Sports briefs
By NewsPress Now
Some fans at frigid
Chiefs playoff game underwent amputations
KANSAS CITY, Mo. | Some of the people who attended the near-record cold Kansas City Chiefs playoff game in January had to undergo amputations after suffering frostbite, a Missouri hospital said Friday.
Research Medical Center didn’t provide exact numbers but said in a statement that it treated dozens of people who had experienced frostbite during an 11-day cold snap in January. Twelve of those people — including some who were at the Jan. 13 game — had to undergo amputations involving mostly fingers and toes. And the hospital said more surgeries are expected over the next two to four weeks as “injuries evolve.”
The University of Kansas hospital said it also treated frostbite victims after the game but didn’t report any amputations.
The temperature for the Dolphins-Chiefs wild-card playoff game was minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit, and wind gusts made for a windchill of minus 27 degrees F. That shattered the record for the coldest game in Arrowhead Stadium history, which had been 1 degree F, set in a 1983 game against Denver and matched in 2016 against Tennessee.
The wild-card game was played the same day the Buffalo Bills were supposed to host the Pittsburgh Steelers, but that game was pushed back a day because a blizzard dumped up to 2 feet of snow in New York and made traveling to the game too dangerous.
The game in Kansas City went on as scheduled because the frigid weather didn’t present similar problems getting to Arrowhead Stadium, even though the National Weather Service warned of “dangerously cold” windchills.
Frostbite can occur on exposed skin within 30 minutes, Dr. Megan Garcia, the medical director of the Grossman Burn Center at Research, said in a statement that answered one of the top questions she is asked. The timing can be even shorter if there is a windchill, she said.
Fans were allowed to bring heated blankets into the stadium and small pieces of cardboard to place under their feet on the cold concrete.
The coldest game in NFL history remains minus 13 F for the 1967 NFL championship, when the Packers beat the Cowboys at Lambeau Field in a game that came to be known as the Ice Bowl. The windchill that day was minus 48 F.
The Chiefs didn’t immediately respond to email messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Patriots agree to trade QB Mac Jones to the Jaguars
Booed and benched the past two years in New England, quarterback Mac Jones is headed home to become a backup.
The Patriots and new coach Jerod Mayo agreed Sunday to trade Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick in next month’s NFL draft, according to a person with knowledge of the decision.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade cannot become official until the new league year begins Wednesday and after Jones passes a physical.
The move brings Jones home — he was born and raised in Jacksonville — and provides competition behind starter Trevor Lawrence.
Jones will vie with 30-year-old C.J. Beathard for the team’s backup spot. Jones will count $4.96 million against the team’s salary cap in the final year of his rookie contract. Beathard is scheduled to count $2.4 million in the final year of his deal.
The Jaguars are unlikely to keep both on their 53-man roster to start the season.
Jones, the 15th overall pick in the 2021 draft, flamed out spectacularly last season and was eventually replaced by Bailey Zappe. Jones went 2-9 in 11 starts in 2023, throwing for 2,120 yards with 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
He has 46 TD passes and 36 INTs in three NFL seasons. He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2021, but he regressed in his second year with former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia calling plays.
The Patriots are expected to select a quarterback with the third overall pick in the draft. LSU’s Jayden Daniels, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy could be options there.
The Jaguars were looking for a younger option behind Lawrence. Beathard won his lone start last season, but he also injured his non-throwing shoulder in an earlier appearance and was so banged up late in the season that Jacksonville nearly had to start journeyman Matt Barkley off the street.
Adding Jones is one of a few changes Jacksonville is making to its offense in 2024. The team re-signed left guard Ezra Cleveland, renegotiated a reduced cap number for right guard Brandon Scherff and plan to bring in a veteran center to compete with third-year pro Luke Fortner. Receiver could be a top target in the draft if the Jags lose Calvin Ridley in free agency.
General manager Trent Baalke and coach Doug Pederson have been adamant that Lawrence is their guy, and they hope to sign him to a long-term deal — maybe even before next season.
Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox announces his retirement
PHILADELPHIA | Philadelphia Eagles six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Fletcher Cox announced his retirement on Sunday.
Cox, a first-round pick in 2012, played all 12 of his seasons in Philadelphia and holds the franchise record for sacks (70) by a defensive tackle, trailing only Reggie White, Trent Cole, Clyde Simmons and Brandon Graham in career sacks.
He joins six-time All-Pro center Jason Kelce in retirement. Graham signed a one-year deal on Saturday to return to the Eagles for his 15th season.
“I fulfilled a lifelong dream by making it to the NFL. But what I didn’t know at the time was how much of an honor and privilege it would be to represent the city of Philadelphia and the Eagles organization for the next 12 seasons,” Cox wrote on Instagram.
Cox was selected No. 12 overall in 2012 in Andy Reid’s last season in Philadelphia. He helped the Eagles beat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl following the 2017 season and had his best year in 2018 when he was a first-team All-Pro.
“What made Fletcher truly special is that his influence extends even further behind the scenes,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement. “The six-time team captain was a key figure in establishing a championship culture in our building. As nasty as he was on the field, he was a master of his craft while also serving as a big brother and mentor to so many young players over the years.
