KTBB News, Weather, Talk

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adolis García hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning, Cody Bradford pitched seven strong innings after the worst start of his career, and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 on Wednesday night.

The win kept the defending World Series-champion Rangers alive in the AL West race, trailing first-place Houston by nine games with 10 to play. They are seven games back in the wild card race.

García launched an inside sinker over the left-field wall off Toronto starter Bowden Francis (8-5) after Wyatt Langford singled.

“He swings hard, he swings a lot,” Francis said of García. “I guess the velo was dropping during that time.”

Bradford (6-3) allowed five hits and no walks while striking out six.

The seven shutout innings are the most in a game during his two-year career. He was knocked out of his previous start after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and homers (three) in 3 2/3 innings in a 14-4 loss at Arizona.

“Throughout the week, you’ve got to try and digest what happened, see where I can make adjustments, whether it was just game plan went wrong or just poor execution, or a little bit of both,” Bradford said. “Then you flush it.”

Bradford was perfect through four innings before Alejandro Kirk opened the fifth with a smash back to the mound that caromed off Bradford’s left foot and rolled into right field for a single. It extended Kirk’s hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.

Spencer Horwitz’s double to left-center put runners on second and third with no outs before Bradford retired the next three batters.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider credited Bradford’s “deceptive fastball.”

“When you’re throwing 89, 92, you’ve got to have pretty good deception with that at this level,” Schneider said. “Kept us off balance.”

Kirby Yates pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 31st save in 32 opportunities.

Francis, who took no-hitters into the ninth inning in two of his previous four starts, allowed a double to Marcus Semien, the Rangers’ first hitter of the game. He gave up five hits and one walk in six innings.

Francis has a 1.96 ERA in nine starts with 54 strikeouts and seven walks since being moved back into the starting rotation in late July.

“I don’t even want to get complacent, on cruise control,” Francis said. “Just keep attacking.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette was a late scratch with a right middle finger contusion suffered during infield practice. Schneider said the team will get back X-rays on Thursday. Bichette was activated Tuesday following a calf injury and played for the first time in two months, going 2 for 5 with one RBI at the plate. … INF Will Wagner (left knee inflammation) will have the knee scoped on Thursday. Schneider said Wagner should be ready to start spring training. Wagner, son of former major leaguer Billy Wagner, was acquired from Houston at the trade deadline.

UP NEXT

Rangers rookie RHP Kumar Rocker (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will make his home debut against Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (12-11, 4.02) in the series finale. Rocker allowed one run in four innings at Seattle last Thursday in his major league debut.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

ByABC News
September 18, 2024, 1:19 PM

Two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, former Defensive Players of the Year Luke Kuechly and Terrell Suggs, and postseason kicking hero Adam Vinatieri are among the first-time nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025.

The Hall announced 167 modern era candidates for the class Wednesday that included 16 players who became eligible this year, including two-time All-Pro guard Marshal Yanda.

A screening committee will reduce the list of nominees to 50 players next month. Then the full 50-person selection committee will cut the list down to 25 semifinalists and then 15 finalists for the annual meeting before the Super Bowl that will produce the new class. Players must get 80% of votes to get in. Under the Hall of Fame’s bylaws, between three to five players can get in as modern era candidates.

There will also be three senior candidates, grouped with one coach and contributor. At least one and no more than three of those finalists will get in based on voting.

The other first-time candidates are offensive linemen Travis Frederick, Ryan Kalil and Joe Staley; running backs Marshawn Lynch and Darren Sproles; receiver Demaryius Thomas; tight ends Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker; and defensive backs Antoine Bethea, Aqib Talib and Earl Thomas.

There are also 10 players back under consideration who were finalists a year ago. Tight end Antonio Gates, receivers Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne; offensive linemen Willie Anderson and Jahri Evans; defensive backs Darren Woodson, Eric Allen and Rodney Harrison; defensive lineman Jared Allen; and running back Fred Taylor are back on the list.

Manning will look to follow his brother Peyton into the Hall following a standout career with the New York Giants. Manning was picked first overall in the 2004 draft by the Chargers and traded to the Giants, spending his entire career in New York. He led the Giants to an upset win over the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl following the 2007 season, throwing a game-winning touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute.

