#a green flag while there’s still marshals or track??

[strugglingyetvibing]

the fia is really a joke today, huh?

[f1]

Verstappen heads Red Bull one-two as Hamilton crash ends final practice | 2023 Monaco Grand Prix third practice

Max Verstappen led Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez in final practice for the Monaco Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton crashed his Mercedes in the final minutes. The world champion was just under a tenth of a second quicker than Perez with Lance Stroll third for Aston Martin. Hamilton crashed into the barriers at Mirabeau in the final minutes, striking the barrier with his W14’s front-left wheel. With just a single hour of practice before the most crucial qualifying session of the season, the third and final practice session was teams’ final chase to tune their cars. Despite that, there was not a particular rush of cars out onto the circuit – save for the Aston Martin drivers of Stroll and Fernando Alonso heading out to scrub sets of medium tyres. Eventually the Red Bull of Perez and the Alpine pair of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly took to the track on soft tyres, with Perez completing the first timed lap of the day – a 1’15.641. Ocon briefly came to a halt in the middle of the tunnel, complaining of a loss of power on his car. He managed to get the car going again and recover to the pits without any need to stop the session. More cars began to trickle out onto the circuit, including the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jnr on soft tyres. Sainz was the quicker of the pair on their first flying laps, with Stroll and Valtteri Bottas splitting the two Ferraris. Perez improved to go under the 1’15 mark for the first time, before Lando Norris moved to the top of the times with a 1’14.905. Perez shaved six tenths off his personal best time to retake the top spot, but that was easily beaten by Verstappen who posted a 1’13.794 on his first flying lap of the day to go instantly to the top of the times. That was until Alonso replaced him with a lap almost a tenth of a second quicker than the Red Bull driver, but still comfortably slower than the ultimate pace from Friday. The two Red Bulls retook the top two positions with Verstappen lowering his time to a 1’13.583 – just four-thousandths of a second quicker than his team mate. Sainz moved to third with team mate Leclerc improving to fourth, despite the hometown driver complaining of having “no control” over his car. Around half an hour into the session, teams began to bring their cars back into the garages to prepare for their qualifying simulation runs towards the end of the hour. Eventually the track became busy once more with around 15 minutes remaining. Despite heading out on fresh soft tyres, most of those at the top of the times struggled to find any time improvement. Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free Further flying laps were ruined when Kevin Magnussen went off into the run off at Sainte Devote, bringing out the yellow flags. Despite recovering out of the run off, Magnussen eventually stopped his Haas on track on the approach to Portier, bringing out a Virtual Safety Car as the marshals removed his stricken car. The green flags flew once the car was cleared, but with only five minutes remaining Hamilton locked up on the way into Mirabeau while passing Alexander Albon’s Williams, and crashed into the outside barrier. The session was red-flagged with Hamilton’s Mercedes stranded on the circuit and with only a handful of minutes remaining, the session was not resumed. That ensured Verstappen would end practice fastest for the second consecutive session with team mate Perez less than a tenth behind. Stroll was third for Aston Martin ahead of Sainz, Norris and Gasly. Leclerc was seventh in the second Ferrari with Hamilton eighth despite crashing. Ocon and Bottas completed the top ten. 2023 Monaco Grand Prix third practice result Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free 2023 Monaco Grand Prix Browse all 2023 Monaco Grand Prix articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/

[myimaginarywonderland]

They just green flagged while Marshals were still on track, are they absolutely mental?

[pcttrailsidereader]

Oregon Again Welcomes PCT Thru-hikers

Janet Eastman, who lives in the Ashland area, periodically writes a piece about the PCT. Again this year she has documented the annual migration of PCT hikers through Oregon. This is an excerpt of her story that appeared in the August 21st issue of The Oregonian.

To me, the key comment included in this article is that of the PCTA's Scott Wilkinson who observed that, "uninterrupted end-to-end hikes may continue to be more difficult.” Although there will still be plenty who attempt the uninterrupted thru-hike, more and more hikers may be forced to consider section hiking the PCT.

By Janet Eastman

Ashland’s stars of summer arrive slowly, on sturdy legs hefting carefully stuffed backpacks, and introducing themselves by their trail names like Butters and Giggles.

By the time northbound Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikers cross into Oregon, they have forged 1,720 miles from the bottom of California, through deserts, over mountains and out of unexpected situations, despite years of planning.

The majority of hikers who depart from the trail’s southern terminus, near Campo, California, and move through steep, snowy, soggy, windy and hot conditions at about 25 miles a day, show up in Ashland in August.

This year, many of these hikers were stopped in their tracks by the 55,500-acre McKinney fire in California’s northern Siskiyou County.

On July 30, around 60 hikers in the Red Buttes Wilderness were taken to safety by Oregon’s Jackson County sheriff search and rescue team and bus drivers with the Rogue Valley Transportation District while others gathered 100 miles south in tiny Etna, where they camped in the Johnson-Joss Park and pondered their future.

Their goal of entering the green tunnel of Oregon on foot was over.

Many were shuttled 66 miles on I-5 from Etna to Ashland in buses or by police driving vans, or in the back of cars driven by volunteers.

The endurance hikers, who are miserly with their few days off the trail — called “zero days” — were greeted by smoke and ash, red flag fire risk conditions and lightning, and frantic innkeepers at booked hostels and budget motels.

Thru-hikers Craig Marshall of upstate New York (trail name Butters) and Nadine Osterloh (trail name Giggles) of Bonn, Germany, said they had a mix of emotions.

They were grateful to be safe at the shelter, but they felt guilty taking one of the beds.

And like other long-distance hikers on a schedule to weave through the West Coast when the weather is in their favor were eager to get going.

“We are used to hiking and walking, and now we’re on hold,” said Osterloh.

Where to go?

On Aug. 2, the pack was ready to move again. But in which direction?

Dave (“Floppy”) Kim of Philadelphia started at Campo, steps north of the Mexican border, on May 4 and about 13 weeks later he was in Ashland, which is between exits 11 and 19 off of I-5. Here, he heard options from other thru-hikers.

Return to the trail, either near Callahan’s Mountain Lodge at exit 6 or head east on Oregon Highway 66 for 20 miles to the Pacific Crest-Green Springs Mountain Connector Trail, or about 35 miles northeast to Fish Lake in the Cascade Range to connect to OR-140 north to Crater Lake.

A trail north of Crater Lake is closed for roughly 60 miles due to the Windigo Pass and Tolo Mountain fires, and there was another closure near Mount Jefferson, which burned in the 2020 Lionshead fire.

The closures mean “this season’s thru-hikers will definitely get mixed up and even more spread out along the trail,” said Scott Wilkinson of the Pacific Crest Trail Association.

“Given climate change-driven drought, wildfires and other extreme weather events over the past few years, this could be characterized as the new normal and not unusual,” he added.

Trail closures are also caused by flooding and erosion, and used for habitat protection of endangered species, Wilkinson said.

Uninterrupted end-to-end hikes “may continue to be more difficult,” Wilkinson said, but “the PCT is still a spectacular wild and scenic experience” for day outings, weekend trips and multi-day section trips.

Some thru-hikers in Ashland are throwing up their hands over the road blocks, and heading north on the Oregon Coast Trail. Or they are taking a Greyhound bus to Portland to cross the Columbia River on the Bridge of the Gods and continue on the PCT to the Canadian border.

“This will affect us,” said Candy Boerwinkle of the Ashland Commons hostel on Tuesday. For days, she said her phone was ringing off the hook, with calls from stranded hikers.

Her hostel is typically booked all of July and August, and she didn’t know how she could accommodate everyone.

Then she started receiving cancellations from hikers who decided to skip Oregon.

“There are 27 people checking out today, and only four are checking in,” she said.

The iconic Callahan’s Lodge, in the shadow of Mount Ashland and a short walk from the Pacific Crest Trail, is forwarding some thru-hikers’ mailed care packages to their new destination, said employee Forrest Eldred.

“We’re sending the care packages to towns near Crater Lake or to Bend, or returning them to the sender,” said Eldred on Tuesday. “Some hikers hope to circle back here.”

Callahan’s is still offering lodging, all-you-can eat pancake and egg breakfasts and spaghetti dinners, as well as $16-a-night camping; $25 for backpackers who want to shower and use the laundry.

“Floppy” Kim hopes to come back, to hike the 170-mile gap from Shasta to Ashland.

On Tuesday afternoon, he and Johannes (“Coach”) Popp of Frankfurt, Germany, returned to hiking at the Pacific Crest-Green Springs Mountain Connector Trail, elevation 4,940 feet.

“This hike is 90% mental and 10% physical,” said Kim, who averages 22 miles a day and has worn out two pairs of boots.

More than boots needed

Hiking 2,663 miles on narrow dirt trails from California to Canada takes more than stamina. Success relies on strategizing and adapting when reality dashes best laid plans, said Lauren (“Grandpa”) Schuster, 24, of Atlanta.

She made it from Campo to Etna before forest infernos instantly upended her goal to complete the entire Pacific Crest Trail on foot.

On Sunday, Schuster rode into Ashland and confessed she has been “obsessed” with the PCT even before she read Portland author Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling memoir, “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.”

Schuster’s months-long trek was made possible by another dashed dream. She was unable to travel in the Peace Corps after she graduated from college in 2020 because of COVID-19. Hiking the PCT became her Plan B.

Two zero days in Ashland had Schuster and a dozen of her closest trail friends pacing around the city and their Airbnb rental, and considering their rerouting options.

Their decision: to reach Crater Lake in four days, then hitch past the Windigo Pass and Tolo Mountain fires closure and keep going north.

“It’s up in the air” how the group will eventually reach Washington state, Schuster said. Then she paused and added the traditional PCT mantra: “The trail provides.”

On Tuesday morning, she and Steve (“Funfact”) Jacobs of Salt Lake City, waited for the rest of their trail family, who started on this journey as strangers on April 5.

Jacobs will celebrate his 35th birthday on the trail Thursday and the tradition for this group is to receive a pastry with a candle, a golden paper crown and a Happy Birthday card drawn by Schuster.

The trail is about give and take, said Jacobs, who contributes “fun facts” to conversation such as mayonnaise can’t emulsify in a lightning storm.

PCT hikers’ star appeal

By the time northbound PCT hikers reach Oregon, they have faced daunting challenges and have succeeded, said John Kerr, who is one of the leaders of day hikes organized by the all-volunteer Ashland Hiking Group.

“PCT hikers know by now they will complete the journey of a lifetime,” he continued. “They are full of smiles despite what lies ahead of them, another 900 miles. And they are universally friendly, even when we break their stride as they step aside.”

PCT thru-hikers are mostly in their 20s and 30s.

“What I love most is seeing people, especially the young, who have gained the confidence in themselves to succeed in whatever else they may dream of doing,” said Kerr, who lives outside of Ashland. “They have no fear of what lies ahead. Last week we met a hiker who had done the journey wearing a prosthesis. Now that was inspiring.”

To Ashland residents, thru-hikers represent hard-earned athleticism, a deep appreciation of nature and the value of taking time off.

People often give thru-hikers a place to stay and rides to the trailhead, and even offer to pick up the tab for a meal or beer.

“They treat us like we’re heroes,” said “Coach” Popp. “But we’re just hikers.”

[race-week]

F1 Explained: Yellow Flags vs VSC vs Safety Car

In preparation for Baku where we are extremely likely to see at least one of these over the course of the weekend I thought I’d just run through what each of these terms mean, who they benefit and who they are a detriment to.

Yellow Flags

Single stationary yellow flag means overtaking prohibited due to danger near the track.

Single waved yellow flag means overtaking prohibited due to danger on the track.

Double waved yellow flag means overtaking prohibited due to blocked track.

At both flags, a speed reduction is required as well.

If a single waved yellow flag occurs in qualifying the driver passing the incident has to lift off the accelerator (it will show on the telemetry data)

If a double waved yellow occurs the qualifying lap has to be abandoned.

If the driver doesn’t follow the correct procedure to the flags then they will get penalised.

Virtual Safety Car (VSC)

VSCs or Virtual Safety Cars are still a relatively new concept, they were introduced for the 2015 season.

With the virtual safety car the FIA will dictate what the minimum lap time is for that circuit and the drivers will have to stay above it, they will have the time delta on their dash making sure that they are slower than the minimum time for all the subsectors. This minimum speed is usually 35-40% slower than a normal race lap)

VSC is used for minor incidents, where no car is on track, it will normally be used when double waved yellow flags are needed on any section of track when competitors or officials may be in danger, but the circumstances are not bad enough as to warrant use of the safety car itself. Typically a VSC allows marshall’s onto the track to pick up debris.

During a VSC no car may be driven unnecessarily slowly, erratically or in a manner which could be deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers or any other person at any time whilst the VSC procedure is in use. This will apply whether any such car is being driven on the track, the pit entry or the pit lane.

