Members phkrause Posted November 6, 2024 Author Members Posted November 6, 2024 👋 Good morning! Joel Embiid shoved a columnist, Jason Kelce smashed a heckler's phone, and I don't blame either one of them. In other news: College basketball is back! In today's edition: The changing role of the AP poll, what you're actually watching when you turn on a sports game, NFL favorites keep winning, college hoops tip-off, Baker's Dozen, and more. 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES ⚾️ Gold Glove winners: 14 players won their first Gold Glove on Sunday, tied for the most in a single season since the award's debut in 1957. See all the winners. 🏀 Still perfect: The Cavaliers are 7-0 for the second time in franchise history, and the Thunder are 6-0 for the first time ever. Every other NBA team has at least one loss. 🏁 Racing roundup: Ryan Blaney won at Martinsville to clinch a spot in NASCAR's final four; Max Verstappen won in Brazil to all but clinch his fourth straight F1 title. 🏀 Coaching carousel: Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will have new head coaches in Year 2. The Fever hired Stephanie White, who was fired by the Sun last week, and the Sky hired Aces assistant Tyler Marsh. ⚽️ NWSL Playoffs: Eight teams have advanced to the postseason, which begins on Friday. Orlando earned the top seed, followed by Washington, Gotham FC, Kansas City, North Carolina, Portland, Bay FC and Chicago. 📺 BROADCAST BREAKDOWN SPORTS ON TV: WHAT ARE YOU ACTUALLY WATCHING? (SportsBall) When you tune into a sports broadcast, how much actual sports are you watching? Probably far less than you realize. The analysis: Riley Martin of "SportsBall" celebrated last week's Sports Equinox by watching one game from each of the "Big Four" leagues and categorizing every second into three main categories: (1) Ball in play, (2) Ball not in play and (3) Commercial/Intermission. For basketball, he added "Free Throws" as a fourth category. The results: The NHL broadcast featured the highest percentage of action (the puck was in play 39% of the time), and the NBA was a close second (the ball was in play 37% of the time) and would be first if you include free throws (46%). MLB was a distant third (16% in play, 56% not in play) and the NFL brought up the rear (9% in play, 66% not in play). That's right, football fans… When you watch an NFL game, the broadcast is almost entirely devoted to stoppage time (think: teams huddling up, replays) and commercials. During the game Riley watched (Ravens vs. Buccaneers on Oct. 21), the average play took 5.8 seconds and the time between plays was 37.8 seconds on average. Here's the full video breakdown for each sport, which I encourage you to watch. Riley is doing awesome work, and "SportsBall" has quickly become one of my favorite Instagram accounts. The newsletter is awesome, too. 🏈 WEEK 9 NFL SUNDAY: ANOTHER GREAT WEEK FOR FAVORITES What a photo! (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images) Is the NFL becoming too predictable? Favorites went 13-1 this week and have now won 78% of games (57-16) since the start of October, Jeff writes. Taking care of business: New Orleans was the only favorite that lost on Sunday, as the Saints suffered their seventh straight defeat in a 23-22 loss to the Panthers. The other favored teams — Baltimore, Buffalo, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Washington, Tennessee, Philadelphia, Arizona, Detroit, Minnesota and Los Angeles (both) — all came out on top. Notable games: Bills 30, Dolphins 27: Tyler Bass' 61-yard field goal with five seconds left lifted Buffalo to victory — and gave the Bills a commanding four-game lead atop the AFC East. Lions 24, Packers 14: Detroit reinforced its NFC North superiority behind hyper-efficient Jared Goff, who has completed 106 of 128 passes (83%) during their six-game win streak. Commanders 27, Giants 22: Washington won its third straight game to improve to 7-2 for the first time since 1996. They only have three turnovers through nine games, an NFL record. Rams 26, Seahawks 20 (OT): L.A. eked out a win to further crowd the NFC West: Just one game separates the first-place Cardinals (5-4) and last-place Seahawks (4-5). Ravens 41, Broncos 10: Lamar Jackson now has more career games with a perfect passer rating (four) than any other QB in NFL history. Not a bad day at the office. Sunday recap: Winners and losers 📆 ON THIS DAY NOV. 4, 2007: AP RUNS WILD Peterson pictured in 2007. (David E. Klutho/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) 17 years ago today, Adrian Peterson rushed 30 times for an NFL-record 296 yards (and 3 TD) in the Vikings' 35-17 win over the Chargers. Did I mention he was only a rookie? By the numbers: Peterson had just 43 rushing yards at halftime. He put up 253 yards in the second half alone, which itself is a top-10 rushing performance in NFL history. Most rushing yards in a game: Peterson, Vikings: 296 yards (Nov. 2007) Jamal Lewis, Ravens: 295 (Sep. 2003) Jerome Harrison, Browns: 286 (Dec. 2009) Corey Dillon, Bengals: 278 (Oct. 2000) Walter Payton, Bears: 275 (Nov. 1977) What could have been… If Peterson hadn't been pulled down by his collar on his second-to-last carry, he likely would have taken it 91 yards to the house and finished with ~350 yards and 4 TD. More history: This game also featured a 109-yard kick-six by San Diego's Antonio Cromartie, which is the longest play possible on a football field (and thus tied for the longest play in NFL history). 📺 TIP-OFF WATCHLIST: AND WE'RE OFF! USC superstar JuJu Watkins begins her sophomore season in Paris. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images) College basketball has arrived! 37 ranked teams are in action today (19 men, 18 women), headlined by a handful of must-see matchups across the country — and around the world. Men: No. 19 Texas vs. Ohio State in Las Vegas (10pm ET, TNT); No. 8 Baylor at No. 6 Gonzaga (11:30pm, ESPN2) Women: Michigan vs. No. 1 South Carolina in Las Vegas (7:30pm, TNT); No. 20 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 USC in Paris* (12pm, ESPN); No. 5 UCLA vs. No. 17 Louisville in Paris* (2:30pm, ESPN) More to watch: 🏈 NFL: Buccaneers at Chiefs (8:15pm, ABC/ESPN/ESPN2) … Kansas City looks to improve to 8-0 for the first time since 2013. 🏀 NBA: Bucks at Cavaliers (7pm, NBA); 76ers at Suns (10:15pm, NBA) … Paul George (knee) is set to make his Philly debut. 🏒 NHL: Devils at Oilers (8:30pm, NHL) 🎾 Tennis: WTA Finals (7:30am, Tennis) … Season-ending championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, featuring the eight highest-ranked singles players and doubles teams. *Across the pond: After a successful first edition last year (South Carolina vs. Notre Dame in the first-ever college basketball game in Paris), women's college basketball returns to the French capital for a doubleheader to start the season. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 6, 2024 Author Members Posted November 6, 2024 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES 🏈 Saints make a change: New Orleans fired Dennis Allen on Monday following their seventh straight loss and named special teams coach Darren Rizzi as his interim successor. Allen is 26-53 as an NFL head coach. 🏀 Cavs stay hot, Bucks stay cold: The Cavaliers beat the Bucks, 116-114, to improve to 8-0 for the first time since 1976. Milwaukee falls to 1-6, which is not where you want to be (nor where anyone expected them to be). ⚾️ MLB offseason: Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes were among the 13 free agents who received qualifying offers; Gerrit Cole is staying with the Yankees after initially opting out of his deal on Saturday; Silver Slugger finalists were announced. 🏀 Pop's health scare: Gregg Popovich will be sidelined indefinitely with a health issue. Spurs assistant Mitch Johnson will assume head coaching duties while Popovich, 75, is out. 🏈 Prescott sidelined: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott will miss "multiple games" after injuring his hamstring during Sunday's loss to the Falcons. Cooper Rush will start in his place. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 7, 2024 Author Members Posted November 7, 2024 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES 🏈 Trade deadline recap: Four-time Pro Bowl CB Marshon Lattimore's trade from the Saints to the Commanders headlined Tuesday's NFL trade deadline action. Overall, 19 players changed teams, including eight on Tuesday alone. Winners and losers. 🏀 $1 million shove: The NBA suspended Joel Embiid three games for shoving a reporter. The suspension will cost the 76ers' center, set to make $51.4 million this season, a little over $1 million in lost pay. ⚾️ Ohtani undergoes surgery: Shohei Ohtani's shoulder injury in the World Series resulted in a partially torn labrum, and he underwent successful surgery on Tuesday. He's expected to be ready for spring training. 🏒 Scary moment: Blues winger Dylan Holloway was stretchered off the rink and taken to the hospital after taking a puck to the throat. The team later announced he was alert and in stable condition. 🏈 MIDWAY POINT NFL PLAYOFF PICTURE: 9 WEEKS DOWN, 9 TO GO (Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports) The NFL regular season has reached its midway point, with nine of 18 weeks — and 138 of 272 games — in the books, Jeff writes. Playoff picture: If the season ended today, the undefeated Chiefs and one-loss Lions would earn a first-round bye, and both of their divisions (AFC West, NFC North) would be sending three teams to the postseason. AFC: Chiefs: 8-0 (>99% playoff probability, per Next Gen Stats) Bills: 7-2 (98%) Steelers: 6-2 (83%) Texans: 6-3 (96%) Ravens: 6-3 (92%) Chargers: 5-3 (74%) Broncos: 5-4 (53%) In the hunt: 4-5 Colts (29%); 4-5 Bengals (36%); 3-6 Jets (24%) Need a miracle: 2-6 Titans (4%); 2-6 Dolphins (4%); 2-7 Browns (2%); 2-7 Jaguars (3%); 2-7 Raiders (<1%); 2-7 Patriots (<1%) NFC: Lions: 7-1 (97%) Commanders: 7-2 (86%) Falcons: 6-3 (89%) Cardinals: 5-4 (46%) Vikings: 6-2 (84%) Eagles: 6-2 (86%) Packers: 6-3 (62%) In the hunt: 4-4 Bears (9%); 4-4 49ers (54%); 4-4 Rams (24%); 4-5 Bucs (42%); 4-5 Seahawks (12%); 3-5 Cowboys (8%) Need a miracle: 2-7 Panthers (<1%); 2-7 Saints (1%); 2-7 Giants (<1%) Midseason report: Team grades, QB storylines, 5 best games so far, and more 🇯🇵 GLOBAL SENSATION THE OHTANI EFFECT Dodgers fans cheer while watching the World Series in a Tokyo bar. (Richard A. Brook/AFP via Getty Images) Shohei Ohtani struggled in the World Series, particularly after injuring his shoulder in Game 2, but his mere presence helped fuel excellent ratings — especially in his native Japan, Jeff writes. By the numbers: The 2024 Fall Classic averaged 15.8 million viewers in the U.S., the most since 2017. And it drew nearly as many in Japan (12.1 million) despite that country having roughly one-third the population of the U.S. (123 million vs. 346 million) and games beginning at 9am. The Ohtani effect: Japan has a rich baseball history, but they've never had a player break through in the majors quite like Ohtani has. Hideo Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki, Yu Darvish and others have dazzled in decades past, but Sho-Time is something else entirely. MLB obviously can't plan for Ohtani to be in every World Series (though with the Dodgers' roster and willingness to spend, who knows). But the league can still capitalize on his global stardom, and that's exactly what it's doing. This past season began with the Dodgers and Padres playing a series in South Korea, which drew a whopping 18.7 million viewers in Japan. And next season will begin with Dodgers-Cubs in Tokyo (and by then, Ohtani could be back on the mound). The last word: "For the first time, Japanese fans can credibly argue that the most talented baseball player of all time is from Japan," writes The Athletic's Rustin Dodd ($). "He makes people proud to be Japanese," says Robert Whiting, an American author living in Tokyo. 📺 DOUBLEHEADER WATCHLIST: NBA COAST-TO-COAST Jayson Tatum has played like an MVP so far. (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) Tonight's NBA doubleheader on ESPN features a recent NBA Finals rematch in Boston and a reunion in Los Angeles, Jeff writes. Warriors at Celtics (7:30pm ET): Jayson Tatum, who's off to a torrid start,* leads the defending champs against the team that took them down in the 2022 Finals. 76ers at Clippers (10pm): Paul George, who put up 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in his Sixers debut on Monday, returns to Los Angeles to face his former team. More to watch: ⚽️ Champions League: Matchday 4 (12:45-3pm, Paramount+) … Inter vs. Arsenal headlines the nine-game slate. 🏒 NHL: Red Wings at Blackhawks (8pm, TNT) 🏈 NCAAF: Ohio at Kent State (7pm, ESPNU); Northern Illinois at Western Michigan (7pm, ESPN2) … More midweek #MACtion! 🎾 Tennis: WTA Finals (7:30am, Tennis) 🏒 Women's Hockey: USA vs. Canada (10pm, NHL) … The first of five games in the annual Rivalry Series. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 7, 2024 Author Members Posted November 7, 2024 👋 Good morning! It's a great day to have a great day. In today's edition: The best teams of each presidency, Warriors make statement in Boston, NFL power rankings, Jokić's historic stat line, Heisman watch, and more. 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES 🏀 One perfect team remains: The Cavaliers beat the Pelicans to improve to 9-0, while the Nuggets handed the Thunder their first loss of the season. 🏈 Dak's season in jeopardy: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is likely at least headed to injured reserve, and may in fact need season-ending surgery to repair his injured hamstring. ⚾️ Setback for Ohtani? Shohei Ohtani's labrum surgery should not impact his return to the Dodgers' lineup, but it's now unlikely he will be ready to pitch by Opening Day. ⚽️ Champions League check-in: The new-look league phase is halfway complete, with four games down and four to go. Liverpool (12 points) leads the way at the midpoint. 🎵 Raygun calls it quits: Rachael "Raygun" Gunn is moving on from competitive breakdancing, a few months after becoming a viral star at the Paris Olympics. 🇺🇸 POTUS WHO WAS THE BEST TEAM OF THE BIDEN ERA? (Axios) Back in 2021, we picked the best American sports teams of each U.S. presidency dating back to Teddy Roosevelt. On the heels of Election Day, it's time to update our list. So we ask: Who was the best team during the Biden years (2021-24)? Our 5 finalists: 🏈 Kansas City Chiefs: 3 AFC Championships, 2 Super Bowls, 45-14 record (including 8-0 this season) 🏀 South Carolina Women's Basketball: 4 Final Fours, 2 National Championships, 136-8 record, current No. 1 in AP Poll 🏈 Georgia Football: 2 National Championships (plus Orange Bowl), 49-3 record, current No. 3 in CFP Rankings 🏀 UConn Men's Basketball: 2 National Championships, current No. 2 in AP Poll 🥎 Oklahoma Softball: 4 National Championships, 235-15 record Winner: It's gotta be the Chiefs, who have merged zeitgeist and success to become "America's Team." Who do you think was the best team of the Biden presidency? Send me an email with your thoughts, I'd love to get your take. 