Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has put his expectations for 2022 firmly on the agenda, saying they need a viable playoff run for a successful season.
The Cowboys had a hugely disappointing first-round home playoff loss last season, going down 23-17 to the San Francisco 49ers after earning the third seed in the NFC.
Long-time Cowboys owner Jones, who turns 80 in October, said they were in better shape for a Super Bowl push this season compared to last, fuelling the expectations on Mike McCarthy's side.
"Well, I need to win it. I need to win it, but I'll be candid with you, there's degrees," Jones told reporters on Tuesday on the first day of the Cowboys' training camp.
"I want to be fair to everybody concerned. We need to be in the playoffs. We need to be viable in the playoffs for it to be a successful season."
He added with a touch of humour: "I told them I've got a birthday coming up here real quick and I don't have time to have a bad time. It ain't on my schedule."
Amari Cooper, La'el Collins and Randy Gregory have all departed the Cowboys in the off-season.
"(Last year) we had it teed up pretty good, and in my mind we made a hell of a run at it," Jones said.
"I think we're in better shape today to make a run at it than when we were sitting here this time last year.
"I thought last year we had a chance to make a heck of a run at it and had people in place that if we were healthy enough, we might get 'em. And I think we're in better shape."
Jones also threw his support behind McCarthy, who has been Dallas' head coach since 2020, finishing his first season with a 6-10 record and missing the playoffs.
"I want to be real clear: He wouldn't be sitting here if I didn't think he was the man to lead this team to a Super Bowl," Jones said.
Jones added: "I like this staff. And frankly, I like the makeup of the players one year later that were on this team last year and I like the new players that we've brought on."
Eduardo Escobar and Edwin Diaz came up big as the New York Mets beat their cross-town rival Yankees in what could be a potential World Series rehearsal on Tuesday, emerging with a 6-3 win.
Kicking off a highly anticipated Subway Series, with 2015 being the last time the two teams lead their respective divisions, the Mets made the big plays amid a charged atmosphere in Queens.
Back-to-back home runs from Anthony Rizzo and Aaron Judge put the Yankees up 2-0 in a thrilling first inning, with the Mets rallying back with four runs in their opening frame, including Escobar's huge two-run, two-out shot off Jordan Montgomery.
Before extending their lead to 6-3 in the eighth inning, Diaz came in to close for the Mets, striking out four and giving up a solitary hit for his 22nd save out of 25.
Running away with the American League at one point, the Yankees now only lead the Houston Astros by two games on 66-32, while the Mets moved to 60-37 and within five of the National League-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.
Springer slam propels Blue Jays
Though his team trail the Yankees by 11.5 games in the AL East, George Springer hit the seventh grand slam of his career, as the Toronto Blue Jays claimed a 10-3 win over the St Louis Cardinals.
The Cardinals were without Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, whose unvaccinated status prohibits them from entering Canadian soil, with Alejandro Kirk hitting his 12th homer of the year.
It was not enough against the Blue Jays, who notched up a tie-breaking five-run sixth inning via Springer's slam and Matt Chapman's RBI single, to extend their winning streak to seven games.
Pinder punches second slam of the night in A's win
The Houston Astros were not able to capitalise on the Yankees' defeat and edge closer in the AL standings, with the Oakland Athletics earning a 5-3 win.
The best and worst records in the AL West faced off and the latter reeled off a four-run third inning to get the eventual win, with Chad Pinder slugging a grand slam of his own off Luis Garcia.
The A's are now one game away from a shock three-game series sweep against the Astros, who remain stuck on 64-34.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has made it abundantly clear that Trey Lance is their man and they are moving on from Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo, who underwent shoulder surgery in March, led the 49ers to the NFC Championship game, losing 20-17 to eventual Super Bowl LVI champions Los Angeles Rams.
The 30-year-old quarterback is widely expected to depart the 49ers in the off-season, with Shanahan effectively confirming the assumption that 2021 NFL Draft's third pick in Lance will take over.
