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With one cool, masterful turn, Alessia Russo announced herself as England's not-so-secret weapon at these Euros on Friday night. Russo, 23, has proven herself a super-substitute over three matches for England, and a reliable goal-scorer who does not seem to be feeling the pressure of her first major tournament - and a home one at that. Instead, she is thriving. Russo had not yet been on the pitch for eight minutes in Friday's final group match against Northern Ireland, and already she had two go
Houston second baseman Jose Altuve, San Francisco Giants pitcher Carlos Rodon and St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado won’t be playing in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. Altuve, an eight-time All-Star who was selected as a starter in fan voting, was struck on the left knee leading off Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels. MLB announced Saturday that Altuve is being replaced in the starting lineup by Cleveland’s Andrés Giménez, who is making his first appearance.
Rookie shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. had two hits, including a home run, and Nate Eaton homered in his major-league debut.
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2022-07-16T18:58:32Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Colin Cowherd adjusts 16-win prediction for Vikings in 2022
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https://sports.yahoo.com/colin-cowherd-adjusts-16-win-173256369.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/colin-cowherd-adjusts-16-win-173256369.html?src=rss
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Most Important Bears of 2022: No. 11 Alan Williams
Coming up at No. 11 is new defensive coordinator Alan Williams, the first coach to be listed in the series who is tasked with turning the Bears defense into an elite unit once again.
Position: Defensive coordinator
Experience: 22nd season as coach
For the last four years, Williams served as the defensive backs coach with the Indianapolis Colts, working closely with then-defensive coordinator and current Bears head coach Matt Eberflus. The Colts defense wasn’t terribly impressive stats wise, finishing in the middle of the pack in various categories such as yards per game (16), and passing yards per game (19). But they took the ball away with ease, finishing second in the league in takeaways with 33. They were also tied for first in forced fumbles with 14.
As the defensive backs coach, Williams helped develop young players like Kenny Moore and Rock Ya-Sin, two players who have become key contributors for the Colts, as well as revitalize Xavier Rhodes’ career after he fell out of favor with the Minnesota Vikings.
When it came to the Colts defense as a whole, the unit had an up-and-down season. There were good weeks, like when they essentially shut down high-powered offenses such as the San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, and Buffalo Bills. They would then struggle against teams like the New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and even the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars, who knocked them out of the playoff picture in week 18. It was a frustrating season for the Colts, but it was good enough for Eberflus and Williams to get hired in Chicago.
Coming to Chicago with Eberflus, Williams gets his first shot as a defensive coordinator since his time with the Minnesota Vikings 10 years ago. The 52-year old coach held the same position with the Bears’ division rival from 2012-2013 under former head coach Leslie Frazier with mixed results. Now, after a decade as an assistant, he’s continuing as Eberflus’ right-hand man to help the Bears transition to a 4-3 defense for the first time since 2014 and put an emphasis back on creating turnovers.
Williams has a background in the Tampa-2 defense with Tony Dungy and, like Eberflus, will likely run a similar style with the Bears. It will be reminiscent of the Lovie Smith days and like those defenses, Williams has talented individuals at every level who can be the foundation. Players like Roquan Smith, Jaylon Johnson, Trevis Gipson, Kyler Gordon, and Jaquan Brisker are all potential building blocks that Williams will work with to hopefully give the Bears another elite defense that excels at taking away the football.
Big question: Can Williams be an effective defensive playcaller?
Williams is an accomplished defensive assistant, but in his 22 seasons as a professional coach, he’s been a defensive coordinator for just two of them. During those seasons, his defenses went from average in 2012, to awful in 2013 with players questioning the playcalling and Frazier getting involved with those duties when the Vikings season was sinking like a ship.
Now 10 years later, Williams is much more experienced and should be able to better navigate tough waters. He and Eberflus have spent the last four seasons working side by side and the trust is clearly there given the desire for the two men to work together again in a new city. There’s a bit of an unknown but Williams will get every chance to show he’s a capable play caller. If he’s not, Eberflus may wind up having to step in to take over and that’s not what you want to see from a first-year head coach with bigger fish to fry.
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2022-07-16T18:58:45Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Most Important Bears of 2022: No. 11 Alan Williams
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https://sports.yahoo.com/most-important-bears-2022-no-131552707.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/most-important-bears-2022-no-131552707.html?src=rss
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The NFL (National Football League) is a professional American football league and the most popular of its kind in the world. The sport attracts a huge amount of betting action from all over the globe.
Most online sports betting sites offer a wide range of NFL betting options, from straight-up moneyline bets to more complex props and futures wagers. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the most popular NFL bet types available and how they work.
Sportsbook Betting Options
Moneyline Bet
A moneyline bet simply requires you to pick the winner of a game. The NFL betting odds will be expressed as either a positive or negative number. The positive number will indicate how much profit you would make on a $100 bet, while a negative value shows how much you would need to bet to win $100.
For instance, the New England Patriots are playing the Miami Dolphins, and the Patriots are listed at -200 on the moneyline. It means you would need to bet $200 on the Patriots to win $100. If they win the game, you win your bet and get your original $200 back plus your $100 in winnings. If they lose, you lose your entire $200 bet.
Point Spread Bet
A point spread bet is a little more complicated than a moneyline bet, but it’s still a fairly straightforward wager. In a point spread bet, you’re essentially betting on whether a team will win or lose by a certain margin.
If the Patriots were theoretically playing the Dolphins again, and the point spread was set at Patriots -7 for that game, the Patriots are 7-point favorites to win the game. In order for you to win your bet, the Patriots must win by more than 7 points. If they win the game by exactly 7 points, it’s a push, and your bet is returned.
Over/Under Bet
An over/under bet, also sometimes called a total, is a bet on whether the combined score of both teams in an NFL game will be above or below a certain number.
Let’s say the over/under for the Patriots-Dolphins game is set at 45. You can bet that the combined score of both teams will be over or under 45 points. If the final score is 42-21 in favor of the Patriots, the combined score would be 63, and the “over” would win. If the final score is 24-20 in favor of the Patriots, the combined score would be 44, and the “under” would win.
Prop Bet
A prop bet is a wager on something that’s not directly related to the outcome of an NFL game. For example, you might bet on whether Tom Brady will throw for more or less than 300 yards in a game or a specific player will score the first touchdown.
Futures Bet
As you may have guessed, a future bet is a wager on something that will happen at some point in the future, such as which team will win the Super Bowl or how many wins a team will have in the regular season.
NFL betting can be a lot of fun, and there’s a wide range of options available. But remember that all bets come with risk, and you should always bet within your means. If you’re looking to get started with NFL betting, make sure to check out approved sports betting sites.
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2022-07-16T18:58:51Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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NFL Betting Options on Online Sports Betting Sites
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https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-betting-options-online-sports-141015527.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-betting-options-online-sports-141015527.html?src=rss
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No team has spent more money on the defensive side of the football than the Pittsburgh Steelers. The disparity between how much of the salary cap has been allocated for defense as opposed to offense is the widest of any team in the league.
But one guy on offense the Steelers could spend some money on before the start of the regular season is wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Johnson is coming off of his first 100+ reception season and wants to be paid as he enters the final season of his rookie deal.
The market for free-agent wide receivers is very high right now and I’m sure Johnson is seeing that and wants to cash in. Having said that it’s not at all the Steelers style to overpay for a player but I’m sure the front office still wants to get his signed.
Cast your vote and tell us if you think the team will get Johnson signed to a new contract before the start of the season.
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2022-07-16T18:59:10Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Will Steelers WR Diontae Johnson get a new contract this offseason?
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https://sports.yahoo.com/steelers-wr-diontae-johnson-contract-163627574.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/steelers-wr-diontae-johnson-contract-163627574.html?src=rss
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Watson Cup returns with SC team winning unique event’s second chapter
The event was played in Scotland, and the South Carolinians faced the usual challenges of links golf.
West Virginia already has a pair of linebackers in the fold in the 2023 class but is looking to add at least one more.
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2022-07-16T19:26:38Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Open: The radio call of Rory McIlroy’s hole-out eagle from the bunker to take the lead is absolutely electric
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https://sports.yahoo.com/open-radio-call-rory-mcilroy-181525471.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/open-radio-call-rory-mcilroy-181525471.html?src=rss
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Now seven months into his first Power Five school tenure, the new skipper has a laundry list of questions to answer and he faces his first media gauntlet this week at the SEC media days events. While there are plenty of inquiries on the slate of a finer granular nature, the larger issue is if the former Ragin’ Cajun is up to the overall task in the nation’s toughest conference.
CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee recently assembled his expectations for the annual media event, focusing on the transition of both leaders and their philosophies. What he offered on the Gators should come as no surprise.
The two new coaches (referring also to LSU‘s Brian Kelly) in the SEC couldn’t be more different when it comes to coaching experience, but they are with programs that have top-level potential.
Despite the issues the previous administration had on the recruiting front, Napier still benefits from a healthy remaining roster that features enough top talent to get him through the transition period. Of course, the SEC is where the men are truly separated from the boys so it has yet to be seen if the new head coach has the mettle for the nation’s gridiron gauntlet, but all indicators so far agree that he is cut out for the job.
FC Barcelona’s two-week summer U.S. tour kicks off with a sold-out friendly game against Inter Miami on Tuesday night at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
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2022-07-16T20:03:26Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Here’s what CBS Sports expects from Florida at SEC media days
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https://sports.yahoo.com/cbs-sports-expects-florida-sec-190345126.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/cbs-sports-expects-florida-sec-190345126.html?src=rss
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Seven years, eleven months, six days. That's how long it's been since Rory McIlroy won a major, since he walked off the 18th at August 10, 2014 as the winner of the PGA Championship. Back then, he was 25 years old, and the future appeared wide open and golden.
Now, he's 33, and while his stature in the game remains unquestioned and unchallenged, the major drought has reached drastic proportions. He's become a master of the backdoor top 10, playing well after the tournament's been decided — he's averaged nearly two top 10s per year since that 2014 victory — but now, at last, he's in position once again to capture that elusive fifth major.
The leaders didn't tee off until almost 4 p.m. local time, and in the hours before, the players further down the leaderboard enjoyed an uncommonly easy St. Andrews. Kevin Kisner carded the round of the day, a seven-under 65, and numerous other players played well under par to get within sight of the leaders.
Cam Smith, the 36-hole leader, didn't have quite the same putting stroke on Saturday as he'd exhibited during the week, and went from a two-stroke lead to a four-stroke deficit. His playing partner, Cameron Young, also struggled, finishing a -1 round to end at -12 on a day when standing still was like going backward.
McIlroy, meanwhile, seems fully in the moment, focused and connected in a way he hasn't in the past, well, eight year. In the last two major Saturdays, McIlroy shot 74 in the PGA Championship (worst round of the week, by three strokes) and 73 in the U.S. Open (worst by four strokes).
"He's one of the most likable guys on Tour by a country mile, so I think most players would be more than happy for him to win," said reigning U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who finished the day at -9. "Same with Viktor. He's a great kid too."
"They're chanting his name out there. I think he's definitely a crowd favorite," Scheffler said. "How can you not root for Rory?"
Shane Lowry with BACK-TO-BACK EAGLES 🦅🤯
(via @PGATOUR)pic.twitter.com/oAEp8HdV6F
"I'm so disappointed to be honest because I worked so hard, and I work so hard to get myself in those positions, and I'm as disappointed as I've been in a long time," Lowry said afterward. "(If) I shoot 1-under for the last seven holes (then) I'm very bullish about my chances going into (Sunday). Now I have no chance. It's just very disappointing."
Shane Lowry: “Most improved!”
Justin Thomas: “Shut the F—- up”
Justin Thomas topped his shot on 18 on yesterday 😂
(via @NoLayingUp) pic.twitter.com/5qX3pV5511
Rain is expected to roll in overnight, which could change how the leaders attack the course on Sunday. But with many of the game's best in position to claim the Claret Jug, Sunday is shaping up to be an exceptional way to close out the men's major season, and a perfect way to wrap up the 150th Open Championship.
2022 British Open: The fans’ rooting interest, the ever-lurking Road Hole among five things to consider heading into Sunday
Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland will tee off Sunday four clear of the field.
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2022-07-16T20:58:12Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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2022 British Open: Rory McIlroy in position to claim fifth major
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https://sports.yahoo.com/2022-british-open-rory-mc-ilroy-in-position-to-claim-fifth-major-193317856.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/2022-british-open-rory-mc-ilroy-in-position-to-claim-fifth-major-193317856.html?src=rss
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Iguodala, Lacob relish in Warriors' exciting future with young core originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Not only did rising starts Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody each play important roles in Golden State's championship run, but they make up -- along with third-year center James Wiseman -- an exciting, young core that eventually will take the reigns from the iconic trio of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green when they eventually retire.
Warriors owner Joe Lacob joined Andre Iguodala and co-host Evan Turner on the latest episode of the "Point Forward" podcast, where they discussed the potential each of the young stars could have with the Warriors.
"We've got Poole who had an amazing year," Iguodala said. "I looked at his stats, I didn't realize he averaged 18 points this year, that's a lot of points in the NBA as the fourth option, the fifth option ... I told him the first day I saw him, 'Listen, man, I was afraid of you coming at me 1-on-1, I don't think you know how good you are. You're that good.' For him to come to the NBA and work his way to where he is...
"Obviously, Kuminga has all the talent in the world, we know if he can just line up everything the way he should ... Kuminga's next to me, Draymond [Green], myself and [Kevon] Looney we're on him constantly. But the sleeper is Moses Moody and Moses is 19 years old but he thinks like he's 26," Iguodala added. "We forget him sometimes and it's like 'oh, he's fine,' but he's so mature that you tend to forget about him. But this kid can fill it up, I think he's going to have an amazing summer league. The NBA how it is, they'll forget about you when you're hurt and Wiseman, he's probably got the highest ceiling, but with big men, you've gotta give them a chance.
"It is a very ballsy strategy, I will agree with you," Lacob said. "Look, I didn't get here by cowering and not going for the jugular.
"You have to take some risk, you can't just do what everyone else is doing. Everyone wanted us at the beginning of the year, I know, to trade all these young players and these draft choices and to go get one more guy, one more established, over 30-kind of star ... I know what we did was risky, but I believed and Bob Myers believed, that if we were going to win this year, how far we were going to go was going to be determined by how good Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green (were)."
"But I really wanted to make sure we kept these young players because I am a great believer in James Wiseman," Lacob added. "And I know a lot of people when they're not in front of him, they forget how good this guy is. He's incredibly talented, I'm not trading him away, let's make sure to give him a shot. It takes a lot longer with a big guy. That's number one. Our two lottery picks, Kuminga and Moody, I think they are incredibly talented. And Jordan Poole's already shown what he can do."
RELATED: Why Steph is a 'mini-LeBron' in Scottie Pippen's mind
It certainly was a "ballsy" move to hang on to their young prospects, but it's paying off big time for Golden State.
Katherine Schwarzenegger Celebrates Her & Chris Pratt's Daughters In Sweet Post: '2 Under 2 Vibes'
Katherine Schwarzenegger loves being a mama! The 32-year-old took to Instagram on Friday to share an adorable snap with her and Chris Pratt's two daughters, 1-year-old Lyla and newborn Eloise. In the pic, she holds Lyla on her hip and has little Eloise in a pouch on her front. "2 under 2 vibes," the caption reads in part.
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2022-07-16T20:58:18Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Andre Iguodala, Joe Lacob relish in Warriors' exciting future with young core
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https://sports.yahoo.com/andre-iguodala-joe-lacob-relish-223133284.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/andre-iguodala-joe-lacob-relish-223133284.html?src=rss
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Report: Red Sox among teams to check in on Reds' Luis Castillo originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Cincinnati Reds ace Luis Castillo is one of the top players who could be moved before the Aug. 2 MLB trade deadline.
The Reds have the third-worst record in baseball at 34-56 and they are still in the early stages of their rebuild. Castillo is 29 years old and has one more year of arbitration before he can become an unrestricted free agent.
It makes sense for the Reds to sell high and get the largest return possible for him.
Castillo didn't make his season debut until May, but he's been fantastic for Cincinnati, evidenced by his 2.77 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 82 strikeouts in 78 innings over 13 starts. He's posted a 1.00 ERA over this last four starts and will represent the Reds on the National League's All-Star roster for the second time next week.
He put on a show at Yankee Stadium earlier this week by allowing just two hits and one earned run over seven innings against the New York Yankees.
According to former general manager Jim Bowden, the Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox are among the teams that have "checked in" on Castillo with a few weeks to go before the trade deadline arrives.
Castillo has the ability to significantly upgrade any contender's rotation. He's that talented.
The Red Sox rotation could certainly use a boost. Boston enters Saturday ranked eighth in the AL in starters' ERA, seventh in starters' batting average against and ninth in innings pitched. The Red Sox also need help in the bullpen, and if Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi can stay healthy over the second half of the season, acquiring a reliever probably makes the most sense for Boston.
But the idea of Castillo pitching at Fenway Park is an exciting one for Red Sox fans to think about.
Wondering where 'Where the Crawdads Sing' was filmed? The story is set in North Carolina, but the filming locations of the movie may surprise you.
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2022-07-16T20:58:43Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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MLB trade rumors: Red Sox among teams to check in on Reds' Luis Castillo
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https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb-trade-rumors-red-sox-162503553.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb-trade-rumors-red-sox-162503553.html?src=rss
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Wild stats show rarity of Giants' historic comeback vs. Brewers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The Giants were on the verge of dropping the first two games of their series against the Milwaukee Brewers, then the bats exploded in the bottom of the ninth inning against closer Josh Hader for a dramatic ending.
Joey Bart and Darin Ruf hit solo shots to get the Giants within one run. Then, Hader got into more trouble by loading the bases, leading to Mike Yastrzemski sending everyone at Oracle Park home happy by hitting a walk-off grand slam -- and making history in the process.
Stats Perform shared an interesting statistic highlighting how wild the bottom of the ninth inning was for the Giants. San Francisco became the first team in MLB history to hit three home runs in an inning that included a walk-off grand slam.
Furthermore, KNBR's Danny Emerman stated that he showed the win probability graphic for the Giants heading into their final three outs to Yastrzemski, who referenced it to a stock market crash.
"That's wild," Yastrzemski said. "Looks like the stock market right now."
RELATED: Gabe Kapler: Joey Bart taking 'steps forward' since return to Giants lineup
Yastrzemski also etched his name into Giants history, becoming only the sixth player in the franchise's history to hit a walk-off grand slam. The 31-year-old joins Bobby Bonds, Jack Hiatt, Leon Wagner, Bobby Thomson and Billy Southworth.
Bonds was the last player to accomplish this feat for the Giants when he hit his in 1973, so nearly four decades have passed before Yastrzemski's on Friday night.
Also, ESPN Stats & Info pointed out that every other MLB team has hit a walk-off grand slam in the last 15 seasons, illustrating how long it had been since San Francisco hit one of their own.
San Francisco will hope to see this dramatic and history-making win catapult them to a good finish heading into the All-Star break as they look to make a playoff push in the second half.
Mike Yastrzemski capped off the Giants' rally with a walk-off grand slam in the 8-5 win over the Brewers
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2022-07-16T20:58:49Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Rarity of Giants' historic comeback win vs. Brewers illustrated by wild stats
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https://sports.yahoo.com/rarity-giants-historic-comeback-win-174331450.html?src=rss
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The Indianapolis Colts are less than two weeks away from the start of training camp at the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield.
With a new quarterback in town for the fifth consecutive season, the offensive line is also expecting to look a bit different than it did in 2021. The core of the group remains intact, but one spot on the interior will have a new starter.
The departure of Mark Glowinski, who signed with the New York Giants, and Chris Reed, who signed with the Minnesota Vikings, left a void at the starting right guard spot this offseason.
Wrapping up the offensive side of the ball, this preview will focus on the guard and center positions:
G Quenton Nelson
Not much really needs to be said about Nelson that Colts fans don’t already know. He’s among the elite interior offensive line players going into his fifth season. While our friends at Touchdown Wire have him ranked as the No. 3 interior offensive lineman, ESPN’s rankings have him at No. 1.
Nelson is coming off of a down year in terms of his standards. He missed four games during the regular season—the first time he’s ever done that in his career. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed 15 total pressures and one sack. Despite that being a “down year,” 31 other teams would pay big money to have that kind of production on the interior.
The big thing to watch with Nelson is his contract. He’s currently playing on the fifth-year option from his rookie deal but should be getting a market-setting extension relatively soon. It isn’t clear when that will get done, but expect it to get done before next offseason arrives.
Despite being named to the Pro Bowl, it was a down year for Kelly. He was still the anchor of the offensive line, but the numbers suggest it wasn’t his best campaign.
In his 14 games played, Kelly’s 29 pressures allowed were the second-most among centers, according to Pro Football Focus. He also allowed three sacks, which were tied for the sixth-most among centers. How much of that was Kelly and how much of that was Carson Wentz? We may never truly know.
But Kelly certainly enters training camp looking to prove that the 2022 season was a fluke when it comes to his pass protection.
This is where the interior offensive line gets interesting. Pinter is expected to get the first crack at being the starting right guard, and he’s likely the favorite to win the job. The Colts drafted him in the fifth round of the 2020 draft for this exact reason after giving him roughly two years of development.
As far as projections go, Pinter is expected to be the starter. But he may have some competition in rookie Bernhard Raimann—if he’s not the left tackle—along with 2021 seventh-round pick Will Fries and veteran guard Jason Spriggs.
Entering training camp, Pinter should be viewed as the favorite given his supreme athleticism and what we’ve seen in a limited sample thus far. But he still has to win the job during training camp and the preseason.
G Will Fries
Fries was drafted by the Colts in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL draft. Though he only appeared in three games and totaled 22 offensive snaps during his rookie season, he was up on the active roster for the entire campaign. That may not sound significant, but it is when it comes to a seventh-round selection.
Fries may not be viewed as the favorite for a starting role, but the Penn State product shouldn’t be slept on. He will have to prove he’s worthy of a roster spot—as most seventh-round picks do every year of their careers—and he may have to move around the offensive line in order to do so.
But Fries will be an interesting player to watch throughout training camp because he may wind up holding a valuable depth role along the interior.
A late addition to the roster this offseason, Spriggs signed with the Colts in June after spending the 2021 season working with quarterback Matt Ryan in Atlanta.
The 28-year-old was a second-round pick with the Green Bay Packers out of Indiana during the 2016 NFL draft. Despite the high draft capital, Spriggs has just 10 starts under his belt for his career and has seen the majority of his work come from the tackle positions.
But the Colts value versatility when it comes to their offensive linemen so his path to making the roster likely comes along the interior.
Seltzner joined the Colts this offseason out of Wisconsin as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2022 NFL draft. He’s a pretty solid athlete when it comes to explosiveness and lateral movement, but the offensive line may simply be too crowded for him to make the roster from the jump. There is some intrigue to the point where he could wind up on the practice squad, though.
French, another undrafted rookie free agent, joined the Colts this offseason coming from a smaller program in Western Michigan. An elite athlete, French is likely competing for the backup center role, which is currently up in the air. He is 26 years old after spending five seasons in college while also only appearing in 26 career games at Western Michigan. It will be an uphill battle for him to make the roster, but the athleticism is at least intriguing.
Drew Stankiewicz hits HRs from both sides of plate, Sod Poodles trampled by San Antonio
The Amarillo Sod Poodles gave up 14 runs over the final three innings in a 17-8 loss to the visiting San Antonio Missions on Friday night
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2022-07-16T21:32:39Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Colts’ 2022 training camp preview: Interior offensive line
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https://sports.yahoo.com/colts-2022-training-camp-preview-193703002.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/colts-2022-training-camp-preview-193703002.html?src=rss
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No time for RCR, Tyler Reddick to look back; focus turns to track NASCAR Cup starting lineup at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Martin Truex Jr. wins Cup Series pole at New Hampshire
Justin Allgaier wins Xfinity race at New Hampshire originally appeared on NBCSports.com
Justin Allgaier surged to his third victory of the season in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Allgaier’s No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet led 46 of the 200 laps in Sunday’s Crayon 200. His first win at the 1.058-mile oval was the 19th of his Xfinity Series career. RELATED: Unofficial results […]
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2022-07-16T22:32:11Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Justin Allgaier wins Xfinity race at New Hampshire
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https://sports.yahoo.com/justin-allgaier-wins-xfinity-race-214136350.html?src=rss
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“That’s when it really hit me like, 'Wow, this is different, this is going to be a change,'” Wilson said, retelling the story from the WNBA All-Star orange carpet. “They’ve left building blocks and a foundation for us to follow and we’re going to truly miss them.”
Team USA is theirs, and so is the WNBA.
It was the Las Vegas Aces’ Wilson, 25, and Seattle Storm’s Stewart, 27, who were named co-captains of the 2022 All-Star Game by fan vote and ranked first and second, respectively, in media and player votes. They delivered literal flowers during the game to the Storm’s Bird and Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles, both of whom announced their retirements this season, and they appeared at brand-sponsored events and parties attached to their names.
The weekend was pegged as a transition from the retiring stars to emerging ones, such as first-time All-Stars Sabrina Ionescu, Rhyne Howard, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum. But that omits an entire span of established talents who are taking over as stewards of the game. They hold the accolades, veteran experience and, arguably most important, brands boosting their recognition and platforms.
As the old guard departs the WNBA, Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson is ready to take the mantle, while younger players like the New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu wait in the wings. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
The first play of the All-Star Game was a drawn-up 3-pointer assisted by Wilson and drilled by Fowles, matching the amount she’d taken and made in her entire 15-year WNBA career. The next quarter, the 36-year-old Fowles shook Wintrust Arena — and Wilson — with a dunk.
Sylvia Fowles smiles after receiving flowers to celebrate her retirement at the end of the season during halftime of the WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago on July 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Bird’s 19-year playing legacy has garnered more coverage since she was drafted No. 1 out of UConn in 2002. Her four WNBA titles span three decades (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020), and she is the league’s all-time leader in assists by a comfortable margin. Bird, 41, has credited Stewart for “literally saving my career” and it is the younger Storm star who will carry on her wisdom.
“Everything that Sue has done, I will just try and continue that and carry it on,” said Stewart, who won with Bird in ’18 and ’20. “The way that she’s tried to elevate and uplift our sport, always striving for more and to be better, those are the main things. Obviously, the skill speaks for itself, but [I want] to make this league better for this generation and the next generation, like she did for us.”
“I don’t think you pass a torch like from Syl to someone or from Sue to someone because their legacies are independent of anyone else,” said Kelsey Plum, whose All-Star MVP performance of 30 points tied the record set by Maya Moore — another superstar who has left the game. The 2017 No. 1 overall pick is an MVP contender well on her way to established league talent.
Squished on the sidewalk between Wintrust Arena and McCormick Place, site of the Skills Competition, 3-Point Contest and Nike Nationals, the WNBA launched its first All-Star fanfest, WNBA Live. It opened on Saturday morning with a special guest.
“People say ‘face of the league’ all the time, but I just look at it as I’m just doing me,” Wilson told Yahoo Sports from a MTN Dew booth showcasing her highlights, from game footage to her real, worn jersey dresses on display. “I’m blessed to be partnered with a company like Mountain Dew that wants to dive into me, bigger than the athlete. They’ve showcased me, they’re making me seen. Even when I go to NBA All-Star, I’m there and they’ve really just given me an avenue to be me.”
Brand support was a benefit Bird and Fowles never had in their early years. Fowles’ national partnerships are still largely absent, a signal of the racial bias and marketing concerns that have surrounded the league and its players. Bird and Parker are now featured in Carmax commercials and on "NBA2K" covers, a large reason why the latter two are headline celebrities. Wilson and Stewart are aiming for the same.
A mile north from the Dew setup, Puma outfitted the top floor of an event space to celebrate its latest launch announced in tandem with All-Star weekend. The Stewie 1 “Quiet Fire” will hit stores this fall, making Stewart only the 10th WNBA player to have a signature shoe. She’s also the first since Parker’s in 2010. (Elena Delle Donne reportedly has a signature shoe with Nike coming, but it has not been announced.)
“[I have a] ton of pride realizing that when I was young I was talking about buying LeBrons and Jordans and Shaq shoes, now it’s going to be my own,” Stewart told Yahoo Sports in March.
The positive inclusion in popular culture is an increasingly talked-about topic in the WNBA. The State Farm commercial featuring Connecticut Sun star Jonquel Jones alongside the NBA’s Trae Young and Boban Marjanović, is all over national TV. Jones, the 28-year-old reigning league MVP, nearly made it a three-way tie for most points in the game with 29 and 13 rebounds.
MTN Dew’s A’ja Wilson hoodie and her appearance in a Saweetie music video are boosts to her and the league’s profile every time someone sees it. Same for Stewart’s gear and kicks, which provide a bright, neon yellow touchpoint for fans on the street or in a crowd.
