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Raiders failed to provide in-game injury update for Marcus Mariota

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The Raiders didn’t fail to disclose the Clelin Ferrell back injury before Monday night’s game against the Ravens. During the contest, however, the Raiders failed to disclose quarterback Marcus Mariota‘s in-game injury.

Mariota entered for one snap, ran the ball 31 yards, and left. Coach Jon Gruden told reporters on Tuesday that Mariota had been injured. The Raiders told no one during the game that Mariota was injured.

“Club personnel are responsible for reporting in-game injury information factually and accurately as soon as possible for the benefit of the network television audience and the other media covering our games,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy explained via email to PFT on Tuesday. “To ensure fans in the stadium have access to the same information, these injury updates must also be posted on the stadium video boards, scoreboards or ribbon boards. The in-game injury updates must be disseminated simultaneously to all parties — the network television broadcaster, the media in the press box and the fans in the stadium. . . . In-game injury announcements to the media must be specific to a body part, accurate, and updated as warranted, including any changes to the player’s status for the remainder of the game if his status changes after the initial report.”

With the spread of legalized sports gambling (and the arrival of the NFL in the place where sports gambling has been legal for decades), this is no small issue. Full transparency becomes critical when it comes to player injuries, and the league can’t afford to look the other way.

In 2018, the Raiders were fined $20,000 for failing to downgrade offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele from questionable to out when he didn’t travel with the team for a  road game against the Chargers. Based on the failure to disclose an injury to Mariota, who clearly was injured, the Raiders may be making another involuntary contribution to a charity of the NFL’s choice.

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The Cardinals’ unheralded trades for J.A. Happ and Jon Lester are paying off – The Athletic

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Eight words out of nearly 2,500. That’s all I devoted to the Cardinals in my trade-deadline wrapup, and I did not even mention by name the two left-handed starting pitchers they had acquired, Jon Lester and J.A. Happ. All I wrote was, “. . . even the Cardinals (2 percent) fortified their rotation” – the 2 percent referring to the team’s playoff odds on deadline day, July 30.

I was not alone in dismissing the Cardinals. Fan, media and industry reaction to the additions of Lester and Happ ranged from indifference to derision. The Cardinals at the time were 51-51, 9 1/2 games back in the NL Central, 7 1/2 back in the wild-card race. Yet they determined their solutions were Lester, 37, who had a 5.02 ERA with the Nationals, and Happ, 38, who had a 6.77 ERA with the Twins. And lest anyone forget, their ace, Adam Wainwright, was about to turn 40.

“I knew there were some jokes out there about the age of our staff,” Happ said, but jokes were only part of it. There was actual criticism, too. “You hear it. And I understood it,” Lester said. “I knew I wasn’t having a great year. Not many people trade for someone who has a 5 ERA and say, ‘He’s going to come help us.’”

Lester has, producing a 4.30 ERA in eight starts, including a 1.90 in his last four. So has Happ, whose ERA is 2.

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First Call: Steelers-Bills help generate huge NFL TV ratings; Raiders injury update; James Franklin fails to sidestep USC rumors

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Wednesday’s “First Call” shows us some remarkable television ratings for the Steelers-Bills game and the rest of the NFL.

The Vegas Raiders get bad news on the injury front as they prepare to face the Steelers Sunday at Heinz Field.

Penn State coach James Franklin makes a poor attempt to quell rumors about USC having an interest in him.

And the Baltimore Ravens make an interesting contract move.

Bad news on Good

The Las Vegas Raiders have suffered a significant loss heading into their game against the Steelers Sunday at Heinz Field. Starting right guard Denzelle Good tore his ACL Monday night according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. So that means he’ll be lost for the season.

Via RaidersWire.com, “The Raiders were already fielding a backup at left guard with John Simpson replacing Richie Incognito who was out Monday night with a calf injury. The Raiders are hoping Incognito will be back soon, but he has not practiced in a month, so there’s little indication he is close to returning.”

