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Even as a freshman, wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer has become UCLA's go-to guy

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Even as a freshman, wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer has become UCLA's go-to guy

A recount might be in order.

Kwazi Gilmer is certainly outperforming his player rating on EA Sports College Football ‘25.

“Definitely high 80s now,” the UCLA freshman wide receiver said Tuesday of where his rating should stand now on the video game, “but I mean, that’ll come soon.”

Gilmer’s stock continues to go up, up, up after the biggest Saturday of his career. After beating two defensive backs on a deep angle route midway through the third quarter, he snagged a 48-yard touchdown pass that provided the winning margin during the Bruins’ 27-20 victory over Nebraska.

Gilmer finished the game with a team-high 88 receiving yards on three catches, continuing an unlikely rise from newcomer at the deepest position on the team to leading the Bruins’ wide receivers with 213 yards on 16 catches this season. On Monday, he was selected the Big Ten’s freshman of the week.

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“He’s phenomenal,” UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers said Saturday. “For being 18 years old, the maturity and confidence that that guy has on the football field is really unheard of, you know? He’s becoming a guy that I can really, really trust and then really have a lot of faith in.

“I mean, any time the ball’s up in the air, I 100% believe Kwazi’s going to come down with it. He’s a great route runner and the best thing about him is he always plays fast and he plays with speed.”

Bruins coach DeShaun Foster credited Gilmer’s early arrival for spring practice, a willingness to prove himself on special teams and a motor that requires continual monitoring by the coaching staff to prevent redlining.

“He’s a guy that you have to pull back,” Foster said, “like, ‘OK, Kwazi, turn it down a little bit.’”

There have been times in practice when Gilmer’s biorhythm monitors prompted coaches to make him take a couple of plays off. Stopping him in games has been another matter.

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“When you’ve got opportunity to strike,” Gilmer said, “you gotta take advantage of it.”

Did you see that?

Bodies had collided. The play was over. Bryan Addison still didn’t know exactly what had happened.

The UCLA safety had crashed into Nebraska slot receiver Jacory Barney Jr. in the final minute Saturday while going for a pass that could put the Cornhuskers on the verge of a colossal comeback.

UCLA’s Bryan Addison, left, breaks up a pass intended for Nebraska’s Jacory Barney Jr., which was then intercepted.

(Rebecca S. Gratz / Associated Press)

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Addison looked back after the impact to see the ball floating in the air. He didn’t realize the wild sequence that followed until he saw Bruins fans celebrating and teammates running down the sideline alongside cornerback Kaylin Moore.

How long did it take for Addison to realize that Moore had made the interception?

“I would say a good, like, five seconds,” Addison said Tuesday of a wild play that required the ball to bounce off Barney’s knee before Moore secured it with a last-second lunge at UCLA’s 13-yard line.

Addison didn’t see a replay until a friend shared footage after the game. The important thing was that it secured the Bruins’ second consecutive win going into their homecoming game against Iowa on Friday evening at the Rose Bowl.

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“That was probably one of the craziest plays I’ve ever seen,” Addison said. “Just kind of being around the ball like that and seeing it pop around from a knee to an elbow to a hand, it’s kind of just life changing.”

It also made the defensive backs even in a way. Addison had taken a possible interception away from Moore during UCLA’s game against Penn State earlier this season, so Addison said Moore’s making the big play Saturday “kind of made me feel better.”

Guilty as charged

Upon further review, Foster did not dispute the three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against his team that helped Nebraska score each of its touchdowns Saturday.

The first was against linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo for flashing the team’s fourth-down hand signal toward the Nebraska sideline, which was considered taunting. The second was against linebacker Ale Kaho for pushing a Cornhuskers player in retaliation for a teammate getting shoved. The third was against defensive tackle Sitiveni Havili Kaufusi for picking a Nebraska player off a pile of bodies that included a UCLA player underneath it.

Three days later, Foster said he had addressed the issue with his team and did not expect any repeat offenses.

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“A lot of that stuff really wasn’t malicious like I thought it was during the game,” Foster said, “so I was just proud that it was some stuff that we can correct.”

Etc.

