The Washington Post - 17.02.2020

friday, february 21 , 2020. the washington post eZ M2 d3

BY DOUG FERGUSON

MEXICO CITY — rory mcIlroy

switched back to his old putter for

the mexico Championship, and it

made a world of difference. It

helps that he’s still hitting the ball

like the No. 1 player i n the w orld.

mcIlroy ripped a 4-iron from

275 yards into the thin air at

Chapultepec to 15 feet for an eagle

on his second hole Thursday,

made five more birdies and

opened with a 6-under-par 65 for a

two-shot lead.

This is the only World Golf

Championship that mcIlroy

hasn’t won as he tries to join

Dustin Johnson as the only play-

ers t o win a ll f our o f them.

Justin T homas and Bubba Wat-

son w ere at 6 7.

Abraham Ancer of mexico got

some of the biggest cheers, espe-

cially when he ran off three

straight birdies to overcome a

rough s tart. He o pened with a 70.

The course, at about 7,800 feet

above sea level, is ideal for mcIl-

roy.

But this was about his putting.

He took only 26 putts and ranked

fourth in the key putting statistic

for t he round.

He a ttributes that to his r egular

34-inch putter. A week ago at r ivi-

era, he tried a 35-inch putter to

help get his shoulder and e lbow i n

a better position. But he said it

hurt with lining up the putts, and

it cost him. mcIlroy was tied for

the 54-hole lead and shot a 73 in

the final round — including a tri-

ple bogey on the fifth hole — and

tied for fifth.

“It didn’t quite work out the

way I want it to, so I went back to

the 34-inch,” he said. “I just felt a

little bit more comfortable today

and was seeing my lines a little bit

better. And, yeah, it was a good

day.”

As f or swing? Efficient as ever.

The best example of his advan-

tage was the par-5 15th hole early

in his round. U.S. open champion

Gary Woodland, who hits low-tra-

jectory bullets, caught it a little

high on the face of the club, and it

came out l ow w ith little s pin. m cIl-

roy launched a rocket and was

55 yards past h im.

mcIlroy hit 9-iron from

192 yards that set up a two-putt

birdie. It w as l ike that all day.

Woodland was even with him

until a few mistakes on the front

nine sent h im to a 70.

— A ssociated Press

golf

McIlroy takes

advantage of

altitude, leads

in Mexico City

BY MARK MASKE

NEW YORK — owners of the

32 NfL teams voted Thursday to

approve their proposed 10-year

collective bargaining agreement

with the NfL Players Association

that would include a 17-game reg-

ular season, an expanded playoff

field, a shortened preseason and

changes to the league’s drug poli-

cies and system of player disci-

pline.

The deal s till m ust be ratified by

the NfLPA to go into effect.

“The membership voted today

to accept the negotiated terms on

the principal elements of a new

Collective Bargaining Agree-

ment,” the league said in a written

statement.

The owners “probably” will

move forward with their plan to

implement the e xpanded, 14-team

playoff field next season even if

the players decline to ratify the

new CBA, a ccording to one person

familiar with the situation. The

owners have i ncluded the e xpand-

ed playoffs in the CBA negotia-

tions with the NfLPA but, in their

view, don’t need the players’ ap-

proval to increase the size of the

postseason field from 12 to

14 teams. They already believe

they have that right under the

existing CBA, a lthough t he NfLPA

has contended in the past that

they do not.

The league and owners, by con-

trast, said w hen the last labor deal

was struck in 2011 that they w ould

not lengthen the regular season

without the players’ consent.

Under the proposed format for

the expanded playoffs, seven

teams in each conference would

qualify for the postseason instead

of the current six. only one team

in each conference, rather than

the current two, would be given a

first-round playoff bye. There

would be six opening-round play-

off games — three in each confer-

ence — rather than the current

four.

The owners’ preference clearly

would be for the e ntire new CBA to

take effect with the players’ ap-

proval. The owners’ v ote Thursday

to ratify the proposed CBA was n ot

unanimous, according to a person

familiar with the situation, who

did not specify what the vote was.

The deal needed to be approved b y

24 of the 32 owners. owners took

the vote during a special meeting,

scheduled Tuesday by the league,

at a New York hotel.

Several owners declined to

comment as they left t he meeting,

and t he league did n ot make Com-

missioner roger Goodell available

to address reporters.

