He is a six-time All-Pro selection, a Super Bowl champion and should be fitted for a gold Hall of Fame jacket when he retires. But because he is not ready for that step just yet, the veteran linebacker is embracing a very new challenge, leaving his comfort zone on the West Coast in Seattle to be a leader and mentor for the rebuilding Commanders.

“You just share your scars,” Wagner said. “A lot of things that you can’t learn from youth, you can learn from experience. So people that can give that knowledge and give that insight — things that I did my rookie year, my second year, third year — and try to have you avoid some of those mistakes. I think that’s probably the biggest thing.”

Even before playing a game in burgundy and gold, the coaching staff has noticed Wagner making an impact on teammates young and old alike. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, the new face of the franchise after being taken with the second pick in the draft, is eager to pick Wagner’s brain, soak up some information and learn strong habits — and he is not alone in that desire.

“You just go to him to get some knowledge,” said defensive tackle Daron Payne, who’s going into his seventh NFL season. “Just a good vet guy that you can go to, talk to about anything.”

Coach Dan Quinn, whose first defensive coordinator job in the league came with the Seahawks in 2013, still remembers Wagner — then in just his second professional season — answering every question posed about what was being introduced.

Now, Quinn watches Wagner pull other players aside to point things out to discuss a type of coverage or concept and is proud of the 34-year-old’s evolution to this stage of his career.

“This is a rare competitor,” Quinn said. “When you look back on it, some of the people that mentored (him), now that’s a way to pay it forward. And so that’s one of the coolest parts of our game is when now you get to pass that along to the next one, and the very best players do that.”

Wagner learned from a young age from Seattle teammates Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman and took it a step further, talking to legendary linebackers such as Mike Singletary and Ray Lewis about how to command a unit. He believes he was blessed to have natural leaders around him and has tried to grow into that role.

“Those guys I had a chance to learn from, and when it was my opportunity, I try to take advantage of it,” Wagner said. “I think the middle linebacker position, always naturally you’re a leader because you call the plays, you have to relay the messages and you’re the one that tends to communicate the most in most cases.”

New general manager Adam Peters and Quinn did not sign Wagner to a contract worth up to $8.5 million to just be a teacher. He is expected to help transform Washington’s defense that ranked last among 32 teams last season as one of several new faces.

“It’s major, especially when you have a whole new defense,” defensive end Clelin Ferrell said. “It’s major having a leader like that, somebody who leads by example.”

That example is something fellow vets such as defensive tackle Jonathan Allen hopes is contagious, filtering down from Wagner to the rest of the roster.

“He just brings a winning presence, a winning culture the way he works every day,” Allen said. “And when you see a guy like that who I think is in year 13 — a first-ballot Hall of Famer — work as hard as he does, there’s really no excuse for anybody else.”

Numbers game: Baltimoreans of a certain generation might find some amusement in Lamar Jackson’s trademark dispute with Troy Aikman over who has promotional rights to No. 8. At least until Jackson leads the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory, for the burghers at the other end of the Chesapeake Bay, the most revered No. 8 is Cal Ripken Jr.

On edge: As the MLB trade deadline approaches and the Orioles’ need for a front-line starting pitcher grows urgent, baseball insiders have done a lot of speculating about the Tides’ talent pool — which players are untouchable and which aren’t. We shall soon find out.

Idle thought: The Open Championship served as another reminder that Tiger Woods has been a ceremonial golfer for quite some time now.

TV timeout: I’m reading a lot about the ACC’s “identity crisis,” created, in part, because the conference can’t keep pace with the media reach of SEC football. Don’t see how the additions of SMU, Cal and Stanford are any help with that.

Future watch: The distinct possibility exists that the inclusion of Oregon and Southern Cal in the Big Ten will expose the conference’s brand of football as highly overrated.

Weird and wacky: Under Jim Harbaugh, who compared the first training-camp practice to childbirth — “it was like coming out of the womb” — the Chargers’ season may be good or bad, but never dull.

Looking ahead: Dak Prescott is about to become the first quarterback to break the $60 million-per-season barrier. And yes, he’s still 2-5 in playoff games.

Girl dads: Some of the increased popularity of the WNBA — TV viewership for its All-Star Game jumped 300% this year — is credited to men warming up to women’s sports. That’s true in a sense. But it doesn’t take into account the dads who have always supported and coached their daughters on the grassroots level. There wouldn’t be women’s sports without fathers.

