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| add to favorites | Introducing football's next generation -- Star Wars: The Last Jedi-style | Hardware - Hard disks |
We all know who dominates the football Bronson Kaufusi Authentic Jersey galaxy right now: the likes of Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Paul Pogba. But who's leading the next generation? Drawing inspiration from the upcoming "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," we used the Force to select the best young players primed to rule the sport in a few years' time, if not sooner. We give you: the ESPN FC / Star Wars under-21 starting XI.
At 20, you'd expect Gabriel Jesus to be a lightweight nuisance at Manchester City. Instead, the striker is a fearless, aggressive bundle of energy similar to Kylo Ren. And the parallels don't end there: Jesus plays football at a club much like the First Order, given their deep coffers and ambitious plans to dominate the galaxy.
You'd have expected Jesus to leave Brazil and find a traditional halfway house of, say, Portugal or the Eredivisie, but he went straight to City, slotting seamlessly into Pep Guardiola's high-energy, multipurpose think tank of an attacking unit. With the ball, Jesus has been efficient and ruthless. Without it, he's much the same.
The U.S. are the biggest footballing nation never to have produced an era-defining individual talent in the men's game. But the search for a galaxy-inspiring Jedi Knight in the mold of Luke Skywalker might be over.
Christian Pulisic's complicated move to Borussia Dortmund at 16 was, in his words, to experience an "intensity and humility" that he felt the U.S. developmental system could Joe Gilliam Youth jersey not provide. It was a perfect marriage: an intelligent, gifted, http://www.officialangelsprostore.com/Reggie_Jackson_Jersey driven teenager taken under the http://www.officiallaramsauthentic.com/Robert-Quinn-Jersey.html wing of a club who know how to treat their young talent.
Now, much like Skywalker's journey, Pulisic faces a hard road of pressure and potentially crushing expectations -- at a time when U.S. soccer's need for a talisman has never been more urgent, no less. Can Pulisic help the Americans get back to the World Cup in 2022? This much we know: the Force is strong with him.
The emphasis with young forwards is often about pace, dribbling and trickery. Marco Asensio has all of those skills, but that's not why he's caught our eye. The Real Madrid player has all the makings to become football's equivalent of Captain Phasma, commander of the First Order stormtroopers who is all http://www.officialvancouvercanucks.com/Adidas-Kirk-Mclean-Jersey about taking a direct route to problem-solving.
Asensio's season so far has been peppered with some of the crispest connections a young boot has ever made with a ball. Real Madrid's emphatic Spanish Super Cup win over Barcelona was crowned, home and away, by two thunderous Asensio strikes: the first a bullet into the top corner at the Nou Camp, and the second a 30-yard Exocet missile that Josh Ferguson Womens Jersey Marc-Andre ter Stegen thought better about trying to stop.
Dele Alli is the type of player who could rule the galaxy one day. But will his cockiness send him down a path to becoming football's version of Supreme Leader Snoke? It takes some serious self-belief to make the jump from League One to the Premier League, let alone at 19, but that's one of the things that immediately strikes you about Alli: he's more about poise than power, ghosting in at the back post rather than hammering in from 30 yards.
Even his on-field misdemeanours have a snide stealthiness about them. Such is Alli's innate capacity for Dark Side-style showmanship that, despite a recent dip in form, he still had it in him to nutmeg the referee in the north London derby.
"Fearless" is a word brandished all too easily with young players, but there hasn't been a moment -- from MK Dons to becoming a first choice for England -- when it seemed that self-doubt had begun to creep into Alli's game.
If there's one young player who looks capable of mastering the Force, just as Rey is trying to do in http://www.officialsfalconsauthenticshop.com/Robert_Alford_Jersey_Cheap "The Last Jedi," it's Kylian Mbappe. Even in the accelerated reality of modern football, there might never again be a more transformative 18 months John Sullivan Womens Jersey in the career of a teenager. That's all it took for Mbappe, from Monaco debut to Paris Saint-Germain committing €180 million for his services, to become the talk of the footballing galaxy. He'll still be just 19 at the 2018 World Cup, by which time there is a danger for taking his awesome repertoire for granted. Plenty of young attackers could match him for pace, but few if any others seem to be able to make time stand still when they see the whites of the goalkeeper's eyes.
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| add to favorites | Paul George showered with boos in return to Indiana, but Thunder win | Hardware - Hard disks |
INDIANAPOLIS -- After coming up with a steal and hitting two free throws to ice the game in his first outing back in Indiana since being traded in June, Paul George walked off the floor Wednesday night and handed his shoes to the son of former teammate Monta Ellis.
"I'm glad the circus is over with; now everybody can move on," George said. "I understood what the environment was going to be coming into to tonight. My teammates did a great job of helping me battle this one tonight."
His return to the arena that he called home for his first seven NBA seasons didn't go Joe Hawley Youth jersey entirely as planned for George (he finished with 12 points on 3 of 14 shooting), except for the winning part, as the Oklahoma City Thunder held on for a 100-95 decision over the Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. "Wish we could do it again," George said with a smile. "It sucks being in the West, because it's over with. Yeah, I'm happy the circus is over with. Everybody can move on."
In terms of fan reaction, the night for George went just as he expected, with boos showering him during introductions and then every time he touched the ball. George said the emotions of the game didn't affect how he played, though he had four turnovers in the first half and didn't make his first bucket until three minutes left in the second quarter.
"Like I said earlier, I understood what the environment was gonna be coming into it, so it wasn't a surprise," George said. "I played over 300-something games Michael Wacha Youth jersey here. I was comfortable. It had nothing to do with the boos. I http://www.authenticfloridapanthers.com/authentic-roberto-luongo-jersey just missed shots."
George wasn't the only one to struggle making shots for the Thunder, as Carmelo Anthony hit only 4-of-14, Russell Westbrook went 3-of-17 and the big three combined for 34 points on 10 of 45 shooting. It has been a theme throughout the season for the three stars, with contests featuring low efficiency shooting stacking on top of each other.
The Thunder were able to find a way against the Pacers behind some stingy defense and big games from role players, particularly Steven Adams (23 points and 13 rebounds), Alex Abrines (14 points) and Patrick Patterson J.R. Richard Womens Jersey (8 points). The shooting issues have been confounding, and if the Thunder are going to find their potential, it's something that has to improve.
"I think we're http://www.officialmarlinshop.com/authentic-36-edinson-volquez-jersey.html not used to [open shots], maybe?" Anthony said. "The way we get the shots, the way we get the ball, none of us are used to having it in that position, having it in certain spots on the court. Maybe being that wide open sometimes. But I don't know, we still gotta make shots. If we miss open shots, we miss open shot; can't really do nothing about that but keep shooting."
But the Thunder made enough plays to hold off a late charge from the Pacers, as Indiana came back from 11 points down with five minutes remaining to cut it to a single point with 40 seconds left. Abrines tipped in a miss with 15.3 http://www.newyorkjets.us.com/WOMENS-BRYCE-PETTY-JERSEY.html seconds left, and George stole the inbounds pass as the Pacers tried to get the ball to Victor Oladipo.
"Vic is their guy here, right? Right?" George said. "Don't let him get the ball. Simple. Ballgame." Oladipo finished with 19 points on 9 of 26 shooting, with George serving primarily as his defender. "It was the first time I've had a defender like that guard me since I've been on this team," Oladipo said of George. "They were Womens Roy Halladay Jersey just trying to deny me, and he can move his feet. It was something new for me. I'll be ready if there's anybody else like that out there, so I just have to continue to learn from that and continue to get better."
