Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has taken aim at Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, suggesting the German’s poor record in major finals means he should “stick to his own business.”
Last month, Klopp was critical of Ramos’ role in the Champions League final in May, which the Reds lost 3-1. Mo Salah had to be replaced in the first half after injuring his shoulder in a tangle with the defender, and Klopp suggested Ramos’ challenge played a part in Loris Karius’ concussion.
Related – Klopp: Ramos was ruthless, brutal in Champions League final
“It’s not the first final (Klopp) has lost, he should stick to his own business,” Ramos said, as reported by Reuters.
“Some of us have been operating at a very high level for many years, I’m not sure he can say the same.”
Klopp’s record in finals certainly leaves something to be desired. He has won only one of seven major finals during his managerial career, with the lone win coming in the form of a DFB-Pokal triumph with Borussia Dortmund over six years ago.
With Liverpool, he finished as runner-up in the 2015-16 EFL Cup and Europa League before the defeat to Ramos’ Real at the end of last season.
Ramos was speaking ahead of his side’s UEFA Super Cup showdown with city rivals – and Europa League winners – Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers said he was not sending a message last week when he referred to practice as “piss poor,” but if some members of the Green Bay Packers were bothered by it, well, now it sounds like Rodgers has a message for them.
“I hope we’re not that soft,” Rodgers said Monday. “I hope we can hear comments or read comments and not get offended by things. It’s a professional environment; it’s not a personal environment. The things I’m saying, I don’t have some vendetta against any player. I care about winning, No. 1, and I’m going to say and do the things that I feel like can advance us. It’s going to be tough at some points. It’s not a popularity contest all the time. Obviously, as a human, you like being liked and appreciated, but I’m trying to win games because that’s my job.”
It was after a sloppy practice last week, one that ended with Rodgers flinging the ball at some tackling dummies in frustration, that he criticized the young receivers — without naming any names — for their effort while running the scout team. Rodgers was working with them on the scout team last week because he wasn’t going to play in the preseason opener against Tennessee.
After the game, Valdes-Scantling said: “You know, when the leader says you’ve got to pick it up, that’s what you do. He’s one of the greatest to ever do it, so whatever he says, we have to go out and do it.”
Rodgers, however, said he doesn’t think it was because of what he said.
“Again, I don’t feel like when you make a statement like that that there needs to be some big response or feelings hurt or offense that somebody takes with it,” Rodgers said. “If they do, they’re taking it the wrong way because this is a professional environment. Like I said, I’m doing things that I feel like are in the best interest of the team from a leadership standpoint, and if no one else is going to stand up and criticize a bad practice, then maybe I need to be the one to do it. So I did it.
“I talked about the carded period that we had. The guys played well in the game, made some plays. It’s been a good week of practice, I think. It’s been hot, but the guys have been competing and making plays. I don’t think that’s a response to anything I’ve said. Now maybe it is for a couple of them, but it shouldn’t be. You get to this league, and to stick around, you’ve got to be self-motivated. So as a leader, you try to inspire, but the motivation to change and to improve has got to come from within.”
“I hope we can hear comments or read comments and not get offended by things,” Aaron Rodgers said. “I care about winning, No. 1, and I’m going to say and do the things that I feel like can advance us.” Jim Matthews/Green Bay Press-Gazette
It appears that Rodgers will make his preseason debut on Thursday against the Steelers because he was off scout-team duty Monday. Last year, he played one series in Week 2 of the preseason (and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Martellus Bennett at the end of a 15-play drive) and two series in Week 3.
Rodgers said it was important to him to play at Lambeau Field, something he hasn’t done since Week 4 of last season against the Bears. He broke his collarbone in Week 6 at Minnesota, and his only game back last season was at Carolina in Week 15. The Packers’ final two preseason games are on the road: at Oakland and at Kansas City.
“I haven’t played at home for a long time,” Rodgers said. “So it will be nice to get out on Lambeau. And then we’ll see about Week 3 and 4, but you’re always working on things, whether it’s practice or preseason game. It’s just trying to get the timing down with the guys, and the speed is obviously a little faster at times in practice — not always. The scheme is not always extremely difficult, so it’s more about making sure you’re seeing things the right way. Like I said, it’s not a ton of preparation in the same way it would be for a regular-season game. But I think there’s still things to be gained even for a veteran player in the preseason.”
RICHMOND, Va. — A look at what’s happening around the New York Jets:
1. Macc and Mack: General manager Mike Maccagnan got his quarterback. Now he needs to find someone to get to the opponent’s quarterback.
While the addition of Sam Darnold filled a big hole in the Jets’ rebuilding puzzle, it will never be complete until they add a formidable pass-rusher on the edge. My advice to Maccagnan: Call the Oakland Raiders.
In case you haven’t heard, the Raiders and star pass-rusher Khalil Mack are locked in a contract dispute. Mack, due to make $13.8 million in the the final year of his contract, is holding out of training camp, reportedly seeking at least $20 million per year. There’s no evidence to suggest the Raiders have put him on the trading block, but that doesn’t mean the Jets can’t place a phone call.