🏈 WEEK 10 NFL POWER RANKINGS: LIONS SUPPLANT CHIEFS (Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports) The one-loss Lions, not the undefeated Chiefs, top the latest edition of our NFL power rankings as they ride a historically dominant six-game winning streak, Jeff writes. By the numbers: The Lions have more touchdowns (28) than incompletions (24) during the streak, and Jared Goff has recorded the best passer rating (140.1) for any six-game stretch in NFL history. Meanwhile, in Kansas City: The reigning champs may be undefeated, but they have the smallest scoring differential of any 8-0 team in NFL history (+56). 🏈 BETTING ODDS HEISMAN WATCH (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) Two-way star Travis Hunter is now the Heisman Trophy favorite at Colorado, which is suddenly in the thick of the Big 12 title race. Heisman Top 5: Hunter (+175 at BetMGM) leads the way, followed by Miami QB Cam Ward (+200), Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel (+300), Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty (+500) and Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart (+2000). Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 8, 2024 Author Members Posted November 8, 2024 🎉 Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. In today's edition: Ravens top Bengals in controversial thriller, how the Pride went from laughingstock to juggernaut, re-drafting the 2024 NFL Draft, youth sports participation data, and more. 🏈 THE SEQUEL RAVENS TOP BENGALS IN ANOTHER THRILLER (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) The Ravens beat the Bengals, 35-34, on "Thursday Night Football" in the second epic game between the two teams this season. Baltimore won the first meeting, 41-38 (OT). The QB battle: Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow were both phenomenal in their first meeting — and the two Heisman Trophy winners were just as good in the rematch. Game 1: Jackson was 26-of-42 for 348 yards and 4 TD, while Burrow was 30-of-39 for 392 yards, 5 TD and 1 INT. Game 2: Jackson was 23-of-33 for 290 yards and 4 TD, while Burrow was 34-of-56 for 428 yards and 4 TD. The biggest star of all? Baltimore had no answer for Ja'Marr Chase, who compiled 21 catches and 457 yards in two games — a new NFL record for most receiving yards against a single opponent in a season. Game 1: 10 rec, 193 yards, 2 TD Game 2: 11 rec, 264 yards, 3 TD Surely, his team must have won at least one of those games… Nope. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images) Controversial ending: Just three days after the Buccaneers played for OT against the Chiefs and lost, the Bengals went for two and the win in the final minute. They didn't convert — but should have gotten another crack at it due to two penalties. The refs missed both. "It was clearly defensive holding before the pass was in flight, that should have been called. And that does look like forceful contact to the head of the quarterback. That's a personal [foul]. That's roughing the passer and should have been called." — Prime Video officiating analyst (and former NFL official) Terry McAulay The last word: "Too many games end this way," said Al Michaels, who was also on the call for a game earlier this year that ended with a blatant facemask penalty that wasn't called. "It's so frustrating for the fans. So frustrating." ⚽️ NWSL PLAYOFFS WORST TO FIRST: THE PRIDE'S EPIC TURNAROUND (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) The Orlando Pride just completed the best regular season in NWSL history and are title favorites entering the playoffs — a stunning turnaround for a franchise that spent the past half-decade as a laughingstock, Jeff writes. By the numbers: Orlando (18-2-6) set NWSL records for wins (18), points (60), longest winning streak (8) and longest unbeaten streak (24) en route to earning the No. 1 seed in the postseason, snapping the league's longest active playoff drought (since 2017). Worst to first: Signs of Orlando's turnaround began to emerge two years ago when Seb Hines was hired as head coach. Fueled by his defensive-minded style, they rattled off a seven-game unbeaten streak in 2022. And this season, with a roster similar to the one that finished just shy of the playoffs last year, everything finally clicked, notes Yahoo Sports' Henry Bushnell. In soccer, and throughout sports, sudden turnarounds typically feature an overhaul. Visionary leaders arrive; stars follow; together, they reverse fortunes. … The Pride, on the other hand, have largely been driven by holdovers. Over 76% of their 2024 minutes have been logged by players who also appeared in 2023. Standouts: Marta, one of the best players of all time, scored nine goals at age 38; Barbra Banda, signed this spring for a near-record $740,000 transfer fee, finished second in the league with 13 goals; goalie Anna Moorhouse set the single-season NWSL record with 13 clean sheets. Playoff preview: The NWSL's expanded eight-team postseason kicks off tonight with four single-elimination quarterfinals. (1) Orlando vs. (8) Chicago: The Pride's first-ever home playoff game comes against two USWNT standouts in goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and striker Mallory Swanson. (4) Kansas City vs. (5) North Carolina: KC erupted for a league-record 57 goals this season behind first-year striker Temwa Chawinga, whose 20 goals were also a record. (2) Washington vs. (7) Bay FC: Bay FC made the playoffs in their inaugural season; the Spirit's 18 wins matched Orlando for the most in league history. (3) Gotham vs. (6) Portland: Gotham are the reigning champs; Portland's three titles are more than any other franchise. Looking ahead: The semifinals are next weekend and the championship is Nov. 23 at Kansas City's CPKC Stadium, the first venue built specifically for a women's professional sports team. 🏈 DO-OVER RE-DRAFTING THE 2024 NFL DRAFT (Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports) Halfway through their debut season, it's clear that several NFL rookies are over-performing their draft position. So what would happen if we threw every rookie back in the pool? Top 10 do-over picks, courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee: Bears — QB Jayden Daniels (Actual pick: QB Caleb Williams): Absolute no-brainer here — Williams has been very good, Daniels has been transcendent. Now the Hail Marys will go in the Bears' favor. Commanders — QB Caleb Williams (Actual pick: QB Jayden Daniels): No need to overthink this one. Williams is the second-best QB of the draft, even if he's struggled a bit on-field. And in a different offense, with more weaponry, he might be better in D.C. than in Chicago. Patriots — QB Drake Maye (Actual pick: Same): Since neither of the top two QBs is dropping, the Patriots opt for what they know. Maye has already shown flashes of glory, and that's more than enough for New England to stand pat. Cardinals — WR Malik Nabers (Actual pick: WR Marvin Harrison Jr.): And now the debates begin. Harrison has been good but inconsistent in his debut; Nabers, when he's on the field, has been exceptional among rookies, per PFF. Chargers — DE Jared Verse (Actual pick: OT Joe Alt): Offensive tackles are always welcome, and Alt's been a good one. But Verse is running away with DROY, and that's too enticing for the Chargers to turn down. Giants — TE Brock Bowers (Actual pick: WR Malik Nabers): With Nabers off the board, the Giants go for another already-proven commodity, and Bowers has already established himself as one of the league's top tight ends. Daniel Jones gets his bailout. Titans — WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (Actual pick: OT JC Latham): In many cases here, we'll assume that teams go with what's turned out to be a better choice at the position they already selected. In this case, when a potential generational talent like Harrison is on the board, you grab that talent. Falcons — S Evan Williams (Actual pick: QB Michael Penix Jr.): And here we have the first real shock of the re-draft. Williams, a fourth-round pick of the Packers, has turned out to be one of the best safeties in the league, per PFF. Bears — OT Joe Alt (Actual pick: WR Rome Odunze): The Bears opt to give their new treasure Daniels more protection rather than more weaponry. Vikings — QB Michael Penix Jr. (Actual pick: J.J. McCarthy): A debatable choice here given the Sam Darnold Renaissance, but with both Penix and McCarthy still on the board, the Vikings go with the higher potential future upside. Keep reading: Picks 11-32 🇺🇸 STATE OF PLAY REPORT: YOUTH SPORTS IN AMERICA (Project Play) How did youth sports net out, post-pandemic? Some findings from the 2024 State of Play report produced by the Aspen Institute's Sports & Society Program: More girls are playing sports: Girls ages 6-12 (34%) and 13-17 (38%) participated in sports at higher levels in 2023 than in any recent year dating back to at least 2012. Fewer boys are playing sports: 41% of boys ages 6-17 participated regularly in sports last year, which is down from 50% in 2013. More kids are specializing in one sport: Children ages 6-17 regularly played 1.63 sports in 2023, which is down 13% from 2019. Over a decade ago, children played more than two sports on average. Overall, children are returning to pre-COVID participation rates: In 2023, core team sports participation (meaning playing on a regular basis) reached its highest levels for all ages of children since 2015, per data from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA). Read the report. 📺 MLS PLAYOFFS WATCHLIST: WIN OR GO HOME Can Messi and top-seeded Miami avoid the upset? (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs concludes this weekend with four winner-take-all matches on Apple TV, Jeff writes. Friday: LAFC vs. Vancouver (10:30pm ET) Saturday: Cincinnati vs. NYC FC (4pm); Orlando vs. Charlotte (6pm); Miami vs. Atlanta (8pm) Where it stands: The four winners will advance to the conference semifinals, where they'll join Seattle, Minnesota, LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls. More to watch: 🏈 NFL Sunday: Giants vs. Panthers in Munich (9:30am, NFL); Steelers at Commanders (1pm, CBS); Lions at Texans (8:20pm, NBC) … Week 10. 🏈 CFB Saturday: No. 3 Georgia at No. 16 Ole Miss (3:30pm, ABC); No. 11 Alabama at No. 1 LSU (7:30pm, ABC) … Week 11. ⚽️ NWSL Quarterfinals: Orlando vs. Chicago (Fri. 8pm, Prime); KC vs. North Carolina (Sat. 12pm, CBS); Washington vs. Bay (Sun. 12:30pm, ABC); Gotham vs. Portland (Sun. 3:30pm, ABC) 🏁 NASCAR Championship: Phoenix Raceway (Sun. 3pm, NBC) … How the four title contenders stack up 🏀 NBA: Suns at Mavericks (Fri. 7:30pm, ESPN); 76ers at Lakers (Fri. 10pm, ESPN); Nets at Cavaliers (Sat. 7:30pm, NBA) 🏀 NCAAM: No. 9 UNC at No. 1 Kansas (Fri. 7pm, ESPN2); No. 8 Baylor at No. 16 Arkansas (Sat. 7:30pm, ESPNU); No. 11 Auburn at No. 4 Houston (Sat. 9:30pm, ESPNU) 🏀 NCAAW: No. 11 Duke at No. 18 Maryland (Sun. 1pm, FS1); No. 9 NC State at No. 1 South Carolina (Sun. 3pm, ESPN) 🎾 Tennis: WTA Finals (Fri-Sat, Tennis); ATP Finals* (Sun. 8am, Tennis) ⚽️ Premier League: Brighton vs. Man City (Sat. 12:30pm, USA); Liverpool vs. Aston Villa (Sat. 3pm, Peacock); Chelsea vs. Arsenal (Sun. 11:30am, USA) *End of an era: Novak Djokovic withdrew from the eight-man field due to injury, making this the first year since 2001 that the ATP Finals won't feature any members of the "Big Three." Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 12, 2024 Author Members Posted November 12, 2024 🏀 1 for the road: College hoops leaders Data: AP; Chart: Axios Visuals Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 12, 2024 Author Members Posted November 12, 2024 In today's edition: The Cavs cannot be stopped, upsets galore in MLS Playoffs, the birth of pro football, the Sunshine State's gloomy weekend, and more. 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES ⚾️ MLB awards finalists: Shohei Ohtani (NL MVP), Aaron Judge (AL MVP), Tarik Skubal (AL Cy Young), Chris Sale (NL Young), Paul Skenes (NL ROY) and Colton Cowser (AL ROY) are among the finalists for MLB's end-of-season awards. 🏒 Welcome to the Hall: Jeremy Roenick, Shea Weber, Pavel Datsyuk, Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell headlined the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2024, which was formally inducted on Monday night in Toronto. 🇯🇵 Coming to America: Japanese pitching phenom Rōki Sasaki will be posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines in the coming weeks, instantly making him the biggest MLB free agent not named Juan Soto. Once he's posted, teams will have 45 days to woo him. 🏀 AP Top 25: Kansas stayed at No. 1 in the men's college basketball poll, while Gonzaga and Auburn rose into the top five; South Carolina is the unanimous No. 1 in the women's poll, while Stanford and Oregon joined the rankings. ⚽️ Starlet chooses USWNT: Soccer phenom Lily Yohannes, who was born in Virginia but lives and plays in the Netherlands, made it official on Monday: She's joining the red, white and blue. 