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Olympics 2021: Japan determined to hold Tokyo Games organizers say despite cancellation rumors

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On Friday, the Times of London, citing an unnamed senior member of the ruling coalition, reported that Japanese authorities had privately concluded that the Olympics could not proceed due to the ongoing pandemic. CNN has not independently verified this report, which officials in Tokyo were quick to refute.

In a statement, the Tokyo 2020 organizers said that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had expressed to them his determination to hold the Games, and that meetings were ongoing to ensure that they could go ahead while implementing thorough infection countermeasures and other precautions due to the pandemic.

“All our delivery partners including the national government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, the IOC and the IPC are fully focused on hosting the Games this summer,” the statement said. “We hope that daily life can return to normal as soon as possible, and we will continue to make every effort to prepare for a safe and secure Games.”

Speaking in parliament Friday morning, Suga said the Games “will be a symbol of humanity overcoming the novel coronavirus, and a chance to showcase Japan’s reconstruction from the devastating (2011) earthquake and tsunami to the world.”

“We are determined to work closely together with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, and the IOC to realize a safe and secure Olympics,” Suga said.

Other Olympic officials were also quick to deny the claims made by the Times.

“Unfortunately, I need to address unfounded rumors that Tokyo Games will be canceled, rumors that only create more anxiety for the athletes in our sports,” Australian Olympic Committee CEO Matt Carroll told reporters Friday. “The Tokyo Games are on. The flames will be lit on the 23rd of July 2021. This has been just reconfirmed again by the Japanese Prime Minister this afternoon.”

In a thread on Twitter, Canadian Olympic chief David Shoemaker said his team was “unaware of any decision taken by the Japanese government as is being reported.”

“The Canadian Olympic Committee has confidence that the Games can be staged safely and successfully given what has been learned in sport over the last several months and the emphasis the IOC and Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee have placed on Covid-19 countermeasures,” he said. “We continue in our preparation to participate at Tokyo 2020 with a focus on the health and safety of our athletes, their families, and their communities.”

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At the buzzer: Indiana 81, Iowa 69 – Inside the Hall

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Quick thoughts on an 81-69 win at Iowa:

How it happened: The question leading into Thursday’s matchup against No. 4 Iowa was simple: Could the Hoosiers keep up with the nation’s most potent offense? The Hawkeyes got out of the gate strong with 27 points in the game’s first 10:26. And as Joe Wieskamp and Luka Garza filled the stat sheet, it looked like the Hawkeyes were well on their way to a 50-point half. But Iowa’s offense sputtered in the final nine-plus minutes of the first half, which allowed Indiana to keep within striking distance. Despite a below-average shooting performance (46 eFG%), the Hoosiers trailed just 37-31. A big reason for that was Iowa’s poor 3-point shooting (4-of-13), Indiana only committing five turnovers and a reasonable pace that kept the game mostly in the halfcourt (32 possessions).

Iowa’s offense never found its footing in the second half. And as the Hawkeyes couldn’t score in the halfcourt and the 3s clanked off the rim, Indiana gained confidence on both ends of the floor. The Hoosiers took the lead at 57-55 on an Al Durham Jr. jumper with 6:58 to play. By the under four media timeout, IU was on a 14-1 run and led 67-56. Iowa’s field goal drought in the second half lasted more than 11 minutes as the Hoosiers nabbed their second road win in Big Ten play. Most importantly, it was a win over a top-five team away from home that will provide a significant boost to the NCAA tournament resume.

Standout performer: Despite battling foul trouble for most of the game, Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with a team-high 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Rob Phinisee (18 points), Armaan Franklin (11 points) and Al Durham Jr. (14 points) all finished in double figures as well.

Statistics that stands out: Iowa shot a dismal 9-of-34 from the field in the second half, including just 1-of-10 from behind the 3-point line. Indiana committed just eight turnovers in the win.

Final IU individual statistics:

Final tempo-free statistics:

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

Filed to: Iowa Hawkeyes

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Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers the center of attention ahead of NFC Championship

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Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers will be the center of attention when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers square off in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday afternoon.