Will they? I wouldn’t be surprised if they do. The Jets have a proactive front office (see: the trade up for Darnold) and they’re always looking for ways to improve the roster. No matter what Todd Bowles says publicly, the organization recognizes that outside linebacker is its biggest need. Jordan Jenkins is a competent first- and second-down player against the run, but there’s no one who can rush from the edge. Their current leading sacker at the position is David Bass (3.5 sacks last season), and he might not make the team. It’s hard to run a 3-4 defense without a “rush” linebacker.
Mack, the 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, would elevate the Jets’ defense to another level. He’s had 36.5 sacks over the past three seasons and he’s still only 27 years old, which means he still has a few prime years left.
What are the chances he will get traded? It’s unlikely. Two NFL executives told me the Raiders would be dumb to trade Mack, whom they can control for three years — this year, plus two franchise tags. If they put him on the block, they’d demand at least a first-round pick. This is one of those two-pronged situations because any team that wants Mack would have to agree to trade compensation with the Raiders and negotiate a long-term contract with the player — and it’s not easy to pull that off.
The Jets have $16 million in cap room this year and a league-high $82 million next year, according to overthecap.com. So, yes, they could absorb a huge contract, especially with only one potentially big deal on the horizon (Leonard Williams). The draft-pick compensation might be tough for them to swallow, considering they’re already without a second-round choice in 2019 (the Darnold trade), but my take is this: Would you find a better pass-rusher than Mack in next year’s draft? Probably not.
Maccagnan told ESPN New York radio that upgrading the pass rush is “an area we’re focused on,” saying he will explore possible trades and waiver-wire pickups throughout the preseason. Forget the waiver wire; if a player like Mack becomes available, you pounce.
2. Marked man: The Jets flew to Richmond after Friday night’s preseason opener and will hold joint practices with the Washington Redskins starting Sunday. The teams will cap the week Thursday night with a game at FedEx Field.
The Jets haven’t conducted a joint practice since 2005, when they met the New York Giants in Albany, New York. That was a memorable day, marked by several fights and a shouting match between Jets defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson and Giants coach Tom Coughlin. In 1988, they scrimmaged the Redskins at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. I’ll never forget the sight of Mark Gastineau’s actress girlfriend, Brigitte Nielsen, emerging from a white stretch limo that had driven up to the Jets’ sideline in the middle of the scrimmage. Ah, yes, good times.
These Jets-Redskins sessions also could get chippy because Redskins linebacker Zach Brown put a target on Terrelle Pryor in June, saying the defense will “have it out” for their former teammate. Let’s just say Pryor wasn’t Mr. Popularity on the 2017 Redskins. They believed he was coddled by the coaching staff and was too much of a showman in practice.
For the most part, Pryor has laughed off the trash talk, although he did deliver one salvo.
“If they take dirty shots, I’m sure we’ll handle that accordingly,” he said last week.
Pryor versus Josh Norman should be a fun watch.
3. Goal in Richmond: Bowles said the focus in the joint practices will be on the young players, seeing how they react to different competition and new schematic looks.
“You get tired of going up against the same offensive and defensive schemes, and they’re a very good football team and they have a lot of things they do well,” Bowles said. “It will be a good test for some of the guys that won’t play a lot in the game next Thursday.”
4. The other rookie: Darnold has been grabbing all the headlines, but the Jets do have other rookies in camp, you know. One of them — tight end Chris Herndon — has a chance to be an immediate contributor. Sorry, I don’t have a stat on this (you’re shocked, I know), but he has to be among their leading receivers in practice. He dropped to the fourth round because of a late-season knee injury at Miami.
Former tight end Anthony Becht, who has attended a few practices in his role as the new color analyst on the Jets’ preseason telecasts, said Herndon has the ability to play both tight-end spots — in-line (the Y position) and flex (F). In other words, he can block and catch.
“He can be productive in both roles,” said Becht, who suspects Herndon would’ve been a second-round pick if it hadn’t been for the knee injury. “To me, that’s the key in the NFL now. You have to be able to do everything at every position.
“The kid’s a good player. He’s very explosive. I think he’s a playmaker in the passing game. He can do all those things and, unlike a lot of the tight ends coming out, he can be an in-line blocker, too. When you can get a little bit of both and yet you’re still predominantly a pass-catching tight end, that’s key.”
Herndon sat out Friday night because of “a couple of bruises” from practice, according to a tight-lipped Bowles. This bears watching.
Fourth-round tight end Chris Herndon is among the Jets’ leading receivers in practice. Vincent Carchietta/USA TODAY Sports
5. No Madden love: The folks who create the player ratings for the Madden video game evidently don’t expect much from Darnold this season. Here’s how they ranked the rookie quarterbacks:
For what it’s worth, I think the Jets’ top three was Darnold, Rosen and Mayfield.
