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Today — 8 January 2025Sport News

Ex-NFL quarterback shows massive scope of California wildfires: 'Much worse than people think'

8 January 2025 at 07:16

Former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel gave his social media followers the sheer scope of the wildfires plaguing Southern California on Wednesday.

Daniel posted a photo on his X account showing the wildfires burning.

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"These fires are much worse than people think….just absolutely devastating Pacific Palisades & Malibu," he wrote. "I work about 6 miles from all this & currently headed in now.

"This picture is from a plane to show the sheer size of it all."

Daniel played in the NFL from 2010 to 2022 after a standout collegiate career at Missouri.

He was with the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Chargers before he stepped away from the game. He was mostly used as a viable backup but started five of his 74 appearances.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE FORCES MOTHER OF WARRIORS HEAD COACH TO EVACUATE: 'JUST TERRIFYING'

He had 1,746 passing yards and nine touchdown passes in his career.

He currently works for FOX Sports as an analyst on "The Facility."

Several fires broke out around the Los Angeles area between Tuesday and Wednesday. Thousands have been forced to flee their homes. 

The first started near a nature preserve in the inland foothills northeast of Los Angeles. The second occurred in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. The third, which began around 10:30 p.m. PT, occurred in the San Fernando Valley.

Another fire broke out early Wednesday morning.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ex-NFL star, with ties to Eli Manning trade, discusses chances of Shedeur Sanders refusing Titans for Giants

8 January 2025 at 06:30

The Tennessee Titans have their choice at the cream of the crop with the No. 1 pick in April, and there's a fairly decent chance it will be Colorado star quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

That's who Shawne Merriman would personally go with – although Travis Hunter is a close second – but Merriman knows all too well that the No. 1 pick doesn't necessarily guarantee you get your guy.

Merriman, of course, was eventually part of the infamous Eli Manning-Phillip Rivers trade in 2004. Manning was adamant about never playing for the Chargers, but the team, then in San Diego, drafted him anyway with the first overall pick.

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Eventually, after the Giants drafted Rivers, the Big Blue sent Rivers, a 2004 third-rounder, and a 2005 first-rounder to San Diego for Manning. That first-round pick became Merriman (although, the Giants aren't complaining).

The Giants were in a great position to own the No. 1 pick, which led to Sanders himself actually being gifted a pair of Giants cleats for his bowl game. New York then won their third game of the season, losing control of the top selection, and they are now slated to pick third.

But, Merriman seems to believe there's a chance that Sanders' father and head coach, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, could play a role in repeating history with the same team from 21 years ago.

TITANS, WITH NO. 1 DRAFT PICK, FIRE GENERAL MANAGER RAN CARTHON

"I think Deion is smart by putting it out there that teams need to tread lightly, as far as what they plan on doing… I think Prime is smart enough to at least put the word out there that we're not just going with anybody, right?" Merriman said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. "But again, when you get drafted, I think things change, and anywhere in that top-five pick man is really a blessing for anybody."

Deion himself did say that "multiple IDIOTS… will say things that totally aren’t true regarding where I would like" his sons to play at the next level – but he didn't exactly rule out that he wouldn't influence it.

"If I say it I will say it directly to whom it may concern not a attention seeker," he said on X last week.

Merriman will get one more look at Sanders before the draft at the East-West Shrine Bowl, as his very own production company, Lights Out Sports TV, will live stream the game's practices later this month. Merriman got into television after his playing days were over a decade ago and felt the Shrine Bowl was a perfect opportunity to showcase his second dream.

"To get the opportunity now to have the live-streaming rights exclusively for us for the East-West Shrine Bowl practices, it's like, I wanted to play football as a kid. I dreamed about it. I wanted to play NFL, and to now be in this space that now, it's my ideas, it's my production, I'm putting together everything, and to have the ability to get in this space and get someone like the East-West shrine bowl, the 100th annual, it's a massive, massive deal for us. and we want go out and make this the most interactive practice week that anybody's ever seen," Merriman said.

The top pick figures to be either Sanders or Cam Ward, the latter of whom some sportsbooks have as the odds-on favorite at the moment. The Cleveland Browns, who own the second pick, are a true wild card with Deshaun Watson still rostered, so perhaps there is a chance Sanders will fall to the G-Men anyway. Deion also played professional baseball with the New York Yankees, so there is already a tie to the Big Apple.

The Giants announced on Monday that both general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll will be back for a fourth season despite going 9-25 in their last two seasons combined. Since joining the team ahead of the 2022 season, they have yet to draft a quarterback.

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California wildfire forces mother of Warriors head coach to evacuate: 'Just terrifying'

8 January 2025 at 05:43

The mother of Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr evacuated from her home in the Los Angeles area as wildfires raged on Tuesday into Wednesday morning.

Kerr’s 90-year-old mother, Ann, left her Pacific Palisades home as evacuation orders were given. The coach talked about the harrowing situation unfolding after the team’s 114-98 loss to the Miami Heat.

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"I want to send my thoughts and condolences to everybody in Los Angeles dealing with the fires," he said. "My mom lives in Pacific Palisades. She had to evacuate."

Everett Dayton, a member of the organization’s player development department, lost his family home in the area, Kerr said.

"Everything I’m seeing and reading is just terrifying what’s happening down there," Kerr said. "So just want to send thoughts to everyone who’s going through the devastation of the fire. Obviously the game is secondary to that and to many things in life. Perspective is important."

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES RAGE ACROSS LOS ANGELES COUNTY, FORCING THOUSANDS TO EVACUATE THEIR HOMES

Ann Kerr was among the thousands who were forced to flee the area as three separate fires broke out across the Los Angeles area on Tuesday. The first started near a nature preserve in the inland foothills northeast of Los Angeles. The second occurred in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. The third, which began around 10:30 p.m. PT, occurred in the San Fernando Valley.

On Monday, Los Angeles authorities warned of high winds that would plague the region. The winds helped fuel the fires on Tuesday as gusts topping 60 mph were seen in some places, increasing to 70 mph by early Wednesday.

A high-wind warning was in effect for the region through 6 p.m. PT, the weather service read.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

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