He led another late TD drive to upset Tom Brady and the Patriots four years later. Manning is one of 13 QBs to win multiple Super Bowls, with eight of the nine who are eligible for the Hall getting inducted.

Only Jim Plunkett has not been inducted; more recent players in the category such as Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and Patrick Mahomes aren’t eligible.

Manning was a four-time Pro Bowl selection but never made All-Pro or led the league in a major statistical category in a season but finished his career with 57,023 yards passing and 366 TDs.

His best moments were in those two postseason runs. Manning joined Brady (five), Mahomes (three), Joe Montana (three), Bart Starr (two) and Terry Bradshaw (two) as the only multiple winners of Super Bowl MVP awards.

Kuechly and Suggs were among the top defensive players of their era with Kuechly selected as the top defensive player in 2013 and Suggs in 2011.

Kuechly’s career was brief but impactful. The first-round pick by the Carolina Panthers in 2012 was an All-Pro five times in his eight-year career with seven Pro Bowl nods and a Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

Over his eight-year career, Kuechly led all linebackers in the NFL in tackles (1,090), takeaways (26), interceptions (18) and passes defensed (66).

Suggs was one of the top pass rushers in the league over his 17-year career, with his 139 sacks ranking eighth best since they became an official stat in 1982.

Suggs had seven double-digit sack seasons in his 16 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, including 14 in 2011 when he was selected as the top defensive player in the league and led the NFL with seven forced fumbles.

He won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003 and helped the Ravens win the Super Bowl in the 2012 season. He finished his career in Kansas City, where he helped the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl in the 2019 season.

Vinatieri was one of the most clutch kickers in NFL history, making the game-winning field goals in the first two Super Bowl titles during New England’s dynasty.

He helped launch the run with one of the game’s greatest kicks — a 45-yarder in the snow to force overtime in the Tuck Rule game against the Raiders in the 2001 divisional round. He made the winning kick in OT in that game and then hit a 48-yarder on the final play of a 20-17 win in the Super Bowl against the Rams.

He then made a 41-yarder two years later to give the Patriots a 32-29 win in the Super Bowl against Carolina. Vinatieri also won Super Bowls in 2004 with New England and in the 2006 season with the Indianapolis Colts.

Vinatieri is the NFL leader in points (2,673) and made field goals (599) over a 24-year career with New England and Indianapolis. He also leads all players with 56 field goals and 238 points in the postseason.

Yanda was a member of the 2010s all-decade team as a key of Baltimore’s success. He also was selected second-team All-Pro five times and made the Pro Bowl in eight of his final seasons, missing in 2017 when he played only two games because of an injury.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

ByADAM TEICHER
September 18, 2024, 1:39 PM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs quickly moved to release running back Kareem Hunt six years ago when video surfaced of him shoving and kicking a woman outside of his residence.

On Wednesday, the Chiefs welcomed Hunt back to the team, saying he had matured.

“We just thought he needed a change of scenery and get some help and take care of business there and we felt like he did that,” Reid said. “He did a nice job in Cleveland, and we talked to the people there and there were no issues there, so we felt OK by bringing him back. … It looks like he’s grown up.

“I think people deserve a second chance if they’ve done something to work on the first part of it.”

The Chiefs, after losing starting running back Isiah Pacheco to a broken fibula, signed Hunt to the practice squad on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Reid said Hunt could play in Sunday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Patrick Mahomes said he has remained friends with Hunt, who attended Mahomes’ wedding in Hawaii two years ago. The quarterback was one of the most outspoken Chiefs players about Hunt’s actions in the video, but he also said he was happy to see Hunt return.

“Everybody has friends that make mistakes — obviously some are bigger than others — but, at the same time, you want to make the person better,” Mahomes said. “You want to see them taking the right steps to become a better person for themselves, their family and the rest of society. And so, I think you’ve seen that with Kareem, and so I’ve stayed in touch with him just to see how he’s doing, how his family’s doing, everything like that.

“He’s been able to carve out a great career in the NFL, but I mean you’ve seen he’s been able to keep his nose clean and be a better person and that’s what you want in order to make everybody better people.”

