Month: November 2016

Manning has begun his offseason workouts and training regime

Although Manning has not made an official public statement on whether he will retire from the NFL or return to Denver next season, he has already met with team officials and has expressed a desire to suit up again for the Broncos in 2015.

Manning has begun his offseason workouts and training regime, reportedly “with the intent to play,” and indicated a few weeks ago that he is looking forward to working with Gary Kubiak. The new Broncos head coach also is Kam Chancellor Authentic Womens Jersey apparently willing to alter his offensive scheme in order to fit the future Hall of Famer’s strengths.

The key part of Manning’s decision hinges on his health and various medical examinations to determine whether he can make it through the rigors of another NFL season. Manning’s 2015 base salary of $19 million becomes fully guaranteed on March 9, so the team needs an answer from him before that date.

This is not Sapp’s first run-in with the law. In 2010 he was charged with domestic battery for allegedly choking a woman before Super Bowl XLIV in Miami. Those charges were later dropped. Sapp was also arrested in 2014 for alleged domestic battery in Miami.

Here’s Schefter’s convoluted explanation:

According to Schefter, the whole situation was caught on camera, and will be documented in the report from the investigation being conducted into allegations that the Patriots intentionally deflated footballs that were used during the first half of the AFC Championship.

It is unclear whether the official tried to sell the balls after the DeflateGate scandal Kevin Pierre-Louis Authentic Womens Jersey broke open (presumably, the scandal would have made the balls more valuable to potential buyers). Schefter did not indicate any link between the official’s actions and the Patriots’ alleged tampering with footballs.

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Thomas Greiss looked good in his one start sandwiched between a bunch of Jaroslav Halak stinkers

Thomas Greiss looked good in his one start sandwiched between a bunch of Jaroslav Halak stinkers. We’re pretty sure you want no part of either of them, but the result from Greiss at least makes us want to get another look at him soon. Halak is a hot mess. Again, the team in front of them is the bigger problem. Only the Coyotes have allowed more shot attempts Kenyan Drake Authentic Womens Jersey per game (Corsi against) this season.

Craig Anderson has a decent shot at a three-win week for the next fantasy period and he’s available in 30 percent of ESPN leagues. The Ottawa Senators just need to get him a little offensive support, which should be a little easier given the schedule that includes the Buffalo Sabres, Flyers and Florida Panthers.

The San Jose Sharks play their first two back-to-back sets of November this weekend and early next week, so we should get a better look at Aaron Dell. If he fairs well this weekend, consider him for a spot start if he draws the Coyotes on Tuesday.

It’s sooner than expected, but don’t be surprised if we see Jack Eichel next week for the Sabres. Get ready to make room to bring him off the injured reserve in your league.

Check on Jonathan Toews’ status through the weekend as he’s questionable for Friday’s game.

If you need a shot in the dark for some offensive help, Marian Gaborik is out there Kiko Alonso Authentic Womens Jersey in 95 percent of leagues and could be back with the Los Angeles Kings this weekend.

We’ve been waiting for a line for the Avalanche to show some chemistry — any chemistry at all — this season. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Rene Bourque did just that on Wednesday. Let’s see what they do against the Canucks this weekend and consider things from there.

Gotta love Stars coach Lindy Ruff. With Patrick Eaves tearing up the NHL alongside Seguin and Benn, Ruff switched his lines Wednesday coming off a win.

Still looking for more offense from the team’s stars, the Sharks moved Patrick Marleau up from the third line to the top line with Thornton and Joe Pavelski.

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Hoyer went on to say that baseball front offices do a good job of looking into their future

“He cut us a break last year, came back to us on a one-year deal,” Hoyer said. “He put his money where his mouth is. It’s a good lesson for everyone. He bet on himself and bet on being involved in something special. Something he can be really proud of.”

