Tag: Retirement

Who will be most impactful in return, Marshawn Lynch or J.J. Watt?

The Seattle Seahawks and Houston Texans will both be seeing the return of a key player to the lineup Week 17 – Marshawn Lynch and J.J. Watt.

The Seattle Seahawks and Houston Texans are both looking ahead to the playoffs with the return of a key player back to the lineup.

Running back Marshawn Lynch was re-signed to the roster over a year removed from football to assist in Seattle’s depleted run game. J.J. Watt, who sustained a torn pectoral muscle Week 8, is resuming practice and could be available by the Texans’ first postseason game.

Here’s a look at which player could be most impactful for his team as the clubs head into the playoffs.

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Signing Marshawn Lynch is a boom-or-bust move for Seahawks

Signing Marshawn Lynch to shore up their depleted running back unit is a bold move for the Seattle Seahawks and could be boom or bust.

Marshawn Lynch’s recent return to the Seattle Seahawks has generated a lot of buzz over the past 48 hours.

The team had become desperate for running backs in the wake of the injuries to Chris Carson and CJ Prosise. In addition to signing Robert Turbin to complement rookie Travis Homer, they made a bold and perhaps desperate move coaxing “Beast Mode” back to the game. This set Twitter ablaze, with Seahawks fans are particularly excited to no one’s surprise.

However, Lynch should not be expected to revert to his prime form by any means. He is 33 years old and his abilities are not what they used to be. This is the second time he has come out of retirement, initially bowing out after the 2015 season and later returning to play for his hometown Oakland Raiders in 2017 before retiring again after 2018. In addition, he did not play in 20 games over the last three seasons he spent in the NFL, so his durability is a serious question.

Of course, there is always a chance that Seattle will catch lightning in a bottle with Lynch again. However, fans should not be surprised if he does not stay healthy or display the same amount of power and speed that made him such a joy to watch in his prime years.

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WATCH: Ten former NFL players facing charges of healthcare fraud

Retired NFL running back Clinton Portis is among 10 former pro players charged with health care fraud by the United States Department of Justice.

Retired NFL running back Clinton Portis is among 10 former pro players charged with health care fraud by the United States Department of Justice.

The charges filed this week alleging that the group of NFL retirees fabricated documents like prescription orders and invoices from medical equipment companies to defraud the NFL’s health care program for retired players.

The Washington Post reports that the group submitted $3.9 million worth of fraudulent claims and that the NFL program paid out more than $3.4 million for those claims between June 2017 and December 2018.

Charges have been filed against Portis, Carlos Rogers, Robert McCune, John Eubanks, Tamarick Vanover, Ceandris Brown, James Butler, Frederick Bennett, Correll Buckhalter, and Etric Pruitt.

Former wide receivers Joe Horn and Reche Caldwell are expected to be charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Caroline Wozniacki shockingly announces her retirement from tennis at just 29

Caroline Wozniacki, the former world No. 1 who won a Grand Slam in 2018, is walking away from the game of tennis.

Caroline Wozniacki announced on Friday morning that she would be retiring from professional tennis following the Australian Open in January.

The move is a shocking one from the former world No. 1 in singles. She’s just 29 years old, and held the world No. 1 spot as recently as last year, when she won Australian Open, her first Grand Slam title.

The Danish tennis player cited her growing love for travel, and her commitment to growing her family with her husband, former Warriors star David Lee.

Wozniacki has also struggled with health issues. In 2018, she went public with the fact that she’d been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. She played through it for much of the 2018 season, but in her retirement note, she noted that the decision had nothing to do with her health. She did say she wants to devote more time to speaking out about rheumatoid arthitis.

Wozniacki retired in a post made to her Instagram and Twitter.

