Category: SPORTS

The 4-1-1 Inexperienced Bay Packers head to Pittsburgh to tackle the 4-2 Steelers as 3-point highway favorites. This would be the first recreation Aaron Rodgers will face his previous workforce. How a lot that issues at 42 years of age is up for debate, however we all know this will likely be a particular recreation for him.

There isn’t any doubt that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin can get his gamers prepared, as seen by his 11-2-3 file towards the unfold when a house underdog of three or extra factors. That doesn’t make a Steelers win possible, however does make it extra possible the Packers gained’t run away with the win.

The Packers offense has been on level, with just one recreation the place they haven’t put up 27 or extra factors. The Steelers protection has been principally poor this season, rating twentieth towards the move and twenty first towards the run in EPA allowed. the packers presently rank eighth towards the run and nineteenth towards the move in EPA allowed.

Beneath we are going to check out the very best DFS performs for this Sunday night time showdown.

Josh Jacobs, RB, Packers (FLEX $14,600, CPT $21,900)

Jacobs has scored two touchdowns in three straight video games and will get a protection that simply let Chase Brown have his greatest dashing recreation of the season. Jacobs is well the very best fantasy play of the sport. The Steelers run protection simply doesn’t strike worry in anyone at this level, so we are able to count on a heavy dose of Jacobs this week.

DK Metcalf, WR, Steelers (FLEX $11,400, CPT $17,100)

If Rodgers goes to get any revenge on his former workforce, Metcalf might want to have a robust recreation. He’s simply the workforce’s No. 1 receiver and has made large performs all yr. The one bother is the workforce simply doesn’t throw the ball to him sufficient. That might change this week if the Packers stand up to a fast lead.

Tucker Kraft, TE, Packers (FLEX $10,000, CPT $15,000)

The Steelers have allowed the third-most fantasy factors to tight ends this season, with Hunter Henry, Harold Fannin, and Noah Fant placing up good numbers. Kraft is a monster after the catch and has 4 touchdowns by six video games. His upside is great and this can be a recreation the place he may go off.

Calvin Austin, WR, Steelers (FLEX $4,800, CPT $7,200)

Austin is again from his shoulder harm and is tremendous low-cost. He’s an enormous play menace and had two touchdowns in his first three video games. Rodgers will likely be completely happy to have him again, as all the opposite receivers who tried to fit in to that No. 2 spot did little of word.

Romeo Doubs, WR, Packers (FLEX $8,600, CPT $12,900)

Doubs isn’t a brilliant low-cost play, however he’s not that costly for a workforce’s No. 1 receiver. The Steelers have been giving up large goal numbers to No. 1 receivers and rank twenty sixth general towards them in defensive DVOA. Outdated man Joe Flacco and Ja’Marr Chase simply went loopy on them final week and we’ve additionally seen Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Justin Jefferson put up large numbers. Jerry Jeudy wasn’t environment friendly towards them, however did see a season excessive 13 targets as nicely.

Jonnu Smith, TE, Steelers (FLEX $5,400, CPT $8,100)

Pat Freirmuth went off final week for the primary time all yr and there’s an opportunity the attempt to preserve him going, however his worth on FanDuel is slightly wealthy for his common output this season. Smith then again may help you get each quarterbacks and potential Josh Jacobs in your workforce in money video games, which is probably going an excellent plan. Smith continues to see 3-6 targets every recreation and has discovered the tip zone twice.

Max Verstappen’s unbelievable run of type because the Components 1 Summer time Shutdown has ignited a three-way battle for the Drivers’ Championship and put the Purple Bull driver in place to drag off arguably the game’s largest comeback and safe his fifth title.

Mexico is the following cease on the calendar, and as we speak the grid will set the beginning order for Sunday’s Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix. Whereas Verstappen was quickest in Friday’s second hour of follow forward of Charles Leclerc and Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris topped the timing sheets on Saturday’s last hour of follow at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

As issues stand within the title chase, Oscar Piastri stays on the high of the standings, with a 14-point edge over his McLaren teammate Norris and a 40-point lead over Verstappen. However Verstappen has trimmed 60 factors off the lead Piastri held following the Dutch Grand Prix on the finish of August.