“following more than ten

months of intensive and t horough

negotiations, the NfL Players and

clubs have jointly developed a

comprehensive set of new and

revised terms that will transform

the f uture of the game, provide for

players — past, present, and fu-

ture — both on and off the field,

and ensure that the NfL’s second

century is even better and more

exciting for the fans,” the league’s

written statement s aid.

The NfLPA’s 32 team player

representatives are scheduled to

speak by conference call friday

after scrapping plans for an in-

person meeting late this week in

Washington. Under NfLPA rules,

the deal would have to be ap-

proved by two-thirds of the

32 player reps and then by a ma-

jority of all players. N fLPA leaders

have left open the possibility that

the vote of all players could be

taken electronically.

“There h as been a flood of infor-

mation on the potential of a new

[CBA],” Eric Winston, a retired

offensive lineman who serves as

the NfLPA’s president, wrote on

Twitter. “ To o ur players: your play-

er leadership has been working

tirelessly. This is a business deal,

and no deal is finalized until the

players v ote.”

The NfLPA declined further

comment through a spokesman.

The new league year begins

march 18, when the NfL’s free

agent market is scheduled to

open. But the league, in its state-

ment, mentioned the beginning of

teams’ offseason business next

week. Presumably that was in ref-

erence to Tuesday being the first

day on which teams can apply the

franchise tag to players. The

league suggested in its statement

that it is done, at least for now,

negotiating the terms of a new

CBA.

“Since the clubs and players

need to have a system in place and

know the r ules t hat they w ill oper-

ate under by next week, the mem-

bership a lso a pproved m oving for-

ward under the final year of the

2011 CBA if the players decide not

to approve the negotiated terms,”

the NfL’s statement said. “out of

respect for the process and our

partners at the NfLPA, we will

have no further comment at this

time.”

Each team would be able to use

both the franchise- and transi-

tion-player tags this offseason if

the old CBA remains in effect. If

the n ew C BA i s ratified, e ach t eam

would be limited to using one tag,

either the franchise tag or the

transition tag. That is significant

for a team such as the Dallas

Cowboys, with quarterback Dak

Prescott and wide receiver Amari

Cooper both eligible for unre-

stricted free agency in march.

The proposed CBA would last

for 10 years and would give the

players approximately 48 percent

of the league’s revenue under the

salary cap system during a 16-

game season and 48.5 percent af-

ter a switch to a 17-game season.

The regular season would be ex-

tended from 16 to 17 games at

some point in the early stages of

the new CBA, probably between

the 2021 a nd 2023 seasons.

owners want the longer regular

season as a revenue-boosting

mechanism and probably would

tie its onset to the beginning of

new TV contracts. Some players

have expressed opposition to a

17-game season based on safety

concerns. But NfLPA leaders ne-

gotiated based o n the 17-game p ro-

posal, saying the league and own-

ers tied certain concessions to the

players to the union’s acceptance

of a longer regular season.

The preseason would be re-

duced in conjunction with the

onset of a longer regular season.

The league’s d rug policies and sys-

tem of player discipline would be

modified in ways favorable to the

players. The marijuana policy, in

particular, would be significantly

less punitive. There w ould be fur-

ther restrictions placed on teams’

offseason workout schedules and

on the amount of practice-field

hitting. There would be increased

minimum salaries for players and

improvements to players’ pen-

sions and benefits.

The current CBA runs through

the 2020 season. A failure by the

players to ratify the new CBA in

the c oming weeks probably would

lead both sides to intensify their

preparations for a potential work

stoppage in 2021.

[email protected]

l VIKINGS: Defensive end

Everson Griffen w ill become a free

agent for the first time in his

11-year career, coming off a

bounce-back season for the lon-

gest-tenured player on the team.

Griffen will exercise his option

to void the remaining three years

on his contract, a person with

knowledge of the decision con-

firmed to the Associated Press.

Though Griffen could re-sign

with the team on the open market

next month, his choice will clear

more than $13 million off the

books for 2020 for the salary cap-

strapped Vikings.

l BROWNS: Jarvis Landry

changed his mind and decided to

undergo hip surgery after all. The

wide receiver revealed the news in

a video on Instagram.

He initially opted not to have

surgery this offseason after s eeing

several hip specialists and partici-

pated in the Pro Bowl last month.

But Landry said his plan

changed because playing in the

Pro Bowl reminded him how

much pain he was experiencing.

