ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos' usually stout defense has been rocked ever since losing second-year cornerback Riley Moss to an MCL injury against Las Vegas in Week 12. Without Moss there to capitalize on opponents shying away from star cornerback Patrick Surtain II, the Broncos (9-6) have had to largely abandon their preferred man coverage in favor of zone strategies and the results haven't been pretty. They allowed 32 points to the Cleveland Browns when former teammate Jerry Jeudy caught nine passes for a career-best 235 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown. Only Jonathan Taylor's fumble at the goal line as he was about to score a 41-yard touchdown and give Indianapolis a 20-3 lead saved the Broncos in Week 15 and allowed Denver to seize momentum and get the victory. They couldn't stop Justin Herbert , who led the Los Angeles Chargers back from a double-digit third-quarter deficit for a 34-27 win last week that prevented the Broncos from ending their eight-year playoff drought. It also put more pressure on the Broncos to win Saturday at Cincinnati, where the Bengals (7-8) cling to hopes of catching the Broncos and deny Denver a wild-card berth. Moss has enjoyed a breakout season in Denver with 71 tackles, eight pass breakups and an interception in 12 starts. He played in 14 games as a rotation player his rookie season after recovering from core muscle surgery that relegated him to special teams and spot duty in 2023. “We were and have been super excited" about the third-round pick out of Iowa, coach Sean Payton said. "Obviously, the guy that plays opposite of Patrick is going to get a lot of business. All throughout training camp, he really rose to the occasion, battled, competed and throughout really a good portion of the season. “He’s a big reason why we were playing so well defensively,” Payton added. "The sooner the better when we can get him back in the lineup. Hopefully it can happen this weekend.” In Moss' dozen starts, the Broncos allowed 16.8 points per game. Without him, they've been allowing 26.3 points a game. Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase pose a bigger challenge to the Broncos than Jeudy and Jameis Wiston did for Cleveland or Herbert and Ladd McConkey did for the Chargers. Moss returned to practice last week and the Broncos will determine this week whether he's ready to return to the field or if it's better to keep him out until their season finale against Kansas City. The medial collateral ligament is on the inside of the knee that connects the thigh bone to the shin bone. It’s one of four major ligaments that stabilize the knee and allow it to rotate. It typically takes a month to recover from an MCL sprain and the Broncos had their bye week earlier this month, meaning Moss might only have to miss three games. If the Broncos reach the playoffs for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 in Hall of Famer Peyton Manning's last start, they'll likely need to have a healthy Moss opposite Surtain to have any realistic hopes of avoiding a one-and-done appearance. The Broncos got a scare when Surtain injured an ankle against Indianapolis two weeks ago and limped off the field in the closing minutes. However, he was a full-go at practice last week and had no issues against the Chargers. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflBut the City boss has vowed to stay on and lift the club back to the top even if they are sent all the way down to the National League. Guardiola ended speculation over his immediate future this week by extending his contract, which had been due to expire at the end of the season, through to the summer of 2027. That has given the club some stability at a time of great uncertainty as they fight 115 charges related to alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations. City have denied all wrongdoing but their punishment if found guilty could be severe, with demotion even a possibility. Guardiola has strongly defended the club in the past and is happy to continue doing so. The Spaniard said: “I don’t enjoy it, I prefer not to be in that position, but once it’s there I love it because, when you believe in your club, and the people there – I believe what they say to me and the reasons why. “I cannot say yet because we’re awaiting the sentence in February or March – I don’t know when – but at the same time, I like it. “I read something about the situation and how you need to be relegated immediately. Seventy-five per cent of the clubs want it, because I know what they do behind the scenes and this sort of stuff. “I said when all the clubs accused us of doing something wrong, (and people asked) what happens if we are relegated, (I said) I will be here. “Next year, I don’t know the position of the Conference they are going to (put) us, (but) we are going to come up and come up and come back to the Premier League. I knew it then and I feel it now.” The immediate priority for Guardiola, who said his contract negotiations were completed in “just two hours”, is to arrest a run of four successive defeats in all competitions. Yet, ahead of their return to action against Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, the champions continue to grapple with a lengthy injury list. Mateo Kovacic is their latest casualty after sustaining a knock on international duty that could keep him out for up to a month. On the positive side, defenders Nathan Ake, John Stones and Manuel Akanji could feature and Jack Grealish is also closing in on a return after a month out. Much to Guardiola’s frustration, Grealish was called up by England for their recent Nations League games, although he later withdrew. Guardiola said: “I want the best for Jack and I want the best for Jack with the national team but the doctor said to me that he was not ready to play. “I know (England) want him but they have 200 players to select from and Jack was not fit. He had to recover from many things.” Kyle Walker played for England against both Greece and the Republic of Ireland despite limited game time since suffering injury in the October international break. Guardiola said: “If he is fit I like him to play in the national team. It is not a problem, don’t misunderstand me. “Kyle has a dream to make 100 caps for the national team. Do I want to cancel this dream? Absolutely not. “But if you are not fit, if you cannot play here, you cannot play for the national team. It is quite obvious.”
