Editor's Note: Below are the official inactives for today's Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles game.
Seattle Seahawks
Philadelphia Eagles
The Baltimore Ravens' struggle to contain an extended outbreak of the coronavirus forced their rescheduled game Tuesday night against the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers to be moved back to Wednesday afternoon.
It's the third fix to a matchup originally slated to be played Thanksgiving night. The game will remain on NBC, but at 3:40 p.m. ET.
Also, the Steelers' home game in Week 13 against Washington has been moved from Sunday to Dec. 7 at 5 p.m. The Ravens home game against Dallas will be on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 8:05 p.m. on Fox and NFL Network. It was originally set for Thursday night, then moved to Dec. 7.
Ravens-Steelers was moved back one more day for medical reasons, but now Baltimore gets some time for workouts. The NFL has permitted the Ravens to return to their facility on Monday night under doctors' supervision, which is similar to what happened when the Tennessee Titans had a coronavirus outbreak earlier this season. The Titans got three days of workouts in that scenario.
The NFL announced the most recent switches Monday after the Ravens placed starters Matthew Judon, Willie Snead and Mark Andrews on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Although Baltimore also had four players return from that list, the team will still be severely short-handed when this game is finally played. But it will get back running backs Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins from the COVID-19 list; they tested positive on Nov. 23
The addition of Judon, a standout linebacker, and Andrews, the leading receiver on the team, brings to seven the number of 2019 Pro Bowl players that Baltimore has placed on the COVID-19 list over the past week. But Ingram will be eligible to play at Pittsburgh, leaving 12 active players and one practice squad member on the list — including 2019 league MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Cornerback Terrell Bonds, who's on injured reserve, was also added to the expansive list Monday.
There was a bit of other good news for Baltimore, which activated linebacker Jayson Ferguson, offensive lineman D.J. Fluker and defensive tackle Broderick Washington from the COVID-19 list. Defensive back Iman Marshall was also activated, although he's been on IR since tearing his right ACL in August.
The contest pitting two longtime rivals was originally scheduled for Thanksgiving night before a rash of coronavirus cases among the Ravens forced the game to be postponed to Sunday. As Baltimore continued to stack up positive tests, the game was moved back to Tuesday night.
Now, perhaps, they'll finally meet on Wednesday in Pittsburgh.
The Ravens (6-4) will face the Steelers without several of their top playmakers, including Jackson, Andrews, and defensive linemen Calais Campbell and Brandon Williams.
The loss of Andrews and Snead will further hinder backup quarterback Robert Griffin III, who will be taking snaps from a third-string centre after Patrick Mekari and Matt Skura were placed on the COVID-19 list on Wednesday.
Andrews is a Type-1 diabetic, which makes COVID-19 potentially more dangerous. His loss should have an impact in that he leads Baltimore in receptions (38), yards receiving (454) and touchdown catches (6).
Andrews, Judon, Jackson, Ingram, Campbell, fullback Patrick Ricard and long snapper Morgan Cox were all selected to the Pro Bowl last season.
Judon owns Baltimore's franchise tag. He is tied for the team lead with four sacks and has 34 tackles.
Snead has 17 catches for 230 yards and two touchdowns over the past four games.
The NFL's last Wednesday game was the 2012 season opener between the Giants and the Cowboys, which was moved from a Thursday night because of a conflict with the Democratic National Convention, which was scheduled to have President Barack Obama speak on Thursday night.
“We understand that every team is going through something like this,” Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward said. “Not to this extent, but we have to be ready for any situation. I think (coach Mike Tomlin) has laid out the plan. It’s up for us to follow it and it’s up for us to bounce back with it.”
Added Steelers tackle Zach Banner, who was injured in the season opener: “I'm gonna be healthy by the time we play this game.”
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More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
In later years, Maradona struggled with substance abuse issues. “Diego was tired, tired of being ‘Maradona’,” Luque said.
The player’s lawyer, Matias Moria, on Thursday said he would ask for a full investigation of the circumstances of the soccer legend’s death, saying the health workers caring for the star were negligent.
“It is inexplicable that for 12 hours my friend has not had attention or control from the health personnel,” Moria wrote on social media. “The ambulance took more than half an hour to arrive, which was a criminal idiocy.” Prosecutors say it took 12 minutes for the ambulance to arrive.
Luque said faster ambulance service would not have saved Maradona’s life. “You would have needed medical equipment at his house, including a respirator,” he told reporters.
“If I am responsible of something, it is of loving him and taking care of him, extending his life and improving it until the end,” Luque said. “I am not responsible for this.”
A tearful Luque described Maradona as a difficult patient who often argued with the medical staff.
“Diego needed help,” he said. “Diego was hard. Diego kicked me out of his house and then called me again. That was the relationship, the one of a rebellious father with a son.”
— with files from the Washington Post
Left-handed starting pitcher Mike Minor is in agreement to sign a two-year deal with the Kansas City Royals, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and MLB Network's Mark Feinsand.
Free-agent left-hander Mike Minor in agreement with Royals, pending physical, sources tell The Athletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 30, 2020
Minor will join the Royals for the second time in his career pending a physical. He signed a two-year deal with the club worth $7.25 million in 2016.
Minor split last season with the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics. He has a 1-6 record in 2020 with a 5.56 earned-run average.
Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill have been one of the more dominant quarterback-receiver duo in the NFL the past few years and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were reminded of that in Week 12.
At one point in the game, Hill and Mahomes had connected on seven receptions for 203 yards and two touchdowns — all in the first quarter. That's only happened three times in the last 30 seasons.
It's safe to say Hill has cemented his reputation as one of the fastest wideouts in the NFL with 14 touchdowns of 50-plus yards since he entered the league in 2016 — the most by any receiver in that time.
ANOTHER one
: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/1QnL9QXPaG— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) November 29, 2020
Unfortunately for Tom Brady, this is the second time he's watched Mahomes air out a 75-yard touchdown on the sidelines. Brady himself had two interceptions, increasing his total to 11 on the season to match his total from 2018.
The Buccaneers did make it interesting as they eventually got to within three points of the Chiefs, but it was Mahomes who came out victorious with 462 passing yards — the second-most of his career.
No team in the NFL has felt the impact of COVID-19 like the Denver Broncos did on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
Without a starting quarterback, the Broncos had to turn to practice roster receiver Kendall Hinton, who hasn't played the position since 2018. Unfortunately for Hinton, he only completed one pass for 13 yards and had two interceptions.
