Only four countries have ever won sailing’s America’s Cup, the longest-running sporting competition in history. For more than 120 years, in fact, there were only two contenders—America and the United Kingdom—racing on average every four or five years. But the UK never won; it lost the very first race to the New York Yacht Club’s schooner The America in 1851. Sailing has come far since then.
For Patrizio Bertelli, Chairman of the board of Prada and himself a passionate sailor, it’s been a long road since the first Luna Rossa race team was announced in 1997. Five campaigns to challenge for the cup have seen Prada race off against the holders twice, most recently in 2021. But like the Brits, they have never won the “Auld Mug,” as the trophy is known. Now in his sixth campaign, Bertelli’s determination is undimmed.
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Josh Myers left it all on the field for this snap. Literally.
Football players are built differently.
We are reminded of this simple fact on every NFL Sunday, and frankly on every college football Saturday. You can even find evidence of this axiom on Friday nights at your local high school.
The latest example of this truism? That comes courtesy of Green Bay Packers center Josh Myers. Keep a close eye on Myers before the snap on this play from Green Bay’s win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday:
Green Bay Packers center Josh Myers with the "puke and rally"
pic.twitter.com/f61h8C57th.— Packerfan Total Access- Clayton (@packers_access) September 15, 2024
Did you catch that? Just before the snap Myers casually turns his head to the left and vomits — trying not to get anything on the football before the snap to backup quarterback Malik Willis — and then snaps the football. Myers then stands tall in pass protection, helping pick up an interior stunt.
Although apparently Myers was not perfect with his aim, as Packers head coach Matt LaFleur outlined after the game:
We left it all out there today pic.twitter.com/F54kRdBNWC.— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 15, 2024
With starting quarterback Jordan Love sidelined, Myers helped power a Packers rushing attack that racked up a whopping 261 rushing yards, with 237 of those coming in the first half alone.
So you might excuse him for feeling a little under the weather before this snap, as he was putting in work on Sunday.
Football players: Truly built differently.
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Australia's pace-bowling depth is often talked about, and for good reason, but right now it is being tested. The list of injuries and absentees around the limited-overs tour of the UK has become a lengthy one. Xavier Bartlett was the latest to be ruled out after suffering a side strain in the first T20I against England. Nathan Ellis was scrubbed from the trip early in the Scotland leg after aggravating an injury sustained in the Hundred. Spencer Johnson (side) was ruled out before the tour began. Riley Meredith did not feature after first T20I in Scotland, also due to a side issue. Josh Hazlewood had a delayed arrival because of a minor calf strain but bowled superbly in Southampton before being rested in Cardiff. As one of the big three, he is central to Australia's plans for the five Tests against India in the home summer. All the cricket before that, especially for the fast bowlers, is played through the lens of making sure Hazlewood, Pat Cummins
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Tyreek Hill’s recent altercation with the police and Tua Tagovailoa’s head injury hark back to earlier controversies in the N.F.L., but without the same outcry.
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Emilio Gay will join Durham on loan for their County Championship clash with table-topping Surrey at the Kia Oval on Tuesday, after the club captain Scott Borthwick was ruled out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury.
Gay, 24, has enjoyed a prolific season at the top of Northamptonshire's order, scoring 919 runs at 57.43 in ten matches, including a career-best 261 against Middlesex in April.
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Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images
A 40-year-old man has been arrested for harassing Paige Bueckers.
A 40-year-old has been arrested after making repeated threats to UConn women’s basketball superstar Paige Bueckers, according to ESPN. Police took an Oregon man named Robert Cole Parmalee into custody on Friday, and he’s been charged with breach of peace, electronic stalking, and harassment after a series of bizarre and alarming messages about Bueckers.
UConn first became aware of a potential stalker situation when it received emails from the man in June that detailed his desire to marry someone on the basketball team. His social media was full of references to Bueckers, and he reportedly made up a fake wedding invitation and posted multiple pictures of himself with an engagement ring.
The story gets more frightening from there. Here’s what ESPN reported about the threats he made to Bueckers:
Parmalee also made social media posts that a UConn Police officer depicted as threatening to Bueckers’ friends and family. One post on his TikTok account read: “And if I cannot live with a woman of my choosing, [Bueckers], then I will choose to die, and I will choose to take all of you that [op]pose me, oppose us, to hell, and return, king...”
He was also reportedly direct messaging Bueckers on Instagram until she told authorities about his behavior. Parmlee was also arrested in Connecticut in August when he was found trespassing on a highway near the airport. He reported told the cops he was going to see Bueckers.
Women’s basketball stars have been seeing increasing harassment as the sport has gotten more popular. Many WNBA players recently called out commissioner Cathy Engelbert for failing to properly condemn online racism directed at athletes.
Read Katie Heindl on the increasing threats and violence directed at women in sports.
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The Australia Test opener will take on the same role for his state in his first season since being replaced as captain having previously batted at No. 4
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Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images
The 49ers will be without one of their top wide receivers for a “couple weeks”. We break down the fantasy football waiver wire implications.
The San Francisco 49ers stumbled to a loss in Minnesota in Week 2, but they suffered a potentially bigger loss late in the game. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told the media on Monday that wide receiver Deebo Samuel suffered a calf strain on the third to last play of the game, and would miss “a couple of weeks.”
Samuel finished the game with eight receptions for 110 yards. Brandon Aiyuk has been slow out of the gate to start the season and Samuel has been Brock Purdy’s biggest target through two weeks.
Fantasy football waiver wire options to replace Deebo Samuel
The team will likely look to Aiyuk and George Kittle to step up in Samuel’s absence. Neither is a player you’ll find available in most leagues. Jauan Jennings is available in most leagues, but offers limited upside. He caught two passes for 37 yards against the Vikings and five receptions for 64 yards the week before.
There are some wide receivers off to a solid start that are available in greater than 50% of Yahoo! fantasy leagues. Jets WR Allen Lazard (54% availability) had a huge Week 1 with six receptions for 89 yards and two scores, but only had two receptions for 11 yards in Week 2. Chargers WR Quentin Johnston (93% availability) broke out in Week 2 with five receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown. Browns WR Jerry Jeudy (59% availability) had five receptions for 73 yards a week after opening with three for 25 and a touchdown.
The most interesting choice though might be Colts WR Alec Pierce. He has scored in each of the Colts’ first two games and has eight receptions for 181 yards in that stretch.
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Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
Team USA took home the Solheim Cup on Sunday, and the social media posts that followed were absolutely incredible.
Team USA ended its drought at the Solheim Cup as the ladies beat Team Europe 15.5 to 12.5. Lilia Vu made an epic putt that clinched the Cup, and the celebration was incredible. Her approach shot to just a couple of feet was such a great golf shot.
She came up clutch at the right time.
The Europeans made a valiant effort on Sunday, winning the session 6.5 to 5.5, but it was not enough to complete the comeback.
Team USA had not won the Solheim Cup since 2017, so the ladies were excited.
A view of @SolheimCupUSA's win from the sky
pic.twitter.com/X4sMK5RoXo.— LPGA (@LPGA) September 15, 2024
The crowds provided a fantastic environment throughout the week and did not go unnoticed. Megan Khang was a massive contributor to keeping the crowd in it. She finished 4-0-0 for the second straight Solheim Cup but also found time to be the team’s biggest cheerleader.
“I mean, the atmosphere is electric. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting the crowd very much involved. My voice can clearly be the victim of that. But I’d do it a million times over,” Khang said. “So embracing those moments, being on home soil, and taking advantage of those crowds helped fuel me to play my best this week, and I just had so much fun out there.”
After the big win, videos and posts emerged about Team USA and their celebration. The long drought meant the party would be massive. Khang celebrating was one of the most incredible parts of the afterparty.
She was enjoying herself and singing to the camera, which sparked the hunt to find the best reactions and celebrations of Team USA’s win.
Let’s look at some of the top ones to keep this celebration going.
There’s no party like a Solheim Cup party
pic.twitter.com/9FPlT3J7Uu.— LPGA (@LPGA) September 15, 2024
Former President Barack Obama came to the Solheim Cup earlier in the week but made sure to congratulate the ladies after their big win. Getting a former president to tweet about you has to be one of the coolest moments.
Congrats to our new @TheSolheimCup champions! Proud of this talented team for bringing the cup back home. pic.twitter.com/OYHESYXxYU.— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 15, 2024
This post would also not be complete without showing the video of the two caddies taking off their shirts to celebrate on Saturday. While it was not after the big win, it was such an iconic moment it had to be here.
SHIRTS OFF FOR ALISON LEE'S HOLE OUT FROM THE FAIRWAY
pic.twitter.com/VDmLUq8xR6.— LPGA (@LPGA) September 14, 2024
Champions pic.twitter.com/IpMdZHesrG.— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) September 15, 2024
I hope Megan Khang plays in the next 50 Solheim Cups.
pic.twitter.com/w1DhjozqHq.— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) September 15, 2024
Team USA brought out the champagne and put it in the Cup. They each took turns drinking out of it to celebrate.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Golf Channel (@golfchannel)
Let’s hope the ladies had a fantastic night celebrating their big win. They all deserve it after putting on such a phenomenal performance.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
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He was one of the best athletes in the NFL to never score a touchdown or record a sack. Before his tragic death from heatstroke, the Pro Bowl offensive lineman for the Vikings was six feet four inches and 340 pounds of supersized delight.
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Years before Neon Deion became Coach Prime, Esquire's Charlie Pierce caught up with the the electrifying Hall of Famer as he was nearing the end of his decorated NFL playing career.
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Bo Nix’s literal interception explanation after Broncos loss was absolutely perfect.
Sunday was a tough day at the office for rookie quarterback Bo Nix.
Nix and the Denver Broncos lost 13-6 to the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, their second straight one-score loss to open the season. While Denver had chances to pull out the victory in the second half, Nix threw a pair of interceptions that doomed the Broncos’ chances.
While the second came on the final play of the game, with the Broncos in their own territory, Nix’s first interception on Sunday came midway through the third quarter, with Denver facing a 2nd-and-goal situation at Pittsburgh’s 6-yard line. Trailing 10-0, this was a perfect opportunity for Denver to get right back in the game with a touchdown.
Instead, Next threw an interception.
