Leicester City reclaimed second spot in the Premier League in dramatic fashion as Kelechi Iheanacho came off the bench to score a stoppage-time goal and seal a 2-1 victory over luckless Everton on Sunday.
Playing in his first Premier League game of the season, Iheanacho also set up Jamie Vardy's 68th-minute equaliser after Leicester had trailed to Richarlison's first-half header.
A draw would have been a fair result and a boost for under-pressure Everton boss Marco Silva but Nigerian former Manchester City striker Iheanacho showed great composure to turn inside Mason Holgate and fire past Jordan Pickford, extending Leicester's winning league run to six games.
The goal was initially disallowed for offside but after an agonising VAR wait the decision was overturned, sparking scenes of joy for the hosts and dejection for Everton.
A buoyant Leicester moved back above Manchester City and are three points ahead of the champions with 32 from 14 games and eight behind Liverpool.
Everton remain in trouble in 17th, two points off the relegation zone.
"I have been waiting for this opportunity," said Iheanacho, who had not scored since September last year.
"I knew one day it would come. It's not easy not playing but I'm happy that my chance came today."
Everton began the game confidently and took the lead with a fine team goal in the 23rd minute.
After Richarlison helped to break up play in the middle of the pitch, former Arsenal midfielder Alex Iwobi passed to Djibril Sidibe and his cross from the right was met by Richarlison whose stooping header flew past Kasper Schmeichel.
Leicester thought they had a penalty when referee Graham Scott pointed to the spot after Ben Chilwell went flying but after referring the incident to VAR it was decided Holgate's swinging leg had made no contact.
There was derision from the home fans, although they were applauding the system later.
Leicester were increasingly dominant in the second half but Everton resisted and were still a threat going forward with Sidibe impressive on the right.
Iheanacho was introduced for Ayoze Perez and it proved to be a masterstroke by manager Brendan Rodgers as Leicester began to lay siege to the Everton goal.
First he provided the cross for Vardy to score for the sixth successive league game, then he broke Everton's hearts with a lethal finish, even if the celebrations were put on hold.
"It's really harsh for us -- we didn't deserve it at all. We deserved to take something more in this game," Silva said.
"We were playing against a confident team. Of all their games at home this might have been the toughest they had."
The Premier League has become entertainingly mediocre
What an odd old season it has been so far. Every team between Tottenham in fifth and Everton in 17th have either won four or five games. Those 13 teams are separated by six points. Two games ago Tottenham were in 14th, now they're one position away from the Champions League places. The gap between fifth and top is 20 points; the gap between fifth and bottom is 12.
Additionally, Spurs have earned that spot with 20 points: Never before in the three points for a win era of England's top division has the fifth-placed team had so few points. Last season Spurs had 30 for the same place.
You could say this is all relatively arbitrary, or you could say we have the "gap between the elite and the rest" argument every year, but it does feel more stark this season. Who knows what the reason is, but essentially it feels like the Premier League has turned into a luxury version of the Championship. Still, as England's second tier is routinely one of the most entertaining divisions around, that might not be an entirely bad thing.
Ljungberg's team selection for Arsenal was 'odd'
Shaka Hislop is left scratching his head with Freddie Ljunberg's starting XI in Arsenal's draw at Norwich.
Ljungberg needs more than DNA to fix Arsenal
Arsenal have scored seven away goals this season. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has got six of them. The only one he hasn't scored was the most vain of consolation goals, by Lucas Torreira against Liverpool. It's slightly terrifying, from their perspective, to consider where they would be without Aubameyang -- that has to be one of the things Freddie Ljungberg has to solve in his caretaker spell of indeterminate length.
Stan Kroenke's messenger boy, his son Josh, said this week that Ljungberg has "Arsenal DNA," a statement that is pointless at the best of times but given how Arsenal's play for the better part of a decade has been characterised by their spinelessness, it isn't really the compliment he thinks it is.
