Newsweek had found earlier this week that over140 videos were either unavailable or hidden across several playlists on the Redemption Church YouTube page—after allegations that he was plagiarizing sermons by pastor J.D. Greear began to spread. Litton, who was elected president of the SBC in June, has seen significant backlash for his statements regarding the controversy, including being subjected to a visual comparison of himself and former President Richard Nixon....

Locke, head of the Baptist Global Vision Bible Church in Juliet, Tennessee, was speaking to Stew Peters on the Red Voice Media program The Stew Peters Show about being banned from social media, as well as COVID-19 restrictions stopping large gatherings. “People that say that this is not an attack have lost their mind. This is an absolute attack on our First Amendment right,” Locke said in a clip surfaced by Right Wing Watch....

The Colts did their own spin of celebrities reading mean tweets, this time with their players. The tweets were brutal, but the players’ reactions were worth it. MORE: Cowboys reading mean tweets Kicker Pat McAfee didn’t hold back, destroying the troll and correcting his grammar while making a jab at his intelligence. Hopefully this won’t be the last installment of the Colts’ edition of Mean Tweets.

After the Colts 24-13 win over the Broncos, the punter reveled in the success of his team and the “expert picks” of the countdown crew. Every single one of them picked Denver to win, and McAfee couldn’t wait to get to his phone to tweet about it. MORE: Must-see playoff images | Julian Edelman selling ‘The Pass’ shirts | Aaron Rodgers leads Packers Hopefully viewers won’t feel like they watched three hours of the show for nothing....

Mahomes covered so much ground while running from Buccaneers pass rushers he might have, if you stitched all those desperate scrambles together, made it back to Kansas City on foot. It was a sorry picture, this lone genius unable to present a true picture of his art. It was as if Meryl Streep had wandered into an episode of “Chicago Fire.” It was reminiscent of young LeBron James winding up in the 2007 NBA Finals with a crew you couldn’t recall if it meant winning Final Jeopardy — and getting swept out in four games....

The U.S. Olympic sprinter has been in the spotlight this week after testing positive for marijuana a month before the Tokyo Games. While Richardson’s suspension won’t allow her to run the 100 meters in the Olympics, there’s an outside chance she will be able to run in the 4x100 relay. MORE: Richardson explains her failed drug test: ‘I’m human’ Richardson admitted to turning to marijuana to cope with the death of her biological mother, news of which was broken to her by a reporter she called a “total stranger....

Both Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have incredible arm talent. Mahomes showed it off in all facets from basically the second he became a full-time starter in his MVP 2018 season. It took Allen longer to harnass it, but he too finally put it all together in 2020 with a near-MVP campaign of his own. The two magical right arms are due to face off on Sunday in the AFC championship game....

Anatoly Antonov was reacting to the Pentagon’s announcement on Tuesday that up to 100 Ukrainians would start training on the systems as early as next week at the U.S. Army base in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The Patriots are among the most advanced defense systems in the U.S. arsenal and their supply to Ukraine was a key element of the $1.85 billion security assistance support package announced by the Department of Defense in December....

LaFell was going full bore in practice this week, and he was even given the green light to speak with the media ahead of the Week 6 matchup against the Jets. MORE: Sunday NFL scoreboard | PHOTOS: Must-see Week 7 images LaFell had trouble with his left foot late last year but played through the pain as the Patriots drove to a championship. When last we saw LaFell on the field, he was opening the scoring in the Super Bowl against Seattle with a touchdown catch from Tom Brady....

Now comes the hard part. As expected, those three teams had the easiest paths the playoffs, and proved it by clinching their titles the earliest with home victories over their closest competition in Week 15. One can no longer presume, however, that one of them will be left standing as conference champs. They’re still the Big Three in the AFC, but the trio of strong teams battling to win the North — all victors on Sunday, too — can present big playoff problems....

Manning explained that he had reached out to Patriots PR to try to get Jones for an interview, but he was unable to do so. Jones marked the first quarterback to turn down an interview with Manning, but it didn’t bother him. In fact, he saw the move as one that could benefit Jones during his career. “I got to tell you: I appreciate how they’re handling Mac Jones,” Manning said....

Solder left Sunday’s win over the Cowboys in the second quarter with a right elbow injury and didn’t return. He said the severity of the injury was unclear after the game. MORE: Week 6 picks, predictions | Power Rankings | Super Bowl odds “It’s too hard to tell,” Solder said Sunday, via ESPN. “We’re just going to roll forward and see what happens.” Solder, who has played both guard and tackle for the Patriots, was replaced by Marcus Cannon after suffering the injury....

Essentially, the commissioner tried telling us what parents have been telling disagreeable kids for centuries. It’s over because I said it’s over. “I think as I stand here today … I don’t know where else I would turn,” Goodell said after a 3½-hour meeting with former New England Patriots employee Matt Walsh on Tuesday morning. The commish said there were no new bombshells to drop, no surprisingly salacious tidbits to spread, no more blame to thrust upon the slightly tarnished legacy of the Patriots’ dynasty or their Machiavellian head coach Bill Belichick....

Why did Butler get benched for Super Bowl 52, and did it cost the Patriots their sixth Lombardi Trophy? There’s a question in there, though, that’s easier to answer: Is this one of the worst and costliest coaching blunders ever in the Super Bowl? That answer is yes. Is it the all-time worst and costliest? It’s hard to find another, even with 52 years of competition. MORE: Patriots dynasty not over yet...

The Patriots kicker re-signed with New England on a two-year contract last month but revealed Tuesday that he considered negotiating a deal with another team. While Gostkowski admitted he wanted to test his first true stint in free agency, he’s grateful to be able to stay with the team that drafted him. “To me, it means a lot,” Gostkowski said, via the Providence Journal. “It’s a very fragile position. It doesn’t take much to be at the top or the bottom in a position such as mine....

Unmistakable, some might say. Not Belichick, though. “It was a mistake,” Belichick said during his postgame press conference following New England’s 30-24 loss at Las Vegas on the game’s final play. To set it up, here’s what happened. The game was tied at 24-24 after the Las Vegas Raiders scored a touchdown and booted the extra point with 32 seconds remaining in regulation. The Patriots had the ball at their own 45-yard line with three seconds remaining for one last play....

New England is ranked near the bottom of the NFL in several offensive categories, but Arizona enters the “Monday Night Football” matchup with the second-worst scoring defense in the league. The Patriots know that this is a great opportunity to get their offense on the right track. “We just have to break the theme here, and just keep working,” Patriots quarterback Mac Jones said. “That’s all you can do. Together, talk through things....

New England steamrolled the AFC North favorite Steelers in Foxborough by a final score of 33-3. Meanwhile, Lamar Jackson, a quarterback who’s generated much skepticism, looked more than serviceable under center in the Ravens’ 56-14 shellacking of Miami on Sunday. This Sunday, the two teams will meet in South Florida — and New England is poised for a heavy win, at least according to Vegas. The Patriots are 18.5-point favorites, according to Sportsbook Review, which would be the largest spread for a road team since 2007 when the Patriots were favored by 18....

But, on the inside, Gasol was a ball of emotions. This was the first time he played against the Lakers since leaving in free agency. Gasol, who won two titles with the Lakers, spent seven seasons in Los Angeles, after he was traded there from Memphis. MORE: Scott: ‘Idiots’ think Lakers better without Bryant | Rose a mixed bag on X-Mas | Top moments of 2014 Gasol came of age there, advancing from a talented player to an All-Star and champion....