Dolphins take Tagovailoa at No. 5, Chargers Herbert at No. 6
Two years ago this spring, Joe Burrow announced on Twitter that he is moving out of Ohio State University after three frustrating years.
He was tired of riding the bench and not getting a chance to show how good a passer he could be.
Two April’s later, it’s no longer a concern for Burrow. And probably won’t be again.
On the basis of unexpectedly zooming into college superstardom last fall at LSU, the quarterback Thursday night was selected No. 1 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals to kick off the three-day NFL Draft.
The reports said the Bengals had already informed Burrow on Wednesday that he was their man. He was the first of three QBs to be selected in the top six.
The draft, originally planned for Las Vegas, was conducted remotely via video conferencing – due to the coronavirus pandemic. Physically isolated team personnel, league officials, draft players and networking talents were remotely linked.
Outside of a couple of expected, but still annoying, syncing delays and errors, it seemed early on that it went smoothly.
Like Burrows last season in college.
“Jumping up to No. 1 overall is crazy to me, but it’s a dream,” Burrow said on the joint NFL Network / ESPN telecast.
Told ESPN’s top draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. Having rated him as a sixth-round pick entering his senior season at LSU, Burrow hinted that low quality was justified at the time.
“I wasn’t very good in my junior year. It’s pretty simple, “Burrow said of his parents’ home in Athens, Ohio. “But I worked really, really hard to get better.”
Thirty-one other prospects were selected on Thursday after Burrow to finish Round 1. The draft continues with Round 2-3 on Friday starting at 1 p.m. EDT and round 4-7 on Saturday start at noon EDT.
Canadians Chase Claypool (a tall and muscular but fast University of Notre Dame wide receiver from Abbotsford, BC) and Neville Gallimore (a powerful, penetrating Oklahoma University defensive tackle from Ottawa) were expected to be selected Friday in mid Round 3.
A few other Canadians have a chance outside to be drafted for a late round Saturday.
So much buzz had swirled around in the hours, days and weeks before Thursday night about this team or the trade that went up in the Top 10 – or, more precisely, about teams in the Top 10 that were looking for trading partners to trade down to get more juicy picks.
Surprisingly, the first trade of the night first fell almost two hours in, as San Francisco and Tampa Bay swapped choices # 13 and 14.
With overall pick # 2, Washington, as expected, took top rusher in the draft, Ohio State defensive end Chase Young, who grew up less than 30 miles from Redskins headquarters in northeast Virginia.
Young stands nearly 6-foot-5, weighs 264 pounds and is universally described not only as a super-freaky athlete, but an exceptionally influential playmaker. New Redskins head coach and chief defense strategist, Ron Rivera, has to rub his hands on adding such a promising passport rusher.
The Detroit Lions at No. 3 selected cornerback Jeff Okudah of Ohio State.
Okay, another Buckeye. The top three picks were all played at OSU at one point.
As for Burrow, I’ve been watching American college football closely since the 1970s, and his last season reversal is as amazing as I can remember from a previous three-year college backup. I remember watching Burrow fight in the shadows of J.T. Barrett or Dwayne Haskins in a pair of televised spring games at Ohio State in 2017 and 2018. I didn’t see anything to suggest that Burrow had college-level grandeur in him. Nothing.
I’m still stunned by that. It is a reminder for eternity that sometimes a budding athlete needs not only a chance but time to put it all together. Only we who anticipate look stupid afterwards.
Even after Burrow transferred to LSU in the summer of 2018, he had an okay – certainly not great – first season, his first meaningful playing time since piloting his Athens High School team in Southeast Ohio from 2012-14.
No one thought Burrow was capable of the final college season of what he wound up showing week after week. He scintillated for LSU and completed 76.3% of his throws for 5,671 yards, 10.8 yards per. Trials, 60 touchdown passes and just six interceptions – arguably the best statistical season for any passer in the U.S. college football’s 150-year history.
