Raphael Stevens

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    Premier League Rejects Reform Plan Pushed by Two of Its Owners

    LONDON — Less than a week after the owners of Manchester United and Liverpool shocked English soccer’s leagues, clubs and fans with reform proposals that would have led to the biggest changes in the sport in a generation, their big idea has been unanimously rejected.For now.At an emergency meeting of the Premier League’s 20 clubs on Wednesday, the ideas for remaking English soccer that were brought forward by United and Liverpool, England’s two most successful clubs — including reducing the size of the Premier League to 18 teams from 20 and handing more power to the country’s richest teams — were quickly shot down.The plans would have required the backing of 14 teams to pass, a figure that looked unlikely almost as soon as details of the project leaked on Sunday. The Premier League said Wednesday that its members had agreed unanimously that the proposal “will not be endorsed or pursued.”Neither United nor Liverpool has spoken publicly about the proposals, which were code-named Operation Big Picture. But they may be able to claim a Pyrrhic — and perhaps face-saving — victory after the Premier League said it would now speed up a more collaborative discussion to address the key points raised in the proposals.The ideas, which also included changes to prize money agreements as well as to the split of the television revenues that have made the Premier League the richest domestic soccer competition in the world, received vocal and widespread backing from owners of cash-strapped teams in the lower divisions, many of them seduced by promises of large cash handouts as they struggle to stay afloat in closed stadiums during the pandemic.But elsewhere, there had been a near-universal rejection of the plan, and accusations of opportunism leveled at United, Liverpool and other members of the so-called Big Six clubs, a group of the richest teams in the league, who would have stood to gain most if the reforms were adopted.Fan groups, the Premier League, England’s Football Association and even the British government, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, quickly aligned against the proposals. Operation Big Picture was the brainchild of the Liverpool owner John W. Henry and his billionaire counterpart at Manchester United, Joel Glazer, and it had the active and vocal support of Rick Parry, the chairman of the English Football League, the organization responsible for the three professional divisions beneath the Premier League, who had been involved in the discussions.“I think it was an acknowledgment in the room that English football’s model is a huge success, but it hasn’t been reviewed or modernized for a long time, and so perhaps there has been some systemic issues built up that need dealing with,” the Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Masters, told reporters after presiding over Wednesday’s meeting with club officials.In their totality, the plans would have been beneficial to the biggest clubs as well as to dozens of lower-division teams who have little hope of playing top-division soccer. A middle tier of clubs, aspirants for places in the Premier League and those in the lower reaches of the top division, would almost certainly have seen their fortunes suffer, however. That led to tense exchanges behind the scenes, with groups on all sides accusing one another of “self-interest.”Despite that, Masters insisted the days of tension — which included threats that the richest clubs might break away from the Premier League or even join the E.F.L. should they not get their way — had not damaged relationships between the league’s member clubs.“I don’t think it takes a huge amount to put things back together,” Masters said. “Actually, the sort of solidarity among the collective is incredibly strong. It takes quite a lot to pull it apart.“I don’t think it’s irreparably damaged the Premier League,” he added, “and I think that today’s meeting proved that.”The league now plans, he said, to speed up and expand discussions to reform its structure. The elements under discussion mirror those that the reform plan sought to tackle, including the competition’s structure, governance, financial regulation and the commercial and broadcasting arrangements that have been the engine of the Premier League’s growth since its inception in 1992.The plight of some of the lower divisions teams has become so dire, according to some E.F.L. chairmen, that without aid from richer clubs or the government — which has declined to provide it — a number of them will run out of cash before the end of the year. That had made the promise of an immediate payment of 250 million pounds, about $325 million, more important to them than the prospect of surrendering greater power over the future of English soccer to a handful of top teams.“Is it a concern? 100 percent it is. Do I trust them? No I don’t,” Peter Ridsdale, the chairman of Preston North End, a team in the second-tier Championship, told reporters on Tuesday.“However, today the Football League has got a unique opportunity if this remains on the table to perhaps protect the Football League in the long term, whereas at the moment in the short term there is real danger,” he added.In place of the cash bonanza being promised in Project Big Picture, the Premier League on Wednesday agreed to provide more modest short term support to the two lowest professional tiers. The league said it would provide a mix of interest-free loans and grants totaling 50 million pounds. More