During his post-game press conference, Nix was asked what happened on the play. The rookie’s answer was straight and to the point, in a hilarious way.
Bo Nix with the most literal answer of the year pic.twitter.com/LM4cE7JKSR.— Scotty Gange (@Scotty_G6) September 16, 2024
He threw it to the other team. It was that easy!
Watch the clip of Nix’s interception here:
.@Steelers rookie CB Cory Trice Jr. snags his first-career INT!
: #PITvsDEN on CBS/Paramount
: https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/InhKuyNTQX.— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
Nix tries to connect with Courtland Sutton in the back of the end zone, but his pass instead finds Steelers rookie defensive back Cory Trice Jr. Instead of Denver finding the end zone, or at least putting a field goal on the board, the Steelers took over.
Pittsburgh would extend their lead on the ensuing possession with a field goal.
Bo Nix, thank you for your honesty, good sir.
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South Africa 132 for 4 (Brits 56*, Luus 27, Iqbal 3-34) beat Pakistan 122 for 5 (Riaz 52*, Sana 37*, Sekhukhune 2-15, Kapp 2-22) by ten runs
Eighteen-year-old Seshnie Naidu enjoyed a dream T20I debut in Multan, taking a blinder of a catch at short fine leg and a wicket with her second ball as South Africa beat Pakistan by ten runs in the first match of a three-game series.
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Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images
The former No. 1 overall pick has been bench just two games into his sophomore season with the Panthers.
Just two weeks into the 2024 season, the Carolina Panthers are making a major change.
According to multiple reports, new head Dave Canales is making a change at quarterback. In the wake of a 26-3 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Chargers, starting quarterback and former first-overall selection Bryce Young is headed to the bench. In his place will be veteran quarterback Andy Dalton.
Through two weeks of the season, Young and the Panthers’ offense have struggled to get anything going on that side of the ball. In Carolina’s Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints — a game the Panthers lost by a score of 47-10 — Young completed 13-of-30 passes for 161 yards and a pair of interceptions.
Sunday against the Chargers Young hit on 18-of-26 passes for just 84 yards and an interception. Over two games this season Young has a QBR of just 8.9, and over those two contests his “Quarterback Efficiency” — as defined by RBSDM as a combination of his Expected Points Added per Dropback and his Completion Percentage Over Expected — has him at the bottom of the league:
Perhaps leading to Canales’ decision? While Young was sacked four times in Week 1, Carolina largely handled pass protection well against the Chargers on Sunday:
Bryce Young was pressured on just 4 of 29 dropbacks in Week 2, the lowest rate of any starting QB.— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) September 16, 2024
The news prompted reaction around the NFL media world:
You don't bench your former first overall pick two games into his second season unless:
1) You're sure you're going to be moving on from him after the season
2) You think the locker room is going to lose faith in you if you don't make the change.
Just a brutal outcome.— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) September 16, 2024
Legit impressed by Canales. Most coaches would stay too pot committed to the first overall pick. This is unquestionably the right move -- Young just does not have the tools to be a starting NFL quarterback.
Next step: find some mark to trade you a semi-decent pick for Young. https://t.co/C5y74OjJnw.— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) September 16, 2024
Nothing short of horrific that we're here this early but Carolina didn't have another choice. One thing you can't do is bs the players. Anyone watching the games knows this isn't credible football out there. Imagine how the other guys on the field feel. https://t.co/mOuz2fDYWn.— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) September 16, 2024
Whether this precludes a return to the starting lineup for Young remains to be seen, but this is a shocking move after just two games in 2024.
And it may very well spell the end of his time in Carolina.
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Photo by Al Chang/ISI Photos/Getty Images
The first FedEx Fall Cup event saw Patton Kizzire take home the Procore Championship. How much did he and the field take home?
Last week marked the first 2024 FedEx Cup Fall event at the Procore Championship in Napa, California.
Patton Kizzire took home the title and made more money than he did in his last 18 starts. He posted a final round 2-under 70 to win by five strokes at 20-under overall.
It marked his first win in six years and his third career PGA Tour victory.
Kizzire began working with a new mental coach, Amiee Smith-Schuster, about a month ago, which elevated him to success. She gave him a new approach to his professional life and that helped him run away with this title.
This season has not been his best. Kizzire made just eight of 18 starts ahead of this event. He missed the playoffs and went to work. While he may not have gone the most traditional route, it was enough to help him get over the hump again.
Kizzire won $1,080,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points, bringing his career earnings to over $13.5 million. David Lipsky finished runner-up behind Kizzire at 15-under overall. He took home $654,000. Patrick Fishburn was No. 3 on the leaderboard and won $414,000.
Those points are massive for them, as these guys are playing for a better position in the rankings next year and possible inside the Signature Events.
How much money each player won at the Procore Championship
Patton Kizzire — $1,080,000
2. David Lipsky — $654,000
3. Patrick Fishburn — $414,000
T4. Ben Silverman — $252,500
T4. Greyson Sigg — $252,500
T4. Mackenzie Hughes — $252,500
T7, Tom Hoge — $176,100
T7. Austin Smotherman — $176,100
T7. Justin Lower — $176,100
T7. Sahith Theegala — $176,100
T7. Corey Conners — $176,100
12. Keith Mitchell — $139,500R
T13. Wesley Bryan — $86,515
T13. Adam Svensson — $86,515
T13. Rafael Campos — $86,515
T13. Neal Shipley — $86,515
T13. Lucas Glover — $86,515
T13. Zac Blair — $86,515
T13. Brandon Wu — $86,515
T13. John Keefer — $86,515
T13. Kevin Tway — $86,515
T13. Joe Highsmith —
$86,515
T13. Matt Kuchar —
$86,515
T13. Wilson Furr —
$86,515
T26. Kevin Chappell — $43,800
T26. Charley Hoffman — $43,800
T26. Brandt Snedeker — $43,800
T26. Garrick Higgo — $43,800
T26. J.J. Spaun
— $43,800
T26. Chan Kim — $43,800
T32. Jhonaattan Vegas — $34,260
T32. Min Woo Lee — $34,260
T32. Webb Simpson — $34,260
T32. Chez Reavie — $34,260
T37. Patrick Rodgers — $26,100
T37. Justin Suh —$26,100
T37. Rico Hoey — $26,100
T37. Blaine Hale Jr. — $26,100
T37, Sam Stevens — $26,100
T37. Sangmoon Bae — $26,100
T37. Roger Sloan — $26,100
T44. Brendon Todd — $20,100
T44. Andrew Putnam — $20,100
T44. David Skinns — $20,100
T47. Tom Whitney — $16,780
T47. Doug Ghim — $16,780
T47. Martin Laird — $16,780
T50. Joel Dahmen — $14,475
T50. J.B. Holmes — $14,475
T50. Aaron Baddeley —$14,475
T50. Nick Hardy — $14,475
T50. Tom Johnson — $14,475
T50. Chesson Hadley — $14,475
T50. Luke Clanton (a) — $0
T50. Michael Thorbjornsen — $14,475
T58. Chad Ramey — $13,620
T58. Matti Schmid
— $13,620
T58. Pierceson Coody — $13,620
T61. Lanto Griffin — $13,260
T61. Josh Teater — $13,260
T61. Henrik Norlander — $13,260
T64. Kevin Dougherty — $12,960
T64. Ben Kohles — $12,960
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
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Play three fast bowlers or three spinners? Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir will have to make that call when they sit down to finalise India's XI for the first Test against Bangladesh, starting on September 19 in Chennai.
ESPNcricinfo has learned that the Chepauk pitch will be a red-soil one, with quality bounce and carry. The burning hot temperatures in Chennai, though, are bound to ensure spin will play the dominant hand as the Test grows old. However, the fast bowlers, it is understood, are expected to pose danger throughout the game as the pitch and the conditions are expected to facilitate reverse swing, too.
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Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
Shohei Ohtani is on the verge of one of the most impressive offensive seasons in MLB history.
Unicorn. Superstar. Five-tool player. “Showtime.” Greatest of all time? Pick your nickname or adjective, it likely describes Shohei Ohtani.
One of Major League Baseball’s most electric players in over 100 years, Ohtani and the LA Dodgers are 88-61, leading the NL West by 3.5 games, and two games back of the Phillies for home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is not ruling out Ohtani, who continues to recover from Tommy John surgery from last May, returning to the mound as a reliever in the postseason. He’s the modern day Babe Ruth, arguably the best to ever wear a uniform.
Ohtani is on the brink of eclipsing a historic feat not even Ruth could come close to.
Shohei is closing in on becoming the first player in MLB history to join the 50/50 club: 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases. He’s three homers away and two steals from the record. 13 games remain.
Ronald Acuña Jr. became the first player in history to reach the 40/70 plateau last year. 50/50 is different. Out of all the great players and great athletes that have stepped foot on a baseball field, a two-way star that’s still RECOVERING from an injury could become the first.
Not by Ricky Henderson. Not by Barry Bonds. Not by Ken Griffey Jr. Not Mike Trout. Not by ANYONE in 150 years. The combination of power and speed is off the charts.
Henderson never hit more than 28 home runs in a season despite 11 years of 50+ steals. Bonds stole 52 bags during his 1990 NL MVP campaign, but only 33 homers. Bonds never came close to 30 stolen bases at the turn of the century.
Griffey hit over 50 home runs twice. Never stole more than 20 bases during the 1997 and 1998 seasons when he slugged 56 dingers both years. Trout’s best chance came as a 20 year old in 2012, recording an MLB best 49 steals and 30 home runs. Ohtani is doing this at 30 years old, his seventh MLB season.
Ohtani is slashing .289/.373/.610 with a .983 OPS. He’s eighth in the NL in average, third in hits (166), second in RBIs (104), second in steals, and first in homers and runs scored. He’s a threat in EVERY aspect.
Shohei Ohtani is the greatest baseball player I’ve ever seen. The Japanese superstar is a global phenom who’s substantially helped grow the game abroad and through the World Baseball Classic. He’s in the top five of nearly every statistical offensive category while serving as the Dodgers’ DH.
It’s even more impressive factoring in that Ohtani only takes roughly four at-bats per game and still remains as locked in as he is despite not playing the field.
