#in the same type of fight he won against Cole during Season 4 but that's besides the point

[figs-oliomedley]

me watching Evil Jay get hyped up just to lose his first match: THAT'S MY LOSER! THAT'S MY FUCKING DIPSHIT!!

[junker-town]

10 takeaways from college basketball’s first full weekend of conference play

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The conference grind portion of the 2019-20 college basketball season has arrived.

Conference play is here, which means the beautiful nine-week journey that carries us through the otherwise depressing as hell depth of winter has begun. Let’s talk about the 10 biggest things that happened during the first weekend of the grind.

1. Cassius Winston and Michigan State are “back”

In the middle of a season that has been largely defined by the disappointing performances of the teams that were supposed to be the best in the sport, Michigan State exists in its own category. The Spartans were a near-unanimous preseason No. 1 team that lost three of its first eight games and began the New Year without a single victory over a team in the current AP top 25 poll.

Tom Izzo’s team has now won seven straight, a run capped by Sunday’s 87-69 torching of arch-rival and 12th-ranked Michigan. That decisive win came just three days after Sparty put a 76-56 beatdown on an Illinois team with NCAA tournament aspirations.

At the heart of this turnaround (if you want to call it that) has been senior star Cassius Winston, who has now scored 21 or more points and dished out six or more assists in each of his last four games. He gave one of the best performances of his college career on Sunday, lighting up Michigan to the tune of 32 points and nine assists over 38 minutes of floor time.

While Winston and Michigan State were struggling in November and the first half of December, no other player really stepped up and established himself as the early front-runner to win national Player of the Year. Oregon’s Payton Pritchard, Dayton’s Obi Toppin and Duke’s Vernon Carey Jr. have all received their fair share of love, but it’s been more “if you had to pick someone today” love as opposed to “he’s clearly been the best player in the sport” love.

Despite everything that happened in the season’s first eight weeks, Michigan State still seems like a team that is going to be among the three or four trendiest national title picks come March. And now suddenly, it seems like every postseason national Player of the Year award may wind up going to the same guy who picked up each and every preseason honor.

2. The Big East will be the most competitive conference to follow all winter

The “best” conference debate is always a subjective one, but I don’t think there is going to be much pushback this winter against the notion that the Big East title race is going to be the most competitive in college basketball. Of the 10 teams in the conference, there isn’t one at the moment with a fan base that doesn’t have at least mild hope that their team will wind up hearing its name called on Selection Sunday.

No one doubts the legitimacy of teams like Butler, Villanova and Seton Hall, but it’s the bottom half of the league that sets it apart this season. The Big East team with the worst overall record, 9-6 Providence, suddenly has life after reeling off consecutive wins over Texas, Georgetown and DePaul. The three 0-2 teams at the bottom of the league standings — DePaul, Georgetown and St. John’s — all won 10 or more games during the non-conference portions of their season.

After just one week of league play, it’s already apparent how intense every night of Big East play is going to be for the next two months.

Mac McClung has some words for Quincy McKnight and Quincy proceeds to show him the scoreboard, leading to a little fight by the Seton Hall huddle. pic.twitter.com/Hcjln3LaBs

— CBB Talk (@CBBSuperFan) January 4, 2020

If every Big East Friday night winds up being like the first one, they’re going to be worth canceling plans for.

3. San Diego State is still undefeated and is absolutely for real

One of the most well-known active streaks of futility in college hoops is that no team from the Western United States has won the national championship since Arizona last cut down the nets back in 1997. The program most likely to end this drought has always been one of the top tier teams from the Pac-12 or, in recent years, Gonzaga. While the Bulldogs are the current No. 1 team in America and Pac-12 squads like Oregon and Arizona certainly seem capable of playing deep into March, there’s a new legitimate West Coast challenger in 2019-20.

San Diego State is 15-0 and one of just two unbeaten teams remaining in college basketball. The Aztecs have been at their best when the lights have been the brightest this season, smashing Creighton by 31, beating Iowa by 10, blasting Utah by 28, and most recently going on the road and handling preseason Mountain West favorite Utah State with relative ease.

So how did the Aztecs go from a team no one was talking about two months ago to one that now has people asking whether or not they can enter the NCAA tournament without a loss?

For starters, Washington State transfer Malachi Flynn has been one of the best guards in the country. The junior is averaging career-bests in points (15.9 ppg) and assists (5.1 apg), saved SDSU with a shot at the buzzer against San Jose State, and just lit up Utah State All-American candidate Sam Merrill to the tune of 22 points, five rebounds and four assists.

With Utah State going through a little bit of a 2018-19 Nevada funk, San Diego State has emerged as the Mountain West team most worthy of fear from the rest of the country. The Aztecs play the type of team defense — No. 12 in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive efficiency rankings — that can carry a squad without an obvious draft pick to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. They’ve also built a solid first half of the year resume that includes five Quadrant 1 wins, which is currently tied for the most in the country. Oh, and the Aztecs are also No. 1 in the NET Rankings at the moment.