“He had a tremendous amount of respect for the game of football and the legacy he would one day be leaving behind, and that was reflected in the way he set the standard every single day whether on the practice field or in the locker room. That standard will live on for many years thanks to his leadership and the respect he earned from everyone in the building.”
Timberwolves’
Rudy Gobert fined $100,000 for gesture
NEW YORK | The NBA fined Minnesota center Rudy Gobert $100,000 on Sunday, two days after he implied that referee Scott Foster was not calling games fairly and further suggesting that gambling is having a detrimental impact on the outcome of games.
The fine is the maximum that the NBA could give under terms of the collective bargaining agreement that went into place last year, matching the $100,000 fine given to then-Philadelphia guard James Harden for his public trade demand last fall.
Gobert was called for a technical foul in the closing seconds of regulation Friday night in the Timberwolves’ 113-104 overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers when he rubbed his fingers together several times, the so-called money sign that he directed toward Foster.
“I’ll bite the bullet again,” Gobert said after that game. “I’ll be the bad guy. I’ll take the fine, but I think it’s hurting our game. I know the betting and all that is becoming bigger and bigger, but it shouldn’t feel that way.”
The NBA said it found that Gobert directed “an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture toward a game official, and publicly (criticized) the officiating.” In announcing the fine, NBA executive vice president for basketball operations Joe Dumars said it “takes into account Gobert’s past instances of conduct detrimental to the NBA with regard to publicly criticizing the officiating.”
It is the fourth time Gobert has been fined for public criticism of officials. He is making $41 million this season.
Newgarden and Team Penske dominate IndyCar season opener
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. | Team Penske silenced recent criticism aimed at series leadership by dominating the IndyCar season-opening race with a Josef Newgarden win from the pole Sunday on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.
Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren Racing broke up the Penske rout with a second-place finish, but Penske drivers Scott McLaughlin and Will Power finished third and fourth. The Penske trio finished ahead of every Andretti Global driver two days after team owner Michael Andretti called on Roger Penske to sell the IndyCar Series if he’s not willing to increase his investments in promotion and marketing.
“I think for Roger, the Team Penske and the Penske Entertainment is very separate, and for him, he’s got to put those hats on and see the good of the sport,” McLaughlin said. “It’s part of owning the series, you think, you’re going to get called left, right and center from people upset with your adjustments or what you want from the series.
“You’re never going to have it all fine and dandy.”
Colton Herta in fifth was the highest-finishing driver for Andretti, which had a bust of a day with new driver Marcus Ericsson. The former Indianapolis 500 winner lost power midway through the race and finished 25th in the 27-car field. Ericsson was the defending race winner at St. Pete, which celebrated its 20th running of the popular street course event.
Reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou finished sixth for Chip Ganassi Racing and Felix Rosenqvist was seventh in his debut race with Meyer Shank Racing.
Alexander Rossi of McLaren was eighth, while Scott Dixon of Ganassi and Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing rounded out the top 10. Santino Ferrucci was an impressive 11th for A.J. Foyt Racing, which created an alliance with Penske.
The win for Penske is his third season-opening win this year alone. His IMSA sports car team won the Rolex 24 at Daytona and his other sports car team won the WEC opener in Qatar last week.
“As a team, we’re stoked. We just put a lot of hard work into the season,” McLaughlin said. “It’s just a good team. It’s a great business relationship. We’re just going to keep winning.”
Penske hugged Newgarden in victory lane and the NBC cameras caught their conversation: “I was thinking of you at the end of that race, keep it together, like you told me.”
Newgarden then expanded on the conversation.
“Roger was telling me, if you have a big lead, you better hold onto it and not throw it in the wall,” Newgarden said. “It’s great to have these little intimate moments with RP. He wants us to be out there crushing it and winning.”
He said that during the last 10 laps of the race all he could think about was the look he’d see on Penske’s face if he threw the win away.
The victory continued Chevrolet’s impressive start to 2024; headed into the Cup Series race in Phoenix later Sunday, Chevy had won the first three Cup races of the season, all three Truck Series races and two of four Xfinity Series races.
Chevrolet went 1-2-3-4 in the IndyCar opener and had seven cars in the top 11. Chevy drivers have raved all weekend about offseason engagement with their engine supplier and upgrades the bowtie brand delivered to the teams.
“We all met in London, it was like 25 of us at a massive table, and we just hammered down on everything we wanted to see improved. Everything that we thought we did well and just having an honest and open conversation about what’s going on,” O’Ward said of McLaren’s meeting with Chevrolet. “A lot of massive gains have been gained. I was super, super happy to see how receptive they were and how they were going to get to work and they brought us a very strong package.”
Newgarden, the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, led 92 of the 100 laps as he had the field covered. It was Newgarden’s 30th career victory and third at St. Pete.
“I had a lot of fun today, a lot of fun,” Newgarden said. “Early on in the race I said, ‘I’m going. We’re not going to wait around to win this race.’”
UP NEXT: IndyCar races at the Thermal Club in California in an all-star style exhibition race with a $1 million payout. The series tested at the members-only club in 2023 to gauge its readiness to host a race.
—From AP reports
