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The Bills play their first preseason game against the Panthers on Thursday and the play of their quarterbacks will be closely scrutinized as the competition for the starting job continues to unfold.
It remains to be seen which of the team’s quarterbacks will be on the field to start the game. Head coach Sean McDermott said on Tuesday Tyler Kroft Jersey , via Joe Buscaglia of WKBW, that he wouldn’t say who would get the nod because he wants to talk to the players first.
McDermott did say that AJ McCarron and Nathan Peterman could both see time with the first team before the second-stringers head into the game. McCarron and Peterman alternated days with the first team over the first week or so of camp, but that pattern broke last week when McCarron got the nod two days in a row.
First-round pick Josh Allen remains with the third team most of the time, which McDermott called a “calculated” approach to bringing him along during his rookie season. The coach also said the preseason games will be an important part of the evaluation of all three quarterbacks, so we’ll see if Thursday night leads to any changes to the team’s approach.
Another offseason, another new head coach for quarterback Marcus Mariota to get to know along with a different offense.Yes, a little experience with such changes can help make transitions a bit easier.
It's not something Mariota wants to become a way of life in the NFL.
"But I think being able to have gone through that situation before, it's helped all of us to be ready and prepared for this new stuff Tyrann Mathieu Jersey ," Mariota said Wednesday.
Mariota, the No. 2 pick overall in the 2015 draft, is heading into his fourth season with the Tennessee Titans with his third different head coach. He started with Ken Whisenhunt, who lasted only seven games into Mariota's rookie season. The Titans fired his replacement, Mike Mularkey, in January despite back-to-back 9-7 seasons and their first playoff win in 14 years.
Now first-time head coach Mike Vrabel is in charge with Matt LaFleur as his offensive coordinator and Pat O'Hara as quarterbacks coach. The Titans hired Vrabel wanting more out of both their offense and Mariota, whose fifth-year option was just picked up.
"It's a process. It takes some time," Mariota said. "Everybody is doing their best to learn the playbook AJ McCarron Jersey , learn about each other. It takes time and I think a lot of the guys would probably say the same thing. As we go through this process, if we continue to learn more about each other, we continue to communicate, all the stuff on the field will take care of itself."
Mariota is the youngest quarterback in franchise history to lead the team to a playoff victory with an amazing 18-point comeback in a wild-card win at Kansas City . He also became the fifth quarterback in NFL history with at least 9,000 yards passing (9,476) and at least 900 yards rushing (913) in his first three seasons.
But Mariota also had more interceptions (15) than touchdown passes (13) last season, though he had four TDs and only one interception in two playoff games.
Luckily for Mariota and the Titans, the quarterback is as healthy as he's been since being drafted at this time of year. His rookie season ended with a sprained knee Zay Jones Jersey , and he broke his right leg in the next-to-last game of his second season. A year ago, he wasn't allowed on the field while he recovered .
"It's kind of crazy to think about where I was last season at this time, and now here I am today," Mariota said. "Being able to run out there and compete, and practice with these guys, it's night and day and I'm just excited to be out there with the guys."
Mariota got to work on chemistry with some of his wide receivers in March in California.
The process of learning the new playbook started April 9 with the start of the Titans' offseason program, and Wednesday was the second of a three-day voluntary minicamp the Titans were allowed with Vrabel being a new coach. This is all new for Mariota along with Blaine Gabbert, signed in March as Mariota's new backup.
Learning the new names for the plays is the first hurtle. Vrabel said he knows players tend to look at a play call and translate to what they used to call it.
"You have to try to train them to understand the new language and the verbage Sherrick McManis Jersey ," Vrabel said. "I think there's also a give and take where, 'OK, if everybody is familiar with that, well then we'll make it that or we'll call it that.' I think that's where you try to blend the different systems."
Mariota isn't tipping how different this offense might look just yet either. He's focused on learning and making sure the offense is on the same page.
"It's an ongoing thing," Mariota said. "But, I love learning and doing my best to put everything that we learn out on the field."
Donte DiVincenzo JerseyMariota is busy learning his latest NFL offense Joe Thomas Jersey , but any talk about what plays the fourth-year QB prefers will have to wait at least until he knows everything LaFleur is asking him to run.
"I'm just trying to grasp everything," Mariota said Tuesday. "You don't want to be opinionated on something that you have never run. I just try to go out there and execute, and do what they're asking me to do. When we come back and we have to determine some of these things, and determine what we like and what we don't like, I'll definitely express my opinion."
That's exactly what LaFleur expects, even if he's learning that getting the polite Mariota to speak up isn't always easy.
"He's an extremely bright guy," LaFleur said. "He's picked it up pretty quickly. Again Marlon Mack Jersey , I think it's more or less just having that confidence in being able to go out there and not think so much when he's playing. So the more reps he's been getting, the better he's been doing."
The Titans wrap up their organized team activities this week, and their mandatory minicamp next week concludes the offseason where first-time head coach Mike Vrabel and his staff have been busy teaching and installing new offensive and defensive schemes. LaFleur, the third man to interview for the Titans' head coaching job in January, joined Vrabel as his offensive coordinator for the chance at calling plays in the NFL.
LaFleur's biggest challenge is making sure the Titans put Mariota in position to take advantage of his skills. Tennessee fired coach Mike Mularkey after winning the franchise's first playoff game in 14 years because they didn't get enough out of Mariota and the offense last season despite going 9-7.
The Titans tied for 22nd in the NFL with 33 touchdowns despite tying for second with 18 TDs rushing. Only four teams threw fewer passes than Tennessee (496), and the Titans ranked 23rd averaging 199.4 yards passing per game. They also fell to 15th in the league running the ball for an average of 114.6 yards.
