Trump defended such a move, saying Biden "gave pardons to everyone."
President Donald Trump said in an interview out Thursday that he would be open to pardoning members of his administration, pointing to former President Joe Biden’s blanket pardon to relatives and members of the administration out of concern they would be politically targeted after he left office.
"Yeah, sure, I'd do that," the president answered when asked by TIME magazine earlier this week if he was "considering pardoning members of your administration prior to the end of your term?"
The president further said that Biden "gave pardons to everyone."
Biden issued preemptive pardons to several close family members in the final minutes of his presidency in 2025, saying that his family "has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me" and that he had "no reason to believe these attacks will end" after he left office.

#members #pardons #Trump #saying

The Supreme Court will no longer hear an oral argument for a case centered on bond rights for noncitizens detained for lengthy periods, ruling the case moot after New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul pardoned a lawfully present Dominican citizen, who pleaded guilty to second-degree ******* ault.
Hochul pardoned Keisy Guerrero Mariano, who is identified in court documents as "Keisy GM," in late August, effectively killing the Trump administration's appeal to the Supreme Court arguing that noncitizens, including those with green card status, do not have a legal right to a bond hearing for a prolonged detention if they have committed crimes that are grounds for mandatory deportation.
Hochul, who is staunchly opposed to President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement crackdown, issued the pardon for Mariano just as the brief was due.
Federal Appeals Court Compares Trump Migrant Detention Policy To ******* anese American Internment
FILE - New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul pardoned Keisy Guerrero Mariano in late August.

#pardoned

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia prison officials plan to execute a man next month who was convicted of fatally shooting two real estate agents in Atlanta's suburbs more than two decades ago.
Stacey Humphreys, 53, was convicted of malice murder in the 2003 killings of 33-year-old Cyndi Williams and 21-year-old Lori Brown. He is set to receive a lethal injection at the state prison near Jackson at 7 p.m. on Sept. 16, according to the Department of Corrections.
Humphreys would be the first person executed in Georgia this year. The death penalty in the state has largely been tied up in litigation over an agreement related to the coronavirus pandemic that defense lawyers contend temporarily shields many death row residents from execution. The last execution in the state was in March 2024.
Humphreys was previously scheduled to die last December, but the execution was halted after his lawyers filed a petition asking a judge to order two members of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles to recuse themselves from hearing his clemency petition. Humphreys' lawyers argued that the two parole board members had conflicts of interest because they had played roles during his trial.
Kimberly McCoy, one of the board members, was a victim advocate with the Cobb County district attorney's office at the time of Humphreys' trial and was ****** igned to work with the victims in the case. The other, Wayne Bennett, was the sheriff in Glynn County, where the trial was moved because of pretrial publicity, and Humphreys' lawyers argued he oversaw security for the jurors and Humphreys himself during the case.

#year #execution

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signed into law a measure that would introduce a conditional pardon for thousands of Kurdish militants as part of a government peace effort with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.
The measure was published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday. It will only come into force after Turkey's National Security Council confirms that the group has fully dissolved itself and disarmed.
Parliament approved the bill overwhelmingly last week. It would suspend certain prison sentences for convicted PKK members and postpone ongoing investigations and trials against others for five or 10 years, depending on the severity of the crime. Authorities would drop the cases against the individuals if they don't re-offend during those periods.
The legislation also establishes a committee to oversee the group's disarmament, with its first meeting expected next week.
Last year, the PKK — considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies — announced its decision to disband, following a call by its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan. Ocalan and other key PKK figures are excluded from the pardon.

#recep

(Corrects the spelling of the name in paragraph 1 from Success Masra to Succes ‌Masra)
N'DJAMENA, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Chad's presidency said in ‌a statement that President Mahamat Idriss Deby has pardoned his main rival and opposition leader Succes Masra, who has been in jail for more than a year for inciting violence and complicity to murder.
• Masra, a former ‌prime minister, was ⁠sentenced to 20 years and fined 1 billion CFA francs ($1.77 million) last year ⁠in a trial that was criticized by human rights activists as politically motivated.
• Masra will be released in the coming days, the statement said, after the presidency ‌agreed to a request for a pardon submitted by his attorneys.
• Masra was internationally recognized as the most vocal figure in the opposition. He will be freed along with eight other political figures, the ‌statement said.

