Sports

DETROIT — The adopted son of this city changed out of his work uniform, turned the corner, walked up three steps, hung a left down the hall and stepped into a room that was all too new to him.

“I ain’t never did this before,” said Jameson Williams Sunday evening, grinning from ear to ear inside Ford Field’s postgame media room, as a group of reporters gathered to ask about a night years in the making.

Upon arrival for his first-ever postgame lectern appearance, Williams’ eyes darted from left to right. He sized up the room and quickly became familiar with his surroundings. He soon looked right at home, smile on his face, discussing his place in the sport that means more to him than most know, after putting a bow on the game of his life.

This sort of spotlight is typically reserved for impact players, the guys relied upon week in and week out by this Detroit Lions franchise. For much of his young career, Williams hasn’t been one of them. Some of this out of his control, some of it squarely in it. But those who know him best believe he’s finally ready to become one.

Little by little, things are starting to slow down for one of the NFL’s fastest wide receivers, as he settles into a community that wants nothing more than for him to make it.

Plenty to love about this connection@JaredGoff16 🎯 @bigsgjamo pic.twitter.com/UroiIF6WKX

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 12, 2024

The community that raised Williams, in many ways, reminds those from it of Detroit. It’s tight-knit. Everybody knows everybody. They look after their own — especially those who have their sights set on more.

This, of course, is St. Louis, Missouri. Williams is from the Show-Me State. It’s all he’s ever wanted to do — show people what he believes he was destined to do. Along the way, he’s had to avoid the pitfalls that come with growing up in an area whose temptations get the best of many. But Williams, thanks to a childlike exuberance that’s never left, has been able to rise above it all.

“He’s somebody that always lifted the people around him,” James Williams, Jameson’s father, told The Athletic. “No matter what circle he was in, he was always somebody that just lifted the circle and gave ’em joy and brought positive energy.”

The environment Williams comes from helped prepare him for the life he’d eventually go on to live. His family is close. They’re also disciplined, using sports as an avenue to teach life lessons. When he was younger, Williams and his family would wake up for 6 a.m. workouts. And yes, all of them have track speed.

James and Tianna Williams, Jameson’s parents, ran track at St. Louis’ Sumner High School, and in college, too. They were high school sweethearts, and together, raised four children who’d follow in their footsteps. James Jr., the oldest, ran track at Northwest Missouri State. Williams’ sister Ja’Inna ran track at Wayland Baptist University. His younger brother, Jaden, ran track at Western Texas and played football at Detroit’s Wayne State University.

And then there’s Jameson, the kid whose top gear was in a class of its own. Well, depending who you ask.

“Let’s set the record straight: I beat him in the last race we raced. He was about 12,” James Williams said, laughing. “…But he is the fastest out of the four kids. His leg strength, his body length with his fast-twitch mixed together, I mean, it’s a powerful potion as you can see on the field.”

Those who grew up with Williams can verify. He was always one of the fastest — if not, the fastest — kids in the St. Louis area. In a family full of track stars, his speed was different. It was easy. The type you can’t teach and the type that came so effortlessly.

This became clear to Isaiah Williams — a childhood friend of Jameson’s in St. Louis, and now his teammate in Detroit — the first day they raced as kids.

“He was never really into track early on when we was younger,” Isaiah Williams said. “At the time, I’m like the fastest in the area. His first meet, he comes out there, we race against each other. He beat me. Then after that, he kind of just took off.”

Took off indeed. That speed, as one would imagine, easily translated to the football field. Truthfully, that’s where Williams was most comfortable.  He put on pads for the first time at age 6. James Williams still remembers the first day his son played a game. When the game concluded and it was time to home, Jameson asked his father to grade his performance in the car.

“Daddy, how did I do?” Jameson asked his father. He gave his son a C.

Jameson Williams (3), alongside Lions teammate Isaiah Williams (1), aspired to be in the NFL at a young age. (Photo courtesy of Tianna Williams)

The fact that James’ harsh grade never fazed young Jameson told his father everything he needed to know — he was having fun. Football was a way to showcase his personality. Williams attributes this mentality to his youth football coach, Corey Patterson, now Purdue’s wide receivers coach. Williams and his teammates were encouraged to be themselves, to maximize their talents on the field. He never lost sight of it, never lost the spark.

“The way he taught us how to play the game is just to have fun,” Williams said. “We was out there, he’ll tell us to celebrate. When Terrell Owens did the popcorn celebration, he had us do that in little league. So, like, he just used to instill that into us to just have fun in the game. I fell in love with the game at early age, so I just wanted to go to the NFL. That was my main goal since I was like six years old. I wanted to play in the NFL.”

Waymo score, Waymo celly (a lot) pic.twitter.com/B2oB79GSCg

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 10, 2024

A lot of kids will say their goal is to play in the NFL, but in high school, it became less of a pipe dream and a real possibility. But first, there was a process to this. Williams had to pick a school that would best prepare him for the next level

A four-star prospect ranked among the top 125 players in his class, his recruitment came down to Ohio State and Alabama. It’s a dream situation for any high school receiver, but one that ultimately led to back-and-forth conversations between Williams and his father. Williams says he liked Ohio State because he envisioned greatness playing alongside fellow top recruit and close friend Garrett Wilson. James Williams, meanwhile, saw Alabama as the better fit. He believes his son is at his best when he’s most comfortable, and felt Alabama’s coaching staff — led by Nick Saban — would create that environment. Same time, he knew his son needed to reach a decision on his own.

Williams chose Ohio State. Looking back, there’s some regret.

“I really think I rushed myself to commit,” Williams said. “I feel like, honestly, I didn’t make the right decision going to Ohio State because it didn’t play out well for me. But you know, things happen and I made it out of there and I ended up where my dad wanted me to be and where I really wanted to be.”

At Ohio State, Williams never quite felt like home. Change occurred. The head coach Williams committed to, Urban Meyer, resigned three months after Williams committed and shut down his recruitment. New coach Ryan Day took over. Williams was staring at a receiver room that consisted of future NFL receivers Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and a young Marvin Harrison Jr., among others. The opportunity and fit weren’t right for Williams. By the end of his sophomore year on campus, he had just 266 receiving yards in 19 games to his name.

So Williams hit the transfer portal — in search of comfort. It led him back to Saban.

“I saw his recruitment as a piece of necessity where he has to be comfortable in order for him to perform at his best,” James Williams said of his son. ” I’ll say this: I love the way Nick Saban is as a human being. And meeting him and being able to talk to him personally, he’s just, I mean, he never changes. It’s not like he’s putting on an act. And I always felt that way about him.”

Alabama’s recruitment of Williams was unlike any other program. Saban facetimed him, something James Williams says he didn’t often do unless you were a top target. There were house trips, more meaningful conversations, a plan for how to use him. It made for an easy transition because Williams immediately felt at home. He’d be going up against complex defenses and DBs that were league-bound. He put his trust in Saban, in perhaps his final chance at reaching his NFL goal. Saban didn’t let him down.