🏀 12-0 CAVS CONTINUE HISTORIC START Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell after Monday's win. (Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images) The Cavaliers cannot be stopped. With their 119-113 victory over the Bulls on Monday, they are now just the seventh team* in NBA history to start the season with at least 12 straight wins. 2015-16 Warriors: 24-0 (lost in NBA Finals) 1993-94 Rockets: 15-0 (NBA champions) 2002-03 Mavericks: 14-0 (lost in West Finals) 1957-58 Celtics: 14-0 (lost in NBA Finals) 1996-97 Bulls: 12-0 (NBA champions) 1982-83 Sonics: 12-0 (lost in First Round) 2024-25 Cavaliers: 12-0 (TBD) The backdrop: The Cavs entered the season with the 10th-best title odds (+3500 at BetMGM) and four All-Star caliber players in Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. But they also had a first-year head coach in Kenny Atkinson. They were expected to be good, but not this good. They rank No. 1 in offensive efficiency with a scorching 121.3 points per 100 possessions, and their defense is No. 8 in the league thanks in part to their penchant for forcing turnovers (16.9 per game). Mitchell continues to be Cleveland's leading man, Garland has been a sniper (45.9% from three on 7.1 attempts per game), and Mobley and Allen form a rare twin-towers look in today's NBA. Their role players have been fantastic, particularly Caris LeVert and Ty Jerome, who are both averaging double-digit points and shooting the lights out from deep. Bottom line: The East still runs through Boston, and I'd probably put Oklahoma City above Cleveland in my NBA power rankings. But the Cavaliers are the story of the season so far, and the fun of watching them play lies in the sense of possibility they project. *Of note: The 1948-49 Washington Capitols started 15-0, but they played in the Basketball Association of America so we're not counting them. They lost to George Mikan's Minneapolis Lakers in that year's BAA Finals. A few months later, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League to form the NBA. Oxford, Mississippi — Ole Miss scored its biggest win of the Lane Kiffin Era and boosted its playoff hopes with a 28-10 victory over Georgia on Saturday. Fans stormed the field early, resulting in a $350,000 fine that the school is surely happy to pay. Avondale, Arizona — Joey Logano held off Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney on Sunday to win his third NASCAR Cup Series championship. Only Richard Petty (7 titles), Dale Earnhardt (7), Jimmie Johnson (7) and Jeff Gordon (4) have more. Cincinnati — Thousands of fans showed up to Great American Ball Park on a rainy Sunday to pay their respects to Reds legend Pete Rose. Fans began lining up at 4am for the visitation, which lasted 14 hours (7am-9pm) in honor of Rose's No. 14. Phoenix — Bernhard Langer drained a 30-footer on the 18th hole on Sunday to win the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship. The 67-year-old has now won at least one event in 18 consecutive years on the senior circuit and has a tour-record 47 career wins. Legend. Munich, Germany — The Panthers beat the Giants, 20-17 (OT), on Sunday in the NFL's fifth and final international game of the season. Roger Goodell says the league is aiming for eight next year, with returns to England, Germany, Brazil and Mexico, plus stops in Spain and maybe Ireland. Brighton, England — Manchester City lost its fourth straight game on Saturday, this time to Brighton, and fed growing speculation that this, finally, could be the end. As a reminder: City lost four matches all of last season. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — American tennis sensation Coco Gauff ended her season in style on Saturday when she defeated China's Zheng Qinwen, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2), to win the WTA Finals and the $4.8 million check that came with it. Sydney, Australia — The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series held its final event of the season on Friday in Sydney Harbour, where Great Britain's Aidan Heslop (first title) and Australia's Rhiannon Iffland (record-extending eighth title) were crowned 2024 champions. ⚽️ MLS CUP PLAYOFFS EARLY EXITS: INTER MIAMI, THREE OTHER FAVORITES GO DOWN (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) The MLS conference semifinals are set, and — shockingly — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will be watching from home after suffering the biggest upset in league history, Jeff writes. One and done: Miami lost Saturday's decisive Game 3 to Atlanta, 3-2, to end their historic campaign earlier than anyone expected. The 34-point difference between Miami (74) and Atlanta (40) was the largest ever for playoff opponents. Messi was the focus of the league's entire postseason marketing strategy, as it appeared the GOAT and his superteam would romp through the playoffs to the MLS Cup Finals. Instead, he's out after three games, and now both the league and Apple — its exclusive streamer — are left hoping enough casual fans will still tune in for the eight remaining teams. Is the new format to blame? Even before Miami's exit, critics were sounding off about MLS' new playoff format, which debuted last year when the field expanded to 18 teams. That's despite the fact that it was implemented to avoid the very outcome Miami just experienced. The best-of-three opening round should, in theory, benefit the better team and minimize the chances of a fluky result. And it appeared to do just that last year, when seven of eight favorites advanced. But this year played out much differently, with four favorites going down. If Miami hadn't been one of them, perhaps we'd be celebrating the underdogs who won (Atlanta, Minnesota, NYC FC, New York Red Bulls); instead, the format has come under fire. Where it stands: With Miami out, LAFC is the new title favorite entering the single-elimination conference semifinals, which kick off in two weeks. West: (1) LAFC vs. (4) Seattle; (2) LA Galaxy vs. (6) Minnesota East: (4) Orlando vs. (9) Atlanta; (6) NYC FC vs. (7) New York Red Bulls Meanwhile, in the NWSL… All four favorites (Orlando, Kansas City, Washington, Gotham) won their single-elimination quarterfinal matchups, a stark contrast to MLS' upset-filled first round. Good read: Where do Messi and Miami go from here? (Henry Bushnell, Yahoo Sports) 📆 ON THIS DAY NOV. 12, 1892: THE BIRTH OF PRO FOOTBALL (Topps) 132 years ago today, the Allegheny Athletic Association defeated the Pittsburgh Athletic Club with the help of William "Pudge" Heffelfinger, the first person ever paid to play football. The backdrop: Heffelfinger, the son of a Civil War veteran, played football and baseball at Minneapolis Central High School* before taking his talents to Yale, where he became the university's first and only four-letter athlete (football, baseball, rowing, track). Pudge played guard under head coach Walter Camp (aka. the "Father of American Football"), and the Paul Bunyan-like character was the best player on some of the most dominant teams in college sports history. And when I say dominant, I mean dominant. During Heffelfinger's four years with the Bulldogs (1888-91), they went 54-2 while outscoring their opponents, 2,327-49 (!!!). During his freshman and senior seasons, they didn't surrender a single point. The famous $500 paycheck: After graduating, Heffelinger became a railroad clerk and occasionally served as a barnstorming mercenary for semi-pro football teams. He joined Allegheny for one game and scored the only touchdown (worth four points back then) in a 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. Nearly 80 years later, the Pro Football Hall of Fame recovered a ledger that clearly shows a "game performance bonus to W. Heffelfinger for playing (cash) $500." Heffelfinger (center) alongside fellow gridiron greats Alex Wojciechowicz of Fordham (left) and Ken Strong of NYU (right) at a Football Hall of Fame dinner in 1951. (AP Photo) "Indestructible and forever young": Heffelfinger proved to be one of the great ironmen in sports history, playing competitive football well into his 60s (take that, Tom Brady). Legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice paid homage to the man with some beautiful prose… "To borrow a line from old Bill Shakespeare: 'Cowards die many times before their death. The valiant never taste of death but once. … Pudge gave forth an aura of shining light, a special, ageless glory. He was the living symbol of the game, indestructible and forever young." The big picture: In the decades that followed, sports-as-entertainment exploded in post-Civil War America and small professional football leagues began popping up across the country. Then came the big one: In 1920, the NFL was born. *Fun fact: Heffelfinger went to the same high school as legendary musician Prince. 📺 DOUBLE FEATURE WATCHLIST: "BLUE BLOODS" SHOWDOWN Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils face their first big test tonight. (Lance King/Getty Images) College basketball's "Blue Bloods" take the court tonight on ESPN, with No. 1 Kansas at Michigan State (6:30pm ET) followed by No. 19 Kentucky at No. 6 Duke (9pm). More to watch: 🏀 NBA Cup: Knicks at 76ers* (7:30, TNT); Mavericks at Warriors** (10pm, TNT) … The first games of the NBA Cup (In-Season Tournament) Group Stage. 🏈 NCAAF: CFP Rankings Show (8:30pm, ESPN) … Plus three #MACtion games. *Embiid's debut: Joel Embiid will make his season debut after missing Philly's first seven games due to injury management (left knee) and suspension (shoving a reporter). **Klay's return: Klay Thompson returns to the Chase Center for his first game against the Warriors after spending 13 years in Golden State, where he won four championships. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 14, 2024 Author Members Posted November 14, 2024 👋 Good morning! Erik Spoelstra pulled a "Chris Webber" last night, while playing in Michigan, with Jalen Rose in attendance. In today's edition: How the House-NCAA settlement is impacting Olympic sports, Winnipeg won't stop winning, NBA Cup tips off, CFP rankings revealed, and more. 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES ⚾️ Rays need temporary home: Tropicana Field sustained $55 million worth of damage from Hurricane Milton last month and won't be ready to host Rays games until 2026. 🏀 Champions Classic: No. 19 Kentucky upset No. 6 Duke, 75-72, in Mark Pope's third game as head coach; No. 1 Kansas beat Michigan State, 77-69, as Bill Self passed Phog Allen for most wins in KU history (591). ⚾️ Silver Sluggers: Astros 2B Jose Altuve and Dodgers UTIL Mookie Betts won their seventh Silver Slugger awards, headlining a group that included seven first-time winners. 📺 New way to watch: Diamond Sports Group, the nation's largest owner of regional sports networks, will begin offering single-game pricing ($6.99) for local NBA and NHL games next month. 🏡 Mahomes, Kelce burglarized: The houses of Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were reportedly both burglarized last month. The FBI is investigating. 🎓 HOUSE-NCAA SETTLEMENT THE FUTURE OF COLLEGE SPORTS: OLYMPIC ATHLETES IN PERIL (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) Today is National Signing Day, when high school athletes across the country can formally accept scholarships from their chosen university — that is, if they haven't already been rescinded, Jeff writes. Vanishing spots: The historic House vs. NCAA antitrust settlement has made headlines for the $2.8 billion in backpay to former athletes and landmark revenue-sharing concept. Less publicized are the roster limits that will result in thousands of athletes losing their spots. How it works: Most NCAA sports currently have a scholarship limit but not a roster cap. Under the terms of the settlement, which will take effect in July if approved, that will flip. In other words, while overall scholarships may increase, total roster spots will be capped and walk-ons could be eliminated entirely. The change affects not only high school recruits hoping to continue their athletic careers, but also enrolled athletes who've been told they're no longer part of their team. What they're saying: More than a dozen parents of college athletes or recruits spoke to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger about the current reality playing out across the country. They were granted anonymity for fear of negative impacts to their children. A beach volleyball recruit, committed to a Big 12 program for months, was recently told the spot no longer exists. A sophomore cross country runner for an SEC team was notified by email that she was cut from the team two days after the semester began. At one SEC school, eight track and field runners were cut or pushed out over the summer. One power conference program released all of their 2025 men's swimming commitments. And in football, it is estimated that more than 1,500 walk-on players — roughly 20-30 per team — will see their spots cut. The big picture: In all, the 68 power conference schools are expected to eliminate at least 3,000 roster positions as administrators work to adhere to new limitations, reallocate resources to revenue-generating sports and balance opportunities to comply with Title IX. This change will have an outsized impact on Olympic sports, which could ultimately upend the Olympics, themselves, considering how many NCAA athletes compete in the Games. To wit, 1,217 current or former college athletes from 125 countries competed at the Paris Olympics this past summer, including 385 on Team USA alone. The last word: "The beginning of change — it's new and fancy. You get to a finish line and you think you've accomplished something. In the middle of anything is messy. This is messy," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said last week of the sea change coming to college sports. 🏒 ON A ROLL BEST START EVER: 15 WINS IN 16 GAMES Nikolaj Ehlers celebrates a goal. (Christopher Mast/NHLI via Getty Images) The Winnipeg Jets are off to the best start in NHL history. With their 6-3 victory over the Rangers on Tuesday, they've now won 15 of their first 16 games. By the numbers: Connor Hellebuyck has been superb in net (1.92 goals against average, .934 save percentage), and the Jets also boast the league's best power play (42.2%) and offense (4.56 goals per game). Not a bad combo! Per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski: They became the fourth team since 1967-68 to lead the NHL in goals for and against per game through their first 15 games. They've scored five or more goals in half their games. Their 73 goals are the third most by a team in its first 16 games over the past 30 years. Schedule: Oct. 9: Jets 6, Oilers 0 Oct. 11: Jets 2, Blackhawks 1 (OT) Oct. 13: Jets 2, Wild 1 (OT) Oct. 18: Jets 8, Sharks 3 Oct. 20: Jets 6, Penguins 3 Oct. 22: Jets 3, Blues 2 Oct. 24: Jets 4, Kraken 3 (OT) Oct. 26: Jets 5, Flames 3 Oct. 28: Maple Leafs 6, Jets 4 Oct. 30: Jets 6, Red Wings 2 Nov. 1: Jets 6, Blue Jackets 2 Nov. 3: Jets 7, Lightning 4 Nov. 5: Jets 3, Utah 0 Nov. 7: Jets 1, Avalanche 0 Nov. 9: Jets 4, Stars 1 Nov. 12: Jets 6, Rangers 3 The backdrop: Just a few months ago, there was talk about the Jets potentially relocating amid a dramatic season ticket sales drop-off. Could their historic start be the spark for long-term viability in the NHL's smallest market? 🏀 LET THE GAMES BEGIN NBA CUP OPENING NIGHT The 2024 Emirates NBA Cup (in-season tournament) tipped off on Tuesday, with 16 teams playing their first of four Group Stage games. San Francisco — Klay Thompson matched his season-high with 22 points and was honored in his return to Golden State, but former Splash Brother Steph Curry (37 points) got the best of him in a 120-117 win over the Mavericks. Detroit — A wild and sloppy finish saw the Heat lose to the Pistons, 123-121 (OT), after Miami gave up a game-tying alley-oop with one second left and then got called for a technical foul when head coach Erik Spoelstra called a timeout they didn't have. Boston — The Celtics have one of the coolest-looking NBA Cup courts, but it didn't help them avoid falling to the Hawks, 117-116, for just their third loss of the season. Philadelphia — The Knicks beat the 76ers, 111-99, behind a triple-double from Josh Hart (14-12-10). Joel Embiid looked sluggish in his season debut, going 2-for-11 and grabbing just three rebounds. Elsewhere: Trail Blazers 122, Timberwolves 108* | Suns 120, Jazz 112 | Bucks 99, Raptors 85 | Magic 114, Hornets 89 *Ice cold to red hot: Portland shot 4-of-42 (9.5%) from deep on Sunday, which was the worst 3-point percentage in any NBA game this season. On Tuesday, they shot 18-of-32 (56.3%), which was the best. 