Articles by Tyler Hayes

The annual BET Awards show happened this year in June, but now, the more narrowly focused BET Hip Hop Awards show is happening live tonight. There will be performances from artists like Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Big Sean, and Jhené Aiko, with plenty of surprises sure to take place.

The awards categories themselves will revolve around best hip hop video, best hip hop live performer, best hip hop album of the year, best hip hop music video director of the year, and best hip hop platform, among others.

Best hip hop album of the year includes MEGAN THEE STALLION, Future, and Dababy as some of the nominees. Megan and Dababy are also up for several other awards, including best live performer which also features Drake.

The Impact Track category includes a song from Anderson .Paak called “Lockdown” which perfectly encapsulated both COVID-19’s impact on society as well as the tension beginning to flow onto the streets in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. It’s a powerful song with an incredib…

The Eagles enter the sixth week with only one win and still remain in second in their NFC East division. Of course, just because the Eagles and the Ravens are both in second in their respective divisions does not tell the full story. Baltimore is 4-1 while Philadelphia is 1-3-1. The Ravens are the heavy favorites in this matchup as they definitely have the more complete, stronger team. The Ravens may not look quite as good as they did last year, but they still have a remarkably robust defense that has quelled most of the teams they’ve faced so far.

On the offense, 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson has done well enough keeping the ball moving. The Ravens have the best run differential in the league. The team is 2-0 on the road and unless the Eagles upset, they should add another road win to that number.

The Eagles have thus far remained unaffected by COVID-19 and so have not been shut down from practicing. They’ll need it too because the chances for the team to rank up an additional win or two h…

The Cowboys’ potential for a big win is ripe every week, but the last few Sundays that potential has met its match. The Cowboys with Dak Prescott are tearing up the field offensively and are averaging more than 500 yards per game. Against the Cleveland Browns last week, Prescott even passed for 500 yards with four touchdowns. In fact, he’s the first person to have three consecutive weeks with more than 450 passing yards — it’s remarkable. So why are the Cowboys 1-3 if the team’s offense has been explosive? The weak link with Dallas is the team’s defense. It has allowed other teams to be just as aggressive and can’t stop them from scoring.

On the flip side, the New York Giants are averaging a league low of just over 11 points per game. The Giants have also failed to move the ball, averaging around 275 yards per game. In this particular match up, it seems that Prescott should be able to put up enough points to cover his team’s lack of defense. The Giants opened the week as the under…

With only one win in the season thus far, the Eagles are still riding high in their NFC East division. On the other side, the Steelers are 3-0 and barely hanging on to the lead in their AFC North division. The Steelers are coming off an unplanned bye week where they had expected to play the Titans. Now, they have to reset to take on the Eagles. Pittsburgh is well suited against most teams, but it seems unlikely that Philadelphia will put up too much of a challenge overall.

The thing the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger will need to address is the Eagles worthy defense. To combat that, Roethlisberger could employ the no-huddle offense to keep the Eagles on their toes. The 17-year NFL quarterback has a long history with the quick method which could move the needle. Another factor the Steelers have going for them this week is that there will be 5,500 fans in attendance at Heinz Field for the game. The amount of people cheering won’t be close to the same amount as normal, but some home s…

Kamala Harris debating Mike Pence has been anticipated for most people since Harris was added to the Biden ticket. The first presidential debate of the 2020 election cycle was intense in many ways. The president was in typical form and used his always-on microphone to interrupt enough for moderator Chris Wallace to become frustrated. Mike Pence conducts himself differently than Trump so this VP debate will likely be intense in other ways.

Since the President has tested positive for COVID-19 in the week leading up to this VP debate, it brings more focus around the two candidates who are next in line to take over as commander in chief should the worst happen. In past years, VP debates have not had the same draw as presidential ones, but come Wednesday, October 7, there should be plenty of viewers. In no small part because the virus continues to keep people self isolating and there are less things to do than in past years.

