Samhain - November-Coming-Fire [full album, HQ, HD]
[We are in the home stretch of our campaign.Now at 58% with four days to go! Consider donating to The Wild Hunt. You make it possible for us to continue to provide a platform for our communities important news. What better way to celebrate this October season!Donate to a news organization that supports your spiritual community.Donate to The Wild Hunt today.]
Today is when many modern Pagans celebrate Samhain. This holiday marks the start of winter and the new year according to the old Celtic calendar. It is a time when the ancestors are honored, divination is performed, and festivals are held in honor of the gods. Samhain is also recognized as the final harvest before the long winter ahead. It is perhaps the best-known and most widely celebrated of all the modern Pagan holidays.
Samhain- colored pencil on linen [Susan Korsnick, 2016]
During this season, other celebrations and festivals are also being held such as Velu Laiks (the time of spirits) by Baltic Pagans, lfablt or the Scandanavian Sacrifice to the Elves, Winter Nights by satr, Foundation Night in Ekklesa Antnoou, Allelieweziel by the Urglaawe tradition, Fete Gede by Vodou practitioners, Da de los Muertos for followers of Santeria and several indigenous religions in Mexico and Latin America, Diwali for Hindus (beginning Oct. 30 this year, it runs for five days) and the astrological Samhain on Nov. 6 for some Witches and Druids. Finally, in the Southern Hemisphere, many Pagans are currently celebrating Beltane.
Here are some thoughts shared by Pagans and polytheists about this time of year:
On this day, the world of our physical reality and the world of our spiritual reality come together and communicate. It is a time of connecting with our ancestors and offering gratitude for their part in our lives. I always incorporate a knotting/braiding activity in my ritual. I take three pieces of red yarn or ribbon about 20 inches long and begin braiding them and knotting in groups of three, with each knot, I invite and say aloud the name of the ancestor to my ritual celebration. I recount how they have positively impacted my life and offer gratitude for their presence in my life now and when they were alive. When I am done, I place the braid on my altar for the year to represent how they are woven into my life and to keep that energy alive. Katie Pifer, What is Samhain?
In Urglaawe, the Wild Hunt is Holle gathering up the souls of the Dead, and then on Walpurgisnacht she grinds them in her mill so they can go on to the next life. I like that better than the idea of Vallhalla, which I always thought seemed too Christian-influenced. The thing is, once youre ground in the mill, what is left of you? Is it anything recognizable as being you anymore? The person you were still becomes just a memory. Amanda the Conqueror, Celebrating Allelieweziel this year
I got up early and before going to work I shaved my head, as I often have on this day as well. I like hair on ones scalpmine and others (other hair? Not so much!), and so I didnt want to do it, and in fact I really dont like doing it (and I like doing it even less on-my-own/without assistance), but it wouldnt be a sacrifice (in the modern colloquial sense) if it werent difficult. But, it is an important sign of mourning, an important aspect of Egyptian sacerdotal practice (though I am not entirely hairless at the moment, like they were), and it also ends up giving me a small pile (and smaller every year, sadly) of materials to give in offering at various places in the future. P. Sufenas Virius Lupus, Sacred Nights of Antinous 2016Death of Antinous
Samhain Altar [Wilhelmine, DeviantArt]
And, Siobhan Johnson suggests 10 things to do on Samhain.
Many people who have been active members of our collective communities have crossed the veil this past year, including:Carl Llewellyn Weschcke, Marc Pourner, Scott Walters, Richard Reidy, Daniel Kaufman, Jean Williams, Crystal Tier, Morgan McFarland, John Belham-Payne, A.J. Gooch, JD Taylor, Gavin Frost,Lydia Miller Ruyle, David Babulski, Nikki Bado, Michael Wiggins, Scott Symonds, Lady Epona, John Ravenmoon, Charlie Murphy, Margarian Bridger, Tisha Gill, Fallon Smart,Seb Barnett, Lady Flora, Bryan David Zell, Carole Kitchenwitch. There are also many otherswho have not been not named here but who have touchedour individual lives, our practices, and our communities. What is remembered, lives.
May you have a blessed Samhain. May peace fall upon you and your beloved dead during this season. Let this be a new cycle of quiet joy and renewed blessings for all of you.
Gottlieb: Patriots trade Jamie Collins to the Browns
The Cleveland Browns have acquired linebacker Jamie Collins from New England, a person with knowledge of the trade tells The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because the deal has not officially been announced. Tuesday is the NFL"s trade deadline.
A second-round draft pick in 2013, Collins has been one of the Patriots" better defensive players for just over three seasons, but his rookie contract ends after this season. The Patriots will get a conditional third-round selection for Collins, 27.
Collins missed one game this season with a hip injury. He has 43 combined tackles and two interceptions.
At 0-8, the Browns certainly can use an infusion of talent, and Collins immediately becomes their best linebacker.
Earlier this year, the Browns sent linebacker/defensive end Barkevious Mingo to the Patriots.
Titans: Wide receiver Andre Johnson retires
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Star wide receiver Andre Johnson is retiring after 14 seasons in a career mainly spent with the Houston Texans.
The 35-year-old Johnson is a seven-time Pro Bowl player now with Tennessee. Titans general manager Jon Robinson said in a statement Monday that Johnson "in my opinion is one of the best to have played the game."
Johnson ranks among the top 10 receivers in NFL history in career catches and receiving yards. He had 1,062 catches for 14,185 yards and 70 touchdowns.
After 12 seasons with the Texans, Johnson played for the Indianapolis Colts last year before joining the Titans this season. He had nine catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns this year.
Katie Talks Beer Pong And "Grease" With Anthony Rizzo
Donna Torres and Laurie Rizzo, both longtime Broward County residents, have spent decades attending their sons" baseball games, first traveling all over South Florida and in recent years all over the country to do so.
Until this week, though, they hadn"t been to too many of the same games.
Torres" son is Cleveland Indians first baseman Mike Napoli, a Hollywood-born Flanagan High alumnus. Rizzo"s son is Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, a Parkland native and former Douglas High standout. The pair of Broward boys are facing off in the World Series, tied 1-1 as it shifts to Chicago for Game 3 on Friday.
"To watch him play as a small child in T-ball and now he"s in the major leagues and has gone to the World Series three times, I"m pinching myself constantly," Torres said. "If this is a dream, don"t wake me up."
Both families have temporarily abandoned Broward to spend much of the month on the road. For the Rizzos, it has been mostly Laurie and Anthony"s father John, with brother Johnny and his family including 9-month-old Vincent, Anthony Rizzo"s nephew jumping on board for the World Series. Vincent, by default one of the youngest members of the long-suffering Cubs fan base, has already been to Opening Day and the World Series (and four major league stadiums in all).
Napoli has a rotating contingent of 8-10 family members coming to watch parents and stepparents and siblings and cousins and it"s become something of an annual tradition. Napoli has made it as far as the ALCS in 2009 with the Los Angeles Angels, the World Series with the Texas Rangers in 2011, and the World Series again with the Boston Red Sox in 2013 with shorter playoff stints mixed in before this one.
Throughout his years as a ball-playing vagabond, Napoli has developed a certain reputation: fun-loving off the field and baseball-mashing on it, blending in seamlessly to any clubhouse he walks into.
In fact, the description Tyler Munro the Flanagan coach in the late 1990s and early 2000s offers of a teenage Napoli mirrors the one you might hear today of the 34-year-old version: a natural leader who was really good at baseball and really good at cutting loose. Oh, and he had a more legitimate beard than pretty much anyone else in the dugout, coaches included.
Munro coached Napoli for two years before the Angels drafted him as a catcher in 2000. Between those seasons, Munro asked Napoli to shed some weight. Napoli showed up for his scholastic swan song as a "svelte 205" pounds, as Munro put it, and batted leadoff something Munro wanted him to do after opponents pitched around Napoli too often the season prior.
That spring, Napoli totaled twice as many stolen bases (30) as he did home runs (15) as the Falcons won their first district championship.
In May of Napoli"s senior year one month before he went pro the movie "Gladiator" came out. The Flanagan baseball team went to see it as a group. It struck Munro that one of his players was a lot like Russell Crowe"s character, Maximus, who was forced to fight to the death in Roman gladiator arenas.
"We had the Gladiator," said Munro, who now teaches and coaches in Colorado. "Napoli would grab the bat to be his weapon, and everybody else would follow."
Seven years later and a few minutes up the road, Rizzo put the finishing touches on his sparkling Douglas career. His last two years of high school, before the Red Sox took him in the sixth round of the 2007 draft, Rizzo decided he wanted to give up football to focus on baseball.
Elliot Bonner, then and now a coach for the Douglas football and baseball teams, understood.
"When he told me he wanted to go from one to the other and stick with baseball [it made sense]," Bonner said. "Obviously, I was a baseball coach. I could see he could play."
Rizzo"s decision was a good one. In the nearly decade since graduating, he has beaten cancer, gotten traded to the San Diego Padres, established the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation to support cancer research, been traded to the Cubs, and emerged as the first of Chicago"s many cornerstone pieces.
Now, he is competing against Napoli, the two continuing a recent trend of Broward first baseman playing in the World Series.
Last season, Eric Hosmer (American Heritage in Plantation) won with the Kansas City Royals. The year before that, Hosmer"s Royals lost to the San Francisco Giants and Michael Morse (Nova High in Davie), a part-time first baseman. The year prior to that, Napoli won it all with the Red Sox.
Even aside from the first basemen, this World Series has a decidedly South Florida flair.
