T.J. Watt was voted the NFL's best defensive player last season but the Pittsburgh Steelers' pass-rushing demon still feels he has a long way to go before being considered the greatest player in his own family.
Speaking to former NFL linebacker Channing Crowder on The Pivot podcast, Watt said his accomplishments – which include tying a league record for sacks in a season in 2021 – still pale in comparison to those of his older brother J.J., a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year award recipient.
Though his most recent seasons have often been marred by injuries, J.J. Watt became the first player in NFL history to earn Defensive Player of the Year honours three times in a four-year span when he did so in 2012, 2014 and 2015. That feat has since been matched by Los Angeles Rams superstar Aaron Donald, whose run was ended by the younger Watt's superlative 2021 campaign in which he recorded 22.5 sacks.
"I want people to understand how great my brother truly was in his prime," T.J. Watt said. "I think it gets lost today, and I know he'd be upset if I said this, but I think it truly is. You go back, and you look, you watch the film, the guy was frickin' unstoppable. Absolutely unstoppable.
"I think I'm too early in my career to compare myself to him at the moment, honestly."
T.J. Watt does compare favourably with his sibling in at least one important category, as his 72 career sacks are the third most in league history of any player through his first five seasons since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
J.J. Watt ranks second on that list with 74.5, trailing only Hall of Famer Reggie White's 81.
The elder Watt, now a member of the Arizona Cardinals after spending 10 of his first 11 seasons with the Houston Texans, has recorded only one double-digit sack season since 2016 – mainly because he has had trouble staying on the field. The 33-year-old has been limited to eight games or fewer four times in that six-year stretch.
"I think people need to go back and look at that," T.J. Watt said about his brother's past dominance. "The guy was doing incredible things for four or five years, and I think he can still play at a high level."
T.J. Watt enters this season with a chance to make some history of his own after producing at least 13 sacks in each of the last four years. The only player with a streak that long since 1982 is White, who did it from 1985-88 and again from 1990-93.
Anthony Joshua admitted his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk is "must win" ahead of the fight on Saturday.
Joshua was surprisingly outclassed by Usyk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September as the Ukrainian won the IBF, WBA and WBO world heavyweight titles.
Usyk will defend his belts for the first time in a rematch this weekend with the Briton in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking at the final press conference before their bout at the Shangri-La hotel in Jeddah, Joshua insisted he has to win, but felt confident after his camp with new trainers Robert Garcia and Angel Fernandez.
"That's it. Must win," Joshua said. "I like the pressure. It's been tough. Robert Garcia, Angel Fernandez, existing members of my previous team as well, definitely pushed me, challenged me.
"Now we just get the job done. Instinct, stay focused, get the job done, God willing, victorious."
On his motivation for the fight, where he will face the unfamiliar role of challenger, Joshua said: "It's competition.
"I've got goals I want to achieve in the ring on the night. That's competition with myself. You've got to have a competitive spirit."
Usyk is aiming to repeat his impressive performance from the first fight, and seemed relaxed at the press conference, echoing what his opponent said about the importance of competition.
"We were born to compete for life, for belts, for everything. The one who does not compete does not live," Usyk said.
"All our lives are competition, for anything, for something, for somebody. That's why we are competing."
Either as a mind trick or simply to show how unfazed he was in general, as Joshua was leaving the stage following their face off, Usyk burst into song, joined by members of his team.
Dr. Scott Jennings created history on Tuesday when he won the gold medal in the 83kg class at the 19th NAPF North American Regional Powerlifting Championships in Panama City, Panama.
It was the first time a Jamaican athlete was winning a gold medal in powerlifting in an international competition.
Dr Jennings recorded a deadlift of 312.5kg and a total score of 732.5kg.
Nairo Quintana has been disqualified from the 2022 Tour de France for an in-competiton drug infringement.
The Colombian finished sixth in this year's competition, which was won by Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard.
However, the UCI announced on Wednesday that two samples of Quintana's blood showed traces of tramadol, a banned substance.
The 32-year-old has 10 days to appeal the ruling with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), though he has not been banned from competition as it is a first offence.
Quintana's sixth place in the General Classification was his first top-10 Grand Tour finish since the 2019 Vuelta a Espana, and his best performance in the Tour de France since 2016.
The Arkea-Samsic team announced that Quintana had signed a contract extension until 2025 on Tuesday, though he was not named in their squad for this year's Vuelta a Espana, which starts on Friday.