George's two regular-season matchups with the Pacers are now in the books, and he went 2-0. He mentioned multiple times about "moving on" and stressed to Pacers fans to embrace Oladipo as the new face of their franchise. "Vic is the face of Indiana. Vic is the future of Indiana," George said. "I'm along with Indiana on this Victor wave. He's gonna be great here. He's blessed and he's talented. He's what you want in a guy for a franchise.
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| add to favorites | Lonzo Ball shines under MSG spotlight, but Lakers fall short | Hardware - Hard disks |
NEW YORK -- On one end of Madison Square Garden's celebrity row, Magic Johnson and Odell Beckham Jr. sat next to each other, chatting and laughing it up. On the other end, where the famous sit in The World's Most Famous Arena, LaVar Ball, his wife Tina and sons LiAngelo and LaMelo were seated a few seats away from Spike Lee.
There was enough personality on celebrity row to light up Broadway for Lonzo Ball's New York debut. And Ball, the Lakers and Knicks gave everyone in the building their money's worth by going to overtime before http://www.authenticcapitalstore.com/alex-ovechkin-jersey_c-450.html Kristaps Porzingis lifted the Knicks to a 113-109 victory Tuesday night.
Ball wasn't nearly as prolific, though he flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and only one turnover. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led six Lakers in double figures with 24 points, but Los Angeles (10-16) had its two-game winning streak snapped as leading scorer Brandon Ingram cooled off and missed his first 10 shots. He finished by shooting 2-for-12 with five points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Also playing in his first game at the Garden, Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma scored 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, including burying a clutch 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. "For being http://www.officialsfalconsauthenticshop.com/Deion_Jones_Jersey_Cheap a rookie, he's got a lot of confidence," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "He is not afraid of the moment." The Grady Jarrett Womens Jersey Garden crowd got to see one of Ball's best moments of his rookie season, especially during one head-turning stretch in the third quarter when Ball went toe to toe with New York's Porzingis and Enes Kanter, sending a buzz through the Garden.
With the score tied 61-61, Ball threw down an instant highlight one-handed alley-oop dunk from Caldwell-Pope in transition. Porzingis responded with a 28-foot 3-pointer. Ball then drilled a 3 of his own. After a Kanter dunk, Ball drove and scored past Kanter, who came back with another basket before Ball assisted Brook Lopez for a 3. Porzingis then came back with another 3, capping the furious two-minute sequence.
Johnson, the Lakers' team president of basketball operations, stood up from his courtside seat and applauded his rookie point guard. Not bad for a 20-year-old who was visiting New York City for only the second time in his life -- the other time being for the NBA draft earlier this year.
"I think everyone knows when Magic is in the building," Ball said of Johnson, who drew a huge ovation when shown on the big screen. "Just his presence alone." The other larger-than-life personality on celebrity row rooting on the Lakers, LaVar Ball, also Authentic A.J. Bouye Jersey was up on his feet loving everything he was seeing. "Regardless, he is always going to be 'turnt' up," Ball said of his dad. "I like his energy. Some people don't."
Even though Ball, a Southern Californian who doesn't like the cold, said he didn't leave his hotel room apart from his team's game, the morning shootaround and to sign autographs at the Big Baller Brand pop-up shop Sunday, the Lakers' point guard was looking forward to Tuesday's matchup.In fact, it's a big week for Ball, who faces LeBron James and the Cavs for the first time Thursday. Ball's favorite player growing up was James and http://www.officialathleticsproshop.com/Glenn_Hubbard_Jersey he not only had posters of James, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant up on his bedroom wall but James' Cavaliers and Heat jerseys as well. Ball has been humbled and inspired by James, who has been complimentary of Ball and even wished the rookie happy birthday earlier this year.
"Every kid dreams about playing [at the Garden], just because of all the history and all the battles," Ball said. "It's going to be a lot of fun [this week]. The Garden, all the history there and then LeBron, best player in the world. Definitely two challenges, and I look forward to it." The rookie, who came in shooting 24.6 percent from 3-point range, hit three of six 3-point attempts. While this wasn't anywhere close to Kobe or Jordan Ken Griffey Authentic Jersey playing the Garden, there still was an air of curiosity from the crowd about what Ball could do. This was New York's first time seeing Ball play Kyle Van Noy Jersey live, and at one point in the fourth quarter, Ball drew loud boos from the Garden crowd as he dribbled the ball up court.
Just a few days earlier, Ball and his family were feeling the love from New York City. Thousands of fans stood in frigid temperatures to visit the Big Baller Brand pop-up store."Everybody was calling my dad a legend," Ball said. "That was probably the funniest. Just yelling out the brand, saying LaVar's my hero. ... [Big Baller Brand] was just the idea that started in the house in Chino Hills. The fact that it's reached all the way out here and people are going crazy about, I didn't see it. But I assume my dad did." Wholesale NBA Jerseys NHL Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys From China Basketball Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys NFL Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale |
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| add to favorites | Packers have legitimate playoff hopes with Aaron Rodgers' recovery | Hardware - Hard disks |
32 teams from a fantasy Thomas Vanek Authentic Jersey perspective. Use these tidbits to make the best waiver-wire, trade and lineup decisions for Week 15. Be sure to check back each week of the season for a new version of the Fantasy 32.
Throughout this piece, I'll be referencing "OTD," which stands for opportunity-adjusted touchdowns. It is a statistic that weighs every carry/target and converts the data into one number that indicates a player's scoring opportunity. For example, if a player has an OTD of 3.0, it means that a league-average player who saw the same number of carries/targets in the same area of the field would have scored three touchdowns.
his shouldn't be much of a surprise, but Ricky Seals-Jones crashed back to earth in Week 14. The intriguing converted wide receiver was limited to one catch for 20 yards on three targets. Seals-Jones entered the week having seen Ryan O'Reilly Jersey at least five targets in three straight games and scored three touchdowns during the span. John Miller Womens Jersey Of course, the undrafted rookie played a grand total of 40 snaps during the three games.
He played 16 snaps against Tennessee on Sunday. Seals-Jones has yet to be on the field for more than 30 percent of the Cardinals' pass plays in a single game. He's nowhere near the TE1 conversation in this role, but certainly belongs on benches in dynasty leagues.
A year after finishing second to only Aaron Rodgers in fantasy points, Matt Ryan has been a major bust this season. Ryan isn't playing poor football, but his efficiency is down Chuck Bednarik Authentic Jersey from his career year and his fantasy production has plummeted.
Ryan sits 16th at the position overall and hasn't managed a single weekly finish better than 10th (Week 1). He threw 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions last year, but sits at 17 scores and 11 picks in 2017. Ryan has a good matchup http://www.nygiantsofficialstore.com/phil-simms-jersey-for-sale-c-2.html against Tampa Bay's struggling and injury-plagued defense this week, but he obviously http://www.saintsofficialonlineshop.com/SUPER-BOWL-KEN-CRAWLEY-JERSEY can't be trusted as a fantasy starter in 10- and 12-team leagues.
Alex Collins lit up Pittsburgh's defense for 166 yards and one http://www.officialsbuccaneersprostore.com/Jacquies_Smith_Jersey_Cheap touchdown on 20 touches on Sunday night. Collins is averaging a healthy 5.1 yards per carry on the year and now sits 22nd at the position in fantasy points. He has finished as a top-15 back each of the past four weeks and is fifth overall during the span. The 23-year-old has reached double-digit carries in http://www.officialoriolesshop.com/authentic-20-frank-robinson-jersey.html nine straight games.
