The U.S. Is Off the E.U.’s ‘Safe List.’ What Does That Mean for Americans Traveling to Europe?

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Scenes From Louisiana in Ida’s Wake

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Why So Many Tennis Players Don’t Want the Covid Vaccine

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Fake Banksy NFT sold through artist's website for £244k

Duped buyer says he feels "burned" after apparent hack of Banksy website.

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UNHCR 'cautiously optimistic' over working with Taliban

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What was left behind by US forces?

As US troops took off from Kabul, they abandoned 73 aircraft - all disabled.

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New on Sports Illustrated: 2021 MLB Betting Futures Update - Brewers Closing in on Dodgers

Milwaukee, San Francisco & Tampa Bay's odds shrinking in betting futures as we approach the final month of the 2021 MLB regular season

With a little over 30 games remaining in the 2021 MLB regular season, the oddsmakers have begun to make significant adjustments in their future markets as division races heat up. Focusing on one favorite or spotting a longshot who offers long-term value remains the best way to attack futures betting.

Let’s take a deeper look into the risers and fallers in each respective offering.

2021 WORLD SERIES FUTURES ODDS

ON THE MOVE

The Los Angeles Dodgers (+250) remain overwhelming favorites in the eyes of the oddsmakers to win the 2021 World Series. Jockeying behind the Dodgers on the overall odds board are four teams. The Milwaukee Brewers are at +700. The next three teams are tied at +800: Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays.

Tampa Bay, who have won eight consecutive games, has opened up a seven-game lead in the AL East over the Yankees. The red-hot Yankees, who are 8-3 in their last 11 games, offer solid double-digit value at 10/1.

This week's biggest move belongs to the Milwaukee Brewers, who have attained a firm grip on first place in the NL Central. In World Series odds, Milwaukee was being offered at +1600 last month only to see a sizable reduction this week down to their lowest odds of the season at +700.

LOSING RESPECT

The Philadelphia Phillies, despite being 11 games over .500 at home (39-28) and possessing a strong NL CY Young candidate in Zach Wheeler, are being written off by oddsmakers in World Series Futures. The Phillies, now 3.5-games out in the NL East, see their World Series odds rise from 40/1 to +300/1.

In addition, the New York Mets - who are just 3-7 over their last 10 games, have fallen 7.0-games behind the Braves in the race for the NL East crown. The oddsmakers, who were offering the Mets at odds of 40/1 last week, have lost faith in the boys from Queens offering the club at their highest odds of 2021 at 2000/1.

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2021 AMERICAN LEAGUE PENNANT FUTURES ODDS

The Tampa Bay Rays, who have posted a record of 27-9 (.750) over their last 36 games, remain in a three-way tie this week in AL Pennant Futures with the White Sox and Astros at odds of +325.

The New York Yankees, 21-6 (.777) in August, continue to offer solid value at +450. Joey Gallo, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, and Anthony Rizzo have made the Yankees a team to be feared in October. There simply may not be a better lineup in all of baseball.

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2021 NATIONAL LEAGUE PENNANT FUTURES ODDS

The Dodgers, who have a 12.5-game lead in the National League Wild Card race, continue to own the top perch atop the NL Pennant odds board (+120) well ahead of San Francisco, who sit at +450.

I will continue to stress it, but the lack of respect for a Giants club that owns the best record (84-47) in Major League Baseball continues to lead to immense value for bettors. San Francisco has the second-best run differential (+142) in the National League while owning the best home record at 42-19 (.689) in all of baseball.

The biggest move over the past week belongs to the Brewers - who opened up a 9.0-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central. The Brewers, offered at odds of +500 last week, have now moved ahead of the Giants at +350.

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2021 PLAYER BETTING FUTURES

In the Cy Young betting markets, Vegas sportsbooks are very happy to see the recent struggles of Chicago White Sox’s Lance Lynn. The veteran who was -200 to win the AL Cy Young award last week is now +195 after going winless (0-1) in August with a 4.67 ERA in five starts. Last week we shared that the absolute value in the market fell upon Gerrit Cole at +195. Cole, who is 13-6 with a 2.80 ERA, has been lights out in August, posting a 3-0 record with a 0.51 ERA in three victories over the Angels, Twins and Athletics. Oddsmakers have made a major adjustment with Cole as the prohibitive favorite (-165) on the AL Cy Young betting board.

Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports

Over in the National League, Los Angeles Dodgers hard-throwing ace Walker Buehler who was (+165) last week, is now the -110 favorite for NL Cy Young. Oddsmakers now have moved Buehler into a dominant betting position over Corbin Burnes (+200) of the Brewers and Zach Wheeler of the Phillies (+550).

The best value on the board continues to be Max Scherzer at +1600. The veteran, who is now 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA and a minuscule 0.88 WHIP, has not lost since May 30 and is 4-0 with 1.55 ERA in five starts since being acquired from the Washington Nationals.

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Frankie Taddeo is a successful high-stakes fantasy football player who created the first-ever DFS program ever offered in a Las Vegas sportsbook. Frankie is SI Betting's Senior Analyst and provides his significant experience and resources in the sports betting scene. You can follow Frankie on Twitter @Frankie_Fantasy for his latest betting and fantasy insights from Las Vegas.

Joe Biden’s Critics Lost Afghanistan

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Afghans 'will struggle to survive or race to escape'

The BBC's Lyse Doucet reports from the Afghan capital, a day after the last US troops left.

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YouTube signs Twitch video-game streamer Dr Lupo

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Mission: Impossible Covid shutdowns prompt lawsuit

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New on Sports Illustrated: Forde-Yard Dash: 'College GameDay's' Kirk Herbstreit On Career, Football Landscape

The Dash interviews the former Ohio State quarterback, examines six former Tennessee players and welcomes Illinois's Bret Bielema back to the Big Ten.

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, which at least doesn’t have a Bishop Sycamore travesty on its hands:

MORE DASH:

Coaching Tests | Coordinator Changes | Backlash Predictions

FOURTH QUARTER: THE HERBSTREIT INTERVIEW

Television both literally and figuratively reduces people to two-dimensional characters. What we see of them on-air provides little depth, just an image and a role. For a quarter century, the role played by Kirk Herbstreit (31) on ESPN has been Golden Boy. He’s the handsome, former Ohio State quarterback turned College GameDay cornerstone, and Chris Fowler’s sidekick analyst on the major ABC game of the week. A perfectly fine and enviable image and role.

Then Kirk wrote a book with his ESPN colleague Gene Wojciechowski, “Out of the Pocket: Football, Fatherhood and College Gameday Saturdays.” And suddenly he gained new dimension and greater depth. Suddenly, we learned about a chaotic childhood that was marked by long absences from his father, and often absences of much money or food. We learned about the boy who bounced from school to school, with sports one of the few anchors in his life. We learned about a high school star whose college career was rarely glorious and often frustrating.

There is more to Kirk Herbstreit than the vast majority of us knew, and learning about it made arguably the most prominent figure in college football all the more relatable. A short Dash Q&A with Herbstreit:

Pat Forde: How much did your upbringing influence the way you’ve tried to parent your four children?

Kirk Herbstreit: It definitely had a huge impact. Some people grew up in a family where they had a mom and dad in the house who were great examples for their kids. My parents were great people who were very loving; they just had a problem staying together. It made me and my siblings feel like we were caught in the middle. There were holes in my life, and I didn’t want my kids to feel that.

As loving as my dad was, he was not good at confrontation. In avoiding confrontation, he’d avoid me and my siblings. I was never mad at my dad; it was more of an emptiness. I wanted more of my dad than I got.

So with my kids, I’ve lived my life in the front row of their lives (32) for 21 years. I knew everything they were involved in. I took them to school, I picked them up. I got into the crosshairs of my past, where I didn’t have that example, and I’m trying my best now to be there for them.

SI: Last fall, you broke down on-camera during GameDay in response to an emotional Maria Taylor piece talking to some Black players about the racism, anger and fear they have experienced in their lives. Where did reaction that come from?

KH: It’s not easy for me to open my heart up and be vulnerable. I compartmentalized things for 40 years. I think it was a combination of a lot of things: how sad it made me to see our country being so divided; the strain of the pandemic; and listening to these athletes talking about their lives to Maria. It wasn’t planned. I had talked to [Stanford coach] David Shaw and [former Vanderbilt coach] Derek Mason during the week, and I had two options: be quiet as a white man, listen and observe, which would be the safe route; or speak from the heart, and after talking to David Shaw I felt more prepared to do that.

But I was still having a battle internally and as it was being thrown to me, I just said, “I’ve got to say what I think (33).” When you hold in a lot of thoughts, sometimes it only takes one thing to happen and boom, [the emotions] come out. That’s what happened.

SI: How does it feel to go from a moderately successful college player to an inexperienced broadcaster to arguably the voice of an entire sport?

KH: It’s powerful. It’s not like I walk around calling myself “The voice of college football,” but people are interested in what all of us on Gameday have to say. The heat in that seat is real (34).

