The Champions League group stage is two-thirds toward completion, and for each continental power struggling to secure progression to the knockout stage, a fresh face is making a claim to enter the discussion.
Two-time defending champ Real Madrid appears a shadow of its former self, Juventus, the side it beat last in June’s final, has faced its fair share of obstacles, and last year’s semi-finalists Monaco and Atletico Madrid perilously hang onto narrow hopes.
Conversely, continental tenderfoots Manchester City, Tottenham, and Besiktas have the look of world-beaters and suddenly, the 2017-18 Champions League is a wide-open affair.
With the knockout stage picture less murky after Wednesday’s fixtures, gaze into a crystal ball and have your say below:
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Martellus Bennett disputes that the Green Bay Packers should have released him with the “failure to disclose a physical condition” designation.
The veteran tight end was cut on Wednesday and claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots on Thursday.
Bennett signed a three-year, $21 million contract that included a $6.3 million signing bonus in free agency. He played in just seven games for the Packers.
Bennett used his Instagram Story — the same avenue he used to post during the bye week that he was “pretty sure” he would retire after this season — to tell his side of the story.
“The packers examined my shoulder on my visit March 10 and cleared it,” he wrote. “They even gave me an xray as well. It got worse during the season, specifically against the Cowboys so I asked to have it checked out and we checked it. After a few days of contemplating to play with it or get surgery, I chose surgery. Now here we are …”
Bennett, however, passed his physical with the Patriots on Friday and was on the practice field. Still, he posted that he wasn’t happy that the Packers’ longtime team physician Dr. Pat McKenzie allegedly encouraged him to play. McKenzie, however, has long been known as one of the most conservative doctors around the league.
“They tried to f— me over,” Bennett continued on his Instagram story. “Dr. McKenzie trying to cover his own ass. After trying to persuade me to play thru a major injury and choosing to get surgery.
“They have access to all my medical records. My shoulder wasn’t where it is now at the beginning of the season. I f—– it up playing for the @packers.”
“Dr. McKenzie didn’t make [me] feel safe and was pushing to play, which I thought was weird. Not that he was trying to get me to play thru it but the way he was saying things. I didn’t trust him. So I got 3 other opinions from doctors who all said I need to get it fixed. So I decided to do that. And they decided to waive me the some bulls— excuse. Failure [to] disclose.
“Every week we do a body evaluation sheet in the weight room and pretty much every week I circled my shoulder. I just kept playing but it got worse.
“During the bye week I got off anti inflammatories to clean my system and could really feel the pain. So I asked to examine it first day back in. And that’s when we found out it was really f– up.”
“They knew.
Martellus Bennett said he wasn’t happy that the Packers’ long-time team physician Dr. Pat McKenzie allegedly encouraged him to play. AP Photo/Mike Roemer
“They panicked. Thinking that I was trying to go on IR and be on their books next year. When I mentioned that I would possible retire. So they tried to f— me before they thought I would f— them. This was all about money.”
“All about money. I get it. But don’t lie homie. You knew wtf was up.
“I had intentions of playing all 8 games as I mentioned in the post during the bye week, but found out it was worse than I felt after getting it checked out.
“Now I’m like f— it.
“I chose my health over the ‘team’. They chose money over me.”
The first public hint of a shoulder injury came after Bennett returned from the bye week. He practiced with the team during their first workout Tuesday but was on the field the next day and later showed up on the injury report.
The Packers did not have any comment after Bennett’s post, but Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson posted a statement on Twitter later on Friday to defend the organization and the medical team.
Earlier on Friday coach Mike McCarthy addressed the situation.
“I’m not going to get into the Patriots claiming Marty, I’ll just reiterate what I said yesterday: I just know what the facts are and how the timeline came about,” McCarthy said. “I talked to him Tuesday [following the bye week] after practice and he [had] a shoulder concern injury. I advised him to get the second opinions. He did that and he went to a number of them. The last medical conversation I was involved with in regards to Marty, they were talking about scheduling surgery. After that, then you have the termination and then the claim. I really don’t have any comments on that. I’ve answered the question for the last time, respectfully.”
Said tight end Richard Rodgers: “I think we know where we’re trying to go. If someone is not on that boat, it’s better that they’re not here. We’re looking to move on. We know our ultimate goal. We have to continue to execute on offense.”