Aaron Judge broke Roger Maris’ AL single-season home run record (61) with 63 long balls in 2023, a record some attested to being the “clean” record in a season. At one point it looked like Judge would set another new record. He’s topped out at 52 in 147 games so far.
It’s hard to make history. It’s hard to maintain peak performance and a clean bill of health over 162 games. Ohtani picked up right where he left off with the Angels, but it’s different now. It’s the Dodgers. It’s LA in the National League. He’s playing for one of the most recognizable brands in all of sports. He’s a cultural icon for many of the game’s young fans. Ohtani is more recognizable than ever before. Baseball is better because of it.
Major League Baseball in 2024 is about two things: home runs and strikeouts. In a world where small ball, speed, and manufacturing runs has taken a backseat to hitting the ball out of the ballpark, Ohtani is revolutionizing the game with both.
That’s what’s most impressive about this record chase - knowing Ohtani, he’s going to reach the mountaintop. It’s not everyday we get to watch the greatest player of all time suit up and shine on the brightest stage. I’m too young to have watched Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and obviously Babe Ruth.
There’s no denying the unbalanced playing field depriving all 30 teams from the same level of success without a salary cap and salary floor like the three other major sports leagues in the country. Some people will point to the mighty Dodgers and root for Ohtani to fall short. It may not be a large number of people, but some will.
Soak it in. Embrace greatness. I attended the Pirates-Dodgers series this season at PNC Park in front of a sold out crowd with Paul Skenes on the mound. It was an incredible night. Skenes struck out Ohtani in his first at-bat and blew 100 mph fastballs by him. Ohtani responded in his next AB but hitting a 400-foot home run to deep center. It was greeted against greatness. It was a game I’ll remember attending for a whole.
In addition to the home run and stolen base figures, Ohtani owns 30 doubles and seven triples in 575 at-bats. The combination of power and speed, rather than selling out for one or the other, is what makes Ohtani’s historic run so unique. The game is not what it used to be 30 years ago. It’s not the same game as even 15 years ago.
Ohtani has combined for 95 home runs and stolen bases. Elly De La Cruz is the next closest, combining for 88 including 64 steals. The next closest in the NL home run race is Marcel Ozuna. He’s 10 back of the lead.
I don’t think people have fully processed the type of player Ohtani is. He has 70-grade power and 70-grade speed. Pair that with being a top of the rotation starting pitcher when healthy. This is not easy to do. It’s hard. There’s a reason no one’s ever done it. Power and speed typically doesn’t rock in the same boat.
I’m appreciating Shohei Ohtani’s chase for history like Judge a year ago. Isn’t it fun watching history unfold? Maybe you didn’t want to see Judge break Maris’ record, a feat that stood for over 60 years. There’s no one in front of Ohtani. He’s in a league of his own. He’s the one setting the standard.
Ohtani makes it look easy. His next task is to do it in the playoffs, a place he never saw light at the end of the tunnel in Anaheim. His first playoff game is weeks away.
Ohtani will become the first 50/50 player. Why would anyone bet against him? 13 games isn’t a large sample size but why doubt a player made in a laboratory exhibiting every skill imaginable.
It’s a story built for Hollywood, but you can’t write this script. Shohei Ohtani eclipsing the first 50/50 season will further cement him as a top five player of all time, and he might not two, three, four, or five.
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Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images
A spot in Cooperstown may be unlikely, but Andrew McCutchen deserves praise for an outstanding run.
If I had to pick my favorite cliche statement in sports media, it’d be that father time is undefeated. Time and time again we see the decline of a once seemingly unstoppable athlete, as the miles start to pile on and they are simply not the same as they once were. In spite of all that, 37-year old Andrew McCutchen continues to prove his worth to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and why he might be one of the most underrated stars of his generation.
I want to get the obvious out of the way first, McCutchen is the greatest Pirate of the 21st century. When the teams of the late 80’s and early 90’s were disbanded, the city of Pittsburgh was desperate for a new baseball star. The departures of Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Leyland, and others left the organization without an identity resulting in a record 20-season streak where they posted a losing record.
I’m not going to act like he did it by himself, but McCutchen was largely responsible for bringing Pirates baseball back to the forefront, and “Buctober” was a very real thing in his first stint with the team. There’s even more evidence of this as when he was traded, the organization went into another unprecedented streak of mediocrity. Multiple 100-loss seasons ceased when McCutchen re-signed with the team as a free agent in 2023. Again, he’s not solely responsible for that but it is clear to see that when McCutchen is wearing black and gold the team is in a better spot overall.
Drafted in 2005 straight out of Fort Meade High School, McCutchen didn’t immediately change things in Pittsburgh, but once he arrived it was hard to remember what times were like without him. The buzz surrounding the Pirates was at an all-time high. The team built around McCutchen with other players like Starling Marte, Gerrit Cole, and Josh Harrison and they were finally competitive and exciting.
When the news broke that the Pirates would be signing the veteran outfielder in 2023, it was like history repeating itself. The billboards, the press-conference, the jerseys, the entire experience was like 2012 all over again. His first game back in PNC Park as a Pirate was like a rock concert. Even if the performances weren’t quite the same, it was worth watching every step of the way. Now in 2024, through all the ups and downs that this group has dealt with, there’s a very real conversation for bringing McCutchen back for another year, as he has put together another strong campaign.
Undoubtedly the career of Andrew McCutchen is coming to a close, so the conversation of Cooperstown is certainly beginning to bubble. In the case of McCutchen, he is viewed as a fringe Hall-of-Fame candidate. I don’t think it’ll be easy to convince the voters, but I do believe that McCutchen is absolutely a Hall-of-Fame player, and does not get enough recognition for being one of the best outfielders of his era.
McCutchen’s resume includes five All-Star team selections, four-straight Silver Slugger awards, a Gold Glove award in 2012, and was the MVP in the National League in 2013. He has a career line of .274/.368/.463 with 2,147 hits, 319 homers, and 1,095 RBIs. At his peak, he was arguably the best player in the National League. From 2010-2015, McCutchen accumulated 35.4 bWAR and had a 146 OPS+. His 35.4 bWAR trails only Joey Votto (35.7) over that span.
McCutchen recently eclipsed 20 homers in a season for the 10th time in his career, and is one of just five active players to have at least ten seasons with 20+ home runs. His eight seasons of 20+ home runs with the Pirates is second to only Willie Stargell. He has also tallied five seasons with at least 20 stolen bases, as he was truly an all-around offensive threat, showing the ability to hit for contact, hit for power, get on base, and steal when needed. Remarkably he is one of just 12 players in MLB history with at least 2000 hits, 1100 runs, 1000 walks, 1000 RBI, 300 homers, 400 doubles, and 200 stolen bases. Seven of those other players are in Cooperstown.
Last thing I’ll say about the possibilities of Cooperstown, is that if the numbers are not enough for the voters then his character should be. Cooperstown has a “Character Clause”, which is taken into consideration when determining a player’s candidacy. To this point, it has only been used in regards to a player’s negative character qualities i.e Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez for their connections to steroids. Not once has the Hall taken into consideration someone’s positive character qualities, but if there were to be a first, McCutchen fits that mold.
In 2015 he was awarded the Roberto Clemente Humanitarian Award for his commitment to community and understanding the value of helping others, was awarded Pittsburgher of the Year in 2023, and has always been a role-model on the field and off. There have been better players, but there may be no better person in baseball from this generation, and for some that means more than a stupid trophy.
Beloved in the city of Pittsburgh, and impactful at all his other stops along the way, Andrew McCutchen has played out the kind of career that most players can only dream of. His charitable acts away from the game have made him one of the most respected men in the sport. If this is the last season we get to enjoy him as a player, then the time is now for the National media to recognize how great he truly is, and how much we’ll miss him when he is finally gone.
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Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Red Bull find themselves in unfamiliar territory in the Constructors’ Championship, and Christian Horner knows where it went awry.
During the 2023 Formula 1 season, the RB19 was the dominant package on the grid. Red Bull’s challenger last year went into the record books as the most successful car in the sport’s history, as Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez combined to win 21 of the 22 Grands Prix last year, a new record.
This year, however, is a much different story. Now Team Principal Christian Horner has identified where things went wrong for Red Bull.
On Sunday Oscar Piastri captured the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and that victory, coupled with a fourth-place finish from Lando Norris, propelled McLaren to the top of the F1 Constructors’ Championship standings. It also dropped Red Bull to unfamiliar territory, as they sit second for the first time since early in the 2022 season.
Following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Horner identified the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix as the moment things veered off course. Speaking with German outlet Auto Motor und Sport, Horner pointed to an upgraded floor the team brought to Barcelona last season as the moment their development of the RB19 — and this season’s RB20 — went awry.
“We traced the development history back and it turned out that the first mistake we made was with an underbody upgrade in 2023 in Barcelona,” said Horner Sunday.
Comparing data from 2023 and 2024 helps drive this point home. Take the Baku City Circuit, the site of last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. In 2023 this race came at the start of the season — ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix — and Pérez won as Red Bull locked out the front row, with Verstappen finishing second.
In the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Verstappen’s best lap time was 1:44.232, coming at the end of the race on a set of old hard tires. But on Sunday in Baku Verstappen’s best lap time was 1:46.798, also on an old set of hard tires.
When you compare the two laps, using telemetry data from F1-Tempo, the dominance from the RB19 is staggering. Verstappen’s best lap from 2023 is in white, while his 2024 best is in blue:
While the dominance is not as pronounced when you compare Pérez’s best lap in 2023 to his best lap in 2024, the 2023 effort still comes out ahead. His best lap in 2023 was 1:44.589, on a worn set of hard tires. On Sunday in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix? Pérez’s best lap was timed at 1:47.013, also on worn hard tires, and moments before a crash with Carlos Sainz Jr. knocked both drivers out of the race:
As for why Red Bull did not notice this sooner?
It might come down to Verstappen’s brilliance.
He won the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix going away, finishing over 20 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton, and went on to win 14 of the 15 Grands Prix after Barcelona. Meanwhile, Pérez started to see a dip in his performance, and instead of wondering if something was wrong with the car, questions — particularly in the media — focused on whether something was wrong with Pérez.
“[The 2023 Spanish Grand Prix] was also the Grand Prix from which Checo started having problems with the car,” said Horner on Sunday. “We just didn’t take it so seriously because Max kept winning.”
