THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — As Los Angeles Rams linebacker Bobby Wagner prepares to return to Seattle to play his former team, he admitted Wednesday there would be “a lot of emotions” facing the Seahawks at Lumen Field on Sunday.
One of the reasons, he said, is that playing the Seahawks is “playing the organization that you felt gave up on you.”
Wagner felt disrespected by the way the Seahawks handled his release in March, expressing his indignation both on Twitter and privately to the team. He remained upset even after Seattle coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider took public blame for their roles in the matter, saying a few weeks later that Wagner deserved better given everything he’d meant to the Seahawks during his decade in Seattle.
The team had, in fact, told Wagner that he was being released before ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news. But Wagner had already caught wind of its plans to move on and go with younger players at inside linebacker.
“Yeah, that’s on me. I own that,” Schneider said at a March news conference.
Carroll interjected to take the blame himself, but Schneider continued: “No, it really is [on me]. I wish I could have handled things better in that regard from a communication standpoint. I owe it to him. The organization owes it to him.”
One factor in the mishap, according to Schneider, was that Wagner represents himself. Not having the buffer of an agent made the Seahawks wary of the potentially awkward dynamic of bringing Wagner back after telling him directly that they might move on. Carroll, who has final say in Seahawks personnel decisions, was in favor for much of the offseason of keeping Wagner and was holding out as long as possible, hoping to find a way.
Arguably the best defensive player in Seahawks history, Wagner owns the franchise’s all-time tackles record, and he made eight Pro Bowls and was named a first-team All-Pro six times. He was the last remaining player from the “Legion of Boom” defense that led Seattle to its lone Super Bowl title in 2014 and a captain of that unit six times.
“Too much respect to have something like that happen,” Schneider said in March. “We did speak with him. We did talk to him together. We walked through things. So it wasn’t like we didn’t speak with him. It was just the timing.”
In his introductory news conference with the Rams, Wagner said he had “no hatred” toward the Seahawks but lamented how they handled his release. He also took issue with the notion that not having an agent was a factor, calling that a “weak” explanation. He said the chance to play the Seahawks twice a year wasn’t his primary motivation in signing with the Rams, but it was “a cherry on top.”
In the teams’ first matchup in Week 13 — a 27-23 victory for Seattle — Wagner had his best game of the season, with two sacks and an interception. Afterward, Wagner went over to the Seahawks locker room, catching up with former teammates as well as Carroll.
“He’s had a great season, especially the first time we played him,” Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf said Wednesday. “It looked like he was all over the field, making sacks, catching picks.
“I know this is going to be a big game for him just to be back up here playing in Seattle.”
Wagner said that when he is on the field in Seattle, he’ll allow himself to feel “the energy,” “the crowd” and “the moments that I had there.”
“It’s going into a stadium I’ve been thousands of times, played hundreds of times,” Wagner said Wednesday. “And to be in a position to spoil their playoff hopes is always a good position, something worth playing for. And it will be fun to go back there, be back in front of those fans that I spent so much time [around]. And it should be a fun game.”
Wagner’s final game with Seattle at Lumen Field came in Week 17 last season, when he injured his knee on the first play. He missed the rest of that contest as well as the Seahawks’ season finale at the Arizona Cardinals with the injury.
“For me, my last time I played there wasn’t a great one,” Wagner said. “So, I’m just blessed to be able to have an opportunity to not have that be my last play at that field.”
Rams linebacker Ernest Jones, who has spoken at length about how much he has learned from Wagner since the veteran signed in Los Angeles, said Monday that being able to help Wagner beat the Seahawks would mean a lot. The Rams came close in Week 13 but lost after Geno Smith threw a touchdown with 36 seconds remaining.
“It means everything for me,” Jones said. “That Seattle game, I really wanted that for him because I just know, for somebody to be in a certain situation for as long as they were and mean so much to a city and a team like that. … The way he was let go, I felt like wasn’t right. So for me, I definitely want to get him this win.
“I definitely want him to get the last say so, get that last ‘ha-ha’ against Seattle. So for me, this is a big week, bigger than most because it’s Seattle.”
When asked Wednesday how he hoped Seahawks fans would welcome Wagner in his return, Carroll said, “I think they’re going to welcome him back.”
“I just think that’s what’ll happen, and then if he makes a tackle or something, maybe they don’t give him as much love,” said Carroll, who coached Wagner in his first 10 seasons. “I don’t know. He’s going to make some hits in this game. He’s playing good ball and doing good stuff. They’ll do the right thing. Whatever it is, they’ll do it.”
Not only can Wagner and the Rams spoil the Seahawks’ playoff hopes, Wagner also can break the Rams’ single-season record for tackles if he tallies 10 on Sunday. He has had at least 10 tackles in a game four times this season.
The life-threatening injury to Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills during a Monday night game in Cincinnati against the Bengals resonated around the league and the world of sports.
Here’s what to know:
What happened?
In the first quarter of the game, Hamlin, a 24-year-old safety, tackled Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, taking him to the ground. Hamlin stood up after the tackle and took two steps but then collapsed to the turf. Higgins was not hurt.
Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and was administered CPR, and his heartbeat was revived on the field. He was then taken to the hospital in critical condition. The information on his condition was released by the team and was more candid than typical N.F.L. injury reports.
After about an hour, and through conflicting reports about whether play might resume, the game was postponed indefinitely.
Fans were reliant on the game’s broadcaster, ESPN, for news about a terrifying injury rather than scores and highlights. “It was a nightmare,” said Joe Buck, the game’s play-by-play announcer. “It certainly was nothing that anyone is ever prepared for. You have all that hype and buildup, and everyone can’t wait to watch this matchup, and in the snap of a finger it’s completely different. Football just goes out the window.”
How is Hamlin now?
The doctors treating Hamlin said on Thursday that he was “awake and breathing,” and was able to communicate by writing on Wednesday night, asking who won the game between the Bills and Bengals.
The University of Cincinnati Medical Center doctors, Timothy A. Pritts and William Knight, told reporters during a news conference on Thursday that the communication was a positive sign.
More on Damar Hamlin’s Collapse
Pritts said Hamlin was moving his hands and feet, but that it was “truly too early” to determine whether Hamlin might make a full recovery and perhaps return to professional football.
“While still critically ill, he has demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact,” the Bills said on Thursday morning. “His lungs continue to heal and he is making steady progress.”
What caused the cardiac arrest?
It is not yet known why Hamlin’s heart stopped. But cardiac experts said the blow to his chest may have sent his heart into an arrhythmia. That injury is unusual: The chest must be struck in a brief moment — about 20 milliseconds — while the heart is relaxing.
Who is Damar Hamlin?
Hamlin is from McKees Rocks, Pa., and went to college at nearby Pittsburgh. He was a sixth-round draft pick in 2021 and became a starter for the Bills in September 2022.
While in college, he organized a toy drive. In the aftermath of his injury, about 200,000 people have combined to contribute more than $6 million to it, including the star quarterbacks Tom Brady and Russell Wilson, among many others. Jordon Rooney, a marketing representative for Hamlin, has said the money will go to Hamlin’s charitable foundation.
“Whether it was adversity or high times, working for his charity, or helping an athlete or student of lesser caliber,” said Terry Totten, his high school coach at Central Catholic. “Whatever it was, he was steady, calm and confident in himself. A true leader by example. He’s an incredible person.”
What has the reaction been?
Players returned to practice on Wednesday, and some said Hamlin’s injury was prompting reflection and conversation about his health and the risks players take with injuries.
Calais Campbell, a veteran defensive end for the Baltimore Ravens, said it was “just natural” to ask whether playing football was worth its dangers.
“You wouldn’t be doing yourself justice if you didn’t contemplate the risk that you were taking and ask if you want to keep putting yourself in that position,” Campbell said. Referring to the hit Hamlin took before his heart stopped beating, Campbell said, “I keep thinking that I’ve tackled like that hundreds of times and I’ve been fine. But what if I’m not fine the next time?”
Giants safety Julian Love, who met Hamlin as they considered which college teams to play for, said Hamlin’s injury was not easy to compartmentalize.
“A lot of people in this building have never seen something like that,” he said. “Ever in football. And so it’s a very freak thing. I’m not gonna sit here and say it’s not hard to push forward.”
President Biden, speaking Wednesday after arriving back at the White House from a trip to Kentucky, told reporters that he had spoken with Hamlin’s mother and father. Asked if he believed the N.F.L. was getting too dangerous, Biden said: “I don’t know how you avoid it. I don’t.”
Where does the game stand?
The game was halted after nine minutes with the Bengals ahead, 7-3. The league has said the game would not resume this week; that leaves it with several options, none of them ideal.
It could shift the playoff schedule forward to get the remainder of the game in, call the game a tie, cancel it entirely, or award it to the Bengals, among other possibilities.
The game is important from a competitive perspective: It could have a significant impact on which team gets the A.F.C.’s No. 1 seed and a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
The games scheduled for this weekend — the last week of the regular season — are for now moving forward as planned. The Bengals said Wednesday afternoon that they planned to play the Ravens on Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern.
CINCINNATI – The show of support around Cincinnati for Damar Hamlin now includes a large effort involving the wife of Bengals head coach Zac Taylor.
Sarah Taylor is leading the charge of grade-school students in Cincinnati who are writing get-well cards for the Bills safety who remains hospitalized at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Approximately 40 schools that are among those writing well wishes for Hamlin, who suffered a cardiac arrest during Monday’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills.
