A sad day not just in the world of football but in the world of all professional sports. Hall of Fame Miami Dolphins linebacker Nick Buoniconti has died at the age of 78 due to a degenerative brain disease caused by repetitive head trauma.

Buoniconti was a leader of the “No-Name Defense,” for the Dolphins that won back-to-back Super Bowls in the 1970s including a 17-0 season which remains the only undefeated season for any team in NFL history.

After retirement from football, Buoniconti and his son, Marc Buoniconti, worked tirelessly raising money and awareness to find a cure for paralysis. In 1985, Marc suffered a life-changing football injury when he became paralyzed from the shoulders down after making a tackle for the Citadel. In their efforts, they raised more than a half-billion dollars. They founded the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis together as well, the world’s largest spinal research center.

During his Hall of Fame speech in 2001, Nick Buoniconti said: “I would trade this [Super Bowl] ring in, and all my individual accomplishments, if one thing could happen in my lifetime. My son Marc dreams that he walks. And as a father, I would like nothing more than to walk by his side.”

“My dad has been my hero and represents what I have always aspired to be: a leader, a mentor and a champion,” the younger Buoniconti said in a statement.

“He was the leader of one of the most dominant NFL teams in history,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “and earned his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with his grit, fearlessness and skill while playing with the Patriots and Dolphins.”

“Nick was special to me in every way,” Hall of Fame coach Don Shula said. “He was someone I greatly admired. His love for his wife, Lynn, his children, grandchildren, friends, teammates, family and the community was evident. His groundbreaking work with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis has made a huge difference in the lives of so many people. I am thankful to have had Nick in my life. I will miss him.”

Buoniconti is survived by his wife, Lynn, sons Marc, Nick Jr. and Justin, and daughter Gina.

The NFL is back… sort of.

The NFL preseason kicks off on Thursday night with the annual Hall of Fame game at Tom Benson Field in Canton, Ohio. It has been 25 years since the last time that the Atlanta Falcons have played in the Hall of Fame game. Their opponents will be Joe Flacco and the Denver Broncos.

It has been three years since the last time the Falcons have won a playoff game. For head coach Dan Quinn and star quarterback Matt Ryan, it has been nothing but struggles for their Falcons since their heartbreaking loss against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

The Broncos are a very different team from one year ago, let alone from when they won the Super Bowl four seasons ago. After finishing 6-10 one season ago, the Broncos fired head coach Vance Joseph and replaced him with Chicago Bears defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio. The Broncos also traded away last seasons starting quarterback Case Keenum and traded for veteran Baltimore Ravens quarterback and Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco.

One player that the Broncos will be without is tight end Jake Butt who continues to struggle to be healthy in the NFL.

“You get concerned, obviously,” Fangio said. “Jake keeps having these little potholes, he starts feeling good and then something doesn’t feel so good … the important thing is keeping his spirits up and see where it develops and where it goes.”

The Falcons will be without star receiver Julio Jones throughout the entire pre-season as Jones feels that he does not need pre-season game action to get ready for the upcoming season.

“For me, it’s more so I’m a veteran; I’ve been doing this,” Jones said. “I don’t need the preseason to get ready. It’s a mentality thing. As long as I get my reps in practice — I practice the way I play. Once I get my reps in, I’ll be ready to go.”

Kick-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST.

The new-and-improved Atletico Madrid squad had a statement win on Wednesday night when they dispatched the MLS All-Star team 3-0 at a drenched Exploria Stadium.

The game was a goalless bout until the 43rd minute when Rodrigo Riquelme broke the deadlock for Atletico. The next goal would not come until 42 minutes later in the 85th minute when fast-rising Portuguese wunderkind Joao Felix doubled Madrid’s lead to 2-0, putting any doubt of the game’s outcome to rest.

Felix did not stop there though. The Portuguese international delivered a lovely ball in extra-time to Diego Costa who put a stamp on the match for Atletico Madrid.

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After the game, Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone had nothing but praise for the effort and ability displayed by the MLS team.

“In the second half, we saw a dynamic MLS team that could have hurt us,” he said. “The league is growing each day. There’s an investment in players first, and then in coaches. The league will continue to grow.”

Orlando City and MLS All-Stars coach James O’Connor had similar praise for both Atletico Madrid and his own team’s performance during the match.

“[The All-Star Game is] a chance for some of the young players to test themselves against some of the best players in the world,” he said. “I think for the like of Mark-Anthony, Mark-Anthony’s playing against Joao Felix, who’s [€126 million] … and he did a great job, playing out of position.”

