Jordan Mailata, other Eagles stars downplay tush push as NFL vote on team's signature play looms

Jordan Mailata, other Eagles stars downplay tush push as NFL vote on team's signature play looms

The NFL owners are expected to reengage in talks about the polarizingtush pushon Wednesday at league meetings. Last month, ownerstabled the voteon a proposal to ban the play that became the Philadelphia Eagles' calling card over the past couple of seasons. As the vote nears, some prominent Philadelphia Eagles spoke out about the controversial short yardage play. Click Here For More Sports Coverage On Foxnews.com "I don't have any thoughts on it," Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown said. "It's only one yard." Offensive lineman Jordan Mailata echoed similar sentiments, saying: "They're ruling [on] the push? I guess we'll just do it with no push. "In terms of them banning the tush push, I hate that name, so I hope they do ban it — it's a stupid name," the All-Pro tackle joked. Read On The Fox News App Commanders' Frankie Luvu Chimes In On 'Cheapo' Push As Nfl Team Owners Weigh Ban "But I can't control it. We can't control it. So, we don't even worry about it. Right now, we're just installing our schemes, whatever [offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo] is installing that day, that's what we're focused on because worrying about if they're going to ban the tush push or not ain't going to win us a championship." .The Green Bay Packers submitted a proposal to ban the tush push. "We'll see where that goes," Eagles coachNick Siriannisaid. "We're not waiting very long to figure it out. It's going to be public [Wednesday]. And you know how I feel about it." At last month's league meetings, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie described the tush push as "precision play" and credited quarterback Jalen Hurts for helping make the play routinely successful. ESPN reported that the tush push was utilized in just 0.28% of total plays last season. Follow Fox News Digital'ssports coverage on X, and subscribe tothe Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter. Original article source:Jordan Mailata, other Eagles stars downplay tush push as NFL vote on team's signature play looms

byKevin Jones

in

May 20, 2025

Jordan Mailata, other Eagles stars downplay tush push as NFL vote on team's signature play looms

Jordan Mailata, other Eagles stars downplay tush push as NFL vote on team's signature play looms The NFL owners are expected to reengage...

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder rout Wolves in opener

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder rout Wolves in opener

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander overcame a slow start to score 31 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 114-88 home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday. It was Gilgeous-Alexander's fourth consecutive game with 30 or more points and his eighth in 12 playoff games this season. He added a game-high nine assists. With seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander drove toward the basket and began falling, flipping the ball toward the bucket as he went down. The ball rolled around the rim briefly before dropping through, and Jaden McDaniels was called for the foul. Gilgeous-Alexander finished off the three-point play to put the Thunder up by 14. He finished 10 of 27 from the floor and 0 of 4 from 3-point range, but he made 11 of 14 from the free-throw line. Early on, the Timberwolves' defense gave Gilgeous-Alexander fits, holding him to just 2-of-13 shooting in the first half. Oklahoma City trailed by nine with a little more than a minute remaining in the first half before the Thunder closed on a 6-1 run to cut the deficit to four. In the second half, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault moved Gilgeous-Alexander off the ball, and it helped the likely Most Valuable Player find a rhythm. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 points in the third quarter as Oklahoma City outscored Minnesota 32-18. While Gilgeous-Alexander turned up the pressure on offense, it was the Thunder's defense that played the biggest role in the victory. Overall, Oklahoma City scored 31 points on 19 Timberwolves' turnovers. Minnesota managed only 10 points off the Thunder's 15 giveaways. Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams produced 19 points and eight rebounds, while Chet Holmgren added 15 points and seven boards. The Thunder shot 50 percent from the field and 11 of 21 (52.4 percent) from beyond the arc while holding Minnesota to just 34.9 percent from the floor and 15 of 51 (29.4 percent) from 3-point range. Julius Randle led Minnesota with 28 points, scoring 20 in the first half. After going 5-for-6 in the first half on 3-point tries, Randle didn't attempt a shot from beyond the arc in the second half. Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards wound up with 18 points and nine rebounds. He attempted just one shot, a miss, while playing seven minutes in the fourth quarter. --Field Level Media

byKevin Jones

in

May 20, 2025

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder rout Wolves in opener

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder rout Wolves in opener Shai Gilgeous-Alexander overcame a slow start to score 31 points to lead the Oklahoma...

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Birdsong pitches the Giants past the Royals 3-2 in his 1st start of the season

Birdsong pitches the Giants past the Royals 3-2 in his 1st start of the season

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hayden Birdsong threw five sharp innings in his first start of the season and the San Francisco Giants beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 on Tuesday night. Birdsong (2-0) was moved from the bullpen to the rotation in place of Jordan Hicks and provided just what manager Bob Melvin hoped he would deliver when he made the move. Birdsong allowed one unearned run, five hits and no walks to give the Giants their fourth win in the last five games. Ryan Walker pitched the ninth for his ninth save in 11 chances. Willy Adames hit an RBI triple in the fourth inning against Michael Lorenzen (3-5) and scored on a single by Casey Schmitt to give San Francisco a 2-1 lead. Lorenzen allowed three runs — two earned — and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings in his shortest start of the season for Kansas City. Kyle Isbel hit a sacrifice fly in the third and Bobby Witt Jr. had a run-scoring infield single in the eighth for the Royals, who have been held to four runs or fewer in 42 of 50 games. Key moment The Giants added an insurance run in the fifth after Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino threw wildly to second when he tried to get a force on a grounder by Wilmer Flores. Jung Hoo Lee followed with an RBI single to make it 3-1. Key stat San Francisco improved to 25-9 this season against right-handed starters. Up next RHP Logan Webb (5-3, 2.42 ERA) pitches the series finale for the Giants. Webb is 3-0 with a 0.64 ERA in four starts at home. The Royals are undecided on their starter. ___ AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

byKevin Jones

in

May 20, 2025

Birdsong pitches the Giants past the Royals 3-2 in his 1st start of the season

Birdsong pitches the Giants past the Royals 3-2 in his 1st start of the season SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hayden Birdsong threw five sharp innings...