The effort for the Hamlin letters originated out of Cardinal Pacelli, the Catholic school where Taylor’s four children currently attend.
Terri Cento, the school principal, said the efforts from the Taylors and those around the area is not a surprise.
“The city of Cincinnati really does rally around problems and things that happen and this is just one example of how this tragic event happened, but so much positivity has come from it,” Cento told ESPN.
Cento said an email was sent out to parents on Tuesday about the plan to send letters to Hamlin.
Hamlin has shown “remarkable improvement” since he suffered a cardiac arrest and had his heartbeat restored on the field following a tackle, the team announced Thursday.
When students returned from the Christmas break on Wednesday, the efforts to write positive notes to Hamlin went into full swing, Canto said. Most teachers used time during religious classes to write a few cards.
On social media, Taylor let people know that she was working with as many schools as possible to get cards gathered for Hamlin.
Since Monday night, Zac and Sarah Taylor, who wasn’t available for comment Thursday, have been among those who have shown concern for Hamlin and his family in the wake of the incident.
Cincinnati’s fourth-year coach was spotted visiting the hospital just hours after Hamlin was transported to the facility less than four hours away from Paycor Stadium.
“Certainly we’re pulling for Damar,” Taylor said in an opening statement to reporters on Wednesday, his first comments since the game was postponed. “Hoping for the most positive outlook and looking forward to him seeing all the support he’s getting from his team, his community, people around the league, his family. That will be a great day when he’s able to see that.”
In addition to the support the Bengals have provided, those around Cincinnati have continued to pay tribute to Hamlin as he continues treatment under intensive care. The Bengals’ stadium, like many around the country, has been illuminated in blue lights. Several notable buildings in downtown Cincinnati have done the same.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow praised Taylor’s actions as the events unfolded.
“I was proud in that moment to be playing for a guy like Zac,” Burrow said. “He handled it as good as you can in that position, and as well as, you know, the medical professionals, the doctors and trainers from both sides.”
Buffalo Bills statement on Damar Hamlin: “While still critically ill, he has demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact. His lungs continue to heal and he is making steady progress.”
Last Updated: 05/01/23 4:03pm
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin
Damar Hamlin has shown “remarkable improvement” in the last 24 hours but remains critical after suffering a cardiac arrest during Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Buffalo Bills said on Thursday.
Hamlin collapsed after tackling Bengals receiver Tee Higgins midway through the first quarter of Monday’s game and underwent CPR for approximately 10 minutes before he was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
“Per the physicians caring for Damar Hamlin at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Damar has shown remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours,” the statement said.
“While still critically ill, he has demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact. His lungs continue to heal and he is making steady progress.
“We are grateful for the love and support we have received.”
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NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Hamlin opened his eyes on Wednesday night and has been able to grip the hands of those with him.
The Bills had stated earlier on Wednesday that Hamlin was showing signs of improvement but remained in critical condition in the ICU.
An incredible league-wide response has seen coaches and players pay tribute to the 24-year-old, whose toy drive GoFundMe page set up in 2020 as part of his Chasing M’s Foundation has seen donations eclipse an initial target of $2,500 by reaching upwards of $7m.
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“The outpouring of support for Damar across the nation has been amazing,” said Hamlin’s representation Agency 1 Sports on Thursday. “Thank you for the calls, messages and emails.
“Damar has made substantial improvement overnight. We are so thankful for all of the first responders, doctors and hospital staff and every one who has played a role in this process.
“Please continue to pray for Damar and we will provide updates as they are available.”
This is a breaking news story that is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh this page for the latest updates.
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Adam Gorney
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SAN ANTONIO – Four hats will be on the table Saturday when Malik Elzy makes his college commitment.The four-star receiver from Chicago (Ill.) Simeon has love for all four programs and there is a di…
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Former manager at a Fortune 100 financial services company, now living my dream creating fantasy and sports betting content about the NFL, NBA, and WNBA for ESPN.
Read ESPN’s fantasy football Daily Notes every weekday to stay caught up on the news you need to know and get a head start on the fantasy football content coming today and tomorrow to ESPN.com and the ESPN Fantasy App.
The news: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was limited in Wednesday’s practice.
What it means in fantasy: Hurts has missed the Eagles’ last two games with a shoulder injury, resulting in consecutive losses. During Wednesday’s walkthrough, he practiced with the first-team offense. Despite returning to practice last Thursday (Week 17), Hurts was ruled out against the Saints, but he is likely to play this week as the Eagles try to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff race by beating the Giants. He can be viewed as a high-end QB1 against New York. Hurts has averaged 26.4 fantasy points per game.
The news: Bears QB Justin Fields has been ruled out against the Vikings in Week 18 due to a hip injury.
What it means in fantasy: Fields sustained the injury against the Lions in Week 17. Nathan Peterman will start against the Vikings. His last start came with the Bills back in 2018. Despite the favorable matchup against the Vikings’ secondary, fantasy managers shouldn’t include Peterman in their lineups this week. Fields finishes his second season 64 yards shy of surpassing Lamar Jackson‘s single-season rushing record (1,206 yards).
The news: Cowboys RB Tony Pollard returned to practice in full on Wednesday.
What it means in fantasy: Pollard missed practice last week and the Cowboys’ Thursday Night Football matchup against the Titans with a thigh injury. The fact that he participated fully on Wednesday implies he will be ready to suit up against the Commanders in Week 18 in a crucial matchup that will influence the playoff positioning and the winner of the NFC East. Pollard can be viewed as a mid-range RB2.
Going deeper: This season, Pollard accumulated 1,359 total yards and 12 touchdowns and was named to his first Pro Bowl. Six of his past seven games have seen him score 14 or more fantasy points, including four with 20 or more.
The news: Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III did not practice on Wednesday due to an illness and an ankle injury.
What it means in fantasy: While Walker III has played through an ankle injury for weeks, fantasy managers should make note of this development. The game has playoff implications as the Seahawks can clinch a spot if they beat the Rams and the Lions to beat the Packers on Sunday Night Football. It is possible that DeeJay Dallas could fill the void if Walker III is ruled out, but he did not practice on Wednesday either.
Going deeper: Walker needs only 64 yards and a touchdown to reach 1,000 yards and 10 TDs for the season. The three rookie running backs to accomplish this feat are Jonathan Taylor (2020), Saquon Barkley (2018), and Ezekiel Elliott (2016).
The news: Cardinals RB James Conner did not practice on Wednesday due to knee and shin injuries.
What it means in fantasy: The Cardinals have been eliminated from playoff contention, so Conner is a candidate to be ruled out against the 49ers on Sunday. Conner is still under contract with Arizona heading into 2023, so keeping him healthy should be a priority. In the event that Conner is ruled out, Corey Clement and Keontay Ingram would form a running back by committee for the Cardinals.
The news: Giants RB Saquon Barkley mentioned publicly that he plans on playing against the Eagles on Sunday.
What it means in fantasy: Fantasy managers should prepare as if Barkley is not playing despite his comments. Head coach Brian Daboll could rest him now that the Giants have clinched their first postseason berth since 2016. In Week 18, fantasy managers can pivot to Matt Breida.
Going deeper: Breida has seen 14 or more touches in 11 career regular-season games, averaging 94.4 total yards per game.
The news: Commanders RBs Brian Robinson Jr. and Antonio Gibson did not practice on Wednesday due to their respective injuries.
What it means in fantasy: Gibson, who missed Week 17 against the Browns, has a knee and ankle injury. Robinson’s injury is not documented. As the Commanders are already eliminated from postseason contention, both running backs could be ruled out against the Cowboys in Week 18. Additionally, a cynic might point out that a win could alter Washington’s NFL draft position in 2023. In the event that Robinson and Gibson are unable to play, Jonathan Williams would be the Commanders’ lead back.
The news: Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett did not practice on Wednesday.
What it means in fantasy: Lockett injured his leg against the Jets in Week 17 after returning from a hand injury. While he returned to the game, Lockett is still having some trouble with the injury as the Seahawks prepare to play the Rams in Week 18. The Seahawks need a win this week to stay in playoff contention, so Lockett will likely push to play. More clarity will be provided by his practice statuses on Thursday and Friday. Lockett should be viewed as a flex option due to his risk of re-injury. Until Week 17, he had scored 10 or more fantasy points in eight consecutive games, including five with 15 or more.
The news: Cardinals WR Marquise Brown will play against the 49ers in Week 18.
What it means in fantasy: Brown is dealing with a wrist injury, but head coach Kliff Kingsbury said the wide receiver will be active, which implies the injury is not serious. Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins will not play against the 49ers due to a knee injury. Colt McCoy is out for the season due to a concussion, so quarterback David Blough will make his second start in Week 18. Brown can be viewed as a flex option by fantasy managers setting lineups this week.
The news: Chargers QB Justin Herbert was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice.
What it means in fantasy: There are two things fantasy managers should know. First, Herbert’s status is only an estimation since the Chargers chose to go with a walkthrough on Wednesday. He was listed with a shoulder injury to his non-throwing shoulder. Second, fantasy managers should have a contingency plan because the Chargers play the Broncos on Sunday afternoon in the second wave of NFL games. If the Bengals defeat the Ravens, Los Angeles will be locked into a wild card spot, and head coach Brandon Staley may choose not to use his starters. Those who were planning to start Herbert could switch to Russell Wilson or Brock Purdy in that scenario.
