Second Thoughts

Mallett's day not one for highlight reel

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Ryan Mallett, who has a chance to establish himself as the Ravens’ No. 1 while 
Joe Flacco is out with a back injury, appears to be blowing his opportunity, according to one observer.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Ryan Mallett, who has a chance to establish himself as the Ravens’ No. 1 while Joe Flacco is out with a back injury, appears to be blowing his opportunity, according to one observer.

Joe Flacco's balky back has the Baltimore Ravens quarterback on the shelf for now, and when he'll be ready to go is anybody's guess.

Flacco's unfortunate situation seems like a perfect opportunity for backup Ryan Mallett (Arkansas Razorbacks) to affirm his standing as the team's No. 2, and maybe play an even more essential role if Flacco can't go in the season opener.

If Mallett's performance thus far in camp is any indication, he's more likely to get cut than take the first snaps of the season.

Mallett took most of the first-team snaps with Baltimore's offense on Friday, and apparently, it was a total disaster.

Mallett's meltdown was documented by ESPN reporter Jamison Hensley, who noted Mallett threw "at least" five interceptions during practice. Think about that for a second: Hensley used the words "at least," which means Mallett threw so many interceptions that there might have actually been more that Hensley didn't see.

Two more passes were reported to have been near interceptions.

At one point, things got so bad that linebacker Terrell Suggs started trash-talking offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg.

"Hey Marty, tell Mallett to throw to the guys wearing the purple jerseys," said Suggs, referring to the offense.

Mallett waved the proverbial white flag by throwing his towel in the air after his fifth interception.

The fact that Mallett once lost his starting quarterback job in Houston because he overslept and missed practice becomes less surprising by the day.

If Flacco's back injury ends up being serious and Mallett can't shoulder the load, the Ravens reported interest in Colin Kaepernick might be ratcheted up. Losing a job to the NFL's poster child for being shunned would not be a good entry on Mallett's resume.

Not-so-hot ticket

It's supposed to be the hottest ticket in sports.

So far, though, fans aren't exactly storming the box office to buy tickets for Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s fight next month with Conor McGregor.

A check online Saturday revealed hundreds -- even thousands -- of seats still available from Ticketmaster at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena for the Aug. 26 fight. There are so many open seats that fans with enough room left on their credit cards can buy six tickets together in 162 different spots throughout the arena

That might be because of the astronomical prices set by promoters -- the cheapest original tickets on Ticketmaster have a face value of $3,500. Or maybe fans are just waiting for the right time to buy, hoping the price will go down.

Either way, promoter Leonard Ellerbe isn't terribly concerned. He said the fight will not only sell out but also break records for the richest gate.

"We're very excited and very happy with ticket sales so far," Ellerbe told The Associated Press. "We're well on our way to smashing our own record, which transcended the sport."

That record was a $72,198,500 gate set by Mayweather in his 2015 fight with Manny Pacquiao. That live gate was more than three times bigger than any previous boxing gate.

Still, five days after tickets first went on sale, seats throughout the arena are widely available. They are not, however, for anyone a little light in the wallet.

Prices start at $3,500 -- plus another $300 or so for buyer fees -- and climb to $10,000 near the ring. There are "platinum" seats that go for as much as $14,995.

The resale market is nearly as pricey. At Seatgeek.com, the get-in price is around $2,000 -- for one of the few seats that originally sold at $500 -- and the median listing price is about $7,000.

SPORTS TRIVIA

How many touchdown passes did Ryan Mallett throw at Arkansas?

ANSWER

Mallett threw 62 in two seasons.

Sports on 07/30/2017

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