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High stakes, social media barbs remind college football fans that Auburn and Florida share history of hatred
The center of the college football universe this coming weekend will undoubtedly be in Oxford, Mississippi, and it's easy to see why.
Ole Miss and LSU are both top-ten teams with College Football Playoff and national title aspirations, but there's also the added bonus of former Rebels coach Lane Kiffin making his return to Vaught Hemingway Stadium for the first time as the new head coach of the Tigers.
With all that in mind, there is a different game set to kick off around the same time in a different part of the SEC that will feature both extremely entertaining football and two fanbases with a ton at stake as well as plenty of hatred to go around.
In case you didn't know, Auburn and Florida are old rivals.
I'm talking very old rivals.
Before their annual matchups and bitter back-and-forth contests with LSU and Tennessee, the Gators considered the Tigers one of their biggest rivals, and the feeling was mutual on the other side.
These two programs have met 84 times dating all the way back to 1912, and from 1945 until 2002, they played each other every year.
Auburn holds the all-time series lead at 43-39-2, but the Gators have dominated the rivalry since 1990 when Steve Spurrier arrived in Gainesville, boasting a 12-6 record in that timeframe.
That's not to say the Tigers haven't ruined plenty of Florida's best seasons in that stretch, and as a Gator fan coming of age during those years, I can speak to several personal experiences.
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I was a bit too young to remember 1994, when the Tigers marched into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as 17.5-point underdogs and handed the top-ranked Gators their first and only regular season loss that year.
I do, however, remember the 2006 Auburn team pouncing all over the second-ranked Gators to give that team their only loss en route to a national championship.
The very next year, a reeling 2-2 Auburn squad upset top-five Florida in The Swamp, giving then-head coach Urban Meyer his first home loss as a Gator.
That might explain part of why the rhetoric around this renewed rivalry is so toxic on social media this week, but it doesn't tell the whole story.
History is only half of the equation here, as both the Tigers and Gators are breaking in new coaches who just as easily could have been on opposite sidelines.
Saturday night will be the first SEC game for both Auburn head coach Alex Golesh and Florida head coach Jon Sumrall, so this contest will be a huge early test for two programs desperate to get off on the right foot in conference play.
While the winner won't necessarily be out of the woods when it comes to proving they are ahead of schedule in year one, the loser will almost certainly be faced with some tough questions after failing to beat a team that is in a similar boat from a timeline perspective.
There's also the added animosity Tigers fans likely feel towards Sumrall, who, by all accounts, was Auburn's top choice in their search for a new coach last November before he pivoted to the Gators.
It's highly likely that both programs ended up with the best coach for them moving forward - I personally think Golesh will be great at Auburn and I'm obviously super high on Sumrall so far at Florida - but on Saturday night, Tiger fans will be eager to prove that the man who spurned them for a different shade of orange and blue made the wrong choice.
Losing this game is going to suck for whichever coach, program, and fanbase fails to come out on top, and that's why it's so intriguing despite the fact neither team is ranked in the top-25.
There are plenty of football-related aspects that make this matchup a must-watch, too, though.
The chess match between Florida's offensive coordinator extraordinaire, Buster Faulkner, and Auburn's defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, who many consider one of the best in the conference, as well as the prospect of Gator running back Jadan Baugh going against the Tigers' stellar linebacker duo of Elijah Melendez and Xavier Atkins, will have football fans salivating.
When you combine the off-field narratives with the on-field action, Auburn and Florida should provide one of the most entertaining matchups of the early season.
Just pray for the losing fanbase, because social media won't be a happy place for them on Sunday morning.
Craig Counsell romanticizes Pete Crow-Armstrong's monster night against Braves on cusp of MVP honors
It may have taken until game 153 of the season, but the aura and abilities of Pete Crow-Armstrong finally got to Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell.
The 24-year-old superstar has arguably been the most exciting player in Major League Baseball this season, having put together what feels like countless memorable performances, showing off his power at the plate, speed around the bases, and ability to cover a freakish amount of space roaming center field.
During the Cubs' 8-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, PCA registered his seventh multi-home-run game of the season, with three of the seven taking place over the last three weeks alone.
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Something about Wednesday's two-home-run night, however, struck something within Counsell, so much so that he shared details about his emotions after his team's win over the Braves.
"When he hit the second homer, Alex Bregman was standing next to me," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, according to MLB.com. "I said, ‘Alex, we don’t get to see things like this.’ You spend your whole life in baseball, and you just don’t see this happen on a baseball field. You’re grateful to be a part of it."
Crow-Armstrong's first home run of the contest came in the bottom of the third inning, and while it sent Wrigley Field into a frenzy, his second long ball of the night did, as Counsell alluded to, have a different feel about it.