Sure, Arsenal looked sparky enough in spells of their 2-2 draw with Norwich on Sunday, but you do have to wonder about a team's fortitude if they can't beat the team second-bottom in the league, even with all the supposed spring of the mythical "New Manager Bounce."
All the game really did was emphasise that, while Arsenal's squad is talented their problems don't stop with the identity of the coach, and also that those talented players -- like one who can score all but one of their goals on the road -- can mask those problems for a little while, but not forever.
Luckiest moment of the weekend
It's the start of December, the beginning of the season of goodwill, so let's extend that goodwill to not talking about VAR for once.
Well, only briefly, because Aubameyang was saved the indignity of missing a penalty by Max Aarons' bootlaces encroaching into the area and thus it had to be retaken, allowing the Gabon striker to score the retake. Small margins in this game.
Brendan Rodgers addresses Arsenal links
Brendan Rodgers says it's only natural for his name to be thrown around to manage Arsenal.
Rodgers should stick it out at Leicester
Brendan Rodgers didn't do a brilliant job of putting to bed any speculation about him and the Arsenal job, but that shouldn't be a surprise and nor should it be a stick with which to beat him. He doesn't owe Leicester anything and any of their fans who are outraged by the prospect of him leaving for a supposedly better job should remember how he got to the King Power in the first place.
It's not a surprise why Arsenal would want Rodgers (and if his powers extend to getting a consistent tune out of Kelechi Iheanacho, then we should probably upgrade his status from manager to magician) but you do wonder why Rodgers would want Arsenal.
At Leicester he has a young, vibrant squad where most people already love him, they are already the most viable challengers to Liverpool but a Champions League place would be a giddy bonus. At Arsenal, he would have talented players but a club riven with problems, the expectation of winning trophies yesterday but, in the short term at least, less prospect of actually doing that. Of course the money would be good, the status too and the idea of him restoring Arsenal to their former glory, as he nearly did with Liverpool, will appeal to his ego. But Brendan, take our advice: stay where you are for a bit.
City need to rediscover their edge
Pep Guardiola didn't seem overly concerned about Manchester City's failure to beat Newcastle on Saturday, citing their overwhelming superiority and essentially suggesting Steve Bruce's side were lucky to get a draw. If he was English, he would have said something like: "It was just one of them days."
In isolation, you could write it off that way. But this does keep happening. It happened against Wolves. It happened against Norwich. It happened against Shakhtar Donetsk and Atalanta in the Champions League. The chances are it will happen again. Of course this City team are theoretically so good that they could chase down the 11-point gap to Liverpool, but they will have to rediscover their edge pretty quickly to do so.
Why Leicester are Liverpool's biggest threat right now
After Leicester's late win over Everton, Shaka Hislop tips them to be the biggest challengers to Liverpool.
Only Liverpool can stop Liverpool
Another win, another result a little tighter than it should have been, another step towards the title. Liverpool's 2-1 win over Brighton on Saturday emphasised a couple of things that we already knew about them. Firstly, that they are on a relentless charge and keep finding new ways to win games, in this case a brace of headers from their centre-back.
But secondly, almost certainly the only thing that can stop them from winning their first title in 30 years is themselves. Alisson's brain fade and red card ultimately didn't cost them anything, but that sort of thing is a small example of the mistakes that could eventually lead to bigger calamity.
Watford were right to change ... but it mightn't make a difference
Watford might as well have sacked Quique Sanchez Flores. It wasn't working, there were no signs it was going to start working and when you've made a mistake, it's better to admit it and do something rather than compounding the mistake by doing nothing.
But it probably still won't do much good, as both the evidence before us this season and history indicates: They're now the eighth Premier League team to sack two managers in one season and only one of the previous seven survived (Swansea in 2016-17, who got rid of Francesco Guidolin and Bob Bradley but stayed up under Paul Clement). Plus, only four teams have survived with their current total of eight points (or fewer) from 14 games, one of which was in a 42-game season and another was on goal difference.
In short, it's not looking good. Watford made one mistake in bringing Flores back and can't afford to make another. And even if they nail their next appointment, it still might not be enough.
