Raiders give tackle Miller extension
Kolton Miller is staying with the Raiders and will be well compensated. The Raiders’ left tackle more than survived the offensive line purge, but thrived, agreeing to a three-year contract extension, the Bay Area News Group confirmed.
The deal, as first reported by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, guarantees Miller $42.6 million and averages $18 million per season.
Labeled a reach as the 15th overall selection out of UCLA in 2018, Miller stepped in immediately as the starter and after a rough rookie season has improved each season. Miller has played in 46 games, all starts, and missed the first two games of his career last season with an ankle injury.
The Raiders’ offensive line will be rebuilt this season with the exits of center Rodney Hudson (Cardinals), Gabe Jackson (Seahawks) and Trent Brown at the cost of a third-round draft pick and two fifths, with a seventh going to New England in the Brown deal.
According to overtheap.com, the 49ers Trent Williams is No. 1 ($23.1 million), followed by David Bakhtiari of Green Bay ($23 million, Laremy Tunsil of Houston ($22 million) and Ronnie Stanley of Baltimore ($19.75 million). Miller is ahead of Denver’s Garrett Bolles ($17 million).
As it stands, the Raiders offensive line will have Miller at left tackle, veteran Richie Incognito at left guard, Andre James or Nick Martin at center, Denzelle Good at right guard and Brandon Parker at right tackle. It’s conceivable the Raiders will find competition at the right guard spot in the first or second round of the draft.
— Jerry McDonald SEAHAWKS GIVE JACKSON $23M EXTENSION >> The Seattle Seahawks gave offensive lineman Gabe Jackson a three-year, $22.575 extension one week after acquiring the 29-year-old in a trade, NFL Network reported. The new deal includes a $9 million signing bonus and an additional $7.075 million in guaranteed money, per the report.
The Seahawks sent a 2021 fifthround draft pick to the Las Vegas for Jackson, who started 99 of 100 games at either guard position for the Raiders in seven seasons.
Olympics
RAISED FISTS, KNEELING DURING ANTHEM OK AT TRIALS >> The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee will not sanction athletes for raising their fists or kneeling during the national anthem at Olympic trials, previewing a contentious policy it expects to stick to when many of those same athletes head to Tokyo this summer.
The USOPC released a nine-page document Tuesday to offer guidance about the sort of “racial and social demonstrations” that will and won’t be allowed by the hundreds who will compete in coming months for spots on the U.S. team. The document comes three months after the federation, heeding calls from its athletes, determined it would not enforce longstanding rules that ban protests at the Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee’s Rule 50 is an ongoing source of friction across the globe. Many U.S. athletes have spearheaded the call for more freedom in using their platform at the Olympics to advance social justice causes. But others, both in and outside the U.S., balk at widespread rule changes that they fear could lead to demonstrations that sully their own Olympic experiences.
The wide-ranging debate traces its most-visible roots to the ouster of U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos from the 1968 Games. Their raised fists on the medals stand in Mexico City led to the seminal snapshot of social protest in sports history.
With guidance from its recently formed Council on Racial and Social Justice, the USOPC released a list of do’s and don’ts as part of its document. The list of allowable forms of demonstration included holding up a fist, kneeling during the anthem and wearing hats or face masks with phrases such as “Black Lives Matter” or words such as “equality” or “justice.”
Not allowed are hate symbols, as defined by the Anti-Defamation League, and actions that would impede others from competing, such as laying down in the middle of the track.
The document takes pains to define as much as it can, including making clear that acceptable demonstrations should involve “advancing racial and social justice; or promoting the human dignity of individuals or groups that have historically been underrepresented, minoritized, or marginalized in their respective societal context.”
NHL
FLYERS PLACE D GOSTISBEHERE ON WAIVERS >> The Flyers placed defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere on waivers, a surprising move that comes as Philadelphia is attempting to stay in the playoff hunt.
Gostisbehere has five goals and six assists for 11 points in 25 games, and he was benched for a three-game stretch two weeks ago. He produced three assists in five games since returning to action.
The 27-year-old’s production has dropped off since scoring 13 goals and adding 52 assists for a careerbest 65 points in 78 games in 201718. Gostisbehere has managed just 19 goals and 59 points in his last 145 games. He is in the fourth year of a six-year, $27 million contract and represents a $4.5 million salary cap hit.
Tennis
NO. 1 BARTY REACHES MIAMI OPEN
SEMIS>> Top-seeded Ashleigh Barty was pushed to three sets for the third time in four Miami Open matches, but she prevailed again to reach the semifinals. The 24-year-old Australian beat seventh-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3.
Barty’s semifinal opponent will be fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, who defeated Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-2.
Barty won the 2019 Miami Open, and the event wasn’t held last year. She has won 10 consecutive matches in Miami.
Svitolina cruised to her quarterfinal win in 70 minutes as Sevastova struggled with her serve.