The news: Commanders head coach Ron Rivera mentioned that rookie QB Sam Howell will start against the Cowboys.
What it means in fantasy: Multiple sources indicated the Commanders favored starting Taylor Heinicke and having Howell play relief until late Wednesday morning. Carson Wentz will be inactive. Keeper and dynasty fantasy managers should keep Howell on their radar, especially those participating in two quarterbacks or superflex formats. He is the only quarterback on the current Commanders’ active roster that is signed for the 2023 season. Howell is on the QB2 radar for fantasy managers looking to use him in Week 18.
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CHRIS HATCHER REMEMBERS the first time he knew Kirby Smart was going to be a great defensive coach.
Hatcher, the current coach at Samford, was hiring his first staff at Valdosta State in 2000, and had used up much of his salary pool for assistants before hiring a secondary coach. His defensive coordinator, Will Muschamp, who was pulling down a cool $31,000, suggested they use their last $8,000 to hire someone he trusted.
Muschamp reached out to Smart, who had played with him as a defensive back at Georgia and finished his career with 13 interceptions. But there were three that jumped out to Hatcher.
“I knew who Kirby was because I was the quarterback coach at Kentucky for Tim Couch, and I think Kirby picked him off like three times in a game,” Hatcher said of Smart’s role in the Dawgs’ 23-13 win over Kentucky in 1997. “We knew we were hiring Kirby no matter what, because we just had that money left, but Will and I decided that it’d be good for him to come down, put the suit on and interview and do it right.”
So he put his new candidate in front of the whiteboard and asked him to diagram the Georgia base defense that Kirby had run as a player.
“He got out there and he drew up the diagrams and he backed up,” Hatcher said. “He’s sweating, and Will and I are laughing, and I finally said, ‘Coach, that looks good, but if you play with 11 men, you got a better chance of stopping ’em.’”
Smart, who had left a player off, nervously drew the last guy in and apologized. (For the record, Hatcher knows Muschamp tells the story with 12 men instead of 10. While they both agree Kirby was off by one guy, Hatcher insists the way he remembers is correct.)
“I told everybody, if he was confident in stopping ’em with 10, I was like, man, there’s no telling what he’d do if he played with 11,” Hatcher said.
Hatcher knows Smart will need all 11 on Monday night when Georgia takes on upstart TCU for the College Football Playoff National Championship (7:30 ET, Monday, ESPN/ESPN app). Because he’s also one of the guys most responsible for teaching the Air Raid offense to Horned Frogs coach Sonny Dykes.
For a five-year period from 1997 to 2002, Hatcher lived with Dykes for three years then worked with Smart for two. Hatcher and Dykes joined Hal Mumme’s first Kentucky staff, then after landing a head-coaching job at his alma mater, Valdosta State, Hatcher hired Smart and Muschamp to their first jobs, where he worked with Smart for two seasons.
He’s the only man who can say he sold pizzas with Dykes and built lockers with Smart when they were all broke coaches.
“They’re both intense, but in very different ways,” Hatcher said. “Sonny’s very laid-back, got a great sense of humor. Kirby can talk smack with the best of ’em.”
HATCHER ARRIVED AT Kentucky a few months before Dykes. He was a star quarterback under Mumme at Valdosta, where he won the Harlon Hill Award, the Division II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.
He was ready to hit the ground running coaching Couch, who would go on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL draft. Dykes, who had previously been a jack-of-all-trades assistant at Navarro Junior College in Texas, was considering getting out of coaching, because he was young, single and broke. Then his dad, legendary Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes, suggested he call Mumme.
Mumme hired him over the phone, and Dykes showed up a few months later once a graduate assistant spot opened up. He had nowhere to live, and Hatcher, who was 23, didn’t either. They didn’t know each other, but Hatcher said he’d once seen Spike speak at a clinic and “was mesmerized.” So he couldn’t wait to meet the younger Dykes.
They rented a house but didn’t have any furniture or money. Hatcher said they bought mattresses from a flea market and then, he claims, Dykes hatched a plan one summer when they were working as football camp staffers to supplement their income.
Hatcher was the camp director. Dykes, his assistant, saw dollar signs when he realized Tubby Smith was also having his basketball camps during the same time, and other sports like volleyball did, too, therefore there were thousands of hungry kids staying overnight in the dorms in Lexington.
“Sonny’s a hustler, always worked hard,” Hatcher said. “I had an ’84 Ford Ranger five-speed that my dad sold me for $1 when I graduated from high school. He said, ‘You know, instead of just selling pizzas to the football campers, why don’t we just load up your truck, park it in the middle of the quad and every night we’ll just sell pizza.”
Dykes didn’t deny it, instead portraying himself as a savvy businessman.
“There were 8 slices in there,” he said. “We made ’em a hell of a deal. You could pay $1 a slice, or we’d sell ’em the whole pizza for $10.”
“I had a South Georgia education,” Hatcher said. “That deal on the price, that was that West Texas education coming through. That was Sonny’s idea.”
The two said they’d go door to door in the dorms the rest of the night selling the rest.
“We were rolling in the dough,” Hatcher said. “You would have thought we were millionaires out there selling all those pizzas. Straight cash money back in the day.”
Dykes and Hatcher, who didn’t have offices, found an old storage room — “That thing was nasty, with blocking dummies probably from when Bear Bryant coached there,” Hatcher recalls — bought desks from a surplus store and created their own little room, adding spots for the student workers.
“We were living the good life, man,” Hatcher said. “We did all the grunt work, but we didn’t have all the pressure that goes along with game day. Sonny and I had it made back there, buddy. We had our own desks, all the volunteers and student assistants kind of felt like they owed us because we got them offices as well. We were living large back then.”
MIKE LEACH GOT the Texas Tech head-coaching job in 2000 after a year as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, and brought Sonny with him, ironically to replace Spike. Meanwhile, Hatcher landed his own head-coaching gig that same year back at Valdosta, where Smart was once again back to coaching with 11 players.
Now, there was a more pressing issue.
The locker room was a sad state of affairs. But a place like Valdosta State wasn’t in the facilities arms race. If the football staff wanted new lockers, it was on them to figure it out.
“We had a guy donate some wood,” Hatcher said. “A young coach on our staff and his dad were carpenters on the side. So they built a template and we did it assembly-line style and everybody had their own job.”
He said Smart had a key role.
“You had to high-gloss [paint] the finished product to make it shiny,” Hatcher said. “Kirby was our high-gloss guy.”
Both Smart and Muschamp are known for their fiery temperament. Hatcher recalls it all coming into focus when the three of them — Hatcher was just 26, Muschamp was 25 and Smart 24 — would do anything competitive, especially basketball.
Smart could poke and poke and poke and get Muschamp fired up. “He could back it up on the court, too,” Hatcher said.
One day, Smart got Muschamp so angry, he fired the basketball off the gym wall and stormed out. “We didn’t see him for the rest of the day, so Kirby and I had a good time with that for a while,” Hatcher said.
But they all worked hard, too. Muschamp used to paint stripes on the field on Sundays to get ready for practice before he left Valdosta after one year to join Nick Saban’s staff at LSU. Smart, after only one year as a coach, became the defensive coordinator, with a big raise from $8,000 up to about $30,000.
That season, Valdosta went 12-2 and had the No. 2 defense in the country. One of those two losses came in the Division II national championship game.
Now, Muschamp, who has been a head coach at Florida and South Carolina, is an assistant for Smart as the Dawgs try to win a second consecutive title.
“When I hire young coaches, I always tell them there’s no job too small,” Hatcher said. “Back in the day, these are the things that we had to do. Here’s two coaches from the same staff, Kirby and Will, playing for the national championship, that used to paint the field and high-gloss lockers.”
BOTH DYKES AND Smart say they learned a tremendous amount when working for Hatcher, who is 172-95 in 24 years as a head coach and won a national championship at Valdosta in 2004 during a 76-12 run there. This year, he led Samford to its first outright conference title since 1936.
In September, before Georgia beat Hatcher and Samford 33-0, Smart said what he learned from Hatcher was how to use his charisma and how he formed strong relationships.
“His disposition with the team was always confident,” Smart said. “[He] just believed we could win every game. He embodied that. He embraced that. His players love playing for him because of the energy he exudes.”
Smart was asked at SEC media days this year what he remembers most about his time with Hatcher.
“How long you got?” he said, smiling. “Because I could tell you about a 20-hour bus ride I took to Arkadelphia. I could tell you about Texarkana. I could tell you about all the places I went in Mississippi that I didn’t know existed. But that’s where I cut my teeth as a coach. There were some really long bus rides. We built our own lockers.
“I learned a lot while I worked at Valdosta State. You only learn trial by fire. And I certainly appreciate Coach Hatcher for giving me that opportunity.”
For Dykes, the lessons he learned from his time with Hatcher are especially important this week as he attempts to take on an incredibly talented Georgia team. Because, Dykes said, he was a skeptic that Kentucky could ever take on the top of the SEC, and Hatcher convinced him anything is possible.
“I didn’t know anything about the Air Raid and what it entailed,” Dykes said. “So my indoctrination really was Chris, just kind of sitting around the house talking about it. The one thing that matters is that you’re armed with this tool that was going to enable you to climb the highest mountain.”
