Sports
Jaguars S Andre Cisco criticizes defensive effort vs. Bears
Oct 13, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars safety Andre Cisco (5) and safety Antonio Johnson (26) celebrate after an interception against the Chicago Bears in the first half during an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images The Jacksonville Jaguars’ season keeps going downhill and the situation got dicier when safety Andre Cisco said the defense quit during Sunday’s 35-16 loss to the Chicago Bears in London.
Jacksonville (1-5) allowed more than 30 points for the third time this season and the 19-point margin of defeat was its second-worst of the season.
“It was really bad,” Cisco told WJAX-TV of Jacksonville after the setback. “I feel like it was … how should I say this … a lot of quit. Last line of defense in a situation like that, you could feel when we’re playing as one and when we’re not. It felt very early in the game, maybe at halftime, that we weren’t playing as one.
“Guys got to understand, when you’re out there, you’re really playing for your brother. You’re putting guys in vulnerable positions whether that’s physically or just from a career aspect. … Just not a good product at all.”
Cisco said the problems don’t stem from a lack of preparation or disorganized practices during the week.
He said they occur when the Jaguars play games.
“On Sunday, that’s when it counts,” said Cisco, who had an interception and seven tackles against the Bears. “There’s no excuse for a lack of effort. Like, that’s literally the least you can do is come out and give effort. And I’m saying that to myself too.”
Jacksonville led 3-0 after one quarter on Sunday before the Bears scored two second-quarter touchdowns. Chicago tacked on another touchdown early in the third for a 21-3 lead.
The Jaguars trailed by 11 entering the final stanza but two Bears touchdowns in a span of 2:27 turned the game into a rout.
Shortly before Cisco delivered his piercing words, Jacksonville coach Doug Pederson called for a culture change.
Pederson doesn’t want the season to get away from the Jaguars this early in the year.
“We play a 17-game schedule, so we’ve got a few more games left,” Pederson said. “Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. We’ve got to change. I say we, it’s all of us — coaches, players, everybody. We’ve got to change right now that culture.
“Otherwise, it just gets out of control. We’re on a slippery slope, or right on the cusp of that slope. At some point we’ve got to (say) enough is enough, and you’ve got to have enough pride and figure out a way.”
Pederson’s coaching future has become the subject of speculation, while owner Shad Khan has been supportive publicly.
However, Khan said prior to the season that he expected the team to reach the playoffs. That’s not looking too good with the Jaguars tied for the worst record in the NFL.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence maintained Pederson has the support of the team.
“That’s our head coach and we’re a team,” Lawrence said. “This is tough. Losing is hard … but it has nothing to do with that relationship and how we feel about Coach. We’re a group. We’re staying together and we know brighter days are ahead. We just have to keep working.”
Meanwhile, the Jaguars play another 1-5 team in the New England Patriots next Sunday, also in London.
Pederson agreed that the contest is a must-win for his squad.
“I would say so,” Pederson said. “I would say everything here on out, quite frankly (is a must-win). If we want to get back to playing the type of football we know we can play, you’re going to have to win a lot of games moving forward. So I would say that, yeah, these games moving forward are just that.”
Cisco expects a better effort against the Patriots.
“The season’s not over by any means,” Cisco said. “The NFL’s built to play until Week 18, and we know that. So it’s not a matter of, like, ‘Oh, season’s over, let’s quit, look towards next year,’ it’s none of that, to me.
“But we understand that it’s a Sunday thing. It’s not a schedule thing anymore — that’s dead. So at this point, everybody’s just gotta understand that Sunday is the time.”
Sunday’s interception was the eighth for Cisco in 53 career games. The fourth-year pro has spent his entire career with Jacksonville and is in his third season as a starter.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sixers star C Joel Embiid (knee) won't play in preseason
Sep 30, 2024; Camden, NJ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) poses for a photo on media day at the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid won’t play until the regular season due to his balky left knee.
The 76ers announced the decision Sunday after Embiid missed preseason games against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday and the Boston Celtics on Saturday.
“As part of his left knee management, Joel Embiid was assessed by doctors on Thursday,” the team said. “Embiid is progressing well and will continue to take part in an individual treatment plan designed to best support his health and wellness for the 2024-25 season. He will not play in this week’s preseason games. Further updates will be provided as appropriate.”
Embiid recently said he dropped 25 to 30 pounds in the offseason to help take pressure off the knee.
Embiid will miss preseason games against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday and Orlando Magic on Friday.
Philadelphia opens the regular season on Oct. 23 against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks.
Embiid played in just 39 regular-season games last season mainly due to his troublesome left knee.
Embiid, 30, was injured in a collision with Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga on Jan. 30. He underwent a procedure to fix the damage to his meniscus on Feb. 6.
He hobbled through the playoffs after returning to action.
Embiid was superb in the regular season by averaging 34.7 points and 11 rebounds and making the All-Star team for the seventh straight season.
Embiid was NBA MVP for the 2022-23 season when he averaged 33.1 points and 10.2 rebounds in 66 games. He is a two-time scoring champion and also won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in the summer.
Overall, Embiid has averages of 27.9 points and 11.2 rebounds in 433 games over eight seasons.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jerry Kelly hangs on to win SAS Championship
Jerry Kelly, right, shares a laugh with his caddy on the 16th hole during the Kaulig Companies Championship pro-am at Firestone Country Club, Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Akron, Ohio. Jerry Kelly shot a 5-under-par 67 and held on to win the SAS Championship by one stroke on Sunday at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, N.C.
