‘The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2’ power rankings after ep. 12

A devious plan backfired badly.

When we last left MTV’s reality competition show The Challenge, rookie Turbo ended up winning $1 million after a brutal final.

This season? It’s the sequel: War of the Worlds 2, which pits a British team against a squad from the United States, although there are some twists that involve some “free agents” joining both sides.

As always, we task our resident Challenge expert Charles Curtis to power rank each of the competitors after each week. Here’s his take after the 12th episode.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

This week: The British team attempts to force one of their own players out by throwing a challenge … and the whole thing backfires spectacularly.

1. PAULIE

2. CARA MARIA

They thought they would see Tori — the turncoat who instantly became one of the British side’s stronger players — go … but nope! Also, Cara Maria scoffing at the Tori and Jordan engagement, thinking it was a set-up? That was … something. Whatever, she and her boyfriend are fully in control, nothing to worry about here.

3. TORI

WHOA. A Hall Brawl elimination at the Proving Grounds was somewhat stacked against her with the larger, more muscular Jenny as her opponent. But then she trucked Jenny and won easily. Super impressive.

4. JORDAN

I’m not sure he and Tori will be able to get this depleted British team through the final with some of the players remaining. We’ll see.

5. JOSS

One of the leaders on the British side and one of their best athletes, too. That’s all I’ve got for him this week.

6. KAM

An up and down week for her as she and Nany butted heads over Leroy, but I have to give her credit for going to Leroy and burying the hatchet. She knows he’s got her back, and he’s going to do his best to protect his longtime friend Nany from any future eliminations.

7. CT

It was on him to throw a challenge and he handled it like the vet he is — saying, “It is what it is.” Like he said, he’s chosen one side over another late in the game, and it’s probably what will propel him to a final.

8. ROGAN

Yeah, he probably deserves to be higher, but man, did he mess this week up or what? First, he tried to pull off a deceptive move to deliberately lose a challenge in order to get his girlfriend Dee thrown into elimination WITHOUT him or his alliance having to do it themselves. Then when she finds out about the plan, he has a change of heart and his team loses one of its best players. C’mon man.

9. ASHLEY

Kudos to her for walking out to a crying Dee and for giving her words of encouragement.

10. LEROY

I think this episode cements he’s not going anywhere. We’re also reminded he’s never won a title in his 11 (!) seasons. Get this man a victory already!

11. DEE

I hope she gets all the way to the final and outruns Rogan in whatever marathon run they’re asked to do.

12. NANY

I worry she’s got a target because of members of her own team, but hopefully Leroy can make sure she sticks.

13. ZACH

What else can we say except he’s still here and still valuable?

14. NINJA NATALIE

Not much to mention, but she was there for her friend Dee in that crazy moment. That was lovely.

15. JOSH

Seems safe … until there’s another men’s elimination.

16. KAYLEIGH

Amazing how she’s survived this wild and crazy game this season, right?

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Austin Rivers begged the refs to call a T on his dad and loved it when they did

What a father/son moment in Houston!

Well, this was awkward. And also highly amusing.

Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers was throwing a fit in the final minutes of his team’s loss to the Rockets on Wednesday night when his son, Houston guard Austin Rivers, stepped in and begged the refs to call a technical on his dad.

Now that is just cold.

But then refs did just that and ejected Doc Rivers from the game, which Austin Rivers, who was traded from the Clippers by his dad during the offseason, seemed to really love it.

Check out this special moment between a father and his son:

Austin Rivers then said after that it made his night:

And he acknowledged that the holidays might be a little rough:

This league!

Twitter loved it:

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3 things to know for Jaguars vs. Colts

Two starting quarterbacks return to the lineup in a heated AFC South battle. Here are three things to know before kickoff on Sunday.

This Sunday, the Jacksonville Jaguars travel to Indianapolis to face off against the Colts in a heated, critical AFC South match-up. Both teams are hoping to make late-season pushes for the playoffs and remain in the hunt for a wild-card spot. Here are three things to know before kickoff on Sunday:

Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

Healthy Quarterbacks

Both the Jaguars and Colts have been without their starting quarterbacks for some time after injuries sidelined the two, however, for Week 11, both Nick Foles and Jacoby Brissett are set to suit up. For Foles, this will be the first time since the first quarter of Week 1 that the high price free-agent acquisition will get to play.

The Jaguars benched the fan-favorite, Gardner Minshew, in favor of consistency and experience in hopes to spark a late season playoff run. The AFC wild-card race is very much wide open and Doug Marrone and his staff thought Foles gave the team the best chance to take advantage of the weaker AFC. This should be the first time Jags’ fans finally get to see what kind of player Foles really is.

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Game Day Grades – Wisconsin vs. McNeese State

Grading the Wisconsin Badgers basketball performance against McNeese State.

Offense: B

Wisconsin’s offense in the second half was much improved compared to the first half. For starters, Wisconsin shot 60.7 percent (17-for-28) from the field over the final 20 minutes compared to shooting 44.4 percent (12-for-27) in the first half.

