San Francisco Giants third baseman Evan Longoria is going on the disabled list after injuring his left hand when he was hit by a pitch at Miami.

The Giants announced the move shortly before their series opener at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.

Longoria fractured the fifth metacarpal in his hand in the fourth inning of the Giants’ 16-inning victory over the Marlins a day earlier. He remained in the game as a runner before being caught in a double play. He was replaced defensively in the bottom of the inning.

Longoria said after the game that the last time he broke a bone in his wrist he went to the World Series in 2008 with Tampa Bay.

He is tied for the Giants’ lead with 34 RBIs [url=http://www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/customized]Customized Los Angeles Rams Jerseys[/url] , is second with 10 home runs and is tied for second with 27 extra-base hits.

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Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is denying a 2011 allegation of sexual assault after a weekly alternative newspaper in Oregon published details of a case that prosecutors didn’t pursue, saying they didn’t believe there was evidence to support the claim.

The report in the Willamette Week in Portland, Oregon, came two weeks after a Sports Illustrated account that portrayed a hostile work environment for women in the front office of the Mavericks.

The woman claimed Cuban reached inside her pants and penetrated her vagina with his finger while they were taking a picture in a Portland nightclub. In an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday, Cuban wrote, ”It didn’t happen.”

In a report explaining why they weren’t pursuing the case, prosecutors wrote that ”there is no evidence to corroborate the complainant’s statement and there is evidence contradicting the claim.” The report also said the woman didn’t want to proceed with the allegation.

BASEBALL

SCOTTSDALE [url=http://www.sandiegochargersteamonline.com/customized]Customized Los Angeles Chargers Jerseys[/url] , Ariz. (AP) – The Arizona Diamondbacks are bringing back the bullpen cart.

The Diamondbacks announced the team will use an OnTrac bullpen cart to transport relief pitchers from both bullpens at Chase Field prior to entering a game.

The last known use of a motorized vehicle in Major League Baseball was in 1995, when the Milwaukee Brewers used a motorcycle with a sidecar. Mike Fetters, Arizona’s bullpen coach, was the closer for the Brewers that season.

Baseball historians have tracked the use of bullpen carts to 1950, when the Cleveland Indians first used a ”little red wagon.” The first official use came in 1951 with the Chicago White Sox. The Kansas City A’s added one in 1955 and by the 1960s, the carts could be found across the majors and minors.

PRO FOOTBALL

Five NFL players have been given the franchise tag, with only Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell getting the exclusive tag.

Bell [url=http://www.miamidolphinsteamonline.com/customized]Customized Miami Dolphins Jerseys[/url] , who has been adamant about not playing under the tag for a second straight season, can’t negotiate with any other teams. Pittsburgh must offer him the average of the top five running backs’ salaries. Both sides plan to continue negotiating.

Also getting franchise tags were Miami wide receiver Jarvis Landry, Detroit defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, Dallas DE DeMarcus Lawrence, and Los Angeles Rams safety Lamarcus Joyner. They can talk with other teams, but their current team would get compensation if they leave.

The only player given the transition tag was Chicago cornerback Kyle Fuller.

MIAMI (AP) – Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross says he won’t force his players to stand for the national anthem, even though he believes kneeling is a counterproductive way to promote social justice.

Ross’ comments in a statement released by the Dolphins came after the New York Daily News reported that he said all of the team’s players will stand for the anthem in 2018. Ross was in New York on Monday to be honored by the Jackie Robinson Foundation and receive its ROBIE Lifetime Achievement Award.

”I have no intention of forcing our players to stand during the anthem [url=http://www.minnesotavikingsteamonline.com/customized]Customized Minnesota Vikings Jerseys[/url] , and I regret that my comments have been misconstrued,” Ross said in his statement.

”I’ve shared my opinion with all our players: I’m passionate about the cause of social justice, and I feel that kneeling is an ineffective tactic that alienates more people than it enlists.”

SPORTS MEDIA

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – A former on-air personality at ESPN has filed a lawsuit alleging she was subjected to sexual harassment at the cable television sports giant and then ostracized for complaining about it.

The lawsuit filed Sunday in federal court in Connecticut by Adrienne Lawrence describes an atmosphere in which male employees openly watch pornography on their computers and keep ”scorecards” naming female colleagues they are targeting for sex.

The network said in a statement that it investigated the allegations raised by Lawrence and they are without merit.

