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I know exactly where Pete Rose’s Hall of Fame plaque should have been hanging — for the past three decades.

You’d have found it in the middle of a powerhouse cluster in the plaque gallery — nestled in between the plaques of Tom Seaver and Reggie Jackson. Among others.

Thousands of baseball fans would have gawked at it by now. I can still imagine them, reading that plaque and trying to comprehend that more than 23,000 men have played in Major League Baseball — and Pete Rose got more hits than any of them.

But that’s what could have and should have happened, in a What-If World in which the Hit King was known only for those 4,256 hits and not for … well, so much else.

For three decades, it has saddened me to gaze at that spot on the wall in Cooperstown, N.Y., and reflect on why Rose’s plaque was missing from this Land of the Legends. And on Monday, that sadness only grew, as the news spread that Rose had died, at age 83.

I’ve said and written many times that Pete Rose was the saddest baseball story I ever covered. Now let me explain where that sadness comes from. Like so many others who knew him, it comes from the inescapable thought that his story shouldn’t have ended this way.

Pete Rose was so good at baseball. But more than that, it was so much fun to watch him play baseball. He was a daily fireball of dust and dirt, line drives and headfirst bellyflops, quips and quotes that made you laugh out loud.

He was a Rookie of the Year at 22, an MVP at 32 and still the league leader in hits at 40. The Pete Rose Show was something, all right.

He got a hit in 44 games in a row. He passed Stan Musial to set the all-time National League record for hits. He passed Ty Cobb to lead the whole continent in hits. He was a walking, talking, baseball history museum. And he knew everything about everything that anyone could possibly have stuffed inside that museum.

He was the most magnetic baseball figure of my lifetime. And I don’t say that casually. I’ve thought about this for years. We couldn’t stop watching Pete Rose any time he set foot on a baseball field. We couldn’t stop talking about him when he stepped off that baseball field.

He had an infectious smile. He sprinted to first base after all 1,566 walks. He could turn on his nightclub act and entertain you any time that came in handy. He could make himself the center of the baseball universe. He was the most powerful presence in every room he ever entered.

If only we’d spent the last few decades talking about that guy.

But once the truth began to seep out about that other world Rose lived in, it would never be the same. If only there had never been such a thing as gambling. If only the Hit King hadn’t gravitated toward so many of the unsavory figures in that other world. If only he hadn’t left so many other troubling allegations in his wake, particularly involving his treatment of women. If only …

If only he’d understood that he wasn’t bulletproof. If only he’d taken it all more seriously when the commissioner, Bart Giamatti, asked to talk with him about these gambling allegations the commissioner’s office had caught wind of. If only that had been a wake-up call … instead of the impetus for the suspension that would define Pete Rose for the rest of his life.

It’s now 35 years since I sat in that ballroom in New York where Giamatti announced that he was banning “Mr. Rose” for life for gambling on his own team. I’ll never forget the murmur that rippled through that room as the commissioner uttered those words on Aug. 24, 1989. How could this be happening – Pete Rose’s career ending not on a ballfield but in a ballroom?

That felt all wrong — but not because Giamatti’s decision was wrong. Because the man he was suspending had made so many wrong turns and so many wrong decisions that he brought that fate on himself.

Except it turned out that was not the end of the story. Over the next 15 years or so, Rose had his chances maybe not to get reinstated and work in baseball, but to at least get himself onto a Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. Of course, you know how that worked out.

He had so many chances to save himself. But whatever it was he needed to do to make that happen, it felt as though he did the opposite. Over and over and over again.

Pete Rose connects for his 4,192 career hit to surpass Ty Cobb as baseball’s Hit King. (Bettmann / Getty Images) 

In 2002, his friends, Mike Schmidt and Joe Morgan, arranged a secret meeting between Rose and Bud Selig, then the commissioner of baseball. The Hit King had to know he would never have a greater opportunity than this one.

Selig spelled out what baseball expected of him if the league was even going to consider adjusting his life sentence. Rose would need to stop gambling — all the gambling. He would need to stop hanging out at all those casinos and racetracks.

