The hot-button issue of the moment is head trauma in football, and it’s being given an entire week’s worth of attention from ESPN’s Outside the Lines. Today, the issue’s polarizing nature was once again on display, causing men on TV to freak the fuck out on each other.

Headphones! Cris Carter was a guest on Mike & Mike this morning, and in the midst of talking Saints Bounty Scandal, #80 accidentally stepped in some shit. [The Big Lead]

Stephen A. Smith, who, along with Ric Bucher makes up the morning SportsCenter’s two-headed NBA monster, decided to venture outside his comfort zone this AM to chime in on the Bryce Harper/Cole Hamels controversy.

New lesson for MLB pitchers – if you’re gonna hit Bryce Harper, don’t give him an opportunity to steal home. Because he will. And he did.

We’re already seeing people complain that LeBron James can’t finish because the Miami Heat lost to the New York Knicks today, but with 25 seconds left and the Heat down by 4, LeBron drove for this ridiculous off-balance left hander.

They put 12 minutes on the clock each quarter for a reason: that’s how long the quarters are. Sometimes teams forget this fact and mail it in for the last few seconds. But to Blake Griffin, any second that the ball is in play is a second that could be spent dunking. Watch him sneak one in before halftime, after the jump.

OKC is showing no quit in a great back and forth game, and James Harden might have laid claim to the Sixth Man and a huge contract with this play.

Seeing Pamela McGee explains so much about her son. The former WNBA player and coach from Flint, Michigan was at last night’s Nuggets-Lakers game in Denver, and she was into it. Her passion for the game could certainly be perceived as anger, but if you were the first WNBA player with a kid in the NBA, you’d have your son’s back too. We wouldn’t talk smack about JaVale with her in the building though.

The Bulls are in trouble. After losing their star point guard, many thought they would still be able to pull out a series win against the lowly (relatively speaking) Sixers. But as A.I. (2.o) showed, things are not going according to plan for the number one seed. Oh, by the way, this pass is sick. Video after the jump.

By now, you’ve probably seen the Deadspin investigation from yesterday on (now former) ESPN contributor and alleged internet scammer Sarah Phillips. In addition to the story’s weirdness – and man, is it weird – there’s another question: what was ESPN doing hiring her in the first place?