It will only be the fourth meeting between the future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterbacks, and it will be the first time they face each other in the postseason. The Buccaneers defeated Green Bay, 38-10, in their meeting on Oct. 18 in Tampa. The other two times they met, Brady was still the quarterback for the New England Patriots.

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In 2014, the Packers pulled out a 26-21 win over New England at Lambeau Field, and four years later, the Patriots rolled to a 31-17 victory in Foxborough.

“I remember when I heard the news about him coming to the NFC, I thought this was a real possibility,” Rodgers said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to play against him one more time.”

Brady and the Bucs are rolling. Tampa Bay is currently on a seven-game winning streak in road games, which is a franchise record. If the Buccaneers take down the Packers on Sunday, they will be the first team in NFL history to host a Super Bowl at their home stadium.

The last time Tampa Bay made the Super Bowl, Jon Gruden was the team’s head coach, and they were anchored by one of the best defenses in league history, featuring the likes of Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, and John Lynch.

TERRY BRADSHAW OFFERING UP $500,000 AND A NEW FORD F-150 TRUCK IN SUNDAY’S FOX BET SUPER 6

With a victory on Sunday, Brady will join quarterbacks Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning, and Craig Morton as the only QBs to lead two different franchises to a Super Bowl appearance.

“This is one of the coolest stadiums in the league to play in,” Brady said of Lambeau Field. “I know they’re excited, we’ll be excited, and it will make for a great football game.”

Green Bay, on the other hand, will play in its fifth NFC Championship Game with Rodgers under center. The last time the Packers reached the Super Bowl was back in 2010 when Green Bay ended up defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the big game.

Everyone will be tuning in to watch two of the greatest QBs in NFL history on Sunday afternoon, and Warner, a Hall of Famer and current NFL Network analyst, believes it should be a matchup for the ages.

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“When I played, I always knew who was on the other sideline,” Warner said. “I always said when I went into these matchups, at the end of the day, I know if we’re going to win this game, I’ve got to outperform that guy. I’ve got to be better than the quarterback on the other side.”

Brady and Rodgers will certainly have their eyes on each other come Sunday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Source — Washington Football Team to hire 49ers executive Martin Mayhew as GM

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The Washington Football Team is hiring Martin Mayhew as its new general manager, a source told ESPN on Thursday, adding another experienced voice to help coach Ron Rivera.

Mayhew, who most recently was an executive in the Niners front office, interviewed with Rivera on Jan. 16 and had long been considered a strong candidate. Among the other known interviews, Washington also spoke with Ryan Cowden, Tennessee’s vice president of player personnel, Nick Polk, Atlanta’s director of football operations and JoJo Wooden, the Los Angeles Chargers’ director of player personnel.

Mayhew had a longer track record in front offices and also had earned a reputation for knowing how to work with his head coaches. In Washington, Rivera has the power so the general manager will report to him. He and Mayhew share the same agent, but Mayhew also brings a wealth of experience. He served as Detroit’s general manager from 2008 to ’15 — after eight years in the Lions’ front office. Rivera has said he wanted someone who also could handle the administrative duties of the position.

Washington also is expected to hire former Carolina general manager Marty Hurney, though his role was not yet specified, according to a source. Those details were still being worked out Thursday night. ESPN had previously reported that Hurney was expected to become Washington’s GM after he met Monday with Rivera, the main power broker on the football side. Hurney was part of the group that hired Rivera in Carolina; he was fired in 2012 but returned in ’17 for Rivera’s final three seasons. Hurney covered the Washington franchise for the Washington Times in the late 1980s before joining the organization’s public relations group.

Mayhew was named Detroit’s GM late in 2008 after the Lions finished that season 0-16. Detroit was 8-24 in his first two seasons. The Lions made the postseason in 2011 and ’14, the only two years in which they had a winning record during his tenure. Overall, Detroit went 41-63 in his seven-plus seasons.