The VSC does not bunch the pack up unlike the full safety car but despite its intention of neutralising the race, there is obviously still a benefit of pitting under the VSC however it is always risky trying to do this as a VSC period is often considerably shorter than a full safety car period. As such there isn’t explicit winners and losers from a VSC unless a team times it perfectly.

Safety Car

The Safety Car is put out on track when an incident blocks the track or leaves a lot of debris. The drivers will stay behind the SC until the marshals have cleared up. Usually if there is any machinery out on track (to recover a car) this will bring out a safety car.

As the cars bunch up behind the safety car, it closes up any gaps that have been built and gives a better chance for an overtake once the lights go green. There is also a massive benefit for the driver if they pit under a safety car as the driver loses less time and then will have fresh tyres for the restart. In this case usually the leader is disadvantaged by the safety car, but it is also dependant on where the cars are on track when the safety car comes out. This is because the safety car comes from the pits and then has to catch the front running car and on a particularly long track like Spa or Baku it could take a while for this to happen and allows the rest of the grid to dive into the pits and get a free stop.

[haddonfieldproject]

<<PREVIOUS⏺<<CONTENTS>>

1.2.3 HALLOWEEN NIGHT/NOVEMBER 1st 2:10 AM

Haddonfield, Illinois

As the Tate family continued eastward through Missouri in the rain, Officer J.T. Swain pulled his police cruiser into the parking lot of the Warren County Sherrif's Office. Swain jerked the hood of his rain slicker up, took a long and shaking breath, and braced himself for the deluge from above as he gripped his door handle. He quickly exited, shutting the door with his hip, and sprinted toward the doors, kicking up large splashes as he sloshed through the puddles in the parking lot---a parking lot that had been empty a few hours before when Samantha Nguyen had entered it.

It was now full.

His fellow officer, and friend, Greg Mullenix, met him at the front entrance, and held the door open for him as he stepped inside. “Where the hell have you been man?”

Swain threw his hood back, “I had to escort the Tramer's from the police station to the park.”

Mullenix winced as he opened the glass door on the inside annex.

“It was horrible,” Swain continued, “that boy's mom kept crying and crying, and I had to hold an umbrella over her while they ID'd their son.”

Mullenix put a hand on his friend's back. “I'm sorry man.

“What did I miss?” Swain asked as they headed through the lobby, passed the plastic chairs, and to the right of the front counter with it's frosted glass window...still shut. They could hear Officer Williams and another voice, a female voice, talking away from behind the glass. The phone still rang incessantly.

“It's a shit show.” Mullenix replied, pulling his wallet out of his pocket and tapping it to the little white square beside the large metal door that read: AUTHORIZED PERSONELL ONLY. His little plastic keycard inside reacted to the pad and a light at the top of the square went from red to green. He jerked the door open.

A cacophany of voices hit them immediately. The first door on the left gave way to a large conference room. The overlapping conversations were emanating from there. Six or seven Officers sat about the large mahogany table and about the same number stood in various places around the room. As Officer Mullenix and Officer Swain entered the doorway, they were bumped from behind by two other men. Deputy Sheriff Ben Meeker had exited his office from across the hall and pushed through the crowd. He was holding a manilla file folder in his hand. Another man, with a receding hairline and smart black and white business attire, followed him.

“Feds?” J.T. Mouthed to Mullenix as they moved to get out of the way of the two men.

Greg shrugged.

“Alright everyone!” Meeker rose his voice to a level that could be heard over the other conversation. “Everyone shut up!”

The conversations ceased.

“So as you know, Sheriff Brackett is of course in the hospital with his daughter so all operations has been handed over to me.”

He looked around the room, took a deep breath and then said, “Look---I know tonight has been,” he stopped for a moment, looking down at the desk, trying to fight the urge to get emotional. “Well,” he continued, “let's just say it, tonight's been really shitty. I know and you know we're stretched to the breaking point right now as it is, but US Marshals have something else we need to pay attention to, so this is Deputy McGrath out of the Springfield outfit, I need you to give him your full attention.”

The room was dead quiet, save for a solitary cough from the back corner of the room. Meeker switched places with the man who had come in with him. He cleared his throat and when he spoke, a sharp New England accent came through,

“Hello,” he said, pausing for a moment, thinking about what to say. “Deputy Meeker here has been telling me about the clusterfuck of a night you guys have had,” he looked around the room at the tired faces of the officers, “and I want you to know that the last thing I want to do is add to the little shitstorm you guys got going on in this little town tonight, but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to.”

Meeker handed the file folder to the officer next to him, a fat, snow white young looking kid with pink cheeks and frosty blonde curls all over his head. The kid's name was Kip Kinnerly, but all the other guys called him “Doughboy.”

“Kip, look at this and then pass it.”

“Yes sir.” Doughboy replied curtly as he took the folder.

Meeker raised his voice. “I want everyone to take a good look at this!”

The man in the suit cleared his throat again. “As he told you, I am Deputy Mark McGrath from US Marshals, and as most of you have no doubt already heard, we have been hunting two extremely dangerous persons and we believe they may have just arrived in your back yard, that is, in the general area of Warren County.”

“Are you fucking serious?” An Officer who stood in the corner of the room spat. “Are you talking about those two shits from Mississippi?”

“Let's watch the language Spaulding.” Meeker snapped.

“It's alright Sherrif Meeker,” McGrath smiled. “Two little shits are exactly what they are. Their names are Lloyd and Lee Chumway of Biloxi Mississippi. And we are requesting---hell we are begging—for your assistance so we can nab these sonsabitches and at least give y'all a silver lining to this terrible night.”

“Oh fuck.” Officer Malcom Donald breathed as he looked into the file folder. “I thought I'd seen enough of this kind of shit tonight.”

The photograph of the Chumway brothers had reached Mullenix and Swain. They had already seen their faces on the television the days before. Hell, all of America had.

“Someone snap pics of that with their cellphone and text it out to everyone. I want everyone to have those two faces burned in their brains.” Meeker said.

“I got you boss.” Swain replied. He passed the picture back to Mullenix and began to dig in his pocket for his cellphone. “Here, hold this.”

“Who is this chick?” Spaulding asked, taking another pic from Doughboy and handing it to Officer Emrah Lagenbruner next to him who had just squeezed himself into the circle that was forming around the conference room. .

“Whoa,” The young African American officer said upon seeing the picture, “Gonna be a closed casket for sure.”

McGrath pointed to the photograph in his hand.

“Her name was Marina Madden, Lee Chumway's brother...he's the younger of the two. On Thursday afternoon, around 13:30 Central Time, these two upstanding citizens apparently brutally raped this woman, and then pummeled her with a bedside lamp.”

Mullenix took the picture from Lagenbrunner. The aforementioned Marina Madden was sprawled out on burgundy carpet, near the foot of a bed-frame, her lifeless eyes gazing upward at a ceiling that was out of view of the camera. Blood was congealed on the side of her head, a broken bedside lamp lay beside her, a dark spot in the carpet spread out from beside her head. The darkened puddle was flecked with bits of brain matter.

Mullenix passed the picture to Swain.

“Who's this?” Spaulding asked, holding up another picture before passing it to Lagenbruner. “Whoa, hello sexy!” Lagenbruner quipped again upon seeing the picture and passing it to Mullenix. It was a circa 1977 Olan Mills portrait of a woman, wearing a bright floral print dress, cat-eye tinted glasses and a large brown bee-hive hairdo in front of a tacky painted background with a sunset, trees, and ducks. Two young boys in white suits and red ties sat on her knee.

McGrath answered, “That is the mother of these two fine citizens. Melba Jean Chumway. Aparently they grew bored of Miss Madden and decided to drive over to their mommy's house. They beat her to death with a hammer.”

Lagenbruner whistled as he saw the next photo. “Good night,” he breathed as he passed it to his left.

Mullenix's stomach tightened as he saw it. Even though she was face down on a linoleum floor, you could tell it was the same woman. Her dress was different, but an equally as offensive floral print. Her bee-hive was gray now, and a different, more modern pair of glasses lay broken beside her. The side of her head was split open, and old darkened blood was pooled on the tile beside her. Large shoe tracks were printed in blood all around her as well. A blood soaked hammer lay just beyond her elbow.

For not the first time tonight, Mullenix was feeling nauseated. As the wave of sickness washed over him and through him, he closed his eyes, gulped and opened them again to receive another photo. The time, a pretty but a little chunky woman in a Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt and camouflage pants was sitting atop a tractor. A field of snowy white cotton gleamed in the background. An older gentleman stood beside the tractor with a cigarette handing out of his mouth and a battered confederate battle-flag hat laying crooked on his head. He wore a simple blue shirt with the words TRUMP in bold white letters, along with the tag-line in red below it: Make America Great Again.

“I'm guessing this one is their engagement photo?” Swain tried to quip as he took the picture from Mullenix. It came out hollow as his voice cracked.

McGrath guestered to him. “They then left for Lloyd's apartment where Lloyd's unfortunate girlfriend Kelly Willis-Ross was living. They nearly decapitated her with a kitchen knife.”

Another grizzly crime photo was passed over. Poor Miss Willis-Ross lay in a bathtub, soaked red. Her head lay disjointed on her shoulders, her chin impossibly almost touching her right breast. Swain felt another surge in his stomach. He tried to focus on something in the picture so that he would appear to be looking at the slide, but not really looking at the carnage itself. His eyes fixed on a blue bottle which sat on the side of the tub next to the unfortunate carcass of Lloyd's now ex-girlfriend. HERBAL ESSENCES CONDITIONER. BLUE RASPBERRY.

“Jesus Christ,” Mullenix breathed.

Swain shot him a glance. His friend and partner's face was caught in a grimace.

“I know,” Swain whispered, “good luck sleeping tonight.”

“I don't think I'm ever going to sleep again,” Mullenix mumbled.

McGrath continued, as more horrific scenes of gore was paraded down the line.

“They then drove to their place of employment: a Papagayos Mexican Restaurant. These two star employees were on the clock for only 53 minutes before they murdered their boss and everyone in the store with kitchen knives. They have been on the run every since.”

“How do we know they're coming here?” Meeker asked, taking a seat on the edge of the conference table.

McGrath answered, “On Thursday night around 20:00, 911 operators at a Southern Star Gas Station near Oxford Mississippi were alerted to a robbery and homicide, and closed circuit cameras in the store captured the Chumway brothers. Two of the men they beat to death inside the store were concealed carry operators who were overwhelmed before they were able to withdraw their weapons. The Chumways stole the weapons and are now considered armed and dangerous....well...more dangerous.”

A few more cops trickled into the conference room from outside, looking pale and cold, shaking off the rain. McGrath paused as they took their place around the room, then continued, “Early Friday morning, around 02:30 we got a bead on to what direction they were heading in when 911 dispatch got word of a robbery at a Dixie Donuts outside Memphis Tennessee. Again surveillance at the location confirmed that the Chumway brothers were perpetrators of the crime. They were tracked to a strip club in the area and then to a motel, but apparently just missed the grasp of Memphis police. Their pursuit was also put off by trick or treating traffic, something I heard you guys had trouble with as well as you were tracking your own psychopath through the town.”

A few of the cops nodded and murmuring in agreement. Agent McGrath paused , rubbing his chin, his eyes clouded over, as if he were lost in his thoughts. After a moment he said, “We have every reason to assume they continued north, and would be entering this vicinity very soon if they continued at their assumed rate of speed. Unfortunately we have no idea what they could be driving now, they keep switching vehicles, but we just need you boys to keep an eye out.”

There was another cough and a few moments of heavy silence. Then Doughboy snapped to attention, his blue eyes wet, and barked: “Sir yes sir.”

The others officers followed suit, but all were less exuberant and most were merely mumbling. Deputy-Sheriff Meeker sat up from the edge of the table and approached Agent McGrath, and placing a hand on the shorter man's shoulder. McGrath gave a half smile, shooting a glance to Meeker and then back to the assembled officers. “Well okay then, we know what to look for, and we'll do our best to nab these sonsabitches.” Meeker extended his hand and McGrath took it.

Officer Mullenix yawned. Officer Ted Mitchum came in to the room with a large WANTED poster of the Chumway brothers. He lifted a stapler and stapled it to the wall next to the whiteboard at the far end of the conference room. Mullenix fixated on their face.

They look so normal, he thought, like just two simple men....two...really normal simple men.

NEXT>>

[to-dare-is-to-do]

GREEN FLAG?? while marshalls are STILL ON THE TRACK?!?!

[juniorformulamotorsport]

Friday, May 10th – Day 7, Pau

And so finally we were ready for the start of what may very well be the last Grand Prix in Pau, at least in its current format. I’m sure the organisers will find something to replace the Formula Three category, but it really won’t be the same. And for that I don’t think I’ll ever forgive the FIA. For now though, we would be treated one more time to the sight of those who may be the future stars of Formula One thrashing round the narrow twisting streets of the lovely town. It’s sad to think that this may not happen again, and I was in a somewhat melancholy mood for quite a lot of the weekend as a result. It’s particularly vexing given that I think Pau, which is very much the thinking persons Monte Carlo, is one of the sternest challenges these youngsters can face, and it’s good for them to race there for all sorts of reasons! For anyone who is interested, I wrote about some of those reasons three years ago here.