Dykes said it’s a tribute to his time with Hatcher that he has been able to get TCU to this point this quickly by employing what he learned there.
“It took me a while to become a believer. Chris’ confidence rubbed off on everybody,” Dykes said. “Mike Leach rubbed off on me. Hal rubbed off on me. All the guys that were there, that had been in the offense for a while, all had this unrelenting confidence that it was going to work and it’s going to work against whoever. It didn’t really matter who you’re playing against.”
Dykes added after the Horned Frogs’ 51-46 upset of Michigan in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl that he was thinking a lot of Leach and his dad in the final seconds of the game. Inevitably, he’ll lean on those lessons from his early days again Monday.
“Chris was just one of those guys: He’s undersized, wasn’t a great athlete, won the Harlon Hill, was a great player. I remember looking at Chris going, how in the world did he do it?” Dykes said. “And then once I got to know him, he just had so much confidence and belief in the system and himself and how if you have this unrelenting, undying belief, people will follow you. When you have a leader that has that, it can be contagious and permeates a whole program. That’s kind of what the magic of it is.”
A team of athletes marched into Fenway Park wearing Boston Red Sox uniforms on Monday morning. They played a game and won, beating a team owned by John Henry, who also owns the Red Sox.
Confused? It was just another day in the bewildering off-season of Major League Baseball’s most puzzling franchise, which swerved again this week from frustration to elation.
The game on Monday was the N.H.L.’s Winter Classic, and the Boston Bruins defeated the Henry-owned Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-1. Both teams wore baseball uniforms to the ballpark, and when Henry arrived, a fan on Van Ness Street, along the stadium’s first base line, spotted him in the parking lot and cried, “Pay Raffy!” Henry — whose ever-expanding sports portfolio had seemed to dampen his enthusiasm for spending on the Red Sox — may have listened.
Rafael Devers, Boston’s star third baseman, was said to be in the process of finalizing an 11-year, $331 million contract extension with the Red Sox on Wednesday. The agreement was first reported by the former major leaguer Carlos Baerga on Instagram. The deal would provide a jolt of optimism amid a dreary winter for a team coming off a dizzying decade: five playoff appearances, five seasons finishing at least 15 games out of first place in the American League East.
Devers, 26, is the last remaining position player from Boston’s 2018 championship roster. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts left for the San Diego Padres in free agency last month, and other homegrown starters, like Mookie Betts, the 2018 A.L. most valuable player, Andrew Benintendi, and Christian Vázquez, were shipped off in trades.
In a phone interview on Wednesday morning, Chaim Bloom, the team’s chief baseball officer, explained why the time was right to make a long-term commitment to Devers — and why it wasn’t quite right to do so with the others.
“We absolutely want to keep him here and we want to build around him, and I know we’ve had players in recent history that we’ve felt that way about and it didn’t work out,” Bloom said.
“The difference now is when you’re making those bets, it’s not just about the talent of the player, it’s also about the positioning of the organization and are you well positioned to back up the bet? Are you well positioned to have the foundation around that core piece that will allow you to maximize the prime years of the player? And simply put, I just think we’re much better set up for that right now than we were a few years ago.”
It is impossible to know precisely how long-term deals with Betts and Bogaerts — or other free agents the Red Sox did not explore — could have altered the team’s long-term outlook. But Betts and Bogaerts are four years older than Devers, and Bloom believes the timeline matches up better with Devers, whose prime may coincide longer with Boston’s next glory era.
Then again, predicting the Red Sox’ fortunes has been vexing for years. After a last-place finish in 2012, they signed some midlevel free agents and won the 2013 World Series. After two more last-place seasons, they won three division titles in a row, culminating in the 2018 World Series title.
A mediocre follow-up season led Henry to fire Dave Dombrowski, a probable Hall of Fame executive who specializes in building through acquiring superstars. The hiring of Bloom, who had been a top official with the thrifty and successful Tampa Bay Rays, a division rival, seemed to signal a shift in philosophy.
Bloom insisted that isn’t quite right. He believed the Red Sox needed to make hard decisions without tearing down completely — that is, try to contend without being reckless and weakening the future. His three seasons have reflected the range of outcomes for that kind of strategy: last place in 2020, a surprise visit to the American League Championship Series in 2021, and last place again in 2022.
“Rewind the clock three years, to when I got here,” Bloom said. “You had a club that obviously was coming off a lot of recent success, but clearly was not in a position where it was at or anywhere near the top of the division anymore. The talent wasn’t close in the farm system to replenish that roster, and there were quite a few commitments on the books. That’s not a great position to be in.
“And, really, the strategy all along has been to reset the table for a run of extended success, but to try to do it in a way where we were winning while we were doing it. There’s no question it’s a heavier lift to try to serve both masters. We were able to do it in 2021. Obviously in ’22, for a number of reasons, it didn’t work. But the way you do that is by maintaining elements of that core while replenishing the organization as much as you can with young talent. We have some of those young guys who are coming — some of them are going to play really prominent roles in ’23 — and there’s more coming behind that.
“If you continue taking on massive commitment after massive commitment, you never really get out of treading water around those.”
The Red Sox have largely avoided such deals lately. Officially, they have only three players signed beyond 2024: pitcher Garrett Whitlock, infielder Trevor Story and outfielder Masataka Yoshida, who signed last month for five years and $90 million after a decorated career in Japan.
Their other deals this winter have been risk-averse: two years each for infielder Justin Turner and the right-handed relievers Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin, and one year for the right-handed starter Corey Kluber and the lefty reliever Joely Rodríguez. The team hopes that three young pitchers — Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Bryan Bello — can establish themselves in the rotation, but the veteran starters — Kluber, Chris Sale, James Paxton, Nick Pivetta — offer little certainty.
The 2023 outlook would be different had the Red Sox made a stronger offer to Bogaerts before free agency or matched the Padres’ winning bid (11 years, $280 million). They could have moved aggressively on another choice from a deep class of free agents. Their passivity made you wonder if Henry simply didn’t want to pay the going rate for superstars anymore.
Would the Red Sox make those kinds of investments again? Bloom emphasized on Wednesday morning that they would.
“Absolutely — when it aligns with winning,” he said. “The end point is winning. It’s not commitments for their own sake. It’s commitments that you can win with. As we see, you win with these when they’re part of a complete team and complete organization. With every move, whether it’s a waiver claim or a large, multiyear contract, the endpoint is always: is this going to help us deliver to our fans what we’re here to deliver, which is winning baseball on an annual basis? And if the answer is yes, it’s something we should pursue.”
The Red Sox have passed on a lot of those options. They won’t be anyone’s favorite in the A.L. East. But a deal for Devers is a strong sign that a stubbornly pragmatic front office believes in its long-term direction.
HENDERSON, Nev. — Pro Bowl receiver Davante Adams said Wednesday he wants to return to the Las Vegas Raiders next season — despite the apparent impending departure of his good friend Derek Carr and an underwhelming season by a team expected to return to the playoffs — and also hopes to be kept in the loop by coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler when it comes to choosing next season’s quarterback.
“Yeah, absolutely, I wouldn’t have been here or ended up here, originally, probably if Derek wasn’t here,” Adams said in his weekly media conference. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean that I won’t be here in the event that he’s not here. That’s my boy. Obviously, I’ve got his back through anything. I think I’ve made that more than clear at this point. I support him and I support everything that he has moving forward as well.
“But my dream was to play for this team before he was a Raider, and at this point I want to try to make this thing work and continue on doing what I’m doing here, myself get better and see the team grow and get better as well.”
Adams, who grew up an Oakland Raiders fan in Palo Alto, California, was acquired in a blockbuster March trade with the Green Bay Packers for first- and second-round draft picks and signed a five-year extension averaging $28.5 million per season with $67.5 million guaranteed, to reunite with his quarterback at Fresno State in Carr. The Raiders, who would be on the hook for $40 million should Carr get injured, benched the ninth-year veteran last week for the season’s final two games and instead started Jarrett Stidham. Carr, in a mutual decision, has remained away from the team since last Wednesday.
On the season, Adams has 95 catches for a franchise-record 1,443 yards (Hall of Famer Tim Brown had 1,408 receiving yards in 1997) and an NFL-leading 14 TD catches. He was named to his sixth straight Pro Bowl and is line for his third consecutive first-team All Pro selection.
“He hasn’t missed a practice, like literally very few reps, the entire year,” McDaniels said of Adams. “So, to put in that kind of work and that kind of effort and that kind of dedication to his craft when he’s already achieved whatever he’s achieved prior to being here, I think that just speaks to how incredible the person is. And he’s been that way every day that we’ve been with him.
“He wants to do things the right way every time he walks in the building. It’s a great representative, a great example to the young players that are trying to figure it out — if you want to emulate somebody, he would be a really good one to follow.”
Besides Stidham, a fourth-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2019 who will be a free agent after Saturday’s finale against the Kansas City Chiefs (13-3), the Raiders (6-10) are expected to be linked to the likes of potential free agents Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo, both of whom have experience in McDaniels’ system.
“Me, Josh, Ziggs, we’ve all got a really good dynamic and it’s something that I really appreciate, and I’ve mentioned it to them as well,” Adams said of wanting to be kept abreast of a potential QB chase. “They don’t have to do anything — I’m not a part of the front office — but they know the reason why I came here. And a step like this is something that means a lot to me and my personal career and what I’m trying to chase as far as the ultimate pursuit, to get that ring.