— From news services

nfl notes

Owners okay proposed CBA with 17-game season

John Mcdonnell/the Washington post

Jordan Reed was injured in August during a preseason game in
which he was supposed to play only long enough to catch one pass.

BY CANDACE BUCKNER

In 2015, John Beilein traveled
to Berlin to watch a teenager play.
That teenager, moritz Wagner,
started out as a little-used fresh-
man at michigan and wound up a
first-round NBA draft pick in

2018. Wagner, the Washington
      Wizards’ second-year center,
      credits his former college coach,
      who this week decided to leave
      the NBA, for his transition to the
      league.
      on Wednesday, Beilein, who
      was in his first year of a five-year
      contract as the coach of the Cleve-
      land Cavaliers, announced his
      resignation after a brief but tu-
      multuous experience.
      Wagner would have reunited
      with Beilein on friday, when the
      20-33 Wizards return from the
      all-star break with a home match-
      up against the Cavaliers (14-40),
      who have the worst record in the
      Eastern Conference.
      Although Beilein’s time in
      Cleveland will be defined by his
      disconnect with Cavaliers play-
      ers, Wagner had only positive
      memories to share.
      “I owe that man a great deal of
      — I don’t know — everything. I
      think without him I wouldn’t be
      in the NBA,” said Wagner, 22.
      “He’s an incredible man, incredi-
      ble coach. He took care of me,
      man, and made me from a little
      kid into a grown man, who still
      has to learn a lot. But he really
      made that experience for me, and
      I have nothing but good things to
      say about him.”
      That Beilein — a career college
      coach who led michigan to the
      final four in 2013 and 2018 and,
      before that, West Virginia to the

players grew when Beilein re-

ferred to the group as no longer

playing “like a bunch of thugs.”

Beilein later apologized to the

team, explaining he made a slip of

the tongue and meant to say

“slugs.”

Wagner said he does not know

the players on the Cavaliers’ ros-

ter and he didn’t want to choose

sides now that he is a p ro who has

grown accustomed to the NBA

way of doing things. Still, Wagner

spoke from his own experience

and how Beilein’s style led to

surprising.

“Honestly, it’s a little cringing

for me to see all that stuff. I’m a

little speechless,” Wagner said. “I

do understand the transition is

hard for him, especially for his

style. I do understand why people

would not commit to that and

why that would be some type of

obstacle.”

According to reports, Cavaliers

players revolted against Beilein’s

propensity for long practices and

video sessions. Then in January,

the chasm between coach and

Elite Eight and Sweet 16 — lasted

only 54 games in the NBA was

unusual.

“You don’t expect first-year

coaches to not be there the entire

season. It’s very rare that it hap-

pens,” Wizards Coach Scott

Brooks said. “I don’t know what

happened. Nobody really does

unless you’re involved in it. It’s a

tough business.”

The belief that Beilein’s coach-

ing tactics worked in college but

did not fly with professional ath-

letes should not have been that

Julie Jacobson/associated press

J ohn Beilein, left, and Moritz Wagner won the Big Ten and went to the Final Four at Michigan in 2018.

positive outcomes.

“There are certain things he

has to adapt, and I think he did,

too, but like I said, as a player, I

think it is hard,” Wagner said. “It’s

not easy to play for him, but I

don’t m ean that in a negative way.

If you commit to what he does, it’s

going to make you rich. It made

me rich.”

During All-Star Weekend, Wag-

ner participated in the rising

Stars game, the showcase be-

tween first- and second-year

American and international play-

ers.

Wagner has made great leaps

since his days as a German high

school prospect. He only has re-

spect for the coach who helped

him.

“I have nothing bad to say

about him,” Wagner said. “The

most important part is to treat

people with respect. I’m not sure

what happened there. I’m not

there, so I can’t really judge that.

“I’m sorry for him and his fami-

ly, but for me, the most important

thing is that he’s happy, and I feel

like he made an active step in that

direction toward being happy.”

[email protected]

wizards’ next three

vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

today7nbcsW

at Chicago Bulls

sunday7nbcsW

vs. Milwaukee Bucks

Monday7nbcsW

Radio: WFED (1500 AM)

Wagner grateful for ex-Cavaliers coach Beilein

let him catch one pass first. on

the next attempt, reed was hit by

Neal, causing the concussion that

would end his season and his

time with the redskins.