Good was replaced at right guard by one-time Baltimore Raven Jermaine Eluemunor. Vegas is his third team (Miami Dolphins, Jackson Jaguars) since June 14.

He’ll have a tough assignment trying to deal with the likes of T.J. Watt and Tyson Alualu on that side of the field.

Raging ratings

CBS is boasting about some pretty big television ratings for Week 1 of NFL football.

The network claims that “The NFL on CBS” delivered its “second most-watched Week 1 audience since 1998.” CBS states that its combined average viewership for Sunday’s doubleheader windows totaled 33.472 million viewers, pacing only behind Week 1 of 2015 (38.172 million viewers).

That’s according to Nielsen national ratings.

Viewership of the Steelers-Bills game at 1 p.m. ET helped get the ball rolling. The regional game window averaged 13.933 million viewers. Sunday’s doubleheader averaged 16.586 million viewers. That’s up 21% versus last year’s 13.674 million viewers for opening weekend.

However, the 4:25 p.m. ET national window — highlighted by the game between the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs — stole the show. It was the most-watched Sunday telecast on any network, averaging 19.539 million viewers.

On the list

The Athletic has tabbed Penn State football coach James Franklin as one of the coaches who may be interested in the suddenly open USC head coaching job.

Clay Helton was relieved of his duties from that position Monday. He has been with the University since 2010 and has been the head coach since November 2015.

Even though Franklin has a coveted coaching job with the Nittany Lions, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman thinks that Franklin may have an interest in heading west for this gig.

“He’s recruited very well, and has the kind of presence that would resonate well in Los Angeles,” Feldman said. “He knows he’s got a very good job in Happy Valley, not too far from where he grew up. Still, he’s now been there a long time and won a ton of games, but jobs like USC don’t come open often. This is probably one of the few situations in college football to which I think he would have a hard time saying no. Franklin has a buyout now, but at $4 million, and for USC that’s manageable for a top-tier coach.”

Franklin commented on the rumors during his weekly press conference Tuesday.

Did you hear the words “no” or “not interested” or “I’m staying” in there? Because I didn’t.

A penny saved

In the wake of the Baltimore Ravens’ Week 1 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, the franchise restructured the contract of Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey.

ESPN’s Field Yates reports that Baltimore converted $2.254 million of Humphrey‘s base salary into a signing bonus. That created about $1.8 million in cap space.

Maybe a little of that extra money can go toward signing a better right tackle than Alejandro Villanueva? Is that possible?

Via ProFootballTalk.com, Humphrey signed a five-year, $98.75 million contract extension last October. He was scheduled to make $3.224 million in base salary this season.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.



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Sports

John McEnroe calls Emma Raducanu’s US Open win ‘crazy’

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Raducanu upset the odds to become the first qualifier to win a grand slam during the Open era on Saturday, beating fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez in the final at Flushing Meadows.

Her breathtaking performances in New York came off the back of a promising debut at Wimbledon just two months before, where she reached the fourth round before withdrawing with “breathing difficulties.”

“Totally unexpected. Never thought it would happen in my lifetime to see an 18 and 19-year-old do it,” McEnroe told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, speaking of the all-teen final at the US Open.

“I think the women’s game is more open than it’s ever been so that’s a sign that a lot more players think they have a chance.

“I can’t imagine anyone in her [Raducanu] camp expected this. To win the US Open without losing a set, that’s crazy. She’s a tremendous athlete, she seems like a great kid.”

READ: Novak Djokovic’s tears, booing during sets and history denied

Wimbledon controversy

Following Raducanu’s withdrawal from Wimbledon, McEnroe was criticized for saying the situation had become “too much” for her.

At the time, it was not clear what made the youngster stop playing, but she later said the “whole experience caught up with me” and that she began to “breathe heavily and felt dizzy” after a number of “super intense rallies.”

McEnroe received backlash from people saying he was questioning the youngster’s mental strength but insists he never meant to cause offense and only ever intended to support the breakthrough star.