In his final year of college football, Williams saved his best for last. He recorded 79 receptions for 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns during the 2021 season. He was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award. He helped his quarterback, Bryce Young, win the Heisman Trophy. And he helped Saban and Alabama return to the National Championship.

For anyone questioning Williams’ love of the game, look no further than that National Championship. Georgia vs. Alabama. Two heavyweights, littered with pro talent. In the second quarter, tied at 3 apiece, Williams found himself wide open against a stacked Georgia defense. He hauled in the pass, made a move upfield, planted his leg awkwardly and quickly fell. There on the ground, he lingered,  grabbing his knee.

Deep down, Williams knew what happened. He’d torn his ACL in the final game of his career, in the middle of a championship game. He just didn’t want to believe it, didn’t want to accept it.

He pleaded to continue playing — wanting so badly to be there for his teammates and the coach who took him in. But Alabama doctors didn’t let him. After all, he had a future to worry about.

“I was finna come back out, I promise you,” Williams says of that day. “I knew it was everything. I was in the locker room. I was running around and everything. I ran. I was running on it. I was about to come back out, but the head doctor, he actually came in there and stopped everything. …We was in (Lucas Oil) stadium. They got a little hallway. I was running back and forth. I was like, ‘I’m ready. I’m gonna go back out, man.’ But then the head doctor overruled everything. …He told me it was best to sit down.”

A few months later, despite not being able to partake in the pre-draft process, Williams’ dreams became reality. The Detroit Lions traded up from pick No. 32 to 12 to acquire him — torn ACL and all.

“He’s got great speed, but man, I’ll tell you what, this guy’s got a lot of competitive character,” Saban said of Williams ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft. “He’s got a lot of dawg in him. …I really love Jameson. He added so much to our program, and when you’ve got wide receivers on your team that have great competitive character, that’s really helpful to the development of the whole group. I think he did a wonderful job in that regard, as well.”

The love remains mutual. To this day.

“That’s my guy, man,” Williams said earlier this year, when news of Saban’s retirement spread. “I just appreciate everything he’s done for me. He did a lot for me. I feel like without him, I wouldn’t be in this position today — this same exact position I am today. I just thank him for everything.”

Jameson Williams found a home with his teammates in Detroit, even as his first two seasons came with major disruptions. (Junfu Han / USA Today)

The Lions are a franchise that places a considerable emphasis on character, work ethic, love of the game. Perhaps more than most.

When general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell arrived in Detroit, they mutually agreed to create an environment driven not by guys who simply play football, but by “football players,” as they so often say. Williams is very much the latter.

This is a guy who played gunner at Alabama and took pride in doing so. He loves to block. He’s quick to hype up his teammates and defend them. As a rookie recovering from the knee injury, you could often find him on the sideline in street clothes during games, chirping back at opponents who got in the face of fellow Lions.

Don’t let that smile on his face fool you. This game, and the opportunities it’s presented him, means the world to him. He takes nothing for granted.

“He truly has a love for the game of football,” Tianna Williams told The Athletic. “When the fans pour into him and he’s able to bring excitement to them and the game, it makes him happy and wants to continue to take his game to another level.”

“You know, football was a way out for me,” Williams said. “Being from St. Louis, it’s a lot of bad things going on. Killing, robbing, stealing. A lot of people don’t make it out. It’s a lot of people who don’t even get a chance to make it out. It’s just motivation for me.”

When Williams is away from football, those close to him say he’s not himself. The kid who’s always laughing disappears. He gets in his head. He can go silent. It’s something he’s had to deal with more in the last two years than at any other point in his life.

The road back from his torn ACL was the longest Williams had gone without football. The following year, a gambling suspension — in which he bet on non-NFL games from an NFL-designated facility — kept him away again. Two interrupted years.

Williams, admittedly, went to a dark place.

“If you take away the one thing that he absolutely enjoys and the one thing he’ll retreat to for mental health — you know,” James Williams said, taking his time, searching for the words. “When you take that away, it was a little quiet.”

Suspended for a month, away from the game he loves, Williams relied on his community. His younger brother Jaden — aka “Slim” — was there by his side. His parents were there for him. So were friends he considers family. And his Lions teammates. Williams is the little brother of this locker room. His personality is infectious, and so is his desire to be great. He’s one of them.

“That’s my guy,” Lions linebacker and captain Alex Anzalone said of Williams — his locker mate in Detroit. “..I love his energy. He’s one of those guys that has that dawg in him. To me, he just has the right football mentality that I kind of correlate with. It geeks me up a little bit. Not everyone’s like that.”

Williams had a village. And so, with support from the people who matter most, he put his head down and worked.

There was a set schedule of workouts during his time away. He’d complete two-a-day sessions — one in the morning and one in the afternoon. He has a JUGS machine at home, catching 100 balls a day. Extra work was put in on his own. All to make up for lost time and stay ready when called upon.

Finally, two games earlier than the NFL initially stated, Williams received a call from Holmes.

“What’s the best news that you could receive?” Holmes asked Williams.

“Besides me playing?” Williams said in response.

“Dude, that’s it,” Holmes told him. “You’re back.”

Everyone who’s been around Jameson Williams over the last 11 months or so will tell you the same thing: he’s ready.

Folks in Allen Park saw signs of it last year. When Williams returned from his suspension in October 2023, they felt he was more locked in than ever before. If there was growing up to do prior to his four-game absence, that growth occurred during his time away. James Williams said his son did some soul-searching. People around the team say he was more professional, more confident, more comfortable. He so badly wanted to be one of the guys, and everyone around him saw the steps he was taking to become one. It’s carried over this offseason.

“If you said, ‘Give me one player who is the most improved from that start to finish over that time?’ Jamo is that guy right now,” Campbell said of Williams this offseason. “He is a man on a mission, and I’m just going to leave it at that.”

“Those two years, he showed tremendous growth, showed tremendous growth as a person and as a player,” Holmes said. “So I see it as actually it’s been a good thing because now he’s out there and you can clearly see the maturation in his game. It’s been a joy to see this year.”

“You can clearly see the maturation in his game.”

Brad Holmes and Ray Agnew on Jameson Williams pic.twitter.com/UcfFUhPCr2

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) August 29, 2024

It all led to the 2024 opener. An offseason full of hype and expectations, Williams took the field with the starting offense, as the Lions faced the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football.

His player intro?

Jameson Williams. Bama.

What we saw that night was a glimpse of the player Williams was drafted to be. He finished with five receptions for a career-high 121 yards — highlighted by a 52-yard touchdown — in a 26-20 Lions win over the Rams. It was the fourth-most yards of any player in Week 1. His average separation score of 0.500 ranked third among receivers and his WR win rate of 42.9 percent ranked fourth, per Fantasy Points Data (min. 15 routes). He was the focal point of one of the league’s best offenses, and often carried it on a night it largely otherwise struggled to produce.

After the game, the NBC crew gave the game ball to quarterback Jared Goff, after once again beating his former team.

But Goff handed the ball to Williams.

“That’s him right there,” Goff said, looking at Williams, as Williams nodded back at him. “He played big today. It was huge.”

When Williams entered the room for his postgame press conference, he did so with that game ball in hand. He looked down at it. Tossed it around. Admired it. Tucked it high and tight.

