Hello again everyone, it's Shanna McCarriston. What a whirlwind yesterday was for sports news -- specifically in the NFL.
We will get into everything here shortly, but at the top we have to talk about the Aaron Rodgers/COVID-19 situation. It couldn't have come at a worse time for the Packers, who are in the midst of a seven-game winning streak. But also, as the NFL has made clear through their health protocols, players are at so much more of a risk to hurt their teams if they are not vaccinated.
The fact that Rodgers isn't is making a bad situation much worse for Green Bay -- as he will have to sit out for a longer period of time. We will get into how long Rodgers will have to sit out and much more below.
📰 What you need to know
1. Aaron Rodgers tests positive for COVID-19 while unvaccinated, which raises a lot of questions 🏈
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will not play against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday after testing positive for COVID-19. Jordan Love, who, if you recall, Rodgers was not crazy about the Packers drafting in 2020, will play in his absence. Practice squad QB Kurt Benkert is also on the reserve/COVID-19 list after testing positive, so right now Love is the only quarterback available to Green Bay
Rodgers will miss the game because he reportedly is not vaccinated against COVID-19. Here's what that means for him returning:
- League protocol requires him to quarantine for a minimum of 10 days
- This could also cause an issue for the Packers' Nov. 14 game against the Seattle Seahawks. He cannot return to team activities until the quarantine lifts, which would be either Nov. 13 or Nov. 14, depending on when he tested positive
Another twist in this is that when asked earlier this season if he was vaccinated, Rodgers told reporters he had been "immunized." Word choice is important here and it has been reported that Rodgers "received homeopathic treatment from his personal doctor to raise his antibody levels." But that's not all. Let's turn to our NFL expert Patrik Walker to explain this:
- Walker: "The 37-year-old reportedly lobbied the league's front office for approval of an alternative treatment, as opposed to getting the vaccine ... After reviewing Rodgers' status, the NFL proceeded to label him as unvaccinated. This begs the question on which side of the protocol Rodgers has been adhering to up to this point, seeing as they're wildly different. Any discrepancy would likely lead to a swift and potentially harsh punishment from commissioner Roger Goodell."
Ultimately, what matters here is that the NFL has labeled Rodgers as unvaccinated right now. Because of that 1) he will miss more time than if was vaccinated and tested positive for COVID-19 and 2) the league is going to look at if Rodgers attempted to carry himself as vaccinated due to an alternative treatment denied relevancy by the NFL. This saga is far from over.
2. Who will the Giants get to replace Buster Posey? ⚾
San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey will reportedly announce his retirement later today. Posey has long been known as one of the best catchers in baseball. He did not play in the 2020 season, but in 2021 he came back and helped lead San Francisco to the most wins in the league while having one of the best seasons of his career.
In what will turn out to be his final season, the 34-year-old hit .304/.390/.499 with 18 home runs in 454 plate appearances. He will become one of few players in MLB's divisional era to hit .300 or better in their final season. The only other players to do so are Lou Brock, Will Clark, Roberto Clemente, David Ortiz and Kirby Puckett. Not bad company to be in.
Posey's MLB journey began in 2008 when he was drafted No. 5 overall. He made his debut in 2009 and by 2010 he was the Giants' starting catcher.
Here is a snapshot of his career achievements:
- NL Rookie of the Year
- Seven-time All-Star
- Three-time World Series champion
- Gold Glove Award winner
- Four-time Silver Slugger Award winner
- Two-time NL Comeback Player of the Year
With Posey gone, the Giants will need to find a replacement, though getting someone with his level of talent will be a near impossible task. Click here to see some of San Francisco's options, which include Joey Bart, one of their top prospects.
3. Henry Ruggs III will be charged with DUI resulting in death 🏈
Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III will be charged with DUI resulting in death and reckless driving resulting in death or serious bodily harm after being involved in a fatal accident in Las Vegas early Tuesday morning. If he is convicted, Ruggs faces two to 20 years in prison for the first charge and one to six years for the second charge.
- On Wednesday, prosecutor Eric Bauman said Ruggs was driving a Chevrolet Corvette at 156 miles per hour just seconds before the crash
- His blood alcohol level was more than double the legal limit
- According to Bauman, a loaded gun was also found in Ruggs' car
When the fire department arrived on the scene they found a deceased victim, a 23-year-old woman, inside the other car. Ruggs and girlfriend Kiara Kilgo-Washington were transported to the a nearby hospital for "serious" injuries and in the police statement Ruggs was described having non-life-threatening injuries.
He has been released from the hospital and arrived to court in a neck brace.
- Las Vegas interim head coach Rich Bisaccia: "We want to express our sincere condolences to the victim's family. A person lost their life yesterday morning, and we think it's important to keep focus on that as we talk about this tragic event. We're deeply saddened for everyone affected, especially the victim's family ... The gravity of the situation is not lost on anyone here, and we understand and respect the loss of life."
The investigation is ongoing.
4. Oklahoma State banned from 2022 NCAA Tournament 🏀
The NCAA announced on Wednesday that they have rejected Oklahoma State's appeal of a postseason-ban ruling from 2021 and will uphold the original punishment. It means the school cannot compete in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Oklahoma State assistant Lamont Evans was found to have acted unethically and illegally and was arrested in 2017. He pled guilty in January 2019 and served three months in federal prison after being caught participating in a plot to recruit players to a basketball/marketing agency while he was employed by Oklahoma State. It was proven that he accepted at least $18,150 in bribes.
Evans did not cooperate in the NCAA investigation and Oklahoma State has been punished for lack of cooperation, unethical conduct and for Evans accepting dirty money.
- OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg: "We are profoundly disappointed for our student-athletes, none of whom were here at the time of this case. This is an unprecedented decision by the NCAA. There are other strikingly similar cases that did not include postseason bans and had only minor penalties. We had a rogue employee carrying out actions that benefited him alone and he went to great lengths to assure his actions were undetectable. He was terminated when we learned of his actions."
The FBI and the NCAA found no evidence of Oklahoma State illegally enrolling a prospect.
For a look all of the punishments handed down to Oklahoma State, of which there are many, click here.
📝 Odds & Ends
- The Tigers acquired catcher Tucker Barnhart from the Reds in MLB's first offseason trade
- Baker Mayfield reacted to Odell Beckham Jr.'s father's viral video criticizing the Browns QB
- Joc Peterson's pearl necklace will have a home in Cooperstown at the Baseball Hall of Fame
📺 What to watch tonight
🏒 Capitals vs. Panthers, 7 p.m. | FLA -145
🏀 Celtics vs. Heat, 7:30 p.m. | MIA -8 | TV: NBA League Pass
🏀 Thunder vs. Lakers, 10:30 p.m. | LAL -13 | TV: NBA League Pass
🏅 Best thing I saw on the internet
This is a wild one. Last weekend, a high school team defeated a team by such a large margin the the winning school's principal apologized. How badly do you have to beat a team for your principal to feel bad? 106-0. Yes, you read that correctly, a high school team won 106-0. And people have said Bill Belichick likes to run up the score!
Inglewood (Calif.) shut out Morningside (Calif.) in a matchup neither team will forget soon. Inglewood's principal Debbie Tate tweeted, "On behalf of the Inglewood High School, I apologize to the Morningside High School football team, coaches and community members as well as the Inglewood High School community for Friday night's football game. We did not conduct ourselves with sportsmanship and integrity and the final score was unacceptable."
Morningside coach Brian Collins called it "classless."