View this post on Instagram

I’ve played professionally since I was 15 years old. In that time I’ve experienced an amazing first chapter of my life. With 30 WTA singles titles, a world #1 ranking for 71 weeks, a WTA Finals victory, 3 Olympics, including carrying the flag for my native Denmark, and winning the 2018 Australian Open Grand slam championship, I’ve accomplished everything I could ever dream of on the court. I’ve always told myself, when the time comes, that there are things away from tennis that I want to do more, then it’s time to be done. In recent months, I’ve realized that there is a lot more in life that I’d like to accomplish off the court. Getting married to David was one of those goals and starting a family with him while continuing to travel the world and helping raise awareness about rheumatoid arthritis (project upcoming) are all passions of mine moving forward. So with that, today I am announcing that I will be retiring from professional tennis after the Australian Open in January. This has nothing to do with my health and this isn’t a goodbye, I look forward to sharing my exciting journey ahead with all of you! Finally, I want to thank with all my heart, the fans, my friends, my sponsors, my team, especially my father as my coach, my husband, and my family for decades of support! Without all of you I could have never have done this!

A post shared by Caroline Wozniacki (@carowozniacki) on

The caption reads:

I’ve played professionally since I was 15 years old. In that time I’ve experienced an amazing first chapter of my life. With 30 WTA singles titles, a world #1 ranking for 71 weeks, a WTA Finals victory, 3 Olympics, including carrying the flag for my native Denmark, and winning the 2018 Australian Open Grand slam championship, I’ve accomplished everything I could ever dream of on the court.
I’ve always told myself, when the time comes, that there are things away from tennis that I want to do more, then it’s time to be done. In recent months, I’ve realized that there is a lot more in life that I’d like to accomplish off the court. Getting married to David was one of those goals and starting a family with him while continuing to travel the world and helping raise awareness about rheumatoid arthritis (project upcoming) are all passions of mine moving forward.
So with that, today I am announcing that I will be retiring from professional tennis after the Australian Open in January. This has nothing to do with my health and this isn’t a goodbye, I look forward to sharing my exciting journey ahead with all of you!
Finally, I want to thank with all my heart, the fans, my friends, my sponsors, my team, especially my father as my coach, my husband, and my family for decades of support! Without all of you I could have never have done this!

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Floyd Mayweather reportedly looking to fight twice in 2020

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is looking to fight twice in 2020, according to TMZ Sports. One versus a pro boxer and the other an MMA fighter.

Say it isn’t so.

In a span of 72 hours, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has gone from telling the world that he’s permanently retired to putting up an Instagram post teasing at a possible ring return in 2020.

And now, according to TMZ, Mayweather is currently mulling two fights for 2020, “one against a pro boxer and another against a UFC star.”

Mayweather made a fortune for facing UFC’s Conor McGregor under boxing rules, which obviously is an incentive to pursue another crossover fight with an MMA fighter.

On Thursday, Mayweather was spotted courtside at Staples Center next to Dana White at a L.A. Clippers-Boston Celtics game. Shortly thereafter, Mayweather posted a picture of the two sitting next to each other on Instagram, with the caption, “@danawhite and I working together to bring the world another spectacular event in 2020.

According to TMZ, Mayweather prefers to face a UFC fighter who has standout striking skills, which may rule out a fight with current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, whose strength is grappling.

View this post on Instagram

Coming out of retirement in 2020

A post shared by Floyd Mayweather (@floydmayweather) on

As for facing a boxer, one natural option is Manny Pacquiao, who has been actively campaigning for a rematch against Mayweather since their 2015 box office extravaganza. Pacquiao is coming off a vintage win over Keith Thurman in July. Recently, Pacquiao appeared in an Instagram skit with Chinese billionaire Jack Ma in an attempt to lure Mayweather into a fight

Lance Pugmire of The Athletic informed Pacquiao of Mayweather’s comments. Pacquiao’s response: “Hahahaha really? I don’t know of his plan. But I’m just here still active and willing to fight anybody in the welterweight division.”

TMZ’s source claims that Mayweather is looking to fight in May and September,

Floyd Mayweather says he’s coming back. Boxing fans, you don’t have to do this again.

