San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
HE’S A COLT
NFL
Philip Rivers is officially an Indianapolis Colt after signing his contract Saturday, saying he wanted just one more season.
All Philip Rivers really wanted was a chance to play one more NFL season. So when the Indianapolis Colts gave him a shot, the eighttime Pro Bowler took it.
Rivers officially ended his 16-year tenure with the Chargers on Saturday by signing the $25 million deal he agreed to last week.
“I still love to play, I know I can play at a high level,” the 38-year-old quarterback said on a conference call, acknowledging he was ready to walk away from football if he received no offers.
Rivers believes he has plenty to offer even after one of his worst seasons.
He threw 23 touchdown passes, his lowest total since 2007, and 20 interceptions, matching the second-highest total of his career. While some blamed the troubles on a poor offensive line or Rivers trying to do too much to rally the Chargers late in games, others contended his skills were rapidly deteriorating.
Now, with a fresh start, a strong running game and one of the league’s top offensive lines, Rivers insists he will prove the critics wrong this season.
“I feel great and if I feel like I do next year then I’ll be excited to keep on going, depending on how the team feels about it,” Rivers said. “I do want to coach my oldest son (in high school). I have two sons, they’re 12 and eight, so we’ve got a little time. I don’t think you’ll see me in the Tom Brady range, but I feel good and I feel like I can help a team win a championship.”
Rivers takes the reins of an Indianapolis team that stumbled to a 7-9 record last season. But first he must beat out incumbent starter Jacoby Brissett, who struggled during the second half last season after injuring his left knee.
Also Saturday, the Colts also released starting cornerback Pierre Desir and veteran backup quarterback Brian Hoyer.
More NFL
The Eagles signed free agent linebacker Jatavis Brown to a one-year contract. Brown, who spent his first four NFL seasons with the Chargers, played primarily on special teams last season.
• Running back Kenyan Drake’s agency says he will sign his one-year, $8.5 million tender to stay with the Cardinals.
•The Jets released cornerback Darryl Roberts after four seasons with the team.
• The Raiders agreed to terms with wide receiver Nelson Agholor and guard Erik
Kush.
• The Bears and cornerback Artie Burns agreed to a one-year contract.
Horse racing
Wells Bayou took an early lead and held off NY Traffic to win the $1 million Louisiana Derby by a head in New Orleans in one of the few U.S. sporting events to continue as scheduled amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In the 107th running of the major prep race for the Kentucky Derby, the clubhouse and grandstand at Fair Grounds Race Course were empty and eerily quiet because of crowd restrictions related to the virus.
College basketball
Duke sophomore Tre Jones says he will enter the NBA Draft.
The point guard was named to the third team of The Associated Press Allamerica team on Friday after being named Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year by the league and runner-up for the same award from the AP.
Coronavirus
The U.S. track federation added its name to a growing chorus of calls to postpone the Tokyo Games because of the coronavirus. In a letter to the CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, USA Track and Field CEO Max Siegel urged the federation to advocate for the postponement of the Games, which are to start July 24. USATF joins USA Swimming, which sent a similar letter to the USOPC on Thursday. Brazil’s Olympic Committee also has called for a postponement.
• Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton says he has been self-isolating for more than a week after meeting people who later tested positive.
• A second Ottawa Senators player has tested positive. The player was part of the recent road trip that included NHL games in San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles.
• Former Real Madrid President Lorenzo Sanz died Saturday from the new coronavirus. He was 76.
• AC Milan great Paolo Maldini has tested positive. Maldini retired from playing in 2009 after helping Milan to five European Cup and Champions League titles and seven Serie A championships.
• Enrique Bonilla, the president of Mexico’s Liga MX soccer league, has tested positive.
• The IIHF Council has confirmed that the 2020 Ice Hockey World Championship, scheduled to take place in Zurich and Lausanne, has been canceled.
Golf
The major golf tours may have shut down during the coronavirus outbreak, but a handful of mini tours are playing through, including the Cactus and Outlaw tours in Arizona.
Anna Nordqvist shot a final-round 66 on Friday at Moon Valley Country Club in Phoenix to tie Lisa Pettersson and win a Cactus Tour event with a 12-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole. Jared de Toit shot a final-round 59 on Thursday in an Outlaw Tour event at Gilbert, Ariz., but lost in a playoff to fellow Canadian Wil Bateman.