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Even though Bryce Harper will be watching his former team, the Washington Nationals, from the sofa as they make their World Series debut, the six-time MLB all-star says he isn’t jealous of their recent success.

“I think it’s about being able to be the person that I am and not saying to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m not a National.’ Or, ‘Oh my gosh, those guys are doing what they’re doing. I can’t believe it. I’m so jealous,'” Harper told The Athletic. “No. I’m so happy for them. You know how hard it is to get into the postseason and win games. For them to be able to put it together this year the way they have, it’s an amazing thing.”

WASHINGTON NATIONALS TROLL BRYCE HARPER AHEAD OF NLCS-CLINCHING VICTORY

Harper played seven seasons with the Nationals, winning rookie of the year in 2012 while being voted as the 2015 National League MVP. The Nationals made the playoffs in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017 with Harper on the team, but were never able to make it past the NL Division Series.

He left the Nationals and signed a 13-year $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies in the off-season after reportedly turning down a 10-year $300 million extension with Washington last winter. In his first season, the Phillies could only muster an 81-81 record.

Harper says he doesn’t regret that decision, saying “jealousy isn’t good.”

“I made my decision, and that was my decision,” Harper said. “And it was the final decision that I made. You know, jealousy isn’t good. For me, it’s about having the gratitude to go out and do what I do each day and not having an attitude toward anybody else.”

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Harper’s exit gave the Nationals the cap space to sign pitchers Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez to the roster.

“It was kind of the perfect storm for them,” Harper said. “Not signing me, they were able to go out and get the starting pitching that they needed and the pitching that they needed for their bullpen.”

When Harper signed with the Phillies he mistakenly stated that he “couldn’t wait to bring a title back to D.C” even though his new team was in Philadelphia.

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The Nationals must have remembered his D.C. quote based on a tweet by the team before their game 4 victory against the Cardinals, which sent them to the World Series.

Oakland Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict’s season-long suspension is still irking coaches weeks after the NFL handed down the punishment for his vicious hit on a receiver.

Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther railed against the decision to suspend Burfict and called it a “witch hunt” that may have ended the linebacker’s career, according to ESPN. Guenther said the team didn’t know he was one wrong move away from getting the major ban.

NFL UPHOLDS OAKLAND RAIDERS LINEBACKER VONTAZE BURFICT’S SEASON-LONG SUSPENSION

“I think it was a witch hunt from the beginning, quite honestly,” Guenther said. “Somebody in the league didn’t want him playing football and they got what they wanted.”

He added: “Does it make any sense to sign a guy that after one infraction, he’s going to get thrown out of the league for a year? No, it doesn’t. So, I think it’s very unfair. It’s unfair to our team. It’s unfair to Vontaze.”

Guenther took exception to the unprecedented suspension and was shocked when NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan asserted in his letter to Burfict that the linebacker was told “future violations would result in escalated accountability measures.”

VONTAZE BURFICT BEING SINGLED OUT BY NFL WITH SEASON-LONG SUSPENSION, RAIDERS LINEBACKER’S AGENT SAYS

“There’s no standard, and that’s the issue,” Guenther said. “There’s nothing [that says], ‘Hey, next time you do this, you’re gone for the year. Maybe your career.’ I think that’s unfair. You can warn a guy, but put that in writing — the next time this happens, you’re done. … It’s unfair to all the players around the league to not know.”

He added: “And now, they’ve opened a whole can of worms, as far as the next guy who’s going to do it. So, we’ve got to make sure, if we’re going to do it to this one guy, this one guy driving 38 mph in a 30 mph zone for the cop looking for one guy doing it, that all the players are held to the same standard. To me, that’s where I have the issue.”

Burfict received the suspension after laying a hit on Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle. His appeal of the suspension was upheld.

The veteran has racked up more than $4 million in fines and has been suspended 10 times due to the apparent headhunting on the field. The penalties came when he was with the Cincinnati Bengals.

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The Raiders signed Burfict to a one-year, $2 million contract in the offseason. It included a $300,000 signing bonus and $300,000 in guaranteed money, according to Spotrac.

