First Call: Ex-Steeler Chad Brown screws up nickname; Gerrit Cole is strikeout leader; Phil Kessel to speak
In Tuesday’s “First Call,” a former Steeler gives us some bad broadcasting. A former Cowboy looks for big broadcasting bucks. Le’Veon Bell’s ironic tweet. Gerrit Cole’s huge afternoon. And Phil Kessel finally speaks. Brownout of the brain Chad Brown is now providing color commentary for the Pac-12 Network. He had...
Former Steelers star Hines Ward joins Jets as offensive assistant
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets have hired former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward as a full-time offensive assistant. Ward worked with the Jets during the summer as a coaching intern and impressed coach Adam Gase and his staff. Wide receiver Robby Anderson praised Ward during camp...
Former Pro Bowler LeSean McCoy reunites with Andy Reid in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — LeSean McCoy is going from a rebuilding franchise in Buffalo to a Super Bowl contender in Kansas City, and he’s reuniting with his close friend and former coach Andy Reid, too. The Chiefs and the two-time All-Pro running back agreed to a $4 million, 1-year deal,...
Bills RB LeSean McCoy among notable dismissals on NFL’s cutdown day
The cruelest day of the NFL’s long calendar arrived Saturday with teams setting their 53-player rosters. Among the more prominent dismissals were Bills veteran running back LeSean McCoy, backup QBs Brian Hoyer in New England and Kevin Hogan in Denver and receivers Laquon Treadwell of Minnesota and Demaryius Thomas of...
Jacksonville keeps Terrelle Pryor, places him on injured list
While rumors and social media posts claimed otherwise, Terrelle Pryor was not released by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday as NFL teams trimmed rosters to 53 players. Instead, the veteran wide receiver from Jeannette was added to the team’s reserve/injured list. Pryor has been struggling with a hamstring injury that...
Company seeking ‘Official NFL Taste Tester’Video
Betting tips website PicksWise is looking for a few fans of both football and food. The winning “football foodie” will have a chance to earn $500 and become the company’s “official NFL Taste Tester” for the upcoming season, in a bid to find the best signature dish across the league....
Browns still not settled at right guard with opener looming
CLEVELAND — Just over a week before their opener, the Cleveland Browns still haven’t settled on a starting right guard. Coach Freddie Kitchens didn’t rule out the possibility of newly acquired lineman Wyatt Teller lining up in front of quarterback Baker Mayfield in Cleveland’s Sept. 8 season opener against the...
U mad, bro?: Carli Lloyd column angered a lot of people. Truth hurts, I guess.
I knew what would dominate “U mad, bro?” this week. I wrote a column about USWNT soccer player Carli Lloyd. She made a 55-yard field goal after an NFL practice recently. So now there appears to be a social media movement to get her an NFL tryout. After one kick...
Mark Madden: Colts fans had every right to boo Andrew Luck
After news of Andrew Luck’s retirement broke this past Saturday during a preseason game at Indianapolis, the fans present serenaded the quarterback with a chorus of boos as he left the field. Jacoby Brissett, now the Colts starter, said the reaction “sucked. Especially a guy like that, who has done...
Home turf: Browns’ Mayfield to star in ads living in stadium
MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio — Baker Mayfield has a new teammate. She rocks a headband, too. The Browns’ charismatic quarterback has entered a marketing partnership with Progressive and will star alongside his wife, Emily Wilkinson, in a national advertising campaign for the insurance giant. The ad shows the couple as new...
Betty White trending, but only because of NFL promo video
Every time. It gets us every time Betty White starts trending on Twitter. Why is it we always think the worst? We should allow ourselves to consider that our favorite “Golden Girl” is just doing something incredible. Again. And this time, she is. At the ripe young age of 97,...
Suspended Browns RB Kareem Hunt won’t be with team during ban
CLEVELAND — Kareem Hunt will have to spend his NFL suspension isolated from his team. The suspended Browns running back, who must serve an eight-game ban for physical altercations, will not be permitted inside the team’s facility starting at 4 p.m. Saturday, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said Wednesday in an...