And finally, there was this: He would need to hold a press conference — to admit to his “crime,” to admit that yes, he’d bet on baseball, to apologize to everyone he’d betrayed and to promise none of this would ever happen again. They shook hands. And then …

Rose walked out of that meeting and headed directly for an appearance at a sports book in Las Vegas. The commissioner and those around him were furious. Rose’s fate was sealed forever that day. It’s hard to argue it was anyone’s fault except his own.

I’ve known since then exactly how this saga was going to end. I’ve known since then that Pete Rose’s Induction Day in Cooperstown would never arrive. I’ve known since then that there would always be that spot in the gallery where his plaque would never hang. I’ve known since then that I’d be writing this column, on the day he died.

But knowing this was coming doesn’t make it any less sad.

Can you feel that sadness and yet understand that no one was more responsible for how this ended than Rose himself? I believe you can. Why can’t both things be true? I think it’s possible — even sensible — to have two sets of Pete Rose memories.

The hits, the hustle, the records, the indelible moments, the laughs, the fun that flowed from watching the Hit King play baseball — I’m not banning those for life. I’ll think of them forever and smile.

But the turn the rest of his life took — why would I not look at that with sadness? I think about what should have been, and I wish he’d done so many things differently.

It’s strange to think now that he was suspended “for life” by Giamatti. And now that the “lifetime” part of his suspension no longer applies, does that mean that someday, there could be a door the league might open to allow Pete Rose a place in the Hall?

Why not? It never made sense to me that the Hall of Fame wouldn’t find some sort of way to honor the man who got more hits than anybody who ever stood in a batter’s box.

Why isn’t it possible to celebrate all the hits while honestly acknowledging the other side of the story? Why can’t his plaque do both? That’s what I’d do if I was the “Plaque Czar.”

But you know and I know that’s not what will happen. I’ve met many writers who feel as though Rose served his time, so if he ever appeared on our ballot, they’d vote for Pete Rose, the Hit King, even if they had issues with Pete Rose, the Bet King. But it’s a waste of time even to think about that. There’s a better chance of Taylor Swift appearing on our ballot than there is of Rose ever appearing on the writers’ ballot.

And even if Rob Manfred or some future commissioner were ever to change his mind, what version of any veterans committee would ever elect him? Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens found out two years ago that their door is still slammed shut. So why would we think Rose would be any different?

Could Pete Rose end up in Cooperstown? At the moment, it’s difficult to see a pathway. (Getty Images)

And now that he’s gone, it could never carry the same meaning anyway. I’ve always wondered what Pete Rose’s Induction Day would have looked like. Haven’t you? How many baseball fans would have spread out on those Cooperstown hills to hear that speech?

What would he have said that day? What would the other Hall of Famers have said about him? How many would have found something else to do that weekend? It would have been an Induction Day unlike any other — one we would have talked about for decades.

Just like the Hit King himself.

It’s going to take a little while for this to sink in. For as long as I’ve been covering baseball, there has always been Peter Edward Rose to make our lives far more interesting. He was always there, any time we needed a column topic on a slow day. And everyone who knew him had a story to tell.

Now there’s one thing I know for sure. I’ll never forget the life and times of Pete Rose — but especially when I walk through the halls of Cooperstown and stare at that spot where his plaque should hang.

Required reading

(Top photo of Pete Rose in 1984: George Gojkovich / Getty Images)

The postseason begins with no clear favorite, as MLB finished the regular season with no 100-game winner for the first time since 2014. Every team seemingly has a path to a title, and every team also appears to have a flaw as big as the Death Star. So who will take home the trophy at the end of the playoff marathon? Our staff experts weigh in with their predictions:

Andy McCullough (Houston): They have the best starting rotation. They have a championship core. This is what the Astros do.

Will Sammon (Philadelphia): Their lineup remains as formidable as anyone’s. Their rotation features enough starters opposing teams do not want to see in any pivotal game. Oh, and they also created a bullpen loaded with variety, depth and talent.