"We have moved on to Trey," Shanahan told reporters ahead of the 49ers training camp. "This is Trey's team.
"That's nothing against Jimmy. We made that decision a year ago and we're going with that. We're not going to mess around with that anymore.
"Jimmy understands that fully. That's a business decision and that's what makes it not awkward. Jimmy knows we're going with Trey.
"Trey knows we're going with Trey and our team does, and everyone likes both of those guys."
Shanahan along with 49ers general manager John Lynch sat down for a meeting with Garoppolo on Tuesday morning to discuss his future.
Garoppolo has only just been cleared to practice having resumed throwing after his shoulder surgery, meaning opposition teams were reluctant to make trade plans for him until now.
"As soon as we can," Shanahan said about a Garoppolo move.
"Hopefully with everyone being on the same page, hopefully that will happen sooner than later. I think that would be good for him and for us."
Garoppolo threw 20 touchdowns - with his 1.33 per game was ranked 19th in the NFL among quarterbacks - with a 68.3 per cent completion rate for 3,810 yards across the 2021 season.
Meanwhile, Lynch was positive about the future of wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who had requested a trade in April.
"We've had really productive and substantive talks," Lynch said.
"I don't want to get everyone all excited that something is imminent because we're not there yet, but really hopeful that in the near future we'll be able to announce something that is exciting for everyone involved.
"Deebo is here today and we're excited about moving forward with him as part of this team."
Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios was a late withdrawal from the Atlanta Open, after he was originally scheduled to play Peter Gojowczyk on Tuesday.
Kyrgios' replacement in Adrian Mannarino eventually defeated Gojowczyk 6-3 7-6 (9-7), but the Wimbledon finalist's withdrawal due to injury overshadowed the match.
After receiving a wild card for the Cincinnati Masters, the 2016 champion in Atlanta was expected to make a deep run to kick off his hard-court season.
Coming out to apologise to the crowd before Gojowczyk and Mannarino took to the court, Kyrgios expressed his sadness at the withdrawal, in the hope he could still play in the doubles draw with fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.
"I'm extremely shattered that I'm not able to compete tonight," he said pre-match. "I've won this tournament once, and you know, I'm playing some of the best tennis of my career.
"All I wanted to do was come out here and give you guys a show, to see what I was capable of. I'm unable to give out my best performance today, and I'm just extremely sorry.
"I'm going to keep my hopes up and maybe be able to continue doubles with Thanasi this week. I hope you'll all not be too hard on me."
Kokkinakis just has the doubles to attend to now after Andres Martin's 6-3 6-2 win, while Ilya Ivashka progressed with a 6-0 3-6 6-3 win over Quentin Halys.
James Duckworth was the lone Australian to advance on Tuesday, beating Dominik Koepfer 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-3.
Jenson Brooksby made an encouraging Atlanta Open debut earlier in the day, eliminating Benoit Paire 6-3 6-1 to reach the second round.
Countryman and fifth seed Tommy Paul breezed past wild card Jack Sock 6-1 6-1, while Ben Shelton and Mackenzie McDonald also advanced.
All-Star Giancarlo Stanton has been placed on the New York Yankees' 10-day injured list due to left Achilles tendonitis.
Yankees outfielder Stanton has been in strong form in the majors this season, batting .228 with 24 home runs and 61 RBIs. He also won last week's All-Star Game MVP.
Stanton had been out of the Yankees' starting line-up in their past two games and the franchise announced the roster move ahead of Tuesday's game against the New York Mets.
The 32-year-old had undergone an MRI on Monday after experiencing a sore Achilles, with Yankees manager Aaron Boone hoping it was a "minor thing".
Boone revealed that Stanton will take a complete break from baseball for 10 days and indicated that Stanton's timeframe to return to play was roughly two to three weeks.
"Could be shorter. We'll see," he said. "We'll just kind of make those evaluations, or the trainers [will], and see how he does this week."
Five-time All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones will catch passes from Tom Brady in 2022 after signing a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday.