“There’s a lot of really good young talent in MLS now, and I think it’s very exciting. It’s probably the most exciting time for the league when you look at the young players that are actually in the league and the quality of the young players. There’s a load of optimism that’s around the league, and it’s a very exciting time for everyone.”

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With the loss, the MLS All-Star team is now 6-9 all-time in friendlies against European clubs.

The Houston Astros have emerged from Wednesday’s trade deadline as both the biggest winner and perhaps as the World Series contender.

The Astros on Wednesday acquired Arizona Diamondbacks star right-handed pitcher, Zack Greinke, for a plethora of prospects including J.B. Bukauskus, Seth Beer, Corbin Martin, and Josh Rojas.

Greinke, 35, leads all pitchers in WHIP this season at 0.93 per inning. In 23 starts, Greinke has gone 10-4 with a 2.90 ERA as well.

“Zack Greinke’s one of the best pitchers in baseball. We had him high on our list,” Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. “We didn’t know if this was even remotely possible, and it really wasn’t until the last 48 hours, really the last 24 hours that we started to get traction on something. [Astros owner Jim Crane] supported us and agreed that we could make the appropriate investment dollar-wise, and it became a matter of finding the right prospects, the right mix of players, to go back. We really don’t have any holes right now. If we stay healthy, this team is as good as any team I’ve ever seen.”

“I don’t know him personally, but I think he’s not a guy that seeks the limelight, and that actually works well for us here in Houston,” the GM said. “And slotting in with Verlander and Cole, he’s gonna not have to be the guy that’s in front of the camera the whole time.”

“Every year going forward there’s going to be multiple good players reaching free agency, so you just don’t know when you’re going to assemble a group this talented again,” Luhnow said. “So you have to take advantage of that, and that’s something Jim believes in and so do I. It’s a balancing act … but we are definitely going for it this year.”

The Astros are responsible for paying the final $53,000,000 of Greinke’s contract.

The National Football League is returning to London this season, with four games set to be played between Wembley Stadium and the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

GET TICKETS FOR THE NFL IN LONDON HERE! 

The list of teams set to play this year in London includes the Chicago Bears, the Oakland Raiders, the Carolina Panthers, the Houston Texans, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Cincinnati Bengals and the defending NFC champion Los Angeles Rams.

Since making its debut in 2007, the NFL International Series has raised the popularity of the NFL in Great Britain tremendously. Annually, 13 million people watch the Super Bowl in Britain alone. Twenty-six out of the 32 NFL teams have played at least one game in England since the International Series began, exemplifying just how committed the NFL is to the grow their global brand abroad across not just Britain, but Europe and other continents across the globe as well.

IN MEMORIAM: SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019 TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

The first of the four London matchups will feature the Bears vs. the Raiders. The Raiders, in their second season of the new Jon Gruden era, have added a plethora of new talent, including Antonio Brown and Vontaze Burfict. On the other side, led by Khalil Mack and Mitch Trubisky, the Bears were a field goal away from knocking off the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles in last year’s NFL Playoffs.

Another interesting matchup in London this upcoming season will feature the Carolina Panthers against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Led by Luke Kuechly and Cam Newton, the Panthers got off to an impressive start last season but flamed out over the second half of the campaign. On the other side, the Buccaneers made major changes this offseason beginning with the hiring of Bruce Arians at head coach.

Here is the list of NFL games set to be played in London this season:

SUNDAY, OCT. 6
Chicago Bears vs Oakland Raiders NFL London
6:00 PM – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England, GB
from
£155
Only 1 ticket left at lowest price

SUNDAY, OCT. 13
Carolina Panthers vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL London
2:30 PM – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England, GB
from £106

SUNDAY, OCT. 27
Cincinnati Bengals vs Los Angeles Rams NFL London
5:00 PM – Wembley Stadium, London, LND, GB
from £74

SUNDAY, NOV. 3
Houston Texans vs Jacksonville Jaguars NFL London
2:30 PM – Wembley Stadium, London, LND, GB
from £76

According to Gareth Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, Real Madrid are the ones to blame for Bale’s transfer to the Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning due to Madrid reportedly “changing their minds.”

ESPN FC reported on Sunday that Bale’s move to China became broken off at the last minute because Bale’s family is opposed to a move to China. However, according to Barnett, Madrid’s hierarchy is to blame for the deal falling through at the last minute.

