Gilbert Arenas interested in hiring Joy Taylor for 'Gil's Arena' after FOX ouster
In the wake of Fox Sports 1 and Taylor parting this week – along with the show she co-hosted, "Speak," and two others in the network's daily lineup being canceled – former NBA-All-Star-turned-podcaster-and-streamer Gilbert Arenas has voiced his desire to hire Taylor.
'Joy's a great host,' Arenas said on a recent "No Chill Gil" Summer League stream, according to Awful Announcing. 'I know we're looking at her for the football side. We've been behind the scenes talking to her for the last year.'
Arenas' show, "Gil's Arena," exists under the Underdog Fantasy umbrella and has 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube.
Taylor has not commented since the news broke of her show's cancellation.
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New York Times
12 minutes ago
- New York Times
Ask anyone what Ryne Sandberg meant to the Cubs and Chicago
CHICAGO — 'What did Ryno mean to you?' Late Tuesday afternoon, 670 The Score host Laurence Holmes began his show's interview of Cubs legend Andre Dawson with that simple question about the late, great Ryne Sandberg. Dawson went quiet. He said he needed a minute to collect himself, and his silence spoke volumes. It was raw, uncomfortable radio. Advertisement 'Ryno was everything to me,' Dawson said. 'You're talking about, right there at the top, one of my all-time favorite teammates. You know, he was like a brother.' 'What did Ryno mean to you?' It was the same question I asked a 66-year-old Cubs fan named Jim Rodgers, who was standing by Sandberg's statue outside of Wrigley Field earlier in the day. 'He meant everything,' said Rodgers, who drove down from suburban Round Lake because he hadn't seen the statue in person since it was unveiled last summer. 'MVP in '84, how many gold gloves he had, he was one of the best.' Dawson knew Sandberg intimately. Rodgers watched him on TV. Sandberg, who passed away from prostate cancer on Monday, was different things to different people. To Cubs fans, he was a legend. That's why they took pictures of the statue on Tuesday. That's why they dropped off flowers and hats and jerseys. That's why they've named their dogs and kids Ryne or Ryno over the last 40 years. To those who really knew Sandberg, he was a husband, a father, a teammate, a friend, a mentor, and yes, he was a hero to them too. But to those who knew him and to those who just worshipped him, it seems like Sandberg meant about the same. That is to say, everything. For Ned Colletti, who would go on to a storybook career in baseball, Sandberg was his first up-close look at a baseball legend. A few years after they both started working for the Cubs — Colletti in the media relations department and Sandberg in the middle infield — Colletti was sitting in the TV booth with NBC's Bob Costas and Tony Kubek. It was June 23, 1984, and you know what happened next. 'From that moment on, I mean, it was like an explosion of interest in him,' Colletti said in a phone conversation from London, where he's teaching a class for Pepperdine University. 'I'm working in PR, so you know, you've got a lot of things to figure out, and he was a reluctant hero. He did whatever we asked him to do, but it wasn't like he was seeking it out. 'Hit me a thousand ground balls, I'd rather do that and stand in front of a microphone.' But he made it to the All-Star Game. And from then on … he was terrific.' Advertisement To Colletti, a child of Chicago who grew up in the Wrigley Field bleachers, the impact Sandberg had on the team was immeasurable and he traces it all back to that moment in 1984 when Sandberg burst onto the national scene with two game-tying homers off Cardinals closer Bruce Sutter. 'I mean no exaggeration by this,' Colletti said. 'I don't know if one game has ever changed a career as much as that game did. But he just kept at it.' Colletti said he and Sandberg hit it off early and their friendship stayed strong even in the later years, when he changed jobs in the Cubs front office as he charted a path to being a general manager. In the spring of 1992, Sandberg and the Cubs were working on a contract extension and Colletti was in the middle of some complicated negotiations between Sandberg and the Tribune Company. They wound up getting a deal done that made Sandberg the highest-paid player in baseball. Colletti was fired by GM Larry Himes a few days after Christmas in 1993. The next year, Sandberg retired in mid-June. Colletti's career then took off in San Francisco, and he eventually became the GM of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sandberg, of course, returned to play baseball for two years before retiring for good. The two remained friends. One night during the pandemic when everyone was home watching TV, Colletti flipped to MLB Network and found 'The Sandberg Game.' He called up Sandberg and told him to turn it on. 'So we watched the rest of the game, going pitch by pitch. I mean, it was so much fun,' Colletti said. 