Last year, everyone underestimated the Chicago Bears as they rode a new regime and a new attitude to a 12-4 record and the team's first NFC North title since 2010. This season, there's no playing that underdog role. Now, they're the hunted. And it shows, as evidenced by the fact that the Bears are the most-bet team to win the Super Bowl this season. Bears are the most popular bet to win the Super Bowl (via @CaesarsPalace ) pic.twitter.com/2qCdWviSeT - B/R Betting (@br_betting) May 29, 2019 The Bears have all of the pieces to be a title contender. Their defense is arguably the best in the league, and while they have a new defensive coordinator in Chuck Pagano, there's no reason to believe that this unit will take a step backward. The offense is entering its second season in Matt Nagy's scheme, and it's a better understanding of that scheme that has created high expectations for this unit, as well as third-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky. The Bears are one of the most complete teams in the league. And while they'll face a tougher schedule in 2019, there's a belief that this is a team that can make a deep run in the playoffs - as long as they remedy that kicker issue. MORE: Cubs dugout, Joe Maddon join Cardinals fans in booing Kris Bryant Kyle Shanahan on the cutting edge with 'positionless' offense Uncertainty with Ben Watson should push Patriots to trade for Kyle Rudolph VIDEO: Streaker On the Field During Champions League Final Pros and cons for the Panthers potentially signing Gerald McCoy


You can leave your umbrella at home for today, but light rainfall is in the forecast for Denver starting on Saturday, according to the seven-day forecast from drone-powered weather service Saildrone . Saturday's forecast shows the greatest likelihood of rain at 83 percent, with expected rainfall of 0.15 inches. The next few days will also bring hot temperatures, expected to stick around through Thursday. The weather will bring a high temperature of 93 degrees on Tuesday. Skies will be partly cloudy today and clear on Monday. Winds are forecast to reach a modest high of 15 mph on Monday, with daily top speeds in the single digits throughout the week. This story was created automatically using Saildrone's local weather forecast data, then reviewed by an editor. We also incorporate historic weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


CLARKSTOWN - More than 100 volunteers showed up at Rockland Lake State Park today to search for a Clarkstown teenager who has been missing since Friday, police said. Peter Ereifej, 18, went for a walk near his home in New City and did not return, Clarkstown police said. His mother reported him missing on Friday . This morning police said they received help at the park, close to Ereifej's home, from volunteers from Active International, a Pearl River-based company where his mother works. Bad weather prevented police helicopters and drones from launching today to help with the search. Police are asking people to check in with park rangers at Rockland Lake State Park before joining the search. Ereifej, a former wrestler at Clarkstown South High School, was last seen wearing a long-sleeve white shirt, black shorts and black sneakers. Anyone who has information on his whereabouts is asked to call Clarkstown police at 845-639-5800. CLARKSTOWN: Peter Ereifej, 18, reported missing Twitter: @MattSpillane This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Peter Ereifej: 100 volunteers search for missing Clarkstown teen


The Android Q beta 3 is here, and like the first public beta of this OS , there's not much to get excited about. This beta doesn't offer the meatiest update, but it is our first look at some of the user-facing features coming to Android Q. Things like Dark Mode and full gesture navigation are here, but more exciting highlights like Live Caption and Focus Mode are both missing. You can try the beta yourself if you're not afraid of potentially buggy software, and if you own one of the 21 handsets that will work with it. That's double the number of devices that supported the beta last year. What's new Not all the features Google showed off during the I/O keynote are actually available on Beta 3. You'll get gesture navigation and the highly anticipated Dark Mode, as well as apparently Smart Replies with app actions, although we haven't seen that yet and neither have a few other journalists here at the conference. You won't find Live Captions in this beta either, but we did get to check out a demo in person. Also missing are things like Focus Mode, background security updates and chat bubbles. I had a chance to check out the beta on devices that Google itself had on display here at I/O (and therefore presumably would at least be smoother and more reliable than a version you install yourself). Dark Mode The most obvious new feature, which got a loud, welcoming response during the keynote, is Dark Mode. It's not just a night-friendly mode that saves your eyes; it saves your phone's energy, too. Go into Settings and search for "Dark" and select the Dark theme (as opposed to the Light alternative). This flips the color scheme from dark text on a white background to the reverse throughout the system and in supported apps. It's important to note here: not all apps support the dark theme. In this beta, at least, supported apps are mostly Google's own, like Photos, Messages, YouTube and Dialer, but these already had a version of the dark interface . Calendar does a strange thing where its startup page will be black or white depending on the mode you're in, but the actual interface is the same light background in both cases. Google said that it's developers who need to make their apps display a different color scheme when dark mode is activated, and it has tools to help them with that. One of them shows developers what their apps would look like dark mode simply by flipping its colors. If they like the way that looks, the tool can cut down many of the steps needed to add support for dark mode. Otherwise, there are other tools to help them figure it out. For now, Dark Mode on the Android Q beta 3 is not yet truly system wide, but it's a nice start. Don't expect the beta to be the same across all compatible Android devices, though. While the beta is available across 21 different phones, it's up to manufacturers to decide which parts of the UI they want to implement. On a Huawei Mate 20 Pro, for example, I tried to enable dark mode but saw no difference when it was on or off. I also couldn't find gesture navigation or dark mode on some of the other handsets on display, like an Essential PH-1 or a Nokia 8.1. Only the LG G8 I was using had all the new features. Basically, your experience with this beta may vary depending on the phone you have. Gesture navigation Another significant change is in navigation. With Android Q, you'll be able to use a fully gesture-based system that resembles the one in the iPhone X and XS. That means you can replace the triangle, circle and square (back, home and all apps) with a swipe-based system. To be clear, you could already do this in Android P, but Q introduces some new gestures and completely removes the back button altogether. This isn't a mandatory or default mode ( not yet, anyway ). You can enable this in the settings by searching for "gestures." When enabled, you'll find a bar at the bottom that's slightly wider and thinner than the "pill" in Android Pie. While you could tap the pill to go home, in the Q beta, the bar doesn't do anything when pressed. It's more of an indicator for where you should be swiping. Flick it up quickly to go to the home page and swipe sideways on it to switch between your open apps. Go back by swiping in from the right edge of the screen. You can pull up the app drawer from the home or recent apps pages, though not if you have an app open. You also no longer summon Google Assistant by long pressing on the pill or home button; instead, you have to drag diagonally up from the bottom left or right corners of the display. Or, you know, say "OK Google." I was a little upset at losing the back button at first, but over time I realized I like swiping from the edge of the screen. Since I can do so from basically anywhere on the display's edge, so it's handy when I'm gripping my phone nearer the top or holding it horizontally. And if you don't like it, you can always go back to a more familiar button-based interface. Live Captions Although we weren't able to try this out for ourselves, and it's not something that you'll get with Beta 3, it was still helpful to see how Live Caption works. A Google spokesperson showed us the feature on her demo phone. She pulled up a video in her photo gallery and started playing it, then pressed the volume rocker on her phone. An onscreen slider for volume control slid in and below it, a button to toggle Live Captions. She tapped it, and a black panel with a header saying "Live Captions" opened up and floated on top of the video. Words started to appear, transcribing what was being said in the video. The spokesperson pinched to resize the box and dragged it up and down the screen to reposition it. My favorite thing about Live Captions is that it's a systemwide feature and will work with basically any audio output from your device. That means you can get captions for not just Instagram Stories and the latest viral video, but also for podcasts or other sound-only media. It's not yet clear whether you can do things like copy and paste text from the caption panel, but that would be really useful. It's not a stretch to imagine that work anyway, considering you can already copy and paste text from open app windows in the All Apps screen. It's not yet clear when Android Q itself will roll out and what other features might be available. Plus, what namesake dessert can Google find that starts with the letter Q? We'll have to wait till later this year to find out. For now, though, the Q beta is a good way to make your phone feel refreshed, even if the updates are mostly cosmetic.


Brendan Rodgers has been left to rue Leicester City's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City, as striker Kelechi Iheanacho missed the 'best chance of the game'. City's winner came courtesy of a Vincent Kompany wonder goal after the Foxes looked as though they may hold on for a share of the points. The defeat handed City the advantage in the title race and leaves seventh place now out of reach for Leicester. It could all have been a different story however, as Iheanacho was handed a glorious opportunity to equalise in the 87th minute. After Hamza Choudhury won the ball in City 's half, he played in the Nigerian striker, only for his team mate to scuff the shot wide. Speaking on the opportunity, as quoted by Leicester's official website , Rodgers said: " We had probably the best chance in the game with young Kelechi , which unfortunately he didn't take." Kelechi Iheanacho with a big chance for Leicester, but he shouts "nah Liverpool fans will be unbearable" right before sticking it wide.   Paddy Power (@paddypower) May 6, 2019 Despite the defeat, the Leicester boss remained proud of his team, as he said: "I thought the first half in particular, we played with a lot of quality, "Our confidence was good in our build-up play and we played through their pressure and gave them a lot of problems. We needed to carry that into the second half and we didn't, so we'll analyse that." Rodgers claimed his side's change of style in the second half resulted in the concession of Kompany's goal, adding: "We started to go a little bit longer with our build-up play and the problem with that is it gives you a little bit of a rest for one second, but then it comes back quicker. That's what happened in the build-up to their goal. We got deeper and deeper." Leicester host Chelsea in the final game of the season, as they look to end their campaign on a high ahead of a busy summer. Three points for the Foxes would guarantee a top-half finish and could even lift them into eighth position.


Courtney Dempsey tells you how to get around the closure.


