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Konta & Edmund lead British hopes at US Open

Published in Tennis
Saturday, 24 August 2019 10:31

World number ones Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka will seek to defend their titles at a US Open that Britain's Andy Murray has chosen to miss.

The Scot, who had hip surgery in January, had planned to play doubles but is focusing on singles elsewhere.

In his absence, the country's number ones Johanna Konta and Kyle Edmund will carry British hopes in New York.

Roger Federer and Serena Williams will be again chasing records at the final Grand Slam tournament of the year.

Swiss great Federer, 38, is seeking a record sixth men's US Open singles title that would also make him the oldest men's Grand Slam singles champion in the Open era.

Meanwhile, 37-year-old American Williams - whose defeat by Osaka in last year's final was marred by her angry outbursts at the umpire - is hoping to equal the all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

The tournament at Flushing Meadows, where singles winners take home $3,850,000 (£3.17m), features day and night sessions (16:00 BST and 00:00 BST) for most of the rounds.

Konta and Edmund lead British hopes

At 16th in the world, Konta is the highest ranked Briton in the singles at Flushing Meadows and the 28-year-old will be seeking to translate her excellent form from earlier in the year into success here.

But the French Open semi-finalist, who also reached the last eight at Wimbledon, has had back-to-back first-round exits in her warm-up events. She plays Russia's Daria Kasatkina at 16:00 on Monday.

Konta was the only British woman to have direct entry to the main draw, with Harriet Dart making it through qualifying to face Romanian Ana Bogdan, also at 16:00 on Monday.

British men's number one Edmund, whose best result at the US Open was reaching the fourth round in 2016, is joined by Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie.

Edmund will open his campaign on Tuesday against Spaniard Pablo Andujar while Evans and Norrie both face Frenchmen on court 10 on Monday. Evans plays Adrian Mannarino before Norrie takes on Gregoire Barrere.

Jamie Murray will be among the Britons in the doubles, with the six-time Grand Slam champion seeking a maiden title with new partner and compatriot Neal Skupski.

Murray's brother Andy will be playing at a Challenger event in Mallorca - the Rafa Nadal Open - from Monday as he steps up his recovery from career-saving hip surgery with more singles matches.

Williams has chance of redemption and record

Last year's women's final will be remembered for Williams' outbursts, where she called umpire Carlos Ramos a "thief" and "liar" after he docked her a game before later accusing him of "sexism".

Organisers are ensuring the pair will not cross paths this year, with Ramos not officiating any matches featuring Williams or her sister Venus.

Although Williams congratulated Osaka at the net at the end of the match and also later apologised to her, the events overshadowed the 21-year-old becoming the first Japanese to win a Grand Slam and left her in tears.

There are question marks over the fitness of Williams, who has retired or withdrawn from all five of her non-Grand Slam events this year.

The American, who is seeking to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, missed this month's Cincinnati Masters with the back problem that forced her to pull out of the Rogers Cup final a few days earlier.

She faces a blockbuster first-round match against Russian five-time Grand Slam champion and long-time rival Maria Sharapova, which opens day one's night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Sharapova has played just six matches since January because of a shoulder injury.

Since returning to tennis after giving birth in September 2017, Williams has reached three Grand Slam finals but has lost in all of them, including July's Wimbledon defeat by Simona Halep.

Can Osaka handle the pressure?

After sealing her maiden Grand Slam last September, Osaka followed it up with an Australian Open victory that propelled her to the top of the world rankings.

But since then she has struggled with injury, poor form and says she "hasn't enjoyed" tennis since that Melbourne triumph in January.

After her surprise third-round exit from the French Open in June, she said it was "probably the best thing that could have happened" and that she was suffering headaches from the "stress" of being the top seed.

Since then she briefly lost the world number one ranking to Australia's Ashleigh Barty but has now regained it and, assuming she shakes off a recent knee injury, will once again need to prove she can handle the pressure of being the player to beat.

Among those seeking to capitalise if she falters will be world number three Karolina Pliskova, who, like Barty, could oust Osaka from the top with a good run.

The Czech 27-year-old, runner-up in 2016, has won three WTA titles this year and reached the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters.

Wimbledon champion Halep will be chasing a third Grand Slam title although her preparations have been hampered by an Achilles problem, while Cincinnati champion Madison Keys arrives at her home Grand Slam in good form as she seeks to improve on her runner-up finish from 2017.

