Damar Hamlin’s old high school teammate clutched the ball he had just intercepted, jogged to the 30-yard line, gingerly placed the pigskin at the top of the red-outlined “3,” raised his hands over his head and formed them in the shape of a heart.
“I’m just glad I got a chance to go out there and make a play and honour him the way I did,” said Hamlin’s buddy, Colts safety Rodney Thomas II.
Colts safety and Damar Hamlin’s high school teammate Rodney Thomas II honors Damar after his interception ????<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/LoveForDamar?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#LoveForDamar</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/HamlinIsland?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@HamlinIsland</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/Rodney_Thomas26?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Rodney_Thomas26</a> <a href=”https://t.co/Zu2gyQ2tKg”>pic.twitter.com/Zu2gyQ2tKg</a>
Thomas’ gesture might have been the most poignant moment, but it was far from the only shout-out to the Bills safety on an NFL Sunday filled with love for a stricken player whose impact is being felt across the nation.
Hamlin’s number — number “3” — was on display everywhere across the league, outlined on 30-yard lines on fields, worn on special patches on the Bills uniforms and featured on jackets and sweatshirts and even on red hearts dangling from the tailgate tents outside the Bills home stadium.
A child holds a sign in support of Bills safety Damar Hamlin before Sunday’s home game against the Patriots. Hamlin remains hospitalized after suffering a catastrophic on-field collapse in the team’s previous game against the Bengals last Monday. (Adrian Kraus/Associated Press)
The highest volume of tribute poured in, naturally, from that parking lot in Orchard Park, New York, where Buffalo’s 35-23 victory over New England was punctuated by a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Nyheim Hines on the game’s opening play.
“OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!,” Hamlin tweeted after the quick score.
The safety, whose recovery after his collapse on the field Monday night in Cincinnati has overtaken every NFL story line, also shared a photo of himself making a heart with his hands from his hospital bed shortly before kickoff with the text “GAMETIME!!! @BuffaloBills.”
NFL players, fans show their support for Damar Hamlin
Less than a week after Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during a game, fans and players showed their support for him and his recovery at NFL stadiums across the U.S.
Before that, in the lot outside of Highmark Stadium, Ryan Magnuson stood in front of a 4-x-10-foot canvas greeting card that he placed at the foot of the Bills stadium entrance for fans to sign. The message on the card: “If you get a chance to show some love today, do it. It won’t cost you nothing” — a reprise of a tweet Hamlin sent back in 2021.
“It’s been very positive. I’ve seen Bills fans, I’ve seen Patriots fans and people wearing other NFL jerseys coming up. I think this is bigger than a team thing at this point,” Magnuson said.
Fifteen-hundred miles away, and three hours later in Denver, the Chargers and Broncos each walked to the numbers and linked arms near their respective sidelines before the game’s first snap while the No. 3s on both teams — Russell Wilson and Derwin James Jr. — met at the 50-yard-line, shook hands and kneeled in prayer.
Philly running back Miles Sanders tweeted a picture of himself, wearing a “Love For Damar” sweatshirt, and flashing the number “3” while FaceTiming with Hamlin from his hospital.
Damar Hamlin breathing on his own, talking to teammates
Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is once again breathing on his own and is even able to have conversations with teammates, following a cardiac arrest earlier this week during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals football team.
Not all was warm and fuzzy.
In Cincinnati, Bengals running back Joe Mixon celebrated a touchdown by mimicking a coin flip — the likes of which could have happened, per a late NFL contingency plan — to decide home-field advantage in a potential playoff game between the Bengals and Ravens.
Cincinnati’s 27-16 win over the Ravens on Sunday staved off that possibility. The Ravens will visit Cincy next week in the wild-card round. But saying all is back to normal in the NFL this week, or for the upcoming playoffs, still feels like a bit of a stretch.
The post-season is bound to be outfitted in “Love For Damar” sweatshirts and others embroidered with “Hamlin Strong,” the likes of which Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes wore during Saturday’s win over the Raiders.
Hamlin selling shirts to benefit first responders
Some might even wear shirts being sold by Hamlin himself, with proceeds going to first responders and the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he’s been since he collapsed on the field and had to have his heartbeat restored by medical staff last Monday.
“We all won,” Hamlin tweeted Sunday after the Bills won. “I want to give back an ounce of the love y’all showed me. Proceeds of this shirt will go to first-responders and the UC Trauma Center. Go get yours!”
His tweet included an image of three shirts, each with Hamlin’s hands forming a heart — a hospital ID tag on his right wrist — and “Did We Win?” in big print. Hamlin’s first question after he awoke Thursday was whether the Bills had beaten the Cincinnati Bengals in the game when he collapsed on the field.
The post-season is also bound to be filled with reminders that the high stakes of these games are about more than a trophy to be awarded at the end of the Super Bowl.
It is bound to feel a little bit off. If the Chiefs and Bills advance to the AFC title game, for instance, that game will be played on a neutral field, in a city still to be determined.
The heart of this league was beating most strongly in Buffalo on Sunday.
Bills fans in Orchard Park, N.Y., hold signs on Sunday displaying Hamlin’s No. 3. Listed in critical condition, the player’s neurological function has been deemed excellent after he suffered a cardiac arrest last week. (Jeffrey T. Barnes/Associated Press)
In the vast parking lots circling the stadium, fans wore self-made shirts and jerseys honoring Hamlin.
Sue Sonner wore a former Bills quarterback EJ Manuel’s No. 3 jersey; her husband creatively covered over Manuel’s name and replaced it with Hamlin’s.
“It’s going to be very emotional. I’m taking some tissues with me for sure,” said Sonner, who is from Corning, New York, and was also in the stadium in Cincinnati last Monday.
“We could see the scurry and the trauma and the panic and all of that. So very somber, very somber environment,” she said. “Now that he’s progressing and we think he’s going to be okay, now we’re excited to play football again. And hopefully he’s on the road to recovery.”
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