Will improvement be enough for Silva?
Marco Silva might take heart in Everton's improved performance despite the late defeat to Leicester, and his team undoubtedly looked better than in recent weeks. But that's the fourth time this season they have conceded a goal in the 90th minute or later, and only Norwich have lost more than the eight games they have.
So the question is whether the Everton board give him credit for the performance or reason that results are not improving and time is running out before any change can have much of a tangible impact.
Why didn't Manuel Pellegrini pick Martin earlier?
There was a lot of sentiment about David Martin's performance against Chelsea, watched by his West Ham hero father Alvin who he hugged tightly afterwards. Understandably so: How could you not be moved by this performance by a man who has spent his career in the Football League, suddenly and unexpectedly given his Premier League debut, with his boyhood club, and so wracked with nerves that he apparently couldn't eat for a couple of days before, and essentially winning the game for his side?
But the more prosaic matter is why Manuel Pellegrini didn't do this a couple of weeks ago? It was clear from his early minutes that Roberto was a calamity, so by not trying Martin earlier Pellegrini could have cost his team valuable points.
It might seem a little churlish to focus on that issue after such a terrific result, but that sort of delayed/fudged decision is why Pellegrini's position is still in some danger.
This is why we need the Rainbow Laces campaign
Any Chelsea fan will tell you that the anti-gay chants that opposition fans direct their way have been happening for years. Decades, even. But against West Ham at the weekend it felt so much worse than usual, and indeed regular observers noted that they had never heard it so loud before.
This week just happens to see the start of the Rainbow Laces campaign, and at various Premier League grounds you'll see banners, corner flags, substitution boards and of course laces in the rainbow colours, to demonstrate solidarity with the LGBT community and to try and make football a more welcoming place for them.
If anyone wonders why that sort of campaign is needed, simply direct your attention to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
(7:39) (Shotgun) D.Watson pass short middle to D.Hopkins to NE 22 for 13 yards (S.Gilmore; J.Jones).
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NEW YORK -- Spencer Dinwiddie squished his right fist into his left, mashing out his frustration. Dinwiddie's layup that would have put the Nets up by one in the final minute of a close game with the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon had rolled off the side of the rim.
In the absence of the Nets' most decorated players -- Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant -- Dinwiddie has emerged as Brooklyn's best player. Coach Kenny Atkinson has called Dinwiddie Brooklyn's "difference-maker." And being that difference-maker occasionally means when it matters the most, the shots don't fall.
With 29 seconds left in Sunday's game, the Nets hung on to a one-point lead. But then Dinwiddie fouled Jimmy Butler, who made a pair of free throws. Then Dinwiddie missed the layup. His 28-foot 3-pointer didn't fall and the Heat escaped with a 109-106 win.
"We live and die with him making plays down the stretch," Joe Harris said of Dinwiddie. "I thought he got some really good looks. He did everything you could ask from him ... he just ended the game on a couple tough contested ones and the ball didn't bounce his way."
Meanwhile, Irving is inching toward returning to the court after missing the past nine games with a right shoulder impingement. Atkinson said Irving has begun to do some on-court work, but has yet to do anything with contact.
The Nets have gone 6-3 without their All-Star point guard and are 10-10 overall.
Dinwiddie's offensive production has swelled from averaging 17 points per game with Irving playing, to 25 points without him.
If some combination of Dinwiddie, Durant, Irving and Caris LeVert can stay healthy, Harris said the Nets will have a "three-headed monster."
"We have no idea what our ceiling is because we are not even close to healthy," Dinwiddie said. "We really have no idea how good we could be. It is encouraging to know that our floor is continuing to rise."
At the beginning of the season when Irving was healthy, Dinwiddie would come off the bench. He has been a sporadic starter over the course of his career, starting in 89 of the 272 games he has played. Last season, Dinwiddie started just four times.
Now, he has played himself into a respectable starting point guard. The fans have begun to chant "All-Star" when Dinwiddie is at the line, and at times his shooting ability demands double-teaming. When asked if Dinwiddie would continue to start alongside Irving, Atkinson said he would "cross that bridge when we come to it."
