Category: Sports Daypop

The New England Patriots have signed wide receiver Marqise Lee to a one-year contract, just days after he was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Lee has caught 174 passes for 2,184 yards and eight touchdowns in 59 career games.mHis best season came in 2016, when he caught 63 passes for 851 yards and three touchdowns. Lee caught 56 passes for 702 yards and another three touchdowns in 2017 when the Jaguars made the AFC Championship Game, but injuries have derailed his career since. 

Lee played in just six games and made three catches for 18 yards before he was placed on injured reserve for the second consecutive year. He missed the entire 2018 season after suffering a gruesome knee injury that preseason. 

Source: Patriots sign receiver Lee to 1-year deal

Via www.espn.com

Marqise Lee, who had only three receptions in six games after signing a four-year, $34 million…

04/23/2020 12:10 PM

 

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Notre Dame Coach Muffet McGraw retired on Wednesday, after a Hall of Fame coaching career that included two national championships in 33 seasons. McGraw, 64, became the 13th woman inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017. She won 936 games, ranking sixth among Division I coaches, with 842 coming at Notre Dame.

“It has been my great honor to represent the University of Notre Dame these past 33 years, but the time has come for me to step down as your head basketball coach,” McGraw said in a statement. McGraw is one of five Division I men’s or women’s basketball coaches with at least 930 wins, nine Final Fours and multiple titles. Her national championships were in 2001 and 2018.

The Irish reached nine Final Fours and won 67 NCAA Tournament games under McGraw. Notre Dame’s string of 24 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances remains intact, per the NCAA’s ruling following the cancellation of this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Irish’s McGraw retires after Hall of Fame career

Via www.espn.com

Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw is retiring after 33 seasons at Notre Dame,…

04/22/2020 4:08 PM

 

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The Boston Red Sox were stripped of their second-round pick in this year’s amateur draft by Major League Baseball for sign stealing in 2018.  In addition, former manager Alex Cora was suspended through the 2020 postseason for his previous conduct as bench coach with the Houston Astros.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced his decision Wednesday, concluding Red Sox replay system operator J.T. Watkins broke rules by using in-game video to revise sign sequences provided to players. Watkins was suspended without pay through this year’s postseason and prohibited from serving as the replay room operator through 2021. Manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended through the 2020 postseason on Jan. 13 and Houston was fined $5 million, the maximum under the Major League Constitution. The Astros were penalized their next two first- and second-round amateur draft picks.

Baseball’s season is on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, and this year’s draft may be cut to as few as five rounds.

Red Sox stripped of pick; Cora, staffer suspended

Via www.espn.com

MLB on Wednesday handed down its punishment in the Red Sox sign-stealing case, suspending replay…

04/22/2020 6:00 PM

 

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Former XFL Commissioner   is suing Vince McMahon for wrongful termination, following the collapse of the spring football league. In a federal lawsuit that was filed in Connecticut last week, Luck claims he was wrongfully terminated by McMahon on April 9, one day before the league formally suspended operations and laid off its employees in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Much of the document filed last week is redacted, and three exhibits that Luck attached to it were all filed under seal. According to the lawsuit, Luck’s employment contract with McMahon came with a separate confidentiality agreement.

The XFL, which kicked off earlier this spring, got off to a promising start before the coronavirus pandemic hit in mid-March, after just five weeks of action. The league first suspended play but expressed hope of a 2021 return, then canceled the season and laid off its employees a few weeks later. The XFL has since filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Vince McMahon sued by fired former XFL commissioner Oliver Luck

Via sports.yahoo.com

Oliver Luck seemed to be doing a good job as XFL and the XFL as a whole was doing fairly well….

04/21/2020 1:09 PM

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The Patriots have traded retired tight end Rob Gronkowski to the Buccaneers. New England will send Gronkowski and a seventh-round draft pick to Tampa Bay in exchange for a fourth-round pick, 

Gronkowski spoke to the Patriots about the chance to come out of retirement to reunite with quarterback Tom Brady in Tampa Bay. After playing in the NFL for nine seasons, Gronkowski retired in March 2018 but never ruled out a possible return to the league. The Patriots will have to send his rights to the Buccaneers who will need to reinstate him. The tight end has one year and $10 million left on his contract.

Brady surprised the NFL world this offseason when he entered free agency and left the Patriots for the Bucs. Gronkowski and Brady won three Super Bowls together with New England.

Agent: Gronk dealt to Bucs, reunited with Brady

Via www.espn.com

The Patriots have agreed to trade Rob Gronkowski to the Buccaneers, pending a physical, in a…

04/21/2020 4:58 PM

 

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Disgruntled Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue and Tony Khan, the Jaguars senior vice president of football administration and technology, got into a Twitter battle. Ngakoue called Khan, the son of Jaguars owner Shad Khan, spoiled and tweeted a clown face. Khan replied Ngakoue’s approach is not going to lead to the Jaguars getting a deal completed any faster.

