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Edmonton Journal
5 days ago
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Nazem Kadri and HDA aim to inspire Toronto youth through hockey
Article content After a few years of work, Nazem Kadri can see the progress the Hockey Diversity Alliance has made, both on the ice and in the faces of those given the chance to try a sport once far from their reach. Article content 'This is a pretty exciting moment in time,' the Calgary Flames forward said ahead of Saturday's HDA SummerFest for 250 marginalized youth and their families at Canoe Landing Park in downtown Toronto. 'We've been tracking a lot of players, helping to welcome so many to hockey. Article content 'We provide coaching, ice time and we're so pleased about 50 have gone on to competitive hockey, including Triple A in the GTHL. Article content Article content 'The introduction is the main thing. Maybe they don't ultimately play, but we help them where they want to go in life. That's the serious potential (of the HDA's mission).' Article content On Saturday, Kadri will be joined by a number of HDA executive board members such as another former Leaf, Wayne Simmonds, plus Anthony Duclair, Matt Dumba, Akim Aliu, Chris Stewart and Joel Ward with special guests former NFLers Colin Kaepernick and Marshawn Lynch. The cost-free event will include the kids' families and a road hockey tournament. Article content 'It's a great mesh of people, really genuine guys (Kaepernick's story of being shunned by football for his personal beliefs is well known),' Kadri said. 'It's great to see the support from non-hockey guys. In a city as multi-national as Toronto, it's so big to have them here. Article content Article content 'Trying to play sports, it can be hard-hitting for people in some communities. There's certainly difficulty in hockey with costs and finding (arena) facilities. Some events we've sponsored are just to get their feet on the ground, to see what the program is like. Article content Article content 'But we can see their happiness. I've had multiple parents come up and thank us and received a few e-mails from people who've benefitted from it.' Article content Kadri, the London, Ont.-born grandson of Lebanese immigrants, now has a six-year-old daughter and hopes she grows up playing sports and not thinking twice about the skin colour of her teammates or opponents. Article content 'Parenting makes you look at life differently,' the 34-year-old Kadri said. 'You start thinking about the next generation and what's to come.'
Newsweek
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Newsweek
Chargers RB Najee Harris Injured in 4th of July Fireworks Accident
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Former New York Giants Pro Bowl pass-rusher Jason Pierre-Paul became a cautionary tale for all NFLers back in 2015 when he injured himself in a fireworks accident on the 4th of July. Pierre-Paul set off a firework in his hand, resulting in the amputation of his right index finger plus the partial loss of his right thumb and middle finger. He had to play the second half of 2015 (he made his season debut in Week 9) with a giant club-shaped cast on his right hand. "I carry myself differently," Pierre-Paul told Sports Illustrated of what he took away from the accident. "I look at things differently. I try not to put myself in horrible situations anymore. I have a lot of people depending on me—even people I didn't know depended on me. "... I could dwell on it, like, [expletive], I wish I had that finger, but when I look in the mirror, I'm happy. Thank the Lord—it could have been worse." More NFL: Ominous Browns Prediction Signals Bad News for Shedeur Sanders Ever since Pierre-Paul's incident, the NFL has taken 4th of July safety much more seriously, annually warning players of the dangers of tempting fate. But despite the number of warnings and precautions the NFL sends out to its players, there's bound to be a few slip ups. Enter Najee Harris. Najee Harris #22 of the Los Angeles Chargers runs a route during the Los Angeles Chargers offseason workouts at The Bolt on May 12, 2025 in El Segundo, California. Najee Harris #22 of the Los Angeles Chargers runs a route during the Los Angeles Chargers offseason workouts at The Bolt on May 12, 2025 in El Segundo, 27-year-old tailback, who signed a one-year, $5.25 million contract with the Los Angeles Chargers after spending his first four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was involved in a 4th of July accident of his own, according to his agent Doug Hendrickson, though his was fortunately nowhere near as severe as Pierre-Paul's. "Najee Harris was present at a 4th of July event where a fireworks mishap resulted in injuries to several attendees," Hendrickson said, via ESPN's Adam Schefter. "Najee sustained a superficial eye injury during the incident, but is fully expected to be ready for the upcoming NFL season." More NFL: Caleb Williams Is Already Better Than $55 Million QB, Says NFL Analyst Fortunately for the Chargers, Harris' eye injury doesn't appear to be serious enough to put him at risk of missing any part of the 2025 season. Per Fox Sports, the Contra Costa Fire Protection District shared over the weekend that five people were injured in a fireworks-related accident, with one of the five victims listed in serious condition. According to that report, four of the injured were taken to the hospital and the fifth person later went to the hospital.
