#trent brock coaching

[beechannel27]

In this day and age, it is so important to be your own advocate in the health care system. Tune in to this insightful conversation that Trent Brock and I had on the power of advocacy.

You can listen and or watch the full episode by clicking the link below!

Trent Brock is 3X terminal cancer conqueror and international small business entrepreneur. Trent introduced, owned and operated a kettle corn manufacturing business in New Zealand over fourteen years. In early 2019, he was diagnosed with aggressive pelvic/hip cancer. The surgery left him disabled with one leg shorter than the other (Doctors told him he would never walk again - he has been in a wheelchair/crutches over five years). Then he got lung cancer and later pancreatic with a less than 5% chance to survive. Trent made drastic changes to his diet, exercise routine, mental and spiritual outlook even though five specialists told him life was over and given a year to live. In the Spring 2021 he returned to the US to have cancer treatment from his now home base Bentonville, Arkansas.

As of today, he is almost three years cancer free! Trent is currently in the middle of a three-part journey-within-the-journey surgery recently having the largest, most complex hip implant ever done in the world. He is a few months from walking.

Turning his pain into purpose, Trent is now an inspirational speaker, cancer journey/patient self-advocate ambassador and best-selling author in "Breaking the Silence: Voices of Survivors Vol 1."

Catch up with Trent at www.trentbrockcoaching.com

Feel free to leave a review/rating/comment on Spotify and let us know what you thought about today's episode!

[dollwritess]

CMC X CAPRI (reader)

Word Count:565

+*:ꔫ:*﹤⋆.ೃ࿔*:･༉‧₊˚.

A Special Visit to Levi's Stadium 🏈

Christian McCaffrey couldn't stop smiling as he carefully secured his three-month-old daughter, Hazel Grace, into her car seat. His wife Capri gave him a knowing look from the passenger seat – she'd seen that same expression of pure joy on his face ever since they welcomed their little girl into the world.

"You sure the guys won't mind us dropping by practice?" Capri adjusted the baby's tiny 49ers beanie, a miniature version of her father's.

"Are you kidding? They've been begging to meet her," Christian chuckled, starting the drive to Levi's Stadium. "Deebo's been sending me dad jokes every day since she was born."

The morning sun cast a warm glow over Santa Clara as they pulled into the players' parking lot. Christian had timed their visit perfectly – the team was just wrapping up their morning practice session. As they walked through the tunnel, Hazel's eyes widened at the vast expanse of the stadium, her tiny hands reaching out toward the sunlight.

"Look who finally decided to grace us with her presence!" George Kittle's booming voice echoed across the field. Before long, a crowd of red and gold jerseys surrounded the family, with Brock Purdy leading the way.

"There's my favorite rookie!" Purdy grinned, making silly faces at Hazel, who responded with a toothless smile. "She's got your eyes, CMC, but definitely Capri's grace."

The offensive line formed a protective circle around the baby, these massive men suddenly transformed into gentle giants. Trent Williams, the team's imposing left tackle, held out his massive hands.

"May I?" he asked softly. Capri carefully placed Hazel in his arms, and the contrast between the tiny infant and the 320-pound lineman made everyone laugh.

Coach Shanahan joined the group, his usual intense game-planning expression melting into a warm smile. "Now this is the kind of team meeting I like to see," he said, watching his players coo and fuss over their teammate's daughter.

The afternoon turned into an impromptu baby photoshoot, with Hazel being passed from teammate to teammate, each insisting on getting a picture with "Little Miss McCaffrey." She wore a custom onesie with "Daddy's MVP" printed on the back, a gift from the equipment staff.

As the sun began to set, casting long shadows across the field, Christian held his daughter up to face the empty stadium seats. "This is where Daddy plays, sweetheart," he whispered. "Maybe someday you'll be running routes out here too."

Capri wrapped her arms around them both, and for a moment, the family stood in silence, taking in the peaceful quiet of the empty stadium. The field had seen countless touchdowns and victories, but this simple moment – a father sharing his passion with his daughter – felt more significant than any game-winning play.

"Time to head home, little one," Christian said softly as Hazel's eyes began to droop. The team watched as the McCaffreys made their way back through the tunnel, their voices a chorus of goodbyes and promises to babysit.

That evening, as Christian placed his sleeping daughter in her crib, he noticed she was still clutching the tiny football Kittle had given her. He smiled, knowing that while he'd achieved many dreams on the football field, none compared to the joy of being a father. The stadium had witnessed many of his proudest moments, but today's visit would always hold a special place in his heart.

+*:ꔫ:*﹤⋆.ೃ࿔*:･༉‧₊˚.

Please give me requests!

[chompinatthebit]

2024 NFL Storylines

Now that rosters have trimmed down to 53, for the most part, it's time to finally look ahead to the NFL season which begins Thursday September 5th. We all know that sports brings about drama that keeps us glued to the tv each and every weekend of the season, this NFL season won't be any different. With that in mind, I will give you my storylines to watch this season.

1. Super Bowl or Bust - These are teams that I feel realistically have pressure to get it done this season:

Baltimore Ravens - They have the reigning MVP, a top 5 defense that returns mostly everyone and added Derrick Henry over the offseason. They made the AFC title game last year but came up small, especially offensively, it's safe to ask can they get it done? Lamar has 2 MVPs and 2 playoff wins, enough said.

Kansas City Chiefs - They are going for a three-peat and with that rarified air, as they would be the first to complete the feat. It doesn't hurt that they have the best QB in the league, they also added Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown to a WR core that hasn't even been all that dynamic the past couple of seasons.

San Francisco 49ers - The offseason saga with Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk's contract highlights the fact that they have some serious decisions coming up very soon. They have Deebo Samuel and Brock Purdy, who will be looking for new deals next offseason, they also lost in the Super Bowl last season. Could this be a last stand for this group?

Philadelphia Eagles - This team was just in the Super Bowl 2 years ago but took a step back last season. They have locked up their WRs and have taken steps to fix their secondary which was a major problem last season. They replaced both coordinators last season who were held accountable for the slide in performance. Nick Sirianni would technically be the next to go if this season doesn't pan out.

2. Young QBs thrust into the spotlight - Looking around the league, we are seeing that a good number of teams are pinning the direction of their season on the success or failure of unproven QBs.

Caleb Williams (Bears), Jayden Daniels (Commanders) and Bo Nix (Broncos) will be starting from week 1. JJ McCarthy seemingly was on pace to possibly be the starter with the Vikings, before he went down with a season ending knee injury. Drake Maye could very well take over the starting job at some point this season from Jacoby Brissett for the Patriots.

We also have guys in CJ Stroud (Texans), Bryce Young (Panthers), Jordan Love (Packers), Will Levis (Titans), Anthony Richardson (Colts) who are entering the season with varying experience from this past season but are still developing in their second season as starters.

We are looking at 1/3 of the league with young guys at the most important position on the field, how many of them could take their team to the playoffs this season?

3. Who makes the quick turnaround - In 19 of the last 21 years at least one team has gone from finishing last in the division the season before to division champs the following season. With that in mind, who is most likely to pull off the feat this year.

Cincinnati Bengals (AFC North) went 9-8 last year in a season where Burrow missed time and dealt with an injured wrist, if Burrow stays healthy this season they could absolutely pull it off.

Tennessee Titans (AFC South) went 6-11 last season but have done a great job in improving the roster this offseason, if Will Levis continues to improve then they could be the team that challenges the Texans this year for the AFC South crown.

Chicago Bears (NFC North) were a 7-10 team last season after a good finish to the season, they seemingly have their guy in Caleb Williams to run what they believe will be an improved offense. The defense has some pieces as well but not completely sold on coach Eberflus.

The other teams that finished last in their divisions were the New England Patriots (AFC East), LA Chargers (AFC West), Washington Commanders (NFC East), Arizona Cardinals (NFC West) and Carolina Panthers (NFC South).

With every season there are so many storylines that will play out so these are just 3 for you to monitor over the course of the 2024-2025 season. We are just days away from the season starting so strap in and get to the edge of your seat, the fun is about to start.

Make sure to give me a follow and check out my other content on my blog page. You can also follow me over @passionandprecision as well with my friend/co-host @jorissportsstories who you can also follow for her great content as well.

I appreciate you for taking the time to check out my article, until next time...

[whatsissue]

49ers Face Major Challenges as Purdy and Bosa Sideline for Pivotal Week 12 Matchup Against Packers

49ers Hit with Major Setbacks: Purdy and Bosa Out for Week 12 Against Packers In a significant blow to the San Francisco 49ers, both quarterback Brock Purdy and defensive end Nick Bosa will be sidelined for their crucial Week 12 matchup against the Green Bay Packers. This double setback comes as the 49ers aim to solidify their position in the league amidst a challenging season. Quarterback Woes Brock Purdy, who has shown considerable promise this season, is dealing with soreness in his right shoulder. His condition worsened after he missed Friday's practice, leading to the confirmation of his absence for the upcoming game. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has named Brandon Allen as the starting quarterback in Purdy's place. Allen, who has had limited playing time with the 49ers, faces the daunting task of stepping into a critical role during a pivotal moment in the season. Defensive Challenges Adding to the 49ers' troubles, defensive standout Nick Bosa will also be out due to hip and oblique injuries. Bosa sustained these injuries during a practice session on November 6 and struggled to continue past the third quarter in last week’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. The absence of Bosa, a key player on the defensive line, will require significant adjustments to the 49ers' defensive strategy. Left Tackle Concerns The 49ers' challenges are compounded by uncertainty surrounding left tackle Trent Williams, who is nursing an ankle injury. Williams's status remains doubtful, as Shanahan has labeled him a game-time decision. His potential absence would further destabilize an already weakened offensive line. Management Insights General Manager John Lynch described Purdy’s condition as 'tenuous' following an MRI scan that revealed the extent of his shoulder issue. This precautionary measure was taken after Purdy had to cut his practice short while testing his shoulder, raising concerns about his long-term availability. Upcoming Challenge The timing of these injuries is particularly unfortunate as San Francisco gears up to face a formidable opponent in the Packers. With Purdy, Bosa, and potentially Williams all compromised, the 49ers find themselves in a precarious situation. Their recent narrow loss to Seattle has cast a shadow over the team, making this upcoming game one of their most challenging tests this season. As the final playoff push approaches, the 49ers will need to rally and adapt quickly to these adversities. All eyes will be on how the team responds to the mounting pressure and whether they can overcome these significant setbacks. Read the full article

[sa7abnews]

49ers’ Shanahan on Brandon Aiyuk trade rumors: ‘Nothing has changed’

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/06/49ers-shanahan-on-brandon-aiyuk-trade-rumors-nothing-has-changed/

49ers’ Shanahan on Brandon Aiyuk trade rumors: ‘Nothing has changed’

