Welcome to Friday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.
FRIDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NBA: Thunder at Celtics, 7:30 p.m. (CSNNE)
NBA: Clippers at Bulls, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
NBA: Timberwolves at Warriors, 10:30 p.m. (NBATV)
College basketball: Rider at Manhattan, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: Vermont at Stony Brook, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
NHL: Canadiens at Red Wings, 7:30 p.m. (NHL Network)
College hockey: Northeastern at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
College hockey: RIT at Niagara, 7 p.m. (CBSSN)
College hockey: North Dakota at Denver, 9:35 p.m. (CBSSN)
Soccer: FA Cup, Coventry at Arsenal, 2:30 p.m. (FS1)
Tennis: Australian Open, 3 a.m. Saturday (ESPN)
AROUND THE WEB:
– Buccaneers cornerback Darrelle Revis, who got under the skin of the Patriots when patrolling “Revis Island” for the Jets, weighed in on the Richard Sherman controversy, and he wasn’t impressed with Sherman’s selfish behavior.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s an entertainer, but he shouldn’t have said that,” Revis said Wednesday at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. “The reporter asked him a question about the team and he went on to answer about me, me, me, me. So that is how I took it. He didn’t answer the question in the right way.”
Added Revis: “It is what it is, that is Sherman. That is what he thinks. Everybody has their own opinion.”
Revis, who had some Twitter battles with Sherman over the last couple of years since the Seahawks star started bragging that he was better, still isn’t prepared to tip his cap to Sherman.
“I feel like I’m the best,” Revis said. “Deion Sanders probably feels like he is the best. Everybody has their own personal opinion. And that is how you go with it and I think that is what makes it fun.
“[Sherman is] saying he’s the best,” Revis continued. “I’m saying I’m the best, Joe Haden thinks he’s the best. ‘¦ You can go by numbers, you can go by the ball not being thrown to your side so many times, there are so many variables in it. But at the same time, we are all talented players.”
– One week after Jets quarterback Geno Smith walked off a Virgin America plane before takeoff in Los Angeles following a confrontation with a flight attendant, the airline apologized for the situation.
“After a full review of the incident, we believe it was the result of a misunderstanding that regrettably escalated unnecessarily,” Virgin America said in a statement. “We’ve apologized to Mr. Smith for his experience, which could have been better — and we’d welcome him back onboard any time.
“As an airline that prides itself on our guest service, we take incidents such as this one very seriously.”
Smith reportedly was wearing headphones when an attendant who asked him to take them off became frustrated and removed them. That led to Smith’s departure from the flight.
“I really appreciate that Virgin America took this seriously, looked into this matter and followed up with me,” Smith said. “I look forward to flying their airline again soon.”
– Alex Rodriguez isn’t allowed to play baseball this season, but he has at least one offer to remain in the game. The Torrington (Conn.) Titans of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League announced that they are offering Rodriguez a position as an assistant coach this summer.
The Titans can only offer $5,000 for the 10-week gig, but they did include free coffee and donuts from a local donut shop.
“We would love to help Alex start to rebuild his image as a professional athlete by giving back to the community and helping our young athletes,” general manager Joey Abis said.
On a side note, comedic actor Bill Murray is a part owner of the team.
ON THIS DAY TRIVIA (answer below): On Jan. 24, 1971, which Bruin was honored in a pregame ceremony before the B’s beat the Canadiens, 4-2, to extend their home winning streak to 15?
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’m definitely not happy with what A-Rod’s done and how he’s trying to, instead of looking in the mirror, he’s trying to point the finger at everybody else. ‘¦ I can’t comment on his personality, but definitely the way he’s coming off for me, it looks bad for the game.” – Red Sox catcher David Ross, on Thursday’s Dennis & Callahan show, speaking about Alex Rodriguez’s attempts to overturn his one-year suspension
STAT OF THE DAY: 4 – First-time starters in the NBA All-Star Game, as Stephen Curry, Kevin Love, Paul George and Kyrie Irving earned spots for the Feb. 16 game in New Orleans
‘NET RESULTS (mobile users, check the website to see the videos): Knicks forward Andrea Bargnani‘s failed dunk attempt against the 76ers gets the “I believe I can fly” treatment from the Interweb. (On a serious note, Bargnani suffered a torn ligament in his elbow on the play and is out indefinitely.)
In a club hockey game, Denver’s Robert Biedron fires a puck down the ice past Utah State goalie Keagan McKenry, who gives up the game-winning goal with 15 seconds left in overtime because he’s talking to fans in the corner.
Mr. Met enjoys a day in the snow at Citi Field.
TRIVIA ANSWER: Ted Green, who had returned from a near-fatal stick to his head
SOOTHING SOUNDS: Neil Diamond was born on this day in 1941.