“We’ve got a good understanding for one another and that helps this whole process.”
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Connor Bedard scored in the second period, igniting a rally and electrifying a hungry home crowd, as Canada defeated the United States, 6-2, in the semifinals of the world junior championship on Wednesday.
Team Canada will play host to the Czech Republic in the tournament’s title game on Thursday.
Bedard, 17, the tournament’s leading scorer and the likely No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft, scored at 11:49 of the second period, with assists from Ethan Del Mastro and Joshua Roy, cutting a 2-0 Team USA lead in half and turning the momentum over to the hosts.
Logan Stankoven, Adam Fantilli and Roy also scored as Team Canada swarmed American goaltender Trey Augustine in the second period. In an 11-minute span of the stanza, Team USA went from up, 2-0, to trailing, 4-2. In the third period, Brandt Clarke scored to push the Canada lead to 5-2, before Roy added an empty-net tally.
Logan Cooley, who plays for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and is a first-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes, scored for the Americans in the first period, followed by a goal from Kenny Connors, a fourth-round selection of the Los Angeles Kings and a forward for the UMass Minutemen.
Thomas Milic shook off those two early goals to make 43 saves for the Canadians en route to the win. Augustine, 17, who is committed to play for the Michigan State Spartans, finished with 31 for the Americans.
The rivalry game was a rematch of the 2021 world junior final, in which Anaheim Ducks star Trevor Zegras led a Team USA victory.
Canada, which won last year’s title in August, now awaits the Czech Republic, which mounted a rally of its own Wednesday. David Jiricek tied it with 39 seconds left in regulation, Jiri Kulich scored late in overtime to stun Sweden, 2-1, in the other semifinal.
The Czechs reached the final for the first time since winning back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2001, and avoided a shootout, when Kulich, a first-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres, cut from the right side to the slot and lifting the puck over goalie Carl Lindbom’s right shoulder with 50 seconds left in the 10-minute extra period.
Team USA, which had two goals overturned for goaltender interference against Canada, will play Sweden for the bronze medal Thursday.
There’s just one more week to the 2022 NFL season, and two teams are still in the running for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft. Will it be the Houston Texans (2-13-1) or Chicago Bears (3-13) when the dust settles Sunday? And which top prospect might each team target as the first player off the board?
After a down year for quarterback prospects — there was just one selected in the first two rounds last April — there are at least three who could go first off the board this year. And beyond the signal-callers, there are multiple elite defenders who can stake a claim to being the best overall prospect in the class and potentially be the first player taken.
We pitched 10 questions to NFL draft analyst Jordan Reid, Texans reporter DJ Bien-Aime, Bears reporter Courtney Cronin and analytics writer Seth Walder to sort through how it could all play out April 27, including what to know about the race for No. 1 and which prospects could be the top selection. Be sure to check out Reid’s new Round 1 mock draft to see his projected picks for both teams. Let’s dig in.
Are the Texans or Bears more likely to claim the top pick?
Walder: The Texans. Houston having a slightly worse record going into the final week is a hefty advantage, but the race is closer than you might think because it plays the Colts. ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) is more confident in the Texans winning in Week 18 (66.7%) than it has been heading into any other Houston game this season. As a result, FPI makes it a narrow favorite — 55.7% to Chicago’s 44.3% — to earn the top pick.
Houston can clinch with either a loss or tie against Indianapolis or a Chicago win or tie against Minnesota. Chicago, meanwhile, needs a loss and Texans win to slide into the top spot. Houston has the tiebreaker in the unlikely event that both teams finish with the same winning percentage.
How’d the Texans end up here? And are they sure Davis Mills is not their guy at QB?
Bien-Aime: Houston has struggled across the board, with its 4.7 yards per play ranking last in the league and 5.7 yards allowed per play sitting at 24th. Its nine-game losing streak in the middle of the season was tied for the second-longest in franchise history, behind a 14-game stint in 2013. And the team really struggled to close out games, too. In five of the Texans’ 13 losses, they either led or were tied after the third quarter. That isn’t going to get it done.
And yes, quarterback play hasn’t been where it needs to be to win, and it’s clear Mills is not the Texans’ long-term answer — especially since they at one point benched him for Kyle Allen and have leaned more on Jeff Driskel in a two-QB system down the stretch. The offense has averaged only 16.1 points (31st), and Mills has thrown 13 interceptions over 14 starts. His 32.9 QBR ranks 30th out of 31 qualifying quarterbacks, ahead of only Baker Mayfield.
Mills is a solid NFL backup, but he isn’t a long-term starter the Texans can build around. They need to explore other options this spring.
So then it’s quarterback or bust for the Texans with their top pick?
Bien-Aime: Absolutely. The Texans not having an answer at the position is a major reason they’re picking this high, and this should be a strong class to find their guy. Over the past two seasons, Houston ranks 31st in QBR (33.7) and 32nd in yards per dropback (5.5), and this is an excellent chance to drastically improve the outlook of the position. Simply put, the Texans’ rebuild can’t reach its ceiling if there’s no stability at the position.
Something else to consider: Houston also needs some juice and energy. The stadium is half empty during games, and the Texans need a player to reenergize the fan base. A future star quarterback could do that.
First, there’s Bryce Young of Alabama, who declared for the draft after the Crimson Tide won their bowl game. Listed at 6-foot and 194 pounds, Young is smaller than the other two, but he has all of the other ingredients necessary to become a high-end passer at the next level. One of the better parts of his game is his ability to diagnose and attack weak spots in defenses with either his arm or his legs. He has outstanding poise and plays the game with the same heartbeat no matter the magnitude of the situation.
Then there is Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, a traditional pocket passer who can see it, read it and execute any throw. When in rhythm, he’s a point guard who can distribute the ball accurately in a timely manner. The 6-foot-3, 218-pound Stroud displays clean footwork and good body mechanics, but he needs to show more as a creator when plays are knocked off schedule.
And finally, we have Kentucky passer Will Levis. At 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds, he has the kind of frame that NFL teams covet, and the Wildcats’ offense gave him a lot of experience with pro-style offensive concepts, including play-action and experience from both under center and out of the shotgun. The ball comes off his hand with a ton of velocity, too, as Levis can deliver it where it needs to go even when his feet aren’t properly set. But his turnover woes are concerning. He had at least one in all but three games this season and threw 10 interceptions.
Which of them is the best fit for Houston?
Reid: Young. He has been my QB1 since the summer, and I don’t see anything changing. Houston is still rebuilding this roster with young talent, but general manager Nick Caserio has some young building blocks in place and two first-round picks in each of the next two drafts.
The Texans clearly lack an identity, and that “face of the franchise”-type player still hasn’t surfaced. Young would immediately change everything, giving the team an instant jolt of excitement. He can make all the throws and has found success no matter the supporting cast. Plus, he already knows one of their young players, having connected with John Metchie III 96 times at Alabama last season. Metchie, Houston’s second-round pick last April, missed the season while being treated for leukemia, but he is expected to be ready to play in 2023.
The Texans also have a second Round 1 pick, courtesy of the Browns. What’s their biggest need outside of QB?
Bien-Aime: There are a lot of weaknesses here — after all, Houston has just two wins — but the interior offensive line is probably their biggest need. Their combo of right guard A.J. Cann, center Scott Quessenberry and left guard Kenyon Green has given up 22 sacks.
But that’s not a position you’ll see this early in the draft (currently projected to be No. 12, per ESPN’s FPI), so I’d expect Houston to add a difference-maker at a premium offensive position. Receiver Brandin Cooks leads the team with 593 receiving yards, and no one has more TD catches than tight end Jordan Akins‘ three. The Texans need to get their new QB some help!
OK, and how about the Bears? How did they end up here despite Justin Fields‘ breakout?
Cronin: Yes, they have been better, but the talent surrounding Fields has been Chicago’s pitfall. The Bears have the league’s worst passing offense and don’t have a single player with at least 500 receiving yards. Defensively, they rank 29th in run defense (5.0 yards allowed per rush), and no team gives up more points than their 27.1 per game average. Their Week 17 loss was their ninth straight, the longest losing streak in franchise history.
This team was not built to see success in the form of wins in 2022, and general manager Ryan Poles began a roster teardown at midseason by trading linebacker Roquan Smith to Baltimore. The Bears, however, are now in a position to add aggressively via free agency — they have north of $110 million in salary cap space in 2023 — and the draft, and they already checked their biggest and most important box by figuring out Fields is the quarterback to build around.
Unlike Houston, Chicago wouldn’t be looking at QB with this pick. What is the Bears’ top priority atop the draft?
Cronin: Building around Fields on offense is critical, but the Bears can’t really do that at No. 1 or No. 2 based on positional value. Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter could instead be an option because 3-technique is the most important position in Matt Eberflus’ defense. The Bears have not shown an ability to pressure opposing quarterbacks (22% of opponent dropbacks, 31st in the NFL) or stop the run. Drafting someone like Carter begins to solve both of those issues.
Offensive line and wide receiver are also among this team’s biggest needs. Outside of wideouts Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool and rookie Velus Jones Jr., who can the Bears say for certain is on their roster next year at the position?
Who are the non-QB prospects who could go No. 1 if the Bears are picking there?
