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EDITOR PICKS

  • Watch: Carvajal's header delivers killer blow for Madrid in UCL final

  • An introduction to Top Soccer News on theScore ??

  • An introduction to Top Soccer News on theScore ??

  • Real Madrid beat Dortmund to win 15th European Cup

NFL

Colts GM: Timeline for Luck (shoulder) unclear

INDIANPAOLIS — New Colts general manager Chris Ballard said there’s no timeline on when quarterback Andrew Luck will return form his offseason right shoulder surgery.

Ballard, speaking Wednesday during the NFL’s annual combine, said he has met with Luck but declined to go into details about their conversation. What Ballard did say, though, is that his franchise quarterback has been working diligently rehabbing at the team’s facility on a regular basis.

Colts GM Chris Ballard says quarterback Andrew Luck is “doing everything the doctors are telling him” but a time frame for his return from right shoulder surgery is still unclear. AP Photo/AJ Mast

“Doing everything the doctors are telling him,” Ballard said. “[We’re] going strictly on the doctor’s orders. He’s been there every day that I’ve been in the building. Andrew has been sitting there and working, rehabbing, doing everything that needs to be done. … When he’s ready to go, he’s ready to go.”

Luck is expected to miss all of the team’s offseason workouts, but owner Jim Irsay tweeted following the surgery in January that the quarterback will be ready for the 2017 season.

Luck originally injured his shoulder and missed two games during the 2015 season and then aggravated it while trying to make a tackle after throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown against the Denver Broncos in Week 2 of last season.

Luck, who was seen reading to children with a sling on his shoulder as recently as last week, was listed on the team’s injury report every week this season and was usually limited in practice on Thursdays. The only game he missed was in Week 12 after suffering a concussion the previous week. Luck, despite the shoulder injury, threw for 4,240 yards with 31 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last season.

NFL

Falcons GM: Extension for Matt Ryan not first priority

INDIANAPOLIS — Atlanta Falcons general manger Thomas Dimitroff said signing quarterback Matt Ryan to an extension now with two years left on his contract is not out of the question, but the primary focus is re-signing players set to become unrestricted free agents next week.

Ryan, who signed a five-year, $103.75 million extension in July of 2013 that included $59 million guaranteed, is signed through 2018 and still owed $35 million. His cap number for next season is $23,750,000 and is $21,650,000 for 2018. If the Falcons wanted to, they could give Ryan an extension this offseason and lower his cap number by giving him a larger signing bonus while reducing his base salaries.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank told ESPN.com during Super Bowl that Ryan “needs to be compensated well” following an MVP season. Blank just didn’t specify when the big payday would occur.

Matt Ryan is signed a five-year extension worth $103.75 million in July of 2013. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

“I’m saying that eventually, we will address Matt Ryan and his contract,” Dimitroff said Wednesday. “Right now, our focus is going to be on this year’s class, understanding that Matt is a very important part of our future, as every knows — an extremely important part of our future.”

The Falcons typically award extensions the year before a contract is set to expire.

“We’ve been very consistent with that,” Dimitroff said. “We’re never completely cast in stone. So, I think that leaves the opening that you never know. Sometimes things can get done. But we have been very consistent with that. And if you look at any of our signings since I’ve been here — and I’m a stickler for consistency — that sends a very good message where people can’t say, ‘Well, you did it with him, and you did it with him.’ “

Dimitroff said he has not talked to Ryan’s agent, Tom Condon, regarding an extension. Condon also represents Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is expected to land a new lucrative deal before he becomes an unrestricted free agent following the 2017 season. The deals expected to be signed by both Stafford and Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr are likely to set the mark for where Ryan should be compensated. Andrew Luck of Indianapolis received $87 million guaranteed in a five-year extension signed last June.

Regarding the Falcons set to become unrestricted free agents, Dimitroff said the team is in contract negotiations to keep safety Kemal Ishmael, tight end Levine Toilolo, fullback Patrick DiMarco, and defensive lineman Courtney Upshaw. Dimitroff said he expects veteran defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux, who has spent all 12 of his NFL seasons with the Falcons, to reach free agency, implying the Falcons have no intent to re-sign him. The same is expected for veteran tight end Jacob Tamme, who is coming off of shoulder surgery.

Dimitroff said the team plans to tender restricted free agents Taylor Gabriel and Ben Garland, although the level of those tenders were not yet revealed. A second-round tender could be placed on Gabriel, a speedy wide receiver who would be a coveted if given a low-level tender.

Dimitroff also said he had a couple of good conversations with Kristin Campbell, the agent for two-time Pro Bowl running back Devonta Freeman, after word surfaced during the Super Bowl about Campbell seeking “elite” pay for Freeman. Freeman has one year left on his contract and is due to make $1.838 million in 2017, based on an escalator in his contract.

Soccer

Barcelona chief: We'll 'work with discretion' in manager hunt

Josep Maria Bartomeu says Barcelona’s pursuit for a new manager will be dealt with carefully after Luis Enrique announced he’ll step down at the end of the season following Wednesday’s 6-1 trouncing of Sporting Gijon.

