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At the height of former Louisville QB Lamar Jackson's domination of college football, my friend and I started a running joke. Jackson, the 2016 Heisman winner and one of the most dominant players to ever play college football, was in for a rude awakening once he decided to enter the NFL Draft. Despite his video game number playing quarterback at Louisville, passing for 9,043 yards, 69 TDs and a 57 percent completion percentage while rushing for another 4,132 yards and 50 TDs, we agreed that some NFL executives would see fit to ask Jackson to play a new position at the pro level. We joked Jackson would come into an NFL practice one day expecting to put on his usual No. 8, but hanging at his locker would be the No. 88 and a pair of those fancy Nike receiver gloves. (FYI: NFL receivers can only wear a number between 10-19 and 80-89.) When demanding an explanation from coaches, the head coach would say something like: "We just want to give you a different look," or ...

Now that we've had a few days to marinate on last week's NBA trade deadline let's take a look at the aftermath. In case you've been living under a rock, ala Patrick Star, here's everything that went down in the NBA on Thursday. Now that all the paperwork is complete and new jerseys have been printed here's the breakdown of why the Cavs secured the bag even before they beat the brakes off   defeated the Celtics  on national TV Sunday. For much of the season, Cleveland looked old, slow and tired despite sitting comfortably as a top-4 seed in the East. Yet, with a wave of fresh faces, the Cavs are primed to make another Finals run, as opposed to a team who might have lost in the first round. The Cavs acquired Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood, George Hill and Larry Nance Jr. at the trade deadline pic.twitter.com/mQNIi0Wszm — Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) February 9, 2018 Cleveland's front office pulled off one of the boldest strategies I've e...

The opening scene of Hard Knocks featuring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on HBO brought us not to the sunny shores of Florida's Gulf Coast, but rather a gritty, humble neighborhood in Bessemer, Alabama, the hometown of Bucs QB Jameis Winston. The cameras shadow Winston as he gives a tour of his grandmother's home, a home he says was more like a "community center" for the number of people that lived there. Winston gives a tour of his room and he shows the exact tiny bed he shared with three other people.  He showed us around the "men's bathroom" a small ditch on the side of the house where men "go" when the inside bathroom is occupied. Jameis even stomps on a roach with one of his pristine Jordan XI kicks and then declares "This cockroach havin' a baby! This cockroach havin' a baby, for real! Or they mating. It's one of 'em." It's an intimate and eye-opening look at the humble beginnings at one of the NFL's bri...

"We got a slice of some humble pie," said Cleveland point guard Kyrie Irving after Monday's game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The quote comes after he and his Cavs teammates lost 111-108 to the Boston Celtics, squandering a 21-point, third quarter lead to a team playing without its best player Isaiah Thomas. There's likely a number of valid reasons why Cleveland lost, but the for the most obvious reason look no further than No. 23 for the Cavs, LeBron James. That humble pie Irving mentioned - the biggest slice went to James locker after the game. In 45 minutes played, Cleveland's best player scored just 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting against Boston. Fans took notice of his struggles and went to Twitter. LeBron finished with just 11 points tonight. He also didn't score in the final 16 or so minutes. Didn't look engaged the entire night. — Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) May 22, 2017 That's unacceptable for a player averaging 32 points pe...

Follow me on Twitter: @byMikeAllen for score updates of Saturday's high school football game between the Miami Norland Vikings and Creekside Seminoles. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. in Fairburn, GA. Tweets by @ByMikeAllen

With the NBA free agency period beginning Friday, it's crunch time for the Miami Heat. Team president Pat Riley and the Heat's front office staff have major questions to answer as they prepare for the 2016-17 season. The biggest question involves its biggest free agent: Hassan Whiteside. The 27-year-old center is an unrestricted free agent which means he's free to sign a deal with any team. Fortunately for him, several teams are prepared to offer top dollar for his services come in the coming days. After earning $981,000 last season, Whiteside will sign a deal shortly that pays him up to $22 million dollars a year. Not bad for a player who once had to beg NBA teams just for a tryout. Now, while that's great news for the Whiteside family, it puts the Heat franchise in a tight spot. The issue for Miami is should they use most of their salary cap space to sign Whiteside, or try their luck at wooing Oklahoma City superstar free agent Kevin Durant. Hassan Whiteside...

Former MVP point guard Derrick Rose is taking his talents to Madison Square Garden. The Chicago Bulls traded Rose to the New York Knicks  in a multiplayer deal Wednesday, according to ESPN. The Knicks, led by team president Phil Jackson hope the trade will make them contenders in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Jackson said earlier this month the Knicks could make the playoffs with a  few tweaks  to the team's triangle offense. New York finished 32-50 last season and missed the playoffs for the third straight year. Rose, 27, will play alongside all-star forward Carmelo Anthony and under new head coach Jeff Hornacek. The trade makes sense for Knicks who desperately needed a point guard and don't have a first round pick in Thursday's NBA Draft. Rose will take scoring and ball-handling responsibilities away from Anthony, who led the team in points (21.8 ppg) and assists (4.2) last season. He will also share the floor with big man Kristaps Porzingis, a 7-...