The Badgers were able to generate looks for themselves in the first half that simply didn’t fall, compared to the second half. The one constant, though, was the Badgers were able to consistently set their shots up by registering an assist as Wisconsin registered 19 assists on their 29 made field goals.

Eight different players for Wisconsin registered an assist and seven of the eight registered at least two. Trevor Anderson led the way with four assists off the bench as he played 13 minutes.

Wisconsin did well at generating points in the paint in the second half as 16 of Wisconsin’s 30 points in the paint came in the second half. Although Wisconsin finished the game with 30 points down low, the Badgers were able to do most of that damage without Nate Reuvers. Reuvers dealt with foul trouble throughout the game as he finished with four fouls in 21 minutes on the court.

Reuvers still finished the game with 10 points as he was one of four Badgers to reach double figures. Brad Davison led the way with 24 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field, Aleem Ford finished with 16 points, and Brevin Pritzl had 13 points.

Defense: B

Wisconsin’s defense in the first half against McNeese State wasn’t very good, as the Badgers allowed the Cowboys to shoot 45.5 percent (10-for-22) from the field.

In particular, Wisconsin’s defense didn’t have an answer for Sha’Markus Kennedy, as the Badgers allowed him to score 18 points in the first half alone. But the Badgers defense was able to tighten in the second half defending him as he only scored two points on 1-for-2 shooting from the field in the second half.

With Wisconsin limiting Kennedy in the second half and making sure he couldn’t gain the same kind of comfort, he was forced to try and set up one of his teammates on offense. Kennedy finished the game with three assists all coming in the second half as he was one of three players for McNeese State to finish the game with three assists.

A.J. Lawson was the only other player for McNeese State to finish the game in double figures with 10 as the Cowboys finished the game 21-for-45 (46.7 percent) from the field.

Although Lawson did reach double figures he did struggle taking care of the basketball as he finished with six of the Cowboys 18 turnovers. With Wisconsin creating such a high amount of turnovers against McNeese State the Badgers did an excellent job of capitalizing their mistakes into 30 points.

Wisconsin was able to register 10 of McNeese State’s 18 turnovers off of steals.

Overall: B

Wisconsin didn’t play a great first half as the Badgers were only up by three at halftime. Wisconsin was able to get on track and officially put the game away in the second half when the Badgers went 13-for-15 from the field over the first 10 minutes of the second half including making 10 straight field goals over that stretch to put the Badgers up 71-to-52.

During Wisconsin’s hot streak a number of players contributed as Ford scored 10 points, Pritzl had seven points, Davison registered six points, and D’Mitrik Trice chipped in with two points.

In the stretch where Wisconsin made 10 straight of their shot attempts it also included the Badgers knocking down all four of their 3-point attempts. It was good for Wisconsin to finally see the three falls for them considering their struggles from the perimeter to begin the season. The struggles from the perimeter continued in the first half as Wisconsin went 3-for-13 but in the second half, it seemed like they couldn’t miss as they went 7-for-15.

Five different players for Wisconsin made at least one three and four of the five made at least two of their 3-point attempts. Walt McGrory was one of the five players to make a three as he finished the game with a career high nine points. McGrory was able to provide a spark for Wisconsin off the bench in the first half as he finished the game with two rebounds, two assists to one turnover in 24 minutes on the floor.

Wahl played a bench high 26 minutes and in his time on the floor, he was productive on both ends. Wahl finished the game with three points on 1-for-2 shooting from the field but he also registered three rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Game MVP: Brad Davison

Davison certainly had his shot falling as he finished with a season high 24 points on an impressive 7-for-8 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 from 3-point range. In addition, Davison went 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Davison was able to set up his teammates as he finished the game with two assists and registered three rebounds. Not to mention with McNeese State struggling to take care of the basketball it wasn’t surprising to see Davison contributing in creating those extra offensive possessions as he had a team high four steals.

Deshaun Watson, Lamar Jackson more than game-changing QBs

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson aren’t just game-changers in the NFL.

Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Dak Prescott share one similarity. They are franchise quarterbacks for their respective teams.

Each is African American. They are, in 2019, pioneers of their position group, a position group that, historically, has been white.

They are the faces of multi-billion dollar organizations which don’t hope to win, but expect to win.

On Sunday, the NFL will get the joy of seeing two of the aforementioned play: Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson vs. Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson.

Watson and Jackson enter Sunday as bonafide MVP candidates. Watson with his 23 total touchdowns, 6-3 record and 107.1 passer rating; Jackson with his 21 total touchdowns, 7-2 record and 101.7 passer rating.

The two aren’t just talk of B’more and H-town, they are the talk of the nation — in doing so, breaking barriers.

Watson takes pride in that.

“It’s awesome to be a part of it and be one of those guys,” said Watson on Wednesday. “It’s something that we take pride in and continue to change that narrative and just continue to do it the right way.”

