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NFL MNF: Bills at J-E-T-S

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EAST RUTHERFORD – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Underwhelming might suffice as a five-game summary of the New York Jets through five games of the 2024 regular season. Even so, the Jets can move into first place in the AFC East with a win on Monday night against the Bills.

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A 2-3 start resulted in Jets owner Woody Johnson firing head coach Robert Saleh and promoting Jeff Ulbrich, the Jets’ defensive coordinator, to take the reins as the interim coach. Ulbrich demoted offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, stripping his play-calling duties to hand the responsibility to quarterbacks coach Todd Downing.

It might not take long to determine if the changes are akin to putting lipstick on a pig, given how much deference the offensive coaching staff gives Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Can Buffalo’s offense get back on track?

The Bills had a much better start to their campaign. They rattled off three straight wins but have now lost back-to-back games.

In hindsight, Buffalo might have benefited from a soft schedule, as its three wins (Cardinals, Dolphins, and Jaguars) came against sub-.500 teams, with a combined record of 5-12.

Defensively, those opponents rank 25th or lower in FTN Fantasy’s comprehensive Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) metric.

Offensively, Bills quarterback Josh Allen is coming off a 9-for-30 (131 passing yards) performance on the road against the Houston Texans.

Allen and his receivers weren’t on the same page. He has the fourth-highest percentage (19.5%) of “bad throws” that don’t include spikes or throwaways. Buffalo receivers have the second-highest percentage of dropped passes per attempt (7.8%).

Things won’t get any easier against a Jets secondary that Pro Football Focus ranks first in pass coverage with an 86.5 grade.

Rodgers deserves blame for the Jets’ dysfunction

Trading for Rodgers also meant the Jets essentially would give him the keys to the franchise.

Even before his arrival, Saleh signed Hackett as the offensive coordinator, given his strong relationship and perhaps even friendship with Rodgers since working together in Green Bay.

Some think Rodgers was even working behind the scenes, prodding the Jets to sign wide receiver Allen Lazard, a former Packers teammate.

We know that Rodgers definitely played a part in the Jets signing another former teammate in wide receiver Randall Cobb.

Thus, Rodgers has been the puppet master, pulling the strings for quite some time now.

There are even reports that Rodgers contacted the Jets owner after learning that Saleh was considering firing Hackett as the coordinator.

The dismissal completely blindsided Saleh, which suggests that something must have changed radically over a short period of time for the Jets front office to make such a decision.

Interestingly, the first thing the Jets’ new play-caller addressed when meeting the media was the Jets’ rushing attack.

“First of all, this team does have a strong run game. We just haven’t seen it come to fruition consistently enough,” Downing said. “Secondly, I think there become times where you can find people pressing a little bit because there’s an expectation for production and when it’s not met, you can feel a sense of urgency.”

There was no mention of his underperforming quarterback, who ranks 25th in Total QBR.

Unless Downing is brave enough to add dramatic wrinkles, we’re bracing for more of the same: the Jets’ stagnant offense relying on a dominant defense.

–By Field Level Media

NCAA Hoops: ’24-’25 Preseason Poll

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INDIANAPOLIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Kansas is No. 1 and two-time defending national champion UConn is No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll released Monday.

The Jayhawks received 30 of the 60 first-place ballots, while No. 2 Alabama collected 14 and the Huskies received 11. No. 4 Houston received four first-place votes, with the other going to No. 6 Gonzaga. Iowa State is No. 5.

Kansas was the preseason No. 1 team last season, too, but the Jayhawks were derailed by injuries and finished 23-11 with a second-round loss in the NCAA Tournament.

Head coach Bill Self padded the Kansas roster through the transfer portal, adding A.J. Storr (Wisconsin), Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State) and Rylan Griffen (Alabama) to a roster led by All-American big man Hunter Dickinson and seniors Dajuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams.

“We welcome being No. 1, especially with our returning players like Hunter, Dajuan and KJ, and then you add the players we brought in,” Self said. “The goal is to be No. 1 at the end of the season, and though we welcome this, it is not the end goal.”

The Crimson Tide lost to UConn in the Final Four last season and are led by All-American guard Mark Sears.

The Huskies are attempting to become the first program to win three straight titles since John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty won seven in a row from 1967-73.

The Big 12 has five teams in the top 10, while the Southeastern Conference leads the way with nine schools in the Top 25.

