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LAS VEGAS — There are three races remaining in the Formula 1 season and Max Verstappen of Red Bull is close to a fourth consecutive world championship, which can wrap up Saturday night at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. All is not smooth sailing headed into this final month of racing: "It was a bit of a surprise, I think, for everybody," said Mercedes driver George Russell, a GPDA director. "It's a hell of a lot of pressure now onto the new race director (with) just three races left. Often, as drivers, we probably feel like we're the last to find out this sort of information." The Andretti team is expected to receive F1 approval to join the grid, albeit without Michael Andretti, who has scaled back his role dramatically since the IndyCar season ended in September. Many drivers, particularly seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, have been at odds with FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem since his election following the 2021 season finale. In the GDPA statement, they reminded the sanctioning body "our members are adults" who don't need lectures and fines on foul language or jewelry bans, and simply want fair and consistent race control. There's been no response from Ben Sulayem, and won't be this weekend since he does not attend the LVGP. He will be at Qatar and the finale in Abu Dhabi next month. Hamilton doesn't think all the behind-the-scenes changes will be a fan topic as the season comes to a close. But he noted that consistency from race control is all the drivers have asked for, while throwing his support behind Domenicali and the job Maffei has done in growing F1 since Liberty took over. "I really hope Stefano is not leaving because he's been so instrumental in changes and progress to this whole thing," Hamilton said. "And he knows the sport as well as anyone. But all good things do come to an end, and whoever they put into place, I just hope they are like-minded. But sometimes you have to shake the trees." That's just what happened with the surprise departure of race director Wittich. Although drivers have been unhappy with race officiating this season and held a private GPDA meeting in Mexico City, Russell said they had no prior warning Wittich was out. The race director is the referee each weekend and Wittich has been in charge since 2022, when Michael Masi was fired following the controversial 2021 season-ending, championship-altering finale at Abu Dhabi. Now the man in charge for the final three races is Rui Marques, the Formula 2 and Formula 3 race director. Las Vegas, which overcame multiple stumbling blocks in last year's debut before putting on one of the best races of the season, is a difficult place to start. Verstappen can win his fourth title by simply scoring three points more than Lando Norris of McLaren. "It's a bit weird with three races to go to do that," Verstappen said. "It doesn't matter if you're positive or negative about certain things. I thought in Brazil there was definitely room for improvement, for example. It's still a bit weird having to now then deal with a different race director." Charles Leclerc of Ferrari wondered why the move was made with only three races to go. "To do it so late in the season, at such a crucial moment of the season, it could have probably been managed in a better way," he said. The drivers have consistently asked for clearer guidelines in the officiating of races, specifically regarding track limits and racing rules. The drivers have no idea how Marques will officiate, highlighting a disconnect between the competitors and Ben Sulaymen's FIA. "We just want to be transparent with the FIA and have this dialogue that is happening," Russell said. "And I think the departure of Niels is also a prime example of not being a part of these conversations." The GDPA statement made clear the drivers do not think their voice is being heard. "If we feel we're being listened to, and some of the changes that we are requesting are implemented, because ultimately we're only doing it for the benefit of the sport, then maybe our confidence will increase," Russell said. "But I think there's a number of drivers who feel a bit fed up with the whole situation. It only seems to be going in the wrong direction." He also said the relationship between the drivers and the FIA seems fractured. "Sometimes just hiring and firing is not the solution," he said. "You need to work together to improve the problem." Norris, who has battled Verstappen this year with mixed officiating rulings, said "obviously things are not running as smoothly as what we would want." Marques has his first driver meeting ahead of Thursday night's two practice sessions and then three weeks to prove to the competitors he is up for the job. Carlos Sainz Jr., who will leave Ferrari for Williams at the end of the season, hopes the drama doesn't distract from the momentum F1 has built over the last five years. "I think Formula 1 is in a great moment right now and all these rumors, I think in every team, every job, there's job changes," he said. "It's not big drama. I'm a big fan of the people you mentioned, they've done an incredible job in Formula 1 and Formula 1 is what it is thanks to these people. But it's just so emotional, especially the Stefano one. The only one that has a real effect is the race director. But I think if he does a good job, it should be transparent and nothing big." Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Kalen DeBoer and the No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide had to watch conference championship weekend from home with the hopes that some games would go their way as they awaited their College Football Playoff fate. With the No. 17 Clemson Tigers upsetting the No. 8 SMU Mustangs 34-31 on a last-second field goal in the ACC Championship Game, the CFP selection committee elected to put SMU (11-2, 8-0 in ACC play) into the 12-team field, leaving Alabama (9-3, 5-3 in SEC play) out of the playoff entirely. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Malik Nabers said calling the New York Giants “soft” after Sunday's embarrassing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a mistake, although the star rookie receiver still plans to speak out when he thinks it's necessary. After talking with coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen and watching video of the Giants' 30-7 defeat , Nabers said Tuesday that "soft” was a poor choice of words. “I don’t think it was really soft. I think it was just a lack of technique,” Nabers said. “We were playing our butts off, we just lacked technique.” The Giants (2-9) trailed 23-0 at halftime and had run only 19 plays on offense. Nabers was not targeted in first the half but still finished with a team-high six catches for 64 yards. The No. 6 overall pick in the draft, Nabers said his rant after the game — in which he said the Giants' quarterbacks weren't to blame for the team's poor performance — was just the competitor in him talking. “That’s just how I’m wired. That’s just who I am,” he said. “I just don’t like losing. If I feel like if I had an opportunity to help the team win, I’m going to express that.” Nabers said not being targeted in the opening half was tough because his body is prepared to play and not doing anything throws him off his game. “You’re not getting involved early, then you’re not getting the feel of the ball, you’re not getting hit,” Nabers said. “After football plays as an offense, after you get hit, you’re like, ‘All right, I’m ready to go.’” Nabers has a team-high 67 catches, the most by a player in his first nine NFL games. He said he sees himself as a resource, someone who can change the game for the Giants. “I’m not going to just sit back just because I’m a younger guy and not speak on how I feel,” Nabers said. “They want me to speak up. They feel like my energy helps the offense, in a way, to be explosive. So, of course, I’m going to speak up if something doesn’t go my way. That’s just how I am.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflI hear bitcoin is supposed to be good now. Is it a new bubble yet?
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CHICAGO (AP) — Cairo Santos had a field goal blocked — again. DeAndre Carter muffed a punt in the second half. And those were just the special teams mistakes for the struggling Chicago Bears. Santos' blocked field goal and Carter's turnover were part of another sloppy performance for Chicago in its fifth consecutive loss. The pair of miscues helped set up two of Minnesota's three touchdowns in a 30-27 overtime victory . The Bears (4-7) closed out a miserable three-game homestand after they won their first three games of the season at Soldier Field. They were in position to beat Green Bay last weekend before Santos' 46-yard field goal attempt was blocked on the final play of the Packers' 20-19 win . “It’s tough. ... When things just aren’t going your way, you gotta put your head down and just keep going to work,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “It’s not easy to do but that’s kind of where we’re at.” Chicago and Minnesota were tied at 7 when Caleb Williams threw incomplete on third-and-4 at the Vikings 30 early in the second quarter. Bears coach Matt Eberflus sent Santos out for a 48-yard attempt, but it was knocked down by defensive lineman Jerry Tillery. “I think it was the penetration with the trajectory of the ball,” Santos said. “Had the ball started 3 or 4 inches to the right of both those guys' hands, I think it still goes in through the uprights.” Brian Asamoah returned the blocked kick 22 yards to set the Vikings up with good field position. Sam Darnold then capped a six-play, 53-yard drive with a 5-yard TD pass to Jalen Nailor for a 14-7 lead with 6:29 left in the first half. It was the third blocked field goal for Santos this year, the most for Chicago in a single season since it also had three blocked in 2012. Santos also had a 43-yard try blocked in the fourth quarter of a 35-16 victory over Jacksonville on Oct. 13. The Bears became the first NFL team to allow three blocked field goals in a season since the Browns and Ravens each had three blocked in 2022. “Whenever that happens two games in a row we’ve got to make sure we take a hard look in terms of the protection, the technique and who we have in there,” Eberflus said. “So it's going to be a big thing to look at.” Chicago trailed 17-10 when it forced a Minnesota punt midway through the third quarter. Carter warned his teammates to get out of the way, but it hit the ground and bounced off the inside of his right leg before it was recovered by Bo Richter at the Bears 15. The Vikings turned the mental error into Aaron Jones' 2-yard touchdown run and a 24-10 lead. “Gotta get out of the way of the ball. That’s on me,” Carter said. “I let the team down today. Game shouldn’t have been in the situation it was in. I felt bad for the guys.” Santos and Carter both played a role in a late rally for Chicago. Carter had a 55-yard kickoff return, and Santos got an onside kick to work before making a tying 48-yarder on the final play of regulation. But the Bears stalled on the first possession of overtime, and Darnold drove the Vikings downfield to set up Parker Romo's winning 29-yard field goal. “We're losing in the most unreal situations,” Bears receiver DJ Moore said. “Now it's like the luck's got to go in our favor at some point.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLAmerica is incredibly polarized. It’s bad for our health.Percentages: FG .596, FT .833. 3-Point Goals: 10-23, .435 (Kopp 4-7, Nyeri 3-5, Petty 2-3, Ammons 1-3, Grady 0-2, Hall 0-3). Team Rebounds: 0. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 2 (Nyeri, Petty). Turnovers: 8 (Ammons 2, Hall 2, Ebonkoli, Ijeh, Kopp, Petty). Steals: 6 (Kopp 2, Diallo, Ebonkoli, Grady, Petty). Technical Fouls: None. Percentages: FG .475, FT .462. 3-Point Goals: 5-18, .278 (Ríos 2-7, L.Gonzalez 1-1, Fret 1-2, Hollingsworth 1-2, Fraguada 0-1, Texidor 0-1, Rivera 0-2, Torres 0-2). Team Rebounds: 0. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 1 (Rivera). Turnovers: 12 (L.Gonzalez 4, Fret 3, Benitez 2, A.Gonzalez, Ríos, Torres). Steals: 3 (Benitez, L.Gonzalez, Ramirez). Technical Fouls: None. .