Dinwiddie said he is used to the roller coaster of those role changes.
"If you don't roll with it, you will be out the league," Dinwiddie said. "You don't have a choice. I could be out here trippin'. If you roll with it, we figure it out and I get to stay and sometimes, every so often, I'll have a big game."
Dinwiddie took his time digesting the loss and was one of the last players to leave the locker room. As Dinwiddie sat with a towel draped over his lap in front of his locker, Iman Shumpert called out to him on the way out of the locker room.
"Stay locked the f--- in," Shumpert said, peeking back over his shoulder with a grin. "We only lost by three. We have another game in three days."
LOS ANGELES -- A lackluster 114-100 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday did not cause the Los Angeles Lakers to adjust their expectations for themselves. If anything, the result -- stemming from a disastrous 55-38 second half that snapped L.A.'s 10-game winning streak just as its schedule starts to get tougher -- only left the Lakers strengthening their resolve.
"Our whole thing is we don't want to lose two in a row," said Anthony Davis, who, like LeBron James, played under the weather against the Mavs. "Ever."
If his statement ends up provoking Outkast-esque "forever ever?" indignation, it would be understandable. Even the storied 1995-96 Chicago Bulls lost two in a row in February en route to what was then an all-time-best 72-10 record.
So practical? Maybe not. But there remains a gold standard the purple and gold are striving for as the Lakers enter a portion of the season that includes eight of their next 11 games on the road, including formidable opponents such as the Milwaukee Bucks, LA Clippers, Utah Jazz, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers and the Denver Nuggets twice -- the first of which is coming Tuesday at Pepsi Center.
"You don't know until you [strive for it]," James said of the goal to avoid a two-game losing streak all season, which he says the team has eyed since opening night.
"Realistic is the mindset. It's not about [accepting that] sometimes you lose games in a row. Just having that mindset and that approach."
The Lakers' approach in the second half against Dallas was dreadful as budding Mavericks star Luka Doncic put up 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals after the break, while James and Davis combined for 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and one steal in the final two quarters.
"Our defense was terrible today -- we didn't rebound the basketball therefore we keep giving them second-chance points and they made us pay with 3s," Davis said after L.A. was dominated 16-9 on the offensive glass and 23-10 in second-chance points. "We know what we did wrong."
So far this season, the Lakers have backed up their mission to keep losses from piling up. They lost to the Clippers 112-102 to open the season, then reeled off seven wins in a row. Then they lost 113-104 to the Toronto Raptors in another stuck-in-the-mud Sunday contest and followed that defeat with the aforementioned 10-game win streak.
Perhaps the most memorable play from the Mavs' victory was Doncic stroking a 27-foot 3-pointer with James guarding him, putting Dallas up 110-89 with 5 minutes, 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
It capped the first win of Doncic's career against James and the Lakers, and it felt like a far cry from when he asked James for his jersey as a keepsake after playing him for the first time at Staples Center last season.
"I admire him today, too," Doncic said. "He was my idol when I was growing up."
Just as Doncic's career has gone into overdrive, making him a popular MVP candidate as an encore to his Rookie of the Year campaign, so too have the Lakers' expectations.
It doesn't matter that they haven't made the postseason in six years and finished last season 37-45. There are new goals they are reaching for.
"That's part of growing together -- how you respond to losses," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said, looking ahead to Tuesday. "Playing in Denver is always tough. As well as they're playing this year, it's going to be even tougher. So, I believe in our guys. If we play to our abilities, there's nobody we can't beat and nowhere we can't get a W."
They will attempt to isolate the loss and continue collecting more wins.
"It's one game," Davis said. "We're not going to get down over this loss. We know the type of team we are. We know now we were playing well and they beat us, but we beat ourselves tonight with the rebounding and we need to do better."
SALEM, Ind. – Twelve-year-old Katie Hettinger has announced that she will return to compete with the Victory Custom Trailers CRA Junior Late Models again next season.
