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Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:30 pm
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CHARLOTTE, N. Roger Clemens Astros Jersey .C. - Defensive end Greg Hardys teammates want to see him back in a Carolina Panthers uniform next season.Hardy was convicted on two counts of domestic violence last July, but is appealing the decision. A jury trial date has not yet been established.Hardy was placed on the commissioners exempt list following the conviction and only played in one game for the Panthers in 2014. He still collected $13.1 million this season as Carolinas franchise player.He will become an unrestricted free agent in March.A guy of that calibre, we need him, Panthers cornerback Josh Norman said Sunday as players cleaned out their lockers a day after a season-ending 31-17 loss to Seattle in an NFC divisional playoff game.I mean, hands down I would welcome him back, and relish the chance to play with that guy again.Norman called Hardy, who had 15 sacks in 2013, a rock for the Panthers on defence.Hes that guy that takes us to a whole other level, Norman said.Norman said he doesnt condone domestic violence, but said at the end of the day the mans got to make a living. Hes got to work. Hes got a job to do.Defensive tackle Dwan Edwards also said he wants to see Hardy back in Carolina — even if his conviction isnt overturned.If he pays his dues and serves his time, then he serves his time, Edwards said.Norman said he spoke to Hardy on Sunday in the locker room and said the defensive end told him he wants to re-sign with Carolina.He even told me he will play for free, Norman said.Whether or not owner Jerry Richardson would consider re-signing Hardy remains to be seen. Richardson spoke out against domestic violence in an emotional speech after Hardy was placed on the commissioners exempt list last year.The Panthers (8-9-1) won their second straight NFC South title this season, but their season ended abruptly after a five-game win streak.It capped a bizarre season that included quarterback Cam Newton fracturing two bones in his back in an automobile wreck, coach Ron Riveras house catching fire and Hardys conviction.Things to watch this off-season from the Panthers:NEWTONS FUTURE: The biggest question for the Panthers entering the off-season is addressing Newtons long-term future. The Panthers picked up the fifth-year option on Newtons rookie deal earlier this season and are set to pay him $14.6 million in 2015. But the team has said it would like to sign Newton to a long-term contract extension. Newton is 30-31-1 as Carolinas starting quarterback in the regular season and 1-2 in the post-season.FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS: The Panthers found continuity on their offensive line the past seven games of the season with right tackle Mike Remmers and guards Trai Turner and Andrew Norwell seemingly cementing jobs in the future. However, the big question will be what they do at left tackle with Byron Bell, who is set to hit the free agent market. Bell is well liked by coaches, but the Panthers wont be able to overpay to keep him if they re-sign Newton.SECONDARY FIRST: Russell Wilson was 8 of 8 passing for 177 yards and three touchdowns on third downs against the Panthers on Saturday night. That says a little something about the Panthers nickel defence. Carolina hasnt invested much in its secondary, relying mostly on lower-round draft picks, undrafted players and low-cost aging veterans to fill those spots. The position is long overdue for an upgrade. The Panthers cut cornerbacks Antoine Cason and Charles Godfrey midseason and used Colin Jones, a backup safety and lifelong special teams player, as their nickel back. The Panthers have the 25th pick in the NFL draft and cornerback and offensive tackle are clear areas of need.ADDING OPTIONS ON OFFENSE: The Panthers need to add some offensive options around Newton in the passing game. Kelvin Benjamin and tight end Greg Olsen both had 1,000-yard receiving seasons, but the team lacked a deep receiving threat.WILLIAMS FUTURE: The Panthers have long had too much money invested in their running back position. Theyre finally in a position where they could cut running back DeAngelo Williams, the teams career leading rusher, and not have to take a huge salary cap hit. Jonathan Stewart re-emerged as a top-flight back, although he has had trouble staying healthy during his career.