Ottawa Citizen
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Davis: CFL neg lists come out of the dark; players' salaries should be next
Article content Negotiation lists used to be so secretive that American players (and their agents) didn't know their CFL rights were owned until a team contacted them. That was also an advantage enjoyed by the teams because a listed player, at any time, can formally request a contract. The team has 10 days to comply, otherwise the player becomes available for another team to list him. Article content Most Canadian players are initially obtained via the college draft, but most American players — who comprise more than half a CFL team's active roster — are signed from neg lists. Article content CFL scouts and general managers typically neg-list U.S. college prospects who aren't surefire NFLers, so it's sometimes a guessing game that can change if a player makes an NFL roster. Indeed, the neg lists are constantly in flux. Article content For the past six years each CFL team was twice annually required to reveal 10 of its neg-list players. That wasn't enough to be wholeheartedly interesting. Even full disclosure of the neg lists isn't quite enough for full-fledged fans, but it's a very good start. Article content
Calgary Herald
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Davis: CFL neg lists come out of the dark; players' salaries should be next
Article content Negotiation lists used to be so secretive that American players (and their agents) didn't know their CFL rights were owned until a team contacted them. That was also an advantage enjoyed by the teams because a listed player, at any time, can formally request a contract. The team has 10 days to comply, otherwise the player becomes available for another team to list him. Article content Most Canadian players are initially obtained via the college draft, but most American players — who comprise more than half a CFL team's active roster — are signed from neg lists. Article content CFL scouts and general managers typically neg-list U.S. college prospects who aren't surefire NFLers, so it's sometimes a guessing game that can change if a player makes an NFL roster. Indeed, the neg lists are constantly in flux. Article content For the past six years each CFL team was twice annually required to reveal 10 of its neg-list players. That wasn't enough to be wholeheartedly interesting. Even full disclosure of the neg lists isn't quite enough for full-fledged fans, but it's a very good start. Article content
NBC Sports
25-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Darrell "Housh" Doucette hopes flag football players get an opportunity to make Olympic team
He's five feet, seven inches. He weighs 140 pounds. Darrell 'Housh' Doucette nevertheless performed a cannonball into the deep end of the pro football pool last year, when he declared he'd be a better flag football player than Patrick Mahomes, given Doucette's knowledge of the game. Doucette and other flag football players ostensibly will get their chance, if the tryout process for the 2028 Olympics gives them a fair chance to compete with active NFL players. 'The flag guys deserve their opportunity,' Doucette told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. 'That's all we want. We felt like we worked hard to get the sport to where it's at, and then when the NFL guys spoke about it, it was like we were getting kicked to the side. I felt like I was the guy who could speak out for my peers, for my brothers that's been working hard to get to this level, for us not to be forgotten.' Doucette believes that the current complement of American flag football players is good enough to win gold, without NFL players horning in. 'This is a sport that we've played for a long time, and we feel like we are the best at it and we don't need other guys,' Doucette said. 'But we all have one goal in mind, and that's to represent our country. We're definitely open to all competition. If those guys come in and ball out and they're better than us, hats off to them. Go win that gold medal for our country.' Doucette's confidence comes from the inherent differences between flag football and tackle football. 'It's entirely two different games,' Doucette said. 'You can't really compare flag football and tackle football.' 'These are things that we practice and we work on to become great,' Doucette said. 'Those guys, they don't understand it yet.' The looming opponents of the U.S. men's team believe the NFL players will figure it out. Chad Palmer, the head coach of the Canadian men's national flag football team for eight years, would rather face Doucette and his teammates than an all-star collection of NFL talent. 'We have a better chance of beating the flag players than the NFLers,' Palmer told Kilgore. 'I say that with a fair bit of confidence.' Palmer believes former tackle players have greater skills than flag players. He also believes that tackle football players can quickly close the gap with their tackle football skills. 'The transferables are all over the place,' Palmer said. 'If you take a Ja'Marr Chase — he's spent his entire life route-running and finding leverage in coverage and understanding football and getting paid a lot of money to do it. How can a player that's playing a rec sport in the past be even in the same stratosphere? No chance.' Palmer believes the Canadian team also will consist of primarily NFL players, too. 'I don't think the current guys who have been doing it for a long time will hold a candle to the pros,' Palmer said. Still, with the NFL limiting eligibility to one player per team (along with the franchise's International Pathway Program player), there will only be so many high-end NFL players to go around. In all, 32 non-IPP players will be available. With a five-on-five format and 10 players per team and six teams in the 2028 Olympic tournament, neither half of all players necessarily won't be from regular NFL rosters.