#presidency #success #reuters

Dr. Anthony Fauci on Friday declined a request to appear voluntarily before a second Senate panel after majority Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee voted along partisan lines last week to hold the longtime infectious disease expert in contempt.
In a pointed letter to Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, a lawyer for the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said any effort to compel him to appear before a Senate subcommittee, after a contentious July 29 hearing, would be to "impermissibly harass or degrade Dr. Fauci for political purposes."
During the July hearing on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 100 times, prompting the Aug. 6 contempt vote and setting up a referral to the Justice Department for potential investigation over whether he had properly exercised his constitutional rights.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the committee chairman who pressed for the contempt finding, said the constitutional protection did not apply because Democratic President Joe Biden had issued a preemptive pardon to Fauci, and he did not need to be concerned about potential prosecution.
Paul has long accused Fauci of misleading the public during the pandemic and the July hearing was the latest episode in his highly publicized confrontations with him. Paul has repeatedly called for Fauci to be prosecuted and imprisoned.

#contempt #senate #republican

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Sunday that his new White House counsel will be Will Scharf, the staff secretary who as the Trump-appointed head of the National Capital Planning Commission helped secure approval for the $400 million ballroom project.
Trump said that, beginning Sept. 1, Scharf will be replacing David Warrington, who will be leaving the administration to join the private sector. Trump noted that Scharf previously served as a federal prosecutor and represented him in a number of cases, including at the Supreme Court.
"Will is Tough, Strong, and Smart! He also loves our Country, and respects the Law," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Will Scharf will do a great job as White House Counsel!"
The shakeup in the White House counsel's office comes at a critical juncture — just months ahead of the midterm elections, where Trump's Republican Party will be fighting to hold on to control of Congress. Democrats have vowed to pursue investigations into Trump and his administration if they are successful in November.
The White House counsel's job is to advise on legal and policy questions related to the presidency. The office is the primary White House contact for the Justice Department, and it handles presidential pardons, works on judicial appointments and reviews legislation. The office also helps investigate and manage congressional investigations into the administration and lawsuits against the president when he is sued in his official capacity.

#washington

By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Friday it was moving to dismiss an ‌insider trading lawsuit against Terren Peizer, a former healthcare executive ‌who was convicted of insider trading by a federal jury in 2024 and then pardoned by President Donald Trump.
Here are the details:
• In 2023, Peizer, 65, the founder and former chief executive of healthcare company Ontrak, was charged by the Department of Justice with insider trading.
• The SEC also launched civil insider ‌trading charges against him ⁠in a parallel action.

#peizer #executive #kanishka #reuters

Mister Rodgers's neighborhood was not a happy place on Monday.
Aaron Rodgers took the opportunity of a live interview with The Pat McAfee Show to eviscerate a "cowardly" Anthony Fauci, "gutless" ESPN, and other enemies, real or imagined.
This was Michael Corleone at the end of The Godfather settling all family business. It was gonzo but wildly entertaining sports TV. When McAfee & Co. tried to gently steer the 42-year-old football legend to safer topics, he ran right over them. ProFootballTalk wrote the four-time MVP took a "flamethrower" to Fauci and ESPN. But they weren't alone. Here are seven targets who took fire from Rodgers's blunderbuss:
Back in 2021, Rodgers was publicly roasted for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Turnabout's fair play. Rodgers immediately took aim at Fauci, calling him an "absolute coward" for pleading the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times before the U.S. Senate last week. "Are you kidding me? You got a pardon, and you plead over 100 times? What are you scared of, Tony?" asked Rodgers. "I thought you were the science?—'I am science.' And you get up there, and you can't answer a question? What are we doing?"
Rodgers was similarly displeased with ESPN's coverage of his vaccination status and other controversies in recent years. What a coincidence. He used ESPN's own air to call out McAfee's business partner as a "gutless organization" with "no integrity," while the host squirmed uncomfortably. According to Rodgers, now that he's been vindicated in the COVID debate and reconciled with his family, ESPN's reporters have nothing left to bash him over. "I just don't care anymore," he said. "I cared a little bit. Now, I don't care at all."

