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It's Mac Jones time in New England, which still has no room for sentimentality — or Cam Newton anymore – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, Bill Belichick was asked to characterize the training camp and preseason play of quarterback Cam Newton.

“Definitely moving in the right direction,” Belichick said.

A little more than an hour later, Newton was cut from the New England Patriots, immediately elevating first-round draft pick Mac Jones into a Day 1 starter in Foxborough.

The right direction turned out to be off the team.

Belichick isn’t messing around. He never is, of course. There is never a hesitation when it comes to decisions that need to be made. No heart strings. No emotions. No tipping of his hand. “This is professional football,” he likes to say.

Everything, as he often repeats, comes down to doing “what’s best for the team.” In that case, it was going with Jones, who outplayed Newton from the first day of camp through the third preseason game. Not just in totality, but on almost every single day of practice.

That includes the five last week that Newton wasn’t available because he pointlessly put himself on the wrong side of the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols by a) not being vaccinated and b) leaving town and taking the wrong kind of tests.

Newton was willing to take on that added hurdle of being unvaxxed — the NFL is more lenient with those who have received their shots. How much it mattered in the final decision is unknown, but sure couldn’t have helped.

If nothing else, Jones got nearly a full week, including a couple of joint practices against the New York Giants, to sear into Belichick’s mind what the team would look like not just with the Alabama rookie as QB1 … but Newton not even there.

Mac Jones will start from Day 1 for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots, who cut Cam Newton on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Mac Jones will start from Day 1 for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots, who cut Cam Newton on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Newton returned to start the third preseason game last week, but it was Jones who got the most reps. Newton played just two series and went 2-of-4 passing. Jones, meanwhile, was in for six drives and went 10-of-14 for 156 yards and a touchdown.

Newton attempted just 21 passes in three preseason games. Jones had 65, and 107 total snaps. Pro Football Focus graded Jones out with a 92.2 rating. Newton was just 79.6.

There was a belief that Belichick was using the preseason to get Jones more work so he’d be ready when his time came. (Plus Newton, as a veteran and former league MVP, didn’t need it.) That wasn’t the case. After all, Belichick never limited Tom Brady’s preseason workload, even as he pushed into his 40s.

The writing was on the wall. A more timid coach, a more conservative coach, might have decided to let Newton start the season, perhaps even play past a Week 4 return visit from Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that should prove to be emotional and intense.

Belichick isn’t that, though. His six Super Bowl rings suggest no one should be. If Jones is ready, then Jones is ready. It’s on him to deal with the pressure and expectations.

And Jones looked ready. Very ready.

The QB draft class of 2021 already looks promising. The top two picks, Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson, are immediate starters in Jacksonville and with the New York Jets. No. 3 selection Trey Lance is making San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan contemplate a platoon system. And 11th pick Justin Fields will take over in Chicago soon — at least once the coaches there move on from Andy Dalton, who plays the role of Newton in their QB drama.

None of them have looked as good as Jones in this preseason. None walked into as good of a situation or enjoyed the supporting cast or coaching talent around them, of course. Still, Jones, who went 15th, has looked every bit as good, or better, than all of them.

Belichick certainly thinks this is his guy. Newton was signed a year ago on a low-budget contract to serve as the bridge between Brady and whatever the future held. He was a good teammate. He was a good player. It was clear Belichick really liked him, even signing Cam to a $12 million, one-year deal for 2021.

Newton was also aging, with his best days obviously behind him.

If Jones hadn’t distinguished himself, Newton would still be serving as that bridge. Jones won the job though, and Belichick clearly didn’t think Newton would serve best as a backup.

This way, it’s Jones or bust — journeyman Brian Hoyer will be there for only emergency purposes. There is no quarterback controversy.

That’s the plan for New England to try to win a Super Bowl, which is the only goal at a place with so many of them.

It’s Mac Jones or bust.

Sentimentality and caution are not allowed when trying to move in the right direction.

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Whitecaps, Timbers to face off in play-in match in Portland

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VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps will begin their post-season campaign with a play-in game against the Timbers in Portland on Wednesday.

The ‘Caps (13-13-8) ended the regular season with a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday and finished eighth in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference standings.

The eighth and ninth spots from each conference meet in a play-in game this week, with the winner going on to face the No. 1 seed in the first round of the playoffs.

Each eighth-place team was set to host the play-in game, but Vancouver announced Friday that its home stadium, B.C. Place, is not available, so the club will cede home-field advantage to Portland (12-11-11), the ninth-place team.

The ‘Caps and Timbers split their three-game series during regular-season play, with each side taking a win, a loss and a draw.

The first round of the MLS playoffs is set to begin next weekend.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Real Salt Lake beats visiting Whitecaps 2-1 to set single-season club record for points

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SANDY, Utah (AP) — Diego Luna scored a tying goal in the 73rd minute and Real Salt Lake added another on an own goal for a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night to set a single-season club record for points.

Real Salt Lake (16-7-11) secured the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference and will face Minnesota in the first round of the Major League Soccer playoffs. RSL reached 59 points this season, topping the 2012 team with 57.