Green Bay Packers linebacker Za’Darius Smith is among the team’s leaders in sacks this season.

Smith has shown off his own dance moves during the course of the season, including pretending to take a nap after he dropped Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford on Monday night.

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However, the celebrations he’s performed this season aren’t impressing his coach Matt LaFleur. Smith told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on Thursday that he was told to put the kibosh on the moves.

“He felt, situations during that time [affects the] the punt team or they want to go for fourth down, I’m taking up too much time,” Smith told the newspaper. “So if you get a chance, talk to him. … Get it up to Roger Goodell, see if we could get some celebration time, that would be awesome, man, for all the fans out there. Please do that.”

According to NFL rules, celebrations are not allowed to exceed 40 seconds.

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Smith said he won’t do any kind of celebration if he records a sack on Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr this week. He lamented, however, that he had a “nice” one ready if he did get the sack.

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Smith is second on the team in sacks to fellow linebacker Preston Smith. Green Bay is eighth in points allowed this season and 21st in yards allowed. The team is 5-1 and currently in first in the NFC North.

New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson will reportedly miss the start of the regular season with a right knee injury.

Williamson was set to miss a preseason game against the New York Knicks on Friday due to knee soreness, the team announced Thursday.

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However, ESPN reported Friday that Williamson is expected to “miss a period of weeks” to start the season.  A severe injury has been ruled out, according to the report.

The No. 1 overall pick will undergo further evaluations, according to Yahoo Sports.

The Pelicans drafted the sensational Duke product in the summer with hopes he would be the centerpiece to a revamped team that includes Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Jrue Holiday.

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Williamson originally suffered a knee injury in the first game of the Pelicans’ Summer League and was held out for the rest of their games.

It’s unclear when exactly Williamson will be back with the Pelicans. The team is confident he will make a full recovery, according to ESPN.

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New Orleans starts their season Tuesday on the road against the defending champions, the Toronto Raptors.

Patrick Mahomes reportedly suffered a dislocated kneecap during the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Denver Broncos on Thursday, appearing to show that one infamous hex is still lingering in the NFL.

The dreaded “Madden” curse has plagued NFL superstars who have been on the cover of the video game for years and Mahomes, the cover star of this year’s installment of the video game franchise, appears to be the latest victim.

PATRICK MAHOMES INJURY DRAWS UNSETTLING REACTIONS FROM CHIEFS TEAMMATES: ‘IT LOOKED DEFORMED’

Mahomes was coming off an NFL MVP season and 12-4 record as the Chiefs QB in 2018, throwing for a league-leading 50 touchdown passes. Mahomes was having a solid season through six-and-a-half games, leading the NFL with 2,180 passing yards and 15 touchdown passes.

It all came into an end Thursday when it appeared he suffered a devastating knee injury against the Broncos. However, the NFL Network reported that Mahomes suffered a dislocated kneecap and might be able to play through it after three weeks of rest.

It wasn’t the first time the “Madden” curse struck this season.

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NFL fans blamed the jinx for derailing Antonio Brown’s career. He was on the cover of “Madden 19” for last year’s installment of the game. While Brown had a good year for the Pittsburgh Steelers, his rift with teammates led the organization to trade him.

He then suffered a frostbite mishap during the offseason, and ironically enough “Madden 19” used a Frostbite graphics engine to “make you feel like you’re in the game every time you pick up the sticks.” The engine debuted during “Madden 18,” with Tom Brady on the cover.

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The “Madden” curse has been blamed for the down years and injuries of several superstars, including Rob Gronkowski, who was on the front of the 2017 installment, Michael Vick, Shaun Alexander and Vince Young. The hex’s history can be traced all the way back to 1999 when Barry Sanders was on the cover of “Madden 2000,” only to abruptly retire.

Former New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi delivered an emotional tribute to pitcher CC Sabathia after the lefty was removed from an American League Championship Series game due to an injury Thursday.

Girardi got emotional during the MLB Network broadcast after the Yankees lost to the Houston Astros, 8-3, in Game 4 of the series. Sabathia was removed from the game in the eighth inning due to shoulder pain. The Yankees faithful gave him a standing ovation as he left the mound.