Burrow won the Heisman Trophy in December as college football’s top player, led the LSU Tigers to a 15-0 record and national championship – and is now considered a no-miss for pros, packed with top-shelf QB qualifications, both physical and mental.
“When the pressure was on him, when it was championship or bust, he was on – and that’s what cemented him as the overall No. 1 prospect,” Kiper said during the previous show.
Kiper called Burrow’s two-year turnaround “historic.”
Assuming the Bengals start Burrow from the start, trading their starter in the last 10 seasons, Andy Dalton, the young man will be bull-eyed for the league’s top pass rushers. One of them, Calais Campbell now of the Baltimore Ravens – a Bengal division rival in the AFC North – congratulated Burrow in a tweet, legend added: “Can’t wait for us to get to know him properly.”
The 6-foot-2½, 221-pound burrow was bred in Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and Ohio as a college coach’s son. His father, Jim Burrow, played in the CFL from 1977-81 with the Montreal Alouettes, Calgary Stampeders and Ottawa Rough Riders.
It is rather doubtful that his son will ever play in the CFL. But I’m done condemning the young man.
At No. 4, the New York Giants Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas chose something of a surprise. Not that the Giants took a tackle; rather that they took IT tackle. Some draftniks, such as Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network, rated Thomas the No. 4 OT in this draft.
The No. 5 Miami Dolphins actually took on the second-best QB, Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa – as many had predicted for months, and as most Dolphins fans deeply hoped.
Tagovailoa, who left the university a year early, was the mystery man for the entire infinite four-month advance process. Not because he stands only six feet flat (that’s quite short by prototype NFL QB standards), and certainly not because of his impressive overall skill set (since he has above-average accuracy and top-end decision-making, vision and instincts).
Rather, that’s because Tagovailoa released his hip last November, a serious injury that ended his Crimson Tide season and threatened to kill his football career. But the operation was successful and he is now fully working and throwing again.
He swore by the Scouting Combine that he would be ready to go by that time, regardless of which team pulling him begins his post-draft, on-field practice.
Tua Tagovailoa shows off the lining of his jacket during the NFL Draft after being selected fifth overall for the Miami Dolphins. NFL / Distribution Photo via USA TODAY Sports
Tagovailoa’s history of being vulnerable – he had surgery on both ankles in the 11 months before the wound to his hip and suffered finger and knee injuries in the months before that in 2018 – allegedly scared some teams who might otherwise have considered appointing him to the top 10, or act up there to hook him.
It was clear that the dolphins had no such noticeable concerns.
It could have charrined the Los Angeles Chargers, who had been trying unsuccessfully since January to convince everyone that they were content to enter the 2020 season with meh veteran Tyrod Taylor at QB.
At No. 6, the Chargers selected QB, who was most tied as the third best in the draft, by Justin Herbert of Oregon. He is athletic, strong-armed and accurate on rollout.
The knock on the 6-foot-6, 236-pound is that he holds the ball far too long before throwing, and that his substandard footwork all too often leads to out-of-the-blue awful throws. Chargers were not deterred.
Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown, the best interior D-lineman last year in college ball, was taken No. 7 overall by the Carolina Panthers. He helps when the Panthers re-enter a defense shaken by departures, primarily the retirement of a perennial Pro Bowl inside linebacker Luke Kuechly.
The Arizona Cardinals at No. 8 chose Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons, described as perhaps the NFL’s first no-player position. Apparently a linebacker, Simmons ran a 4.39-second 40-yard strike at the combine. He is so tough, athletic, physical and limp that in college he played inside linebacker, rush linebacker, slot corner, true cornerback and safety. Yup. Crazy.
The Jacksonville Jaguars selected University of Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson to No. 9. The Jags had a need after trading away from the league’s top corner in Jalen Ramsey last October and solid A.J. Bouye last month to Denver.
Around a surprisingly trade-free Top 10, the Cleveland Browns – to no surprise – chose a much-needed offensive tackle: Jedrick Wills Jr. from Alabama. Jeremiah of the NFL Network predicted Brown will hire Wills at left tackle, holding free agent purchases Jack Conklin at right tackle, playing for four years at Tennessee.
