Mekhi Becton is excited to meet Sam Darnold and make his first trip to New York.
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New Jets OT Mekhi Becton is ready to meet the man he’ll be protecting for years to come.
Becton was selected by the Jets with the 11th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on Thursday night. While Becton didn’t expect to fall to the Jets at No. 11, he is excited to get to work with quarterback Sam Darnold.
“He’s a great dude,” Becton told reporters after getting picked. “He can take a team pretty far… I can’t wait to meet him.”
Maybe Darnold can show Becton around New York City once the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end. Becton, a Virginia native, has never been to New York before, but said that he remembers watching Brett Favre and LaDainian Tomlinson play for the Jets.
“I just love the New York griminess. I love New York. New York’s real tough,” Becton said in February at the NFL combine.
Darnold should love what Becton brings to the Jets offensive line. He’s a nasty football player that loves to put his defenders on the ground and keep them there. That’s the kind of guy Darnold needs so that he doesn’t get pummeled into the ground like he did a season ago.
Becton will get acclimated with his fellow offensive lineman, too. The Jets have plenty of new entering 2020, so everyone being in a new situation could ease Becton’s NFL transition.
The USTA is converting the site of the U.S. Open, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, into a 350-bed medical facility.
The U.S. Tennis Association could start construction as soon as Tuesday on a temporary medical facility at one of the country’s most iconic tennis venues.
Chris Widmaier, a spokesperson for the USTA, told the Wall Street Journal that the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the site of the U.S. Open in New York, will be converted into a 350-bed medical facility to help overwhelmed hospitals in the area.
Per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New York leads the United States in confirmed cases with approximately 67,000 as of Tuesday.
Widmaier says the medical facility is meant to treat patients who have not contracted the coronavirus, but that could change.
“We’re there to do whatever the city and state needs,” Widmaier told the Wall Street Journal.
The Boxing Hall of Fame induction weekend scheduled to begin June 14 in Canastota, New York is off because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez will have to wait to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
A Hall of Fame official told ESPN Sunday that the induction weekend scheduled to begin June 14 in Canastota, New York is off because of the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s class will be inducted with the Class of 2021 a year from June.
Hopkins, Mosley and Marquez were scheduled to be inducted in the modern boxer category. Also, Christy Martin and Lucia Rijker were to be the first women inducted.
“By combining the celebrations of the induction classes of 2020 and 2021, the Hall of Fame can honor inductees with all the bells and whistles that the Hall of Fame weekend is known for and provide each inductee with the recognition they each so richly deserve,” Hall of Fame Executive Director Ed Brophy told ESPN.
“By honoring the two classes in a one-of-a-kind induction weekend, the Hall of Fame will be able to put all the winning combinations together for the inductees, fans and the entire sport of boxing.”
Others set to be inducted were: Frank Erne and Paddy Ryan in the old-timer category; Barbara Buttrick in the women’s trailblazer category; promoters Lou DiBella, Kathy Duva and the late Dan Goossen; and journalists Bernard Fernandez and Thomas Hauser in the observer category.
Those who purchased tickets for induction weekend can use them next year or receive refunds.
The pool of fighters who become eligible for election next year is deep. Among them: Floyd Mayweather, Wladimir Klitschko, Miguel Cotto and Andre Ward.
Shams Charania reports that one of the players who tested positive is two-time NBA champ and NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant.
Less than a week ago, the Los Angeles Lakers played their last game prior to the NBA’s decision to suspend the league last Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets. On Tuesday, the Nets announced that four of their players had tested positive for the coronavirus. The Nets last game was against the Lakers and the team travelled to San Francisco before their game against the Warriors scheduled for March 11 was ultimately cancelled.
After a short time, two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant confirmed via The Athletic’s Shams Charania that he was one of the four players who tested positive for coronavirus, though he is not showing symptoms. According to Nets, only one of the three players exhibited symptoms of the virus. Meanwhile, Durant is the latest member of the NBA, joining Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, and Christian Wood, to tell fans to heed the recommendation of health experts to stay quarantined.
Kevin Durant tested positive for coronavirus, Durant tells @TheAthleticNBA@Stadium. Durant says he is feeling fine: "Everyone be careful, take care of yourself and quarantine. We're going to get through this."
As four players for the Nets remain quarantined and checked on by doctors, the NBA the rest of the world remains on hold amidst a global pandemic. Also, the Nets did not play either the Jazz nor the Pistons, the other two teams with player who tested positive for COVID-19, in the past six weeks.
Federal agents at an international mail facility in Miami found a set of clubs worth about 30k this week because the club shafts were filled with cocaine!
Federal agents at an international mail facility in Miami found a set of clubs worth about 30k this week because the club shafts were filled with cocaine!
Federal agents at an international mail facility in Miami found a set of clubs worth about 30k this week because the club shafts were filled with cocaine!
Federal agents at an international mail facility in Miami found a set of clubs worth about 30k this week because the club shafts were filled with cocaine!
PFL women’s lightweight finalist and 2x Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison says she’s living her best life ahead of her title fight against Larissa Pacheco in New York.
PFL women’s lightweight finalist and 2x Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison says she’s living her best life ahead of her title fight against Larissa Pacheco in New York.
