Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers wasn’t present for the first day of organized team activities Monday, according to a person familiar with the situation. These OTA sessions are voluntary, but Rodgers generally has participated in them in the past. ESPN first reported Rodgers wasn’t with the team on Monday. Rodgers’ decision not to participate this time comes amid reports that the reigning MVP wants out of Green Bay, where he has spent his entire NFL career. ESPN reported in the hours before the draft that the three-time MVP doesn’t want to return to the Packers. Later that week, Packers CEO Mark Murphy wrote in a column posted on the Packers’ website that the team “is very much aware” of Rodgers’ concerns and that “this is an issue that we have been working on for several months.” Murphy acknowledged in his column that he, general manager Brian Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur all had visited Rodgers on a number of occasions during this offseason. Gutekunst has said the team has no plans to trade Rodgers, who has three years remaining on his contract. Packers officials have said they want to keep Rodgers in Green Bay in 2021 and beyond. “We want him back in the worst way,” LaFleur said earlier this month during the team’s rookie minicamp. “I know he knows that and, you know, we’ll continue to work at it each and every day.”
WR Julio Jones wants out of Atlanta
Julio Jones’ thoughts on the Falcons and Cowboys. pic.twitter.com/Y9tQDnw2dO
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) May 24, 2021
Wide receiver Julio Jones says he’s ready to leave the Atlanta Falcons. The 32-year-old star, who is due $15.3 million in guaranteed base salary which will cost the Falcons slightly more than $23 million against the salary cap, told FS1 “Undisputed” host Shannon Sharpe via telephone that “Oh man, I’m outta there” in a brief interview. Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot has been reportedly entertaining trade offers for Jones since last month. Jones, the sixth overall pick in 2011 who has spent all 10 season with the Falcons and ranks as the franchise’s leader with 848 receptions for 12,896 yards, and 60 touchdown catches, initially requested a trade in March. When asked where he wants to play, Jones replied, “Right now, I wanna win.”
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Hockey
Unbeaten Germany tops Canada at worlds
Germany beat Canada, 3-1, at the hockey world championship in Riga, Latvia, to remain undefeated through three games. Arizona Coyotes goaltender Adin Hill allowed two goals on 24 shots as Canada fell to 0-3-0. Ottawa Senators forward Nick Paul’s goal was just Canada’s second of the tournament. Stefan Loibl and Matthias Plachta scored and ex-NHL defenseman Korbinian Holzer added an empty-net goal for Germany, which is atop the Group B standings with Canada tied for last . . . Host Latvia beat Italy, 3-0, to improve to 2-1-0. Martins Karsmus, who played 24 NHL games more than a decade ago, scored twice for Latvia, which got the tournament after the IIHF moved it from nearby Belarus . . . Chicago Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalik scored the overtime winner for the Czech Republic, which beat Belarus 3-2. Detroit’s Filip Zadina also scored for the Czech Republic, and New Jersey’s Yegor Sharangovich had a goal for Belarus . . . Russia lost, 3-1, to Slovakia but will be getting reinforcements from the NHL. Following quarantine and virus testing, St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko and Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov and goaltender Ilya Samsonov are joining the Russia after being eliminated by the Boston Bruins, 4-1, in the first round. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation said Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin wouldn’t be playing at the world championship because of injuries stemming from the regular season and playoffs. Ovechkin missed seven of eight games late in the season with what the team called a lower-body injury.
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Soccer
US men’s roster set for Nations League match
With all of his top European-based players available, coach Gregg Berhalter named a power-packed US men’s national soccer team roster for the CONCACAF Nations League final four, an important prelude to 2022 World Cup qualifiers this fall. The 23-man squad includes players from Champions League finalists Chelsea (Christian Pulisic) and Manchester City (Zack Steffen) and continental powers Borussia Dortmund (Gio Reyna), Juventus (Weston McKennie) and Barcelona (Sergiño Dest). The United States will face Honduras in the Nations League semifinals on June 3 in Denver. The winner will play Mexico or Costa Rica on June 6.
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Miscellany
Connecticut Sun coach apologizes for remark
Connecticut Sun coach Curt Miller apologized for making a disparaging remark to a referee about the weight of Las Vegas Aces post player Liz Cambage. In a social media post following the Aces’ 72-65 loss to the Sun on Sunday in Uncasville, Conn., Cambage said Miller showed a lack of respect after he argued whether a call should have gone the Sun’s way, telling the official Cambage weighed 300 pounds, The 6-foot-8 player said she weighed 235 pounds and is proud of her size. She said Miller’s comment was far different from the usual player-to-player trash talk. “I will never let a man disrespect me,” Cambage said in her Instagram post. Miller issued a statement apologizing to Cambage and the Aces. “I made an inappropriate and offensive comment in reference to Liz Cambage’s height and weight,” he wrote. “I regret what I said in the heat of the moment and want to sincerely apologize to Liz and the entire Aces organization. I understand the gravity of my words and have learned from this.” . . . The California Horse Racing Board will honor any action against Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert by other states if his license is suspended or revoked after a hearing and due process. Churchill Downs in Kentucky and the New York Racing Association’s Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga tracks have temporarily banned Baffert from entering races or using stalls in their states after Baffert announced on May 9 that Derby winner Medina Spirit had tested positive for an excessive amount of the steroid betamethasone. Baffert denied any wrongdoing. Kentucky officials are awaiting the results of split-sample testing. In a separate matter, a 2-year-old colt from Baffert’s stable, Noodles, died Saturday at Los Alamitos racetrack in Orange County. The cause of death was listed as respiratory-pneumonia on the California racing board’s website . . . Former Louisiana State quarterback TJ Finley is transferring to Auburn, a Southeastern Conference rival. Finley started five games last season as a freshman. The former three-star recruit passed for 941 yards with five touchdowns against five interceptions . . . Stanford freshman Rachel Heck won the NCAA women’s golf individual title with a one-shot victory over UCLA sophomore Emma Spitz . . . Max Mosley, who was president of Formula One’s governing body, the International Automobile Federation, from 1993 to 2009, died Monday after a “long battle with cancer,” his family said in a statement. He was 81.
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