Twenty years in the military and commercial flights around the world couldn’t keep Muskogee native Doug Jackson from his area roots. Jackson played saxophone in high school and college and still keeps in touch with his Muskogee band mates, but excelled in math and science as well. “We’re looking to put together an all-class band reunion in 2025,” he said. Shortly after graduating from Northeastern State University, Jackson joined the Navy to become a pilot. He earned a master’s degree in military security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. He flew a helicopter for 10 years. He recalled marrying his wife in Guam. Jackson later switched to the U.S. Air Force and was stationed at Tinker Air Force Base. “That was close to home, so I jumped all over that,” he said. Jackson said military service was the best decision he ever made. “I’d do it 1,000 times over again,” he said. “It builds so much character. Lessons I learned, the maturing I did. What’s everlasting is the friendships I made. You cannot match the camaraderie gained when you’re in the military.” He retired from the military in 2006 to get into commercial aviation. He became a pilot for Continental Airlines, which merged into United Airlines. Jackson flew many overseas trips, including Australia and Singapore. Back issues prompted Jackson to end his airline career. But he kept busy with rental property. Jackson started owning and working on rental property around Muskogee in 1987. “I accumulated houses over the course of time,” he said. “I still manage those, still work on them. I became quite adept at all aspects of home repair and remodeling.” In May 2022, the Jacksons bought the Canebrake, a former resort located on 310 acres overlooking Fort Gibson Lake east of Wagoner. The original Canebrake closed in 2016. They reopened the Canebrake later that year and still oversee it. Jackson recently installed an interactive golf simulator and opened access to and a view of the lake. “I oversee the property, from fixing dishwasher to just about everything,” he said. Job market led to career path A tight job market prompted Doug Jackson to join the Navy. “I’d never flown in my life, never seen the ocean,” he said. “And the military was certainly not something in my family history. When I told my parents I would join the Navy, they thought I was off my rocker.” He skipped bootcamp and went right into aviation officer candidate school. “It was very rigorous, unlike anything I had ever done before,” he said. “From the time you get there to the time they you get your pilot wings, its very rigorous. The physical aspects and the mental aspects of it. They break you down.” Jackson’s first assignment was doing search and rescue near Guam. He went to the Persian Gulf during times of heightened alert in 1990. “When Desert Shield broke out, I got orders to be a flight instructor in San Diego,” he said. He flew the military’s largest helicopter, the MH-53, for mine sweeping. “It weighs about 72,000 pounds and carries about 50 people,” he said. After 13 years he transferred to the Air Force around 2000. He was stationed at Tinker Air Force Base, where he flew AWACS planes. Commercial aviation was natural progression Jackson said becoming a commercial pilot was “just the natural progression of things.” “It’s a really good gig, and they make a good amount of money,” he said. “The money is the biggest reward.” He went from the Boeing 737 to the 787. He called the 787 a wonderful, wonderful plane. “That’s Boeing’s most technologically advanced airplane,” he said. “It’s 20% lighter than a standard plane, tremendously fuel efficient. It’s got so many technological advances. It flies so beautifully.” Jackson made 17-hour flights to Sydney, Australia. “You’re sleeping for half of it,” he said. “But Sydney is worth the effort getting there.” Singapore, with its sophistication, was another place Jackson loved visiting. Jackson said the biggest challenge was commuting to and from his Oklahoma City home to his job in Houston. “I should have moved to Houston, but I was pretty happy in Oklahoma,” he said. Resort maintenance still a challenge Jackson reopened the Canebrake during post COVID-19 challenges. “When we first started, we had significant staffing issues,” he said. “Prices had gone sky high. And it’s still a challenge because people had not yet acclimated to the new price, and wages and food, and the prices you need to charge are a challenge.” He said it’s fortunate that Canebrake is not just a restaurant, but offers lodging and other services. “We’ve got a beautiful piece of property here, and we do a tremendous amount of special events, corporate events, weddings,” Jackson said. The resort also is taking advantage of its lakeside location. “We cleared out our lakefront view,” he said. “They’ve been by the lake all along, but you never could see it for all the trees. We wanted to capitalize on that.” Money continues to be a challenge, he said. “There’s a lot of moving parts,” he said. “We have a lot of infrastructure to maintain.” However, the challenge is its own reward. “You do get to make a difference in people’s lives,” he said. HOW DID YOU COME TO BE AN OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE? “I was born in Muskogee General Hospital. Lived in Muskogee my whole life til I joined the military. I had a lot of rental property, and I was living in Edmond when I was stationed at Tinker. We spent so much time here, bought a house here. So we live here in Muskogee now.” WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT MUSKOGEE? “I like the size of Muskogee. A lot of people say they want Muskogee to grow. I’ve been to big cities around the world. There’s a lot of down sides to big cities, mostly the traffic. Even in Edmond, traffic is horrendous. And there’s a lot to do in Muskogee, just go out and seek it, you will find it. It’s starting to turn around a little bit.” WHAT WOULD MAKE MUSKOGEE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE? “They’ve got to change the way they manage the city. They keep doing the same thing over and over, and here we are with the same result year after year. They have to change the way they think and manage the city.” WHAT PERSON IN MUSKOGEE DO YOU ADMIRE MOST? “Derryl Venters. Mrs. Venters was our science teacher. She was such an encourager and inspirational teacher. I still keep in contact with her to this day. She gave me aspirations of achieving more.” WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU IN MUSKOGEE? “When I was in high school, we won the state jazz contest. I’d love to see them do that again.” WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME? “I golf when I can, which is a lot easier now because we have three golf simulators here on our property. Remodels, repairs, home improvement. There’s a lot of fixing that needs to be done. I like to play poker.” HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP MUSKOGEE IN 25 WORDS OR LESS? “I was born and raised in Muskogee. It will always be home.”3 stock market pitfalls for beginners to look out for
