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CeeDee Lamb appears to send message to Cowboys amid holdout: 'Still waiting on that phone call'

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CeeDee Lamb appears to send message to Cowboys amid holdout: 'Still waiting on that phone call'

CeeDee Lamb is widely considered one of the top wide receivers in the NFL. He finished the 2023 season with a career-high in receptions, touchdowns and receiving yards.

But the All-Pro wide receiver’s offseason has been dominated by a contract dispute. Lamb is seeking a new long-term deal from the Dallas Cowboys, but the two sides appear to remain at an impasse.

Longtime Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones recently indicated an agreement may be imminent.

“The facts are that I believe we’ll come together. I don’t want to speak for him. That’s what I’m trying not to do. But we wouldn’t have offered him what we’ve offered him if we didn’t want him to be here,” Jones said on Tuesday.

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CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys warms up before kickoff against the Green Bay Packers during an NFC wild-card playoff game at AT&T Stadium Jan. 14, 2024, in Dallas, Texas. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

But Lamb does not appear to share the same level of optimism as Jones. In a workout video posted to social media, the star wideout said he continues to wait for the team to contact him about a potential new deal.

“Still waiting on that phone call,” Lamb said, “but, until then, we grind.”

DAK PRESCOTT: ‘GOOD CONVERSATIONS’ WITH COWBOYS AROUND A NEW CONTRACT

Lamb held out of the Cowboys’ offseason program and mandatory organized team activities. When training camp opened last month, Lamb was a no-show.

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The 25-year-old is scheduled to play the 2024 season under his fifth-year option, which would pay him an estimated $17.9 million.

“Control what I can control,” Lamb added, “and that’s to be the best version of me.”

The Cowboys are believed to have extended Lamb an offer that would have paid him an estimated $33 million per year, NFL Media reported. That figure would trail only one NFL wide receiver, Vikings star Justin Jefferson, in annual salary for the position.

CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jones.

CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jones attend Michael Rubin’s 2024 Fanatics Super Bowl Party at the Marquee Nightclub at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Feb. 10, 2024, in Las Vegas.  (Rich Polk/Getty Images for Fanatics)

Lamb’s contract situation isn’t the only pressing issue on the Cowboys’ agenda. The upcoming regular season also marks the final year quarterback Dak Prescott is under contract. And standout linebacker Micah Parson became eligible for an extension this offseason. 

CeeDee Lamb vs Packers

CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys warms up before an NFL wild-card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers at AT&T Stadium Jan. 14, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)

Even head coach Mike McCarthy’s future beyond the 2024 season is in doubt. His contract expires next year.

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Lamb has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the past three seasons. His 135 receptions led the NFL last year.

He finished the 2023 campaign with 1,749 receiving yards, second-most in the league. Dolphins star Tyreek Hill’s 1,799 receiving yards were the most in the NFL in 2023.

The Cowboys open the season in Cleveland Sept. 8 when they take on the Browns.

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Deion Sanders talks a lot about character but his bully tactics show very little of it

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Deion Sanders talks a lot about character but his bully tactics show very little of it

Deion Sanders’ news conferences often feel like a sermon. When he’s on a roll, his words have a rhythm and energy that remind me of a Sunday morning in the Black church. He will lead you to believe his purpose for being at Colorado is greater than football. Winning may be important, but developing complete people as well as all-around players is imperative. When he talks about the types of recruits he looks for, he mentions intelligence, speed and toughness, but there is added emphasis when he cites character and discipline. He draws out those words, leaving them to linger in the air for a moment longer.

Today, those words ring hollow. Today, Sanders sounds and looks like a hypocrite.  The man who once refused to ignore a petty verbal slight from an opposing coach because “my momma taught me that you ain’t just gonna attack me, and I ain’t gonna sit back and say nothing,” is refusing to take questions from a local columnist because he doesn’t like what the person has written about him and the program.

From my vantage point, that doesn’t look like character. Rather, it resembles cowardice.

GO DEEPER

Sanders, Buffs will no longer answer questions from local columnist

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Everyone knows you don’t run from a bully, perceived or actual. You stand up to the person. Would Sanders tell his team to run and hide if facing an opponent that is a two- or three-touchdown favorite? Of course not. He’d tell his players to stand their ground and meet the moment.