CUBS STAR PETE CROW-ARMSTRONG APPRECIATES THE WILD CONSPIRACY THEORY THAT BABE RUTH NEVER EXISTED
As PCA stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning, the hometown crowd decided to shower him with "MVP" chants. Facing an 0-1 count, he got the low, slightly below-the-zone pitch he's enjoyed hitting all season, and responded to the chants with a home run to right-center field.
"You’re grateful to see things like this," Counsell said. "And you’re grateful that the fans get to see a season like this, because they're going to talk about it. They're going to tell their kids about it. They're going to tell their grandkids about seasons like this."
As the Cubs' manager, Counsell is always going to praise his players after special performances, but for him to go down the semi-emotional path and explain that people will talk a bout Crow-Armstrong's season to their grandchildren is taking things to a level not often seen, especially when it comes to regular season baseball.
Crow-Armstrong's two homers give him 44 on the year, which officially moves him past Cubs legend and Hall of Famer Billy Williams for the most by a left-handed hitter in team history. PCA also connected for a triple during Chicago's win on Wednesday, giving him 81 extra-base hits on the year, another franchise single-season record.
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In a mind-blowing statistic shared by MLB's Sarah Langs, Crow-Armstrong's 10 total base game against the Braves marked the 10th time in his career he's accomplished the feat, which is three more such games than any other player before turning 25 years old, dating back to at least 1900.
If, for whatever reason, a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America was still on the fence about giving the nod for National League MVP to Crow-Armstrong this season, Wednesday night's show may have persuaded them.
Dan Le Batard falsely claims that ESPN only hires and pays white people
Liberal sports host Dan Le Batard is complaining about white people again. This time, he is expressing his frustration with ESPN paying certain white people more money than he'd like.
"Since George Floyd, the company of ESPN and the country of the United States were promising some sort of change over the last five years. But what has happened with the NFL Network and ESPN ... having put a whole bunch of white people in charge of how to select the next evolution of ESPN, this is what happened. I want to ask you guys if anyone is noticing this. Have you noticed that the people at ESPN who are getting the chances and big money ... are Joe Buck, Pat McAfee, Josh Pate, Rich Eisen, the Golics, Jason Kelce, Peter Schrager and the Mannings?
"As the money flows in to fund [ESPN], that is now sitting out the political discussion that it's a whole lot of white people hiring a whole lot of white people and giving the money to a whole lot of white people ... it's only those people getting that money. Has anyone noticed that?"
To answer his question, no. Most people have not noticed that.
For one, normal people don't count the number of white and black people on television. They don't care. More importantly, however, people haven't noticed what Le Batard is describing because his premise is false.
Consider the names Le Batard cites. He lists Joe Buck and Pat McAfee among ESPN's highest-paid talents. They are. But between them is Stephen A. Smith, who is black. Last year, Smith signed a five-year, $100 million contract extension with the company. Because McAfee signed a licensing deal, Smith is ESPN's highest-paid full-time employee.
ESPN did bring back Mike Golic and Mike Golic Jr. this year, as Le Batard mentions. But their inclusion in his argument is questionable because they returned on relatively minor deals to host a radio-only program. If Le Batard is going to mention them, he should also acknowledge that ESPN brought back Stan Verrett, a black commentator with a long history of toxic, embarrassing social media posts.
The Mannings are also on a licensing deal, as are Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal, who host "Inside the NBA" during the NBA Finals.
The point isn't that ESPN has failed to pay star white talent—it has. The point is that Le Batard has selectively cherry-picked those deals to construct an argument about racial bias that doesn't withstand even modest scrutiny.
In fact, there might not be another media network in the country, other than BET, that has prioritized excluding white people from its hiring practices as much as ESPN has over the past decade.
The "change" Le Batard describes is that ESPN no longer entirely excludes white men from the hiring and promotion process, as it once did.
After George Floyd died in 2020, talent agents recognized that ESPN would not promote any white male, regardless of his qualifications or fit for the role. The company gave nearly every new promotion to a black employee.
Look at the commentators ESPN promoted during that period: Malika Andrews, Monica McNutt, Elle Duncan, Clinton Yates, Andraya Carter, Chiney Ogwumike, Ryan Clark, Marcus Spears, David Dennis Jr. and Christine Williamson.
ESPN has since recognized that this overtly racist approach was not sustainable, particularly because most of its audience is white men. For the most part, the network now elevates and pays those whom management believes deserve it, regardless of their skin color.
ESPN's most prominently promoted talent over the past year includes McAfee, Stephen A., Schrager, Jason McCourty, Josh Pate, Mina Kimes and Malika Andrews. There are some hits there, and some misses.
However, because that group is about 50% white, Dan Le Batard has an issue — or pretends to.
We don't find Le Batard's outrage genuine. If he were truly concerned about a media network hiring too many white people, he would run his own media company far differently.
From what we can tell, Le Batard's Meadowlark Media has just one full-time black employee: a producer named Roy Bellamy. Everyone else at his company, which may have up to 40 total employees, is white, and mostly male.