LaFleur joined Tennessee from the Los Angeles Rams who scored a league-high 29.9 points per game last season. What LaFleur wants from the Titans all starts with the run game and his very mobile quarterback.
"We're going to try to have a strong marriage between the run and the pass, so that to a defense it might look Michael Brockers Jersey , 'Oh, here comes another run,' and it's play-action off that run," LaFleur said.
To rev up the run game, the Titans released veteran DeMarco Murray in March and signed Dion Lewis as a free agent to join Derrick Henry. LaFleur said he looks at the running backs as 1A and 1B.
In the end, the biggest key also is the most obvious: keep Mariota healthy for a full season for the first time in his career.
"When he's healthy, this offense runs smoothly and we've got to keep him that way John Miller Jersey ," Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker said.
Notes: Left tackle Taylor Lewan and wide receiver Corey Davis were not at Tuesday's session. Vrabel said he had heard from the players not in attendance. ... Linebacker Kevin Dodd, the No. 33 pick overall in 2016, has been missing in action during the three organized team activity sessions open to reporters. Vrabel said Tuesday he could end the mystery because Dodd wasn't around. The upcoming minicamp is mandatory.
The Atlanta Falcons have indefinitely suspended their relationship with Papa John’s. The Seattle Seahawks have now taken similar action.
Via KIRO-TV, the Seahawks currently are not partnering with the nationwide pizza chain, which has four locations in CenturyLink Field. It’s unclear whether the relationship has been terminated or simply suspended.
The NFL parted ways with Papa John’s earlier this year, but multiple individual teams still do business with the company. The suspensions by teams like the Falcons and Seahawks ultimately may be temporary, with relationships resuming once the dust settles on recent events that resulted in company founder John Schnatter being excommunicated from the company. The spark came when Forbes.com reported that Schnatter made racially insensitive remarks during a conference call with a firm that had been hired to help Schnatter rehabilitate his image.
UPDATE 1:42 p.m. ET: The Seahawks tell PFT that the relationship with Papa John’s has ended Adam Gotsis Jersey , that the team currently is finalizing a new pizza partnership, that the new partner will be announced during training camp if not sooner, and that this process began “months ago.”
Donte DiVincenzo JerseyThe move reunites Thomas with Lou Anarumo, his position coach with the Dolphins. Anarumo joined coach Pat Shurmur's staff as the defensive backs coach.
Thomas is the seventh defensive player added by New York in the last two weeks, joining linebackers Alec Ogletree and Kareem Martin, defensive backs Teddy Williams, Curtis Riley and B.W. Webb; and defensive tackle Josh Mauro.
Thomas played in 13 games last season with two starts. He had 16 tackles, plus seven special teams tackles.
Thomas entered the NFL with San Francisco in 2012 as a free agent out of Stanford. He spent that season and most of 2013 on the practice squad.
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians have spent much of the first half of the season looking for a dependable No. 5 starter for their rotation to slot in behind Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger.
The Indians think they might now have found their No. 5 Chris Ivory Jersey , and he will be on the mound Friday night at Progressive Field against the Detroit Tigers.
He’s 23-year-old right-hander Shane Bieber. A fourth-round pick by the Indians in the 2016 draft out of UC Santa Barbara, Bieber (1-0, 3.97 ERA) will be making his third start for the Indians, which he landed with his strong performance in the minor leagues this year.
In a combined 12 starts at Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus, Bieber was 10-5 with a 1.29 ERA. In 76 innings, he struck out 72 and only walked six.
Bieber is a premier strike thrower. In 2017, pitching at three minor league levels, he was 10-5 with a 2.86 ERA. In 173 innings Carl Nassib Jersey , he had 162 strikeouts and only 10 walks.
Bieber’s last major league start came June 17, a 4-1 win over Minnesota, in which he pitched 5 2/3 innings and gave up one run, 10 hits, with seven strikeouts and one walk.
“He comes as advertised. He threw a lot of strikes, with one walk. He gave up a lot of hits, but because he didn’t walk anyone, and executed a lot of good pitches with men on base Torrey Smith Jersey , he came away allowing just one run,” Indians manager Terry Francona said.
Bieber has made two spot starts for the Indians this year, but after his last one, team officials decided to give Bieber a longer look in the rotation.
“This is the first time he’s pitched for us and not gone back down (to the minors) after he pitched,” Francona said. “I think settling into a routine at the big-league level will be good for him. To be able to watch guys like (Corey) Kluber during the week will really help. The people in our player development department rave about his temperament, his makeup and his work ethic.”
The Indians come into Friday’s game riding a four-game winning streak in which they have outscored their opposition 28-6. That includes a three-game sweep of the White Sox in which they outscored Chicago 24-5.
Bieber’s mound opponent Friday night will be right-hander Mike Fiers, who has pitched well against Cleveland during his career.
In two starts against the Indians this year, Fiers is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA Reggie Wayne Jersey , having allowed two runs and eight hits in 13 innings with 13 strikeouts and two walks. In six career starts against Cleveland, Fiers is 3-1 with a 2.04 ERA.
Fiers’ last start was a 4-3 Tigers win over the Chicago White Sox on June 15. Fiers worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs and eight hits with four strikeouts and one walk. He did not get the decision.
Although the Tigers are three games below .500 at 36-39, they come into Friday’s game in second place in the American League Central, five games behind the division-leading Indians. Detroit had a five-game winning streak snapped by losing both games of a brief two-game series on Tuesday and Wednesday with Cincinnati.
Jaren Jackson Jr. JerseyAfter Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey aired his grievances against quarterbacks in an interview with GQ Devon Kennard Jersey , it’s natural that the quarterbacks he slighted will be asked to respond.
