Dolphins’ Tagovailoa says he’s ‘all in’ to play next season

Tua Tagovailoa is grateful the Miami Dolphins kept him off the field after suffering his second concussion and he has no doubts about returning to play next season.

The third-year quarterback missed Miami’s final three games, including a playoff loss to Buffalo, after being diagnosed with a concussion following a loss to Green Bay on Dec. 25.

“One of the biggest things I was trying to do was get back on the field and it was something that I had to consult with my wife, consult with my parents, my family,” Tagovailoa told the AP Pro Football Podcast on Friday. “But at the end of the day, I think others had bigger interests in my health than I did. (I’m) talking about the Dolphins, and their whole plan was: ‘Hey, we want to just protect you from yourself and not put any pressure on you to return back for this year.’ And so, as much as I wanted to come back and a lot of the conversations that we’ve had, it’s just that’s how the cards played out.

“Looking back at it, I’m very, very grateful that they didn’t rush me back. I’ve been able to take care of myself that much more and better.”

The NFL and the players’ union revised concussion protocols in October following a joint investigation into the procedures after Tagovailoa suffered what was described as a back injury against the Buffalo Bills in September.

In the first half of a game against Buffalo on Sept. 25, Tagovailoa took a hit from Bills linebacker Matt Milano, which caused him to slam to the ground. He appeared disoriented afterward and stumbled as he tried to get to his feet.

Tagovailoa was immediately taken to the locker room and returned after he was cleared of any head injury.

Just four days later, Tagovailoa started against the Cincinnati Bengals in a Thursday night game. He suffered a concussion in the first half after his head violently slammed the ground on a sack. He displayed the fencing response after the scary hit and was taken off the field by stretcher. Tagovailoa returned after missing two games.

When he suffered the second concussion, the Dolphins held him out.

“I would say it’s very important,” Tagovailoa said about the team not allowing him to return. “In a game like this where masculinity is everything and how you portray yourself in a building like that, you either earn respect from your guys or you lose respect. There’s no ‘I respect you, but.’ It’s either you do or you don’t.

“And so having the doctors and all of those guys being able to kind of help take a lot of the load off with all that pressure has been really good.”

Tagovailoa was 8-5 in his 13 starts and threw for a career-high 3,548 yards and 25 touchdowns with an NFL-best 105.5 passer rating. He plans to be ready for offseason workouts when the Dolphins return.

“No reservations here,” said Tagovailoa, who appeared on Radio Row on behalf of Subway. “I believe you’re either all in or you’re not. So I’m all in.”

Update On When Thunder Rosa Will Return To The Road With AEW

Former AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa provided an update on when she’ll be back on the road. Rosa hasn’t performed inside the ring since last August. A back injury forced Rosa to take some time to heal, and she ultimately relinquished the AEW Women’s Title.

Rosa appeared on “Busted Open,” and she revealed that while an in-ring return date is currently unknown, she expects to be on the road again in the near future.

“Since we’re talking about AEW, I’m probably gonna be coming back on the road pretty soon,” Rosa said. “Not to wrestle, but we’re gonna be out at AEW, showing face, and being around all this stuff. It’s gonna be very nice to see everyone, and to see how things unfold.”

The AEW women’s division has been shaken up a bit since Rosa last appeared on AEW programming. Saraya made her debut back in September, and while she was initially presented as a babyface, she has since aligned herself with Toni Storm, and the two apparently turned heel this past Wednesday.

Rosa weighed in on the difficulty of being a natural babyface going from one wrestling company to another.

“Being in the shoes that I was as a former NWA champion, and coming in as an NWA [talent], you always are painted as somebody that don’t belong there, and it is easier to go as a heel in that aspect,” Rosa said.

Rosa also said the opposite can be true. She said when you’re a heel, but the fans view you as a babyface, it’s a difficult change to make.

Titans’ Henry on track to return by playoffs

Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry is on pace to return from his broken foot by the beginning of the postseason, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Henry, who broke the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in Week 8, could potentially be ready for Week 18 if the Titans are in a must-win situation, according to Rapoport.

Henry led the NFL in rushing and was in the thick of the MVP discussion when he suffered the injury against the Indianapolis Colts. The Titans’ rushing attack has regressed in his absence, with inefficiency and ball insecurity hindering the offense over the last four games.

Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel said in November that his star runner “absolutely” had a chance to make it back to the lineup this season.

The NFL’s premier power back rumbled for 937 yards and 10 touchdowns through the first eight weeks. He was on track to finish the year with 2,000 rushing yards for the second straight season. Despite missing four games, the 27-year-old still ranked third in the league in rushing after Week 13.

Tennessee is 8-4 entering Week 14 and sits 1.5 games up on the Colts for the AFC South lead.

Carey Price to rejoin Canadiens on Monday

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price will rejoin the club Monday after spending the last month in the NHL’s player assistance program, head coach Dominique Ducharme confirmed Friday.

Ducharme added that Price will meet with athletic trainers Monday to develop a plan moving forward as he gets ready to return to the crease. It’s unknown how much more time he’ll need to get game-ready. Price was also recovering from offseason knee surgery prior to the program.

The 34-year-old entered the program voluntarily on Oct. 7 and was expected to come back after completing the minimum 30 days in it.

Price returned to his MVP form during the playoffs last season, leading the Canadiens to an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final. He posted a .924 save percentage over 22 games during the postseason after putting up a .901 save percentage during the regular season.

Chubb expected to return vs. Steelers in Week 8

Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb is expected to return from a calf injury in Week 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers barring a setback, a source told NFL insider Josina Anderson.

