Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with Frank Reich, Jimmy Butler Posted in Tennessee Titans

Meet Frank Reich, new head coach of the Colts

The Indianapolis Colts were thrown for a loop when Josh McDaniels, their first choice for their head-coaching vacancy, decided to stay with the New England Patriots. Now after starting their search over again, they settled on Frank Reich as their new head coach, the Colts announced Sunday. Reich is fresh off winning a Super Bowl ring as offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles.

“The way we like to look at this is, we are doing every possible thing with cameras and technology to keep things secure all the way up to that locker room door,” Lanier said, via Graziano. “Then we rely on our partners from our clubs, and that would be the Patriots and the Eagles that are here, to make sure with everything that goes on inside that locker room, they keep safe.”

C. Martin Mauricio Ortega, who was credentialed media for Super Bowls XLIX, 50, and LI, was able to make off with Brady’s jerseys from XLIX and LI. He took Von Miller’s helmet after Miller’s MVP performance in the Broncos’ win over the Panthers in Super Bowl 50.

The FBI got involved and was able to track down the stolen memorabilia in Mexico. The stolen items were returned to Brady and Miller.

He was almost traded this offseason, but he ended up staying with the Patriots. He played in 16 games, starting in 15 of them. He had two interceptions, 12 pass deflections, and three forced fumbles.

There’s no telling what Butler’s future with the team will be, but between this past offseason and benching him during the Super Bowl, it doesn’t seem like he might be around much longer.

The Chicago Bulls came out of the All-Star break intent on starting a youth movement. The Minnesota Timberwolves readied for a final sprint to the playoffs and breaking the franchise’s long postseason absence.

Minnesota is now hoping for the best for Jimmy Butler, Chicago’s one-time star.

Butler left Friday’s game in Houston with an injured right knee. Butler went down in the third quarter and had to be helped off the court in the Timberwolves’ 120-102 loss.

An X-ray on the injured knee came back negative, according to Yahoo’s Shams Charania.

Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with Chuck Pagano, NFL Scouting Combine Posted in Tennessee Titans

2018 NBA All-Star Game halftime show: Pharrell Williams, N.E.R.D, and Migos were awesome

N.E.R.D, starring famous hitmaker Pharrell Williams, put on a highly enjoyable halftime show at the 2018 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles. Unlike the many overproduced T.V. musical performances, the N.E.R.D sessions was quick, varied, and really fun.

Whatever Skateboard P and N.E.R.D cook up will surely outshine whatever it is that Kevin Hart and friends did during the intros.

Lynch and the 49ers want to determine — with the help of the courts and the NFL — whether Foster is guilty of the domestic violence charge. If so, they then must decide whether to cut him under a no tolerance policy or give him a second chance to get his act together.

According to NFL.com, Brees and the Saints will meet at the NFL Scouting Combine to potentially finalize a short-term contract. If the Saints can’t sign the 39-year-old by March 14, his contract becomes void and counts $18 million in dead cap space against the Saints.

The report says the two sides could be working on a deal in the $20 million to $25 million range annually. Brees has continually stated that he’d like to finish his career in New Orleans.

“Especially on medical issues and that type of thing, we can get updates from them, see how things are going and get very specific, very detailed reports as we go forward,” Reich told co-host Bill Polian and me Tuesday night on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I’m just really kind of getting into the process of seeing what that will look like, how often we’ll get those reports and how things will progress.”

Reich’s freshness to the job — he was officially hired 10 days ago after New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels backed out of a verbal commitment to become Indianapolis’ next head coach — is one of the reasons he isn’t offering a definitive timetable of when Luck will return to the field.

Doing so last year blew up in the face of Colts owner Jim Irsay and then-head coach Chuck Pagano, both of whom maintained that Luck would be able to play in 2017 after undergoing shoulder surgery the previous January.

Luck missed the entire preseason, experienced soreness when trying to throw in October and was subsequently placed on injured reserve. Luck then traveled to Europe for further medical treatment.

Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with 2018 Winter Olympics Posted in New England Patriots

The decision by the NHL not to take a break during its season to participate in the Olympics sent shockwaves through the hockey world last year.

We’re down to the final four teams in 2018 Winter Olympics men’s hockey as the semifinals await Friday night. The tournament doesn’t have NHL players for the first time since 1994, which has opened the door to a competition where seemingly anything can happen.

The discord between the league and the International Olympic Committee forced national teams to turn elsewhere to fill their rosters for Pyeongchang, which gives this event a decidedly different feel from the past two decades.

The gold medal game is set for Sunday, Feb. 25 local time in Pyeongchang, but it’ll actually be Saturday, Feb. 24 in the United States. The schedule below is adjusted for Eastern time and reflects that time difference.

The tournament starts with the 12 teams divided into three groups of four for the preliminary stage. Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, and the Czech Republic are in Group A. Team USA, Olympic Athletes from Russia, Slovakia, and Slovenia are in Group B. Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Germany are in Group C.

