Crunch Time: Lil Jon vs. Bill Belichick, Donald Trump vs. Roger Goodell

Turn down for what

If you’ve ever wondered how rapper Lil Jon and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick would interact with one another, your fantasy may come true at Super Bowl 51. Lil Jon is one of many ATL rappers and singers who are also big Falcons fans (yes, there supposedly is such a thing as a big Falcons fan). The Falcons’ sideline was littered with celebs during the NFC title game, with Usher, Ludacris, Jeezy, Bow Wow, Jermaine Dupri and Da Brat (a kick-ass lineup if it was still 2002) all way too close to the field. The Falcons’ love of rapper fans dates all the way back to the Deion Sanders days when MC Hammer used to share the same sideline coaches box as Jerry Glanville. As Lil Jon tweeted out Sunday night after the Dirty Birds clinched, “ATL HOE!”

Bigly chew

Massachusetts is arguably the most liberal state in the U.S., so obviously Donald Trump isn’t the most popular guy in the Commonwealth. As you’ve no doubt heard, though, Trump and Patriots QB Tom Brady are friends (nothing more, nothing less – according to Brady). Most fans are good at separating sports and politics, and it’s hard to imagine any Pats fan rooting against their team in protest. But if Trump wanted to score some all-time brownie points in New England (hell, he would TAKE always blue Massachusetts in 2020), he should just write an executive order to remove Roger Goodell from the office of NFL commissioner. Or he should at least threaten to fire Goodell on Twitter. For the record, Goodell donated to Chris Christie this past election.

Bye, Uncle Brent

ESPN continues to rid itself of anyone who might create a little controversy. It was announced on Wednesday that play-by-play great Brent Musburger will end his sports broadcasting career on Jan. 31 when he’ll call Kentucky vs. Georgia basketball. Yup, Brent’s storied career will end with him calling a relatively meaningless college basketball game in late January. Musberger caught some flak in 2013 for pointing out that the girlfriend of the Alabama QB, Katherine Webb, was good-lookin’. But the tipping point was the Sugar Bowl this year, when “Uncle Brent” said he hoped Oklahoma receiver Joe Mixon got a “second chance” after assaulting a woman in 2014. Musberger’s comments regarding Mixon were stupid, but he didn’t deserve to be pushed out the door because of them. ESPN is too quickly becoming the Vanilla Sports Network – no room for edgy opinion.