Chubb, who ranks fourth in the NFL in rushing yards, has missed two games with the injury. The 25-year-old ran for 523 yards and four touchdowns over his first five outings while averaging a whopping 5.8 yards per carry.

The Browns turned to Kareem Hunt in Chubb’s absence before Hunt went down with his own calf injury in Week 6. D’Ernest Johnson started in the backfield in Week 7, rushing for over 100 yards in his first career start.

Cleveland is 1-1 without Chubb and 4-3 overall following a Thursday Night Football victory over the Denver Broncos.

Crosby doesn’t have target date for return following wrist surgery

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said there’s no target date set for his return following offseason wrist surgery, according to NHL.com’s Wes Crosby.

The Penguins star underwent the procedure Sept. 8 and was expected to be sidelined for a minimum of six weeks, meaning his earliest return date would have been Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Crosby, however, was officially ruled out of that contest Thursday.

Pittsburgh general manager Ron Hextall said at the time of the surgery that the wrist injury wasn’t a new issue for Crosby, and the center confirmed that fact on Friday.

The 34-year-old revealed his left wrist was initially injured by Ryan Reaves in a game shortly after the 2014 Winter Olympics. He’d been trying to manage the issue over the past seven years, including undergoing a scope last season, before opting to get surgery, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Mike DeFabo.

“We all felt like it was something that I wouldn’t have gotten through the season if I didn’t take care of it,” Crosby said.

He added: “I’m hoping it improves it a lot. This last year – with the scope and just dealing with it – it became more of an issue. Hopefully, it can feel a lot better here and I can kind of put it behind me.”

He practiced for the first time since the surgery Oct. 9 and participated again Friday but, before he can return to NHL action, he would like to shore up some aspects of his game.

“I haven’t really had any force,” he said, according to NHL.com’s Crosby, “whether it be through faceoffs or lifting sticks. … Those are things I haven’t been able to do. When I can do that comfortably … I think that will be a big step.”

Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen provided an encouraging report about the veteran after Friday’s session.

“I mean, it’s Sidney Crosby. He’s always going to be the best player out there,” he said.

The Penguins haven’t lost a game outright in four contests without Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, going 2-0-2.

WWE Announces Eva Marie’s RAW Return Date

Eva Marie is set to make her WWE RAW return next Monday night.

The latest “Eva-Lution” vignette aired during tonight’s RAW, which was the sixth in the series. Eva announced that she will be making her official return during next Monday’s RAW on the USA Network, which will be the go-home episode for Hell In a Cell.

As noted, it was reported earlier that WWE NXT UK Superstar Piper Niven is scheduled to be paired with Eva on the main roster. There is no word on if Niven will be with Eva on next week’s RAW, or if they will hold her debut off until the previously reported date of June 21, the night after Hell In a Cell.

Curry confirms return date: ‘It’s always been March 1’

Stephen Curry‘s return date is in sight.

The Golden State Warriors‘ star point guard expects to return from his broken left hand March 1 against the Washington Wizards.

“It’s always been March 1,” Curry said Saturday of his target return date, according to ESPN.

While the Warriors haven’t released an exact return date for Curry, it was reported last month that the team was targeting March 1 for his first game back.

Curry suffered the injury during the Warriors’ fourth game of the season against the Phoenix Suns. He averaged 20.3 points, 6.5 assists, and five rebounds per game.

Although head coach Steve Kerr said Curry’s been cleared for contact, according to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, the two-time MVP acknowledged that he’s still dealing with nerve damage in his left hand due to the ailment.

“I’m getting used to what the new normal is. (The left hand) definitely feels different than the right,” Curry said.

The injury-depleted Warriors enter Saturday in the Western Conference’s basement with a 12-44 record.

Update On Seth Rollins’s WWE Status

For weeks, fans have been buzzing about the impending return of former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, who has been on the shelf since last November.

Now, The Wrestling Observer is reporting that Rollins is expected back on television “relatively soon,” with a movie he’s filming being the main impediment to his return.

As announced on April 5, Rollins is co-starring with Wesley Snipes in horror-thriller “Temple,” which is filming in New Orleans. The film is the first in a multi-picture deal signed between WWE Studios and Snipes’s Maandi Media DDM production company.

It stars Snipes, Rollins, Anne Heche, and Dave Annable as members of a team of trained operatives trapped in a military compound and targeted by an artificial intelligence. Filming began April 6.

Rollins was first put out of action on November 4 when he tore the ACL, MCL, and medial meniscus in his right knee during a match with Kane in Dublin. He was stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, forced to undergo surgery, and given an estimated recovery time of six to nine months.

The title was put on the line in a 16-man tournament, which Roman Reigns won. Minutes after his victory, Sheamus cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to defeat Reigns for the title.

Panthers’ Huberdeau to return for start of 3-game homestand

The Florida Panthers‘ first line was reunited at their morning skate as Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr skated with Jonathan Huberdeau – who’s set to return from injury Monday against the Boston Bruins – for the first time in a month.

Huberdeau missed the last six games with an upper-body injury, and was hurt one day before Barkov’s return from a six-game absence with an upper-body injury of his own. The Panthers’ top line last played together Feb. 8.

With 11 goals and 29 assists in 59 games, Huberdeau will need 14 more points in his team’s final 17 contests to match his career high set last year.

Trailing the Tampa Bay Lightning by two points, the Panthers begin an important three-game homestand Monday. After hosting the Bruins, they’ll be visited by a pair of teams vying for playoff spots in the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers.