Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
You never know when “Gorgeous” George or “Goze” will catch somebody “Off Guard.” This time they catch up with Dominance MMA manager, Ali Abdelaziz.
You never know when “Gorgeous” George or “Goze” will catch somebody “Off Guard.” This time they catch up with Dominance MMA manager, Ali Abdelaziz.
The head football coach at New Kent High School in Virginia stands accused of assaulting one of his own players before a game in November.
A Virginia high school football coach stands accused of an alleged assault against a player in the locker room at an opposing school.
As reported by Virginia CBS affiliate WTKR, New Kent (Va.) High School football coach John Fulks stands accused of an alleged assault against one of his own players. The physical incident reportedly happened on November 8, when New Kent visited Smithfield (Va.) High School, and captured its season finale, 28-0.
While the result on the field might not have sparked any negative attention, the pregame lead up certainly did. While few details are known about the alleged altercation between coach and player, the incident as described by the player was significant enough to bring charges against Fulks.
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Per WTKR, Fulks was charged with simple assault Wednesday and turned himself in before he was released on acknowledgment of the need to appear in court when called before it.
There has yet to be any word about whether Fulks could receive any concurrent penalty from his particular school.
You never know when “Gorgeous” George or “Goze” will catch somebody “Off Guard.” This time they catch up with Dominance MMA manager, Ali Abdelaziz.
You never know when “Gorgeous” George or “Goze” will catch somebody “Off Guard.” This time they catch up with Dominance MMA manager, Ali Abdelaziz.
The Broncos are considered touchdown underdogs on the road against the Texans this week.
The Denver Broncos (4-8) are considered 7.5-point underdogs on the road against the Houston Texans (8-4) in Week 14, according to BetMGM. The over/under line for combined points scored between the two teams has been set at 41.5.
The Broncos scored 23 points last week in a 23-20 win over the Los Angeles Chargers (4-8). The Texans scored 28 points in a 28-22 win over the New England Patriots (10-2). That’s 51 combined points between Denver and Houston last week, which would be above this week’s over/under line.
The Broncos and Texans have faced off just seven times in the past with Denver owning a 4-3 advantage in the series. The two teams have played each other just two times in Houston and each won one game.
The last time the Broncos and Texans played each other was last November. Houston won that contest 19-17 on the road.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
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Jerry Jones has a cryptic comment about his coach, a HOFer has harsh words for his ex-boss, and the team’s new triplets close in on history.
A Thursday gameday has Cowboys Nation already looking at final injury reports for both Dallas and Chicago in advance of their primetime meeting on Lake Shore Drive. Three Cowboys have been ruled out, along with one familiar face in the Bears secondary.
Khalil Mack has good things to say about the Dallas offense, but Troy Aikman isn’t as gracious when it comes to the Cowboys front office. Owner Jerry Jones offers a cryptic comment about coach Jason Garrett’s future, and a noted football insider has a bone to pick regarding the current playoff seeding structure. All that plus the Cowboys’ new triplets close in on team history, and a closer look at some killer cleats for some exceptional causes. Here’s your News and Notes slate ahead of Week 14’s game.
The trio of Cowboys who were on the fence for Thursday’s game in Chicago will now officially be wearing street clothes on the Soldier Field sideline. Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch is still dealing with a neck issue, defensive tackle Antwaun Woods has a knee problem, and safety Jeff Heath is working through a double shoulder ailment.
The ankle injury that kept running back Tony Pollard out of Tuesday’s practice is still a source of some concern; the rookie is listed as questionable for the Bears tilt.
Bears cornerback Prince Amukamara had some memorable meetings with Dallas when he was a member of the Giants from 2011 to 2015. Thursday night was to be the former first-rounder’s first time facing the Cowboys since leaving New York. But that rematch may have to wait; Amukamara is listed as doubtful for Week 14’s showdown due to a hamstring injury sustained on Thanksgiving Day in Chicago’s game versus Detroit.
The Bears’ official website lists offensive tackle Bobby Massie, wide receiver Taylor Gabriel, tight end Ben Braunecker, and linebacker Danny Trevathan as out.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has had a stellar 2019 campaign, despite the team’s overall performance. The leader of Chicago’s defense thinks keeping him in check will be “a big challenge.”
Mack says of Prescott, “The guy knows how to put his team in a position to win games. He’s a hell of a ballplayer. He plays with a lot of heart, and you see it. You see it reflected in the film.”
But Mack and his defensive mates know they won’t be able to key solely on stopping the Dallas air attack. Of two-time rushing champ Ezekiel Elliott, Mack says, “He’s one of the most physical running backs in the league. It’s going to be a huge task. He’s a guy who runs the ball like he’s angry. It’s going to be our job to make sure he feels us.”