The basketball world scrambling to CBS Sports Net to see whether or not Brian Dutcher’s team can keep the dream of an undefeated season alive has the potential to be one of the more fun (and unforeseeable) storylines of the weeks to come.

4. Penn State appears to be (finally) tournament bound

Pat Chambers is the only power conference coach in America to have gone at least eight seasons at a school without a single trip to the NCAA tournament and to still be employed by said school.

It’s looking more and more like the ninth time is going to be the charm for Chambers at Penn State.

Playing a home game at The Palestra in Philly on Saturday, the Nittany Lions notched a significant early Big Ten victory with a thrilling 89-86 take down of No. 23 Iowa. Penn State also knocked off then-No. 4 Maryland last month, giving them two wins over ranked conference foes less than a week into the new year.

Lamar Stevens (16.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg) has been as good as expected for Penn State, but the difference between this year has been the elevated support the senior guard has received. Sophomore Myreon Jones has taken a massive step forward, St. Bonaventure transfer IZaiah Brockington is also averaging double figures, and senior forward Mike Watkins is nearly averaging a double-double and has clearly saved the best basketball for the end of his college career.

Unless something goes horribly awry over these next two months, it appears Penn State’s patience with Chambers is going to be (finally) be rewarded.

5. North Carolina does not

A disaster season for North Carolina found a new bottom on Saturday when the Tar Heels allowed Georgia Tech to come into the Dean Dome and roll to a 96-83 victory. Considering the fact that the Yellow Jackets led 27-4 at the under eight timeout of the first half, Carolina finding a way to score 83 points may have been the most impressive takeaway from the contest.

That note was small consolation to Roy Williams, who didn’t hold back in his postgame press conference.

“I want to apologize to all the North Carolina fans, the people that care about our basketball program, former players, everyone that cares about us,” Williams said. “We stunk it up tonight, and it’s got to me my responsibility. It’s the most negative I’ve ever felt about myself. The most negative I’ve ever felt about any team. We weren’t ready to play.

“If I had any idea what caused that I would have already changed it. It’s the most disappointed and most upset I’ve ever been in my life coaching a basketball game, and it’s not even close.”

Williams need just one victory to pass UNC icon Dean Smith on the career wins list, a monumental event in Chapel Hill that suddenly seems difficult to predict.

While rumors continue to swirl about Cole Anthony’s immediate future, it’s important to remember that the Tar Heels weren’t overly impressive when Anthony was fully healthy and engaged. Even if that soon to be millionaire chooses to come back and finish his one season of college hoops on the court, it may not be enough to keep UNC from missing out on the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010.

6. Pacific and Saint Mary’s played the best game nobody saw

The best game of the weekend took place well after most of the Eastern half of the United States had gone to bed.

Damon Stoudamire’s Pacific Tigers outlasted visiting Saint Mary’s in a quadruple overtime thriller that featured a massive second half comeback and a banked in three at the buzzer of overtime No. 2 that extended the game.

In what became the most amazing basketball game I have ever seen in person, the Pacific men recorded their biggest win in years vs St Mary’s 107-99 in 4 OT’s! Here is Gary Chivichyan at the buzzer bank a 3 to send it to Triple OT and the crowd into a frenzy. @PacificMensBB pic.twitter.com/F9NMycdt2k

— kurtriveratv (@kurtriveratv) January 5, 2020

“I don’t think I’ve played in a game like that before and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game like that before,” said Pacific’s Gary Chivichyan, who hit the memorable shot at the end of the second overtime. “That was probably one of the best basketball games I have ever witnessed in my life.”

While Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and BYU are once again the class of the West Coast Conference, the middle of the league has evolved to a point where games like this one (as well as Pepperdine pushing the Zags to the brink on the same night) are going to become more of the norm.

If the first two months of this season has taught us anything, it’s that West Coast action from the Pac-12, Mountain West and WCC is going to be worth losing sleep for this winter. Not, like, a ton of sleep, but definitely “oh man, I’m moving a little slower than I should be this morning but watching Herb Sendek coach basketball at 1 a.m. was awesome” sleep.

7. Speaking of that ...

As mentioned, Pepperdine pushed No. 1 Gonzaga to the brink late Saturday night. And even when the Zags got things under control, the Waves were able to respond with arguably the best dunk of the weekend.

I did not expect the best dunk of the day in CBB to come from a Pepperdine player, but here we are! pic.twitter.com/KOlrYz7Pft

— Kyle Boone (@Kyle__Boone) January 5, 2020

That’s senior forward Kameron Edwards punching one in right on the head of Corey Kispert. Edwards scored 14 points and snagged 10 boards in the 75-70 loss.