With the backend of the season already underway, Wilson and Stewart are exactly where they’ve always been — the forefront of the MVP race. They have ranked top-10 in MVP voting every season of their careers and each won it in their third seasons.
Stewart earned the nod in 2018, when Wilson finished eighth as a rookie, and Wilson in 2020, when Stewart finished second in her comeback year from an Achilles tear. Through the All-Star break, Stewart leads the league in points (20.9 ppg) and Wilson in rebounds (10.3 rpg). They’re 1-2 in fantasy points per game, another new touchpoint for fandom.
Seattle Storm teammates Breanna Stewart, with daughter Ruby, and Sue Bird during the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Sunday. Bird is retiring after this season, and Stewart is one of the most recognizable faces in the league. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
“They’ve been my mentors in this league since I stepped foot in it,” Wilson told Yahoo Sports. “And I think that’s the biggest thing: stretching out those wings and upping someone from the younger, younger generation that looks up. And that’s what they’ve done. And that’s what I want to do."
She’s already noticed Young, her Aces teammate, start doing to her what she did to Fowles with phone calls and questions. The 2019 No. 1 draft pick is becoming a star in the league and could one day carry on her own torch. The same can be said for Ionescu and Plum, who are swiftly ascending.
The State said June 30 it dedicated $367,656 to historic Fort Stanton near Ruidoso, for planning and future maintenance work.
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2022-07-16T23:34:06Z
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A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart lead next generation of WNBA stewards with veteran experience, brand recognition
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Scottie Scheffler, who won this year's Masters and is the world's top-ranked player, shot a three-under 69 in the third round of the British Open on Saturday. He is in a tie for fifth at 11-under 205. (Alastair Grant / Associated Press)
"You can get rolling around here in a hurry," said Scheffler, who shot a three-under-par 69 in the third round Saturday. "I was rolling it pretty good today, and I could have taken it really low. The putts weren’t going in."
"I’ll probably do an ice bath tonight, which ice baths are a lot harder in Scotland than they are in Memphis," Spieth said, referring to the next tournament he will play after the British Open. "I like to do cold therapy whenever I can. I think it’s the most beneficial thing I’ve found."
"Ice is hard to get into a Coca-Cola over here, so I’m very lucky that [the hotel has] access to a big ice machine and they bring bags of ice," Spieth said, adding that PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas is doing the same thing. "We’ve gotten lucky that they’ve hooked us up there, yeah.
"I hit a poor tee shot on 9 and got a pretty good break and just hit a lovely pitch," the Irishman said. "It was a nice lie in the rough, and I could be fairly aggressive. I knew it was going to spin and hit a lovely shot."
"I was just trying to get as close as I could, and it just came out perfect and went in," Lowry said. "But the rest of the day wasn’t so enjoyable. Look, I feel like I played OK. [It] wouldn’t take Einstein to figure out what went wrong on the back nine. My putting was horrific."
"I shoot one under for the last seven holes and I’m very bullish about my chances going into tomorrow," Lowry said. "Now I have no chance. It’s just very disappointing."
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2022-07-16T23:59:58Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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British Open notes: Scottie Scheffler rues unlucky roll on back nine
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American professional boxer, ordained Baptist minister, author and entrepreneur
Kai Jones with a dunk vs the Minnesota Timberwolves
Kai Jones (Charlotte Hornets) with a dunk vs the Minnesota Timberwolves, 07/16/2022
Justin Verlander struck out 10 in six sharp innings to post his MLB-leading 12th win and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 5-0 Saturday. Martín Maldonado hit a second-inning grand slam as the AL West-leading Astros bounced back after a 5-1 loss in the series opener Friday night. The A's actually outhit Houston 7-6, but had little to show for it.
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2022-07-17T00:00:11Z
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George Foreman Faces Sexual Abuse Lawsuit, Claims He's Being Extorted
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https://sports.yahoo.com/george-foreman-faces-sexual-abuse-150400958.html?src=rss
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NASCAR stated that Gragson’s car was too low in the front and Cassill’s car was too low in the rear.
NASCAR disqualifies cars of Landon Cassill, Noah Gragson originally appeared on NBCSports.com
Donald Ayer, the former Deputy Attorney General under President George H. W. Bush: “We can’t have a system where a president can willfully, deliberately and with no ambiguity act to overturn a legitimate election, and nobody does anything about it.”
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2022-07-17T00:00:17Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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NASCAR disqualifies cars of Landon Cassill, Noah Gragson
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One of the greatest gifts a talented beginning professional boxer can get is a quality matchmaker. Very few fighters are ready to fight at the highest levels when they turn pro, even when they’ve won Olympic gold and dominated at the amateur level.
The key for these young pros with potential is to get the right fights at the right time. Too many promoters and their matchmakers simply want to give them opponents they’ll easily trounce, but that does not help them develop into top-level pros.
What they need when they’re up-and-coming are matches which will challenge them but not overwhelm them. They need to see different styles: Left-handers and orthodox fighters, pressure fighters and boxers. If they have matchmakers like this, they’ll be as prepared as possible to compete successfully when they move on to world-class opponents.
That’s where Jake Paul finds himself at now. He’s a 25-year-old who insists he’s trying to make it as a boxer. During an appearance on ESPN’s "First Take" on Tuesday, Paul said his goal is to become light heavyweight champion within three or four years.
That’s a lofty goal considering he’s had no amateur career and has had no professional fights of note. He’s 5-0 with four knockouts, but four of those five fights came against fighters making their pro boxing debuts, and the fifth was a rematch against a former UFC champion.
Paul has, in order, beaten a YouTube star, an ex-NBA player, a former Bellator champion and scored two wins over a former UFC champion, the last of which was a violent knockout.
On Aug. 6 in New York, he’ll fight Hasim Rahman Jr. in the main event of a pay-per-view card at Madison Square Garden.
Is Jake Paul serious about pro boxing? (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
The 31-year-old Rahman, the son of the former heavyweight champion, is by far the best opponent Paul has faced. Paul’s first five opponents at the time he fought them had a combined record of 0-1. None of them were boxers.
If Paul turns out to be a good boxer, it could be good for the sport. Lord only knows that boxing needs the positive attention that he could bring it. If he develops to a point where he’s actually a legitimate quality pro — and let’s be honest, he’s light years away from that now — it will be a story that finally portrays boxing in a positive light.
His trainer, B.J. Flores, was a quality fighter and is a knowledgeable boxing man. He insists Paul can fight, and I’ll take him at his word.
I’ve largely stayed away from Paul because it’s hard to take his quest seriously given his other job as a social media star. He knows how to manipulate people and public opinion. He’s done that so well already that he’s made a lot of money already in boxing without fighting anyone of consequence.
That’s where the problem is. Boxing is at a high point at this stage in its history. This has been an amazing year of fights and there are so many talented young fighters beginning to make their mark, but a lot of it gets glossed over and ignored because Paul is a genius at getting attention.
He’s got the smack talk down, but he needs to show the potential that Flores insists is there against opponents who can fight back.
He’s a 200-plus-pounder, yet he calls out men who weigh 30, 40, 50 pounds less than he does and who aren’t boxers. He got into it on social media this week with ex-UFC champion Conor McGregor. McGregor has never fought above 170 and was at 155 in four of his last five fights.
That’s the equivalent of unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev calling out lightweight contender Ryan Garcia or unified super featherweight champion Shakur Stevenson.
It’s just a bad look.
For the first time in his five-fight pro career, Jake Paul is fighting an actual boxer in Hasim Rahman Jr. on Aug. 6 in New York. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
Rahman Jr. is no prodigy and, at 31, he’s no rising prospect, either. He’s a solid fledgling pro who is probably appropriate for Paul at this stage of his career.
This isn’t, though, a young Lennox Lewis or Evander Holyfield he’s facing. Win or lose, there will still be plenty of questions that surround Paul’s boxing career after this fight.
There is a legitimate question of how big Paul’s fights have been. I had heard from sources, but never could confirm, that Paul’s rematch with Woodley sold only 65,000 units, which would be highly disappointing if accurate. McGregor tweeted to Paul this week that he’d sold only 70,000 in two fights, so McGregor appears to have heard something similar to what I did.
If it’s true that he only sold 65,000 — and like I said, I could not confirm that or else I would have written it — then this whole thing is built on a house of cards. Showtime is backing Paul because it is looking to gain a new audience that it hasn’t been reaching.
But if that audience isn’t there, then neither will Showtime after a while.
We know Paul has the shtick and can gain attention. It’s something that boxers should pay attention to because it will help them increase their own visibility and strengthen their brands.
But for Paul, the time has come. He has to prove that he can fight and that he’s actually serious about this boxing thing.
If he can’t, then it’s just a bunch of freak show fights and few real fight fans care about that.
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2022-07-17T00:00:30Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Is Jake Paul serious about pro boxing?
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Kyle Busch said Saturday there’s no firm deadline for cementing a potential return to Joe Gibbs Racing next season, adding he has had talks with other teams.
Busch, a 60-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, is in his 15th season with the No. 18 Toyota team owned by Coach Joe Gibbs. Busch sits in limbo for 2023 but indicated he’s standing pat until the organization announces a change in plans.
“I mean, it would be nice sooner than later, but honestly, it doesn’t matter how soon or how late it gets done,” Busch said before Cup Series qualifying Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “Until there’s an announcement that somebody else is driving the 18 car, then I feel like I still have a seat.”
Toyota made a big splash earlier this week with the signing of Tyler Reddick to 23XI Racing, a JGR affiliate, for the 2024 season. Busch hedged on whether that addition to the Toyota camp would impact his negotiations but admitted he’s spoken with other teams.
“The short answer is yes,” Busch said. “But you know, yeah, anything’s possible obviously. There’s all kinds of different things that can play out. It’s just a matter of what does.”
Busch ranks fifth in the current Cup Series standings, notching his lone win this season back in April on Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt.
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2022-07-17T01:37:39Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Kyle Busch on 2023 talks: Until plans change, 'I feel like I still have a seat'
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers delivered quite a few blowout wins throughout the 2021 season, including an impressive one in front of their home crowd in Week 7, against one of their old NFC Central division rivals.
Tom Brady lit up the Chicago Bears defense with four touchdown passes, three of them to Mike Evans, while the Tampa Bay defense treated Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields to four sacks and three interceptions.
It was a complete win for the Bucs, who dominated on both sides of the ball on their way to a 38-3 victory.
Relive all the action from that game with this highlight reel:
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2022-07-17T02:11:47Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Bucs Rewind: Tampa Bay’s dominant Week 7 win vs. Bears
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On Friday, Paul Chryst and his coaching staff received a walk-on commitment from 2023 long-snapper Keane Bessert out of Fruita, Colorado.
According to the Rubio Long Snapping rankings, Bessert is a 4.5-star recruit ranked as the No. 6 LS prospect in the country.
He committed to UW over reported interest from Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Oregon. You can watch his junior season highlights here.
The 6-foot-1, 220-pound LS caught the attention of the Badgers’ coaching staff during Wisconsin’s team camp back in June.
The Colorado native announced his commitment to the University of Wisconsin via his Twitter account:
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2022-07-17T03:18:57Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Wisconsin lands 2023 long-snapper Keane Bessert as PWO
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Ravens S Marcus Williams named as top-10 player at position by NFL peers
The Baltimore Ravens secondary has been viewed as one of the best in the NFL, especially after the additions they’ve made during the 2022 offseason. With players such as safeties Marcus Williams, Chuck Clark and first-round draft pick in Kyle Hamilton as well as cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey, the group appears to be one that could cause a lot of disruption for opposing quarterbacks in 2022.
In an article posted by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, he listed the NFL’s top 10 safeties for 2022 as voted on by executives, coaches and players. Coming in on the list at No. 8 was Williams, and when explaining why the safety was on the list, Fowler said that his ability to generate turnovers was the main reason, while also stating his ability at tackling could of caused him to drop in the rankings.
“And, so, as the voting went, those who like Williams really like him. Those who don’t, especially tackling purists, have no problem leaving him off the ballot. His 74 tackles last season (with the Saints) tied for 49th among defensive backs. But his ball production — 15 interceptions and 38 pass deflections since 2017 — is undeniable.”
The Ravens signed Williams in free agency, awarding the safety with a five-year, $70 million contract in hopes of having a potential Pro Bowl caliber player at the position. He adds to a deep secondary group, and should be able to make an instant impact in the back end of Baltimore’s defense
Williams spent the first five years of his NFL career with the New Orleans Saints, totaling 320 combined tackles, 15 interceptions, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one touchdown and one sack in 76 games played.
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2022-07-17T04:14:07Z
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Ravens S Marcus Williams named as top-10 player at position by NFL peers
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In 2022 the 49ers’ start may rely on those players to carry over their strong finishes into the new season.
Here are four players who stood out for their success in the latter portion of last season, and how they can make their mark if they pick up in 2022 where they left off last year:
Armstead is the kind of player who can impact games without showing up in the box score. However, the 49ers need him to produce as a pass rusher and he played his best football in that area down the stretch last year. Through the first 12 weeks he had 27 pressures and 2.0 sacks per Pro Football Focus. Then a switch flipped in Week 13 vs. the Vikings when he had five pressures and a sack. From Week 13 through the playoffs, Armstead posted 32 pressures and 8.0 sacks, including 6.0 in the three games from Week 18 through the divisional playoffs.
If he’s back to the 8.0-10.0 sack range this year the 49ers could wind up with the best pass rush in the NFL.
There may not have been a slower start for a 49er last season. Aiyuk was primed for a big sophomore campaign, but only put up nine catches for 96 yards and one touchdown through the first six weeks. After that he took off. Over the team’s final 11 regular season games, Aiyuk had 47 catches for 730 yards and four touchdowns. He even posted 135 yards on nine catches in three playoff games.
It looks like the growing pains are behind Aiyuk, who could prove to be the team’s top target this year as he continues to build chemistry with Trey Lance.
DE Samson Ebukam
The 49ers added Ebukam in free agency last offseason in hopes that he’d be a secondary edge presence alongside Nick Bosa. His start to that role wasn’t promising. After 10 games he had just 11 pressures and 1.0 sacks per to PFF, and five of those pressures came at Chicago in Week 8. As he settled into the defense though, his productivity skyrocketed. In the team’s last 10 games (including postseason), Ebukam posted 34 pressures and 8.0 sacks. He had at least one pressure in every game and had a sack in all three postseason contests.
Of the four players on this list, Ebukam is the one the 49ers would most like to see continue the torrid pace he finished last year on. It’s plausible too since he’s going into his second season in DeMeco Ryans’ defense and not much has changed around him from a talent standpoint. Don’t be surprised if Ebukam has a breakout 2022.
Jennings is a fascinating player. His athletic measurables are not good, which is why he fell to the seventh round of the 2020 draft. Last year he got his first shot on the active roster after spending his rookie campaign banged up and on the practice squad. He had only three catches for 31 yards and one touchdown after eight games and was largely used for his excellent run blocking skills. He emerged as a legitimate receiving threat in the last nine games though and put up 251 yards and four touchdowns on 21 receptions to close the regular season. His 17-game averages in that stretch were 40 receptions, 474 yards and eight touchdowns.
There’s a good chance he puts up something close to those numbers this year as the third option in the receiving corps. Combining that with his blocking would make him an invaluable piece of San Francisco’s offense.
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2022-07-17T04:14:19Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Strong 2021 finishes could propel these 49ers to big 2022 seasons
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The Editors of Women's Running
Starting Friday, July 15 and lasting 10 days, World Athletics is putting on its championships for the world's best track and field athletes. It's the first world champs since 2019 and the first one ever to be hosted by the United States, taking place in the newly renovated Hayward Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, home of the University of Oregon.
And unlike last year's Olympics, these champs are open to fans--we're looking forward to packed stadiums for the more than 20 events. Similar to the Olympics, athletes have to qualify to make their country's team, and compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals.
RELATED: How to Watch the World Athletics Championships
Here, we'll update you throughout the championships from July 15-July 24 on results, news, inspiring stories, and memorable moments.
Saturday July 16 Race Reports
Smooth Sailing and a Bit O’ Drama in the 1500m Semi-Finals
Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay (C) compete in the women’s 1500m semi-final during the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on July 16, 2022. (Photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP) (Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)
The excitement in the women's 1500m continued on Saturday night with two races that would decide the line up for the final on Monday. The first five in each heat automatically proceeded to the finals plus the next two fastest times.
In the first semi final, Gulag Tsegay from Ethiopia clocked the fastest qualifying time with a winning time of 4.01.28. She was followed by Great Britain's Laura Muir with a 4:01.78 seasonal best, and Jessica Hull from Australia at 4:01.81
The American athletes lined up with Cory McGee and Elle (Purrier) St. Pierre in the first semi-final and Sinclaire Johnson in the second. McGee qualified for the final coming in fifth with at time of 4:02.74 and Johnson qualified with second place and a time of 4.04.51 in her heat.
In the second heat, with the athletes coming into the final bend, drama sadly unfolded. Gaia Sabatini from Italy pushed Ugandan athlete Winnie Nanyondo out of the way, who consequently fell. Sabatini was disqualified and Nanyondo was registered as a DNF.
The athletes will line up on Monday 18th at 7:50 p.m. for the (almost) four lap journey to the podium.
Letesenbet Gidey’s 10,000 Meter World Championship Win Was a Nail-Biter
The Battle for 100m Dominance Is Out of the Blocks
EUGENE, OREGON – JULY 16: Dina Asher-Smith of Team Great Britain reacts after competing in the Women's 100 Meter heats on day two of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 at Hayward Field on July 16, 2022 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Questions going into the heats for the 100m were if it would be a Jamaican one, two, three in the qualifiers. This was not to be, but the finals are where it counts.
Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith sprinted to the fastest time of the evening with a seasonal best of 10.84. Having suffered from a hamstring challenge at the Tokyo Olympics, she proved she was back, strong and ready to race.
For Team USA, all athletes qualified. Twanisha Terry easily cruised the fourth heat coming in second with a 10.95. Aleia Hobbs crossed the line fastest in her heat clocking an 11.04 and Melissa Jefferson rounded out the Americans qualifying with an 11.03.
The Jamaican team still all qualified for the semi-finals. Defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser Price crossed the line with a 10.87, Shericka Jackson ran an 11.02 and, in heat three, Elaine Thompson-Hera clocked an 11.15.
Other notable performances in the heats were New Zealand's Zoe Hobbs, who came in second in the first heat with a PR and also breaking the oceanian record in the process. Great Britain's Daryll Neita and Marie-Josee Ta Lou both clocked seasonal bests with 10.95 and 10.92 respectively.
The semi-finals will play out on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. (PT) and the final at 7:50 p.m. (PT) — Melanie Mitchell
The American Steeplers Qualify for Wednesday’s Final
EUGENE, OREGON – JULY 16: Luiza Gega of Team Albania, Mekides Abebe of Team Ethiopia and Courtney Wayment of Team United States compete in the Women's 3000 Meter Steeplechase heats on day two of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 at Hayward Field on July 16, 2022 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) (Photo: Getty Images)
Though they most certainly all hoped to secure a top three spot in their heats to qualify for the 3000 meter steeplechase final, Emma Coburn, Courtney Frerichs, and Courtney Wayment were all left sweating while they waited for the results to come in after Saturday morning’s qualifying rounds. Each American woman came in fourth place in their heats and would have to wait to find out if they qualified based on time.
In the preliminary heats the top three each auto-qualify, while the next six are let through based on the next best times.
In the first heat, Norah Jeruto of Kazakhstan put her stake in the ground as a contender to take the world title, opening up a wide lead with several laps to go. She finished with the fastest time of the morning in 9:01.54.
The second heat, in which Wayment ran, was by far the biggest nail biter. Wayment ran comfortably around fourth place most of the race, waiting until the bell lap to make her move. She battled with Ethiopia’s Mekides Abebe, France’s Alice Finot, and Luiza Gega of Albania for the top three positions, shuffling places among them several times. Wayment was ultimately edged into fourth place in 9:14.95 to Gega’s 9:14.91. Finot finished in first in 9:14.34 and set a national record.
The steeplechase final will take place in the evening on Wednesday July 20. — M.R.
RELATED: Emma Coburn, Courtney Wayment, and Courtney Frerichs are Chasing a World Title
Friday July 15 Race Reports
Allyson Felix Wins Her 19th World Championships Medal, the Most of Any Athlete in History
No Surprises in the 1500m Qualifying Heats
EUGENE, OREGON – JULY 15: Jessica Hull of Team Australia and Faith Kipyegon of Team Kenya compete in the Women’s 1500 Meter heats on day one of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 at Hayward Field on July 15, 2022 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images for World Athletics) (Photo: Getty Images)
The highly anticipated 1500m began its three days of competition on a balmy summer night in Eugene, Oregon with temperatures at 81 degrees and humidity around 40 percent.
All three American 1500m contenders–Sinclaire Johnson, Elle (Purrier) St. Pierre, and Cory McGee–advanced past the first qualifying heats and will compete in Saturday’s semi-finals. By finishing in the top six of their respective heats, the middle-distance runners made the cut.
Joining in the semi-finals are expected international stand-outs such as Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, the reigning Olympic gold medalist; Great Britain’s Laura Muir, who took silver in Tokyo; and Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, an Olympic medalist in the 5000m. Tsegay ran the fastest time of the night in 4:02.68 in the third and fastest heat.
The semi-finals take place Saturday July 16 at 7:05 p.m., Pacific Time. Those who advance from there will compete in the finals on Monday July 18 at 7:50 p.m. — M.R.
RELATED: The U.S. Sends Three Seriously Strong 1500 Meter Finishers to the World Championships
Team USA Will Defend Its 4x400m Title
EUGENE, OREGON – JULY 15: Eveline Saalberg of Team Netherlands and Wadeline Jonathas of Team United States compete in the Mixed 4×400 Metres Relay Heat 1 on day one of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 at Hayward Field on July 15, 2022 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) (Photo: Getty Images)
The United States 4×400 mixed relay team has automatically qualified for tonight’s final after coming in first place in the first heat. In each of the two heats, the top three teams had the opportunity to automatically qualify, with the next two fastest teams rounding out the eight final teams.
Team USA, made up by Elija Godwin, Kennedy Simon, Vernon Norwood, and Wadeline Jonathas, collectively ran 3:11.75. Running consistently in second place behind the Netherlands through the first three legs, it was anchor Jonathas (who also ran in the women’s 4x400m in Tokyo last year) who outkicked Eveline Saalberg of the Netherlands (3:12.63) for the win.
Those tuning into this first morning session of the World Championships were expecting Allyson Felix to compete in the event, but the five-time Olympian was not subbed in. But it is highly likely that Felix (who has announced her impending retirement) will make her final World Championship appearance in the final, set for 7:50 p.m., Pacific time tonight.
Besides the U.S., the Netherlands, Dominican Republic, Poland, Ireland, Jamaica, Italy, and Nigeria will compete in the final. — Malissa Rodenburg
Competing in her 10th -- and final -- world championships, Allyson Felix won bronze in the mixed 4x400m relay with a U.S. team that included Elija Godwin, Vernon Norwood, and Kennedy Simon.
A growing number of candidates and PACs have announced their second quarter fundraising for this year, with Friday marking the deadline to file their fundraising reports. Though not all candidates and PACs have formally announced their numbers, a few interesting dynamics have emerged. For one, a number of Senate Democrats and Democratic challengers seeking Senate…
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2022-07-17T04:42:05Z
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World Athletics Championships Live Updates: The Battle for 100m Starts and The Finals Decided for the 1500m
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Thomas Cole specifically thanked his four fellow UCLA offensive line freshmen. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
UCLA offensive lineman Thomas Cole announced his retirement from football on Saturday, and in the process revealed he survived a suicide attempt at the beginning of 2022.
In an extended statement posted to his Twitter account, Cole said he had been away from UCLA's Wasserman Football Center for six months and has concluded football is not conducive to his mental health, but still thanked his coaches and teammates for the impact they've had on his life.
Cole's full statement:
I haven't been present at the Wasserman facility for the past six months. This is because at the start of 2022 I made an attempt to take my own life. At first I was regretful that I survived my attempt, but thankfully due to the people at the UCLA hospital, Paradigm residential treatment, and my therapist Meg, I have come to a much brighter outlook for my own future.
After many months of thorough consideration I have come to the conclusion that football is not conducive for my mental health, and there is more to my life than the game of football. This does not negate the impact that my teammates and coaches have had on my life. Through thick and thin the freshman offensive line, consisting of Benjamin Roy, Garrett DiGiorgio, Noah Pulealii, and Taka Mahe were there for me. These men brought me so much joy and laughter in a time of immense personal suffering. For these friendships I am forever thankful. I will miss competing and the game of football. But I will mostly miss the people it has brought into my life.
I will forever cheer on the Bruins and wish the football program nothing but success. Everyone I interacted with at UCLA, from coaches to teachers, tutors and more thank you so much! You all have had a great impact in my life.
For all of those who may be struggling, you are not alone and you are loved. It is ok to ask for help. Thank you to my family for being so loving during this process of learning to live again.
Cole joined the UCLA football program as a Rivals three-star recruit out of San Luis Obispo in the Class of 2021. He enrolled early for the Bruins that January, but did not see any game action during his true freshman year.
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2022-07-17T05:28:23Z
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UCLA OL Thomas Cole announces retirement after suicide attempt
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LOUDON, N.H. — What a week.
Silly Season saw a seismic shock on Tuesday, with Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick dropping in on a 23XI Racing video conference call to announce he’d be joining the Toyota-backed organization as a full-time driver starting in 2024.
Given Reddick is locked up with RCR for 2023, just picked up his first Cup Series win earlier this month and offers the organization its best shot at picking up its first championship since Dale Earnhardt’s seventh title in 1994, the news came as a surprise to probably everyone outside of the small group of people who negotiated the 26-year-old’s future deal.
As if that wasn’t enough, as teams were just getting set up for the race weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday afternoon, Ty Dillon dropped a bomb on Twitter with a statement saying — after just 19 races together — he and Petty GMS “mutually agreed to go our separate ways” at the conclusion of 2022.
The two-car Petty GMS organization appeared to be one on the rise, building a solid foundation with a pair of talented former prospects looking to re-establish themselves as Cup Series presences. Dillon’s abrupt departure announcement was almost as surprising as Reddick’s.
RELATED: T.Dillon, Petty GMS to split | Silly Season roundup
“So many things have happened this week,” Dillon said. “Obviously, I’m so focused on doing the best I can in the 42 this year, and get all I can prove to people that I can win races in the Cup Series and that I’m one of the best 36 drivers in the series, which I know I am. But I’m a free agent, which is always exciting, you know, and it’s just a bridge to the next opportunity that I’m looking forward to taking advantage of, and I’m gonna have fun with it. You know, this week’s been tough dealing with all the news about leaving, but from here forward, I get to focus on what’s next. And also leaving it all out on the line knowing I’m not coming back, it’s kind of freeing in a sense to just go and give it all I have every weekend. And you know, I think it’s only going to be the best for me, and I wish the best for them in the future.”
Dillon elected not to divulge any of the details of the split, saying “that’s probably a question for (Petty GMS),” and Jones mentioned not being privy to the full extent of it as well — “I don’t know all the insides of it. Obviously, there’s probably some business stuff there” — but wait a minute. Perhaps there is no acrimony. Perhaps a different scenario presented itself, abruptly and unexpectedly, for Dillon’s future.
Reddick’s move means the No. 8 car will be available for 2024 if RCR keeps two cars. The team’s other car is driven by Austin Dillon, Ty’s brother. The team is owned, of course, by Childress — Ty and Austin’s grandfather. It almost feels too perfect of a scenario to just line Ty up to replace Reddick a year and a half from now, maybe throwing him back in an Xfinity car with the team to bridge the gap year. But it’s a possibility that the 30-year-old Welcome, North Carolina, native has certainly entertained.
“Obviously, I‘ve always wanted to race for my grandfather since I started racing,” said Dillon, currently 27th in points. “So that’s certainly something I’ll be looking at. But you know, there’s a lot of things to still happen throughout the year. And there’s lots going on with that situation. But I’m available. I’m available for everyone. So we’ll see what happens.”
To some degree, it has always felt inevitable Childress would eventually field Cup cars for his grandsons, it just hasn’t played out in that way to this point for various reasons. This might open the door to making it a reality, and if it does, Dillon would have had one of the most topsy-turvy, winding paths to a competitive premier series ride in recent memory.