🏈 12-TEAM PLAYOFF CFP RANKINGS: GEORGIA DROPS OUT OF THE FIELD (Yahoo Sports) Georgia fell out of the provisional playoff field in the second edition of the CFP rankings, which were revealed on Tuesday night. As a reminder: The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded Nos. 1-4 in the 12-team field. The next seven highest-ranked teams, plus the fifth-highest ranked conference champion, will be seeded Nos. 5-12 in their ranking order. Projected matchups… Columbus, OH: No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State State College, PA: No. 11 Ole Miss at No. 6 Penn State Bloomington, IN: No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Indiana Knoxville, TN: No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Tennessee First-round byes: No. 1 Oregon (Rose Bowl vs. Tennessee/Notre Dame), No. 2 Texas (Sugar Bowl vs. Indiana/Alabama), No. 3 BYU (Fiesta Bowl vs. Penn State/Ole Miss), No. 4 Miami (Peach Bowl vs. Ohio State/Boise State). 🎙️ Fresh pod: Is the 12-team playoff already broken? (College Football Power Hour) 📆 ON THIS DAY NOV. 13, 1995: FOUR STRAIGHT CY YOUNG AWARDS 29 years ago today, Greg Maddux became the first pitcher ever to win four consecutive Cy Young awards. Only Randy Johnson (1999-2002) has matched him since, Jeff writes. By the numbers: This season might have been his best of the four. The Braves righty went 19-2 in the strike-shortened campaign, making him the only pitcher in MLB history to post a .900 winning percentage with more than 20 decisions. He led the league in ERA (1.63), WHIP (0.81), complete games (10), innings (209.2), HR/9 (0.3), BB/9 (0.99) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.87). His preternatural ability to limit walks reached another gear, as he issued just 23 free passes all season. That included a 51-inning stretch without a single walk. Zoom out: Across the four-season run, which included his final year with the Cubs and first three with the Braves, Maddux won four Gold Gloves* and compiled a microscopic 1.98 ERA — nearly a full run better than any other starter who threw at least 200 innings in that time (José Rijo, 2.82). *Flashing the leather: Given his dominant pitching statistics, it's easy to forget that Maddux is also the greatest fielding pitcher of all time: His 18 Gold Gloves are the most in MLB history, regardless of position. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 15, 2024 Author Members Posted November 15, 2024 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES 🏀 13-0: The Cavaliers won again, fending off a depleted 76ers team to improve to 13-0. One more win and they'll tie the 2002-03 Mavericks and 1957-58 Celtics for the fourth-best start in league history. 🥍 Women's sports boom: The Premier Lacrosse League is launching a women's league in February; the PWHL's six teams will be added to EA Sports' NHL 25 next month. 🙏 Pop health update: Gregg Popovich suffered a mild stroke on Nov. 2, the Spurs announced Wednesday. He's expected to make a full recovery, though there is no timeline for his return to the sidelines. 🏈 Richardson replaces Flacco: Anthony Richardson is back in as the Colts starting QB, and the job is his for the rest of the season, according to head coach Shane Steichen. 🏀 He did it again: LeBron James recorded his third straight triple-double (35-12-14) to lead the Lakers to their third straight win. He turns 40 in six weeks. ⚾️ SASAKI SWEEPSTAKES COMING TO MLB: THE NEXT JAPANESE SENSATION Sasaki pitches during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. (Eric Espada/Getty Images) Attention MLB fans: It's time to get to know Rōki Sasaki. The 23-year-old Japanese ace will be posted this offseason and your favorite team has a real shot at landing him, Jeff writes. Japan's next phenom: The young righty, who won last year's World Baseball Classic alongside Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, has a 2.10 ERA with 505 strikeouts (against just 88 walks) across 394.2 innings in the last four seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's NPB. You may remember hearing about him in 2022 when he threw a 19-strikeout perfect game, then followed that up with eight perfect innings and 14 more strikeouts in his next start. His fastest recorded pitch, 102.5 mph, matches Ohtani for the hardest ever thrown by a Japanese player. What makes him so good? Sasaki's three-pitch arsenal includes a four-seam fastball that would be among MLB's fastest pitches, a slider that's good but needs some work, and a splitter that, well, I'll let Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz explain: If Sasaki's fastball is a unicorn, his splitter is a unicorn that breathes fire, speaks five languages and cooks a world-class risotto. There's truly nothing like it. The one worry? Durability. He's never topped 130 innings in a season, and given his age and how hard he throws, arm surgery is likely an eventuality. Sasaki's unique situation: While Yamamoto, a similarly highly-touted prospect, signed for $325 million with the Dodgers after being posted last offseason, Sasaki's age means he'll cost no more than $7 million. The posting process still works the same: Teams get 45 days to negotiate with him after he's officially posted. But because Sasaki is under 25, he's bound by the same rules as free agents in, say, the Dominican Republic, meaning teams can only use their international bonus pool money (roughly $7 million this year) to sign him. What they're saying: Sasaki's decision to post early and forego hundreds of millions of dollars is rare, but not unprecedented. In 2017, Ohtani himself was posted at age 23 for a paltry $2.3 million bonus, a comp that Jake and Jordan Shusterman discuss in their latest episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast. Jordan: "Sasaki has given us a scenario where it's not about who can afford him, it's about where he wants to play." Jake: "The precedent of the Ohtani situation is relevant here. Because if we remember that time in our lives, when it felt like everyone had a chance to get [him], that is so rare." What to watch: Sasaki's decision may hinge on the timing of when he's posted. If it's before Dec. 1, teams must use their current bonus pool, and only the Dodgers and Orioles have more than $2 million left. If it's after Dec. 1, the 45-day window will allow them to sign him when the pool is replenished on Jan. 15, putting all 30 teams on even financial footing. So, who might sign him? All 30 teams would love to employ MLB's No. 2 free agent for such an affordable sum, but some are clearly favored to land the young ace. Unsurprisingly, the Dodgers top the list. 📈 POST-PANDEMIC CHART OF THE DAY: WE ARE SO BACK (Lev Akabas/Sportico) Sports fans have returned to stadiums post-COVID — and then some. So much for that whole "attendance may never fully recover" narrative. 📸 SNAPSHOTS PHOTO GALLERY (Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) San Antonio — Victor Wembanyama dropped a career-high 50 points in Wednesday's 139-130 win over the Wizards, becoming the fourth-youngest player in NBA history (20 years, 314 days) with a 50-piece (Brandon Jennings, LeBron James, Devin Booker). (John Fisher/Getty Images) Milwaukee — Giannis Antetokounmpo one-upped Wemby with an NBA season-high 59 points in the Bucks' comeback 127-120 (OT) win over the Pistons, rallying them from an 18-point second-half deficit. (Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) Belleair, Florida — Caitlin Clark drew a huge crowd while competing in Wednesday's Pro-Am at The Annika, but the 16-handicap won't be switching sports anytime soon after nearly hitting a spectator with an errant tee shot. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images for Netflix) Dallas — Mike Tyson, 58, and Jake Paul, 27, met face-to-face during a press conference ahead of their fight this weekend, streaming live on Netflix. 🏈 WEEK 11 NFL POWER RANKINGS: TOP TEAMS DUKE IT OUT THIS WEEK (Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports) Week 11 is here, and it's glorious: Six of the top seven teams in our power rankings face off in the next four days. Tonight: No. 7 Commanders* at No. 5 Eagles Sunday: No. 2 Chiefs** at No. 3 Bills Sunday: No. 4 Ravens at No. 6 Steelers Historic slate: This is the first time in NFL history that Week 11 has featured three games between 7-win teams. *Heisman gauntlet: There are 11 Heisman winners in the NFL. Two are on the Commanders (Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota), and with tonight's game against Philly and DeVonta Smith, Washington will have played all nine others (Baker Mayfield, Joe Burrow, Kyler Murray, Jameis Winston, Derrick Henry, Lamar Jackson, Bryce Young, Caleb Williams and Smith). **Undefeated underdogs: The Chiefs are underdogs (+2.5 at BetMGM) against the Bills, marking just the fourth time in the Super Bowl era that a 9-0 (or better) team isn't the favorite. Which begs the question: Are the Chiefs the NFL's worst-ever 9-0 team? Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 16, 2024 Author Members Posted November 16, 2024 Hurricane-stricken Tampa Bay Rays to play 2025 season at Yankees’ spring training field in Tampa ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays will play their 2025 home games at the New York Yankees’ nearby spring training ballpark amid uncertainty about the future of hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field, Rays executives told The Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/tropicana-roof-rays-yankees-hurricane-milton-112a238a23b1223b9222effcb26b8911? ps:ain't that interesting Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 17, 2024 Author Members Posted November 17, 2024 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES ⚾️ All-MLB Awards: The 2024 All-MLB teams were revealed Thursday, honoring the best and second-best players at their positions regardless of league. 🏒 1,000 points: Connor McDavid became the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career points (659 games), trailing only Wayne Gretzky (424), Mario Lemieux (513) and Mike Bossy (656). 🎿 Vonn unretires: Four-time World Champion Lindsey Vonn is coming out of retirement to rejoin the U.S. Ski Team and intends to race again at age 40. ⚾️ Soto meetings: Juan Soto, MLB's top free agent, will meet with four teams this week: the Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays and Red Sox. 🥅 Fastest to 300: Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy became the 40th NHL goaltender to win 300 games, reaching the milestone in 490 games, the fewest in league history. 🏀 INJURY SPIKE THE NBA HAS A "MISSING STARS" PROBLEM The opening weeks of the NBA season have been besieged by absent stars. Joel Embiid. Kevin Durant. Ja Morant. Steph Curry. Jaylen Brown. Tyrese Maxey. Kawhi Leonard. Paolo Banchero. Chet Holmgren. The list goes on. Just how bad is it? Using the NBA's official definition of a "star" — those who were All-Stars or All-NBA performers in the previous three seasons — there are 49 star players this season. 24 of them have already missed at least one game. Kawhi Leonard, LAC (12 games) Khris Middleton, MIL (12) Dejounte Murray, NO (11) Joel Embiid, PHI (10) Paolo Banchero, ORL (8) Scottie Barnes, TOR (8) Paul George, PHI (6) Zion Williamson, NO (6) Ja Morant, MEM (4) Tyrese Maxey, PHI (4) Jaylen Brown, BOS (4) Kevin Durant, PHX (3) Stephen Curry, GSW (3) Lauri Markkanen, UTA (3) Zach LaVine, CHI (3) Jimmy Butler, MIA (2) Damian Lillard, MIL (2) Andrew Wiggins, GSW (2) Jaren Jackson Jr, MEM (2) Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL (1) Anthony Davis, LAL (1) Trae Young, ATL (1) Fred VanVleet, HOU (1) Kyrie Irving, DAL (1) The big picture: Star players are on pace to miss over 1,000 games this season, which would be a roughly 24% increase from 2023-24. The hope is that this is just an early-season blip, but there's reason to believe that the dark cloud hovering over the league is here to stay, writes Yahoo Sports' Tom Haberstroh. Read the full story. 📸 SNAPSHOTS PHOTO GALLERY (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) Philadelphia — Saquon Barkley (198 total yards, 2 TD) and the Eagles beat the Commanders, 26-18, to improve to 8-2 and take a 1.5-game lead atop the NFC East. (John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images) Kingston, Jamaica — Ricardo Pepi scored his sixth goal in four starts to lead the USMNT to a 1-0 win over Jamaica in the first leg of their CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal. (Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images) Turin, Italy — Taylor Fritz (above) and Jannik Sinner are into the semifinals at the ATP Finals. They'll learn their opponents today with Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev still able to qualify. 🏈 GOOD READ WHAT'S LEFT FOR AARON RODGERS' LEGACY? Rodgers walks off the field after last Sunday's loss to the Cardinals. (Norm Hall/Getty Images) The Jets' season is effectively over after Sunday's ugly 31-6 loss to the Cardinals dropped them to 3-7. So what's left for Aaron Rodgers' legacy? From Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson: This all feels a little like Brett Favre's underwhelming single-season foray as the Jets' starting QB in 2008... except this season is exponentially worse and going off a cliff far more quickly. This is a failed season, with an objectively bad team that was all leveraged against a soon-to-be 41-year-old QB who has sunken into the mediocre middle at his position. Once we recognize that, it opens the door to the legacy question that will hang over Rodgers for the remainder of this lost season: What's left? It's an important question, given that this failure is threatening to form an impression that will be lasting. Maybe not in the disturbing neighborhood of Joe Namath fizzling out with the Rams or Johnny Unitas dropping the curtain with the Chargers. But also not anywhere near the respectably remembered 29 games that Joe Montana spent in a Chiefs uniform. If anything, Rodgers' end is shaping up like Donovan McNabb going out with a wheeze with Washington and Minnesota. Two avenues appear to be in play right now: Rodgers plays out the 2024 season, salvaging whatever he can down the stretch, then returns in 2025 for one last attempt at putting a respectable bookend on his career. This is it. We're watching Rodgers' last year with the Jets — either by virtue of him choosing retirement, or by ownership deciding to make sweeping changes. Bottom line: It's stunning to grapple with this kind of framing for Rodgers, but that's where we are. You could see it during his postgame news conference on Sunday, another one of the editions where he came off as a quiet and defeated passenger, trapped on a journey that no longer has a map. 