Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is turning to a controversial football figure for advice ahead of the upcoming NFL Draft.

The polarizing quarterback revealed that he is connecting with former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel — who’s had his own run-ins with controversy — for advice and mentorship as the draft inches closer.

“He’s giving me what to look out for, what it’s like, how to stay in the process,” Pavia told reporters at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Friday, February 28. “And, you know, he’s given me some good advice, for sure.”

He continued, “And he always reaches out, too, checks up on me, makes sure I’m good, and he just, like, he’s just a friend to me, you know? And so he’s giving me some mentorship. He’s been around me, he’s been around my family. He’s just a great person for those that really don’t know him.”

Related: Diego Pavia Family Guide: Meet the Vanderbilt QB Ahead of Heisman Ceremony

Vanderbilt’s standout quarterback Diego Pavia put together an impressive college football season, which earned him a spot as a 2025 Heisman Trophy finalist. He finished the regular season with 3,192 passing yards and 27 touchdowns, with only eight interceptions. Pavia also ran for 826 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground, leading the Commodores to […]

Pavia finished second in this year’s Heisman Trophy voting — behind Indiana quarterback and national champion Fernando Mendoza — after putting up impressive numbers in his final year at Vanderbilt. Pavia led the Commodores to a 10-2 season with 3,192 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. He added 826 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.

Similar to Manziel’s story, Pavia’s career has been rife with controversy, boiling over at the Heisman Trophy ceremony when Pavia posted disparaging messages to Heisman voters and the Indiana football team on his social media. He later apologized for the posts.

Pavia said on Friday that NFL teams have not asked him about those eye-opening social media posts.

“Nope, they haven’t,” Pavia told reporters. “I just think, not that they don’t care or whatever, but they kind of know the situation already.”

He continued, “One thing about me is I don’t care what people think about me. God has a plan for me regardless. But the way the media is, they’re supposed to put out clickbait and things like that. That’s how people get views, and that’s how people make money. I understand that. And so people will twist a story and try to put out bad media to get clicks, good media to get clicks. That’s just today’s world that we live in. So I’m just adjusting to the new world.”

Manziel had his own string of trouble throughout his college career and into his brief NFL career.

His time at Texas A&M was marred with controversy leading up to the 2014 NFL Draft, where he fell all the way to the No. 22 pick by the Cleveland Browns after he was projected to be selected in the top five.

He played just 14 games in the NFL — all with the Browns — and was cut by the team after two seasons due to personal issues, including substance abuse.

Manziel has been open about his struggles with mental health and substance abuse, speaking on the topic in the 2023 Netflix documentary, Untold: Johnny Football.

“When I had gotten everything I’d ever wanted, I think I was the most empty that I ever felt inside,” he said. “I think I was trying to suppress how I felt and get out of being Johnny Football. [I] had bought a gun that I knew I was going to use. I had planned to do everything that I wanted to do at that point in my life, spend as much money as I possibly could, and then my plan was to take my own life.”

If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 9 seconds ago

Did you know that one of the most celebrated film genres of the ‘80s and ‘90s has quietly died? The genre in question is the R-rated comedy, one typified by vintage classics such as Porky’s and American Pie. These movies won over audiences through a simple combination of raunchy jokes and scantily clad stars.

These days, the R-rated comedy has been retired in favor of streamer-friendly slop, and it’s nearly impossible to find films featuring this potent combination of dirty jokes and exposed flesh. But over two decades ago, we got a criminally underappreciated sex comedy with a twist: instead of focusing on men, it focuses on women proving just how much they love to get nasty when the boys aren’t around. That film is The Sweetest Thing (2002), and you can now stream this star-studded classic for free on Tubi!

Treat Yourself To Some Pleasure

The premise of The Sweetest Thing is that Cameron Diaz plays a woman with a reputation for loving and leaving men so that she can keep enjoying the single life. However, she runs into a man who pushes back against her take-charge attitude, getting under her skin like no man ever had before. After getting an invite to a wedding the man is attending, she embarks on a raunchy road trip with her best friends, proving once and for all that the fairer sex can be just as rude, crude, and hilariously nasty as any man.