The offending tackle many selected as the draft’s best, Louisville’s Mekhi Becton, an unbelievably fast 364-pound, went to the New York Jets at No. 11.
The first member to step out of the board from what was named the NFL’s best and deepest wide receiver class ever was the fastest prospect in this year’s draft: Alabama’s Henry Ruggs III. He drove a 4.27 40.
In conducting the first trade of the draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose some protective help for newly signed QB Tom Brady with offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs, a junior from the University of Iowa.
San Francisco, which also sent a Round 7 (No. 245) to Tampa Bay, in return received the Bucs’ No. 14 choices as well as their choice of Round 4, 117th overall.
Niners GM John Lynch then took a defensive tackle, ostensibly to replace veteran D tackle DeForest Buckner he traded to Indianapolis last month to get the No. 13 pick, becoming No. 14: South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw .
Kinlaw over the next four seasons in San Fran will earn only a little more than Buckner will do this year alone in Indy.
Denver’s No. 15 cracked the wide receiver, which many considered to be the best of a big game in Alabama’s second starter, Jerry Jeudy. He is not as fast as Ruggs but runs sharper routes and is considered by most to be more reliable.
The Atlanta Falcons at No. 16 took the night for third cornerback Clemson’s A.J. Terrell.
Dallas No. 17 took on big-play receiver CeeDee Lamb of Oklahoma. Former Cowboys great and NFL Network analyst Michael Irvin said Lamb was the No. 1 wideout on his former team’s draft board.
Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, third from right, speaks on a phone after being selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft on April 23, 2020. (Photo by NFL via Getty Images)
Miami used the No. 18 pick it received in exchange for sending safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to Pittsburgh last September on the fifth offensive tackle of the night, USC’s Austin Jackson.
With the last of the draft Round 1 draft the Raiders received in return for trading with Khalil Mack for Chicago in September 2018, Las Vegas took on No. 19 Ohio State’s second starting cornerback in 2019, Damon Arnette. He had been considered a choice of round 2 or 3.
With the pick they received from the Rams in last fall’s Ramsey trade, the Jaguars took No. 20 LSU outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson.
Philadelphia took a receiver at No. 21: Jalen Reagor of TCU, a smurfy slot type.
With the choice they received last month from Buffalo in return for disgruntled but very talented science, Minnesota’s No. 22 seed Stefon Diggs chose LSU wideout Justin Jefferson, a fast-paced big-play slot.
In the second trade of the night, New England traded out of the first round at No. 23 for selection of the Chargers Round 2 (No. 37) and Round 3 (No. 71) on Friday. At No. 23, the Chargers took Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray.
NEW YORK (AP) — Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve has seen a lot in her incredible career that’s included four WNBA championships.
The historic rally by the Lynx to beat New York 95-93 in a wild Game 1 of the WNBA Finals ranks right up there as one of the best moments.
“We’re the first team in WNBA playoff history to be down 15 (in the final 5 minutes) and come back and win the game,” Reeve said. “So that ranks really high. I think it defines our team. Getting through difficult times. That’s what we’ve been talking about. You have to be mentally tough, resilient. … Thrilled that we could hang in there.”
Minnesota rallied from 18 points down in the first half and Napheesa Collier’s turnaround jumper with 8.8 seconds left in overtime lifted the team to the win over the New York Liberty on Thursday night.
With the game tied, Collier faked in the lane and scored. New York had a chance to tie it but Breanna Stewart’s layup at the buzzer was off.
“The basketball gods were on our side tonight,” said Courtney Williams, who had 23 points, including a four-point play with 5.5 seconds left in regulation, to lead Minnesota.
Collier finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, six blocks and three steals.
Game 2 of the best-of-five series is Sunday in New York. Before the game, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the league is expanding the Finals to best-of-seven starting next year.
