Category: Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders

Titans re-sign guard Quinton Spain

The Titans have brought back a key member of their offensive line for another year.

According to a tweet from his agents, Titans left guard Quinton Spain has signed his one-year deal with the team.

Eduardo Rodriguez rejoined the Boston Red Sox’s rotation on Sunday (the final day of ESPN’s Week 1), lining him up for a Friday start during Week 2. Drew Pomeranz (DL, forearm), too, is on the mend and could be a candidate to assume the team’s Saturday opening. Rodriguez will grant fantasy managers an opportunity to scout him before the week begins, strengthening his status as a strong Week 2 play. Pre-Sunday, I’d say start Rodriguez regardless, and so long as Pomeranz gets the official OK to take that Saturday start, I’d chance using him too (though at a lesser degree than I would Rodriguez).

Among some of the lefty/righty matchups advantages to glean: The San Francisco Giants’ Austin Jackson (available in more than 99 percent of ESPN leagues) typically leads off against lefties, and the Giants are scheduled to face four left-handed starters; the Cincinnati Reds’ Jesse Winker (available in nearly 95 percent of ESPN leagues) has been leading off against right-handers, and the Reds are scheduled to face seven righty starters; the Tampa Bay Rays’ Brad Miller (available in more than 95 percent of ESPN leagues) has frequently been slotted at cleanup against righty starters, and the Rays are scheduled to face six right-handed starters.

Last year Worrilow often struggled for the Lions, but his skills as a run defender and special teams player give him a good chance at earning a roster spot in Philadelphia.

Speaking of matchups-oriented teams, the Dodgers also fit the description, having rolled out seven lineups in as many games to begin the season and given all 12 of their active hitters at least two starts apiece. If the Dodgers face four right-handed starters, as projected, Matt Kemp, Logan Forsythe and Enrique Hernandez would be sits in all formats (perhaps Kemp and Forsythe would still be worthwhile in deep NL-only leagues), while Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager would become the only Dodgers with even middle-of-the-road Week 2 matchups.

The Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays play the week’s only other interleague series, taking place Friday-Sunday at Tampa’s Tropicana Field. The Phillies will pick up the DH as a result, which is more beneficial to them than almost any other National League team, due to their glut of second basemen and outfielders. OK, who am I kidding? This is all about Scott Kingery, who made the team, has made starts at third base (two), shortstop (one) and right field (one) and continues to have to fight for at-bats all over the diamond.flames_022

The 30-24 win over the Seahawks moved the Jaguars (9-4) into first place in the AFC South.

After a 3-0 slugfest at halftime, the two teams exploded for 31 third quarter points as Jacksonville took a 14-point lead entering the final frame. Russell Wilson was able to conjure up more fourth-quarter magic but key a key fourth-down play late sealed the Seahawks’ fate as they fell to 8-5.

“I thought that was wrong. Wrong. He was wrong. I’ve talked to him [Jefferson] about it. Professional athletes, people can say whatever they want to say and that’s kinda just what comes along with it. You have to be able to deal with it professionally and he lost it. He feels terrible about it. It’s not the kind of kid he is. He just emotionally got overrun and he lost it. Fortunately, people restrained him and all that. It’s a tremendous learning opportunity for him and any other young guys.”

The Canucks took a 2-1 lead on the power play with 55 seconds left in the second period. Markus Granlund put a slick centering pass right on the tape of Boeser’s stick and he neatly steered it in for his 15th of the season. The impressive 20-year-old has 10 goals in his last 12 games.

“I’m really pleased with his game,” Canucks coach Travis Green said. “We knew he had a real goal-scoring touch and I know I keep saying it, but his play away from the puck is the part that probably impresses me more.”

This time, it was David Perron who got them started during a second-period flurry.

Perron, Reilly Smith and Brayden McNabb scored in a span of 3:37 to turn a 1-all tie into a two-goal lead, and Vegas held off the Dallas Stars 5-3 on Saturday night for its fourth straight victory.royals_009

Campbell doesn’t want for a second to consider the ramifications.

Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen on being 6-2 heading into the bye week: “This is the best team I’ve ever been a part of, from top to bottom.”

Ingram on his performance against the Bears: “I let my teammates down. I put us in a bad position. The game was only close because I sucked. I sucked. I sucked. That’s the bottom line: I sucked. Two possessions we’re about to ice the game, and I sucked. Let the ball go, hurt my team, hurt my coaches. That’s the thing about a family, that’s the thing about a team: They lift you up, they had my back, and we were able to get the W. But I was whack, I sucked, and I’ll be better.”

Arizona had a lead, and it lasted a full 1:18 before Gibbons tied it with the Devils down a man at 11:55. Gibbons drew a hooking call on Oliver Ekman-Larsson on a breakaway, leading to the penalty shot. New Jersey’s leading goal scorer broke in on Domingue and faked a shot before using a forehand-backhand move to slide the puck under Domingue.

“Stay the course,” Campbell said outside the doors to a defensive meeting room at the Bergstrom Football Complex after his more passionate locker-room appeal to the Cyclones in the wake of Iowa State’s 14-7 upset of fourth-ranked TCU.

This victory, the second in four weeks for the Cyclones over a team ranked in the top five of the Associated Press poll, induced thousands of jubilant bodies to flood the grass at Jack Trice Stadium.

Three of them have already lost by varying margins of sizable stature. The fourth, Stanford, awaits a date with the Fighting Irish in four weeks, which, frankly, bodes well for both — especially for Notre Dame, which looks to sit in the best position of the nine remaining one-loss hopefuls.
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Cam Newton remains a mystery from week to week, but this is a matchup built for him to rebound.

Sauter, second in points, is 42 points ahead of fifth-place Austin Cindric, while Crafton is 27 points ahead.

Both squandered opportunities to win Martinsville. Sauter had the best truck in winning the second stage, but then a slow pit stop put him seventh with 90 laps remaining.

Crafton won the opening stage and had the lead until a late restart, when Noah Gragson passed him with 10 laps remaining for his first career truck win.

“This one is going to piss me off for a while,” Crafton said. “We had a good truck. … I don’t worry about the stage points. I just know that I lost the race.”

It doesn’t get much more meta than this: a goalie named Jason with a mask featuring Jason Voorhees in his iconic goalie mask. The sides of the mask featured Jason with a trench coat over a Colorado Avalanche jersey — the psycho-killer Jason, not the goalie. Given the reputation of both professions, we felt the clarification necessary.

The Bucs can’t get to him up front, and they can’t cover anything deep downfield. He’ll be pumped for a must-win against fellow national champion, Heisman winner and No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston. The Bucs’ QB is playing well, too, but faces Julius Peppers and a much tougher defense.

Giannis hammers two-handed dunkGiannis Antetokounmpo catches a pass in the paint and abuses the rim with a dunk in second quarter against the Hawks.

As somebody who has lived this, what is the biggest challenge to get from being a quality player on a team to being the face of a team?

One, not to be caught up in [the hype] because we’re all, at the end, basketball players trying to achieve one thing, and that’s to win.canadiens_398_6f5baf9f451fa5c1-180x180

NFLPA, Elliott file appeal on district court ruling

Lawyers for the NFL Players Association filed an appeal to the Second Circuit on Tuesday in the Ezekiel Elliott case on Tuesday in an effort to get the Dallas Cowboys running back on the field as soon as possible.

In her ruling Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Katherine P. Failla found the NFLPA failed to establish, among other things, the allegations of fundamental unfairness it raised against the NFL after Elliott’s ban was upheld in arbitration under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. She also found that the steps the NFL undertook in suspending Elliott fell in line with federal labor laws, and wrote the Brady decision established precedent in “rejecting arguments similar to those here.”

A large, glistening crystal ball is what the club’s players and staff will be greeted with upon their arrival, a unique feature which comprises a spiral staircase which leads down into a new, plush reception area.

