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Cam Newton accuses Browns coach Kevin Stefanski of not wanting Shedeur Sanders to succeed

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Cam Newton accuses Browns coach Kevin Stefanski of not wanting Shedeur Sanders to succeed

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Shedeur Sanders made his regular-season debut for the Cleveland Browns during the team’s 23-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, and it wasn’t the outing he would’ve hoped for in his first real action in the NFL.

Sanders went 4-of-16 for 47 yards, was sacked twice and threw an interception. The Ravens ultimately saw tight end Mark Andrews score a rushing touchdown in the 23-17 victory.

Sanders was critical of himself after the game, but former NFL quarterback Cam Newton said this game backed up an opinion he’s had for quite a while.

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Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns warms up before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Huntington Bank Field on Nov. 16, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

“I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I do not think Kevin Stefanski wants Shedeur Sanders to succeed in Cleveland,” Newton said on ESPN’s “First Take”. “The reason being is, don’t tell me what he said, don’t tell me what he’s saying. I’m going off of actions – alright? Let’s go off actions.

“The actions is, if I’m Shedeur, or if I’m a Shedeur Sanders fan, I would not want him to take the field because that’s going to consistently be the display we’re going to see. It doesn’t matter if it’s Deshaun Watson, it doesn’t matter if it’s Shedeur Sanders, it doesn’t matter if it’s Dillon Gabriel, it doesn’t matter if it’s Dan Orlovsky, it doesn’t matter if it’s Cam Newton. You need help in Cleveland. When you have a quarterback that’s still making $46 million on your roster, and he’s not healthy, that impacts the talent that’s around him. They are not a good team.”

The Browns are 2-8 this season, and Sanders marks the third quarterback change since the regular season began. At first, 41-year-old journeyman Joe Flacco was leading the way in Stefanski’s offense, but he was benched, leading to rookie Dillon Gabriel taking over.

BROWNS’ SHEDEUR SANDERS OFFERS BLUNT CRITIQUE OF PERFORMANCE IN NFL DEBUT

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After Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals, Gabriel became the full-time starter with Sanders backing him up. It’s been a struggle for Gabriel, who went 7-of-10 passing for 68 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions Sunday before Stefanski turned to Sanders after Gabriel suffered a concussion.

Newton believes Sanders is being set up to fail, saying the Colorado product and son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders isn’t being given a fair chance to make his mark in Cleveland.

“But this is the thing that really irks me the most… because [Sanders] doesn’t get any reps,” Newton said. “Circa 2015, circa when Cam Newton was the MVP, circa when, hey, my backup for [the] majority of my career was probably the biggest blessing of my career, to have a veteran in Derek Anderson. Ron Rivera still knew, ‘We’re one play away, kid, from you not being available.’”

Cam Newton attends the BET Awards Media House on June 29, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.  (Robin L Marshall/Getty Images for BET)

Sanders was blunt in his postgame press conference while discussing his performance in his first regular-season action.

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“I don’t think I played good,” Sanders said. I think there’s a lot of things we need to look at during the week and go and just get comfortable with even throwing routes with Jerry [Jeudy] and throwing routes with all those guys.

“I think that was my first ball to him all year,” he continued. “But other than that, I just think overall, we just got to go next week and understand, so that we have a week to prepare stuff I like to do.”

To Newton’s point, Sanders hadn’t received any first-team reps in practice before this game. He started the season as the team’s third-string quarterback before moving to Gabriel’s backup after the Flacco trade.

Despite the poor outing, Sanders’ confidence isn’t wavering as the Browns move on to next week’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders on the road.

Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns walks off the field after losing to the Baltimore Ravens 23-16 at Huntington Bank Field on Nov. 16, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

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“I still have the same confidence. I’m still me,” he said. “I’ll never go anywhere. You know, just going out there, seeing daylight, that’s all I needed to see how they move out there. Playing against a great defense. You got guys from the Pro Bowl out there, so it’s exciting to see. Okay, this is what it’s like? Alright. This is what it’s like? I’m excited for it. So, you know, I just got to take this one and build on it.”

Stefanski has not named a starting quarterback for the Raiders matchup, though an announcement is expected later this week.

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‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42

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‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42

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Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.

As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.

Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.

The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.

Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.

JACOB FATU PUTS DREW MCINTYRE IN THE ‘REAR VIEW’ IN UNSANCTIONED MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 42

Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.

The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.

Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.

As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.

Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.

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Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.

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Ryan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies

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Ryan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies

What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.

With a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champions lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.

Nor could the Dodgers keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park — though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a ground-rule double and the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. Then the new guy, Ryan Ward, made the final out in his big league debut, robbed of a hit and a chance to keep chipping away by a diving Troy Johnston in right field.

Before that, the Rockies — who beat the Dodgers twice in 13 meetings all of last season — chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Díaz, who came on in the eighth and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs before being pulled with the Dodgers trailing 8-4.

Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up three runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.

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(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.

“They both weren’t sharp,” said manager Dave Roberts, who had theories but not many answers — though he did have real concern, especially about Díaz, who recently had his right knee checked out by the medical staff.

Roberts said the closer wanted to pitch after nine days off, even though it wasn’t a save situation. But his velocity was slightly down (95.4 mph vs. 95.8) and so, “today was a tough evaluation,” the manager said.

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“It really was,” Roberts said. “Because, you know, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”

And losing for the second time to the Rockies, who are now 9-13? Being in danger of losing their four-game series, after arriving in Denver without having lost to a National League opponent, against a club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2018?

It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet debut.

Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, lining a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0 and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.

“When I was on first base, I got to see them all jumping around up there,” Ward said. “That was a pretty special moment.”

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He also singled in the sixth and swung on the first pitch in his first at-bat, a fly out in the third inning.

The Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead in the third. Alex Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim, and Shohei Ohtani doubled in Freeland — and extended his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers history.

Sasaki went 4-2/3 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the six-man rotation.

The Dodgers fell behind 6-5 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Mickey Moniak.

The result likely will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story years from now about getting the call after first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list.

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The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers this year.

Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks and get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.

“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “He’s improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That’s easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn’t done that.”

If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.

“I used it to keep going. ‘OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’

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“I used it as fire to keep working.”

That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.

In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).

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ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd

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ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd

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Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.

While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.

Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)

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Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.

The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”

Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.

WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME

Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)

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Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”

Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.

“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”

Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.

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