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Pittsburgh Steelers

Bills want to see Kelvin Benjamin in new offense before talking extension

With the draft in the books, teams can turn their attention to other personnel matters and one of the things on the Bills’ list is a possible contract extension for wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin.

You’re seen and not heard. This culture of fear is the reason why NFL cheer teams have been able to largely avoid the #MeToo reckoning until now. Ex-cheerleaders feel comfortable speaking out because they are free from the threat of losing their spot. Current cheerleaders are trapped in the system. When Davis was fired, she says her teammates were sad to lose her, but reminded her that she knew the rules, so she shouldn’t have posted the picture to Instagram in the first place. And when she announced her lawsuit, the reaction was worse. Her closest friend on the team no longer speaks to her. If you went inside the locker room and you said, girls, is there anything going on?

Heneghan has a family connection to the 49ers. His father Lal was once the team’s general counsel and executive vice president of football operations. He joins Jimmy Garoppolo, C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens as the current quarterbacks on the 49ers roster.

The 49ers opened room for the newcomers by waiving linebacker Jimmie Gilbert, linebacker Boseko Lokombo, defensive back Dexter McCoil, linebacker Donavin Newsom and cornerback Channing Stribling.

They would all smile at you and say everything is fine, Ware says. I’ve been there. I’ve watched the cheerleaders lie about that because they are too afraid that they are going to lose their job. MAKE IT A FULL-TIME JOB These women are part-time employees of the teams they cheer for. colts_018

Pittsburgh Steelers

Jake Arrieta pulled after 4 innings in Phillies debut Sunday

Jake Arrieta lasted just four innings in his Philadelphia Phillies debut Sunday. The right-hander was lifted for a pinch hitter after throwing 74 pitches.

Arrieta did not appear to suffer an injury and was in the on-deck circle with his helmet on in the bottom of the fourth.

But with the score tied 3-3 and no runners on base with one out, Phillies manager Gabe Kapler replaced Arrieta with pinch hitter Pedro Florimon. The Phillies went on to lose to the Marlins 6-3.

“I was erratic at first,” Arrieta said. “Got through four innings, pretty crisp in the last three. Very optimistic moving forward.”

Arrieta expects to throw 85 to 90 pitches in his next outing.

“We want to make sure he’s healthy and strong,” Kapler said. “We’re all on the same page. It was a great performance.”

Arrieta made headlines last month when he signed a three-year, $75 million deal with the Phillies, ending his extended stay on the free-agent market.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will sign 13-year NBA veteran Kendrick Perkins with their final roster spot for the playoffs, league sources told ESPN.

Cleveland will sign Perkins on Wednesday, the final day of the regular season, just as it did in 2016 when guard Dahntay Jones was added, and in 2017 when both Jones and center Edy Tavares were added for the Cavs’ playoff run.

McCollum said Portland is still in great position.

“We’re good,” McCollum said. “If you had told me that we have 48 wins and have two games left and a chance to finish in third place, I would have told you I’ll take it. Considering where we’re at, there’s no excuses for injuries and stuff like that, but I feel like we’re heading in the right direction heading to the playoffs. We should be fully healthy or close to fully healthy and I think that will make a difference.” cardinals_052

Pittsburgh Steelers

Mike Pereira: NFL’s new heads-up rule ‘impossible to officiate’

Former NFL vice president of officiating and current Fox Sports analyst Mike Pereira says the new rule introduced Tuesday that will penalize or even eject players for lowering their helmets to initiate contact will be impossible to officiate.

You’ll see the same things happen with this as we’ve seen with the crown of the helmet rule: very few calls, Pereira said in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio. I think most of it will be taken care of after the fact with potential fines.

This has very little requirement to it. This is simply if you lower your head to initiate contact and you make contact with an opponent it’s a foul.

The new rule comes after NFL’s research showed a 13.5 percent increase in diagnosed concussions from 2016 to 2017, McKay said.

In that case, Philadelphia and Florida would each have 39 regulation/overtime wins and a plus-1 goal differential over the season, since a shootout victory counts as a goal. The teams split their season series (which by rule eliminates the odd game between them to even out home ice) and the league does not have any further tiebreakers.

Philadelphia currently has 96 points to Florida’s 92 and needs just a point against New York to clinch the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

This most recently happened in 2000 when the NHL announced Montreal and Buffalo would play a tiebreaking game if they finished the season tied for the final spot in the East. It did not come down to that, but it’s the precedent the league used to make this decision.

