Friday Flakes: Respect for J.J. Redick After His Appearance on Bussin’ With The Boys

If I made a top 5 list of athletes I hated then it’s very likely J.J. Redick would be close to the top of that list.

To be clear, “hate” in the context of sports generally means that I just wanted him to lose every time he stepped on the court. If Duke would lose every game in a season then I would find that season to be one of the greatest of all time.

Yes, my bedroom walls were painted with North Carolina blue and my favorite player growing up was Jerry Stackhouse.

With that said, J.J. Redick was on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast this week. Former Husker Will Compton is one of the hosts, along with Taylor Lewan who played for Michigan. There was a long conversation about the mental struggles J.J. Redick went through while at Duke.

I really suggest listening to the episode but the part that stuck with me is that things got so bad for J.J. Redick his sophomore year that he got up to 225 pounds. His playing weight was 190, if I remember correctly. There were nights he would drink 25 beers even though there was a game the next day.

He was hiding from the coaching staff and he was hiding from his parents. Was living with one set of clothes and bumming off of people.

There was an intervention of sorts and things turned around for him. Much respect.

That took me back to watching him play for Duke and it is somewhat mind blowing to think that THAT player I watched just kill people had the struggles he did and was on the verge of quitting basketball.

When judging some of these college athletes, we really don’t know what they are going through at that time. Maybe that’s why they are struggling.

Or maybe in the case of Taylor Lewan, he struggled during a high profile Michigan football game because he was worried that his girlfriend was going to break up with him.

I suggest checking it out.

SPORTS! SPORTS! SPORTS! SPORTS!

National Spelling Bee 2022: TV schedule, prize money, how to watch, rules, hardest words, more - SBNation.com
The 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee began on Tuesday, with over 200 spellers gathering in Washington D.C to compete for glory. The opening round thinned the group to 162, and there was plenty of drama.

LeBron James becomes first active NBA player to become a billionaire - SBNation.com
Hitting milestones is nothing new for LeBron James, but the Lakers star just reached one off it. On Thursday LeBron became the first active NBA player to become a billionaire, according to Forbes, after he was given the remainder of his 2021-22 salary from the Lakers.

49ers news: Frank Gore is set to retire as a 49er on Thursday - Niners Nation
It was always a question of when, not if, when discussing whether Frank Gore would sign a one-day contract with the 49ers and retire with the organization that drafted him. But, according to Cam Inman of The Mercury News, Gore will sign a ceremonial one-day contract and retire with the 49ers Thursday.

Ryan Fitzpatrick made a career out of being the smartest dude in the NFL - SBNation.com
After 16 years and nine different teams, Ryan Fitzpatrick is calling it a career. The 39-year-old quarterback is hanging it up, sending messages to his former teammates and thanking them for being a part of his professional life — and that list of teammates is extraordinarily long.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady says he felt pressure to end retirement because of NFL free agency
Speaking publicly for the first time since ending his NFL retirement after 40 days, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady said Wednesday that he felt pressure to end his retirement because of free agency, and that his key reasons for his indecision stemmed from commitments to his family.

Ohio State's Ryan Day: Buckeyes need a collective $13M in NIL money for roster stability
Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Thursday morning that he thinks it takes $13 million in endorsement deals to keep his roster intact. Day’s remarks at a school business event were reported by Cleveland.com and he said that a top quarterback can request $2 million in NIL deals.

Latest Deshaun Watson lawsuit claims he offered each accuser $100K to settle their civil cases
Deshaun Watson offered a $100,000 settlement figure to each of the 22 women who filed civil lawsuits against him last spring, according to the most recent litigation brought against him this week.

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on becoming an NFL head coach -- 'I've just got to go get it'
Eric Bieniemy acknowledged his disappointment over failing to get an NFL head-coaching job despite multiple interviews in recent seasons.

"In reality it's tough,'' said Bieniemy, the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs since 2018. "But I don't let that keep me from doing what I do. I'm still alive, I'm breathing and I have an opportunity to work for a championship team. That's the beauty of it.

“STICK TO SPORTS!” Nah.

World Record Alligator Gar Pulled From Mississippi Lake Tangled in Fisherman's Net
The biggest alligator gar ever recorded was tangled in a net and hauled in by a Mississippi commercial fisherman.

Best exercise time may differ for men and women, study suggests - BBC News
Exercise is good for you whenever you do it, but the time of day to achieve the best result may be different for women and men, according to a US study.

World's biggest plant discovered off Australian coast - BBC News
The largest known plant on Earth - a seagrass roughly three times the size of Manhattan - has been discovered off the coast of Australia.

Jamie Dimon Says U.S. Consumers Still Have Six to Nine Months of Spending Power - WSJ
U.S. households boosted spending for a fourth straight month in April, but the rate at which they were setting aside savings fell to its lowest point in 14 years, according to data released last week.

National Spelling Bee 2022: TV schedule, prize money, how to watch, rules, hardest words, more - SBNation.com
The 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee began on Tuesday, with over 200 spellers gathering in Washington D.C to compete for glory. The opening round thinned the group to 162, and there was plenty of drama.

The Best Things I Saw On The Internet This Week