'He comes up against Sutter and I say, 'I think this guy's going to get him right here.' And he goes, 'I don't know. He's kind of a weak-hitting second baseman. What could he do against Bruce Sutter with that splitter?'' For Darwin Barney, Sandberg was the mentor he needed in the minor leagues. Sandberg was Barney's first manager in Class-A Peoria in 2007. Sandberg managed him again in Double-A Tennessee in 2009 and once more in Triple-A Iowa in 2010. (He also was a hitting coach for Barney in the Arizona Fall League.) Advertisement Sandberg was new to coaching, let alone managing in 2007. And Barney could see the seams a little bit with how the Hall of Famer was adjusting to the role. Communication didn't always come naturally, but passion did. 'As a manager, you could always see how baseball lit him up,' Barney said in a phone conversation Tuesday. And that's why Barney never got tired of moving up the ladder with Sandberg. 'I remember going into a season with him as my manager and I had weird feelings of wanting to go to battle for him,' Barney said. 'Like excitement for the season to get to play for him. I would say it's more of a college-type feeling of wanting to go to war with this guy. … So obviously, we had that relationship and I just always felt like he was in my corner.' Never more so than in 2010, when the Cubs called up Starlin Castro from Double A to play shortstop. Barney, who was putting together a sterling season in Iowa, was obviously disappointed. And that's when Sandberg took charge. 'Ryno came up to me and said we're going to work at second base every day,' Barney said. Barney still started at shortstop, but before every game, Sandberg drilled him at second until he got the hang of it. In mid-August, Barney made his big-league debut at second base. People wondered why Sandberg went into managing. Was he bored? Was it ego? Maybe, but Barney thinks Sandberg just wanted to give something back to the game. And so he did. In 2012, Barney won a Gold Glove at second base with the Cubs, just like Ryno. 'I felt like he was proud of what I accomplished, because he was a big part of that as well,' he said. 'It's hard to say I would have gotten where I got in my career without Ryne Sandberg.' For Shawon Dunston, Sandberg was his polar opposite, and that was just what he needed. 'If I had a second baseman that played like me, we wouldn't have gotten nothing done,' the former Cubs shortstop said in a phone conversation Tuesday. Dunston was a mile-a-minute talker and an electric, sometimes erratic shortstop. Meanwhile, Sandberg was Sandberg. Advertisement 'I had a Hall of Famer next to me and he didn't talk much,' Dunston said. 'He just told me certain things, what to do, what not to do. And he just delivered.' When Dunston got the majors in 1985, he was already well-versed in what kind of player Sandberg was. After all, he got WGN-TV in Midland, Texas, and Des Moines, Iowa, the year before. In person, he quickly realized Sandberg was the real deal. 'When you have a superstar in Ryno that's never bragging and acting like one of us, that's very nice,' Dunston said. 'It's very comfortable to be around a guy like that.' The two formed an exciting double-play combination and even made the All-Star Game together in 1990 at Wrigley Field. When Sandberg upstaged the big boppers in the Home Run Derby, it was Dunston who was doing the bragging because it was his teammate. (Sandberg hit a whopping three home runs in a wind-ruined contest to beat Jose Canseco.) They wound up hitting 57 homers that season, a record for a Cubs double-play combination. Sandberg hit 40 of them. 'They used to tease me, 'Shawon, come on now, you've got to swing it a little bit more,' Dunston said. 'I said, I'm trying, but you know what, man, it's OK, Ryne will take over.' Dawson got to the Cubs in 1987, and Dunston found himself in the locker between two of the quietest stars in the game. The three became close friends, the kind that transcends clubhouses. Mark Grace and Shawon Dunston surprise Ryno at spring training 💙 — Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) February 15, 2025 A little less than two weeks ago, they found themselves on a three-way phone call. Sandberg wanted to talk to them. They knew he was suffering from prostate cancer, but he didn't want to talk about it. He was asking them how they were doing. He wanted to know when the Cubs would induct Sammy Sosa and Derrek Lee into the team's Hall of Fame. Dunston told him it would probably be in September. Advertisement 'So he said, 'Let's get together then,' and we spoke and spoke,' Dunston said. 'And then he said, 'The Cubs are on right now, so I'm gonna go watch the Cub game. Before I go, you guys take care. I love you like my brothers and I really appreciate you.'' As they processed that, Sandberg's daughter got on the phone and informed the two that her dad wasn't going to make it to Wrigley again. He was going into hospice. This call was to say goodbye. They were devastated then. They are devastated still. Dunston said he talked more to Sandberg in the last three years than he did for the decade-plus they played together. Everyone noticed how Sandberg opened up as he got older and they all got a kick out of it. But when Sandberg told Dunston and Dawson how much he cared about them, it surprised them, even if shouldn't have. 'Most of us men don't know how to express ourselves to each other and say, 'I love you,'' Dunston said. 'It doesn't sound right. But, you know, as the years go on, it sounds really good. I really appreciate he told me he loved me. I think that was more important he told me that than he loved being my teammate or double-play partner. That meant a lot to me.' You could say it meant everything.
