Jets owner Woody Johnson says he's 'extremely happy' to have QB Geno Smith

Published May 07, 2013

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA –  New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is "extremely happy" to have Geno Smith on his team, and looks forward to a "fun" quarterback competition.

Johnson, speaking to reporters at an NFL symposium Tuesday, says the team gave Smith a "very high score" while scouting him and the former West Virginia star is "welcome to the competition." The Jets have said Smith will compete this summer with Mark Sanchez, David Garrard and the team's other quarterbacks for the starting job.

Smith, considered by many to be a first-round talent, slid to the Jets in the second round with the 39th overall selection in the draft.

Johnson says having Tim Tebow, cut last week after one disappointing season in New York, wasn't a perfect fit "or he would still be here."

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Bengals bring back Andre Smith

Published April 26, 2013

Sports Network

Cincinnati, OH –  The Cincinnati Bengals have their starting right offensive tackle back in the fold, with the team reaching an agreement with veteran Andre Smith on Friday.

The deal is worth $18 million over three years, according to NFL.com.

Including the playoffs, Smith has started 32 of a possible 34 games for the Bengals over the last two seasons, missing the other two due to injury, but failed to draw much interest on this year's free-agent market despite being regarded as one of the top available run-blocking right tackles. The 6-foot-4, 335-pound mauler has started a total of 35 regular-season contests on the right side since being taken by Cincinnati with the sixth overall selection of the 2009 draft.

"We're excited to have gotten this important deal done this afternoon," said Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. "Andre is a fine player who has matured tremendously during his time with us, and completing this now enhances what we'll be able to do to best improve our team these last two days of the draft."

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Cardinals guard Smith establishing himself as tournament's top player for top-seeded Cardinals

Published March 26, 2013

Associated Press

Drop in any barber shop and sports is usually a hot topic.

That's especially true these days at Big Russ' Barber Shop in Harlem, N.Y., where folks are buzzing about the owner's son — Louisville guard Russ Smith.

Of course, they're somewhat biased toward the Brooklyn native, but they're not alone in their praise of the 6-foot-1 guard.

Smith, considered the best player on the top-seeded team in the NCAA tournament, has garnered attention for his dominating play on both ends of the floor. He is averaging 25.0 points and 5.0 steals per game.

Playing the best he has all year, Smith and the Cardinals (31-5) will take on 12th-seeded Oregon (29-8) in the round of 16 Friday in Indianapolis.

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Smith and Felton help Knicks down Jazz

Published March 19, 2013

Sports Network

Salt Lake City, UT –  J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton paced a short-handed Knicks offense and New York salvaged a messy five-game road trip with a 90-83 victory the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena.

After dropping the first four games of the west coast trek by an average of 20 points, the Knicks were able to hold on late and cling to their one-game lead in the Atlantic division over the Brooklyn Nets, who defeated the Pistons earlier on Monday.

Smith scored 20 points, Felton added 19 and Chris Copeland finished with 14 for New York, which has been without All-Stars Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler for the last three games due to knee injuries.

Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap were held to 10 and 12 points, respectively, against an undersized New York front line. Gordon Hayward scored a team-high 17 points in defeat, which snapped a three-game home winning streak.

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Smith lifts short-handed Knicks past Jazz, 90-83, to end trip

Published March 19, 2013

Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY –  J.R. Smith scored 20 points, Raymond Felton had 19 and the short-handed New York Knicks defeated the Utah Jazz 90-83 Monday night, snapping a four-game losing streak.

The Knicks (39-26) dropped games at Golden State, Denver, Portland and the Los Angeles Clippers by an average margin of 20 points, but salvaged the last game of their trip with the gutsy win over the turnover-prone Jazz (38-27).

New York remains atop the Atlantic Division and stayed a game ahead of the Nets for the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Smith had just two points at halftime on 1-of-6 shooting but got in the lane and to the line, making nine of 10 free throws and a 20-footer with 2:36 remaining that sealed it as the Jazz went cold.

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