Austin’s trajectory was extremely straightforward, starting his full-time NASCAR career with RCR in 2010 in the Camping World Truck Series, winning the title the next year, doing a similar two-year stint in the Xfinity Series — with another title in 2013 — before hopping in Earnhardt’s former No. 3 in 2014, where he has been since. Ty was on essentially the same path with two seasons in Trucks and three at the Xfinity level before starting full-time in Cup in 2017 with Germain Racing, where he was until 2020 before the team closed its doors. After Ryan Newman left the team in 2018 there was speculation Ty would replace him, but Ty elected to stay with Germain and the car — which was then the No. 31 Chevrolet — went instead to Daniel Hemric, who eventually ceded it to Reddick the next year.
Ty Dillon’s last two years then saw a handful of unfruitful starts with Cup startup Gaunt Brothers Racing, 12 Xfinity starts split across four different teams with just three top 10s and now an early ending to what seemed like, from the outside, a good long-term home for him with “The King” and Maury Gallagher’s operation.
“It’s certainly not easy (to maintain my determination), but I think as you grow and you mature, situations happen in your life,” Dillon told NASCAR.com. “At the end of the day, you have your family and the people that matter most and they believe in you. And if you don’t believe in yourself to begin with, you’ll never give yourself the full opportunity. So I’ll never give up on myself and knowing that I can do it. I’ve proven to myself that I can do it. Just a matter of situations coming together. And I think one thing about it, and it’s our family motto with my wife and kids, is that we’re Dillons and we don’t quit, so I can’t show them any quit in my life. And I can use whatever happens in my life, whatever comes and goes as an example for them to live off of in the future.”
As Dillon’s outlook at the moment is murky at best, Jones indicated Saturday he could be announcing a long-speculated extension with Petty GMS in the near term. The Byron, Michigan, native further negotiated his deal with Gallagher earlier this week over FaceTime — while in the “Great Lakes State” for his grandfather’s 90th birthday — and says the paperwork is down to just “pretty small details here at the end of the day” and is “for the next year at least, and hopefully more in the future, too.”
Ty Dillon and Erik Jones race on the track.
Jones appears to have found a comfortability with Petty GMS, having the option at this juncture to speak to other teams but saying he’s not really interested in doing so and would rather just get everything settled with his extension. The feeling must be mutual, because the Chevy organization is seeking his feedback for who will be his future teammate, even if that decision is still a ways away.
“I don’t, right now (who will be in the 42),” Jones said. “You know, obviously, those talks go on a little bit. And, you know, as we’ve made this decision, you know, I get asked kind of who I think (it should be) a little bit right, which I appreciate that, you know, that they trust me to try to go pick somebody, which it’s still up to them at the end of the day. But obviously, there’s a few names out there that, you know, are probably deserving of a shot in the Cup Series. I don’t think it’ll be a guy (currently) in the Cup Series.”
As for what’s next for Dillon, well, he still has plans to finish out the season with Petty GMS. But in the meantime, he said “there’s been conversations starting” with other teams. There’s no question he still believes in himself and his ability, it’s just a matter now of if there’s a team out there that wants to take a flier on him.
“I have a lot of the year still left, we have 17 races or so to go to continue to show what I can do,” he said. “And a lot of things will still happen with other seats and other rides and the sport in general. So like I said, I’m a free agent, and I can talk to whoever and I’m available. So we’ll see how that plays out.
“I’m certainly never giving up on my dream. And that’s winning Cup races and championships, and I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get myself to that position with a team that really believes in me and wants to give me a good shot.”
President Biden on July 15 said he was “crystal clear” the killing of Jamal Khashoggi was unacceptable in a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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2022-07-17T12:23:08Z
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As Silly Season swings, Petty GMS drivers Dillon, Jones headed in opposite directions
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Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray holds a jersey during an NBA basketball press conference at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex, Friday, July 1, 2022, in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin, center, lines up next to his brother Charlotte Hornets forward Cody Martin, right, along the lane during second half action at Spectrum Center on Saturday, February 5, 2022 in Charlotte, NC. The Heat defeated the Hornets 104-86.
The Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero (5) brings the ball up the court against the Sacramento Kings during the NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday, July 9, 2022, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images/TNS)
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2022-07-17T13:13:22Z
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The Hornets aspire to make the playoffs next season. Are they really any closer?
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Colts’ Alec Pierce winning OROY among B/R’s bold predictions
Indianapolis Colts rookie wide receiver Alec Pierce has some high expectations to meet after being selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft.
While most of the community has tempered expectations for the Cincinnati product in Year 1, Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton included him in his bold predictions for the 2022 season.
The key word here is “bold” so this isn’t viewed as the most likely outcome. Instead, it’s viewed as the extreme end of the spectrum when it comes to Pierce’s range of outcomes.
Regardless, part of Moton’s bold predictions for the upcoming season included Pierce winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award where he would go over 1,200 receiving yards and double-digit touchdowns.
The 2022 rookie class doesn’t feature a quarterback who has a clear pathway to start in Week 1 or a star running back, which opens up the possibility for an unlikely candidate to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.
At 6’3″, 211 pounds with 4.41 speed, Pierce has the physical tools to make a strong statement right out of college. He’ll play with an accurate passer in Ryan, who’s completed at least 65 percent of his passes in each of the last four seasons and thrown for at least 3,900 yards each year since 2011.
Pierce averaged at least 17 yards per reception in each of his three collegiate terms at Cincinnati. He’ll provide some big plays in Indianapolis and bring home the Offensive Rookie of the Year award with 1,200-plus yards and double-digit touchdowns.
It’s unlikely the Colts have two players go over 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. It’s not impossible, of course, but it shouldn’t be part of the expectations for the 2022 campaign.
Pierce should get his opportunities, though. He will be competing with Parris Campbell for the No. 2 wide receiver role and even though the latter is healthy and coming off of a strong spring, they drafted Pierce to be the other side of Michael Pittman Jr.’s coin.
We’ll see just how bold this prediction was when the season is over, but Pierce may be getting some hype entering training camp.
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2022-07-17T13:26:11Z
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Colts’ Alec Pierce winning OROY among B/R’s bold predictions
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Brett Yormark has big goals for expanding and updating the Big 12 Conference’s brand. The newly appointed commissioner has plenty of experience in this arena from his time at Nascar going from a predominantly southern based sport to a national one as well as what he helped to accomplish during his time with the Brooklyn Nets to move that franchise and turn it into a global brand. Yormark wants to try to transform the Big 12 Conference from a national perspective in terms of branding and as well as appealing to a younger crowd.
LeBron James: ‘I’m 100 percent healthy’
The Drew League game Saturday marked the first public glimpse of the 37-year-old James playing basketball in more than three months. He missed seven of the Lakers' final eight regular-season games in the spring because of a left ankle sprain and ...
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2022-07-17T13:52:23Z
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Deion Sanders on college football realignment: Conferences are 'chasing the bag'
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Neal’s 3-2 Pitch: All-Star nod is good for Byron Buxton, and for baseball’s pursuit of Black players
La Velle's 3-2 Pitch: Three observations and two predictions on Sundays. . . . When the Twins played host to the Yankees last month, Byron Buxton took the field in the early afternoon with New York righthander Nestor Cortes Jr. before a game. The pair filmed a commercial promoting the upcoming All-Star Game. Both were having good seasons, but neither Buxton nor Cortes knew at the time they ...
As inflation drives prices of everyday goods painfully higher, what can you do to defend your money? The interest rate paid by I Bonds comprises two components: a fixed rate set when the bond is issued, which remains the same for the 30-year life of the bond, and an inflation rate that changes twice a year, in May and November. The CPI increased by 9.1% year over year in June 2022, the highest inflation rate in nearly 40 years.
An interest in business and customer service led to a new career for Bob Berry as owner of Erhrhart's Drive Thru & Party Store in Bucyrus.
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2022-07-17T13:52:36Z
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Nightengale's Notebook: MLB's first half superlatives, from MVP to worst free agent signings
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Eight days after Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges, the WNBA star’s attorneys introduced new evidence they hope will result in a more lenient sentence.
Lawyers on Friday presented a Russian court with an American doctor’s letter saying that Griner had been prescribed medical marijuana to help her cope with chronic pain from injuries that she sustained during her basketball career.
Griner entered the courtroom wearing a tie-dye Nirvana T-shirt and watched the fourth day of her trial from the defendant’s cage directly behind her attorneys. A Reuters photographer captured her holding up a photo of WNBA players all wearing No. 42 jerseys in her honor during the league’s all-star game last weekend.
On Thursday, the Russian court heard testimony from multiple character witnesses from the Russian basketball club that Griner has played for during the WNBA offseason. UMMC Ekaterinburg team captain Evgeniya Belyakova and team director Maksim Ryabkov spoke on Griner’s behalf.
"Brittney has always been a good teammate, which is why my role here is to support her and be there for her," Belyakova, a member of the Russian National team, told reporters outside the courtroom after Thursday’s hearing.
Griner has been behind bars since Feb. 17, when she flew into a Moscow airport and Russian customs officials allegedly found vape cartridges containing less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. Her trial could result in a prison sentence of up to 10 years unless U.S. and Russian officials can negotiate a prisoner exchange that would bring her home sooner.
Yuval Weber, an expert on Russian military and political strategy, told Yahoo Sports that all the doctor’s notes and character witnesses in the world aren’t going to have much impact on Griner’s sentence.
“It might reduce it from 10 years to 9 years,” said Weber, a distinguished fellow at Marine Corps University's Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare.
Weber said he has “zero doubt the judge will not be making an independent decision” on Griner’s fate. The way Weber sees it, Russian government officials will dictate the length of Griner’s sentence — and they lose the upper hand in subsequent negotiations with the U.S. if they show lenience.
“The longer her sentence, the more basic leverage Russia has,” Weber said.
Brittney Griner sits inside a defendants' cage during a hearing at the Khimki Court in the town of Khimki outside Moscow on July 15, 2022. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)
Last week, on the second day of her trial, Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges, stressing that she “did not want to break the law” and that she packed the vape cartridges by mistake. Her guilty plea came after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov hinted that a deal for Griner’s release was possible but only after the conclusion of her trial.
Griner’s guilty plea was smart strategy, experts in Russian law told Yahoo Sports last week. Not only could it potentially lead to a lighter sentence, most crucially, it also could speed up the trial and accelerate negotiations for Griner’s release.
“The Russians have said they wouldn't really consider a prisoner swap until she has been found guilty, so this expedites that matter,” said William Pomeranz, the acting director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute and an expert in Russian law. “If she wants to return home and she believes they're working on a prisoner swap, the faster that this proceeding ends, the faster she can get home.”
The State Department in May declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” in Russia, a classification that allows U.S. officials to begin negotiations for her release. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has described securing the freedom of Griner and other wrongly detained Americans as a top priority.
On July 4, Griner sent President Biden a letter urging him to “please don’t forget about me and the other American detainees”
In response, Biden called Griner’s wife, Cherelle, to reassure her that he is working to bring Brittney home as soon as possible. Biden also read Cherelle a letter that was delivered to Brittney the following day.
Efforts to negotiate Griner’s release have also been complicated by Russia’s apparent asking price in a potential prisoner exchange. Russian state media outlets have linked Griner’s case to the fate of notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who earned the nickname “Merchant of Death” by allegedly smuggling military-grade weapons to rogue leaders and insurgent groups across Africa and beyond.
In 2008, the DEA successfully baited Bout into flying to Thailand to finalize a deal with federal agents posing as members of a Colombian terrorist group. Bout was extradited to the U.S. in 2010 and is currently serving a 25-year sentence in a federal prison in Illinois for conspiring to sell weapons to people who planned to use them to kill Americans.
The next hearing in Griner's trial is scheduled for July 26. While Griner's detention has been authorized through Dec. 20, her attorneys have previously told reporters they expect her trial to finish by the beginning of August.
It began Saturday afternoon as a grim, if familiar, ritual. Dozens of protesters gathered outside the south Minneapolis apartment building where police fatally shot a Black man two days earlier. His name was Andrew Tekle Sundberg; his family said he was having a mental health crisis that led to an overnight standoff with officers, and activists wanted to know why the police could not have ...
David Venables has been found guilty of murdering his wife Brenda Venables in 1982.
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2022-07-17T14:40:02Z
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Brittney Griner returns to Russian court, where lawyers present evidence in effort for more lenient sentence
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ESPN took a look around the current world of college football coaches to compile a list of 45 minority coaches under the age of 45 that could one day be a Division 1 head coach. A former assistant to James Franklin ranked at the top of the list, but another former Penn State player also received a mention from ESPN.
Josh Gattis, a former Penn State assistant under Franklin, continues to be the hottest name among coordinators, and not just among Black coaches either. It will not be much longer before Gattis gets his first crack at running a college football program of his own, and it will be deserved. Gattis joined Franklin’s staff at Vanderbilt in 2012 as a wide receivers coach and offensive recruiting coordinator. He continues in those roles once Franklin moved to Penn State and brought Gattis and a number of other assistants with him to Happy Valley.
Gattis added the role of passing game coordinator to his duties at Penn State in 2014 and was a part of the Penn State staff for four seasons before accepting an opportunity to be the co-offensive coordinator for Alabama and Nick Saban in 2018. After one season with the Crimson Tide, Gattis returned to the Big Ten to be the offensive coordinator for Michigan. Gattis was with Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines for three seasons and was named the 2021 Broyles Award winner as the nation’s top assistant coach.
Gattis joined the Miami Hurricanes this year under new head coach Mario Cristobal, who left Oregon to return to Florida with the Hurricanes. Cristobal replaced Manny Diaz, who is now Penn State’s defensive coordinator. Gattis should be in his final coordinator role before getting a good opportunity to be a head coach.
While Gattis is one of the biggest names on the coaching radar, another person with Penn Statie ties is flying a bit more under the radar and may need a little more experience before getting his opportunity. ESPN included Elijah Robinson in its list of Black coaches under 45.
Robinson had his playing career at Penn State cut short due to a neck injury in 2006 under former head coach Joe Paterno. But it was Bill O'Brien and former defensive line coach Larry Johnson that helped get his coaching career started with the program. Robinson was a graduate assistant working with Johnson coaching the defensive line and he later added other responsibilities such as director of community relations and as an NFL liaison to coordinate scouting visits and more.
Robinson joined Matt Rhule on the Temple football staff and followed Rhule to Baylor from 2014 through 2017. Robinson coached the defensive line for the Owls and Bears, and it was clear Robinson had learned a thing or two from his mentor, Larry Johnson. Success coaching Temple and Baylor’s defensive lines led to an opportunity to join the Texas A&M staff in 2018, and he has since been promoted to assistant head coach and run game coordinator for the Aggies by head coach Jimbo Fisher heading into the 2022 season.
A number of Penn State fans were hoping Franklin would bring Robinson back to Penn State when searching for a defensive coordinator, but Robinson appears to be in a good spot right now anyway.
Will we one day see a couple more coaches with Penn State ties going head-to-head on the sidelines? One can only hope.
Phillies vs. Marlins: Good vibes from Ranger Suarez, J.T. Realmuto in rout of Miami
With the All-Star break nearing, the playoff-hopeful Phillies saw promising signs from Ranger Suarez and J.T. Realmuto in a 10-0 rout Saturday of the Marlins. By Jim Salisbury
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2022-07-17T14:55:37Z
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ESPN included former Penn State lineman among possible future Division 1 coaches
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We are less than 50 days from the start of the Oregon Ducks’ 2022 football season on Sept. 3 against the Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta.
Many game previews will be produced before then, but at Ducks Wire our eye was caught by something Athlon Sports put out this last week. It took the teams in college football who are likely going to be in playoff contention at the end of the year and tried to identify their possible trap games.
For anyone who is unfamiliar, a trap game is loosely defined as an opponent on the schedule that should not give a team any trouble, but could end up pushing it to the brink and potentially result in an upset.
So when looking at the Ducks’ schedule, where are the potential trap games? There may be a couple. Here are the two Athon Sports identified:
Sept. 24 at Washington State Cougars
There’s arguably no “trappier” team in the Pac-12 North than the Washington State Cougars. The notion of “Pac-12 After Dark” has been a thing for a long time, signaling crazy, late-game heroics that happen long after much of the country has gone to bed on a Saturday night. Washington State is usually involved.
The Ducks have lost two of their last three games to the Cougars, and have to always be on their toes when traveling to Pulloose.
Nov. 25 at Oregon State Beavers
You can trust the Ducks will never go into a rivalry game against the Beavers without giving their full attention to Oregon State, but the timing for this year’s matchup between the two is what makes it a trap game.
Oregon and Oregon State will meet in Corvallis a week after the Ducks play host to the Utah Utes, which is slated to be one of the best games of the year after how the 2021 season ended for Oregon. Could the Ducks be riding too high after a win, or potentially nursing too many injuries after facing Utah?
Top-10 CB in 2023 class lists Oregon among recruiting finalists
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2022-07-17T14:56:03Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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The two biggest trap games on Oregon’s schedule in 2022
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https://sports.yahoo.com/two-biggest-trap-games-oregon-132733456.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/two-biggest-trap-games-oregon-132733456.html?src=rss
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2022 NHL free agents: Best players still available after first wave originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
NHL free agency began on Wednesday, and while most of the top players available have already signed new contracts, there is still plenty of talent on the market.
In fact, the second-best unrestricted free agent on most rankings remains unsigned.
Nazem Kadri is coming off the best season of his career. He tallied 87 points (28 goals, 59 assists) in 71 games. He also played a key role in the Colorado Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup. Kadri is a legit top-six center and plays with the kind of toughness that most general managers covet.
Kadri should be looking for $7-8 million per season in his next contract. That would be a reasonable ask for a player of his caliber. The issue for Kadri is not many teams have that kind of salary cap space. Just 13 of the league's 32 teams have more than $6.8 million in cap room right now, per CapFriendly. Only two of them, the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators, made the playoffs last season.
The top defenseman still available is John Klingberg. He's a legit top-four blueliner with a strong offensive skill set. However, Klingberg will be 30 years old on Opening Night in October, so giving him a long-term deal would be pretty risky, especially for a team close to the salary cap.
There are plenty of solid middle-six forwards unsigned as well. One of them is Phil Kessel. He's not an elite goal scorer anymore, but even at 34 years old, the two-time champion is still a quality offensive player (52 points in 82 games last season) and can upgrade a team's power play.
Here's a list of the best free agents still unsigned (excluding Patrice Bergeron, who said in May that he doesn't see himself playing for a team other than the Bruins if he plays next season).
John Klingberg, D
Nino Neiderreiter, C
Calvin de Haan, D
Sonny Milano, LW/RW
Danton Heinen, LW/RW
Ryan Donato, C
MLB mock drafts have tied the Reds to a shortstop, an outfielder and a catcher with their top pick in Sunday's draft.
The NFL (National Football League) is a professional American football league and the most popular of its kind in the world. The sport attracts a huge amount of betting action from all over the globe. Most online sports betting sites offer a wide ...
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2022-07-17T15:20:57Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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2022 NHL free agents: Best players still available after first wave of contracts
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https://sports.yahoo.com/2022-nhl-free-agents-best-182441743.html?src=rss
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Jason Shoot, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Baseball player and manager
Jul. 17—Trader Jerry's phone calls to his baseball counterparts presumably are different in tone and substance than they were a few weeks ago.
Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto watched his team flounder through the first two months of the season, but the M's have been the hottest team in baseball in a stretch dating back to June and have roared back into contention in the American League's wild-card race.
Through Saturday, the Mariners have reeled off 13 consecutive victories and won 21 of their past 24 games. That surge has catapulted the M's over seven teams in the AL standings and into a wild-card slot as the projected No. 5 seed.
The Mariners are playing with the swagger of a team that has outscored opponents 115-64 since June 19. Seattle's pitching staff has posted a 2.34 earned-run average in July, and the offense is averaging 4.6 runs a game this month despite suspensions and injuries keeping several of the team's stars out of the lineup.
It's been a stunning reversal of fortune for a team that was 10 games under .500 on June 19 with a 29-39 record and eight games out of the wild-card hunt. The Mariners had just lost four of five at home to the Los Angeles Angels and ended an 11-game homestand with three wins. Game recaps read like postmortem reports, and beat writers were signaling an inevitable continuation of the sport's longest playoff drought.
The Mariners will exit the All-Star break with 69 games remaining on the schedule and the trade deadline looming on Aug. 2. The analytics-minded folks at Fangraphs place the odds of Seattle making the playoffs at 55.5%. Houston has built a near-insurmountable lead in the AL West, meaning the Mariners' only path to the postseason will be through the wild card. Toronto, Boston, Cleveland, Baltimore and Chicago are within 3 1/2 games of the M's in the AL standings, a razor-thin margin.
The Mariners clearly must be buyers before the trade deadline, but the number of teams still in contention only serves to drive the cost of acquiring players higher. Dipoto has been hesitant to unload the organization's most highly regarded prospects in recent deals. Fortunately, two areas of concern — second base and finding an inning-eater for the rotation — are unlikely to cost the M's a premium prospect.
Second baseman Adam Frazier's woeful OPS of .604 is rooted in a .236 batting average, including a .143 mark against off-speed pitches. Backup Abraham Toro is batting .177 (just .079 against breaking balls) and doesn't figure to push Frazier out of the lineup.
Cincinnati's Brandon Drury signed a minor league deal in the off-season and has rewarded the Reds with 18 homers, the most he's hit in a season. His performance is enough of an outlier given his past production, however, to justify concerns about his output moving forward.
Miami's Joey Wendle offers a little more pop than Frazier and can bounce around the infield on defense. The Marlins are still within striking distance for the wild card in the National League, though, so Wendle's suspected availability is a little more uncertain than Drury's.
On the mound, concerns the staff could get overworked are legitimate. Seattle's Logan Gilbert had allowed seven home runs in his five starts before Saturday's five-inning, one-run effort against Texas, and he is projected to approach 200 innings pitched, a massive increase over his previous career high of 119 1/3 innings last season. George Kirby is on an innings count. Robbie Ray, Marco Gonzales and Chris Flexen have amassed a combined 324 innings.
A veteran like Pittsburgh's Jose Quintana — reports suggest Mike Clevenger of San Diego could be had, too — might be attractive if the cost for a top-of-the-rotation arm like Cincinnati's Luis Castillo is prohibitive. Kansas City's Brad Keller could be another relatively low-cost acquisition to stretch out the rotation.
A question that will hover over the franchise until the Mariners snap their 21-year postseason skid is just how far the team is willing to go to compete with Houston and the AL's best teams this year and beyond. Payroll remains depressed compared to seasons past even though the team punches "well above our weight on the television deal" with Root Sports, according to former team president Kevin Mather in February 2021.
Dipoto has proven he can make the Mariners competitive with the budget he's been given. It remains to be seen if team ownership will invest the resources necessary to make the Mariners a perennial playoff team and a legitimate World Series contender.
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2022-07-17T15:21:16Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Jason Shoot: As Mariners have surged into contention, Trader Jerry needs to deliver knockout punch to playoff drought
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https://sports.yahoo.com/jason-shoot-mariners-surged-contention-040100744.html?src=rss
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Next up at No. 10 is center Lucas Patrick, who might just be one of Chicago’s most important offseason additions.
Patrick joined the Packers in 2016 as an undrafted free agent, where he didn’t see much action in his first three seasons. But he’s since developed into Green Bay’s starting right guard since the 2020 season with experience playing all three interior positions. During the 2021 season, he played both right guard and center.
When first-round center Josh Myers went down with an injury, Lucas was kicked inside to center. He made 11 of his 13 starts at center, and he earned effusive praise from quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Patrick kept the penalties to a minimum as he was called for two holding calls and two false starts, including one that was declined. He proved his versatility, which made him
Patrick was an easy choice for GM Ryan Poles, as his versatility and experience in Luke Getsy’s offense make him an asset. He signed a two-year deal worth $8 million. Patrick came to the Bears with the possibility of playing either right guard or center. But it didn’t take long for Patrick to confirm that he’d be the team’s new center, replacing Sam Mustipher, who had a bit of a rough time last year. Patrick played center most of last season with the Packers, and he brings with him a knowledge of Getsy’s offense that should help make the transition for this offense as seamless as possible.
Right now, the offensive line has more questions than answers. That includes what the starting lineup will look like. But Patrick and Cody Whitehair’s roles — center and left guard, respectively — are the only two that appear to be locked in at this point. The Bears have a number of players with experience playing multiple positions, including Patrick who could also fill a potential hole at right guard should the situation call for it. But the plan is for Patrick to be someone quarterback Justin Fields can trust.
Big question: Will Patrick play center for the entire season?
Keeping with the theme of questions along the offensive line, there’s still a gaping hole at the right guard position. It’s a spot that could be filled by Mustipher or perhaps even Teven Jenkins or Larry Borom depending on how things shake out. Matt Eberflus expressed that they’re exploring all possible combinations, although it’s safe to assume Patrick and Whitehair are safe at their respective center and left guard positions.
Still, life comes at you fast in the NFL, and there have been plenty of situations where there’s been some shuffling along offensive lines. Patrick has experience playing three different positions along the offensive line — including both guard spots and center — so there could be a scenario where he makes the move. After all, there are others on the roster with experience at center. But you figure the goal is to keep Patrick at center to maintain consistency between him and Fields.
Relive the Tampa Bay Buccaneers blowout win over the Chicago Bears in Week 7 of the 2021 NFL season
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2022-07-17T15:46:42Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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30 Most Important Bears of 2022: No. 10 Lucas Patrick
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https://sports.yahoo.com/30-most-important-bears-2022-140030771.html?src=rss
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The Indianapolis Colts officially report to Westfield for the start of training camp in just over a week’s time where the defensive ends look to form a group that vaults the defense into a new tier.
The defense will be brought along by new coordinator Gus Bradley, who replaces Matt Eberflus. Bradley’s aggressive scheme will feature assignments from edge rushers that focus solely on getting upfield and impacting the quarterback.
The Colts made a big addition to the room this offseason via trade when they added Yannick Ngakoue while they hope a pair of their second-year players will take a jump.
For positional purposes, we are going to include Dayo Odeyingbo with the interior defensive line players even though he could see an equal amount of time on the edge as well.
With training camp’s report date set for July 26, here’s our preview of the edge rushers:
For years, Ngakoue terrorized the Colts’ backfield. Now, he’s wearing the horseshoe. The 27-year-old defensive end was acquired by the Colts this offseason in a trade that sent cornerback Rock Ya-Sin to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Ngakoue has experience in two separate seasons working under Gus Bradley. He will be deployed as the LEO, which is a position meant for players who can get upfield quickly while using their athleticism to run the arc.
Ngakoue hasn’t recorded fewer than 8.0 sacks in a season since entering the league in 2016. That, combined with the hope of a Year 2 jump from this next player, brings a lot of optimism toward the pass rush.
Everyone’s favorite breakout candidate. Paye enters Year 2 after a promising showing during his rookie campaign in 2021. The former first-round pick is likely working as the Big End but should also see plenty of snaps from the wide-9 alignment.
Though Paye only recorded 4.0 sacks during his rookie season, there are plenty of analysts who believe a double-digit campaign could take place this season. That may be a more optimistic view, but it’s certainly in his range of outcomes.
The Colts drafted Paye to eventually be a difference-maker on the defensive side of the ball, and he knows it’s time to go entering Year 2.
It will be interesting to see the progress made by Lewis after suffering a significant knee injury during the Week 8 game against the Tennessee Titans in 2021. The Colts re-signed Lewis to see if he can bounce back from the injury and subsequent surgery, but there’s a chance we don’t see any of him at training camp.
The timing of the injury may lead Lewis to start the season on the PUP list. We haven’t gotten much of an update on his status since the injury occurred but we should get one relatively soon after the team reports for camp.
As long as the injury didn’t take too much away from Lewis, he can still be a solid contributor in the defensive line rotation. But depending on his recovery timeline, it may be more of a second-half arrival.
Despite exploding during the preseason in 2021, Banogu once again remained a non-factor in the pass rush for the Colts. How much of that was Matt Eberflus’ doing and how much of that was on Banogu’s shoulders is unclear.
What is clear is that the former second-round pick is potentially on his last chance when it comes to his future with the Colts. The uber-athletic defender has appeared in 34 games since being drafted but only has 2.5 sacks under his belt. All of them came during his rookie season in 2019.
Banogu seems like a better fit for Bradley’s scheme, but there’s no guarantee he makes the roster if he doesn’t show promise during training camp and the preseason games.
Ifeadi Odenigbo
Despite joining the Colts late in the offseason, Odenigbo is an interesting addition to the defensive line. He works mostly from the edge but can kick inside to the three-technique in certain packages.
Odenigbo will be competing for one of the final spots in the defensive end room but could make the roster if Lewis winds up on the PUP list to begin the season.
Like Odenigbo, Cox joined the Colts roster late in the offseason. He will have a tougher time making the roster with just 0.5 sacks under his belt in 26 career games since 2017.
Kameron Cline
This will be Cline’s third season with the Colts after signing with the team as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2020. During his first two seasons, Cline has spent the majority of his time on the practice squad or as a healthy scratch on gamedays. He’s fighting for one of the final spots on the roster but may be headed toward a practice squad spot.