The Chiefs selected Hunt in the third round in 2017 — the same draft in which they acquired Mahomes. Hunt had a big rookie season, rushing for a league high 1,327 yards, catching 53 passes and scoring 11 touchdowns.

He was well on his way to another 1,000-yard season in 2018 when the video surfaced. The NFL then placed Hunt on the commissioner’s exempt list and the Chiefs released Hunt, saying he had not been truthful when the team had asked him about the incident at a Cleveland hotel where he had an apartment.

Hunt, 29, played the past five seasons for his hometown Browns. The most productive of those seasons came in 2020, when he rushed for 841 yards and caught 38 passes. Last season, he rushed for 411 yards and caught 15 passes.

ByELI LEDERMAN
September 18, 2024, 2:09 PM

USC landed a key commitment Wednesday when four-star wide receiver Jerome Myles, the No. 26 prospect in the 2025 ESPN 300, committed to the Trojans, continuing a hot late-summer recruiting run for Lincoln Riley & Co.

Myles, who decommitted from Ole Miss in June, is ESPN’s fifth-ranked wide receiver in 2025 and stood as the nation’s top uncommitted pass catcher prior to his commitment. The No. 1 prospect in the state of Utah this cycle, Myles picked the Trojans over Texas A&M and Utah, and he now lands as the second-ranked member of USC’s 2025 class, trailing only five-star quarterback Julian Lewis (No. 2 in the 2025 ESPN 300).

Myles, who felt home ties to Utah and visited Texas A&M in Week 1, told ESPN his recruitment swung on the plan Riley and his staff presented during Myles’ Week 2 visit to USC.

“USC just blew everybody out of the water,” Myles said. “They produce the most NFL draft picks. And the wide receiver development is crazy. And if I don’t make it in football out there, I’ll make it some way in life. They’re not all about just the football part. I like that.”

Myles initially committed to Ole Miss in the spring before pulling his pledge from the Rebels and reopening his commitment. His senior campaign at Utah’s Corner Canyon High School ended on Aug. 30 when Myles suffered a season-ending ACL injury, prompting the 6-foot-3, 220-pound prospect to push up his originally scheduled Oct. 30 commitment ceremony. With Myles off the board, four-star pass catcher Jaden Nickens (No. 162 in the ESPN 300) remains as the last uncommitted player among ESPN’s top-30 wide receivers in 2025.

Myles’ pledge comes 10 days after USC secured top inside linebacker prospect Ty Jackson (No. 44 in the ESPN 300), who visited the Trojans on the same weekend as Myles. USC has now added four top-100 pledges since July 30 with Myles and Jackson following Georgia outside linebacker flip Jadon Perlotte (No. 84 in the ESPN 300) and UCF safety flip Kendarius Reddick (No. 89)

USC currently holds the No. 16 recruiting spot in 2025, per ESPN’s latest team rankings for the cycle.

Myles took official visits to Utah and Texas A&M prior to pulling his commitment from Ole Miss in June. Last month, he told ESPN that USC, Texas, A&M, Utah, Georgia and Ohio State had made the cut among the finalists in his recruitment entering his senior season.

Myles’ connection with Texas A&M dipped after he visited College Station with Corner Canyon teammate and 2026 quarterback prospect Helaman Casuga during the Aggies’ 23-13 loss to Notre Dame on the opening weekend of the regular season. At USC a week later, Myles heard everything he needed from a coaching staff that made Myles a priority after offering him in July.

“I just wanted to learn more about their history and what they have in store for me,” Myles said. “When I went out there, they definitely impressed me.”

In Myles, USC has a speedy, deep-threat receiver to pair with Lewis in the 2025 class. Myles is a state champion sprinter in the 100- and 200-meter events. Across his sophomore and junior seasons at Corner Canyon, Myles totaled 53 catches for 1,185 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Myles is now the ninth ESPN 300 commit in USC’s 2025 class. The 11th-ranked Trojans visit No. 18 Michigan at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in Week 4.

ByEMILY KAPLAN
September 18, 2024, 2:09 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Sean Monahan said he will miss Johnny Gaudreau for the rest of his life — but called it “special to get that memory every day” as his locker stall is next to the one the team will keep reserved for the late Columbus Blue Jackets star.

