The Sports Report: Support grows around Damar Hamlin as family releases statement

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. We start today with an update on Damar Hamlin, who remains in critical condition.

From Sam Farmer and Chuck Schilken: Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin remained in critical condition Tuesday in the intensive care unit of a Cincinnati hospital, where he was transported after suffering cardiac arrest during a game the night before.

Hamlin, 24, climbed to his feet after making a tackle in the first quarter against the Bengals, then dropped to the ground unconscious. Medical personnel performed CPR on Hamlin for nine minutes and defibrillated him before he was loaded into an ambulance that had been driven onto the field.

“On behalf of our family, we want to express our sincere gratitude for the love and support shown to Damar during this challenging time,” Hamlin’s family said in a statement released Tuesday. “We are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words, and donations from fans around the country.

“We also want to acknowledge the dedicated first responders and healthcare professionals at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center who have provided exceptional care to Damar. We feel so blessed to be part of the Buffalo Bills organization and to have their support. We also want to thank Coach [Zac] Taylor and the Bengals for everything they’ve done. Your generosity and compassion mean the world to us. Please keep Damar in your prayers. We will release updates as soon as we have them.”

Meanwhile, the NFL has not made a decision about the possible resumption of the Buffalo-Cincinnati game, announcing that the pivotal AFC showdown will not be completed this week.

Continue reading here

How will Damar Hamlin incident affect teammates? A former player shares his experience

USC FOOTBALL

From Ryan Kartje: Six seasons ago, in his first year as a coach, Lincoln Riley led Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff. It was a tremendous debut by nearly every measure. With a Heisman winner at quarterback and an offense capable of outscoring any other in college football, the Sooners’ 2017 run cemented Riley as one of the premier young offensive minds.

But it also ended in dramatic disappointment, as Oklahoma’s defense came unraveled in a double-overtime defeat, allowing 54 points and 527 yards to Georgia.

In 2018, Riley again led the Sooners to the Playoff with the nation’s best offense and a Heisman winner at quarterback. And again, the defense let them down. Alabama scored 21 first-quarter points, piled up 528 yards and went on to win 45-34 en route to capturing the national title. Oklahoma went on to hire defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, hoping he might have the answer.

The next year the Sooners returned to the Playoff with Grinch’s defense — and allowed 63 points and 693 yards to Louisiana State.

Two better bowl-game performances — and, finally, wins — followed that debacle, and Grinch followed Riley to L.A. But in their first season at USC, the same troubling pattern played out. Another dominant offense. Another Heisman-winning quarterback. Another defensive collapse.

As Riley looks to the future, it’s incumbent on the coach to solve the problem that’s plagued his teams.

Continue reading here

The Bulldogs are the defending champs. What makes Georgia even better this year?

SOCCER

From Kevin Baxter: U.S. Soccer said Tuesday it launched an investigation into a potential blackmail plot involving men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter during the recent World Cup in Qatar.

In a lengthy social media post from an account U.S. Soccer said belonged to Berhalter, the coach said the federation was contacted by an unnamed individual during the tournament who said “they had information about me that would ‘take me down’ — an apparent effort to leverage something very personal from long ago to bring about the end of my relationship with U.S. Soccer.”

In the post, Berhalter, whose contract with U.S. Soccer ended Saturday, admitted to a physical altercation with his wife, Rosalind, outside a bar when both were 18. During the altercation, which occurred in 1991, Berhalter kicked Rosalind in the legs. The incident was never reported to the authorities and Berhalter said he sought counseling on his own.

Continue reading here

SPARKS

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: With free-agency negotiations allowed to begin in less than two weeks, the Sparks put in place the final piece of their front office by hiring Karen Bryant as their chief administrative officer and general manager, the team announced Tuesday.

Bryant’s primary WNBA experience came during 15 years with the Seattle Storm, where she served as chief operating officer and, for the final seven years of her tenure, team president and chief executive officer. The former general manager of the American Basketball League’s Seattle Reign, Bryant was one of the Storm’s first hires when the WNBA awarded Seattle a team in 1999 after the Reign folded.

Since resigning from the Storm in 2014, she founded an advisory company focused on advancing women’s sports and joined the Sparks in 2021 as a strategic advisor. She was the interim president of business operations and helped lead the search for current Sparks President Vanessa Shay and coach Curt Miller.