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    Jets Cut Ties With Le’Veon Bell

    Le’Veon Bell’s tenure with the Jets was brief, unproductive and unfulfilling — and, as of Tuesday night, it was also over. The Jets released Bell, their marquee free-agent signing from 2019, not even halfway through his four-year, $52.5 million contract, officially terminating a tumultuous relationship that had been steaming toward a breakup.Bell, who spent three weeks on injured reserve after pulling a hamstring in the Jets’ season-opening loss at Buffalo, received 22 touches in two games. Apparently displeased by his use in an offense that did not maximize his pass-catching skills, he took to social media after the Jets’ 30-10 loss against Arizona on Sunday, which dropped them to an 0-5 record, and liked tweets advocating he be traded.“I mean, I hate that’s the route that we go with all this,” Coach Adam Gase said on Monday, signaling his disappointment in Bell. “Instead of just talking to me about it but seems the way that guys want to do it nowadays.”Unable to find any takers, the Jets cut him Tuesday, making him a free agent. Soon after, Bell posted on Twitter an emoji of folded hands, and after, one that read: “Got a lot to prove. I’m ready to go.”In a statement, General Manager Joe Douglas, who was not a part of the organization when Bell signed, said the organization appreciated Bell’s contributions but that it believed “this decision is in the best interests of both parties and wish him future success.”Across his first five seasons, all with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bell, 28, blossomed into one of the N.F.L.’s best running backs, parlaying his combination of balance, patience and acceleration into three Pro Bowl and two first-team All-Pro selections. But he sat out the 2018 season because of a contract dispute, unwilling to play again on a franchise tag.The Jets pounced, giving him $25 million guaranteed. In return, he gave them an average of 3.27 yards per carry and four total touchdowns in 17 games, and now he is gone. More

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    Cristiano Ronaldo Tests Positive for Coronavirus and Enters Isolation

    Cristiano Ronaldo, one of soccer’s biggest stars and among the world’s most famous athletes, has tested positive for the coronavirus, Portugal’s soccer federation announced Tuesday.The federation’s statement said Ronaldo was not displaying symptoms of Covid-19, and that he had entered isolation, away from the rest of Portugal’s players. Those players continued their preparations for a match against Sweden on Wednesday in Lisbon.“Following the positive case, the remaining players underwent new tests Tuesday morning,” Portugal’s federation said in a statement. “All tested negative.”Ronaldo, 35, will miss Wednesday’s Nations Cup game against Sweden, the federation said.Ronaldo played for Portugal in a friendly against Spain last week and in a scoreless Nations League draw against France on Sunday. On Monday, he posted a photo of himself dining with his smiling teammates on his social media accounts.“United on and off the field,” the caption read.Ronaldo’s positive test confirmed the worst fear of some European clubs, who had fought with FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, to alter rules that require them to release players to represent their national teams during scheduled international breaks. Many clubs feared that sending their players on long trips to virus hot spots — particularly in South America, where qualifying for the 2022 World Cup began last week — could leave them vulnerable to infection or cause them to bring the virus back to their European teams. More

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    Walter Ashcraft, College Football Star and a Coach, Dies at 91

