Sports
Dickie V: Preseason’s All-Rolls Royce Teams and Diaper Dandies

Here we go, baby! Buckle up, hoops nation, it’s time for Dickie V’s 2025-26 preseason All-Rolls Royce teams — and my list of star-studded Diaper Dandies. We’re talking Prime-Time Players (PTPers) are ready to light up the scoreboard and make this season one for the ages.
You know me. I don’t hand out Rolls Royce honors to just any player, unless he’s the kind to make you stand up and say, “Are you serious, baby?!”
So, let’s tip it off with the best of the best!
First Team
PJ Haggerty, Kansas State Wildcats: The transfer express finally lands in Manhattan, Kansas, and boy, oh boy, Jerome Tang’s got himself a big-time baller and scoring machine. Haggerty’s dropped 21 points a night the past two years — and, by the way, set an American Conference tourney record with 42 points in a game. But he’s not just a scorer, he’s also a playmaker and a defender. He’s a legit Rolls Royce PTPer.
Braden Smith, Purdue Boilermakers: The maestro, the conductor, the Diaper Dandy-turned-veteran PTPer. The Bob Cousy Award winner led the entire nation last season in assists. He’s the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, a first-team All-American, and when you’re breaking conference records for dimes, you’re the Rolls Royce of point guards. He’s Purdue’s straw that stirs the drink.
JT Toppin, Texas Tech Red Raiders: Double-double deluxe, baby! This young man was named the Big 12’s Player of the Year, recording 19 double-doubles last season. He gets it done with muscle, hustle and heart. You talk about toughness? Toppin is Mr. Reliable down low — a Rolls Royce Red Raider.
Graham Ike, Gonzaga Bulldogs: The postman always delivers. He’s been putting up steady double figures his whole career, and with nearly 60% shooting, he’s money on the block.
Bennett Stirtz, Iowa Hawkeyes: From Division II Northwest Missouri State to Drake to the big stage in Iowa City, what a Cinderella story. He’s a scoring guard with clutch DNA. Last year? Over 600 points, 200 assists, 70 steals. Nobody in Mountain Valley Conference history ever did that before him. Now he’s ready to show the Big Ten he’s prime-time material.
Second Team
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue Boilermakers: Ohhh, he’s a scoring dynamo. Averaged 20 points, six boards, two assists, and shot almost 60% from the floor. Are you kidding me? He’s a scoring machine in the paint, baby. Matt Painter’s paint crew is alive and well with TKR running the show up front.
Donovan Dent, UCLA Bruins: The only player in America last year to average 20+ points and 6+ assists, he’s flashy, he’s quick — and now he’s headed to Westwood after three seasons at New Mexico to run the show for Mick Cronin. The Bruins got a baller.
Nick Martinelli, Northwestern Wildcats: Martinelli led the Big Ten in scoring and set a school record last season. The kid’s got touch, toughness and talent. He’s the Wildcats’ scoring Rolls Royce.
Emanuel Sharp, Houston Cougars: Clutch city, baby! Big 12 tourney MVP, NCAA tournament’s Midwest Regional MOP, a Final Four star. He can knock it down from deep and from the stripe. He’s ice, baby!
Otega Oweh, Kentucky Wildcats: Big Blue Nation loves this guy. He’s strong, explosive and clutch. He hit not one, but TWO game-winners last year. He’s the Wildcats’ Rolls Royce slasher.
Diaper Dandies
These are the freshmen phenoms, the future lottery picks, the “wow” factor kids who are ready to dazzle from day one.
Darryn Peterson, Kansas Jayhawks: Naismith HS POY, can score, rebound, pass, defend. Bill Self’s got himself a big-time winner in Peterson, who is a future top-3 draft pick.
A.J. Dybantsa, BYU Cougars: The No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class, Dybantsa is 6-foot-9 with handles, athleticism and an MVP performance at the FIBA Men’s U19 World Cup. He’s a projected No. 1 overall draft pick.
