Jags’ Pederson talks Jake Luton, Elliott Fry
The Jacksonville Jaguars waived five players on Monday, including quarterback Jake Luton.
Luton, a sixth-round selection in the 2020 draft, started three for the Jaguars in that season and played in the team’s first two preseason games.
Quarterbacks C.J. Beathard and E.J. Perry are the backups to Trevor Lawrence at this point.
On Monday night, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson talked about the decision to waive the 26-year-old Luton.
“I’m not going to get into a bunch of the whys, but you’ve got to make tough decisions in this league,” Pederson said. “You get down to the point, too, where having the extra quarterback, you’re not getting enough snaps now because you’re getting your starters ready to go, and we haven’t seen EJ much yet, and it’s time to see what he can do.”
In addition to Luton, Jacksonville waived K Elliott Fry. The 27-year-old signed in July to challenge K Ryan Santoso, who signed with the Jaguars back in March.
Fry injured his groin in the team’s win over the Browns last week, which led to his release. He appeared in three NFL games with Atlanta (2020), Kansas City (2021), and Cincinnati (2021)
According to Pederson, Fry had a decent shot of being the team’s kicker before the injury.
“It’s unfortunate that Elliot (Fry) got hurt in the game the other day because there was some nice competition going on there in practice,” he said. “I thought those two would battle it out until the end, and we’ll see what happens here at the end.”
Jacksonville, who roster is down to 85 players, also waived three other players:
RB Matt Colburn II
WR Ryan McDaniel
OLB Wyatt Ray
Tim Duncan to present Ginobili into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
On Monday, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the Hall of Famers scheduled to present the Class of 2022 at the enshrinement ceremony on September 10 at Symphony Hall.
This year’s class is headlined by two-time NBA All-Star and four-time champion Manu Ginobili and five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway Sr.
Ginobili will be presented by his former teammate in San Antonio, Tim Duncan, while Hardaway will be presented by his former teammates with the Warriors, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin, along with Isiah Thomas, Nate Archibald, and Yolanda Griffith.
Below is the complete list of the 2022 Hall of Fame inductees and presenters:
Tim Hardaway, presented by Isiah Thomas (’00), Mitch Richmond (‘14), Chris Mullin (‘11), Yolanda Griffith (‘21), Nate Archibald (‘91)
Manu Ginobili, presented by Tim Duncan (’20)
Lindsay Whalen, presented by Dawn Staley (‘13), Charles Barkley (’06)
Swin Cash, presented by Tamika Catchings (‘20), Teresa Weatherspoon (‘19), Tina Thompson (‘18), Isiah Thomas (’00), Geno Auriemma (‘06)
Bob Huggins, presented by Jerry West (‘80), Rod Thorn (‘18)
George Karl, presented by Roy Williams (‘07), Gary Payton (‘13), Bobby Jones (‘19)
Marianne Stanley, presented by Cathy Rush (‘08), Lisa Leslie (‘15), Nancy Lieberman (‘96)
Hugh Evans, presented by Reggie Miller (‘12), George Gervin (‘96)
Theresa Shank-Grentz, presented by Cathy Rush (‘08), Charles Barkley (’06), Vivian Stringer (‘09)
Del Harris, presented by Nancy Lieberman (‘96), John Calipari (‘15), Sidney Moncrief (‘19)
Lou Hudson, presented by Spencer Haywood (‘15), Jamaal Wilkes (‘12)
Larry Costello, presented by Billy Cunningham (‘86), Wayne Embry (‘99), Bob Dandridge (’21)
Radivoj Korac, presented by Spencer Haywood (‘15)
Jared ‘Big Baby’ Anderson training in Houston for upcoming fight
The highly anticipated return of Jared “Real Big Baby” Anderson is quickly approaching, and he won’t have to travel far for his August 27 fight. Anderson is holding his training camp at home in the Houston area as he prepares for his first fight of the year. The 22-year-old will challenge ten year pro Miljan Rovcanin of Serbia in a 10-round bout at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa in Tulsa, Okla. The fight will serve as a co-feature to the junior lightweight contest between Jose Pedraza and Richard Commey and be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.