    Walter Ashcraft Jr., 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds by his early 20s, drew on his physique to excel in the Southern California sports world of the mid-20th century.He placed third in the 1947 California high school shot-put championships, competing for Long Beach Polytechnic, finishing two places above Bob Mathias of Tulare High School, who captured a gold medal in the decathlon at the 1948 London Olympics.Mr. Ashcraft also played at tackle for the University of Southern California football team. In his senior season, the Trojans, coached by Jess Hill, went 10-1, losing only to Notre Dame, and defeated Wisconsin, 7-0, in the 1953 New Year’s Day Rose Bowl game.The N.F.L.’s Washington Redskins drafted him in 1953, one of 15 U.S.C. players who were selected.He received a $5,000 signing bonus from the Redskins, but incurred a knee injury in training camp and never played in an N.F.L. game. Since pro football salaries were modest, he decided to pursue a career elsewhere.He obtained a master’s degree in education and devoted himself to coaching and hospitality work.Mr. Ashcraft died on Aug. 18 in Anderson, S.C., of pneumonia stemming from Covid-19, his family said. He was 91.He had been living at a military veterans’ retirement home with his wife, Betty Jo (Carrera) Ashcraft. During the Korean War, he interrupted his time at U.S.C. to enlist in the Marine Corps, played for a Marine football team in California and was discharged as a sergeant.Walter White Ashcraft, Jr. was born on Aug. 11, 1929, in Amory, Miss., where his father owned a gas station. His mother, Corinne (Austin) Ashcraft, was a homemaker. One day, when he was 11 or so, his father came upon the aftermath of a lynching — three Black men hanging from a tree.“He couldn’t bear it, and he packed up and moved his family to California,” his son Thomas said.The Ashcrafts settled in Long Beach, then moved in the late 1950s to Las Vegas, where Walter Ashcraft Sr. became the chief bartender at the Desert Inn. Walter Jr. obtained his master’s degree from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in 1967, coached football at a Las Vegas high school and was a supervisor of the Las Vegas parks and recreation department. He later coached track and field and taught economics at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Fla.He became a human resources official for the National Restaurant Association for whom he enhanced opportunities in the food industry for people with disabilities. Mr. Ashcraft also worked for the Florida Restaurant Association and was director of hospitality education for the state of Florida.In addition to his wife and his son Thomas, Mr. Ashcraft is survived by his son Adam; his sister, Mary Lopez-Fabrega; and nine grandchildren.“He was a voracious reader, passionate debater, sports fan, and endlessly curious and optimistic man,” his family wrote in announcing his death. “In his later years, he embraced technology, using it to communicate frequently to support his grandchildren and their many interests. He particularly enjoyed the use of emojis.”Mr. Ashcraft was continually cited by the Spartanburg, S.C., public library system for checking out the most books during the year. His tastes ran to historical nonfiction and crime and mystery novels. More

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    How Russell Wilson’s Latest Clutch Drive Beat the Vikings