Lawrence, who served a fellowship at ESPN, said in the lawsuit that she was subjected to unwelcome advances from anchor John Buccigross. She says he sent her unsolicited shirtless photos and used inappropriate nicknames like ”doll” for her.

DOPING

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) – IAAF president Sebastian Coe says Russians could be stopped from competing as neutral athletes if the country fails to shows ”dramatic progress” in the fight against doping.

Russia has been suspended since 2015 [url=http://www.newenglandpatriotsteamonline.com/customized]Customized New England Patriots Jerseys[/url] , when the World Anti-Doping Agency found evidence of widespread doping. The only Russians allowed to compete at IAAF events since then have been designated as neutral athletes.

Coe says ”unless dramatic progress is made we, and we genuinely hope it is being made, then we will have to review at our council meeting in July the status of the neutral competitors and the potential for the congress to decide upon the ultimate sanction, I guess, which is expulsion.”

Coe says the world needs to know Russian athletes are in a ”system of confidence and trust.”

The Chicago White Sox have a chance to complete their first three-game sweep of the season when they face the Minnesota Twins in the series finale Thursday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Chicago (28-51) is coming off back-to-back wins by margins of 8-4 and 6-1 over the Twins in the series’ first two games. The White Sox have won three straight [url=http://www.eaglesfootballauthentics.com/avonte-maddox-jersey-authentic]Youth Avonte Maddox Jersey[/url] , including a 10-3 decision over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday afternoon.

A win Thursday would give the White Sox their longest win streak of the season.

Minnesota (34-42) is hoping to salvage a win in the series and turn around a tough week for the club. The Twins have dropped two in a row and five of their past six to fall eight games below .500, which is tied with their low-water mark for the season.

White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito (5-7, 7.01 ERA) will try to build upon his recent improvement in his 16th start of the season. The highly touted 23-year-old has struggled badly with command this year, but has 14 strikeouts and only four walks in his past two outings.

Giolito is 1-2 with a 4.42 ERA in three career starts against Minnesota. Two of those starts took place this season, with the 6-foot-6, 245-pounder posting a 1-1 record with a 3.65 ERA.

Lately, Giolito has found success by not thinking so much about his pitching mechanics.

“It’s been kind of a long road to figure that out,” Giolito said to his team’s official website. “But I’m definitely in a much better place right now with that, just letting it flow. The key words are let it flow. Just go out there and be athletic. …

“It’s like the desire to be as good as I can be to the point where I’ve overanalyzed things and been like [url=http://www.eaglesfootballauthentics.com/josh-sweat-jersey-authentic]Youth Josh Sweat Jersey[/url] , ‘What am I doing wrong? What should I fix? What can I fix?’

“I’m doing that instead of being like, ‘Hey, I’m here, I’m going to compete and let it all happen and just be athletic and let what I’ve been doing for years take over.'”

The Twins will counter with right-hander Jake Odorizzi (3-5, 4.97 ERA) for his 17th start of the season. The Illinois native has 80 strikeouts in 79 2/3 innings this season, but his walk rate (4.1 per nine innings) is the highest since his rookie campaign in 2012 with the Kansas City Royals.

Odorizzi is 1-2 with a 4.13 ERA in five career starts against the White Sox. He has an 0-1 record with a 5.23 ERA (six earned runs in 10 1/3 innings) in two starts against Chicago this season.

Avisail Garcia has homered in back-to-back games for the White Sox and could pose a challenge for Odorizzi, who has given up 14 long balls this year. Jose Abreu also is coming off a much better day at the plate in which he slammed his 12th home run and showed signs of breaking out of a slump.

For the Twins, Ehire Adrianza carries a hot bat into the series finale. He went 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI on Wednesday night, elevating his season average to .264 with four homers and 17 RBIs.

Chicago is 16-26 at home; Minnesota is 14-22 on the road.

After the game [url=http://www.steelersfootballauthentics.com/mason-rudolph-jersey-authentic]Youth Mason Rudolph Jersey[/url] , the Twins will stay in Chicago and head about 8 miles north to take on the Cubs in a weekend series. Minnesota is 6-6 in interleague action compared with a 28-36 record against AL teams.

Police arrested 17 activists who blocked a light-rail line carrying Super Bowl ticketholders to U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday in a protest against police brutality and privileges enjoyed by wealthy visitors that shut down trains for more than two hours.