And Giants quarterback Eli Manning responded exactly the way you’d expect him to.
Via Scott Thompson of SNY, Manning was asked about Ramsey saying: “I won’t say Eli’s good.”
The veteran quarterback initially replied “no comment” before dropping in a joking “Who?”
Ramsey did offer kinder words for the connection Manning has developed with Odell Beckham, directing most of the praise toward the wide receiver.
If nothing else, Ramsey has made himself a target for that connection, as Manning and Beckham will face him in the regular season opener.
Rodney Hood’s most significant moment in these playoffs came while sitting on the bench.Well, he’s getting up and getting in the NBA Finals.
Looking for an offensive weapon to negate Golden State’s size and ability to switch assignments on defense, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said he’ll play Hood in Game 3 on Wednesday night in hopes of cutting into the Warriors‘ series lead.
Hood, who began this postseason in Cleveland’s starting lineup Jeremy Kerley Jersey , has been mostly a non-factor during the Cavs‘ spring run which included him refusing to check into the final minutes of a blowout win over Toronto in the second round.
That’s not an option now.
”We’re going to give Rodney a chance,” Lue said following practice at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday. ”He’ll get a shot and see how he does. He’s been working, staying ready. So we’ll see.”
Lue did not specify if Hood will start, when he’ll come in, how much he’ll play or whose minutes will be affected.
Hood promised to be ready for anything.
”I don’t know when it’s going to come or what stage of the game,” Hood said. ”I’ve been preparing. I’ve been working hard, so if I get the opportunity, just go out there and play. Just have fun.”
Trailing 2-0 Rashaan Gaulden Jersey , the Cavs are searching for some kind of spark and could find it if the 6-foot-8 Hood can tap into some of the offensive skills that made him attractive to Cleveland at the trading deadline.
He was acquired on Feb. 8 from Utah, and there were more than a few basketball experts who viewed the lean lefty as the best new piece on a day when the Cavs also dealt for guards George Hill, Jordan Clarkson and big man Larry Nance Jr.
Lue didn’t get nearly enough in Games 1 and 2 in Oakland from J.R. Smith (5 of 19) or Kyle Korver (4 points). Korver has been completely neutralized by the Warriors, who are not giving him any room to shoot.
”It’s hard because they switch out on everything,” Lue said. ”So all the actions you run for Kyle, they just switch out to deny and take him away. When they are helping on LeBron’s penetration, the one guy they’re staying at home on is Kyle. They’re not leaving his body.”
Unlike the 37-year-old Korver, Hood is quick enough to beat the Warriors off the dribble Kyle Long Jersey , create open space to shoot and maybe get to the rim. Defensively, he’s got length and mobility.
He’s shown flashes. The Cavs now need him to shine steadily.
”He’s very talented,” said forward Kevin Love. ”He’s a guy that can step in and fill up a scoreboard. Left-handed. A little bit unorthodox in the way that he plays. Just having that height on him and that wingspan, and the ability to not only make shots, but on the defensive end to switch out. Also play a guy like K.D. (Kevin Durant) at his size and just make it tough on both ends of the floor for their team. That gives all of us a lot of confidence that he can come in and make an impact.”
Hood’s short stay in Cleveland has been nondescript.
He averaged 16.8 points for the Jazz, but the 25-year-old never truly found his rhythm while coming off the bench for the Cavs over the regular season’s final 21 games. Still, he was in Lue’s starting lineup for the series opener against Indiana before Cleveland got beat soundly.
Hood saw spot duty the remainder of that series, and was essentially ineffective in three games against the Raptors before Lue tried to send him into the closing minutes of the clinching win on May 7 as the Cavs completed a sweep of the Eastern Conference’s top-seeded team.
When Hood declined Terrell Davis Jersey , it upset a few teammates. Hood insisted he wasn’t protesting his reduced role and explained that there had been a mix-up. He apologized to the Cavs, many of whom laughed off the incident as minimal in a season overflowing with juicier drama.
While waiting for another chance, Hood has received positive support from Cleveland’s coaches and former teammates, including Joe Johnson who could relate to his plight after sitting in Houston.
Hood is confident he’s ready.
”Just going out there and try to help the team, on offense be aggressive and on defense just be physical,” he said.
Hood struggled during a playoff series with Utah against Golden State a year ago, making just 1 of 15 3-pointers and shooting 12 of 38 overall.
Those stats don’t matter now.
The only number that counts is his and will soon be called.
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Wide receiver Tyreek Hill was nestled comfortably in the womb.
It was January 1994 Vontae Davis Jersey , Joe Montana was the quarterback and the Chiefs beat the Steelers on an overtime field goal by Nick Lowery to advance.
And it’s hard to believe anybody packed inside Arrowhead Stadium that day imagined a quarter century would pass without another home playoff win.
”It would be nice to break that,” Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith said, ”but you can’t add any extra motivation once you get to this stage. This is all the work we’ve been putting in as this team from day-one – this team. When we were putting in our goals and talking about that.
”It’s tough to add any more motivation with historic streaks or things like that.”
Besides, the Titans (9-7) are trying to end their own maddening stretch of playoff futility.
Tennessee rumbles into Kansas City for the wild-card round Saturday in its first postseason trip since 2008, when the Titans were the AFC’s top seed.
If they can waltz out with a win, as they did in 2016, it would be their first playoff victory since January 2004.
”It’s playoff time,” Titans safety Kevin Byard said. ”I dream about … matchups, about going up against guys like (Travis) Kelce and going up against Andy Reid, a Hall of Fame-level coach. He’s a great coach. And going into Arrowhead Stadium, one of the louder stadiums, I don’t think there’s better you can ask for in the first week of the playoffs.”