Wide receiver Michael Floyd won't be back with Washington for the 2019 season, but he won't be traveling far to meet up with his new team. According to multiple reports, the Ravens are signing Floyd to a one-year deal. Floyd spent last summer trying to make the Saints, but wound up in Washington after failing to make the roster in New Orleans. He played in 13 games and ended the year with 10 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. The Ravens will be Floyd's sixth team since the start of the 2016 season. He opened that year with the Cardinals, got cut following a DUI arrest and then signed with the Patriots. He played two games for New England that year and then played 11 games for the Vikings in 2017. Floyd joins Seth Roberts as veteran additions to the receiving corps in Baltimore this offseason. They also drafted Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin last month.


President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his upcoming "Salute to America" event -- a ramped up July 4th celebration in Washington -- amid criticism of its likely high price tag and potentially partisan undertones. "The cost of our great Salute to America tomorrow will be very little compared to what it is worth. We own the planes, we have the pilots, the airport is right next door (Andrews), all we need is the fuel. We own the tanks and all. Fireworks are donated by two of the greats. Nice!" Trump tweeted Wednesday morning . Facts First: The White House and federal agencies involved in the Salute to America event declined to provide cost estimates, so it's impossible to determine the exact price tag. Still, it's safe to say that the costs incurred by the federal government as well as the city of Washington DC and other regional economies will be in the millions of dollars, and go well beyond the cost of fuel and include security and logistical costs. In addition, many of the planes are coming from much farther than "right next door." The involvement of military assets -- from fighter jets to tanks to armored vehicles -- has created logistical headaches that are likely to take lots of money to resolve. But beyond the military demonstrations, Trump's planned presence on the National Mall will likely rack up huge security costs that go beyond what a traditional July 4th event requires. The DC National Guard says it has called up approximately 800 members to help control traffic and secure the streets and Metro transit system on the day of the events. A military official tells CNN the number is actually 900 members, which would be nearly triple the typical 300-person activation for July Fourth activities in Washington, the official said. To secure an area where the President will be exposed, the Secret Service typically sets up a perimeter into which people can only enter if they pass through metal detectors and have their belongings searched. The equipment and manpower necessary to create those additional security checkpoints and the barriers between them are likely to be pricey. For example, the clear ballistic armor necessary for Trump to speak costs more than $24,000 . Traditionally, presidents celebrate July 4th at the White House, which is already secured and doesn't incur such high costs. The Washington Post reported that to cover the costs of the event, the National Park Service had to dip into its entrance and recreation fee fund for $2.5 million -- likely just a fraction of what the Interior Department and other agencies will spend on the event overall. In an email response to questions about cost estimates, Mike Litterst, Chief of Communications for National Mall and Memorial Parks said: "The Department of the Interior is committed to providing the American people a fantastic celebration of our nation's birthday. We are doing so consistent with the Department's mission and historical practices. We hope everyone enjoys the Fourth." Although Trump seems to be suggesting that the cost of the event will be low due to the close proximity of the aircraft involved, according to a defense official who spoke to CNN, the aircraft will be coming from California (the Navy F-35Cs from Naval Air Station Lemoore), Kentucky (the Apache helicopters from Fort Campbell), Florida (the Blue Angels F/A-18s from Naval Air Station Pensacola), Missouri (the B-2 bomber from Whiteman Air Force Base). Other aircraft (the F-22s, VC-25, Ospreys, and two of the F/A-18s) will come from nearby Virginia and Maryland, according to the Defense official. Some of those aircraft can be expensive to operate. A B-2 can cost $122,311 per hour to fly, and an F-22 is can cost $65,128 per hour to operate -- but according to the US Air Force, "flyovers are conducted at no additional cost to the taxpayer as they are accomplished using pre-planned and paid for training hours allocated to the units." Another US military official told CNN last week that the cost of using military assets was estimated to be less than $1 million, and that the personnel involved will be drawn from units based in the Washington area, helping to drive down costs. In addition, the suspension of flights into and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport will certainly carry an economic cost. Flights coming and going from the airport will be suspended from 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. on Thursday for the planned military flyovers, and again from 9 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. ET for the fireworks show, which unlike years' past will interfere with flight paths into and out of the airport. The Interior Department has said the fireworks for part of this year's show, which will be longer than usual, were donated by two companies and are worth roughly $750,000.


The Denver Nuggets and Portland Trial Blazers made history on Friday night, becoming just the second playoff game in NBA history to go to four overtimes. The Blazers beat the Nuggets 140-137 in the seemingly never-ending game at the Moda Center, thanks to a go-ahead 3-pointer from Rodney Hood in the final seconds. It was a game that stole the attention of the NBA world   at least those who were awake to see it, and rightfully so. After all, it had been 65 years since an NBA playoff game went to four overtimes. The first and only other occurrence was in 1953, when the Boston Celtics beat the Syracuse Nationals 111-105. At that time, the NBA   and the world   was a very different place. The NBA had just 10 teams The NBA had just 10 teams in the 1952-53 season, and only two of those teams are still in existence in the same city. The New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Syracuse Nationals, Baltimore Bullets and Philadelphia Warriors made up the Eastern Division. The Minneapolis Lakers, Rochester Royals, Fort Wayne Pistons, Indianapolis Olympians and Milwaukee Hawks made up the Western Division. Minneapolis beat the Knicks 4-1 in the NBA Finals that season for their second straight title, and were led by center George Mikan. The NBA had yet to introduce the shot clock to its game in 1953, and didn't add the 3-point line until 1979. The number of teams in the league fluctuated for more than a decade after the 1953 season, and didn't hit 12 teams until the 1967-68 season. Philadelphia's Neil Johnston led the league in scoring with 22.3 points per game. Bob Cousy of the Celtics led the league in assists at 7.7 per game, and Mikan led in rebounding with 14.4 per game. Monk Meineke of the Fort Wayne Pistons was the Rookie of the Year. President Eisenhower became the 34th President Just like the NBA, the United States looked very different in 1953. Dwight D. Eisenhower was sworn in as the 34th President of the United States in January that year. Gas cost roughly $0.29 per gallon in 1953, via USA Today. The top song on the Billboard Top 100 chart that year was "Percy Faith" from Moulin Rouge. The country was nearing the end of the Korean War as the NBA season was wrapping up that year, and both Alaska and Hawaii had yet to become official states. The rest of the sports world was a totally different place, too. There were 12 teams in the National Football League that year , though the first Super Bowl wasn't held until more than a decade later. The Detroit Lions beat the Cleveland Browns 17-16 in the championship that year. The New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series that year , too, though there were just 16 teams in Major League Baseball at that time. Related Slideshow: Best of the 2019 NBA Playoffs (provided by imagn) More from Yahoo Sports: Lakers reportedly moving toward Ty Lue as head coach Paylor: Chiefs' Tyreek Hill gives rebuttal to child-abuse accusations 6 key issues lingering in college hoops corruption trial Retired baseball player slapped with PED suspension


Statistics like this throw into sharp relief the challenge for Silicon Valley and its leaders in 2019. If you want to run into a celebrity, you go to Hollywood. If you want to run into a billionaire, you should move to San Francisco. There are more American billionaires than ever before, according to a new study, and Silicon Valley is their home turf. One out of every 11,600 people in San Francisco is a billionaire. That makes San Francisco, globally ranked fourth in number of billionaires, the city with the most billionaires per capita   by far. That's according to the annual census of billionaires by Wealth-X, which tracks the ten-figured. Billionaires have had a rough year   the American left has cast them as corporate villains whose exorbitant wealth reflects a system that no longer works. They have become political piñatas, and not just the billionaire in the White House. A growing number of billionaires even have become critics of capitalism, saying it must be reformed in order to be saved. And in 2018, their global wealth actually did decrease. There are fewer of them, too. The survey finds that the total number of billionaires fell by 5 percent to about 2,600 worldwide, with their total wealth declining by 7 percent to about $8.6 trillion. Much of that drop, though, reflects rough times for billionaires in Asia, where the number of the mega-rich fell substantially, largely due to economic slowdowns in China . Here in the US? Things are going pretty okay. The new conversation in the US about billionaires makes sense given that the number of them hit an all-time high in 2017. And the number of American billionaires increased by 4 percent last year, "consolidating its position as the world's dominant billionaire country," although their net worth fell by 5 percent last year. In some circles in San Francisco, it's hard not to personally encounter a billionaire who is doing pretty okay. In second place is New York City, which has merely one billionaire for every 81,000 people. Statistics like that throw into sharp relief the challenge for Silicon Valley and its leaders in 2019: They are stereotyped, and perhaps not unfairly, as out of touch with the people whose lives they affect around the world. If you're a billionaire who dines with other billionaires, skis with other billionaires and raises your family alongside other billionaires, then maybe your work decisions are based on a narrow understanding of the world outside of San Francisco. Those statistics should tell also you a lot about San Francisco, which has barely grown in total size since 1950, until very recently. So the denominator has stayed static at a time of enormous wealth creation. Meanwhile, the amount of money in a fairly small city makes the cost of living higher for working-class people, especially given the city's limited supply of housing   displacing less wealthy people out of the city proper. And critics might say that San Francisco hasn't focused on problems like homelessness or drug prevention in part because the city caters to billionaires and tech companies . The concentration of wealth explains why city leaders are now pushing for measures like an IPO tax . The recent run-up in value of tech stocks in recent years had made those leaders far richer, too, although 2018 was not as much of a banner year. Today, about 5 percent of billionaires come from the tech industry, and five of the 10 wealthiest people in the world come from the tech industry. The average tech billionaire owns $6 billion in wealth, though that figure is distorted greatly by the very richest people in Silicon Valley like Jeff Bezos, who is worth more than $130 billion. The survey also offers a revealing look each year at who these billionaires really are: 56 percent of billionaires are self-made   meaning that their money primarily did not come from a hefty inheritance. Billionaires are, in general, old. The average age is just over 65. And while the young might be rich in Silicon Valley, only about 10 percent of global billionaires are under the age of 50. And they are extremely disproportionately male   88 percent of the world's billionaires are men. And in an era when billionaires are being questioned more than ever about the role they play in the world, the top hobby for these billionaires is philanthropy. Calling that a "hobby" may be quite accurate   given that it's a good question whether much of their philanthropy really does any good. Recode and Vox have joined forces to uncover and explain how our digital world is changing   and changing us. Subscribe to Recode podcasts to hear Kara Swisher and Peter Kafka lead the tough conversations the technology industry needs today.


