CAREER OVER: FORMER GIANTS OFFENSIVE LINEMAN SHANE LEMIEUX ANNOUNCES HIS NFL RETIREMENT
After six seasons and five surgeries, offensive lineman Shane Lemieux has announced his retirement from the NFL at age 28.
Shane Lemieux, an NFL guard and Super Bowl champion, is stepping away from professional football at just 28 years old after multiple surgeries forced him to reconsider his future in the sport.
Drafted by the New York Giants in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Lemieux made a strong impression during his rookie season, appearing in 12 games and starting in nine of them.
Unfortunately, his time on the field was repeatedly interrupted by injuries. Having undergone five surgeries, he ultimately made the difficult decision to retire.
In a LinkedIn post, Lemieux shared his thoughts: “After six seasons, I’m announcing my retirement from the NFL. Coming out of the University of Oregon and being drafted by the Giants, I dreamed of a decade-long, All-Pro career. I believed it was within reach.
“But after so many surgeries and spending more time rehabbing than playing, my perspective changed. That’s why I’m stepping away, prioritising my health.
“Though I didn’t reach that goal, the lessons learned from injuries, being released, and fighting to return to the field mean more to me than any title ever could. The relationships made along the way have been the most valuable part of this journey.”
After four years with the Giants, Lemieux was let go following a third consecutive season on injured reserve. He later joined the New Orleans Saints during the 2024 offseason but didn’t make the final roster cuts.
In September 2025, he signed with the Seattle Seahawks practice squad and remained with the team through their recent Super Bowl victory earlier that year.
Injuries to his knee, toe, bicep, and other areas ultimately stalled his hopes for a long NFL career. Yet, Lemieux’s gratitude for the game he’s devoted his life to remains clear, as does his readiness to embrace what comes next beyond football.
HOW LEBRON’S 28-POINT MASTERCLASS PUT THE LAKERS 2-0 UP AGAINST HOUSTON’S ROCKETS
LeBron James dropped 28 points to lead the short-handed Lakers past the Rockets 101-94. L.A. now holds a 2-0 first-round lead.
LeBron James put up 28 points, grabbed eight boards, and handed out seven assists to push the Lakers past the Rockets, 101-94. That win gives LA a 2-0 advantage in their first-round playoff series.
Even with Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) sidelined, Marcus Smart stepped up with 25 points, including five out of seven from deep, and Luke Kennard tacked on 23 more, knocking down three threes.
Kevin Durant, back from a knee bruise and missing Game 1, finished with 23 points for Houston. But he turned the ball over nine times and managed only three points after halftime.
Alperen Sengun kept Houston in it with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Jabari Smith Jr. added 18, and Amen Thompson chipped in 16 points plus nine assists.
The Rockets got off to a solid start, leading 16-12 in the first quarter. Then the Lakers flipped the script, closing the quarter with a 9-0 run and jumping ahead, 33-26.
Durant looked just fine, logging 12 minutes and dropping 11 points in the opening quarter. Meanwhile, Smart and Kennard torched Houston from outside, hitting five threes between them.
By the second, the Lakers had stretched the lead to 46-31, but Durant rallied the Rockets with a 17-3 spurt that trimmed the gap to 49-48. At halftime, Durant had already scored 20 (shooting 6-for-7), but the Lakers still led, 54-51.
Houston grabbed the lead for a moment in the third, but LA responded with a quick 13-4 burst. The highlight? A jaw-dropping reverse dunk from 41-year-old James, who left Durant in the dust. After that, Durant barely got a shot off in the third, missing his only attempt, and the Rockets went cold, getting outscored 21-17. The Lakers headed into the fourth up by seven.
Josh Okogie cut it close with a three-pointer midway through the fourth, narrowing the score to 85-82, but Houston never got any closer. With LA ahead 97-92, Durant’s last turnover led straight to a fierce James dunk. After that, Kennard closed things out at the free-throw line.
Now, the series heads to Houston for Game 3 on Friday.
CHRIS WEIDMAN DELIVERS HARSH REALITY CHECK AHEAD OF CONOR MCGREGOR’S POTENTIAL RETURN
Chris Weidman warns McGregor of the mental and physical challenges of returning from a leg break ahead of a rumoured UFC 329 comeback.
Chris Weidman has quite a unique perspective when it comes to broken legs.
Not only has he been on the receiving end, but he’s also dealt them out himself. That experience shapes his expectations for Conor McGregor as the former two-division UFC champ prepares for a comeback, rumoured to be at UFC 329 during International Fight Week in Las Vegas this summer.
“He’s currently in the drug-testing pool,” Weidman mentioned on UFC on Paramount’s YouTube channel. “If you’re coming off a break, re-entering that pool, it makes sense to fight. Otherwise, you risk feeling worse than before for no real reason. So yeah, I think he’ll be fighting. The leg break happened in 2021, so there’s been some time to heal, but I will say this: the first fight back, and I speak from a similar injury, it’s tough to be the guy you used to be.”
Weidman’s leg snapped in two at UFC 261 in April 2021, just a few months before McGregor suffered a similar injury at UFC 264. Now 41, Weidman made a comeback in 2023, fought three more times, and then retired, though he later tried to work with some other fighters.
McGregor, who is 37, hasn’t competed since breaking his leg, despite rattling off a few more injuries along the way.
“I hope things go well for him,” Weidman said. “When I was in camp, throwing kicks aggressively to get comfortable again, I felt fine. But in my first fight back, after taking kicks, when it came time to throw a kick in return, which was instinctive before, my body just wouldn’t let me. When you go through something traumatic like that, it really messes with your mind.”
As a reminder, McGregor is 22-6 and last fought in back-to-back defeats to longtime rival Dustin Poirier.