An undrafted rookie out of Colorado, Patchan has good arm length and solid burst off the line. It will be an uphill battle for him to make the roster, but there are some intriguing traits there that may warrant a spot on the practice squad.
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2022-07-17T17:56:08Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Colts’ 2022 training camp preview: Edge Rushers
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https://sports.yahoo.com/colts-2022-training-camp-preview-163029624.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/colts-2022-training-camp-preview-163029624.html?src=rss
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Jalen Hurts is entrenched as the starter, but depending on how things shake out in 2022, that development could quickly change.
Philadelphia has two first-round picks, but the laws of team building state that a championship roster must be sculpted around the quarterback, likely forcing Howie Roseman to evaluate his third-year passer critically.
As training camp approaches, we’ll preview every position on the Eagles roster, starting with the most important position in all sports.
When you talk about conventional roster building, constructing a roster around the skillsets seems like the most likely road to success for the Eagles. The NFL is a league centered around high-profile passers, and Jalen Hurts’ ceiling as a passer in the league has been a cause for discussion since Philadelphia was bounced out of the playoffs by the Buccaneers.
The Philadelphia Eagles say Jalen Hurts will be the team’s starting quarterback in 2022.
Hurts has made just 20 starts in his young career, and if he can improve his accuracy and progression, Philadelphia could be a perennial playoff team for years to come.
Hurts spent the offseason working with a quarterbacks coach, and during OTAs, his teammates raved about increased speed in his delivery and overall decision-making.
Minshew would prefer to be a starter. Although backup quarterbacks are a necessary commodity, snagging a third-round pick for the former Jaguars draft pick would help amass more weapons for Jalen Hurts.
With Hurts out against the Jets last season, Minshew completed 80 percent of his passes for 242 yards and two TDs (against zero picks), firmly putting his efficient style of passing on display for teams looking for a stop-gap quarterback.
Minshew, who was traded to Philadelphia last August, has one year left on his rookie contract, which is set to count for $965,000 against the salary cap in 2022, per Over The Cap, so Howie Roseman could choose to stand pat unless a team who suffers a significant injury comes calling.
Philadelphia Eagles’ Jack Anderson, left and Reid Sinnett warms up before an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Before landing with the Eagles, Sinnett signed a 2-year, $1,485,000 contract with the Miami Dolphins, including an average annual salary of $742,500.
In 2022, Sinnett will earn a base salary of $825,000 while carrying a cap hit of $825,000.
A native of Johnston, Iowa, Sinnett enrolled at San Diego University after having an offer from the University of Penn pulled following a coaching staff change. During his final season, Sinnett passed for 3,528 yards and 32 touchdowns versus ten interceptions.
After a brief stint on the Bucs’ practice squad, Sinnett signed with the Miami Dolphins practice squad, seeing no NFL action as a rookie.
The Eagles are a quarterback factory, and after Sinnett was waived, Howie Roseman pounced, adding Sinnett to the Philadelphia roster.
With Minshew looking to move on, Sinnett made sense as Philadelphia’s potential No. 2 quarterback heading into the 2022 NFL season.
Now Sinnett will look to hold off former Nevada quarterback Carson Strong for the third quarterback spot.
Strong was one of the top passers in college football over the last three seasons, ranking first in completions (852), fourth in pass yards (9,368), and second in pass touchdowns (74). His 4,175 passing yards in 2021 were the third-most in Mountain West history.
After going undrafted in April’s NFL draft, Strong got a signing bonus of $20,000 and has $320,000 guaranteed on his contract. That’s a huge amount of guaranteed money for an undrafted rookie.
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2022-07-17T17:56:09Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Eagles’ 2022 training camp preview: Quarterback
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https://sports.yahoo.com/eagles-2022-training-camp-preview-165842218.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/eagles-2022-training-camp-preview-165842218.html?src=rss
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Kirk Cousins will finally have an opportunity to thrive at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings after the split with former head coach Mike Zimmer, according to NFL commentator Ben Leber.
During an appearance on CBS Sports Radio, the former Vikings linebacker claimed Zimmer never liked Cousins enough to give him a real opportunity to lead the team.
“I think he’s going to finally thrive, really thrive, in a system and a coach that actually respects him,” said Leber. “I mean, it’s not like I’m breaking news here that Mike Zimmer did not like Kirk Cousins. And I think that showed in the way that Kirk behaved and the way that he carried himself. The team was never given to him, or he was never allowed to earn the trust of the team, because the head coach I think just didn’t like him.”
There have been obvious clues to a disconnect between many of the personnel decisions made by former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman and Zimmer.
If Leber is right in his assessment, perhaps some of that plays into the equation as well. Of course, it would be great to hear Zimmer’s side of the story, but the former coach has gone radio silent since being fired by the team back in January.
Newly-hired head coach Kevin O’Connell has arrived with a more player-friendly coaching style, along with having actual experience working alongside Cousins during their time with the former Washington Redskins.
A higher altitude for the Vikings quarterback, who threw for 4,221 yards, 33 touchdowns and only seven interceptions in 2021, could potentially carry the team to the Promised Land in 2022.
Anything less could bring into question an offseason of Zimmer being painted as the bad guy in Minnesota.
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2022-07-17T17:56:10Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Former Vikings LB claims Mike Zimmer never liked Kirk Cousins
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https://sports.yahoo.com/former-vikings-lb-claims-mike-165707740.html?src=rss
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As we reach the end of another week on the NFL offseason, it is time to take a look around the NFC West to see what is new with the Arizona Cardinals’ division rivals.
What has been going on with the Los Angeles Rams?
Below are a few stories from last week that Cardinals fans should know.
Matthew Stafford ranked 6th among QBs
Stafford has always been considered one of the most talented quarterbacks in the NFL. After one season with the Rams and winning a Super Bowl, he is ranked by players, coaches and executives as the No. 6 QB in the NFL.
Darrell Henderson Day in Batesville, MS
Henderson, the Rams’ No. 2 running back, is from Batesville, MS. His hometown announced that Feb. 13 will now be Darrell Henderson Day.
Cooper Kupp hopes to be better, but might not have better numbers
Kupp had one of the best seasons ever for a wide receiver in 2021. He was named a first-team All-Pro. He won Offensive Player of the Year. He was the Super Bowl MVP.
And now he is focused on improving himself as a player, rather than trying to beat his career numbers last season.
Training camp dates
The Rams, like the Cardinals, announced their dates and times for training camp practices. They will also have themed days and fan giveaways.
Bobby Wagner won't surprise himself
After years with the Seahawks, linebacker Bobby Wagner will play for the Rams for the first time this season.
He believes he will be able to do some things he hasn’t done since earlier in his career. Others might be surprised by what he does, but he won’t be.
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2022-07-17T17:56:25Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Player rankings, Darrell Henderson Day, Cooper Kupp and other Rams news for Cardinals fans
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https://sports.yahoo.com/player-rankings-darrell-henderson-day-172812535.html?src=rss
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Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson has done a great job overall since taking over in Nashville, but where does he stack up against other general managers from around the NFL?
According to NBC Sports’ Patrick Daugherty, Robinson is the No. 9 general manager in the NFL. Here’s what Daugherty had to say about J-Rob:
Robinson has certainly had some misses over the years in free agency, trades and the NFL draft, but what general manager hasn’t? What’s important is that the good has outweighed the bad over six seasons.
Before Robinson took over in 2016, the Titans were coming off five losing seasons in seven years and hadn’t made a trip to the playoffs since 2008.
But things have turned around drastically under Robinson, with the Titans enjoying six straight winning seasons, including four trips to the playoffs (one of which ended in the AFC Championship Game) and two straight division titles the past two years.
Among his highlights are franchise-altering drafts in 2016 and 2019, the trade for Ryan Tannehill, and the rebuild of the defense that sent it from horrible in 2020 to near-elite in 2021.
We’d also be remiss not to mention how Robinson helped piece together an injury-riddled roster in 2021 that still won 12 games and the No. 1 seed in the AFC despite fielding an NFL record 91 players.
Pretty much the only thing Robinson hasn’t accomplished is a trip to the Super Bowl and a victory in the big game, but thanks to a contract extension earlier this offseason, Robinson will have more time to get Tennessee there.
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2022-07-17T17:56:37Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Titans’ Jon Robinson lands in top 10 of NBC Sports’ GM rankings
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https://sports.yahoo.com/titans-jon-robinson-lands-top-162756077.html?src=rss
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The 2022 British Open was Rory McIlroy's for the taking, and Cameron Smith swooped in and took it.
On golf's most famous hole, standing behind the notorious Road Hole bunker, Smith, leading McIlroy by a stroke at -19, settled in and putted one of the strangest, and most crucial, shots of his career. The ball rolled up and around the bunker, giving him a short par putt that he drained for the most important up-and-down of his life.
One hole and one stroke behind him, McIlroy was trying his hardest to get his game out of third gear. McIlroy couldn't get a long putt to fall all day, and in the end, that doomed him. McIlroy missed birdie chances on 16 and 17, and an eagle chance at 18, and could only watch his chances wilt away. After Cameron Young eagled the 18th and McIlroy was unable to birdie the hole, McIlroy ended up in solo third place at -18.
Smith and McIlroy hadn't really engaged in a duel, per se; McIlroy, who along with Viktor Hovland entered the day with a four-stroke lead, had played conservative golf all afternoon. That would have been the smart play had Smith not gotten on a hot streak all but unprecedented in major championship golf: five straight birdies on the back nine as part of a final-round 64, enough to blow right past McIlroy and claim the Claret Jug.
It was a bitter end to McIlroy's longtime attempt to win a fifth major, in the face of one of the most brilliant performances in major championship history.
"We have been asked quite frequently about banning players. Let me be very clear. That's not on our agenda. But what is on our agenda is that we will review our exemptions and qualifications criteria for The Open," R&A CEO Martin Slumbers said. "And whilst we do that every year, we absolutely reserve the right to make changes as our Open Championships Committee deems appropriate. Players have to earn their place in The Open, and that is fundamental to its ethos and its unique global appeal."
Tiger Woods also took aim at LIV players, criticizing their focus on money over legacy. "I think that what they've done is they've turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position," Woods said. "Some players have never got a chance to even experience it. They've gone right from the amateur ranks right into that organization and never really got a chance to play out here and what it feels like to play a Tour schedule or to play in some big events."
ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND - JULY 17: Cameron Smith of Australia reacts on the 15th green during Day Four of The 150th Open at St Andrews Old Course on July 17, 2022 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Starbucks weighs sale of UK operations
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2022-07-17T18:22:37Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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2022 British Open: Cam Smith outduels Rory McIlroy to win
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https://sports.yahoo.com/2022-british-open-cam-smith-outduels-rory-mc-ilroy-to-win-174101954.html?src=rss
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It’s another “close but no cigar” recruiting loss for the Spartans on Saturday.
Four-star tight end Jelani Thurman announced on Sunday, that he has committed to Ohio State, picking the Buckeyes over Michigan State, Alabama and Auburn. Thurman is ranked as the No. 3 tight end prospect in the 2023 class, according to 247Sports.
Thurman hails from Fairburn, Ga., and is one of the most highly-touted tight end prospects in the class. He holds offers from nearly 30 schools and had his choice of where he’d like to play his college ball.
Michigan State already has a four-star tight end commitment in their 2023 class in Brennan Parachek of Dexter, Mich., but adding Thurman would have been huge for the Spartans. Losing him to a conference rival doesn’t make it any better, either.
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2022-07-17T19:34:45Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Buckeyes edge out Spartans for 2023 4-star Georgia TE Jelani Thurman
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The UNC football program is hoping to re-capture some of that momentum they had in late June and early July for their 2023 recruiting class. And they will find out their fate for a four-star defensive lineman soon enough.
Daevin Hobbs is ready to end his recruitment here this Summer and has officially set a date for a commitment. He took to Twitter on Saturday to reveal that August 1st is the date he will be committing to a program and will do so at 6:30 p.m. with a ceremony at Jay M Robinson High School.
The 6-foot-4, 262-pound Hobbs has a total of 24 offers in his recruitment but this appears to be a two-team race between UNC and Auburn. Hobbs has taken official visits to both programs but Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Alabama have all offered recently, getting involved late.
Commitment Day
@ Jay M Robinson High School
🍊🐅🐘〽️🐏🐓
— Daevin Hobbs (@DaevinH) July 16, 2022
Right now, UNC might just be the favorites for the in-state recruiting target as they hold all three predictions for the defensive lineman on the 247Sports crystal ball predictor.
Hobbs is ranked No. 175 overall, the No. 25 defensive lineman, and the No. 2 player in the state of North Carolina per 247Sports.
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2022-07-17T19:34:58Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Four-star UNC football target sets commitment date
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https://sports.yahoo.com/four-star-unc-football-target-171729991.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/four-star-unc-football-target-171729991.html?src=rss
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Regardless, money seems to be winning and the Pac-12 could now be forced to take similar measures to stay alive. One potential option is a merger with the ACC. The Colorado Buffaloes, at least, would have a competitive advantage over the Pac-12’s remaining West Coast teams based on their location. Yet for those near the Pacific, this solution is far from perfect, even if it means keeping the Pac-12 “alive.”
Pat Rooney of Buffzone gave his thoughts on the Pac-12 merging with the ACC:
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2022-07-17T19:35:17Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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A Pac-12-ACC merger has its flaws, but it remains an option
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https://sports.yahoo.com/pac-12-acc-merger-flaws-180838081.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/pac-12-acc-merger-flaws-180838081.html?src=rss
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ESPN bumped the Gators up to No. 17 in its most recent rankings, which has seen Billy Napier’s squad steadily climb since missing out on some big-name targets. Other outlets also have the Orange and Blue among their top 25 schools after the program fell off a cliff following the departure of Dan Mullen, signaling some much-needed progress where the previous staff had faltered.
247Sports’ Chance Linton recently published his rankings of the top schools on the recruiting trail, with Florida coming in at No. 22. Here is how Linton broke down the Gators halfway through the summer.
247Sports Composite Score: 200.22
Class rank: National—No. 22 | SEC—No. 6
Class summary: The Gators’ recruiting class consists of nine four-star prospects and three three-star prospects, including four players ranked among the top-200 nationally according to the 247Sports Composite. The Florida commits in the 2023 class have an average Composite rating of 90.54. In the 2022 recruiting cycle, the Gators signed the nation’s No. 18 class, per the Composite.
UF is sandwiched between the No. 21 Oregon Ducks and No. 23 West Virginia Mountaineers in the rankings, representing the last Southeastern Conference school on the list. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish sit at the top of the rankings at No. 1, while the five SEC schools mentioned ahead of Florida are the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers, No. 7 LSU Tigers, No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs, No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks and No. 12 Alabama Crimson Tide.
With the upcoming Friday Night Lights and team cookout events at the end of July — which will feature plenty of big-name recruits on both days — it is entirely possible that the Gators will make another surge of signings and further elevate their rankings heading into the season.
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2022-07-17T19:35:23Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Here’s where Florida lands in 247Sports recruiting rankings update
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https://sports.yahoo.com/where-florida-lands-247sports-recruiting-180219849.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/where-florida-lands-247sports-recruiting-180219849.html?src=rss
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Here’s how Jefferson ranked the top five in the NFL: Davante Adams, himself, then in the third spot he put Kupp and Ja’Marr Chase in a tie. At No. 5, he went with Stefon Diggs.
It’s actually a really good list and it’d be hard to argue with any of those rankings.
Kupp is consistently ranked among the five best receivers in the NFL, and keeping him out of the top five would be a mistake for anyone listing the premier receivers. It’ll be hard for him to follow up the season he had in 2021, but don’t be surprised if he puts up another 1,400-yard, 10-touchdown season this year.
Having Allen Robinson on the other side will take some pressure and coverage away from Kupp, too, which will only help.
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2022-07-17T19:55:03Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Justin Jefferson ranks Cooper Kupp in his top 4 WRs
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https://sports.yahoo.com/justin-jefferson-ranks-cooper-kupp-145434016.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/justin-jefferson-ranks-cooper-kupp-145434016.html?src=rss
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Taison Chatman, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound senior men’s basketball combo guard from Totino-Grace High School in Fridley, Minnesota, on Saturday included Kansas on his list of five schools he might attend.
Chatman — he is ranked No. 26 in the recruiting class of 2023 by 247sports.com, No. 63 by ESPN.com and On3.com and No, 69 by Rivals.com — reported on Twitter a list of KU, Minnesota, Ohio State, Virginia and Xavier. He earlier had also listed Kansas State, Texas, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Iowa, Iowa State, Louisville, Marquette, Northwestern, Washington State, LSU, UConn and others.
Kansas extended a scholarship offer to Chatman on April 27 following his junior season in which he averaged 13.5 points a game for state champion Totino-Grace High (26-6). He made an official visit to KU on June 24-26 and also has visited Xavier and UConn, a school that did not make his final five.
“Kansas was my last official visit I took and I had a great time there. The coaching staff was very genuine and they know what it takes to get to the next level and succeed and they believe that they can help me reach my goals,” Chatman told On3.com.
Of his visit, he told Shay Wildeboor of Jayhawkslant.com: “It was good and I spent a lot of time with the team. I toured the campus and spent time with the coaching staff. I hung out with Bobby (Pettiford) and Zach Clemence. We went through a day in the life. They get a lot of basketball players and they are treated well up there, too. I think it’s a great school and coach (Bill) Self said that I would fit in great,” he added.
Chatman is the highest-rated prospect from the state of Minnesota since Jalen Suggs of Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis, the No. 11 ranked player in the class of 2020 (by Rivals.com), who chose Gonzaga over KU and others.
Dan McDonald of Rivals.com wrote: “I love his size at 6-3 and athleticism for a point guard. He’s a talented scorer that also makes good decisions and sees the floor well.”
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2022-07-17T19:55:09Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Kansas one of five schools on the recruiting list of elite Minnesota guard Taison Chatman
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https://sports.yahoo.com/kansas-one-five-schools-recruiting-010557152.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/kansas-one-five-schools-recruiting-010557152.html?src=rss
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In one year, LeBron James is scheduled to hit NBA free agency. There will be many teams interested in the talents of the Los Angeles Lakers star, but we can probably cross the Boston Celtics off the list.
James did not have very nice things to say about the Celtics, particularly their fanbase, during an episode of his talk show "The Shop" released Friday. Specifically, he identified TD Garden has his least favorite place to play after soccer player Marcus Rashford discussed Premier League venues.
Also part of the conversation were James' business partner Maverick Carter and show co-creator Paul Rivera.
The full exchange:
Carter: "In basketball, there are fans that can literally take the game from you. You can feel like the fans is not going to let us win this one tonight. What place?"
James: "I mean, Boston."
Rivera: "Why do you hate Boston?"
James: "Because they racist as f***, that's why. They will say anything, and it's fine. I mean, f***, it's my wife, she's been dealing with them her whole life. I don't mind it. I hear it, if I hear someone close by, I check them real quick. I move onto the game, whatever the f***. They going to say whatever the f*** they want to say. They might throw something, I got a beer thrown on me leaving a game."
Carter: "It's the only place in the NBA where you and they have shirts and they say like 'F*** LeBron.'"
James: "Yeah, it's like a 'F*** LBJ' T-shirt. I believe they probably sold it at the f***ing team shop."
It's not a surprise an NBA star would identify Boston as a particularly hostile place to visit, but it's not every day you see a person who owns part of the Boston Red Sox going after a Boston fanbase.
James and Carter are both investors in the Fenway Sports Group, a company principally owned by John Henry with majority ownership of the Red Sox, Liverpool FC, the Pittsburgh Penguins and RFK Racing. It works out to a very small percentage of each team for James, who hasn't exactly converted his baseball fandom to Boston.
The behavior of Celtics fans also made the news earlier this summer when the Golden State Warriors complained about their coarse language during the NBA Finals.
LeBron James doesn't love going to Boston. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
For what it's worth, James holds an 11-14 record against the Celtics on the road in his career. In the playoffs, he lost his first two series against Boston in his career, but has since won five straight, the most recent coming with a seven-game win for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018.
Celtics fans were far from the only thing discussed on "The Shop," as it was also the episode featuring the widely covered comments James made on Brittney Griner and the U.S. government.
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2022-07-17T19:55:15Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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LeBron James, Red Sox co-owner, says he hates Celtics fans because 'they racist as f***'
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https://sports.yahoo.com/le-bron-james-red-sox-co-owner-says-he-hates-celtics-fans-because-they-racist-as-f-005513844.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/le-bron-james-red-sox-co-owner-says-he-hates-celtics-fans-because-they-racist-as-f-005513844.html?src=rss
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Mike Freeman, USA TODAY
“Cause they racist as f ---,” James responded. “They will say anything. And it’s fine. It’s my life… I’ve been dealing with it my whole life. I don’t mind it. I hear it. If I hear somebody close by, I check them real quick, then move onto the game. They’re going to say whatever … they want to say.”
What James says isn't controversial. It's factual. If you have a problem with it, either you're willfully ignorant, or just don't know Boston. I mean, James may have some uncomfortable moments in his role as part owner of the Red Sox, but he's correct.
More: A lawyer, an eye doctor and a filmmaker got together, fought NBA for ABA pensions – and won
More: Taking a look at lucrative NBA offseason deals. Are we heading for a $70 million-a-year NBA player?
There's in fact a long trail of athletes who have said the exact same thing.
Kyrie Irving in May said he heard racist remarks directed toward him during his time with the Celtics.
A Red Sox fan threw a bag of peanuts at Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones in 2018. New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia once said: “I’ve never been called the “N-word,’ except in Boston. We all know. When you go to Boston, expect it.’’
Former All-Star outfielder Torii Hunter told ESPN he was “called the N-word in Boston 100 times. Little kids, with their parents right next to them. That’s why I had a no-trade clause to Boston in every contract I had.”
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James averaged 30.3 points this season.
The racism from fans at Red Sox games was so incredibly awful the team, the last to integrate, was forced to publicly acknowledge it.
“Torii Hunter’s experience is real," the team said in 2020. “If you doubt him because you’ve never heard it yourself, take it from us, it happens."
Marcus Smart wrote in The Players' Tribune about an incident that happened to him in 2020.
"I was pulling out of the arena parking lot when I saw a white woman with her five- or six-year-old son crossing against the light right as the cars were starting to come at them. I had my windows down and realized something bad was about to happen, so I yelled to her, politely, that she needed to hurry and get out of the street so the two of them wouldn’t get hurt.
"The woman was wearing an Isaiah Thomas number 4 Celts jersey. And there were all these other Celtics fans around who were at the game. I figured she’d be cool.
"Nope.
"She swung her head around and it was..."
The woman called Smart a racial slur.
I could go on. And on. And on and on and on.
So, yes, James is correct. But if we're honest. Completely honest. We have to acknowledge that the city of Boston is also slowly changing. It is still rife with racial animus and economic inequality but it has also recently done something remarkable that shows its potential.
If you had told me 10 years ago, or even five, that Boston would elect an Asian mayor, I would have laughed in your face. But Michelle Wu was picked as the city's first Asian mayor in 2021 and became just one of only six Asian mayors leading one of the 100 largest American cities.
Three cities last year elected their first mayors of Asian descent: Wu; Bruce Harrell in Seattle; and Aftab Pureval in Cincinnati. Their elections represent the changing racial dynamics of the nation, even in places where traditionally that influence has been non-existent.
The fact Boston, long a place that's resisted this type of change, is now part of it, is stunning. Before Wu, Boston had only elected white men as mayor. Wu replaced Marty Walsh, who joined the Biden Administration. He was replaced on an acting basis by Kim Janey, who became Boston's first woman and Black mayor.
The election of an Asian mayor doesn't cure things but it starts something.
Thus as ugly as Boston's racial history has been, and is, there remains some promise. The Red Sox in 2018 removed Yawkey Way from Fenway Park. Tom Yawkey was a notorious racist who owned the Red Sox from 1933-1976 and was called baseball’s biggest bigot by Jackie Robinson.
The problem is the hardened racist fans that James talks about have a significant and vocal presence in the sports scene there. There is still a significant portion of the Boston fan base that, well, hates Black people. That's just a fact. It's a fact you may not like to hear but it's true. It's not just a few bad bigots. There's a problematic culture that needs change.
So, yes, of course James is correct, and as someone who once lived in Boston, and has written about its racial ugliness for decades, nothing James said was wrong. He was so incredibly right.
But it's possible, just possible, he may not be for long.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron James calls Boston fans 'racist as f---' but city is changing
A family's beloved pet cat, who escaped from her kennel at Boston's Logan Airport and roamed the property for three weeks, was reunited with her owner on Saturday.
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2022-07-17T19:55:21Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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LeBron James is right: Boston fans can be racist, but the city is changing | Opinion
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https://sports.yahoo.com/lebron-james-boston-fans-racist-164121826.html?src=rss
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Colts’ Chris Ballard outside top-10 in GM rankings
Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard has commanded plenty of respect around the league since taking over that front office role in 2017.
As Ballard tries to pull the organization back from missing the playoffs due to a colossal collapse in 2021, he was ranked outside the top-10 general managers entering the new season by NBC Sports.
Placing him at No. 11, here’s what they said about the Colts general manager:
Ballard is still on the search for the long-term quarterback option following the retirement of Andrew Luck. They should have a solid short-term option with Matt Ryan now in town, but the search for the elusive franchise signal-caller still hasn’t come to fruition.
The Colts should be set up for a solid chance to make it into the playoffs after missing out in 2021 while Ballard will continue to search for his long-term quarterback.
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2022-07-17T19:56:18Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Colts’ Chris Ballard outside top-10 in GM rankings
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https://sports.yahoo.com/colts-chris-ballard-outside-top-181701600.html?src=rss
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In Roob's Observations: Can Britain Covey energize Eagles' return game? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Can Britain Covey solve the Eagles’ long-standing return game issues? What happened to Miles Sanders’ receiving ability? And a former Eagle whose daughter is now an international track star.
We’re all over the map with this weekend’s Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Offseason Observations. Soon to lose the “offseason” tag!
2. Jalen Hurts Stat of the Week: Over the last five weeks of last season, Hurts had a higher passer rating than Tom Brady. Hurts was 101.3 and Brady 100.3.
3. Sanders’ precipitous decline as a receiver is a huge mystery to me. Sanders caught 50 passes for 509 yards and three TDs as a rookie but has dropped to 54-for-355 with no TDs the last two seasons combined. Sanders is one of only two running backs in NFL history with 500 receiving yards as a rookie and fewer than 400 the next two years combined. The other one was Mike Alstott in the late 1990s. Sanders ranked seventh among RBs in receiving as a rookie, but he ranks 40th since. How does that happen? Sanders was such a playmaker in the passing game in 2019. He had 16 catches of 10 yards or more as a rookie and just 11 the last two years combined. And he averaged 32 receiving yards per game as a rookie but just 15 the last two years. It’s weird. You don’t just lose your ability to catch the football, but Sanders just hasn’t looked the same when it comes to getting open, beating defenders on wheel routes and screens and securing the football when it’s thrown to him. Was his rookie year a fluke in terms of receiving? Maybe the injuries have somehow affected him more as a receiver than a runner? He just hasn’t looked comfortable in the passing game since 2019. Whatever the reason, it’s a problem for a young quarterback who needs to be able to throw to the backs when nobody is open down the field or the pocket breaks down. This all plays into Sanders’ value as he approaches the final year of his contract. Running backs who can catch are just a lot more valuable than those who can’t.
4. Terrell Owens had 20 touchdown catches as an Eagle. Only three Eagles receivers have had more over the last 25 years (DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Jordan Matthews). T.O. only played 21 games as an Eagle.
5. What Dallas Goedert did last year is insane: He was targeted just 76 times but had 835 receiving yards. The NFL has been tracking targets since 1992, and during that 30-year period no other tight end has had over 800 yards on 76 or fewer targets. Antonio Gates had 782 yards on 65 targets for the Chargers in 2010, and that’s the closest anybody else has been. That’s remarkable production and efficiency by Goedert, who had the 17th-most targets among tight ends last year but the fifth-most yards. Everybody raved about Mark Andrews’ season, and 1,361 yards is ridiculous for a tight end. But he had 153 targets — more than twice Goedert. Only five WRs have had 835 yards on 76 or fewer targets in the last 30 years. Goedert had a historic season for a wide receiver, and he’s a tight end.
6. Remember Eagles linebacker Marc Woodard? He played in 48 games from 1994 through 1996, mainly on special teams, and he settled in South Jersey after he retired from football. Woodard’s daughter Jessica, who attended Cherokee High School in Marlton, was a shot put All-American at the University of Oklahoma and made her first U.S. national team last month. On Saturday, competing against the top women in the world, Woodard placed eighth in the shot at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore. She’s only the eighth U.S. woman to place among the top eight at Worlds. Her 63-7 ¾ at the U.S. Championships last month ranks No. 14 in U.S. history.
