Lithia Motors chief people officer sells $92,652 in stockWhat's On Tap in Chicago Bulls news ? Welcome to the 51st edition of "Tasting Flight," a daily newsletter to keep fans updated on all the latest news in Bulls Nation. Zach LaVine Speaks Candidly in Detroit Zach LaVine delivered a candid conversation about rumors surrounding his contract being untradeable and his relationship with Billy Donovan in a new interview with Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports . Bulls guard Zach LaVine heard about his contract being untradeable, his relationship with Billy Donovan, and his health this summer “I heard everything. I read everything. Sometimes you gotta take that accountability and put a chip on your shoulder.” https://t.co/8EBDjAlNkc Dynasty Bulls Lessons Applied to Current Philadelphia 76ers Fallout On his "Hoop Genius" podcast, Bulls legend and three-time NBA champion B.J. Armstrong analyzed the reported locker-room fallout between Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Armstrong shared in-depth and insightful memories from the first three-peat era Bulls locker room to analyze the issues reportedly plaguing the 76ers. Much more on the Embiid-Maxey dynamic in the newest show...watch NOW! https://t.co/2BEaUolMXU NBA to Introduce New All-Star Game Format in 2025 With motivations to make the NBA All-Star game a more compelling production, the league is replacing the traditional East vs. West two-team format with a four-team tournament. How the four-team tournament-style 2025 NBA All-Star Game is expected to work, sources tell ESPN: - Two semifinal games up to 40 points, winners advance - Finals game up to 25 points Quick-burst competition, pickup ball-esque. https://t.co/VOyPvioj78 Billy Donovan Speaks on Bulls Defense After Loss to Bucks The Bulls dropped to 6-10 after Wednesday's 122-106 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Head coach Billy Donovan acknowledged the Bulls' mistakes throughout the game and emphasized the team's need to be more disciplined on the defensive end. Billy Donovan said game plan discipline needs to improve. Said too many defensive breakdowns simply by not following game plan. This article first appeared on On Tap Sports Net and was syndicated with permission.
The starts may not look like locks at first, but they should come through in Week 13. Conversely, I’ve included some players who might otherwise seem like safe plays to avoid as well. Quarterbacks Start: Sam Darnold, Vikings vs Cardinals Darnold had a rough patch a few weeks ago, but he’s back in good form, putting up five combined TDs in his past two games. Even against the Bears top-notch pass defense last week, Darnold threw for a season-high 330 yards to go along with his two scores. His opponent this week, the Cardinals, have a decent secondary, but they pale in comparison to Chicago’s. Other locks: —Jalen Hurts at Ravens —Baker Mayfield at Panthers —CJ Stroud at Jaguars —Justin Herbert at Falcons Avoid: Jared Goff, Lions vs Bears Goff doesn’t force the ball through the air if he doesn’t have to and he would be remiss to do so against a top rated Bears secondary that will be looking to vindicate themselves after giving up some big plays to Sam Darnold last week. He’s also got the best 1 and 2 punch in football in his backfield. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are a force and they’ll likely have a much easier time finding holes in Chicago’s run defense than Goff will in the passing game. Running backs Start: Chuba Hubbard, Panthers vs Buccaneers Hubbard fantasy owners were anxious last week, upon hearing the news that rookie running back Jonathon Brooks would be seeing his first game action this season. Fears were assuaged when Brooks only got two carries the entire game for 7 yards. Brooks’ carries could increase as he gets more comfortable in the offense, but Hubbard should have at least one more week as the starter in Carolina. It will come against a Buccaneers run defense that is a top-10 matchup for opposing runners in Week 13. Other locks: The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . —Bucky Irving at Panthers —Jonathan Taylor at Patriots —Josh Jacobs vs Dolphins —Tyrone Tracy Jr., at Cowboys Avoid: James Conner, Cardinals at Vikings The Week 11 bye didn’t do Conner any favors as he only ran for 8 yards on seven carries in his Week 12 return. He was able to salvage his day through the air, catching five passes for 41 yards, but it was an underwhelming game from a fantasy perspective against the Seattle run defense. He’ll face a Vikings defense that ranks as a top-two run stopper going into Week 13 — Conner only gained 25 combined yards against Detroit’s top-three run defense in Week 2. Trey Benson is also gaining steam in the Arizona offense. It’s best to fade Conner this week, if you have that luxury. Wide receivers Start: DJ Moore, Bears at Lions Moore is finally starting to make waves again in fantasy, after slumping from Weeks 6 to 10. He’s had his best two-game stint of the season thus far in Weeks 11 and 12 though, going for a