Category: Sports

It’s been four years since the ATP announced the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals, an event for the best under-21 players in the world.

Though Hyeon Chung of South Korea won the title, the qualifiers for the first event in 2017 included Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Denis Shapovalov and Karen Khachanov, while Stefanos Tsitsipas was an alternate.

On Monday, the US Open live stream begins with five of those six players ranked in the top 10. The next generation of rising stars are not just coming, they’re already here.

And yet, there’s still a problem. Since Roger Federer won his first Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003, 60 of the 71 Slam events have been won either by the Swiss, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.

Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka briefly broke the stranglehold with three Slam wins apiece but since Wawrinka won the US Open in 2016, the only win by a non-big-three player was at last year’s US Open, when Dominic Thiem won his first Slam.

World No. 1 Djokovic is a strong favorite to win this year’s US Open, which coincidentally would also make him the first man to win all four majors in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969. But there is a growing feeling that the passing of the baton is not too far away. Federer is 40 and facing another rehabilitation after knee surgery, while Nadal has a foot injury which will keep him out the rest of the year.

The fact that there is a group of players all around the same level is helping the pretenders believe they can finally make that Slam breakthrough.

“Probably [we] all want to be the first ones to make it,” Medvedev told reporters at Flushing Meadows on the eve of the Open. “Actually Thiem is the first one, if we can call it NextGen, which we are not anymore, but we were kind of in this group, he was the first one to do it last year. Out of the big three, only Novak is here, who is of course going for the Grand Slam.

“Stefanos was in the final of Roland Garros, two sets up [on Djokovic]. I was in the final in Australia, not two sets up but still in the final. We’re going to try to get (Djokovic).

“This competition to be the first one of these young guys to win a Slam … I think everybody wants to do it.”

For many years, the biggest issue always seemed to be that to win a Grand Slam, the chances were that a young player would have to beat at least one, and sometimes two of the big three to win a major title.

Wawrinka did it in 2014 when he won the Australian Open and at Roland-Garros in 2015, but the younger players have fallen short so far, sometimes managing a big victory but then finding another roadblock in their way.

Tsitsipas beat Federer to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal in Australia in 2017 only to be hammered by Nadal, and he was overhauled by Djokovic at Roland-Garros this year. Medvedev was stopped by Nadal in the 2019 US Open final and by Djokovic in Australia in February.

This time, the road to the Grand Slam final is a bit less complicated.

Zverev, who won at the Olympics and the recent Western & Southern Tournament in Cincinnati, knows he and the others are close.

“We all miss them, we all love them to play forever,” Zverev said of the big three. “(But) at some point they will have to retire.

“I think the Cincinnati tournament and other tournaments this year also showed that the competition and the rivalry that we have with the younger guys — the top four or top five guys with Medvedev, Tsitsipas, myself, Rublev and (Matteo) Berrettini, we’re having great battles, we’re having very entertaining matches.”

Medvedev, Zverev, Tsitsipas and Berrettini (at this year’s Wimbledon), have all made Grand Slam finals. Medvedev, Zverev and Tsitsipas have all won the ATP Finals. Their time may finally be here.

“I’ve been two points away (from the title) last year here,” Zverev said. “I’m very happy to be back here, because now I can feel like I can go out on that court and I can prove myself, whether I got better since last year, what actually happened. I feel like I’m playing great tennis this year.

“The top three guys, they’ve been dominating for the past 15 or 20 years. We might never see that again. Don’t expect this group of guys to be the next Djokovic, Federer and Nadal. I don’t think the four of us are going to win 20 Grand Slams in the next 15 years each. That’s not how it’s going to go.”

Zverev is confident about the future but knows the high bar the big three established.

“I think we’re going to split them among us maybe. But the dominance those guys had is something you see once in a lifetime probably. All of us, we’re in that kind of path. We share kind of the same goals and aspirations.

“I personally believe that all of us have a good game to get to Grand Slam titles. It is important that we’re able to showcase that level of tennis in these kind of tournaments as best as possible to represent our generation of tennis in the best possible way.”

Djokovic remains the standard, but the pack is closing in.

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The Oakland (TN) face the Madison-Ridgeland (MS) in High School Football on Saturday, August 28, 2021. Two powerhouse high school football teams clash at Madison-Ridgeland Academy Madison, Miss.

The game (3 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on ESPN. But if you don’t have cable, here are some different ways you can watch a live stream of Oakland (TN) vs Madison-Ridgeland (MS) online:

fuboTV

FuboTV is an excellent place to go for sports. In addition to ESPN, over 90 channels are offered in its Starter package for $64.99/month (after a 7-day free trial). FuboTV includes ESPN, ESPN2, ACC Network, and SEC Network in their Starter channel package, along with allowing you to use your fuboTV login to watch ESPN3 through the ESPN app. FuboTV also throws in ESPNU and ESPNews when upgrading to their FuboTV Elite channel plan for $79.99/month.