For a second day in a row, U.S. Air Force F-22 fighters intercepted Russian aircraft that entered the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and never entered U.S. airspace Tuesday, but this time, the Russian planes flew in and out of the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone that stretches 200 miles from the Alaska coastline. "Two pairs of F-22 fighter jets, each with an E-3 intercepted Tu-95 bombers Su-35 fighter jets entering the Alaskan ADIZ May 21. The bombers entered the ADIZ and were intercepted by two F-22s, exited and then re-entered the Alaskan ADIZ accompanied by two Su-35 fighter jets," according to a NORAD statement. E-3 AWAC aircraft provide airborne radar coordination and surveillance. "NORAD committed an additional two F-22s and E-3 to relieve the initial intercept aircraft," the statement continued. "A KC-135 refueling aircraft supported both of NORAD's intercept teams. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and at no time entered U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace." NORAD said this week's intercepts mark the fourth and fifth intercepts of Russian aircraft this year. Two Russian Tu-95 bombers and two Su-35 fighters were involved in Tuesday's incident. On Monday, a mix of four Tu-95 bombers and two Su-35 fighters were intercepted by four American F-22s. The Alaskan ADIZ is airspace that stretches 200 miles from the coastline and is monitored in the interest of national security. U.S. territorial airspace begins 12 miles from the coastline. NORAD, a joint U.S.-Canadian military command, sends military aircraft to identify any unidentified aircraft transiting through the American or Canadian ADIZ's. The Russian flights this week are the first to occur close to Alaska since January, when Russian bombers entered Canada's ADIZ and were intercepted by both Canadian and U.S. aircraft. The Russian Defense Ministry said in its own statement on Tuesday that "Four Tu-95ms strategic missile carriers of the Russian Aerospace Forces made scheduled sorties over the neutral waters of the Chukotka, Bering and Okhotsk seas, as well as along the western coast of Alaska and the northern coast of the Aleutian Islands." "At certain stages of the route, Russian aircraft were escorted by F-22 fighter jets of the USAF," according to the statement. "The total flight time exceeded 12 hours." "All flights of the Russian Air and Space Force are carried out in strict accordance with the International Airspace Management System without violating the borders of other states," it added. It takes a bit of effort for the Russian military to undertake long-range bomber missions to far eastern Russia and the waters off of Alaska. Russia's long-range bomber fleet is positioned in central and western Russia, meaning the bombers and their maintenance teams are flown to eastern Russian airbases so they can undertake these types of missions. Over the last two years, Russian missions close to Alaska have occurred two to three times a year.


For a company that's persuaded people to pay for speakers that bug their own homes and allow delivery drivers to open their front doors or car trunks to drop off packages, Amazon really doesn't like information to flow the other way. For example, it is secretive about plans to build expansive fulfillment centers and, once they're built, where they are. Its annual reports to shareholders are devoid of any list. The latest report simply mentions $21 billion worth of lease obligations and liabilities by the end of 2018. Wikipedia, however, offers an inventory thanks in large part to news reports that put two and two together, even when local officials say they're sworn to secrecy or simply haven't asked who the user might be . So, when a proposal emerged to build a $200 million multi-story fulfillment center in Suffolk's Northgate Commerce Park (also occupied by Blue Bell Ice Cream and Wanchese Fish Co.), with mentions of only a "tenant," it's natural to think of the company that makes cardboard boxes smile. Who might want the 84 acres perfectly situated near Interstate 664 and the ring that links South Hampton Roads to the Peninsula that would help ensure "one-day delivery"? And who might need at least 820,000 square feet of warehouse with 200 spaces for semi-trucks and 1,750 employee parking spots for two daily shifts of several hundred workers, with more during the holidays? Amazon.com isn't the only company selling goods online and promising one-day turnarounds. But it is the largest . Researcher eMarketer.com has said Amazon will account for 47 percent of all online retail sales this year based on spending. The next closest? EBay with 6.1%. Who also tends to enlist Seefried Industrial Properties, an Atlanta-based developer, to build the sprawling warehouses for all those Internet-sold wares? Seefried's chief development officer lists at least seven buildings his company has constructed for Amazon.com , including two near Richmond. That firm, and the chief development officer, are the applicants seeking a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers that would allow an unidentified, so far, e-commerce user to build that warehouse on a portion of Suffolk wetlands. There has been one preliminary meeting with the city's planning department, but don't hope to find out more when the planning commission and city council consider the plan to build a giant distribution center with hundreds of workers and a steady flow of truck traffic. In Suffolk, as long as the zoning is on point and nothing special is required, the planning department's staff can sign off on the project. The tenant, whoever it may be, wants to start building by January and open by fall 2021.     ©2019 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) Visit The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) at pilotonline.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


A team's route to the Champions League final is always going to be special. But then there's Tottenham Hotspur's route to the Champions League final. Which is a different kettle of fish altogether. They have appeared to be on the verge of elimination at virtually every stage of this year's competition and it still seems to be a miracle that they made it to the knockout stages, let alone all the way to the final. No club's fans have experienced an emotional rollercoaster more than Spurs' have in the Champions League this year. When it comes to the final in Madrid, they could be 7-0 down with ten minutes to play and they will still find a way to conjure up some magic. With this in mind, let's take a look at the five defining moments of their 2018/19 Champions League journey. Eriksen's Late Winner at Home to Inter Right place. Right time.  ⚽ @ChrisEriksen8 talks his two goals on our #MarchToMadrid , both against Inter Milan in the group stages. #UCLfinal ⚪ #COYS pic.twitter.com/6oJxyVKey2   Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 26, 2019 Late goals from PSV Eindhoven and Inter meant Tottenham had just one point to their name after three group stage games and were staring at an early exit from the competition. Following a narrow victory at home to PSV, Spurs faced Inter, knowing nothing but a win would do to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages. A typically stern display from the Italians gave the home side very few glimpses at goal, and it looked as though their job was done. But ten minutes from time, up stepped substitute Christian Eriksen to turn the ball home from Dele Alli 's lay off to keep Spurs' dreams alive with a narrow win. Lucas Moura's Late Leveller at the Nou Camp ⚡  @LucasMoura7 's #MarchToMadrid has been VERY special! #UCLfinal ⚪ #COYS pic.twitter.com/zfrKiKZg7C   Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 28, 2019 Spurs approached the final group stage match knowing they just needed to equal Inter's result. Sounds easy...until you realise the north Londoners were playing away to Barcelona and the Milan side were at home to PSV. Much to everybody's surprise, Tottenham and Inter were 1-0 down very early on and at that stage, Spurs were through. That was until Mauro Icardi levelled things up for the Serie A outfit 20 minutes from time. In response, the Lilywhites began to push forward and their pressure finally told on 85 minutes when Lucas Moura turned in Harry Kane's pinpoint cross. Inter were unable to find a winner to send them through, and so the Premier League side were heading to the last 16. Afterwards, Mauricio Pochettino suggested Spurs had achieved 'mission impossible'. Little did he know what was to come... Spurs' First Leg Thrashing of Dortmund ⚽ Goal: ✔  Assist: ✔   @JanVertonghen talks us through a memorable performance against Dortmund at Wembley on our #MarchToMadrid . #UCLfinal ⚪ #COYS pic.twitter.com/cEtRj14VM4   Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 27, 2019 When the Bundesliga leaders came to town in February, many were expecting a classic Champions League knockout tie. Spurs put those expectations to bed in the first leg however, as they ran riot at Wembley and came away 3-0 winners. Pochettino's men followed this up with a thoroughly professional 1-0 win at the Westfalenstadion in the second leg to knock the dark horses out at the last 16 stage. Had Dortmund received the memo about this season being the season of miraculous comebacks, it may have been a different story. Alas, Tottenham progressed to the quarter-finals with relative, uncharacteristic ease. A Champions League Classic at the Etihad 1⃣ PSV:  2⃣ Dortmund: ⚽ 3⃣ Man City: ⚽  ⬇ @llorentefer19 talks us through three crucial moments on our #MarchToMadrid ! #UCLfinal ⚪ #COYS   Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 29, 2019 1⃣ PSV:  2⃣ Dortmund: ⚽ 3⃣ Man City: ⚽  ⬇ @llorentefer19 talks us through three crucial moments on our #MarchToMadrid ! #UCLfinal ⚪ #COYS   Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 29, 2019 In possibly the greatest game in Champions League history, Spurs came out on top in the rollercoaster of all rollercoaster ties. A stupendous opening 21 minutes saw Tottenham 3-2 down on the night, but level at 3-3 on aggregate and set to progress on away goals. But on the hour mark, Aguero crashed the ball home to put City ahead in the tie and heading to the semi-finals. Spurs now had to throw the kitchen sink at the Citizens if they were to progress, and that's just what they did. 17 minutes from time, Tottenham got their equaliser courtesy of Fernando Llorente's hip. However, with so much time left, you got the feeling there was more drama to come. As the clocked ticked into injury time, City burst through and got the all important winner, much to the dismay of Pochettino. Until VAR intervened, that is, as the referee eventually ruled the goal out for an offside in the build up. With little to no time for the home side to respond, Spurs made it to the final four in spectacular, breathless fashion. That Night in Amsterdam WHAT A FINISH. UNBELIEVABLE!  Lucas Moura  #UCL | @SpursOfficial pic.twitter.com/eJBUacWQIw   UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 13, 2019 Carrying a 1-0 deficit into the second leg in Amsterdam, Spurs had a little hope going into this game. But all that hope was shattered when first-half goals from Matthijs de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech put Ajax 3-0 up on aggregate with 45 minutes left to play. A quick-fire double from Lucas Moura just before the hour mark gave Tottenham life once again. To win this game they needed one more goal, but Ajax defended resolutely and looked to have secured their place in the final when Spurs headed over the bar a minute or so from the end of injury time. Miraculously, the Londoners managed to get the ball forward once more for Lucas Moura, who swept home from the edge of the box to complete possibly the greatest comeback of all time. Even if Spurs fail to lift the trophy, nothing will take away from this famous night.


