Jason Witten heard the criticisms of the Monday Night Football broadcasts last season. Unlike many players who try to say they don’t read or listen to what is being said about them Ed Oliver Jersey , Witten said clearly that he absolutely heard the feedback of the ESPN broadcasts as he paired with Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland.“Nobody’s immune to it, regardless of how much mental toughness you have,” Witten said on Dual Threat with Ryen Russillo. “That was one of the things I kind of prided myself on as a player for 15 years. I could handle the big stage. … Certainly, I took a beating. I’m aware of it. To say like, ‘Hey, you didn’t pay attention to it.’ Bullsh–. Everybody’s aware and if you’re not http://www.billscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-cody-ford-jersey , you’re lying to me to say you’re just immune to it. Probably everybody outside of Bill Belichick and a handful of others that just don’t really care what’s being said.”Witten elected to come out of retirement and return to the Cowboys for a 16th season this spring. He reaffirmed that his decision to return to football had nothing to do with the criticism levied against their broadcast crew. Instead, he just really wanted to play football again. However, that doesn’t make the criticism sting any less in retrospect, especially when he believed the grouping had made significant strides throughout the season.“The toughest part was you finish calling a game and whether you’re flying back that night or going back to the hotel I would check my texts and it was like they found out I was sick or something or somebody died in my family,” Witten said. “‘Hey, praying for you. Keep your head up. Don’t worry about it.’ I’m like my gosh it wasn’t that bad Devin Singletary Jersey , you know. … I wasn’t immune to it. It sucked going through it at times. Once the narrative kind of got formed, I knew that it was going to be a long-game approach.“And I thought as the season unfolded when Boog moved up to the booth I thought we had two or three really good games and we were starting to kind of hit our stride. I didn’t make this decision off of the noise and the criticism. That wasn’t why I made this decision it was really just I want to play. The scoreboard matters and I want to be a part of that.”
TORONTO — Toronto Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ will take the mound against Luis Severino on Saturday in a repeat of the Opening Day matchup won by the New York Yankees.

With the July 31 deadline for trades without waivers looking, Happ is considered a prime candidate to be dealt and the Yankees would be one of the interested teams, according to speculation.

The possibility of Severino (13-2, 1.98 ERA) and Happ (10-4, 4.03) soon becoming teammates adds another intriguing dimension to their matchup in the second game of a three-game series at the Rogers Centre.

The Blue Jays started the series with a 6-2 victory Friday night with Justin Smoak capping a five-run second inning with a three-run homer.

The Yankees (56-29) are 7-4 against the Blue Jays (41-46) in the season series so far Kyler Murray Jersey , including a 4-3 record at the Rogers Centre as they complete their third and final series of the season there this weekend.

The win Friday ended the Blue Jays’ four-game losing streak against the Yankees.

Severino is an obvious choice for the All-Star Game to be played at Washington’s Nationals Park on July 17.

Happ is one of the few Blue Jays with a legitimate chance to go to the game.

Severino will be a leading candidate to win the American League Cy Young Award if he continues his current pace. He leads the majors in wins and is second in ERA.

The 24-year-old enters Saturday with a scoreless streak of 13 2/3 innings. He has allowed three runs or fewer in 15 straight starts, the longest such streak by a Yankees pitcher since Ron Guidry had a 15-game streak April 8-June 22, 1978. The only longer streak by a Yankee is 20 set by Russ Ford during the 1910 and 1911 seasons.

“I always feel great when Sevy’s on the mound,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “The record in a lot of ways speaks for itself. The ability to get deep into games. He’s been really good against the elite competition, it seems like, as well.

“He’s putting himself in that conversation as one of the best in the game. There’s no doubt about it.”

Severino is 2-3 with a 4.12 ERA in nine career games (eight starts) against the Blue Jays and 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA in two starts against them this season. In five career starts at the Rogers Centre http://www.billscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-dawson-knox-jersey , he is 1-1 with a 2.81 ERA.

Happ had his worst start of the season Sunday when he allowed seven runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings in a 9-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers.

He did not allow a run until the fifth when Nicholas Castellanos did most of the damage with a grand slam.

“I felt like I was a pitch away from getting out of it,” Happ said after the game. “Again, I look at the hard-hit balls and there was two or three today. I didn’t feel like I was in the middle of the zone getting hurt today, but it is what it is. It’s not a pretty outing.”

His only start against the Yankees this season was a loss on Opening Day, March 29, when he allowed three runs (two earned) in 4 2/3 innings as Severino picked up the win. In 17 career starts against the Yankees http://www.giantsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dexter-lawrence-jersey , he is 8-3 with a 3.53 ERA.

The Yankees have lost five of their past seven road games and are 23-16 in away games this season. They are 7-8 when visiting American League East cities this season.

The Blue Jays are 13-20 against AL East teams. They are 4-3 on their homestand and are 23-22 at home for the season.