Will Gauff build on Wimbledon run?

Two months after charming Wimbledon, American 15-year-old Coco Gauff will be aiming to build on that stunning run to the last 16 that included a first-round victory over seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams.

In June she became the youngest player in the Open era to qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon and her exploits earned her a wildcard into the main draw at Flushing Meadows.

Victory alongside 17-year-old Catherine McNally in the Washington Open doubles final this month can give Gauff extra confidence before her US Open campaign, where she faces Russian world number 76 Anastasia Potapova in the first round.

Djokovic favourite to defend title

World number one Djokovic is the overwhelming favourite to defend his title and win a 17th Grand Slam crown, which would leave him just one behind Rafael Nadal and three behind leader Federer on the all-time list of men's champions.

The 32-year-old Serb has won four of the past five Grand Slams and, after reaching the Cincinnati semi-finals, said: "I like my chances [at the US Open]. I feel good. I love playing in those conditions there on centre court."

He will hope that conditions are less humid than last year when a series of players were forced to retire in the opening days because of heat-related issues and Djokovic himself said he had "struggled".

The big three of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have won the past 11 Grand Slam titles and it is hard to see beyond them once again at Flushing Meadows.

Time is, however, increasingly against Federer. The Swiss great turned 38 earlier this month and the most recent of his five US Open titles was 11 years ago. He was also surprisingly beaten in straight sets by 21-year-old Russian qualifier Andrey Rublev in the third round at Cincinnati this month.

But having held two championship points against Djokovic at Wimbledon just six weeks ago, he may feel he has some unfinished Grand Slam business.

"The way I played at Wimbledon is going to give me some extra confidence," Federer said. "This is probably the best I've felt in years coming into the US Open, which is encouraging."

Nadal, meanwhile, has warmed up by defending his Rogers Cup title - the first time he has retained a non-clay title.

The key for the 33-year-old Spanish world number two will be staying fit, having retired from his semi-final in New York a year ago with a knee problem that has caused him problems throughout his career. He withdrew from Cincinnati two weeks ago because of fatigue.

Last year's runner-up Juan Martin del Potro is absent, having re-fractured his kneecap during Queen's in June.

Who can challenge the 'big three'?

It is the question that is posed before every Grand Slam and the one the next generation have so far been unable to answer with any conviction.

Germany's Alexander Zverev and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas are among the players in their early twenties who are in the top 10 but have lost momentum in their bid to challenge the 'big three'.

Since beating Djokovic to win the prestigious ATP Finals last November, Zverev has reached just one Grand Slam quarter-final, while Tsitsipas followed up his Australian Open semi-final in January with a first-round exit at Wimbledon.

Russian 23-year-old Daniil Medvedev, who has risen to a career-high number five in the world rankings after his Cincinnati triumph, is the in-form player having reached three successive finals this month and could be one to watch.

Meanwhile, the spotlight will also be on Australian 24-year-old Nick Kyrgios, who oscillates between the talent that won him the Washington title this month and the behaviour that cost him $113,000 (£93,254) in fines less than a fortnight later.

Head coach Gregor Townsend was delighted with the character shown by Scotland as they recovered from losing two soft tries to beat France.

The Scots trailed 14-3 moments before half-time but hit back with scores from Sean Maitland and Chris Harris to prevail 17-14 at Murrayfield.

France had demolished Scotland 32-3 in Nice last weekend.

"We found a way to win in amongst a lot of adversity," said Townsend, who made 14 changes.

"The collective effort, mindset, commitment was there in the jersey, that was really pleasing to see.

"Losing a try early on, losing another try on our ball, being down at half-time but coming back, losing key players, players playing in different positions near the end, so that's pleasing."

As happened in Nice in the first of four World Cup warm-up Tests, Scotland were behind after a few minutes as Damian Penaud snatched an interception from Peter Horne and ran 50 metres to score under the posts.

Penaud's second try was also a gift, coming after Finn Russell failed to gather a high ball, with Gael Fickou breezing past Ryan Wilson to set up the winger.

"There's a lot to work on, we know that, but that was more like what I thought it would be," added Townsend, who lost Tommy Seymour and Blade Thomson to failed head injury assessments and Sam Skinner to a nasty-looking hamstring problem.