For a relatively unknown raunch comedy, The Sweetest Thing has a really star-studded cast, including Christina Applegate (best known for Married…With Children) as a divorce lawyer and BFF who really holds her gal pals together. Selma Blair (best known for Cruel Intentions) plays one of those pals, someone who might just rebound with a confident hunk played by Thomas Jane (best known for Boogie Nights). He has a chauvinistic brother played by Jason Bateman (best known for Arrested Development); however, the performer who anchors the entire thing is Cameron Diaz (best known for Charlie’s Angels), who delivers a dirty-talking, fearlessly raunchy performance that may forever change how you see this cinematic girl-next-door. 

Hated By The Critics

The Sweetest Thing proved to be a modest box office success, earning $68.7 million against a $43 million budget. Sadly, the film didn’t prove to be the same kind of pop culture phenomenon that earlier gross-out movies like There’s Something About Mary were. However, this movie did cement Cameron Diaz (who notably played Mary in the earlier film) as an actress who is never afraid to get down and dirty in order to make the audience laugh.

When The Sweetest Thing came out, critics really hated it: the movie has a 25 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers complaining about the thin plot and the bevy of hit-or-miss gags. However, it’s worth noting that the movie has a 64 percent critical score. This helps prove that this raunchy film is quite the crowd-pleaser, with audiences deeming it “fresh” even as critics declared it downright rotten.

More Than A Few Surprises

So, the critics hated it, and it wasn’t exactly a box office darling. Why, then, should you watch The Sweetest Thing? The short answer is that it is funny in the most transgressive way, and if you have a dirty mind (it’s not just me, right?), you’ll find plenty to love in this raucously funny raunchiest. 

Then and now, part of what makes The Sweetest Thing so entertaining is that it is an unflinchingly gender swapped version of the “boys behaving badly” genre of film. Even if you’ve seen male-led movies like The Hangover a million times, there is something refreshing about seeing women take part in the same kinds of gross-out gags and filthy conversations usually reserved for men. It helps that the central actors embrace the sex jokes with such gusto, and Cameron Diaz’s hypnotic performance is practically an ecstasy of exhibitionism.

Guys are sure to enjoy the film; after all, it’s filled with hot ladies, dirty talk, and nudity, all of which can reliably rev a fellow’s motor. But The Sweetest Thing is designed by and for women, and much of its humor works by making men the butt of some fairly hilarious jokes.

Time To Get Down And Dirty

The scene is funny in and of itself, but the punchline doesn’t come from girls behaving badly; rather, it comes from the fact that guys are so easy to manipulate when it comes to anything and everything naughty. This is just one small example of the film’s surprising emphasis on sex positivity and its emphasis on female agency. It’s the rare raunchy comedy framed from the perspective of the female gaze, but most men will be too busy laughing to realize that male horniness is the butt of each and every surprisingly funny joke.

Will you agree that The Sweetest Thing deserves more love when you watch it on Netflix, or will these gals gross you out before the end of the first scene? The only way to find out is to stream the film and rediscover this overlooked classic for yourself. If nothing else, you’ll never look at Cameron Diaz the same way after these credits roll!

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The entertainment world is still reeling from the news that Paramount has swooped in and purchased Warner Bros. Pictures, effectively ending Netflix’s bid for the legacy studios. Obviously, there are a lot of questions on Hollywood’s mind, including the potential job cuts and contraction that comes with yet another mega-merger. There’s also the question of what the entertainment landscape will look like if this merger goes through, particularly given that HBO Max and Paramount would be under the same umbrella. Similar questions were raised when the Netflix/Warner Bros. merger seemed like a done deal, but HBO Max has a few advantages working in its favor.