I’m a pleaser by nature—I wanted my mom and dad to be proud of me, my teachers and coaches to like me. I’m that way with fans, too. If 100 told me “good job” and one person called me a bozo, I wanted to go to that one fan and say, “Hey, man, what did I do?” I take an immense amount of pride in my work and work very hard, but I had to eventually learn not to take things people say so personally.

Kirsten Fiscus/Advertiser via Imagn Content Services, LLC

SI: The pace of change in the sport is faster than ever, and the changes are major. How do you see the landscape right now?

KH: I’m trying not to jump to conclusions, trying to stay open-minded. There is always resistance to change, and anytime you change a sport people are so passionate about, it’s OK to have those reactions.  

So far, the NIL stuff is not as drastic as everyone thought it might be (35). I can’t wait for a year or two from now to see where it goes. 

SI: What about realignment?

KH: I’m fearful that Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the SEC—what is that doing to Texas Tech and TCU and Iowa State? What about Kansas and Kansas State? Where are they going? The fear of that unknown has us all up in arms, we’re dreaming up these doomsday scenarios. Are we headed toward four super conferences? It feels that way (36).

How are we, as a group, going to move toward a place where everybody trusts each other? We have five Roger Goodells in college football. We’ve reached the point where we need one leader to get us through all this, or we’re going to be too divided to move forward.

STAT OF THE WEEK

Six former Tennessee (37) players are expected to start or heavily contribute for Top Ten teams this season: running backs Eric Gray (Oklahoma) and Ty Chandler (North Carolina); offensive linemen Wanya Morris (Oklahoma) and Jahmir Johnson (Texas A&M); linebacker Henry To’o To’o (Alabama) and defensive back Key Lawrence (Oklahoma). Makes you wonder what a competent Tennessee coaching staff could have done with all those guys, instead of Jeremy Pruitt & Co. Watching all those players perform for prominent teams, plus the expected struggles for the Volunteers as they dig out from the Pruitt crater and transition to Josh Heupel, makes Tennessee The Dash’s preseason favorite for Most Miserable Fan Base of 2021.

COACH WHO EARNED HIS COMP CAR THIS WEEK

Bret Bielema (38), Illinois. As they say on the old Disney movie, “The Aristocats:” Big Man O’Malley is back in his alley. Big Bret is back in his comfort zone in the Big Ten, where he won big at Wisconsin before making an ill-advised departure to Arkansas. Now at perpetual underachiever Illinois, the Bielema Era got off to a rollicking start while doing serious damage to Scott Frost’s viability at Nebraska. The Illini’s 30-22 upset of the Cornhuskers marked their first wins in consecutive years over a Big Ten West rival since the league went to its current divisional alignment in 2014. Very, very nice start.

COACH WHO SHOULD TAKE THE BUS TO WORK

Randy Edsall (39), Connecticut. Even Edsall’s joke of an incentive structure couldn’t dredge bonuses out of the Huskies’ debacle of an opener, a 45-0 shellacking at Fresno State. Of the nine FBS teams that played in Week Zero, UConn is last in the nation in total offense, total defense, scoring offense and scoring defense. Some folks in the northeast actually seemed to think taking last season off completely from competition wouldn’t have a negative effect on this season. The early returns rather strongly suggest otherwise.

POINT AFTER

If ever there were a joint made for close The Dash, it’s the newly opened Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille (40) in Gainesville. Dash sources say the food is excellent, but the ambience takes it up another level with diagram of famous Head Ball Coach ball plays on the walls. It seems imperative to try a 52-20 Pale Ale, named after the score of the Gators’ beatdown of Florida State to win their first national title on Jan. 1, 1997.

MORE DASH: Coaching Tests | Coordinator Changes | Backlash Predictions

New on Sports Illustrated: Why Some NFL Players Switched to Single-Digit Jersey Numbers

Players like Sterling Shepard and Patrick Queen shared their reasons for making the switch once the rule was loosened.

Patrick Queen charged toward Saints quarterback Taysom Hill, diving at his opponent’s legs and

forcing him to the ground for a loss of 12 yards. The Ravens linebacker stayed down for a moment, kneeling on the ground and flexing while a teammate came over and gave him a few taps on the helmet as the crowd at M&T Bank Stadium cheered.

The play didn’t just force a fourth down in an August preseason game; it also gave fans a glimpse of something the NFL had never seen before: a sack by a player wearing a single-digit jersey number.

Since the league imposed a stricter system in 1973 (before sacks were official), only quarterbacks, kickers and punters could don single-digit numbers. But, in April, the longstanding restrictions changed when NFL owners accepted a proposal from the Chiefs.

Players across the league, like Queen, quickly took advantage of the opportunity. Though, in order to do so, each one (unless they changed teams over the offseason) had to buy out the remaining inventory of unsold jerseys with their former number, which could be a hefty price in some cases.

Here are some of the best stories behind number switch-ups around the league.

Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com/USA TODAY Network (Shepard); Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports (Queen)

Sterling Shepard, WR, Giants: switched from 87 to 3

Shepard has tried to honor his father, who died when he was 6 years old, throughout his football career. When he first entered the league as a second-round pick for the Giants in 2016, Shepard chose No. 87, one of the six numbers Derrick Shepard wore throughout his time in the NFL as a wide receiver for Washington, the Cowboys and the Saints from 1987 to ’91.

Though 87 carried a special meaning in that regard, three is the number Shepard really associates with his father.

That’s what his father wore at Oklahoma, where he went from walk-on to starting wide receiver for the 1985 national championship team. Three is the number that was on the helmet the Sooners sent Shepard following the fatal heart attack in ’99, telling the young boy he’d one day follow in the footsteps of his father (who also coached there for a brief period) and uncles. Three is the number he wore from that point forward, whenever he had the choice at least, from Pop Warner through his own playing days as a Sooner.

So, when he heard that the rule was changing back in April, Shepard wanted to make the switch right away.

“It's something I've always wanted to do, and it feels good just to be able to honor him in that way—wearing the number three and having the Shepard on the back of my jersey,” he said. “And I'm sure that he would be proud of me as far as I’ve come so far.”

Budda Baker, S, Cardinals: switched from 32 to 3

As soon as the number rule change was announced, Baker knew he wanted to switch as well.

The option to be one of the first safeties wearing single digits in the NFL was appealing in itself, but even more so was the chance to wear No. 3.

“I take numbers very serious,” Baker said in his first media availability of the offseason.

His love of the number three comes from growing up as a huge Allen Iverson fan. He was enamored by the way the Philadelphia 76ers guard changed basketball with his unique “swag” on and off the court, and he also admired Iverson’s effort, which he tries to emulate on the football field. It felt like a natural fit.

Unlike many players who changed their numbers this offseason, Baker never wore three during his college playing days at Washington, or even in high school. But now emulating the 11-time All-Star, the safety looks to continue his success in the league, aiming to turn his three Pro Bowl appearances in four years into a legacy for his franchise.

“Hopefully that number never gets worn again for the Cardinals,” Baker said.

Julio Jones, WR, Titans: switched from 11 to 2

For the first time since he entered the league in 2011, Jones will be playing for a new franchise and with a new number, trading in No. 11 on the Falcons for No. 2 on the Titans.

The seven-time Pro Bowl selection was at dinner with new teammates, wide receiver A.J. Brown and quarterback Ryan Tannehill, shortly after he joined Tennessee when Brown offered to give him the signature number. But Jones declined.

“I was like, ‘Bro, I don’t want it. That’s your number,’ ” Jones recalled in his introductory press conference.

Jones opted to go with No. 2 instead. The number didn’t hold a previous meaning for him, but it is symbolic.

“One plus one is two, then two times 11 is 22, so, it’s kind of like … you’re gonna have to deal with us,” Jones said.

Brown, the Titans’ top receiver, is No. 11, and star running back Derrick Henry has worn No. 22 throughout his time in the league. Though Tannehill couldn’t fit into the math equation, Jones said the message speaks to him and the entire 11-man offense as well.

“It’s just something just to keep the guys going and just have fun with it,” Jones said. “Because at the end of the day it’s our job, but we want to have fun with it.”

Patrick Queen, LB, Ravens: switched from 48 to 6

Queen had his eye on No. 8, which he wore at LSU en route to the 2020 national championship, once the rule change was announced. But, of course, that number was occupied by none other than his quarterback, ’19 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.

Queen tried to negotiate his way toward a bargain with Jackson on Twitter, to no avail, later tweeting it was a joke. But Queen still wanted to take advantage of the new rule entering his second year in the league.

“It was just the right thing to do,” Queen said during his first media availability of the offseason. “Single-digit swag, just the swagger that comes with it, just the feel that comes with it.”

When you see Queen making plays for the Ravens this season, building off a Defensive Rookie of the Year campaign last year, he’ll be wearing No. 6 as a nod to his hometown of Ventress, La.

“Back home, the place that we from, we call it ‘Six,’ ” Queen said. “Just try to put the city on me, try to show ’em where I’m from.”

More NFL Coverage:

• Tom Brady's Forgotten Rookie Year
• Predicting Every Game of the 2021 Season
• How Derrick Henry Handles a Throwback Workload
• An Early Look at the 2022 NFL Quarterback Carousel

New on Sports Illustrated: In College Football, Parity Is Dead. Is There Any Hope for Change?