Experienced flankers Wilson and John Barclay ended the game in the second row, with replacement hooker George Turner in the front row.

"Things that you have to deal with, at times it's helter-skelter," said Townsend.

"But it was great to see the crowd getting really behind the team and the players finding that win so we can go to Georgia with at least a win behind us.

"I thought we started really well and we were producing quick ball. It was just a misjudgement on a pass [for the opening try] and last week it was a misjudgement on a line-out throw and we have to deal with that. We have to regroup, stay focused and that's what the players did well today."

Scotland play Georgia in Tbilisi next Saturday and finish their preparations for Japan at home to the same opponents, with Townsend revealing his final World Cup squad in between the two Tests.

Allmendinger Nabs Road America Xfinity Pole

Published in Racing
Saturday, 24 August 2019 10:10

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – A.J. Allmendinger hopes history repeats itself.

On Saturday morning, Allmendinger qualified on the pole for the 10th annual CTECH Manufacturing 180 at Road America.

In 2013, Allmendinger won the pole and went on to win the race. He is one of three former winners at Road America in the race – Justin Allgaier (2018) and Jeremy Clements (2017).

There has not been a repeat winner in the Xfinity Series at Road America in the previous nine runnings. Carl Edwards won the inaugural race in 2010. Other winners include Reed Sorenson, Nelson Piquet Jr., Brendan Gaughan, Paul Menard and Michael McDowell.

Driving for Kaulig Racing, Allmendinger’s pole-winning time was 2:12.731.

Matt DiBenedetto, driving the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, was second quickest at 2:13.229. Austin Cindric was third at 2:13.286, followed by Cole Custer (2:33.648) and Noah Gragson (2:33.607).

Allgaier was eighth quickest at 2:14.203 and Clements was ninth at 2:14.411.

Cindric has won the last two road-course races. He’s trying to become the first driver to win three-straight NASCAR road-course races since Terry Labonte did it in 1994-96 at Watkins Glen.

It is Allmendinger’s fourth Xfinity Series race in 2019. He was disqualified from his first two starts (Daytona Int’l Speedway and Watkins Glen Int’l) and finished third at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The race starts at 3 p.m. eastern on NBC Sports.

Marquez Tops Rossi For Silverstone Pole

Published in Racing
Saturday, 24 August 2019 10:19

SILVERSTONE, England – Marc Marquez outran Valentino Rossi to earn his fourth-straight MotoGP pole on Saturday at the Silverstone Circuit.

Marquez set a new track record en route to the pole, with his 1:58.168 lap resetting the track record set on Friday by Fabio Quartararo.

“With the first tire I felt really, really good and I just tried to find a good lap and I did my first lap alone,” Marquez said after his 60th premier class pole. “When we went out with the second tire there was a fair bit of traffic, I was on top in the results so I did not want to push first. We were then waiting a bit and playing with our strategy and then on the last lap the tires were ready and we made a really good lap. Valentino was ahead, maybe a little too far because I couldn’t profit fully from the slipstream. I think we can be strong in the race tomorrow, but for sure there are many rivals for tomorrow.”

Rossi ended up second aboard his Monster Energy Yamaha, .428 seconds behind Marquez. The duo will be joined on the front row by the impressive Jack Miller for Pramac Racing, who was only .006 seconds behind Rossi on the stopwatch.

Quartararo qualified fourth for Petronas Yamaha SRT, followed by Alex Rins and Maverick Vinales on row two. Andrea Dovizioso qualified seventh for Ducati, followed closely by Franco Morbidelli and Cal Crutchlow.

Matos Won’t Be Denied At Road America

Published in Racing
Saturday, 24 August 2019 10:22

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Rafa Matos drove like a man on a mission in Saturday morning’s Ryan Companies Muscle Car Challenge at Road America, leading flag to flag to score his third Trans-Am by Pirelli TA2 powered by AEM victory of the season.

Driving the No. 88 3Dimensional Services Group Chevrolet Camaro, Matos beat Marc Miller in the No. 40 Prefix/Stevens-Miller Racing Dodge Challenger to the checkered flag by 6.751 seconds. Misha Goikhberg completed the podium in the No. 10 BC Race Cars Chevrolet Camaro to claim another TA2 podium.