Now, Red Bull has an answer. But how quickly they can deliver that answer is a separate question, and it might not come until Austin in October at the United States Grand Prix. In comments to the media following Sunday’s race Marko, while issuing a dire warning about Red Bull’s chances in the Constructors’ Championship, pointed to Austin as the moment that could change things.
“Max couldn’t even hook it up [in Baku]. The tires failed and the temperatures of the brakes went up. The car has potential, but the setup is still very sensitive,” said Marko. “The progress will not be seen in Singapore - we’ll just have to see how we get through that race, but we really need to do better from Austin, otherwise the Drivers’ Championship will also be in jeopardy.”
Red Bull has one more race until then, this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.
The one race Verstappen did not win after Barcelona last season.
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Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images
The Jacksonville Jaguars have no vision on offense, and it’s sinking their QB investment in Trevor Lawerence.
Let’s set the scene: there’s 1:48 left in the fourth quarter. The Jacksonville Jaguars are down three to the moribund offense of the Cleveland Browns, but there’s still time to wash away all of that, with the ball on their own two-yard line. Jaguars franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence takes the snap, but every route is 30 yards downfield and takes time to develop, time the offense doesn’t have. He gets sacked for a safety, practically putting the game out of reach.
Ezra Cleavland and Mitch Morse have a two on one and still can’t make the block. Not good. #Jaguars #Jags pic.twitter.com/VbPDLkhqnM.— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) September 15, 2024
The Jaguars are 0-2 and coming off an 18-13 loss to a Browns team that had 37 dropped on them the week before. The Doug Pederson era got off to a great start, but it’s time to ask some serious questions, especially about the offense. To be quite honest, I do not care who’s calling plays. In 2022, Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor split time calling plays, then in 2023 Taylor took over full time. Pederson has been very...quiet about who’s calling plays this year, but it doesn’t matter. Press Taylor and Doug Pederson both come from the same coaching tree with the same coaching philosophies, so I’m just going to group both of them together here.
The Jaguars have no offensive vision. At all. Every offense worth their salt has an identity, or a philosophy that they want to base their offense in. The Shanahan/McVay tree all uses outside zone as their bread and butter, their day one install that every concept is based off of. Dress it up any way you want, but the base of the offense remains the same. Andy Reid and the Chiefs have morphed their offensive identity to being more of an underneath passing team with a lot of YAC, and it gives their offense an identity. What is the Jaguars’ offensive identity? What is the foundation of their offensive house? You can dress up the house with the nicest windows and fancy lighting, but if the foundation is shaky then the house crumbles under any adversity.
The Jaguars have nice players on this team, but with no offensive vision everything else suffers. What does Jacksonville want to do well on offense? Last week, the Jaguars’ vision was to attack vertically off play action under center, something that I believed they would try to be good at after last year. However, against the Browns? Four play action attempts under center, and one of them ended in a successful play. The Jaguars had a -0.03 EPA per play yesterday on offense, and it could’ve been worse! This offense is turtling in on itself, and the blame starts up top. It’s like the Jaguars offensive braintrust doesn’t understand what their players do well. Rookie wideout Brian Thomas Jr has been one of the most impressive downfield receiving targets in the league early, but only gets two downfield targets a game? The Jaguars were down TE Evan Engram in Week 2, so naturally that meant to feed backup tight end Brenton Strange all game. The offense has no rhyme or reason, and it has a trickle down effect on the rest of the offense.
Let’s start with the quarterback. Lawrence is a very good QB, but the lack of a clear-cut plan on offense is sinking the investment the Jaguars made in him. On Sunday I saw him miss throws he normally makes, bail on a pocket that was fairly clean, and just overall look more dejected and frustrated than I’ve ever seen him. After the game, the quotes coming from the Jaguars displayed a team on the verge of a meltdown.
“…We need hard workers not talented guys..” - #Jaguars RB Travis Etienne asked about Pederson saying the team has a lot of talent in the locker room: pic.twitter.com/C2tNBscAyt.— Demetrius Harvey (@Demetrius82) September 15, 2024
"We gotta figure it out." pic.twitter.com/xspO437KJW.— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 15, 2024
What’s even sadder is that while the offense plays disgusting football, the defense has been really good! You should win games that you only give up 18 points in. The Cowboys gave up 17 to the Browns, but also scored 33 points! They’ve been 11th in Success Rate allowed through two games, and given this offense every opportunity to succeed. It shouldn’t be on a defense in a completely new scheme to carry an offense that has three years under its’ belt, but that’s where we’re at.
The problem for the Jaguars is that the schedule doesn’t get any easier. Their next four games are against the Buffalo Bills, the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears. This team needs to figure it out offensively, but they won’t get that time against four quality defenses. However, they had a whole offseason to figure it out, but the same Jaguars team still showed up, and that’s on the head coach.
The clock on Doug Pederson has run out. It’s time to put together an offense worthy of anything, or he won’t have a job at the end of the season.
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Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Marvin Harrison Jr. looked like the franchise NFL receiver he was always supposed to for the Cardinals.
The first week of the 2024 NFL season had analysts asking several questions on the day commonly known as “Overreaction Monday.” A question perhaps at the top of that list?
Where was Marvin Harrison Jr.?
The heavily-anticipated debut from the rookie wide receiver was a letdown in the minds of many analysts, as Harrison was held to just one catch for four yards in Week 1, as the Arizona Cardinals fell to the Buffalo Bills by a final score of 34-28. Harrison struggled to get consistent separation on his routes, and many wondered if this was just a Week 1 blip or a worrying sign of things to come.
Perhaps those fears are now eased.
Harrison exploded on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, catching four passes for 130 yards and a pair of touchdowns — all of those coming in the first quarter — as the Cardinals blew out the Rams 41-10.
Harrison’s first NFL touchdown came due to a combination of a perfect play call against the given coverage, a precision pass from Kyler Murray, and incredible body control from the rookie receiver. With the Cardinals facing a 2nd and 8 from the Los Angeles 23-yard line, the offense aligns in a 2x2 formation with Harrison on the left, and tight end Trey McBride inside of him.
Harrison and McBride run a post/out combination, and the Cardinals catch Los Angeles in Quarters coverage, a perfect route combination against this scheme. With McBride, the inside receiver, running the out route against this coverage, the safety will be tasked with breaking on his route, giving the tight end a leverage advantage to the inside. That also means that Harrison will break to the inside — against a cornerback using outside leverage — and there will be no safety help in the middle of the field.
Harrison gets a step on the cornerback as Murray puts in a perfect throw. But watch the body control from the WR as he tracks this over his shoulder, high-points the throw, and gets his feet down before crashing out of bounds:
Harrison’s next catch also goes for a long touchdown, and while scheme also plays a role, his athleticism is again showcased. Arizona faces a 1st and 10 on their own 40-yard line, and Murray aligns under center. After a run fake to the left Murray rolls to the right, as the Cardinals are trying to sneak McBride away from the flow of the play and up the left sideline on a “Leak” concept. Harrison, meanwhile, aligns on the left side of the formation and runs a deep crossing route.
Los Angeles is in Cover 3 on this play, and the cornerback aligned over Harrison starts to stick on his crossing route, before peeling off to pick up McBride. Kamren Curl, aligned underneath, peels back to try and stick on Harrison using a “robot” technique, but the rookie receiver accelerates away from him, hauling in another perfect throw from Murray:
From there it is a footrace to the end zone, one which Harrison wins.
One of the concerns raised after Harrison’s Week 1 performance was that he looked slow on the field. According to Next Gen Stats Harrison hit 20.03 miles per hour on this play, one of the fastest marks recorded in Week 2.
Harrison’s other two catches again highlight his body control and his feel for the position. His third catch of the game comes on this back shoulder throw from Murray, which Harrison can pull in while shielding the defender from the football:
His fourth, and final, catch of the game comes with Arizona facing a 3rd and 5. Harrison aligns on the left, across from a press-aligned defender. He works off the jam and gets into his route quickly, which is a vertical route along the sideline. With Los Angeles in Cover 2, there is a window for Murray to try and jam in a throw along the sideline before the safety can break over, but pressure forces the quarterback off his spot, and the Cardinals into “scramble drill” mode.
Harrison, seeing Murray break the pocket, bluffs as if he is going to cut toward the line of scrimmage. The safety rotating over toward him sees that and tries to jump any potential throw, but that is when Harrison quickly changes direction and breaks vertically. Murray spots that, and puts the throw on his rookie teammate:
Again, this is an example of Harrison’s feel for the position, and being able to work yourself open in scramble drill situations is a critical skill for an NFL WR. Doubly so when your quarterback is as athletic as Murray.
The NFL even leaned into the notion of Harrison silencing the doubters on social media:
Note: For Apple News readers you can see the above post from Threads by clicking on the above link.
Now, was this a flawless game from Harrison? Not exactly, and skeptics will still have moments to point to when reviewing the film. He was targeted on a pair of goal-line fade routes — a tough route to complete — and he and Murray could not connect on either. There was also this comeback route early in the game where he did not get a great deal of separation:
However, the throw was a bit lower than needed and the cornerback might have gotten away with a bit of a hold on this play.
Still, after what we saw from Harrison in Week 1 — or perhaps, what we did not see — his performance in Week 2 certainly looks more like the receiver we expected coming out of Ohio State.
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Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
The Chiefs will be without their lead running back for upwards of three months. We break down what the Isiah Pacheco injury means for the waiver wire in Week 3 fantasy football.
The Kansas City Chiefs will be without their starting running back for the foreseeable future after Isiah Pacheco suffered a fractured fibula against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2, per Ian Rapoport. He left the stadium on Sunday in a walking boot after rushing for 90 yards and catching five receptions for 21 yards.
One physical therapy doctor on Twitter noted that the recovery time for such an injury is approximately 12 weeks. Jaylen Waddle returned from a version of that injury in 11 weeks. If Pacheco has a 12-week return, that gets him back by early December. For fantasy football purposes, that would be at the start of most league’s playoffs.
If you have an available injured reserve spot in your league, you’ll move Pacheco there. If you don’t, keeping him depends on your roster depth and the league settings. He’s a player you’d hold onto in dynasty and most keeper leagues. In single-year re-draft leagues, it depends on how you feel about your chances. In smaller leagues, you can probably drop him. In bigger leagues, give it a week or two to see how your roster shakes out heading into bye weeks.
