Los Angeles Rams sign former Giants punter Riley Dixon TALKING POINTS
THOUSAND OAKS — Punter Riley Dixon has signed with the Los Angeles Rams.
Dixon joined the Super Bowl champions on Tuesday after spending the past four seasons with the New York Giants, posting the two highest single-season net punting averages in franchise history during his tenure. New York released him last month.
The Syracuse product began his NFL career with two seasons in Denver.
Dixon will compete to replace Johnny Hekker, the fourtime All-Pro who was released by the Rams last month in a cost-cutting move after a decade with the franchise. Hekker, who also was the Rams’ holder on placekicks, quickly signed with Carolina.
Dixon is just the third veteran free agent signed in the offseason by the Rams, joining receiver Allen Robinson and linebacker Bobby Wagner.
Los Angeles has lost six free agents who played extensively last season, including Von Miller. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth retired, and receiver Robert Woods was traded to Tennessee.
Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe wins John R. Wooden Award
LOS ANGELES — Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky won the John R. Wooden Award as the men’s college basketball player of the year.
Tuesday’s announcement from the Los Angeles Athletic Club was made on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
Tshiebwe led the nation with 515 total rebounds and 15.1 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-9 center had the most rebounds in a season since 1973 and the highest per game average since 1980. Kentucky was beat in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by St. Peter’s.
Tshiebwe, who is from Congo, is the second Kentucky player to win the award, joining Anthony Davis in 2012. Tshiebwe also collected player of the year honors from The Associated Press, Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, The Sporting News and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
The other finalists were Ochai Agbaji of national champion Kansas, Johnny Davis of Wisconsin, Iowa’s Keegan Murray and Drew Timme of Gonzaga.
Aliyah Boston with national champion South Carolina won the women’s Wooden Award on Monday. The 6-foot-5 forward averaged 16.8 points and had a Southeastern Conference record of 27 straight double-doubles.
Tshiebwe and Boston have been invited to Los Angeles for Friday’s 46th annual presentation.
Voting took place from March 14-21 during the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament by a national panel of voters who cover the sport and former winners.
Kansas’ victory mostviewed men’s title game on cable TV
NEW YORK — Kansas’ comeback victory over North Carolina to win the NCAA
basketball championship was the mostviewed men’s title game on cable television.
The Jayhawks’ 72-69 win averaged 18.1 million viewers on TBS, TNT and truTV. It is also a 4% increase over last year’s title game between Baylor and Gonzaga on CBS. This was the third time the championship game was on Turner networks, but first since 2018. They were supposed to have the 2020 final, but the tournament was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The entire tournament on CBS and Turner averaged 10.7 million viewers, a 13% increase over last year.
Kansas’ 16-point rally, which was the
biggest comeback in championship game history, was also the third most-watched college basketball game in cable TV history. Saturday’s semifinal matchup between North Carolina and Duke, averaged 18.5 million, ranks second. The 2015 semifinal between Wisconsin and Kentucky — also on Turner — is No. 1 (22.63 million).
Peacock stars Banks, Lee and Edert enter transfer portal
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Three of the stars of Saint Peter’s remarkable run to the Elite Eight have put their names in the transfer portal following coach Shaheen Holloway’s departure for Seton Hall.
Starting guards Daryl Banks III and Matthew Lee and backup Doug Edert tweeted about their moves Wednesday. All thanked the little Jesuit university in Jersey
City, New Jersey, for the past three years. They said they wanted to see what opportunities awaited them in basketball.
Players who enter the portal are letting other schools know they are considering a transfer. Peacocks big man and three-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference defensive player of the year KC Ndefo entered the portal last year but returned to Saint Peter’s.
Holloway, who led the Peacocks to the MAAC Tournament title and wins over No. 2 seed Kentucky, No. 7 seed Murray State and No. 3 seed Purdue in becoming the Cinderellas of this year’s NCAA Tournament, was hired by Seton Hall, his alma mater, on March 28. It happened a day after national runner-up North Carolina routed Saint Peter’s for a berth in the Final Four.