He held the ball like his life depended on it. Because in many ways, it does.

“I never got a game ball,” Williams said. “Not at ‘Bama, not at nowhere. I ain’t even gonna lie, this right here, this might not leave my hands. I might sleep like this.”

It’s unclear if he did that night. But what is clear, now more than ever, is that Williams is one of the guys.

He’s become an indispensable piece on a roster that believes it can win the Super Bowl. He has opportunities to be a factor. He embraces this community, and in turn, it embraces him right back. There’s a deep level of comfort here — the kind that tends to bring out the best in Williams. Back in January, when asked about Detroit and the city he now resides in, he told reporters he plans to be here a long time.

If he continues on his current trajectory, he will be.

(Top photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

The Mountain West has established itself as college basketball’s preeminent mid-major conference in the last few years. San Diego State made the national title game in 2023. The league put six teams in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. While conference realignment wreaked havoc around it, the Mountain West’s stability put it on a tier by itself, surpassing the American and the Atlantic 10 as the best mid-major league in college basketball. It was also the best late-night hoops to consume, even topping the Pac-12 in watchability.

And now, it’s just like all the others, thrown into chaos by football and greed.

The only good news from a basketball perspective is that at least the new Six Pac makes sense (for now) when it comes to geography, with San Diego State, Colorado State, Boise State and Fresno State joining Oregon State and Washington State as the two Pac-12 holdovers make moves to resurrect their brand.

To steal a term from hoops, this league is mid-major-ish in football, but its four new arrivals from the Mountain West could justify this move on the basketball court and offer the new Pac-12 an opportunity to brand itself as more than a College Football Playoff striver.

San Diego State, Colorado State and Boise State were all top-tier Mountain West basketball programs, and their ability to consistently make the NCAA Tournament could improve if the Pac-12 chooses to make additional moves with hoops in mind. Luring Gonzaga from the West Coast Conference in particular would cement the league as a top-six basketball conference. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has flirted with Gonzaga over the past two years and hasn’t yet been able to convince enough of his members that it’s beneficial to add a basketball-only member. But the Pac-12 needs numbers and brand recognition.

GO DEEPER

As conference realignment rolls on, is ACC vulnerable or just fine (for now)?

The Pac-12 must get to at least eight football-playing schools by 2026 to be recognized as an NCAA and Football Bowl Subdivision conference and to be eligible for its champion to earn one of the five automatic bids into the 12-team College Football Playoff. To build an eight-game conference schedule that matches its FBS counterparts, it would need to get to at least nine members. In basketball, 10 teams is the ideal number for round-robin scheduling, especially if you can avoid a bad bottom tier — that’s why the Big 12 performed so well in computer-based metrics for so many years. Ridding themselves of the teams from the Mountain West’s basement could help the future resumes of the Aztecs, Rams and Broncos. Two games against Gonzaga every year also certainly wouldn’t hurt.

The Pac-12 should be as picky as possible in which G5 schools it goes after. (Our Chris Vannini broke down the potential options.) Let’s say the league’s best-case scenario is adding two G5 schools with recent football success — for example, prying Memphis and Tulane from the American. From there, it would make sense to chase one other basketball-only member and further lean into its basketball branding. It could be easier to attract those schools than it will be to find a host of football schools who will jump. Among those possible options:

• Saint Mary’s: The Gaels, Gonzaga’s primary WCC rival, have made 10 of the last 19 NCAA Tournaments.
• Grand Canyon: The Antelopes are set to join the WCC in 2025, have strong financial backing in hoops, play in one of the best environments in the country and have made three of the last four NCAA Tournaments under Bryce Drew. And if Gonzaga leaves, the WCC is not as enticing of a landing spot for Grand Canyon. Adding the Antelopes would also return a foothold in the Phoenix market to the Pac-12 after the loss of Arizona and Arizona State.
• Wichita State: The departure of Memphis would be another hit to an AAC basketball brand already on the decline after losing Houston and Cincinnati. Wichita State would likely jump at the chance to be in the same league as Gonzaga; the Shockers fancied themselves as the Gonzaga of the Midwest not long ago.

A Pac-12 with Gonzaga plus some combination of those other adds would earn multiple NCAA Tournament bids every year. The current Mountain West has been the seventh-best league in college basketball the last two years, putting four teams in the field in 2023 before last year’s surge to six.

GO DEEPER

Which schools could the new Pac-12 target? UNLV, Wyoming, Tulane, Memphis among many

As for what remains of the Mountain West, the conference needs to retain eight members to keep its FBS status intact, and it’s possible some of the remaining schools will still bolt. (UNLV seems like an ideal target for the Pac-12, although separating itself from university system partner Nevada could be tricky.) Adding New Mexico State would make sense for the Mountain West because the Aggies are already rivals of New Mexico and in the region. Of course, logic and convenience have rarely mattered in the realignment circus, and even the most practical solutions to rebuild college basketball’s product around historical rivalries and geography feel like fantasy for hoops fans.

The sport does still have at least a little pull when it comes to television negotiations. The Big 12 and Big East have done well for themselves by building stronger basketball leagues — Yormark has publicly touted the potential of selling his league’s football and basketball rights as separate television deals when the Big 12’s current rights agreement runs out at the end of the decade. The Big East signed a new deal this summer with Fox, NBC and TNT that will run from 2025-26 through 2030-31.

And while the ACC and Big 12 reside on a financial tier below the Big Ten and SEC in football, they still enjoy somewhat equal standing in hoops. The Big East is right there, too. This new Pac-12 won’t be able to run with the four big leagues in football, but add a top-10 basketball program in Gonzaga and you might earn that coveted high-major tag or at least get closer than the old Mountain West did.

Gonzaga has done just fine for itself dominating the WCC, but it likes money, too. The temptation to add a few extra million every year in NCAA Tournament units has made Gonzaga’s eventual exit from the WCC feel inevitable. After raiding one of the country’s most interesting basketball conferences and setting off another round of realignment dominoes, the Pac-12 has a chance to boost its own reputation on the hardwood along the way. Meanwhile in the Mountain West, it is now a question of survival.

(Photo: James Snook / USA Today)

More than 12 million tickets were sold for the Olympics and Paralympics and Paris organizers hailed it as “unprecedented success” on Friday.

The 12,132,647 tickets across both Games represented 95 per cent of crowd capacity at the venues, said Tony Estanguet, the head of the Paris organizing committee.

“We knew how complicated it could be to organize such a big event, and we can now say that we are very happy it all went well,” Estanguet said at a news conference in Saint-Denis.

Estanguet noted the Paris Games set a new benchmark for attendance and engagement. The last evening of Paralympics athletics on Sept. 7 sold 67,500 tickets at the Stade de France, the highest turnout for any session this summer.

5:55
Wyatt Sanford stops by Global News Morning with Olympic bronze medal

“There was a bit of daring in challenging ourselves to do things that had never been done before,” Estanguet said, referencing the Olympics and Paralympics opening ceremonies held outside stadiums, and competitions staged near prestigious landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Palace of Versailles.

