#2019 rookies remain superior

[monacodive]

lando on ig

honestly no one else can do it like them

[the-archlich]

. . .

I haven't posted much about Overwatch League in a while because no one cares. This isn't about esports, though. This is about an extraordinary personal narrative that anyone who loves a good story should be able to enjoy. One with so much dramatic tension it makes my bones tingle. The protagonist: Eui-Seok "Fearless" Lee.

Our story begins in 2017, before the Overwatch League is a thing. Tournaments are relatively small outside of Korea, with teams cobbled together from whoever can be found. In this environment, one team emerged as exceptionally strong, with Fearless at the head.

We move to 2018, halfway through the inaugural Overwatch League season. The Shanghai Dragons are 0-20, having lost Every. Single. Match. The org scrambles to right the ship while there’s still time. They look desperately for someone who can save them. They turn to Fearless. He gets signed, but due to visa issues he can’t make it to the US until 75% of the season is over. By the time he gets there, it’s too late to change the team’s culture of defeat. They finish the season with an astonishing 0-40. This makes them arguably the worst professional sports team (esports or otherwise) in the world.

Fearless stays on.

For the 2019 season, the team makes huge moves. He’s one of only 3 players out of 12 who remains with the team. They sign a roster consisting mostly of teams who were just the runners-up in the Korean minor league championship. Some of the brightest rising stars in the business. Everything looks set for a redemption arc. And then, mere days before the start of the season, Fearless becomes extremely ill. He has to return to Korea for medical care. The season starts without him. He’s replaced. That year Shanghai breaks their winless curse and goes on to have a relatively successful season, even winning one of the inter-season championships by knocking out the top 3 teams in a row. It’s an exceptional story; one that Fearless didn’t get to be a part of.

That did not stop him.

Once he was well enough, he was transferred to Shanghai’s minor league team, playing in China. This was a team almost as unsuccessful as their parent organization. Through a monumental effort, Fearless carries them to the regional playoffs almost singlehanded. Victory just barely slips through their grasp and the end the season in 2nd place, after losing the regional final in an unfortunate 1-4.

But Fearless proved himself and in 2020 he was signed back onto the main Shanghai roster. He had to split time with another player in the same position. But again and again, Fearless proved himself superior. As the tip of the spear, he led Shanghai to an extraordinary season. COVID doesn’t make him miss a step. Shanghai ends the regular season as the #1 team in the world, with a staggering 27-2 record. During the playoffs, they end up falling at the end, finishing in 3rd place. This would be enough for almost anyone else, but Fearless’s story wasn’t done yet.

The Dallas Fuel has struggled almost as much as the Shanghai Dragons. Despite signing some of the biggest pre-OWL stars in the 1st season they ended it in the bottom 4, barely above Shanghai. The end the season in 10th place (out of 12). Season 2 isn’t much better, ending in 15th (out of 20); Season 3 sees them in 13th (of 20). Major changes are needed. So major changes are made.

Remember the team Fearless played with before all of this began? Over the next couple years the other members were signed on to different Overwatch League teams. They were scattered all over the globe, having different experiences, learning different playstyles, and learning a lot of English swearing. Dallas, with the kind of deep pockets you only have if you’re funded by Big Oil, pays through the nose to reassemble the old squad, under their original coach. After 4 years of ups and downs, Fearless is reunited with his old friends. For once, Dallas really looks poised to make an impact.

And then once again, days before the start of the season, a player has to resign due to health problems. Not Fearless this time, but a specialist on the team. No one else plays the characters he does. There’s really no way to fill that hole. And no time to hire someone new, Dallas has to go on with it anyway. They lose their first game narrowly in a 3-2 against local rival the Houston Outlaws. It’s as bitter as defeats can get. They win their 2nd match but get creamed the 3rd. They win the 4th handedly but it’s against arguably the weakest team in the region. Mixed results. These 4 games are qualifiers for a tournament and they barely slid through thanks to some math in their favor after several other teams went 2-2.

But Dallas is in the tournament. The way ahead is terrifying. First they have to overcome the San Fransisco Shock, the championship team from 2019 and 2020. And if they somehow survive that, Dallas has to head to a rematch against their bitter rivals, the 4-0 Houston Outlaws. If by some miracle they win both, they make it to the tournament finals, playing against 3 other teams for the prize.

Everyone thinks that the Dallas match is just a formality before the Shock fight he Outlaws. Fearless has had enough of that. Leading the way as always, he absolutely demolishes the Shock, despite his counterpart on that team being regarded by many as the best in the world at their mutual position. The rematch against Houston begins. Once again, Fearless destroys everything in his path; despite his opposite number being an early candidate contender for rookie-of-the-year. Now, Gina and I are Outlaws fans (after Philly, obviously) so we were pretty bitter at that point, but the strength of this narrative won me over.

From the 12 teams in the western region, Dallas and Florida advance (after Florida wins a frustrating victory over the otherwise undefeated Philadelphia Fusion). In the Eastern region, the top 2 of 8 also advance. One is the Chengdu Hunters, a team that was previously sort of the beloved clown of the Overwatch League. They’re serious this year, emerging as the only undefeated team in Asia.

The other is the Shanghai Dragons.

COVID means that competition between east and west is hard. But there’s a solution: the University of Hawaii. A fiberoptic cable along the floor of the Pacific Ocean connects the University of Hawaii to servers in Tokyo. Dallas and Florida fly to Hawiai to play from the university. Chengdu and Shanghai connect to the servers in Tokyo. A brand new “minimum latency” tool is used to increase ping for the eastern teams so that it’s equal with the western ones in Hawaii, about 50 ms. Now lag isn’t an issue. The playing field is even and the two regions can battle it out in this tournament to see who wins.

With a first-to-3 victory condition, Shanghai narrowly beats Florida in an incredible 6 map series. I saw the whole thing and the two were within a hair of each other the whole time. Truly extraordinary. Dallas has to go up against the undefeated Chengdu Hunters. Dallas does what they did to other undefeated teams and beats them handedly in a 3-1 series. Now both Florida and Chengdu are in the redemption bracket, with a chance to rise from the grave and still claim victory.

This means that the fight everyone wanted to see comes to pass. Fearless and Dallas face off against his old team, the powerful Shanghai Dragons. What followed was somehow just as good as the Florida matchup. It’s first to 3. Dallas wins the 1st map. Shanghai grinds them to a draw in the 2nd. Then Shanghai takes the 3rd. Dallas narrowly scrapes out a win in the 4th. Shanghai crushes them in the 5th. So once again, it comes down to the 6th map in a first-to-3 series. Not only that, this is the 6rd time in a row Shanghai played 6 maps in a first-to-3. They won the last two.

Not this time.

Putting in an extraordinary effort, Dallas pulls it off. And I cannot stress enough, 70% of their success was due to Fearless being absolutely relentless. He looked like the most dominating individual in his position the game has ever seen. Already an MVP candidate only 25% of the way through the season. Any other time that would be the climax. But this story isn’t over. This story is too good to end there.

Florida beats Chengdu, weathering the weird magic the team has always possessed that occasionally lets them slay giants. They have their rematch against Shanghai, with the stakes incredibly high. Loser goes home. The winner goes on to face Dallas for the crown. Hungrier for victory than they’ve been since 2018, Shanghai obliterates Florida in a quick 3-0.

In a little less than 3 hours, Shanghai will play the rematch with Dallas. Fearless will once again face his old team, including his replacement, a highly respected player who goes by the extremely fitting name of Fate. Can Fearless do it again, leading his old friends to victory over his old team? Giving Dallas the redemption they never achieved, the same redemption he gave Shanghai last year? Or will he fall once again, after all of this?

There are 3 more tournaments like this in the season (not including the finals). Maybe this story will somehow become even more dramatic over the course of those. Impossible to say. But tonight, this year’s protagonist goes up against his final boss.

This is truly as good and dramatic a story as you could hope for. Whether this is an incredible personal triumph for Fearless or a heart-rending tragedy, it’s going to be one of those things that you never forget.

[formula365]

The Greatest of All Time - Imola Grand Prix review

It’s Christmas in 2004, and Maranello is a happy place. Ferrari has just crushed their opposition, winning 15 of the 18 races to claim a sixth consecutive constructors’ championship. And it wasn’t just another title: this was one of their most dominant, the F2004 a car so quick that in their first test at their private track in Fiorano they thought something was wrong with the track sensors. This hadn’t quite been the same level of dominance as 2002, when they scored as many points as all the other teams combined, but was pretty close.

Going into the next season, everyone expected Ferrari would be fending off challengers but staying on top. Just as in 2003, the competitors should be closing the gap a bit, but the Scuderia should remain the team to beat. Such was the quality of the 2004 car that the team led by Ross Brawn decided to evolve the car to adapt to the regulations tweaks of 2005, rather than work on an entirely new design.

But as the cars hit the track in Melbourne, it became clear the competition had more than caught up. The 2005 car was only supposed to make his debut in round 5 in Barcelona, but given the poor results in the first two races, its debut was brought forward to round 3 in Bahrain. It didn’t matter: plagued with aerodynamics issues, a gearbox too big and Bridgestone tyres that were losing the performance battle to Michelin, the F2005 won a single race, and only because all the teams using Michelin refused to race in the now infamous US GP, due to safety concerns.

At the time, it seemed impossible such a downturn in fortune could happen. The all-conquering Ferrari, the first team ever to win 6 championships in a row, had fallen off a cliff, finishing a distant third in the standings. No one had seen that coming, least of all those running the team itself.

What does this have to do with this weekend’s race? Obviously, everything. As expected since pretty much the first round of the season, Mercedes has just confirmed their seventh consecutive world title with four races to spare, beating Ferrari’s record, while reaching performance levels similar to those 2002 and 2004 titles. Just like Ferrari, they are at their peak, but the difference is that they show no signs of slowing down or becoming the c-word: complacent.

Ferrari’s 2005 season is a cautionary tale for any team dominating their sport: don’t take anything for granted; this is exactly what Mercedes have always done. Through every regulation change, they have continuously pushed the boundaries on every single level, taking every defeat as a chance to improve, and turning every setback into an opportunity. In what team principal Toto Wolff has described as a relentless drive to perfection, they keep on pushing when most, convinced their superiority would keep them ahead, would have relaxed.

A good example is the improvement made to their engine in this off-season. Clearly beaten by Ferrari in 2019, the team led by Andy Cowell worked to get back on top, not knowing that the only reason the Ferrari engines were so ahead was due to some shenanigans that weren’t entirely legal. The result is that the Mercedes engine took a leap forward in 2020, while Ferrari’s moved backwards, making the increased performance on the back of the Silver Arrows look even more impressive.

There is regular debate among F1 fans about who is the greatest driver of all time; now that Hamilton is beating pretty much every meaningful record, this debate is hotter than ever. But there is less debate about which is the best team, and that is because there are very few arguments left against this incarnation of Mercedes. It’s not just that they make the best car: it’s also that they keep winning even when they don’t have it. There were periods throughout 2017 and 2018 in which Ferrari had the best car on the grid, but due to driver performance or strategy calls, Mercedes would end up winning races that, on paper, it shouldn’t have won.

To me, there is no doubt that this is the best team F1 has ever seen. Through regulation changes, personnel departing and adversaries’ improving, they have kept pushing, onwards and upwards, relentlessly searching those marginal gains, those milliseconds that keep adding up to big advantages. Once this phase is over and someone else is spraying the champagne, we will have the time to really appreciate what they have achieved. But we are not there yet, and their records will keep improving, their chunk of F1 history becoming larger and larger.

Nothing lasts forever, especially if you don’t work hard to keep it going; this is particularly true in F1, where nothing stands still for long: blink, and someone has replaced you on the top step of the podium. That’s what happened at Maranello when preparing that 2005 car. That moment is still to happen to Mercedes, but no one is betting on it happening just yet.