Who will take pole place in as we speak’s important qualifying hour? Observe alongside so we are able to discover out collectively.

Qualifying will get underway at 5:00 p.m. Japanese.

Replace: Norris, with a thunderous lap on the finish of qualifying, will begin in P1 tomorrow within the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix. With Norris simply 14 factors behind Piastri within the title race, the British driver has an amazing alternative to shut that hole as Piastri will begin sixth, and Verstappen will begin fifth.

It was a robust day from Ferrari, as Leclerc will begin alongside Norris on the entrance row, and Lewis Hamilton will begin behind Norris in P3.

F1 Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix provisional grid

Right here is the provisional beginning order for the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix, which will likely be stuffed in all through the session.

F1 Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix qualifying

Observe alongside right here because the qualifying hour unfolds.

18 minutes have been placed on the clock, and pit lane roared to life with the Aston Martin pair of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso the primary to take to the monitor, adopted by the Alpine pair of Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly.

Championship contenders resembling Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, and Oscar Piastri remained of their respective storage stalls because the session started.

Stroll set the benchmark with a 1:18.815, however he was rapidly pipped on the high of the timing sheets by Oliver Bearman, Alonso, Esteban Ocon, and Colapinto. Bearman led the best way for the second with a 1:17.765.

Quickly, the 2 McLarens took to the monitor, and Norris went purple by means of the primary two sectors, proper to the highest of the timing sheets, with a 1:17.147. Piastri, nevertheless, continued to wrestle and will solely handle a 1:17.850, which dropped him into P3 for the second. Nonetheless, as occasions got here in from Alexander Albon and Isack Hadjar, Piastri quickly discovered himself down in P7.

And Max Verstappen had but to take to the monitor.

Ultimately, Verstappen roared out of the storage and attacked Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, however a wobble by means of Turns 9 and 10 prevented him from going into P1.

However his lap was nonetheless good for P3.

A robust effort from George Russell adopted Verstappen’s effort, because the Mercedes driver clocked in with a 1:17.194, simply 0.047 seconds behind Norris.

Bearman responded with a thunderous lap, because the Haas rookie pumped in a lap of 1:17.106, adequate to go forward of Norris and high the timing sheets as soon as extra.

That lap dropped Piastri, the championship chief, right down to P15 for the second. The McLaren driver was then dropped into the elimination zone for the second, however he responded with a lap adequate for P3.

Worrying, nevertheless, was the truth that on each of his push laps, Piastri was behind Bearman in a Haas.

With seven minutes remaining, the 5 drivers within the elimination zone have been Yuki Tsunoda, Colapinto, Nico Hülkenberg, Albon, and Stroll.

Norris went again to the highest of the timing sheets as he was the primary driver in qualifying to crack the 1:17.000 mark, pumping in a time of 1:16.899. With 5 minutes remaining in Q1, he was in P1, adopted by Charles Leclerc, Bearman, Piastri, and Russell within the high 5.

Verstappen was down in P7.

With below 4 minutes remaining, Isack Hadjar went purple by means of the second sector, and his thunderous 1:16.733 jumped him as much as P1, indicating that the occasions have been going to begin tumbling, and that not one of the drivers might really feel too snug about advancing by means of to Q2.

Verstappen’s second push lap was off the tempo of Hadjar as he slotted in P5, 0.343 seconds off Hadjar’s lap.

As 90 seconds remained, Hadjar remained in P1, adopted by Norris, Liam Lawson, Leclerc, and Verstappen within the high 5. At that time in Q1, Kimi Antonelli, Gasly, Colapinto, Hülkenberg, and Stroll have been the 5 drivers within the elimination zone.

Antonelli’s last effort was good for P10, however with 30 seconds remaining, the Mercedes rookie was actually not secure.

