Sports
Ex-NFL star cautions league about ‘giving fans too much’ as Thanksgiving Eve game reportedly eyed
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The NFL is reportedly eyeing adding another game on the holiday menu for fans at Thanksgiving time.
The league is exploring the possibility of adding a Thanksgiving Eve game to the docket for the 2026 season, ESPN reported Tuesday. If finalized, NFL fans would be treated to games on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday.
San Diego Chargers linebacker (56) Shawne Merriman against the Baltimore Ravens at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego on Sept. 20, 2009. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)
Ex-NFL star Shawne Merriman appeared on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich” on Thursday and warned the NFL about possibly diluting its product.
“I will caution this. The NBA, I think the season is just so long, there’s so many games, it gets watered down. I don’t think it’ll ever get to the point where there’s a 20-plus game season with the NFL for two seasons,” Merriman said. “Physically, I don’t think guys’ bodies can hold up an extra 2-3 games during the year unless there’s another bye week. They have to include another bye week if they plan on doing that.
DaRon Bland #26 Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys take a bite out of a turkey leg after a win over the Washington Commanders at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 23, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
AN NFL GAME THE NIGHT BEFORE THANKSGIVING IS OFFICIALLY ‘TOO MUCH FOOTBALL’
“What I will caution the NFL is that if you start giving the fans too much, yeah, you can make more money but you water down the product. There has to be some kind of balance with the two.”
The NFL continued to be a ratings boom during the 2025 season. A Week 14 game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers on FOX drew in 28 million viewers.
Jordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers takes a bite out of a turkey leg after the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Nov. 27, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
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While the NFL remains popular, the league will also have to face the challenge of making sure players stay as healthy as they can to keep the product as good as it has been.
Sports
New York Attorney General Letitia James joins FIFA investigation into possible ticket price gauging
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New York Attorney General Letitia James has joined New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport to launch an investigation into FIFA’s high World Cup ticket prices on Wednesday, the New York Post reports.
Officials say the steep prices have sparked a “gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity, and impossibly high prices,” ahead of the soccer tournament next month.
FIFA FACES LAWSUIT OVER PLAN TO BAN IRAN’S PRE-REVOLUTION ‘LION AND SUN’ FLAG AT 2026 WORLD CUP STADIUMS
New York Attorney General Letitia James stands silently during a press conference at the office of the Attorney General in New York City on Dec. 15, 2025. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Both James and Davenport announced the joint probe — which includes subpoenas sent to FIFA by the two attorneys general — to focus on the myriad issues that stem from the soccer federation’s ticket sales for the tournament, including reports that fans were being misled about where their seats were located in addition to the exorbitantly high prices.
“Being honest about ticket sales is not complicated. But FIFA has turned buying a ticket to the World Cup into a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity, and impossibly high prices — all at the expense of consumers and hardworking New Jerseyans,” AG Davenport said in a statement.
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The FIFA World Cup 2026 winner trophy is displayed at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, as the draw for the 2026 World Cup European qualifiers begins on Dec. 13, 2024. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu)
The joint probe from both states makes sense when considering a number of World Cup games, including the final on July 19, are being played at nearby MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Sky-high ticket prices for the World Cup seem to be a bipartisan issue, as this probe comes in the wake of President Donald Trump also making disparaging comments regarding the high prices earlier this month, which were routinely rumored to be north of $1,000.
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President Donald Trump dances at the end of the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington on Dec. 5, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)
“I did not know that number,” President Trump said, “I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you.”
The 2026 World Cup kicks off on June 11 between Mexico and South Africa.
Sports
Noted New York menace Spider-Man crashes J.K. Simmons’ night at the Mets game
Look, up in the stands — it’s J.K. Simmons and your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!
The Academy Award-winning actor, who portrayed Daily Bugle chief J. Jonah Jameson in director Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” trilogy, was reunited with his onscreen nemesis at the New York Mets game Tuesday.
After a clip from “Spider-Man” was shown on the stadium screen at Citi Field during the Mets game against the Cincinnati Reds, the camera cut to Simmons in the stands. In the row behind him was Jameson’s favorite masked menace, reading a copy of the Daily Bugle.
The “Whiplash” actor played along with the bit, turning around to face Spider-Man and waving his arms to express his displeasure. Channeling his inner Jameson, a spirited Simmons then motioned for Spider-Man to get tossed from the game. Photos and videos of the moment have been shared across social media.
(A devoted Detroit Tigers fan, Simmons repped his favorite team under the Mets jersey he wore at the game.)
After playing Jameson in Raimi’s “Spider-Man” trilogy that wrapped in 2007, Simmons returned to the role for a mid-credits cameo in the 2019 film “Spider-Man: Far From Home” when the vocal Spider-Man critic revealed the hero’s identity to the world. Simmons’ incarnation of the character has since appeared in “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” (2021), “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (2021) and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (2023).
The next installment of the webslinging superhero’s adventures is “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” which hits theaters July 31. Simmons’ involvement has not officially been confirmed.
Sports
Thunder push Spurs to brink with dominant Game 5 win as Wembanyama posts series-low 20 points
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are just one win away from a second consecutive NBA Finals berth. The Western Conference Finals shifted back to Oklahoma City on Tuesday night, with the defending league champions pulling away in the second half for a 127-114 victory in Game 5.
The reigning two-time NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points and nine assists Tuesday night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder watches during the fourth quarter of Game Five against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 26, 2026. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 24 points and five rebounds, while Victor Wembanyama finished with a series-low 20 points.
Entering Tuesday, the Spurs appeared to follow a relatively simple formula for success in the Western Conference Finals: When Wembanyama was the best player on the floor, they won. When he wasn’t, they lost.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama looks on during the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Wembanyama, who delivered 41- and 33-point performances in the Spurs’ two wins earlier in the series, never appeared to fully find his rhythm in Game 5. He was 4 for 15 from the floor, missing all five of his 3-point attempts.
He offered an impassioned speech to teammates during a timeout barely two minutes into the third quarter, after the Thunder opened an 18-point lead. And it worked — to a point. Oklahoma City scored again to get the lead up to 20, but the Spurs closed within eight later in the third.
Elsewhere, the New York Knicks will have to wait until at least Thursday to find out which team emerges from the Western Conference.
Jared McCain of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates during the fourth quarter of Game Five against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on May 26, 2026. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Even before Game 5 of the Spurs-Thunder series tipped off, San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson was asked about Knicks fans in Manhattan chanting, “We want Wemby! We want Wemby!”
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“I know New York’s on fire. They won so that city is obviously enjoying it and they’ve had a heck of a playoff run,” Johnson said. “But unfortunately, I’ve been pretty locked-into what we’ve got going right here in front of us.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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