    The Seattle Seahawks trailed the Minnesota Vikings by 26-21 on Sunday night and were stuck at their 6-yard line. The bad news: There was only 1 minute 57 seconds to go in the game. The good news: Russell Wilson is the team’s quarterback.Wilson’s flare for dramatic and timely plays — last season he led the league with five game-winning drives — has inspired “Let Russ Cook” memes, a reference to his unscripted performances. Sure enough, Wilson led the Seahawks (5-0) to victory on a 94-yard drive that left time to spare.Afterward, Wilson said he felt like “Sue Bird in the clutch,” a nod to the Seattle Storm guard who won her fourth W.N.B.A. title last week. Here’s how Wilson pulled off his most recent game-winner.First-and-10 at the 6. Wilson dropped back to pass into his own end zone and quickly found the pocket collapsing around him. Visions of a sack and safety probably flashed in front of Seattle fans’ eyes, but Wilson saw a hole and ran the ball forward for a 17-yard gain to give the offense some breathing room.First-and-10 at the 23, 1:37 to go. From the shotgun, which the team used throughout the drive, Wilson underthrew receiver David Moore 10 yards downfield.Second-and-10. Wilson missed Moore again farther downfield.Third-and-10. Wilson scrambled to avoid a sack, then heaved a bomb to nobody.Fourth-and-10, 1:21 to go. With the game in the balance, the Vikings brought the rush, but the offensive line gave Wilson a little time. He uncorked a 40-yard pass to the sideline, which a fairly open D.K. Metcalf jumped to catch.“My only thought was to go get the ball,” Metcalf told The Athletic.First-and-10 at the Minnesota 38, 1:14 to go. Wilson went to Metcalf on the left again. He reached forward on the run and got a hand on it, but couldn’t catch it.In his second year in the league, Metcalf has developed a big-play reputation, notably catching a 29-yard touchdown in Week 2 to beat the Cowboys. “I think he is one of the top receivers in the game,” Wilson told reporters earlier in the week. “He can do it all — he can run by you, he can jump over you, he can get physical with you.”Second-and-10. Wilson hit Tyler Lockett with a short pass to the right for another first down.First-and-10 at the 21, 1:00 to go. Under pressure, Wilson dumped the ball out of bounds.Second-and-10. Wilson hit Metcalf, who took a stride for the first down then dived for a few more yards.First-and-goal at the 6. A pass bounced off the hands of Lockett at the 1-yard line.Second-and-goal. Metcalf caught the ball right on the goal line and appeared to be in the end zone. But he was hit by Vikings cornerback Mike Hughes and dropped the ball. There was brief confusion from the officials, but it was ruled an incomplete pass.Third-and-goal. A pass to Metcalf in a similar spot was far too high.Fourth-and-goal, :15 left to play. After a timeout, Wilson, again with no margin for error, took a deep drop. Metcalf was once more his target. Closely guarded, Metcalf still caught the ball, which had a slight wobble, in a dive. “I just saw D.K. run across the field and just tried to zoom it in there to him in a tight window,” Wilson told reporters. “He just made an unbelievable catch, unbelievable play.” The Seahawks led, 27-26, the score by which they would win.Wilson went 20 for 32 for 217 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. It was the 30th game-winning drive of his career.“I don’t know how anybody could ever be better than what he continues to show us in those situations,” Seattle Coach Pete Carroll said. “He’s as good as you can get.”Metcalf caught six passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns.When Wilson and the Seahawks took over at the 6-yard line, ESPN gave them a 14 percent chance of winning the game. Their chances had been as low as 4 percent on the previous drive when Minnesota got the ball to the Seahawks’ 6-yard line before failing on a fourth-and-inches try.The Seahawks improved to 5-0 for the first time in franchise history. With a bye week coming up, they are poised for an eighth playoff berth in the last nine seasons and, if Wilson can keep putting together drives like Sunday night’s, maybe a special season. More

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    Cowboys Lose Prescott, Beat Giants

    ARLINGTON, Texas — Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott sustained a gruesome ankle injury not long after his first career touchdown catch before backup Andy Dalton led a drive to a field goal on the final play, and the Cowboys beat the winless Giants, 37-34, on Sunday.Michael Gallup made two spectacular sideline catches on throws from Dalton, the second a 38-yarder to the Giants’ 16-yard line. The Cowboys ran the clock down to 3 seconds, and Greg Zuerlein had his second game-ending kick of the season, from 34 yards.Prescott was going down in the arms of Giants defensive back Logan Ryan at the end of a 9-yard run in the third quarter when his right leg got caught under Ryan and appeared to snap.Prescott reached for the leg as he writhed in pain, and TV footage showed his right foot bent at an awkward angle away from his leg. He fought back tears as he was carted off with a cast on the leg. Most of Prescott’s teammates rushed to greet him, as did several members of the Giants, including Ryan and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who coached Prescott for four years in Dallas.The team said Prescott had a fracture-dislocation of the right ankle and was taken to a hospital, where surgery was planned late Sunday.Dalton was Cincinnati’s starter for nine seasons before the Bengals drafted Joe Burrow No. 1 over all last spring and Dalton signed a one-year deal to be Prescott’s backup.Dalton and rookie center Tyler Biadasz fumbled an exchange on Dalton’s first full series, setting up Devonta Freeman’s 4-yard scoring run and offensive tackle Andrew Thomas’s 2-point conversion catch to put the Giants ahead, 34-31.After Dallas got even and forced a Giants punt, Gallup made a toe-dragging 19-yard catch. Then Gallup made an over-the-shoulder grab with Dion Lewis running stride for stride. Both catches held up on review.The Cowboys (2-3), who trailed by two touchdowns in the second quarter for their fourth straight game with a double-digit deficit, extended their lead when Ezekiel Elliott ran in from 12 yards out to make it 31-23 three plays after Prescott’s injury. Elliott had 91 yards rushing and two touchdowns.It was the first game back in Dallas for Garrett, who was replaced by Mike McCarthy after the Cowboys missed the playoffs amid high expectations last season.Four years ago, Garrett chose to keep Prescott, then a rookie leading a franchise-best 11-game winning streak, as the starter over Tony Romo. Prescott, who replaced an injured Romo in the preseason, has started every game of his career.Garrett’s offense stopped a two-game streak without a touchdown by getting in the end zone on the Giants first possession with a 3-yard reverse to tight end Evan Engram.The Giants led, 17-3, in the second quarter — the fourth straight game with a double-digit deficit for the Cowboys — before the Cowboys went in front, 24-20, with 16 seconds left in the first half on Prescott’s 11-yard catch on a pass from receiver Cedrick Wilson, who took a reverse pitch from Elliott.At 0-5, the Giants will face the Washington Football team at home next Sunday in the second of three straight N.F.C. East games.The Cowboys, increased the size of the crowd at AT&T Stadium to 25,147 fans, an uptick in capacity for the third straight home game. More

