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Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford not concerned about Pro Bowl selections

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Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford not concerned about Pro Bowl selections

Matthew Stafford was voted to the Pro Bowl this season, but the Rams veteran quarterback stopped concerning himself about the recognition more than a decade ago.

In 2011, the then third-year pro passed for more than 5,000 yards and 41 touchdowns for the Detroit Lions.

Stafford thought he had a chance to make the NFC roster, but Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Cam Newton got more votes.

“Wasn’t even close,” Stafford said, chuckling, on Wednesday. “So at that point, I kind of reserved myself to just go play, have fun and whatever happens, happens.

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“But it is cool to be a part of it.”

Stafford, who also was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2014 and 2023, is a leading contender for perhaps the NFL’s most prestigious award — most valuable player.

Stafford, 37, has passed for a league-leading 4,179 yards and 40 touchdowns, with five interceptions, while leading a Rams team that is 11-4 and currently seeded No. 6 in the NFC going into Monday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons (6-9) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Rams are averaging 30.5 points and 396.7 yards per game, both tops in the NFL. They rank second in passing (270.5 yards per game) and fifth in rushing (126.3 yards per game).

In last Thursday’s 38-37 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Stafford passed for 457 yards and three touchdowns. Yet he was outdueled by fellow Pro Bowl pick Sam Darnold, who led a touchdown drive in overtime and capped it with a game-winning two-point conversion pass.

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Stafford is preparing to face a Falcons defense that ranks 14th overall, but eighth against the pass, giving up 195.1 yards per game.

Asked if he was surprised that Stafford has only been voted to the Pro Bowl three times, Rams coach Sean McVay said yes, adding that there were “a lot of layers to the Pro Bowl stuff.”

“You talk to the real football people. … I think he’s seen as a guy that’s one of the best ever to do it,” McVay said. “I think that’s been very well acknowledged this year but I think it’s probably overdue.”

Stafford has “elevated” everybody around him since the Rams traded for him in 2021, McVay said.

“The best part about Matthew is, he’s got this great humility,” McVay said, adding, “What he cares about are the respect of his teammates, his coaches and the people he’s playing against. And I think when you talk to those who know, hes got great respect and admiration for the way that he competes, the way he goes about it and what type of player he is.”

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Etc.

Receiver Davante Adams (hamstring) and offensive lineman Kevin Dotson (ankle) are making “good progress,” but McVay did not provide a definitive update on their status for the game against the Falcons. … The Rams opened the 21-day window for cornerback Roger McCreary (hip) to return from injured reserve. McVay said “most likely” that the Rams will open the 21-day window for safety Quentin Lake (elbow) next week to return from injured reserve. Lake is expected to be ready for the playoffs, or possibly for the final game against the Arizona Cardinals. … The Rams are off Thursday. They are expected to practice Friday at SoFi Stadium, and Saturday at their Woodland Hills facility.

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WWE NXT star Jacy Jayne ready for Stand & Deliver challenge, says she loves to prove people wrong

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WWE NXT star Jacy Jayne ready for Stand & Deliver challenge, says she loves to prove people wrong

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Jacy Jayne has been the NXT women’s champion for more than 130 days and has all the belief in the world that her reign will remain intact once Stand & Deliver is finished on Saturday night.

Jayne’s hopes of battling either Kendal Grey or Lola Vice one-on-one vanished on Wednesday as NXT GM Rob Stone announced that she will defend the title in a triple-threat match. Grey and Vice’s match to determine a No. 1 contender ended in controversy as one competitor tapped out and the other was pinned.

Lainey Reid and Jacy Jayne compete against Kendal Grey and Lola Vice during NXT at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York on March 31, 2026. (Rich Freeda/WWE)

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To make things right, Stone put both challengers in the match against Jayne at Stand & Deliver.

Jayne told Fox News Digital before the decision was made that it doesn’t matter who she faces, she was confident she was going to come out on top.

“No, because I’ve beaten them both already,” she said when asked if it mattered who she was going to face. “So, I’m going to do the same thing that I’ve done in the past and I’m gonna win and remain your NXT women’s champion.”

Jayne is in her second run as NXT women’s champion. She defeated Tatum Paxley at NXT Gold Rush in November to jumpstart the next reign. She’s one of four women to hold the NXT Women’s Championship at least twice. Roxanne Perez, Charlotte Flair and Shayna Baszler each accomplishing the feat.

RICKY SAINTS HOPES TO ADD TO HIS ACCOLADES WITH NXT CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY AT STAND & DELIVER

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Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne and Lainey Reid enter the arena during Showdown at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 2, 2025. (Andrea Kellaway/Getty Images)

The New Jersey native is relishing the opportunity to be the NXT women’s champion and proving the doubters wrong.

