AC Milan’s nightmare has officially become reality.
UEFA’s adjudicatory arm barred the Rossoneri from European competition for one of the next two seasons, citing violations of the governing body’s Financial Fair Play regulations.
Although the ban will be active for the next two years, Milan will only be ordered to sit out one of the 2018-19 or 2019-20 campaigns.
The Italian side will appeal the decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, saying in a statement that it “fully trusts the CAS will hear its arguments.” If the appeal is unsuccessful, Milan, a seven-time European champion, will be kicked out of next season’s Europa League. It qualified for the competition as the sixth-placed finisher in Serie A.
“The club is excluded from participating in the next UEFA club competition for which it would otherwise qualify in the next two seasons (i.e. one competition in 2018/19 or 2019/20, subject to qualification,” UEFA said in a statement.
The Investigatory Chamber of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) said Milan, which accrued more than €200 million in aggregate losses between 2014 and 2017, fell short of break-even compliance.
UEFA previously denied the club both a voluntary agreement and settlement agreement because of ongoing uncertainties relating to Li’s finances. Li only completed the €740-million takeover last summer thanks to a €303-million high-interest loan from U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management.
Previously unknown in China, Li has struggled to repay Elliott on time. Elliott can assume control of Milan if Li fails to pay back the remainder by October 2018.
UEFA’s ruling comes as Li continues to negotiate with potential buyers. U.S. media mogul Rocco Commisso and the family of Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts are reportedly interested in acquiring a majority stake.
Or even though he’s entering his eighth NFL season, he’s not yet 28 years old.
This season could dictate how the Green Bay Packers receiver is viewed and what it means for his future with the team that picked him in the second round of the 2011 draft.
It’s a pivotal spot not only because he’s in the final season of a four-year, $40 million contract, but given the opportunities he should have after the Packers cut receiver Jordy Nelson this offseason. Some thought the Packers might dump Cobb and keep Nelson. Instead, the receiving corps consists of Cobb, Davante Adams, Geronimo Allison and a host of young, unproven players, including three draft picks.
A monster 2014 season — with 91 catches, 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns — created expectations that Cobb has not matched in part because of nagging injuries. He’s missed only four games combined the past two seasons, but he’s also played hurt throughout. That’s to his credit, although his production has slipped. Yet at times, there have been moments of brilliance; he caught three touchdowns in the 2016 playoff win over the Giants after he missed the last two weeks of the regular season because of an ankle injury. Cobb is again dealing with an ankle injury that could sideline him for the beginning of training camp, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“When he’s healthy and playing for us, our offense is a lot different,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said this offseason. “I think we saw it a couple of years ago against the Giants when he came off some injuries and a disappointing season filled with multiple injuries, he had three touchdowns. Obviously one was the Hail Mary, but he had two other really nice plays for us in a big game. That’s what he can do for us when he’s out there.
Entering his eighth season, Randall Cobb says “I feel like I’m still young, but they’re looking at me like I’m old, so I guess I must be.” Jim Matthews/USA TODAY NETWORK
“Tough guy to cover. He really understands coverages and route concepts and soft spots in zone — stuff you just can’t really teach. And he’s so multidimensional. We can obviously put him at punt returner, we can split him out, we can put him the backfield and give him the rock.”
Even with the addition of a dynamic pass-catching tight end in Jimmy Graham, Cobb could have a significant role in the offense.
“He’s got a lot left,” Adams said. “He’s an incredible athlete, he’s still got the burners and he has a lot to offer for the young guys as well. You go out there and you watch how he gets down on the field; he’s consistent and he’s one of the best, one of the hardest-working guys in the game and in practice and things like that. It makes it easy for the young guys to pick up on that.”
In some ways, Cobb has always been mature beyond his years. He was 20 when the Packers drafted him, and in his NFL debut he returned a kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown against the Saints. On that night, he became the first player born in the 1990s to play in an NFL game.
“When I came in, I thought about him like he was 10 years in,” said Adams, who joined the Packers in 2014, Cobb’s fourth year. “It’s funny, because when [Allison] came in [in 2016] he said the same thing about me. He felt like I was an old guy. And I still don’t feel like an old guy now. So now, when they come in, I let them know — I’m right there with you. I’m not that old just yet.”