On the Cleveland side, reliever Andrew Miller among the stars of these playoffs is a former Marlin, part of the return in the Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis trade with the Detroit Tigers in 2007. Reliever Dan Otero is a Miami native and Ransom Everglades High product, while catcher Yan Gomes played at Miami Southridge High and Barry University.
For the Cubs, outfielder Albert Almora Jr. is from Hialeah and suited up for Mater Academy Charter. Another outfielder, Chris Coghlan, was the 2009 NL Rookie of the Year with the Marlins.
Several other players on the teams have ties to other areas of Florida.
After the series, Napoli and Rizzo will both eventually return to Broward. Napoli has tended to bounce around in recent offseasons, but his mother said he never misses a Christmas.
Rizzo still calls Parkland home during the winter, with all three Rizzo clans the parents, Johnny"s family and Anthony living within one mile of each other.
That"s just how Mom likes it.
"The old Italian way," Johnny Rizzo said.
For now, though, more baseball and more travel. And more bits of Broward on baseball"s biggest stage.
"We"ve been going to baseball games since he was little," Laurie Rizzo said. "And we"re still at baseball."
Dak Prescott"s 31-Yard Pass to Jason Witten & TD Pass to Beasley! | Bengals vs. Cowboys | NFL
FRISCO, Texas -- The last time Jason Witten did not start a game for the Dallas Cowboys, rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott was 11 years old.
Just let that thought linger for a little bit.
On Sunday, Witten will make the 203rd start of his career when the Dallas Cowboys take on the Green Bay Packers, tying Ed Too Tall Jones for the most in team history. Jones would have had more if not for his one-year foray into boxing, but his starts spanned 1974-78 and 1980-89 seasons.
Witten has already played in more consecutive games than any player in team history (Sunday will be his 209th). When the Cowboys play the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 30, he will equal Lee Roy Jordan"s team mark for most consecutive starts at 154.
He has already started more consecutive games than any tight end in NFL history.
When it was mentioned that this will be the 203rd start of Wittens career, fellow tight end Geoff Swaim gave an incredulous laugh.
Thats unreal, Swaim said. Two-hundred-and-whatever games, no matter how you get them, is unbelievable. But hes been able to do that with the amount of bumps, bruises and injuries that go undisclosed. Thats crazy. Its a testament to how hard he works and then his level of toughness and how much he cares to be on the field for his guys. Unbelievable, man. Hes a leader, a guy you look up to. I dont know if youre ever going to get to that level of that toughness but you certainly aspire to be some of the player he is definitely.
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said of veteran TE Jason Witten: "He"s exactly what you want in an NFL football player and his approach is like nothing I"ve ever seen."Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports
The last time Witten did not start a game, Bill Parcells was the Cowboys coach. It came Dec. 10, 2006 when the Cowboys opened in a four-wide-receiver formation against the New Orleans Saints with Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn, Patrick Crayton and Sam Hurd.
Two days after that game, Wittens teammate for the last six years, Tyron Smith, turned 16.
Witten has played in 10 Pro Bowls in his 14 seasons. He is one of 13 players with 1,000 receptions in NFL history. He is the Cowboys all-time leading receiver and needs 458 yards to pass Hall of Famer Michael Irvin for the top spot in receiving yards in team history.
But being there every week has mattered most.
I dont want to make it bigger than it is, Witten said. Its not like Im Hercules or something. I think its just, I love to play football and I think anybody thats ever been my teammate ... understands how much I love that. And so when you break your collarbone or you do something like that, thats out of your control. Youre put on the shelf for a few weeks. For me, Ive been lucky from that standpoint, and then when you have injuries you just grind it out ... I couldnt imagine not being out there whether we were Week 16 and out of the playoffs or whether were playing for a championship.
His name was added to the injury report this week because of a chest injury, but he has not missed a practice. He missed one game in his career, as a rookie because of a broken jaw. In 2012, he suffered a ruptured spleen in the preseason but returned to play in the season opener. A year ago he suffered sprains to both ankles, including a high and low sprain on the same ankle, and could not walk back to the locker room on a Monday after getting examined. He practiced two days later.
Different guys at different positions will always have numbers that are impressive whether its passing yards or touchdowns or completions or receptions or sacks, whatever those things are. Theyre always very impressive, but the stuff that I think draws the most respect from people inside of football is the starts, coach Jason Garrett said. Sometimes that requires some good fortune, but I also think the guys that are able to play week in week out are the ones who are most respected. Witts just a rare individual. Hes a great football player; 14 years, 10-time Pro Bowler, arguably the best all-around tight end of his generation. But what he does each and every day is an example to the rest of us, coaches, players, guys he plays with, guys he plays against, he just does it the right way and hes done it the right way for a long, long time. Hes exactly what you want in an NFL football player and his approach is like nothing Ive ever seen. He deserves every bit of recognition he gets.
Travis Frederick has started every game he has played since joining the Cowboys in 2013. To match Wittens current streak, he would have to play in every game until 2025.
Its ridiculous to me but completely shows the person that Jason is, Frederick said. Hes a tough guy thats going to go through anything to do what he can for the team. Theres been some situations he easily couldve said, Hey, Im not going to play this week. Ive got an ankle, or Ive got a knee. Hes a guy thats going to give it all every single time. I cant imagine starting 203 games.
Witten is 34 and is signed through 2017. He is second on the team with 24 catches for 232 yards this season. He has played in all 347 offensive snaps through five games.
As a kid, you just want to play football, Witten said. For me one day it will end, but until the end I love getting the opportunity to go out there and play at a high level.
Standing Rock: Thousands of Wild Buffalo Appear Out of Nowhere
Claim: An 11-year-old girl was shot and killed by a police sniper at the Standing Rock pipeline protest site but the media covered up news of it.
Example: [Collected via e-mail, October 2016]
I saw a video on YouTube in which a man was reporting from Standing Rock. He said that an eleven year old girl was shot and killed by a sniper on October 28. I want to know if this is true.
Origin:In late October 2016, a video titled "Police snipers shoot 11-year-old at Dakota Pipeline protests" was shared to YouTube and circulated on Facebook.
The since-deleted video purportedly consisted of an individual providing an account (but not any actual footage) of the supposed shooting of an 11-year-girl by a police sniper at Standing Rock, the site of an ongoing protest over construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
The clip (originally hosted at the URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI_9p5-pEFg) has since been deleted, and we were unable to locate any copies of it. However, the rumor about the young girl purportedly shot and killed at Standing Rock by a police sniper lives on in social media posts.
No news account reported any such shooting, and a concerned public unable to locate the original video asked protest leaders whether the rumor was accurate of anyone involved, those demonstrators would be the likeliest candidates to confirm violent activity at the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. As the rumor circulated, protester Dallas Goldtooth described the claim as "misinformation":
The widely followed Facebook page Indigenous Life Movement also refuted the rumor:
Both Facebook pages denied anyone (much less a child) had been killed at the Standing Rock protest site on or around 29 October 2016 and urged anyone interested in the demonstrations to follow official tribal feeds in order to prevent misinformation from spreading.
Five Little Pumpkins | Pumpkin Song | Super Simple Songs
One of my stand-by kitchen recipes, one I make for friends, family and just for myself on a regular basis is my Tuxedo Chili, made with chicken, black and white beans and warming spices. It even won a recipe contest! Its a perfect one bowl meal, filling and comforting and perfect for the first chilly nights. With Halloween and Thanksgiving around the corner, I wanted to give my standard a little seasonal twist. So Ive combined all the comforting flavors of fall into a delicious, hearty treat.
I swapped out chicken in the recipe for the more seasonally-loved turkey, and added rich pumpkin for depth of flavor and a nice, creamy dose of white beans. Once I had the chili sorted, I couldnt resist a sweet and tangy cranberry and cilantro relish to top it off, adding another layer of autumn.
All in all, this makes for the kind of meal I love to serve family and friends. Make a big pot of chili, put out the various toppings and some good bread and let everyone build their own bowl. For an even more thematic meal, make a batch of Pumpkin Cornbread to serve alongside. I think this is the perfect meal to warm up post trick-or-treating or a trip to the corn maze!
Turkey, pumpkin, and white bean chili with cranberry relishServes 4, but this recipe easily doubles
For the chili:2 tablespoons olive oil1 medium yellow onion, finely diced2 garlic cloves, minced1 pound ground turkey2 teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican)2 teaspoons ground cumin1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon black pepper1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon2 cups (16-ounce cans) pumpkin puree1 (15.5 ounce) can white beans, rinsed and drained1-1/2 cups chicken broth
1. Pour the oil into a large pot, add the onions and cook over medium-high heat until the onions are soft and wilted. Add the garlic and cook a few minutes more. Add the ground turkey and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon or spatula, until it begins to brown.
2. Mix the oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, cinnamon and paprika together in a small bowl and sprinkle over the meat in the pot and stir to distribute the spices evenly. Scrape in the pumpkin puree and stir well, then pour in the chicken broth and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and add the drained beans. Cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover the pot and cook until the chili is thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. The chili can be cooled, covered and refrigerated for up to two days and freezes beautifully. Add a little broth when reheating if needed.
For the relish:1/2 cup dried cranberries4 green onions, white and some green parts1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leavesjuice of 1/2 a small lime
To serve:Sour creamLime wedges
1. Place the cranberries in the bowl of a small food processor and pulse to break them up. Cut the green onion into pieces and add to the bowl with the cilantro. Pulse until you have a loose relish. Stir in the lime juice.