Indeed, there are story lines galore in a game that could be overshadowed by higher-profile matchups Chris Harris Jr Jersey , or perhaps overlooked because of the Chiefs’ midseason swoon and the Titans’ late-season slump.
Smith is trying to validate the best season of his career in what could be his final game for the Chiefs (10-6). Hill is hoping to show off his world-class speed on a national stage.
And running back Kareem Hunt, who won the NFL rushing title this season, will have a chance to etch his name alongside the likes of Todd Gurley and Le’Veon Bell as one of the league’s best.
”If you lose, you go home,” Hunt said simply. ”Everybody is giving their all not to go home.”
On the flip side, Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota will try to rewrite the story of an up-and-down season with his playoff debut. Running back Derrick Henry and his supporting cast will help. And embattled coach Mike Mularkey will try to prove he was the right man for the job all along.
”The intensity and everything goes up when you get to this point,” Mularkey said.
As the Titans prepare to visit the Chiefs, here are a few more story lines to watch:
DEEP THREAT: The Chiefs lost kick returner Akeem Hunt to an injury last weekend against Denver, and special teams coach Dave Toub said Hill could return against the Titans. The speedster was taken off that particular duty this season to keep him fresher for the offense.
Toub was asked what the Chiefs lost in that sacrifice. ”Maybe two touchdowns,” he said flatly.
SPEAKING OF SPECIAL TEAMS: The Titans beat the Chiefs 19-17 in December 2016 on a game-ending field goal by Ryan Succop, who had spent most of his career with Kansas City. Succop came up short on his first attempt at the 53-yarder, but Reid had called timeout just before to give him another shot.
Succop made the mulligan for a victory in the coldest game in franchise history.
MARIOTA’S MOMENT: The Titans’ young quarterback had struggled down the stretch, when they lost three straight to fall off the playoff pace.
But while his numbers against Jacksonville last week to help clinch a postseason berth were modest Boomer Esiason Jersey , several teammates said Mariota got his swagger back.
”It was just me being me,” he said. ”Again, I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. This is the time in the season when you’ve just got to lay it all on the line.”
WATCH FOR FLAGS: The Chiefs were among the most penalized teams in the NFL this season, getting flagged 118 teams. The Titans were the second-best in the league, drawing just 85 penalties – second-fewest in franchise history for a 16-game season. In a playoff game with razor-thin margins, penalties could be the difference between winning and losing.
ARROWHEAD MYSTIQUE: The weather should be in the 40s for kickoff Saturday, or about 40 degrees warmer than when these teams met last season.
That should make it more comfortable for players, but also fans that will be plenty lubricated from their tailgates by the late afternoon kickoff.
”There’s nothing like Arrowhead Stadium when that place is packed,” Reid said, ”and it’s a little cold and the ground is shaking a little bit. It doesn’t get any better.”
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It wasn’t Friday the 13th, but it was a nightmare nonetheless for Danny Duffy.
On May 13, the Kansas City Royals 29-year-old left-hander took the mound at Progressive Field in Cleveland. After 87 pitches in 3 1/3 innings Jourdan Lewis Jersey , Duffy was finished.
“What do I remember from the last one?” Duffy said. “I try to forget it. It was probably the worst start I’ve had in a long timfe.”
To say it was bad would be an understatement. Duffy gave up nine runs, eight hits and five walks and hit a batter. He yielded a three-run homer to Jose Ramirez in the second inning.
Manager Ned Yost mercifully replaced him in the third when Yan Gomes belted Duffy’s final pitch over the center-field fence with two runners on base.
Duffy gets a chance for a reprieve on Tuesday when he faces the Indians in the second game of the three-game series.
“I’m looking forward to getting out there,” he said. “It’s another challenge and I’m up for it. I’m going to do everything I can to execute every pitch and stay within my strengths.”
Duffy has not fared well against the Indians in his career. He is 2-8 with a 5.06 ERA, surrendering 39 earned runs in 69 1/3 inning in 17 career outings, 13 of them starts.
This season, he is 4-7 with a 4.94 ERA in 17 starts, allowing 95 hits, walking 46 and hitting two batters in 94 2/3 innings.
Opponents are batting .259 against Duffy. That breaks down to .264 by right-handed batters and .233 by left-handed batters. Lefties have hit .188 against Duffy since 2016.
Duffy has pitched better recently. He began the year 1-6 with a 6.88 ERA in his first 10 starts, giving up 39 earned runs in 51 innings. He is 3-1 with a 2.68 ERA in his past seven starts, allowing 13 earned runs across 43 2/3 innings.
In his last start, Duffy picked up a 5-4 decision over the Milwaukee Brewers on the road. He permitted one run, five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in six innings. He stranded two runners in the first and third inning. Jesus Aguilar’s home run in the sixth was the only run Duffy allowed.
Duffy will be looking for his first Kauffman Stadium victory this season. He is 0-3 with a 6.32 ERA in six home starts. His last home victory was Aug. 22, 2017.
The Indians Jalen Reeves-Maybin Jersey , who won the series opener 9-3 with Francisco Lindor driving in a career-high seven runs, will counter with rookie right-hander Shane Bieber, who is 3-0 with a 2.22 ERA in his first four career starts.
“I just want to go out there and continue what I’ve been doing so far,” Bieber said. “That’s just throwing three or four pitches for strikes and getting ahead, and trying to put guys away when I can.
“Really, it’s just a matter of trusting (catchers) Yan (Gomes) or Berto (Roberto Perez). They always know exactly what they’re doing, in case I don’t. They make up for my lack of experience.”
Bieber has plus breaking pitches.