Since Rudy Gobert returned to the lineup in January after missing 26 games with knee injuries, Utah has turned into a tough customer on both ends of the court. The Jazz rank 13th in the NBA in offensive efficiency (108.5) and lead the league in defensive efficiency (97.9) since mid-January.

Mitchell, who tallied 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists against the Lakers, has led the way on offense. He is just the fifth NBA rookie to lead his team to the playoffs as the team’s leading scorer, joining Carmelo Anthony (Denver, 2003-04), David Robinson (San Antonio, 1989-90), Chuck Person (Indiana, 1986-87) and Michael Jordan (Chicago, 1984-85). cardinals_289

Pittsburgh Steelers

Marcus Mariota steps up for Special Olympians

When Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota went to the Special Olympics event at the Titans’ stadium on Saturday, he didn’t just stay long enough to have his picture taken. Instead, Mariota made sure to have a personal interaction with each and every athlete at the event.

“I just like seeing their faces light up,” Mariota said of attending the Special Olympics. “I enjoy being around them. I think they’ve got such a great perspective on life, and they’re always so happy.”

The Kings went 2-1-1 against the Golden Knights this season, winning back-to-back games on Feb. 26-27.

“Except the first period tonight, I think we’ve been playing pretty well the last couple games,” Kings center Adrian Kempe said. “We got to bring it now. We need every single guy in the locker room. We need everybody to be at their best now. The fun starts right now. Hopefully everybody is ready for it.”

Martinez has two goals and two assists during a three-game point streak. … Stars D John Klingberg had an assist, closing the season on a four-game point streak. … Kings F Torrey Mitchell (flu) missed his second straight game.

Luck said the media won’t see him do much during offseason workouts, which conclude with the team’s mandatory veteran minicamp in mid-June. Luck, talking to the media for the first time since Dec. 29, was adamant in saying he does not plan to skip any steps during his current rehab. That’s part of the reason Luck and the Colts have taken a cautious approach on when he will throw. The quarterback has been working with a reduced-sized football to work on his throwing motion.

“There’s a process,” Luck said. “I’ve gone and skipped steps before and paid for it. Been in pain and not able to help the team. Embarrassed, guilty, whatever. I’m not going to do that again. I trust the people I’m working with. More importantly, I trust myself in this process. I trust how I feel. Progress is my guiding light. If I’m making progress, I know that’s important. There is a plan in place, and I’ll keep trusting it.” texans_100

Pittsburgh Steelers

Jordan Matthews got $170K guaranteed from Patriots

Wide receiver Jordan Matthews will be trying to show he can stay healthy and produce on the field during the 2018 season and the contract he signed with the Patriots reflects that position.

Matthews signed a one-year deal with the Patriots last week and Albert Breer of SI.com reports that the deal is worth $1 million with another $700,000 available in incentives. Of that money, just $170,000 is guaranteed to Matthews.

“It’s tough when you can’t even turn your neck from right to left when you look around,” Gibson said. “Just try to get as much treatment as possible.”

Ben McLemore had 18 points for the Grizzlies, who moved one loss closer to a prime lottery pick and fell to 6-34 on the road.

The Grizzlies, whose streak of seven straight postseason appearances was snapped long ago, were sapped by the summer departures of stalwarts Zach Randolph, Tony Allen and Vince Carter. Mike Conley, Tyreke Evans and Chandler Parsons have missed a combined 143 games. Even Marc Gasol, who bested Towns for 20 points and 10 rebounds in the last matchup, sat out to rest. The starting lineup for this game had only one holdover, Dillon Brooks, from the March 26 meeting.

Now he sits alone in first.

“It’s fun when you set goals at the beginning of the year and then you achieve some of them,” Andersen said. “It goes without saying that there are bigger goals.”

Leafs coach Mike Babcock was pleased to see his team come through for its goalie in a game that didn’t mean anything in the standings.

“He’s been a huge part of our team,” Babcock said. “That record is a special, special thing.”

Daniel Carr and Jeff Petry scored for Montreal (29-40-13). Carey Price stopped 26 shots for the visitors as the Canadiens wrapped up a disappointing season.

The players observed a moment of silence before the game to honor the victims of Friday’s horrific crash in Saskatchewan that saw a tractor-trailer collide with a bus carrying a junior hockey team, killing 15 people and injuring 14 others. cardinals_006

Pittsburgh Steelers

Lamar Jackson Pro Day takeaways: Steelers rumors rev up for NFL Draft

When Lamar Jackson performed at Louisville’s Pro Day on Thursday, who was there and what he did not do were more of the focus than how he threw his 59 passes. Back on the same practice field where he developed into a Heisman-winning quarterback for the Cardinals, the consensus from NFL Network analysts who covered the workout was “solid.”

