EW's BINGE podcast returns with an exclusive dive into AS1 with Jujubee and Alexis Mateo on wet padding, THAT iconic Untucked, and Latrice Royale's El Pollo Loco chaos. Jujubee and Alexis Mateo reveal who else almost quit RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 1 EW's BINGE podcast returns with an exclusive dive into AS1 with Jujubee and Alexis Mateo on wet padding, THAT iconic Untucked, and Latrice Royale's El Pollo Loco chaos. :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/JoeyNolfiauthorphotoba4923fec03a4027868306485696ef41.jpg) Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at .

EW's BINGE podcast returns with an exclusive dive into AS1 with Jujubee and Alexis Mateo on wet padding, THAT iconic Untucked, and Latrice Royale's El Pollo Loco chaos.

Jujubee and Alexis Mateo reveal who else almost quit RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 1

EW's BINGE podcast returns with an exclusive dive into AS1 with Jujubee and Alexis Mateo on wet padding, THAT iconic Untucked, and Latrice Royale's El Pollo Loco chaos.

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes *RuPaul's Drag Race* video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

EW's editorial guidelines

June 30, 2021 12:30 p.m. ET

*EW's BINGE* podcast is back, back, back again with a new season diving deep into the herstory of *RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars*.

The new batch of episodes kicks off (below) with a *RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 1* recap featuring Jujubee and Alexis Mateo spilling tea on the season's wildest secrets — including a major reveal that the latter considered leaving the competition before it even began.

"It brought me back to, you know at recess when you're playing dodgeball and you're the last one picked? I was like, what if nobody picks me!" Jujubee jokes of the season's gaggy twist that saw the queens enter the Werk Room alone, but compete in pairs they had to sort themselves into.

Jujubee ended up pairing with season 2 alum Raven, while Mateo joined forces with her season 3 sister (and current *All Stars 6* competitor) Yara Sofia, and while she looks back on the partnership with affection now, the initial shock of the twist nearly sent her sashaying away on her own accord.

"I'm easy to make a decision to go," Mateo remembers, adding that she "fiercely" debated checking out of the contest. "If you go back and look at it, I go back and look at that door several times!"

**Other highlights from this episode include:**

- The queens reflect on Pandora Boxx's reaction to pairing up with controversial queen Mimi Imfurst (and their attempts to soothe her emotions off-camera).

- Mateo explains the story behind her famous "act a fool, girl" clash in *Untucked*.

- Mateo gives an update on her infamous military boyfriend from season 3.

- Jujubee savors the memory of squirting whipped cream down an unsuspecting stranger's pants during the outdoor prank challenge (Mateo also has some feelings on this).

- Both queens dish on the matchup-within-a-matchup on the makeover episode, which saw Jujubee and Raven lightly tussling with actress Kady Z over her drag reinvention.

- Mateo tells us how she really felt when Sofia tag-teamed the lip-sync by pushing "*the* button."

- Jujubee reveals how she and Raven mounted one of the most emotional lip-syncs in *Drag Race* herstory, set to Robyn's "Dancing on My Own."

- Both queens kiki over a hilarious, hangry memory of a time the cast banded together in solidarity because they really wanted Popeye's (and Jujubee confirms she did, in fact, get fried chicken after the Raven lip-sync).

Jujubee and Alexis Mateo dive into EW's BINGE podcast for a 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 1' recap. World of Wonder

Listen to EW's full *RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 1 *recap above, and stay tuned for more full-season deep-dives with special guests — including Alaska, Detox, BenDeLaCreme, Shea Couleé, and more — in the weeks ahead.

***Subscribe to *EW's BINGE* podcast for full recaps of *RuPaul's Drag Race*, including our new season diving into all five *All Stars *seasons, featuring exclusive interviews with Jujubee, Alexis Mateo, Shea Couleé, Alaska, Detox, BenDeLaCreme, Kennedy Davenport, and more*. *And be sure to catch up on our *BINGE* recaps of *RuPaul's Drag Race* seasons 1-13 with Symone, Jaida Essence Hall, Trixie Mattel, Katya, Peppermint, Bianca Del Rio, Bob the Drag Queen, Sasha Velour, and more******!***

**Related content: **

- *RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 6* queens read their best & worst moments, and spill on the 'chaotic' season ahead

- Give *RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 6* icon Jiggly Caliente a Marvel movie, dammit

- Serena ChaCha on soft sculpture and hard reality after* RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 6*

- EW's Binge Podcast Episodes

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Published: November 01, 2025 at 01:19PM on Source: ASHER MAG

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byAsher Jeferson

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November 01, 2025

Jujubee and Alexis Mateo reveal who else almost quit RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 1

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Curtis Pride lived an impossible dream; here are his tips for kids

Curtis Pride lived an impossible dream; here are his tips for kids Stephen Borelli, USA TODAYNovember 1, 2025 at 5:05 AM 0 If you are or have been a Little League parent, you can relate to this story. A young kid strikes the ball. It rises over an outfielder's head.

- - Curtis Pride lived an impossible dream; here are his tips for kids

Stephen Borelli, USA TODAYNovember 1, 2025 at 5:05 AM

0

If you are or have been a Little League parent, you can relate to this story.

A young kid strikes the ball. It rises over an outfielder's head. He starts running from home plate.

But he is so fast – and so excited – he threatens to pass the other baserunners.

"No, no, go back, go back, go back!" parents implore.

"Why am I going back?" he thinks to himself. "I just hit a home run."

When did the boy, Curtis Pride, start dreaming about playing in the major leagues?

"After I hit a home run my first at-bat," he tells USA TODAY Sports.

It's a thought many of us have as youths, but for Pride, it seemed impossible. He would need to become the first deaf player to make it to the majors since Dick Sipek in 1945.

"It's a tricky business, being deaf in a hearing world," Pride writes in "I Felt the Cheers: The Remarkable Silent Life of Curtis Pride," his memoir that was released this year about his life and big league career that spanned 11 seasons. "I have never tried to portray myself as someone who can hear, nor would I ever try to hide the fact that I cannot. It is mere fact, and it brings neither pride nor shame. It's just who I am."

Curtis Pride holds up his book, I Felt the Cheers / The Remarkable Silent Life of Curtis Pride.

As Pride has found, often it's the self-imposed obstacles - or those imposed by others - that are harder to clear than the actual barriers in the way of your goal.

Players mocked him from Little League to the minors, sometimes right to his face. People overlooked him.

But he had the support of his parents, and he found the right group of friends, coaches and teammates to give him ground support. It's what every kid needs.

"Curtis's story of becoming Major League Baseball's first full season deaf player of the modern era is unique but it's also universal," Doug Ward, Pride's co-author, tells USA TODAY Sports. "Everyone has a dream, so everyone can relate to Curtis and appreciate the hurdles he overcame to make his dream come true. At book signing events, Curtis handwrites the inscription, 'Anything is possible.' I think that summarizes the widespread appeal of Curtis's singular story."

Pride, 56, played for 23 professional teams over 26 seasons. He's now a father and has been a coach of youth and college baseball players. We asked him how his experiences can give young athletes and parents perspective on their games:

As parents, and as coaches, our job is to bring out the best in kids, regardless of their skill level

John and Sallie Pride never made Curtis feel like a burden. Sallie, their son says, never even felt she was making a sacrifice.

"We have no time to feel sorry for ourselves or for Curt if he's going to have a decent life," John recalled his wife telling him, right after their son was born, for a Washington Post story in 1993. "We have to start reading and learn how to help him."

Like many of us, Pride's parents felt he needed to play sports in order to be a kid.

What are sports, but a place that can help us associate with others, and maybe even find our niche in life, at least in early life.

"We have a lost cause," Curtis Pride writes about how he was presented by the Wheaton, Maryland, Boys Club, to his first T-ball coach, Don Stein, in the mid-1970s. "A player with two strikes against him: He is deaf, and he is Black. His father is making a fuss, so somebody has got to take him. Will you do it?"

Curtis remembers his dad being worried, spending a lot of time with the coach, relaying to his son what the coach was saying to the team.

We all hope we meet someone like Stein, who not only makes you feel comfortable and welcome, but plays to your strengths.

Curtis could speak and read lips. Stein worked with John Pride to figure out how the players could communicate, especially in catching popups or fly balls.

"Anytime I called for the ball, it's my ball all the way, so that there's no misunderstanding," Curtis Pride told USA TODAY Sports in our video interview. "So if I don't say anything, if the guys wave me off, I know that it's (their) ball. I don't remember ever having a collision or anything like that."