season-high 119 combined yards and a score in the latter game. New offensive coordinator Thomas Jones has sparked the offense and Moore has been a prime beneficiary. The Bears will have fits trying to run at the Lions’ stout run defense, so they could attack them through the air. Moore is a prime contender to keep up his recent run in Week 13. Other locks: —Ladd McConkey at Falcons —Puka Nacua at Saints —Jaxon Smith-Njigba at Jets —Jakobi Meyers at Chiefs Avoid: Quentin Johnston, Chargers vs Ravens Johnston is the definition of boom or bust, either scoring double-digit fantasy points or gaining fewer than 25 yards in nearly every game he’s appeared in this season. On “Monday Night Football,” he had zero catches on five targets. Johnston has a great matchup this week, but there’s no guarantee he’ll capitalize on it. Johnston is anything but a lock this week. Tight ends Start: Luke Schoonmaker, Cowboys vs Giants Schoonmaker had three catches for 55 yards and a score against Washington in a thrilling game. Schoonmaker provided another dependable option to QB Cooper Rush. Jake Ferguson is still in concussion protocol and it’s a short week as Dallas is playing on Thanksgiving, so Schoonmaker is likely to start once again. With CeeDee Lamb nursing nagging injuries as well, look for Rush to lean heavily on Schoonmaker this week. Other locks: —Jonnu Smith at Packers —Trey McBride at Vikings —Taysom Hill vs Rams —Dallas Goedert at Ravens Avoid: Sam LaPorta, Lions vs Bears LaPorta just can’t find any consistency in the Detroit offense, going weeks between decent fantasy outings at times. He had just three catches for 19 yards in Week 12 after missing Week 11 with a shoulder injury and things aren’t looking up for him this week as the Lions are playing a stalwart Chicago defense on short rest. Look for the Lions to go run heavy this week, taking the onus off LaPorta and the rest of the Lions receiving group. ___ This column was provided to The Associated Press by RosterWatch, www.rosterwatch.com.
Sunday the Tampa Bay Buccaneers return to action, heading North to face the New York Giants for an early afternoon kickoff. This will be the first of the final seven games of the season. In the Bucs' current position, each one of those games will be crucial in deciding their postseason fate. Fortunately, they will have one of the league's easiest remaining schedules, beginning with a Giants' group seemingly committed to tanking the rest of the season. Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports Regardless, Tampa Bay should not expect a pushover and frankly need a strong performance in conjunction with a win to keep their hopes alive. For star offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs, that partially rests in the Bucs' mentality after the extended break. "Coming off the bye you feel a little bit better, you get away... reset your mind. At the same time, you got to stay positive, you can't shell up," Wirfs said. "This is a turning point, it's going to go one way or the other... with the right mindset, we can make it go the way we want it to go." The Bucs sit behind the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South standings who tout a 6-5 record. Their division rival possess two wins over them already, making their climb to reclaim supremacy in the South all the more difficult. Related: Bucs Fans All Saying The Same Thing About Bucky Irving That also means Wirfs and the Bucs cannot afford any slip ups. The Bucs' depth and morale took a bruising over their last four games, ending on the wrong side of gut wrenching defeats while losing leaders both temporarily and for the season. Wirfs came out of that gauntlet stretch with his own physical concerns with a knee flare up, but looks poised to take his usual spot on the offensive line this weekend. Nonetheless, this game will revolve less around those aspects and test the Bucs mentally. They have the pieces and capacity to handle an admittedly inferior team but will execute themselves to return to the win column. Related: Can Mayfield Get 'Explosive' with Anticipated Evans Return?At US$765 million over 15 years, Juan Soto owns the richest contract in professional sport history. It’s a work of art that accelerates from $51 million to $55 million per year, and $805 million overall if the club wants to avoid his opt-out in 2029. He will earn an otherworldly $6,000 per hour over the contract’s 15-year term. Yet as much as the exquisite hitter and newest New York Met is the biggest winner this week in the business of sport, he has plenty of company on the power wagon. The other big winners are the Mets’ brand, owner Steve Cohen, a Mets fan base that has almost always lived in the shadow of the New York Yankees, and super agent Scott Boras. It was also yet another good week for Caitlin Clark, who was named Time magazine’s athlete of the year after more than successfully making the transition from the Iowa Hawkeyes and NCAA women’s basketball to the Indiana Fever and the WNBA. She has re-engineered the financial upside of women’s sport, making