″It’s a new regime here sir,″ Khan wrote. ″I think you form the bottom of my heart for all of the contributions you made. That said, tweeting insults at me won’t get you traded any faster. Only good trade compensation will do that. Please redirect your efforts into a more productive outlet.″ Ngakoue, 25, began by tweeting ”#FREEYANN,” a reference to the trade demand he issued to the team. Ngakoue also posted another tweet: ″Tired of the back and forth @Jaguars. Let’s get this (expletive) done.″ Then, Ngakoue post another tweet aimed apparently to Khan to “stop hiding.” Khan responded. “I’m not in hiding sir,” Khan wrote. “I’m in isolation getting ready for the draft. I’ve been pretty active on social media in isolation, but you wouldn’t know that since you unfollowed me (again).”

Ngakoue wants to play elsewhere despite the Jaguars designating him with the $17.8 million non-exclusive franchise tag last month. Ngakoue’s total of 37 1/2 career sacks in four seasons is the most by a Jaguars player after 63 career games. Ngakoue has not had fewer than eight sacks in a season since his arrival in Jacksonville. He has forced 14 fumbles and has combined for 121 tackles.

Heated Ngakoue rips Jags, owner’s son in tweets

Via www.espn.com

Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue’s issues with the Jaguars reached a boiling point Monday as he…

04/20/2020 3:51 PM

 

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Miami Marlins CEO Derek Jeter told team employees during a conference call Monday he is forgoing his salary during the coronavirus pandemic. Other members of the Marlins’ executive team agreed to take pay cuts, while baseball operations personnel will continue to receive their full salaries through at least May 31. The person didn’t specify the figures of the pay cuts.

Major League Baseball spring training was suspended March 12 because of the pandemic. The start of the season, scheduled for March 26, has been indefinitely delayed.

MLB senior staff has taken pay cuts, and budget slashing has allowed the central office to say it will continue to pay its roughly 1,200 full-time and part-time employees through May. Some teams have taken similar stances with their administrative staff.

Source: Marlins CEO Jeter forgoing $5M salary

Via www.espn.com

04/20/2020 2:38 PM

 

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Former NBA center and current Australian NBL player Andrew Bogut is staying close to home due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Bogut’s pause from sports may extend beyond the forced break.

The 35-year-old, 14-year NBA veteran was planning to retire after playing for his native Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but now that the games have been pushed back a year, Bogut told an Australian news program in a report Sunday that the delay could mean the end of his career. “I’m not doing much, I can tell you that,” Bogut said.  “To be able to kiss your kids goodnight and put them down every night … I’ve appreciated doing that,” he continued.

Bogut spent this past season in Australia after playing 11 games in the NBA with Golden State in 2018-19. He spent seven seasons with the Bucks, followed by stints with the Warriors (twice), Dallas, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers. He won his only NBA championship in 2015 with Golden State.

Bogut helped Australia finish fourth in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. He averaged 9.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in his NBA career, playing in 706 games and starting 661.

Delayed Olympics has Bogut weighing retirement

Via www.espn.com

Andrew Bogut told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “Offsiders” program that the coronavirus…

04/19/2020 2:32 AM

 

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William Byron won his second consecutive NASCAR virtual race on Sunday. Byron held off Timmy Hill, the driver who moved him out of the way to win an earlier iRacing event, to take the win. 

Byron, 22 and in his third Cup season driving for Hendrick Motorsports, is an avid iRacer who learned to drive a stock car through the platform.  “I wasn’t in a racing family growing up and obviously this was my avenue to cut my teeth,” Byron said. “I’m very thankful for what it has done for me. Driving the 24 car in real life for Hendrick Motorsports is a dream and I was really just a kid on here that was excited, a NASCAR face in a channel when I was racing against them. Now I am racing against them in real life.”

With William Byron’s second straight iRacing win, when will NASCAR get its first virtual upset?

Via www.foxsports.com

Nothing against William Byron or the other iRacing gurus, but the question remains: when will we…

04/19/2020 4:34 PM

 

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On Thursday, the St. Louis Blues signed free agent defenseman Marco Scandella to a four-year, $13.1 million contract extension.  Scandella, 30, appeared in 11 games for the defending Cup-champion Blues prior to the NHL shutdown in mid-March.

The Blues acquired Scandella from the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 18 in exchange for a 2020 second-round draft pick and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2021. Scandella was set to become an unrestricted free agent following the season.  Scandella has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 62 games with three teams this season. He had three goals and six assists in 31 games with the Buffalo Sabres before being dealt to the Canadiens on Jan. 2 for a fourth-round draft pick in the 2020 draft. He had one goal and two assists in 20 games with Montreal prior to the trade to the Blues. Scandella has one assist in 11 games with St. Louis.

Overall, Scandella has 89 points (27 goals, 62 assists) in 373 games in 10 NHL seasons, the first seven spent with the Minnesota Wild.

Blues agree to terms with Scandella on $13.1M, 4-year deal

Via www.desmoinesregister.com

Blues agree to terms with Scandella on $13.1M, 4-year deal The St. Louis Blues have agreed to…

04/16/2020 6:26 PM

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