Talking points

•  The rookie class of 2019 has been having a torrid time of late, and if Norris at least got himself on the points after three scoreless races, the weekend was far less kind to his friends. Russell had a first points finish within his grasp when he crashed, in P10, behind the safety car. He will pick himself up and be better for it, but right now it has to hurt. It’s not the first time either, as he lost opportunities at Hockenheim last year and at Mugello. He really needs to take his first points to get this monkey off his back.

Albon, on the other hand, is running out of opportunities to show Red Bull he deserves another year in the senior team. He spun at the restart and ended up at the back of the field, but even before that he was not capable of making a dent in the race. Granted, overtaking at Imola is not easy, but this was another lacklustre weekend from him. Even those like him who hope he does get the nod are finding it hard to come up with reasons why Red Bull should keep him.

•  Could Daniel Ricciardo be wondering if he made the right call in choosing McLaren over Renault? While the papaya team are moving backwards, Renault are improving by leaps and bounds, and this weekend saw him score his second podium in three races. The French team are probably now the favourites to claim third in the championship, which might make him wonder if he should have waited for a few races of 2020 before making this decision.

•  This podium was ultimately thrown away by Racing Point’s decision to pit Perez behind the Safety Car, when the Mexican was running third. To be fair to them, it was a hard call, since they had no way of knowing what those behind them would do. If Perez had been the only one staying out, he would have been vulnerable and would all be criticising the team for not pitting him. In any case, the only reason Checo was in contention anyway was the brilliant strategy to run long on the medium tyres, that had allowed him to leapfrog pretty much the whole midfield.

•  On the other side of the pink garage, Lance Stroll is in dire need of a reset. His Monza podium is looking like a curse, with the Canadian driver scoreless since then. To add injury to a dismal weekend, he even hit a mechanic in his second pit stop.

•  First double-points finish of the season for Alfa Romeo, with a rocket start from Giovinazzi and another steady race from Kimi. Their are winning the battle of the backmarkers, and it will take a miracle for Haas to take P8 from them now.

•  I wrote in my preview about drivers about to drop off the grid for 2021 and hoping they can enjoy and give us some good memories. That was exactly what Kvyat did: as his unlucky teammate was forced to retire from P5, the Russian had a fantastic race, clinging on to the back of Leclerc and Albon’s cars, and then using a fresh set of soft tyres to beat them and Perez at the restart. For a moment it seemed like he could even challenge Ricciardo for the podium, but, as it was, P4 was a brilliant result. Helmut Marko all but confirmed he would lose his seat at the end of the year, but if that is to happen, this is an impressive calling card for his job search.

•  So much talk about track limits, weekend after weekend. To me, this is the simplest of debates: the track limits are the white lines, and if you are going over them, you need to brake earlier. Done. Drivers who want to not have to worry about this should probably be considering moving to IndyCar.

•  McLaren are still in the fight for third in the championship, but not by much. They continue to maximise their results almost every weekend, but this time around they didn’t seem to be able to compete even with AlphaTauri. The development of the car has brought them backwards, and this must be a big concern for Andreas Seidl. With the cars remaining largely the same next year, they need to start making progress on this front sooner rather than later; otherwise, losing P3 in 2020 will be the least of their concerns.

•  Can Esteban Ocon get a lucky break? His return season has been underwhelming, but his luck with reliability has been abismal as well.

•  Oh, and while we are at it, can Vettel get a lucky break? Fantastic race from the German with a broken front end plate, only to be wrecked by a pit stop 11 (eleven!) seconds slower than normal. 2021 can’t come soon enough for him.

[bambigoose]

Doing Just Fine

An: This has been edited after posting. Thank you to those that reached out to help me correct the ranking changes throughout the story.

Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts 2013

Staff Sergeant Jessica Ham exited the executive office of Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks located on base completely unsure how to tell her airmen deployment was inevitable. The 66th Air Force Group would be oversees shortly after the New Year. Locking eyes with her fellow Staff Sergeant, Andrews, before placing her head into her hands with a sigh, “Give them the next few hours. If we tell them before this visit it’ll hang over everything and ruin everyone’s time.”

Sergeant Andrews nodded along with Jessica’s call, “I’m going to send out word about a meeting before we all head out for the day. You want me to schedule the other room for you and your boys?”

“Yeah.” Jessica nodded at him before they went their separate ways. Three years ago, at eighteen, Jessica graduated high school. With no idea what to do with the rest of her life, and a lack of financial means to go to college while attempting to figure it out, Jessie as her friends call her attended a military interest conference at her school.  The Air Force was never something she had previously considered, but after a discussion with an intelligence officer her interest was piqued. The rest as one might say was history. In the course of the past four years she’d busted her ass to prove she could handle it and the rank recognition followed. Clearly her superiors trusted her; Jessica was in charge of one of the largest groups of airmen of any Sergeant. Trust among her men however was a little harder to earn, but once she had it Jessica quickly came to the realization there were plenty of men she was now stuck with for the rest of her life.

Moving quickly through the base, nodding quickly but politely at those who acknowledged her, Jessica rushed to the base entrance. Generals didn’t care what news you were given, you showed up when expected or your ass is reamed. After the previous news of the day so far, that would officially send her into a tailspin pulled by currents. Approaching the group and falling into line Jessica took a moment to observe their guests.

The 2012-2013 Boston Bruins were a formidable team, growing up in Southie rooting for the black and gold was a fact of life. Jessica was pretty sure she knew how to explain the offsides rule before she could do simple addition. An electric energy surged through the base when knowledge of their visit began to spread. The veterans, Patrice Bergeron, Andrew Ference, Shawn Thornton, and Milan Lucic would thrill the long term fans. Young guns Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin would flirt through half of the medical division before the day was out she was sure and rookie Dougie Hamilton was making quite a name for himself at nineteen as a solid defenseman.

“Is he always doom and glow like that?”

Jessica heard behind her. Turning she was meet with the six foot six frame of Dougie Hamilton. Years ago the hairs on the back of her neck would have been standing up, now she yelled at men twice his size half the day and knew for a fact she threw a better punch then  every member of the team. Smirking Jessica couldn’t resist the urge to chirp, she’ll forever blame it on being surrounded by guys day in and day out, “I imagine he and coach Julien would get along, I mean he screamed at you for how long after fanning on that shot last game.”

“Ouch Dougie, not impressing the pretty girl.” Seguin chirped with a smug smirk a head of them.

“I don’t know Mr. Seguin, at least Dougie here knows what an alarm clock is.” Jessica snapped back almost immediately after watching Dougie deflate as Tyler attempted to pull him down. Seguin’s eyes widened as Jessica dead stared at him; a move those under her have repeatedly said is increasingly unnerving. He turned quickly, shoulders pulled up to his ears while Jessica nudged Hamilton next to her.

He stood just a little straighter after her quip. Leaning in quietly, “I know you’re a rookie kid, but there’s a difference between being a doormat and becoming one of the guys.”

“And I suppose pretty girl is an expert?” Hamilton responded smiling, eyes crinkling, and an eyebrow raised.

“Pretty girl has name. Staff Sergeant Jessica Ham. Besides, do you really think there’s that much of a difference between military barracks and hockey locker rooms?” She responded in similar fashion.  

Laughing he responded “Probably not.”

Smiling while shoving him forward, “Go entertain my men rookie.”

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, Jessica watched her men and the Bruins interact. Spirits we high and she could feel the weight of this afternoon's meeting beginning to feel like a physical pressure on her chest. Inhaling deeply but still feeling like she couldn’t breathe Jessica headed toward the doors before her panic attack could start. Never realizing there were concerned eyes following her progression across the room, before he rose to follow her.  

Briskly moving out the door and around the building, Jessica sank down against the wall. Pulling her knees up to her chest and gasping for air. Jumping as someone sank down into a squat in front of her, Jessica looked up at Dougie, concern shining in his eyes. “Hey pretty girl, breathe.” Attempting to match her breath to his, the pressure on her chest finally felt like it was loosening. Dougie smiled, rubbing up his hands up and down her upper arms. “There we go.”

Rubbing her face, Jessica visibly flinched before lowly spilling everything to a relative stranger. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell them. This excitement and good spirits you all brought to base will be erased before they all go home. We’re shipping out in February. I know we all joined the military but it never seemed like this was going to happen.”

Dougie’s eyes went wide, practically bulging out of his head. “I’m sorry.” Instinctively left his mouth, “There’s nothing I can say that’ll make this better I don’t think.”

Sighing, Jessica rose back to her feet. “No there’s not but I appreciate the attempt.” Pulling his elbow and heading back towards the rec hall, “Better get back in there while I can still pass this off has taking a phone call.”

Dougie planted his feet and pulled them to a stop right outside the door. “I can’t make it better, but I could take you out for a distraction this weekend.”

“You do remember the shipping out in a few months part of our conversation, right.” She replied, waving her finger around in a circle between them like it was going to rewind his memory.

“Well, I figure I’d be pretty stupid to let that stop me from asking out the pretty lady Sergeant.”

“I can meet you at Faneuil Hall, Friday at seven? We can go from there Rookie.” She says, throwing her hip into his like a mini check.

Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, taking a chance and dropping a kiss on her cheek he hoped would be well received. “Sounds like a plan, Jessica.”

Over her shoulder while walking through the door, “Friends and cute boys taking me on a date can call me Jessie.”

__________________________________________________________________________________

Saddledome, Calgary Alberta Canada 2017

Sergeant Jessica Ham smiled walking through the under belly of the Saddledome. Granted a short furlough she came to surprise her boyfriend of almost three years after his game versus the Bruins. As luck would have it, she remained close with many members of the Bruins and their wives after Dougie signed with Calgary and during her deployment. When her furlough back at Hanscom came up she took it immediately, the fact that the Bruins were heading to Calgary at the same time. Coach Cassidy had graciously allowed her to tag along with the boys on the plane, though she suspected it might have something to do with Stephanie badgering Patrice to make it happen. It was nice to see some of the boys again and meeting some of the newbies.

Feeling stares on her, Jessica just continued on with a smile. The pass Zdeno presented her with before the game wrapped around her neck, clinking every step against her dog tags. Pulling up outside of the locker room she leaned against the wall anxiously waiting for Dougie to appear. She didn’t have to wait long. Dougie was the next person out of the locker room, “Jessie.” Gasped out of him in surprise, “What are you doing here?”

 Eyebrows furrowed, Jessica was surprised. That was his reaction? They hadn’t seen each other in almost a year. Writing it off as maybe just shock, she stepped forward to hug him. His arms barley wrapped back around her. “I was granted furlough for a few days, figured I’d come out for a surprise. They boys let me tag along on the team plane.”

“Babe!” A voice explained from behind Jessica. A blonde little bit of a thing, in sky high heels with make-up caked on her face brushed past Jessica before throwing herself into Dougie’s arms and laying a kiss on him. Separating the definition of puck bunny asked Dougie who this was.  

Jessica smirked at Dougie, laughing harshly. “I’m an old friend for Boston. Figured since the boys were out here I’d tag along to see mister big shoot, but it was nice to see you Douglas. I better get going so I don’t miss the bus.” Turning on her heel and all but sprinting down the hall Jessica ignored all calls of her name while losing Dougie in the after game commotion. Crashing into the Bruins newbies Sean Kuraly and Jake DeBrusk while staring at the ground, she looked out at them as they both went white. Yells left them both for Z, Bergy, and Marchy. It was the longest plane ride of the season for the bruins and to this day the only one where the unassigned assigned seats were blatantly ignored as the veterans crowded the Lieutenant in the back.  

