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Giants’ John Mara blasts ‘abusive’ Thursday Night Football flex effort, defends fans

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:48 GMT

PHOENIX – Giants co-owner John Mara said Tuesday afternoon that he is “adamantly opposed” to an “abusive” Thursday Night Football flexing effort that was narrowly voted down by owners at the Arizona Biltmore.“At some point, can we please give some consideration to the people who are coming to the games?” an incredulous Mara said. “People make plans to go to these games weeks and months in advance. And 15 days ahead of time to say, ‘Sorry, folks, that game you were planning on taking your kids to Sunday at one o’clock, it’s now gonna be Thursday night.’“What are we thinking about?” he asked rhetorically.The measure would have allowed the NFL to flex any Sunday game from Weeks 14-17 to the previous Thursday night with 15 days notice.Mara said it “fortunately” didn’t get enough votes Tuesday. But he said the vote was “close,” the league will “probably revisit it in Ma...

Pat Leonard: Washington Commanders sale will be great for league but might be very bad for Giants

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:48 GMT

The imminent sale of the Washington Commanders is great news for the NFL and the fans of D.C., Maryland and Virginia.Forcing Daniel Snyder out, even if his pockets are stuffed with $6 billion-plus as he leaves, should help one of the league’s once proud franchises improve its workplace, build a new stadium and field a better team.It won’t be good for everyone, though.It may be very bad news for the Giants.John Mara’s team is 10-25-1 in the NFC East from 2017-2022: 7-4-1 against Washington and 3-21 against the Cowboys and Eagles.If pro sports has taught us anything about these billion-dollar changeovers, new owners always arrive with their checkbooks out looking to make a huge splash.Star Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson wants out of nearby Baltimore, while Washington needs a QB and a reason to put fans back in the Commanders’ many empty seats.What an exciting proposition for Washington, the NFL and the division. What a horrifying hypothetical for Big Blue....

Ten things we learned about the Ravens and NFL at annual owners meetings

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:48 GMT

The annual NFL owners meetings feature the who’s who of pro football, from team and league officials to the media that covers them. It’s the place to see and be seen, gather intel and simply reconnect in a relatively schmoozy environment, with the swanky Arizona Biltmore hotel and its expansive lawns and pools and banquet halls having served as the backdrop this year.Even Odell Beckham Jr. made an appearance. A current player showing up is well outside the norm, but the flashy free agent wide receiver has a house nearby and popped in to reportedly meet with multiple teams about his services, including the Ravens.But the real scene was Monday morning, at 7:48 a.m. local time, when star quarterback Lamar Jackson dropped his bombshell tweet about his trade request. It happened just as Ravens coach John Harbaugh was making his way over to sit down at a roundtable that initially had about 10 reporters already waiting for him but suddenly swelled with a throng of media as word...

Column: Kevin Warren’s directive to the Chicago Bears as the new team president — think bigger. Then think even bigger.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:48 GMT

Kevin Warren was 11 when he first did the math, navigating a new and uncomfortable normal after being struck by a car while riding his bike from his home to Marcos De Niza High School in Tempe, Ariz.That serious accident in June 1975 left Warren in traction and later in a body cast. It also left him, at a young age, deeply contemplating the fragility of life and vowing not to waste any of what he had ahead. That’s when he first did the math.Sixty-minutes every hour. Twenty-four hours every day.Warren’s “1440″ concept was born.“I adopted that as my guide: 1,440 minutes in a day,” Warren said this week, sitting in the shade of an outdoor patio at the NFL owners meetings. “I just knew. You cannot afford to waste time. And that’s still one of the big things in my life. People will value jewelry. People will value money and cars and clothing. Or planes or art. All that is wonderful. But I have found that over time one thing people undervalu...

Jets owner Woody Johnson ‘optimistic’ about finalizing Aaron Rodgers trade

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:48 GMT

PHOENIX — As the annual NFL owner’s meetings come to a close, Aaron Rodgers remains a Packer as Gang Green has yet to finalize a trade to bring him to New York.The Jets and Packers have hit an impasse as they have yet to agree on compensation for the four-time MVP.In his first comments since meeting with Rodgers, Jets owner Woody Johnson spoke highly of the veteran when he talked to reporters on Tuesday.“He’s very impressive, extremely smart, authentic,” Johnson said on Tuesday. “He’s definitely his own person, that’s for sure. A great athlete, great golfer, I think he does pretty much everything at the highest level.“I think we are anxious, we’re anxious, we’re optimistic. We have a plan, so we’re willing to stick with our plan. I don’t think anybody you know is hyperventilating at this point.”On March 7, Johnson, along with Jets general manager Joe Douglas, coach Robert Saleh and offensive coordina...