“I meant exactly what I said,” he added. “I tried to relate it in a small way to my experience when I first went to Wimbledon also at 18 and managed to qualify like Emma did.

“I played Jimmy Connors, I hadn’t been on Centre Court. I remember my leg shaking and being totally overwhelmed by the experience and almost happy I didn’t win.

“There’s a lot of great upsides, but there’s also pressure you put on yourself and expectations that others put on you.

“Compared to a lot of other things I’ve said in the past, I mean that was to me as vanilla as it comes. I was very supportive of her, I thought, at the time.”

The seven-time grand slam singles winner — who was renowned for his mid-match antics — says he hopes Raducanu can deal with the newfound attention on her career.

The teenager was barely known outside of tennis before this year but is now one of the biggest stars in the game.

“I don’t think you could possibly do it any better than she did it [at the U.S. Open],” McEnroe added. “That’s insane that she’s been able to do this.”

“Of course, pressure comes with that, expectation comes with that. I’m sure she expects to win a lot more moving forward.”

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Sports

Man United given reality check by Young Boys as Champions League campaign begins with defeat

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3:42 PM ET

  • Rob DawsonCorrespondent

BERN, Switzerland — It should have been a night for this new-look Manchester United team to display their Champions League credentials, but in the end it was another evening to suggest there is more to be done than simply signing Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Despite another goal from the Portuguese superstar, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team lost 2-1 to Young Boys in Bern on Tuesday, a result that owed much to playing for 55 minutes with 10 men after Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s needless red card and a horrible mistake from Jesse Lingard in stoppage time that gifted the Swiss side a late winner.

There will be questions, too, about Solskjaer’s tactics after the sending-off, as his decision to switch to a five-man defence at half-time seemed to invite pressure rather than combat it.

Young Boys had 19 shots to United’s two — the last of which came in the 25th minute — and the only surprise was that the second goal took so long to arrive. Substitute Jordan Pefok, a United States international, finally got it with the last kick of the match.

The good news for Solskjaer is that there are another five games to back up his prematch claim that his team are ready to win the Champions League, but the Norwegian has now lost seven of his 11 games in the competition as United manager. This was meant to be an easy group, but not now.

“In football in general, not just the Champions League, discipline is a huge part of the game,” Solskjaer said afterwards. “A lack of concentration, make a mistake and you get punished, you get done. Aaron is normally a very, very astute tackler, one of the best in the world, but it gave us a more difficult task.

“Jesse wants to play it safe and misplaces the pass, concedes the goal; that happens in football. ‘Harry Hindsight’ is a very good player. If Jesse gets that chance again, he turns, swivels and boots the ball the other way.

“You need 10 or 12 points [to qualify], win your home games, one away from home. We’ve lost the opportunity to get three points, but we’ve got two home games next and we’ve got to focus on those two.”

Solskjaer highlighted the new strength of his squad ahead of the trip to Switzerland and took advantage of his options by bringing Victor Lindelof, Fred and Donny van de Beek into his starting lineup.

There might have been more changes for what should, on paper, have been United’s easiest Champions League away day, but Solskjaer will not have forgotten about the six changes he made for the trip to Istanbul Basaksehir last season. The 2-1 defeat in Turkey contributed to an early exit at the group stage, and Solskjaer can only hope the same result here does not turn out to be a bad omen.

There was no chance Ronaldo would be left out. After scoring twice on his comeback against Newcastle on Saturday, it took him just 13 minutes to find the net here, drifting to the back post to stab the ball underneath scrambling Young Boys goalkeeper David von Ballmoos.

It was made by a delicious pass from the left with the outside of Bruno Fernandes’ right boot. It’s a shame Solskjaer doesn’t count assists because that was a good one.