Waiver wire options to replace Isiah Pacheco
In the meantime, it’s time to consider running backs available on the waiver wire. The Chiefs backup running backs are Samaje Perine and Carson Steele and both are available in most leagues. Through the first two weeks, they’ve split up the backup work. Steele had two rushes for three yards in Week 1 on five offensive snaps and seven rushes for 24 yards in Week 2 on 14 offensive snaps. Perine had one 10-yard reception in Week 1 on eight offensive snaps and one three-yard reception in Week 2 on nine offensive snaps.
A popular waiver option this week could include Jets backup running back Braelon Allen, who had two touchdowns with seven rushes for 33 yards and two receptions for 23 yards in Week 2. Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard had ten rushes for 64 yards and four receptions for 12 yards behind Miles Sanders in Week 2.
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Panthers 283 all out (Mubasir 90, Haider 84, Daniyal 3-47, Shaheen 3-57) beat Lions 199 all out (Imam 60, Shadab 3-42, Mir 3-55) by 84 runs
The Panthers claimed their second successive win thanks to contributions of 90 and 84 from Mubasir Khan and Haider Ali, and an all-round contribution from their captain Shadab Khan. A 144-run fifth wicket partnership between the pair powered the team to 283. The Lions did look well placed just before the halfway mark with Imam-ul-Haq's second successive half-century guiding them to 127 for three, before a collapse saw them lose their last seven for 72 in 79 balls, giving the Panthers an 84-run win, and keeping the Lions winless.
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Photo by Ayman Yaqoob/Anadolu via Getty Images
Bahrain International Circuit will again host pre-season testing next year.
The full 2025 Formula 1 schedule is now set.
Earlier this year F1 confirmed the race schedule for next season, with 24 race weekends commencing in March and running through early December. With Ramadan in March of 2025, the season will begin in Australia for the first time since 2019 before shifting to Bahrain, and then Saudi Arabia.
The only matter that was left to be settled was the schedule for pre-season testing, but now that has been confirmed. In an announcement on Monday F1 indicated that testing will occur over three days in February at Bahrain International Circuit.
Next year’s pre-season testing will begin on February 26, and run through February 28.
The 2025 season marks a milestone for the sport, as it is the 75th anniversary year for F1. Next year also will see some big changes to the grid, as Lewis Hamilton makes his move to Ferrari and legendary engineer Adrian Newey will make his debut for Aston Martin after leaving Red Bull.
2025 also marks the final season for F1 under the current set of regulations, with new rules going into effect for the 2026 campaign.
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Think you can figure out what NFL player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out.
We’re back for another day of the SB Nation in-5 daily trivia game. Just a reminder that this remains a beta that we’re testing out this week. Today’s game is down below and you can play previous day’s games as well:
September 15th game
September 14th game
September 13th game
September 12th game
September 11th game
September 10th game
September 9th game
September 8th game.
What we need from you
Play the game
Share your result in the comments and on social media
Provide feedback (Google Form or in comments below)
See SB Nation in-5 game instructions below the game.
SB Nation in-5
The goal of the game is to guess the correct random NFL player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED PLAYERS this week. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. It will be a mix of well-known players and some “that guys” that we haven’t thought of in some time. The game will appear in slot #3 of the SB Nation layout each day this week, with a new article each day for the game.
After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will let us know what you think and how we can improve the game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form.
Enjoy!
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Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images
‘Rhythm Masters: A Mickey Hart Experience’ reminds us that rhythm and basketball are endlessly intertwined.
Rhythm is everywhere. In the wind blowing the leaves around in your backyard, the chatter of a toddler, a child singing to herself, the waves crashing on the beach — and all over sports.
The rhythmic back-and-forth of a tennis match. The rhythm of feet landing one-two over a screen for a catch-and-shoot. The sound of a basketball bouncing on the hardwood.
On the sidelines in gyms or arenas all over the world, fans and teammates cheer “DE-FENSE” and clap three times, as they have been for decades and will for decades, in a way that’s so familiar to us all that I bet you just sang it in your head when you read it.
Players often say they have to “find their rhythm” if they’re struggling. We talk about timing and being in sync.
In the new ESPN film “Rhythm Masters: A Mickey Hart Experience” — based on Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart’s interest in sport and rhythmic flow, and influenced by talks with his late best friend and basketball legend Bill Walton — the entanglement between music and sports becomes crystal clear.
Sports in general, but particularly basketball, are so closely linked with rhythm that it’s often uncertain when one ends and the other one begins. Hart and Bill Walton talked for decades about this topic, writes Wright Thompson of ESPN, who worked on the movie with them:
They sometimes talked about replacing announcers with drums — using the tools of Mickey’s world to bring new understanding to Bill’s — to see if music could unlock something about athletic performance, movement and collaboration that words could not.
As part of making the movie, Hart talked to various athletes and greats in sports, including legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson. Hart asked him how you get players to understand about flow, and the Zen Master’s answer was insightful in bridging the gaps between the two rhythmic worlds:
“I used to talk about the basketball. ... It was kind of like a jazz group. They had the opportunity to go off on their own and have their own little riff, but they always had the idea that where we are as a group — with their positions on the players and where they were in sync with that — so they could go off on their own, but they had to come back to the group. Someone push a little solo, get out there and do your thing.”
Most athletes talk about the flow state with reverence. It is not a conscious place, it’s the sum of thousands of hours worth of practice and experience, when they stop thinking and actions become automatic. This is where music and sports have a lot in common, because that’s exactly the same place a musician accesses during a solo or improvisation.
As we’re seeing the league become more international, we’re also seeing the style of the game change, and some of the dominating players look completely different than what most NBA fans have been used to.
Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
Dirk Nowitzki was one of the first European star players, with a style of play that was odd compared to the athletic, bouncy swagger of the American athlete in the nineties. It took him years to earn the respect he deserved, and it wasn’t really until he won an MVP in 2007 and a championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 that people started seeing him as one of the greats.
If we move on to contemporary basketball, Europeans Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic are two of the most dominant players in the NBA today, who at the same time look and play very differently than most American stars. They play at a different pace, as announcers and pundits frequently remind us. But is that all there is to it?
Both players are considered slow, both are talked about as overweight at times, both are great at passing the ball ahead in transition, but don’t run the ball very much, and both prefer to play slow and isolate, dissect the defense and run the game and shot clocks down to the last second.
In other words, they play a meticulous style of basketball, manipulating the floor with their vision, IQ and deep understanding of the game, rather than the traditional way we view athleticism: jump high and run fast.
Former NBA player, seven-time NBA champion and current commentator Robert Horry’s comments about Luka Doncic recently are just the latest from a long list of pundits who seem to value another type of basketball more highly. Many seem to prefer a more straight-to-the-bone, poster dunk kind of basketball rather than the slow tearing-apart-the-defense style of some of the leading Europeans.
There is also a point to be made about how these differences may be responsible for undervaluing players like Jokic and Doncic compared to their American peers, like teams passing on Jokic in 2014 (he was drafted with the 41st pick in the second round, making him the lowest selection ever to win the MVP award), as well as on Doncic (who was selected third behind Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III in 2018).
When so many people dislike or don’t understand a style of play — as seems to be the case with these players — there may be more to it. Maybe it’s ingrained deep inside us, just like our upbringing, culture and traditions. Maybe the rhythm of basketball sounds, looks and feels different in Europe than in America. It’s simply a rhythm we’re not used to, and that may lead to some implicit biases in our eye tests.
If basketball and music interconnect in this special place called flow, as Jackson referenced, then obviously the space that one needs to enter to get to that would look, sound and feel different, depending on where they came from and what their experiences are. The reason being that we all are the sum of our past and culture, and approach life with that history.
To put it in a different way: What if we all play to the rhythm of our home country, our childhood, our heroes, the music and timing we grew up with and recognize as ours?
And more accurately, what if all cultures play to their own rhythm?
To investigate further, let’s compare the two most dominating players of the different continental basketball cultures: LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. One American, and one Serbian.
If we take a look at a classic highlight reel from earlier in LeBron James’ career, possibly his peak, it’s packed with fastbreak dunks, explosive putbacks and downhill, athletic (in the ordinary sense) offense or secondary transition plays; just some of countless instances where he took advantage of his size, speed, explosiveness and bounce.
Now let’s watch a highlight reel of reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic’s, best plays this season.
It’s high-IQ passes that, granted, sometimes LeBron makes as well. Behind the back, no-look, quarterback-type of transition passes. Pick-and-roll, high-post center playmaking, one-on-one post moves and incredible touch in the paint.
But what’s sometimes missed in these highlight reels is the ebb and flow of a full game. The slow offense, what happens on a broken play, who steps up at the end of the shot clock. As well as the full offensive and defensive possessions, probing in the paint to get a shot up, the reading of the defense to get a teammate an uncontested shot.
Ideally, these two highlight reels would be set to the music of their home countries. I wasn’t able to find one with Serbian music, but here’s an idea of what that sounds like compared to American music:
Michael Malone dancing with Nikola Jokić’s family after winning the NBA title is incredible
(via @msinger)pic.twitter.com/T3kPGxSyLD.— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 13, 2023
The tempo and timing differ, as do LeBron and Jokic’s respective feel for the game. Sure, the way they are able to move their bodies is not very similar, but it’s more than that. The rhythm they play to may just be so far apart that it’s like they’re listening to different music. Both technically precise and impressive, but effective in different ways.
Another version of this rhythm is seen in the play of fellow Euro and Balkan superstar, Luka Doncic — who by the way speaks Serbian — and shares a lot of cultural traditions with Serbia, because his dad has Serbian heritage.
Doncic’s methodical offense that punishes defenses as soon as they make a mistake, and his probing and reading of the game are similar to Jokic’s.
Like the slow step, as Doncic likes to call it (others call it deceleration); the ability to slow down to get a defender out of balance that Luka is able to pull off in a way that no defender, American or otherwise, has found a way to stop.
Part 2 of our Luka teaser…
JJ: How much do you practice the full speed to the decel?
Luka: I didn’t practice that.