more than $10 million in her rookie year. In this era of polarized politics south of the border, she has also inadvertently become the poster child for white privilege. Meanwhile, the NFL will have itself a big Week 15. Two of the best matchups will be played at the same time on Sunday when the 12-1 Detroit Lions meet the 10-3 Buffalo Bills, while the 11-2 Philadelphia Eagles take on the 10-3 Pittsburgh Steelers. It marks the first time in 40 years that the NFL has staged two games that each featured two teams with 10 or more wins going into Week 15. Also sharing the spotlight in the winner’s circle this week is Saudi Arabia, which was named host of the FIFA 2034 World Cup. That World Cup will be the third in four cycles that are hosted at least in part by Arabic countries, with Qatar 2022 ushering in Spain-Portugal-Morocco in 2030 and Saudi Arabia four years later (with the U.S., Mexico and Canada co-hosting in 2026). The trajectory that FIFA is charting is paired with the rise of Emirates Airlines as one of the most prominent corporate sponsors in sport, with holdings in tennis and basketball. That doesn’t include the massive amounts of money invested in LIV golf by the Saudi Sovereign Fund. If the New York Stock Exchange traded exclusively in football, it would reflect a dreary economic recession — if not outright depression — for fans of the 2-11 New York Football Giants of the NFC and the 3-10 New York Jets of the AFC. The two teams have lost 21 of the 26 games they’ve played this season, causing considerable angst among New York fans and sport commentators. It’s yet another reminder that big market size doesn’t always buy you a winning team. The Jets this week became the first NFL team to be eliminated from this year’s playoffs. What’s more? They have struggled through nine consecutive losing seasons and 14 years out of the playoffs — the longest active drought in the big four North American men’s sports leagues. Take a bite out of that Big Apple. Tom Mayenknecht is the host of The Sport Market on Sportsnet 650 on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Vancouver-based sport business commentator and principal in Emblematica Brand Builders provides a behind-the-scenes look at the sport business stories that matter most to fans. Follow Mayenknecht at: x.com/TheSportMarket .
LAS VEGAS — UNLV is reaching into the Southeastern Conference to keep momentum going for its 24th-ranked football team, hiring former Florida and Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen on Thursday. He will be introduced in a news conference Friday morning. UNLV athletic director Erick Harper, in a news release, called Mullen "an innovator and nationally respected leader.” “The momentum of UNLV football continues to skyrocket with Coach Mullen coming aboard and is even more proof that our university is serious about success," Harper said. "Rebel Nation came alive while watching this program reach new heights the last two seasons and we are excited to keep it moving forward under the leadership of someone the caliber of Dan Mullen.” The 52-year-old Mullen replaces Barry Odom, who left for Purdue on Sunday after going 19-8 and helping the Rebels receive back-to-back bowl invitations for the first time in program history. UNLV will play California in the LA Bowl on Wednesday. Harper wasted little time in finding Odom's replacement. “These past two years, a foundation has been set to compete for championships, including being just one game away from making the College Football Playoff, which is a great testament to where we plan on continuing to be," Mullen said in a statement. "My expectation is to keep that excitement and momentum alive ...” Mullen, most recently an ESPN college football analyst, went 103-61 at Florida and Mississippi State. That includes a 34-15 record with the Gators from 2018-21. Florida went 4-7 the season before Mullen took over and then went 21-5 over his first two seasons at Florida. His record over the following two seasons was 13-10 before Florida fired Mullen. He was 69-46 at Mississippi State from 2009-17, made eight consecutive bowl appearances and reached No. 1 in 2014. The Bulldogs were 29-65 over the previous eight years. Instead of taking over a program coming off a losing season, this time Mullen inherits a team that is 10-3 and was in contention for a College Football Playoff spot before losing to now-No. 8 Boise State 21-7 on Friday in the Mountain West championship. It was UNLV's second straight appearance in the conference title game. But the Rebels will be losing some key players, including quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams, wide receiver Ricky White III, linebacker Jackson Woodard and defensive back Jalen Catalon. Woodard was named the Mountain West defensive player of the year and White the conference's top special teams player after he blocked four punts. Stay Informed: Subscribe to Our Newsletter TodayRaw milk nearly killed her son. Now avian flu is bringing more attention to its risk
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