But in this case, he either requested or allowed Colorado’s athletics department to notify The Denver Post that no one from the football program would take questions from columnist Sean Keeler because of “a series of sustained, personal attacks” in Keeler’s coverage of the program. Asked for specific examples, a sports information staffer cited the use of phrases such as “false prophet,” “Deposition Deion,” “Planet Prime,” “Bruce Lee of B.S.,” “the Deion Kool-Aid” and “circus,” according to the Post.

I can understand Sanders being bothered by such characterizations, but I also know the skin of an FBS head coach has to be thicker than one-ply toilet paper. However, Sanders has never handled criticism well, going back to his days as a professional football and baseball player.

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When he suited up for the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Falcons on the same day decades ago, Tim McCarver, a catcher-turned-broadcaster, criticized him for it. McCarver was a purist and didn’t like what he believed to be a circus taking place. Sanders later responded by dumping multiple buckets of ice water on McCarver’s head in the clubhouse.

A few years ago while coaching at Jackson State, Sanders refused to take a question from a reporter when the person addressed him at the Southwestern Conference media day as Deion instead of Coach Prime.

“If you call Nick (Saban), Nick, you’ll get cussed out on the spot,” Sanders said to the reporter, referring to the former Alabama coach. “So don’t do that to me. Treat me like Nick.”

Two weeks ago, Sanders dismissively waved off a CBS reporter after learning of the reporter’s affiliation.

“I’m not doing nothing with CBS. Next question,” he said. “It ain’t got nothing to do with you. It’s above that. It ain’t got nothing to do with you. I got love for you. I appreciate you. I respect you. It ain’t got nothing to do with you. They know what they did.”

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In that same news conference, Sanders also refused to take a question from Keeler. Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern of behavior.

Sanders made amends with CBS reporter Eric Christensen the following week, offering him a one-on-one interview, but the situation with Keeler likely won’t be resolved as quickly or as smoothly. Department officials have not indicated if or when its position will change, though it said it will continue to credential Keeler and other Post reporters for games, practices and other football events. Keeler will not be recognized for questions from the football program, but he can interview administrators, coaches and participants in other sports.

Attempts to control the sports media are nothing new, particularly in college football. In 2012, for instance, USC briefly banned a media member after he reported a player injury. And last season, the Trojans temporarily suspended a beat writer for reporting a conversation that two players had in front of the media.

There are other examples and battles that are fought that the public never hears about, and without a coach who preaches love, peace and empathy running from the opportunity to show his players how to handle a difficult situation. But that’s what bullies do, right? When they realize they are not likely to win, they turn and run. They give ammunition to critics who might argue their sermons are nothing more than hollow words, coated in style but lacking substance.

Required reading

(Photo: Louis Grasse / Getty Images)

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Mission Viejo scores big win in football, and St. John Bosco rallies for dramatic one

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Mission Viejo scores big win in football, and St. John Bosco rallies for dramatic one

Two of Southern California’s top high school football teams, Mission Viejo and St. John Bosco, came away with impressive victories Saturday night.

Mission Viejo (2-0) intercepted four passes, returning two for touchdowns, and got three sacks from Jaden Williams in a 35-7 home victory over Santa Margarita.

St. John Bosco traveled to Florida for a nationally televised game against Madonna Chaminade and rallied for a 34-27 victory behind two sophomores. Maliq Blackwell-Allen broke loose for a 71-yard touchdown run to break a 27-27 tie in the fourth quarter. Safety Isaia Wily-Ava contributed a sack and interception in the fourth quarter and was covering on a final pass play with nine seconds left. Junior quarterback Matai Fuiava passed for 303 yards and three touchdowns.

Mission Viejo took a 14-0 lead at halftime after Brock deFries returned an interception 16 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter. Jeron Jones added another pick-six, this time 73 yards. Quarterback Luke Fahey passed for 156 yards, including touchdowns of 15 and three yards to Phillip Bell and two yards to Brady Bowman.

The focus for the Diablos was not letting the reigning Trinity League player of the year, Trent Mosley, get loose for receptions in the secondary. He had four catches for 55 yards early on, but quarterback John Gazzaniga struggled to get him the ball the rest of the half.

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Jaden Williams of Mission Viejo recorded three more sacks on Saturday vs. Santa Margarita.

(Eric Sondhemer / Los Angeles Times)

Williams continues to be a one-man wrecking crew at defensive end. He had 18½ sacks last season, and the San Diego State commit already has six in two games.

“It’s studying film,” Williams said.

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He’s also on a mission.

“I have to surpass last year,” he said.