Troy Aikman thinks his former quarterback understudy Jason Garrett has “the hardest job in football” as head coach of the Cowboys and says he’s “done a really nice job” in that capacity over the past decade. But the Hall of Famer admits that sometimes a change at the top is needed. If the team doesn’t go on a late run and find postseason success, that change could be coming soon to Dallas.
Aikman even had some harsh words for his former boss and went on to talk about the unique front office situation that a prospective new coach would be walking into.
“It’s not run, traditionally, the way most organizations are. I think that’s to the detriment of the Cowboys. I don’t think you can look at three playoff wins in the last 25 years and surmise that all of the problems over that time have been a result of coaching.”
Aikman goes into detail of how Jones meddles, and one can’t help but wonder how this will impact any coding search.
The NFL’s annual head coaching carousel started turning a bit earlier than expected on Wednesday when Ron Rivera was shown the door in Carolina. Almost on cue, talk in sports radio circles turned to whether Rivera might be a fit in Dallas if Jason Garrett also gets his walking papers.
Even with a lackluster 6-6 record, Garrett’s team is- improbably- still favored to win the division title. Talk of a coaching change in Dallas might, then, seem premature. But it turns out the buzz had gotten a little louder just hours earlier, when owner Jerry Jones spoke with 105.3 The Fan that very morning.
The outspoken owner had plenty to say about Garrett’s aptitude and qualities. He talked about the high bar for NFL coaches in the chase to win Super Bowls. But he ended with the bombshell heard ’round the league: “In my opinion, Jason Garrett will be coaching in the NFL next year.”
Lots of room for interpretation there. Acres upon acres, in fact.
Somewhat lost in the disappointment of a middling 6-6 record has been just how statistically good the Cowboys offense has been. Quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott, and wideout Amari Cooper are all putting up very good numbers. And while the individual totals might not be translating to as many wins as all involved would prefer, the trio of stars is on the cusp of doing something historic in the annals of Dallas football.
Ezekiel Elliott needs 10 yards to get to 1,000
Amari Cooper needs 29 yards to get to 1,000
Dak Prescott needs 212 yards to get to 4,000This could all happen on Thursday night and it would mark the first year EVER in Cowboys history to have triplets all achieve those marks.
— Dan Rogers (@DannyPhantom24) December 4, 2019
Dallas has played on the Thursday night after Thanksgiving in each of the past three seasons. They won all three contests. They also appeared on Thursday Night Football in 2014 and 2007. Both were victories. In fact, the last time Dallas lost on a Thursday night? 1978.
Also explored in this compendium of trivia: Randall Cobb’s prowess this season against his former NFC North rivals, Jason Witten knocking on the door of the franchise’s touchdown reception record, and a look at the coldest games in team history.
The winner of the NFC East- either Dallas or Philadelphia- will host a playoff game at their home stadium. Either San Francisco or Seattle will come in to that matchup with a much better regular season record, but as the runner-up in their division. That means they’ll be the visitors, with the lesser-performing team getting home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs. It’s happened before. And now that’s it’s happening again, it’s sparking discussion about whether that’s right.
As Mike Florio suggests, “Maybe the rule should be that the division winner has to have a winning record to host a wild-card game. Maybe the division winner should be required to generate a record of 10-6 or better. Whatever the formula, the current one is grossly unfair.”
Take note: If the existing seeding system benefits Jerry Jones and the Cowboys and helps them beat a seemingly-superior team and advance in postseason play, it just may be enough for another of the NFL owners to propose an official change during the league meetings in March.
For the fourth year in a row, NFL players will showcase their personal causes in the My Cause My Cleats campaign. More than 900 players will wear custom-made cleats with artwork highlighting the charities and initiatives they support off the field.
“For me to sport these cleats, it’s a big blessing and an honor.”
Watch as #DallasCowboys players unbox & react to their custom cleats for the @NFL’s #MyCauseMyCleats initiative which they'll be wearing Week 14, showcasing causes close to their hearts. pic.twitter.com/CfWzYE33Ug
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 3, 2019
From children’s hospitals and anti-bullying programs to cancer research and youth services, the Cowboys’ cleats will give attention to a long list of worthy causes when the players hit the field in their artsy footwear prior to Thursday night’s game in Chicago.
The Cowboys ran the ball well against Buffalo, but didn’t stick with it. Kellen Moore’s play-calling got completely one dimensional.
