The Washington Post - 11.03.2020

D2 eZ M2 the washington post.wednesday, march 11 , 2020

8:30 p.m. big ten, first round: nebraska vs. indiana » Big te n Network 9 p.m. big 12, first round: Kansas state vs. tcu » esPNU 9 p.m. acc, second round: s yracuse vs. north carolina » esPN2 9 p.m. pac-12, first round: california vs. stanford » Pac-12 Network 9:30 p.m. sec, first round: Vanderbilt vs. arkansas » sec Network 9:30 p.m. big east, first round: Depaul vs. Xavier » Fox sports 1 11:30 p.m. pac-12, first round: Washington state vs. colorado » Pac-12 Network soccer 1:30 p.m. german bundesliga: Koln at borussia mönchengladbach » Fox sports 2 4 p.m. uefa champions league round of 16 , second leg: atletico madrid at liverpool » tNt 6:15 p.m. copa libertadores, group c: athletico-pr at colo-colo » beiN sports 8 p.m. concacaf champions league quarterfinal, first leg: tigres uanl at new york city fc » Fox sports 2 8 p.m. shebelieves cup: Japan at united states » esPNews 8:30 p.m. copa libertadores, group a: barcelona at flamengo » beiN sports 10:30 p.m. concacaf champions league quarterfinal, first leg: atlanta united at club américa » Fox sports 2 college baseball 6 p.m. illinois state at florida state » acc Network Women’s college lacrosse 4 p.m. Hofstra at boston college » acc Network

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quotable

“I feel like a ghost.

A ghost in a big empty

house, just rattling

around.” barry bonDs, Major league Baseball’s all-time home run leader, in an interview with the athletic, on his fading chances to be elected to the Hall of Fame. Bonds missed out in his first eight years of eligibility; he has two left.

soccer

BY STEVEN GOFF

Two-income households often struggle to balance work and family life, and in the rare case of two-athlete households, the un- certainty of the next contract p oses regular challenges. Washington Spirit forward Cheyna Matthews is experiencing just such anxiety. Her husband, Jordan, is an NFL free agent after stints last season with the Phila- delphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. The couple has an infant son, Josiah. Until things are more settled, Cheyna has decided to put her women’s s occer career o n hold. “Two things can be true: You can absolutely love your job, and love your family,” s he said. “This is very true in my case, which makes stepping away from my NWSL club for a while an extremely tough d ecision to make.” Although the National Wom- en’s S occer League does not h ave a specific pay policy for such situa- tions, Spirit officials said they will continue to honor Matthews’s contract. She is expected to re- main on leave until May, and at that time, the Spirit said it will allow her to resume her career elsewhere, if n ecessary. “One of the wonderful aspects of our league is that we have ath- letes that are mothers,” Spirit ma- jority owner Steve Baldwin said. “Our club celebrates that and is committed to doing what is best for f amilies l ike Cheyna’s.” Matthews, 26, appeared in 17 of 24 matches last season, starting nine and posting three goals and two assists. “The 2019 season was challeng- ing at times for Cheyna,” Coach Richie Burke said, “because Jor- dan moved multiple times during the N FL season.” Matthews also missed a large chunk of the NWSL campaign while on Jamaican national team duty at t he World Cup. Matthews is from Georgia and played at Vanderbilt and Florida State, but through family ties she carries Jamaican citizenship. She was drafted by the Spirit in 2016 and d id not play in 2018 because of pregnancy. Jordan Matthews, 27, has 274 career receptions and 22 touch- downs since entering the NFL in

He h ad f our catches in 2019.
Entering its eighth season, the
Spirit opens training camp t his
week in Port S t. Lucie, Fla.
“I am confident that this is
what’s b est for m y family, club a nd
myself at this time,” Matthews
said. “I’ve never been satisfied
with anything less than 100 per-
cent commitment in anything that
I do and, when that is possible for
me again i n the club environment,
I will be back.
“I want to thank the Washing-
ton Spirit organization, my amaz-
ing teammates and upper man-
agement for understanding and
generously supporting my
d ecision.”
[email protected]

Spirit’s

Matthews

takes time

for family

BY SCOTT ALLEN

Tickets are hard to come by for
the Washington Nationals’ home
opener April 2 at Nationals Park,
where the team will unveil its
World Series champions banner
ahead of playing the New York
Mets.
Citing “overwhelming de-
mand,” the Nationals last week
announced that tickets for the
home opener would not be avail-
able on a single-game basis as they
have been in previous years, and
they canceled a previously an-
nounced presale for fan club
members. The team gave full- and
partial-season planholders the op-
portunity to purchase a limited
number of tickets via separate
p resale events in late February.
As of Tuesday morning, the
cheapest price for the game on
secondary markets, including
StubHub and SeatGeek, was more
than $100 for a standing-room-
only ticket.
A couple of factors have con-
tributed to this year’s limited in-
ventory. During the Nationals’
pl ayoff run in October, many fans
bought 2020 season plans to have
the opportunity to purchase tick-
ets for Washington’s three home
World Series games. And while
partial plans did not include tick-
ets to the home opener last year,
this season t hey do.
For fans determined to be in
attendance who don’t want to pay
a markup on the secondary mar-
ket, the only way to secure tickets
to the home opener is by purchas-
ing one of several season ticket
plans through the team. The
cheapest plan with the option to
include the home opener is the
10-game classic plan, which starts
at $220 for an upper gallery seat.
The Nationals’ 22-, 42- and
8 2-game classic plans also i nclude
guarantees for the home opener
and t he postseason, as w ell as t ick-
ets to the homecoming exhibition
game March 24.
Another option for t he home
opener is to purchase the Nation-
als’ new 82-game “Ballpark Access
Plan.” It includes a nontransfer-
able standing-room-only ticket to
all 81 regular season home games
and the exhibition game for $328
— an average of $4 p er game.
[email protected]

