The Boston Globe - 11.09.2019

C6 Sports The Boston Globe WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their seventh consec-

utive NL West title in fitting fashion, using two home runs

byCoreySeagerand a masterful pitching performance by

WalkerBuehlerto beat the host Baltimore Orioles, 7-3, on

Tuesday night. After the final out, the first team in the ma-

jors to clinch a playoff spot this season gathered at the

mound for a subdued celebration that included a wardrobe

change for a pending champagne celebration in the club-

house. The Dodgers (94-52) gained sole possession of first

place April 17 and never looked back. This is the earliest

Los Angeles has clinched the division, both in terms of date

and games.

Brewers’Yelichbreakskneecap

Brewers starChristianYelichis done for the season after

suffering a broken kneecap from a foul ball. The reigning

NL MVP was forced to leave Tuesday’s game at Miami after

fouling a ball of his leg in the first inning... The Twins

placed center fielderByronBuxtonand his ailing left shoul-

der on the 60-day injured list, ending his season and leaving

the American League Central leaders without their best de-

fensive player for the rest of the pennant race... The Pi-

rates said righthanderKyleCrickrequired season-ending

surgery on the index finger of his pitching hand after he was

injured in a clubhouse fight Monday with fellow relieverFe-

lipeVázquez...CharlieSilvera, the last survivor among the

12 Yankees who appeared with all five World Series-win-

ning teams from 1949 to 1953, died Saturday at 94 at his

home in Millbrae, Calif. The seldom-used backup catcher

played 10 seasons in the majors and played for six champi-

onship teams — but only appeared in one World Series

game.

NFL

AnothersuspensionforJets

Jets defensive linemanNathanShepherdwas suspended

six games by the NFL for violating the league’s policy on

performance-enhancers. Shepherd, who was inactive for

the Jets’ season opener against Buffalo, will be eligible to re-

turn to the Jets’ active roster Oct. 28, following New York’s

game at Jacksonville. Shepherd told NFL.com he failed two

tests this summer — on June 27 and July 25 — while recov-

ering from shoulder and groin injuries. Shepherd is the

third Jets player to serve a league-issued suspension this

season... The Texans released cornerbackAaronColvinaf-

ter his struggles in the team’s season-opening loss to New

Orleans, a person familiar with the move told the Associat-

ed Press. Colvin, 27, was in the second year of a four-year,

$34 million contract that had $18 million guaranteed.

MISCELLANY

Morris,USmentieUruguay

JordanMorrisscored his first international goal in more

than two years in the 79th minute, giving the United States

a 1-1 tie against Uruguay in an exhibition game in St. Louis.

The announced attendance was 20,625, well under the

crowd of 35,761 that watched the US women beat New Zea-

land, 5-0, in a sendoff series match at Busch Stadium on

May 16. The Americans have eight wins, four losses and two

draws this year under coachGreggBerhalter, hired in De-

cember to revive the team following its failure to qualify for

the 2018 World Cup.BrianRodriguez, a 19-year-old Los An-

geles FC forward who made his international debut in Fri-

day’s 2-1 win at Costa Rica, put fifth-ranked Uruguay ahead

off a counterattack in the 50th minute. Rodriguez took a

pass fromFedericoValverde, dribbled around defender

AaronLong, and beat goalkeeperBradGuzanto the near

post with left-footed shot for his first international goal.

Morris scored afterJoséGiménez’sattempted clearance

near the end line bounced of American defenderNickLima

and bounded in front of the open goa.. .RickyRubioscored

19 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in a game-deciding

11-0 run in the final minutes, and Spain advanced to the

World Cup semifinals by topping Poland, 90-78, at Shang-

hai.WillyHernangómezscored 18 points,RudyFernandez

added 16, and Rubio had a game-high nine assists for Spain

(6-0)... The United States plays France in the quarterfinals

Wednesday at Dongguan, China.