When the checkered flag flew, Hadjar remained on the high of the timing sheets, adopted by Lewis Hamilton, Russell, Norris, and Ocon within the high 5. Verstappen superior in P9, whereas Piastri was proper behind him in P10.

Colapinto was the primary driver eradicated, down in P20. Gabriel Bortoleto, Albon, Gasly, and Stroll have been the opposite drivers eradicated.

Q2 started moments later with quarter-hour on the clock, and 15 drivers preventing for the ten accessible spots within the third and last section of qualifying.

The primary driver to take to the circuit was Hadjar, who surprisingly topped the timing sheets in Q1. The Visa Money App RB F1 Staff rookie set the benchmark for Q2, beginning out with a 1:17.137.

As you would possibly anticipate, his spot in P1 was not secure for lengthy.

Hülkenberg then jumped to P1 with a 1:17.016, and a 1:17.088 for Hamilton slotted the Ferrari driver into P2.

Then Verstappen’s first effort of Q2 got here in at 1:16.824, which was good for P1, however just for just a few seconds. A lap from Leclerc got here in at 1:16.658, placing the Ferrari on the entrance of the sector and dropping Verstappen down a spot.

However then it was Norris’ flip. The McLaren driver went purple by means of each Sector 1 and Sector 2, and when he crossed the road, his lap of 1:16.252 not solely put him into P1 but in addition got here in 0.406 seconds forward of Leclerc in P2.

As for Piastri’s first effort in Q2? That got here in additional than a second behind Norris, and he was down in P10.

When the clock hit seven minutes Bearman, Ocon, Alonso, Antonelli, and Lawson have been the 5 drivers within the drop zone. Lawson had but to publish a lap time, as his first effort was deleted for exceeding monitor limits.

Issues then received extra worrisome for Piastri. As he accomplished his push lap, he reported to the staff, “[i]t felt like in Flip 5, one thing bizarre occurred with the [power unit].”

McLaren informed the driving force that they have been conscious of the problem, however with the seconds ticking away, Piastri’s spot in Q3 was under no circumstances assured.

With 4 minutes left within the session pit lane was stuffed as drivers started to line up for his or her last push laps in Q2. Verstappen’s last effort in Q2 was solely good for second, greater than three-tenths off the tempo of Norris. He was then dropped into third by Hamilton, who got here in 0.206 seconds off the tempo from Norris.

Verstappen was then dropped right down to fourth when Russell got here in with a 1:16.537.

These occasions had dropped Piastri down into P13, because the championship chief was on his last push lap. The Australian driver managed to come back throughout the road in P7, and as famous by Jolyon Palmer he “wanted all of that out of the ultimate nook.”

When Q2 drew to a detailed Yuki Tsunoda, Ocon, Hülkenberg, Alonso, and Lawson have been the 5 drivers eradicated.

Norris, Hamilton, Russell, Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jr., Leclerc, Piastri, Antonelli, Bearman, and Hadjar have been the ten drivers who superior into Q3.

The third and last section of qualifying started with simply 12 minutes on the clock, and the monitor remained quiet as all ten remaining drivers stayed of their respective storage stalls.

The primary to roar onto the circuit at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez? None apart from Verstappen, adopted by Bearman. They have been adopted by the McLaren duo of Norris and Piastri, with the British driver the primary of the 2 to assault the monitor.

Verstappen’s first effort got here in at 1:16.455, which put him into P1 for the second. Bearman lower the beam subsequent with a 1:17.420, which was effectively off Verstappen’s tempo.

However then Norris thundered residence with a 1:16.170, almost three-tenths forward of Verstappen, placing the British driver on provisional pole. Piastri got here in third on his first effort, however was dropped right down to fourth when Hamilton delivered a 1:16.374.

Then Leclerc shocked everybody, rocketing residence with the primary sub-1:16 effort. The 1:15.991 lap from the Ferrari driver put Leclerc into P1, placing the remainder of the grid on discover that Ferrari might need one thing up their sleeves right here in Q3.

