Tom Brady hijacked a busy sports Sunday with an evening announcement that he’s ending his retirement after a whopping 40 days. It happened to be the second time the NFL legend went viral that day.
Prior to posting his “unfinished business” tweet, a brief conversation between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo began circulating on social media.
The short clip showed Brady coyly react to Ronaldo asking him if he was “finished” playing football — the American kind.
Brady inhaled and gave a noncommittal head tilt.
This occurred less than two weeks after Bucs GM Jason Licht said the team would “leave the light on for Brady” if No. 12 had a change of heart, so Brady’s response to Ronaldo naturally raised some eyebrows.
That Brady was enjoying a day at Old Trafford was also a clue something was in the works. After all, Man U is owned by the Glazer family, which also owns the Buccaneers.
Brady has won seven Super Bowls, more championships than any NFL franchise has won, including Super Bowl LV with the Bucs in Tampa just two years ago following a two-decade career with the New England Patriots.
The NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns, among many other records, will be 45 at the start of the 2022 season.
Here are a few questions we have in the wake of Brady’s unretirement.
HOW DOES THIS IMPACT TAMPA’S OFF-SEASON PLANS? Though his “retirement” ultimately amounted to an extended off-season vacation – he didn’t miss a single game, practice or team meeting – the timing of his announcement makes plenty of sense since NFL free agency opens Wednesday, and players and teams can begin negotiating Monday in the league’s legal tampering window.
Tampa’s entire front office must be in a chipper mood. They no longer need to search for a new QB, plus Brady being back serves as an excellent recruiting tool for the pending free agent class.
The first domino fell in the form of centre Ryan Jensen, who agreed to a new three-year deal. Another year of Brady only increases the chances that tight end Rob Gronkowski and/or running back Leonard Fournette return to Tampa for one more run. Same goes for wide receiver Chris Godwin who the Bucs had been trying to re-sign even when they thought Brady was retired.
The team will need to draft, sign or trade for a pair of new guards with Ali Marpet retired and Alex Cappa reportedly set to join the Bengals. They won’t be able to bring back all their free agents, but would this entice one or both of Ndamukong Suh or Jason Pierre-Paul to re-up? Bringing back defensive backs Carlton Davis and/or Jordan Whitehead would be more beneficial long-term but fitting them under the cap will be a tall task.
The team currently holds picks in rounds one through five in 2022, plus two seventh-rounders.
“Tom Brady loves to play football as much as anyone I have ever been around,” Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians wrote in a statement. “As Tom said, his place right now is on the football field. He is still playing at a championship level and was as productive as anyone in the league last season. We are ecstatic that he decided to continue playing and working toward winning another championship.”
HOW DOES BRADY’S RETURN IMPACT THE BETTING MARKET? If you read the tea leaves correctly prior to Sunday’s announcement and placed a timely future bet on Tampa, then congratulations because you struck massive value. In the days and weeks following Brady’s “retirement” the Bucs’ 2023 Super Bowl odds could be found anywhere from +2500 to as long as +5000 depending on the day and sportsbook.
As of Monday afternoon, the updated betting odds imply Tampa Bay will battle with the Green Bay Packers for top seed in the NFC just like this past season. Brady and the Bucs are now in the +800 range to win the Super Bowl, equal to or even slightly ahead of the Packers plus all other NFC teams on most books.
Unsurprisingly, Brady once again finds himself in the top tier of MVP candidates along with Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, all of whom have odds shorter than 10-to-1.
The three-time league MVP came close to winning a fourth this past season, finishing second in votes to reigning back-to-back MVP Rodgers.
Brady led the NFL in yards and touchdowns this past season and set a new NFL record with 485 completions.
WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE THE NFC SOUTH? In short, pretty much exactly where we left it at the end of the season. The good news for the Bucs is the NFC South is among the weaker divisions in football.
Whilst Brady was technically retired, the Bucs remained the odds-on favourites to win the division. Now that he’s officially back, those odds went from approximately +150 to in the vicinity of a chalky -250.
The Saints begin the post-Sean Payton era with a question mark behind centre. Do they re-sign Jameis Winston or go in another direction in free agency? There have been rumours that New Orleans is among the teams showing some degree of interest in Deshaun Watson. If the Saints pulled off a move like that it would add a compelling layer of drama to the division.
The Panthers are perhaps the most aggressive pursuers of Watson currently. If Carolina can find a high-end, reliable starter they could be a team capable of a quick turnaround.
The Falcons, meanwhile, are setting up for what could be a long season with an emphasis on rebuilding.
Brady has won a division title in all but two seasons as a starting quarterback and has never finished worse than second in his division or below .500.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have loaned midfielder Jay Herdman to Cavalry FC of the Canadian Premier League and rewarded two Whitecaps FC 2 players with MLS contracts.
Midfielder Jeevan Badwal signed as a homegrown player through 2027, with options for 2028 and 2029, while forward Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau signed an MLS contract through 2025, with club options for 2026 and 2027.
Both have been playing for the Whitecaps’ MLS Next Pro team along with the 20-year-old Herdman, the son of Toronto FC coach John Herdman.
The moves were made before Friday’s MLS and CPL roster freeze.
Born in New Zealand while his father was working for the New Zealand Football Federation, Jay Herdman was also part of the New Zealand soccer team at the Paris Olympics with three appearances including two starts. Herdman’s loan deal runs through the end of the CPL season.
“Jay is an important signing for us, who will provide another attacking option for the run-in,” Cavalry coach and GM Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said in a statement. “He’s a player that we’ve been tracking since we played against Whitecaps in pre-season and he has very good quality, with terrific energy and the ability to contribute to goals.
“With the recent injury to Mael Henry, Jay’s positional profile and age helps us with on-field options and minutes that count towards the league’s required 2,000 U-21 domestic minutes during the regular season.”
Badwal, an 18-year-old from suburban Surrey, is the 26th academy player to sign an MLS contract with the Whitecaps.
“Having joined our academy in 2019, Jeevan continues to progress through our club and takes every challenge in stride,” Whitecaps FC sporting director Axel Schuster said in a statement. “He is comfortable on the ball, positionally sound, and does the simple things very well. We are excited for Jeevan to make the next step in his young career.”
Badwal has made 19 appearances with Whitecaps 2 this season, scoring two goals and adding three assists. A Canadian youth international, he started all three matches for Canada at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup
Badwal made his first-team debut off the bench in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semifinal against Pacific FC.
Chateau was originally selected 74th overall by the Whitecaps in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft after spending two years at St. John’s University.
The 22-year-old from Ottawa signed an MLS NEXT Pro contract with Whitecaps FC 2 in March. He leads Whitecaps FC 2 in goal-scoring this season with eight goals across 21 appearances (including eight starts).
“Nicolas leads MLS NEXT Pro in shots on target, has a very strong work rate and willpower. We are looking forward to seeing his growth as he builds on his young professional career,” said Schuster.
Chateau made his first-team debut as a second-half substitute at CF Montreal on July 6.
Herdman, who joined the Whitecaps academy as a 13-year-old, has made 19 appearances for Whitecaps FC 2 in 2024, scoring six goals and adding three assists. He made his MLS debut in April as a second-half substitute in a 2-0 victory at the Seattle Sounders.
Internationally, Herdman has represented New Zealand 29 times across the U-19, U-20, and U-23 sides. He was part of New Zealand’s squad at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, starting three matches at the tournament and scoring against Uzbekistan.
The Whitecaps host San Jose on Saturday while Cavalry entertains Atletico Ottawa on Sunday.
—
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024
