Dallas Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams was suspended for three games by the NFL on Monday for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Williams has been on injured reserve all season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during special teams drills at training camp in August. He then had season-ending surgery. The suspension means he will not be paid for the next three weeks, but will be eligible for reinstatement Nov. 11 and won’t have to miss any games when he returns from the injury.
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Williams was arrested twice in 2023 because of traffic-related incidents.
After being pulled over in the Dallas suburb of Frisco in August 2023, right after the team had come home after training camp in California, Williams faced charges of possession of a controlled substance and unlawful carrying of a weapon.
That was seven months after Williams was charged with reckless driving after an accident a few days before Christmas 2022 when he was traveling nearly 100 mph and weaving through traffic before colliding with a vehicle driven by a 71-year-old woman. Neither driver was seriously injured.
Before getting hurt in camp this year, the 6-foot-4, 261-pound Williams had been expected to have a bigger role as an edge rusher. Defensive end Dorance Armstrong and outside linebacker Dante Fowler left the Cowboys in free agency during the offseason.
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A second-round draft pick out of Mississippi in 2022, Williams played in 32 regular-season games over the past two seasons, including all 17 last year. He has 8.5 career sacks.
Carlo Ancelotti and Emma Hayes have won the inaugural Johan Cruyff Awards, given to the best coaches in the men’s and women’s games at the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Ancelotti guided Real Madrid to a record-extending 15th Champions League crown last season as well as the La Liga title.
Hayes guided Chelsea to a fifth consecutive Women’s Super League (WSL) title last season, as well as the final of the Women’s League Cup and the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League and Women’s FA Cup.
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At the end of last season Hayes left Chelsea to become head coach of the United States Women’s National Team.
Neither were in Paris to collect their awards as Hayes is in the United States before a game against Argentina, and Real Madrid did not send any representatives the ceremony.
Show up or get shown out. That’s the motto heading into November.
With more than half of the 2024 college football season in the books, programs that have not proven to be perennial powers are flexing their resilience.
Iowa State is 7-0 for the first time since 1938. Indiana is 8-0 for just the second time since 1967. BYU is 8-0 for just the second time since 1990. Army is 8-0 for the first time since 1996. All four programs could end this season undefeated, and that includes the Hoosiers, who will play Ohio State on Nov. 23 in the Shoe.
And all of that is happening while Vanderbilt has earned its first top 25 ranking since 2013 and Boise State boasts a tailback who might come close to breaking Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing total (2,628). Normally, these programs would simply make for good stories — like UCF running the table in 2017 or TCU running the table in 2010. Each ended their seasons undefeated with wins in a New Year’s Six Bowl, but neither had the opportunity to play for the national title in the Bowl Championship Series or College Football Playoff era.
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This season, that comes to an end.
At least one of these programs – Iowa State, Indiana, BYU and Army – will earn entry into the 12-team CFP if they finish the regular season unbeaten. Odds are that it will be either BYU or Iowa State, who could meet for the first time this season in the Big 12 title game and be one of the four highest-ranked champions. Not bad in a season where Alabama has faltered, Florida State has been abysmal and Oklahoma and USC have simply been mediocre.
With that said, let’s get to my updated CFP projections:
1. Oregon: Bye (would then play the winner of 8. Clemson vs. 9. BYU)
2. Georgia: Bye (would then play the winner of 7. Texas vs. 10. Texas A&M)
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3. Miami: Bye (would then play the winner of 6. Penn State vs. 11. Tennessee)
4. Iowa State: Bye (would then play the winner of 5. Ohio State vs. 12. Boise State)
5. Ohio State (Big Ten championship runner-up) vs. 12. Boise State (highest-ranked Group of 5 champion)
This matchup involves the most prolific tailback in the sport in Ashton Jeanty and perhaps the most talented set of tailbacks on one team in TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. Jeanty rushed for 192 yards against an Oregon team that is the consensus No. 1 team in the country. Going up against the Buckeyes would make for an exciting matchup.
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Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty leads the country with 1,376 rushing yards this sason. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)
6. Penn State (one of the top-12 teams) vs. 11. Tennessee (one of the top-12 teams)
If Ohio State has the best set of tailbacks in the sport, then Penn State has the second in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. The tandem has helped lead Penn State to a 7-0 start to the season, while Tennessee possesses the best tailback in the SEC in Dylan Sampson, who rushed for over 100 yards in the Vols’ win against Alabama.
