Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers took a shot at the Atlanta Falcons' history of playing fake crowd noise over the Georgia Dome loudspeakers in his final media appearance before today's NFC Championship Game.
Asked about the noise in Atlanta, Rodgers acknowledged it's loud, and then noted that the noise might not actually be coming from the fans.
"It's really loud in there. Whether that's all natural or not is yet to be seen," Rodgers said.
The Falcons were stripped of a fifth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and fined $350,000 after an investigation revealed that they had been using fake crowd noise while the opposing offense was on the field during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. The Falcons fired their director of event marketing, whom they blamed for overseeing the scheme, and the NFL temporarily pulled Falcons President Rich McKay off the Competition Committee for it.
There have been no allegations that the Falcons resumed their practice since then, but Rodgers found it amusing to take a little shot at the team before today's game.
The Nature Boy
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair has a unique relationship with the Carolina Panthers. As one of Charlotte's most famous figures he's considered a sports icon in the city -- but Flair has turned heel. (In professional wrestling, a heel is considered a "bad guy" or someone being scripted as an antagonist.) During the 2016 playoffs he's been openly supporting the Falcons, the Panthers' NFC South rival.
Charlotte defensive end Charles Johnson had a problem with that:
"The dude Ric Flair is the ultimate groupie," Johnson tweeted on Friday.
Despite being born in Memphis, Flair has always been Charlotte through-and-through. He was billed as being from the city throughout his career, routinely calls sports radio in the area and is a cult figure of prominence.
It took some time for Flair to respond, but he opened up by tweeting:
"Charles, sorry I can't get back to you at the moment because I am busy with the Falcons who if you didn't know are in the playoffs ...WOOOOO!"
"The Panthers were demonstrably terrible in 2016, so Flair is siding himself with a winner," wrote James Dator of sbnation.com. "If you know anything about Ric Flair then you know this is par for the course."
Leaving for LA
It's going to be a while before San Diego forgives the Chargers for leaving. Even churches are upset.
Posted on a sign in front of the Community Baptist Church in Fallbrook, Calif.: "God will never forsake you -- unlike the Chargers."
Fallbrook is located an hour outside of San Diego.
Add Chargers
One Chargers fan, disgruntled over the move to L.A., pelted team headquarters with eggs.
Wrote Dwight Perry of The Seattle Times:
"As an added bonus, he's already gotten private-workout offers from the Browns, 49ers and the Jon Gruden Quarterback Camp."
Sports quiz
Sports answer
Sports on 01/22/2017