Mayhew hired Jim Caldwell in 2014 to replace the first coach he had signed, Jim Schwartz. Detroit fired Mayhew midway through the 2015 season. But his hiring of Caldwell paid off: Detroit finished with three winning seasons in Caldwell’s four years with two playoff appearances. It was the first time Detroit had posted consecutive winning seasons since 1994-95.

One person who coached under Mayhew called him “smart, analytical, level-headed” and someone who stayed calm. He was able to have disagreements without it becoming divisive. He also said Mayhew sometimes lacked a gut feel for players, but felt that issue could be lessened if someone else on his staff offered that quality.

Mayhew was the New York Giants’ director of football operations in 2016 before joining San Francisco’s front office a year later. He spent two years as a senior executive and the past two as the vice president of player personnel.

Mayhew played four years as a defensive back in Washington, winning a Super Bowl in the 1991 season. His time in Washington was sandwiched between one season in Buffalo and four in Tampa Bay.

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2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics Reportedly in Doubt Because of COVID-19 Concerns | Bleacher Report

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Hiro Komae/Associated Press

The Japanese government has “privately concluded” that the 2021 Olympic Games will have to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from Richard Lloyd Parry of The Times. 

“No one wants to be the first to say so but the consensus is that it’s too difficult,” a source told Lloyd Parry. “Personally, I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

Japan is now reportedly trying to find a “face-saving way of announcing the cancellation that leaves open the possibility of Tokyo playing host at a later date.”

Publicly and officially, both the International Olympic Committee and Japanese Olympic organizers have been resolute in the assertion that the Games will happen, per the Associated Press. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called holding the 2021 games “proof of human victory against the coronavirus.”

But IOC senior member Dick Pound said he “can’t be certain” the Games will take place because “the ongoing elephant in the room would be the surges in the virus.” Japanese minister Taro Kono, a member of Suga’s cabinet, added that “anything is possible” and attempts to hold the Games “could go either way.”

Keith Mills, deputy chair of the organizing committee for the 2012 Olympics in London, told the BBC Tuesday (h/t the AP) that he believes cancellation plans have likely already been concocted. 

“But I think they’ll leave it until absolutely the last minute in case the situation improves dramatically, in case the vaccinations roll out faster than we all hope,” he said. “It’s a tough call, I wouldn’t like to be in their shoes.”

IOC President Thomas Bach looked to quell some of the talk that the Games could be canceled. 

“We have, at this moment, no reason whatsoever to believe that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not open on the 23rd of July in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo,” he told the Kyodo News (h/t Victor Mather of the New York Times). “There is no Plan B.”

He added that Beijing’s Winter Olympics in 2022 were still on track to take place as scheduled. 

The Tokyo Games were originally scheduled for the summer of 2020 but postponed due to the coronavirus. With uncertainties regarding the state of the pandemic come July and question marks regarding the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, this year’s event remains up in the air. 

If the Summer Olympics are canceled, it would be for the first time since World War II and could cost the IOC over $1 billion in television revenue, per Mather. The IOC is a non-profit organization, but “90 percent of the revenues from the Games go straight back into sport and athlete development.”



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Arthur Smith hires coaches, identifies coordinators

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Arthur Smith is busy putting together his coaching staff together and on Thursday, the Atlanta Falcons’ new coach made a number of critical hires, including his three coordinators.

Smith announced that Dean Pees, Dave Ragone and Marquice Williams will be joining him in Atlanta as coordinators. He also said the wide receivers coach Dave Brock has been retained from the Falcons’ previous coaching staff.

Both Pees and Ragone were previously linked to Smith in earlier reports as possible coordinators. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports first reported that Pees, a longtime defensive coach who has been a part of two Super Bowl-winning defenses in his career, “will be joining Smith’s new staff in Atlanta in some capacity.”

Last Friday, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweeted minutes after the Falcons made the announcement about Smith that a name “strongly connected to Arthur Smith’s staff as he takes the Atlanta Falcons job: Bears passing game coordinator Dave Ragone. I’m told there’s a good chance he becomes Smith’s OC after five years in Chicago.”

And as it turns out, both reports were accurate.