Family and friends are mourning a youth basketball coach and father of two who was gunned down in front of his Southern California home. Claudell Walter, 38, was found shot in front of his home in Menifee just before 10 p.m. Saturday, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Walter had just parked and was getting out of his car when he was struck, reported Los Angeles ABC affiliate KABC. (MORE: Parolee charged in Malibu campground killing of young dad Tristan Beaudette: DA) Walter's 13-year-old son, who was not harmed, was sitting in the car at the time, according to KABC, though sheriff's office officials said they could not verify the report. No arrests have been made, according to the sheriff's office. (MORE: Father dies while saving 5-year-old daughter from dog attack, authorities say) Walter and his brother-in-law, DaShaun Thomas, were the co-founders of a youth basketball program, reported KABC. "I lost another brother," Thomas wrote on Facebook on Monday. "From the day I met your sister, you loved, and supported me in every way. It's eating me up that something like this can happen to such a great man. Thanks for devoting so much time into making my dream a reality. I will continue to carry on your legacy man. This hurts." (MORE: 'She was just a baby': 10-year-old killed in front of her family in apparent road rage incident) Thomas did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. "Coach Claudell was such a great man, father, husband, brother, son, uncle, cousin, friend and Coach!" said a post Monday on the DTermined Athletics Instagram page . "Claudell loved his family and his two kids were his heart. He loved coaching and mentoring athletes. He put his heart and sole [sic] into the next generation and we are stunned that such thing could happen."


Within the Buffalo Bills backfield is one big question mark in the form of running back TJ Yeldon. Prior to the 2019 NFL draft, Yeldon signed a two-year deal with the Bills. Many presumed that meant Buffalo, who already inked veteran Frank Gore to a contract earlier in the offseason with LeSean McCoy still in town, would not draft a running back. Enter third-round pick Devin Singletary. That's a lot of hands and a finite amount of touches to go around. Who really knows how things will shakeout at this point? Among those four, Yeldon looks like the man most in the shadows. Gore and McCoy have bigger names, and there's also some hope surrounding a rookie. Is Yeldon already on the chopping block? Perhaps not. The back still believes there's a place for him with the Bills. Recently speaking with the Buffalo News, Yeldon said he can do whatever the Bills will want him to do. He'll find himself a place. "I feel like I'm a do-it-all back. I can run. I can catch the ball," Yeldon said . His brief career, the numbers tell the story to back his claim. Yeldon, while a second-round pick of the Jaguars in 2015 out of Alabama, has never consistently featured as a No. 1 back on their roster. As a rookie, he did lead the Jags with 740 rushing yards, but then in 2016 he split carries with now former-Bills back, Chris Ivory. . Over the past two seasons, Yeldon's played 10 and 14 games, respectively, tallying only 253 and 414 rushing yards in those years. In 2016, Yeldon was actually a healthy scratch, though, not injured. But since 2017, he split time with Leonard Fournette in the Jags' offense, making touches difficult to come by. Then Yeldon found a knack as a receiving back. In 51 career games, he has 171 receptions, 1,302 receiving yards and six scores. Of that, 55 catches, 487 yards and four touchdowns came last season alone. Cole Beasley is considered the "safety valve" for quarterback Josh Allen via the slot receiver position, Yeldon could provide that same boost from the backfield. Observers of the Bills should perhaps not overlook Yeldon while considering how the team's backfield could look in 2019. There's a lot to figure out with a lot of names on the list as the team inches toward training camp. But Yeldon's fine with that competition as well. "It's only going to make us all better," Yeldon said. MORE: Report: Jill Ellis is benching the best midfielder alive for USA - France Danny Green: 'This is the time where I need to maximize the dollars on the longest amount of years that I can do' Kawhi Leonard 'Seriously Considering' Lakers, Per Stephen A. Smith Heading into training camp: Zach Zenner's path to the 53-man roster Lakers 'expected' to try and sign DeAndre Jordan who wants to be back in L.A.


Editor's note: The opinions in this article are the author's, as published by our content partner, and do not necessarily represent the views of MSN or Microsoft. Are you kidding me? I'm used to partisan, inaccurate drivel from all sides these days, but the media's coverage of President Trump's tariffs and the so-called "trade war" takes some kind of cake. There's no serious doubt that some in the media would absolutely love to tank the stock market. They figure that would hurt Trump's re-election chances in 2020. Monday's stock market slump , which saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) tumble 2.4% and the Nasdaq Composite 3.4%, looked just like what the doctor ordered. I write this, incidentally, as someone who is no fan of the president. But I remember when politics was supposed to stop at the water's edge. And, anyway, facts are facts. Most of what the public is being told about these tariffs is either misleading or a downright lie. I've been following the coverage all weekend with my jaw on the floor. Uncle Sam benefits Yes, tariffs are "costs." But they do not somehow destroy our money. They do not take our hard-earned dollars and burn them in a big pile. Tariffs are simply federal taxes. That's it. The extra costs paid by importers, and consumers, goes to Uncle Sam, to distribute as he sees fit, including, for example, on Obamacare subsidies. It wasn't long ago the media was complaining because Trump was cutting taxes. Now it's complaining he's raising them. Confused? Me too. And the amounts involved are trivial. Chicken feed. President Trump just hiked tariffs from 10% to 25% on about $200 billion in Chinese imports . In other words, he just raised taxes by … $30 billion a year. Oh, no! The total amount we all paid in taxes last year   federal, state and local   was $5.51 trillion . This tax increase that has everyone's panties in a twist is a rounding error. Investors panic needlessly Meanwhile, the total value wiped off U.S. stocks during Monday's panic was about $700 billion. More than 20 years' worth of the new tariffs. Even if Trump slapped 25% taxes on all Chinese imports, it would come to a tax hike of … $135 billion a year. U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) last year: $20.5 trillion. So even this supposedly scary "escalation" of this "tariff war" would, er, raise our total tax bill from 26.9% of GDP all the way to 27.5% of GDP. Oh, and isn't it interesting to see some people's priorities? Apparently the most shocking part of this trivial tax hike is that it might raise the price of new Apple (AAPL) iPhones. Last I checked, these were luxury items, right? Related video: Trade war like watching a game of poker, economist says (provided by CNBC) U.S. consumers gain Meanwhile, the trade spat seems to be bringing down food prices. China is going to take less of our farm products. So wheat prices are down 20% since the start of the year. Soybeans are at 10-year lows. Good for consumers, right? No, no, of course not! Silly you. This is also bad news … for farmers! And all this ignores the much bigger picture, anyway. The tariffs are simply a means to an end. The president is trying to get China to start buying more of our stuff. He knows the so-called Middle Kingdom, which now has the second-biggest economy in the world, responds to incentives more than to nice words. These tariffs give China an incentive to open up. OK, so China's first reaction is just to retaliate. Big deal. That's just posturing. Right now we export less to China than we do to Japan, South Korea and Singapore put together. That's the point. So the effect of China's new tariffs on the U.S. are yet another rounding error. Even if China banned all imports from the U.S., that would amount to only 0.6% of our gross domestic product. And we'd sell the stuff somewhere else. Don't buy the hysteria. President Trump is simply trying to pressure our biggest competitor to buy more American goods. That should be a good thing, even if you don't like him. Brett Arends is a columnist for MarketWatch.


A man is dead after being shot while driving down a west-side street Thursday, San Antonio police have confirmed. The man, who was driving a white Ford Expedition, crashed the vehicle into a business side in the 10000 block of Culebra shortly after sustaining a gunshot wound. Police said they are searching for two suspects who reportedly shot the victim inside of the Expedition before fleeing the scene in a maroon car. It was not clear when the suspects entered the victim's vehicle and shot him. Further details were not immediately available


NEW YORK (AP)   California attorney Michael Avenatti faces a November trial date on charges he tried to extort millions of dollars from Nike. The Nov. 12 trial date was set Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe at a pretrial hearing in Manhattan. Avenatti participated by telephone, answering only that he could hear when the judge asked. A hearing originally scheduled for Tuesday before another judge over allegations that he defrauded porn star Stormy Daniels was postponed. Avenatti was charged in March with trying to extort up to $25 million from Nike, the sportswear company. He has pleaded not guilty. Avenatti gained fame representing Daniels in her fight to be freed from a nondisclosure deal regarding an alleged affair with President Donald Trump. He also faces federal fraud charges in California. ___ This story has been corrected to say Avenatti was charged in March, not April.


