Minnesota United FC has dipped into the MLS NEXT Pro-to-first team waters for the first time announcing Friday the signing of MNUFC2 midfielder Emmanuel Iwe.
His historic contract runs through the 2023 MLS season, with club options for 2024-26.
Iwe who is a Nigerian, enjoyed a fast rise through Minnesota’s ranks after he impresses scouts during open tryouts in January 2022.
“The first time that we saw [Emmanuel] Iwe, the first thing that stood out was his pace – he’s incredibly athletic, he’s really quick,” Loons head coach Adrian Heath said in an announcement.
“… I think we always recognized that there was a lot of potential there and I think he started to realize some of that potential. We feel as though now he’s put himself in a spot where he’s deserved this opportunity to have an MLS contract, come onto the roster, and now let’s go from here. This is just the beginning.”
Iwe has four goals in 11 starts for MNUFC2 this year, while he made his MLS debut as a substitute against the Vancouver Whitecaps in Matchday 4 after signing a short-term agreement with the first team. Two extra short-term agreements ensued, allowing him to appear again off the bench against CF Montréal earlier this month while also starting the Loons’ 3-1 win over USL Championship side Detroit City FC in the US Open Cup Round of 32 in April.
“It’s a credit to [Emmanuel] for putting himself out there in the first place. Coming to an open tryout is never easy and then taking the opportunities that have come his way,” MNUFC2 manager Cameron Knowles said.
“… It’s great for him that he’s been able to take this next step, and it’s the beginning of the next phase of his career, which is really exciting.”
Blake Wheeler signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the New York Rangers on Saturday. The deal came with a possible $300,000 in bonuses.
Wheeler was an unrestricted free agent after he had a final season of his five-year, $$1.25 million contract displayed by the Winnipeg Jets.
The Forward captained the Jets from 2016-22 before he was relieved of his duties this season. He had 55 points (16 goals, 29 assists) in 72 regular-season games last season and six points (two goals, four assists) in five Stanley Cup Playoff games.
“I want to thank everyone in Winnipeg for all the love and support over these past 12 years,” Wheeler said. “It has been my absolute honour and privilege to be a Winnipeg Jet and to represent this city and organization. My family and I can’t thank everyone in the city and province enough for everything you’ve done for us. Winnipeg is always going to be a home to myself, my wife Sam, and our children: Louie, Leni, and Mase. Thank you so much for the support, love and friendship that you’ve shown us these past 12 years and we look forward to rooting on the Jets in the future.”
Chosen by the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round (No.5) of the 2004 NHL Draft, Wheeler has 922 points (312 goals, 610 assists) in 1,118 regular-season games for the Jets, Atlanta Thrashers and Boston Bruins and 45 points (10 goals, 35 assists) in 65 playoff games. He is first in games (897), assists (550) and points (812) in Jets/Thrashers history and third in goals (262).
Blake was not the only player signed to the Rangers on Saturday, Jonathan Quick penned down a one-year $825,000 contract with the team. It includes a possible $100,000 in bonuses.
Quick was 16-15-6 with a 3.41 goals-against average, .882 save percentage and two shutouts in 41 regular-season fanes (36 starts) for the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings last season, plus 5-2-2 with a 3.13 GAA, .901 save percentage and one shutout in 10 games (nine starts) after he was bought in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 2.
Jonathan did not play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Golden Knights, who won the Cup. He also won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2012 with the Kings.
Atlanta United VS Philadelphia Union brings MLS fans a fresh fixture to end the matchday after its earlier hours were packed with numerous exciting matches.
Philadelphia will be visiting Atlanta off of 6 successive matches without a loss against the Five Stripes and will want to advance to 2nd position in the Eastern Conference table as both teams clash in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium tonight.
Atlant United continues to battle for results away from home after a 4-0 lashing from New York Red Bulls at the Red Bull Arena last Monday.
Despite being behind for most of the matches and seeing only 34% of the ball possession, goals from Daniel Edelman, Cristian Casseres Jr. and second-half support from Frankie Amaya helped United win an easy victory.
Atlanta has played 9 successive matches without a victory on the road, losing 4 and getting 5 draws since a 3-0 win over Charlotte FC on March 11.
But, Atlanta United is now home, where they have recorded just one loss since the season began and are undefeated in their last fixture, securing 2 wins and 2 draws since they lost 3-1 to Charlotte in May.
With 29 points gathered from 20 games, the Five Stripes are presently 6th in the Eastern Conference standings, two points behind Columbus Crew which is in fifth place, and have one pending match.