Estanguet said this innovative approach captured the interest of 2028 Los Angeles Games organizers, who shadowed the Paris team throughout the summer.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

He also announced that the Paris and Los Angeles organizers will have multiple meetings in the coming months to share insights between the Games.

“The main message would be to be audacious and to build on the specificities and the strength of their territory,” Estanguet advised. “It’s up to them to define what is the main strength of LA 28 and to really be audacious.”

Paris’ feel-good summer of sport culminates on Saturday in a grand parade on the Champs Elysées featuring hundreds of French athletes.

&copy 2024 The Canadian Press

Minutes after Tua Tagovailoa suffered his latest concussion Thursday, former NFL players took to social media — and later to national broadcasts — to call for the Miami Dolphins quarterback to step away from football.

Thursday’s concussion comes less than two years after Tagovailoa suffered numerous head injuries in the 2022 season, which forced him to miss extensive time. After that season, he told reporters he considered retiring.

Following Thursday’s concussion recurrence, a wave of former and current NFL players suggested now is the time for Tagovailoa to walk away from the game.

Before time expired in the Dolphins’ 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharp and former Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant both said Tagovailoa needs to retire.

That’s it….

NFL go ahead and do the right thing

Tua has had entirely way too many concussions

He need to retire for his longevity health concerns

— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) September 13, 2024

Really hope Tua is ok, but he’s gotta seriously think about shutting it dwn. I H8 saying this. His concussions are getting worse and worse and he’s a young man with his entire life ahead of him. #BillsFins #ThursdayNightFootball.

— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) September 13, 2024

Speaking to reporters after the game, Dolphins backup quarterback Skylar Thompson, who entered the game in the third quarter after Tagovailoa was injured, said he and his teammates care more about Tagovailoa as a person than a player.

“It makes me sick. … It sucks,” Thompson said.

“You care about the person more than the player and everybody in our organization would say the same thing. So just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out alright. It was tough to see though.”

Former All-Pro offensive lineman Mitchell Schwartz, who played with the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs, said in response to a follower that he personally believes Tagovailoa should call it quits.

Personally, yes. It’s easy for me to say but it’s sad to see and you have no idea what the ramifications will be later in life. But it’s clear that his body can’t handle those hits to the head/neck area, with the scary reactions he has. And at some point you got to get hit. https://t.co/NWkzQp0fNv

— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) September 13, 2024

Calls for Tagovailoa to retire didn’t just come from former players, but at least one current player as well. Free agent safety Adrian Amos, who played with the New York Jets and Houston Texans last season, said it’s time for Tagovailoa to “hang up the cleats” and be with his family.

Oh no! . Man time to just hang up the cleats and be with your fam . it ain’t worth it man . That’s tough to see . Praying for a fast recovery,

— Adrian Amos (@_SmashAmos31) September 13, 2024

On the Amazon Prime broadcast after the game, former All-Pros Tony Gonzalez and Richard Sherman both said Tagovailoa should plan for life beyond football.

“If I’m (Tua) at this point, I’m seriously considering retiring from football,” Gonzalez said after the game. “Tua’s future? I’m thinking retirement here.”

Former Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown echoed the retirement sentiment, warning that concussions are “not something to mess with.”

In all seriousness

Tua may want to rethink playing football in the future depending on severity

Concussions not something to mess with

— AB (@AB84) September 13, 2024

Required reading

(Photo: Peter Joneleit / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Sean M. Higgins, the driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew while they biked on a rural road, had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.

The brothers had gone for a bicycle ride in Carneys Point, N.J., on Aug. 29, the eve of their sister Katie’s wedding, where they were both to serve as groomsmen.

However, they never made it back to their childhood home after they were struck from behind.

Higgins, 43, of nearby Woodstown, N.J., is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle.

The information about his blood alcohol level at the time of the incident came during a hearing Friday, where Judge Michael Silvanio said he had “significant concerns” about Higgins being released from custody while his case was pending and ordered him to continue to be held in jail.

While Higgins is no longer under active suicide watch, Silviano said he still has “concerns if he’s released from jail what he may or may not do.”

Citing those concerns and “public health, safety and welfare,” Silviano denied Higgins’ bond.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Higgins reportedly broke into tears after the ruling, several outlets reported. He is scheduled for his next court appearance in October.

Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and he also had an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.

He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police. She said slowed down and veered left to avoid hitting the cyclists and Higgins opted to pass her, veering right, which is when he hit the brothers.

At Friday’s hearing, prosecutors claimed Higgins had a history of aggressive driving and road rage, and pointed to a conversation between the driver and his wife, made shortly after he was booked into jail.

“‘You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, said First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn.

Higgins’ lawyers painted a different picture, describing their client as a loving father and husband and otherwise law-abiding citizen.

“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defence lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”

Johnny Gaudreau was a fourth-round pick of the Calgary Flames in 2011 and made his NHL debut in 2014 just after playing his final college game. He was named to the league’s all-rookie team during his first full professional season.

He was perennially one of the top players in the sport and in 2021-22 set career highs with 40 goals, 75 assists and 115 points.

That summer, he signed a seven-year contract worth $68.25 million with the Columbus Blue Jackets as the top free agent on the market. He made two more All-Star Weekend appearances, giving him seven total.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

2:00
‘He was everything’: Gaudreau brothers tearfully mourned at funeral

Previous Video

Next Video

— With files from Global News’ Caley Gibson and The Associated Press

&copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Let’s be honest: It isn’t the most tantalizing, blockbuster slate of games this weekend, with only two ranked matchups. But there are some rivalries and pairings that should help to define (or expose?) a number of teams that have been tough to pin down through the first couple of games. And as we see just about every week in college football, there’s always something unexpected on the menu.

Here are the top 10 games of Week 3, starting with a few honorable mentions and counting down.

Honorable Mention: UNLV at Kansas (Fri.), No. 18 Notre Dame at Purdue, No. 1 Georgia at Kentucky, Colorado at Colorado State, UCF at TCU

(All point spreads come from BetMGM; click here for live odds. All kickoff times are Eastern and on Saturday unless otherwise noted.)

10. Washington State (2-0) at Washington (2-0), 3:30 p.m., Peacock

So …. the Pac-12 is back? Sort of? Still, this game is a too-soon reminder of those realignment scars. The Apple Cup is supposed to be played after Thanksgiving, with some Pac-12 implications on the line. Saturday won’t be that, though at least we’re still getting the rivalry. Quarterback Will Rogers and running back Jonah Coleman have looked solid under new Washington coach Jedd Fisch, but beware of a meaningful upset for Wazzu. Quarterback John Mateer has been a dual-threat dynamo (467 passing yards, 252 rushing yards, 8 total TDs) and should give the Cougars a chance on the road.