The players will be able to fine-tune their strengths in a new gym, accompanied by a large swimming pool with two jacuzzi’s which are in place purely for their own relaxation after a tough, exerting training session on the grass.

Tactical work and ball skills will be worked upon on a boastful seven full-size pitches which are dotted around the plot, a five a side pitch is also on offer for their fledgling academy players to use as they strive to become worthy of their senior member’s privileges on a more regular basis.

The dining area looms over the pitches, and if fatigue is to set-in, the complex even harbours its own sleeping rooms to oust any lingering exhaustion from a player’s rigorous regime both before and after games.
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NFL trade deadline: Browns reportedly fail on trade for Bengals QB AJ McCarron

The Browns and Bengals reportedly had a trade completed ahead of Tuesday’s deadline that would have sent AJ McCarron to Cleveland for two draft picks, but the trade was never finalized.

McCarron was a fifth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft out of Alabama. He has yet to take a snap for the Bengals this season, but has been the subject of many trade rumors after he performed well when Cincinnati’s starting quarterback Andy Dalton went down with an injury in 2015.

The 27-year-old went 2-1 in three regular season starts in 2015 with a 66.4 percent completion rate, six touchdowns and two interceptions. He also started a playoff game that the Bengals lost, throwing for a touchdown and 212 yards.

Former NFL wide receiver Derrick Mason was arrested Monday in Nashville and charged with aggravated assault after an altercation with a woman he has been dating for about a year.

Mason turned himself in to police around 9:10 p.m. Monday and released at 6:25 a.m. Tuesday after posting bond, jail records show. He is charged with aggravated assault-strangulation and vandalism and is scheduled to appear in court next Monday.

According to an affidavit filed by Davidson County prosecutors, Mason arrived at the woman’s house Monday morning and let himself in. The woman then told him she wanted to end the relationship, and the situation turned violent, with Mason allegedly grabbing her by the neck and slapping her with an open hand.

The woman told police Mason had punched her in the stomach, and responding officers found “signs of an apparent struggle” in the home, including a hole in the back of the front door. Officers noticed “bruising on the victim’s right upper arm, a red mark on the right side of her neck, and scratch on the top of her left hand.”chargers_031

The Titans offensive line is feasting on defenders

Retired NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz celebrates the week’s most disrespectful blocks. This week, we’ve got the Titans helping themselves to slabs of ribs, Washington’s OL, and some receivers in on the fun!

Many of the posts he shared on Wednesday were aimed at NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who addressed the media at the league’s owners meetings in New York. Goodell spoke at length about the national anthem protests, a movement that Kaepernick started last season as a member of the 49ers, saying he wants — but is not mandating — all players to stand for the song, saying he aims to put the number of protesters “at zero.”

“Goodell and his avoidance of police killing unarmed black and brown people is an extension of the coopting/erasure of Kaepernick’s cause,” came a tweet from @LeftSentThis, endorsed by Kaepernick.

Darnold has made some questionable decisions throwing the football this season (nine INTs ties his total from last season), but it hasn’t changed my evaluation of him. He simply makes plays when it matters, as seen again against Utah in the second half. His delivery still needs to be cleaned up, but his accuracy is phenomenal. He is the most complete quarterback in college football and a potential franchise signal-caller.

Barkley hasn’t played against terrific competition, but he looks like the best running back in the nation this season. With good balance and terrific lateral agility, he can run away from the defense when he gets to the second level. He did it all against Iowa in Week 4, willing Penn State to a 21-19 win to keep the team undefeated. He has a big matchup this weekend against a stout Michigan defense.

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“We’ve got a young team and they’re hungry,” Severino said.

Simply taking two in a row to send the series back to Cleveland was no small feat for the Yankees. The last time the Indians lost consecutive games was Aug. 22-23 at home against Boston, just before starting their AL-record 22-game winning streak. From that point on, Cleveland had gone 35-4 before arriving in the Bronx for Game 3 of the ALDS.

