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Sports
Stan Van Gundy, Pistons Reportedly Agree To Part Ways
CJ Anderson Signs With Panthers
C. J. ANDERSON
The Carolina Panthers have seemingly made an effort to get younger this offseason, but they are adding a veteran rusher to their backfield.
The Panthers have agreed to a deal with C.J. Ander- son, and the team later con- firmed the news.
Anderson, 27, spent the last five seasons with the Den- ver Broncos. While he was never really able to seize con- trol of a featured running back role, he did have his first 1,000-yard rushing season last year.
The Panthers will probably lean on Christian McCaf- frey more heavily in 2018, but Anderson should provide a nice complement to run be- tween the tackles and in short yardage situations.
Johnny Manziel Hospitalized Over Prescription Meds Reaction
JOHNNY MANZIEL
Johnny Manziel was ad- mitted to the hospital on Mon- day after he had what his public relations manager de- scribed as a reaction to a change in his prescription medication.
Manziel was hospitalized on Monday night in Texas, where he had been playing in a golf tournament hosted by his good friend and former team- mate Mike Evans. Manziel also attended the JMBLYA concert in Houston over the weekend.
According to his rep, Manziel had a bad reaction to his prescription medication and did not spend very long at the hospital.
Rivals Tiger Woods And
Again This Weekend
The Detroit Pistons will be among the teams searching for a new head coach this summer, as they have report- edly decided to part ways with Stan Van Gundy.
Reports on Monday made it seem as though the split was a mutual decision.
Van Gundy is entering the final year of his contract and likely did not want to be a lame duck coach. He showed improvement upon taking over the franchise, as the Pistons went from con- secutive 29-53 seasons to 32- 50 in Van Gundy’s first
Phil Mickelson, Together
STAN VAN GUNDY
season. Then they made a big leap and went 44-38 and made the playoffs in his sec- ond season. Since then, they’ve had consecutive sea- sons where they’ve gone below .500.
Time, it softens hard edges and thaws icy relationships. Tiger Woods is 42 years old, Phil Mickelson 47. They are on the back nines of their Hall of Fame careers.
They are also enjoying each other more than ever.
For the better part of 20 years, Woods and Mickel- son were the face of golf. With no disrespect to the other actors -- Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, David Duval -- they were bit players in this drama. No one loomed as large as Mickelson in terms of personality, resume and talent.
Tiger and Phil have played nearly three dozen times together in PGA Tour events.
When Woods turned pro in 1996, the elder Mickelson had already won nine times on the PGA Tour. He’d also said in so many words that Woods wouldn’t dominate the way he had as an amateur. Incendiary comments they weren’t, but it angered Woods anyway, according to one insider. Others say that Tiger also viewed Mickel- son as the biggest threat to his throne and that only fu- eled the animus.
On went Woods, too, racking up titles and setting records. But the two rarely went head to head. On the
TIGER WOODS AND PHIL MICKELSON
rare occasions they did, Woods outplayed Mickel- son more often than not, es- pecially in the beginning. It was something Tiger took par- ticular enjoyment in.
It hasn’t always gone Woods’ way, though, espe- cially in more recent times.
In 2012, Mickelson shot a final-round 64 to dust Woods by 11 shots on his way to winning the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. In their most recent pairing, in the first two rounds of the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla, Mickelson was a dozen strokes better.
“We've always had a mu- tual respect over the years, and I've always appreciated what he's done for the game of golf,” Mickelson said Tues- day. “Fifteen years ago my record against him sucked, and now it's OK. I'm doing better as time has gone on.”
So is the relationship be- tween the two.
Saints RB Mark Ingram Suspended Four Games By NFL
Fresh off the best season of his NFL career - and head- ing into the final year of his contract - New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram has been suspended four games for violating the NFL policy on performance-en- hancing substances.
Ingram, 28, will miss games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants. He will be eligible to return to the Saints' active roster on Monday,
Oct. 1.
Ingram will be eligible to
participate in all offseason practices and preseason games.
The veteran running back
MARK INGRAM
is scheduled to earn a base salary of $4 million in the final year of his contract, meaning he will forfeit nearly $1 million - and possibly more in bonus money - by missing the four games. The suspen- sion could prove even more costly if he was angling for a lucrative contract extension before the season kicked off.
Cliff Avril To Become Morning Sports Radio Host In Seattle
Cliff Avril’s career with the Seahawks officially came to an end on Friday when the team released him, but the defensive end will continue working in Seattle.
Avril has accepted a job with 950 Sports Radio KJR, where he will join Jason Puckett as a morning sports talk show host. The station announced the addition on Monday.
While Avril has yet to of- ficially close the book on his playing career, this could be a good sign that he is hanging up the cleats.
Avril, 32, spent the past five seasons with the Sea- hawks. His best year with the team came in 2016, when he racked up 11.5 sacks and forced five fumbles. Avril spent the first five seasons of
CLIFF AVRIL
his career with the Detroit Lions. He has 74 sacks in total.
Earlier in the offseason, Avril said he was surprised by some of the moves the Seahawks had been making. He probably wasn’t shocked when releasing him became the latest, but it sounds like he has landed a good gig if he’s looking to begin a career in sports media.
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