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On Football analyzes the biggest topics in the NFL from week to week. For more On Football analysis, head here . Saquon Barkley has become the Shohei Ohtani of the NFL. There’s no better home run hitter playing football right now. Barkley had touchdown runs of 72 and 70 yards for the Philadelphia Eagles in a 37-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night. He now has five runs of 50-plus yards this season and is on pace to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105 yards set in 1984. Barkley’s historic performance against the Rams — his 255 yards set a team record — captivated a national audience and turned him into a fan favorite for the AP NFL MVP award. He’s not the betting favorite, however. Josh Allen has the best odds at plus-150, according to Bet MGM Sportsbook. Two-time MVP Lamar Jackson is next at plus-250 followed by Barkley at plus-400. Running backs have won the award 18 times, including three-time winner Jim Brown, who was the AP’s first NFL MVP in 1957. Quarterbacks have dominated the award, winning it 45 times. Only three players who weren’t QBs or RBs have been MVP. It takes a special season for a non-QB to win it mainly because the offense goes through the signal caller. Quarterbacks handle the ball every offensive snap, run the show and get the credit when things go well and the blame when it doesn’t. Adrian Peterson was the most recent non-QB to win it when he ran for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings in 2012. Playing for a winning team matters, too. Nine of the past 11 winners played for a No. 1 seed with the other two winners on a No. 2 seed. The Vikings earned the sixth seed when Pederson was MVP. Barkley is a major reason why the Eagles (9-2) are leading the NFC East and only trail Detroit (10-1) by one game for the top spot in the conference. Does he have a realistic chance to win the MVP award? Kicker Mark Moseley was the MVP in the strike-shortened 1982 season when he made 20 of 21 field goals and 16 of 19 extra points in nine games for Washington. If voters once selected a kicker, everyone has a chance, especially a game-changer such as Barkley. Defensive tackle Alan Page was the MVP in 1971 and linebacker Lawrence Taylor won it in 1986. Running back Christian McCaffrey finished third in voting last year and wide receiver Justin Jefferson placed fifth in 2022. The Offensive Player of the Year award and Defensive Player of the Year award recognize the best all-around players on both sides of the ball, allowing voters to recognize non-QBs if they choose. Wide receivers and running backs have won the AP OPOY award seven times over the past 11 seasons. McCaffrey was the 2023 winner. The AP’s new voting format introduced in 2022 also gives non-QBs a better opportunity to get MVP recognition. Voter submit their top five picks for each award, with a weighted point system. Previously, voters made one choice for each award. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league vote for MVP and seven other awards. The awards are based on regular-season performance. The Chiefs (10-1) and Bills (9-2) already are in position to lock up postseason berths right after Thanksgiving. Kansas City clinches a playoff berth with a win over Las Vegas on Black Friday and a loss by Miami on Thursday night, or a win plus a loss by Denver on Monday night. Buffalo can wrap up a fifth straight AFC East title with a victory over San Francisco on Sunday and a loss by the Dolphins. It’s not a given that the Dallas Cowboys will be looking for a new head coach after this season. Owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday on local radio that Mike McCarthy could end up getting a contract extension. “I don’t think that’s crazy at all. This is a Super Bowl-winning coach. Mike McCarthy has been there and done that. He has great ideas. We got a lot of football left,” Jones said. McCarthy led the Cowboys (4-7) to three straight 12-win seasons, but they went 1-3 in the playoffs and haven’t reached the NFC championship game since winning the Super Bowl 29 years ago. Injuries have contributed to the team’s struggles this season, but Dallas was just 3-5 before Dak Prescott was lost for the rest of the season. The Cowboys upset Washington last week and their next four games are against teams that currently have losing records. If they somehow end up 9-8 or even 8-9, Jones could make a case for keeping McCarthy. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Preview: Grimsby Town vs. Harrogate Town - prediction, team news, lineupsThe Atlanta Falcons have made a plethora of head-scratching decisions since their last playoff appearance in 2017. From forcing Matt Ryan out of the organization in pursuit of Deshaun Watson to the recent signing of Kirk Cousins , the organization has lacked a consistent vision But there’s hope on the horizon. Rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. represents a potential turning point, and this Sunday, the Falcons face a do-or-die matchup against the Washington Commanders. With a playoff berth at stake, Penix has an opportunity to cement himself as the future of the franchise. Michael Penix Jr. Legacy Game This year’s rookie quarterback class has been nothing short of remarkable. Jayden Daniels has already ascended to stardom in Washington, Bo Nix looks like the long-awaited answer in Denver, and Drake Maye has been a quiet revelation for the Patriots despite their struggles. Now, it’s Michael Penix Jr.’s turn to