Just asking: Something has been left out of reports on the WNBA’s new 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal with Disney, Amazon Prime and NBC Universal. Does Caitlin Clark get a cut?

Nostalgic: Because Olympics coverage is programmed for a female audience, boxing — once a major attraction — has been given an eight-count by TV since Sweet Pea Whitaker took gold in the ’84 LA Games, with Howard Cosell at the mic for a national audience. For broadcasting purposes, boxing isn’t what it used to be. But as a result, neither are the Olympics.

That guy: Bob Beamon holds the Olympic record in the long jump, and swimmer Michael Phelps has won the most medals. But nobody had a bigger impact on a prominent Olympic sport than Dick Fosbury, a 1968 gold medalist whose Fosbury Flop — leaping over the bar backward — revolutionized high jumping.

Another oddity: Breaking — breakdancing — which deserves ridicule as an Olympic “sport,” is not the only event entering the Games on a trial basis. Surfing is another. Surfing in France? Not exactly. The competition will be held in Tahiti, a French protectorate located almost 10,000 miles from Paris. Don’t try to understand it.

Tennis tussle: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who haven’t met on court in more than two years, could tangle in the second round of the Olympics. Djokovic leads their head-to-head 30-29, with Nadal up 8-2 on the red dirt of Roland Garros. The “lions in winter” vibe adds to the anticipation.

Real politics: With the IOC’s ban of Russia from the Olympics, only 15 Russian athletes — seven of them tennis players — will compete. But why 15? Why not zero?

Bob Molinaro is a former Virginian-Pilot sports columnist. His Weekly Briefing runs Fridays in The Pilot and Daily Press. He can be reached at bob5molinaro@gmail.com and via Twitter@BobMolinaro.

With all that in mind, Daniels is undoubtedly the focal point of Washington Commanders training camp that opened Wednesday, with all eyes on the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner out of LSU who instantly became the face of the reinvigorated franchise when he was taken with the second pick in the NFL draft this past spring.

Barring injury or unforeseen struggles over the next month, Daniels is on track to be Washington’s eighth different Week 1 starting QB in as many seasons — a revolving door the organization would love to stop spinning. But first, it is up to the 23-year-old to show teammates and coaches he is up to the task of developing into a professional in an already bright spotlight.

“It’s not a secret, but it is a journey and a process,” Quinn said of Daniels earning the No. 1 job. “As we’re going, when he’s ready, we will know. And when he’s ready, he’ll also know.”

He starts out sharing snaps with veteran Marcus Mariota, whose signing foreshadowed the Commanders taking Daniels, with the longtime backup — the No. 2 pick in 2015 — serving in a mentoring role. Around them are top receiver Terry McLaurin, 2022 first-round pick Jahan Dotson, holdover running back Brian Robinson Jr. and some new offensive additions, including Austin Ekeler and Zach Ertz.

The expectation is not to be among the league’s top teams right away, but rather build around Daniels, who has publicly projected nothing but humility about the role he has assumed.

“I’m focused on learning, focus on going out here and keep competing every day and having fun, bringing that energy and that joy and that competitiveness to the team,” Daniels said recently. “We want to compete in everything that we do, so I’m out here just trying to do my job and that’s getting the 11 people on my side of the ball to go the same direction.”

There’s a lot of room to improve. Washington had the 24th-ranked offense last season, when Sam Howell started all 17 games, and the coaching staff went pass-heavy.

Howell has since been traded to Seattle to clear room for Daniels, who has impressed teammates with his talent and work ethic.

“He wants to be great,” McLaurin said Wednesday. “A lot of the things he just naturally has the ability to have a feel for the game, which is very unique for any quarterback, let alone a rookie.”

Veteran offensive lineman Cornelius Lucas, the leading candidate to protect Daniels’ blind side at left tackle, sees Daniels not look at all like a rookie.

“He seems experienced already,” Lucas said. “Quick learner. Quick on his feet.”

Right tackle Andrew Wylie, one of the key holdovers from the organization’s previous regime along with Lucas, said he “knew immediately that guy was special” starting in offseason workouts in the spring. The respect and admiration for Daniels is only growing with each practice.

“He’s a great leader of this offense,” Wylie said. “He’s truly a gunslinger. He can do it all, man. The sky’s the limit for that kid.”