Barnett says that Madrid gave Bale the green light to negotiate a move away from the Santiago Bernabeau, only to retract it at the last minute.

According to reports, Madrid President Florentino Perez decided that his club could not let a valuable player like Bale leave for nothing. After Jiangsu signed Brazilian defender Miranda and then Croatian forward Ivan Santini on Monday, Jiangsu found themselves out of spots for foreign additions on their roster.

IN MEMORIAM: SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019 TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

This drama follows last week’s madness, when manager Zinedine Zidane decided to leave Bale off of Madrid’s pre-season squad for the Audi Cup, urging the Welsh international to leave Los Blancos. The relationship between Bale and Zidane, which has been extremely toxic, is one of the main reasons for Bale’s inevitable move.

“It’s quite simple, Zidane just doesn’t like Gareth. There is no relationship between the two of them, there has never been any kind of relationship with Zidane,” said Barnett this weekend about the strained relationship between his client and Zidane.

On Monday, Madrid reported that Bale was training on his own, away from his Los Blancos teammates.

Asked for an update on Bale’s situation after Friday’s 7-3 International Champions Cup loss to Atletico Madrid, Zidane replied: “At the moment it is the same, Bale is here with us, he played, and we will see what happens.”

In what seems to be a yearly tradition, Cincinnati Bengals All-Pro receiver A.J. Green is hurt again. This time, before the season even begins.

Green, the most important cog for the Bengals offensively, is expected to miss 6-8 weeks after suffering torn ankle ligaments during a Bengals practice in Dayton, Ohio.

The seven-time Pro Bowler needed to be carted off the field after landing awkwardly trying to make a catch during 7-on-7 drills during Saturday’s open practice. After getting an MRI, Green was seen walking around on crutches.

The real drama in this story is that the open practice instead of being held at the practice fields next to Paul Brown Stadium. Instead, the Bengals held their practice in Dayton as a part of the NFL’s 100th-anniversary celebration of the 13 original cities to host a professional football team.

According to Sports Illustrated, there were already questions about the field before Green injured himself.

After working there for an hour on Saturday, several Bengals staffers were frustrated that Green’s injury happened on a field that they saw as subpar. One mentioned that players were sliding all over the place during what was a shorter-than-usual camp practice. Another saw pebbles lodged into the turf.

Tyler Boyd, another receiver for the Bengals, also had issues with the conditions of the field, calling them terrible.

“The turf was terrible. I couldn’t run any routes out there. I’m falling all over the ground. It was bad. It was rocks, pebbles out there. Man, it was somewhere we shouldn’t have been. I’m not trying to say any excuses, but it is what it is.”

Green, 31, only missed a combined four games during his first five NFL seasons but has now missed a combined 13 games the past three seasons with more missed games to come this season as well.

As the New Orleans Saints and star wide receiver Michael Thomas continue ongoing negotiations towards a contract extension, Thomas has yet to report to training camp, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

Saints training camp opened up on Thursday with the first practice scheduled for Friday. Thomas is set to be fined $40,000 per day by the Saints for every day of training camp that he misses. Thomas is due to make $1.148 million this season in the final year of his rookie contract.

Thomas, 26, is entering his fourth season in the NFL after the Saints drafted him as the 47th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. In his first three seasons in the NFL, Thomas has established himself as one of the elite receivers around football. Thomas has qualified for back-to-back Pro Bowls, led the NFL in receptions last season with 125, was a First-team All-Pro member last season and has nearly 4,000 career receiving yards.

Thomas’ decision to skip training camp is a bit peculiar, considering that he participated in OTAs earlier this offseason. Earlier in the offseason, Thomas told ESPN, “I’m a football player first; I like being at work.”

SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019 – IN MEMORIAM SLIDESHOW 

It was reported by ESPN’s Dianna Russini last month that the Saints are comfortable making Thomas the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver. Currently, the NFL’s highest-paid receiver is new Cleveland Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr., whose current contract pays him over $18 million a season with $65 million in guaranteed money.

As NFL Network’s James Palmer noted, Thomas is fifth among wideouts in the league in terms of most receiving yards per game with 80.6. Beckham is second with 92.8 yards per game and Atlanta’s Julio Jones tops the list with 96.7 yards per game.

The highest-paid receiver in Saints history up to this point is a former tight end, Jimmy Graham, who earned more than $10 million per season before the Saints traded Graham to the Seattle Seahawks in 2015.