8. This should be the year Duke wins the ACC

One of the more staggering current college basketball facts is that Duke hasn’t even won a share of the ACC’s regular season title since all the way back in 2010. The Blue Devils have been the preseason favorites to win the conference seven times since then and now.

Despite the embarrassing loss to Stephen F. Austin still being relatively fresh in the collective mind of the basketball world, Duke looks a clear cut above the rest of the ACC as we shift into the heart of conference play. The Blue Devils have won their first three league games by a combined 86 points, and two of those contests have been away from Cameron Indoor. They shouldn’t face another significant challenge until Louisville — which looks like less of a threat in the league after it was manhandled at home by Florida State on Saturday — comes to Durham on the 18th.

9. If you’re going to take a bad loss, take it on Friday

The most significant conference upset of the weekend is one that hasn’t warranted a ton of discussion on this Monday. That’s because pretty much nobody was watching it. The lesson, of course, is that if you’re a Big Ten or Big East (or whatever) team looking to bury a woeful performance this winter, make sure it happens on one of those awkward Friday night games on the schedule.

On this most Friday night of the season, Ohio State allowed what had been a super average Wisconsin team to come into the The Schottenstein Center and walk out with a 61-57 upset of the No. 5 team in the country. Buckeye big man Kaleb Wesson was phenomenal (22 points and 13 rebounds), but when Wisconsin committed two or three defenders to shutting Wesson down, no one else for OSU was able to step up as a reliable second scoring option.

Suddenly, an Ohio State team that seemed as rock solid as any squad in the country just a few weeks ago has turned into something of an enigma. They’ll have a chance to answer some of these newly unearthed questions Tuesday night when they hit the road to take on Maryland.

10. The tales of Wichita State’s demise appear to have been greatly exaggerated

After an uncharacteristically subpar 2018-19, Wichita State appears to be back with a vengeance this season. The Shockers destroyed Ole Miss 74-54 on Saturday to improve to 13-1 on the year. Their lone loss is a 12-point defeat at the hands of West Virginia that looks much better now than it did at the time.

With Cincinnati struggling mightily in year one under John Brannen and Memphis losing at home to Georgia and still adjusting to the realization that James Wiseman isn’t coming back, the AAC really needed Wichita State to regain its footing this year. The Shockers are not only stabilized, but they appear to be the class of the conference at the moment.

[movietvtechgeeks]

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/nfl-roundup-ezekiel-elliott-domestic-abuse-suspension-plus-bills-shake/

