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Archives for January 17, 2024

Patriots: Time for Jerod Mayo Impact

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FOXBOROUGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Jerod Mayo plans to take the lessons he learned from his predecessor and make the Patriots his own.

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Mayo was introduced as head coach in New England on Wednesday, his first day in the seat previously occupied by six-time Super Bowl championship coach Bill Belichick.

“For me, I’m not trying to be Bill, I’m not trying to be Bill. I think that Bill is his own man, if you can’t tell by now, I’m even a little bit different up here,” said Mayo. “But what I will say is, the more I think about the lessons that I’ve taken from Bill, hard work works, right? Hard work works. And that’s what we’re all about.”

Mayo was drafted by the Patriots and worked as an assistant coach under Belichick. He has never played for or coached any other NFL team.

The Patriots were 4-13 and again finished outside of the playoff picture in the AFC, leading to a “mutual” parting between Belichick and owner Robert Kraft after 24 years and nine Super Bowl appearances.

Mayo, who won a Super Bowl with New England as an inside linebacker, joined the Patriots’ coaching staff in 2019. He was quickly promoted to head coach under terms of his contract that named him as the successor to Belichick.

He hinted at changes, some of which will align the Patriots with traditional NFL coaching staff structure to include official titles of defensive coordinator and offensive coordinator. There will be movement on the personnel side, too. The Patriots own the No. 3 pick in the 2024 draft.

Mayo was clear about what he’s looking for on his roster and sounds ready to tackle reshaping the offense

“First of all, just the energy, the passion, the leaders on the offensive side of the ball,” Mayo said. “I think you have to get that stuff in place, and honestly, as the season starts to roll, well this season when it ends, we start in the weight room. I think the weight room is one of the most important areas in the building to really evaluate the people you have on your team. And one thing we don’t want to do is have people who are complainers, or finger-pointing, or things like that.”

Belichick could continue coaching and interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons this week.

–Field Level Media

Raptors Trade Siakam to Pacers

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INDIANAPOLIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Pacers and Toronto Raptors are finalizing a deal that will send All-Star forward Pascal Siakam to Indiana in exchange for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora and three first-round draft picks, multiple media reports noted on Wednesday.

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Two of the first rounders are 2024 picks — one of which is Indiana’s — and the third is 2026 from the Pacers, per ESPN. The other 2024 first-rounder is the lesser of a Utah/Houston/Oklahoma City pick, according to ESPN.

The New Orleans Pelicans, the third team in the deal, are sending Kira Lewis Jr. to the Raptors and a second-round pick to Indiana, according to reports.

Siakam’s agent Todd Ramasar confirmed the trade in comments to another media outlet.

“I’m excited that Pascal is getting a first class opportunity with the Pacers, being paired with Tyrese (Haliburton) and Myles (Turner) and being coached by a great coach in Rick Carlisle,” Ramasar told Andscape.

Siakam, 29, is in the final year of a four-year, $136.9 million contract. He’s set to hit free agency in 2024-25 barring an extension with the Pacers. ESPN reported that Siakam is eager to work out a new deal with the Pacers in the summer.

The two-time All-Star is averaging 22.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 39 starts this season. He’s shooting 52.2 percent from the floor. He has played all seven-plus seasons in Toronto. He averages 17.4 points for his career. He was selected No. 27 overall by the Raptors in the 2016 draft.

Brown, 27, was in his first season with the Pacers after winning a title with the Denver Nuggets last season. He’s averaging 12.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 33 games (all starts) this season. The Raptors will be his fourth team in six seasons in the league.

Nwora, 25, is averaging 5.2 points in 18 games (no starts) this season.

Lewis, 22, is averaging 2.9 points in 15 games (no starts) this season. The Pelicans selected him No. 13 overall in the 2020 draft.