Collins has only 13 receptions on the season, which limits his fantasy upside, but with Baltimore playing well and game script likely to continue in his favor -- Baltimore faces arguably the league's easiest schedule over the final three weeks with Cleveland, Indianapolis and
Kelvin Benjamin caught three of eight targets for 38 yards and one touchdown against the Colts on Sunday. The eight targets are even more impressive when you consider that the team attempted only 16 passes in snowy conditions. Benjamin aggravated his knee injury and left the game early, but it's clear that he's going to play a
Jonathan Stewart put up 103 yards and scored three touchdowns on 16 carries against Minnesota on Sunday. Stewart entered the game with four touchdowns and his season-best fantasy performance marks his first top-10 finish of the year.
In fact, Stewart has finished as a top-30 back only four times this season, though three have come over his past four outings. Stewart's recent uptick in production is nice, but his minimal passing-down role (he has six receptions) and poor rushing efficiency (3.5 yards per carry) isn't enough to allow consistent RB2 production. Stewart is still left on benches, though he's a more-appealing flex option in non-PPR.
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| add to favorites | Packers have legitimate playoff hopes with Aaron Rodgers' recovery | Hardware - Hard disks |
This time, Dec. 12 was again celebratory for the Green Bay Packers quarterback -- and most of the state for that matter -- even if it took http://www.officialraysshop.com/authentic-26-brad-boxberger-jersey.html until the day's final hours for that to be official. No. 12 himself announced late Tuesday night that he has been medically cleared to return from his broken collarbone. Who knows how much lobbying Rodgers had to do to get cleared by Dr. Pat McKenzie, the Packers' team physician? Regardless, however, the Packers now have legitimate hopes for the playoffs.
Yes, they probably have to run the table (where have you heard that before?) but that seems far more likely with Rodgers at the controls than with Brett Hundley. In seven starts, Hundley won three times. He beat the Bears, Buccaneers and Browns. Those three teams have a combined record of 8-31. The Packers' next three opponents -- the Panthers, Vikings and Lions -- have a combined 26-13 record and all three of them are over .500.
Hundley did his job, keeping the Packers alive in the playoff race. But it would have been a monumental ask for him to win three more games to get the Packers to 10-6, which is where they'll need to be in order to have any chance for a postseason. Despite some rough patches, Hundley managed to even his touchdown-to-interception numbers at eight apiece thanks to his three-touchdown game Sunday against the Browns. But that wouldn't have cut it down the stretch.
Rodgers was playing some of the best football of his career in the first five weeks of the season, throwing 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions before Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr's hit early in the Week 6 game at Minnesota caused him to http://www.baseballcardinalsonline.com/WOMENS-BOB-GIBSON-JERSEY.html break his right clavicle.
It's the second time in his career that Rodgers has returned during the season from a broken collarbone. In 2013, he returned after a seven-game absence (he did not have surgery for his broken left clavicle) for the regular-season finale at Chicago. He won that game to give the Packers the NFC North title at 8-7-1, but the Packers lost in the playoff opener to 49ers at home.
This time, Rodgers underwent surgery to stabilize his broken right clavicle and will be asked to win three straight just to get into playoff consideration. ESPN's Football Power Index says the Packers have an 89 percent chance to make the playoffs if they win out. Yet FPI gave the Packers just a 6.6 percent chance of making it.
NEW YORK -- A David Andrews Authentic Jersey visit by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to New York's Rikers Island jail facility has drawn criticism from the union representing city correction officers. Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem last season to raise awareness to issues affecting minorities in the United States, leading to similar actions by other NFL players and repeated criticism from President Donald Trump.
The head of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association said in a statement that Kaepernick's presence at Rikers on Tuesday will encourage inmates to attack jail guards. The statement also noted that Kaepernick once wore socks depicting police as cartoon pigs. The union was critical of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Cynthia Brann Authentic Eric Dickerson Jersey for extending an invitation to Kaepernick. Department of Brandon Moss Authentic Jersey Correction spokesman Peter Thorne said in a statement that the purpose of Kaepernick's visit was to "share a message of hope and inspiration."
At the prison, Kaepernick held two 45-minute sessions with small groups of inmates at the jail's George Motchan Detention Center. He spoke about social justice issues and talked about his decision to kneel during the national anthem. "No cameras. No promotion. He's just Brent Celek Jersey helping turn around lives many http://www.texansofficialauthentic.com/TEXANS-ANDRE-JOHNSON-JERSEY people have given up on," a spokesperson for the mayor said. "He's the real deal."
Hester's signature moment, however, was returning the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI for a touchdown. That play is the greatest sequence in Bears history since the revered 1985 team hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The city of Chicago stopped when teams dared kick to Hester. Heck, the entire football world stopped when Hester went back for a return. Fourteen career punt-return touchdowns. Five kickoffs returned for touchdowns. The missed field goal score in the old Meadowlands. That’s a Hall of Fame career in itself. But Hester also contributed on offense at wide receiver, posting back-to-back 50-catch seasons for the Bears.
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| add to favorites | Dawn Heinecken, a professor who sits on the athletic | Hardware - Hard disks |
association board, says the board learned about the Adidas deal "after it was announced publicly. That was the first I heard about it." James Ramsey, who was president of both the university and the foundation, resigned last year amid allegations that he mismanaged endowment funds. Ramsey and Jurich had a close working relationship: Ramsey, in secret, approved additional compensation
that earned Jurich an average of $2.77 million annually over the past seven years and approved several real estate transactions that benefited the athletic department. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported that Jurich's perks included tax "gross-ups" -- meaning the university paid some of his taxes -- membership in three country clubs and premium seats at the Kentucky Derby.
"I don't think Tom Jurich gets this, and I don't think Jim Ramsey got it," says state Rep. Jim Wayne, whose district includes parts of Louisville. "The University of Louisville is Joe Pavelski Authentic Jersey a state facility ... and it is not their kingdom. They are not the kings, and the princes, and the nobility in the kingdom. They're Luke Joeckel Jersey temporary stewards of these programs. And instead of seeing this as something that they should be responsible for and hold high ethical standards as they execute their jobs, they're doing just the opposite."
Out of 125 FBS schools required to report financial data to the U.S. Department of Education, Louisville is the only one that derives more than half of its men's sports revenue from basketball, says Jonathan Jensen, a sports marketing professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Much of that revenue comes from a $238 million taxpayer-funded arena,
the KFC Yum Center, which opened downtown in 2010 and has become a heavy burden on taxpayers. The lease was negotiated by Jurich and the arena authority. Under the terms, taxpayer contributions make up 75 percent of the arena's operating income while Louisville gets to keep most of the revenue -- an arrangement that "blew our mind," says state auditor Mike Harmon, whose office examined the arena's finances. "It was like, 'This is ridiculous.' It's like co-signing the loan for a friend's home and then having to pay three-fourths of the mortgage."
Denis Frankenberger, a local businessman who has dissected the lease in minute detail, calls it "the biggest taxpayer scandal in the history of Louisville." In the arena's first year, men's basketball revenue jumped 58 percent, from $25.9 million to $40.9 million, a trend that continued Forrest Lamp Jersey as the program became the richest in the country. Under the lease, Louisville keeps 88 percent of premium seat licensing, 97 percent of suite sales, all program revenue and half of concessions.
As Louisville was growing richer, the arena was failing -- partly due to the lopsided lease, partly due to tax estimates based on "flawed data," Harmon says. By early this year, the arena required a bailout to keep it from
defaulting on more than $300 million in bond debt. Jurich's athletic department agreed to pay an additional $2.4 million a year. The http://www.texansfootballsprostore.com/WOMENS_YOUTH_BRIAN_CUSHING_JERSEY.html public, meanwhile, was saddled with another 25 years of arena-related taxes totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. In the http://www.officialauthenticchiefsstore.com/Nike-Albert-Wilson-Jersey.html end, the arena will cost more than $1 billion, with taxpayers funding most of it. Despite the bailout, some experts fear the FBI probe's effect on the arena's primary tenant could be catastrophic.