The move gives Brady, who led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns last season, another potentially dangerous target and may offset the loss of tight end Rob Gronkowski, who retired earlier this offseason.
A seven-time Pro Bowl selection, Jones will join a deep wide receiver room that already has Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Russell Gage.
Signing Jones is the latest in a string of win-now moves by the Buccaneers as they try to extend their window of championship contention with Brady, who turns 45 years old next month.
Jones, 33, has been limited by injuries over the last two seasons, having ended a 10-year stint with the Atlanta Falcons to join the Tennessee Titans last season.
In 10 games with the Titans, Jones caught a career-low 31 passes for 434 yards and was cut earlier this offseason.
Jones had been connected to the Indianapolis Colts, a move that would have reunited him with longtime quarterback Matt Ryan, but Colts general manager Chris Ballard dispelled those rumours earlier on Tuesday, the Indianapolis Star reported.
Jones is the NFL's active leader with 13,330 career receiving yards, making 879 catches and scoring 61 touchdowns in 145 games.
Among players who have played at least 100 games, Jones' 91.9 receiving yards per game are the most in NFL history.
Dominic Thiem started his bid for a second Austrian Open title with a comfortable triumph over Alexander Shevchenko.
Thiem, a 2019 winner at the tournament in his home country, prevailed 6-4 6-2 in Kitzbuhel.
He will next face compatriot Sebastian Ofner as he seeks a first title since his grand slam breakthrough at the US Open in 2020.
Ofner came from a set down to beat former world number seven Richard Gasquet 1-6 7-5 7-5.
Meanwhile, seventh seed Pedro Martinez saved six out of six break points en route to a 7-6 6-3 victory over Chilean Nicolas Jarry.
At the Croatia Open in Umag, Bernabe Zapata Miralles set up a round of 16 meeting with third seed Holger Rune by beating Croatian Dino Prizmic, who retired when facing a 6-4 3-0 deficit.
Alex Molcan is safely through to the next round after defeating Duje Ajdukovic, while French 23-year-old Corentin Moutet cruised to a straight-sets victory over sixth seed Daniel Altmaier.
Top seed Anett Kontaveit took just 48 minutes to secure her place in the second round of the Prague Open, but Sorana Cirstea suffered a surprise loss.
Defeated in the final of the Hamburg European Open last weekend, Kontaveit got straight back to winning ways in rapid time with a 6-0 6-1 win over Ekaterine Gorgodze.
The world number two got 81.8 per cent of her first serves in, with the overwhelmed Gorgodze only able to win nine returning points across the entire match.
Up next for Kontaveit is Lucie Havlickova after the Czech defeated compatriot Barbora Palicova 6-2 7-6 (7-5).
Fourth seed Cirstea was sent packing from the first round by 19-year-old qualifier Oksana Selekhmeteva, whose 7-5 6-4 success was her first in the main draw of a WTA Tour event.
Dominika Salkova marked her WTA main-draw debut with a 6-1 6-4 win over Ylena In-Albon, while Barbora Krejcikova delighted the home crowd with her 6-3 6-1 triumph against Anna Blinkova.
Due to persistent rain, only three matches were completed at the Warsaw Open on Tuesday.
Clara Burel, Ana Bogdan and Jasmine Paolini all advanced to the second round with wins over Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova, Nuria Parrizas-Diaz and Danka Kovinic respectively.
The neck injury that cut short Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson's 2021 season has ultimately ended his career.
Carson decided to retire on Tuesday after five NFL seasons, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.
The 27-year-old had failed his physical and the Seahawks are officially releasing him with a failed physical designation, which under the collective bargaining agreement allows Carson to receive several million dollars in injury protection benefits.
Carson had been hopeful of being healthy enough to play this year after being sidelined since Week 4 of the 2021 season with the serious neck injury.
When healthy, Carson was one of the top running backs in the league, ranking fifth in rushing yards in 2018 with 1,151 yards and fifth again a year later with a career-high 1,230 yards.