The Dallas Cowboys suffered a demoralizing loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 13. They fell to 6-6, but they still remain one game ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East.
Dallas offensive coordinator Kellen Moore called a balanced game for the first half. On the Cowboys’ first possession of the the third quarter, trailing by a mere nine points (16-7), and knowing that running back Ezekiel Elliot had averaged over five yards a carry in the first half, Moore’s play-calling became almost one dimensional. When that drive failed to produce any points and the Bills went up 23-7, Moore resorted to calling endless passes from the shotgun.
This weekly look at the play calling began as a simple question: would the new “offensive mind” hired by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones be less predictable than the previous coordinator, Scott Linehan.
Linehan was predictable in the most basic of ways. He called running plays more than 80% of the time that quarterback Dak Prescott took the snap from under center, and he called passing plays on more than 80% of the snaps that Prescott was in the shotgun.
This is an ongoing attempt to assess whether Moore is less predictable than Linehan in terms of the above mentioned concepts.
You can read the stats and analysis from previous games here.
Dallas ran 75 offensive plays against the Bills with Prescott taking 21 snaps from under center and 54 in the shotgun.
Moore called 16 running plays, 50 pass attempts, and nine passes off play-action.
Dallas ran 43 plays in the first half. Prescott was under center for 17 of those plays.
Of the 17 snaps from under center in the first half:
Prescott was in the shotgun for 26 plays in the first half.
Of the 26 snaps from the shotgun:
Moore called 14 runs, 22 pass attempts, and seven pass attempts off play-action.
A few things stand out about the first half.
Like last week, Moore was balanced in the first half. Only 60% of the plays came from the shotgun.
The Cowboys had success running the ball in the first half. They gained 72 yards on the ground; running back Ezekiel Elliott averaged over five yards a carry.
Analyst Tony Romo commented in the first quarter, at about 6:00, after a nice run by Elliott, “That’s how you beat the best defenses… I still believe that they need to go through Elliott.”
Like the last few weeks, Moore has gone back to calling a lot of passes off play-action. In the first half, seven of the 29 pass attempts came off play-action (24%).
Dallas ran 32 offensive plays in the second half.
Prescott was under center for just four of those snaps.
Of the four snaps taken from under center:
Of the 28 snaps taken in the shotgun in the second half:
Dallas was the opposite of balanced in the second half. The surprising thing was how quickly Moore was willing to give up on the running game.
When Dallas took possession of the ball for the first time in the second half, they were trailing 16-7.
On the first play of their first possession in the second half, Elliott ripped off a 12-yard run. That play caused Tony Romo to remark, “This needs to be where they go right now.”
The Cowboys ran the ball well in the first half. Moore called just one more rushing play the entire game.
That first drive of the second half ended with a missed field goal attempt by Dallas kicker Brett Maher.
After the missed field goal, Moore would go on to call 27 consecutive pass attempts from the shotgun. Linehan was never that one dimensional.
Moore called 75 offensive plays in Week 13. The only time Moore has called more plays in a game this season was the 82 against the New York Jets.
Moore called 16 running plays:
Moore called 59 pass attempts:
Moore appears to be floundering. as the Cowboys’ offense doesn’t have an identity or a winning formula.
The Cowboys were running the ball well; they were averaging more than five yards a carry, then Tony Romo said, for the second time, that the Cowboys needed to feed the ball to their running back, Ezekiel Elliott. After one more rushing attempt on that drive, Moore proceeded to call 27 passes from the shotgun.
Much to the chagrin of many, this was yet another game with no designed runs for Prescott. It is disappointing that Moore has not scripted a few runs for Prescott in every game.
Everyone is calling for coaching changes in Dallas. The staff has a few weeks to ‘right the ship’ before the playoffs. If they fail to get this team ready to win in the playoffs, there could be big changes this offseason.
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Let’s take a look at how USC fans reacted to their athletic director on twitter after news came down that Clay Helton was being kept as head football coach.
Last night we got word late from Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports/The Athletic that USC appeared to be keeping head coach Clay Helton.
Helton started strong with the Trojans, winning 27 of his first 37 contests.
He’s however fallen on hard-times, winning just 13 of his last 24 and entered this season very much on the hot seat after failing to go to a bowl game a season ago.
Official word did come down Wednesday afternoon that USC wasn’t in fact making a head coaching change at all and instead, Helton would remain in charge.
As you can probably guess, plenty of USC faithful were none too pleased.
Here’s what new USC Athletic Director Mike Bohn tweeted Wednesday afternoon. Take a look and then we’ll check in on his mentions and see how USC fans are handling the news.
