For the second consecutive week and the third time this season, a New England Patriot has taken home the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor Matthew Slater was the recipient this week after blocking a punt in Week 12 against the Dallas Cowboys that resulted in a touchdown shortly after This is the first time in Slater’s career that he’s earned this honor — which is surprising, considering his seven Pro Bowl appearances and four First-Team All-Pro honors This was Slater’s first blocked punt of his career and it’s the third of the season for New England — tying a record that was set by the team in 1986
For the second consecutive week and the third time this season, a New England Patriot has taken home the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor Matthew Slater was the recipient this week after blocking a punt in Week 12 against the Dallas Cowboys that resulted in a touchdown shortly after This is the first time in Slater’s career that he’s earned this honor — which is surprising, considering his seven Pro Bowl appearances and four First-Team All-Pro honors This was Slater’s first blocked punt of his career and it’s the third of the season for New England — tying a record that was set by the team in 1986
For the second consecutive week and the third time this season, a New England Patriot has taken home the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor Matthew Slater was the recipient this week after blocking a punt in Week 12 against the Dallas Cowboys that resulted in a touchdown shortly after This is the first time in Slater’s career that he’s earned this honor — which is surprising, considering his seven Pro Bowl appearances and four First-Team All-Pro honors This was Slater’s first blocked punt of his career and it’s the third of the season for New England — tying a record that was set by the team in 1986
For the second consecutive week and the third time this season, a New England Patriot has taken home the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor Matthew Slater was the recipient this week after blocking a punt in Week 12 against the Dallas Cowboys that resulted in a touchdown shortly after This is the first time in Slater’s career that he’s earned this honor — which is surprising, considering his seven Pro Bowl appearances and four First-Team All-Pro honors This was Slater’s first blocked punt of his career and it’s the third of the season for New England — tying a record that was set by the team in 1986
What I’m Hearing: After missing 27 games last season LeBron is looking better than ever, but will that be enough to bring the Lakers to the championship?
What I’m Hearing: After missing 27 games last season LeBron is looking better than ever, but will that be enough to bring the Lakers to the championship?
There’s a great equalizer between us mere mortals and Marvel’s mightiest heroes, and that’s fantasy football.
Right around early September, when many die-hard fans were stressing over their fantasy football rosters for the season ahead, 14 of Hollywood’s most famous actors were also similarly hunched over their devices, frantically trying to lock in their picks.
“We had a real online draft,” said Guillermo Lozano, an Army vet who was working security in LA when he bonded with Chris Evans over their love of sports, eventually leading him to run the AGBO Superhero League. “Everyone got online at the same time and we had a snake style draft, with everyone putting in their picks. It was like any other draft.”
The 14-team AGBO Superhero League has too many celebrities to list, but it includes three out of the four Chrises (Evans, Pratt and Hemsworth), Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland, Ryan Reynolds. Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie and more.
Despite the sheer amount of celebrity crammed into it, the league runs pretty much like any other league, complete with trash talk, text chains and yes, people sliding in under the wire with their picks.
“You should hear some of the excuses I get,” Lozano said with a laugh. ” ‘I’m on a glacier, I’m on set, I don’t have internet access right now, can you put my picks in for me.’ ”
The league was founded by Lozano and Joe Russo, who named it after the production company he runs with his brother Anthony. The Russos, of course, are the directors of four tentpole Marvel films, including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers Endgame. They are also huge football fans and dedicated fantasy players.
To understand the genesis of the AGBO Superhero League and what goes on in there, we’ve first got to use some Pym Particles and travel back in time a little bit and talk about Bloodsport. Bloodsport is the ultra-exclusive, long running fantasy football league made up (mostly) of actors who starred in Marvel movies. It is, if you will, the OG of the Marvel superhero fantasy football leagues.
As anyone who plays fantasy knows, every good league needs a good commissioner, someone who can keep the participants in line and on task. For Bloodsport and the AGBO Superhero league, that’s Lozano, a man who mostly prefers to work behind the scenes.