It was Ronaldo’s 135th Champions League goal on a record-equalling 177th appearance in the competition. It wasn’t his prettiest, but that won’t matter to Solskjaer, who has been desperate for a striker who knows how to be in the right place at the right time, and Ronaldo has turned it into an art form. At least it was a more accurate effort at goal than the one that pole-axed a steward during the warm-up, with Ronaldo having to jog over and make sure he had caused no injury.

It should have signalled the start of a comfortable evening for United, but any hope of that disappeared with one heavy touch from Wan-Bissaka. With the ball running away from him on the hard, artificial surface at Stadion Wankdorf, the right-back went over the top and onto Ulisses Garcia’s ankle. Harry Maguire, Paul Pogba and Fred raced over to plead with French referee Francois Letexier, but Wan-Bissaka can have no complaints. It looked reckless in real time and got worse with every replay.

Solskjaer reshuffled immediately, bringing on Diogo Dalot for Jadon Sancho, and United survived the last 10 minutes of the first half despite a good chance falling to Christian Fassnacht. The frantic end to the half was enough to persuade Solskjaer to change his system at half-time, bringing on Raphael Varane for Van de Beek and switching to a three-man defence. It was unfortunate for Van de Beek, who had not done much wrong after being given a rare start.

But if the idea was to hold on to what they had, it didn’t work. Von Ballmoos was a spectator for the whole second half and Ronaldo, isolated up front with no runners around him, was eventually substituted.

Moumi Ngamaleu equalised via a deflection off Luke Shaw after the hour, but United looked as if they might hold on for a point until Pefok incepted Lingard’s poor back pass to score the winner in the 95th minute.

Maguire insisted afterwards that the tactical switch had been the right decision, and Solskjaer also defended the change.

“The signs were there the last five minutes of the first half,” Solskjaer said. “In the second half, they were going to get crosses in the box, and Rapha, Victor and Harry coped with it well. It was the best way of controlling them, but we should have done more with the ball.”

United have had plenty of poor nights in Switzerland, including after defeats to Basel in 2011 and 2017, and this was another. After the delirium of Ronaldo’s homecoming at the weekend, it was a brutal reality check that there is work still to do.

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MLB Scores: Giants beat Padres, 6-1

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Many people have asked me, “What makes you like baseball so much?” And there are so many answers I can give them — how a batter’s eyes glitter as he watches his home run leave the yard; the grind of a 162-game season culminating in a euphoric postseason release; the way Lincecum’s hair spiraled out behind him as he fell sideways off the mound; the Dodgers losing, both blowouts and close games, at home and far away, in June, May, July, and September, on days that end with “y” and those that don’t — but at the end of the day, it always comes back to just one true answer: stories. I love the game not just for the moments, but because of how those moments are spun together to create narratives. Arcs of redemption, success, falls from grace and prodigal sons returning, breakouts from new faces and old ones alike, the way you can weave the threads of individual seasons into the tapestry of the whole season. How the game mythologizes itself.

The San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 6-1. They’ve won nine straight. They clinched a postseason slot yesterday and didn’t let their foot off the gas, despite fans’ champagne-laden fears. And this game was a microcosm of so many of this season’s storylines: a resurgent Core Three (Posey, Crawford, Belt), pickups with limited fanfare becoming key players, rookies earning their keep. And most importantly: a team of collected parts, superstars limited, racing to the finish line with the best record in baseball, the Dodgers in the rearview mirror — but not quite able to catch them. Not as of yet.

An example of a storyline: this game’s first run. It was Buster Posey turning on an inside fastball, so inside it almost brushed his jersey. But he had the bat speed to spin on the ball and send it 400 feet into left field.

In 2019, his last full season, Posey hit 7 home runs in 114 games. This home run marked his 18th this season in just 97 games. It’s his highest home run total since 2015, when he hit 19. This is, quite simply, the Renaissance of Buster Posey, in about as obvious detail as you can get. The Giants led 1-0 after the first.

The Padres were, at the start, not to go quite as gentle tonight as they did last night. They tied the game in the third after Jurickson Profar doubled and then came around to score on a Trent Grisham groundout.