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    N.F.L. Postpones Broncos-Patriots Game Again After Another Covid Case

    The N.F.L. has indefinitely postponed Monday’s game between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots, the latest reshuffling of the league’s schedule to accommodate the rash of positive tests for the coronavirus.The league had already pushed back the game from Sunday to Monday after Stephon Gilmore, the team’s star defensive back, tested positive. The team returned to practice Saturday, but another presumptive positive test Sunday forced the league to act before the Broncos left Denver for Foxborough, Mass.The league has not said when or if the game will be made up. Because this week will now serve as the bye week for both teams, there are no other openings on their schedule unless other games are moved, or the league adds an additional week to the season for makeup games. The Patriots were originally scheduled for a bye in Week 6, and the Broncos had a bye in Week 8.The Tennessee Titans, who have been grappling with the biggest outbreak in the league, shut down their team facility on Sunday after another staff member tested positive, according to the NFL Network, throwing in doubt the team’s upcoming game against the Buffalo Bills, already pushed back to Tuesday.The Titans have reported two dozen positive cases among its players, coaches and staff members in the past several weeks. The league has already pushed the Titans-Steelers game back three weeks, to Oct. 25.The N.F.L. told teams this week they would risk severe penalties, including the loss of draft picks, stiff fines and potentially the forfeiture of games if they do not follow the league’s safety protocols. More

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    Jets Send Team Home After Player Tests Positive for Coronavirus

    The Jets confirmed Friday that one of their players had tested positive for the coronavirus, and that all players had been sent home from the team’s facility as a precaution.The positive result throws into question whether the Jets will be able to play their next game, at home against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, and is the latest problem for the N.F.L. already scrambling to adjust for outbreaks on two other teams.The Jets are the latest N.F.L. team to have a player test positive, deepening the challenge the league faces as it tries to complete a full schedule of games. On Thursday, the league was forced to postpone two other games, the latest in a series of cascading readjustments in the wake of virus outbreaks involving the Tennessee Titans and the New England Patriots.The league announced on Thursday that the Titans — who have had the league’s worst outbreak, with nearly two dozen players, coaches and staff members testing positive — would play the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Eastern time, instead of on Sunday, assuming that the team reports no more positive tests. The Titans reported two additional positive tests in their organization on Thursday.If Tennessee and Buffalo play as now scheduled on Tuesday, the Bills’ following game, against the Kansas City Chiefs, would be moved back three days from Thursday, Oct. 15.The league had already postponed the Titans’ game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, scheduled for this past Sunday, by three weeks because of the Titans’ outbreak.The league also on Thursday moved the Patriots-Denver Broncos game, scheduled for Sunday, to 5 p.m. Eastern on Monday, after Stefon Gilmore, New England’s star cornerback, was reported yesterday to have tested positive. Last week, the Patriots’ Sunday game was moved to Monday because their quarterback, Cam Newton, had tested positive.This is a developing story and will be updated. More