Denver went the entire first half without completing a pass, something the team has saw once before when Tim Tebow did the same back in 2011. Fortunately for the Broncos, they did manage to score three points, which was the same total Brady and the Bucs had back in Week 9.
The Broncos also became the first team since the 1998 San Diego Chargers to complete just one pass for 15 or fewer yards. Back in Week 3 of the '98 season, quarterback Ryan Leaf went 1-of-15 for four yards and two interceptions against the Chiefs.
Going up against one of the top run defences in the NFL, Derrick Henry showed the Indianapolis Colts why he is their kryptonite.
The Colts have only allowed a player to rush for 100 or more yards twice this season — it was Henry both times. This time around, he finished the game with 27 carries for 178 yards and three touchdowns
Henry now sits ahead of Dalvin Cook as the NFL's rushing leader, and has been instrumental in the Titans' success as of late. It shouldn't be surprising that teammate A.J. Brown called for Henry to be put in the MVP conversation.
Henry has 100 or more rushing yards in eight straight road games, tying Chris Johnson for the second-longest stretch since the 1970 merger, trailing Barry Sanders's record of 10 straight games.
While the Carolina Panthers lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Minnesota Vikings, Jeremy Chinn had a day to remember.
The rookie safety had a career-high 13 tackles and two fumble recoveries for touchdowns on consecutive plays. It was a first in the Super Bowl era, and he was the fastest player to do so as the plays came within 10 seconds of game time.
For the Vikings, the victory almost got away from them when Chad Beebe muffed a punt at the Minnesota 14-yard line. Fortunately for Beebe, his defence bailed him out as they held Carolina to a field goal, and the Vikings marched down the field to score with the receiver hauling in a 10-yard touchdown.
There was a lot of movement in the NFL standings in Week 12, highlighted by the Titans regaining the AFC South and the New York Giants moving into top spot in the NFC East.
With the NFL extending the playoff format, more teams have a chance to earn a post-season berth, which means the next few weeks will be crucial for any team on the bubble.
The Baltimore Ravens' game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday is a crucial one considering the Ravens (6-4) sit on the outside looking in as the eighth seed in the AFC. The Colts' loss to the Titans opens up a chance for the Ravens (6-4) to jump back into the playoff picture as they have the tiebreaker.
Sitting behind them are the Las Vegas Raiders (6-5) who suffered a tough loss to the Atlanta Falcons while the New England Patriots (5-6) kept themselves in the conversation with a win over the Arizona Cardinals.
In the NFC, there will likely be some movement depending on what happens on Monday night between the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks.
The Eagles can reclaim the lead in the division with a win. With Daniel Jones expected to miss time with a hamstring injury, Philadelphia could be in a race with just the Washington Football Team from now until the end of the season, which is what we all expected ahead of the campaign.
The Chicago Bears missed a big opportunity to move past the Cardinals with their loss to the Green Bay Packers but still have a chance to get back into a playoff spot. Chicago owns the tiebreaker over Arizona as they have one more conference win but need to beat the Detroit Lions in Week 13 and for the Cardinals to lose against the Los Angeles Rams to move into the seventh seed in the NFC.
Both the Vikings and San Francisco 49ers earned big wins to stay in the playoff hunt, but face a tough road if they expect to leapfrog the Bears and Cardinals.
TAMPA, Fla. — When Tyreek Hill draws single coverage, Patrick Mahomes is going to find a way to get the ball to the Kansas City Chiefs' most explosive receiver.
Mahomes threw for 462 yards, including touchdowns of 75, 44 and 20 yards to Hill, who finished with 13 catches for 269 yards in the reigning Super Bowl champions' 27-24 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
“It feels good, you know, but I feel like there's still a lot of work for me to do,” Hill said after going over 1,000 yards for the season.
“I'm always trying to get better, got to be consistent with what you do,” Hill added. “Those same people showing you love this week, you make a bad play next week, they're going to hate you.”
Mahomes outplayed Tom Brady to win the fourth career matchup between the MVPs, completing 37 of 49 passes and holding the ball for more than 10 minutes without scoring on Kansas City's last two possessions to put the game away.
Hill benefited from Sammy Watkins' return to the Chiefs lineup after being sidelined since Week 5 with a hamstring injury and got the best of a matchup with Bucs cornerback Carlton Davis, who often had no help trying to contain the speedy receiver.
“We don't get that a lot, especially with that guy and his ability,” Mahomes said. “So when we do, we try to take advantage of it.”
Hill had seven catches for 203 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter alone, joining Qadry Ismail (210 in the third quarter on Dec. 12, 1999) and Lee Evans (205 in the first quarter on Nov. 19, 2006) as the only NFL receivers since 1980 to have 200 yards worth of receptions in a single quarter.
The fifth-year pro's last catch — an 8-yarder on third-and-7 in the final minute — gave Mahomes an opportunity to run out the clock.
“The last one, I learned a long time ago, you don't give Tom Brady another shot,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “That's why he's the G.O.A.T. So, don't give them the ball back. That was the mindset there.”
The Chiefs (10-1) won their sixth straight game and clinched their seventh 10-win season in eight years under Reid.
The defending champs improved to 6-0 on the road and have won nine straight away from home going back to last year.
“Very very few guys that I’ve seen in this league or any league that can backpedal eight, nine, 10, 11 yards in the pocket and throw a dime 25 yards down the field," Bucs coach Bruce Arians said of Mahomes. “And he can read the defence as he does it. That makes him more explosive.”
Brady was 27 of 41 for 345 yards, three touchdowns and a pair of second-half interceptions in falling to 2-2 against Mahomes, who built an early 17-0 lead and also had the Chiefs up by 17 entering the fourth quarter.
The Bucs (7-5) made it close, with Brady throwing TD passes of 31 and 7 yards to Mike Evans, the latter trimming his team's deficit deficit to 27-24 with 4:10 remaining.
Tampa Bay, which has lost three straight home games, never got the ball back.
“We battled back but we left ourselves a big deficit," Brady said. "When you play a good offence we’ve got to do our job offensively and keep them off the field.”
The Chiefs led 20-7 at halftime. The Bucs were fortunate they weren’t in a bigger hole.
Kansas City ran 42 plays to Tampa Bay’s 22 in the first two quarters, outgaining the Bucs 377 yards to 131 with Mahomes throwing for 359 yards and Brady 117.
Three drives inside the Bucs 20, however, only netted a pair of short field goals. Shaquil Barrett sacked Mahomes, forcing a fumble that William Gholston recovered at the 14 with the Chiefs looking to build on a 17-0 lead.