NFL Roundup: Ezekiel Elliott domestic abuse suspension plus Bills shake it up

A suspension was already looming over Ezekiel Elliott's head for that Dallas bar fight back in July, but it was another case of alleged domestic violence that has sidelined the Dallas Cowboys running back. Elliott was suspended for six games Friday after a yearlong NFL investigation of his domestic violence case in Ohio. The 2016 NFL rushing leader was suspended despite prosecutors in Columbus, Ohio, deciding a year ago not to pursue the case involving Elliott's girlfriend at the time in the same city where he starred for Ohio State. The league, however, said there was "substantial and persuasive evidence" that Elliott had physical confrontations last summer with his then-girlfriend, Tiffany Thompson. Elliott will be eligible to return to the active roster on Oct. 23. His first possible game will be Week 8 at Washington. Elliott, who turned 22 last month, has three days to appeal the ruling. One of his agents didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The NFL Players Association said it was reviewing the decision and had been in touch with Elliott's representatives to consider his options. The ruling requires Elliott to get an evaluation to determine whether he needs counseling or treatment, and to show proof that he is following up on any recommendations that are made. The league revised its personal conduct policy in 2014 following sharp criticism of a case involving former Baltimore running back Ray Rice. The policy gave Commissioner Roger Goodell authority to suspend players for at least six games in domestic cases, with or without a conviction. In a letter to Elliott informing him of the league's decision, NFL special counsel for conduct Todd Jones said advisers brought in by the league "were of the view that there is substantial and persuasive evidence supporting a finding that (Elliott) engaged in physical violence against Ms. Thompson on multiple occasions during the week of July 16, 2016." Last September, the office of Columbus City Attorney Richard Pfeiffer cited conflicting and inconsistent information in the evidence in deciding against criminal charges. The NFL's letter to Elliott cited the Ohio case and an incident this past spring when Elliott was caught on video pulling down a woman's shirt while watching a St. Patrick's Day parade in Dallas. The decision came despite Cowboys owner Jerry Jones saying he hadn't seen anything to indicate Elliott was guilty of domestic violence and that he didn't think his star back would be suspended. Jones made the comments several times, including during festivities last weekend when he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Elliott has had a string of off-field issues in the year since the Cowboys made him the fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft. He was seen in a legal marijuana shop during the preseason in Seattle last year and was also involved in a bar fight in Dallas a week before training camp this year. The All-Pro back finished with 1,631 yards rushing in helping the Cowboys to the best record in the NFC at 13-3 before a divisional playoff loss to Green Bay. He set rookie franchise records for yards, rushing touchdowns (15) and total touchdowns (16). The Buffalo Bills shook up their roster with two separate blockbuster trades Friday, dealing starting receiver Sammy Watkins to the Los Angeles Rams and acquiring receiver Jordan Matthews from Philadelphia in exchange for cornerback Ronald Darby. The Bills acquired cornerback E.J. Gaines from the Rams. Buffalo also continued stockpiling 2018 draft picks by getting a second-round selection from Los Angeles and a third-rounder from the Eagles. The Bills dealt a sixth-round pick to the Rams as part of the Watkins trade. The moves were made day after Buffalo opened its preseason with a 17-10 loss to Minnesota. The shakeup continues an offseason overhaul under new coach Sean McDermott and GM Brandon Beane. Watkins' future in Buffalo was already in question after the Bills in May declined to pick up his fifth-year option. He is entering the final year of his deal. Matthews is also entering the final season of his contract, so the Eagles also faced the possibility of losing him in free agency. Gaines was valuable defensive back in the Rams' rotation. He won a starting job in 2015 but then got hurt before the season started. He became expendable after the Rams acquired Kayvon Webster this offseason, who is pegged to start opposite Trumaine Johnson. The Rams need playmakers for an offense that finished last in the NFL over the past two seasons. Watkins can be that type of dynamic threat when healthy. Watkins had been the Bills starter since Buffalo traded up five spots in the 2014 draft to select him with the No. 4 pick. He has 153 catches for 2,459 yards and 17 touchdowns in three seasons, but topped 1,000 yards just once, in 2015. He's been hampered by an assortment of injuries and limited to playing just eight games last year after having surgery to repair a broken left foot. Watkins required a second operation in January after aggravating the injury last season. In Los Angeles, Watkins is reunited with the Rams new coach Anthony Lynn, who spent the previous two seasons in Buffalo. Lynn started as the Bills receivers coach before being promoted to offensive coordinator last year and finished the season as the team's interim coach after Rex Ryan was fired a week before the final game. Watkins is also reunited with former Bills starter Robert Woods, who signed with the Rams in free agency after four seasons in Buffalo. The Bills continue revamping their receiver group, with Matthews' acquisition coming four days after Buffalo signed veteran free agent Anquan Boldin. Matthews had been Philadelphia's most productive receiver, averaging 75 catches, 891 receiving yards and six touchdowns in his first three seasons. But the Eagles signed free-agent receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith in the offseason, drafted Mack Hollins and Shelton Gibson and have been pleased with 2015 first-round pick Nelson Agholor's improvement. Darby started 29 games in his first two seasons in Buffalo. He was a second-round pick (50th overall) in the 2015 draft. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell watched the New England Patriots' exhibition opener, spending some time in owner Robert Kraft's suite. It was his first game in New England since suspending quarterback Tom Brady in the scandal that came to be known as "Deflategate." Goodell was in Kraft's suite at the start of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to a photograph posted on Twitter by The Boston Globe. Patriots spokesman Stacey James confirmed to media outlets that Goodell was at the game. The Patriots lost to the Jaguars 31-24 without Brady, who sat out the exhibition. Goodell suspended Brady four games after an NFL investigation concluded he conspired to use illegally underinflated footballs in the 2015 AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. New England fans rallied to their quarterback's defense and lashed out at Goodell for the harsh penalty that some thought was based on dubious evidence. The Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl anyway - Brady's fifth. Jimmy Garoppolo missed his chance at an on-field audition when he was injured during Tom Brady's four-game "Deflategate" suspension last season. So this might be his best chance to show the Patriots - or another team that wants to trade for him - that he's ready to be an NFL starter. "Coach always has us guessing," the heir apparent said Thursday night after completing a Brady-like 22 of 28 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-24 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. "You never know if you're going to play a little or a lot," said Garoppolo, who played two quarters and then went out for two more series in the second half while coach Bill Belichick sat the reigning Super Bowl MVP out. "When he put me back in, I was happy to get back out there with the guys." Chad Henne hit Keelan Cole on a 97-yard touchdown pass, Corey Grant scored on a 79-yard run, and the Jacksonville Jaguars feasted on a Patriots lineup without Brady and Rob Gronkowski - or much defense at all - to beat the defending NFL champions in their exhibition opener. Garoppolo completed 13 straight passes at one point, finding Austin Carr on a 3-yard touchdown pass at the end of the first half and then K.J. Maye from 5 yards out to start the second and make it 17-17. But the New England defense followed by giving up another one-play scoring drive - this one Grant's run down the left sideline to make it 24-17. "One of our basic plays. Coach called the play. The O line did their job. And then it was up to me to make that one guy miss," Grant said. "And then it was off to the races." Third-string QB Brandon Allen hit Dede Westbrook from 42 yards out - victimizing Patriots cornerback Cyrus Jones for another big play - to make it a two-touchdown game. "We weren't expecting the touchdown, but everything worked out perfectly," Westbrook said. Garoppolo was drafted in the second round in 2014 and has been stuck behind Brady, a five-time Super Bowl champion who has shown no signs of slowing down at 40 years old. The backup's big chance might have been last year, when Brady was suspended the first four games of the season, but Garoppolo only lasted five quarters before a shoulder injury knocked him out. Unless Brady gets injured, these exhibition games are probably Garoppolo's only chance before he is eligible for free agency at the end of the season to show other teams he can play. "He makes the throws, and he led his team up and down the field," Jaguars defensive end Calais Campbell said. "I have a lot of respect for him, and I am excited to see when he becomes a starter some day and see how he does." Grant ran for 120 yards on eight carries for the Jaguars, who were playing their first game under new coach Doug Marrone after firing Gus Bradley following a 3-13 record. Executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin, the former New York Giants coach who twice beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, watched from the press level. Jaguars starter Blake Bortles completed 3 of 5 passes for 16 yards in two offensive series that resulted in one field goal. Henne came on with one play left in the first quarter and went 5 of 6 for 139 yards. Patriots third-stringer Jacoby Brissett was 8 of 13 for 88 yards. He had a chance to tie or win the game with just over a minute left, but desperation passes sailed out of the back of the end zone on the final two plays of the game. ROOKIES Jaguars: No. 4 overall draft pick Leonard Fournette ran nine times for 31 yards and a 1-yard touchdown. Patriots: Undrafted free agent tight end Jacob Hollister, taking advantage of extra playing time with Gronkowski out, caught seven passes for 116 yards, including a 38-yarder. Carr, an undrafted free agent from Northwestern, caught five passes for 44 yards, going high to bring down Garoppolo's throw at the back of the end zone just before halftime. INJURIES Jaguars: Backup S Peyton Thompson left the game in the first half with a right biceps strain. Patriots: Rookie DL Deatrich Wise left with a head injury in the first half. SPECIAL GUESTS NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell attended the game - his first visit to Gillette Stadium since suspending Brady for four games in the scandal that came to be known as "Deflategate." Widely resented by New England fans, Goodell was spotted in Patriots owner Robert Kraft's luxury box at the start of the game. SPECIAL TEAMS After struggling in 2016 on special teams, the Jaguars hired Joe DeCamillis and brought in several specialists. Rashad Greene Sr. had a 41-yard punt return. Arrelious Benn had a nice tackle on a punt return. KICKING WOES Jacksonville's Jason Myers missed field goals from 53 and 50 yards. New England's Stephen Gostkowski missed one from 56 yards.