Notes: Rookie DT Johnny Newton was activated off the non-football injury list following offseason surgery on his left foot. … DE Efe Obada opened camp on the physically unable to perform list.

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Jayden Daniels insists he is just a rookie, not yet a star quarterback. Dan Quinn is not jumping at the chance to name Daniels the starter at football’s most important position before the new coach feels it is time.

With all that in mind, Daniels is undoubtedly the focal point of Washington Commanders training camp that opened Wednesday, with all eyes on the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner out of LSU who instantly became the face of the reinvigorated franchise when he was taken with the second pick in the NFL draft this past spring.

Barring injury or unforeseen struggles over the next month, Daniels is on track to be Washington’s eighth different Week 1 starting QB in as many seasons — a revolving door the organization would love to stop spinning. But first, it is up to the 23-year-old to show teammates and coaches he is up to the task of developing into a professional in an already bright spotlight.

“It’s not a secret, but it is a journey and a process,” Quinn said of Daniels earning the No. 1 job. “As we’re going, when he’s ready, we will know. And when he’s ready, he’ll also know.”

He starts out sharing snaps with veteran Marcus Mariota, whose signing foreshadowed the Commanders taking Daniels, with the longtime backup — the No. 2 pick in 2015 — serving in a mentoring role. Around them are top receiver Terry McLaurin, 2022 first-round pick Jahan Dotson, holdover running back Brian Robinson Jr. and some new offensive additions, including Austin Ekeler and Zach Ertz.

The expectation is not to be among the league’s top teams right away but rather build around Daniels, who has publicly projected nothing but humility about the role he has assumed.

“I’m focused on learning, focus on going out here and keep competing every day and having fun, bringing that energy and that joy and that competitiveness to the team,” Daniels said recently. “We want to compete in everything that we do, so I’m out here just trying to do my job and that’s getting the 11 people on my side of the ball to go the same direction.”

There’s a lot of room to improve. Washington had the 24th-ranked offense last season when Sam Howell started all 17 games, and the coaching staff went pass-heavy.

Howell has since been traded to Seattle to clear room for Daniels, who has impressed teammates with his talent and work ethic.

“He wants to be great,” McLaurin said Wednesday. “A lot of the things he just naturally has the ability to have a feel for the game, which is very unique for any quarterback, let alone a rookie.”

Veteran offensive lineman Cornelius Lucas, the leading candidate to protect Daniels’ blind side at left tackle, sees Daniels not look at all like a rookie.

“He seems experienced already,” Lucas said. “Quick learner. Quick on his feet.”

Right tackle Andrew Wylie, one of the key holdovers from the organization’s previous regime along with Lucas, said he “knew immediately that guy was special” starting in offseason workouts this past spring. The respect and admiration for Daniels is only growing with each practice.

“He’s a great leader of this offense,” Wylie said. “He’s truly a gunslinger. He can do it all, man. The sky’s the limit for that kid.”

NOTES: Rookie DT Johnny Newton was activated off the non-football injury list following offseason surgery on his left foot. … DE Efe Obada opened camp on the physically unable to perform list.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

The old turf field with the old logo is being torn up and replaced, and their practice facility is abuzz with construction projects all over.

Josh Harris’ ownership group has been in charge for just over a year now, and the organization’s transformation is now fully on display. When training camp opens Wednesday, new coach Dan Quinn will oversee a team almost totally remade by new general manager Adam Peters.

Only a third of the camp roster was around last summer, and the fresh faces from rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels to veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner give the franchise a much-needed clean slate.

“I love each of the years because not every year is exactly the same,” Quinn said at a camp-opening news conference Tuesday. “But you only get one first shot with a whole new group, and we’re not going to miss that shot.”

Not missing starts with Daniels, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 pick in the draft who has become the centerpiece of this latest rebuilding effort. Unlike Chicago with top selection Caleb Williams, the Commanders are not yet anointing Daniels their Week 1 starter, with Quinn saying, “When he’s ready, we’ll know.”

They are ready to let that process play out in the coming weeks, with Daniels sharing snaps on the practice field and in preseason games with Marcus Mariota.

“It’s not one-size-fits-all,” Peters said. “You don’t want to fast-track it. You don’t want to slow it down. You just want to let it happen naturally.”