Anyway, putting that behind us, we set out for the day with a stop on the fabulous Boulevard des Pyrenees, the eponymous mountains looking incredibly crisp on a fine, sunny Friday morning. I’m sure I’ve never seen them quite so sharply defined before. We have known people come to Pau and never see them at all, so we were delighted with the views.

After a short while looking down at the cars on the road below (the avenue Leon Say), which runs almost parallel to the promontory of the Boulevard, we moved into the Parc Beaumont, slightly reluctantly on my part as I do rather enjoy taking pictures from up there.

It’s not the sort of view you can often get, and apart from one unfortunate year when someone took the decision to barricade the area off, it’s a great place to watch from – and as it’s outside the circuit it’s also free. The Tour de France related names on the road also add to the fun.

From there we made our way, as we have always been wont to do, to Pont Oscar which is one of the other places around the track that still lends itself to photography when you no longer have a press pass.

There’s an element of scrambling involved, and it’s quite stressful on the ankles, but it’s worth it because you can get shots like this if you don’t mind hanging onto the fence and trying to balance on whatever you can find to stabilise yourself.

It’s actually now one of the two best places to take photos, but it doesn’t tell the whole story, and you need to move round to see who is performing well and who isn’t, who has the courage to attack the place and who doesn’t. We walked past the Palais Beaumont, where the casino is sited and where there is a very pleasant brasserie (and perhaps more importantly indoor toilets, rather than the portaloos that dot the park for this event and that are fine early on in the weekend but that can get very unpleasant as they start to bake in the sun). Here photography is rather more difficult, especially now there are two layers of fencing between you and the track, though it can be done with the right kit.

From here we headed towards Foch and the monument, which these days is where if it’s going to go wrong, it goes badly wrong. It used to be Pont Oscar that bit first, but then the road there was resurfaced and most of the bumps that could so unsettle a racing car were smoothed out. There are still the odd snares for the unwary, but these days it’s the kerbs round the monument that bite.

Sadly there is so much fencing that getting a decent photo as a member of the public is close to impossible. I understand why the fencing is there, but as with so many circuits I wish there was an alternative. The only places I’ve found of late where it’s possible to take good photos pretty much anywhere are Goodwood and Ahvenisto.

Anyway, after the red flag that finished the first session of the morning, we stopped for coffee in the park at one of the many stands that spring up for the event. It’s probably the only race circuit I know where you can get a coffee for €1 so it’s unique in that respect. Actually for an extra €1 you could get a returnable “eco-cup” which made a nice souvenir if you “forgot” to return it (we have a set of 4 now). For the second session we walked round the back of the stands and further into the park where again there is an area that enables you to get some very good shots.

Well, you can if someone who is not a marshal, and who therefore probably shouldn’t be trackside on a live track, isn’t standing on the inside merrily texting her friends for a large part of the session…

Luckily she’d gone by the time this happened:

From there we scrambled down the mini-amphiteathre in the parc and headed towards a corner that may or may not be called Buisson, where again with a bit of manouevring and some decent quality kit on which you can turn the autofocus off, you stand a chance of some reasonable shots coming your way.

There’s a nasty little chicane that tends to focus their minds there.

Towards the end of the session we headed back to the Foch grandstand because it had a handily placed screen where we could see the times at the end, and I caught up with a couple of old friends who were busy watching their drivers intently.

The photography is still rubbish though, even if you can see the whites of their eyes!

Once they’d finished, we decided that we would head for lunch at the Hotel Parc Beaumont, a habit we seem to have got into over the years. Their terrace sort of overlooks the track, or at least it would if they’d just trim the hedge back, and it’s lovely out there on a sunny day with a bunch of tin-tops whizzing past.  One of the local ducks seemed to think so too, as it waddled up the terrace and started pecking at the restaurant door. Given that Pau is the land of duck cookery par excellence, this seemed somewhat risky to us!

We settled down in the sun, and the waiter, Fabrice, brought us the menus, the wine list, and a small amuse bouches of rilletes with some lovely toasted baguette slices.

We had a think, and decided that the dish of the day would be good. This turned out to be a very nicely cooked and present piece of stone bass, so no surprises there; both R and I were perfectly content with it, and especially with lovely frothy sauce that soaked into the mashed potatoes so well.

Lynne went for the crab meat salad and green asparagus, which was also pretty impressive, though it has shrunk slightly from the portions of former years.

I was much amused to note that the wine glasses were made in Lausitz, which is another stalwart of the racing world. Stolzle seem to have been around quite a lot longer than motor racing though.

We had considered not having dessert but the offer of a “fraisette” proved irresistible. It looked pretty irresistible too!

After that we had a coffee and then roamed around the park a bit more, heading back towards Buisson again, but stopping off before the amphiteathre again, where the Twin Cup proved more than a little entertaining.

They’re really not suited for a circuit like this, but you try telling the lunatics behind the wheels.

After that we headed towards the paddock to see who we could find, and encountered a variety of people we know, and quite a few we’d almost forgotten, or at least hadn’t seen for a couple of decades. It was a pleasure to see Juan Pablo Montoya again, as I think the last time we’d seen him, he’d been winning at this very same track.

We also found Ferdinand Zvonimir Maria Balthus Keith Michael Otto Antal Bahnam Leonhard von Habsburg, Archduke of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia or as he’s more commonly known – no, not Keith! – just Ferdinand Habsburg. He’s a lot of fun as well as being a much improved driver over the last couple of years.

Once they were all ready to go out for qualifying we headed for the inside of Gare, where the photography was even worse.

And unlike in previous years, we were ready early for dinner so we headed to a bar we know, Au Grain du Raisin, where we offed a couple of glasses of Jurançon molleux, before heading off to dinner down on Rue du Hedas.

This road used to be a grubby, unremarkable part of town, but work by the local government has revitalised the area, and now there are two large playgrounds, a wide car-free road, several restaurants, areas of greenery, and light displays at night. It’s really lovely. As is the restaurant, la Table d’Hote.

Outside it looks as if it’s set in the town wall, but inside is modern, light, airy, with a playful sense of fun in the decor, and serious intent in the cooking.

They were also very patient with the seven of us, and more than able to meet E’s requirement for something interesting but non-alcoholic to drink with her dinner. They scored well on both counts. After we’d all figured out what we wanted, they brought some tiny amuse bouches, with smoked salmon and a creamy cheesy base.

There was some superb bread too, but we all tried to lay off it as much as possible. I started with a lovely (but badly photographed) fricasee of green asparagus, with poached egg and bellota – or if you prefer pata negra – ham from just across the border in Spain. The egg ran into it and brought everything together. These were classic flavours done perfectly.

Lynne’s starter was ricotta and lemon ravioli with a citrus sauce and she said it was refreshing and creamy but wouldn’t let me have any!

The other starters were popular too, and included a tartare of gilthead bream, with crushed avocado, and a piquillo pepper sauce:

There wass also pan-fried escalope of duck foie gras, with apricots marinated in Jurançon:

And a confit of duck foie gras with red wine and spices:

For mains I opted for the crunchy prawns, with creamy risotto and piquillo peppers, because as anyone who knows me will know, I am still on an obsessive hunt for the world’s best risotto. This one got pretty close.

I did share this with Lynne, because I also wanted to try the excellent crispy fried veal sweetbreads, with green asparagus. I love sweetbreads but you see them so rarely in the UK. These were very good indeed.

R went for the pork, a pan-fried pluma (loin end) of French pork, with a reduced rosemary jus and pronounced it tasty. It too was accompanied by piquillos, a common ingredient in these parts.

I couldn’t manage a dessert. Instead I opted to share a portion of Ossau-Iraty cheese, which was very simply served with a portion of black cherry jam. I would get through a lot of this cheese, one of my favourites, during the next few days.

R had a Paris-Brest with single cream and chocolate sauce which looked good, but there was no way…

After that we paid the bill, enjoyed the lights, and wandered back to our apartment where we struggled to sleep because of the racket from the Place Gourmand food festival that had been set up in the Place Georges Clemenceau. It was only by shutting the shutters completely that we were able to get a modicum of silence.

Travel/Food 2018 – French Road Trip, Day 7, Pau Friday, May 10th – Day 7, Pau And so finally we were ready for the start of what may very well be the last Grand Prix in Pau, at least in its current format.

[junker-town]

5 winners from the final week of the NFL season

Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

In the final week of the regular season, Jaire Alexander’s meaningful penalties and rushing god Ryan Fitzpatrick: both great.

The 2019 NFL regular season is officially over. This means the march to Super Bowl 54 has officially begun. It also means, mercifully, there will be no more Bengals, Jets, or Washington games to muddy our national broadcasts.

In honor of their selfless decision to leave January to the good teams, the NFL’s contenders spent much of Week 17 playing like losers. The Patriots, needing a win to clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs, collapsed in upon themselves against the Dolphins. The Chiefs, in place to leapfrog New England, traded the lead with the Chargers before finally putting away their division rival and securing the conference’s second seed.

The Packers, firmly in the race for the NFC’s top seed, got roasted early by a David Blough receiving touchdown — especially notable because Blough isn’t a receiver (and is, barely, a quarterback). They needed a furious comeback and a game-winning field goal from Mason Crosby as time expired just to escape with a win. The 49ers and Seahawks went down to the wire, and a literal inch of field, to complete the NFC postseason picture.

In the middle of that chaos, the Titans and Eagles claimed the league’s final playoff spots in what turned out to be comfortable wins. And while they may have gained the most from Sunday’s action, they weren’t necessarily Week 17’s biggest winners. Instead, those honors go to ...

It wasn’t: the Browns, who finished 2019 with their worst loss yet

Cleveland didn’t have much to play for in Week 17. The playoffs, once a shining beacon of hope in the preseason, were officially out of reach. All that was left for the Browns was pride and a potential resume-building point in favor of embattled first-year head coach Freddie Kitchens.

This was not nearly enough to carry the team to victory over the previously one-win Bengals. Cleveland squandered an early 7-0 lead and gave up 162 rushing yards to Joe Mixon en route to a 33-23 loss.

Baker Mayfield, who ended 2018 as one of the league’s hottest quarterbacks, finished his season with 21 interceptions and would have led the NFL in picks if not for the continued existence of Jameis Winston. Kitchens lasted exactly 16 games as a head coach before getting fired.

Conversely, Andy Dalton went from getting benched on his birthday to staking the Bengals’ claim as Ohio state champions in what will likely be his final appearance in tiger stripes. An often toothless pass rush got to Mayfield for six sacks. Mixon also deserves credit, not just for a career-best performance, but for innovating this “accidentally assault a ref” postgame celebration.

@Joe_MainMixon bowling down the ref for the W @EvilAndyDalton @CincyProblems pic.twitter.com/X6Uz67nJxS

— chase. (@ChaseLaub1) December 29, 2019

and now, on to ...

Week 17’s actual winners

5. The Bears, who might as well give this rugby thing a shot

Chicago and Minnesota — the latter locked into the NFC’s sixth seed and thus starting a handful of backups — put together a stirring throwback to 1920 with their meaningless Week 17 showdown. The first 30 minutes of play saw the Bears take a 11-6 lead into halftime despite neither team scoring a touchdown.

The Bears broke that streak in the third quarter, but they kept up the “dawn of football” cosplay in the process. David Montgomery scored his team’s only touchdown in a play that wouldn’t have been out of place in the New Zealand All Blacks’ highlight reel.

smh pic.twitter.com/L5TvTzKPp8

— Arif Hasan, nondenominational holiday supporter ⛄ (@ArifHasanNFL) December 29, 2019

Chicago held off a Kirk Cousins-less Vikings team 21-19 to even its record at 8-8 on the season. Mitchell Trubisky, in a performance endemic of his disappointing third year as a pro, needed 37 passes to throw for 207 yards without finding the end zone once.

4. Jaire Alexander, whose mistakes somehow sparked a Packers comeback

Danny Amendola has always been one of the league’s more underrated pot-stirrers. The journeyman wideout is a chippy presence on the field. A first-quarter touchdown throw to quarterback David Blough only increased his volume.

Amendola’s flexing was nearing all-time non-Patriot highs in Week 17 ... until Alexander sent him to Suplex City.

yes, it was a penalty. but i still admire the form on the Jaire Alexander belly-to-back suplex pic.twitter.com/xp5QCG7lkk

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) December 29, 2019

That suplex drew a flag and gifted the Lions seven yards, but Alexander earned every one of those yards with his perfect form. While Detroit would go on to score a touchdown at the end of the drive, Amendola wouldn’t have another catch for the rest of the game. The next time he’d have his name called on the broadcast would be after getting flagged for a late hit on another Packers defensive back he’d been jawing with — this time, safety Kevin King.

