Najee Harris signed a one-year, $9.5 million deal with the Chargers.
Friday's "On Sports" examines comments made by former Steelers tailback Najee Harris, now a member of the Los Angeles Chargers, that were far from complimentary.
Plus, the No. 2-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide are at risk of being without one of their key players ahead of Friday's NCAA Tournament first-round showdown with No. 15 Robert Morris.
Meanwhile, as Alexander Ovechkin closes in on passing Wayne Gretzky for most career goals, Sidney Crosby approaches shattering another of Gretzky's records.
Harris sounds off
Shortly after he inked a one-year, $9.5 million deal with the Chargers, portions of Harris' introductory session with the Los Angeles media circulated online.
In one clip, Harris was complimentary of the Chargers' team facilities, likening them to the high standard he became accustomed to in college at Alabama.
"I was just telling (my new teammates), it's not like this everywhere, man," Harris said. "This is a special thing right here. It reminded me of college at Alabama, all the resources that (the Chargers) have. Getting a chance to take advantage of all this opportunity is just a blessing. ... It's not like this everywhere. It's not."
Considering that Harris spent the entirety of his NFL career with the Steelers prior to departing earlier this month, it can only be assumed that by "everywhere," he meant Pittsburgh.
Harris' indirect critique of the Steelers' facilities tracks with the franchise's annual NFLPA report card, in which its locker room received a D grade, with a C+ issued for the weight room and training room.
In another clip, Harris reflected on his early days with the Steelers, particularly 2021 and 2022, when the team adjusted to losing the presences of veteran offensive linemen Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro, in addition to the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger.
"We just didn't know anything on offense really," Harris said. "We didn't have any identity. We had a young guy coming in at quarterback. I was young, the team was young and I really didn't have nobody to almost learn from on the offensive side."
Per Alabama coach Nate Oats, starting forward Grant Nelson is questionable for Friday's Round of 64 contest against Robert Morris.
Nelson, the No. 2-seeded Crimson Tide's second-leading scorer (11.8 points per game) and top rebounder (7.6), suffered a knee injury during the SEC Tournament.
As Alabama and Robert Morris prepare to square off at 12:40 p.m. Friday in Cleveland, Nelson could be seen getting some shots up with a brace on his left knee.
Oats told reporters that even if Nelson is available to play against the Colonials, his workload would be reduced.
On the year, the 6-foot-11 senior has averaged 25.7 minutes per game, starting 31 of 33 games.
Magic number for Sid
Alexander Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record is every bit deserving of the media circus it has produced.
After all, Gretzky's 894 goals had long been considered an untouchable record across all sports.
Yet, Ovechkin, who scored career goal No. 888 Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers, is getting closer and closer.
It seems only a matter of time now before the 39-year-old dethrones Gretzky.
In the midst of all that fanfare, Crosby's pursuit of another one of Gretzky's seemingly unbreakable records has been somewhat obscured.
On top of career goals, Gretzky owns the NHL record for most campaigns played while averaging a point per game with 19.
Only in Gretzky's 20th and final NHL season (1998-99 with the New York Rangers at the age of 38) did he fail to average a point per game.
In 70 games, he scored nine goals with 53 assists for 62 points (.86 points per game).
Crosby, in year 20 with the Penguins, has 74 points (24 goals, 50 assists) through 68 games played.
The Penguins' 37-year-old captain, having missed two games in February due to injury, thus needs 80 points on the year to notch his NHL-record 20th point-per-game campaign.
With Ovechkin's magic number to hockey immortality down to seven, Crosby's is at six.