Continue reading here

KEN BLOCK

From Steve Henson: Most of Ken Block’s social media messages to his nearly 2 million YouTube subscribers and half a million Twitter followers touted the “Go Fast Risk Every Thang” mantra that enabled him to become the world’s most famous rally car racer and ambassador for the sport.

But his last Twitter post was as a proud father, touting “The 4th and final episode of my 16-year-old daughter Lia buying, tearing down, rebuilding and now driving her ‘85 Audi Ur Quattro ... .” Block urged followers to tune in to YouTube on Tuesday morning.

Instead, fans of the action sports giant and his remarkably successful automotive lifestyle brand Hoonigan Industries were shocked by the news that Block died Monday in a snowmobile accident near his Park City, Utah, home at age 55.

Continue reading here

KINGS

Adrian Kempe broke a tie on a power play midway through the third period and the Kings beat Dallas 3-2 on Tuesday night to snap the Stars’ four-game winning streak. Phoenix Copley made 28 saves for his seventh straight victory. He’s the fourth goalie in Kings history to have such a streak.

Anze Kopitar and Rasmus Kupari also scored for the Kings.

DODGERS

Let’s do a fun poll now. With the departure of Justin Turner, who is the greatest third baseman in Dodger history? Your choices are Turner, Ron Cey, Adrián Beltré and Billy Cox. Click here to vote. Results will be announced in Friday’s newsletter.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1970 — The Minnesota Vikings become the first expansion team to win the NFL title by beating the Cleveland Browns 27-7 in 8-degree temperatures in Bloomington, Minn.

1970 — Kansas City’s defense, highlighted by four interceptions, three in the final quarter, carries the Chiefs to a 17-7 victory over Oakland Raiders in the last AFL title game.

1976 — The Dallas Cowboys become the first wild-card team to make it to the Super Bowl with a 37-7 rout of the Rams in the NFC title game.

1986 — Eric Dickerson shatters the NFL playoff record with a 248-yard rushing performance and two touchdowns to lead the Rams to a 20-0 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

1991 — Fu Mingxia, a 12-year-old from China, becomes the youngest world titlist in the history of any aquatic event by winning the women’s platform gold medal at the World Swimming Championships in Perth, Australia.

1992 — Mike Gartner of the New York Rangers scores his 1,000th NHL point with a power-play goal in the third period of a 6-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

1997 — The Jacksonville Jaguars, in their second year, beat the Broncos in Denver to advance to the AFC Championship game.

2000 — Top-ranked Florida State, the preseason No. 1, holds off Virginia Tech 46-29 in the Sugar Bowl to finish 12-0 and win the national championship. Florida State is the first team to go wire-to-wire in The Associated Press’ poll since preseason rankings began in 1950.

2003 — Bode Miller wins his second straight World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia to move into first place in the World Cup overall standings. It’s the first time an American man has held the overall lead since Phil Mahre in 1983.

2005 — Matt Leinart throws five touchdown passes and USC overwhelms Oklahoma 55-19 in the Orange Bowl. USC (13-0) is the first team to repeat as AP national champions since Nebraska in 1994-95 and joins Florida State in 1999 as the only teams to go wire-to-wire — from preseason to post bowls — as No. 1.

2006 — Second-ranked Texas ends USC’s 34-game winning streak, beating the two-time defending national champion 41-38 in the Rose Bowl. The Longhorns also snap USC’s record string of 33 consecutive weeks as the No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top 25. The Longhorns, a unanimous choice, wins a national championship for the first time since 1969.

2012 — Geno Smith ties a record for any bowl game with six touchdown passes, including four to Tavon Austin, and West Virginia sets a bowl scoring record by beating Clemson 70-33 in the Orange Bowl.

2013 — Mikaela Shiffrin becomes the first American woman to win two World Cup races before turning 18. The 17-year-old captures a slalom in Zagreb, Croatia by a massive 1.19-second margin. Her first victory came last month in Sweden.

2014 — Andrew Luck throws four second-half touchdown passes and scores on a fumble recovery, leading the Indianapolis Colts from a four-TD deficit to an historic 45-44 comeback victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in a wild-card game.

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

USC rolls past Oklahoma to win the national championship. Watch and listen here.