Live video from the scene showed officers unlocking or cutting through locks the protesters had used to chain themselves to each other and to fencing at the West Bank Station on Metro Transit’s Green Line. The handcuffed activists were loaded onto a waiting bus. Metro Transit spokesman Howie Padilla said all 17 were cited for unlawful interference with transit and released.

No injuries were reported.

Metro Transit used buses to ferry passengers around the blockage, and Padilla said the agency was confident spectators would reach the game before kickoff. The shutdown started about 2:15 p.m., and the stop was finally cleared about two hours later.

Padilla said Metro Transit respects people’s right to free speech and demonstration.

Chinyere Tutashinda, a spokeswoman for the activists, said they were protesting police brutality, as well as the light-rail lines being set aside solely for Super Bowl ticketholders on Sunday. Non-ticketholders had to use buses to get around the metro area instead.

The Green and Blue lines were a major route for many fans to get to Sunday’s game, with security screening done before passengers boarded.

The light-rail shutdown came as Black Lives Matter and several other groups staged rallies to protest police brutality and corporate greed.

About 300 people gathered at a park as temperatures hovered around 2 above zero with wind chills in the subzero teens and marched peacefully a couple miles to the stadium, where most of them took a knee outside a security gate in imitation of Colin Kaepernick. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback started a movement when he began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 to protest racial inequality and police brutality.

”We kneel, we stand [url=http://www.steelersfootballauthentics.com/chukwuma-okorafor-jersey-authentic]Youth Chukwuma Okorafor Jersey[/url] , we fight,” they chanted. ”If we don’t get no justice, you don’t get no peace.”

Squad cars cleared the streets ahead of the procession as part of an operation that included top officials in the Minneapolis Police Department including Chief Medaria Arradondo, the city’s first black police chief, who took over last year amid the political fallout over a pair of fatal police shootings in the city.

”As chief I’m certainly aware that there are concerns that our community has had for a long time, and will still have after the Super Bowl leaves town in a few hours,” Arradondo said in an interview just before the march.

Trevor Bauer turned from pitcher to politician to prize fighter.

If the weather was going to finish him [url=http://www.jetsfootballauthentics.com/chris-herndon-jersey-authentic]Youth Chris Herndon Jersey[/url] , Bauer was going down swinging.

Bauer pitched seven scoreless innings before a rain delay ended his night, and Jason Kipnis homered to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 6-2 win over the sliding and sloppy Chicago White Sox on Monday.

Bauer (6-5) allowed just three hits, struck out eight and was in line to potentially pitch his first career shutout. However, after the game was halted in the seventh for 35 minutes, manager Terry Francona pulled the right-hander following the delay.

Not before Bauer pleaded his case.

”Carl Willis was lucky he didn’t come tell me,” Bauer said, referring to Cleveland’s pitching coach. ”I told him any one but Tito and I was throwing fists.”

Bauer was joking, of course, but Francona liked how his right-hander fought to remain in the game.

”Boy, I give him credit, man,” Francona said. ”Even during the rain delay he was politicking. It just doesn’t make sense. But I gotta tell you, if you’re going to get into a little bit of a push and shove, I like it that he wants to stay in. I respect the hell out of that. I just didn’t think it made sense. I don’t have any doubt he could have done it, too. ”

Roberto Perez drove in two runs off Dylan Covey (3-2) as Cleveland improved to 15-4 in its last 19 home games against Chicago.

The White Sox committed three errors – one by Covey – in the first three innings, lost their fifth straight and dropped a season-high 23 games under .500.

Matt Davidson homered in the ninth for Chicago.

White Sox manager Rick Renteria felt Covey deserved better.

”Believe it or not even though Dylan did have a few walks, he didn’t throw the ball as badly as the numbers might show,” he said. ”We didn’t defend for him. A lot of sloppy play out there to be honest. We just didn’t catch the ball and pick him up when we could have and he still ground out five innings.”

Chicago’s hitters couldn’t get anything going against Bauer, who struck out 12 in a tough loss against the White Sox and Covey last week. Bauer was bidding to tie a club record held by two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber with his fifth consecutive game of at least 10 strikeouts.

Bauer got to eight, but was denied any more because of a line of storms off Lake Erie and Francona’s decision not to push him further. Bauer has thrown at least 100 pitches in all 16 starts this season.