Line: Washington -4.5

9. Tulane (1-1) at No. 15 Oklahoma (2-0), 3:30 p.m., ESPN

The Green Wave almost took down Kansas State last weekend in New Orleans, derailed by a controversial offensive pass interference that wiped out a late touchdown. The Sooners labored to a 16-12 win over a Houston squad that lost 27-7 at home to UNLV in Week 1. Oklahoma was outgained on offense and needed a late safety to stave off the Coogs, with quarterback Jackson Arnold completing 19 of 32 passes for just 174 yards. The Sooners enter the weekend a top 15 team, but start a stacked SEC schedule next weekend when they host Tennessee and can’t afford a nonconference letdown. Tulane isn’t out of the race for that Group of 5 Playoff spot just yet, but probably needs to run the table.

Line: Oklahoma -13.5

8. No. 16 LSU (1-1) at South Carolina (2-0), noon, ABC

Everyone focused on the misleading Alabama–South Florida final score, but it also took LSU until midway through the fourth quarter to put away Nicholls. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier put up strong numbers (302 yards, 6 TDs), but the offense struggled to establish the run with John Emery Jr. hurt, and the defense gave up back-to-back 13-play touchdown drives and a 67-yard touchdown run. The Tigers need to find a rhythm against a similarly confounding South Carolina. The Gamecocks scraped past Old Dominion in Week 1 then dominated Kentucky on the road last Saturday, allowing under 200 yards. So … good luck predicting this one.

Line: LSU -7

7. Texas A&M (1-1) at Florida (1-1), 3:30 p.m., ABC

Billy Napier’s hot seat got some time off in a 45-7 win over Samford, a game that presented Napier’s best shot at salvaging things in Gainesville. True freshman quarterback DJ Lagway set a school record with 456 passing yards and three touchdowns, starting in place of the injured Graham Mertz. The five-star prospect and top-three recruit in the 2024 class has injected a ray of hope into a season and program that felt derailed by the opening loss to Miami. Napier said this week that both quarterbacks will play (a Florida tradition!), so watch how the snaps get distributed against A&M. Because any chance of Napier having a future in The Swamp likely depends on Lagway being the real deal, right away.

Line: Texas A&M -4.5

6. West Virginia (1-1) at Pitt (2-0), 3:30 p.m., ESPN2

Neither team is ranked. Neither is among the top contenders in their respective conference. But we love a spicy rivalry, and the Backyard Brawl certainly qualifies. The teams split this matchup the past two years, and WVU needs a road win to avoid a disappointing 1-2 start. West Virginia ran all over FCS Albany last week in a 49-14 victory, but the Mountaineers did allow 306 passing yards after struggling to contain Drew Allar and Penn State. Pitt threw for 302 yards in a wild 21-point second-half comeback victory at Cincinnati.

Line: West Virginia -2

5. No. 24 Boston College (2-0) at No. 6 Missouri (2-0), 12:45 p.m., SEC Network

An unexpected ranked showdown, at the SEC Network’s quirky kickoff time. Credit to new BC head coach Bill O’Brien, who followed the upset of Florida State with a 56-0 shutout of Duquesne and has breathed new life into the Eagles. It’s a coach-program pairing that makes all sorts of sense. But the headliner is a Mizzou squad that has climbed to No. 6 after outscoring its opponents 89-0 across two games. The Tigers’ schedule is manageable by SEC standards — no Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee or LSU — but they now have a surprise chance at a Top-25 win before entering league play. It’s also a chance to get wide receiver Luther Burden III going after seven catches for 64 yards through two blowout wins.

Line: Missouri -17

4. No. 9 Oregon (2-0) at Oregon State (2-0), 3:30 p.m., Fox

A more interesting rivalry matchup than we anticipated a couple of weeks ago. The Beavers and new head coach Trent Bray are coming off a 21-0 win over San Diego State, and Idaho transfer QB Gevani McCoy has shown promise. The Ducks, after slogging through a 10-point win over Idaho, McCoy’s former team, needed a fourth-quarter comeback and last-second field goal to beat Boise State and Ashton Jeanty at home. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel has been very efficient — he’s completed 84.3 percent of his passes through two games — but allowing 221 rushing yards to Jeanty and the Broncos may have exposed some defensive issues that could hinder the Ducks once Big Ten play ratchets up.

Line: Oregon -16.5

3. Memphis (2-0) at Florida State (0-2), noon, ESPN

This was supposed to be a tilt between one of the top Group of 5 teams and an ACC contender. Memphis has held up its end of the bargain, but FSU desperately needs a win to hold the sky in place. Unfortunately for the Tigers, a win or close loss no longer burnishes that G5 Playoff resume in any significant way. The Seminoles are coming off an idle week and still have plenty of time to turn the vibes around, but very little about the performances against Georgia Tech and BC suggest they will have their way with Memphis and QB Seth Henigan. The Tigers can either make a statement with a resounding win or bruise those Playoff hopes with a loss.

Line: Florida State -6.5

2. No. 4 Alabama (2-0) at Wisconsin (2-0), noon, Fox

Bama, a 30.5-point favorite over USF last week, did end up winning by 26. But the 42-16 final score was a deceptive margin of victory for what was a 14-13 game entering the fourth quarter. The Tide have some things to clean up, but so does Wisconsin, which hasn’t exactly inspired in wins over Western Michigan and South Dakota. The Badgers are still finding their way in year two under Luke Fickell, and how they fare on Saturday, win or lose, could reveal a lot about the vibes in Madison. Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke (60.3 percent completion, 6.4 yards per attempt, 1 passing TD) and the Wisconsin offense need to be far more explosive for what our Wisconsin writer Jesse Temple writes could be “the most significant nonconference home clash in program history.” Jesse has you covered on the 1928 matchup, too.

Line: Alabama -16.5

1. No. 20 Arizona (2-0) at No. 14 Kansas State (2-0), Friday, 8 p.m., Fox

We’ve got Wildcats against Wildcats under the Friday night lights. And even though this is the first leg of a nonconference series that was scheduled prior to realignment, it should help set the tone for Big 12 play. After hanging 61 points on New Mexico while Tetairoa McMillan hauled in 304 receiving yards, Zona then had some trouble in a 22-10 win over Northern Arizona, including just two catches for 11 yards for TMac. Regardless, the special connection between him and quarterback Noah Fifita should keep Arizona in the Big 12 title race. Kansas State is in that mix too, though the close call against Tulane highlighted a group that hasn’t totally found its groove. Dual-threat quarterback Avery Johnson looked more comfortable throwing the ball last Saturday, but the main concern is a defense that gave up 342 passing yards to the Green Wave and now has to defend one of the best receivers in college football.

Line: Kansas St. -7.5

 (Photo of Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson: Peter Aiken / Getty Images)

Greg Olsen finds himself in a strange position. He is a legit No. 1 NFL television analyst, a proven commodity after a fantastic 2023 season that saw him consistently deliver second-level analysis, including in the most important game an NFL broadcaster can call — the Super Bowl.

But because Fox Corp. hired Tom Brady, and because it would be inconceivable from a marketing perspective not to place the most famous NFL player in history on your top broadcast team — especially one sitting on a 10-year, $375 million contract — Olsen finds himself calling games this season with Joe Davis and Pam Oliver on Fox’s No. 2 team.