D.c. sports bog

Tickets are

scarce for

Nats’ first

home game

washingtonpost.com/sports

pro football

Ravens guard Yanda

announces retirement

Baltimore Ravens guard
Marshal Yanda is retiring after
13 seasons in which h e was
named to the Pro Bowl eight
times and h elped the team w in
Super Bowl X LVII.
The Ravens made t he
announcement Tuesday m orning.
Yanda will formally retire during
a news conference Wednesday.
The 35-year-old p layed in 191
games, including the playoffs,
and has b een an anchor on the
Ravens’ offensive line since being
picked out of Iowa in the t hird
round of the 2 007 draft. He w as a
first-team Associated Press all-
pro twice and named to the
second team four t imes,
including l ast season.
Yanda is one o f 13 guards in
NFL history to earn at l east e ight
Pro Bowl n ominations. He p layed
in 177 regular season games, tied
with Hall o f Fame tackle
Jonathan Ogden for the m ost by
an offensive lineman in Ravens
history....
The deadline for applying
franchise a nd transition t ags t o
free a gents w as moved from
Thursday to Monday by the

league and players’ union. The NFL Players Association’s members are still voting on the new labor agreement that the owners have already a pproved — the deadline was extended by two days to 11:59 p.m. Saturday — so keeping Thursday as the last day for teams to use the t ags made little s ense.... The NFLPA announced that Cleveland B rowns c enter JC Tretter i s its new president for a two-year term. Tretter, 29, succeeds former offensive tackle Eric Winston. Winston had been in the r ole since 2014.... The Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers suggested changes to game o fficiating, including a “sky judge” used in college football, among r ule proposals that will b e presented t o team owners t his month. Also p roposed is revamping overtime to minimize the coin toss impact, returning overtime to its original 15-minute length and providing alternatives to the onside kick — which i s considered dangerous — for a scoring team to attempt to keep the ball. Other proposals include modifying t he blind-side block rules; making permanent the use of replay t o include s coring plays,

turnovers negated b y a foul and any extra point a ttempts; and allowing the defense to elect to have the g ame clock s tart when the referee signals the ball is ready for play after it declines a penalty.

soccer M embers of Arsenal’s p laying squad went into two weeks of self-isolation in a coronavirus precautionary m ove, forcing the postponement of Wednesday’s English Premier League game at Manchester City.

Olympiakos o wner Evangelos Marinakis announced he had contracted covid-19 less than two weeks after he met Arsenal players following a Europa League game between the teams in north London. Arsenal did n ot say how many players were affected.

misc. A report released b y the California Horse Racing Board on a spate of horse deaths at S anta Anita found that no illegal medications were used on the

animals and nine of the 2 3 fatalities o ccurred on surfaces affected by wet weather. The report focused on 23 deaths as a result of racing o r training between D ec. 30, 2018, and March 31, 2 019. The fatalities roiled the industry and led t he track owner, the Stronach Group, to institute several reforms involving safety and medication.... Former Los Angeles Sparks general manager Penny Toler is suing the WNBA t eam, saying she was fired for raising c omplaints

about inappropriate sexual relationships involving t he team president a nd a managing partner, not for using a racial slur. The Sparks said To ler was fired on Oct. 4 following a profanity-laced postgame tirade that included using a racial slur a few days earlier following a playoff game. To ler had been w ith the franchise a s a player o r GM since it was f irst founded i n 1997. Her contract w as set to expire March 31. — F rom news services

Digest

the leading candidate outside of New England to land Brady.

Brady signs with the Raiders Even though Las Vegas GM Mike Mayock said good things about Derek Carr during the scouting combine, you get the feeling the Raiders would ex- plore an upgrade at quarterback if the right opportunity came along. From their time as television com- mentators, Mayock and Jon Gruden have talked to Brady before games more than almost any other f ront-office exec- utive or coach. They know him. They’ve watched him practice. It’s easy to see why they would be intrigued by the idea of signing him. Brady probably knows that Mayock and Gruden would be aggressive in adding talent around him, particularly on an offense that already has rising stars in running back Josh Jacobs and tight end Darren Waller. But would Las Vegas have enough on defense, particularly in a division with Patrick Mahomes and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs?