For starters,HBO Max has far more subscribers than Paramount+​​.Per IndieWire, HBO Max has 131.6 million global subscribers, while Paramount+ has 79 million. Looking at those numbers, it only makes sense that Paramount would want to keep HBO Max around as its main streaming arm, especially with the massive library that the streamer has at its disposal. Yet there are other avenues that the studio could take, and they’d radically reshape the streaming landscape, not to mention the entertainment business itself.

HBO Max & Paramount+ Could Merge Into a Single Streaming Service

Image via Paramount+

The easiest route that Paramount could take with HBO Max and Paramount+ is to merge them into a single streaming service. It’s not unprecedented, as Disney+ and Hulu are looking to merge into a single service by the end of the year. The House of Mouse underwent a mega-merger of its own in 2019 when it purchased 20th Century Fox, and it’s not hard to imagine that Paramount CEO David Ellison would use the same playbook and make Paramount+ a hub on HBO Max’s interface. It would be the most efficient way to push Paramount+’s original movie and TV projects while also tapping into the prestige of the HBO brand.

Another factor in favor of an HBO Max/Paramount+ merger is the sheer number of franchises Paramount wants to utilize. From DC Comics to Harry Potter to Game of Thrones, there’s no shortage of intellectual property under the WB umbrella. Said intellectual property could boost Paramount’s profile, especially since most of its prominent franchises are in flux. TV-wise, Paramount could also use a win that doesn’t come from Star Trek or Taylor Sheridan, and HBO Max’s shows carry the kind of prestige that not only draws in audiences but also wins awards.

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It’s Possible that Paramount Might Ditch Paramount+ For HBO Max

If Paramount doesn’t merge HBO Max and Paramount+, it’s more than likely that one of the cost-cutting measures the new Paramount/Warner Bros. regime will take is to delete one service and keep the other. HBO Max will more than likely win out; between its larger subscriber base and a more appealing library of content, it has everything Paramount wants. Paramount+, on the other hand, has yet to turn a profit, as it lost Paramount nearly $500 million dollars. Northwestern University professor Rick Morris also pointed out the grim reality that Paramount is deep in debt and will be taking immense cost-cutting measures:

“Debt is debt. Debt will stop them from taking new initiatives, from investing in content, and it’ll take a period of time to work off. And many companies fail at working off the debt, and that is part of the reason that Warner Bros. is for sale.”

Paramount might also be looking to use HBO Max as a showcase for its new stable of talent. In the weeks leading up to its acquisition of Warner Bros., the studio signed multi-year deals with Stranger Things creators Ross & Matt Duffer, Jon M. Chu (Wicked: For Good), and Dan Trachtenberg (Predator: Badlands). The timing couldn’t have been better, as Taylor Sheridan is primed to leave Paramount for a more lucrative deal at Universal. Together, these filmmakers not only provide enough talent to fill Sheridan’s absence but will also drive more subscribers to HBO Max.

The Paramount/Warner Bros. Merger Could Affect Other Paramount Assets

Image via Bertrand Calmeau/CBS

Paramount+ isn’t the only streaming service whose future is up in the air. There’s also the matter of Pluto TV, the FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming Television) streaming service under Paramount’s umbrella. While Pluto TV has its own wide-ranging slate of free programming, The Hollywood Reporter writes that it’s facing some struggles, including a potential sale. If Paramount is considering cost-cutting measures, it could shutter Pluto TV, which would be a shame, as the channel could support Warner Bros. TV across its various channels. Pluto absolutely would host a Harry Potter channel or a channel dedicated to DC Comics films and TV shows.

Another Paramount asset that’s up in the air is Showtime. The cable channel was folded into Paramount+, but is there really a need for it when HBO exists? HBO and Showtime were rivals for years, though it’s clear that HBO has had more staying power. This could finally be the excuse Paramount is looking for to shutter the Showtime brand, though most of Showtime’s series would more likely continue as originals under HBO Max or simply transition to another streaming service, like Shameless.

