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It has been a bit and despite little news leaking, it sounds like MJF is returning soon; but, questions remain if it will be for AEW or WWE.
Fans lost Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) at the very end of 2023. It was not a good night for him, losing the AEW Championship and then Adam Cole revealing himself to be ‘The Devil’ who had tormented him. That dates back to the Worlds End pay per view and we have not seen MJF since. For the longest-time, it seemed like a bidding war could be taking place between AEW and WWE.
At one point, MJF was furious with AEW. After losing quickly on a pay per view, he cursed out Tony Khan during Dynamite. That promo gained lots of attention and the people at TV were not pleased. MJF would go home for several months until returning. While he won the World Championship as a heel, he began turning face. That moment occurred as he seemingly went from enemies to best friends with Cole. Of course, we all know now that Cole was never really friends with MJF.
Return Not Far Away
According to Fightful Select, MJF will be sticking with AEW; which many saw coming. Although, they continued how he should be back by Forbidden Door, which is June 30. No matches have been announced as the company is heavily focused on Double Or Nothing.
Upon returning, it will be intersting how AEW books him. Cole is apparently close to returning from injury, but any sparks between the former tag champions is gone. AEW would be airing a program that should have already ended, but it barely began because of injuries to Cole and MJF. Perhaps, since Khan is battling The Elite, MJF enters that fray. He can either return to his villainous ways or shock the world and help Khan. So, with MJF returning to AEW very soon, what program should he enter?
More must-reads:
- Update surfaces on Joe Schoen's future with Giants
- How Steelers' Aaron Rodgers feels about being a villain for Bears fans
- The 'NFL single-game completions leaders' quiz
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Buccaneers' chances of upsetting Rams take massive hit due to illness in locker room
Many Tampa Bay Buccaneers are under the weather heading into a crucial road game against the Los Angeles Rams on "Sunday Night Football." After a walk-through at Wednesday's practice, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles revealed a mystery illness has broken out in Tampa Bay's building. The coach believes the bug has affected 20 people. Todd Bowles discusses mystery illness "Unfortunately, this Wednesday a lot of people have taken ill," Bowles said, via Matt Matera of PewterReport.com. "There is a bug going around the building. We had about five coaches and about 15 players down, so that helped aid in this walk-through. There's nothing we can really do about that today." Even more concerning for the Buccaneers is that the illness has affected star players. Tampa Bay QB Baker Mayfield and rookie WR Emeka Egbuka were among those limited because of sickness during Wednesday's practice. How could this impact Sunday's game? Upsetting the Rams already looked difficult enough for the Buccaneers. L.A. (8-2) is second in the NFC behind the Philadelphia Eagles (8-2) and has won five straight games. Tampa Bay (6-4), meanwhile, has been struggling, losing three of its past five games. The slide puts the Buccaneers at risk of losing their lead in the NFC South. The Carolina Panthers (6-5) are second in the division and have captured three of their last five games. The Buccaneers needed big games from Mayfield and Egbuka to beat the Rams on Sunday. After 11 weeks, the QB ranks 12th in the league in passing yards (2,365) and is tied for 10th in passing touchdowns (17). The WR, meanwhile, is 12th in the NFL in receiving yards (717) and is tied for eighth in TD catches (six). As of Wednesday night, ESPN Analytics gives the Rams a 63.5% chance to win their road game. If Egbuka and Mayfield are still battling the illness or can't play, L.A.'s chances of winning should only increase. The illness could certainly affect Tampa Bay's ability to prepare for the pivotal game, potentially leading to a sloppy performance. That would leave many of their fans feeling sick while watching Sunday's matchup.
Texas HC Steve Sarkisian gives bold claim on job rumors
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has been a popular name in both the NFL and college football coaching cycles. It makes sense, too. He's brought Texas back to being competitive and in the championship hunt, but he also has a wealth of great experience as an assistant in both college and the NFL. He's about as well-rounded a candidate as you'll find, so of course, programs like the Florida Gators, LSU Tigers or even the New York Giants may be interested to see if he's interested. The thing is, though, he's not. Or, at the very least, that's what he's telling the media. He's all-in with the Longhorns, according to comments he made on a recent SEC teleconference call. “I’d like to comment something before I get into our team that has been bothering me now over the past few weeks. That is people reporting that are insinuating that there’s a possibility I could leave the University of Texas, and that is absolutely false and untrue," Sarkisian said (h/t On3). "I’m not going anywhere. Never do I do this because I never want to be a distraction, so I never address these things. At this point, I feel like this is important that I do this because it’s important for our team. It’s important for our university." Steve Sarkisian has deep roots in Austin and is all-in with Texas As if that weren't clear enough, Sarkisian said that he has not had any discussions with anybody about coaching elsewhere. He even went as far as to say that even his agent hasn't spoken to anyone. Sometimes coaches can say publicly that they aren't talking about any opportunities while, in the meantime, their agents are working backchannels and putting something together. He could be lying, of course, because college football history is full of head coaches saying one thing and doing another. A full-throated statement like this seems to be a pretty clear indication that Sarkisian is serious about what he's saying, though. Heck, he went as far as calling Austin home, which is a pretty big deal for a coach to say. Those guys aren't used to staying in one place for too long. With that said, Sarkisian does have two kids actually enrolled at Texas, one on the football team. He has a third kid he wants to go to Texas in the near future. He also just had a baby. Sarkisian has roots in Austin. He also has high aspirations for the Longhorns. “We came here to win championships," he said. "We’ve built a damn good football program over the five years that we’ve been here. We’ve been to two College Football Playoffs. We won a Big 12 Championship. We went to the SEC Championship game in Year 1. We’ve had 23 players drafted the last two years, which is more than any other school in the country and our team GPA is at an all-time high. “Can we please stop putting things out there that you have absolutely zero evidence on? Can we please stop retweeting and putting it back out there as if it’s true? As if it’s the gospel? It is not true."
