LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Darrell Green is back around the Washington football organization he played his entire NFL career for, receiving an honor that seems long overdue.
The Commanders retired the Hall of Fame cornerback's No. 28 at halftime of their game against Carolina on Sunday, 22 years since his final season. It comes in the second full season under new ownership, which has sought to rebuild relationships with alumni that either frayed or failed to exist during Dan Snyder's time in charge.
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Former Washington defensive back Darrell Green speaks during a jersey retirement ceremony at halftime of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Former Washington defensive back Darrell Green reacts to fans after a jersey retirement ceremony at halftime of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Former Washington defensive back Darrell Green reacts during a jersey retirement ceremony at halftime of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Former Washington defensive back Darrell Green speaks during a jersey retirement ceremony at halftime of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
“I truthfully did not have a relationship with the team, but it was no big deal until they surprised me that they would retire my jersey," Green said before the game, a 40-7 Commanders victory. "There was no beef. I just was going my own way when I walk out my door. ... I was really grateful that this team went through all of that. This means the world to me.”
Green in a speech to fans thanked owners Josh Harris, Mitch Rales, Magic Johnson, Mark Ein and David Blitzer — many of whom grew up in the area an were fans of his. Although life after football has taken him away, the now-64-year-old reaffirmed his love for the community he was part of for so long.
“This is my family," he said. "These are my people. This is our team, our organization.”
Green was a cornerstone of Washington's second and third Super Bowl-winning teams as part of his two decades in burgundy and gold from 1983-2002. Already a member of the franchise's ring of fame, he is the fifth player to have his number retired after Sonny Jurgensen’s No. 9, Bobby Mitchell’s No. 49, Sammy Baugh’s No. 33 and Sean Taylor’s No. 21.
Washington has changed names more times than it has won a playoff game since Green retired. But the Commanders' 5-2 start led by quarterback Jayden Daniels has brought optimism back among long-suffering fans, including a generation that Green said “did not get to drink the good wine” of watching a winning team.
“I’m sorry,” he told the crowd on Legends Plaza roughly 90 minutes before kickoff. “But I want to challenge all of you to become those die-hards that ride with us as we are coming back.”
Daniels left the game early in the second quarter with a rib injury and will be evalauted futher Monday.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Former Washington defensive back Darrell Green speaks during a jersey retirement ceremony at halftime of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Former Washington defensive back Darrell Green reacts to fans after a jersey retirement ceremony at halftime of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Former Washington defensive back Darrell Green reacts during a jersey retirement ceremony at halftime of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Former Washington defensive back Darrell Green speaks during a jersey retirement ceremony at halftime of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.
Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.
U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.
"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”
Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.
“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”
Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.
U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.
Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.
Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.
Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.
"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.
The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.
“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.
“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”
The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
