No. 2 Auburn arrives for prove-it game at No. 9 DukeMunicipal staff bans TikTok from township devicesOn 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
Winning one cricket match isn’t a big deal. Unless it’s a match like that in Perth Winning a cricket match isn’t always a big deal—unless it’s a match like the one in Perth! Team India surprised everyone with an incredible performance that no one expected. Just last month, they lost badly to New Zealand at home. People didn’t think they stood a chance against Australia, especially after scoring just 150 runs in their first innings on a tough, bouncy pitch. But India fought back in style, winning by a huge margin of 295 runs! It wasn’t just the score that shocked everyone, but the way they made Australia look completely helpless on their own turf. Stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah led the charge. His super-accurate fast bowling earned him the Player of the Match award, and his calm leadership reminded fans of Ajinkya Rahane, who inspired a famous comeback win in 2020. While Rohit Sharma is back as captain for the next match, Bumrah has shown he’s ready to be a great captain someday. Young star Yashasvi Jaiswal, who once sold golgappas (street food) to make ends meet, was the hero of the batting lineup. His incredible 161 runs gave India the boost they needed. KL Rahul, who often gets criticized online, also shone with confidence and determination, helping the team. Even Virat Kohli, who has been struggling lately, looked more like his old self. With this strong performance, India’s batting lineup is starting to look more reliable. The team also gave new players a chance, like Nitish Reddy and Harshit Rana, and chose Washington Sundar instead of experienced players like Ashwin and Jadeja. These bold moves worked brilliantly, proving that trusting young talent can pay off. This win has brought back fans’ faith in Team India, but the battle isn’t over yet. There are four more matches to go in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The Aussies love a tough fight, but so does this new and determined Indian team!
The Gophers football program has added a second receiver commitment in two days via the NCAA transfer portal. Nebraska transfer Malachi Coleman pledged to Minnesota on Tuesday and will have three years of eligibility at the U. ADVERTISEMENT “Let’s rock,” he posted on social media. Coleman was a top 70 recruit in the nation out of Lincoln (Neb.) East in the class of 2023, but didn’t play much in 2024. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, Coleman played in only one game in 2024, using his redshirt season. As a true freshman in 2023, Coleman had eight receptions for 139 yards and one touchdown. In 2023, he received an average grade out 58.0 by Pro Football Focus and was primarily a split receiver for 332 out of 335 total offensive snaps. Coleman follows two other wideouts to Minnesota: Logan Loya (UCLA) on Monday and Jaovn Tracy (Miami of Ohio) on Dec. 15. ______________________________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here .iFixit's storefront gets new additions and now sells OEM replacement parts for Xbox consoles. If your Xbox console goes on the fritz, iFixit has you covered. Well that's typically the case regardless thanks to their amazing tear-down guides. But it goes double now that iFixit's store is starting to sell replacement console hardware components. The repair gurus have added official genuine Microsoft replacement parts for Xbox Series consoles to their digital store, including the base Xbox Series S and the all-digital and disc-based Xbox Series X models. iFixit's range of replacement parts has everything from full motherboard arrays with the SoCs fastened right in, to power supplies, Wi-Fi chips, and massive fans. Interestingly enough, iFixit sells replacement Xbox Series S SSDs (these are sold out, but there's still a listing) but there's no actual listing for Xbox Series X SSDs, which start off at 1TB in size. It's also worth mentioning that these parts are often out of stock. Not only does the site sell the parts, but it also sells the handy tools needed to unscrew and unfasten everything in the Gen9 console duo. Here's an example of the prices that you can pay for the parts. iFixit sells more parts for the Series S than the Series X. The Series S catalog looks like this: Xbox Series S (components for both 12-digit and 14-digit serial models are sold, only 12-digit shown)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AP) — Zach Calzada threw for 182 yards and his 17-yard scoring pass to Roy Alexander was the game's only touchdown and Incarnate Word beat Villanova 13-6 on Saturday in the second round of the FCS playoffs. The Cardinals (11-2), who earned their highest seed in program history at No. 6, travel to face third-seeded South Dakota State in the quarterfinals. Brack Peacock kicked a 23-yard field goal to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead with 8:48 before halftime. Villanova (10-4) tied it on 49-yard field goal by Ethan Gettman almost five minutes later. Late in the third, Gettman gave the Wildcats their lone lead when he kicked a 52-yarder. Calzada connected with Roy early in the fourth and Peacock added insurance in the last stanza with a 35 yarder with 4:14 remaining. Lontrell Turner had 120 yards rushing on 18 carries for Incarnate Word. Connor Watkins threw for 103 yards and an interception for Villanova whose offense was outgained 437-138. The Wildcats hadn't been kept out of the end zone since Nov. 5, 2022 when Towson beat Villanova 27-3. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballLARAMIE -- This year University of Wyoming Extension employees received state, regional and national honors from professional associations in their fields. These outstanding staff members were recognized at an annual UW Extension conference in Sheridan earlier this month. Chance Marshall of Fremont County received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA). This award is given to an exceptional educator who has served extension for over 10 years, created effective programming and actively worked to improve extension. Marshall joined UW Extension as a Fremont County educator in 2014. “Chance has shown impeccable leadership and exceptional programming on artificial insemination in cattle and other livestock,” said Jeremiah Vardiman, past president of the Wyoming Association of County Agricultural Agents (WACAA). Jaycie Arndt earned the Achievement Award from the NACAA, which is given to an outstanding educator who has been with the association for less than 10 years. Arndt joined extension in 2020 and currently works as coordinator of the Institute for Managing Annual Grasses Invading Natural Ecosystems (IMAGINE) and an assistant research scientist at the Sheridan Research and Extension Center. “As a newer educator in our association, she shows a very high quality of work, especially leading a statewide organization like IMAGINE,” said Vardiman. He highlights Arndt’s ability to connect with her community. 