"We took all the risk" on the arena, Jurich insists, pointing out that the athletic budget is heavily dependent on arena funds. When told that the city and taxpayers primarily support the arena, Jurich says he wanted to build it on campus, but city officials persuaded him to move it downtown. "Nobody twisted their arm," he says. "They brought this offer to us. I didn't go to them and say I got to have this, this and this and this."
Told of Jurich's comments, Wayne, the state representative, responds: "That's pure hogwash. They didn't take any risk. When you're getting over 90 percent of all the suite revenue and 90 percent of that revenue goes to the University of Louisville's athletic facilities, and their funds, where's the risk?"
F. Chris Gorman, a former Kentucky attorney general, says: "I think that the tragedy here is this is probably the only community that uses public money to fund a Division I athletic program. That's what led to all this corruption:
They had all this money -- money from the foundation, money from the arena, money from the students. You add all that up, and then they have a budget to compete with the Ohio States of the world. But they haven't done it in an honest way. They've done it by fleecing the taxpayers and by taking money from the foundation, men and women that worked all their lives and thought they were giving money to education."
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| add to favorites | ON A BRIGHT Saturday afternoon in November | Hardware - Hard disks |
Jurich sits inside the Palm Pavilion Beachside Bar & Grill in Clearwater Beach, Florida, having lunch with his wife, Terrilynn, and two of their close friends. Back in Louisville, it's 45 degrees; the football team is set to take on Virginia at Papa John's
Cardinal Stadium. In Clearwater, Jurich is planning to watch the game at his condo down the street. He wears shorts and a white Louisville baseball T-shirt, one of four times he arrives for interviews wearing Cardinals gear. "That's my school," he says. "I poured every ounce of myself into that place for 20 years."
Jurich is a man of average height, but even at 61, he carries himself with a pugnacious, intimidating intensity. Charming and warm one minute, he is sometimes defensive and suspicious. As athletic director, Jurich rarely texted or used email, fearful it could be used against him. "Why have more fodder for people?" he says. "You know how I communicated with people? I picked up the phone, and I went to their face." Since the university began digging into his records, he says, "That's the question I get most: 'How do you conduct business?' Well, I think we conducted it pretty damn good."
When Jurich came to Louisville from Colorado State in 1997, boosters took him and Terrilynn through campus. "She won't tell you this, but she http://www.officialpatriotsfootballproshop.com/SUPER-BOWL-TOM-BRADY-JERSEY started crying," Jurich says. Terrilynn had grown up in Wyoming, Jurich in Southern California. At Colorado State, where Jurich had been athletic director, the football stadium looked out on the Rockies. In Louisville, the Juriches found an industrial wasteland. The defining landmarks were a pair of silos, which stood between the campus and Interstate 65.
"What did you get Womens Tramaine Brock Jersey us into?" Terrilynn asked. Louisville had won NCAA titles in men's basketball under Denny Crum in 1980 and 1986, but most other sports were underfunded and neglected. Jurich says he spoke with Lamar Daniel, a former investigator in the http://www.nflgiantsofficialonlinestore.com/GIANTS-WAYNE-GALLMAN-JERSEY U.S. Office for Civil Rights, who told him Louisville was facing a potential lawsuit over its failure to comply with Title IX. "He said, '
This is the worst school in the United States,'" Jurich says. Louisville's athletics budget then was $16.5 million. Jurich embarked on an ambitious growth strategy that would solve Louisville's Title IX problems and build up nonrevenue sports such as swimming and soccer while ensuring that the basketball and football teams were successful enough to support the enterprise.
The strategy required prodigious cash; by this year, Louisville's athletics budget was up to $104.5 million. "He treated his donors like investors," says Gerardo Parra Womens Jersey Jurich's friend Larry Benz, a member of the Louisville Athletic Association, which oversees the department. Jurich built $280 million in arenas, playing fields and athletic offices by convincing rich people of the facilities' vital importance.
"I can give $5 million to stem cell research and it's gonna help stem cell research," says Dr. Mark Lynn, an optometry-chain owner whose name adorns the soccer complex. "I give $5 million to a soccer stadium and it's gonna help everything." Lynn says sports bring the school visibility.
Jurich's record included three Final Four appearances and a national championship in men's basketball, a Sugar Bowl victory, a Heisman Trophy winner, two title-game appearances in women's basketball and four appearances in the College World Series. Louisville won 67 conference titles and produced 287 All-Americans. The athlete graduation rate shot up 30 points, to 86 percent.
Waldron, the sports marketing director, calls Jurich "probably the finest leader I ever worked for," pointing out that he promoted women inside and outside the department. "He's a feminist, really," she says.
MUCH OF THE athletic department's finances was shrouded in secrecy, hidden from the Louisville Athletic Association and the board of trustees. Two former trustees told Outside the Lines that they were unaware of large real estate transactions involving the athletic department and the Louisville Foundation, the school's endowment, which raises money for education and research. Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Paypal Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China |
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The story involved a different blockbuster deal between Adidas and Louisville -- one that had played out in the shadows but was now being revealed by the U.S. Department of Justice, in http://www.footballredskinsofficialstore.com/Dustin_Hopkins_Jersey New York City. That morning, the FBI had announced a sweeping corruption investigation into college basketball. In one of the most explosive allegations, Adidas employees -- colleagues of the same people who were gathered in the gym -- had paid a $100,000 bribe to a blue-chip recruit's family.
Nothing has been the same in Louisville since. While other schools have avoided taking drastic action in response to the ongoing probe, Louisville has blown up its athletic department. The morning after the FBI's announcement, Dr. Gregory Postel, the interim president, removed not only Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Pitino but also athletic director Tom Jurich,
one of the state's most powerful http://www.redskinsofficialonlineshop.com/Doug_Williams_Jersey_Cheap people. Over the past 20 years, Jurich had built a sports empire on top of a midlevel commuter school near the Ohio River, transforming the campus and infusing a genteel Southern city that lacked a professional team with the excitement of big-time sports. Jurich was so successful generating money that "I wished I could turn them upside down and shake out http://www.officialredsstore.com/authentic-34-homer-bailey-jersey.html their pocket change for the academic side," says Thomas B. Byers, a professor emeritus in the English department.
Perhaps more than any other place in America, Louisville came to embody the contradictions of college athletics -- a multibillion-dollar industry built on amateur athletes. The Adidas partnership was supposed to be a crowning achievement that validated the university as a national power. The agreement represented an undeniable windfall, with potential opportunities for the
entire university, but to some it also exploited the athletes it purported to benefit while encouraging the criminal behavior later alleged by the FBI. Ultimately, the scandal -- on top of two earlier ones involving Louisville basketball, the financial engine of the athletic department -- cost Jurich his job. And it did so while underscoring the moral
compromises and questionable priorities at the heart of his success, according to interviews by Outside the Lines with more than three dozen current and former Louisville administrators, athletic department staffers, government officials, state regulators, faculty and Carlton Fisk Authentic Jersey local media, as well as independent audits and documents obtained under Kentucky's Open Records Act.