The sport's playoff has become an exclusive playground for Alabama, Clemson and a few other powerhouses.

One of the greatest offensive minds in the history of college football happens to belong to one of the sport’s most braggadocious men, and today Steve Spurrier is especially eager to crow. He waves a visitor into his cozy office in the bowels of the stadium with a field named in his honor on Florida’s campus and kicks off the conversation with some playful boasting. A friend, he says, just told him about an interesting footnote to his iconic coaching career.

Did you know, he starts off, that the 1996 Gators, the Spurrier-coached group that went 12–1 and produced a Heisman Trophy quarterback, is the last first-time national champion in college football?

“That’s been 25 years,” the Head Ball Coach says through a smirk.

Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated

It’s true. A quarter century has passed since we’ve seen a program win its first title, a startling drought that’s just one more indicator of a trend that upstart schools from coast to coast are all too aware of: Parity is pretty much dead in college football. Since Florida announced itself as a national power, a small group of teams has done more than dominate the postseason—it has strangled any sense of competitive balance in the sport. Beginning in 1998, the first year of the BCS and the dawn of the era when national championships are decided on the field and not in the polls, six teams have combined to win 74% of the championships: Alabama (6), LSU (3), Clemson (2), Florida State (2), Florida (2) and Ohio State (2). In the last 23 years, just 17 teams have qualified for the 46 spots in championship games.

The Playoff era, which began with the 2014 season, has been even more exclusive. Four teams—Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma—have accounted for 20 of the 28 playoff spots (71%), and the Tide, Tigers and Buckeyes have combined for 11 of the possible 14 championship game berths. Last season marked a new extreme in the imbalance of the sport. For the first time in the seven years of the Playoff, none of the four participants were making their first appearance in the four-team bracket. 

The same teams are appearing so regularly that college football’s executives proposed a

12-team playoff expansion model this summer, largely to inject new blood (and yes, even more revenue) into a stale system. Fans may be growing bored with the same old teams, too: Alabama’s win over Ohio State in January drew the lowest title-game TV audience of the CFP era.

“I think it’s a problem,” says West Virginia coach Neal Brown. “It’s a problem for our sport, and we’ve got to figure out solutions.”

David E. Klutho/Sports Illustrated

As an assistant coach with Notre Dame in the mid- to late 1980s, Barry Alvarez never once got turned down for a visit to a prospect’s family home. “I could get into anyone’s living room and have a legit chance to sign them,” he says.

Then he took over as head coach at Wisconsin in 1990, and that all changed. “The big brands get the best kids,” says Alvarez, now a special adviser to the Big Ten, “and when you’re winning championships, that’s where the best players want to go.”

Recruiting is the lifeblood of college football, and it offers the most prominent example of how the sport’s unofficial caste system of Have and Have-not programs has become a self-perpetuating parity destruction machine. If you have a rich championship tradition, you probably also have overflowing coffers, a large fan base and lavish facilities—all the better to impress top recruits who will help you add to that championship tradition.

Of those six teams that have won three-quarters of the national titles since 1998, five rank in the top 12 nationally in athletic department budgets, according to 2019 figures from USA Today. (Clemson is the outlier at No. 22.) And of those six schools, five are part of a group that has reeled in the best talent in the nation over the last decade. In a study from MaxPreps, seven programs have signed 55% of the five-star prospects since 2011. They include LSU, Alabama, Clemson, Florida State and Ohio State, as well as USC and Georgia.

Once, schools around the country could count on a reliable pipeline of talent from their own backyards, and even the biggest programs kept their focus local.

(Bear Bryant’s last Crimson Tide championship team, in 1979, featured 71 players from Alabama and just 37 from elsewhere, including none from Texas or California.) And if you’re lucky enough to coach a school in the Southeast, you can still build a pretty good roster with regional talent. The SEC’s 11-state footprint has produced 197 five-star prospects since 2011. The other 39 states have churned out 134. (Oklahoma, which has produced two five-star prospects in that span, will soon give the SEC a 12-state footprint.) The South’s grip on college football and its talent pipelines has never been stronger. No wonder schools from Southeastern states have won 14 of the past 15 titles, the outlier being Ohio State.

But thanks to years of postseason visibility, massive social media followings and bottomless budgets, big-brand schools are making the recruiting gap between the Haves and Have-nots even wider. For a select few programs, the entire country is now the backyard. For instance, the Crimson Tide’s last two signing classes have featured 13 players from the state of Alabama and a combined 20 players from Florida and Texas. The Tide got three players from Maryland and three more from California. Its national reach has helped Bama build the country’s No. 1 recruiting class in nine of the last 11 years.

“It’s almost unfair,” says Spurrier. “At Alabama it’s like being in the NFL, winning the Super Bowl and every year getting the first 10 picks in the first round.”

It’s a cycle that is choking meaningful competition. “If you win a championship in the NFL, you’re picking last,” says Stanford coach David Shaw. “If you win the championship in college football, you’re picking first. There’s nothing that helps the people in the middle get to the top.”

So, today’s blueblood programs are stronger, richer and more powerful than ever. But despite what Shaw says, there are a few factors that could help level the playing field. 

• The transfer portal. Players can now transfer and play for a new team immediately, making it easier for talent to spread. A school that is one or two pieces short of a championship-caliber team can dip into the transfer portal, sign a player and immediately plug him into the hole.

• Clever schemes. On its own, offensive innovation can spark a charge at the big boys. “Scheme can close the gap with the Haves,” says Gerry DiNardo, the Big Ten Network analyst who was offensive coordinator for the Colorado team that won the 1990 championship, one of the last nontraditional football powers to win it all. They recruited well and were stocked with future NFL talent, but the Buffaloes also developed an exotic offense by meshing the I-formation with the Wishbone option. The I-Bone powered them to that 11–1 season. 

But since then, the Buffs have won two conference titles in 31 years. It’s a familiar pattern: Just in the 2000s, see West Virginia under Rich Rodriguez and then Baylor under Art Briles and Oregon under Chip Kelly. “There’s a chance a Have-not can break through, but they won’t sustain it,” DiNardo says.

• Committed coaches. One reason for DiNardo’s skepticism about sustainability: Innovative coaches who turn middling programs into winners often bolt for bigger jobs. But long-term program success is connected to consistency at the top. Only 10 coaches in major college football have coached at their respective schools for at least 10 years, including Saban (15 years) and Dabo Swinney (14 years).

Baylor coach Dave Aranda believes one of his Big 12 rivals, Iowa State, is on course for a program breakthrough based on its coaching consistency. “There have been teams that have shown the ability to contend, but the coaches leave after their success,” Aranda says. “The ability to do it and build and build, I think, is uncommon. Matt Campbell is doing it now. ”

Now entering his sixth season leading the Cyclones, Campbell has turned down high-profile jobs to remain in Ames and continue building Iowa State. This past offseason, he said no to a $68 million offer from the Detroit Lions, and in previous years he’s been linked to openings at several high-profile schools. Along the way he has led the Cyclones to four straight bowl games—a program first—including a win over Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl last January. Iowa State was No. 9 in the final AP poll, its highest finish ever, and in 2019 and 2020 it broke into the top 50 recruiting class rankings. “You’re always trying to figure out: How do you find consistency?” Campbell says. “To be quite honest, you’re in an uphill climb.”

Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

• An expanded postseason. Oregon coach Mario Cristobal, a former Saban assistant, believes he’s identified the recipe for success in college football: (1) recruit well; (2) develop players; and (3) use those players appropriately. “That’s how Clemson got so successful, right? That’s how it works,” he says. “That’s the blueprint proven over time.”

Sometimes it takes a little luck, too: Two years ago, Oregon finished 12–2 but fell a field goal short of a likely spot in the four-team playoff. Plenty of programs have been one play from the promised land in the Playoff era. How could anyone forget Big 12 cochampions TCU and Baylor, both 11–1, being left out of the 2014 playoff? In ’15, Stanford and Iowa were just on the outside looking in. Last year it was one-loss Texas A&M and undefeated Cincinnati.

In June, the College Football Playoff Board of Managers approved a feasibility study for an expanded, 12-team playoff system that would include six major-conference champions and six at-large teams. Broadening the postseason might help teams outside of the Bama-Clemson–Ohio State–Oklahoma axis break through. “When’s the last time you saw a school become a new brand in football?” asks Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick, who was part of the committee that formed the expanded playoff proposal that will be studied. “We’ve seen Gonzaga become a brand in college basketball. Football is such a high-resource sport. There’s such a high investment to get to that level. The commitment you have to make is hard for universities.”

The only way to create that investment is to build the kind of program profile that comes with national titles, or at least regular postseason exposure. “To crack the code to create parity, you’ve got to get into the playoff, and you’ve got to win,” new Texas coach Steve Sarkisian says.

