Sports

Trump bashes NFL over major kickoff change: 'Beginning of the end!'

Published

2 years ago

September 6, 2024

Trump bashes NFL over major kickoff change: 'Beginning of the end!'

The drastic changes to the NFL’s kickoff caught the attention of former President Donald Trump on Friday, as he blasted the change in a post on Truth Social.

“I can’t believe the NFL is effectively getting rid of the always exciting Kick Off Return. Such an exciting part of football. What are they doing? BEGINNING OF THE END!” Trump wrote.

The NFL’s new kickoff rule has dramatically changed the function and aesthetic from what old-fashioned fans are used to, causing some confusion early in the season.

The new rules have changed the alignment of both teams, while also incorporating various zones that play a key role in what players are allowed to do.

Minnesota Vikings and Las Vegas Raiders players line up for the kickoff in the second half of the preseason game at U.S. Bank Stadium on August 10, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The NFL is debuting a new rule on kickoffs this season. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Now, all kicking team players will have to line up with a foot on the receiving team’s 40-yard line, compared to when they had to line up all the way back at their own 35-yard line. The kicking team’s players must also wait until the ball hits the ground or the player is in the “landing zone” or end zone to start running. The “landing zone” is from the receiving team’s 20-yard line to the goal line.

Meanwhile, the receiving team has a designated “setup zone” which is a five-yard area from the 35-yard line to the 30-yard line, where at least nine players must line up facing the kicking team.

JETS’ AARON RODGERS HAS LOFTY EXPECTATIONS AHEAD OF RETURN TO GAME ACTION: ‘I EXPECT GREATNESS’

The Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers line up for the opening kickoff at Arena Corinthians on September 06, 2024, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Wagner Meier/Getty Images)

There, at least seven of those nine players must have a foot on the 35-yard line. Those not on the 35-yard line will need to be in the setup zone outside the hash marks. Additionally, like the kicking team, the receiving team players cannot move until the kick has hit the ground or a player in the landing zone or the end zone.

The purpose of the changes was to reduce the risk of injuries, as the kickoff has traditionally been the most dangerous play in football while also encouraging more returns. The previous rule involved players running at one another at high speeds from long distances, resulting in common high-speed collisions.

Kickoff rules have been adjusted several times before in response to the high risk of injury from play.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell attends a Super Bowl Host Committee handoff news conference at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on February 12, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

In 2011, the league moved kickoffs forward five yards to the 35-yard line, making it easier to kick the ball deep into the end zone and leading to more touchbacks with teams starting at the 20-yard line. In 2016, touchbacks placed teams at 25, which further encouraged them. Then last season, returners could call for a fair catch anywhere, not just in the end zone, for a touchback, resulting in the lowest return rate in NFL history.

So, now the league is using this new rule to ensure safety while promoting returns.

This new rule is inspired by the kickoff rules from the XFL – a now-defunct lower-budget competitor to the NFL. However, the XFL merged with the USFL to create the UFL this year, and that league ironically uses the traditional kickoff.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

Sports

Loyola wins Southern Section Division 1 lacrosse championship

Published

4 minutes ago

May 17, 2026

Press Room

Loyola wins Southern Section Division 1 lacrosse championship

There’s no denying that Loyola’s lacrosse program is best in Southern California and could be that way for years to come with the number of elite young players participating.

On Saturday night, the Cubs (16-3) won their latest Southern Section Division 1 championship with a 14-6 win over Santa Margarita. The Cubs have won three title since the sport was adopted as a championship event in the Southern Section. Defense has been Loyola’s strength all season.

Senior defenders Chase Hellie and Everett Rolph and junior goalkeeper William Russo led one of the best defenses in program history under coach Jimmy Borell.

Senior Cash Ginsberg finished with five goals and junior North Carolina commit Tripp King finished with two goals.

In girls Division 1, Mira Costa upset top-seeded Santa Margarita 12-6.

Sports

Napoleon Solo wins 151st Preakness Stakes

Published

11 hours ago

May 17, 2026

Press Room

Napoleon Solo wins 151st Preakness Stakes

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Napoleon Solo took home the 2026 Preakness Stakes on Saturday, the 151st running of the race.

The favorite in Taj Mahal, the 1 horse, was in the lead from the start until the final turn until Napoleon Solo made his move on the outside and took the lead at the top of the stretch. As Taj Mahal fell off, Iron Honor, the 9 horse, snuck up, but the effort ultimately was not enough.

Napoleon Solo opened at 8-1 and closed at 7-1. Iron Honor, at 8-1, finished second, with Chip Honcho fishing third after closing at 11-1. Ocelli, one of just three horses to run both the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and Saturday’s Preakness, finished fourth at 8-1.

A Preakness branded starting gate is seen on track prior to the 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on May 16, 2026 in Laurel, Maryland. For the first and only time, Laurel Park is hosting the Preakness Stakes which is the second race of the Triple Crown jewel due to the traditional home of the race of the Pimlico Race Course undergoing complete renovations. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

A $1 exacta paid out $53.60, while a $1 trifecta brought in $597.10. But someone out there is very lucky, as a $1 superhighfive – picking the top-five finishers in order – paid out $12,015.70.

Even moreso, a 20-cent Pick 6 – picking the winners of the six consecutive races, with the final being the Preakness, paid out $33,842.34.

The race was run without the Kentucky Derby winner for the second year in a row. After Sovereignty did not run the Preakness last year – and wound up winning the Belmont Stakes – the training team of Golden Tempo opted to skip the Maryland race.

From 1960 to 2018, only three Derby winners did not run in the Preakness. Three Derby winners have skipped the Preakness in the last five years, and for the sixth time in eight years, for various reasons, the Triple Crown had already been impossible to accomplish by the time the Preakness even rolled around.

“I understand that fans of the sport or fans of the Triple Crown are disappointed, but the horse is not a machine,” Golden Tempo’s trainer, Cherie DeVaux, told Fox News Digital earlier this week.

Paco Lopez, right, atop Napoleon Solo, edges out Iron Honor, ridden by Flavien Prat, to win the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

CHERIE DEVAUX REFLECTS ON MAKING KENTUCKY DERBY HISTORY AS FIRST FEMALE TRAINER TO WIN THE RACE

Only three horses from two weeks ago – Ocelli, Robusta, and Incredibolt, were back at the Preakness. Corona de Oro, the 11 horse on Saturday, was scratched well ahead of the Derby, and Great White, who reared up and fell on his back after becoming startled shortly before entering the Derby gate, took the 13 post on Saturday.

The Preakness went off roughly 24 hours after a horse died following the completion of his very first race.

Hit Zero, trained by Brittany Russell, came into the race as the favorite. However, he finished last in the race, which was won by another one of Russell’s horses, Bold Fact — and upon crossing the finish line, Hit Zero reportedly began coughing, dropped to his knees, then put his head down and died.

The Preakness took place at Laurel Park as Pimlico undergoes renovations. It was the first time ever that Pimlico did not host the race, moving roughly 20 miles south.

Paco Lopez, atop Napoleon Solo, wins the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The Belmont Stakes, the final Triple Crown race, will take place on June 6. The race will return to Saratoga for a third year in a row as Belmont Park continues to be renovated.

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