SAN DIEGO – Former Aztecs keep making headlines in professional sports.
Damontae Kazee had his best game of the season so far in Week 14 for the Atlanta Falcons. Carolina was driving towards the end of the first half, but then Kazee intercepted Kyle Allen and returned the ball for 22 yards to stop the drive. After a 93-yard touchdown by Atlanta in the third quarter, Kazee was on the kickoff unit. He hit Panthers returner, Greg Dortch, knocking the ball out to be recovered by Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo. After two takeaways, Kazee wasn't done. On the last play of the third quarter, Kazee intercepted Kyle Allen again, this time returning for 21 yards. He also had two tackles (one solo) and two passes defended. Kazee appeared on 68 snaps on defense and 14 on special teams. The Falcons travel to San Francisco for a matchup with the 49ers on Sunday.
Rashaad Penny came into the Week 14 with 236 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns over his previous two games. On his first snap of the game, Penny caught a screen pass from Russell Wilson and took it up field for 16 yards. Penny went down at the end of the play and left the game with a knee injury, which turned out to be a torn ACL. Penny will miss the rest of the season.
Kameron Kelly made a solo tackle in Pittsburgh's 23-17 win over Arizona on Sunday. Kelly saw action in 14 snaps on special teams for the Steelers. The Steelers will play Buffalo on Sunday Night Football. In that same game, Aaron Brewer played on eight special teams snaps for Arizona. The Cardinals will play Cleveland in Week 15. Daniel Brunskill appeared in four snaps on special teams in San Francisco's 48-46 last second win over the New Orleans Saints. San Francisco hosts Atlanta on Sunday. Kahale Warring is on injured reserve for Houston and Nick Bawden is on injured reserve for Detroit. Ryan Pope, Alex Barrett, and Calvin Munson are on the practice squads for Jacksonville, San Francisco, and New England, respectively.
Kawhi Leonard played in two games for the Los Angeles Clippers over the last week. Leonard averaged 25.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. The Clippers are 18-7 and have the second-best record in the Western Conference. On Wednesday night, they will travel to Toronto to play the Raptors. Leonard won a championship and Finals MVP with the Raptors last season and this is his first game back in Canada. He will receive his championship ring prior to the game.
World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg re-signed with the Washington Nationals. His new contract is for seven years and $245 million. The contract gave him the highest average annual value for a pitcher in MLB history, but was eclipsed by Gerrit Cole's new deal with the Yankees Tuesday night.
In golf, Xander Schauffele shot 7-under in the Hero World Challenge. He tied for 10th in the tournament. He will be competing for Team USA in the Presidents Cup this weekend in Melbourne, Australia.