, however, Washington will proceed with a less expensive backfield. The Commanders will recoup draft capital in this swap, something which is needed given the number of veterans on their roster. For the 49ers, meanwhile, today’s deal marks another addition on offense for the 2025 season. A trade was worked out on Wednesday for Skyy Moore, giving San Francisco a healthy receiver option. Moore, like Robinson, is a pending 2026 free agent. The 49ers have Christian McCaffrey atop the RB depth chart, and all parties involved will aim for a healthier season this time around than 2024. After trading away Jordan Mason, the team was in position to have 2024 fourth-rounder Isaac Guerendo handle backup duties. Now, he and Robinson will compete for playing time in the backfield (although using McCaffrey and Robinson on the field together could be an option, per Garafolo). Robinson’s market will of course be dictated in large part by the level of success he has with his new team. San Francisco entered Friday with nearly $49M in cap space. Taking on Robinson will eat into the figure, and it will be interesting to see how much Washington retained on his pact to finalize the trade. The Commanders, meanwhile, should see partial cap savings and thus add to their roughly $17M in available funds ahead of cutdowns. As both NFC teams prepare for the campaign in the coming days, they will do so with differences in their backfields.
Charles Barkley Drops Truth Bomb On LeBron James’ Potential Move Away From Lakers
Charles Barkley is known for saying the cold, hard truth when it comes to analyzing the game of basketball. If he thinks you’re good, or even if he thinks you’re bad, he’s going to say something about it, and he’s not going to hold back. He did no different upon analyzing the current state of the Los Angeles Lakers and their relationship with LeBron James, professing that it’s not his team anymore. The Lakers and LeBron are like a match made in heaven. He’s the biggest star in the sport, and the team is the most popular brand in the sport. They just go together hand in hand, and it makes sense. But if you know Barkley, you know that he hates talking about the Lakers right now. Mainly because he thinks that they aren’t good enough to be worthy of being talked about so much. He’ll regularly sandbag segments in recent seasons where his show, NBA on TNT, will talk about them. Barkley did no different when talking about the Lakers in his most recent interview, pointing out that the team hasn’t been successful in quite a while. “LeBron is going to have to move on at some point. I mean, it is what it is. You know, he’s been there, even though he’s been putting up good numbers; they haven’t been successful in probably 4 years,” Barkley pointed out on The BetMGM Network. It’s not like the Hall of Famer said anything that was non-factsaual. The Lakers struggled mightily before this past season. Ever since winning the bubble championship in 2020, they’ve had two coaching changes and only made it out of the first round of the playoffs once. That all changed this past year when Luka Doncic was traded to the team at the deadline. The Lakers never looked back after the acquisition, going on a winning record and taking their division crown for the first time since ‘20. Even though they were bounced in the first round yet again, they promptly locked up Luka, and good times should be ahead for the franchise. That’s when Barkley dropped the hard-hitting truth for Lakers fans, professing that Luka is the new franchise centerpiece. “It’s probably already Luka’s team now. You don’t sign, trade for Luka Doncic, give him all that money, and it’s not his team,” Barkley said. Chuck is completely right. Luka seems to be LA’s new go-to guy for the time being. That doesn’t mean that LeBron isn’t a key piece of the team that they will need to succeed. But it does mean that he won’t be the face of a franchise for the first time in his career. Is LeBron hampering the Lakers, though? He is on the books for $52 million as the team’s highest-paid player. But it’s really hard to say that The King would ever drag down a roster because of his contract. At the end of the day, he’s one of the GOATs, and he’s worth it. However, one thing is for sure: LeBron is far past his prime, and the Lakers need to set realistic goals for the upcoming season. It would be great to have a storybook ending to his time in LA, going on a title run. But it’s hard to envision that happening. Albeit a few new faces, the Lakers are bringing back a lot of their roster from last year. Even though they won the Pacific division, the Minnesota Timberwolves humbled them in the first round of the playoffs. So, it’s going to take a major turnaround to get over the first-round hump. Barkley also mentioned that other teams in the West got better. Especially, the Houston Rockets and the Denver Nuggets. Plus, the OKC Thunder are still a menacing presence, and the Timberwolves are also still looming. We’ll see if LeBron and Luka can make magic together and defy all expectations. But as of now, Barkley is right. The Lakers feel like a 45-win team that will be battling to avoid the play-in tournament. That doesn’t mean that The King isn’t worth the money, though, as he gives them the best shot at competing for a title. It just means that there might be other, more interesting teams to talk about.
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