Following the group stage, the teams are seeded from one to 12 for the playoff bracket based on the results. The top four teams automatically advance to the quarterfinals, with the other eight teams playing to fill the other four spots. From there, it’s a standard single-elimination tournament

How does the competition work?
There are eight competitors. They face off head-to-head in the first round, racing on identical courses simultaneously at each end of the floor. The winners from those four first-round battles move on to the second round, where they are paired off and go head-to-head again. The winners of those two semifinal matches go head-to-head in the championship round. The winner gets a trophy, eternal glory, and a lifetime supply of mild sauce packets.

That is a lot of skills testing.
Each run takes less than a minute, but for the two finalists, it’s a lot of physical activity in the middle of All-Star Weekend. For this reason, you will often notice veteran players plod through it to ensure they do not advance.

Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain Posted in Tennessee Titans

Ryan Braun has never been a fan of spring training, but he’ll have plenty of work to keep him busy this year.

The Milwaukee left fielder reported to camp Monday to prepare for his 12th big league season. And for the first time since his rookie campaign in 2007, he’ll be taking ground balls as the Brewers try to get him work at first base.

Moving Braun became an option when Milwaukee acquired outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich in January. Their additions created a logjam in an already-crowded outfield, so to help ease the situation, general manager David Stearns and manager Craig Counsell approached Braun about potentially playing first base.

In terms of power conference teams, the Florida State Seminoles (in overtime over Clemson) and Providence Friars (who handed Villanova its second loss in three games) both picked up crucial wins on Wednesday night to edge themselves closer to safety. On the flip side, the Kentucky Wildcats, losers of four in a row, Butler Bulldogs, in the midst of a three-game skid, and TCU Horned Frogs, who last won consecutive games on Dec. 18 and 22, are all headed in the wrong direction.

Braun didn’t have to do much rehabbing work during the offseason and reported to camp with no health issues. With the Brewers poised to challenge for a postseason berth, he’s ready for a new challenge.

The United States team of Alex Shibutani and Maia Shibutani is slated to go 18th in the order, followed by the U.S. team of Evan Bates and Madison Chock. At No. 22, Zachary Donohue and Madison Hubbell, the final U.S. pair, will hit the ice. There are 24 entrants in total.

The first pairing up is Michal Ceska and Cortney Mansorova of Czech Republic, dancing to a samba, rhumba, samba. Their technical score was a 29.11, and their overall score was a 53.53, short of their season’s best of 54.94. Up next is Maxim Nikittin and Alexandra Nazarova of Ukraine.

Skating to the rhumba and mambo and with a season best of 63.33, Nikittin and Nazarova had a lively start. The 2015 World Championships bronze medalists had a technical score of 27.26 and finished with a 57.97, taking over first place. Up next is the par of Joti Polizoakis and Kavita Lorenz.

Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with Cam Newton Posted in Denver Broncos

At least for a week, let the whispers about the old guy stop.

While Cam Newton was being examined for an injury following a hit, Blake Bortles was making turnover after turnover after turnover and Mike Glennon was drawing social-media pleas that he be replaced by rookie Mitch Trubisky, Tom Brady was old dependable again.

The New England Patriots’ 40-year-old QB, fresh off a season-opening stinker, looked like the five-time Super Bowl winner against the New Orleans Saints. Just how good was he? How about historically good?

Bortles had a dismal day for the Jaguars, with two interceptions and a lost fumble. Glennon’s two interceptions are likely to prompt calls for Trubisky, the second overall pick in the NFL draft.

Former Redskins running back Clinton Portis agrees that a playmaking wide receiver is a need — but only after the team finds an explosive running back with 4.3 speed who can make meaningful gains on first and second downs. That ought to be the Redskins’ top offseason priority, Portis believes, even if they continue developing Samaje Perine and get a healthy Chris Thompson back for third-down situations.

Pro Football Focus, whose grading system provides one outside gauge of NFL players’ productivity, attests to the Redskins’ injury-ravaged season at running back.

Of the six backs graded, only Perine, a rookie from Oklahoma, played enough snaps to earn a statistically meaningful grade (46.3 on a 100-point scale). Of the remaining five, late-season signee Kapri Bibbs earned the highest marks (62.8). In limited duty, Rob Kelley and Byron Marshall showed promise.

Yet all those priorities take a back seat to quarterback if Cousins doesn’t return.

Aaron Rodgers did it to the Cowboys again. Was there any doubt when he took the field Sunday for that final drive that he would guide the Packers to at least a tying FG attempt? He and the Packers got the winning TD, however, and they continue to pile up victories as some of their injured offensive contributors begin to return. Rookie RB Aaron Jones looks capable of helping out considerably.

Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with Ben McAdoo Posted in Denver Broncos

The Chiefs have pulled things together with three straight wins.

The Falcons still can reach the playoffs with a victory over the Panthers or a Seahawks loss. But this simply is not the same offense that it was last season. And this season is bound to end in disappointing fashion for Atlanta, whether it’s this coming weekend or soon thereafter.