The enigmatic starter is crediting his success to some new pitches and a ”tunneling approach” in which he divides the plate into quadrants.

”The more I’m able to execute those spots, with given pitches [url=http://www.jetsfootballauthentics.com/nathan-shepherd-jersey-authentic]Youth Nathan Shepherd Jersey[/url] , the more confusion there is in the hitters because they see the same look over and over, and the ball goes different ways at different speeds and what not,” he said.

Perez’s two-run, ground-rule double highlighted Cleveland’s three-run second inning, which was set up by Chicago second baseman Yoan Moncada’s fielding error.

MARSHALL PLAN

Indians reliever Evan Marshall left in the eighth after complaining of elbow soreness. Francona said the team will likely have an update on him Wednesday.

MORE THAN A NAME

Looking for bullpen help, the Indians signed veteran reliever Marc Rzepczynski to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Columbus. The left-hander previously pitched for Cleveland from 2013-15, appearing in 145 games.

The club currently needs a lefty reliever with both Andrew Miller and Tyler Olson on the disabled list. Rzepczynski could be an option.

”It’s a guy we know,” Francona said. ”We’re down to one lefty right now, so it’s a guy that certainly could come here and help. He didn’t sign to stay in Triple-A.”

Francona joked that he still has trouble spelling the lefty’s last name.

”I’ve got it in my phone: Z-E-P,” he said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: Renteria said OF Avisail Garcia (strained right hamstring) is progressing well on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte. Garcia’s status will be reassessed after he plays Tuesday and Wednesday. He’s been on the disabled list since May 24.

Indians: OF Bradley Zimmer will undergo an MRI on his right shoulder. Zimmer felt discomfort while throwing after he initially strained the shoulder while doing drills after being sent to Columbus to work on his game. ”I don’t think he thought it was anything, and it just didn’t feel good. So, we’re going to go ahead and get him looked at,” Francona said.

UP NEXT

Indians RHP Mike Clevinger will face the White Sox for the second straight start. He set a career high with 11 strikeouts and held Chicago to one run over seven innings last Thursday. Carlos Rodon will start for the White Sox.

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Vince McMahon is resuscitating the XFL.

OK, let’s get the bad jokes out of the way: Are some teams going to be wearing masks and representing parts unknown? Will the hook-and-ladder play involve smashing someone with a real ladder?

The XFL was a ”colossal failure” the first time McMahon tried it – his words – and there’s every reason to believe XFL2 will meet a similar fate.

But a spring football league, done the right way, could work.

And, no, we’re not kidding around.

The United States Football League came up with the most feasible concept back in the 1980s, only to crumble after just three seasons because of out-of-control spending and a suicidal push by owners such as Donald Trump to compete directly against the NFL .

But the USFL might still be around today if it had stuck to its original concept, which was to serve as more of a complement to the NFL than a direct competitor.

The timing is ripe for another attempt.

While the economy is booming and football remains the nation’s most popular sport, the NFL is contending with shrinking TV ratings [url=http://www.raidersfootballauthentics.com/arden-key-jersey-authentic]Youth Arden Key Jersey[/url] , empty seats and a lingering debate over players kneeling during the national anthem to protest social injustice. For the first time in decades, there are actually some cracks in the league’s armor.

Clearly, those issues figured into McMahon’s planned re-launch of the XFL in 2020 .

”As far as this league is concerned, it will have nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with social issues,” he said. ”That’s what the fans want. When they tune in to a game, they don’t want to deal with political issues. They want to watch good football.”

Good football will likely be the fatal flaw in McMahon’s new venture, just as it was for the original XFL. While the risque cheerleaders and close ties to wrestling brought plenty of much-deserved ridicule, it was the amateurish quality of play that ultimately caused its downfall. As Bob Costas memorably observed, it was ”mediocre high school football” combined ”with a tawdry strip club.”

Since McMahon’s new XFL will follow the same single-entity plan – he’ll be the sole owner of the eight-team league – there’s unlikely to be nearly enough money to lure any recognizable names, unless Tim Tebow (yes, he came up during the announcement Thursday) decides to make a football comeback.

But an updated version of the USFL concept would have a real chance at succeeding during the spring and summer, football’s traditional offseason.

Here’s a few ideas:

– Start with 10 or 12 teams, split between major NFL cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles; those that have lost teams (San Diego, St. Louis and soon-to-be Oakland); and untapped markets with big league stadiums (San Antonio comes to mind).

