Hot Button: Trevor Williams assists U.S. Air Force? ... Garrett dislocates toe in Pro Bowl Games event ... Rodgers beats Allen at Pebble Beach Pro-Am

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Hot Button is a 'round-the-clock feature that covers anything across the scope of sports. We're here to bring you everything hot: News items, highlights, takes — everything but hot meals — whether local, national or international. Better yet, it’s interactive. Share your thoughts in comments, and even post your own links to interesting, safe-for-work sports stories.

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WILLIAMS TWEET SETS RECORD
STRAIGHT ON MISSILE DEFENSE

Monday, February 6: In case there was any confusion about what measures were taken to shoot down the Chinese spy balloon, former Pirates starter Trevor Williams is here to debunk any myths:

Williams was known for surrendering some long balls during his Pittsburgh tenure, yielding 75 in 94 starts, and averaging one every 7.5 innings over his career.

My take: Williams was a Jekyll and Hyde pitcher, but no one can deny he was consistently entertaining. It's good never to take oneself too seriously. Best of luck to him … and surrounding neighborhoods … this season with the Nationals. — Bob

GARRETT INJURES TOE,
X-RAYS NEGATIVE

Sunday, February 5: Browns edge Myles Garrett suffered a dislocated toe during the Pro Bowl Games Sunday. The extent of the injury is unknown, though an X-ray later confirmed that no bones were broken. He is not expected to miss any significant time.

Garrett was participating in an event called “Gridiron Gauntlet,” a stylized obstacle course competition. He pulled up lame toward the end of his portion of the course and hobbled off under his own power. There were no other injuries of note during the four-day events.

The flag football games were a success for the NFL, with over 58,000 people in attendance at Allegiant stadium in Las Vegas. In a series of three 20-minute games, the NFC emerged victorious over the AFC, 35-33, with Kirk Cousins rallying the NFC in the third game with three touchdown passes. Tyler Huntley, whose selection to the game as an alternate was controversial because of his backup status with the Ravens and having played just five games during the regular season, erased some doubt with five touchdown passes in the first game.

My take: There was some actual competition in the flag football games, as players ran hard and seemed engaged, knowing they didn’t have to risk injury with collisions, though Jalen Ramsey did get a personal foul penalty for hitting Tyreek Hill on a catch-and-lateral play—the only contact in the game. It seems the league can pare down the events and do more meet-and-greet with fans instead of having the players engage in silly birthday party games, but they might be onto something with flag football and its playground vibe. Did anyone else watch or did I take the bullet for the lot of you? — Bob

RODGERS WINS PEBBLE BEACH
PRO-AM, TOPS ALLEN 

Sunday, February 5: Aaron Rodgers won the weather-shortened Pebble Beach Pro-Am Sunday, with a 54-hole score of 26-under par with PGA Tour playing partner Ben Silverman. They won by one stroke, and they bested the team of Bills quarterback Josh Allen and PGA Tour pro Keith Mitchell by four strokes.

The Packers quarterback and Northern California native said he always dreamed of winning the Pro-Am, saying after the round "It's really significant. It's always been on my bucket list." It was Rodgers' 15th appearance in the event. 

Rodgers and Allen were each selected to the Pro Bowl. Rodgers opted out and Allen claimed his right-elbow injury prevented him from participating. Rodgers, who has yet to determine if he will retire, return to play for the Packers or play for another team through a trade, said many of the golf fans were shouting out their support for him to move to their favorite teams, mainly supporting the Raiders, the Cowboys the 49ers and the Jets, with most in the crowd pushing the Raiders.

My take: It would be cool to play well and win over those three courses out there. Geographically, it makes sense that there were a majority of Raiders fans in the gallery. I'm curious if this victory will stoke his competitive fire and push him to return for another year. I know golfing and throwing a football are different for a right-hander's elbow, but Allen dropping out of the Pro Bowl to do this, claiming an injury, is kind of a bad look, no matter how stupid the new format is. — Bob

JACOBS HATES NEW PRO BOWL,
OPINES ON CONTRACT, QBS

Saturday, February 4: Raiders running back Josh Jacobs was brutally honest Saturday, when asked if he was a fan of the the new Pro Bowl Games, which have replaced the traditional football exhibition game with a series of skills competitions and games like water-balloon toss, dodgeball and flag football, with 2022’s NFL rushing leader saying, “This sh*t is stupid. [The NFL] should just send [the players] and our families on a vacation.” 

Jacobs spoke on several topics:

• As a pending free agent, he said he wanted to remain with Las Vegas and expected to begin negotiations with the Raiders this week, but said if they franchised tagged him the situation would be “hero turned villain.”

• Jacobs said he knows the three names of veteran quarterbacks the team is prioritizing in free agency and offered that Tom Brady was not one of them, saying he understood Brady was only “a contingency plan.”

• He interrupted a question on rumors of Aaron Rodgers’ interest in coming to the Raiders by smiling and saying, “I love Aaron Rodgers!”