Youth coaches, including myself at times in the past, tend to play the most polished kids a lot more than the ones who are slower to develop.

Over time, we realize our broader purpose. Be the coach who gives everyone a chance. You never know what you might find.

"It wasn't so much that Don made me a better player, which he did," Pride writes, "but it was more a case of him allowing me to believe I could be a good player. … Don was the first person outside of my family to open a major door for me and, in doing so, he began a butterfly effect that altered my life's course for the better."

If you work with someone's deficit - or failure - he or she can before a source of strength

About 30 years ago, I was beginning my career as a part-time sportswriter for The Washington Post when I came across a story angle about a juggernaut volleyball team at Gallaudet University.

Gallaudet is a school for deaf and hard of hearing students that competes athletically against schools that have students who hear. It's where Pride coached baseball after his playing career, and where he would tell his players that if they wanted others to view them differently, they needed to see themselves differently.

"I never viewed the deaf kids in my program any differently than the major leaguers I played alongside," Pride wrote.

Peg Worthington, who compiled a 615-305 record at the school, told me in 1995 she devised a plan where each player stuck to a specific area of the volleyball court. They gained comfort in performing through practice and repetition.

It's a similar message Braves manager Bobby Cox would one day impress upon his players, including Pride a few years later: Know your role, adapt to it, perfect it.

Although Worthington said sometimes her players got "burned" because they couldn't cover the entire court or hear when a teammate tipped a ball at the net, they brimmed with confidence.

"They never take their eye off the ball," Penny Fall, then the coach of Washington College, a regional school that played Gallaudet, told me. "I've considered putting earplugs on my kids to make them focus that well. I'm tired of being wiped up and down the court (by Gallaudet), but I'm also happy for them."

It's your job as a coach to find out what's inside every kid and unlock it.

Giving Pride the freedom to use his speed and chase down balls gave him confidence. His teammates, dismissive at first, accepted him as he practiced and showed them he could hit.

"I don't like (not) knowing my role," he told me in our interview. "The role can always progress as maybe you have a little bit more responsibility during the game, where you get better, and then, you start a game."

You have to fail in order to get better

Pride's parents let him get into basketball, gymnastics, track, wrestling and football. When he reached high school, he was the kid who changed from his baseball to soccer uniform as his father drove across Montgomery County, Maryland, and back.

"Make a point for kids at a young age to learn how to deal with failure," Curtis Pride says. "That's why my parents have always encouraged me to play different things, to try different things, even though failure was possible, but because you never know what you can do until you try."

Just last month, Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering, with the National League Division Series on the line, struggled to field a two-out comebacker to him. He appeared to panic and quickly threw wildly home when he may have had a chance to extend the game and get the out at first base.

"We're not perfect, we're human beings," Pride says. "We all feel bad for him. But it's not his fault that the team lost. They had so many other opportunities to win the game. And they should never put that on him. Because of what he had to deal with at the moment, it's gonna make him stronger.

"I've seen a lot of parents trying to protect their kids but they're not helping them (when) they get older, when they do fail. But now, they've never had the experience of already having to deal with failure. So they become lost."

Pride was 23, and in his seventh minor league season, at Class AA Binghamton (New York). He saw his teammates make fun of him across the locker room, he felt the hurt of his first girlfriend broke up with him. He couldn't seem to hit.

He stuck out the season – as his father insisted – and returned to Maryland with the intention to quit. It was time, so it seemed, to pursue his degree in finance from William & Mary, which he earned congruently with his early minor league career with the Mets (another requirement of his father).

First he worked at his former high school as a teacher's aide who served kids with disabilities.

"They didn't know I played professional baseball until the teacher told them about my background," Pride says. "And these kids were shocked" 'How can you play professional baseball, you're deaf?'

"I was talking to the kids. We all have different disabilities, but that shouldn't stop us from pursuing our dreams and goals. We know what our capabilities are and we shouldn't allow other people to place limitations on us. After I had that conversation with my class, I went home, and I talked to my mom, and these kids totally inspired me. What kind of message would I be sending to them if I quit pursuing my goal, the dream? So I felt I owed it to them."

YOUTH SPORTS SURVIVAL GUIDE: Pre-order Coach Steve's upcoming book for young athletes and their parents

'We're never alone' in the pursuit of our goals

Steve Swisher, Pride's manager at Binghamton who had worked tirelessly with him in the batting cage, had told him that if he starts quitting now, it will become easy, and he'll quit other things in his life.

Pride learned to thrive with the help and advice of others. He credits his neighbor, Randy Hurowitz, who played goalie for him every day as Curtis took shot after shot against him, with helping him reach the U-16 national team.

Players on the basketball team at William & Mary, where Pride played point guard, would give him a nudge into a double switch on defense. He developed a sixth sense, he feels, fueled by the confidence of those who believed in him, to make up for his lack of hearing.

When he signed with the Montreal Expos in 1993, his manager in Class AA Harrisburg was Jim Tracy, who made him feel like his sole purpose in life was to make Pride a better person and player.

"We all go through struggles, but we can rely on other people to help us get through," Pride says. "We're never alone. It's just always about being positive."

Always remember to smile

When he returned to baseball, Pride met his future wife, Lisa, a reporter who interviewed him at spring training. Colten and Noelle, who are now college students, became his favorite players, as our kids do, as he watched him.

Getting married and having children were two of his goals on a list he began keeping as a kid.

Pride recommends writing down goals – big and small, team and individual – as he did, to help push you forward.

Even if you don't achieve all of them, they are a reminder to be relentless in your pursuit.

When he rapped a double to left center field for the Expos on Sept. 17, 1993, Pride was determined, in his words, to prove he was not just a charity case. As he was standing on second base, he could see more than 45,000 people standing and cheering. He thought they were cheering for the team, which was coming back to win.

They knew Pride was deaf and, as third base coach Jerry Manuel took it in, he realized they were doing everything they could to try to make him hear them.

As the Phillies changed pitchers, Manuel called his player over and told him it was for him. Pride tried to keep a straight face, wanting them to know he was no one-hit wonder, but tipped his cap, as his coach suggested.

Second-base umpire Gary Darling walked over. "Smile," he told Pride. "Smile!"

It was a good reminder for all of us, and our kids, when they're playing sports.

"I remember, at a young age, I always wanted to please the coach," Pride says. "But I lost focus on myself. … I'm not doing this for the coaches, I'm not doing this for my parents. I'm doing this for myself because I love the game."

Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons' baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here.

Have a question for Coach Steve you want answered in a column? Email him at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What improbable MLB story of Curtis Pride can teach young athletes

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Published: November 01, 2025 at 12:27PM on Source: ASHER MAG

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byAsher Jeferson

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November 01, 2025

Curtis Pride lived an impossible dream; here are his tips for kids

Curtis Pride lived an impossible dream; here are his tips for kids Stephen Borelli, USA TODAYNovember 1, 2025 at 5:05 A...

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What are the Nebraska Blackshirts? Explaining Huskers' defense nickname

USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change.

USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change.

What are the Nebraska Blackshirts? Explaining Huskers' defense nickname

Craig Meyer, USA TODAY NETWORKNovember 1, 2025 at 5:06 AM

0

This weekend, the normally red-clad confines of Nebraska's Memorial Stadium will be covered in black.

The Cornhuskers' game against USC on Saturday, Nov. 1 is a designated "blackout" game, with coach Matt Rhule's team set to wear black jerseys on a field with black end zones and in front of tens of thousands of fans decked out in black clothing.

Blackouts are nothing particularly new in college or professional sports, with the concept gaining popularity in the 2000s, even for teams that don't have black as one of their primary colors.

REQUIRED READING: When college football season of coaching buyouts can't get worse, Nebraska steps up

For Nebraska, the hue has a different and cherished meaning.

The "Blackshirts," a reference to the Huskers' defense, is a central part of the Nebraska football lore, something that helped the Huskers win five national championships and become one of the most storied programs in college football history.

Here's a closer look at the history of the Blackshirts:

Nebraska Blackshirts

Under coaches Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne, Nebraska football became a powerhouse, a program that regularly competed for championships.

From 1970 through 1997, the Huskers won five national titles and 16 conference championships while racking up 17 seasons with at least 10 wins and competing in bowls that are now a part of the New Year's Six lineup 24 times.

One of the many forces behind that decorated run was a ferocious defense. It was a unit that not only kept opponents out of the end zone and off the scoreboard, but one that had a mythology develop around it.