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“That was not the way I wanted to see it end for him,” said Girardi, who is an analyst for the network. “CC, you’re a Hall of Fame pitcher that was as tough as any man I was ever around. What you went through on a daily basis to just be able to get on the mound.”

Girardi was the manager of the Yankees when Sabathia helped lead the team to a World Series title in 2009.

“You were a great husband. You were a great father,” he said. You probably were the greatest teammate I have ever been around because of your ability to pull all 25 and sometimes all 50 people together in a clubhouse.

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“You were the guy that I always wanted on the mound, when we needed a win. And it was a privilege for me to manage you for nine years. I love you, man.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the outlook for Sabathia wasn’t good and with New York facing elimination Friday, the odds are slim for him to have another opportunity to pitch in the postseason.

Sabathia announced 2019 would be his final season and a trip to Cooperstown could be in the cards for him in the future.

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In 19 seasons among the Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers and Yankees, he recorded a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts. He is the active leader in wins (251), complete games (38), innings pitched (3,577.1) batters faced (14,989) and strikeouts.

New York Jets wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said Wednesday he felt that the New England Patriots were not being upfront with him when they traded him last month.

Thomas signed with the Patriots in the offseason as he recovered from an Achilles injury he suffered while with the Houston Texans at the end of last season. At one point in the preseason, the Patriots cut Thomas, re-signed him and then traded him to the Jets in September. He told the New York Daily News he thought the Patriots were being “disrespectful.”

PATRICK MAHOMES INJURY DRAWS UNSETTLING REACTIONS FROM CHIEFS TEAMMATES: ‘IT LOOKED DEFORMED’

The four-time Pro Bowler also lamented “wasting” his time with the Patriots when he re-signed after initially getting released on cut-down day.

“Like, you know, you could trust me and I could trust you,” Thomas said. “You told me when you cut me at the [final] cut, sit around you’ll bring me back. And I stayed. I could have easily become a Jet once I got cut.… I could have been here the next day after I got released. But I chose to stay.”

“[Patriots coach Bill Belichick] came up to me and was like, ‘Uh, we got too many guys. We can’t get the ball around enough and we’re going to trade you to the Jets,’” Thomas added. “And that was that…. Ain’t no reason to yell. They’ve won championships without me. I was only trying to be a part of something that was going to be good when I was there… They’re doing a hell of a job.”

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Belichick was asked about Thomas’ comments Thursday, according to CBS Boston.

“I felt like I was always truthful with him, but things changed, and therefore what I said was not the same as what it was — what I had said previously. It is what it is,” he said. “Therefore what I said was not the same as what it was.”

The Jets acquired Thomas for a future draft pick. He quickly became a prime target for returning quarterback Sam Darnold last week in a win over the Dallas Cowboys. Thomas caught four passes for 62 yards.

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He will have a chance to enact some revenge on the Patriots during their Monday night matchup.

Ohio authorities on Thursday searched the home of Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott’s father after police shot and killed a loose African cat they believe he owned.

A Fairfield County deputy was forced to shoot and killed a serval cat Sunday after a person called 911 to report that the animal was attacking their dog, detective David Maple told The Columbus Dispatch. When deputies arrived at the scene, authorities said they felt threatened and shot the animal.

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“I don’t know how long it had been out [or] when it had last eaten, but over time they’re going to resort back to their normal behaviors,” Chief Deputy Alex Lape told WBNS-10TV.

According to the newspaper, the Ohio Department of Natural Resource identified the animal as a serval cat. A serval cat is native to Africa and to own one in Ohio requires a special permit. Officials said there are no serval cats kept with a permit in the county.

The animal is about a foot tall, has a small head, large ears, black spots and a black striped tail.

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Agriculture Department officials told The Columbus Dispatch that Stacy Elliott’s home was searched because there was “significant evidence” he owned the cat. The officials also took photos for their investigation, department spokeswoman Shelby Croft told The Dispatch.