“Right now, I’m relying on the slider and curveball,” he said. “I’ll use the fastball if they’re sitting on those two. I feel comfortable throwing those three especially. My change-up is a work in progress. All my pitches are a work in progress, obviously, but that one especially.
“Keeping them off balance with all three or four pitches is the best thing. If I can do that, things will be a little bit easier. That’s the goal for every starting pitcher.”
Moritz Wagner JerseyIan Kennedy was penciled in to start for the Royals on Wednesday night in the series finale against the Cleveland Indians in Kansas City.
The operative word was “penciled.”
“Not in ink Andrew Whitworth Jersey ,” Kennedy said before playing catch in advance of Tuesday night’s game.
Kennedy won’t be making that start. He was placed on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to June 30 with a strained left oblique.
Manager Ned Yost said Kennedy felt a little something while playing catch, so the Royals opted not to have him start.
“It doesn’t make any sense to push him,” Yost said. “We’ll bang him one start. We don’t want to jeopardize it and then he could be out six to eight weeks.”
Yost said Kennedy would probably miss just one start before being plugged back into the rotation.
Kennedy agreed the cautious way was the better way.
“I’ve learned from the past of pitching through things,” he said. “And I’ve learned my lesson that compensating is not always the best thing. It leads to more and more soreness and stuff going on later in the season when you’re trying to compensate and do things. So I’m going to be smart.”
Yost did not reveal who would take Kennedy’s rotation spot, but the Royals will probably recall right-hander Trevor Oaks from Triple-A Omaha to start. Oaks has not pitched since Friday, so Wednesday would be his normal day to pitch.
Oaks has put up some remarkable numbers with the Royals’ Pacific Coast League affiliate recently. He is 3-0 with a 0.64 ERA in his last seven starts with the Storm Chasers, allowing three earned runs and 29 hits over 42 innings in that span. He has walked 11 and struck out 27.
Oaks, 25, was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a three-team trade on Jan. 4, which sent Joakim Soria to the Chicago White Sox. Oaks was up briefly for the Royals earlier this season Sam Mills Jersey , going 0-1 with a 7.45 ERA in three appearances, including one start.
His lone start came on April 28 against the Chicago White Sox as the 26th man on the roster in the second game of a doubleheader. He allowed five earned runs on 12 hits over five innings, while walking one and striking out four.
The Indians used another grand slam, this one by Yan Gomes, to beat the Royals 6-4 on Tuesday night in the middle game of the series. Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam in the Monday victory. The Indians top the American League with eight grand slams this season.
Right-hander Trevor Bauer, who is 7-6 with a 2.45 ERA, will start the series finale for the Indians. This will be his 18th start this season and his 150th career appearance.
Bauer lost his prior start, a 3-1 decision in Oakland. He allowed two runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings.
This will be Bauer’s third start this season against the Royals with the first two at Progressive Field. He is 0-1 with a 3.55 ERA in the two starts.
For his career, Bauer is 2-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts against the Royals. He is 2-1 with a 2.27 ERA in six starts at Kauffman Stadium.
The Royals have lost five straight and 17 of 20. They have dropped to 35 games below .500 for the first time since ending the 2006 season at 62-100. They have scored four or fewer runs in 24 of their past 25 games.
Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia said Thursday he was ”falsely accused” in a 1996 sexual assault allegation that resurfaced this week, and he indicated that the matter has not been an issue as he has climbed from job to job in the years since.Patricia held a brief news conference one day after a Detroit News report that he and a friend were indicted 22 years ago by a Texas grand jury on one count each of aggravated sexual assault. They were accused of assaulting a woman on South Padre Island. The accuser did not testify and the case was dismissed.
”I was innocent then Sherrick McManis Jersey , and I am innocent now,” Patricia said.
The Lions said Wednesday night that a pre-employment background check did not turn up the incident. The team said Patricia was 21 at the time and on spring break in Texas. The Lions said they were standing by Patricia.
An NFL spokesman said Thursday the league ”will review the matter with the club to understand the allegations and what the club has learned.”
Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford, general manager Bob Quinn and president Rod Wood were at Thursday’s news conference but did not speak.
”I’m here to defend my honor and clear my name. Twenty-two years ago, I was falsely accused of something very serious,” Patricia said . ”There were claims made about me that never happened. While I’m thankful on one level that the process worked, and the case was dismissed, at the same time, I was never given the opportunity to defend myself.”
Patricia took a few questions but did not provide details about the day in question.
”I was falsely accused of something that I did not do,” he said.
The Detroit News, citing a March 1996 story in the Brownsville (Texas) Herald Rob Havenstein Jersey , said Patricia and a friend were accused of entering the hotel room where the woman was sleeping and sexually assaulting her. The men were arrested later that night and released on bond, according to the story and court records.
The indictment came that August, but the case was eventually dismissed. The Detroit News posted a motion to dismiss from January 1997, which said the alleged victim did not feel she could ”face the pressures or stress of a trial.”
Patricia’s first NFL coaching job was as an assistant with the New England Patriots in 2004, and he remained with them through last season, when he was the defensive coordinator. He was hired by the Lions in February to replace Jim Caldwell.
Before joining the Patriots, Patricia worked as a graduate assistant in 1996 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, his alma mater. That was before he spent two years working as an aeronautical engineer. Patricia was an assistant coach at Amherst and a graduate assistant at Syracuse before moving on to the NFL.
”I’ve interviewed for a lot of jobs,” Patricia said. ”Interviewing for jobs in engineering right after the situation happened, it was never an issue Deyshawn Bond Jersey , it never came up as anything, because it was dismissed, and I was innocent, so it just has never been part of any process that I’ve been involved with.”