2. Serve the chili with a spoonful of the relish and a dollop of sour cream, with some lime wedges to squeeze over.
Related post on The Runaway Spoon: Chicken Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce
Living with Giant Lion : Young Melanie Griffith and mom Tippi Hedren with their PET LION Neil
From her early days as Hitchcocks main muse, to her life as a mother t0 Melanie Griffith (and grandmother to Dakota Johnson) and her work as an animal activist, Tippi Hedren has always had something to say. She has tales to tell in her memoir, Tippi(Dey St.), available November 1.Here are some of her best quotes through the years.
My light shines when things get really tough.
I kind of look at my modeling career and the Hitchcock years as stepping stones to what Im doing now.
Hitchcock had a charm about him. He was very funny at times. He was incredibly brilliant in his field of suspense.
Birds I am fine with spiders are an entirely different matter.
Self-belief? My parents gave it to me.
Everything that Ive done in my life was to lead me to my work with the animals.
Hitchcock had a very strange mind.
I know so many people who are eaten up by regret. It manifests itself in so many ways. They either become mentally a bit off, or they get very fat, or they are just horribly depressed.
I had to have help getting up these stairs because Ive been tackled by so many lions and tigers. Really. Im like an old football player.
To be the object of someones obsession is horrible.
Americas game the story of the 2015 Denver Broncos x264
Denver Broncos running back C.J. Anderson was placed on injured reserve and Juwan Thompson was promoted from the practice squad to add depth at the position.
Anderson underwent an arthroscopic procedure to repair meniscus damage in his right knee. A timetable for his return hasn"t yet been determined but the decision to place him on injured reserve means he would have to miss at least eight games.
Anderson, who has a team-high 437 rushing yards, tweeted his sentiments shortly after the surgery.
"Surgery was a super success been resting all day. FaceTime all my teammates got some good laughs #blessed love them boys"
Anderson rushed for 107 yards on 16 carries during Monday night"s 27-9 victory over the Houston Texans despite suffering the injury late in the first quarter. He said he felt his knee buckle slightly while planting his right foot.
Rookie Devontae Booker will start Sunday"s contest against the San Diego Chargers. Kapri Bibbs will be the backup. Juwan Thompson will likely be elevated from the practice squad to be the third back.
Booker, who was a college standout at Utah, rushed for 83 yards against the Texans.
"Book"s had a really good week, Kapri"s had a really good week. Kapri has a lot on his plate as a special-teams player, too, and obviously we"re trying to prepare Juwan," head coach Gary Kubiak said of the depth chart at running back.
"The thing about Juwan is he kind of plays two spots, too. He"s played some halfback and played well, and we"ve been having him work at fullback. Obviously he"s been working really, really hard here and we"re going to have to make a decision."
Prior to Sunday night, the Chicago Cubs hadnt won a World Series game at Wrigley Field since Oct. 8, 1945. So when the Cubbies finally broke through, it was a pretty safe bet that the fans were going to lose their minds celebrating. This they did, and it made for incredible television.
As per a Cubs victory tradition which dates back approximately a decade, the song Go Cubs Go! was played, and nearly all of the 41,711 fans in attendance sang along.
The result was a truly enthralling moment guaranteed to warm the hearts of all but the most ardent Cleveland Indians fans.
Please enable Javascript to watch.
The songs chorus boomed throughout the stadium, and echoed on to Waveland Avenue.
Go Cubs go! Go Cubs go! Hey Chicago, what do you say! The Cubs are gonna win today!
The crowd noise reached a crescendo when a white flag with a blue W was raised above the stadium, another longtime Cubs victory custom.
Credit to FOXs Joe Buck here who, for the most part, didnt try to talk over the moment, allowing it to unfold naturally. Even the late legendary Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray wouldnt have been able to add anything to this moment. It was best to let it play out in silence.
Kirk Cousins & Rob Kelley Lead Redskins 15-Play Opening Drive TD | Redskins vs. Bengals | NFL
MARVIN LEWIS
Head Coach
Initial comments ...
COACH LEWIS: Think the best lesson learned today for our football team is you just got to keep playing, regardless literally of the situation, football game, where we are, what"s going on - just keep playing, go to the next down and keep playing.
You know, that"s a good takeaway. Obviously not winning the football game, there"s disappointment. We had opportunities, both sides of the football, to win the football game. You know, for the time and energy and everything invested in it, that"s what you want to get. So there"s some disappointment in there.
Again, it"s another learning lesson of things to just keep playing, it"s not over. But obviously we had opportunities today and we didn"t make good on them. We"ve got to continue with that. You know, we can"t have turnovers, basically the turnovers today offensively, penalties on defense, we miss a PAT, miss a field goal, those things eventually come back and they get you beat.
Q. On the tie:
COACH LEWIS: You don"t get the win but you don"t get a loss either. We know at the end of the year that pays dividends. We just handle our business. If we still handle our business, we"re fine.
Q. How frustrating are the penalties?
COACH LEWIS: Well, I think three of them were defensive holding. You know, so, again, I can"t define, go through each penalty. But we can"t retaliate when things happen. That"s my only message; don"t retaliate, let it play out.
Q. On Tyler Eifert opening up the defense:
COACH LEWIS: Well you know Tyler, and Andy does a good job of reading the coverage and putting the ball where it belongs. That"s the most important thing. Those other guys were making those catches as well. That"s what we have to just keep doing, is Andy always doing a good job of recognizing the coverage and getting the ball where it belongs.
Q. On what worked early in the game that the Redskins counteracted?
COACH LEWIS: Well, we got to do a good job of -- you know, we had opportunities, as I said, they converted a couple third downs with a penalty. They converted with a catch-and-run. You know, I mean, it"s hard for me to remember all the things right now.
In general, you know, defensively we"ve got to do a better job of understanding and getting our jobs done, particularly in the perimeter, in coverage. Linebackers, secondary, everybody fitting together, making sure everything fits together the right way all the time.
Q. On if it was a defensive victory at the end:
COACH LEWIS: Well, obviously when we end up with the ball down there, you know, they had the one before halftime; we were able to get off the field. So we had a couple opportunities today where we actually defended the goal line pretty well, which are positives for the defense today.
There at the end there was a missed field goal, caused again when we fumbled the ball, make a play, push it back. They have the one play left.
There"s some positives to coach from. Weve just got to correct some of the negatives and continue to press forward. There"s always going to be something we"re not happy with, but we"ve got to continue to press forward and keep going.
Thank you.
Andy Dalton
Quarterback
Q. Did you change the play on 3rd and 1?
ANDY DALTON: The play that they sent in, we, you know, had it. Just couldn"t hold on to the ball.
Q. Did someone misread that?
ANDY DALTON: I don"t really even know what happened. I tried to get my second hand on it, and it got ripped out.
Q. Do you feel like you let it slip away, this one?
ANDY DALTON: Absolutely. We had so many opportunities in this one that could allow us to win the game. We weren"t able to make the play. I had a big part in that. Obviously the fumble at the end. The last drive of the fourth quarter that we had.
Again, opportunities, but just let it slip away.
Q. Was it nice to have Tyler Eifert back to throw to over the middle?
ANDY DALTON: Definitely. You know, Tyler, it"s great to have him back out there. He"s such a good player. I mean, it showed with the way he played today.
So, I mean, it"s great having him back. I mean, he"s a big part of this offense.
Q. Is A.J. able to go toe-to-toe with the best in the league?
ANDY DALTON: A.J. is the best receiver in this league. Anybody that"s out there, you know, A.J. is going to do his thing.
I missed him on a couple that could have been big plays for us. But, you know, there"s nobody else in the league like A.J.
Q. What does this do for the rest of the season, set the tone?
ANDY DALTON: Yeah, it"s obviously the weird feeling of we didn"t lose, but we didn"t win. Feels more like a loss than anything.
But we"ll come back from the bye, and we got to get things going for the last eight of the season.
Q. What did Tyler do for you in the middle, Andy?
ANDY DALTON: Yeah, I mean, for Tyler, he"s so big, runs such good routes, that you just got to put it around him, make good plays.
So, you know, his ability that he can do everything from the tight end position is a big matchup for us. I mean, I feel like we can try to get him involved as much as we can.
Q. On the touchdown:
ANDY DALTON: Yeah, we ran it several times. He made a great catch.
Q. Do you feel like the offense is starting to find itself?
ANDY DALTON: Yeah, I mean, I feel like today we left a lot out there, too. You know, we feel like we obviously did some good things today. But we got to correct the mistakes because that"s what will really take us and make us have a big jump.
Q. That was your first interception in 155 throws or something. Was that a reaction to the blitz?
ANDY DALTON: Yeah, I mean, was trying to just get the ball out of my hands. Bad play on my part. I"ve got to put it in a safer spot.
Injuries, Blackmon had a thumb fracture, dislocation and he came back in. Duke had a concussion. Morgan Moses has an ankle sprain. Niles Paul, shoulder AC sprain, clavicle. DeSean had a head contusion, he passed his concussion testing and Breeland had cramps.
Q. On his feelings about the tie:
COACH GRUDEN: I don"t know, I said I don"t know what to say after the game. Should I be upset or happy or whatever? But I think the one thing I"m happy about is the way we competed and fought. Some guys came in and played hurt, and that was a dogfight. That"s a heck of a team over there in Cincinnati, a 72-minute game today, and it was a grinder, 75, whatever it is, I can"t add. But we fought, made some good plays, made some dumb plays, made some things happen, but couldn"t get it done at the end.
Q. On their amount of passing attempts:
COACH GRUDEN: We had our runs a little bit. We went into overtime so we got another 15 attempts, too. I don"t know if it was a record after four quarters, but we were hitting them pretty good through the air. Protection was pretty good for the most part, too, so we thought we had some holes through the air. But I think Robert Kelley still had 21 carries for 100 yards, so he did some good things also.