Hoyer went on to say that baseball Britton Colquitt Womens Jersey front offices do a good job of looking into their future, as everyone knows years ahead of time when players will become free agents. That works for players, as well — Fowler bet on himself knowing that a weak free-agent class was coming, and he was right.

One longtime agent thinks Fowler will get a minimum of four years and $60 million, while ESPN’s Jim Bowden estimates Fowler cashing in for upward of five years and $80 million. The Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets have shown interest in the 30-year-old, according to league sources.

Should the Cubs do what it takes to keep him? Let’s examine both options.

This year’s free-agent class is light on top-tier talent and depth, but there’s plenty of power to go around, including a few 40-homer guys.

If the Cubs ante up for Fowler, they’ll have to open up space in an outfield with too many bodies, especially with the return of Kyle Schwarber and the emergence of Baez at second base. Jason Heyward has seven years remaining on his deal, Ben Zobrist Cam Johnson Womens Jersey is signed for three more years, while Jorge Soler is also locked up and Almora appears ready for more playing time.

This kind of depth would be a good problem to have, though, and with Fowler in the fold, others would become expendable. Perhaps Almora becomes a centerpiece in a deal for young pitching. Or maybe it’s Baez. At this point, Soler would be a complementary piece, but it’s safe to assume he can be had in the right trade.

A commitment to Fowler would tie up the Cubs’ payroll and bank on him being productive into his mid-30s. The Cubs are already doing that with Zobrist and will eventually do so with Heyward, but outside of the core young players, was there anyone more valuable than Fowler in 2016?

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Calvin Johnson proved that, yes, he can dance

The former Detroit Lions wide receiver made it all the way to the “Dancing With the Stars” finals Monday evening, and is one of three contestants — along with IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe and Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez — to make Tuesday night’s finale, where he will vie for the Mirror Ball Trophy. And considering that Johnson’s sister, Erica, once said he had no rhythm, and his former teammates all said they figured this first venture in retirement wasn’t going to go well, Johnson did what he set out to do and proved them all wrong.

The NFL returned to México over these last few days, scheduling Blake Bortles Authentic Jersey Monday Night Football between the Houston Texans and the Oakland Raiders and organizing a three-day fan fest leading up to it. They love their football here, even if fútbol (soccer) remains the dominant sport. They watch, they cheer, they argue and they poke fun, usually by assigning silly nicknames to the NFL’s greatest players.

Much was made of the security measures being implemented ahead of the Raiders-Texans game in Mexico City, with some comparing the security levels to that of a Super Bowl. Despite that, one fan made his way through countless police checkpoints and metal detectors with the laser pointer, an item often present in other sporting events that Estadio Azteca usually hosts.

It is even common to see vendors selling the pointers mere blocks away from the stadium. In recent years, they’ve become part of the vending landscape prior to a big event. They are on par with scalpers, vendors selling jerseys — both authentic and fake — and those with carts full of street food.

Though Liga MX — Mexico’s top soccer league — and its international governing body, FIFA, expressly Brad Nortman Authentic Jersey forbid fans from interfering from the game, use of the pointers is difficult to enforce at the domestic level. Oft-times in soccer, the devices are directed at opposing goal keepers or the referees.

“There were multiple times when I saw a laser that came from the stands and there were definitely some times it hit me in the eye,” Osweiler told ESPN Mexico’s Luis Miguel Vasavilbaso. “I could not say that made the difference, but definitely having a laser pointing at your eye undoubtedly affects how you play a game.”

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DeRozan takes a whole lot of shots in general

Back in the early Durant-Westbrook-Harden era, it took the Thunder three years to get from No. 30 to top five in shooting efficiency. They didn’t have a Kobe-esque anchor at the start weighing them down, but if that collection of talent needed that much time to break through, it speaks to how tough the climb is for a young team.

In fact, this is ending now. The Lakers’ next six games are against Devin Mesoraco Authentic Womens Jersey the Spurs, Bulls, Thunder, Warriors twice, and Hawks. It’s been fun, Lil’ Showtime. The future is bright, but it is just that: the future.