According to the FBI timeline, Adidas and Jurich were nailing down the sponsorship agreement while company representatives were allegedly working to bring 6-foot-7 small forward Brian Bowen to the university. Whether those two deals -- one announced at a news conference, the other negotiated illicitly in the presence of an undercover agent -- were somehow related is one of
the major unanswered questions of the spiraling scandal. Jurich, who conceived of the partnership with the shoe company during Adidas-sponsored retreats in Santa Barbara, California, and Banff, Alberta, says he knew nothing about the Bowen deal, but he acknowledged that Adidas, which was to pay Louisville cash incentives for Final Four appearances and NCAA championships, had a financial interest in Louisville's success.
"We all agree with that," Jurich says. "But I didn't think they would have to do it at this cost." An Adidas spokeswoman said the company is conducting an investigation of its college basketball programs, and due to the FBI investigation, "we cannot provide more details." When the Adidas contract was Boyd Gordon Authentic Jersey announced, it marked the ultimate realization of Jurich's dream to build a national power. Now, to many, it symbolizes something entirely different: the corruption of a public university.
"It's a hustle. I mean, that's what it is," says professor Ricky Jones, chairman of Louisville's Pan-African studies department. "It's about making money. It's about, you know, folks from shoe companies and all the people in their orbit setting up a system that is pimping kids out."
After the FBI bombshell, Louisville and Adidas quietly shut down the workshop one day David Pastrnak Authentic Jersey early. Waldron, who'd spent 18 months on the partnership, was crushed. Early in her career, she had been deputy director of radio during the Clinton presidency, only to see her work life taken over by the White House sex scandal. NBA Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys MLB Jerseys Cheap NBA Basketball Jerseys |
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- There was a time in the 1970s and '80s when the Miami Dolphins were a consistently great franchise. Hall of Famers such as quarterback Dan Marino and tailback Larry Csonka were among the most recognizable players and Miami http://www.footballravensofficialauthentic.com/Alex_Collins_Jersey was one of the league's marquee teams.
On a night when Miami donned its throwback uniforms and honored many of its great players from the past, the Dolphins produced a throwback performance in a 27-20 upset victory over Womens Tyrell Williams Jersey the New England Patriots. This was by far the Dolphins' most impressive win of the season, which has otherwise been filled with distractions and inconsistency.
One has to wonder if the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots (10-3) were thinking ahead to next week's matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-2) that could determine home-field advantage for the AFC http://www.footballredskinsofficialstore.com/Kendall_Reyes_Jersey playoffs. It Adam Wainwright Jersey also http://www.officialsstlouisblues.com/Adidas-Al-Macinnis-Jersey did not help New England that All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski served his one-game suspension for a late hit last week against the Buffalo Bills.
New England looked lethargic for three quarters against Miami (6-7), which in contrast was energized and treated Monday's contest like its personal Super Bowl. The Dolphins improved to 1-3 in prime-time Jonathan Ogden Womens Jersey games this season after being outscored 112-45 in the three prior night games.
"We gave them a taste of their own medicine," Dolphins Pro Bowl receiver Jarvis Landry said. "We found ways to make plays. We found ways [to show] our will is stronger than yours." In an unexpected occurrence, Miami quarterback Jay Cutler significantly outperformed Patriots counterpart and future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. Cutler was the cooler, more effective quarterback and handled a Patriots defense that's played Josh Robinson Youth jersey well in recent weeks. He threw for 263 yards, three touchdowns and had a 112.1 passer rating.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins’ defense rattled Brady early and often. He did not complete his first pass until the second quarter and threw a pair of interceptions to Miami cornerback Xavien Howard, who now has four interceptions in the past two games. Brady, who has had rough games in South Florida in the http://www.coltsonlinesofficialstore.com/Al-Woods-Jersey past, finished with 233 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He had a 59.5 passer rating.
With two straight wins, the Dolphins quietly placed themselves back in the playoff hunt. Miami, which is one game below .500, has an important road game next week against the Bills (7-6), who currently hold the final wild-card spot in the AFC. The Dolphins will play the Bills twice in the final three weeks of the season.
"That's what this team is: resilient," said Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake, who rushed for a game-high 114 yards. "Just because everybody else probably counted us out, we as a unit, as a team, as an organization, we always stick together and we're going to continue to stick together."
ON THE MORNING of Sept. 26, more than two dozen Adidas employees gathered inside a gym at the University of Louisville. They had flown in from as far away as Europe -- marketers and athletic performance specialists, top designers from Adidas' secretive Brooklyn Creator Farm. They were participating in a weeklong workshop to imagine gear, products and advertising built around Louisville's most valuable commodity: the men's basketball team.
The exercise was meant to simulate the vision behind a $160 million partnership between Adidas and Louisville, which had been announced the previous month. One of the largest all-school sponsorship agreements in Adidas' history, it was much more than a shoe deal. In internal strategy documents, Louisville vowed to "write the next chapter for college athletics, for streetwear and fashion." Adidas,
a $7.9 billion corporation, would have access not only to the university's amateur athletes but also to the business, law and music schools to help create and market new products. As the participants prepared for Day 2, Julianne Waldron, Louisville's associate athletic director of marketing and an architect of the deal, received a call. "Julianne, there's a story that just broke. You need to read it," said a public relations official. "It has to do with Adidas."
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This had been a slow cooker of a month since the World Series ended, with little happening outside the purview of Jerry Dipoto. Then Shohei Ohtani announced he's going to the Angels! Then the Marlins and Yankees agreed to terms on a Giancarlo Stanton trade! Game on.
Still, the top 21 free agents on Keith Law's top-50 list remained unsigned. At this point, however, it's clear many of these deals aren't going to come down until late January or even the early days of spring training. I think three issues have Authentic Kevin Huber Jersey slowed the market:
1. Ohtani and Stanton. This was only a minor effect on what's happened, because Ohtani's initial contract -- the major league minimum -- shouldn't have influenced a team's other offseason moves. He'd merely have been considered a bonus acquisition. The exhausting Stanton dispatches impacted only a few teams, although maybe the Cardinals and Giants held off on other moves.
It's a risky free-agent class. There isn't a free agent out there without an obvious flaw or two. J.D. Martinez is the best hitter available and he's a 30-year-old corner outfielder with below-average defense who probably has to move to DH in a couple seasons (if not immediately). Yu Darvish is the best pitcher, but he has a Tommy John surgery in his past and concerns about his durability and postseason performance. Eric Hosmer had a terrific 2017 but has been wildly inconsistent throughout his career. And so on. Does J.D. Martinez sound like a $200 million ballplayer to you? Of course not. Front offices are simply waiting for the Authentic Colby Rasmus Jersey agents to drop their asking prices.
3. Teams are saving money for 2018-19, a much deeper class of free agents that includes Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, Charlie Blackmon, probably Clayton Kershaw, and a whole slew of dominant relievers.
Marcell Ozuna, OF, Marlins. The Marlins have said they want to keep Ozuna (and Christian Yelich), but if the Astros-like teardown is happening, then you might as well strip everything to the bones. Ozuna is coming off a monster .312/.376/.548 year and has two seasons left until free agency. Is there value to keeping him around if Stanton is gone and you're rebuilding?
Jose Abreu, 1B, White Sox. We've heard the Red Sox rumors, and http://www.officialcardinalsbaseball.com/authentic-18-carlos-martinez-jersey.html it makes some sense for them to trade for Abreu and about $40 million in arbitration salaries the next two seasons rather than spend $100 million-plus on Hosmer. Even though the White Sox are unlikely contenders the next http://www.officialauthenticravenstore.com/womens_danny_woodhead_jersey two seasons and cashing in Abreu for more young talent sounds logical, they might just keep him. The front office values his leadership in the clubhouse and views him as a mentor to all the young players, especially fellow Cuban Yoan Moncada. They'll have to be blown away to make a deal.