Q. On the opportunities in overtime:
COACH GRUDEN: Yeah, yeah. There were swings, that"s for sure. It was a great play by Compton to get the ball out on Dalton, and I"m sure they"re over there talking about their missed opportunities as we are over here. Both teams had a great opportunity to win that football game and neither one of us could quite get it done, but like I said before, emotional game and the majority of our games have come down to these close wire-to-wire plays and somebody has got to take them and today both teams made just enough to tie.
Q. On his reaction to the tie:
COACH GRUDEN: I don"t know how to react. I didn"t think it was possible to tie. I know there was a tie last week in Arizona, but I was like, How the heck did they tie? Now we know. Like I said, we"re 4-3-1, which doesn"t count for a loss, but we need to rack up some wins. In the NFC East right now the Cowboys are leading with five games won already. It would have helped to win this one, but I guess it"s not a loss. I don"t know.
Q. On if he likes the teams progress so far in the season:
COACH GRUDEN: I think so, without a doubt. I think we"re 4-3-1, like I said. The bye is coming at a good time. We need the bye. We need to get away from each other for a little bit, get their minds right, get their bodies right. We have some guys that are banged up and fighting through some injuries, so we"re excited about it, but I like the progress of our football team, no doubt about it. I like where we"re going. I think every goal that we still have is still in place and I feel good about where we are.
Q. ON where he sees the most progress:
COACH GRUDEN: I see progress everywhere. I see attitude, I see passing game, running game, special teams. We"ve made a lot of progress. There"s still a lot of work to do, no question about it, but I think progress is being made without a doubt.
Q. On Robert Kelley:
COACH GRUDEN: I think he ran the ball hard. I think he was a little bit impatient on some cuts, but for the most part he runs hard. I liked the way he ran. He protected the ball, had some big runs there. That big one in overtime was a huge run to get us down into field goal range. I think he had a couple opportunities to pick up some blitzes, did a good job, so I thought he played well.
Q. On Dustin Hopkins:
COACH GRUDEN: I don"t know. I don"t know. I thought the one at the end of the half, he had plenty of leg to get that one, he just toed it a little bit, was just a little short. Then the one at overtime I think might have been a bit high - wasn"t quite the rhythm that I normally see with the snap, the hold and the kick, and then he missed it. And Hops had a great year. He"s going to have a great year for us, but I thought it was the right play. I tried to let as much time go down. I didn"t want them to get the ball back and score on us, but unfortunately we missed it.
Q. On the officiating in todays game:
COACH GRUDEN: That"s a great question, too. That"s one I don"t have an answer for. I don"t know. I"ll have to go back and look at the film. Some of those calls, I don"t know. I"ve got to see them. Hands to the face, holding, whatever, then they call offensive pass interference on us at the end and I don"t know.
Q. On this being the first overtime game in London and the explanation for the fans:
COACH GRUDEN: You know, down on the field we couldn"t hear the loudspeaker, so I couldn"t hear for the anthem and stuff, couldn"t really tell what was going on up there, but we knew the rules. Hopefully the fans had a good time. It was a great game, two quality teams going at it, guys laid it on the line, so that"s as good a football game as they"ll see, but unfortunately we didn"t get a victor.
Q. On if the offense needs to get bigger plays:
COACH GRUDEN: Yeah, yeah, those would be nice. I think in this day and age against quality defenses, it"s hard to move the ball 12 plays and 85 yards. Sometimes you"re going to get a holding call or something like that or something might break down, so it"s important to get those chunk plays and we try hard to get as many as we can in a game. Its a lot easier said than done. You can"t just go back and say I need a 30-yarder, give it to me, but when they"re out there, we have to take advantage of them and I think Kirk did a great job today. I think it was one of the better games he"s played since I"ve been here, so hats off to him and the offense. They did some great things, but you"re right, we do need to get some bigger plays.
Q. On Jordan Reed:
COACH GRUDEN: Yeah, I think it"s quite obvious. He"s a heck of a player. He"s good in the running game, and obviously he"s a weapon with all of the things that he can do. He can line up in nickel, defensive back, safety, it doesn"t matter who"s on him. He"s very, very effective in whatever route he wants to run.
Kirk Cousins
Quarterback
Q. On how he processes the tie:
KIRK COUSINS: It"s a unique experience, but now we move forward. I think that"s the key is that you always look towards what"s next, what"s the next challenge. We don"t live in the past in this league, so it is what it is and what I"m proud of is the fact that so many guys laid it on the line and gave us everything they had and I was proud of the effort and the mental and physical toughness that guys showed through the course of the game.
Q. On the importance of going into the bye week on a positive note:
KIRK COUSINS: We certainly want to go into a bye week with a good taste in our mouths, and while it"s not a win, it"s certainly better than a loss. I know it"s a clich thing to say, but I"ve really run out of words. I think that"s the best way to describe it. We"ll take from this game from an offensive perspective that a lot of good things happened, a lot of plays were made, a lot of yards were produced and we just need to keep going, keep learning, and hope that the second half of the season we can get in a rhythm where we finish strong.
Q. On the play calling and amount of pass attempts:
KIRK COUSINS: It"s just play to play. Obviously on the interception it didn"t open up for them, so we just don"t want to be greedy and just take what they give us. I think, again, we completed just under 70 percent of our passes, pass attempts, and were moving the football and producing a lot of yards. I"m pleased with the way Sean called the game and with the way the guys executed.
Q. On what he said to Dustin Hopkins:
KIRK COUSINS: He"s such a talented kicker, certainly wasn"t expecting a miss, but welcome to the NFL. I just told him, You"re okay. Do you know the number of times I"ve walked back to the sideline and felt like I was the one who let the team down? It happens multiple times every game. It"s part of playing in this league. It"s a tough business. It"s going to test you, and he knows, but we"ll remind him going forward that we"re 100 percent behind him, and we know he"s a great kicker, and he makes that kick 99 out of 100 times.
Q. On the personality of the offense:
KIRK COUSINS: I think it"s so much week to week in this league that it"s hard to have a broad scope of the offense as a whole. I think we had 500, 600 yards of offense today. That"s pretty good. Guys made some unbelievable plays and if we don"t do that against the Vikings, then I think the narrative is going to be that our offense is sputtering and we"re not doing enough. So it"s so much week to week, but we certainly did a lot from a yards perspective today, and we"re always going to want more points and come away with touchdowns instead of field goals, but players are making plays and players are giving great effort and they"re just locked in and competing play in and play out and that"s what you love to see.
Q. On playing in Wembley:
KIRK COUSINS: It was a phenomenal experience. That stadium is incredible. The atmosphere is incredible. Every seat appeared to be filled. The fans were engaged. It was electric. It did feel like a normal NFL game but maybe even more electric in the sense that it felt like such a unique atmosphere.
You know, it was unique changing the time zones and adjusting to London, but I worked hard this week. I worked with a neuropsychologist, Dr. Royer, who worked me through how to study the sleep patterns and make sure I was ready to go and I think physically my body was ready and mentally my body was ready to go through the game today and I was pleased with the preparation and the fact that it worked out.
Q. On how he dealt with the up and downs of this game:
KIRK COUSINS: I think you deal with it or handle it by expecting it. You know, I never walk into a game and say, We"re going to win by two touchdowns and things are going to go smoothly and I"m going to play at a high level play in and play out. I think you go into games and moments in overtime saying, This is about to be a roller coaster. This is going to go up and down and we"re going to have a penalty and it will be 2nd and 15 and then it"s going to be 3rd and 1. You just have to go and react to each situation and become a master at each individual play that presents itself.
Q. On Robert Kelley:
KIRK COUSINS: Yeah, I"ve alluded to many players today laying it on the line, and while the offensive line is first and foremost in that group and the receivers, Rob Kelley is another one that fits right in there. I had a front row seat every time I hand the ball off to watch him read the holes and make the cuts and attack and keep his shoulders downhill and take on contact, and I was very pleased with the way he ran the football, the toughness he showed, the way he competed, the way he fought for extra yards. I enjoyed the front row seat that I had today to watch him run.
Jamison Crowder
Wide Receiver
Q. How comfortable are you with a tie:
JAMISON CROWDER: No, this is actually my first time being in a game that ended with a tie. It"s kind of tough. You know, I feel like in a way, I feel like we lost, but at the same time it"s like we didn"t lose, so it"s like we -- like you feel like we didn"t do enough. You know, it"s a strange feeling.
Q. What was it like to play here compared to the States:
JAMISON CROWDER: It wasn"t as different. I felt like the fans were really into the ballgame. Fans were cheering for the Bengals, cheering for the Redskins. So I wouldn"t say that it was as different. It was just -- I felt like it was kind of -- I guess it was a Bengals home game, but you really couldn"t tell because I feel like the fans were there for both teams, so it didn"t feel different at all.
Q. What part of not winning this game was on your team:
JAMISON CROWDER: A lot. A lot of it. There were some situations where we had a penalty that was all on us. You know, there was a lot of calls that were questionable, but there were some plays, some calls that we kind of put ourselves in a bad position. You know, you really don"t think about those type of things, but you know, we had a chance to win the ballgame, and we just fell short and ended up tying.
Q. How frustrated are you:
JAMISON CROWDER: It"s tough to get -- drive all the way down the field and to not come away with a touchdown, you kind of get tired of just getting field goals. That"s definitely an area that we have to go back and revisit and really spend a lot of time on so that we can improve and obviously put up points.
