10 ultimate bachelor party destinations

These are the world’s top 10 destinations for a bachelor party, according to a stag do index created by Grosvenor. The study ranked cities based on number of bars, English proficiency, cost of a pint, food costs, and more. 1. London 2. Prague 3. Budapest 4. Madrid 5. Las Vegas 6. Barcelona 7. Moscow 8. Krakow 9. Sofia 10. Cancun

These are the world’s top 10 destinations for a bachelor party, according to a stag do index created by Grosvenor. The study ranked cities based on number of bars, English proficiency, cost of a pint, food costs, and more. 1. London 2. Prague 3. Budapest 4. Madrid 5. Las Vegas 6. Barcelona 7. Moscow 8. Krakow 9. Sofia 10. Cancun

Is Steelers HC Mike Tomlin a favorite for coach of the year?

Mike Tomlin has done a masterful job of coaching this season.

The most polarizing figure in Pittsburgh sports might just be Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. It seems the media and fans display very little middle ground when it comes to the head coach in his 13th season with the Steelers. For many, Tomlin is the perfect fit for what it means to be a Steeler head coach and his consistency is what keeps fans and media endeared to him.

But on the other side, you have those who view the near-decade absence from a Super Bowl championship and a perceived lack of institutional control as his biggest flaws and the reason the Steelers need to move on from Tomlin.

However this season, it is hard to argue with the job Tomlin has done with this team. Few teams could absorb the loss of its best wide receiver and a franchise quarterback in the same offseason along with the litany of other injuries along with the starting lineup and rally a team to four straight wins and having a team once 1-4 in the playoff hunt.

If the Steelers continue on this path and can find their way to the playoffs after a start that mathematically was the longest of longshots, he will be a strong candidate for coach of the year. This would be a bitter pill for many of his critics to swallow but from an objective standpoint, you cannot undersell the coaching job Tomlin has done this season.

[vertical-gallery id=453999]

[lawrence-related id=454232]

NFC playoff picture: Where the Eagles stand after Cowboys loss on Sunday night

NFC Playoff picture and where the Eagles stand after Cowboys loss

[jwplayer YHRlNYBP]

The Philadelphia Eagles have finished up a much-needed bye week as the team sits at 5-4, with the New England Patriots visiting the Linc this week.

[lawrence-related id=625787,625782,625774]

Things seemed cloudy on Sunday with the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Green Bay Packers all playing so well. It was assumed that the NFC East might only get one team into the playoffs with Philadelphia or Dallas representing the division in the postseason.

After Sunday’s wild and crazy action, culminating with the Cowboys’ huge loss at home to the Vikings, the NFC is now wide open.

Here are your current NFC standings:

National Football Conference

San Francisco 49ers 8-0
Green Bay Packers 8-2
New Orleans Saints 8-2
Seattle Seahawks 7-2
Minnesota Vikings 7-3
Dallas Cowboys 5-4
LA Rams 5-4
Philadelphia Eagles 5-4
Carolina Panthers 5-4
Chicago Bears 4-5
Detroit Lions 3-5-1

Even with the Eagles Week 10 bye,  six of the eight teams currently ahead of them in the playoff picture all did battle with one another on Sunday, with the Panthers losing to the Packers, the Cowboys losing to the Vikings at home, and the 49ers hosting the Seahawks on Monday Night Football.

The Eagles will host the Patriots this week and Seahawks and the Seahawks next Sunday, before playing four of their remaining five games against teams that are a combined 4-22. After the two home matchups, the Eagles will travel to Miami to face the Dolphins, then they’ll host the Giants, travel to Washington, host Dallas and then finish the regular season on the road at MetLife Stadium against the Giants.

After the crushing loss to the Vikings, Dallas will face the Lions, Patriots, Bills, Eagles, and Rams over the next five weeks in a scenario that will make the Week 16 showdown in Philadelphia for the NFC East title.

Kirk Herbstreit now puts LSU over Ohio State in his weekly rankings

Kirk Herbstreit puts out a weekly opinion of the top teams in college football. This week, he’s elevated LSU over Ohio State as No. 1.

It’s amazing what a win over Alabama will do. Heck, even a close loss against the Tide seems to get you credit these days (right 2018 Georgia).

Count Kirk Herbstreit among the believers now in LSU football. After the Tigers went to Bryant Denny Stadium and knocked off undefeated Alabama, he’s now leap-frogged LSU over his Alma-Mater for the top team in college football.