Bashaud Breeland and Tyrann Mathieu picked off Brady. The Chiefs hurt themselves with a pair of roughing the passer penalties on the 10-play, 73-yard drive the six-time Super Bowl champion put together to close the gap to three points.
The loss comes on the heels of home defeats to New Orleans and the Los Angeles Rams, games in which Brady played poorly and left his new team searching for answers about the offence's inconsistency.
Brady isn't listening to critics, who feel the Bucs aren't tailoring their scheme to what he's done best during his career.
“Just external noise. When you’re losing that’s what you deal with," Brady said. "I love playing with the guys, and the whole organization is unbelievable. I’ve just got to do a better job in the final four games.”
LONG DROUGHT
The Chiefs beat Tampa Bay for the first time since Sept. 5, 1993, when Joe Montana led Kansas City to a 27-3 victory. The Bucs had won five straight in a series the Chiefs lead 8-5.
INJURIES
Chiefs: LB Dorian O’Daniel suffered a right ankle injury in the first quarter and did not return.
Buccaneers: LG Ali Marpet returned to the lineup after missing three games because of a concussion. LT Donovan Smith was active after not practicing all week and being listed as questionable with an ankle injury suffered last week against the Los Angeles Rams.
UP NEXT
Chiefs: Host Denver next Sunday night, the lone home game during a stretch that’ll see Kansas City play four of five on the road.
Buccaneers: Bye week.
___
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
Police in Argentina are now treating the death of soccer legend Diego Maradona as a case of manslaughter.
Multiple media reports said on Sunday that detectives raided the home of his personal doctor, Dr. Leopoldo Luque.
Maradona, 60, died Wednesday at his Buenos Aires home.
Argentine prosecutors were sanctioned by a judge and are now trying to determine if Maradona was the victim of medical negligence.
Reports said Maradona had fought with his doctor in the days before he died of heart failure.
According to the U.K. Sun, the searches were ordered after the soccer icon’s daughters, Dalma and Giannina, gave statements that questioned whether the meds their dad was receiving were appropriate.
Now, Luque is under official investigation for negligence. However, there is no suggestion he will be charged with a crime.
Maradona’s legal eagles are asking for a probe to be opened into his death. They claim the ambulance took more than 30 minutes to reach the stricken star and that he did not receive any medical checks in the 12 hours before he died.
His nurse allegedly lied about checking on him.
Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell’s Old Boys during his career.
He scored 34 goals in 91 appearances for Argentina before he retired from professional football in 1997.
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterTOSun
DENVER — Taysom Hill's two touchdown runs led the New Orleans Saints to a 31-3 win Sunday over the Denver Broncos, who were thrust into a quarterback quandary when their passers failed to wear masks as mandated by the NFL's COVID-19 protocols.
In a grind-it-out slugfest like from pro football's early days, the Saints (9-2) won their second straight game with Hill subbing for the injured Drew Brees. Hill wasn't nearly as sharp as a week earlier against the Falcons, when he completed 18 of 23 passes for 233 yards and a 108.9 passer rating.
This time, he was 9 of 16 for 78 yards, no touchdowns, an interception and a paltry passer rating of 43.2. He also ran 10 times for 44 yards.
And that was much better than Broncos QB Kendall Hinton, a rookie receiver and former Wake Forest quarterback from their practice squad who made a shaky NFL debut by going 1 for 9 for 13 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Tight end Noah Fant's 13-yard catch was Denver's only reception.
Sometimes, the Broncos had their running backs take direct snaps. But the Broncos converted just once in 10 third-down tries.
SACK.
SCOOP.@KWON #SAINTS take over! : Fox pic.twitter.com/ORLxLkaZ5u— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 29, 2020
Starting quarterback Drew Lock, backup Brett Rypien and practice squad veteran Blake Bortles were disqualified over the weekend when the NFL discovered the three weren't wearing masks Wednesday, the day before No. 3 QB Jeff Driskel tested positive for the coronavirus.
Hinton didn't complete any of his seven first-half throws, one of which was picked off by Janoris Jenkins. The Broncos managed 37 yards and a single first down before halftime.
The Saints led 7-0 until scoring twice off turnovers in the final 2:22 of the first half.
Centre Lloyd Cushenberry III's low snap skittered past Lindsay and Kwon Alexander was headed for the end zone after scooping it up. Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles, who signed a four-year, $68 million extension Saturday, tripped him up at the 23.
Hill, who scored from 1 yard in the first quarter, added a 2-yard TD run to make it 14-0. Two plays later, Jenkins intercepted Hinton's underthrown pass to DaeSean Hamilton, and that set up Wil Lutz's 40-yard field goal as the clock expired.
The Broncos finally scored on Brandon McManus' 58-yard field goal in the third quarter set up by rookie Essang Bassey's 26-yard interception return. But the Saints responded with Latavius Murray's 36-yard scamper that made it 24-3.
Murray, who rushed for 124 yards on 19 carries, made it 31-3 with a 7-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
HILTON'S DEBUT
The Broncos tried to persuade the NFL to delay the game to Monday or Tuesday night like the Ravens-Steelers game was pushed back from Thanksgiving after a virus outbreak on the Ravens. When that failed, they turned to Hilton, who played quarterback his first three seasons at Wake Forest before moving to receiver in 2019, when he caught 73 passes for 1,001 yards and four touchdowns.
He signed with Denver as an undrafted free agent and spent all of training camp with the Broncos before being waived on Sept. 5. He rejoined the practice squad on Nov. 4.
Hinton's last touchdown pass came on Oct. 7, 2017, against Clemson, which is more recently than Hill, whose last TD throw was on Nov. 26, 2016, for BYU against Utah State.
BRONCOS' REACTIONS
An hour before kickoff, Lock tweeted an explanation and a mea culpa in which he admitted the QBs weren't wearing their masks when they gathered Wednesday.
While some players such as tight end Noah Fant were incredulous over the league forcing Denver to play a game without any of its QBs, other Broncos took the news in stride.
Von Miller and Bradley Chubb both made posts comically suggesting they could play quarterback, and the team's Twitter account even had a mock request inquiring if Nuggets supreme passer Nikola Jokic might be available.
On Saturday night, Fant also tweeted, ``Anybody know if Peyton Manning is busy tomorrow? Laughing but serious''
INJURIES:
Saints placed backup G Derrick Kelly on the reserve/COVID-19 list Sunday.
UP NEXT
Saints: visit Atlanta for the second leg of a three-week road trip.
Broncos: Visit Kansas City to try snapping a 10-game losing streak to the Chiefs.
Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton won a crash-marred Bahrain Grand Prix where Romain Grosjean somehow escaped with only minor burns after his car exploded into a fireball.
The 34-year-old French driver slid off the track at high speed on the first lap and his Haas car burst into flames after being sliced in two by a barrier. Grosjean clambered out with the fire roaring behind him and his race helmet singed. He was conscious and stable and then taken by helicopter to a military hospital.
"I think it is a reminder to us and hopefully to the people that are watching that this is a dangerous sport," Hamilton said.
Governing body FIA said in a statement that Grosjean was staying overnight in a military hospital to have treatment for burns on the back of both hands, but that he did not have any fractures despite hitting the barriers at an estimated speed of at least 200 kilometres an hour.
WATCH | Massive crash at Bahrain Grand Prix splits F1 car in half:
Late on Sunday, F1 posted a video of a smiling Grosjean speaking from his hospital bed.
"Just wanted to say I am OK," Grosjean said. "Thank you very much for all the messages."
The crash happened with seven-time F1 champion Hamilton leading from Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Racing Point's Sergio Perez.
Hamilton, who secured his title at the Turkish GP on Nov. 15, was subdued and did not celebrate his win after climbing out of his car, other than a brief fist-pump with the Red Bull drivers.
"It was such a shocking image to see … horrifying. It could have been so much worse," Hamilton said. "I respect the dangers that are in this sport."
WATCH | Romain Grosjean escapes car after crash at Bahrain GP:
Moments after the race restarted about 90 minutes later, on Lap 3 of 57, there was another incident as Canadian Lance Stroll's Racing Point clipped the AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat and flipped over.
Stroll joked about hanging upside down in his car, before squirming out. The Montreal driver was unharmed.
Extraordinary images of the Romain Grosjean accident.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SkyF1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SkyF1</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BahrainGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BahrainGP</a> 🇧🇭 <a href="https://t.co/4F9oDRNLgs">pic.twitter.com/4F9oDRNLgs</a>
—@SkySportsF1Nicholas Latifi, also of Montreal and driving for Williams, was 14th.
Kvyat was involved in both crashes but not at fault.
The first accident happened when Grosjean lost grip and slid to the right, where his back wheel clipped the front of Kvyat's car and he flew off into the barrier.
"At first I was angry that he had turned across me in the way he did, but that changed as soon as I saw the flames and what happened in my mirrors," Kvyat said. "I was really worried. It was a scary moment."
WATCH | Lewis Hamilton posts record-extending 95th win:
Hamilton's record-extending 95th win saw him finish ahead of Verstappen, who took his 41st career podium and a bonus point with the fastest lap.
The 35-year-old Hamilton looked drained at the end.
"It's physical, this track has always been physical. We've got lots of high-speed corners so I was definitely feeling it," he said. "I managed to just about reply to him [Verstappen] when I needed to but I was sliding around a lot out there and I wasn't really quite sure how it would play out at the end."
Perez looked set to finish third and clinch his 10th career podium, but his engine blew with three laps left and flames poured from the back of his car as he pulled over to the side.
That put Red Bull's Alexander Albon into third ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. Jr. while Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was only eighth.
There is another race in Bahrain next Sunday, on Sakhir's shorter outer circuit, before the 17-race season concludes in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton has a huge lead with 332 points compared to 201 for Bottas and 189 for Verstappen, who can still catch Bottas.
Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton won a crash-marred Bahrain Grand Prix where Romain Grosjean somehow escaped with only minor burns after his car exploded into a fireball.
The 34-year-old French driver slid off the track at high speed on the first lap and his Haas car burst into flames after being sliced in two by a barrier. Grosjean clambered out with the fire roaring behind him and his race helmet singed. He was conscious and stable and then taken by helicopter to a military hospital.
"I think it is a reminder to us and hopefully to the people that are watching that this is a dangerous sport," Hamilton said.
Governing body FIA said in a statement that Grosjean was staying overnight in a military hospital to have treatment for burns on the back of both hands, but that he did not have any fractures despite hitting the barriers at an estimated speed of at least 200 kilometres an hour.
WATCH | Massive crash at Bahrain Grand Prix splits F1 car in half:
The crash happened with seven-time F1 champion Hamilton leading from Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Racing Point's Sergio Perez.
Hamilton, who secured his title at the Turkish GP on Nov. 15, was subdued and did not celebrate his win after climbing out of his car, other than a brief fist-pump with the Red Bull drivers.
"It was such a shocking image to see … horrifying. It could have been so much worse," Hamilton said. "I respect the dangers that are in this sport."
WATCH | Romain Grosjean escapes car after crash at Bahrain GP:
Moments after the race restarted about 90 minutes later, on Lap 3 of 57, there was another incident as Canadian Lance Stroll's Racing Point clipped the AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat and flipped over.
Stroll joked about hanging upside down in his car, before squirming out. The Montreal driver was unharmed.
Extraordinary images of the Romain Grosjean accident.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SkyF1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SkyF1</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BahrainGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BahrainGP</a> 🇧🇭 <a href="https://t.co/4F9oDRNLgs">pic.twitter.com/4F9oDRNLgs</a>
—@SkySportsF1Nicholas Latifi, also of Montreal and driving for Williams, was 14th.
Kvyat was involved in both crashes but not at fault.
The first accident happened when Grosjean lost grip and slid to the right, where his back wheel clipped the front of Kvyat's car and he flew off into the barrier.
"At first I was angry that he had turned across me in the way he did, but that changed as soon as I saw the flames and what happened in my mirrors," Kvyat said. "I was really worried. It was a scary moment."
WATCH | Lewis Hamilton posts record-extending 95th win:
Hamilton's record-extending 95th win saw him finish ahead of Verstappen, who took his 41st career podium and a bonus point with the fastest lap.
The 35-year-old Hamilton looked drained at the end.
"It's physical, this track has always been physical. We've got lots of high-speed corners so I was definitely feeling it," he said. "I managed to just about reply to him [Verstappen] when I needed to but I was sliding around a lot out there and I wasn't really quite sure how it would play out at the end."
Perez looked set to finish third and clinch his 10th career podium, but his engine blew with three laps left and flames poured from the back of his car as he pulled over to the side.
That put Red Bull's Alexander Albon into third ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. Jr. while Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was only eighth.
There is another race in Bahrain next Sunday, on Sakhir's shorter outer circuit, before the 17-race season concludes in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton has a huge lead with 332 points compared to 201 for Bottas and 189 for Verstappen, who can still catch Bottas.