After the 1963 season, the NCAA ended the one-platoon system, meaning that teams had unlimited substitutions and were able to create dedicated offensive, defensive and special teams units. Though Devaney played most of his starters on both offense and defense in Nebraska's 1964 season opener, a 56-0 victory against South Dakota, he announced in the days leading up to a Sept. 26 game at Minnesota that he would be using separate offensive and defensive units.

The move presented an organizational challenge, with the coaches needing a way to distinguish between offensive and defensive players during practice that week. As the story goes, Huskers assistant Mike Corgan went to a local sporting goods store to look for pullovers for players to wear in practice. The frugal Corgan noticed an abundance of black jerseys, which he purchased for the Nebraska defense.

"I told Mike the only reason they had black ones was because they didn't sell," Nebraska defensive line coach George Kelly once said.

Defensive players weren't guaranteed to wear a black pullover. According to Kelly, Huskers defenders had previously worn gray pullovers, but when the switch to offensive and defensive units was made, black pullovers were given only to starters, something that was used as a motivational tactic.

The idea of the "Black Shirt" quickly caught on in the local media, with newspapers in Lincoln and Omaha making reference to the shirts in stories. It didn't hurt that those Nebraska defenses in the early days of the black pullovers were particularly stout. In that fateful 1964 season, the Huskers had the nation's No. 2 total defense. Three years later, in 1967, they were No. 1.

Even as coaches and players changed, the "Blackshirt" moniker (which eventually became a single word) persisted.

Facets of it were altered. Players' numbers and names were added to the jerseys. They were no longer handed out before practice and collected afterward. During Osborne's legendary 25-year run as coach, members of the top defensive unit during preseason training camp would receive Blackshirts the week before the team's first game.

Over time, Blackshirts described not only the Nebraska starters, but the Huskers' entire defense — and even came to define the entire program itself.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What are the Nebraska Blackshirts? Huskers' defense nickname explained

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Published: November 01, 2025 at 12:27PM on Source: ASHER MAG

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byAsher Jeferson

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November 01, 2025

What are the Nebraska Blackshirts? Explaining Huskers' defense nickname

USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change. USA ...

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Timeline reveals how Brian Kelly firing exposed LSU athletics dysfunction

Timeline reveals how Brian Kelly firing exposed LSU athletics dysfunction Kevin Skiver, USA TODAY NETWORKNovember 1, 2025 at 5:06 AM 0 Timeline reveals how Brian Kelly firing exposed LSU athletics dysfunction C'est tout for an era in Baton Rouge. On Oct.

- - Timeline reveals how Brian Kelly firing exposed LSU athletics dysfunction

Kevin Skiver, USA TODAY NETWORKNovember 1, 2025 at 5:06 AM

0

Timeline reveals how Brian Kelly firing exposed LSU athletics dysfunction

C'est tout for an era in Baton Rouge.

On Oct. 30, LSU completed a bit of a facelift in its athletic department with the departure of Scott Woodward, who had served as AD since 2019. Woodward, who hired championship coaches Kim Mulkey (women's basketball) and Jay Johnson (baseball), ultimately missed on football with the hiring of Brian Kelly, who was lured from Notre Dame in what was thought at the time to be a caper for LSU.

Of course, in college athletics, football remains king.

In the wake of Kelly's firing, there was a great deal of finger pointing toward who was responsible for LSU's underperformance during his tenure. LSU went 34-14 with Kelly at the helm, but a lack of appearances in the College Football Playoff and a virtual elimination from another one Oct. 25 vs Texas A&M – combined with a serious image problem exacerbated by Kelly foisting blame for LSU's shortcomings onto others – led to his firing in expedited fashion on Oct. 26.

'LSU IS NOT BROKEN': Latest on mess in the Bayou, who is handling coaching search

In the week that has followed, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has been extremely critical of Woodward's hiring of Kelly. While some of Landry's assertions have been outside the bounds of reality – specifically the money for Kelly's buyout falling on the shoulders of the people of Louisiana and Woodward being responsible for the extension that led to Jimbo Fisher receiving $77 million in buyout money from Texas A&M (despite hiring Fisher, the extension was the work of now-Ohio State AD Ross Bjork) – Landry is correct that the hiring of Kelly simply did not work out.

With the LSU athletic department seemingly in turmoil, punctuated by a hastily organized press conference at 8 a.m. local time on Halloween to discuss Woodward's Oct. 30 departure from the university and announce Verge Ausberry as the interim AD, here's a look at how arguably the best college coaching job available has become tainted by political grandstanding and outsized expectations.

OPINION: Did LSU learn from sex abuse scandal? Apparently not, given interim AD choice

Stanford coach Troy Taylor was fired prior to the 2025 season following allegations of mistreating staff. He was 6-18 in two seasons with the Cardinal and was replaced by interim coach Frank Reich.

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Stanford coach Troy Taylor was fired prior to the 2025 season following allegations of mistreating staff. He was 6-18 in two seasons with the Cardinal and was replaced by interim coach Frank Reich.

">Stanford coach Troy Taylor was fired prior to the 2025 season following allegations of mistreating staff. He was 6-18 in two seasons with the Cardinal and was replaced by interim coach Frank Reich.

" src=https://ift.tt/7GNa8Ev class=caas-img>

1 / 12College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing listLSU fired Brian Kelly on Oct. 26 after an embarrassing home loss to Texas A&M the night before.LSU athletics timelineApril 17, 2019: Joe Alleva resigns from LSU athletic director position

Joe Alleva was the embattled predecessor to Scott Woodward at LSU. The former Tigers athletic director was oft-criticized despite overseeing the department during LSU's 2009 baseball national championship, 2015 golf national championship, and many individual track and field champions.

The biggest blemish on Alleva's record, however, are championships bookending his tenure in football. LSU won the national championship in 2007 under Les Miles and then again in 2019, the year of Alleva's resignation, with Ed Orgeron steering the ship. Orgeron was promoted from the interim role when Miles was fired in 2016 following a loss to Auburn. He was named the head coach Nov. 26, two days after the season ended with a win against Texas A&M. The promotion sparked criticism of Alleva for his coaching search – or lack thereof – as then-"it" candidate Tom Herman went to Texas and other viable candidates stayed put.

Basketball was also an issue. Wholly uninspiring hires Trent Johnson and Johnny Jones never made it out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, and though Will Wade brought relevance back to the program, scandal followed him in 2019. Reported recruiting violations stemming from an FBI wiretap preceded Alleva's resignation a month later on April 17.

April 18, 2019: Scott Woodward hired as new LSU AD

LSU had a succession plan in place. Just a day after Alleva's resignation, the university hired university alum Scott Woodward away from Texas A&M.

Woodward, who had hired Fisher to the Aggies during his tenure there, also hired Buzz Williams away from Virginia Tech to helm TAMU basketball.

"After stops in Washington and Texas, I'm back home," Woodward said when he was hired. "But let me be clear, and very clear, I'm not solely back at LSU because it's my alma mater. I did not return because this is home to me and my entire multigenerational family, and I'm not – I did not come back because of the pull of any one individual. I am at LSU because I believe in who we are and what we can accomplish together, and I stress together. And because LSU means so much to me and it means so much to many people here in this great state."

He added: "We will win SEC and NCAA championships. We will not only graduate our student athletes but we will provide them with a world-class experience and with world-class help after they graduate."

Jan. 13, 2020: LSU football wins national title, Woodward makes good on promise

LSU football was an utter Death Star in 2019, and less than a year after his hiring, Woodward made good on his promise to bring titles to Baton Rouge.

Behind the offensive juggernaut of Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, and JaMarr Chase, who headlined a roster that saw a then record-tying 14 players to drafted, LSU went 15-0 in Orgeron's third full season en route to a national championship.

The Tigers became a national sensation, with even their White House visit grabbing headlines.

April 25, 2021: Woodward hires Kim Mulkey from Baylor

Woodward's first high-profile hire at LSU practically fell into his lap.

Mulkey, already a women's college basketball legend because of her time in Waco, had led the Bears to three national titles to add onto her two championships whe won as a guard while playing at Louisiana Tech.

Mulkey supplanted Nikki Fargas, who resigned after a 9-13 2020 season.

"Kim Mulkey is a champion and a Hall of Famer, and we are thrilled to welcome her home," Woodward said at the time. "Her accomplishments are unprecedented, her passion is unrivaled, and her commitment to winning in all aspects of life – in the classroom, on the court, and in the community – is unparalleled. We look forward to working with her as she instills that championship culture at LSU."