Cowboys offensive lineman La'el Collins is entering the final season of his contract, but if he has his way, he'll remain with the club for the foreseeable future, as he told Herbie Teope of The Advocate : "I would love to stay in Dallas my entire career. I love the Cowboys, I love Mr. (Jerry) Jones; I love the Jones family. I love everything about the whole organization and what they've done for me as a person and as a player. For me, it's just all about going out there and taking it one day at a time, and proving myself, proving my worth, showing them that I want to be there by what I do and now what I say." A projected first-round pick in 2015, Collins went undrafted after reports indicated he was scheduled to talk with police about the murder of a pregnant woman with whom he was previously involved. Authorities determined Collins had no involvement in the woman's death, but he wasn't selected in the draft after his agents indicated he would sit out the season if he were picked after the third round. The Cowboys eventually landed Collins as an undrafted free agent. The LSU product spent his first two NFL campaigns at left guard but moved to right tackle in 2017 after longtime Cowboy Doug Free retired. Because he was undrafted, Collins was eligible for an extension after only two pro seasons and inked a two-year, $15.4M deal with Dallas in July 2017. Collins has managed to stay healthy over the past two seasons, and he's responded with solid production, ranking as the No. 31 tackle in the NFL last year, per Pro Football Focus . The Cowboys have shown a willingness to extend offensive linemen in the past, as left tackle Tyron Smith , center Travis Frederick and right guard Zack Martin have all received hefty new deals in recent seasons. However, Dallas also a number of other pending free agents   including quarterback Dak Prescott , wide receiver Amari Cooper and cornerback Byron Jones   whom it may deem more crucial to the club's success. If that's the case, Collins could hit the open market next spring.


PHOENIX (AP)   Six itsy-bitsy black-footed ferrets have been born through the Phoenix Zoo's recovery program. The litter from first-time mom Mandolin arrived two weeks ago. Mandolin will care for them for the next few months at the zoo, which has one of only six breeding facilities in the world for this particular endangered species. Specialists in the fall will determine which of the ferret babies   known as kits   will go to breeding facilities to become future parents and which will be released into the wild. Kits from this litter that are ultimately released will first go to the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado to prepare them for survival in the wild. Over 400 black-footed ferrets have been born at the Phoenix Zoo under the recovery program.


WAIANAE, Hawaii (AP)   A 10-year-old boy is recovering from his injuries after being bitten by a shark off an Oahu beach that he said "just popped out of nowhere." As officials included the attack in a database, the youth on Thursday described how he kicked at the animal to end the encounter. The boy, who was bitten Wednesday at Makaha Beach Park, is doing well and should be out of the hospital soon, said Bruce Anderson with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. Anderson said "all evidence, including eyewitness reports, points to this being a shark bite," and officials are confirming that with the International Shark Database in Gainesville, Florida. It's Hawaii's seventh confirmed shark encounter of 2015, state statistics show. The average number of shark bites per year has doubled over the past decade, but scientists say that's because there are more people in the water, providing more opportunities for encounters. There has been an average of about nine shark bites per year over the past five years. "I was on the boogie board just waiting for a wave and then it just popped out of nowhere and then bite my leg," the boy, Raymond Senensi, told reporters at The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu. He kicked the shark in the nose, but he wasn't afraid, he said. On Thursday morning, two surfers were in the water at Leftovers Beach Park on Oahu's North Shore when a 10-foot shark chased them from the water, Honolulu Department of Emergency Services spokeswoman Shayne Enright said. Leftovers is the same beach where another man lost his leg when a tiger shark bit him on Oahu's North Shore in early October. Officials put up signs and warned beachgoers of the sighting. "No one is in the water," Enright said. At Makaha, lifeguards posted warning signs and made announcements over a loudspeaker telling people not to go in the water. Several surfers went in anyway. In mid-afternoon, one surfer shouted he saw a shark jump out of the water and grab a fish. The lifeguards repeated their warnings. One lifeguard hopped on a personal watercraft, rode out to the surfers and told them to get out of the ocean. Meanwhile, the state prepared for another round of giant waves from a low-pressure weather system in the Pacific. U.S. Coast Guard and Honolulu police also are searching the water for a big-wave surfer who was reported missing after going surfing Tuesday on Oahu's North Shore. Police said they found his truck with his dog and keys still inside Thursday near Waimea Bay. High-surf warnings were issued Tuesday and Wednesday for all north-facing Hawaii shores with waves up to 30 feet, which would have made the waters turbid. Most shark bites in Hawaii this year have happened in murky water. Carl Meyer, a shark and reef researcher at the University of Hawaii's Institute of Marine Biology, said Hawaiian oral traditions and current statistics show shark bites are more common in the fall, known to be tiger shark pupping season, when the animals have their babies. Brian Keaulana, a professional surfer and son of famed surfer Buffalo Keaulana who was at Makaha on Thursday, said fishermen have been seeing tiger sharks eating pig carcasses a short way up the coast. Enright said that the pigs were still being spotted on Thursday, prompting officials to keep warning signs posted and people out of the water. "The boy was part of our community," Keaulana, who used to be a lifeguard at the beach and was born and raised in the area, said. "So when he got attacked, the response was really quick and fast." Anderson said this is the first shark bite at Makaha Beach Park in 46 years. In 1969, a surfer was injured by a great white shark in the area. ___ Associated Press writer Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu contributed to this report. ___ Follow Caleb Jones: https://twitter.com/CalebAP


On the eve of announcing his presidential bid, former Vice President Joe Biden raised the alarm about fundraising in a Wednesday conference call with top donors and supporters. "The money's important. We're going to be judged by what we can do in the first 24 hours, the first week," Biden told the group, according to one participant, whose recollections of the quotes were confirmed by two others on the call. "People think Iowa and New Hampshire are the first test," Biden said. "It's not. The first 24 hours. That's the first test. Those [early states] are way down the road. We've got to get through this first." Biden   noting that "I hate to do this" in discussing the fundraising   said he would be flying around the country for fundraisers with the participants but urged them to do what they can as soon as possible. "Do what you can right now," Biden said. The former vice president is expected to announce his presidential run in a video to be released Thursday. On the call, an upbeat Biden said his candidacy was a calling, a duty   and that it's not just Democrats or Americans who want him to run to stop President Donald Trump. "I get calls from people all over the world   world leaders are calling me   and they're almost begging me to do this, to save the country, save the world," Biden said. One of the participants on the call stressed that Biden wasn't making it sound as though he has a messiah complex, but rather that world leaders are looking toward the Democratic Party to defeat Trump, whether it's Biden or another Democrat. Biden on Thursday has his first large fundraiser Comcast executive David Cohen's home in Philadelphia along with former Gov. Ed Rendell, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, former state Sen. Connie Williams, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Brendan Boyle, Matt Cartwright, Madeleine Dean, Dwight Evans, Chrissy Houlahan and Mary Gay Scanlon. Biden also made a round of fundraising calls on Tuesday, including to top Florida Democratic fundraiser Chris Korge, who told him he was staying neutral in the race for now. But, Korge said, he thinks Biden could win the expectations game when it came to raising small-dollar donations, which are not his forte. "Joe is going to do a lot better than a lot of people think," said Korge, Hillary Clinton's top bundler in 2016. "There's broad support from him in our party, just look at the polling." In addition, he said, Biden can count on some residual goodwill from President Barack Obama's former donors who feel a sense of loyalty to his former vice president. "I think it's fertile ground," said Dick Harpootlian, a South Carolina state senator and onetime chair of the state Democratic Party, who will be playing an on-the-ground role in Biden's campaign. "I did some calling yesterday, I found some $30,000 to $40,000 low-hanging fruit that wasn't all that hard to find." Longtime Democratic fundraiser and trial attorney Joe Cotchett predicted Biden's fundraising would ramp up quickly once he's actually in the race. "I think that might change really quick," says Cotchett, who says he'll be active in Biden's campaign and fundraising in the Bay Area, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Arizona. "I think he's going to get on the street and you're going to see a lot of people moving towards him when you finally convince them that he can beat Donald Trump." Prominent Florida Democratic donor John Morgan, who also spoke Tuesday with Biden and was on the Wednesday conference call, said the former vice president sounded "positive" on the call. He said Biden is realistic about the challenges ahead, but he's not "worried" about fundraising. "He sounds ready to go. We know him and love him and he's the candidate of sanity with the best chance to win," Morgan said. "He wanted my help and I said, 'Tell me when to have a fundraiser.'"


Le'Veon Bell's body is doing just fine after his first training camp practice in nearly two years. Bell spoke to the media for the first time since minicamp and assured reporters that he is in great shape despite being out of football for a year. One of the biggest concerns with Bell going into camp was his weight. However, Bell said his reporting weight is "undisclosed," but he feels "fresh" and as healthy as he's been in recent years. Meanwhile, his head coach, Adam Gase, thought the running back's first practice was without issue. "Like he didn't miss a beat," Gase said . "You can't tell he's missed any time." Gase has always admired Bell's style of play. He loves his patience as a runner and how versatile he is. Gase has said multiple times that they are going to try and use Bell in a variety of ways, but they are going to be careful with his usage. Bell has well over 1,000 rushing attempts in his career to go along with 312 receptions as a receiver. But his production on the field hasn't declined even with all the miles he has carried. He has rushed for over 1,000 yards three times in his career and has had over 600 receiving yards three times as well. It's still early in camp to tell if Bell is in game shape, but all signs are pointing up that he is. He'll get some playing time in the preseason to shake off the old rust on his cleats. MORE: UFC's Thiago Santos shares brutal update on injuries suffered in loss to Jon Jones Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, coach Matt LaFleur building relationship, offensive philosophy Instant observations from Day 1 of Patriots training camp 3 takeaways from Day 1 of Bills training camp Lonzo Ball earns lowest NBA 2K rating since rookie season