He still has Ohio State No. 2 after it put 73 points on the board without Chase Young, but its clear he and the rest of the college football media universe is now elevating the Bayou Tigers to the top spot based on the number of resume boosting wins it has in pocket now.

That’s despite all the metrics still believing the Buckeyes are far and away the best team in the country this year to date.

Here’s a look at Herbstreit’s top six. After LSU and Ohio State, he has Clemson at No. 3, and Georgia back in the mix at No. 4. Just outside of the coveted (albeit unofficial opinion based) top four spots are Alabama and undefeated Minnesota.

[lawrence-related id=16033]

[lawrence-related id=16099]

It might be disappointing for some Buckeye fans to see one of their own drop Ohio State after it looked absolutely dominant against Maryland. But it’s hard to argue with the wins LSU has strung together this year.

Never fret, it’ll all sort itself out in the upcoming weeks, and clearly if Ohio State keeps winning, it’ll be a part of all the fun in the end and still has a great shot at the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

[lawrence-related id=16067]

Running the numbers on a last-minute Presidents Cup trip

It’s not too late to book your ticket to see the Presidents Cup live at Royal Melbourne next month. We give you an idea of the cost.

[jwplayer EC8lHskP-9JtFt04J]

When the Presidents Cup captain’s picks were revealed last week, for both sides, the biennial team competition suddenly got a lot more interesting. No one ups the ante in professional golf quite like Tiger Woods (unless it’s Patrick Reed in a team room, and we got that too).

It’s possible that, given the way the teams have filled out, there’s a fan or two out there having second thoughts about watching the Presidents Cup in person – despite the fact that it’s on the other side of the world. The good news is, tickets are still on sale for the Dec. 12-15 event at Royal Melbourne in Australia.

A one-day, general-admission ticket for an adult runs $50 for early week but climbs to $155 by the time the weekend rolls around. That’s just the tip of the iceberg on a bucket-list trip that should obviously morph way past the Presidents Cup (are you a golf fan or aren’t you?).

Given the fact that attending isn’t out of the realm of possibility just yet, we decided to run the numbers.

Take these details into account before you decide that it’s totally out of the question to get yourself to Melbourne.

Back to tickets

Package options make much more financial sense than buying day-by-day, and in some cases can get you better access (depending on what you’re willing to shell out). Options include a week-long grounds ticket, which will get you through the gates from Tuesday to Sunday for $530.

A four-day grandstand ticket – which, by the way, means you’ll have a reserved seat – on the 16th green costs $815. If you’re really looking to splurge, spots are still available in the International Club, a lounge area that overlooks the 10th fairway and practice chipping green and comes with unlimited food and drink. A four-day pass checks in at $2,651.

Don’t forget parking

Be warned that they drive on the left side of the road in Australia. That said, it might be worth looking into public transit. If you plan to drive yourself to the matches each day, however, you’ll need a parking pass to get in the gates. Those run consistently at $20 per day throughout the week.

Getting there

Getting to Australia will be neither an easy trip nor a short one. It won’t be a cheap one either, especially on a month’s notice. If you’re headed to Melbourne from Los Angeles at the start of Presidents Cup week (say, Monday Dec. 9), and plan to stay a full week, you’re facing a roughly $1,000 plane ticket – and at least an 18-hour travel day.

Traveling from the East Coast? Let’s say you plan to leave from LaGuardia in New York City on the same date. Add another $150 or so to your ticket, along with at least eight more hours of travel.

Bunking options in Melbourne

A week’s lodging within 10 miles of Royal Melbourne can be had for $500-700, depending on the venue.

Paperwork

A U.S. passport holder also will need an Electronic Travel Authority – or an ETA – to enter Australia for a trip shorter than 90 days. As the name implies, an ETA is electronically linked to your passport, costs $20. You can purchase one relatively easily online.

Unscientific grand total

After a quick run through the basics, you can count on shelling out at least $2,250, depending on the access level you choose once at Royal Melbourne and your geographic location back home in the U.S.

And now for the fun part

This goes back to your level of enthusiasm for the game. You’ll be taking in competition between some of the world’s great players, but don’t overlook the fact that you’ll be strolling along one of the world’s best courses in a renowned region for golf: the Sandbelt.

Royal Melbourne is one of the most famous Sandbelt courses, but Kingston Heath Golf Club, Victoria Golf Club and Metropolitan Golf Club are nearly as iconic. Local knowledge is key where big-budget trips such as this are concerned, so we asked a few experts to tell us where they’d be entertaining friends in the Sandbelt (outside the three courses already mentioned).