What Peters also hopes comes naturally is teamwide competition, the result of signing more than a dozen free agents with no prior connection to the organization and making nine draft picks to fill holes well beyond quarterback. He was looking for a certain type of player throughout the offseason of change, and more roster turnover could happen before Washington opens the season Sept. 8 at Tampa Bay.

“We’re thrilled about the 90 guys we have here,” said Peters who is in his first role as an NFL GM after a decorated front office career with stops in Denver, New England and most recently working under John Lynch with San Francisco. “(Quinn) preaches competition every day, so we’re always going to look at ways to improve the roster. But as it sits now, we feel great about the guys we have.”

Some of the holdovers are foundational pieces, such as top wide receiver Terry McLaurin, running back Brian Robinson Jr. and defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne. But after going 43-71-1 over the past seven seasons with one playoff berth — also a loss — to show for it, there was reason to start almost from scratch in Washington.

The offensive line could have three new starters. Austin Ekeler is now part of the backfield mix. And Wagner and Frankie Luvu are at the forefront of a defense that behind Allen and Payne is virtually unrecognizable from the unit that ranked last in the league last season.

That kind of change should be good after the Commanders bottomed out at 4-13 in Ron Rivera’s fourth and final season as coach and head of football operations. Their win total over/under for this season is 6.5 on BetMGM Sportsbook, which is setting a low external expectation.

As for what team brass thinks a successful season might be, neither Quinn nor Peters was willing to show his hand, deferring instead to the idea that it begins with forming an identity and good habits that they hope will eventually show in victories when it matters.

“How fast or slow that goes, there’s so many different things that are variables in all that,” Peters said. “But I can tell you that you’re going to see a great effort team, a competitive team playing fast and physical.”

A team spokesperson confirmed Thursday that Wright is departing the organization and will remain in a senior advisory role for the time being while the search for his successor is ongoing. That is expected to get underway soon as the ownership group led by Josh Harris that assumed control last year continues to reshape the franchise.

“This feels like the right moment for me to explore my next leadership opportunity,” Wright said. “We have taken this franchise through a period of immense challenge and uncertainty and have transformed it. We’ve set the table for an incredibly bright future under Josh’s leadership.”

Wright is expected to maintain similar responsibilities in the coming months, specifically focusing on a naming rights deal and the process of determining a new stadium site and further developments on that front. The team’s lease at the stadium formerly known as FedEx Field is set to expire in 2027.

Hired in the summer of 2020 by former owner Dan Snyder, Wright was immediately tasked with being one of the faces of the organization in tumult, along with then-coach and head of football operations Ron Rivera. A former running back who then went into business, Wright helped steer the organization through a rebranding effort that ended with the new name, Commanders.

When Harris and his group bought the team from Snyder, a North American professional sports record $6.05 billion sale approved unanimously by league owners in July 2023, Wright remained in his role throughout the transition.

Harris said Wright made a remarkable impact during his time in charge.

“He stepped in at a time of immense challenge and has led this organization through an incredible transformation that set that stage for everything that is to come,” Harris said. “I am extremely grateful to Jason for his partnership to me and the rest of the ownership group over the past year. His guidance has been invaluable and his leadership has helped reshape our culture.”

Wright, 42, pointed to fans returning and a reconnection with the community as some of the accomplishments he was proudest of from the past year on the job. He added, “Most importantly, we re-established a culture of respect in this organization.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

A wide receiver and All-Pro kick returner for the Ravens from 2012 to 2014 who was a Super Bowl hero, Jones has died, the team said Sunday. He had just turned 40 on Thursday.

According to a statement from the NFL Players Association on behalf of Jones’ family, he died “peacefully at his home in New Orleans.”

Jones was the star of Baltimore’s Super Bowl 47 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in his hometown of New Orleans. He caught a 56-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and opened the second half with a Super Bowl-record 108-yard kickoff return for a score, helping the Ravens take a 28-6 lead, which they held on to for a 34-31 victory to secure the organization’s second championship.

“We are completely heartbroken to learn about the passing of Jacoby Jones,” the Ravens said in a statement. “Jacoby had the unique ability to connect with everyone he encountered. His charisma, joy and love created a one-of-a-kind presence that could light up any room or brighten any dark day.

“Jacoby will long be remembered not just for his success on the football field, but for the lasting personal connections he made with countless people in the Ravens organization, Baltimore community and every area he called home.”

Jones’ impact on the field wasn’t limited to the Super Bowl.