Rumours were rife that Enrique, who admitted he needs a “little time to rest,” would step down in the summer, but the timing of his declaration came as a shock to many of the Blaugrana faithful.

Barcelona’s president, however, intends to take a measured approach in finding Enrique’s successor.

Related: 4 candidates to succeed Luis Enrique at Barcelona

“We will work with discretion, but we will work on it,” Bartomeu promised to Barca TV, with translation from ESPN FC’s Samuel Marsden.

“There are important games coming up and we will try to work quietly.”

Those upcoming commitments include the herculean task of trying to overturn a 4-0 scoreline in the Champions League last-16 second leg against Paris Saint-Germain next Wednesday, with domestic matches against Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruna either side of it.

“We have to accept the manager’s decision and support him,” Bartomeu continued.

“In the summer he communicated to (sporting director) Albert Soler and (technical director) Robert Fernandez that this could be his last year, and the other day he told us that he wouldn’t continue and decided this was the ideal moment to reveal his decision.

“Now we have to focus on the next three months, but Luis Enrique will leave in the summer and we’ve had a super manager for these last three seasons.”

Barcelona now aims to give Enrique, who’s collected seven major titles since taking over in 2014, a glittering send-off. After Real Madrid dropped points in a thrilling 3-3 home draw with Las Palmas later on Wednesday, Barcelona holds top spot in La Liga, albeit having played a game more than its Clasico rival.

Bartomeu was clearly encouraged by the 6-1 hammering of Gijon, though.

“It’s a sad situation because he’s a good coach who has given us success,” he added. “The players are (still) motivated, as we’ve seen. There are three competitions and tomorrow there’s training. We have to keep working until the end of June.”

NFL

Bengals will listen to offers on QB McCarron

INDIANAPOLIS – Cincinnati Bengals player personnel director Duke Tobin didn’t shut down the possibility of trading backup quarterback AJ McCarron in the offseason.

Tobin said they’re not actively seeking to move McCarron, but he welcomed any team to call him if they had a reasonable offer.

“The phones in our office work,” Tobin said. “They always work. I’ve got an interest in listening to any of you that want to talk.”

He added later: “We’re not actively looking to diminish our football team by trading AJ McCarron and that diminishes our football team. It has to be something we feel is valuable enough to warrant doing that. What it is, I don’t know. Who it is to, I don’t know. It’s not ideal to trade guys within your division, particularly at that position. But we listen.”

Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron is still a part of the team’s future, but player personnel director Duke Tobin said the team would listen to offers. Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Tobin implied it would take a strong offer for the Bengals to trade McCarron, who started three regular season games in 2015 and the AFC wildcard loss to the Steelers that season while filling in for an injured Andy Dalton.

“The larger point on AJ McCarron for us is he’s a very valuable piece of what we do,” Tobin said. “It’s not a point where we’re saying, ‘What do we do with this guy? We don’t have a plan for him.’ There is a plan in place for us. He plays a very valuable position and you’re always one play away from going to your backup quarterback. We view our team as a team that can challenge.”

The Bengals had received inquiries about McCarron in the past, but none warranted serious consideration, Tobin said.

“We talk to teams all the time. I talk to my colleagues around the league about their teams and they talk to us about their teams,” he said. “Those are conversations that are part of our regular working environment, not just in regards to AJ. But I would be lying to you if I told you there was never any interest from other teams. We don’t advertise that. Obviously there wasn’t enough interest at a high enough level that we thought it was worth pursuing.”

The Bengals carried three quarterbacks on the active roster in 2016 after claiming Jeff Driskel off waivers, presumably to have a backup plan in case McCarron did get traded. McCarron, drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 draft, technically has one year left on his rookie deal, although the Bengals could have his rights for up to two more seasons because he did not spend enough time on the active roster as a rookie to accrue a year toward free agency.

“I think that’s still to be determined,” Tobin said. “Ultimately those types of things are always determined by arbitrators at some point. We do know that we have him for one more year and that’s valuable, and it’s a second year, hopefully we can come to some sort of agreement to have him here longer … again, we’re in the AJ McCarron business. He’s a good player for us. He’s proven valuable, he elevates our offense, even when he’s not on the field by the way that he works…

“There is some debate as to whether he earned a season the first year and that is the crux of the debate. We want to be respectful of his position and ultimately like I said it will be decided by somebody other than AJ and somebody other than the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Soccer

  • Watch: Carvajal's header delivers killer blow for Madrid in UCL final

  • An introduction to Top Soccer News on theScore ??

  • An introduction to Top Soccer News on theScore ??

  • Real Madrid beat Dortmund to win 15th European Cup

  • Police arrest dozens of ticket-less fans at Wembley final

  • Dortmund boss Terzic lauds 'brilliant' Sancho after UCL defeat

  • Modric, Kroos among Madrid stars to make history with latest UCL triumph

  • Madrid's inevitability is a superpower no rival can match

  • Transfer window preview: 50 players who could move this summer

  • Vinicius Jr. named Champions League Player of the Season

“If you think about it, I've never held a job in my life. I went from being an NFL player to a coach to a broadcaster. I haven't worked a day in my life.”
-John Madden


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