Texans rookie puts career on hold to fight leukemia
HOUSTON • Houston Texans’ Canadian rookie wide receiver John Metchie III announced Sunday that he’s been diagnosed with a form of leukemia.
In a statement posted on the Texans’ Twitter account, the Brampton, Ont., product says he’s being treated for acute promyelocytic leukemia, “the most curable form,” and expects “to make a recovery at a later point in time.”
“As a result of this diagnosis, I will likely not be playing football this season,” Metchie said. “My main focus will be on my health and recovery. ... I cannot wait to come back stronger than ever.”
Metchie went 44th overall in this year’s NFL draft out of Alabama, where he had 96 receptions for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns last season for the Crimson Tide. He tore his left ACL during the SEC conference championship game. In 2020, he had 55 receptions for 916 yards.
Patrick Mahomes walked onto the practice field at Missouri Western State University on Sunday, flanked by NFL rookies and long shots, many of whom dream of earning in a year what the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback will make by the end of the day.
Yet, when the Chiefs open the season in Arizona on Sept. 11, Mahomes won’t even be the best-paid QB in the game.
Yes, Mahomes set the market when he signed a 10-year, US$450 million contract in July 2020, but that astonishing deal has been surpassed — in average pay and guaranteed compensation — multiple times over the past couple of years.
The latest to join the club with a skyrocketing contract is the Cardinals passer Kyler Murray, whose fiveyear, $230.5-million deal signed this week outpaces Mahomes in average pay by more than a million per year.
All of which is fine for
Mahomes, whose inherent humility means he doesn’t mind seeing others get their due.
“You want the salaries to keep going up, your players getting more and more,” Mahomes said. “When I saw my deal, I knew I was going to be pretty set for life, regardless of what the market kind of patterns.
“But you just keep playing. I mean, money is one thing, but when you get a Super Bowl ring in your career, I mean, that’s the kind of thing you look back upon.”
Two of the St. Louis Cardinals’ best players, third baseman Nolan Arenado and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, won’t make the trip to Toronto for a short series with the Blue Jays because they haven’t received the COVID-19 vaccination.
The Cardinals announced Sunday that catcher Austin Romine also won’t travel to Canada for the team’s Tuesday and Wednesday games. Canada has restrictions on travellers who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19.
Arenado, Goldschmidt and Romine will be placed on the restricted list and forfeit pay and major league service time in accordance with the terms of Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement.
Goldschmidt currently leads the Cardinals in most offensive categories, including batting average (. 333), home runs (22), RBIS (74), on-base percentage (.416) and hits (116). Arenado has 102 hits, 18 home runs and 59 RBIS.
Romine joined the Cards earlier this season as backup for the injured Yadier Molina, who is expected to rejoin the team next month.
The Los Angeles Angels parted ways with veteran infielder Jonathan Villar, designating him for assignment Sunday while the club purchased the contract of outfielder Magneuris Sierra from triple A Salt Lake.
The Angels signed Villar to a contract on July 2 after he was designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs and released June 28.
Villar, a veteran of 10 major league seasons, was batting just .163 for the Angels in 13 games. He made two errors at third base in Saturday’s 7-2 road loss to the Atlanta Braves.
He was batting .208 overall in 59 Major League Baseball games this season.
The San Francisco Giants placed third baseman Evan Longoria on the 10-day injured list on Sunday with a strained right hamstring.
Longoria, 36, was injured in the fourth inning of Saturday’s road game against the Los Angeles Dodgers while running out a ground ball. Longoria had just returned from an oblique strain and was in his fifth game back.
Longoria is batting .243 with a .791 OPS in 49 games for the Giants this season, adding nine home runs and 19 RBIS.
Kurt Busch didn’t participate in Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway because of “concussion-like” symptoms.
Busch, 43, hit the wall when he spun out during qualifying Saturday in Turn 3 at the raceway in Long Pond, Pa. The car spun again and hit the wall a second time, but Busch was able to exit on his own. He didn’t pass medical protocols on Sunday.
“NASCAR has done a great job of putting the driver’s health before competition and I respect the decision they have made,” Busch tweeted. “I’m still having concussion-like symptoms from (Saturday’s) impact in qualifying. The tests demonstrate I am still recovering.”