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🏈 The best division in football
The 2024 NFC North is a juggernaut. The Lions (5-1), Vikings (5-1), Packers (5-2) and Bears (4-2) are all in the top 12 of our latest power rankings as we approach the midway point of the season, and all four the teams would make the playoffs if they started today.
According to the numbers: The NFC North is 17-4 (with a +213 score differential) against outside competition, and all four losses have come by six points or fewer against teams with winning records the previous year. There isn’t really a ‘bad’ loss.
Recording by division:
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NFC North: 19-6
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AFC West: 15-10
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NFC East: 14-12
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AFC North: 13-14
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AFC South: 12-15
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NFC West: 11-15
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NFC South: 11-16
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AFC East: 10-17
Consider this: Detroit (+62), Minnesota (+61), Green Bay (+47) and Chicago (+43) all have a point differential of +40 or better. Only four other teams in the entire NFL can say that: Washington (+66), Buffalo (+63), Pittsburgh (+60) and Kansas City (+43).
Best division ever? The NFC North entered Sunday with the best six-week winning percentage (.773) of any division in the Super Bowl era. All they’ve done since then is knock out two first-place teams, with Green Bay beating Houston and Detroit handing Minnesota its first loss.*
*NFC North vs. NFC North: As you would expect from such a strong division, the internal competition was fierce. Both division games went down to the wire and ended with the same score of 31-29 (Lions over Vikings on Sunday, Vikings over Packers in Week 4).
🏀 The Intuit Dome is open
The intuitive dome, The Clippers’ new $2 billion arena, more than three years in the making, hosted its first regular-season game Wednesday night in Inglewood.
A place to call their own: The Clips lost in overtime to the Suns, 116-113, but regardless of the outcome, the game marked a new era for the franchise. After sharing an arena with the Lakers for 25 years, they are no longer trapped in the shadow of their big brother.
A billionaire’s passion project: Steve Ballmer, by far the richest owner in sports with a net worth of $125 billion, has spared no expense in providing fans with the ultimate game day experience.
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The Halo board: The enormous, double-sided, 360-degree jumbotron is almost the size of an acre. How big is that? If you were to roll it out, it would be three times the size of the nearby Hollywood Sign, according to Forbes.
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Heated, interactive seats: The seats are heated and equipped with USB ports to charge your phone. They also have four remote control buttons that allow fans to play interactive games on the Halo Board, such as ‘The Mentalist’, a color guessing game.
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“The Wall”: The arena features a student section-style set of 51 rows for diehard fans only, who are not allowed to cheer on the opposing team. Seating costs $32 per game and is only available to those who purchased a pass before the season.
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Concessions: All food and drink stalls have the same menu to minimize decision-making, and facial recognition is used throughout the arena so fans can purchase food and merchandise without waiting in line.
Speaking of convenience, just ask Ballmer about the toilets: “1,160 toilets and urinals!” he exclaimed last year. “Three times the NBA average! We don’t want people waiting in line, we want them back to their damn seats!”
🏈 Huge upset: owls put out the flames
previously winless Kennesaw State, a 26.5-point underdog in their first year as an FBS program, pulled off a stunning 27-24 win over previously undefeated Liberty on Wednesday. It’s the first time in 23 years that a team that’s 0-5 or worse beats a team that’s 5-0 or better.
There are still nine undefeated: The Owls’ win over the Flames makes it nine undefeated FBS teams. Three are in the Big Ten (Oregon, Penn State, Indiana), two are in the Big 12 (Iowa State, BYU), two are in the ACC (Miami, Pittsburgh), and two are military academies in the AAC ( Army, Navy).
📸 The world in photos
Barcelona— Barca is back. Raphinha scored a hat-trick to lead Barcelona past Bayern Munich 4-1 in the Champions League, snapping a six-match losing streak against their fellow superclub.
Portland — Vancouver defeated Portland 5-0 in the Western Conference Wild Card match to advance to top-seeded LAFC in a best-of-three first-round series.
Washington DC — The Capitals defeated the Flyers 6-3 in Wednesday’s lone NHL game to improve to 5-1 on the season, their best start since 2015.
📆 October 24, 2004: Arsenal’s streak ends
20 years ago today, Manchester United defeated Arsenal 2-0 to end the Gunners’ Premier League record of 49 games unbeaten.
One of three: That Arsenal team remains one of only three sides in Premier League history to have gone a run of at least 40 league games without losing.
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Arsenal (2003-04): 49 consecutive (36 wins, 13 draws)
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Liverpool (2019-20): 44 consecutive (39 wins, 5 draws)
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Chelsea (2004-05): 40 consecutive (33 wins, 7 draws)
Will there be a fourth soon? Manchester City’s active streak of 31 consecutive games (25 wins, 6 draws) is the fourth longest ever.
📺 Watchlist: Vikings at Rams
The Rams host the Vikings tonight (8:15 PM ET, Prime) at SoFi Stadium in a clash between teams on opposite sides of the NFC.
Head to head: Minnesota (5-1) is tied for the conference’s best record, while Los Angeles (2-4) is fourth-worst, ahead of only the Saints (2-5), Giants (2- 5) and Panthers (1-6). ). But help is on the way, at least temporarily.*
More to watch:
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🏀 NBA: Spurs at Mavericks (7:30 p.m., TNT); Thunder at Nuggets (10 p.m., TNT)
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🇺🇸 Friendly: USWNT vs. Iceland (7:30 p.m., TBS) …In Austin, Texas.
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🏈 NCAAF: Syracuse at No. 19 Pitt (7:30 p.m., ESPN) …Will another undefeated fall?
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⛳️ PGA: Zozo Championship (11 p.m., golf) …Round 2 in Chiba, Japan.
*Kupp’s return: Rams star Cooper Kupp, who has been sidelined since spraining his ankle in Week 2, is expected to return tonight. But with trade rumors swirlinghis time with the team could be coming to an end.
⚾️ MLB Trivia
The Yankees (27) and Dodgers (7) have won the most and sixth most World Series of any team.
Ask: Can you name the four teams in between?
Tip: Two AL, two NL.
Answer below.
🏈When jury duty calls
Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey Missed practice on Wednesday with an injury report that I don’t remember seeing before: Jury duty.
Details: According to the Star-Telegram, Aubrey is on a 12-person jury in an assault case involving second-degree strangulation. The Cowboys reportedly tried to apologize to him, but the 29-year-old All-Pro insisted on doing it.
Will he miss games? The good news for the Cowboys is that a typical tryout schedule won’t hinder Aubrey’s availability on Sunday, barring special circumstances. He will reportedly return to the court today and tomorrow, but is not expected to miss Sunday’s game against the 49ers.
Trivia answer: Cardinals (11 World Series), Red Sox (9), Athletics (9), Giants (8)
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