June 25, 2021: LSU hires Jay Johnson away from Arizona

While Mulkey may have been a relatively easy slam dunk hire for Woodward, the hiring of Jay Johnson was truly a pilfering.

Johnson, a West Coast mainstay who made his bones at Nevada before making Arizona into a baseball power in its own right, was 208-114 in six seasons with the Wildcats with two College World Series appearances. Johnson replaced the retired Paul Mainieri, who had won a title in 2009. LSU, a baseball superpower in the 1990s, signed Johnson to lofty expectations.

"I am humbled and honored to be the head baseball coach at LSU and serve as the steward of the next generation of national champions," Johnson said in his opening press conference. "LSU is a phenomenal University and athletics department, and I am very thankful to Scott Woodward and Stephanie Rempe for entrusting me to lead this storied program into its next winning chapter. I view this as the opportunity of my lifetime and will do everything in my power to have our team playing a brand of baseball that makes everyone at LSU, the Baton Rouge community, and the entire state of Louisiana incredibly proud. Geaux Tigers!"

2021 football season: LSU parts ways with Orgeron

Fewer than two years after leading one of the best teams in college football history, Orgeron was let go by the program after a swift fall from grace and mounting scandal.

LSU went 5-5 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season before going 6-7 in 2021. Orgeron and LSU agreed to part ways following the regular season. While the death knell may have been a hapless 42-21 loss to Kentucky, scandal off the field also mounted against Orgeron.

Though Orgeron always kept up a rah-rah demeanor as the LSU coach, sexual harassment allegations against both him and his players that he failed to address and the abrupt firing of offensive line staffer James Cregg – which led to a lawsuit from Cregg claiming the firing was retaliatory for admitting to recruitment violations during the COVID-19 dead period – marred on the field results, which were also below par.

Upon Orgeron's departure from LSU, the vacancy gave Woodward his highest-profile search to date.

OPINION: LSU football becomes a circus. Does Lane Kiffin want to be a clown in the act?

Nov. 30, 2021: LSU hires Brian Kelly as new football head coach

In a stunning move, LSU replaced Orgeron with 11-year Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly.

Kelly, a decorated coach in his own right, was given high praise by Woodward upon his introduction.

"He's a winner through and through, which makes Coach Kelly so successful, and that he knows success is a habit, and he shows up in everything he does, from the smallest acts to the biggest transformations," Woodward said in Kelly's introductory press conference. "He knows that success in football requires success in the classroom and in the community. He knows that high standards don't confine themselves to the football field, that elite performances on Saturdays is the product of elite preparation in every walk of life, and he knows what winning can do, how it can uplift a university, elevate a state and transform the lives of millions."

Dec. 1, 2021: The family incident

The first sign LSU and Kelly may be a match made somewhere under heaven came during Kelly's opening comments at an LSU basketball game.

Kelly was ridiculed mercilessly for putting on what appeared to be a Southern drawl – or an attempt at one – when he addressed the LSU crowd.

"This is a great way to get started, and I haven't won all of my games yet," he said, pausing to let the crowd get a cheer in. "It's a great night to be a Tiger. I'm here with my family, and we are so excited, to be in the great state of Louisiana."

Brian Kelly making his welcome speech at halftime of the Ohio/LSU basketball game tonight. pic.twitter.com/Jk3bjAvrh8

— Mike Bundt (@Mike_Bundt) December 2, 2021

The truly bizarre pronunciation of family, which had the uncanny feeling of a dream, kicked off memes that would persist through Kelly's entire tenure at LSU.

March 21, 2022: LSU hires Matt McMahon as basketball coach

In yet another high-profile signing, LSU found its new basketball coach in Matt McMahon after Wade's scandal and departure.

McMahon, a longtime coach at Murray State, was hired after three NCAA Tournament appearances with the Racers, including two first-round victories.

At McMahon's introductory press conference, which Woodward was undoubtedly getting used to conducting by this time, Woodward said:

"It was essential for us to hire a coach with a winning standard of performance, as well as the consistency and character to elevate our men's basketball program to new heights. Matt is exactly what we were looking for. His vision for our program and his values as a leader align perfectly with ours as an institution, and he has a proven track record of identifying talent, developing student-athletes, and building championship basketball programs. We are excited to welcome, Matt, Mary, and their three children to Baton Rouge, and we are ready to work together to write the next championship chapter for LSU Basketball."

April 2, 2023: LSU women's basketball wins first national title

Amid the Caitlin Clark hype, LSU women's basketball became the spoiler to end all spoilers.

With Mulkey at the helm, the team had established an identity. After a second-round exit in 2021, LSU went 34-2 in Mulkey's second season and entered the 2023 tournament as a No. 3 seed in the Greenville regional.

LSU traipsed through the NCAA Tournament, ultimately defeating Iowa 102-85 in a barnburner of a performance. LSU star Angel Reese and Clark became appointment viewing when they played each other, with Reese doing John Cena's "can't see me" celebration – a Clark signature – in Clark's face in the waning moments of the game.

June 26, 2023: LSU wins College World Series

Much like their respective hirings, Johnson wasted no time following in Mulkey's footsteps.

LSU won the College World Series behind eventual first overall pick Dylan Crews and budding superstar Paul Skenes, now one of the faces of Major League Baseball.

Johnson marked the second Woodward hiring to win a championship in less than three months, and LSU looked like a legitimate superpower of a school.

Sept. 1, 2023: Brian Kelly slams table

Some cracks began to show early in Kelly's second season when the coach suffered a season-opening loss to USC.

After the 27-20 loss, an impassioned Kelly slammed the table in his postgame press conference airing out his frustrations, saying we're "sitting here again, we're sitting here AGAIN" as he slammed the table for emphasis. "Talking about the same things. About not finishing when we have our opponents in a position to put 'em away. But what we're doing on the sideline is feeling like the game's over."

LSU's Brian Kelly got HEATED in the post-game presser after losing to USC in Vegas😬(via @BengalTigerOn3) https://t.co/yBEfvo8wHf pic.twitter.com/wG2AcBEYAt

— On3 (@On3sports) September 2, 2024

"And I'm so angry about it," he continued. "That I gotta do something about it. I'm not doing a good enough job as a coach."

2023 college football offseason: LSU overhauls coaching staff after disappointing year

Despite the overwhelming success other sports were enjoying, however, the Golden Goose still wasn't laying eggs.

After his second season with LSU, Kelly had two bowls to show, but no CFP appearances. In Baton Rouge, that's short of expectations. While there was promise – LSU made the SEC Championship Game in 2022 with wins over Ole Miss and Alabama – 2023 felt like a step back. Losses to those same two schools, in which the Tigers gave up 97 combined points, saw LSU overhaul its defensive staff following the season.

Joe Sloan and Brock Baker were brought on as offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively, with former OC Mike Denbrock joining Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame. In addition to the firing of DC Matt House, cornerbacks coach Robert Steeples, safeties coach Kerry Cooks, and defensive line coach Jimmy Lindsey were let go by LSU.

2024 season: LSU football takes another step back

The new staff did not help matters. The Tigers went 9-4 (5-3 SEC) with a three-game losing streak to Texas A&M, Alabama, and Florida tanking their postseason aspirations.

When the season ended, whispers began to swirl around Kelly's future with the Tigers.

"We're taking receipts ... And we'll see you at the national championship," he blustered at his regular season-ending press conference after a win over Oklahoma.

June 22, 2025: LSU baseball wins second championship under Jay Johnson

While LSU football sputtered, baseball continued to thrive.

The Tigers won their second championship in three years under Johnson, defeating Coastal Carolina 2-0 in the College World Series.

This time led by the devastating 1-2 pitching punch of Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson, LSU was able to reclaim the baseball throne from Tony Vitello and Tennessee.

July 1, 2025: LSU President William Tate leaves for same position at Rutgers

After an announcement in May, LSU President William Tate officially stepped down at the end of June to take the same position at Rutgers. Though it didn't appear at first blush to have much bearing on the sports side of things, it will soon be hugely important.

Sept. 15, 2025: Kelly calls reporter "spoiled" after win

Following a 20-10 win over Florida, Kelly was displeased with a question about LSU's struggles on offense in its second year under Sloan.

"Stop. Really?" he said. "Is that the first question? We won the game 20-10. Try another question. What do you want me to tell you? I just laid it out for you. We played the game to win the game."