Why the hypocrisy? OutKick asked Le Batard that question on Thursday via text message:
"Hi, Dan. I have two questions:
By the way, happy to re-schedule that interview your rep scheduled with me any time."
Le Batard did not respond as of publication. We will update this story if he does.
But don't plan on a response. Le Batard tends to go silent when he exhibits hypocrisy, which happens with some frequency.
Most notably, he has repeatedly declared zero tolerance for violence against women, despite once employing Howard Bryant, who was arrested for allegedly choking his wife in public.
Le Batard was also the first host to interview Kamala Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, after a Daily Mail report cited an alleged incident in which he slapped his ex-girlfriend. Despite the news and interest surrounding the scandal, Le Batard never asked Emhoff about the allegation.
And yet, he criticizes other outlets for failing to ask subjects about allegations involving violence against women.
At this point, you have to wonder why Le Batard is like this. How can he so calmly and falsely accuse others of doing exactly what he does?
Is there something seriously wrong with him? Is he trying to overcompensate for his early, wild bachelor days? Is he still bitter that ESPN chose Pat McAfee over him? Is he simply a fraud?
Unfortunately, despite his own publicist reaching out to set up an interview a few years ago, he ultimately declined to speak with OutKick. He has, however, mentioned both the site and me several times on his show.
He has previously accused me of "wearing the [KKK] hood" and "trying to hold women in media back."
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We found this accusation strange, as I am not the one who owns and operates a media company of nearly all white men and a man arrested for domestic violence.
Put simply, Dan Le Batard is a liar. He should not be taken seriously.
That said, it will be interesting to see whether ESPN executives Burke Magnus and Mike McQuade fall for Le Batard's challenge — and that's what this was — and reprioritize DEI.
Given their history, we wouldn't doubt it.
Finally, you have to find amusement in Le Batard caterwauling over ESPN paying too much money for Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Pat McAfee — perhaps the three most valuable people in the industry.
WATCH: Gaffe-prone Seattle socialist mayor cuts off police chief in yet another awkward interview
Already known for awkward, gaffe-prone interviews and public appearances, Seattle socialist Mayor Katie Wilson is being mocked again for another uncomfortable on-camera moment.
This time, Wilson, a Democrat and self-identified socialist, is being criticized for a strange interview about the city’s gun violence reduction plan alongside Seattle Police Assistant Chief Nicole Powell and Amy Barden, chief of Seattle’s Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) Department. At one point during the interview, Wilson interjected after a long pause when Powell was questioned by a reporter about the usefulness of new Flock-type surveillance cameras being installed in the city.
KOMO News reporter Chris Daniels had asked Powell whether the new cameras could assist with Seattle’s slate of unsolved cases. The assistant police chief hesitated, looked down and began to speak twice before Wilson interjected.
"Cameras are obviously a useful tool, right? We’ve seen in the 'Bite of Seattle' shooting there’s been camera footage from businesses around Seattle center, we have cameras at Seattle center, those cameras have been useful tools in solving crime, there’s no doubt about that," said Wilson.
SEATTLE MAYOR GRILLED ON PUBLIC SAFETY CRISIS AS RESIDENTS DEMAND ANSWERS
Visibly uncomfortable after Wilson interjected, the assistant police chief chuckled, motioned to the mayor and repeatedly looked off camera.
The reporter continued pressing them, saying, "What’s going to be the metric of success?"
Powell looked to Wilson, whose voice cracked slightly as she answered, "Ultimately, we want to see zero homicides, we want to see fewer homicides, and we want to see fewer guns shot." While Wilson spoke, Powell nodded along and looked to the side off camera again.
The reporter persisted, asking, "Would either of you like to answer that question?" as he motioned to Powell and Barden.
Barden jumped in quickly, steering the conversation away from Flock cameras.
"From my side, in addition to shots fired and homicides, you want to look at referrals in the services and whether or not somebody is making meaningful improvement in their life," said Barden.
After Barden finished speaking, the reporter turned the floor over to the assistant police chief, who laughed and finally answered, "Just to piggyback, taking a holistic approach, this strategy works."
"It is proven in other cities like this, and it takes all of us," Powell added, as she looked back at Wilson and Barden.
This comes as debate continues over the expansion of surveillance cameras in Seattle and other cities across the country. During her campaign last year, Wilson argued against expanding surveillance cameras in the city but has taken a different tone since becoming mayor.
Last September, Wilson remarked that "turning on more cameras won’t magically make our neighborhoods safer. But it will certainly make our neighbors more vulnerable," reported The Urbanist.
However, after becoming mayor, Wilson announced that she would pause expansion of Seattle’s surveillance-camera system pending a privacy and data-governance audit, while allowing the existing cameras to remain in operation. She said the city would use the audit’s findings to determine whether and how to proceed with further expansion.
