SALT LAKE CITY — Dwight Howard’s mom cried when her son jokingly told her he signed with Utah Jazz this past summer, and the Mannequin Challenge won’t stop one Lamar basketball player from practicing. More fun stories from the world of sports in this week’s From Left Field.

Dwight Howard’s mom cried when he jokingly told her he signed with Utah Jazz this past summer

Free agency is always a crazy, and you never know where a star player will be heading to play.

This past summer, center Dwight Howard signed a three-year, $70.5 million deal with his hometown team Atlanta Hawks. After Howard signed with the Hawks, he decided to pull a quick prank on his mom…at the expense of the Utah Jazz.

Howard told CBS Radio’s “The Doug Gottlieb Show”:

“I played a prank on my mom. I wanted to see her reaction, so I told her, I said, 'Mom, I just got this big contract, $150 million.' And she was like, 'Oh my God, from who?' I said, 'Utah Jazz,' and she started crying. And I said, 'Mom, sorry, I was just joking, I'm coming home to Atlanta.' And then she was super happy and my family was super excited. The city has been great.”

Maybe she cried because she was happy her son got such a huge deal. But maybe it was that her son was going to a place where, quite frankly, not many big-name free agents go to.

A bit of a burn to the Jazz.

Howard and the Hawks will come to Vivint Smart Home Arena on November 25. We’ll see if some fans will remember Dwight’s prank at the Jazz’s expense.

You can listen to the interview here (at 0:36):

Mannequin Challenge won’t stop one Lamar basketball player from practicing

The “Mannequin Challenge” has swept the nation. For the most part, it feel like pro and college teams are getting into the fun.

But the Lamar men’s basketball put a practice twist to it.

When your team wants to do the #MannequinChallenge but it's Gameday... #PeckEm#FlyWithUs#StrongTogetherpic.twitter.com/n4XDApMpBt — Lamar Men's Hoops (@LamarMBB) November 11, 2016

Gotta get ready for the game. Nicely done. 

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