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Case of the Mondays: Patriots Have Injury Problems, Notre Dame Has Discipline Problems

by - 8/22/2016

New England Patriots Running Back Dion Lewis

Football season is still two weeks away, but several teams-both professional and college-are already dealing with significant issues. While the New England Patriots have injury problems (in addition to Tom Brady's upcoming suspension), a couple of college programs are being hurt by off-the-field transgressions. As for the baseball diamond, the Oakland Athletics have issues both on and off the field.

All odds provided by Bovada Sportsbook.

New England Patriots . Running back Dion Lewis learned on Sunday that he will need a second knee surgery after tearing his left ACL during last year's game against the Washington Redskins on Nov. 8. The 5-foot-8 speedster, who is New England's primary pass-catcher out of the backfield, will start the regular season on the physically unable to perform list, but the procedure is not expected to sideline him for all of 2016. Meanwhile, offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer underwent shoulder surgery and is now heading to injured reserve. Vollmer may, however, be designated for a return at some point during the season. Lastly, guard Shaq Mason is dealing with a broken hand, so the Pats' may be using a patchwork offensive line at least for the immediate future. New England is a +600 favorite to win the Super Bowl.

Malik Henry . Florida State's freshman quarterback has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules, head coach Jimbo Fisher announced this past Saturday. Henry was ranked No. 17 on the 2016 ESPN 300 list, and he is considered the second best dual-threat quarterback in his class. Senior Sean Maguire is also out for the next few weeks with a foot injury, so redshirt freshman Deondre Francois is expected to start the Seminoles' season opener against Ole Miss in Sept. 5. FSU's "over/under" regular-season win total is 10.

Notre Dame . Senior safety Max Redfield, arguably one of the best at his position in the entire nation, was kicked off the football team on Sunday. Cornerback Devin Butler, also a senior, was suspended indefinitely after a disastrous weekend in South Bend that resulted in six Fighting Irish players arrested over two different incidents."There are times when a player's conduct so clearly fails to meet the standards I have set for our football team," head coach Brian Kelly stated,"that it is appropriate to take action independent of any decision that might be made by the Office of Community Standards. This is such an instance." Redfield also got sent home prior to last season's Fiesta Bowl. Notre Dame is +2000 to win it all; Alabama is a +600 favorite.

Billy Butler . It is a lost season for the Oakland A's. They are 53-71 and 19.5 games out of first place in the American League West. Things aren't getting any better, either, as the team has dropped seven of its last eight games after losing two in a row at the Chicago White Sox to end a weekend series. And they are bad in the clubhouse, too. Designated hitter Billy Butler and third baseman Danny Valencia were involved in an undisclosed spat last Friday, after which Butler missed games on Saturday and Sunday due to nausea and vomiting. "No comment," said Valencia, who sat out the finale against Chicago. "What happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse." The division rival Texas Rangers are +250 favorites to win the AL Pennant.

FC Barcelona . Brazil's win may be Barcelona's loss-at least temporarily. Neymar was expected to rejoin his Spanish club on Wednesday in advance of its league match against Athletic Bilbao, but he will instead stay in Brazil through the international break that runs into September (with permission from FC Barca manager Luis Enrique). The 24-year-old, who converted the gold medal-clinching kick to finish a shootout against Germany on Saturday night at the Rio Olympics, will play two World Cup qualifiers for the Brazilians against Colombia and Ecuador before going back to Barcelona next month. Barca is a -215 favorite to beat Athletic Bilbao.

Luke Donald . There was not much Donald could have done over the last three days of the Wyndham Championship. After all, Si Woo Kim was just too strong. Kim took control of the tournament with a second-round 60, and he held on with a Saturday 64 followed by a Sunday 67. So the door never exactly opened for Donald, who went 65-68-64-67 en route to second place. Still, any near-miss for the 38-year-old Englishman has to be especially painful because he has not won on either the PGA Tour or the European Tour since the spring of 2012. A victory also would have given Donald entry into the Masters, which he did not qualify for this season for the first time since 2004. Jason Day is a +750 favorite to win The Barclays, this week's FedEx Cup opening tournament.

Angelique Kerber . It was still a productive week for Kerber at the Western & Southern Open. Coming right off a silver medal-winning performance at the Olympics, the German fought off fatigue and made an appearance in yet another final. But she was just one win away from overtaking Serena Williams for the No. 1 world ranking, and Kerber came up short on Sunday, losing the title match 6-3, 6-1 to Karolina Pliskova. "On court, I was not thinking about this," she said of potentially becoming the top-ranked woman in the world. "I'm here to play good tennis, trying to win matches, and this is my goal. Of course to be one day No. 1, it's another goal." By virtue of Kerber's loss, Serena still holds the top spot and is guaranteed to at least tie Steffi Graf's record of 186 consecutive weeks as the No. 1 woman in the world. Kerber is +800 to win the U.S. Open; Serena is a +120 favorite.

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