There are more far-fetched ideas for creating parity. Some have suggested limiting college programs to a certain number of four- and five-star recruits. Others say the NCAA should reduce scholarships from 85 to 70 to disperse more talent across the country. Kyle Whittingham, the longtime coach at Utah, believes parity can be achieved only if a 30- or 40-team superleague forms with equal revenue distribution to all members. (The SEC, with its plans to add Oklahoma and Texas, may be heading down that path.) 

Until that happens, coaches outside of college football’s power circles are relying on the tool that has rallied programs and fans throughout the game’s history: hope. “I do believe there’s enough wins for everybody,” says Baylor’s Aranda. “Instead of trying to be like those [blueblood] teams, be who you are and make your place unique and reflective of you so that it becomes important to other people.”

In the meantime, here's Sports Illustrated's preseason top 25. The teams at the top might sound familiar.

Read more of SI's Daily Cover stories

Sarah Rainsford: My last despatch before Russian expulsion

The BBC's Moscow correspondent has spent much of her life in Russia. This is her final report there.

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Schemer or Naïf? Elizabeth Holmes Is Going to Trial.

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Brazil bank robbery: Hostages describe terrifying getaway car ordeal

Brazil hostages describe terrifying ordeal as bank robbers used them as human shields on getaway cars.

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Cyprus on alert as Syrian oil slick spreads across Mediterranean

Modelling suggests fuel that leaked from a power plant last week will soon reach northern Cyprus.

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Tokyo Paralympics: Afghanistan athlete Hossain Rasouli makes debut after evacuation

Afghanistan evacuee Hossain Rasouli finally gets his chance to compete at the Tokyo Paralympics - and his opponents can't "help but feel joy".

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Berlin university canteens cut meat from menus to curb climate change

The new menus are designed to reduce the carbon footprint of universities in the German capital.

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Afghanistan: Taliban enter Kabul airport and celebrate by posing in aircraft

The group entered the Afghan capital's airport hours after the last US soldier left the country.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/3mOZ2bN

Iowa Farmworker Gets Life in Prison for the Murder of Mollie Tibbetts

By Neil Vigdor from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3yzB0nw

New on Sports Illustrated: Reports: Real Madrid Withdraws Push to Sign Kylian Mbappé This Summer

Kylian Mbappé will evidently be sticking around with PSG through the remainder of this season at the very least, with French reports saying Real Madrid has withdrawn its push.

View the

original article to see embedded media.

Kylian Mbappé has never been bashful about admitting that it was a childhood dream to play for Real Madrid, but it appears like that dream will be deferred, for 10 months at least. 

According to French outlets L'Equipe, RMC and Téléfoot, Real Madrid’s push to sign Mbappé this summer, before Tuesday’s transfer deadline, is off. Madrid, according to multiple reports, had two bids last week rebuffed by PSG, one of €160 million ($188 million) and another of €180 million ($212 million), in its attempt to pry the 22-year-old French star from the European club game's version of the Dream Team. Mbappé’s contract expires at the end of this season, however, and as a result, Madrid could agree to a pre-contract with him in January and sign him on a free transfer next summer.

The timing of everything has been wild, to say the least. Mere weeks after PSG landed Lionel Messi on a free transfer from Barcelona to team him with Mbappé and Neymar in one of the most formidable front trios of all time, the piece with the brightest future—and the one with the greatest connection to Paris—had expressed his desire to not be a part of it at all, according to PSG sporting director Leonardo. 

PSG's attempts to extend Mbappé have been fruitless, with the player neglecting to follow in Neymar's footsteps after the Brazilian extended his stay to 2025 in May. Club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi had remained adamant that Mbappé would absolutely be staying for the long term and would most certainly not be sold, and it appears that the latter half will be true. Whether that is good business is another issue entirely. Being able to effectively earn back what PSG paid Monaco to sign Mbappé in the first place, all for a player who has made it clear he wants out and is willing to run out his contract, would seem like a no-brainer from a bottom-line standpoint. But from a prestige perspective and considering the club's Champions League–or-bust mentality, holding onto Mbappé for at least this season could prove worthwhile enough.

Despite all of the speculation swirling in recent days, Mbappé started for PSG on Sunday and scored both goals in a 2–0 win, looking not at all like a player who had one foot in the Spanish capital. The vaunted trio never played together, though, with Messi making his debut off the bench as a substitute for Neymar. With Mbappé set to stay, barring another 180 in this saga before the deadline hits, they'll at least have the chance to show the world the possibilities when they do get the chance to all feature as a unit. Mbappé reported to France national team camp on Monday ahead of three World Cup qualifying matches, and in those games he’ll team with Karim Benzema. When camp is over, though, they’ll be going separate ways instead of sharing a trip back to Madrid.

If Mbappé is still 100% convinced that he’ll be making that trip to Madrid next summer instead, then all this development in the transfer soap opera does is delay the inevitable. But it does also give PSG four months to make its case to have Mbappé either extend his current deal or contemplate signing a new one next summer, and it also opens the door for other clubs to enter the sweepstakes. Regardless, Real Madrid can’t sign Mbappé to any pre-contract until the winter transfer window opens, so until then, the goalposts are moved a bit on a done deal for the star forward, who, along with Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, is considered to be one of the elite young talents in the world.

One could certainly question why Madrid, whose debt level and financial situation were used as reasoning by club president Florentino Pérez for his insistence on attempting to launch the Super League, would want to spend so much now (and precisely how it’s able to spend so much) for a player it could sign to a pre-contract and then add without a fee next summer—especially if the player was so solely focused on joining the club. Perhaps after two seasons without an incoming transfer and funds raised from the sales of Raphaël Varane, Martin Ødegaard, Achraf Hakimi and Sergio Reguilón, among others, Madrid felt it was positioned to pull off the blockbuster now and leave nothing to chance. Leonardo thought perhaps that the effort was a bit of a smokescreen, either to present the facade of a club whose financial woes aren’t so bad or as a show to Mbappé that the club gave its best attempt to add him when it never fully intended to.

“It seems like a strategy to try to get a ‘no’ from us, to show that they have tried everything and to wait for a year to get Mbappé for free,” he told RMC last week.

Real Madrid’s only other addition this summer was versatile defender David Alaba, who came from Bayern Munich on a free transfer (but whose leaked contract shows it was still a very costly move), and the club also offloaded longtime captain Sergio Ramos’s wages. Ramos, like Messi, joined PSG as part of an all-time summer class that has included Hakimi, Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and ex-Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum.

The five signings, along with the permanent addition of Danilo Pereira following his loan spell, were made in hopes of securing the club's first Champions League title. Losing Mbappé wouldn't have necessarily derailed those hopes; PSG is plenty deep. But it certainly would have taken some of the shimmer off the summer as well as delivering a hit to the club’s collective ego, to have Madrid steal its shining light.

This summer has featured some of the most landscape-altering moves the sport has seen in some time, especially in such volume. But one involving Mbappé, the transcendent star who famously had his boyhood bedroom walls plastered with posters of Cristiano Ronaldo during his time at Real Madrid, evidently will not be transpiring. Whether he winds up going next summer remains to be seen.

More Soccer Coverage:

• Wilson: Ronaldo's Man United Return is Nostalgic, But Lacks Football Sense
• Wilson: Making Sense of PSG and Real Madrid's Tug of War Over Mbappé
• Wilson: Predictions, Breakdown for the Champions League Group Stage
• Kane Winds Up Staying at Tottenham Despite His Transfer Wish

New on Sports Illustrated: Forde-Yard Dash: Will These 10 Coordinator Changes Work Out?

Examining the outlook for several key personnel moves in 2021, starting with the reigning national champs.

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football (Big 12 remnants sold separately in Dallas liquidation; everything must go):

MORE DASH:

Coaching Tests

SECOND QUARTER: HOW GOOD IS YOUR NEW COORDINATOR?

Change is constant in college football, and coordinator changes have become much-scrutinized, big-dollar transactions. Some schools are trying to replace star coordinators who moved on to head-coaching jobs or higher-profile opportunities, while others are trying to correct mistakes. The Dash looks at 10 schools that made at least one big coordinator change, and how those might turn out:

Alabama (11). Key staff turnover: offensive coordinator. Who’s in: Bill O’Brien, former NFL and college head coach. Who’s out: Steve Sarkisian, now the head coach at Texas. O’Brien is the latest to enter the Saban Rehabilitation Center For Fired Head Coaches. At age 51 and having led both Penn State and the Houston Texans, he is one of the most experienced residents. O’Brien might not call games as aggressively as predecessors Sarkisian and Mike Locksley, but that probably would have more to do with the youth of his offense and the potential for this to be a Bama team led by defense. But if quarterback Bryce Young and his teammates show they’re capable, that could change quickly.

Outlook: Saban has had precious few coordinator misfires, and there’s no reason to believe this one will go poorly.

Notre Dame (12). Key staff turnover: defensive coordinator. Who’s in: Marcus Freeman, former DC at Cincinnati. Who’s out: Clark Lea, now the head coach at Vanderbilt. Brian Kelly lost one under-40 coaching star and replaced him with another. Under Lea, the Fighting Irish allowed fewer than 20 points and 350 yards per game for three straight seasons, something the program last accomplished in the Lou Holtz glory days of 1987 to ’89. But Freeman’s Cincinnati defenses were just about as stout over that same 2018 to ’20 time.