The team released a statement on Wednesday saying: "The Arkea-Samsic team took note of the notification from the UCI and received by Nairo Quintana informing him of the presence of tramadol in two samples of dried blood collected during the last Tour de France.
"Since March 1, 2019, the UCI medical regulations have provided for the banning of tramadol in competition for medical reasons.
"Furthermore, this violation of the UCI medical regulations does not lead to a suspension for the rider.
"The Arkea-Samsic team will not provide any further comment."
The Los Angeles Chargers have made Derwin James the highest-paid safety in NFL history after the two-time Pro Bowler reportedly agreed to a four-year, $76.5 million extension.
According to NFL.com, James will receive $42million in guaranteed money and is due $29m – a record for a defensive player – in the first year of the deal, which will start in 2023 and runs through 2026.
James was entering the final year of his rookie contract and was at training camp but not practising while negotiations were taking place.
The extension surpasses the four-year, $73m deal that Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick signed in June, while the $42m in guarantees is also a record for a safety. Seattle Seahawks star Jamal Adams received $38m guaranteed on the extension he signed last summer.
The 17th overall selection of the 2018 draft, James made an instant impact with a stellar rookie campaign in which he started all 16 games for the Chargers and compiled 105 tackles, three interceptions, 3.5 sacks and 13 passes defensed while earning All-Pro honours.
James appeared in only five games over the next two seasons due to injuries, including a meniscus tear in his knee that sidelined him for all of 2020.
The 26-year-old bounced back with a strong 2021 season in which he posted 118 tackles, two interceptions and two sacks in 15 games to garner his second career Pro Bowl nod.
Chargers coach Brandon Staley recently spoke of James' importance to the defence while lauding the 6-foot-2, 215-pound standout's versatility.
"I don't look at Derwin as a safety. I look at Derwin as an impact player," Staley told The Athletic.
"I think if you were just looking at him as a safety, that wouldn't be doing Derwin justice.
"When I see him, I'm like, 'that's a defensive back', because he can play anywhere. He can play either safety spot. He can play corner. He can rush the quarterback and make an impact as a blitzer. He can make an impact in man-to-man coverage. And then he can make an impact in zone defence, whether he's playing low or high. And he's our signal-caller and the heartbeat of our defence."
Chris Froome was "pretty heavily" affected by coronavirus and his preparations for the Vuelta a Espana have been disrupted as a result.
Froome competed at his 10th Tour de France in July but was forced to abandon the race after stage 17 when he tested positive for COVID-19.
The Israel-Premier Tech rider sat 26th overall, having achieved his best Tour stage result since 2018 when he finished third on stage 12 up the Alpe d'Huez.
Froome is a seven-time Grand Tour champion but has never been able to recover his peak performance since a crash at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphine, which left him in intensive care.
The 37-year-old now heads to Spain, where he won his first Grand Tour general classification jersey in 2011 but has revealed it has taken longer than he expected to recover from coronavirus.
Froome said in a press conference: "I felt as if I was coming into really good shape, certainly in the second and third week [of the Tour de France].
"So it was unfortunate to leave before the end of the race and not make it to Paris. But I think I was one of many who unfortunately got COVID.
"Unfortunately, it did affect me pretty heavily. I was symptomatic, probably for about 10 days. Then even after starting training, again, I was still really, really struggling to get the hard training done.
"I also had to follow the advice of the medical team, which was to not try and push it. I think a lot of people with COVID had made the mistake to try and start too early again. So it really did disrupt I guess my preparations for the Vuelta.
"I was really hoping to finish the Tour and then build on that condition almost immediately afterwards to get into the Vuelta. But unfortunately, with COVID, I wasn't able to do a lot of that work.
"Having said that, I have had a good past 10 days of training now. I'm a little bit unsure of where I'm at. I'm hoping just to survive the first week the best I can and look to really build into the race."
Froome has won the Vuelta twice, following up his success in 2011 with a triumph in 2017.
"The Vuelta is a really special race for me," he said. "The Vuelta is a race where back in 2011 I really had my breakthrough as a Grand Tour contender.
"It's a race where I love what the Vuelta tests in people. If you look at the GC battle of the Vuelta, it's brutal. Normally many more uphill finishes, many more mountain stages than other Grand Tours. It's a race that I've always enjoyed."
Toto Wolff says it has been like "Groundhog Day" for Mercedes during a difficult 2022 Formula One season.
