Brandon Graham is returning to the Eagles for a 15th season
PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Eagles agreed to terms on a one-year contract with veteran Brandon Graham, the club announced Saturday, meaning the defensive end will be back for a franchise-record 15th season.
Graham has 73 sacks in a record 195 career games with the Eagles, including three sacks last season. The 35-year-old is a popular player in the locker room and in the Philadelphia community.
Graham helped clinch the franchise’s only Super Bowl with a late strip sack of Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII, a 41-33 Eagles’ win over the Patriots on Feb. 4, 2018.
Philadelphia drafted Graham No. 13 overall in the 2010 draft out of Michigan. He missed most of the 2022 season with a torn Achilles tendon but came back to post a career-high 11 sacks. parently knocking Ngannou out cold with an unblocked right hand.
The 37-year-old Ngannou eventually got up to his stool, but the mixed martial arts star was dazed and clearly hurt after his encounter with Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) in only his second pro boxing match. Joshua and Ngannou embraced and talked afterward.
“I told him he shouldn’t leave boxing,” Joshua said. “He can do well. Remember, he’s two fights in, and he’s fought the best. He can go a long way if he stays dedicated, but it’s up to him.”
The fight world had optimism for Ngannou after he gave an impressive performance in a near-upset of Tyson Fury last October, losing by a narrow split decision. Joshua quickly proved there’s no substitute for years of boxing experience – and possibly revealed just how lightly Fury treated his bout with Ngannou last fall.
To avoid strikes at Olympics, French workers to get bonuses
NICE, France – The French government will offer bonuses to civil servants deployed across the capital during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in a bid to avoid strikes during the events this summer, the country’s Minister for Transformation and Public Administration, Stanislas Guerini, said Saturday.
Eligible employees will get a bonus ranging from $547 to $1,641 – in addition to their salaries – for working during the Summer Games in Paris and the ensuing
Paralympics, Guerini said. He did not provide details on the criteria for the payments.
The announcement came after a major French union warned of possible strikes, including at hospitals, during the Paris Olympics, when massive influx of people is expected in the French capital.
The social situation in France remains tense, amid recent protests from teachers, police officers and farmers that followed huge demonstrations last year against the rise in retirement age.
Last month, employees at the Eiffel Tower shut down one of the world’s most visited sites for six days with a strike, demanding not only salary hikes but also better maintenance of the historic landmark.
Max Verstappen’s mentor Helmut Marko staying with Red Bull
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen’s mentor Helmut Marko said Saturday he is staying with Red Bull, after Verstappen indicated their futures at the team were linked amid the fallout from Red Bull’s investigation into team principal Christian Horner.
Marko had previously told Austrian broadcaster ORF on Friday that “theoretically the possibility always exists” that he might not be with Red Bull after this weekend’s event in Saudi Arabia. Later that day, Verstappen gave Marko his strong support and indicated he might re-examine his future with Red
Bull if Marko were to leave.
Last week, the team’s parent company dismissed a complaint of alleged misconduct by Red Bull team principal Horner toward a team employee.
A day after the Horner complaint was dismissed, a file alleged to contain evidence against Horner was emailed to nearly 200 people in the F1 paddock, including Liberty Media, F1, the FIA, the other nine team principals and multiple media outlets. The source of that leak has not been disclosed.
Marko said Saturday that any suggestion he might have been involved in such a leak would be “complete nonsense.”
German police arrest more than 200 before soccer match
MÖNCHENGLADBACH, Germany – Mönchengladbach police made more than 200 arrests in clashes with rival soccer fans the night before the Bundesliga’s Rhine derby between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Cologne.
Police said Saturday they arrested a total of 205 “problem fans” – 131 Cologne supporters and 74 of the home team – following violent clashes outside the stadium where Gladbach supporters had been preparing the choreography for Saturday’s match.
Buses from a local transport company were needed to process the high number of people taken into custody, police said.