The Victory Custom Trailers CRA Junior Late Models debuted in 2019 with a focus on short-track stock car racing for 10-to-15-year-old drivers in full sized stock cars.
“I am going to be coming back and race with the Victory Custom Trailers CRA Junior Late Models in 2020,” said Hettinger. “Johnny and Butch VanDoorn are putting a new car together for me to race with in 2020. I’m really excited to be able to race this series again, this series is a great opportunity for young drivers. 2019 went really well for my first season in a late model. I had fun racing with all the boys and I’m ready to do it again in 2020.”
Hettinger was the only female competitor to race in the series inaugural season, a season that saw her holding her own with boys from 11 to 14 years old at each event. Hettinger picked up a heat race win in the series inaugural event at Birch Run Speedway on May 18.
Her best feature finish was a third-place finish in the inaugural series feature. Hettinger was battling in the top three on the last lap in the series feature at Corrigan Oil Speedway on Aug. 16 and looked to be on her way to her best series finish when she was involved in a turn four wreck as the cars came to the checkers.
Hettinger made the Chase for the Championship, competing in the first two series events in the Championship series, but came up short in points to qualify in the final three to race for the series’ inaugural championship at Anderson Speedway on Sept. 28. Hettinger finished fourth in the series points.
“One of my goals for 2020 is to qualify for the Chase for the Championship and be in the final three drivers to race for the Championship,” Hettinger said. “Also, I hope that the 2020 race season will be a better season for me now that I am more familiar with the class and the tracks.”
Atletico dominated the early stages of the game at the Wanda Metropolitano but couldn't find a way past Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the Madrid rain. The German goalkeeper made stunning saves from Mario Hermoso and Alvaro Morata.
Barca improved after the break and eventually won it through Messi's ninth goal of the campaign. The Argentine, cutting in from the left, played a one-two with Luis Suarez before firing past Jan Oblak.
Positives
This was a huge result for Barca. They have been poor away from home this season and they were under pressure after seeing Real Madrid leapfrog them at the top of the table on Saturday. Beating Atletico, who they are now six points clear of having played one game fewer, will give them huge confidence.
Other than that, the positives were two fairly common ones: Ter Stegen and Messi.
Negatives
While the result was important and the performance wasn't a disaster, there was still a lot missing. Atletico dominated the first 30 minutes and only the woodwork and Ter Stegen kept them out. Barca did improve, but they are still not playing to their best as a collective and are reliant on individuals.
The Blaugrana will also hope a knee injury suffered by Gerard Pique was not serious. With Nelson Semedo and Jordi Alba already sidelined, they can ill-afford to lose another defender.
Manager rating out of 10
6 -- Injuries and suspensions left Ernesto Valverde with few decisions to make. However, his Barca side failed to switch on from the off and were lucky to make the break goalless. Once again he was reliant on Messi magic.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 9 -- Made two world-class saves, the first from Hermoso with his legs and the second from Morata with his right hand. His distribution was also top drawer all night.
DF Sergi Roberto, 7 -- One of his best performances of the season. Atletico caused no problems down his flank and he made a clever dummy run to create space for Messi's goal.
DF Gerard Pique, 5 -- A mixed night for the centre-back but overall probably a bad one. Hit the bar with a header at the end of the first half but picked up his 10th booking of the season in just his 17th game. He was lucky not to get the 11th, too, for a sliding challenge on Morata and was then taken off with an injury after being on the end of late tackle from Vitolo.
DF Clement Lenglet, 6 -- Didn't do anything fancy but did OK in a defensive sense. Will have to improve, though, with Samuel Umtiti fit again and breathing down his neck for a place.
DF Junior Firpo, 4 -- Atletico's best moments came from the right side as they seemed to target Junior. The left-back almost scored an own goal, deflecting a Hermoso cross on to the post and does not currently look capable of challenging Jordi Alba for his place when he returns from injury.
MF Ivan Rakitic, 6 -- Filled in for the suspended Sergio Busquets at the base of the midfield. Missed a great chance in the first half and didn't do too badly on what was just his third start of the season.