Q. What positives can you take from this game going into the bye week:
JAMISON CROWDER: I mean, we"re out there and competing. We know that we didn"t -- we just didn"t come through when we needed to, but you"ve just got to -- that game is in the books now. It was a tie. You"ve just got to take the good things we did on film. We drove the ball down the football field, just weren"t able to put it in as much as we would like to in the red zone. Like I said, we"ve just got to go back and really look at the things that we can do better in the red zone so that we can produce points and just try to work on those things and get ready for the Vikings.
Vernon Davis
Tight End
Q. On his feelings after the tie:
VERNON DAVIS: Well, of course whenever you play a game, you play it to win. We couldn"t really pull it off today, but I have to give a round of applause to all the guys in the locker room because they fought. They fought so hard and they didn"t let their guards down. They kept fighting and it was quite a battle. It was quite a battle.
It was one of those games where you just look at it and it"s almost as if we didn"t really play it, any time you tie a game. Because the only way and the only thing to do is to come out with a victory. With that being said, you just kind of leave it behind and just know that we put up a good fight and we did give our very best.
Q. On his experience playing in London:
VERNON DAVIS: Well, this would be my third time playing here. I played here twice when I was with the San Francisco 49ers. This has been quite an experience playing here. We love it. We think it"s a great opportunity to come over here and just show another country what the NFL has to offer. And not just what the NFL has to offer, we kind of introduce everyone on this side to the game. It"s great and of course its great to put up a good fight and play a football game.
Q. On the Washington tight ends playing at a high level:
But today, Jordan Reed, he comes out and does it. He comes out and does what he does every single Sunday. He gives his very best. He"s a tremendous talent. Niles Paul, tremendous talent. We as a group collectively, we went in and handled our responsibilities and played football.
Q. On if they would have won if they could have one or two plays back from the second:
VERNON DAVIS: Well, we know as an offensive unit, we know that we have to put up points. That"s first and foremost. In order to win games, you have to score points. Whether we like it or not, it has to happen.
I mean, we can"t beat ourselves up. Like I said, I think we did a great job today of fighting, staying in the game. After the bye week we have to come back in and just make an assessment and correct some things. Some small things, but I strongly believe that we can get back on track and do some great things as a football team because we have the weapons, we have the guys, and we can get it done.
Q. On what he said to Dustin Hopkins after the missed field goal:
VERNON DAVIS: You guys see everything, huh? Wow. Wow. Well, for me, they brought me in here to be a leader, to just pretty much pick guys up when they need it, and that"s life, man. It"s all about helping the next man, and when he"s down, you lift him up. You give him some encouraging words and just make sure that you can do all you can to help him, motivate him, inspire him to do better. All I told him is that I was in the same position that he was in last year when I was with Denver. The game was on the line, they counted on me to make a play and I didn"t come through. It builds you, it builds your character, it builds you as a football player and the next time he will do better. You can"t beat yourself up because it"s only - it"s one time. It"s one time. It makes you better, makes you stronger. That"s all I had to say to him, just some encouraging words, lifting him up.
Trent Williams
Offensive Line
Q. How do you react to this result:
TRENT WILLIAMS: Honestly I think you"ve just got to take it for what it"s worth, especially when there is no win or loss. We played a good, hard-fought game. It was a physical game, a lot of emotions flying. I think the team over there plays extremely tough, and I think we pride ourselves on playing tough, so it was a clash. I mean, it sucks to come out without a victory, but I guess the only bright side is that it isn"t a loss.
Q. Some guys see it as a loss:
TRENT WILLIAMS: Well, I mean, no matter any game, you can always look back and say we should have did that, we should have did that. Hindsight is 20/20. You can"t really live in that world, especially in the professional football world because you"ll drive yourself crazy.
Q. Hows your leg feel:
TRENT WILLIAMS: I"m walking. I am walking under my own power, I guess. It"s probably going to be a tough morning, but it was worth it. It was worth it playing through the pain just to be out there with the fellas.
Q. On his leg feeling better:
TRENT WILLIAMS: Definitely, definitely. I think just getting off of it, letting it rest, letting it just heal on its own, I think that it should help me out a lot.
Q. Would you change the overtime rule if you could?
TRENT WILLIAMS: You know, it"s a physical game. You"ve got to put a cap on it somewhere. Obviously guys love this game. They"ll play for three hours, four hours, five hours if you let them.
I think in the regular season putting a cap on it, I think it has its pros and cons. It"s a physical game, man, and the longer you play, the more fatigue sets in, the more you"re exposed to getting injured. I think putting a cap on it is pretty smart, but it always sucks when you have to end on a tie.
Q. How good was Robert Kelley today:
TRENT WILLIAMS: He just kept going forward, man. He"s one of those guys that"s tough to bring down, going to run through arm tackles, going to give you second, third, fourth, fifth efforts. He"s going to continue to keep the power moving. I"m certainly impressed by that. Me as a lineman to feel that kind of power, I"ve got to let my guy go and start to try to help clear it off, and you notice he"s still going. I think that shows a lot of toughness out of him, that he continued to just pound the rock like that.
Q. How did the pass interference call on Garcon affect the game?
TRENT WILLIAMS: I did not see Pierre"s pass interference call, but obviously it changed the game. It changed the game a lot, took us out of field goal position. That"s tough, man. Any time you make a call like that with the game on the line, I hope that there was demonstrative evidence, and I hope it wasn"t like a ticky-tack call because that really sucks. That game could have been won. You never know, they could have blocked the kick and ran it back. That"s a deciding factor in that game.
I think sometimes the refs should just let the guys play. I think they threw enough flags for the day. I don"t know what the total of the penalties, but I know it was a lot. So yeah, it sucks for the game to end that way.
Will Compton
Linebacker
Q. On if hes disappointed in the tie:
WILL COMPTON: I think you definitely have to be disappointed because you come here to win. You don"t come here for anything else but to win, but at the same time we didn"t lose, so I felt like our backs were up against the wall at certain points in that game, especially in that second half. I felt like guys fought their butts off to stand tall, get some turnovers, get some points. So you know, we"ll watch the film. We"ll be upset, disappointed over a few things and we"ll be excited about a few big plays that happened, but you want to win, so I think everybody is disappointed. But at the same time you don"t lose, so you just don"t really know how to feel. You"re just kind of talking about it right now.
Q. On Dustin Hopkins and his forced fumble in overtime:
WILL COMPTON: Yeah, man. I mean, Hop is a h**l of a kicker. You just basically let him know you love him and he"s our guy and stuff. There"s nobody in the world right now more upset than he is about it and I think that"s what I hate most is you look at him and you want to say stuff to him because you want him to feel okay about it, but at the same time you just know like, man, this dude is just hard on himself right now. That"s what I hate most for him.
You know, he missed it. It reminds me of what happened a couple weeks ago with the Seattle and Arizona game. And that play with Dalton, they were in a two-minute drill, he put the back behind him. I didn"t really think anything of it. Nobody was going to run the ball because they didn"t have any time-outs, so I"m thinking he"s just got the running back back there for whatever reason, he"s going to drop back and try to throw it to AJ or something like that. But when I saw him sneaking, I just lunged and threw my body in there. Baker had his arm around the ball and it kind of helped me knock it out, so it"s multiple guys, multiple efforts in there. We came off the ball, and still, we couldn"t come up with the win. But at the same time we had our backs against the wall again. So it sucks, but it is what it is. I don"t know.
Q. On the teams progress:
WILL COMPTON: Well, right now I think the strides we"ve made is playing to - you know - the more you play together, the more you gel in the communication. Hats off to them bringing Whit in. Credit to them bringing Whit in. The guy does a heck of a job preparing. He"s kind of like another brain out there communicating and everything like that. There was a lot of good communication things that are going on. That"s an area we"re really growing in.
When we watch the film, we gave up 34 or 30 something first downs, so that"s unfortunate. That"s never what you shoot for. I"m sure there will be a lot of things we can correct, but again, I think the more we play together, the better we are. I don"t know, I"ll have to watch this game more.
Q. On if it felt like a regular NFL game in London and if a team should be placed here permanently?
WILL COMPTON: You know, that"s up for the NFL to decide. Me personally, I thought this was one of the cooler places I"ve ever played at. Right now you feel like it"s kind of bigger than an NFL game. It"s funny seeing all the fans out there, and you have so many different jerseys of the team that they support. I thought it was pretty cool. It was just a cool experience all around.
As far as the team being out here, I"m not real sure. I know that the travel situation would really suck. It"s hard flying in on Thursday and kind of going through that routine, but you know, it"s up to them. I thought it was a great experience being out here, though.
Q. On his interception:
WILL COMPTON: Yeah, we had a 3D blitz going on, zone dog, whatever you want to call it, but I"m a 3 player in that situation, and you know, that pick is more for - more on Whit than it is myself. The X is nasty on the right side, so even though I"m 3 player, Whit, you alert the situation of him coming shallow because if he comes shallow I can come off of my coverage and play what"s new coming underneath. You know, it"s hard to play because you can"t look at both sides of the ball throughout your coverage because you"ve got a speed receiver, I"ve got to run down the middle of the field with if he runs down the middle of the field. And so I just kind of opened my ears from that alert and was just thinking to myself, just trust whoever yells, whatever that route might be over there, just trust that you"re going to hear it.
So you know, I dropped back and was going off the receiver, and I just heard Whit yelling from the background, so I just shut my eyes, the ball was kind of up in the air, I don"t know if somebody got a hand on it or hit him or whatnot, and I just made sure to catch it and got down.
But wasn"t the best return. Kind of a trash return, but I"m sure I"ll catch some heat for that.
