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Chargers coach Brandon Staley, linebacker Khalil Mack were a dynamic duo before

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The remaking of the Chargers protection took its most tangible step ahead but Wednesday when Khalil Mack was launched at a information convention.

The Chargers traded final week for the three-time All-Professional edge rusher, bringing him in to assist improve a unit that was the crew’s shortcoming final season.

Additionally they signed three younger veteran defenders in free company: cornerback J.C. Jackson and inside linemen Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson. That trio will converse over the subsequent two days.

Mack was first to go. Listed here are the highlights of the day from the Chargers’ Costa Mesa coaching facility:

Exhausting-hitter in additional methods than one: The Chargers are in search of Mack to make an impression that may be precisely described as profound. Head coach Brandon Staley has seen it earlier than.

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Staley was teaching the skin linebackers in Chicago when the Bears acquired Mack from Oakland simply earlier than the beginning of the 2018 season.

“When he bought to Chicago, our total crew modified,” Staley stated. “We had been a top-10 protection. … When he bought there, we turned the No. 1 protection. We had a great protection. When he got here, we turned the finest protection.”

Staley defined that Mack will have an effect on the Chargers each on and off the sphere, saying he can change cultures as a lot as he can video games “due to who he’s on a day-to-day foundation.”

“He’s not one among these guys that’s going to inform you one thing,” Staley stated. “He’s going to point out you. And you’re feeling that instantly.”

Certainly, Mack referred to as himself “an motion man” and “not a talker.” Staley urged the Chargers’ lacked sufficient of that sort of presence on protection final season.

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It was notable that Staley additionally referenced his want to pair Mack with security Derwin James Jr., the extensively acknowledged coronary heart of the protection. This can be a partnership upon which the Chargers will lean in 2022.

Sacks and an entire lot extra: On the sphere, Staley stated Mack’s impression needs to be simple to identify. He talked about his consistency, sturdiness and toughness.

“He additionally brings a mode of play that we actually consider in,” Staley stated. “I don’t suppose we had sufficient of it [in 2021]. Not even shut.”

The Chargers struggled final season notably in opposition to the run and on third down. They gave up a median of 138.9 yards on the bottom, one the worst single-season performances in franchise historical past.

Their season — and playoff probabilities — resulted in essentially the most becoming of the way once they failed to forestall Las Vegas from changing on a third-down run in extra time in Week 18 and misplaced on the sphere objective that adopted.

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Staley stated Mack’s 76.5 profession sacks inform solely a part of story of how Mack impacts offenses, which is particularly essential for the Chargers.

“Full defender as a result of he can do all the pieces,” Staley stated. “He can dominate the sting within the run recreation, which is the place it begins. He’s athletic on his ft to have the ability to run and catch anyone.”

Staley defined that the power of edge rushers to maneuver is important in at present’s NFL with “the ball on the perimeter as a lot as it’s.” This was one other space the place the 2021 Chargers little question lacked.

A player-coach reunion: Mack nearly actually wouldn’t be a Charger with out Staley additionally being right here.

Their relationship is rooted within the lengthy hours they spent collectively after Mack joined the Bears in early September 2018. Following the commerce, Mack had barely per week to arrange for Chicago’s opener in opposition to Inexperienced Bay.

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“He made it simple,” Mack stated. “You can see his ardour by way of it, understanding he knew how a lot I wished to get on the market for that first recreation, and we had been capable of do it.”

Towards the Packers, Mack had a sack, a compelled fumble, a fumble restoration and an interception, one he returned 27 yards for a landing. How’s that for immediate impression?

The time collectively for Mack and Staley was transient, Staley leaving after the ’18 season to affix Vic Fangio’s workers in Denver.

“It was bittersweet in Chicago,” Staley stated. “It was a tremendous 12 months. All these nice issues are taking place. However then it was like, ‘Man, that didn’t final lengthy sufficient.’ To have the ability to go do it once more, may be very particular.”

Chicago Bears exterior linebacker Khalil Mack walks off the sphere after a recreation in opposition to the Inexperienced Bay Packers on Oct. 17, 2021, in Chicago.

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(Nam Y. Huh / Related Press)

Wholesome and motivated: Mack stated his surgically repaired foot is “100%, good to go, no matter you wish to hear.” He missed the ultimate 10 video games final season after being injured in late October.

Earlier than happening, Mack had six sacks, which represented a single-season career-best tempo. He hasn’t reached double figures in sacks since that ’18 season when he completed with 12½.