Argentine police searched the home and office of Diego Maradona's personal doctor on Sunday as part of investigations into the death of the 60-year-old soccer star, which caused a wave of grief across the country.
Reporters saw several police officers stationed at the door of the offices of neurologist Dr. Leopoldo Luque in Buenos Aires' Belgrano neighborhood.
Court investigators have been taking declarations from Maradona's relatives, according to a statement from the San Isidro prosecutor's office, which is overseeing a probe into the medical attention Maradona received prior to his death on Wednesday.
It said investigators were trying to secure Maradona's medical records.
Maradona was buried Thursday in a private ceremony attended by only two dozen people following a vigil at the presidential palace where tens of thousands of weeping fans lined up to filed past his coffin.
Maradona died of a heart attack in a house outside Buenos Aires where he had been recovering from a brain operation Nov. 3. He had suffered from a long series of medical issues, some related to addiction to drugs and alcohol.
WATCH | Maradona's famed 'Hand of God' goal:
Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton won a crash-marred Bahrain Grand Prix where Romain Grosjean somehow escaped with only minor burns after his car exploded into a fireball.
The Frenchman's Haas car was ripped in half and engulfed in flames as it speared through protective barriers immediately after the start, following contact with the AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat.
The impact was measured at over 50G, according to a spokesman for the sport's governing FIA.
"[Romain] is stable and being taken by helicopter to the MDF MC Military Hospital for further evaluation," the governing body said.
WATCH | Massive crash at Bahrain Grand Prix splits F1 car in half:
A spokesman for Grosjean's Haas team said the 34-year-old had suffered minor burns on his hands and ankles and had one or more suspected broken ribs.
Drivers and team members stood and applauded as they saw the images of Grosjean climbing over the barrier to safety and being sprayed with a fire extinguisher.
WATCH | Romain Grosjean escapes car after crash at Bahrain GP:
The accident happened when Grosjean lost grip and slid to the right, where his back wheel clipped the front of Daniil Kvyat's Alpha-Tauri and he flew off into the barrier.
At the time, seven-time F1 champion Hamilton was leading Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Racing Point's Sergio Perez.
Officials worked quickly to build a makeshift crash barrier where the old one was destroyed.
Hamilton was subdued and did not celebrate his win after climbing out of his car, other than a brief fist-pump with the Red Bull drivers.
"It was such a shocking image to see … horrifying. It could have been so much worse," Hamilton said. "I respect the dangers that are in this sport."
Extraordinary images of the Romain Grosjean accident.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SkyF1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SkyF1</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BahrainGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BahrainGP</a> 🇧🇭 <a href="https://t.co/4F9oDRNLgs">pic.twitter.com/4F9oDRNLgs</a>
—@SkySportsF1Moments after the race restarted about 90 minutes later, on the third lap of 57, there was another incident as Montreal driver Lance Stroll's Racing Point clipped the AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat and flipped over.
Stroll joked about hanging upside down in his car, before squirming out. He was unharmed.
Montreal native Nicholas Latifi, driving for Williams, was 14th.
Kvyat was involved in both crashes but not at fault.
WATCH | Lewis Hamilton posts record-extending 95th win:
The first accident happened when Grosjean lost grip and slid to the right, where his back wheel clipped the front of Kvyat's car and he flew off into the barrier.
Hamilton's record-extending 95th win saw him finish ahead of Verstappen, who took his 41st career podium and a bonus point with the fastest lap.
Perez looked set to finish third and clinch his 10th career podium, but his engine blew with three laps left and flames poured from the back of his car as he pulled over to the side.
That put Red Bull's Alexander Albon into third ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. Jr. while Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was only eighth.
There is another race in Bahrain next Sunday — on Sakhir's shorter outer circuit — before the 17-race season concludes in Abu Dhabi.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentine police searched the home and office of Diego Maradona's personal doctor on Sunday as part of investigations into the death of the 60-year-old soccer star, which caused a wave of grief across the country.
Reporters saw several police officers stationed at the door of the offices of neurologist Dr. Leopoldo Luque in Buenos Aires' Belgrano neighbourhood.
Court investigators have been taking declarations from Maradona's relatives, according to a statement from the San Isidro prosecutor's office, which is overseeing a probe into the medical attention Maradona received prior to his death on Wednesday.
It said investigators were trying to secure Maradona's medical records.
Maradona was buried Thursday in a private ceremony attended by only two dozen people following a vigil at the presidential palace where tens of thousands of weeping fans lined up to filed past his coffin.
Maradona died of a heart attack in a house outside Buenos Aires where he had been recovering from a brain operation Nov. 3. He had suffered from a long series of medical issues, some related to overindulgence in drugs and alcohol.
Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton won a crash-marred Bahrain Grand Prix where Romain Grosjean somehow escaped with only minor burns after his car exploded into a fireball.
The Frenchman's Haas car was ripped in half and engulfed in flames as it speared through protective barriers immediately after the start, following contact with the AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat.
The impact was measured at over 50G, according to a spokesman for the sport's governing FIA.
"[Romain] is stable and being taken by helicopter to the MDF MC Military Hospital for further evaluation," the governing body said.
WATCH | Massive crash at Bahrain Grand Prix splits F1 car in half:
A spokesman for Grosjean's Haas team said the 34-year-old had suffered minor burns on his hands and ankles and had one or more suspected broken ribs.
The moment <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RomainGrosjean?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RomainGrosjean</a> got out of the car. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BahrainGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BahrainGP</a> <a href="https://t.co/gRG47tlT0g">pic.twitter.com/gRG47tlT0g</a>
—@UKCameraOpDrivers and team members stood and applauded as they saw the images of Grosjean climbing over the barrier to safety and being sprayed with a fire extinguisher.
The accident happened when Grosjean lost grip and slid to the right, where his back wheel clipped the front of Daniil Kvyat's Alpha-Tauri and he flew off into the barrier.
At the time, seven-time F1 champion Hamilton was leading Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Racing Point's Sergio Perez.
Officials worked quickly to build a makeshift crash barrier where the old one was destroyed.
Hamilton was subdued and did not celebrate his win after climbing out of his car, other than a brief fist-pump with the Red Bull drivers.
"It was such a shocking image to see … horrifying. It could have been so much worse," Hamilton said. "I respect the dangers that are in this sport."
WATCH | Romain Grosjean escapes car after crash at Bahrain GP:
Moments after the race restarted about 90 minutes later, on the third lap of 57, there was another incident as Montreal driver Lance Stroll's Racing Point clipped the AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat and flipped over.
