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The Giants face early locker room drama between Jaxon Dart and Abdul Carter, while the Browns' quarterback battle gets awkward after interceptions in seven-on-sevens. The Knicks take a commanding 3-0 lead over Cleveland, and Carolina forces a series
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Welcome to The Sports Hangover Daily, I'm Michael Benatar. Today on the show: the Giants locker room is already a mess before the season even starts, Browns QBs are throwing picks in seven on sevens, the Knicks are one win from their first Finals in twenty-seven years, and Carolina survives overtime again in the Eastern Conference Final. Let's get into it.
Alright, let's start in New Jersey. The Giants can't even get through OTA week one without a full-blown soap opera. Jaxon Dart, the team's second-year quarterback, introduced President Trump at a pep rally Friday in Suffern, New York. Cool. That's his right. But then his teammate Abdul Carter — the other first-round pick from the same draft class — hopped on X and wrote, "Thought this was AI. What we doing, man?" That post got nearly twenty-two million views by Saturday afternoon. Then Carter walked it back the next day. "Me and JD6 are good. We spoke earlier as men. Y'all can keep y'all narratives." And look — I believe them. I think they're fine. But here's what bugs me. These are supposed to be the two foundational pieces of the Giants rebuild. Carter had forty-three tackles and four sacks as a rookie. Dart threw for over twenty-two hundred yards with fifteen touchdowns and five picks in twelve starts. They need each other. And now instead of talking about the offense getting better or Malik Nabers coming back from his torn ACL, we're talking about politics in May. The Giants went four and thirteen last year. They don't have the luxury of distractions. Brian Dabney is gone. Jim Harbaugh is trying to build something. And before your two franchise guys even get through the first week of voluntary workouts, one of them is trending on X for the wrong reasons. It's not a crisis. But it's the kind of noise a four-win team just cannot afford.
Still in the NFL — the Browns quarterback battle is already providing content. Todd Monken said both Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders are doing well, and the only deadline for naming a starter is the September thirteenth opener against Dallas. But then Monken also admitted they threw interceptions during seven on sevens. His exact words — "Yeah, we threw interceptions in seven on seven for God's sake. I mean, who does that?" That's your head coach roasting his own quarterbacks in May. Not a great sign. Watson did connect on a deep ball to rookie Denzel Boston in double coverage, so there's something there. But Cleveland feels like it's holding its breath.
Over in Vegas, the number one overall pick Fernando Mendoza is "as advertised" according to head coach Klint Kubiak. He's working behind Kirk Cousins and Aidan O'Connell right now, but it sounds like the Raiders are thrilled with what they're seeing. Sharp questions, quick processing, already building chemistry. Don't be surprised if he's starting by October.
Sean McVay went on Bussin' With The Boys and said he almost retired after the twenty twenty-two season because he couldn't handle the losing. Then he dropped his deepest public regret yet about how the Jared Goff trade was handled. That's a fascinating admission from a guy who just won a Super Bowl and extended his MVP quarterback. Speaking of which — the Rams locked up Matthew Stafford with an extension that puts him at fifty-five million in twenty twenty-seven, with the potential to reach sixty million. Reigning league MVP gets paid. Yeah, that tracks.
And Jacoby Brissett is holding out from Cardinals OTAs. He's the projected starter under new head coach Mike LaFleur, but he wants a raise to reflect that. Arizona's quarterback situation is still a mess.
Now to the NBA — the Knicks are rolling. New York beat Cleveland one twenty-one to one oh eight in Game three to take a three to nothing series lead. Jalen Brunson dropped thirty. Mikal Bridges had twenty-two. OG Anunoby added twenty-one. The Knicks led the entire game and shot fifty-six percent from the field. Cleveland shot twelve of forty-one from three. That's twenty-nine percent. You're not winning anything shooting like that. Donovan Mitchell had twenty-three but it didn't matter. New York is now on a ten-game postseason win streak — only the seventh team in NBA history to do that. The last team? The twenty twenty-four Celtics, who won the title. Game four is Monday in Cleveland. The Knicks can sweep and reach the Finals for the first time since nineteen ninety-nine.
And in the NHL — Carolina tied the Eastern Conference Final at one game apiece with a three to two overtime win over Montreal. Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice, including the winner three and a half minutes into overtime. He skated onto a pass from Mark Jankowski on the rush and beat Jakub Dobes from the slot. Carolina is now four and oh in overtime this postseason. Josh Anderson had both goals for Montreal. This series heads back to Montreal all tied up, and it feels like it's gonna be a war.
Alright, here's your Hangover Take. Keon Coleman told reporters this week that this season is "make or break" for him in Buffalo. His words — "If you're bad, you might not be here. Simple as that." And honestly? He's right. Thirty-eight catches and four hundred and four yards last year. That's wide receiver three production on a team that went to the AFC Championship. Josh Allen is throwing to somebody every week. If Coleman can't be that guy, Buffalo's gonna move on. The Bills don't rebuild. They reload. And in a division where the Jets just brought in Aaron Rodgers for one last ride and Miami is always one healthy Tua stretch away from being a problem, you cannot have a question mark at your number two receiver spot. Coleman's got the physical tools. He's got the opportunity. But opportunity without production is just a roster spot waiting to be filled. This is the year.
That's your hangover. Go hydrate. I'll see you tomorrow.