📆 ON THIS DAY NOV. 15, 1960: BAYLOR CREATES THE 70-POINT CLUB Baylor after his historic game. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images) 64 years ago today, Lakers forward Elgin Baylor scored 71 points in a win over the Knicks, becoming the first player in NBA history with a 70-point game, Jeff writes. The 70-point club: Baylor was the first of 10 players to score 70 points in a game. Wilt Chamberlain, naturally, is the only guy to do it more than once. Chamberlain (6x): 100 points (March 1962); 78 (December 1961); 73 (January 1962); 73 (November 1962); 72 (November 1962); 70 (March 1963) Kobe Bryant: 81 (January 2006) David Thompson: 73 (April 1978) Luka Dončić: 73 (January 2024) Baylor: 71 (November 1960) David Robinson: 71 (April 1994) Donovan Mitchell: 71 (January 2023) Damian Lillard: 71 (February 2023) Devin Booker: 70 (March 2017) Joel Embiid: 70 (January 2024) A Hall of Fame career: Baylor's 70-point outburst came in just his third season, when he'd already won ROY and All-Star MVP. He'd go on to finish his career with the fifth-highest scoring average ever (27.4 ppg) and 10th-highest rebounding average (13.5). The only thing missing? Incredibly, Baylor never won a championship despite playing in seven NBA Finals across his 14-year career. He and the Lakers lost six times to the Celtics and once to the Knicks. 📺 SEC SHOWDOWN WATCHLIST: SATURDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports) No. 12 Georgia hosts No. 7 Tennessee on Saturday (7:30pm ET, ABC) in one of the biggest regular-season games left on the college football schedule, Jeff writes. What's at stake: The Vols (8-1) are effectively into the playoff with a win. The Bulldogs (7-2), who haven't lost three games since 2018, are almost certainly out with a loss. More to watch: 🏈 NFL Sunday: Ravens at Steelers (1pm, CBS); Chiefs at Bills (4:25pm, CBS); Bengals at Chargers (8:20pm, NBC) … Week 11. ⚽️ NWSL Playoffs: Washington vs. Gotham (Sat. 12pm, CBS); Orlando vs. Kansas City (Sun. 3pm, ABC) … Semifinals. 🏀 NBA: Lakers at Spurs (Fri. 7:30pm, ESPN); Grizzlies at Warriors (Fri. 10pm, ESPN) 🏒 NHL: Oilers at Maple Leafs (Sat. 7pm, NHL); Capitals at Golden Knights (Sun. 8pm, NHL) 🏀 NCAAM: No. 2 Alabama at No. 13 Purdue (Fri. 7pm, Peacock) 🏀 NCAAW: No. 2 UConn at No. 14 UNC (Fri. 6pm, ESPN); No. 13 NC State at TCU (Sun. 3pm, ESPN) 👊 UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic (Sat. 10pm, ESPN+ PPV) … At Madison Square Garden. 🥊 Boxing: Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul (Fri. 8pm, Netflix) … The latest live event on the world's biggest streaming service. 🏈 Grey Cup: Argonauts at Blue Bombers* (Sun. 6pm, CBSSN) … The 111th CFL championship game. 🎾 Tennis: ATP Finals (Fri-Sun, Tennis) … Championship is on Sunday. ⛳️ LPGA: The Annika (Fri-Sun, Golf) … The season's penultimate event. ⛳️ European Tour: Championship (Fri-Sun, Golf) … The season-ending tournament in Dubai. *Tale of the tape: No two teams have made more Grey Cup appearances than the Blue Bombers (28) or Argonauts (24), but while the Argonauts have a record 18 wins (18-6), the Blue Bombers have a record 16 losses (12-16). 🏈 EIGHT-WAY TIE THE SEC COULD BE HEADED FOR CHAOS (David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) The SEC could finish in an eight-way tie for first place if the following things happen: All teams win the games they are favored to win, except: Missouri beats South Carolina this Saturday. Auburn upsets Texas A&M or … either Kentucky or Arkansas upsets Texas and … Whatever team was upset wins the Texas-Texas A&M game. Maximum chaos: Each team would hold a 6-2 conference record and complex tiebreakers would be needed to figure out the SEC title game matchup in Atlanta, notes Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel. Long odds? Sure. Impossible? Not even close. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 19, 2024 Author Members Posted November 19, 2024 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES 🏀 15-0: The Cavaliers are the fourth team in NBA history to start 15-0, joining the 1948-49 Washington Capitols, 1993-94 Rockets and 2015-16 Warriors. ⚽️ NWSL semifinals: Washington beat Gotham (3-0 in PKs) and Orlando beat Kansas City (3-2) to advance to next weekend's championship game. 🏀 Wings win lottery: The Dallas Wings won Sunday's WNBA draft lottery, and all signs point to them drafting UConn superstar Paige Bueckers with the No. 1 pick in April. 🎾 ATP Finals: World No. 1 Jannik Sinner beat Taylor Fritz on Sunday to win his first ATP Finals title and cap a superb season. The Italian has won 26 of his last 27 matches. 🏀 Fox makes history: Kings PG De'Aaron Fox scored a franchise-record 60 points on Friday and added 49 more on Saturday. Only Kobe Bryant has scored more points on back-to-back nights in the past 50 years. 🏈 WEEK 11 NFL SUNDAY: UNDEFEATED NO MORE (Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) It took 328 days, but the Kansas City Chiefs finally lost a football game, Jeff writes. ICYMI: The Bills beat the Chiefs, 30-21, on Sunday in Buffalo, handing the defending Super Bowl champs their first loss of the season and snapping their 15-game win streak that dated back 328 days to Christmas 2023. It looked like the Chiefs might pull off another late comeback when they trailed by two with just over two minutes left, needing a stop on fourth down to give Patrick Mahomes a chance to do his thing. Instead, Josh Allen scrambled for a 26-yard touchdown to effectively seal the win, improve to 4-1 in the regular season against Mahomes and give Buffalo (9-2) an excellent shot at catching Kansas City (9-1) in the race for the AFC's No. 1 seed. Wild stat: Mahomes has started 124 games (regular season and playoffs), and this was just the fifth time he lost by more than one score. More from Sunday: Chargers 34, Bengals 27: It was a tale of two halves on "Sunday Night Football" as L.A. blew a 21-point lead, but ultimately pulled out the win on a long TD run from J.K. Dobbins with 18 seconds left. Packers 20, Bears 19: Green Bay blocked a would-be game-winning Bears field goal as time expired to secure a their 11th straight victory over Chicago dating back to 2019. That's the longest active winning streak of any NFL team over another. Lions 52, Jaguars 6: That's Scorigami! The 1,088th unique score in NFL history was powered by Jared Goff's 412 yards, 4 TD and perfect passer rating. Steelers 18, Ravens 16: Pittsburgh kicked six field goals to extend their lead atop the AFC North and continue their recent dominance in the division rivalry, improving to 8-1 against Baltimore in the 2020s. Saints 35, Browns 14: Super utility player Taysom Hill did it all for New Orleans, becoming the first player in NFL history with 100 rush yards, 3 rush TD, 50 receiving yards and 10 pass yards in a game. He even added 42 kick return yards! Elsewhere: Seahawks 20, 49ers 17 | Rams 28, Patriots 22 | Colts 28, Jets 27 | Dolphins 34, Raiders 19 | Vikings 23, Titans 13 | Broncos 38, Falcons 6 Sunday recap: Winners and losers Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 20, 2024 Author Members Posted November 20, 2024 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES ⚾️ Cooperstown contenders: Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia are among 14 newcomers on the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. 🏀 The show goes on: "Inside the NBA" is moving to ESPN, where the award-winning show starring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith will continue to be produced by TNT Sports. 🏈 QB change: The Giants are switching from Daniel Jones to Tommy DeVito. Jones will be third-string behind DeVito and Drew Lock. 🏀 The Sixers stink: The 76ers entered the season with championship aspirations. They are now tied with the Wizards for the worst record in the NBA after falling to 2-11. ⚾️ Rookies of the Year: Pirates RHP Paul Skenes won NL ROY after a dominant season (11-3, 1.98 ERA); RHP Luis Gil became the 10th Yankee to win AL ROY. 🏈 TITLE FAVORITES THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING (Yahoo Sports) For the first time in history, the Lions are Super Bowl favorites (+325 at BetMGM). As a reminder: The Lions (debuted in 1930), Jaguars (1995) and Texans (2002) are the only active NFL franchises that have never made a Super Bowl appearance. NFL power rankings: Lions (9-1) Chiefs (9-1) Bills (9-2) Eagles (8-2) Steelers (8-2) Ravens (7-4) Packers (7-3) Commanders (7-4) Cardinals (6-4) Vikings (8-2) Chargers (7-3) Texans (7-4) 49ers (5-5) Broncos (6-5) Falcons (6-5) Buccaneers (4-6) Full rankings: Teams 17-32 📸 SNAPSHOTS PHOTO GALLERY (Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/Getty Images for USSF) St. Louis — Christian Pulisic (two goals) and the USMNT beat Jamaica, 4-2, to book a spot in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals. (Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Arlington, Texas — Joe Mixon ran wild (153 total yards, 3 TD) in Houston's 34-10 blowout win over Dallas. It was the Cowboys' fifth straight loss, and their sixth straight home game in which they trailed by at least 20 points, an NFL record. QB Nick Arbuckle was named Grey Cup MVP. (Rich Lam/Getty Images) Vancouver — The Toronto Argonauts won their record-extending 19th Grey Cup on Sunday, beating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 41-24, in the CFL's 111th championship game. ⛳️ SEEING DOUBLE TWINS ON TOUR Nicolai (L) and Rasmus Højgaard at St Andrews in 2022. (David Cannon/Getty Images) Identical twins are having a moment in professional golf, and none are flying higher than Danish brothers Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard, Jeff writes. PGA Tour-bound: Rasmus finished second at this weekend's DP World Tour Championship, earning him a spot on the PGA Tour alongside Nicolai, who's ranked No. 58 in the world and made $1.7 million on the Tour this season. The Højgaards aren't alone: Rasmus and Nicolai, 23, are just one of at least five sets of identical twins playing professional golf right now. Pierceson and Parker Coody, 24, whose grandfather Charles won the 1971 Masters, were both on the PGA Tour this year. Jeremy Paul, 30, earned his 2025 PGA Tour card this year on the Korn Ferry Tour, while his brother Yannik fell short of earning his via the European Tour. Akie and Chisato Iwai, 22, each have three wins on the Japan LPGA this year, and both are ranked in the world top 50. Bottom line: "Identical twins are nothing new in golf — think back to Curtis and Allan Strange — but it's no longer a novelty," writes AP's Doug Ferguson. 📺 NBA CUP WATCHLIST: CAVS GO FOR 16-0 (Jason Miller/Getty Images) The undefeated Cavaliers put their 15-game winning streak to the test tonight in Boston, where they'll face the Celtics* (7pm ET, TNT) in one of six NBA Cup group stage games. Head-to-head: The Cavaliers lead the NBA in both points per game (123.7) and offensive rating (122.1), and the Celtics rank second in each category (121.6 and 121.4). More to watch: 🏀 NCAAM: No. 6 Purdue at No. 15 Marquette (9pm, FS1) 🏒 NHL: Panthers at Jets (8pm, ESPN+) … First in the Atlantic vs. first in the Central. 🏈 NCAAF: Akron at Kent State (7pm, CBSSN); WMU at CMU (7:30pm, ESPN2); Northern Illinois at Miami-Ohio (8pm, ESPN) … Tuesday night MACtion. 🏒 Men's Hockey: No. 3 Boston College at No. 11 Providence (7pm, ESPNU) 🎾 Davis Cup: Spain vs. Netherlands (11am, Tennis) … Quarterfinals. *Rare occurrence: This is the fourth time ever — and the first time in 29 years — that the defending NBA champion will face a team on a winning streak of 15 or more games. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 21, 2024 Author Members Posted November 21, 2024 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES 🏀 Down goes Cleveland: The Celtics beat the Cavaliers, 120-117, in NBA Cup action to hand the Cavs their first loss and halt their historic 15-0 start. Only the 2015-16 Warriors (24-0) won more consecutive games to start a season. 👋 Coaching departures: The Bruins fired Jim Montgomery amid an underwhelming 8-9-3 start; Gerardo "Tata" Martino is leaving Inter Miami for personal reasons following the club's record-breaking campaign. 🏀 Tuesday triple-doubles: Russell Westbrook (12-10-14) became the first NBA player with 200 triple-doubles; Marquette's Kam Jones (17-13-10) did it all for the Golden Eagles in an upset win over No. 6 Purdue. Get to know the name. ⚾️ Managers of the Year: Cleveland's Stephen Vogt (age 40) won AL Manager of the Year just two years after retiring as a player; Milwaukee's Pat Murphy (age 65) won the NL award in his first season as an MLB skipper. 📺 Comcast spinoff: Comcast is expected to announce today that it will spin off its cable networks (MSNBC, USA, CNBC, etc) into a separate company. The NBC broadcast network and Peacock will remain with Comcast, as will Bravo. 🏀 EAST VS. WEST NBA IMBALANCE: WEST IS BEST, AGAIN (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) The NBA has two conferences. So far this century, one has been far superior to the other. Decades of dominance: Western Conference teams are 37-18 against Eastern Conference teams this season, putting the West on pace to finish with the better head-to-head record — and thus the better overall record — for the 23rd time in the past 26 seasons. Yes, you read that right: The East has had a better winning percentage than the West just three times this century: 2008-09 (.505), 2021-22 (.501) and 2022-23 (.509). During that time, Western Conference teams have also won nearly twice as many championships (16 of 25). The disparity is on full display in the current NBA standings: The East has four teams with winning records (Cavaliers, Celtics, Magic, Knicks), while the West has 11 (Warriors, Thunder, Lakers, Rockets, Nuggets, Suns, Timberwolves, Clippers, Mavericks, Grizzlies, Kings). If the NBA didn't have a salary cap and the West had more big-spenders, that might explain their consistent superiority. But there are actually more small market teams in the West, notes Sportico's Lev Akabas, and the median East and West team valuation is virtually identical. So what's behind this imbalance? I discussed some theories with two of Yahoo Sports' NBA experts, Kevin O'Connor and Tom Haberstroh. A few of my favorites… The East has had more consistently bad teams, which has hurt the conference's overall performance. The data supports this theory: Of the 10 teams with the worst record this century, eight are in the East, including the bottom three (Wizards, Hornets/Bobcats, Knicks). The West has better weather, which attracts better players. There's probably some truth to this, and the data once again backs it up: The West has produced more All-NBA players than the East every single year since 1999. The West has better decision-makers. "It's all about upstairs," says Haberstroh. "Historically, the best GMs and decision-makers have been in the West — Sam Presti in OKC, R.C. Buford in San Antonio — and while players come and go, they're a constant." Bottom line: Conference/league imbalance isn't unique to the NBA. The NFC won 13 straight Super Bowls from 1984-96; the AL has won 28 of the last 36 MLB All-Star Games. Theories can help diagnose these anomalies (i.e. the AL has had a larger concentration of power hitters, which translates well to the ASG), but there's still an element of flukiness that can't be explained. 