Outlook: This is Kelly pulling a Saban, losing great coaching talent and replacing it with great coaching talent.

Cincinnati (13). Key staff turnover: defensive coordinator. Who’s in: Mike Tressel, former DC at Michigan State. Who’s out: Freeman, now the DC at Notre Dame. Fickell plucked this hire from the Jim Tressel family/Mark Dantonio coaching tree, grabbing Jim’s nephew and former Dantonio assistant at Michigan State. The Spartans had 99 problems in the final years under Dantonio, but defense wasn’t one.

Outlook: This should be a good fit, with Fickell having plenty of input as well.

Oregon (14). Key staff turnover: defensive coordinator. Who’s in: Tim DeRuyter, former DC at California and before that the head coach at Fresno State. Who’s out: Andy Avalos, now the head coach at Boise State. The Ducks’ defense backslid last season, although it was playing much better in the last three games of the abbreviated and delayed COVID-19 than in the first four.

Outlook: Bringing in DeRuyter from within the Pac-12 North will pay dividends in terms of league knowledge, which should aid in scouting and gameplanning.

Penn State (15). Key staff turnover: offensive coordinator. Who’s in: Mike Yurcich, who arrives from Texas and before that Oklahoma State. Who’s out: Kirk Ciarrocca, now an offensive analyst at West Virginia. Yurcich has one job: repairing the confidence of starting quarterback Sean Clifford, which seemed to take a beating in his one season under Ciarrocca. It should help the offense significantly to have running back Noah Cain back after a season-ending injury in the first game of 2020.

Outlook: It almost has to be better than last year. And it may help Clifford to know he’s not looking over his shoulder to see whether Will Levis (see below) is replacing him.

LSU (16). Key staff turnover: offensive and defensive coordinators. Who’s in: Jake Peetz at OC, Daronte Jones at DC—both arrive from NFL staffs. Who’s out: Steve Ensminger, now an offensive analyst at LSU; Bo Pelini, out of coaching. Pelini was, dollar-for-dollar, maybe the worst coordinator hire of the 21st century. The offensive side of this makeover is a greater mystery. The quarterback depth chart has been thinned by transfer (TJ Finley to Auburn) and injury (Myles Brennan), and hiring a guy who worked with Joe Brady doesn’t guarantee that you’re getting Joe Brady (much less a guarantee that Max Johnson is Joe Burrow).

Outlook: Put the OC hire in the wait-and-see category. On the defensive side, things can only go up from Bo.

Michigan (17). Key staff turnover: defensive coordinator. Who’s in: Mike Macdonald, from John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens staff. Who’s out: Don Brown, now the DC at Arizona. Harbaugh finally had enough of watching Ohio State receivers running free against Brown’s coverage schemes and made a change. Macdonald has said he prefers a defense that appears complex to an offense, with myriad looks, but is actually fairly simple. We’ll see what that means Saturday against Western Michigan.

Outlook: Brown had his strengths, and something of a cult following. But it was time for a change if Michigan wants to compete with the best of the Big Ten.

Indiana (18). Key staff turnover: defensive coordinator. Who’s in: Charlton Warren, who arrives after two years coaching defensive backs at Georgia. Who’s out: Kane Wommack, now the head coach at South Alabama. Wommack’s defense led the nation in interceptions per game last year with 17 in only eight contests played, while also excelling at hitting opposing quarterbacks. We’ll see whether Warren opts for a similar high-risk, high-reward scheme with a veteran returning unit, or picks his spots for blitzes.

Outlook: Grabbing someone from Kirby Smart’s defensive staff has been known to work well.

Kentucky (19). Key staff turnover: offensive coordinator. Who’s in: Liam Coen, who was with the Los Angeles Rams the past three years. Who’s out: Eddie Gran, who is out of coaching. Gran called a comically conservative offense, ranking 122nd nationally in passing yards per game and 113th in pass efficiency. Coen is expected to dramatically modernize the attack, but his ability to do that likely depends on quarterback Will Levis—a colorful character and dangerous runner but a limited passer in two seasons at Penn State.

Outlook: Any improvement in the UK passing game will be welcomed, but both the 35-year-old Coen and Levis have something to prove.

Missouri (20). Key staff turnover: defensive coordinator. Who’s in: Steve Wilks, who has NFL experience as a coordinator and a head coach. Who’s out: Ryan Walters, now the DC at Illinois. Walters showed his value in Illinois’s season-opening upset of Nebraska, leading a defense that tackled well and flew to the ball. Wilks certainly knows the game, but he hasn’t coached at this level since 2004. Can he keep it simple enough for college players to grasp?

Outlook: Wilks has a couple of nice pieces to build around in edge rusher Trajan Jeffcoat and defensive back Martez Manuel, but departed linebacker Nick Bolton will be missed and Mizzou must prove it can stand up to proficient running attacks.

MORE DASH: Coaching Tests

New on Sports Illustrated: Ex-NFL QB Trent Dilfer Takes 'Full Responsibility' for Heated Exchange With High School Player

Dilfer, now a high school football coach in Nashville, apologized  for a heated confrontation with one of his players.

Former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer, now a high school football coach in Nashville,

apologized over the weekend after a heated confrontation with one of his players went viral.

The former Ravens Super Bowl-winning quarterback and ESPN analyst acts as the head coach at Lipscomb Academy, where he was caught on video yelling at, and shoving, one of his players on the sideline during a 62-7 win Friday.

It is unclear what sparked Dilfer's strong reaction.

“I want to address the incident on our sideline during Friday night’s game vs. Independence that has drawn a lot of attention,” Dilfer said in a statement. “First and foremost, I take full responsibility as the head coach and leader of our team for not de-escalating an emotional situation with one of our players, Beau Dawson. 

"Beau is one of our finest student-athletes and embodies all the characteristics we are looking for in our Mustang players. Beau plays the game with the right kind of passion and is an inspiration to our other players."

The player in question, Beau Dawson, is the son of former NFL kicker Phil Dawson, who serves as Lipscomb's special teams coordinator.

Dilfer was the No. 6 pick in the 1994 NFL draft by the Buccaneers. He spent the first six years of his career with Tampa Bay before playing with the Ravens, Seahawks, Browns and 49ers. 

ESPN hired him as an NFL analyst in 2008 and he worked for the network until 2017. 

More NFL Coverage:

• Tom Brady’s Forgotten Rookie Year
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New on Sports Illustrated: Drew McIntyre on Working With Special Olympics: ‘The Positivity and Enthusiasm Has Changed My Life’

Working with Special Olympics “is an immense honor,” the former WWE champion says.

Drew McIntyre is the newest champion ambassador for Special Olympics.

“This is an immense honor,” McIntyre says. “I am extremely proud to represent Special Olympics as a champion ambassador, and it is a role I intend to take very seriously. I want to set a great example, and I also look forward to continuing to learn from the Special Olympics athletes, who inspire me with such hard work and dedication.”

In the days leading up to SummerSlam in Las Vegas, Special Olympics Nevada held its unified bocce tournament with WWE and the Raiders. McIntyre learned of his new role when the Special Olympics athletes surprised him during a presentation during the event.

“The athletes genuinely caught me off guard,” McIntyre says. “I had to hold back the tears. It was emotional because this was the first time so many of the athletes had been together with all the restrictions from the pandemic. Even though I was getting my butt kicked in bocce ball, this meant a lot to me, especially since it happened in person.”

McIntyre helped carry WWE over the past year, putting forth a remarkable effort in keeping people connected to the product throughout the pandemic era of closed-arena shows. His role behind the scenes was also pivotal, and opportunities like this are a reflection of his dedication to the company. One of his recent projects in collaboration with Special Olympics was teaming up with athletes to create the School of Strength: Class Is Now in Session online workout program.

“It’s a great way to stay in shape,” McIntyre says. “And I know I’m supposed to be the leader here, but I’m learning from the athletes. The positivity and enthusiasm has changed my life.

“I grew up wanting to be WWE champion. That was always my dream. It’s pretty cool that has put me in a position where I can be a voice and source of strength for such hard-working people in Special Olympics. Getting this chance, it’s my favorite part of being part of WWE.”

Coming off a SummerSlam victory against Jinder Mahal, McIntyre is now seeking to find his way back in the main event picture. Due to the current story line, he can no longer challenge Bobby Lashley for the WWE title, which opens a new title route if he moves to SmackDown and challenges Roman Reigns.

“I had an opportunity to help cement Bobby as champion, and to do that for a top-level performer was an honor,” McIntyre says. “I’m extremely happy for him, he’s someone that earned and deserves all his success.

“SummerSlam was a tough spot, coming out right after

Becky’s return, but it was an opportunity to make a statement against Jinder. We were able to have that moment in front of so many people, which was an honor, and now I’m excited to see what comes next. It was cool on Raw to be involved with Damian Priest, Lashley and Sheamus, who are three highly physical athletes. I want to set the tone for physicality in WWE, and I’m excited for the next story. That’s what people feel and touches emotions. I’m looking for something good, and if it’s Roman, I hope he’s ready.”