He also had a 70-yard, game-tying touchdown catch in the waning seconds of regulation in the Ravens’ AFC divisional round playoff game that season against the Denver Broncos, which Baltimore went on to win in double overtime. Dubbed the “Mile High Miracle,” it was voted the greatest moment in team history for the NFL’s 100th anniversary in 2019.

“I loved Jacoby Jones. We all did,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said in a statement. “His spirit, enthusiasm and love for people were powerful. He was a light. He was the cherished son of his loving mom, Ms. Emily. They were so close. He was a man of faith.

“My favorite football play was when Jacoby was talking to his mom in the end zone, just before a late-game kickoff return against the Vikings in a snowstorm shootout. Jacoby then raced to catch the ball and run it back for a touchdown. My favorite Jacoby personal moment was every time I saw his smiling face full of Joy. Rest in peace, Jacoby, in the arms of Jesus.”

Jones spent nine seasons in the NFL after he was selected out of Division II Lane College with the 73rd pick in the third round of the 2007 draft by the Texans. He played his first five seasons in the league in Houston, where his talent was on display early. His first touchdown catch came in Week 2 of his rookie year against the Tennessee Titans, and four games later he returned a punt 70 yards for a score against the Miami Dolphins.

Jones recorded 127 catches for 1,741 yards and 11 touchdowns and scored four times on kick and punt returns with the Texans, who released him in 2012. The Ravens signed him to a two-year, $7 million deal, and again it didn’t take long for him to make an impact.

Six games into his Ravens career, Jones delivered another highlight-reel moment, returning a kickoff an NFL-record 108 yards for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in Baltimore’s 31-29 victory at M&T Bank Stadium. Three games later, he had a 105-yard return for a touchdown in a 55-20 win over the then-Oakland Raiders, becoming the first player to return two kicks at least 105 yards in the same season.

The following week in Pittsburgh, Jones returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown, lifting Baltimore to a 13-10 win over its bitter AFC North rival, marking the time a Ravens player had returned a punt for a touchdown against the Steelers. His five total return touchdowns for Baltimore rank second in franchise history.

Then came his playoff performance against the Broncos and star quarterback Peyton Manning in Denver.

With the Ravens trailing 35-28 with 44 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and facing a third-and-3 from their own 30-yard line, Jones streaked past Denver defensive backs Tony Carter and Rahim Moore, and quarterback Joe Flacco connected with him on the 70-yard scoring strike. Justin Tucker, a rookie at the time, then kicked a 47-yard field goal to win the game in the second overtime period.

Baltimore went on to defeat the New England Patriots, 28-13, in the AFC championship game at Gillette Stadium before beating the 49ers in the Super Bowl in New Orleans, thanks in large part to Jones’ 290 all-purpose yards, a Super Bowl record.

“My brother, you will truly be missed,” former Ravens linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis posted on X, formerly Twitter. “They can’t take the memories and the hard work you put in on and off the football field. You always gave back and always a pillar in the community, a @Ravens for life. Love ya JJ.”

Jones, who was also a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2013 and paired up with Karina Smirnoff to finish third, remained with the Ravens through the 2014 season before being released and spending the following season with the then-San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers. In Pittsburgh, he played under coach Mike Tomlin, who infamously strayed into the path of Jones along the sideline as he returned a kick for a would-be touchdown during a nationally televised game on Thanksgiving night in 2013.

“We don’t win Super Bowl XLVII without Jacoby,” then-Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said at the time of Jones’ release. “Jacoby was an outstanding Raven and a good teammate on and off the field.”

In September 2017, Jones returned to the organization, signing a one-day contract with Baltimore so he could retire as a Raven.

“This organization is a family more than anything,” he said at his retirement news conference. “The city of Baltimore accepted me. They took me in. It’s love, I appreciate it. Everything has to come to an end, but at least it’s here.”

Jones holds the Ravens’ record for most career kickoff return touchdowns (four), most kickoff return touchdowns in a single season (two) and the longest kickoff return in team history. He finished his career with 203 catches for 2,733 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also had 4,940 yards and five touchdowns as a kick returner and 2,688 yards and four scores as a punt returner.

His contributions off the field were also significant.

After his retirement, he went on to be the wide receivers coach at Lane College from 2018 to 2019 as well as at Calvert Hall in 2020. He also coached tight ends at Morgan State in 2021 and wide receivers at Alabama State beginning in 2022.