Olsen is well aware of the calculus in front of him. He approached the 2023 season with the overarching goal of making Fox Sports’ decision to replace him on the No. 1 team as difficult as possible for CEO Eric Shanks and executive producer Brad Zager. He did that with his performance. But the reality of the situation is there was also no decision. It was Brady’s seat if Brady was coming, and Brady is here.

You might not have watched the Pittsburgh Steelers–Atlanta Falcons game Sunday, but those who did saw Olsen begin the 2024 season where he left off. His biggest strength as an analyst is that he sees things away from the ball. That’s partly a product of seeing the game through the tight end position over 14 NFL seasons.

Scoop City Newsletter

Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.

Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.

Sign Up

“The quarterbacks drive the league and drive the game, but there is so much going on on the field,” Olsen said last week. “There’s a lot of equally interesting and exciting things going on away from the ball that, frankly, without that stuff going on, there is no throw, there is no catch, there is no run. I try to make our broadcast, when you’re watching it, you’re going to learn a little bit about the offensive line, you’re going to learn a little bit about coverage pressures, you’re going to learn a little bit about pass protection, but you’re still going to follow the ball and the quarterback because that’s critical to the game and the enjoyment of it.

“When people come away from a game that I’m a part of, I hope their No. 1 takeaway is this guy loves football. This guy loves all of it, the good, the bad, the ugly games, the blowouts, the close fourth quarters and everything in between. I don’t believe people are tuning in because of the broadcast teams. I think the broadcast teams make the viewing experience better, but I don’t think they necessarily drive the experience. Having said that, I hope people come out of our games and think, ‘I heard two or three things in this game today that I never had anyone lay out for me.’”

There was an easy flow to the broadcast Sunday in Atlanta, and part of that is because Olsen’s new production crew is also his old crew. He and Kevin Burkhardt worked the 2021 season — when Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were still in Fox’s No. 1 booth — with producer Pete Macheska and director Artie Kempner, who produce the No. 2 team at Fox. Olsen and Davis previously called games together when Burkhardt had baseball responsibilities in October.

“It’s not just seeing things from an offensive side or a defensive side — he can talk from the coordinators’ perspective or knowledgeably as if he was an executive,” Davis said this week of Olsen. “I don’t want to overuse the word brilliant, but he has as well-rounded a perspective as I could imagine. I’m sure that there’s going to be No. 1 gigs out there that eventually open up, and I’m sure he’d be right at the top of the list. … Selfishly, and I know selfishly for Fox, I hope to be his partner as long as possible.”

Olsen says he has no animosity toward Brady and does not look at him as a broadcasting rival. He said he got to know Brady a bit over the offseason and roots for his success.

GO DEEPER

For Tom Brady and Fox, Sunday was a first step toward the broadcast that truly counts

“I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Tom personally and professionally, just kind of giving him different thoughts and perspectives,” Olsen said. “Tom and I always had a somewhat professional relationship. We saw each other before and after games. It was very surface-level, mostly good luck and a respect kind of thing. But over the last six or seven months, we’ve had a lot more just personal conversations and time together. I told him, ‘Dude, I’m here to help in whatever way I can. I haven’t been doing this for 20 years, but more so than any of the other guys in the industry to a degree, I understand the transition that you’re making because it’s the same transition that I did.’ You go straight from playing to all of a sudden you’re calling the Super Bowl and the top games of the week. I think I have a perspective that he can rely on.

“I want him to do well. I want him to succeed. I want him to feel I’m a good teammate. It’s no different than if he came into the locker room when I was a player and we happened to play the same position. My success is not contingent upon Tom. Tom being really good doesn’t make me less good, and Tom being bad doesn’t make me better. Fox has two top teams, and that’s how I view it. But I’ve talked to Joe about this: I want people to think that Joe and I are the best crew on television. It doesn’t matter that we’re the ‘B’ crew.”

Brady’s debut broadcast was mixed at best, but unless something unforeseen happens, the Super Bowl LIX booth Feb. 9 belongs to Brady and Burkhardt. Fox Sports, however, should figure out a creative way to make Olsen a significant part of its Super Bowl coverage. My suggestion would be to have Olsen on the field and use him occasionally as a unique second analyst on a couple of plays. It would be a creative use of his talent.

“I would love to be part of the Super Bowl, but no one has brought any of that up to me as of today,” Olsen said. “Whether that’s the plan or not, I have no idea. But I’d love to be a part of it. There’s a lot of different ways to weave different talent into a broadcast, but we’ve had no conversations as of yet.”

GO DEEPER

2024 NFL media preview: What to expect from Tom Brady, Netflix and Bill Belichick

(Photo of Greg Olsen at last month’s Miami-Florida college football game: James Gilbert / Getty Images)

In the hours after the Columbus Blue Jackets announced that star forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew had been killed, team president and general manager Don Waddell said he received 500 or so text messages.

One hit him even harder than the rest. It was from Graham and LuAnn Snyder.

On Sept. 29, 2003, the Snyders’ son, Dan, was critically injured when a car driven by Atlanta Thrashers teammate Dany Heatley was involved in a single-vehicle crash. Snyder died six days later.

More than 20 years later, the family is still in touch with Waddell, who was the Thrashers’ GM at the time. The message they sent on Aug. 30, the morning after a car struck and killed the Gaudreau brothers, wished the organization strength and had a simple message to Waddell: that there was no doubt he could lead the organization through this tragedy, just as he did the Thrashers.

“I think it’s important in those moments that you feel some support or love from somewhere,” Graham Snyder told The Athletic. “Because the emotions are just so high.

“When I woke up and first heard the news and saw the headline and started reading … it took me about a minute and I said, ‘Oh, my God. It’s Don again.’ I knew he had moved to Columbus.

“I thought, ‘Oh jeez, Don, how are you going to get through this?’”

Once again, he must lead a grieving organization through so much pain. And yet also, at a time when hockey does not feel remotely important, he must somehow, someway, try to get it ready to play hockey again, too.

“Nobody wants that job, but he certainly helped us, and the organization did,” Graham Snyder said. “I just felt we had to reach out to him. Because who can think about going through that twice in your life?”

The message hit home.

“When Graham and LuAnn reached out to me that Friday, it meant the world to me,” Waddell told The Athletic. “Because the family went through it, losing one of their two sons, that’s never easy for anybody. How they dealt with it and how we’ve stayed in touch over the years, it just meant the world to me to hear from them knowing that as parents who went through it, (they) felt we handled it as well as we could of and supported them.

“They’re good people.”

Graham Snyder has vivid memories of speaking to Thrashers players after his son’s death in 2003 and wishing them the strength to carry on.

“I remember going into the Thrashers dressing room in Atlanta, and I don’t know, there was some strength that came from somewhere,” Snyder said. “Just a calm that came over me and I started talking to the team about what needed to happen and that we were there for them.”

As Snyder remembers it, the support from people around the sport was so important.

“One of the things that kind of got us through it, and it’s what is happening right now in Columbus and around the hockey world, people are really, really coming together,” Snyder said. “I think it’s like no other sport. The hockey world is so connected and so tight.

“That’s how they’ll get through it now, with the support from others in the hockey world.”

The Jackets have felt that.