At the other end of the field, Philadelphia Union went back to winning in style when they destroyed Inter Miami 4-1 when they met at Subaru Park last Sunday.
Jakob Glesnes, Julian Carranza and Leon Flach scored goals to put the Union in a dominating first-half lead, Robert Taylor for Miami in the 50th minute, but a 68th-minute own goal from David Ruiz restored the three-goal deficit.
Before that, Philadelphia witnessed their six-game undefeated run end on June 11 no thanks to a 2-1 defeat by the San Jose Earthquakes, 11 days before a 2-2 draw at Orlando City.
After last weekend’s win, the Union now has 4 home wins on the trot and is undefeated in 9 straight games, obtaining 6 wins and 3 draws since a 2-1 loss at Orlando in March.
Coming up for Philadelphia is a rival that is winless in all of their last 6 meetings across all competitions, losing 3 and claiming 3 draws since a 4-0 victory in January 2020.
The Union have won 10 of their 19 matches thus far, with 4 draws and losing 5 to score 34 points and sit in 4th place in the Eastern Conference table, 9 points behind first-placed Cincinnati.
Atlanta United will want to save face tonight after their belittling defeat against New York. But, they are playing Philadelphia Union who has been on the better end of this fixture over the past two years.
Although home advantage makes Atlanta slight favourites, experts predict that the guests will do enough damage to enjoy the good of this game.
The Seattle Sounders started the season with 6 victories from 9 MLS fixtures, which led to some expectations that they would last at the top of the Western Conference.
Although they have done that to some extent, there is no denying that they are lucky to still be in 3rd position after a five-game defeat galore.
Additionally, the Sounders won only two of their last 11 games, with the goalless draw with Orlando City keeping them in the right direction.
But, their last three victories since the middle of April have been 1-0 scorelines, and Seattle failed to score four in their most recent five matches.
While they still have the best defensive record in the West, there is no confusion that they should find better balance if they must keep playing to enter playoffs.
Possible Lineups: Frei, Baker, Andrade, Ragen, Tolo, Paulo, Vargas, Lodeiro, Rusnak, Chu, Heber.
Betting On Houston Dynamo
1XBet Spread: +1.5
1XBet Over/Under: Under 2.5
1XBet Moneyline: 3.98
If Houston Dynamo wrote the reports, they’ll say they are a rising team even after losing 3-0 at mid-table Austin FC last time out.
Before that loss, they have gotten three consecutive victories with four goals against Los Angeles FC and San Jose Earthquakes.
With only 4 points separating 3rd and 9th, those points have made Houston contenders finish with playoff spots.
Regardless, they already lost to Sounders this year by a 1-0 scoreline in a match where players were sent off in the 21st and 78th minutes.
Despite having luxurious positions in MLS, none of these teams has proven that they deserve this spot, particularly with the Sounders losing their way.
Regardless, experts believe that Seattle will play well enough to get enough points and maintain their third position.
While some teams have been consistent in the Western Conference, the San Jose Earthquakes take the cake this season for unpredictable results.
They have faced two consecutive defeats, with the most recent one at the hands of Houston Dynamo and St. Louis City.
However, even after losing many games as they have won this year and possessing a negative goal difference, they are still in 5th position.
After last year’s 14th-placed finish, the Earthquakes can start enjoying the campaign, although there is more to come from them.
On that note, the majority of their points have been in familiar territory, securing 6 wins and 3 draws from 10 games and it is important that they maintain this form since they have played poorly on the road.
The LA Galaxy have failed to defend their last season’s 4th position finish and struggle with improvement.
Presently, they are in 13th place, avoiding the bottom of the standings thanks to a four-game undefeated streak with has given them 6 points.
They have 3 consecutive draws, yet there is a chance for them to go back to contending for playoffs with two games left with some teams above them.
For this to happen, LA Galaxy which lost half of their 18 league games, must get maximum points on the board regularly and one of their three wins was from the Earthquakes in a match that happened on May 15th.
With the Earthquakes slacking at a time when Galaxy are gradually finding their form, this game may be closer than expected. However, the hosts will have the edge.
In FC Dallas VS Los Angeles FC, Los Angeles will play to get back to the winning side in the MLS Western Conference when they visit Dallas today.
The visitors are presently second in the table, level on points with leaders St Louis City, while Dallas is in 7th position, with 26 points from their opening 19 games of the year.
FC Dallas ended third in the Western Conference last year, eventually making it to the conference semi-finals where they lost 2-1 to Austin FC.