While Anderson has traveled to Las Vegas for his recent camps, he made the decision to change things up and train at his home gym, the J Prince Boxing Gym in Houston. Anderson has remained active while he recovered from injury and has enjoyed the chance to work with the youngsters in the gym throughout the spring and early summer. He recently participated in a special back to school camp for kids in the area as he kicked off his own training camp. Anderson resumed full training earlier this summer and his lifelong coach Daryl Riley joined him last month for his Texas-based camp.
An additional perk of training in Houston is the chance to hold his camp alongside close friend, unified super featherweight world champion Shakur Stevenson, who is preparing for his September 23 Newark homecoming. The two, who have known each other since their amateur days, are providing extra motivation to one another during their grueling training sessions.
Anderson, a Toledo native, made the move to Houston nearly two years ago. Viewed as one of the top heavyweight prospects in the world due to his undefeated record and perfect knockout percentage, the 22-year-old’s success has caught the attention of Houston’s legendary heavyweight, George Foreman. Anderson and Coach Riley recently got the opportunity to meet Foreman and are looking forward to a gym visit soon from the two-time heavyweight world champion and 1968 Olympic gold medalist.
The August 27 bout will be Anderson’s first since a second round TKO over Oleksandr Teslenko on December 11 at Madison Square Garden. He will be fighting in Tulsa for the second time as a professional. Anderson scored a second round knockout over Jeremiah Karpency at the Osage Casino in Tulsa in April of last year.
Figueroa will battle Lipinets after Broner withdraws from fight
Former world champions Omar “Panterita” Figueroa Jr. and Sergey Lipinets will battle in a 12-round WBC Super Lightweight title eliminator headlining live on SHOWTIME this Saturday, August 20 from Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. in a Premier Boxing Champions Event.
Four-division world champion Adrien Broner pulled out of the previously scheduled match against Figueroa, citing personal issues in advance of the fight.
“Man, I’m going [through] a lot at this moment in my life, but I ain’t gonna give up. I set some more goals and I finish what I started but sorry to say this, but I’m not fighting August 20,” Broner said in an Instagram post. “Sorry to all my fans but Mental Health is real and I’m not about to play inside the ring … So, I have to step back and overcome this obstacle before I go put my life on the line inside the square circle again. I know I’m far from being finished with the sport SEE Y’ALL SOON.’’
The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast will also feature top 140-pounders Alberto Puello and Batyr Akhmedov squaring off for the vacant WBA Super Lightweight World Championship in the co-main event and WBA Super Featherweight World Champion Roger Gutierrez defending his title against unbeaten Hector Garcia. In the telecast opener, Brandun Lee, one of the sport’s most exciting prospects and biggest punchers, will take on Will Madera in a 10-round super lightweight bout opening a loaded four-fight telecast that begins live at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
The 32-year-old Figueroa (28-2-1, 19 KOs) is from a fighting family along with his younger brother Brandon, a former super bantamweight world champion. Figueroa won the WBC Lightweight World Championship with a unanimous decision victory over Nihito Arakawa in a 2013 “Fight of the Year” and successfully defended the title two times before moving up to super lightweight in 2015. Figueroa has also fought at welterweight, earning action-packed victories over Robert Guerrero, John Molina Jr., and Antonio DeMarco. He’ll move back down to super lightweight on August 20 after back-to-back defeats against Yordenis Ugas and Abel Ramos. His match against Lipinets is a classic crossroads fight.
“This is going to be a great fight against Lipinets and I hope he’s ready for what I’m bringing,” said Figueroa. “I’ve made changes in my life and I’m excited to see the kind of fighter that I am now. I’m going to show what I can do now that I have a clear head and a clear path ahead of me. With the opponent change I’m even more ready to take all the frustrations and anger that have built up in camp and bring it into the ring on Saturday and come out victorious.”
