admin / July 3, 2018

The 76ers are still interested in trading for disgruntled Spurs star Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard signed a five-year contract, worth more than $90 million, with the Spurs in 2015. But he appeared in just nine games for San Antonio in 2017-18 because of an injured right quad. He reportedly had a tense relationship with the team throughout his rehab process.

Leonard wants to be traded out of San Antonio, according to multiple reports. The Spurs are hoping to send him to an Eastern Conference team if they do decide to trade him, according to a report from USA Today earlier this week.

It’s not a big-guy league anymore, and DeAndre Jordan is pretty much just a shot blocker. You really can’t throw the ball to him in the post and have him get you big numbers every night. Plus the guys he’s going to be playing against are going to be shooting jumpers.

ESPN reported Thursday that the Mavericks have made Jordan their primary target as free agency nears, but he has to decide whether he will opt into the final year of his contract with the Clippers by 11:59 p.m. ET Friday. It’s possible he could pick up his $24.1 million player option for the 2018-19 season in an effort to facilitate a trade.

Free agency has always been enigmatic. Guys are going to make decisions that are best for them and their family. I just hope that they keep the competitive spirit, O’Neal added.

Cousins, a four-time All-Star, could meet with the Pelicans and Lakers on Sunday, but it is uncertain if such meetings would take place in person or over the phone. Cousins is currently in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama.

A first-time unrestricted free agent, Cousins might be a stronger target for the LeBron James-seeking Lakers after free-agent guard Paul George decided to re-sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Cousins averaged 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and a 35.4 percent 3-point shooting average last season in 48 games with the Pelicans. The two-time all-NBA selection, however, suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury on Jan. 26 against the Houston Rockets. Cousins has been rehabilitating primarily in his offseason home of Las Vegas and has previously told The Undefeated that he could be ready by the start of training camp.

I’m looking forward to starting the season, Cousins said. That’s my own personal goal, so we’ll see what happens. That’s what I’m working on. The doctors haven’t really given me an answer because of the time I injured myself and the amount of time that I have.

It’s basically open field because I have so much time. But for me, I’m shooting to be ready for training camp.

admin / June 27, 2018

They also pushed Noah Syndergaard from his scheduled start Sunday due to a strained finger ligament.

The offense has been a mess. It started the day with a.233 team batting average, or 24th best in the league. Its 231 runs was tied for third-least in baseball.

Frazier hasn’t been what the Mets had hoped, either, hitting.230 with five homers, 21 RBI and a.738 OPS. He has one hit in his last 19 at-bats.

Like anything there’s 32 different head coaches, 32 different offensive coordinators, Snead explained, and how they utilize their time with the QB before the snap is probably where the differences occur, where edges are gained or not. And really, really good coaches take advantage of that.

Edge is the key word here. It’s no coincidence that legendary coaches Bill Walsh and Don Shula each penned memoirs with edge in the title. The most advanced NFL minds have always pushed the boundaries in search of their fair advantage.

It’s the result of having a lot of good players and right now not having our DH (against the Mets), so somebody’s that’s normally an everyday player has to sit.

Considine told The Jersey Journal he has not met with Pesin yet but believes once he hears the proposal, I don’t know why he wouldn’t be an active supporter. He said traffic would be minimal because of a plan to add a rail stop to bring crowds from elsewhere in the state via train.

Liberty Rising is also the proposed name of the casino Liberty National owner Paul Fireman wants to build on a plot of land that would be across the water from the stadium. Considine said the two projects are not connected.

Owens is undoubtedly proud of the honor, too, as he acknowledged in the statement that he released. Still, he’d rather distance himself from the Hall rather than bond with other members of his exclusive club.

admin / June 25, 2018

Throw in the experience you get from veteran backup running back Jonathan Stewart and the support Wayne Gallman offers after a strong rookie season in the backfield, and Manning’s supporting cast is suddenly loaded. 

In fact, we’re probably not giving this unit enough credit for its potential. That’s because Beckham is still coming off a significant ankle injury that derailed his 2017 season after three straight monster years to start his career, Engram could easily experience a sophomore slump, and we’ve yet to see Barkley actually play an NFL game. 

After all, McCaffrey is a running back. He led the team with 80 catches last season, and that number could increase now that quarterback Cam Newton won’t have Kelvin Benjamin from the get-go in 2018. 

Newton will still have Devin Funchess and Curtis Samuel at wide receiver and Greg Olsen at tight end, and he could benefit from the arrivals of free-agent pickup Torrey Smith and rookie first-round pick D.J. Moore, but nobody listed above looks like an elite No. 1 wideout right now. 

They don’t get a lot of points at tight end, where projected starter Josh Hill doesn’t move the needle, but they can make up for that elsewhere. It’ll help if veteran free-agent addition Ben Watson can excel with Brees throwing his way. 

If the big three stay hot and someone else emerges, Brees might have the best collection of weapons in football in 2018. 

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan continues to benefit from having one of the best receiving duos and one of the best rushing duos in the league, and this year there’s a little more promise.

While you might have thought in March that the Falcons would miss departed No. 3 receiver Taylor Gabriel, they erased those fears in April when they used a first-round pick on highly touted Alabama product Calvin Ridley. If the polished 23-year-old can make an impact from the get-go, the combination of Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu and Ridley might be the best receiving trio in the NFL.

admin / June 22, 2018

Reports that Patriots receiver Julian Edelman faces a PED suspension but that he still has unresolved appeal rights represent the latest example of player confidentiality taking a back seat to the rush to be FIRST. Eventually, the NFL Players Association will use one of these cases as the impetus for effecting change by pushing for a full investigation as to who broke the NFL’s clear policy prohibiting premature disclosures of PED and substance-abuse penalties.

