Much of the NFL season seemed like a Hollywood sequel

without the leading actors from the original as injuries claimed so many superstars http://www.thebillslockerroom.com/authentic-taron-johnson-jersey , leaving the playoff field awash in postseason party crashers . Among them are the Buffalo Bills, who just might have to go into their first playoff game in 17 seasons with a running back who had never gained a single yard before last week. The Pittsburgh Steelers are thankful they don’t have a game this weekend, giving receiver Antonio Brown another week to heal from his torn left calf that has sidelined him for three weeks. Brown is the only consensus All-Pro in the season of the injured superstar, a year that had such a devastating effect on many of the usual championship contenders such as Green Bay and Seattle and helped usher eight new teams into this year’s playoff field. The Packers’ playoff hopes were crushed when Minnesota’s Anthony Barr squashed Aaron Rodgers, breaking the quarterback’s collarbone. The Seahawks turned into the ”Legion of Whom? ” with season-ending injuries to Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor. The Texans missed the playoffs after injuries to defenders J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus and sensational rookie Deshaun Watson, who was leading the league with 19 touchdown throws before he tore his right ACL in practice two days after Halloween. Bills running back LeSean McCoy is hopeful he can play on a sprained ankle in Sunday’s AFC wild-card game at Jacksonville, the franchise’s first postseason kickoff since the ”Music City Miracle” in 2000. ”I don’t want to make any promises,” said McCoy. Nobody can this year, it seems. Brown was a leading MVP candidate when he collided with Patriots DB Eric Rowe on Dec. 17 and hobbled off with a torn calf Jeremy Kerley Jersey , then watched Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski rally in the fourth quarter for a crucial 24-21 win that gave New England the top seed in the AFC again despite losing Julian Edelman in the preseason. The NFC’s top seed is also missing a big name: second-year QB Carson Wentz, whose knee injury thrust backup Nick Foles into the starting job for the playoffs. The Bills have no established running back behind McCoy on the depth chart. Marcus Murphy was promoted from the practice squad ahead of the Week 17 win over the Dolphins, rushing for 41 yards on seven carries. Buffalo also has veteran fullback/running back Mike Tolbert. ”I think we’re moving in the right direction,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said of McCoy. ”Will we be able to get there in time? We’ll see.” If not, they’ll be without their most explosive and most consistent playmaker, one who finished the year with 1,138 rushing yards and six touchdowns. His absence would leave a hole in Buffalo’s offensive attack; the Bills finished the regular season with the 31st-ranked passing attack in the league. Other teams overcame big injuries to reach the playoffs, including the Vikings after rookie running back Dalvin Cook tore an ACL on Oct. 1 against the Lions, and the Panthers Womens Vontae Davis Jersey , who overcame the loss of longtime tight end Greg Olsen, who broke a foot against the Bills in September. In addition to Edelman, the Patriots lost linebacker Dont’a Hightower to a torn chest muscle and the Chiefs lost Eric Berry to a ruptured left Achilles tendon. The Rams lost All-Pro kicker Greg Zuerlein last month to a back injury and the Steelers lost linebacker Ryan Shazier to a spine injury last month that could end his career. The Eagles were all the rage in the topsy-turvy NFL this season until Wentz tore his left ACL against the Rams on Dec. 10. Wentz was a leading MVP candidate when he got hurt. The Eagles’ passing game has struggled since Nick Foles took over. He’s spending Philadelphia’s bye week trying to develop more chemistry and consistency with his receivers. ”We’ve got some good work the last couple of weeks with Nick,” coach Doug Pederson said. ”We have to get better in the run game. That helps any quarterback obviously.” Wentz’s injury continued a trend in which it seemed like a superstar would suffer a season-ending injury just about every weekend. Even Joe Thomas, the Cleveland Browns’ ironman left tackle, got hurt in 2017. Thomas suffered a torn triceps on Oct. 22 against Tennessee and underwent season-ending surgery. Before he got hurt, the 10-time Pro Bowler had played every snap of his career, reaching 10,363 consecutive plays http://www.thebillslockerroom.com/authentic-aj-mccarron-jersey , believed to be a record. — COLLEGE BASKETBALLNEW YORK (AP)Kansas and North Carolina State are the latest schools to be swept up in a bribery scandal involving college basketball.A rewritten indictment released Tuesday in New York alleges that an Adidas representative, who no longer works for the company, arranged for payments to parents of athletes willing to commit to the schools.The refreshed indictment came several months after 10 men were charged in an alleged scheme to bribe assistant coaches in exchange for steering top-flight NBA prospects to a particular agent or financial adviser. Four assistant coaches have been prosecuted and the scandal has led to the end of coach Rick Pitino’s career at the University of Louisville. The new indictment expands the scope of the charges, alleging a wire-fraud conspiracy that included alleged payments to families of six student-athletes being recruited by four schools, prosecutors said.The court papers portrayed the shoe executive and some coaches as bad actors, saying the conspiracy included hiding payments and signing forms falsely asserting that no payments had been made. The indictment paints a picture of transactions that were concealed to allow athletes to make it through eligibility reviews.PRO FOOTBALLBUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Richie Incognito is abruptly calling it quits on an 11-season NFL career, three years after the Buffalo Bills gave the offensive guard a second chance at playing following his role in the Miami Dolphins’ bullying scandal.The NFL Players Association announced Incognito had contacted the union with his plans to retire. The announcement on the NFLPA’s Twitter account came after Incognito revealed his intention to retire through a series of tweets and comments made to several publications throughout the morning.Without going into detail, the 34-year-old said he was ”done” in a text to The Associated Press shortly after SportsIllustrated.com reported Incognito was ”strongly considering retiring Vladimir Ducasse Jersey ,” but would consider returning for one more season at the right price.Incognito then told The Buffalo News he’s retiring because of health reasons.BASEBALLDodger Stadium will host the 2020 All-Star Game, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.A news conference with Commissioner Rob Manfred is set for the ballpark on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the official announcement was upcoming.Dodger Stadium last held the All-Star Game in 1980. Four players from the Los Angeles Dodgers – Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and Reggie Smith – were in the starting lineup for the National League in a 4-2 win.Los Angeles also hosted the second All-Star Game of 1959 at the Memorial Coliseum, when the Dodgers’ Don Drysdale gave up home runs to Frank Malzone and Yogi Berra and took the loss in the NL’s 5-3 defeat. Jim Gilliam of Los Angeles homered off Billy O’Dell.While in Brooklyn, the Dodgers staged the game at Ebbets Field in 1949. Don Newcombe was the loser in the NL’s 11-7 defeat.COLLEGE FOOTBALLWASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump hailed the University of Alabama football team’s ”win for the ages” in their latest championship season.Trump hosted Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban and his players at the White House on Tuesday to honor their fifth national title in nine years.The president attended the championship game in Atlanta, in which Alabama staged a second-half comeback to defeat Georgia 26-23 in overtime. Trump said backup quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s winning touchdown pass in overtime to fellow freshman DeVonta Smith after a sack ”will go down as one of the most exciting finishes in college football history – of any sport.”Trump watched the Jan. 8 game from a private box overlooking the Alabama sideline. The president left the stadium during halftime as Georgia led Alabama 13-0.Trump said Alabama’s triumph was ”one of the greatest victories ever.”GOLFSCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) – All six people aboard a small plane were killed when it crashed on a golf course in a Phoenix suburb shortly after taking off from a nearby airport, police said Tuesday.The identities of those killed in the Monday night’s fiery crash in Scottsdale were not made public. Nobody on the ground was hurt Womens Jason Croom Jersey , said Kevin Watts, a Scottsdale Police Department spokesman.Watts said the plane had just taken off from the Scottsdale Airport, but no information was immediately available on its planned destination.Police will release the identities once they’re determined by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office, but it’s not known when that process will be complete, said Watts.The Piper PA-24 Comanche went down on the TPC Scottsdale Champions Golf Course – the sister to the Stadium Course where the PGA’s Waste Management Phoenix Open is held each February.