Movie TV Tech Geeks News

[yahoo-from-the-marbles-blog]

Power Rankings: Broken part doesn't stop Keselowski from moving to No. 1

Brad Keselowski (R) leads Martin Truex Jr. this week despite Truex’s win. (Getty)

Welcome to Power Rankings. As always, Power Rankings are far from a scientific formula. In fact, it’s the perfect blend of analytics and bias against your favorite driver. Direct all your complaints to us at nickbromberg@yahoo.com and we’ll try to have some fun.

1. Brad Keselowski (LW: 1): Keselowski looked like he was heading to his second-straight win in 2017 and his second-straight win at Las Vegas. But a broken part — apparently in the right front — meant he was passed by Martin Truex Jr. for the lead with two laps to go.

Perhaps it says something about the strength of Keselowski’s car that he was able to limp his wounded car (he said he had no brakes and it wouldn’t turn) to a fifth-place finish. Granted, the incident between Joey Logano and Kyle Busch didn’t hurt matters in that instance, but Keselowski is worthy of this spot in Power Rankings.

“It’s frustrating, but you put yourself in position to win and good things will happen,” Keselowski said. “That happened to us last week and didn’t happen this week, so you just pick up the pieces and move on.  Luckily, they’re really big pieces.  We’ve got a lot to be proud of.”

[Fill out your NCAA tournament bracket here | Printable version]

2. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 8): Truex became the first Cup Series driver to win the first two stages of a race and the race itself. Congratulations on your historic achievement, Martin. You will forever be the answer to obscure trivia questions at NASCAR bars in 2025.

