French giant Paris Saint-Germain has completed the signing of goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon on a free transfer.
The club introduced the 40-year-old Italian goalkeeper in a swish video on its official Twitter account.
Taillé pour Paris ! pic.twitter.com/yBYMkX02rD
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) July 6, 2018
The former Juventus mainstay agreed to a one-year deal with an option for a second season.
“It is with a great feeling of happiness that I join Paris Saint-Germain,” Buffon said. “For the first time in my career, I am leaving my country and only a project this ambitious could have encouraged me to make such a decision.
“To have followed the club’s incredible progression in recent years, I know what dreams Paris Saint-Germain and its fans have in their hearts. I am going to bring all my energy, all my experience, and all of my thirst to win to help my new club achieve all the great objectives it has set out for the future.”
With the signing of Buffon, a move that has been in the works for some weeks, PSG has locked down its No. 1 spot between the posts with one of the most decorated and experienced goalkeepers in world football.
Buffon, who was born less than eight years after PSG was initially founded in 1970, has played 1,000-plus competitive games of senior football between his time at Parma and Juventus, and his 21-year international career.
After winning a seventh consecutive Italian title in 2017-18, Buffon can now continue to pursue his ultimate goal of winning the UEFA Champions League for the first time.
One of the main pieces of evidence in the Eli Manning memorabilia fraud lawsuit that led to an undisclosed settlement is heading to the auction block.
Manning’s helmet used in Super Bowl XLII, the game in which the underdog New York Giants upset the 18-0 New England Patriots to win the title, will be auctioned off by Goldin Auctions.
“This is a very significant piece,” said Goldin Auctions president Ken Goldin. “Bidding for this will definitely surpass $130,000.”
If it does, it will be the highest-priced football helmet sold at auction.
Eli Manning celebrates after throwing the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII. AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File
The highest-priced Super Bowl helmet sold at auction was the one worn by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison in Super Bowl XLIII, when he had his record-breaking 100-yard interception return. That sold for $53,775 in 2012.
The Manning helmet was purchased by collector Eric Inselberg, who said he bought it from Giants equipment manager Joe Skiba. When Inselberg saw that the Giants were saying another helmet, donated to a museum in New York and later lent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was in fact Manning’s helmet in the February 2008 game, he realized he had a lawsuit on his hands.
Inselberg in the lawsuit — which was settled in May, right before the trial was to commence — alleged that the Giants ordered the second Manning helmet to be manufactured for the museums.
Goldin is providing photomatching from two companies — MeiGray and Resolution Photomatching — which states that the helmet bought and now being sold by Inselberg matches the photos of the helmet in all quarters of Super Bowl XLII. The Giants, in deposition for the case, had claimed that photomatching was unreliable.
Two other helmets marketed as game-used purchased by Inselberg and two other Giants collectors — who joined him in suing the team, its equipment staff and Steiner Sports, the company Manning has a memorabilia deal with — could not be matched to any games that season, the plaintiffs alleged.
Once the Pro Football Hall of Fame became aware that the Super Bowl XLII helmet they had was in dispute, the description on the website changed from a helmet Manning wore in that Super Bowl to just a Manning-worn helmet.
Inselberg could not be reached for comment.
Bidding on the helmet begins on Goldin’s website on Monday morning and ends in a live auction at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland on Aug. 2.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Juventus is beginning to materialise, as the Portuguese superstar has agreed to a four-year contract worth €30 million per season to move away from Real Madrid and join the Italian champion, according to Ed Aarons and Fabrizio Romano of The Guardian.
It’s the latest development in a story that’s picked up steam ever since Ronaldo hinted at leaving Real Madrid following the Champions League final.
Reports in Spain earlier this week suggested Ronaldo choose to leave the Santiago Bernabeu after he wasn’t offered a better contract, and because of his poor relationship with club president Florentino Perez.
Ronaldo has expressed his desire to join Juventus and been in touch with Andrea Agnelli, the club’s director.
Ronaldo has a release clause worth €1 billion in his contract, but Juventus is confident it can get a deal done for a fraction of that price. Juventus has reportedly submitted an offer worth €100 million, while Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is believed to be in the process of holding talks with Perez to ensure the deal goes through.
If the move is completed, Mendes could be set to collect a €10-million commission fee.
“If it happens, it will be a new chapter and a new challenge in his brilliant career,” Mendes said, as translated by The Guardian, after conducting a meeting with Madrid’s vice-president, Jose Angel Sanchez. “If Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Real Madrid, he will remain eternally grateful to the club, the president, all the staff without exception, as well as the Madrid fans throughout the world.”
Despite reports over the past few years of a possible return to Manchester United, the Premier League outfit will not launch a bid this summer to sign Ronaldo, according to Sky Sports.
Friday marks the nine-year anniversary of Ronaldo’s unveiling at Real Madrid following the completion of his £80 million (€94 million) transfer from United, which was a world-record transfer fee at the time.
After a crushing playoff loss in January 2005, then-New York Jets coach Herm Edwards decided to change offensive coordinators. He fired Paul Hackett after four seasons and hired Mike Heimerdinger and did it so quickly that Hackett and Heimerdinger actually crossed paths that day in the team facility. As Hackett went in to clean out his office, Heimerdinger arrived to start his new job.
