Blasting News

Kristaps Porzingis Suffers a Torn ACL

Jaclyn MarrLeave a comment

Kristaps Porzingis landed awkwardly after a dunk in the second quarter of Tuesday’s game against the Bucks. He immediately clutched onto his left leg in pain, leaving Knicks‘ fans fearing the worst as they watched him being helped off the court.

After the game, the Knicks broke the news that their star forward had suffered a torn ACL.

The injury

Just three minutes into the second quarter, Porzingis landed on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot after his dunk. It looked like his ankle buckled as he landed on his left leg.

He was in obvious pain as he grabbed his knee. Teammates helped him walk off the court without having to put much weight on the leg.

He was able to walk on his own and was described as “okay” as he headed to the hospital to get an MRI, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley. Begley reported at the time that head coach Jeff Hornaceck didn’t want to speculate on the injury but called it “deflating.”

“More than a basketball player, he’s my brother,” Knicks’ center Enes Kanter said to ESPN after the game. “I don’t want to see anyone going down like that hurting his knee. He’s about to be an All-Star. I’m just going to pray for him tonight. He is the most important part of our family.”

Porzingis had 11 30-point games this season, compared to three 30-point games in his first two seasons. He was averaging 22.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and a league-high 2.4 blocks per game.

The 7-foot-3 star had just been chosen for his first All-Star game.

What’s next?

After the loss to the Bucks, the Knicks stand at 23-32 and three spots out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference. They were holding onto hope to make a playoff run but without Porzingis, things aren’t looking good.

It’s an awful end to a season of great potential for the Latvian star. He has become the new face of the franchise and has the talent to lead the team back to the playoffs.

Shams Charania of The Vertical reported soon after the news broke that Porzingis was scheduling the surgery to repair the torn ligament.

The recovery after an ACL tear could be anywhere from eight months to at least a year, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported.

Milwaukee’s Jabari Parker just returned last Friday after missing 11 months. He had a second ACL surgery on the same knee.

“He can come back from it and he’ll be the same player again,” Parker said to The News following the Bucks’ 103-89 victory Tuesday. “He can do it.”

In the meantime, the Knicks need someone to step up for the remainder of the season. They were up by one point before losing Porzingis in the second. About halfway through the third quarter, they were down by 20.

Here’s to a speedy recovery, Porzingis.

This article originally appeared on Blasting News.

Giants Will Start Eli Manning This Sunday

Jaclyn MarrLeave a comment

The New York Giants are finally making all the right moves this week.

After firing both head coach Ben Mcadoo and general manager Jerry Reese following the starting quarterback debacle and their 10th loss of the season, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports that #Eli Manning will be back under center this Sunday (Dec. 10) vs. the Dallas Cowboys.

Many debated what would be next [VIDEO] for the two-time Super Bowl MVP. Interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo was left to clean up the recent mess and choose who he wanted as his starting quarterback.

“Eli has always impressed me,” Spagnuolo said last week to NJ.com. “We’ve been together through a lot of good things and I respect him a great deal. I really do.”

It is no secret that this has been a season of turmoil for the Giants. Yes, injuries have plagued the team, but it is more about the drama surrounding the team off the field.

Last week, the Giants simply wanted to start evaluating their younger quarterbacks. According to co-owner John Mara, McAdoo wanted Manning to start the game and then test-run Geno Smith in the second half. Manning declined [VIDEO] to do this, not wanting to taint his historic start streak. Mara took the blame for not doing more to take control of the situation.

After an unimpressive outing by Smith and yet another loss, proving that Manning was the scapegoat, McAdoo and Reese were both fired Monday (Dec. 4). A day later, the interim coaching staff put their veteran QB back in the starting spot.

The Giants will host the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday at Metlife Stadium and let’s just be honest, it wouldn’t have been right to keep Manning on the sidelines. Through everything, Manning has been nothing short of classy and he deserves his job back.

Fox’s Jay Glazer reported Sunday (Dec. 3) that former Giants players were discussing a plan to attend the matchup against the Cowboys in Manning jerseys on the sidelines. After Manning’s benching, several former players spoke out in disgust. Former defensive end Justin Tuck was frustrated enough to not want to go to another game this season.

“Not sure if I’ll go to another game this season,” Tuck told the Daily News via text. “Haven’t decided.”

Manning has had the support of the former players, current players on opposing teams, and the fans. A Dick’s Sporting Good Jersey Report shows that his jersey sales have jumped 50 spots in the last week – up to number 29 in the league.

There was a Facebook group started in support of Manning since his benching happened. The group, called “Outside for Eli,” currently has 984 members and was made to reach out to “all season ticket holders, Cowboys-Giants ticket holders, and Eli Manning fans.” The group made plans to boycott their seats in the stadium and stay outside in the parking lot for the game.

After the firings of McAdoo and Reese, longtime fan Matt Meyer, who was leading the protest, told the New York Post that the fans in the group do understand that this is a lost season and that they do want to see what rookie Davis Webb has to offer. However, they still want to show support for Manning.

“It’s going to be more of an ‘inside for Eli’ [theme] if he returns,” Meyer said to the Post. “But after everything that just happened, the fact it’s the Cowboys, we all want to be there for Eli.”

