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Bryant also pursued media opportunities, working with ESPN on the “Detail” video series — and nearly joining the “NBA on TNT” team. During his appearance on “The Draymond Green Show” podcast, Hall of Famer and veteran TNT analyst Charles Barkley revealed Turner Sports at one point reached an agreement with Bryant to join the Thursday night crew, but he backed out because he didn’t want to “do all the other bulls—” associated with the job....

MORE: The 25 best players to change teams in their prime The TNT analyst has shared his disdain for the social media platform before, but on Tuesday he revealed he’s been offered tons of money to send out 140-characters of what’s in his head. How much money? According to Barkley, $3 million. “I’ve been offered as much as $3 million to do tweets. I said, ‘Y’all can’t pay me enough money to tweet,’” he said Tuesday on the Dan Le Batard Show....

It was a topic of discussion on TNT’s Inside the NBA tip-off show and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley didn’t hold back. He not only praised the Brooklyn Nets franchise for their decision to not allow Irving to play but also had his say on the point guard’s decision to not get vaccinated. “I really am proud of the Nets for putting their foot down,” Barkley said. “For saying no, we’re not going to deal with this half on, half off (situation)....

Speaking in Dallas before this weekend’s BIG3 event, the former Knicks star said today’s players are “sensitive” and that some “should wear dresses.” MORE: Evaluating Kyrie Irving’s potential impact on Knicks Here’s how Twitter responded to Oakley’s comments:

UFC 280 will be held inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Oliveira made his pro debut in 2008 and joined the UFC in 2010. “Do Bronx” beat Michael Chandler at UFC 262 for the UFC lightweight title, but at UFC 274, he missed weight for his fight against Justin Gaethje and was stripped of the belt. Oliveira won the bout via submission but was unable to take the title home with him....

Finau carded one bogey on his front nine, but after the turn he finished without any blemishes. He credited his improved putting for getting him to 6-under 64. “I haven’t been putting great I feel like, and standing over the ball the most important thing is, do you feel like you’re going to make the putt or not?,” Finau said after his round, via Golf Digest. “Outside of everything else, Do you believe you can make the putt?...

But he wants you to know, you don’t have to be afraid. “[The look] suits the way I like to play the game,” Blackmon said. “I’m kind of a big guy, have a lot of facial hair. I guess it could be taken as intimidating, if you didn’t know me. But I’m certainly not that way in my day-to-day, walking around.” MORE: SN’s MLB Power Rankings for April Whether his shaggy appearance has any effect on his opponents, one thing that is certain is that his overall persona, including the tenacity with which he plays the game on the field, has made him a fan favorite in Colorado and has shed light on a side of Blackmon known as “Chuck Nazty....

Fastball-curveball, curveball-curveball, curveball-fastball, fastball-fastball. Keep it inside to the lefties, work down and away to the righties. A simple game plan for a veteran able to execute. Morton needed just 83 pitches to swim through seven scoreless innings against Detroit, improving to 7-0 and dropping his ERA to 2.30. At 35, he’s putting together the best season of his career in the most ho-hum way imaginable. “This is more like pedestrian boring me going out there and just trying to do my job,” Morton told the Tampa Bay Times....

That was Charlie Strong, an innocent black child growing up in Batesville, Ark., trying to comprehend men with hoods parading down his street. The boy is standing on the curb, scant feet separating him from decades of institutional racism that only those with his skin color can ultimately understand. MORE: Charlie Strong photos | SN Preseason Top 25 | Top 10 program rankings | Top 50 players A boy who grew to become a young man, who walked on to play football at tiny Central Arkansas, who wanted to be a college professor but decided to give coaching football a shot....

“It was amazing,” Flair told Sporting News. “I would say it’s the most heartfelt and patriotic show of the year. To be able to perform literally on their base with all the men and women in their fatigues was a very cool experience and I was honored to be a part of it. To be able to have the opportunity to thank all the men and women who are sacrificing so much for this great nation....