Kylian Mbappe has dropped the biggest hint yet that he will definitely join Liverpool this summer after all-but confirming the move by declaring he would choose to play as Jurgen Klopp's men in a game of FIFA. As per every single summer, the most expensive footballers in world football are linked to the handful of clubs able to afford them, with Mbappe no different. Oh just ignore Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi saying , "Mbappe? I'm 200% sure he will still be at PSG next season". A minor stumbling block. Entérate que equipo eligió @KMbappe para jugar @EASPORTSFIFA ... ¡Te vas a sorprender con su respuesta! #PSG #RealMadrid #Mbappe #Barcelona #Tottenham #Liverpool @herculezg @mauriciopedroza pic.twitter.com/0Nrb4Ndd0A   Ahora o Nunca ESPN (@ahoraonuncaespn) June 19, 2019 Currently in the United States, the French superstar dropped the biggest hint ever that he wants to join the Champions League winners after claiming he would opt to play for Jurgen Klopp's men in a game of FIFA. Speaking to Herculez Gomez of ESPN, Mbappe was given free choice to choose the one side he back himself to win with in a one-on-one face-off. "Maybe Liverpool because they won the Champions League," he said. As if he hadn't already added petrol to the transfer flames, which are to quote Alan Partridge already hotter than the sun, he then confessed his admiration for the club's German coach, stating: "Yeah, he's good." Of course Kylian Mbappe won't be going to Liverpool. Don't be silly. https://t.co/1vM9zwuQYY   90min (@90min_Football) June 19, 2019 After what seems to have been months of speculation, it appears this story can finally be put to bed. It clearly flew under the radar but Mbappe was obviously in the United States, not on holiday, but instead to meet up with the Reds ' American owner John W. Henry of the Fenway Sports Group to get down to the nitty-gritty details of his imminent move. Real Madrid may as well end their pursuit of the 20-year-old right here and now, as this slip of the tongue from the World Cup winner has all but ended their hopes of securing their 'greatest wish' , with the Premier League runners up now definitely, definitely getting their man. Note: Obviously the above is in jest. This means nothing other than that Mbappe (like everyone who has ever played the game) appreciates speedy wide players on FIFA. For a full breakdown of why this move isn't on see here . You'll have to dream on for now Liverpool fans. Fortunately, you already have a pretty incredible attack is it is.


CHICAGO - The Blackhawks have failed to make the playoffs in consecutive seasons and their closest rivals, the Blues, are on the cusp of winning their first Stanley Cup. But with the No. 3 pick in the draft and roughly $20 million in salary-cap space, according to capfriendly.com , Hawks general manager Stan Bowman is decidedly optimistic about the future. Bowman sat down with the Chicago Tribune for a 30-minute interview to discuss a variety of topics. The interview has been edited for clarity. ___ Chicago Tribune: Two months after the season is over, what different conclusions have you perhaps realized now? Stan Bowman: I'm not sure there's any big revelations. There was a natural transition period with a new coach coming in, and it took awhile to get going with the way we wanted to play successfully under Jeremy (Colliton). Once we did that I thought we got our footing. We're an offensive team so we don't want to try to change our game and suddenly have trouble scoring. But we need to shore up the areas where we struggled. The penalty kill was one and goals against, those are the two things. That hasn't changed from our initial assessment. We've had some time to figure out how we're going to do that. (New assistant coach Marc Crawford) explained how (his former team, the Senators) made some big changes in mid-November and from that point on they were top five in the league in the penalty kill, which was still a 60-game stretch. He's going to help us. That's on the tactical side. There's also personnel. CT: How is free agency setting up to be different from the last few seasons? SB: Well, the biggest difference would be we don't have any financial restraints by the salary cap. Last year and the year before we were in a different position with very little money to spend. Doesn't necessarily mean we're going to sign the highest-priced free agents. We can have conversations with them and we can see if they fit right. In talking to Jeremy, we're going to try to get players he thinks are going to help push our team the right way in terms of being a good two-way team. We were tilted to the offense last year, and ideally we'd like to have more balance to not just try to outscore the other team. We have some really high-powered offensive players. So we're probably trying to find the right guy to come in to continue the success we had, to be able to play that way but also to have a two-way component to their game. To be able to be utilized in penalty-kill situations, guys we feel confident can add to that. We're trying to shore up our weaknesses without taking away what we were good at. CT: As you pointed out, the defense needs to improve. Can that happen without significant personnel changes? SB: The players that played on our team last year, we need a progression from them, and some of that already was happening last year. If you look at the last two weeks of the season, we were playing more like a team. Guys' habits were better, there was less hesitation. There was less thinking on the ice. That's just a function of (being) more familiar with what they were asked to do. So we've got to further refine those habits because each coach has fundamentals that are very important to them, and you want to be second nature for your system to work. There's no magical system in the NHL. If there were, everybody would play that system. Multiple different systems can work. The execution of the system is the key. In order to execute well, your habits have to be exactly that: habits. They can't be trying to figure it out on the fly. The goalie and the (defensemen) get blamed when you give up goals, and sometimes that's accurate. If the defenseman turns the puck over and gives a breakaway, it's obvious. But it's not as obvious when there's 10 guys in the zone, 5 on 5, and then they score a goal. Could be a succession of mistakes initiated by the forwards not doing what they were supposed to do that left the defense in an impossible position. So we've got to work together better. Your original question was can we be better with the same group of players. The answer is yes, we need to be. Then we want to bring in somebody who can make an even bigger impact. If we can enhance our group through new players, we're going to do that. CT: The Blues and Bruins, for example, don't have players making much more than $7 million. And you have two at $10.5 million. I don't know what Alex DeBrincat is going to get, but you need to think ahead. Can you bring in a defenseman who is going to get upper-level money and have him fit in with your salary structure? SB: Can we? Yeah. CT: I guess the question is, should you? SB: Well, it all depends on what guy brings to the table. Is he going to enhance our team game and is he going to be someone to use on the penalty kill? Is he going to be someone who can play against good players and do a good job of stifling them? If that guy is a high-priced guy, then great. The questions we ask as we're reviewing this are: What's he like? What's he bring to the table? How is he going to impact our team and make us a better team? That's our criteria. It's not so much his salary. Now, if you find that guy and he's the highest-paid guy in the league, then you might have to say, well, he's the guy and we can get him but we've got to suddenly take some other pieces away, that's a conversation you have. But we're not at that point. CT: The draft is coming up, and you have the No. 3 pick. Have you peeked at the mock drafts to see who you're taking? SB: I don't read them but I hear about them through a lot of people we work with. There's a lot of noise out there. We've got to stick to our process. We have a staff for a reason and we spend a lot of time from last late July ... until a couple weeks ago. They're watching these guys and that's their job - to know them inside and out and breaking them down. So I'm relying on those guys. Now, it may coincide with these mock drafts or it may not. I'm glad there's a lot of interest in it. That's what you want. If nobody was caring about who we were going to pick and wasn't promoting their mock drafts, I wouldn't want that. CT: You've consistently said you're taking the best player available. Any straying from that philosophy? SB: No. And the one correction I would make because I hear this said a lot - the best player - that assumes there is just one and everyone else is not the best player. There might be multiple great players. You're trying to pick the one you project the one to be the best fit for your team. Because when you say the best that assumes that there's an answer. CT: But you and your staff will have an opinion of who is the best player. SB: Yeah, I guess it's semantics more than anything. I'm just saying you're assuming there's a clear-cut answer. It's almost like the answer's at the end of the rainbow. You've just got to get the clues right and then, - aha! Everyone we're looking at to pick I'm confident is going to be a really good NHL player. I don't think there's a couple guys where, 'Hmm, he may never make it.' I don't get that feeling at all. These guys are very good players. So then you're just trying to pick which one do you think is going to be the best for your organization. CT: And at this point would position not be a part of the equation? SB: No, because your positional situations can change over time. We've seen that. You need multiple positions. You don't need just one player. You've got a team of, like, 20 guys. I don't look at it that way. I look at it like: What's going to drive your team for the next 10 years and be someone that is a big contributor to your team? It could be a multiple-position guy. It doesn't have to be just one position. CT: When do you make your decision? SB: It's going to come the week of the draft. We're going to be very comfortable when we get there. We're not going to be second-guessing ourselves. It's going to come to us. We had a target list. We've already narrowed that list down. There's only so much talking you can do about it. We've gathered so much information, watched them play, watched so much video, gathered the data about their performance. Gotten to know them. We've had multiple interviews with these guys. CT: The issue of this player being able to help you this season or in the next two seasons. How much does that play, if at all, into the pick? SB: That's not a primary factor. Last year I think four of the top guys played in the league. That's a little unusual. I would say it's usually only one or two. It's not out of the realm of possibility, but it's not a driving force for us. We've got to build our team for next year through trades, free agency. Those are the guys that have been in the league. We know they can play. The player we draft, depending on his status, if he's someone we sign and makes our training camp and then plays well, we take that as it comes. It's a bonus but it's not a prerequisite. CT: Corey Crawford has one year left on his deal. Collin Delia had a nice season. And Kevin Lankinen had the really great world championship for Finland. How do you feel about the state of your goaltending? SB: It was great to see Kevin have that run at the world championships. You see the progression in his game. He came over to North America - this is common - a little bit of a slower start in October, November, December. Second half of the year for Kevin was much better. You could see his game coming, his confidence building. And then to see him break through and take his team all the way to the championship, he was unreal in those games at the end. That bodes well for where he's going to take his game next year. Same thing with Collin - he's come a long way too. So we've got those two guys, and Corey's the main guy. Could we add another goalie? Sure. But if we don't, we've got the established guy and we've got these two guys who are pushing to establish themselves in the NHL. Collin's got a taste for it. Kevin hasn't got to the NHL yet but he just showed against NHL players ... that he's not far from being that as well. CT: What aspect of Jeremy Colliton's season most pleased you, and what do you think he needs to improve upon? SB: I just think the way he handled the adversity there to start. He was coming into somewhat of an impossible position, walking in the footsteps of Joel (Quenneville), who had so much success here. He's a legendary coach, and when you replace someone like that, there's always going to be challenges. And on top of it you don't really have time to instill a lot of new habits and you're playing games every other day with limited practice time. He stayed very calm. He stayed convicted with how he wanted to approach things. He stuck with it. And then we started to see some results. For someone that young to have that conviction and to be calm throughout was impressive. Improve upon is just to improve on last season and try to take what we did well and enhance that. Certainly our power play was (better), and he had a big role in that. We want to build on that. We've got to keep the puck out of our net and we've got to be better when we're down a man. Those are two things he's already addressed. But the preparation for training camp and the way that we get our team prepared for the details of the game, that's probably the next challenge as a coach. CT: You brought in Marc Crawford as an assistant. Was there any concern that bringing in a veteran head coach who has won a Cup might put pressure on Jeremy - that Crawford was brought in to be a possible replacement if the team gets off to a slow start? SB: No. That's not a consideration for us. If anything, Jeremy was the one that was pushing for bringing in someone like him. He looks at the other guys - Tomas (Mitell) and Sheldon (Brookbank) - and himself and he knows that they're three younger guys with a lot of ideas. And he was always wanting to bring in a veteran coach. Marc was the best. We interviewed a lot of people for this position, and he was by far the best fit. And Jeremy felt that. He was like, "This is the guy I want to work with." Marc's here to be the assistant head coach, not the head coach. That's not a concern. CT: How much pressure do you feel to make the playoffs next season? SB: I don't want this sound bad, but that's all stuff you have to just set aside and focus on my job, which is to prepare our team the best we can and assemble the best group of players ... and then support the coach and work together to make our team better. And then the results will take care of themselves. We're evaluated all the time, not just whether you win the Cup or miss the playoffs. That hasn't changed since my first day here. We're going to be responsible for the progression of our team from last year and from the year before. We certainly need to take a step forward this year. I think that's clear. Hopefully we're trending back up. Disappointed we didn't make the playoffs this year. There was progression and we need to take more of a progression next year. That's the only thing I'm focused on. There's pressure every year, and I just don't focus on it because it doesn't help me do my job any better. Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com


