HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The second half of last season took on a familiar routine for Las Vegas Raiders pass-rush maniac Maxx Crosby.
Sit out the week of practice and be ready on Sunday.
Bad knee and all, Crosby was ready and played in all 17 games. But he also knew he needed to get healthy after the season, and Crosby said Monday as the Raiders began their offseason program that he's done exactly that.
“Rehab has been incredible,” Crosby said. “I just did my conditioning test last week and smashed it, and I’m feeling better than I ever have. So it’s been an incredible offseason so far.”
A healthy Crosby is bad news for the rest of the NFL.
Even at far less than full health last season, he still finished with career highs of 14 1/2 sacks and 90 tackles. He was sixth in the league in sacks.
“I look at myself like a warrior,” Crosby said. “You’re going to have to kill me to take me off the field, and I tell my coaches that. It sounds crazy, but it’s the truth. I don’t look at this like a game. This is my life. I put everything into it. I work literally all year round.”
His work ethic is revered around Raiders headquarters, and coach Antonio Pierce has noted more than once that Crosby is on a different level when it comes to his commitment to getting better.
Crosby remains in Las Vegas during the offseason to work out at the team facilities, arriving at 6 a.m. each day and leaving at 2 p.m. Pierce asked Crosby to take the lead in asking more of his teammates to also remain in town, and about 30 did so.
“AP challenged me early,” Crosby said. “It’s not just about me. There are a lot of really good players, but the great ones bring others up. I took that personal. It helps when you’ve got (veterans) coming in because it gives the young guys no other option but to be here.
“I feel like this team has all the potential. We have more than enough talent to go out there and achieve great things, but all that is (expletive) unless you go out there and do it yourself. So we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Crosby, a big fan of combat sports, boxed three or four times a week this offseason as part of his training regimen and even sparred with MMA bantamweight Dominick Cruz about a week ago.
He also attended Saturday night's UFC 300 in Las Vegas and saw a bit of himself in Max Holloway. Despite being on his way to winning on the judges' cards, Holloway challenged Justin Gaethje to go all out in the final 10 seconds. After a flurry of punches by both fighters, Holloway knocked out Gaethje with 1 second left in the five-round bout.
“That was one of the coldest things I’ve ever seen with my two eyes,” Crosby said. “Being right there, seeing it in person, I literally was just saying, ‘Oh my God,’ for 10 minutes straight. I could not believe that happened. ... That’s what I love about fighting so much, and Holloway is just a prime example of ‘I don’t care, I’m not here to just win, I’m here to put (a) stamp on this and be the baddest dude in the game.’ And he proved that times 10 on Saturday night."
Crosby knows the Raiders, who went 8-9 last season, have plenty to prove as well, and while he said he likes the pieces that are on this roster, none of it matters if the work doesn't get done.
It was that work where Crosby wanted to place his focus, not what happened in the Raiders' stadium in February. One of Las Vegas' fiercest rivals, Kansas City, won the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling planted a Chiefs flag on the field.
“If you’re worried about and thinking about the other guys, you’re wasting time and energy,” Crosby said. “At the end of the day, he wouldn’t plant a flag on a Raider logo, I guarantee you that.”
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FILE - Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) lines up before the snap during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Dec. 31, 2023, in Indianapolis. Crosby played through the pain of a knee injury much of the 2023 season, usually not practicing so he could play on game days. He said Monday, April 15, 2024, that he is now healthy. (AP Photo/Zach Bolinger, File)
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Flash floods and a landslide swept through houses and cut off a major road in Kenya, killing at least 45 people and leaving dozens missing on Monday, the Interior Ministry said.
Police official Stephen Kirui initially told The Associated Press that the Old Kijabe Dam, located in the Mai Mahiu area of the Great Rift Valley region that is prone to flash floods, had collapsed, carrying with it mud, rocks and uprooted trees.
But in a statement late Monday the Nakuru County said that the water mass that caused the flash floods was a clogged railway tunnel.
Vehicles were entangled in the debris on one of Kenya's busiest highways and paramedics treated the injured as waters submerged large areas.
The Kenya Red Cross said 109 people were hospitalized while 49 others were reported missing.
William Lokai told Citizen TV that he was woken up by a loud bang and shortly after, water filled his house. He escaped through the roof together with his brother and children.
Ongoing rains in Kenya have caused flooding that has killed at least 169 people since mid-March, and the country's Meteorology Department has warned of more rainfall.
Kenya’s Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki ordered the inspection of all public and private dams and water reservoirs within 24 hours starting Monday afternoon to avert future incidents. The ministry said recommendations for evacuations and resettlement would be done after the inspection.
The Kenya National Highways Authority issued an alert warning motorists to brace for heavy traffic and debris that blocked the roads around Naivasha and Narok, west of the capital, Nairobi.
The wider East African region is experiencing flooding due to the heavy rains, and 155 people have reportedly died in Tanzania while more than 200,000 people affected in neighboring Burundi.
A boat capsized in Kenya's northern Garissa county on Sunday night, and the Kenyan Red Cross said it had rescued 23 people but more than a dozen people were still missing.
Kenya’s main airport was flooded on Saturday, forcing some flights to be diverted, as videos of a flooded runway, terminals and cargo section were shared online.
More than 200,000 people across Kenya have been hit by the floods, with houses in flood-prone areas submerged and people seeking refuge in schools.
President William Ruto had instructed the National Youth Service to provide land for use as a temporary camp for those affected.
Follow AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
People try to clear the area after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
People try to clear the area after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
People walk through an area swept away after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
People gather near a damaged house after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
A child walk through an area swept away after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
People walk through an area swept away after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
People try to clear a bus that was washed away after a dam burst in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
People try to clear the area after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Kenya's Interior Ministry says at least 45 people have died and dozens are missing after a dam collapsed following heavy rains. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
A child carrying a suitcase, walks, after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
A view of a swept away car after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village, Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)
A chair stuck in the muddy water after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village, Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
People gather around a bus that was swept away after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)
Children fleeing floodwaters that wreaked havoc at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The East African country has seen weeks of heavy rains and severe flooding in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, as well as in the country's western and central regions. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
People cross a flooded area at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April. 28, 2024. Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands of people, according to the U.N. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
A man swims from a submerged church compound, after the River Tana broke its banks following heavy rains at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April. 28, 2024. Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands of people, according to the U.N. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
People cross a flooded area where another boat carrying a group of people has capsized at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April 28, 2024. According to the Kenya Red Cross, over a dozen people have been rescued, while others still remain missing as search and rescue operations continue. Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands of people, according to the U.N. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
People cross a flooded area where another boat carrying a group of people has capsized at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, North Eastern Kenya, Sunday, April 28, 2024. According to the Kenya Red Cross, 23 people have been rescued, while others still remain missing as search and rescue operations continue. Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands of people, according to the U.N. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
Paramedics carry an injured woman after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)
People try to clear the area after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)
Paramedics carry an injured woman after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April. 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)
People gather on the main road after a dam burst, in Kamuchiri Village Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, Monday, April 29, 2024. Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country's west. (AP Photo)