With Williams putting on the pressure, the Diablos’ secondary was benefiting. Jones had two interceptions and DJ Lee had another.

Mission Viejo gets a week off before hosting Henderson (Nev.) Liberty on Sept. 6. Santa Margarita (0-1) will need to figure out how to get Mosley more involved in the offense when it faces Corona Centennial next week. He started getting some touches at running back in the second half. He finished with nine receptions for 115 yards.

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Jose Altuve gifts superfan bat after home run blast

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Jose Altuve gifts superfan bat after home run blast

BALTIMORE — Christopher Disalvo is a 4-foot-4 middle infielder with a baseball obsession. He lives on Long Island, N.Y., but saw his idol from section 48, row 21, seat 4 at Camden Yards. Jose Altuve ambled into the on-deck circle and heard Disalvo call his shot.

“I asked him, ‘If you hit a home run, can I have your bat?’” Disalvo said.

Altuve annihilated the second pitch he saw 382 feet into the right field seats, supplied his dugout with the requisite high fives and handed Disalvo a memory the 11-year-old will never forget. Altuve called Disalvo down from his seat, gave him a fist bump and gifted him the orange bat he had just used.

“Oh my God,” Disalvo said afterward, still clutching the bat. “The happiest moment of my life.”


(Photo: Chandler Rome / The Athletic)

Stadium officials whisked Disalvo, his father, Chris Sr., and a little league teammate into the concourse at Camden Yards, where the bat got authenticated and kept for the final seven innings of Baltimore’s 7-5 win.

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“Obviously, the last few days have been a little tough for me, haven’t been feeling great at the plate,” said Altuve, who had just six extra-base hits across his previous 30 games.

“For him to call a homer and I actually hit it was big for me. I was happy, probably happier than him. The only thing I could do was just give him my bat.”

On the concourse, Chris Sr. clutched the Orioles cap his son wore while shouting at Altuve. That allegiance mattered so little to Altuve but resonated with Chris Sr., who earned a new level of admiration for a player still serenaded with boos in most ballparks he enters.

Chris Sr. coaches his son’s little league team, which is participating in a Ripken Experience Tournament in Baltimore and is scheduled to play a doubleheader Saturday.

Touring all 30 major-league ballparks is part of the family’s bucket list, so attending Friday night’s game and checking one off the list made perfect sense.

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During the third inning, Chris Jr. darted down the stairs from his seat toward the on-deck circle, where he called Altuve’s shot. Before Chris Jr. could return upstairs to his seat, Altuve called him back down to deliver the bat.

“I was in the bathroom,” Chris Sr. said afterward. “I didn’t even see it. I come back and I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’”

Neither father nor son had ever been to Camden Yards. Chris Jr. is a New York Mets fan from birth but is now gravitating toward specific players instead of an entire team. Elly De La Cruz mesmerizes him. So does Jonathan India.

“But he likes this guy because he’s short,” said Chris Sr., who stands 5-foot-6 himself. “Good things come in small packages.”

“It always makes you feel good that young kids want to play like you or some other guys on the team,” Altuve said. “At the end of the day, we play for the fans and we play to inspire young kids to get to the big leagues and get better every day.”

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Altuve is among the most generous players in the Astros’ clubhouse, be it through endless autograph signings during pregame batting practice or the occasional selfie with eager fans. He maintains the same affability at home or on the road, whether he’s about to be adored by a Minute Maid Park crowd or maligned by many others.

“The man is an absolute gentleman,” Chris Sr. said. “He’s a fan of baseball. I coach these guys and it’s a true sportsman attitude, no matter what the kid is wearing, if you have the love for the game, you just respect the game. I teach them to respect the game. When you go out there, give it your all like he does every single time.”

Chris Jr. will play right field for his team during Saturday’s doubleheader. “One of the best teams in the country” awaits them, Chris Sr. said.

“But we’re here for the experience,” he said.

Altuve turned it into one they’ll remember forever.

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“All that happened tonight, that’s the highlight and what this is all about,” said Houston manager Joe Espada, whose club surrendered five eighth-inning runs en route to a crushing loss.

“It’s about a good human doing nice stuff for people and the humility that he shows. The kid called that homer, (Altuve) hit the homer and the kid gets a bat. We’re about to put that kid in uni after that one. Jose is just such a good person and it goes beyond what he does on the baseball field.”

(Photo: Tommy Gilligan / USA Today)

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