But it’s still impossible to forget that 1-6 stretch of miserable play, and nearly as impossible to envision them being a major factor in the AFC playoffs.

Thomas was a top recruit coming out of high school, but a mixture of depth chart obstacles and a season-ending injury in 2015 kept him out of the starting lineup until 2016. He has a lighter build but thrives as a weak-side defender in Florida State’s scheme. He has good speed chasing down ball carriers, speed that helps him thrive in coverage, as well.

This is getting really bad. A season of high hopes has come completely undone with five straight losses. WR Mike Evans was suspended for one game by the league for his ill-advised hit Sunday on the Saints’ Marshon Lattimore after Lattimore had his helmet poked by Jameis Winston from the Buccaneers’ sideline. Winston is being shut down for the time being because of his ailing shoulder. He looked like anything but a leader during his interaction with Lattimore. Ryan Fitzpatrick to the rescue? Don’t count on it.

Did the Giants quit during Sunday’s lopsided defeat to the Rams? It’s a valid question. But it’s very, very difficult for anyone not in that locker room to know. Either way, it was a very bad look and it provides further evidence that Coach Ben McAdoo is having some serious issues. At least McAdoo is staying with Eli Manning as the starter at QB.

But nothing is guaranteed after that, given that the NFL has left open the possibility of enforcing Elliott’s suspension in a given week even if the appeals court lifts the injunction late in that week.

Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with Kareem Hunt Posted in Denver Broncos

That’s not breaking news, but it’s also not the reason for his historic shooting season, if he keeps up this pace.

The Cowboys have a record of 5-3. They are 2? games behind the first-place Eagles in the NFC East but in the thick of the chase for a wild-card spot. They plan to divide playing time and carries among backup running backs Alfred Morris, Darren McFadden and Rod Smith in Elliott’s absence. Elliott led the NFL in rushing last season as a rookie and ranks second this season, behind Chiefs rookie Kareem Hunt, entering this weekend’s play.

Elliott’s suspension is without pay and would cost him just over $559,192, or six-seventeenths of his 2017 salary of $1,584,379.

Entering Saturday, Curry’s true shooting percentage sits at 67.5. He’s once again leading the league in made 3s per game and hitting over 40 percent, just as he has done every year of his career. Add in the unmatched gravity from pretty much anywhere inside the hashmarks and it’s clear that the 3-ball remains the key to unlocking everything else.

Is it possible for the Eagles to regroup following the season-ending knee injury suffered by QB Carson Wentz and still reach the Super Bowl? Yes — fill-in QB Nick Foles is capable of playing well. The Eagles were the league’s best and most balanced team for most of the season and they have home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. But does it seem likely that the Eagles will reach the Super Bowl without Wentz?

It wasn’t always this way. Young Jalen was competitive, sure, and when his father brought him to the fire department where he worked, he liked to watch professional wrestling with the firefighters and mimic Ric Flair and the anti-authority superstars from D-Generation X.

“He liked a lot of the bad guys,” said Lamont Ramsey, the player’s father. “The guys who put on the show.”

But most times, at least then, the kid was easygoing and quiet. He won a math bee in middle school and preferred to play tag and shoot Nerf guns with his nephews. When he reached Brentwood Academy in 11th grade, coaches would’ve barely noticed the young man had he not been so talented.

Posted by 0 Comments Tagged with DeAndre Jordan Posted in Denver Broncos

Clippers: C DeAndre Jordan missed his fifth straight game with a sprained left ankle, but could return soon.

“I think most of us believe that attempting to force the players to do something that they don’t want to do is not going to be effective in the long run,” New York Giants co-owner John Mara told The Washington Post. “I think the better policy going forward is to try to have dialogue with them and try to show them that we’re willing to work with them on some of these issues that all of us are concerned about. That’s been my philosophy with my team, and I think almost every other owner feels the same.”

But on the first Sunday of NFL games since the NFL reached its agreement with the Players Coalition, a group that includes Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins and former NFL wide receiver Anquan Boldin, it appears likely that protests during the national anthem before games will continue by some players, given divisions in the players’ ranks that were evident last week.

“There’s nothing in here about a mandate for players to cease exercising their right to protest,” Eagles defensive end Chris Long wrote last week on Twitter. “I wouldn’t associate myself if there were.”

Timberwolves: Improved to 3-0 against the Clippers this season. … Crawford sat out with a sprained left big toe in his second game at Staples Center since leaving the Clippers as a free agent last summer. He played all 82 games last season. “It’s still sore, but it’s improving,” he said. “I’m hopeful every day.”

His next game will tie Randy Smith (715) for the most in franchise history. … G Austin Rivers (right ankle) sat out his 10th straight game and could be two weeks from returning. … F Danilo Gallinari (left glute) is close to coming back. … G Jawun Evans missed the game with a sore abdominal muscle.

Goodell said the league’s plan would include “an in-season platform to promote the work of players” on social issues, “and that will help to promote positive change in our country.” One source told The Post’s Mark Maske that “there is no fixed proposal. We will have a discussion around all of these issues.”