Frida is not just a documentary about the art and life of Frida Kahlo. Director Carla Gutierrez wanted to use the tools of the format to capture Kahlo’s emotions. Those tools included narration, archival material, score and the creative touch of animating Kahlo’s paintings. “We wanted to make sure that the audience in a way kind of physically or literally dove into Frida’s heart and into her pool of emotions and was able to like swim in there with her,” Gutierrez said during a conversation for Deadline’s awards-season event Contenders Documentary . “Bringing her art into this filmic space, cinematic space, was really key to really hearing in a way her heart beat and her emotions go through her veins.” Gutierrez credits her animation department in Mexico City on their collaboration. As well, Katia Maguire led the production team to gather archival material in Mexico, including about the 1925 cable car accident Kahlo survived, to show viewers Mexico as the artist lived it. “You’re seeing her eyes looking at us in her paintings,” Gutierrez said. “We wanted the audience to also look at her universe through her eyes. A lot of those accidents, unfortunately, happened in Mexico City. So we found some really gruesome images of what happened after those accidents.” Kahlo speaks in the film too, via the voice of Fernanda Echevarria, in Spanish with English subtitles. The performance captures Kahlo’s personality in her native language. RELATED: 2024-25 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Oscars, Spirits, Grammys, Tonys, Guilds & More “You can hear Frida swearing at people and making fun of people,” Gutierrez said. “You’re still hearing her original words, and I think that that carries so much emotional meaning, even if you need the subtitles to really understand what she’s saying.” Gutierrez said Kahlo was politically active and popular socially. Her paintings were where Kahlo expressed vulnerability, often as her own subject. “She painted herself and her heartaches, her daily questioning of her own feelings,” Gutierrez said. “For a lot of women, it’s really hard to sometimes talk about ourselves and even admit that what’s happening internally for us is also important to talk about and it’s also important to express.” RELATED: Contenders Documentary — Deadline’s Complete Coverage That goes for the painting that initially turned Gutierrez on to Kahlo’s work decades ago. The Peruvian filmmaker related to Kahlo’s complicated feelings about America. “It’s her standing between the United States and Mexico,” Gutierrez said. “She didn’t always feel welcome here and was missing her country a lot. And that’s exactly how I felt as a new immigrant. I was just learning how to speak English, but it was that moment of seeing my own self and my own emotions and my own most intimate feelings being reflected on a painting that I think makes art so powerful to people.” Check back Monday for the panel video. RELATED: Oscars: Academy Reveals List Of Documentary, Animation & International Features Eligible For ConsiderationCatches like this are why Puka Nacua is one of the NFL's most exciting young receivers. With 7:33 left in the first hall of Sunday's showdown against the Bills, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford looked downfield to Nacua on the sideline on second-and-10. Nacua delivered with a catch that few in the NFL can make. The ball was thrown on a line and appeared destined to sail out of bounds. But with cornerback Christian Benford in tight coverage, Nacua leapt face out toward the sideline and raised both hands high to snag the ball from midair. Then came the hard part. Somehow, Nacua landed with toes from both feet inbounds to complete the catch and the first down. PUKA NACUA! 📺: on FOX 📱: — NFL (@NFL) Benford didn't want to believe it. He stood up from dragging Nacua out of bounds waving his arms, confident that his counterpart didn't secure a legal catch. But his protest was to no avail. Another angle confirms that yes, Nacua did come down with both feet inbounds and the ball firmly in his grasp. PUKA NACUA! ABSOLUTELY UNREAL! 📺: | — Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) The Rams went on to pay off on the 19-yard gain. Eight plays later, Nacua scored a touchdown on a jet sweep that Bills defenders were helpless to stop that extended the Rams lead to 24-14. PUKA TO THE HOUSE! 📺: | — Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) An injury cost Nacua five games earlier this season. Stafford is certainly glad to have him back.