Fabian Ardaya (Houston): I mean, they’ve made it this point. And once the Astros get let into the dance, they tend to go far.

C. Trent Rosecrans (Cleveland): They don’t have the sexiest team, but they just do everything right. They’re death by a thousand paper cuts. They’re a team that won’t make the big mistakes but will force their opponents to do so.

Eno Sarris (San Diego): Excellent starters, great relievers by the handful, a lineup that not only makes contact but does so with power: all things the Padres enjoy.

Andrew Baggarly (Philadelphia): My gut wants me to pick the Padres because they have starting pitchers capable of dominance, a deep and nasty bullpen, and a star-laden lineup. But the Phillies have all those things and maybe more of them — plus the best home-field advantage in the major leagues. Ring the bell.

Jen McCaffrey (Philadelphia): They’re deep and experienced. This feels like their year to finally pull it all together.

Keith Law (Philadelphia): They’re almost fully healthy and have the kind of top-end hitters and pitchers who make the difference in the postseason’s limited schedule.

Stephen J. Nesbitt (Philadelphia): There is no perfect team this postseason. But the Phillies come closer than anyone. They have a well-rounded lineup, a rotation led by Cy Young candidate Zack Wheeler, and a bullpen with some of the baddest stuff in the sport. They are capable of getting on the board quickly, and holding on.

Sam Blum (Cleveland): Bullpens win games in the playoffs. And there’s no better bullpen than Cleveland’s.

Chad Jennings (Philadelphia): If the Phillies aren’t going to win, then what’s their fatal flaw? For the Dodgers, it’s their banged-up rotation. For the Yankees, it’s a thin bullpen and uncertain bottom of the order. For the Astros, it’s injuries that have weakened their outfield and robbed them of multiple starting pitchers. But the Phillies don’t have a glaring weakness. Their pitching staff has a legitimate ace, a four-deep rotation, and an elite bullpen. Their lineup can run, hit home runs, and score in multiple ways from top to bottom. Manager Rob Thomson is a battle-tested veteran with a steady hand.

They’ve come close in the past two seasons. This is the year they win it all.

Chandler Rome (San Diego): The Padres are the most complete team in the sport.

Zack Meisel (San Diego): A.J. Preller’s maniacal wheeling and dealing finally pays off. The Padres have the pitching and just enough offense to get it done.

Kaitlyn McGrath (Philadelphia): At one point this season, it looked like the Phillies would cruise to the best record in baseball. That didn’t happen, but even within their uneven play, there was never a serious doubt that the Phillies wouldn’t figure it out. The Phillies have been a big presence in the postseason for a couple of years now, and it feels like this is finally the time that Bryce Harper leads them all the way.

David O’Brien (Philadelphia): It’s their time, with almost the same group of veterans having made several runs together at this thing.

Sahadev Sharma (San Diego): They look like the most balanced team. Defense isn’t great, but the rest is well above average.

Patrick Mooney (Philadelphia): A star-studded roster built for the postseason.

Noah Furtado (Los Angeles): They have Shohei Ohtani.

(Top photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)

In honor of Jayden Daniels’ historic start to his NFL career, the Power Rankings are checking in on rookies this week. Daniels, the No. 2 pick in April’s draft, has overshadowed top pick Caleb Williams and given Washington Commanders fans hope that they’ve finally found their savior. The news is not quite so good in most other places, but we’ve found some highlights (or lowlights) for everyone.

We also have a new No. 1 that has come out of nowhere despite losing their first-round draft pick to injury.

Last week: 4

Sunday: Beat Green Bay Packers 31-29

The Vikings are having the NFL’s most surprising season without much help from their rookie class. First-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy was lost to a knee injury in the preseason, opening the way for Sam Darnold, who leads the league with 11 touchdown passes and has thrown only three interceptions. First-round edge rusher Dallas Turner has only five tackles and one sack through four games.