After five years in the Army, Lozano, a lifelong Angeleno, got started in the movie security business and through there, made a few connections. Around 2004, he struck up a friendship with Evans.
“We’ve known each other for 15 years,” Lozano, who also works as a producer in Hollywood, said. “I think the Lakers were playing the Celtics, so we bonded over that.”
When Evans wanted to start a fantasy league in 2015, Lozano was happy to take the reins. Thus, Bloodsport was born. Lozano won’t reveal all the celebrities in that league, but it does include Evans, Paul Rudd, Pratt, Mackie and Jeremy Renner.
Quickly, the league grew in popularity and notoriety.
“It got crazy really quickly,” Lozano added. “There was a lot of interest.”
As word started to spread, more people wanted in. ESPN’s fantasy guru Matthew Berry was one of those trying to secure a coveted spot. “I kept bothering Guillermo about it at the Endgame premiere,” Berry said.
But, the Bloodsport league hasn’t and won’t swell in size, and Lozano runs it with an iron fist, with no room for slackers.
“Everyone takes Bloodsport really seriously,” Lozano said. “The trash talk in there is epic. Those guys want to beat each other every single week.”
Just how brutal is Bloodsport? Like a lot of leagues, they are not above hazing.
“We had a new guy come into the league that we got pretty good,” Lozano said without revealing names. “We made him think that there was a last place penalty and that it was very severe. It was a thing he really did not want to do. Everyone was in on the joke and it was funny to see him increasingly freak out.” The Bloodsport crew kept the gag running for a few days, before finally letting the actor in on the joke.
Because of its reputation as the elite league, and with so many people clamoring to be let in, Lozano thought about just starting another fantasy football league. He took the idea to Joe Russo and from there, things began to spiral.
“Anytime you have an idea and you take it to Joe or Anthony, they’re going to make it bigger and better,” Berry said.
The idea for a second league quickly spiraled into something more public and fun. Russo wanted the league to have some purpose, aside from just another fantasy league. Since superheroes are all about making the world a better place, the two decided to add a charity aspect to it. Every celebrity in the AGBO league is playing for a chance at a $100K donation to the charity of their choice, courtesy of the Russos and their production partners. From there, they looped in Berry and things really got rolling.
“The most important rule for joining was that you have to play,” Berry said. No one who wasn’t willing to commit was allowed. With that in mind, one weekend before the season kicked off, a flurry of texts were sent, schedules coordinated and all 14 crazy popular celebrities were online for the AGBO draft.
Lozano and Berry demure about who might have needed some help with their picks, but are open about some of what went down during the event.
“You don’t usually draft quarterbacks first so I was surprised Rudd took Mahomes as his number one pick,” Berry said. “But, he’s a huge Kansas City guy so it kind of makes sense.”
There were also disappointments, like noted New England Patriots super fan Evans not being able to snag quarterback Tom Brady.
“He ended up with Rodgers, which, for anyone else, is a good pick, but no, he was not happy about that,” Lozano said.
The league also goes in on trash talk, which is another holdover from the Bloodsport league.
For AGBO, the celebrities have all committed to weekly trash talking videos meant to not just sweeten the pot, but also draw attention to the charities they’re playing for. Take for example, Paul Rudd’s extensive take down of Chris Pratt, or Ryan Reynolds going after Karen Gillan.
While Bloodsport has a thread that’s not for the faint of heart (“Those guys go hard,” Lozano said.) AGBO is kinder and gentler between their very public takedowns.
“It might be because it’s just the first year, and people are still feeling each other out, but everyone is too nice,” Lozano said. “It’s all like, ‘Wow, that video was really good.’ No real hard shots.”
Still, there’s one player in the AGBO league that gets dumped on more than anyone, and that’s Evans.
“I don’t know if you picked up on this or not,” Berry said, “But almost everyone who made a trash talk video found a way to make fun of Evans.”
There’s a little bit of history there that, again, goes back to the Bloodsport league.