Watson can attest to a specific message: it doesn’t matter what the color of your skin is, if you can play, you can play.

Watson and Jackson can play.

“It really doesn’t matter what race you are, what color you are. If you can go play football, you can play football,” Watson said. “If you’re smart, you’re smart, and if you have the right coaching you can go out there and perform, especially playing quarterback.”

Sunday’s matchup between Watson and Jackson could contain never-ending thrills. Watson shines with his escapability, decisiveness and an ability to make the improbable probable; Jackson dazzles with his electricity, ankle-breaking footwork and his pursuit of greatness.

This anticipated showdown is a reminder of one grand truth: football is for everyone.

Quick hits from Wisconsin’s 83-63 victory over McNeese State

It took a while for the Badgers to hit their stride. But when they did, it was a sight to see on the offensive end.

MADISON- Although it took a while for the Wisconsin Badgers to get going against McNeese State, the home team exploded for 46 points in the second half, and went on cruise control for an 83-63 victory at the Kohl Center to improve to 2-1 on the young season.

Early foul trouble

One major reason for Wisconsin’s early lack of success was some foul trouble to two of the team’s big men, Aleem Ford and Nate Reuvers.

Wisconsin should have been able to use its size to an advantage against a smaller, more guard-oriented team.

But Ford picked up three fouls in the first half, and Big Ten Player of the Week Nate Reuvers got two fouls in each half, so neither player was able to get into a rhythm early on, especially Reuvers coming off such a big week.

In the second half, that was luckily not such a big issue.

Big minutes from walk on

When Wisconsin was struggling early in the game, and even down nearly double digits within the first few minutes, head Coach Greg Gard made an interesting move and gave junior walk-on Walt McGrory his first minutes of the season.

McGrory’s minutes were huge for the Badgers, as Walt scored nine minutes in the first half alone, and more importantly brought a palpable surge of momentum and energy to the squad in a rut.

If he wasn’t the MVP of the entire game, McGrory was certainly a driving force for the Badgers as they turned the game around in the first twenty minutes.

Hot shooting

Wisconsin was double-teamed in the post early in this contest, which created a lot of open shots from the perimeter.

Those shots did not fall in the first half, but they certainly did in the second half, including a stretch where Wisconsin hit 10 shots in a row.

One of the most ridiculous stretches came as part of a 13-3 run, which included back-to-back-to-back threes from Brad Davison, D’Mitrik Trice and Brevin Pritzl.

Wisconsin ended up shooting 61% in the second half, but it felt more like 80%, as part of an impressive run to seal the win for the Badgers at home.

 

Northwestern vs. UMass Fearless Prediction, Game Preview

Northwestern vs. UMass fearless prediction and game preview.

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Northwestern vs. UMass fearless prediction and game preview.

Northwestern vs. UMass Broadcast

Date: Saturday, November 16
Game Time: 12:00 ET
Live Stream: fuboTV (click to watch for free)
Venue: Ryan Field, Evanston, IL
Network: BTN

– All of the CFN Fearless Predictions

Northwestern (1-8) vs. UMass (1-9) Game Preview

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Why UMass Will Win

No, really, Northwestern just doesn’t score.

What does the nation’s worst defense desperately need? One of the nation’s worst offenses.

Northwestern has the nation’s second-worst scoring attack – averaging just 11 points per game – has the least-efficient passing game in college football, and makes things a whole lot worse with a whole bunch of turnovers.

Even last week when the offense did move a bit and the running game worked against Purdue, the offense still only managed 22 points. The Wildcats can dink and dunk a little bit, but there’s nothing for the UMass defense to worry about deep.

For all of the problems the Minutemen defense might have, it’s not bad at taking the ball away, coming up with three turnovers in four games, They’re going to need at least three to make this a wee bit interesting, because …

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Why Northwestern Will Win

No, really, UMass has the nation’s worst defense.

This thing is next-level bad, allowing 500 yards or more in every game but the win over an Akron team that’s the worst in college football.

You want to throw the ball? Everyone is able to fire at will for yards in bulk, unless they want to run at will. UMass has allowed 240 rushing yards or more in every game but two, and 300 yards or more in three of the last four games.

Northwestern’s Drake Anderson has been running just well enough to get the ball more, Kyric McGowan tore off 146 yards last week against Purdue as the receiver changed up his roles a little bit, and this week …

Everyone gets to eat.

And …

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What’s Going To Happen

The Northwestern defense will have something to do with this.

The focus will be on an offense that’s done next to nothing all season long, but the D will make this a laugher. The UMass defense will get hit for big, big yards against a team desperate to have a little bit of offensive fun, but the offense will be just as big a problem with no running game whatsoever against the Wildcat defensive front.

Northwestern vs. UMass Prediction, Line

Northwestern 52, UMass 7
Bet on UMass vs. NU with BetMGM, or for latest line 
Northwestern -40.5, o/u: 56.5
Live Stream: fuboTV (click to watch for free)
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
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Must See Rating: 1.5

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