#took #espn #covid #times

It really is a "full circle" year for Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
At a time when Rodgers was seemingly creating a kinder, gentler vibe as he embarks on his final year in the NFL, Rodgers brought the knives out during a Monday appearance on ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show.
Rodgers started by taking the Fifth Amendment in response to McAfee's first question. Rodgers then went off on Dr. Anthony Fauci, who last week repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment in testimony before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
"You got a pardon, and you're in front of — and you pleaded [the Fifth] over 100 times?" Rodgers said. "What are you scared of, Tony? I thought you were the science. I thought you [were], 'I am science.' And you get up there and you can't answer a question?"
The vitriol extended to ESPN, the owner of the channel on which he was appearing.

#question #science

"The Pat McAfee Show" aired live from Pittsburgh Steelers training camp on Monday with regular guest Aaron Rodgers joining the host for an interview. The Steelers quarterback is entering what he has said will be his final season before he retires from the NFL. With that in mind, McAfee began the interview by asking Rodgers, "Is everything better? Is everything funner? is everything more awesome?"
Rodgers responded to that question by saying, "I'm pleading the fifth." As McAfee laughed, Rodgers then launched into a personal attack on Anthony Faucci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who was the subject of a contentious congressional hearing last week.
MORE: Aaron Rodgers says he battled flu-like illness before Steelers' wild-card loss to Texans
"Like that absolute coward Tony Faucci," said Rodgers. "Absolute coward. Are you kidding me? You got a pardon and your in front of the and you pleaded over 100 times? At the White House? What are you scared of Tony? I thought you were the science. I thought you… I am science? And how much did the network spend on that? How much time did they spend on my responses every week? On my vaccination status? On Taylor and Travis's wedding? Did they do even a minute? Did they do even a minute on Tony Faucci? No, I bet they didn't."
Rodgers also questioned McAfee about ESPN's coverage of the Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel story. McAfee's responses varied from laughter to "my network?" All-in-all, a great couple minutes of content to appear on ESPN if you're writing about sports media.

#everything

Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith said Thursday that former White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci should have answered lawmakers' questions during the hostile Senate hearing earlier this week instead of invoking his Fifth Amendment rights.
Smith argued that Fauci owed the public an explanation after serving as the face of the nation's COVID-19 response.
"As it strictly pertains to the coronavirus pandemic, my attitude is, with you being the face that you have been, you can't show up on Capitol Hill and plead the Fifth 111 times," he told NewsNation's Chris Cuomo. "You just can't do that. That's not right. You've got to answer some questions."
During a three-hour hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Fauci pleaded the Fifth 111 times as Republicans blasted him over his handling of the pandemic and accused the doctor of covering up the U.S.'s involvement in gain-of-function research that could have caused the spread of the virus.
Smith acknowledged that Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for nearly 40 years, may have had a legitimate legal reason to remain silent — pointing to a pardon he received from former President Biden on his final day in office for potential offenses between Jan. 1, 2014, and Jan. 19, 2025.

#smith

While others spend their summers firefighting, Sunderland are quietly and calmly building. Stable ownership, a united dressing room and a coaching staff fully invested in the project have turned the club into one players want to join and more importantly, want to remain.
In years gone by, the reality was very much the opposite; Sunderland were always the club that paid over the odds for bang average players that didn't want to live in the North East but wanted to chase the bright lights of London, or live in the mansions of Cheshire.
Gone are the days of Lee Congerton, Roberto de Fanti and Jim Rodwell struggling through transfer windows under the stewardship of Ellis Short, Stewart Donald and — pardon my French — Charlie Methven, as well as paying over the odds for players like Modibo Diakite, Jozy Altidore, Jack Rodwell and Will Grigg.
Since Kyril Louis-Dreyfus took over, bringing in Kristjaan Speakman alongside a new transfer model, focussing on bringing in young players, realising their potential and selling at a profit, the whole culture of the club has done a full 180, with a squad full of players that want to be at the club, and fewer and fewer instances of our top players searching for moves elsewhere.
Whilst we had a concerning week or so given Chelsea's pursuit of Granit Xhaka in June, the club showed tremendous resolve in keeping hold of the captain and of convincing him that Sunderland is the right place to be.

