Donald Trump to attend Commanders-Lions game to honor veterans
The Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions game today will have President Donald Trump in the audience.
The Lions and Commanders kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET today (Nov. 9), and according to ESPN's NFL insider Adam Schefter, “President Donald Trump will attend today’s Commanders’ home game against the Detroit Lions. Trump will attend the game as Josh Harris’ guest and is expected to participate in halftime activities honoring the military.”
This announcement follows Trump reportedly expressing his desire to have the new Commanders' stadium in D.C. to be named after him.
“That would be a beautiful name, as it was President Trump who made the rebuilding of the new stadium possible,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told ESPN on Friday night via email.
Trump has several buildings named after him that he owns such as Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, The Trump Building on 40 Wall Street, and Trump International Hotel and Tower on 1 Central Park West which all three are located in New York City. Besides the buildings that are owned by the Trump Organization, several buildings across the nation have a licensing agreement in regards to using the Trump name.
Even if the stadium is not named after Trump, the name of the stadium will reportedly not be named by the NFL team but another government body.
“The team doesn't have the authority. They can't name the stadium … on their own,” the source said. “The city would be involved in that decision, and the Park Service would be involved.”
In some shape or form the source is confident that Trump will get his way noting that “he has plenty of leverage” to make what he wants happen.
“He has cards to play. He can make it very difficult, through government environmental approvals and other things, to make sure everyone who wants this stadium to be built will join to put his name on it,” the source said. “Trump has plenty of cards to play to get his way.”
Earlier this year, Trump threatened to block the Commanders' stadium project if they didn't change their name back to “Washington Redskins” — the moniker that was changed in 2020 as it is a racial slur to Native Americans.
“My statement on the Washington Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “I may put a restriction on them that if they don’t change the name back to the original ‘Washington Redskins,’ and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, ‘Washington Commanders,’ I won’t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington. The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone.”
Additionally, a senior White House source told the publication: “It's what the president wants, and it will probably happen.”
The Lions and Commanders will face each other at 4:25 p.m. ET.
Injuries Pile On for Vikings in Disaster First Half Against Chargers
Basically everything that could go wrong for the Vikings went wrong in the first half of tonight's game against the Chargers.
They had an early pick-six overturned on review despite the broadcast's rules analyst saying he thought the call should've stood. They gave up 266 yards of offense. They committed five penalties. They went 2 for 7 on third down offensively. They even missed a field goal as time expired on the second quarter, resulting in a 21-3 deficit at the break.
And on top of all that, the injury bug reared its ugly head at the Vikings on a short week.
Tight end Josh Oliver, a key blocker who somehow came into this game leading the team in touchdown receptions, was carted off in the first quarter and deemed questionable to return with a foot injury. He was then ruled out for the night right after halftime. That's not an insignificant loss for both the run and the pass game. Rookie Ben Yurosek is next in line for TE snaps behind T.J. Hockenson.
Star left tackle Christian Darrisaw also left the game in the first quarter. He was questionable coming into the night because his surgically-repaired knee flared up after he played 69 snaps on Sunday against the Eagles. Darrisaw went through a pregame workout and was cleared to play, but there were reports that he'd be on a pitch count. After two Vikings possessions, Darrisaw left the game. He has also been ruled out for the second half.
The Vikings were already without starting right tackle Brian O'Neill tonight, so Darrisaw's departure meant Justin Skule went from right tackle to left tackle and Walter Rouse came in at RT. In related news, Carson Wentz was sacked three times in the first half.
Speaking of Wentz, he's been dealing with a left shoulder injury over the past few games. He came into this one with a big, bulky brace on that shoulder and was seen wincing in pain numerous times after taking hits. As of halftime, Wentz has been able to remain in the game each time. Rookie Max Brosmer is the Vikings' backup.
Lastly, Vikings rookie receiver Tai Felton, who only plays on special teams, went into the medical tent at one point.
It's been a mess in so many different ways.