They have had a hard time staying consistent this season, even with a record of 7 wins, 5 draws, and seven defeats from 19 matches to collect 26 points, which has left them in 7th place.
June 8 was the last time this team won a match, recording a 2-0 win over St. Louis, but they’ve lost to Portland Timbers and Austin, recording losses in 4 of their last 5 matches.
Dallas has consecutive home games at the beginning of July, hosting DC United in their next match after this one, before going to Colorado.
They won 2-1 over Los Angeles in the corresponding match last season, but they also lost 2-1 to them when they met earlier this year.
Los Angeles FC on the other hand, enters today’s match on the back of a 3-2 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps, which was their fourth league loss of the season.
They were plunged into 2-0 down inside the opening 23 minutes of the match in California and could not recover, with the Whitecaps running out narrow winners.
LA is second in the table on 32 points, level with St. Louis City, although they have a match in hand on the team at the top of the division.
The team had a fantastic run last season, concluding top of the Western Conference with 67 points before dominating in the playoffs, and defeating Philadelphia Union on penalties to win the MLS Cup.
Los Angeles has a busy beginning to July, playing 5 times before July 16, and will be playing for control of the division in the coming weeks, especially since leading team Louis lost 7 times this year.
Los Angeles will fight to go back to winning after their disappointing loss to Vancouver and experts are predicting a win for them. Dallas has what it takes to get a positive result today, but they may not live up to that expectation in this game.
The Miami Heat traded Victor Oladipo back to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night in exchange for future Draft compensation, per multiple reports.
Oklahoma City is acquiring Victor Oladipo and draft compensation to absorb his $9.45 million expiring contract, sources tell ESPN. Miami creates a trade exception of $9.45M with the deal.
The draft compensation sent to OKC last night in the Victor Oladipo trade involves a second-round pick. The protections remain on the 2025 first-round selection that the Heat owes the Thunder.
This move will create a $9.45 million trade exception for the Heat, said the person, who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition that he’ll be kept anonymous because the trade has not been finalized by the NBA. It also gives Miami some financial flexibility, which is way above the tax threshold for the coming season.
Last season, Oladipo averaged 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game in 26.3 minutes per game as a reserve for the Heat.
Oladipo exercised this choice on Tuesday to be under contract for the upcoming season, though it is unclear when he will be able to play next. He tore his left patellar tendon in the first round of the playoffs against Milwaukee in April.
The Heat guard had undergone his third major surgery in the last four years, the other two were on his right knee area and there is no set timetable for his return.
Victor was a two-time All-Star with Indiana before getting injured in January 2019. The Pacers traded him to Houston in January 2021. The Rockets traded him to Miami two months later, he played for matches in March 2021 with the Heat before he was wounded again.
In the 2016-17 season, Oladipo averaged 15.9 points with the Thunder. He spent his first three years in Orlando, then had a year in Oklahoma City before moving to Indiana.
Veteran point guard for the Washington Wizards Monte Morris is being traded to the Detroit Pistons, per a report from multiple sources. In the deal, the Pistons are getting Morris from the Wizards in exchange for a future second-round pick.
New story: Can confirm that the #Pistons have acquired #Wizards guard Monte Morris, who's also a native of Flint, in a trade in exchange for a future second-round pick.
Morris averaged 10.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists last season. https://t.co/0KZMUJm1Zd
Last season, Morris averaged 10.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 48% overall and 38.2% on 3-pointers in 27.3 minutes per game. Monte was a regular starter for Washington, joining the club with Will Barton through an offseason trade that dealt Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith to the Nuggets.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the trade frees up a $9.8 million traded player exception for the Wizards. This is the second reported trade of the offseason for the Pistons. On Friday afternoon, they accepted a deal with the Brooklyn Nets for sharpshooter Joe Harris.
Morris, a six-year NBA veteran, who comes from Grand Rapids, Mich, appeared stoked about the trade and took to Twitter after the deal was reported, posting: “I’m coming home!! Let’s get it @DetroitPistons”
So far this offseason, the Wizards have been busy as their roster has been through significant changes. They dealt All-Star guard Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns as part of a three-team trade. Days later, they reportedly consented to a deal that would bring Jordan Poole to Washington from the Golden State Warriors. When free agency opened on Friday, they reportedly agreed to a new contract with rising forward Kyle Kuzma.
Darren Drozdov, a former NFL player who played for the Denver Broncos before becoming a professional wrestler, died Friday, his family made the announcement through World Wrestling Entertainment. He was 54.