Chris Archer, P, Rays. Yes, another winter meetings with Archer trade rumors. He's attractive not just because he's good and a workhorse -- three straight seasons with 200 innings, one of just five pitchers who can make that claim -- but because his contract
is so team-friendly. He's owed just $34 million and change over the next four seasons. The Rays also have a nice group of young starters in Blake Snell, Jake Faria, Brent Honeywell and Jose De Leon. They have to be realistic: Can they contend right now with the Red Sox and Yankees? If they can get a couple of impact prospects for Archer, maybe it's time to finally deal him.
Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pirates. He's no longer an MVP candidate and shouldn't be considered a center fielder at this point in his career, but the bat still plays. He has one season remaining until free agency. The Pirates could also look to deal Gerrit Cole, who has two years left of team control.
Victor Robles, OF, Nationals. OK, he's a future star. While he seems like the heir apparent to replace Bryce Harper, the Yankees' trade for Stanton also means it's more likely Harper remains in Washington after 2018. If the Nationals decide they want another starting pitcher, maybe Robles is the bait.
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| add to favorites | According to the FBI timeline, Adidas and Jurich | Hardware - Hard disks |
were nailing down the sponsorship agreement while company representatives were allegedly working to bring 6-foot-7 small forward Brian Bowen to the university. Whether those two deals -- one announced at a news conference, the other negotiated illicitly in the presence of an undercover agent -- were somehow related is one of the major unanswered questions of the spiraling scandal.
Jurich, who conceived of the partnership with the shoe company during Adidas-sponsored retreats in Santa Barbara, California, and Banff, Alberta, says he knew http://www.baseballcardinalsonline.com/WOMENS-TREVOR-ROSENTHAL-JERSEY.html nothing about the Bowen deal, but he acknowledged that Adidas, which was to pay Louisville cash incentives for Final Four appearances and NCAA championships, had a financial interest in Louisville's success.
"We all agree with that," Jurich says. "But I didn't think they would have to do it at this cost." An Adidas spokeswoman said the company is conducting an investigation of its college basketball programs, and due to the FBI investigation, "we cannot provide more details." When the Adidas contract was announced, it marked the ultimate realization of Jurich's dream to build a national power. Now, to many, it symbolizes something entirely different: the corruption of Joe Hawley Womens Jersey a public university.
"It's a hustle. I mean, that's what it is," says professor Ricky Jones, chairman of Louisville's Pan-African studies department. "It's about making money. It's about, you know, folks from shoe companies and all the people in their orbit setting up a system that is pimping kids out."
After the FBI bombshell, Louisville and Adidas quietly shut down the workshop one day early. Waldron, who'd spent 18 months on the partnership, was crushed. Early in her career, she had been deputy director of radio during the Clinton presidency, only to see her work life taken over by the White House sex scandal.
ON A BRIGHT Saturday afternoon in November, Jurich sits inside the Palm Pavilion Beachside Bar & Grill in Clearwater Beach, Florida, having lunch with his wife, Terrilynn, and two of their close friends. Back in Louisville, it's 45 degrees; the football team is set to take on Virginia at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. In Clearwater, Jurich is planning Ryan Kelly Jersey to watch the game at his condo down the street. He wears shorts and a white Louisville baseball T-shirt, one of four times he arrives for interviews wearing Cardinals gear. "That's my school," he says. "I poured every ounce of myself into that place for 20 years."
Jurich is a man of average height, but even at 61, he carries himself with a pugnacious, intimidating intensity. Charming and warm one minute, he is sometimes defensive and suspicious. As athletic director, Jurich rarely texted or used email, fearful it could be used against him. "Why have more fodder for people?" he says. "You know how I communicated with Alex Bregman Jersey people? I picked up the phone, and I went to their face." Since the university began digging into his records, he says, "That's the question I Jason Kidd Womens Jersey get most: 'How do http://www.officialpelicansstore.com/Hollis_Thompson_Jersey you conduct business?' Well, I think we conducted it pretty damn good."
When Jurich came to Louisville from Colorado State in 1997, boosters took him and Terrilynn through campus. "She won't tell you this, but she started crying," Jurich says. Terrilynn had grown up in Wyoming, Jurich in Southern California. At Colorado State, where Jurich had been athletic director, the football stadium looked out on the Rockies. In Louisville, the Juriches found an industrial wasteland. The defining landmarks were a pair of silos, which stood between the campus and Interstate 65.
Louisville had won NCAA titles in men's basketball under Denny Crum in 1980 and 1986, but most other sports were underfunded and neglected. Jurich says he spoke with Lamar Daniel, a former investigator in the U.S. Office for Civil Rights, who told him Louisville was facing a potential lawsuit over its failure to comply with Title IX. "He said, 'This is the worst school in the United States,'" Jurich says. Louisville's athletics budget then was $16.5 http://www.officialraysshop.com/authentic-20-steven-souza-jersey.html million. Jurich embarked on an ambitious growth strategy that would solve Louisville's Title IX problems and build up nonrevenue sports such as swimming and soccer while ensuring that the basketball and football teams were successful enough to support the enterprise.
The strategy required prodigious cash; by this year, Louisville's athletics budget was up to $104.5 million. "He treated his donors like investors," says Jurich's friend Larry Benz, a member of the Louisville Athletic Association, which oversees the department. Jurich built $280 million in arenas, playing fields and athletic offices by convincing rich people of the facilities' vital importance. "I can give $5 million to stem cell research and it's gonna help stem cell research," says Dr. Mark Lynn, an optometry-chain owner whose name adorns the soccer complex. "I give $5 million to a soccer stadium and it's gonna help everything." Lynn says sports bring the school visibility. Cheap NFL Jerseys Nike Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale New Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys All Cheap Jerseys 90 |
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| add to favorites | Seth Walder, sports analytics writer | Hardware - Hard disks |
Minnesota Vikings. The Saints would become the new best team in the NFC, but they aren't the favorite to reach the Super Bowl. That would be the Vikings, out of circumstance. Even with Foles at quarterback, the Eagles have enough of a lead that they ought to squeak out a first-round bye -- and maybe even the No. 1 seed. The Vikings have both the Bengals and Bears left
on their schedule and should secure a bye. Likely needing one fewer postseason win than the Saints, Rams or Seahawks to reach the Super Bowl, the Vikings are the favorite to represent the Authentic Oscar Robertson Jersey NFC. And though they might be a hair worse than New Orleans, let's not overlook the Vikings' ability after Sunday's road loss. Entering Week 14, Case Keenum was the Total QBR leader among healthy quarterbacks, and Minnesota had the fifth-best defense in the league, per FPI.
Field Yates, NFL Insider: Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota has shown a resilience -- despite the Week 14 result -- throughout the season that is difficult to ignore. The Vikings' offensive line has been dramatically improved this year and if it gets back to full health down the stretch should further fortify the running game. I also still believe Philadelphia has a strong enough roster to make a deep postseason run.
This story appears in ESPN The Magazine's Dec. 25 'Tis The Season Issue. Subscribe today! ON THE MORNING of Sept. 26, more than two dozen Adidas employees gathered inside a gym at the University of Louisville. They had flown in from as far away as Europe -- marketers and athletic performance specialists, top designers from Adidas' secretive Brooklyn Creator Farm. They Authentic Nolan Ryan Jersey were participating in a weeklong workshop to imagine gear, products and advertising built around Louisville's most valuable commodity: the men's basketball team.