Ryan Kerrigan
Linebacker
Q. How do you describe your feelings after a tie:
RYAN KERRIGAN: Yeah, I don"t really know how to feel. It definitely feels more like a loss than a win, especially because we had some chances, defensively, offensively, special teams wise, to put it away. But yeah, it"s just really awkward because you see ties and you"re like, Man, I bet that would be weird to tie a game and then lo and behold, here we are.
Q. After the field goal attempt, were you guys thinking it was over?
RYAN KERRIGAN: Not really. We knew we had to get a stop there because we knew they only needed three and that"s a couple big plays away, so we knew we had to get a stop, and fortunately we had the big play getting the fumble back and giving us a chance at least. So that was a good job by us there.
Q. On if they thought they were about to win before the field goal attempt in overtime:
RYAN KERRIGAN: Oh, sure. I mean, we definitely thought that because Dustin has been so awesome for us all year. But I think we did a good job after the miss of coming out and playing good defense, getting the turnover there.
Q. On the experience playing in London:
RYAN KERRIGAN: Today was awesome, other than the result, and yeah, the result, but I think playing at this stadium was awesome. I thought the pregame ceremonies with the anthems were really cool, and just seeing how lively this stadium was was really a great experience.
Q. On first half struggles:
RYAN KERRIGAN: Yeah, they just started hitting on some chunk plays, running and passing, and some quick hitters in the passing game. We had to do a better job of limiting those chunk plays.
Q. On what they improved upon after the first half:
RYAN KERRIGAN: We tackled better. We"re more gap sound, got off the field on 3rd down better and didn"t allow them to extend drives on 3rd down.
Q. On being 4-3-1 and what they can do better in the second half of the season:
RYAN KERRIGAN: That"s even weird to hear, 4-3-1. Well, you know, I think we"re still yet to play our best ball. We"re not in a great position, but we"re not in a bad position right now at 4-3-1. We"re still over .500 and we know we"re still right in the thick of things with the NFC East and we"ve still got a bunch of NFC East games left. We"re right there, we"ve just got to find a way to get healthy over the bye week and then come back and win some pretty big games we have, starting with Minnesota.
Q. Would you like to play for a team based in London?
RYAN KERRIGAN: I"m just happy with the Redskins right now. I"ve really enjoyed my career there, so hopefully I can keep that going for the duration of my playing.
Q. On the logistics of playing in London and how it would affect a permanent London team:
RYAN KERRIGAN: I mean, the travel certainly is tough, but at the same time, I think we had a good plan coming in as far as sleep goes. We got adjusted pretty well. Who knows if that"ll happen, but yeah, who knows.
Josh Norman
Cornerback
Q. On how he processes a tie:
JOSH NORMAN: Man, what to say? Thank G*d we came out alive. It was a long game, but since this is an international series and we are over here in London, I brought one of my friends. Come here, man. Come here. As you can see, he blessed me with some Manchester United stuff, so I appreciate him coming out and supporting the team. That"s big. We come over here and play, and I like to show them guys a good time.
Q. On it being a great game:
JOSH NORMAN: Yeah, it was. That"s how I"m taking it, so whatever. I think I"ve been in one of these situations in Carolina where we tied it. Here we got a tie, but the game shouldn"t even have been that way for me. I can say that. Left some plays out there on the field and that"s just not characteristic of me or my game. I know that, and it"s not no one-man game whatsoever, so if anybody wants to go at Dustin for missing those field goals, I think you suck, and I think everything about you is nothing you know of football because he had the opportunity. Things come up short, they really do. So if you"re putting this game on him, terrible for it and I just want you to know that. This was the entire game, myself included, with all the defensive guys, offense and special teams. It"s one unit, it"s not one guy. We all try to do our best in our individual game out there on the field, but things fall down and they come up short. We"ve just got to make an extra play, and dadgumit, I just feel bad about it. It"s a tie, whatever, feels like we lost.
Q. On the officiatin gin todays game:
JOSH NORMAN: Yeah, who"s 88? I"ve just got to know. Who is the official 88? He sucked. I"m just going to be honest with you. I"m going to be straight forward. He was terrible. I feel like he should be reprimanded. I feel like some of the plays going on out there, it was terrible, to the point where we go out on the field, Crowder scores, blatant facemask, blatant. We get a touchdown, no call.
Now defense, we go out there, and on the same sideline, we stop them for a run, we get in there, he said we call a facemask, but there was no evidence of that. It was a scuffle. How did you see the scuffle facemask but you did not see the blatant one when it was just him and one other person? Like geez, I"m baffled by it, so to the point where all my teammates are feeling like that, I"ll speak on it. It is what it is.
I just feel like they really need to sit down and look at that, because the plays out there that was going on, I never in my life had seven like flash on me ever, and I feel as if I probably had more than that if you really want to be honest with it. Every time he threw the ball, I feel like it was going to be a flag. OK, here you go. Let me not touch the guy. Let the guy push off on me, but let me not touch him. And the flag at the end of the game where Pierre caught a slant, caught a slant route in five yards, got separation from the DB, was in field goal range - flag, coming back.
So was that the only first offensive pass interference we had all game? I need to know, because I don"t think Cincy had one of them at all and if you all see the game, there was a lot of that going on. But like I said, I"m not them. I just play the game. I play it, always physicality to a degree. Like that"s how we play it, old school football, hands up on you. They know we do this. We come over here in an international game and it seems like, geez, throw everything out the window, what we do. Hit the guy on the line, five-yard penalty. Hands to the face, hands to the face, hands to the face. But yet every time I touched him, he knocked my hand up into him. But I"m telling him, but he"s still calling it. How do you play like that?
Q. On the official:
JOSH NORMAN: Come on, man. You go back and watch it. I don"t want to sit here and go over how many plays he missed, how many plays he called. It was just terrible to the point where they allowed this guy to get here, I don"t know, whatever you can say about it. I don"t care. This is just how I"m feeling and how the team feels right now. So speaking on their behalf here or not, I"m just saying. This is how I feel about it and it needs to be watched and reprimanded. They reprimand us, so what"s the recommended for them? It"s crazy.
Q. On the officials calls:
JOSH NORMAN: You come over here and call - I mean, how many calls did he have? Anybody know? Because I"m pretty sure he had the majority of them. Him. How? It doesn"t make any sense.
Mitch Stacy, Associated Press 6:19 a.m. EDT October 30, 2016
Quarterback J.T. Barrett of the Ohio State Buckeyes is brought down by Godwin Igwebuike of the Northwestern Wildcats.(Photo: Jamie Sabau / Getty Images)
Columbus, Ohio The problems that have bogged down Ohio States offense put the Buckeyes in a bind again. J.T. Barrett and Ohio State did enough in the fourth quarter against Northwestern to avoid a second consecutive upset loss.
Curtis Samuel ran for a 3-yard touchdown with 9:43 left to give No. 6 Ohio State a lead, and Barrett converted two third downs on the game-sealing drive in a 24-20 victory Saturday.
After the Buckeyes were upset by Penn State last week, their offense struggled against another multi-touchdown underdog. Ohio State (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) punted on five straight drives in one stretch, but responded to Northwestern, tying it at 17 with a touchdown drive capped by Samuels run.
Northwestern (4-4, 3-2) then got to the Ohio State 3, but settled for a 33-yard Jack Mitchell field goal to close to 24-20 with 3:31 left. The Buckeyes mounted a final clock-eating drive. Barrett hit Noah Brown for 16 yards on third-and-8 and then took off on a 35-yard run to convert a third-and-10 and put the Buckeyes in the clear.
It was a pretty good chess match back and forth, and I just loved the way we finished it off, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said.
Barrett, who has struggled finding open receivers and whose offensive line had difficulty protecting him last week, was 21 for 32 for 223 yards, but he didnt complete a pass over 19 yards until the fourth quarter when K.J. Hill turned a sideline completion into a 34-yard gain.
Im comfortable where were at, Barrett said. I know theres things we can absolutely be better at as far as our offense. Were executing.
Mike Weber rushed 14 times for 87 yards and two touchdowns, the first coming on Ohio States opening drive. He found the end zone again in the second quarter, chugging around the right end for a 23-yard score.
Samuel ran the ball seven times and caught seven passes for 99 total yards.
Clayton Thorson was 25 for 42 for 256 yards with a touchdown and a first-quarter interception for Northwestern. Austin Carr, the Big Tens leading receiver, caught eight passes for 158 yards.
It obviously didnt start the way we wanted it to, spotting them a couple scores, but the guys didnt flinch and kept swinging, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. And, you know, we ended up one punch short.
Stephen Curry With Deep Three | Warriors vs Pelicans | October 28, 2016 | 2016-17 NBA Season
Tipoff: 3 p.m. Sunday at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
TV: CSN Bay Area.
Records: Warriors 1-1, Suns 0-2.
Last seasons series: The Warriors won the season series 4-0. On Nov. 27 at Phoenix, Draymond Green had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and the Warriors went 22 of 38 (57.6 percent) from 3-point range in a 135-116 triumph. Stephen Curry scored 41 points, making 9 of 16 on 3-pointers, before sitting out the fourth quarter. On Dec. 16 in the game after their 24-0 start was ended, the Warriors routed the Suns 128-103 at Oracle Arena as Klay Thompson scored 43 points in three quarters, including 27 during the Warriors 46-point third quarter. Green had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. On Feb. 10 at Phoenix, the Warriors defeated the Suns 112-104 as Curry had 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists before sitting out the fourth quarter. On March 12 at Oracle, the Warriors defeated the Suns 123-116 as Curry scored 15 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter and Golden State outscored Phoenix 37-21 in the period. Marreese Speights had a season-high 25 points in 18 minutes off the bench.