DeRozan’s doing the same thing from the 15-to-19-foot range, too. His 3.9 made shots per game from the area is better than 10 entire teams, and his 7.4 attempts leads the next-closest player (Harrison Barnes) by two full attempts per game.

“I think anybody would understand that (posse is an offensive word). Anybody. I don’t think you have to be a rocket scientist or an educated person to understand kind of what that means to us.”

In case you missed it, Jackson sat down with ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan and somehow found himself criticizing LeBron’s behavior with the Heat. He called the people around LeBron — his successful business manager, his successful agent — a “posse,” which has certain connotations. A woke GM would stay far away from that word or those similar to it. Jackson is either not woke, or he is oblivious or too old to care. LeBron’s business manager Maverick Carter took public exception to the matter, and LeBron followed suit.

The debate over the word is one thing. I’m liable to offer Jackson the benefit of the doubt as Homer Bailey Authentic Womens Jersey he is actually from the Old West. But to even get yourself into a position where you might fire a completely unnecessary shot across LeBron’s bow? We all know Jackie Mac is a wizard of the highest order, but smarten up, Phil. Try to realize how things sound before they sprint out of your mouth. Isn’t self-awareness supposed to be your whole thing?

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Le’Veon Bell won’t apologize for patient running: ‘I’m controlling the pace’

Watching Ezekiel Elliott and Le’Veon Bell get after it in Week 10 was a love letter to rock-toting aficionados everywhere. Bell is the smooth, versatile rusher/receiver, while Elliott is wildly explosive through the hole on his way to an MVP campaign (thanks in part to the Steelers’ defense).

But Bell’s rushing style can be difficult to figure Vaughn Martin Authentic Womens Jersey out. Even the men blocking for him find it a unique experience. Bell waits, and waits, and waits some more, slow-cooking his runs until his rushing lanes have the right seasoning.

It’s hard to complain about the results after Bell recently became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 3,000 rushing yards and 1,500 receiving yards.

Le’Veon Bell says he has “perfected” being patient and waiting for his running lanes to develop. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
On short gains, it looks to the common fan like he waited too long. But to Bell, the process is way more complicated than that.

We’re talking third-dimension stuff.

“Some people would think that because it doesn’t look like I’m hitting the hole right now,” said Bell, who has 433 rushing yards on 100 carries and 45 catches for 360 yards through six games this season. “But essentially the hole is still going to be there. I’m just trying to make it bigger.”

Bell explains.

Which wide receivers have the easiest and toughest matchups in Week 11? Check out the downloadable PDF cheat sheet listing every matchup to help with your fantasy football decisions.

Keep that in mind as you set your fantasy lineups this week, and be sure to take advantage Ziggy Ansah Authentic Womens Jersey of our Roster Advisor tool to get an edge on your opponents. And for those taking part in the Eliminator Challenge, you can get an edge here, too, with the Survivor Guide.

Our weekly ESPN Insider cheat sheet provides a rundown of the greatest hits from all of our Insider fantasy football content. In this file, you’ll find answers to the top questions of the week, along with injury updates, matchup advantages and wild-card plays from Eric Karabell, Tristan H. Cockcroft, Matt Bowen, Scott Kacsmar, Mike Clay and Al Zeidenfeld. It’s all the best tips, distilled into one handy file.

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Thompson wasn’t alone in rallying around James

As if the Cavs needed reminders of the special player they have in James. On Tuesday, a fan was shown on the Jumbotron holding a sign that read, “I flew in from Taiwan to see LeBron.” Security guards line the tunnel from the locker room out to the court, and they all hold up a single fist when James makes his way through. He’s the only Cavs’ player who elicits that heightened awareness, because, well, he is the man everyone is there to see.