After the primary set of runs, the ten drivers slotted in with Leclerc in P1, adopted by Norris, Hamilton, Verstappen, Piastri, Russell, Antonelli, Sainz, Hadjar, and Bearman.

The monitor then went quiet because the clock hit 5 minutes remaining, with the ten drivers — and 7 groups — making their final preparations for the ultimate push laps of Q3.

Bearman was the primary driver to go away their storage and start their last push lap effort. Because the clock hit 90 seconds, all ten drivers have been on the monitor, and the shootout for pole place was actually on.

Piastri’s final effort was good for P3, however he was dropped to P4 after Verstappen got here in with an effort good for P2. Norris was on a screamer of a lap, going purple by means of the primary two sectors. He crossed the road with a 1:15.586, going into pole place for the second.

Each Leclerc and Hamilton got here shut, with Leclerc coming in second, 0.262 seconds behind Norris, and Hamilton certified third.

Russell certified fourth, with Verstappen in fifth, Antonelli in sixth, and Sainz in seventh. Nonetheless, Sainz has a five-place grid penalty that’s carrying over from the US Grand Prix.

Piastri certified eighth — and can leap as much as P7 tomorrow after Sainz serves his penalty — with Hadjar and Bearman rounding out Q3.

There’s no scarcity of completely abysmal trades within the NBA, but it surely appears just like the Warmth making a deal for Terry Rozier may turn into legendary. By no means earlier than have we seen a deal be made for a participant who got here in, doubtlessly tried to actively harm his group, then get arrested simply over a yr later — whereas giving up what may turn into a High 8 (or increased) choose.

Let’s respect how this all went down.

It’s January of 2024 and Rozier is on a tear for the Hornets. The group is rubbish, however he’s primarily the one vibrant spot — averaging over 23 factors per recreation and shouldering the load in one more injury-shortened LaMalo Ball yr. On January 14 the horrific Hornets are blown out by the Warmth, however critically, Rozier had an incredible recreation. He scored 26 factors in opposition to Miami, including seven assists and 5 rebounds. It was at this second Miami determined he could possibly be their lacking piece for a playoff run.

On January 23, lower than 10 days after enjoying Miami, the Warmth made this huge transfer sending Charlotte PG Kyle Lowry, and most-importantly a future 1st spherical choose, which might be lottery protected in 2027 and turn into unprotected in 2028.

On the time it appeared like a very strong deal for each groups. You possibly can’t fault Miami for seeing a 20+ level scorer and wanting him to be their fourth piece alongside Jimmy Buttler, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro. In the meantime the Hornets purchased out Lowry, and added extra future draft property for a group destined for a rebuild.

The problem is that Terry wasn’t excellent in Miami, not likely. Being a fourth possibility as a substitute of the go-to scorer led to a predictable drop in manufacturing, however extra worrying was a drop in effectivity. Not solely did his discipline purpose proportion take a dip, however so did his assists — which was weird contemplating he was working with a much better offensive group. Rozier additionally had the identical variety of turnovers per recreation, which was regarding contemplating he was enjoying fewer minutes in a much less prolific position.

Rozier wasn’t the reply. The Warmth had been eradicated within the first spherical of the playoffs by the Celtics, and Rozier was harm — lacking your complete sequence.

Quick ahead to the next yr, and Rozier is even worse. Now his discipline purpose capturing has dropped beneath .400, and his three level capturing had dipped beneath .300 for the primary time since his rookie season. Rozier was horrifically inconsistent, vacillating between strong nights, after which completely nothing.

In a single very weird recreation on December 12 the Warmth are big favorites in opposition to the struggling Raptors. They win, 114-104 — however Rozier completed ninth on the group in scoring, capturing 1-of-6 from three and never making an attempt a single two pointer.

Quick ahead to right this moment. The Warmth have now traded a 1st spherical choose for a participant who’s beneath arrest by the FBI, with allegations he could have been concerned in level shaving. Furthermore, if the Warmth don’t carry out nicely then the Hornets may get a really excessive draft choose. All for a dude who arrived, sucked, might need been actively harming the group, after which received arrested.

