Latest news with #SkipBayless
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
WNBA is 'blatantly bullying' Caitlin Clark due to fears entire league will 'revolt' because she's too popular
Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark is at the center of a WNBA bullying scandal, according to a furious Skip Bayless. Clark is the WNBA's biggest draw, with news of her injury status immediately sending ticket prices plummeting for the Fever's upcoming games. On Saturday, she was left furious after the refs neglected to call a foul that could have allowed her to tie the game against the reigning champion New York Liberty, and Bayless has now issued a staunch defense of the basketball icon. Speaking on his eponymous YouTube show, Bayless said: 'Natasha Cloud body-fouled Caitlin, rammed her, then hacked her across the wrist, then hit her arm as she attempted to get the shot up... no call. Loose ball, turnover, game over. What?! No call? 'Caitlin Clark has at least earned that call at home in that moment. Not only was she Rookie of the Year last year but she made First Team All-WNBA last year, in her rookie year. 'Caitlin Clark deserved the opportunity to shoot those two free throws. Her team deserved the previous two calls. The Indiana Fever, in the loudest, most intimidating arena in the league, got screwed three times in the final 12 seconds. They were robbed at home!' Going one step further, the iconic TV personality offered up an opinion for why the controversial sequence of events happened, claiming that it is a deliberate decision on the WNBA's part to quell anger from the rest of the league. '[Other players need to] quit complaining about Caitlin Clark and just accept and embrace that she is the reason all of you ultimately will make far, far more money. But no, petty jealousy kicks in and takes over. 'Other teams are constantly complaining to the league office about all the publicity and all the credit that Caitlin Clark gets, even though she doesn't do much on social media, doesn't say much when she's interviewed, nothing but cliches and platitudes and respect. 'Caitlin is actually pretty boring unless she's playing basketball, yet this league office is obviously deathly afraid of an open player revolt, a mutiny against Caitlin Clark... so the refs are given the message, they're clearly afraid to protect Caitlin Clark from the bully tactics and the excessive physicality inflicted on her. 'Heck, maybe veteran refs are resentful of the attention that Caitlin Clark gets, that's the way it looked on Saturday. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you... is it because Caitlin Clark is white and brings in tons of new white fans? Who cares what color they are, as long as they're buying tickets. 'Is it because she flashes a little attitude and arrogance, and occasionally gets a little heated? What superstar doesn't? Is it her new State Farm commercial that set off some of the older stars? 'Happy Memorial Day WNBA. It should be Christmas in May, but you just can't quite get your heads around the greatest thing to ever happen to your league, and your future.' Clark is set to be sidelined for at next the four Indiana Fever games, as she rehabs from a strained left quad.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Skip Bayless disses LeBron James by saying he misses the superstar
While plenty of interesting and surprising things have transpired lately in the NBA playoffs, there seems to be a lack of superstar power. Kevin Durant didn't make it to the playoffs, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, as well as the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James and Luka Doncic, exited in the first round. Then, in the conference semifinals, Nikola Jokić and Stephen Curry went home early for the summer. On Saturday, the Minnesota Timberwolves, who do feature budding superstar Anthony Edwards, devoured the Oklahoma City Thunder 143-101 to get on the board in the Western Conference finals. During the game, sports commentator Skip Bayless tweeted that he misses James — but for some bad reasons. James didn't play his best basketball when the Lakers were eliminated by the Timberwolves in the first round of the postseason. He shot poorly in three of the five fourth quarters in the series, and he had some costly miscues in Game 4 that helped the Timberwolves take full control with their third win of the series. As a result, he's home watching the rest of the playoffs. Advertisement However, he did have his usual excellent regular season, and he was named to the All-NBA Second Team. It seems reasonable to believe he will continue to play at the same level next season, when Los Angeles could have a truly championship-caliber roster. With more help, perhaps he will be fresher and thus be more able to play up to his standards during crunch time in the playoffs. This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Skip Bayless disses LeBron James by saying he misses the superstar
USA Today
25-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Skip Bayless disses LeBron James by saying he misses the superstar
Skip Bayless disses LeBron James by saying he misses the superstar While plenty of interesting and surprising things have transpired lately in the NBA playoffs, there seems to be a lack of superstar power. Kevin Durant didn't make it to the playoffs, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, as well as the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James and Luka Doncic, exited in the first round. Then, in the conference semifinals, Nikola Jokić and Stephen Curry went home early for the summer. On Saturday, the Minnesota Timberwolves, who do feature budding superstar Anthony Edwards, devoured the Oklahoma City Thunder 143-101 to get on the board in the Western Conference finals. During the game, sports commentator Skip Bayless tweeted that he misses James — but for some bad reasons. James didn't play his best basketball when the Lakers were eliminated by the Timberwolves in the first round of the postseason. He shot poorly in three of the five fourth quarters in the series, and he had some costly miscues in Game 4 that helped the Timberwolves take full control with their third win of the series. As a result, he's home watching the rest of the playoffs. However, he did have his usual excellent regular season, and he was named to the All-NBA Second Team. It seems reasonable to believe he will continue to play at the same level next season, when Los Angeles could have a truly championship-caliber roster. With more help, perhaps he will be fresher and thus be more able to play up to his standards during crunch time in the playoffs.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Skip Bayless Targeting Anthony Edwards with Brutal New Nickname
In Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, the Minnesota Timberwolves came up short against flop-master Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his foul-baiting talent. Now, they will soak up the loss for a couple days, before they get their rematch vs the Thunder in Oklahoma City for game 2. have been the talking point during the news cycle since. It wasn't just Shai that was a detriment to Minnesota in Game 1 though. It started when 90% of the team forgot how to shoot. That was exacerbated by a poor coaching performance from Chris Finch, who didn't get much help from his young superstar, Anthony Edwards, who apparently left his hero cape in Minneapolis. Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Just like Gilgeous-Alexander excels at flopping his way to the foul line, former ESPN First Take tag-team partner Skip Bayless has a talent for shocking his way into sports media relevance. We don't hate on success here, though. People eat up Skip's outlandish takes. That's why FOX paid him over $50 million to spew them from 2016-2024. Advertisement Related Headlines Minnesota Timberwolves' Edwards gets 'Can't Man' nickname And over the past couple months, Bayless — who is from Oklahoma City and does not hide his OKC thunder fandom — has had rising Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards in his hyperbolic crosshairs. Unsurprisingly, the Wolves' Game 1 loss on Tuesday night did not draw any sympathy from Skip, who recently created a new nickname for 'Ant-Man', renaming him 'Can't-Man'. 'All of a sudden SGA (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) went MVP on the Timberwolves while Ant Man, right on schedule, turned into Can't Man. He just can't. Second half, fourth quarters, playoffs. I told you going into this, way too often in big playoff game fourth quarters, he has been Can't Man…The worst player on the floor, says plus/minus, was Can't Man tonight…I told you, Can't Man is overhyped and overrated.' Skip Bayless – X Look, Skip Bayless may have media's most punchable face. Most agree on that. Still, Stephen A. Smith's old Cold Pizza and First Take co-star brings up some valid points. In game one, it's hard to deny Ant's disappearing act. Advertisement It wasn't that he was terrible as much as he was nonexistent. Even Edwards was first to admit postgame that his 13 total shots on Tuesday night — 18 points on 3-of-8 from deep — are unacceptable for a guy who wants to be mentioned in MVP conversations sooner than later. Of course, Ant is not overrated or overhyped. I'm not even sure Skip really believes that himself. But that doesn't really matter to Bayless. He's decided that Anthony Edwards is his next LeBron, who he's been dragging down for decades. Related: NBA Pundits Agree: Flopping Shai is a Problem for the League, Not Just Timberwolves Nonetheless, our 23-year-old superstar did not play well in Game 1, and thus, I expect him to bounce back with vengeance in game 2, something that should scare the heck out of Oklahoma City. Advertisement No matter what Skip Bayless tries to speak into existence, Edwards is a generational talent in this league and he'll show that off in this series just like he did in the first two (which Skip has conveniently forgotten about). Related Headlines
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Skip Bayless Claims LeBron James Faked Injury To Avoid Media Backlash For Early Playoff Exit
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James found himself on the chopping block yet again as Skip Bayless returned to strike down the Lakers' star. In a recent post of "The Skip Bayless Show", Bayless claimed that James and Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul concocted a story involving an injury to protect James from media backlash. "Another Lebron playoff flameout, in Los Angeles, mostly uncriticized, followed by another leaked and planted excuse for said flameout. He and his inner circle did it again, Rich Paul, you are the all-time greatest at excuse planting with key media members." Advertisement "Congrats on this coup you just pulled off, Rich Paul," continued the host, addressing that he laughed after reading ESPN's report about James' injury. He built upon this by saying, "A long-time NBA trainer I know very well immediately texted me, soon after this story was posted, and he said to me in the text, 'You cannot have a Grade 2 MCL sprain and come back in a game.' You can't." Bayless' claims are based on his source, and to some extent, there is no further evidence on the matter. However, the analyst continues to find ways to fault James for every minute action he makes. What cannot be ignored, however, is the Lakers' first-round exit from the playoffs and James' recent losing record in the postseason. The loss to the T'Wolves caps off a series of poor outings for the Lakers forward. With a 2-12 record over the last three seasons, it is clear that James is not enjoying the same postseason success that he did early in his career. Advertisement This season's failures could be attributed to several things. But it was clear that the problems lay in the Lakers' roster makeup and their inability to execute when it mattered most. The offseason raises a lot of concerns for the Lakers regarding their future, particularly with James in the picture. Although the initial response by the forward gave no information about his status for the next season, it is widely believed that he could wait another season to play with his son, Bryce. In such a case, the Purple and Gold will be required to strategize their approach towards roster construction as well. With the team being built around Luka Doncic, the Lakers are inevitably building for the future. However, James' contract emerges as a huge factor in this scenario. James will be owed $52 million if he decides to opt into his contract. This reduces the Lakers' cap flexibility significantly. Although there have been suggestions that James should opt out of his contract and take a pay cut, there has been no indication of what the forward will do. Advertisement Although the forward had a disappointing end to the season, he still managed to record some solid stats, emerging as a relevant contributor even in Year 22. With 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game in the 2024-25 season, the 21x All-Star remains a paragon of longevity. Related: Rich Paul Believes The 2025 Lakers With LeBron And Luka Didn't Have A Championship Roster