7. Somebody called my WIP show with James Seltzer on Saturday complaining about how Jonathan Gannon never adjusted last year, and that’s why the Eagles always got blown out in the second half. But actually the opposite is true. Not counting the meaningless loss to the Cowboys on the last day of the season, they ranked 18th in the NFL in first-half points allowed (11.3) but sixth in second-half points allowed (9.6). I thought the Eagles’ defensive issues stemmed more from not being ready at the start of games than anything. They were third-worst in first-quarter points allowed (5.3 per game) but solid for the most part after halftime. With all the additions — Haason Reddick, James Bradberry, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Kyzir White — there’s no reason this can’t be an elite defense for 60 minutes instead of a decent one for 30 minutes.
8. Carson Wentz has had four seasons with at least 20 touchdowns and seven or fewer interceptions. In NFL history, only Aaron Rodgers has had more.
9. When we talk about Andy Reid’s remarkable initial Eagles coaching staff, which included eight future NFL head coaches as well as legendary Jim Johnson and ace offensive line coach Juan Castillo, we can’t forget Rod Dowhower, Reid’s initial offensive coordinator. Dowhower, an NFL coaching lifer who had coached Craig Morton, Neil Lomax and Mark Rypien, was in New York for the 1999 draft, and it was Dowhower who began working with Donovan McNabb on the Eagles’ playbook on the way to Philly just a few hours after he was drafted. Dowhower retired after the 2001 season, but his impact on McNabb and the role he had in McNabb’s rapid development from a raw rookie in 1999 to a Pro Bowler in 2000 to NFC Championship Game QB in 2001 was huge.
10. Seems crazy that the Eagles’ last training camp at Lehigh started 10 years ago this week. I miss Lehigh.
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2022-07-17T19:56:24Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Eagles Observations: Can Britain Covey energize Eagles' return game?
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https://sports.yahoo.com/eagles-observations-britain-covey-energize-175500707.html?src=rss
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 'Can't wait ... for any of our four guys to get a (Cup Series) call'
LOUDON, N.H. — Things have never been better at JR Motorsports.
The powerhouse Xfinity Series team is fresh off Justin Allgaier’s strong victory Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Chevrolet-backed organization’s sixth victory since late April and series-best seventh on the season. All four teams are communicating data intimately, all four are in the championship hunt inside the points standings’ top eight, and if you added any more proverbial cylinders to the mix, they’d probably be clicking on all those, too.
The blend of people from those turning wrenches on the shop floor to those turning left and right on Saturdays is just working, and it has been a long time in the making for the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-Kelley Earnhardt Miller joint operation.
“Trying to find the right way to fit those pieces together is always a fun challenge,” Earnhardt said after Allgaier’s win, the No. 7 driver’s third of the season. “And I think our lineup of drivers is as strong as it has ever been. I think our lineup of crew chiefs are working better together than they ever have. We’ve had some great crew chiefs like Dave Elenz and other people in our organization that were tough to see go but you know, when they work together, they can be stronger as a group. And so there’s a lot of great information going from car to car and we’ve got great engines. Really, really great engines from Hendrick. Our support from Hendrick when it comes to resources, engineering and sim and all those things, that river’s never flowed as smooth and as current as it does now. And so everything’s working well.”
MORE: Allgaier claims ‘Magic Mile’ | Full race results
Then again, are they perhaps working too well?
We’re at the point of the season where Cup Series rides of all sorts are starting to become available as drivers and teams play musical chairs with eyes cautiously looking ahead to the 2023 and 2024 seasons while keeping a keen focus on this year’s impending NASCAR Playoffs.
Given how dominant JR Motorsports is at the moment and the variety of talent the four-car team boasts, it’s not unreasonable to think one — or more — of them could be pilfered up to Cup by a team looking to capture lightning in a bottle with a driver on the rise. And JRM offers an enticing menu of options for other teams to potentially take a look at, from the veteran guile of 30-somethings Allgaier and Josh Berry, who look like they could hop into a Cup car tomorrow and make it competitive, to young, aggressive upstarts Noah Gragson and Sam Mayer, who ranked fifth and ninth, respectively, among our 23-and-under prospect rankings from this year’s preseason.
MORE: Power Rankings: Top 10 young prospects
With a few Silly Season shakeups this past week alone — Tyler Reddick and Ty Dillon leaving their respective rides — there are rumblings Gragson could be among the favorites to land one of those opportunities.
Not only can this be considered a good problem to have, according to Earnhardt, it’s actually a situation and environment Junior himself has cultivated — to make JRM a stepping stone to Sundays, even if it means part of the family has to move on.
“The one thing I’ll say is that I can’t wait for the phone to ring for any of our four guys to get a call. I want to know about it as soon as it happens, and I can’t wait to help them make the decision of whether that’s a smart move for them or not,” the Hall of Famer said. “That was such a great day (when Aric Almirola called to tell me he was leaving to drive the No. 43 full-time). I was standing in the house, standing in the lobby or the foyer of my house, when Aric Almirola called me and he said I got some tough news. He said, ‘Richard Petty has called me to see if … ‘ and I was like, ‘You gotta go.’ I didn’t even let him finish the sentence. I was like, ‘That’s it. That’s what we do this for.’ Like, this is your chance, you know? And I was so happy. You know, because that’s like a win. That’s like a trophy. That’s like what happened today to get a call. It’s kind of like getting pulled up from the minors. And it could happen any minute right in the middle of the year.
“And so yeah, I’m excited anytime that happens and the potential for Noah had that opportunity. I’m waiting. I’m waiting to hear that phone ring any second for him for any of our guys.”
Until that happens, the gregarious team owner is content to just keep winning races, celebrating in Victory Lane with his racing family and focusing on the next race ahead from now through Phoenix while enjoying the ride.
“We’re taking advantage of it and enjoying it for sure,” Earnhardt said. “We go home and have beer toasts and everybody, the morale in the shop, I don’t think could be better.”
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2022-07-17T20:13:16Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 'Can't wait ... for any of our four guys to get a (Cup Series) call'
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https://sports.yahoo.com/dale-earnhardt-jr-cant-wait-142303999.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/dale-earnhardt-jr-cant-wait-142303999.html?src=rss
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Police in Westminster, part of north Orange County, California, had previously announced the stabbing occurred without identifying East, but his death has since been confirmed by a release from the USAC.
The racing world reacts to the tragic death of former NASCAR Camping World Truck and USAC racer Bobby East. East was 37 years old when he was fatally stabbed at a gas station.
The man suspected of stabbing the former NASCAR and USAC driver was later shot and killed by police.
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2022-07-17T20:13:22Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Reports: Former NASCAR driver Bobby East dead at 37 after fatal stabbing at gas station
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https://sports.yahoo.com/former-nascar-driver-bobby-east-dead-at-37-after-fatal-stabbing-at-gas-station-001242128.html?src=rss
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LOUDON, N.H. — When the checkered flag flew in Saturday‘s Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Brandon Brown thought he finished fifth. Turns out, with both the cars of Landon Cassill and Noah Gragson getting disqualified, the No. 68 car finished a season-best third.
RELATED: New Hampshire results | Justin Allgaier wins
Brown hovered inside the top 20 for the opening half of the race, earning six stage points in the opening stage when crew chief Doug Randolph chose not to call the No. 68 car to pit road when a caution flew inside of 10 laps remaining in the stage. On a four-lap dash to the stage end, he dropped three positions from second to fifth.
Buried in traffic on the restart, Brown finished the second stage in 19th. But he was able to stay out of trouble in the second half of the race when many others were not, as there were six yellow flags in the final stage alone.
The pivotal point for Brown was when Akinori Ogata blew an engine on Lap 175. With just 17 cars on the lead lap, Randolph brought the No. 68 Chevrolet to pit road for four fresh tires. Over the 21-lap sprint to the finish, Brown was able to race to as high as fourth position but dropped to fifth when the race was complete.
“That last stint was all attack mode, give it everything that I had and push as hard as I could every single lap,” Brown said. “I was trying my hardest not to break the grip and break the plane to where I started sliding and tearing up the tires. But I did it just one too many times.”
When the race concluded, Brown radioed his crew, telling them he had a winning car. He had just made too many mistakes to catch race winner Justin Allgaier.
“With the (new) tires, it had the chance to win,” Brown said. “It just needed the driver to make the right moves. Maybe just one more caution would have been great.”
The eventual third-place finish was needed for Brandonbilt Motorsports. In the first 17 races of the season, the team had just a pair of top-10 efforts, with the most recent of those coming at Richmond Raceway back in early April.
Over the last few weeks, Brown had consecutive DNFs at Road America and Atlanta Motor Speedway. In the former, he totaled the car in the massive 13-car pileup. He then made a mistake at Atlanta, getting into the wall after battling inside the top 10 early and even finishing fourth and third, respectively, in the first two stages.
“This is everything to our team because we‘ve had very minimal media time up until now,” Brown said. “(That) really hurts for a team like us, especially with the sponsorship hunt and how hard it can be.
“Everyone knows how hard I hustle for sponsors. It means everything for us to get back up and get these strong runs and show these brands and companies, ‘Hey, Brandon Brown is in there and he‘s going to put you in a chance to win.‘ We‘re out here to compete.”
With Cassill being awarded just one point for his disqualification, Brown gained 39 points on the cutline, now just 61 markers behind with eight races remaining.
While it may take some more good fortune for Brown to increase his chances of making the postseason for the second time in three years, he has a fighter‘s chance.
“I think it‘s obtainable,” he said. “I think it‘s going to be a lot of work and a ton of strategy calls like that. We really need to take advantage of every opportunity given to do this and not choke anything away.”
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2022-07-17T20:13:28Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Strategy game gets Brandon Brown massive points day at New Hampshire
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https://sports.yahoo.com/strategy-game-gets-brandon-brown-122724388.html?src=rss
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Cameron Smith kisses the Claret Jug on the 18th green of the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland, on Sunday. (Peter Morrison / Associated Press)
The mullet, the mallet, both were exquisite for Cameron Smith on Sunday as he started the back nine of the Old Course with five birdies in a row and pulled away for victory in the British Open.
He later estimated it would hold two beers, and that he likely would celebrate with “about 20 Claret Jugs.”
The leaderboard was dual overhead Cams, as Young finished second at 19 . One shot behind him was McIlroy, who has yet to win that elusive fifth major after collecting four in quick succession early in his career.
McIlroy, who along with Viktor Hovland came into Sunday with a four-shot lead, didn’t play poorly. He was deadly accurate with his approaches. He just couldn’t make the putts, narrowly missing on several birdie chances as he watched Smith’s plunk into the cup.
“The putter just went a little cold today compared to the last three days,” said McIlroy, who has gone 30 majors since winning his last one in 2014, when he won the British Open and PGA Championship back to back.
Smith is the first Australian to win the British Open since two-time winner Greg Norman in 1986. Norman, commissioner of the controversial LIV Golf Series, was asked by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews to stay away for this, the 150th Open Championship.
Meanwhile, there have been persistent rumors that Smith could be among the next competitors to jump ship for the rival league. Clearly uncomfortable when asked about that after Sunday’s win, he didn’t deny the rumors and said that wasn’t on his mind at the moment.
“My team around me worries about all that stuff,” he said. “I'm here to win golf tournaments.”
He did a remarkable job of that in the final round, a day after slipping into a tie for second with a third-round 73.
At the midway point of Sunday’s round, McIlroy had achieved separation with a two-shot edge over Hovland — the Norwegian would finish with a ho-hum 74 — and a three-shot lead on the dueling Camerons.
Rory McIlroy, left, and Viktor Hovland shake hands on the 18th green after finishing their final round of the British Open on Sunday. (Gerald Herbert / Associated Press)
But in the inward nine, Smith hit the turbo. He went birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie to take the lead, while the star from Northern Ireland birdied No. 10, then couldn’t sink another birdie putt.
According to ESPN, Smith is the only player in the last 20 years to birdie the first five holes of the back nine in the final round of a major. He sealed the deal with a birdie on No. 18.
“I don't think I hit the ball any differently all four days, to be honest,” Smith said. “I felt like I kept hitting quality golf shots and kept giving myself looks at birdie, even from a distance, which is sometimes what you have to do around here.
“The only difference today, was the putts were dropping. I spent a little bit of time on the green [Saturday] night, and just really wanted to see a few putts go in. Yeah, it turned out it was a pretty good thing to do.”
Smith was in the second-to-last group, so he had to wait for McIlroy to finish before he knew that he had won. That said, McIlroy would have had to eagle No. 18 to force a playoff. Young eagled the final hole to secure that second-place finish.
So when McIlroy’s all-or-nothing chip bounced past the hole, Smith knew the championship was his.
Smith was watching the broadcast from a couch in the scorer’s tent, speaking with his father in Australia.
“Don’t cry,” he told his dad. “You’ll make me cry.”
Later, he lamented that his father decided not to make the trip.
“Yeah, he's definitely kicking himself now,” Smith said. “I really wish he was here too. It would have been such a cool week, even without this [motioning to the Claret Jug], to be at the home of golf. Dad loves his golf as well. It would have been awesome.”
There was synchronicity to this win. During the post-match news conference a reporter informed Smith that Australian Kel Nagle won the 100th Open.
“That’s pretty cool,” Smith said. “I didn’t know that.”
Later, he said: “Hopefully we can keep that trend going with the every 50 years. That would be nice, wouldn't it?”
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2022-07-17T21:28:18Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Cameron Smith rallies to win British Open for his first major
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https://sports.yahoo.com/cameron-smith-rallies-win-british-175944022.html?src=rss
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Australia's Cameron Smith clinched his first career major title, sealing victory with a final-round 64 at the 150th British Open. With his win at St. Andrews, Smith becomes the first Australian golfer to hoist the Claret Jug since Greg Norman in 1993.
Smith, 28, sat four strokes off the lead entering play Sunday, but after third-round co-leader Rory McIlroy surged ahead on the fifth hole, Smith caught fire.
He became the only player in the last 20 years to birdie the first five holes of the back nine in the final round of a major. Those five consecutive birdies and a 30 on the back nine, plus another clutch birdie on 18, helped Smith finish at 20-under par for the tournament, one stroke ahead of runner-up Cameron Young.
McIlroy needed to eagle the 18th hole to pull into a tie, but missed a chip to stay alive. Young nailed an eagle putt on 18 from off the green, to finish one shot ahead of McIlroy for a play that helped Young take sole possession of second place.
Smith most recently won the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in March with an equally impressive Sunday back-nine push.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2022 British Open: Cameron Smith wins by a shot for first major title
Cameron Smith won the British Open for his first major title. He shot a bogey-free eight-under 64 to overturn a four-shot deficit in the final round.
Shuker sets sights on fresh targets after British Open loss
Lucy Shuker quickly set her sights on fresh targets after being beaten in the final of the LTA’s British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships in Nottingham.
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2022-07-17T21:28:31Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Cameron Smith seals 150th British Open victory with spectacular final-round 64
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https://sports.yahoo.com/cameron-smith-seals-150th-british-175629766.html?src=rss
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TRUCKEE, Calif. — Chez Reavie continues to tear up the golf course, and Alex Noren has some added incentive this week.
Reavie leads the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship with plus-37 points at the Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood course, where they are using the Modified Stableford scoring system.
But Noren was oh-so-close to playing in the year’s final men’s major, the British Open at St. Andrews.
Noren had been the first alternate for the British Open, but decided to fly to California to play in the Barracuda instead.
“I didn’t think anybody would withdraw,” Noren said Friday. “They actually did, and sad for them, but also I wanted to play this.”
When Justin Rose withdrew from the Open, that opened a spot that would have gone to Noren. Instead that spot went to Rikuya Hoshino. Erik van Rooyen, who won the Barracuda in 2021 to earn a spot in the 2022 Open Championship, also withdrew before the Open started.
“I wanted to get some more points. I’ve got three weeks of training after this before the [FexEx Cup] playoffs, and I wanted to play this week, and maybe that mindset made me have a little less patience that I needed this time. Golf is a long career, and I’ve played a lot of British Opens, and I’ll get to play it again.”
Noren tried to forget about what might have been and simply went to work at Old Greenwood, posting a score of plus-28 points through three rounds.
He admits it’s hard to escape the British Open, because it’s on TVs everywhere he goes around Truckee.
“Every time they show ‘The Open’ on TV, I get frustrated, but I love coming here. I think it’s one of the best courses on the Tour and a great tournament. It’s very enjoyable to play,” Noren said.
Noren, 40, is ranked No. 66 in the world, No. 75 in the FedEx Cup rankings.
Reavie, meanwhile, had his first bogey of the Barracuda on No. 15 on Saturday, this after he had five birdies in the third round. He said he expects to feel some nervousness on Sunday, while he waits for his afternoon tee time.
“I have to spend an hour or two at home just calming myself down because I’m so looking forward to coming out here and competing,” Reavie said. “I can come out here and try too hard if I get too excited.”
Reavie, who played golf at Arizona State, is one of only two PGA Tour golfers from that school who have not defected to the LIV Tour, along with John Rahm. Fellow former ASU golfers Phil Mickelson, Paul Casey, Pat Perez and Matt Jones have all jumped to the LIV.
Michael Thompson had nine birdies, and nine pars, and totaled 18 points on Saturday. He has plus-26 points heading into Sunday’s final round.
Joshua Creel had two eagles on Saturday, on holes No. 8 and 16 and picked up 11 points on the day. He has plus -26 points through three rounds.
Harry Higgs also earned 11 points on Saturday, thanks to three birdies and an eagle. He is at plus-26 points heading into Sunday. Higgs said he is better off if he can avoid chipping.
“I’ve hit a lot of good iron shots and holed some kind of bonus putts. The first day I just hit a few balls just into a spot where I had to chip out,” Higgs said. “But this format is kind of fun. You can kind of get away with that.”
“It’s fun when it gets in the fairways, too; you can hit a long, long way out here, bouncing and rolling and flying a little further with the altitude,” Higgs said.
“I’ve just not been sharp, not been playing good golf, not been kind of playing like myself,” he said. “My attitude has been horrible. I’ve been pissing and moaning about little things that go wrong and then that builds and builds and builds. Been playing on the cut line way too much all year. I view myself as much, much better than that. But obviously there comes a time where talk is cheap and you’re now going to have to show it, more so to myself.”
The Barracuda Championship is employing the Modified Stableford scoring format, the first PGA Tour event to use the format since The International in 2006. Players are allocated points based on the number of strokes taken at each hole with the goal of achieving the highest overall score.
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2022-07-17T21:28:37Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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‘I didn’t think anybody would withdraw’: British Open first alternate Alex Noren, who skipped St. Andrews, is in contention at Barracuda Championship
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https://sports.yahoo.com/didn-t-think-anybody-withdraw-161702462.html?src=rss
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Kris Bryant had three hits and an RBI, Charlie Blackmon extended his hitting streak to seven games with an RBI single, and Jose Urena pitched six scoreless innings in the Colorado Rockies’ 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Chris Clemons with a last basket of the period vs the Cleveland Cavaliers
Chris Clemons (Atlanta Hawks) with a last basket of the period vs the Cleveland Cavaliers, 07/16/2022
Paul Goldschmidt's 300th home run
Paul Goldschmidt smashes a line drive to deep left field for a two-run home run, the 300th home run of his career, to make it 4-1 Cardinals
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2022-07-17T21:29:08Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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After missing Open cut, John Daly plays golf with the Mannings and Eric Church
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Several players with ties to the Oklahoma Sooners included in ESPN’s ‘most impactful transfers of the last 5 years’
The transfer portal has been huge for the Oklahoma Sooners over the last decade. They’ve acquired two Heisman winners and a Heisman finalist at quarterback and the guy that will start for them in 2022, Dillon Gabriel solidified the Sooners quarterback position after Caleb Williams put his name into the portal.
The portal giveth and the portal taketh.
Given that it’s the college football equivalent to NFL free agency, it provides head coaches another avenue to roster building to fill needs on the depth chart or find legit starters.
Tom VanHaaren over at ESPN ranked the 40 most impactful transfers (ESPN+) of the last five years, and several names have a connection to Oklahoma. Though the list goes back to 2018, Kyler Murray transferred to the Sooners in 2017, so he didn’t quite make the list.
2. Jalen Hurts from Alabama
Nov 16, 2019; Waco, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Rhamondre Stevenson (29) and quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) in action during the game between the Bears and the Sooners at McLane Stadium. Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Hurts had an interesting college career, as he won the starting job in the second game of his freshman season at Alabama. He threw for 2,780 yards and 23 touchdowns that season, also adding 13 touchdowns on the ground. In his sophomore season, Hurts threw for 2,081 yards and 17 touchdowns but was benched in the national championship game for Tua Tagovailoa, who went on to win the title for the Crimson Tide. Tagovailoa was then the starter the following season, leading to Hurts’ transfer to Oklahoma. Under coach Lincoln Riley, Hurts threw for 3,851 yards and 32 touchdowns and ran for 1,298 yards and 20 touchdowns, finishing as the Heisman runner-up to Burrow. – VanHaaren, ESPN
Jalen Hurts’ 2019 season is arguably one of the most prolific quarterback seasons to not with the Heisman trophy in the last two decades. 52 total touchdowns and more than 5,000 combined passing and rushing yards. And who will ever forget the incredible comeback against Baylor? He might not have started his career with the Sooners, but he hit the ground running and led Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff. Unfortunately, they ran into Joe Burrow (No. 1 on ESPN’s list) and an LSU team that put up historic numbers on their way to an undefeated season and a national title.
4. Caleb Williams to USC
Williams just transferred this offseason when Riley left Oklahoma to take the head-coaching job at USC. Williams had 1,912 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and four interceptions last season, along with 442 rush yards and six touchdowns in 11 games. He was only a freshman when he replaced then-starter Spencer Rattler at quarterback and now has an opportunity to turn the Trojans’ offense around under Riley. Williams has also helped attract other players, including receivers Jordan Addison and Mario Williams. – VanHaaren
Caleb Williams was really good in his one season in Norman. The comeback win in the Red River Showdown was incredible. For better or worse, he’ll be just as remembered for the poor performances against Baylor, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and following Lincoln Riley to USC.
10. Spencer Rattler to South Carolina
Rattler was the No. 29 prospect in the 2019 class out of Arizona and signed with Riley and Oklahoma. He sat for most of his first season on campus but broke out in 2020 when he threw for 3,031 yards, 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also ran for 160 yards and six touchdowns that season. Rattler had Heisman hype heading into the 2021 season but was ultimately replaced by Caleb Williams. After finishing with 1,483 pass yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions, he transferred to South Carolina to play for Shane Beamer and should be the starting quarterback this season. – VanHaaren, ESPN
Spencer Rattler had some good moments for Oklahoma, but his career never lived up to the “QB1” hype that preceded his tenure in Norman. Though he was a quarterback that underperformed at times, he was also let down by a gameplan that was trying to force the issue downfield when Rattler and the Oklahoma Sooners offense found success in the quick passing game against Kansas State. He’ll get a fresh start in South Carolina and a chance to rebuild his reputation before likely going to the NFL in 2023.
21. Dillon Gabriel from UCF
In the 2019 and 2020 seasons at UCF, Gabriel threw for a combined 7,223 yards and 61 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. He is now coming into Oklahoma after the Sooners lost both Williams and Rattler, needing a stabilizing force at the position. Gabriel should be able to play right away after reuniting with offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. – VanHaaren, ESPN
The Oklahoma Sooners had a Caleb Williams transfer portal plan and that was Dillon Gabriel. Mere hours after Williams entered the portal, Gabriel flipped from UCLA to the Sooners to reunite with Jeff Lebby, his offensive coordinator when he was a freshman at UCF.
34. Mario Williams to USC
As a freshman last season, Williams had 380 receiving yards on 35 receptions and four touchdowns. He will team up again with quarterback Caleb Williams and is part of a complete offensive reboot for the Trojans. – VanHaaren, ESPN
Mario Williams showed a lot of promise in his lone season with the Oklahoma Sooners and stayed connected to his friend Caleb Williams and transferred to USC. He’s a good wide receiver with the ability to win in every area and would benefit from more consistent playing time. He won’t be the focal point of the USC offense that has Caleb that can run the ball, Bilitnekoff winner Jordan Addison and Oregon transfer Travis Dye at running back.
Where's Tanner Moredecai?
One could argue that to this point, Tanner Mordecai’s transfer to SMU has been as impactful as any in the top 10 not named Jalen Hurts, simply because we saw what he did for the Mustangs last year. We haven’t yet seen Caleb Williams or Mario Williams or Jordan Addison at USC yet. They’ll be good, but VanHaaren is projecting they will be good by including them in the top 10 but excluding Mordecai altogether.
Moredcai completed 68% of his passes for 3,628 yards and threw 39 touchdowns. His performance and that of SMU’s in 2021 helped Sonny Dykes land a job at TCU the following offseason.
Key Lawrence a Key for Sooners defense
Oklahoma’s Key Lawrence (12) forces a fumble as he hits Iowa State’s Brock Purdy (15) during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Iowa State Cyclones at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021. Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Since VanHaaren is projecting the impact that a player like Mario Williams has had or will have, I don’t think we should sleep on the impact that Key Lawrence had in 2021 or will have for the Oklahoma Sooners defense in 2022.
His edge and physicality brought a physical attitude to the back seven that had a huge impact at Texas Tech when they threw him out there at cornerback for the first time in his career or against Iowa State when he rocked Brock Purdy to force a fumble that Jalen Redmond collected and rumbled into the end zone.
Lawrence had a strong first season in Norman, but in 2022, he will have an even bigger impact in Brent Venables’ defense.
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2022-07-17T21:38:48Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Several players with ties to the Oklahoma Sooners included in ESPN’s ‘most impactful transfers of the last 5 years’
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https://sports.yahoo.com/several-players-ties-oklahoma-sooners-192805083.html?src=rss
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Trevor Duncan discusses committing to Tennessee, playing on defensive line
Trevor Duncan committed to Tennessee April 15.
Duncan discussed his Tennessee commitment at the Knoxville Football Officials Association media day Friday.
“I’m glad the recruiting process is over for me,” Duncan told Vols Wire. “Now, I can get ready for my senior season. I’m really excited.
“I’m looking forward to the season and I really think we can win state.”
The 6-foot-5, 277-pound prospect is from Knoxville Catholic High School in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Duncan plays offense and defense for Catholic. He was recruited as a defensive lineman by the Vols.
“I’ve played on both the offensive and defensive lines,” Duncan said. “I don’t expect to play much on offense this year, but I’ll do it if my team needs me. I’ll do whatever my team needs.”
Duncan received Power Five offers from Kentucky, Purdue, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
He detailed why he committed to Tennessee.
“The reason I committed is because I grew up here and I always wanted to play at Neyland Stadium,” Duncan said. “I dreamed of being a Vol and I dreamed of wearing the orange and white.
“I really liked the new staff. I liked coach (Josh) Heupel and I really liked coach (Rodney) Garner.”
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2022-07-17T21:38:54Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Trevor Duncan discusses committing to Tennessee, playing on defensive line
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https://sports.yahoo.com/trevor-duncan-discusses-committing-tennessee-192204337.html?src=rss
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While the nascent administration has put most of its recent efforts into wooing the cream of the 2023 crop, there has been little neglect when it comes to the next brood — a clear departure from Dan Mullen’s lackadaisical approach to drawing top talent. Among the fruits of these labors was Florida’s mention in the recent release of four-star wide receiver Debron Gatling’s top 14 schools list, after which he offered the following to Rivals’ Jed May.
“Coach Billy Napier (head coach), Coach Colbert (Keary Colbert, receivers), I camped with them. They really liked me. I already had the offer. The coaches were just telling me how much they love my film. Coach Napier said he loves my film. He said he really liked what I did last season as a sophomore, just telling me stuff that he liked about me. I got to talk to him. Coach Colbert, I got to work with him in a couple drills and some 2-on-2s and stuff like that. He really liked me, really liked what I did when I was camping. I took a visit, I liked what they’ve got building because they’re building new facilities. I liked the campus already.”
Gatling is currently ranked No. 249 overall and No. 35 at his position nationally according to the On3 consensus, while Rivals has him at Nos. 122 and 15, respectively — both with a four-star rating; 247Sports currently does not have any ratings data. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has a tight race for the young prospect, with the Georgia Bulldogs out in front with a 21.4% chance of landing him while the Alabama Crimson Tide and Ole Miss Rebels follow at 18.7% and 16%, respectively.
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2022-07-17T21:39:00Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Why this 4-star 2024 WR recruit included Florida in his latest cut
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The Miami Dolphins’ roster is full of talented players that can impact a game each week.