The rest of the Top 25 preseason poll:
11. Auburn
12. Tennessee
13. Texas A&M
14. Purdue
15. Creighton
16. Arkansas
17. Indiana
18. Marquette
19. Texas
20. Cincinnati
21. Florida
22. UCLA
23. Kentucky
24. Ole Miss
25. Rutgers

–Field Level Media

Texans Pummel Patriots, 41-21

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FOXBOROUGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Houston’s QB C.J. Stroud threw for three touchdowns to lift the Texans to a 41-21 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon in Massachusetts.

Stroud completed 20 of 31 passes for 192 yards and was picked off once as Houston (5-1) spoiled Drake Maye’s first career start. Maye, selected third overall by New England in this year’s draft, finished with 243 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions on 20-of-33 passing.

Joe Mixon returned from a three-game absence to rack up 132 yards from scrimmage (102 rushing, 30 receiving) for the Texans. He rushed for a touchdown and caught another. Stefon Diggs was one of Stroud’s favorite targets, hauling in six catches for 77 yards and a score.

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After seeing its first five drives end in four punts and a pick, New England (1-5) came to life just before the break, pulling within 14-7 on Maye’s 40-yard scoring strike to Kayshon Boutte with 11 seconds left in the first half. It was Maye’s first career passing TD.

Momentum wasn’t on the Patriots’ side for long, though, as Maye fumbled on the first drive of the second half to set up Houston at the New England 10. Two plays later, Diggs hauled in a 10-yard touchdown to put the Texans up 21-7.

A 39-yard field goal from Ka’imi Fairbairn extended the visitors’ advantage to 24-7 with 6:56 to go in the third quarter. Fairbairn drilled a 46-yarder just more than 1 1/2 minutes later.

Maye trimmed the Patriots’ deficit to 27-14 with one minute left in the third when he connected with Hunter Henry for a 6-yard TD.

Mixon (20 yards) and Dameon Pierce (54) sandwiched Maye’s 35-yard touchdown pass to DeMario Douglas with fourth-quarter scoring runs to forge the 41-21 final.

Douglas had six receptions for 92 yards and the TD.

Houston cut through the Patriots’ defense with ease on the game’s opening drive, an 11-play, 65-yard march that ended with Stroud’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Tank Dell.

Stroud made it 14-0 when he found Mixon for a 10-yard score with 3:13 left in the first quarter.

–Field Level Media

Bruins Break Habs for 6-4 Victory

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Bruins scored four consecutive goals and turned around a 2-1 deficit to hold on and defeat the Montreal Canadiens, 6-4, on Thursday night. It was Boston’s ninth consecutive victory in the club’s home-opener.

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Mark Kastelic scored his first pair as a member of the Bruins, including a key insurance marker with 4:00 remaining that halted a two-goal Montreal rally.

Cole Koepke and Elias Lindholm each had a goal and two assists, while Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak (one goal, one assist) each scored their second goal in as many games.

McAvoy became only the second defenseman in Bruins history to score in the first two games of a season.

Nikita Zadorov and Brandon Carlo also had two assists apiece.

Jeremy Swayman made 21 saves in his first start since signing an eight-year, $66 million extension with the Bruins on Sunday.

Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher scored twice and Cole Caufield tallied a goal.

Also for the Canadiens, Boston University product Lane Hutson registered his first multi-point game in his fourth career contest with two assists, while Oliver Kapanen had his first NHL point.

Cayden Primeau (23 saves) lost his season debut.

The Bruins took a 3-2 lead with 1:37 left before the first intermission as Lindholm tipped Zadorov’s point shot through the legs of Primeau.

Benefitting from Zacha’s hard work down low, Pastrnak ripped home a shot in the slot with 4:04 remaining in the second.

Only 55 seconds later, Koepke sprung John Beecher into the offensive zone before following the play and banging home the puck that was left loose to make it 5-2.

Josh Anderson got one back for Montreal at 9:05 of the third, sending a long shot through traffic that deflected past Swayman.

Gallagher tallied from the slot with 4:17 left before Kastelic struck quickly thereafter on an attempted driving pass that deflected off a defender.

The visitors drew first blood 8:26 into the game when Gallagher tipped in a Joel Armia shot.

McAvoy glided across to the top of the left circle to fire in Boston’s game-tying wrister at 11:04.

Montreal regained the lead only 1:14 later as an uncovered Caufield scored a loose puck that stayed at the left post following Kaiden Guhle’s point shot. The star winger now has goals in back-to-back games to begin consecutive seasons.