“Here’s what you have to understand,” Lozano said. “Chris won the Bloodsport league two years in a row. Back-to-back. In my 20 years of playing fantasy, I’ve never seen that happen. It’s rare.”
Evans has also been known to crow about his triumph.
“He’s not shy about bringing it up,” Lozano said. “And he talks a lot of trash, so it’s only fair he gets it back.”
The trash talking though, is just another part of what makes the fantasy experience special and fun. For actors who are in the limelight all day, the fantasy league is, for a lack of a better word, a safe space for them to just be themselves.
“A lot of it is about trust,” Lozano said. “There’s trust between everyone in the league, and that allows people to just have fun with it and get to know each other better.”
It turns out, there’s a great equalizer between us mere mortals and Marvel’s mightiest heroes, and that’s fantasy football. Sure celebrities have better hair and better teeth and cuter dogs, but they too must suffer through the particular agony of watching someone they were eyeing for a fantasy slot get snatched out from under them, or seethe as a player they started hopelessly implodes during a game. That’s what makes it so fun.
Over the span of five days, Alex Reyes lost his ability to walk. Almost two years later, he’s eyeing a return to the UFC.
Even though it’s become the new normal over the past year-and-a-half, it’s still tough for [autotag]Alex Reyes[/autotag] to talk about.
Reyes understandably has chosen to keep relatively silent – until now.
The UFC lightweight and older brother of Dominick Reyes, Alex hasn’t competed since his promotional debut in September 2017 – a loss suffered at the hands of Mike Perry. The fight was one Reyes took on mere days’ notice – up a weight class, against a then-surging knockout artist.
Reyes was booked for his sophomore UFC outing in March 2018 – a fight against Nasrat Haqparast in London. A full camp was in order this time around. He’d fight at his usual 155-pound weight class.
Perfect. Life seemed good.
After 10 years on the regional scene, Reyes finally settled into where he always hoped to be. His goal shifted from making it to the big show, to proving his worth there. He was enjoying life as a coach, a father, a husband. Everything was going right. But things soon went haywire.
“I was feeling pretty positive about my career and everything going on in my life,” Reyes told MMA Junkie. “I feel like everything was ripped out from under me. Just that feeling of helplessness.”
In the end, he never entered the cage in London.
Like many fighters, Reyes had suffered his fair share of wear-and-tear injuries from all the battles in the gym and cage. A competitor at the highest level, Reyes wanted to find a solution. So he turned to stem cell injections from a company called Genentech.
After the first injection, the pain did not subside. So he got a second one. In the days that followed, Reyes began to notice the pain wasn’t improving – it was actually getting worse.
And worse.
And worse.
Five days later, Reyes couldn’t walk. Something clearly was wrong with him.
“On June 30, I got the injection. By July 4, I couldn’t walk anymore,” Reyes said. “When people say you can’t walk anymore, people say, ‘What do you mean you couldn’t walk?’ I was in excruciating pain to where my body wasn’t stable. I couldn’t even sit down. I couldn’t roll over in bed. I could move my toes and my legs, but the pain in my spine in my lower back was so unstable and inflamed and spasming. It was excruciating.”
* * * *
A living hell
The medical professionals’ assessment deemed this normal. Reyes was told not to worry and sent on his way. But as he progressively deteriorated, even the most passive physician could determine something wasn’t right.
“Talking to the doctors, they were telling me that it’s normal. ‘We did a lot of work. It’s normal.’ But I did this before, and it wasn’t like this. What’s normal?” Reyes said. “I stayed that way for three-and-a-half weeks on a bedpan. They kept telling me, ‘You’re in the 30 percent range where you experience pain for more than two weeks.’ Then I dropped down to ‘the 15 percent,’ and then I dropped down to ‘the 10 percent.’ After six weeks, they’re like, ‘You’re on the one percent.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, God.’ Everything was going wrong.”