JJ: You’re a sick f*ck.pic.twitter.com/ONSNdsg0g1.— Jason Gallagher (@jga41agher) February 8, 2024
If you compare those slower dissections with those of LeBron, or Kevin Durant, or other American superstars or future stars like Anthony Edwards or Ja Morant, it sometimes looks like they’re playing a different sport.
But maybe they’re just playing a different genre of it. Could it simply be that the rhythm with which they’re thinking and moving is different than American fans, analysts and players have seen before?
The problem is that you don’t know what you don’t know. If you hear one type of basketball or musical rhythm in your head that you may not even be aware of, it’s impossible to know if and when someone else is hearing it differently.
Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
The idea that we all play to different rhythms depending on where we’re from is a logical deduction of this theory. It’s obvious in many ways for this European writer, who finds Jokic’s way of playing more familiar than LeBron’s.
The NBA is becoming more international, there’s no doubt about it. And with this change, we’re seeing new styles of play, different ways of thinking about the game — and new and exciting rhythms. New things can be scary, but also exciting and enlightening. They can broaden our worldview and help us see things from different perspectives. So maybe we should just celebrate and acknowledge these differences — and not let our unfamiliarity devalue them.
The link between basketball and music is undeniable. There’s no doubt that players have to improvise in the same way that musicians do, and that reaching the flow state for both is very similar. If you’ve ever played a sport or an instrument, you may have encountered this special place where everything is right and everything works. Where time stands still or slows down. Your brain shuts off and you’re just in the moment.
Sports, like music, is a pathway to the now, as they say in “Rhythm Masters.” A reminder of the ancient way of life where humans lived day-to-day, hour-to-hour, unable to worry about the future, because the now was all there was. A simpler way of life. Maybe more akin to the life that we are made for.
The amazing thing about sports is that it forces you to be in the moment, whether you’re playing or watching, or maybe even reading. So I leave you with one last question: Have you found your rhythm yet?
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Luke Fletcher, Nottinghamshire's veteran seam bowler, is to leave the club at the end of the 2024 season after a 17-year career at Trent Bridge.
Fletcher, who turns 36 on Wednesday, has taken 442 first-class wickets since making his Nottinghamshire debut in 2008, as well as 93 List A, and 108 T20 wickets. After working his way through the age-group system at Trent Bridge, he was released back to club cricket at Papplewick and Linby - and even worked on the gates at the club - before earning a consistent starting spot in 2009.
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Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images
A win over the 49ers makes the case that the Vikings are a real threat in the NFC.
The Minnesota Vikings are 2-0. Yes, those Minnesota Vikings. You know, the team everyone predicted to finish last in the NFC North, the organization whose life was gone after Kirk Cousins left, who were going to have to punt on the season until J.J. McCarthy was ready to be the starter.
In two weeks full of surprises Minnesota might be the most stunning, and yet we also shouldn’t really be mystified by their start. When you get down to brass tacks there’s nothing shocking about why the Vikings are good: They’re well coached on offense, have a solid lines on both sides of the ball, the best wide receiver in the NFL, and a creative defensive coordinator who is able to accentuate the strengths of his talent while masking its deficiencies.
Beating the Giants in Week 1 should be a given for most teams, but to hand the 49ers an L is another thing entirely. At the very least these back-to-back wins have dispelled the preseason narrative surrounding the Vikings that this team would be cooked without Kirk Cousins under center. Truth be told, they’ve more or less been exactly the same. They’re going to perform on offense, be aggressive on defense, and take every opponent they face down to the wire (for better and worse).
The Vikings have the clearest identity of any building team in the NFL. Offensively the team is going to establish the run, and punctuate it with massive passing plays. Hardly revolutionary stuff, but it’s working. On defense the team’s entire goal is preventing explosive plays, understanding they only have one high-caliber cornerback in Stephon Gilmore, so they use a deep stable of linebacker talent to help in coverage and mitigate those explosive play opportunities.
At a time where so many teams are struggling on offense the Vikings seem to have it all figured out. Heck, they’re playing better offensive football than most teams who were contending for a Super Bowl last year. How did all this play out in the win over the Niners?
Trusting Sam Darnold.
This feels antithetical to conventional logic. Historically Darnold is a quarterback you need to scheme around, mitigate his potential damage, handle with kid gloves. What Kevin O’Connell is doing is saying that his offensive identity is more important than the player, and that Darnold has the physical tools to work vertically.
That has manifested as supreme confidence in his quarterback. The system is letting Darnold play free, unencumbered, and his passing chart shows the amount of faith being given to him.
This might not look like much, but pass charts like this just haven’t been common around the NFL in 2024. Teams are very much on the back foot offensively, and that’s manifested itself as extremely passing playcalling without a great deal of high average depth of target (aDOT) throws. Hell, even the best QB in the league is the victim of more passing playcalling
right now with Patrick Mahomes having a worse aDOT on Sunday than Sam Darnold.
The Vikings understand that they don’t have a YAC-speedster. Their receiver talent is far more conventional, and it helps when Justin Jefferson is the best wide receiver in the league. If you want explosive plays you need to let Darnold air it out, and that’s precisely what happened against San Francisco. This also helps because the logic-defying nature of trusting Darnold in this role puts the defense on a back foot and makes them adjust.
Keeping the run varied.
The run/pass balance for the Vikings was almost on par Sunday, with 26 pass attempts to 24 rushing attempts. Inside of this though the team had a clear identity. Aaron Jones was used in looping, off-tackle rushing attempts that stretched the field horizontally. This was used primarily on downs where pass catchers showed a threat cutting inside on intermediary route to freeze the 49ers’ linebackers from getting to the edge.
This was punctuated with Ty Chandler, who ran more in the A and B gap off guards, punishing the interior on downs where Jefferson and Co. threatened deeper routes. This led to more vertical respect from the 49ers defense, keeping causing them not to meet Chandler at the gap and instead hanging back in coverage support.
Explaining this feels so simplistic, but executing on all this is where the beauty lies. If you can keep a defense as talented as the 49ers on its toes, then you can do it with anyone.
Justin Jefferson is just that damn good.
Perhaps the easiest part of this whole equation is that Justin Jefferson is an incomparable receiver. The speed, instinct for open space, and knack for taking angles out of his route are such that he’s one of the few guys in the league who can make his quarterback better on routes downfield of 20 yards or more.
The threat of Jefferson on every down is a psychological advantage, and that’s a big element of this too.
What is the future of the Vikings?
There’s two ways this can go: Either Darnold and the Vikings are able to keep this rolling, giving us one of the more unbelievable playoff runs in recent memory — or all this bursts into flames as defensive coordinators adjust.
Before you say “that’s just negative thinking,” consider that this EXACT scenario happened in 2021 with the Carolina Panthers when Darnold had four straight weeks of incredible play, then defenses adjusted and he crumbled into dust.
via Pro Football Reference
That’s no to say it’ll happen here, but the shock-and-awe precedent is there. The difference is that O’Connell is a much better coach that Matt Rhule was, and that could keep this going for longer.
Until there’s signs of a shift: Ignore the Vikings at your peril, because this team is hungry, well coached, and ready to keep upsetting the NFL.
Winner: New Orleans Saints
The entire first second of today’s column could have equally been about the New Orleans Saints, who are playing the best football we’ve seen from them since the Drew Brees era. Proving their success in Week 1 against Carolina wasn’t a fluke, the Saints went into Dallas and absolutely whooped a team being lauded as one of the best in the NFC.
Offensively the Saints are just firing on all cylinders. Derek Carr is absolutely thriving in Klint Kubiak’s offense, which for the first time in Carr’s career seems tailor made for his talents. The intermediary throws that don’t require a lot of movement out of platform is allowing this team to cook — and Kubiak has done an amazing job to help his protection and scheme around injuries on the offensive line.
The Saints are for real, and that’s something that really came out of left field.
Loser: Carolina Panthers
There’s quite literally nothing positive to say about this team. We knew they’d be bad in 2024, but my God the Panthers have failed to meet even our lowest explanations.
Winner: Kyler Murray
When he’s healthy Kyler Murray is the most fascinating man in the NFL. He has these tools that say he could go Super Saiyan whenever he feels like it, but he’s often not motivated enough to try.
Well, a week of criticism really got him angry and the result was a sight to behold. The Cardinals offense was much more open in Week 2 and allowed Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. to hook up, and they spanked the Rams in a pivotal game to justify this new era. There’s a lot to be excited about if you’re a fan in Arizona.
This is the blueprint, now it’s just time to execute on it.
Loser: Sean Payton
It’s fair to start asking if Sean Payton has just lost it, or whether he ever really had it outside of Drew Brees.
When Payton arrived in Denver he played the blame game for the roster, hanging Denver’s woes on the roster and Russell Wilson. So then he overhauls the team, hand picks his own QB, and the results are largely the same. This team can’t move the ball vertically, Bo Nix doesn’t look convincing under center, and the team is just mediocre.
Payton is running out of excuses and fans deserve better.
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Australia have responded to their mounting fast-bowling injury list by adding Mahli Beardman, the 19-year-old Western Australia seamer, to their ODI squad for the five-match series against England, which gets underway at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
Beardman, 19 years old and 6ft 2in, was a standout performer in the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, in particular with his Player-of-the-Match winning figures of 3 for 15 in Australia's victory over India in the final in Benoni.
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Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny, the Hollywood actors and co-owners of Wrexham AFC, have been in contact with Glamorgan about the prospect of buying a stake in Welsh Fire, the Cardiff-based team in the Hundred.
Reynolds and McElhenny, who took ownership of Wrexham in November 2020, have witnessed back-to-back promotions in 2022-23 and 2023-24, with the club now playing in the third tier of English football. The pair are believed to be considering further investment in Welsh sport.
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Top-order batter Oshada Fernando has returned to Sri Lanka's Test fold following an 18-month absence, but this means there is no room for opening batter Nishan Madushka in Sri Lanka's 16-man squad for this month's two-Test series against New Zealand at home. Of those that toured England, fast-bowling allrounder Nisala Tharaka and seamer Kasun Rajitha are the other two to be left out.
Oshada's return follows an impressive showing with the A team, who are currently touring South Africa. The 32-year-old batter, who has played 21 Tests, struck 122 and 80
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OBJ? More like CTB!