SANTA CLARA — As trade rumors engulf Brandon Aiyuk’s idling status with the 49ers, coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday that “nothing has changed.” Defensive end Nick Bosa, a year removed from his own contract battle with the 49ers, called such negotiations “brutal,” but then expressed confidence “it will get done” between the 49ers and Aiyuk. The Pittsburgh Steelers re-emerged as a potential trade partner after talks stalled Monday night, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported after the 49ers’ 1 1/2-hour practice. Asked if he expects the situation to be resolved soon, Shanahan said: “No. You always want it to be, badly. This stuff takes time. Every day I hope it gets resolved. Hopefully it will get resolved sooner than later.” Aiyuk, as he has done throughout this camp, briefly watched practice from afar. General manager John Lynch observed all of it on the field and walked off afterward with coach Kyle Shanahan, who then headed for his regularly scheduled press conference. “I’m not going to get into specifics with offers or trades,” Shanahan added. “A lot (of news) was out yesterday but the situation we’re in with Brandon, nothing has changed.” The 49ers had agreed to trade proposals by two teams, the Cleveland Browns and the New England Patriots, as reported Monday night by NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. Aiyuk presumably gets to have a say on whether any deal progresses, conceivably with the lucrative contract extension he has anxiously sought from the 49ers for six months — and counting. The 49ers have granted Aiyuk permission to speak with other teams, and although Shanahan said he spoke with him earlier in camp about his plight, any business talk runs between Lynch and Aiyuk’s agent. Could Aiyuk still secure a long-term deal with the 49ers? “There’s a scenario with everything, so I wouldn’t rule anything out,” Shanahan added. “Brandon is a great player, so it’s real hard when you lose a great player. We have to look into everything and understand the situation we’re in. It takes time.” Shanahan quipped that it would take only 2 1/2 days to bring a new receiver up to speed in the offense if one is acquired in return via trade. Then he noted that experience would play a factor. For example, the Cleveland Browns’ Amari Cooper might integrate quicker as he enters his 10th season. Ricky Pearsall, the 49ers’ first-round draft pick, was pulled out of Tuesday’s practice after aggravating a shoulder injury tracing to the spring, Shanahan added.  Other receivers injured this camp include Jacob Cowing (hamstring; returned Tuesday) and Danny Gray (shoulder). “Even though Brandon is dealing with that (contract) right now, he’s still around. He’s in the meeting rooms and very active,” wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson said. “… He’s been good. He’s been active and awesome.” Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings have been the go-to targets, both of whom are on their second contracts, something Aiyuk is looking to sign either with the 49ers or elsewhere. Related Articles

San Francisco 49ers |

Inman: 49ers’ 53-man roster projection before preseason opener

San Francisco 49ers |

Kurtenbach: The 49ers finally have a viable option to resolve the Brandon Aiyuk contract drama

San Francisco 49ers |

49ers making plans at linebacker without Dre Greenlaw

San Francisco 49ers |

49ers camp: Will Brock Purdy work on improv skills in preseason?

San Francisco 49ers |

49ers’ tackles adapting without Trent Williams — and against Nick Bosa

Bosa’s second contract came a year ago and made him the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback. He said Tuesday he had “a few moments” last summer wondering if he might get dealt amid his training camp holdout. He signed just two days before the season opener. Related Articles

San Francisco 49ers |

Inman: 49ers’ 53-man roster projection before preseason opener

San Francisco 49ers |

Kurtenbach: The 49ers finally have a viable option to resolve the Brandon Aiyuk contract drama

San Francisco 49ers |

49ers making plans at linebacker without Dre Greenlaw

San Francisco 49ers |

49ers camp: Will Brock Purdy work on improv skills in preseason?

San Francisco 49ers |

49ers’ tackles adapting without Trent Williams — and against Nick Bosa

“As it got closer and closer (to the opener), it gets pretty dicey,” Bosa said. “But I definitely didn’t want to be traded. It’s a good place to be. I’m very thankful and grateful to be paid and here, because there are not many organizations as good as this one.” Aiyuk is slated to play this season on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, with a $14.1 million salary that is at least half the market rate for a No. 1-caliber receiver. The 49ers offense has flourished in recent years and Aiyuk’s back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons illustrate what a reliable target he’s become for third-year quarterback Brock Purdy. When Bosa was asked if he won his contract staredown with the 49ers, he replied: “I’m not going to comment but they are tough.” McCAFFREY DINGED UP? Running back Christian McCaffrey, the NFL’s reigning rushing champion, has a calf strain that will keep him out of the preseason and out of practice the next few weeks. Hamstring strains have sidelined Elijah Mitchell and Isaac Guerendo, so to counter the backfield’s sudden attrition, Matt Breida re-signed and practiced Tuesday. Breida played for the 49ers from 2017-19.

[tomatosoupa]

graduation

Well class of 2024, we did it. We finally escaped from the treacherous prison of public high school. It was a wild ride, but it's finally over. But I'd really like to write this post as a letter to just about everyone in my class about my honest thoughts about them. No one but Jade will probably see this however.

Let's start strong: Derrick Winfree. You are incredibly hot. I've had a thing for you like forever. I never said anything because of Phoebe obviously, but now that you're broken up, you should totally hit me up sometime.

Next up, something slightly scandalous. Nick Torrez, I'm a much better kisser now. And it also really hurts my feelings that you didn't care enough to stick around and you just wanted someone who's already good at everything. I hope you know that means you're gonna end up with a whore.

Landry White. Everyone and their mom knows you have a crush on Coach Vanliew. Quit flirting with him. He's married and way older than you. Also your ass is like completely out in those pink Lululemon shorts. No one wants to see that.

Laney Butts. I had so much fun at graduation with you. You're still just as funny and sweet as you were in middle school and I really missed you. I'm glad you and Luciana are still friends :)

The Ball Twins: Jamie, I love you, but Jenna will always be my favorite.

The Neuenschwander Twins: Joe, you're an excellent journalist, but you're really annoying so Kaden is my favorite.

Lucy Mantilla and Kailey Morgan: literally dream team. Slay pussy queen. I love you two. Stay sassy.

Kaes Bull: I literally love you. Also Matt is never going to like you back sweetheart.

Tommy Bushong: You're awesome and I'll miss you.

Jason Brock: you're literally so mean. I don't know what makes you think you can come at me telling me I'm negative and whatever when you've literally never said anything nice to or about anyone except maybe your boyfriend Trent.

Trent Seneca: Pretty much same thing as Derrick except there hasn't been a girlfriend interfering, I just feel like you don't like me. I had a lot of fun working on the podcast project with you, though.

Brock Langford, Preston Isom, and Landon Richardson: If one, if not all of you come out as gay eventually, I'd be genuinely shocked. My money is on Brock honestly.

Daecee Ellis: just tell me you love me back please.

Parker Weinheimer: not surprised you picked Daecee over me. She's so much more normal and quieter and I'm annoying asf.

Tyler Grant: you're pretty cool and thank you for never judging me for the things I tell Daecee.

Bella Lindsey: okay hear me out. You're super nice. And sweet. But you get literally everythinggggggg. Like I know you work hard but sometimes I feel like things are also handed to you a lot of the time.

I can't think of any more right now, seeing as I'm exhausted. But congratulations seniors and I hope to never see you ever again.

[enterprisewired]

Brock Purdy’s Struggles Highlighted in 49ers’ Loss to Ravens

Purdy’s Career-Worst Performance Raises Concerns Ahead of Crucial Games

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy faced a formidable challenge against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night, resulting in a career-low performance that included four interceptions, marking a stark departure from his previous showings. The 33-19 defeat added to the Niners’ season record, dropping them to 11-4.

Turmoil on the Field

Purdy’s night against the Ravens turned disastrous early on. He encountered difficulties, throwing a trio of interceptions in the first half alone. Coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged the rarity of Purdy’s struggles, citing the unpredictability of the NFL. The quarterback’s difficulties compounded as he ended the game prematurely due to a left shoulder stinger.

Reflection and Redemption

Post-game, a visibly introspective Brock Purdy contemplated the setbacks faced against the Ravens, expressing determination to rebound for the upcoming clash against the Washington Commanders. Acknowledging his responsibility in the defeat, Purdy emphasized the need for personal improvement to support his team adequately.

MAJOR 49ers Injury News After BLOWOUT Loss vs. Ravens: Brock Purdy, Trent Williams, Instant Reaction

Critical Errors and Team Impact

Despite an initial promising drive, Purdy’s decisions led to interceptions, causing substantial setbacks for the Niners. Shanahan highlighted the pivotal nature of the initial interception while acknowledging the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the subsequent interceptions.

Injury Concerns and Defensive Pressure

Purdy’s departure from the game was hastened by a sack from Ravens’ Jadeveon Clowney, aggravating a previous shoulder issue. Shanahan’s decision to keep Brock Purdy out of the game also factored in the team’s depleted offensive line due to injuries sustained during the match.

Path to Redemption and Playoff Hopes

The defeat didn’t shatter the 49ers’ playoff prospects entirely. Despite the setback, they retain control over their NFC playoff positioning. Two upcoming games against the Washington Commanders and the Los Angeles Rams will determine their postseason fate, with a potential shot at the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

Purdy’s Redemption Journey

Purdy faces a crucial phase in his NFL journey, aiming to rebound after his worst career outing. His self-reflection post-game emphasizes the need for consistency, growth, and resilience, regardless of success or adversity.

Looking Ahead

As the 49ers navigate the fallout from Brock Purdy’s struggles, all eyes are on his response in the face of adversity. The upcoming games will serve as a litmus test for his character and resilience, defining his ability to lead the team during challenging times.

Purdy’s resolve to remain steadfast in his approach and work through setbacks indicates a determination to emerge stronger from this experience, solidifying his role as a leader within the 49ers’ roster.

Curious to learn more? Explore our articles on Enterprise Wired

[theultimatefan]

National Lacrosse League Completes 2020 Entry Draft

Players, coaches, and general managers from the National Lacrosse League’s (NLL) 13 franchises, spread across North America, assembled virtually Thursday night for the League's 2020 Draft Selection Show. Unlike years past, they may not have been in the same room, but that didn’t stop the NLL Entry Draft from being the moment of a lifetime for over 90 players drafted across 6 rounds. Team “war rooms” and player Zoom "rooms" were connected in real-time to produce a world-class broadcast event that was simultaneously streamed on B/R Live, @NLL Facebook, and YouTube.  The New York Riptide made their second consecutive first overall selection, taking Cornell forward Jeff Teat (Brampton, ON).

Vancouver, which had originally been slotted at No. 3, moved up one spot to No. 2, trading with Rochester to guarantee to get their man, Drexel defenseman Reid Bowering (Coquitlam, B.C.). Then Rochester, like New York having just completed its first NLL season as an expansion franchise, grabbed Robert Morris forward Ryan Smith (Burlington, ON) third. Rounding out the top five picks:  San Diego snagged Ohio State forward Tre Leclaire (Surrey, B.C.), and Calgary chose forward Tanner Cook (Courtice, ON) of North Carolina.

“We may not have been together in the past at Xfinity Live in Philadelphia or other cities and locations before that, but it was another memorable Entry Draft with some great young talent moving to the next level,” said NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz. “We are proud of the way NLL teams, players, and staff adjusted and produced such a top tier event that captured the excitement of the first major step towards the league’s 35th season.”