Kelly continued:

"You're looking at this from the wrong perspective. LSU won the football game, won the game. I don't know what you want from me. What do you want? You want us to win 70-0 against Florida to keep you happy?

"Those are ridiculous questions and I'm getting tired of it. That football team just worked their tail off to get an SEC win and you want to know what's wrong. You know what? You're spoiled, you're spoiled."

Brian Kelly went off on a media member after LSU beat Florida 20-10:"You are spoiled! You are spoiled!"This team is 17-1 at night."Credit 3-0 LSU for already winning 17 games this fall. pic.twitter.com/1Js6mXSoMF

— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) September 14, 2025

Kelly would later apologize for the tirade.

Oct. 18, 2025: LSU loses to Vanderbilt

After a 5-1 start, LSU found itself utterly manhandled against SEC darlings Vanderbilt.

In a 31-24 loss, it never for a moment felt like the Tigers were in control. While things were not yet dire for Kelly, there began to be more talk about his long-term prospects.

Oct. 25, 2025: LSU loses to Texas A&M

Then came the Aggies.

Texas A&M has been a veritable force under Mike Elko this year, but LSU's completely uninspiring performance in a night game at home in front of an uncharacteristically placid LSU crowd saw the Kelly rumors hit a fever pitch.

The Tigers lost to Texas A&M 49-25, and somehow looked even worse than the score indicated, bringing calls for change.

Oct. 26, 2025: Brian Kelly gets fired by LSU

Even Kelly's firing had an odd tinge to it.

It looked like Kelly might survive LSU's bye week, but more and more reports began rolling in about closed-door meetings surrounding Kelly's future and a contentious discussion with Woodward.

By the end of Sunday, Kelly was out at LSU, adding yet another twist to an insane 2025 coaching carousel, and a spot many might call a throne to boot.

Oct. 29, 2025: Jeff Landry makes himself known

Enter Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.

Remember that LSU lost its President earlier this year? Well here's where that comes into play. Because Matt Lee is an interim and does not possess certain decision-making powers, Landry has stepped in as a power player since Kelly's firing.

In a highly unusual press conference, Landry took aim at several high-profile names at LSU, including Woodward, less than a week after he said LSU should reconsider raising ticket prices due to on-field performance.

Most notably Landry – a Louisiana-Lafayette alum – said Woodward would not be picking Kelly's successor, and it would instead come down to a board.

"I can tell you right now, Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach," he said. "Hell, I'll let (President) Donald Trump select it before I let him do it."

Landry expounded upon the board later, while alluding to Lee's position as interim.

"Now, look, I have no animus against Brian Kelly..." Landry said. "...But I think that it had gotten to the point ... that the spirit of the team needed a change. And so that change was made and we're going to move on. We're without a president right now at LSU, and I'm hoping that the board of supervisors gets us (a coach) very quickly."

Landry did make several incorrect claims in his press conference. He implied LSU taxpayers were on the hook for Kelly's buyout, which is only true if private donations fall through, and he said Woodward was responsible for Texas A&M's exorbitant buyout to Fisher, which Ross Bjork actually penned despite Woodward enticing Fisher from Florida State. More humorously, Landry said in a separate appearance with ESPN's Matt Moscona that LSU would not be able to make the Bowl Championship Series, which, while technically true, is not a particularly pressing issue in 2025.

Oct. 30, 2025: LSU and Scott Woodward part ways amid pressure from Jeff Landry

On the evening of Oct. 30, it was reported and later confirmed Woodward was going to be parting ways with LSU.

"We thank Scott for the last six years of service as athletic director," Board of Supervisors Chair Scott Ballard said in a statement. "He had a lot of success at LSU, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future. Our focus now is on moving the athletic department forward and best positioning LSU to achieve its full potential."

In a letter to LSU fans, Woodward did not address speculation on his exit.

"Others can recap or opine on my tenure and on my decisions over the last six years as Director of Athletics, but I will not," he wrote. "Rather, I will focus on the absolute joy that LSU Athletics brings to our state's residents and to the Baton Rouge community. I will cherish the incredible relationships I have built within the University community and beyond our campus borders. And I will fondly remember the national and SEC championships for the joy that they brought to our student-athletes, coaches, staff, campus community and our incredible fans."

Mulkey skipped a press conference after an exhibition game, with assistant coach Bob Starkey saying she was "heartbroken" in a fill-in appearance.

Oct. 31, 2025: LSU names Verge Ausberry interim AD in early-morning press conference

With the ousting of Woodward, LSU wasted no time naming its next AD.

On the morning of Halloween, LSU hosted an 8 a.m. local time press conference with Ballard and John Carmouche.

Ausberry announced he will be the head of LSU's search for a new football coach, while also implying filling the AD role will be a priority but won't be expedited.

"Our concern is trying to get the best football coach we have here and making sure this department is stable," Ausberry said. "That's my job. I'm not looking to do anything further from that, but right now it's just stabilizing the department, making sure the coaches and the executive team is okay with everything they do, and they're getting our support, and hiring a football coach."

There was more grandstanding about the lofty expectations at LSU, but the future is, of course, cast into question with Landry's involvement. Questions about the size of Kelly's buyout, an interim president, and an interim AD will inevitably lead to a challenging interviewing process.

Will the next head coach be safe or will the new AD want to bring their own person in at the first sign of struggle? Can LSU pony up what will be necessary to sign a deal with a premiere candidate, particularly with Landry's comments about buyouts? And, perhaps most importantly of all, will Louisiana politics play an impact on the field?

There are two carousels happening: The one in college football and whatever is happening inside the Big Top in Baton Rouge. But the overarching question is clear and reasonable: If the guy who hired Kim Mulkey and Jay Johnson isn't safe, who is?

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LSU timeline: Gov. Jeff Landry joins fray after Brian Kelly firing

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Published: November 01, 2025 at 12:27PM on Source: ASHER MAG

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November 01, 2025

Timeline reveals how Brian Kelly firing exposed LSU athletics dysfunction

Timeline reveals how Brian Kelly firing exposed LSU athletics dysfunction Kevin Skiver, USA TODAY NETWORKNovember 1, 2...

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BenDeLaCreme and Kennedy Davenport recall chaos after RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3 self-elimina...

EW's BINGE podcast welcomes AS3 legends to spill on the most shocking moment in All Stars herstory, Shangela's hilarious method acting, a neverbeforeseen 10minute cut of Davenport's Bitchelor performance, and what went down in that final jury deliberation. BenDeLaCreme and Kennedy Davenport recall chaos after RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3 selfelimination EW's BINGE podcast welcomes AS3 legends to spill on the most shocking moment in All Stars herstory, Shangela's hilarious method acting, a neverbeforeseen 10minute cut of Davenport's Bitchelor performance, and what went down in that final jury...

EW's BINGE podcast welcomes AS3 legends to spill on the most shocking moment in All Stars herstory, Shangela's hilarious method acting, a never-before-seen 10-minute cut of Davenport's Bitchelor performance, and what went down in that final jury deliberation.

BenDeLaCreme and Kennedy Davenport recall chaos after RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3 self-elimination

EW's BINGE podcast welcomes AS3 legends to spill on the most shocking moment in All Stars herstory, Shangela's hilarious method acting, a never-before-seen 10-minute cut of Davenport's Bitchelor performance, and what went down in that final jury deliberation.

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes *RuPaul's Drag Race* video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

EW's editorial guidelines

July 14, 2021 2:57 p.m. ET

BenDeLaCreme eliminated herself from* RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3* because that's what? The gag of the season. Bedtime BD herself joins the latest episode of *EW's BINGE* podcast alongside fellow *AS3* legend Kennedy Davenport to discuss the aftermath of the most shocking exit in the show's herstory.

In the episode (listen above), DeLa reveals that the "meandering path" to the decision she made to eliminate herself from the competition wasn't something she'd planned from the beginning of the competition, but rather a seemingly cosmic alignment of queen energy. For starters, she got the Wite-Out she used to write her name on one of the lipsticks from her *AS3* cast mate Thorgy Thor, and the concept to write someone else's name over an existing stick sprung from a running joke she started with eventual season winner Trixie Mattel that would've involved writing "RuPaul" or "Michelle Visage" on the tube as a prank.