SportsLog

DodgersclinchWest,

firsttomakeplayoffs

Belichickmentions

MossinBrowntalk

By Nora Princiotti
GLOBE STAFF
TheAntonioBrownsigning
is NFL-transaction-wire official
and, thus,BillBelichickwas
willing to
speak on the
matter for the
first time Tues-
day morning.
“We’ll just take it day-by-
day,” the Patriots coach said via
conference call. “We haven’t
practiced yet, so we’re going
through information with him
like we would any new player,
like we did with offensive line-
men last week and just take it
day-by-day and see how it goes.
“Get out on the practice
field and after Wednesday talk
about Thursday and just go
through the week and see how
it goes.”
Yes, that’s exactly what
everyone expected him to say.
Belichick, though, did break
character for one moment
when pressed on what Brown
has done to persuade him he
won’t be as disruptive in New
England as he was in Oakland
and Pittsburgh.
“It’s the same thing you said
aboutRandyMosswhen we
brought him in,” Belichick said.

It was a vote of confidence

that sounded like it was coming

from the real Belichick, not the

Belichick who dryly insisted

that his team would “have to

see” how it goes with a player it

devoted its remaining cap

space to and welcomed into its

locker room.

Cannon’sstatusiffy

The first injury report of the

week will come out Wednesday,

and right tackleMarcusCan-

non’sstatus is one to watch.

Cannon fell on his shoulder in

the fourth quarter of the Steel-

ers game, left the field, and

didn’t return.

McDaniels said the Patriots

will prepare to play the Dol-

phins without him.

According to ESPN, Can-

non’s shoulder injury is not ex-

pected to be a long-term prob-

lem but could cause his to miss

some time.

The question, if Cannon is

out Sunday, is how the Patriots

will go about replacing him.

The simplest way would be for

swing tackleKoreyCunning-

ham, who was inactive Sunday,

to step in at right tackle and

keep the rest of the line in

place.

PATRIOTS

NOTEBOOK

BCstarDillontakes

hands-onapproach

By Julian Benbow

GLOBE STAFF

As Boston College was going

through preparation for the

First Responders Bowl last

winter, running back A.J. Dil-

lon took an inventory of his

two years as an Eagle, by-

passed all the yards and

awards he had racked up in

two seasons, and searched for

ways he could squeeze more

out of his game.

The one place where there

was glaring room for improve-

ment was obvious.

He was one of the biggest

threats in the Atlantic Coast

Conference as a ball carrier.

But if the Eagles faced a third-

down situation and needed

him on the field, he hadn’t

proven himself a proficient

enough pass-catcher to be a

threat out of the backfield.

That had to change. And

this year, possibly his last at

BC, had to be the year to make

it happen.

“I realized I really needed to

take the next step in my game,”

Dillon said. “Less, I guess,

about myself and more about

becoming a leader. And that

doesn’t necessarily translate to

stats so much, but I mean be-

ing involved in the passing

game, whether it’s catching the

ball, blocking.”

While Dillon’s rushing num-

bers this season have been

modest (167 yards, 40 carries),

he sees the three catches he’s

hauled in for 63 yards and a

touchdown as a leap in the pro-

gression he’s aiming for as a ju-

nior. It’s more than the grabs;

it’s the signal that he’s a con-

stant in the Eagles offense, no

matter the down.

“That garners respect from

my teammates, and them

knowing that, when I’m out

there, I’m going to make sure

that it all happens,” Dillon said.

“I’m going to do my best, is the

best feeling I can ask for.”

As a freshman, Dillon bare-

ly saw the field on third down.

With no catches, he never fac-

tored into the Eagles passing

attack. The plan was to start in-

corporating him last season.

He caught a 15-yard touch-

down pass from Anthony

Brown in the season opener

against UMass that appeared

to be a sign of things to come.

But a high-ankle sprain limited

much of what he could do the

rest of the season. He caught

eight passes all year. Once the

season ended, his primary fo-

cus was on getting healthy. Af-

ter that, his hands became a

priority.