Jackson was a little off at the NFL Combine last month, but he was a lot more crisp dropping back and throwing in a familiar bubble. His draft stock likely has stayed the same as an athletic passer who can fit well with some offenses and coaches but isn’t the right style of QB for others. He’s looking more like a late first-round pick for a team that won’t need to rush him into action as a rookie.

Miami was the one team that did not attend Jackson’s Pro Day. The Dolphins will have no trouble, however, getting a good look at the South Florida native.

For those who hoped Jackson would put on his virtual track suit and run the 40-yard dash after he didn’t do so at the Combine, they’ll have to settle on just watching more film of him blazing past defenders over the past two college football seasons. One can’t blame Jackson for not wanting to provide more fodder to the “he could be a wide receiver” crowd.

The Patriots claimed Bennett off waivers from the Packers, and he played only 24 snaps before going on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. New England released him March 7, and he retired from the NFL two weeks later.

Teams have employed all levels of ineptitude at the position while avoiding Kaepernick, but few, if any, passed on him in favor of someone they ended up having to cut because he was accused of breaking his girlfriend’s jaw. Particularly since the mostly unspoken reason given for the league ignoring Kaepernick was “distractions.”

And because there’s no floor to how far the freeze-out will sink, one of the first names to surface for the Seahawks to replace Boykin was … Mark Sanchez. Hey, why not?

To understand what the Seahawks have let happen to the team that was one bad play call from winning back-to-back Super Bowls just three seasons ago … they never competently replaced Marshawn Lynch. They let their offensive line deteriorate to the point that they look downright negligent. They traded for Jimmy Graham, then let him go in free agency. They traded Jermaine Kearse. They lost Paul Richardson in free agency. texans_003

Pittsburgh Steelers

Bradley Chubb set to visit Giants Thursday

The Giants have set up meetings with several top quarterback prospects and running back Saquon Barkley in the coming days, but their pre-draft visits won’t be solely with players on the offensive side of the ball.

Albert Breer of SI.com reports that the team will host North Carolina State edge rusher Bradley Chubb on Thursday. NFL Media reported last month that the Giants put Chubb through a private workout on campus.

Moving on from big names like Sherman (91 Overall), Jimmy Graham (86 Overall) and Michael Bennett (85 Overall) probably were the right decisions, but the Seahawks will pay the price when it comes to “Madden” in the short term. Declining performance and greater chance of injury aren’t always reflected in the game’s ratings. Seattle also could lose Kam Chancellor (94 Overall) and Cliff Avril (84 Overall) to career-ending injuries.

Following a rough 2017 season, the Giants’ outlook can’t be too optimistic given how their offseason has gone. The signing of Nate Solder (81 Overall) to a massive contract doesn’t inspire much excitement — Solder is not even considered a top-10 left tackle in “Madden,” but he’s now the highest-paid offensive lineman in the league. New York already traded away Jason Pierre-Paul (82 Overall), and it still faces a decision on what to do with Odell Beckham Jr.

After Kelly was fired a year later, Roseman was reinstated as GM, but the pressure was on from the passionate Eagles fan base. A 7-9 season in 2016, even with a rookie QB in Carson Wentz and a first-year coach in Doug Pederson, only ratcheted up that pressure. But Eagles owner Jeff Lurie stayed with Roseman, which turned out to be a wise decision.

What followed was a decision-maker pushing all the right buttons, as Roseman put the finishing touches on a deep and talented team through a continuation of his quality drafting and astute free-agent and trade acquisitions. He established a great partnership with Pederson, and the two headed up a team that was the NFC’s top seed at 13-3 before its unexpected run to the title.

As all successful executives do, Roseman gives credit to his players, coaches, scouting department and support staff for the Eagles’ success. But he was the one who made the final calls on the toughest decisions, like trading several high draft choices to move up to No. 2 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft in order to select Wentz. All the small-school QB did in his second season was become a Pro Bowler and MVP candidate as he led Philly to the league’s best record before his season was cut short by an ACL injury in Week 14. patriots_115-223x223

Pittsburgh Steelers

Report: Le’Veon Bell seeking $17 million per year

Le’Veon Bell is actively seeking a massive long-term contract from the Pittsburgh Steelers, a deal that would make him the highest-paid running back in the game. And now a new report suggests Bell wants to be paid as well as the top wide receivers in the game, including teammate Antonio Brown.