Terence Crawford faces mandatory challenger Egidijus Kavaliauskas on Saturday in New York.
Terence Crawford is in New York for some mandatory business Saturday, favored to beat Lithuanian welterweight challenger Egidijus Kavaliauskas at Madison Square Garden and still ranked first or second in the pound-pound debate, yet uncertain about what awaits him in 2020.
Crawford hears rumors and smiles. Depending on the day or perhaps the hour, Floyd Mayweather is coming back. Or maybe not. It’s still not clear what Errol Spence Jr. will do two months after he was thrown from his Ferrari in a scary wreck on Oct. 10 in Dallas.
Crawford was asked about both this week in a media tour that included Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN, which will televise his title defense after college football crowns its pound-for-pound best with the Heisman.
Question: Who does he have a better chance at fighting next year, Mayweather or Spence?
Even if Mayweather does come back for more than an exhibition, the feared Crawford doesn’t expect to be anywhere on his list of potential opponents.
“That fight will never happen, I believe,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, there’s been no word on what Spence plans to do.
“Me and Spence fight, I don’t really know,’’ Crawford said. “I don’t know his health reasons right now. I know when he comes back to the fight game, he’s not itching to get back in the ring against me right off the injuries.’’
There had been a groundswell of talk from fans and media, all urging Crawford-vs.-Spence, in the immediate aftermath of Spence’s split-decision over Shawn Porter for two welterweight belts on Sept. 28 in Los Angeles. But there’s only been silence since Spence’s single-car crash.
As rivalry games unfolded on Thanksgiving Day across the country, we rounded up the results and highlights. See what happened in the State Line game, Maryland’s Holy War, New London-NFA, Winchester-Woburn and Xavier Prep-Fordham Prep.
As Thanksgiving Day football unfolds across the country, we’ll round up the results from the biggest games right here, starting with the one that determines pride across two Northeastern states.
STATE LINE GAME: Easton (Penn.) 16, Phillipsburg (N.J.) 13
Make it three straight for Easton, which scraped out another narrow victory in the annual Turkey Day grudge match to end all Turkey Day grudge matches. This one may end up being best known for the brawl that erupted in the final minute, with the game decided after a final Easton defensive stand. With Easton taking kneel downs Phillipsburg defensive players rushed the line and a melee ensued, with the referees running off the final minute once order was restored.
After taking a 9-6 lead into halftime, Easton scored on a one-yard touchdown run from running back Nahjee Adams with 10 minutes remaining to stretch the lead to 16-6. Phillipsburg answered, cutting the lead back to a field goal on a touchdown pass from Ben Ries to Robert Martin, but that was as close as the Stateliners could get.
The win pushes Easton’s final 2019 mark to 8-5 while Phillipsburg’s loss leaves the Stateliners at 8-3.
MARYLAND’S HOLY WAR: Calvert Hall 33, Loyola Blakefield 10
The 100th edition of Maryland’s Holy War ended just as the previous five did … with Calvert Hall celebrating a decisive victory in the game played at Towson University.
Cole Herbert led Calvert Hall with three rushing touchdowns and a fumble recovery on defense as the Cardinals built up a 27-3 lead and never looked back. The victory marked the sixth straight for Calvert Hall in the historic series and narrowed Loyola’s overall advantage to 49-43-8.
YE OLDE BALL GAME (CONN.): Norwich Free Academy 49, New London 12
NFA dominated the 158th meeting between the two schools from neighboring Connecticut seaport towns, cruising to a 37-point victory against the Whalers that clinched a Connecticut Class LL state playoff berth in the process.
Wide receiver Damien Bleau led NFA with three touchdown catches in a game that was moved to NFA’s turf field on Wednesday. NFA’s victory pushes the Wildcats to 7-3 entering the playoffs while New London dropped to 5-7.
OLD FIRM FRIENDS (MASS.): Winchester 14, Woburn 7
Winchester proved too tough for their archrivals in a game that was tight and then devolved into a mess as the rain picked up in the fourth quarter.
Perhaps driven by the weather, much of the game was contested on the ground, with players from stars from both teams breaking through landmark moments during the contest: Winchester quarterback Tommy Degnan crossed the 1,000-yard rushing threshold on a 58-yard carry, pushing him above 1,000 yards passing and rushing on the season; Sachems running back Symon Sathler countered by crossing the 1,000-yard rushing mark himself in the third quarter.
The win improved Winchester to 9-2 on the season, the program’s first nine-win season since 2009 per the Daily Times Chronicle. Woburn wrapped up the campaign at 5-6.
TURKEY WHERE DREAMS ARE MADE (N.Y.): Xavier Prep 40, Fordham Prep 14
After a tight first half, the 97th Turkey Bowl in New York City was one-way traffic in the third quarter, with the Knights racing out to a 34-7 lead and then playing out the string.
Running back Andrew Scariano led Xavier with three touchdown runs, including two shortly after the Knights recovered Rams fumbles as Xavier made the most of Fordham’s mistakes.
The game played at Aviator Field in Brooklyn wrapped up a 4-5 campaign for Xavier and 3-7 season for Fordham.