Regardless of where your political preferences fall, Kamala Harr…

The Colts and the Bears each look good going into this Sunday’s matchup. Each team has a familiar, tested quarterback that has his own strengths. This season, Philip Rivers is completing 78% of his passes while Nick Foles is only completely 55% of his passes. Despite the difference in pass completion, and the fact that Rivers is heating up since the Colts’ only loss this season, the Bears’ offense should be taken seriously.

The Colts head coach Frank Reich knows Foles from their time together with the Eagles. He only had good things to say about the Bears’quarterback. In fact, he mentioned that Foles is unflappable under pressure and an extreme talent, indicating the Colts would have their hands full trying to slow him down.

Chicago is fighting for its fourth consecutive win this season. Even if Nick Foles isn’t passing for as many yards as Philip Rivers, the Bears are still at home and Rivers seems to have trouble on the road against aggressive defenses. It will be a close game. S…

Clemson enters the fourth week of football with a 2-0 record and well rested from their off week. The Tigers are still heavily favored against the Cavaliers, but the defending ACC Coastal Division champion team should at least make things competitive. Even though Clemson did destroy Virginia 62-17 in last year’s championship game, each year is a fresh start. Clemson did lose 4 of its 5 offensive linemen from last year’s team after all.

Brennan Armstrong of the Cavaliers is likely the biggest challenge the Tigers will face, moving the team’s offense down the field in a hurry. The team already surged past Duke to win their opener and there’s a chance they could hand Clemson a repeat of that performance. The team also has potential stars in receiver Lavel Davis Jr. and linebacker Zane Zandier.

Clemson is Clemson, however, so the powerhouse is favored by about 28 points going into Saturday’s game. Coming off two wins and a week of rest studying other teams, they are probably the smart …

What happens when two undefeated teams match up on Monday Night Football? It becomes a must-watch game. The Chiefs are defending Super Bowl champs and so far this year, look like they’re serious about a repeat. The Baltimore Ravens, on the other hand, are as good as any other team at the moment and are looking to lay down some big defense.

Ever since the Patrick Mahomes era began, Kansas City has been known for its explosive offense. The Ravens are probably one of the few teams that can really go head-to-head with their lock-down defense. The Ravens will likely be looking at the Chargers’ week two performance in how they effectively slowed Mahomes and kept him under control. In two games the Ravens have already forced five turnovers which is a league-high. The Ravens have also only allowed a league-low of 22 points.

Of course, this is still Kansas City and they are the slight favorites in this meeting, though it is close. If Mahomes can improve his first-down conversions and comple…

The Green Bay Packers look good this year. It’s not just the looks either, the team is performing exceptionally well on offense, so far with more total yards and outscoring every other team in the short two-week season so far. Aaron Rogers is on his game and will likely create problems for the New Orleans defense which pretty much crumbled in their Monday Night matchup against the Raiders.

The Saints will be at home and that might give them a boost, but likely they will still be in for an uphill battle. The Packers are the favorites here, despite both teams going 13-3 last season. The battle between these two teams won’t be lopsided, but the Packers are set on remaining undefeated through the first three weeks.

The Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins can be a big part of stopping the Packers from running up the score, but he’ll need to have a much better week than he did against the Raiders. The same goes for defensive end Cameron Jordan who needs to make some more noise against Rogers a…

This week 3 matchup includes the Panthers as the underdogs against the Chargers in Los Angeles. Carolina isn’t favored for a good reason: there are multiple problems on the field. Christian McCaffrey at running back is out with an ankle sprain and could miss as much as six weeks. This hurts the offensive in a big way. It also doesn’t help that last week, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater gave up three turnovers to Tampa Bay.

While the Chargers aren’t a lock to destroy the Panthers, they do have a solid and mostly steady roster. The biggest wildcard the Chargers face is at the quarterback position where Tyrod Taylor was a last-minute scratch with chest pains. The rookie Justin Herbert performed really well in his debut considering the unexpected nature of his start. Herbert threw for over 300 yards and mostly dazzled, despite having an interception mixed in.

Unless Los Angeles finds a way to really screw this game up, there shouldn’t be any surprises at the end. The Chargers need to exp…