With so much talent, there are a few players that could be considered “secret weapons,” but Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport was able to limit it to just one, as he listed safety Brandon Jones as the team’s “best-kept secret.”
Jones finished the 2021 season, his second in the NFL, as one of the best pass rushers from the safety position. His jump from playing 37% of Miami’s defensive snaps as a rookie to 64% the next year allowed to blitz 69 times and record 14 quarterback pressures.
While the former Texas Longhorn has made it clear that he wants to be known as more than a blitzing safety, the skill is his best attribute at the moment. Pro Football Focus gave Jones a 77.6 pass-rush grade in 2021, putting him 10th among all qualified safeties.
Here’s what Davenport wrote about Jones:
The fact Miami Dolphins made one of the biggest splash moves of the offseason in trading for star wideout Tyreek Hill is hardly a secret. But there’s another fact about the Dolphins that many casual fans don’t realize—Miami has quietly gone about putting together a stout defense to go along with that new offensive firepower.
“My goal is to obviously kind of branch away from being labeled as this guy can only blitz, this guy can’t cover, this guy can’t do this,” Jones said. “Just trying to be and find the best way for me that I could be well rounded.”
Even if Jones achieves that goal, it isn’t likely that he would receive the sort of press as Jamal Adams of the Seahawks or Derwin James of the Chargers.
But he could have a similar impact for Miami—for a fraction of Adams’ salary.
Two of the groups remained unchanged from last season.
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2022-07-17T21:48:44Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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B/R: Brandon Jones is Dolphins’ ‘best-kept secret’
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https://sports.yahoo.com/b-r-brandon-jones-dolphins-202218264.html?src=rss
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Larry Rountree III
Jackson was probably the best of the group, with a career yards per carry average right at 5. The story with him was always injuries: the former 7th rounder missed more than a third of Chargers games in four seasons. It’s the main reason he wasn’t re-signed this offseason and why he remains a free agent with training camp mere weeks away.
In 2020, Los Angeles knew that they couldn’t rely on Jackson for a full season. They looked down the street, selected UCLA rusher Joshua Kelley in the 4th round, and hoped he would be able to wean some carries from Jackson and Austin Ekeler. To date, Kelley has averaged 3.2 yards per carry and found the end zone just twice. Fumbles and missed blocking assignments on special teams hurt his chances of earning more time.
And so, last season, the Chargers swung again. This time, it was sixth-rounder Larry Rountree III from Missouri, a bruiser if there ever was one. Rountree was going to compete for short yardage carries and take some of the harder hits to keep Ekeler fresh. And then, he averaged 2.4 yards per carry, failing to crack 100 yards on the season despite 36 attempts. His vision looked subpar, he struggled to gain tough yards despite a 220-pound frame, and he wasn’t much better on special teams than Kelley.
All that is how we ended up here. For the fourth time in five years, the Chargers selected a running back in the 4th round or later. For the fourth time in five years, they took a bruising interior runner with questionable third-down value. But something is different about this time because this time, the back the Chargers took was billed as among the best at his position as recently as days before the actual draft.
Texas A&M’s Isaiah Spiller was a hot name for much of the draft cycle last season. No matter where you looked, Spiller, Breece Hall, and Kenneth Walker III were named the top three backs. The question was whether Spiller would be chosen above his classmates, not if he’d make it to Day 3. And yet, the Chargers scooped him up two full rounds after Hall and Walker went to the Jets and Seahawks, respectively.
So, Spiller likely has a chip on his shoulder, as well as a wide-open path to playing time as the thunder to Austin Ekeler’s lightning. What should we expect from the rookie?
Perhaps the easiest place to start would be 2018, back when the Chargers had a running back tandem of Ekeler and 2015 first-round pick Melvin Gordon. That season, Gordon took 175 carries for 885 yards in 12 games, while Ekeler had 106 attempts for 554 yards. Both players eclipsed 400 receiving yards as well. With Ekeler now in the 1A role, let’s assume he takes that heavier load of 175-ish carries, down from 206 last season. That leaves 100-ish carries for Spiller, which could result in a similar line as 2021 rookie Khalil Herbert, who took 103 carries for 433 yards and 2 TDs behind David Montgomery in Chicago.
ESPN projects Spiller for 127 carries for 546 yards and 4 TDs, plus 18 catches for another 131 yards and 1 additional TD. FantasyPros, similarly, has Spiller at 124 carries for 536 yards and four scores, with 18 receptions for 132 yards and 1 TD.
That’s a stat line resembling Rhamondre Stevenson, the Patriots rookie who took 133 carries for 606 yards and 5 TDs in 12 games. That was good for the fifth-best total amongst rookies last season, mostly behind players who immediately became their team’s featured back. Such a ranking is about the range I expect Spiller to land in as well, considering Hall, Walker, Dameon Pierce, and Tyler Allgeier could all end up RB1 for their respective teams.
It’s also worth noting that both ESPN and FantasyPros have Spiller at more than 4 yards a carry, which would be a tremendous upgrade over Rountree’s 2.4 and Kelley’s 3.1 from 2021. However, Justin Jackson did average 5.4 in relief duty behind Ekeler, albeit over a smaller sample size of just 68 carries.
If Spiller gets 125 carries, is it unreasonable to expect him to get to 600 yards, as Stevenson did? Such a yardage total would be a 4.8 per carry average, which would be better than Stevenson and better than any season Ekeler has posted since 2018. However, there’s precedent to show it’s possible, and the Chargers’ offensive line has improved by adding Zion Johnson this offseason. A 125-carry workload also suggests success in short-yardage situations, so I’d imagine six TDs would be in reach for Spiller.
125 carries for 600 yards and six TDs would undoubtedly be a successful season for Spiller, but it would also be far and away the best season by a non-Ekeler Chargers back since Gordon’s 8-touchdown 2019 campaign. It also assumes a dip in Ekeler’s workload, but remember that the veteran said in OTAs that he wants someone to come to earn reps from him.
We’ll have to wait and see how Spiller produces in 2022, but there’s certainly reason to be optimistic.
The right-hander had to wait a while until he was chosen. But he finally found out Saturday night he would be replacing Atlanta's Max Fried.
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2022-07-17T21:48:50Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Projecting realistic stat line for Chargers rookie RB Isaiah Spiller
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https://sports.yahoo.com/projecting-realistic-stat-line-chargers-195115935.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/projecting-realistic-stat-line-chargers-195115935.html?src=rss
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There are a lot of reasons that a year-long suspension for Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson would be problematic for both the team and the player. The Browns gave up a huge haul in the trade to acquire the quarterback despite knowing the serious allegations against Watson.
The team seems to be acting confident in QB Jacoby Brissett to take over as the starter in case of a Watson suspension but a year of Brissett could waste a year of Cleveland’s talented core.
The one benefit to full season suspension is the massive amount of salary cap space Andrew Berry would have to work with in 2023. A small positive if that very negative result would happen.
Another small detail that could be major is the timing of a year’s suspension. If Judge Sue Robinson, or the NFL after an appeal, concludes with a season-long suspension, Watson will be immediately away from the team and miss training camp this year. Atlanta Falcons WR Calvin Ridley, for example, was suspended indefinitely earlier this offseason and won’t be eligible to return to the team until after the end of the 2022 season.
Robinson or the league could create an allowance for him to practice in camp given the extenuating circumstances but that does not seem likely.
If Watson is suspended but less than a full season, he’ll be eligible to participate in training camp this year before serving his suspension. After not playing all of last season, beginning in training camp, it will be vital that the star quarterback gets as many snaps in camp and preseason games as possible.
While reports following the completion of his hearings seem to favor Watson, fans must prepare for the worst-case scenario. A year suspension will have multiple ripple effects including keeping Watson off the field for training camp this year.
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2022-07-17T21:48:57Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Watson’s 2022 training camp in jeopardy if suspended a year
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https://sports.yahoo.com/watson-2022-training-camp-jeopardy-200304252.html?src=rss
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Aerial Powers with a 3-pointer vs. Washington Mystics
Aerial Powers (Minnesota Lynx) with a 3-pointer vs. Washington Mystics, 07/17/2022
Jags’ Trent Baalke lands at No. 27 spot in GM rankings by NBC Sports
NBC Sports recently ranked all the general managers in the NFL and Trent Baalke wasn't ranked highly in the process.
Justin Lewis with a dunk vs the Philadelphia 76ers
Justin Lewis (Chicago Bulls) with a dunk vs the Philadelphia 76ers, 07/16/2022
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2022-07-17T22:11:02Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Aerial Powers with a 3-pointer vs. Washington Mystics
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The Las Vegas Aces announced on Sunday that they've signed Kelsey Plum to a two-year contract extension.
𝗣𝗟𝗨𝗠 𝗗𝗔𝗪𝗚 𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗬𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗡 𝗩𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗦! ♦️♠️
𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: The Las Vegas Aces organization is excited to announce the contract extension of All-Star guard Kelsey Plum.@Kelseyplum10 // #ALLIN
“Kelsey Plum is a generational talent, and one of the hardest working athletes I have ever known,” GM Natalie Williams said in a statement. “Her preparation and work ethic are second to none. Kelsey has the ability to impact the game in so many facets, and with the great mentorship of Coach Becky Hammon, she is proving herself to be one the best guards in the WNBA. We are thrilled to re-sign her, and strengthen our incredibly talented core group.”
Plum, who was recently named the 2022 All-Star MVP at her very first All-Star Game, is having a breakout season for the Aces. She averaging 20.2 points and 5.5 assists, both personal bests, in more minutes per game than she's ever played. She's second in the league in scoring, eighth in assists, and leads in three-pointers.
Plum's performance this year is building on a successful 2021, in which she put up career-best stats (that have since been beaten by her 2022 performance). She played the entire season as a reserve and averaged 14.4 points per game, setting a league record, and was named the 2021 Sixth Player of the Year.
“I’m thrilled to remain with the Aces, and continue playing with my teammates and for our coaching staff,” Plum said. “I look forward to persisting in our journey to delivering a championship to Las Vegas.”
Working toward a championship
For the Aces, that's what everything comes down to: winning the first championship in team history. And the stars seem to be aligning. The transition from Bill Laimbeer to Becky Hammon as head coach has been pretty seamless. Hammon is thriving in her first year with the Aces, despite a brief rough patch before the All-Star break. At 17-7, the Aces have the second-best record in the league, and the signing of Plum means they've now locked up their core players (A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, Dearica Hamby, and Plum) through next season.
The Aces are playing the owners of the WNBA's best record, the Connecticut Sun, on Sunday. Plum, who has made a league-best 78 three-pointers this season, could break the franchise record during that game. If she keeps up this pace, she could become just the second player in WNBA history to make at least 100 three-pointers in a season.
The Aces have signed breakout Kelsey Plum to a two-year extension. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
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2022-07-17T22:11:40Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Kelsey Plum signs two-year extension with Aces 1 week after winning All-Star MVP
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The banner along the front of the grandstands read EVERYTHING HAS LED TO THIS. For someone who hasn’t won a major in eight years, it seemed like a literal sign that this was his week, that Sunday would be his day.
It wasn’t. McIlroy, who led the Open Championship by four strokes coming into Sunday, lost by two as eventual champion Cameron Smith and playing partner Cameron Young did what McIlroy couldn’t — make long putts at crucial moments.
This was a “duel” in the same way that someone walking alongside train tracks as a locomotive approaches is a “race.” McIlroy just never got his putter going; he ranked 55th in the number of putts this week, while Smith ranked second. With that kind of discrepancy, it’s only a matter of time before the pursuer overtakes the leader.
Not long before Smith would begin speculating how many beers fit in the Claret Jug — his assumption: two — McIlroy was doing what he almost always does, facing the music even as yet another disappointing major settled down on his shoulders.
He kept his perspective, as usual — “At the end of the day, it's not life or death. I'll have other chances to win the Open Championship and other chances to win majors” — but this has to burn like nothing since his collapse on the 10th at Augusta National in 2011.
McIlroy is famous for the strut he adopts when things are going well. He’ll stride off the tee and down the fairway like he owns the joint, shoulders back, chest out. It’s as primal a stance of aggression as golf will allow, and for McIlroy, it all too often leads to a round-killing mistake — an overcooked drive, a wayward approach, a skidding putt that doesn’t end anywhere near the pin.
So it’s no small irony, then, that on a day when McIlroy played some of the smartest golf he’s ever played, he needed more of the strut. A four-stroke lead should have been enough to hold off any competition … unless the competition is dropping five birdies in a row.
Playing controlled golf, McIlroy said, worked “until I needed to respond to what Cam [Smith] was doing out there. Coming down on 14, I knew that at that point Cam had birdied to go to 19 and I was at 18, so I knew that I needed to respond. I just couldn't find the shots or the putts to do that.”
From the 10th hole on, Smith just would ... not ... miss. And McIlroy, for his part, was just the tiniest bit short, just the smallest fraction wide. While McIlroy parred his way around the course, and while his playing partner Viktor Hovland was falling off the pace, Smith grew from curiosity to annoyance to threat to existential danger. As he marched back toward St. Andrews, McIlroy could hear the cheers ahead of him, could see Smith carving his way deeper and deeper into red numbers.
“I felt like I didn't do much wrong today, but I didn't do much right either,” McIlroy said after the round. “It's just one of those days where I played a really controlled round of golf. I did what I felt like I needed to, just apart from capitalizing on the easier holes — around the turn, 9, 12, 14. If I had made the birdies there from good positions, it probably would have been a different story.”
Rory McIlroy let the British Open slip from his fingers. (Stuart Franklin/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
And so that left him standing in the 18th fairway, 27 yards from the pin, almost directly in front of the Rusacks Hotel. He needed a miracle that wouldn’t come, an eagle chip that — like so many others on Sunday — just wouldn’t drop.
“It was either hole it or nothing, really. I wasn't really trying to go for the T2 with Cameron Young at that point,” he said. “As soon as I passed the hole, I was like, well, that was … I gave it a good shot. It wasn't meant to be.”
Earlier that morning, he’d awoken to look out at the scoreboard looming overhead, and he’d seen his own name at the very top. He thought about how he was just 18 holes from keeping it there for a year.
“At the start of the day, it was at the top, but at the start of tomorrow, it won't be,” McIlroy said Sunday evening. “You've got to let yourself dream. You've got to let yourself think about it and what it would be like.”
Maybe someday he’ll find out again.
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2022-07-17T22:58:24Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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2022 British Open: Rory McIlroy's hope turns to heartbreak again
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https://sports.yahoo.com/2022-british-open-rory-mc-ilroys-hope-turns-to-heartbreak-again-212136319.html?src=rss
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MIAMI – Trips to Miami haven’t been much fun for the Phillies in recent seasons.
Aaron Nola struck out 10 and pitched scoreless ball into the ninth inning as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 4-0 Sunday for a three-game sweep. Yairo Muñoz homered to help Philadelphia head into the All-Star break at 49-43.
Baseball fans’ favorite time of summer is here: The 2022 MLB All-Star Game is right around the corner, promising a spectacle with some of the greatest baseball players of today. This year’s managers will be the Atlanta Braves’ Brian Snitker and Dusty Baker of the Houston Astros, re-creating last season’s World Series match-up (as is customary) when the Braves beat the Astros. Looking to watch the MLB All-Star Game live this year? Read on for everything you need to know about the Midsummer Classi
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2022-07-17T22:59:02Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Phillies vs. Marlins: Phils ride Aaron Nola to sweep, end their Miami Misery
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https://sports.yahoo.com/phillies-vs-marlins-phils-ride-203700477.html?src=rss
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LAS VEGAS (AP) Brandon Williams scored 22 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to an 85-77 victory over the New York Knicks in the NBA Summer League championship on Sunday.
The Blazers, who defeated New York 88-77 earlier in the event, didn't find their rhythm until the start of the second quarter of the championship when they opened with back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers that gave them a 21-14 lead. They went on to hit seven 3-pointers in the quarter to build an 11-point lead they'd take heading into the locker room, 41-30.
Portland rode its defensive tenacity to the championship, but it was New York's defense that frustrated the Blazers to start the game. Both teams came out relatively sluggish, with a splash of sloppiness mixed in, as the Knicks shot 5 of 15 (.333) from the floor and the Blazers were just 3 of 12 (.250) from the field.
Kyle Alexander with an alley oop vs the New York Knicks
Kyle Alexander (Portland Trail Blazers) with an alley oop vs the New York Knicks, 07/17/2022
Quentin Grimes with a deep 3 vs the Portland Trail Blazers
Quentin Grimes (New York Knicks) with a deep 3 vs the Portland Trail Blazers, 07/17/2022
Miles McBride with a deep 3 vs the Portland Trail Blazers
Miles McBride (New York Knicks) with a deep 3 vs the Portland Trail Blazers, 07/17/2022
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2022-07-17T22:59:15Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Portland tops New York 85-77 to win NBA Summer League title
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Giants among top five teams most likely to trade for Soto originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
With Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto reportedly up for grabs after months of speculation, the MLB's attention now turns to examining where he could land.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported Saturday, citing sources, that the Nationals will entertain trade offers for the 23-year-old slugger after he recently turned down their 15-year, $440 million contract offer.
Shortly after the news broke, CBS Sports' R.J. Anderson ranked the league’s other 29 teams based on their likelihood of landing the young All-Star.
The Giants landed in the list’s top five at No. 4., with Anderson noting Soto could be the “face of the franchise” San Francisco needs.
“The Giants have authored dark-horse pursuits in the past for the likes of Giancarlo Stanton and Bryce Harper,” Anderson writes. “Top executive Farhan Zaidi also knows all about chasing down stars from his time as a member of the Dodgers front office. The Giants have little in the way of meaningful long-term commitments, and Soto would serve as a spiritual successor to Buster Posey as the face of the franchise.
“The catch is that Zaidi doesn't have the kind of prospect war chest that some of his competitors do, meaning he might have to take back a bad contract, like Patrick Corbin's, to make up for it.”
Along with the Giants in Anderson’s top five are the Seattle Mariners (No. 5), New York Yankees (No. 3), Los Angeles Dodgers (No. 2) and St. Louis Cardinals (No. 1).
It’s no surprise -- however unwelcome -- that the heavy-spending Dodgers and Yankees are at the top of the list, and the Giants certainly wouldn’t like to see another National League contender in the Cardinals land Soto.
RELATED: What Giants Soto trade package could look like
But as Anderson writes, it would take a hefty package for San Francisco to get Washington to agree to a trade. And Corbin, who becomes a free agent after the 2024 season like Soto, is still owed nearly $50 million over the next two years.
To no one’s surprise, it won’t be easy to land one of the league’s best hitters.
But based on this list, the Giants might just have a chance.
The French wing looks like a future NBA player after his Las Vegas Summer League play.
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2022-07-18T00:33:11Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Juan Soto trade: Giants ranked fourth likeliest to land Nationals slugger
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https://sports.yahoo.com/juan-soto-trade-giants-ranked-215146796.html?src=rss
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Kansas State had the most all-Big 12 selections of anyone in the league and Dylan Edwards was the fastest at UA 50.
Here are the top SEC football five kickers, punters and returners going into the 2020 season as ranked by USA TODAY Sports Network experts.
Implementing a pitch clock in the minor leagues has been hailed as a success, but there might be some backlash if it’s enforced in MLB next year.
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2022-07-18T00:33:17Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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‘Poor execution’: Chase Elliott reacts to runner-up finish
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Heading into Year 3, Herbert could be in for an even bigger season, given that he will have all key skill players from last year returning, including Mike Williams, who was re-signed to a long-term deal, along with the additions of Gerald Everett and rookie Isaiah Spiller.
The Chargers were on the fringe of making the postseason primarily due to the play of Herbert, who had to mitigate a defense that finished 29th in points per game allowed (27.0), 30th in rushing yards per game allowed (138.9) and last in opponents third-down percentage (49.5).
With a unit that’s loaded with All-Pro and Pro Bowl talent, not only should the Bolts go from one of the worst to first statistically, but it should be stout enough to slow the high-octane offenses of the AFC West and others that they face.
Beyond that, core coverage special teamers return, including Nick Niemann, who finished with 14 special teams tackles, which tied for fourth-most in the NFL. Further, football speed was a priority, with the additions of rookies JT Woods, Ja’Sir Taylor and Deane Leonard.
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2022-07-18T01:23:29Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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4 reasons why Chargers will make a deep run in 2022
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To Cincinnati Bengals fans, linebacker Logan Wilson has become a star. He was a key piece in Cincinnati’s run to the Super Bowl last season.
For fans of other teams, they may not still be fully aware of how good Wilson has become since the Bengals drafted him in the third round in 2020.
Thanks to Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report, more fans will be introduced to the former Wyoming linebacker who tallied 100 tackles in 2021.
Davenport gave his picks for each team’s “best-kept secret” and he chose Wilson for the Bengals:
A third-round pick out of Wyoming, it didn’t take Wilson all that long to work his way into a prominent role in the Queen City. After playing sporadically as a rookie, Wilson won the job as the team’s middle linebacker in his second season. In 13 games (all starts) for the Bengals in 2021, Wilson piled up 100 total tackles, the most for the team.
And while Wilson broke out last year, the general vibe is correct — there’s a chance he just keeps on ascending too, meaning he won’t be much of a secret much longer.
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2022-07-18T01:23:42Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Logan Wilson named Bengals’ best-kept secret
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https://sports.yahoo.com/logan-wilson-named-bengals-best-003100822.html?src=rss
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LOUDON, N.H. — There’s perhaps no track on the schedule that would mean more to Martin Truex Jr. to win at than New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
And yet, it’s the one that eludes him most.
The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champ picked up his first pole for Joe Gibbs Racing on Saturday and carried that speed into the main event, clearly in possession of the best car for the majority of Sunday’s Ambetter 301 at the “Magic Mile.” Truex claimed the win in each of the first two stages — to add to his now series-leading seven — but a late pit strategy call in the final stage for two tires sunk him to the back of the top 10 after the ensuing restart and he had to claw his way back to finish an eventual fourth, despite leading a race-high 172 laps.
“We restarted third and the 22 (of Joey Logano) got a bad jump in front of us,” Truex said on pit road following the race. “I tried to push him to get him going and the 4 (of Kevin Harvick) made us three-wide and I got put in a bad spot and lost a few spots but overall we recovered from that and just didn’t have anything to go forward on two tires. I mean, the car absolutely hated it so it was nothing like it had been all day long. And you couldn’t go anywhere, just had to ride it out and get what we could out of it.”
The northeast native has been itching to get his claws on, well, a pair of claws at the Granite State track for years, having competed here since some of his earliest days in racing. After winning the pole Saturday, he indicated that while a win Sunday would’ve essentially locked him into the playoffs, his first thoughts climbing out of his No. 19 Toyota would have been, “I just won Loudon!”
Instead, Truex’s old history of being snakebitten in races he dominates reared its ugly head once more.
“Just the Loudon curse for me, I guess,” Truex said. “I just don’t know how many times it’s gonna happen, you know? We lead all day and then we get beat on strategy or whatever it is so I don’t know. It’s just Loudon. It’s the way it’s been, you know, my whole career. It doesn’t matter how good we are, we can’t win.”
As frustrating as it is to once again miss out on hoisting a hefty crustacean in Victory Lane at Loudon — this is the fifth time he’s led 100-plus laps here and lost since 2016 alone, four of which came in consecutive races — there’s a bit more consternation for Truex and Co. to focus on at the moment.
Fellow JGR cohort Christopher Bell won Sunday’s race, ticking one more playoff spot off the board for winless drivers — such as Truex — to point their way into the playoffs. He remains highest in the standings among those still seeking victory, but with six races left before the 16-driver field is set and 14 different winners already, Truex is by no means guaranteed a spot on points at this juncture. No driver is.
RACE REWIND: Best moments, highlights
Considering half of those six are a pair of road courses and Daytona, the potential for wild-card winners (or other title contenders such as Ryan Blaney and Harvick, who are also looking for their first win) to squeeze Truex out is very real.
“I’m very nervous about it,” team owner Joe Gibbs said during Bell’s post-race press conference. “I think all of us, I don’t think any of us would have dreamed when the year started and we would have, you know, (14) winners at this point. And so, yeah, that’s why we were pulling so hard for him to get it. And then of course, Christopher was in pretty much the same boat. And so thank goodness, Christopher was able to get it done. But we gotta give Martin everything we can give because we need that car. We need it in the playoffs. That’s for sure.”
Another thing Truex mentioned on Saturday after winning the pole — that he wasn’t nervous about making the playoffs.
The 42-year-old Cup mainstay is as unflappable as they come, but there was a clear tone change after the results of Sunday.
“I mean, it is what it is, you know,” Truex said. “Like, if another guy wins then we’re out. And, you know, that’s just the way it is. We race every week. Do the best we can to try to win races and obviously lately we’ve been capable. We’ve had cars capable winning this year. We have the most stage wins of anybody. And we haven’t won a race yet.
“You know, it’s just whatever for whatever reason, that third stage, we just muck it up, as James (Small, crew chief) can say, so we’ll just keep digging. We’ve got a great team, our guys at JGR are working really hard, our cars are fast obviously. We’re getting better, to run like this here today after our short-track season, it says a lot about all of our people. And you know for Christopher to win, it was a JGR-dominated day so that’s that says a lot and we can use that going forward. We just do all we can do. It’s all we can do.”
The Cup Series next heads to Pocono Raceway, where Truex has a pair of wins in 2015 and 2018.
Maybe that’ll do the trick, because the No. 19 ran out of magic at Loudon once again.
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2022-07-18T02:22:40Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Martin Truex Jr. comes up short at NH once again: 'Just the Loudon curse for me'
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https://sports.yahoo.com/martin-truex-jr-comes-short-212158608.html?src=rss
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Watch Wiseman's punishing dunk, block in flashy sequence originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
If you were wondering how James Wiseman is doing after recovering from a right knee injury, the Warriors' big man assured the world on Sunday that he’s doing just fine.
Then, immediately after on the other end of the floor, Wiseman showed off his two-way play when he blocked Isaiah Todd's shot to complete the flashy sequence.
The summer games have been a great opportunity for the former second-overall pick to readapt in a low-pressure environment.
After missing the entire 2021-22 campaign, and most of the 2020-21 season, Wiseman, and the Warriors, are ready for the 7-footer's impact in the regular season.
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2022-07-18T03:25:41Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Watch Warriors' James Wiseman's punishing dunk, block in flashy sequence
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Bucs Rewind: Tampa Bay’s epic comeback win in Week 17 vs. Jets
Week 17 of the 2021 NFL season was memorable for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for all kinds of reasons.
While the headlines were stolen by Antonio Brown’s dramatic, mid-game departure, the Bucs who remained at MetLife Stadium for all four quarters upstaged AB with an epic comeback win in the final seconds.
After a lackluster start on both sides of the ball, the Bucs rallied in the final quarter, with quarterback Tom Brady leading one of his legendary game-winning drives that ended with a laser of a touchdown pass to wide receiver Cyril Grayson Jr. to secure the victory.
Relive all the action here:
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2022-07-18T04:50:28Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Bucs Rewind: Tampa Bay’s epic comeback win in Week 17 vs. Jets
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Former Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III named his top five quarterbacks to a start a franchise with, and coming in at the top of the list was his former teammate in Jackson at No. 1. Griffin has long-been a supporter of the former Louisville star, and expressed plenty of confidence in him by placing him at the front of his list.
Griffin received multiple replies to his tweet with some disagreeing with where Jackson was ranked. When defending his opinion, Griffin said that Jackson does not have the same talent around him that Mahomes had and that the Ravens’ quarterback plays with a different style by having escapability and big play production.
So are you saying Lamar has the same level of talent around him as Mahomes has had his entire career? Also Lamar plays the game different so it’s not just about arm talent and Lamar’s escapability and big play production is not matched by anyone.
Jackson’s importance to the team shows every time he takes a snap. Following a bone bruise suffered in Week 14 against the Cleveland Browns, Jackson missed the final portion of the 2022 regular season, where Baltimore would not win a game and end up missing the playoffs for the first time since 2017, finishing with an 8-9 record.
Through his four NFL seasons, Jackson has a 64.1 completion percentage, 9,967 passing yards and 87 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 3,673 yards and 21 touchdowns.
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2022-07-18T04:50:34Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Former QB says Ravens QB Lamar Jackson is one of best to start a franchise with
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Projecting Chargers’ interior defensive line depth chart in 2022
Sebastian Joseph
Otito Ogbonnia
American football nose tackle
Today, the focus is on how the interior part of the defensive line will look heading into 2022.
