Tag: craig melvin

Russell Wilson: ‘The West Coast is better for me right now’

Russell Wilson was asked about coming “east” to Washington Tuesday.

A popular offseason topic for fans of the Washington Commanders has been the idea that Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson could force a trade and pick Washington as his next destination.

A native of Richmond, Virginia, Wilson has played his entire 10-year career with the Seattle Seahawks on the West coast. Last season, Wilson’s agent said he would approve trades to four teams, and Washington was not on that list.

A lot can change in one year, and head coach Ron Rivera believes the Commanders are a desirable destination for one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. As for Wilson’s previous list, three of the four teams he’d approve a trade to either have a standout passer or, in Chicago’s case, drafted one in the first round last year.

While Wilson has given no indication he’s unhappy in Seattle; his future has been a fun topic this offseason for many quarterback-needy teams. Washington, of course, being the primary one due to Rivera’s persistence, the team will swing for the fences to land a franchise passer.

In an appearance on the NBC’s TODAY Show Tuesday, host Craig Melvin — a noted Washington supporter and official fan ambassador — directly asked Wilson about “coming east” and playing for the team in the nation’s capital.

Wilson and his wife Ciara laughed at the question, knowing it was coming once Melvin identified himself as a Commanders’ fan. Wilson’s response:

“Listen, man, I love the East Coast, but I think the West Coast is better for me right now,” Wilson said, laughing. “I got my whole family over here. I’m from Richmond; I know what you mean; I got people hitting me up every day. All my friends, from the East Coast, but Seattle is the place that I’m at right now, and I love it, and it’s great.”

What is he supposed to say? If he wanted to be traded, he is under contract for two more seasons and too classy of a guy to campaign publicly about wanting a trade. His laugh implied as much. Wilson handled the question with humor and class.

Some have written stories today saying Wilson definitively said he wasn’t coming to Washington. He did not. He answered the question perfectly. Now, does that mean he wants to go to Washington? Of course not. But for some to surmise that he ruled out the Commanders for jokingly answering a question from a Washington fan at the end of an interview is a bit silly.

It’s the offseason, folks.

 

Why Notre Dame thinks they can pull football off in 2020

Notre Dame has had very few positive COVID-19 tests in the last two months and thinks football is still possible. Find out why, here.

With roughly 40% of FBS college football pulling the plug on the 2020 fall season, Notre Dame and the ACC remain scheduled to start games a month from today.

On the day Notre Dame opens fall training camp, the morning kicked off with Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly and start outside linebacker Daelin Hayes appearing on NBC’s Today Show.

The entire interview between Craig Melvin and both Kelly and Hayes can be seen in full below.

The biggest quotes from both were Kelly strongly sharing that “we believe we can play” as he detailed how thorough Notre Dame has been in using precaution to try and keep COVID-19 as far away from campus as possible.

Hayes shares his belief that essentially, if there is added risk in anything we do anymore, why not at least do what what we enjoy while being exposed to those risks, especially if players are under constant supervision and given weekly tests, like he says.

Full video of interview:

[protected-iframe id=”0dca1a77186efd236c81147a6d31448d-162776928-7793168″ info=”https://www.today.com/today/embedded-video/mmvo89942085930″ width=”560″ height=”315″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen=””]

I get both sides of the argument as to whether or not there should be games played and practices held.

If someone with COVID-19 plays football against a bunch of healthy young men then it’s inevitable that the between the blood, sweat, spit and whatever else gets passed along, that the virus will spread.

But if the players, coaches and staff have followed through with a plan and things have gone incredibly successful like they have, I have trouble with the thought that they don’t deserve at least a chance to play,until they prove they don’t.

I know we’re talking about a lot of 18-22 year old student-athletes and the mind of someone that age doesn’t always make the best of decisions.  So far protocols appear to have been followed with great success.

It’s easy to understand why the players and coaches believe they can pull this off, even while acknowledging the difficulty of the situation.  Obviously things can change in a moments notice with this like they’ve been doing nationwide for months, but until that time comes I fully see why the players and coaches so badly at least want a chance.