 —————————————————————————————————————————---

2019 PNC Arena Raleigh North Carolina

Dougie Hamilton was furious, down four to nil in the third period he could feel his teams Stanley Cups hopes exiting them. Coming to the realization that there run was over it became apparent that they would do everything they could to rough up the Bruins instead. Not all that difficult of a task for him. The resentment he felt for the team grew every time they played each other. He blamed them for the disaster end of his relationship with Jessie, added on to the pitiful offer they made him to resign the anger was real. Scrumming with Sean Kuraly in front of the net was a natural progression. The refs separated them while Chris Wagner braced Kuraly to make sure he didn’t hit the ice, not that Dougie saw. He was to focused on the silver rectangles that popped out of Kuraly’s jersey before he quickly removed his glove and made sure they were secured underneath it again.

Dougie saw white, “Are you serious dude!” he exclaimed trying to puss Jordan Staal out of his way to jump Kuraly.

Kuraly’s eyes light up at the chance, “She’s doing great man!” he yelled out taking his seat on the bench.

The laughter of some of the Bruins ringing in his ears, Dougie’s eyes cut to where some of the Bruins wags were seated that he noticed earlier. His eyes were met by the infamous dead stare. Dougie gulped before she disconnected their eyes as the buzzer rang. Instead she was smiling as Stephanie Bergeron through her arms around her. Blowing a kiss out towards the ice, Dougie was forced to watch as Sean Kuraly laughed and waved back at her.

Master Sergeant Jessica Hamm, the future Mrs. Sean Kuraly if the shine the light of the arena caught coming from her left hand wasn’t just his imagination, was doing just fine.   

[monacodive]

having finished the season yesterday...

hi, my name's sadie & welcome to my personal season overview

alex albon is the man and it makes me so happy he is starting to get more recognition for the magic he is able to pull off at williams

max is a generational talent and i do believe he's one of the greatest, but for the sake of the sport i hope next season will be more competitive

the amount of times ferrari screwed over charles this season makes me wonder: rbr!charles contract announcement when?

(which coincidentally would also solve the problem of competitiveness)

mclaren have one of the strongest lineups currently on the grid and i'm praying they won't waste it 🙏

the downfall of aston martin was the greatest surprise of the season and needs to be studied

ferrari needs to get their shit together. pretty self explanatory 

lestappen gate 2023 has honestly been on my mind 24/7 since probably COTA

i'm really hoping for a great 2024 season for yuki, he deserves way more

lewis has officially adopted charles as his son and i'm here for it (besties who dsq together, stay together)

mercedes also need to get their shit together

las vegas was one of the more interesting races of the season

this season witnessed a change in my attitude towards certain drivers: from neutrality towards strong dislike (but let's not get into that)

i'm soooo excited for f1 academy next year

charles is a quali god (next year will be our year est. 2008)

i miss seb

the sticker war is a pr genius

this season taught us that ferrari strategists seem a bit... useless, don't you think?

mercedes not attending lewis's podiums? yeah, how about we have a talk?

the 2019 rookies remain fully superior

the great ferrari civil war was... something

i would happily watch sf-23 burn. burn.

both lando and oscar's first wins are a few races away (have i been on this since the mclaren upgrades? yes, but-)

i'm genuinely curious about checo's future at redbull and the potential approach rbr is going to take regarding that second seat

same goes for danny tbh

driver pairing of the season is deffo lando and oscar (i dont think anyone else has been getting along quite this well)

williams' 7th in the wcc is just alex albon driving his wheels off

liam lawson deserves a seat in f1 and i can't wait to watch him succeed

right. so now that's cleared- i honestly have no idea how we are meant to cope during off-season,, if anyone has any tips n tricks be so kind as to share 🤲

[dailynewswebsite]

Who deserves the blame for the Miami Dolphins’ 31-23 loss to Seattle?

Week Four for the Miami Dolphins felt rather a lot like the primary quarter of the 2020 season for the Dolphins as a complete. There was loads of enhancements from final yr’s torpid workforce within the early parts of the 2019 season — however general this workforce’s youth and inexperience proved to be an excessive amount of because the Dolphins butted heads with a superior opponent.

That’s maybe essentially the most irritating piece of the puzzle for the Dolphins. This can be a workforce that has needed to play two legit MVP candidates within the first 4 video games of the season in Josh Allen and Russell Wilson — each of whom have quarterbacked their groups to undefeated 4-Zero data. And in Miami’s different loss, the Dolphins entered the season in opposition to the best coach of all-time,. who loved unveiling a model new offense for the primary time in twenty years. The schedule makers weren’t overly type to a Dolphins workforce that wanted some generosity in the event that they have been going to hit the bottom operating this season.

However who deserves the majority of the blame for Miami’s most up-to-date loss, a 31-23 determination in opposition to the Seattle Seahawks? Listed below are our 5 greatest candidates:

Oct 4, 2020; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) makes an attempt a cross in opposition to the Seattle Seahawks through the first half at Laborious Rock Stadium. Obligatory Credit score: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports activities

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick

This was a full-on “Fitztragic” meltdown efficiency for Ryan Fitzpatrick. One week after he was extremely in rhythm and seemingly couldn’t miss, Fitzpatrick seemingly couldn’t get something proper in opposition to Seattle’s zone coverages early on. Whereas he did endure stress on each of his two interceptions that appeared to affect his throws, Fitzpatrick threw no less than two extra would-be interceptions that have been merely simply dropped by the protection.

His determination making was poor and he appeared to predesignate his reads on a handful of events as an alternative of working progressions to discover a extra out there receiver to focus on with the soccer.

Story continues

Oct 4, 2020; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Seattle Seahawks extensive receiver DK Metcalf (14) runs with the ball round Miami Dolphins cornerback Noah Igbinoghene (23) through the first half at Laborious Rock Stadium. Obligatory Credit score: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports activities

DB Noah Igbinoghene

The rookie had a foul, horrible, no good day in opposition to Seattle. With the Dolphins trailing 17-15, the Seattle Seahawks’ headsets reportedly went out, leaving Russell Wilson to function the offense on his personal. And, conveniently sufficient, that was proper in regards to the time that Seattle appeared to search out Igbinoghene many times. There was the deep crosser for a giant achieve after which the contact cross that got here to Igbinoghene’s facet of the sector — the place he was caught on a block for much too lengthy. Lastly, that drive was capped with a looping landing from Wilson to David Moore within the again nook of the top zone. Igbinoghene appeared to underestimate the room Wilson needed to work with in the long run zone on the play, sagging off in his zone earlier than frantically making an attempt to shut the hole.

That doesn’t even work in Miami’s most egregious gaffe on protection, Igbinoghene’s poor judgement within the remaining 20 seconds of the primary half — when he jumped down out of deep third protection to attempt to bounce a throw from Wilson. That play left Moore streaking down the left sideline and gained 57 yards earlier than Wilson promptly obtained Seattle into the top zone to take a 17-9 lead into halftime lower than 30 seconds after Miami kicked a subject objective to chop the rating to 10-9.

Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores at Laborious Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, September 20, 2020. [ALLEN EYESTONE/The Palm Beach Post]

Head coach Brian Flores

Brian Flores shouldn’t be above critiques for his efficiency in opposition to Seattle — this was not his greatest teaching job. The Dolphins punted the ball again to Seattle early within the recreation after it was dominated that Ryan Fitzpatrick threw an unlawful ahead cross to Mike Gesicki to transform a 3rd down. However each replay of the toss appeared to indicate Fitzpatrick behind the official line of scrimmage — but the Dolphins didn’t problem the play and finally punted the ball again to Seattle as an alternative.

However the root of Flores’ points stems extra so from the choice making. The Dolphins have been 1 of three within the crimson zone and opted to kick subject objectives on 5 consecutive possessions — together with passing up 4th & Three from the 11, 4th & Four from the 27, 4th & 5 from the 25 and 4th & 5 from the 11 as soon as once more on the finish of a 17 play drive.

You may’t “take the three factors” in opposition to quarterbacks like Russell Wilson. That’s how Wilson finally ends up seeing his offense marginalized within the second half and nonetheless magically outscoring the opposite workforce — which is precisely what he did.

Oct 4, 2020; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins defensive finish Emmanuel Ogbah (91) and defensive finish Zach Sieler (92) sack Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) through the first half at Laborious Rock Stadium. Obligatory Credit score: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports activities

Seattle QB Russell Wilson

Wilson completed 24-34 passing for 360 yards, 2 touchdowns and one interception. The Dolphins managed to sack him twice and, if you happen to’re into silver linings, held Seattle to their lowest level whole of the season to date. Wilson is taking part in as probably the greatest quarterbacks within the recreation and you need to play a full 60 minute effort in opposition to him or he’s going to kill you. Miami performed effectively in opposition to Wilson for in all probability 55 minutes price of recreation clock — however these different 5 minutes have been sufficient to get Seattle excessive.

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports activities

The officers

By all the sector objectives, would-be Fitzpatrick interceptions and Noah Igbinoghene’s lapses in protection — Miami discovered themselves down one rating and going through third down on protection close to midfield with a minute left on the clock. RB Chris Carson plunged into the pile and appeared to get a beneficiant spot from the official — and even then the Dolphins appeared to have house between the yard marker and the tip of the ball. But it surely was referred to as a primary down anyway, reviewed and dominated to haven’t any conclusive proof to vary the decision.

Add in Seattle not having a single penalty logged in opposition to all of them recreation (the one Seattle calls got here with an offsetting Miami foul) — together with a no name on a transparent shot to the pinnacle/neck of a defenseless Dolphins’ receiver — and the officers did Miami no favors in Week 4.

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports activities

Conclusion

So who’s most in charge for the Dolphins’ 31-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks? Right here’s our greatest allotment of blame:

Seattle QB Russell Wilson

Dolphins coach Brian Flores

Dolphins CB Noah Igbinoghene

Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick

The officers

from Growth News https://growthnews.in/who-deserves-the-blame-for-the-miami-dolphins-31-23-loss-to-seattle/ via https://growthnews.in

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NBA Trading Cards: The Resurgence of Basketball Card Collecting

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Presented by:

April 2020 in the United States was pretty terrible for almost everyone and everything. We all know why. No need to rehash it.

Unless, that is, you sunk your time and money into collecting and selling basketball cards. If you did, you were one of the beneficiaries of the strongest surge for the hobby in its history.

“The month of April was the busiest month that … the basketball card industry has ever seen, and by double,” says Geoff Wilson, founder of Sports Card Investor, which offers advice on investing in the hobby and a data analytics platform. He noted that the previous bests date back to the late 1980s and early ’90s.

Plenty of millennials collected cards as kids back then, when the likes of Topps, Upper Deck, and Fleer were among the dominant brands in NBA licensed trading cards. But, if they were hoping to score cards that would fuel their retirement funds someday, most were left disappointed by the steady decline of the hobby. Brick-and-mortar shops dwindled, with sellers better off utilizing online sales on sites such as eBay. 

That’s what makes the rapid rise of collecting basketball cards—which always trailed behind baseball in popularity, and often after football—is so stunning to observers in the collecting world.

“It didn’t only come back. It is an absolute revolution right now,” said Adam Nowak, CEO of SlabStox, an online sports card trading platform. “I can’t even begin to tell you how many people have come to me in the last six months to a year saying, ‘Hey, I love basketball. I used to love cards as a kid. How do I get involved? How do I start trading again?’”

According to Wilson and Nowak, the COVID-19 pandemic directly contributed to the surge in basketball card popularity. Although already on an upward trajectory the past few years, alongside other sports cards, it spiked while people were stuck in isolation and quarantine. With no major American live sporting events on TV from mid-March through late July, Wilson says they sought out collecting ��to keep sports fresh for them.”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Also going on in April: The release of the first installments of the 10-part, Michael Jordan-fueled ESPN documentary The Last Dance. As far as sports intrigue went at the time, the series had a virtual monopoly of fans’ attention. According to eBay, Jordan trading card sales increased more than 370 percent following its release, and Jordan cards increased 307 percent on eBay from March to May 2020.