Foster said the coaching staff told players where they could vote Tuesday and was encouraged to learn that a majority of the team had already cast ballots. “I was pretty excited,” Foster said, “that these guys are actually taking the opportunity to make change.” … UCLA will wear throwback uniforms from the 1960s featuring light blue tops and gold pants during the game against the Hawkeyes. “Those are sick jerseys,” Gilmer said, “I’m not gonna lie.”

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Ravens say they aren’t pondering a kicking change, but Justin Tucker is cause for concern

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Ravens say they aren’t pondering a kicking change, but Justin Tucker is cause for concern

Citing a lack of consistency in the kicking game, Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome announced that the team was releasing young kicker Stephen Hauschka, who hours earlier missed a 36-yard attempt against the Cleveland Browns on “Monday Night Football.”

Hauschka was just 9-of-13 on field goal attempts through nine games, and all of his misses were from under 50 yards. The Ravens replaced him by signing free agent Billy Cundiff, who was working at a venture capital firm at the time.

That transaction occurred in November 2009. That’s the last time the Ravens made an in-season, performance-based change at typically one of the most volatile positions in the sport.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh made clear Monday that he has no plans on making another one, even as his longtime kicker, Justin Tucker, is mired in the most difficult stretch of his 13-year career.

“There’s no thought to that,” Harbaugh said. “You have to find that competition first if you’re going to be blunt about it. Where is that competition? That would be one thing. The best option right now is to get Justin back on point, because he’s fully capable of doing it. (We) certainly haven’t lost any confidence in Justin Tucker.”

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Harbaugh’s comments came a day after Tucker missed two kicks in an 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. After entering the season as the most statistically accurate kicker in NFL history, Tucker has missed 6 of 22 attempts this year, along with a point-after try. Two of the misses came from inside 50 yards, where Tucker had made 90 percent of his kicks over his first 12 NFL seasons. His extra-point miss was just the seventh of his career.

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“It’s certainly frustrating, especially when we know that these games come down to the wire, like this one did, that I let a couple get away,” Tucker said after Sunday’s game. “But, like I’ve said before, the only thing that we can do is just get right back to work and focus on making the most out of our next opportunity.”

Considered one of the most unique weapons in the league for over a decade and the Ravens’ most reliable performer since he entered the league in 2012, Tucker — and by extension, the team’s field goal operation — has suddenly become one of the reasons Baltimore is losing games.

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It’s harsh and it feels uncomfortable to say or write about a guy who has been the gold standard in the sport at his position for many years, but the numbers are hard to ignore. The Ravens’ four losses have come by a total of 17 points, and Tucker missed a field goal in each of them that factored prominently in the defeats.

Tucker “needs to make kicks,” Harbaugh said after Sunday’s frustrating loss in Pittsburgh. “He knows that. He makes them in practice, and he made the long one (54-yarder) later, which was good to see. He’s still very capable. Kick them straight, we’ll be good.”

Missing seven total kicks through 11 games would get plenty of other kickers a pink slip. That’s just the nature of the position in the NFL and the fine line between winning and losing. Kicking issues are omnipresent around the league, and Tucker is hardly alone among proven veterans having a tough time this season. The New York Jets have had four different kickers in as many weeks.

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For the Ravens, however, kicking stability has been a constant. Matt Stover, nicknamed “Money Matt” for his accuracy, was the team’s kicker from 1996 to 2008. Cundiff replaced Hauschka in 2009 and was the team’s kicker for three seasons before his crushing late miss in the AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots in January 2012. Tucker arrived on the scene as an undrafted free agent several months later, beat out Cundiff for the job and hasn’t missed a game in 13 seasons.

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Just the idea of making a kicking change in Baltimore seems blasphemous, given Tucker’s well-earned status. Before the two misses in Pittsburgh on Sunday, Tucker’s career field goal percentage (89.7) made him the most accurate kicker in NFL history and put him on a Hall of Fame track.

His clutch kicking as a rookie in 2012 was instrumental in the Ravens winning their last Super Bowl. He’s been selected to seven Pro Bowl teams and named an All-Pro on eight occasions. Time and time again when the Ravens needed points, particularly late in games, Tucker stepped up, performed his tried-and-true pre-kick ritual and calmly delivered. He’s previously been the highest-paid kicker in the sport, and for good reason.

