Digital Sports Desk

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Spring Clean-Up

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FOXBOROUGH – New England Patriots defensive end Trey Flowers underwent a recent shoulder surgery that sources characterized as a “cleanup” procedure, multiple media outlets reported Sunday.

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Set to become an unrestricted free agent later this month, the 25-year-old pass rusher led the Super Bowl LIII champions in sacks for the third straight year with a career-high 7.5 in 2018.

The 6-foot-2, 265-pound Flowers played in 15 regular season games and three postseason games last season, missing one contest due to a concussion.

A fourth-round pick in 2015 out of Arkansas, Flowers has recorded 21.0 sacks, 25 tackles for loss and 59 quarterback hits in 46 career games.Draft Analyst reported last week that the Miami Dolphins are the front-runners to sign Flowers. Miami hired former Patriots defensive play-caller Brian Flores as their head coach last month.

–Field Level Media

NFL: No Replay Changes

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EAST RUTHERFORD – Efforts to amend the NFL’s replay rules this offseason have stalled out over a lack of support, according to one owner.

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New York Giants co-owner and NFL competition committee member John Mara told ESPN on that he’s “not sensing a lot of support for making changes” at this time.

Members of the committee spent the past two days in Indianapolis discussing the replay procedures, largely in response to a missed pass interference call near the end of regulation in the NFC Championship Game between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints.

“Calls are just missed,” Mara said. “Officials are just human. They’re going to miss calls from time to time. … To think that we’re going to be a system where calls are always going to be corrected from New York or from upstairs, I just don’t think we’re there or even close to being there.”

Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said there haven’t been any new ideas to consider.”We’ve had these conversations,” Jones said. “And you start rehashing them, and you go, ‘Oh my gosh, we’ve had this conversation again and again and again and again and again.'”

Committee chairman Rich McKay, president and CEO of the Atlanta Falcons, joked that the topic of revising replay has come up each year “since like 1986.”

Potential changes that have been discussed include adding an eighth official to the game crew, increasing the number of review-eligible calls, and giving coaches the ability to challenge a non-call.

–Field Level Media

Kraft’s Blown Coverage?

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JUPITER – Robert Kraft, the owner of the six time NFL Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, was charged with soliciting prostitution in a sweeping crackdown of area massage parlors in Jupiter, Florida, as part of a wide-ranging police investigation.

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Kraft was charged with two misdemeanor counts, according to a Treasure Coast Palm (TCPalm (dot) com) media site run by Gannett. The media outlet reported authorities made arrests in 10 spas in Orlando and Palm Beach County, Florida after a four month-long sting operation which began in October, 2018.

Jupiter police told reporters Friday that the 77-year-old Kraft hasn’t been arrested. A warrant will be issued and his attorneys will be notified. He was the only individual named by authorities who were quizzed about other famous names, including other sports figures.

“We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity,” a spokesman for Kraft said in a statement. “Because it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further.”

The owner of the Orchids of Asia spa, Hua Zhang, 58, of Winter Garden, was arrested and charged with “deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution, keeping and frequenting a house of prostitution and 26 counts of procuring for prostitution,” according to local authorities.

Twenty-five people were arrested in the sting that included the New England Patriots team owner..

Kraft is not a resident of the state of Florida, and thus, an arrest warrant was issued related to the charges, police said. Kraft was the only “notable” name on the list of alleged participants, local police said.

It’s Up to Gronk

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FOXBOROUGH – All-Pro tight end is still mulling over whether to retire or return to the New England Patriots for a 10th NFL season, according to his agent Drew Rosenhaus.

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“He’s thinking it through, he’s giving it a lot of thought,” Rosenhaus said on ESPN’s “NFL Live,” adding, “I imagine a decision will happen in the next couple of weeks.”

NFL Network’s Mike Giardi tweeted Tuesday afternoon that “Gronkowski told multiple teammates/associates that he wanted to win another ring in the first few days following the Super Bowl.”

Gronkowski’s decision will affect the Patriots’ offseason moves. The NFL Scouting Combine begins late this month in Indianapolis, and the Patriots will need to know soon whether they are looking for an NFL-ready starting tight end or one who could back up Gronkowski.

Free agency begins March 13, and the NFL draft will be held April 25-27 in Nashville, Tenn.Gronkowski has one year left on his contract and is due to earn $9 million in 2019. He turns 30 in May.

Injuries have limited Gronkowski through the years, and he’s played in just 115 games since entering the league as a second-round draft pick in 2010. He has 521 career receptions for 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns.

–Field Level Media

My Valentine? NFL Courts Silver

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CHARLOTTE – NBA commissioner Adam Silver says he already has his dream job and hasn’t “given any thought” to inquiries from NFL owners about switching leagues.

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ESPN reported Thursday that Silver has been approached by several NFL owners and a number of Fortune 500 companies during his five-year run with the NBA. “I’ll just say I have not given it any thought,” Silver told ESPN.

“I feel very fortunate to be in this position. As a longtime fan, as a longtime league employee, the opportunity to become the commissioner of this league was beyond anything I even ever dreamed of as a kid.

“I’ve loved every day I’ve been in this job, and I think there’s nothing but enormous opportunity ahead for this league. And ultimately, I realize I’m just passing through like every player who’s gone through this league and ultimately like every owner. I feel an enormous obligation to the fans and to this greater NBA family to do my best and try my hardest every day. But that’s where 100 percent of my focus is.”

Silver, 56, succeeded David Stern as the NBA’s fifth commissioner on Feb. 1, 2014. He signed a five-year extension in June that runs through the 2023-24 season.

During Silver’s tenure, team valuations have increased by 267 percent, from an average of $509 million in 2013 to $1.9 billion in the most recent report from Forbes.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell signed a five-year extension worth up to $200 million in December 2017.

–Field Level Media

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