Nowak points to the power of social media as a contributing factor to the general rise that began before “coronavirus” was common vernacular.

“The whole social media and digital age of sports cards is at a whole other level, compared to the past,” Nowak said. “When you were a kid, [there was] no social media. It was all in-person. You’re at shows. You’re at card shops. … But the whole other side of it, the social media side and being able to network with people around the country about cards, even around the world, has taken it to another level.”

If it’s been a few decades since you bought a foil pack of NBA trading cards, you’ll have to be aware of some changes. The exclusive NBA license to print cards rests with Panini, which wasn’t even a player in the hobby during the ‘90s but has been the league’s lone partner dating back to the 2009-10 season. However, on top of the various Panini-branded sets, they do produce brands that should be familiar to veteran collectors, such as Donruss and NBA Hoops. 

And, unlike the overproduction that derailed sports card collecting decades ago, Nowak points out that there is “a supply shortage compared to the amount of people that have come into the industry, which is why we’re seeing the market explode so much.” Wilson added that there were more cards produced this year than in the past, but that he suspects the hobby can remain about as strong as this for the next few years, at least.

Nostalgia among lapsed collectors, of course, plays into the resurgence of the basketball card hobby. Wilson and Nowak agreed that some millennials, with more disposable income than they had as kids and teens, can finally afford to indulge in a hobby that has not always been cheap.

“Now, you can do it at a much more fun level,” Wilson said, “because now you can actually afford the better cards, the nicer cards, the cards of the guys you want to get.”

But it’s not as if these collectors are simply coming back to chase down Jordan cards or collect Kobe Bryant memorabilia, in the wake of his untimely death in January at age 41. They’re also chasing the next wave of stars, looking to capitalize on potential superstars as investments. Per eBay, trading card sales for rookies Zion Williamson and Ja Morant have increased, with Williamson’s spiking 115 percent and Morant’s by nearly 200 percent since the pandemic began. 

Wilson, who said basketball cards are now where he invests most of his money, had invested last summer in PSA 10-graded 2018 Panini Prizm Silver rookie cards of Luka Doncic, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year at the time. He bought 10 of them at about $520 each. Since the start of the pandemic, those cards reached a peak of $7,500 in value — roughly 14 times what he paid. 

“Those are the types of gains that we’re seeing across the market right now,” he said.

Millennials are key to basketball cards’ swoon, but they’re not the only ones fueling growth. Plenty from Gen Z have found their way to a hobby that was not strong during their formative years. Wilson says these collectors may view the hobby as “a fun side hustle.”

“I think you’re starting to see the younger crowd that has this really good understanding for business, sports and marketing, and they’re taking all that knowledge and dumping it into cards,” Nowak agreed.  

Perhaps a surprising nonfactor in the basketball card renaissance is the NBA 2K video game series’ digital card collecting mode, MyTeam. Both Wilson and Nowak agreed that digital cards, be it in the games or though the attempts over the years by card producers to create a virtual trading card market, have not moved the needle with collectors.

However, Nowak qualified that MyTeam and basketball cards’ growth are simply not intertwined “right now.”

“I think [for] those people, [card collecting is] not even on their radar yet, gamers and esports and all that stuff,” Nowak said. “But I just saw this thing from Nadeshot [Matthew Haag], he’s a huge gamer, the other day that was talking about getting into the box-breaking world. The more gamers and esports people out there that are involved in sports games or FIFA Ultimate Team, they start opening packs of actual sports cards on set as they’re streaming, I think that’s a whole other market that can come someday.”

Basketball cards have surpassed baseball as the top dog in the sports hobby, according to Nowak, a development he says was aided by converts from the sneaker-flipping trade. He feels Panini played a role because of their embrace of “dropping products on their website with Dutch auctions, where people have to buy it at a certain point as it goes down in value.”

Wilson echoed that many former sneaker flippers have migrated to card collecting and selling. 

“They see sports cards as even a better mechanism for being able to make short-term profit by flipping cards,” Wilson said, “and basketball cards, in particular, is where a lot of the heat is.”

Once the NBA bubble in Orlando was created and play resumed on the 2019-20 season, savvy card flippers monitored which players were doing well as a barometer for who to invest in for the short-term, not dissimilar from the how a market investor might buy and sell stocks, according to Wilson. In this case, substitute Google shares for Doncic cards.

“In my opinion, it’s a superior version of fantasy sports and a superior version of sports gambling, kind of mixed into one,” Wilson says.

Head over to eBay to add to your NBA card collection!

The post NBA Trading Cards: The Resurgence of Basketball Card Collecting appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/36mYZvM

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Top 5 Basketball Players in Australia

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball through the defender's hoop. Players are the bushes of the team. In Australia there are many basketball players who were praised by basketball lovers all over the world. Here are our Top 5 Australian basketball players.

Andrew Bogut

Andrew Michael Bogut is an Australian professional basketball player born on 28 November 1984. Starting 77 regular season games and playing in all 82, Bogut averaged 9.4PPG and 7RPG in 28 minutes. The greatest Australian to play in the NBA. The 7-foot (2.13 m) center began his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after he was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the first overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft. He earned All-NBA Third Team honors with the Bucks in 2010.

He was traded to the Golden State Warriors in 2012 and was named NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2015, when he won an NBA championship with the Warriors.

He was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, where he played briefly before other short stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. In 2018, he returned to his home country to play for the Sydney Kings. After the end of the 2018–19 NBL season, Bogut signed back with the Warriors.

Major Awards:

NBA Championship: 2015

NBA All Defensive Second Team: 2015

FIBA Oceania Championship: 2015

Olympic Games: 2004, 2008

FIBA World Championship: 2006

FIBA Junior World Championship: 2003 (Gold)

FIBA Junior World Championship MVP: 2003

NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2006

All-NBA Third Team: 2010

Wooden College Player of the Year: 2005

Naismith College Player of the Year: 2005

Mountain West Conference (MWC) Player of the Year: 2005

All-MWC First Team: 2005

MWC Freshman of the Year: 2004

MWC Champion: 2005

MWC Tournament Champion: 2004

NBL MVP: 2019

NBL Defensive Player of the Year: 2019

Luc Longley

Lucien James Longley is an Australian professional basketball coach and former player born on 19 January 1969. Having a solid rookie year with averages of 4.3PPG/1BPG/4RPG in 15 minutes a game. He was the first Australian to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played for four teams over 10 seasons.

Longley most notably played for the Chicago Bulls, with whom he won three championships from 1996 to 1998. He represented Australia as a player at three Olympic Games in 1988, 1992 and 2000, and has worked as an assistant coach for the Australian national basketball team since 2013.

Major Awards:

3× NBA champion (1996–1998)

2× SBL champion (1989, 1990)

Gaze Medal winner (1989)

Australian Basketball Hall of Fame (2006)

Sport Australia Hall of Fame (2009)

2× First-team All-WAC (1990, 1991)

 Andrew Gaze 

Andrew Barry Casson Gaze is an Australian former professional basketball player and coach born on 24 July 1965. He played 22 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the Melbourne Tigers from 1984 to 2005, winning the league's MVP award seven times and winning the scoring title 14 times. He also guided the Tigers to two NBL championships, in 1993 and 1997, and was named an All-NBL First Team member for a record high 15 consecutive years. Gaze has been described as one of the greatest players Australia has ever produced.

 Gaze led the senior Australian national team, the Boomers, to five Summer Olympic Games – including as the flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and he was also the Australian Team Captain.

 Major Awards:

NBL Most Valuable Player Award

NBL Rookie of the Year Award

Australian International Player of the Year

NBL Most Efficient Player Award

 Shane Heal

Shane Douglas Heal is an Australian former professional basketball player, entrepreneur, and coach born on 6 September 1970. Heal's international career highlights include representing the Australian Boomers at the 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympic Games, captaining the team in 2004 in Athens. Heal Also represented Australia at numerous FIBA World Championships.

 Many consider Heal's best international game came against the USA "Dream Team" in a warmup match for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. The game, played at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, was won 118-77 by the US, though Heal topped all scorers with 28 points including hitting 8 of 12 three pointers. Heal had a running battle with NBA superstar Charles Barkley during the game with the two almost coming to blows at one point, though they hugged in mutual respect on-court after the game.

 Major Awards:

NBL Rookie of the Year (1988)

NBL Most Improved Player (1990)

NBL Good Hands Award (1990)

2× Gaze Medal winner (1997, 2004)

NBL champion (2003)

 Patty Mills

Patrick Sammie Mills is an Australian professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA) born on 11 August 1988. Mills was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 55th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft after playing two years of college basketball for Saint Mary's. Mills was born and raised in Canberra, Australia, and is of Torres Strait Islander, Aboriginal Australian and Maori descent.

 In 2007, he became only the third Indigenous basketball player to play for Australia behind Olympians Michael Ah Matt (1964) and Danny Morseu (1980–84).

 Mills began his NBA career with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2010. In 2011, during the NBA lockout, Mills returned to Australia to play for the Melbourne Tigers of the National Basketball League (NBL). After playing in China with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, Mills returned to the United States in March 2012 and signed with the San Antonio Spurs, where he has remained ever since. Mills became a strong contributor off the bench and helped the Spurs win the 2014 NBA Championship against the Miami Heat. Mills played in 64 games, averaging 5.5PPG and nearly 2 assists.

 Major Awards:

NBA champion (2014)

2× Gaze Medalist (2008, 2010)

2× First-team All-WCC (2008, 2009)

WCC Newcomer of the Year (2008)

 Teamwork is all about cooperation, where no individual is superior to another so work as a team with Colourup Uniforms.

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Reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Bogut

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc_Longley

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Gaze

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Heal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Mills

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Fox news AFC West projected starters: Broncos, Raiders trending up - NFL.com

Fox news

Thursday, Might presumably presumably moreover 14, 2020 09: 33 AM

With the 2020 NFL Draft and most of free company within the rearview, Gregg Rosenthal will mission starting lineups for all 32 groups because that's his view of relaxing. Verify out the AFC West breakdowns under.

Believing in Drew Lock is mighty. Broncos executive John Elway pronouncing that he was once committed to Jeff Driskel because the team's backup when gamers like Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton and Cam Newton were peaceable on hand feels like malpractice. At what assorted region or in what assorted sports actions discontinuance executives walk out of their methodology to e-book clear of enhancing their roster out of some incorrect sensitivities to unearned "The Man" place? If Lock will get pains in August one more time, presumably Newton will peaceable be a cell phone name away. If Lock will get pains all the scheme by the usual season, the Broncos' season is over.

As a minimum Elway did his most productive to scheme Lock up for fulfillment. Jerry Jeudy appears to be like as pro-ready as any rookie receiver, nevertheless the Broncos most productive must possess a examine Courtland Sutton's rookie season to recollect even game-breaking abilities can employ a minute to develop. That same warning ought to exist when penciling in mighty mite KJ Hamler into the slot receiver role.

I listed Melvin Gordon because the starter at working back because Elway's actions, including Gordon's salary, possess confirmed repeatedly that the Broncos don't prefer Phillip Lindsay to carry the weight. That's a disgrace because Lindsay has completed nothing nevertheless overachieve by piling up virtually 2,500 yards from scrimmage in two years. Lindsay is a greater pure runner than Gordon, nevertheless the Broncos could presumably moreover merely peer Gordon as a superior possibility on key downs as a blocker, pass catcher and in brief-yardage cases.

Noah Fant leads a deeper tight discontinuance neighborhood than a twelve months within the past. If Fant's enchancment down the stretch sticks, the offense is littered with gamers who can walk the space.