Tim Benz: If you want to see Carli Lloyd kick in NFL, make her earn it
I was going to leave this alone. I really was. I swear. When I first saw the video of Carli Lloyd kicking a field goal at a Baltimore Ravens-Philadelphia Eagles joint practice, I knew what was going to happen. .@CarliLloyd from distance. Love to see it. pic.twitter.com/FW8iZlzGCG— U.S. Soccer WNT...
Blood clots sideline Patriots center David Andrew
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — With time growing short before their season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the New England Patriots have an unexpected hole in the middle of their offensive line following the weekend hospitalization of starting center David Andrews because of blood clots in his lung. Andrews, 27, was...
Patriots try to sort out tight end situation in post-Gronk era
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — For nearly a decade, the tight end position was one of the greatest strengths of the New England Patriots’ offense. But that changed quickly. First came the retirement of Rob Gronkowski, one of the most productive tight ends in NFL history, after the 13-3 victory over the...
U.S. soccer star Carli Lloyd receives offer from NFL team to kick in preseason gameVideo
As all 32 NFL teams ready for their final exhibition game on Thursday, the general sentiment from fans is a simple one: meh. Usually, starters for said teams do not participate and most who do will never make the squad. But one game could be of interest. Enter Carli Lloyd....
Rob Gronkowski promotes CBD, hints about possible NFL return
Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski announced at a news conference Tuesday that he is becoming an advocate for CBD and partnering with a company that produces CBD pain products. He said he walked away from football because he had to give his body a chance to recover....
Carrie Underwood previews revamped ‘Sunday Night Football’ theme song
Carrie Underwood teased fans and football junkies with a short clip of the revamped “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” theme song for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” Underwood posted the 16 seconds clip to Instagram on Monday. View this post on Instagram Tune in September 8th! @JoanJett @SNFonNBC A post...
How Antonio Brown is turning helmet saga into another payday
Oh to be Antonio Brown. Even when he loses, he wins. Sure, the Oakland Raiders wide receiver and former Pittsburgh Steelers star lost his second and final appeal to the NFL and the players’ union to wear his now-banned favorite helmet, but he’s going to profit handsomely because of it....
Andrew Luck finds cost of football too pricey to keep playing with Colts
INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Luck was unique. He loved football. He loves life even more. So when the 29-year-old Luck thought another long, laborious comeback journey jeopardized his future, he believed walking away from the sport and potentially hundreds of millions of dollars was the only logical choice. “For the last...
Redskins name Case Keenum as Week 1 starting quarterback
ASHBURN, Va. — Case Keenum, Colt McCoy and Dwayne Haskins entered training camp in consideration for the Washington Redskins’ starting quarterback job. Keenum won the job, with coach Jay Gruden saying Sunday the veteran would start Week 1 at the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s not that Keenum dominated during his first...
John Steigerwald: Andrew Luck has perspective many adult male NFL fans lack
Good for Andrew Luck. He has had enough of football and officially announced his retirement at a news conference Saturday. Lots of Indianapolis Colts fans took it personally and booed him as he was walking off the field that night. Many of the boos came from grown men wearing jerseys...
Report: Raiders’ Antonio Brown loses 2nd helmet grievance
ALAMEDA, Calif. — When the Oakland Raiders went through warmups and drills Sunday before practice, wide receiver Antonio Brown was present, accounted for and wearing a helmet. Brown, who was traded by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the offseason, has been working with the NFL and going through proper channels in...
Oft-injured Colts QB Andrew Luck, 29, announces retirement
INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Luck watched one last game from the sideline Saturday. Then he said goodbye to the NFL. The Indianapolis Colts quarterback heard boos as he walked away from the field, then walked to the podium and made the surprise decision official. The oft-injured star is retiring at age...
First Call: A tremendous Sidney Crosby story; NFL teams play on 80-yard field
Friday’s “First Call” features a “Sid-sational” story about the Penguins captain. “Hard Knocks” will have a field day with that Canadian preseason game field fiasco. And Gritty the mascot has become weaponized. Just who he is Here is a clip about Sidney Crosby that has been making the rounds on...