During the KOMO News interview this week, Wilson was pressed on when she would set a date for a decision. She answered, "I’m going to sound like a broken record on this, but we’ve been conducting this audit of our data security and storage and privacy practices, we’re expecting the results of that audit around the end of this month and so, at the end of this month, we’ll be making that information public, and then I’ll be making a decision about that expansion."
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The awkward on-camera moment was quickly called out by many online.
Popular conservative account "End Wokeness" called it an "incredible moment."
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"Seattle Assistant Police Chief Nicole Powell gets asked if turning back on Seattle CCTV cameras would help[,] she looks nervously at Mayor KatieWilson (who turned off the CCTV) Look at the face she gives the camera," the account wrote.
Some voiced their frustration, such as political advocacy group Future 42, which posted, "Daniels asks the SPD Chief sitting beside the mayor if the crime cameras ‘could be a tool to help in any of these unsolved cases.’ The Chief's facial expression and silence say it all, which is then followed by Katie Wilson interjecting that cameras are in fact a ‘useful tool’, even though she personally made the decision to turn them off," the group wrote, adding, "What else can we say, except Katie Wilson still has no idea what she is doing as Mayor of Seattle?"
Barstool chief Dave Portnoy blasts Macklemore's shady past, strongly supports Patriots owner Robert Kraft
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy firmly backed Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s decision to ban Macklemore from Gillette Stadium, telling the rapper to take his political activism somewhere else.
Kraft’s decision helped get Macklemore kicked off Ed Sheeran’s U.S. "Loop Tour" after the Patriots owner cited the rapper’s history of antisemitic controversies.
"I back Robert Kraft banning Macklemore from performing at Gillette 1000% and thank him for having a spine when many others in his shoes don't," Portnoy said in a video posted to X.
MACKLEMORE DOUBLES DOWN AFTER GETTING KICKED OFF ED SHEERAN TOUR AFTER PRO-PALESTINE STANCE
"Macklemore, who is turning this into a political rally, you're going to come into Bob Kraft's house and spit in his face? No f------ way!" Portnoy said. "That's not censorship. This ain't freedom of speech, homie. He owns the stadium! It's his house."
He added: "Would you have a party and invite someone over who is going to spew what you consider hatred? If I go to the Ed Sheeran concert, I don't want to hear a ‘Free Palestine’ rant from a guy who isn't being genuine about it all. I didn't pay to hear Macklemore give me a political speech, I paid to hear Ed Sheeran sing."
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Portnoy spotlighted Macklemore’s antisemitic past.
"Bob Kraft, I am sure, did what I did when I saw this, he researched Macklemore," Portnoy said. "It didn't take long to learn that Macklemore has a pretty shady past. He already, at a prior concert, dressed in wildly antisemitic tropes."
Portnoy was referring to a 2014 Seattle performance in which Macklemore wore a dark suit, fake beard and prosthetic nose, drawing criticism for invoking antisemitic Jewish caricatures. Macklemore later apologized.
During Sheeran’s Sept. 4 and Sept. 5 shows at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, Macklemore led anti-Israel chants, projected Gaza war imagery and performed "Hind’s Hall."
Several venues reportedly told the tour promoter they would not host shows if Macklemore remained on the lineup. Kraft refused to host him at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and the promoter ultimately removed him from the remaining dates.
Macklemore later accused Kraft of coordinating a stadium boycott against him. He pledged his $1 million in tour earnings to Palestinian aid and challenged Kraft to match the donation.
In a statement released through Gillette Stadium, Kraft said Sheeran had contacted him privately before Macklemore’s public challenge. Sheeran asked Kraft to support a $2 million humanitarian donation, and Kraft said he agreed to support relief efforts in the region.
Kraft also cited Macklemore’s history of antisemitic tropes and his failure to acknowledge the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people.
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After Macklemore was dropped, opening acts including Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga pulled out of the remaining tour dates in protest.
Portnoy slammed the musicians who abandoned Sheeran’s tour, accusing them of hypocrisy and putting political posturing ahead of their commitment to fans.
"I feel bad for Ed Sheeran; his band quit, saying, ‘This is censorship, Free Palestine!’ That guy, Finneas, the brother of Billie Eilish, f------ hypocrites; they backed out," Portnoy said.
Portnoy closed by insisting that defending Kraft required more than a token show of support.
"I don't stand with Bob Kraft 5 percent, 10 percent," Portnoy said. "I stand with Bob Kraft 110 percent. More Jews have to speak out. That's why I am making this video, because it's really easy for everyone just to pile on right now, but I have his back a hundred million percent."
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Ed Sheeran faces growing backlash as radio station bans songs, protest groups respond to Macklemore's removal
Ed Sheeran continues to deal with the backlash surrounding Macklemore's removal from the singer’s U.S. tour.