–Field Level Media

GS Warriors Assistant Milojevic Dead, 46

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SALT LAKE CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – (January 17, 2024) – Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic died Wednesday morning after suffering a medical emergency the night before. He was 46. The Warriors said Milojevic suffered a heart attack at a private team dinner on Tuesday. “We are absolutely devastated by Dejan Milojevic‘s sudden passing,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said in a statement issued January 17th.

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Milojevic was taken to a Utah hospital after suffering the episode at a team dinner, the Warriors confirmed early Wednesday, as media reported it was “a sudden and serious health issue” that struck Milojevic during dinner.

The Warriors were in Salt Lake City, Utah in advance of tonight’s game against the Jazz.

“The NBA mourns the sudden passing of Golden State assistant coach Dejan Milojević, a beloved colleague and dear friend to so many in the global basketball community,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “In addition to winning the 2022 NBA championship in his first season with the Warriors and mentoring some of the best players in the world, Dejan had a decorated international playing career and was a distinguished head coach in his native Serbia. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Natasa, their children, Nikola and Masa, and the Warriors organization during this tragic time.”

Milojevic, who played professionally overseas for 14 years, was named the Adriatic League Most Valuable Player three times (2004-06).

He was head coach of KK Buducnost in Montenegro (2021) and KK Mega Basket in Serbia (2012-20) before serving as an assistant on coach Steve Kerr’s staff in Golden State since 2021. He was a staff member on one of Golden State’s NBA championship teams.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: The American Express

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LaQUINTA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The PGA Tour’s five-event “West Coast Swing” begins Thursday at The American Express in La Quinta, Calif.

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Contested across three courses, the AmEx has long been a staple of the tour schedule. The field includes 21 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, and our golf experts preview the event while providing their favorite prop picks and best bets to win this week.

THE AMERICAN EXPRESS
Location: La Quinta, Calif., Jan. 18-21
Host course: PGA West, Pete Dye Stadium Course (Par 72, 7,187 yards). Other courses: PGA West, Nicklaus Tournament Course; La Quinta Country Club
Purse: $8.4M (Winner: $1,512,000)
Reigning champion: Jon Rahm
FedEx Cup leader: Chris Kirk

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Sunday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Streaming: Thursday-Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
X (The platform formerly known as Twitter): @TheAmExGolf

PROP PICKS
– Jason Day to Beat Wyndham Clark (-110 at DraftKings): Clark has been tied to rumors of joining Rahm’s new LIV Golf team, and his mind might already be one foot out the door. After beating only one player at the Hero World Challenge, Clark finished T29 at the limited field The Sentry. Meanwhile Day followed a solo 11th in the Bahamas with a T10 at Kapalua and is a regular at the AmEx, where he finished T18 last year.

– Tom Kim to Finish Top 20 (+125 at BetMGM): After a T45 at The Sentry, Kim arrived early at the AmEx and was seeing playing a practice round at La Quinta on Sunday. He’s only two events removed from a win at The Shriners and The Sentry broke a streak of six consecutive top-20s. Kim also tied for sixth at the AmEx last year.

–Min Woo Lee Top Australian (+150 at DraftKings): Lee hasn’t teed it up since the first week of December, but he ended last season on a serious hot streak. That included two wins in his past five worldwide starts and a solo third at the Australian Open to close out his 2023. Now a full-time member of the PGA Tour, he is paired in this prop against Day (+200), Cam Davis (+300), Harrison Endycott (+1000) and Aaron Baddeley (+1200).

