Giants waive Evan Brown, Corn Elder signed by Panthers

The New York Giants have waived OL Evan Brown and had CB Corn Elder signed off of their practice squad by the Carolina Panthers.

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Less than a week after promoting him to their active roster, the New York Giants waived offensive lineman Evan Brown on Monday evening.

The 23-year-old Brown had been added to the team’s 53-man roster with center Jon Halapio (hamstring) and right tackle Mike Remmers (back) ailing. He logged just a single offensive snap (on a busted PAT) and two special teams snaps in a Week 10 loss to the New York Jets.

It’s likely the Giants sign Brown back to their practice squad if he clears waivers. And somewhat ironically, they now have an open space for him.

In addition to waiving Brown, the Giants announced on Monday that the Carolina Panthers had signed cornerback Corn Eldger to their 53-man roster from Big Blue’s practice squad.

The Giants had added Elder to their practice squad shortly after he was released by the Panthers as a part of final cuts in late August/early September.

The 25-year-old Elder was a fifth-round pick of the Panthers in the 2017 NFL Draft.

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Falcons drop to pick No. 6 in updated 2020 NFL Draft order

The Falcons delivered a satisfying win over the Saints on Sunday after an extremely disappointing first eight weeks of the season. However, fans had already begun to shift their focus to the 2020 NFL Draft.

Atlanta’s Week 10 victory won’t change that, although it was a reminder that this team may not be bad enough to get that top-five pick fans were holding out hope for.

According to Draft Wire’s updated 2020 draft order, the Falcons’ win over New Orleans dropped them to pick No. 6.

That probably won’t be high enough to land someone like Ohio State’s Chase Young, but they could still wind up with a top prospect such as Iowa DE A.J. Epenesa, LB Isaiah Simmons, or one of several defensive backs.

Atlanta faces its second of five straight NFC South matchups this weekend when the team takes on the Carolina Panthers.

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Six months after losing UFC title, Rose Namajunas gives update on fighting future

Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas says her head is back in the right place for her fighting career.

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] isn’t done yet.

A former UFC strawweight champion, Namajunas (8-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) said she has regained her passion for fighting and won’t retire, according to a recent interview with ESPN.

An emotional Namajunas detailed her motivational struggles before, during, and after her championship loss to Jessica Andrade seven months ago at UFC 237. The turning point came when she visited former coach Greg Nelson in Minnesota.

“I’ll fight again,” Namajunas said. “And you know it’s kind of one of those things where you get a little emotional. But it’s like I lost the passion for martial arts and fighting – mainly for fighting. I found my passion again.

“I went back to Minnesota to see one of my former coaches from earlier on in my amateur career, Greg Nelson. He’s just like a huge inspiration for me.”

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As champion, Namajunas said, her career became everything she had hoped it wouldn’t. The pressure of being a champion weighed heavily and the enjoyment dwindled. Over the past few months, Namajunas has realized she doesn’t need a belt to feel comfortable.

“I made it into everything I didn’t want it to be,” Namajunas said. “I didn’t want the belt to define me and all I did was make it define me. That was all that was on my mind every day. Even though it was not even in my own house. It just consumed my every thought. It turned into a shackle and chain rather than just loving fighting.

“Do I want to be the best? Of course. But I don’t need a belt to tell me that I’m the best. I already know. It was like, weird. It was all of my fears and all of the things I didn’t want to happen ended up happening by just fearing it so much.”

Namajunas said she currently has a UFC bout offer on the table, but did not to give any details. Uncertain if she’s going to accept it, Namajunas said she’s aiming for a February or March return to the cage.

In Namajunas’ absence, a new 115-pound champion was crowned. In August, Weili Zhang dethroned Andrade with a swift first-round knockout. Namajunas is indifferent about facing the UFC’s first Chinese champion next.

“Weili looked great and I always want to fight the best,” Namajunas said. “Clearly, she is (the best) right now. But you know? I want to test myself against her. But at the same time, whether that be this next fight or get a win under my belt and go after that? I really have no preference at the moment. It doesn’t matter who I fight, but you should always have your eye on being the best.”