NBA Hall of Fame power forward Tim Duncan is returning to basketball following a three-year absence since his retirement as a player in 2016. The lifelong San Antonio Spur will be joining Gregg Popovich’s team as an assistant coach beginning in the upcoming 2019-2020 NBA season.

“It is only fitting, that after I served loyally for 19 years as Tim Duncan’s assistant, that he returns the favor,” head coach Gregg Popovich said in a team statement.

Duncan, 43, played his entire 19 season NBA career for the Spurs. For his career, Duncan averaged 19.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game on 50.6% shooting from the field. Drafted as the 1st overall pick of the 1997 NBA Draft by the Spurs out of Wake Forest, Duncan led the Spurs to win five NBA titles during his playing career alongside great players like David Robinson, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, and Manu Ginobli. Duncan finished his career making 15 NBA All-Star teams, winning three NBA Finals MVP’s, and two NBA regular season MVP’s. Duncan also recently had his number 21 jersey retired by the Spurs. It is only fitting that Duncan begins his NBA coaching career with San Antonio.

Popovich and Duncan have shared a great deal of respect for one another since Popovich visited Duncan at the Virgin Islands in 1997 for a pre-draft interview.

“We lived on the beach for a few days and we swam and we talked,” Popovich said at Duncan’s retirement ceremony. “From that moment, I knew he was a special individual because he basically talked about everything but basketball. And we’ve been the recipients of that intelligence and that outlook on life since he’s walked in here.”

Former Seattle Seahawk and current Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas became widely talked about following a broken left leg he suffered against the Arizona Cardinals last September while with the Seahawks for flipping off Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll while being carted off the field. 10 months later, Thomas stands by his decision.

“I don’t regret my decision,” Thomas told ESPN’s Josina Anderson. “If my teammates felt like it was toward them, I regret that part. But I don’t regret doing that to Pete.”

Since the incident took place, Carroll and Thomas have not spoken according to Thomas. Carroll, however, harbors no ill will towards Thomas.

“People that are criticizing whatever happened don’t understand,” Carroll said. “This was an earth-shattering moment for a kid. He’s trying to play this game he loves, and all of sudden this happens again. He knew exactly what happened to him, so he went right to what it’s going to take to get back.”

After signing a four-year, $55 million deal with the Ravens in March, Thomas said this about his time with the Seahawks being all but over following the gesture.

“I think my time just ran out,” Thomas said. “Pete and the front office didn’t value me like they used to, and I just talked to Coach Carroll, and he was saying how he was trying to get me in the plans of getting a new contract. But I got hurt the next week. I think I hurt myself too by my actions getting carted off the field.”

The relationship between the Seahawks and Thomas began to sour the last offseason when Thomas skipped out on minicamp, training camp, and the preseason while he and the Seahawks were in the middle of a contract dispute. When Thomas broke his leg not even one month into the season, the soured relationship became expired.

“We got to walk with each other the rest of our lives because we won a Super Bowl together,” Thomas said. “But they’ll love you one minute and then hate you the next. That was our relationship.”

Despite hitting a walk-off home run against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday to snap a six-game losing streak, Detroit Tigers outfielder Nicholas Castellanos is not a fan of his home ballpark’s outfield dimensions.

“This park’s a joke. It’s to the point where, how are we going to be compared to the rest of the people in the league for power numbers, OPS, slugging and all this stuff when we got a yard out here that’s 420 feet straight across in center field?” Castellanos said after Sunday’s game.

“We get on second base or third base, and they’re looking, like, ‘Man, how do you guys do this?’ We play 81 games here. I don’t want to hear about your two that you hit that are questionable,” said Castellanos, who is slashing .284/.342/.480 this year.

“Move in center field, right-center, there is no reason that I hit a ball 434 off [Washington Nationals right-hander] Anibal Sanchez and it goes in the first row, that shouldn’t happen.”

SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019 – IN MEMORIAM SLIDESHOW 

Despite it being hard to hit home runs in Detroit, Castellanos led Major League Baseball in triples in 2017 and leads in doubles with 34 this season. Castellanos owes this to the extreme depth in which center field at Comerica Park runs.

https://twitter.com/HookSlide23/status/1153048419306483712

Castellanos, 27, is a candidate for the trade deadline on July 31. The right fielder remains extremely calm about the whole situation, however.