Mayweather, 42, says he is coming out of retirement in 2020. Boxing fans: You can ignore him. There are other things to watch.

Floyd Mayweather posted to his Instagram this week that he was coming out of retirement in 2020.

There’s nothing in there about who he will be fighting or when, though Michael Rosenthal over at Boxing Junkie floated the idea that perhaps he and Dana White could organize another exhibition against a UFC fighter a la his fight with Conor McGregor.

Maybe they’ll dust off Manny Pacquiao and let the two of them go at it for nostalgia purposes.

Whatever it is: Boxing fans, you don’t have to do this anymore.

You don’t have to talk yourself into watching this. You don’t have to convince yourself that watching a 42-year-old Mayweather dodge punches and do enough to win on the scorecard is entertaining, especially if he’s going up against a UFC fighter with an iota of the technical skill he has.

Mayweather was one of the best to ever do it, and in his prime, watching him was thrilling. He was so technically gifted, and so quick, that watching great fighters try to hit him was to see them rendered useless. It was an acquired taste, but once you saw his brilliance, it became hard not to want to see him work.

Now? I mean, what are we watching? The McGregor fight had a certain sideshow appeal, and it was funny watching Mayweather try to figure out what to do with McGregor’s undeveloped style, but come on. At a certain point, watching an aging man dodge punches isn’t all that thrilling anymore. It becomes rote.

Not to mention he’s a reprehensible person, an annoyance, and is starting to get to the point where boxing is struggling to move on from him. Every time he comes around it’s another media circus that sucks oxygen out of the room that other young boxers might consume.

I realize the central irony in the fact that I’m writing about him right now, and making an argument by giving coverage to someone I’m saying shouldn’t get coverage. But let this be the end of it. Let us move on from this.

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[opinary poll=”will-you-pay-to-watch-the-next-floyd-may” customer=”forthewin”]

WATCH: Tom Brady’s ‘body coach’ says the QB wants to play until he’s 47

The conversation around when Tom Brady will retire is perpetual at this point. The 42-year-old shows no relative signs of age, seemingly getting better on the gridiron with age.

The conversation around when Tom Brady will retire is perpetual at this point. The 42-year-old shows no relative signs of age, seemingly getting better on the gridiron with age.

Brady’s personal trainer and business partner, Alex Guerrero, revealed what the conversation about potential retirement is like between the two men on a regular basis.

Speaking to WEEI Thursday, Guerrero said, “I certainly do believe that 45 is a very realistic goal. We talk about it all the time. Every year he just adds another year. He goes in and he’s like, ‘Guys, I feel so good still. I think I am going to go till 45.’ I am like, ‘OK.’ Now he’s like, ‘Alex, I think I can go like 46 or 47.’”

Guerrero explained that it all comes down to commitment and recalled how many skeptics there were about the Patriot playing at an elite level in his late 30s and early 40s.

New England’s perfect record is no longer intact, as the Ravens spoiled that before the Pats (8-1) entered their bye week during Week 10. Heading into Week 11, Brady has completed 230 of 355 pass attempts for 2,536 passing yards and 14 touchdowns this season.

Brady’s ‘body coach,’ says ’45 is a very realistic goal,’ for Pats QB to retire

The conversation around when Tom Brady will retire is perpetual at this point. The 42-year-old shows no relative signs of age, seemingly getting better on the gridiron with age.

The conversation around when Tom Brady will retire is perpetual at this point. The 42-year-old shows no relative signs of age, seemingly getting better on the gridiron with age.

Brady’s ‘body coach,’ says ’45 is a very realistic goal,’ for Pats QB to retire (Patriotswire)

The conversation around when Tom Brady will retire is perpetual at this point. The 42-year-old shows no relative signs of age, seemingly getting better on the gridiron with age.

The conversation around when Tom Brady will retire is perpetual at this point. The 42-year-old shows no relative signs of age, seemingly getting better on the gridiron with age.