Reid: How about Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr.? The 6-foot-4, 243-pounder has 27.5 sacks, 54 tackles for loss and 129 pressures over the past two seasons. Just consider that the Bears’ leader in sacks this season is safety Jaquan Brisker (four), and it’s obvious this team needs help in that area. Anderson would give the team a dependable threat off the edge who could turn into a potential franchise centerpiece. His combination of pass-rush savviness, heavy hands and explosiveness really stands out on tape.
Courtney also mentioned Carter, and Eberflus is on record saying that 3-technique is the “engine that makes everything go” in his defense. At 6-foot-3 and 300 pounds, Carter’s explosiveness and penetrating ability would be a welcome addition.
Teams will be looking to move up the board for a QB. Would a trade down be in play for Chicago?
Cronin: Absolutely. Chicago doesn’t have a need at quarterback, so it would be in prime position to take the best trade package available and move back from No. 1 (or No. 2) while still being able to draft a top defensive player. The Bears might not want to move down too far, given Carter and Anderson won’t be available for long, but there should be options there.
If Houston falls to No. 2 and has its eyes set on drafting a particular passer, it might be willing pay a steep price to move to No. 1 to ensure that happens and block another team.Teams such as Seattle, Indianapolis, Detroit, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Carolina could also all be in the mix to offer up a big package to get their guy.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens learned during Wednesday’s afternoon practice that their kickoff for Sunday’s game at the Cincinnati Bengals has been set for 1 p.m.
The Ravens still don’t know the stakes of their final regular-season game yet.
Baltimore (10-6) is currently 1 1/2 games back of first-place Cincinnati (11-4) in the AFC North race. Unless Monday night’s game between the Bengals and Bills — which was suspended after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest — is resumed, the Ravens would have no shot at capturing the division title even if they beat the Bengals on Sunday to complete a season sweep.
The NFL has not informed the Ravens whether or not they are still in contention for the AFC North championship and a first-round bye in the wild-card round. Baltimore clinched a playoff berth two weeks ago.
“It’s unique,” Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell said. “You hope they make a ruling and tell us what they’re going to do. It’s a tough situation. We understand that. Whatever the ruling may be, we’ll accept it. But it would be nice to know. It’s always good to have information. How much is this going to matter? It affects things. If we have a chance to play for a division championship, that’s huge. It would be nice to go out there and compete for it. But having information would be nice.”
Originally, the kickoff for Sunday’s game between the Ravens and Bengals was dependent on the result of the Monday night game between the Bills and Bengals.
If Cincinnati had beaten Buffalo, the Bengals would have clinched the AFC North and Sunday’s kickoff would have been 1 p.m. If the Bengals had lost to the Bills, Sunday’s game between Baltimore and Cincinnati would have been for the AFC North title and kickoff would have been 4:25 p.m.
With the suspension of Monday night’s game, the Ravens are uncertain what they’re playing for Sunday. It’s possible that the only incentive for Baltimore on Sunday is moving from up one spot from the No. 6 seed to the No. 5 seed. In order for that to happen, the Ravens would need to beat the Bengals, and the Chargers would need to lose to the Broncos.
Baltimore is keeping its fingers crossed that there is more on the line Sunday.
“We’d be excited to be playing for the division crown,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “That’s something that we’re hopeful for. That’s really beyond us. Our job is to go win the game.”
In other news, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson missed his 13th straight practice. Jackson hasn’t suited up since injuring his knee on Dec. 4, which was 31 days ago.
Asked if Jackson will be ready for the start of the playoffs, Harbaugh said, “I’m just probably going to leave all that stuff alone. I’m going to focus on the game and just get ready to coach our guys and have our guys get ready and play the game.”
Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley, who has started the last four games for Baltimore, was limited in Wednesday’s practice with a right shoulder and wrist injury. He didn’t throw much during the media viewing portion of practice.
NEW YORK — The U.S. soccer team was plunged into public turmoil Wednesday when the family of former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna said it notified the U.S. Soccer Federation of a decades-old incident involving Gregg Berhalter and his wife in response to the coach’s disparagement of Claudio’s son, young star Gio Reyna.
Berhalter said Tuesday his 1991 behavior in which he kicked the woman who would become his wife was “shameful” and that he was “looking forward to continuing my conversations with U.S. Soccer about the future.”
The U.S. Soccer Federation has commissioned an investigation by an outside law firm, along with the staff review of the team’s performance over the four-year cycle. All of it leaves the program’s leadership uncertain as the run-up begins to the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S. will co-host.
“Obviously this is a not a positive time for soccer in this country and for our men’s national team,” USSF president Cindy Parlow Cone said Wednesday during a news conference.
The controversy has become a messy public dispute involving Berhalter; Claudio Reyna, who was the best man at Berhalter’s wedding; Danielle Egan Reyna, a former U.S. women’s player; Rosalind Santana Berhalter, the coach’s wife and Egan’s college roommate; and Gio Reyna, the 20-year-old midfielder limited to 53 minutes by Berhalter at the 2022 World Cup.
For the time being, Anthony Hudson, a member of Berhalter’s staff, will coach the team ahead of exhibitions against Serbia on Jan. 25 and Colombia three days later.
USSF sporting director Earnie Stewart, a former teammate of Reyna’s and Berhalter’s, has been delegated by Parlow Cone and the USSF board to make a coaching recommendation.
“Gregg Berhalter, until the investigation and the review takes place, is still under consideration for the head coach job,” Stewart said.
The turmoil on the men’s team follows a $24 million settlement by the USSF last year of a discrimination lawsuit filed by American women players and an independent investigation that revealed systemic emotional abuse and sexual misconduct in the National Women’s Soccer League.
The USSF announced Tuesday that Berhalter was under investigation. The coach, whose contract expired last month, simultaneously issued a statement saying a person contacted the USSF “saying that they had information about me that would ’take me down.’”
Danielle Reyna said she told Stewart of the 1991 incident on Dec. 11, five days after Berhalter made remarks at the HOW Institute for Society’s Summit on Moral Leadership that did not cite a player by name but clearly were criticism of Gio Reyna. Excerpts were published in a newsletter by Charter Works, which said the remarks were “erroneously greenlit for publication.”
“I wanted to let him know that I was absolutely outraged and devastated that Gio had been put in such a terrible position, and that I felt very personally betrayed by the actions of someone my family had considered a friend for decades,” Danielle Reyna said in a statement Wednesday. “As part of that conversation, I told Earnie that I thought it was especially unfair that Gio, who had apologized for acting immaturely about his playing time, was still being dragged through the mud when Gregg had asked for and received forgiveness for doing something so much worse at the same age.”
Berhalter and his wife Rosalind had “spoken openly” about the matter, the USSF said Tuesday, and Berhalter admitted to the kick. But Danielle Reyna criticized Berhalter’s description of the 1991 events.
“The statements from yesterday significantly minimize the abuse on the night in question,” she said. “Rosalind Berhalter was my roommate, teammate and best friend, and I supported her through the trauma that followed. It took a long time for me to forgive and accept Gregg afterward, but I worked hard to give him grace, and ultimately made both of them and their kids a huge part of my family’s life.
“I would have wanted and expected him to give the same grace to Gio. This is why the current situation is so very hurtful and hard.”
The USSF hired the law firm Alston & Bird to investigate the situation. New USSF CEO JT Batson said the firm will try to determine whether Jay Berhalter, Gregg’s brother who was the USSF chief commercial officer in 2018, was aware of the incident at the time of his brother was hired.
“None of our current leadership was aware of this,” Batson said of the 1991 incident. “This is something that Alston & Bird as a part of the investigation will, I’m sure, try to understand.”
The U.S. was eliminated from the 2022 World Cup with a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in the round of 16. Berhalter was repeatedly questioned by media about the lack of playing time for Reyna.
“I too was upset by Gregg’s comments about Gio after the U.S. was out of the World Cup, and I also appealed to Earnie Stewart on Dec. 11 asking him to prevent any additional comments,” Claudio Reyna said in a separate statement.
Claudio Reyna made 112 appearances for the U.S. from 1994-2006 and captained the U.S. at two World Cups. Gio Reyna made his debut in 2020 and has 16 appearances.
Danielle Reyna maintained she never threatened to blackmail Berhalter and never asked that he be fired.
“I’m sorry that this information became public, and I regret that I played a role in something that could reopen wounds from the past,” Danielle Reyna said.
Hudson, meanwhile, will coach what is expected to be a roster mostly from Major League Soccer next month. The 41-year-old was hired as coach of the U.S. under-20 team in January 2020, and a year later became an assistant coach to Berhalter.
“Every player that has a U.S. passport will be eligible to play for our U.S. national team,” Stewart said.
Hudson’s staff will include U.S. assistant coach B.J. Callaghan and current U.S. under-20 coach Mikey Varas. Luchi Gonzalez, the other American assistant coach, agreed last summer to become coach of MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes following the World Cup.
Hudson also has coached fifth-tier Newport in England in 2011, Bahrain’s national team in 2013 and 2014, New Zealand’s national team from 2014-17 and Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids from 2017-19.
The U.S. team had not been involved in public turmoil of this magnitude since 1998, when the Americans lost three straight World Cup games and finished last in the tournament among public disparagement of coach Steve Sampson. Sampson said in 2010 he dropped John Harkes from the national team roster two months before the 1998 World Cup because the American captain was having an affair a teammate’s wife, which Harkes denied.
