Coverage: TNT
- Indianapolis, IN
- Line: IND -10.0
- Over/Under: 218
Capacity: 17,923
INDIANAPOLIS -- Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones is not opposed to Dez Bryant's return to the franchise. The wide receiver was released following the 2017 season.
"I've been thinking about it a lot in the shower," Jones said Thursday. "I have been. I'm not dismissing it. I don't want to sound like it should be dismissed by saying it. I'm thinking about it."
Bryant has been working out just yards away from the team facility in Frisco, Texas, as he attempts to return after two years away from game action because of a torn Achilles tendon. Bryant suffered the injury in his first practice with the New Orleans Saints in 2018. He was not on an NFL roster in 2019 but has been working out regularly, planning for a comeback.
Bryant, 31, most recently played in a game on Dec. 31, 2017, for the Cowboys. He was released in part because of an $18 million base salary and declining production. After signing a five-year, $70 million deal in 2015, Bryant was slowed by injuries that kept him out of 10 games in 2015 and '16. He caught 69 passes for 838 yards and six touchdowns in 2017.
The Cowboys selected Bryant in the first round of the 2010 draft and he is the franchise leader in touchdown receptions with 73. He caught 531 passes for 7,459 yards and was a three-time Pro Bowl pick.
"He's had a serious injury," Jones said. "He's been out a little bit, but Dez is a great player and the obvious [question] is the obvious: Is he still a great player? We know Dez better than anybody. I know him better than, I'm going to say anybody."
Bryant reached out to executive vice president Stephen Jones this offseason about a return. Earlier in the week, Stephen Jones said it was something the staff would look at, but the team's focus has been on its own players with free agency approaching.
Bryant had harsh words for some teammates, such as Sean Lee and Travis Frederick, after he was cut. He had been critical of former coach Jason Garrett as well, but Garrett has been replaced by Mike McCarthy.
Jerry Jones said those issues "are reparable. They really are because the very best of Dez is what I remember. The very best of him. I remember a lot of good things [that] far overshadow the negatives for me as a player. Now the question is, can he perform and can he overcome that injury and can he get in the kind of shape that it takes to be available?"
Bryant tweeted his support of Jones' comments:
Let's get it!!! https://t.co/5icBrAatnY
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) February 27, 2020
Bryant was not the only topic Jones touched on during an 80-minute session on his luxury bus from the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.
On talks with quarterback Dak Prescott: "For all practical purposes, I mean it, this is a deal that ultimately I have to do. And when I say do, I have to sign the check, OK? So it's got to fit. It just has to fit and it has to fit a lot of things. For me this is not about Dak. It's about the team and about how to win and that's not being in any way negative. I think the world of Dak. But it's about the team and if it doesn't feel right, it won't happen." Jones said the possibility of Prescott missing some or all of the offseason program if the team uses the franchise tag on him is not an issue. "It's a technicality. Certainly have and going to keep his rights. To be trite, we're not going to let a technicality issue the thing," he said. "No, it's not a concern of mine. Dak understands. In my mind one of the great things about Dak is his commitment to building a team. I don't have an issue there. ... That's just the reality of the thing. I am not in any way going to not have his rights, for one minute."
On the new collective bargaining agreement: "It's critical to recognize how valuable the perception is of going forward together for the next several years, the clubs and the players, what that could mean for us as far as having money for everybody."
On Jason Witten returning as a player for a 17th season: "I feel like he can play and I would hope he would not ever be anything but a Cowboy. It's meaningful," Jones said of the tight end. Witten has said he wants to continue to play but said he is open to playing elsewhere. Jones said the potential holdup in a return would be Witten's willingness to accept a different role.
On adding somebody to the Ring of Honor in 2020: "Right now, it's not on my mind at all, it is not. Regarding [Jimmy Johnson, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame], we have such a big year ahead of us with Jimmy, and his celebration. I want that to be the focus, period. If everybody says, 'Is that the right order of things?', well, Coach [Tom] Landry was in the Hall of Fame before the Ring of Honor. Here we've got the two greatest coaches in the history of the Cowboys, so they can go in the same order."
Warriors coach Steve Kerr says he will sit down with Steph Curry, general manager Bob Myers and the team's training staff after practice Friday and make a game plan for the guard's return.
Golden State remains hopeful Curry will return Sunday against the Wizards, but the organization hasn't made a final decision.
Kerr had said Wednesday that he felt Curry needed to get in some additional scrimmages before being game ready.
Curry has missed all but four games this season after suffering a broken hand in October. He underwent surgery that has kept him out the past four months.