Up next: vs. New York Jets, Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET (London)

GO DEEPER

Assessing 4-0 teams, from Vikings’ shocking start to Chiefs’ WR setback: Sando’s Pick Six

Last week: 2

Sunday: Beat Los Angeles Chargers 17-10

Wide receiver Xavier Worthy had a career-high 73 yards (on three catches) against the Chargers, and Kansas City is really going to need him now. Veteran wide receiver Rashee Rice is expected to miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury against the Chargers. Worthy, who ran the fastest 40-yard dash in NFL combine history (4.21), has nine catches for 154 yards this season. Second-round rookie offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia has already lost his starting job at left tackle.

Up next: vs. New Orleans Saints, Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET

Last week: 14

Sunday: Beat Buffalo Bills 35-10

Second-round right tackle Roger Rosengarten made his first career start Sunday against the Bills, and Derrick Henry went right behind him for an 87-yard touchdown on the Ravens’ first offensive snap of the game. Plus, the rookie didn’t allow a quarterback pressure on 20 pass-blocking snaps, according to The 33rd Team. In the non-rookie category, Henry finished with 199 yards. It was the seventh-highest total of his career and the third time in his last five games that he’s topped 150 yards.

Up next: at Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

GO DEEPER

Ravens set early tone in beatdown of Bills, show what they’re capable of going forward

4. Buffalo Bills (3-1)

Last week: 1

Sunday: Lost to Baltimore Ravens 35-10

No rookie got more preseason publicity than second-round wide receiver Keon Coleman, who lights up the room with his personality. On the field, it’s been fine if less dynamic. Coleman is the second-leading wide receiver on the team, but he has fewer catches (eight for 126 yards) than running back James Cook. The problem for Buffalo on Sunday, though, was the defense, which gave up 7.9 yards per play, which tied for the worst total in a game this season.

Up next: at Houston Texans, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Last week: 3

Monday: Beat Seattle Seahawks 42-29

The Lions decided to double their chances of getting some cornerback help by taking Terrion Arnold in the first round and Ennis Rakestraw in the second round. Arnold has been a hit, playing more than 90 percent of the team’s snaps. Rakestraw, meanwhile, has barely seen the field. The defense won’t matter all that much if the offense keeps playing like it did Monday night, when quarterback Jared Goff finished a perfect 18-for-18 for 292 yards and two touchdowns. He became the first quarterback in NFL history with more than 10 pass attempts and no incompletions.

Up next: Bye

Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has looked like anything but a rookie through four games. (Patrick Breen / The Republic / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

6. Washington Commanders (3-1)

Last week: 18

Sunday: Beat Arizona Cardinals 42-14

First-round quarterback Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 pick, has changed the complexion of the season for the Commanders and may have finally changed the trajectory of the franchise. Daniels has completed 82 percent of his passes so far, the highest completion percentage in a four-game stretch in the NFL (for quarterbacks with more than 100 attempts) since the league’s merger. He has led more scoring drives (23) than he has thrown incompletions (19). He also has the highest EPA per dropback of any NFL starter (.32). He’s 10th in passing yards (897). And he’s second among quarterbacks in rushing (218). Congratulations, Commanders.

Up next: vs. Cleveland Browns, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

GO DEEPER

Commanders, winners of 3 straight, riding a high with Jayden Daniels leading the way

7. Houston Texans (3-1)

Last week: 5

Sunday: Beat Jacksonville Jaguars 24-20

The Texans did OK in the 2024 draft considering they didn’t have a first-round pick. Their top four picks are pitching in, starting with second-round cornerback Kamari Lassiter, who is starting and tied for the team lead in tackles Sunday with six. The real story against the Jaguars, though, was Nico Collins, the 2021 third-round pick who had 151 receiving yards Sunday and leads the NFL with 489 this season.

