NFL free agency gets wild
With free agency beginning Monday afternoon, the landscape of the NFL has experienced a massive shift. As far as the local New York-based teams are concerned, the New York Giants lost star running back Saquon Barkley to the Philadelphia Eagles and starting safety Xavier McKinney to the Green Bay Packers, but acquired Carolina Panthers star pass rusher Brian Burns in a sign-and-trade move.
The New York Jets did not make any notable additions but did bring in veteran Tyrod Taylor to be their backup quarterback, and lost pass rusher Bryce Huff to the Philadelphia Eagles. Additionally, the team brought in former first-round defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw on a one-year deal.
As far as the rest of the league goes, Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson signed a one year, minimum deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, running back Derrick Henry agreed to a two-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens, quarterback Kirk Cousins agreed to a $180 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons, running back Josh Jacobs agreed to a four-year deal with the Packers and star defensive end Danielle Hunter agreed to a two-year deal with the Houston Texans.
Tempers flare in SEC Championship
Sunday’s SEC Championship game between No. 1 University of South Carolina (USC) and No. 8 Louisiana State University (LSU) saw a fight break out in the fourth quarter that left six players ejected. USC’s leading scorer Kamilla Cardoso shoved LSU sophomore Flau’jae Johnson during a timeout, leading to the brawl.
Chloe Kitts, Tessa Johnson and Sakima Walker of USC, as well as Aalyah Del Rosario and Janae Kent of LSU, were all ejected for leaving the bench area during the scuffle. Cardoso was ejected from the game as well for the shove.
After the game, the SEC closed both locker rooms from media availability. Cardoso offered an apology online immediately following the game, saying “My behavior was not representative of who I am as a person… I take full responsibility for my actions and assure you that I am committed to conducting myself with the utmost respect and sportsmanship in the future.”
Johnson’s brother, Trayron Milton, was arrested and charged with assault and battery after the game for jumping over the scorer’s table and involving himself in the fight. Milton made contact with Cardoso, leading to the charges. South Carolina went on to win the game, 79-72.
MLB: The Show 24 to include playable female characters
For the first time in the franchise’s history, the popular video game series MLB: The Show will allow users to create a female character in the Road to the Show career mode. The mode is officially named “Road to the Show: Women Pave Their Way.”
Sony San Diego Studio (SDS), the maker of the franchise, announced this in a trailer last Tuesday. On their website, SDS said, “This path will include all existing features of Road to the Show with the addition of a unique-to-women storyline following a lifelong friendship as it develops in professional baseball.”
MLB: The Show first launched in 2006 as an alternative to the popular MLB 2K series, and quickly outgained the series’ popularity to become the premier baseball video game. Despite this, SDS is late to the party in terms of adding female characters. Other sports video game franchises such as NBA 2K and EA’s NHL and FIFA series have had female characters be options for years.
MLB: The Show 24 will officially launch on March 19, and for the second year in a row, will be available on PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch.
wjackso2@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of Keith Allison, WikiMedia