Kastelic netted the 2-2 goal at 13:24, slotting home a slick wrister after Zadorov slid the puck down from the left point to the top of the circle.

–Field Level Media

SF 49ers in Full Stride vs Seahawks

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SEATTLE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – SF QB Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes, two to George Kittle, and the San Francisco 49ers — after building a 20-point lead — held on to defeat the host Seattle Seahawks 36-24 on Thursday night.

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Purdy also threw a 76-yard scoring strike to Deebo Samuel Sr. as the 49ers (3-3) moved into a first-place tie with the Seahawks (3-3) in the NFC West.

Geno Smith threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett with 1:44 remaining to pull Seattle within 29-24.

San Francisco’s Kyle Juszczyk scored on a 6-yard run with 1:17 left to clinch the victory. That came two plays after rookie Isaac Guerendo broke free on a 76-yard run. Guerendo rushed for 99 yards on 10 attempts after Jordan Mason, who entered the game second in the NFL in rushing, left with an apparent left shoulder injury.

Mason gained 73 yards on nine carries. Purdy was 18 of 28 for 255 yards, and Samuel produced 102 yards on three receptions. Kittle had five catches for 58 yards.

The 49ers forced three turnovers and turned them into 12 points.

Smith connected on 30 of 52 passes for 312 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. The Seahawks tried to establish the running game but gained just 52 yards on 20 carries.

Laviska Shenault Jr. scored on a 97-yard kickoff return for Seattle, which took its third consecutive loss.

Purdy’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Kittle with 10:07 left in the third quarter gave the 49ers a 23-3 lead.

The 49ers, who blew double-digit leads in divisional losses to the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals earlier this season, then saw Shenault return the ensuing kickoff to spark a Seattle comeback.

Kenneth Walker III scored on a 1-yard run with 1:24 left in the third to pull the Seahawks within 23-17.

Niners rookie Renardo Green stepped in front of DK Metcalf and picked off a Smith pass to set up Kittle’s second touchdown, a 9-yard reception with 6:20 remaining in the game, to make it 29-17.

The 49ers took a 16-3 halftime lead. San Francisco had a 244-133 edge in total offense, including 105-24 on the ground, and forced a pair of turnovers — an interception of a Smith pass near the goal line and a Shenault fumble on a kickoff return.

The lone touchdown of the half was the 76-yarder to Samuel down the left sideline with 13:30 remaining in the second quarter.

San Francisco kicker Matthew Wright, signed earlier in the week after Jake Moody sustained a high ankle sprain Sunday, converted all three of his field-goal attempts in the first half, from 25, 41 and 35 yards.

–Field Level Media

Yankees Survive and Advance

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KANSAS CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New York starting pitcher Gerrit Cole threw seven effective innings, and Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton each supplied key hits Thursday night to lead the Yankees to a 3-1 victory against the Kansas City Royals in a decisive Game 4 of the American League Division Series.

After failing to reach the postseason a year ago but with the win, the Yankees advanced to the American League Championship Series for the second time in three seasons and for the fourth time since 2017. New York won’t learn of its opponent in the ALCS until Saturday, when the Cleveland Guardians are scheduled to host the Detroit Tigers for Game 5 of that ALDS. The Guardians extended their series with a 5-4 victory against the Tigers on Thursday.

The Royals, coming off a 56-106 record in 2023, advanced beyond the wild-card round under manager Matt Quatraro in their first postseason trip since 2015, when they won their franchise’s second World Series. Star shortstop Bobby Witt went 2-for-17 (.118) with a walk in the series.

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who came in struggling in the postseason after making himself the favorite to win AL MVP in the regular season, hit a hard double in two at-bats, scored a run, walked twice and stole a base.

Benches and bullpens cleared briefly in the bottom of the sixth inning following a slide into second by the Royals’ Maikel Garcia and Anthony Volpe’s tag for a key double play.

After grinding to a no-decision in the series opener, Cole (1-0) allowed a run and six hits to go with four strikeouts. He kept the Royals off the scoreboard through five innings and pitched out of a jam in the sixth.

New York’s bullpen continued to dominate with Clay Holmes taking the eighth and Luke Weaver finishing in the ninth for his third save of the series. Yankees relievers combined to allow zero runs in 15 2/3 innings in the series.