“Even though our time was short together, Jacoby was the most authentic person, and cared so much about our young men at Calvert Hall,” Cardinals coach Josh Ward said of Jones, who coached the receivers and special teams at the Baltimore private school. “He made a huge impact on their development. He will be dearly missed.”

Jones was also inducted into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame earlier this month and is a member of the Hall of Fame at Lane College as well as his high school alma mater, Marion Abramson.

Earlier this year, Jones was hired this year by the Beaumont Renegades, a professional indoor football team based in Texas, as their head coach and offensive coordinator.

“Jacoby was a special football player,” the Renegades said in a statement. “He loved every minute of every game, and he knew that every day was a blessing. But what can be said about Jacoby the football player only scratches the surface of who he was as a man. When you needed someone, he was there. When you called, he answered. When you texted, he responded. It didn’t matter if you were a family member, a close friend, a former coach or teammate, a player he coached.

“What Jacoby loved doing the most was giving back and helping the next generation of kids achieve their dreams and reach their fullest potential. He left no one behind and gave time to every young kid and player that asked for it. Our heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathies go out to his family as they work through this sudden and tragic loss.”

The second annual MEAC Girls on the Gridiron Flag Football Clinic, to be held July 21 at Norfolk State’s Dick Price Stadium, will be highlighted by a guest appearance from former NFL quarterback Michael Vick.

The event will take place from 6-8 p.m.

The clinic, a collaboration between the NFL and the MEAC, kicks off the MEAC Football Media Day schedule of events.

“With the growth of women’s flag football nationally, the MEAC is proud to champion the sport and its upwards trajectory,” MEAC Commissioner Sonja Stills said.

This clinic, open to females ages 12 and older, will include drills with instruction from MEAC athletes and coaches. It is recommended that participants wear athletic gear and sneakers (bringing cleats if possible) and bring a water bottle. Those attending will be provided with a free camp shirt and shorts. Check-in will begin at 5 p.m.

Vick, a former Warwick High and Virginia Tech star, played in the NFL for 13 seasons and was a four-time Pro Bowler.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

NSU men finalize recruiting class

The Norfolk State men’s basketball team has announced its 2024 recruiting class, which includes five transfers and two freshmen.

Lake Taylor’s Rodney Baines, a 6-8 forward, and Woodside’s My’Kel Jenkins, a 6-5 guard, are the freshmen. Baines was a Class 3 all-state and All-Tidewater first-team selection who helped lead the Titans to the state championship game. Jenkins led the Wolverines to back-to-back state championships and chose the Spartans over Georgia State, Radford, Richmond and Ohio.

Dramane Camara, a 6-6 guard from DePaul University in Paris, France, brings in perhaps the most impressive credentials of the transfers. He was rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports and was the No. 22 shooting guard in his class.

Sin’Cere McMahon, a 6-0 guard from Winthrop, gives the Spartans a scoring punch. He averaged 14.4 points as a junior last season.

The other transfers are 6-2 guard Brian Moore Jr. (Murray State), 6-6 forward Christian Barrett (Lamar) and 6-8 forward Jalen Myers (Tennessee-Martin). Moore averaged 9.2 points a game last season, while Barrett averaged 7.5 points and 7.4 rebounds and Myers averaged 5.9 points and 3.2 rebounds.

MORE COLLEGES

Six from ODU earn VaSID honor

Six Old Dominion athletes have been named Virginia Sports Information Directors Academic All-State honorees.

Making the list are women’s tennis players Alexandra Viktorovitch and Sofia Johnson, men’s tennis player Jakob Cadonau, volleyball player Myah Conway, men’s swimmer Zander Johnson and sailing team member Elizabeth Gildea.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.25 GPA and be a sophomore or higher.

• The Norfolk State volleyball team posted a 3-0 record from a recent five-day trip to Costa Rica. The squad became the first Spartans women’s program in school history to play internationally.

GOLF

Coughlin slips, but still in top 10

Former Hickory High standout Lauren Coughlin was at even par through 14 holes and six shots off the lead in the second round of the Evian Championship on Friday in France when play was suspended due to the threat of lightning.

Coughlin stood in a tie for 10th place when played was stopped in the LPGA Tour major event. She shot a 65 in the first round and was one shot back.

