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The Wolf Sports Newsletter: August 7, 2023


The Wolf Sports Newsletter is a weekly newsletter giving an efficient update on the recent happenings in the world of sports. In an era where X is a primary news source for many sports fans, you can think of The Wolf Sports Newsletter as a cheat sheet delivering key information every Monday. The focus is on football, but big news from other sectors of sports will also be included to keep you in the loop with all the action to start the week.

 

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From the Hall of Fame Game and inductions to Tom Brady buying into a soccer team, this week’s edition is packed with news.

 

Forever Legends

🌟 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class enshrined: Darrelle Revis and Joe Thomas included in the 2023 class as first-ballot members. The entire Hall of Fame class enshrined in Canton on Saturday:

 

  • Ronde Barber
  • Darrelle Revis
  • Joe Thomas
  • Zach Thomas
  • Don Coryell (coach/contributor)
  • Chuck Howley (senior)
  • Joe Klecko (senior)
  • Ken Riley (senior)

 

Among the highlights for an excellent class were DeMarcus Ware honoring his late former teammates Demaryius Thomas, Ronnie Hillman, and Marion Barber III; and Joe Klecko getting a “J-E-T-S” chant to end his speech.

 

 

 

Football is back… kind of

🏈 NFL Hall of Fame Game: UCLA rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson leads the Browns to a comeback win over the Jets.

 

Out of nowhere, things were kicked off with… DeMarcus Ware singing the National Anthem on the eve of being inducted into the Hall of Fame:

 

 

  • Former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson started at quarterback for the Jets and played well, including connecting with Malik Taylor for a 57-yard deep ball (which Wilson says was called by Aaron Rodgers).
  • Down 16-7 at halftime, the Browns were sparked by Thompson-Robinson (AKA “DTR”), a player college football fans should know well after he was a five-year starter with the Bruins, and former UCLA teammate Demetric Felton.

 

 

 

Injury news

🙁 Broncos wide receiver Tim Patrick is out for the season with a torn Achilles. Patrick missed all of last season with a torn ACL suffered during the summer. Sticking with the Broncos, KJ Hamler—another player that’s unfortunately struggled with injuries—will miss time due to pericarditis (thankfully a relatively minor heart condition).

 

 

 

In other injury news, Rams superstar wide receiver Cooper Kupp is dealing with a hamstring injury. Head coach Sean McVay says he doesn’t think “it’s anything to be overly concerned with”,” and he hopes to get Kupp back at practice by joint practices next week with the Raiders.

 

Veteran contracts

🤠 Safety Malik Hooker, a former first-round pick of the Colts, has signed a three-year contract extension with the Cowboys.

 

 

  • It’s a strong payday for Hooker, who dealt with some injuries early in his career with Indy but has tremendous range and ballhawk skills as a free safety.
  • On Instagram, Hooker posted: “I wanted to make it mandatory that I stayed here.”
  • The former Ohio State Buckeye is said to be having a very good training camp, and he likes playing in Dan Quinn’s talented defense.
  • Hooker is probably currently one of the most underrated players in football, and Dallas’ secondary quietly has a chance to be one of the NFL’s best in 2023.

 

Also, the Panthers signed former All-Pro Justin Houston (111.5 career sacks), and the Eagles signed veteran linebackers Myles Jack and Zach Cunningham.

 

The GOAT invests across the pond

⚽️ Tom Brady has purchased a minority stake in a British soccer team: The Birmingham City Football Club (BCFC) will have the NFL’s greatest player involved as a team owner.

 

 

  • It sounds like Brady will be heavily involved with the Club, being named the Chairman of a new Advisory Board.
  • Brady’s role will include “working alongside the sports science department to advise on health, nutrition, wellness, and recovery systems and programs.”
  • He will also help with marketing and partnership efforts for BCFC.

 

Some are questioning why Brady is buying into what they deem a “second-tier” English football club, but he knows team owner Tom Wagner. Additionally, perhaps Birmingham City can get into the Premier League at some point. And maybe Brady is just a big Peaky Blinders fan. 🤷‍♂️

 

 

Fantasy options to note

🚨You don’t want to read too much into training camp and the preseason, but there are a few guys we think you should note with fantasy football drafts coming up.

 

Steelers second-year wide receiver George Pickens is making crazy catches (like the one below) seemingly every day throughout camp, and he clearly has a lot of confidence from his quarterback Kenny Pickett.

 

 

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson says the team has put an emphasis on getting running back Travis Etienne going downhill more on his runs, adding that he’s seen positive growth and that it could add up to the former first-round pick hitting 1,600-1,700 rushing yards.

 

 

There’s been a lot of positive talk surrounding the Texans’ running game, as the offense is led by former 49ers assistant Bobby Slowik after he came over from San Francisco with new head coach DeMeco Ryans. Last week, Ryans said Pierce, Devin Singletary, and the other running backs on the roster will be “excellent” in the new run game. And Pierce brought up an increased role as a receiver and the fact that Christian McCaffrey “thrived… in this offense.”

 

 

Super Bowl Slime

📺 Super Bowl LVIII will have an alternate broadcast on Nickelodeon. Paramount owns both CBS and Nickelodeon, so it makes sense to bring the kids-centric broadcast—filled with fun on-field graphics and virtual filters—to the table for the Big Game this season.

 

 


 

Other Sports Updates

🏟️ College football realignment continues. Oregon and Washington are joining the Big Ten (along with the earlier-admitted UCLA and USC) in 2024. We’ll miss you, Pac-12 After Dark.

 

 

 

🏆 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP Cole Hamels has retired after 15 MLB seasons. Hamels was the last active member from the Phillies’ 2008 world championship team.

 

 

🥊 Rare sight: White Sox’s Tim Anderson and Guardians’ Jose Ramirez literally squared up at second base, with Ramirez knocking down Anderson.

 

 

😳 USWNT lost in the Round of 16 of the World Cup. It’s the quickest elimination ever for the United States.

 

 

👏 Feel good story: Philadelphia fans gave struggling shortstop Trea Turner huge standing ovation of support—and he said it made his mom cry. He responded by getting back on track, including a go-ahead home run on Saturday night.

 

 

 

😯 Former NFL linebacker Blake Martinez allegedly scammed collectors while selling Pokémon cards.

 

 

⚾️ Play of the year? Royals’ Michael Massey starts unique web gem.

 

 


 

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