“I’m at the point where I really don’t care what happens,” he said. “Why care? I can’t control it. Why care if one day my hair is going to turn gray if I can’t control it? I don’t know if that analogy makes any sense, but it popped into my head.”

One can only hope that Castellanos can have enough clout to influence a reconstruction of Comerica Park, for his team’s sake.

The Las Vegas Police Department announced Monday that Portugal and Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo will not face criminal charges stemming from a 2009 rape accusation.

“The allegations of sexual assault against Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” the district attorney’s office said in a news release. “Therefore, no charges will be forthcoming.”

https://twitter.com/LasVegasDA/status/1153366287214530560

The district attorney’s office said that in 2009, Kathryn Mayorga (the accuser of Ronaldo) called the LVPD to report that she was the victim of sexual assault. Since Mayorga refused to identify who was responsible for assaulting her, the police “were unable to follow investigative protocols.” Leading to the investigation being closed.

SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019 – IN MEMORIAM SLIDESHOW 

Ronaldo and the woman negotiated a civil settlement of $375,000 a year later in 2010. However, the case did not end there. Last year, Mayorga called the Las Vegas Police Department and identified Ronaldo as her assailant to re-open the case.

Ronaldo and Mayorga reportedly first met at the Rain nightclub inside the Palms Hotel and Casino on June 13, 2009. Ronaldo allegedly invited Mayorga up to his penthouse suite, asking Mayorga to join him in the jacuzzi.

As Mayorga changed in the bathroom into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that Ronaldo gave her, Ronaldo approached her naked, asking for oral sex. Mayorga says she refused, and that Ronaldo then dragged her into his bedroom. Mayorga then claims that Ronaldo proceeded to rape her as she screamed, “No, No, No!”

“The psychological trauma of the sexual assault, the fear of public humiliation and retaliation and the reiteration of those fears by law enforcement and medical providers left plaintiff terrified and unable to act or advocate for herself,” the lawsuit claims.

In the interest of defusing an already tense situation, Real Madrid is reportedly willing to let Welsh international forward Gareth Bale leave to play in the Chinese Super League on a free transfer.

It is no secret that Bale and Real Madrid manager, Zinedine Zidane, have been at odds with one another for the vast majority of the time that Zidane has managed Los Blancos. On Sunday, Zidane said that it would be, “best for everyone” if Bale left the club soon.

Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett responded to Zidane’s comments over the weekend by saying that Zidane is a disgrace.

SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019 – IN MEMORIAM SLIDESHOW 

Barnett also said, “If and when Gareth goes, it will be because it is in the best interest of Gareth and nothing to do with Zidane pushing.”

To resolve the conflict between Bale and Madrid, according to a club executive, Madrid is willing to tear up the final three years of Bale’s contract with them. A move to China is seen as a last resort for Bale and Madrid, as no European club has made an offer to sign Bale during the summer transfer window.

Jiangsu Suning and Beijing Guoan are the two Chinese Super League clubs who are interested in matching Bale’s current Real Madrid wages. Barnett would not comment on whether his player is open to a move to China or not.

According to ESPN FC, Bale reportedly does not want to play during the International Champions Cup (Real Madrid’s pre-season tournament) while his exit from Madrid is being negotiated. Zidane is apparently also tired of Bale’s behavior and lack of focus, especially during the pre-season thus far.

Will Bale end up in China? Or will a top European club finally pick him up? One can only hope that the relationship between the Welsh star and his head coach improves.

Super Bowl VIII MVP Julian Edelman is going to be sidelined the next three weeks after suffering an injury to his finger, sources have told ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Field Yates.

Edelman was spotted at his annual youth camp over the weekend wearing a small brace over his left thumb. It is uncertain whether Edelman suffered a break or sprain to his thumb while catching passes recently.

“I’m extremely excited for the new year. This is a new team,” Edelman said at his camp. “With training camp coming up, this is kind of like when school is back in session. We had a summer break. You get to see all the fellas, and this is where you learn your team, learn each other and become accountable for each other, and create a consistency together. This is like the beginning shape form of your team, these next few weeks. It’s a crucial point. You put a lot of hard work in during the spring and it’s the next step until you’re playing with other teams.”

SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019 – IN MEMORIAM SLIDESHOW 

With Edelman, Sony Michel, Demaryius Thomas and Josh Gordon all either injured or suspended, the New England Patriots are thin on offense when veterans report to training camp on Wednesday. Part of the reason why is the Patriots used their first-round pick in this year’s draft on Arizona State wide receiver N’Keal Harry.