With an upcoming WWE draft looming, the idea of continuing his program against Reigns—which we last saw in November in a one-week build to Survivor Series after he defeated Randy Orton to become a two-time champ—is one that particularly resonates with McIntyre.

“That’s something I would love to sink my teeth into, and it’s something, inevitably, that will happen,” he says. “We had less than a week together last year, but the chemistry, even without fans in the stands, that was real. Roman is my biggest feud since I returned to WWE, and I feel like I’ve had more matches with him than anybody, but it feels different now. The roles have completely switched, and you’re seeing who we are as real people. There is something big down the line for us down.”

Full of optimism for his future, McIntyre is also eager to make an impact with Special Olympics.

“I encourage people to lend a hand in their local communities with Special Olympics,” he says. “It’s an incredible time, and you leave feeling truly inspired. For me, it’s put me on cloud nine.”

Justin Barrasso can be reached atJBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.

New on Sports Illustrated: MLB Power Rankings: Where Things Stand as August Turns to September

We've just about reached the final month of the regular season. Here's how all 30 teams stack up.

This is our last week ranking every team in the league. Once the calendar turns to September, we’re going to be focusing on the teams still in the running for postseason play. So say your final words to the teams who have already started focusing on 2022 and beyond, because these will be ours … in this space, at least.

Photo by John Hefti/USA TODAY Sports

30. Baltimore Orioles (Last Week: 30)

29. Texas Rangers (LW: 29)

28. Arizona Diamondbacks (LW: 27)

27. Pittsburgh Pirates (LW: 28)

26. Chicago Cubs (LW: 26)

No team embraced the seller’s mentality at the trade deadline more than the Cubs, who

offloaded most of their remaining ties to the 2016 World Series team as well as a trio of bullpen arms in Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Chafin and Ryan Tepera. The North Siders have predictably cratered in the aftermath, winning just two of nine series with an NL-worst August record of 6–20.

Patrick Wisdom

Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports

The offense actually hasn’t missed a beat despite the departures of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Báez. Before the trade deadline, Chicago ranked 22nd in the majors with a 91 wRC+ and scored 4.23 runs per game. Since then, it holds an 88 wRC+ with 4.36 runs per game. A pair of unusually old rookies in third baseman Patrick Wisdom (a former Cardinals farmhand who turned 30 on Friday) and first baseman Frank Schwindel (a former 18th-round pick who turns 30 next June) and 30-year-old journeyman outfielder Rafael Ortega have given hope to long-time minor leaguers across baseball by deservedly claiming everyday spots in manager David Ross’s lineup. None of them will likely play a major role for the next Cubs playoff team—Wisdom seems to possess the most staying power of the trio after hitting 25 homers in 82 games—but they’ve nonetheless provided some feel-good moments amid one of the more complete midseason teardowns in recent memory.

There haven’t been nearly as many positive takeaways from the pitching staff. Chicago’s 7.21 ERA in August is the worst among National League clubs by more than a run and a half, with the rotation’s 7.11 ERA and the bullpen’s 7.33 ERA in August both ranking 29th in the majors. Alec Mills, who reeled off 8 1/3 scoreless innings against the White Sox in the Cubs’ lone victory in the intracity series on Saturday, is the only rotation member with an ERA below 6.00 over the last month. Adbert Alzolay is the NL’s co-leader in losses (13) despite missing a handful of starts due to minor injuries and he has been extremely hittable during the summer after a promising first couple of months.

Even after acquiring 13 young players in their eight July trades, the Cubs landed only two in MLB.com’s midseason top 100 prospect rankings, with lefthander Brailyn Marquez being the organization’s only pitcher at No. 93. Marquez’s rare 80-grade fastball reached 102 mph in 2019, but he lost a year of minor-league seasoning due to the pandemic in 2020 and has yet to pitch in 2021 due to a COVID-19 diagnosis and subsequent shoulder injury. Chicago built its curse-breaking championship squad around a strong core of position players, but it’s safe to say the franchise needs to develop more MLB-caliber pitchers than it has in recent years to rebuild itself into a contending squad.

25. Minnesota Twins (LW: 25)

24. Washington Nationals (LW: 23)

23. Miami Marlins (LW: 24)

Miami’s young, talented pitching staff helped the Fish maintain a positive run differential through the first half before prolonged absences from leading Rookie of the Year candidate Trevor Rogers and Pablo López sent them spiraling after the All-Star break. The Marlins entered last week with a second-half record of 11–26. But in winning series against the Nationals and Reds at home, they showcased a couple more arms who could form the backbone of a formidable club in the near future.

After struggling badly in his first five starts for his hometown team, Jesús Luzardo tied a career-high with eight strikeouts over six shutout innings against the Reds on Sunday. The secret? Glasses. Or perhaps a first start with Sandy Leon behind the plate rather than Alex Jackson, a fellow trade deadline acquisition without the game management experience of Leon. Regardless, it was good to see the Stoneman Douglas graduate flash his potential for dominance after logging an ugly 7.91 ERA in 18 games with Oakland and Miami this season.

Edward Cabrera

Rhona Wise/USA TODAY Sports

That came just a few days after the major-league debut of the team’s No. 2 prospect Edward Cabrera, who recorded a quality start Wednesday and needed just 57 pitches to get through the first six innings before appearing to tire in the seventh. Cabrera is ranked by MLB.com as the sport’s 30th-best prospect. Max Meyer, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft, is one spot behind him and has a 1.97 ERA in Double-A this year with just five homers allowed in 17 starts. No. 77-ranked Jake Eder, a left-handed Vanderbilt product, has been even better at the same level. And then there’s Sixto Sánchez, who’s been shut down for the season with a shoulder injury but entered the year as the organization’s best pitching prospect due to his enticing combination of command and stuff—including a changeup that’s drawn comparisons to Pedro Martinez’s.

In contrast to the Cubs, Miami is in desperate need of difference-making position players. Lewis Brinson caught fire for the first couple weeks of August, but the former top prospect is 27 years old and seems destined to max out as a fourth outfielder. Former Division-I home run leader J.J. Bleday, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 draft, is barely above the Mendoza line at Double-A this year. Shortstop Kahlil Watson was a steal for general manager Kim Ng at No. 16 in the 2021 draft, but he’s 18 and is projected to arrive in Miami in 2024 at the earliest. Perhaps outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, who’s slashed .355/.390/.473 since coming over in the Yimi García trade, turns into a useful piece. There’s not much else in the cupboard as far as high-ceiling hitters go. But with a league-high seven players in MLB.com’s top 100 prospect rankings, there are far worse places a rebuilding franchise could be.

22. Kansas City Royals (LW: 22)

21. Colorado Rockies (LW: 21)

20. Detroit Tigers (LW: 20)

19. Los Angeles Angels (LW: 19)

18. New York Mets (LW: 17)

17. Cleveland (LW: 18)

16. St. Louis Cardinals (LW: 15)

15. Philadelphia Phillies (LW: 16)

14. San Diego Padres (LW: 12)

13. Seattle Mariners (LW: 13)

Losing three out of four to the Royals in a long weekend series at home, with every game decided by one or two runs, was a tough string of results to swallow for Mariners fans. The M’s now sit 4.5 games behind the Red Sox in the wild-card race with Oakland also sitting between them and their first playoff appearance since 2001. FanGraphs gives them just a 1.9% chance of snapping that drought, with Baseball Reference’s projections just a smidge much more optimistic at 2.8%.

The fact that this team is even in this spot remains a remarkable feat for manager Scott Servais, GM Jerry Dipoto and the 61 different players who have suited up for the Mariners in 2021—the most in the American League, per MLB.com’s Corey Brock. The clubhouse mood was seemingly threatened in July by Dipoto’s trade of Kendall Graveman to the rival Astros, but that deal has turned out to be a win-win deal thus far with Abraham Toro slashing .313/.388/.443 in 30 games for Seattle, most of them at the keystone. The bullpen has also held up well without its former closer, with Mariners relievers combining for a 3.16 ERA in August, the fifth-best mark in the majors, despite the loss of newly acquired closer Diego Castillo to a shoulder injury.

Abraham Toro

James Snook/USA TODAY Sports

The rotation’s three soft-tossing lefty starters have seen varied results as of late. Marco Gonzales (1.95 ERA in eight second-half starts) is once again pitching like an ace after struggling badly early on. Yusei Kikuchi has taken the opposite path, with his brutal second half inflating his HR/FB rate to an MLB-high 24.1% this season—after his stellar first half earned him an All-Star bid. Deadline acquisition Tyler Anderson has been somewhere in between, walking just three batters to go along with 25 strikeouts and a 3.18 ERA in 34 innings since coming over from Pittsburgh.

With its season hanging in the balance, Seattle is entering an odd portion of its schedule where it only play the division-leading Astros and the cellar-dwelling Diamondbacks over the next 12 games. The Mariners feel destined to hang on the outskirts of the playoff race before making a real run for it next year, when No. 1 prospect Julio Rodriguez should be ready to showcase his impressive power at Safeco Field. But if they can win eight games in the aforementioned stretch, it’ll be hard for the projection systems not to take them more seriously.