Meanwhile: Nobody wearing U.S. colors is under more pressure to bring home the gold than the NBA stars.

The old vet: If anyone could have been excused for sitting out these Olympics, it’s 39-year-old LeBron James.

Her: Caitlin Clark is the Taylor Swift of sports. For the impact she’s had on court, for the new, young audiences she’s attracted while dragging the WNBA out of the shadows and for the multimedia debates she’s generated. Seven months into 2024, Clark is America’s Sportsperson of the Year.

Slugging it out: You get the sense that baseball fans — especially young ones — think the actual All-Star Game is a sideshow to the Home Run Derby. In truth, one is as much a gaudy exhibition as the other.

Over the top: The media’s All-Star Game selection coverage is so melodramatic. Stories coming out of big-league towns inevitably insist that certain local players who didn’t make the team were “snubbed.” The dictionary definition of snub is “to treat with scorn, contempt, disdain …” That’s not what’s going on when there’s just not enough roster space for every good player to make the cut.

Net results: For someone so young, Carlos Alcaraz knows how to handle the big moments. It’s something great athletes are born with.

Fast-tracked: Novak Djokovic, who likes to think he’s persecuted, can’t complain about his route to the Wimbledon semis, which included a very weak draw and a quarterfinal walkover that allowed him three days’ rest.

Going backward: The ATP, which runs men’s tennis, is going back to pre-Covid protocols, allowing a player to ask for a towel from the ball kids rather than fetch it himself. The change is as unnecessary as it is unhygienic for the kids. The ATP wants to reduce the amount of time wasted during matches. But players can do something about that by not toweling off and otherwise dilly-dallying so often.

Whoa there: Cooper Flagg is a young man in a hurry, at 17 headed for Duke when he should be a senior in high school, then onto the NBA next year as the top pick. That’s the path laid out for him, especially after the way he played in a pre-Paris scrimmage against the U.S. team. But he’s 17. Can the media turn down the hype a little? Of course they can’t.

In NIL news: Arch Manning, the backup quarterback for the Texas Longhorns, reportedly received between $50,000 and $60,000 to promote a college football video game. Imagine how much he could have made if he were first-string. Or how little if he wasn’t a Manning.

Happy to stay: It surprises football people that Manning, behind Quinn Ewers for another year, hasn’t transferred. By the end of last season, nearly two-thirds of the top 20 quarterbacks for each of the 2019 through ’22 recruiting cycles were either in the portal or had already switched schools.

Trending: On June 13, the Yankees were in first place with the best record in baseball, while the Red Sox were 13 games behind them. After a bad spiral, New York dropped to second, behind the Orioles, and Boston was within 4½ games of the Yankees through Wednesday. And with so much summer yet to go.

As is: The meeting this week by the NCAA men’s basketball committee produced no news about the possible expansion of the Field of 68, a good thing. If it ain’t broke …

Bob Molinaro is a former Virginian-Pilot sports columnist. His Weekly Briefing runs Fridays in The Pilot and Daily Press. He can be reached at bob5molinaro@gmail.com and via Twitter@BobMolinaro.

The organization left behind the racist slur “Redskins” as its name and retired the logo that was closely tied to that name: the profile of a Native man with long hair and two feathers.

Now, a white Republican U.S. senator from Montana is reviving the debate by blocking a bill funding the revitalization of the decrepit RFK Stadium for the Commanders, who have been playing miles away in Maryland. Sen. Steve Daines says he will block the legislation until the NFL and the Commanders honor the former logo in some form.

Daines declined Associated Press requests to explain his stance or respond to criticism from Indigenous people who say such efforts are rooted in racism.

A logo’s complicated history

The original logo was designed by a member of the Blackfeet Nation in the state of Montana. Some tribal members take pride in it and the legacy of the man who helped design it in the early ’70s — Walter “Blackie” Wetzel, a former Blackfeet Nation tribal chairman and former president of the National Congress of the American Indian, the country’s oldest Native American and Alaska Native advocacy organization.

Wetzel’s family says Daines and Wetzel’s son, Don, who died last year at 74, formed a friendship that may be fueling the senator’s fight for the logo.

Indian Country is typically a bipartisan topic in Congress.

Daines sits on the Senate Committee for Indian Affairs and has worked with Democratic colleagues on clean-water access for tribal communities. He has supported the passage of a truth-and-healing commission to investigate the history of Indian boarding schools, a bill carried by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts.