The Silver Arrows' run of eight consecutive constructors' titles appears to be coming to an end as they are third in the standings behind Red Bull and Ferrari.
Mercedes have not won a race this year, with George Russell fourth in the driver standings and Lewis Hamilton back in sixth.
Having dominated the sport so long, the Brackley-based team have struggled to adapt following the introduction of new technical regulations.
Mercedes team principal Wolff says it has been a rough ride this season.
"The truth is, it's just so painful and it's so difficult to live by your values and your doubt," Wolff told Autosport.
"You oscillate from depression to exuberance, and then the next day the other way around. And in a way that when you kind of think nothing that you do works, [it is] a bit of Groundhog Day.
"Then you make steps forward by looking at things and finding out they don't function at all, and then you know what doesn't go, and you go the other way and it functions.
"All the things I've preached, all the things that you read in books that it's so hard, that it is so important to lose in order to thrive. It's just lived in real life so far."
The F1 season resumes with the Belgian Grand Prix next week following a break.
Mark Robinson accepts New Zealand Rugby made mistakes with the way they handled uncertainty over All Blacks head coach Ian Foster's future.
The NZ Rugby board on Wednesday gave Foster their "full support" to stay on until the Rugby World Cup in France next year and appointed Joe Schmidt as his assistant.
That announcement came just a few days after NZ Rugby chief executive Robinson stated that the governing body would "take stock" and hold a debrief following a 35-23 Rugby Championship win over South Africa on Saturday.
The win over the world champions at Ellis Park came after the All Blacks had suffered five defeats in six Tests and sunk to a new low of fifth in the world rankings.
Robinson had only guaranteed that Foster would remain head coach for the tour of South Africa and he admits NZ Rugby did not handle the situation as well as they could have done.
"We acknowledge we haven't got everything right, we're not hiding from that," he said during a press conference in Auckland.
"Aspects of the sequencing in how we interacted with media and the public is something we could have done differently."
Robinson added that "clearly some aspects of the interface between the media and the public wasn’t as good as it could be."
He also conceded: "There's a few things we've done in recent times that could have been done better."
Robinson felt NZ Rugby had a difficult balancing act.
He said: "People want to hear what's going on, they want engagement and access and openness. When you attempt to achieve that, but you're not in a position to really say a lot, then the flip side is you are criticised for doing that. We are always learning.’"
When asked if stating that NZ Rugby would "take stock" following the win in Johannesburg last weekend added "fuel to the fire", Robison replied: "Hindsight's wonderful, isn't it?
"We were attempting to respond to a general demand to be want to be more open and want to be more transparent and give as much as we can possibly can at a time when people are curious, and we don't always make the right decisions.
"It's difficult, isn't it, if you don't say things and think of the best interests of the team and wait till they're out of the country, you're criticised for going missing in action.
"But if you turn up and do have something to say when you're not in strong position to say a lot of things, you get criticised for having to be in a position where you're not saying anything."
Ian Foster is staying on as New Zealand head coach and Joe Schmidt has been appointed as his assistant.
Foster had been under huge pressure following a dismal run of five defeats in six Tests, before the All Blacks lifted the gloom with a 35-23 Rugby Championship win over South Africa at Ellis Park on Saturday.
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson had only guaranteed Foster would remain in the role for the two Tests against the Springboks.
Robinson stated after the victory over the world champions in Johannesburg that the governing body would "take stock" and hold a debrief, with Foster saying he expected to retain his job.
NZ Rugby on Wednesday confirmed that the 57-year-old will be in charge through to the Rugby World Cup in France next year, with Schmidt taking on a full-time role supporting him.
Stewart Mitchell, the NZR chair, said during a press conference in Auckland: "[The board] have unanimously agreed they have absolute confidence that Ian and this coaching group are the right people to lead the All Blacks through until the World Cup.
"This has been privately and publicly validated by our players and various conversations with our high-performance team."
Former Ireland head coach Schmidt had already been working in the All Blacks' set-up and Foster welcomed his appointment.
"Joe Schmidt has been on my radar, probably for a couple of years," said Foster.
"We flagged at the start of this year that his role was to join us after the Irish series as an independent selector to replace Grant Fox and in addition he was going to do some opposition analysis work and work alongside myself in the strategy area.
"We started that after the Irish series [which Ireland won 2-1] and delighted with how that's going. I have a great relationship with Joe."