Lipinets (16-2-1, 12 KOs) has been in training and was already scheduled to appear on the August 20 card before being elevated as a replacement for Broner in the main event. Born in Martuk, Kazakhstan and now living in Woodland Hills, Calif., Lipinets is no stranger to the main stage, having tangled with champions including Lamont Peterson and Mikey Garcia. The 33-year-old defeated Akhiro Kondo for the IBF super lightweight title in 2017 and lost the title to Garcia by unanimous decision in 2018. He is coming off a loss to Jaron Ennis in a welterweight title in April 2021.
“We’ve actually been in camp for almost three months getting ready for whoever they put in front of me,” said Lipinets. “We’ve been training with no particular opponent in mind. There have been a few different guys that have said they wanted to fight me. So, we’ve been sparring with and preparing for all types of styles. And now we get this great news that I get to fight Figueroa this Saturday. I can’t wait to show everyone that I’m still a force to be reckoned with at 140 pounds.”
Additionally, SHOWTIME SPORTS will offer live streaming coverage of unbeaten Cuban heavyweight standout Lenier Peró battling Joel Caudle in an eight-round bout and undefeated middleweight Fiodor Czerkaszyn taking on Gilbert Venegas Jr. in an eight-round duel via the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel and SHOWTIME Boxing Facebook page prior to the start of the televised quadrupleheader. The streaming show begins at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT and will be called by SHOBOX® analyst and MORNING KOMBAT host Brian Campbell alongside former unified welterweight world champion Keith “One Time” Thurman joining as guest analyst.
Lopez: ‘We want Josh Taylor’
Teofimo Lopez made his debut at 14o pounds against Pedro Campa in front of a sellout crowd at Resorts World in Las Vegas Saturday night. Lopez’s debut was a success as he dominated and ultimately stopped Pedro Campa in the seventh round.
The former undisputed 135-pound champion was sharp in his first fight since losing to George Kambosos Jr. last November. Lopez fought with confidence, swagger, and had no issues landing against Campa(34-2-1, 23 KOs).
Early in the seventh round, Lopez(17-1, 13 KOs) dropped Campa with a right-left combination. Campa would get up, but Lopez connected on more than a half-dozen power shots and referee Tony Weeks stepped in to end the night.
After the win, Lopez called out a few of the big guns at 140 pounds, including unified champion Josh Taylor.
“We want Josh Taylor,” he said. “We want these guys. We want {Regis} Prograis. We want {Jose} Zepeda. We want all the belts. We want to become two-time undisputed champion…
“If Josh Taylor is too busy with his wedding and there’s nobody else around because the WBA belt is taken and the WBC is going to be fought with Zepeda and Prograis, then so fuc*ng be it.”
Oscar De La Hoya, who promotes Ryan Garcia was ringside, and he has been saying that he would be interested in Garcia fighting Lopez, which could be next.
Lopez said he would return to the ring on December 10 at Madison Square Garden following the win. Some believe it will be against undefeated 140-pound contender Arnold Barboza Jr., who was also ringside and is promoted by Top Rank, like Lopez.
The 25-year-old Lopez has an abundance of talent, and if he’s right mentally, he can compete with anyone at 140 pounds.
Now, you have to wonder what his power will continue to look like at 140. Campa was slow and easy to hit, but he ate many of Lopez’s punches and kept coming forward. The big names at 140 like Prograis, Taylor, Ramirez, and others won’t be as easy.
However, Lopez can worry about that later. For now, he can enjoy the win and continue to work to do big things at 140 pounds.
Zayas KOs Espadas in Co-Feature
Puerto Rican sensation Xander Zayas (14-0, 9 KOs) picked up the NABO junior middleweight title with a fifth-round knockout over rugged veteran Elias Espadas (22-5, 15 KOs). Zayas knocked down Espadas with a left hook in the opening round and finished the fight in the fifth with a sweeping right hand.