Coverage: TNT
Capacity: 17,923
Win %:67.1
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Gary Trent Jr. makes 28-foot three point jumper (Trevor Ariza assists)
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He finished in first place in his initial stage group ahead of Madagascar’s Jonathan Nativel, Benin’s Monday Olabiyi and Congo Democratic’s Gedeon Kassa, the no.8 seed, a player who experienced a day he will want to forget. He finished in fourth place without a win to his name.
Eight groups in the initial phase, players finishing in first and second positions advanced to a preliminary round; the eight winners from the preliminary round progressed to the second group stage. In the second group stage, those finishing in first and second positions in each group qualify for the men’s singles event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Good form in the group stage, Kerem Ben Yahia beat Congo Brazzaville’s Christ Bienatiki, the no.15 seed (9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 6-11, 11-3, 13-11), the reserve his place in the decisive group phase.
Impressive from Kerem Ben Yahia, he responded and again showed his penchant for playing on home turf. In 2017 won the under 21 men’s singles title at the ITTF African Youth, Junior and Cadet Championships in La Marsa, some 10 miles east of Tunis.
One surprise name with Tokyo 2020 hopes still standing, it was the same for two more. In the preliminary round Ivory Coast’s Kizito Oba Oba, the no.16 seed, accounted for Algeria’s Sami Kherouf, the no.5 seed (11-4, 11-5, 17-15, 6-11, 11-5); balancing the books for Algeria, Larbiah Bouriah, the no.10 seed, upset the order of merit and caused Congo Brazzaville more heartaches. He overcame Saheed Idowu, the no.4 seed (8-11, 13-15, 11-6, 11-4, 11-7, 13-11).
Otherwise the leading names advanced. Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna and Olajide Omotayo, the respective top two seeds, secured second stage group places, as did the next in line Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw. Likewise, there was progress for Togo’s Kokou Dodji Fanny, the no.6 seed, as there was for Tunisia’s Adam Hmam, the no.7 seed.
Men’s singles: final stage groups
A major surprise in the men’s singles event, in the women’s singles it was the same. Ethiopia’s Marta Gulti, the no.11 seed, the third highest rated player in her group excelled. She beat Algeria’s Katia Kessaci, the no.5 seed (12-10, 6-11, 5-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-8) in the concluding match to secure second place behind the Nigeria’s unbeaten Olufunke Oshonaike, the no.3 seed.
Undoubtedly it was a surprise second place in an event where there were four groups in the initial phase, first and second progressing to the final group phase where the winners and runners up in each group gain women’s singles places at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Notably, also there was one unexpected first place; the host nation’s Fadwa Garci beat Algeria’s Lynda Loghraibi (11-9, 11-2, 11-6, 11-3) to conclude her initial phase matches unbeaten. It was the only defeat for Lynda Loghraibi, who thus finished the day in second position and thus through to the final group stage.
Testing times, in remaining groups, the top two places were as anticipated.
Nigeria’s Offiong Edem, the top seed, finished ahead of Nandeshwaree Jalim from Mauritius, the no.7 seed, as did Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou, the no.2 seed, she ended the day with the host nation’s Sabir Haj Salah, who shared the no.7 seeded spot with Nandeshwaree Jalim, in second place.
Women’s singles: final stage groups
Play in both the men’s singles and women’s singles events will be played in entirety on Friday 28th February. The mixed doubles will be staged on a knock-out basis on Saturday 29th February, one place for Tokyo 2020 being available.
Wales hooker Scott Baldwin has revealed he has been battling with a gambling problem during his life.
Baldwin says he has lost "tens of thousands of pounds" after admitting he was "addicted" to gambling.
The 31-year-old says he has now stopped totally because of his young family.
"It's one of those addictions that no one will know other than you or the people you want to know," Baldwin told the Scrum V podcast.
He added: "Ultimately no one knows anything about people's finances unless you want to tell them."
The former Ospreys front-rower played 34 times for Wales between 2013 and 2017 and was part of the 2015 World Cup squad that reached the quarter-finals.
The Harlequins hooker has now bravely spoken about an issue that blighted his life before he put a halt to it.
Baldwin says he had battled a gambling problem from the age of 15 until about 2015 when he knew he had to stop because of his young family.
He says he never went to casinos, but his issues started with machine in pubs, poker and included playing roulette online.
Baldwin started his career with Welsh region Ospreys, but spent time on loan with ASR Milano in Italy in 2011 when the problem intensified.
"This is probably not where the gambling 'started started' but I went to Italy, I wasn't on much money," said Baldwin.