Up next: vs. Buffalo Bills, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

8. Seattle Seahawks (3-1)

Last week: 6

Monday: Lost to the Detroit Lions 42-29

First-round defensive tackle Byron Murphy was inactive Monday night with a hamstring injury. He had played 45 percent of the Seahawks’ defensive snaps, a higher percentage of offensive or defensive snaps than any of his draft classmates. The Seahawks haven’t needed much from their newcomers because quarterback Geno Smith has been so good. After putting up a career-high 395 passing yards against the Lions on Monday night, Smith leads the NFL with 1,182.

Up next: vs. New York Giants, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

Last week: 12

Sunday: Beat Philadelphia Eagles 33-16

First-round center Graham Barton has played every snap, but fourth-round running back Bucky Irving is looking like the Bucs’ best pick. Irving had 10 carries for 49 yards and a touchdown Sunday and is Tampa Bay’s leading rusher with 203 yards. His 5.8 yards per carry ranks seventh in the league (among backs with at least 20 carries), according to TruMedia. On the veteran front, Mike Evans got going Sunday with eight catches for 94 yards, his highest output of the season.

Up next: at Atlanta Falcons, Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET

GO DEEPER

What we learned in NFL Week 4: Ravens get mojo back, Vikings prove staying power

Last week: 8

Sunday: Lost to Indianapolis Colts 27-24

The Steelers drafted three offensive linemen in the first four rounds and all three have started at least one game after South Dakota State product Mason McCormick opened the game against the Colts. McCormick, Troy Fautanu (when he’s healthy again) and Zach Frazier could turn into one of the best single-year offensive line draft hauls in a long time. Throw in the way quarterback Justin Fields is playing (312 passing yards, 55 rushing yards, three touchdowns Sunday), and the Steelers can feel OK despite their first loss of the season.

Up next: vs. Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET

The 49ers appear to have a keeper in rookie guard Dominick Puni, a third-round pick. (Darren Yamashita / Imagn Images)

Last week: 13

Sunday: Beat New England Patriots 30-13

Third-round right guard Dominick Puni has been one of the finds of this year’s class by any team. Puni, who played six college seasons at Central Missouri and Kansas, didn’t allow a pressure on 29 pass block snaps against the Patriots on Sunday, according to The 33rd Team, and that’s become something of a trend for Puni. He’s only allowed six pressures this year, according to TruMedia. In the wildest rookie news in the NFL this year, first-round wide receiver Ricky Pearsall could come off IR this week after being shot in a robbery attempt during the preseason.

Up next: vs. Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

12. Los Angeles Chargers (2-2)

Last week: 10

Sunday: Lost to Kansas City Chiefs 17-10

It looks like Jim Harbaugh hit on his first L.A. draft class. First-round tackle Joe Alt had played 100 percent of the team’s snaps and looked very good at times (three pressures allowed in 76 pass-blocking snaps, according to TruMedia) before missing Sunday’s game with a knee injury. Second-round wide receiver Ladd McConkey had a career-high 67 yards Sunday and leads the team with 173 receiving yards.

Up next: Bye

13. Green Bay Packers (2-2)

Last week: 7

Sunday: Lost to Minnesota Vikings 31-29

The most impactful newcomer from this class has been safety Javon Bullard, a second-round pick who is third on the team with 20 tackles. The two players the Packers took before Bullard — offensive lineman Jordan Morgan and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper — aren’t regulars in the lineup. The continued production from the 2023 draft class of pass catchers — Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks — means the Packers may have been due a miss or two this year.

Up next: at Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

GO DEEPER

Jordan Love struggles in return but shows franchise-QB mettle in comeback effort

14. Dallas Cowboys (2-2)

Last week: 16

Thursday: Beat New York Giants 20-15

Dallas is getting a lot of work out of its rookie class and is going to need more now that DeMarcus Lawrence is out for a while with a foot injury. That opens the door for second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland to get a lot of snaps at defensive end. Kneeland has three quarterback hits in 108 snaps this season. First-round pick Tyler Guyton and third-round pick Cooper Beebe are already starting on the offensive line.

