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CLEVELAND -- Former NFL defensive end Chris Smith, who was touched by tragedy while he played for the Cleveland Browns, has died. He was 31. Smith's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, and the Browns confirmed his passing on Tuesday. The cause of death was not immediately known. “Rest in Peace Chris,” Rosenhaus wrote on Twitter. “Condolences to all his family, friends and loved ones. We will miss you.” Smith played for the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons this season. He previously spent eight seasons in the NFL with Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Las Vegas and Houston. While Smith was with the Browns in 2019,...

Former Alabama star QB AJ McCarron is now a player in the rebooted XFL spring league. McCarron says he passed on being a backup in the NFL so sons could watch him play. Dwayne Johnson praised the move saying it meant a lot "personally." AJ McCarron is now throwing footballs in the rebooted XFL spring league, and while some might look at it as a step backward, the quarterback sees it as a huge opportunity for him and his sons on a personal level. This weekend, the former Alabama Crimson Tide star led the St. Louis Battlehawks to the second-straight...

The XFL is making an unexpected comeback thanks to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The football league attempted a re-launch this year, and it didn't go all that well. The wrestler-turned-actor, who also happens to be a former football player, stepped in to help purchase the league alongside his business partner Dany Garcia and Red Bird Capital. Now, Johnson has revealed that the XFL will return in 2022. The XFL is making an unexpected comeback thanks to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The football league attempted a re-launch this year, and it didn't go all that well. The wrestler-turned-actor, who also happens...

The XFL has been sold to a group that includes former WWE star Dwayne “The Rock’’ Johnson, giving the bankrupt football league the kind of star power that may draw even non-sports fans. Johnson, an actor and producer who played college football at the University of Miami, teamed up with Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital to buy the league just hours before a planned auction was scheduled to begin. They paid $15 million, splitting it evenly. Johnson’s business partner, Dany Garcia, who is also his ex-wife, will be an equal stakeholder with him. According to a court filing, this was the...

The new XFL just made its debut over the weekend, and one thing viewers did not have to stomach were social justice warrior players kneeling in protest during the Star Spangled Banner. Unlike the cowardly NFL, which in 2018 withdrew an overture to ban dishonoring protests in pregame ceremonies, the XFL brain-trust had the guts to make it very clear that kneeling will not be tolerated. Grievance mongers who entertained any ideas of doing the Kaepernick thing can take their gripes elsewhere. Vince McMahon’s rebirth of the XFL, which had a previous and short-lived run way back in 2001, started...

The eight teams and cities launching in February 2020 are: New York, MetLife/Meadowland Stadium, New Jersey Dallas-Ft. Worth, Globe Life Park, Arlington Houston, TDECU Stadium, Houston Los Angeles, StubHub Center, Carson City St. Louis, America Center, St. Louis Seattle, Century Link Field, Seattle Tampa Bay, Raymond James, Stadium, Tampa Bay Washington DC. Audi Field

The revived XFL won’t be the only alternative football league hoping to seize Americans’ attention. Charlie Ebersol, the son of longtime NBC Sports executive Dick Ebersol and director of the 30 for 30 documentary about the original XFL his father created with WWE’s Vince McMahon, announced Tuesday that he plans to launch a football league next February. (ESPN’s Darren Rovell has all the details.) The league is called the Alliance of American Football and will feature eight 50-man teams playing a 10-game schedule that begins on February 9, the Saturday after next year’s Super Bowl. Funding for the league comes...

The XFL will live on, thanks to another WWE legendary figure taking the majority stake in the football league -- but this time it's not Vince McMahon. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, RedBird Capital and Dany Garcia teamed up to purchase the XFL for approximately $15 million just hours before the once-bankrupt league was set for auction. RedBird Capital is an investment firm that focuses on providing flexible and long-term capital to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses, and the XFL will be its latest challenge. Garcia, Johnson's business partner and ex-wife, will also be a stakeholder in the league. The transaction...

The XFL's parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, the first business day after the league suspended operations and laid off almost all of its employees. The filing, officially made by Alpha Entertainment, listed the XFL with assets and liabilities each in the range of $10 million to $50 million. The largest creditor was listed as the St. Louis Sports Commission at $1.6 million. Seven of the league's eight coaches also are among the top creditors. In a statement, the XFL attributed its decision to the coronavirus pandemic: "The XFL quickly captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of...