"I was there two or three months. I'd be sitting in my one bedroom flat on my phone just gambling. It's so accessible it's ridiculous.
"You just go online, sign into an account and just spin. I was like just literally tapping a button. That's all it is, tapping a button waiting to see where the number lands. If you've got the number you win, if you haven't you don't.
"Ultimately I'd always lose and no matter how much I'd win, I'd always want more and I'd always know deep down whenever I won I'd always lose. Because when I had a big win, at some point getting that big win I was in a hole.
"I was down (money) significantly. You have to keep increasing your bets, you need to win more so you need to bet more.
"It's not the winning looking back now which was the buzz, it was the chase of when you were losing rather than when you hit it to get it back.
"It doesn't make any sense, I've had this conversation with my wife since and she doesn't understand it."
Baldwin admitted he was gambling big sums even at the beginning of his Wales career.
"Tens of thousands, it's a lot of money," said Baldwin.
"There was an autumn campaign with Wales where I'd gone from being on £12,000 a year to all of a sudden your campaign goes well and you get £50-60k before tax or whatever and you're like 'wow' I've got this lump sum.
"So you think 'If I lose a £1,000 that's alright because I've got a lot more'. Whether I lost £10 or £1,000, whatever I had in my back account, I would go until I got that £10 back or my bank account was empty.
"I never got into debt gambling. But I lost a lot of money I shouldn't have lost, due to gambling."
Baldwin revealed the reason why he stopped.
"It was only when I met my wife and had my little boy I stopped and realised," said Baldwin.
"Someone said to me something along the lines of 'If you wouldn't want your son to do it, why would you do it' and that sat with me.
"You're never going to win enough to change your life, but you could easily lose enough to change your life. So that's something that sits poignantly with me and something I live by in my mind every day.
"I am an addict, but I'm not an active addict if that makes sense.
"I don't gamble anymore at all, nothing at all.
"I've written that down in my phone - 'I'm Scott Baldwin and I'm an addicted gambler'. You do have the thoughts every now and again."
Baldwin revealed why he has chosen to speak publicly now.
"A rugby player recently has rung me to have a chat," said Baldwin.
"He's been in a hole and just asked me how I dealt with it, and would I be supportive for him if he speaks to his family, his network? And I said 'Of course I will mate'.
"I'd like to think by doing this and being proactive it shows that you can come back from things.
"Regardless of whether you're a troublemaker when you're younger, whether it's gambling, whether it's not hitting your targets or whatever, there's always a way back from it.
"There's always someone there if you need it and if you look for the help.
"Any player, I would always be open if they want to message or get in touch with me, I'd openly speak to anyone about anything."
If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in this podcast, visit bbc.co.uk/actionline to seek further information and support.
LAS VEGAS – Following a career-best result on a downforce-style race track, Josh Williams and Silverton Casino are riding a wave of momentum as Williams continues west to Auto Club Speedway this weekend.
Williams secured a 13th-place finish during the Boyd Gaming 300 on February 23rd at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a new high-water mark for the Port Charlotte, Fla., native on a non-superspeedway track.
It also marked the second-highest finish of Williams’ 63-race Xfinity Series career, bettered only by an eighth-place run at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway last April.
“I feel like we had a successful weekend, and it was really great to go out and represent as strongly as we did for our partners at DGM Racing and Silverton Casino, who was on the car with us in Las Vegas. I think we definitely could have been better, but when you consider where we were and where we want to be, we’ve made a ton of strides in the right direction and we’re racing against some of the best competition now in the Xfinity Series,” Williams noted.
“We’re really going to keep working at this for the other intermediates and striving to make our package better, because we know we’re starting to knock of the door of the top 10 and that’s where our goals are,” Williams added. “We’re missing just a little bit, but we’re showing good speed and I expect that to continue. We’re in a great place and building a lot of momentum as an organization, and as long as we can keep controlling the things that are in our control and avoid some of the bad luck that’s floating out there, I really think you’ll see us having more runs like this through the spring and summer months.”
Williams’ run on Sunday was not only made possible on-track by Silverton Casino, but off the track as well, considering the logistical challenges of an extra day in Las Vegas that postponed the conclusion of the Boyd Gaming 300 from Saturday to Sunday.
“We can’t thank all the folks from Silverton Casino enough for how they accommodated us when Mother Nature threw a wrench into the works last weekend. They went above and beyond to help everyone at DGM Racing out and made it possible for us to repay them with such a strong run. It’s been a huge effort on their part to aid in making our on-track efforts possible, and we all appreciate everything they do to support DGM Racing and this No. 92 Chevrolet Camaro,” Williams shared.
