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🏈 The best division in football
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports)
The 2024 NFC North is huge. As we approach the midway point of the season, the Lions (5-1), Vikings (5-1), Packers (5-2), and Bears (4-2) are all in the top 12 in the latest power rankings. All four teams would qualify for the playoffs if the games started today.
By the numbers, the NFC North is 17-4 (+213 point differential) against outside opponents, with all four losses coming against teams with winning records last year by six points or less. There are actually no “bad” losses in the lot.
Records by department:
NFC North: 19-6
AFC West: 15-10
NFC East: 14-12
AFC North: 13-14
AFC South: 12-15
NFC West: 11-15
NFC South: 11-16
AFC East: 10-17
Please consider this. Detroit (+62), Minnesota (+61), Green Bay (+47), and Chicago (+43) are all +40 or higher in goal differential. Only four teams in the entire NFL can say this: Washington (+66), Buffalo (+63), Pittsburgh (+60), and Kansas City (+43).
The best division in history? The NFC North entered Sunday with the highest winning percentage (.773) through six weeks of any division in the Super Bowl era. All they’ve done since then is beat two No. 1 teams, with Green Bay beating Houston and Detroit suffering its first loss to Minnesota.*
*NFC North vs. NFC North: As you would expect from such a strong division, internal competition is fierce. The games in both divisions were close, ending with the same score of 31-29 (Lions vs. Vikings on Sunday, Vikings vs. Packers in Week 4).
🏀 Intuit Dome is now open
Well, that’s the jumbotron. (Frederick J. Brown/AFP Eastern Mindanao Command via Getty Images)
Intuit Dome, the Clippers’ new $2 billion arena that took more than three years to build, hosted its first regular-season game in Inglewood on Wednesday night.
A place to call our own: The Clips lost 116-113 to the Suns in overtime, but regardless of the outcome, this game ushered in a new era for the franchise. After 25 years of sharing an arena with the Lakers, they are no longer stuck in their big brother’s shadow.
Ballmer cheers with his fans on “The Wall.” (Harry Howe/Getty Images)
A Billionaire Passion Project: With a net worth of $125 billion, by far the wealthiest owner in sports, Steve Ballmer spares no expense to give fans the ultimate game-day experience. It was.
Halo Board: A giant 360-degree double-sided jumbotron that’s nearly an acre in size. how big is it? When expanded, it will be three times the size of the nearby Hollywood sign, according to Forbes magazine.
Heated Interactive Seats: The seats are heated and include a USB port for charging your phone. There are also four remote control buttons that allow fans to play interactive games on the Halo board, such as the color-guessing game “The Mentalist.”
“The Wall”: The arena has a 51-row student section-style set reserved for die-hard fans, who are not allowed to cheer on other teams. Seats cost $32 per game and are only available to those who purchase passes prior to the season.
Concessions: To minimize decision-making, all food and drink stands will have the same menu and facial recognition will be used throughout the arena to allow fans to purchase food and merchandise without having to wait in line. Masu.
Speaking of convenience, ask Ballmer about the restrooms. “We have 1,160 toilets and urinals!” he exclaimed last year. “Three times the NBA average! We don’t want people waiting in line. We want them back in their damn seats!”
🏈 Havoc: Owl extinguishes flames
(Kennesaw State Track and Field)
Previously winless Kennesaw State, which was trailed by 26.5 points in its first year as an FBS program, pulled off a stunning 27-24 comeback against previously undefeated Liberty University on Wednesday. . This is the first time in 23 years that a team with a record of 0-5 or lower has defeated a team with a record of 5-0 or higher.
9 Undefeated Teams Remain: The Owls’ win over the Flames leaves 9 undefeated FBS teams remaining. Three schools are from the Big Ten (Oregon, Pennsylvania, Indiana), two are from the Big 12 (Iowa, BYU), two are from the ACC (Miami, Pittsburgh), and two are from the AAC (Army, Navy). is. ).
📸 The world in photos
After scoring the third goal, Rafinha held up three fingers. (Pedro Salado/Getty Images)
BARCELONA — Barça is back. Rafinha scored a hat-trick to lead Barcelona to a 4-1 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League, ending a six-game losing streak against fellow superclubs.
Ryan Gold celebrates one of his three goals. (Howard Rao/AP Photo)
PORTLAND — Vancouver defeated Portland 5-0 in the Western Conference Wild Card game to advance to a best-of-three first-round series against top-seeded LAFC.
(John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Capitals beat the Flyers 6-3 in their only NHL game on Wednesday, improving to 5-1 this season and their best start since 2015.
📆 October 24, 2004: Arsenal’s winning streak ends
It took 50 games, but Arsenal finally lost. (Tom Parslow/Manchester United via Getty Images)
20 years ago today, Manchester United defeated Arsenal 2-0, ending the Gunners’ Premier League record 49-game unbeaten run.
ONE OF THREE TEAM: The Arsenal team is one of only three teams in Premier League history to have an unbeaten streak of at least 40 league games.
Arsenal (2003-04): 49 consecutive wins (36 wins, 13 draws)
Liverpool (2019-20): 44 consecutive wins (39 wins, 5 draws)
Chelsea (2004-05): 40 consecutive wins (33 wins, 7 draws)
Will a fourth person be added soon? Manchester City’s record of 31 consecutive games played (25 wins, 6 draws) is the 4th best in history.
📺 Watchlist: Vikings vs. Rams
(Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
The Rams will host the Vikings tonight (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime) at SoFi Stadium in a clash of opposing teams in the NFC.
Matchup: Minnesota (5-1) is tied for the best record in the conference, but Los Angeles (2-4) is fourth-worst, ahead of the Saints (2-5) and Giants (2-5). and the Panthers (1-6). But help is on the way, at least temporarily. *
Also noteworthy:
🏀 NBA: Spurs vs. Mavericks (7:30 p.m., TNT). Thunder at Nuggets (10 p.m., TNT)
🇺🇸Friendly Match: USWNT vs. Iceland (7:30 p.m., TBS) … in Austin, Texas.
🏈 NCAAF: Syracuse at No. 19 Pitt (7:30 p.m., ESPN) … Will the undefeated team lose again?
⛳️PGA: ZOZO Championship (11pm, golf)…2nd round in Chiba, Japan.
*Kupp’s return: Rams star wideout Cooper Kupp, who has been sidelined since spraining his ankle in Week 2, is expected to return tonight. However, his time with the team could be coming to an end as trade rumors swirl.
⚾️MLB trivia
Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera celebrate their 2009 World Series victory. (Pool/Getty Images)
The Yankees (27) and Dodgers (7) have the most World Series wins of any team and the sixth most.
Question: What are the names of the four teams?
Hint: 2 AL, 2 NL.
The answer is at the bottom.
🏈 When jury duty is called
(Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey missed Wednesday’s practice and filed a never-before-seen injury report. It was jury duty.
Details: According to the Star-Telegram, Aubrey is serving on a 12-person jury in a felony assault case centered on a charge of second-degree strangulation. The Cowboys reportedly tried to put him on waivers, but the 29-year-old All-Pro insisted.
Will he miss any games? The good news for the Cowboys is that the normal trial schedule won’t interfere with Aubrey’s availability on Sunday, barring special circumstances. He will reportedly return to the court today and tomorrow, but is not expected to miss Sunday’s game against the 49ers.
Trivia answers: Cardinals (11 World Series), Red Sox (9), Athletics (9), Giants (8)
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