One of the stranger plays from Thursday night's Kansas City Chiefs 21-13 victory over Oakland came with about nine minutes left and the Raiders down one score and struggling offensively.
Oakland quarterback Derek Carr had been having a brutal night throwing the football, and his receivers were faring just as poorly catching it. Late in the game, Carr was pressured by the Chiefs on third and 7 from the Oakland 28-yard line. He stepped up and threw a rainbow to a streaking Amari Cooper, who had beaten the coverage for what could have been a 72-yard touchdown and a chance to tie the game midway through the fourth quarter.
But Cooper just missed the thing. The flight of the ball can't be tracked by the NBC game broadcast because it goes out of frame for a second. But somewhere in that time, the ball's trajectory and spin change. Cooper stumbled and appeared to have no idea where the ball was. Some speculated he lost it in the lights or that the heavy wind affected Carr's high throw.
Conspiracy theory alert: Did, as several fans on Twitter suggest, Carr's pass hit the NBC camera wire that goes over the width of the field?
"That's why it looked like I might have stumbled," said Cooper, via ESPN.com. "I was running in the right direction and it kind of moved inside at the last minute, and I didn't have time to get it."
In a statement to Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group, NBC Sports spokesman Dan Masonson denied the Skycam wire had anything to do with the incomplete pass.
"The overhead camera is positioned behind the line of scrimmage, so the cables would not be in play," he said.
"#NFL viewed as odd Amari Cooper's reaction to ball in flight, but observed he didn't react strongly after play as if saw ball hit something," ESPN's Ed Werder tweeted.
In that kind of situation, the ball is declared dead. Third down should have been replayed, and the Raiders would have had another shot.
Timeout a laugh
Kevin Durant was slapped with a technical foul with less than 10 seconds left in the Golden State Warriors' 106-99 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night.
During the resulting free throw, which made the score 105-98, Durant shared a laugh with teammate Draymond Green. The reason? Jazz Coach Quin Snyder's late timeout.
"It's kind of over, my man," Green told reporters. "Let's go to the restaurant, have a good dinner and just chill. That's what we were laughing at."
Plumbers are ready
San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich has mastered the art of the subtle tirade. After the Spurs fell to the Chicago Bulls 95-91 on Thursday night, Popovich ranted about being ready to play.
"Guys get a lot of money to be ready to play," Popovich told reporters. "No Knute Rockne speeches. It's your job. If you're a plumber and you don't do your job, you don't get any work. I don't think the plumber needs a pep talk. If a doctor botches operations, he's not a doctor anymore. If you're a basketball player, you come ready. It's called maturity. It's your job."
Sports on 12/10/2016