So what was the cause of all this agony? After an MRI, Reyes was diagnosed with a rare but serious spinal infection – osteomyelitis. The injection he received was tainted with E. coli, among other nastiness. Even with a fighter-level of tolerance, Reyes’ pain was intolerable.
“As fighters, we know how to push,” Reyes said. “We have tough weight cuts. We have tough practices. … Preparing for MMA fights for five rounds can be grueling. I knew how to push myself. And the whole time, I’m trying to tell myself my body is rebuilding. ‘This is OK. I gotta keep pushing. I gotta keep pushing.’ But, man, it wasn’t getting better.”
The next few weeks were nothing short of a living hell. The pain was bad enough, but the mental and emotional anguish? Brutal.
Unable to function, Reyes lost his independence. He relied on his wife, Rosalie, to help him with everything, including when he had to use a bedpan. She had to take care of him “like an infant.”
“My wife really stuck by me, supported, and took care of me,” Reyes said. “She had to give me sponge baths, because I couldn’t stand or sit in the shower, and she cared for me like an infant. Going from a high level athlete, leader, and provider to having to be cared for like an infant because I couldn’t take care of myself? Mentally, that was extremely hard to accept.”
The mental side of things was unforgiving. While trying to live the life of a normal, functioning person, Reyes couldn’t help but picture where he could be – where he should be. It was heartbreaking.
“Mentally, I feel like the train has left without me,” Reyes said. “Where I could be, right now in the UFC, and where I should be, compared to where I am. That’s the hardest part – trying not to let that get me down.”
But Reyes stuck with his recovery regimen. Even with progress, complications reared their heads when his IV stints began to consistently get blocked with clots.
“I (was) taking tons of pain pills and medicine,” Reyes said. “It was just horrible. Then on top of that, my IV pick line kept getting blood clots. I kept having to go in so they could remove that and take it out. They kept checking for blood clots in my arteries. It was just a mess. I’m still getting drips, but that’s what happened.”
* * * *
Adjusting to the new normal
Some of Reyes’ pain subsided through months of IV therapy – five-and-a-half months of three to four infusions a day, to be exact. Despite the decrease in physical distress, Reyes has been told he’ll carry this infection with him for the rest of his life.
“The crazy thing about this is that it never completely goes away,” Reyes said. “The infection in your spine, osteomyelitis – it goes dormant. You’ve just got to pay attention to it even though the infection isn’t active right now. I guess it can come back, and I just have to pay attention to that.”
Reyes still has obstacles to overcome. He still experiences pain as he attempts to build back up to peak athletic form. CBD has helped Reyes get off the pain pills. He’s stretching and strengthening his core through physical therapy.
With no specific finish line for his recovery, keeping a “day-to-day” focus isn’t easy. But he’s keeping an optimistic, positive mindset – which he credits his support group for helping him maintain.
“I’m improving, which I’m blessed and fortunate,” Reyes said. “I still have a lot of support with my close friends and family. It’s really discouraging at times – a helpless feeling. My manager checks up on me every week. Jason House calls and checks in on how I’m doing, asking if there’s anything he can do to help me out.
“… They say ‘to fail to plan is to plan to fail.’ So I’m planning to succeed. I’m setting goals, staying positive and keep pushing towards them as much as I can. That’s the only way I can look at it. If I try to look at it any other way and just wallow and feel sorry for myself, I’m not going to get any better. I’m not going to improve.”
* * * *
Fighting back
Reyes, 33, wasn’t the only one who suffered because of those injections. He’s not sure of the exact number, but has heard as many as 60 others could have been affected.
Despite the conserved effort to sue the company in question, the lawsuit was dropped after Genentech owner Edwin Pinos allegedly fled the country. Now, Reyes hopes to spread awareness for those who were affected but don’t have the same platform.
“I’m not that person looking for people to feel sorry for me,” Reyes said. “At least for other people out there, getting the word out can help others make that decision. I guess for the people who didn’t get to interview or speak about it or didn’t get their stories heard about this guy and how he operated his company, you know?”