The XFL suspended operations Friday morning and laid off nearly all of its staff, multiple sources told ESPN. While a handful of executives remain employed, the league currently has no plans to return in 2021. The league canceled its season last month after five games as part of a nationwide shutdown due to coronavirus concerns, pledging to return next year. But XFL CEO Jeffrey Pollack changed course Friday, conducting a 10-minute conference call to inform employees of the news. Commissioner Oliver Luck, hired in 2018 to guide the most ambitious spring football league in decades, did not speak on the...

The XFL regular season is over, but the XFL isn’t gone. The upstart league released a statement confirming that it will suspend its season, as virtually all American sports organizations have in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the XFL also said it will return next year. “Currently, the XFL will not be playing its regular season games,” the league’s statement said. “However, all players will be paid their base pay and benefits for the 2020 regular season. All XFL ticket holders will be issued refunds or credit towards future games. The XFL is committed to playing a full season...

Link explaning rule differences compared to the NFL Saturday, March 7, 2020 (All times Eastern) Seattle Dragons (1-3) at Houston Roughnecks (4-0) 2 PM on ABC New York Guardians (2-2) at Dallas Renegades (2-2) 5 PM on FOX Sunday, March 8, 2020 St. Louis BattleHawks (3-1) at D.C. Defenders (2-2) 3 PM on Fox Sports 1 Tampa Bay Vipers (1-3) at L.A. Wildcats (1-3) 9 PM on ESPN

Link explaning rule differences compared to the NFL Saturday, February 29, 2020 (All times Eastern) Los Angeles Wildcats (1-2) at New York Guardians (1-2) 2 PM, ABC MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey) Seattle Dragons (1-2) at St. Louis BattleHawks (2-1) 5 PM, Fox The Dome at America's Center (St. Louis, Missouri) Sunday, March 1, 2020 Houston Roughnecks (3-0) at Dallas Renegades (2-1) 4 PM, Fox Sports 1 Globe Life Park in Arlington (Arlington, Texas) DC Defenders (2-1) at Tampa Bay Vipers (0-3) 7 PM, ESPN Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)

Link explaining rule differences compared to the NFL Saturday, February 22, 2020 (All times Eastern) Houston Roughnecks (2-0) at Tampa Bay Vipers (0-2) 2 PM, ABC Dallas Renegades (1-1) at Seattle Dragons (1-1) 5 PM, Fox Sunday, February 23, 2020 New York Guardians (1-1) at St. Louis BattleHawks (1-1) 3 PM, ESPN DC Defenders (2-0) at LA Wildcats (0-2) 6 PM, Fox Sports 1

Saturday, February 15, 2020 (All times Eastern) New York Guardians at DC Defenders 2 PM on ABC Tampa Bay Vipers at Seattle Dragons 5 PM on Fox Sunday, February 16, 2020 Dallas Renegades at Los Angeles Wildcats 3 PM on ABC St. Louis BattleHawks at Houston Roughnecks 6 PM on Fox Sports 1 (cable)

One player noticeably absent during the XFL's kick-off weekend Saturday and Sunday was controversial former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Given Kaepernick's fallout with the NFL, one might expect that he would jump at opportunities to showcase his talents on a different stage in order to lure offers. With that not being the case for Kapernick, many have speculated as to why. Is Kaepernick being blackballed by the XFL? Not quite. Actually, according to recent comments from XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck, the reverse may be closer to the truth. What is the XFL saying? Speaking with NPR on Saturday, Luck shed...

What is it? A new football league owned by Vince McMahon, the WwE guy. I think Trump body slammed him once. Actually it's not exactly new, see it had one season way back in 2001 and went belly up, but it's back and this time, it's personal. 10 week season kicks off this weekend. Top two teams in each conference advance to the playoffs. What are the teams and their head coaches? Western Conference Dallas Renegades, Bob Stoops Houston Roughnecks, June Jones Los Angeles Wildcats, Winston Moss Seattle Dragons, Jim Zorn Eastern Conference DC Defenders, Pep Hamilton New York...

FOX Sports announced its 2020 XFL broadcast schedule, which kicks off on FOX Saturday, Feb. 8th at 2:00 p.m. with the Los Angeles Wildcats at Houston Roughnecks.

Top NCAA executive Oliver Luck is leaving his post to become the commissioner of a reboot of the XFL, professional wrestling mogul Vince McMahon announced Tuesday. Luck, who is a former NFL quarterback and father of Indianapolis Colts star Andrew Luck, will start his new gig July 1 with the league set to launch in 2020. He said that the XFL will allow him to reimagine how football is played on the field and delivered to fans. “Opportunities like this come along very infrequently,” Luck told the Associated Press. “You've got Vince, who is a visionary. A well-capitalized effort. A...