I am pleased to let you know Coach Helton will continue to be our head coach.
His commitment to our student-athletes and to leading with integrity is vital to restoring our championship program, which is the goal for all of our teams.
— Mike Bohn (@USC_mikebohn) December 4, 2019
This should go over well – let’s check it out…
Previewing Friday’s Pac-12 Championship Game between the Oregon Ducks and Utah Utes, with NCAA football betting odds, picks and best bets
The Oregon Ducks (10-2, 8-1 Pac-12 North) and Utah Utes (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12 South) will battle Friday to determine who will be the conference champion. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
We analyze the Oregon-Utah odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.
1. The only conference loss by either team is an opponent the other defeated handily. Utah lost to USC 30-23, while Oregon beat the Trojans 56-24 several weeks later. The Ducks lost 31-28 to Arizona State Nov. 23, while the Utes beat the Sun Devils 21-3 in mid-October.
2. Utah and Oregon have the two best defenses in the Pac-12. Utah allows only 11.3 points per game; Oregon yields 15.3 points per game.
3. Utah leads the conference with 214.6 rushing yards per game, while Oregon is second with 178.6 rushing yards per game. The Utes also lead the league in rushing yards allowed, holding opponents to 56.3 YPG. That’s nearly half of what the Ducks surrender (106.1 YPG), which ranks second in the Pac-12.
Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM!
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 1:30 a.m. ET.
Utah 24, Oregon 20
This is a rare case in which betting the underdog makes sense even when it’s no guarantee it will win. The Utes are a heavy favorite at -250, while the DUCKS’ +200 will double your investment if they win outright. This game will be close enough that taking Oregon on the moneyline is worth the risk.
New to sports betting? Every $1 wagered on Oregon would profit $2 if the Ducks prevail. A $10 winning wager on the Ducks returns a $20 profit.
Utah is heavily favored at -6.5 (-110). Both teams are led by senior quarterbacks with the Ducks ranking second in the Pac-12 in points per game (35.8), just ahead of the Utes (35.6 PPG).
Utah is 9-3 against the spread, while Oregon is 6-6.
That would suggest Utah is the better bet, but this will be tightly contested and come down to the wire. Take the underdog DUCKS +6.5 (-110).
The total is set at 46.5 points. With two great defenses that stop the run and cause turnovers, don’t expect a lot of points. Utah is 3-8-1 O/U on the season, while Oregon is 5-7.
What does that mean? This is easy. Take the UNDER (-121).
Get some action on this game or others, place a bet with BetMGM today. And for more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.
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We have launched a forum for exactly that and it costs you nothing to be a contributing part of the message board.
Hey you.
Yeah, you.
Have you been looking for somewhere other than Facebook or Twitter to share your thoughts about your favorite college sports team?
Good news.
We have launched a forum for exactly that and it costs you nothing to be a contributing part of the message board.
Mad about last night’s game?
Have a best guess on who the bowl opponent will be?
Or do you need to vent because your favorite player isn’t getting the respect they deserve nationally?
Now you’ve got a community to share all of your thoughts on all things Notre Dame athletics.
Simply go to our Fighting Irish Forum, create an entirely free account and start posting your thoughts immediately. It’s as easy as that!
We hope to see you and your thoughts over there soon.
Thanks and Go Irish!
Finally the biggest draw in the Big XII comes up on our breakdown. Is Texas back?
In one of the worst kept secrets in college football at this point, we sit and wait to act surprised when on Sunday we will all officially find out that No. 15 Notre Dame will be headed to play a Big XII opponent in the 2019 Camping World Bowl.
That means a trip to Orlando but who the Irish play in the game is still very much up in the air for multiple different reasons.
For one – Oklahoma and Baylor both right now sit at six and seven in the College Football Playoff rankings respectively, with both still being very much alive for a potential New Year’s Six Bowl game berth if they are to fall in Saturday’s conference championship.
🚨 FINAL BOWL PROJECTIONS OF THE SEASON 🚨 pic.twitter.com/MSoZHAtzrE
— Camping World Bowl (@CWBowl) December 4, 2019
That’s important because it would change the Alamo automatically getting whoever loses and instead, give the bowl the chance to pick which of the 5-4 Big XII teams it would like, as Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Texas all finished in a tie for third place after all going 5-4 in conference play.
It got me wondering though – who should Notre Dame fans be rooting for to play?
I get that some Irish fans will have a family or friend that is connected to one of the schools that will make that their obvious choice, but for everyone who doesn’t, what are you rooting for to happen?
A quick look at the potential match-ups, one at a time.
Kansas State
