CCCHS soccer falls short of District Title match

The Cowboys now have the downfield, explosive target they've wanted all along.

Plans for the cameras to roll at North Carolina for the first-ever college season of "Hard Knocks" were called off over worries about the involvement of coach Bill Belichick's girlfriend. That is according to The Athletic, which reported Wednesday that 24-year-old Jordon Hudson wanted to be heavily involved in the production. Backed by documents, The Athletic said NFL Films was set to start taping March 1 on campus in Chapel Hill, N.C., to document Belichick's first season with his team. However, two days later, North Carolina's lawyers received an email from Jessica Boddy, the NFL's vice president for commercial operations and business affairs that the project was off. "The conversation took a turn we were not comfortable with," Boddy wrote in the email, according to The Athletic. She also is an executive producer of "Hard Knocks." The university said it was not a decision by its staff to nix "Hard Knocks" and added it was more appropriate for the production company to comment. The NFL, which oversees the show, declined to comment, and Boddy and Hudson did not respond to messages left, per The Athletic. Hudson and Belichick, 73, reportedly have been in a relationship since early 2023, People reported. But it is the question of how they met that put Hudson squarely in the spotlight this week. In an interview that aired Sunday on "CBS Sunday Morning," Belichick discussed his new book and more. But when CBS' Tony Dokoupil, who described Hudson as a "constant presence" during the interview, asked how the couple met, she balked. "We're not talking about this," Hudson said. CBS News on Wednesday said there were no limitations to the interview. "When we agreed to speak with Mr. Belichick, it was for a wide-ranging interview," CBS News said in the statement. "There were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation. This was confirmed repeatedly with his publisher before the interview took place and after it was completed." Hudson apparently has moved right in as first lady of Tar Heels football. Reporting over the past few weeks said she is being copied on emails and other communications to Belichick from UNC staff, and she has appeared on the practice field. She lists herself on emails as chief operating officer of Belichick Productions, though The Athletic said it couldn't find any registered business in that name. The Athletic reported that Belichick himself wanted the "Hard Knocks" gig, and North Carolina stood to be paid $200,000 in fees for the five-part series to run on HBO. The show was supposed to be announced during the NFL Scouting Combine. Players who were coached by Belichick during his career as a six-time Super Bowl winner with the New England Patriots are taking sides in the saga. Speaking on their "Dudes on Dudes" podcast, retired Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman and tight end Rob Gronkowski defended Belichick and his partnership with Hudson. "People are giving an unfair reality of what's going on," Edelman said, contending Hudson was serving as Belichick's "representative" during the CBS interview and that she interrupted the conversation "just like any PR person would jump in when there's an unnecessary question that probably [they] didn't go over in the pre-production meeting." Retired linebacker Ted Johnson, who played for New England from 1995 to 2004, had a much different take when he spoke to Boston radio station WEEI on Tuesday. He said Hudson was a source of embarrassment to Belichick and suggested her presence had cost him a chance at an NFL coaching job after he and the Patriots split after the 2023 season. "I hold college coaches to a higher standard than I do NFL coaches when it comes to morally, they are supposed to leaders of men, set a good example that kind of thing," Johnson said, according to transcription of his comments by the New York Post. "I'm surprised UNC never called Atlanta on why they passed on hiring Bill Belichick. My feeling is that the Atlanta Falcons are kinda looking at the UNC and going, ‘You should have called us.' "I say all that to say this: I think the ... Tar Heels should consider firing Bill Belichick. They should consider letting him go at this point. It's a lot of money and they're deep into, obviously, their preparation for next year, but I look at Bill Belichick and I wonder if he's fit to coach an NFL team, let alone fit to coach a college team which, again, I put more onus on the character and personality and just overall character, if you will, of a college coach than I do a pro coach. I'm worried that Bill Belichick just isn't fit to coach college kids and UNC should consider cutting ties with Bill Belichick." In January, Belichick signed a five-year contract with North Carolina. Only the first three years are guaranteed with $10 million per year in salary and $3.5 million in bonuses possible. --Field Level Media

The Green Bay Packers are exercising their fifth-year option on defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, their 2022 first-round pick, Fox Sports reported Wednesday. Wyatt, 27, will earn a fully guaranteed $13.922 million in 2026 barring a long-term deal with the team before then. Wyatt has 12 sacks, 23 quarterback hits and 74 tackles in 47 career games (five starts) since being selected No. 28 overall in 2022. Wyatt will play the 2025 season on a base salary of $2.458 million with a cap hit of $4.092 million. --Field Level Media

Jeff Sperbeck, a longtime friend and business partner of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, died Wednesday morning from injuries he sustained in a golf cart accident over the weekend. He was 62. The Riverside County (Calif.) coroner confirmed Sperbeck's death in a news release from the sheriff's office. Sperbeck had been on life support after the incident Saturday in La Quinta, Calif. Elway was driving the golf cart when Sperbeck, his former agent, fell out and sustained a life-threatening head injury, TMZ reported Wednesday. TMZ reported there's no indication that Elway was driving negligently when Sperbeck fell off and struck his head on asphalt. TMZ reported Sperbeck was riding on the back of the golf cart while ESPN reported he was in the passenger seat. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection told KESQ it responded to an accident involving a golf cart and transported an unnamed patient to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs. The Riverside County Sheriff's Office said it is investigating the incident. Elway made the 9-1-1 call, according to TMZ. Elway, Sperbeck, their wives and Elway's son were returning from a party after attending the Stagecoach music festival earlier Saturday in nearby Indio, Calif., according to TMZ. Elway, 64, and Sperbeck founded 7Cellars winery together in 2013. Sperbeck, certified by the NFL, represented more than 100 NFL players as an agent and business adviser over a 30-year career, according to his bio on the winery's website. Elway played for the Broncos from 1983-98, winning Super Bowl championships in each of his final two seasons. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004. He returned to the team as an executive in 2011, working as the general manager through 2020 and as president of football operations in 2021. --Field Level Media