Basically the most full of life self-discipline, moreover Lock's construction, is whether or not the Broncos' offensive line has improved ample. It appears to be like to be greater than it has in years exterior of left kind out Garett Bolles, who did not uncover his fifth-twelve months possibility picked up. Moral kind out Ju'Wuan James did not even play 100 snaps after signing a large deal final offseason.

Von Miller returned from a torn ACL early in his profession to renew his place as one among the league's most productive pass rushers. If Bradley Chubb can discontinuance the an identical, the Broncos possess one among basically the most productive edge tandems in soccer.

Linebacker Alexander Johnson, a approved of colleague Chris Wesseling, was once a revelation in Vic Fangio's defense a twelve months within the past. He makes all of the defense look faster.

The Broncos are one among basically the most productive groups I listed most productive two cornerbacks for because I make not possess any clue who their third cornerback will probably be. Fangio has a history of scheming up the region properly, nevertheless he has his work decrease out for him. A.J. Bouye is coming off a pair of downhearted years in Jacksonville and Bryce Callahan final played in Week 14 of 2018. These are your starters and no one else is confirmed. This will probably be a team whose safeties could presumably moreover be greater than the cornerbacks in coverage.

Patrick Mahomes' backup, Chad Henne, has thrown five usual-season passes within the final five years. Here is hoping that number stays the an identical in 2020.

The Chiefs' offense broke even basically the most productive defenses it played. Why fix it? The offense returns all 11 starters, most productive including a pair of rookies along the methodology. Basically the most productive competition will occur at the guard spots, the build Martinas Rankin and rookie Lucas Niang are within the mix.

Bringing back the an identical personnel is mostly unhealthy for a defending champ, nevertheless coach Andy Reid brings assorted offensive wrinkles every season, which his colleagues are trying and copy. Reid will back retain this offense contemporary.

Damien Williams got the nod before the entirety as my starting working back. He could be available within the market for the major snap in Week 1 out of admire for his Clear Bowl heroics, and he acquired't be relegated to fairly player. But it indisputably's exhausting to mediate him out-snapping Clyde Edwards-Helaire over the route of the season. CEH (factual roll with it) is too correct on passing downs to preserve off the sphere, and each down on an Andy Reid team is a passing down.

Finest championship-caliber groups can pull off a proceed like bringing Sammy Watkins back at a lowered salary. Watkins does not ought to be an every-week performer to be very beneficial to the offense.

Demarcus Robinson, whom the Chiefs re-signed within the offseason, played virtually 300 extra snaps than Mecole Hardman final twelve months. Hardman has an opportunity to flip that stat this twelve months, the closing piece in taking the Chiefs' offense to ludicrous walk.

The Chiefs' interior-exterior line of defense leaders (Chris Jones and Frank Clark) inferior with any duo within the league. After that, the Chiefs possess some stable interior bulk and a ton of quiz marks at defensive discontinuance. They'll moreover employ a breakout by second-round picks Tanoh Kpassagnon or Breeland Speaks or this neighborhood could presumably moreover decay.

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo would opt to seem rookie Willie Homosexual's walk displace Anthony Hitchens or Damien Wilson within the starting lineup. In accordance with Spags' post-draft comments, Homosexual will uncover every probability to scheme an early affect.

Spagnuolo did a great job with this neighborhood overall. The safety tandem of Tyrann Mathieu and Juan Thornhill will must retain it down for a bend-nevertheless-don't-ruin defense with out mighty masks corners. Bashaud Breeland, a amassed key to the Clear Bowl get, could presumably moreover be suspended to originate the twelve months after an offseason arrest.

The Chiefs are constructed to play complementary soccer, with their defense factual correct ample. There could be tiny motive to mediate this neighborhood will upward push above the center of the pack, nevertheless they potentially don't must.

Drafting Henry Ruggs III, Alabama's third receiver, because the major receiver within the 2020 NFL Draft class was once courageous. Silent, I make not opt the criticism that he is a downhearted fit with Derek Carr. Ruggs did not employ many vertical passes at Alabama. He caught fast and intermediate passes in lunge -- Carr's energy -- and grew to become them into colossal performs.

Third-round picks Bryan Edwards, a wideout, and Lynn Bowden, who is changing to working back, are moreover both stable bustle-after-employ guys. Traditional manager Mike Mayock brought in gamers who can add explosiveness to a brief-strike offense.

The Raiders traded for Zay Jones within the center of final season and gave him starter snaps without delay. Now Jones could presumably moreover merely not even scheme the team, a signal of a mighty deeper region neighborhood. Edwards goes to scheme the team, along with the starters above. That leaves one or two spots for Nelson Agholor, Jones, Keelan Doss and Marcell Ateman.

The draft was once sneaky vulgar for Josh Jacobs' tale possibilities. There are extra mouths to feed and the drafting of Bowden most productive furthers the premise Jacobs will probably be restricted on passing downs. Plus, Mayock did not give Jalen Richard a $7 million contract to take a seat down on the bench.

Yet one more unfavorable for Jacobs: The offensive line is a top neighborhood keeping the passer and not more efficient within the working game. That goes in opposition to offensive line coach Tom Cable's track fable. If Trent Brown can preserve wholesome, this neighborhood could presumably moreover moreover be detestable on balance.

The Raiders' secondary remains basically the most vulnerable build of residing, nevertheless you need to presumably be ready to't fault Mayock for lack of effort. Drafting Damon Arnette within the major round was once a bigger gamble than taking Clelin Ferrell fourth overall in 2019. Signing Prince Amukamara this week made relatively heaps of sense as a backup view if Arnette struggles.

Johnathan Abram showed lots within the brief time he was once wholesome final season. This will probably be a stable security neighborhood making an attempt to masks up some questions at cornerback, not unlike the Chiefs.

A colossal Year 2 soar from Ferrell would employ Mayock's first draft class from correct to mighty. Endured construction from Ferrell, Maxx Crosby, Maurice Hurst and P.J. Hall matters larger than the weak additions like Maliek Collins and Carl Nassib.

At a time when most of the league is de-emphasizing off-ball linebackers, Mayock paid Cory Littleton and Cleave Kwiatkoski colossal money. I love the gamble. Littleton is one among basically the most productive coverage linebackers in soccer and Kwiatkoski upgrades a be troubled build of residing. Making improvements to to moderate at linebacker could be massive, and this neighborhood could presumably moreover be greater than that.

I cherished the Raiders extra after doing this bid. Their roster could presumably moreover merely not possess a title-contending ceiling, nevertheless it makes relatively heaps of sense. 

The Raiders are obviously within the NFL's heart, which is a protracted methodology from when Jon Gruden took over. For once, playoff hopes don't seem to be factual for basically the most strident, overly optimistic badass followers in soccer. These hopes are realistic with this roster.

There could be a perception that the Chargers are a loaded offense, one that Tyrod Taylor factual has to e-book clear of crashing. I'm not so certain. The left side of the offensive line ranks amongst the worst, on paper, within the league. Center Mike Pouncey is coming off neck surgery. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are a mighty starting duo, nevertheless the No. 3 receiver build of residing and wideout depth is as shaky as any in soccer. The Chargers are an pains or two a long way off from being skill-downhearted, and the Chargers most incessantly uncover larger than an pains or two.

The perception concerning the Chargers' loaded defense, nonetheless, is apt on. Outside of defensive kind out, coordinator Gus Bradley has fabulous alternatives and suppleness all the scheme by the roster.

As an illustration, the team's linebacker neighborhood contains an assortment of gamers (Kenneth Murray, Drue Tranquill, Denzel Perryman, Kyzir White and Cleave Vigil) who can all tackle assorted assignments reckoning on the down. Tranquill is an underrated possibility on passing downs. White and Murray can both play a pair of positions.

The team's defense flows from marrying the pass bustle supplied by Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram and Uchenna Nwosu with a ballhawking secondary. Ingram, coming into his ninth season, wasn't his frequent dominant self as a pass rusher final twelve months, nevertheless Bosa is ripe for a Defensive Player of the Year season.

When Derwin James was once out final twelve months, security Rashawn Jenkins emerged as a constructing block. It appears to be like to be unlikely that final twelve months's second-round take, Nasir Adderley, will beat him out anytime soon. With James and Jenkins patrolling the sphere and a cornerback neighborhood bolstered by Chris Harris, this team ought to uncover turnovers.

Coach Anthony Lynn most incessantly appears to be like to be like he factual desires to quit turnovers on offense. Tyrod Taylor has consistently been elite at that, even though which methodology relatively heaps of punts and throws looking the sticks. Taylor could presumably moreover originate longer than anticipated, especially if rookie Justin Herbert can't follow mighty in an abbreviated offseason.

The departure of Melvin Gordon could presumably moreover lead to extra snaps for Austin Ekeler, nevertheless I make not mediate he'll top his 224 touches from final twelve months by that mighty. Justin Jackson and rookie Josh Kelley are very in a position to complementing Ekeler.

The trade for guard Trai Turner shores up the Chargers' interior line and is one more signal this team desires to bustle extra. Both he and free agent apt kind out pickup Bryan Bulaga graded out greater as bustle blockers than pass protectors, in step with PFF.

Stare the entire Motion

Replay every game all season.

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Why the 49ers trading DeForest Buckner to the Colts makes perfect sense

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The 49ers can handle losing star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, especially for a first-round pick.

The San Francisco 49ers just traded arguably their best player to the Indianapolis Colts. Somehow, it was a good move.

DeForest Buckner, a 2016 first-round pick, was traded to Indianapolis in exchange for a first-round pick. The Colts immediately gave the defensive tackle a five-year contract worth $21 million per season.

Even at a steep price, Buckner is worth it. He fills a need for the Colts, who had the money to pay him. Buckner is similar to Aaron Donald in that he commands double-teams and can rush the passer while effectively stopping the run.

For 49ers fans used to watching Buckner’s brand of quiet destruction, losing him is a letdown. He was an instrumental piece of the 49ers’ all-world defense last season, and made a huge impact in a close Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs.

But the trade makes a lot of sense when you look at the bigger picture.

The 49ers and Buckner were going to have trouble negotiating a new deal

Right before the 49ers traded Buckner, they signed fellow defensive lineman Arik Armstead to a six-year, $102 million contract. While it’s easy to point to that as the main reason Buckner is on the move, there’s more to it than that. Buckner is the superior player, but Armstead will be making $4 million less per year than he does.

Contract talks between Buckner and the 49ers began during last season, and the 49ers then got a pretty good idea of how much he’d cost. Buckner wanted money close to what Donald — the best and highest-paid DT in the league at an average of $22.5 million — is getting. They knew Buckner was going to be beyond their price range when it came time to extend him. It made sense to make a deal now, when Buckner’s value was at its highest and before he was set to hit free agency next offseason.

Finally, there’s the rest of the roster to consider. Here’s a look at the 49ers’ pressing contract needs, both this year and next:

FS Jimmie Ward (starter, free agent in 2020)

WR Emmanuel Sanders (starter, free agent in 2020)

TE George Kittle (starter, free agent in 2021)

SS Jaquiski Tartt (starter, free agent in 2021)

CB K’Waun Williams (starter, free agent in 2021)

CB Richard Sherman (starter, free agent in 2021)

FB Kyle Juszczyk (starter, free agent in 2021)

CB Emmanuel Moseley (starter, free agent in 2021)

Trading Buckner freed up more than $12 million in cap space immediately. Soon after, the Niners re-signed locker room favorite Ward to a three-year deal.

George Kittle is the biggest name on that list, and he’ll be in line to make more money than any tight end in NFL history. The 49ers now have the means to make sure he gets a huge contract extension before he hits free agency in 2021.

