Category: JwPlayerVideo

Bellator 233’s Kyle Crutchmer happy to be compared to teammates Cormier, Khabib – if he has bank account to match

“If my bank account says what ‘D.C.’ and Khabib’s say, you can compare me to whoever you want to compare me to.”

THACKERVILLE, Okla. – With his strong wrestling background, [autotag]Kyle Crutchmer[/autotag] is happy to draw comparisons to his teammates – but not necessarily to their fighting styles.

Crutchmer (5-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), who was a two-time NCAA All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University, has a strong grappling background like former two-division UFC champion [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] and UFC lightweight champ [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag], his teammates at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif.

Crutchmer improved to 5-0 Friday at Bellator 233 in his promotional debut with a unanimous decision win over Robert Gidron. He used his superior wrestling to control the fight and showed off some of his striking, too.

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But with inevitable comparisons to his accomplished wrestling teammates at AKA, Crutchmer is more concerned with making similar paydays down the line.

“I don’t know how many people knock dudes down with spinning back fists, but I threw that (expletive) today – it landed, it knocked him down, so I’ve got a little bit different style from (them),” Crutchmer told MMA Junkie. “But listen, man, at the end of the day, if my bank account says what ‘D.C.’ and Khabib’s say – man, you can compare me to whoever you want to compare me to.”

His opponent, Gidron, stepped in on short notice for the fight. But the natural middleweight missed weight for the 170-pound bout by nearly five pounds. While Crutchmer is accustomed to being the smaller opponent, he says Gidron had an apparent size difference, a challenge he was able to overcome.

“My wrestling kind of speaks for itself,” Crutchmer said. “I think I would be dumb to not at least attempt it in the first, to see how hard or how easy it would be. Man, that guy was big. People don’t realize – he missed weight by five pounds. He’s never fought at (1)70, I don’t think, so he had some height on me, too. So some of those things, I was trying to get to. It took a lot more than people could see.”

And there was no doubt in his mind that he was going to accept the fight regardless, as he looks to begin his ascent in the Bellator 170-pound rankings.

“I’m in this to prove I’m the baddest mother(expletive) in the world, and if I’m turning down fights or I’m saying no to somebody, then why am I doing this?” Crutchmer said. “I knew it was going to be hard. You could see it, how big he was, and that does play a factor in fights. I had no hesitation. I told our coaches, ‘I’ll get paid a little bit more and we’ll roll with it.'”

Giants out of NFC East race where leaders are 5-4

The New York Giants have been out of divisional contention for a month, and that speaks volumes since the leaders are a measly 5-4.

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The New York Giants dropped the 2-8 on the season following a 34-27 loss to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon, moving them that much closer not just to the basement of the NFC East, but to the basement of the NFL.

Think about it… The co-leaders of the division — Dallas and Philadelphia — are each 5-4, just a measly game over .500, but the Giants are so bad that they’ve effectively been out of contention for a month.

That speaks volumes about just how bad these Giants are and it’s a tough pill to swallow.

Dallas Cowboys (5-4)

The Cowboys believed the black cat at MetLife Stadium provided them some luck moving forward, but that backfired in spectacular fashion on Sunday night as they were downed by the Minnesota Vikings, 28-24. Three of Dallas’ four losses have come against teams above .500, while they have just one win over a team with a winning record (Eagles).

Philadelphia Eagles (5-4)

The Eagles pulled into a two-way tie atop the NFC East while enjoying their bye on Sunday, but that shouldn’t excite them too much as they were unable to keep up with the Cowboys previously. They return in Week 11 against the New England Patriots and then have a date with the Seattle Seahawks the following week. Good luck, Philly.

New York Giants (2-8)

What is even left to say about these Giants? Their Sunday loss to Gang Green isn’t just a low point of the season, but a low point for this team since the 1970s. John Mara stormed out of the stadium completely steamed and is likely talking himself down from firing every single person inside the organization. Should he, though? We’ve reached a rock and a hard place scenario and something has to break.

Washington Redskins (1-8)

Like the Eagles, the Redskins enjoined a bye week in which they didn’t fall further behind. In fact, they inched closer to the Giants for third place in the division and with a game remaining, actually control their own destiny (in terms of avoiding a last-place finish).

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Fantasy football waiver wire targets after Week 10: The fallout of the Devonta Freeman injury

Picking up the pieces after injuries to Devonta Freeman and Austin Hooper.

There aren’t a bounty of strong options on the waiver wire this week. Hopefully you were busy on the trade market, and hopefully there will be more movement on the wire to come. With an injuries to Detroit Lions running back Ty Johnson and Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman, there are some waiver wire options worth targeting, and they could even be viable starters for a few weeks.