An Irish radio station announced Thursday that, in response to the controversy and feedback from listeners, it would no longer play music released by the 35-year-old "Shape of You" singer for the "foreseeable future."
Dave Kelly, group program director at Bay Broadcasting, which runs Classic Hits Radio, told The Independent the decision "has been carefully considered" and "is not intended as a personal judgment on Ed Sheeran."
"We acknowledge his own explanation of the circumstances surrounding recent events," Kelly said. "As an independent Irish-owned radio station, however, we believe it is important to listen to our audience and to stand alongside Irish artists who have made what is undoubtedly a significant professional decision based on their own convictions."
ED SHEERAN SAYS HE TRIED TO ‘BUILD A BRIDGE’ OVER MACKLEMORE TOUR SPOT BEFORE VENUES SAID NO
He added his company "believe(s) in peace, humanity and respect" as well as "the right of people and artists to express and act upon their sincerely held views."
"In light of the strength of feeling expressed by our listeners and the decisions taken by Irish artists involved in the tour, we believe removing Ed Sheeran’s music from our playlist is the appropriate decision for Classic Hits Radio at this time," he concluded.
The controversy began after Macklemore repeatedly called for a "Free Palestine" and performed his anti-Israel song, "Hind’s Hall," during his opening performance at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sept. 4 and 5.
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He was then dropped as an opening act on Sheeran's Loop Tour. The "Thrift Shop" singer alleged that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft pressured Sheeran into dropping him from the tour, telling the singer he would not be allowed to perform at Gillette Stadium and by encouraging other stadium owners to issue a similar ultimatum.
Following Macklemore's removal from the tour, four other supporting acts chose to drop out, including Irish acts Aaron Rowe and Beoga, Lukas Graham and Finneas.
In addition to the radio station's decision to temporarily remove his music from its catalog, the pro-Palestine groups Philly Palestine Coalition and Shut Down D&Z have planned a protest outside of Sheeran's Philadelphia concert.
They shared a flyer on Instagram urging people to attend the protest on Sept. 19 outside Lincoln Financial Field. The flier reads, "Gaza is our compass" and "Billionaires, Zionists & Warmongers out of Philly."
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"Palestine returns to headlines across the world and we return to the streets to fight for Gaza. Free Palestine is not a tagline for celebrities or a slogan for online statements," they wrote in the caption.
"A free Palestine is the work of generations of Palestinian resistance, a free Palestine is the compass for all oppressed people, a free Palestine demands nothing less than total liberation. Free Palestine is a call to direct action. On Saturday, we take to the streets to return the conversation to Palestine, and return Philadelphia to action."
They continued, writing that Sheeran removed Macklemore from his tour "in the name of 'neutrality' and being 'apolitical' and due to threats from stadium owners, including Lincoln Financial Field."
"There is no neutrality against oppression, only complicity. When the news cycle has moved on, we will still be here. Join us. FREE PALESTINE, FREE LEBANON, FREE CUBA, FREE CONGO, FREE SUDAN."
Sheeran addressed the controversy on Instagram, writing, "I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care.
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"After Macklemore’s performances at my New Jersey shows, venues on my upcoming tour dates communicated that they would pull the shows if he was still supporting," Sheeran wrote. "I was informed that this stance was based on how Macklemore conveyed part of his message during his performance, rather than on everything that was said.
"I spoke with the venues at length all week to try and build a bridge. One of those people was Robert Kraft. I was also involved in direct talks with promoters along with activists on both sides to try and find a mutual resolution for all, but the venue’s and promoter’s decision was final."
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He added that the decision to remove Macklemore from the tour was the promoter's and that "Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me."
"There is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics – my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds," he added. "Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum. I respect Macklemore’s strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes. However, there is room for multiple approaches to the same end: peace.
"I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed. If we only focus on shouting the loudest, nothing will ever change. There are different approaches to being an advocate for change."
Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Ed Sheeran but did not immediately hear back.
Texas Air National Guard pilot ejects safely before F-16 crash in Michigan
A Texas Air National Guard pilot was forced to eject from a fighter jet during a "mishap" Thursday in Michigan, officials said.
The pilot, who is with the 149th Fighter Wing based at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, was flying a routine training mission in an F-16, when the unspecified mishap occurred seven miles south of Grand Traverse, Michigan, a unit spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The pilot ejected before the crash and is in stable condition, officials said.
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No further information about the crash or the pilot was disclosed.
"I’m aware of the plane crash near Traverse City," U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., wrote on social media. "I am closely monitoring the situation as we work to get more information on the incident. I am praying that the pilot and folks on the ground are safe."
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Video footage posted to X shows black smoke rising into the sky from what is presumably the crash site.
The Grand Traverse Emergency Management Agency ordered everyone within a mile of the site to evacuate the area.
"Evacuate away from the intersection of Co Rd 633 and Jefferson Pl. Follow instructions from emergency personnel," the agency said.