The Giants got the run back in the bottom of the inning, however, after consecutive singles left Posey at third and LaMonte Wade Jr. at first. An errant pickoff throw by Jake Arrieta that sailed well to the right of Hosmer allowed Posey to trot home, giving the Giants a 2-1 lead after three. Storyline there: Eduardo Nuñez turned into Shaun Anderson turned into LaMonte Wade Jr. who is now batting cleanup between Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford on a 95-win team and it all makes sense; Zaidi’s brilliance continuing to shine.

The Giants got another run in the fourth. Mike Yastrzemski was hit by a pitch above his right elbow, and eventually came around to score on a Tommy La Stella single. (Anthony DeSclafani had a picture perfect bunt in the middle to advance Yaz to second base). The Giants led 3-1 after four innings.

Meanwhile, DeSclafani turned in another wonderful performance, going 6.2 innings allowing just the one run on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts. Disco, who pitched just 33 innings in 2020 with a 7.22 ERA, has cemented his place in the Giants’ pitching staff as one of their key arms. He’s gone 11-6 and pitched 146 innings with a 3.33 ERA. The redemption arc.

The Giants extended their lead in the bottom of the seventh. Brandon Crawford, having by far the best offensive season of his career, singled. He was then driven home all the way from first by a Darin Ruf double deep into Triples Alley. Storyline there? A 34-year old shortstop, famed far more for his glove than his offense, has a wRC+ of 136 through September. And this time two years ago, Darin Ruf was in the KBO, tearing up the pitching there with unknown dreams of ever making it back to MLB. Now, he possesses a 152 wRC+ with the Giants, has 15 home runs in 283 plate appearances, ranks ninth in the MLB in exit velocity (right behind Shohei Ohtani), and appears poised to continue to do extreme damage against right handers for as long as he possibly can. It was 4-1 Giants after seven.

Tyler Rogers pitched a perfect 8th inning, striking out Fernando Tatis Jr. to add an exclamation mark on top of his fantastic season. Rogers has the 7th-lowest K/9 of any qualified reliever in MLB, by far the lowest fastball velocity at an 82.9 mph average, but possesses the 6th-lowest ERA among qualified relievers as well. He’s been a stalwart in the Giants bullpen since the beginning of the season.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Giants faced an old friend in Mark Melancon. Tommy La Stella worked a 7-pitch walk, then Gabe Kapler brought in Thairo Estrada as a pinch runner. This immediately paid dividends, as Brandon Belt scorched a 109mph double into the gap in left-center, probably rounding the bases with Walt Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!” reverberating in his skull. (He made a little C against his chest in case any of us forgot his captain status).

Posey then hit a ball sharply to Manny Machado, who was forced to hurry a throw to first base that sailed out of Hosmer’s reach again and hit the netting near the Padres dugout. Shades of Posey’s “I’m so fast” from earlier this year. Because the ball was out of play, and therefore a dead ball, Belt scored and Posey went to second, bringing the Giants lead to 6-1. As Andrew Baggarly noted on Twitter, the Giants have scored 6 runs in each of their last nine games, the longest streak of scoring at least 6 runs since 1929.

Doval pitched the ninth inning, striking out Machado and Hosmer on two nasty sliders that broke late and had them swinging out of their shoes. The young flamethrower has had an up and down season, but hasn’t allowed an earned run since rejoining the Giants for this current stint.

Storylines! You couldn’t write them better if you tried. Kris Bryant, the major trade deadline acquisition, hit his 200th career double today, a bullet that went 400 feet and measured at 109mph off the bat. Team-wise, it’s the Giants’ best record through 145 games since at least early 1910s New York. Their enchanting collection of wily veterans, waiver wire pickups, and young guys making impacts are still holding off the juggernaut Dodgers. Their work isn’t done yet, but they’re creating a story that even the most coldhearted of us can’t help but love.