Holders New Zealand are back in Rugby Championship action against Argentina at Orangetheory Stadium a week on Saturday.
Jon Rahm joked he has been brushing up on how things work in the courtroom by watching the hit TV show Suits as golf's civil war between the PGA Tour and LIV Series wages on.
The battle between the PGA Tour and the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Series took another twist last week when three defectors went to the courts in a bid to play in the lucrative FedExCup playoffs.
Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford had filed a restraining order to allow them to play this week's tournament, while 11 LIV Golf stars put together an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour.
However, a judge ruled ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship that LIV Golf players were not eligible to compete in the playoffs.
Former world number one Rahm conceded he had only fortuitously seen the verdict but was happy with the outcome.
"Well, I can tell you I had zero attention on it. I only found out that it was going on because I walked by a player dining and I saw about 10 really nervous people pacing all around the room," he said ahead of this weekend's BMW Championship.
"I asked and heard what was going on. I was in the room when the judge made a decision known, but only because I was walking by and they told me it was time. So, I was like, 'I'll stay'.
"I think it could have made things a little bit awkward. They chose to leave the PGA Tour. They chose to go join another tour, knowing the consequences, and then try to come back and get courts and justice in the way.
"It wouldn't have sat extremely well with me but, at the same time, they're adults. They're free to do as they please to an extent. And that's what they chose to do if they're allowed by a judge. I'm nobody to say otherwise. Would it have been awkward? Possibly. But, I guess we'll never know."
Rahm does not foresee this being the end of LIV players' attempts to play in PGA Tour events and offered a little insight into how he has been brushing up his knowledge on legal proceedings.
"I am confident that the LIV side of things are still going to push strong to keep trying to change some things," he added.
"But I also know that the lawyers and the PGA Tour side are going to keep fighting to keep things the way are going right now.
"It's not the last thing we're going to hear from them. But I just started watching the show Suits. So, I'm kind of learning now about how what happens in a courtroom."
U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick also weighed in on the discussion, saying the time has come to put the focus back purely on playing golf.
"I'll be honest, I've not been asked much about it myself personally. So, it's just been it's been fine," he said.
"For me, it's just seeing it in the media and stuff. You just get fed up with talking about it.
"In my personal opinion, let's just get on with it now. We just want to play golf and concentrate on what we do. That's purely my take on that."
The Atlanta Braves on Tuesday made a long-term commitment to a player with less than three months of major league experience, as they signed center-fielder Michael Harris II to an eight-year, $72million contract.
The deal runs through 2030 and includes club options for the 2031 and 2032 seasons as well.
Harris becomes the latest core player to be locked up to a long-term deal by the Braves. He will be the fifth Atlanta player signed through at least 2025, along with outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., second baseman Ozzie Albies, first baseman Matt Olson and third baseman Austin Riley.
The 21-year-old Harris, the youngest player in the majors, was called up from Double-A on May 28 and has made a huge impact for the Braves. He is batting .287 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs, while adding 13 stolen bases and 46 runs in 71 games.
Harris was named National League Rookie of the Month for June after he hit .347 with 13 extra-base hits and four steals.
An outstanding defensive center fielder, Harris’ two-way play has made him a favourite to win NL Rookie of the Year, with teammate Spencer Strider perhaps his chief competitor.
Tuesday’s 5-0 win over the New York Mets improved the Braves to 50-21 since Harris made his debut against the Miami Marlins on May 28. Atlanta pulled to within three-and-a-half games of the NL East-leading Mets with their eighth consecutive victory.
In one of the most anticipated pitching duels of the season, the top-two American League Cy Young Award favourites went head-to-head as Dylan Cease's Chicago White Sox beat Justin Verlander's Houston Astros 4-3 on Tuesday.
The White Sox struck first in the second inning as they were able to rattle off four hits, with Josh Harrison's infield single driving in the first run of the game.
Houston were quick in their response, jumping ahead 2-1 an inning later after back-to-back doubles from Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker, and after a couple of scoreless innings, Astros star Jose Altuve made it 3-1 with the game's only home run to lead off the fifth frame.
Cease departed after the fifth inning, finishing with three earned runs from six hits and three walks, striking out four in what was not his best showing.
Verlander was the sharper of the two stars early, conceding just one run through six complete innings, but the Astros were punished for sending him back out for the seventh as he gave up a two-run double to pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets, tying the game at 3-3.
