BNT Team

Troel Embiid is officially back.

Fresh off a win over the Bulls on Saturday, the Philadelphia 76ers center took to Instagram and made a reference to Aaron Rodgers as he moved to 12-0 over Chicago in his career:

Joel Embiid has tweeted his support for Rodgers often in the past, and Rodgers has been outspoken about dominating the Chicago Bears over the years.

During Saturday's game, Embiid knocked down a go-ahead three with 18.1 seconds remaining to help spur the Sixers' 114-109 win in Chicago. The win moved the Sixers to 3-4 on the season as they try to right the ship after an 0-3 start.

Embiid has been stellar despite the Sixers' shaky start, scoring 25-plus points in five of six games while he and James Harden continue working on finding chemistry within the offense.

While it was a relatively meaningless game in the grand scheme of things, Embiid getting back to his trolling ways on social media might indicate the Sixers feel they have the ball rolling after their disastrous first three games.

Ben Simmons has had a rough start to the 2022-23 season, fouling out of two of his first three games and generally struggling to find any sort of scoring rhythm.

He acknowledged Wednesday that it hasn't been pretty.

"There's gonna be times where it's really ugly, like the other night for me," Simmons told reporters. "I've had a couple of games I was playing like s--t."

To start the season, Simmons is averaging just 5.7 points and attempting only 4.3 shots per game, though he has added 7.0 assists and 6.0 rebounds per contest.

And while he provides excellent and versatile defense, the biggest concern has been his inability to finish games due to fouling out.

His own frustration boiled over in his postgame comments following Monday's 134-124 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, in which he fouled out with 3:52 remaining in the game after making contact with Ja Morant as he picked up the ball after letting it run on the floor.

Simmons told reporters:

"I just saw the play. It wasn't a foul. [Official J.T. Orr] called it a foul, made a mistake, it is what it is ... it's really frustrating ... it's not a foul, but it was bulls--t. It's frustrating because it's late game, fourth quarter, it's a physical, close game. It's the NBA. It's not college. It's not high school. Some people are going to get hit, some people bleed; it's basketball."

Morant, to his credit, said he baited Simmons into getting the foul:

"If y'all want to go dig up a play, I think my rookie year I was in Philly—and the same situation happened like that versus Ben in the first half. I went to look at coach to get the play, and [Simmons] ran through the ball, got the steal and went to dunk. ... I knew it at that moment. Once I seen him and I was rolling the ball and I was at half [court], I looked at coach and I see him try to like, 'Oh yeah.' So I knew I had him. He was going to press up, and I was just going to force the ref to make the call."

As for Simmons, some rust is to be expected after he didn't play at all last season, the second full campaign he's missed in his career.

He's also playing with a new team after spending the entirety of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers before last season's trade, and there are some questions as to whether pairing him with a center such as Nic Claxton in the starting lineup—who offers no floor-spacing, similar to Simmons—is an ideal way to maximize his ability.

Regardless, Simmons needs to be better. He at least recognizes as much.

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and All Elite Wrestling.

Big Cass Makes Impact Debut

Big Cass, now known as W. Morrissey, made his Impact Wrestling debut at Sunday's Rebellion pay-per-view. Morrissey took the place of an injured Eric Young in his Violent by Design faction's matchup against Chris Sabin, Eddie Edwards, James Storm and Willie Mack.

Young had to bow out of the event because of a torn ACL.

It's unclear if Morrissey signed a contract with Impact or if this is a one-off appearance. Morrissey previously made an appearance at an Impact live event in February but did not appear on television until two months later.

After being fired by WWE in 2018 amid personal issues, Morrissey made occasional appearances on the independent scene before going into rehab for substance abuse problems and depression. 

Morrissey looked to be in excellent shape in the match, helping Violent by Design to victory. Hopefully this was the beginning of a turnaround story for the former tag team star.

Cena Praises Miz

Peacock debuted the WWE 24 episode about The Miz over the weekend, and the program earned the highest of compliments from John Cena:

The documentary includes an in-depth look at Miz's WrestleMania main event against Cena at WrestleMania 27. While the match is considered a crowning achievement in Miz's career, he said he doesn't remember much of what happened after suffering a concussion.

What's clear from the documentary is that the WWE locker room has done a complete 180-degree turn on Miz as his career has progressed. He came to the company as a reality TV star who earned his contract through another reality show. There was no cutting his teeth in the indies or any of the hardships that many of the other talents went through to make the WWE.

That naturally led to some resentment, both in the locker room and among fans, before Miz ultimately started breaking through with his commitment to the craft and hard work. Now he's one of the most respected veterans in the WWE locker room today and a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer when he retires. 

Sin Cara Not a Fan of Vince McMahon's Treatment of Employees

Few have not heard much of Sin Cara since his release from WWE in 2019, but the luchador recently opened up on his time with the company in an interview with Gary Cassidy of Inside the Ropes. 

Sin Cara said he hardly had any communication with Vince McMahon after signing with WWE, in large part because he did not feel the boss was open in his interaction with employees. He said he wished McMahon would have reached out more, rather than forcing talent to wait outside his door: 

"I never went to his office and knocked on the door. Never. I never waited outside his office trying to see if he'd talk to me. Why would I do that? You know, like I work for your company. If I work for your company and I'm putting my life on the line every time, I think we should have the time to be able to talk to our boss and communicate what we want and how we feel, and I don't think it was something that I was going to do—just wait there for two or three hours to see if he could talk to me."

Of course, given the sheer number of employees within WWE, it's hard to expect McMahon to individually meet with every wrestler on a regular basis to discuss their storylines. It's also fair to note that McMahon likely does meet with Superstars he feels are main event talent and leaves those on the midcards and lower to other executives.