Pees will take over as the Falcons defensive coordinator and Ragone has been named the offensive coordinator. During his introductory press conference, though, Smith said that he would be the play-caller on offense.

“We’ll take our time,” Smith said. “We’ve interviewed multiple people for coordinator spots and staff, and like I said, we will take our time. We want to be adaptable. That will be a big thing here. We will play to the strengths of our team but we want to be flexible and adaptable, and that’s one thing we are looking for schematically as we go through this process of hiring coaches.”



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Rams agree to terms with Raheem Morris to be team’s new defensive coordinator

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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Los Angeles Rams announced they have agreed to terms with Raheem Morris to be their new defensive coordinator. Morris replaces Brandon Staley, who was named the Chargers’ new head coach last Sunday.

Morris, 44, brings 19 years of NFL coaching experience on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball to the Rams. He most recently served as interim head coach of the Atlanta Falcons for their final 11 games of the 2020 season after spending the first five as their defensive coordinator. The 2020 season was Morris’ sixth with Atlanta and first as its defensive coordinator.

In 2019, Morris began the season on the offensive side of the ball coaching wide receivers before taking over as the Falcons’ secondary coach. Following that midseason switch, he helped Atlanta finish 6-2 over the final eight games, and its defense went from having the fewest takeaways in the first half of the season (4) to finishing with the second-most in the NFL (16) after Week 9. The Falcons’ defense also improved from 32nd to 10th in sacks, 32nd to ninth in scoring efficiency, and 31st to sixth in redzone efficiency over the final eight weeks of the season.

Morris first joined the Falcons in 2015 as assistant head coach/defensive passing game coordinator. During that first season in Atlanta, Morris helped the Falcons defense allow the third-fewest total passing touchdowns in the NFL that season (19). He then transitioned over to the offensive side of the ball and served as assistant head coach/wide receivers coach for the next three and a half seasons.

Prior to joining the Falcons in 2015, Morris spent the 2012-14 seasons on the Washington Football Team’s coaching staff as its defensive backs coach. Washington’s defense finished tied for fifth in the NFL in takeaways with 31 in his first season. It also tied a league-high with 94 passes defensed and ranked fifth in the NFC with a 3.3 interception rate.

Before arriving in Washington, Morris spent three seasons as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009-11). He was the youngest head coach in the NFL in 2009. In 2010, Tampa Bay finished 10-6, marking the best turnaround in franchise history after going 3-13 the previous season.

Morris began his NFL coaching career as a defensive quality control coach for the Buccaneers in 2002, becoming a defensive assistant in 2003 before being promoted to assistant defensive backs coach (2004-05). After one season as Kansas State University’s defensive coordinator (2006), he returned to Tampa Bay for the beginning of his second stint with the Bucs, starting out as their defensive backs coach (2007-08) before becoming their head coach. During that two-year span, Tampa Bay allowed the second-fewest passing yards per game in the NFL (170.5) and also ranked among the league leaders with 22 interceptions.

Morris is well-acquainted with Rams head coach Sean McVay, having previously worked together with Washington and the Buccaneers for a combined four seasons. Morris’ second and final season as the Bucs defensive backs coach was the same year McVay was an offensive assistant for Tampa Bay (2008). The two also worked together for three seasons with the Washington Football Team from 2012-14 – McVay was in his second and third seasons coaching Washington’s tight ends (2012 and 2013) and first as its offensive coordinator (2014) while Morris was Washington’s defensive backs coach for each of those three seasons.

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Capitals’ Ilya Samsonov tests positive for coronavirus; Ovechkin, two others remain off the ice – The Washington Post

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  1. Capitals’ Ilya Samsonov tests positive for coronavirus; Ovechkin, two others remain off the ice The Washington Post
  2. Alex Ovechkin, 3 others on COVID-19 absence list as NHL fines Washington Capitals $100K for violations of protocols ESPN
  3. Caps will ‘have to move forward’ after breaking COVID protocol, Ovechkin among absences | NBC Sports NBC Sports
  4. Eklund – Ovechkin, Samsonov, Orlov, Kuznetsov Should be Quarantined. No Pay. Buzz@1 Hockeybuzz.com
  5. Report: Ilya Samsonov tested positive for COVID-19 after Penguins game Russian Machine Never Breaks
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Detroit Lions’ Dan Campbell apologizes for anti-gay remark in college

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Dave Birkett and Carlos Monarrez break down the Detroit Lions hiring Dan Campbell as their new head coach on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.