Warriors update: The Warriors won for the first time this season, beating New Orleans on the road 122-114 on Friday night. That ended a four-game losing streak stretching back to the 2016 NBA Finals. The Warriors are still a work in progress, and the progress has been slow.Coach Steve Kerr is still testing various lineup combinations. The trio of Kevin Durant, Curry and Thompson combined for 81 points against the Pelicans. But the Warriors offense hasnt approached the efficiency with which were accustomed to seeing. Its not just a matter of adjusting to the addition of Durant. Swapping in Zaza Pachulia for Andrew Bogut has changed the dynamic, too. Patrick McCaw suffered a sprained left ankle against the Pelicans and his status for Phoenix is uncertain.
Suns update: Young guard Devin Booker is a star in the making. As a rookie last season, he averaged 13.8 points and improved throughout the season. In 51 games as a starter, he averaged 17.4 points and in 28 games after the All-Star break he averaged 19.2. And did we mention that hes young? He turns 20 on Sunday. Eric Bledsoe missed the final 50 games last season after knee surgery. He is the last man left from the point guard trio employed by former coach Jeff Hornacek (Goran Dragic, now with Miami, and and Isaiah Thomas, now with Boston, were the others). The Suns fell to 0-2 after losing to Oklahoma City in overtime Friday night, 113-110 as the Thunders Russell Westbrook had 51 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. The Suns got a career-high 30 points from third-year forward T.J. Warren, who missed the last 34 games last season because of foot surgery. The Warriors will see old friend Leandro Barbosa, who signed with the Suns during the offseason.
Things to watch:The Warriors rebounding improved against New Orleans, but it had to after that opening night performance against San Antonio, right? Its still an area that needs work. If we start seeing the player movement and ball movement that was the Warriors hallmark the past two seasons, well know theyre on the right track. The Suns will be a better defensive test for the Warriors than the Pelicans. New Orleans had Anthony Davis (45 points), but Phoenix will present multiple offensive threats.
Penn State-Purdue recap with Bob Flounders and David Jones
Even by Penn State"s Whiteout standards, Saturday"s crowd in a 24-21 upset over No. 2 Ohio State was electric and loud. It was the result of a fan base that was eager for a signature win and ready to play its part to help the Nittany Lions deliver. The Penn State community came away with an unforgettable moment that James Franklin said could help promote healing.
Former Penn State offensive lineman Keith "Goon" Conlin joined me on the Keystone Sports Network to talk about the significance of the win and the offense"s performance. Check out audio from the show below.
Jabrill Peppers Spins Between Two Defenders vs. Michigan State
The memory of how Michigan lost to Michigan State last college football season is one of those indelible moments that never goes away.
Just 10 seconds away from winning, the Wolverines watched punter Blake O"Neill bobble a snap and then inexplicably fumble the ball into the arms of Michigan State"s Jalen Watts-Jackson, who returned the ball 38 yards for the winning score as time expired.
The Spartans" insane 27-23 victory marked their seventh victory in the last eight meetings with the Wolverines. The teams meet again on Saturday in East Lansing and the Michigan players are certainly anticipating the opportunity to exact revenge.
Senior safety Dymonte Thomas was on the punt team and he has replayed the final play in his mind countless times.
"I was on the field when that play happened," Thomas said after last Saturday"s 41-8 trouncing of Illinois. "I just couldn"t believe what took place, and we had that bye week after, and during that whole bye week that"s the only thing I thought about. I couldn"t think about anything else and couldn"t wait to get revenge.
"Next Saturday, we"ve got our chance and our opportunity, and so I"m just excited and ready to go out and play with these guys. I love my teammates, and I love the way that we are playing together, and it"s going to be fun playing next Saturday, especially since it"s a rivalry game."
Michigan State (2-5, 0-4 Big Ten) has endured a down season and has lost five consecutive games.
The college football power in the state has seemingly switched hands with the Wolverines (7-0, 4-0) ranked second in the nation in just their second season under coach Jim Harbaugh.
But Harbaugh isn"t about to view the Spartans as anything but a super dangerous opponent.
"It doesn"t matter what"s happened before this week. For us or for our opponent, it never does," Harbaugh said at a press conference. "(What matters) is what happens on the game day. We know the task in front of us. We know the challenge.
"It"s up to us to go out there and prepare for that game so we can go out there and be confident, execute and have a chance to be successful."
NOTES, QUOTES
PLAYERS TO WATCH
--QB Wilton Speight has 13 touchdown passes against two interceptions and continues to avoid costly mistakes. The sophomore has thrown for 1,447 yards and completed 62.6 percent of his passes in his first season as a starting quarterback. Speight was a question mark entering the season but is now on his way to being a three-year starter for the Wolverines.
--TE Jake b**t has four touchdown catches this season and his 11 career scores are second most in school history by a tight end. He is four behind first-place Jerame Tuman (1995-98) and also has caught at least one pass in 23 consecutive games. b**t has 26 receptions for 310 yards and four touchdowns - ranking second in each category behind senior receiver Amara Darboh.
--OLB Jabrill Peppers hasn"t been racking up the tackles for loss -- he has 10 -- like he was earlier this season but he is still the most dynamic player on the defense. The sophomore continues to be mentioned as a top five Heisman finalist and that quest is bolstered by averages of 30.6 on kickoff returns and 17.8 (and one touchdown) on punt returns. Peppers rushed the ball five times against Illinois but managed just nine yards after entering the contest with 98 yards and two touchdowns on five carries. --CB Jourdan Lewis is expecting to have a strong second half after putting his early season injuries behind him. The senior missed the first three games due to three different injuries but is now performing well against the pass. Lewis has just one interception but it was a crucial acrobatic game-saving grab against Wisconsin.
MLB | Amazing Throws Does the Curse of the Billy Goat apply to politics?
Scott Olson/Getty Images
This post originally appeared on Business Insider.
Major League Baseball owners have made nearly $3 million in political contributions during the 2016 campaign cycleand a handful have accounted for nearly all of that total. According to a new study from the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, no ownership group is more politically engaged at the donor level than the Ricketts family, who happen to own the Chicago Cubscurrently battling the Cleveland Indians for the World Series title.
And the familywhich has a member, Peter Ricketts,serving as the Republican governor of Nebraskahas a huge ideological divide.
Laura Ricketts, a co-owner, donated $483,000 to a super PAC dedicated to supporting pro-LGBTQ candidates for office. She also contributed to a host of Democratic congressional campaigns, in addition to providing $100,000 to the Hillary Victory Fund.
Her brothers, Todd and Tom, combined to donate roughly $60,000 to a score of Republican House and Senate candidates while their father, Joe Ricketts, who is often closely associated with the team but does not have an official role, put $1 million behind an antiDonald Trump super PAC earlier in the cycle. In September, he relented, and put his support behind the Republican nominee.
Providing the most money to Trump was Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, who sent$125,000 last month to Trump Victory. On the flip side, former NBA superstar and co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers Magic Johnson provided the most cash for Clinton, making a $250,000 donation to the Hillary Victory Fund.
The executive owner whomade the largest political contribution was Robert Castellini of the Cincinnati Reds, providing more than $600,000 in funds to Republican presidential and congressional candidates. He put $50,000 into a super PAC backing Ohio Gov. John Kasichs presidential bid, nearly $8,000 to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bushs Right to Rise super PAC, $150,000 to an anti-Trump super PAC, as well as money that went to support Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, and former and current House Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan.
Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos also dumped money into campaigns in a similar manner as Castellini, except he was providing cash to Democrats. Angelos gave more than $270,000 to the super PAC formed to encourage Vice President Joe Biden to seek the presidency. He was the biggest donor to the super PAC Draft Biden 2016. Hes also made donations to the Hillary Victory Fund and in support of Reps. Elijah Cummings and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland as well as Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont.
Some other prominent donations included New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon giving $100,000 to a proChris Christie super PAC back when the New Jersey governor was still seeking the presidency. Texas Rangers co-owner Ray Davis made a $100,000 contribution to Bushs Right to Rise super PAC, and John Malone, an investor in the group that owns the Atlanta Braves, contributed $100,000 to a super PAC supporting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walkers presidential bid.
San Antonio Spurs vs Golden State Warriors - Full Highlights | Oct 25, 2016 | 2016-17 NBA Season
PHOENIX Warriors guard Patrick McCaw will miss the next two games with a left ankle sprain before getting re-evaluated when the team returns to the Bay Area, head coach Steve Kerr said after practice Saturday.
McCaw, 21, was going up for a rebound in the waning seconds of the second quarter Friday night in New Orleans when he landed awkwardly. After standing up on his own power, he was helped to the sideline by Shaun Livingston.
X-rays on McCaw were negative. During practice Saturday at Talking Stick Resort Arena, he was seen walking with a soft cast on his left ankle. Missing were the crutches he used after Fridays win over the Pelicans.
It doesnt seem that bad, but thats one of those things where we have to see how he does after a few games, said Kerr, whose Warriors conclude a three-game road trip with matchups Sunday against the Suns and Tuesday at Portland. But he wont play the next two.
It is a setback for a player who was perhaps the biggest surprise of training camp. After leading Golden State in scoring in the Las Vegas Summer League, he averaged 8.4 points on 45.2 percent shooting from the field (40.9 percent from beyond the arc), 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game in the preseason.
Photo: David Zalubowski, Associated Press
Golden State Warriors guard Patrick McCaw (0) in the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Golden State Warriors guard Patrick McCaw (0) in the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Photo: David Zalubowski, Associated Press
Warriors McCaw to miss at least 2 games with ankle injury
It was enough for him to earn the final spot in Kerrs 10-man rotation. In 19 minutes of action over the Warriors first two regular-season games, McCaw had five points, three assists, a block and a steal.