Up next: at Pittsburgh Steelers, Monday, 8:20 p.m. ET

15. Atlanta Falcons (2-2)

Last week: 20

Sunday: Beat New Orleans Saints 26-24

Atlanta might end up getting a historically low number of snaps out of its 2024 rookies. First-round quarterback Michael Penix Jr. hasn’t played and probably won’t unless Kirk Cousins gets hurt. Defensive linemen Ruke Orhorhoro and Brandon Dorlus have been inactive all four weeks. Edge rusher Bralen Trice suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason. Fifth-round linebacker JD Bertrand is the only member of the class who has taken an offensive or defensive snap, and he’s only played nine so far. The Falcons won Sunday without scoring an offensive touchdown, the first time they’ve done that since 2004.

Up next: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET

16. New Orleans Saints (2-2)

Last week: 9

Sunday: Lost to Atlanta Falcons 26-24

First-round left tackle Taliese Fuaga has started all four games this season, and second-rounder Kool-Aid McKinstry and sixth-rounder Khristian Boyd are semi-regulars in the defensive rotation. The Saints are coming back to earth after a hot start. New Orleans averaged 45.5 points in Weeks 1 and 2 but have been held to 18 points per game the last two weeks.

Up next: at Kansas City Chiefs, Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET

17. Indianapolis Colts (2-2)

Last week: 21

Sunday: Beat Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24

The rookie class in Indianapolis hasn’t done much yet. First-round edge rusher Laiatu Latu hasn’t started a game and has produced only three tackles and one sack. Second-round wide receiver Adonai Mitchell has only two catches. The story Sunday was anti-rookie Joe Flacco, who came in for injured quarterback Anthony Richardson and threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns. The 39-year-old, who is only eight days younger than Richardson’s mother, is playing for his fifth team and played in his 189th game Sunday.

Up next: at Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

“[Anthony Richardson’s] mom is 8 days older than I am, so there’s no chance in the world he thinks I’m cool.” 😂😂😂

– Joe Flacco with an ALL-TIME interview with @AKinkhabwala pic.twitter.com/773ilbNIDz

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 29, 2024

Last week: 24

Sunday: Beat Cleveland Browns 20-16

There’s really only one rookie making much impact in Las Vegas, but Brock Bowers has been enough. Even after a two-catch, 19-yard game Sunday, Bowers is second among NFL tight ends in receiving yards (216). He’s producing a first down on 45.8 percent of his targets. He also got his first carry on Sunday. He took it 12 yards, and he showed in college that he can be an impact player in the run game.

Up next: at Denver Broncos, Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET

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Last week: 26

Sunday: Beat Los Angeles Rams 24-18

At the moment, No. 1 pick Caleb Williams is suffering from the comparison to Jayden Daniels, but pretty much anyone would right now. The bad news for Williams: He’s 29th in the league in EPA per dropback (minus-.22). The good news: His weekly passer rating has gone 55.7, 51, 80.8 and 106.6. Sunday was his best game by far (73.9 percent completion rate, .23 EPA per dropback), and it coincided with his fewest number of dropbacks (26 one week after having 56). First-round wide receiver Rome Odunze has been fine (10 catches, 166 yards) but not spectacular.

Up next: vs. Carolina Panthers, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

.@CALEBcsw with a DIME to @idjmoore 😮‍💨

📺: #LARvsCHI on FOX pic.twitter.com/VuNxyUUWWY

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 29, 2024

20. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2)

Last week: 11

Sunday: Lost to Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33-16

First-round cornerback Quinyon Mitchell is one of the bright spots Eagles fans are holding on to after a frustrating start in Philadelphia. He has played 99 percent of the team’s snaps and is allowing a 47.1 percent completion percentage and 69.2 passer rating on balls thrown his way, according to Pro Football Reference. No one else in the class is making much impact on offense or defense for the Eagles, who gave up 445 yards to Tampa Bay on Sunday and trailed 24-0 while having zero yards of total offense at one point in the second quarter.

