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Sports Pro Bowl Will Draft Its Rosters
AL BELLO (GETTY IMAGES)
NFL
Wizards point guard John Wall averaged 18.5 points, 7.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 49 games played in 2012-13, the former No. 1 pick’s third season in the league.
Wall, Wizards Agree to Deal Source: Point guard signs extension worth $80M over 5 years
Is Wall Showing Growth? Wizards point guard John Wall averaged a career-high 18.5 points a game last year, but how much did he improve throughout his first three NBA seasons? Games Played
Wizards
69
’10-’11
John Wall, the foundation of the Washington Wizards’ rebuilding efforts for the past three years, has signed a multiyear contract extension, the team announced Wednesday. According to a league source, the deal is worth about $80 million over five years and will kick in at the start of the 2014-15 season. The agreement will keep the point guard with the Wizards organization through 2019, when Wall will be 28. “Since drafting John with the first overall pick, we have been impressed with his maturation, hard work and commitment to
66
’11-’12 ’12-’13
Points Per Game
49
’10-’11
16.4
’11-’12
16.3 18.5
’12-’13
Assists Per Game
Rebounds Per Game
’10-’11
8.3
’10-’11
4.6
’11-’12
8.0
’11-’12
4.5
’12-’13
7.6
our franchise,” Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said in a statement released by the team. “He is the cornerstone of our team, and we have clearly expressed our desire to build around him well before making it official by re-signing him today. We are extremely confident in his
’12-’13
4.0
leadership abilities and are excited to see the continued improvement of the team.” The Wizards planned to formally announce Wall’s new contract at a news conference today. Formal negotiations between the team and Wall’s agent, Dan Fegan, began two
weeks ago and intensified while Wall was in Las Vegas last week as part of Team USA’s minicamp for up-and-coming players. Wall met with Fegan upon his return last Friday in Los Angeles, where he has been training this offseason. He has been in Washington this week and signed his new deal Wednesday afternoon after working out at Verizon Center with teammates Bradley Beal and Otto Porter. “I am both proud and humbled by the belief that the Wizards organization, the fans and my teammates have shown in me since I arrived here three years ago,” Wall said in the team-issued statement. “I can promise all of them that I will repay that belief by representing the city of Washington and doing everything I can to get this team back where it belongs.” MICHAEL LEE (THE WASHINGTON POST)
The rosters for next year’s NFL Pro Bowl will be selected in a draft by team captains, with Deion Sanders and Jerry Rice assisting as alumni captains. The NFL will abandon the AFC vs. NFC format that has been in place since 1971. The league said Wednesday that fan voting will determine the players in the draft pool. The draft will be televised by the NFL Network on Jan. 22. The game will be played Jan. 26 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.
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Combined Pro Bowls made by Deion Sanders and Jerry Rice, the two alumni captains for next year’s Pro Bowl.
Other changes are coming to the game, too. The ball will change hands at the end of each quarter, which could double the opportunities for two-minute drills. Kickoffs (and return specialists) will be eliminated — teams will start on their own 25-yard line. Defenses will be allowed to play cover-2 and press coverage in addition to man, and several clock tweaks have been instituted to speed up the game and prompt offensive play. (AP)
TV Lineup BASEBALL (7:05 P.M., MLBN) The Pirates host the Cardinals in the finale of a five-game series, which Pittsburgh has used to grab hold of first place in the NL Central. ORIOLES (7:05 P.M., MASN) The Orioles are trying to keep up with the red-hot Rays and Red Sox in the AL East. Facing the Astros, who own the worst record in baseball, should help them keep up.