Stroll joked about hanging upside down in his car, before squirming out. He was unharmed.
Montreal native Nicholas Latifi, driving for Williams, was 14th.
Kvyat was involved in both crashes but not at fault.
The first accident happened when Grosjean lost grip and slid to the right, where his back wheel clipped the front of Kvyat's car and he flew off into the barrier.
Hamilton's record-extending 95th win saw him finish ahead of Verstappen, who took his 41st career podium and a bonus point with the fastest lap.
Perez looked set to finish third and clinch his 10th career podium, but his engine blew with three laps left and flames poured from the back of his car as he pulled over to the side.
That put Red Bull's Alexander Albon into third ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. Jr. while Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was only eighth.
There is another race in Bahrain next Sunday — on Sakhir's shorter outer circuit — before the 17-race season concludes in Abu Dhabi.
Extraordinary images of the Romain Grosjean accident.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SkyF1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SkyF1</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BahrainGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BahrainGP</a> 🇧🇭 <a href="https://t.co/4F9oDRNLgs">pic.twitter.com/4F9oDRNLgs</a>
—@SkySportsF1Romain Grosjean suffered minor burns and suspected broken ribs but was in a stable condition after his car smashed through safety barriers at the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix on the opening lap, bringing the race to a halt.
The Frenchman's Haas car was ripped in half and engulfed in flames as it speared through protective barriers immediately after the start, following contact with the AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat.
The impact was measured at over 50G, according to a spokesman for the sport's governing FIA.
"[Romain] is stable and being taken by helicopter to the MDF MC Military Hospital for further evaluation," the governing body said.
WATCH | Massive crash at Bahrain Grand Prix splits F1 car in half:
A spokesman for Grosjean's Haas team said the 34-year-old had suffered minor burns on his hands and ankles and had one or more suspected broken ribs.
Grosjean clambered out of his car with the fire roaring behind him and his race helmet singed.
The moment <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RomainGrosjean?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RomainGrosjean</a> got out of the car. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BahrainGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BahrainGP</a> <a href="https://t.co/gRG47tlT0g">pic.twitter.com/gRG47tlT0g</a>
—@UKCameraOpMoments later, Grosjean was shown on television chatting with the race doctor in the medical car and then helped into an ambulance.
WATCH | Romain Grosjean escapes car after crash at Bahrain GP:
Drivers and team members stood and applauded as they saw the images of Grosjean climbing over the barrier to safety and being sprayed with a fire extinguisher.
Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton expressed his relief on Twitter while waiting for the race to restart.
"I'm so grateful Romain is safe. Wow … the risk we take is no joke, for those of you out there that forget that we put our life on the line for this sport and for what we love to do," Hamilton wrote. "Thankful to the FIA for the massive strides we've taken for Romain to walk away from that safely."
It appeared an extraordinary escape after Grosjean's car was sliced in half upon impact with the barrier.
The accident happened when Grosjean lost grip and slid to the right, where his back wheel clipped the front of Daniil Kvyat's Alpha-Tauri and he flew off into the barrier.
Grosjean's teammate Kevin Magnussen looked distressed when he saw the footage as drivers waited in the paddock for the race to restart, while officials returned to the site of the crash to pick up debris littered around the destroyed car.
Officials worked quickly to build a makeshift crash barrier where the old one was destroyed.
The race restarted about 1 1/2 hours later with the positions of the drivers when the crash happened. Hamilton was leading, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Force India's Sergio Perez.
Extraordinary images of the Romain Grosjean accident.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SkyF1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SkyF1</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BahrainGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BahrainGP</a> 🇧🇭 <a href="https://t.co/4F9oDRNLgs">pic.twitter.com/4F9oDRNLgs</a>
—@SkySportsF1
UFC President Dana White rarely holds back when he doesn’t like something, particularly when it comes to boxing. But on the exhibition fight between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr., he didn’t really have a bad thing to say.
“You guys have been asking me questions leading up to this thing, and I didn’t want to say anything negative, because I love Tyson and he’s a good friend of mine,” White said after the boxing legends faced off Saturday for social media website Triller. “He’s 56 years old. Time is undefeated. Time takes us all down, and one of the things that I was worried for Mike is he has this incredible aura still, and 56 years old, fighting is a young man’s game. All that being said, he looked f*cking awesome tonight. I was blown away by how good he looked.”
Sitting octagon-side at UFC APEX, UFC President Dana White watched three screens during UFC Vegas 15: his fights, Tyson vs. Jones Jr., and college football.
“I was worried about Roy – Roy is 51 years old, but Roy has been way more active than Tyson has been, but Roy actually got more tired than Mike tonight, which was shocking,” White said. “I’m happy for them. I hope they both made a zillion f*cking dollars, and it exceeded my expectations.”
The eight-round boxing match was declared a draw by three former fighters turned judges that scored the bout for the sanctioning body WBC. Even though the decision didn’t count against either fighter because it was an exhibition, the internet erupted with criticism.
White might have been impressed by Tyson and Jones, but there was a clear winner.
“Tyson won that fight,” he said.
The former heavyweight boxing champ and feared legend didn’t complain about the result on Saturday night. In the leadup to the internet-streamed pay-per-view, Tyson said no matter what happened, he might continue on in the fight game, using his platform to serve charities that help as many people as possible.
Tyson doesn’t need White’s blessing, but the UFC boss isn’t upset about that, either.
“Listen, he’s a grown-ass man – he’s going to do what he wants anyway,” White said. “But good for him. It was actually a good fight, it was an entertaining fight to watch, and I thought he looked really good. I’m happy for him.”
As to whether that support would extend to Jones Jr., who said the bout with Tyson could open the door for a long-awaited showdown with former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, White wasn’t as positive. As successful as Triller appeared to be in capturing the attention of fight fans around the world, completely drowning out the UFC’s offering on Saturday night, the UFC exec said he isn’t interested in competing with other promotions who attempt to capitalize on nostalgia.
“I don’t know,” he said of Silva vs. Jones Jr. “To my core, I”m a f*cking fight fan, and what I truly believe is the fight business is for young guys. It’s not for old guys. Listen, I get that there’s still some name value out there, and you can make some money. But when you’re a fight fan, I want to see the best in the world, the up-and-coming kids, I want to see these guys fight, and I want to know who the baddest mother f*cker in the world is in every division. As a fight fan, that’s who I am, and that kind of stuff doesn’t interest me.