Lane Kiffin’s return to Ole Miss comes with betrayal, lawsuits and memories of him trying to burn it all down
OXFORD, Miss. - Just blocks away from a busy Ole Miss campus, residents of the small town of Oxford roamed 'The Square' on a Wednesday night that felt like a perceived calm before the storm that will have this city roaring over the next few days.
An Ella Langley concert is scheduled for Thursday night, serving as an expensive kickoff party for a game that has drawn the attention of the entire college football world.
Students strolled from campus to restaurants such as City Grocery, while visitors looking to stock up on Ole Miss gear stopped by Game Day Apparel for powder-blue hats featuring the phrase "Spot the Ball."
Folks flocked to 'Off-Square Books' to hear my colleague John Talty discuss his new book on Lane Kiffin, which has already generated notably unfavorable reactions from those within Lane Kiffin's inner circle since its release.
Inside Ajax Diner on Thursday afternoon, conversations shifted between the former head coach and the 2026 Ole Miss football team led by Pete Golding.
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But ... one talking point is persistent inside the landmark restaurant that opened in 1997.
"We really need to win this game," one diner attendee said while clad in powder blue gear. "I can't imagine how that bastard will act if they [LSU] win."
There are plenty of people around Oxford who claim to know Lane Kiffin, whether through his six years in town or relationships built through late-night voice messages and text conversations.
According to people who have spent time around him, the idea that Kiffin is a true "people person" remains debatable.
"He didn’t really have use for you if there wasn’t something coming on the other end," Mike, from Oxford told OutKick. "Sure, he embraced the town, but he was spending more time in the yoga studios than the actual community. I'm not judging. He's a grown man, and he was single.
"Obviously, you could tell he changed his life while here in Oxford. But, that doesn’t make him a good person, considering how he tried to burn this place to the ground on his way to LSU."
OLE MISS FILES LAWSUITS AGAINST COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO LEFT FOR LANE KIFFIN'S LSU
About that burning to the ground.
If Lane had just left for Baton Rouge without all of the chaos that came with him trying to pigeon-hole his way into coaching Ole Miss during their playoff run, maybe the feelings would be a tad bit different.
But, that's not Lane, especially when he doesn’t get his way. From assistant coaches pulling double-duty, flying back-and-forth between Oxford and Baton Rouge, to Kiffin just waiting for the Rebels to lose in the Sugar Bowl so he could at least feel better about his decision to leave during the most chaotic time in Ole Miss history, nothing was cordial about his exit.
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It's one thing to get a divorce. It's another to take things out of spite or try to empty the bank account on the way out of a marriage.
"He's calling players while they are in meetings in hopes of negotiating a deal with their agents to get them to transfer once the season ended," one Ole Miss donor told OutKick. "The man was doing everything in his power to create obstacles for the Rebels during their CFP run."
That even included quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who would return to Ole Miss for another season after being granted an injunction against the NCAA.
When the wheels were put into motion for Trinidad Chambliss to petition the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility, the thought process behind the move came from those within the Ole Miss athletic department.
After alleging that a health issue during his time at Ferris State forced him into having to take a medical redshirt, the NCAA denied his waiver for an additional season. So, led by lawyer Tom Mars, after a call from Lane Kiffin, a lawsuit was filed against the NCAA in a small town court in Pittsboro, Mississippi.
We all know what happened from there, with Chambliss receiving his injunction by a local judge who shed a few tears while reading his order to the courtroom filled with supporters.
The problem for Lane Kiffin was that he was thinking, before the case ended up in a courtroom, that Chambliss would follow him to Baton Rouge. Obviously, that part of the plan did not come to fruition, with Grove Collective founder Walker Jones putting together a deal for Chambliss that would keep him in Oxford, and away from the guy who tried his best to steal as much talent as possible from the Rebels roster.
"This school was going to fight like heck to keep Trinidad and Kewan [Lacy]," another Ole Miss booster told OutKick. "We couldn’t lose those two guys, especially to Lane. This town has embraced those two, along with the entire team, like they are family.
"Everywhere you go in Oxford, there are signs with their names or faces on it. When they decided to stay, we knew how much that bothered him [Kiffin]. I think in some different world, we would’ve paid them double, just to piss Lane off. He wasn’t going to get the entire family."
And it seems as though court cases have just magically appeared around Kiffin, with the most recent battle taking place in Baton Rouge when Zxavian Harris and Dae'Quan Wright sued the NCAA for an additional season after exiting NFL preseason camps.
As for Kiffin's interesting mind, even if LSU was not technically involved in the case, most of the football players involved in the Baton Rouge court were presumably headed to LSU. Well, there was maybe one player, Ethan Johnson, that supposedly went against the grain and ended up at South Carolina.