Scout shares take on why Vikings' J.J. McCarthy has struggled with accuracy this season
Second-year Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has mostly played like a work in progress when healthy and on the field this fall. For a piece published on Wednesday, ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano pointed out that McCarthy is "obviously missing too many throws" at this stage of his development. Graziano spoke with an unnamed "scout with another team" to learn more about McCarthy's struggles. Are Vikings panicking about J.J. McCarthy? "McCarthy's throwing at only one speed -- all fastballs -- and attributed that to trying to be the hero in a situation where he knows his team is counting on him to help it win," Graziano said about his chat with the scout. "The general sense I get from inside the Vikings' building and out is that he just needs time and reps." The Vikings made McCarthy a first-round draft pick in the spring of 2024, but he then spent his entire rookie season recovering from a full meniscus repair. More recently, what became a lingering ankle injury limited McCarthy to just five starts over Minnesota's first 10 games of the ongoing campaign. According to Pro Football Reference, McCarthy began Wednesday ranked last in the league among qualified players with a 52.9 percent completion percentage, a 26.6 adjusted QBR and a 61.7 passer rating for the season. Nevertheless, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said in Wednesday's article that the Vikings really have "no choice" but to stick with McCarthy over undrafted free agent Max Brosmer. Veteran Carson Wentz previously started when McCarthy was sidelined with the ankle issue, but Wentz has since had season-ending shoulder surgery. What Vikings like about J.J. McCarthy amid struggles "The accuracy is a concern," Fowler added about McCarthy. "There's no hiding from that. Balls are sailing, and that affects the entire offense. McCarthy needs to hit the layups. The Vikings will be working to help him find more consistency as a thrower. From a developmental standpoint, the team still believes in his work ethic and skill set." For what it's worth, McCarthy tossed a go-ahead touchdown pass versus the Chicago Bears with under a minute to play in this past Sunday's matchup between the clubs. He then could only watch as Chicago's Cairo Santos kicked a walk-off game-winning field goal. 4-6 Minnesota next plays at the rival Green Bay Packers (6-3-1) this coming Sunday. As of Wednesday morning, ESPN BET had the Vikings as 6.5-point underdogs for that game.
One coach makes sense for LSU if Lane Kiffin doesn't flip to Tigers
The LSU Tigers are serious about their pursuit of current Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. It makes sense, too. Sure, Kiffin has had some ups and downs (to put it lightly) as a college football coach, but he's been great at Ole Miss since 2020, and he currently has the Rebels at 10-1 and in the running to make a huge run through the College Football Playoff. He's comfortable with SEC football, and he's known as a great recruiter. Those are all things that would make Kiffin a big-time hire for the Tigers as they look to replace Brian Kelly, but they're not the only program in the running. Ole Miss would, obviously, like Kiffin to stay, and the Florida Gators are turning on the full-court press for him as well. LSU would be smart to have options 1A and 1B if Kiffin doesn't end up coming to Baton Rouge, and according to Scott Rabalais of NOLA.com, the Tigers do have two names in mind. "If not Kiffin — and obviously he could go any number of ways — then who for LSU? Two of the names to consider right now appear to be Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz and Tulane coach Jon Sumrall," Rabalais reported earlier in the week. Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall could be a perfect fit for LSU Tigers Eli Drinkwitz of Missouri would be a great option. He's gone 44-27 in six seasons with the Tigers from Columbia, Missouri. The issue with him is somewhat similar to what plagued Kelly at LSU, though, and it's something that led to Penn State firing James Franklin — now the head coach at Virginia Tech. Drinkwitz has kept Mizzou very competitive in the SEC, but he has struggled in big spots. He is 7-14 against ranked teams. LSU could get that kind of production, or lack thereof, from Kelly, which then makes Jon Sumrall from Tulane the next option to look at. Frankly, he may be the best one of the bunch for LSU, and even better of a fit than Kiffin. One of the big problems with Kelly at LSU is that he never fit into the Louisiana culture. A Massachusetts native, he was always seen as an outsider and never tried to change that. Sumrall wasn't born in Louisiana, but he does hail from Texarkana, Texas, which is roughly five hours north of Baton Rouge. He was a linebacker at Kentucky from 2002 to 2004, so he understands SEC football, but most importantly for LSU, he understands life in Louisiana as the head coach at Tulane. He's now in his second season with the Green Wave, but he was also the co-defensive coordinator at Tulane from 2012 to 2014, so he has a lot of experience working and recruiting within the state. Throw in the fact that he's only 43 years old (thus, he really has no baggage as a head coach), and he has No. 24 Tulane in the hunt in the American Athletic Conference as well as in the hunt for a spot in the CFP, and there are few scenarios in which Sumrall wouldn't be a home run hire for LSU. Again, he may even be a better option than Kiffin, though it does sound like LSU wants to bark up that tree first before looking elsewhere.
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