“Anderson Silva had his day. Roy Jones Jr. had his day. Today is not their day. It’s just not. These guys that you saw fight are the future. This is what I’m interested in. I could sit here all f*cking night and watch kids that fought tonight fight. It’s just not really what I do. There’s other people out there that do that, plenty of people that do the old guy stuff. I don’t do the old guy stuff.”
Mike Tyson shared a card with Jake Paul on Saturday night, but the heavyweight boxing legend admits he’d never heard of the 23-year-old YouTube celebrity until just recently.
In fact it wasn’t until Paul and his older brother Logan started engaging in high-profile celebrity boxing matches that Tyson’s sons initially mentioned the siblings to him.
“I didn’t know he existed until my sons wanted to fight him one day,” Tyson said after going to a draw with Roy Jones Jr. on Saturday night. “I said, ‘Who are you going to fight? This guy? Come on,’ and he was a big star.
“Everybody knows who he is, and I’m so happy that he joined on the bandwagon with me and Roy.”
On the night Tyson returned to the ring for the first time in 15 years, Paul competed in the co-main event and demolished ex-NBA player Nate Robinson with a second-round knockout. Paul is now 2-0 as a professional boxer with plans to devote even more time to the sport moving forward.
While Paul and his brother have received a ton of criticism from boxing purists for their involvement in the sport, Tyson argues they actually deserve a lot of credit and much more respect than they’ve been shown thus far.
“Listen, my ego says so many things, but my reality is they help boxing so much,” Tyson explained. “Boxing owes these guys, they owe these YouTube boxers some kind of respect. They should give them some belts because these guys make boxing alive.
“Boxing was pretty much a dying sport. UFC was kicking our butts, and now we got these YouTube boxers boxing with 25 million views. Boxing’s going back. Thanks to the YouTube boxers.”
To put that into perspective, the Logan Paul-KSI YouTube pay-per-view where Jake Paul competed on the undercard drew over 2.25 million viewers while generating a $3.5 million live gate for the event.
Of course, boxing has thrived around massive events like the heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder as well as recent cards airing on networks such as ESPN with high profile bouts such as Vasyl Lomachenko taking on Teofimo Lopez.
While boxing seems to come alive around high-profile fights like those, the UFC is a more consistent product with notable events taking place week-to-week and massive events promoted when superstars such as Conor McGregor, Israel Adesanya or Khabib Nurmagomedov compete.
In an age where television networks are struggling to maintain ratings while going up against streaming services and videos shown on YouTube and TikTok are earning billions of views, Tyson believes boxers like Paul are exactly what the sport needs right now.
“I believe the more anyone boxes the bigger it is for the sport,” Tyson said. “Cause boxing took a couple of beatings since the UFC’s been around.”
Mike Tyson showed glimpses of his destructive prime Saturday night during the 54-year-old boxing icon's return to the ring for a lively exhibition bout with 51-year-old Roy Jones Jr.
Both fighters had impressive moments during a fight that was unofficially ruled a draw by the WBC judges at ringside. Tyson and Jones fought eight two-minute rounds, and both emerged smiling and apparently healthy from a highly unusual event at Staples Center.
"This is better than fighting for championships," Tyson said of the heavyweight exhibition, which raised money for various charities. "We're humanitarians now. We can do something good for the world. We've got to do this again."
The former heavyweight champion of the world's return to the ring after a 15-year absence attracted international attention, and Iron Mike did his best to show the form that made him a legend to a generation of boxing fans. Tyson tagged Jones with body shots and a handful of head punches during a bout that was required to be a fairly safe glorious sparring session by the California State Athletic Commission.
"The body shots definitely took a toll," said Jones, the former four-division world champion widely considered the most skilled boxer of his generation. "It's something to take the punches that Mike throws. I'm cool with a draw. Maybe we can do it again."
Jones walked to the ring with gloves and trunks honouring Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, while Tyson wore his signature all-black trunks. After the traditional pre-fight pomp and an introduction by Michael Buffer, the 50-something champions both came out throwing punches that evoked echoes of their glorious primes.
They also tied up frequently on the inside, and their occasionally laboured breathing could be heard on the microphones in the empty arena.
Hip hop star Snoop Dogg's witty television commentary was among the loudest noises inside Staples, and he had a handful of zingers. "This is like two of my uncles fighting at the barbecue," he exclaimed.
Tyson and Jones were the headliners in the most improbable pay-per-view boxing event in years, engineered by social networking app Triller and featuring fights interspersed with hip hop performances in an empty arena.
The event was derided as an anti-sporting spectacle by some critics, yet both Tyson and Jones appeared to handle themselves capably and safely. Fans were clearly enamoured, with the show getting enormous traction on social media.
"I hit you with some good shots, and you took it," Tyson said. "I respect that."
In the co-main event, YouTube star Jake Paul knocked out former NBA player Nate Robinson, stopped in the second round of Robinson's pro boxing debut. Paul, in his second pro fight, recorded three knockdowns against Robinson, the three-time NBA Slam Dunk contest champion, before an overhand right put Robinson flat on his face and apparently unconscious.
Two legends of the game 👏 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TysonJones?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TysonJones</a> <a href="https://t.co/4HnO61bzKe">pic.twitter.com/4HnO61bzKe</a>
—@BTSportBoxingTyson who posted a 50-6 career record with two no-contests, won his first heavyweight championship belt in 1986, and he was the undisputed world champion from 1987-90. He spent three years in prison after he was convicted of rape in 1992; upon his release, he regained pieces of the heavyweight crown in 1996.
Tyson retired from boxing in 2005, saying he longer had "the fighting guts or the heart" after he quit in a dismal loss to journeyman Peter McBride. Finally free of his sport's relentless pressure, Tyson gradually straightened out his life, kicking a self-described drug addiction and eventually succeeding in acting, stage performance, charity work and even marijuana cultivation while settling into comfortable family life in Las Vegas with his third wife and their children.
The idea of a boxing comeback seemed preposterous, but Tyson started toward this unlikely fight when he started doing 15 daily minutes on a treadmill a few years ago at his wife's urging in a bid to lose 100 pounds. The workouts soon became multi-hour affairs encompassing biking, running and finally punching as he regained a measure of his athletic prime through discipline and a vegan diet.
Tyson posted a video of himself hitting pads on social media early in the coronavirus pandemic, and the overwhelming public response led to several lucrative offers for a ring comeback. With the chance to make money for himself and for charity, Tyson eventually agreed — but he had to find an opponent.