12. Toronto Blue Jays (LW: 14)

11. Cincinnati Reds (LW: 11)

10. Oakland A’s (LW: 9)

9. Boston Red Sox (LW: 10)

8. Atlanta Braves (LW: 8)

Atlanta’s recent nine-game winning streak was halted in a two-game sweep by the Yankees last week, but the Braves recovered over rare consecutive off days to take two of three from the Giants. The schedule the rest of the way is an odd one that features three separate trips to the West Coast, including an NLCS rematch this week with the Dodgers. But after going 18–6 in August to stake out a 4.5-game lead in the NL East, the Braves are granted an 83.5% chance of winning their fourth straight division title by FanGraphs and an 87.8% chance by Baseball Reference.

It’d be easy to attribute Atlanta’s recent surge to GM Alex Anthopoulos’s flashy outfield makeover at the trade deadline. The four (!) new outfielders have certainly done their part, especially Jorge Soler, who’s slashed .283/.396/.543 with seven home runs in 25 games with Atlanta. Even Eddie Rosario went 2-for-4 with a triple, two RBI and a stolen base in his first start with the Braves on Sunday after returning from an abdominal strain that had sidelined him since early July. But that’d be ignoring the historic contributions of the infield and a pitching staff that’s finally settled into a groove. Atlanta boasts six reliable starters after Ian Anderson celebrated his return from the injured list Sunday by shutting out the Giants over 5 2/3 innings.

Freddie Freeman

Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports

Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley are on pace to become just the second infield to all hit at least 25 home runs in a season, joining the 2008 Marlins. They also could become the first in history to all reach the 30-homer mark, though Albies would have to ramp up his output a tad. Swanson has been MLB's most valuable shortstop by fWAR (1.8) since the All-Star break. Riley is two home runs away from becoming just the third Braves player this century to hit 30 homers at age 24 or younger, joining Ronald Acuña Jr. and Andruw Jones. The third baseman entered Sunday leading the NL with a .362 batting average since the All-Star break, and ranked second over that span in home runs and third in OPS and wRC+.

The return of Travis d’Arnaud behind the plate has also been significant after Braves backup catchers combined for a league-worst -1.1 fWAR and 46 wRC+ in his three-month absence caused by a thumb injury.

Atlanta’s 3.44 ERA since the All-Star break ranks fifth in the majors. Max Fried (1.90 ERA in seven second-half starts) and Charlie Morton have the makings of a powerful lefty-righty punch for the top of the playoff rotation, and Huascar Ynoa has recorded quality starts against the Yankees and Giants since returning from his self-inflicted broken hand. While Will Smith’s tendency to make things interesting in the ninth looms as a potential postseason Achilles heel—he’s allowed five home runs in 17 1/3 innings since the All-Star break—there’s enough depth in the bullpen to displace him from the closer’s role if necessary. The Braves still can’t claim to be in the top tier of contenders without Acuña, and the NL East race is far from over. But Brian Snitker’s crew should still harbor expectations of making noise in October.

7. New York Yankees (LW: 7)

6. Chicago White Sox (LW: 6)

5. Houston Astros (LW: 5)

4. Milwaukee Brewers (LW: 3)

3. Tampa Bay Rays (LW: 4)

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (LW: 2)

1. San Francisco Giants (LW: 1)

Now that we’re on September’s doorstep, we can officially say we have the modern equivalent of a pennant race on our hands in the NL West. It turns out that with the baseball world ready to crown Dodgers-Padres as the game’s next great rivalry, the division is actually coming down to what’s long been the West Coast’s two best franchises.

The amount of factoids connecting these fierce rivals is truly bizarre. The Giants are 27–14 since the All-Star break, while the Dodgers are 26–14. San Francisco had won nine consecutive series before losing two of three in Atlanta over the weekend. Los Angeles had won eight straight series before inexplicably losing two of three to the Rockies at home that same weekend. The previous series the Dodgers had lost was to the Giants, of course. San Francisco’s 2.96 ERA in August ranks as the second-best in the NL, with Los Angeles’s 2.23 ERA coming out on top. Dodgers ace Walker Buehler’s 1.32 ERA in the second half is the best among NL starters. The second-best? San Francisco’s Logan Webb (1.69), of course.

Kris B

Wendell Cruz/USA TODAY Sports

Both clubs also took big swings at the deadline; San Francisco brought in former MVP Kris Bryant, which would qualify as the most impactful midseason addition of many seasons. But Los Angeles had to go and pull off perhaps the biggest trade deadline blockbuster of all time. Bryant has an .867 OPS in 22 games with the Giants. Trea Turner has an .861 OPS in 21 games with the Dodgers.

The Giants are staring down the toughest homestand of the season this week with three-game sets against the NL Central-leading Brewers and Dodgers … who begin the week with a home set against the NL East-leading Braves. If I had to make a pick now, I’d still go with the Dodgers to win their ninth straight division title. But it sure seems like it’ll go down to the wire.

More MLB Coverage:
• Who Is the Next Miguel Cabrera?
• Max Scherzer Is Showing the Padres What They’re Still Missing
• Wander Franco's First Breakout Is Happening Before Our Eyes
• The Rays Are Winning Efficiently, but at What Cost?

New on Sports Illustrated: Report: Rajon Rondo to Sign With Lakers on One-Year Deal

He won an NBA title with L.A. in 2020 and now will return on a new deal worth $2.6 million.

View the

original article to see embedded media.

Rajon Rondo will sign with the Lakers after he clears waivers Monday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The one-year deal is reportedly worth $2.6 million.

Rondo, 35, agreed to a buyout with the Grizzlies on Saturday and it was reported by both ESPN and The Athletic that Los Angeles would be front-runners to sign the two-time NBA champion. With the buyout and the new deal, Rondo will still make his $7.5 million salary. 

Rondo was a key part of the Lakers' 2020 championship run but parted ways with the team that same offseason when he signed a deal with the Hawks. He was eventually traded to the Clippers before being dealt to the Grizzlies. During the 2020–21 season  he averaged 5.4 points and 4.4 assists per game. 

This is just the latest move by the Lakers in an effort to return to the NBA Finals.  They traded for Russell Westbrook and signed other veterans like Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony and Trevor Ariza (Howard was also on the 2020 squad that won the NBA title). 

Injuries to stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis seriously plagued the Lakers in 2021, but with the numerous offseason moves, they could be right back in the mix for the franchise's 17th NBA title. 

More NBA Coverage:

• 2021 NBA Offseason Awards
• Mailbag: Are the Warriors Serious Title Contenders?
• James Harden on Nets: ‘At Full Strength, Nobody Can Beat Us’

Afghan left behind by UK: I'm fighting to stay alive

An Afghan who had authorisation to fly to the UK speaks to the BBC about his struggle to escape.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/38mKS9E

New on Sports Illustrated: Fantasy Football: Preseason Hot Takes & Reactions to Everything You Need to Know

We watched the preseason so you didn't have to and here's everything you need to know ahead of the 2021 NFL season.

The 2021 NFL preseason is in the books, leaving teams with a one-week bye of sorts to prepare for the start of the regular campaign. With fantasy football drafts ramping up all over the globe, let’s take a look back at the news and notes of the last several weeks and their effect on how you rank your players and draft your squads moving forward.

Quarterbacks

- Dak Prescott (shoulder) missed the entire preseason, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said his quarterback is “good to go” for Week 1. He should be drafted as a top-5 QB.

Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports

- To the surprise of no one, Trevor Lawrence has won the starting job in Jacksonville. He’s a high to mid-tier No. 2 fantasy quarterback. The Jaguars then traded Gardner Minshew to the Philadelphia Eagles. C.J. Beathard looks like Lawrence’s new backup.

- Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance rotated with the first-team offense in the 49ers' last preseason game. The veteran is expected to open the season as the starter, but that hasn't stopped fantasy fans from drafting Lance in the middle to late rounds. He's seen as a potential league-winner once he takes the job, while Garoppolo seems destined for your league's waiver wire.

- Andy Dalton remains the QB1 in Chicago, but he isn't likely to keep that job long-term. Rookie Justin Fields showed some real flashes throughout the preseason, including a finale that saw him go 7-for-10 for 54 yards and a touchdown. Fields is being picked in the same area as Lance, but he could be the first of the duo to start games in 2021.

- Carson Wentz (foot) is expected to be a full participant in practice this week and is now looking more likely to start in Week 1 when the Colts host the Seattle Seahawks. He should be selected in the late rounds as a No. 2 fantasy quarterback in most drafts.

- Jameis Winston beat out Taysom Hill and will open the regular season as the starting quarterback in New Orleans. He looked great in the preseason, including a 123-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Jaguars in Week 2. Winston is now a low-QB2.

Paul Rutherford/USA TODAY Sports

- As expected, Ryan Fitzpatrick will be named the top quarterback in Washington. The veteran will be worth a late-round selection as a No. 2 fantasy option for 2021.