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Thank Yous' Pouring In For Caitlin Clark's Foundation Tuesday
'Thank Yous' Pouring In For Caitlin Clark's Foundation Tuesday originally appeared on The Spun. Caitlin Clark has been sidelined for the past two weeks due to a groin injury, but that hasn't stopped her from being an inspiration to fans around the world. In 2023, the NCAA's all-time leading scorer founded the Caitlin Clark Foundation. She has already helped out local foundations and charities in Iowa over the past two years. "Caitlin's passion and joy on the court inspire her foundation's work off the court. The Caitlin Clark Foundation's mission is to uplift and improve the lives of youth and their communities through education, nutrition, and sports—three pillars Caitlin believes were foundational in her success," the foundation's mission statement reads. This past Monday, the All-Star guard for the Fever returned to Des Moines to help out the youth. She provided 500 backpacks full of school supplies for students at McCombs Middle School. Clark's incredible work this week was part of the grand opening for a new outdoor court McCombs Middle School. The court was funded by the Caitlin Clark Foundation and Musco Lighting. Unsurprisingly, basketball fans praised Clark for once again making an impact through her foundation. "This is what it's all about! This is bigger then basketball and she understands that," one fan commented on Instagram. "Thank you Caitlin," another Instagram user wrote. "Shoutout to Caitlin Clark and her foundation for helping the marginalized, underrepresented communities in her home state of Iowa," one fan said. I love to see Caitlin giving back, especially to the youth," another fan said. Clark finished this trip to McCombs Middle School by getting some shots up with a few kids. "It's always fun for myself to come back here and be in Des Moines. Obviously, this place means so much to me, and I hope to be able to continue to come back here and do this every year," Clark said, via Hawkeyes Wire. Kudos to Clark for truly using her platform to make a difference.'Thank Yous' Pouring In For Caitlin Clark's Foundation Tuesday first appeared on The Spun on Jul 29, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
41 minutes ago
- USA Today
Lakers jersey history No. 1 — Joe Smith
Through the 2024-25 season, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a total of 506 players suit up for them, going back to their days in Minneapolis. Some were forgettable, some were serviceable, some were good and a select few were flat-out legendary. As the Lakers approach their 80th season of existence (they were founded back in 1946 as the Detroit Gems in the National Basketball League), LeBron Wire is taking a look at each player who has worn their jersey, whether it has been a purple and gold one or the ones they donned back in the Midwest during their early years. Here, we take a look at Joe Smith, a big man who played in the NBA for 16 seasons. Smith was a star at the University of Maryland, where he averaged 20.2 points and 10.7 rebounds a game over two seasons. He was named the AP Player of the Year and the Naismith College Player of the Year in 1995 before the Golden State Warriors made him the No. 1 overall pick in that year's NBA draft. He averaged 15.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a game during the 1995-96 season and was named to the All-Rookie First Team. During the following season, he posted 18.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. However, that would be the apex of Smith's productivity in the NBA. In the years to come, he would bounce around from team to team, and by the late 2000s, he had become a definite journeyman. Early in the 2010-11 season, the Lakers participated in a three-team trade where they sent out guard Sasha Vujacic and a 2011 first-round pick and received Smith, along with two future second-round picks and a big man named Sergei Lishouk. Smith appeared in 12 games for Los Angeles and had a total of six points on 2-of-12 field-goal shooting, 18 rebounds, four blocks and three assists in 44 minutes. He got 11 minutes of playing time in five playoff games that year but didn't score a single point. That would turn out to be the end of Smith's NBA career.