Patriots coach Bill Belichick said the team wasn’t aware of the legal case and expressed support for Patricia.
”For 14 years in our organization, Matt conducted himself with great integrity and is known to be an outstanding coach, person and family man,” Belichick said in a statement. ”We have always been confident in Matt’s character and recommended him highly to become the head coach of the Detroit Lions.”
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The winner will be announced June 20 at the NHL Awards shows in Las Vegas.
Doughty, the 2016 winner, led the NHL in total ice time (2,200:31) and average time (26:50) while anchoring a Los Angeles defense that allowed a league-low 203 goals. He had 10 goals and 50 assis
Hedman shared first place among NHL defensemen with a career-high 17 goals, tied for the second-most in one season by a Lightning blueliner. He also ranked fifth among NHL defensemen with 63 points.
Subban, the 2013 winner with Montreal, anchored a Predators defense that led the NHL in goals (56) and points (206) in 2017-18. He set a career high and shared fourth place among league defensemen with 16 goals. Subban also ranked eighth among defensemen with 59 points.
Terrelle Pryor knows he’s getting closer – little by little – to being fully healthy again. Staying patient, however, has been his biggest challenge.The New York Jets wide receiver is coming off offseason ankle surgery and has been gradually getting more time on the field during training camp. Pryor participated in about 10 snaps in team drills Thursday and ran eight routes.
That’s progress. Slowly but surely.
”I’m not there (yet),” Pryor said. ”I talk to my teammates and I tell them all the time, it feels like I’m almost there but then I don’t have that just (snaps finger) yet, and it’s like Corey Moore Jersey , yeah, I get it and it’s going to take a couple of weeks. I’ll get there. I feel pretty good, though.”
Pryor, who turned 29 in June, couldn’t practice during organized team activities or minicamp after having arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle with a different injury from the one that shut him down with the Redskins last season.
He was in a walking boot until the second day of minicamp, so just being able to run now in 11-on-11 drills is an encouraging sign.
”Some days, you get sore sometimes, but for the most part they have it under control – I have it under control,” Pryor said. ”It feels good. I’ve just got to continue the progression and believing.”
It’s uncertain if Pryor, the former Ohio State quarterback who’s still developing as a wide receiver will be a full go by the time the Jets play their preseason opener against Atlanta on Aug. 10.
There’s no need to rush things at this point, not when he played hurt for most of last season with Washington before being shut down.
”It’s early on, just the second week into camp Shaq Thompson Jersey , fifth or sixth practice,” he said. ”I’ve just got to understand that and keep that perspective. Once I get out there and I start catching more balls and getting targets and stuff like that, I’ll get my confidence. Everybody needs a confidence boost, in terms of that.
”So I’ve got to continue to do that and continue to show the quarterbacks I can get open and I think I’ll keep on growing in confidence from that.”
Pryor signed a one-year, $6 million contract with Washington last season and was expected to be a major part of the Redskins’ offense after leading Cleveland in receptions, yards receiving, TD catches, yards per game and yards per catch in 2016. But he tore the deltoid ligament in his ankle in Week 1 and tried to play through the pain.
He opted for season-ending surgery after nine games and just 20 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown. His lone season in Washington was a bust, and the Redskins allowed him to become a free agent.
Pryor signed a one-year deal worth $4.5 million with the Jets in March, and joined a wide receiver corps that includes Jermaine Kearse, Robby Anderson and Quincy Enunwa.
”Obviously, he’s a big guy Marshall Faulk Jersey , but he can really run and stretch the field,” quarterback Josh McCown said of the 6-foot-4, 228-pound Pryor. ”For him, when they made that transition the last year I was there in Cleveland and made the transition to receiver, and in every year he has gotten better and better. It’s been a work in progress, but we’re glad to have him and he has put a lot of work in.”
The Jets will travel to Richmond, Virginia, for joint practices with the Redskins from Aug. 12-14 before the teams’ preseason game Aug. 16. That matchup provides a bit of a juicy matchup with Pryor going up against his former teammates.
In June, Redskins linebacker Zach Brown said Washington’s defense ”will have it out” for Pryor, who apparently rubbed his teammates the wrong way with the way he went about things in practice.
”Try to one-hand something while you’re with the Jets,” Brown said, ”you’re going to catch a forearm.”
During minicamp John Johnson Jersey , Pryor brushed off the comments. This time around, the Jets receiver was a bit more expansive – and direct.
”We’re there to practice and get better,” Pryor said. ”If I wanted to put my shoulder down and hit one of them and be chippy, too, I’m sure I could do that. But that’s not why we’re there. We’re there to get better.
”If they take dirty shots, I’m sure we’ll handle that accordingly.”
Pryor added that he didn’t want to ”individualize myself” by talking about potential beef between him and the Redskins.
”It’s about us going there and getting better day by day,” he said, ”like we’re trying to do here.”
NOTES: WR Quincy Enunwa sat out for the second straight day with what Bowles said was ”sore” right hand. … Rookie CB Parry Nickerson tweaked his right hamstring while covering Pryor in drills. It wasn’t immediately known if the injury might sideline the sixth-rounder out of Tulane who has had a strong camp. … Rookie QB Sam Darnold had his best practice since ending his contract holdout Monday. The No. 3 overall pick threw two touchdown passes in goal-line drills and also ran for a score earlier in practice.
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Sherman joined San Francisco after getting released by rival Seattle following season-ending surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon. He was unable to participate in the offseason program but pronounced himself 100 percent when he reported to camp Wednesday and will take part in the team's first practice Thursday.
Sherman earned a $2 million bonus for passing his physical under a contract he negotiated himself following the injury that ended his season last November. Sherman consulted with former Lakers great Kobe Bryant on what it takes to come back from that kind of injury and always believed he would be ready for the start of camp.