Matos was able to hold off Miller, Goikhberg and Scott Lagasse Jr. in a spirited battle during the early laps of the race on the 4.048-mile circuit. But once his Pirelli tires got up to pressure, Matos was able to pull away for his first triumph since winning the opening two races of the season.

“Today was a great day – our team has battled really hard since early in the year,” Matos said. “The beginning of the race was a bit of a struggle – Marc had a great pace. We sacrificed our performance at the beginning, because we had our tire pressures set for the end of the race. I also had to keep working on the brake bias. As the tire pressure went up, the car kept getting better. I was able to keep him behind and open a gap, and bring it to victory lane. But it was a very mentally tiring race, because we’re going so fast around this place, and the minimal error can cost a lot. It was very difficult, and now I’m definitely looking forward to the final stretch of the season.”

A second-place finish was not the birthday present Miller was looking for, although he managed to retain a comfortable lead in the championship with four races remaining.

“The car was pretty good, but I just didn’t have enough for Rafa,” Miller said. “We were battling it out. I thought I had him on the start, but he might have been toying with me a bit. He drove a great race. Once he had a lead, he controlled the pace. Lagasse and Misha were battling pretty hard and were breathing down my neck. But they got together and that settled that, and I was left to my own devises out there.”

Thomas Merrill took fourth in the No. 81 Big Diehl Racing Ford Mustang, while NASCAR driver Brandon Jones took fifth in the No 26 Mike Cope Racing Cars entry after a spirited battle with the No. 77 Liqui-Moly/Prefix Dodge Challenger of Dillon Machavern.

“It was fun racing, and hopefully it did something for the Xfinity side,” said Jones, who will also run in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity event at the circuit. “Running in the Trans Am teaches you how to pass, teaches you what places to pass at on the track. I learned that driving harder in this car helped me make up time at the end, so hopefully that will work on the Xfinity car as well. I enjoyed running the Trans Am and getting more laps with Mike Cope.”

Jones won the CoolShirt Systems Cool Move of the Race award for his pass on Lap 18.

After challenging early, Lagasse had a spin on lap 13 that dropped him down in the running order, leading to a 12th-place finish in the No. 92 SLR/Fields Racing/M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro.

“For a car with no practice, it was a rocket ship,” said Lagasse, who had issues with his primary car in practice and opted to run a new car in the race. “I lost power steering and ended up losing the brakes, and wound up trying to survive from there. I hated that I ran up into the back of Misha, and hated not having the chance to run more with these guys, we’re creeping up on them. We had a good-handling race car, our team put a real good setup under it. The M1 guys are good, and I think we can run with them.”

Doug Peterson won the Masters Cup with a 13th-place finish. He lost ground in the early laps with a pit stop for the No. 87 3Dimensional Services Group Chevrolet Camaro.

“I thought it was either a flat tire or the diff,” Peterson said. “It turned out the rear tires were cold after running behind the pace car, and it got better once it built up pressure.”

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Justin Haley had an engine misfire from the start of the race and completed only six laps before parking the No. 99 Mike Cope Racing Cars. The upset winner of the recent Monster Energy Cup Series race at Daytona made two pit stops only in an attempt to correct the problem, but the misfire only got worse.

A lap-one incident back in the pack resulted in the damage that led to the retirement of Patrick Utt in the No. 49 RaceQuip Chevrolet Camaro; Barry Boes in the No. 32 AccioData/SampsonRace/HarrisHill Ford Mustang; Keith Prociuk in the No. 9 HP Tuners Chevrolet Camaro; Brian Swank in the No. 12 Berryman Products Chevrolet Camaro; and Lawless Haley in the No. 14 Mike Cope Racing Ford Mustang. Utt attempted to continue but hit the tire barrier in Turn 10, bringing out a full-course caution.

De Gea error condemns Man United vs. Crystal Palace

Published in Soccer
Saturday, 24 August 2019 10:16

MANCHESTER, England -- Patrick van Aanholt scored a stoppage-time winner as Crystal Palace recorded their first league win over Manchester United in 28 years with a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.

Daniel James looked to have rescued a point for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side with an 88th-minute equaliser before a mistake from David De Gea in the third minute of injury time handed Palace their first win of the season and their first in the league over United since 1991.