The Chargers finished with the worst run defense last season, which led to the signing of Joseph-Day, who is a top-tier run defender and is familiar with Brandon Staley. When Staley oversaw the Rams’ top-ranked defense, Joseph-Day had a career-high 33 run stops, two passes defended, and a forced fumble. He was on his way to surpassing those in 2021, but an unfortunate torn pectoral sustained in Week 7 kept him out. Still, with a combination of speed, power, and violent hands, Joseph-Day can win one-on-one matchups and eat-up blockers to let his fellow teammates roam freely. Joseph-Day has 55 defensive stops since 2020, tied for 15th. Every other player in the Top 15 has at least 1,000 snaps over the span, whereas he’s put up 55 stops on just 728 snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
Johnson was also added in an effort to improve the run defense. After spending the first four years of his career with the Titans, who drafted him in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft, Johnson spent the past three seasons with the Giants, in which he did not miss a single game. After serving as a rotational defender, Johnson became a full-time starter in 2021 and had a monster year with 72 combined tackles while adding 37 run stops, 22 quarterback pressures, 3.5 sacks, and seven quarterback hits. Both Joseph-Day and Johnson can line up as a nose tackle over the center or line up further from the ball.
To continue stockpiling defensive linemen to revamp last year’s front, the Chargers selected Ogbonnia in the fifth round of this year’s draft. Ogbonnia tallied 76 total tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and six passes defended in his four seasons with UCLA. At 6-foot-4 and 324 pounds, Ogbonnia’s time as a former shot putter shows up on the football field as he wins with brute strength and heavy hands to control and move defenders off the line of the scrimmage. Ogbonnia was primarily a nose tackle in the Bruins’ defense, but he occasionally bounced out to a 3-tech. He projects best as a nose tackle and as a ‘jumbo five-tech,’ where he should see the field on run downs.
While improving the run defense was the priority, bettering the pass rush from the interior was also a key focal point that was factored in during the team’s offseason evaluations, which led to the signing of Fox. Fox previously played with the Panthers, where he appeared in all 17 games, starting nine of them. He accounted for 34 tackles, 26 pressures, two tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, and 1.5 sacks. Before his stint with Carolina, Fox had his best season under Staley in 2020. Fox played nearly 40% of the snaps and finished with 27 tackles, 25 pressures, eight tackles for loss, and seven sacks. Fox displays a high level of technicality in getting to the quarterback. While primarily expected to play inside, his ability to flex out to the edge should open up multiple options up front.
Chargers DL Morgan Fox sells with a quick jab step inside and finishes with a club-rip. pic.twitter.com/XrdReB0fmV
— Gavino Borquez (@GavinoBorquez) May 18, 2022
Covington was among the few who were re-signed after he appeared in 16 games with three starts, where he totaled 52 tackles, three tackles for loss, and a sack. Signed last offseason, Covington had to play more snaps than anticipated due to injuries up front, but when he is in a rotational role, he can really be a difference-maker in the run game.
Christian Covington was forced to play more snaps than expected in 2021. But in a rotational role, which he should resume this season, he can really be a difference-maker in the run game. pic.twitter.com/aZ5L76kRRq
This position could consist of just five players, but I get the sense that Staley will want to be deep here because of the run defense woes from last season. If they roll with six, this will be a heated battle between Fehoko, Joe Gaziano, Forrest Merrill and the most notable, Jerry Tillery. The decision to make the surprise cut of Tillery is solely based on him being the biggest liability against the run a season ago, and it’s worth noting that the Chargers did not pick up Tillery’s 2023 fifth-year option in May. While he brings a solid presence as a pass rusher, Fox offers more value than Tillery in this area. Therefore, that leads to Fehoko earning the final spot, as he proved to make an impact in the trenches in his limited opportunities. On 65 run snaps, he had a stop percentage of 16.1, which ranked fourth, according to Pro Football Focus. As for Tillery, the team could look to trade him for draft compensation.
The Chargers need to keep Breiden Fehoko on the field.
Fehoko sheds with the arm over, and he and Nasir Adderley make the play for no gain. pic.twitter.com/1ld3YKjnFx
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2022-07-18T04:50:41Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Projecting Chargers’ interior defensive line depth chart in 2022
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The Detroit Tigers announced Sunday the organization is optioning Torkelson, the 2020 No. 1 overall pick, to the Mud Hens. How long Torkelson stays in the minor leagues will be dictated by his approach at the plate.
There is no timetable for his return to the Tigers.
Torkelson, a 22-year-old rookie first baseman, hit .197 with 11 doubles and five home runs in 264 at-bats over 82 games for the Tigers, as well as posting 29 walks and 76 strikeouts.
ANALYSIS: Why Tigers had no choice but to demote Spencer Torkelson
Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson (20) tosses the ball to first base in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.
He has an on-base percentage of .282 and an anemic slugging percentage of .295, giving him a .577 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. Of the 157 qualified batters in baseball, Torkelson's offensive performance ranks No. 153 with a 68 wRC+. (The league average for Weighted Runs Created Plus is 100.)
He's part of a historically bad offense that has scored an MLB-worst 288 runs, averaging 3.13 per game. The Oakland Athletics rank 29th with 302 runs. The Tigers are fourth in the American League Central Division and have the third-worst record in the American League.
DRAFT NIGHT: A decade of Tigers' MLB drafts haven't resulted in many stars at big-league level
THE OTHER ROOKIE: A step toward stardom: What Tigers' Riley Greene showed over two games in Cleveland
The All-Star break begins Monday, so Torkelson will begin the second half of the season in Toledo.
He made 40 appearances for the Mud Hens in 2021— after starting the season in High-A West Michigan (31 games), then moving to Double-A Erie (50 games) — and batted .238 with 11 homers in 147 at-bats. His OBP was .350 and he slugged .531 for an .881 OPS.
RYAN FORD: Why Al Avila's MLB drafts with Tigers have been better than you think
Sunday is a big night for the franchise, which has the No. 12 overall selection in the first round of the MLB draft. The Tigers, whose game Sunday in Cleveland against the Guardians was postponed due to inclement weather, next play Thursday at Oakland for a doubleheader.
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2022-07-18T05:10:05Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Detroit Tigers send 2020 No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson to Triple-A Toledo
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And shame on anyone who thought it was over for Jamaica's most-celebrated 100-meter runner this side of Usain Bolt.
The 35-year-old mom sped her way back to the top of the sprint game, winning her fifth world title in the 100 — that's two more than Bolt amassed during his decade of dominance — by leading a Jamaican sweep and knocking off the favorite, two-time Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah.
It was a different scene than last year in Tokyo, when she seemed puzzled and frustrated at how she could've finished second to Thompson-Herah by such a sizable margin — 0.13.
Fraser-Pryce has run exactly 10.6 before, though, and instead of Flo Jo's record going down, it was one held by Marion Jones — her 23-year-old world-championship mark of 10.70 — that went by the wayside.
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2022-07-18T05:10:11Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Fraser-Pryce back on top, leads Jamaican sweep in 100 meters
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It’s the second consecutive year the club had a top -hree pick; the team picked Rocker’s college teammate, pitcher Jack Leiter, with the second overall selection last season.
“But Boras hates that rule because he has his own stable of doctors. He wants owners to believe them. (Mets owner) Steve Cohen stood up to Boras and said, ‘No, we’re not doing it.’ Good for him.”
In the first round of the MLB Draft on Sunday, the St. Louis Cardinals drafted Oregon State pitcher Cooper Hjerpe.
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2022-07-18T05:10:17Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Scott Boras does his magic on the Rangers, who take the biggest risk in the MLB Draft
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On the mound, he threw just eight innings in which he struck out 17 batters. Despite the limited action on the mound, many believe that Crawford's biggest impact will be as a pitcher more than a hitter.
RELATED: Why Kapler expects more from Giants after 'fine' first half
Reggie Crawford wore a 15-year-old San Francisco All-Star Game jacket, a gift from his uncle, and his trademark grin as he greeted reporters Sunday night as a member of the San Francisco Giants. “I’m extremely happy with how the night went,” Crawford said, after the Giants took him at the end of the first round of the MLB Draft, 30th overall. “Going into it, I was hearing everything, there was ...
A's vs. Astros Highlights
Ramón Laureano went yard and Stephen Vogt hit a clutch go-ahead single to lead the A's to a 4-3 win against the Astros
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2022-07-18T06:40:56Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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MLB Draft 2022: Giants pick Reggie Crawford with No. 30 selection
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Steph, LeBron have perfect reaction to kid's 'night night' celly originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The summer trend for young basketball players will be the "night night" celebration Steph Curry started during the Warriors' most recent playoff run that resulted in an NBA Finals victory over the Boston Celtics.
It didn't take long for kids to begin celebrating like Curry, and one young basketball player took it a step further and actually went to sleep after nailing his shot. The celebration went viral, and even the Warriors guard had to comment on the clip.
"Went to sleep on em!" Curry said on Twitter.
However, he wasn't the only NBA star to comment on the video. Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James added his own reaction, telling Curry in the replies, "You see what you started!!" which was followed by many laughing emojis.
The Warriors are a month removed from winning their latest Larry O'Brien trophy. With summer only just beginning, Curry could see more of these viral videos paying homage to his celebration before the start of the 2022-23 season.
Former Oregon Ducks star Galen Rupp is entered in the men's marathon and Ryan Crouser goes for the gold in the men's shot put.
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2022-07-18T08:12:03Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Steph Curry, LeBron James react to kid's viral 'night night' celebration
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There's plenty of attention placed on the SEC and the bigger conferences across college football year in and year out, but there's plenty of action and intriguing talent to be found in lesser talked-about teams as well, some of which fall under the umbrella of Conference USA.
In the midst of conference realignment, C-USA will look much different in the near future. Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, UTSA, UAB, Rice and North Texas will all officially move over to the American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2023. C-USA will add Liberty, New Mexico State, Jacksonville State and Sam Houston State.
But with these changes not set to take place until next year, here's a look into how things could shake out within the conference this season.
Teams who could impress
UTSA (odds to win conference: +215)
The bar is set high for the Roadrunners after they finished out last season with a 12-2 overall record. The team has some suffered some notable losses on both sides of the ball between standout running back Sincere McCormick, defensive lineman Jaylon Haynes, linebacker Clarence Hicks and defensive backs Antonio Parks and Tariq Woolen, but does feature some promising names to reload with. Plus, good offense starts with solid offensive line play, and the Roadrunners should have the best unit in the conference.
Among the Roadrunners coming back for another season is senior signal-caller Frank Harris, who completed 66.1% of his passes for 3,177 yards with 27 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2021. And he's got no shortage of targets to work with, either. Zachari Franklin led the room last season with 81 receptions for 1,027 yards and 12 touchdowns while Joshua Cephus wasn't far behind him with 71 receptions for 819 yards and six touchdowns.
The Roadrunners' defense hasn't completely matched the impressiveness of their offense, but has its bright spots, especially against the run. The inside linebacker tandem the Roadrunners feature between
UAB (odds to win conference: +230)
Despite UTSA's success last year, this is the team that stands the best chance at overtaking them and earning the title of best in the conference. The team is in a bit of a state of transition after coach Bill Clark retired because of health issues, with offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent taking up his position in the interim. Defense is UAB's greatest strength and it returns an experienced unit that limited its opponents to an average of 23.2 yards per game and just over five yards per play. But there's some intrigue on the offensive side of the ball as well.
While there are some questions surrounding the supporting cast where pass-catchers are concerned, there's optimism to be had where quarterback and running back are concerned. UAB's ground attack is expected to be strong between returning rushers DeWayne "Debo" McBride and depth behind him that includes JUCO transfer Zeus Perryman. Quarterback Dylan Hopkins, who completed 66% of his passes for 2,274 passing yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season, is among the best UAB has seen at the position in recent years and can help propel the Blazers' passing attack even more if he takes another step in 2022.
UAB looks good on paper and should be able to consistently contend for a conference title it if can consistently put it all together on the field.
WKU (odds to win conference: +350)
The Hilltoppers' offense was a sight to be seen in 2021 between the play-calling of Zach Kittley, the quarterback talent of Bailey Zappe and the chemistry built up with receivers like Jerreth Sterns. All of those pieces are gone now as WKU looks to replicate some of the magic of last season. West Virginia transfer Jarret Doege is expected to take the reins at quarterback and brings a high level of experience to the team as he enters the sixth season of his career. He's passed for roughly 10,500 yards and 79 touchdowns in that time and can continue to expand upon those numbers under co-offensive coordinators Josh Crawford and Ben Arbuckle.
The offensive line has had some losses as a unit, but between the acquisition of former South Carolina offensive guard Vinnie Murphy, having Rusty Staats at center and Quantavious Leslie, who is one of the most solid guards in the conference. WKU didn't have a strong rushing attack least season because it didn't need one -- this was a pass-happy team that ran a rendition of the Air Raid offense with an added run-game piece that the traditional scheme doesn't quite feature. It's one that also required the quarterback to have deep understanding of protections. Looking at the run game, the Hilltoppers averaged a respectable four yards per carry and it will be interesting to see how and if that changes moving forward with Kye Robichaux and Jakairi Moses vying for carries with the departure of leading rusher Noah Whittingham. Defensively, the Hilltoppers' run defense and secondary as a whole failed to rise to the occasion at certain points last year and they are left with some holes going into 2022 with a tough task of replacing pass rusher Deangelo Malone and top tackler Antwon Kincade.
Teams who could disappoint
The Owls have shown some flashes on offense, but this is still a team with a lot of work to do that has put up some good victories over bad teams but has work to do to become a legitimate contender. Rice's passing game was solid in 2021, but its offensive line has some work to do on the edges to help the team reach its full potential. Defensively, the Owls need more aggression out of the secondary as safety Gabe Taylor led the team in interceptions with a total of three takeaways through the air. The Rice defenses surrendered an average of 36 points and 436 yards per game in 2021 -- that's something it will want to lessen in a significant way this season.
There were some expectations that FIU could emerge as a dark horse within the conference, but it instead finished the 2021 season with one win and 11 forgettable losses. Offensive coordinator David Yost should add some pop to the passing game after spending time at Texas Tech, but it's going to take a while for FIU to build itself up and reach a point of relevance. The Panthers will equally look for improvement on defense with a new coordinator in town in Jovan Dewitt, who saw time as a linebackers coach at Nebraska and North Carolina. But FIU is nowhere close to where it needs to be on the defensive front or the secondary, returning some experience but with a need for increased talent after allowing roughly 40 points per game last year.
Former Air Raid quarterback Sonny Cumbie's passing attack is going to be exciting to watch in The Boot, but it won't take flight overnight. LA Tech's offense was already in something of a rebuilding state in 2021 and struggled both through the air and on the ground, despite having a respectable offensive line. The Bulldogs have faced some questions at quarterback, arguably the second-most important position in football, with multiple names taking the snaps in 2021. Moving into 2022, the competition for the starting gig is likely to come down to former TCU quarterback Matthew Downing and former Texas Tech quarterback Parker McNeil -- both of which still have much to prove.
UTSA S Rashad Wisdom
Wisdom may be one of the best safeties in the nation, but the small school stigma is affecting the amount of hype he's getting here. He led the team in tackles last season, finishing the year with 87 combined tackles (66 solo) and six passes defended. He's poised to be one of the best overall defensive players in C-USA in 2022 and could become a draft prospect to watch.
UAB QB Dylan Hopkins
Hopkins' performance makes up some of the best play UAB has seen at quarterback in years, and that's a major positive to go with a rushing attack that's anticipated to the staunch in 2022. There are some solid receivers for Hopkins to continue building chemistry with though the unit overall leaves a certain type of electricity in the passing game to be desired. Hopkins should be expected to grow and play a role into taking the offense to a new level this fall. Between the 2019 and the 2021 seasons, Hopkins posts a 62.2% completion rate, 2,837 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over 22 games.
LA Tech WR Smoke Harris
Harris is going to be a part of a team going through additional transition after a rough 2021 season, but he fits well with what Cumbie is trying to do in Louisiana and should continue to emerge even more in 2022. The 5'6, 189-pounder ended out the 2021 season with 71 receptions for 756 yards with three touchdowns and could break out even more this year.
Who could win the conference
Looking purely at the odds from PointsBet, UTSA is favored to win the conference, though UAB (+230) and Western Kentucky (+350) aren't far behind. FAU (+800), North Texas (+1500) and Middle Tennessee (+1600) make up the middle of the pack.
Though the Hilltoppers could sneak in after their 2021 appearance and there's always room for a surprise, the battle for the conference title should be a close one between UTSA and UAB, though there's incentive to give UAB a slight edge between just how closely it came up short of being able to compete in the title game last season and what it brings to the table in 2022.
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2022-07-18T09:59:20Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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2022 C-USA Preview: UAB looks to contend
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In a tweet over the weekend, Diaz said that he hasn't been offered a fight in nine months in response to UFC president Dana White saying that Diaz has been offered opponents during the UFC Long Island Post-fight Press Conference on Saturday.
According to Diaz, the fight promotion is keeping him on the shelf in hopes of lining up a trilogy fight with former two-division champion Conor McGregor. Diaz handed McGregor his first loss inside the octagon in their first fight in March 2016. McGregor avenged the loss in the rematch, but third fight with McGregor doesn't interest Diaz.
"They don't want to let me to go. They won't let me out of this contract because they want me to fight Conor. That's what's happening," Diaz told The MMA Hour. "They don't want me out without finishing that fight up. I'm not fighting Conor McGregor right now. Our timelines aren't matching up.
"You didn't fight me when you were supposed to fight me. I'm not fighting you right now. I'm supposed to bring you back to life before I go? You bring yourself back to life and then I'll be back later. I've got sh*t to do."
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2022-07-18T11:06:10Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Nate Diaz: ‘UFC wants me to fight Conor McGregor, I’m not fighting Conor McGregor’
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Jim Sergent, USA TODAY
It's been several years since either Albert Pujols or Miguel Cabrera played in the All-Star Game, but they'll both be back this week.
Thanks to a new clause in the collective bargaining agreement MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred added both as "All-Star Legends Selections."
"Albert and Miguel are two of the most accomplished players of their generation," Manfred wrote in statement. "They have also represented the baseball traditions of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela with excellence for the last two decades."
Pujols, who says he'll retire after this season, and Cabrera will be a hard acts to follow. Manfred faces a tall task in subsequent All Star Games of tapping "Legends" who approach the duo's hitting totals, career accolades or just longevity.
By the end of their 13th seasons, Pujols had a 100-home run lead over controversial home run king Barry Bonds and was 77 ahead of Aaron. The chart above shows Pujols' home run trajectory along with Bonds' unusual path to 762. But, of course, that's for a completely different story.
Cabrera is one of five active players with a career batting average over .300, according to Baseball Reference. Houston's Jose Altuve trails Cabrera by 3 points at .306.
Still, today's game is different than it was in the days of Ty Cobb (1st all time at .366), Ted Williams (10th, .344) or Babe Ruth (13th, .342). Cabrera ranks 114th in professional baseball history.
As a rookie, Cabrera had 18 hits, including 4 home runs, in the Marlins' 2003 playoff run, which culminated with a sweep of the Yankees in the World Series. As a Tiger, he was part of three consecutive American League Championship Series. One led to a World Series birth in 2012 where they were swept by the Giants.
Joe DeMayo discusses the Mets first selection in the second round, Tennessee pitcher Blade Tidwell | MLB Draft
With their first selection in the second road and 52nd overall, the Mets take Tennessee pitcher Blade Tidwell. Tidwell was primed to be a top-15 pick entering the spring for the No. 1 team in the country in Tennessee. He experienced some shoulder soreness that caused him to miss nearly two months, but he returned in time for Tennessee’s push in the College World Series.
There was little doubt that consensus All-American catcher Kevin Parada was going to be picked early in the first round
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2022-07-18T11:06:22Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Why did MLB add Pujols, Cabrera to the All Star game? Check out these numbers
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Johnson takes a top 5 spot on list of most important Eagles originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Last December, when Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson was snubbed from the Pro Bowl roster, he was not happy.
“I was pissed. I’ll leave it at that,” Johnson said. “I was really pissed. As far as that, it just motivates me (for) whatever’s left of the season.”
Something tells me it’s going to motivate Johnson going into 2022 too.
Johnson, who turned 32 in May, has been playing at a consistently high level for many years now. He’s a three-time Pro Bowler, a one-time All-Pro and last season he finally appeared to be past the ankle injury that cut his 2019 and 2020 seasons short.
Johnson last year started 13 games, missing three in the middle of the season as he dealt with mental health issues, including depression and anxiety. Johnson spoke publicly about those issues and last December theorized that his battle with mental health led to his Pro Bowl snub.
“I think it did a lot of good for a lot of people,” Johnson said in December. “For me, I don’t know if it did.”
While his fellow offensive tackle Jordan Mailata (No. 7 on our list) was also a Pro Bowl snub last year, he seemed more upset that Johnson didn’t get the nod.
"I care more for Lane,” Mailata said last year. “I think Lane’s one of the best tackles in this game. I know, for me, if I look at myself in the mirror, I know I have a long way to go before I ever make those Pro Bowls. There’s so much stuff that I need to clean up on my own tape. If there’s one tackle I model myself after, it’s Lane. I just feel for Lane in that regard, more for him than myself.”
Even without the recognition, it’s pretty clear how important Johnson is to the Eagles’ success. The Eagles went 1-2 without him during those three games last year. And since 2016 (including playoffs), the Eagles are 46-27-1 with Johnson in the lineup and 9-21 without him.
According to ProFootballFocus, Johnson had 426 snaps in pass protection last season and didn’t give up a single sack. Since the start of the 2019 season, Johnson has played a total of 1,088 snaps in pass protection and has given up a grand total of … drumroll please … two sacks.
Johnson has been so good for so long in Philadelphia. And it shouldn’t be overlooked that he was the No. 4 overall pick in what ended up being a pretty weak first round back in 2013.
Ten years later, Johnson is still on top of his game. PFF ranked Johnson as the 10th-best overall tackle in the NFL in 2021. And if he’s not the best right tackle in the league, he’s pretty close, perhaps behind just Tampa’s Tristan Wirfs.
Johnson is one of the dwindling number of Super Bowl starters left on the roster and has a chance to eventually be the final position player from that roster left on the team. Johnson is under contract through the 2025 season, so the Eagles are counting on him continuing to be his reliable, dominant self in 2022 and beyond.
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2022-07-18T11:14:56Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Eagles 2022 season: Lane Johnson on list of most important players
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5 Eagles candidates to be training camp fan favorite in 2022 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Paul Turner, Henry Josey, Rasheed Bailey. Those names and others still hold a special place in the hearts of Eagles fans.
None of them became long-term mainstays for the Eagles but they all had a brief moment of training camp stardom.
The true age of the training camp darling is gone. Back when the Eagles held their summer practices at Lehigh University and fans could watch every session, it was easier for practice lore to grow quickly. This year, the Eagles have just one practice open to fans and it’s at the Linc. Not exactly enough time for an entire city to get behind one unlikely hero.
But through media reports, videos and select season ticket holders and sponsors in attendance, it still seems like at least one name becomes hot every August. A player will have an excellent few weeks, fight for a roster spot and have fans cheering for them the whole way. Typically, these guys are offensive skill players who come out of nowhere to wow.
Here are five top candidates for this honor in 2022:
Huntley, 24, has been with the Eagles since the 2020 season but he didn’t arrive until September of 2020 when he was released by the Lions and claimed by the Eagles. The Lions released him despite using a fifth-round pick on Huntley out of New Mexico State. But because he didn’t get to Philly until September, he played minimally in his rookie season.
But last summer, we really got to see why the Eagles like Huntley so much. He didn’t make the 53-man roster last year — he spent the season on the practice squad — but Huntley was very impressive in training camp. So he has a chance to repeat as a training camp darling in 2022.
Last summer, it seemed like Huntley was breaking off an explosive run about once every day. While the Eagles’ other running backs have burst, Huntley’s acceleration from that position really stood out. He wasn’t invited to the combine in 2020, he ran a 4.37 in the 40-yard dash at the New Mexico State pro day. That speed definitely shows up on the practice field.
One of the Eagles’ most exciting undrafted rookies this season, Covey was an electric player at Utah. At 5-foot-8, 173 pounds, Covey is obviously undersized. He’s one of the smallest players on the Eagles’ roster and it’s fair to wonder how he’ll hold up in the NFL. But in order to hurt him, NFL players will have to hit him. And that’s not a given.
Just how dynamic was Covey in college? Well, he was a good receiver, catching 184 passes for over 2,000 yards and 11 touchdowns in his five seasons at Utah. But where he really shined was as a return man. He took four punts and a kickoff to the house during his college career. For an Eagles team that could use a boost in that department, Covey could provide it.
Of course, Covey is a tad old for a rookie. He’s 25 and missed two college seasons while on a mission trip to Chile. But that trip came between his freshman and sophomore seasons and he finished off his college career strong in 2021.
Speaking of older rookies, this one is 27. Allen hasn’t played football competitively since the 2016 season at Oregon and his best season with the Ducks came way back in 2014. That year he had 41 catches for 684 yards and 7 touchdowns. But you’ll forgive Allen for his long football layoff. He was busy being an Olympian.
Allen is legitimately one of the best hurdlers in the world and has represented the United States at two Olympic Games. It’ll be fascinating to see how that world-class speed on the track transfers to the football field after he’s been away from it for so long.
The Eagles signed Allen this spring after Allen worked out at the Oregon pro day and then made a visit to the NovaCare Complex. The Eagles took notice of Allen when he ran an unofficial 4.35 in Eugene in April. He’s a long shot but the Eagles don’t have much to lose.
TE Grant Calcaterra
The Eagles’ sixth-round pick from SMU is coming off an impressive senior season after he returned to football following a year off. In 2021, Calcaterra had 38 catches for 465 yards and 4 touchdowns after sitting out the 2020 season with concerns about multiple concussions.
Why does Calcaterra make this list? Well, he’s a 6-foot-4 tight end with above-average athleticism who’s known for his ability to catch the football. He needs to grow as a blocker but that’s not what stands out at these practices and it won’t make him a fan favorite. Making some spectacular catches will and he has that ability as an F tight end in this offense.
While his biggest competition, Jack Stoll, is known for his steady ability as a blocker, Calcaterra was known for his ability to make impressive catches in college. All it will take is a few of them to turn heads this summer.
LB Kyron Johnson
The only defensive player on the list is Johnson, the Eagles’ other sixth-round pick. Johnson (6-0, 235) will be battling with last year’s seventh-round pick Patrick Johnson for the backup SAM position during training camp behind Haason Reddick. While it would be foolish to compare Kyron Johnson to Reddick, Johnson said he has modeled his game after the guy he’ll end up backing up in 2022.
Johnson is listed as a linebacker in Philly but he played on the edge at Kansas and will do the same with the Eagles. He had 8 1/2 sacks over his last two college seasons while playing for an absolutely awful Kansas program. The reason Johnson is on this list is because he’s an explosive athlete. He wasn’t invited to the combine but at his pro day ran a 4.40, a 6.98 time in the 3-cone and had a vertical jump of 39 1/2.
But the real reason he’s on this list is because of what we saw from Johnson at the Senior Bowl. Johnson was a late addition to the all-star event but made the most of his time there, especially in 1-on-1 drills when he worked as a pass rusher against bigger offensive tackles. The Eagles came away from Mobile impressed by his explosive qualities and I think there’s a chance those same qualities show up in training camp.
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2022-07-18T11:15:02Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Eagles training camp 2022: 5 candidates to be fan favorite
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https://sports.yahoo.com/eagles-training-camp-2022-5-110000267.html?src=rss
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Scaling the 'unclimbable mountain:' How the 2-5 start shaped Nick Sirianni originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles and their rookie head coach were in trouble. Big, big trouble.
It was late October, and not only were the Eagles sitting 2-5 with one win in their last six games, their defense was getting torched on a weekly basis, their offense was sputtering behind a first-time starting quarterback, Nick Sirianni seemed overmatched as a play caller, and there really weren’t a whole lot of reasons for optimism.
Any way you measured it, they were one of the worst teams in football.
That’s what Nick Sirianni faced.
Talk about challenging.
He was still finding his way as an NFL head coach and had to keep his team together as an increasingly frustrated fan base wondered about this dude from Indy who wouldn’t stop talking about “dawg mentality.”
It was a pivotal moment not just for the Eagles’ 2021 season but for Sirianni’s coaching career.
“I was just trying to do my job as far as: ‘How do we handle getting better today?’” Sirianni recalled recently. “I think if you ask me the biggest thing I learned last year, (it’s that) as a position coach or as a coordinator, you’re constantly like, ‘OK, let’s look at the schedule. Win, win, loss, maybe win, loss, win-win-win, win.’ You kind of do that sometimes. ‘OK, we’ve got a chance to lose this one, we’ve got a chance to win this one. This one can go either way.
“But that is definitely not the way to do it when everybody’s looking at you, and so that really forced me to look at it like, ‘How are we going to win this next game?’ And that’s all that matters because if we don’t win that one, it’s not going to matter what (else) we do. So it was just staying in the moment, and I think that’s what I learned from it.