"It was a grind Hroniss Grasu Jersey ," he said. "But I think it was more like one of those things that you can look at optimistically or pessimistically. You can look at it as, 'Woe is me, why did this happen to me? Why do I have to go through this?' Or you could look at it as, 'I needed another great challenge and I needed another mountain to climb.' That's how I treated it."
Coach Kyle Shanahan said the initial plan for Sherman will be to practice the first two days, take a day off Saturday and then return to the field Sunday. The 49ers will take Monday off and the team will see how Sherman has responded to figure out what's next.
"We trust what he thinks and how he works," Shanahan said. "A lot of it is up to Richard. If he's being too aggressive Sammie Coates Jersey , it's our job to pull him back. It's a matter of time when he gets back and we want to be smart with that."
Six players will open camp on injured lists, although most are expected back relatively soon. Guard Jonathan Cooper (knee), receiver Trent Taylor (back) and linebacker Dekoda Watson (calf) are on the physically unable to perform list.
Linebacker Malcolm Smith had a lower leg injury while working out on his own recently and will begin camp on the non-football injury list, along with rookies Marcell Harris and Kentavius Street, who were hurt when they were drafted.
But having a healthy Sherman to start camp is a big boost for a team full of optimism after winning the final five games last season under quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to finish 6-10.
The midseason acquisition of Garoppolo from New England turned around a struggling franchise that had lost 24 of 27 games before he took over as starter late last season.
"I don't think anybody is thinking about last year," Sherman said. "It was a 6-10 team that didn't make the playoffs. The few positives that come from last year Ronald Leary Jersey , you can appreciate them, but it's still a 6-10 team that was picking in the top 10 in the draft. There's not a lot to celebrate. That's the way to approach it. Guys are hungry, they're excited to go out there and prove this is a great team that can win ballgames."
Sherman talking up the 49ers is an odd change following his years tormenting the franchise when he played for Seattle. He made the deflection that led to an NFC title-clinching interception in January 2014 before trash-talking Michael Crabtree and then memorably celebrated a Thanksgiving night win over the 49ers the following season by eating a turkey leg at midfield at Levi's Stadium.
Now he's mentoring young cornerbacks such as Ahkello Witherspoon, trading tips with Garoppolo, and quickly turning into a locker room leader.
"He's been pretty much the exact opposite of what I thought," veteran left tackle Joe Staley said. "I thought he was going to be annoying like he was annoying to me when he was in a Seahawks uniform but he's been nothing but great."
The 49ers are also hoping Sherman can get back close to his level of play during his prime in Seattle when he was perhaps the game's top shutdown cornerback. He was a first-team All-Pro for three straight seasons starting in 2012 Chaz Green Jersey , leading the league with eight interceptions in 2013.
Sherman still was one of the better cornerbacks the past three seasons, ranking second in the NFL by allowing just 49.2 percent of passes against him to be caught, according to Pro Football Focus.
He said he feels re-energized after the injury.
"I'm not saying you get complacent, but you get bored," he said. "It's a routine. You go out there and play 16 games, play at a high level and do your best and you enjoy it Alex Erickson Jersey , but sometimes when you throw a wrench in the plans kind of helps you. It wakes you up. It reignites the fire. It takes you back to where you need to be."
NOTES: Second-round WR Dante Pettis signed his rookie deal late Wednesday afternoon. ... The 49ers signed OL JP Flynn to a two-year deal and DLs Will Sutton and Cedric Thornton to one-year contracts. DB Don Jones, OL Jamar McGloster and DL Blaine Woodson were waived to make room on the roster.
Two people with direct knowledge the decision confirm to The Associated Press the Buffalo Bills have agreed to sign free agent defensive end Trent Murphy to a three-year contract.The people spoke on the condition of anonymity on Wednesday because the deal was reached before the NFL's business year opened later in the day.
NFL first reported the agreement.
Murphy spent the past four seasons in Washington after being selected in the second round of the 2014 draft. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, he is best known for his pass-rushing ability. He had 15 sacks in 47 games, including nine in 2016.
Murphy missed all of last season after tearing two ligaments in his left knee in a preseason game against Baltimore. Had he not been injured, Murphy would have missed the first four games of the season serving an NFL suspension for violating the NFL's performance enhancers policy.
The Bills finished tied for 30th in the NFL with just 27 sacks last season.
Anfernee Simons JerseyAttorney Tanya Mitchell Graham says in a statement to news outlets that her client was physically assaulted Tuesday morning by a man who entered the home with no signs of forced entry. The man demanded specific items of jewelry that had been gifted to her from McCoy Sam Shields Jersey , who had requested them back on many occasions.
The Associated Press is not identifying the woman, pending further details of the attack.
McCoy and the woman have been in court over his attempts to evict her from the home.
An image of the ex-girlfriend's bloodied and beaten face was shown in a social media post blaming McCoy for the assault. The football player denied the allegations Tuesday.
Now that Mike Sullivan and Barry Trotz have matched wits in a playoff series for three consecutive years, they harbor very few secrets.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals know each other inside-out from 17 postseason games since 2016. The coaches are very familiar with the dynamics of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin and just about all the other moving pieces.
”Every move that we make there’s a counter move, and every move they make there’s a little counter move,” Trotz said. ”It’s funny: A lot of them are the same things that we’ve seen at different parts in the last couple series. They just come in different order sometimes at you. There’s only maybe so many bricks that you have and they are just lined up a different way all the time.”
