Author: Michael

Back in from the road. Going back out in a few days. This week’s takeaways from my travels …
The three first-round quarterbacks had bumpy preseason debuts. Bryce Young took big hits. C.J. Stroud seemed to doubt what he was looking at, hesitated to pull the trigger and threw a bad pick. Anthony Richardson looked every bit the big, raw prospect he is, with a high ceiling but a long, long way to go, evidenced by an off-balance interception of his own.
To me, this is the best (only good?) part of preseason games.

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How will the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup unfold? Our SB Nation staff has their predictions
The final two matches are set at the Women’s World Cup.
Fans are guaranteed a first time winner, but how does the staff at SB Nation see these two matches shaking out?
Spain vs. Sweden
One of these nations will advance to their first Final at the Women’s World Cup.
From my vantage point, it looks like Sweden will be that team.
If we were sleeping on Sweden, we are wide awake now.

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Dez Bryant is a Cowboy through and through and couldn’t help but show his fandom in a recent interview. When Bryant was asked who the top five cornerbacks in the NFL are, his answer didn’t disappoint.
While being interviewed by Rotoworld NBC, the former Dallas wide receiver named Trevon Diggs, Stephon Gilmore, Patrick Surtain, Sauce Gardner and then Jalen Ramsey as his top five players at the position. Diggs and Gilmore of course play for the Cowboys and Bryant went as far as to call them 1A and 1B, respectively, when ranking them in the NFL.

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Michael McDowell (that’s MACdowell, by the way) beat Chase Elliott on a road course to keep him outside the playoff picture. Didn’t think I’d be typing that this NASCAR season, but that’s why you always have to keep your head on a swivel!
Good Indy road coarse race yesterday. Solid. Not the best one I’ve ever seen, but not a snooze fest — mostly.
OK, we did pretty much run green the entire time. No cautions. No restarts. No stage breaks. Just full throttle horsepower from start to finish.
Would a late restart have helped in the Entertainment Department? Of course.

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Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Rookie kicker Blake Grupe kicked a game-winning field goal, but security was skeptical
New Orleans Saints rookie kicker Blake Grupe is small by NFL standards. He is listed on their roster as 5’7 — the shortest player on the team — and 156 pounds, also making him the lightest.
That may have played a role in how his first NFL preseason game unfolded.
Grupe hit a 31-yard field goal as time expired to give the Saints a 26-24 win over the visiting Kansas City Chiefs:

FG is GOOD! Saints win it, 26-24! pic.twitter.

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It’s always a bit jarring for fans seeing a franchise quarterback switch teams. Playing in different colors and cities takes some getting used to, and the same can be said for the players themselves. At least that’s the case with Derek Carr. 
The new Saints quarterback admitted that both he and his family were taken aback when he wore his new uniform for the first time.

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The Women’s World Cup is down to the final four, and here is how they stack up
We are down to the final four at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and one thing is clear.
Soccer fans will see a first-time winner in a few days.
With Japan losing to Sweden in the quarter-finals, that means the last four teams standing are all seeking their first World Cup title. Sweden has been the closest, with a trio of third-place finishes in their history.
How do these teams stack up? Let’s try and sort that out.
1.

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