NFL
League bans Burfict for 5
Linebacker Vontaze Burfict will miss the season’s first five games for a hit he put on a Chiefs running back Anthony Sherman that was in violation of the NFL’s player safety rules, the latest in Burfict’s history of egregious hits that have drawn fines and suspensions. Burfict hit Sherman in the chest during a pass play in which he was not the intended receiver, knocking him to the ground. The Bengals were off on Monday after returning from a preseason game in Washington. They released a statement defending Burfict in the face of his latest punishment. “The film shows that the hit was legal, that Vontaze engaged his opponent from the front, and that contact was shoulder-to-chest,” the statement said. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy pointed out in an email to The Associated Press that the league’s rulebook bans “unnecessary contact” against players who aren’t in position to defend themselves. The Bengals will open the season with Burfict and cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones suspended. The league suspended Jones one game for his latest arrest and misdemeanor conviction in the offseason.
QB Stafford to get $135M
Quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions have agreed to a $135-million, five-year extension that makes him the highest-paid player in the NFL, a source close to the negotiations said. The person spoke Monday night to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because terms were not disclosed. The team announced the deal keeps the quarterback under contract through the 2022 season. Stafford was entering the last season of his $53 million, three-year contract. Stafford’s deal surpasses the $125-million, five-year contract the Oakland Raiders gave Derek Carr this summer.
Jets name McCown QB
Jets Coach Todd Bowles named 38-year-old Josh McCown as the team’s starting quarterback over Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty despite the fact that he’s played in only one series this preseason. No backup quarterback was named Monday. McCown completed 3 of 4 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown in his lone preseason series. McCown is with his seventh different team entering his 15th season in the NFL. He previously played for the Cardinals, Raiders, Panthers, Bears, Buccaneers and Browns, mostly in a backup capacity. McCown has a 59.1 career completion percentage, 78.2 career passer rating, 79 touchdowns and 69 interceptions in 82 games.
Bills trade Ragland to Chiefs
The Buffalo Bills sent linebacker Reggie Ragland to the Kansas City Chiefs Monday in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2019 draft. Ragland spent much of training camp working with the backups and then saw limited playing time in three preseason games. In Kansas City, Ragland also gets an opportunity to play in a three-lineman, four-linebacker-styled defense, which he was accustomed to at Alabama. In a separate move, the Bills signed Keith Wenning to address their injury-depleted quarterback position. Buffalo turned to Wenning because starter Tyrod Taylor and third-stringer T.J. Yates are both being evaluated for concussions suffered Saturday in a 13-9 preseason loss at Baltimore. The injuries left the Bills with fifth-round pick Nathan Peterman as the only quarterback available for their preseason finale against Detroit on Thursday.
Bears lose WR Meredith
Bears receiver Cameron Meredith will indeed be lost for the season. A source confirmed that an MRI on Meredith’s injured left knee Monday revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament, as was feared after the third-year receiver left Sunday’s exhibition game against the Titans on a cart. Meredith led the Bears with 66 catches for 888 yards last season.
Broncos backup QB hurt
The Denver Broncos have lost backup Paxton Lynch for several weeks to a sprained right (throwing) shoulder suffered in Denver’s 20-17 exhibition victory over Green Bay on Saturday night. If Lynch’s injury makes him incapable of playing and at least handing the ball off, the Broncos would have to add another QB who wasn’t in their plans. They could either keep camp arm Kyle Sloter or grab a quarterback who becomes available when 1,200 players are cut this weekend.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Heathcote, Magic’s coach, dies
Jud Heathcote, who led Michigan State and Magic Johnson to the 1979 NCAA championship, has died. He was 90. Heathcote coached the Spartans for 19 seasons from 1976-1995. Before that, he was the head coach at Montana from 1971-1976. Heathcote, an alum of Washington State, finished his career with a 419-274 record, including a 339-221 mark at Michigan State. “Michigan State has lost one of its icons today,” said Tom Izzo, who was Heathcote’s handpicked replacement in 1996. “Spartan basketball is what it is today because of Jud Heathcote.” Heathcote won 3 Big Ten titles and appeared in 9 NCAA tournaments during his 19-year career at Michigan State. He got his start as a head coach in college at Montana in 1971.
ATHLETICS
Harvey forces Houston teams to adapt
Hurricane Harvey has forced both the Houston Astros and Houston Texans to play home games miles away from the flood-stricken city, a big-time college football matchup has been moved to New Orleans and two Houston-based college teams are taking up residence in other parts of Texas.
The Astros will begin a three-game series against the Texas Rangers at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., starting Tuesday, and the Texans will wrap up their preseason schedule against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington instead of NRG Stadium.
A college football game scheduled to be played at NRG Stadium, matching BYU and LSU, has been moved to the Superdome in New Orleans.
Rice’s football team is taking up residence at TCU’s campus in Fort Worth. The Owls opened the season over the weekend in Australia, where they lost to Stanford. They arrived in Dallas on Monday and were expected to share the campus with the Horned Frogs until things improve in Houston. The Owls have a week off before traveling to play UTEP on Sept. 9.
The University of Houston football team is in Austin, where former coach Tom Herman is preparing for his first season in charge of the Longhorns after two seasons at Houston.
Both the Astros and Rangers flew to Dallas after games in California on Sunday and traveled Monday to St. Petersburg, where the Astros will play at least three “home” games this season.
The team also said a three-game series against the New York Mets that begins on Friday may also be played at Tropicana Field.
If the Astros play both series in Florida, they will end up playing 19 consecutive games away from Houston, where the AL West leaders last played on Aug.
- A 10-game road trip begins after the Mets series.
Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels said the team was open to hosting the series in Arlington this week, but had no interest in swapping a series against the Astros later in the season to accommodate the change. He said the Rangers declined partially because of thoughts for the fans, but also because that change would have left the Rangers with a 12-game road trip late in the season.