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Giannis Antetokounmpo agrees to 5-year, $228M US supermax extension with Bucks – CBC.ca

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Giannis Antetokounmpo says he’s staying with the Milwaukee Bucks for at least five more seasons.

“I’m blessed to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next 5 years,” the two-time reigning MVP posted Tuesday on his social media platforms.

The 26-year-old Antetokounmpo had until Dec. 21 to sign the Bucks’ supermax extension offer. If he turned it down, Antetokounmpo could have become a free agent after the upcoming season.

Although Antetokounmpo didn’t announce the terms of his new deal, The Athletic and Stadium reported that he agreed to a five-year contract worth $228 million US that includes an opt-out clause in 2025.

“This is my home, this is my city,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m blessed to be able to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next 5 years. Let’s make these years count. The show goes on, let’s get it.”

His decision means the Bucks will hang on to their biggest superstar since Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who led Milwaukee to its lone NBA title in 1971 but demanded a trade and was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975.

The Bucks paid a hefty price to revamp their roster this off-season in an attempt to persuade Antetokounmpo to stay in Milwaukee. They dealt away guards Eric Bledsoe and George Hill, first-round draft pick R.J. Hampton and two more first-round selections as part of a package to acquire Jrue Holiday in a four-team trade.

Bucks overhauled bench

They also overhauled their bench by adding Bobby Portis, D.J. Augustin, Torrey Craig and Bryn Forbes. Antetokounmpo called those off-season moves “amazing” without indicating whether he planned to sign the extension.

“At the end of the day, the team is going to take care of what they’re going to do,” Antetokounmpo said last week. “Off the court, they tried to improve this team as much as possible. We’ve had the best regular-season team the last two years and that shows you that the team and the front office cares about improving the team every single year. Me, on the court, I’m going to try to improve individually and help my teammates improve, also.”

Despite that regular-season success, Milwaukee has yet to reach the NBA Finals with Antetokounmpo. The Bucks lost a second-round series in five games to Miami last season after dropping four straight games to blow a 2-0 lead over Toronto in the 2019 Eastern Conference finals.

Antetkounmpo missed most of a Game 4 victory and all of a Game 5 loss in the Miami series with a sprained right ankle.

The Bucks understood the importance of Antetokounmpo’s decision to the future of the franchise. When Antetokounmpo celebrated his birthday on Dec. 6, each of his teammates jokingly gave him a pen as a present in hopes he’d use one to sign his extension.

After Antetokounmpo announced his decision, all-star forward Khris Middleton tweeted to Bucks teammate Pat Connaughton: “I hope he uses the pens we all gave him!!”

Milwaukee selected Antetokounmpo out of Greece with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft. The 6-foot-11 “Greek Freak” has career averages of 20.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.

Last season, he averaged 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists while winning his second straight MVP award. He also was named the NBA’s defensive player of the year.

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Jays reliever Green and Canadian slugger O’Neill nominated for comeback player award

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NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.

Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.

The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.

Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.

The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.

O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.

After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Panthers’ Reinhart named NHL first star after posting nine points over four games

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NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.

Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.

New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.

Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.

Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Browns QB Deshaun Watson’s season ended by ruptured Achilles tendon, team said he’ll have surgery

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.

He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.

Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.

The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”

Watson was injured on a noncontact play in the second quarter of Cleveland’s 21-14 loss to the Bengals and carted off the field in tears.

It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.

The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.

He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.

As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.

Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.

The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.

“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.

“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”

Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.

“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.

“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”

The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.

Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.

With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.

The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.

But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.

Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.

Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.

Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.

Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.

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