A seventh-round pick by the Seahawks in 2017, Carson finishes his career with 3,502 rushing yards with 24 rushing touchdowns.
Upon Carson's retirement, Rashaad Penny and rookie Kenneth Walker III will handle the running back duties for a Seattle team that expects to rely heavily on the ground game with Geno Smith and Drew Lock competing for the starting quarterback job after Russell Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos.
Penny led the Seahawks with 749 rushing yards last season and his average of 6.29 yards per attempt was the highest in the NFL among all players with a minimum of 100 carries.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is undergoing surgery to have his appendix removed, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said Tuesday.
Burrow is expected to miss practice time during training camp but make a full recovery before the defending AFC champion Bengals begin their season on September 11 against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers.
The news comes one day after team owner Mike Brown said Cincinnati's "whole focus" is to get an extension in place with Burrow, who is eligible to negotiate a new deal after this season – his third in the NFL.
"Right now our obvious, most important issue will be our quarterback," Brown said on Monday. "It's not quite ready or ripe yet, but it's right down the track and we see the train coming."
Burrow went 2-7-1 as the starter in 2020 after the Bengals selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. He tore his left ACL and MCL in Week 11 that season before returning last year and leading Cincinnati to their first playoff berth since 2015 and first Super Bowl appearance since 1988.
The Bengals led the Los Angeles Rams 20-13 in the third quarter of the Super Bowl before eventually losing 23-20. Burrow passed for 263 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions against the Rams.
"We couldn't be happier with Joe Burrow," Brown said. "He's everything you would wish for, especially for a quarterback in Cincinnati. And our whole focus is going on keeping him here."
The Chicago Bears have bolstered their offensive line, signing veteran tackle Riley Reiff to a one-year deal that will likely pay him $10million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The deal, which was reported on Tuesday, could be worth up to $12.5million.
Considered one of the best free agents still on the market, Reiff started 12 games for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021 before an ankle injury ended his season.
Since being drafted 23rd overall by the Detroit Lions in 2012, the 33-year-old Reiff has appeared in 147 games with 139 starts. This will be his third NFC North team after spending his first five seasons with the Lions and the next four with the Minnesota Vikings, with whom he signed as a free agent prior to the 2017 season.
Reiff is expected to win the starting left tackle job for a Bears team that struggled mightily to protect Justin Fields in his 2021 rookie season.
The Chicago offensive line allowed a league-worst 58 sacks last season with Fields being sacked on 11.8 per cent of his dropbacks – the worst rate in the NFL among quarterbacks with at least 250 pass attempts.
San Francisco 49ers players are scheduled to report to training camp on Tuesday, and coach Kyle Shanahan expects star wide receiver Deebo Samuel to attend despite his ongoing contract dispute.
Shanahan is also certain Samuel will get a new deal soon.
"What I do know is: I'm not worried about it not getting done," he told The Athletic. "I feel very confident that Deebo's going to be on our team this year, and he's going to be for many years after. I do believe he'll get a deal. I know that they're working on it right now."
Shanahan said general manager John Lynch and the 49ers front office have been working with Samuel's agent, Tory Dandy, on a new deal over the past few weeks.
Samuel emerged as a dangerous playmaker lined up both as a receiver and in the backfield for San Francisco last season, earning All-Pro honours with 1,770 scrimmage yards and 14 total touchdowns.
Due to make $3.986million in the final year of his rookie contract in 2022, the 26-year-old Samuel requested a trade after the 49ers failed to sign him to an extension earlier this offseason.
"I think every player in the league is underpaid," Shanahan said. "I think this league makes a lot of money, and these players go through a lot of stuff, so like you always look at it that way.
"But when you become a head coach or a general manager and stuff like that, you do get to see the other side, and your job is to put the best football team together possible, and so you work with these players and your goal is to get them paid, [but you] got to balance all that stuff together so you have a chance to win."
