ESPN: Raiders to make push for Tom Brady if he reaches free agencyVideo
There’s a chance New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady could hit the free-agent market. If that happens, the Las Vegas Raiders will be there waiting. The Raiders are expected to make a push for the six-time Super Bowl champion if he does not re-sign with the Patriots and hits free...
Colin Kaepernick’s Super Bowl close call has lasting impact on NFLVideo
MIAMI — One play. Five yards. A flag that wasn’t thrown. Seven years ago at the Super Bowl, history was made when a 49ers receiver, unable to break free from the prying hands of a harassing cornerback, could not grab a pass on fourth-and-goal that would have given San Francisco...
Donnie Collins: Dear NFL, don’t screw this one up
Dear Roger Goodell, It has been a rough January. We lost an NBA legend in a helicopter crash that also claimed the lives of parents and coaches and — it’s still so hard to understand this a week later — three promising, gifted young women. The weeks leading up to...
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson becomes just 2nd unanimous NFL MVP selectionVideo
MIAMI — Lamar Jackson’s stunning season not only earned him the Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award, but he won it unanimously. That’s right: The second-year quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens joins Tom Brady as the only players to receive every vote for MVP. Jackson drew all 50 votes...
49ers patience with Jimmie Ward, Arik Armstead rewardedVideo
MIAMI — Jimmie Ward and Arik Armstead perhaps best symbolized the San Francisco 49ers’ fall from contender to also-ran in the post-Jim Harbaugh era. The former first-round picks struggled through the starts of their careers as they battled through injuries and bounced around positions in search of the best role....
Torrential rains overshadow Post Malone pre-Super Bowl show
MIAMI — Torrential rains in Miami overshadowed rapper Post Malone’s pre-Super Bowl show, ultimately shutting down the red carpet and delaying his set until the early morning hours of Saturday. Nearby, the weather forced Harry Styles to cancel his show. Friday night’s Bootsy Bellows show promised to be a star-studded...
Antonio Brown offers ‘sincere apology’ to Florida police
Embattled former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown has apologized to the Hollywood (Florida) Police Department for his recent actions. Officers arrested Brown in connection with an incident Jan. 21 involving a moving truck driver at his residence. He was charged with felony burglary with battery, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance...
Dee Ford goes from Chiefs AFC title-game goat to 49ers stalwartVideo
MIAMI — Dee Ford’s blunder cost Kansas City a trip to the Super Bowl a year ago. Now Ford has another chance to deny the Chiefs a championship when he faces them with the San Francisco 49ers. Ford’s five-year tenure in Kansas City came to a disappointing finish last season...
Chiefs coach Andy Reid needs Super Bowl win to silence criticsVideo
MIAMI — Andy Reid has won more games than any coach without a Super Bowl title, so people question whether he can win the big one. The knock against Reid throughout his 21-year coaching career has been his inability to win a championship. He was 1-4 in conference title games...
Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill relishes Super Bowl run after ruinous offseasonVideo
MIAMI — Just over six months ago, Tyreek Hill was uncertain whether he ever would play another game in the NFL. He had become the object of scorn among many Kansas City Chiefs fans when audio surfaced early last year in which his then-fiancee accused him of hurting their 3-year-old...
Tight end Greg Olsen leaving Panthers after 9 seasonsVideo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Greg Olsen’s playing days with the Carolina Panthers are over. The 34-year-old tight end announced on Twitter on Thursday that he will be leaving the team, calling it a mutual decision that followed a meeting with general manager Marty Hurney. Olsen has one year remaining on his...
49ers running back Raheem Mostert rides wave to stardomVideo
MIAMI — Raheem Mostert froze as the menacing fin sliced through the ocean surface just 2 feet from his surfboard. It was a shark. OK, now what? The San Francisco 49ers running back was 16 at the time and in trouble in the waters off New Smyrna Beach, Fla. —the...
Chiefs, 49ers bring history, excitement, buzz to Super BowlVideo
MIAMI — Few Super Bowls in recent memory have appeared as competitive as the San Francisco 49ers against the Kansas City Chiefs. No wonder there’s a little more buzz about this one. History and excitement are a nice combination for any championship game. The history stems from the Chiefs seeking...