Monahan, 29, signed a five-year deal in Columbus this summer in part to reunite with Gaudreau, his teammate for nine years in Calgary, whom he called “arguably my best friend.”

As the Blue Jackets opened training camp on Wednesday, Monahan spoke for the first time publicly since Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles on Aug. 29. Monahan was a pallbearer at the funeral and was going to live three houses down from the Gaudreau family in Ohio.

“I still don’t know the exact words to even say,” said Monahan, who wore a shirt featuring a large No. 13 and a photo of Gaudreau to the news conference.

“I’m excited for the season. I’m excited to get it going. We’re going to miss Johnny. I’m going to miss Johnny a lot. It’s something I think about every day. It’s definitely really hard to get through, but we’ve got a great group here and we’re going to miss him as a team.”

The team announced plans to formally honor Gaudreau, including wearing a helmet sticker featuring the name Gaudreau, two doves and the numbers 13 and 21 — which Johnny and Matthew wore in their hockey careers. The team will also have a No. 13 patch on their jerseys throughout the season and postponed traditional opening night festivities — including player blue carpet arrivals — to the second game, as the Oct. 15 opener at Nationwide Arena will be focused on honoring the Gaudreau brothers.

The Blue Jackets will reserve a locker stall for Gaudreau all season and will hang his No. 13 jersey in it, both at home and on the road.

“Going to what he would want, it was to just, play hockey. He loved every second of every time he was in the rink. At practice, games, sharing time with the guys,” captain Boone Jenner said. “That’s something, when we come in, we try to enjoy each other through the good times — but especially through the bad times.”

Several Blue Jackets players had already formed a relationship with Monahan because of his friendship with Gaudreau. Those players also recognized the difficult circumstance Monahan faces joining a new team, where he is tasked to be a mentor to young centers Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger.

“[Monahan] walked into a tough situation, meeting the guys for the first time after this happened,” defenseman Zach Werenski said. “I give him a lot of credit. Obviously, we know John is a big reason of why he signed here. It goes back to that point of being together. We’re there for him and I think it speeds things up a little bit, the relationships. It’s one of the worst times in his life, and he’s been awesome to be around. So that speaks volumes to what type of person he is. As a group, we’re here for him. We’re going to get through this thing together.”

Blue Jackets management, coaches and players spoke Wednesday about grieving together, and honoring Gaudreau by constantly asking themselves, “What would Johnny want us to do?” On the night of Gaudreau’s wake in New Jersey, coach Dean Evason met with the leadership group as they were sitting around and asked that very question. They decided Gaudreau would have wanted them to watch football and have a couple beers.

“With our videos we put together for camp, of the coaches asked, do we take Johnny out of all of the clips?” Evason said. “I said ‘Absolutely not.’ Johnny is going to teach. Good and bad. If he didn’t back check, we’ll show it. He’s going to be with us. He’s going to be a presence.”

Columbus is beginning a new chapter with a new coach in Evason (who was fired by Minnesota last season) and new general manager in Don Waddell (who mutually parted ways in Carolina after his contract expired this spring). A big focus is reshaping the culture and expediting the rebuild so that the Blue Jackets can make the playoffs for the first time since 2020. They are on their fifth head coach in that span.

Before the tragedy, Evason was looking for ways to create a fresh start for players. He shook up locker room assignments and asked for all the photos above the stalls, which were previously individual photos of players, to be replaced with photos of players in groups. The coach also told his staff not to tell him anything about the players — their personalities, how they played last year, how they conducted themselves.

“I don’t care. I don’t care what happened last year,” Evason said. “I just care about what’s happening at practice and moving forward.”

Monahan said that he always has nerves entering a training camp as he wants to make a good impression, including this year — his 12th season in the league.

“There is a lot of weight on our shoulders right now,” Monahan said. “A huge loss, a special person who is not here. It’s on my mind every day, every second. And we want to put our best foot forward, our best effort out there for John.”

BySARAH BARSHOP
September 18, 2024, 2:09 PM

LOS ANGELES — The Rams have placed guard Jonah Jackson (shoulder) and safety John Johnson III (shoulder) on injured reserve, a move coach Sean McVay said Monday was a possibility.