#club #sunderland #rodwell #odds

Charlamagne Tha God said Dr. Anthony Fauci came across as "suspicious" and only made "conspiracy theorists" happy with his Senate hearing, where he invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times.
On Thursday's The Breakfast Club, Charlamagne found himself a little less supportive of Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, than his co-hosts.
"Y'all don't think it's fishy that he got a pardon? Why did he need a pardon?" Charlamagne asked at one point.
The radio host said Fauci's refusal to answer any questions was "suspicious" and he dismissed the idea that the longtime health official could be "trapped" if he didn't do anything wrong.
Charlamagne said:

#pardon

Ben Affleck has joined the list of celebrity winners of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
The Argo star took home the top prize with help from Jeopardy! champion Jamie Ding.
Affleck conquered the $1 million question almost exactly one year after his Good Will Hunting co-star and best friend Matt Damon did the same. Damon was similarly paired with Jeopardy! wiz and current host Ken Jennings, who helped him reach the top prize for charity.
The money from Affleck and Ding's victory will go toward Affleck's Eastern Congo Initiative, which is dedicated to supporting the people living in the African region.
In the final question, Affleck and Ding had to guess which turkeys were not pardoned by a US president: Peanut ****** er & Jelly; Tater & Tot; Mac & Cheese; or Spaghetti & Meatball. The pair used their lifeline to ask host Jimmy Kimmel, who guessed the answer as Spaghetti & Meatball.
"I would bet on Jimmy," Affleck agreed. "I would go for it."

#affleck #spaghetti #star #prize

Dr. Anthony Fauci ran point as the COVID-19 explainer-in-chief under two different administrations, steering policy and messaging on the virus that rattled the country and world for years.
But there is one thing in all of his media appearances, profiles, interviews and congressional hearings that Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., contended Fauci never said that he was sorry.
"I mean, I'd like to hear him say he's sorry," Paul said. "Can he say he is sorry for funding — the research was dangerous research in China? Almost everybody agrees with that."
Exclusive: Biden Pardon Won't Shield Fauci If He Lies To Congress, Comer Says
Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic at the Rayburn House Office Building on June 3, 2024, in Washington, D.C.

#sorry #China

It didn't take long for the Chicago Blackhawks to express interest in free agent Patrick Kane.
According to Kane in an interview on Monday's "Pardon My Take" in Chicago, Blackhawks owner Danny Wirtz made an "emotional call" to the Detroit Red Wings' forward just after free agency started on July 1, 2026 at 12:01 p.m., Eastern time.
Three weeks later, Kane signed a two-year, $16 million contract to return to Chicago where he won three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
"If you were to ask me last year, at the end of the season, I thought I would be going back to Detroit," Kane said in the interview. "Danny (Wirtz) called me at 11:03 (Central time) or something, as soon as free agency opened and it was actually kind of an emotional call from him, a call I'll never forget.
"All of a sudden you start thinking about, okay, well, there's interest. Maybe it'd be a cool place to come back and play."

#Chicago #three

Minnesota's flagship paper came under fire over the weekend after a columnist defended Democrat Gov. Tim Walz's reasoning for pardoning a foreign born man just before the convicted child rapist was set to be deported.
"The Minnesota Star Tribune is cheering on Tim Walz protecting an illegal alien monster who raped a 10 year old girl. No one should read this depraved rag. They are sick," said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., on X.
Minnesota's Board of Pardons is composed of Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison and state Chief Justice Natalie Hudson. They voted on June 10 to grant clemency to Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian national who between 2002 and 2004 repeatedly raped a child. Lue was set to be deported from the United States before the clemency was issued.
Walz, Minnesota Board Of Pardons Clears Convicted Illegal Alien Child ****** Offender Facing Deportation
In a section of the column called "Cheers to Gov. Tim Walz," writer Rochelle Olson praised the governor and failed vice presidential candidate for his decision to defend the pardon.

