Month: March 2024

Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce officially announced his retirement after 13-years in the NFL. The a six-time All-Pro center, future Hall of Famer played his entire career with the Philadelphia Eagles after being drafted by the team in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Kelce, 36, posted on X early Monday morning that his decision was forthcoming, after having mulled over the issue for more than a year.

Kelce, who has seven Pro Bowl selections, six first-team All-Pro selections and one Super Bowl title under his list of career accomplishments, make his announcement during a press conference at the Philadelphia Eagles Training Center at the NovaCare Complex. Kelce shared in part: “So, this all brings us here to today, where I announce that I am retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles .. And today I must admit, I am officially overrated. Vastly overrated. It took a lot of hardwork and determination getting here. I have been the underdog my entire career, and I mean this when I say it, I wish I still was. Few things give me such joy as proving someone wrong.”  Kelce reminisced about his love of the game when he was a child in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, saying: “Stepping on the field was the most alive and free I had ever felt .. It was a visceral feeling with football unlike any other sport.”

An emotional Kelce later thanked his wife, Kylie, mother Donna, brother Travis Kelce and numerous coaches, teammates and “cafeteria workers” along the way, before concluding by thanking the city of Philadelphia: “It has always been a goal of mine to play my whole career in one city. I couldn’t have dreamt a better one and a better fit if I tried. I don’t know what’s next, but I look forward to the new challenges and opportunities that await, and I know that I carry with me the lessons for my time here and that forever we shall all share the bond of being Philadelphians.”

After the announcement, the Eagles paid tribute to Kelce on social media, posting: ‘The greatest to ever do it Congratulations on an incredible NFL career, Jason Kelce,’ and also sharing a video montage captioned: ‘To the GOAT. Thank you, thank you, thank you.’

Kelce showed no signs of declining in his final season — in 2023, he selected as a first-team All-Pro for the sixth time in his career, becoming the only center since the merger to earn six first-team All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl title. Kelce is the fifth center in NFL history with that many All-Pro selections.  Kelce allowed just one sack and 12 pressures on the season, with a pressure rate per dropback of 1.9% in 2023, coming off a career year in 2022 in which he allowed zero sacks, eight pressures, and a 1.3% pressure rate allowed per dropback.

After the end of the Eagles’ season where they lost a wild-card playoff game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kelce’s long-speculated decision to retire became more evident after he was shown emotionally hugging his longtime offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.  But despite reports that Kelce had announced his intention to retire to teammates following the game, he later clarified that he had not made a decision at the time. During his New Heights podcast earlier in January, he shared with brother Travis what he said to his fellow teammates following that final game: “I did address the team and pretty much said, ‘I [believe] in every single one of you guys. Cherish your moments in this league.’ That’s kind of the way it went down. A lot of guys [said], ‘If that’s your last game, I feel sorry for you.’ Don’t feel sorry for me, mother——-  Well either way, I truly appreciated everybody in that room, and I’d go to war with them any day of the week… Enjoy the time you got.”

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Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to score over 40,000 points NBA history. The NBA posted a clip of James scoring his 40,000 point, commenting: “LeBron James scores the bucket to become the first player in league history to score 40,000 career points ”

James officially scored his 40K point during the Lakers’ 124-114 loss to the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, with Los Angeles posting on X: “LeBron James: Founding member of the 40K points club ”. James had entered the game nine points short of the milestone, and scored the record-breaking 40,000th-point on a driving layup with 10:39 to play in the second quarter.

James, 39, had previously spoke about what the record would mean to him as he was nearing the 40,000-point mark, saying via NBA.com: “No one has done it. And for me to be in this position at this point and time in my career, I think it’s pretty cool. But is it one of the top things I’ve done in my career? No. Does it mean something? Of course. Why wouldn’t it?”

James, who is marking his 21st year in the NBA, has pulled away from some of the NBA’s all-time scoring list, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points), Karl Malone (36,928 points) and Kobe Bryant (33,643 points).  Among active players Kevin Durant is the closest to James, ranking ninth in NBA history.

James entered Saturday’s game ranked 15th in scoring this season, averaging 25.3 points, 7.9 assists and 7.1 rebounds per contest on 52.5% shooting from the floor in 53 games for the Lakers. He was named to his 20th straight All-Star Game in February, and has averaged at least 25 points in each of his previous 20 NBA seasons.

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University of Iowa basketball guard Caitlin Clark has broken the NCAA all-time scoring record, which had previously been held for more than 50 years by Hall of Famer Pete Maravich. Clark is now the leading scorer in major college basketball history, men’s or women’s. Maravich set the men’s major college record in 83 games over three varsity seasons (averaging 44.2 points per game) at LSU from 1967–68 through 1969–70, a record that stood for 54 years.

The 22-year-old Clark broke the record in the second quarter of Sunday’s Senior Day matchup against No. 2 Ohio State as the sold-out crowd cheered her on at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Clark entered Sunday’s game needing 18 points to surpass Maravich, and she passed him by making a pair of free throws in the final second of the first half, hitting 18 points in the game.

Clarks’ latest accomplishment came during her 130th career game, and her fourth collegiate season. Clark entered the game leading the nation in scoring at 32.2 points per game. Clark also just broke Lynette Woodard’s career scoring record for major women’s college basketball last Wednesday, and broke the NCAA Division I women’s scoring record previously held by Kelsey Plum on Feb. 15. She also holds the Big Ten women’s basketball record and Iowa’s program record.

Clark announced her intention to declare for the 2024 WNBA draft; she is expected to be the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever on April 15.

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