There will be two situations worth monitoring for next week. San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and Atlanta Falcons tight end Austin Hooper are both dealing with injuries. Their backups may become fill-in options.

Here are the waiver wire targets after Week 10 and for Week 11.

5. Falcons and 49ers tight ends

Two of the best tight ends in fantasy football are dealing with injuries. The Falcons’ pecking order is a puzzle. It’s entirely possible they turn to their receivers, if Hooper misses time. But maybe tight end Luke Stocker can step up.

It’s a similar story in San Francisco, with Kittle set to miss Monday night’s game in Week 10. We’ll get a chance to see if second-year pro Ross Dwelley can step out without Kittle. Dwelley might be rostering if he plays well, just in case Kittle misses additional time.

4. J.D. McKissic, RB, Detroit Lions

ESPN: 15%. Yahoo! 21%.

When Ty Johnson left the game with a concussion, McKissic took over. The Chicago Bears made life difficult for McKissic, even with an increased ownership of touches. He finished the game with 10 carries for 36 yards and six receptions for 19 yards. In PPR formats, McKissic’s value would be on the rise if Johnson misses time.

3. Brian Hill, RB, Atlanta Falcons

ESPN: .3%. Yahoo! 3%.

It’s unclear how long Devonta Freeman could be out, but he seems to be dealing with an ankle issue. That gave life to Hill, who finished with 20 carries for 61 yards and a 10-yard touchdown reception in Week 10. He may end up being the workhorse back in Atlanta for a few weeks.

2. Darius Slayton, WR, New York Giants

ESPN: 12%. Yahoo! 10%.

Slayton had been quietly putting together a solid season until the last three weeks when he’s put up four touchdowns, with two in Week 10 and two in Week 8. He’s probably not a plug-and-play starter, but has proven a reliable red-zone threat. This season, he has 45 receptions, 394 yards and five touchdowns. He could be worth a roster spot.

1. Derrius Guice, RB, Washington Redskins

ESPN: 38%. Yahoo! 37%.

Before suffering an injury, he was the team’s starting running back, with the Redskins benching Adrian Peterson. Somehow, the ageless wonder has gone on to have a productive season. But with Guice coming back, it’s easy to imagine him splitting carries, at least. The Redskins will want to see what Guice can contribute as they continue to play for the future. He should return to being a big part of their offense.

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Everyone is mystified by Jerry Jones’s bizarre clapping

What happened here?

Jerry Jones, welcome to the Hall of Mysterious Clapping.

The Dallas Cowboys owner joins such luminaries as Nicole Kidman and Brendan Fraser (see below) with the applause he gave to Amari Cooper after the receiver made one heck of a touchdown grab in the loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

To be fair, the catch was so good that it boggles the mind. In the third quarter, Dak Prescott zipped a pass toward the end zone that looked like it was going out of bounds … except Cooper kept his toes in and hauled it in.

And then Jones went and reacted this way:

People were mystified:

Congrats on joining these two:

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Eagles open up as 3.5-point home underdogs to the Patriots in Week 11

The Philadelphia Eagles open up as 3.5-point home underdogs to the New England Patriots on Sunday.

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The Philadelphia Eagles return home on Sunday for a huge matchup with the defending Super Bowl champion, New England Patriots. Despite the Birds current 5-4 record and rest from the bye week, Philadelphia opens up as 3.5-point road underdogs according to odds from BetMGM.

The numbers speak for themselves as the New England Patriots have won an NFL-leading 14 games coming out of a bye week since the 2010 season.

The Patriots are an NFL-best 47-9 (83.9 percent) following a loss since 2003, while the Philadelphia Eagles are 6-4 following their bye week since 2010 as well.

The Eagles have won two in a row to get above .500 at 5-4 and are getting healthy at the right time.

{Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.}

There’s no rhyme or reason to Giants’ defense

The New York Giants have the worst defense in football and there appears to be no rhyme or reason to their approach.

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The New York Giants have surrendered 289 points in 10 games this season, the most in the NFL. There are a ton of reasons and theories behind the huge step back they’ve taken in Year 2 under defensive coordinator James Bettcher.

Many say the scheme is at fault. Others point to the dearth of talent while some blame the organization for stocking the roster with too many rookies and inexperienced players.

No matter which of those are the culprit — and all three are salient points — there isn’t much the team can do about it 10 weeks into the season. To install a new scheme would take as many weeks as they have left in the season.

Adding players isn’t a real option mid-season (although they’ve been doing that where they can) and as for gaining experience, we all know there’s only one way to accomplish that — by playing the rookies.

There have been some interesting nuances this season and a few moves that had fans and pundits questioning the team’s direction.