In a world where every day you see a one-handed grab at every level of the game, Cincinnati Bengals’ CB Cam Taylor-Britt might’ve given us the catch of the year.
HOLY
What an INT by @CamTaylorBritt_!
: #CINvsKC on CBS/Paramount
: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/f7r9MeCGIv.— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
Holy SMOKES.
The patience and ability not to panic with the ball in the air and his back turned to Chiefs’ speedster Xavier Worthy is out of this world, and then he just casually sticks his inside hand out and makes the catch of the year.
This is made even better when you remember that Taylor-Britt was the player who talked a lot of trash about the Kansas City Chiefs in the week leading up to the game. Taylor-Britt was asked about the challenge of defending a guy like Worthy, and he had this to say in response:
#Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt on what #Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy brings to their offense: "Speed. That’s about it. He can run straight. Run jet sweeps and just run straight. He can’t do too much else, so that’s about it.”
(
@CalebNoeTV)
pic.twitter.com/Nm4ZlIyL1O.— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 12, 2024
This is why you always talk trash, kids. Because if it goes exactly how you think it does, you’ll make the most incredible play I’ve ever seen.
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Some of the biggest drama in the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was a late-lap crash involving Carlos Sainz Jr. and Sergio Pérez.
There was drama all over the Baku streets on Sunday in the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
But perhaps the most dramatic moment, besides Oscar Piastri’s stunning overtake of Charles Leclerc that opened the door for his second Grand Prix victory of the season? The late-lap incident between Carlos Sainz Jr. and Sergio Pérez. As the two were battling for third behind Sainz’s Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, they came together, and the resulting collision knocked both drivers out of the race, and had the stewards summoning them for a post-race chat:
https://x.com/F1/status/1835313933038526863.
After a hearing, stewards termed the crash a “racing incident,” and took no further action:
The Stewards checked the driving line of the drivers on previous laps. Sainz was on or close to his normal racing line, which forms a slight angle away from the right-hand wall. From the exit to the point of contact he move approximately one car width further away from the wall. Perez moved approximately half a car width further away from the same wall, being more parallel to the right hand wall.
It was thus apparent that while ahead, and having the right to drive his line, Sainz did move slightly towards a car that he had limited vision of. At the same time, there was nothing unusual about Perez’ line, but he could have done more to avoid the car that he had better view of.
In conclusion, the Stewards deem this to be a racing incident with neither driver being predominantly at fault, and take no further action.
Following the race, both drivers talked with the official F1 channel about the incident.
“I was attacking Charles into Turn 2 and then I exited Turn 2,” said Sainz. “Checo [Pérez] was on my left. We normally do a slight drift towards the left into the long straight, which I did like every other lap, and suddenly for some reason I don’t understand, Checo and I collided, which is unfortunate and also very disappointing.
“We’ve spoken already,” added the Ferrari. “[But] we need to analyze. I’m not someone who wants to put blame on either an excuse or put blame on another driver. It’s racing, everything happens super-fast.
“My feeling today is honestly I did nothing wrong, I didn’t do any erratic manoeuvre, put him against the wall or anything like that. We were just, like every other lap, drifting a bit, a tiny, tiny little bit towards the left because that’s where the racing line is and we just touched. It is what it is.”
As you might expect, Pérez saw things slightly differently.“
I felt that exiting Turn 2, there was plenty of room between both cars, and within a meter or two, we ended up making contact,” said Pérez after the race. “It’s very unfortunate. It all happened so quickly. I think Carlos was trying to follow the tow from Charles as he went to the inside and that really made things really hard.”
The impact between the two was a bitter pill for both teams to swallow, as it knocked both out of contention for a podium position. The bitterness might have existed more on Red Bull’s side of the garage, as Ferrari still saw Leclerc on the podium with a second-place finish.
For Red Bull, they could only soothe themselves with a P5 from Max Verstappen.
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Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
The rookie scoring record is the latest that Caitlin Clark has broken in her historic debut season in the WNBA.
Caitlin Clark just keeps on making history. In Sunday’s WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and the Dallas Wings, Clark set a new record for most points in a season by any rookie in league history. The record was broken with a deep three-pointer in the third quarter, increasing Clark’s total scoring output for the season to 746 points (and counting).
Caitlin Clark breaks the WNBA Rookie scoring record exactly as you'd expect she would pic.twitter.com/GeesdO4nj6.— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) September 15, 2024
The previous record was held by Seimone Augustus, who scored 744 points in her 34-game rookie season in 2006.
The single-season rookie scoring record is the latest in a long list that Caitlin Clark has broken this season. Notably, she set a new mark for most assists in a single game by any player in league history with a 19-dime effort in July. Last week, she broke the record for most assists in a single season by any WNBA player, rookie or otherwise, surpassing Alyssa Thomas’s mark from last year.
The moment Caitlin Clark broke the WNBA single-season assists record
#IONWNBA. @IndianaFever pic.twitter.com/CvddhlLBpG.— WNBA on ION (@IONWNBA) September 14, 2024
After setting the single-season assist record on Friday, Clark reflected on just how many records have been set this season. Earlier in the week, A’ja Wilson set a new mark for most points in a single season, while Angel Reese set a record for most rebounds in a season.
“I think it definitely speaks to the whole entire year and how historic it has been for this league and how great the basketball has been for the league, and we’re not even into the playoffs yet,” Clark said. “I think that’s what’s so fun about it, is you’re just going to continue to see records be taken down, but also I think really good basketball, and that’s why it’s been so fun to watch.
Here’s a non-exhaustive list of other records Clark has broken in her first year in the WNBA:
WNBA single-season record in assists
First triple-double by a rookie in WNBA history
Franchise record for most three-pointers in a single season
Franchise record for most double-doubles in a single season
First rookie in WNBA history to record 400 points, 100 rebounds and 150 assists in a season
Most three-pointers by a rookie
Most 15-point, 5-assist games in a season
Most turnovers in a single season
With two games left in the regular season, several other records are within striking distance, including the record for most three-pointers in a single season. That one was set by Sabrina Ionescu, who hit 124 three-pointers in 2023. Entering Sunday’s game, Clark had hit 116 three-pointers.
Since the Olympic break, Clark has averaged 23.4 points on 43.4% shooting. It’s a massive leap from her pre-Olympic break numbers; prior to August, she averaged 17.1 points on 40.5% shooting.
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Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images
Derek Carr and the Saints put the NFL on notice with blowout of the Cowboys.
One of the more fascinating results from Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season came from New Orleans. The New Orleans Saints hosted their NFC South rivals the Carolina Panthers, but the game seemed over shortly after kickoff. New Orleans went right down the first on the opening possession of the game for a touchdown, and following an interception of Bryce Young on Carolina’s first drive of the year, the Saints tacked on a field goal for the early 10-0 lead.
They never looked back, racing to a 47-10 rout of Carolina.
But Week 1 of any NFL season can be the ultimate smokescreen. While the results of the opening week of any NFL season make for incredible overreactions, you often need a game or two to truly make sense of a team. With the Saints traveling to Dallas to take on the 1-0 Dallas Cowboys, we were certain to learn more about both teams on Sunday.
Indeed we did.
For the second straight week — and the third if you go back to the end of the 2023 season — the Saints blew out an opponent. New Orleans opened the scoring against Dallas on Sunday and never looked back, on their way to a 44-19 win over the Cowboys. And while they fell three points short of becoming just the third team in NFL history to score 47 or more points in three-straight games, they accomplished something bigger.
They put the rest of the league on notice.
New Orleans opened the scoring on Sunday, driving right down the field on the game’s first possession. Carr went three-for-three on the drive, and following that third completion, a connection with Chris Olave for 39 yards, Alvin Kamara capped off the drive with this five-yard touchdown run:
Touchdown @A_kamara6! @Saints march 80 yards on the opening drive vs. Dallas.
: #NOvsDAL on FOX
: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/XfcuglEw2U.— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
A critical component of this touchdown? The lead block from fullback Adam Prentice, who takes on linebacker Damone Clark in the hole. Kamara cuts to the inside off that block, and the Saints are in the end zone.
Following a Dallas field goal, the Saints were quickly back on the scoreboard. While their opening drive required seven plays for New Orleans to reach the end zone, their second possession needed just one play.
This 70-yard strike to Rashid Shaheed from Carr:
CARR TO SHAHEED 70 YARDS
: #NOvsDAL on FOX
: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/GV0MW5cduw.— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
As you can see from this end zone angle, Carr does a tremendous job of sliding around in the pocket to avoid late pressure. While the Cowboys have a pair of safeties deep, Shaheed can get over the top of the coverage, and as Tom Brady explains, Carr just drops in a dime:
Now that’s a dot from @derekcarrqb
: #NOvsDAL on FOX
: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/sHcWVnMEtl.— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
Dallas settled for another field goal on their next possession, and if you are starting to sense a theme, New Orleans responded.
With their third touchdown of the afternoon.
This passing touchdown was not a deep shot downfield, despite it covering 57 yards, but rather a perfectly executed screen pass to Kamara. With the Saints facing a 2nd and 7, Carr carries a play-action fake to Kamara before setting up in the pocket, looking deep downfield. But the design is a screen to Kamara, who takes the short throw from Carr with blockers in front of him. The Saints running back picks up a block from Lucas Patrick on Eric Kendricks, and heads off to the races:
There goes Alvin Kamara for 57 yards!
: #NOvsDAL on FOX
: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/F0NOkTSZ7g.— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
Kamara added his third touchdown of the afternoon on the Saints’ next possession, this 12-yard touchdown run:
THAT’S THREE FOR ALVIN
: #NOvsDAL on FOX
: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/sCv1f9vXjD.— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
The big block on this play? Again it comes from Patrick, as the left guard climbs to the second level and takes on DeMarvion Overshown, knocking the Dallas linebacker out of the way as Kamara follows him into the Dallas secondary, slicing into the end zone with the 28-13 lead for the Saints.
Dak Prescott threw an interception on the Cowboys’ next possession, and Carr plunged in from one yard out on the quarterback sneak for the touchdown on the Saints’ ensuing drive, and the rout was on.
By the time the game was over Carr had a pair of touchdown passes, Kamara had over 100 rushing yards and four total touchdowns, and the Saints — excluding the final drive of the game when the backups ran out the clock — had scored points on seven-of-nine possessions in the game, and now on 16-of-20 possessions this season.