Detroit Free Press

Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said he regretted the anti-gay remark he made when he was a college student during his introductory news conference Thursday and apologized for the comments.

Campbell was a 22-year-old senior at Texas A&M when he spoke at a pep rally for about 40,000 fans before a game against rival Texas in 1998. After expressing hatred for the Longhorns, Campbell said he was proud to attend a university where “men like women and women like men.”

A local newspaper published an apology from Campbell in the days after the event.

[ Dan Campbell: News conference has everyone ready to run through a wall ]

“I offended some people, and I’m sorry for that,” Campbell told the paper, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. “It was heat of the moment. It’s not necessarily that I directed it at anyone.”

Campbell, 44, said Thursday that he quickly regretted making the comments.

“Yeah, look it was a bonfire comment,” Campbell said during a conference call. “Texas was — I went to Texas A&M but it was a rivalry game for us. And so you’re in front of the student body. I was 22 years old and I made a comment about, you know — well, I made a comment I shouldn’t have made is exactly what it was. And at the time I was, ‘Oh, man, this is, you know’ — I thought it was something exciting.

“And I remember I got home and who is now my wife, my fiancée at the time, was like, ‘Oh, my God. What have you done?’ But she was right. It slapped me right in the face after I had talked to her. And look, I’ve apologized for it and it was something — I was young and I wish I wouldn’t have said it. If I could go back, I wouldn’t have. But, you know, here we are and it’s out there and all I can do is apologize for it.”

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: What Campbell’s playing days say about his Lions future: He’s ‘tough as nails’

As the Lions began their search for a general manager and head coach, team president Rod Wood outlined some criteria and said the organization would look for candidates who would instill a culture that is open and inclusive.

“I won’t share all of them with you,” Wood told reporters Jan. 5, “but I would say they focus on leadership, culture, teamwork, awareness of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. And what we’re really looking for is a culture that is open, inclusive, where everybody is pulling together as a team and, in one word, communication is paramount and everybody is doing the right thing for the Detroit Lions.”

Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

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Coach Dan Campbell used colorful language to describe what the Detroit Lions’ identity will be, saying we’ll ”bite a kneecap off,” Jan. 21, 2021.

Wochit

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Former Packers GM Ted Thompson dies

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Former Packers GM Ted Thompson dies

Thompson drafted Aaron Rodgers

Former Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson died Wednesday night. Thompson built a Super Bowl roster in 2010, and drafted many of the names that make up the current Packers team: Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, Aaron Jones, David Bakhtiari, Corey Linsley, Kenny Clark and Mason Crosby, WISN 12 Sports Stephen Watson reported. In May 2019, Thompson said he has been diagnosed with an autonomic disorder that affects his body’s nerves.He played 146 games over 10 seasons as a linebacker with the Houston Oilers from 1975-1984.He worked in Green Bay’s front office from 1992-99 and from 2005 on, with a stint in between as Seattle’s vice president of football operations.Thompson was 68 years old.

Former Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson died Wednesday night.

Thompson built a Super Bowl roster in 2010, and drafted many of the names that make up the current Packers team: Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, Aaron Jones, David Bakhtiari, Corey Linsley, Kenny Clark and Mason Crosby, WISN 12 Sports Stephen Watson reported.

In May 2019, Thompson said he has been diagnosed with an autonomic disorder that affects his body’s nerves.

He played 146 games over 10 seasons as a linebacker with the Houston Oilers from 1975-1984.

He worked in Green Bay’s front office from 1992-99 and from 2005 on, with a stint in between as Seattle’s vice president of football operations.

Thompson was 68 years old.

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