Jones first entered the spotlight when he won a silver medal as a light middleweight in the 1988 Sumnmer Olympics in Seoul. He went on to hold the world middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight championships during a career that saw him start 49-1 before he ended up at 66-9.
Jones fought steadily into his late 40s, but thought he was done with the sport after winning his last bout in 2018. He couldn't resist the chance to take on Tyson after the greats never met during their first professional careers because Tyson was a heavyweight and Jones mostly was a light heavyweight (178 pounds).
Tyson and Jones negotiated with the California commission over the limitations of their bout, eventually arriving at eight two-minute rounds of hard sparring with only ceremonial judging and no official winner. The WBC still stepped in to award a ceremonial "Frontline Battle Belt" to both fighters.
The Denver Broncos find themselves in an unprecedented situation, with all of their quarterbacks ineligible to play Sunday due to COVID-19 concerns.
The team is expected to turn to Kendall Hinton as their emergency quarterback against the New Orleans Saints Sunday with Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, and Blake Bortles sidelined after the trio reportedly didn't wear masks while coming in contact with fellow quarterback Jeff Driskel, who later tested positive for COVID-19.
Hinton has experience playing quarterback during his five years at Wake Forest but has never played a snap behind centre in the NFL — and was signed to the practice squad as a receiver.
The situation understandably drew plenty of reaction from around the football world:
I’m laughing to keep from crying
— Kareem Jackson (@ReemBoi25) November 29, 2020
ssimmons@postmedia.com
twitter.com/simmonssteve
IBAKA COULD HAVE STAYED WITH RAPTORS, HE CHOSE NOT TO
“How to explain what Toronto, Canada, and the Raptors mean to me?
“I was welcomed to a new country and a new team more than three years ago and I felt at home from day one. I feel really blessed to have played for this city, these fans, and this organization.”
That was Serge Ibaka’s emotional goodbye to the city. It was also pretty much social-media, agent-driven packaged bunk.
Ibaka had a choice to make about his NBA career. He was a free agent, had earned that right, and the key word being free. From that, you can decide what you, as a player, want to do and where you want to play and if there’s more than one offer, and there was in this case, then the decision gets a little more complicated.
Let’s be clear here: For all Ibaka loved Toronto, Canada and the Raptors, and how much it apparently tore him apart to leave, the first opportunity he had, he left. He signed on with the Los Angeles Clippers. With Kawhi Leonard. He was championship chasing here, not unusual in the NBA, and in this case it’s championship chasing and getting the opportunity to live in LA.
Serge Ibaka could have stayed and played with the Raptors at least one more season, maybe more. He made a decision in his best interest. It was his choice to leave.
TORONTO DESERVES NEW BALLPARK. MAYBE JUST NOT NOW
In downtown Pittsburgh, hardly the economic centre of the U.S., there is one of the great ballparks in all of America.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Vanderbilt’s Sarah Fuller became the first woman to participate in a Power Five conference football game when she kicked off to start the second half against Missouri on Saturday.
“Honestly it’s just so exciting, and the fact that I can represent like the little girls out there who wanted to do this or thought about playing football or any sport really and it encourages them to be able to step out and do something big like this,” Fuller said after the game.
Fuller kicked off the turf with a holder rather than using a tee, and she sent a low kick to the 35-yard line where it was pounced on by Missouri’s Mason Pack. Fuller didn’t get any opportunities in the first half as the Tigers opened a 21-0 lead over the Commodores.
She went straight to the sideline where she high-fived some of her new teammates and swapped some elbow bumps. Fuller’s parents watched and cheered from the stands along with her boyfriend and best friend.
Fuller said she was really calm when she went out for the second-half kickoff.
“The SEC championship was more stressful if I’ve got to be honest,” Fuller said. “I was really excited to step out on the field and do my thing.”
That was Fuller’s only chance in Vanderbilt’s 41-0 loss.
Fuller, a senior goalkeeper on the Vanderbilt soccer team, joined the football team this week after helping the Commodores win the Southeastern Conference Tournament last weekend. COVID-19 protocols and restrictions left Vandy football coach Derek Mason with a limited number of specialists available against Missouri. Mason reached out to the soccer team for help.
Fuller agreed to give football a try and practiced with the winless Commodores before making the trip to Missouri. She wore “Play Like A Girl” on the back of her helmet. She wore No. 32 on Saturday, the same as her number when playing soccer.
After her kickoff, reaction poured in on social media. Fuller was the No. 2 trending topic on Twitter, followed by Vandy. Her soccer team wrote on Twitter: “Glass. Everywhere.”
As in glass ceiling.
Pat McAfee, a former NFL punter, reviewed Fuller’s squib kick, noting the ball didn’t go out of bounds and there was no chance of a return, setting up the defense.
“Congrats to (at)SarahFuller_27 for being THE FIRST EVER WOMAN TO KICKOFF A POWER 5 GAME,” McAfee wrote. “Incredibly rare to be the ‘1st ever person to do something’ these days..this is really cool.”
No woman had appeared in an SEC football game or for any Power Five team. Liz Heaston became the first woman to score with two extra points for Willamette in NAIA on Oct. 18, 1997.
Katie Hnida was the first woman to score at the Football Bowl Subdivision level with two extra points for New Mexico on Aug. 30, 2003.
April Goss was the second, with an extra point for Kent State in 2015. Tonya Butler was the first woman to kick a field goal in an NCAA game for Division II West Alabama on Sept. 13, 2003. New Mexico congratulated Fuller on Twitter for joining Hnida and Goss for kicking in an FBS game.
“Welcome to the club, (at)April_Goss and I are waiting with snacks!” Hnida wrote on Twitter on Friday.
___
The Pittsburgh Steelers placed running back James Conner on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Saturday, joining three teammates already on the list as well as over a dozen Baltimore Ravens, casting further doubt on the playing a rescheduled game currently set for Tuesday.
Conner, who leads the unbeaten Steelers (10-0) with 645 yards rushing and five touchdowns, joins defensive end Stephon Tuitt, defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs and reserve offensive lineman Kevin Dotson on the COVID-19 list.
The Steelers also announced special teams co-ordinator Danny Smith will not coach on Tuesday due to what the team described as an "illness." Quarterbacks coach Matt Canada will also be unavailable due to an illness.
The announcement came the same day six more Ravens joined the reserve/COVID-19 list, an outbreak that seems to put Tuesday's game in Pittsburgh in serious jeopardy. The game was originally scheduled for Thanksgiving night before being pushed to Sunday afternoon and then Tuesday night.