Espadas, a 10-year pro, was stopped for the first time in his career.
Zayas said, “I feel amazing. I’m glad to be back with a strap around me, a regional title, something amazing. It’s special to me to bring my first belt to the island. It’s a step closer to my goal of becoming world champion.
“I promise it wasn’t intentional. I wasn’t trying to hit him low. I guess the punches were just landing there. Referee {Russell Mora}, I want to thank him. He gave me a chance. I just listened to the corner, and they told me, ‘Hey, forget about the body.’ Let’s get these head shots and then we’ll start working the body. And that’s what we did in round four on.”
Featherweight: Jose Enrique Vivas SD 8 Edy Valencia (19-8-6, 7 KOs), Scores: 77-75 Valencia, 77-75 Vivas, and 78-74 Vivas. Mexican got back on the winning track with razor-thin decision in a fight that was spent mostly in close quarters.
Junior Lightweight: Andres Cortes (18-0, 10 KOs) UD 8 Abraham Montoya (20-4-1, 14 KOs), Scores: 79-73 3x. Las Vegas native Cortes had a satisfying homecoming, outworking the Mexican veteran over eight rounds. Cortes landed 42 percent of his power shots and outlanded Montoya in all but one round. Montoya stunned Cortes against the ropes in the sixth round, but his success was fleeting, as Cortes buckled down in the seventh and eighth rounds to remain undefeated.
Middleweight: Troy Isley (7-0, 4 KOs) UD 6 Victor Toney (6-2-1, 5 KOs), Scores: 60-54 and 59-55 2x. U.S. Olympian Isley did not blow away Toney, but he got some hard-earned rounds en route to a convincing points verdict. He faced a little adversity in the fourth round courtesy of a pair of Toney right hands, securing his fourth win of 2022.
Featherweight: Duke Ragan (7-0, 1 KO) UD 6 D’Angelo Fuentes (7-1, 4 KOs). Scores: 59-55 2x and 58-56 2x. The U.S. Olympic silver medalist passed the stiffest test of his young career, using a stiff jab and lateral movement to prevail in the battle of unbeatens. Fuentes had a big moment in the second round, momentarily stunning Ragan with a left hook. The Cincinnati native shook off the blow and closed strong down the stretch.
Junior Welterweight: Omar Rosario (8-0, 2 KOs) UD 6 Esteban Munoz (6-2, 4 KOs), Scores: 58-56 3x. Puerto Rican star Rosario picked up his fourth straight decision with a tougher-than-expected battle against Munoz, who entered the fight riding a four-fight winning streak.
Lightweight: Charlie Sheehy (4-0, 3 KOs) UD 4 Juan Castaneda (2-1-2), Scores: 40-36 3x. Bay Area product Sheehy went the distance for the first time as a pro, batting away the constant pressure of Castaneda en route to the shutout decision.
Commanders’ Rivera on Wentz’s debut: ‘I thought he threw the ball well’
Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz made his preseason debut, and Washington made their debut as the Commanders Saturday against the Carolina Panthers.
Wentz, who played three series, led the Commanders on a touchdown scoring drive and finished the day 10/13 for 74 yards. Ultimately, the Panthers would defeat Washington 23-21 at FedEx Field.
It was a solid day for Wentz, and for him, getting out of the field with his new team was exciting.
“Yeah, it was fun,” he said. “It was fun, no doubt. I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve played in a preseason game, so that was good to just get my feet wet, as well kind of get the first time out there jitters out of the way. Whatever you want to call them. I think that was important, and we’ll be ready once week one rolls around here.”
At this point, Wentz feels he’s settling in with the new offense.
“Absolutely, I think it did, and I think everyone is just settling in,” Wentz said. “That third drive just settling in, it’s just football. We’ve been doing this our whole lives, and again it was preseason, kind of good for us to get our feet wet, but I thought that third drive was good for us to settle in and feel good about that.”
