GLENDALE, Ariz. — Bruce Arians knew what was coming when he approached the podium in the bowels of University of Phoenix Stadium for the first time this training camp.
It was the first time the Arizona Cardinals coach was formally addressing the local media after revealing in his recently released book that he was diagnosed with kidney cancer last December and had surgery in February to remove part of the organ. The questions, regardless of whether he tried to curb them or not, were bound to come.
On Thursday afternoon, he tried to get ahead of the story and then move on from it.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said he kept his cancer diagnosis a secret last December so that he wouldn’t be a distraction to the team in the final weeks of the season. Rob Schumacher/azcentral sports via USA TODAY NETWORK
“Welcome back, guys,” Arians began his news conference. “Yes, I’m healthy. Let’s get that s— out of the way right now. All that is behind me and I’m very, very fortunate to have a great doctor and can’t wait to get started.”
The first question was about why he kept the cancer a secret.
“We had some big games to finish the season and in no way did that have to be a distraction,” Arians said.
While his health was an issue from, essentially, the start of last season to the finish, it wasn’t enough to force Arians to retire. He was hospitalized last August during a training camp trip to San Diego for symptoms related to diverticulitis. He also was hospitalized in November for chest pains.
The cancer diagnosis came in December, when it was discovered during a doctor’s appointment that was initially scheduled to treat a potential hernia. He had surgery in February, the same month he had surgery to repair a rotator cuff injury.
“It was a s—ty February,” he said. “Too many operations. But the rotator’s great. Don’t tell Was [Cardinals orthopedist Dr. Gary Waslewski], but I played golf a few times this summer and I didn’t play very well but I didn’t lose all my money. It was fun.
“But, yeah, the other one. When they tell you you’re cancer-free, that’s a great feeling.”
And Arians still returned for a fifth season as the Cardinals’ head coach.
“If I was going to retire because of my health, I should’ve did it last year,” Arians said. “Hopefully I don’t have anything worse than I had last year.”
For better or for worse, football has entered the era of the Video Assisted Referee (VAR) and for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, the introduction of this new refereeing technology has him wondering what could have been.
Wenger is a man who has never shied away from looking back at his and his club’s past mistakes. And when asked by Arsenal Player to name a few failures VAR would have prevented, Wenger highlighted a few moments in Arsenal’s history that could have gone differently if video replay was implemented at the time.
“I would choose Barcelona’s equaliser (by Samuel Eto’o) in the 2006 Champions League final because it was offside, and we were 1-0 up with 30 minutes to go. That’s the trophy I miss here, you know, so that is for me the most important one.
“The second one I would choose is the second yellow card for Robin Van Persie at Barcelona in 2011, because this was the moment we were qualified against a very strong team, and it was a very difficult decision to accept – it basically killed our chances.
“After that maybe I go to a more recent decision – against Bayern Munich when Laurent Koscielny was sent off for a penalty when (Robert) Lewandowski was offside. That just comes to my mind now but maybe I forget many, many, many, many more.”
The New York Giants could have as many as 19 returning starters when the NFL season opens, but there are two rookies and two second-year players trying to earn their spots this summer.
Here’s a starting-lineup projection entering training camp:
Offense
Quarterback (Eli Manning): His job isn’t in jeopardy, even though the Giants drafted a quarterback in the third round. Manning had a down year in 2016 (26 touchdowns, 23 turnovers). But with improved weapons, there is hope this will be a bounce-back season.
Running back (Paul Perkins): The second-year back already has been anointed the starter. The elusiveness and versatility he showed during a rookie campaign when he averaged 4.1 yards per carry earned him the opportunity to be the lead back.
Wide receiver (Odell Beckham Jr.): The 24-year-old is one of the NFL’s biggest stars. He has had at least 90 catches, 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns in each of his first three professional seasons — the only player in NFL history to accomplish the feat. Now he needs to show that productivity in the postseason while playing for a new contract.
Wide receiver (Brandon Marshall): The tall, powerful receiver was signed this offseason as a complement to Beckham. The Giants hope they’re getting the five-time Pro Bowler, not the 2016 version of Marshall who struggled with injuries and inconsistency.
Wide receiver (Sterling Shepard): He’s looking to build off a strong maiden season during which he was second among rookies with eight touchdowns. Shepard had a strong spring, and his goal is to be more dynamic this season after the catch.
Rookie tight end Evan Engram’s ability to block on a consistent basis might be the only thing that keeps him off the field. AP Photo/Julio Cortez
Tight end (Evan Engram): The first-round pick adds a new dimension to the offense with his speed and ability to open up the middle of the field. But Engram’s blocking will ultimately determine just how often he’s on the field and whether he immediately earns a starting spot. Rhett Ellison could end up starting due to his blocking ability.
Left tackle (Ereck Flowers): The Giants went all-in on Flowers this offseason after they didn’t add a true veteran offensive tackle in free agency. They were impressed that he remained at the facility and reworked his body. Flowers, 23, allowed the second-most pressures (59) among all offensive tackles last season, according to Pro Football Focus. So there is plenty of room to improve.
Left guard (Justin Pugh): Perhaps the Giants’ best offensive lineman, Pugh is entering his contract year. He needs to remain healthy after missing nine games over the past three seasons.