Cameron Boozer, Duke Blue Devils: The son of Duke superstar Carlos Boozer, but this kid’s carving his own legend. He’s also a two-time Gatorade National POY, a double-double machine and a guaranteed Blue Devil Rolls Royce.
Nate Ament, Tennessee Volunteers: At 6-11 with guard skills, Ament is versatile and ready to shine in Knoxville. A shot-blocking, rim-rocking Diaper Dandy.
Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville Cardinals: A floor general deluxe. He’s got deep range, big-time vision and the confidence of a veteran. He’s going to be the man at Louisville.
Darius Acuff, Arkansas Razorbacks: Lightning quick, explosive and clutch. He’s got that Iverson flair and Razorback fire, baby. Diaper Dandy alert in Fayetteville!
College hoops fans, I’ve been blessed to share my passion for this great game with you for decades. You are the heartbeat of college basketball. Your love, energy and enthusiasm fuel everything I do. As we gear up for another unforgettable season, I want to say, from the bottom of my heart: thank you for supporting me, supporting the game and being part of my hoops family.
It’s going to be special, it’s going to be sensational, it’s going to be Awesome, baby, with a capital A!
Sports
Son Heung-Min nails 1st pitch at Dodger Stadium

Star LAFC recruit Son Heung-Min is settling into life in Los Angeles brilliantly.
After netting his debut goal for the club last Saturday — a stunning 30-yard free kick against FC Dallas no less — the South Korea captain capped a fine week by throwing the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.
Ahead of the Dodgers hosting Cincinnati Reds, the former Premier League star stepped up to the plate and launched a finely arced right-handed strike, much to the delight of the fans at the stadium.
Son’s pitch comes just days after BTS star V also threw the ceremonial first pitch in LA. We’ll leave it up to you to decide which Korean superstars’ throw was best.
Sports
Travis Kelce calls for Shedeur Sanders to start for Browns amid controversy: ‘Give the people what they want’

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Travis Kelce has spoken out about the ongoing controversy over Shedeur Sanders‘ role with the Cleveland Browns.
During his “New Heights” podcast this week, the Kansas City Chiefs star said he believes the Browns should start Sanders, who is third on the team’s depth chart behind veteran Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel.Â
Travis Kelce spoke about Shedeur Sanders’ role with the Browns on the latest episode of the “New Heights” podcast, which aired before the official start of the NFL season. (Imagn)
“Give the people what they want, in terms of the Browns fans. Start Shedeur. … Put him in coach,” Kelce said. “Give the people what they want. The world wants to see him go out there, and not only play, but have success. At this point, guys are rooting for him. This isn’t anything against Dillon. This isn’t anything against Joe. I’m just saying the excitement is there for [Sanders] to go out there. He’s going to put eyes on the screen. He’s going to bring people to the game.Â
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“I would love to f—ing see it, man.”Â
On the contrary, Kelce’s brother and co-host, Jason Kelce, defended the team naming Joe Flacco as the starter.Â
“[Browns head coach Kevin] Stefanski and the Browns are trying to do the thing that they feel gives them the best chance to win football games,” Jason said. “If the Browns and Kevin Stefanski felt their best option and the most confident option they had to win games was Shedeur Sanders, they would be playing him.”Â
Still, Jason conceded that he “wants” to see Sanders play.Â
“What do I want? I want to see Shedeur Sanders,” Jason said.Â
Jason also rejected the “conspiracies” surrounding the situation as to why Sanders is as low on the depth chart as he is.Â
Criticism and conspiracy theories directed at the Browns reemerged after the team’s preseason finale on Saturday.Â
Sanders entered the game in the third quarter and completed three of six passes for 14 yards, while taking five sacks for a combined loss of 41 yards against the Los Angeles Rams. He netted minus-27 yards for Cleveland before being pulled from the game on the final drive and replaced by veteran Tyler Huntley.Â
Huntley led the Browns’ offense on a game-winning field goal drive, and the Browns won 19-17.