Mack, 31, urged he has heard rumblings about his fading manufacturing. He dismissed the notion by saying, “I’ll wager on myself any day.”

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“If individuals are saying that, then they actually don’t know him in any respect,” Staley stated. “And if they’re saying that, then good luck to them. Since you’ll see. You’ll see.”

Added Mack: “It’s going to be enjoyable. I do know ya’ll going to take pleasure in watching it for certain.”

Extra defensive assistance on the best way: The roster rebuild will proceed, Staley saying the work is way from full. Even with the addition of Jackson, he stated the seek for defensive backs received’t cease.

As for the defensive entrance, Staley stated there can be extra to return.

“We’re a lot nearer to the place we should be,” he stated. “We’re not there but. However we’re a lot nearer. … It’s about depth on this league.”

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Specialist added: The Chargers signed lengthy snapper Josh Harris to a contract that ensures him $1.92 million. He spent the final 10 seasons with Atlanta and made the Professional Bowl in 2021.

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Top boxing organization expels Ryan Garcia after hateful comments

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Top boxing organization expels Ryan Garcia after hateful comments

Boxer Ryan Garcia was expelled from one of the top organizations on Thursday after he made racist remarks about Black people and George Floyd as well as anti-Muslim comments.

Garcia made the remarks in an X Space and it quickly went viral.

Boxer Ryan Garcia is shown in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 17, 2024. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman announced on X that Garcia had been expelled from the organization. 

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“Exercising my authority as president of the WBC, I am hereby expelling Ryan Garcia from any activity with our organization,” Sulaiman wrote on X. “We reject any form of discrimination. I fear for Ryan well being as he has declined multiple attempts for our help with mental health and substance abuse.”

He went on another rant on X before the expulsion was handed down, trying to defend some of his remarks.

Fox News Digital reached out to Garcia’s representatives for comment.

Ryan Garcia at his presser

Ryan Garcia speaks onstage at Palladium Times Square in New York City on Feb. 27, 2024. (Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy/Getty Images)

Garcia was suspended by the New York State Athletic Commission for one year last month after a positive test for a banned substance after his fight against Devin Haney in April.

He later wrote on X that he was “officially retired” and claimed to be headed to the UFC. He’s pushed back on any notion he had a banned substance in his system against Haney.

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He tested positive for Ostarine, which is not a steroid but can stimulate muscle growth and thus is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances.

Ryan Garcia at Davis vs. Martin

Ryan Garcia arrives at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on June 15, 2024. (Cassy Athena/Getty Images)

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Garcia and his team said at the time he was a “victim of substance contamination, with levels measured in the billions and trillions of a gram, which provided no advantage whatsoever in the ring.”

Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.

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LAFC prevails over El Tráfico rival Galaxy in front of 70,000 fans at Rose Bowl

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LAFC prevails over El Tráfico rival Galaxy in front of 70,000 fans at Rose Bowl

For seven seasons, the Galaxy and LAFC have shared Southern California. But until Thursday they had never played each other while sharing the top spot in the Western Conference standings.

They didn’t finish the night that way, with first-half goals from Kei Kamara and Denis Bouanga lifting LAFC to a 2-1 victory before a crowd of 70,076 at the Rose Bowl. Gabriel Pec scored for the Galaxy early in the second half.

For much of the bitter crosstown rivalry, the Galaxy have been closer to the bottom of the table than the top. LAFC, meanwhile, has the best record in the league since entering MLS.

That has often left one team playing for a title and the other one playing spoiler. That wasn’t the case this time.

“It looked to me as if the Galaxy players had something today to lose,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “They were not the underdogs today. And that’s a different burden.”

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LAFC defender Aaron Long wasn’t so sure since nobody takes a copy of the standings into a game.

“It’s always going to feel the same, to be honest,” he said. “If you lose to them when you’re in first and they’re in last, it hurts the same as if you lose to them if you’re both tied for first.”

But when you win and break that tie? Well, it means a little more.

“That perhaps made it a little different,” defender Sergi Palencia said in Spanish. “Tied on points for first place, it was a very important game for us. We approached this match as a final.”

A final maybe, but it won’t be their last meeting. The teams will square off in September and, given the way both are playing, a playoff rematch in the fall looks likely.

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Consider that LAFC (13-4-4), with its third win in as many games, extended the team’s franchise-record unbeaten streak to 10 matches and pushed it closer to Inter Miami in the Supporters’ Shield race. It has also won its last three games against the Galaxy. It is the hottest team in the league.