So how does Cobb feel?
“Do I feel like the old man in the room?” he said. “I feel like I’m still young, but they’re looking at me like I’m old, so I guess I must be.”
Not so fast, according to Cobb’s new receivers coach, David Raih.
“This business is funny, like 27 years old all of a sudden you’re old,” Raih said. “I just think there’s a lot of football left in Randall Cobb, and especially now this guy is one of the most tenacious people I’ve been around — and I’m talking about all the time. His story, too, I mean his entire life he’s heard something along those lines.
“And that’s just something that fuels his fire. He and I come in and we just have a business approach together, and I think it meshes well. I’m excited about Randall because every single day, every rep you can see him trying to use what he’s learning and what we’re talking about to improve his game, and he’s got the type of approach that will get results.”
By the time his eighth NFL season opens on Sept. 9 against the Bears, Cobb will be 28; his birthday is Aug. 22.
Just don’t tell that to his quarterback, who tried to settle the young/old issue.
“He’s done a number of things for us over the years, and still he’s relatively young,” Rodgers said. “First player born in the 1990s, so he’s not even 28 yet. He’s obviously a great friend of mine, but I look for a resurgence from him this year as long as he can stay healthy.”
PITTSBURGH — Le’Veon Bell remains optimistic about landing a long-term contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Appearing on the NFL Network’s Top 100 broadcast, Bell maintains he’s closer to an extension than last offseason as he enters another summer under the franchise tag.
The network deemed Bell its No. 5 player in the NFL based on a voting system composed of current players.
“Obviously, the people in the organization try to do what’s best for them and I’m trying to do what’s best for me,” Bell said. “We’re working on it. We’re a lot closer than we were last year at this time. That’s what I’m happy about. None of that matters if we don’t get it done. Hopefully we’ll try to get something done. That’s what I’m looking forward to. I got confidence we’ll get it done. I want to do it.”
Bell expressed similar optimism in January from the Pro Bowl, but both sides couldn’t reach an agreement before the March 6 deadline for teams to designate the tag, which will pay Bell $14.5 million this year. The Steelers now have until July 16 at 4 p.m. ET to extend Bell, who has not signed the tag.
The franchise tag allows NFL teams to keep star players on a one-year contract commensurate with the top-five-salaried players at the position. It’s considered a placeholder for negotiations on a long-term deal in earnest.
Bell earned $12.12 million on last year’s tag, and the percentage increases 120 percent on a second tag, 144 percent on a third.
He has been clear he doesn’t want the tag and prefers a lengthier deal with Pittsburgh or, if they don’t want to sign him, another team.
Bell skipped last year’s training camp as a sign of protest, and he’s hinted at a similar plan in 2018 if he’s bound to the tag. Asked what he’ll do differently this offseason in the absence of a new deal, Bell, 26, said “it’s just getting back in the groove with the offense.”
Bell has nearly 8,000 total offensive yards in five seasons despite missing 18 regular-season games.
“When you’re not in there in camp, minicamp, OTAs and things like that, they find different rhythms with different backs in there — whatever player they put in that spot that I would be in,” Bell said. “I’ve got to find a way to get back quicker.”
Bell hopes that means he’s in camp with a future secured in Pittsburgh.
“I don’t want to have … what happened last year,” Bell said. “If it came down to it, then I’ve got to do what I’ve gotta do, take my stand and protect myself. But I don’t want to have to do that. I want to go to camp and play for the Steelers long term.”
“Ten times better (than 2017), 15 times better,” Garrett said with a smile at the team’s golf outing about how much he can improve.
For the record, he was joking about the degree, but Garrett wasn’t joking about expecting a better season. To do that, though, he has to meet the key goal he set for himself after his rookie season: Stay healthy.
“The best quality is availability,” Garrett said during minicamp. “I have to be present.”
It wasn’t Garrett’s fault that he missed five games as a rookie. He hurt his ankle in practice before the opener when a teammate fell on him and caused him to miss four games. He missed the Browns’ trip to London because of a concussion.
But Garrett felt those five missed games plus the time it took to get back to playing shape limited his impact. Even with those, though, he had seven sacks in 11 starts. Projected to a full season, that’s 10 sacks, and a double-digit sack season from a rookie would draw a lot of attention.