Hulu Live TV

Most cord cutters are familiar with Hulu’s On-Demand service. However, they also offer a live TV service that includes ESPN. Hulu Live TV provides ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ACC Network, and SEC Network for $64.99/month. You can also use your Hulu Live TV credentials to watch ESPN3 on the ESPN app.

Sling TV

Sling TV’s “Orange plan” is the most affordable way to watch ESPN with a price of $35 per month. You can stream SportsCenter along with all of ESPN’s programming straight to your television.

Vidgo

Vidgo is a newer streaming service that offers fairly competitive pricing over other live streaming services. Vidgo includes ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN U, ESPN2, and ESPN News in its Core package, along with over 60 other channels. New customers can sign up for the Core Plan for $55 per month. (They offer discounted promo pricing for your first 3 months.)

YouTube TV

Another streaming service that offers ESPN, a slew of other channels, and a nice set of features is YouTube TV. They also provide ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNU, ESPNews, and SEC Network for a cost of $64.99 per month.

DirecTV

You can watch ESPN and ESPN2 as part of their “Entertainment” package for $69.99 per month. If you upgrade to their “Choice” package for $84.99 per month, you will have access to ESPNU, ESPNews, ACC Network, and SEC Network. Check out our review of DIRECTV Stream for information on all the channels available through the service.

Oakland (TN) at Madison-Ridgeland (MS) Preview

• Oakland is coming off a 15-0 state championship season with no signs of slowing down. Their offensive firepower comes from No. 203 senior Jordan James – RB (Georgia commit) and No. 273 senior Isaiah Horton – WR, while No. 227 junior Robby Washington – ATH adds depth.
• Madison Ridgeland was also undefeated last season, claiming its second straight Mississippi 6A title. No. 219 senior Stone Blanton – LB anchors the defense.

Oakland, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., won two of the last three championships in Class 6A in Tennessee, including last year’s undefeated 14-0 season. The Patriots’ offense scored at least 30 points in every game, while their defense gave up 20 or more points just three times. They capped off their season with a 56-33 win against Brentwood in the state championship.

Madison-Ridgeland also rolled to an undefeated season in 2020, but the Madison, Miss., team stumbled in its first game this year, losing to Greenville (N.C.) Christian 58-32. Madison-Ridgeland bounced back in the next game, and the team will try to keep its momentum up against Oakland.

Regional restrictions may apply.

That was my first thought when I heard the Eagles traded a late-round pick in 2022 to acquire Gardner Minshew from Jacksonville on Saturday morning.

The Eagles traded away a conditional sixth-round pick to get Minshew, an obvious upgrade as their third-string quarterback in 2021 and an extremely cheap and adequate backup option in 2022. The most this trade will cost Howie Roseman and the Eagles is a fifth-round pick. Low risk, high reward.

It’s obvious that the Eagles value the quarterback position, even more than most teams in a QB driven league, and they just got a pretty decent one with experience for a Day 3 pick. To me, it’s a no-brainer.

Here are five thoughts about the move:

1. The most obvious takeaway from this trade is the Eagles just got a clear upgrade in their quarterback room. Nick Mullens got off to a hot start in training camp but plummeted and was awful in the preseason. Minshew is clearly better than Mullens. With 20 career starts under his belt, Minshew has completed 62.9% of his passes for 5,530 yards with 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He’s come back to Earth after the early stages of Minshew Mania but as a backup he’s pretty good. As a third-stringer? He’s excellent.

Nick Sirianni always pushes competition and that quarterback room just got a clear upgrade.

2. Joe Flacco is still the Eagles’ backup for now but he’s on a one-year contract in 2021. Meanwhile, Minshew is just 25 and has two years left on his rookie contract as a sixth-round pick. So the Eagles overpaid for Flacco this year but they’ll pay Minshew just $850,000 in 2021 and just $965,000 in 2022.

No matter what happens this season, no matter who the starter is in 2022, I expect Minshew to be a cheap and solid backup for the Eagles next season. There are going to be the theories about Deshaun Watson — those rumors aren’t going away — so Minshew could be Watson’s backup in 2022. Or he could be Hurts’ backup. Or he could be the backup for a rookie next season. No matter, he’s a cost-controlled quarterback who’s easy to keep around.

3. The first thought many had when the trade went down was that maybe there’s another move to follow. And that could be true. Maybe the Eagles will try to ship Flacco off right now for a pick. But it might make more sense to keep Flacco as the backup and Minshew as the third-stringer until Minshew learns the offense.

But if we’re in Week 5 and a quarterback goes down somewhere across the league? You’d have to imagine that Roseman would then be willing to trade Flacco and get a pick in return.

4. Don’t think of this trade as a statement on Hurts. Sure, the Eagles haven’t named him their starter and maybe they’re not fully committed to him long-term. But I wouldn’t worry about this bothering Hurts; he’s not fragile. There are some quarterbacks you’d worry about if you brought in a guy like Minshew, who has a decent resume and a drive to be a starter. But if anything, this could bring out the best in Hurts. He’s not afraid to compete.

And if you’re worried about WIP callers clamoring for Minshew in Week 6, know that Hurts won’t be.