The 49ers are a complete team, but the financial side always pointed to some tough cuts. It just so happens that they got excellent value for a player they probably weren’t going to be able to afford to keep.

The San Francisco defensive line is still a major strength

The 49ers will return every defensive starter, except for Buckner, in 2020. That’s good news for a defense that ranked in the top half of the league against the run and first against the pass last season. The secondary played well, but the defensive line was the catalyst for success in both areas.

Fortunately, the line remains a strength after Buckner’s departure. Armstead, reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Nick Bosa, Dee Ford, and D.J. Jones are all locked down for the next few seasons, too.

One positive about retaining Armstead is that he can work inside too and probably will do so in 2020. Last season, he did some of his best work on the interior, according to Next Gen Stats.

Armstead has been among the most versatile DL in the NFL, rushing the passer from the edge and interior at a near-even rate last season. However, Armstead was more effective as a pass rusher from the interior (9.1% pressure rate) than from edge alignment (6.5%). pic.twitter.com/lhFsc9xp0b

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 16, 2020

With Ford expected to take on a larger role at one of the end spots, and Bosa being nigh-unstoppable from the other side, Armstead will likely move inside more often than not. That’s one reason Armstead is so valuable to the 49ers: he’s more versatile than Buckner and can move all over the line.

He’ll be paired with Jones, an underrated defensive tackle who is great at eating up space, and the young Jullian Taylor, an up-and-comer on the interior. There’s also Solomon Thomas, a former first-round pick who the 49ers are hoping can finally take the next step this coming season, in the same way that Armstead improved in 2019.

The 49ers lost a lot of brute force devastation with Buckner, but they may be trending toward a more finesse approach with Ford, Bosa, and Armstead that could be just as effective. Bosa’s development in his second year is important, because if he keeps improving, the 49ers’ pass rush will be truly ridiculous.

The 49ers can focus on their biggest need with another first-round pick

In exchange for Buckner, the Colts sent over the No. 13 overall pick in the draft. The 49ers can stay at No. 13, or they can package the pick along with their No. 31 selection to get more draft capital. Either way, they have a good opportunity to fill their largest roster hole: wide receiver.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense desperately needs a top target for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, to pair with Deebo Samuel and Kendrick Bourne. Sanders is a free agent and was a good one-year rental, but he’s not a home-run hitter.

At No. 13, the 49ers can virtually have their pick of wide receivers. Even if they move down, they can still nab a high-level playmaker in what is one of the strongest receiver classes in years. Cornerback or offensive tackle (to account for Joe Staley’s eventual retirement) is an option in the first round too.

But getting a true No. 1 receiver would make the NFC champions an even scarier team than they were last season. San Francisco had no stars at the position, and much of the team’s struggles centered around dropped passes. Even if the defense takes one step back, the offense can take two steps forward and that’s progress.

Both teams won the Buckner trade. The Colts gave up a lot, but because they had the space to offer Buckner a deal just shy of Aaron Donald money, they now have a defensive anchor for years to come.

The 49ers, on the other hand, have a premium draft pick and a defense that’s still stacked. The downside is obvious, because they’re losing a great player. But this was a move for the future, and it was a smart one.

[jrgsportsbuzz]

BUCKS VS PISTONS EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINAL PREVIEW

The 2019 NBA Playoffs are upon us, and the hometown Milwaukee Bucks are the best team in the league from the regular season. The Bucks, after suffering through years of mediocrity and futility since their last playoff series victory in 2001, went 60-22 this season behind a new coach (Mike Budenholzer) and a new, state-of-the-art home facility (Fiserv Forum). Milwaukee surrounded superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo with a lethal 3-point shooting attack that freed him up to produce on an MVP level and lead them to their best regular season since 1980-81.

Budenholzer, who previously coached the Atlanta Hawks, was hired after the Bucks fired Jason Kidd during the middle of last season and decided not to retain interim coach Joe Prunty. The new head man ushered in a system that relied much more on the 3-point shot and effectively eliminated the mid-range from the Bucks offense. This created a ruthlessly efficient attack that forced defenders away from the paint and allowed Antetokounmpo to have many one-on-one opportunities where he is basically unstoppable. As a result, Milwaukee was the highest-scoring team in the league and led the NBA in point differential.

The Bucks will have a great opportunity to get that elusive playoff series victory in the first round against the eighth-seeded Detroit Pistons, who finished the season 41-41. Nearly all of the matchups in the series favor Milwaukee.

PG: Eric Bledsoe (MIL) vs. Reggie Jackson (DET)

Bledsoe was acquired by the Bucks early in 2017-18 in a trade with the Phoenix Suns. He is an athletic, thick-bodied point guard who plays with a lot of energy but struggles with consistency. When he is on his game, he slashes to the rim better than most of his NBA counterparts and creates open opportunities for his teammates. He also uses his athleticism on the boards, as he averages nearly five per game. However, his 3-point shot is mediocre at best and he sometimes takes it too often considering his limited abilities from that range. His temper is unpredictable as well, evidenced by him throwing a ball at Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid’s chest in a win at Philadelphia on April 4. He will need to be the efficient facilitator he’s shown he can be in order for Milwaukee to challenge for the title.

Jackson came up with the Oklahoma City Thunder as a backup to superstar Russell Westbrook, and his play off the bench was solid enough to get the Pistons to trade for him to be their point guard of the future. He has remained the starter (when healthy; he has had injury issues in Detroit), but hasn’t developed into the elite floor general Detroit was hoping for. He still averages 15-20 points per game, but his assist numbers have declined to less than five per game. That is rather surprising considering the Pistons boast one of the NBA’s top frontcourts in power forward Blake Griffin and center Andre Drummond. Like Bledsoe, Jackson struggles with consistency and has shown a propensity to hijack the team’s offense at times. His efficiency and playmaking will have to improve if the Pistons hope to pull a first round upset.

The point guard matchup is one between two players who struggle to consistently produce at a high level, though both players have the capability to do it at any time. Bledsoe’s game is more diverse, as he plays better on defense and has a more widespread arsenal of moves and playmaking abilities. Edge: Bucks

SG: Sterling Brown (MIL) vs. Bruce Brown (DET)

Sterling Brown, a solid role player for the Bucks who has shown steady improvement since last season (his rookie year), has earned a pinch-starting role in place of Malcolm Brogdon, a heady offensive-minded player who rarely made mistakes. Milwaukee’s Brown is a streaky shooter, but uses his thick frame to penetrate and is deceptively athletic. He also plays well on defense and has stepped into the starting role admirably. However, he has platooned with Pat Connaughton and Khris Middleton at the 2-guard spot during Brogdon’s absence.

Bruce Brown is a role player who has played a bit better late in the season for Detroit. He, like Sterling Brown, was a second-round draft pick, though Bruce is in his rookie season. His athleticism allows him to make some highlight-reel plays, but he is a work in progress for the Pistons. He will platoon with Luke Kennard, a second-year sharpshooter who likely will play more due to his superior scoring ability.

Both shooting guards are role players who normally would come off the bench. However, the injury to Brogdon for the Bucks and the limited options for Detroit enable Sterling and Bruce Brown (no relation) to start for their respective teams. Edge: Bucks

SF: Khris Middleton (MIL) vs. Wayne Ellington (DET)

Middleton is widely regarded as the Bucks second-best player and Giannis’ sidekick. The silky-smooth wing has a deadly outside shot (though somewhat streaky) and can get into the lane better than most people think. He constantly makes efforts to diversify his offense, which sometimes drags down his shooting numbers a bit. In addition, he struggles at times with consistency, but he can be counted on to provide 20+ points in most games, including some performances in the 30s and 40s. He also uses his long arms well on defense and has improved as an on-ball defender over the years.

Ellington has been a role player in the league for ten seasons, with that role being a deadly 3-point shooter. He has always held one of the highest 3-point percentages in the league, but he does not provide much else on offense. He is a decent on-ball defender, however. Detroit is employing a rather small lineup with him in the 3 spot, considering he normally is a shooting guard.

Middleton, while somewhat inconsistent at times, can be one of the best offensive players in the league when he’s on his game. When he and Antetokounmpo are on the floor together, the Bucks are one of the NBA’s most prolific offensive teams, regardless of who the other three players are. Ellington is a seasoned veteran and a good 3-and-D option, but Middleton is clearly the better player. Edge: Bucks

PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) vs. Blake Griffin (DET)

Antetokounmpo, the NBA’s third-leading scorer this season, has become a player that needs no introduction. He has blossomed from a raw, thin rookie to possibly the NBA’s best player in the span of six seasons. He is one of the most unique players the league has ever had, as his abundant length and superb athleticism allows him to do things on the court that very few, if any, players have ever done. Giannis is a tireless worker who is always looking to improve despite how dominant he is at this stage. No one can stop him when he is driving the lane, his touch around the basket is at the point where he almost never misses an inside shot, and he can pretty much dunk on anyone at any time. In addition, his game away from the basket is always getting better, as he has developed a solid mid-range touch and his 3-point shot is gradually becoming dangerous. When he fully develops that long-range shot, he will become a player that cannot even be contained, let alone stopped. Finally, he moves his feet and rotates extremely well on defense, and the aforementioned length and athleticism make him an incredible shot blocker. He and center Brook Lopez make the Bucks extremely difficult to score on inside.

Griffin, who the Pistons acquired in a trade last season with the Los Angeles Clippers, has been one of the NBA’s best at power forward since his rookie season. His incredible athleticism has dwindled a bit over the years, but his production remains largely the same due to his diversification on offense. He was part of an athletic, high-flying offense during his first few seasons with the Clippers, as he teamed with point guard Chris Paul and center DeAndre Jordan to produce an attack known as “Lob City” due to the many alley-oops from Paul to him and Jordan. However, in his later years in L.A. and time in Detroit, Griffin has become a much better shooter and has more moves around the basket. This has allowed him to remain one of the league’s best despite his diminished dunking ability. He also is one of the NBA’s best passing power forwards, as he actually led the Pistons in assists with 5.4 per game. Detroit has a frontcourt that can hang with anyone with Griffin and Drummond.

Giannis is one of the league’s best, most versatile players and he is in close competition with Houston Rockets’ scoring machine James Harden for the NBA’s MVP award. The 2019 playoffs provide another chance to show he can be an alpha dog on the league’s biggest stage. Griffin has playoff experience from his time with the Clippers and will be counted upon to continue his massive production for the Pistons. Griffin is a great player, but Giannis has become otherworldly. Edge: Bucks

C: Brook Lopez (MIL) vs. Andre Drummond (DET)

Lopez was a one-year signing for Milwaukee who fit perfectly in Budenholzer’s system. He greatly improved his 3-point shot and became one of the league’s deadliest pick-and-pop centers, as he set a record for most 3-pointers made in a season by a 7-foot player. In fact, the majority of his offensive production came from outside the arc, which, even in today’s game, is a rarity for centers. Because of his extended time on the perimeter, Lopez did not have as big of an impact on the boards as most players at his position, though that has always been the case throughout his career. He also was a force on defense, as he averaged over two blocks per game to lead the Bucks and finish fourth in the league in that category.

Drummond is of the league’s top anchors in the middle and is the Pistons’ franchise player. He averaged over 15 points and 15 rebounds per game for the second season in a row this year and has been a dominant force in the paint and on the glass (the latter in particular) since his second year. The Detroit center has finished either first or second in the league in rebounding the past six seasons, including leading the league in three out of the past four. This year has been his best in the scoring column, as he averaged nearly 18 points per game. The majority of his points come from offensive rebounds and feeds down low, but he has improved his shooting touch the last two seasons. After being a 35-40 percent free throw shooter over his first five seasons, he has improved to nearly 60 percent in the past two. He has even knocked down five 3-pointers this season, though that will likely never be a significant part of his game. He also plays well on defense, using his size, awareness and deceptive quickness for someone his size in averaging over one and a half steals and blocks per game over the past two seasons.