HBO’s Head Honcho Isn’t Sure about the Future of HBO Max

Image via HBO Max

The Paramount/Warner Bros. merger has led to a flood of emotions online, as many in entertainment are unsure about the future. One of them is HBO chief Casey Bloys, who gave THR a hazy response last November when asked about the future of HBO Max:

“It’s kind of a waste of energy, because I don’t know what’s going to happen… I’m obviously very proud of what we’ve done at HBO and HBO Max. I would like to see that continue…We’ve all worked at HBO for a long time. I’m proud of our track record, but you have to go into these processes with an open mind. And a lot of it is out of our hands.”

While the merger has yet to be approved, it’s pretty clear that if it does, the media landscape will be irrevocably changed. HBO Max could potentially survive that change — after all, this isn’t the first time the streamer’s fallen under different ownership. But the question remains: what will it change into?

Two women’s basketball players from the University of Nebraska-Omaha played hero after practice on Tuesday, February 24, helping two drivers escape their cars after falling into a sinkhole.

“At first I thought it was just an accident,” student-athlete Olivia Borsutzki told college and high school sports outlet On3 after the incident. “I pulled over because something was wrong.”

Borsutzki and her teammate Esra Kurban were driving back from practice when they noticed a driver stepping out of a car in the middle of the intersection. Soon, they realized there were two cars across the street that fell into a massive sinkhole.

“We were at the light, just waiting for it to turn green and I saw that lady leaving the car, and I was like, ‘Oh!’” Borsutzki said on the Hurrdat ONE podcast. “It seemed like an accident, and then I looked closer … and I was like, ‘Oh there’s actually someone in the ground.’ ”

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Update 2/24/26 at 10:26 a.m. — Former WNBA star Kara Braxton died in a single-car accident in Georgia, Cobb County Police confirmed to USA Today. She was 43. The accident occurred Saturday, February 21 at approximately 5:13 p.m. when Braxton “failed to maintain her lane” and “collided with the concrete median wall,” according to a […]

Borsutzki said she didn’t see anyone helping, so she pulled her car over and ran to the man who couldn’t climb out of the sinkhole after exiting this vehicle. She struggled to help him out herself, so she called over another bystander for additional assistance.

“On the news, it doesn’t look that scary, not that deep,” Borsutzki told The Athletic. “But standing right in front of the hole is — it was scary.”

She continued, “I wasn’t really thinking in that moment. I was just like, ‘I need to help this man who is stuck in a hole.’”

Kurban was not far behind her teammate to help out, and within a few minutes both drivers were safely out of the sinkholes and a safe distance from the dangerous situation.

Police arrived just a few moments later and surveyed the scene. Both drivers were shaken up but reported to be uninjured.

After everything cleared, the teammates continued their trip back from practice and the enormity of the moment — and the consequences of their efforts — sunk in.

“My dad called me the next day and was like, ‘You were in danger. It could be really bad for you,’” Borsutzki said of her parents, who live in Germany. “I was like, ‘Oh I wasn’t really thinking about it.”

The teammates dropped a photo of the incident into their team group chat, and soon after a video went viral on social media, reaching over 1.6 million likes on TikTok.

Borsutski told On3 that her strength coach texted her in response to the moment, “Very strong, big dog.”

The Nebraska-Ohama men’s basketball team showed its support for the Good Samaritans, quote tweeting a video of the incident with a supportive message.

“Proud of these Mavs 👏,” the team account posted.

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Borsutzki said multiple cars passed the scene without helping, while others stood around recording the incident.

“Men and women were just recording. Nobody was helping,” she said to On3.

“Don’t be on your smartphones trying to record; help that person out. It could be you in that hole,” Borsutzki told The Athletic.

She continued, “That’s why it’s so crazy for us, why we’re all over the news. We just helped, we did something big, but it’s nothing major. I feel like every person should do the same thing we’ve done.”

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