Up next: Bye

21. Arizona Cardinals (1-3)

Last week: 17

Sunday: Lost to Washington Commanders 42-14

After a one-catch, 4-yard debut, first-round wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. has 14 catches for 239 yards in the last three weeks, which ranks eighth in the league in that span. His four touchdown catches in the last three weeks lead the league and his 17.1 yards per catch in that span is sixth-best among players with double-digit catches. Third-round rookie running back Trey Benson added 50 rushing yards Sunday.

Up next: at San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET

22. Los Angeles Rams (1-3)

Last week: 19

Sunday: Lost to Chicago Bears 24-18

First-round edge rusher Jared Verse had back-to-back sacks erased by penalties Sunday. It’s been that kind of season for Verse, who has been one of the best rookie defenders in the league but doesn’t have the numbers to back it up yet. Verse has one sack and four quarterback hits, but he does have a 23.3 percent pass-rush win rate, according to TruMedia. That’s Aidan Hutchinson territory. Second-round defensive lineman Braden Fiske and third-round safety Kamren Kinchens are also regulars in the rotation.

Up next: vs. Green Bay Packers, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

Jared Verse – 50.0% pass rush win rate vs the Bears 💪

The highest mark in a single game this season (Tied with Dexter Lawrence) pic.twitter.com/6hmDIYwgVw

— PFF LA Rams (@PFF_Rams) September 30, 2024

23. Cincinnati Bengals (1-3)

Last week: 22

Sunday: Beat Carolina Panthers 34-24

First-round right tackle Amarius Mims got his first start Sunday, and the Bengals got their first win. There’s probably not a direct line of causation there, but Mims played well. Fourth-round tight end Erick All has been a surprise with 12 catches, but third-round wide receiver Jermaine Burton has been a disappointment. He’s played 21 snaps and has one catch. The Bengals gave themselves a chance to get back in the hunt with Sunday’s win. If they can survive the Ravens next week, they have the Giants, Browns, Eagles and Raiders after that.

Up next: vs. Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

24. New York Jets (2-2)

Last week: 15

Sunday: Lost to Denver Broncos 10-9

First-round tackle Olu Fashanu got his first start Sunday. Third-round wide receiver Malachi Corley has been a disappointment (one catch, 4 yards), but fourth-round running back Braelon Allen has played well enough (27 carries, 130 yards) that Robert Saleh was having to defend not giving him goal-line carries on Sunday. As for the old guy, quarterback Aaron Rodgers does not seem happy. “When your defense holds them to 10, you’ve got to win the game 100 percent of the time,” he said Sunday.

Up next: at Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET (London)

25. Denver Broncos (2-2)

Last week: 28

Sunday: Beat New York Jets 10-9

First-round quarterback Bo Nix had seven completions for minus-7 yards in the first half Sunday. And the Broncos won! Nix finished with 60 passing yards, becoming the first quarterback (with at least 20 pass attempts) to win with so few yards since Eli Manning in 2007, according to ESPN Sports & Info. The only player this season with fewer yards per pass attempt than Nix (4.8) is Bryce Young, who got benched. He’s 32nd in the league in EPA per dropback (minus-.30). Speedy fourth-round wide receiver Troy Franklin also is struggling (four catches, 9 yards).

Up next: vs. Las Vegas Raiders, Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET

GO DEEPER

‘I’m about to sack Aaron Rodgers’: Road trip was clinic for Broncos’ harassing defense

26. New England Patriots (1-3)

Last week: 23

Sunday: Lost to San Francisco 49ers 30-13

The only important question left about New England’s season is when will first-round quarterback Drake Maye play? The Patriots have gone with veteran Jacoby Brissett so far to protect Maye, but New England is averaging 13 points per game, which ranks 31st in the league. In other (admittedly less interesting) rookie news, fourth-rounder Layden Robinson has played every snap so far at guard while third-round offensive tackle Caedan Wallace has played fewer than 30 percent of the snaps.