Decade-long Cowboys quarterback reveals his only real regret years after retirement originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Tony Romo spent over a decade as the face of the Dallas Cowboys, and the résumé backs up the hype. Over 156 career games, Romo threw for 34,183 yards and 248 touchdowns -- franchise records that still stand -- and earned four Pro Bowl nods between 2006 and 2014.
He led Dallas to the postseason four times. In three of those seasons, the Cowboys won 11-plus games and captured the NFC East ****** le. What he never achieved was a Super Bowl ring. The Cowboys never advanced past the divisional round under his leadership, finishing with a 2-4 record in his six career playoff appearances.
That unfulfilled goal has followed him well into his broadcasting career, a point Romo made clear on Barstool Sports' Pardon My Take podcast. When asked what he would change about his playing days, the Wisconsin-raised quarterback didn't hesitate to share his biggest career regret.
"The only regret I would have is that my job was to bring a Super Bowl to Dallas, and I didn't do it," he said. "So, that always sticks with me a little bit. You give your whole body, heart, and soul, everything into it, and just wanted that for all the fans, Joneses, for everybody that you're around. That one always sticks with me a little bit, just because I had that opportunity and just wasn't able to do it."

Tony Romo has a Cowboys' team-record 248 touchdown passes and ranks second in franchise history with 34,183 passing yards. He won 78 regular-season games.
Romo, now an ****** yst for CBS Sports, did not win a Super Bowl.
He never got closer than the divisional round, even when the Cowboys entered the postseason with home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. In fact, Romo was only 2-4 in four postseason appearances.
If Romo has a regret, he said on Pardon My Take that it's not bringing a Lombardi Trophy to Dallas.
"I'm not a guy with big regrets, I guess you could say. The only regret I guess I would have is that . . . my job was to bring a Super Bowl to Dallas, and I didn't do it," Romo said, via RJ Ochoa of BloggingTheBoys. "So that always sticks with me a little bit. Because you give your whole body, heart, soul, everything into it, and you just wanted that for . . . all the fans, the Joneses, for everybody that you're around. And so that one always sticks with me a little bit just because I had that opportunity and just wasn't able to do it. So that part of it kind of still . . . sits there."

The pardon of Folarin Balogun's expulsion ahead of the United States vs. Belgium Round of 16 match was one of the episodes that caused the biggest impact during the 2016 World Cup. And today, more information is being revealed about the controversial decision.
According to a report by The Times, the decision was made by Mohammad Al-Kamali, president of FIFA's disciplinary commission, from the United Arab Emirates.
But the scandal continues, as the same source claims that his decision did not go through the Committee, since he made it without the other seventeen members of the commission taking part in the matter.
"Mohammad Al-Kamali, president of FIFA's disciplinary commission, made the controversial decision to overturn the suspension of U.S. forward Folarin Balogun without the other seventeen members of the commission taking part in the matter," The Times reports.

I know we live in a fragile day and age where running with the first sign of a conspiracy might be the easiest (read: laziest) thing to do, but we've really got to get a grip on how we're talking about Argentina in the men's World Cup.
Yes, this is the final international tournament in the legendary career of Lionel Messi, the greatest player in the history of soccer. Yes, reigning World Cup champion Argentina, Messi included or not, is a wildly popular team considered a traditional men's World Cup power. Yes, FIFA is a notoriously shady sporting organization (perhaps even the shadiest) that already has what sure looks like a massive scandal involving the United States men's national team at this same tournament. And yes, an underdog team like Egypt happened to get screwed by a broken Soccer Computer (a.k.a. Video ******* istant Referee) in a Round of 16 match against Argentina.
But, and stick with me here, that doesn't mean FIFA is "rigging" the biggest sports tournament in the history of human civilization, just so the best player can ride off into the sunset with the first men's World Cup ******* le repeat in six decades. That's such a huge leap to make. Yet, with Messi and Argentina waltzing into the World Cup semifinals of this coming week, that "rigged" conspiracy theory seems to be the prevailing sentiment in some of the darkest corners of the internet. So much so that Breel Embolo's egregious flopping for Switzerland is somehow a point of contention.
For anyone who actually believes FIFA is manipulating this World Cup for Argentina and Messi with an "invisible hand," uh, pardon my French: Do you know how utterly stupid you sound? How irrational? It boggles the mind.
Do you know how difficult something like this would be to execute on a logistical basis, even beyond the parameters of the five-week tournament? Do you understand the sheer financial and ideological commitment it would take from every person who is even tangentially ******* ociated with the FIFA organization, from the people in suits to the referees on the field, to execute such a Herculean task without getting caught? Rest ******* ured, every soccer reporter on the planet would already be all over this story.

