Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles will not attend OTAs due to personal reasons, according to Daniel Popper of The Athletic.

Popper added there is no timetable for Foles’ return. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that while Foles could be back by the end of the week, his absence is “open-ended.”

The Jags have OTAs scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, as well as June 3, 4, 6 and 7. Veteran mandatory minicamp will then be held from June 11 to 13.

Per John Oehser of the Jaguars’ official website, head coach Doug Marrone released a statement, saying, “Our thoughts and prayers are with Nick and his family.”

This offseason, Jacksonville signed Foles to a four-year, $88 million contract with a $25 million signing bonus and over $50 million in guaranteed money.

The Jags were in desperate need of a quarterback after Blake Bortles bottomed out in 2018, which resulted in Jacksonville’s plummet from the AFC Championship Game to 5-11 in just one year. Foles was the best free-agent option available. While he primarily served as Carson Wentz’s backup with the Philadelphia Eagles the past two seasons, he performed at a high level when called upon.

During the 2017 season, Foles went 2-1 as a starter during the regular season and led Philly on an improbable playoff run that saw it beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII. Foles was named MVP of that game.

Then, Foles went 4-1 as a starter during the 2018 regular season and helped the Eagles sneak into the playoffs. Foles and the Eagles beat the Chicago Bears before they fell to the New Orleans Saints in the divisional round.

The 30-year-old Foles has made 44 regular-season starts in his career with the Eagles, St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs. He owns a 26-18 record and has completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 11,165 yards, 68 touchdowns and 33 interceptions.

Foles—a one-time Pro Bowler—also has six games of starting experience in the playoffs.

In Jacksonville, Foles will look to supplement a dominant defense and a potentially strong running game spearheaded by Leonard Fournette.

He is also reuniting with Jags offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, who was Foles’ quarterback coach in Philadelphia in 2017 when the team won the Super Bowl.

While missing some valuable practice time with his new team could be a negative, the fact that Foles is familiar with DeFilippo’s offense suggests he may not be too far behind by the time he returns.

Former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue has been pursued by the Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Pelicans for a lead assistant role, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. However, per Charania, Lue’s focus is on returning to the sidelines as a head coach.

Lue was fired by the Cavs in October after an 0-6 start to the 2018-19 campaign.

According to Charania, Houston reached out to Lue not long after his dismissal in Cleveland but has not made an offer recently. He played 21 games for the Rockets in 2004-05.

Lue has some connections to the Pelicans. He worked alongside New Orleans head coach Alvin Gentry on Doc Rivers’ coaching staff with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2013-14. Newly hired executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin served as the Cavs’ general manager from 2014 to 2017; Lue became Cleveland’s associate coach in 2014.

Lue went 128-83 in the regular season and 41-20 during the postseason with the Cavaliers from 2016 to 2018 and helped deliver the franchise’s only championship (2016) in the process. He played a key role in helping the team reach four consecutive NBA Finals, with the latter three coming with as the head coach.

The 42-year-old was a candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers’ vacancy earlier this offseason. According to ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin, Lue withdrew his name from consideration earlier this month as the two sides were not able to reach an agreement on a contract:

Marc Stein of the New York Times added that the Lakers’ desire to shape Lue’s potential coaching staff also led to negotiations stalling:

Los Angeles ultimately hired former Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic coach Frank Vogel.

Correction 28/05/2019: A previous version of this article featured an old map that showed Montenegro as part of Serbia. The map has been replaced.

Serbia has ordered its troops to full alert as tensions soar in the Balkans amid reports that heavily armed Kosovo police entered Serb-populated regions of the former Serbian province and made several arrests.

Serbia’s state TV reported shots were heard and tear gas was used as Kosovo’s special police “burst into” a village in northern Kosovo with armoured vehicles early in the morning.

The region bordering Serbia is 90 percent populated by Serbs, who refuse to be part of Kosovo.

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj confirmed the action, saying on Twitter that an “anti-smuggling and organised crime operation” is under way in northern Kosovo.

President Hashim Thaci called on the ethnic Serb minority to remain calm and support the police, saying the fight against organised crime would speed up the country’s process towards integration with the West.

“Those involved in illegal activities will go behind bars,” he wrote on his Facebook page, adding that the police operation was not targeting ethnicities.

Kosovo authorities said at least two policemen were injured during the action.

Serbian government official Marko Djuric said the Kosovo police action is designed to intimidate and expel Serbs from Kosovo and presents “not only a threat to stability but the most direct threat to peace”.

“If this doesn’t stop immediately, there is no doubt how Serbia will react already during the day,” Djuric warned.

State TV said President Aleksandar Vucic ordered a full state of alert for Serbian troops stationed near the border with Kosovo. It said movements of Serb troops were reported in the area.

Any Serbian armed incursion in Kosovo would mean a direct clash with NATO peacekeepers there.

State TV also reported that a meeting of the country’s top security body is under way following the tensions. The report said Vucic will speak in parliament later on Tuesday about the developments.

Serbia lost control over Kosovo after a NATO intervention in 1999 that stopped a bloody Serb crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists and civilians.

Serbia does not recognise Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence.

On Monday, Vucic warned of renewed clashes in Kosovo if a negotiated “compromise” solution for Serbia’s predominantly ethnic Albanian former province is not found soon.