"Somebody mentioned that when that one player [Johnson] decided to sign with the Gamecocks over LSU, ole Lane tried to get him taken out of that case in Louisiana," an Oxford local who had a relationship with Kiffin told OutKick. "Who knows, but it wouldn’t surprise me because that's how he operates.
"It's his way or the highway. We learned that here. But, I'm not going to sit here and act as though we aren’t grateful for what he did for our program."
Sure, some people simply want to watch the world burn.
And this could be one of the wildest scenes college football fans have witnessed in quite some time.
Ten months after Kiffin left Oxford on a private jet bound for Baton Rouge, he will return to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as the head coach of the LSU Tigers.
This will not be his first trip back to Oxford since leaving Ole Miss.
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But Friday afternoon through Saturday night will bring a different kind of energy — one built on the pageantry, resentment and unpredictability that make college football so compelling.
There will be profanity. There will be middle fingers directed at Kiffin.
But, there will also be a top-ten showdown that will have major ramifications for the season. The main character of this story will arrive on Friday afternoon to a destination being kept secret in the name of security.
The supporting cast, meanwhile, will be waiting inside Oxford — hoping to turn Kiffin’s so-called homecoming into a nightmare.
Mackenzie Phillips makes new claims about father's alleged abuse
For decades, Mackenzie Phillips said she lived with the pain of not being believed about her late father, John Phillips.
Then an unexpected letter landed in her hands – and changed everything. Phillips opened up about a stunning letter from a longtime family friend that corroborated her claims of abuse by her late father during an episode of Valerie Bertinelli's podcast, "Get Naked."
Phillips recalled receiving the letter while working at Breathe Life Healing Center.
"Head of HR comes in. And he says, 'Oh, you got a letter.' And I said, 'Oh, wow. It's probably fan mail.' Because, you know, we get fan mail there," she told Bertinelli. "And I won't go into too much detail, but it was from one of the most credible sources you could ever know of a family friend saying that... their husband observed something horrific when I was 9."
"And I said, ‘Jeffrey’ – my brother, you know – 'I want to tell you.' He said, 'I don't want to know.' Nobody wants to know. Nobody wants to know, you know," Mackenzie said. "So I'm on my own again... I'm on my own in this nobody believes me."
"Here's the thing is that I told the people – that said that I was lying – back then," she added. "They already knew. But I got this letter."
Bertinelli asked Mackenzie how it affected her to find the courage to speak out only to have people not believe her.
MACKENZIE PHILLIPS SAYS SHE AND VALERIE BERTINELLI DRANK WINE, DID COCAINE DURING SITCOM BREAKS
"Well, there's an element of protecting the legacy of The Mamas & The Papas," she explained. "I can separate the man from the music. I know that this was like the perfect storm of drugs and alcohol and untreated mental health. My dad was a not-well man."
"But I got this letter, and I'm sitting there reading it, and it was like shocking, shocking – the content," Mackenzie recalled. "And this woman said, 'I'm so sorry I didn't come forward to support you while you were on "Oprah." I was afraid. I didn't know what to do. But here's what happened.' And I'm sitting there. And I'm like numb."
At the time, Mackenzie had the director of Breathe Life Healing Center read the letter.
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"And I handed it to her, and she sat in the chair in my office, and she went, 'Oh my God, Mac.' And tears started pouring down her face," she remembered. "I could feel nothing. I just sat."
"But she said, 'Mac, honey, it's time. It's time for you to dig even deeper. It's time because now that you have this, you had a knowing all along, but now you have proof of being groomed from a very young age,'" Mackenzie recalled.
Mackenzie alleged John had raped her at age 19 in her memoir, "High on Arrival," published in 2009. "I woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my own father," she wrote. "I don't remember how it started or, thankfully, how it ended."
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After the alleged rape, Mackenzie claimed the intimate relationship became consensual and lasted for 10 years before she became pregnant. The incest stopped then, and she had an abortion, according to Mackenzie's memoir.
However, Mackenzie now views the relationship with her father differently.
"I learned from my appearance on 'Oprah' and my book that – because I was calling it consensual because I was trying to protect him – there is no such thing as consent between a parent and a child,' she told Bertinelli. "The power differential is too great."
John died in 2001 at the age of 65 after suffering from heart failure, years before Mackenzie's memoir was published.
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Mackenzie's disclosure divided members of the Phillips family, although Mackenzie’s half-sister Chynna publicly supported her for speaking about her experience. John married four times and fathered five children: Jeffrey and Mackenzie with Susan Adams; Chynna Phillips with Michelle Phillips; and Tamerlane and Bijou Phillips with Geneviève Waïte.
Known as "Papa John," the musician helped create the signature California folk-rock sound of the 1960s as a principal songwriter, singer and arranger for The Mamas & the Papas.
Among the songs most closely associated with his songwriting are "California Dreamin,'" "Monday, Monday," "I Saw Her Again," "Creeque Alley" and "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)."
