data-mm-id=”_hqnkck6dy”>The XFL has made it two weeks. While many positives exist, the same can't be said for about half of the teams. Here are The Big Lead's XFL Power Rankings through Week 2:8. Tampa Bay Vipers (0-2)Tampa Bay Vipers / Abbie Parr/Getty ImagesThere are only eight teams, which makes it possible for a 0-2 team to rebound. Simultaneously, everything that occurred after the Viper's 9-0 lead this week was bad news. Tampa Bay has only scored nine points this season. And, based on their play, that is an overachievement. They continue to rotate quarterbacks and none of them have even been decent.7. New York Guardians (1-1)Matt McGloin / Scott Taetsch/Getty ImagesNew York isn't winless but was atrocious this weekend. The Guardians did nothing well in Week 2 …

data-mm-id=”_yyv1njbm4″>Can you believe Mayweather-Pacquaio was five full years ago? Like most things in right now's not-so-distant past, that seems both too recent and ages ago. How much would you give to watch The Kentucky Derby today and then finish your night off with a prize fight? What if I told you Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski did both in person? For normal people, you could watch those events on television. Throw in some second-round NBA playoff action and some random regular season baseball games and you just got lightheaded and passed out, didn't you?Considering our current situation, look at what Brady and Gronk did back in 2015. There was a huge sporting event where over 170,000 people gathered and ate and drank and gambled and they both went. Then they got on an …

data-mm-id=”_si26bakr4″>The country is in turmoil and sports seem like the least important thing right now. However, there is some relevance to what's been happening around the United States recently and something that happened in sports a few years ago. The Houston Chronicle highlighted that reality with a powerful cover photo on their Sunday sports section. Sunday's @HoustonChron Sports cover pic.twitter.com/A4P4VTx70e— Tom Fox (@foxt78) May 31, 2020Imagining a world where we focused on what Kaepernick was advocating for and not what he did, the Houston Chronicle skillfully weaves sports into the current state of society. It isn't easy to do. Outside of players commenting on the protests or Jaylen Brown joining them, sports don't feel connected to the more impor…

data-mm-id=”_sytjadgd5″>Attention was taken off the NBA playoffs when a video of police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin shooting unarmed black man Jacob Blake in the back seven times went viral. All the players participating in the league's restart have been strong and constant in their unified messages to end police brutality and institutionalized racism in America. Thus, when asked about the video today, their frustration and anguish that this keeps happening was clear. It's also become clear to these men that simply speaking out isn't causing the widespread change they're calling for. Norman Powell and Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors told reporters that boycotting a game or games is something the players have been talking about. Norm Powell and Fred VanVleet …

data-mm-id=”_v92l7lday”>The Los Angeles Clippers blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the NBA bubble playoffs. Less than two weeks later, Doc Rivers found himself unemployed. Such a disappointing postseason loss from this talented of a team is definitely a group effort, but Rivers didn't help matters by making some extremely questionable rotation decisions throughout the playoffs. Ultimately, his and his team's inability to get it done when it mattered most led to his pink slip. Rivers, at 58-years-old, is still looking to coach. And while this season was indeed a letdown of the highest measure, Rivers' resume and reputation still makes him an attractive coaching option for the five teams currently without a head coach. Bill Simmons, while discuss…

data-mm-id=”_dn0uocuqi”>The NBA and everyone involved knew the 2020-21 season was going to be complicated. Without the benefit of the bubble, each team is subject to the chance that a COVID diagnosis could sideline important players for weeks at a time. Less than a month through the season, that has proved more true than anticipated. The Philadelphia 76ers suffered a coronavirus outbreak a few days ago. It all came to a head today when the Sixers were at risk of not having enough players eligible to play against the Nuggets this afternoon. Under the new rules for this season, that would result in a forfeit. Philly got tests results back for three players this morning, and they now have nine. Philadelphia has nine eligible players today for 3 PM tip vs. Denver, including Ben Simmons, Ty…