Regardless of all this it’s nonetheless higher than buying and selling Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 5 first rounds picks for Paul George. Sorry Clippers.

In girls’s school basketball, 3-pointers have type of turn into the reply to dunks within the males’s sport. They bring about pleasure, they’ll swing video games, they’ll drive crowds to their toes and so they can shift momentum.

A season in the past, 9 of the 12 groups that shot 37 % or higher from deep vary made the NCAA Event. Three of these groups superior to the event’s second weekend, and the staff that was sixth-best in 3-point taking pictures final yr — UConn — received the nationwide championship.

And 6 of the ten groups that knocked down at the very least 9 3-pointers per sport final season went dancing in March Insanity too.

Keep in mind, earlier than she went off the the WNBA, Caitlin Clark powered Iowa to back-to-back nationwide title sport appearances together with her ridiculous and highlight-worthy taking pictures from deep vary. Final season, Azzi Fudd’s shot-making potential from 3-point land was an enormous cause why the Huskies received all of it.

With the significance of the 3-pointer in thoughts, these are the gamers price paying shut consideration to this season in the case of marksmanship from behind the arc.

A season in the past, amongst gamers who featured in at the very least 20 video games, Weiss ranked seventh nationally in 3-pointers made per sport with 3.1 — which can also be probably the most amongst gamers returning to the game this season, in line with Her Hoop Stats. As a sophomore, the 5-foot-10 guard from Hewlett, New York shot 37.6 % from behind the arc. She additionally led the Lions — who received an NCAA Event sport for the primary time ever final season — in scoring with 17.8 factors per sport. This preseason, Weiss has been named to Her Hoop Stats’ watchlist for the Becky Hammon Award, given yearly to the nation’s prime mid-major participant.

One might simply make the case that Kneepkens was the perfect shooter accessible within the switch portal this previous offseason. Final yr at Utah, she ranked ninth nationally in 3-pointers made per sport (3.0) and was twenty eighth in taking pictures share from deep with a 44.8 % mark. That clip was additionally sixth finest nationally amongst gamers who tried at the very least 6.5 3-pointers per sport final season. For her profession throughout 104 video games — 96 of them begins — she’s a 43.2 % 3-point shooter. She ought to give the Bruins a dependable perimeter risk as they goal to return to the Ultimate 4.

As a freshman final season, Turner ranked seventh nationally in complete 3-pointers made with 105 and was seventeenth in 3-point share with a forty five.7 % clip. Amongst gamers returning to girls’s school basketball this season that tried at the very least 5 photographs per sport from deep vary final season, Turner’s 3-point taking pictures share is the perfect. If Turner retains growing and enhancing, she might shortly set up herself as the perfect sharpshooter within the sport.

T’yana Todd, Ohio State

Whereas taking part in for Boston Faculty final season as a junior, Todd shot 45.9 % from behind the arc, which was fifteenth finest nationally and the highest mark amongst gamers within the ACC who tried at the very least three 3-pointers per sport. She’ll be anticipated to place up comparable numbers within the Huge Ten this season with the Buckeyes.

Grace Slaughter, Missouri

As a sophomore for the Tigers final season, Slaughter ranked 14th nationally in 3-point taking pictures share with a forty five.9 % mark. That clip was additionally the perfect amongst all gamers within the SEC who tried at the very least 1.5 3-pointers per sport final season. She needs to be a key contributor for Missouri this season as first-year head coach Kellie Harper makes an attempt to rebuild the Tigers.

Additionally watch: Kiki Smith (Purdue), Tessa Johnson (South Carolina), Sydney Harris (Iowa State), Taryn Sides (Kansas State), Yarden Garzon (Maryland), Taylor McCabe (Iowa), Carla Viegas (Pitt), Lani White (Virginia Tech), Tanyuel Welch (Arizona), Abbie Aalsma (Drake), Keira Hanson (Vermont), Elle Evans (Kansas), Rachel Ullstrom (Richmond)