The team will now need to

address the tight end position. In

addition to reed’s departure, vet-

eran Vernon Davis retired this

offseason. Washington had

shown interest in Greg olsen,

rivera’s longtime tight end with

the Carolina Panthers, but olsen

ultimately signed with the Seattle

Seahawks. The redskins could

look to sign a tight end in free

agency, which begins march 18.

Veteran tight ends who could be

available include Austin Hooper,

Eric Ebron, Hunter Henry and

Ty ler Eifert.

reed finished his redskins ca-

reer with 329 catches for

3,371 yards and 24 t ouchdowns in

65 games.

[email protected]

[email protected]

healthy and active during train-
ing camp and the preseason. He
spoke of feeling stronger than in
years past, having had the benefit
of training in the offseason in-
stead of rehabbing injuries.
“I feel a lot different, man,”
reed said during training camp.
“I feel a lot better not dealing
with as much pain, and I feel
stronger.”
Then came Washington’s third
preseason contest, when reed
saw his first game action of the
year. According to Jay Gruden,
who was then the team’s head
coach, Gruden had wanted reed
to have one pass thrown to him in
a preseason game before shutting
him down until the regular sea-
son. After reed dropped the first
ball thrown to him by quarter-
back Case Keenum, Gruden
planned to remove him from the
game, but reed asked Gruden to

Reed from d1

Releasing Reed will save

the Redskins $8.5 million

former Piston Khris middleton

added 28 points for the Bucks,

who won for the 15th time in

17 g ames.

The Pistons have lost five

straight since they traded Andre

Drummond to the C avaliers.

l HORNeTS 103, BULLS 93:

malik monk scored 25 points,

miles Bridges added 22, and visit-

ing Charlotte hung on to send

cold-shooting Chicago to its sev-

enth straight loss.

The Hornets let a 21-point lead

in the third quarter shrink to two.

But they regrouped to win their

third in a row.

The Bulls missed their first

17 three-pointers and finished

7 for 3 1.

the last 10 points of the game to

upset miami.

Young made 1 8 of 1 9 free throws

and 8 of 15 three-pointers t o set his

scoring high i n his first game after

starting in the All-Star Game. He

also scored 14 of Atlanta’s first

18 points of t he fourth q uarter.

Bam Adebayo had 28 points

and a season-high 1 9 rebounds for

miami.

l BUCKS 126, PISTONS 106:

Giannis Antetokounmpo had

33 points and 1 6 rebounds as visit-

ing milwaukee routed Detroit.

The Bucks led 70-41 at halftime

and by 34 points in the second

half. Detroit could never get

enough s tops to mount any signifi-

cant rally in the final two quarters.

son said. “obviously, it is difficult

to perform under those circum-

stances.”

Irving said pain in the shoulder

initially worsened after a game

Nov. 4. The Nets then went on a

five-game r oad trip. Irving contin-

ued to play until the pain got so

bad he was having trouble lifting

his shoulder.

He got a cortisone shot Dec. 24

and was able to return Jan. 12, but

he acknowledged that surgery

might still be necessary. By decid-

ing to have surgery now, Irving’s

first season in B rooklyn ends a fter

just 20 g ames.

l HAWKS 1 29, HeAT 1 24:

Trae Young had a career-high

50 points, a nd host Atlanta scored

season. The 76ers are 9-19 on the

road.

To bias Harris added 22 points

and 12 boards for the 76ers. Burks

added 19 points, including a pair

of layups in overtime that gave

Philadelphia t he lead for good.

Caris LeVert scored 25 points

and S pencer Dinwiddie had 22 for

Brooklyn, which announced be-

fore the game that Kyrie Irving

would have season-ending sur-

gery o n his right shoulder.

Nets Coach Kenny Atkinson

said the point guard was still hav-

ing trouble with the shoulder that

sidelined him for 26 games earlier

this season.

“Some days it was okay, and

other days it bothered him,” Atkin-

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Joel Embiid had 39 points and
16 rebounds, Alec Burks and
Shake milton added big b askets in
overtime, and the Philadelphia
76ers extended their dominance
at h ome with a 112-104 victory over
the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday
night.
Playing without all-star point
guard Ben Simmons because of
lower back tightness, Philadel-
phia improved its record at the
Wells fargo Center to 26-2 this

nBa roundup

After losing Irving for the season, Brooklyn falls in Philadelphia

76ers 112,

Nets 104 (Ot)

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