'Charlie's Angels' actress claims costar invited her to threesome, a contraband bra for love & no harm no foul
It's a chaotic time out there, what can I say? In last week's True Romance we were all over the map and this week we have more of the same.
Around the time I was sending the editors last week's column, the news that Aaron Rodgers had decided to kick his farewell tour off with a podcast appearance diving into his past relationships was starting to surface.
He dropped a claim that his engagement to Shailene Woodley fell apart almost immediately after he popped the question. He alleged days after his proposal that she told him, "Before we get married, I gotta go f--- this guy."
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Rodgers then put up 221 yards through the air and a touchdown in a Steelers win to start the season. Woodley was then asked about it on Sunday night as she was attending a pre-Emmys fundraiser.
She didn’t answer the question, but according to TMZ, "she laughed, flashed a pretty telling smile, and kept it moving."
That's a solid way to set the tone this week. We're going to get into the time a "Charlie's Angels" actress claims that her costar invited her to a threesome with the costar and the costar's husband.
We're also going to take a look at when it goes wrong. Sometimes that happens, and you find yourself stuffing your bra with contraband due to your romantic interest in a prisoner and you get busted.
Like I mentioned, it happens. But if it's not worth potentially losing everything for it, was there ever a real shot at love? I don’t blame her. She chose to find that out and is facing the consequences.
All that and a song this week that picks the pace up a little. Let's get to it. Go follow True Romance on Twitter and Facebook and keep sending your emails here: sean.joseph@outkick.com (anonymously if you prefer).
With "Charlie's Angels" set to turn 50 on September 22, the timing of actress Jaclyn Smith's memoir "I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie," which came out earlier this month, couldn’t have been better.
And neither could her story about one of her former costars inviting her to a threesome. The 80-year-old writes in her memoir that Tanya Roberts, who died in 2021 at the age of 65, had an open marriage with her husband Barry Roberts.
Smith says the couple "wasn't shy about it in the least, or about propositioning people to 'swing' with them," reports People.
In fact, Smith claims she was asked by Roberts to join her and her husband for a threesome during a flight to Hawaii to shoot "Charlie's Angels."
She says that she turned down the threesome offer, but that she found Roberts' "honesty about her sexuality to be brave and self-aware."
Smith added, according USA Today, "The world is made up of all kinds of people with all kinds of passions, and hooray for that. My own perspective on marriage was traditional, based on the values I grew up with. Her choice seemed complicated to me, with great potential for hurt feelings."
If that doesn't sum up this column perfectly, I don't know what does.
We have a world with all kinds of people taking all kinds of approaches out there, and you don't have to agree with or even understand them to sit down, unpack them and judge them in your own way.
I think that's part of the beauty of what we do each week. Open marriages don't have to be your thing to read about an elderly actress’s account of having her costar ask her to join in on a threesome.
What a truly touching tribute to the legacy of "Charlie's Angels" as it turns 50.
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From one touching story to another.
This one is of a prison pharmacy technician who dared to risk everything for love. The 61-year-old woman began what was labeled a "flirtatious online relationship" with a man.
She later found out that he was a prisoner and continued to flirt with him through Facebook. She was eventually paid to smuggle drugs into the prison.
She's now serving a six-year prison sentence after she was strip searched and caught with cocaine, a spice paste which is made in a lab that mimics cannabis and tobacco stuffed in her bra, reports Yahoo News.
That turned out to not be her first attempt at smuggling contraband into the prison. She admitted that she had smuggled in SIM cards for money prior to being caught.
It was partially for the man she flirted with online, and she needed the money because she was in debt. She was found guilty and given her sentence back in February.
Now it wouldn’t be risking everything if she was simply fired from her job and put behind bars for several years. The reason her story is back in the news is that she also had to be banned from working as a pharmacy tech.
That took place after the General Pharmaceutical Council heard the case and ruled that she breached professional standards.
You live, you flirt online and dare to take a chance on love, and you learn.
Who doesn’t want to hear about the possible soulless and depraved having an affair and getting away with it? I know I do.
That's why when I came across this old topic, "[Serious] People who had an affair and got away with it: what's your story? Do you feel any guilt?" on Reddit, I decided to find out what these lunatics had to say.
As you might have expected, some of these affairs these people plan on taking with them to their graves. Best of luck with that:
Loyal True Romance reader, Deep in the Heart of Texas, thought it was time to up the pace and sent over: Time for Some Rockin' Country on True Romance - "What Was I Thinkin'?" - Dierks Bentley
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That's all for this week. I'd say it was another full column from the world of romance. Let's do it again next Thursday.
For those following along with the viral debate, after nearly 13,000 votes, the excuse given for cheating was found by 55% to not be a valid one.
Keep the song of the week suggestions coming and anything else you want to send my way. As always, you can reach me, anonymously if you prefer, at sean.joseph@outkick.com. Go follow along on Twitter and Facebook.