Running back Raheem Mostert to 49ers: Trade me or pay meVideo
Raheem Mostert wants a new contract. Again. And he deserves one. Again, only this time after emerging as much more than a special-teams ace. Mostert broke out last season as the 49ers’ leading and most explosive rusher, after agreeing to a three-year, $9 million contract in the 2019 offseason. Mostert’s...
Maryland governor on Redskins: Probably time to change nameVideo
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Wednesday he believes the name of Washington’s professional football team “probably should be changed,” though he supported the team’s name when he ran for governor in 2014. Hogan, a moderate Republican and a critic of President Donald Trump, was asked on NBC’s...
First Call: DeSean Jackson’s anti-Semitic post, Joe West’s coronavirus confusion lead ‘week of dumb’
We need games back. Now! Because we need to start talking about dumb decisions by players, coaches, executives and officials on the field. Those things are a lot easier to digest than what they are saying in quotes and on social media. Wednesday’s “First Call” takes a look at this...
Patrick Mahomes’ big bet on football pays off with $503 million dealVideo
Patrick Mahomes risked everything when he opted for football over baseball. Turns out, he got baseball money anyway. One day after the former two-sport star got a 10-year deal worth up to $503 million, the richest contract in American sports history, the reigning Super Bowl MVP repeatedly insisted this deal...
AFL launched 60 years ago by ambitious owners who changed football forever
See you next year. That’s what the Baltimore Colts told offensive lineman Ron Mix during a bidding war for his services in 1960. On one side was the Colts, an established NFL powerhouse. On the other, the Los Angeles Chargers of the American Football League, which was ramping up for...
Eagles WR DeSean Jackson apologizes for anti-Semitic postVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson has apologized after backlash for sharing anti-Semitic posts on social media over the weekend. “My post was definitely not intended for anybody of any race to feel any type of way, especially the Jewish community,” Jackson said in a video he posted...
Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes signs historic 10-year deal worth more than $500MVideo
The Kansas City Chiefs made sure they’ll have Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes around as long as possible. Mahomes agreed to a 10-year extension worth $503 million, according to his agency, Steinberg Sports. The deal is worth $477 million in guarantee mechanisms and includes a no-trade clause and opt-out clauses...
Native American groups ask NFL to force Redskins name changeVideo
WASHINGTON — Several Native American leaders and organizations sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday calling for the league to force Redskins owner Dan Snyder to change the team name immediately. The letter obtained by the Associated Press is signed by 15 Native American advocates. It demands...
Colin Kaepernick, ESPN team up for documentary series on his lifeVideo
Colin Kaepernick will be featured in a documentary series produced by ESPN Films as part of a first-look deal with The Walt Disney Co. The deal between Kaepernick’s production arm, Ra Vision Media, and The Walt Disney Co. was announced Monday. The partnership will focus on telling scripted and unscripted...
Mike Preston: NFL needs ‘Hail Mary’ to beat coronavirus and get on field
NFL training camps are still a few weeks away from opening but a “Hail Mary” pass has to be thrown soon. These are desperate times for the NFL. Throughout this COVID-19 outbreak the league has continued with business as usual. Maybe that was because other pro leagues such as the...
Ex-Bears quarterback Jay Cutler’s search for killer of his chickens is suspense story of the summer
With the film industry and local movie theaters in the early stages of reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic, the summer’s most suspenseful murder mystery emerged from an unlikely source: former Broncos, Bears and Dolphins quarterback Jay Cutler’s Instagram account. The saga began last week, when Cutler set out to determine...
Agent asks Browns to trade tight end David NjokuVideo
CLEVELAND — Agent Drew Rosenhaus has asked the Cleveland Browns to trade tight end and former first-round draft pick David Njoku, a person familiar with the request told the Associated Press on Friday. Rosenhaus wants his client out of Cleveland, but the Browns, who picked up the fifth-year contract option...
Redskins to have ‘thorough review’ of name amid race debate
WASHINGTON — The Washington Redskins began a “thorough review” of their name Friday, a significant step toward moving on from what experts and advocates call a “dictionary-defined racial slur.” Even though owner Dan Snyder had shown no willingness to change the name since buying the team in 1999, the recent...
