LEBANON, Pa. — Narrow evergreens tower over the split-level house, lining the long driveway. Arborvitae, they are called. There are 145 of them, and not one has a branch out of place.

When Mark Gastineau and his wife came to see this property for the first time a few years ago, he stopped at the trees that are the color of the uniform he once wore. The realtor told them to come inside and look around, but Gastineau didn’t need to go inside. All he needed to see were the trees.

“They’re the most beautiful trees in the world,” he says. “I love them.”

Gastineau was one of the most accomplished pass rushers in NFL history. But more than that, he was a star. After games ended and his teammates left, he sometimes stayed on the Shea Stadium field so he could feel the crowd’s roar in his chest. He sat on talk show couches for David Letterman, Oprah and Dick Cavett. He won the 1985 “Superstars” competition in Miami and was featured in a six-page spread for “Playgirl” magazine titled, “Mark Gastineau: Out of Uniform.”

Gastineau still is the kind of person who turns heads at the grocery store, with thick black hair slicked back into a mullet that would stick out from the back of a helmet if he still wore one. But he’s 67 now, living with the reverberations of…

Wide Receiver Randall Cobb and his wife Aiyda said on social media late Wednesday night that they and their three sons are “safe and healthy” after escaping a fire in their Nashville home.

“We are lucky to be alive,” Aiyda said in an Instagram story.

Aiyda said a Tesla charger caught fire and spread through their home. Cobb said he was able to go back into the house and rescue the family’s dog, Louie.

In a separate post, the couple shared videos of the damage and said they were grateful for the efforts of the Nashville Fire Department.

“I can’t get the image of the brave firefighter getting into position out of my head; he didn’t even have water to shoot yet,” they said. “I truly thought the cars were going to explode and that we would lose him to this tragedy. He is a true hero.”

They called the incident a “reminder that nothing is more important than the health of our family,” and said they are unsure if any of their affected belongings will be “salvageable.”

Cobb, 33, spent last season with the New York Jets where he appeared in 11 games and caught five passes for 39 yards and a touchdown.

He spent most of his career with the Green Bay Packers, playing the first eight seasons of his career at Lambeau Field before playing stints with the Dallas Cowboys…

INDIANAPOLIS — Engraved on the inner side of Sabrina Ionescu’s debut signature sneakers, the Sabrina 1, are two words written in capital letters: ANYONE, ANYWHERE.

The message serves as a reminder to Ionescu and those who wear her shoes that dreams are limitless, no matter where someone comes from or what they look like. But even Ionescu, who once just dreamed of being the best player in her basketball-crazed family, wasn’t dreaming something this big.

She now is one of the best basketball players in the world, and her dominance on the hardwood with the New York Liberty has manifested into history on her feet. Ionescu’s signature sneakers are designed for men and women, marking the first time Nike has ever made a unisex shoe for one of its female basketball players.

Ionescu’s sneakers have been a hit among her WNBA counterparts and the young girls who look up to them. They’ve become one of the most popular sneakers in the NBA, as well.

“It was obviously something that we targeted,” Ionescu said. “Going in, it was just understanding the versatility of the shoe and what it is that we were trying to accomplish.

“Bridging the gap between women’s and men’s sports, and being able to do that by creating a unisex line that was available for everyone, that was…

NFL team owners collect millions in revenue. They wield outsized power over their organizations and in their communities. They point to the bottom line, wins and losses, when firing coaches and executives, sometimes without giving them much time. But their own won-lost records appear nowhere.

Even people who follow the NFL closely might not know whether Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross owns a better record than New York Giants owner John Mara (he does).

They might not know whether female owners account for two of the five highest winning percentages since taking over their teams (they do).

They might not know that the only team without a traditional owner could lose 200 games overnight without dipping below .500 (the Green Bay Packers could).

They might not know that five of the last six owners to buy (rather than inherit) a team make up the bottom five in win percentage (they do — the lone exception is the Buffalo Bills’ Terry Pegula).

Some of these ownership situations are difficult to evaluate for reasons such as owners allowing their offspring to operate their teams. I’ve used simple criteria in ranking owners from worst to best win rates below. For our purposes, wins and losses are counted for owners after the NFL has approved their purchases; after an owner…

New York Jets wide receiver Corey Davis is retiring from the NFL, he announced on social media Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know:

• Davis, who had been away from the team on personal leave, wrote that “for some time now, (he had) been contemplating stepping away from the sport of football.” He added: “I’ve been searching my heart for what to do and I feel that stepping away from the game is the best path for me at this time.”
• Davis, 28, noted he is looking forward to spending more time with his wife and two children.
• The 2017 No. 5 draft pick logged 3,879 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns over his six-year career.

Corey Davis’ announcement on IG that he’s retiring: pic.twitter.com/lG2KJdRP8G

— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) August 23, 2023

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

How surprising is this?

Well, this is shocking, to say the least. Entering this offseason, there was an expectation — both internally and from Davis — that he probably wouldn’t be with the Jets in 2023. That had more to do with salary cap and role than a desire to play, though. New York signed a wide receiver in free agency with a similar skillset (Allen Lazard) plus two other free-agent wide receivers in Mecole Hardman and Randall Cobb, both expected to play roles in the offense.

It…

Aaron Rodgers said farewell to Green Bay in an Instagram post on Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know:

• Rodgers thanked several people in the post, including his teammates and the Green Bay fans.
• The 39-year-old ended his post by saying “This is not the end for us, I will see you again Green Bay, you’ll always have my heart.”
• The New York Jets acquired Rodgers from the Packers in a mega deal, league and team sources confirmed to The Athletic on Monday.

What Rodgers said

“I’m not sure it’s possible to fully express the gratitude that I have to the Packers, our incredible fans, the state of Wisconsin, the thousands of players that I crossed paths with, the incredible men and women who work for the organization, and the amazing people who I got to meet along the way, in one post with 10 pictures, but I hope you read this and feel my heart and soul, filled with love, joy, and peace about my time in green and gold,” Rodgers said on Instagram.

“I grew up in Green Bay, drafted at 21, fell in love with the game, met some lifelong friends, and take with me memories that will last a lifetime.”

Rodgers thanked the Green Bay fans: “To the fans, THANK YOU, you made every run out of the tunnel special, every home game magical, and it was my honor to be your QB.”

“To…