The first round continued with 16 total selections, as Georgia made the first of its four initial round picks at No. 6, grabbing University of Vermont transition Robert Hudson (Oakville, ON), then taking Ohio State defenseman Jeff Henrick (Orangeville, ON) at No. 8, Ethan Walker (Peterborough, ON) at No. 10 and Laine Hruska (Warman, SK.) at No. 13. Other first-rounders included forward Marshall Powless (Six Nations) at No. 7 and Connor McClelland (Brampton, ON) at No. 12 by Saskatchewan; Brad McCulley (Victoria, B.C.) at No. 9 by Buffalo; Ethan Riggs (Hamilton, ON) at No. 11 by Halifax;  Harrison Matsuoka (Calgary, AB) at No. 11 by Calgary; Mac O’Keefe (Syosset, N.Y.) at No. 15 by San Diego; and Jackson Suboch (Toronto) at No. 16 completing the round by Philadelphia.

The first three round selections are listed below; the full list is updated at https://www.nll.com/2020draftpicks/.

First Round:

New York, Jeff Teat, Cornell Univ., Forward

Vancouver (from Rochester), Reid Bowering, Drexel Univ., Defenseman

Rochester (from Vancouver), Ryan Smith, Robert Morris Univ., Forward

San Diego, Tre Leclaire, Ohio State Univ., Forward

Calgary, Tanner Cook, Univ. of North Carolina, Forward

Georgia (from Colorado), Robert Hudson, Univ. of Vermont, Transition

Saskatchewan (from Philadelphia), Marshall Powless, Six Nations, Forward

Georgia, Jeff Henrick, Ohio State Univ., Defenseman

Buffalo, Brad McCulley, Robert Morris Univ., Forward

Georgia (from Toronto), Ethan Walker, Univ. of Denver, Forward

Halifax, Ethan Riggs, Niagara College, Defenseman

Saskatchewan, Connor McClelland, Marquette University, Defenseman

Georgia (from New England), Laine Hruska, Saskatchewan SWAT, Goaltender

Calgary (from Halifax, compensatory), Harrison Matsuoka, Stony Brook Univ., Transition

San Diego (compensatory), Mac O’Keefe, Penn State Univ., Forward

Philadelphia (compensatory), Jackson Suboch, Univ. of Massachusetts, Defenseman

Second Round

New York, Mathieu Boissonneault, Canisius College, Defenseman

Colorado (from New England (Rochester via Toronto via Colorado via New York via New England), Ron John, Univ. of Albany, Transition

Buffalo (from Vancouver via Buffalo via Rochester), Sam La Roue, New Westminster, Forward

Calgary (from Halifax via San Diego), Ethan Ticehurst, Towson Univ., Transition

Calgary, Patrick Dodds, Manhattan College, Forward

Colorado, Brett McIntyre, UMBC, Forward

Buffalo (from Philadelphia), Jordan Stouros, Limestone University, Defenseman

New England (from Georgia via Colorado), Charlie Kitchen, Univ. of Delaware, Forward

Rochester (from Buffalo), Ty Thompson, Univ. of Hartford, Forward

Saskatchewan (from Toronto via Georgia via Colorado), Bobby Kidd, Langley, Transition

Halifax, Ryan Terefenko, Ohio State, Defense

Colorado (from Saskatchewan via Vancouver via Rochester), Jordan Trottier, RIT, Defenseman

New York (from New England), Andrew Borgatti, Kitchener-Waterloo, Defenseman

Toronto (compensatory), T.D. Ierlan, Yale Univ., Transition

Colorado (compensatory), Jalen Chaster, Coquitlam, Transition

Calgary (compensatory), Justin Geddie, Nanaimo, Goaltender

Colorado (from New England, compensatory), Tyler Sceviour, RIT, Defenseman

Philadelphia (from Saskatchewan) (compensatory), Bryan Costabile, Univ. of Notre Dame, Transition/Forward

Philadelphia (from Saskatchewan) (compensatory), Dylan Foulds, Penn State Univ., Forward

New York (from San Diego) (compensatory), Larson Sundown, RIT, Forward

Third Round:

Calgary (from New York), Rhys Blake, Port Coquitlam, Defenseman

Rochester, Kevin Owen Hill, Syracuse, Transition

Georgia (from Vancouver), Sam Firth, Bishops Univ., Forward

Colorado (from San Diego), Curtis Conley, Trent Univ., Transition

New England (from Calgary), Michael Sowers, Princeton Univ./Duke Univ., Forward

Colorado, Pat Aslanian, Univ. of Notre Dame, Forward

Saskatchewan (from Philadelphia), Clark Walter, Limestone Univ., Forward

Vancouver (from Georgia), Adam Kromer, Univ. of Guelph, Forward

Rochester (from Buffalo), Jared Conners, Univ. of Virginia, Defenseman

Toronto (from Saskatchewan via Toronto), Phil Mazzuca, Western Univ., Transition

Halifax, Matt Gaudet, Yale Univ., Forward

Halifax (from Saskatchewan), Owen Friesen, Brock Univ., Transition

Vancouver (from Georgia via New England), Matteo Tack, Coquitlam, Goaltender

San Diego (compensatory), Danny Logan, Denver Univ., Defenseman

Philadelphia (compensatory), Ben French, Univ. of Vermont, Forward

Colorado (compensatory), Peter Dearth, Syracuse, Defenseman

[junker-town]

Which team could steal the No. 1 pick from the Dolphins?

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Miami is clearly in tank mode, but it may have some competition in the race to the bottom. We debate the chances of another team finishing worse than the Dolphins.

The Dolphins’ plans for 2019 have been clear since the offseason; this team had no interest in contending.

Miami has been selling off valuable parts and accumulating young players and draft assets throughout the year. Out went players like Ryan Tannehill, Ja’Wuan James, Cameron Wake, Danny Amendola, Frank Gore, Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills, and Minkah Fitzpatrick. In came cap space — an estimated $117 million and counting — and draft picks, six of which are currently slated to fall in the top 65 next spring.

This has all but guaranteed the Dolphins a spot near the top of the 2020 NFL Draft, but they still have competition if they want to snag their quarterback of the future at No. 1 overall. The 2019 season has provided fertile ground for bad teams. Six remain winless through four weeks of the season. Miami will play three of those teams — including two dates against the 0-3 Jets — before their race to the bottom is finished.

Who could usurp the Dolphins’ claim for the top pick of next year’s draft? There are a handful of candidates, but maybe none as sad as ...

Which is the saddest non-Dolphins team through four weeks of 2019?

Christian D’Andrea: The Bengals, who are a cauldron of regret. Cincinnati was supposed to change its culture after firing Marvin Lewis after 16 years and zero playoff wins. Then the franchise set new coach Zac Taylor up for success by ... re-signing shaky Lewis holdovers like Bobby Hart, C.J. Uzomah, and the oft-injured Tyler Eifert. The Bengals have few positives along an offense that’s been torturous to watch in 2019. Joe Mixon has run for a mere 3.2 yards per carry, Cincinnati has turned only three of its 11 trips to the red zone into touchdowns, and Andy Dalton currently has his lowest quarterback rating since his 2011 rookie campaign.

Three of the team’s 10 drives in a Monday Night Football showcase against the Steelers ended in negative yardage. Dalton was sacked eight times for -69 yards that night, leaving him with an average net gain of 2.26 yards per dropback. Dalton is not that bad, but his offensive line, hoooo boy, certainly is.

The defense isn’t appreciably better. In the past two weeks. the Bengals have given up 48 total points to teams quarterbacked by Josh Allen and Mason Rudolph.

Morgan Moriarty: The Arizona Cardinals, who we were hoping would be more fun than this. The Kliff Kingsbury experiment is, well, not off to a great start. Despite showing promise in an opening-week tie against the Detroit Lions, Arizona has lost its last three games by a combined 41 points.

The defense ranks 29th in the league, and the Cardinals are giving up a whopping 418 yards per game. Even the veterans are underperforming, as Revenge of the Birds pointed out after last week’s loss vs Seattle:

The defensive line has been pushed around all season: Corey Peters and Rodney Gunter have been as absent from the stat sheet as the highlight reels, and Andy Isabella has the same number of tackles as Brooks Reed (2). At linebacker, Jordan Hicks actually leads the leads the league in tackles with 48, but too many of them have been downfield and he’s been absolutely useless in pass coverage. Tramaine Brock has been another disappointment in the secondary, especially with his ridiculous penalty last week. Finally, two younger veterans—Budda Baker and Haason Reddick—haven’t made the leaps we need them to.

Sure, having a first-year head coach and franchise quarterback means there will be some growing pains, but there hasn’t been much to feel good about, especially now that the Cardinals have gone winless in September for the second year in a row.

Adam Stites: Washington, which is a mess. The quarterback disaster for the team was summed up by coach Jay Gruden when he answered a question about the plan for Week 5.

Jay Gruden on the Redskins QB plan for Sunday: “We don’t have one right now.”

— Nora Princiotti (@NoraPrinciotti) October 2, 2019

There’s Case Keenum, who had 37 whole passing yards and an interception when he was yanked in the middle of the second quarter in Week 4. He also threw three interceptions in the week prior and is dealing with a foot injury.

Rookie Dwayne Haskins replaced Keenum when he left, but threw three interceptions and looked lost.

The third option is Colt McCoy, a longtime backup who was 0-2 when thrust into starting duty last year. McCoy, who missed the first part of the season with an injury, will get the call in Week 5 — against, gulp, the Patriots and their No. 1 defense.

It’s a bad situation no matter what, because no quarterback fixes this. It averages 2.9 yards per rushing attempts, it’s still without left tackle Trent Williams, and the defense has allowed the second-most points in the NFL.

Washington is getting worse and could easily lose to the Dolphins in Week 6.

Sarah Hardy: Somehow, Washington’s quarterback situation could be even worse behind the scenes. The latest report is that Jay Gruden never even wanted to draft Haskins, something that’s not lost on the rookies.

In the early part of the season, there’s a lot of bleakness to go around. Sam Darnold is a walking Zoloft blob — he has mono! he hope he doesn’t die! — but once his spleen is good to go, the Jets should at least be able to compete again.

The Broncos could easily be 2-2 if not for blowing two games (with the help of some questionable roughing the passer calls) — and that was before they lost their promising young pass rusher, Bradley Chubb, for the season.

At the moment, though, it’s hard to beat the clown show that is the Washington franchise, though.

Is there any hope these teams could be just average bad instead of catastrophically awful?

Hardy: On the other hand, just because Washington has been ... let’s just say, the football equivalent of the political center of our country ... doesn’t mean the team is completely hopeless. Rookie wideout Terry McLaurin was out there setting records until a hamstring injury kept him out of Week 4 (which also cost his former Ohio State teammate, Haskins, a safety blanket to throw to).

Even if Haskins doesn’t play another snap this season, it’s too early to give up on a talented, but raw, quarterback after one half of football — especially when Gruden is likely out the door soon.