SOURCE:
AP news agency

After reclassifying to the 2019 class, 5-star guard RJ Hampton announced Tuesday that he will play professionally in New Zealand next season rather than playing collegiately.

Hampton said on ESPN’s Get Up! that he will play for the New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League of Australia.

Hampton believes playing in New Zealand will best prepare him for the NBA:

“My No. 1 goal is to play in the NBA. I wanted to be an NBA player before I ever wanted to be a college player. This is about getting ready for the next level faster and more efficiently. Both of my parents went to college. My mom got her masters degree. Education is a big thing in our family, but this is about focusing 100 percent on basketball. You can always go back to college, but there’s only a short window as an athlete where you can play professional basketball, and I want to take advantage of that. I think that challenging yourself on a daily basis is the best way to improve.”

Matt Walsh, a partial owner of the Breakers, also commented on the signing:

“Signing a player of RJ’s caliber is a monumental undertaking that we don’t take lightly at the Breakers. His family has entrusted us with their son spending one of the most important years in his development in New Zealand, and we are going to do everything we can as an organization to ensure that he reaches his goal of being a high draft pick and prepare him as best as we can to come in ready to make an impact in the NBA.”

Per 247Sports, Hampton is the No. 5 overall player, No. 2 combo guard and No. 1 player from the state of Texas in the 2019 class.

Hampton was considered one of the top players in the 2020 class, and this didn’t change much when he decided to move up a class. He announced his decision to leave high school early in April:

According to his father, Rod Hampton, the decision came after he dominated his competition during the spring. He averaged 28.8 points per game in the EYBL while also playing well for USA Basketball.

His father told Evan Daniels of 247Sports:

“Just his play at USA and not from what everyone else said, but it was my feeling as his dad. His play at USA and this weekend [at EYBL], it was stellar. You got bonafide pros in that league. In 24 months, 36 months you have bonafide pros from 2020 to 2022. … He was a shining star. There was nobody that was better than him.”

This type of advanced level of play should allow him to make a quick transition to the professional level even if he is a bit underage. Hampton noted how important it has been to watch Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic thrive in the NBA:

“Luka Doncic is one of my favorite players to watch. I started following him two years before he was drafted and watched at least 10 games of his this season. Seeing how he came into the NBA and being arguably the best rookie in the NBA shows you that you don’t have to go to college to be successful. Playing professionally against men helped him get to where he is now. He’s not the fastest or most athletic guy, but he gets where he wants on the floor and reads defenses better than almost any player in the NBA.”

At 6’5″, Hampton has great size for a guard with the type of elite handle that will allow him to spend most of his time on the ball. Although he could improve at being a true point guard, he does a great job of creating opportunities for himself while getting easy looks at the basket.

Even so, playing against older and more experienced competition overseas will be a major challenge for Hampton as he prepares himself for the NBA.

The Boston Bruins took the opening game of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, defeating the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Monday at TD Garden in Boston.

Sean Kuraly scored the go-ahead goal for the Bruins in the third period, pouncing on a rebound from a shot by Zdeno Chara.

Brad Marchand tacked on an empty-netter with 1:49 left in the game to seal the victory.

Tuukka Rask, who had averaged 1.84 goals against through 17 postseason games, stymied the Blues’ attack and made 18 saves.

Although Jordan Binnington was credited with 34 saves, few would argue the Blues goaltender had a good night. Kuraly’s goal capped off a game in which Binnington’s inexperience appeared to be an issue.

The way in which Binnington slowly unraveled mirrored his team’s performance.

The Blues seized a 2-0 lead in the second period. Brayden Schenn scored the opening goal with 7:23 off the board in the opening frame, and Vladimir Tarasenko added St. Louis’ second at the 1:00 mark of the second period.

Tarasenko’s goal seemed to be exactly the wake-up call the Bruins needed, though. Boston out-shot St. Louis 18-3 in the second period en route to tying the score.

Connor Clifton missed the mark with his close-range effort but had some good luck as the puck deflected into the goal off Binnington.

With 7:19 left in the period, Charlie McAvoy scored unassisted on the power play, beating Binnington on the goaltender’s glove side.

Despite having a raucous home crowd cheering them on from the start, the Bruins stumbled out of the gate. That might have been because Boston hadn’t played a competitive game since it swept the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final, which wrapped up May 16.

That was a long layoff, so from that perspective, going six games against the San Jose Sharks might have worked to the Blues’ benefit.

But any edge St. Louis might have had evaporated in the second period.

Kuraly’s goal was predictable based on how much the Bruins were dominating. NHL Public Relations noted this was the first time the franchise had ever overcome a multi-goal deficit in a Stanley Cup Final game.

Blues coach Craig Berube can’t start panicking after one loss, yet his team threw away a golden opportunity to take a 1-0 series lead and wrest away home-ice advantage.

And while Binnington might rebound in Game 2, his level of composure was a clear question mark coming into the Stanley Cup Final. This time last year, the 25-year-old was wrapping up a season in the AHL with the Providence Bruins.

Considering Boston entered Monday averaging 3.35 goals per game in the playoffs—second-best of the postseason—St. Louis needs more from Binnington if it’s going to capture its first Stanley Cup.

What’s Next?

The teams return to the ice Wednesday for Game 2 in Boston. The puck drops at 8 p.m. ET. The Bruins will look to extend their eight-game winning streak.