Category: Sports

WATCH: Dwayne Haskins ruled out for Redskins’ season finale vs. Cowboys

Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins’ rookie season is over after seven starts.

Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins’ rookie season is over after seven starts.

Interim head coach Bill Callahan announced Monday that Haskins is ruled out for the season finale versus the Cowboys due to an ankle injury the 22-year-old suffered in Sunday’s OT loss to the Giants.

Haskins limped off the field after the first offensive play of the second half then was carted to the Redskins locker room where he stayed for the remainder of the game.

The 2019 first-round draft pick told reporters postgame that team owner Dan Snyder told him not to return to the game Sunday after x-rays came back negative. The team’s PR staff and the player later clarified that the owner told the player to heed the medical advice Haskins had already been given by the team doctor.. not to return to the game.

The rookie said he lobbied to play anyway.

In nine appearances including the seven starts this year, Haskins completed 58.6 percent of his pass attempts for 1,365 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions.

So, it will be Case Keenum at starting quarterback in Jerry World as the Redskins try to spoil Dallas’ slim playoff chances.

Keenum has also seven starts in nine appearances for Washington this season. The 31-year-old has completed 67.6 percent of pass attempts for 1,501 yards and 10 touchdowns with four interceptions.

WATCH: LeBron James reportedly will play against Clippers on Christmas despite injury

The Lakers dropped their third straight game Sunday as LeBron James sat out due to a thoracic muscle strain and a nagging groin injury.

The Lakers dropped their third straight game Sunday as LeBron James sat out due to a thoracic muscle strain and a nagging groin injury.

Despite the injury and the 24-point loss sending the team into Christmas, ESPN reports that King James is expected to play on Wednesday versus the Clippers (22-10).

The Christmas Day LA showdown would be a surprising game for James to miss, as he is an NBA player who has adamantly opted not to sit on the sideline during games in the name of load management.

Dropping three in a row is a change of course for this season’s Lakers, who were 24-3 before the skid. James himself has been as reliable as ever, averaging 25.8 points per game with 7 and a half rebounds and 10.6 assists.

The Clippers and Lakers tip-off at 5 p.m. PT on Christmas.

WATCH: Julian Edelman admits he ‘was trying to sell’ fake injury vs. Bills

On the way to the Patriots clinching their 11th consecutive AFC East Championship Saturday, wide receiver Julian Edelman improvised an injury in trying to avoid a touchdown-negating penalty.

On the way to the Patriots (12-3) clinching their 11th consecutive AFC East Championship Saturday, wide receiver Julian Edelman improvised an injury in trying to avoid a touchdown-negating penalty.

“I was trying to sell it. Hopefully, they didn’t see it,” Edelman said after the game, according to Boston.com.

With the game tied 10-10 in the third quarter, the 33-year-old slammed into Bills (10-5) safety Jordan Poyer on a pick play.

On the same snap, tight end Ben Watson took the ball into the endzone. The 33-yard play was called back because of Edelman’s offensive pass interference and the wide receiver then was tested under concussion protocol … Edelman ended up missing about a quarter of the game for the flop.

The Pats ended the drive with a field goal and once Edelman was back in action, he caught a 30-yard pass on the go-ahead, game-winning drive.

So, as is the standard for the Patriots regardless of the rules … All’s well that ends well for New England.

WATCH: NFL fans call for the return of Marshawn Lynch after Seahawks lose 2 more RBs to injury Sunday

The Seahawks really need running backs right now, but this would be wild… Beast Mode back with Seattle?

The Seahawks really need running backs right now, but this would be wild… Beast Mode back with Seattle?

The team entered Week 16 with Rashaad Penny out for the season, but after losing Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise to injury during the team’s home loss to the Cardinals on Sunday, fans are calling for the return of Marshawn Lynch… Just one season into the 33-year-old’s second retirement.

But it’s not just fans. Seattle Times beat reporter Bob Condotta tweeted Sunday that he doesn’t think a return can be ruled out and then his co-worker Matt Calkins authored a column that ran with the Times which endorses the idea.

Lynch announced his first retirement on Twitter memorably the night of SB 50 back in 2016. One season later though, Lynch was back in the NFL with his hometown team, the Raiders.

While Lynch played in all but one game in 2017, missing only due to suspension for shoving a line judge. In 2018, the physical runner had his season cut short because of an injury. Lynch only played in six contests with Oakland last year before a groin injury (which he suffered in a game versus .. the Seahawks!) landed him on IR and he re-retired.

Calkins reminded fans that Lynch stopped by the team facility earlier this month to see old friends, but the paper also reported that Lynch has also said he’d only come out of retirement again for the Raiders.

Perhaps the most realistic option now for the Pete Carroll, Russell Wilson, and company is C.J. Anderson. Anderson’s name is also mentioned by the reports. The 28-year-old played in two games this season in September with the Lions (3-11). Notably, Anderson is *not* retired.