Lopez has asserted himself as a weapon for the Bucks with his ability to stretch the floor as a shooting big. He has always been a solid offensive player and Budenholzer gave him a role that fit perfectly with Milwaukee. However, Drummond is possibly the league’s best center and is a true beast in the middle. He is the best rebounder in the league, has improved offensively and gives Detroit a presence few teams in the NBA come close to having. Edge: Pistons

Bench: Pat Connaughton, D.J. Wilson, Nikola Mirotic, Tim Frazier, George Hill, Tony Snell, Ersan Ilyasova (MIL) vs. Luke Kennard, Jon Leuer, Zaza Pachulia, Ish Smith, Glenn Robinson III, Thon Maker, Jose Calderon, Langston Galloway, Khyri Thomas (DET)

One of the understated reasons for Milwaukee’s breakthrough this season has been depth. The injuries to Brogdon and Mirotic illustrate that, as the Bucks did not suffer a drop-off without them. Connaughton is an athletic player who can shoot well from outside and fill the stat sheet in a myriad of ways. Wilson was raw as a rookie last year, but has improved greatly over the course of this season and has taken many of Ilyasova’s minutes. Mirotic is questionable for this series, but if he can play, he is another big man who can stretch the floor and is a solid presence on the glass. Hill is a seasoned veteran point guard with a deadly outside shot and has playoff pedigree from last season in Cleveland and his tenures with the Spurs and the Pacers earlier in his career. Snell is the ultimate 3-and-D presence off the bench with solid length and athleticism. Ilyasova has been a very good stretch-four during his career (he spent most of it with the Bucks before departing for a couple of seasons) along with being an underrated rebounder, but his production and playing time have diminished during the latter part of the season. Frazier adds depth at point guard and had a couple solid performances as a late-season pickup.

Kennard is a 3-point shooter who will play as much if not more than Bruce Brown at the shooting guard spot during the playoffs. Leuer is an athletic stretch-four, but his role has diminished over the past two seasons due to injuries and added depth. Pachulia has always been a rugged role-playing big man who is a perfect backup for Drummond. Smith is one of the fastest players in the league, but many other aspects of his game have been average at best. He has spent most of his career as a backup point guard. Robinson, son of former Bucks forward Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson, is an athletic wing who has largely spent his career as a role-playing slasher. Maker was traded to the Pistons by the Bucks in early February and has had a much larger role with Detroit than he had with Milwaukee, where he was buried on the depth chart. He is a 7-1 center/forward who can block shots with ease and shoot from outside. However, he is still very raw and gets bullied down low easily by stronger post players. Calderon is a veteran guard who has always been a steady hand, but his age makes him more of a team presence than anything. Galloway can get hot as an outside shooter, but he does not offer much else. Thomas is a seldom-used wing who is a work in progress.

The Pistons have more players at their disposal right now due to the Bucks’ injuries (Brogdon, veteran forward Pau Gasol, Mirotic (he might play vs. Detroit)), but Milwaukee’s crop off the bench is more productive. The Bucks’ depth has served them well throughout the season and there is much reason to believe that will continue into the playoffs. Edge: Bucks

Coach: Mike Budenholzer (MIL) vs. Dwane Casey (DET)

As the Bucks have built the talented team they have now, the organization was looking for someone that could implement the right scheme and maximize the abundant ability of the team. Budenholzer, who willed undermanned Atlanta Hawks teams to playoff appearances before coming to Milwaukee, turned out to be the perfect fit. His calculated 3-point and driving offensive philosophies turned the Bucks from a poor, inefficient shooting team to possibly the most efficient, prolific offenses in the NBA. He is likely a shoo-in for NBA Coach of the Year in 2019.

Casey, the defending Coach of the Year who was surprisingly let go by the Toronto Raptors last season, has pedigree of his own. He has always run a hard-nosed, half-court based offense and tough defensive system that turned the Raptors into one of the Eastern Conference’s best squads. However, Toronto decided to go in another direction after the team once again lost to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals. The Pistons wasted no time in hiring him after Toronto let him go, but he inherited a roster nowhere near as talented as the one he had with the Raptors. His willing this bunch into a mere playoff team was a solid coaching job.

There is not much of an advantage either way here, but Budenholzer’s breakthrough and his being this year’s probable Coach of the Year gives him a small edge. Edge: Bucks

FINAL ANALYSIS

Milwaukee finally broke through in 2018-19 after years of heartbreak and anticipation at the same time. After a regime that seemed settled on earning a low playoff seed under former owner Herb Kohl, New York trust fund investors Marc Lasry and Wes Edens, along with other investors, have transformed the Bucks into a franchise with a championship mentality, and the team broke in its new arena with style. This is their best chance to finally win a playoff series again, as the Pistons simply do not have the talent to compete with the Bucks when they are at their best. Drummond and Griffin present matchup issues and the Bucks will have to play Giannis down low defensively through the whole series, but Milwaukee has a big edge on the perimeter with Middleton and Bledsoe. Detroit will win one home game behind a raucous crowd and a dominant performance by the frontcourt, but the Bucks are clearly a better team and will close it at home after winning a road game. PREDICTION: Bucks in 5

[paulbenedictblog]

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Fox news Analytics-based best fits for top 5 WRs in the draft - NFL.com

Fox news

With the 2020 NFL Draft factual around the corner, I've attach my context-based completely records models to work looking out for figuring out the suitable group fit for among the most high avid gamers in this year's class. Main up to Round 1, I tear to be taking my high five highest-rated huge receivers, working backs and quarterbacks and pairing them with the group with whom the participant earns the highest make a selection allotment in 2020, given what we be taught about each group's personnel, coaches and strategy factual now.

Narrate: These are all life like suits. Would both CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy be absolute studs catching passes from Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City for the subsequent plenty of years? Obviously! Nevertheless neither is falling to the Chiefs at No. 32 total. So let's withhold issues plausible, shall we?

1. CeeDee Lamb + San Francisco 49ers = +0.71 wins

My neutral mannequin offers Lamb the itsy-bitsy edge because the category' No. 1 receiver. He receives this billing, partially, due to the truth that his tape displays the ideal ability to alternate direction, alter tempo and adapt to where the ball is thrown, nonetheless it be also tied to his fantastic abilities after the take. Per Pro Soccer Heart of attention, Lamb ranked 2d in the nation with 26 broken tackles remaining season at Oklahoma. Production after contact tackle Lamb's forecasts strongly to elite or above-practical ends in the NFL. Lamb's solid college resume suggests he would possibly well perchance well calm absorb success on the exterior and inside, to boot to in baiting corners to commence up notify for diversified tear catchers. Sounds tackle any individual Kyle Shanahan would attach to enormous exercise, factual?

2. Jerry Jeudy + Las Vegas Raiders = +0.69 wins

His college teammate, Henry Ruggs III, is at risk of be the bigger consideration-grabber, pondering his blazing 4.27 40 time at the NFL Scouting Mix, nonetheless my pc imaginative and prescient measures Jeudy's sport tempo burst off the road of scrimmage because the quickest of the consensus high-15 wideouts in this draft class. Jeudy's route-working precision and ability to exercise directional and tempo adjustments mid-route to expand the distance between him and opposing defensive backs ranks 2d among 2020 WR possibilities. Jeudy forecasts most attention-grabbing in a Jon Gruden plan because it would possibly well perchance well leverage his athleticism, elusiveness and precision in one device that will perchance well calm outcome in a ton of targets from the soar.

3. Henry Ruggs III + Carolina Panthers = +0.67 wins

Of the consensus high 15 receivers in this year's group, Ruggs' sport tempo after the take measured the quickest on the ideal proportion of his yards after the take. Here is amazingly attention-grabbing pondering the excessive preference of slants he ran. Adjusting for route form, the records suggests he's the suitable at "working away" from defenders. All for what Matt Rhule and Joe Brady fancy to total on offense, and the device in which Teddy Bridgewater's extremely environment friendly like a flash-passing manufacturing matches their philosophy, it be easy to search for how Ruggs' ability to align and enact from wherever on the self-discipline will outcome in optimal take-and-speed alternatives. The reality that defenses will persistently absorb to chronicle for his whereabouts would possibly well perchance well calm also lend a hand his teammates be more productive. In level of reality, Christian McCaffrey's make a selection allotment will increase with Ruggs on the self-discipline with him (delusion alert!).

4. Justin Jefferson + Eagles = +0.65 wins

My mannequin rates Jefferson with the highest ground among the many high receivers in 2020. The principal clarification for this? Smartly, after I tracked the proportion of passes that each wideout caught when no longer no longer up to one defender used to be within a 3-foot halo (to approximate shut coverage), he caught the highest rate of passes (51.3 percent; heart of attention on of 40 percent as in actuality merely). His ability in college to expand his group's probability to carry out first downs and touchdowns on catches between the numbers used to be also the highest of the high 15 receivers. I'm no longer pigeonholing Jefferson as a slot man, and I invent no longer heart of attention on Doug Pederson would either based completely on his play-calling previous, nonetheless the LSU wideout reaches his optimal price early on serving as a design for Carson Wentz out of that alignment.

5. Laviska Shenault Jr. + Broncos = +0.64 wins

Shenault has more of a fit-dependent three hundred and sixty five days 1 manufacturing projection than any of the four receivers my mannequin rates sooner than him. Nonetheless, his 2018 film (he used to be superior) versus 2019 (he used to be injured) creates a excessive ceiling. My math suggests that pairing him with Drew Lock and Courtland Sutton will increase the probability of realizing more ceiling-tackle results earlier in his profession. Shenault's resume displays excessive attainable price after the take; PFF counts 44 broken tackles for him over the previous two seasons (29 in 2018, ranked 2d in FBS). His attainable to take physical, plan-based completely passes as a rookie, while rising more advanced skill models as he matures, would possibly well perchance well calm lend a hand Lock proceed to create -- especially with Sutton drawing the bulk of the honor from opposing defenses.

Apply Cynthia Frelund on Twitter @cfrelund.

[thesinglesjukebox]

RED VELVET - PSYCHO

[6.18]

You drive me crazy...