Bennett is questionable for Sunday night’s game in Denver with a shoulder injury. He was limited in practice Friday, per the Patriots’ participation report.
Former Barcelona metronome Xavi has decided to call it quits following the 2017-18 campaign in Qatar.
The 37-year-old, who’s currently the captain of Al-Sadd, told Catalan newspaper Sport he would remain in the game as a manager.
“I’ve had luck not to be injured and I think my career has come toward its end. There’s been a descent,” he said, as translated by Reuters. “Qatar allowed me this. Now I see myself being more tired. It’s harder to recover. It will surely be my last year of being a footballer.
“I have the idea of getting my coaching licence next year and being a coach.”
Those words will ring loudly in the corridors of Camp Nou, where he spent the vast majority of his celebrated two-decade career. The embodiment of Pep Guardiola’s possession football, Xavi made Barcelona’s passing game possible.
He won eight La Liga titles with the Blaugrana, three Copas del Rey, four Champions League trophies, and a pair of UEFA Super Cups. Xavi also won the 2010 World Cup in between two European Championship triumphs with Spain.
No one has appeared more times in a Barcelona shirt than Xavi, whose 767 outings confirm his status as one of the sport’s ironmen.
He moved to Al Sadd in 2015 and became an ambassador for Qatar’s World Cup committee. The gulf nation won the right to hold the 2022 edition despite reports of modern-day slavery and various human rights abuses.
Xavi’s Al-Sadd is currently in third place in the Qatar Stars League after seven matchdays.
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – Teddy Bridgewater is determined to leave any trepidation on the sideline whenever his first in-game snap comes after more than a year away from the game.
The Vikings quarterback said he never doubted that he would one day be able to resume his career where he left off after dislocating his left knee and tearing multiple ligaments at the end of the 2016 preseason. After 14 months of intense physical rehabilitation and training for his return, the mental hurdles of being back in a game where he’s susceptible to injury aren’t an issue for the quarterback.
“I honestly think I’m over them,” Bridgewater said. “I think I’m a mentally strong guy and the guys in this locker room helped reassure that.”
Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater won’t start on Sunday, but he said he has no concerns whenever he next sees action. He’s been sidelined since injuring his left knee during the 2016 preseason. Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire
As part of his journey forward, Bridgewater has taken the time to reflect upon the struggles he faced in his recovery. He does so by pointing to times where he needed assistance to do everyday tasks like put his pants on or walk by himself. While some deeper self-actualization will eventually come once he’s progressed further, the quarterback hasn’t let seeing the spot on the field where he went down in practice take away from his focus.
“Once I get out there, in between those lines, I have no regrets, no doubt, I’m just out there living my dream, continuing to live my dream,” he said. “I pay no attention to the spot. I pay no attention to the play-action I did that day. Just give it my all. If it’s part of God’s plan, I’m all for it.”
“Case is starting this week,” he said. “The guys are going to be behind him. I’m going to be behind him, going to continue to be those second pair of eyes for him on the sideline and continue to motivate him and cheer guys on.”
But if Bridgewater does have to step in for Keenum at FedEx Field, the quarterback is confident in his ability to perform and evade a pass rush.
“I have a ton of confidence,” he said. “Throughout this entire process we did drills and simulated different movements that would prepare me for game-like situations. It’s not the actual game but had some great work throughout this entire process.”
When Bridgewater wasn’t practicing, utilizing virtual reality helped him keep up with what Keenum, Sam Bradford and Kyle Sloter were doing in practice.
“Stealing reps” he called it, another way the quarterback was able to grasp the concepts of Pat Shurmur’s offense without having played a game in it.
Bridgewater was a constant presence in the locker room and position meetings even when he was on injured reserve and the PUP list . Electing to do his rehabilitation in Minnesota was an easy choice because it allowed him to be around his teammates and maintain his leadership role in the locker room when he wasn’t able to on the practice field and in games.
“It’s always hard when the guys are going to work and you have to go in the opposite direction,” he said. “It’s like when all the kids are going to P.E. and you have to go to detention or something like that.
“It’s hard being a competitor and knowing how much these guys mean to me that I couldn’t be out there with those guys. I kind of didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t be out there but I couldn’t do anything about it but put my head down and continue to work so eventually that day would come that I was out there with those guys.”