Namajunas also commented on how much fighting time she believes she has left. “Thug Rose” said she didn’t want to be held to a timetable, but predicted she has approximately three years left in her competitive MMA career.

“I definitely have always said I don’t really want to fight in my 30’s, so I have three more years on my clock, ” Namajunas said. “But at the same time, I’m not going to say that for sure. But I’d say I’ll have three more years where I’m interested in this.”

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NFL odds: Ravens early favorites over Texans in Week 11

After destroying the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 10, the Ravens open Week 11 as early favorites over the Houston Texans.

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The Baltimore Ravens have been on a roll, winning five straight games to improve to 7-2. They sit atop the AFC North standings and are the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff picture. But they’ll enter the toughest stretch of their schedule, battling against three teams also vying for playoff contention. Yet, with the way they’ve been winning, NFL oddsmakers are feeling pretty confident about another Baltimore victory in Week 11.

According to BetMGM, the Ravens are 4.5-point favorites over the Houston Texans this week.

Baltimore is fresh off perhaps their best win of the season, scoring five touchdowns on offense and another two on defense in a 49-13 rout of the Cincinnati Bengals. After Baltimore dismantled the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks in their previous two games, it seems hard to bet against the surging Ravens right now.

While the Texans sit at 6-3 and feature the No. 4-ranked offense, they haven’t been dominant this season. Houston’s defense has allowed plenty of teams to hang in games, something that could be a real problem against a Baltimore offense that is putting up the second-most yards and the most points in the league. During their five-game winning streak, the Ravens have outscored opponents 165-89 with just one of those games having a margin of victory less than the current spread for Week 11.

The Ravens will also host this game, which carries quite a bit of weight as well. Since the start of the 2016 season, Baltimore is 20-8 at M&T Bank Stadium in spite of going 34-23 in total over that span.

It all equals Houston’s toughest game of the season and a prime bet on the Ravens.

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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Cardinals’ Week 10 defensive snap counts and observations

See how the 85 defensive snaps were divided up against the Bucs.

Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10, the Arizona Cardinals played a whopping 85 defensive snaps. Let’s see how that playing time was divided up and what it means.

Defensive line

Corey Peters, 56; Rodney Gunter, 53; Jonathan Bullard, 43; Zach Kerr, 29; Michael Dogbe, 10

With Clinton McDonald on injured reserve, there was no one left on the bench except for Zach Kerr, who is still hurt. Dogbe played a season-high 10 snaps.

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Cardinals’ Week 10 offensive snap counts and observations

See who played and for how long. Andy Isabella got more playing time.

The Arizona Cardinals played 70 offensive snaps on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Let’s see how the playing time was divided up and what it means.

Quarterback

Kyler Murray, 70

This continues to be good news. Murray has played every offensive snap except for three when he was pulled in the final moments of the loss to the New Orleans Saints.

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Not being a New York Knicks fan is the absolute best, isn’t it?

It has to stink so much to be a Knicks fan.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

I have the same morning routine every morning – I brush my teeth, I tell myself that today is the day I start eating better, and then I thank the powers that be that I’m not a New York Knicks fan.

Because nobody deserves to be one of those.

The Knicks are easily one of the most embarrassing franchises in all of sports. And I’m not just talking about the lack of results they have on the floor… but also how they’re ran, starting and ending with owner James Dolan.

Did you see what happened the other night at Madison Square Garden? Security confronted a fan for chanting “Fire Dolan!” because apparently you’re not allowed to yell out good ideas while at a Knicks game. The fan told TMZ that he chose to leave the stadium and spend his money elsewhere.

When it comes to terrible owners in sports, Dolan is right there shaking hands with Daniel Snyder while looking around and saying “where is everybody else?” The man seems more interested in performing in his folk band – which is just dull poison on your ears – than building a winner in New York.

Just this past summer the Knicks thought they’d get big free agents to join the team because of the building in which they play their home games. Like guys were gonna do whatever it took to play at the “Mecca of Basketball,” which once you’re inside MSG these days it feels like every other vanilla stadium thanks to some renovations that took all the life out of the place.

