Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 6m

Imagine being so bad that a team decides "we're going to start a statuesque 40-year-old who's only been on our team for five days ahead of you"

Rotoworld Football @rotoworld-fb.bsky.social · 17m

Taylor: Flacco will start for Bengals in Week 6

Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Joe Flacco will start in Week 6 against the Packers.

dlvr.it

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 24m

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 25m

We are so, SO back

NBABeau @nbabeau.bsky.social · 11h

Y’all, here’s the first NBA Top 10 I’ve called working directly for the league.

We really hope you enjoy it. m.youtube.com/watch?v=fiec...

NBA's Top 10 Plays of the Night | October 6, 2025

YouTube video by NBA

m.youtube.com

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Reposted by Bryan Toporek

Ian Levy @hickoryhigh.bsky.social · 1h

Cathy Engelbert's salary isn't public (as far as I could find), but I did my best to estimate and came up with a number that — unsurprisingly — is pretty out of whack with the ration between commissioner and player salaries in other leagues.

Cathy Engelbert's salary compared to the average WNBA player

Salaries are one of the biggest sticking points in contentious labor negotiations as the WNBA CBA is set to expire. How does Cathy Engelbert's salary compare?

fansided.com

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 50m

Good lord, the lede here alone.

Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 6h

Horrific reporting from the AP on the Myanmar families watching their kids starve to death from Trump and Musk’s aid cuts apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 5h

Uh oh… no one tell @pablo.show

Keith Pompey @pompeyonsixers.bsky.social · 5h

Sixers rookie VJ Edgecombe has joined Pure Fuel as a strategic partner. Pure Fuel is also the official sports drink of the Sixers.

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 15h

That was before the Dodgers moved half their starting rotation to replace their awful bullpen

Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 15h

The Mariners, Blue Jays and Brewers would all be such fun World Series champions… if only they weren’t lambs for the Dodgers to slaughter

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 19h

Pete Hegseth: NO MORE FAT TROOPS

The Texas National Guard:

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Reposted by Bryan Toporek

Hardwood Paroxysm @hpbasketball.bsky.social · 19h

I wrote about OKC and the specific type of depth they have. It's not just how many good players they have, it's how many skills they can replicate.

fansided.com/nba/okc-pres...

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 19h

Now that Quentin Grimes signed his qualifying offer, I was finally able to preview the Sixers' 2026-27 salary-cap outlook at @libertyballers.bsky.social.

Spoiler: Get ready for more hardballing next summer!
www.libertyballers.com/76ers-analys...

A way-too-early preview of the Sixers’ 2026-27 salary-cap outlook

Now that Quentin Grimes accepted his qualifying offer, we can finally preview the Sixers’ financial outlook for 2026-27.

www.libertyballers.com

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 20h

And my favorite non-Sixers one:

What if OKC/Harden came to terms on a deal in 2012 and never traded him to Houston? (They split up because of a $4.5M difference, which is absolutely insane to think about in today's terms!)

www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Thunder ship star sixth man Harden to Rockets

The Oklahoma City Thunder have traded Sixth Man of the Year James Harden to the Houston Rockets, breaking up the young core of the Western Conference champions.

www.espn.com

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 20h

Some Sixers-specific ones:
- What if they took Porzingis at No. 3 instead of Okafor in 2015?
- What if they never usurped Hinkie with the Colangelos?
- What if they didn't swap picks with the Kings in 2017? Do they still trade up for Fultz?
- What if the basketball gods didn't hate Philadelphia?

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 21h

I got excited in the preseason when they were talking about using Saquon more in the passing game this year. Welp!

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 21h

Kevin Patullo will not see heaven

Denny Carter @dennycarter.bsky.social · 21h

The Eagles have 33 passing yards on play action throws this season. They average 2.8 play action attempts per game. That's dead last. The Rams, with 10 play action attempts per game, are first with 446 yards.

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 22h

My favorite part is that they didn't actually offer it, but they decided to leak the terms of their laughable offer anyway?

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 22h

Paul George for Giannis, who says no

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 23h

"If Antetokounmpo had asked out, the Heat was prepared to make an offer that did not include Bam Adebayo, according to a source. But it’s unlikely any such offer would have been seriously considered."

lmfao stay gold, Pat Riley
www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/m...

Johnson, Smith try to reward Heat’s faith. And Antetokounmpo/Heat fallout

Johnson, Smith try to reward Heat for their faith in them. And the Heat angle to ESPN’s Giannis Antetokounmpo report.

www.miamiherald.com

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 23h

"AI, in general, has not proven itself to be as good as human employees in most fields. But it doesn’t have to be. It only has to be good enough to convince the employers in these fields that its lack of quality is more than made up for by its potential to lower labor costs."

Hamilton Nolan @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social · 1d

It takes no special technical expertise to know that
1) AI's main value proposition today is automating labor,
2) AI is going to supercharge economic inequality, and
3) If we do not get out in front of that policy-wise, we are fools.

www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/thinking-o...

Thinking of AI as a Social Problem

No need to know the unknowable. The knowable is bad enough.

www.hamiltonnolan.com

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 1d

Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Chase Brown fantasy managers rejoice.

Dianna Russini @diannarussini.bsky.social · 1d

TRADE: The Bengals are acquiring Joe Flacco and a sixth-round pick from the Browns for a fifth-round pick, sources say.

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Reposted by Bryan Toporek

Rodger Sherman @rodger.bsky.social · 1d

RELEASE THE FOOTAGE YOU ALREADY SHOT

I NEED IT LIKE I NEED AIR

Inside Carolina @insidecarolina.bsky.social · 1d

UNC, Hulu Not Moving Forward With Season Documentary

North Carolina announced in August that it would do a season-long documentary to showcase the team.

dlvr.it

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 1d

A meme where baby Gamora asks Thanos whether the Eagles won Super Bowl LIX, he replies yes, she asks "What did it cost?" and he says "everything"

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 1d

Livin' on the Edgecombe
Darkness on the Edgecombe of Town (too real)
VJ Got Us Fallin' In Love

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Bryan Toporek @btoporek.bsky.social · 1d

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Reposted by Bryan Toporek

Howard Beck @howardbeck.bsky.social · 1d

Every dynasty starts with a missed train. For the Ringer's quarter-century project, I explored some of the biggest sliding-doors moments of the 21st century. (h/t Gwyneth Paltrow)

NBA Sliding Doors: The What-Ifs That Changed Everything

Forget Oden vs. Durant or ‘The Decision’—these five forgotten twists altered the course of the league forever

www.theringer.com

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