The OT got off to a slow start before Minnesota built an 88-84 advantage as New York missed its first six shots. Jonquel Jones finally got the Liberty on the board with a corner 3-pointer with 1:38 left. Williams answered with her own 3-pointer and the teams traded baskets over the next minute. Sabrina Ionescu’s steal in the backcourt and layup got New York within 93-91 with 32.9 left.
Jones then stole the ball at midcourt and scored to tie it four seconds later. Minnesota worked the clock down before Collier’s basket broke the tie.
The Liberty blew an 11-point lead in the final 3:23 of regulation when Minnesota scored 12 straight points, capped by Williams’ four-point play.
The Liberty made the most of the last few seconds in regulation. After Stewart’s first shot was blocked with a second left and went out of bounds, Ionescu inbounded the ball to her under the basket and she was fouled. The officials reviewed the play to see if the foul occurred before the buzzer sounded and deemed that it did awarding Stewart two free throws with 0.8 seconds left.
She hit the first of two free throws with the second one rolling off the rim. Williams’ shot on the other end was off and the game headed to OT.
“We just take it on the chin, you know. We were up a lot and then we had a wild kind of sequence to end the fourth,” Stewart said. “Didn’t start overtime great. I had a great look at the end and I didn’t make it. But I think that this is a series. We wanted to really win, obviously, for home court. But the beauty is, we have another game on Sunday and we’ll be ready.”
Jones led New York with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Ionescu finished with 19 and Stewart had 18.
New York came right at Minnesota, which was playing just two days after beating Connecticut in the semifinals. The Liberty built an 18-point lead in the first half before the Lynx rallied.
The 18-point rally tied the New York Liberty’s record they set in 1999 in Game 2 of the Finals that ended with Teresa Weatherspoon’s historic halfcourt shot.
Both teams are looking to make history in this series. The Liberty are looking for the franchise’s first championship while the Lynx are vying for a league-record fifth. They were the best teams during the regular season, finishing in the top two spots in the standings.
New York is in the finals for the second consecutive year and is hoping to erase the scar of losing to the Las Vegas Aces in 2023. Minnesota is making its first appearance in the championship round since 2017, when the team won its fourth title in a seven-year span.
The Liberty had lost two of the three regular-season meetings to Minnesota and the Commissioner’s Cup championship, but both teams have said that those games didn’t really matter heading into the championship.
The Lynx were able to hold Jones in check in all three of the wins with the Liberty’s star center scoring in single digits each time. She reached double figures by the end of the first quarter on Thursday.
Minnesota held New York to 38% shooting and improved to 181-11 since 2011 when the team holds an opponent under 40% shooting.
The star-studded New York crowd of 17,732 was loud and spirited as it has been all season. Spike Lee, Jason Sudeikis, Meek Mill and New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos were all in attendance. Lee was wearing an Ionescu jersey.
Points have been tough to come by for the ‘Caps in recent weeks and, with just two games left in their regular-season schedule, Vancouver is in danger of having to play its way into a Major League Soccer post-season series.
The club has a chance to make up ground Sunday when it hosts Los Angeles FC.
“Huge importance,” Whitecaps midfielder Stuart Armstrong said of the match. “We want to try and climb the table so every point is very valuable.”
The two sides have been on opposite trajectories in recent weeks.
Vancouver (13-11-8) comes into Sunday’s matchup winless in its last five MLS appearances (0-3-2) after falling 1-0 to Minnesota United at B.C. Place last Saturday.
LAFC (17-8-7) heads north on a four-game win streak. The squad hasn’t lost since Sept. 21 when L.A. dropped a 3-1 road decision to Dallas FC.
“One thing I’ve learned in this league is that any game is a new opportunity to win. And any game, if you come in the right mindset, you can win it,” said ‘Caps defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We are a good team, we are good players. And if we come with the right attitude in the game, we can do good.”
LAFC is an opponent the Whitecaps are all too familiar with, having faced the club twice already this year and six times last season. The most-recent rendezvous came during the Leagues Cup competition back in July, when Vancouver edged L.A. on penalties.