5. Some folks won’t like the idea of the Eagles’ using three spots on their 53-man roster for quarterbacks. I get that. But we know how much the Eagles value the position and had Mullens played well this summer, they might have kept him on their roster. And we’re also entering a 17-game season with COVID-19 questions so the Eagles are lining up some contingency plans. Right or wrong, the Eagles are going to continue to put assets into the position. They’d rather have a valuable third-string quarterback over a sixth corner or a seventh linebacker.

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Kinlochshiel reached their first Camanachd Cup final with a 2-0 victory over 21-times winners Kyles Athletic at Taynuilt.

Daniel MacVicar scored four – including a hat-trick in less than two minutes – as Oban Camanachd thrashed Ballachulish 10-0 in the Celtic Society Cup.

Glenurquhart upset Lovat with a 3-2 MacTavish Cup first-round victory.

And the highlight of the interim leagues was a five-goal blitz from Ewan Fraser as Glasgow Mid Argyll defeated Aberdour 6-2.

It took almost an hour for Kinlochshiel to break down a resolute Kyles side and club legend Keith MacRae gave them the lead before Jordan Fraser added their second in the 91st minute.

Their final opponents will be Kingussie or Lovat, who meet in the last four next Saturday.

At Ballachulish, MacVicar got Camanachd’s opener in the Celtic Society Cup after just four minutes and then put his team 4-0 up with his whirlwind hat-trick midway through the first half.

Daniel Cameron got two and Garry Lord, Conner Howe, Innes Jackson and Ross Campbell grabbed one each to complete the rout.

A first-minute goal from David MacLennan set Glenurquhart on their way and Connor Golabek doubled the lead. Greg Matheson soon made a game of it with a penalty, but John Barr equally quickly restored the two-goal cushion before Matheson got a late second for Lovat.

Had MacVicar been less prolific, Fraser’s first three for Mid Argyll in just eight minutes early in the second half might have been the day’s fastest hat-trick. Fraser added two more late on, with Brian Slattery having started the scoring. David MacKenzie and Ruairidh Reid struck back for Aberdour.

Newtonmore had a 5-1 home league win over Caberfeidh with two from David MacDonald and one each from Iain Robinson, Max Campbell and Declan Brannan. Caberfeidh’s consolation came from Kevin Bartlett.

Also in the senior leagues, Fort William had a 2-1 home win over local rivals Lochaber. Grant Disher put Fort ahead, Jack Dignan provided a quick equaliser and Lewis Morrison’s strike proved to be the winner.

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First-year Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has reportedly ended the quarterback battle in Austin by naming redshirt freshman Hudson Card the starter for the season opener against Louisiana. Card had been battling through spring practice and fall camp with Casey Thompson, who spent the last two years as the primary backup to former Longhorns signal-caller Sam Ehlinger.

247Sports’ Chip Brown reported the news on Saturday, noting that Sarkisian informed both quarterbacks of the decision on Friday night after a walkthrough practice.  Here’s what the decision means for Card, Thompson and the Longhorns moving forward.

How Card won the job

According to Horns247, Thompson began fall camp with the No. 1 offense. That didn’t come as a huge surprise considering his experience advantage, not only with three years in the program but also an impressive performance in last year’s Alamo Bowl win over Colorado after Ehlinger got injured. Thompson completed 8-of-10 passes for 170 yards, but half of those completions went for touchdowns of 13, 25, 23 and 73 yards. The highlight reel sent many into the offseason imagining that Thompson, star running back Bijan Robinson and the addition of Steve Sarkisian would lead to an explosive offense for Texas in 2021.

But the inability to separate from Card during spring practice and fall camp left the door open in a way that eliminated Thompson’s built-in advantages. Horns247 reported that Thompson struggled with interceptions early in camp while Card did a better job of avoiding turnovers. That, along with the difference in skill set, seems to have played a big role in this decision.

What Card can bring to Texas’ offense

Card was a four-star prospect from the 2020 recruiting class, ranked as one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the country coming out Lake Travis in Austin. His mobility is an edge that opens up Texas’ offense, forcing defenses to respect him as a runner while extending the play for wide receivers with late-developing routes. We have heard about “all gas, no breaks” from Sarkisian and the Texas staff. If this offense is going to play with significant tempo, then having a quarterback who can freestyle when things break down or quickly take advantage of a defense lined up out of position is an attractive option.

This battle might not be over

Horns247 notes that while Sarkisian has decided on Card as the starter, he informed the quarterbacks that both would play against Louisiana. Earlier in camp, Sarkisian explained that ideally the Week 1 starter would play well and take the job moving forward, but he was prepared to play both Card and Thompson in the first game of the season.

Card now has the edge that Thompson held at the start of the offseason. He’s going to start the season with the first-team offense and have a chance to win the job for good. If he’s productive and takes care of the ball, that’s likely it for the discussion of Texas’ QB1. But if he turns the ball over like Thompson did in fall camp, then the veteran former backup will have a chance to win back the job on the field.

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