That snapshot pretty much sums up the history of the Jets’ offensive-coordinator job, which should be sponsored by a famous burger chain: In-N-Out.
The Jets will go into the 2018 season with their sixth offensive coordinator in the past eight years, making it one of the least secure jobs in the NFL. There are B-list actors with more security than Jets offensive coordinators, who usually need career rehab after a one-and-done in New York. The last person to go directly from Jets OC to an NFL head-coaching job was Joe Walton in 1983 — an in-house promotion after Walt Michaels was fired.
Coordinator
Years
Top ranking (Pts)
Outcome
Mike Heimerdinger
2005
29th
Fired
Brian Schottenheimer
2006-11
9th
Fired
Tony Sparano
2012
28th
Fired
Marty Mornhinweg
2013-14
28th
Fired
Chan Gailey
2015-16
11th
Retired
John Morton
2017
24th
Fired
ESPN
The new man in the revolving door is Jeremy Bates, who landed his first job as a quarterbacks coach under — wait for it — Heimerdinger in 2005. No team does strange symmetry quite like the Jets. It was a one-year gig, of course, as the entire coaching staff got cleaned out after a disastrous 2005 season. Bates returned last season as the quarterbacks coach, then got bumped up when John Morton was fired in January after one year.
“It’s exciting,” Bates said of his new job as the offensive boss. “It’s a fun responsibility.”
If Bates can mold Darnold into a franchise quarterback, the OC Curse will be history — fittingly, via a player from OC (Orange County, California). It will be a fascinating dynamic because, once upon a time, Bates was a Darnold in the coaching profession: young, talented and so full of potential. He had a chance to be Sean McVay before anybody knew about McVay.
Bates was a coordinator by age 34, but he was fired after only one year (2010) with the Seattle Seahawks. He did one season as the Chicago Bears’ quarterbacks coach (2012), then took a four-year break from the NFL. At the time, he was regarded by those in the industry as a smart coach who needed to improve his people skills. He spent part of his hiatus in the mountains, hiking the Rockies while seeking clarity in his life. By all accounts, he gained maturity and perspective during his time away.
“There are a lot of things I’ve learned,” Bates said. “I did take a little sabbatical. Anytime you get fired, you can look at it one or two ways: You can either not think about it and try to become a better person and a better coach, or you can just move on. I obviously took a lot of time by myself and thought about some things, and I look forward to seeing how they turn out.”
There’s an air of mystery surrounding Bates because he hasn’t called plays in eight years, and a lot has changed in the NFL in that span. He also hasn’t developed a young quarterback since 2006, when he was Jay Cutler’s position coach with the Denver Broncos. So, no, Bates isn’t walking into this job with the “hot assistant” label. Still, there are reasons to believe he can succeed:
• He has a prized pupil. Darnold, drafted third overall, is the Jets’ best quarterback prospect since Mark Sanchez in 2009. You can’t mold a hunk of clay into something special unless … well, you have actual clay.
• He and Darnold are an ideal match. Their personalities are different — Bates is fire, Darnold ice — but their approach to the game is similar. They’re blue-collar grinders.
Schematically, Darnold should be a perfect fit in Bates’ offense, the Mike Shanahan version of the West Coast system. It’s a quick-rhythm passing attack that also allows the quarterback to throw on the move, one of Darnold’s strengths. His 79.4 accuracy percentage last season on quick concepts (three-step drops) ranked No. 1 in the country, according to Pro Football Focus.
Bates sees the game through the eyes of the quarterback because he played the position in college.
“It’s awesome that he’s able to sit with us, and that he’s had experience with quarterbacks,” Darnold said. “We’re able to go through the playbook, and he understands what we’re thinking. He’s able to understand when I’m looking at the defense. Even just on tape, if he sees my helmet looking one way or the other, he understands what I’m thinking, just because he’s coached quarterbacks for so long and because he was one. It all goes hand in hand.”
• There’s a single vision on offense. That wasn’t the case last season, as the offense was an amalgam of different philosophies. Morton “wasn’t the right fit for the team,” said coach Todd Bowles, who wanted a better “mesh” between the passing game (Morton’s specialty) and the running game.
The Jets shouldn’t have those issues this season. Bates is reunited with new offensive line coach Rick Dennison, who holds the title of run-game coordinator. Dennison also is a Shanahan disciple. In fact, he and Bates were members of Shanahan’s Denver staff from 2006-08. Back then, Bates and Dennison collaborated on the weekly game plans, with Bates calling a majority of the plays.
“Rick Dennison is a huge bright spot, in my eyes, for the New York Jets,” Bates said. “I was with him for three years in Denver, so we have a close relationship. He is an unbelievable coach.”
• Bates is versatile. He made his bones as a quarterbacks coach, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be pass-happy. He has been involved with some successful rushing attacks — the ’08 Broncos ranked No. 2 — and the word from the Jets players is that he emphasized the ground game during offseason practices.
What team officials like most about Bates is that he’s a teacher, which they believe will help player development. His No. 1 pupil is Darnold. If he can teach Darnold how to be a winning quarterback, Bates probably will get a chance to outlast his predecessors.