Following the Las Vegas event, Silverton Casino launched the “Race to Las Vegas” giveaway leading up to the Xfinity Series’ return to Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sept. 26.
Entrants into the contest have an opportunity to win the Grand Prize, which includes a four-day, three-night stay in a resort room at the Silverton Casino Hotel from Sept. 25-28, two VIP access passes to the fall Xfinity Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, two three-day weekend passes to the Las Vegas NASCAR weekend, a $400 Southwest gift card, ground transportation to and from McCarran Airport and Las Vegas Motor Speedway and a $100 dining credit for Twin Creeks Steakhouse at the Silverton Casino.
To view full details and to enter, visit www.silvertoncasino.com/event/race-to-las-vegas-giveaway/.
“We’re excited to sponsor Williams and the No. 92 car this year in the Xfinity Series and cheer him on in the upcoming race at Auto Club Speedway. The Race to Las Vegas Giveaway is a great way to welcome back Williams and his fans to Las Vegas this fall,” said Silverton Casino President Rob Kunkle.
As for Williams, his focus is on carrying his momentum from Las Vegas into Fontana, Calif., where he showed solid speed last year before an untimely engine failure derailed his efforts.
“Knowing the momentum that we have from Las Vegas and where our program is at now, I think we’ve got all the pieces in place for a really strong day out there,” said Williams.
Saturday’s Production Alliance Group 300 airs at 4 p.m. ET, live on FS1, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Michael Self doesn’t waste words when he talks about the upcoming venue for the ARCA Menards Series.
“I love Phoenix (Raceway),” Self said. “To be honest, I’ve been waiting seven years to go back there. As soon as I saw the schedule had some changes, that’s one I had circled.”
The 29-year-old from Park City, Utah, has plenty of reason to be giddy about the impending General Tire 150 next Friday at Phoenix Raceway.
Not only is Self coming off a season-opening win at Daytona Int’l Speedway, he is heading to a track he’s had his share of success at.
Self has five top 10s in eight starts there, including winning the West finale in 2012.
And while he’s not raced there since the track reconfigured the location of the finish line, Self has no doubts it won’t take him long to get up to speed.
“I think still know what I’m doing at Phoenix,” said Self. “I got back in the simulator at Toyota a couple weeks ago, and it all just came right back. I remember the line I used to run there.”
The start of the 2020 season has been unique for Self. When he won at Daytona in 2018, he wasn’t running a full season.
Last year, when he was chasing the championship, he started off with a crash and a 31st-place finish.
“Winning Daytona for a second time is awesome,” said Self. But winning in a season we are running for a championship, it’s so much better than last year.”
Self has stayed busy in the car since Speedweeks. He got some test time in with his Venturini Motorsports teammates this week at Virginia’s Motor Mile Speedway.
He’s not the only one feeling confident, though, heading to the Valley of the Sun.
Ty Gibbs won the West finale last year, starting 22nd and driving to the front.
Sam Mayer, who finished second after starting on the pole in that race, is coming off back-to-back wins at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway and Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway.
The General Tire 150 is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on March 6, airing live on FS1.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Tom Lewis has a gift for bolting to the top of a leaderboard when least expected.
He did it as a 20-year-old English amateur in the first round of The Open at Royal St. George’s.
He shot 65 playing alongside Tom Watson, the five-time Open champion, back in the summer of 2011. The pairing added to nature of that special day. Lewis got his first name as respect for Watson, whom his father idolized.
Lewis left Royal St. George’s as low amateur, pegged as a future star.
The long, twisting journey hasn’t gone as expected, but almost a decade later Lewis continues to battle and surprise.
Out of nowhere Thursday, he seized the first-round lead at the Honda Classic.
With a bogey-free, 5-under 65 on a brutish test at PGA National, Lewis is taking advantage of the sponsor exemption that got him into this week’s field. He didn’t make a bogey on a day where so many scorecards were riddled with them.
Viktor Hovland, the 22-year-old rookie who won the Puerto Rico Open last week, opened with a 77. Rickie Fowler shot 76.
“I’m enjoying this,” Lewis said.
As he should, because at 29, Lewis knows how much perseverance it took to give him this chance. Though he won the Portugal Masters in his third start after turning pro late in 2011, it didn’t rocket him to stardom. He struggled to build on his European Tour success, eventually losing his card, falling to the continent’s Challenge Tour and then sinking as low as No. 728 in the world rankings. It took him seven years to win his second European Tour title.