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AP Sports Writers Anne M. Peterson and Jim Vertuno contributed to this report.
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SAN ANTONIO – Two days of All-American Bowl practices are in the books, and although the sample size is limited, there are a number of players beginning to see their stock rise. Here is a closer look at some of the early risers in San Antonio.
Lee’s signing day flip to Auburn is looking better for the Tigers by the day. Lee hasn’t been perfect, but he has been pretty close to it through two days of competition. His ability to play man-to-man coverage and his overall athleticism have been fun to watch. Even as athletic as he is his best trait may come in the form of instincts and football savvy.
Bowens has impressed early on with his impressive combination of size and athleticism. The Oregon signee’s spin move has been unstoppable, and at 270 pounds he moves way faster than he looks.
The future Michigan State Spartan has been a one-man wrecking crew during one-on-ones and has shown glimpses of being an elite player. Jobe plays fast, physical and aggressive, and based on his performance in the early practices we will likely see a jump from his already lofty ranking of No. 170 in the nation.
Coming into the All-American Bowl, we knew the future Ute would need to bulk up once he got to the college level, but his 255-pound frame hasn’t presented any problems for the Arizona native in these practices in San Antonio. Lomu plays stronger than his size and once he gains mass in a college weight program he has a chance to be downright nasty at the next level. We have been especially impressed with his ability to anchor down and stop defensive linemen in their tracks when they come at him with power.
McDonald will announce his college decision at the All-American Bowl on Saturday and whichever program lands the Texas native is getting a player who has a chance to be special. Despite possessing the size of a linebacker, the former Oklahoma State commit shined playing corner during the joint practice this afternoon. With a special combination of size and athleticism, the sky’s the limit as to how good he can be at the next level.
*****
The uncommitted defensive back from Georgia possesses the prototypical frame for the position and has been spectacular through two days of practice. We have been especially impressed with his burst out of breaks, closing speed when the ball is in the air and overall ability to make plays on the ball. While Scott is currently a four-star, he is not in the latest Rivals250, but it would not come as a surprise to see him jump into that elite group should he continue the level of play he has shown thus far.
*****
The Downey (Calif.) St. Pius X cornerback came into the week as a lesser known three-star prospect, but he has proven to be a stud through two days of practice. His ability to make plays on the ball is just one of the traits we have been impressed with early on. Indiana looks to have found a gem in Shaw, and he has far outplayed his current Rivals rating. Look for him to potentially make a move in the final release of the 2023 rankings.
Linebacker is similar to running back during these early practice evaluations in the sense that it is tough to have a breakout performance due to the format. Weeks, however, wasted little time in making his presence felt due to his overall athleticism, fluidity and ability to play coverage during the one-on-one and team portions of practice. The LSU commit will need to bulk up at the college level and we are interested in seeing how physical he is come game time, but this is a player with major upside and incredible ability to play in space. Weeks is currently a three-star who sits far outside the Rivals250 as things stand, but he has made a major case for an extra star and inclusion in the Rivals250.
MEMPHIS — Steven Adams once thought he was destined for farming life, back when he was just an exceptionally tall boy finding his way around Rotorua, a rural town on New Zealand’s North Island known for its thermal pools.
He valued hard work, family and consistency. (As the youngest of at least a dozen siblings, he had no choice but to work with others.) Then one of his youth basketball coaches bought him a pair of size 16 sneakers at a flea market. He wore them everywhere.
These days, Adams, 29, has a high-profile and well-paid occupation, as a 6-foot-11 center for the Grizzlies — and as one of the N.B.A.’s most prized teammates. He plays defense. He curses. He rebounds. He curses. He cracks jokes. He curses.
“Funniest person I’ve ever met,” said David Roddy, a first-year forward.
In the process, Adams has endeared himself to a young team with championship hopes as one of the best teams in the Western Conference. A former sidekick to the likes of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant in Oklahoma City, Adams is now a one-man team-building operation in Memphis, where Ja Morant, one of the league’s most precocious stars, counts himself among the beneficiaries of Adams’s lunch-pail labor.
“I feel like a lot of the stuff he does for us goes unnoticed,” Morant said, “and it’s time for people to start watching him.”
With his sleeve of tattoos, bushy beard and mop of hair that extends to the back of his jersey, Adams would look right at home aboard a large fishing vessel. Instead, he leads the N.B.A. in offensive rebounds by a wide margin — a statistic that teammates and coaches value, since offensive rebounds create extra shots — while applying his self-styled brand of leadership.
It was on display during the Grizzlies’ season-opening win over the Knicks. In the middle of a late timeout, Adams stole a towel from the shooting guard John Konchar so that he could hand it to Morant, who apparently had a sweaty brow and — let’s be honest — was likely to play a more important role down the stretch. Konchar, who finished with 12 points, was left to stare at his empty hand.
After a recent practice, Konchar recalled the first time he met Adams, who came to the Grizzlies in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans before the start of last season.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Konchar said. “I mean, he’s 7-feet tall and looks kind of scary.”
Konchar proceeded to rattle through Adams’s many fine attributes: his comedic timing, his taste in music, his size and strength, his uncanny gift for collecting errant shots. As he was wrapping up his interview, Konchar spotted Adams.
“Steve-O!” Konchar shouted. “I said so many nice things about you.”
Adams glanced over his shoulder just long enough to inform Konchar that he was full of it.
Said Roddy: “Honestly, he’s taken all the younger guys under his wing. And I’m just trying to learn from him as much as possible.”
So much of Adams’s approach as a basketball player is rooted in his childhood. He had a large family. By Adams’s count, his father, Sid, had 14 children, though some of his siblings think the number is higher. Adams also coped with tragedy and loss. And while he loved to have fun, he also knew when to be serious.
“Families are tough to run,” Adams said in an interview. “You have to be open and honest. You can’t be overly kind, either. It can’t be encouragement all the time. No, dude, you need to tell them when they’re messing up. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”
He went on: “Usually, honesty is quite ugly, and people don’t like it. But it’s important in the N.B.A. because you need immediate results. We play games every other day, so you need to get at the root of the problem.”
Sure enough, the interconnected themes of family, community and, yes, teamwork run throughout Adams’s 2018 autobiography, “My Life, My Fight: Rising Up From New Zealand to the OKC Thunder.” Adams is proud of the book.
“Threw some words together, didn’t I?” he said.
He writes about playing sports as a boy and about getting pushed around by his older sisters. (One of them, Valerie Adams, is a two-time Olympic champion in the shot put who recently retired after winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021.) He writes about struggling with the loss of his father, who died of cancer when Steven was 13, and finding basketball through the help of local coaches who guided him to camps and provided him with opportunities.
He also writes about feeling isolated at Notre Dame Preparatory School in Fitchburg, Mass., where he spent a postgraduate season before enrolling at the University of Pittsburgh. By then, Adams writes, he had gotten used to having a “tight-knit community” around him — friends who were “always willing to help out with anything.” Without that sense of community, Adams suffered.
So being a part of one — and even helping to create one — was something he prioritized when he joined the Thunder as the No. 12 pick in the 2013 N.B.A. draft. On a playoff-ready team led by Durant and Westbrook, Adams was happy to do the blue-collar work that came naturally to him: block shots and set screens, rebound and defend.
If he was a good teammate, Adams also irritated opponents. As a first-year player, Adams fouled out of three straight games. Vince Carter and Nate Robinson took swings at him. Later, in a heated game against Golden State during the 2016 Western Conference finals, Draymond Green kicked him in the groin.
At the time, Adams wondered why so many players seemed to react so aggressively toward him. He theorized that a lot of them were only children. Here, again, he cites being a part of a big family growing up. As he writes in his book, “The trick was to annoy your siblings as much as you could without being caught by your household ref.” The ref, in that instance, was one of his parents.
With the Grizzlies, Adams has been on a tear. Ahead of their game against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night, Adams had averaged 11.7 points and 20.3 rebounds in three straight wins — and no, that is not a typo. He had 21 rebounds against the Pelicans on Saturday, which seemed like a big deal until he grabbed 23 against the Sacramento Kings the next day.
“There’s no craft or science behind it,” Grizzlies Coach Taylor Jenkins said. “He just puts himself in the right spots, reads his teammates and has a knack for the ball. It’s as simple as that.”
Adams described some of the subtle differences between offensive and defensive rebounding. On offense, he said, he felt as though he could be on “the attack,” with greater freedom to pursue the ball. On defense, he has more responsibilities. For example, he may be in the middle of a defensive rotation when a shot goes up and he has to find someone to box out.
In either case, he knows he has a job to do, which is to help his team. In many ways, it is all he has ever known.
Martina Navratilova, one of the most dominant players in tennis history, said this week that she had been diagnosed with throat cancer as well as a recurrence of breast cancer, a “double whammy” that she hoped to overcome through treatment.
Navratilova, 66, said in a statement on her website that she planned to begin treatment this month for Stage 1 throat cancer, which had been discovered after a biopsy on an enlarged lymph node in her neck.
Navratilova said she had noticed the enlarged node last fall during the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, where she and Chris Evert were honored.
“The prognosis is good,” Navratilova said in the statement, adding: “The cancer type is HPV and this particular type responds really well to treatment.”
It is believed to cause about 70 percent of oropharyngeal cancers — tumors of the back of the throat, the base of the tongue and the tonsils, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The C.D.C. said there were about 3,500 new cases of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers diagnosed in women and 16,200 in men every year in the United States.