For the Galaxy (11-4-7), the loss, their second in 12 games, ended a four-match winning streak, the team’s longest since 2020, and dropped them into a tie with Real Salt Lake for second in the table on points.

The Galaxy are the third-best team in the Western Conference since April.

The two teams, who normally play in stadiums only 11 miles apart, moved their Fourth of July game to the Rose Bowl for the second straight year and were rewarded with the second-largest crowd in MLS this season and the 14th-largest in league history. And the 70,000-plus who showed up were rewarded with an entertaining game.

LAFC was better through much of the first half, outshooting the Galaxy 13-6, but they couldn’t beat goalkeeper John McCarthy until just before the break. After making two tough saves seconds part, first pushing away Mateusz Bogusz’s right-footed shot from the top of the box then lifting Ilie Sánchez’s header over the bar, McCarthy got beat on a Kamara header, ending the keeper’s scoreless streak at 319 minutes.

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It was the 147th goal of Kamara’s MLS career, extending his lead over Landon Donovan for second on the all-time scoring list.

“When the service is right, it’s kind of unstoppable,” Long said. “When he gets that running head start and he gets the jump, no one’s going be able to jump with him. Everyone knows how good he’s in the air. But when the ball is right and he times it well, it’s almost impossible to stop.”

A minute later, Galaxy defender Julián Aude tripped midfielder Eduard Atuesta at the top of the box, drawing a penalty that Bouanga converted for his 14th goal of the season. The Galaxy hadn’t allowed two goals in the first half since an April loss in Austin.

But if LAFC dominated the first half, the Galaxy were more dangerous for much of the next 45 minutes.

Pec halved the deficit in the 56th minute, bulling his way through a pair of defenders before pushing in a left-footed shot from close range for this seventh goal of the season. The score also gave him a goal or assist in five straight games.

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Joseph Paintsil nearly tied the game a minute later, spinning and launching a right-footed shot from the center of the box, but the ball sailed harmlessly over the crossbar. LAFC responded by packing the penalty area with as many as seven bodies in the final 10 minutes, finally breathing a sigh of relief at the final whistle.

“These derby matches, there’s so much you have to get up for, mentally and emotionally,” Long said. “So it feels the same, even though in the standings, it doesn’t look the same.”

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LIV Golf star posts bizarre motivational message as next event looms

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LIV Golf star posts bizarre motivational message as next event looms

LIV Golf’s Anthony Kim posted a bizarre motivational message on social media on Wednesday as he prepared for the series’ next event at Andalucía in Spain next week.

Kim made a reference to working harder than a crackhead as he posted early on X.

Anthony Kim is shown during the first day of LIV Golf Miami at Trump National Doral Miami on April 5, 2024, in Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

“Good morning. Does a crakhead (sic) ever let a day go by w/out finding a way to get high? NO. I would know,” he wrote. “Not gonna let a crakhead (sic) outwork me today. 1% better today lessssgoo!!!”

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Kim is tied for last in the LIV Golf standings. In Nashville last month, he finished 46th in the standings, posting an even score in 54 holes. He was 48th in Houston and 53rd in Singapore, dating back to early May.

He disappeared from the PGA Tour years ago and his return to the professional ranks was highly publicized back in January.

HAYDEN SPRINGER ETCHES HIS NAME INTO PGA TOUR HISTORY WITH EPIC JOHN DEERE CLASSIC 1ST ROUND

Anthony Kim at hole 8 in Singapore

Anthony Kim acknowledges the crowd after holing out on hole 8 during the first day of LIV Golf Singapore at Sentosa Golf Club on May 3, 2024. (Getty Images)

The last time Kim competed before joining LIV Golf was at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship when he was 26 years old. He withdrew from the tournament due to injury, which was his third straight withdrawal.

One month later, Kim had surgery to repair his left Achilles tendon, and then he wasn’t heard from in the golf world as many wondered whether he would be back at all.

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Kim also dealt with tendinitis in his left arm and a left thumb injury during his 122 starts on the PGA Tour.

He was open about his battle with addiction in an interview on LIV Golf Plus in April.

Anthony Kim in Tennessee

Anthony Kim is shown during the opening round of LIV Golf Nashville on June 21, 2024, at the Grove Golf Course in College Grove, Tennessee. (Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“Golf is important to me and not important to me at the same time,” Kim said, per ESPN. “I’ve had some very dark moments. I’ve had some very low moments. I’ve felt very alone, even when there’s a million people around. I needed to get my mind straight and figure out what my purpose was on this planet.”

Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.

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