If anything though, James tries to share the shine — whether that be empowering his childhood friends Rich Paul, Maverick Carter and Randy Mims to Authentic Quincy Enunwa Jersey become business partners or spreading the wealth with a simple gesture like putting a pair of Beats headphones in every teammate’s locker before the Toronto game.

“He’s always been like that,” Tristan Thompson told ESPN.com. “He’s all about team and family so you got to be very appreciative and always say ‘thank you’ because I’ve been on other teams where we haven’t got s—, so he always looks out for us and makes sure everyone is well taken care of бн

“I’ve never met a human being at that level that Authentic Robby Anderson Jersey cares so much about others. So Phil Jackson’s got his comments, it is what it is, but бн I’m rolling with him. I’m rolling with ‘Bron.”

Phil Jackson’s comments about the “special treatment” of LeBron James and his “posse” bounced from New York, to Los Angeles, to Cleveland, back to New York again. And James was left sitting in a half-empty locker room at Quicken Loans Arena trying to piece together what just happened.

“What does that mean?” James asked ESPN, referring to Jackson’s assertion that the 14-year veteran receives special treatment. “I want to know what that means, though.”

“I never liked standing out, LeBron James said. “I’m an only child. I always wanted like brothers around me all the way from when I started playing ball.”

James’ coach, Tyronn Lue, had a hard time figuring it out, too. Before the Cavs’ 121-117 win over the Toronto Raptors extended Cleveland’s record to an East-best 9-1 on Tuesday, Lue shot down Jackson’s notion.

“He hasn’t asked for special treatment,” Lue said. “We treat everyone the same around here. Everyone grown men, we treat everyone the same, and LeBron has never come to me and asked for special treatment or to do anything different.”

Lue had no plans to broker a meeting between Jackson and James, even though Lue played for Jackson with the Los Angeles Lakers and won two championships under his tutelage. Lue has repeatedly likened that experience with the Lakers as a “blood transfusion” among all the team members who accomplished it together. Apparently that blood wasn’t so thick between Lue and Jackson, or else he would have easily sorted it out between his former coach and current player.

Thompson wasn’t alone in rallying around James.

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Phil Jackson: ‘I’m going to follow the plan, and if it doesn’t work out, it will be evident’

Phil Jackson says he hasn’t voted for a president since 1980. After campaigning vigorously on behalf of losing democrats George McGovern and Jimmy Carter, Jackson determined the political system was flawed, perhaps even broken, so he ceased participating.

He watched last Tuesday’s presidential Sean Weatherspoon Authentic Womens Jersey outcome at the New York abode of his friend and former teammate Bill Bradley, the one-time U.S. senator from New Jersey who ran for president in 2000.

“He has earned the right to be our quarterback,” Romo said in his statement. “As hard as that is for me to say, he’s guided our team to an 8-1 record, and that’s hard to do.

“I think we all know something magical is happening with our team. I’m not going to allow this situation to negatively affect Dak or this football team by becoming a constant distraction. I think Dak knows I have his back and I think that I know Steve Bartkowski Authentic Womens Jersey he has mine.”

Some will criticize Romo for reading a statement; others will criticize him for not taking questions. The reality is he was going to be criticized no matter what he did or said.

The television cameras at Sunday’s game against Baltimore will be trained on him the moment he takes the field. Every time, Prescott makes a play — good or bad — the cameras will focus on his reactions.

Body language experts and lip readers will reap the benefits just in time for Black Friday.

“I feel like we have two battles going on — one is with the man across from you and the second is with the man inside of you,” Romo said. “Once you control the one inside of you, the one across from you doesn’t matter. I think that’s what we’re all trying to do.”

Long did not get up after the play as trainers and doctors rushed onto the field. Chicago’s medical staff eventually put a brace on Long’s right leg before placing him on the cart. Several of Long’s teammates attempted to encourage and console him before he went back to the locker room.

