Christmas has always been about tradition for Devin McCourty: Dressing the kids in matching onesies, letting them open one present on Christmas Eve and preparing for the NFL playoffs.
The Patriots safety has had to balance family and football during his 10-year career, with New England winning the American Football Conference (AFC) East every year he has been in the league.
However, since the team signed his twin brother, Jason, last year, that has been a little bit easier.
Photo: AFP
“Now we get to do it together,” Devin McCourty said on Tuesday, when the team practiced on the usual NFL off day so they could take Christmas off.
“Last year we took a family picture. It was brutal: We had kids crying. We’ll see if we can work on that this year, see if we can get everyone to smile. I highly doubt it,” he said. “But things like that, we didn’t get to do before. Christmas meant FaceTiming each other and letting the kids talk to each other. Now it’s a lot of fun just to be able to go to each other’s houses.”
A two-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time Super Bowl champion, Devin McCourty has been a steady presence in the secondary and in the Patriots locker room, serving as a defensive captain for the past nine years.
However, the family-football balance changed when the Patriots signed his brother.
After playing together in high school and at Rutgers, they spent the first nine years of their professional careers apart. They now live across the street from each other and have lockers at Gillette Stadium two stalls apart.
“It’s a lot of fun to be still doing this 10 years in, playing football,” Devin McCourty said. “You talk about the importance of family and being able to cherish some of the best moments — we haven’t really been able to do over the last nine years. To do that two years in a row now has really made playing football special in year nine and 10 just because of all of the memories we have that really have nothing to do with football, just being able to live out our dream.”
The Patriots (12-3) on Saturday beat the Buffalo Bills to clinch their 11th straight AFC East championship. With a victory over the Miami Dolphins (4-11) on Sunday (or a Kansas City loss), New England would secure the No. 2 seed in the conference and a first-round bye.
“I love this time of the year,” Devin McCourty said. “You’re playing for something, you’re doing something that’s meaningful, but you’re also spending it with the people you love the most.”
Devin McCourty said that he would take most of yesterday off to be with his family, but when the kids take their naps, he might break out his iPad to study up on the Dolphins.
“It’s a part of being a professional,” he said. “You’ve got tomorrow to spend with your family and make it special. Thursday and Friday, we’ve got to be locked in, laser-focused.”
“Because it’s Christmas everywhere ... the Dolphins are dealing with the same thing, of making sure you have a special Christmas with your family, but also being a professional and doing the job,” he added.
Jason McCourty left Saturday’s game against the Bills with a groin injury. There was no update on his condition and he was not in the locker room during media availability on Tuesday.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Kody Clemens homered on Wednesday as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs. Castellanos had three hits and scored three times. Bryson Stott also had three hits and Brandon Marsh drove in three runs for the Phillies, who on Monday claimed their first National League East title in 13 years. Coupled with the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia secured the bye and home-field advantage in the NL Division Series. The Phillies owned the tiebreaker with the Brewers after winning the season series against the
RSS