In all seriousness, only Truex and Keselowski were deserving of winning Sunday’s race. The two combined to lead 239 of the race’s 267 laps and both ran in the top three for most of the day. The only other driver who led more than five laps was Jimmie Johnson, and his 19 laps led came because of a pit strategy move in the second half of the race.

And the benefit from Keselowski’s misfortune was a bit of a turnaround for Truex, who dominated much more than he won in 2016.

“We definitely had our share of races where we’ve dominated and gave one away and it looked like today was going to be another one of those,” Truex said. “… I hate that he had problems, he was strong and we weren’t going to do anything with him, but then he lost the brakes or something. A little bit of a gift, but we have given some away, so it feels good to come out on the good end for once.”

3. Joey Logano (LW: 4): Like we said after the race on Sunday, there’s no way you can get mad at Logano for what happened at the end of the race. Sure, he could have done a better job of keeping his car under control, but what race car driver hasn’t been aggressive while racing for a position on the final lap? Logano was trying to get to third and had an opening so he went for it.

“We were just racing hard there at the end,” Logano said. “I was underneath him on the backstretch and he tried to crash me into the corner getting underneath Brad there and at that point I was just trying get through the corner. I was sideways all the way through and get into him. Nothing intentional. I understand his frustration, he crashed. The same thing could have happened into [turn] 3 what he did to me.”

4. Kurt Busch (LW: 2): Busch had battery issues throughout Sunday’s race, making Vegas an unhappy homecoming for the Busch brothers. The Daytona 500 champion finished 30th, four laps down and behind drivers like Cole Whitt and Matt DiBenedetto. Busch is also seventh in the points standings after entering Sunday’s race in the top three.

5. Kyle Larson (LW: 5): Speaking of the points standings, Larson is a point away from being the points leader. After finishing second on Sunday, Larson has 131 points, one point fewer than Keselowski. Larson got off to an absolutely horrid start in 2016 before recovering over the summer, so this first 1/12th of the season could be our first evidence of Larson as a true title contender.

6. Chase Elliott (LW: 6): This guy is off to a great start too. Elliott slipped past Busch and Logano as they were tangling in turn 4 and finished fourth. Elliott is just two points behind Larson in the standings thanks to his excellence throughout all three races so far. If Elliott didn’t run out of gas late in the Daytona 500, he’s the points leader.

“I’m really proud of the way we have performed,” Elliott said. “Our it stops have been great, our car has been good, we have been able to run solidly in the top five the past couple of weeks, which is great for me and our team.  We’ve just got to keep that going and find that next little bit.”

7. Ryan Blaney (LW: 9): And here’s another young driver off to a good start. When NASCAR brought Larson, Elliott and Blaney to Daytona 500 media day together for an upstarts press conference of sorts, it was dreaming of the way the points standings currently look like. With Larson in second and Elliott in third, Blaney is sixth, ahead of drivers like Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick.

8. Kevin Harvick (LW: 3): We’re intrigued to find out the reason for Harvick’s tire failure on Sunday. The tire simply exploded as he was exiting the tri-oval entering turn 1. It was an odd place for a tire failure given that Harvick was driving (relatively) straight and the tire wasn’t under too much load. No matter the underlying reasons, it’s not a good look for Goodyear to have high-profile tire failures in each of the first three races of the season.

9. Kasey Kahne (LW: 7): Kahne’s solid but not spectacular start continues. With a 12th-place finish on Sunday he got his first non-top 10 finish of the season but is still on a run that he really couldn’t find during the regular season in 2016. If a bad day is 12th, Kahne’s gonna be alright.

10. Matt Kenseth (LW: 10): Kenseth finished ninth and was set to be the third of four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers until Kyle Busch’s last-lap misfortune. Instead, he got past Busch and finished a spot higher in the top 10 than he otherwise would have. You can’t get this type of insight anywhere else.

11. Clint Bowyer (LW: 12): Bowyer finished 10th, his first top-10 since last summer at Daytona and his first top-10 at a 1.5-mile track since 2014 at Homestead. And it’s his first top-10 at a non-restrictor plate or short track since a run of three-straight at Indianapolis, Pocono and Watkins Glen in 2015. Celebrate responsibly, Clint.

12. Trevor Bayne (LW: 11): While misfortune has plagued Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bayne is quietly have a good start to the season. He finished 13th on Sunday and is 11th in the standings.

Lucky Dog: Look at that scrappy Jimmie Johnson fighting for an 11th-place finish. That guy could make some waves this year.

The DNF: Kyle Busch gets it after finishing 22nd — the last car on the lead lap — because of the incident with Logano. His sponsor M&Ms released a statement to Fox’s Race Hub that didn’t exactly support Busch’s actions following the crash.

“The recent actions by Kyle Busch are not consistent with the values of Mars Chocolate North America. While we are disappointed with the situation, we hope the drivers and team members involved learn from this experience and continue to grow as professional athletes representing the sport.”

