Longtime Patriots receiver Edelman announces retirement
Longtime New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman announced his retirement Monday after the team terminated the former Super Bowl MVP’s contract with a “failed physical” designation.
In a video posted to social media Monday afternoon, in which he sat in a chair at midfield of the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium, Edelman said he was retiring from the NFL due to an injury he battled for most of last season.
“I’ve always said I’m gonna go until the wheels come off,” Edelman said, “and they finally have fallen off.”
Edelman, who turns 35 next month, only played in the first six games of 2020 before undergoing knee surgery.
A three-time Super Bowl winner, Edelman ranks second in Patriots history in receptions (620), fourth in receiving yards (6,822) and ninth in touchdown receptions (36).
A quarterback in college at Kent State after playing at Woodside High and College of San Mateo, Edelman was drafted in the seventh round (232nd overall) by New England in 2009 and wound up playing in 137 regular season games and 19 postseason games.
CLOWNEY, BROWNS TALKS CONTINUE >> Talks between the Cleveland Browns and former No. 1 overall draft pick Jadeveon Clowney are advancing and could culminate in an agreement, ESPN reported. Clowney visited the Browns on March 24, and NFL Network reported on Monday that he’ll return to Cleveland’s headquarters Wednesday — a visit that could include a physical that may lead to a contract agreement.
Clowney has dealt with assorted injuries over the past few seasons. He spent five years with the Texans, recording 29 sacks and making the Pro Bowl three times. He played one season in Seattle before going to Tennessee. He played just eight games for the Titans before a knee injury ended his season in November and posted the worst numbers of his career since he was a rookie: 19 tackles, no sacks and one forced fumble.
EX-CHIEFS COACH CHARGED WITH DUI AFTER CRASH >> Former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid was charged with driving while intoxicated resulting in serious physical injury after a crash that left a 5-yearold girl critically injured. The Jackson County (Missouri) prosecutor’s office said Reid’s blood alcohol content shortly after the Feb. 4 crash was .113, above the legal limit of .08. He also was driving about 84 mph in a 65 mph zone seconds before his truck
crashed into two cars stopped on an entrance ramp to Interstate 435 near Arrowhead Stadium.
One of the vehicles had stalled because its battery was dead and the second was owned by a cousin who had arrived to help, according to the charging documents. Reid is the son of Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
A 5-year-old girl in the second car, Ariel Young, suffered a traumatic brain injury. Her family’s attorney told The Kansas City Star on Monday that she was released from the hospital April 2 and is being treated at her home. She is unable to talk or walk.
Women’s soccer
U.S. WOMEN TO APPEAL PAY CLAIMS AFTER PARTIAL SETTLEMENT >> The U.S. women’s national team can proceed with their appeal over claims for equal pay after a judge on Monday approved a settlement between the United States Soccer Federation and the players over working conditions.
The women’s team sued their governing body in 2019, alleging gender discrimination in compensation and nearly every other aspect of playing conditions and months later picked up their fourth World Cup as fans chanted “equal pay” during the final.
Judge R. Gary Klausner of the United States District Court for the Central District of California last year threw out the players’ claims that they were underpaid compared with the men’s national team and weeks later denied the players’ bid to appeal until the working conditions element was settled.
Molly Levinson, a spokeswoman for the players, said they plan to appeal Klausner’s ruling on equal pay after the judge granted final approval to the settlement on working conditions, which includes travel and playing conditions.
Basketball
OLLIE NAMED COACH OF NEW LEAGUE DESIGNED FOR PREP STANDOUTS >>
UConn coach Kevin Ollie has joined a new basketball league designed to provide elite high school players another potential pathway to the NBA.
Ollie will serve as coach and director of player development for Overtime Elite, which markets itself to players between 16 and 18 years old with promises of academic education and a six-figure salary.
The league offers another possible route to reach the NBA in addition to the NCAA, the developmental G League or overseas play. It’s to start in September and features about 30 players all living and playing in a city yet to be named. Overtime Elite was recently launched through the sports media company Overtime. Among the league’s selling points: top coaching, advanced sports science and performance technologies, state-of-the-art facilities and personalized academic programs.
Walnut Creek’s G League Ignite, a team comprised of five draft-eligible high school players surrounded by professional veterans debuted this season in the G League bubble in Florida.
Horse racing ADVANCE TICKETS ONLY FOR GOLDEN GATE FIELDS RACING >>
Golden Gate Fields announced the reopening of the racetrack to a limited capacity of fans starting on Friday for the remainder of the winter/spring meet that runs through June 13.
Currently tickets are available to purchase for the next two weekends of racing including Gold Rush Weekend. Tickets must be purchased in advance. No walk-up admission is permitted at this time. Go to goldengatefields.com for detailed ticket information.
Boxing DOCUMENTARY CHRONICLES ERA OF LEONARD, HAGLER, HEARNS, DURAN >>
The boxing battles among Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran will be chronicled in an upcoming four-part documentary. Showtime will air “The Kings” beginning June 6. It focuses on the four Hall of Fame fighters who met a combined nine times in the 1980s and provided some of the most memorable matchups of their era.
The series of fights started with Duran’s victory over Leonard in their first bout in 1980 and culminated with Leonard’s draw against Hearns in their second fight in 1989. Three of the bouts were recognized by The Ring magazine as its “Fight of the Year.”