Maybe McCoy will give them a spark, or at least give them a little more competent play at quarterback. Keenum wasn’t even that bad through the first two weeks. Washington took early leads against the Eagles and Cowboys before losing by five and 10 points, respectively.

That gives them a sliiiiiightly better scoring differential than the Bengals.

D’Andrea: There have been some bright spots for the Bengals, but they’re only flash bulbs in a darkened arena. Cincinnati’s ability to find useful wideouts has only been rivaled by its ability to lose them. A.J. Green has yet to play this season due to an ankle injury and will likely take his time before returning for the tail end of his contract year. John Ross, who finally showed signs of life after two unproductive seasons in Cincinnati, is now on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Auden Tate has emerged as a useful option, which means he’s got about two weeks before his teeth explode or something similarly depressing happens.

The defense hasn’t provided much more room for optimism. Any progress Sam Hubbard, Carlos Dunlap, and Geno Atkins have made on the defensive line have been wiped out by an ineffective linebacking corps and secondary. The Bengals have given up 6.7 yards per play since their season opener against the Seahawks, a mark only bested by the suddenly porous Ravens’ 7.8. Opposing quarterbacks — half of which, again, were Allen and Rudolph — have averaged a 116.0 passer rating against them, or the rough equivalent of Dak Prescott so far this fall.

If there’s any hope for the Bengals the rest of the season, it’ll probably have to come from his offense, which as been surprisingly lackluster under Taylor.

Moriarty: Kyler Murray and the Cards’ offense hasn’t been abysmal, (putting up 27 on Detroit seemed like a decent start), but it’s clear that there is some work to be done. Murray leads the league in sacks (20), but he’s been able to throw for 300 yards passing twice this season, and is on pace for 4,200-yard season.

Perhaps the most concerning fact about the Cardinals’ offense is how it’s been struggling to score late in games. In the last three weeks, Arizona has trailed in the first half and come out averaging just 10 points in the second half. You can’t expect to win many games like that.

D’Andrea: I’m not on the Kliff Kingsbury bandwagon by any means, but I think there’s more fight to the Cardinals than they’ve shown the past three weeks. That Week 1 tie against the Lions looks a little better each week, and it was a display of what Murray’s capable of as an NFL passer. If he can up his red zone efficiency — his team has just five touchdowns to show for 13 trips inside the 20 — he can provide enough to outshoot foes en route to a slight improvement over 2018’s lost season.

The bigger question is whether a defense that ranks 31st in the league in yards allowed can deliver Kingsbury the chance to turn his air raid approach into wins. Those opportunities will be limited, but still more plentiful that what we’ll see in Miami or Cincinnati.

James Brady: Dalton has has some high highs in his career, and we know he can make the big throws. Is he on his way out as the franchise quarterback? I honestly am not sure, but the Bengals have faced some tough teams.

While the 27-3 loss to the Steelers likely confirmed a lot of Bengals fans’ fears that the team won’t be good this year, they still lost to both the Bills (who are good??) and Seahawks by a single score, and played close against the undefeated 49ers early until things got out of hand in the second half. There are still pieces of a good team here, certainly not one that should lose every game remaining on its schedule.

Speaking of its schedule, Cincinnati will play the Cardinals next. The Arizona roster is just a mess and the offense feels like it needs an entire season of tweaking before it approaches viability on a weekly basis.

That said, the Bengals don’t have the easiest schedule. If “average team” means 8-8 or close to it, then maybe they can’t get there. But they’re better than 0-4, and could be the source of an upset or two down the line.

Which games are winnable on their schedule?

D’Andrea: Like the Dolphins, the Bengals have a handful of games remaining against currently winless teams. They were the Steelers’ first win of the season in Week 4, and now they can be the Cardinals’ first win in Week 5. If Monday night’s Sylvia Plath poem come to football life is any indication, they’ll throw a detour in the Cardinals’ road to the top of next year’s draft with another nigh-unwatchable performance.

Moriarty: Looking ahead at the schedule, there really isn’t a clear game the Cardinals should definitely win. But their upcoming game against winless (and banged up) Cincinnati is their best opportunity yet.

D’Andrea: Arizona has to fight through a very tough NFC West, but the rest of its schedule will provide plenty of soft defenses for Murray and Kingsbury to exploit. In their next three weeks, they’ll face teams that rank 27th (Giants) and 28th (Bengals) in yards allowed per play, along with a Falcons team that’s been unable to get out of its own way to start the season.

Brady: Washington already played pretty close to Philadelphia and Dallas, and an upset against any team in their divisional rematches wouldn’t be that surprising.

The Dolphins are coming up in Week 6 and that should be as trash as it sounds. There’s also the 49ers (we’re still not quite sure how good they are), and Minnesota (who can’t seem to find an offense).

Washington still faces some poor passing defenses on their schedule, including the Dolphins, Jets, and Giants. Finally, the running game, which has been among the worst in the league, could see boosts against the Dolphins, Packers, and Panthers, all of whom have lacking run defenses.

So what are your odds on the recipient of 2020’s first overall pick?

D’Andrea: Miami remains awful, but the 2019 season leaves no wont for bad teams. While Washington and Arizona can improve around young quarterbacks and provide some semblance of optimism, Cincinnati looks entirely screwed. Even the brief flash of excitement created by Andy Dalton throwing for 300+ yards per game appears to be snuffed out with few hopes of being reignited.

The Bengals are a bad, bad team. Bad enough to challenge a Miami squad that isn’t even trying in 2019.

The No. 1 pick is still the Dolphins’ to lose, though:

55 percent Dolphins 20 percent Bengals 15 percent Washington 5 percent Cardinals 4 percent Broncos (until they take Adam Stites’ suggestion and start selling) 1 percent Jets

Brady: The Dolphins are bad, and are clearly tanking, but they’re likely going to accidentally win some games on the back of having some young playmakers and extremely low expectations. Washington went from Alex Smith to Case Keenum to Dwayne Haskins to Colt McCoy, which should be enough of an argument for an 0-16 season. The Cardinals are in somewhat of a similar situation to the Dolphins in that there’s enough potential for big plays and upset wins. But not for Washington. I just don’t see it.

Let’s go with ...

65 percent Washington 30 percent Dolphins 3 percent Cardinals 1 percent Bengals 1 percent Broncos 0 percent Jets

[whatsonforperth]

Anderson to join Roosters after doing time in purgatory for cap rort

It reunites Anderson with Roosters mentor Trent Robinson, the pair having spent time together at famed rugby league nursery St Gregory's College Campbelltown. Loading Anderson is considered one of the games most astute tacticians. He earned Dally M coach-of-the-year honours after guiding the Warriors to the 2002 decider and also had success with the clipboard in the United Kingdom, prompting St Helens chairman Eamonn McManus to hail him the greatest coach in the club's history. Anderson took Parramatta to an unexpected grand final appearance in 2009, where the blue and golds were beaten by a Melbourne team that was later found to be cheating the salary cap. However, he was sacked just one year later. The former New Zealand national coach returned to Parramatta ahead of the 2014 season as their head of football after stints in the media and as the boss of the NRL referees. However, he was effectively rubbed out of the game midway through the 2016 season as a member of the so-called Gang of Five Eels officials deregistered for their roles in the salary cap saga. The club was also stripped of 12 competition points and fined $1 million, $250,000 of which was suspended.

Pre-purgatory: Daniel Anderson after being appointed Eels coach back in 2008.Credit:Ben Rushton Anderson hasnt had any official involvement in rugby league since, but his time in purgatory is about to end. The 54-year-old is synonymous with the blue and golds, having grown up in Winston Hills and coached junior and senior Parramatta teams. However, he was a Roosters fan growing up and will now get the chance to join the glamour club. ''My mother's family is from the eastern suburbs,'' Anderson told the Herald in 2010. ''In the '70s I'd go and watch Mark Harris, Bill Mullins and John Brass and I've seen Russell Fairfax a few times.

New start: Joe Kelly, seen left with Manly chairman Scott Penn, is also returning to the NRL fold.Credit:Dallas Kilponen ''I watched our salary cap auditor, Ian Schubert, play a few times too. ''No favours ever given by any of those blokes.'' Kelly will also get a second chance at Bondi Junction. The former Manly chief executive was suspended for his role in the salary cap breaches at the Sea Eagles during his tenure, but has returned to the Roosters after serving his time. Anderson and Kelly are now charged with helping tweak a roster considered the best in the game. The reigning champions have lost Blake Ferguson, Dylan Napa, Ryan Matterson and Sean OSullivan from their 2018 side, but have bolstered it with the additions of Angus Crichton, Brett Morris, Brock Lamb and Ryan Hall. The new recruits will get a chance to impress in the World Club Challenge clash with Super League champions Wigan at DW Stadium on February 17. Adrian Proszenko is the Chief Rugby League Reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald. Most Viewed in Sport Loading https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/nrl/anderson-to-join-roosters-after-doing-time-in-purgatory-for-cap-rort-20190129-p50ud7.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

[theelbowdropla-blog]

Preview of WWE’s Weekend in Phoenix

WWEekend in Phoenix 

J. Tappin - 1/25

This weekend WWE descends upon Phoenix, Arizona for a number of events with all of its brands being represented. Saturday & Sunday mornings at Royal Rumble Axxess will provide the ‘Worlds Collide’ tournament, Saturday night (1/26) will be NXT Takeover: Phoenix, Sunday night (1/27) will be the Royal Rumble PPV, Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live will also be shot in Phoenix on Monday & Tuesday night respectively.

Kicking off the weekend will be the first ever Worlds Collide tournament. The tournament will be shot over two mornings but will air on tape delay on the WWE Network on 2/2. It features five wrestlers each from NXT, NXT UK and 205 Live; Adam Cole, Velveteen Dream, Dominik Dijakovic, Keith Lee, Shane Thorne, Mark Andrews, Tyler Bate, Travis Banks, Jordan Devlin, Zack Gibson, Cedric Alexander, Tony Nese, Drew Gulak, TJP & Humberto Carrillo. The tournament starts with a Battle Royal containing all 15 wrestlers, the brackets of the tournament are then determined by order of elimination in the Battle Royal - the winner gets a first-round bye. The winner of the tournament can challenge for a championship on any of the three brands being represented. This creates the possibility of some ‘fantasy’ inter-brand match-ups that can become a reality from this, like Keith Lee vs Tyler Bate, Jordan Devlin vs Cedric Alexander, Drew Gulak vs Travis Banks, the possibilities are endless.

NXT Takeover: Phoenix has put out another strong five-match card featuring four championship bouts. Taking place in the Talking Stick Resort Arena; Tomasso Ciampa defends the NXT title against Aleister Black, Shayna Baszler defends the NXT Women’s title against Bianca Belair, Ricochet defends the North American title against Johnny Gargano, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong of the Undisputed Era defend the NXT Tag Team titles against Hanson & Rowe (c.k.a. the War Raiders) and Matt Riddle will have an actual match against Kassius Ohno.