The 49ers reached the Super Bowl in Samuel's 2019 rookie season and nearly made it again last year before losing to the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
This year's offense will have a different look, however, with Trey Lance taking over at quarterback for Jimmy Garoppolo.
Despite Samuel's contract dispute, he still attended mandatory minicamp and is expected to be at training camp because of the collective bargaining agreement that deters players from holding out.
"The days of holding out and stuff are a little bit different now because players, regardless of what the team decides later, always have to pay [the fines] back," Shanahan said. "Now, those fines can't get paid back."
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles have confirmed seven of their players will sit out their NRL clash with Sydney Roosters on Thursday over the team's decision to wear a pride jersey.
The Northern Beaches outfit are set to become the first club in the competition's history to sport a specialised strip, with rainbow stripes in place of the club's typical white set to show support for the LGBTQ+ community.
But the club have become embroiled in a boycott by seven players, who say they were not consulted on the decision, and have objected on religious and cultural grounds.
In a press conference on Tuesday, coach Des Hasler apologised to both the LGBTQ+ community and the players, stating they should have been consulted on plans to wear the strip.
"They were not included in any of the discussions, and at a minimum, they should have been consulted," the two-time NRL premiership-winning boss said.
Though the club has not named the seven who will sit out the clash, reports in local media have identified them as Josh Aloiai, Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schuster, Haumole Olakau'atu, Tolu Koula and Toafofoa Sipley.
The match is a crucial one for both Manly and Sydney, with the winner taking the advantage in the race to reach the NRL playoffs in September.
While Hasler added that he respected the decision of the players, backlash to it has been widespread.
Former Manly star Ian Roberts, the first rugby league footballer to come out as gay, said the decision "saddens" him.
Ex-Wakefield Trinity prop Keegan Hirst, who became the first professional British rugby league player to come out as gay, in 2015, questioned the players' beliefs given Manly are sponsored by a betting firm.
ARLC Chairman Peter V'landys meanwhile stated the competition could introduce a pride round as soon as the 2023 season, in response to the furore, pointing to the game's history of immigrant inclusivity as a springboard.
"It was inclusive back then and it is inclusive now," he told the Sydney Morning Herald. "It's important that every boy and girl and man and woman can go to the game and feel they can be treated the same as everyone else."
This is not the first time the NRL has sought to make a stand opposing LGBTQ+ discrimination, with the league previously blacklisting ex-Wallabies star Israel Folau following his attempts to return to rugby league after he was dismissed from rugby union.
The centre ultimately landed at Catalans Dragons in Super League, before returning to Australia and then Japan, where he currently plays with the Shining Arcs.
Sergio Garcia has revealed he will "hold off" on quitting the DP World Tour, claiming he remains hopeful he can feature at the Ryder Cup despite signing up to feature in the LIV Golf series.
Garcia is one of several big names to join Greg Norman's controversial breakaway tour in recent months, and declared earlier in July he was "quite clear" on his intention to quit the European circuit.
At this month's Open, the 2017 Masters champion also said he had all but given up on another Ryder Cup appearance after claiming he was "not wanted" on the European tour.
Last week, Europe's 2023 Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson was stripped of the role after signing up to the LIV circuit, while both the PGA and DP World Tours have looked to sanction players joining the series.
But Garcia has gone back on his earlier pledge, and says he will wait for clarification on his chances of Ryder Cup participation before making any decision on his future.
"When I finished the Open Championship [last] Sunday, I said that I was most likely going to resign my membership from the [DP World] Tour," Garcia told ESPN. "That obviously meant not being eligible for the Ryder Cup because you have to be a member.
"[But] I had a couple of good conversations with guys on the [DP World] Tour, I'm going to hold off on that.
"I want to at least see what's happening when Ryder Cup qualification starts. See what kind of rules and eligibilities they have in there. If I agree with what they [are], I'll definitely keep playing whatever I can on the tour and try to qualify for that Ryder Cup team.
"And if not, then we'll move on. But it is definitely something that is in my mind.