This time around is likely to look a little different because both sides will be missing key pieces due to international call-ups.
Vancouver will be without the creative offence of captain Ryan Gauld (Scotland), the scoring prowess of Fafa Picault (Haiti) and the defensive talents of Andres Cubas (Paraguay), as well as three other important players.
LAFC will miss sniper Denis Bouanga (Gabon), who has the second most goals in MLS (19), and leads the league in both shots (148) and shots on target.
The absences will undoubtedly change the game, said ‘Caps head coach Vanni Sartini.
“I think we need to be very open to understand how they’re going to come and play. Because maybe they’re not going to play like they usually play, in terms of system, in terms of positioning of the players. But they still have a lot of quality players,” he said.
With so many of his regular starters away, Sartini will be looking for other players to step up while maintaining Vancouver’s identity.
“The last couple of games, especially the (3-0 loss) against Seattle, we didn’t give what we can do,” the coach said. “I think we need to reset and be really focused on us.
“Because when we focus on us, we can beat any team.”
While a victory Sunday could help Vancouver avoid a play-in game, the club knows L.A. is still trying to lock up first spot in the West.
“They’re obviously at the top end of the table so we know they’re going to be a good team. They’re fighting it out with the (L.A.) Galaxy. We’re in a slightly different battle at the moment,” Armstrong said.
“It’s going to be a tough challenge. But these are the type of games you want to play in. And you always enjoy the big matches.”
LOS ANGELES FC (17-8-7) AT VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-11-8)
Sunday, B.C. Place
INS AND OUTS: Both sides will be missing some major players due to international call-ups. Vancouver’s Ali Ahmed (Canada), Sam Adekugbe (Canada), Cubas (Paraguay), Gauld (Scotland), Picault (Haiti) and Pedro Vite (Ecuador) are all with their national teams, while L.A. will be without Bouanga (Gabon), Cristian Olivera (Uruguay) and Maxime Chanot (Luxembourg). LAFC’s Lorenzo Dellavalle and Jesus Murillo are also out with knee injuries.
HISTORY BOOKS: Sunday’s game will mark the 20th all-time meeting between the two clubs. LAFC has fared better and holds a 9-5-4 edge in the matchups, but the clubs have split their two previous games in 2024.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS: Vancouver won its third-straight Canadian Championship title in September, while L.A. is the reigning U.S. Open Cup champion.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
CALGARY – The Calgary Stampeders named receiver Marken Michel as this year’s recipient of the Herm Harrison Memorial Award on Thursday.
The honour, established in 2013, recognizes outstanding community service. Harrison was a tight end with the Stampeders from 1964-72, earning West Division all-star honours six times while being named a league all-star on three occasions.
Harrison remained in Calgary following his career and continued supporting numerous community initiatives. Harrison was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Stampeders retired his No. 76.
Harrison registered 443 career catches for 6,693 yards and 43 touchdowns. He died in November 2013.
Michel, 31, a Florida native in his fifth season with Calgary, is an active participent in many of the CFL club’s community programs. That incluces Every Yard Counts, which features player visits to the Alberta Children’s Hospital the night before each home game.
Michel has also often led groups of teammates into the downtown core to distribute food and water to those in need.
“One of the toughest questions in life is what is my purpose and my assignment in life?” Michel said in a statement. “What you wake up thinking about and what you think about constantly before you go to sleep is a clue as to what your purpose and assignment is in life.
“Your assignment is any problem you were created to solve on the Earth. What you love is a clue to the gift and wisdom you contain to complete your assignment. What you hate is a clue to something you are assigned to correct. What grieves you is a clue to something you are assigned to heal. These are my constant reminders to make a difference.”
Past winners include: Rob Cote (2013), Randy Chevrier (2014), Bo Levi Mitchell (2015-16), Joshua Bell (2017), Rob Maver (2018-19), Kamar Jorden (2021), Colton Hunchak (2022) and Reggie Begelton (2023).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