Edelman, 33, re-signed with the Patriots on a three-year contract this past offseason. As he has been for the last several seasons now, Edelman is expected to be the focal point of the Patriots’ passing game.

UFC defending light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is facing a battery charge stemming from an incident in Albuquerque, New Mexico in April, sources have told ESPN.

According to the KRQE Television news station in Albuquerque, Jones, slapped a cocktail waitress around her genitalia area at a strip club. Jones then proceeded to pull the waitress down onto his lap and kiss her neck, according to the criminal summons that ESPN obtained. The charge, while being listed as a misdemeanor, can still carry jail time with it if Jones is convicted.

The waitress told police that Jones put her into a chokehold and picked her up off of the ground. After asking Jones to stop, he continued to touch her until he decided to leave later in the evening.

SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019 – IN MEMORIAM SLIDESHOW 

Per the criminal summons, the alleged victim told police of Jones: “I just don’t want to deal with this person. I think he is a f—ing piece of s—. The whole situation is so complicated and I’m not really sure what to say and this person gets away with f—ing everything.”

James Hallinan, a spokesperson for Jones, said that the fighter was unaware of the charge until KRQE approached them. Despite the comment from Hallinan, the Albuquerque Police Department mailed a letter to Jones’ house that Jones returned in June. A bench warrant became issued onto Jones after he missed a hearing for a bond arrangement on June 12. Jones paid a $300 bond this past Sunday.

“Today, the media told Mr. Jones about a false accusation launched against him and that paperwork had been sent to an incorrect address,” Hallinan said in a statement to KRQE. “However, after receiving the documents from the press, Mr. Jones immediately went to pay the small fee, and he and multiple witnesses stand ready to factually refute the malicious lies being told about him to the public.”

Two years ago, Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price confronted MLB Hall of Famer and current NESN analyst Dennis Eckersley about comments made by Eckersley on the air being critical of another Red Sox pitcher, Eduardo Rodriguez. Two years later, Price appears to be once again at odds with Eckersley.

The incident, which occurred on a team flight, saw Price walk up to Eckersley, block his way, and began to both mock and curse at Eckersley. In a profile published by the Boston Globe on Tuesday, Eckersley told the Globe that he does not intend to ever speak with David Price again.

“I didn’t know how to deal with that. I don’t plan on saying a word to him, I don’t plan on seeing him, never,” Eckersley said in the article. “I don’t really give a — one way or another. I don’t think he really cares one way or the other.”

When asked about the quote on Wednesday by the media, Price said, “Honestly, I just think it’s trash. He had an unbelievable career and he’s a Hall of Famer,” Price said. “I saw his special on MLB Network. It was cool. The one thing that stood out to me was that he had zero former teammates in that interview. Not one talking about him. It was him talking about himself.

“If anybody ever does a special on me after baseball, I won’t need to go on that interview. I will have former teammates. I will have former coaches. He didn’t have that. To me, that’s all you need to know. That tells the story right there.”

Alex Cora, the manager of the Red Sox, told reporters on Wednesday that he does not believe the feud between Price and Eckersley is a distraction for the clubhouse, but that he did meet with Price and hopes that the feud will stop continuing to be brought up.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW 

One week after Melvin Gordon made it public that he would sit out unless the Los Angeles Chargers gave him a contract extension, there seems to be no end yet in sight. In a move that could cause animosity between Gordon and the locker room, the Chargers players continue to have his back.

“They’re all behind me. They all got my back,” Gordon told ESPN in a sit-down interview with Sam Alipour this week. “They all told me, ‘You know what — we don’t speak on contracts — but you just go and do what’s best for your family.’ And I’m glad I got that support from them.”

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW 

Gordon, 26, enters the final year of his rookie contract this upcoming season. The former first-round pick out of the University of Wisconsin averaged 114.6 yards per game from scrimmage last season and scored an additional 14 total touchdowns. After watching New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell sitting out the entire season last year for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Gordon and several other running backs in the NFL are in support of Bell’s decision and resolution.

“A lot of running backs have reached out to me just saying go out and get what you deserve,” Gordon said. “A lot. A lot of starters. A lot, a lot of backs.”

Despite the issues obviously between Gordon and the Chargers organization, Gordon still loves playing for the team and wants to continue to do so.

“Just because we’re going through contract issues right now doesn’t mean I want to get traded,” he said. “I love being a Charger. I don’t want them to feel like I don’t want to be there.”