“Honestly, he’s been work-

ing at it every single day,”

Brown said. “When I say every

day, I actually mean every day.

So I feel his confidence is just

through the roof. He feels like

he can catch anything. He’s ac-

tually asking for passing plays

now. It’s excellent to see his

confidence, and I’m happy for

him right now.”

Dillon’s involvement in the

passing game so far this season

has been gradual, but the re-

sults he’s gotten through the

first two games have been en-

couraging for an Eagles offense

that believes it has a number of

different ways to generate the

chunk plays it values so much.

He dipped his toe in the water

against Virginia Tech in the

season opener with a 9-yard

grab. But against Richmond

last week, the Eagles opened

the playbook and got a glimpse

of the type of weapon Dillon

could be out of the backfield.

Early in the second quarter,

Dillon found space in the right-

side flat, made a clean catch on

a pass from Brown, and broke

upfield for a 42-yard touch-

down.

“He looked great catching

the ball,” said Eagles coach

Steve Addazio. “It’s really start-

ing to eye-pop to me. He’s do-

ing a great job with it, that and

protection.”

Addazio’s philosophy leans

toward workhorse running

backs. In his two years at Tem-

ple, his primary backs caught a

total of 21 passes. Since he got

to BC, only two players have

had more than 50 carries and

10 catches in a single season

(Marcus Outlow, 2014; Jon

Hilliman, 2017). But Addazio

said there are ways to scheme

Dillon into the passing game.

“I think there’s a lot of ways

to get the ball in the air,” Add-

azio said. “There’s screens, un-

derneath routes against the

linebackers. We’re doing all

those. Usually, there’s a lot of

check-downs to backs. So I

think screens and check-downs

are where you’re going to see

those guys catch a lot of balls

or can catch a lot of balls.

“So I think being on the

field on third down. And A.J.’s

on the field more than third

down. So you’re going to see

more of that. Sometimes our

first- and second-down game is

a heavy play-action game. They

can have a tendency — there

are checkdowns, but there’s

such a heavy play fake, that it’s

down the field a little bit.That’s

been good.”

By throwing himself into

the passing game as a receiver

and a blocker, Dillon can add

facets that lift him from the

bruising back that’s already

caught eyes around the NFL to

an every-down back and an all-

around threat.

Dillon said, “This year I feel

like I’ve taken that next step.”

Julian Benbow can be reached

at [email protected].

RevolutionappealDelamea’sredcard

By Frank Dell’Apa

GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

FOXBOROUGH — The

Revolution are optimistic

about an appeal of a red card

issued to de-

fender

Antonio

Delameain

the ninth minute of a 2-1 loss

to New York City FC on Satur-

day. Delamea practiced with

the starters during sessions on

Tuesday, and sporting direc-

tor/head coachBruceArena

said: “I think this one’s a no-

brainer. We should win the ap-

peal.”

With the Revolution lead-

ing on a second-minute goal

byJuanFernandoCaicedo,

Delamea appeared to make a

clean tackle onValentin

Castellanosin the sixth min-

ute of the match at Yankee Sta-

dium. Castellanos went down

as Delamea sent the ball back

to goalkeeperMattTurner,

and refereeSilviuPetrescuis-

sued a caution. Before the free

kick could be taken, Petrescu

was notified by the video assis-

tant referee and, after check-

ing a replay, red-carded De-

lamea in the ninth minute.

The Revolution went to a 4-

4-1 setup and held NYC FC off

until substituteJesus

Medina’s70th-minute equal-

izer. Medina’s 96th-minute

penalty kick, following anoth-

er VAR review, broke the dead-

lock.

“We saw there was no foul

on the play,” Arena said.

“[Delamea] got to the ball first

and poked it away. And that,

somehow, from the referee de-

cision to the VAR, became a

sendoff. So, hopefully they can

correct that.”