Woodlands Golf Club came up frequently, with its “tight fairways and small, hard greens.” So did Spring Valley, a course designed by Vern Morcom, the greenkeeper who built all the Alister MacKenzie work at Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath. One Kingston Heath regular called it a “hidden jewel” – a great design that’s always in great shape.

Looking for something that compares to Royal Melbourne? Take it from a Royal Melbourne member and try Peninsula Kingswood, which has recently undergone renovations. Yarra Yarra and Commonwealth are also on the list of courses that give the visitor a full Sandbelt experience.

[opinary poll=”how-much-should-professional-golfers-kno” customer=”golfweek”]

[lawrence-related id=778010922,778010581,778010563,778010440]

Tom Brady says he’s not over Super Bowl LII: ‘A lot of mental scar tissue’

“That was a tough game.” -Tom Brady

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is hung up on the one he didn’t win. Yes, Brady has won three Super Bowls in the last four years. He also won Super Bowl LIII after losing Super Bowl LII. But that didn’t seem to soften the blow of the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Minnesota.

“You assume I’m over it? Come on now,” Brady said on WEEI’s “Greg Hill Show” on Monday. “That’s a lot of mental scar tissue from that year. That was a tough game.”

The game essentially ended when Brady fumbled on a sack in the fourth quarter. New England had the opportunity for a fourth-quarter comeback drive after trading touchdowns with the explosive Eagles offense for most of the game. But Brandon Graham forced a fumble, which allowed Philly to put their lead out of reach.

“In a lot of ways we learned from that year and we came back stronger the next year,” Brady said. “We won the Super Bowl in ’18. I think everything is a matter of perspective, and when you play in that game and you play great teams, you’re not going to win them all. This is not the Harlem Globetrotters versus the Washington Generals. This is all about tough competition against the best teams. They deserved it that year, and now a couple years later we get a chance to play the organization again. We’ve had a lot changes, they’ve had a lot of changes. It’s totally different circumstances. Huge game for us. Big game for them. The better team is going to win.”

Brady and the Patriots are coming off a bye in Week 10. They had a long weekend off and will resume work on Monday in preparation for the Eagles in Week 11. There might be an extra level of focus after New England lost 37-20 in Week 9 against the Ravens in Baltimore.

“Hopefully everyone got a chance to decompress a little bit mentally, physically, and now we’ve got to get ready for a great week of preparation and then get ready to go in the there and play our best game of the season on the road, in a really tough environment,” Brady said. “It should be a great Sunday afternoon for football.”

[vertical-gallery id=73519]

Even in defeat, Dak Prescott proved he is an elite NFL quarterback

He’s not the best QB in the league, but no players gives you more options.

Cowboys fans did not wake up Monday morning feeling very good about their football team after a frustrating 28-24 loss to the Vikings on Sunday night. But the knowledge that they have one of the very best quarterbacks in the NFL should help soothe that pain.

Even with Cowboys coaches doing everything in their power to blow the game, Dak Prescott was the story of the night. At least he should be. His numbers weren’t overly impressive: He completed 28-of-46 passes (60.9%) for 347 yards, three touchdowns and one pick. On a day where Lamar Jackson put up a perfect passer rating and took a Bengals player’s soul right on the field in a blowout win, what Prescott did might go under-appreciated by the media. That should not be the case. For me, it was the night Dak established himself as one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks.

It was as complete a performance as I’ve seen from a quarterback since … well, maybe ever. There were highlight-reel throws downfield, shrewd pre-snap checks and protection changes, plays that required Prescott to exhaust his progressions while avoiding hits in the pocket and plenty examples of his ability to create outside of structure when a play breaks down. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say there are only two or three quarterbacks in the league capable of putting together such a comprehensive display of quarterbacking. It was an elite performance, which should not come as a shock since Prescott has been playing at an elite level all season — and for the majority of his short career.

That may sound reactionary, but Prescott has now played about three-and-a-half seasons in the NFL. He was an MVP candidate after an amazing rookie campaign. Things didn’t change over the first half of his sophomore season until his supporting cast was hit hard by injuries and a suspension to Ezekiel Elliott. Prescott was still playing well but his production had fallen off and that continued on into the 2018 season until the Amari Cooper trade reinvigorated the Cowboys offense. Since that move, Dallas has gotten MVP-level production from its quarterback.