6. Sad stories: The recent passing of coach Tony Sparano triggered thoughts of his one season with the Jets, 2012, when he served as offensive coordinator for Mark Sanchez, Tim Tebow & Co. A quick review of the roster uncovered this chilling fact:
Three members of that team are dead: Running back Joe McKnight was murdered in 2016, tight end Konrad Reuland died of a brain aneurysm in 2016 and Sparano died of heart disease at age 56.
TAMPA, Fla. — By the time Rhonda D’Haiti got to her 16-year-old son D.J. Myers’ side on July 25, 2017, he’d been strapped to a stretcher, airlifted to the hospital and was moments away from undergoing a 10-hour surgery. Unable to move from the neck down, he looked up at her and said, “If I can’t play football, I’m going to die.”
Fast-forward one year, and Myers, who is now 17, is in a wheelchair and unable to feel anything below his belly button. Football is out of the question, and he has yet to return to his regular classes at South Lake High School in Groveland, Florida. But he’s in good spirits and thriving, thanks in part to some encouragement from Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver DeSean Jackson, whom Myers got to meet in person for the first time Saturday.
“I can’t do it, I can’t do it,” Myers said, fighting back tears, burying his face in his hands and unable to look up as the three-time Pro Bowler walked toward him. “Oh my God, man. Oh my God.”
It was Jackson’s face he saw on a cell phone video, days after surgery when he was recovering in the Orlando Regional Medical Center intensive care unit, and Jackson’s autographed jersey that came in the mail. Several friends and family members had reached out to the Buccaneers, telling them about the accident, the result of a collision during a football camp.
“What’s going on D.J.? It’s DeSean Jackson, wide receiver [for the] Buccaneers,” he said in the video. “I heard I was your favorite player. I just wanted to wish you a speedy recovery. Put God first, keep praying, I’ll pray for you as well and hopefully everything goes back to normal. I’m sorry about your injury. Get well, and like I said, put God first and God bless you. Take care, man.”
“I know he was down. I just wanted to send him an encouraging message, to not get down on himself,” Jackson told ESPN. “When you’re diagnosed with being paralyzed and not having a chance to walk, that’s definitely a devastating thing. So [I was] just trying to motivate him and cheer him up a little bit.”
Doctors had to go through the front of Myers’ neck and then the back to remove a fractured C5 vertebra and replace it with a metal piece. A rod was inserted where he fractured his C6, fusing it with the bone. Myers had to have a tracheotomy tube put in to help him breathe. He was in the hospital for almost four months. Hearing from his hero, whom he’d followed since middle school and whose jersey numbers 1 and 11 he wore, too, brought a glimmer of hope when Myers needed it most.
“I was really in a down place. When he sent that, it really made me want to do therapy, it made me want to get up out of the bed, just do stuff like that,” Myers said. “I was doing therapy, literally, and he sent me the video, my heart just like dropped. I was like, ‘Wow. He really cares for me.’ It really touched my heart that he did that for me. Because not a lot of players would ever be able to do that, ya know?”
Doctors told the family it’s too soon to determine how much Myers will recover. His spinal cord wasn’t severed, but there was damage to it, a condition referred to as incomplete quadriplegia. Myers has regained a small amount of dexterity in his hands. He gets severe headaches, too. Then there are the muscle spasms and stiffness in his legs. The physical therapy has been exhausting.
“It’s like you having a migraine, times 100,” D’Haiti said of her son’s condition. “I don’t know if it’s the shock that goes through his body but [there] are times where the [muscle] spasms can be so intense that it will literally freeze him.”
Miraculously, though, Myers has been able to stay on track with his schoolwork through correspondence courses and finished last year with a 4.0 GPA.
“His spirit has never faded,” D’Haiti said. “His faith has never faded. He’s still a typical 17-year-old. Like he always says, ‘He’s broken but not defeated.’ That’s his mindset that we try and keep.”
Jackson introduced him to teammates as his little brother. They talked football and video games. Jackson even said he’d get him a copy of the new Madden for his Xbox.
“Is your game nice though? Is it nice or not?” Jackson joked.
Myers snapped back, “Yeah, man, I will whoop you!”
Jackson laughed, “I’ve gotta get your gamer tag then.”
“[I told him], ‘Don’t get down on yourself,'” Jackson said. “I know it’s hard, it’s tough, especially going through therapy. [He’s] taking it one step at a time and just really trying to better himself. Mentally, just not being able to just get up and go outside and walk and play with friends, I’m sure it’s [frustrating] but I’m just trying to encourage him …”
Jackson’s encouragement means a lot now particularly. High school football is starting up again. Myers’ dream was to earn a college scholarship to play at Florida State. Now, he’s volunteering as an assistant to help the high school’s coaching staff, who honored him by retiring his jersey.
Jackson marveled at Myers’ willingness to help his teammates.
“That just shows his motivation, his willingness not to quit, to not give up,” Jackson said. “It shows other players around him that he might be going through something tragic, but he’s gonna continue to be motivated. It shows others around him that it’s not gonna break him.”