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Jose Altuve Jersey . -- Washingtons Bradley Beal seemed to make every shot he took in setting a career high with 37 points. Aledmys Diaz Jersey . Advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals should be a formality after Lionel Messi scored a penalty and Dani Alves added a late second to secure a commanding 2-0 advantage over City in the round of 16 on Tuesday. https://www.cheapastros.com/183o-francis-martes-jersey-astros.html .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan opened the Ford Womens World Curling Championship with a 7-5 win over Russia on Saturday.QUEBEC -- Former Green Beret Tim Kennedy outmuscled English middleweight Michael Bisping en route to a unanimous decision win in the main event of the UFCs "Ultimate Fighter Nations" finale card Wednesday night. The judges scored it 49-46, 49-46, 50-45 for Kennedy. Wrestling proved to be the difference with Kennedy taking Bisping down in the first, third and fifth rounds and keeping him there. The crowd at the Colisee Pepsi didnt like it and neither did Bisping, whose game is built on movement and technical striking. It was the 20th UFC fight for the 35-year-old Bisping but his first since April 2013 because of a detached retina that required several surgeries. The 34-year-old Kennedy had won his two previous UFC fights after coming over from Strikeforce. Bisping (25-6) came into the fight ranked fifth among middleweight contenders while Kennedy (18-4) was No. 8. "I dominated Michael Bisping," said Kennedy. "A guy thats been in the top five for ever." Still Kennedy, who said he may have broken his hand, was unhappy he had not finished Bisping. There were harsh words from both fighters in the buildup, but it was hard to tell whether it was anything more than gamesmanship. Bisping cant pass a pot without stirring it. But the two did touch gloves before the fight. And they said they respected each other after the fight. Kennedy, a Texan who still serves in the Army National Guard, walked out to "Rooster" by Alice in Chains. Bisping followed to his trademark "Song 2" by Blur. Kennedy went straight for the takedown and spent much of the first round grappling on top of Bisping. He got briefly into mount but could not take advantage. Bisping caught a right hand and an uppercut in the second but fought off a takedown. As the round wore on, Kennedy seemed to move less -- allowing Bisping to find his striking range. Some wild swinging by Bisping led to another prolonged Kennedy takedown in the third. The Brit is known for getting back to his feet when taken down, but those skills deserted him here. Kennedy outmuscled Bisping early in the fourth before the two began trading punches. Kennedy, an ungainly striker, was cut during one exchange. In the fifth, Kennedy landed another takedown one minute in. The referee stood them up with two minutes remaining but Bisping was unable to take advantage. The card also crowned the first Canadian winners of the UFCs "Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show. There was little drama in that other than which Canadian would carry home a trophy. The welterweight and middleweight finals of "The Ultimate Fighter Nations," a show which pitted Canada against Australia, were all-Canadian affairs after the Aussies were eliminated earlier. Chad (The Disciple) Laprise, a native of Windsor who fights out of London, Ont., won a split decision over Montreals Olivier Aubin-Mercier to take the welterweight crown before Torontos Elias (The Spartan) Theodorou stopped Edmontons Sheldon Westcott via second-round TKO in the middleweight final. In the co-main event, Montreals Patrick (The Predator) Cote won a 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 decision over Australian Kyle Noke in an entertaining, back-and-forth matchup of TUF Nations coaches. After Noke (20-7-1) came out to Men at Works "Down Under," Cote came out to wild cheers and the Beastie Boys "No Sleep Till Brooklyn." The chant of "Cote, Cote" started before the action did, followed by "Ole, Ole, Ole" within the first minute of the first round. Cote (21-8) caught a kick and took Noke down, landing some elbows and cutting the Australian as the crowd chanted "Lets Go Cote." Noke caught Cote with a big knee in the second, stunning him. Cote somehow hung on, a bloody mark by his eye, but he had been damaged. The 34-year-old Canadian was also favouring his left leg, but he still managed to take Noke down later in the round. A Cote takedown in the third got the crowd back into it and may have convinced the judges. "He hurt me with that knee," said Cote, who actually ducked into it as he looked to grab Noke. "I didnt see it coming, but I think I did the most damage overall." There was a frantic opening to the TUF Nations middleweight final as Westcott (9-2-1) looked