So were talking about a 40-game sample size of Dak playing like an elite quarterback, including this entire season where he’s led the Cowboys to the league’s best offense, per Football Outsiders DVOA. He’s also leading the league in Ben Baldwin’s DAKOTA metric, which combines Expected Points Added and Completion Percentage over Expectation into one composite stat. He trails Russell Wilson in ESPN’s QBR by 0.1 points — and there’s a decent chance he ends the week on top with the Seahawks taking on one the league’s best pass defenses, the 49ers, on Monday night.

Prescott’s name is being left out of the MVP discussion because we’re still fixated on QB WINZ in 2019 and the Cowboys are sitting at 5-4 after the loss to Minnesota. It doesn’t help that there are still people out there who believe Ezekiel Elliott is the most important player on the offense and that the offensive line is still the dominant unit we last saw in 2016.

Last night’s performance should have convinced most people that none of those factors can reasonably be used to argue that Dak isn’t worthy of consideration for the MVP award. Let’s address them one-by-one…

  1. Prescott’s QBR for the night was 85.0. ESPN’s stat is designed to give you a rough estimate of how often you can expect a team to win based on the quarterback’s performance. So Prescott’s performance was good enough to win 85% of games. The loss — like most of Dallas’ losses this season — was not on him.
  2. This may have been Elliott’s worst game of the season. On 20 plays, Elliott produced an average EPA of -0.36. That means the Cowboys lost about 7.2 points on his touches alone. In a game decided by four points, that was the difference. Meanwhile, Prescott’s 48 plays added 27.36 points on Sunday night. The Cowboys scored 24 points.
  3. Prescott finished the night with the highest average time to throw of Week 10, per Next Gen Stats. The offensive line did its part, sure, but the quarterback did a lot of the work. Prescott was tinkering with the protections all night and navigated the pocket to avoid pressure. He bought himself all that time and capitalized on it when it was available. That’s a big accomplishment against a Mike Zimmer-coached defense.

Prescott was brilliant all night but two throws stood out to me above the rest. Both were gorgeous dimes that would have dropped jaws on their own, but it was the process leading up to the throws that were most impressive. The first was Dak’s fadeaway touchdown pass to Randall Cobb on a free play.

The throw is fit into the tightest of windows. That’s not an exaggeration. It was literally the tightest window we’ve seen on a touchdown pass all season.

But that play doesn’t happen if Prescott doesn’t call an audible before the ball is snapped. The Vikings are sending a six-man pressure, and Dak checks into the perfect play to beat it. I mean, this play has all of the characteristics of the ones we typically see from Canton-bound quarterbacks. You have the Manning-style change at the line of scrimmage. The Rodgers-esque awareness after the Vikings player jumps offsides. And then Brees-level precision on the throw. That is elite quarterback play.

That wasn’t even my favorite Dak play of the night. That distinction goes to this impossible throw to Cooper on third-and-12.

The Cowboys line holds up against the Vikings rush but, like Tom Brady, Prescott has to climb the pocket while looking for an open receiver. Cooper, who is tightly guarded, will have to do and Prescott lofts a perfectly-placed pass to his receiver for a first down. I still can’t believe he made that throw.

Prescott has been putting this high-level play on film all season and, yet, he still isn’t getting enough credit for developing into a complete quarterback. He’s not the best quarterback in the league, but I don’t know if there’s another one who opens up a playbook quite like he does. Prescott is accurate, poised in the pocket and comfortable outside of it, he’s got a strong arm that allows him to make any throw and he has total command of the Cowboys offense — before and after the snap. The Cowboys have never fully committed to it, but Prescott is also a factor in the run game when used on option plays.

There’s nothing you CAN’T do with Prescott behind center.

For whatever reason, the Cowboys have let him get to this deep into the final year of his rookie contract. That’s looking like a bigger and more costly mistake by the week. Many people — including myself — scoffed at Prescott’s reported contract demands of around $30 million a season. Now he’s the one doing the scoffing because that price just keeps going up, and Cowboys fans should be happy when Jerry Jones finally decides to pay it. There’s no such thing as overpaying for an elite quarterback.

[vertical-gallery id=860435]

[lawrence-related id=869102,869063,868050]

Greece coach Rick Pitino says he is …

Greece coach Rick Pitino says he is planning on trying to qualify for the 2020 Olympics without Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Pitino officially took over as coach of the Greek national basketball team on Monday. He said he would leave a roster place open for Antetokounmpo in qualifying games but is not sure if he will be able to rely on his best player.