Navratilova said in the statement that as she was undergoing tests on her throat, a “suspicious form” was found in her breast, which was determined to be early-stage cancer, completely unrelated to the throat cancer.
In an article published on Tennis.com on Monday, she said: “This double whammy is serious but still fixable, and I’m hoping for a favorable outcome.”
“It’s going to stink for a while,” she added, vowing to fight on.
Navratilova said on her website that she would not cover the Australian Open for the Tennis Channel later this month, but hoped to join the network “from time to time” via Zoom.
Navratilova, who played her first Wimbledon as a 16-year-old in 1973 and won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, drew an outpouring of support with the disclosure that she was once again confronting cancer.
Among those offering her well wishes were Evert, a onetime rival and also an 18-time Grand Slam singles champion, who disclosed in January 2022 that she had an early form of ovarian cancer.
“Thinking of @Martina today and supporting her journey, like she did mine, with love and prayers,” Evert, 68, wrote on Twitter. “This is a woman who takes on challenges with strength and resilience…You got this, Martina!”
The tennis great Billie Jean King called Navratilova “as brave as she is strong.”
“She has fought this battle before, and she is in our thoughts and prayers,” she wrote on Twitter.
“Needless to say my phone and twitter are both blowing up so I will say again- thank you all for your support and I am not done yet:),” she wrote on Twitter. “Xoxoxo.”
SAO PAULO — Brazilian soccer stars past and present are under fire from fans for skipping Pelé’s funeral and opting to pay their respects on social media.
The three-time World Cup champion was buried in his hometown Tuesday after more than 230,000 mourners passed by his casket at Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos. Pelé died last Thursday after a battle with cancer.
Fans expected former Santos players like Neymar, Rodrygo and Giovanni to attend. They also hoped retired greats like Zico, Romario, Ronaldo, Kaká and Ronaldinho Gaucho would show up at the beach city 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of São Paulo.
Their social media accounts were flooded with comments by angry fans after Pelé’s burial.
None of the players from Brazil’s 2002 World Cup winning squad attended. One of them — former star midfielder Kaká — was criticized because he had complained during an interview in December that Brazilians do not honor their sports heroes as much as foreigners.
“You didn’t even show up for the funeral of the man who paved the way for you to have the life that you have,” said Joao Vitor Custodio on Kaká’s Instagram post about Pelé that drew more than 5,000 comments, including many about his decision not to come for the tributes.
In Neymar’s Instagram post mourning Pelé’s death, one fan wrote: “It is easy to say, but you sent your father and did not come.” The Brazil striker later limited comments in that post to people he knows.
No foreign footballers came to Brazil for Pelé’s tributes, funeral and burial.
Former midfielder Mauro Silva was the lone representative of the 1994 team that won the World Cup in the United States. He is currently an executive at the São Paulo state soccer federation.
Some of Pelé’s surviving Brazil teammates from the 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cup titles were unfit to attend, like 91-year-old Mário Zagallo, and others like Roberto Rivellino were reportedly too upset.
Fans didn’t seem to believe those who said they tried but could not get to Santos in time, like Cafu.
“Unfortunately and with a lot of sorrow I could not attend Pelé’s funeral, I was on the other side of the globe and at work. My flights to return to Brazil started only in the early hours of Wednesday, I can only get to Brazil tomorrow,” he said. “Does that change what I feel for Pelé, or what he represents to me and to soccer in general? Never!”
Rivaldo, who lives in the United States, took a similar path.
“Even if I were in Brazil I am not sure I would have attended the funeral,” Rivaldo said. “I don’t like to pay tributes at that time, I am not against those who do. I met Pelé, I was with him many times and I had the opportunity to honor him during his life.”
Among the distinguished former Brazilian players who did come for the tributes were Bayern Munich’s Zé Roberto, Manchester City’s Elano and Roma’s Paulo Roberto Falcao. Those three have a connection with Santos.
Except for Santos, few active players and executives of Brazilian clubs attended the funeral. All top flight clubs are in pre-season.
To add to the shock of many fans, Flamengo chose to introduce its new coach Vitor Pereira at the same time as the nationally televised procession of Pelé’s casket through the city of Santos before the burial.
Local soccer executives did not suspend play of the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior, a tournament for youngsters that attracts a lot of media attention in the South American nation.
The funeral of two-time World Cup winner Mané Garrincha at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro in 1983 was also poorly attended by Brazilian footballers.
Pelé repeatedly said he was too shaken to attend any funeral of family or friends. He was buried in the same cemetery of his father Dondinho and his brother Jair Arantes do Nascimento. The Brazilian soccer great did not attend their funerals either.
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SAN ANTONIO – The East and West teams met for one-on-ones in the afternoon session here at the All-American Bowl, and there was a lot to learn, especially among the receivers and local linemen. Also, Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney talked with five-star quarterback Dante Moore about advice for future QBs in today’s Three-Point Stance.
Five-star quarterback Dante Moore has gone through the gauntlet in his recruitment, from having Notre Dame in front early only to see the Irish surprisingly take a 2024 quarterback, and then a flip from Oregon to UCLA after offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham left for the Arizona State job.
His message to future quarterbacks in the 2024 and 2025 classes and beyond will resound with many other elite players out there – and it’s important for them to know.
Here are his comments in full:
“A lot of times we actually struggle a lot during the process. I couldn’t sleep at night. I was getting headaches from it because a big piece I’d tell recruits is, college is a business.
A coach might say, ‘I’m going to be here for three years,’ and they have a great season and they’re gone.
And you’re like, ‘Coach, I thought you said this.’ And they say, ‘I’m sorry, I have to do what’s best for my family.’ So, you’re like, ‘I can’t trust this coach anymore.’
“Not saying you can’t trust coaches, but every visit you go on build a bond with them. Don’t ever hate on a coach, because if a coach you’re hating on that coach might go to a spot you’re committed to and he might be the coach there and he’ll remember what you said to him. Keep great bonds. Remember college is a business and always live in the moment.
“Never think of your future visits, never think of your past visits. Just think of every day you’re going through the process of making a phone call, texting coaches and really at a point if anything gets too much just put your phone down and keep being a young kid. We’re just young kids and we’re blessed to be in the position we are in today, so be thankful to even have this opportunity.”
All-star practices can sometimes be choppy because the chemistry has not been fully developed over two days of practice, but there are some wide receivers already making a big impact during the All-American Bowl practices.
Here are some that have caught my eye:
Brandon Inniss: The No. 1 receiver continues to do what we’ve seen from him for years. He’s not the flashiest, he’s not the most spectacular, but the Ohio State signee catches every pass thrown his way and he can get open against anybody. USC signee Zachariah Branch will push him for top billing after his showing at the Under Armour Game, but Inniss is so solid.
Jalen Brown: The LSU signee has had a quiet week so far, but he’s shown the ability to make big-time catches and he had one in the end zone to wrap up one of the sessions. Brown is lean but he has length and ranginess, so he should be a great outside threat in Baton Rouge.
Nathaniel Joseph: The Miami Edison four-star is so fast and electric that it wouldn’t be shocking to see him on a reverse or some kind of jet sweep in the game – and when he gets to Miami – because he’s so speedy and dynamic. Joseph had been committed to Clemson, but the Hurricanes got him and he’s going to be a weapon.
Mikal Harrison-Pilot: His upcoming commitment at Saturday’s game is not distracting the Temple, Texas, standout from producing during the week of practice. The four-star has caught a lot of passes and has found a way to get open against some high-end cornerbacks. He’s a deep threat who has been very reliable when the ball gets to him.
Ryan Niblett: It would not be a surprise at all if the West coaches design something deep for the Texas signee because he’s one of the best receivers here at using his elite speed and athleticism to break something down the field. Houston tried hard to flip the Houston Eisenhower four-star, but the Longhorns kept him and he can put big-time pressure on defensive backs.
Cordale Russell: The TCU signee had maybe the play of the day when he came across the middle, caught a touchdown pass and then dunked the ball over the goal post. Russell has been solid through practice, but in Wednesday’s two-team workout the four-star came on strong.
*****
3. LOCAL LINEMEN LOOKING STRONG
Johnny Bowens (Rivals.com)
It took Texas A&M signee Colton Thomasson a day to adjust to the speed of the defensive linemen at the All-American Bowl, but he was outstanding during the morning session inside the Alamodome locking up top defensive ends that – quite honestly – beat him during Tuesday’s practice.
During one-on-ones, the 6-foot-8, 347-pound four-star offensive lineman from nearby San Antonio Smithson Valley bested Ohio State signee Josh Mickens and Michigan State signee Bai Jobe, who has had a great week off the edge.
Thomasson is so big that he swallows up defensive linemen and he did a much better job on Wednesday of reacting to speed rushers trying to beat him to the outside. One player who did a great job against Thomasson, though, was someone he has been very familiar with from the local high school scene. No one seemed to know who No. 77 was during the one-on-one session, but it was Oregon signee Johnny Bowens, who was a late add from Converse (Texas) Judson, and who had been committed to the Aggies as well. He more than fit in as he beat an abundance of elite offensive lineman. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound prospect beat one offensive lineman on a nice spin move then used his power to run through another as Bowens definitely backed up his four-star ranking on the back end of the Rivals250.
Field Yates’ Fantasy Field Pass: 