Vancouver (13-13-8) will play the Portland Timbers on Wednesday in a wild-card game for a chance to play top-seeded LAFC.

Luna settled a long cross from Braian Ojeda before taking four touches to slot home a shot inside the far post for his eighth goal of the season.

RSL went ahead in the 83rd when Vancouver goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer misplayed a lofted ball that rolled into the back of the net.

Vancouver midfielder Ryan Gauld opened the scoring in the 58th to become the first player in club history to produce multiple seasons with at least 10 goals and 10 assists.

AP MLS:

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Juan Soto’s 3-run homer in 10th sends Yankees past Guardians 5-2 and into World Series for 41st time

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Juan Soto’s arrival last winter was supposed to be that move that pushed the New York Yankees back to the top.

They’re one step away.

Soto hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and the Yankees advanced to their 41st World Series — and first in 15 years — by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series on Saturday night.

Baseball’s biggest brand is going back to October’s main stage.

Soto, who was acquired in a seven-player trade from San Diego in December, pushed the Bronx Bombers into position with one big swing.

This was why he came, for this moment and for so many more.

“We’re right where we belong,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who pulled off the deal for Soto.

The Yankees will try to win their 28th title against either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 6 of the NL Championship Series is on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

In the third consecutive tight game in three nights at Progressive Field, Austin Wells walked with one out in the 10th and Alex Verdugo followed with a grounder to Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez, whose soft toss to the bag was dropped by rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio for an error.

Hunter Gaddis struck out Gleyber Torres and had Soto in a 1-2 count before New York’s stylish outfielder sent a shot over the wall in center. Soto danced down the first-base line and paused to celebrate with his teammates before circling the bases.

“I was just saying to myself, `You’re all over that guy. You’re all over that guy. He ain’t got anything,’” said Soto, who moved alongside his manager, Aaron Boone, as the only New York players to homer in an extra-inning, series-clinching win.

Luke Weaver got the final three outs with Lane Thomas flying out for the last one, which was caught by Soto.

“We get to play for a world championship,” Boone said. “That’s pretty sweet.”

The 25-year-old Soto is eligible for free agency this winter, and Yankees fans chanted “Re-sign Soto!” during the postgame festivities. He’s expected to get a contract upwards of $600 million, and his heroics in Game 5 may have raised his price.

Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer and was named ALCS MVP as the Yankees took care of the Guardians in five games. It wasn’t easy.

New York won the first two at Yankee Stadium without much fanfare or any major drama. However, it was a different story in Cleveland as all three games at Progressive Field were nail-biters.

The Guardians rallied to win Game 3 on two, two-run homers in their last two at-bats, and the Yankees held on to win Game 4 after blowing a four-run lead.

“This was a rollercoaster and we were able to just keep punching back,” Stanton said. “We know there’s much more work to do and it’s only uphill from here and we got to get it done.”

Cleveland just didn’t have enough and a surprising season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt ended just short of a World Series. The franchise remains without a title since 1948, baseball’s current longest drought.

“There’s only one team that gets to win the last game of the year, and unfortunately it’s not going to be us,” Vogt said. “But we accomplished a lot as a group. We got better. We worked extremely hard. I couldn’t be more proud of this group. We just didn’t get quite as far as we wanted to.”

The Yankees are back in the World Series, back where their fans expect them to be every year.

The club’s 82-80, fourth-place finish in the AL East last season led to some “soul searching as an organization” during the winter, according to Boone, who has been widely criticized but is one of just three managers to take New York to playoffs in six of his first seven seasons.

While the team’s core stayed mostly intact, getting Soto in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 7 — New York sent five players to San Diego for the three-time All-Star — accelerated the team returning to title contender.

“That was a good day,” Boone said with a laugh before the game.

Stanton’s 446-foot rocket into the left-field bleachers tied it at 2 in the sixth and chased Tanner Bibee, who had struck out New York’s dangerous DH in his first two at-bats and held the Yankees scoreless for the first five innings.

It was Stanton’s fourth homer in this series — his third in three days — and his 16th in the postseason, moving him into fourth place on the club’s career list behind Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18).

Before the game, Boone was asked what makes Stanton so good.

“He can hit it harder than anyone, first of all,” Boone said. “So there’s the physical nature of what he does that’s different than just about everyone in the world.”

But Boone went on to compliment Stanton’s discipline at the plate, “his approach, his process, how he studies guys.”

“There’s something that he does when he gets familiarity with people on top of being very physically gifted,” Boone said.

The Guardians took a 2-0 lead in the fifth off Carlos Rodón on Steven Kwan’s RBI single with two outs. But Cleveland missed a big chance for more, leaving the bases loaded when Lane Thomas grounded out on the first pitch to him from Mark Leiter Jr.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: LHP Nestor Cortes (elbow strain) had another successful live batting practice session. The reliever remains on track to join the Yankees on their World Series roster. Boone said Cortes would throw again early next week. Cortes went 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts.

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