Through his entire ordeal, Reyes has promised himself to make it back to where he belongs in the UFC. Perhaps in February or March, but no pressure. His self-belief is what has led him to all of his successes: a black belt, a jiu-jitsu title, two regional titles, and a UFC contract. So why should he change that?
“The possibilities are I know the odds are against me – but there’s nothing that’s stopped me yet completely,” Reyes said. “… God willing, I can get back in there and compete at the highest level. It’s a dream I want to achieve for my students, for my son. Anything is possible with support and belief in yourself, just chasing your dream and a goal. A passion that I have – I still have that.
“I will get back in there and make that walk to the octagon.”
Previewing Wednesday’s Los Angeles Lakers at New Orleans Pelicans sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.
The Los Angeles Lakers (15-2) take on the New Orleans Pelicans (6-11) Wednesday night in a Western Conference matchup. Tip-off for the game at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans is at 9:30 p.m. ET. We analyze the Lakers-Pelicans odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.
Lakers at Pelicans: Key injuries
Lakers
SG Avery Bradley (fibula) out
Pelicans
PF Derrick Favors (back) questionable
PG Lonzo Ball (illness) questionable
PF Zion Williamson (knee) out
Lakers at Pelicans: Odds, lines, picks, and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 11 a.m. ET.
The LAKERS (-278) are favored on the road against the Pelicans in a much-anticipated Western Conference matchup. PF Anthony Davis was traded from the Pelicans to the Lakers in the offseason, so look for the star forward to put on a show in front of his former home crowd. With the Pelicans (+200) dealing with several notable injuries, don’t expect them to beat the league’s top team.
The Lakers (-5.5, -120) open this contest as three-basket favorites over the Pelicans. While the Lakers have won 15 of their 17 games this season, they are just 10-7 against the spread. New Orleans is 8-9 against the spread while covering in six of its last nine games. The Pelicans have also been fantastic at home, covering in five of their last six games at the Smoothie King Center. Look for this contest to be close and decided in the last few minutes as the PELICANS (+5.5, +100) cover the spread.
The total is set at 232.5. The Lakers rank third in the NBA with just over 103 points per game allowed. While the Pelicans have struggled to stop anybody, look for the pace of this game to be slower and for the UNDER (-115) to hit.
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Congrats to Browns linebacker Joe Schobert! No. 53 in brown and orange has been named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week for Week 12. Schobert picked off two passes and broke up four total in the Browns’ 41-24 win over the Dolphins. It was the 2nd straight-week the Browns’ top LB picked off two passes. This is the first time Schobert has received the weekly honor. For the season, No. 53 has a team-leading 97 tackles, 4 INTs, 9 PDs, 2 forced fumbles and 2 sacks.
Congrats to Browns linebacker Joe Schobert! No. 53 in brown and orange has been named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week for Week 12. Schobert picked off two passes and broke up four total in the Browns’ 41-24 win over the Dolphins. It was the 2nd straight-week the Browns’ top LB picked off two passes. This is the first time Schobert has received the weekly honor. For the season, No. 53 has a team-leading 97 tackles, 4 INTs, 9 PDs, 2 forced fumbles and 2 sacks.
Congrats to Browns linebacker Joe Schobert! No. 53 in brown and orange has been named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week for Week 12. Schobert picked off two passes and broke up four total in the Browns’ 41-24 win over the Dolphins. It was the 2nd straight-week the Browns’ top LB picked off two passes. This is the first time Schobert has received the weekly honor. For the season, No. 53 has a team-leading 97 tackles, 4 INTs, 9 PDs, 2 forced fumbles and 2 sacks.
Congrats to Browns linebacker Joe Schobert! No. 53 in brown and orange has been named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week for Week 12. Schobert picked off two passes and broke up four total in the Browns’ 41-24 win over the Dolphins. It was the 2nd straight-week the Browns’ top LB picked off two passes. This is the first time Schobert has received the weekly honor. For the season, No. 53 has a team-leading 97 tackles, 4 INTs, 9 PDs, 2 forced fumbles and 2 sacks.