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Timberwolves' failure to launch in paint, score from bench spells doom in Game 1 loss

Timberwolves' failure to launch in paint, score from bench spells doom in Game 1 loss

For theOklahoma City Thunder, the eruption came in the second half. The Thunder outscored theMinnesota Timberwolvesby 30 points after halftime inGame 1of theNBA Western Conferencefinals Tuesday to roll to a114-88victory. Thunder guard and Most Valuable Player candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all players with 31 points on 10-of-27 shooting, though he did convert 11-of-14 free throws. Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwardssuffered an injury scareat the end of the first quarter when he tweaked his ankle, but he returned to the game and finished with 18 points. Here are the winners and losers from Tuesday night's Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder: This has been the pattern for Gilgeous-Alexander, one of the more consistent players in the NBA: even when he has a bad first half, he usually course corrects and wills his way to a steady, 30-point game. SGA went 8-of-14 in the second half, scoring 20 of his 31 points after intermission. He was aggressive and attacked the Timberwolves in the paint, getting to his preferred spots at the elbows for mid-range shots. Compare that to his numbers from the first half, when Gilgeous-Alexander shot 2-of-13 from the field. While Minnesota did have some success with Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards guarding Gilgeous-Alexander in the first half, both got into foul trouble. Finding more effective ways of stopping SGA will be crucial the rest of the series. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault came up with a masterful adjustment at the half: with Minnesota getting a massive contribution from Julius Randle, who scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half, Daigneault opted to play a small lineup and put forward Kenrich Williams on Randle. Williams had barely played in the second round against the Denver Nuggets, but he used his size and physicality to match Randle's, frustrating him. Randle didn't score a single point in the third quarter, the Thunder outscored the Timberwolves by 14 points in the period and OKC's run started to put the game away. Oklahoma City clamped down on defense in the second half and started to see its shots fall. The Thunder outscored the Timberwolves 70-40 in the second half. In the first half, though they weren't lights-out, the Timberwolves shot the ball decently from the perimeter, going 10-of-28 (35.7%) from 3-point range. Minnesota, which carried a four-point lead at intermission, avoided working the ball into the paint. In the second half, when the 3s stopped falling, things fell apart. The Thunder went on an extended run in the third quarter and the Timberwolves' response was to continue strafing the rim with 3s. In the second half, Minnesota shot 21.7% from 3. Overall, the Thunder outscored Minnesota 54-20 in the paint. For the most part, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch plays an eight-man rotation, with Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker being the three off the bench. Tuesday night, they struggled to provide meaningful and consistent contributions, struggling from the field. The trio combined to go 7-of-36 from the field (19.4%) and an abysmal 5-of-28 (17.9%) from 3. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Timberwolves' failure to launch in paint, score off bench spells doom

byKevin Jones

in

May 20, 2025

Timberwolves' failure to launch in paint, score from bench spells doom in Game 1 loss

Timberwolves' failure to launch in paint, score from bench spells doom in Game 1 loss For theOklahoma City Thunder, the eruption came in...

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Riley Greene hits a 9th inning RBI double to give the Tigers a 5-4 win over the Cardinals

Riley Greene hits a 9th inning RBI double to give the Tigers a 5-4 win over the Cardinals

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Riley Greene homered and hit the winning RBI double in the ninth inning to help the Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 on Tuesday night. Zack McKinstry singled off Kyle Leahy (1-1) to lead off the ninth and scored on Greene's double to the right-field gap. Will Vest (4-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Tommy Kahnle pitched the ninth to earn his sixth save in eight chances. Tigers starter Tarik Skubal allowed three runs on five hits and a walk and struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings. Nolan Arenado homered, and Erick Fedde allowed four runs on five hits, struck out two batters, and walked none in five innings for the Cardinals. Victor Scott II doubled off Tyler Holton to lead off the the seventh and scored on Masyn Winn's sacrifice fly to tie the game at 4-4. Iván Herrera drove in Winn with a single to right to cut the Cardinals deficit to 4-3 in the sixth inning and chase Skubal. Herrera singled to right field to lead off the fifth inning and give him a career-best 10-game hitting streak. Arenado hit the next pitch into the left field stands, cutting Detroit's lead to 4-2. Kerry Carpenter hit a lead off homer for Detroit. Greene lined a two-run homer off the right field foul pole to double Detroit's lead to 4-0. Key moment After Herrera's seventh-inning single, Arenado and Jordan Walker each singled to load the bases, but Brennan Hanifee got Pedro Páges to ground weakly to third base to preserve Detroit's 4-3 lead. Key stat Skubal allowed Winn to advance to second on a sixth inning balk. It was his first balk in 630 2/3 major league innings. Up next Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said LHP Sean Guenther (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will start a bullpen game against St. Louis RHP Andre Pallante (4-2, 4.11) in the final game of their three-game series on Wednesday. ___ AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

byKevin Jones

in

May 20, 2025

Riley Greene hits a 9th inning RBI double to give the Tigers a 5-4 win over the Cardinals

Riley Greene hits a 9th inning RBI double to give the Tigers a 5-4 win over the Cardinals ST. LOUIS (AP) — Riley Greene homered and hit the ...

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