Croft said having a wild animal without a permit in Ohio is a first-degree misdemeanor while it is a fifth-degree felony to intentionally release an exotic animal or allow it to escape.

Stacy Elliott is the CEO of Fifth Down Management, which bills itself as a marketing agency for athletes.

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Ezekiel Elliott attended Ohio State University and starred as the Buckeyes’ running back from 2013 to 2015 before turning pro and getting drafted by the Cowboys.

The San Francisco 49ers is one of the NFL’s two undefeated teams this season — but is a French bulldog partly responsible for their most successful start in 29 years?

One-year-old Zoë, the NFL’s first-ever emotional support animal, was adopted by the 49ers and has made an immediate impact with the California team by helping some players cope with mental health struggles.

“This is a very stressful job, it’s very hard for a lot of guys,” 49ers defensive end Solomon Thomas said in August, per the Athletic. “A dog could be a perfect getaway for some guys, and sometimes you don’t know what a dog could mean.”

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Thomas has openly discussed his mental health struggles since his sister committed suicide back in January 2018. He says having Zoë around helps him relax no matter what type of mood he’s in.

“Anytime I go in there and see her, it’s just really relaxing,” Thomas told the outlet. “I can have a good practice or come in there really mad, or come in really sad, and Zoë races over to me. I can just play with the little puppy for 10 or 15 minutes; that just kind of resets my day and lets me put everything back into perspective.”

Zoë is even becoming a celebrity pup online. She has her own Instagram account with more than 6,400 followers called “the49ersfrenchie,” which shows her interacting and playing with teammates at Levi’s Stadium.

She was given an invite to become an official 49er after an employee brought her brother’s French Bulldog, Vito, to work one day. Players reportedly loved Vito, which led Austin Moss, the director of player engagement to find a dog who could help players de-stress every day.

PATRICK MAHOMES INJURY DRAWS UNSETTLING REACTIONS FROM CHIEFS TEAMMATES: ‘IT LOOKED DEFORMED’

That dog turned out to be Zoë.

“Given this environment and how stressful it is whether, you know, it’s you’re trying to make the team or just the daily grind of being a player, we found that it has brought a lot of value to the total wellness portion,” Moss said, according to the Athletic. “In player engagement, one of our main pillars is total wellness — mental health, physical health, emotional health. Zoë’s been a great addition for us and we’re seeing some positive results from it.”

Zoë can regularly be seen in her Instagram account being cradled and kissed by normally intimidating NFL players. She also routinely hangs out in her massive bean bag chair, a place players can sit on while relaxing with her.

Before a game against the Seattle Seahawks last year, offensive tackle Joe Staley even held up the French bulldog with two arms to replicate Simba in the opening scene of the 1994 Lion King movie.

Now it looks like Zoë is there to stay.

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“Football is so all-in, to have a place for them to go and kind of unplug, that was a good thing,” general manager John Lynch told the outlet. “I finally told our owner after a month. I said, ‘Hey, we kind of have this dog now and the guys really like it.'”

New York Yankees fans watching their team take on the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series were reportedly mocking Astros starting pitcher Zack Greinke before the game Thursday night.

Fans were taunting Greinke’s struggles with social anxiety disorder and depression about 20 minutes before the first pitch, according to NJ.com. The fans reportedly also aimed chants at Greinke’s mother and called the pitcher by his first name, “Donald.”

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It’s unclear what the fans were allegedly chanting, but an NJ.com reporter tweeted that it had something to do with prescription medications. NYPD officers had to eject at least one fan before the game started.

Greinke told reporters after his five-strikeout performance in the win that he didn’t hear the chants.

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Astros outfielder Josh Reddick was shocked to hear about the chants after the game, according to NJ.com.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of it,” Reddick said. “I don’t know if low class is the right word, but [Yankees fans] are hectic. They definitely are harsh here in this ballpark. They support their team as loud as they can. They’re going to show up.”

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The Astros were already upset with Yankees fans going into Game 4. Reddick and manager A.J. Hinch were annoyed with fans throwing trash onto the field in Game 3. Hinch said he would take his team off the field if it happened again.