Week 14: Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors(8-4) vs. Army Black Knights(5-6) When: Saturday, November 30, 2019 @ 7:30pm HST 10:30pm MT Where: Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, HI TV: CBSSN Streaming: FuboTV – Watch for free with a seven-day free trial. Radio: ESPN …
[jwplayer aUUX5B6M-sNi3MVSU]
Week 14: Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors(8-4) vs. Army Black Knights(5-6)
When: Saturday, November 30, 2019 @ 7:30pm HST 10:30pm MT
After an emotional and historical win, #HawaiiFB is preparing for the regular-season finale. Get yourself prepared for Senior Night and Army with this week's press conference. #LiveAlohaPlayWarrior
No one celebrates senior night quite like Hawai’i as they honor 23 seniors this Saturday. The copious amount of flower and candy leis drowns the faces of the players as they take their last walk onto the field. If they can somehow beat Boise State the following week it will be the last time ever most of the seniors will take the field at Aloha Stadium.
But the seniors and the rest of the Rainbow Warrior football team will first solely concentrate on beating a tough Army team. This will be the fifth overall meeting between the two teams with UH leading the series 3-1 and 2-0 in Honolulu. The last meeting in 2018 Army squeaked by Hawai’i in West Point 28-21.
Hawai’i head coach Nick Rolovich said it best that this team only has three games left to play for each other, for the university and for the state. Meaning they will not rest starters in getting ready for the MW championship game unless they are still recovering from an injury. Let’s see how the ‘Bows can manage a victory over the Black Knights:
Chasing Chevan
We probably won’t know who the starter is for this game until game day but whoever starts needs to be effective either with their arm or legs and score points early. Hawai’i redshirt freshmen QB Chevan Coideiro led the ‘Bows down the field with his legs after Cole McDonald was pulled from the game in the third quarter of last week’s nail bitter win against San Diego State.
If one element of the run and shoot clicks the other elements will be effective and I still believe running the ball with Miles Reed will open up the QB run or pull the LBs forward giving more open space for Hawaii’s receivers.
Doing their 1/11th
The proven way to stop a triple-option team is each defensive player is responsible for their guy. You need to be focused every down otherwise it just takes one missed assignment and the ball carrier will score from sixty yards out. The Army offense can be plain and simple but effective averaging 302 yards on the ground. It’s pounding you with the RB/FB in Connor Slomka(572 rush yds) or QB keep with the leading rusher Kelvin Hopkins Jr(619 rush yds.)
It’s been impressive to see the defense has stepped up in the last three games and keeping the last two opponents to just 7 and 11 points per game. Yes the last two opponents had subpar offenses but it seems they are playing better through communication and tackling. I don’t see as much blown coverages or missed tackles as much as the first half of the season and so it looks promising for the team overall that when in close games the defense can step up seal the victory.
There were only 21,000+ at last week’s game but it sounded like 35,000. The team really fed from the crowd’s energy especially on 3rd down defense. With this last game guaranteed to be played at Aloha Stadium it might be the last chance the fans can should show up in numbers to support a team that is giving their all and not giving up. When the ceiling in the locker rooms rumble from the crowd stomping the team feels it. I’m not sure if a 7:30pm kickoff will affect the attendance but UH hopes for a big turn out to celebrate the seniors and the ‘Bows ninth victory.
Prediction
It may be closer to most Hawai’i fan’s liking but I predict UH offense will put up more points than the past two games and the defense will make a final stop to Army’s last drive.
JJ Arcega-Whiteside to start at WR opposite of Alshon Jeffery
The JJ Arcega-Whiteside has officially gotten underway in Philadelphia, as head coach Doug Pederson confirmed that the rookie out of Stanford will be the wide receiver opposite of Alshon Jeffery on the outside.
Doug Pederson: J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is pretty much the WR on the outside opposite Alshon Jeffery. #Eagles