This, somehow, wasn’t the only penalty on Alexander that seemed to have a net benefit for the Packers. Alexander was shadowing Chris Lacy in man coverage without any safety help when he tripped while tracking down a Blough deep ball. Rather than let Lacy get away for what would have certainly been a breakaway touchdown, the second-year corner grabbed the Lions wideout and intentionally drew a pass interference penalty.

Jaire Alexander with the "welp, i'm screwed" PI here. saved a touchdown, too pic.twitter.com/CvqcS0HD6l

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) December 29, 2019

Detroit’s drive would stall out soon after, ending with a 56-yard Matt Prater field goal instead of a touchdown.

Those points were crucial for Green Bay. Aaron Rodgers, on a day when he struggled to connect with his wideouts downfield, found his rhythm in time to lead the Packers back from a 17-3 deficit with 19 minutes to play. Mason Crosby’s 33-yard field goal as time expired sealed a 23-20 win for the visitors and a first-round bye in the postseason.

More importantly, it made Green Bay 2-0 against the Lions in 2019 when the Packers led, technically, for zero seconds of game time.

3. Shaquil Barrett, officially better than Warren Sapp (in one specific way)

The Buccaneers ended 2019 in the most Jameis Winston way possible: on a pick-six. Bruce Arians summed up the finale in the most Bruce Arians way possible.

#GoBucs coach Bruce Arians on Jameis Winston throwing a pick six to end the game and the season with a loss in OT. “It smells as bad as it could possible smell and it’ll smell that way for a long time.''

— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) December 29, 2019

In the midst of that lesser Lynyrd Skynyrd song were other reasons for optimism. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin emerged as the league’s top wideout tandem, and Breshad Perriman balled out once injuries took each of them off the field. Young cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting took the first steps necessary to repair one of the league’s worst secondaries.

But no Buccaneer had a better year than Barrett, who came to Florida on a one-year, $4 million contract and gave Tampa Bay roughly $20 million of value as a pass rusher. The former Broncos rotational piece — he had just 15 starts in 61 games in Denver — went from afterthought to Defensive Player of the Year candidate as the keystone of Arians’ defense.

He had so many sacks in his first four games (nine) it prompted SB Nation’s own Stephen White to write about how absurd he was three different times in the first month of the season. On Sunday, he passed Sapp as the Buccaneers’ all-time single-season sack leader by bringing down Matt Ryan in the second quarter.

Your NEW franchise leader! That's 1️⃣7️⃣.5️⃣ sacks on the season for @MOOCHIE048. pic.twitter.com/80ofRPvJon

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) December 29, 2019

That wasn’t enough for Barrett. He’d add two more sacks to bring his season total to 19.5. That’s 5.5 more than he’d had in five total seasons as a Bronco. It’s also enough to tie for 13th-most in a single season in league history, joining names like Bruce Smith, Robert Mathis, and Mark Gastineau among players with at least 19 sacks in a season.

Barrett may have come to Tampa on a prove-it deal. Keeping him there is going to cost the club significantly more.

2. Christian McCaffrey, the NFL’s third-ever 1,000/1,000 man

Unlike the Buccaneers, there haven’t been many moral victories for the Panthers this fall. Cam Newton played in just two games, and while Kyle Allen was able to rally Carolina to a 4-2 start, that lack of talent manifested in a 5-11 season that led to longtime coach Ron Rivera getting fired.

There was one bright shining star in the Panthers’ dim constellation, however. McCaffrey claimed his place as one of the league’s best dual-threat tailbacks by rushing for 1,387 yards and hauling in 1,005 receiving yards from Carolina’s depressing lazy Susan of underwhelming QBs. This 17-yard reception — buried in the latter half of a 42-10 loss to the Saints — launched him into the eight-digit stratosphere.

This is the play where CMC makes HISTORY ⤵️@CMC_22 | #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/06EwirDDUI

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) December 29, 2019

Only two other players in NFL history have matched that feat: Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk. The former was an All-Pro on a team that won three Super Bowls. The latter won 2000’s MVP award and is now a Hall of Famer.

Pretty good company to keep!

Carolina stands on the precipice of a rebuild. Team owner David Tepper will have to hire a new coach and make a choice when it comes to retaining former MVP Cam Newton or letting him go. Other expensive veterans like Dontari Poe and Greg Olsen could be on the chopping block as well.

McCaffrey will be the sun around which the rest of the Panthers’ solar system rotates, though.

1. Ryan Fitzpatrick, officially the Dolphins’ 2019 rushing leader

The Patriots’ problem isn’t that they missed out on a first-round bye because they lost as a 17-point favorite Sunday afternoon. Their problem is that they lost to a team whose top runner was a 37-year-old quarterback.

Trades, injuries, arrests, and general ineptitude left Miami’s year-end rushing stats look like this:

Holy crap.

That ground game FitzMagic was on full display Sunday. His scramble on first-and-goal in the third quarter pushed the Dolphins out to a 17-10 lead.

Grit, determination, and a great beard #MIAvsNE #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/bXhlWW2QLZ

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) December 29, 2019

His ability to keep plays alive — he was only sacked twice against a defense that came into Week 17 ranked fifth in the NFL in sack rate (8.4 percent) — gave the Dolphins just enough latitude to hold off the Patriots’ comeback efforts and drive a final nail into the AFC East champion’s bye week hopes. New England will play in the Wild Card Round for the first time since 2009, and it’s at least partially thanks to a Miami team whose top running threat was an aging dropback passer.

[racingtoaredlight]

The degenerate’s guide to college football TV watch ‘em ups, 2019 season, week 6

Not sure if anybody has reminded you lately but there is only one OCTOBER!!! And we’re in it. October is breast cancer awareness month and one of only four annual truck months. The first football weekend of October features three top 25 matchups, which isn’t terrible, but two of them are B1G conference games. And they each feature a team from the state of Michigan who probably won’t be in the top 25 come tomorrow.

So now that I have you all pumped up for it, let’s get to the games! As per usual, the schedule is copied and pasted from FBSchedules and gambling info, where it’s provided, is from Vegas Insider. NOW ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!????!???? IT DOESN’T REALLY MATTER!!!!

Saturday, October 5

Matchup                                                          Time (ET)               TV/Mobile

TCU at Iowa State                                           12:00pm                   ESPN2

TCU is tough to figure out. So is Iowa State for that matter. But I think Gary Patterson got back on track last week and the Cyclones -3.5 looks bad to me so... load up the Cyclones, I guess.

14 Iowa at 19 Michigan                                   12:00pm                     FOX

The line is moving towards Iowa but it’s still Michigan -4. I think the sharps are on Iowa here but I don’t trust it. This looks like a horrible game for purposes of watching.

Kent State at 8 Wisconsin                               12:00pm                 ESPNU

Wisconsin’s defense might be great but the Badgers still kept it close against Northwestern last week. That’s a big red flag for me but not so big that I think Kent State +35 is smart money. I hope Chryst runs it up like crazy.

Maryland at Rutgers                                         12:00pm                   BTN

It’s been a long couple of weeks since Maryland’s offense looked good. But I bet Rutgers can get them back in the swing of things. Terps and the over.

6 Oklahoma at Kansas                                      12:00pm                  ABC

The line has moved towards Kansas and I’ve got nothing. I love Les Miles and those plucky Jayhawks but come the fuck on. Oklahoma’s gunning for 80. Also, I love KU football for all the failure so I’m in the bag for either 95-0 Oklahoma or KU pulling one of the more monumental regular season upsets in memory.

21 Oklahoma State at Texas Tech                    12:00pm                   FS1

TIRED: Bet the over. WIRED: Chuba Hubbard hits the over by himself.

Purdue at 12 Penn State                                    12:00pm                 ESPN

Rondale Moore won’t play but he’s not out for the year. Supposedly. He should be, though, right? No reason to chance it with one of the best players in the country on a garbage program like Purdue. Penn State is favored by 28 and, as much as I hate to say this, they’re wildly undervalued even though that’s up 11.5 from where the line opened. This is going to be an all out splatterfest.

Tulane at Army                                                    12:00pm              CBSSN

This game is a metaphor. The environment vs. the troops. The environment is favored.

USF at UConn                                                      12:00pm      CBSSports.com

As godawful as USF has been this year they’re still favored by 11 on the road in a conference game. UConn should consider dropping football.

Utah State at 5 LSU                                             12:00pm              SECN

Jordan Love goes to Death Valley to face a bunch of future first round picks in the LSU secondary. That’s fun for scouting but LSU should destroy USU. 

Boston College at Louisville                               12:30pm              RSN

No idea what to say here.

Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan                3:00pm              ESPN+

We’re about to run through a bunch of MAC games.

Virginia Tech at Miami (FL)                                   3:30pm              ESPN

But before we get to all that MAC first we have to deal with this MAC-level disaster. Miami has pretty much sucked so far this year but maybe they fixed everything in the week off. More likely, Justin Fuente will get off the hotseat for a week after winning on the road against a Miami team dressed up as pumpkins.

Western Michigan at Toledo                                 3:30pm             ESPN+

O/u 74, 1.5-point line. These teams are interchangeable. Not just Toledo and Western Michigan - the entire MAC is a jumble of teams that are exactly the same and Buffalo. Buffalo sucks way differently than the rest of the MAC.

Ohio at Buffalo                                                        3:30pm           ESPN+

Buffalo sucks differently than the rest of the MAC but they still suck.

Marshall at Middle Tennessee                                3:30pm        Facebook

I want to love this game but it looks fucking horrible.

Arkansas State at Georgia State                            3:30pm         ESPN+

ESPN+ is definitely a government conspiracy. Real deep state channels over here. The other Arkansas is favored on the road in a matchup of two middling offenses and two of the worst defenses in the country. I’m tempted to say hit that over of 69.5 with the Red Wolves winning. I don’t know about that line, though.

11 Texas at West Virginia                                         3:30pm           ABC

I am not enjoying Heisman hype for Texas’ QB but I don’t think WFV is the team to bring him back down to earth.

Illinois at Minnesota                                                  3:30pm          BTN

Minnesota may be the worst 4-0 team in the country but if they are you can put money on them being the worst 5-0 team in the country, too. I think Tanner Morgan is pretty good as far as B1G passers go and the “worst...” unbeaten team thing could very easily extend to the worst 8-0 team in the country.

Bowling Green at 9 Notre Dame                              3:30pm          NBC

I very strongly disliked Notre Dame for a long time before they bought their coach’s way out of a murder trial but the line for this game is laugh out loud shit and I’m fully on board with it. Domers by 46 with an o/u of 63 is a thing of beauty even if it glorifies pure evil.

Baylor at Kansas State                                             3:30pm        ESPN2

Kansas State’s mimicry of a good team might be breaking down after getting run over by Chuba Hubbard & Co. last week but a win by Baylor could get the Bears into the top 25. I need the ghost of Taco Bill (yes, I’m aware) to rouse the Wildcats for a stomping of Baylor.

Ball State at NIU                                                        3:30pm         ESPN3

Do whatever you want with this.

7 Auburn at 10 Florida                                              3:30pm          CBS

Fantastic uniform matchup featuring some almost great Florida throwbacks to Steve Spurrier’s Heisman season. I wish the stripes on the shoulders went all the way around. Otherwise they’re perfect.

Air Force at Navy                                                      3:30pm           CBSSN

I haven’t gotten a handle on Air Force this year but this is not a good Navy team. Maybe the Paul Johnson offense has finally run its course in Annapolis? Usually you can count on a senior QB to make the option hum for the Middies but they aren’t looking like anything special through three games in 2019. Here’s hoping they can find their rhythm as home dogs.

Memphis at ULM                                                       3:45pm            ESPNU

Kenny Gainwell came very close to making the RTARLsman list this week but he needs some bigger highlights to get back on there. ULM running back Josh Johnson’s production has gotten worse every week this year. Memphis is a pretty big road favorite and they should be bowl eligible by the time they dip back into conference games.

Troy at Missouri                                                        4:00pm             SECN

Kelly Bryant has been OK so far as Missouri’s QB. Which is fine, that’s what Kelly Bryant is: an OK QB. But if he can get more confidence in Derek Dooley’s system he could get a real shot at an NFL roster next year. Games like this one are the best way to build confidence.

North Carolina at Georgia Tech                               4:00pm            ACCN

UNC has looked well-coached but talent-deficient so far this year while Georgia Tech has looked untalented and undisciplined. Here in the ACC that means this game is a tossup.

Northwestern at Nebraska                                        4:00pm             FOX

I’d like to think Nebraska can never climb out of their 15 years-long rut but maybe Scott Frost is the real deal. If he is then this game should be a walkover for the Huskers. Look for a close game that hinges on some comically bad execution.

Arizona at Colorado                                                   4:30pm        Pac-12N

Khalil Tate and Laviska Shenault are still cool. That brings a tear to my eye.

WKU at Old Dominion                                               6:00pm         ESPN+

This is the kind of football we live for in these posts. All gambling, no sentimentality, weird uniforms, and a matchup that would look great in the March Madness First Four. But it’s part of the Disney plot to overthrow Ukraine.