But Lynch returning for the Seahawks season finale to take on the 49ers (12-3) for the division title? It can technically happen as he hasn’t filed retirement papers yet. We can only ask he returns with that one signature line… “You know why I’m here.”

WATCH: Patriots WR Edelman listed as ‘questionable,’ but expected to play vs. Bills

Julian Edelman is officially listed as questionable as the Patriots play to clinch the AFC East Sunday.

Julian Edelman is officially listed as questionable as the Patriots play to clinch the AFC East Sunday.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Friday that the wide receiver is expected to play, adding that the 33-year-old is “Probably less banged up,” now than he was versus the Bengals Sunday.

Edelman averages just shy of 73 receiving yards per game, but versus Cincy, he only had 9 yards on two receptions.

Leading into that game, Edelman was on the injury report for both a knee and shoulder injury.

Mike Giardi, also of NFL Network, reported earlier this week that leading into last Sunday, Edelman had received treatment as often as three times per day and that some of the veteran receiver’s teammates wondered postgame if playing Edelman versus the Bengals was a smart decision.

Regardless of the rough outing last week, it sounds like the Pats plan to make use of Edelman in a pivotal game versus the Bills this week.

After that, there is less riding on New England’s regular-season finale versus the Dolphins.

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WATCH: XFL comissioner defends restricting contracted player from leaving for NFL

The XFL is still seven weeks from launch, but don’t expect any of the players under contract with the league to change between now and then.

The XFL is still seven weeks from launch, but don’t expect any of the players under contract with the league to change between now and then.

Commissioner Oliver Luck spoke at length with the Tampa Bay Times roughly two months from kickoff and defended the league’s policy on not releasing its players from their contracts if an NFL team is interested in-season.

The Detroit Lions inquired with the XFL about quarterback Josh Johnson in November, but Luck & the XFL said the LA Wildcats player would be held to his contract ahead of December mini-camp.

Luck said, “In the game of football today (…) your quarterback play is determinative. (…) we said, ‘No, we’re keeping him. He’s ours, he signed a contract. He’s committed to us.”

Luck said he also turned down releasing quarterback Landry Jones and Phillip Walker after Ben Roethlisberger’s season-ending injury.

The commissioner explained that in order for the XFL’s relaunch to succeed, stability is key, saying “Once a player signs a contract (…) then he’s under contract with us. We won’t release that player to the NFL until after our season. We need certainty. We can’t just have guys peeling off.”

Two quarterbacks that fans will *not* see in the XFL are polarizing former football stars Johnny Manziel and Colin Kaepernick.

Johnny Football was in the XFL’s draft pool, according to Luck, but scouts and coaches, “didn’t think he was going to help their team.”

Of Kaepernick, Luck said, “I think his salary demands are way out of our ballpark. He was never really a viable option.”

WATCH: All eyes in New England on Tom Brady’s hurting elbow

All eyes in New England are staying locked on Tom Brady’s throwing arm and Thursday showed a closer look at the quarterback’s throwing motion.

All eyes in New England are staying locked on Tom Brady’s throwing arm and Thursday showed a closer look at the quarterback’s throwing motion.

Video shot by a photographer for WBZ-TV in Boston documented Brady throwing and shaking out his right arm and elbow during practice three days before the team hosts the Bills with AFC East Division ramifications on the line. An NFL QB shaking out his arm isn’t really noteworthy on its own. Given the season (and the last couple of weeks, really) that Brady has had, it could be worth paying attention to.

The 42-year-old showed up to his postgame press conference two Sundays ago with his right elbow wrapped after losing to the Chiefs. Brady then practiced full go last week before facing the Bengals. But Tuesday, Bill Belichick acknowledged Brady’s limitations in a way the head coach doesn’t usually.

“There have been a couple examples where Tom hasn’t been able to do a lot this year, so that’s given [Jarrett] Stidham an opportunity to go with our first-team group and run our plays and run our offense,” Belichick said according to PatriotsWire. “That’s given Cody [Kessler] a chance to run scout-team plays because Jarrett’s not running those. And again, quarterbacks are always looking for more work, so they’ve taken advantage of it, and it’s helped them.

“You don’t always want to do it that way, but sometimes it’s best to do it that way.”

Brady has missed a few practices this season and been less accurate in games than is his career norm. With two regular-season games left, the veteran quarterback is completing 60.1% of his passes, which is his lowest mark since the 2013 season.

Kevin Durant is the sports social media MVP of the decade

What a decade it’s been for KD on Twitter and Instagram.

The 2010s, for better or for worse, became the decade social media went completely mainstream.

For sports fans, that meant so much more access to the athletes they love, which again, was for better or for worse.

There were gleeful trolls like Joel Embiid. There was LeBron James, king of the subtweet and Taco Tuesdays, who knew the power of social media to both deliver messages and delight the masses. We delighted when athletes did trending challenges like the rest of us and were in awe when they used their clout to raise money for causes and stood up for social justice.

But not many of them are Kevin Durant. And KD deserves our Best of the Decade hardware.