The Rams did not make the same move for wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who McVay has said will miss “an extended period of time” with a left ankle sprain.

On Monday, McVay noted that the Rams are running out of injured reserve/designated for return spots, “and we’re only into Week 3.” NFL teams can designate up to eight players to return from injured reserve during the regular season.

In the Rams’ Week 2 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Jackson aggravated the shoulder injury that caused him to miss time during training camp. Johnson will be out for four to six weeks with a fracture in his scapula, he announced Monday on his podcast.

“[That’s] a big loss [at] safety,” McVay said. “Young guys will be asked to be able to step up, guys that we do have confidence in, but his communication, his command, his playmaking ability will be tremendously missed. He will be back at some point. His loss will be major.”

Along with Jackson, the Rams have three other offensive linemen on injured reserve: guard Steve Avila (MCL sprain), tackle Joe Noteboom (high ankle sprain) and tackle Conor McDermott (undisclosed). The Rams will get tackle Alaric Jackson back from suspension this week after he missed the first two games of the season for a violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

The Rams are also without wide receiver Puka Nacua, who is on injured reserve after spraining his posterior cruciate ligament in Week 1.

Kupp, who led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 2021, has not played a full season since then. In two games this season, Kupp has 18 catches for 147 yards and a touchdown.

ByABC News
September 18, 2024, 2:39 PM

NEW YORK — World No. 6 Coco Gauff and coach Brad Gilbert are parting company after the player suffered a frustrating fourth-round exit at the US Open, Gilbert said Wednesday, adding that he was looking forward to the next chapter of his career.

Gilbert helped to coach Gauff to her first Grand Slam trophy in New York last year, but the player was unable to retain her title after disappointing early departures from US Open tuneup tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati.

“Thanks to @CocoGauff and the entire team for an absolutely amazing summer run in 2023 and for 14 months of incredible team effort,” Gilbert, who got to No. 4 in the world during a 13-year playing career, said on X.

“Coco, at just 20 years young, your future is incredibly bright, and I wish you nothing but continued success ahead. I’m excited for the next chapter in my coaching career.”

Gauff followed up her major breakthrough in Flushing Meadows with semifinal berths at the Australian Open and French Open this year.

But there were clear signs of friction between her and fellow American Gilbert at Wimbledon, where she shouted in frustration at him during her fourth-round defeat against American Emma Navarro.

ByCOURTNEY CRONIN
September 18, 2024, 3:19 PM

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — DJ Moore was unaware how his body language was being perceived during the Chicago Bears’ 19-13 loss in Houston until he saw video clips of himself circulating on social media.

Upon seeing how he was captured by cameras during “Sunday Night Football,” the veteran wide receiver did some “self-evaluation” and noted that his frustrations were not directed at the Bears’ passing game nor anyone in specific.

“I shouldn’t have shown as much,” Moore said. “But it’s a part of the game. Like I said, we were one play away from the game changing. And we just couldn’t connect, nobody on offense could connect with the one play or get the one play started to get us on track and go up. It’s football. Everybody is going to have their ups and downs and frustrations.”

Down nine points with 3:01 to play in Houston, Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams threw a back-shoulder pass to Moore on third-and-4 from the Texans’ 36-yard line. After the throw fell incomplete, Moore lay on his back momentarily before taking his helmet off and walking to the Bears’ sideline.

Cameras also showed Moore appearing to look sullen while sitting on the bench, which the wide receiver intimated was a mischaracterization of his body language.

“… every chance the camera got they caught that angle,” Moore said. “I usually sit on the bench like that anyway, so I don’t know what that’s about.”

Moore was targeted a team-high 10 times and caught six passes for 53 yards. While recounting his throw that ended the Bears’ penultimate drive of the game, Williams took responsibility for being off target.

“Tried to give [Moore] the ball, and if I threw it a little less wide and gave him a little bit more time, he would have made the play,” Williams said. “And so, we’ll be hitting on those here soon, and we’re going to be making those plays.”

Moore led the Bears in receiving (1,364 yards) during his first season in Chicago in 2023 and received a four-year, $110 million contract extension in August. While his frustrations over the Bears’ offensive struggles (2.97 yards per play, which is the franchise’s lowest total through two weeks in the Super Bowl era) are shared by others, Moore does not want his frustrations to put pressure on Williams.