Dropped Out: No one

– – – – – – –

Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @NickBromberg

[junker-town]

12 stats that tell us everything that happened in NFL Week 9

We promise, there’s no real math involved.

Not many words are needed to tell the story of Week 9 in the NFL — it can be summed up with some fists and a few numbers. Fiiiiiights were the big theme this week, but there was more than that. We got to see explosive offenses, apathetic defenses, and career days from a couple veterans.

Now that we’re past the halfway point of the 2017 season, we’re starting to get an idea — albeit, still a fuzzy one — of which teams will be playing in January. The Eagles and Rams won big with 51-point showings and look like contenders. The 49ers are the first team this year to 0-9, but probably because the Browns had a bye.

If you’re starting to get Algebra II-type of anxiety, don’t worry: There’s no real math involved. Here are the most interesting stats and numbers from Week 9.

1

Mike Evans was the only player suspended after there were three fights on Sunday that resulted in five ejections.

Here was Evans, drilling the Saints’ Marshon Lattimore after Jameis Winston instigated him by poking him in the head.

Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Green sparked the first fight of the afternoon, which resulted in both players getting ejected. Later, 49ers running back Carlos Hyde, and Cardinals defenders Haason Reddick and Frostee Rucker were ejected for their own fight.

Everyone else probably faces a fine, at most. Evans, who somehow wasn’t ejected against the Saints, will now have to sit out next week.

1-2

Just over 18 months ago, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz heard their names called first, then second, in the 2016 NFL draft.

On Sunday, they made history:

Today is the 1st time QBs selected 1 & 2 overall in the same @NFL Draft each threw 4+ TD passes on the same day: @JaredGoff16 & @cj_wentz http://pic.twitter.com/DAg1RCApnm

— Randall Liu (@RLiuNFL) November 5, 2017

For Goff, the Rams’ 51-17 win over the Giants was a career day. He had never thrown four touchdowns in a game before then.

On the other hand, it’s a little old hat for MVP candidate Wentz. Sunday’s 51-23 win for the Eagles was the third time he’s tossed four touchdowns in a game this season, all within the last five weeks. He’s coming for you, Dan Marino.

31

No team is hotter than the Eagles right now. They’re an NFL-best 8-1 and have averaged 36 points over the last five weeks.

So it shouldn’t be shocking that they blew out an opponent. But the Broncos? 51 points against THAT defense?

The Eagles’ production in the first half alone was something we hadn’t seen in seven years against this D:

PHI 31, DEN 9 The @Eagles are the first team to score 30+ points in the 1st half vs the Broncos since the Raiders (38) in Week 7, 2010

— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) November 5, 2017

The Broncos gave up 59 points to the Raiders in that 2010 loss, so at least it didn’t get THAT bad for them Sunday. But it was the defense’s ugliest game so far in a season that keeps getting worse:

It's not just a 4-game losing streak. Broncos have been outscored 41-3 in first quarter during skid. #9sports

— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) November 6, 2017

We don’t blame you if you think the Broncos have already thrown in the towel.

There’s good news and bad news for the Denver defense in the coming weeks. First the bad: Tom Brady and the league’s No. 1 offense come to town next Sunday. Now the good: the Bengals’ last-place offense visits the following week.

0

Has any free agent signing made a bigger impact than Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth? Jared Goff, who already had to endure several months with Jeff Fisher as his coach, also had to weather through a tragic offensive line that let him get sacked 26 times as a rookie — and that was only in SEVEN games. This offseason, the Rams made it a priority to protect Goff. Their biggest signing was 35-year-old Whitworth, who the Bengals let walk in free agency.

On Sunday, he made sure Goff didn’t even need to wash his jersey after the game (I mean, he SHOULD, but he didn’t HAVE to):

LT Andrew Whitworth allowed 0 pressures on 22 pass blocks.

— Patricia Traina (@Patricia_Traina) November 6, 2017

Whitworth (No. 77) also laid this huge block on third-and-33 to let Robert Woods take it 52 yards to the house:

What a difference a year makes: the 6-2 Rams have scored more points in 2017 than they did in 2016, and they still have eight more games remaining. And Goff? He’s has been sacked just 10 times.

33.3

Look, we all miss Deshaun Watson. Not only was he having a historic rookie season before his ACL injury, but he was arguably the most fun player to watch this season.

But no one misses him as much as DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. With Tom Savage at quarterback, the Texans receiving duo went from putting up 349 yards against the Legion of Boom last week to just 118 this week against the NFL’s second-worst passing defense.