Last year Dolan banned a fan for life from MSG because he yelled that Dolan should sell the team.

A year before that he kicked out Knicks legend Charles Oakley.

And this year the Knicks are already holding wild press conferences in which they’re basically apologizing for stinking so much at basketball, as they’ve started the year 2-8 and are in last place in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks have been awful at drafting players, signing free agents, and making the playoffs – they’ve only won one playoff series since 2000-01 season.

Now they’re continuing to pay rent at an address listed as “Rock Bottom,” a place they’ve called home for many years.

They’ll likely stay there, too, until Dolan finally does the right thing and sells the team.

Until then, a lot of us can all smile each morning and bask in the glory that comes with knowing you don’t cheer for such a pathetic franchise.

Feels great, doesn’t it?

Monday’s big winner: Jeopardy contestant Dhruv Gaur and Alex Trebek.

Something pretty special happened on Monday night’s episode of Jeopardy! during Final Jeopardy, as contestant Dhruv Gaur opted to write as his answer, “We love you, Alex.” It caught Trebek, who’s battling cancer, by surprise as he choked up and thanked Gaur. It was a great moment, and one you should watch.

Quick hits: The Rock responds… NFL QB hip warmups are a thing… Steph Curry on MJ… And more!

– The Rock responded to Nate Diaz calling him out after UFC 244.

– Jimmy Garoppolo showed off his hip-thrusting warmup routine before MNF. This is apparently becoming a thing.

– Steph Curry seems to think Michael Jordan is a hater of his.

– Ed Orgeron had an on-brand Saturday night after beating Alabama.

– Check out our latest tanking rankings to see which NFL teams are making the best/worst moves to get the No. 1 pick next year.

(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

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Chargers training in Colorado ahead of Mexico City showdown with Chiefs

The Los Angeles Chargers will work at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs ahead of Week 11 vs. the Kansas City Chiefs in Mexico City.

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The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers are preparing to take a road trip south of the border.

In Week 11, both teams will face off 7,200 feet above sea level at Mexico City, Mexico in a highly anticipated matchup at Estadio Azteca. The Chiefs’ opponents have a unique plan to prepare for the altitude change.

In order to get acclimated to playing in a higher altitude, the Chargers are taking a trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado. They will practice for four days at 6,000 feet at the Air Force Academy in hopes that it will give them an advantage against the Chiefs in Week 11.

Los Angeles.
Colorado Springs.
Mexico City.

LEGGO ‼️ pic.twitter.com/3icsOPPgCR

— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) November 11, 2019

The Los Angeles Rams tried a similar strategy in 2018 ahead of their Mexico City game against the Chiefs. The game was ultimately moved back to Los Angeles and the Rams stayed in Colorado as their home state dealt with wildfires.

Kansas City will stick to their normal weekly schedule and prepare for this game as they usually would a Monday Night Football game. Andy Reid is just old-fashioned like that. He spoke a bit about the decision to not prepare for the altitude last season.

“We were going to stay here for practice,” Reid said. “Not really. We did a bunch of studies and talked to people in the offseason and felt like it was best to stay here and practice. We really haven’t had a change much other than going to a hotel in Los Angeles, but other than that, not a lot of changes.”

Their decision to stay in Kansas City isn’t without its research. Meanwhile, this is a must-win game for the Chargers and it feels like they’re going to pull out all of the stops. You can catch this primetime showdown between AFC West rivals on ESPN on Monday at 7:20 P.M. CT.

Disney+ vs. Netflix: Which is the best streaming service?

Breaking down everything you need to know about the Disney+ vs. Netflix debate, including which one is better for sports fans.

Today, Disney+ launched to the delight of people who love Star Wars, Marvel, and anyone with small children. Disney’s new standalone streaming service gives users access to pretty much their entire back catalog, along with National Geographic, as well as the aforementioned blockbuster series they’ve purchased.

It’s also got a lot of people asking: How does it compare to the existing streaming services?

In this article we’ll look at the Disney+ vs. Netflix debate. We’ll look at what each offers, and compare price and interface. We’ll give a final verdict for people out there, and have a special analysis for sports fans.