The Yankees scored quickly against right-hander Michael Wacha who, like Cole, also started Game 1. Three pitches into the first inning, Soto lined an RBI single to right, scoring Torres after he had doubled, to give New York a 1-0 lead.

Wacha (0-1) kept the Yankees from adding more until two outs in the fifth, when Torres lined an RBI single to right, knocking in Alex Verdugo from third. Lucas Erceg then replaced Wacha to put out the rally.

Stanton, who hit the go-ahead home run late in Game 3, came through again with an RBI single in the sixth for 3-0 lead.

The Royals pushed across a run in the sixth when Vinnie Pasquantino hit an RBI double to score Witt with two outs, but strong Yankees defense thwarted KC’s best chance for a bigger inning.

After Garcia led off with a single, first baseman Jon Berti and Volpe turned a Michael Massey grounder into a neat 1-6 double play. Garcia slid hard and Volpe made a dedicated tag for a second out, but Garcia didn’t leave the field immediately. He appeared to jaw with a third Yankees player, which led to a stoppage before heads cooled.

After Pasquantino’s RBI, Salvador Perez popped out to end the inning.

–David Brown, Field Level Media

Down Goes Draft Kings

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Online gambling institution DraftKings was back online Thursday afternoon after a widespread outage that impacted its sports betting platform for several hours.

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Beginning around 2:00am (ET). Thursday morning, odds across all sports in each of the states in which DraftKings operates were unavailable and replaced by an error message.

“We are aware that customers may be experiencing issues with certain features on our Sportsbook,” the company’s customer support team posted on the social media platform X at 8:29 a.m. ET. “This is currently affecting players in all jurisdictions. We are working on resolving this as quickly as possible.”

The company posted on X that “sportsbook functionality has been fully restored,” at 2:13 p.m. ET.

The 12-hour outage came on a sports day that includes the “Thursday Night Football” game between San Francisco and Seattle to begin Week 6 of the NFL schedule, along with a pair of Major League Baseball playoff games and Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.

While numerous DraftKings users took to social media to vent, the issue did not have a significant impact on the company’s stock, which was down only 0.34 percent as of 3:00pm (ET).

–Field Level Media

Twins for Sale

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MINNESOTA – St. PAUL – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Pohlad family, owner of the Minnesota Twins since 1984, announced its begun steps to sell the team.

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“For the past 40 seasons, the Minnesota Twins have been part of our family’s heart and soul,” said Joe Pohlad, the team’s executive chair, in a news release. “This team is woven into the fabric of our lives, and the Twins community has become an extension of our family. The staff, the players, and most importantly, you, the fans — everyone who makes up this unbelievable organization — is part of that. We’ve never taken lightly the privilege of being stewards of this franchise.

“However, after months of thoughtful consideration, our family reached a decision this summer to explore selling the Twins. As we enter the next phase of this process, the time is right to make this decision public.”

Pohlad said the family intends to sell to an “ownership group who all of us can be proud of and who will take care of the Minnesota Twins.”

Toward that end, the Pohlads retained investment bank Allen & Company to guide a potential sale.

Sportico valued the franchise at $1.7 billion, or 19th among the 30 MLB teams. Earlier this year, Forbes placed the value at $1.46 billion, ranked 21st on its list.

Only three ownership groups have controlled a team longer than the Pohlad family — the New York Yankees (1973), the Chicago White Sox (1981) and the Philadelphia Phillies (1981).

“After four decades of commitment, passion, and countless memories, we are looking toward the future with care and intention — for our family, the Twins organization, and this community we love so much” Pohlad said.

The most recent team to change hands was the Baltimore Orioles. MLB owners approved the sale in March to a group led by private equity billionaire David Rubenstein for a reported $1.725 billion.

The late Carl Pohlad paid $44 million to buy the Twins.

Minnesota finished the 2024 season with an 82-80 record, four games out of a wild-card spot following a late-season swoon.

–Field Level Media

Major Damage to “The Trop”

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TAMPA-St. PETERSBURG  – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Tampa Bay Rays organization will assess the damage done to Tropicana Field, inflicted on Wednesday night as Hurricane Milton bore down on the region.

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The roof at the stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla., broke apart amid the wind and rain from the Category 3 hurricane. The Rays didn’t address whether the “Trop,” as it is called, will be playable to start the 2025 season.

“During the past couple weeks, our beloved city, region and state have been impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. We are devastated by the damage incurred by so many,” the team noted Thursday afternoon in a statement posted to social media.

