McVay explains decision to return: ‘Don’t want to run away from adversity’

Head coach Sean McVay explained Saturday why he decided to return to the Los Angeles Rams for the 2023 season following a disappointing 2022 campaign.

“I wanted to take some time to really know I could restore and renew the passion and zest I need, and after leaning on family and friends and taking time to reflect, it became clear to me I don’t want to run away from adversity. I want to run through it,” McVay told Jay Glazer of FOX Sports.

Coming off his first losing season with the Rams, the 36-year-old said last week he’d “take the appropriate time” to evaluate his future. The coach has also been linked to multiple TV networks in recent years.

McVay has already begun interviewing candidates for the Rams’ vacant offensive coordinator job after Liam Coen’s departure, according to Glazer. Coen joined Kentucky this week following just one season with Los Angeles.

The Rams failed to meet expectations this campaign after winning the Super Bowl last season. Los Angeles – which saw key starters go down with injuries, including Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, and Cooper Kupp – finished 2022 with a 5-12 record, the most single-season losses ever by a defending Super Bowl champion.

McVay is 60-38 since joining the club in 2017. He became the youngest head coach in NFL history to win the Super Bowl with a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals last year.

McVay to return for next season after contemplating future

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has informed the team that he will be staying on as head coach for next season after contemplating his future over the last few days, sources told Dianna Russini of ESPN.

McVay said last week he’d “take the appropriate time” to evaluate his future but added that he didn’t expect to feel ready to walk away from coaching.

After hinting that he was undecided about his future following L.A.’s Super Bowl win last February, the 36-year-old opted to return and signed an extension through the 2026 campaign.

The Rams are coming off a disappointing title defense, finishing with a 5-12 record. It was McVay’s first losing season with the NFC West club after going 55-26 and making two Super Bowl appearances over his first five campaigns.

McVay was widely expected to be courted for a TV role if he opted to leave.

L.A. will also get back quarterback Matthew Stafford, who missed half the season with a bruised spinal cord. Stafford said in December that he isn’t planning to retire despite another injury-riddled campaign.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson ‘looking forward’ to Philadelphia return: ‘I understand that city’

Doug Pederson’s quickly making his mark with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he’ll forever be linked to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Having navigated the Eagles’ first and only Super Bowl triumph, Pederson will make his return to the City of Brotherly Love on Sunday for the Jaguars’ Week 4 game against an undefeated Philly squad.

Pederson said Monday he’s looking forward to his return – no matter the reaction he receives.

“My wife and I, our family, we have a lot of great memories back there,” Pederson said, via team transcript. “I spent eight or nine years there, one with [former Eagles head] coach [Andy] Reid and then once obviously as the head coach and brought that city a championship and something to be proud of obviously.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back there. I understand that city, I understand that passion for football, but now I’m on the other side. It’s still a long way away. It’s seven days away or six days away, but we have to prepare this week like we have these last couple of weeks. But I’m looking forward to it, to getting back up there. It’s been a great place. We did a lot of good things there and I’m looking forward to hopefully the welcome.”

Over five seasons as Philadelphia’s head coach from 2016 through 2020, Pederson piloted the Eagles to three playoff berths, including a 2017 run to a Super Bowl win. A statue was subsequently erected of him and quarterback Nick Foles paying homage to the “Philly Special” play that keyed the franchise’s Super Bowl LII triumph.

Fired following the 2020 season, Pederson was dismissed from the Eagles right around the same time that the Jaguars began targeting Urban Meyer as their next head coach. As fate and a stunningly ill-starred 2021 season would have it, Meyer would last less than one season in Jacksonville, which eventually led to Pederson’s return as a head coach.

Down in Duval, Pederson led the Jaguars (2-1) to their best start since 2018 and in a note of head-scratching trivia is already tied for fifth all-time in Jaguars history for coaching wins. He is tied with Mike Mularkey (2-14), Mel Tucker (2-3) and, of course, Meyer (2-11).

“We are [feeling good], obviously the way we’ve won, the way the guys have come together to win, we’re healthy, relatively healthy as a football team,” Pederson said. “[There’s] still a lot of football ahead of us. You never look past the current week you’re in, the current situation you’re in, but I’ve been pleased with the direction, the leadership of the team, and where we are as a football team right now.”

Pederson’s successor in Philly, Nick Sirianni, captained the Eagles to a surprising playoff berth in 2021 and now has his squad off to a 3-0 start – its best since 2016, which was Pederson’s first year at the helm.

Now, Pederson, 54, is back for the first time as an opposing coach.

He’s hoping to get a welcoming reaction from the Philly fans, but, as aforementioned, he understands the city he’s returning to.

“It could be mixed,” said Pederson, who also played a season for the Eagles during his 10-year NFL playing career. “Listen, I have to get this team here ready to go and I’m not going to be concerned with that. You hope it’s a good one obviously for the things you did there, but I also know that crowd and they can be a little hostile and [I’m] looking forward to that too. Listen, understanding that and having been there and worked there, you just understand that it’s [how it is]. Even when I was there and we were winning games or losing games, you were still getting booed.”