His absence leaves Golden State precariously thin in the backcourt. Outside of starters Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Kerrs available guards are Ian Clark and Livingston. Small forward Andre Iguodala can also play in the backcourt if necessary.
We just have to make do, Kerr said. It means that, no matter what happens, whether its close, whether its a blowout either direction, were going to have some guys on the floor at the end of the game that otherwise might not be.
Barbosa reunion: Sundays game in Phoenix marks the first time that guard Leandro Barbosa will face the Warriors since he signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Suns in July.
We miss LB, hes the best, Kerr said of Barbosa, who was a spark plug off the bench for Golden State the past two seasons. We were happy for him that he got the contract here. We were selfishly hoping hed come back to us, but he got a much better deal here financially.
Barbosa has yet to crack the rotation in his third career stint with Phoenix. After Barbosa played three minutes in the Suns season-opening loss Wednesday to the Kings, head coach Earl Watson told the Arizona Republic that he had temporarily replaced Barbosa and P.J. Tucker on the second unit with Tyler Ulis and Dragan Bender.
To me, they play with the most heart, Watson said of Ulis and Bender. Heart gets rewarded.
Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
Jimbo Fisher lashes out at officials following loss to Clemson
USA TODAY Sports looks at the 10 highest-paid coaches in college football. USA TODAY Sports
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and his staff are on pace for another windfall, and the school"s athletic administration has planned ahead.(Photo: Stew Milne, USA TODAY Sports)
As problems in college athletics go, the one that Clemsons athletic department faced after appearing in January"s College Football Playoff final wasnt a bad one.
It had to pay about $2.3 million in bonuses to its coaches and staff, including $1.1 million to head coach Dabo Swinney. And that was on top of travel, game tickets and other costs involved with playing a CFP semifinal in Miami and the championship game near Phoenix.
Clemson has ended up enjoying increases in revenue from donations, season-ticket sales and merchandise, but that money wasnt available last winter when all those bills came due. The cash flow issue was real, said athletics department spokesman Joe Galbraith.
When things settled down, Clemson officials recognized that the football team led by returning Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback Deshaun Watson had the potential to create the same kinds of issues during the 2016-17 season. So, they decided to try a solution that is common in golf and tennis and gaining increased consideration in college sports.
USA TODAY Sports college football coaches salary database
They decided to buy bonus insurance.
Working with Marietta, Ga.-based Risk Point Consulting, Clemson has spent $272,000 to obtain coverage that assistant athletics director Eric George said will cap the school"s exposure on football bonuses for this season at $2 million. George said the arrangement would save the school more than $500,000 if the Tigers again lose in the CFP title game and more than $1.2 million if they win the national championship.
According to Risk Point president Michael Wright, Clemson is among five schools that chose to purchase coverage through his firm after about 15 had what he termed serious conversations about it.
Colleges are the same as any company looking to address this financial uncertainty, added Wright, who said his firm works more frequently with golf and tennis equipment and apparel companies whose endorsement contractswith athletes often involve one-time bonuses or automatic pay increases for victories in certain events or season-long achievements.
Swinneys contract used to include both one-time bonuses and guaranteed pay increases if the Tigers met certain competitive benchmarks, and a handful of coaches, including Kansas David Beaty, currently have agreements with both kinds of incentives.
As salaries have increased, bonuses have increased as well, Wright said. It seems like a lot of schools do not budget for bonuses they just address them as they can, whether its out of an equipment contract or the expectation of increased money off their success.
Swinney was able to gain a maximum of $775,000 in bonuses in 2013. Since then, in conjunction with two major base compensation increases, that figure has risen to $1.2 million and now stands at $1.725 million an amount that remains attainable this season.
The Tigers began the season ranked No. 2 in the Amway Coaches Poll. They are currently No. 3 with a 7-0 record that includes a win against now-No. 5 Louisville, one of their rivals in the Atlantic Coast Conferences Atlantic Division. Clemsonfaces No. 14 Florida State on Saturday in Tallahassee.
And the down side for Clemson in the particular insurance setup it purchased, George said,is that if the team doesnt win the ACC Championship game, doesnt make a CFP non-semifinal but does play in a bowl game which it already has qualified to do the coverage wont take effect. In that case, Clemson will have paid the premium and it will have to pay the bonuses that its coaches and staff will be owed.
There are manypermutations somewhere in between. For example, if the Tigers win the ACC title, go to a CFP semifinal and lose that game, George said the insurance will cover a large enough portion of the bonuses that Clemson will end up losing a minimal amount of money compared to where it would have stood without buying the insurance.
This is something you probably would not do every year, George said, but given our situation this year, it was beneficial to look at. It takes the ambiguity out of the budget process.
76ers Fan Explains Why He Flipped Off Russell Westbrook
The NBA has a boatload of attention-grabbing superstars to keep an eye on this season. But for sheer excitement, the player most worth watching this season is Russell Westbrook. No other player can rack up numbers and highlight-reel dunks like he can. A couple of caveats: Yes, Westbrook does have deficiencies. He can be reckless (4.28 turnovers a game last season, second most in the NBA) and overly aggressive (28 offensive fouls, second among all guards). And he is an average defender (42nd percentile in points per play). But that doesn"t make him any less fun to watch. Here"s why he"s a must-see event:
He will posterize anyone at any time
Part of what makes Westbrook must-see TV? His propensity to roar through a defense for an emphatic dunk. Consider this: Westbrook has nearly as many unassisted dunks in the past five seasons (122) as prolific slashers Dwyane Wade and DeMar DeRozan have combined (131) and more unassisted dunks than the total number of dunks by new teammate Victor Oladipo (116).
Most dunks by guards, last five seasons
In fact, Westbrook is the king of the unassisted dunk. A look at all players with at least 20 dunks in a seasons over the past five seasons shows that Westbrook does it at a higher rate and a higher volume than just about anybody (check out the blue dots below). And his numbers from last season (in which 57 percent of his dunks were unassisted) make him even more of an outlier.
Unassisted dunks by all players, last five seasons
Dots represent all players" single-season totals from 2011-12 through 2015-16, minimum 20 total dunks made
He"s a monster in transition
With the ball in his hands, Westbrook is always looking to create chaos -- and he does it well. Last season, no player had the ball in his hands in transition more often, and nobody produced more points, per Synergy Sports Tech. Westbrook"s totals: 374 times as a ball handler in transition, 398 points produced (1.064 points per play). Only a handful of players came remotely close to his numbers: James Harden, John Wall, Isaiah Thomas, Stephen Curry and LeBron James.
All players in transition, 2015-16He is remarkably athletic
His speed, power and toughness are widely recognized, as evidenced by the NBA"s newest general manager survey released last week. In a league full of eye-popping athleticism, Westbrook is the only player to receive GM votes in all three categories:
From 2016 NBA GM SurveyHe will be fine without Durant
Westbrook was second on the Thunder last season with 18.1 field goal attempts per game. Oklahoma City"s No. 1 option, Durant, is gone. But Westbrook has done this before, during the 2014-15 season in particular, and he"s more than capable of carrying the offense and, yes, playing efficiently. Below are Westbrook"s career numbers with Durant (527 games) and without him (61 games). In most instances, his numbers are improved without Durant -- even in categories like turnover rate and defensive rating.
Westbrook in games without Durant vs. with him
And another reason Westbrook will be fine: The Thunder have now built a roster specifically to survive the loss of Durant. True, Oklahoma City might not be as loaded as the Warriors or Cavaliers, but OKC"s core is all under 30 and on the rise. Below is a look at projected stats for Westbrook"s supporting cast:
Projected 2016-17 stats
Improvement from 2015-16 in blue, age in parentheses
All projections from ESPN.com, except Roberson (Basketball-Reference.com)
He"s become a triple-double machine
Westbrook racked up a league-best 18 triple-doubles last season, tying Magic Johnson for the most in a season since 1967-68. Could that total increase even more this season? It"s entirely possible. The Thunder offense will continue to be fast-paced, so there"s no reason to think his passing stats will diminish. And as Kevin Pelton points out in his Thunder season preview, Westbrook grabbed a career-high 18.1 percent of available defensive rebounds last season, nearly as much as the average for a power forward (19.2 percent). Below, a look at his totals since entering the league -- notice the recent spike:
Triple-doubles by seasonIt"s his franchise now
The Thunder franchise has had the remarkable good fortune to draft Durant, Westbrook and Harden in the past decade -- three Hall of Fame-caliber talents. But now that Westbrook is the only remaining superstar on the roster, he is on track to eventually lead the team in total win shares in the OKC era.
The top five win share totals in Thunder history (2008-09 to present):
It seems likely that Westbrook will eclipse Durant as long as he sticks around. He has averaged 9.4 win shares per 82 games in his career. At that pace and playing full seasons, Westbrook would surpass KD during the 2021-22 season, when he"ll be 33.
He could join an exclusive club
Projections have Westbrook averaging more than 25 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals this season. How impressive is that? Very, and historically rare. Only once in league history has a player averaged 25/8/8/2 in a season: Michael Jordan in 1988-89 (though keep in mind that steals weren"t officially tracked until the 1973-74 season). A look at Jordan"s numbers, along with a composite of Westbrook"s projected stats:
* Westbrook numbers are averages of his ESPN.com and Basketball-Reference.com projections.
Statistics courtesy of Synergy Sports Tech, NBA.com, Basketball-Reference.com, StatMuse and NBA Miner.