“Our priority is supporting our community and our staff. We are fortunate and grateful that no one was hurt by the damage to our ballpark last night. Over the coming days and weeks, we expect to be able to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field. In the meantime, we are working with law enforcement to secure the building.

“We ask for your patience at this time, and we encourage those who can to donate to organizations in our community that are assisting those directly impacted by these storms.”

The stadium, initially called the Florida Suncoast Dome when it opened in 1990, has been the Rays’ home since the franchise played its first game in 1998. It had been set to serve as a staging area for first responders in the storm.

Tropicana Field cost $138 million to build. The 1.1-million square foot building was covered by what the team media guide calls “the world’s largest cable-supported domed roof,” which is “made of six acres of translucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass and supports itself with 180 miles of cables connected by struts.”

It was built to withstand winds up to 115 mph.

The Weather Channel reported wind gusts of up to 102 mph in St. Petersburg. Parts of the downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg were drenched by as much as 17 inches or rain, per the report.

There was good news at Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, however. NFL Network reported Thursday that the stadium and the Bucs’ practice field sustained only “cosmetic” damage.

–Field Level Media

Bruins Look for 9th Home Opening “W”

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Bruins want to turn the page.

Two nights after largely being dominated in a 6-4 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, Boston will aim for its ninth straight home-opening win on Thursday when the Montreal Canadiens visit.

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Defenseman Charlie McAvoy recorded a goal and an assist and was one of four Bruins to find the net on Tuesday, but Florida’s four-goal first period was too much to overcome.

“We weren’t good enough in so many areas,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “They were. Their execution was really good and ours was really poor. I can’t pinpoint why we looked slow, but we looked slow the entire game.”

An eventful offseason saw Boston bring in the likes of center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov, but the biggest splash came Sunday when now-true No. 1 goaltender Jeremy Swayman signed an eight-year, $66 million extension.

Boston dealt Linus Ullmark, the co-No. 1 goalie last season, to the Ottawa Senators in June.

Joonas Korpisalo, who was acquired in the Ullmark trade, made 29 saves at Florida in what Montgomery thought was a solid opening effort.

The problems were “in front of him,” according to the coach.

“You can’t give up four backdoor tap-ins and expect your goalie to make save after save,” Montgomery said. “… We weren’t good enough.”

Montgomery had not announced his Thursday starting goaltender. Swayman did not see any preseason action.

The Tuesday loss was Boston’s first in a season opener since 2018 against another reigning Cup winner, the Washington Capitals. Perhaps some motivation?

“It’s a symbol of what every team in the league is trying to achieve, but at the end of the day, we’re more concerned about the foundation that we build within the group, with the practice and the way we’re going to prepare from the day forward,” Bruins captain Brad Marchand said.

The Canadiens visit Boston for the second leg of a back-to-back following a 1-0 home win against the Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Sam Montembeault made 48 saves — the most ever in an NHL season-opening shutout — while ending Toronto’s 227-game streak of scoring at least one goal.

Despite closing the preseason with a four-game losing streak and seeing the power play go 0-for-30 through six exhibition games, coach Martin St. Louis was largely pleased with his team’s level entering Wednesday, and he had his feelings confirmed.

“This is a very close group, a proud group and this game was an opportunity to show that,” St. Louis said. “This was the first game of the season, and you don’t get to go back and replay it. … There’s a lot of positives.”

There is no longer a three-man rotation in Montreal’s net. Montembeault signed a new three-year deal before Jake Allen was dealt to the New Jersey Devils at last trade deadline.

“I think I showed (last season) that I can be consistent,” Montembeault said. “That’s what I want to do every game again this year. Every time I get the chance to be in net, I want to give the team a chance to win.”

Montembeault, who will share the net with Cayden Primeau, came through on Wednesday. His performance allowed Cole Caufield’s first-period power-play goal to stand up.

Caufield, 23, scored in his third consecutive opener, then pointed to the sky to honor the late Johnny Gaudreau, whose former No. 13 he is now wearing. Gaudreau, a Columbus Blue Jackets star, died in an accident in August at age 31.

“(Gaudreau) paved the way for smaller players and proved we had a future in this game at the highest level,” Caufield posted on Instagram following the tragedy last month. “I will forever be grateful to him for inspiring me and others.”

Montreal defenseman Jayden Struble (upper-body injury) did not play on Wednesday.

–Field Level Media