Kelly made his only bogey of the day at the par-4 18th hole to settle for 13-under 203, and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington moved to 13 under at around the same time with a birdie at the par-5 17th. But Harrington also proceeded to bogey No. 18 after missing both the fairway and the green on his first two shots.
Harrington’s par attempt to force a playoff hit the edge of the cup and lipped out.
It marked Kelly’s 12th win on the PGA Tour Champions and his first since August 2022.
“It’s a long time coming,” Kelly said on the Golf Channel broadcast. “You wonder if you’re even going to do it again when the injuries start piling up.”
Kelly began the day tied for second, three shots off the pace of Harrington, who has won eight times since joining the tour in 2022. Kelly birdied Nos. 1, 3 and 5 to make his move up the leaderboard.
Kelly passed Harrington on the leaderboard with another trio of birdies at Nos. 10, 12 and 13, while the Irishman had just two birdies and a bogey through 12 holes. Harrington missed birdie chances at the 13th through 16th holes before finally getting one to go at the penultimate hole.
Sunday marked the end of the PGA Tour Champions regular season, and the top 72 players in the points standings qualified for the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs. That included Woody Austin, who despite posting a 3-over 75 on Sunday finished T17 at 4 under par. He moved from No. 73 to No. 71 in points.
“That’s what I tried to do coming in this week,” Austin said of making the playoffs. “To have to hit it that good just to finish in the top-20 (of the tournament), that’s ridiculous. I’m glad that I get to at least play one more tournament.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees, Guardians express mutual respect ahead of ALCS
Oct 7, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) throws a pitch against the Kansas City Royals in the first inning during game two of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images NEW YORK — The New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians are well-acquainted with each other in the postseason, but rarely when an American League pennant is on the line.
After finishing with the top two records in the AL, the Yankees and Guardians open up the ALCS Monday night with Game 1 in the best-of-seven series.
“They do it a lot of different ways,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of the Guardians. “A tremendous bullpen, athletic, they defend really well. They’re pretty balanced in their attack. Obviously, they have a couple of guys that can really hurt you in the middle of the order (with) a superstar player in (Jose) Ramirez.”
New York left-hander Carlos Rodon (0-1, 9.82 ERA) opposes Cleveland right-hander Alex Cobb (0-1, 6.00) in the opener.
The teams are playing each other in the postseason for the seventh time and third time in the past five seasons. The only time they met in the ALCS occurred in 1998, when the Yankees won the final three games to take the series in six.
The Yankees claimed the past three postseason encounters, but those were short series. They won the AL Division Series in 2017 and 2022 and the 2020 wild-card series when the sport expanded the playoffs to 16 teams on account of the 60-game season.
New York earned home-field advantage in the series by going 94-68 and edging Cleveland by 1 1/2 games in the race for the best record. The Yankees are slightly better rested after closing out the ALDS in four games thanks to a 3-1 win at Kansas City on Thursday.
The Yankees hit .220 in the series, where each game was decided by two runs or fewer. While Giancarlo Stanton was 6-for-16 and Juan Soto went 4-for-14, Aaron Judge was 2-for-13.
Cleveland needed five games to get past the Detroit Tigers and is in the ALCS for the first time since 2016. Ramirez was 3-for-16 in the series but Steven Kwan batted .524 (11-for-21) and Lane Thomas batted .316 (6-for-19), including a grand slam off Tarik Skubal in Saturday’s 7-3 win.
The Guardians dropped four of six meetings in the regular season with the Yankees due to inconsistent offense. Cleveland scored 17 runs across the two wins but was outscored 25-5 in the four losses.
“We know the Yankees are good,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “They played us tough. This is a really good team we’re about to go up against but we’re confident in who we are, and that’s all we can control is us. It is going to be a fun series, and we’re really looking forward to it.”
Rodon was in line to start Game 5 of the ALDS on Saturday and to avoid giving him a longer layoff, the Yankees opted to start the series with him over Clarke Schmidt, who pitches Game 3 on Thursday.
After winning a career-high 16 games during the regular season, Rodon allowed four runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings in a 4-2 loss in Game 2 against Kansas City a week ago. Rodon started quickly and got seven strikeouts but struggled to command his slider during a four-run fourth.
Rodon did not face Cleveland during the regular season and is 8-5 with a 2.81 ERA in 21 career appearances (19 starts) against them, including a no-hitter for the Chicago White Sox on April 14, 2021.
Ramirez has faced Rodon the most of any current Guardian. The third baseman is 10-for-43 (.233) with five RBIs against him.
“It’s a formidable lineup,” Rodon said. “It is very good. They wouldn’t be in the LCS for no reason. It’s going to be a fun challenge, and a lot of respect for that Cleveland team.”
Cobb took the loss in Game 3 against Detroit on Wednesday when he allowed two runs on three hits in three innings while throwing 41 pitches in a 3-0 defeat. He made that start after various injuries limited him to three starts with Cleveland after being acquired from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline.
Since Cobb spent 2011 to 2020 in the AL East with the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles, he has plenty of experience against the Yankees. In 20 regular-season starts against New York, he is 7-5 with a 3.19 ERA.
“They’ve seen me plenty over the years, most of the guys have at least,” Cobb said Sunday. “I think the positive is that you’ve gone through all these adversities throughout the year, and you’re sitting here and getting the ball in Game 1 of the ALCS.”
–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media
Sixers star C Joel Embiid (knee) won't play in preseason
Jerry Kelly hangs on to win SAS Championship