"I told Keith Pelley [chief executive of the DP World Tour]: 'I want to keep being a member of the DP World Tour. I want to play my minimum, still support the tour, still have my eligibilities to make Ryder Cup teams.
"He said: 'That's great, but we've got to do what's best for us'. We'll see what that is."
However, Garcia did express sympathy for Stenson, describing the Swede's Ryder Cup ousting as "sad".
"Now it's gotten a little bit sadder with fines and bans," Garcia added. "What they did to Henrik. It's a little bit sad."
Garcia finished 24th in LIV Golf's first event in London at the start of June before posting a 26th-placed finish in Portland in early July.
The Philadelphia Phillies rode an improbable five-RBI night from struggling young shortstop Bryson Stott to defeat the reigning champion Atlanta Braves 6-4 on Monday.
Both starting pitchers performed well, with Braves ace Max Fried striking out eight batters in six innings, allowing three earned runs, while Phillies starter Ranger Suarez gave up no earned runs in five frames.
However, despite Suarez's effectiveness on the mound, the Braves still scored three unearned runs in the second inning, with a fielding error allowing two runs to score, and then a wild pitch bringing home the third.
Later in the second inning, Stott put the Phillies on the board with a clutch two-out, two-run double, and then catcher J.T. Realmuto tied the game at 3-3 in the third frame with his RBI single.
The Braves edged back in front in the sixth through Marcel Ozuna's RBI hit – one of three hits on the night for the left-fielder – and that lead would hold until the bottom of the eighth inning.
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Alec Bohm and Yairo Munoz knocked singles to get on base, bringing Stott to the plate for his big moment. He connected on a 378-foot home run to right field, making him responsible for five of the Phillies' six runs.
24-year-old Stott is having a rough season so far – with a batting average of .196 – but this was his fourth multi-hit outing from his last 10 starts, batting .355 over that stretch.
Despite the loss, it was still a strong showing from Braves power bat Austin Riley, who hit a pair of doubles to bring his doubles total to 25 this season – good for 10th in the majors.
India's grand slam lifts Reds
Jonathan India's first career grand slam was the highlight of a dominant 11-2 win for the Cincinnati Reds against the Miami Marlins.
The Reds led narrowly 3-2 in the fourth inning, but the game got out of hand quickly after Brandon Drury blasted a three-run home run – continuing his vastly improved season that could see him traded to a contender.
An inning later, India blew things out with his 409-foot, no-doubt grand slam for the designated hitter's sixth long-ball of the season.
Soto show rolls into LA
The man being discussed as arguably the most valuable trade asset in MLB history, Juan Soto, flashed the skills that have put him in the position to turn down a $440million contract.
Soto batted in a pair of runs from his two hits in the Washington Nationals' 4-1 win away against the Los Angeles Dodgers, only a week after winning the Home Run Derby in the same stadium.
He did not send any balls over the fence in this one, but he hooked a two-run triple down the right-field line to give his side some breathing room in the fifth inning.
Brandon Nakashima needed all three sets to deal with gritty Australian Jordan Thompson, ultimately prevailing 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-3 in the first round of the Atlanta Open.
America's Nakashima – who took Nick Kyrgios to five sets at Wimbledon – was the highest seed in action as things kicked off on Monday, and the difference in the match proved to be his quality ground strokes.
Both players won at least 79 per cent of their successful first serves, but while Thompson's effectiveness dipped to 39 per cent on his second serve, Nakashima's stayed up at 65 per cent, only allowing two break point opportunities all match.
Nakashima will meet John Millman in the next round after Millman defeated fellow Australian Alexei Popyrin 7-6 (7-1) 4-6 6-3.
Popyrin clearly had the serving advantage, winning the ace count 12-to-four, but in a match where each player only one had break of serve each, Millman found the important points when it really mattered.
Japan's Taro Daniel came back from a rough start to handle the challenge of America's Sebastian Korda 1-6 6-1 6-3.