4-H educators earn state, regional, national honors Several UW Extension employees were recognized by the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals (NAE4-HYDP). Awards are given to NAE4-HYDP members who are leaders in their communities and create innovative youth programming. Emily Haver, Carbon County 4-H educator, received the state Excellence in Natural Resources/Environmental Education Award for revitalizing the Carbon County 4-H summer camp. She also earned the state and regional Jim Kahler Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Awards for creating an after-school maker camp. Former Teton County 4-H educator Glenn Owings won the Achievement in Service Award, which recognizes an employee who has been a member of NAE4-HDP for 3-7 years. Laramie County 4-H educator Kristi Nagy won the Distinguished Service Award, awarded to those who have been members of NAE4-HYDP for 7-14 years. Erin Persche, who joined Weston County Extension as a 4-H educator in 2022, was named the 2024 Wyoming Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals (WAE4-HYDP) Rookie of the Year. This award recognizes an exceptional 4-H educator who has been a member of UW Extension for less than three years. Persche also received the state and regional Individual Periodical Publication Awards for the Weston County monthly 4-H newsletter. In addition, she won the state and regional Individual Social Media Package Awards for her “This Week in Weston County 4-H” weekly Facebook updates. Finally, Persche earned the state, regional and national Individual Promotional Piece Awards for a postcard that boosted re-enrollments in Weston County 4-H. Campbell County 4-H educator Makala Riley received state and regional recognition for a book club she created for 4-H volunteers. Riley also earned several accolades for her work on the Campbell County 4-H newsletter, including state and regional honors for her personal column introducing the newsletter. Riley, fellow Campbell County 4-H educator Kim Fry and Campbell County administrative assistant Treasure Boller received the state and regional Team Periodical Publication Awards for the newsletter as a whole. UW Extension’s Food, Fun, 4-H Program won the state Team Educational Package Award. This innovative program, created by UW Extension educators Kellie Chichester of Niobrara County, Joddee Jacobsen of Natrona County, Mary Louise Wood of Park County and Erin Persche of Weston County, encourages youth to cook with their families. Finally, Emily Swinyer of Sheridan County earned state and regional Individual Educational Package Awards for organizing and leading a childcare and babysitting course for older 4-H’rs . About the University of Wyoming Extension The University of Wyoming Extension serves Wyoming communities by helping residents apply university research and resources to practical problems. Since 1914, UW Extension has provided educational programs and tools to the state’s 23 counties and the Wind River Indian Reservation. From 4-H programming and pesticide safety education to food preservation and nutrition courses, Extension upholds the university’s land-grant mission by offering learning opportunities for people of all ages. UW Extension staff help Wyoming residents boost agricultural production, care for lawns and gardens, cultivate future leaders, support individual and community well-being, and develop thriving businesses. To learn more, visit www.uwyo.edu/uwe or call 307-766-5124.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin public worker and teachers unions scored a major legal victory Monday with a ruling that restores collective bargaining rights they lost under a 2011 state law that sparked weeks of protests and made the state the center of the national battle over union rights. That law, known as Act 10, effectively ended the ability of most public employees to bargain for wage increases and other issues, and forced them to pay more for health insurance and retirement benefits. Under the ruling by Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost, all public sector workers who lost their collective bargaining power would have it restored to what was in place prior to 2011. They would be treated the same as the police, firefighter and other public safety unions that were exempted under the law. Republicans vowed to immediately appeal the ruling, which ultimately is likely to go before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. That only amplifies the importance of the April election that will determine whether the court remains controlled 4-3 by liberal justices. Former Gov. Scott Walker, who proposed the law that catapulted him onto the national political stage, decried the ruling in a post on the social media platform X as “brazen political activism.” He said it makes the state Supreme Court election “that much more important.” Supporters of the law have said it provided local governments more control over workers and the powers they needed to cut costs. Repealing the law, which allowed schools and local governments to raise money through higher employee contributions for benefits, would bankrupt those entities, backers of Act 10 have argued. Democratic opponents argue that the law has hurt schools and other government agencies by taking away the ability of employees to collectively bargain for their pay and working conditions. The law was proposed by Walker and enacted by the Republican-controlled Legislature in spite of massive protests that went on for weeks and drew as many as 100,000 people to the Capitol. The law has withstood numerous legal challenges over the years, but this was the first brought since the Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped to liberal control in 2023. The seven unions and three union leaders that brought the lawsuit