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USA Today
7 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
Best fits for remaining NFL free agents
Best fits for remaining NFL free agents This is the USA TODAY Sports NFL newsletter, 4th and Monday. If this newsletter isn't already getting conveniently delivered to your inbox, click here to subscribe. USA TODAY Sports is now on Bluesky! Give us a follow for more of our NFL content. Aaron Rodgers continues to keep football fans on the edge of their seats, wondering when he will make a decision on his playing future. Just kidding, we have better things to do right now (like planning summer vacations, or wishing we were still on one!). However, the frontman for the 2025 NFL offseason's lamest storyline isn't the only notable veteran player still available via free agency. Think your team needs an experienced wide receiver? Amari Cooper and Keenan Allen surprisingly are unsigned. As are safeties Justin Simmons and Julian Blackmon. With many players you've heard of still available (for the right price!), USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon explores the best landing spots for the top 10 remaining free agents. 📷: NFL players on the move in 2025 HOT READS 🎯 The best NFL reads from USA TODAY and our Sports Network. 🏈 Appointment reading alert🚨: "Project: June" is here to satisfy your offseason NFL fix. We will publish at least one NFL-themed story every day throughout the month. So, make sure to regularly visit USA TODAY Sports' NFL page for all the goodies. 🏈 Deion Sanders admitted that the draft slide of his son Shedeur Sanders "did hurt" him emotionally. 🏈 Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz has 10 prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft who will be looking to bounce back this fall in order to boost their stock. 📈 🏈 Nate Davis wrote that Patrick Mahomes' latest comments further illustrated the difference between the Chiefs – a Super Bowl regular – and the 49ers – a team that hasn't won a Super Bowl in more than 30 years. 🏈 Russell Wilson has a lot of reasons why he signed with the New York Giants, but it seems Malik Nabers is a big one. 🏈 Buffalo Bills quarterback (and 2024 NFL MVP) Josh Allen married actress Hailee Steinfeld over the weekend. Take a look at photos from the ceremony. 👰🏻 9️⃣4️⃣ days until kickoff of 2025 NFL season ⏳ There are fewer than 100 days until the 2025 NFL season opens with the Kickoff Game between the Dallas Cowboys and defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4. With 94 days to go until the 2025 season opener, here's a look at the greatest-ever NFL players to wear No. 94: DeMarcus Ware: Ware was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2023. A vital cog on the Denver Broncos' Super Bowl 50-winning team, Ware twice led the league in sacks and had eight double-digit sacks seasons over his 12-year NFL career. Cameron Jordan: The eight-time Pro Bowler who has registered six double-digit sack seasons for the New Orleans Saints is a sure-fire Hall of Famer when he calls it a career. Charles Haley: Disruptive defensive force for five Super Bowl-winning teams – he was the first player to collect five Super Bowl rings. Haley was a 2015 Hall of Fame inductee. Chad Brown: Hall of Very Good player was a standout linebacker in the 1990s for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks. Dana Stubblefield: Won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 1993, won a Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers during the 1994 season and earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1997. NFL classics: Straight from the YouTube algorithm 🏈🎞️ This is where we reprise some NFL lore and recall classic, memorable moments from yesteryear. While we're on the number 94, let's turn back the clock to 1994, which was the NFL's 75th anniversary season. Some notable things that happened that season: An absolutely loaded San Francisco 49ers team boat raced the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl 29. You will not see this one getting replayed on "NFL Classics" on NFL Network. 49ers WR Jerry Rice set the record for most career touchdown receptions on "Monday Night Football." The Phoenix Cardinals changed their name to the Arizona Cardinals. This was the Raiders' final season in Los Angeles. The two-point conversion finally was adopted by the NFL. And, the salary cap came into effect this season. If you have 43 minutes to take in all that was the 1994 NFL season, here's NFL Films' highlights from that memorable year. If you enjoy reading 4th and Monday 📰, encourage your football fan friends to subscribe 📱. Follow the writer of this newsletter on social media @jimreineking.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Phoenix Suns and the Kevin Durant-Devin Booker trade options: We want your voice
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant were just as stunned as everyone else when the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic before the 2025 trade deadline. What, if anything, would it take to move Booker? What is the situation with Durant? We want your thoughts, opinion and will answer questions about the future of the Suns' stars. Advertisement Reach out at the contact points at the end of this story. It happened to Doncic, and Booker and KD reacted with surprise in the wake of that deal. Booker: 'It's crazy, man. I really don't know what to say about it. Luka being a guy that everybody has claimed is untouchable and untradeable. The NBA shows you again. … You can't predict it. It's a business. They're always having a conversation about you. Don't think that you're safe.' Durant: 'You start seeing stuff like that, as an organization, you might get a little more courage to do some stuff. You see another team trade away somebody like that. This got to be the biggest trade I've seen since I've been in the league or since I've been watching the sport. This is insane. So yeah, every other team might get confidence and say (expletive) it, I'll trade a few of my top players if this ain't working.' The Phoenix Suns wound up finishing the season missing the playoffs with a 36-46 record despite having Booker and Durant, two of the NBA's top 10 scorers, who won Olympic gold in Paris. Advertisement So, it's not a surprise their names are circulating in trade rumors/talks this offseason. Will one, both or neither get traded? It seems unlikely Phoenix would move Booker, the franchise's all-time leading scorer. Durant is a 30,000-point career scorer, a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, league MVP winner, and Phoenix's best player, but the team entertained trade talks involving him before the 2025 deadline. So fans, what are your thoughts and questions on whether the Suns will move their two best players? Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@ or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin. Advertisement Support local journalism: Subscribe to today. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns and Kevin Durant-Devin Booker options: We want your voice