"There was this moment where I was like, ok, I've really established myself, people do see me as a frontrunner, I've broken some records, if I decide I'm not going to play by these rules, no one is going to be able to say that she gave up because she couldn't do it," DeLa remembers, while Davenport confirms that other moments organically "just led up" to the big, unplanned reveal. "It was kind of this perfect thing where, in this moment, I kind of was fed up with the conflict generating with that moment with Morgan [McMichaels], I saw that I'd actually already done what I needed to do, and these little moments clicked into place.... it felt like fate."

She says she was shocked that production didn't stop her from making the choice, and she's thankful they allowed it to play out as she wished. Still, she's unsure if she would've pulled the stunt the next time she won a lip-sync if she'd lost the duel against BeBe Zahara Benet.

"Who knows? Probably not. It was a thing that was relevant to the moment. Maybe I would've, but I don't dwell on pasts that don't exist," she finishes.

Davenport insists it was a "real moment" for her, too: "I was boo-hoo crying over there, honey," she says. "You know when it's your time to go home and that was really my time to go home. Had she not went home, I do believe I probably would've gone home that episode!"

Kennedy Davenport and BenDeLaCreme discuss shocking moments in EW's BINGE podcast 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3' recap. World of Wonder/ Paramount +

Other topics covered on this episode include:

- Shangela's hilarious method acting to get into character as Mariah Carey for the musical challenge

- Davenport's mini oral history on her iconic RuDemption chicken look that she insists is not a chicken (and which RuGirl purchased the piece after her original season)

- A call to "Release *The Bitchelor* Cut," as BenDeLaCreme and Davenport say there are 10-minute versions of their hilarious performances in the challenge (plus: they reveal what they did in those extra moments, too)

- Davenport pays tribute to her late friend and *RuPaul's Drag Race* icon Chi Chi DeVayne

- The circumstances surrounding the infamous Thorgy Thor note Trixie Mattel had in her station

- BenDeLaCreme discusses coming back to the show after self-eliminating for the finale deliberation (and shares tea on how the group might've felt voting for Davenport and Mattel versus Shangela)

- Davenport reveals that, after a period of tension, she and Mattel have had lovely conversations about repairing their relationship after an intense season

Tune in again next week as EW's BINGE welcomes Naomi Smalls, Monique Heart, and Manila Luzon for a full *RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4* recap. Listen to BenDeLaCreme and Kennedy Davenport discuss *All Stars 3* above.

***Subscribe to* EW's BINGE* podcast for full recaps of *RuPaul's Drag Race*, including our new season diving into all five *All Stars *seasons, featuring exclusive interviews with Jujubee, Alexis Mateo, Shea Couleé, Alaska, Detox, BenDeLaCreme, Kennedy Davenport, and more*. *And be sure to catch up on our *BINGE* recaps of *RuPaul's Drag Race* seasons 1-13 with Symone, Jaida Essence Hall, Trixie Mattel, Katya, Peppermint, Bianca Del Rio, Bob the Drag Queen, Sasha Velour, and more******!***

**Related content: **

- Alaska and Detox spill *RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 2* tea on the moment that almost saved Alyssa Edwards

- Jujubee and Alexis Mateo reveal who else almost quit *RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 1*

- Yara Sofia was breast in show on *RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 6* — and we love it

- EW's Binge Podcast Episodes

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Published: November 01, 2025 at 12:19PM on Source: ASHER MAG

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byAsher Jeferson

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November 01, 2025

BenDeLaCreme and Kennedy Davenport recall chaos after RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3 self-elimina...

EW's BINGE podcast welcomes AS3 legends to spill on the most shocking moment in All Stars herstory, Shangela's hilari...

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Naomi Smalls and Monique Heart dish on THAT shocking RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4 thrilla for M...

EW's BINGE podcast hosts an AS4 reunion with Naomi Smalls, Monique Heart, and Manila Luzon for tea on the latter's gaggy elimination that will have your wig in the rafters. Naomi Smalls and Monique Heart dish on THAT shocking RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4 thrilla for Manila EW's BINGE podcast hosts an AS4 reunion with Naomi Smalls, Monique Heart, and Manila Luzon for tea on the latter's gaggy elimination that will have your wig in the rafters. :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/JoeyNolfiauthorphotoba4923fec03a4027868306485696ef41.jpg) Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at .

EW's BINGE podcast hosts an AS4 reunion with Naomi Smalls, Monique Heart, and Manila Luzon for tea on the latter's gaggy elimination that will have your wig in the rafters.

Naomi Smalls and Monique Heart dish on THAT shocking* RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4* thrilla for Manila

EW's BINGE podcast hosts an AS4 reunion with Naomi Smalls, Monique Heart, and Manila Luzon for tea on the latter's gaggy elimination that will have your wig in the rafters.

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes *RuPaul's Drag Race* video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

EW's editorial guidelines

July 21, 2021 1:08 p.m. ET

Monique Heart, Naomi Smalls, and Manila Luzon were so excellent and deliciously chaotic on *RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4* that they burned the house down — almost literally, as the queens reveal in an exclusive interview on EW's BINGE podcast.

Fans will recall the season opening with an epic lip-sync between challenge winners Heart and Trinity The Tuck, which ended as the former threw her wig into the air — though it never returned to earth, as it got stuck in the rafters of the studio. It's a move "which almost set the building on fire, ya'll forget that fact!" Heart recalls with a laugh, adding that she decided to pull the accidental stunt when she felt her "lace slipping" during the high-energy performance. "They said, 'Get it! It's synthetic!'"

The show then briefly cut to a stage hand reaching a giant stick toward the ceiling to get the hairpiece down: "Baby, it was like a giant rod that they unscrewed and got up on a ladder," Heart remembers. "He [tried] two or three times and couldn't get it. He got it and everybody cheered!"

Another moment that had a less joyous impact on the fandom, however, was the moment Smalls — after her first challenge win — decided to eliminate Luzon, a front-running contender, from the competition. Smalls still receives vicious comments from the fans to this day, but, like the icon she is, she stands by her decision.

"We worked together on *Jersey Justice*, Manila and I, and we had a really good time doing it.... I thought we both kind of killed it. We talked about it off-camera, all that jazz, and she was like, 'I think you're going to win,' [but] when we went to the judges [they said], 'Manila ate you,' and she was like, 'Yeah, I did kind of eat you.' If we're not going to have a trustworthy back-and-forth, we're clearly not friends," Smalls says. "Maybe that was also a factor of going into making the decision for myself and not really looking at track record."

Later, Luzon joins the podcast for a solo interview to discuss the big moment.

"Miss Naomi Smalls, I knew she would send me home. I knew if I was ever in the bottom, they'd send me home. I'm not stupid!" Luzon says, stressing that she felt a "huge target" on her back after she slayed both the* Snatch Game* *of Love* challenge and the Lady Bunny roast — a move that put her on "a different level" than the other queens. "I kind of threw away the singing challenge even though everyone knows I have 10 years' worth of music. I kind of kept it simple, tried to play it a little bit cool, and when it was time for me to go, I went."

She goes on to say that there are no hard feelings against Smalls, whom has since starred in Luzon's "Go Fish" music video that was released on the day of the shocking elimination back in 2019.

"I thought that people had figured out that this was just a game, but people did take it seriously and they sent her a lot of hate, and I felt really bad. I felt a little grossed out. This is not what the show is about," she says, adding that she'd happily perform with Smalls on tour if given the opportunity. "Ultimately, we all put ourselves out there when we go on the show, and we all know what can happen if you do something crazy on the show. It will stick with you forever! That's probably one of the reasons why I didn't send home Valentina, because I don't need to get hate from Valentina fans!"

EW's BINGE podcast reunites 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4' queens Manila Luzon, Naomi Smalls, and Monique Heart for a full recap. Paramount+

Other highlights from our AS4 recap episode include:

- The chaos of Jasmine Masters preparing for her stand-up comedy routine

- A hilarious moment where Valentina was late to the set and milked it for all it was worth

- Heart stepping in to break up that iconic fight between Gia Gunn and Farrah Moan on episode 2

- Smalls and Heart watching the other teams do the* Snatch Game of Love* — and Smalls' preparation work with Bob the Drag Queen (including a reveal of the props she would've used if the challenge had been conducted in its traditional format)

- Smalls' thoughts on how her shocking vote to eliminate Luzon changed the *All Stars *game forever

- Heart and Smalls painfully watching the final lip-sync between Monét X Change and Trinity The Tuck after they'd been eliminated

- How the pair feels about *AS4* ending in a tie

- Luzon recalling the time the show reunited her with Latrice Royale backstage before they made their joint re-entry into the competition

- Luzon's real thoughts on Monét's lip-sync skills (spoiler: It gets shady)

- Luzon gives an exclusive preview of her new Filipino drag competition series *Drag Den*

Listen to the full *AS4* recap episode with Naomi Smalls, Monique Heart, and Manila Luzon above, and tune in next week for a special recap of *All Stars 5* featuring Jujubee, Blair St. Clair, and Shea Couleé!