“We ordered out — Greek,” Jackson reveals. The senator and Knicks president did what most American did that night — obsess over the turnout in Broward or Wayne County and try to make sense of one surprise after another. Then, for Jackson, thoughts of his day job intervened: “We had it on for a while, but I wanted to watch the Minnesota-Brooklyn Nets game because we were playing the Nets the next night, so I flipped the channel.

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This cannot bode well for Browns quarterback Josh McCown

This is not Joshing: No players with any other first name have created as many headlines as the Joshes.

This cannot bode well for Browns quarterback Josh McCown, Bears guard Josh Sitton, 49ers guard Josh Garnett or Giants quarterback Josh Johnson. And so when someone asks, “What’s going on with Josh?” the inquirer must be more specific. There are a lot of Joshes to track.

There always has been an appreciation for the quarterback draft class of 2004, specifically Eli Manning of the Giants, Philip Rivers of the Jakub Zboril Youth Jersey San Diego Chargers and Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Ron Wolf, the Hall of Fame general manager associated with restoring the Green Bay Packers’ prominence, saw it coming after he hired McKenzie as a pro personnel assistant in 1994. McKenzie remained with the Packers in the player personnel department until he was selected as the Raiders’ GM in 2012, less than a year after Al Davis died. Wolf recommended McKenzie to Raiders owner Mark Davis without hesitation.

“I thought he was exceptional at what he did — that is, to evaluate talent,” Wolf said. “He had a rare feel for evaluating players properly. He really was a cut above. I think that came from him being a player. He was smart, he was tough, he was strong and he understood the game. I hate to say this, but maybe the best thing for pro football is that he got hurt, couldn’t play anymore, and he went into talent evaluation.”

Wolf was a mainstay in personnel under Davis when Raiders selected McKenzie, a linebacker for the University of Tennessee, in the 10th round of the 1984 NFL draft. That season, he started all 16 games and was named to the all-rookie team after the Raiders went 12-4.

And cornerback Josh Norman was fined $25,000 for criticizing an official and another $10,000 for using an imaginary bow and arrow as a way to celebrate a Jeremy Lauzon Youth Jersey fourth-quarter interception against the Browns.

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Rex Ryan reveals what he said to Richard Sherman on the sideline

Richard Sherman was the center of attention during the Seattle Seahawks’ win over the Buffalo Bills on Monday night. It wasn’t all positive, though.

In the final seconds of the first half, Sherman hit Bills kicker Dan Carpenter low, but it wasn’t flagged because he was ruled offsides. The Bills were forced to re-kick it twice more, resulting in a missed field goal after a delay of game penalty. The three consecutive plays were certainly controversial, which understandably had everyone on Buffalo’s sideline fuming.

Their frustration didn’t subside as the game Dave Dravecky Jersey went on, either – especially for Rex Ryan.

With the game on the line and the Bills trailing 31-25, Tyrod Taylor scrambled to his left, attempting to buy time to allow his receivers to come open. He unleashed a pass in the direction of Robert Woods in the middle of the end zone, but it was off-target and broken up by Earl Thomas. Game over.

On the near side of the field, Richard Sherman could be seen leveling a Bills receiver. At first glance, it looked as though the hit was blatantly obvious illegal contact. Had it been called, the Bills would have been given 5 yards and an automatic first down, thus extending the game. Only, it wasn’t a flag because Sherman is a defensive savant.

He wasn’t penalized because once the quarterback leaves the pocket, illegal contact against receivers is no longer enforced. That doesn’t mean DBs can grab and hold receivers, preventing them from breaking free, but making contact with them is perfectly legal. Sherman understood that rule – which many cornerbacks probably don’t – and used it to his advantage.

Much will be made about the officials’ missed calls at the end of the first half, and of Sherman’s seemingly illegal play at the end of the game. While the former is debatable, the latter is not. It was a perfectly legal hit, and a brilliant play by one of the Deion Sanders Jersey best cornerbacks in the league.

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