“And when you look at it that way, you can handle the criticism, you can handle what looks to be an unclimbable mountain. You can handle all those things because you’re just focusing your attention on … Detroit and you’re focusing on what are the little things that you need to do.”
In the days following the loss to the Raiders that dropped the Eagles to 2-5, Sirianni was able to convey all that to his players.
Don’t think about the won-loss record. Don’t worry about trying to go on a winning streak. Don’t dwell on the latest defeat. Just go out and have a great practice or a great lift or a great film study.
And worry about tomorrow tomorrow.
That’s when Sirianni used the metaphor of a plant becoming stronger as it grows unseen roots underground. The Eagles, he told his players, were like that plant, growing every day, invisible to the rest of the world.
And while the world rolled its eyes, the Eagles started to win.
They went to Detroit and blew out the Lions. After a loss to the Chargers, they won in Denver and then beat the Saints. They went 7-2 after the 2-5 start and became only the fifth team in NFL history to reach the playoffs after a 3-6 start – and only the second to do it under a rookie head coach.
Their improvement from four wins in Doug Pederson’s final season to nine wins last year marked the third-largest single-season improvement in the franchise’s 88-year history.
It’s not easy as a first-time head coach to gain the trust of your players. Even harder when you’re replacing a popular head coach who won a Super Bowl four years earlier. Harder still when you’re 2-5 and getting blown out every week.
How do you convince your players you have the answers?
That was the challenge facing Sirianni.
“We wanted to tell them to get better each day,” Sirianni said. “Well how? Intensity at practice, full detail in walkthrough, detail in meetings, full-speed to snap in walkthrough and getting better at your core values every day.
“And so that is what we learned as a group in that 2-5 start and that’s the process I stuck to and I hate to be like a preacher on this or anything, but that’s the process of life, too. If you’re thinking like, ‘Oh, my Gosh, what’s going to happen in the future,’ you’re going to have a hard time dealing with today.
“And so I guess that’s always kind of been in me because I grew up in strong faith and still have it, but really just stuck to the process of, ‘Let’s handle today, let’s handle today, let’s handle today.’
“It was hard. It’s not that it was easy.”
The team’s confidence in dealing with that 2-5 start came from Sirianni.
Where did Sirianni’s confidence come from?
“I saw guys getting better,” he said. “I saw us as coaches getting better figuring out what we do better as a football team. And so I just felt great leadership from the team and with the guys that we had, and they were working and I didn’t think about, ‘Well, is this going to turn?’ I just thought about, ‘Oh, that was a good practice today.’
“I wasn’t like, ‘Aw man, is it going to turn?’ It was just, ‘We’re getting ready to beat Detroit today,’ and it’s going to help, and then we went out there and did what we did.”
Ignoring that meaningless season-ending loss to the Cowboys, the Eagles closed the season 7-2. From Week 8 through Week 17, only the Chiefs won more games.
And that turned Sirianni from a novice head coach who didn’t seem to have any answers to a Coach of the Year candidate who led his team to the playoffs and kept his players believing.
You need character players to be able to turn a 2-5 start into a playoff berth. And as Sirianni and Howie Roseman were adding to the roster this offseason, they made sure to consider only players who would react the same way as last year’s team did.
“It was huge for the program in the sense that we talked about what kind of football IQ and character does this guy have,” he said. “Because if that’s lacking a little bit, how is a guy that’s lacking that going to react – and this was said by Howie and me a lot – how’s this guy going when we’re 2-5?
“So it’s a baseline of the types of players you have and how they’re going to respond. That’s a huge thing. You never want to start 2-5, but it brings you back to, like, ‘How is this guy going to react to adversity?’ And adversity can look like 2-5, adversity can look like a friend passing away, a family member passing away, hardships at home, hardships with a relationship, whatever it is, how are these guys going to handle it?
If all goes according to plan, the Eagles won’t be 2-5 again for quite a while.
But every team faces adversity at some point during the season, and the Eagles go into 2022 with a coach who’s shown he knows how to handle it and a veteran nucleus that’s shown it knows how to respond.
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2022-07-18T11:15:08Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Scaling the 'unclimbable mountain:' How the Eagles' 2-5 start shaped Nick Sirianni
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https://sports.yahoo.com/scaling-unclimbable-mountain-eagles-2-090035513.html?src=rss
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https://sports.yahoo.com/scaling-unclimbable-mountain-eagles-2-090035513.html?src=rss
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Canada's Christine Sinclair, right, celebrates with teammate Ashley Lawrence after scoring against Trinidad and Tobago during a CONCACAF W Championship match July 5. (Fernando Llano / Associated Press)
It’s the final everyone anticipated when the tournament kicked off two weeks ago, and it's a rematch of last summer’s Tokyo Olympics semifinal, the last game the United States lost.
“Obviously, heading into this tournament, we kind of knew if both teams played the way they're capable of, we'd be meeting them in the final,” said Christine Sinclair, Canada’s captain and the only player on the team who has beaten the United States twice.
“Anytime we play the U.S., it's a battle. And it's the game both sides get excited for,” midfielder Desiree Scott added. “After Tokyo, there's going to be a little bit of that fire and fight there.”
U.S. forward Carli Lloyd sits alone on the field after the team's loss to Canada in the Tokyo Olympics last August. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“Our confidence going into this match is at an all-time high,” she said. “Nothing is ever given, it's earned. And we know that coming into this final.
It's a level of inexperience rare for a U.S. women’s team.
“They've obviously changed a little bit since the Olympics and got some new, young, fresh faces,” said Sinclair, whose goal in her team’s tournament opener was the 190th of her international career. “I think both teams will probably be tactically smart. Obviously, the U.S. isn't a team that's going to sit back and defend. And neither are we.“
Both teams qualified for next summer’s Women's World Cup simply by reaching the final four in the CONCACAF W Championship, each scoring nine times in three shutout wins in the group stage before posting 3-0 victories in the semifinals, the United States over Costa Rica and Canada over Jamaica.
“There's a new mindset of this team around the U.S.,” Canada coach Bev Priestman said. “It has given the players a level of confidence but not a level of arrogance. We've evolved since Tokyo.
“The team now view themselves as one of the best teams in the world. We don't want to be a one-off team. We want to be a team that can consistently win on the world stage.”
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2022-07-18T12:49:05Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Canada out to prove it can usurp the CONCACAF throne from U.S. women's soccer
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https://sports.yahoo.com/canada-prove-usurp-concacaf-throne-110024694.html?src=rss
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Dodgers slugger Max Muncy is congratulated by Kenley Jansen and Matt Kemp (phone in hand) after competing in the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby on July 16, 2018, in Washington. Competing in the home run derby isn't as easy as it might look. (Patrick Semansky / Associated Press)
Angels star Mike Trout bats against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 4. (Laurence Kesterson / Associated Press)
Bryce Harper competes during the 2018 MLB All-Star home run derby in Washington. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)
Cameron Smith made eight birdies on the final day of the British Open. Smith already had done the hard part by running off five straight birdies to start the back nine Sunday, ending the amazing streak with a two-putt from 90 feet over a massive mound that fed to the hole on the par-5 14th, giving him a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy. Smith used his magic touch with the putter to run it along with edge of the bunker onto the green and made the 10-footer for par.
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2022-07-18T12:49:18Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Home run derby brings plenty of fun — and fatigue: 'It takes a toll on your body'
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https://sports.yahoo.com/home-run-derby-brings-plenty-113012477.html?src=rss
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Gentry Estes, Nashville Tennessean
Former Vanderbilt baseball ace Kumar Rocker was drafted in the first round by the Texas Rangers in the 2022 MLB Draft.
'Awkward' week ends with 'noise' surrounding Alex Palou's future, and Chip Ganassi quiet.
“I know outside can look a bit chaotic, but at the end of the day, it’s racing, and we put everything aside to race,” Alex Palou told IndyStar
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2022-07-18T12:49:56Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Turns out, the New York Mets did pitcher Kumar Rocker a favor | Opinion
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https://sports.yahoo.com/turns-york-mets-did-pitcher-114025878.html?src=rss
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That's why A.J. Brown is with the Philadelphia Eagles. And Brown is one of the main reasons Philly is fired up about its football team this season.
Ironically, the biggest obstacle to a huge season might be the quarterback position that's allowing the Eagles to build a strong roster everywhere else.
The salary cap really isn't a myth. Teams know how to manipulate the cap, but it's there. And smart teams know that if you have a quarterback making about what you'd pay a free-agent backup safety, you have a chance to get aggressive. That's why the Eagles made a big move to get Brown, then paid him $100 million over four years. Brown is one of the best receivers in football, an explosive athlete who will transform the Eagles offense. It was a key addition.
"I don’t want to talk for [Titans general manager Jon Robinson] but I’m sure that was part of his thinking, like, ‘I got a quarterback that I’m paying,'" Eagles GM Howie Roseman said via Pro Football Talk.
The Eagles have worked a rookie QB contract to their advantage before. They won a Super Bowl in 2017 when Carson Wentz was on his rookie deal, allowing them to build a roster that was so good it could support Nick Foles when he had to take over at QB. The Eagles would rather be paying a Patrick Mahomes more than $35 million a year. When you don't have a great player like that, you do the next best thing and build around the QB you have.
The Eagles have a fantastic roster. Their offensive line was No. 1 in Pro Football Focus' preseason rankings. The receiver room has been remade the past two years with Brown and 2021 first-round pick DeVonta Smith, who had a very good rookie season. The defense is deep along the line, improved at edge rusher and linebacker and Roseman made a nice move when he landed cornerback James Bradberry after the New York Giants had to cut him for salary-cap reasons (seriously, it's not a myth).
There are a few teams in the weird vortex of having a great roster with a questionable quarterback. The Indianapolis Colts for the past couple years and the 2016-21 Denver Broncos come to mind. Maybe the San Francisco 49ers are in that club, too. You can win big with a mediocre quarterback — the notion you absolutely need a hall-of-fame talent at QB to make a Super Bowl actually is a myth — but you do need that QB to be a positive asset. Two seasons into Hurts' career, we don't know if he can be good enough to help the Eagles to a division title or a deep playoff run.
The Eagles took off last season when they had a big shift away from Hurts as a passer and became a run-first team. That shift coincided with offensive coordinator Shane Steichen taking over playcalling, and Steichen will call plays again in 2022. Then in the playoffs, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers exposed Hurts. By halftime Hurts had 88 passing yards, a 47.7 passer rating and the Eagles trailed 17-0. He looked like a quarterback prone to long stretches of inconsistent passing (though, fairly, he played through an ankle injury that would require offseason surgery), and a defense like the Bucs could take advantage of his shortcomings. Philly can't have Hurts play like that and make a deep run in the postseason. That finish led to plenty of columns and sports talk radio shows debating Hurts' future as a quarterback. It's Philly, after all.
And Hurts will be the question mark for a very good Philadelphia team until he proves otherwise. He is a talented runner, which helped the Eagles' offense in the second half of the season. Philadelphia went 7-3 in their final 10 regular-season games after the running game became the focal point, so the Eagles know they can win playing that way. Hurts has had stretches of good play as a passer too. Adding Brown, with Smith taking an expected step forward in his second season, would help any quarterback. Hurts also has started just 19 NFL games, so it's impossible to say exactly what he is yet. There's still room for development.
Outside of teams like the Broncos who massively improved at quarterback, it's possible the Eagles had the best offseason in the NFL. A.J. Brown is 25 years old, one of the most talented receivers in the NFL and the Eagles landed him for the 18th overall draft pick and a third-rounder that was No. 101 overall. That's cheap. The Eagles paid him $100 million over four years but that's fine when you have a QB on his rookie deal. It was a slam dunk. In free agency they made a huge addition early on, adding pass rusher Haason Reddick on a three-year, $45 million deal, then got a great bargain landing cornerback James Bradberry for $7.25 million on a one-year contract. They also managed to retain defensive linemen Derek Barnett and Fletcher Cox and add linebacker Kyzir White, who is an upgrade. The biggest loss was cornerback Steven Nelson, and the team can survive that. The draft got a grade of A- from Yahoo's Eric Edholm and a top-five grade from just about every analyst. The Brown trade factors into that, but the Eagles had a fine draft class despite trading a first- and third-round pick. Huge first-round defensive tackle Jordan Davis could be a great addition, second-round center Cam Jurgens makes sense with Jason Kelce nearing retirement and third-round linebacker Nakobe Dean was a smart gamble on a player who has first-round talent but a bad injury report. General manager Howie Roseman had a heck of an offseason.
“I think for us, we got to do whatever we can to continue to help him develop,” Roseman said, via NJ.com. “How do we do that? By surrounding him with really good players. Players continue to grow. That’s a huge part of developing."
Hurts is under a lot of pressure this season, but he's in a good spot. He has talented targets — receivers Brown, DeVonta Smith and Quez Watkins with tight end Dallas Goedert — and an offensive line that paved the way for the top rushing attack in the NFL last season. After two seasons Hurts is an average passer and a very good runner, and the Eagles can build a solid offense around that. What if Hurts becomes more as a passer with better teammates around him and a coaching staff that is more comfortable in its second season? It's also worth noting that if Hurts struggles, the Eagles have one of the league's better backups in Gardner Minshew II.
The Eagles' odds have been on the move. They were +120 to make the playoffs in April, and now they're -160 to make the playoffs at BetMGM. That's a big move. Their win total opened at 8.5 and is up to 9.5. I still like all of the positive Eagles futures you can give me: yes to make the playoffs, over 9.5 wins, +185 to win the division and even a short stab at their 25-to-1 Super Bowl odds. There are many reasons to like this Eagles team, which was mispriced to start the offseason.
From Yahoo's Scott Pianowski: "One of the keys to fantasy football success is separating real-life value from statistical value. A.J. Brown might be a top 5 receiver in the NFL, but he has almost zero chance to hit his theoretical upside in the Eagles offense, at least as it’s currently constructed.
"Jalen Hurts is still a work-in-progress as a passer, and the Eagles offense has plenty of mouths to feed. DeVonta Smith is an emerging receiver, Dallas Goedert a star tight end, Miles Sanders a handy running back. This offense also has to make room for Hurts as a runner, and when he’s scrambling for yards and touchdowns, no one else on the roster gets a statistical benefit.
"If backup quarterback Gardner Minshew gets a chance to play, all bets are off; you might have noticed that the best Goedert fantasy game last year came in one of Minshew’s two starts. This passing game might be more explosive with Minshew. But so long as Hurts is the man under center, I’m going to be careful with the pass-catchers here, especially Brown, the new kid in town. Brown’s current Yahoo ADP around 32 overall is too rich for my taste."
One thing the Eagles didn't master last season was beating good teams. According to Jeff Sagarin's ratings at USA Today, they were 0-6 against top-10 teams and 1-6 against top-16 teams. Their best win all season was a home win over the New Orleans Saints. The good news for the Eagles is their schedule is easy again. Last season they had the fifth-easiest schedule in the NFL, according to Football Outsiders' DVOA rankings. This season they have the second-easiest schedule, according to NFL analyst Warren Sharp who uses sportsbooks' win totals to project schedule strength. That's yet another reason to believe in the upside of the 2022 Eagles.
The Eagles have a lot of defensive players who are either blue-chip stars or at least above-average starters. Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave are fantastic interior defenders. Haason Reddick has 23.5 sacks the past two seasons. Darius Slay is a top-five cornerback and James Bradberry played at that level two seasons ago. A pair of rookies, Jordan Davis on the defensive line and Nakobe Dean at linebacker, could be immediate contributors. The Eagles also got coordinator Jonathan Gannon back after he was a hot name in the head-coaching market this past offseason. With all that talent, why were the Eagles so underwhelming on defense last season? They were 18th in points allowed, 25th in defensive DVOA, 23rd in passer rating allowed ... it was a fine defense and it got better in the second half of the season, but it wasn't great. New additions should help. There are still questions at safety and the pass rush needs to be a lot better. Philly's 29 sacks were second-lowest in the NFL last season, and Reddick can't fix that all himself. But the ingredients are there for this to be a much better defense.
A lot of people like Jalen Hurts' odds to win MVP. That probably won't happen, but what if he plays somewhere near that level? Take a look at the Eagles' roster aside from QB, on both sides of the ball and including depth, and you see a potentially elite team. They're that good. The addition of A.J. Brown could turn the passing game into an asset. Additions on defense, and the retention of coordinator Jonathan Gannon, could lead to a big jump on that side too. If the Eagles start rolling against an easy schedule, the NFC is there for the taking. Philadelphia fans like to live in a world of misery, but they should be excited about this team. If Hurts is a top-10 quarterback or close to it, the Eagles could be a surprise Super Bowl team.
You can have a good team and still miss the playoffs if you don't have a quarterback you trust. Ask the 2021 Colts. Jalen Hurts isn't a sure thing to be any better than he has been. The playoff loss to the Buccaneers was telling: The Eagles are good but there's still a glass ceiling if Hurts doesn't get better. It's challenging to win in the NFL as a run-heavy team with an average defense, and that's what the Eagles had last season. The Dallas Cowboys are favored to win the NFC East for a reason, and the Eagles' promising offseason could just end up resulting in a disappointing season and a difficult search for a new quarterback in 2023.
The Eagles are the first team on the countdown that I can talk myself into being a true Super Bowl contender. It doesn't seem like such a stretch if you can talk yourself into a Jalen Hurts improvement. I have the Cowboys higher on the countdown because they're the more proven commodity, but I'll likely be picking the Eagles to win the NFC East. They might not be capable of a great playoff run, but I wouldn't rule it out either. Even if Hurts is basically the same quarterback he was a year ago, this should be a playoff team. I can't wait to see if this team makes a big jump.
Continuing our countdown of the 25 most important Eagles with No. 5: Offensive tackle Lane Johnson. By Dave Zangaro
Florida's 'red flag' law can keep guns away from dangerous people. It isn't invoked much here. In 2021, nine petitions were filed and eight granted.
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2022-07-18T13:23:47Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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2022 NFL Preview: Eagles' hopes high after strong offseason
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https://sports.yahoo.com/2022-nfl-preview-eagles-have-an-exciting-roster-but-one-big-question-mark-123715655.html?src=rss
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WHO'S THE BEST: Ranking the 10 best football players in the SEC
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: SEC football coaches ranked: Nick Saban leads Kirby Smart; then who?
Crissy Froyd previews how things could shake out in Conference USA in 2022. (Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports)
Pacific Island leaders have tried almost everything—from giving speeches in knee-deep seawater, to shouting and crying—to draw attention to the impacts of climate change on their nations. For nearly a year now, Vanuatu has been trying to build a coalition to get the world’s highest court to issue a legal statement, or an advisory opinion, on climate change. More than a dozen countries and territories in the Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand, made public their support for the initiative soon after the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Suva, Fiji, which concluded on July 14.
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2022-07-18T13:28:08Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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SEC football coaches ranked: Kirby Smart nips at Nick Saban's heels; then who? |Opinion
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https://sports.yahoo.com/sec-football-coaches-ranked-kirby-103943487.html?src=rss
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By now, you likely know about the big ones. Notre Dame and Ohio State meet in Week 1 just an hour or so after Oregon and Georgia face off. And Alabama and Texas play in Week 2, of course. But there are a lot of other intriguing non-conference matchups too. Especially in Week 3, a Saturday that could be full of fascinating matchups.
Here's our look at the most intriguing non-conference matchups over the first three weeks of the 2022 college football season.
This is a fantastic way to cap off the first full Saturday of the season and a huge test for Marcus Freeman in his first regular season game as Notre Dame's coach. Ohio State has become the favorite pick of bettors to win the national title and is more than a two-touchdown favorite over an Irish team that brings back 15 starters.
The annual rivalry game isn’t higher up on the Week 2 list because ISU only brings back eight starters from a team that underachieved in 2021. Matt Campbell needs to replace Brock Purdy, Breece Hall and Charlie Kolar on offense and the team’s four leading tacklers are also gone. ISU hasn't beaten Iowa since 2014.
Auburn went 6-7 in Bryan Harsin's first season. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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2022-07-18T13:28:14Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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The best non-conference games of the 2022 college football season
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The Seahawks saved a bunch of salary cap space by cutting Bobby Wagner. They also lost the best linebacker of our time and treated a franchise legend as poorly as they can be on his way out the door.
Now playing for the division rival Rams, Wagner says he didn’t want to leave Seattle but he’s happy to be home in Los Angeles, per NFL.com.
“Obviously there are still feelings there [about being released]… But at the end of the day I have a different perspective. I think my opinion on it would have been different if I ended up somewhere else. But to have the opportunity to go home and play not far from my family. Like I haven’t played this close to my family since high school. I didn’t want to leave Seattle. But if I was going to leave Seattle, home was the next-best thing for me and so being able to be home, like I’m at peace with the situation. But still any competitor is looking forward to going back to the place that you played that they felt like you didn’t have nothing left and proving them wrong.”
Wagner signed a lucrative five-year deal with a Rams team that won the Super Bowl last season but needed help at linebacker. He should fit like a glove for a defense with multiple future Hall of Famers on the depth chart.
This year the Seahawks will face the Rams Week 13 in Los Angeles and again Week 18 in Seattle to end the season.
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2022-07-18T15:23:50Z
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sports.yahoo.com
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Bobby Wagner admits there are ‘still feelings there’ about being released by Seahawks
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Colts’ 2022 training camp preview: Defensive Tackle
The Indianapolis Colts are just over a week away from the start of training camp at Westfield where the interior defensive line will boast some strong competition.
The starting spots will remain the same in Gus Bradley’s new defense. It’s the depth roles that will be the ones to watch when the team officially returns from summer break.
Not many additions were made to the interior defensive line outside of two intriguing Day 3 picks in the 2022 NFL draft, and this unit will have a lot of say in the type of production the entire defense has in 2022.
As training camp is set to begin July 27, here’s a preview of the defensive tackles for the Colts:
The leader of the group and the engine of the defense, Buckner has been the biggest priority for opposing offenses to focus on over the last two seasons. He was an All-Pro during his first season with the Colts in 2020 and even though his production slipped a bit in 2021, Buckner still had a strong year.
Entering Year 3 of his deal with the Colts, Buckner needs to return to that 2020 form if the defense is to make that leap forward into a higher tier. He can certainly do that from a pass-rushing perspective considering the aggressiveness of Bradley’s scheme.
Getting some help from the edge rushers should also benefit the veteran defensive tackle, who could very well be a captain again.
One of the most underrated players on the entire roster, Stewart is just now beginning to get the love he deserves from the fanbase. The national media may not have caught on yet, but they will soon.
Stewart has been working as the starting one-technique defensive tackle for the last three seasons and has quickly become one of the best at the position. Don’t let that fool you, though, he’s far more than just a run-stopper. Stewart’s skill set often shows a talented pass rusher when he’s not opening lanes for other rushers.
It will be interesting to see how the spread of the defensive line will impact Stewart’s alignment. He may see some extra work outside of lining up over the center. But he’s a key factor in the defensive line considering his ability to stop the run and his ability to hold blockers so others can get through to their gaps.
We could have included Odeyingbo with the edge rushers as well because he’s going to see equal time working from the three-technique defensive tackle spot as much as he will from the edge. The Colts see a big year coming up for the 2021 second-round pick.
Odeyingbo spent the majority of his rookie campaign working back from Achilles surgery. He didn’t get on the field until halfway through the regular season and then saw 27% of the snaps when he did return. But now with a full offseason under his belt, “Hurricane Dayo” is ready to torment opposing backfields.
Considering his burst, length and abilities as a pass rusher, we should expect a quasi-breakout from the Vanderbilt product. He still needs to earn that versatile role he’s set up for, but the optimism is rightfully high when it comes to his potential.
Johnson will be an interesting player to watch during training camp and the preseason. The Colts used a fifth-round pick on him during the 2022 NFL draft with the expectation that he will eventually develop into a strong contributor from the interior.
It isn’t clear yet where Johnson will play the majority of his snaps. After the draft, Chris Ballard said he’s likely to work both at the three-technique and one-technique spots. Even though he’s an older prospect coming from a small school, there is a lot of upside with Johnson’s game given his elite athleticism.
He may not make an impact right away, especially if the others in the room stay healthy, but Johnson has a shot to work into a rotational role immediately while his game develops.
Brooks might be the biggest sleeper in the rookie draft class for the Colts. He was an older prospect and his size may be the reason he ultimately dropped to the sixth round, but his athleticism and production in big games show the Colts may have gotten a steal.
Brooks will be competing with Johnson and others for the fourth spot in the defensive line room. He has a good chance of winning that role with a strong showing during the preseason. Brooks is a strong, explosive pass rusher who may be further along in his development than we might initially imagine.
The Cincinnati product has a lot to prove after falling to Day 3, and he could wind up being a pleasant surprise by the end of training camp.
Williams enters his third season with the Colts after signing with the team as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2020 NFL draft. He’s held mostly a depth role on the practice squad while getting some run during the 2021 season.
Williams may have a limited ceiling as a pass rusher, but he proved enough to make the initial 53-man roster during the 2021 season. He will have some stiff competition for the final two spots, but don’t count him out just yet.
The Colts signed McIntosh to a futures deal this offseason after he spent time with the New York Giants. A former fifth-round pick out of Miami (FL), McIntosh faces an uphill battle to make the roster. However, the Colts may keep him on the practice squad if he shows enough promise during training camp and the preseason games.
One of the later additions when it came to the undrafted rookie free agents, Patton comes from a small program at Texas State. He has decent athleticism but will have a difficult time earning a roster spot given the limited places available in the room.
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2022-07-18T15:23:52Z
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Colts’ 2022 training camp preview: Defensive Tackle
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This time in between minicamps/OTAs and training camp is a great opportunity to assess the state of Miami’s roster at each position before they hold true competitions at the end of this month and into August under new coach Mike McDaniel for the first time.
We’ve talked about quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers and specialists but now it’s time to jump back to the defense and discuss the cornerbacks on the roster.
Roster locks: Xavien Howard, Byron Jones, Nik Needham, Noah Igbinoghene, Keion Crossen
The Dolphins have one of the best cornerback groups in the game with Howard and Jones being the top pairing and Needham sliding in as the nickel corner. However, there’s not much there for depth.
Heading into his third season, Igbhinoghene needs to show that the Dolphins can count on him if Jones or Needham were to go down. Hopefully, with the additions of Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain to the coaching staff, there can be some improvements to the young corner’s game.
Crossen was signed this offseason for his special team’s ability. If he’s playing on defense, that likely means something went wrong.
On the bubble: Trill Williams
Williams made the team as an undrafted free agent in 2021, but he only appeared in one game (19 total snaps between defense and special teams) the whole season.
That does give him a bit of a head start against anybody coming in for the first year, but there aren’t many of those. With just the overall lack of players at the position, it’s more likely that Williams makes it to the roster for a second season.
Unlikely to make the team: Kader Kohou
Kohou was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M-Commerce after the conclusion of the 2022 draft. While his collegiate games didn’t get the national coverage like Alabama or Georgia, Kohou has shared that he’s worked on special teams, in coverage and kick return roles, and was a leader for his defense.
If he were to make the roster over anyone it would be Williams, but it’s more likely that Kohou is either on the practice squad or working with another team in 2022.
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2022-07-18T15:24:09Z
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Dolphins position preview: Breaking down the CBs ahead of camp
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Who is your favorite to win 2022 Comeback Player of the Year? 'GMFB'
"GMFB" discuss who they think will win 2022 Comeback Player of the Year. This game is streaming live on the Yahoo Sports mobile app, or on NFL Network
TORONTO, July 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Collective Mining Ltd. (TSXV: CNL) (OTCQX:CNLMF) (“Collective” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that its common shares are now trading on the OTCQX® Best Market under the symbol "CNLMF". Collective upgraded to the OTCQX from the Pink® market and its common shares are eligible for electronic clearing and settlement through The Depository Trust Company ("DTC") in the United States. Collective’s common shares will continue to trade on the TSX Ventu
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2022-07-18T15:24:21Z
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Who is your favorite to win 2022 Comeback Player of the Year? 'GMFB'
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https://sports.yahoo.com/favorite-win-2022-comeback-player-135353599.html?src=rss
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Lawrence showed in his rookie season why he was considered to be in such rarified air as a prospect. It just took until Week 18 for him to do so. In a meaningless game for the Jaguars, but one that meant everything to the Indianapolis Colts’ playoff aspirations, Lawrence didn’t flinch.
Lawrence’s performance in the season finale was arguably his best and gave fans a lot of hope because of the circumstances and the fact that it was against a divisional opponent he will see often. However, there were several other occasions where he previously flashed (most notably against Cincinnati and Miami). Those moments are why fans are optimistic about Lawrence despite his rookie season being a rough one overall.
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2022-07-18T15:24:27Z
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Jags QB Trevor Lawrence ranked atop ESPN’s second-year breakout players list
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