Ryo Miyauchi: Mania as portrayed in "Psycho" is too choreographed to feel like genuine anxiety or horror watching the crash-and-burn narrative unfold. It plays into what you'd expect from dark Red Velvet: goth brass pomp, orchestral plucks, vocal trills that show just enough crack in the otherwise pristine performance. The ease with which they summarize their experience with that titular hook doesn't help either. It's all too controlled for it to come off as the mess they try to make it out to be. [5]

Ashley Bardhan: I do kind of wish we were past the point of self-identifying as "psycho" because we're in love, but since I don't know Korean, I will assume this isn't "Sweet but Psycho" levels of egregious and let it slide. The synth loop sounds like a sugar-high waterfall, which I like, especially when it pours into that brassy, jump-roping chorus. It makes me think of people dancing in slow motion. Nothing too crazy about that. [7]

Jessica Doyle: For those delicate strings, the restrained singing, and the closing refrain that everything's going to be okay, "psycho" is the wrong word to repeat. (Pabo, which means "fool," might have been better.) I suspect the goal was to reach that sense of skewness that powered previous singles -- think the self-deprecating, amused depiction of infatuation in "Dumb Dumb" and "Rookie," or, more to the point here, the combination of menacing lyrics and early-video-game innocence of "Russian Roulette." But here the suggestion of a relationship gone dangerously out of control never quite convinces, and Red Velvet come across as less desperate than bored. [5]

Joshua Lu: I feel like I should be more excited about what's being heralded as a return to form for an excellent girl group with a middling 2019, but "Psycho" isn't nearly demented enough to match Red Velvet's peaks. A title like that coming from a group like this sets expectations of what kind of craziness is to come, but instead they deliver Ava Max levels of psychosis, with bland verses that are too neatly set and a chorus that's mushy and lethargic, with or without the music video version's added strings. Not even the lyrics are capable of adding any tension -- "Hey now, we'll be okay," they chant, but I'm left wishing otherwise in the off-chance that some turmoil leads to something more interesting. [4]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: The music video version is superior: the strings, alluring for their dizzying intensity, add flair to the prim arrangement. Still, the song's chorus isn't quite complete; it could use some affected vocalizing or a catchier hook or some flashy pyrotechnics -- anything to break Red Velvet free from their stuffiest single to date. Still, this sense of suffocation is apt: a reflection of how trapped they must feel in wrestling with (the optics of) a not-so-"romantic" relationship. [7]

Michael Hong: Typically in modern media, when a woman is portrayed as a "psycho," portrayals shift between two phases: 1) the cool, even-tempered women, one who appears to be completely accommodating to the whims of the characters around her; and 2) the unstable woman, prone to random acts of aggression and manipulation, and a general lack of control. Red Velvet's "Psycho" is fixated on that first phase with the instrumental tamped down to a chillingly placid state. Wendy and Seulgi's falsettos adorn the strings and arpeggiating synths with the grace of a tightrope act, but it's the breathless "psycho" that gives "Psycho" a hint of menace. Even the rap, despite Irene bragging that she's "original visual," lacks any surprise and feels relatively tame, even after the bland "Umpah Umpah." The tension is dramatic, but "Psycho" still leaves me yearning for Red Velvet to completely lose it. [7]

Alex Clifton: Red Velvet have now written the quintessential K-pop song about being in love with your straight best friend. It's less experimental than some of their other material, which is disappointing, as I love the wonky moments in Red Velvet's discography where the melody takes an unexpected turn and surprises me. It is, however, super-gay, and I am here for that. [6]

Brad Shoup: When I saw the news that an English version of "Psycho" did not, in fact, make the Birds of Prey soundtrack, my first thought was I guess they already had an Ariana Grande song. This is good Grande-core, sure: the major-label orchestral arrangement woven into the processional click-and-pause R&B. The title is almost incidental, or perhaps refers to the level of detail. [7]

Alfred Soto: The chorus builds to a convincing rattle and blare: the sticky-sweet vs sour dynamic Red Velvet has often handled with aplomb. [7]

Will Rivitz: A few years ago, Red Velvet became my favorite K-pop group thanks to their deeply compelling uncanniness: Their eerie, off-mainstream electronic influences (I maintain that "Peek-A-Boo" remains the best song Murlo never produced; ditto "Zimzalabim" and SOPHIE) consistently speak to me like no other K-pop I've heard has. "Psycho," by contrast, draws its intro from Julia Michaels, its verses from OneRepublic, and its chorus from every electronic-friendly pop singer in 2017. Interchangeable pop from a group I love dearly for their iconoclasm. [5]

Thomas Inskeep: The nearly-classical, stately pace, the surprising oompah horns on the chorus, the swirling keyboards on the verses, the strong vocals: Red Velvet is at the top of their game right now, ladies and gents. "Psycho" is one of those records that sounds like 4 or 5 different songs at once, and gets all of them right, and knows how to blend them. [8]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[junker-town]

The 5 most fireable NFL coaches this week

Giants head coach Pat Shurmur is on the hot seat after a loss to the Jets.

Jason Garrett joins the crowd — and we’ve got a new No. 1.

Week 10 of the 2019 season was a great one for underdogs — and a big lift for the hot seat coaches in dire need of wins.

The Jets dispatched the Giants to throw some ice on Adam Gase’s hot seat. The Browns messed around for three quarters but still found a way to beat the Bills. Mike Vrabel kept his team alive in the AFC playoff race with a comeback win over reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

That led to some changes in the fireable coach rankings. While victory was enough to keep Gase, Kitchens, and Falcons coach Dan Quinn from the top spot, it couldn’t spare them from the top five this week. And while other sideline generals like Anthony Lynn (Chargers), Doug Marrone (Jaguars), and Matt Patricia (Lions) merited debate about their futures, they’re all still relatively safe compared to their foundering peers.

Who made the list as the NFL barrels into the tail end of its season? Here are the league’s most fireable coaches after Week 10. Let’s start with a guy who probably won’t get the ax this winter (but, if we’re going by results, probably should).

5. Adam Gase, Jets

The good news: Gase’s Jets got a win. The better news: Gase appears to be getting a second year in New York no matter how badly he blows it in 2019.

At #NYJets: Owner Christopher Johnson told reporters today that Adam Gase will not be fired now or after season. Called Gase "good man, good coach." Likes dynamic w/Joe Douglas. Told team Wednesday that Gase is safe. Johnson said reaction from players was positive.

— Kimberly Jones (@KimJonesSports) November 13, 2019

The bad news: Gase’s second win in green and white came against the 2-8 Giants, and his team blew a 14-0 lead before making a comeback to claim superiority in the Battle of Who Couldn’t Care Less. His progress in New York all hinges on his ability to improve an offense that’s only ranked higher than 23rd in the NFL in points scored once since 2012. He got a season-high 34 points in Week 10, which is good! Only three of his touchdowns came from the offensive side of the ball, however, pushing that unit’s output to 11 in nine games this fall. That’s bad!

New York actually gained fewer yards in Sunday’s win (294) than it had in the previous week’s loss to the Dolphins. Six different quarterbacks (out of a possible 22) out-gained the Jets in Week 10, including Daniel Jones. There were positives from the game — New York failed to turn the ball over for the first time all year and an often toothless pass rush notched a season-high six sacks. Still, this team is far from fixed.

Gase has a little extra leeway since this is his first season with the Jets, and beating the Giants kept him from the top spot on this list. He’ll face Washington and Cincinnati in two of the next three weeks, however. A loss against either could make owner Christopher Johnson rethink his edict that his rookie head coach will see a year two.

4. Jason Garrett, Cowboys

Garrett makes his debut on this list as the only man currently leading a team with a winning record. While his Cowboys are 5-4 and would have a reserved spot in the playoffs if the season ended today, he’s failed to generate any significant progress over the last four years. His 2019 team looks every bit a paper tiger; only one of its five wins has come against a team with more than two victories.

Dallas’ flaws were on full display in a Sunday night clash against the Vikings — a team that’s been this season’s dividing line between contenders and pretenders. The defense allowed Kirk Cousins and Dalvin Cook to do just enough to keep Minnesota in front. Dak Prescott threw for 397 yards and three touchdowns, but was often overruled by coaching decisions that opted to establish a ground game that never found its rhythm:

On 1st down the #Cowboys: Passed 14 times for 108 yards (8.3 YPA). Ran 16 times for 39 yards (2.44 YPC).

— John Owning (@JohnOwning) November 11, 2019

Dallas continues to be haunted by the lingering feeling the team could have done more. Some bad playcalling and worse execution in the red zone meant two fourth-quarter drives stalled inside the Vikings’ 15-yard line, leading to three total points. Garrett refused to go for it on fourth-and-reasonable from both the Minnesota 40- and 39-yard lines. He gave up a massive chunk of yardage before a last-ditch drive in order to save a few seconds of game clock by telling Tavon Austin to fair catch an extremely returnable punt:

Jason Garrett explained what happened on the Tavon Austin fair catch against Minnesota. It's... hard to believe. (via @dallascowboys) https://t.co/1qos0U7Lad pic.twitter.com/dPKNA79zgp

— Blogging The Boys (@BloggingTheBoys) November 12, 2019

That continuing theme is what threatens to oust Garrett despite another year at the top of his division. The 10th-year head coach has one of the league’s most talented — and top-heavy — rosters. He’s got a blossoming young quarterback, an All-Pro tailback who remains one of the league’s most dangerous runners, and a defense led by players that range from high-priced veterans (DeMarcus Lawrence, Robert Quinn) to emerging young stars (Byron Jones, Leighton Vander Esch).

Despite all that, he’s one game over .500 and in danger of falling from the playoff race entirely if he can’t win the NFC East.

3. Freddie Kitchens, Browns

Kitchens threw a wrench into the gears of the Bills’ postseason machine with a potent defensive effort that kept Buffalo from completing a single pass in the red zone. Granted, Josh Allen’s budding crapulence played as much of a role in that as Cleveland did, but it was still an encouraging step forward for a team in desperate need of some momentum.

That said, this was still a rough performance for the Browns’ hamstrung offense. They ran 12 plays from within the Buffalo 5-yard line Sunday. Including penalties, those dozen snaps gained a net -7 yards and scored three points. Even if Kitchens wasn’t happy with the result, he’s going to stick to the line of thought that got him there.

“I thought those guys did a good job of overcoming that,” Kitchens told the press when asked about how frustrating the Bills’ litany of goal-line stops had been. “If we get down there again, I’m running it again ... I need to call better plays when we get down [to the goal line], but I’m telling you now we’re running the ball when we get down there.”

Kitchens’ problem isn’t just unimaginative playcalling. He’s also oscillated between wasting timeouts and burning yardage to save them. His freewheeling style has led to plot holes in his playbook. He shifts philosophies mid-game with no real rhyme or reason behind his choices. This is all a very Browns way to do things, and his 3-6 record bears that out.

Still, he got a win that could knock a potential playoff team out of the postseason. That buys him some time.

2. Dan Quinn, Falcons

The Falcons, at 2-7, are still screwed. BUT! They found a way to drag an arch-rival into the muck with them while potentially derailing the Saints’ bid for a postseason bye.

Atlanta was a two-touchdown underdog when it traveled to New Orleans, then strode out of Louisiana with a dominant 26-9 win. The Falcons held the NFC South leaders to just three conversions on 15 third- or fourth-down attempts, effectively stymying the Saints and giving fans back in Georgia a small taste of what could have been in a lost season.

Quinn still has time to rally the troops and give owner Arthur Blank a reason to keep him employed. Toppling New Orleans was a good start, but it’s likely he’s dug himself too deep a hole to climb out of after winning just one of his first eight games.

1. Pat Shurmur, Giants

Shurmur not only lost Sunday — he lost to another member of this list. New York couldn’t find the extra gear to put away Gase and a struggling Jets team. That may be the final ignominy in a Giants career filled with them. Shurmur’s team has now lost six straight games. Half of those defeats came against teams with losing records.

Team owner John Mara has remained tight-lipped on any upcoming organizational changes, but he may not have to say much to make his displeasure clear.

saw john mara very briefly after the game. mad doesn't even begin to describe the look on his face https://t.co/Y3yVGezh5o

— charles (ronald) mcdonald (@FourVerts) November 11, 2019

The Giants’ history suggests it will retain protocol and wait until the end of the season to install a new coach — the only midseason coach firing the franchise has done in the past three decades came in the middle of Ben McAdoo’s 2017 hatchet job. That means Shurmur’s got six games left to prove he can provide a tangible reason for optimism in New York.

His best bet is to continue to develop Daniel Jones. Jones was potent through the air in Week 10, becoming just the third player since 2000 to throw four touchdown passes in multiple games as a rookie. He was also a big negative in the pocket, as his three fumbles pushed his total to 10 in the last four games. I ranked them — they’re all bad!

That task is going to be even more difficult considering how banged up the Giants’ playmaking corps are. Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard are both working through maladies that have cost them multiple games this fall. Saquon Barkley’s nagging injuries limited him to the least efficient game of his career last week (13 carries, 1 rushing yard, and a handful of missed assignments on blitz pickups). It’s possible Shurmur’s future hangs on the efficacy of Golden Tate (good!), Darius Slayton (manageable?), and Wayne Gallman (oh boy) through the final two months of the season.