Because, one, people like to talk even when they shouldn’t and, two, plenty of reporters and outlets are willing to disregard player confidentiality in the name of beating a competitor to the punch.

Reflecting on what transpired last year — and we did play against some good defenses early in the year, I will say — but I think we have to know we have to bring it a little more than them, Foster said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. As great as Le’Veon is, we have to supplement what he does also. We have to make his job a lot easier. The fact that he’s not here, all of us are OK with that because we know what he’s bringing to the table. He comes right every year. He might take time to get going, but we have to be better prepared for that.

It’s the sort of thing that may be easier said than done given Bell’s outsize role in the Steelers offense, but all current signs suggest it is one that the Steelers will have to do all the same.

And, after Thursday, how they get along in the trenches until they finally line up against somebody else.

Myles Garrett doesn’t know much about winning.

admin / June 21, 2018

Miguel Cabrera left Tuesday’s game against the Twins with a left biceps tendon strain.

Manager Rod Gardenhire announced after the game, Cabrera is done for the season with a ruptured biceps tendon.

Shazier walked into the media room with help of a cane and spent 20 minutes outlining his journey since he lowered his head to hit Bengals wide receiver Josh Malone in the first quarter on Dec. 4. He called the moment after impact when he grabbed the small of his back while his legs lay motionless a little scary, but was quick to thank emergency responders in Cincinnati for their delicate work on the field in the immediate aftermath.

He underwent spine stabilization surgery on Dec. 6 and has spent the intervening months remaining adamant he would play again while being a fixture at the team’s practice facility, where he has become a de facto coach. It’s a role he’s embracing, but one he’s not quite ready to accept on a full-time basis.

Steelers’ Ryan Shazier walks on stage in emotional draft moment

Just because I got hurt doesn’t mean I’m going to stop loving the game of football, said Shazier, who added that despite the injury he’s going to give it everything I have in an effort to return to play.

I prepared myself for today, Farquhar told reporters, per MLB.com. The thing that caught me off guard was the whole team coming out to the mound.

Farquhar told ABC’s Good Morning America that doctors have called him a miracle and told him he is lucky to be as functional as he is after suffering the hemorrhage, which was caused by a ruptured aneurysm.

Farquhar, 31, is working to resume his career next year. He will miss the remainder of the 2018 major league season.

Chris Long gave his entire year’s salary to educational initiatives, read a notecard Jenkins held up. Colin Kaepernick gave $1 million to charity. Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon, Matt Slater and Johnson Bebeski lobbied to raise the age from 7 to 12 entering the criminal justice system.

He touched on racial problems in the United States, which the protests during the national anthem are intended to shed light on.

In Love Actually fashion directed to a deeply serious issue, Jenkins wrote: In 2018, 439 people shot and killed by police (thus far). Any given night 500,000 sit in jail convicted? No. Too poor? Yes.

admin / June 20, 2018

Jets linebacker Avery Williamson left the Titans in free agency mostly because the Jets offered more money. But he also likes the Jets’ offer of more playing time.

Although Williamson started all 16 games for the Titans last season, they took him out in a lot of situations, and he only played 60 percent of Tennessee’s defensive snaps. He wasn’t happy about that.

After the state Legislature passed a measure to green light sports betting there was talk that Monmouth Park could begin accepting bets right away.

But the park’s operator, Dennis Drazin, said he would not do so without Murphy’s blessing.

Saxton spent part of last year with the Bills, and was on practice squad with Washington and the Jets the previous two years.

The policy has been rejected by parties on both sides of the line, as the NFLPA feels its voice was not heard and it was lied to about the possibility of a rule change.

Trump cancelled the Eagles ‘ Super Bowl celebration at the White House and used the opportunity to grandstand against protesting the anthem.

We’ve been supportive of those in the past who have decided to protest, Mara told Sirius XM, but I think we’ve gotten to a point now where it’s become such a divisive issue that I think it’s important that we come out of here with a policy that everybody can respect and adhere to.

Not enough playmakers? They have a healthy Odell Beckham Jr. (more on him, as always, in a minute), a dynamic tight end in Evan Engram and a capable slot receiver in Sterling Shepard.

Questionable coaching? They hired Pat Shurmur, a veteran offensive coordinator credited with making more out of less at every stop in his career.

admin / June 16, 2018

The Dolphins got a big bump in cap space on Friday and they’ve put a chunk of it to use signing members of their draft class.

The team announced the signing of four picks, including the previous reported deals for first-round defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick and sixth-round cornerback Cornell Armstrong. The unreported pacts were the team’s seventh-round picks — linebacker Quentin Poling and kicker Jason Sanders — and they are down to four unsigned picks.

Among young players in Washington, Guice has both the most potential impact and the most likely immediate impact on the squad.

Chambers suggested Parker was lacking hard work, dedication and technique in a recent Miami Herald story. After Chambers, who trains NFL players at his fitness center in Davie, Florida, listed Parker as the third-best receiver on the team’s roster, Parker responded by tweeting, Nobody cares about his opinion.

I do everything that the coaches tell me to do, Parker said. I just listen to what they say and they tell me what I need to do…. I come up here and just work hard every day. They tell me what I need to work on.

Sanders said that he thinks if Jerry Jones had realized Jason Witten was going to retire and Terrance Williams was going to get arrested this offseason, he wouldn’t have released Bryant. And now Sanders thinks Jones should bring Bryant back.

Let’s just apologize and say, ‘Dez, I’m sorry. I made a mistake. Come on back,’ Sanders said on 105.3 The Fan, via the Dallas Morning News. You didn’t know Jason Witten was getting ready to [retire]. You didn’t know this knucklehead [Williams] was getting ready to do what he did [when he] got out of the car and [ran] out of the Lamborghini.

admin / June 6, 2018