Center (Weston Richburg): The fourth-year center also is entering his contract year. Richburg is hoping to bounce back after playing with a hand injury for most of 2016.
Right guard (John Jerry): The Giants re-signed Jerry this offseason to a three-year, $10 million contract with the intention of him being their starting right guard. Coming off one of the best seasons of his career, he will face some competition from free-agent acquisition D.J. Fluker. But Jerry is the favorite to start entering camp.
Right tackle (Bobby Hart): The Giants’ inactivity regarding the tackle slot this offseason again puts Hart in position to start, after he was benched late last year. Hart showed flashes of his potential last season.
Defense
Defensive end (Jason Pierre-Paul): He returns healthy and with a new four-year, $62 million deal. Pierre-Paul proved last season — with 53 tackles and seven sacks in 12 games — that he can still be a difference-maker.
Defensive tackle (Damon Harrison): He’s arguably the league’s best run-stuffing tackle. Pro Football Focus had him with a 15.8 percent run-stop percentage, tops in the NFL. Harrison might well be the most important player on the Giants’ defense.
Defensive tackle (Dalvin Tomlinson): Robert Thomas spent most of the spring working with the first-team defense. But when all is said and done, Tomlinson, a second-round pick out of Alabama, seems to have the best chance to start alongside Harrison on running downs.
Defensive end (Olivier Vernon): He came to the Giants with a massive contract and didn’t disappoint in his first season with the team. Vernon tied for the NFL lead with 17 tackles for loss and played the most snaps of any defensive lineman. They’re expecting much of the same in Year 2.
Weakside linebacker (Jonathan Casillas): The well-respected defensive captain was the team’s only three-down linebacker last season. He finished with a career-best 96 tackles and eight passes defended. He has a chance to fill the same role in 2017.
Middle linebacker (B.J. Goodson): The second-year linebacker had a strong spring, during which he impressed the coaching staff and teammates. With last year’s starter Kelvin Sheppard still unsigned and unlikely to return, Goodson appears primed to start and become the signal-caller on this defense.
Strongside linebacker (Devon Kennard): The reliable Kennard does an excellent job setting the edge and playing with power. He’s entrenched as the starter on the strong side, in large part because of his run-stuffing ability.
Cornerback (Janoris Jenkins): He took his game to a new level with the Giants last season and earned his first Pro Bowl selection. He shut down Dallas Cowboys wideout Dez Bryant (twice) and proved to be a shutdown corner even against No. 1 receivers.
Cornerback (Eli Apple): With Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie having made the smooth transition to the slot, Apple is the clear-cut starter on the outside. After an up-and-down rookie season, he should make a significant jump, if he can remain healthy.
Strong safety (Landon Collins): He blossomed into an All-Pro safety in his second season. Collins had 125 tackles, five interceptions, 4.0 sacks and 13 passes defended while becoming a fixture in the Giants’ secondary. He’ll be there for a long time.
Free safety (Darian Thompson): This is one of the few defensive positions up for grabs. Safeties coach David Merritt said as much last month. Thompson missed all but two games last season, and undrafted rookie Andrew Adams filled in admirably. The two will compete for the starting spot this summer, but Thompson enters as the favorite with his foot healthy. He blew away the team last spring/summer with his smarts and instincts.
Special teams
Kicker (Aldrick Rosas): He’s the only kicker on the roster, and the Giants were impressed by what they saw this spring. It’s Rosas’ job to lose at training camp and in the preseason.
Punter (Brad Wing): He established himself as a weapon last season. Wing’s average of 46.2 yards per punt was the best of his career.
Long-snapper (Zak DeOssie): The veteran is back for another season. The special-teams captain is well-respected and considered a leader in the locker room.
RB Leipzig and FC Salzburg, which are both owned by the energy drinks company Red Bull, have received clearance from UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) to play in next season’s Champions League.
In a brief statement released Tuesday on the governing body’s website, UEFA said the two teams made “important” structural changes to ensure that Red Bull does not have “decisive” control or influence over more than one club.
No two clubs in a UEFA competition can share the same majority owner or have one individual holding a position of influence.
“Following a thorough investigation, and further to several important governance and structural changes made by the clubs (regarding corporate matters, financing, personnel, sponsorship arrangements, etc.), the CFCB deemed that no individual or legal entity had anymore a decisive influence over more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition,” the statement read.
The Bundesliga’s 50-plus-1 rule – which requires members of German clubs to have a controlling stake and majority vote in affairs – may have set Leipzig apart from sister club Salzburg.
But Red Bull has also distanced itself from Salzburg, according to Reuters, as it has relinquished a majority stake in favour of a sponsorship.
Had UEFA ruled that only one Red Bull-associated outfit could feature in the Champions League, Austrian champion Salzburg would have qualified ahead of Bundesliga runner-up Leipzig because it finished higher in its league.
In fact, Leipzig would have disqualified for Europe altogether because of the possibility of Salzburg falling into the second-tier Europa League.
The two sides could now theoretically face each other in the group stage of the continent’s premier tournament, raising questions about a potential conflict of interest. Both play in stadiums named Red Bull Arena and wear shirts with the company’s famous logo.
Salzburg will enter the second round of qualifying in July, while Leipzig will begin action in the Champions League proper.