And perhaps most notably, the Saints were 2-0.
Coming into the season, New Orleans was one of the teams we found the most confusing in the NFL, and we ranked them 26th coming into the year. Here is what I wrote about the Saints in that piece ahead of the season:
A year ago many — myself included — looked at the New Orleans Saints and immediately crowned them as the winners of the NFC South. While the other three teams in the division faced some intriguing quarterback situations, such as Atlanta riding with Desmond Ridder, Tampa Bay picking Baker Mayfield, and Carolina turning to Bryce Young, New Orleans seemed in the most stable position at the game’s most important position, with the addition of Derek Carr.
So much for that.
Now Carr is back hoping to reclaim the promise of 2023. Thanks to a fairly favorable schedule, which includes some teams that are also confusing, such as the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders, the Saints could indeed live up to that promise.
But would we bet on that? Absolutely not. This is a roster that still poses many questions, mainly along the offensive line where injuries are an issue. Plus, after last year are any of us truly convinced that Carr is the answer at QB?
Through two weeks, we might just have our answers.
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Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images
The NFL schedule and playoff field has expanded, but an 0-2 start remains a problem for teams.
NFL teams are attempting to win every week, but even the best teams can struggle at times. A losing streak doesn’t mean a team will miss the playoffs, but a losing streak to open the season can be tough to overcome.
Barring any unexpected ties, 16 teams finished Week 1 with an 0-1 record. A regularly mentioned stat over the years has been the number of teams that start 0-2 that eventually make the playoffs. It’s a small number, but the context of it has changed since 2020 and 2021. In 2020, the NFL expanded to a 14-team playoff field and in 2021, the NFL expanded to a 17-game schedule. An 0-2 start still takes some work to overcome, but an 0-2 start in the 17-game schedule and with an extra playoff berth in each conference is slightly easier than previously.
Over the past three seasons since the expansion to a 17-game schedule, 21 teams have opened the season 0-2. Only two have eventually made the playoffs. In 2023, nine teams started the season 0-2 and the Houston Texans were the only team to make the playoffs. They finished 10-7 and won the AFC South. The year prior, five teams started 0-2 and only the Cincinnati Bengals made the playoffs. They finished 12-4 and won the AFC North. In 2021, seven teams started the season 0-2 and none of them made the playoffs.
In 2020, when the league expanded to a 14-team playoff field, 11 teams started with an 0-2 record and none of those teams made the playoffs.
Prior to 2020, the NFL adopted a 12-team playoff format in 1990. Between 1990 and 2019, 12% of teams that started 0-2 reached the playoffs.
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Lilia Vu is congratulated by her teammates at the 2024 Solheim Cup. Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
The United States won the Solheim Cup for the first time since 2017, as Lilia Vu secured the clinching point on the 18th hole.
The United States began the day with a 10-to-6 advantage over the Europeans, a deficit that has been a bad omen for teams in the past.
Just ask the Europeans who played in the 1999 Ryder Cup or the Americans who donned the red, white, and blue in 2012 at Medinah No. 2.
The 2015 European Solheim Cup team also held a 10-to-6 lead but lost it on Sunday, suffering a brutal loss on their home soil in Germany.
This year’s U.S. team would not join those infamous squads on Sunday. They won the Solheim Cup for the first time since 2017, as Lilia Vu clinched the winning point thanks to her birdies on the 17th and 18th holes.
“I can’t even put it into words. I felt like I didn’t do my part this week, and I wanted to get something done,” Vu said.
“I said to my caddie on 16, I felt like I haven’t done anything for this team, and then 16 comes, and I’m in the back bunker. I feel like, ‘Oh, no, I have to make up-and-down, and she’s been making one-putts on almost every single green, so I thought she was going to birdie that hole too. She didn’t, and then I ended up making up-and-down from the bunker and somehow birdied 17 and got it done on 18 to get the half point.”
Vu faced a 2-down deficit with two holes to play but somehow secured a half-point, getting the job done for the Americans and flexing her clutch genes in the process. Her approach on the 18th landed inches from the hole, thus bringing the Americans to the 14.5-point threshold necessary for the win.
ONIONS!!
Lilia Vu flexes her clutch genes on 18 with this gorgeous approach.
Has that putt to win the #SolheimCup!!
pic.twitter.com/ePbFkZPqd0.— Jack Milko (@jack_milko) September 15, 2024
“On the 18th hole in the middle of the fairway, I saw that we were at 14 points,” Vu said.
“I was like, oh, shoot. I better birdie this. Let me try my best.”
Her spectacular shot sent the entire United States team into a frenzy, as they secured their first Solheim Cup since 2017.
It’s been such an amazing week,” said Nelly Korda, who finally won a Solheim Cup in her fourth appearance.
“We all bonded really well. It’s been so much fun from the get-go with the caddies, with the players—honestly a dream week.”
Korda faced Charley Hull in the opening match on Sunday but lost 6 & 4, an eye-opening start to the singles matches. Yet, it was not a harbinger of things to come for the Americans, as they held on to win 15.5-to-11.5 over their European counterparts.
“It really could have gone either way,” said captain Stacy Lewis.
“It’s crazy there at the end how it all unfolded. I was hoping and praying it went our way. Just proud of the team, and Lilia’s finish there was unbelievable. That’s what you expect from one of the best players in the world.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
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Justin Jefferson is unstoppable.
Justin Jefferson is the best wide receiver in the NFL, and on Sunday against the mighty San Francisco 49ers in Week 2 of the NFL season, he recorded the longest reception of his career.
The Vikings were pinned at their own 3-yard-line early in the second quarter. It’s rare you will see an offense call a play action pass in such a situation, but that’s
exactly what the Vikings dialed up. The Niners were caught completely off guard as Jefferson ran deep, got behind two San Francisco defenders, and danced around long enough to take it to the end zone.
Vikings’ QB Sam Darnold was on the 49ers last year playing backup to Brock Purdy. You know this had to be sweet for Darnold, who threw an absolutely perfect pass to hit Jefferson in stride. Watch Jefferson’s epic touchdown here.
JUSTIN JEFFERSON 97 YARD TUDDY!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/0PJs9mheCK.— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
How about the hustle from teammate Jalen Nailor on this play, too? He busted his butt downfield to give Jefferson a late block to make sure he scored the touchdown.
Not many people gave the Vikings a chance this season, especially after rookie QB JJ McCarthy went down with a season-ending injury. At least so far, Darnold looks competent, Jefferson is as great as ever, and Minnesota looks totally fine. The NFL always keeps you guessing.
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Ireland 170 for 5 (Prendergast 80) beat England 169 for 8 (Beaumont 40) by five wickets
Ireland's women squared the T20I leg of their series against England in thrilling - and familiar - fashion at Clontarf, with Mady Villiers reprising her heroic efforts at the death in last week's third ODI, only for the contest to turn once again on a calamitous error in the field.
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The Panthers look like they got robbed out of a fumble on this play.
What’s a catch in the NFL? Even after years of arguments and rule clarifications, the answer doesn’t seem any more certain. You can read the official rule summary of what constitutes an NFL catch here, but essentially it’s a three part process: 1) secure the ball, 2) stay inbounds, and 3) “perform any act common to the game (e.g., tuck the ball away, extend it forward, take an additional step, turn upfield.”
It sure feels like Los Angeles Chargers tight end Eric Tomlinson completed a catch in the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in Week 2. He appeared to have possession, take two steps, and make a ‘football move’ by advancing up field. Panthers defensive back Jaycee Horn punched the ball out, which was initially ruled a fumble. It looks like a fumble to these eyes. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the refs overturned it.
On the very next play, Chargers QB Justin Herbert threw a touchdown pass.
Here’s the fumble that wasn’t a fumble. Watch the play and judge for yourself.
Jaycee Horn with a huge forced fumble here. Looks like a football move to me. Ruled incomplete upon review. pic.twitter.com/ar3FLyFOUp.— John Ellis (@1PantherPlace) September 15, 2024
Herbert found Quentin Johnston for a 29-yard touchdown strike on the next play. Rarely do you see an overturned call affect the game in such an obviously significant way.
The Panthers can’t afford to get robbed out of important plays like this one. It looks like another long Sunday for Carolina.
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Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
A stunning overtake to win the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix came because Oscar Piastri called his own shot.
In the hours since Oscar Piastri’s dramatic win in the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, much has been made of his exhilarating overtake of Charles Leclerc at the start of Lap 20. The Australian driver, with the benefit of DRS, pulled within 20 meters of the Ferrari in front of him before diving to the inside, braking at the last possible instant to make the overtake stick.
From there, Piastri did not look back. While Leclerc threatened his lead a few times, the McLaren driver held on for his second Grand Prix win of the season, a victory that propelled the Woking-based team to the top of the F1 standings:
FULL. SEND.
Here's the move that won Oscar Piastri the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/VUdXIW9lFy.— Formula 1 (@F1) September 15, 2024
Speaking in the FIA Press Conference after the race, Piastri noted that the overtake was a matter of calling his own shot.
“It’s what won me the race,” began Piastri when asked about the pass on Leclerc.
“I felt a bit sorry for my race engineer [Tom Stallard] because I basically tried to do that in the first stint and completely cooked my tires. So my engineer came on the radio and said, ‘let’s not do that again’, basically. And I completely ignored him the next lap and sent it down the inside,” described Piastri.
The McLaren driver noted that he did not think patience would be a virtue on Sunday. Had he waited to make a move, hoping Leclerc’s tires would wear out, he might not have had a chance to win.
“I think at that point, you know, I felt like trying to stay back and wait for Charles to deg was never going to happen. I thought we was just going to secure us P2. So, yeah, you know, I had a similar opportunity in the first stint,” continued Piastri. “I felt like on lap two or three, I was, I think, just within DRS, but didn’t fully capitalize on that opportunity. And I got to the end of the straight thinking ‘if I had have done a couple of things a bit differently here, I maybe had a chance’. So when I had a similar opportunity after the pit stop, I had to take it. And yeah, I wouldn’t be sat here without that.”
Despite his advice being ignored, things did pan out for Stallard.
After all, he got to join Piastri on the podium after the race:
Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Not a bad way to end the day.
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