Report: Packers feared Josh Sitton would become problem child in locker room

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As tends to be the case with such situations, there was more beneath the surface that led to the Green Bay Packers’ surprising release of Josh Sitton.

According to Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, the Packers cut Sitton in part because they feared him becoming a problem in the locker room and negatively impacting younger plays.

Sitton was said to be loud and opinionated in the locker room, going as far as to criticize personnel moves, decisions made by the coaches, and even some of his teammates. He had a penchant for arguing as well. The Packers were willing to put up with this sort of behavior when Sitton was performing at an elite level, but at age 30, chronic back problems and sagging play made the Packers see him as no longer worth it. The last straw was reportedly when the team’s coaches took notice of younger linemen picking up some of Sitton’s bad habits, and that helped prompt the team to pull the plug.

Sitton ended up cut in a move that surprised outsiders and landed with the Chicago Bears. It sounds, though, like this didn’t come as a surprise to anyone who knew the whole story.

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JJ Watt feared his career was over while rehabbing from injury

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Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt admitted that he feared for his career as he rehabbed from his recent surgery.

Watt was essentially unable to do much of anything for a ten-day period after his surgery back in April, and he revealed that he had a tough time coping.

“A few of (the abdominal muscles) were fully off the bone,” Watt revealed Wednesday, via Chris Wesseling of NFL Media. “A few of them were partial torn. That was pretty serious stuff.

“When I was in Philadelphia after the first surgery, there were some days there where I really, really questioned whether or not I would ever be able to play again,” Watt added. “There was a very low point there. It was tough. I was in a hotel room in Philadelphia for I think 10 days straight not being able to really walk or do anything. There was definitely a tough point there.”

The rest is history, though, as Watt is slated to play in the season opener. Still, the revelation sheds some light on why Watt may have made these comments early in the offseason.

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Spanish giants feared in Champions League group-stage draw

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Monaco (AFP) – The eyes of European football will be on Monaco on Thursday as holders Real Madrid and the rest of the continent’s elite discover their fate when the Champions League group-stage draw is made.

Zinedine Zidane’s side won the trophy last season — a record 11th in the club’s history — as Cristiano Ronaldo scored the decisive penalty in the shoot-out against city rivals Atletico after the final in Milan finished 1-1.

That allowed Spanish clubs to continue their recent domination of the Champions League, with Madrid and Barcelona exchanging the trophy over the last three years and Atletico appearing in two of the last three finals.

The aim now for Madrid is to become the first team to retain the trophy in the Champions League era — the last club to win back-to-back European Cups was AC Milan in 1990.

“This is the reason I came to Madrid –- to play in the Champions League, to win the Champions League,” Madrid star Gareth Bale said in an interview with UEFA.com.

“Two in three years is an amazing achievement. Now we want to look to the next one. It’s obviously a massive motivation for us all to be the first team to retain the Champions League.”

Getting to this year’s final would be that bit more special for Bale for another reason — it’s being played in his hometown, the Welsh capital Cardiff.

The final at the Principality Stadium will be played on June 3 next year, with the opening group games set for September 13 and 14.

– Leicester in pot one –

Joining continental giants Real, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica in the first pot of clubs will be the Russian champions CSKA Moscow and Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester City.

Fresh from their remarkable Premier League title triumph last season, Leicester will appear in Europe’s elite competition for the first time.

Their last appearance in Europe ended in a UEFA Cup first-round defeat to Red Star Belgrade in 2000.

“I hope we are ready, not just to listen to the music but to do some music,” was how Ranieri put it back in the spring as he looked ahead to the Champions League nights in store at the King Power Stadium.

An unkind draw could see Leicester grouped together with Atletico or 1997 winners and 2013 runners-up Borussia Dortmund from the second pot, Dynamo Kiev from pot three and Monaco — one of Ranieri’s old sides — from pot four.

As for the other Premier League representatives, Arsenal and Manchester City will be in pot two and Tottenham Hotspur in pot three.

Spain, England and Germany will all have four clubs in the group stage, while Portugal and France will each have three.

Russian side Rostov feature for the first time after ousting Anderlecht and Ajax to qualify, while Celtic are back in the group stage for the first time in three years after edging out Hapoel Be’er Sheva of Israel in the play-offs.

“It is an incredible moment for the supporters. They are going to be back in amongst Europe’s elite and it is where Celtic belong,” said the Scottish champions’ manager Brendan Rodgers.

It is also where the money is — each club is guaranteed 12 million euros (10.2 million pounds, $ 13.5 million) just from being in the group stage but in reality they will bank a lot more than that.

Real reportedly earned in the region of 94 million euros in total from winning the competition last season, roughly the same as what Italian champions and 2015 Champions League runners-up Juventus paid to sign Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli this summer. 

The post Spanish giants feared in Champions League group-stage draw appeared first on World Soccer Talk.

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