Month: December 2019

Find out how to watch Monarcas vs. Club America in the Liga MX semifinal on Thursday.

The lowest-ranked teams in the 2019 Liga MX are finding form when it’s needed most, and Monarcas Morelia hosts Club America on Thursday hoping to carry on its recent resilient streak.

However, Monarcas has failed to defeat America in its last two visits to the Estadio Morelos and are out to better this opponent for the first time in more than two years.

How to Watch Monarcas vs. Club America (First Leg):

Date: Thurs. Dec. 5

Time: 9:30 PM

TV Channel: Univision, TUDN

Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

America finished sixth in the regular season but look capable of an upset after beating Tigres UANL, third in the regular campaign, 5–4 on aggregate in the quarters to advance. Miguel Herrera’s side lost 2–1 at home but turned the tie around with a 4–2 win in the away leg.

Monarcas will be wary considering all of America’s best performances of late have come away from its home ground in Mexico City. Herrera’s men have won their last three clashes on the road, while they’ve lost two in a row at the Estadio Azteca.

Los Canarios impressed in the quarters and advanced with a 5–4 aggregate triumph of its own against regular-season runner-up Leon. Monarcas got a 2–1 win away in the second leg vs. Leon, but the 3–3 draw at home in its opener may not suffice this time around. A win is needed on Thursday if Pablo Guede’s side is to move into the second leg with any kind of confidence. America plenty motivated to defend its 2019 Apertura title.

Winger Edison Flores has hit a purple patch in form after he netted in both quarterfinal legs against Leon, including a brace in the home leg and a 2–1 comeback winner in the reverse fixture. Defender Gabriel Achiliier is also back in the Monarcas selection after he was suspended during the team’s last game.

10 different players are responsible for America’s last 12 goals, including four separate scorers in Sunday’s 4–2 victory away at Tigres. Herrera will hope to see his side continue to pose an attacking threat from numerous areas, though special responsibility falls on the likes of Henry Martin, Giovani dos Santos and Roger Martinez to do the damage upfront.

The 49ers suspended radio analyst Tim Ryan for one game following his comments about Ravens QB Lamar Jackson’s “dark skin color.”

49ers cornerback Richard Sherman defended radio analyst Tim Ryan following his comments made about Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s “dark skin color” on Monday.

Sherman said he didn’t interpret Ryan’s comments as racist.

“I know Tim personally and I listened to the dialogue and saw it written, and honestly I wasn’t as outraged as everybody else,” Sherman said. “I understand how it can be taken under a certain context and be offensive to some, but if you’re saying, this is a brown ball, they’re wearing dark colors, and he has a brown arm, honestly, sometimes we were having trouble seeing it on film.”

“He’s making a play fake and sometimes he’s swinging his arm real fast and you’re like, Does he have the ball? And you look up and [Mark] Ingram is running it. So it was technically a valid point, but you can always phrase things better.”

One day after the 49ers’ 20–17 loss to the Ravens, Ryan attempted to break down Jackson’s performance in his weekly segment on KNBR’s “Murph and Mac.”

“He’s really good at that fake, Lamar Jackson, but when you consider his dark skin color with a dark football with a dark uniform, you could not see that thing,” Ryan said on Monday. “I mean you literally could not see when he was in and out of the mesh point and if you’re a half step slow on him in terms of your vision forget about it, he’s out of the gate.”

The 49ers suspended Ryan for one game, and he released a statement saying he regretted his “choice of words.”

Defensive end Dee Ford also said he supports Ryan and knows the radio analyst didn’t many to offend anyone.

“The words kind of got taken out of context. I think he knows now he could have used better judgment with his words, but we’ve got his back. I knew what he was trying to say. This era we live in, it’s just what it is.”

The 49ers announced on Thursday that Dennis Brown will replace Ryan during Sunday’s broadcast of San Francisco’s matchup against the Saints. Brown works as a host on KNBR’s pre- and post-game shows.

Earlier this season, Army coach Jeff Monken removed a slogan from a team flag that he had used for camaraderie after learning of its origin.

Find out how to watch Cowboys vs. Bears on Thursday night.

Still in the thick of the NFC East title race despite back-to-back losses, the Dallas Cowboys look to begin their late-season push Thursday night at the expense of a Chicago Bears team fighting to maintain its flickering postseason hopes.

How to Watch

When: Thursday, Dec. 5

Time: 8:20 p.m. ET

TV: FOX

Live Stream: fuboTV (try for free)

Dallas (6-6) is looking to avoid a third consecutive defeat after being thumped at home by Buffalo 26-15 on Thanksgiving. Despite totaling 426 yards, the Cowboys’ offense was largely ineffective after scoring a touchdown on the opening possession. The defense was also tormented by Cole Beasley, who had six catches for 110 yards and a touchdown against his old team.

The postgame scene was chaotic, with reports of players screaming in the locker room to vent their frustrations. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones again resisted calls for a late-season firing of head coach Jason Garrett, telling The Associated Press, “This is not the time for me. I’m looking ahead at winning four or five straight. Every decision that I make over the next month will be with an eye in mind to get us in the Super Bowl now.”

Ezekiel Elliott failed to reach 100 yards for the fourth straight game, finishing with 71 on just 12 carries as 54 of those yards came in the opening nine minutes. Dallas fell to 2-5 when he fails to reach the century mark compared to 4-1 when he clears the mark. Elliott is also 10 yards shy of his third 1,000-yard season in his four in the league.

Dak Prescott threw for 355 yards and two touchdowns but was also responsible for two turnovers in addition to a third possession ending on downs. With 23 TD passes and 3,788 yards, Prescott is one scoring toss and 98 yards shy of setting single-season career bests in both categories.

The turnovers have loomed large as the Cowboys have gone four games without recording a takeaway and have a minus-4 turnover margin for the season. Opponents have also converted 26 of 59 on third and fourth downs in those games, during which Dallas has lost three.

Chicago (6-6) does not have the luxury of a poor division like Dallas to help its playoff chances, entering this contest a distant third in the NFC North and likely needing to win out to qualify for the postseason. The Bears are seeking a third-straight victory after rallying past the Detroit Lions 24-20 on the road on Thanksgiving.

Embattled quarterback Mitch Trubisky had his best game of 2019, throwing for a season-high 338 yards and matching a season best with three touchdown passes. His 3-yard scoring toss to rookie running back David Montgomery with 2:17 to play capped a 90-yard drive and provided the go-ahead points for Chicago, which got a combined 17 catches and 226 yards from wide receivers Anthony Miller and Allen Robinson III.

The Bears defense played well the final three quarters after allowing a pair of touchdowns in the opening 11 minutes. Second-year linebacker Roquan Smith had a monstrous performance, notching his first two sacks of the season while recording 10 solo tackles and assisting on five others.

Prescott threw for 248 yards and accounted for a pair of touchdowns while Elliott had 140 yards on the ground as Dallas cruised to a 31-17 win in the most recent meeting between the teams in 2016. 

Browns receiver Odell Beckham, who is having the worst statistical season of his career as a healthy player, said “no one knows what the future holds,” when asked if he wants to be with the team next year.