3 Georgia at Tennessee                                             7:00pm         ESPN

By what right do I hate Tennessee? And yet, my desire to see them keep falling to deeper and deeper depths is boundless. I don’t particularly like Georgia but I want them to win by 60+. They can do it but are they cool enough to do it? I doubt it. Look at their coach’s haircut. He must use a woodchipper like a Flowbee to get that look. Maybe he found a barber in the countryside of 12th century France.

Rice at UAB                                                                 7:00pm        ESPN+

UAB is dead to me. Favored by only 10 at home against Rice? That’s disgusting.

UMass at FIU                                                               7:00pm         ESPN3

Butch Davis is having quite the struggle trying to put FIU together as a program. Things are in a very bad place for FL Int’l (pronounced “Flinn-tull”) even though the school is in a very nice place.

25 Michigan State at 4 Ohio State                             7:30pm           ABC

I know Mark D’Antonio has gotten some crazy results in his time as Michigan State’s head coach but this looks bleak. Brian Lewerke truly sucks and Chase Young is getting Myles Garrett comparisons. 20-points is a huge number for a game like this but I’ll be pretty surprised if the Buckeyes of An Ohio State University don’t beat the spread.

Tulsa at 24 SMU                                                         7:30pm          ESPNU

SMU with that little number next to it is a sight to behold. So last week I guessed that it had been since 1986 that the Mustangs were ranked and that was correct. How smart I must be. I’m really curious how they deal with that success. It seems silly but that ranking is a really big deal for the Ponyfuckers. Here’s hoping they sprint right past 13-points and pull away from Tulsa for a decisive win.

Vanderbilt at Mississippi                                           7:30pm           SECN

AJ Brown and DK Metcalf already look like stars in the NFL. Remember the offense they were in last year that struggled getting them the ball and had them run a combined four total routes? Haha. Fuck both of these teams, though. Nobody cares what happens here.

UTSA at UTEP                                                             8:00pm          ESPN+

El Paso versus San Antonio, aka “The Bigger Even Boringer El Paso.” Everything is bigger in Texas. Even Texas.

Liberty at New Mexico State                                      8:00pm        FloSports

Put some prop money on Antonio Gandy-Golden and ignore everything else in this game. Maybe even ignore Gandy-Golden.

Pitt at Duke                                                                   8:00pm         ACCN

Goddamn does this game suck. Go Panthers.

California at 13 Oregon                                               8:00pm         FOX

The Berkeley Bears don’t have much of an offense but their defense is good enough to keep things within 20 here. I’d put money on Justin Herbert throwing his first pick of the year, Cal to cover, and Oregon to win.

Oregon State at UCLA                                                9:00pm        Pac-12N

Chip Kelly’s revival as a football genius lasted exactly one half. Here the Bruins and Beavers matchup in the Rose Bowl to sully the reputation of that great stadium.

San Diego State at Colorado State                           10:00pm       ESPN2

MWC, baby! Fun stuff for me even if CSU is a trash heap. SDSU is no great shakes this year but at least the setting and the uniforms clash are cool.

16 Boise State at UNLV                                              10:30pm        CBSSN

Boise by 100. Book it.

15 Washington at Stanford                                        10:30pm         ESPN

Stanford was one of the biggest disappointments of the season’s first month. This is the perfect spot for David Shaw and his team of sleepmakers to bore Washington to death and, at least, keep it closer than 15. 

[alexballracing]

MSVR Elise Trophy 2019 - Round 6: Donington Park GP - The Finale

We arrived at lunchtime on Friday at Donington Park for the final round of the championship. The two afternoon test sessions were booked as we hadn't driven the GP loop since 2015.

The first session went without a hitch - other than a brief red flag delay - and the car felt great. It was back to how it used to drive, rather than the disappointingly odd handling from Brands Hatch. The lap times were half decent, and we should have been in the ballpark - I set a 1:47.4 during the session and we always go a bit faster on race day.

We made some adjustments to the setup before the second session, and again, the car felt good. The settings were not necessarily faster, but they had done what we expected - it's great when a car reacts to changes like it's supposed to.

With just 5 minutes remaining in the session as I drove down the Craner Curves, I smelt a sweet smell that I'd experienced before. I glanced down at the dash, and noticed the temp was at 86, then 89, then 93, 96.. and sure enough, smoke started pouring out of the engine bay. The dreaded head gasket failure. I pulled the car over to a safe place, and was later towed back to the garages.

We pulled the car apart, and removed the head and not only found the usual blown gasket, but also a cylinder full of coolant and a cracked liner. I thought this was the end of the weekend before it even started, so we packed up our tools, left the car in pieces and went to the hotel feeling glum. Whilst we'd already sealed the championship, this is not the way I wanted to end the year.

Over dinner I sent a text to Dan (BSCS) explaining the issue, and as he was driving down in the morning to run Mike Rayner's car, he offered to bring a liner. I said it wasn't worth it but bring it anyway, and went to bed.

I woke up at 7-ish, and the sun was out. For some reason, I had woken up in a good mood, and decided that despite the unlikelihood of getting the car working, it was worth a try. I checked my phone, and there was a text from Dan saying that the liner was in his car, along with the extra sealants and tools I'd need and he was already at the track getting set up.

It was on. Nicky and I decided that we'd take our time putting the car back together, and if we could make it out for a race that would be a bonus. Rushing a job like this just means you'll DNF, which is pointless.

We got to the track at around 8, and set to work. We dropped the sump, pulled out the piston and rod, removed the liner, and then Dan fit a replacement liner and popped the piston back in while I went to the drivers briefing (lucky really, as it's a job I've managed to cock up several times before). All our competitors left for Qualifying at the point, and I got a strange hit of adrenaline as I knew I should be out on track.

Nicky and I then cleaned the bits we'd removed, put the head back on with a new gasket and bolts, filled the engine with fluids and re-assembled the car before turning the engine over withoput plugs to see if it spun nicely. It did!

We then popped the plugs in and tried to fire it up. Amazingly, it fired first time and other than some blue smoke for a few seconds (because we used engine oil instead of assembly lube), it sounded like it had never been apart.

We were on!

In an odd bit of luck, there was a lack of marshalls at Donington, and because of this the organisers had decided to use the shorter National circuit. This meant that we didn't need to actually qualify the car since we had raced on the track earlier this year, and we could just start the race from the back. Also, the excellent scruitineering team managed to check my gear and the car during the rebuild, which saved us a load of time.

We finished the car and got it ready for the first race with about 15 minutes to spare.

11:10am. Qualifying.

(We didn't make qualifying as the car was still in bits.)

14:10pm. Race 1.

As we missed qualifying, I was starting right at the back. I didn't care - racing was why we'd come to the track and I was over the moon that we were able to be on the grid at all. It was sunny, the track looked great, and we were going to race some Lotuses. Awesome.

Both races were rolling starts, and this meant I was able to get a jump on the back row when the lights went out. I passed two cars, but then had to back off as there was some side to side contact in front which I didn't want to be part of.

I then pressed on, and after 2 laps was in 5th overall behind Simon Walsh. I passed Simon after a lap, and was then 3rd in class behind John Atherton and John Lamaster. Jason Mcinulty was leading in his Cup R.

A couple of laps later a yellow flag came out down at the old hairpin, and it bunched the four of us up a bit. I focused on getting a good run out of the yellow zone into the green, and managed to pass both Johns after some good fighting over the next few laps.

Unfortunately, during the fight with John, I managed to touch his car with mine coming out of Mcleans, and obviously apologised afterwards. I simply didn't realise he was still on my outside after I'd gone up the inside - a stupid error which I don't normally make. It bent my rear toe link and made the car "interesting" to drive for the remainder of the race.

I finished the race first in class, 2nd overall. John LaMaster finished second 3 seconds back with Atherton behind him in 3rd.

A hard fought win from the back of the grid with an engine that had been in pieces only hours before. That's club racing.

After the race I gave the car a once over. Other than a bent toe link end, it was spot on. Fluids were good, everything remained tight.

17:10pm. Race 2.

Again, I was starting at the back, but this time I was very close to John and Jason as it was the reverse top ten race and there had been a couple of drop-outs in race 1 meaning a smaller grid for race 2.

The lights went out and we all set off. I tried to follow Jason into turn 1, but he did the most amazing move on the whole pack, and simply drove around the outside of everybody and came out of the first corner in 2nd. Ballsy! I was in about 6th, with John LaMaster a spot or two behind.

The race went on and LaMaster and I managed to get in front of everybody except Jason, and then we continued to lap quickly and just seconds apart until the end. I finished first in class with John second, and Jason won FI/overall.

Two wins. If you'd told me that would be the result on Friday night, I would never have gone to the hotel!

With that we celebrated the championship on the podium, and in all honesty, feel like that single day earnt us the championship.

It's always hard work preparing a car for, and during, a full season of racing, but when things go wrong it gets really stressful. I need to say a HUGE thank you to Nicky, Dan and everyone else that helped or offered support. The paddock really made us feel like it was worth fixing, and I had so many nice comments when we'd managed it - it was a great experience (that I wouldn't wish on anybody!).

The year has been fantastic, the car was brilliant, and Nicky really stepped up and took charge of the setup side of things which allowed me to focus on the driving. The paddock has been great fun, with everyone in a good mood all year, and I'm very happy that MSVR have decided to not only save the series from dying this year, but to continue it and take it to bigger and better things in 2020. These cars are fantastic to drive, are faster than they look, and the series offers excellent fair, close racing.

Also big thanks to Kraftwerk Tools UK, and Applecado - I couldn't go racing without their help.

I'm tired now, but crikey. 2019 MSVR Elise Trophy Champions. What a year!

[f1]

Leclerc quickest as rain cuts final Singapore practice session to half an hour | 2022 Singapore Grand Prix third practice

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was quickest in a wet final practice session that featured only half an hour of track running. Leclerc’s best time of a 1’57.782 on intermediate tyres on a drying track was just over half a second quicker than Max Verstappen, with Carlos Sainz Jnr third fastest in the second Ferrari. Heavy rain fell during the W Series qualifying session which preceded third practice session for Formula 1. It persisted following that disrupted session, leaving the track soaked as the final practice hour approached. With the circuit still extremely wet, race director Eduardo Freitas chose to begin the session but keep the pit entry closed, preventing any drivers from taking to the track. This allowed the session to finish without a delay which would have forced the start of qualifying to be pushed back. It was a long wait as the rain ceased and the marshals around the Marina Bay course brushed away as much standing water as they could. After almost half the session had elapsed, Freitas confirmed the pit lane would be opened at the half-hour mark. The green light at the end of the pit lane signalled that the track was open, but none of the 10 teams were keen to send their cars out onto the still wet track. Eventually AlphaTauri opted to send out Pierre Gasly, who was soon followed by team mate Yuki Tsunoda and Valtteri Bottas in the Alfa Romeo. Lando Norris set the early benchmark time on the wet tyres with a 2’09.642, but was soon called in by his team to switch to intermediate tyres. Max Verstappen chose to head out on the intermediates and immediately proved it was the correct tyre for the conditions by posting a 2’06.872. Williams’s Nicholas Latifi briefly triggered the yellow flags by having to brake to a stop at turn 13 to avoid hitting the barriers, but he was able to reverse out and continue. Mick Schumacher was brought into the pits to change tyres but was told to stop the car immediately after being released from the Haas pit box as mechanics feared his right-rear wheel had not been fastened correctly. The stewards will investigate the incident after the session. As the track continued to dry, lap times began to drop. Leclerc went fastest, dropping under the two minute mark. In the final minutes, Leclerc lowered his own best time to a 1’57.782, while Verstappen moved into second with a lap just over half a second slower. The damp track continued to catch drivers out. Gasly took to the escape road at turn 18 after missing his braking point, briefly bringing out the yellow flags. George Russell made a similar error into turn seven and had to make a 180 degree spin turn to escape from the run off. Leclerc’s best time was not beaten, leaving him quickest as the chequered flag flew and half a second faster than Verstappen in second. Sainz ended the session third, a second behind his team mate, ahead of Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll. Esteban Ocon, Sebastian Vettel, Russell and Daniel Ricciardo completed the top 10. 2022 Singapore Grand Prix third practice result 2022 Singapore Grand Prix combined practice times Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free 2022 Singapore Grand Prix Browse all 2022 Singapore Grand Prix articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net

[thecollegefootballguy]

The Real 2020 Season: Week 5

Hello everyone, welcome to Week 5 of The Real 2020 Season! We’re imagining how things would have gone in the 2020 football season if COVID hadn’t ruined everything.

