Sports briefs
NFL
CLEVELAND (AP) — NFL officials will meet this week with Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson as the league continues to investigate whether he violated its personal-conduct policy, a person familiar with the plans told The Associated Press on Monday.
Watson, who is facing 22 civil lawsuits from massage therapists accusing him of sexual misconduct, is scheduled to speak with the league's representatives in Texas, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
Watson is facing potential discipline by the league, which is independently investigating his actions while he was with the Houston Texans. Commissioner Roger Goodell said on April 28 that there was no timeframe on any possible ruling on Watson.
Reporter Josina Anderson was first to report the league-Watson meeting on Twitter.
“We have no update and will decline comment on that tweet,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email to AP. “There’s no timetable as the review is active and ongoing.”
Watson's attorney, Rusty Hardin, told AP he will leave it to the NFL to discuss its schedule of interviews, but he assumes “Watson will be interviewed at great length soon.”
The meeting with league officials is a significant development for Watson, who signed a fully guaranteed $230 million contract in March with the Browns after initially turning down a trade to Cleveland.
The Browns, who sent three first-round draft picks and six total selections to the Texans for Watson, are eager to find out if they'll be without him for any portion of this season after making such a major investment in the three-time Pro Bowler.
In March, two Texas grand juries declined to indict Watson on criminal complaints from 10 women. He has denied all wrongdoing, and said during a news conference with the Browns in April that he “never assaulted or disrespected or harassed any woman in my life.”
Watson has given depositions on several of the civil cases. To this point he has not missed any of Cleveland's offseason programs.
It's not clear who Watson will be meeting with this week.
Lisa Friel, a former prosecutor in New York, has been heading the investigation. Once it is completed, former U.S. District Court Judge Sue Robinson, a disciplinary officer jointly appointed by the league and NFL Players Association, will decide if Watson violated the conduct policy, and will report to Goodell.
There is some precedent in this type of case. Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was suspended six games by the league in 2010 after a 20-year-old college student accused him of sexually assaulting her. The punishment was later reduced to four games.
As his future with the Browns remains uncertain, Watson's treating some of his new teammates to a weekend in the Bahamas to do some bonding and field work. It's not yet known which players will be making the upcoming trip with Watson.
Last month, cornerback Denzel Ward said Watson and All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett were planning trips for the Browns' offense and defense.
Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander has agreed to terms on a four-year, $84 million contract extension with a $30 million signing bonus, a person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the extension hasn’t been announced. ESPN first reported the deal.
Alexander, 25, was a second-team selection in All-Pro voting in 2020 but played just four games last season before getting sidelined by an injured right shoulder. Alexander returned to play in the Packers’ 13-10 NFC divisional playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
He led the Packers in passes defensed each of his first three seasons. He made the Pro Bowl in 2020 and was an alternate in 2019.
The Packers drafted Alexander out of Louisville with the 18th overall selection in 2018. The Packers started that draft with the 14th overall pick, traded down to the No. 27 spot and then moved back up to No. 18. Their series of trades that day brought them a 2019 first-round pick they used on Maryland safety Darnell Savage.
Getting a long-term commitment out of Alexander should make the Packers strong at cornerback for years to come as he teams up with 2021 first-round pick Eric Stokes and Rasul Douglas.
The Packers agreed to terms with Douglas on a three-year, $21 million contract earlier this year after his breakthrough season that included a game-clinching interception in the end zone against the Arizona Cardinals, and touchdowns on interception returns in back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears.
---
Jets defensive end Jermaine Johnson signed his rookie contract on Monday.
Johnson inked a four-year $13.1 million fully guaranteed contract with a fifth-year team option. He became the second of the Jets’ three first-round picks to sign their rookie deal.Cornerback Sauce Gardner, the No. 4 pick, was the first to sign his. Receiver Garrett Wilson, who the Jets took with the No. 10 selection, is still unsigned.
Johnson was the No. 26 pick out of Florida State. The Jets traded back into the first round to take Johnson, who they ranked as the eighth-best player in the draft. They sent the Tennessee picks 35, 69 and 163 for 26 and 101.
The 6-foot-4, 254-pound Johnson started out in junior college playing for Independence Community College in Kansas and was featured on the Netflix series ‘Last Chance U.’ After spending two years at Georgia, Johnson transferred to Florida State. He had 12 sacks, 18.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
“He's got great athleticism and violence to his game,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “He's very smart. He's probably the most pro ready of all the pass rushers this year in terms of having a repertoire to his game and something we can add to.
