Hometown Broadcasting Sports Tuesday 3/31/20
31 March 2020 Sports
The Green Bay Packers have re-signed RB Tyler Ervin. General Manager Brian Gutekunst announced the transaction Monday. Ervin, a 5-foot-10, 192-pound fifth-year player out of San Jose State, played in four regular-season games and both postseason contests for the Packers last season after being claimed off of waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars on Dec. 3, 2019. He averaged 26.7 yards on six kickoff returns, including a career-long 45-yarder for Green Bay during the regular season, and 9.6 yards on 11 punt returns. In the postseason, Ervin returned three kickoffs for 41 yards (13.7 avg.) and one punt for 6 yards with three fair catches. He was originally selected by the Houston Texans in the fourth round (No. 119 overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. Ervin played in 31 regular-season games and two postseason contests for the Texans (2016-18) and Jaguars (2019) while also spending time on the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad (2018).
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Funds were raised through proceeds of ‘Go Pack Go’ t-shirt sold through the Packers and the Bucks during the Packers’ recent playoff run Following the Packers’ recent playoff run, during which the Packers and Milwaukee Bucks both sold a special, limited edition t-shirt featuring the logos of both teams and the time-honored Packers cheer, “Go Pack Go,” the teams raised $37,500 through the shirt sales to donate to hunger relief efforts. Half of the funds will go to Paul’s Pantry in Green Bay, and half will go to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin in Milwaukee. The shirts, which sold for $19.95, were available for purchase during the Packers’ playoff run at the Bucks Pro Shop at Fiserv Forum, at the Packers Pro Shop at Lambeau Field and online at packersproshop.com<https://www.packersproshop.com/>.
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A new playoff structure was approved by NFL players earlier this month in the new collective bargaining agreement, and (today) Tuesday will likely bring its final approval. In place of the NFL’s traditional Annual League Meeting, which was canceled earlier this month as part of the league’s response to the new coronavirus pandemic, a conference call will take place among league owners Tuesday, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. Four votes will take place, with the most important one being on expanded playoffs, which is expected to pass. It requires a three-fourths majority vote. A move to 14 playoff teams would mean 43.7 percent of all NFL teams would qualify for the postseason, which remains greater than MLB (33.3) but still well behind the NHL (51.6) and NBA (53.3).
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Former Packers linebacker Blake Martinez made his deal with the New York Giants official on Monday. He signed a three-year deal worth $30 million. Martinez spent is first four seasons in the league with Green Bay. He’ll be reunited with defensive coordinator Pat Graham, who was Martinez’ position coach with the Packers in 2018.
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Former New Orleans Saints kicker Tom Dempsey, who authored one of the most famous moments in NFL history, has tested positive for the coronavirus. Dempsey’s daughter, Ashley, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune’s Ramon Antonio Vargas that her 73-year-old father tested positive. He caught it during an outbreak in the Lambeth House senior living center in New Orleans,. Dempsey’s symptoms are “relatively mild,” his daughter said. Dempsey is also battling battling Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. For decades, Dempsey held the NFL record with a 63-yard field goal. In 1970, he hit the field goal for the Saints to beat the Detroit Lions on the final play of the game. In the 50 years since that kick, five other kickers have also hit a 63-yard field goal, starting with Denver’s Jason Elam in 1998. In 2013, Broncos kicker Matt Prater hit a 64-yard field goal to finally beat Dempsey’s record. Dempsey and Graham Gano of the Carolina Panthers are the only kickers to make a fourth-quarter, game-winning kick of 63 yards or more in NFL history. Dempsey, an All-Pro as a rookie in 1969, kicked for 11 NFL seasons with five teams: Saints, Eagles, Bills, Rams and Oilers.
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The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will not take place in 2020. Tokyo organizers made the news official Monday, moving the event to July 23, 2021, with an end date of Aug. 8. The move was made in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics were originally supposed to begin July 24, 2020.
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The towel Kobe Bryant had draped over his shoulders during his on-court farewell speech and the tickets to his final game sold at a virtual auction for more than $30,000 on Sunday. The items were part of Iconic Auctions’ March 2020 collection and pulled in 16 bids. The winner, an avid Los Angeles Lakers collector according to CNN, went home with the items at a price of $33,077.16. It’s nearly four times what the towel alone sold for at a 2016 auction. Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash in California two months ago. Memorabilia from the five-time NBA champion has since hit auctions at high prices.
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