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College football picks, predictions, odds for Week 3: Virginia Tech vs. West Virginia among best bets

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Each week, I will use this space to tell you what I think are a few of the best bets heading into the weekend. I will also throw in an upset of the week, which will be a team that is at least a touchdown underdog that I am picking to win outright.

I will also give you picks on other games involving potential College Football Playoff teams. Just about everybody is technically a CFP candidate right now, so I’ll go with the top 12 teams in the AP Top 25 until things settle in.

I went 2-1 on the picks again last week, so I’m now 4-2 on the season. The upset special was anything but special though, so it’s now 1-1. Somehow, I missed out on Oregon and Stanford.

Here are the best bets for Week 3 with odds from Caesars Sportsbook.

Week 3 picks

No. 15 Virginia Tech at West Virginia

Latest Odds:

West Virginia Mountaineers
-3

The Hokies are off to a great start this season with wins over No. 21 North Carolina and Middle Tennessee State. West Virginia started off with a loss to Maryland and defeated FCS program Long Island last week. Despite that, oddsmakers see these teams as relatively even on a neutral field, which of course, this is not. Still, I think the wrong team is favored here and I’m happy to take the points. Pick: Virginia Tech (+3)

Tulsa at No. 9 Ohio State

Latest Odds:

Ohio State Buckeyes
-24.5

When good teams lay an egg and get upset, the next team up often pays for it. Tulsa has most likely picked a bad day to play Ohio State. The Buckeyes offense, which has functioned very well so far, will have an easier time finishing drives against the Golden Hurricane then it did last week against Oregon. Ohio State’s defense should be able to use this game as a confidence builder. Pick: Ohio State (-26.5)

Georgia Tech at No. 6 Clemson

Latest Odds:

Clemson Tigers
-28.5

Clemson bounced back from a tough game offensively against Georgia with a 49-3 rout of South Carolina State, as expected. Georgia Tech lost at home to Northern Illinois to start the season. The Yellow Jackets picked up a win over Kennesaw State, an FCS program, last week, but there is no hiding the fact that this is it will be a struggle for this team to avoid finishing last in the ACC. The Tigers should win easily. Pick: Clemson (-28.5)

Upset of the week

Michigan State at No. 24 Miami

Latest Odds:

Miami (FL) Hurricanes
-6.5

Michigan State has come out of the gate on fire. The Spartans scored on the first play of the season at Northwestern and has not looked back. The Canes got smoked by Alabama to open the season – why should they be any different? – and needed a late field goal to beat Appalachian State in their home opener. I like the Spartans’ mojo right now and am playing the hot hand. Pick: Michigan State (+205)

Other CFP candidates

Which college football picks can you make with confidence in Week 3, and which Top 25 favorite goes down hard? Visit SportsLine to see which teams will win and cover the spread — all from a proven computer model that has returned over $3,500 in profit over the past five-plus seasons — and find out.

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USC’s Clay Helton evaluation plan that led to his firing

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The criteria for the most consequential decision of Mike Bohn’s career was established ahead of the football season, weeks before the disastrous defeat that accelerated the end of Clay Helton’s disappointing tenure as USC’s coach.

In the late summer it was understood among Bohn, USC President Carol Folt and Rick Caruso, chairman of USC’s board of trustees, that the athletic director would take stock of his embattled football coach at specific points during the 2021 season. At each pre-assigned benchmark, Bohn would evaluate the criteria they agreed upon, from the energy and culture of the team to its on-field performance and competitiveness to recruiting momentum and fan sentiment, among other variables. How would firing — or retaining — Helton affect each of those variables going forward?

Bohn ultimately needed just one evaluation. The first of four planned benchmarks, according to a person familiar with the decision to fire Helton, came last Saturday night.

As USC fell in humiliating fashion, 42-28 to Stanford, every discernible flaw of the Helton era was laid bare in front of a half-empty Coliseum. There were sloppy mistakes and ill-timed penalties, a stagnant offense and a defense that lacked discipline. The stands were draining before the fourth quarter, with USC trailing by four scores. The sideline was lifeless, sending an ominous message to the university decision makers watching from on high.