deliver his own statement in primetime. Sunday Night Football presents a legacy-defining opportunity for Penix. Yes, expecting a rookie to lead his team to a crucial road victory in just his second career start—against a playoff-caliber opponent, no less—might be overly optimistic. But this is exactly the type of moment that can turn skeptics into believers and etch Penix’s name into Atlanta’s future plans. The hardest thing to do in professional sports is find a franchise quarterback. Organizations can go decades in search of one. There wouldn’t be a better Christmas present for Atlanta sports fans than Michael Penix Jr. leading the Falcons to a win over the Commanders. The End Of Terry Fontenot’s Tenure As Falcons General Manager At this point, I’m not really sure what Terry Fontenot does for the Falcons. He hasn’t been heard from since the offseason, and there were already questions about how much weight his word carries inside the building. Since taking over as general manager of the Falcons in 2021, Terry Fontenot hasn’t done much good. He’s hit on some free agents, but his drafting has been abysmal, and the decision hand Kirk Cousins $90 million in guarantees for just 14 games is a fireable offense. There’s a chance Michael Penix Jr. can save everybody’s job by leading the Falcons to the playoffs, but Fontenot should not be safe regardless of what happens over the final two games. Atlanta needs to get a real GM in the building, one with a track record of success in the draft. A Revamped Falcons Pass Rush The Falcons have been searching for a pass rush for over a decade. They haven’t finished inside the top 10 in sacks since 2004, and they rank dead last with 26 sacks this season. However, Jimmy Lake’s unit has showed some promise getting after the quarterback since the team’s bye week. The Falcons rank first with 16 sacks over the last four weeks, and while some of that can be attributed to the competition, there’s some reason for optimism moving forward. The Falcons’ pass rush should remain the top offseason priority. No matter how promising Penix may be, the team’s long-term success hinges on sustained improvement along the defensive line. Investing heavily in pass rushers—both in free agency and the draft—will be critical to complementing Penix and solidifying the team’s future. This article first appeared on SportsTalkATL and was syndicated with permission.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to records Tuesday after Donald Trump’s latest talk about tariffs created only some ripples on Wall Street, even if they could roil the global economy were they to take effect. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to top the all-time high it set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 123 points, or 0.3%, to its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6% as Microsoft and Big Tech led the way. Stock markets abroad mostly fell after President-elect Trump said he plans to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China once he takes office. But the movements were mostly modest. Stock indexes were down 0.1% in Shanghai and nearly flat in Hong Kong, while Canada’s main index edged down by less than 0.1%. Trump has often praised the use of tariffs , but investors are weighing whether his latest threat will actually become policy or is just an opening point for negotiations. For now, the market seems to be taking it more as the latter. The consequences otherwise for markets and the global economy could be painful. Unless the United States can prepare alternatives for the autos, energy products and other goods that come from Mexico, Canada and China, such tariffs would raise the price of imported items all at once and make households poorer, according to Carl Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi, economists at High Frequency Economics. They would also hurt profit margins for U.S. companies, while raising the threat of retaliatory tariffs by other countries. And unlike tariffs in Trump’s first term, his latest proposal would affect products across the board. General Motors sank 9%, and Ford Motor fell 2.6% because both import automobiles from Mexico. Constellation Brands, which sells Modelo and other Mexican beer brands in the United States, dropped 3.3%. The value of the Mexican peso fell 1.8% against the U.S. dollar. Beyond the pain such tariffs would cause U.S. households and businesses, they could also push the Federal Reserve to slow or even halt its cuts to interest rates. The Fed had just begun easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high a couple months ago to offer support for the job market . While lower interest rates can boost the economy, they can also offer more fuel for inflation. “Many” officials at the Fed’s last meeting earlier this month said they should lower rates gradually, according to minutes of the meeting released Tuesday afternoon. The talk about tariffs overshadowed another mixed set of profit reports from U.S. retailers that answered few questions about how much more shoppers can keep spending. They’ll need to stay resilient after helping the economy avoid a recession, despite the high interest rates imposed by the Fed to get inflation under control. A report on Tuesday from the Conference Board said confidence among U.S. consumers improved in November, but not by as much as economists expected. Kohl’s tumbled 17% after its results for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. CEO Tom Kingsbury said sales remain soft for apparel and footwear. A