The exercise was meant to simulate the vision behind a $160 million partnership between http://www.officialshopknights.com/authentic-adidas-84-mikhail-grabovski-jersey Adidas and Louisville, which had been announced the previous month. One of the largest all-school sponsorship agreements in Adidas' history, it was much more than a shoe deal. In internal strategy documents, Louisville vowed to "write the next chapter for college athletics, for streetwear and fashion." Adidas, a $7.9 billion corporation, would have access not only to the university's amateur athletes but also to the business, law and music schools to help create and market new products.
As the participants prepared for Day 2, Julianne Waldron, Louisville's associate athletic director of marketing and an architect of the deal, received a call. "Julianne, there's a story that just broke. You need to read it," said a public relations official. "It has to do with Adidas." "They're with me right now," she replied, confused.
The story involved a different blockbuster deal between Adidas and Louisville -- one that had played out in the shadows but was now being revealed by the U.S. Department of Justice, in New York City. That morning, the FBI had announced a sweeping corruption investigation into college basketball. In one of the most explosive allegations, Adidas employees -- colleagues of the same people who were gathered in the gym -- had paid a $100,000 bribe to a blue-chip recruit's family.
Nothing has been the same in Louisville since. While other schools have avoided taking drastic action in response to the ongoing probe, Louisville has blown up its athletic department. The morning after the Earnest Byner Womens Jersey FBI's announcement, Dr. Gregory Postel, the interim president, removed not only Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Pitino but also athletic director Tom Jurich, one of the state's most powerful
people. Over the past 20 years, http://www.officialindianstore.com/Lonnie_Chisenhall_Jersey Jurich had built a sports empire on top of a midlevel commuter school near the Ohio River, transforming the campus and infusing a genteel Southern city that lacked a professional team with the excitement of big-time sports. Jurich was so successful generating money that "I wished I could turn them upside down and shake out their pocket change for the academic side," says Thomas B. Byers, a professor emeritus in the English department.
Perhaps more than any other place in America, Louisville came to embody the contradictions of college athletics -- a multibillion-dollar industry built on amateur athletes. The Adidas partnership was supposed to be a crowning achievement that validated the university as a national power. The agreement represented an undeniable windfall, with potential opportunities for the entire university, but to some it also exploited the athletes it purported to benefit while encouraging the criminal behavior later alleged by the FBI. Ultimately, the scandal -- on top
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| add to favorites | Is there a new NFC favorite? NFL Insiders react | Hardware - Hard disks |
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz left the Eagles' 43-35 win at the Los Angeles Rams late in the third quarter Sunday, and the team is concerned that he tore his left ACL, sources tell ESPN's Adam Schefter. Wentz was an MVP candidate and a huge part of the Eagles' turnaround from 7-9 a year ago, and now backup Nick Foles could be forced to play down the stretch and into the playoffs. So how does the NFC playoff picture change now? We asked our panel of ESPN NFL insiders to weigh in:
Matt Bowen, NFL writer: New Orleans Saints. Yes, the offense needs a healthy Alvin Kamara on the field. His versatile skill set and explosive big-play ability stands out, and he changes the Saints' game plan. But I'm also looking at the balanced offense this season under Sean Payton and the proven ability of Drew Brees to make plays in critical moments. Plus, with an aggressive defense under Dennis Allen, the Saints can bring pressure and challenge routes at the cornerback position. This is a physical team with the leadership to make a run in January.
Mike Clay, NFL writer: Minnesota Vikings. They have taught us this season that a quarterback who struggled during the Jeff Fisher Rams' era (Case Keenum) can guide a well-built team to Super Bowl contention.
That said, I'm not going to completely throw in the towel on an Eagles' team that was stacked on paper even before Carson Wentz took a big step forward this season. Wentz hasn't been the Eagles' only big loss of the season. Injuries to Jason Peters, Jordan Hicks and Darren Sproles have also taken their toll. It's hard to imagine this team beating two quality NFC teams in the playoffs.
The Saints, Rams and Seahawks are in the conversation, but I'm hard-pressed to go against a Vikings squad with many impressive statement wins, including against the Falcons, Ravens, Rams and Saints. Minnesota has a terrific defense, a productive offense and a December schedule (Bengals, Packers, Bears) that should put them at least at 12-4 and with a first-round bye. That will be the edge the Vikings need in order to becoming the first team ever to play in the Super Bowl in its home stadium.
Dan Graziano, NFL writer: Philadelphia Eagles. I'm going to say it's still the Eagles, just not by as much. Their pass rush will help them finish games, and while they'll obviously lose a lot if Foles can't replicate Wentz's third-down success, Foles knows the offense and I think we can trust Doug Pederson and Frank Reich to put their players in positions to be successful.
I thought the Eagles were clear favorites to win the NFC as Week 14 dawned, and now I would rate them as one of several roughly equivalent possibilities. But since it looks likely they'll get a bye and maybe even the No. 1 seed even without Wentz, I'll give Philly the narrow edge.
Mike Sando, senior NFL writer: Minnesota Vikings. I'm not sure Keenum will play well enough for the rest of the season and playoffs, http://www.authenticnikeredskinshop.com/fabian-moreau-jersey-for-sale-c-74.html but the Vikings are strong enough across the board to be the top team. That might have been true even if Wentz had stayed healthy.
Aaron Schatz, Football Outsiders editor-in-chief: Philadelphia Eagles. Believe it or not, it's Authentic Corey Crawford Jersey the Eagles. They are no longer the best team in the NFL, but the results of Sunday's games make it likely that the Eagles will have the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. They now have a head-to-head win against the Rams and clinched the common-opponents tiebreaker
against Minnesota and New Orleans. Other than perhaps Teddy Bridgewater, Foles is probably the best backup quarterback among the top contenders, and the one most likely to follow in Jeff http://www.officialbengalsfootballproshop.com/WOMENS_YOUTH_DARQUEZE_DENNARD_JERSEY.html Hostetler's footsteps. Games against the Raiders and Giants should get him up to speed. The Cowboys in Week 17 (with Ezekiel Elliott) will be tougher, but the Eagles should have the No. 1 seed even if they finish 2-1. In fact, with Aaron Rodgers coming back to face the Vikings in two weeks, they could have the No. 1 seed even if they finish 1-2. And the Eagles would be likely to host warm-weather teams (Rams, Panthers) or dome teams (Vikings, Saints) in cold Philadelphia in January.
Kevin Seifert, national NFL writer: Minnesota Vikings. This is a team that won eight consecutive games before losing Sunday by one Authentic Josh Smith Jersey score on the road to the Panthers, themselves a likely playoff team. The Vikings suffered a few injuries Patrick Robinson Authentic Jersey to keep an eye on, most notably to tight end Kyle Rudolph (ankle) and along their offensive line, but most of their key pieces remain intact. And, in terms of playoff positioning, keep in mind that they'll play two of their final three games at home against the Bengals (5-8) and Bears (4-9). MLB Authentic Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Paypal NHL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys All |
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| add to favorites | Goff to L.A., Wentz to Philly: How they became the top two picks in 2016 | Hardware - Hard disks |
The top two picks in a draft are rarely quarterbacks. They also seldom lead playoff-bound teams in only their second season. And they definitely don't come with origin stories like Jared Goff and Carson Wentz have, who shared an agent and trained together before the 2016 NFL draft. Goff's Los Angeles Rams host Wentz's Philadelphia Eagles at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox).
The Eagles are 10-2, rank first in point differential and are averaging an NFL-leading 30.08 points per game. The Rams are 9-3, rank second in point differential and are averaging an NFL-leading 30.08 points per game. Goff and Wentz represent the seventh quarterback pair to be selected first and second overall since 1967 and will soon become only the fifth of those to meet head-to-head.