Tucker’s kicking brilliance, along with his charisma, outgoing personality and multitude of talents, made him one of the faces of the team and one of the most popular and recognizable athletes in Baltimore. Tucker’s No. 9 jerseys are not hard to find when you’re scanning the seating bowl at Ravens games.

But this season has brought long-avoided angst in Baltimore about the performance of the kicker and led to a small but growing segment of Baltimore’s fan base to question why the organization hasn’t moved on, or at least brought in competition, for its longtime star.

“Knowing the team, knowing the character of Justin, yes, his performance in the past does warrant him the benefit of the doubt, for sure,” Stover said. “But this is the NFL. It is a very immediate performance you have to have. With an objective job like being a kicker, it becomes a quick response for people to say, ‘Hey, man, what’s wrong with you? Do we need to make a change?’”

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Yet, Stover said, “He’s one of the best who has ever done it. Who are you going to get who you can guarantee will be better?”


Justin Tucker has missed a field goal in each of the Ravens’ four losses this season. (David Eulitt / Getty Images)

Bringing in another kicker in mid-November likely means either signing a well-traveled veteran who hasn’t been able to land another job or plucking someone off another team’s practice squad. It’s inconceivable at the moment that the Ravens would trust one of those options more than Tucker at a time when they fancy themselves as Super Bowl contenders.

“He’s definitely our best option, and he’s going to make a lot of kicks — I really believe that,” Harbaugh said. “But it’s up to him and the guys he works with every day to make those balls go straight. Competition right now, at this time, no that’s not something we’d want for Justin.”

Stover, who is in the Ravens’ Ring of Honor, still lives in the Baltimore area and has relationships with many people in the building, including Tucker. He also understands what Tucker is going through. There were times early in his career with Cleveland when he struggled and the Browns brought in competition for his job. In 1999, the Ravens claimed kicker Joe Nedney on waivers while Stover remained on the roster.

“That was brutal. He wasn’t on the practice squad. He wasn’t on IR. He was on the roster,” Stover said. “It really just comes down to performance. There’s no subjectivity. I got through it.

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“Justin is going through a little blip. He’s mentally strong. He’s got a great support staff around him. He’s got a head coach who totally gets it. To do it for 12 years as well as he’s done it says a lot about who he is and his character. It’s the first time he’s ever had to deal with this. I dealt with it three or four times. It was hard and it sucks. He’ll get through it.”

Stover, who trains young kickers, acknowledged that he hasn’t broken down Tucker’s mechanics, but he maintains the fact that Tucker has missed all seven kicks wide left is a “good thing,” because that often points to a fixable issue. It doesn’t appear to be a leg strength issue with Tucker. Almost all of his kicks, except one, have had the necessary distance.

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There has been plenty of speculation about whether his issues are being caused by snapping and/or holding problems, but Tucker and others at the Ravens’ facility have continued to say snapper Nick Moore and holder Jordan Stout, who aren’t new at this or to the team, are doing their jobs.

After Sunday’s misses, Tucker retreated to the locker room to address reporters and insisted his struggles are not a confidence issue, either.

“I’m still confident I’m going to go out there and nail every single kick,” Tucker said. “Part of the way we stay confident is by continuing to work and trust the process, and I know I might sound like a broken record, but it’s a part of what brings us success — just trusting the process and then taking it one kick at a time.”

Harbaugh, a former special teams coach, has a very close relationship with the kicker. Senior special teams coach Randy Brown has been with Tucker every step of his career and is considered one of the top kicking gurus in the league. Ravens assistant special teams coach Sam Koch is a former holder for Tucker and one of his closest confidants.

Stout has been holding for Tucker for three seasons, and Moore has been in the Ravens organization since 2020. The kicking battery and coaching staff have an established routine that has yielded very strong results for many years.

“You try to attack everything to the utmost that we can, across the board,” Harbaugh said. “Justin is one of the aspects that we’re looking at. He’s going to get it figured out. We have coaches. We have technique. We look at the tape. He’s practicing well. He’s got to kick it straight.”