So while Lewis was pleased with his fast start Thursday, his journey has taught him the importance of patience.
“That's why I struggled for a while,” Lewis said. “I always expected great things to happen, and as soon as something bad happened, or average happened, I beat myself up. I think that's something where I've matured and grown over the years. I'm still going to always battle that. It's just my personality. But the more fun I can have out there, the better.”
Lewis earned PGA Tour status winning the Korn Ferry Tour Championship last year. He got into the field with points won as a PGA Tour non-member. Suddenly, he had Tour status he didn’t expect, but not enough status to give him free reign this year.
“When I won that Korn Ferry final, I thought, 'This is going to be great. I'm going to have opportunities left, right and center,’ but it hasn't happened,” Lewis said.
Lewis says his schedule is so uncertain. He’s playing both the PGA Tour and the European Tour, but he’s 0 for 4 trying to make a cut on the PGA Tour this wraparound season. He has two top-10 finishes in his last four European Tour starts.
“Things are always going to be up-and-down, no matter how good you're playing,” Lewis said. “There’s always going to be something that's going to hit you in the face, and you've just got to find a way of getting through it. I always believe things are meant to be. I always believe that when it's your time, good things happen for you.”
Lewis is patiently doing what he can to make that happen this week.
“I need to take a lot of belief from today, and hopefully great things will happen this week,” he said.
The winds were up Thursday at the Honda Classic, and the scores rose accordingly. Here's how things look after a difficult day at PGA National, where birdies were hard to come by:
Leaderboard: Harris English (-4), Tom Lewis (-4), Lee Westwood (-3), Zach Johnson (-3), J.T. Poston (-3), Cameron Tringale (-3), Brian Stuard (-3)
What it means: Par was a good score in the opening round, where fewer than a third of the field managed to finish in red figures. Topping the list was English, who is seven years removed from his two PGA Tour wins but in the midst of a strong season, and Lewis, a European veteran who is playing his first full season in the U.S. this year.
Round of the day: English had a quietly stellar fall, racking up four finishes of T-6 or better, and he was T-16 in Phoenix in his most recent start. Now he's back in contention after carding his best-ever score at this event, a 4-under 66 that included an eagle and four birdies against two bogeys.
Best of the rest: Lewis won the Korn Ferry Tour Championship last fall to earn his PGA Tour card, and this represents the Englishman's first start in the States since the Houston Open in October. He's on the cusp of a top-50 ranking in the world that could net him a Masters bid in a few weeks, and he grabbed a share of the lead by carding the only bogey-free round of the morning wave, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 third.
Biggest disappointment: The carnage was abundant at PGA National: former champ Rickie Fowler opened with a 6-over 76, while last week's winner, Viktor Hovland, was one shot higher. But the biggest head-scratcher may have been Brooks Koepka, as the highest-ranked player in the field struggled to a 74. Koepka made a double bogey on No. 9, a triple bogey on No. 6 and is in danger of missing the cut despite rolling in three birdies.
Main storyline heading into Friday: It's a bunched leaderboard near the top, with 10 players separated by just two shots. Of that group, keep an eye on a pair of veterans: Westwood, who won earlier this year on the European Tour, and Johnson, whose recent drought includes just one top-10 finish in his last 40 starts on Tour.
Shot of the day: While Nos. 15 and 17 caused plenty of issues for players, Matt NeSmith made the most of a par-3 on the other side. NeSmith made an ace on the 186-yard fifth hole en route to a 1-over 71.
Quote of the day: "There's a lot of water out here. So if you're going to find the water twice in one hole, you're going to make some big numbers." – Koepka, who hit two balls in the water en route to his triple on the par-4 sixth.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – It’s tough to second guess the Honda Classic’s sponsor exemptions.
Tom Lewis and Harris English each posted 4-under-par 66s Friday to grab a share of the first-round lead.
They’re both playing on sponsor invites.
So is Lee Westwood. He shot 67 and is tied for third.
And then there’s Kurt Kitayama. He’s tied for 23rd after posting 70.
“Very appreciate of [executive director] Ken Kennerly and [tournament director] Andrew George,” English said. “I played the Monday pro-am, did a clinic on Tuesday, so I've felt like I've really been a part of the tournament this week, and it's been awesome.”
There were eight sponsor exemptions awarded this week, four unrestricted for PGA Tour non-members, two restricted to top finishers from last year’s Korn Ferry Tour finals and two to PGA Tour members.
English was one of the two PGA Tour members, Lewis one of the two Korn Ferry Tour grads, and Westwood one of the four unrestricted exemptions.
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