Korda was in total control early, winning 12 of his 13 points on serve (92 per cent) in the opening set, but that number dipped sharply to 37 per cent (13-of-35) as Daniel turned the match on its head and found a way to counterpunch the American.
The last singles contest saw Kwon Soon-woo win a hard-fought clash with Marcos Giron 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 7-5. The match was so closely contested that Kwon won 51 per cent of the total points (104-of-204), while Giron won 49 per cent (100-of-204).
Meanwhile, Kyrgios was the biggest name in action, taking the doubles court in his Australian Open-winning partnership with Thanasi Kokkinakis, defeating Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6 (10-8) 6-3.
Shareef O'Neal, the son of Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, has signed with the NBA G League Ignite team.
After playing for the Los Angeles Lakers during Summer League, The Athletic reported that O'Neal had put pen to paper on a six-figure contract.
The 22-year-old, who was not picked in the 2022 NBA Draft, confirmed the news by tweeting: "Vegas, let's do it! Thank you Ignite!"
O'Neal averaged 4.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 10.9 minutes per game in his six Summer League appearances.
The Ignite team was established in 2020 to help elite NBA prospects develop their game without going to college.
O'Neal was diagnosed with a right anomalous coronary artery and underwent open heart surgery in December 2018 while at UCLA.
After helping the Los Angeles Rams win Super Bowl LVI in February, Aaron Donald reportedly considered walking away from football at the top of his game.
He, obviously, ended up not retiring, with the Rams ultimately restructuring his contract to give him a record payday in early June.
But from the time the Rams raised the Lombardi Trophy to the time Donald agreed to the massive raise, coach Sean McVay says his ongoing conversations with the future Hall of Famer were crucial in getting a deal done.
"My dialogue with Aaron throughout the process I thought was key to be able to feel good about it but also understand what needed to get done to have him come back and lead the way for us," McVay said on Monday.
Donald’s restructured deal guarantees him $95million over the next three years, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
The hefty price is justified, however, given he’s widely considered one of the best defensive players in NFL history.
A Super Bowl championship was the last major accomplishment left to achieve for the 31-year-old Donald, who has three Defensive Player of the Year Awards and seven consecutive First Team All-Pro selections on his resume.
So McVay understood why Donald wanted to take some time to evaluate his career after playing a vital role in the Rams’ Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals with a pair of sacks against Joe Burrow.
"When you reach (and win the Super Bowl), when he had been working so hard to try to get to that goal, there's an exhale," McVay said. "I think you want to be able to let the dust settle, figure out what's important. What can we do to accommodate that? If you still want to be able to play football."
Donald still has the passion to play and McVay credits their conversations as a big reason why one of the most feared defensive players ever will be suiting up for the Rams in their quest to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
"(Donald and I) had great dialogue throughout the course of the offseason," McVay said. "I think like anything else, it's such a long process when you're able to play 21 games and if you include the pre-season, you're talking about 24 games last year. So many emotions."
Former world number 17 Cristian Garin was beaten 6-4 7-5 by Federico Coria in the first round of the Austrian Open in Kitzbuhel, while Matteo Berrettini and defending champion Casper Ruud withdrew from the tournament.
2017 runner-up Joao Sousa cruised past Vit Kopriva 6-1 7-5 and Jurij Rodionov set up a Round of 16 meeting with third seed Roberto Bautista Agut with a straight-sets victory over Hernan Casanova.
Dominic Thiem, who won the 2019 edition of the competition, will face Alexander Shevchenko tomorrow while Richard Gasquet will take on Sebastian Ofner.
2016 Croatia Open winner Fabio Fognini will not be regaining his title in Umag this year, after the seventh seed was knocked out by Colombian Daniel Galan in a 3-6 7-5 3-6 defeat.
Galan will play Giulio Zeppieri in the next round, who came from one set down to overcome world number 90 Pedro Cachin 3-6 6-1 6-4.
Fifth seed Alex Molcan plays his first game tomorrow against Duje Adjukovic, and sixth seed Daniel Altmaier will take on French 23-year-old Corentin Moutet.
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