“I’m prepared to do what I got to do, but as I said, I hope it doesn’t come to that,” Gordon said.

Training camp for the Chargers begins next Thursday.

Coming off a disappointing, injury-riddled season, the Atlanta Falcons are locking up several key members of their core this offseason. The two most recent re-signings by the Falcons are defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and linebacker Deion Jones.

Jones, 24, led the Falcons in tackles during both the 2016 and 2017 NFL seasons before missing a significant amount of time last season due to injury. The former second-round pick out of LSU is considered to be one of the elite coverage linebackers in the NFL. When Jones played last season, opponent QBR was 35 points lower, opponent point per game was 5 points per game less, and opponents averaged 77 fewer yards per game on the Falcons. These stats are a good reason why the Falcons are rewarding Jones with a new four-year, $53 million extension.

Jarrett, 26, appeared one week ago as if an extension with the Falcons would not be reached by Monday’s extension deadline for franchise-tagged players. Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff made sure that would not be the case.

“As we have said since the end of the season, getting a deal done with Grady has been a priority and we are pleased to have accomplished that today,” Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said in a statement. “Grady is an integral part of our organization and we look forward to moving together for many years to come.”

Ricardo Allen, a free agent safety whose played all four seasons of his NFL career for the Falcons, emphasized in a statement just how important Jarrett is for the Falcons defense.

“Grady’s back there so fast that he’s the first m—–f—– the quarterback is running from,” Allen said. “Grady’s productive, man. He’s one of the best defensive tackles in the league, bro.”

For the Falcons, three seasons removed from a heartbreaking loss against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, hope that these moves will once again make them one of the elite teams in the NFL.

“It’s a little bit of a tough pill to swallow,” Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Wednesday during his pregame interview before the Dodgers took on the Philadelphia Phillies.

Roberts comment refers to an incident that occurred on Tuesday when Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen told reporters in front of his locker postgame that he should have come out of the Dodgers 9-8 loss to the Phillies in which Jansen blew the save. After being struck in the foot on a ground ball by Phillies player Adam Haseley, Jansen told Roberts and the Dodgers team doctor that he was okay to continue pitching. Jansen later said that his ankle went numb after taking the ground ball shot and that he could not drive his ankle. By telling reporters after the game that he believes he should have come out, Roberts became a little irritated and upset with Jansen.

“I think I do a very good job of being honest with my guys,” Roberts said. “We’re all trying to win. We’re all trying to compete. But when you give certainty that you’re not compromising yourself for the team, then I’m going to trust it. So to then go back and say, ‘I should’ve come out of the game,’ it’s a little bit tough to swallow.”

“When we give him a baseball, I expect the game to be over,” Roberts said. “The results aren’t what they were in ’17. And you can say that about a lot of players. So I think it’s just one of those things that he’s just got to continue to make pitches. But he’s the best we have and I still have full confidence when we give him the baseball.”

Just hours before Monday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline for players on franchise tags to reach a new contract extension with their teams, the San Francisco 49ers have announced that they have reached an agreement with kicker Robbie Gould on an extension worth two-years, $10.5 million. The contract also contains an option clause, that would raise the value to a four-year, $19 million contract with $15 million guaranteed.

Back in April, it looked as if Gould’s time with the 49ers was coming to an end. Gould, 36, demanded a trade away from the 49ers to a team that would be willing to sign him to a contract extension and not keep franchise tagging him. Even after Gould made it public that he wanted a trade, the 49ers still told reporters that they would not honor his trade request. Now in July, it looks like John Lynch made the correct move.

It became believed that Gould was interested in a trade to return to his former team, the Chicago Bears. Over the past two seasons as a member of the 49ers, Gould has been living in a hotel near the 49ers team facility in Santa Clara, California, while his wife and kids lived in their house back in Chicago. With the signing of this extension, expect the Gould’s to purchase a full-time home during the coming months in California.

In his two seasons so far as a member of the 49ers, Gould has been one of the better kickers in the NFL. Gould has hit 72/75 field goal attempts since signing with the 49ers and led the NFL in field goal % last season at 97.1%.

https://twitter.com/OSf49ers/status/1150762488108998656

Gould’s contract extension is expected to be the only one reached by Monday’s deadline across the NFL among all tagged players. Some big-name players who are expected to not reach a contract extension today are  Jadeveon Clowney of the Houston Texans and Grady Jarrett of the Atlanta Falcons.