The NFL is (sort of) back tonight! Plus, Paige Bueckers injury hurts all women’s college basketball
Happy Thursday, everyone. Hope you will do well.
Get your hands on it right away.
Good morning to everyone but especially…
NFL FANS
The NFL is back! Kind (kind of good enough for me!) Jaguar and Raiders face in tonight’s Hall of Fame game, marking the start of the pre-season. Both teams look very different from the end of last year.
- Leopard for hire Doug Pederson as their head coach after Urban Meyer disaster last season. While last year’s #1 overall pick, QB Trevor Lawrencewon’t be playing tonight, we could see this year’s #1 pick, OLB Travon Walker.
- Meanwhile, the Raiders hired Josh McDaniels and attracted a number of big-name veterans, including Davante Adams and Chandler Jones. They are looking to reach the knockout stage for the first time in consecutive years since 2000-02.
- These teams were selected to play in the Hall of Fame game because the Jaguars had previously settled Tony Boselli and former Raiders wide receiver Cliff Branch was inducted into the Hall of Fame over the weekend. You can watch the whole class here.
Listen, this isn’t going to be the highest quality football you’ll ever see. Teams have only been in training camp for a few weeks and most beginners (in fact, probably all beginners) and even some established reserve teams will not compete. fight. But, hey, there’s NFL football on TV for the first time since February. I will take it.
Honorable mention
And not a good morning for…
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PAIGE BUECKERS, UCONN HUSKIES AND COLLEGE BASKETBALL AS ENTIRE
UConn women’s basketball won’t have its brightest star, and college women’s basketball will be worse off because of it. Paige Bueckers tore her ACL in Monday’s scavenger hunt and will miss the entire 2022-23 season.
- Juniors are rising missed an important part of last season after fractured tibial plateau in December.
- She returned at the end of the year and helped lead UConn to the national title game where the Huskies lost South Carolina.
- Back in 2020-21 as a freshman, the Bueckers averaged 20.0 points, 5.7 assists and 4.9 rebounds and became the first freshman to win Female Player of the Year. of AP. She has also won the Naismith Award.
Bueckers is an absolute joy to watch, and when she rolls around attacking, she’s nearly unstoppable thanks to her smooth mid-range shooting, superb handling and passing, and ability to land down 3 pointers. In Elite 8 – one of the best games of the year – the Bueckers racked up 27 points from just 15 shots as UConn topped NC State in two overtimes.
This is definitely a huge loss for UConn and for women’s basketball in general. Buckers is truly irreplaceable in every sense of the word.
Not such honorable mentions
NFL appeal Deshaun Watson suspended. What happens next?
NFL has filed an appeal about Deshaun WatsonThose 6 games suspended are retransmit on monday of disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson.
- The ability to appeal is guaranteed in the union’s collective bargaining agreement; Watson and the NFLPA said in advance that they would not appeal and urged the NFL to do the same.
- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will decide who will hear the appeal. Goodell can choose for himself.
- The NFL will be looking for a indefinitely suspended for at least one yearaccording to CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones.
- According to reports, the NFLPA is preparing to sue the NFL in federal court following the federation’s appeal decision. The NFLPA has two business days to respond to an appeal.
Here’s a key passage from the NFL’s statement:
- “Under the 2020 NFL-NFLPA collective bargaining agreement (‘CBA’), the Disciplinary Officer’s factual findings are binding and may not be appealed. Judge Robinson found that Mr. Watson repeatedly violated the NFL’s personal conduct policy and suspended him for six games. “
Robinson noticed that Watson was involved “sexual assault; conduct that jeopardizes the safety and well-being of others; and conduct that undermines or jeopardizes the integrity of the NFL.” While the NFL has firmly sought an indefinite suspension of at least a year, Robinson writes that she has “bound” by standards of fairness and consistency in treatment among similarly positioned players. ‘”
There is no specific timetable for a decision from Goodell or his appointee.
LIV Golfers Are Suing PGA Tour
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You think the movie LIV vs. PGA ended? Think. Phil Mickelson in the group of 11 players LIV Golf League is filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour with the potential goal of being reinstated by the PGA Tour. Here are the key details:
- PGA . Tour suspended players have left for LIV Golf back in June. PGA Tour has suspend Mickelson back in March after his comments about Saudi Arabia and LIV Golf.
- The PGA Tour typically allows up to three exemptions per season to allow members to play on other tours; that’s not the case for LIV events.
- LIV has been readying this case for a while, reportedly, says that the PGA Tour has a monopoly on the golf market and is using that power to prevent a newly formed alliance from entering the market.
- Players like Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson – who resigned from the PGA Tour – not part of this lawsuit.
There is a potential solution – at least in the short term – for all of this, our golf pro Kyle Porter writes.
- Porters: “Whether the players will be allowed to play both tours remains to be seen, but we’ll have an answer shortly as to whether the players will be allowed to play in the FedEx Cup Playoffs next week. come or not, there is also recent precedent here. Ian Poulter and two other golfers were allowed to play in Scottish Open despite being banned by DP World Tour. Residency is allowed just before the tournament starts. Perhaps the same could apply in this situation. “
Will Juan Soto be MLB’s first $500 million?
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Now the dust has settled Juan Soto join Padres – he made his team debut last night – we turn our attention to the biggest long-term question: What kind of contract will he get?
Remember, Soto refused a 15-year, $440 million extension from Nationals early this season, leading to Washington listening to trade offers from the start. That $440 million would make Soto the highest paid player in MLB history of the total amount. Does that mean he’s headed for the unthinkable $500 million mark?
Our MLB expert Dayn Perry has four reasons why he canconsists of…
- Perry: “Soto’s career OPS+160 is the fourth-highest ever for a player 23 years old or younger and has played a minimum of 500 games. … When a player combines excellence with youth – especially when free agency emerges – he makes a lot of money. That’s because he has promised an established high level of performance and he anticipates maintaining that level for many years to come. When you’re as young as Soto, there’s also the tantalizing possibility that he’s still at his prime. Teams will pay for that. “
What we’re watching on Thursday
Mercury at Sun7 p.m. on ESPN 2
Ray in tiger7:10pm on FS1
Game Hall of Fame: Jaguars vs Raiders8 p.m. on NBC