Jordan Ayew had given the visitors the lead in the first half -- their first goal of the season -- after another error, this time from Victor Lindelof. Marcus Rashford was given the chance to equalise in the second half but saw his penalty cannon back off the inside of the post just five days after Paul Pogba's miss from the spot denied United victory at Wolves.

Palace had not scored a league goal at Old Trafford in 15 years before Ayew's goal and a late second from Van Aanholt, which should have been saved by De Gea at his near post, condemned the home side to their first defeat of the season.

Positives

Solskjaer said in the summer that Mason Greenwood would get chances and he's backed up his words. It would have been easy in the second half to leave on the more experienced Jesse Lingard as United went looking for a goal, but Solskjaer was quick to throw on Greenwood instead. The 17-year-old was on before the hour mark -- a show of faith in a young player at a crucial stage of the game.

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Negatives

It's not only that Palace's opener was so soft -- a long punt upfield, a flick-on and a finish -- it was the way in which United reacted after it went in. They were in complete control and the goal came out of nothing. But for the 10 minutes before half-time they were all over the place and Palace could have inflicted more damage before the break. It was the same against Wolves after their equaliser. United aren't a team that deal well with setbacks.

Manager rating out of 10

6 - It wasn't a surprise that the Norwegian named an unchanged XI from the one that drew with Wolves on Monday night and he could do nothing about Lindelof's lapse that allowed Palace to score in the first half. Solskjaer was quicker to change things around than he was at Molineux and his decision to leave James on looked to have worked before Van Aanholt's late winner.

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK David De Gea, 5 -- Spent most of the game watching and then made a terrible error in stoppage time when Van Aanholt's shot squirmed underneath him at the near post.

DF Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 6 -- Playing against the club he left in the summer and didn't do much wrong despite the miserable result.

DF Luke Shaw, 6 -- Set up a chance for Scott McTominay from a corner, blazed over from the corner of the area, then went off with a hamstring injury all before 35 minutes were on the clock.

DF Victor Lindelof, 5 -- At fault for Palace's opener. Out-jumped by Jeffrey Schlupp from Vicente Guaita's long ball forward allowing Ayew to have a clear run at De Gea.

DF Harry Maguire, 6 -- Stepped into midfield to send Rashford through with an inch-perfect pass. Won't be happy with his positioning for Ayew's goal but it was Lindelof's error first.

MF Scott McTominay, 7 -- Had the first chance of the afternoon when he headed over from Shaw's corner and it was his run that won the penalty in the second half.

MF Paul Pogba, 6 -- Was having a quiet game until he did brilliantly to win the ball back in midfield to start the move from which James scored the equaliser.

MF Jesse Lingard, 6 -- Led the press from midfield but was sacrificed early in the second half when Solskjaer sent on Greenwood as United went looking for an equaliser.

FW Daniel James, 7 -- Struggled with his end product against Wolves but scored a beauty here. Sorted his feet out so quickly and flicked his finish into the top corner.

FW Marcus Rashford, 6 -- Had the chance to equalise but hammered his penalty off the inside of the post. Wasted a couple of free kicks in good positions.

FW Anthony Martial, 6 -- Caused Palace's defence problems and probably should have had a penalty when he spun Martin Kelly in the box with a clever turn.

Substitutes

DF Ashley Young, 6 -- Had his hands full with Wilfried Zaha but added an attacking threat.

FW Mason Greenwood, 6 -- Didn't see much of the ball.

MF Juan Mata, N/R. -- Had no time to make an impact.

LIVE: Liverpool host Arsenal at Anfield

Published in Soccer
Saturday, 24 August 2019 07:34

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Laurie Evans fifty helps Sussex confirm quarter-final spot

Published in Cricket
Saturday, 24 August 2019 09:44

Sussex 172 for 2 (Evans 52*, Wright 48) beat Middlesex 171 for 5 (Morgan 47, Hafeez 48) by eight wickets

Laurie Evans' second half-century of the T20 campaign saw Sussex canter to an eight-wicket victory over Middlesex at Uxbridge.

Evans plundered three sixes and four fours, reaching his half-century from 25 balls when depositing the winning hit into the crowd, as the visitors chased down a target of 172 with four overs to spare.