New Orleans Saints helped shape accused clergy list, victim lawyers say
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Saints maintain their behind-the-scenes public relations work on the area’s Roman Catholic sexual abuse crisis was “minimal,” but attorneys suing the church allege hundreds of confidential Saints emails show the team actively helping to shape a list of credibly accused clergy that appears...
Browns hire ex-Pitt, NFL QB Alex Van Pelt as offensive coordinatorVideo
CLEVELAND — New Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is hiring former Pitt and NFL quarterback Alex Van Pelt as his offensive coordinator, a person familiar with the Browns’ latest front office shakeup told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Van Pelt, who played at Pitt from 1989-92, spent the past two...
Roger Goodell: Diversity in coach/executive hirings must improveVideo
MIAMI — Stopping short of saying the Rooney Rule is not working, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday the league needs change to its minority hiring policy. Though the league requires teams to interview minority candidates, only two African-Americans have been hired for 19 open head coaching spots over the...
Roger Goodell concerned with Antonio Brown’s health, not return to NFLVideo
MIAMI — The NFL’s main goal regarding the case involving receiver Antonio Brown is to help him be successful in life, commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday during a news conference. “The first thing always is to think about the well-being of Antonio, to understand what Antonio is going through,” Goodell...
Chris Doleman, former Pitt player and Pro Football Hall of Famer, dies of brain cancer
Chris Doleman, one of the NFL’s most feared pass rushers of all-time and one of nine former Pitt players to earn induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, died Tuesday night after a prolonged battle with brain cancer. Doleman was 58. Doleman, a defensive end and outside linebacker, was...
Column: Super Bowl streak ends at age 89 for Jerry IzenbergVideo
MIAMI — Jerry Izenberg can still write, as anyone who reads his columns in the Star-Ledger in New Jersey knows. Just the other day he wrote a good one about an aging sports writer who has been to every Super Bowl since the first one in 1967. That sports writer...
Niners’ Jimmy Garoppolo takes Tom Brady’s lessons into 1st Super Bowl startVideo
MIAMI — Jimmy Garoppolo had a front-row seat in the best classroom on the best way to prepare for being a starting quarterback in the Super Bowl. After watching Tom Brady prepare for two Super Bowl wins as his backup on New England, Garoppolo gets the chance to translate those...
Judge frees Antonio Brown from house arrestVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida judge freed NFL free agent Antonio Brown from house arrest Tuesday, allowing him to travel freely as he awaits trial on charges that he attacked the driver of a moving truck. Circuit Judge Michael Usan agreed to let Brown travel freely within the United...
First Call: Diamondbacks bask in Starling Marte trade; Montana’s advice for Brady; big games for Pitt and Duquesne
In Tuesday’s “First Call,” Arizona is celebrating the Starling Marte trade in a way we might not like. Joe Montana has advice for Tom Brady. LeSean McCoy talks about his reduced role. Jeff Capel’s return to Duke. And stunning numbers for Duquesne’s big game Wednesday. Hey! You can’t do that!...
49ers veteran lineman Staley sees patience rewarded with Super Bowl berthVideo
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — When the San Francisco 49ers were mired in a two-win season in 2016 and headed to a third straight offseason with a coaching change, Joe Staley wondered if it was still worth the sacrifices needed to play offensive line in such a grueling sport. He had...
Browns’ Kareem Hunt tells police he’d fail drug test during stopVideo
CLEVELAND — Browns running back Kareem Hunt told a police officer he would have failed a drug test if he had been checked during a stop when he was ticketed for speeding and marijuana was found in his car. Hunt was cited for speeding — but no other charges —...
Source: Browns to hire Eagles VP Andrew Berry as new GM
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns have reached agreement to hire Eagles vice president of football operations Andrew Berry as their new general manager and executive vice president, a person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press on Monday. Berry, who worked in Cleveland’s front office from 2016-18, will get...