There is no doubt that Giants fans will be cheering for their star quarterbackwhen he takes the field Sunday.

http://us.blastingnews.com/sports/2017/12/giants-will-start-eli-manning-this-sunday-002213493.html

Eli Manning Declines to Start, Geno Smith in at QB

Jaclyn MarrLeave a comment

The New York Giants continue to make headlines – and not for good reasons.

In a shocking move announced Tuesday, the team will start Geno Smith at quarterback and not Eli Manning.

Manning has started a total of 210 consecutive regular-season games since his first start on Nov. 21, 2004. He holds the second spot in NFL history behind only Brett Favre at 297.

With the Giants standing at 2-9 in a disastrous season, this is the first major change to happen, and it is no secret that head coach Ben McAdoo has been hinting at it. After calling out Manning multiple times in his press conferences, something is finally being addressed.

While Manning is not the one who deserves to be called out for the team’s struggles, this change may jump-start the organization to make moves that will actually benefit the team.

Manning was able to continue his streak. However, he declined because he felt that continuing to play in this unsuccessful season just taints it. The offense has been a mess and is 30th in the league in points with just 16 per game. Manning has completed 167-of-260 passes for 1,600 yards behind an underactive offensive line.

“My feeling is that if you are going to play the other guys, play them,” Manning said to Giants.com. “Starting just to keep the streak going and knowing you won’t finish the game and have a chance to win it is pointless to me, and it tarnishes the streak.”

General manager Jerry Reese told Giants.com that in the midst of this horrible season, it is time to evaluate every position. You can argue whether or not this is the right move, but at least something is finally being done.

“Like I always have, I will be ready to play if and when I am needed,” Manning said. “I will help Geno and Davis [Webb] prepare to play as well as they possibly can.”

Smith is now getting the chance to show the Giants what he can do for them. He has not started a game since Week 7 of the 2016 season, while with the New York Jets. Smith made his NFL debut in 2013 with the Jets and was with them until signing with the Giants this past March. He has 28 career passing touchdowns, 36 interceptions and a 72.4 rating.

Rookie quarterback Davis Webb will also get a chance this season, according to McAdoo. Webb was taken in the third round by the Giants in this year’s draft. He threw 37 touchdowns in his last season at the University of California, Berkeley.

“Over the last five games, we will take a look at Geno, and we will also give Davis an opportunity,” McAdoo said in a statement.

Get ready for some hard change Giants fans. We haven’t seen someone start at QB besides Manning since 2004.

http://us.blastingnews.com/sports/2017/11/eli-manning-declines-to-start-geno-smith-is-in-at-qb-002141055.html

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie Suspended Indefinitely

Jaclyn MarrLeave a comment

This week continues to get worse for the New York Giants.

After losing to the winless L.A. Chargers, going 0-5 and losing four wide receivers to injury in one day, the drama continues. The team announced Wednesday that veteran cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was suspended for “leaving the team.”

“He came in today, decided to leave. For that we will suspend him,” McAdoo said in his Wednesday press conference.

It took the organization a day to declare the length of the suspension. After DRC returned to the facility and met with both head coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese, he was informed that he is suspended indefinitely.

NFL Insider Ian Rapoport tweeted out Thursday morning that the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) maximum is four weeks.

What happened?

In his weekly press conference Wednesday, McAdoo told reporters that DRC was suspended for his actions during the week. He said that he and DRC had a conversation Tuesday that was “personal” but he did not go into detail.

When reporters asked the reason for the suspension and the length of it, McAdoo responded with “That’s all I have for you.”

However, Giants’ safety Landon Collins claimed Wednesday that Rodgers-Cromartie didn’t leave but was suspended by McAdoo following an argument. Collins said that the disagreement started Sunday before halftime of the Giants and Chargers matchup.

Sure enough, reports have come out that there was a “heated argument” between DRC and McAdoo on the sidelines during Sunday’s loss. Rapoport reported that the blowup was due to DRC being pulled from the game.

Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reported that McAdoo and DRC’s “personal” conversation on Tuesday was McAdoo telling the cornerback that he’d be inactive for Sunday night’s primetime game in Denver due to the incident on the sideline during game five.

Leonard reported that DRC was not happy with his coach’s decision and that is why he left the facility – which resulted in the suspension.

DRC tells his side

After the news broke of the suspension, ESPN’s Josina Anderson tweeted quotes from her conversation with Rodgers-Cromartie. He told Anderson that he “handled things the wrong way.”

The texts between Anderson and DRC continued with her asking if he will return to the team. He responded, “Yes I am. Tomorrow.”

He did return, however, he most likely was not expecting the indefinite suspension.

What’s next?

DRC can appeal his suspension through the player’s union if he chooses to.

In the meantime, the Giants tweeted that they signed rookie cornerback Donte Deayon from the practice squad to take over DRC’s place on the 53-man roster.

Deayon impressed in the preseason  with six tackles – four solo – and an interception returned 36 yards for a touchdown against the Jets.

Whether or not DRC appeals, McAdoo needs to gain control of his team before things get worse, both on the field and in the locker room. They have to go up against a Broncos team coming off a bye on national TV no less.