Mark Madden: It’s long past time for Washington football franchise to find new moniker
Of all the Native American names and imagery that have permeated American sports since they began, a few have stood out as undeniably offensive. Chief Wahoo, the Cleveland Indians’ idiotically grinning mascot, got retired in 2018. Now it’s time to do the same with the name of the NFL’s Washington...
Sponsor FedEx asks Redskins to change their nameVideo
WASHINGTON — The title sponsor of the Washington Redskins’ stadium wants the NFL team to change its name. “We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the team name,” FedEx said in a statement Thursday. The company paid the team $205 million in 1999 for...
Fewer preseason games is another challenge for NFL coachesVideo
Fewer preseason games following an offseason without on-field workouts creates more challenges for new coaches, players who changed teams and rookies. The NFL is cutting the exhibition schedule in half and pushing back the start of the preseason to allow teams more time to train because the coronavirus pandemic forced...
Source: NFL to play Black anthem before national anthemVideo
“Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” will be performed live or played before “The Star-Spangled Banner” prior to each NFL game during Week 1, and the league is considering putting names of victims of police brutality on helmet decals or jersey patches, a person familiar with the discussions told the Associated...
Fantasy sports podcast: What a short season means for Josh Bell and Bryan Reynolds, Cam Newton impact
Is this for real? A fantasy sports podcast where we can actually talk about sports!? Will wonders never cease? Major League Baseball teams are reporting for spring training 2.0. So, fantasy leagues that never ended up drafting are finally doing so. Jeff Erickson of RotoWire joins me to discuss strategy...
Tim Benz: Did the Patriots get off easy for Spygate 2.0? Will Cam Newton recruit Antonio Brown?
For our Thursday post, we bring in TribLIVE Radio founding father Ken Laird for a bonus podcast. He now works at WEEI-FM in Boston. And he is a go-to guy for us this morning. Because there are a ton of topics surrounding the New England Patriots that need to be...
First Call: Antonio Brown’s ‘night vision’ practice, Cam Newton moving the needle with Patriots
Tuesday’s “First Call” features Antonio Brown’s night vision with the Washington Redskins’ quarterback. Cam Newton’s new home in New England. And a little jab at the Patriots latest cheating controversy. New Newton Want a look at Cam Newton as a Patriot? Yeah. Me neither. Here it is anyway. Via the...
Netflix series to dramatize Kaepernick’s path to activism
LOS ANGELES — Colin Kaepernick is joining with Emmy-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay on a Netflix drama series about the teenage roots of the former NFL player’s activism. “Colin in Black & White” will examine Kaepernick’s high school years to illuminate the experiences that shaped his advocacy, Netflix said Monday. “Too...
Source: Patriots sign QB Cam Newton to replace Tom Brady
BOSTON — The New England Patriots have reached an agreement with free-agent quarterback Cam Newton, bringing in the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player to help the team move on from three-time MVP Tom Brady, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The one-year deal is worth...
Munhall grad, longtime NFL coach Joe Bugel diesVideo
Former Washington Redskins assistant coach Joe Bugel, a Munhall High School grad regarded as one of the top offensive line coaches in NFL history, died. He was 80. Bugel died Sunday, according to a statement from the team, which did not disclose a cause of death. Bugel was the architect...
John Steigerwald: 49ers should think twice before flying Black Lives Matter flagVideo
The San Francisco 49ers have opened a large can of worms. In what many may see as a sincere effort to show that the organization has a new dedication to the eradication of racially motivated injustice toward Black people, they raised a Black Lives Matter flag last week to fly...
Family of late Dolphins great Jim Kiick donates his brain; starts fundraiser for CTE researchVideo
Allie Kiick, daughter of late Miami Dolphins great Jim Kiick, said she never had any discussions with her father about donating his brain to science. It was a tough conversation for their family to have, she said, before Kiick — a charismatic and instrumental member of the Dolphins teams that...