“You want to keep things steady because then you don’t want him to get frustrated and just go out there and try to make a play, which he didn’t really try to go out there and make a play [out of frustration], he was just being himself,” Moore said. “That’s all you can ask of him.”

ByROB DEMOVSKY
September 18, 2024, 4:49 PM

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Twelve days after suffering a left knee injury in the season opener, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love returned to the practice field and left open the possibility of playing Sunday at the Tennessee Titans.

Love has missed only one game — Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts, when Malik Willis started at quarterback — after initial indications were that he could miss up to a month because of a sprained MCL.

Love wore a protective brace that was covered by a sleeve that extended almost the entire length of his leg and was officially a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice. Coach Matt LaFleur wouldn’t specify whether Love took part in only selected drills or took part in every drill under a rep count.

In addition to still needing medical clearance, Love would have to be mobile enough to protect himself from injury to play Sunday.

“The trainers are seeing everything I’m doing and they’re not gonna put me out there unless they feel confident that I can protect myself,” Love said Wednesday. “But at the same time, that’s why it’s good to get some practice reps in and get that feel of what it’s like again.”

Love acknowledged that not everything can be simulated in practice.

“There’s just nothing like when it’s live bullets, you’re in the game and that rush is real,” said Love, “so there’s a lot of things I might not experience before I get back in the game.”

Willis said he is impressed with Love’s recovery.

“You can see that he feels more comfortable just moving around the building, the way he was out there today,” Willis said. “I wouldn’t be surprised [if Love plays]. I just have to stay ready and focus on what I can control [and] leave it up to him and Coach LaFleur.”

Meanwhile, LaFleur has been tasked with trying to get Willis enough work in practice so that he can use more of the playbook than he did in Sunday’s win over the Colts, when the Packers threw just 14 times and ran 53.

“That’s always a challenge, and so throughout the course of the week, hopefully you get a better indication and that kind of leads to some of the decisions you have to make,” LaFleur said of getting two quarterbacks ready.

Willis isn’t looking at Sunday’s matchup as a revenge game after the Titans traded him to the Packers for a seventh-round pick on Aug. 26. The 2022 third-round pick started three games for Tennessee, going 1-2.

“No, I could care less, man,” Willis said. “I think I got paid the whole time I was there. I’m more than blessed for the opportunities given me. They brought me into this league, whether those guys are there or not. That organization, they took a shot on me. … They did a great job by me.”

ByMARC RAIMONDI
September 18, 2024, 5:49 PM

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Two days after Drake London scored the go-ahead touchdown on “Monday Night Football” and celebrated by pantomiming shooting a gun into the air, the Atlanta Falcons wide receiver said he wasn’t pleased with how it all went down.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to London with 34 seconds left Monday against the Philadelphia Eagles. The score put the Falcons even, 21-21, on the road in Philadelphia.

London, after his first MNF touchdown, said he got a little carried away in the moment. The Falcons were flagged for a 15-yard penalty, and kicker Younghoe Koo had to kick a 48-yard extra point to give the team the lead, which they held on to for a major, 22-21 early-season victory.

“It’s a trend around football right now to do that type of celebration,” London told ESPN. “It was my first ‘Monday Night Football’ game. I kind of lost myself in there. I wasn’t happy with the position I put my team in.”

On top of that, London said he regretted the celebration because of the gun reference. The Falcons hosted the Apalachee (Georgia) High School football team at their practice facility last week, just days after the fatal shooting there. The school is about 25 miles from Falcons headquarters.

“There’s a lot of stuff going around in the world with gun violence that I don’t think I should have displayed there,” London said. “So, I’m not too happy with it, and [you] probably won’t see that again from me.”

Falcons coach Raheem Morris said London apologized for the situation after the game. He said the team is “sensitive,” given the climate in the country, especially near home.

The Drake move “was a celebration that you don’t want to have happen because of the violence that goes on in our country that we’re very sensitive of,” Morris said. “But he had no ill will and no intent. And that’s a mistake by all of us, on all of our parts, to have those things come out in light of what’s going on in our country, and not being sensitive to those situations that we definitely are. We hosted the school that had the violence here, and we’re really sensitive about all of those things and how those things happen for us. And we do care.