🧠 WALLTIMORE RANDOM THOUGHT Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena can't make the catch against the large left field wall at Camden Yards, which will now be moved back in. (Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) The Orioles moved back the left-field wall at Camden Yards in 2022, creating the "Great Wall of Baltimore." Three years later, they're moving it back in and lowering the height. Which got me thinking: What if it became the norm for MLB teams to customize their ballpark dimensions each season to best fit their rosters (and best defend against their rivals)? Part of why the O's moved the wall back was to limit homers by AL East righties. Now they're moving it back, in part, because they have better pitching and more righty sluggers of their own. To be clear, I don't see this actually happening. It's just fun to imagine. Food for thought: What's one change you'd make to your favorite team's ballpark? Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 22, 2024 Author Members Posted November 22, 2024 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES ⚾️ Cy Young winners: Detroit's Tarik Skubal and Atlanta's Chris Sale secured MLB's most prestigious pitching award after drastically different journeys. It's only the third time in history that both winners were lefties (Steve Carlton and Sparky Lyle in 1977; Randy Johnson and Barry Zito in 2002). 🏀 WNBA in Cleveland? Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is leading a group that hopes to bring a WNBA expansion team to Cleveland. The 12-team league is already adding three franchises in the next two years and wants to get to 16 teams by 2028. 📺 ESPN axing "ATH": "Around the Horn" will reportedly come to an end next summer after anchoring ESPN's 5pm ET window alongside "PTI" for 23 uninterrupted years. 🏈 Hall of Fame semifinalists: Eli Manning, Antonio Gates and Adam Vinatieri headline the list of 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2025. 🏈 NFL: Steelers at Browns (8:15pm, Prime) 🏀 NCAAM: No. 13 Baylor at No. 22 St. John's (7pm, CBSSN); Syracuse at Texas (7pm, ESPN2); Virginia at No. 11 Tennessee (9pm, CBSSN) 🏈 NCAAF: NC State at Georgia Tech (7:30pm, ESPN) 🏀 NBA: Pistons at Hornets (7pm, NBA) 🎾 Davis Cup: USA vs. Australia (4am, Tennis); Italy vs. Argentina (11am, Tennis) … Quarterfinals. *The Match: The two-day tournament for $1 million features eight celebrities (Ken Griffey Jr, Charles Barkley, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Phelps, Blake Griffin, Bill Murray, Mark Wahlberg, Nate Bargatze) playing 2v2 quarterfinals tonight followed by individual semifinals and finals tomorrow. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 23, 2024 Author Members Posted November 23, 2024 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES 🏈 Top QBs commit: Five-star QBs Julian Lewis and Bryce Underwood both flipped their commitments on Thursday, with Lewis heading to Colorado (originally USC) and Underwood going to Michigan (LSU). ⚾️ Robo-umps coming soon? MLB will test the robo-umpire challenge system during spring training, which could lead to regular-season implementation by 2026. 🏒 Ovi out 4-6 weeks: Alex Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 15 goals, will miss 4-6 weeks with a fractured fibula, putting his Wayne Gretzky chase (27 goals shy of the all-time record) on hold. 🏈 Kraft denied again: Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who has made a concerted push in recent years to be enshrined in Canton, was passed over by the Hall of Fame's contributor committee. ⚽️ MLS record transfer: FC Cincinnati signed forward Kévin Denkey from Cercle Brugge (Belgium) for a $16.2 million fee, making it the largest transfer in MLS history. ⚾️ MLB AWARDS JUDGE, OHTANI NAMED UNANIMOUS MVP'S (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani were named unanimous MVPs on Wednesday, a fitting end to their epic 2024 campaigns, Jeff writes. Judge, who led MLB with 58 HR, 144 RBI and an 1.159 OPS, beat out Royals SS Bobby Witt Jr. and teammate Juan Soto for his second MVP. He joins Mickey Mantle as the only Yankees to win the award unanimously. Ohtani, whose 54 HR, 130 RBI and 1.036 OPS trailed only Judge, beat out Mets SS Francisco Lindor and D-Backs 2B Ketel Marte for his third MVP in four years. He joins Frank Robinson as the only players to win the award in both the AL and NL. Multi-time MVPs: Judge is the 34th player to win multiple MVPs and Ohtani is the 12th to win at least three, joining Barry Bonds (7x) and three-time winners Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Mike Schmidt, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio and Jimmie Foxx. The big picture: Getting to watch even one player of Judge and Ohtani's caliber is a treat, but seeing two play at this high a level simultaneously is downright historic: They're just the fourth duo to each win two MVPs in the same three-year span. Judge and Ohtani (2022-24) Bonds and Rodriguez (2003-05) Bonds and Frank Thomas (1992-94) Berra and Campanella (1953-55) Zoom out: Their dominance extends far beyond the past three seasons. Since 2018 (Ohtani's rookie year and Judge's second full season), they both rank in MLB's top five for HR, OPS and WAR. And Ohtani also has the 11th-best ERA among starters in that time. 📺 GRAND FINALE WATCHLIST: NWSL CHAMPIONSHIP (Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports) A year after missing the playoffs, the Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit will meet for the NWSL Championship on Saturday night (8pm ET, CBS) in Kansas City, Jeff writes. Historic venue: The match will be held at CPKC Stadium, home of the KC Current, which opened this spring as the first venue ever built specifically for a women's pro sports team. More to watch: 🏈 CFB Saturday: No. 5 Indiana at No. 2 Ohio State (12pm, Fox); No. 14 BYU at No. 21 Arizona State (3:30pm, ESPN); No. 19 Army at No. 6 Notre Dame (7pm, NBC) … Week 13. 🏈 NFL Sunday: Lions at Colts (1pm, Fox); 49ers at Packers (4:25pm, Fox); Cardinals at Seahawks (4:25pm, Fox); Eagles at Rams (8:20pm, NBC)… Week 12. 🏁 Formula 1: Las Vegas Grand Prix (Sun. 1am, ESPN) … Max Verstappen can clinch his fourth championship in the third-to-last race of the season. ⚽️ MLS Playoffs: Conference semifinals (Sat-Sun, Apple/FS1) … Four winner-take-all matches in New York, Orlando and Los Angeles, which hosts two. ⛳️ LPGA: Tour Championship (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/Golf) … South Korea's Narin An (-8) leads after Round One. 🏀 NBA: Warriors at Pelicans (Fri. 7:30pm, ESPN); Mavericks at Nuggets (Fri. 10pm, ESPN) … NBA Cup contests. 🏀 NCAAW: No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 3 USC (Sat. 4pm, NBC); No. 1 South Carolina* at No. 5 UCLA (Sun. 4pm, FS1) 🏀 NCAAM: No. 11 Tennessee vs. No. 13 Baylor (Fri. 9:30pm, CBSSN); No. 12 Duke at No. 17 Arizona (Fri. 10:30pm, ESPN2) ⚽️ Premier League: Manchester City vs. Tottenham (Sat. 12:30pm, NBC) … City have lost four straight games. 🎾 Davis Cup: Netherlands vs. Germany (Fri. 11am, Tennis); Australia vs. Italy (Sat. 7am, Tennis) … The winners will meet in Sunday's final. *Cruise control: The Gamecocks have won a program-record 43 consecutive games, dating back to their Final Four loss to Iowa in 2023. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 26, 2024 Author Members Posted November 26, 2024 In today's edition: Barkley runs wild (again), the death of the mid-range, more college football chaos, the "Harbaugh Bowl," top 13 plays of the weekend, and more. 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES 🎾 Novak hires Andy: Novak Djokovic has appointed his former rival, Andy Murray, to his coaching team as he prepares for the 2025 Australian Open. 🏀 Streak snapped: UCLA women's hoops took down top-ranked South Carolina, 77-62, to snap their 43-game winning streak. ⛳️ Richest season ever: Jeeno Thitikul won the $4 million first-place prize at the Tour Championship to finish the season with $6.06 million in official money, a new LPGA record. 🇮🇪 McGregor found liable: MMA fighter Connor McGregor was found liable for sexual assault in a civil case in Dublin and must pay his accuser $257,000 in damages. ⚽️ MLS Cup Playoffs: And then there were four. Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle will meet in the West Final; Orlando City and New York Red Bulls will meet in the East Final. 🏈 WEEK 12 NFL SUNDAY: BARKLEY RUNS WILD (AGAIN) (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Saquon Barkley for MVP? The Eagles running back added to his remarkable season with 255 rushing yards (ninth-most ever) in Sunday night's 37-20 win over the Rams. Back-to-back: Barkley is the first player to have 500+ scrimmage yards over a two-game span since Walter Payton in November 1977. This week: 26 carries, 255 yards, 2 TD; 4 receptions, 47 yards Last week: 26 carries, 146 yards, 2 TD; 2 receptions, 52 yards By the numbers: Barkley (1,392 yards through 11 games) is on pace to become the ninth member of the 2,000 yards club. Four of the eight current members won MVP that year (O.J. Simpson in 1973, Barry Sanders in 1997, Terrell Davis in 1998, Adrian Peterson in 2012). The Eagles cultivate such a great rushing ecosystem. We've seen multiple different backs have career-best years in Philly alongside Jalen Hurts and behind this offensive line the last three seasons. The current-era Eagles have never employed a running back like Saquon Barkley, who can take over a game and launch this ecosystem into the stratosphere. He makes the team right when the scheme is wrong. I just don't know how we're still having the same conversations about running back value when we've seen an elite back like this weaponize an already great rushing attack. He's not even the only one doing it; look at 2022-23 Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco and Derrick Henry in Baltimore. Meanwhile, in New Jersey: The Giants lost 30-7 to the Buccaneers in their first game since releasing QB Daniel Jones, the player they chose over Barkley in a brainless decision forever immortalized on "Hard Knocks." They are now 2-9 and haven't held a lead since the Mets were tied 1-1 in the NLDS… 50 days ago. All the Chiefs do is win… by a single score. (Matt Kelley/Getty Images) Around the league: Cowboys 34, Commanders 26: Dallas and Washington combined for five touchdowns in the final five minutes of this bonkers affair, which featured two missed extra points, two missed field goals, two kick return TDs, a blocked field goal and a blocked punt. Chiefs 30, Panthers 27: Kansas City eked out a win thanks to a big game from Patrick Mahomes (269 yards, 3 TD, 60 rush yards) and a walk-off field goal from rookie Spencer Shrader. Eight of the Chiefs' 10 wins have come by a single score. Vikings 30, Bears 27 (OT): Sam Darnold (330 yards, 2 TD) and a trio of players with over 100 scrimmage yards (Aaron Jones, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson) handed the Bears their fifth straight loss, also on a walk-off field goal. Titans 32, Texans 27: Entering Sunday, teams that took 8+ sacks and committed 3+ turnovers were 6-145 in the Super Bowl era. They are now 7-145 after Tennessee stunned first-place Houston on the road. More scores: Seahawks 16, Cardinals 6 | Lions 24, Colts 6 | Dolphins 34, Patriots 15 | Broncos 29, Raiders 19 | Packers 38, 49ers 10 🏀 SHOT DESERT THE DEATH OF THE MID-RANGE (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) The following is based on Tom Haberstroh's latest Yahoo Sports feature: The NBA's 'shot desert' problem is real. Could 3-point dunks save us? There is a growing grumble around the NBA that the sport is suffering — and TV ratings are tumbling — because the math says players should fire up 3s at a high rate, often at the expense of dunks and other more exciting basketball plays. What they're saying: On opening night, after the Celtics launched 61 3-pointers in a sleepy rout over the Knicks, FS1's Nick Wright, in a clip that generated millions of views on X, lamented the modern playing style and called for the league to change its rules: "The NBA is at its best when dudes are flying over people, meeting 'em at the rim. That is when it's at its best television product. A bunch of finesse guys hanging out at the 3-point line hoisting 30-footers is not good TV." How did we get here? The NBA's problem isn't just the rise of 3-pointers; it's the "sameness" that has come as a result. Everyone's shooting the same damn shots, and it all traces back to the death of the mid-range — an area of the court that was abandoned by analytically-driven basketball minds looking to squeeze every morsel of efficiency out of every possession. Then vs. now: In 1996-97, the first season of shot-location data, the Michael Jordan-led Bulls paced the NBA with 41.5 mid-range shots per game. This season, the Kings lead the league with 14.1 attempts, and most teams are in the single digits. The craziest part? It's gotten to the point where teams will go entire games without scoring from the mid-range area at all… (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) The rise of "desert games": This season, there have been 24 instances in which a team didn't score a single point in the mid-range area. For decades, we never saw one such game — even as recently as 2010-11. Then one. Then two. Then a big jump to 64 (inspired by the Moreyball Rockets, who won 65 games the year before). Then, a plateau around 80 such games. This season, we're on track for 136 (!!). There's a "desert game" almost every night now. Here's Tom… This is a radical change in strategy that has transpired right before our eyes. When Stephen Curry came into the league in 2009, we went the entire season without seeing a desert game. Curry was the transcendent shooter that lit the fire. James Harden/Moreyball fanned the flames. The Celtics poured gasoline on it. Now it's wildfire spreading across the league. Track it next time you watch an NBA game. Notice how teams rarely take the open mid-range shot, opting instead to drive into the paint and kick. Drive and kick. Drive and kick. Until an open 3 is created. Or the rim protectors cry, "Uncle." Keep reading: Could 3-point dunks save us? 📺 JOHN VS. JIM WATCHLIST: THE HARBAUGH BOWL The Harbaughs before Super Bowl XLVII. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images) The Chargers host the Ravens tonight* (8:15pm, ABC/ESPN/ESPN2) in a matchup of likely AFC playoff teams coached by brothers, Jeff writes. Family affair: John Harbaugh is 2-0 against his little brother, Jim, including a 34-31 win in Super Bowl XLVII. The third edition of the "Harbaugh Bowl" will be particularly special for the brothers: today just so happens to be their parents', Jack and Jackie's, wedding anniversary. More to watch: 🏀 NBA: Mavericks at Hawks (7:30pm, NBA); Thunder at Kings (10pm, NBA) 🏀 NCAAM: No. 2 UConn vs. Memphis (2:30pm, ESPN2); No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 5 Iowa State (9pm, ESPNU); No. 10 UNC vs. Dayton (11:30pm, ESPN2) … Maui Invitational. 🏀 NCAAW: No. 16 North Carolina vs. Indiana (12pm, ESPN2) ... Battle 4 Atlantis championship in the Bahamas. ⚽️ Premier League: Newcastle vs. West Ham (3pm, USA) *Join the discussion: The Yahoo Sports app has a new Discussions feature, where you can chat with fellow fans and interact with Yahoo experts during live games. Two of our NFL writers, Nate Tice and Charles Robinson, will be online during tonight's game. Join the party. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 27, 2024 Author Members Posted November 27, 2024 In today's edition: NBA one-month awards, pay-to-play in the NIL era, UConn falls in Maui, a new version of chess, Rivals250 for 2025 class, and more. 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES ⚾️ Kikuchi to the Angels: Veteran lefty starter Yusei Kikuchi is reportedly headed to Los Angeles on a three-year, $63 million deal. 🏎️ GM coming to F1: General Motors' bid to join the Formula 1 grid has been approved. They'll become the 11th team in 2026. 🏀 New No. 1: UCLA sits atop the AP women's basketball poll after knocking off South Carolina, which dropped to fourth. UConn remains No. 2 and Notre Dame is No. 3. ⛳️ Woods not in field: Tiger Woods' return to golf will have to wait a little longer. He won't be playing in the Hero World Challenge, his annual charitable tournament in the Bahamas. ⚽️ Naeher retires: Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, 36, retired from the USWNT on Monday. She spent 11 years with the team, winning two World Cups and one Olympic gold. 🏀 EARLY IMPRESSIONS THE NBA ONE-MONTH AWARDS (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports Illustration) We're just one month into the NBA season, but early impressions matter. Here are the current frontrunners for each awards race, according to Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor. MVP: Nikola Jokić (Nuggets) is picking up right where he left off: He's the best player in the NBA, an unstoppable scoring force who's the symphony conductor of Denver's offense and the linchpin of the team's defense. He's setting career-highs in points, assists and steals while shooting a ridiculous 52.7% from 3-point range. Runners-up: Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Anthony Davis (Lakers), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Stephen Curry (Warriors) Defensive Player: Victor Wembanyama (Spurs) has taken his defense to another level in his sophomore season. Opponents are shooting 38.8% within six feet of the rim when defended by Victor, which is an absolutely ridiculous 23.1% worse than their norm. Players often won't even test him because when they do it obviously goes poorly. Runners-up: Draymond Green (Warriors), Dyson Daniels (Hawks) Rookie: Jared McCain (76ers) looks like Steph Lite, relocating for 3s, pulling up and facilitating within the flow of the offense. He averaged 25.2 points on 63.8% true shooting while Tyrese Maxey was sidelined, and he's remained a focal point with Maxey back in the lineup. Runners-up: Dalton Knecht (Lakers), Bub Carrington (Wizards) Most Improved: Christian Braun (Nuggets) is scoring the hell out of the ball, while also playing versatile defense on the perimeter and at the rim. Denver let Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk and that opened a starting spot for Braun, who has responded by playing the best basketball of his life. Runners-up: Bilal Coulibaly (Wizards), Bennedict Mathurin (Pacers) Sixth Man: Payton Pritchard (Celtics) provides something positive to the Celtics every night — with his shooting, with his midrange fadeaways, with his paint penetration, with his gritty defense. He's the best backup point guard in the NBA, and so far, the best Sixth Man. Runners-up: Tari Eason (Rockets), Buddy Hield (Warriors) Coach: Kenny Atkinson (Cavaliers) is 17-1 in his first season at the helm, and he has Cleveland's top-four of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen looking more cohesive than they ever did under former head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Runners-up: Ty Lue (Clippers), Steve Kerr (Warriors) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 28, 2024 Author Members Posted November 28, 2024 🏈 PLAYOFF PICTURE 12 WEEKS DOWN, 6 TO GO (Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports) Two-thirds of the way through the NFL season, the AFC playoff picture is beginning to crystallize. In the NFC? Not so much, Jeff writes. AFC: The Chiefs currently hold the bye ahead of six other playoff teams who have clearly separated themselves from the pack. Realistically, just three other teams have a shot at breaking into the field. Who's in: 1. Chiefs (10-1), 2. Bills (9-2), 3. Steelers (8-3), 4. Texans (7-5), 5. Ravens (8-4), 6. Chargers (7-4), 7. Broncos (7-5) In the hunt: The Dolphins (5-6) have won three straight, the Colts (5-7) have the NFL's easiest remaining schedule and the Bengals (4-7) have the offense to put together a run. Better luck next year: Browns (3-8), Jets (3-8), Titans (3-8), Patriots (3-9), Jaguars (2-9), Raiders (2-9) NFC: Four teams are head and shoulders above the rest, led by the juggernaut Lions and red-hot Eagles. But then there's a steep drop-off to a muddled group of 10 teams with between four and seven wins, any of whom could sneak into the postseason. Who's in: 1. Lions (10-1), 2. Eagles (9-2), 3. Seahawks (6-5), 4. Falcons (6-5), 5. Vikings (9-2), 6. Packers (8-3), 7. Commanders (7-5) In the hunt: The Cardinals (6-5), Buccaneers (5-6), Rams (5-6) and 49ers (5-6) are all within a game of their division leaders, and given the Commanders' downward trend (three straight losses), even the 4-7 Saints, Bears and Cowboys can't be counted out. Better luck next year: Panthers (3-8), Giants (2-9) Best division in football: While the NFC West is the closest division (all four teams within a game), the NFC North is the most dominant: It's the first division since 2002's realignment to have three teams with 8+ wins through Week 12 (Lions, Vikings, Packers). Power rankings: Week 13 🏀 WHERE IT STANDS NBA POWER RANKINGS (Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports) The Celtics and Cavaliers headline our latest NBA power rankings, courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Ben Rohrbach. Seven of the top 10 teams play in the West. Top 5 teams: Celtics (15-3): Kristaps Porziņģis returned, the Celtics hung a 51-point quarter on the Clippers and Jaylen Brown put the NBA on notice: "We are a different team with KP … protecting the rim. When we're locked in playing defense like that, it's going to be tough for teams." Cavaliers (17-1): Overheard in an NBA locker room: "Donovan Mitchell down 10 is the most unstoppable player in the world." Thunder (13-4): Draymond Green, wonderfully dead wrong about OKC: "There's a certain fear you have to instill in teams in order to win. I just don't know if they're instilling that fear in teams with all the bromance and stuff after the game." Warriors (12-5): What you like to hear about Andrew Wiggins, whose work on the wing is back to borderline All-Star form, from Steve Kerr: "He's in a great frame of mind. The last couple of years have been very tough on him on a personal level. I think he has some peace of mind." Rockets (13-6): "Every team that's won a championship is usually a top-five ranked defense," Ime Udoka told The Ringer. "That's a non-negotiable for me." His Rockets? They rank second on that end. Full rankings: Teams 6-30 🏒 ON THE ICE NHL AT THE QUARTER-MARK (Yahoo Sports) The NHL season reached the quarter-mark over the weekend, providing a perfect time to check in on the playoff picture and take stock of the awards races, Jeff writes. Playoff picture: If the season ended today, the playoff field would have four new teams compared to last year, with the Sabres, Devils, Wild and Flames taking the place of the Islanders, Bruins, Predators and Oilers. East: Maple Leafs, Panthers, Lightning, Devils, Hurricanes, Capitals, Rangers, Sabres West: Jets, Wild, Stars, Golden Knights, Flames, Canucks, Kings, Avalanche Awards races: Here are the picks (and runners-up) for each of the five major awards, according to NHL.com. Hart Trophy (MVP): Kirill Kaprizov, Wild (Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche; Sam Reinhart, Panthers) Norris Trophy (Defense): Cale Makar, Avalanche (Quinn Hughes, Canucks; Josh Morrissey, Jets) Vezina Trophy (Goalie): Connor Hellebuyck, Jets (Filip Gustavsson, Wild; Igor Shesterkin, Rangers) Calder Trophy (Rookie): Logan Stankoven, Stars (Matvei Michkov, Flyers; Lane Hutson, Canadiens) Jack Adams Award (Coach): Scott Arniel, Jets (Spencer Carbery, Capitals; John Hynes, Wild) Let's hear it for the old guys… Alex Ovechkin, 39, became the oldest player in NHL history to lead the league in goals at any point in a season, and Sydney Crosby, 37, became the 21st player ever to score 600 goals. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 29, 2024 Author Members Posted November 29, 2024 Boise State withdraws from Mountain West volleyball tournament rather than play San Jose State LAS VEGAS (AP) — Boise State, which twice boycotted regular-season matches with San Jose State, pulled out of the Mountain West women’s volleyball tournament Wednesday night even after securing a spot in the semifinals against the Spartans. https://apnews.com/article/san-jose-state-boise-state-mountain-west-volleyball-e568628c57805bb26f1be1fdf8f1e7a7? Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted December 2, 2024 Author Members Posted December 2, 2024 Michigan, Ohio State players brawl after Wolverines beat No. 2 Buckeyes. Police use pepper spray COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A fight broke out at midfield after Michigan stunned No. 2 Ohio State 13-10 on Saturday when Wolverines players attempted to plant their flag on the OSU logo and were confronted by the Buckeyes. https://apnews.com/article/michigan-ohio-state-fight-flag-30e38adabbe26082c3669bae8c9522db? Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted December 3, 2024 Author Members Posted December 3, 2024 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES 💔 Football death: Alabama A&M linebacker Medrick Burnett tragically died on Friday, five weeks after he was injured in a head-to-head collision during a game, which caused brain bleeds and swelling. He was 20 years old. 🎾 Another positive test: Three months after men's No. 1 Jannik Sinner tested positive for a banned substance (clostebol), women's No. 2 Iga Świątek tested positive for a different banned substance (trimetazidine) and received a one-month ban. 🏈 Luck's new gig: Andrew Luck is returning to his alma mater to become the general manager of the Stanford football program, where he'll be involved in everything from recruiting and roster management to fundraising and alumni relations. ⚾️ MLB moves: The Mets have agreed to a two-year, $34 million deal with RHP Frankie Montas; the Dodgers signed NLCS MVP Tommy Edman to a five-year, $74 million extension. ⚽️ USA 0, England 0: The world's two best women's soccer teams played to a scoreless draw on Saturday in London. The match drew 78,346 fans, a record crowd for a women's international friendly. 🏈 SUNDAY FUNDAY NFL WEEK 13: BY THE NUMBERS (Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) The NFL's Thanksgiving Weekend slate was not for the faint of heart: 12 of the 15 games played between Thursday and Sunday were decided by one score, including six decided by three points or fewer. Let's recap the action. $20 per hour The Bills offered fans $20 per hour (plus food and hot beverages) to help shovel 2 feet of snow out of Highmark Stadium ahead of Sunday night's game. Bills Mafia answered the call, "working through the night" to ready the field, and their team thanked them with a resounding 35-10 win over the 49ers, who may have lost Christian McCaffrey for the season. MVP favorite Josh Allen threw, ran for and caught a TD on a magical night in Buffalo. 21 straight seasons With Sunday's 44-38 win over the Bengals, the Steelers improved to 9-3 and clinched their 21st consecutive season with a .500 record or better, tying the Cowboys (1965-85) for the longest such streak in NFL history. Mike Tomlin has been the head coach for 18 of those seasons. +54 Since 2000, there have been 23 teams with 11+ wins through Week 13. The 2024 Chiefs have by far the worst point differential (+54). They barely beat the lowly Raiders on Friday and have won their last three games by a combined seven points; but alas, the two-time defending champs are 11-1 and the only team that's already clinched a playoff spot. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images) 19 plays The Colts kept their playoff hopes alive with a 19-play, 80-yard drive in the final minutes of their 25-24 victory over the Patriots. The game-winning march down the field included three fourth down conversions, and a gutsy decision by head coach Shane Steichen to go for two and the win. 41.3 million Cowboys-Giants on Thanksgiving averaged 38.5 million viewers on Fox, making it the most-watched NFL game this season. Viewership peaked at 41.3 million around 6pm ET, which means roughly 12% of America spent priceless time with family — time they'll never get back — watching Drew Lock vs. Cooper Rush. What a country. 14-32 The Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus on Friday — the first time they've ever made an in-season coaching change — following a third consecutive mishandled last-minute loss.