“Really a perfect fit for what we do defensively with our wide-nine system, putting him on an edge, getting him firing off the ball and attacking. Really going to be a great complement to the group that we already have."
Johnson joins a defensive front that is expected to be the Jets’ strongest position.
Edge rusher Carl Lawson is returning from a ruptured Achilles that kept him out all of last season. Returning on the line are Quinnen Williams, John Franklin-Myers, Bryce Huff, Sheldon Rankins and Nathan Shepherd.
The Jets also signed Solomon Thomas, Jacob Martin, and re-signed Vinny Curry, who missed last year with a rare blood disorder that required his spleen to be removed. The Jets also drafted Micheal Clemons, another violent pass rusher who started at a junior college.
Greg Knapp, the Jets late assistant coach, was one of two recipients of the lifetime achievement award as voted by the Professional Football Writers of America.
Knapp and Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier were the winners of the 2022 Paul "Dr. Z" Zimmerman Award.
Robert Saleh hired Knapp last year to be the Jets passing game coordinator. It would have been Knapp’s 26th year coaching in the NFL. Knapp was tragically killed following a bicycle accident last July. He was 58.
Before joining the Jets, Knapp worked with the 49ers, Falcons, Raiders, Seahawks, Texans and Broncos. He worked as a quarterbacks coach for 12 seasons and an offensive coordinator for 10.
Frazier is in his 24th season and sixth with Buffalo. He also worked for the Eagles, Bengals, Colts, Buccaneers and Ravens. Frazier was 21-32-1 in 3 ½ seasons as the Vikings head coach.--AL IANNAZZONE
NHL
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Vegas Golden Knights fired coach Peter DeBoer on Monday in the aftermath of missing the playoffs for the first time in their five-year franchise history.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon made the announcement and thanked DeBoer for his work with the organization.
“Since joining the organization, Pete and his staff have guided us through some of the most unique and challenging circumstances we’ve witnessed since our franchise entered the NHL," said McCrimmon, whose job is not in jeopardy. "After lengthy discussions over the last two weeks, we believe that a new coach will put us in the best position to succeed next season.”
Vegas failed to qualify for the playoffs after a barrage of injuries compounded by salary cap problems wreaked havoc on the lineup, most notably in goal. The Golden Knights at one point were first in the Pacific Division but after 82 games found themselves three points back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference despite acquiring center Jack Eichel in a trade with Buffalo and other moves along the way designed to make them a perennial championship contender.
The organization having a short leash on coaches is nothing new. DeBoer coached the Golden Knights for 2 1/2 seasons after being named in January 2020 to replace Gerard Gallant, who guided the team to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season in 2017-18 and back to the playoffs in 2019.
Under DeBoer, they reached the playoffs the previous two years and lost one round before the Stanley Cup Final each time.
DeBoer, 53, is the fourth coach to lose his job since the regular season ended, joining Detroit's Jeff Blashill, Philadelphia's Mike Yeo and the New York Islanders' Barry Trotz. The Islanders on Monday named longtime Trotz assistant Lane Lambert as his replacement.
Vegas joins the list of vacancies, which also includes Winnipeg and Chicago — teams that are not expected to bring back interim coaches.
DeBoer was coaching his fourth NHL team after stints with Florida, New Jersey and San Jose. He took the Devils in 2012 and Sharks in 2016 to the final.
MEDIA
WFAN’s afternoon show starring Craig Carton and Evan Roberts handily won its head-to-head ratings battle with ESPN New York’s “The Michael Kay Show” in April, the first month of the quarterly spring ratings period.
Among men 25-54, Carton and Roberts averaged 6.9% of the listening audience — second overall in the market — from 3 to 6:30 p.m., when the shows go head-to-head.
Kay averaged 3.7%, which ranked 10th overall, according to data released on Monday by Nielsen Audio and obtained by Newsday from an industry source.
The gap was far larger than the one by which Carton and Roberts won the full winter book, 5.7% to 4.5%.
All data includes both over-the-air and streaming audiences but does not include the show’s TV simulcasts.
WFAN had a strong month overall. From 6 to 10 a.m., Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti finished first overall with 10.0% of the audience, compared to ESPN’s 2.3% for 15th.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tiki Barber and Brandon Tierney finished fourth at 5.3 and ESPN 17th at 1.8.