MF Arthur Melo, 7 -- The Brazilian was Barca's motor as they finally got into the game towards the end of first half. One quarterback-like pass to Messi was particularly good. Surprisingly taken off after the break.
MF Frenkie de Jong, 7 -- Always one of Barca's best players. Rarely gives the ball away and his driving runs are increasingly creating chances.
FW Lionel Messi, 9 -- Has rarely worked as hard all season as he did at the Wanda. Set up Rakitic's chance in the first half and seemed on a one-man mission to win the game at times. Succeeded in the end, too, with his dramatic later winner.
FW Luis Suarez, 6 -- Slow to a couple of balls but a threat when in and around the area. Whistled one shot from 18 yards just wide and sent another one straight at Oblak. Set up Messi's goal.
FW Antoine Griezmann, 6 -- Whistled on his return to Atletico and it took him 30 minutes to get in to the game, but he grew from there, linking with Suarez and Messi when moving inside from the left. Wasted the best chance that came his way, although it was a difficult one.
Substitutes
MF Arturo Vidal, 6 -- Came on for Arthur to disrupt a game that didn't particularly need disrupting.
DF Samuel Umtiti, N/R -- Made a late appearance in place of the injured Pique.
England 379 for 5 (Root 178*, Pope 46*) lead New Zealand 375 (Latham 105, Mitchell 73, Watling 55, Broad 4-73) by four runs
Joe Root was closing in on his second Test-match double century by lunch on the fourth day in Hamilton, as he and Ollie Pope ticked off their team's primary objective for the innings by overhauling New Zealand's first-innings total of 375.
By the break, England led by four runs with five wickets still standing, and having extended their overnight sixth-wicket stand to 117 in another wicketless session, they had given themselves an outside chance of turning the screw on their hosts in the final five sessions of this contest.
It was not exactly pretty viewing as England resumed on their overnight 269 for 5 in front of a sparse Monday crowd, but for the long-term health of this recalibrated Test squad, it was an important session of play, as Root resolved to press ever onwards in what is now the second longest innings of his career in terms of balls faced, and Pope got himself properly acquainted with the rhythms of Test match batting in racking up the highest score of his own fledgling career.
The Hamilton pitch did not exactly add to the spectacle. A couple of deliveries scuttled on a good length, including one to Root in the opening overs which missed his off stump by inches, and that trait may yet be exacerbated when England get a chance to charge in with a new ball later in the contest. But, broadly speaking, it has proved to be a soulless strip of turf that has sucked the life out of New Zealand's best endeavours.
Root will not care for the context, however. Having done the needful in bringing up three figures on the third afternoon, thus ending a barren run that had spanned the English summer, today he set out his stall for a big one from the moment play resumed, reaching the break on 178 from 379 balls.
From the outset, Root's feet and hands were back in synch, as he found himself playing the delicate dabs through third man that have long been such a feature of his best, most anonymous, feats of run-making, but which had deserted him of late - notably in the first Test at Bay Oval where he had twice fenced tamely to the cordon.
His improvisatory instincts didn't desert him either, even while New Zealand ploughed a disciplined line and length, looking to choke the runs and force the errors that they know this team are perfectly capable of making. He unfurled an uppercut to a slow loopy bouncer from Neil Wagner that flew over the keeper for four, then kept his eyes on a short ball that scuttled to pull it effectively at shin height through midwicket.
He brought up his 150 with a nurdle off the pads off the spin of Mitchell Santner, one of a number of tucks and flicks that kept his innings moving, and was warmly embraced by his young partner Pope, whose own rate of scoring was attritional in the extreme, but who can only benefit from being given a front-row seat to one of his captain's grittier displays.
At the age of 21, this was a "jam tomorrow" performance from Pope. Strictly speaking, his xx strike-rate wasn't exactly what England needed if they are to force victory on the final day, and the absence of Jos Buttler, the man who would have been coming in at No.7 but for his back injury, was keenly felt at a moment when England might have looked to up the ante.