Brady signs with the B uccaneers This one is intriguing. Ta mpa Bay Coach Bruce Arians didn’t hide the fact that he’s i nterested in Brady when asked about free agent quarterbacks at the combine, and he has plenty to pitch to Brady. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are the best wide receiver duo in the NFL, O.J. Howard is a talented tight end, and coordinator To dd Bowles has improved the defense. With Jameis Winston a free agent, the Bucs could make a run at Brady, or they could opt for Te ddy Bridgewater or Philip Rivers.

Brady signs with t he Chargers At the beginning of the offseason, Los Angeles looked like the leading team for Brady. The Chargers are moving into a new stadium, and Brady could help sell tickets. The draw of playing in L.A.

could help the team’s sales pitch, too. But the latest rumblings are that the Chargers’ preference is to draft a quarterback with the sixth pick — possibly Oregon’s Justin Herbert — and let Ty rod Ta ylor run the offense until the rookie is ready. We’ll see if they end up talking to Brady.

Brady signs with the Colts Indianapolis will do its due diligence on Brady, but it might be more likely to sign Rivers, who worked with Coach Frank Reich for three years when he was the Chargers’ quarterbacks coach and eventual offensive coordinator. The Colts have a playoff-ready roster and aren’t committed long term to quarterback Jacoby Brissett.

Brady signs with the 49ers This one is a long shot, but there is a chance. Brady probably wouldn’t mind finishing his career near where he was raised, and San Francisco is the most talented team that could pursue him. Although the 49ers’ players love Jimmy Garoppolo, Brady is still good enough to get the team to the Super Bowl and win. I still don’t see this happening. Sign- ing a quarterback who will be 43 when the season starts would probably short- en the 49ers’ window as a Super Bowl contender. They could win next year with Brady, but adding a $34 million quarterback and taking a salary cap hit on Garoppolo could make it tough to keep the team’s c ore together. The 49ers already will struggle to keep defensive lineman Arik Armstead and safety Jim- mie Ward this offseason, as they look ahead to big-money contract extensions for tight end George Kittle and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, among others. [email protected]

John clayton has covered the NFl for more than 40 years. during the season, he writes a weekly column for the Washington Post that publishes online Monday mornings.

BY JOHN CLAYTON

To m Brady’s first taste of free agency has the potential to turn into a feast. On Monday, when the NFL’s legal tampering phase goes into effect at n oon, teams can begin talking with the quarterback about a possible contract offer. Brady has been angling for this opportunity since he signed a contract extension in August that would give him the chance to test free agency this offseason. As difficult as it is to believe, Brady, despite having spent his entire career with the New England Patriots and Coach Bill Belichick, could leave for another team. The odds still favor him staying in New England, where his run has included nine Super Bowl appear- ances and six championships, but every- thing will come down to that two-day legal tampering window. Let’s take a look at eight possible outcomes and how each of them could play out.

Brady re-signs before free agency The Patriots will have to move more quickly than they have so far to make this happen, although they have been held back by not knowing the salary cap number, which is dependent upon whether the players’ union ratifies the new proposed collective bargaining agreement recently approved by the owners. Additionally, the Patriots are already on the hook for $6.75 million against the salary cap this year because of Brady’s contract, and that will grow to $13.5 million if a new CBA isn’t in place. (If there is a new CBA, that second $6.75 million cap charge rolls over to next year.) Players have until 11:59 p.m. Saturday to vote, so we will know by then whether the deal goes into effect. At that point, the Patriots can be more realistic about what they can offer Brady.

Brady tests free agency but stays If Brady doesn’t re-sign before free agency opens at 4 p.m. March 18, the odds of him returning would drop be- low 50 percent. Not only would the Patriots need to know whether he’ll be back or if they need to pursue other quarterback options — it will be inter- esting to see if the Patriots talk with other quarterbacks during the legal tampering period — but it would make things more difficult in terms of upgrad- ing the offensive supporting cast around Brady, which presumably is high on his wish list if he is to return. By March 17, Brady will know how much other teams are willing to pay. On the open market, Brady could get as much as $34 million per year on a short-term deal. He could bring a contract offer to the Patriots to see if they will match it or let him go.

Brady signs with the T itans Te nnessee Coach Mike Vrabel is a former teammate and a friend. Case in point: Brady and wide receiver Julian Edelman FaceTimed him from a Syra- cuse basketball game last month. Gen- eral Manager Jon Robinson also knows Brady from his time in New England. Perhaps more importantly, the Titans have a playoff-ready roster, having ad- vanced to last season’s AFC champion- ship game by defeating the Patriots and then the Baltimore Ravens on the road in back-to-back weeks. Quarterback Ryan Ta nnehill came off the bench midseason to lead that playoff run, but, like Brady, he is a free agent. That combination of factors — including offensive playmakers such as running back Derrick Henry and wide receiver A.J. Brown — makes Te nnessee

pro football: analysis

Brady’s choice could come down to t hese eight

Bill sikes/associated Press Tom Brady reportedly has yet to receive a contract offer from the Patriots.

The Washington Post - 11.03.2020

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