Jun. 30--The sunlight glimmered off David Hofmans' glasses as he took a moment and racked his brain. The longtime Los Angeles horse trainer was searching for the right word to describe opening day at Los Alamitos Race Course. Behind him, Hofmans' thoroughbred, 3-year-old Dieci, trotted around the winner's circle at the dirt track in Cypress, having captured the fourth of nine races that kicked off Los Alamitos' two-week summer thoroughbred meeting in front of 2,427 fans Saturday. With the comforting combination of beer, cigarettes and dirt swirling through the cool afternoon air, the appropriate adjective finally popped into Hofmans' head. "This is so -- casual," he said with a pause, describing the laid-back atmosphere at Los Alamitos. "It's casual here. Much less stress." For the last six months, Southern California trainers experienced anything but such a feeling. Thirty horses died at Santa Anita Park, either racing or training, during the track's controversial winter-spring meeting, which concluded last Sunday. As the equine casualties mounted, so too did pressure -- from the media, protesters and even politicians, including Gov. Gavin Newsom. "At first, we didn't really realize how important and bad of a situation we were in," trainer Leonard Powell said. "Once the governor and the politics got involved, we knew that we had to make drastic changes." Powell trained the winner of Saturday's opening race, 3-year-old Scrappy Deville, but was still sick over the tragedy at Santa Anita, where he was one of the many trainers to lose a horse. "It's a terrible grief, disappointment," he said. "You question yourself -- if the day before you didn't see something, the week before, the month before. You question everything that you've done before that to see if you could have avoided it." As the disaster at Santa Anita unfolded, the California Horse Racing Board reacted with several rule changes, including the creation of a "super panel" to evaluate the fitness of horses that are scheduled to run. But an uneasiness remained at Santa Anita all the way through the end of the meeting. "It has kind of simmered down since the meeting is over," Hofmans said. "But this is fresh. We're all looking forward to a new start, something different than what we've been having to deal with." Indeed, the move to Los Alamitos, which usually serves as the summertime buffer between higher-profile thoroughbred meetings at Santa Anita and Del Mar, provided a breath of fresh air. "Hopefully, that black cloud we had over us and all the bad luck that happened at Santa Anita, which was mostly bad circumstances, is behind us," Powell said. "Hopefully, by being here at Los Al, it's a new era." Five-year-old Queen Bee To You won Saturday's featured race, the mile-long $100,000 Bertrando Stakes. After flying in front of the pack, which included 11-year-old defending champion and Los Alamitos regular Soi Phet in his final race before retirement, she held off a late charge from 5-year-old Tule Fog down the stretch. According to trainer Andrew Lerner, who captured his first stakes race, Queen Bee To You was entered in the Bertrando only after the CHRB's new super panel ruled her out of a fillies race at Santa Anita last Sunday. "We decided to take a shot here," Lerner said. "It all worked out." Jack Liebau, vice president of Los Alamitos Racing Assn., watched the day unfold from his private table on a second-floor patio. Leading up to this year's meeting, he had worried that the CHRB's new precautionary rules would have costly side effects. He feared if too many horses were kept from competing, races would have to be canceled, potentially putting the meet in jeopardy. At Santa Anita, 24 days of racing were lost. But, after one day at Los Alamitos at least, Liebau was able to smile as he looked out across the race grounds. Aside from protesters waiting at the track's exit at the end of the afternoon, the opening day went smoothly. "[There was] trepidation," he said. "So far, we've been OK. I hope for the best as we go on." Los Alamitos has been hosting thoroughbred meets since 2014, when the traditional quarter horse track added a mile-long oval following the closure of Hollywood Park (now the site of Los Angeles' under-construction NFL stadium). It is considered a relatively safe dirt track and was used for thoroughbred training in March when Santa Anita was temporarily suspended. "I like it so much here," said jockey J.C. Diaz Jr., who won three races Saturday. "Very good track." One uneventful day, however, didn't eliminate all concerns in the racing community. The scars from Santa Anita are fresh. Trainers can't help but remain apprehensive. "The pressure is still on," Powell said. "These animals are over 1,000 pounds. They go 40 mph. Anything can happen. The only relief is when they come back safe in the barn." ___ (c)2019 the Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


A Hartland girl with cancer, whose story went viral earlier this year, was surprised Thursday by volunteers who built her a dream bedroom. Emma Mertens, 7, was diagnosed with a rare, inoperable tumor on her brain stem in January. Her story captured the hearts of millions of people when her family asked for photos, emails, cards and social media posts of people's dogs to cheer Mertens up. Special Spaces is a not-for-profit organization that creates dream bedroom makeovers for children with life-threatening illnesses. When they saw Mertens' story, they asked her mother if they could step in. "The main purpose of Special Spaces is to make children feel happy and safe and give them a place to heal," said Monica Jurken, the director for Special Spaces Wisconsin. "They're going through a lot, they just need some extra love and that's what we're here to give." Over the course of two days, a group of volunteers with Special Spaces, Magic Productions, Roman Electric, Closet Concepts and Baird renovated Mertens' room. They staged a big reveal Thursday when Mertens and her family came home from a trip to the Wisconsin Dells. WISN 12 News was the only station there to capture Mertens' stunned response. "I am just so grateful so many people from around the world came out to embrace Emma," said Tammy Mertens, Emma's mother. "We are very grateful. I don't even know how to say thank you." After the reveal, a group from the Humane Animal Welfare Society brought dogs for Mertens to play with outside. You can follow Emma's story and post photos of your dog on her Team Emma Facebook Page . READ MORE: Hartland girl with rare cancer gets dream bedroom makeover CHECK OUT WISN: Get the top Milwaukee news weather and sports. With the day's biggest stories and ones you may have missed, our Wisconsin news team has you covered.


SAN ANTONIO - Love him or hate him, Greg Hardy is in it for the long haul. He takes on Juan Adams at UFC on ESPN 4 on Saturday at AT&T Center in San Antonio. It will be just his third UFC fight, and already he is eyeing championship gold. "I am going for the heavyweight gold," Hardy told MMA Junkie after a Wednesday workout. "I'm here to take everything that everybody loves and adores and put it around my waist." Hardy (4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has split his first two appearances in the UFC. He had a disqualification loss to Allen Crowder at UFC on ESPN+ 1 in his official promotional debut, but followed it up with a first-round TKO win over Dmitrii Smoliakov at UFC on ESPN+ 8. He once again will be featured on the main card - his first two fights were co-main events. And his placement high up in the billing so early in his UFC career has brought criticism. "The Prince of War" knows the kind of spotlight on him every time he fights. But he said he sees it as an opportunity to show the world what he is capable of. "My fights are highlighted - they're not the most talented people in the ring," Hardy said. "I'm not fighting 50-0. I'm not fighting Floyd Mayweather-caliber type of guys, or the Cain Velasquezes out there. But every fight is a showcase, so I'm looking for the finish. I don't have the privilege of going out there, trying things and making mistakes and errors. I'm coming to execute. I'm coming to finish, the best I know how, with the best tools that I have." In Adams (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), Hardy gets arguably the toughest test of his young MMA career - and an opponent who has not been shy about how he feels about him . Hardy, however, doesn't seem fazed by any of it. When asked if Adams confronted him at all when seeing him around at the fighter hotel or during media obligations, Hardy said he does his talking in the cage. "I don't think that would be smart for anybody," Hardy said. "I send my messages in the ring. I used to send them on the field. When you're the baddest man on the freakin' planet, you don't have to talk trash (or) coax people into fighting before the fight. They lock us in a cage." This is nothing new for the former Dallas Cowboys defensive end. He understands it's part of the game and welcomes it. "(MMA is) kind of being like in the NFL - it's an everyday job," Hardy said. "I'm used to it, and it comes with the territory. You can't have half the planet love you and expect the rest to follow suit. It's a checks and balances kind of thing, and it's a democracy. It's their right, it's their purpose in life (to dislike me), and I love it. "We're here to break faces. This is not a nice guys sport, and I'm a nice guy until they lock the cage. When I'm in the cage, I'm coming to break your face in every single way possible. I'm thinking about learning some capoeira, all that stuff. I want to break people down in beautiful, phenomenal ways, and it's coming soon." The DQ loss to Crowder had some questioning Hardy's experience and cardio. But since the win over Smoliakov, he thinks he's come a long way in a hurry, and it's all starting to come together. "I'm a more calm, more happy, more deadly version of myself," Hardy said. "I found the peace in violence. I found my spot. I found my niche, and I feel good about it. Nobody can take it away." Hardy's experience as a pro football player was invaluable, and he said he understands the kind of mindset he needs to excel in MMA. Fight by fight, he thinks he is getting there. "A long time ago, I found my place," Hardy said. "I found a home amongst the elite in the world, the nation, the 1 percent of the 1 percent. To be there, to be a part of that club, you had to be in that zone. You had to be in that zone consistently, every day, with half the world shunning you, looking down on you, hating your team. "It's a place you had to go, and I'm slowly but surely finding that place in MMA and fight sports, and I find myself every now and then getting into that zone." For more on upcoming UFC on ESPN 4 , check out the UFC schedule . MORE: Ranking the Packers' position groups from weakest to strongest Jayson Williams: Charles Barkley Shouted at Teammates While Eating McDonald's on a Stationary Bike During Practices See the dramatic final hand of 2019 WSOP Main Event that won Hossein Ensan $10 million NBA Free Agency 2020: The top players Baker Mayfield believed the Patriots would trade up to draft him