There are a lot of theories on what defines a successful sports program in the modern era. It’s a period defined by short attention spans, playing the hits, and distributing content across every traditional, streaming, and social platform available. Few programs buck those trends and remain successful as generations of consumers continue to change how they consume content. One of those programs is ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption.
It’s no secret that PTI remains as familiar as the four letters of the network it calls home. For a quarter century, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon have hosted a show that perfectly blends sports, insight, and entertainment for audiences with both lean-in viewing habits and increasingly shorter attention spans. It’s rarely changed its formula, if ever. The personalities have room to breathe. It’s built for clip culture but refuses to embrace it, remaining the lone piece of appointment television on a network designed to serve sports fans anytime, anywhere.
In an era of inflated viewership, where nearly every sport and studio show is posting impressive gains, PTI remains a constant. It continues to lead every ESPN studio program in viewership. Just last month, PTI averaged 665,000 viewers per episode. That’s a 21% increase year over year and the program’s highest June audience since 2021.
Among ESPN’s studio programs, PTI still sits atop the rankings, averaging more than 200,000 more viewers than Get Up and 150,000 more than First Take in June. Looking at the past six months of released ESPN data, the trend remains impressive. PTI posted its best first-quarter average audience this year, drawing 777,000 viewers. That’s 16% higher than the show’s performance during the same period last year.
Mind you, this is a program built around two stars. Kornheiser and Wilbon are showcased from 5:30-6 p.m. ET as the main attraction. It’s appointment programming by design, never moving from its daypart. Both personalities also rarely appear elsewhere across ESPN’s lineup. By resisting the temptation to spread their star power across the network, ESPN preserves the value of the feature presentation each afternoon.

Caleb Williams turns doubters Into fuel ahead of Bears' brutal 2026 schedule originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Completion percentage has followed Caleb Williams like a shadow since he entered the NFL, but the Chicago Bears quarterback is not running from that conversation. Rather than deflecting, Williams acknowledged the knock directly while framing it as collateral damage from the unconventional ways he extends plays and creates off-script.
His 2025 numbers back up the noise to a degree: 330 completions on 568 attempts for 3,942 yards, 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions, numbers that helped Chicago finish 11-6 and capture the NFC North ****** le before bowing out in the Divisional Round.
For a second-year starter on a franchise that had suffered through years of quarterback uncertainty, that turnaround was substantial. Williams won the Heisman Trophy and earned unanimous All-American recognition at USC before skeptics questioned whether his college brilliance would transfer to Sundays. He answered that, too.
What separates Williams from similarly gifted young quarterbacks is not arm talent alone but the psychological architecture underneath it. He told the "Pardon My Take" podcast:

Jul. 4—Please pardon the sentimentality of this column, written, as it was, while my laptop gently weeps.
Jim Walden died on Thursday at age 88. He was head football coach at Washington State University (1978-86). The sense of loss is made keener by the simple truth that they're not making coaches like Walden anymore.
He was the perfect coach at a time of great need in Pullman. The fourth head football coach in four seasons at WSU, he promised to stay, and he did.
Getting the Cougs in the 1981 Holiday Bowl broke a 51-year postseason drought, and it not only stifled some threadbare jokes about WSU's competitiveness, it also laid the foundation for greater things for the program's future.
He did it with a homespun humor that often drew more attention than his toughness, his discipline, and his great affection for his players.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday pardoned 11 people, including a former business partner of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and nine people identified by the White House as having helped people bypass emissions control systems on vehicles.
The acts of clemency come as Trump has issued a slew of pardons in his second term, particularly for allies, public figures and those seen as politically aligned.
His use of the presidency's sweeping ability to unilaterally grant pardons and commute sentences is among the ways the Republican's return to office has featured an expansive use of executive power.
Trump earlier on Friday announced some of the pardons on social media, without identifying any of the recipients by name.
"It is my Great Honor to have just signed Pardons for six people who were persecuted by the Biden Administration, and were in, or being sent to, prison, for 'fixing their car,'" Trump wrote on his Truth Social media network.