4 things we heard from Chicago Bears Chairman George McCaskey, including a ‘Hard Knocks’ update and Ted Phillips’ role

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:48 GMT

Chicago Bears Chairman George McCaskey had a lot to address when he met with reporters at the end of the annual NFL meetings this week at the Arizona Biltmore resort.The possibility of a new stadium. The organization’s new president. And a team in the middle of a crucial offseason.Along with his update on the stadium process, here are four things we heard from McCaskey.1. McCaskey was reminded of the depth of Kevin Warren’s connections and experience during the meetings.A couple of times McCaskey found himself walking and chatting with the new Bears president and CEO around the Biltmore when Warren veered off to talk to someone — “renewing acquaintances,” McCaskey said.Warren is finishing up his post as Big Ten commissioner, his job the last three years. Before that, he worked in the NFL for 21 years, most notably as the Minnesota Vikings chief operating officer.Warren doesn’t officially start with the Bears until April 17, but the team thought it...

Giants, Jets have installed new turf at MetLife Stadium, Giants practice facility

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:48 GMT

The Giants and Jets have installed new turf at MetLife Stadium, and the Giants replaced the indoor turf at their practice facility to match.The “monofilament” turf, which is similar to the Seattle Seahawks’ surface at Lumen Field, is already down and ready for the April 17 start of their offseason program, a source said.Not only that: Giants co-owner John Mara said he hopes long-term to progress toward a grass field, or at least a hybrid, for the stadium’s NFL games.He knows the stadium will need a grass pitch for the 2026 World Cup.“It would have to go down for the World Cup,” Mara said. “I foresee a day — my hope is that we can get to a day some point in the future that we can have a grass field that we’re able to maintain with two different teams and all the other events. I think we can get there at some point. Maybe it’s a hybrid product or something.”NFL players, including the union, had complained loudly about M...

Mikal Bridges explodes for 42 points, Nets beat Hawks for second straight win

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:48 GMT

Mikal Bridges drove the lane, hop-stepped, pump-faked to get his man in the air, then absorbed the contact, whipped the ball off the glass with English for the and-one bucket.Then he turned around and flexed for the camera before dapping up his teammate, Dorian Finney-Smith.The basket was the dagger in the Nets’ 124-107 victory over the No. 8-seeded Atlanta Hawks on Friday, a moment that prompted Hawks head coach Quin Snyder to throw in the proverbial towel and empty his bench down big with just under four minutes left in the fourth quarter.It also gave Nets fans something to celebrate: First came the “Brooklyn Bridges” chants. Then came the clamors for MVP.So much of the discussion surrounding the Nets in the aftermath of the pair of mega trades that sent Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out West has centered around Brooklyn’s lack of a primary offensive weapon.It’s the reason why, prior to Wednesday’s “pretty lucky” victory over the lot...

Celtics shake off travel woes, hold off Jazz for hard-fought victory

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:48 GMT

Less than 24 hours after one of their best wins of the season, the Celtics could have made excuses.Travel issues made the Celtics stay an extra night in Milwaukee after their blowout win over the Bucks, and they didn’t land in Boston until about six hours before tip-off for their game against the Jazz. The visitors’ top players – including All-Star Lauri Markkanen – were out. The Celtics’ top two frontcourt players, Al Horford and Robert Williams, were also missing from the lineup.The Celtics have suffered many puzzling losses to inferior, shorthanded opponents throughout the season and about a week until the playoffs, Friday’s matchup – the second night of a back-to-back – had the ingredients for another one. But coach Joe Mazzulla wanted his team to learn from their mistakes of old and emphasized responding to wins as much as they did losses, like they did on Thursday after Tuesday’s bad loss to the Wizards. Mazzulla said Thursday’s big win over the Bucks wouldn’t matter without t...

Cole Anthony taking advantage of midrange opportunities as Magic beat Wizards

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:48 GMT

The Orlando Magic have a clear hierarchy in the type of field-goal attempts they want: shots near the rim, free throws and feet-set 3-pointers.The Magic are mostly successful in these desires, being top 10 in shot frequency at the rim (10th) and free-throw rate (6th). Orlando doesn’t take many 3s.But most modern defenses are designed to take away these shots, leaving one area of the floor open: the midrange.The Magic aren’t shy when it comes to taking intermediate shots and they weren’t in Friday’s 116-109 road win over the Washington Wizards (34-43) at Capital One Arena.Nearly one-third (32.2%) of their field-goal attempts come from the midrange, the 12th-highest mark in the league, including 11% (8th-highest) from “long midrange,” according to database Cleaning The Glass.“You don’t want to take away from what the game is giving you in those moments,” coach Jamahl Mosley said ahead of Friday’s win. “Early on, you wan...