Ciampa & Black will surely be a great main event. There’s no doubt that with the right amount of time that these two can have a classic - a potential contender for match of the weekend. Interference by Johnny Gargano is all but inevitable due to his involvement with the two - a nearly two-year rivalry with Ciampa and a feud with Black including a loss to him the last Takeover in Los Angeles. I see Ciampa winning, perhaps with the help of his former partner Gargano. It’s been well-documented that Triple H, has written the Gargano-Ciampa storyline very closely and detailed. Nobody knows what’s going to go down but if I’m booking, Gargano helps Ciampa creating a faux alliance, then screws him over at the right time and takes the NXT title from him in the process, which one would presume turns him babyface in the process one way or another.

(Image from WWE.com or something)

Baszler vs Belair will be interesting as the two don’t have a lot of experience under their belt, compared to other competitors on the card and in their division. Baszler has not yet had a particularly bad match on a Takeover show but all of her opponents up to this point have been quite proficient. It will certainly be a good test for the two and they both improve at a very impressive rate. They pair are certainly talented and the clash of the character dynamics will also do a percentage of the work in the match. Baszler probably wins this one, keeping a good heel title run going, I look forward to Shayna hopefully defending it in the future against Candice LeRae, Io Shirai, Dakota Kai and more of the stacked NXT roster.

Johnny Gargano vs Ricochet is a no-doubt sleeper and could be not only a match of the weekend candidate but one for match of the year. If you look at both of their Takeover records and the matches they’ve had its seemingly impossible that their match this weekend could be bad. Gargano & Ricochet are two of the best four on the NXT brand and this match will surely show you why. I see Ricochet retaining the North American title for a number two reasons, to establish a long reign with the newly minted title and to keep telling the story of Johnny not being able to win the big ones at Takeovers.

Strong & O’Reilly have had a track record of great tag matches since Roddy has stepped in for Bobby Fish (taking nothing away from Fish). Matches against Tyler Bate & Trent Seven, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch and their participation in the WarGames’ match in 2018 are all bodies of work to admire. The War Raiders in their own right are a great team and Saturday night will be their first chance to stand out on their own as a tag team at a Takeover. The Raiders & the Era will knock it out of the park for sure. I can see this as being a hot opener for a stacked show with the Undisputed Era barely getting the win.

After a seven-second affair in L.A. in November, Matt Riddle finally gets the chance to properly show why he is one of the biggest gets for NXT of 2018. Ohno has become a sort of unofficial player-coach for NXT, a guy who can elevate less-experienced workers or just wrestlers that are new-to-NXT without devaluing himself. While this program with Riddle will be no exception for Ohno to put new talent over, both will be able to get their stuff in and have a great one in Phoenix.

(Image from FOX Sports Asia)

It happens nine times out of ten but I’m expecting to enjoy the Takeover card more than the Rumble as it is a much shorter, all-killer show compared to the main roster’s shows that are almost always well over four hour shows that are very rarely all-killer. The Rumble matches themself are always fun and interesting but two of those running for 50 minutes plus another five matches on the main card indicates a real long show. Not to forget about the two hour pre-show which has two matches on it as of this writing. Takeover being head & shoulders above the Rumble is just an expectation and I would enjoy being proven wrong because Takeovers are never bad shows.

The Royal Rumble show takes place in the Chase Field baseball stadium. It has the two Rumbles on the main card as well as five championship matches. Two more championship match take place on the pre-show. The prelim matches see Buddy Murphy defending the Cruiserweight title against Kalisto, Hideo Itami & Akira Tozawa and Rusev defending the United States tiel against Shinsuke Nakamura.

The main card has the men’s & women’s Rumble matches, Daniel Bryan defending the WWE title against AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar defending the Universal title against Finn Bálor, Ronda Rousey defending the Raw Women’s title against Sasha Banks, Asuka defending the SmackDown Women’s title against Becky Lynch and Cesaro & Sheamus defending the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Miz & Shane McMahon.

The four-way for the Cruiserweight title will very likely be super-well worked but the heat all depends on how much of the audience has made it into the stadium to see the match. All four guys are remarkable in the ring and should have a killer match, it’s a shame that these matches are sort of hidden on the pre-shows and the 205 Live weekly program that not nearly enough people watch. I believe there’s a way that the Cruiserweight division could get more over if it was spread across SmackDown & Raw and the champion can have the ability to appear on both brands and compete, or even just keep the division on Raw, but that’s a subject for another article. I wouldn’t expect a title change on a prelim match but stranger things have happened.

The angle with Rusev & Shinsuke has been underwhelming at best. It was good to see Rusev get the U.S. title at the tail end of last year but apart from that the writing of the story itself has been lackluster. WWE missed the peak of Rusev’s popularity by over half a year, one would argue that he should have won the U.S. title when he was in the four-way at WrestleMania, when the 70,000+ were chanting ‘Rusev Day’ as the show went on the air, instead he was pinned in that match by Jinder Mahal. The declining year that Shinsuke has had really shows when you look at where he was at last year’s Royal Rumble show in Philadelphia - winning the Rumble match itself, to a year later challenging for the U.S. title on the pre-show. The next/best thing that could be done with Nakamura at this point would be to have a substantial babyface turn and potentially challenge Daniel Bryan for the WWE title at WrestleMania for a dream match.

The Miz & Shane McMahon story is presumably going to end with a match between the two at WrestleMania. Whether any headway towards that begins at the Rumble or in the following weeks remains to be seen, however, despite the failed attempt in 2013, there’s definitely more chance of Miz getting over as a babyface this time around. Whether this be due to how he comes across on his reality T.V. show with his wife, or his ability of late to procuring sympathy from the audience when he was getting rejected by Shane, despite the goofiness of the angle it’s interesting to see if they’ll make any major changes to Miz’s character, while Shane as of late has been on the fence between heel & babyface.  One good thing about the match is that it’s something different to seeing Cesaro & Sheamus defend the titles against the Usos or the New Day.

After getting booked like shit for most of 2018, Asuka finally feels like a killer again. Unless the plan is for Women’s titles to be unified, she probably will win this match. There’s little to no chance that Banks is beating Rousey for the Raw Women’s title. Banks & Bayley seem to be the favorites to be the first Women’s Tag Team champions. For the direction for what will start at the Rumble into the WrestleMania show there are two possible options:

Asuka beats Becky (perhaps via shenanigans), Becky enters the Rumble and wins, Becky faces Ronda & Charlotte (later added to match) for the Raw Women’s title at WrestleMania. Asuka takes on another challenger at Mania

Becky beats Asuka, still enters the Rumble as SD Women’s Champion and wins the Rumble, Becky faces Ronda & Charlotte (later added) in a triple threat to unify the Women’s titles at WrestleMania.

It’s no doubt that with Ronda’s imminent departure from WWE after Mania that Charlotte should be in the match as well, so the Becky & Charlotte who will stay on for the long haul can both get mileage out of being the first women to main event WrestleMania. Charlotte Flair getting into the match can be easily done with a match at the Elimination Chamber or Fastlane show where she beats Becky in a bout stipulated so that she gets into the Becky vs Ronda match if she beats Becky one-on-one/non-title. The unification of the Women’s titles and the introduction of a single set of Women’s Tag Team titles could be done in preparation for a possible all-Women’s weekly T.V. show (which I would call Thursday Nitro, a piece about this coming soon).

(Image from those marks at whatculture)

Daniel Bryan has been doing the best heel work of his WWE career since his turn and title win on the 11/13 edition of SmackDown last year. He has played a character that really is a version of himself, spreading awareness of how the WWE Universe is killing the environment and consuming meat that’s flooded with chemicals. Basically he is playing up the vegan/activist of him for his character, and being a dick about it. Because Bryan playing an amplified version of himself, it makes the character look believable and the character looking believable makes it easier for fans to invest in the angle and take him seriously. Because everybody has known forever that Daniel Bryan is a vegan and cares very much about our planet. What Daniel Bryan says in his promos for the most part are facts and things he believes in. It is things like this that makes it hard to boo Daniel Bryan in this incarnation, he is pretty much WWE’s version of Al Gore in An Inconvenient Truth, except he is a whole lot more obnoxious about it. AJ Styles is put in a tough position facing this sensational and engaging character, but lucky for him his talent alone is something to be in awe of and he can play a babyface just fine. If Bryan’s title program was with a less engaging talent the reaction scales would probably tip completely in Bryan’s favor.

(Image from ABC 15 Arizona)

Finn Bálor is not beating Brock Lesnar on Sunday, but he hopefully will push Lesnar to the edge and lose valiantly. Bálor will get thrown around by the much bigger Lesnar for the first two-thirds of the match but Finn will make a comeback that will get the people on their feet until he’s put away with an F-5 or two. Despite it’s ease, this formula for the match has proven its worth in Lesnar’s clashes with opponents like AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan. The logical course for Lesnar & the Universal title after beating Bálor is to defend and drop the title to Seth Rollins, who should win the Royal Rumble match.

Somewhat-continuing on from the section about the Women’s Championships, the winner of this match will either be Becky Lynch or Charlotte Flair. Lynch is more likely as she will need to be pushed to be taking the place of Ronda Rousey who is reportedly leaving WWE after WrestleMania and winning the Rumble can be a big part of this push. Whether she enters as a champion or not it will still be a good surprise as she has not been announced as a participant in the match. 23 of the competitors have been announced, which is basically the whole of the Raw & SmackDown’s women’s divisions. This leaves it certain that we will see surprise entrances from either NXT or Legends or both.

The men’s Rumble is perhaps the most interesting match on the show, the general consensus is that Rollins is going to take it but Vince McMahon can always change his mind at the last second. Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre or Braun Strowman seem like the only likely winners at this point. Only 20 official entrants have been announced so hopefully we see some surprise entrants from NXT and a legend or two getting in the match like we’ve seen in the past. The best possible result of the Rumble would be Seth Rollins winning from an early entry in the match. Rollins is even a good fit for the type that wins the Rumble from the #1 or #2 spot, as he has been displayed as a workhorse in the last year. Elements of the in-ring work of Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio & Chris Benoit can be seen in things Seth Rollins does today, all the more reason to book his Rumble win this way.

(Image from sportskeeda.com)

The ‘Road to WrestleMania’ begins at the Rumble on Sunday. A lot of angles going towards Metlife Stadium on 4/7 will start to take shape at the PPV and Raw & SmackDown on the nights following. There will be a handful of great matches this weekend. Johnny Gargano vs Ricochet, Brock Lesnar vs Finn Bálor, Asuka vs Becky Lynch and Tomasso Ciampa vs Aleister Black are all can’t-miss, as well as a couple of others.

Raw & SmackDown will also be pivotal as the fallout from the Rumble will spill into those shows. These will be shot in the Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Expect a review of Takeover & the Royal Rumble show to come in the middle of next week.