Let’s get to it.

Which has better offerings?

Right now, by a nose, we have to give it to Netflix. Netflix has spent aggressively on original content, and has also invested in a lot of classic films

Disney+ comes out of the gate in second place, already surpassing Hulu. It’s got the Disney back catalogue, as well as everything from the Marvel cinematic universe, Star Wars, and National Geographic. This does leave blind spots — any movies that are older and outside of a few major franchises are basically going to be kids’ movies, and their TV offerings can’t get close to Netflix yet. But this is a strong start.

As for other things out there: Hulu is a fine option. It’s got some interesting TV shows and gets TV offerings much quicker than Netflix does. And as we’ll share in a second, you can actually get it with Disney+, which may be the best way to go.

Price?

Disney+ is available for $6.99 a month to start, with an annual option for $69.99. This is considerably less than Netflix’s current cost of $12.99 a month, and will be the difference maker for a lot of people.

And Disney+ also came over the top with another option: You can have Disney+, Hulu, AND ESPN+ all for $12.99. I already pay for ESPN+ (you can read our review of ESPN+ here), so for me, this option is a no-brainer.

Ease of use?

We haven’t had too much time to play around with Disney+ yet, but the format seems intuitive and nice to use. Netflix has had years to perfect the way they share content with you, and their search option works great, but Netflix also has an annoying feature where it auto-loads previews and starts playing video when you’re just trying to browse, which drives me nuts.

So I guess we’ll give it to Disney+ for now.

Final verdict

If you have to choose between one, I think I give the slight edge to Disney+, with a big caveat — if you don’t have small children and aren’t a huge comic book film fan, you might be frustrated with what they offer at first. Netflix has more original programming, and much better TV offerings. Hulu I don’t think compares to either, but as a tack-on to Disney+, might well be worth it.

Plus, if you love sports, the Disney+ / Hulu / ESPN+ deal is a ton of great content and live sports programming for the same cost you’re paying for Netflix now.

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AFC playoff picture: Chiefs complicate things for themselves in Week 10

An updated look at where the Kansas City Chiefs stand in the AFC playoff seeding.

The Kansas City Chiefs dropped a winnable game against the Tennessee Titans, resulting in a 6-4 record through 10 weeks to start the season. This is a game that fans will likely be looking back on, especially depending on the results from the next few weeks. The loss significantly lessens their chances of securing a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs and opens the door for several teams that are in the hunt.

If the playoffs started tomorrow, here’s what the AFC seeding would look like:

In the playoffs:

New England Patriots: 8-1
Baltimore Ravens: 7-2
Houston Texans: 6-3
Kansas City Chiefs: 6-4
Buffalo Bills: 6-3
Pittsburgh Steelers: 5-4

In the hunt:

Oakland Raiders: 5-4
Indianapolis Colts: 5-4
Tennessee Titans: 5-5
Jacksonville Jaguars: 4-5

What lies ahead:

The Chiefs will head to Mexico City to face the Chargers for Monday Night Football in Week 11.

As I mentioned earlier, the loss to the Titans significantly lessens the chance to secure a first-round bye week and the No. 2 seed. The Colts, Titans and Texans all hold head-to-head tiebreakers over Kansas City. That means if the Chiefs finish with the same record as any of those AFC South teams they would have priority in seeding. Before we even get to that point, the Ravens would have to fumble a few games heading into the postseason, which seems unlikely.

The Chiefs should look to take care of business against their AFC West opponents in the coming weeks. If they run the table the AFC West is theirs, along with a guaranteed spot in the playoffs. The Week 13 game against the Raiders very well could determine who comes away with the AFC West division this season.

Remaining opponents:

Week 11 @ Los Angeles Chargers (at Mexico City): 4-6
BYE
Week 13 vs. Oakland Raiders: 5-4
Week 14 @ New England Patriots: 8-1
Week 15 vs. Denver Broncos: 3-6
Week 16 @ Chicago Bears: 4-5
Week 17 vs. Los Angeles Chargers