Let’s start with the fact that we’ve written about the Brooklyn Nets’ star’s Twitter and Instagram exploits countless times, and I think it’s because he acts like any other person does on the social media platform. He’s more than happy to log in late at night and respond to trolls, haters, television talking heads and die-hard fans. No egg avatar is too small, no blue check mark is too big to cast aside with a brutal response or the perfect comeback. Some critics might wonder why he wastes his time, but I think he gets a kick out of it. And he should!

It doesn’t make him petty. It makes him human.

That’s exactly why he created burner accounts, a “controversy” in scare quotes only simply because it made headlines and led to a lot of roasting from fans and fellow NBA stars (including Embiid!). But when ESPN’s Jay Williams asked him in March of this year about the saga, he had this to say:

“I wasn’t used to that amount of attention, you know, from playing basketball. I wanted a place where I can talk to my friends without anybody just butting in my conversations or mixing my words or taking everything out of context because I enjoyed that place.

“… I had an Instagram account that I just use for my friends and family. Like, it’s a cool place for me just to be me instead of worrying about Bleacher Report or Barstool mixing up anything I want to say.”

At the time, he called himself “a total (expletive) idiot” and was so mad at himself for going too deep with his use of burners to pose as someone else that he lost sleep over it. Again: doesn’t that seem human to you, especially for a person so famous who longed to be normal for a few hours on social media? Here, he owned the mistake and moved on. You have to respect that.

So as we enter 2020, remember: troll or insult him and other athletes at your own peril. They’re watching, just like you are.

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WATCH: Sooners prepare to take on LSU without dominant defenders

The Oklahoma Sooners have the toughest task of the college football playoffs on their hands as they prepare to take on top-ranked LSU and the Heisman Trophy winner.

The Oklahoma Sooners have the toughest task of the college football bowl season on their hands as they prepare to take on top-ranked LSU and the Heisman Trophy winner.

Now, we’re hearing that Lincoln Riley’s team will have to tackle Joe Burrow without one of its most dominant defenders.

Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported Wednesday that defensive end Ronnie Perkins will not play in the peach bowl because of a suspension. Perkins may merely be a sophomore but the pass rusher leads his team in sacks with 6 and he also leads his team’s defensive line with 38 tackles, that’s seventh-most on the Sooners squad. He has 13 and a half tackles for loss this season and is second on the team in QB hurries.

If that weren’t bad news enough, SoonerScoop.com is reporting that two members of the offense will also miss the game Dec. 28. The Rivals.com network site reported Wednesday that running back Rhamondre Stevenson and wide receiver Trejan Bridges are also suspended.

Both players have played in all 13 games for Oklahoma this season.

Stevenson is third in team rushing yards and has six rushing TD this season, only quarterback Jalen Hurts has more scores on the ground for the team.

Bridges have seven receptions for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Riley wouldn’t confirm the reports Wednesday, saying “I’m aware of the report that is out there. Unfortunately at this time, I cannot comment on it.”

When a reporter followed up by asking Riley if Stephenson would play, the Sooners head coach said: “Kennedy Brooks will play.”

Brooks, for what it’s worth, is second in team rushing yards between Hurts and Stephenson. Brooks has 976 rushing yards and five TDs this year.

The fourth-ranked Sooners (12-1) take on the undefeated top-ranked Tigers at 4 p.m. eastern time Saturday the 28th in the first College Football Playoff semi-final. No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Clemson play to face the winner at 8 p.m. eastern time the same day.

Athlete Ultimate Ride: C.J. Wilson’s McLaren P1

Former Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson has one of the coolest cars on Earth.

Being a professional starting pitcher in Major League Baseball is one of the best jobs in sports, and one of the benefits of earning a pitcher’s salary is that you have a considerable expendable income to stock your garage with dream cars. Former MLB pitcher C.J. Wilson, a two-time All-Star who last pitched for the Angels in 2015, is a car fanatic who launched his own sportscar racing team in 2010. In 2014, he added one of the coolest hypercars on the planet to his collection: A McLaren P1.

The McLaren P1, a successor to the legendary McLaren F1, debuted in 2012, and only 375 cars were produced. Jay Leno received the first P1 delivered to the United States. The hybrid car features a 3.8 L twin-turbocharged engine along with a electric motor that produces a combined 903 horsepower. According to McLaren, the P1 has a top speed of 217 miles per hour, and can go from 0 to 100 kmh (62 mph) in 2.8 seconds. The P1 reportedly cost $1,150,000 to order.

Wilson picked up his McLaren in Texas in 2014, and immediately took it on a roadtrip home to California, stopping at the Grand Canyon along the way. He picked a stunning color, officially called Cerberus Pearl, which he calls “blurple.”

Via Jalopnik:

“In broad daylight, it has reflections of orange and red while at night it mainly reflects blue and purple. You have to see it in person or on video to truly appreciate the shift, but each hue has gorgeous tones and with the curves of the car it really does look like the futuristic spaceship from my childhood memories.”