Check out the previous weeks here if you’d like a bit of context: Week 0, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4

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The Rankings

Week 5 AP Poll

1. Alabama 4-0 (1-0) 2. Clemson 4-0 (3-0) 3. Oklahoma 3-0 (0-0) 4. Oregon 4-0 (1-0) 5. Florida 4-0 (2-0) 6. Texas 3-0 (0-0) 7. Notre Dame 4-0 8. Auburn 4-0 (1-0) 9. Texas A&M 4-0 (1-0) 10. Ohio State 3-1 (1-0) 11. Oklahoma State 3-0 (0-0) 12. Georgia 3-1 (0-1) 13. Washington 3-0 (0-0) 14. LSU 3-1 (1-0) 15. Iowa 4-0 (1-0) 16. UCF 4-0 (1-0) 17. Missouri 4-0 (2-0) 18. Indiana 4-0 (1-0) 19. Cincinnati 4-0 (0-0) 20. Penn State 3-1 (1-0) 21. Stanford 4-0 (3-0) 22. Miami FL 4-0 (0-0) 23. Liberty 4-0 24. California 4-0 (1-0) 25. West Virginia 4-0 (1-0)

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The Narrative

We’ve now entered October so let’s have a bit of a recap of the month of September to catch everybody up. The conference races were expected to play out similar to the past several years. Clemson destined to win the ACC, Ohio State should clinch the Big Ten, Oklahoma the Big 12. Alabama and Georgia spearhead a raft of talented SEC programs aiming to win another title, including the defending champion LSU Tigers. The PAC-12 is relying on Oregon to lift up a flagging league, with fingers crossed that USC eventually rights itself.

The first two weeks of the year included several Playoff-altering results. Week 1 featured #3 Alabama’s decisive victory over #17 USC, preemptively shattering the Trojans’ national contention hopes. Washington easily defeated #14 Michigan in Seattle, the first good news coming out of the PAC-12 in years in non-conference play. The Big Ten had a disaster of a Saturday in Week 2. #7 Penn State was upset at Virginia Tech while #3 Ohio State lost at #9 Oregon. When combined with Michigan’s collapse (0-2 with a home loss to Ball State) and #12 Wisconsin’s Week 1 defeat to Indiana, it was a completely staggering blow, all but snuffing out of the entire league’s Playoff hopes. At the same time, #13 Texas went to Baton Rouge and beat #6 LSU to knock the defending champs out of the race early.

Week 3 saw #2 Alabama convincingly beat #3 Georgia. The Bulldogs seemed the most credible threat to unseat the Tide in 2021, the SEC might not have a team who can beat the Tide despite having so many good squads.

The new Playoff picture sees frontrunners #1 Alabama, #2 Clemson, #3 Oklahoma, and #4 Oregon imagined favorites to win their conferences. #6 Texas will challenge the Sooners for supremacy in the Big 12, and are finally looking like they might be a credible threat. The SEC has several claimants looking to upset the Tide (#5 Florida, #8 Auburn, #9 Texas A&M, #12 Georgia, #14 LSU), but after their win over the Bulldogs it’s going to take a special team to defeat them. The PAC-12 looks like it’s going to run through the Ducks, but their biggest threat will come from rival #13 Washington this week. Oregon did manage to beat #10 Ohio State in Autzen but there are doubts if they have what it takes to manage a 13-0 or 12-1 season and truly contend for the Playoff. #7 Notre Dame obviously still has the ability to force the issue with an undefeated season and a game with Clemson come November.

The Big Ten should still run through the Buckeyes, but things are much less certain now that every expected Playoff contender has already lost *at least* once. If Ohio State can turn things around with a 12-1 run they could still argue for a spot at the table.

All conferences have begun league play, so the games are now going to really start impacting the standings.

-

The Games

When conference play begins it really does feel like the games take on a bit more consequence. It’s almost like the real regular season just began, and all non-conference mistakes can still be amended. Will anybody claw their way back with a strong conference showing? Let’s find out.

Unfortunately there is only one ranked vs ranked game this week. Sure, that’s still better than last week but it’s not ideal. We turn our attention to the pivotal battle in the Pacific Northwest between rivals #4 Oregon and #13 Washington. The winner will most likely claim the PAC-12 North and the conference title with it.

Winning teams are highlighted in bold.

Charlotte at Florida Atlantic Rice at Marshall Western Kentucky at Middle Tennessee Old Dominion at Connecticut Southern Miss at North Texas UTSA at UAB Akron at Buffalo #23 Liberty at Bowling Green Kent State at Northern Illinois Army at Miami OH Ohio at Toledo Western Michigan at Ball State Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan Navy at Air Force San Jose State at Boise State Fresno State at Colorado State Massachusetts at New Mexico Utah State at BYU Nevada at Hawaii UNLV at San Diego State #24 California at Washington State #13 Washington at #4 Oregon Oregon State at Arizona State Arizona at UCLA USC at Utah South Carolina at #5 Florida Vanderbilt at #12 Georgia Kentucky at #8 Auburn #17 Missouri at Tennessee #1 Alabama at Ole Miss Charleston Southern at Arkansas Nicholls at #14 LSU #9 Texas A&M at Mississippi State Arkansas State at Coastal Carolina Georgia Southern at Louisiana-Monroe East Carolina at Georgia State Troy at South Alabama Texas State at New Mexico State #7 Notre Dame vs Wisconsin (Green Bay, WI) South Florida at #19 Cincinnati Memphis at SMU Tulsa at #16 UCF #2 Clemson at Boston College Florida State at NC State Louisville at Syracuse Wake Forest at Duke Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech Pittsburgh at #22 Miami FL North Carolina at Virginia Baylor at #3 Oklahoma Iowa State at Kansas #6 Texas at Kansas State #11 Oklahoma State at TCU #25 West Virginia at Texas Tech Minnesota at Maryland #20 Penn State at Michigan Michigan State at #15 Iowa Illinois at Rutgers Nebraska at Northwestern

The Playoff race continues on with very little upsetting it. #1 Alabama won a track meet with Ole Miss. #2 Clemson dispatched Boston College and #3 Oklahoma took care of business against Baylor without the fuss of the previous season. The game of the week saw #4 Oregon put away rival #13 Washington, giving the Ducks the lead in the PAC-12 North race and the inside track to the championship and potentially the Playoff. Rounding out the top 5, #5 Florida defeated South Carolina to keep pace with the field.

There were several other games that influenced races in P5 conferences. The Big 12 saw two of its undefeated teams fall as #11 Oklahoma State lost to TCU and #25 West Virginia was upset by Texas Tech. The Big 12 race increasingly seems like it’s falling into the Oklahoma-Texas orbit. #24 Cal lost to fellow undefeated Washington State, who will now nip at Oregon’s heels with Stanford and Washington. Tennessee finally saw their fortunes turn around as they beat #17 Missouri. The SEC East looks like it will once again be decided by Florida and Georgia. #7 Notre Dame beat Wisconsin at Lambeau Field to continue their unbeaten campaign. The ACC Coastal appears to be contested by Miami and Virginia Tech, time will tell who will come out on top.

The Group of 5 races are taking unexpected twists and turns. The biggest shock has to be Tulsa’s road upset of #16 UCF. The Knights have been the best G5 program in the past 4 years, but this supremacy appears to be severely threatened. #19 Cincinnati is now the only undefeated team left in the AAC. If the Bearcats can’t go the distance that opens the door to other leagues. Neither the Mountain West, MAC, or C-USA have an undefeated challenger, but the Sun Belt has three in Coastal Carolina, Troy, and Louisiana. Could they finally represent their conference in a New Year’s Bowl?

-

The Standings

With conference play just beginning we’re still a few weeks away from real clarity, but things are starting to take shape.

-

The Big Picture

The Playoff field remains unchanged as Oregon retains their hold on the PAC-12 North Division with their win over Washington. We’ll see the Ducks face off against Alabama and Oklahoma assuming the favorites win the rest of their games. Clemson travels to Notre Dame later in the season, that game will likely decide the final member in the foursome if Oregon can go undefeated.

The G5 race sees Cincinnati break out as the frontrunner, but they have a hard road to follow going unbeaten in the AAC. If the Bearcats can’t win out to claim the spot as the top G5 team in the country, the Sun Belt is waiting to take over.

-

The New Rankings

Week 6 AP Poll

1. Alabama 5-0 (2-0) 2. Clemson 5-0 (4-0) 3. Oklahoma 4-0 (1-0) 4. Oregon 5-0 (2-0) 5. Florida 5-0 (3-0) 6. Texas 4-0 (1-0) 7. Notre Dame 5-0 8. Auburn 5-0 (2-0) 9. Texas A&M 5-0 (2-0) 10. Ohio State 3-1 (1-0) 11. Georgia 4-1 (1-1) 12. Iowa 5-0 (2-0) 13. LSU 4-1 (1-0) 14. Indiana 4-0 (1-0) 15. Cincinnati 5-0 (1-0) 16. Miami FL 5-0 (1-0) 17. Washington 3-1 (0-1) 18. Penn State 4-1 (2-0) 19. Stanford 4-0 (3-0) 20. Washington State 5-0 (2-0) 21. Liberty 5-0 22. Iowa State 4-1 (2-0) 23. Virginia Tech 4-1 (1-0) 24. Louisville 4-1 (2-1) 25. Oklahoma State 3-1 (0-1)

The top of the polls remained largely unchanged but there was still plenty of movement among the top 25. Several teams fell out of the polls. The total departed includes UCF, Missouri, Cal, and West Virginia. Joining in their place are Washington State, Iowa State, Virginia Tech, and Louisville. Oklahoma State nearly fell out all the way from #11 as well but the Cowboys just held on.

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Week 5 is in the books! Tune in later to find out how the rest of the season plays out!

[eddiejpoplar]

2019 Rolex 24 At Daytona Weekend – From A to Zanardi

BMW of North America first came to the Rolex 24 At Daytona in 1975 with two BMW 3.0 CSL racing cars that were the foundation of the company’s very first marketing program in North America. 57 years later, BMW NA continues to race entering two BMW M8 GTE machines in the 2019 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

“The Rolex 24 At Daytona is a very special event for BMW as this is where our American racing program began, way back in 1975” said Victor Leleu, Manager for BMW Motorsport, North America. “This year we are proud to wave the green flag for the first race of IMSA’s 50th season and for the debut race of the Michelin Pilot Challenge. We congratulate IMSA on providing 50 years of unforgettable wheel-to-wheel action. In addition to all of the examples of the Ultimate Driving Machine on display and on-track, we are extremely excited to have Alex Zanardi joining us. Daytona continues to be a gathering place for BMW fans and enthusiast from around the world and we can think of no better venue to show them our passion not only for the sport but our heart and soul that we pour into each and every BMW vehicle we make.”

Auberlen The 2019 Rolex 24 At Daytona will see BMW NA Ambassador Bill Auberlen start his 411th race in a BMW. Joining one of the top BMW Customer Racing teams, Turner Motorsport, full season the veteran will race in the GTD class in search of the three victories that will make him the winningest sports car driver in IMSA history.

BimmerWorld Racing BimmerWorld makes a return to IMSA racing after a very successful 2018 season. The Dublin, VA-based team finished third in last year’s GS class and won the Street Tuner (ST) championship. For this weekend’s BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona, the opening round of the Michelin Pilot Challenge series, the No. 82 BMW M4 GT4 will be co-driven by team owner James Clay and Devin Jones. The second BimmerWorld entry, the No. 80 BMW M4 GT4, will be co-driven by 20 year old drivers Aurora Strauss and Kaz Grala. Straus finished second in the Pirelli World Challenge’s GTS SprintX-Am class last year while Grala won the NASCAR Camping World Truck series race at Daytona in 2017. Jones scored a class victory at Daytona last year while James Clay will be starting his 10th Daytona race this weekend.

Classic BMW In three short years, the Plano, TX-based team has grown to be one of the largest and most successful BMW customer racing effort in the world. Winners of the 2018 BMW Sports Trophy Team title, Classic BMW returns to IMSA in 2019 with the #26 BMW M4 GT4. At Daytona, Team Manager Toby Grahovec and regular Jayson Clunie, who shared a podium finish at Sebring last year, will split driving duties with newcomer Kyle Reid. Competing in the 2018 MINI Challenge, Kyle took 18 podiums in 20 races, of which 15 wins, earning him the Sunoco 240 Challenge victory and subsequent seat in the #26 BMW M4 GT4 for the BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona. The team will aim for the podium, following its 4th place finish in last year’s race.

Drivers BMW Team RLL will be contesting this weekend’s Rolex 24 At Daytona with an international lineup of drivers. The No. 24 BMW M8 GTE will be co-driven by Alessandro Zanardi (IT), John Edwards (USA), Jesse Krohn (FIN) and Chaz Mostert (AUS) while the No. 25 M8 GTE will be piloted by Connor de Phillippi (USA), Augusto Farfus (BRA), Philipp Eng (AUT) and Colton Herta (USA).

Endurance Challenge The January 26th BMW Endurance Challenge At Daytona will provide the opening act for the 57th annual Rolex 24 At Daytona weekend as privateer and professional racers From all over the world begin another season of sports car racing in North America. The four-hour race is the opening round of the 2019 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. For an eighth consecutive year as title sponsor, BMW of North America, LLC will support the race with the Grand Marshal, starter and pace car.