Goff, a gifted downfield passer, went to a Rams team that had just moved from St. Louis to Los Angeles and traded up from No. 15 to No. 1 to have the chance to draft him. He rode the bench early, struggled late and then got a new head coach in Sean McVay who helped launch his career. Goff now sports a 98.4 passer rating and is averaging 8.1 yards per attempt.
Wentz, a wizard outside the pocket, went to an Eagles team that looked primed for contention and traded up twice, from No. 13 to 8 to 2 to get him. He thrived immediately, then took his Dennis Rodman Jersey lumps in the back half of his rookie season and now looks like an MVP candidate while throwing for an NFL-leading 29 touchdowns and sporting a 72.5 Total QBR.
Leading up to their first meeting as pros, we took a look back at the pre-draft process and told that story from the accounts of those who experienced it. The Charles Clay Jersey four executives directly involved -- for the Rams, Eagles, Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns -- declined interviews. But several others shared their memories of the 2016 draft.
Goff and Wentz worked side-by-side in their competition to become the No. 1 pick. They not only became the first 1-2 quarterback combo to share an agent -- Ryan Tollner -- but they trained together in the lead-up to the draft. Three days a week, they would take the field, alternating snaps and http://www.starsofficialauthentic.com/Valeri_Nichushkin_Jersey_Adidas matching throws.
With North Dakota State advancing to the FCS championship game, Wentz arrived in California to begin training a week later than Goff and was itching to catch up.
Ryan Lindley, former NFL quarterback who trained Wentz and Goff: "I want to say [Wentz] took a red-eye right after they played their championship game and came right out to Orange County from Texas and wanted to get going. I was like, 'Hey, man, you're coming off wrist surgery not even eight weeks earlier, came off playing a football game the day before. We can take a couple days off.' But he wanted to get right to work. And I think it irked him a little bit that Jared already had a week up."
Wentz: "We had just Tyler Johnson Jersey finished winning our fifth national championship there, and I knew I was already a couple weeks behind, kind of that pre-draft prep and everything, so I was ready to get it going. I just got out there as quickly as I could." Goff: "I met him. Immediately, right away, you can tell what type of worker he is."
Wentz: "Jared and I, we threw on the field together a couple times a week. But we had our own private film sessions with our quarterbacks coach and everything and kind of did our own thing. It was just good to be around him."
Lindley: "I mean, obviously Jared took it seriously and knew it was a big deal and was excited to work with us. But once Carson got there, you knew there was a bar being set, and each one wanted to jump the other each day and raise it even higher. ... You put two alphas in a cage, they're going to put their hair up and be a little bit on edge, go after it a little bit." Wentz: "He can throw the ball well. He had a lot of arm talent. And he's a great dude. We got along great."
Weather -- and even the simulation of weather -- played a role in how the draft process unfolded. A North Dakota blizzard on March 24 kept 14 teams from attending Wentz's pro day. Only http://www.officialbengalsfootballproshop.com/WOMENS_YOUTH_CEDRIC_OGBUEHI_JERSEY.html one head coach, the Cleveland Browns' Hue Jackson, was in attendance. "Divine intervention," Eagles coach Doug Pederson said, looking up to the heavens. California rain proved to be a key ingredient in the Rams' courtship of Goff. The skies opened over Berkeley prior to their private workout with the Cal quarterback, setting precisely the scene they needed. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap NHL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Wholesale NHL Jerseys Cheap Baseball Jerseys Custom |
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| add to favorites | Lance Stephenson, showman | Hardware - Hard disks |
Stephenson has turned every mundane act of basketball into a piece of flair. He doesn't just dribble up the court. He gallops and prances, sometimes literally jumping mid-dribble, so that both his feet are in the air, kicking in opposite directions. Every pass can be a no-look pass if you will it. And if it wasn't really a no-look pass, jerk your head away from the target anyway, so it carries the same pizzazz.
Stephenson is screaming after almost every made basket. He's launching insane hit-ahead outlet passes, because why in the hell not? After leading one recent successful fast break, Stephenson stopped to strum an air guitar -- or maybe pluck a bass, it was hard to tell -- as the game was still going on.
When a teammate swings Stephenson the ball, he doesn't just shoot or drive. That would be boring. He palms the ball, and lifts it above his head with one hand in what Omri Casspi Jersey is supposed to be a pump fake. If that doesn't work, he'll jut it out to his side -- a taunting pass fake. He might even poke the ball toward his defender's head as a rude scare tactic.
Stephenson is part basketball player, part Jonathan Huberdeau Jersey public art installation. And it's all kind of working. Stephenson has hit 39 percent from deep since Nov. 1. He's shooting well from midrange. Indy has played teams close to even with Stephenson on the floor over the past 20 games -- progress after an ugly start.
Stephenson can play alongside any of Indy's perimeter players, and even guard some power forwards when the Pacers downsize. His antics juice up the crowd, and his teammates. I'll give Morris an injury mulligan -- he scored well against in a revenge game against Phoenix Thursday night -- but he has never been good enough to play below peak intensity.
Morris' rebounding has been Womens Troy Niklas Jersey worrisome. He's grabbing boards at career-low levels on both ends, and the Wizards allow too many offensive rebounds when he's on the floor. He sometimes floats around the arc, doing nothing, when a shot goes up. Washington's starting lineup is barely outscoring opponents. Meanwhile, their other go-to group -- a small-ball look with Kelly Oubre in Morris' place -- has emerged as their best lineup. I've written before that Scott Brooks should at least consider shifting Morris to sixth man; he's better suited than Oubre to carry bench units.
A change may cause more drama than it's worth. Washington's bench has perked up of late (hello, Tomas Satoransky!), and Otto Porter is doing good work as the lone starter alongside them. Moving Morris to the bench also would mean booting a big man out of the rotation, but that shouldn't be a concern when the reserves in question are Mike Scott and Ian Mahinmi.
Look at that sneer! Dribblin' Ben Franklin is about to hit some sucker with an Iverson-level crossover. Dribblin' Ben Franklin http://www.seahawksfootballauthentic.com/DJ-ALEXANDER-JERSEY-CHEAP.html is out to humiliate fools.
The Sixers made Dribblin' Ben a secondary logo in 2014-15, and they've given him primo placement on basket stanchions in some games this season. Dribblin' Ben was a candidate to be the team's actual mascot in 2011, when they asked fans to choose between Ben, a moose creatively named Phil E. Moose, and a brown dog called B. Franklin Dogg (with two Gs, natch). The winner would replace Hip-Hop, a Poochie-esque sunglasses-wearing bunny who died on the way back to his planet. Dribblin' Ben was the obvious choice.
The Sixers chose the classic none of the above, and then went four agonizing mascot-less years before revealing a fluffy blue dog named ... Franklin. Fine. Kids like dogs. But the Sixers know in their hearts that Dribblin' Ben is better. The Wolves still rank an embarrassing 26th in points allowed per possession. The teams below them are either tanking, or http://www.authenticbruinsjerseys.com/Authentic-Kevan-Miller-Jersey decimated from injury. Minnesota entered the season with obvious fit and depth issues, but they should not be this awful on defense in Year 2 under Tom Thibodeau.
One easy fix: clean up the horrid transition defense. Joseph Young Womens Jersey Only four teams allow more fast-break points, a blaring red flag given Minnesota plays at a slow pace. They rank dead last in points allowed per possession on transition chances by http://www.officialsanaheimducks.com/Adidas-Patrick-Eaves-Jersey almost any available measure -- from Synergy Sports, Team Rankings, and others.
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