day earlier, Kingsbury said he plans to step down as CEO in January. Ashley Buchanan, CEO of Michaels and a retail veteran, will replace him. Best Buy fell 4.9% after likewise falling short of analysts’ expectations. Dick’s Sporting Goods topped forecasts for the latest quarter thanks to a strong back-to-school season, but its stock lost an early gain to fall 1.4%. Still, more stocks rose in the S&P 500 than fell. J.M. Smucker had one of the biggest gains and climbed 5.7% after topping analysts’ expectations for the latest quarter. CEO Mark Smucker credited strength for its Uncrustables, Meow Mix, Café Bustelo and Jif brands. Big Tech stocks also helped prop up U.S. indexes. Gains of 3.2% for Amazon and 2.2% for Microsoft were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500. All told, the S&P 500 rose 34.26 points to 6,021.63. The Dow gained 123.74 to 44,860.31, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 119.46 to 19,174.30. In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady following their big drop from a day before driven by relief following Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary. The yield on the 10-year Treasury inched up to 4.29% from 4.28% late Monday, but it’s still well below the 4.41% level where it ended last week. In the crypto market, bitcoin continued to pull back after topping $99,000 for the first time late last week. It’s since dipped back toward $91,000, according to CoinDesk. It’s a sharp turnaround from the bonanza that initially took over the crypto market following Trump’s election. That boom had also appeared to have spilled into some corners of the stock market. Strategists at Barclays Capital pointed to stocks of unprofitable companies, along with other areas that can be caught up in bursts of optimism by smaller-pocketed “retail” investors. AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
New Hampshire courts hear two cases on transgender girls playing girls sportsGov. Chris Sununu’s decision to withdraw his nominee for state librarian, thus caving to extremists who say she’s unfit because she opposes censorship and book banning is doubly disappointing. Mindy Atwood, the N.H. State Library’s administrator of library operations, applied for the position, replacing Michael York, who held the position for 25 years before retiring this year. A longtime library director in Sunapee and Salisbury, she ought to be an obvious choice to step up, and had the backing of York, other librarians and State Archivist Ashley Miller. It should have been a breeze for Atwood to be confirmed by the state’s Executive Council, as her qualifications are clear. Instead, political ideology reared its ugly head, with far-right critics — Executive Councilor David Wheeler foremost among them — slamming Atwood as unfit for her outspokenness on censorship issues. Just imagine! A librarian who opposes censorship! It’s almost as hard to wrap your mind around as a state education commissioner who opposes public education. Atwood’s misdeed, apparently, is that she’s spoken out against book bans. For Wheeler and others, including the anti-government group RebuildNH, which launched in opposition to COVID-19 restrictions, that’s beyond the pale, and tantamount to telling parents they can’t raise their own children. That’s right, the choice of what books are available in libraries now, according to conservative zealots, falls under the umbrella of “parental rights” — the faux outrage-generator that’s been used to attack teachers and schools in recent years. It’s a cousin to the “divisive concepts” law and other attempts to portray reasonable everyday education as an attack on the poor, oppressed white majority. The irony is that the state librarian has no say over what material is available in public libraries across New Hampshire. As York noted to N.H. Public Radio : “The 234 public libraries in the state of New Hampshire all have a board of trustees, and more than 90 percent of those libraries have elected library trustees. They decide what goes on in the library. I defy anybody to show where libraries have ignored the will of their trustees.” As is always the case, those politicizing this typically apolitical position accuse their target of doing exactly what they’re guilty of: bringing ideology into a non-ideological space. That Sununu would back away is unfortunate, though perhaps not unexpected. While he’s stepping away from the governor’s office after eight years and has nothing of substance to lose in backing a very appropriate nominee whom he has praised, it’s disappointing Sununu seems to have lost the mettle to stand up to dangerous ideologues, as he did during the pandemic. That’s the first disappointment: A highly qualified nominee is losing out on an opportunity solely because the governor and some councilors are willing to listen to cynical ideological arguments that don’t even apply to the position. That Sununu’s successor, Kelly Ayotte, may well take notice of the stance of Wheeler and others and be swayed to nominate someone more receptive to the idea of censorship and book banning is the second, greater disappointment. A librarian’s role is to advocate for access and learning. Atwood’s position on censorship is one held by most respected librarians, along with the N.H. Library Association and American Library Association. Allowing ideologues to hijack the nomination process of a valued state employee and potentially curtail the freedoms of library patrons is hardly in the spirit of the Live Free or Die state.