It was a far cry from Sanders’ first preseason game against the Carolina Panthers Aug. 8, when he threw for two touchdowns and was praised by fans and sports stars, including LeBron James and Dawn Staley.Â
However, many fans and pundits were quick to defend Sanders for his rough outing on Saturday and blamed the Browns’ coaching for putting Sanders in a position where he had to rely on backup teammates while also calling questionable plays.Â
EX-NBA PLAYER MAKES SHEDEUR SANDERS-LEBRON JAMES COMPARISON AFTER QB’S PRESEASON DEBUT

Jason Kelce on the ESPN postseason countdown set during the 2025 Pro Bowl Games at Camping World Stadium Feb. 2, 2025. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Former NFL quarterback Derek Carr questioned why Sanders wasn’t left in the game to finish the final drive.Â
“I need to understand why we don’t get to see Shedeur Sanders run this 2-minute drill? Wouldn’t you want to see your young QB operate in this situation? Get him more reps for the future? I didn’t see the whole game so maybe he already showed enough? Help me understand this…” Carr wrote on X.Â
Sports talk show host Skip Bayless posted a 16-minute rant in defense of Sanders on X, while condemning the Browns for their handling of the quarterback.Â
“They sabotaged it. They rigged it against him today, putting him in with third- and fourth-stringers, fifth-stringers. You got no shot at quarterback,” Bayless said.Â
Other users on social media leveled similar criticisms at the Browns, with some speculating that the obstacles being put in front of the quarterback are intentional.Â
Prior to that game, NFL Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson stoked conspiracy theories related to Sanders in a recent interview, claiming that NFL teams were “told not to” draft Sanders to “make an example” of the quarterback when he fell to the fifth round of the NFL Draft in April.Â
“I tell you this much, what I heard from someone that’s in the NFL [is] that the NFL told [teams], ‘Don’t draft him, do not draft him,'” Dickerson said in a recent interview on the “Roggin and Rodney” show on AM 570 LA Sports.Â
“‘We’re going to make an example out of him.’ And this came from a very good source, a very good source. They were going to have him not get drafted to basically show you, ‘This is what happens when you do this.’ I mean, look, the NFL’s got all kinds of power. They do all kinds of stuff.”Â
Sanders’ slide out of the first round shocked many, including President Donald Trump, who condemned the league’s owners for passing on the quarterback in a Truth Social post.
ESPN host Stephen A. Smith revealed a text message from an associate who compared the situation to Colin Kaepernick being out of the NFL since 2016, suggesting “collusion.”Â
“‘This is a bad look for the NFL. This feels like Kaepernick-level collusion,'” Smith said of the content of the text, adding the situation goes beyond “talent evaluation.”Â
“All the hard work the NFL League Office puts in to eradicate these kinds of perceptions, only to turn around and watch as the OWNERS look like they’re colluding, messing up everything. What has been done to Shedeur will outshine everything else in this draft. We’ll never believe this is about just talent evaluation again.”Â
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders against the Philadelphia Eagles during a game at Lincoln Financial Field. (Kyle Ross/Imagn Images)
Sanders was eventually taken by the Browns on the third and final day of the draft with the 144th pick. The quarterback was initially considered a possible contender for the first overall pick early in the draft process after finishing his final season at Colorado.Â
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Sports
Mike Vrabel is back to try to help the Patriots recapture their glory days
Read more
Source link
-
Business1 week ago
RSS Feed Generator, Create RSS feeds from URL
-
Tech1 week ago
Korea develops core radar components for stealth technology
-
Fashion1 week ago
Tariff pressure casts shadow on Gujarat’s textile landscape
-
Fashion1 week ago
Rent the Runway to swap debt for equity in revival effort
-
Fashion1 week ago
US retailers split on holiday prospects amid consumer caution
-
Tech1 week ago
Qi2’s Magnetic Wireless Charging Finally Arrives on Android
-
Sports1 week ago
Dan Quinn says Terry McLaurin is healthy, ‘closer’ to Commanders return
-
Tech2 days ago
Review: Google Pixel 10 Series