According to his family, Drozdov died due to natural causes. He had been a quadriplegic since October of 1999 after he got paralyzed performing in the ring.
Drozdov played for the Broncos from 1993-1994, competing in six career games with two starts for Denver in ‘93. He played collegiately at Maryland, with stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets organizations.
“We’re saddened by the passing of Darren Drozdov, who played for the Broncos from 1993-94 before becoming a @WWE wrestler,” the Broncos said in a statement. “‘Droz’ embodied the spirit of perseverance & determination through adversity, and our hearts go out to his family.”
We're saddened by the passing of Darren Drozdov, who played for the Broncos from 1993-94 before becoming a @WWE wrestler.
"Droz" embodied the spirit of perseverance & determination through adversity, and our hearts go out to his family. pic.twitter.com/9clWCZxRdt
When his NFL days ended, the ex-Broncos tried his hand at the World Wrestling Federation, starting in 1998. Early in his career, he was dubbed “Puke” a name which he got after he was caught on video during his football days vomiting on the field. He had an unforgettable scene in the wrestling documentary “Beyond the Mat’’ when owner and chairman Vince McMahon requested that he upchuck on command.
Haven joined the WWF during the so-called “Attitude Era’’, Drozdov gained his biggest notoriety when he joined the Legion of Doom (also known as the Road Warriors), one of professional wrestling’s most renowned tag teams of all time. As part of the LOD gimmick, “Droz’’ wore shoulder pads again, only this time they had spikes on them.
WWE is saddened to learn that Darren Drozdov passed away on Friday, June 30, at age 54.
Drozdov’s career tragically ended when he was taping an episode of Smackdown when he landed wrong taking a powerbomb from D-Lo Brown.
His family recorded that he was preserved through the tragedy.
“Droz maintained a championship mindset and lived every day to the fullest even though he was unable to move from the neck down for the past 24 years,” a portion of his family’s statement read. “His own words sum up his relentless positivity in the midst of adversity: ‘There is always another day. Just because I’m paralyzed and stuck in a wheelchair, doesn’t mean my life is over. I’ve learned to live again, and my life is far from over.'”
Patrick Mahomes Kansas City Chiefs quarterback may have received his second career Associated Press Most Valuable Player last season, but, no player was more valuable to his team than T.J. Watt the Steelers pass rusher.
The Pittsburgh Steelers permitted the lowest total yards per game (272.9) in the NFL from Weeks 10-18 after Watt came back from a torn pectoral and knee injury – more than 100 yards less than the Steelers allowed without him, according to reports from NFL Research.
Does a healthy Watt make Pittsburgh one of the best defenses in the NFL? An in-depth look into the numbers provided by NFL Research gives an emphatic yes.
Last year, the Steelers rallied down the stretch for a 9-8 record, preserving their playoff hopes until Week 18. There were a lot of reasons for their emergence, but Watt’s presence was the biggest.
In his absence in 2022, Pittsburgh was a dismal 1-6. With Watt in 2022, Pittsburgh was a sterling 8-2.
The Steelers led by Watt permitted only 16.9 per game and 288.8 total yards, posting 32 sacks and 18 takeaways in 10 games. The Watt-less Steelers allowed 25.3 points a match, 389.9myards and tallied only 8 sacks and 5 takeaways in 7 contests.
Only Patrick Queen, linebacker of the Ravens and Watt (5.5 sacks, eight tackles for loss, 12 QB hits, two interceptions and a forced fumble) had five-plus sacks, multiple picks and a forced fumble in 2022. And this was just within 10 weeks of playing time.
Watt’s showing a season ago was only a sample size of what he has been up to for a six-year career where he made five Pro Bowls, three All-Pro squads and get 2021 Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year.
Simply put, Watt is off to have one of the biggest starts for a pass rusher in NFL history.
Since 2017 when he made his debut as a rookie first-rounder, he has led the NFL in sacks (77.5), plus a record-tying 22.5 in 2021, QB hits (162) and forced fumbles (23), per NFL Research. T.J.’s averaging 0.89 sacks per game in his career which is the highest in league history (minimum 50 games).
Those 77.5 sacks not just put him in a Hall of Fame trajectory, but makes him a shoo-in for the third player in NFL chronicle to notch 100 career sacks before his 30th birthday. Watt does not hit the big 3-oh until October 11, 2024, and by then, he might have reached the air importance gotten only by Hall of Famer Reggie White and Jared Allen.
It comes as no surprise that the Steelers are better with Watt in the lineup, but just how massive his impact is is unbelievable. He makes a difference indeed.