* Eberflus went 14-32 (.304) in Chicago, good for the third-worst winning percentage in franchise history. OC Thomas Brown will take over on an interim basis. More NFL: Winners and losers | Fantasy notes *Wild stat: 221 NFL head coaches have had at least 20 games decided by 7 points or fewer. Eberflus' .227 winning percentage in those games (5-17) ranks dead last. ⚽️ LAST TWO STANDING MLS CUP FINAL: GALAXY VS. RED BULLS (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) The MLS Cup Final is set, and like the World Series it will be a battle between New York (technically New Jersey) and Los Angeles after the Galaxy (1-0 over Seattle) and Red Bulls (1-0 over Orlando) won on Saturday, Jeff writes. The matchup: For the first time since 2014, the title game features two founding MLS clubs. The Galaxy and Red Bulls (then the NY/NJ MetroStars) both competed in the inaugural 1996 season, and they'll meet on Saturday in Los Angeles to conclude the league's 29th campaign. LA's five championships and nine title game appearances are both the most in MLS history, though this is their first time back in the final since 2014. New York has reached the MLS Cup Final only once, and they're one of just three active founding members without a championship (New England, Dallas). How they got here: The Galaxy won 19 games to earn the 2-seed, while the Red Bulls snuck in as the 7-seed with more draws (14) than wins (11). They then proceeded to beat more teams in the postseason than they did in four-plus months, highlighting the randomness of these MLS playoffs. Injury report: Galaxy star midfielder Riqui Puig will miss the MLS Cup Final after tearing his ACL during Saturday's Western Conference final. The Barcelona product continued to play for over 30 minutes despite the injury, and provided the game-winning assist. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted December 3, 2024 Author Members Posted December 3, 2024 Analysis: Protecting QBs from violent late hits like the one that leveled Trevor Lawrence isn’t easy No one wants to see any player take a vicious hit like the one that knocked Trevor Lawrence out of the game. https://apnews.com/article/lawrence-alshaair-johnston-strahan-ryans-2f04ae1f324721633e425913d6914cd6? Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted December 4, 2024 Author Members Posted December 4, 2024 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES 💔 Tragedy in Guinea: 56 people were killed in a stampede on Sunday at a soccer stadium in Nzerekore, Guinea, after a disputed red card during the final of a local tournament led to a clash between fans. 🏀 AP polls: The UConn men plummeted 23 spots to No. 25 after losing three straight games to unranked opponents and Auburn moved up to No. 2; the TCU women climbed to No. 9 for their first top-10 ranking ever and Notre Dame fell seven spots to No. 10. 🏈 McCaffrey to IR: Just four weeks after returning to the field, Christian McCaffrey will be placed on injured reserve (PCL) and could miss the rest of the season. To make matters worse for the 49ers, his backup Jordan Mason is also going on IR (ankle). 🏀 Schedule released: The WNBA released the schedule for the 2025 season, which tips off on May 16 and features a record 44 games per team (up from 40 the last two seasons). 🏁 Red Bull seeks new driver: Red Bull Racing plans to part ways with Sergio Pérez after Sunday's season finale. Pérez has been Max Verstappen's teammate for all four of his F1 titles, but he's struggled this year with just four podiums and no wins. 🏀 0-14 NO WIN NOVEMBER Kyle Kuzma during one of Washington's 14 losses in November. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images) There have been 16 winless months in NBA history. The Wizards have two of them since February, Jeff writes. Déjà vu: Washington went 0-14 in November to fall to 2-16 overall, putting them on pace to match the 1972-73 Sixers for the worst record in NBA history (9-73). They also went 0-12 last February as part of a 16-game losing streak and 15-67 season, both franchise worsts. By the numbers: The Wizards aren't just losing; they're getting blown out. 15 of their 16 losses have come by double digits, including seven by at least 20 points. And their -14.1 net rating (point differential per 100 possessions) is on pace to be the third-worst mark ever recorded. Washington's historic futility is no great mystery: they have the NBA's most poorly constructed roster, led by two overpaid veterans in Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole. That duo is making $53 million this year to shoot 43% from the field while recording nearly as many turnovers (5.8 per game) as assists (6.8). Waving the white Flagg: There is, of course, a reward for all this losing. Next year's draft class is loaded, and the Wizards are tanking their way towards potentially landing a generational talent like Cooper Flagg (Duke) or Ace Bailey (Rutgers) to join their young core of Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly and Kyshawn George — all first-round picks under 21 years old. Yes, but: Tanking comes at a cost, and there is some fear that losing this much this badly could have a lasting impact on such a young team (average age: 25.46). "To run into this much adversity early stings," four-year vet Corey Kispert told The Athletic ($). "It's testing the culture." Looking ahead: Things don't get easier for the Wizards anytime soon, beginning with tonight's NBA Cup road game against the first-place Cavaliers. And with the next two coming against the Mavericks (13-8) and Nuggets (10-8), a franchise-worst 17-game losing streak may be inevitable. 🏈 WEEK 13 WHEW, THAT WAS FUN! (Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports) The NFL played 16 games this week. 12 of them were decided by one score, tied for the most ever in a single week. It looked like we were headed for a record 13 on "Monday Night Football"… before Jameis Winston threw a pick in the end zone. Flashback… The last time there were this many close games was Week 15 in 2022, which was arguably the wildest week in NFL history. Not only were 12 games decided by one score, but all 16 games were decided by 12 points or fewer. There were also three comebacks of at least 17 points (most ever in one week), and the Vikings' 33-point comeback was the largest ever. 📺 NBA CUP WATCHLIST: WHO WILL ADVANCE? (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) The NBA Cup's group stage concludes today with 11 games, including a doubleheader on TNT: Magic at Knicks (7:30pm ET) and Warriors at Nuggets (10pm). Where it stands: The Rockets, Warriors and Hawks have clinched spots in the eight-team knockout round, and 14 teams have been eliminated, leaving 13 teams competing for the final five spots.* West: Eight teams are fighting for two spots, and six of them play each other: Grizzlies at Mavericks (8:30pm), Spurs at Suns (9pm) and Trail Blazers at Clippers (10:30pm). The others are the Nuggets (vs. Warriors) and Thunder (not playing). East: Five teams are fighting for three spots, and four of them play each other: Bucks at Pistons (7pm) and Magic at Knicks. The fifth team is the Celtics (not playing). More to watch: 🏀 NCAAM: Syracuse at No. 3 Tennessee (7:30pm, ESPN); Michigan at No. 11 Wisconsin (9pm, Peacock); No. 4 Kentucky at Clemson (9:30pm, ESPN) ⚽️ Friendly: Netherlands vs. USWNT (2:45pm, TNT) … In The Hague, Netherlands. *Tiebreaker rules: Any ties will be broken first by head-to-head record in group play, then by point differential in group play, then by total points scored in group play, and finally by regular-season record. ⚾️ COMING SOON JAPANESE SLUGGER EYES MLB MOVE Murakami during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. (Eric Espada/Getty Images) Shohei Ohtani is MLB's biggest star, Rōki Sasaki is MLB's most sought-after free agent not named Juan Soto, and now another Japanese phenom has his sights set on America. Coming soon: Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami announced Monday that 2025 will be his final season in Nippon Professional Baseball, after which he'll look to sign with an MLB team. Who is this guy? The 24-year-old lefty has already compiled quite the résumé, recording 224 HR, 600 RBI and a .945 OPS through seven seasons (836 games) with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. He's the youngest player in NPB or MLB history to reach 200 home runs, and his 56 dingers in 2022 broke Sadaharu Oh's longstanding record for a Japanese-born player. 💣 Watch: Dude's got some serious power… Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted December 5, 2024 Author Members Posted December 5, 2024 🚨 ICYMI heADLINES ⚾️ Soto decision imminent? Juan Soto reportedly has offers of $600+ million from every team still in contention to sign him and could make his decision this week. 🏈 Al-Shaair suspended: The NFL suspended Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair three games for the hit that concussed Trevor Lawrence on Sunday. He's appealing the suspension. ⚽️ USA 2, Netherlands 1: The USWNT won their final match of the year on a cold and rainy night in the Dutch capital to end their triumphant, resurgent 2024 campaign on a 20-match unbeaten streak. ⚾️ Sox sign Chapman: Veteran reliever Aroldis Chapman is signing a one-year, $10.75 million deal with the Red Sox. Chapman's 335 saves are third-most among active pitchers. ⚽️ Call to the Hall: USWNT great Carli Lloyd was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility, headlining the five-member class of 2025. 🏈 12-TEAM PLAYOFF CFP RANKINGS: ALABAMA HAS INSIDE TRACK What the 12-team playoff would look like based on Tuesday's rankings. (Yahoo Sports) Alabama jumped Miami in the penultimate CFP rankings, giving the three-loss Tide the inside track to a playoff berth. "What it really came down to is Alabama is 3-1 against top 25 teams, Miami is 0-1. Alabama is 6-1 against teams over .500. Miami is 4-2." — Warde Manuel, CFP committee chair Here's how I see it: If SMU beats Clemson in the ACC championship game, Alabama is in the playoff. If Clemson wins, then the committee will have to decide between giving the final at-large spot to SMU or Alabama. It would seem a bit unfair to punish the Mustangs for losing a conference title game when Alabama didn't even make it there, but I'm not the one making the call. Manuel on whether SMU could drop below Alabama with a loss on Saturday: "Potentially, yes." The Zombie Tide: Alabama's own fans buried them two weeks ago. Turns out, they were only mostly dead, writes Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel. The man is known as "Legend" for a reason — his legendary rants about Alabama football on "The Paul Finebaum Show." Just two Mondays ago, he was calling for the firing of coach Kalen DeBoer following an ugly 24-3 loss at Oklahoma by telling the story of an aunt who had been married "about eight" times. Her explanation for having many husbands? "You can't fix stupid," Legend said. "But you can divorce it." Legend was just getting started. "Man, I've never been so embarrassed in all my life," he continued, lamenting that Bama hadn't just lost three times this season, but that it was, in his opinion, out of the playoff chase. Well, Legend, and the rest of the Alabama fans (and haters) who understandably buried the Tide after that disaster in Norman … not so fast. It isn't completely over yet. In fact, it's looking pretty good. ⚾️ RULE CHANGE THE GOLDEN AT-BAT: MLB'S NEWEST EXPERIMENT? Shohei Ohtani in the on-deck circle during the 2024 World Series. (Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) Imagine if your favorite MLB team could choose one at-bat each game to send any hitter they want to the plate. It's a concept called the Golden At-Bat, and it could become a reality, Jeff writes. Wait, what? Commissioner Rob Manfred said on a recent podcast that the Golden At-Bat was discussed at MLB owners meetings this fall. It's "in the conversation-only stage right now," but the league reportedly wants to test it in the minors, per The Athletic ($). The exact mechanics haven't been determined (again, "conversation-only stage"), but you'd likely see it used in later innings when a team needs a run and has a poor hitter due up. For example, say the Dodgers are down one with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the batter is supposed to be Austin Barnes (a career .223 hitter). They could send up Shohei Ohtani instead. Could this actually happen? Never say never, but it's hard to imagine a league and sport so steeped in tradition making a change this drastic. It feels more like a rule you'd make up at recess. "My instinct is that it's not baseball," MLB insider Ken Rosenthal said Tuesday. Bottom line: While the Golden At-Bat seems unlikely to find its way to the majors, the fact that they're even talking about it shows how experimental and open to change MLB has become under Manfred. The pitch clock and ghost runners are here, robo-umps are coming; who knows what could be next. 🏈 WHERE'S THE DEFENSE? THE BENGALS STINK. DON'T BLAME THEIR QB (Gregory Hodge/Yahoo Sports) Joe Burrow has played like an MVP this season, leading the NFL in passing yards (3,337) and passing TDs (30) while completing 67.7% of his passes and throwing just 5 INTs. And yet: The Bengals are 4-8. What gives? Usually, a superstar QB putting up MVP-like numbers is a sign of a winning team. But so far this year, Burrow's stellar play hasn't translated to victories, thanks in large part to the Bengals' horrendous defense. Sunday's 44-38 loss to the Steelers was the sixth loss where they allowed 25+ points, the fourth with 33+ points allowed, and the second with 38+ points allowed. All of those are the most in NFL history, per CBS Sports. Cincinnati's 27.8 points per game allowed in losses this season is also the most all time. Consider this: Burrow is the seventh QB in NFL history with 30+ passing TDs and 5 or fewer INTs through 12 games. Here are their records… Burrow (2024): 4-8 Mahomes (2020): 11-1 Rodgers (2020): 9-3 Brees (2018): 10-2 Rodgers (2014): 9-3 Rodgers (2011): 12-0 Brady (2007): 12-0 Another jaw-dropping stat: Tom Brady had four losses in his career (333 starts) when his team scored 33+ points. Burrow has four such losses this season: Commanders 38, Bengals 33; Ravens 41, Bengals 38 (OT); Ravens 35, Bengals 34; Steelers 44, Bengals 38. 📺 STACKED SLATE WATCHLIST: HOOPS HEAVEN Auburn moved up to No. 2 in the AP poll after winning the Maui Invitational. (Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Men's college hoops takes center stage tonight, with four games between ranked teams including two top-10 clashes, Jeff writes. No. 15 Baylor at No. 25 UConn (6:30pm ET, FS1) No. 10 Alabama at No. 20 North Carolina (7:15pm, ESPN) No. 5 Marquette at No. 6 Iowa State (8pm, ESPN+) No. 2 Auburn at No. 9 Duke (9:15pm, ESPN) More to watch: 🏀 NBA: Lakers at Heat (7:30pm, NBA); Timberwolves at Clippers (10:30pm, NBA) 🏒 NHL: Bruins at Blackhawks (7:30pm, TNT); Stars at Kings (10pm, TNT) 🏀 NCAAW: No. 11 Oklahoma at No. 22 Louisville (5pm, ESPN2) ⚽️ Premier League: Man City vs. Nottingham Forest (2:30pm, Peacock); Newcastle vs. Liverpool* (2:30pm, Peacock); Arsenal vs. Man United (3:15pm, Peacock) *Historic start: The Reds (11-1-1) are just the third team in Premier League history to hold a nine-point lead atop the table after 13 matches, joining 1993-94 Manchester United and 2005-06 Chelsea, both of whom went on to win the title. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
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