“Yes, 100 percent,” Waddell said. “It’s pretty evident by all the players that came out to the funeral — a lot of players that played with him but also a lot of players that didn’t play with him. This has had an impact not just on the Blue Jackets but the whole National Hockey League. And for that matter, the whole country. I’ve heard from so many people that didn’t know the Gaudreau family but saw all the stories and just wanted to be supportive and ask what they could do to help out. It was touching.”

GO DEEPER

Funeral for Johnny, Matthew Gaudreau draws overflow crowd

The idea now is to honor Johnny Gaudreau’s memory by playing for him.

“If it’s anything like it was in Atlanta, the emotions will carry them through for a while,” Snyder said.

Right now, the Jackets are surely still in a fog of pain and shock. But they need to find the strength to move on.

“We’re all devastated for the Gaudreau families,” Waddell said. “You don’t ever think that parents should be burying their kids. There isn’t a moment that goes by that you’re not thinking about the families.

“From a team standpoint, we know it’s going to be hard. But we also listened to (Johnny’s wife) Meredith when she talked at the church. She knows that Johnny wants the best for us. I know guys have talked about it, that he would want us to go out and do what we’re capable of doing and try to win as many hockey games as we can.”

GO DEEPER

‘Let’s keep their stories alive’: Team candlelight vigils for Gaudreau brothers allow fans, players to mourn together

Getting the players as much help as they need is paramount.

“Everybody grieves and mourns differently,” Waddell said. “You don’t expect that people can get through this by themselves. The union (NHLPA) has been great. They’ve offered up multiple grief counselors.”

Waddell added that starting this week through Ohio Health, the Jackets also have people on-site who can speak with players.

It will be a difficult process in the days ahead.

“We have to try and figure out how to get through the healing process and continue to move forward,” Waddell said.

And as Waddell noted, the Blue Jackets just three years ago lost young goalie Matiss Kivlenieks to a tragic death as well, an event that still scars many in the organization.

GO DEEPER

Johnny Gaudreau’s death devastates a Blue Jackets organization already familiar with tragedy

It’s no easy path here. But just the hope that somehow everyone will find the strength.

“This was a senseless and cruel way for people to lose their life,” Waddell said.

It is a tragedy that will forever be with so many affected. But somehow, through that, the Jackets will honor the spirit of a player beloved by teammates. And within that, they will want to continue to help a grieving Gaudreau family in any way possible.

The Snyders felt that from the Thrashers 21 years ago.

“They were so much behind us and supportive,” Snyder said. “It was truly amazing and truly touching.”

(Photo: Kirk Irwin / Getty Images)

Editor’s note: This is a Weird and Wild short. To read this week’s full Weird and Wild column, go here.

For weeks now, months to be honest, we’ve been spending way too much valuable time making all-important comparisons between the 2024 White Sox and Casey Stengel’s legendarily hapless 1962 Mets. But now we know: That was actually the wrong comp.

These White Sox (current record: 33-114) would need a miracle to out-win those ’62 Mets (40-120). So it’s time to do something I never thought would happen: It’s time to turn our attention to those even more legendary 1899 Cleveland Spiders (attractive final record: 20-134).

I came to that mind-blowing realization Thursday morning, when the reality of this nutty little number hit home:

81 Games under .500!!! 

As a longtime chronicler of everything Weird and Wild, I’ve seen a lot of stuff. But I thought to myself as I stared at the standings: Have I ever seen THAT? Have I ever seen any team that fell 81 freaking games under .500?

Here’s the truth: Nope. I. Have. Not. And neither have you, unless you’re a spritely 108 years old. And even if you are indeed 108 years old, your memory of previous 81-under-.500 history might be a little hazy. So allow me to fill you in.

The ’62 Mets? Sorry. Never got to 81 under.

The 2003 Tigers? Sorry. They never made it either.

Both of those teams got to 80 under. But it takes a truly special group to sink below 80 games under the sea. So let’s salute these White Sox because they’re one of those extraordinary teams that took a wrong turn and just kept going.

And who are those extraordinary teams? Here they come — the only teams in American League/National League/19th-century American Association history that ever got to 81 under or worse (in chronological order):

Whitey Witt’s 1916 A’s — Fell to 81 under at 33-114, just like these White Sox, except it wasn’t until Sept. 27 and they had only six games left in the season … but they somehow won three of them! (Final record: 36-117.)

Harry Colliflower’s 1899 Spiders — There’s a reason the Spiders are the poster boys for single-season futility, you know. They plummeted to 81 under on Aug. 31 (at 19-100). They still had 35 games to play … and they lost 34 of them! (Final record: 20-134.)

Kirtley Baker’s 1890 Alleghenys — Once upon a time, before the Spiders, these guys were the standard for 19th-century ineptitude. They descended to 81 under on Sept. 16 (at 21-102). They had 14 games remaining … and won two! (Final record: 23-113, plus two ties.)

Toad Ramsey’s 1889 Colonels — The worst team in the American Association’s glorious history, the Colonels tumbled to 81 under at 26-107. Fortunately, it was Oct. 8, so they had only five games left … and won one! (Final record: 27-111.)

And that’s the whole 81-Under Club. But if you were paying attention (in case we spring an end-of-season 2024 White Sox quiz on you), you might have noticed something. Only once, in nearly a century and a half of major-league history, had any team awakened this early in September and found itself 81 games under .500 or worse. And it was … those 1899 Spiders, because of course it was!

Yet now the Spiders have company, in these 2024 White Sox? What a time to be alive.

GO DEEPER

White Sox might break record for losses. How should the 1962 Mets feel about it?

Wednesday’s loss to the Guardians dropped the White Sox to 1-27 in their past 28 games at home. (Kamil Krzaczynski / Imagn Images)

But meanwhile, in other important White Sox news …

They can’t go home again! Since the second game of their July 10 doubleheader with Minnesota, the White Sox are 1-27 when they play baseball in their home park. One and 27! According to Baseball Reference, only one other team in the modern era has ever had a 1-27 stretch at home (or worse). And it was those 1916 A’s (also 1-27, in a messy 28-game span in July and August).

So that means, just since that game against the Twins on July 10, nine teams have more wins at Guaranteed Rate Field than the team that plays half its season on that field. There would be more teams, of course, but only nine have been allowed to play there by the schedule-makers of America.

Second to none! This seems impossible, but the White Sox are now 6-43 in the second half. Six and 43! Does this seem bad? How about historically bad. Since the invention of All-Star breaks, the fewest games any team has won in the second half of a non-strike season is 15, by Orie Arntzen’s 1943 A’s (15-61). I’m starting to think the White Sox aren’t going to catch them.

Late starters! In a related development, White Sox starters are now 2-30 in the second half. Two and 30! The record for the worst second-half winning percentage by any rotation is .167 (7-35), by Paolo Espino’s 2022 Nationals. I’m starting to think the White Sox might not catch that group, either.

No one will save you! On those sporadic occasions when the White Sox take a lead, they’ve been known to call on their bullpen to protect it. Here’s how that’s gone:

When they bring in their relievers in save situations, their bullpen’s record is now 3-17. Three and 17! Plus a 7.79 ERA, 31 blown saves and (somehow) more home runs allowed (26) than saves converted (18).