[tamiacharity-blog]

denver broncos 2014 roster

One the first day 5 Godiva Girls were present. Nancy Hoffman and I manned the merchandise table. Both days Peter got a huge standing ovation, and the both Peter and the merchandise table were very busy after each show.. Ash Constable returns from injury, while Austin McPherson has been promoted. Ballarat coach Joe Carmody said as it had been all year the focus would be on getting the defensive structures right to enable the Swans to lock the football in their forward line. He said Ballarat had been right with Sunbury into the last quarter when they last meet, but the Lions had ultimately had too much class. I mean, he sits out a year and comes back. Everybody can see that he belongs. Welch in the order, look for Braden Bellville (P/3b), Clay Hayes (P/SS), Riley Burns (1b), Bryce Hilverding (3b/SS), Brock Hayes (DH), Tyler McCutcheon (LF), and Noah Huffman (2b), Is (different), said Habscheid, I like the city. It (Saskatoon) is Coach Outlet Online a great city. I remember the old (Saskatoon) arena and I loved playing there. Before he became the first black player in the National Hockey League, and even longer before he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Coach Outlet Sale Fame, O'Ree was visiting New York. Back then, he was playing two sports. His baseball team had won a championship, and the reward was a trip to see the Empire State Building and Radio Music City Hall, As a player, Nikolov spent the bulk of his career at German club Eintracht Frankfurt, including 19 seasons with the senior team, where he appeared in over 370 games. Nikolov was a member of the Union as a player in 2013 before joining the Fort Lauderdale Strikers one season later. Internationally, he appeared in five games for Macedonia, the country of his heritage. The flat of the blade is designed to travel a straight line on the ice. It is not designed to curve or to grip the ice. Therefore, when on the flat it is impossible to curve or to push, Despite his struggles, Allen (14.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.5 apg, 36.5% 3pt.) is still a long and extremely athletic player with a high motor and a great jump shot and will still be a likely first round pick after graduation. A second top 10 recruit, 6 6 wing Gary Trent Jr, will complete what should be the best starting perimeter in the country by the end of the year. Trent is one of the best perimeter shooters in his class and has a strong mid range game as well. Friendly Links: New England Patriots Jersey | kanye west yeezy seasons zines 1 2 3 4

[bharatiyamedia-blog]

Rodríguez, Purple Sox recuperate from 17-inning loss, beat Twins

http://tinyurl.com/y6cmhy96 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Eduardo Rodriguez knew his job was to pile up innings after the Boston Red Sox needed to go 17 innings in Tuesday’s loss at Minnesota. Even after giving up runs early Wednesday evening, Rodriguez wasn’t going to be taken out. He needed to deal with the workload, no matter outcomes. The Boston left-hander picked up the workforce’s bullpen, Brock Holt drove in three runs and the Purple Sox beat the Twins 9-Four on Wednesday evening. ”It was a matter of him giving us an opportunity to win or giving (up) loads of runs and going deep within the sport regardless,” Boston supervisor Alex Cora mentioned. ”So, I feel he appreciated giving us an opportunity to win and get that ‘W.’ He is been good.” Rodriguez (8-4) allowed 4 runs and eight hits, however extra essential, he lasted seven innings after the Purple Sox used eight relievers in Tuesday’s marathon. Rodriguez has gone at the very least seven in his previous two begins, relying extra on his fastball and changeup combine, and has given the workforce much-needed innings in every outing. ”It means loads to avoid wasting the bullpen, go on the market and provides seven innings,” Rodriguez mentioned. ”I feel for me, it is one thing I’ve tried to do a very long time. I had an opportunity the final two begins to assist the bullpen and really feel actually good with that.” Boston scored three runs within the second, fifth and eighth innings to win for the seventh time in eight video games. The AL Central-leading Twins have dropped three of 4 and misplaced a house sequence for simply the second time this season. Kyle Gibson (7-4) could not lighten the load on Minnesota’s bullpen. He tied a profession excessive with 5 walks and threw 94 pitches in Four 1/Three innings, permitting six runs on seven hits. ”Which may have been a number of the worst stuff I’ve had in fairly some time,” Gibson mentioned. ”Irritating evening realizing that something that appeared like a high quality begin was a win, sadly, however I did not get it accomplished.” Eddie Rosario’s RBI single put Minnesota forward within the first, however Holt, Michael Chavis and Mookie Betts every had RBI singles within the second. Willians Astudillo and Max Kepler homered within the fourth to present the Twins a 4-Three lead, however Boston rallied once more. Xander Bogaerts ripped an RBI double to left. Holt plated one other run with a sacrifice fly and Chavis chased Gibson together with his second hit. ”Final evening, you begin taking part in that many innings, guys get a bit antsy, perhaps attempt to do some bit an excessive amount of,” Holt mentioned. ”I really feel like our situational hitting was fairly stable tonight. We acquired a man on third, we acquired him in, for probably the most half. Simply higher approaches tonight, I feel.” Rodriguez settled in and retired 11 of the ultimate 12 batters he confronted after Kepler’s homer. ”In the end, he was in a position to persevere via some innings the place he needed to work a bit bit,” Minnesota supervisor Rocco Baldelli mentioned of Rodriguez. ”Early on, we thought perhaps we would have the chance to get to him with the sorts of at-bats we have been having. In the end, he did a pleasant job. DEVERS HURT Boston’s Rafael Devers left in fifth inning with tightness in his proper hamstring. He was injured operating out an infield single. Cora mentioned Devers would seemingly be out of the lineup Friday, however known as his third baseman day after day. ”I simply felt that it was a bit bit tight,” Devers mentioned via an interpreter. ”It is not as unhealthy as what I handled final yr. Hopefully, I can go on the market and play, nevertheless it’s as much as the coaches to see in the event that they let me play on Friday.” ROSTER MOVES The Purple Sox positioned Hector Velazquez on the injured listing with a decrease again pressure and recalled right-hander Josh Smith from Triple-A Pawtucket. Velazquez pitched 4 innings in Tuesday’s sport, however had a recurrence of the again harm that compelled him to the injured listing earlier than he returned Tuesday. Minnesota positioned Marwin Gonzalez on the injured listing with a proper hamstring pressure. The Twins additionally positioned reliever Blake Parker on the household medical emergency listing. Astudillo was recalled from Triple-A Rochester, and the workforce chosen the contract of right-hander Sean Poppen from Triple-A. Poppen, a 19th-round draft alternative in 2016 out of Harvard, made his main league debut and allowed three runs in 4 innings. Baldelli mentioned after the sport that Poppen could be optioned again to Rochester. TRAINER’S ROOM Red Sox: Nathan Eovaldi (proper elbow) threw for the third straight day. Cora mentioned Eovaldi would take a time off and the workforce would map out his subsequent throwing session. … Heath Hembree (proper elbow extensor pressure) performed catch earlier than the sport. Story continues Twins: To make room on the 40-man roster for Poppen, Minnesota moved Adalberto Mejia to the 60-day disabled listing. Mejia has been out for the reason that begin of Might with a proper calf pressure. UP NEXT Purple Sox: Following an off day, Boston returns residence Friday in opposition to Toronto. Chris Sale (3-7, 3.49 ERA) takes the mound for the Purple Sox with the Jays beginning Trent Thornton (2-5, 4.36). Sale has allowed two complete runs over his previous three begins and has struck out at the very least 10 in 4 straight video games. Twins: Jake Odorizzi (10-2, 2.24) will attempt to preserve his run going as Minnesota opens a four-game sequence at Kansas Metropolis on Thursday. Odorizzi has received 10 straight choices and beat the Royals in his final begin. Kansas Metropolis will begin Glenn Sparkman (1-3, 4.01). — Extra AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports activities Source link

[jaeame-blog]

Knights sign Mitchell Pearce | Mitchell Pearce

Pearce has agreed to terms on a four-year deal worth in excess of $4 million. As he told the Roosters players, Pearce was originally only looking for the two-year deal. Manly and Cronulla missed out on Mitchell Pearce but several halves are on the verge of hitting the open market. While the Knights don't need to unload any players to aid the Pearce move, it won't stop the players and their management from asking the question.

IT turns out Nathan Brown had plenty of help when trying to lure star halfback Mitchell Pearce north to join the Knights. This is the sixth column Sharks captain Paul Gallen has written for Sporting News. The Newcastle Knights have announced the signing of Mitchell Pearce to a four-year contract.Pearce joins the Knights from the Sydney Roosters, where he played 238 NRL games. You can read why he reckons JT got it so wrong over Mitchell Pearce here.

Foxsports.com.au can reveal Brock Lamb is seeking permission to explore his options for 2018. BEST SLOT? Eels great questions Jarryd Hayne's Parra position.SEA Eagles coach Trent Barrett said the club was not going to get into a bidding war to sign Mitchell Pearce following reports he had agreed to a $4 million four-year deal to join Newcastle. Strugglers Newcastle have achieved a milestone moment in their rebuild with State of Origin halfback Mitchell Pearce agreeing to a rich four-year NRL deal. Weeks of speculation as to Mitchell Pearce's future have come to a stunning conclusion today, with news the former Sydney Roosters halfback will sign a lucrative deal with three-time reigning wooden spooners Newcastle. While Hodkinson remains contracted to the Knights, they would be prepared to release him having snared Pearce and fellow former Rooster Connor Watson. MITCHELL Pearce is set to join Newcastle on a four-year, $4 million deal after walking away from the Roosters. He loved the Roosters and wanted to go back.

[yahoo-shutdown-corner-blog]

NFL Power Rankings: Browns and 49ers start to stare down 0-16 possibility

Go ahead and name every 1-15 team in NFL history. There was that Cowboys team during Troy Aikman’s rookie year, and the Browns last year, maybe a Colts team before Peyton Manning …

Here’s the point: Nobody remembers the 1-15 teams through history. They win a game and we forget about them. But the two teams in the Super Bowl era who have played a full season and gone winless, the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 2008 Detroit Lions, will live forever. In 20 years, they’ll still be making documentaries and writing long stories about those teams. There’s no bigger difference in the NFL than the one between zero wins and one win.

So all the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers have to do is win one. That might not be easy.

It’s hard to pick any team to lose seven or eight in a row. But the 49ers have lost nine in a row to start the season and the Browns have lost eight. Last season the 49ers were 2-14, with both wins against the Rams (what a difference a year and a competent coach makes, huh?), and the Browns were 1-15. It’s not like either team is some sleeping giant. And the schedules don’t have a lot of great opportunities. Let’s look at each team’s situation and their 0-16 chances.

49ers: They have only seven games left, and this week is their best shot to win. They get the 1-7 Giants at home. There are some other chances after this week, but nothing where you’d feel good picking them:

Week 10: vs. Giants Week 11: bye Week 12: vs. Seahawks (nope) Week 13: at Bears (maybe, but the Bears have been competitive at home) Week 14: at Texans (Houston did just lose to the Colts, so maybe?) Week 15: vs. Titans (Tennessee hasn’t been very good, but doubt it) Week 16: vs. Jaguars (not against that defense) Week 17: at Rams (maybe if the Rams are resting everyone)

You’d think the 49ers win one of these games. The problem is, Kyle Shanahan obviously had the itch to go to his pet project C.J. Beathard at quarterback, and it has been a big step down from Brian Hoyer.

Hoyer was cut last week, and the 49ers lost their third straight game by double-digits with Beathard starting. Sunday’s double-digit loss came to a Drew Stanton-led Cardinals team at home. You’d think Jimmy Garoppolo gets a shot soon, but this talk of him sitting the rest of the season is confusing. I still refuse to believe Shanahan will take an 0-16 on his resume with Beathard starting every game.