Sullivan moved his pieces around as Pittsburgh tied the series at 2-2, and now Trotz gets the next chance in their chess match for Game 5 on Saturday (7 p.m. EDT, NBC). After Alex Ovechkin put no shots on net for the third time in his playoff career – with Tom Wilson suspended the first of three games – it starts with finding the right mix on the top line.
Trotz tried Devante Smith-Pelly with Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov, and that trio was outshot 21-9 at even strength. Maybe Smith-Pelly will be back on that line Preston Brown Jersey , maybe he won’t after the Capitals coaching staff pored over video to see what went wrong.
”We’re looking at that,” Trotz said. ”I think that whole line has to be better for us. They’re going to need to be productive.”
Pittsburgh’s top line of Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby and whoever else has been incredibly productive. All 10 of the Penguins’ goals in the series have come with Crosby on the ice, and Guentzel leads all players in the playoffs with 10 goals and 21 points.
”I just think he’s the best player in the game,” Sullivan said of Crosby, who played with Guentzel and Dominik Simon in Game 4. ”Sid certainly makes everybody around him better players but you’ve got to give Jake a lot of credit for the game that he’s playing.”
The Penguins got speedy winger Carl Hagelin back from injury while the Capitals lost Wilson. That’s a disadvantage for Washington, but the spotlight is still on Trotz to make the necessary adjustments as Capitals-Penguins becomes a best-of-three series.
”I think every game both teams recalibrate, if you will, in some areas,” Trotz said. ”There’s little changes we’ve noticed with them Kony Ealy Jersey , and there’s some changes that we added in. Some of them worked and some of them didn’t have the effect that we wanted to. At the end of the day, it’s two guys going nose to nose, battling for position, battling for free pucks, executing on plays under pressure. Once we put a plan in place, we put the players in charge, really.”
CHESS MATCH II
In the West, Nashville coach Peter Laviolette also made a key change in the series between the NHL’s top two teams, benching Game 2 double-overtime hero Kevin Fiala in favor of veteran Scott Hartnell for more size, strength and experience against Winnipeg. That Mark Walton Jersey , plus replacing Alexei Emelin with Yannick Weber, allowed Nashville to better counter imposing Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien in tying the series at 2-2. Game 5 is Saturday night in Nashville (9:30 p.m. EDT, NBCSN).
Laviolette said making a change involves taking into account the opposition, building, a player’s experience and style of play.
”They’re never easy,” Laviolette said. ”But I thought the guys that went in the lineup last night did a really good job. Hartnell played a good game. He did what we were hoping he would do, and I thought Yannick Weber went in and played a good game.”
With the Jets held without a shot for the first 12 minutes of the third period, Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice started mixing up his lines. He swapped centers, skating Mark Scheifele with Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine with Paul Stastny between Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor. Laine scored his first goal of the series and first in the postseason since Game 2 on April 13 against Minnesota.
DERBY DAY ODDS
The betting favorite to win these two series will be whoever comes out on top in Game 5, based on history alone. The 256 previous times where it was tied at 2 Kawann Short Jersey , the Game 5 winner went on to win the series 78.9 percent of the time. So there’s no urgency lacking.
”We’re going to need our best effort of the series probably in Game 5 to get a win,” Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen said. ”I think we’re building a belief that we can beat these guys. We know we’re going to have to play really well, but it’s possible. We think we can do it.”
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AP Sports Writers Will Graves in Pittsburgh and Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed.
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Herrera joined the Washington Nationals on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after being traded from the last-place Kansas City Royals for three minor leaguers.
A two-time All-Star, Herrera had 14 saves and a 1.05 ERA this season. Washington already has a closer, Sean Doolittle, so Herrera will be entering the game earlier than usual for now.
”I explained it to him and I think he gets it,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. ”The way I explain it to all these guys is, `When you come in the game think of it as you’re closing that inning Cedric Ogbuehi Jersey , cause that’s a big moment. So we need you either the sixth, the seventh, the eighth, whatever.”’
That’s just fine with Herrera.
”Whatever inning I may get called upon, I just focus on getting that one hitter out,” the right-hander said through an interpreter.
With 14 saves and one win, Herrera had a hand in more than two-thirds of Kansas City’s 22 victories this season. But the Royals were going nowhere Chris Harris Jr Jersey , which is precisely why they dished off their best reliever for a trio of prospects: 21-year-old outfielder Blake Perkins, 23-year-old infielder Kelvin Gutierrez and 17-year-old pitcher Yohanse Morel.
Herrera won a World Series ring with Kansas City in 2015. Now he’s got a shot at earning one with the Nationals, who started the day 3 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East.
”The one thing I have seen about this team for the past few years is they’re always in the battle and the fight for the playoffs,” Herrera said. ”There is great chemistry here. I’m just ready to join the team and help any way I can.”
There will likely come a time when Herrera is asked to do what he does best, which is to get the final out in a tight game.
”I did tell him that Doolittle is our closer and he’s been very good at it, but you’ll get a chance to close every now and then,” Martinez said.
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo made the deal because he knows you can’t have too many good pitchers working the back end of a ballgame.
”We wanted a guy who had been through the wars before Tyler Ervin Jersey , that’s established and that was pitching extremely well,” Rizzo said. ”Kelvin fit all those criteria.”
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A banner offseason for the Jets has taken another turn, as another receiver has found himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Jets wideout ArDarius Stewart is facing a two-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, but testing positive for a diuretic or a masking agent.
The league hasn’t announced the suspension or commented (other than having one of their employees report it).
Stewart, their 2017 third-rounder, caught six passes as a rookie last season Troy Hill Jersey , and is buried on the depth chart at the moment.
Between the offseason arrest and potential league punishment of Robby Anderson and the release of oft-injured second-rounder Devin Smith, the Jets have had a rough offseason at the position.
Kevin Knox Jersey