On his third and final series, Wentz led the Commanders on a 14-play, 82-yard drive, which ended with a one-yard Brian Robinson touchdown run. On the drive, Wentz connected with five different Commanders.
“I thought it was good,” Wentz said about the scoring drive. “Just coming out and moving the ball, whether we were calling plays down the field, there’s a couple down the field that maybe I want back, but even though we were calling the plays down the field, we were finding guys underneath, and we were moving the chains. I thought that was important for us, and there’s a lot we can learn from it. I’m sure we’ll go back and watch the tape. I thought that third drive was important for us to sustain a drive and pick up some third downs.”
Overall, Commanders head coach Ron Rivera felt Wentz did his job against the Panthers.
“Well, I thought he threw the ball well,” Rivera said. “I thought he threw where he was supposed to. He threw a very catchable ball and delivered it on time. I thought he went through his progressions the way he needed to. I thought he handled the huddle well. I thought he got the calls out. And he did the things we hoped he would do.”
It was a solid day for Wentz, who reportedly has been inconsistent at camp. Fortunately for him, he has time to get better and get more comfortable in the offense.
Jets lose Wilson in preseason win over Eagles
The goal of the preseason is to get some good work for your starters and young players and, most importantly, leave the game with no injuries.
Unfortunately, for the Jets in their preseason opener at Lincoln Financial Field against the Philadelphia Eagles, that did not happen.
First, the good news, the Jets defeated the Eagles 24-21. Not ultra important, but good news.
Now, the bad news. Jets second-year quarterback Zach Wilson left in the first quarter and did not return when he injured his right knee after scrambling from the pocket. Wilson tried to cut and his knee slightly buckled. He walked to the locker room on his own power, surrounded by team officials.
At this point, the Jets wait for the MRI on Saturday.
According to Jets coach Robert Saleh, Wilson’s ACL is intact, but he’ll wait until the testing is done.
“I’m always concerned until I get the final evaluation,” Saleh said after the game. “We walked off the field with great, positive thoughts, and it’s been opposite. We’ve walked off the field with bad initial readings, and it was opposite. I’m not going to put anything out there, just let it play out, and we’ll see tomorrow.”
Wilson’s injury seemingly could have been avoided if he had run out of bounds on his scramble instead of trying to cut back inside. When asked if Wilson should have gone out of bounds, Saleh said, “One hundred percent.”
Saleh did say Wilson was in good spirits.
“He’s in good spirits,” Saleh said. “He’s fine, a little frustrated obviously, but he’s as good as you can be in this situation.”
If Wilson is lost for the year, at this point, the 37-year-old Joe Flacco, who did not play Friday night, would be the guy. Recently, Saleh said Flacco is still a viable starter in the NFL.
“You guys know how I feel about Joe, everyone does, the whole world does,” he said. “Joe’s a phenomenal football player. He’s having a great camp, and he’s got a lot of juice left in the tank.”
It’s been a rough week for New York as they lost RT Mekhi Becton, probably for the year, with a leg injury, and now Wilson, who missed four games last season with a sprained PCL in his right knee.
Hopefully, good news is on the way for the Jets.
Back to the game, quarterback Chris Streveler would connect with WR Calvin Jackson on a five-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left to give the Jets the win. Streveler finished the game 6/9 for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
Eagles’ starters play well against Jets
Preseason game number one for the Philadelphia Eagles was a success. Forget the 24-21 loss to the New York Jets at Lincoln Financial Field; it’s preseason. Focus on what the starters did.
Jalen Hurts and the offense were good. The third-year quarterback, who played one series, was 6/6 for 80 yards and a touchdown.
On that scoring drive, Hurts was hit hard by the Jets’ Quincy Williams on a scramble near the sideline on third and long, and a personal foul penalty was called on Williams. The drive was extended, and Hurts, who had a touchdown run called back due to a holding penalty on the drive, would connect with Dallas Goedert on a 22-yard touchdown pass.