Backup Penn State QB Beau Pribula threw for 98 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 28 yards in place of an injured Drew Allar against Wisconsin. (Photo by Dan Sanger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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7. Texas (one of the top-12 teams) vs. 10. Texas A&M (one of the top-12 teams)
This matchup might be the most anticipated of this projected CFP field with the Longhorns and Aggies meeting for the first time this November since 2011. That game could also decide which team earns entry into the SEC Championship Game. Mike Elko’s Aggies remain undefeated in SEC play as the season enters November.
Texas QB Quinn Ewers completed 17 straight passes in its win over Vanderbilt.(Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images)
After a devastating loss to Georgia to open this season, the Tigers have rampaged through their schedule. Meanwhile, the Cougars are off to an 8-0 start for just the second time since 1990. Between quarterbacks Cade Klubnik and Jake Retzlaff, this CFP matchup could come down to who scores 40.
Cade Klubnik has led Clemson to a 6-1 record this season. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” Follow him at @RJ_Young.
The Boston Celtics are months removed from becoming NBA champions for an 18th time, after knocking off the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the 2024 NBA Finals.
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But the path to another championship won’t be a cakewalk, with a number of real contenders in both conferences.
Here’s a look at the NBA title odds at DraftKings Sportsbook as of Oct. 28.
Still, there will be questions about health when it comes to the Sixers, considering George has played 70-plus games just once in the past five seasons and Embiid has never played 70-plus games in a season.
In addition, Maxey missed 12 games last season and 22 in 2022-23.
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As far as the West goes, the Thunder are second on the board, followed by a trio of contenders in Dallas, Minnesota and Denver.
In the West, the move that created the biggest shift near the top of the oddsboard was Oklahoma City’s signing of center Isiah Hartenstein.
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Former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has joined Serie A club Genoa on a free transfer.
The 34-year-old had been without a club since departing Turkish Super Lig side Adana Demirspor this summer.
Balotelli, who has 36 Italy caps, returns to playing in his home country more than three years after leaving Monza.
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Part of Manchester City’s title winning squad in 2012, Balotelli joins a struggling Genoa side who sit in the relegation positions.
Genoa, managed by Alberto Gilardino, are 18th after taking six points from their opening nine games.
Balotelli made headlines for his behaviour on and off the pitch during his time in the Premier League.
At Manchester City that included a training-ground bust-up with manager Roberto Mancini, and he famously revealed a ‘why always me?’ T-shirt after scoring in a 6-1 demolition of rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.
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Balotelli scored 30 goals in two and a half years with the Blues, helping the club win a first league title since 1968.
After a first, brief stint at AC Milan, an unsuccessful move to Liverpool in 2014 followed, which led to a loan back to the San Siro.
Since then, Balotelli has played across Europe for a number of clubs, including French sides Nice and Marseille, and Italian clubs Brescia and Monza.
A member of the Italy squad that finished as runners-up at Euro 2012, Balotelli has not played for his country since 2018.
The Gamecocks won the national title in 2022, lost in the Final Four in 2023, and then won the title again this past season.
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With head coach Dawn Staley at the helm, the Gamecocks, once again, are atop the oddsboard to make it two in a row.
Let’s take a full look at the early NCAA tournament betting board at DraftKings Sportsbook as of Oct. 28.
NCAA Women’s Tournament Winner 2025 odds:
South Carolina: +180 (bet $10 to win $28 total) USC: +450 (bet $110 to win $55 total) UConn: +450 (bet $10 to win $55 total) Texas: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total) Notre Dame: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total) UCLA: +1500 (bet $10 to win $160 total) LSU: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total) NC State: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total) Iowa State: +4000 (bet $10 to win $510 total) Duke: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total) Stanford: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total) Baylor: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
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Second to South Carolina on the oddsboard is another No. 1 seed from last year’s tourney, the USC Trojans.
With Caitlin Clark now in the WNBA, USC has arguably the most famous college baller in Juju Watkins, who is entering her sophomore season in Socal.
As a freshman, Watkins averaged 27.1 points, second in the nation to Clark. Her Trojans were a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Women’s Tournament after winning the Pac-12 title.
Joining Watkins at USC is graduate transfer Kiki Iriafen, an all All Pac-12 performer at Stanford last season who averaged 19.4 points and 11 rebounds for the Cardinal.
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