Sharks' skipper Luke Wright, who had scored a century against Middlesex at Lord's in the Royal London Cup back in May, had earlier blasted 48 in 27 balls, while Alex Carey was unbeaten on 41.

The victory all but clinched Sussex's quarter-final place, as they sit three points clear in the standings, and was the fifth time this season they had put one over today's opposition.

Middlesex remain fourth, at least for a few hours, but this is the first time in the competition this season they have lost back-to-back games. Dawid Malan had no hesitation in choosing to bat first and he and Paul Stirling got the hosts off to a strong start.

Stirling struck a maximum in the first over as he finally found some form in the format this season.

Malan was even more fluent at the other end, striking some sumptuous trademark cover drives as they rattled up a stand of 57 before Stirling skied one to Laurie Evans at cover off Ollie Robinson from the final ball of the powerplay.

Sadly, for the hosts, Malan followed soon afterwards, hitting Will Beer's worst delivery of the day straight down the throat of deep square.

Eoin Morgan kept up the momentum, England's one-day captain clearing the players' pavilion with one maximum off Danny Briggs.

Mohammed Hafeez also applied the long handle on his way to 48, just clearing the ropes with successive sixes off Beer.

At 141 for 2 off 15 overs, 200 looked within reach, but Morgan holed out at long-off from the bowling of Reece Topley and from there the innings lost all impetus, as just 30 runs were scraped off the last five overs.

A total of 171 looked short of par, especially when Sharks openers Phil Salt and Wright took three boundaries from Tom Helm's first over.

Toby Roland-Jones was greeted with similar disdain, Wright pulling the former England quick for six over cow corner and successive fours as the 50 came up in four overs.

Hafeez spurned a tough caught and bowled chance to reprieve Wright on 27 and he celebrated by smashing Nathan Sowter for six over mid-wicket in the following over.

It was Stirling who made the breakthrough when Salt lofted him to George Scott in the deep, the allrounder juggling the ball before clinging on.

Wright continued to plunder the home attack until he miscued another big hit and was caught and bowled by Steven Finn.

His dismissal did little to stop the carnage, Evans and Carey sharing a stand of 81 in just seven overs as they sped to victory.

Gauff, McNally get US Open doubles wild card

Published in Breaking News
Saturday, 24 August 2019 11:23

NEW YORK -- Coco Gauff and Caty McNally will get a chance to play doubles at the US Open and add to their winning streak as a team.

Gauff, the 15-year-old based in Florida who announced herself to the world at Wimbledon, and McNally, a 17-year-old from Ohio, were granted a doubles wild card by the U.S. Tennis Association on Saturday.

Each previously was given a wild card for the singles main draw, too. The tournament begins Monday.

A year ago, Gauff and McNally won a US Open junior title in doubles. They then picked up the first WTA trophy for each by winning the doubles title at the Citi Open in Washington this month.

McNally also reached her first tour-level semifinal in singles at that hard-court tournament.

Gauff's big breakthrough in singles came at the All England Club this year. She became the youngest qualifier in Wimbledon history, then beat Venus Williams in the first round and made it to the fourth round before losing to eventual champion Simona Halep.

LB Worrilow leaves Ravens day after signing

Published in Breaking News
Saturday, 24 August 2019 11:04

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Inside linebacker Paul Worrilow abruptly left the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, one day after signing with the team.

Worrilow decided to go home to his wife, who is eight months pregnant and bedridden, a source told ESPN. He will reevaluate his future in the NFL after she gives birth, the source said.

On Friday, Worrilow passed his physical with the Ravens and signed a one-year deal. He then wasn't present for Baltimore's Saturday morning practice.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh spoke to Worrilow on Friday night.

"He was all ready and excited to go, so I'm surprised," Harbaugh said after Saturday's practice. "I assume he's trying to work and figure some things out, what he wants to do, he and his family. Every person has the right to do that. So, we'll see what he decides. We'll respect it, whatever it is."

The Ravens were hoping Worrilow would provide experienced depth at inside linebacker as well as on special teams.

Worrilow, 29, was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. He was coming back from a torn ACL, which ended his 2018 season.

After going undrafted out of Delaware, Worrilow led the Atlanta Falcons in tackles in 2013 and 2014. Over his five NFL seasons, he has made 52 starts and totaled 415 tackles.

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