Daines has also used the policy area to take jabs at the Biden administration and was one of the fiercest opponents to the nomination of Deb Haaland, the first Native American to run the Department of the Interior.

He accused her of being hostile to the energy and natural-resource extraction industries and said she would use the appointment to “negatively impact the Montana way of life.” In May, he blocked the nomination of the woman who wanted to be the first Native American federal district court judge in Montana. Daines said the Biden administration did not consult with his office about the nomination, a claim the White House disputes.

Painful symbolism?

Daines said in a prepared statement that he would hold up the stadium legislation until representatives of the Washington Commanders and the NFL show that they’re working with the Wetzel family and leaders of the Blackfeet Nation to find a way to “honor the history of the logo and heritage of our tribal nations and to rededicate the organization as an advocate for Indian Country.”

For many Indigenous peoples, the team’s original name and logo represent an ugly history of racial discrimination and violence as well as modern-day battles over ethical representation of Native Americans in popular culture. The National Congress of the American Indian, the organization that Walter Wetzel once led, has fought since 1968 to remove mascots like that one. Numerous psychological studies have shown the harmful impacts that Native American mascots have on children.

A divided family

Founded in Boston in 1932, the football team had a Native American man as its mascot, but after moving to Washington D.C. in 1937, the logo was changed to a spear, later an “R” adorned with two feathers.

Walter Wetzel had been working for the Department of Labor to address housing and employment disparities in Indian Country and worked closely with President John F. Kennedy, and was friends with him and Robert Kennedy. Wetzel worked with the football team to redesign its logo. He felt that, if the team was going to have a Native American-themed mascot, it should at least be a representative image, said his grandson, Ryan Wetzel.

Walter Wetzel suggested a profile of a former Blackfeet chief, John Two Guns White Calf. A likeness of that image would be used from the 1972 season until it was retired in 2020.

“I understand the controversy of the name, I get it,” Ryan Wetzel said. “I come from a family that is divided with the name. But the logo, how can we still keep that and use that moving forward?”

Ryan Wetzel said that in his final years his father, Don, had an amputated leg, but still showed up regularly on Capitol Hill to find support for preserving the logo, and Daines took ahold of that cause. Daines reached out to Ryan Wetzel after his father died last year to see if he could help revive the effort to restore the logo in some way.

A “dog-whistle”?

A spokesperson for Daines said talks with the Washington Commanders on a way to honor the Wetzel family are ongoing and productive. In his statements during a May committee hearing on the RFK stadium bill, Daines suggested that the logo could be revitalized to sell merchandise, and a portion of the profits could go toward issues like the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

But Native American advocates and researchers say use of the old logo is an inappropriate and harmful path to achieving justice and equity for Indigenous peoples. No matter how the image was chosen, it cannot be separated from the racial slur it once promoted, said Crystal Echo Hawk, a member of the Pawnee Nation and the founder and CEO of IllumiNative, a nonprofit that works to increase the visibility of Native Americans. She called the former logo a “dog-whistle” to the team’s former name.

“The science underscores the detrimental impact these images have on Indigenous peoples,” said Dr. Stephanie Fryberg, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan and one of the country’s leading experts on the topic.

Fryberg, who is a member of the Tulalip Tribe in Washington State, said the use of these mascots leads to heightened rates of depression, self-harm, substance abuse and suicidal ideation, particularly among children.

“The continued use of these racist images prevents Native Americans from existing and being honored within contemporary social contexts,” she said.

What did the Blackfeet Nation get?

In Montana, some Blackfeet Nation council members wonder why so little of the millions of dollars the football team generated off the image of White Calf and designed by a former Blackfeet Nation chairman never made it back to the Blackfeet people.

Decades ago, the football team donated a couple of vans to help transport Blackfeet elders to a nearby VA facility, said Blackfeet Nation Councilman Everett Armstrong, but he was unaware of any other resources or revenues that had been shared with the tribe. A spokesperson for the Washington Commanders was unable to provide any other examples, but said the team is in talks with the Wetzel family.

There are strong feelings about the logo and its legacy on the reservation, said Armstrong. But one group feels left out of the discussion entirely: the descendants of White Calf.

They were not consulted in the 1970’s about the use of his image and have never been asked about it since, said Armstrong, a descendant of White Calf himself.

“They’d like a seat at the table,” he said.