Wilson: Week 1 return to Seattle has to be ‘non-emotional’

Russell Wilson has a lot of appreciation for his time in Seattle but recognizes that he’ll have to find a way to treat his Week 1 matchup against the Seahawks like any other game.

“I think it’s going to be an exciting time. Obviously, Seattle’s meant the world to me over the past 10 years,” Wilson said Monday, according to DNVR’s Zac Stevens. “I think for me, it’s not emotional. It’s got to be non-emotional. You got to be able to go into it with the understanding that it’s just ball.”

Wilson’s new club, the Denver Broncos, will open their season on the road in a Monday Night Football bout versus the Seahawks.

The 33-year-old spent 10 seasons in Seattle before being dealt to Denver in a stunning trade earlier this offseason. He left many memories with his former side, including one Super Bowl championship, 104 wins, and nine Pro Bowl invites. Wilson previously said that the split was mutual.

“It will always be a special place in my heart forever,” Wilson said. “For me, it’s about going over there and trying to play the best football for our football team here and trying to go win.”

The Broncos added Wilson and head coach Nathaniel Hackett in hopes of getting their franchise back on track. Denver has missed the postseason in six straight seasons.

Eichel burns Sabres fans: ‘It only took 7 years and me leaving for them to get into the game’

Jack Eichel‘s postgame comments won’t put him in the good books of Buffalo Sabres fans anytime soon.

The Vegas Golden Knights star received a mixed response from the KeyBank Center faithful in his first game back in Western New York on Thursday. Some cheered and some booed while his tribute video aired, but the overall volume caught Eichel by surprise.

“That’s about the loudest I’ve heard this place, ever,” Eichel said postgame, according to WKBW’s Matt Bove. “It only took seven years and me leaving for them to get into the game.”

Jack Eichel: yeah, it's about the loudest I've heard this building ever. Really, it only took seven years and me leaving to get into the game……..they must just be booing me because they wish I was still here 👀 @WKBW pic.twitter.com/2FatvHS1d7

— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) March 11, 2022

During Eichel’s first five years in Buffalo, the Sabres never ranked higher than 10th in average attendance but never lower than 20th. The club ranks 31st this season, according to ESPN.

The center offered a theory as to why some fans booed.

“There was plenty of people here that were supporting me, and there was plenty of people here that were booing me,” he said. “They must just be booing me because they wish I was still here, I don’t know.”

Eichel and Buffalo had a falling out after the team refused to allow him to have his preferred artificial disc replacement surgery to replace a herniated disc in his neck suffered last campaign. The 25-year-old said on Thursday that it felt like the Sabres were “toying” with him.

In November, Buffalo eventually traded him to the Golden Knights, who allowed him to undergo his preferred surgery.

The Sabres selected Eichel second overall in 2015, and he recorded 355 points in 375 games with the franchise.

Buffalo spoiled Eichel’s homecoming, however, winning 3-1 with goals from Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs – the two players received from Vegas in the trade.

NHL ‘Reverse Retro’ jerseys to return next season

The NHL will reintroduce its “Reverse Retro” jersey series next season, according to The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro.

The uniforms will feature new designs rather than recirculate last season’s threads, Shapiro adds.

The NHL introduced the line of jerseys for the shortened 2020-21 campaign. It marked the first time the league had included every team for an alternate jersey rollout.

Each team’s “Reverse Retro” sweater was a play on a throwback jersey while including a modern twist. They were worn multiple times throughout the campaign.

There is no confirmed date for when the jerseys will be revealed.

Oilers’ Keith: It’s a ‘unique feeling’ returning to Chicago

Duncan Keith has kept in touch with a few of his old teammates since he was traded to Edmonton in July. He had dinner with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat when the Chicago Blackhawks played the Oilers earlier in the season.

This, however, is a different deal.

The 38-year-old Keith plays his first game in Chicago as a visitor when the Oilers take on the Blackhawks on Thursday night.

“I spent a lot of time here. It’s nice to be back, but definitely a unique feeling,” Keith said.

Keith developed into one of the NHL’s top defensemen while spending 16 years in Chicago, winning the Norris Trophy twice and three Stanley Cup titles. He was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP when the Blackhawks took home the championship in 2015.

Keith asked the Blackhawks for a trade to Western Canada to be closer to his son Colton after they spent long stretches apart last season.

“It’s been nice. I’ve been able to see him more frequently,” Keith said after the Oilers practiced at the United Center on Wednesday. “The visits, even just being able to get back home for little breaks here and there, so definitely the more frequent time spent with him has been nice, and it’s been just basically everything that I had hoped (for).”

Keith’s return to Chicago coincides with the Blackhawks paying tribute to Niklas Hjalmarsson, another key defenseman from the team’s run of three Stanley Cup titles in six seasons. Hjalmarsson was traded to Arizona in June 2017 and retired in July.

Keith, a Winnipeg, Manitoba, native, was selected by Chicago in the second round of the 2002 draft. He made his NHL debut in 2005 and had 105 goals and 520 assists in 1,192 regular-season games with the Blackhawks.