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(Top photo: Barry Reeger / Imagn Images)

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Florida city council changes mind on paying to repair Tampa Bay Rays' ballpark after hurricane ripped roof off

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Florida city council changes mind on paying to repair Tampa Bay Rays' ballpark after hurricane ripped roof off

Just hours after voting to finance repairs to the home stadium of the Tampa Bay Rays, the St. Petersburg City Council reversed course. 

The Rays will now pay the division rival New York Yankees $15 million to play their home regular-season games at New York’s spring training ballpark. That is now the only certain home the Rays will have until further notice. 

The stadium’s fiberglass roof was ripped clean off Oct. 9 when Hurricane Milton swept ashore just south of Tampa Bay. Then came the destructive water damage inside the venue, causing an estimated $55.7 million in damage. The extensive repairs cannot be finished before the 2026 season, city documents show.

The city at least would have supplied some funding and started the process with its initial vote, which was a 4-3 decision.

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A drone image shows the dome of Tropicana Field, which was torn open by Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla., Oct. 10, 2024.  (Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images)

The initial vote Thursday was to get moving on the roof portion of the repair. Once that was done, crews would begin working on laying down a new baseball field and fixing damaged seating and office areas and a variety of electronic systems, which would require another vote to approve money for the remaining restoration.

Members who opposed it said there wasn’t enough clarity on numerous issues, including how much would be covered by the ballpark’s insurance and what amount might be provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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The reversal on fixing Tropicana Field came after the council voted to delay consideration of revenue bonds for a proposed new $1.3 billion Rays ballpark. Just two days earlier, the Pinellas County Commission postponed a vote on its share of the new stadium bonds, leaving that project in limbo.

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“This is a sad place. I’m really disappointed,” council Chair Deborah Figg-Sanders said. “We won’t get there if we keep finding ways we can’t.”

The Rays say the lack of progress puts the new stadium plan and the future of Tropicana Field in jeopardy.

“I can’t say I’m confident about anything,” Rays Co-President Brian Auld told council members.

Cots at Tropicana Field

Cots at Tropicana Field before the arrival of Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla., Oct. 7, 2024.    (Reuters/Octavio Jones)

The reversal now means the city and Rays must work on an alternative in the coming weeks so that Tropicana Field can possibly be ready for the 2026 season.

“I’d like to pare it down and see exactly what we’re obligated to do,” council member John Muhammad said.

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Several council members said before the vote on the $23.7 million to fix the roof that the city is contractually obligated to do so.

“I don’t see a way out of it. We have a contract that’s in place,” council member Gina Driscoll said. “We’re obligated to do it. We are going to fix the roof.”

The team’s planned new stadium would be ready for the 2028 season, if that project advances, the team said Tuesday.

Rays top executives said in a letter to the Pinellas County Commission that the team has already spent $50 million for early work on the new $1.3 billion ballpark and cannot proceed further because of delays in approval of bonds for the public share of the costs.

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View of the damaged roof of Tropicana Field stadium

The damaged roof of Tropicana Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, after Hurricane Milton made landfall in downtown St. Petersburg, Fla., Oct. 10, 2024.   (Reuters/Octavio Jones)

“The Rays organization is saddened and stunned by this unfortunate turn of events,” a letter, signed by co-presidents Auld and Matt Silverman, said. They noted the overall project was previously approved by the County Commission and the City of St. Petersburg.

Asked if Major League Baseball can survive long term in the Tampa Bay area, Rays Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg said the outlook is “less rosy than it was three weeks ago. We’re going to do all that we can, as we’ve tried for 20 years, to keep the Rays here for generations to come.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Shohei Ohtani unanimously wins his third MVP award, and first with the Dodgers

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Shohei Ohtani unanimously wins his third MVP award, and first with the Dodgers

The coronation was nothing new.

The narrative that came with it, however, reflected just how much has changed in one year.

For the third time in his decorated Major League Baseball career, Shohei Ohtani won most valuable player honors Thursday, claiming the National League’s top individual accolade by a unanimous vote from 30 members of the Baseball Writers Assn. of America.

While no designated hitter had won an MVP, the award was not a surprise. In his first season with the Dodgers, Ohtani led the NL in home runs (54), RBIs (130) and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (1.036). He was second in batting average (.310). And with 59 steals, he became the first player in history with a 50-homer, 50-steal season.