After the hit on Hurts, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was fired up and was seen yelling at the Jets’ sideline. Sirianni discussed his anger following the game.
“I wasn’t mad at Coach Saleh,” Sirianni said. “I was mad at the situation. I was more mad at the player than Coach Saleh. Coach Saleh is a great guy. I have so much respect for him. It was just emotions of the game. I was just sticking up for Jalen [Hurts]. I’ll never apologize for sticking up for my players. I should have handled it a little bit better than I did.
“Obviously, I didn’t want that hit to happen on the sideline. I know it happens, and I know it’s football. I was more mad at the situation, not mad at Coach Saleh. He and I talked after the game, and I wished him nothing but luck, and he did the same. He’s a friend. I have a lot of respect for him.”
Hurts added on the hit, “I’m very pleased to be talking about this hit if this is the biggest takeaway from the night. You definitely don’t want to come out here in these games and take hits, let alone a late hit like that. But it happened. I’m not tripping about it. It happens. I’m healthy. I’m fine. I got right back up and played the next play.”
Regarding the offense, Hurts was happy with the team’s production.
“I think it was good to get out there, get everybody and have the opportunity to play,” he said. “We’ve been working really hard and getting into the phases of things. Just to go out there and execute is really big for us. Good job to the guys out there. Good job to everybody that had the opportunity to go out there and play today.”
Philly’s first-team defense got the job done as well. One of the new guys, LB Kyzir White, made a splash play as he intercepted a Zach Wilson pass on the Jets’ first possession.
“I was just a whole player, and I was playing visual on [Jets QB Zach Wilson],” White said. “I saw it in his demeanor where he was going to go with the ball. Just tried to sprint and make a play on it.”
The starters on both sides were done for the Eagles after the turnover. Job well done.
Philadelphia gets back on the field next Sunday in Cleveland against the Browns.
Douglas, Cole to be inducted into Eagles Hall of Fame
Trent Cole and Hugh Douglas will be inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame on November 27, when the Eagles host the Green Bay Packers.
The official announcement was made Friday night against the Jets during a halftime ceremony as part of the Eagles Legends Homecoming Game, in which many of the franchise’s greats returned to celebrate their time with the team.
The former defensive standouts both rank among the top six in career sacks for the Eagles, with Cole having registered 85.5 quarterback takedowns (second all-time) during his 10-year career and Douglas notching 54.5 (sixth all-time) during his six seasons with the team.
“Trent and Hugh were both high-impact pass rushers and consummate teammates,” said Jeffrey Lurie, Philadelphia Eagles Chairman and CEO, via a press release. “When we traded for Hugh, we knew we were getting a player who would immediately make our football team better. He was a tremendous leader on a defense that helped guide us to many deep postseason runs. Upon Hugh’s retirement, we were fortunate to acquire another talented edge rusher through the draft. Trent was a dynamic and durable player who provided us with an advantage on defense thanks to his endless motor, selfless style of play, and passion for the game. It will be an honor to officially enshrine them both in the Eagles Hall of Fame this season.”
The Eagles drafted Cole in the fifth round (146th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft. The two-time Pro Bowler compiled double-digit sacks in four separate seasons, ranking second in team history behind Reggie White (eight double-digit sack seasons). His 155 games played in an Eagles uniform is third all-time among defensive linemen and 14th among all players in franchise history.
A first-round draft pick (16th overall) of the New York Jets in 1995, Douglas was acquired by Philadelphia in a trade during the 1998 offseason. As a member of the Eagles, he earned three consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl (2000-02) and a first-team All-Pro nod (2000). Douglas totaled three seasons with double-digit sacks, including a career-best 15 quarterback takedowns in 2000. After playing elsewhere in 2003, he returned to Philadelphia for his final NFL season in 2004, where he helped lead the team to Super Bowl XXXIX.
Photo/courtesy: Philadelphia Eagles