But nevertheless, after complaints that England's batsmen have been too flighty in recent seasons, there could be no quibbling with the application that Pope brought to his innings - all achieved, remember, after squatting behind the stumps for 129 overs in his unlikely role as wicketkeeper.
At times in the early stages of the day's play, Pope was susceptible to the same old sucker punch that had undermined him in his first season of Test cricket, against India in 2018 - namely the tendency to get too greedy whenever the ball was outside his eyeline. He survived more than a handful of urgent air-shots before he had reached 20, but with Root providing an object lesson in balance and shot selection, he was growing in stature by the break.
Moments before the interval, it was left to Pope to carve the cut through third man that took England into the lead for the first time in the match. He was unbeaten at the break on 46 from 148 balls, and within spitting distance of an important milestone in his career.
Quarterback Feleipe Franks announced on his Instagram account Sunday that he will not return to the Florida Gators next season.
Instead, Franks said he plans to explore his options of entering the NFL draft or transferring and playing his final season at another school. Franks, who would be a redshirt junior next season, thanked the Florida coaches, administrators, players and fans.
"My heart will always be a part of the Gator family," wrote Franks, adding that "everybody inside the football facility has always had my back no matter what."
Franks opened this season as Florida's starting quarterback, but suffered a dislocated ankle that included a fracture in the third game against Kentucky and missed the remainder of the season. He was replaced by Kyle Trask, who ended the season as the Gators' starting quarterback.
In two years under Dan Mullen, Franks passed for 3,155 yards with 29 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing 61.5 percent of his passes. Franks suffered through a rocky redshirt freshman season in 2017 that triggered some nasty social media backlash from fans. He arrived at Florida in 2016 as an ESPN 300 prospect and ranked as the No. 5 pocket passer in the country.
PITTSBURGH -- Cleveland Browns coach Freddie Kitchens downplayed his "Pittsburgh Started It" T-shirt in the aftermath of his team's 20-13 loss, but Steelers players blasted the coach for putting his team in a bad position.
"I know that our coach never would have done anything like that," left guard Ramon Foster said. "Why throw gas? When you do something like that, you throw your players in harm's way. He's not on the field. You throw your players in harm's way when you do stuff like that with a vengeance. And I hate that for them."
Foster added: "You just don't see that from upper management. We all got to grow as professionals in some sense. I'm glad Coach T [Mike Tomlin] doesn't do anything like that."
The two coaches have traded their share of barbs in the rivalry. During an ESPN interview over the summer, Tomlin made a yawning motion when asked about facing Odell Beckham Jr. twice a year after the wide receiver was traded to the Browns from the Giants.
Kitchens, whose birthday was Friday, was photographed wearing a "Pittsburgh Started It" shirt to see the Mr. Rogers biopic "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" on Friday night.
The shirt referenced the brawl between the teams two weeks ago when Browns defensive end Myles Garrett hit Steelers QB Mason Rudolph in the head with a helmet, setting off a melee and earning an indefinite suspension.
"I wore a T-shirt," Kitchens said after the game. "I wore a jacket with it. My daughters wanted me to wear the shirt. I'd wear it again. I put on a jacket, I covered it up, I took a picture, that was simple as that. A T-shirt didn't cause us to give up 40-yard passes. We were ready to play. That's the only thing people need to be concerned about. We were ready to play."
Baker Mayfield, who frequently sent messages through his shirt choices during his college career at Oklahoma, didn't comment on Kitchens' shirt in his postgame news conference.
"I don't really have a comment on that," Mayfield said. "It's just a T-shirt. I've done much worse."
By wearing the shirt in public, Kitchens seemingly escalated tensions between the two teams after it appeared that emotions were cooling between the clubs in the week leading up to the rematch.
"I thought it was pretty stupid," Steelers offensive lineman David DeCastro said. "That's a lot of bulletin board material. I don't know why you do that as a coach. I just don't get that. Of course it's going to motivate us. What are you thinking? It's just not smart."
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