The Steelers wanted to move Claypool, given they are locked into Diontae Johnson as an expensive No. 1 wideout and have rookies George Pickens and Calvin Austin III headed for more prominent roles in the near future. He also frustrated the team with his inconsistency as a receiver, despite his big-play ability. Claypool had a strong advocate in offensive coordinator Matt Canada, but he accepted the Steelers needed to move forward with other complementary weapons for rookie QB Kenny Pickett....

Expect anything this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. That is something every driver competing in the Hellmann’s 500 knows. What those in the Chase for the Sprint Cup don’t know, however, is how exactly to be in position to handle those unexpected moments. After all, Talladega is a unique beast. Known for its multicar crashes, for drivers’ inability to control their own destiny as much as at other tracks, on the need to stay close to the competition without crashing into it, Talladega is perhaps the most daunting race in the Chase before the championship showdown at Homestead....

On some days, that might be a finish worthy of enjoyment, but not for the 20-year-old stock car scion on this Sunday. It’s the second time he finished second at Michigan in this, his rookie season. This time, it was Kyle Larson taking the checkered flag in his first career Cup win. MORE: Welcome to the Chase, Kyle | Race results Elliott frankly assessed his race — and his final restart — in the moments following the race....

Earnhardt’s primary sponsor, Nationwide, revealed the scheme via Twitter on Monday. MORE: All-Star race photos | Junior enjoys strong All-Star run Earnhardt, along with the 39 other NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers, will bear the name of a fallen service member on their windshields during Sunday’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Earnhardt will be honoring Lance Corporal Aaron Reed, who was killed in action on Aug. 3, 2005, in Iraq....

Chelsea become Conte’s blazing inferno Chelsea moved top of the Premier League after running roughshod against the sorry Toffees with the impressive Eden Hazard scoring a brace, while Marcos Alonso, Diego Costa and Pedro were also on target in a ruthless attacking display. Everton manager Koeman had no complaints about the outcome and tipped Antonio Conte’s men to be in the running for the title come the end of the season....

Brazil qualify for the World Cup Goal understands the Blues sent scouts to to watch Toljan in action for Germany Under 21s as they took on England and Portugal during the international break. The 22-year-old was first spotted by Juventus in Conte’s final season in Turin and Chelsea scouts have begun to look at the defender, who is also being trailed by Napoli. Toljan can play in both the left and right wing-back positions and he would be available for a cut-price deal with his contract expiring in the summer of 2018....

It started harmlessly enough as Burnley recovered on an Eden Hazard run down the middle of the pitch. Hazard then kicked it out wide to Branislav Ivanovic, who played it back to the top of the 18 for Cesc Fabregas. Fabregas gave a quick touch pass to a racing Andre Schurrle to the right post and it was all the Burnley defenders could do to keep from standing with their mouths agape as Chelsea celebrated its second goal....

Jesus injury won’t derail City The Belgium international was among several of the Chelsea squad to show off those talents in a game hosted by EA Sports, makers of the football simulation. Hazard, N’Golo Kante and Thibaut Courtois went head-to-head in striking the ball into buckets, a real-life recreation of one of the game’s training challenges. Watch above to find out who prevails!

Leicester are looking to receive £40million for Drinkwater after rejecting two bids from Chelsea in recent weeks. The Blues, meanwhile, are aiming to agree a fee of around £30m, but they will hope that the transfer request can help to bring down the asking price. Chelsea have identified Drinkwater since the start of August as their prime target to replace Nemanja Matic, who left for Manchester United, and Nathaniel Chalobah, who left for Watford....

The Belgium international has been heavily linked with a big-money transfer this summer after three and a half seasons in Rome. Nainggolan reveals Chelsea talks Chelsea have held a long-standing interest in the 29-year-old midfielder, while ambitious Milan are prepared to splash the cash in an effort to restore domestic dominance. Roma, though, have no intention of parting with their prized assets and have made Nainggolan very much a central character in their promotion campaigns for the 2017-18 season....