The Cavs have now moved two of their better individual defenders to the bench — Smith and Thompson — while only adding one plus defender back to that group in Crowder. Lue’s lineup appears to skew to offensively, but James sees potential in the defense Cleveland can get out of its starters.

“Jae, D-Wade is a big 2-guard, I’m a big small forward. … D-Rose is a big point guard,” James said. “We have the versatility and the ability to fly around with the athleticism that we have and the IQ we have as well. We can do a few different things defensively.”

Kaepernick’s collusion grievance in part, alleges league owners blackballed him NFC South tigers_049and were further coerced by President Donald Trump.

The NFL players’ union said Sunday it will support Kaepernick but will have no role in the grievance. The union didn’t learn of it until it was reported in the media Sunday.

“Our union has a duty to assist Mr. Kaepernick as we do all players and we will support him,” the statement said. “The NFLPA has been in regular contact with Mr. Kaepernick’s representatives for the past year about his options and our union agreed to follow the direction of his advisors throughout that time.

they have become the first expansion team in NHL history to win its first three games.

Last year, when they fell to the Dodgers in five games, Roark started Game 2 and did not factor in the decision. This season, the 31-year-old hurler was 13-11 with a 4.67 ERA. Strasburg went 15-4 with a 2.52 ERA that ranked third in the NL.

While the game itself felt secondary to the ceremony beforehand, the Golden Knights scoring four goals within the first 11 minutes before winning 5-1 gave the fans something to celebrate. Each goal provided a reason to stand up and cheer and high-five a stranger. Who knows how the Golden Knights’ inaugural season will play out, but during a time when this city needs something to feel good about, they have become the first expansion team in NHL history to win its first three games.

“I think the team is feeding off the city,” Foley said. “And I think the city is feeding off the team and the players and coming together as a community.”

New York, not the Broncos, looked like they had the best defense in the league, holding Denver to just three points for the majority of the game in the 23-10 win. The Giants forced three turnovers and sacked the hapless Trevor Siemian four times.

Siemian, who briefly exited the game with a left shoulder injury, threw for 347 yards in the loss. While he was able to return, receiver Emmanuel Sanders was carted to the locker room after suffering a third-quarter ankle injury.

A golden day for Cardinals’ oldies: The Cardinals beat the Buccaneers, 38-33, after bursting out to a 31-point lead behind a 100-yard, two-score rushing effort from 32-year-old Adrian Peterson, as well as strong performances from 37-year-old Carson Palmer and 34-year-old Larry Fitzgerald. “A great day for old guys,” Bruce Arians said afterward. Quite.tigers_047

Green Bay goes three-and-out on its first possession of the second quarter.

I think it has to be a league decision for this simple reason: It isn’t just like any other injury. We can’t condemn the NFL’s relative inaction in the CTE crisis in one breath and then celebrate Adams’ courage in the next without asking this question: How can it possibly be a good long-term idea for a receiver to play four days after one concussion (last year) and then 10 days after a second caused by one of the most vicious head hits in recent memory?

Green Bay was too busy enjoying another breathless victory over Dallas to weigh that one. Rodgers was Rodgers in the endgame, and he nailed down his 94th regular-season victory, tying the career total of Bart Starr, the quarterback who won the most memorable Packers-Cowboys game of all, the 1967 Ice Bowl. A series of late-life strokes and seizures have robbed Starr of nearly every memory of his iconic career, and his wife, Cherry, believes the hits her husband accumulated over the years are at least partly responsible for his physical and mental state.

Dallas is driving again. The Cowboys advance to Green Bay’s 20, where it faced a fourth-and-1. On the play, Prescott keeps it himself, dives forward and gains two yards to move the chains and keep the Cowboys offense on the field.

The Cowboys sacked Aaron Rodgers twice on the drive, and they’ll re-take position at their own 42 following a holding penalty on the punt return.

Touchdown Cowboys . On a third-and-6, Prescott again escapes pressure and finds Rod Smith down the field for an 18-yard gain. Two plays later, the quarterback connects with Cole Beasley for a 5-yard score to put Dallas ahead 14-6.
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