FAST FAST, the 19th BMW Art Car. Designed by renowned American artist John Baldessari, this M6 GTLM competed in the 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona. Finishing in 8th place, it was co-driven by Bill Auberlen (USA), Alexander Sims (GBR), Augusto Farfus (BRA) and Bruno Spengler (CAN). After its first and only race, the car was retired and now is part of BMW’s Art Car Collection.

Green The green flag for the 2019 BMW Endurance Challenge At Daytona waves at 12:15 p.m. Friday, January 25. The race will be broadcast on NBCSN Feb. 6 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. The 57th annual Rolex 24 At Daytona Race for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship starts at 2:35 p.m.

Horsepower The engine of the BMW M8 GTE consists of 2,300 parts and generates between 450 and 500 horsepower, depending on the requirements of the respective sporting authorities.

In-car cameras Both of the BMW M8 GTE racing cars will carry in-car cameras in the Rolex 24. Michelin has provided the cameras in the No. 24 BMW M8 GTE while the BMW NA cameras will provide a driver’s point of view from the No. 25 BMW M8 GTE. Both in-car cameras will be streamed live at IMSA.com

Jones Devin Jones won the ST Championship in 2018 with BimmerWorld Racing. With nine podium finishes under his belt during the last season Jones will join team owner James Clay behind the wheel of the No. 82 BMW M4 GT4 in Daytona this weekend.

Kangaroo Australian driving ace, Chaz Mostert makes his second start behind the wheel of the BMW M8 GTE. His first race at Petit Le Mans last year ended with a podium finish. As the BMW Team RLL quickly learned, the only impression Chaz is really able to do well is that of a Kangaroo.

Lighting Lights will be very important during the 13 hours of darkness at this year’s 24 hours At Daytona. The headlights in the BMW M8 GTE were developed from scratch specifically for the endurance racing environment. They not only look cool but are also state of the art in both design and manufacturing. The cooling elements for the headlights are 3D printed in-house at BMW’s Additive Manufacturing Campus in Oberschleissheim, just north of Munich.

M The most powerful letter in the world.

New BMW models for 2019 include M850i xDrive Convertible, X7 SAV, Z4 Roadster and the M5 Competition, all on display in the infield at Daytona International Speedway this weekend.

Organization It takes four transporters, 56 crew, 8 drivers, 10 golf carts, 2 physical therapists, 8 motor homes and 24 lbs. of beef jerky to run two BMW M8 GTE race cars for 24 hours at Daytona this weekend.

Performance Center Comprising two locations, Performance Center East in Greer, SC and Performance Center West in Thermal, CA, the BMW Performance Driving School offers a variety of driving classes that highlight the performance, responsiveness, and safety features in each BMW vehicle. BMW Performance Center instructors will be at DIS providing VIP hot lap rides on Friday and Saturday.

Qualifying There are two qualifying sessions in Daytona. One takes place at The Roar Before the 24 to allocate pit and garage spots. The second, more familiar qualifying, takes place on Thursday to determine the starting positions for the race.

Rahal Bobby Rahal leads BMW Team RLL into its second decade as BMW NA’s motorsport partner. The team works tirelessly before, during and after each race to prepare the two BMW M8 GTE race cars for competition.

Stephen Cameron Stephen Cameron, Henry Schmitt and San Francisco BMW, that is a lot of S’s but for 30 years, Cameron Racing has been competing and supporting customer racing programs for fellow enthusiasts. Cameron and Schmitt will take the green flag at this weekend’s BMW Endurance Challenge race behind the wheel of the No. 88 BMW M4 GT4. BMW of San Francisco, an official BMW Motorsports Parts center continues their support of the veteran Cameron Racing team for the 2019 season.

Technology Transfer BMW still believes that racing improves the breed which is why the M8 GTE race car was launched more than a year prior to the street version. Racing is one of the best tests of strength and reliability and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship provides the perfect setting for testing of 3D printed parts for example.

Ultimate Driving Machine The Ultimate Driving Machine has been BMW’s claim since 1975 and continues to be proven on the roads and racetracks throughout North America to this day.

Victory The BMW M8 GTE scored two victories in its 2018 inaugural season and at this year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, BMW Team RLL is looking to add to the brand’s win tally at the classic endurance race. An overall win was scored in 1976 by the BMW 3.0 CSL and by a BMW Powered Daytona Prototype in 2011 and 2013. Class wins were scored in both 1997 and 1998 by the BMW M3 GT2.

Will Turner Will Turner’s Turner Motorsport team has been racing for over 20 years with BMW making them the second longest running BMW team. Turner Motorsport plans a full season program in GTD plus a return to GS with the M4 GT4 for the first time in yellow and blue.

X BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. BMW’s lineup of Sports Activity Vehicles accounted for 63 percent of BMW brand sales in December 2018. Plant Spartanburg exports 70% of the vehicles that are built here making BMW the largest exporter of vehicles by value form the U.S.A.

Years 50 Years of IMSA, 50 years of BMW Car Club of America, 44 years of BMW of North America, 25 years of BMW Plant Spartanburg, 11 years of BMW Team RLL and 2 years of M8 GTE racing.

Zanardi Alessandro Zanardi makes his return to racing in America this weekend at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Zanardi was the 1997 and 1998 IndyCar CART Series champion and has been racing with BMW since 2003. A Paralympic multi-time gold-medalist and world record setter, Alex will take on the new challenge of endurance racing with BMW Team RLL behind the wheel of the No. 2 from Performance Junk Blogger 6 http://bit.ly/2ReCspH via IFTTT

[auburnfamilynews]

We are officially less than a month from early signing day, so here are some storylines to track over the next few weeks.

Early signing day is less than a month away which means it’s reached crunch time for the majority of the recruits in the 2019 class. With the regular season coming to an end this weekend, teams will one again be able to hit the road and visit with prospects in person. There will be a flurry of official visits leading up to December 19th and as always, plenty of drama. Here’s a look at the biggest storylines to track over the coming weeks for the Tigers.

Will Auburn hang onto to Owen Pappoe?

Coaching change rumors can be the death knell to a solid recruiting class. As much as we all like the sentiment of “pick the coach not the school” in reality that rarely happens. If you don’t like the man in charge of the program, it can be difficult to love the school. On the other hand, if you love the head coach then you might all of a sudden find yourself much more attracted to a program.

I say all this because it explains why 5* LB Owen Pappoe has gone from one of Auburn’s most solid commitment to a possible toss up between the Tigers and the Tennessee Volunteers. Everything changed after that lost to the Vols back in early October. Not only was Pappoe in attendance with his close friend and Tennessee commit 5* OT Wanya Morris but immediately following that loss is when the cries for Gus’s job became much louder and more realistic. That hasn’t gone unnoticed by Auburn’s top rated prospect.

Jeremy Pruitt and the Volunteer staff have used that controversy to make a strong push. Helped out by Pappoe’s teammate and close friend Morris, the Vols have hosted Pappoe twice in recent weeks in Knoxville. The biggest red flag coming when Pappoe elected to not attend Auburn’s dramatic come from behind win over Texas A&M but instead watched the Vols stumble their way to a 14-3 victory over Charlotte.

Now, with recent support from both Allen Greene and Steven Leath, it seems extremely unlikely a coaching change will happen for Auburn after this season. That also guarantees that Travis Williams will be back as well next year. For pretty much his whole recruitment, the word from all of Auburn’s insiders have been that as long as T-WILL is at Auburn, Pappoe will sign with the Tigers. That still appears to be the belief on the Plains though I am nowhere near as confident as I once was in that statement. But if there’s any coach Auburn fans should trust on the recruiting trail it’s Travis Williams. The Tennessee threat is very real but as of today, I still think he signs with Auburn though that confidence has greatly diminished.

Can the Tigers land Kelly Bryant?

Most of the time a senior quarterback leaving because he was beat out by a true freshman would not be someone highly sought after by top programs. However, this is a very unique case. Bryant led Clemson to an ACC title last season and an undefeated record through the first three weeks of the 2018 campaign. But it was pretty clear that phenom freshman Trevor Lawrence was very much living up to the hype and Dabo made the tough decision to switch to Lawrence before Clemson’s showdown with Syracuse.

Thanks to the graduate transfer rule and the new redshirt rule, Bryant could still preserve his senior year of eligibility because he had only played in 3 games and had graduated. He’s now one of the prized “free agents” of this recruiting class. Auburn is one of many teams that have thrown their hat in the ring.

Arkansas was considered the initial favorite but things have muddied some since then. Bryant has taken official visits so far to Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi State and North Carolina. All four are legitimate threats to land the talented dual threat QB. He was expected to use his final official visit on a trip to Miami and then take a mid week unofficial visit to the Plains. But plans have apparently changed.

News: Source tells me that former Clemson QB Kelly Bryant has scrapped his official visit to Miami this weekend and will instead use his last official visit to go to Auburn next week.@CaneSport @JLeeAURivals

— Woody Wommack (@RivalsWoody) November 20, 2018

This is pretty huge news for the Tigers. It seems pretty obvious that Jarrett Stidham won’t be back next season and it appears the staff might not be comfortable turning this offense over to Malik Willis. While I am the lead conductor of the Bo Nix hype train, I have to imagine that turning this offense over to a true freshman on what could be a do or die year for Malzahn does not seem appealing. Bryant is a talented QB who is a very good fit for what Gus likes to do. Auburn will get a chance to make the last major pitch to Bryant and then he’s expected to make his decision on December 4th. Do not be surprised if the Tigers trot out another transfer QB to start the season in 2019.

What Top 100 talent might Auburn land in December?

The Tigers currently have four commitments ranked in the 247 Composite Top 100. Auburn is hoping to add a few more before in a few weeks. 5* WR Jadon Haselwood, 5* OT Wanya Morris, 5* LB Nakobe Dean, 5* C Clay Webb, 4* CB Tyrique Stevenson, 4* OT Amari Kight, 4* OG William Putnam and 4* LB Trezman Marshall are all top Auburn targets that are expected to sign early. The Tigers would LOVE for a few of those names to sign with Auburn when that time comes.

As of today, I think the only name on that list Auburn probably leads for is Putnam. Haselwood appears to be trending elsewhere, Morris firm with Tennessee, Dean a Bama/UGA battle, Webb a Bama/UGA/CLEM battle, Stevenson an UGA lean, Kight a pretty solid Bama commit and Auburn trailing Tennessee as the threat to flip Marshall from UGA. Putnam, on the other hand, might be trending Auburn but the Tigers will have to fight off a strong push from Clemson. The Tampa native took an official visit there this past weekend and is now expected to have a decision in the coming weeks. Given Auburn’s struggles in the interior, you could make the argument that he’s Auburn’s most important target on the board right now. He’s supposedly close with a number of Auburn commits, most notably 3* TE Luke Deal. As of today, I think he will end up a Tiger.

As for Marshall, he seems far from solid with Georgia. He took an OV to Tennessee this past weekend and admitted he’s having a hard time with his decision. The Vols appear to have made a surge but the Tigers will more than likely get his last official visit. He’s extremely close with both Owen Pappoe and Travis Williams. Can T-WILL steal another elite LB target from the Dawgs?

One final name on that list to maybe keep an eye on might actually be Amari Kight. The longtime Alabama commit chose the Tide over the Tigers earlier this spring and for the most part appears to be extremely solid. But Alabama is trending for 5* OT Evan Neal which would give them 3 Top 100 OTs in the class. Maybe that doesn’t matter to Kight but if Auburn can get him on campus again for an official visit and can sell him on the huge need right now on the Plains, maybe they pull off the surprise. I suspect though he will stick with the Tide.

Any Surprise Flips?

Auburn has already landed four commitments from recruits formerly committed to a different school in 4* DL Jaren Handy (LSU), 4* DB Cam’Ron Kelly (Virginia Tech), 3* DL Jamond Gordon (Ole Miss) and 3* OT Justin Osborne (TCU). They are pushing hard to add a few more names to this list.

4* DL Charles Moore (Mississippi State), 4* DE Curtis Fann (Florida State), 4* LB Kalen Deloach (Florida State), 3* DT LeDarrius Cox (Tennessee) and 3* OG Kingsley Eguakun (Miami) are all realistic flip options for the Tigers. Per AuburnUndercover’s Keith Niebuhr, Moore is expected to take an official visit to the Plains December 7th. He’s very close with Auburn commit Jaren Handy and was on campus a bunch earlier this year. This won’t be an easy pull but Auburn continues to make it interesting.

Fann and Deloach both chose the Noles over the Tigers this past summer but they may be reconsidering. Deloach has already taken an official visit to Auburn earlier this fall and admitted he was giving Auburn some serious consideration. Fann is expected to OV in December. I would not be surprised if either ended up on the Plains.

Finally, there is Cox and Eguakun. It feels like all year it’s been said that Cox was going to flip to Auburn but that’s yet to happen. Could it be because Auburn has made a strong push for Moore and Fann? Maybe. More than likely it could just be that Cox wanted to finish his high school season before focusing once again on recruiting. I expect he will be on an official visit to the Plains in December. Eguakun, on the other hand, seems to still be wrestling with his decision. Earlier this week 3* OG Kamaar Bell told Rivals Auburn was his leader. Would the Tigers take all three of Putnam, Bell and Eguakun if given the chance? I don’t know but that would be a nice problem to have.