After 6.5 games with Watson under center, Hopkins and Fuller were the NFL’s co-leaders in receiving touchdowns with seven apiece. This is what happened without him:

DeAndre Hopkins & Will Fuller V combined for 8 receptions on 24 targets. Their combined 33.3 reception pct was their lowest ever as a duo

— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) November 6, 2017

The Texans also came into Week 9 with the NFL’s best scoring offense, averaging 30.7 points per game. The Watson-less offense scored a grand total of one touchdown against a Colts defense that was allowing 30.8 points per game. Unsurprisingly, Houston lost. If only there was a better quarterback out there for the team to sign ...

37

Adrian Peterson, who keeps fluctuating from “he’s back!” to “he’s washed!” on a weekly basis, was definitely BACK Sunday against the 49ers.

With Drew Stanton at quarterback, the Cardinals decided their best chance of winning was by giving their 32-year-old running back more carries than he’s ever had in his MVP-winning career.

And it worked. Peterson ran the ball a career-high 37 times for 159 yards, his best rushing total in two years. The Cardinals got back to .500 with a 20-10 win.

After the game, Peterson said that he felt “fresh,” despite having more carries in a game than any other running back over 30 has ever had:

No player over the age of 30 in @NFL history has had more carries in a game than @AdrianPeterson had today. How'd he feel? "Fresh." http://pic.twitter.com/KTjm8NAdKB

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 6, 2017

One stat noticeably missing from his line, however: a touchdown. Peterson, who is sitting at 99 career rushing yards, is still waiting to get that elusive 100 emoji.

+53

That’s Seattle’s net point differential for the second half of games this season. Most of that comes in the fourth quarter where they’ve outscored opponents 79-30. The hurry-up offense Russell Wilson and Co. used to such dramatic effect in last week’s win over the Texans works. Sometimes it’s not enough, like this week’s last-minute loss to Washington.

Here’s my question: if it works so well in the second half, why not give it a try in the first half and stay out of the dicey situations all together. Just a thought!

9

The 1-7 Giants are setting records, but not in a good way:

Giants have now allowed a TD to a TE in 9 consecutive games, an @NFL record.

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) November 5, 2017

They let tight end Tyler Higbee in the end zone for an 8-yard score in Sunday’s demoralizing loss to the Rams. It was Seattle’s Jimmy Graham in Week 7, and the Broncos’ Jeff Heuerman in Week 6. The only week in recent memory that the Giants haven’t allowed a touchdown pass to a tight end was in Week 8, which was the team’s bye.

The Giants take on the winless 49ers next week, and they’ll have George Kittle, Garrett Celek, and Cole Hikutini to contend with. Kittle and Celek have one score each this season. It’s a chance for the Giants to snap this streak — or an opportunity for the 49ers to take advantage of one of the Giants’ weaknesses and maybe finally get a win.

4

The Sean Payton and Drew Brees era of Saints football has been known for high-flying offense. An offense so good that it’s largely been able to overcome a defense that’s been, at best for the majority of the tenure, mediocre.

That’s starting to turn in 2017. First, there’s the rapidly improving secondary, boosted by a couple of rookies. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore, drafted No. 11 overall out of Ohio State, and second-round safety Marcus Williams have helped turned the pass defense from the worst in the league last season to No. 12 this season.

It would be irresponsible to mention any type of success on the Saints defense without bringing up Cam Jordan, who has been their best player on that side of the ball. The defensive end is on pace for a career year, with seven sacks, 14 QB hits, two forced fumbles, and a pick-six so far.

These improvements have paid off on the scoreboard too:

The Saints scored 3 total non-offensive touchdowns from 2013-16. They just returned a blocked punt for their 4th non-offensive TD of 2017.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 5, 2017

If the Saints can keep this up while the offense continues to cook, they’e going to be a tough out for anybody the rest of the season.

81

Jay Cutler, in his first game back from cracking a few ribs, had his best game by far this season on Sunday against the Raiders. Cutler completed 34 of 42 passes — or a smokin’ 81 percent completion rate, the highest number in any complete game of his career.

Cutler, who threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns, couldn’t lead the Dolphins to a win. They lost, 27-24, on Sunday night. But it wasn’t because of their 34-year-old quarterback, sore ribs and all.

82

For all the talk about how bad the Seahawks’ offensive line is, they can’t stop committing penalties.

They lead the NFL with 82, with the second-most in the NFL not even all that close to them:

Seattle now has 82 penalties, 9 more than anyone else in NFL. That's on pace for 164 which would shatter team record of 138 in 2011.

— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) November 6, 2017

The worst part? They’re on pace to set a new record for most penalties in a season.

13

The Lions traveled to Lambeau Field and got a 30-17 victory over the Packers. It probably could’ve/should’ve been worse, but the 13-point win was the first victory for the Lions at Lambeau Field of more than 10 points in 35 years.

It was also just the second time Detroit has beat the Packers on the road since 1991. Even though Green Bay was without Aaron Rodgers, the Lions will take it.