2024 Prop Picks Record: 3-3

BEST BETS
–Scottie Scheffler (+550 at BetMGM) makes his fifth consecutive start in the event. He finished solo third in 2020 and T11 last year. He is the book’s biggest liability, leading the field in the most total winning bets (12.6 percent) and money (31.3 percent) since opening at +650. Scheffler also leads the field at DraftKings with 9 percent of the money backing him at the same odds.
–Patrick Cantlay (+1000) has three top-10s in five previous event starts, and he carded a final round 61 while finishing second three years ago.
–Xander Schauffele (+1100) is coming off a T10 at The Sentry, and he tied for third at the AmEx last year. His odds have lengthened slightly from opening at +1000 at BetMGM.
–Sungae Im (+2000) hasn’t been among the most popular plays at BetMGM thus far, but he is second to Scheffler at DraftKings (+2200) with 8 percent of the money backing him to win. Im’s best event finish was a T11 two years ago, and he kicked off 2024 with a T5 at Kapalua.
–Justin Thomas (+2500) tees it up for the first time in 2024 after not qualifying for The Sentry. He is BetMGM’s third biggest liability as Thomas has been backed by 7.8 percent of the tickets since opening at +2200.
–Kim (+2500) finished T6 last year. He began 2024 with a T45 at The Sentry after closing out last year with a win at the Shriners and a T15 at the DP World Tour Championship.
–J.T. Poston (+2800) opened at +3300, but his odds have been driven down as the book’s second biggest liability, having drawn 6.8 percent of the tickets and 8.4 percent of the money.
–Chris Kirk (+4000) is one of 15 players making their third consecutive start to begin 2024. He backed up his win at The Sentry with a T18 last week.

NOTES
–This is one of only two PGA Tour events that uses a pro-am format (AT&T Pebble Beach) and one of only four that utilizes multiple courses.
–Rahm will not defend his title after signing with LIV Golf last month.
–Former U.S. Ryder Cup player Daniel Berger will make his first PGA Tour start since the 2022 U.S. Open as he returns from a back injury. Ranked No. 25 in the world at the time, Berger enters this week at No. 664. The four-time PGA Tour winner is exempt through 2024 via his win at the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
–Bill Haas, champion in 2010 and 2015, is making his 20th consecutive event start, the longest active streak in the field.
–Since the tournament went to a 72-hole format in 2012, Patrick Reed’s 28-under-par 260 in 2014 is the scoring record.

–Field Level Media

Big East: Seton Hall, Xavier Cruise

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NEWARK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Seton Hall and Xavier gained homecourt victories in rivalry games on Tuesday. The Pirates took control late in the first and went on to post an 80-65 win. Xavier overcame Butler’s second-half rally to register an 85-71 victory.

At Prudential Center, Seton Hall and St. John’s were tied 24-24 with 4:33 left in the first half. The Pirates (13-5, 6-1 BIG EAST) scored the game’s next 28 points – 14 in the first half and the first 14 in the second half. Five Pirates reached double figures. Al-Amir Dawes scored a game-high 21 points. Dylan Addae-Wusu added 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. St. John’s (12-6, 4-3) competed without coach Rick Pitino, who missed the game due to illness. Daniss Jenkins led the Red Storm with 17 points.

At Cintas Center, after Butler had erased a 19-point deficit with the help of a 20-3 run, Xavier used a late spurt of its own to pick up an 85-71 victory. The Musketeers (9-8, 3-3) were led by Desmond Claude, who netted a career-high 26 points.  Dayvion McKnight added 20 points. Butler (11-7, 2-5) got 22 points from Pierre Brooks and a season-high 21 from Posh Alexander.

Like Tuesday, Wednesday’s two-game schedule is a doubleheader on FS1. Connecticut, newly-anointed No. 1 in this week’s AP poll, hosts No. 18 Creighton at Gampel Pavilion at 7 p.m. ET. The Bluejays (13-4, 4-2) have won six of the seven meetings since the Huskies (13-4, 4-2) rejoined the BIG EAST with UConn’s only win coming in last year’s contest 69-60 at Gampel.

Providence visits DePaul at 9 p.m. Both teams are aiming to end four-game losing streaks. Devin Carter has been on a hot scoring run and leads the Friars (11-6, 2-4). In BIG EAST games, he ranks first in scoring with a 21.7 average. DePaul’s top scorer in league play is forward Da’Sean Nelson, who sports a 16.2 scoring mark.