My take: Yesterday, I decided to tune into the Pro Bowl games and saw Minkah Fitzpatrick playing dodgeball. Then I switched over to the NHL Skills Competition to see a pre-recorded event where a goalie was outside shooting pucks attempting to knock down surfboards. So … what Jacobs said. Rodgers to Raiders? That would be my guess in the end. — Bob

VALENZUELA TO HAVE HIS  
NO. 34 RETIRED BY DODGERS

Saturday, February 4: The Dodgers are breaking a long-standing precedent and will retire Fernando Valenzuela’s No. 34 this season. It will be the first time in franchise history that a player not in the Baseball Hall of Fame will have his number retired. 

Valenzuela took the baseball world by storm in 1981, creating “Fernandomania” in winning the NL Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award after posting a 13-7 record, a 2.48 ERA (2.45 FIP) and a 1.045 WHIP in 25 starts, with an AL-leading 11 complete games, and an MLB-leading 8 shutouts and 180 strikeouts. He then went 3-1 in the postseason, including a complete-game victory over the Yankees to help the Dodgers win the World Series. Nicknamed “El Toro” by fans for his bullish persona, dominance and durability — he often threw over 250 innings per season — in 11 Dodgers seasons, the crafty southpaw was 141-116 with a 3.31 ERA and 1.283 WHIP. He represented Los Angeles in six straight All-Star Games from 1981-86, won a Gold Glove in 1986 and was twice awarded the Silver Slugger as the best-hitting pitcher.

Valenzuela did play parts of six mostly injury-riddled seasons to close out his career with the Angels, Orioles, Phillies, Padres and Cardinals, finishing his 17-year career with a 173-153 record and a 3.54 ERA.

My take: One of the most popular Dodgers ever, and a player who’s maintained ties to the organization. I was a little surprised to find out he hadn’t had his number retired already, not knowing the Dodgers HOF policy. Good for him. Well deserved. — Bob

NFL RELEASES CONCUSSION DATA,
MARKED INCREASE OVER 2021

Friday, February 3: The National Football League released concussion data from the 2022 season and there was an 18 percent increase of in-game concussions over 2021, from 126 to 149. There was a slight decrease of just over 5 percent in total concussions, counting training camp and the preseason, mainly due to only 25 practice-related concussions, the lowest since 2014. 

Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL's chief medical officer, told ESPN the increase of in-game concussions was partly due to the league being "more cautious and conservative in our evaluation and diagnosis of concussions. That’s not just an opinion. That’s backed up by the data.”

My take: What does "cautious" and "conservative" have to do with concussions? Either a player is concussed or he isn't. It's scary that a new definition for a head injury resulted in an 18 percent increase. Does that mean more players were on the field with concussions in prior seasons because the NFL wasn't being "cautious?" Will they ever take this completely serious? maddening. The reasons for a decrease is practice-related concussions was not addressed, but a mixture of reduced contact and the introduction of Guardian helmet caps are probably factors. — Bob 

MIXON CRIMINAL CHARGE 
EXPECTED TO BE DISMISSED

Thursday, February 2: Bengals running back Joe Mixon was formally charged with misdemeanor aggravated menacing — a Class 1 offense — in Hamilton County, Ohio Thursday, and an arrest warrant was issued. The charge alleges that Mixon pointed a firearm at an individual at a downtown Cincinnati street corner on January 21, and said the individual should be "popped in the face." That date is the day before the Bengals played the Bills in the Divisional Round of the playoffs in Buffalo. 

The Bengals released a statement acknowledging they were aware of the charge and were conducting an independent investigation.

However, Mixon's agent Peter Schaffer told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero that he expects the charges to be dropped Friday, claiming "It was a rush to judgment. They're dropping the charges first thing in the morning. I really feel that police have an obligation before they file charges because of the damage that can be done to the person's reputation - to do their work. They should be held to a higher standard. Because I don't play with people's lives."

Mixon has been in trouble with law enforcement at least once before, punching a woman in 2014 while he was playing for Oklahoma University, claiming the woman hurled a racial slur at him. He was suspended by the team for one season and served one year of court-ordered probation. He has had no reported incidences since.

My take: I think it's funny that an agent doesn't think he plays with people's lives, but Schaffer's certainty that the charges will be dropped probably is accurate, at least based on what he's been told. It would be odd to say such a thing if it wasn't about to happen, otherwise he'd say he'd be asking for the charges to be dropped. Stay tuned. — Bob

Update: Hamilton County prosecutors dismissed the charge Friday, reserving the right to refile it at a later date. They told a judge that they "need additional investigation before we would move forward with this case." 

FANS UPSET, BRADSHAW NOT
LISTED AMONG TOP SB QBS

Thursday, February 2: NFL analyst and podcast host Gregg Rosenthal upset Steelers fans Thursday, when he released a list of the "Top 10 Super Bowl QBs of All-Time" on Twitter, and Terry Bradshaw, undefeated in four Super Bowls, was not among them:

Many replied, railing against Rosenthal for his perceived ignorance in omitting Bradshaw over players like Dan Marino and Steve Young, who only appeared in one each. The rub lies in Rosenthal's methodology. If those criticizing the list had clicked the link in the post, they would have discovered the list really should have been titled "Top 10 Quarterbacks to Play in a Super Bowl." Rosenthal weighed each quarterback's individual careers more than their performances in Super Bowls, making the list generally irrelevant to the Super Bowl. Bradshaw, for example, seems to have been punished for his pre-Super Bowl years, and despite winning an NFL MVP in 1978 and four Super Bowls, finished only 17th, between Troy Aikman and Joe Namath.