In the eighth frame, after a walk to Eloy Jimenez and a single to Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada came through with an RBI base hit to grab the decisive lead, with Australian closer Liam Hendriks shutting the door for his 27th save of the season.
Out of the entire league, Verlander owns the second-best ERA at 1.95, while Cease is third at 2.09. Both trail Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara (1.92).
Brewers beat the Dodgers in walk-off fashion
There were fireworks in the Milwaukee Brewers' 5-4 extra-innings win against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with all six runs scored in regulation coming via home runs before a walk-off hit from Victor Caratini.
Brewers Willy Adames and Christian Yelich went deep, while Joey Gallo, Mookie Betts and Chris Taylor all hit solo shots for the Dodgers to have things tied at 3-3 after nine innings.
After a scoreless 10th frame, Justin Turner was able to drive in a run to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead, but closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel was not able to finish things off on the mound, giving up a hit and a walk to load the bases, setting up Caratini for the game-winning knock.
Ray strikes out 10 in Mariners win
Reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani and heavy favourite for AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez combined for six hits as the Seattle Mariners ran away late to beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-2.
Mariners starting pitcher and reigning Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray looked back to his best after an inconsistent start to the season, striking out 10 batters while giving up two runs in six innings.
Rodriguez, who made waves as he approached record-breaking numbers in last month's Home Run Derby, finished three-for-five at the plate with a home run, while Ohtani was three-for-four, including a triple, after striking out eight batters on the mound yesterday.
The New York Mets will have to make do without a key piece of their rotation after right-hander Carlos Carrasco was diagnosed with a strained left oblique on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old Carrasco suffered the injury in Monday’s 13-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves. He returned following a 55-minute rain delay in the second inning and got the last out but winced on his final pitch and was pulled after allowing three runs in two innings.
"It just got tight a little bit and I don’t want to push more," Carrasco told reporters after the game.
An MRI Tuesday revealed a low-grade strain on the left side and the team said a typical timeline for this type of injury is three to four weeks.
Carrasco has been a big part of the Mets’ success this season, going 13-5 with a 3.92 ERA in 23 starts. He was 5-0 with a 1.69 ERA over his previous seven starts and his 126 1/3 innings pitched rank second on the team to Chris Bassitt, with both Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom limited by injuries.
David Peterson would seem a possible replacement for Carrasco in the rotation. Peterson is 6-2 with a 3.30 ERA in 18 appearances, including 14 starts, though he was optioned to Triple-A earlier this month.
The first-place Mets entered Tuesday with a four-and-a-half game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East as they try to secure their first postseason berth since 2016.
New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson had successful arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday to repair the meniscus in his right knee, according to multiple reports.
Surgeons found no further damage in Wilson’s knee, ESPN reported, keeping intact the initial timeline of a two to four-week recovery.
The second-year quarterback suffered the injury while scrambling in the Jets' preseason opener last week against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Wilson made an awkward cut during the seven-yard rush and fell to the turf. Given the non-contact nature of the injury, Jets fans and pundits initially feared a more serious injury, but Wilson may have a chance to start New York's season-opening game against the Baltimore Ravens on September 11.
If Wilson needs additional time to recover, the Jets will turn to veteran Joe Flacco, who has been with the team since 2020.
Members of the Jets' offense have voiced their comfort with Flacco filling in when needed. Wide receiver Garrett Wilson, the 10th overall pick in April's draft, said that Flacco throws a "receiver-friendly" ball on Monday.
"There’s definitely a difference," the rookie receiver told reporters. "It's a lot of experience right there with Flacco. I feel like everything with him, he takes some pace off, puts some pace on the ball. He does a good job of making the passes receiver-friendly. That's the best way I can put it into words.
"They're pretty easy to catch. Takes some off the ball when you're running a slant route versus an out route, put some zip on it because it's gotta be. Things like that."
Even if Flacco fills in admirably, the franchise knows that Wilson is the quarterback of the future. He will miss valuable repetitions in practice, with the Jets set to hold joint sessions with the Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants this preseason.
“It's a setback in that he's missing an unbelievable opportunity to get these reps in and to play other defenses, especially the Giants who have such an elaborate pressure package system, a pressure system,” first-year coach Robert Saleh said. "But he's got to stay dialled in just like he was last year when he was hurt, learn from his team-mates and try to be involved as much mentally as he can possibly be.
"The timing of it all is terrible and it sucks, but I think Zach can still have an opportunity to grow from it if he attacks it mentally."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