Under the broadened rule, offending players would be penalized for lowering their heads and leading with the crown of their helmets to initiate contact against an opponent on any play. A 15-yard penalty would be assessed and players may be disqualified depending on the severity of the hit. Goodell said replay will be used to determine whether a player should be ejected from the game.

I think it was [Patriots] Coach [Bill] Belichick who first raised it, but if we’re able to have replay to confirm when there’s one of these fouls that we think should be removed from the game and that also confirms whether someone should be ejected, I think there’s a great deal of more confidence among the coaches that it’ll be done consistently and fairly, he said. And I think it also gives the officials more confidence to be able to make those judgments because they know there will be some type of video input in that.

I actually think that the coaches and the clubs and our officials all collectively feel that that is an appropriate thing to do. And it is the first time we’ve used replay for safety and I think that’s a positive thing. As [Competition Committee Chairman] Rich [McKay] said, it’s the first time we’ve used replay in respect to any kind of a foul, but we think that’s warranted for safety-related issues. broncos_015-500x500

Pittsburgh Steelers

Inside the supposed $40 million Sam Bradford deal

Two years ago, Sam Bradford signed a two-year, $36 million deal with the Eagles. Last week, he signed a two-year, $40 million deal with the Cardinals.

If it sounded too good to be true, there’s a reason for that. It is.

So if Keenum tears an ACL in training camp and for some reason can’t for two years, he gets $36 million. If that happens to Bradford (again), he gets $15 million. Which seems a lot more fair and equitable given their respective performances from a year ago in Minnesota.

For Gronkowski, the physical anguish of the 2017 season, which led him late in the regular season to tell people that he was likely to retire, was paired with some mental fatigue from the high-strung culture within the Patriots organization, sources said. Nothing has occurred since the end of the season to convince him that is going to change — and Gronkowski knows he’ll need to be ready for a similar toll on his mind and body if he returns in 2018.

The Washington Redskins went 7-9 despite being torn apart by the injury bug in 2017.

The season leader in adjusted games lost was without Trent Williams for six games, Spencer Long for nine, Chris Thompson for six, Shawn Lauvao for seven, Terrelle Pryor for seven, Josh Norman and Brandon Scherff for two each, and Zach Brown for three.

But they still ranked above the middle of the pack in DVOA.

Smith will likely join former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones in backing up Phillip Rivers.

Smith played four seasons with the New York Jets after going 39th overall in the 2013 draft, then spent last season with the New York Giants.

Smith started one game for the Giants, throwing for 212 yards and a TD in a 24-17 loss against Oakland.

Smith has appeared in 35 games, including 31 starts, and thrown for 6,174 yards with 29 touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 659 yards and seven TDs.

Pittsburgh Steelers

After last year, it would be difficult to disagree with them.

Actually, though you might not remember his name, you might know a bit about him. Back in 2012, Kiyomiya led Japan to the Little League World Series championship in Williamsport, Pa.; already 6 feet tall at 13 years old, he struck out eight Tennessee batters in four innings in the title contest and went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI in Japan’s 12-2 win.

By the Johnson chart, the draft picks cancel out to essentially value Glenn as worth the 51st overall pick in the draft, a pick in the middle of the second round.

In making this move, though, the Bengals are essentially saying they don’t trust their ability to develop a left tackle, given that they could easily have drafted a tackle at 12 themselves.

TE Cameron Brate, Buccaneers Grade: C When Tampa Bay drafted O.J.

Howard with the 19th selection in last year’s draft, it seemed likely that the Bucs would be moving on from their incumbent tight end, given that Brate was due to become a restricted free agent after the 2017 season.

The circumstances are a little different. The Patriots knew Garoppolo was months away from unrestricted free agency and keeping him was impossible, while the Bengals thought McCarron’s impending restricted free agency meant he’d be back in 2018. That made trading for McCarron a little more valuable.

Still, it’s clear that McCarron was held in high regard by the Browns.

So it shouldn’t be difficult for McCarron to find a decent contract in free agency and an opportunity to be a starting quarterback. Cleveland was considered the favorite for his services, but seemingly removed itself from the market by trading a third-round pick for Tyrod Taylor just before free agency.

Given Sherman has a pretty smart and flexible agent himself he will make sure he stays in Seattle. With its secondary in flux, the team will keep its constant into his age-30 season. The question is whether Sherman gets an adjusted deal to keep him from becoming a free agent as scheduled in 2019. ravens_176