Rays catcher Mike Zunino went on the injured list last month so, in need of catching depth, Tampa Bay acquired catcher Erik Kratz from the Giants in exchange for a player to be named later. Today the Rays activated Zunino so they designated Kratz for assignment. They should send him back to the Giants as the player named later, right? Let us have some fun, OK? Kratz, who turns 39 in two weeks, only played in six games for the Rays, making 17 plate appearances and getting one hit. So, um, no, losing him will not be a big deal. And to be honest, the hope that the Giants might take him back as his own Player to be Named Later is thus a super long shot. Still, he can catch, so maybe someone will consider it. It's hard to catch. Follow @craigcalcaterra Related slideshow: 2019 MLB season (provided by imagn)


Darius Leonard impressed as a rookie for the Indianapolis Colts last season. Leonard won AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and was named first team All-Pro after leading the league with 163 tackles. The former No. 36 overall pick by the Colts added seven sacks, two interceptions, four forced fumbles, eight passes defended and 12 tackles for a loss. A native of Nichols, South Carolina, Leonard set the South Carolina State record for most career tackles. Where does his inspiration to work hard come from? He explained in a tweet shared on Sunday. Have you ever seen your mama work 2-3 jobs to make ends meet?? It was the nights without lights or the nights that we had to boil water for a bath that makes me push whenever I feel like I can't go anymore! I got everything out the MUD! Y'all can't relate to that! #Maniac pic.twitter.com/Mh6ysdzV4B   Darius Leonard (@dsleon45) July 14, 2019 "Have you ever seen your mama work 2-3 jobs to make ends meet?? It was the nights without lights or the nights that we had to boil water for a bath that makes me push whenever I feel like I can't go anymore! I got everything out the MUD! Y'all can't relate to that!" Leonard wrote. That kind of inspiration and drive has helped produce one of the best young defensive players in the league. We'd bet on him continuing to get better.


Pictures have been leaked online of Atletico Madrid's home jersey for the 2019/20 season, showing the Madrid outfit are returning to a more classic style. The change of style follows two seasons of more experimental designs - most recently with a fade effect in the middle section of the kit. The new design sees Atleti return to a plain striped top for the first time since the 2016/17 season, though the stripes are thinner this time around. The classic red and white stripes are complemented by a traditional navy Nike swoosh, as well as a navy taping on the back of the neck. Inside the neck, the kit features a graphic showing the club's founding year, 1903, which also pays tribute to the Fountain of Neptune where Atleti fans traditionally celebrate their titles. 👁 pic.twitter.com/O3MPrtsSbi   Footy Headlines (@Footy_Headlines) May 20, 2019 Most recently this was used by fans and players to celebrate their Europa League success in 2018, following their 3-0 win over Marseille. In keeping with the traditional look of next year's kit, Atleti will sport their usual blue shorts and red socks. The Wanda Metropolitano outfit were able to somewhat break the dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid , as they secured a second place finish. That said, Atleti never really troubled Barca in their pursuit of the La Liga title and will hope to go one better next year. However, Diego Simeone's side will be doing so without their star man Antoine Griezmann, who recently revealed he will be leaving the club this summer after a successful five-year spell. Expecting to recoup up to £100m for the French forward, we could see another footballing superstar don this classic jersey next season.


FORT WORTH, Texas   There will never be another Bill Snyder, and the man's "young apprentice" is neither quite as young, but he is now The Master. Horrendous Star Wars analogies aside, the retirement of Bill Snyder from Kansas State as head football coach leaves Gary Patterson as college football's remaining Purple Wizard, not of the plains but the prairie. TCU's Wizard is now the second-longest tenured football coach in America, second only to Iowa's Kirk Ferentz. Ferentz was hired in 1999, and Gary followed him the next year at TCU. As TCU will do its part on day one of Big 12 Media Days at Jerry's Night Club on Monday, the quiet question for the school is how much longer can this all go? Those close to GP have started to wonder, aloud, that their favorite coach simply has aspirations for a life after being a head football coach. Others, specifically at TCU, are quite certain he will coach until 3034, because he doesn't know what else to do. The TCU admins want him for as long as he wants, but few of the higher ups at the school know there will be a day when his presence is that statue. There is no escape plan or coach in waiting, but merely a willingness to acknowledge the obvious, that even the most successful periods in history have a conclusion. Gary has intimated he has no interest in following Snyder's path; Snyder retired after the 2018 season, for the second time, at the age of 79. Snyder's exit, both of them, were more sad than they were a celebration for a person who deserved it. Patterson is a young 59. For a point of reference, Alabama's Nick Saban is 67. Gary is in good health and can easily go another eight years. The question is if he wants to, and whether he has the necessary energy to keep TCU relevant.     Watching Patterson address the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce lunch crowd at Amon G. Carter Stadium last week, he has the look of a man who is comfortable in his own skin, and is secure in his job. He enjoys being Gary Patterson. Why would he not? He has built a life that he likely could never have envisioned. He has made more money than a poor kid from Nowhere, Kansas could have conceived. And, when Fame visits, you don't want her to leave. So he may never win a national title … so what? He won the Rose Bowl at TCU. That's harder than winning a national title. He is coming off a 7-6 season where he was praised for one of the best coaching performances of his career. It was. How many power programs does a 7-6 record, and a win in the Cheese Crackers Bowl, result in high praise? Much like Snyder's impact at Kansas State, no equation exists to accurately assess GP's value to TCU. Or even to Fort Worth. Eventually, however, an increasing number of coaches in this era grow too tired of the kids. Their parents. The media. The fans. The boosters. The alums. The strain of the job. They tend to fantasize about retirement, without acknowledging they need the job more than the job needs them. They certainly don't need the money. There is a reason why former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is now the head coach of the XFL franchise that will begin play in Arlington next year. He was bored. TCU, however, is not OU. TCU may be the one exception in that it needs GP more than GP needs them. He is acutely aware of that, and the responsibility he feels to the school, and specifically for his staff. For while his language towards his coaches during practice, or a game, may not be full of love, if they work he takes care of them. There is a reason why his staff has had such little turnover despite such a remarkable run of success. He can be a bear in season, but the staffers can live, and provide, a good quality of life while coaching college football.     For as awkward as he was in front of a camera when he took the job, Patterson has become the media darling. His success on camera was almost was unforeseen as his success as a head coach. When ESPN produced the "Coaches' Room" during the 2017 national title telecast, which featured a handful of head coaches talking about the game in real time, Gary stole the room. Now that he has the command of his voice, and is camera comfortable, he is a skilled teacher of the game. He would be, or will be, attractive as an analyst. He has said before he would not mind being a defensive coordinator, or defensive analyst, in the future. The awkward truth for TCU is that its future is not necessarily here, but everyone can see it's coming. Because he has talked about it, and romanticized the idea. When Bill Snyder retired for the final time, the remaining Purple Wizard is Gary Patterson, and he's made it perfectly clear he does not want to be another Bill Snyder.     ©2019 Fort Worth Star-Telegram Visit the Fort Worth Star-Telegram at www.star-telegram.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


Golden State Warriors' Steph Curry congratulated Drake over the phone after the Toronto Raptors took home the NBA championship.


Video by CNN Sen. Bernie Sanders' (Vt.) presidential campaign was quick to seize on a fiery moment from Tuesday night's Democratic debate, selling "I Wrote The Damn Bill" stickers after his confrontation with Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio). Sanders maintained during the forum that his Medicare for All platform would offer more comprehensive health care coverage for people who would eventually lose their private plans, noting that it would include dental and vision plans for seniors. Ryan, his presidential opponent, responded: "You don't know that, Bernie." "I do know that, I wrote the damn bill," Sanders fired back as the crowd burst into applause. Bernie Sanders on Medicare for All: "I wrote the damn bill." pic.twitter.com/ruRdPklxwz - Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 31, 2019 The White House hopeful was referencing to the Medicare for All bill he's introduced in the Senate. Shortly after the now-viral exchange, the Sanders campaign tweeted that a donation of any contribution would get the supporter a sticker. Don't tell me what's in Medicare for All. I wrote the damn bill! #DemDebate Make a contribution and get our sticker now --> https://t.co/cGNDyKXZ5k - Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 31, 2019 Slideshow by photo services The candidates participated in a longer debate about the federal government's role in providing health care. Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) have both supported the Medicare for All platform. The two senators both received more time and more opportunities to speak than any other candidates during Tuesday's debate.