“And that was just Drake having fun with his fan base and his people up in the stands, and you don’t really think about those things at the moment.”

The Falcons wore Apalachee High School T-shirts during warmups before their Week 1 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Some players were still wearing them Wednesday in the locker room.

“Our game is a thing that helps bring these things back and make things better,” Morris said. “So, you certainly don’t want to shine the light or anything that’s going [on] like that, even though you didn’t have the intent. And I know that none of us had the intent. I know for sure Drake did not.”

ByDJ BIEN-AIME
September 18, 2024, 6:59 PM

HOUSTON — Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud said Wednesday he wasn’t trying to “little bro” Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams during their postgame handshake Sunday night, an interaction that drew attention on social media.

Stroud was mic’d up during the Texans’ 19-13 win over the Bears on “Sunday Night Football.” After the game, Stroud embraced Williams and provided advice to the No. 1 pick.

He told the rookie “Good job out there,” and to “stop taking those hits,” after Williams was sacked seven times and took 11 quarterback hits while finishing 23-of-37 passing for 174 yards with two interceptions.

Williams began to walk away, but Stroud pulled Williams back into the conversation and said, “Come here. Learn from those mistakes. And everything that you got, bro, is in you already, bro. You’re going to be a hell of a player in this league.”

Stroud, speaking to reporters Wednesday, made it clear he was trying to help Williams during their interaction and wasn’t trying to belittle him.

“I was not trying to little bro him or anything. He knows that, too. I have a ton of respect for him,” Stroud said. “I had so many guys coming to me after games last year and that meant the world to me that those guys even thought about giving me advice.

“So, I just try to give back to what the game is giving me. So, I wish him the best man. I want him to do amazing in this league. I think he will.”

Social media users focused on Williams’ body language, noting he appeared dismissive of Stroud’s advice.

Williams had little to say about their interaction during his postgame news conference, saying, “We shook hands at the end of the game. That was about it.”

Stroud didn’t view Williams’ response negatively and “wants him to do extremely well.”

“I don’t think he was trying to be any type of way [toward me], he was just upset that they lost,” Stroud said. “I totally understand. So I have a ton of respect for that guy, man.”

ByABC News
September 18, 2024, 9:39 PM

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers became the first major league team to clinch a division championship Wednesday when it sealed its third National League Central title in the past four years.

The Chicago Cubs’ 5-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics enabled the Brewers to wrap up the division crown.

The Brewers’ clubhouse emptied with one out to go in the ninth inning in Chicago, a couple of hours before Milwaukee’s scheduled first pitch against Philadelphia. A muffled cheer could be heard after the final out when the Brewers won consecutive division titles for the first time in 42 years.

The Brewers were able to celebrate much more later Tuesday when they beat the Phillies 2-1 on a walk-off single by Jake Bauers.

Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said he watched the final outs of the Cubs’ game with 90-year-old longtime Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker.

“We were doing our show and I watched it with him,” Murphy said. “What’s better than that? Awesome.”

This marks the Brewers’ sixth postseason berth in the past seven years — a remarkable accomplishment for a team that made the playoffs only twice in a 35-year stretch from 1983 to 2017.

But this run to the playoffs has been a little different from the rest.

“Nobody wants it to be easy, let’s just be honest,” first baseman Rhys Hoskins said. “Everybody that’s in that room cherishes challenges. The first challenge [is] down. We obviously have a few more ahead of us. We’re excited about that.”

Although the Brewers have grown accustomed to outperforming preseason expectations, the odds seemed stacked against them even more than usual this year.

Craig Counsell, the winningest manager in Brewers history, left for the rival Cubs. Corbin Burnes, the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner, was traded to the Baltimore Orioles.

Two-time All-Star right-hander Brandon Woodruff didn’t pitch all year as he recovered from shoulder surgery, and two-time NL Reliever of the Year Devin Williams sat out the first half of the season because of stress fractures in his back.

All-Star outfielder Christian Yelich and pitchers Wade Miley and Robert Gasser suffered season-ending injuries.

