FOUR-TIME MVP AARON RODGERS LEAVES NEW YORK JETS, INDOOR MILE RECORD SMASHED IN FRANCE
NFL and athletics dominated Thursday night's sporting news, but there was also action in European competitions
The New York Jets have informed Aaron Rodgers that they are moving on from the star quarterback after two seasons, the NFL team said in a statement.
"Last week we met with Aaron and shared that our intention was to move in a different direction at quarterback," Jets head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey said.
"It was important to have this discussion now to provide clarity and enable each of us the proper time to plan for our respective futures," he added.
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Rodgers, 41, regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, was traded to the Jets in 2023 after a stellar 18-season career with the Green Bay Packers.
He made his debut in week one against the Buffalo Bill, but his 2023 was cut short after only four snaps in that game due to an Achilles tendon rupture.
He returned for the 2024 campaign, but the Jets had a poor season, which ended in a 5-12 record.
With the Packers, Rodgers won Super Bowl XLV in 2011 and was named the league's MVP four times.
Two down
Norway's long-distance runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen set two world records in one run at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Lievin, France.
Just five days after his American rival Yared Nuguse set a world indoor mile record in New York, Ingebrigtsen smashed the mile mark with the time of three minutes 45.14 seconds, a significant improvement on the 3:46.63 minutes Nuguse recorded at the Millrose Games on Saturday.
On his way to the milestone, the two-time Olympic champion also took almost a second off the 1,500 metres world record he set himself in 2022, crossing that mark in 3:29.63 minutes.
"It feels amazing," Ingebrigtsen said after his first ever indoor mile race. "This is what happens in Lievin. I'm a very happy man.
"You have to be focused for the whole race. It's tough, but it's worth it."
Ingebrigtsen won 5,000m gold at the Paris Games last summer and he also has 1,500m gold from Tokyo 2020.
Euro round-up
It was the Uefa Europa and Conference League play-offs with the stand-out tie Porto v Roma in Europe's secondary competition.
And that remained finely in the balance as the two sides drew 1-1 at the Estadio Dragao.
Elsewhere, Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce took a commanding 3-0 lead over Anderlecht back to Istanbul while Real Sociedad left Denmark with a 2-1 victory over FC Midtjylland.
In the Conference League, Manchester United's on loan forward Antony scored again as Real Betis won 3-0 at FC Copenhagen.
While Irish side Shamrock Rovers won 1-0 at Molde thanks to a goal from Michael Noonan who, at 16 years and 197 days, is the youngest goal scorer in the competition's history.
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2025-02-14T00:42:49Z