Who Signs Early?

Finally, who exactly signs early will be interesting to see, especially among Auburn’s commitments. Last year, all but Coynis Miller, Matthew Hill and Richard Jibunor ended their recruitments in December. Jibunor only went that late because he didn’t understand the signing process while Miller and Hill both wanted to use some official visits in January. The Tigers kept all 3 in the class.

This time around, it looks like there will be three more commitments that will wait until February to sign. George Pickens, Jaren Handy and Jamond Gordon all appear poised to wait until the original National Signing Day to officially sign their letters of intent. I think Auburn will have to fight hard to keep all three on board during that time period but feel pretty good about them all ending up with the Tigers. It might actually be Gordon of that group that’s the least solid.

Despite the struggles on the field, Auburn is still poised to land an outstanding class in 2019. If they can close on a few of these top targets late then it could still end up as one of Gus Malzahn’s highest ranked classes ever.

War Eagle!

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2018/11/20/18101167/auburn-football-recruiting-top-early-signing-day-storylines

[junker-town]

Anything from 4-8 to 11-1 is on the table for USC this year. Have fun with that, Clay Helton

Helton is overseeing tons of changes after USC’s first losing season in 18 years, and the schedule has nothing but tricky test after tricky test. Yikes.

Bill C’s annual preview series of every FBS team in college football continues. Catch up here!

In last year’s USC preview, I wrote about how a coach’s third year in charge of the Trojans tends to tell the tale. Clay Helton better hope that does not hold true.

Helton saw success even more quickly than coaches like Tollner and Smith did. After a slow start to his first season (2016), his Trojans caught fire behind redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Darnold. They won 13 games in a row into 2017, and after a rickety 2-2 stretch, they finished 5-1 that season, too. Two years in, they were 21-6, with a conference title, two major bowl appearances, and a classic Rose Bowl victory. Not bad, right?

Not great, either. USC won 11 games in 2017 due in part to both happy bounces (the Trojans were 4-1 in one-possession games) and a sketchy schedule (their S&P+ SOS ranking fell from eighth to 59th that year).

In 2018, the schedule got tougher (44th), and the breaks went away (2-4 in one-score games). USC got worse, too. The offense was up-and-down under freshman quarterback JT Daniels, and the defense slid for the second straight year.

The result was something unfathomable: a losing season.

Lane Kiffin disappointed in his final seasons as USC’s head coach, but he went 7-6 in 2012 and was 3-2 in 2013 when he got dumped. Pete Carroll’s last season was pretty listless, in part because of a freshman quarterback. But the Trojans still went 9-4.

USC finished 5-7 last year. Even for a team with a young QB, that’s mind-blowing. The Trojans had suffered one losing season in the last 28 years (5-7 in 2000).

Helton had evidently built up just enough goodwill in his first two years to save his job, but he did quite bit of shuffling on his staff. He brought in fired Bowling Green head coach Mike Jinks as new RBs coach, hired journeyman Greg Burns as new DBs coach, brought Boise State defensive line coach Chad Kauha’aha’a to town in the same role, and promoted former WVU defensive coordinator Joe DeForest from analyst to OLBs coach.

He also made two offensive coordinator hires. First, he scooped up fired Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury in a move that appeared to be one of the offseason’s true home runs. USC desperately lacked a clear offensive identity last year with Tee Martin running the show, and few have stronger identities, or offensive track records, then Kingsbury.

Kingsbury’s track record was so strong, in fact, that he was hired away to become the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach weeks later. Scrambling, Helton then took a chance on another former Texas Tech quarterback and potential spread mastermind: Graham Harrell.

Harrell is basically a Younger Kliff. Both left Lubbock for journeyman pro careers, then quickly gathered steam in the coaching ranks. Kingsbury was a co-coordinator at Houston by his third year in the profession and became Texas A&M’s sole coordinator two years later. Harrell coached receivers under Mike Leach for two years, then became North Texas’ coordinator in 2016.

He did well in Denton. He inherited a truly moribund offense, one that had ranked 126th in Off. S&P+ the year before his arrival and hadn’t ranked better than 80th since rejoining FBS in the 1990s. But the Mean Green were 65th by Harrell’s second year and held steady at 67th in his third. They went from averaging 15 points per game before his arrival, to 25 in his first year, to 35 in his next two.

Harrell isn’t Kingsbury, but he’s got some chops, and he’s got a chance to save Helton’s USC tenure.

Of course, it’s at least a little bit odd that Helton didn’t more fully address his flagging defense, too. But we’ll get to that.

Offense

USC’s offense had two major things going against it last year:

The Trojans weren’t truly good at anything. Kind of an issue, yeah? They were 46th in standard downs success rate and 43rd in big-play rate in open-play situations, they were 53rd in passing marginal efficiency, they were 49th in third-and-medium success rate, etc. Those are decent. They were also among USC’s best rankings.

They were also truly bad in specific situations. They were 103rd in blitz downs success rate and 107th in blitz downs sack rate. Anything beyond third-and-medium, and the drive was toast. Plus, they were truly horrific with points on the line: they averaged just 4.2 points per scoring opportunity (first downs inside the opponent’s 40), 101st in FBS.

So basically, they didn’t have anything they knew they could lean on, and in key “gotta make a play” moments, they cratered. That was, shall we say, suboptimal.

If nothing else, Harrell brings an identity to the table, even if it’s not necessarily the hardcore air raid identity you might be imagining.

Harrell’s offense indeed threw the ball a lot, but this wasn’t necessarily an offense built around spreading you from sideline to sideline and creating space and solo tackles.

The biggest defining factor for North Texas was variety. Eight players ended up with at least three intended touches (carries plus pass targets) per game. Three running backs combined to average 24.4 carries and 3.8 targets per game, two receivers finished with between 90 and 110 targets, and two more had between 50 and 70. Plus, the tight were targeted nearly four times per game, too.

Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Pittman Jr.

USC certainly has the skill corps for such variety.

The receiving corps returns three heavy-usage receivers — Tyler Vaughns, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Michael Pittman Jr. were all targeted at least 80 times last year — plus an interesting tight end in Josh Falo. St. Brown was a particularly efficient option, Pittman was all-or-nothing, and Vaughns was basically in-between.

Leading rusher Aca’Cedric Ware, easily last season’s most efficient rusher, is gone, but returnees Vavae Malepeai and Stephen Carr combined for 174 carries and caught 23 of 27 passes last year, albeit for minimal yardage. Malepeai clears the efficiency bar, and Carr’s a former top-20 recruit.

This being USC, there is the requisite batch of young blue-chippers: sophomore receiver Devon Williams, redshirt freshman back Markese Stepp, and incoming freshman receivers Bru McCoy (who had one of the strangest post-signing day recruitments you’ll ever see), Kyle Ford, and Drake London, plus tight end Ethan Rae.

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

JT Daniels

Granted, you still need a quarterback delivering the ball to the skill corps. Harrell had a hell of a quarterback at North Texas in Mason Fine, and he at least has candidates here. Sophomore Jack Sears was efficient in his lone appearance, going 20-for-28 for 235 yards against Arizona State, but the assumption is obviously that Daniels will retain his job.

Daniels’ freshman year was a roller coaster. He was overwhelmed in losses to Stanford and Texas, but he began to find a rhythm before a midseason concussion (which forced him to miss ASU) threw him off-track.

Daniels’ first three games (1-2): 57% completion rate, 12.2 yards/completion, 113.8 passer rating

Next three games (3-0): 60% completion rate, 14.1 yards/completion, 149.8 passer rating

Last five games (1-4): 61% completion rate, 11.6 yards/completion, 128.1 passer rating

One assumes Harrell and Daniels will form a nice bond, but we won’t know for sure until it happens.

One thing that could get in the way of a happy QB-OC marriage: a rebuilt offensive line. Three starters are gone, including all-conference tackle Chuma Edoga. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that a lot of guys saw action on last year’s banged up line, so including Tennessee grad transfer Drew Richmond, there are six guys with starting experience. That’s something.

Defense

To be sure, the offense was the worse of USC’s two units last year. But the defense’s regression rang some alarm bells as well.

Clancy Pendergast’s second stint as USC defensive coordinator continued where his first left off. The Trojans ranked sixth in Def. S&P+ in 2013, and after a two-year absence he returned and led them to ninth in 2016. But they slipped to 24th in 2017, and last fall they were an almost inexplicable 34th.

As with the offense, USC just didn’t have any truly dominant strengths. They were pretty good at forcing third-and-longs, they created some negative run plays and limited your big pass plays, and they got their hands on a decent number of passes.

They also ranked a thoroughly mediocre 51st in marginal efficiency (45th rushing, 56th passing), 93rd in marginal explosiveness, and 88th in points allowed per scoring opportunities. (USC sacrificed so damn many points with red zone failures on both ends.)

Injuries didn’t help. Only one of six regular linebackers played in all 12 games — star linebacker Porter Gustin was on his way to a 20-TFL season but missed the last six contests — and the defensive backs rotation was a revolving door as well.

Still, the bar’s high when you recruit like USC recruits.

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Talanoa Hufanga (15) and John Houston Jr. (10)

The injuries may turn into a saving grace this year. While the Trojans rank 21st in offensive returning production, they are a woeful 118th on defense, primarily because of what they lose in the secondary. Five of last year’s top six DB tacklers are gone (including draftees Iman Marshall and Marvell Tell III), but at least the replacements saw decent playing time.

There are quite a few exciting sophomores in the defensive back eight, but they’re still going to be sophomores. Corners Greg Johnson and Olaijah Griffin, safeties Talanoa Hufanga and Isaiah Pola-Mao, and linebackers Palaie Gaoteote IV and Kana’i Mauga were all well-touted recruits, and all flashed disruptive potential. But yikes, there’s some serious youth here. Senior inside linebackers John Houston Jr. and Jordan Iosefa are going to have to carry serious weight from a leadership perspective.

Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Pili (91) and Christian Rector (89)

The line isn’t exactly full of veterans either; end Christian Rector is the only senior in the rotation. But sophomore tackles Jay Tufele and Marlon Tuipulotu were among last year’s best defenders, and junior nose Brandon Pili has been around the block. JUCO end Nick Figueroa and blue-chip freshman Drake Jackson will need to fill rotation spots pretty quickly, but the starting lineup up front will be strong.

Special Teams

At least one unit rebounded in 2018. After bombing from 19th to 89th in Special Teams S&P+, USC split the difference and ended up 50th last fall, thanks primarily to strong place-kicking from Chase McGrath and, after McGrath tore his ACL, Michael Brown.

With Brown, McGrath, kickoffs specialist Alex Stadthaus, and return men Velus Jones Jr. and Tyler Vaughns, the unit returns mostly intact. The only loss comes at punter, but since USC ranked 112th in punt efficiency, new blood there probably isn’t a bad thing.

2019 outlook

2019 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 31-Aug Fresno State 51 7.7 67% 7-Sep Stanford 32 3.2 57% 14-Sep at BYU 50 2.6 56% 20-Sep Utah 17 -2.1 45% 28-Sep at Washington 15 -9.4 29% 12-Oct at Notre Dame 12 -10.9 27% 19-Oct Arizona 52 7.8 67% 25-Oct at Colorado 68 6.5 65% 2-Nov Oregon 20 -0.6 49% 9-Nov at Arizona State 49 2.3 55% 26-Nov at California 60 4.8 61% 23-Nov UCLA 63 10.2 72%

Projected S&P+ Rk 29 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 26 / 45 Projected wins 6.5 Five-Year S&P+ Rk 17.0 (14) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 16 2018 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* -10 / -6.4 2018 TO Luck/Game -1.5 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 61% (79%, 43%) 2018 Second-order wins (difference) 7.0 (-2.0)

Since Carroll’s peak ended in 2008, USC’s existence has been one of brief bursts and steady slides. Helton didn’t invent this phenomenon.

Still, the rapidity of the regression is alarming, and again, it wasn’t just an offense problem last year.

Helton did make some intriguing moves. Harrell might not be Kingsbury (yet), but he proved quite a bit at North Texas, and if the defensive issues were due more to all the shuffling in the back eight, and not any major structural or tactical issues, then maybe things will end up alright there. The turnover in the back is alarming, though.

Helton is coaching for his job, and hoo boy, is the schedule packed with possible anxiety. The Trojans face nine games projected within one score, including each of the first four games of the year (Fresno State, Stanford, at BYU, Utah).

With just a little bit of variation in play, the Trojans could be 4-0 or 1-3 when they head to Washington on September 28. If Harrell’s offense finds its rhythm quickly, a 10-win season is all sorts of conceivable. If it doesn’t, or if the defense falls off of an inexperience-driven cliff, 4-8 is on the table as well.

Have fun with that, Trojan fans.

Team preview stats

All 2019 preview data to date.