Last year as a rookie, B.J. Hill was a budding star, playing in all 16 games (starting 12), racking up 5.5 sacks, eight QB hits, six tackles for a loss and two passes defensed.

This year, Hill has been invisible, especially on the stat sheet. Through 10 games, he has no sacks, no QB hits and no tackles for a loss.

When the Giants traded for Leonard Williams two weeks ago, we suggested that Williams was not going to be added to the defensive line rotation along with Hill and the others, but rather as a replacement for Hill. So far we are right about that. Hill’s snaps are way down since the trade.

Duggan also points out the decreasing usage of the Giants’ prized third-round pick, linebacker Oshane Ximines, and the fact that they continue to play packages that favor speed over bulk.

Deone Buccanon was picked up because he is a Bettcher disciple from their days in Arizona, but he hasn’t made any type of impact. He was released by Tampa Bay for a reason and now we know why. He doesn’t appear to be the same player he was a few seasons ago.

The scheme might be too complicated for some of the young players. Most defenders are trained to attack. The Giants haven’t shown much aggression on defense. Instead, they are usually on their heels, conceding way too much yardage underneath in fear of surrendering big plays, which they’ve ended up doing anyway. More than any team in the league in fact.

No doubt, there will be more changes to this defense in the offseason. A bona fide pass rusher would go a long way, as would a solid addition at each level of this defense. Granted, doesn’t every team need that?

A return to the “get after it” style would benefit this group rather than having a slew of young players standing around wondering what their assignments are.

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Al Horford says chemistry with Joel Embiid is progressing for Sixers

Philadelphia 76ers big man Al Horford says the chemistry with Joel Embiid is progressing.

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For the Philadelphia 76ers to truly reach their full potential, they will need Al Horford and Joel Embiid to form some real, unbreakable chemistry. They need them to be able to play off each other and become the formidable duo the Sixers envisioned when they brought in Horford in free agency.

On Sunday night in a win over the Charlotte Hornets, Embiid had 18 points and nine rebounds while Horford added 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. It has been tough for the two to actually get some court time in the early going as Embiid has missed three of the team’s first nine games of the season, but Horford does see some progress in their on-court relationship.

Yeah, I do believe that it is progressing. For me, it’s continuing to understand what we’re trying to do on the offenisve end and just kind of being in the right place and right time for him and for our group and not necessarily thinking like ‘oh what’s this play?’ so it’s coming along. I think everything takes time to be perfect, but it is coming along.

The Sixers are going against the current NBA trend with two traditional big men start in Horford and Embiid so it can be a bit clunky and disorganized a bit in the early going. The only thing that can continue to help them is time and continuing to play together. They just need to continue to trend in the right direction. [lawrence-related id=19038,19027,19013]

Hawai’i Quarterback: Who’s starting next week and beyond

Hawaii has switched around quarterbacks a few times this year, so who will head coach Nick Rolovich go with next week?

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Hawai’i QB’s: Who’s starting next week and beyond

Cordeiro or McDonald

Contact/Follow @MWCwire

What is going on with Hawai’s QB situation?

Chevan Cordeiro was 23-31, 309yds, 3 TDs in the win over San Jose State Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.

In what was the biggest decision Hawai’i head coach Nick Rolovich has to make in his still young coaching career he decided to start the redshirt freshmen over his one and a half year starter Cole McDonald.

After the game coach Rolo praised both quarterbacks with how they handled themselves both on and off the field. It’s not easy being on the sideline watching his backup run the run and shoot offense like Cordeiro has since his high school days at Saint Louis Schools. But being a good teammate McDonald is he is always the first to congratulate or give Coideiro some encouragement or insight when he comes off the field.

It looks like now coach Rolo has another tough decision going into the UNLV game next week in Las Vegas. While Coideiro has proven he can lead the team to many scores at Aloha Stadium we have not seen him start yet on the mainland. If Rolo wants to roll the dice again and start Coideiro next week this might be the one opponent to do it in a 2-7 Rebels team.

McDonald understood Rolo’s decision to start Cordeiro and told his head coach that he will work even harder next week to win back his job. So does this mean Rolovch can start McDonald again?

Absolutely. Look Hawai’i probably wouldn’t be in the situation they are in right now without Cole starting being 6-4 and having a slight chance to win the West Division and play for the Mountain West Championship. You have to give him credit for always believing he is “the guy” even when the local critics are hard on him.