I rumbled through the Baseball Reference files for way too long. How many other teams could I find, since the dawn of the modern save rule in 1969, with more gopherballs than saves in those situations? That would be none!

I could keep going here for hours. But did you know …

• This White Sox team hasn’t started a pitcher with a winning record in over a month? Not even some opener who was 1-0. It’s 36 games in a row now, the fourth-longest streak in franchise history.

• The White Sox have now lost their first game of every month – April, May, June, July, August and September? Can’t beat that kind of consistency.

• It’s Sept. 13 … and the White Sox have won 33 games! You know when the Guardians won their 33rd game? How about May 22! That’s three and a half freaking months (and 111 days) ago!

• And finally, is it too late to wish a happy 105th birthday to Loyola of Chicago icon Sister Jean? As a friend of mine reminded me on Sister Jean’s birthday last month, she’s been gracing our planet for more than a century now. And she has seen the White Sox win a postseason series in exactly one of those 105 years (2005, obviously). I’m starting to think the chances of her seeing another series win this October aren’t good.

GO DEEPER

Weird & Wild MLB highlights of the month: Game of the Year, a first-inning first, and more

GO DEEPER

Loyalty, history and $5 beers: Why fans still come out to see the Chicago White Sox

GO DEEPER

White Sox watch: Rally falls short in 15th consecutive home loss

(Top photo of Luis Robert Jr.: Matt Krohn / Associated Press)

CLEVELAND — The number of women who have accused Deshaun Watson in court filings of sexual misconduct is now up to 27. 

The number of games he has started for the Cleveland Browns since they acquired him — and guaranteed him $230 million — is 13. 

We are early into the third year of Watson’s five-year contract, and the trade has been a disaster. Even by the Browns’ standards, this one makes drafting Johnny Manziel look like a wise investment. 

I write that with a sense of embarrassment and accountability. I understood why the Browns pursued him. They had a roster ready to win and a quarterback who was good but not great. They were on a tight contention window with some of their best players in their prime and they were trying to improve quickly at the most important position. Watson’s performance as a member of the Houston Texans certainly appeared to be an upgrade over Baker Mayfield. 

But another woman has come forward this week with more heinous, vile accusations against Watson.

The Browns need an exit strategy.

And they need to sit him until they have one.

Watson has maintained his innocence through all of this and did so again Wednesday both publicly and through a statement released by his attorney, Rusty Hardin. He insists he’s done nothing wrong — even while writing settlement checks for more than 20 of the cases against him.

Statement from Deshaun Watson’s legal representation. pic.twitter.com/eWlqsZ6QGI

— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) September 11, 2024

This latest allegation seemed to surprise everyone inside the Browns. Despite the woman’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, writing in a statement that Watson’s defense team has known about this case for the last 10 months, Watson said Wednesday he didn’t know about it until it was reported in the media. 

Both Deshaun Watson and Kevin Stefanski said they were unaware of the new allegations against Watson before the civil suit was filed Monday. https://t.co/Q8owb3NllV https://t.co/15HjHzFIvZ

— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) September 11, 2024

Coach Kevin Stefanski, typically loathe to reveal even the color of his game-day hoodie, said he did not know about this case before this week.  If the organization can prove Watson was aware of the potential allegation before he signed the contract and did not disclose it to the team, they may have a way out of this mess.

If they do, they’d better take it.

The vast majority of pro athletes never face one allegation of sexual misconduct, much less 27. Watson doesn’t have much of an explanation for why new allegations are still emerging.

“I’m in the same boat as you, boss man,” he said. 

It’s apparently all some big, grand conspiracy against him that 27 women, their attorney, the NFL and a retired U.S. District judge are all in on. Remember, Judge Sue L. Robinson already determined the NFL cleared its burden of proof in the four cases presented before her in 2022. That’s what ultimately led to Watson’s 11-game suspension two years ago.

If it’s true that Watson is innocent and has done nothing wrong, why didn’t he countersue for defamation of character against any of the women before he settled? Will he sue this one?

The NFL will yet again investigate the credibility of these new claims. The latest woman, known in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, is the first to accuse Watson of having sex with her against her will while the two were inside her apartment in October 2020. The bulk of the accusations against Watson previously surrounded his behavior during massages. This one is much different. 

“Watson grabbed Jane Doe’s leg and positioned her so that she was lying down,” the lawsuit states. “Watson then partially disrobed Jane Doe and penetrated her vagina without consent, implicit or explicit.”

Yet Stefanski said Watson will start this week against the Jaguars and the Browns appear to have no plans of benching him. How can they continue running him out as the face of the franchise if there is any uncertainty over the veracity of these claims? The Texans sat Watson for the entire 2021 season while they worked through his trade request and a slew of sexual misconduct allegations. The Browns are showing no inclination to do the same. Stefanski declared within hours of the court filing that Watson will start Sunday.

Before they traded for him, the Browns said they did “due diligence” investigating the cases against Watson. How much due diligence have they done this week?

“Deshaun, did you do it?”

“No.”

“Cool. Suit up.”

No one within the building has an answer to the case’s credibility because Stefanski admitted he had no prior knowledge of this case before this week.

Apparently, the Browns are just taking Watson at his word. It’s an incredible amount of blind trust to have in someone who has been sued now 27 times.

The Browns should be searching for an out. They’ve already paid Watson more than $130 million in actual cash, but only about $60 million of it has counted against their cap They still have another $170 million to go on the spreadsheets. 

The quarterback position demands a deep amount of trust both on and off the field. I asked Watson why Browns fans and the organization should trust him and believe him given the mountain of allegations against him these last few years.

“I can’t speak for the fans, I can’t speak for anybody outside this building,” he said. “But I know that hearing from the Haslams and A.B. (Browns GM Andrew Berry) and those guys, I know that they tell me each and every day that they support me, and they got my back and that they want me to focus on being the best quarterback I can be. So that’s all I can do is just speak my truth, tell them the truth. They talked with my legal team and everyone that was a part of this whole process. And they have to make their decision, and that decision was to give me the opportunity to come be their franchise quarterback to help this team win.”

Deshaun Watson speaks to the media before practice https://t.co/1NtQiFiP8y

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 11, 2024

Watson has done little to earn such trust from anyone in the organization. But let’s be clear: The decision to play him during new allegations rises well above the head coach and even the general manager. This is an ownership decision to keep running him out there. This is on Jimmy and Dee Haslam.

His on-field performance might push them into an uncomfortable decision regardless of the contract. He was mediocre last year before a rare shoulder injury ended his season in November. He had a terrible training camp this year. He was a disaster in Sunday’s loss to Dallas, holding the ball too long and throwing passes 7 yards out of bounds. He has rarely looked like the quarterback from Houston the Browns believed they were getting. 

The Browns have a roster capable of making a deep playoff run and a quarterback that can’t stop getting sued. Whatever boat Watson believes he’s on is sinking. Fast. The Browns don’t need him or his boat. They need a life preserver.

(Photo: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)