to take the fight to the ground quickly, hoping to bring his submission game into play. But the bigger Theodorou (10-0) fought him off and started punnishing him with knees. Yuli Gurriel Jersey. Theodorous size and wrestling skills took their toll. He dumped Westcott midway through the second round and hammered him. The referee eventually stepped in to stop the beating at 4:41. "This proves I kick ass," said the 25-year-old Theodorou, whose resume includes modelling for Harlequin romance covers. The welterweight final was much closer. The judges scored it 28-29, 29-28, 30-27 for Laprise, who finished strongly. Aubin-Mercier stalked Laprise, looking for openings to get the fight to the ground. But Laprise resisted the takedown and countered effectively from the outside. Laprise (9-0) got on his knees in the middle of the cage after the fight. Aubin-Mercier (5-1), seemingly favouring his right foot, hung on to his cornermen. It started as a sparse crowd but it grew as the night wore on. It was a long day, after all. The first bout of the 13-fight card started at 3:15 p.m., with the main card running from 7 to 10 p.m. Dustin (The Diamond) Poirier, ranked sixth among featherweight contenders, scored a second-round TKO over Akira Corassani (14-5) for his eighth UFC win at 145 pounds. The American-based Swede, who exited with a broken nose, started well but succumbed to a flurry of blows from Poirier (16-3) after 42 seconds of the round. Poirier and Carassani got US$50,000 each for fight of the night. Canadians went 5-1 on the undercard led by light-heavyweight Ryan (The Big Deal) Jimmo, who knocked out UFC newcomer Sean (The Real OC) OConnell in the first round. Jimmo (19-3) felled OConnell (15-5) with a crunching counter straight right and then added three blows for good measure before the referee stepped in at 4:27. A native of Saint John, N.B., who fights out of Edmonton, Jimmo opened his UFC account in 2012 with a seven-second KO of Anthony (The Hippo) Perosh. He is now 2-2 in the UFC and has nine first-round finishes in his career. Former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman of Victoria registered her first UFC win, earning a unanimous 30-27 decision over Leslie (The Peacemaker) Smith in a high-octane slugfest that saw the Canadian land 202 significant strikes to 79 for Smith, according to FightMetric. Kaufman (17-2 with one no contest), ranked No. 5 among UFC bantamweight contenders, won a split decision when the two met in April 2013 on an Invicta FC card. Smith (6-5-1) took this fight on 10 days notice, as two other opponents withdrew through injury. "The three changes of opponent were stressful, I admit," said Kaufman, who hopes to fight on the UFCs June card in Vancouver. K.J. Noons needed just 30 seconds to knock out Sam (Hands of Stone) Stout of London, Ont., with a huge overhand right to the chin. And Noons (12-6) did more damage before the referee could get to him to stop the action. Stout (21-10-1) was so dazed that he tried to grapple with the referee after being knocked out and then fell backwards. But he was smiling soon after. The fight was scheduled for lightweight (155 pounds) but was switched to welterweight at the request of both fighters. They weighed in at 168-169 pounds. Jimmo and Noons got US$50,000 performance of the night bonuses. Veteran lightweight Mark Bocek (12-5) of Woodbridge, Ont., returning to the cage for the first time since November 2012 after injury, won a slender 28-29, 30-27, 29-28 split decision over newcomer Mike (El Cucuy) de la Torre (12-4). Bantamweight Mitch Gagnon of Sudbury, Ont., opened the card with a unanimous 30-27 decision over Tim (The Psycho) Gorman (9-3). Gagnon (11-2) won his third straight in the UFC. In a battle of bearded Australia TUF Nations teammates, welterweight (Filthy) Rich Walsh (8-2) showed a better all-round game in earning a unanimous 30-27 decision over Chris (The Savage) Indich. The durable Indich (5-2) becomes the first indigenous Australian to fight in the UFC. Montreal middleweight Nordine Taleb (9-2) used his superior grappling skills to score a one-sided 30-27 decision over Australian Vik (The Spartan) Grujic (6-4) in another matchup of TUF Nations cast members. Lanky bantamweight George Roop (15-11-1) won a 29-28, 30-27, 29-26 decision over Dustin (The Diamond) Kimura (12-2). The card marked the UFCs first in Quebec City, which became the sixth Canadian city to host an event after Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg. Halifax is scheduled to join the UFC club in October with a televised card. Attendance was 5,029. ' ' ' |
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