e also lost Kyrie Irvin

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open the season without quarterback Jameis Winston Saquon Barkley Giants Jersey , who has been suspended three games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

Winston said in a statement released on Facebook that the NFL informed him of their decision on Thursday. The discipline stems from the league’s investigation of an accusation that the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner groped a female Uber driver during a ride the quarterback took in Arizona, where Winston was attending a charity event in March 2016.

The driver did not file a criminal or civil complaint, however she reported the incident to Uber. The NFL learned of the allegation, when it was reported publicly last November.

”The league promptly initiated a comprehensive investigation that included interviews with several persons, including the driver, Winston and others with relevant information,” the NFL said in a statement announcing the suspension. ”The league also examined an extensive amount of other evidence, including telephone records, business records, data from electronic devices and other communications.”

The Bucs drafted Winston No. 1 overall in 2015, despite questions about the young quarterback’s behavior during his college career at Florida State.

Winston, 24, was accused of raping a fellow student at FSU, but was never charged. The university settled a Title IX lawsuit over its handling of the allegations with Winston’s accuser Danny Shelton Color Rush Jersey , Erica Kinsman, in January 2016 for $1.7 million.

Winston said in his statement Thursday that ”in the past 2 years my life has been filled with experiences, opportunities and events that have helped me grow, mature and learn.” Winston added that he has eliminated alcohol from his life.

Winston, who’s thrown for 11,636 yards and 69 touchdowns in three NFL seasons, has started 45 of the Bucs’ past 48 games. He missed three games last season with a shoulder injury and the Bucs finished 5-11, missing the playoffs for the 10th straight season.

He will miss the Bucs’ season opener at New Orleans on Sept. 9, as well as homes games against defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He will be eligible to return to the team on Sept. 25, the day after Tampa Bay plays the Steelers.

The league said Winston is also required to have a clinical evaluation and cooperate in any recommended program of therapeutic intervention.

”All members of our organization are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the personal conduct policy of the NFL,” the Bucs said in a statement. ”We are disappointed that Jameis put himself in a position that has been found to violate the policy and accept today’s decision by the commissioner.”

The suspension will cost Winston $124,411 of his base salary of $705,000 for the upcoming season. The quarterback is set to earn $20.9 million in 2019.

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BOSTON — Celtics coach Brad Stevens has a simple way of defending The Freak as Boston opens its first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday at TD Garden.

“We’ll have to guard him with everybody on our team,” Stevens said when talking about the challenge of handling Giannis Antetokounmpo. “I trust Al (Horford) to guard any position. He can really move his feet Los Angeles Chargers Jerseys Womens , he’s got great size and length, (and) his attention to detail is excellent.

“That said, it’s not on one person to guard Giannis. We have to throw a lot of different bodies at him.”

Simple enough, right?

The injury-riddled Celtics, the second seed facing a seven in the first round, split four games with the Bucks during the regular season. Antetokounmpo, who averaged 26.9 points, 10 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game overall, was even more potent against Boston.

Against the Celtics, a team known for its perimeter defense but not so much inside, which is where Antetokounmpo does most of his damage, he went for 33.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

On April 3, he had 29 points Authentic Jaleel Scott Jersey , 11 boards, six assists and two blocked shots as the Bucks defeated the Celtics in Milwaukee.

“Their floor is open in transition when (Giannis) is at the four, the five, when he used to play the three, when he’s played the one,” Stevens said. “He’s a monster in transition.

“When I look at their team, they don’t have a guy at each position that’s not a good transition player. (Tony) Snell makes shots in transition, (Khris) Middleton makes shots in transition, (Jabari) Parker and Giannis coming downhill, (Eric) Bledsoe coming downhill.”

Bledsoe, rescued from the obscurity that is the Phoenix Suns, returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2013 (with the Los Angeles Clippers) and hopes his point guard play can lead the Bucks to their first playoff success since 2001.

“I’ve grown a lot,” Bledsoe told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “From coming off the bench to playing in Phoenix to now, I think I got a lot (more) mature in a lot of ways.

“Knowing how to run plays in the half court Adidas Tuukka Rask Jersey , knowing when to get my teammates involved and when to attack. Just a lot of things. Knowing when to be calm when teams go on a run.”

Bledsoe pleaded his way out of Phoenix in a deal that sent now-Celtic Greg Monroe and two protected draft picks to Phoenix. Milwaukee had to finish in the top six in the conference to protect this year’s pick but was blown out by Philadelphia on the final night of the season to fall to seventh. While it looked like the Suns would get the pick, the Bucks learned the pick is theirs because of a tiebreaker.

And Bledsoe is thriving.

“Bled’s huge for this team and we’ve been very consistent with that,” said Bucks interim coach Joe Prunty, who replaced the fired Jason Kidd during the season.

The Celtics, who lost Gordon Hayward in the first quarter of the first game of the season, have also lost Kyrie Irving and battling rookie Daniel Theis for the season. Defensive sparkplug Marcus Smart is out for this series after thumb surgery, but Stevens had the rest of his group ready to go (“all 11, yes”). He talked of an eight- or nine-man rotation but said fouls and injuries could change everything.

“It’s a battle. Nobody wants to go home. It’s straight-out war,” said Boston’s Terry Rozier, who has grown into a far more important role with Irving and Smart missing.

Game 2 of the series is in Boston on Tuesday night before shifting to Milwaukee. Both teams have won on the other’s court this season.

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