***Subscribe to* EW's BINGE* podcast for full recaps of *RuPaul's Drag Race*, including our new season diving into all five *All Stars *seasons, featuring exclusive interviews with Jujubee, Alexis Mateo, Shea Couleé, Alaska, Detox, BenDeLaCreme, Kennedy Davenport, and more*. *And be sure to catch up on our *BINGE* recaps of *RuPaul's Drag Race* seasons 1-13 with Symone, Jaida Essence Hall, Trixie Mattel, Katya, Peppermint, Bianca Del Rio, Bob the Drag Queen, Sasha Velour, and more******!***

**Related content: **

- BenDeLaCreme and Kennedy Davenport recall chaos after *RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3* self-elimination

- Alaska and Detox spill *RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 2* tea on the moment that almost saved Alyssa Edwards

- Jujubee and Alexis Mateo reveal who else almost quit *RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 1*

- EW's Binge Podcast Episodes

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Published: November 01, 2025 at 12:19PM on Source: ASHER MAG

#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle

byAsher Jeferson

in

November 01, 2025

Naomi Smalls and Monique Heart dish on THAT shocking RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4 thrilla for M...

EW's BINGE podcast hosts an AS4 reunion with Naomi Smalls , Monique Heart , and Manila Luzon for tea on the latter's...

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Shohei Ohtani Snubbed as Red Sox Legend Goes Against the Grain With Bold World Series MVP Pick

Shohei Ohtani Snubbed as Red Sox Legend Goes Against the Grain With Bold World Series MVP Pick Md Saife FidaNovember 1, 2025 at 3:04 AM 0 Imago ©Imago The Los Angeles Dodgers returned to Toronto in deep trouble for Game 6 of the World Series with their backs against the wall after losing backtoback ...

- - Shohei Ohtani Snubbed as Red Sox Legend Goes Against the Grain With Bold World Series MVP Pick

Md Saife FidaNovember 1, 2025 at 3:04 AM

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Imago ©Imago

The Los Angeles Dodgers returned to Toronto in deep trouble for Game 6 of the World Series with their backs against the wall after losing back-to-back Games 4 and 5 at home. A single loss could cost them the series. The team was struggling, and the pressure was so high that Manager Dave Roberts made drastic changes to the lineup and even moved struggling Mookie Betts down in the order in an "all hands on deck" situation.

And everything pays off; they survived the hot pressure cooker game 3-1 and just saved their season, all thanks to one man. Yoshinobu Yamamoto. This was the second time Yamamoto saved them. First, when the Dodgers were trailing 1-0 at the start of the series after an 11-4 Blue Jays rout, Yamamoto got the Dodgers back in the series with a complete game masterpiece, allowing only one run in his 105 pitches. And now, once again, when the Dodgers' season was on the brink of elimination. This time, the Japanese ace allowed only one run and struck out six in his six stellar innings to earn the win and force the series to a final Game 7.

This heroic effort made a big impression and especially caught the eye of David Ortiz. So, the three-time World Series champion and current FOX analyst said, "Let me make myself clear. If the Dodgers win the World Series tomorrow, Yamamoto is my MVP. Without a doubt," after the game. It's high praise, and the Red Sox Legend goes against the general norm by simply snubbing Shohei Ohtani for Yamamoto.

"I think the Dodgers wouldn't be where they are without him. I mean, this is a guy… It's like you say. Their confidence level raised up today because he was on the mound," Big Papi continued.

"And this is a guy that the other day, two days after his outing, complete game, he was ready to come out of the bullpen. This is a real trooper, guy. This is the guy that throughout the history of MLB, you can bring him in 1940, in the 90s when we played, and now in 2025, when pitchers seem like they are ready to pitch only five innings in a game."

Ortiz's bold call for Yamamoto certainly makes sense, but when Ohtani is already present in this list, one can't put anyone else over him before the final call, at least in this generation..

Why Snubbing Ohtani is such a big deal?

Ohtani started Game 1 of the World Series with a home run in a loud Toronto ballpark. But his true masterpiece was Game 3, where he reached base nine times in the 18-inning marathon. That feat had not been seen in 83 years and also tied a 119-year-old record with four extra-base hits.

Ohtani became so feared in that game that the Blue Jays Manager intentionally walked him four straight times and said he would continue to do so for the rest of the series. Though he didn't walk him once for the next 2 games, his impact on the field was monstrous. And after that historical performance, the Unicorn started Game 4 on the mound the next day, on very little rest, less than 24 hours.

Though he battled on the mound, but took the loss after allowing Vladimir Guerrero Jr a two-run go-ahead homer that shifted the momentum in the Jays' 6-1 win in Game 4. And the physical toll was visible for the next three games of the series, where he went 1-for-10. But despite that, Ohtani's overall numbers remain monstrous with a batting line of .318/.500/.864, resulting in a 1.364 OPS with 7 hits, 3 home runs, 3 doubles, driving in 5 runs, and drawing 8 walks (5 of them intentional) in the six games of the World Series so far.

Now, all eyes will be on Game 7, where Manager Dave Roberts has opened the door for everything. Ohtani could start the game on the mound and might pitch two to four innings. If not, then he could also relieve and then move to the outfield. And even he can come close to the game that he did during Japan's WBC win against the United States.

And after seeing him hit three homers and punch out 10 batters while pitching six shutout innings in the NLCS Game 4, where he won the NLCS, only depending on this Game, it will be a blasphemy if we conclude so soon.

The post Shohei Ohtani Snubbed as Red Sox Legend Goes Against the Grain With Bold World Series MVP Pick appeared first on EssentiallySports.

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Published: November 01, 2025 at 11:27AM on Source: ASHER MAG

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November 01, 2025

Shohei Ohtani Snubbed as Red Sox Legend Goes Against the Grain With Bold World Series MVP Pick

Shohei Ohtani Snubbed as Red Sox Legend Goes Against the Grain With Bold World Series MVP Pick Md Saife FidaNovemb...

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World Series 2025: For once, a Blue Jays rally comes up short as Dodgers force Game 7 with wild ninth inning

World Series 2025: For once, a Blue Jays rally comes up short as Dodgers force Game 7 with wild ninth inning Jordan ShustermanNovember 1, 2025 at 3:22 AM 0 TORONTO — "Put the ball in play, and good things happen.

- - World Series 2025: For once, a Blue Jays rally comes up short as Dodgers force Game 7 with wild ninth inning

Jordan ShustermanNovember 1, 2025 at 3:22 AM

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TORONTO — "Put the ball in play, and good things happen."

It's a classic hardball mantra that has proven especially poignant for the Toronto Blue Jays, the team that was the most difficult to strike out in the regular season and the one that has spent October tormenting pitchers. The Jays have consistently made contact via sizzling line drives and softly hit bloopers and every kind of batted ball in between, racking up runs en route to the doorstep of a World Series title.

But on Friday at Rogers Centre — in the final frame of a devastating 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in World Series Game 6 — the Blue Jays put two tantalizing balls in play, only to be left coldly unrewarded. Had good things happened on Addison Barger's laser beam to the outfield fence or Andrés Giménez's flare into shallow left field, the city of Toronto might very well be planning a parade right now. Instead, Toronto and its fans will prepare for the unrivaled drama of a Game 7 on Saturday.

No major-league team has authored more come-from-behind victories than the Blue Jays in 2025 — 49 in the regular season, plus another five in October — and Toronto appeared to be cooking up another comeback in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 6. With a two-run lead, Dodgers rookie enigma Roki Sasaki was on the mound for Los Angeles seeking the final three outs after delivering a scoreless eighth inning. After getting leadoff man Alejandro Kirk into a quick 0-2 hole on fastballs at 99 and 98 mph, Sasaki uncorked a wayward splitter that hit Kirk in the left hand, giving him a free trip to first base. Myles Straw pinch-ran for Kirk, and Barger came up as the game-tying run with nobody out.

Barger fouled off two fastballs and watched two splitters that sailed outside, bringing the count to 2-2. Sasaki came again with the heat, and Barger didn't miss it, connecting with the 99-mph offering. The ball jumped off Barger's bat at 105.5 mph and soared toward the left-center-field wall.