– Restrict ownership to those who not only have deep pockets, but are totally committed to the concept (i.e., not simply trying to turn their investment into a merger with the NFL). Point out the relative bargain of owning a team in the new league compared to, say, the Carolina Panthers, whose selling price will surely exceed $2 billion. Maybe Mark Cuban would be interested in a Dallas franchise. Reach out to Oprah Winfrey about a Chicago team.

– Don’t get into a bidding war with the NFL over players. Focus heavily on scouting and development [url=http://www.eaglesfootballauthentics.com/markus-wheaton-jersey-authentic]Youth Markus Wheaton Jersey[/url] , which means pursuing lower-level pros who might thrive in a bigger role and college stars projected to go in the later rounds of the NFL draft. Always be on the lookout for someone like 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson, the subject of wildly varying draft projections, who might have a better chance at playing time in a new league. And let’s not forget: Colin Kaepernick is still unemployed.

– Line up a traditional TV deal to provide financial stability, perhaps some combination of a major network and a newer, sports-themed cable outlet such as NBCSN or Fox Sports 1. But also be on the cutting edge of subscription services, mobile streaming and other innovative conduits that appeal to a younger audience.

In essence, follow the model laid out by the late David Dixon, the New Orleans businessman whose longtime push for an out-of-season league finally came to fruition with the launch of the USFL in 1983.

Looking back, that first season was a rousing success in many ways. The Denver Gold averaged more than 41,000 fans. Overall attendance was roughly in line with the hoped-for 25,000 per game. TV ratings on ABC and then-fledgling ESPN actually exceeded projections. The quality of play was solid.

But the seeds of the USFL’s downfall were already in motion. When the New Jersey Generals skirted the salary cap to lure Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker away from Georgia, it only led more teams to dole out big bucks in pursuit of stars. That, in turn, led to huge financial losses. Dixon wisely walked away after that inaugural season.

In the end, the USFL’s most enduring legacy was the $3 judgment it ”won” in an antitrust suit against the NFL, a ruling that finished off the league in 1986 before it carried out a Trump-backed move from spring to fall.

No one since has made a serious attempt at a spring football league.

A revived XFL certainly doesn’t qualify.

But someone out there should heed McMahon’s words.

”Football is America’s favorite sport,” he said. ”We’ve got seven months of no football on the gridiron and 70 million fans. Why not now? Now is the perfect opportunity.”

—

Paul Newb

They have until July 16 to make it happen.

The Steelers placed the exclusive rights franchise tag on the two-time All-Pro for a second straight spring on Tuesday Isaac Yiadom Color Rush Jersey , putting Bell’s long-term status with the club up in the air.

Bell, a two-time All Pro, accounted for 1,946 total yards and 11 touchdowns for the AFC North champions in 2017. Both Bell and Steelers management said after the season they hoped to get a contract extension done quickly, but failed to do so by Tuesday’s deadline for teams to use the franchise tag.

Bell is scheduled to make $14.54 million in 2018 if he signs the franchise tender and the two sides are unable to reach an agreement on a new deal. He skipped offseason workouts and training camp last summer before signing the tender on the eve of the regular season. The absence led to a sluggish start, though he was an indispensable part of Pittsburgh’s offense once again, breaking his own club record by catching 85 passes.

The 25-year-old made the 2017 All-Pro team at the ”flex” position, one he considered a tribute to his versatility. Bell said repeatedly over the past year he believes he’s different than other backs in the league and wants to be paid accordingly. He is arguably the best receiving back in the NFL and he’s averaged nearly 25 touches a game in five seasons, though he’s only been healthy at the end of the year twice. Bell has twice been suspended by the NFL for violations of the substance abuse policy.

Bell turned down a long-term deal with the Steelers last summer and told ESPN in January he would consider retiring if the Steelers used the franchise tag on him again. He backtracked a bit during the Pro Bowl when he said he believed a new contract was in the works. It was a sentiment echoed by both Steelers president Art Rooney II and general manager Kevin Colbert early in the offseason.

Pittsburgh’s depth behind Bell is thin. James Conner carried the ball 32 times during his rookie season and the club signed Stevan Ridley at the end of the regular season as insurance. Bell tweeted Monday that regardless of the circumstances he wants to remain with the Steelers.

”Pittsburgh: the city that took in a 21-year old kid from small-town Ohio, the city I battled thru adversity in, the city that I became a man in Josey Jewell Color Rush Jersey ,” Bell tweeted. ”I love everything about being a Pittsburgh Steeler, and I want nothing more than to finish the rest of my career in Pitt!”

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Jon Gruden has never had a promising, young quarterback like Derek Carr to develop in 11 seasons as an NFL head coach.

Carr hasn’t had the opportunity to play for a coach like Gruden, an offensive mastermind known for his maniacal work ethic and attention to detail.

The way those two fare together will determine whether Gruden’s return for a second stint as coach of the Oakland Raiders will end up as the resounding success owner Mark Davis hoped for while pining for a reunion the past six years.

”I had a chance to visit with Derek Carr this morning and I said, `Derek, this is an unbelievable opportunity and if you’ll just take advantage of the opportunity, there’s so many great things in store for you, not only professionally but personally,”’ said Rich Gannon, whose career took off after joining Gruden in Oakland in 1999.

”Jon’s excited to work with Derek and Derek’s already a good player but he’s got a chance to be a Hall of Famer and win multiple Super Bowls if he’ll just do the work.”

Carr will be tested and challenged like he hasn’t in his first four seasons. Gruden is famous for arriving at work each day at 3:17 a.m., putting in long hours each week.

He will also ride Carr hard if necessary in order to bring out the best in his game.

”I don’t care how hard Derek worked before DaeSean Hamilton Color Rush Jersey , he’s going to have to change his work habits a little bit to fit in,” Gannon said.

Gannon became a star when he joined up with Gruden after 12 seasons as a journeyman in Minnesota, Washington and Kansas City. He became a first-team All-Pro in his second season with Gruden and won the league MVP the year after Gruden was traded to Tampa Bay.

Carr showed he was capable of being a top quarterback when he garnered MVP support in a breakthrough 2016 season. But he took a major step back this past year after signing a $125 million, five-year extension.

He matched his career high with 13 interceptions and recorded his worst totals in yards, touchdown and passer rating since his rookie year in 2014.

”I think there is a huge ceiling in Derek Carr,” Gruden said. ”I think he has proven that. Up to us as a coaching staff to improve around him, get more consistent, and come up with an offense that really allows him to soar into another level.”

Fixing Carr is just one of Gruden’s tasks. Getting receiver Amari Cooper back on track is nearly as important. After beginning his career with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, Cooper took a major step back in 2017. He was plagued by the drops that hurt him as a rookie and only topped the 100-yard mark twice all season while finishing with career lows with 48 catches for 680 yards.

It was a puzzling drop-off for a receiver who entered the year considered one of the top in the game. Hall of Famer Tim Brown said he believes Cooper could be in for a 120-catch season if he listens to Gruden’s advice.

”Even for a guy like me, who was having a pretty good career Sylvester Williams Color Rush Jersey , he was able to take me to another level, showing me how much better I could be,” Brown said. ”I thought I was doing pretty good. Sometimes you just have to turn your brain off and buy in. If you can do that great things can happen.”

Even some of the greatest players in the game’s history credit Gruden for some of their success. Hall of Famer Jerry Rice arrived in Oakland in 2001 as the most accomplished receiver in NFL history but appeared to be on the decline after failing to reach 1,000 yards in each of his final two seasons in San Francisco.

But he had a rebirth in Oakland under Gruden, catching 83 passes for 1,139 yards at age 39. He followed that up with 92 catches for 1,211 yards the following season and compared Gruden to his former coach in San Francisco, Bill Walsh.

”Could be your best friend or your worst enemy, that’s going to keep you on your toes,” he said. ”Maybe that was something that the players, they were lacking this year. Sometimes you fall into listening to the talk but you need a coach that’s going to keep you focused. With Jon Gruden Kerryon Johnson Color Rush Jersey , he’s that type of coach.”

While Gruden’s biggest impact is on offense, his leadership and intensity translate to the entire team. Hall of Famer Howie Long has seen just about everything. He played for 13 years, announced for more than two decades and has two sons in the NFL.

So Long knows what players want in a coach.

”They want to be great and they want to be led,” he said. ”They want to believe in the guy in front of the room. I call it the Saran Wrap factor. Players see right through that in the front of the room if you’re not authentic, you’re not genuine, you’re not that way every day. … Jon has that.”

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