But the 49ers seem to have a better shot to win than …

Browns: Uh, oh. OK folks, pick a win:

Week 10: at Lions (can’t see it) Week 11: vs. Jaguars (again, not against that defense) Week 12: at Bengals (Cincy isn’t good, but they’re not this bad) Week 13: at Chargers (nope, especially after the Browns upset the Chargers last year) Week 14: vs. Packers (even with Brett Hundley, I don’t think so) Week 15: vs. Ravens (maybe, just because Baltimore’s offense is that bad) Week 16: at Bears (tough to pick the Browns on the road against anyone) Week 17: at Steelers (perhaps if the Steelers have nothing to play for)

Because the odds are against any NFL team losing eight in a row, you’d think Cleveland wins one. Maybe the Browns will get just one, but that saves them from infamy. However, you wouldn’t pick the Browns in any one of these games. Perhaps there’s some optimism for a win because the Browns have been competitive a few times, notably against the Jets and Titans, but unless the offense gets a lot better, they’ll need to catch a fluky win. It could happen, but there has to be some concern, especially considering their next four games look daunting.

(By the way, the 1-15 teams in NFL history: 1980 Saints, 1989 Cowboys, 1990 Patriots, 1991 Colts, 1996 Jets, 2000 Chargers, 2001 Panthers, 2007 Dolphins, 2009 Rams, 2016 Browns.)

We’ll assume the 49ers or Browns win a game this season. The 49ers, who had a five-game stretch of losses by 13 total points, seem to be a decent bet to get a win. The Browns’ situation looks worse, but they still have eight bites at the apple. You have to figure one comes through.

If nothing else it will be an interesting race to get the No. 1 pick of the draft. Each team would love to get that first pick, just not at the expense of being remembered forever for 0-16.

It’s been that kind of year for 49ers guard Laken Tomlinson (75) and tackle Trent Brown. (AP)

Here are the power rankings following Week 9 of the NFL season:

32. Cleveland Browns (0-8, Last week: 32) Given all of Josh Gordon’s issues, it would be a great story if he resurrected his career. The talent is there. The opportunity is too, because the Browns could use him. Here’s hoping.

31. San Francisco 49ers (0-9, LW: 31) ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the 49ers might not sign Jimmy Garoppolo to a long-term deal, but instead franchise tag him and trade him. Presumably they could get at least a second-round pick back, which is what they gave to the Patriots. Then the speculation turned to Kirk Cousins. Maybe the 49ers sign Cousins and trade Garoppolo. Maybe the trade will be tagged Garoppolo for tagged Cousins.

This all sounds like the 49ers trying to gain contract leverage because the team has none at the moment, but perhaps there’s something to it. Garoppolo is three years younger and would command a much cheaper deal than Cousins (Cousins has 85 career touchdowns, Garoppolo has 94 career passes), so I’m not sure why a rebuilding team would prefer Cousins. But it’s well documented that the 49ers are infatuated with Cousins. Maybe this ends up as we all figure and Garoppolo signs a long-term deal. Perhaps when we see the master plan unfold we give the 49ers credit for buying low on Garoppolo and flipping him for even more in a few months. It’s certainly an interesting situation.

30. New York Giants (1-7, LW: 29) Ben McAdoo clarified on Monday that Eli Manning is still his quarterback. That’s no surprise. McAdoo knows that playing out the rest of the season with Geno Smith or Davis Webb pretty much ensures the Giants get even worse and McAdoo will be fired earlier rather than later. But it’s what will come after the season with Manning that will be interesting.

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-6, LW: 28) No Jameis Winston for a few weeks and no Mike Evans this week for the Bucs. It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

28. Houston Texans (3-5, LW: 12) A week ago, even with a losing record and deficiencies on defense, I had the Texans No. 12. Now, after Deshaun Watson’s injury, I’m not sure they win more than a game or two the rest of the season, and maybe not even that. I can’t believe a rookie quarterback could ever be so valuable, but here we are. The good news is the Texans will probably be so bad the rest of the way they can add a blue-chip prospect with an early draft pick.

27. Indianapolis Colts (3-6, LW: 30) The fact that the Colts have three wins places a harsher spotlight on the 49ers and Browns. The Colts’ roster probably isn’t better than either one of those winless teams’ rosters, but they’ve still found some wins.

26. Chicago Bears (3-5, LW: 25) The Bears have a fairly favorable schedule the rest of the way, including home games against the aforementioned 49ers and Browns. They’re not good enough to get into the playoff race, but they should end with a record that engenders more optimism heading into next season.

25. Green Bay Packers (4-4, LW: 22) If you’ve been one of those folks who has wondered if Mike McCarthy has been elevated by Aaron Rodgers, the lack of any offensive ingenuity to get something going with Brett Hundley is some evidence in your favor.

24. Miami Dolphins (4-4, LW: 24) It was odd to see two teams trade high-level offensive starters when they had winning records. The Dolphins dealt Jay Ajayi and the Panthers traded Kelvin Benjamin last week. There were reasons for each move, but it was still startling. Maybe the Dolphins realized they were much worse than their 4-3 record at the time would indicate.

23. Cincinnati Bengals (3-5, LW: 23) The Bengals avoided an A.J. Green suspension, which is huge for them. It would also be nice if top-10 pick John Ross showed up. He was a healthy scratch Sunday. He has one touch this season, on a 12-yard run, and he fumbled. It’s not like the Bengals have so many offensive stars that Ross can’t get on the field. It’s concerning.

22. Denver Broncos (3-5, LW: 20) The Broncos are turning back to Brock Osweiler at quarterback this week, and that’s not surprising. What is surprising is coach Vance Joseph’s explanation: “It felt good to our team — it was a confident week and the energy was better. It was urgent, it was detailed and the meetings were better. Brock’s experience and Brock’s personality really helped our team bounce back and gave us confidence going into this week. I think Brock’s earned it from that standpoint.” The Broncos lost 51-23 on Sunday and looked horrendous, the worst they’ve looked for a few seasons. I suppose Joseph is trying to keep everything positive during a bad streak, but talking about how Osweiler helped preparation and urgency before an embarrassing loss is not going to play well with an angry fan base.

21. Arizona Cardinals (4-4, LW: 27) It’s amazing the Cardinals are at .500. How many carries can 32-year-old Adrian Peterson handle on Thursday, considering he got 37 in the win over the 49ers?

20. New York Jets (4-5, LW: 26) Yes, #TheJetsDanceToAnything is the best thing on the Internet (personal favorite: a tie between “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and the “Peanuts” theme).

19. Baltimore Ravens (4-5, LW: 19) The Titans never held more than a 10-point lead. Still, the Ravens threw 52 times compared to 21 handoffs to backs. Falling into a pass-heavy approach despite being a bad passing team is a weird and recurring bad habit. The Ravens have somehow led the NFL in passing attempts each of the past two seasons. I’m not sure why they believe that’s their best plan.

18. Oakland Raiders (4-5, LW: 21) Amari Cooper seemed to turn a corner with a 210-yard game against the Chiefs. In the two games since then he had 48 and 58 yards. His quiet season is baffling. The 210-yard game has to rule out a nagging injury, right?

17. Los Angeles Chargers (3-5, LW: 17) The Chargers, surprisingly enough, are only two-and-a-half games behind the Chiefs in the AFC West despite an 0-4 start. The schedule is tough so they’ll need to pull some upsets (and obviously beat the Chiefs in Kansas City). That probably starts Sunday at Jacksonville.

16. Tennessee Titans (5-3, LW: 18) Rookie cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, who has looked electric on punt returns, got an offensive snap on Sunday. He took a misdirection handoff and looked very fast on a 20-yard run. The Titans might want to explore that bag of tricks a little more.

15. Detroit Lions (4-4, LW: 16) Matthew Stafford is playing well, and the Lions are in good shape because of a truly soft second-half schedule. But the issues near the goal line are perplexing, and not going away.

14. Buffalo Bills (5-3, LW: 11) A loss to the Jets isn’t ideal, but it’s not the worst thing. It’s not like there are a ton of scary wild-card contenders in the AFC. The next four games — vs. Saints, at Chargers, at Chiefs, vs. Patriots — will tell us if the Bills are finally going back to the playoffs for the first time since the 1999 season.

13. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-3, LW: 15) The Jaguars are allowing 156.4 passing yards per game. No other team has allowed fewer than 180 per game. This defense is special and while there are offensive issues, they could create some real problem for a playoff opponent. This is the best team in the division and also had the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL heading into Week 9, according to Football Outsiders.

12. Washington Redskins (4-4, LW: 14) One of the best stories in the NFL has been Vernon Davis. In the second half of the 2015 season with Denver, Davis looked done at age 31. He had a solid season last year and this season he’s averaging 16.7 yards per catch on 23 catches, the best among tight ends. It makes the strange disappearance of Jordan Reed (7.8 yards per catch, dealing with another injury) easier to swallow.

11. Atlanta Falcons (4-4, LW: 9) I still can’t believe that Julio Jones drop. We might look back on that play changing the entire playoff picture in the NFC.

10. Carolina Panthers (6-3, LW: 10) It’s rare to see an NFL game anymore in which a team has only three players catch a pass. Yet, that’s what happened with the Panthers, as Devin Funchess, Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel accounted for all 13 receptions from Cam Newton. The first game without Kelvin Benjamin produced only 137 passing yards and I’m still not entirely sure that trade made sense, but they got a big win over the Falcons without him.

9. Minnesota Vikings (6-2, LW: 8) I’m surprised how often people have either discussed the possibility of Teddy Bridgewater starting or confirming that Case Keenum will start. This is really a debate? Keenum hasn’t been bad. Bridgewater hasn’t played since he hurt his knee in August of 2016 and we have no idea if that injury has had any long-term effect. It’s great that Bridgewater is apparently healthy enough to be the backup as soon as this week, and it’s a great story, but any notion that he can or should step into the starting job is weird.

8. Dallas Cowboys (5-3, LW: 13) It looked like the Cowboys were in for a disappointing follow-up to last season, then they took off the past three games. If it was guaranteed Ezekiel Elliott would be on the field all season this might be the NFC’s best team (Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali said the Cowboys were the best team in the league, and the Chiefs have faced the Eagles already), but we all know the Elliott situation isn’t resolved.

7. Seattle Seahawks (5-3, LW: 5) Russell Wilson is an incredible talent, but the downside of playing such an extreme improvisational style — which is necessary behind a bad line — is that sometimes it looks really ugly. The Seahawks offense was bad most of the game Sunday, with Wilson often running for his life and finding nothing happening downfield, and they took a home loss that might eventually be a big problem with the Rams surging.

6. Kansas City Chiefs (6-3, LW: 2) The Chiefs are still a contender. None of their losses individually were that bad. They’re still the favorite in the AFC West. The problem is losing three of four has put them in a bad spot because the Steelers and Patriots are starting to cruise, as we’ll talk about in a moment.