Miami Herald
03-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Panthers-Maple Leafs series is also a matchup between Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz
The Florida Panthers saw the Anthony Stolarz's rise from relative unknown to capable starting NHL goaltender first-hand. He toiled They have Roberto Luongo to thank for that. 'That's the guy that I identified last summer as a potential target,' Luongo, the Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender who is now a special assistant to Florida president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito and leads the Panthers' Goaltending Excellence Department, told the Miami Herald. 'Obviously he had the size [at 6-6 and 243 pounds], so that was appealing to the start, but he's a guy that we thought had some talent, but never really got an opportunity and always played on a team that you know wasn't really a competitor. He was the type of guy that had some upside, maybe that was untapped that we were able to see.' The Panthers tapped into that potential last season, when Stolarz served as Sergei Bobrovsky's backup to form a formidable one-two punch with the soon-to-be Hall of Famer in the regular season on the way to the team's first Stanley Cup title. Stolarz, 31, parlayed that into a two-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs and an opportunity to be a full-time starter. It was a success story for both parties, and now paths are about to cross. The Panthers and the Maple Leafs are set to face off in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, with Game 1 of the best-of-7 series set for Monday at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena (8 p.m., ESPN). When the puck drops, it will be Bobrovsky in net for Florida, Stolarz for Toronto. The tandem from last season's Stanley Cup champions now stand in each other's way for a chance to continue in the postseason. But while the focus remains on winning, there is a mutual relationship between the netminders, one that will stand long after the series ends. 'We had a good relationship, that's true,' Bobrovsky said of facing Stolarz. 'It was a good partnership as well last year. It's going to be good. It's going to be fun. He's a good goalie.' Bobrovsky saw that first-hand. Stolarz played in 27 games for Florida last season (with 24 starts) and played to a stellar .925 save percentage and 2.03 goals against average with a pair of shutouts. Together, he and Bobrovsky worked to a collective .913 save percentage in the regular season that was the second-best in the NHL And while Stolarz only made one appearance during Florida's Stanley Cup playoff run — entering in relief during Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, an eventual 8-1 loss — he said being around 'a true pro' like Bobrovsky helped him understand what it takes to be successful in key moments. 'His work ethic speaks for itself,' Stolarz said last season. 'He's the first on the ice every day, always working. He rarely takes a day off unless it's after a game. His work ethic has really pushed me and that's allowed me to kind of push myself as hard as I can.' Stolarz's success has carried over to Toronto. Although he missed about two months of the season due to a knee injury, Stolarz still went 21-8-3 in 34 games (33 starts) with a .926 save percentage and 2.14 goals against average in the regular season while splitting time with Joseph Woll. He started all six of Toronto's games in its first-round series against the Ottawa Senators, stopping 128 of 144 shots he faced. Now, Bobrovsky has been pretty good this season once again in his own right. He went 33-19-2 in 54 starts this season, logging five shutouts along with a .906 save percentage and 2.44 goals against average. His game tends to elevate in the playoffs, as the Panthers saw last season during their run to the Stanley Cup. That's not lost on Stolarz, who is hoping to have similar results going against Bobrovsky. 'He was one hell of a teammate,' Stolarz said after signing with Toronto. 'I'm going to miss him, but at the end of the day, he's on the dark side now and I'm actually looking forward to playing him.' That time has come. Game 1 is on Monday. 'I feel excited definitely to play against Toronto in Canada,' Bobrovsky said. 'It's probably one of the best atmospheres to play, the capital of hockey. It's going to be a good challenge.'
NBC Sports
29-04-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Maine WR Montigo Moss, Randy Moss' son, will tryout at Vikings' rookie minicamp
Maine wide receiver Montigo Moss, the son of Hall of Famer Randy Moss, has accepted an invitation to the Vikings' rookie minicamp, Moss' representation announced Tuesday. Montigo Moss went undrafted over the weekend, but his father's team will give him a shot as a tryout player. Montigo Moss caught 61 passes for 722 yards and seven touchdowns in earning All-CAA honors last season. In five college seasons, he caught 143 passes for 1,692 yards and 16 touchdowns. Randy Moss was a first-round pick of the Vikings in 1998 on his way to becoming one of the best receivers in NFL history. He played eight seasons in Minnesota and made 587 catches for 9,316 yards and 92 touchdowns. Moss was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2018.