My take: Just one example of Twitter being too often the dumpster heap of humanity. Rosenthal is stupid to release this list — it means nothing to rank the quarterbacks to appear in a Super Bowl. I mean, what does that have to do with anything? But at least some folks could have controlled their blood pressure by looking into the accompanying article, then dismissed it for what it is. Too many were savage and cruel in replies. Always makes me wonder why some people take some of this stuff so personally. Bradshaw was 4-0 in Super Bowls. No rational person would have trouble placing him in historical context or could take issue with his big-game primacy. — Bob

ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE
KICKS OFF AGAIN IN 2024

Thursday, February 2: Old is new again throughout the football world, as the Arena Football League announced it was returning in 2024, after bankruptcy forced the league to shutter in 2019 after 32 seasons. F1 Sports and Entertainment is the new ownership group.

The league will return with a summer schedule. 16 teams will compete, each playing a 10-game regular season followed by a four-team playoff. No cities or franchises have been announced, but the announced intention is to return to cities which previously had teams.

Promising to make this iteration "bigger and better," new AFL president Anthony Rossi laid out the vision to accomplish it, saying, "Our objective when we acquired the AFL was to bring back a storied brand that deserved to be revived and showcased again, globally. ... we want to incorporate the components of a modern day business — streaming. betting, technology, virtual reality, and immerse fan engagement mixed with good old-fashioned iron-man football."

My take: Have I traveled back in time? First it was the return of the USFL, two weeks until the XFL, and next year the AFL. OK. The only "new" league is Fan-controlled Football (FCF) and that will be entering it's third season this summer. Pretty sure we've reached critical mass with U.S. football leagues. Tampa Bay had an AFL team, so Tom Brady can do that for fun if he gets bored. Anyone excited for AFL's return? It was around a long time. — Bob

TUA FINALLY CLEAR OF 
CONCUSSION PROTOCOL

Wednesday, February 1: Tua Tagovailoa has cleared concussion protocol, according to the Dolphins, five weeks after suffering what many consider his third concussion of the season on Christmas Day against the Packers.

Tagovialoa spent 38 days in the protocol, missing the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. His battle with concussions drew widespread attention during the 2022 season, when he appeared to be concussed in the first half against the Bills in Week 3, but was cleared and played the second half in a comeback win against Buffalo. It was announced as a back injury but a later NFL and NFLPA review resulted in a neuroconsultant being fired for not following the protocol during the halftime evaluation. Week 4 brought Tagovailoa's first official concussion, when he was thrown to the ground on a sack, hitting his head on the turf. He missed three weeks, returning to play against the Steelers on October 23.

In games Tagovailoa started and finished in 2022, Miami was 8-3, 1-5 in all other regular-season games. 

My take: The Dolphins have to be prudent in finding a reliable backup quarterback because Tua had three concussions this season, I don't care what the official report from Buffalo states. Anyone with eyes, knows he was dazed. Hopefully, he can be like Sidney Crosby and get past it to have a productive career. Best wishes to him on that. — Bob

BRADY RETIRES AGAIN,
CLAIMS ITS FINAL

Wednesday, February 1: Tom Brady has retired from the National Football League for the second time, but in a video shared on social media, the future Hall of Fame quarterback said it's "for good" this time:

Brady retired briefly following the 2021 season, weeks after the Buccaneers lost to the Rams in the NFC Divisional Round in a bid to repeat as Super Bowl champions. However, the retirement didn't last long. He un-retired in March, after head coach Bruce Arians moved into a front-office role and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles was elevated to head coach, coincidentally or not. 

Brady's return this season at age 45 was not what he anticipated. Though he broke his own NFL single-season records for pass attempts and completions, the team struggled to establish any running game or establish any rhythm on offense. Eventually Tampa Bay won the NFC South, but with a losing record (8-9). They were dominated by the Cowboys in the Wild Card playoff round, 31-14.

The clock now ticks on the mandatory five-year wait for Brady's likely unanimous selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The seven-time Super Bowl champion and three-time MVP finishes with 7,753 completions on 12,050 attempts for 89,214 yards and 649 touchdowns — each an NFL record — over 23 seasons (20 with the Patriots, 3 with the Buccaneers).

Brady now has broadcast work to do. Last year, he signed a 10-year, $375-million deal with FOX, which is supposed to take effect when his playing career ends. He is expected to be the network's lead on-air analyst.

My take: If it is for good, then we just witnessed the greatest career for an NFL quarterback. Put aside all the statistics but these: Seven Super Bowl wins. Playoffs in 22 of his 23 seasons. 'Nuff said. — Bob