Off The Wire

FOOTBALL

Brain trauma suspected

An autopsy revealed unusually severe brain disease in the frontal lobe of the former NFL player accused of fatally shooting six people in Rock Hill, S.C., before killing himself in April, authorities announced Tuesday. The 20 years Phillip Adams spent playing football "definitively ... gave rise" to a diagnosis of stage 2 chronic traumatic encephalopathy, said Dr. Ann McKee, who examined his brain. Authorities have said that on April 7, Adams killed Rock Hill physician Robert Lesslie; his wife, Barbara; two of their grandchildren, 9-year-old Adah Lesslie and 5-year-old Noah Lesslie; and two HVAC technicians working at the Lesslie home, James Lewis and Robert Shook, both 38. Police later found Adams with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The degenerative disease known as CTE is linked to head trauma and concussions that has been shown to cause a range of symptoms, including violent mood swings and memory loss. "There were inklings that he was developing clear behavioral and cognitive issues," McKee said. "I don't think he snapped. It appeared to be a cumulative progressive impairment. He was getting increasingly paranoid, he was having increasing difficulties with his memory, and he was very likely having more and more impulsive behaviors." McKee, who directs the CTE Center at Boston University, said that of 24 NFL players diagnosed with the disease after dying in their 20s and 30s, most had stage 2, like Adams. The disease has four stages, with stage 4 being the most severe and usually associated with dementia. But Adams' CTE diagnosis was different from the other young players because it was "unusually severe" in both frontal lobes, she said. McKee compared Adams' brain to that of Aaron Hernandez, the former football star also posthumously diagnosed with CTE after he hanged himself in prison at the age of 27 while serving a life sentence for a 2013 murder.

Swinney builds from within

Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney said his phone blew up with calls and text messages from interested, high-profile candidates for the Tigers' open coordinator jobs. Swinney wasn't swayed, sticking to his plan and promoting assistants to replace Brent Venables on defense and Tony Elliott on offense. Defensive assistant Wesley Goodwin and safeties coach Mickey Conn will share Venables' coordinator duties, while quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter will lead the offense. Venables left after 10 seasons to become Oklahoma's head coach while Elliott, a former Tigers receiver, was named the Virginia head coach after more than a decade on Swinney's staff. Swinney announced the staff changes a short time after the school's board of trustees approved the contracts Tuesday. Streeter, like Elliott, is a former Clemson player who joined Swinney's staff in 2014. He worked with the teams' quarterbacks and served as recruiting coordinator from his hiring until 2019. The Tigers (9-3) will play in the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando, Fla., against Iowa State (7-5) on Dec. 29.

Browns hit hard

For the second straight season, the Cleveland Browns are dealing with a major covid-19 outbreak during their postseason push. The team's hopes were rocked Tuesday when the Browns placed eight players, including top wide receiver Jarvis Landry, tight end Austin Hooper and starting offensive linemen Wyatt Teller and Jedrick Wills Jr. on the reserve/covid-19 list. Those players will all likely miss Saturday's crucial game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Defensive end Takk McKinley was also placed on the list with backup guard Drew Forbes, who is on injured reserve, as well as receiver/returner JoJo Natson and tight end Ross Travis from the practice squad. They join tight end David Njoku, linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. and punter Jamie Gillan (UAPB), who went on the list last week, missed Sunday's 24-22 win over Baltimore and have not been cleared to return. The NFL said 37 players tested positive for covid-19 on Monday, making it one of the worst days for the league since the pandemic began.

7 Rams on covid list

Receiver Odell Beckham Jr., safety Jordan Fuller and seven of their Los Angeles Rams teammates went on the reserve/covid-19 list Tuesday, giving the Rams 13 total players on the list after the latest expansion of their virus outbreak. Defensive backs Terrell Burgess and Juju Hughes, tight end Brycen Hopkins, tackle Alaric Jackson, injured nose tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day and practice squad members Jonah Williams and Tyler Hall also went on the list Tuesday. "You're adding a lot of layers to this situation that we thought we were past, and that's the thing that I think is the most mind-numbing about it all for me," Coach Sean McVay said.

Chiefs lose two

Two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs was placed in the covid-19 protocol on Tuesday, one day after wide receiver Josh Gordon tested positive and two days before a game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Chiefs Coach Andy Reid said wasn't sure whether either player will be available when the AFC West-leading Chiefs visit Los Angeles on Thursday night. If a player is vaccinated and tests positive, he needs two negative tests taken 24 hours apart to return to the team, which means it's conceivable that Gordon and Jones could be cleared by kickoff.

BASKETBALL

Covid hits Nets

The Brooklyn Nets were without seven players, including James Harden, on Tuesday night because of the NBA's health and safety protocols. The Nets only had enough remaining players to take the court against the Toronto Raptors because Kevin Durant was upgraded from questionable. Aside from Harden, the Nets were missing starter LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre' Bembry along with reserves Jevon Carter, James Johnson, Bruce Brown and Paul Millsap. The Nets have been playing short-handed all season after Kyrie Irving refused to get vaccinated, which ruled him out for home games because of a New York City vaccine mandate.

SOCCER

Cincinnati gets coach

Pat Noonan was hired Tuesday as the sixth head coach of Major League Soccer's Cincinnati team in a little more than three seasons. Noonan, 41, who scored one goal in 15 appearances for the United States, has been an assistant coach for the LA Galaxy (2013-16), the U.S. (2017) and Philadelphia (2018-21). Cincinnati has finished 24th, 26th and 27th overall in its three MLS seasons. It had 4 wins, 22 losses and 8 draws this season. Alan Koch coached Cincinnati in the lower-tier United Soccer League and remained with it for the start of its first MLS season in 2019. He was fired that May and replaced on an interim basis by assistant Yoann Damet, and Ron Jans was hired that August.

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