This is a case when Sin Cara is probably fair in his feeling of being slighted, while it's also best to acknowledge it'd be unrealistic for McMahon to be as available as most wrestlers would like. 

The Texas School for the Deaf won the Six-Man TAPPS Division I Championship on Friday after taking down Veritas Academy 63-32.

The Austin-based school led 30-16 at halftime and 42-24 heading into the fourth quarter before scoring three more touchdowns for the win.  

The Rangers were featured on the Today Show on Friday:

The state champion's offense moves to the vibration of a large drum on the sideline, a concept that head coach John Moore designed.

A designated person uses a bat wrapped heavily in tape, and the team marches on through a beat count.

"Oh yeah, everybody can feel it!" Moore told NBC's Morgan Chesky. "All of us! The referees hate it because the drum is right behind the referee. And you see them just, each time you can see them flinch. So maybe we need to have more deaf referees."

Superintendent Claire Bugen also spoke about the drum to KXAN, Austin's NBC affiliate:

"It's become kind of a legend at TSD and in the deaf community and I don't know if the neighbors would agree but it is really characteristic of our deaf football team. It's a beautiful way to feel the vibrations. A lot of people all can feel those vibrations and that's what the drum does, it calls the play through vibration."

Bugen told Chesky that she nearly canceled the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, the Texas School for the Deaf dropped down from an 11-man division to six-man football because of a depleted roster. Moore noted that the team had to adjust to new rules and an 80-yard field.  

The Texas School for the Deaf finished its season on a four-game winning streak and averaged 48.6 points per game over its 10 contests, capped off by its first state football title in the program's 63-year history.

The legend of Lionel Messi continues to grow.

The Barcelona superstar scored his 700th career goal between club and country during Barca's 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid in La Liga at the Camp Nou on Tuesday. His 630 goals for Barcelona in 724 total appearances and 70 goals for Argentina in 138 caps are both records by a wide margin. Barca's Cesar Rodriguez (232 goals) and Argentina's Gabriel Batistuta (52 goals) are a distant second.

He is also La Liga's all-time leading scorer, with 441 goals, and has scored 20 or more goals in league play in 12 straight seasons. Former Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, now with Juventus, is second all-time in La Liga history with 311 tallies.

Ronaldo is the only other active player with over 700 goals for club and country.

They are in a select club of just seven players ever to have reached the milestone:

For over a decade, soccer fans have gotten to watch two of the greatest players in history go back and forth, scoring goals at a breakneck pace, collecting awards nearly as quickly and dominating the sport. Wherever people fall on the Messi vs. Ronaldo debate, there's little doubting the impact both have had on the sport.

But while Messi stole the headlines Tuesday, Barcelona's 2-2 draw kept it a point behind Real Madrid, with Los Blancos holding a game in hand. With just five games remaining for Barca, the Catalan side is in real danger of conceding the title to its bitter rivals.

Barcelona has won the last two La Liga titles and has been champion in eight of the past 11 seasons. Real Madrid last took home the title in the 2016-17 campaign.

Los Angeles Sparks forward Chiney Ogwumike and guard Kristi Toliver will not take part in the WNBA's 22-game season, which is scheduled to be held at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Mechelle Voepel of ESPN.com, Toliver cited health reasons for her decision: 

"Though I want very much to compete with my team, to be a leader and show up for them, I am not comfortable with the risk to my physical health—short term and long term—given the many unknowns of COVID-19 and the risk of injury. For me, the right decision under the circumstances is to opt out for the year."

Ogwumike, who also works for ESPN and serves as the vice president of WNBA's executive committee, mentioned injury concerns in a message on Twitter:

There are other WNBA players who have opted to sit out the 2020 campaign, per Jack Maloney of CBS Sports, including Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud, Mystics forward/center LaToya Sanders, Atlanta Dream guards Tiffany Hayes and Renee Montgomery and Connecticut Sun forward/center Jonquel Jones.

Cited reasons include concerns about COVID-19 and participating in social justice efforts. 

The Sparks finished last season with a 22-12 record, good enough for first place in the Western Conference. They reached the league semifinals but were swept by the Connecticut Sun. 

Toliver signed with the Sparks this offseason after three years with the Mystics, including a title-winning season in 2019. The three-time All-Star dropped 13.0 points and made 6.0 assists per game while shooting a career-high 49.4 percent from the field. She led the team in assists and was third in scoring.

Toliver played seven years with the Sparks before going to the Mystics in 2017. The former Maryland star went third overall to the Chicago Sky in the 2009 WNBA draft but was traded to the Sparks after one season.

Ogwumike also shot 49.4 percent from the field last year, posting 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

The two-time All-Star dominated for the Connecticut Sun during the 2014, 2016 and 2018 seasons, averaging career highs with 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game during her rookie year.

Unfortunately, injuries, including a microfracture in her right knee in 2015 and an Achilles injury in 2017, have kept the ex-Stanford star off the court for long periods of time.

The Sparks should have enough talent to post a winning record sans Toliver and Ogwumike, although losing both is a huge blow to their championship chances. 

Still, the team has leading scorer Nneka Ogwumike (Chiney's older sister), three-time All-Star point guard Chelsea Gray, three-point sharpshooter Riquna Williams and two-time MVP Candace Parker.

Prior to Ogwumike's and Toliver's announcements, the Sparks had the third-best odds to win the WNBA Finals, according to Vegas Insider, behind the Las Vegas Aces and defending champion Mystics.

They should still find themselves in the thick of what looks to be a six-team race for the crown, with the Phoenix Mercury, Seattle Storm and defending runner-up Sun also in the mix as opening tipoff July 24 draws closer.