The Revolution (10-10-9,

39 points) appeared on the

way to a possible victory that

might have gone far in clinch-

ing a playoff berth for the first

time since 2015. But Arena

benched Caicedo, addingJalil

Anibabato reinforce the de-

fense midway through the

opening half. AndGustavo

Bou, who had a four-game

scoring streak and had con-

verted deciding goals in the

late going of the last two

matches, departed in the 63rd

minute. His replacement,Juan

Agudelo, misfired with a

chance to stretch the Revolu-

tion’s advantage.

WilfriedZahiboand

Agudelo were yellow-carded

late in the game and will be

suspended for the Revolution’s

visit to Orlando City SC on Sat-

urday. Delamea would also be

suspended, unless the Revolu-

tion’s appeal is upheld. No

timetable on the MLS Disci-

plinary Committee decision

has been announced.

Revolution captainCarles

Gilsaid he is optimistic about

the Revolution’s playoff hopes.

“We have a really good

team, and I think we’ll get

points in these games,” Gil

said. “This game against Or-

lando is very important.”

The top seven Eastern Con-

ference teams qualify for the

postseason, and the Revolu-

tion stand in seventh place,

ahead of the Montreal Impact

(11-15-4, 37 points) and Or-

lando (9-13-8, 35 points).

Billionaireclub

The billion euro mark has

been surpassed for the first

time by Manchester City, ac-

cording to the International

Center for Sports Studies

(CIES) in Neuchatel, Switzer-

land, which has compiled

transfer fees paid for current

rosters.

The Citizens ($1.014 billion

euros) are followed by Paris

Saint-Germain ($913m), Real

Madrid ($902m), and Man-

chester United ($902m).

Seven of the top 12 transfer

value teams are from the Pre-

mier League (Man City, Man

United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Ar-

senal, Tottenham, Everton),

and three of the top 10 are

from Spain’s La Liga (Real Ma-

drid, Barcelona, Atletico Ma-

drid).

AS Roma, presided over by

Boston Celtics’ part-owner

JamesPallotta, is ranked fifth

in Italy’s Serie A at $254 mil-

lion euros. Italy’s Atalanta

($93m) has paid the least

amount of transfer fees among

teams qualifying for the

Champions League.

Meanwhile, Barcelona pres-

identJosepBartomeu

announced the club could be-

come the first to surpass the

$1 billion euro mark in reve-

nues. Bartomeu said he want-

ed to reassure socios of the

club’s financial stability, as

Barcelona plans to expand the

Camp Nou stadium from

99,354 to 105,000 capacity.

Among national teams,

England ($1.11 billion euros)

is ranked as the most valuable

by http://www.transfermarkt.com.

Brazil ($1.06 billion euros) is

ranked second, followed by

Spain ($1.01 billion euros) and

Germany ($927 million euros).

Mexico ($254 million

euros) is listed at No. 21, and

the US national team ($137.3

million euros) is listed 33rd.

Algerianexodus

Algeria won the African Na-

tions Cup, but many of its

players capitalized by going for

big money in the Middle East,

rather than Europe. Only four

of the Algerian starters are

competing in Europe’s Big Five

leagues — England, France,

Germany, Italy, and Spain —

and one (right backMehdi

Zeffane) is without a club,

though he will likely sign in

Portugal or Spain.