None of it mattered.

“You can do all that to us, but it’s still about people, and you have no idea what their best is,” Murphy said. “These guys don’t know what their best is and didn’t know what their best was and still don’t. But they know one thing: Pulling together, competing, being doubted is something that can vault you forward into a championship.”

The Brewers took over first place for good at the end of April and never looked back. Now they’ve won back-to-back division titles for the first time since 1981-82. That 1982 season marked Milwaukee’s lone World Series appearance, which ended with a seven-game loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

“We were all kind of written off, right?” Yelich said. “So that makes this one kind of special because we found a way. We faced a lot of adversity. We believed in each other. We came together as a group and got it done.”

The Brewers benefited from the leadership of Murphy, who had been Counsell’s bench coach since 2016. Rather than following Counsell to Chicago, Murphy stayed in Milwaukee and got his first full-time opportunity as a major league manager two weeks before his 65th birthday. Murphy’s only previous MLB managerial experience had come as an interim manager with San Diego in 2015.

Murphy has kept the locker room loose while guiding a team that hasn’t suffered more than three straight losses at any point this season. The Brewers are the only team that hasn’t had a losing streak of at least four games.

“They overachieved in every way, shape or form,” Murphy said.

The Brewers have succeeded with what Murphy refers to as an “all-hands-on-deck” approach.

Milwaukee’s had 17 different pitchers start games this season (only the Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Angels had more). Twelve different Brewers pitchers have collected a save, just two shy of the record of 14 set by the 2021 Tampa Bay Rays. Milwaukee entered Wednesday with a 3.65 ERA that ranked fourth in the majors.

Offensively, the Brewers entered Wednesday ranked fourth in total runs scored (733) and 11th in OPS (.735) after finishing 17th in runs (728) and 23rd in OPS (.704) last year.

Yelich was leading the NL in batting average (.315) and on-base percentage (.406) before back issues ended his season in late July. William Contreras has developed into one of the game’s best hitting catchers. Willy Adames is the first Brewers shortstop to have a 30-homer, 100-RBI season, something even Hall of Famer Robin Yount never accomplished in Milwaukee.

Jackson Chourio, who doesn’t turn 21 until next spring, is the youngest player to ever hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases in one season.

“This is exactly what you as a competitor want to be a part of, right?” Hoskins said. “It didn’t necessarily look exactly the way that maybe some of us thought, but what’s cool is that we still were able to find ways to get the job done.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

ByXUAN THAI AND ANTHONY OLIVIERI
September 18, 2024, 10:29 PM

Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre will testify during a congressional hearing about the need for welfare reform Tuesday, the communications director for the House Ways and Means committee confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.

The committee’s website lists the hearing as “Reforming Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): States’ Misuse of Welfare Funds Leaves Poor Families Behind.”

TANF funds are at the heart of the sprawling Mississippi welfare case in which Favre has been embroiled since 2022. At least $77 million in TANF funds, earmarked for poor families, were diverted to the rich and powerful people, according to a Mississippi state audit.

Favre is one of dozens of defendants in a civil lawsuit seeking to recoup the misappropriated funds. He has denied wrongdoing and has not been criminally charged.

House Ways and Means communications director J.P. Freire did not give further details about Favre’s scheduled appearance. A spokesperson for Favre did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Favre could face questions from the committee about what he knew about the origin of the money for a volleyball facility at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi, as well as Prevacus, a company developing a concussion drug in which Favre was the top outside investor and stockholder.

Text messages made public in legal filings show Favre pushed state officials for funding for the volleyball facility during the time his daughter was on the team. The university’s athletic foundation received $5 million in TANF funds. Favre donated $1.4 million of his own money to construct the facility.

Text messages also show Favre asking state officials for help in securing funds for Prevacus, which received $2 million in TANF funds. Prevacus’s founder, Jacob VanLandingham, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in July, admitting that he used Mississippi welfare money to pay off gambling and other debts.

Favre was also paid $1.1 million from TANF funds for speeches the state auditor says Favre never made. He eventually paid the money back, but the auditor has demanded he also pay $228,000 in interest.

Punchbowl News was first to report Favre’s appearance at the hearing.