“Well, I feel like I was severely underrated and people doubted me and when I won the title, they were like, ‘What the heck is going on? Why Jacy?’ And I think over the last 10-11 months that I’ve been champion, I’ve proven everybody wrong,” she told Fox News Digital.

“I was always meant for this spot. It was only a matter of time. I was waiting for my right moment and I love to prove people wrong, and I love to make grown men cry.”

NXT women’s champion Jacy Jayne addresses the crowd during NXT’s Vengeance Day on March 7, 2026, in Orlando. (Conor Kvatek/WWE)

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NXT Stand & Deliver will take place Saturday in St. Louis, Missouri, at 7 p.m. ET. The event can be seen on YouTube.

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Rapper J Cole signs with Chinese basketball team, his third stint as a professional hoopster

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Rapper J Cole signs with Chinese basketball team, his third stint as a professional hoopster

Hip-hop star J. Cole is taking his basketball dreams overseas — again.

When ESPN reported Wednesday that the two-time Grammy winner has signed to play for the Nanjing Monkey Kings in the Chinese Basketball Assn., it might have sounded like an April Fool’s Day prank.

But it’s no joke. Cole’s longtime manager and business partner Ibrahim Hamad reposted the ESPN report on X and wrote that basketball “is still Life for my boy, even at 41.”

Videos and photos posted on social media, some of which were reposted by Hamad, show Cole at a Monkey Kings game wearing team gear and warming up with the other players. The “Work Out” rapper reportedly did not play in the game. One video shows Cole autographing an album for an excited fan.

Cole posted a video to the Chinese social media site Douyin saying he was in China and “excited” to be there.

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Born Jermaine Lamarr Cole, the multiplatinum artist played basketball at Terry Sanford High in North Carolina and tried out for the hoops team at St. John’s as a walk-on while attending the university on an academic scholarship. Throughout his music career, Cole has incorporated basketball images and references into his lyrics, performances and cover art.

This will be Cole’s third stint as a professional basketball player. In 2021, the 6-foot-3 guard played three games for Rwanda’s Patriots Basketball Club of the Basketball Africa League, averaging 1.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in about 15 minutes a game.

The following year, he played five games for the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, averaging 2.4 points and less than one rebound and assist in about 10 minutes a game.

On a recent episode of “Talk with Flee,” Cole spoke with fellow rapper Cam’ron about his lifelong “love and passion for basketball” even though he’s never been the best player on the court at any given time. He said playing professionally overseas has been “like me trying to scratch a last itch.”

“Like, yo, let me see if I could do this,” Cole said. “Could I train and be able to go play professional? Because these teams and these leagues are looking at it like, you know what, he not a—. He could come be on the court, and he could give our league some publicity.”

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Cole mentioned the upcoming opportunity to play for Nanjing.

“I’m looking at the clock like, boy, I’m getting older. Like, this might be my last shot,” Cole, whose “The Fall-Off” album dropped Feb. 6 and tour starts July 10, said. “So I’m going to keep my word to them and show up and play in a couple games, although I know I’m not in the best of shape because of the album. But I’m going to go out there and have fun with it.”

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Former Cowboys player Trysten Hill appears to grin after arrest tied to alleged assault of pregnant woman

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Former Cowboys player Trysten Hill appears to grin after arrest tied to alleged assault of pregnant woman

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Former NFL defensive tackle Trysten Hill was booked into a Texas jail last week on multiple charges relating to an alleged assault of a pregnant woman.

Ellis County Sheriff’s Office jail records list “assault of a pregnant person” and “interfering with an emergency request for assistance.” 

FOX 4 in Dallas obtained the records, which also showed Hill was arrested March 26.

Hill was booked and held on a $3,500 bond connected to two bond-forfeiture warrants from a 2025 criminal investigation, the sheriff’s office said.

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Trysten Hill  of the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium Oct. 20, 2019, in Arlington, Texas. (Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Hill appeared to grin in his booking photo.

The identity of the alleged victim and any relationship to Hill were not disclosed. Fox News Digital contacted the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, but a request for comment was not immediately returned.

WNBA PLAYER ‘WILLING TO TESTIFY’ AGAINST EX-BOYFRIEND JAMES PEARCE JR AFTER ALLEGED DOMESTIC DISPUTE

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After his three-year career at Central Florida, the Cowboys selected Hill in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He appeared in 25 regular-season games with the Cowboys, recording 39 combined tackles over four seasons.

Trysten Hill of the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium Oct. 9, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Hill joined the Arizona Cardinals midway through the 2022 season, recording five solo tackles and one sack in six games. He signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2023 but was released before the regular season kicked off.

New England Patriots defensive tackle Trysten Hill reacts against the Carolina Panthers during the first half at Gillette Stadium Aug. 8, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (Eric Canha/USA Today Sports)

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The New England Patriots signed Hill to their practice squad later in 2023.

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