SOCCER

NOTEBOOK

Brownaccusedofrape

inex-trainer’slawsuit

lawsuit,’’ read the statement
from Darren Heitner, a lawyer
representing Brown. “He will
pursue all legal remedies to not
only clear his name, but to also
protect other professional ath-
letes against false accusations.’’
The lawsuit adds to the lega-
cy of Brown, who has had mul-
tiple run-ins with the law over
the last few years and who was
released by the Oakland Raid-
ers after a brief, bizarre tenure.
In April 2018, while a mem-
ber of the Pittsburgh Steelers,
Brown was allegedly involved
in an incident where he tossed
furniture from the balcony of a
14-story apartment building in
Florida, and was later part of a
suit brought by the grandfather
of a young child who was re-
portedly almost struck by the
furniture. (That suit was set-
tled by the two parties.) In Jan-
uary 2019, he was involved in
a domestic disturbance in Hol-
lywood, Fla., but wasn’t arrest-
ed.
More recently, in Oakland,
his list of transgressions in-
cluded a social media movie
narrated by a private phone
conversation with his coach, a
reported on-field altercation
with his general manager, and
another social media post that
featured a photo of private, in-
ternal correspondence from his
team.
The Patriots released a
statement Tuesday night say-
ing, “We are aware of the civil
lawsuit that was filed today
against Antonio Brown, as well
as the response by Antonio’s
representatives. We take these
allegations very seriously. Un-
der no circumstance does this
organization condone sexual
violence or assault. The league
has informed us that they will
be investigating. We will have
no further comment while that
investigation takes place.”
In a statement released to
The New York Times by her
lawyer, Taylor said the decision
to come forward was a chal-
lenge.
“As a rape victim of Antonio
Brown, deciding to speak out
has been an incredibly difficult
decision,” she said. “I have
found strength in my faith, my
family, and from the accounts
of other survivors of sexual as-
sault.”
According to the lawsuit,
the two met in college as part
of a Bible study group and be-
came friends. They went their
separate ways, it alleges, before
they connected again in June

2017. Shortly after that, Brown
      hired Taylor as part of his phys-
      ical training team.
      In the suit, Taylor says she
      “never dated or had an interest
      in any romantic relationship
      with Brown.” The suit de-
      scribes her as an elite-level
      gymnast who opened a gym-
      nastics training center for girls
      in her hometown of Memphis.

uBROWN
Continued from Page A1

“Brown preyed on Ms. Tay-

lor’s kindness and her religious

devotion, casting himself as a

person equally dedicated to his

religious faith and someone

she could trust. In reality, he

used manipulation and false

promises to lure her into his

world, and once there, he sexu-

ally assaulted and raped her,”

the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit says Brown

bragged about the incident in

text messages that are copied

in the lawsuit.

There is no mention of crim-

inal charges or a police investi-

gation into the allegations in

the lawsuit.

Heitner, Brown’s lawyer,

said that Brown was ap-

proached by his accuser in

2017 and asked to invest $1.6

million in her business project.

“Mr. Brown was not in-

formed by his accuser that she

had just been levied with a

$30,000 IRS tax lien or that

$300,000 of the $1.6 million

so-called ‘investment’ was to be

used to purchase property al-

ready owned by the accuser

and her mother,’’ Brown’s law-

yer said. “When Mr. Brown re-

fused to make the $1.6 million

‘investment,’ the accuser sup-

posedly cut off communica-

tions with Mr. Brown.’’

However, Heitner said, she

“resurfaced” in 2018 and of-

fered to train Brown for the up-

coming season.

“Thereafter, the accuser en-

gaged Mr. Brown in a consen-

sual personal relationship. Any

sexual interaction with Mr.

Brown was entirely consensu-

al,’’ Heitner said in a statement.

Brown is scheduled to at-

tend Patriots practice on

Wednesday.

According to an NFL Media

report, Brown’s deal includes a

$1 million fully guaranteed

base, a $9 million signing bo-

nus ($5 million immediately,

$4 million later), and other in-

centives.

Brown had 104 catches,

1,297 yards, and a league-high

15 receiving touchdowns last

season. He is a four-time first-

team All-Pro.

For the Patriots, the lawsuit

will force the team to confront

a decision of how to handle the

allegations.

When New England ac-

quired defensive lineman Al-

bert Haynesworth in the sum-

mer of 2011, he was facing a

sexual assault charge following

an alleged incident that Febru-

ary. Haynesworth later pleaded

no contest to a misdemeanor

assault charge, and played a

portion of that season before

he was released by the team.

Jim McBride, Nora Princiotti,

Ben Volin, and Danny

McDonald of the Globe staff

contributed to this report.

Christopher Price can be

reached at christopher.price@

globe.com. Follow Christopher

Price@cpriceNFL.