So looking at the good situation Hawai’i has that they can start either quarterback and have a good chance of success. Let’s look at some facts to determine who should start:

  • Cole McDonald has the experience with 21 starts including a career record of 5-2 on the road against MW teams.
  • McDonald’s QBR is 68.0(47th best in the country) and despite throwing nine interceptions in the first four games McDonald has only thrown three on the last five.
  • Everyone can see that Cole is a confident guy whether through media interviews or on the field. He likes his chances of throwing into small windows in the secondary.
  • Cole’s tendencies still seem to be going through his progressions a bit slower than Chevan and his thought process of taking off is too late. Also, McDonald in the RPO gives the ball to the running back about 85% of the time instead of pulling it back and running with it.
  • Cordeiro albeit only started two games in his career has made the most of his time on the field with the two victories and also several comeback wins on his belt.
  • He has been in eight games in 2019 with a QBR of 84.1 and threw for six touchdowns to one interception.
  • Chevan can throw the long ball and connect with the highs of 71, 57, and 50 yards the last three games. But some deep passes can hang in the air and the receivers have to come back on it or it could easily be a pick but so far it hasn’t hurt UH.
  • He may be a quiet leader but he will boast about his teammates after the game every time.

It will come to if Cole McDonald can have stellar practices and prove he is still “the guy” for Coach Rolo. If Rolo is impressed and can trust Cole to make the throws he knows he can make he will start at UNLV.

After that week though we might see another change and start Cordeiro and give the San Diego State defense another thing to prepare for in his elusiveness. It will be like an MLB team having two-star pitchers and putting them against the team they know they have a better chance of winning based on personnel.

The future for Hawai’i football is with Cordeiro no doubt about it but the last three games (possibly four) can determine if McDonald will play in a Rainbow Warrior uniform next year. I’m thinking the future is now.

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Two new teams enter Week 12 Super 25 Football Rankings

Check out the Week 12 Super 25 Football Rankings! Which teams made the list?

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The two new teams in the Super 25 Football Rankings went down different paths to make the list this week.

McEachern (Powder Springs, Georgia) has been nearly perfect so far. The team escaped a close game in which Hillgrove (Powder Springs, Georgia) appeared to have scored a decisive touchdown, only to have it not count.

FULL RANKINGS: Super 25 Football Rankings, Week 12

But other than that, the team has looked impressive, especially of late. McEachern has routed in-state opponents three consecutive weeks. Before that, the team earned a close 14-12 win over Marietta (Georgia). All that success in Georgia boosted its resume to the point where McEachern was too hard to deny. It came in ranked No. 24 this week.

St Joseph’s (Philadelphia) season has looked a little different. The team started off with out-of-state opponents in the Super 25. It lost two of its first three games to tough teams: Marietta and IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida). However, the team also defeated St. John’s (Washington D.C.) during that slate, which at the time ranked fourth in the country. 

A battle-tested St Joseph’s went on to win seven consecutive games and notched its record to 8-2. During that streak, the team has put up at least 42 points in all of its victories. Most recently, it defeated La Salle College (Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania) 52 – 7. St Joseph’s was ranked No. 25 this week.

There were very few changes other than those two making the ranks. Other teams moved up a spot in the rankings, like Muskegon (Michigan) going from No. 17 to No. 16, but there were no major moves in the ranks this week.

New Bears center Cody Whitehair promises to ‘get better as we go’

As the Bears switched Cody Whitehair back to center against the Lions, he had some ups and downs in his return to center.

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The Chicago Bears made some adjustments on offense prior to Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions. Whether that was benching tight end Adam Shaheen or a switch on the offensive line, Matt Nagy was determined to shake things up.

After switching Cody Whitehair to left guard and James Daniels to center during the offseason, the team decided to switch them back after Daniels struggled at his new position over the first eight games this season.

When Whitehair snapped for the first time Sunday against the Lions, it was his first snap to quarterback Mitchell Trubisky since the pair played in the Pro Bowl back in January.

Whitehair struggled with his snaps, including one that could’ve been a disaster as a fumble that Trubisky managed to turn into a 3-yard gain. There were a few others that were high or wide that Trubisky had to adjust to.

“It went OK for me, but I wish I could have a couple [plays] back …” Whitehair said, via the Sun-Times. “It’ll get better as we go.”

Neither Whitehair or Daniels had played their former positions prior to switching during practice last week.

“It’s not easy switching positions within seven days,” Daniels said, “but [offensive line] coach Harry [Hiestand] believed in me.”

The switch comes after some struggles on the offensive line, where Nagy wouldn’t blame Daniels, just like he wouldn’t focus on Whitehair’s snapping issues.

“I think sometimes when, whatever sport it is — if it’s golf and a golfer has the yips or you get into people, pitchers or whatever — the less you talk about it, the better it gets,” he said.

We’ll see if that’s the case when the Bears travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams on Sunday Night Football, where defensive star Aaron Donald awaits.

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