OFF THE WALL

Sharpe gets in confrontation with Grizzlies

Shannon Sharpe spends his days trading barbs with Skip Bayless on FS1’S “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed,” but the former NFL star turned sports commentator sparked a confrontation with multiple members of the Memphis Grizzlies during their Friday night game against the Los Angeles Lakers, writes Ben Golliver of The Washington Post.

The Lakers defeated the Grizzlies, 122-121, at Crypto.com Arena, using an improbable last-minute comeback to snap Memphis’ 11-game winning streak. Yet the action on the court took a back seat when Sharpe, who attended the game as a spectator and sat in a courtside seat across from the Grizzlies bench, exchanged words with Dillon Brooks, Steven Adams, Ja Morant and Morant’s

father, Tee Morant (above, right), during the halftime break. The back-and-forth shouting match lasted longer than 30 seconds before the Grizzlies exited to the locker room and Sharpe headed for the tunnel.

Sharpe (top left), a famously vocal supporter of Lebron James, told ESPN.COM that the conversation began when he told Brooks that he was too small to defend James. The Pro Football Hall of Famer added that he exchanged profanities with Brooks and that the Grizzlies’ contingent “didn’t want this smoke.” Sharpe returned to his seat after halftime.

“I ain’t talking about that,” said Brooks, who fouled out with nine points on 4-of-17 shooting against the Lakers. “You can ask him. He’s the blogger or whatever he is. I don’t really care about all that. Next question.”

The guard added later that he felt it was inappropriate for Sharpe to be allowed to remain in his seat after the altercation.

“A regular pedestrian like him? No,” Brooks said. “He should have never came back in the game, but it’s L.A.”

During the break between the third and fourth quarters, Tee Morant approached Sharpe and the two settled their differences with a hug. Tee Morant told Bleacher Report that he had “nothing but love” for Sharpe. After the game, a celebratory Sharpe pointed at several Grizzlies players and shared another round of laughs with Tee Morant.

“We just had a complete letdown in the second half,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. “(The Lakers) fueled the game with their fans and all that stuff, credit to them. We didn’t respond.”

Trivia question

On this date in 1989, the San Franciso 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16 in one of the more exciting Super Bowl (XXIII) finishes, with Joe Montana hitting John Taylor with the winning, 10-yard touchdown pass with just 34 seconds left. The 49ers went 92 yards in 11 plays for the go-ahead score. Legend says that before the drive, Montana pointed to the crowd and said, “Hey, isn’t that ...?” He is credited with loosening up the offense, especially high-strung offensive tackle Harris Barton. Whom did Montana point out?

He said it

From Ja Morant, when asked postgame about the altercation: “Let me think. Nah. I ain’t going to address that. I’m going to let him lay over there.”

Trivia answer

Montana pointed to the late actor John Candy. Barton had been coming up to Montana all week to excitedly tell him of celebrity sightings.