argued that the law should be struck down because it creates unconstitutional exemptions for firefighters and other public safety workers. Attorneys for the Legislature and state agencies countered that the exemptions are legal, have already been upheld by other courts, and that the case should be dismissed. But Frost sided with the unions in July, saying the law violates equal protection guarantees in the Wisconsin Constitution by dividing public employees into “general” and “public safety” employees. He ruled that general employee unions, like those representing teachers, can not be treated differently from public safety unions that were exempt from the law. His ruling Monday delineated the dozens of specific provisions in the law that must be struck. Wisconsin Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he looked forward to appealing the ruling. “This lawsuit came more than a decade after Act 10 became law and after many courts rejected the same meritless legal challenges,” Vos said in a statement. Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state's largest business lobbying organization, also decried the ruling. WMC President Kurt Bauer called Act 10 “a critical tool for policymakers and elected officials to balance budgets and find taxpayer savings." The Legislature said in court filings that arguments made in the current case were rejected in 2014 by the state Supreme Court. The only change since that ruling is the makeup of Wisconsin Supreme Court, attorneys for the Legislature argued. The Act 10 law effectively ended collective bargaining for most public unions by allowing them to bargain solely over base wage increases no greater than inflation. It also disallowed the automatic withdrawal of union dues, required annual recertification votes for unions, and forced public workers to pay more for health insurance and retirement benefits. The law was the signature legislative achievement of Walker, who was targeted for a recall election he won. Walker used his fights with unions to mount an unsuccessful presidential run in 2016. Frost, the judge who issued Monday's ruling, appeared to have signed the petition to recall Walker from office. None of the attorneys sought his removal from the case and he did not step down. Frost was appointed to the bench by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who signed the Walker recall petition. The law has also led to a dramatic decrease in union membership across the state. The nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum said in a 2022 analysis that since 2000, Wisconsin had the largest decline in the proportion of its workforce that is unionized. In 2015, the GOP-controlled Wisconsin Legislature approved a right-to-work law that limited the power of private-sector unions. Public sector unions that brought the lawsuit are the Abbotsford Education Association; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Locals 47 and 1215; the Beaver Dam Education Association; SEIU Wisconsin; the Teaching Assistants’ Association Local 3220 and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 695.
Saquon Barkley is the NFL's version of Shohei Ohtani: AnalysisBoom-boom’s boysBo Richter ‘continues to excel’ as Vikings special teams come off roller-coaster performance against Bears
President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a “political resolution” to the issue. The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan. 19 while the government emphasized its position that the statute is needed to eliminate a national security risk. “President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case,” said Trump’s amicus brief, which supported neither party in the case and was written by D. John Sauer, Trump’s choice for solicitor general. The argument submitted to the court is the latest example of Trump inserting himself in national issues before he takes office. The Republican president-elect has already begun negotiating with other countries over his plans to impose tariffs, and he intervened earlier this month in a plan to fund the federal government, calling for a bipartisan plan to be rejected and sending Republicans back to the negotiating table. Trump has also reversed his position on the popular app, having tried to ban it during his first term in office over national security concerns. He joined the app during his 2024 presidential campaign and his team used it to connect with younger voters, especially male voters, by pushing content that was often macho and aimed at going viral. He said earlier this year that he still believed there were national security risks with TikTok, but that he opposed banning it. This month, Trump also met with TikTok CEO Shou Chew at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. The filings Friday come ahead of oral arguments scheduled for Jan. 10 on whether the law, which requires TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban, unlawfully restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment. The law was was signed by President Joe Biden in April after it passed Congress with broad bipartisan support. TikTok and ByteDance filed a legal challenge afterwards. Earlier this month, a panel of three federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the statute , leading TikTok to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. The brief from Trump said he opposes banning TikTok at this junction and “seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.” In their brief to the Supreme Court on Friday, attorneys for TikTok and its parent company ByteDance argued the federal appeals court erred in its ruling and based its decision on “alleged ‘risks’ that China could exercise control” over TikTok’s U.S. platform by pressuring its foreign affiliates. The Biden administration has argued in court that TikTok poses a national security risk due to its connections to China. Officials say Chinese authorities can compel ByteDance to hand over information on TikTok’s U.S. patrons or use the platform to spread or suppress information. But the government “concedes that it has no evidence China has ever attempted to do so,” TikTok’s legal filing said, adding that the U.S. fears are predicated on future risks. In its filing Friday, the Biden administration said because TikTok “is integrated with ByteDance and relies on its propriety engine developed and maintained in China,” its corporate structure carries with it risk.