Forbes
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Will Sergey Kovalev Be A Boxing Hall Of Famer?
After 16 years and 42 professional fights, Sergey Kovalev has retired from boxing after ending his career in style with a TKO of Artur Mann in his home country of Russia earlier this month. Kovalev was once one of the most feared fighters on the planet, and though he lost five of his last 11 bouts, observers have openly wondered in the past few days whether Kovalev will eventually be a Boxing Hall of Famer. In his prime, Kovalev was a ruthless power puncher, stopping 12 of 13 opponents (including a number of undefeated fighters who were at about the B-level) from 2011-2016. Kovalev has beaten champions and at least one Hall of Famer. He perhaps should have been awarded a victory over another. But the last few years of his career could also be a detriment to earning an induction into the HOF. As a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America since 2016, I've been honored to have voted for the Hall of Fame for the past eight years. If Kovalev is done fighting for good, he'd have to wait three years before the HOF could put him on the ballot. When he makes the ballot, he would need to be among the top-three vote-getters from that year (or be selected on more than 80% of the ballots). Let's talk about Kovalev's chances of earning entry into the HOF. After winning 16 straight to start his career, he had a strange draw against a 5-4 opponent in 2011. But after that, Kovalev had quite a run, stopping Nathan Cleverly in 2013 for a light heavyweight title, knocking down and then shutting out Bernard Hopkins the next year to unify a pair of 175-pound belts, and beating Jean Pascal twice in 2015 and 2016. Is that run good enough for the HOF? No. But he did go on to beat the undefeated Eleider Alvarez in a 2019 rematch (Kovalev lost in the first meeting) and then knocked out the undefeated Anthony Yarde in his next fight. Kovalev's first defeat came against Andre Ward in 2016 (all three judges had it 114-113 for Ward), though many observers believed Kovalev, who knocked down Ward in the second round, deserved the win. Ward stopped Kovalev in the rematch with some nasty-looking body shots. From there, Kovalev was stopped by Eleider Alvarez and Canelo Alvarez in a high-profile matchup where Kovalev actually boxed on equal footing with Canelo before Kovalev got knocked out in the 11th round. Kovalev's final defeat came at the hands of the relatively unknown Robin Sirwan Safar in 2024. One of the big misses of Kovalev's career was the inability to land a mega-fight vs. Adonis Stevenson. The two fought on competing networks (Stevenson only wanted to fight on Showtime; Kovalev was an HBO fighter), and no deal could ever be made. If Kovalev could have fought and beat Stevenson, who held a 175-pound title from 2013-2018, his HOF candidacy could look a little different. As he told Boxing News, 'I'm very disappointed that we never fought Adonis Stevenson. It killed my dream to be absolute [undisputed] world champion.' Still, Kovalev was considered for a time to be a top-5 pound-for-pound fighter – which is an important qualification for me when I turn in my ballot. In fact, The Ring magazine ranked him as the No. 2 fighter in the world in parts of 2015 and 2016, only behind Roman 'Chocolatito' Gonzalez. He's also had some low moments outside of the ring, including a 2018 arrest for allegedly punching a woman in the face. He was charged with felony assault, and more than two years later, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. Will that factor into a voter's decision on whether he should enter the HOF? Only time will tell. The amount of money you make doesn't make or break you as a Hall of Famer. But let's talk about it anyway, because Kovalev had some nice paydays. His first seven-figure check came against Bernard Hopkins, where Kovalev earned a $1 million payday. He then made a $2 million base for the first Ward matchup (but probably ended up earning much more). Interestingly, Kovalev didn't have a base purse for the rematch (he was only guaranteed a percentage of the PPV and ticket sales money). But all of that was an appetizer to the reported $12 million he made for the Canelo Alvarez bout. If we're making an educated guess, we can say that Kovalev likely made somewhere in the $20 million-$22 million range during his career. As I've written many times in the past, one voter's criteria can be much different from another's. Here's what I value as a voter: Dominance in a division and inclusion on the mythical pound-for-pound list; a sustained reign as one of the top fighters in their weight division; and victories against the top-notch boxers of his era. Some voters don't believe a fighter's popularity or money-making abilities should factor into the equation. I disagree (I'll always believe Arturo Gatti and Ricky Hatton deserve their places in the HOF because of the sheer excitement they brought to the sport). Kovalev was one of the best fighters in the sport for a solid period of time. He was feared (until he got knocked out by Ward), and the early part of his career was certainly leading him on the path to the HOF. To me, Kovalev is a borderline candidate. If he'd beaten Ward the first time, he'd be a definite yes. Without that victory, it's a more difficult slog. On a down year, where there's no surefire HOF candidate, I could see myself potentially voting for Kovalev and him potentially getting his induction. But I also wouldn't bet my mortgage that he'll one day be enshrined. He's perhaps just missing that one massive victory. More Hall of Fame predictions: Will Deontay Wilder Be A Boxing Hall Of Famer? Will Regis Prograis Be A Boxing Hall Of Famer?