Louisiana's attorney general was indicted Thursday over accusations she threatened the jobs of New Orleans leaders who fought a Republican-led overhaul of local courts in the heavily Democratic city.
The 16-count indictment against Republican Liz Murrill, handed up by a New Orleans grand jury, charges Louisiana's first female attorney general with intimidation and malfeasance. At the center of the case are deepening rifts between state leaders in Louisiana, which is heavily Republican, and Democrats who control the state's most prominent city.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry promised a swift pardon, saying Murrill would not have her reputation tarnished by an "Orleans Kangaroo court." Mayor Helena Moreno, a Democrat, was among those who had accused the state's top law enforcement official in May of making threats against public officials.
Murrill called the case against her "retaliatory, meritless, and unconstitutional." Late Thursday, Murrill said she had filed for an emergency stay with the Louisiana Supreme Court.
"I will not back down. I will continue enforcing the law, fighting corruption, and doing the job the people of Louisiana elected me to do," she wrote on X.

Are the Minnesota Vikings leaving wins on the table because Kevin O’Connell isn’t putting in the late-night film sessions that Ben Johnson is doing with Caleb Williams in Chicago? Or is he? That’s the provocative question Dave Stefano and Darren Campbell tackle head-on in this week’s episode of Two Old Bloggers, a Minnesota Vikings podcast produced by Vikings 1st & SKOL.
The Bears’ 12-4 turnaround — after Williams credited his two-hour nightly film sessions with Johnson — has Dave asking out loud: “Is somebody in the organization sitting down there and spending that extra time with the quarterback?” It’s a question ******* ody in the Twin Cities media seems to be asking, and it might be the most important one of the offseason. Or is it a big nothing-burger?
The Caleb Williams–Ben Johnson film room revelation from the Pardon My Take podcast, where Williams described daily one-and-a-half to two-hour meetings with his head coach during the season. The duo contrasts that with what’s publicly known — and not known — about Kevin O’Connell’s mentorship habits with J.J. McCarthy and now with Kyler Murray. As Darren notes, “O’Connell’s big on empowerment and trust — and that trust paid off with Darnold in 2024.” But does it go far enough?
They draw comparisons to Belichick/Brady and Payton/Brees, both marathon film-room partnerships that produced Super Bowl rings. From there, the show pivots to the NFL rumor mill’s latest offering: NFL insider Jason La Canfora floating a Jordan Addison trade to the Baltimore Ravens. Darren breaks down the case for and against, weighing Addison’s drop issues, off-field arrests, and contract situation against the reality that “his poor stats were largely driven by poor quarterback play.”
The show wraps with three “This Week in Vikingsland” topics: Nolan Teasley’s completed front office rebuild (with Ryan Pace, Trent Kirschner, and Tyler Hamblin now aboard), a Mac Jones-to-Vikings 2027 scenario worth monitoring, and Darren’s bold bounce-back prediction for T.J. Hockenson — fueled by improved QB play and Kyler Murray’s history of targeting his tight end.

Wyndham Clark may not have a lot of fans based on his past transgressions at other golf courses. But even the new U.S. Open champion has an "enemies" list. And at the top of it may be a Florida sports superstar
Clark, 32, won his national championship on Sunday for a second time and made a media tour to various New York-based national sports and general interest and entertainment shows — everything from Pat McAfee and Dan Patrick to The Today Show.
That included a podcast appearance on Barstool Sports, where the guys from "Pardon Your Take" pulled up a social media post on X from a decade ago in which Clark wrote, "I hate Baker Mayfield."
Clark was attending Oklahoma State at the time and Mayfield was at in-state rival Oklahoma as quarterback before going on to becoming the No.1 overall pick in the NFL draft. He's currently the starting QB for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So, why the hate?

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle has apparently had enough of his teammate, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Joining "Pardon My Take," which is hosted by Big Cat and PFT Commenter, Kittle was asked about Aiyuk. What Kittle said leaves no doubt that Aiyuk has indeed played his last down for the 49ers.
"The last time I saw Aiyuk was, call it Week 6, 7 or 8. I don't really know," Kittle told PFF Commenter who is a Washington Commanders fan.
"I used to make it a habit of mine to go out early in the morning before meetings to watch him train because he'd always be out there early, and I watched him run over 22 miles per hour and watched him stop on a dime. He's still got, but that was eight months ago, so I don't really know. You guys have fun with that, I guess."
After PFF Commenter responded, Kittle repeated, "You have fun with all that comes with it." When PFF Commenter replied that once Aiyuk lands with the Commanders, he'll finally be happy, Kittle added one more zinger.