- Deshaun Watson's status for the start of the regular season remains up in the air. At this point, Tyrod Taylor is projected to be the Texans' starting quarterback. That could leave Watson to be a healthy scratch while he's on the roster. Reports suggest that the Miami Dolphins have emerged as the frontrunner to acquire Watson, so stay tuned.

- Teddy Bridgewater beat out Drew Lock and will open the regular season as the No. 1 quarterback in Denver. The veteran looked great in the preseason and should be seen as a borderline No. 2 or No. 3 fantasy quarterback in drafts. He was the QB18 last year.

- The Patriots have yet to announce a starting quarterback for Week 1. Cam Newton was the starter in the team’s final preseason game, but Mac Jones impressed once again with 156 yards and a touchdown against the New York Giants. From a fantasy standpoint, Jones has the most upside, but neither will be drafted as more than a QB2.

Running Backs

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

- Saquon Barkley (knee) missed the entire preseason and remains a question mark as the Giants get closer to the start of the regular campaign. His draft stock has fallen as a result, as the superstar is now being selected in the late first round or even the second round in some leagues. He could be a bargain there, but Barkley will come with risk.

- The Jaguars have lost rookie Travis Etienne for the entire season due to an injured foot. That leaves James Robinson, last season’s RB7 in fantasy leagues, as the top option. He’s now being selected as high as the second round in drafts. Carlos Hyde will also be in the team’s backfield mix and is a nice handcuff for Robinson managers. Some see this backfield inching closer to an even split.

- Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) missed the Chiefs' preseason finale, but coach Andy Reid doesn't believe the ailment is serious. He's still coming off the board in Round 2 in most fantasy drafts, but grabbing Darrel Williams or Jerick McKinnon late makes sense.

- D'Andre Swift (groin) missed the preseason and much of camp, and his status for the start of the regular season remains a question mark. While Swift is out, Jamaal Williams would be the starter, making him a solid choice in the middle rounds. As for Swift, he's a risk-reward No. 2 fantasy running back somewhere in the third or fourth round.

- The Ravens have lost J.K. Dobbins (knee) for the season, which moves Gus Edwards into a starting role. He’s now a low-end No. 2 fantasy running back and worth a fourth or fifth-round selection in drafts. At this point, Edwards is followed by both Ty’Son Williams and Justice Hill on the depth chart. Williams is now worth a late flier.

- Myles Gaskin looked good in the Dolphins' second preseason game and appears to be the favorite for the top spot on the depth chart heading into Week 1. However, a committee that also includes Malcolm Brown and Salvon Ahmed is possible, if not likely. Draft Gaskin as a low-end No. 2 fantasy runner or a high-end flex starter at this point.

- Darrell Henderson's stock took a hit when the Rams acquired Sony Michel from the Patriots. There have been questions about whether Henderson can handle a featured role, and the acquisition of Michel answers how the team feels. I've been told that the Rams will start Henderson in Week 1, but he could be better off playing on third downs and pass plays while Michel is the early-down grinder. Henderson should be seen as a No. 3 fantasy running back, but Michel could turn into a better draft bargain.

- With Michel no longer on the roster, Damien Harris’ stock has risen to that of a high-end flex starter in New England. While he’ll do little in the passing game with James White in the mix, Harris should see most of the early-down and goal-line work. Rookie Rhamondre Stevenson, who scored five times in the preseason, is also in the mix.

- Mark Ingram was the Texans starting running back for some of the preseason, but the team used Phillip Lindsay and David Johnson in what looks like a confusing committee. None of the trio are worth more than an RB4/RB5 spot on fantasy rosters this season.

- The Titans placed Brian Hill on injured reserve, leaving Darryton Evans as the team’s No. 2 running back. He’ll be worth a late-round pick as a handcuff for Derrick Henry.

Wide Receivers

- Julio Jones (leg) didn’t play in the preseason but has taken part in recent walkthroughs and individual drills. He appears to be on track to play in Week 1, but the veteran has seen his stock drop in drafts due in part to his lack of durability in recent seasons. You’ll be able to get him as a high-end No. 3 fantasy wide receiver in some smaller leagues.

Katie Stratman/USA TODAY Sports

- Bengals rookie wideout Ja’Marr Chase had a poor preseason, notably struggling with drops. He’s now being picked as the second Cincinnati wideout in fantasy drafts behind Tee Higgins and ahead of Tyler Boyd. He didn’t play football last year due to COVID-19, so Chase should regain his confidence and connection with Joe Burrow this season.

- Courtland Sutton (knee) made his first preseason appearance this weekend, catching two passes for 27 yards with a touchdown. It appears he’s set for the Broncos’ regular-season opener against the Giants, so draft him as a No. 3 or 4 fantasy wideout. His teammate, Jerry Jeudy, has emerged as the Broncos fantasy wideout of choice.

- Kenny Golladay (hamstring) missed the entire preseason and valuable practice time, and his draft stock has suffered as a result. He can now be had as a No. 4 wide receiver in some leagues. When you consider he also missed most of last season with a hip injury, Golladay will be a major risk-reward selection in fantasy drafts.

- The Saints will be without Michael Thomas (ankle) for the first several weeks to begin the regular season, making the former fantasy superstar worth no more than a mid to late-round draft and stash. Marquez Callaway has shined in his absence, and his stock in fantasy leagues has risen as a result. He's now picked in the top 100 in many drafts, although his stock could tumble once Thomas returns to the gridiron.

Tommy Gilligan - USA Today Sports

- Marquise Brown (hamstring) continues to miss practice time, and first-round rookie Rashod Bateman (core) seems like a longshot to be ready for the start of the regular season. This could lead veteran Sammy Watkins into a prominent role in the Ravens passing game, at least to open the new campaign. None of the Ravens wideouts should be seen as more than late-round selections in No. 4 or 5 fantasy wideouts, though.

- Will Fuller (foot) returned to Dolphins practice after missing the previous three weeks of work. It appears he’ll be ready to return in Week 2 (he will serve the final game of his suspension in Week 1), but Fuller’s fantasy stock has tumbled. He’s now a WR4.

- The Colts will be without T.Y. Hilton for the first several games of the regular season due to a disc issue in his neck. No one knows exactly how long he’ll be out, so Hilton should be off the redraft radar in most leagues. Michael Pittman Jr. will become the top option in the passing attack in his absence, while Parris Campbell and Zach Pascal both pick up snaps among wideouts. Neither is worth more than a late-round flier, though.

- The Packers acquired Randall Cobb from the Texans at the request of Aaron Rodgers. He’ll fit back into the top slot role, hurting the value of rookie Amari Rodgers. Cobb will be worth a late-round pick, mostly because of his quarterback. The Texans will now lean on Cobb, Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins as their top three wideouts to start the season.

- The Lions have released veteran Breshad Perriman, leaving Tyrell Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Quintez Cephus as the team’s top wideouts. Williams and St. Brown are both worth late-round looks, while Cephus could be worth a flier in best-ball formats.

Tight Ends

- Noah Fant (leg) has missed some practice time but is expected to be ready for the start of the season. He remains a mid to low-tier No. 1 fantasy tight end in drafts.

- Breakout candidate Irv Smith Jr. is expected to require surgery to repair a meniscus injury, meaning he'll miss the start of the regular season. Depending on the severity of the damage, Smith could miss an extended period. He's worth a late-round flier as a stash (at best) until we get a clearer timeline, but at this point, it might be better to avoid him. Tyler Conklin could jump on the fantasy radar to start the regular season.

- Evan Engram suffered a calf injury in the Giants preseason finale. He has about two weeks to recover from the ailment and be available for the team’s regular-season opener against the Broncos. He’ll be worth a late-round pick as a No. 2 tight end.

- Hunter Henry (shoulder) missed the entire preseason and remains a question mark to open the regular season. He’s fallen behind Jonnu Smith in terms of fantasy appeal, but Henry is still worth a late-round flier as a No. 2 fantasy option in most 2021 drafts.

- One-time fantasy sleeper Adam Trautman suffered an ankle injury in the preseason and could be out several weeks. Whether or not he’s ready for Week 1 remains to be seen, but the ailment plus his lack of preseason targets has his stock tumbling.

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Michael Fabiano's PPR Redraft Rankings

Tiers
Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends

Stock Market
Risers | Fallers

Game Script
Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends

Draft Reviews
SI Experts Mock Draft
10-Team PPR Mock Draft

Training Camp Battles
Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers & Tight Ends

Fabiano's Top 10 Lists
Breakouts | Sleepers | Deep Sleepers | Busts | Rookies

"The Fantasy Case Against" Series
Justin Herbert | Jalen Hurts | Zach Wilson (Dynasty) | Alvin Kamara | Darrell Henderson | Derrick Henry | Michael Carter | David Montgomery | Saquon Barkley | D’Andre Swift | Brandon Aiyuk | Ja'Marr Chase | Julio Jones | Justin Jefferson | Kenny Golladay | Kyle Pitts | Travis Kelce

Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on Sports Illustrated and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Click here to read all his articles here on SI Fantasy. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for your late-breaking fantasy news and the best analysis in the business!