“He was a great teammate,” Blackhawks forward Dylan Strome said Thursday. “You know, a big jokester. He likes to have fun, likes to keep it pretty light in the room, and then he’s one of the most serious guys when it comes to the ice. He’s a warrior, a guy that Edmonton’s lucky to have.”

The Oilers celebrated Keith’s return to Chicago on Wednesday, forming a corridor with their sticks for Keith to walk under on his way to the visiting locker room.

“He’s been unbelievable. He’s a great leader, even stepping in just this year,” Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto said. “He’s a big role model for me. I’ve watched him, you know, growing up and see him win a few Cups here. That’s pretty cool, and he’s just a really good guy around the locker room.”

Shanahan doesn’t rule out Gore reunion with 49ers

The injuries at running back for the San Francisco 49ers keep piling up so much that coach Kyle Shanahan said the team could consider bringing back Frank Gore for another stint.

After losing starter Raheem Mostert to a season-ending knee injury in the season opener, San Francisco lost Jamycal Hasty to an ankle injury in Week 2 and Shanahan is uncertain whether rookies Trey Sermon and Elijah Mitchell will be healthy enough to play this week.

That led to questions about whether the 38-year-old Gore could be an option. Gore is the franchise’s career leading rusher with 11,073 yards in 10 seasons in San Francisco. He left the Niners after the 2014 season and is currently not with a team but ranks third all time with 16,000 yards rushing.

“We’ve never fully ruled that out,” Shanahan said. “I don’t know exactly where he is right now, but I’ve got a number of people in here who have a relationship with him. If that time ever comes that we need to do that and he wants to do it then I would never rule it out.”

Mitchell sat out practice Wednesday with a shoulder injury, but still has a chance to play this week. Sermon is working his way back from a concussion and took part in individual drills, but hasn’t yet been cleared to play.

That makes game-planning for Sunday’s matchup against Green Bay difficult not knowing who will be available.

“It alters a lot because you have to make sure you give different options in every situation,” Shanahan said. “Especially when there’s a lot of unknown. There’s a chance we might be only be down one compared to last week. There’s a chance there might be a whole new group, which would be down to our sixth on the year. So, you have to plan for everything and that’s what you do.”

San Francisco claimed Trenton Cannon off waivers from Baltimore last week and signed running back Jacques Patrick off Cincinnati’s practice squad this week. The Niners also signed Chris Thompson to their practice squad Wednesday where they already have veteran Kerryon Johnson.

Patrick is a bigger back at 234 pounds, but has never appeared in an NFL game. Thompson played for Shanahan in 2013 in Washington and has 1,214 yards rushing and 1,918 yards receiving in eight seasons.

NOTES: DL Kevin Givens (ankle) is also out this week and will likely go on IR. … DL Arik Armstead (adductor) didn’t practice and CB Emmanuel Moseley (knee) and DT Javon Kinlaw (knee) were limited. … S Jimmie Ward, LB Fred Warner and T Trent Williams got rest days. … The Niners also signed DL Eddie Yarbrough to the practice squad and released TE Jordan Matthews? from the practice squad.

Ex-WWE Women’s Wrestler Campaigns For Divas Title Return

Former WWE star Maria Kanellis would “love” to see the old Divas Title return someday.

Kanellis told ‘Ring The Belle‘ that she has a hard time stomaching the negativity that hangs over the ‘Diva’ name like a cloud – she’s proud of everything she achieved as part of that division, and was keen to note that the ‘Diva’ ranks produced top talents like Beth Phoenix, Michelle McCool, Victoria and Mickie James.

Fair point.

Maria also thinks it’s slightly unfair that people disregard the work of those women because they were having shorter matches. That wasn’t their fault; Phoenix, Victoria and company were totally capable of working longer bouts, but that wasn’t the style WWE wanted from them at the time.

Kanellis wants to hold the Divas Title so she can say, “Yes, I can be sexy. Yes, I can be strong. Yes, I can be intelligent. I can be all these things at once!”.

Tarasenko makes season debut vs. Kings

St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko made his season debut Saturday night against the Los Angeles Kings.

In a corresponding move earlier Saturday, the Blues placed defenseman Colton Parayko on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

Tarasenko has been recovering from the third shoulder surgery of his career in late August.

“It was a long period without playing hockey, but most important, we needed to get it fixed and get it done and get it healthy again,” Tarasenko said.

He added, “The three surgeries is in the past, there is some speculation still, but it was a different injury, not the same injury three times. Now it’s healthy, I feel strong and ready to come back and can’t wait until I step on the ice.”

The sniper hurt his shoulder in October 2019, which resulted in his second surgery. After spending the majority of the 2019-20 regular season recovering, he returned for the playoffs. Tarasenko only appeared in four contests before undergoing the third procedure.

The 29-year-old led the Blues in goals for five straight seasons prior to the 2019-20 campaign. Since 2013, he ranks 13th in the NHL with 214 tallies.