But the Browns didn’t draft Garrett first overall a year ago to be very good, and they’ve let Garrett know that.
Myles Garrett had seven sacks in 11 starts last season as a rookie for the Browns. Ron Schwane/AP Photo
“I think that is the challenge maybe John was serving up, and it is no different a challenge than if I would go to Myles,” coach Hue Jackson said. “‘You are supposed to be one of the best players in this league. Go be it every week.'”
Jackson agreed that staying healthy is the first key for Garrett, which in some degree involves not overdoing it off the field.
“He is one of the few guys that I have had to coach that I know I am going to have to keep my hand on to hold back,” defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said. “One of the things with him is his overworking. He works so hard because he does not want to be good; he wants to be great.
“Sometimes he can be his own worst enemy in that respect because he works so hard physically that he has to do a good job with recovery also. The next thing is this — and he knows — if he stays healthy, watch out.”
Garrett’s conditioning has become legendary since he joined the Browns. A year ago he ended training camp practices with a series of 100-yard sprints. This offseason when Garrett ran sprints, Williams said he ran with the defensive backs and receivers.
“They were having a hard time keeping up,” Williams said. “How do you do that as a 280-pound man?”
Another measure of Garrett’s growth is in his knowledge of the game. He admitted that it was an adjustment getting used to the speed of the NFL game.
“It is coming a lot easier,” he said.
A year ago at this time Garrett was coming off a few months of training for the draft, which meant training for the 40-yard dash. This offseason he trained for playing football, which meant concentrating on technique and skills.
Myles Garrett, right, sharing a laugh with Nate Orchard, jokes that he will be “15 times better” than he was as a rookie in 2017. Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports
“I feel like I was just a little slow with my hands and not as good as I wanted to be last year with disengaging with the offensive linemen,” he said. “I think that I have really improved.”
The final factor that the Browns feel will help Garrett: a revamped secondary.
The Browns’ self-scouting from last season showed a secondary that could not play press coverage or run with NFL receivers. Changes were made. Jabrill Peppers was moved from free safety to play closer to the line. Damarious Randall was acquired via trade to play free safety. Denzel Ward was drafted fourth overall to provide press coverage. Three other free-agent corners were signed. Peppers is the lone holdover, and he won’t be in the same position.
In theory this means coverage in the secondary should be better, which means the “almost sacks” that Garrett had a year ago will turn into sacks. The Browns believe Garrett was one step from at least a dozen more sacks, perhaps as many as 15-18.
“Allow the quarterback to hold the ball longer than 2.13 seconds, now watch,” Williams said, evidently referring to how quickly opposing quarterbacks got rid of the ball in 2017.
If that was the Browns’ number, it’s shocking. NextGenStats.com tracks the time individual quarterbacks take to throw. None of the 42 quarterbacks it ranked were faster than 2.42 seconds.
ESPN Stats & Information also keeps track of the time it takes quarterbacks to throw against defensive teams. Quarterbacks on teams playing the Browns got rid of the ball in 2.36 seconds, second fastest in the league, according to ESPN Stats. The NFL average: 2.54.
Gauging this stat could be subjective, though. One site’s measurements could differ from another’s, which could differ from a team’s. Suffice it to say that all the stats reflect opposing receivers getting open without much initial opposition, which limits the time the pass rush can get to the quarterback. If the secondary can maintain coverage another second or two, the pass rush becomes that more effective.
But Garrett’s rookie season was not bad by any means, and by some measures, it was excellent. ProFootballFocus actually called him “dominant” when he was on the field. Among the PFF numbers:
37 pressures in 300 passing snaps
A sack or hit on 48.6 percent of his pressures, tied for fourth highest among edge defenders (250 snap minimum)
An overall grade of 88.4, 11th among edge defenders
Multiple pressures in every game he played, with at least three pressures in nine games and one quarterback knockdown in all but one game
PFF called Garrett the best rookie edge defender in the league in 2017 by a healthy margin, and the highest-graded edge defender overall in the AFC North.
It’s not unreasonable to ask: If Garrett did that as a rookie, if he could hit the quarterback on just about 50 percent of his pass rushes when he had injury issues, what might he be able to do in his second season, healthier, with a better knowledge of the game, and with more help around him?
