Chargers LT Rashawn Slater expects to pick off where he left off
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1. Chargers LT Rashawn Slater expects to pick off where he left off
Chargers LT Rashawn Slater is ready to get back to his all-pro level, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Fernando Ramirez.
The Chargers offense received a boost this offseason when Rashawn Slater lined up again to protect quarterback Justin Herbert’s blindside.
Slater received no shortage of accolades after his rookie season; Second-team All-Pro, Pro Bowler, and PFWA All-Rookie Team.
He suffered a torn bicep three games into the 2022 season where much was expected from him. He could have returned if the Chargers had beaten the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
He is now healthy and ready for the season.
2. Rams training camp: Cooper Kupp exits practice early
The Rams wide receiver walked off the field with training staff during Tuesday’s practice, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Marisa Flores.
Los Angeles Rams Cooper Kupp left his teammates with bad news during Tuesday’s practice.
The star wide receiver walked off the field with an athletic trainer after running a drill.
Both head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford had no update on Kupp’s status at the end of practice.
“He looked like he came up a little bit in a red zone route. I just know they told me he was out for practice,” stated McVay
3. Chargers WR Quentin Johnston adjusting to NFL
The rookie receiver is making plays during Chargers training camp so far, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Fernando Ramirez.
Monday was the first day in pads for the Chargers, so there was clarity regarding who is standing out in camp. One of them is first-round receiver Quentin Johnston.
During the one-on-one, he faced cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor when quarterback Justin Herbert threw a jump ball up, and Johnston high-pointed it and came down with it– made it look easy.
“We’ve been building up the past week for this moment,” Johnston said about having pads for the first day. “This is the moment I feel like everyone in football has been waiting for — to put on the pads and get that thump in, it’s been good.”
It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Johnston, who dropped about four passes during different drills, but he is learning. That is what is important.
He is still getting things down.
4. Hawai’i sets sights on becoming a contender this year
Hawai'i went 3-10 last season as the program tried to settle on a new identity and the staff evaluated the in-house talent, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Paul Brecht.
Heading into year two at the helm, University of Hawai’i head football coach Timmy Chang and staff have put their desired culture in place, started down the recruiting trail and now have set eyes to being a true competitor in the Mountain West.
The ‘Bows, who went 3-10 last season, saw themselves on the wrong side of multiple one-score losses in 2022 as the program tried to settle on a new identity and the staff evaluated the in-house talent.
They went to quarterback Brayden Schager full-time during the middle of the season and started to introduce bits and pieces of the “Run-N-Shoot” offense after a 1-4 stumble to begin the year, going to the same scheme that Chang dominated in during his time suiting up at QB for the Rainbow Warriors. “It’s Hawai’i’s offense,” Chang said of the scheme back in February. Results immediately followed, increasing points scored each game by four and putting up three 30+ point performances.
Following their final game, Hawai’i made the full switch to the Run-N-Shoot with Schager written in as QB1 heading into the offseason and beyond. Spring practices were held earlier than ever due to the construction of the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex, a project that added seats to the on-campus game day site that UH’s football team will call home until the completion of the new Aloha Stadium.
5. Justin Gaethje’s improvements on display at UFC 291
Justin Gaethje impresses with knockout of Dustin Poirier at UFC 291, writes the Sporting Tribune’s Paul Delos Santos.
Justin Gaethje took a moment of reflection after the first time he lost to Dustin Poirier via technical knockout at UFC on Fox on April 14, 2018 and viewed it as a moment to learn and refine his own skills.
That improvements came in handy at UFC 291 in Salt Lake City when he knocked out Poirier with a head kick one minute into the second round of the BMF title fight.
“If you watch that fight and compared to that fight it’s night and day,” Gaethje said. “I had to understand, it was a tough lesson to learn. That man taught me that lesson and I thank God for him.
“Unlike any other sport on the earth, you rarely get a redemption. We take a loss, and we just have to go home and sit there, and it just eats us away. So to come back and prove myself, I believed in myself the whole time. It’s a crazy sport. It’s unforgiving.”
6. Is Caleb Williams the best QB prospect ever?
Does Caleb Williams need to live up to the hype this season? Or is he already a lock for the first overall pick? The Sporting Tribune’s Josh Fisher wants to know.
Over the past three decades, three quarterbacks left college being described as true ‘no-brainer’ first overall picks: Peyton Manning in ’98, Andrew Luck in ’12, and Trevor Lawrence in ’21. While there has been a profusion of other notable quarterbacks of distinction to arrive on the scene, the three aforementioned players top the list.
In this upcoming 2023 season, USC Trojans QB1 Caleb Williams boldly enters the ‘no-brainer’ conversation and thereby warrants comparison to the great quarterbacks.
Many fans, analysts, and commentators wondered, as they previously had about Lawrence, if Williams had been allowed to leave after his sophomore season, would he have gone first overall to the Panthers?
7. Odds and Ends presented by Circa Sports
Here are some odds at Circa Sports if you’re thinking about placing a wager today:
8. Ticket Time presented by TickPick
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game today.
7:10 p.m. – A’s at Dodgers – $18
9. On the Air presented by The D Las Vegas
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today.
9:20 a.m. – Angels at Braves – Bally Sports West
12:10 p.m. – Padres at Rockies – Bally Sports San Diego
7:10 p.m. – A’s at Dodgers – SportsNet LA
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
The Sporting Tribune’s Arash Markazi is joined by Adrian Hernandez and Brandon Deutsch as they talk to The Sporting Tribune’s Steve Carp about Terence Crawford being perhaps the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world right now.
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.
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That’s it for today. Talk to you tomorrow!