That night, Helton spoke like a coach who assumed he had time. “We didn’t play our best tonight, but I know this, at the end of the season, see where we’re at,” he said. “See where we’re at.”

USC coach Clay Helton runs onto the field at the Coliseum with his players before losing to Stanford on Saturday.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

But that time had run out on Helton after six full seasons, the last three of which were clouded by intense on-field scrutiny. Had he passed that first benchmark, Helton likely would’ve lasted until the bye week, on Oct. 16, which was slated as the next evaluation point.

Bohn said Tuesday that he didn’t want to make a major decision Saturday night, “in the heat of the emotions associated with a game,” but the next step was clear at the time to the program’s decision makers.

That seemingly sudden choice would call into question why Bohn bothered to keep Helton past the 2020 season and what has changed since USC’s athletic director told The Times in January that he “can’t think of one area we didn’t improve [in 2020]”.

“I just don’t think we had that same sense of belief that with all the resources and the commitment that we put together that we could really aspire to those national championship aspirations that we talk about all the time,” Bohn said on Tuesday. “It just felt like the right time. There’s a sense of knowing when to play things a certain way and just having that gut feeling. I think that we have the right one.”

His calculus is this: With 10 games remaining, USC can still salvage its season.

But that first required navigating a potentially awkward transition. Bohn didn’t want to call a team meeting and cause alarm among players and staff. So he sat on the news through Sunday before he and his chief of staff, Brandon Sosna, met with Helton at 1:30 pm on Monday. They pulled Donte Williams aside just before a team meeting and informed him that he would be the interim coach in Helton’s place.

Helton himself had first been hired after a stint as an interim, ascending to the role of permanent coach before the 2015 season was complete. However, a similar track is unlikely for Williams.

Williams said Tuesday he had “full faith” that USC would make the right decision in hiring its coach. According to a person close to the matter, however, it was made clear to Williams that USC would conduct a full national search whether the Trojans win the next 10 games under Williams’ watch or lose them. Regardless, a person told The Times, the expectation is that USC will work diligently to retain Williams even if, as expected, it goes outside the program for a permanent replacement.

Before they moved forward, however, Bohn thought it important to allow Helton a chance to say his own goodbye. So the coach broke the news to his team during its 2:10 team meeting. Star wideout Drake London called the moment “heart-wrenching.”

“That meant a lot to a lot of players to have that kind of moment after we heard the news,” USC captain and punter Ben Griffiths said. “None of us were really ready for it.”

Meanwhile, at 2:11, Bohn posted a statement on social media that he was making a change.

In the wake of Bohn’s decision, the urgency within the department to get the next coaching hire right— and avoid the fate of so many other FBS bluebloods who have fallen further from relevance because of bad hires — is tremendously high. For Bohn, who previously hired football coaches at both Colorado and Cincinnati, the pressure has never been greater.

“We’re doing everything we can to show our next head coach, wherever that head coach is, that we’re fully committed to winning a national championship,” Bohn said.

USC will conduct a deliberate search, with the expectation that it could drag into December, assuming any of the university’s top candidates are still coaching into the postseason.

What that ideal candidate looks like remains to be seen, but Bohn offered some insight Tuesday into the qualities he covets.

“Leadership, high integrity, character, the ability to connect with young men,” Bohn said. “As you all know, our vision is to be the most student-athlete-centered program in the country, so we want somebody that understands the connectability with young men that are a part of this program and the ability to recruit and bring high-quality, character people to USC and again to pursue championships.”

When asked whether the ideal coach will have previously led his own program, Bohn said, “there’s no replacement for head coaching experience.”

With Helton out just two games into the season and the search for his replacement only just beginning, there will be no shortage of time to craft a fuller portrait of what that ideal coach looks like.

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Royals exploring downtown ballpark in Kansas City

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KANSAS CITY — The Royals have begun to explore options of a downtown ballpark in Kansas City, CEO/chairman John Sherman revealed Tuesday.

