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Source: Dolphins to release veteran LT Albert

The Miami Dolphins are planning on releasing starting left tackle Branden Albert, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Adam Caplan.

The Dolphins also plan to release defensive tackle Earl Mitchell, a source confirmed to Caplan.

NFL Network first reported the news of the Dolphins’ plans.

Albert wasn’t offered a pay cut or restructured contract before his release, a source told ESPN’s James Walker.

Albert had two years left on his contract, but neither season carried any guaranteed money. He was scheduled to be paid $8.9 million and would have counted $10.6 million against the cap in 2017. By releasing him, the Dolphins save $7.2 million on their cap. The release of Albert leaves $3.4 million in dead money on their cap.

The Dolphins plan to release left tackle Branden Albert, who had two seasons left on his contract. Winslow Townson/AP Images for Panini

Mitchell was to make $3.975 million in 2017 (not guaranteed). Scheduled to count $4.5 million against the Dolphins’ salary cap, his release saves the Dolphins $4 million on their cap, with $500,000 in dead money left over.

The Dolphins might move 2016 first-round pick Laremy Tunsil to left tackle to replace Albert if the veteran doesn’t re-sign with Miami on a more team-friendly contract. Tunsil, a left tackle in college at Ole Miss, played left guard in his rookie season.

Albert, 32, is a two-time Pro Bowl selection, including in 2015 with the Dolphins. The Kansas City Chiefs drafted him No. 15 overall in the 2008 draft.

He didn’t play a full season in any of his three seasons with the Dolphins because of injuries, including a dislocated wrist last season that he had surgically repaired in November. He started all 35 games he played for the Dolphins, including 12 last season.

Mitchell, 29, played the past three seasons for the Dolphins after the Houston Texans selected him in the third round of the 2010 draft. Last season he was limited to nine games (five starts) because of a calf injury.

He has 206 tackles and 5.5 sacks in his career.

Soccer

Benzema becomes 5th-highest scorer in Champions League history

Karim Benzema moved into fifth place on the Champions League’s all-time scoring list by netting his 51st goal to bring Real Madrid level with Napoli on Wednesday.

The goal moves him past Arsenal legend Thierry Henry on the all-time scorer’s list, as Benzema also took sole possession of first place for goals scored by a Frenchman in the competition.

Just over 10 minutes after Napoli grabbed the lead courtesy of Lorenzo Insigne’s stunning long-range strike, Benzema brought the hosts level when he got on the end of Dani Carvajal’s cross into the box before delivering a powerful header.

Benzema had a chance to give Real the lead before halftime, but his effort smacked off the post.

NFL

Rams-Niners rivalry gets new twist with Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Sean McVay’s message to Kyle Shanahan when he accepted his first head-coaching job: “I can’t tell you how happy I am for you, but I can’t believe I’ve got to see you twice a year now.”

The long-standing rivalry between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, often-times intense during the Rams’ original stint in Southern California, now has a compelling new twist: McVay, whose grandfather was part of five Super Bowl titles as a 49ers executive, is the Rams’ new head coach. Shanahan, initially deemed a favorite for the Rams’ vacant post, is the 49ers’ new head coach.

Rams coach Sean McVay said that new 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan had a strong influence on his offensive beliefs. Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

And, of course, they have history.

Shanahan was the Redskins’ offensive coordinator from 2010-13, while his father, Mike Shanahan, served as head coach. McVay coached tight ends during that four-year stretch, then replaced Shanahan as offensive coordinator after he departed for the Browns.

“Kyle is a guy who’s had a tremendous influence on some of the things I believe in offensively,” McVay said. “He’s a great coach, and I wish him nothing but the best for 14 games — except for those two next year.”

The 49ers won only two games under Chip Kelly in 2016, but both of those wins came against the 4-12 Rams that were led by Jeff Fisher. They embarrassed the Rams, 28-0, during the Monday Night Football opener from Levi’s Stadium, then came from behind to hand them a 22-21 loss at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the second-to-last game of the regular season.

By that point, McVay was calling plays for the Redskins and Shanahan was offensive coordinator for the Falcons, who had an MVP quarterback in Matt Ryan and put together one of the most impressive offensive seasons in NFL history. The Rams were scheduled to meet with Shanahan during the weekend of the Falcons’ playoff bye week, but inclement weather derailed their plans. They rescheduled for the following weekend, but ultimately hired McVay days earlier, making one of the biggest decisions in franchise history without even sitting down with Shanahan.

The Rams felt they had their guy and didn’t really care to wait, but only time will tell if they made the right decision.

The Rams and 49ers finished first or second 11 times from 1970-89. But that seems like a lifetime ago. They’ve been the two worst teams in the NFC West each of the past three years, and it’ll be up to McVay and Shanahan, two of the game’s sharpest offensive minds, to turn their respective fortunes around.

Shanahan, who accepted the job immediately after the Falcons’ devastating loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI, is six years older than McVay, who, at 31, is the youngest coach in the NFL’s modern era.

The Grudens, Jon and Jay, were major influences on McVay — but so were the Shanahans.

“We’re all a product of our experiences,” McVay said. “Certainly Kyle and Coach Shanahan’s offense has had a big influence on what I believe and how I think you want to attack a defense. But it’s going to be something that’s going to be an ongoing process, figuring out our players first and then how we fit that scheme to their skill sets.”

Soccer

Turkey announces bid for Euro 2024

Gonzalo Fuentes / Reuters

The European Championship could take place in a country straddling Europe and Asia.

On Wednesday, the Turkiye Futbol Federasyonu announced that Turkey is bidding to host Euro 2024. An information meeting was held at the TFF’s administrative center in Beykoz, Turkey, and the organisations’s president, Yildirim Demiroren, confirmed the bid.

“We deserve to be the host of Euro 2024,” Demiroren said. “Today we came together for a good job on behalf of Turkish football. We are together for Euro 2024 bid, which we have already applied for three times today, for the fourth time. The deadline for candidacy application is March 3, 2017 which we will apply on March 2, 2017.”

In 2014, the TFF dropped its bid to host the final and semi-finals of Euro 2020, which will take place in 13 different countries across Europe. The federation was convinced Turkey is ready to host more than just two rounds, saying, per ESPN FC: “We are at a point where we can undertake the entire tournament, not just the semi-finals and final.”

There will inevitably be questions about Turkey’s ability to host Euro 2024, as the country – once held as an example of secular democracy in a Muslim state – is the “world’s biggest prison” for journalists under Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who became the nation’s president in 2014 and tightened the grip on freedom of expression.

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Soccer