What happened next was entirely novel to everyone in the Blue Jays' dugout, including those who have called Rogers Centre home for years.

As center fielder Justin Dean turned his back and raced toward the wall, it quickly became clear that the ball was not going to be caught. Rather than soaring into the seats for a home run or ricocheting off the wall for a run-scoring double, an unthinkable third outcome occurred: The ball crash-landed directly into the base of the fence, wedging itself between the ground and the padding that covers the wall.

When this happens — and it does happen on occasion at certain ballparks, though not at Rogers Centre to the recollection of any current Blue Jay — the rulebook states that the play can be blown dead and the hit declared a ground-rule double if the fielder puts his hands up upon seeing the stuck ball. Had Dean reached for the ball and attempted to play it from its stuck position, it could have been ruled a live ball. But left fielder Kiké Hernández immediately threw his arms up when the ball reached its unlikely landing spot, prompting Dean — who had entered the game as a ninth-inning defensive upgrade — to do the same. That led left-field umpire John Tumpane to signal that the ball was indeed a ground-rule double, meaning Straw could advance only two bases, rather than coming around to score Toronto's second run.

Tumpane's call did little to quiet the elation Barger's batted ball sparked among the 44,710 spectators. Not only had Straw seemingly come around to score, but also Barger — not seeing where the ball had landed — just kept running, racing all the way to home plate to amplify the chaos further. The bulk of the crowd believed Barger had just tied the game with an improbable inside-the-park home run and reacted accordingly. Then reality slowly set in as the ground-rule double was confirmed by the crew of umpires and understood by both dugouts, sending Barger back to second and Straw back to third.

[Get more Toronto news: Blue Jays team feed]

"I could tell the ball was gonna beat Dean. So I dropped my head, I picked up Carlos, and he waved me home," Straw recalled later. "I scored, and then I turned around. I was like, 'OK, Barger is probably gonna be at second.' I turned around and see Barger coming, and I was like, 'Oh, my gosh. What's going on?' …

"No one's ever really seen the ball do that here, myself included. It was tough, I was hoping they didn't put the arms up because I think that would have been a live ball if he grabbed it. But they did the right thing as an outfielder — you're supposed to do that, and that's the right call."

Said Barger: "I couldn't really see the ball, like trapped or anything. I just saw them wave their hands, so I'm just gonna keep running and see what they call it. That's pretty much it. I saw at the wall. I didn't really see after that. Just kept going, just in case."

"Been here a long time," manager John Schneider said postgame. "I haven't seen a ball get lodged ever. Just caught a tough break there. He put a really good swing on that pitch."

Daulton Varsho said it is "impressive" for a ball to get lodged under the wall in Toronto 😳 pic.twitter.com/rlMCqgYjaO

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 1, 2025

With that play finally resolved, Barger had done his part to keep the rally alive, but the two-run deficit remained. Thus concluded Sasaki's night, with his command clearly wavering as his pitch count climbed, prompting the entrance of Tyler Glasnow to try to clean up the mess and secure the final three outs.

Up came Ernie Clement with two runners in scoring position and zero outs. Glasnow's first pitch was a 96-mph sinker that ran up and in sharply on Clement's hands. Clement swung anyway and popped up weakly to first base, offering zero opportunity for either baserunner to advance.

For perhaps any other hitter on either roster, swinging at Glasnow's first pitch in this situation would come off as unnecessarily risky and overeager. But this ultra-aggressive approach has done wonders for Clement all month, as the fan-favorite infielder has racked up a whopping 27 hits, the third-most ever in a single postseason behind only 2020 Randy Arozarena (29) and his superstar teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (28). Seven of Clement's hits have come on the first pitch of an at-bat, and another five have come on the second. His result against Glasnow was untimely, but it's difficult to argue with the process that has yielded so much recent success.

Next Giménez came to the plate, with the ever-dangerous George Springer looming large on deck. Glasnow again attacked with a sinker, this one running away from the left-handed Giménez. Giménez swung at the pitch on the outer half and connected poorly with the end of his bat, splintering a small piece of lumber on contact and sending the ball floating toward left field.

Hernández, playing notably shallow in left field, bolted toward the ball as it parachuted to the grass. Barger, watching the flight of the ball to see if it would land and allow him to score the game-tying run or at least advance to third, was stopped roughly halfway between second and third. As Hernández sprinted in at full speed and closed in on the ball, Barger realized, though not quickly enough, that he needed to get back to the bag.

Hernández caught the ball in stride and threw quickly to second base, where Miguel Rojas made a nifty snag on the throw, which skipped off the dirt, just a blink before Barger's hand made it back to the bag.

Double play. Game 6 over. Game 7 Saturday.

"I was being too aggressive, trying to score, you know, trying to tie up that game if that ball drops," Barger said afterward. "He got a good read on the ball and made a good play."

Said Schneider: "It's a tough read. Kiké playing shallow and one out, you're thinking score. He made a really good play. It's such a tweener. He made a good play, good throw. Good play by Rojas, too. Wild. Wild way to finish it, for sure."

The Blue Jays had done what they do best, putting the ball in play when they needed to most with a World Series title within reach. But as it turns out, good things don't always happen.

"Ultimately ended up second and third with nobody out with guys that make contact, and just didn't get it done," Schneider said.

Toronto's fateful failed rally in the ninth was the dramatic end to a ballgame that featured few other run-scoring opportunities and was the first game of this World Series without a home run from either team. For three hours, the Dodgers and Blue Jays engaged in an ultra-tense affair befitting the high-pressure stakes of any Game 6, with one team one win away from a championship and the other desperately trying to stave off elimination.

Coming off a sensational complete-game performance in Game 2, right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto took the mound with the task of extending the Dodgers' season and once again rose to the occasion. While Toronto did a better job of inflating his pitch count to ensure Yamamoto's exit after six innings — an awfully early departure by his recent standards — the Blue Jays' bats mustered minimal offense against the Dodgers' righty outside of Springer's two-out RBI single in the third. Otherwise, Yamamoto repeatedly and masterfully dodged trouble, coaxing inning-ending double plays in the first and fourth and striking Daulton Varsho out with a nasty splitter to strand two baserunners in a scoreless sixth.

Yamamoto's final line from his two World Series starts: 15 innings, 9 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 14 strikeouts. Pretty good.

Meanwhile, Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman mostly matched Yamamoto's effort, tying a World Series record with eight strikeouts through the first three innings, thanks in large part to his spectacular splitter that was racking up whiffs. But things got away from Gausman in the third. After Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked with a runner on second and two outs, Will Smith made Gausman pay with a double to left field to open the scoring. A five-pitch walk to Freddie Freeman loaded the bases for Mookie Betts, who finally found the big hit he's been looking for with a two-run single on a poorly located fastball from Gausman to make it 3-0 Dodgers.

Betts' single, Smith's double and Tommy Edman's double earlier that inning accounted for three of Los Angeles' four hits in Game 6, with Ohtani adding a double in the eighth. That's two straight games for the Dodgers producing four total hits following their ugly offensive showing in Game 5 that pushed their season to the brink. But on a night when the Blue Jays bats couldn't find a way to break through, three runs on four hits turned out to be enough to extend Los Angeles' season another day.

Now all that's left is Game 7, a game that guarantees great theater in any context but promises to be especially enthralling given the expected starting pitchers: 41-year-old future first-ballot Hall of Famer Max Scherzer going up against, in all likelihood, Ohtani on short rest for the first time in his career. Both will have the chance to add to their extensive legends, but it feels just as likely that the game will be decided by whatever combination of arms enters after them.

With Saturday's outcome, a season that began for these teams in Glendale, Arizona, and Dunedin, Florida, in mid-February will end in Canada on the first day of November. It will be the 2,477th game of 2025, the largest combined total between the regular season and postseason in MLB history.

"It's going to be fun," Schneider said. "It's going to be three or four or five hours of mayhem and great baseball. But these guys are going to be ready for it. Hopefully they get to slow some things down but enjoy it.

"It's Game 7 of the World Series at your home stadium. I mean, what the hell else do you want?"

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL Sports"

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Source: Sports

Published: November 01, 2025 at 11:27AM on Source: ASHER MAG

#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle

byAsher Jeferson

in

November 01, 2025

World Series 2025: For once, a Blue Jays rally comes up short as Dodgers force Game 7 with wild ninth inning

World Series 2025: For once, a Blue Jays rally comes up short as Dodgers force Game 7 with wild ninth inning Jor...

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