5. Los Angeles Rams (6-2, LW: 7) The Rams are for real. Say whatever you will about the Giants, but it’s hard to go on the road and beat any NFL team 51-17. Lost in the gushing over Jared Goff, which is justified, the Rams’ defense has allowed 16, 17, 0 and 17 points the last four games. You knew Wade Phillips would get that unit going.

4. New Orleans Saints (6-2, LW: 6) Who would have thought Saints at Rams on Nov. 26 would be a possible NFC championship game preview? The Saints probably suffer from a perception issue because a lot of their wins are against bottom-half NFL teams, but they’re good. The defensive improvement is the biggest reason but the emergence of Alvin Kamara as a true difference maker has been fun too.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2, LW: 4) The Steelers are up three games in the loss column on the second-place Ravens. It’s the biggest lead for any division leader. Given how bad the Ravens and Bengals are on offense, the Steelers can start making plans for a home playoff game right now.

2. New England Patriots (6-2, LW: 3) The Patriots benefit in a big way by the Chiefs losing three times in four games. Due to that season-opening game, the Chiefs hold the tiebreaker over the Patriots. Now the Patriots lead Kansas City in the AFC standings and the Patriots have five very winnable games (at Broncos, vs. Raiders, vs. Dolphins, at Bills, at Dolphins) before a big showdown at the Steelers on Dec. 17. And, in case you were wondering, the Patriots finish with home games against the Bills and Jets. A 14-2 season isn’t out of the question. It seems like a foregone conclusion they’ll be No. 1 on this list before December and might not give that spot up.

1. Philadelphia Eagles (8-1, LW: 1) They put up 51 points without Zach Ertz, who has been their most reliable receiver. Against a Broncos defense that is still among the best in the NFL. They’re deep on offense, especially with Alshon Jeffery heating up and Jay Ajayi in the mix. The Eagles have a bye week and then a fun Sunday night matchup at Dallas on Nov. 19. Win that and they’re running downhill to a division title.

– – – – – – –

Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab

More from Yahoo Sports: • Steve Kerr offers solution to gun violence epidemic • LeBron delivers first cryptic social media post of new season • Report: Suns finally trade disgruntled star Bledsoe • Pat Forde: Could Kiffin be the NCAA’s Coach of the Year?

[junker-town]

6 NFL players on the verge of their best season yet

Free agency and shrewd draft moves have surrounded these six veterans with more talent than ever.

This offseason, several NFL players found new homes that could lead to major improvements in their games. Odell Beckham Jr. moved from Eli Manning’s aging passing game to Baker Mayfield’s deep ball extravaganza in Cleveland. Trey Flowers left New England’s rotation-heavy defense to reunite with his former defensive coordinator in Detroit. Nick Foles will get the opportunity to make 16 starts behind center for the first time in his career now that he’s a Jaguar.

Then there’s the flip side. Plenty of players benefitted from staying home, watching the supporting casts around them improve.

For instance, Jacksonville’s group of wideouts upgraded from Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler sailing passes over their heads to working with a Super Bowl MVP. Mayfield gets an All-Pro wideout to fling passes at indiscriminately, knowing there’s a non-negligible chance Beckham will catch it no matter where it goes. The entire Lions defensive front will get some extra opportunities to crash the pocket thanks to Flowers’ versatile presence.

But then there are the veterans who are just waiting for an opportunity to regain lost glory or reach their potential. These are the players primed for breakout and comeback seasons, set to reward the faith their teams have invested in them.

So who’s in line for a big 2019? Here are six veterans whose front offices have put them in line for a significant uptick.

DeVante Parker, WR, Dolphins

Since the start of 2019, Parker went from catching passes from checkdown masters Ryan Tannehill and Brock Osweiler (a combined 7.1 yards per attempt last fall) to deep ball lesser god Ryan Fitzpatrick (a league-leading 9.6 YPA). The results in training camp so far have been promising.

We've watched this 50 times already... What about you? Fitzpatrick >> @DeVanteParker11 pic.twitter.com/CDC3Tgfuzq

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) June 6, 2019

Parker’s inconsistencies have been endemic of the profile Miami was eager to cast aside. Despite carrying the pedigree of a first-round wideout with him into the league, he’s failed to match the numbers he put up over his final two seasons at Louisville. While he briefly emerged as a deep threat as a rookie in 2015 (19.0 yards per catch), his career has mostly stalled out thanks in part to his place in an offense that struggled to stretch the field.

Tannehill, a quarterback forged in the ether of limbo to be eternally stuck between good and bad, is gone. And although he wasn’t able to take advantage of Jarvis Landry’s absence last season, Parker will hear his number called more than ever now that he’s paired with a quarterback who prefers to look downfield rather than default to his slot wideout with regularity. The Dolphins recognized this potential, too. They extended him for two years and $10 million earlier this offseason.

If (or when) Fitzpatrick is replaced by second-year passer Josh Rosen, Parker will be the security blanket for a young, budding quarterback eager to prove himself — and who is capable of making throws like this:

.@MarkSchofield brought this Josh Rosen throw to my attn. while discussing Rosen's reported "third round" trade value. W13, 3rd & 23, tie game, 4:35 left. Leads to a GW FG. Couldn't put it anywhere else. pic.twitter.com/aaOWaJwBpL

— Michael Kist (@MichaelKistNFL) March 7, 2019

Derek Carr, QB, Raiders

The bad news is Carr won’t have Marshawn Lynch to provide support — both moral and ground — in 2019. The good news is, holy crap, Jon Gruden just gave him a brand new toolbox with which to work.

Gruden resisted the temptation to replace a quarterback who emerged as an MVP candidate in 2016 and instead improved his team’s foundation around Carr. Donald Penn and rookie Kolton Miller made up one of the league’s worst tackle tandems last season, so Oakland released the veteran Penn, kept 2018 first-round pick Miller at left tackle, and brought Patriots left tackle Trent Brown to the West Coast with a record-setting contract to lock down the other side of the offensive line.

This extra time to throw — Carr was sacked a career-high 51 times in 2018 — will come in handy after the Raiders completely revamped their receiving corps. Out went Martavis Bryant, Seth Roberts, and Jordy Nelson. In came Tyrell Williams, J.J. Nelson, Ryan Grant, Hunter Renfrow, and, most importantly, Antonio Brown.

While the club’s lack of tight end help is concerning, Carr will now have a deep lineup of targets who can create windows of opportunity up and down the field. If he can’t regain his 2016 magic with this roster, he may never — and that could leave Gruden angling to replace his franchise quarterback before his team’s 2020 move to Las Vegas.

David Johnson, RB, Cardinals

Johnson emerged as an all-world multipurpose tailback in 2016, but injury, awful blocking, the league’s least-threatening passing offense, and the Cardinals’ amazing excess of gridiron malaise transformed him into bad-year Doug Martin last season. Arizona was unhappy with all of that, so it blew everything up and wagered its future on an offensive savant who’d just been fired as the 35-40 head coach of Texas Tech University: Kliff Kingsbury.

The 2019 Cardinals will be leaning hard into a rebuild, but it’s easy to see what Kingsbury has in mind for his latest project. After drafting Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray with the first-overall pick and adding pass catchers like Andy Isabella, Hakeem Butler, and KeeSean Johnson later in the draft, the first-year NFL head coach is assembling a limitation-free spread offense. He’ll allow Murray to take chances downfield and improvise mightily in and out of the pocket.

That creates a lot of space for a dual-threat back to thrive. Though Kingsbury only had one Red Raiders running back record more than 30 receptions in a single season (DeAndre Washington, who is currently part of the black-and-silver Raiders’ platoon), he’s also never had a weapon like Johnson to boost his offense. The former Northern Iowa standout broke out for 80 catches and 879 receiving yards while leading the league in yards from scrimmage in his monster 2016 season.

Now he’ll be the safety valve for a rookie quarterback who may need to make a whole bunch of short-yard snap decisions thanks to Arizona’s work-in-progress offensive line. That blocking could still be a problem, but Kingsbury’s spread offense and the keep-em-honest deep threats provided by Isabella and Butler should open up lanes for Johnson to thrive.

He’s also the top tailback on a depth chart that features T.J. Logan and Chase Edmonds, so he should get a lot of opportunities to prove he’s still an upper-tier runner.

Kyler Fackrell, LB, Packers

Fackrell set a career high with 10.5 sacks in 2018. This was impressive not only because it came in seven starts (over 16 games played), but because it came for a defense whose other primary edge threat was a 32-year-old Clay Matthews (3.5 sacks, 12 QB hits). It was also a bit of an anomaly, since Fackrell’s 12 QB hits suggest he wasn’t getting to the passer as much as your typical double-digit sack performer — Fletcher Cox, for instance, also had 10.5 sacks last season but contributed 34 QB hits as a master disruptor.

The fourth-year pro is now primed for a starting role at outside linebacker in 2019, and Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has given Fackrell some much-needed support to keep his trajectory pointed upward. Green Bay made an extremely uncharacteristic splash in free agency by doling out $154 million in contracts for outside linebackers Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith along with safety Adrian Amos. He’d later add former uber-recruit Rashan Gary in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft to round out his rebuild of the Packers’ pass rush.

This updated depth chart could push Fackrell out of the spotlight, but he’s already proven himself as a valuable rotation piece for a team with few real threats to contain. Now he’ll be flanked by players capable of occupying blockers and preventing scrambles and rollouts away from his pressure. While that may not lead to a new personal record when it comes to sacks, Fackrell should be a much more consistent presence in opponents’ backfields in 2019.

Myles Garrett, DE, and Larry Ogunjobi, DT, Browns

Third-year pros Garrett and Ogunjobi are hardly long-toothed veterans and both are coming off exceptional seasons. The addition of Olivier Vernon and Sheldon Richardson, a dynamic veteran duo set to lineup alongside them in Cleveland’s four-man front, will make them even more dangerous.

John Dorsey’s radical overhaul continued this spring as his Browns went above and beyond just stealing Beckham away. No team in the league can match the balance of pass-rushing power Cleveland will bring to the trenches behind a lineup that features four starters who combined for more than 30 sacks last fall. And now they’ll get more freedom than ever to baffle opposing linemen and quarterbacks thanks to the departure of rigid defensive coordinator Gregg Williams:

“I hopefully have more freedom to be the player I want to be,” Garrett told the media after a minicamp practice in Cleveland. “[Former defensive coordinator and interim head coach] Gregg [Williams] was more like: ‘You win with these two moves. I don’t want to see anything else out of you.’ It’s kind of hard with two moves. I feel like you can’t always be so predictable.”

Quarterbacks stepping up to avoid the edge pressure of Vernon and Garrett will only be pushed into the blocker-backpedaling force of Richardson and Ogunjobi. At 600 combined pounds, that pair will also be a hellacious combo to clear for runs up the middle. Their ability to absorb blockers should also create gaps for Christian Kirksey and Joe Schobert to excel as high-yield linebackers.

Pressure is going to burst through the Cleveland defensive front like a malfunctioning pressure cooker, and that chaos should lead to career bests across Freddie Kitchens’ roster.