One of those options is downtown instead of Jackson County, where Kauffman Stadium is currently in the Truman Sports Complex. The Royals share a parking lot with GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, where the Kansas City Chiefs play.

“We are conducting an internal process to help us evaluate our options of where we play,” Sherman said. “One of those options is to play downtown baseball. We’re starting to get more feedback from the community. We look forward to more. But wherever we play, it’ll meet that criteria. And it’s got to do great things for Kansas City.”

Kauffman Stadium opened as Royals Stadium in 1973. Before then, the Royals debuted as an expansion franchise in ’69 and played their first four seasons at Municipal Stadium near downtown.

This idea of a downtown ballpark isn’t new, and it’s been assumed since Sherman and his group of investors bought the team in 2019 that they would explore this idea — but it will take time. The Royals’ current lease at Kauffman Stadium is up in 2031.

“Since the day we acquired the franchise, trust me, we have had a revolving door with people bringing us lots of ideas, some that have been on the shelf for a long time,” Sherman said. “And we’ve spent our time listening. We’ve also thought about the future of where we play. I would just tell you that we’re in a good spot here at Truman Sports Complex. Our lease is up at the end of the decade. But we need to start thinking about our plans for a stadium over the next five to 10 years.”

Sherman listed several criteria he is keeping in mind when discussing a new ballpark and location.

“Wherever we play, the criteria will be that the process will result in meaningful community impact that is real and measurable,” Sherman said. “It will result in economic growth and economic activity that benefits this region, also in a real and measurable way. And I think about quality of life. … I think the other criteria is that we need to have a positive impact in the quality of life for our citizens in Kansas City with a particular focus on those underrepresented parts of our community.”

Sherman said he expects taxpayers would be involved in funding a new stadium. In 2006, Jackson County voters approved a 0.375 percent sales tax for improvements to the two stadiums at the complex. As part of the renovations, the Royals and Chiefs extended their leases to 2031.

“That was a public-private partnership between the taxpayers of Jackson County and the Royals for our part and certainly the Chiefs for their part,” Sherman said. “I would anticipate that again it would be a public-private partnership. How that’s structured, I think that’s part of what we’ll find out in our process.”

The ongoing discussions and decisions are going to lead to a long process, but taking it public is a significant step. And one that Sherman wouldn’t take if he didn’t think it could lead to change.

 “Frankly, it’s hard to not go public with this,” Sherman said. “I get asked this literally everywhere I go, even more than when Bobby Witt Jr. is going to come up to the Major League team.

“We want to be transparent on how we’re thinking about it, begin that discussion and start to get feedback from the various groups in the community, as to how they feel about the concept and … if we can make [the criteria] work, and the math works, it’s certainly a possibility for the future.”

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Bears Twitter reacts to Marquise Goodwin throwing shade at Matt Nagy

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There has been a lot of criticism about the Bears’ offensive game plan in their 34-14 loss to the Rams on Sunday Night Football, where Chicago’s downfield passing attack was nonexistent.

The Bears pounded the ball with running back David Montgomery and relied on quick, short passes from quarterback Andy Dalton. Dalton’s longest pass attempt was 16 yards, and he didn’t complete a pass over 10 yards. In fact, only 5 of his 38 attempts were for 10 yards or more.

There’s been plenty of frustration from fans. But there was a quote from wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, who signed with the Bears this offseason, about the Bears’ approach against Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey that was quite telling. In fact, you could say this was a direct shot at Nagy.

“He’s a unique player, All-Pro, Pro Bowler, instinctive, especially in short spaces. And us not running past 10 yards, that fell right into his hands I feel like.”

As you can imagine, Twitter had quite a reaction to Goodwin’s comments, which has many wondering if Nagy has already lost the locker room after Week 1. Many are praising Goodwin for his honesty, which shed a light on Nagy’s poor offensive scheme.



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