Unlike his previous two MVP awards in 2021 and 2023 with the Angels, the two-way star didn’t win this one while pitching, limited to hitting this past season after undergoing last year a revision of the Tommy John surgery he had.

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“The fact that I knew I wasn’t going to be able to pitch this season,” Ohtani said through an interpreter, “just made me focus more on my offensive game.”

And the circumstances surrounding Thursday’s announcement that Ohtani won were even more different. There were no looming questions about free agency. No lingering doubts about his lack of postseason experience.

Only one last victorious appearance to bookend a celebratory season for the newest Dodgers star.

“I’m representing the team, winning this award,” Ohtani said on MLB Network, after teammate Clayton Kershaw delivered the announcement.

“I obviously don’t go into the season trying to strive to get the MVP award,” Ohtani added. “I was more focused on being one of the guys with a new team, with the Dodgers. I wanted to embrace the fans, as well, and just let them learn who I was. That was my main focus.”

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When Ohtani won his second MVP this time last year, the announcement was surrounded by thick offseason speculation. Ohtani was early in his process as a marquee free agent. He had yet to start meeting with clubs trying to sign him. His future was hanging in the balance.

Fast-forward 12 months, and there were a few constants to be found Thursday — right down to Ohtani’s new interpreter for the announcement, Matt Hidaka (who interpreted for Ohtani during his introductory news conference with the Angels in 2017).

Instead of facing total offseason uncertainty like he did last year, Ohtani was looking ahead to his return to the mound with the Dodgers next year, when he is expected to resume two-way duties as a member of their rotation.

Exactly when Ohtani will retake the mound is unclear. He ended the season needing to check a few more boxes in his recovery from elbow surgery, including facing hitters again in live batting-practice sessions.

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“The goal is to be ready for opening day, and that includes hitting and pitching,” Ohtani said. “But we are taking our time, obviously … I think we are going to take a little bit more time and be conservative and we’re going to make sure I’m healthy before I step back on the mound.”

A labrum surgery on his left shoulder this month — resulting from the dislocated shoulder Ohtani suffered in the World Series — also likely will push back his pitching timeline, leaving his chances of starting during the Dodgers’ season-opening trip to his home country of Japan seemingly slim.

“The goal is to be ready for opening day, and that includes hitting and pitching,” Ohtani said. “But we are taking our time, obviously … I think we are going to take a little bit more time and be conservative and we’re going to make sure I’m healthy before I step back on the mound.”

It’s also unknown how strictly the Dodgers will limit Ohtani’s pitching workload, as they typically do with pitchers returning from major arm surgeries.

What is clear: Ohtani will have a leading role to play in multiple ways for the Dodgers, who are hoping he can replicate some of his dominant offensive form from the past year while also being in position to impact what was a shorthanded staff.

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“Right now my focus is to get healthy, come back stronger, get on the mound and show everybody what I can do,” Ohtani said, after laughing off a question about whether he hopes to add a Cy Young Award to his trophy case next year.

It was all a far cry from where Ohtani was last year, as he embarked on a free-agent process that resulted in a record-breaking $700-million contract.

In hindsight, it’s a decision that worked out for both parties.

En route to helping the Dodgers win the World Series — their second since 2020 and first in a full season since 1988 — Ohtani pulled away from all other NL MVP contenders, including New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (who finished second) and Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (who finished third).

It made Ohtani the 12th player in MLB history with three or more MVP awards (of that group, only seven-time winner Barry Bonds won a fourth). It made Ohtani the second player in history to win both an AL and NL MVP, joining Frank Robinson’s honors in 1961 (with Cincinnati) and 1966 (with Baltimore). And it marked the 13th time in Dodgers history one of their players won an MVP. Cody Bellinger had been the last to do so in 2019.

The Dodgers’ hope is that more MVPs — and World Series titles — are in Ohtani’s future, as he enters the second year of his 10-year deal with the club.

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Other than his pitching rehab, after all, the lack of uncertainties surrounding Ohtani on Thursday reflected just how quickly he has settled with the Dodgers.

It wasn’t his first time winning the honor. But it only added to what has been the most triumphant season of his MLB career yet.

“The next goal,” Ohtani said, “is for me to do it again.”

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