Up next: vs. Miami Dolphins, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette has been more productive with Andy Dalton at quarterback. (Jim Dedmon / Imagn Images)

27. Carolina Panthers (1-3)

Last week: 25

Sunday: Lost to Cincinnati Bengals 34-24

It was difficult to judge first-round wide receiver Xavier Legette with Bryce Young at quarterback. Since Andy Dalton has taken over, Legette has eight catches for 108 yards. His best game came Sunday when he had six catches (on 10 targets) for 66 yards. With second-round running back Jonathon Brooks sidelined by injury, Legette is the only rookie doing much right now in Carolina, where Chuba Hubbard had 104 rushing yards Sunday.

Up next: at Chicago Bears, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Last week: 31

Monday: Beat Miami Dolphins 31-12

First-round offensive tackle JC Latham has played every snap so far, and second-round defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat has played more than half the defensive snaps, but no one else in the class has made a significant impact. Of course, none of the Titans players has. Monday night was Tennessee’s first win of the season, and it came with Mason Rudolph at quarterback after Will Levis left with a shoulder injury.

Up next: Bye

29. New York Giants (1-3)

Last week: 29

Thursday: Lost to Dallas Cowboys 20-15

Rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers is in concussion protocol, and it’s unclear what the Giants offense will look like without him. Nabers leads the NFL with 35 catches and has seen 38.2 percent of New York’s passing targets. Only two players since 2000 — Brandon Marshall and Steve Smith — had a higher team target percentage in a season, according to TruMedia. New York needs Nabers if it has any chance against its upcoming slate — Seattle, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington.

Up next: at Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

30. Cleveland Browns (1-3)

Last week: 30

Sunday: Lost to Las Vegas Raiders 20-16

The Browns had only two picks in the first four rounds because they’re still paying the bill on Deshaun Watson, and it doesn’t look like they used them well. Second-round defensive lineman Michael Hall is on the commissioner’s exempt list after a preseason arrest. Third-round offensive lineman Zak Zinter has played fewer than 40 percent of the snaps. Sorry, Browns fans, there’s just no good news coming around the corner. Enjoy Myles Garrett.

Up next: at Washington Commanders, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

31. Miami Dolphins (1-3)

Last week: 27

Monday: Lost to Tennessee Titans 31-12

First-round edge rusher Chop Robinson had played fewer than 50 percent of the snaps coming into Monday night’s game (and not making much of an impact), but that workload might go up after Jaelan Phillips left the game with a knee injury. Overall, it’s been a disappointing rookie class in Miami. Only three of their seven picks are on the 53-man roster. Maybe that was a sign of things to come in Miami, where the Dolphins managed only 184 yards Monday night with Snoop Huntley at quarterback.

Up next: at New England Patriots, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

32. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-4)

Last week: 32

Sunday: Lost to Houston Texans 24-20

Let’s try to focus on the positives. First-round wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. has 17 catches for 275 yards and two touchdowns. OK, so maybe there’s only one positive in Jacksonville, where Doug Pederson has joined the head coaching hot seat list even if he balked at having to answer a question about that Sunday afternoon. “As coaches, we can’t go out there and make the plays, right? It’s a two-way street,” he said after the game. Bad vibes in Duval.

Up next: vs. Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

(Top photo of Justin Jefferson and Sam Darnold: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)

Travis Hunter struck the Heisman pose. Jalen Milroe and Ryan Williams connected on what will be one of 2024’s best plays. Ashton Jeanty created one of those on his own. Cam Ward made an improbable escape.

And that’s the entirety of the representation in The Athletic’s first weekly Heisman straw poll of the 2024 season. Hunter, Colorado’s do-everything, play-every-play cornerback and receiver, leads the way, getting 19 of 25 first-place votes and totaling 67 points. Milroe, the Alabama quarterback whose 75-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Williams delivered victory over Georgia after a 28-point lead had been squandered, came in second (six first-place votes, 41 points).

No one else received a first-place vote, but Jeanty’s nation-leading rushing exploits placed him third with 30 points. The Athletic follows the same voting protocol as that of the Heisman: three points for a first-place vote, two points for a second-place vote, one point for a third-place vote.

Ward, who has been spectacular for Miami and leads the nation with 18 touchdown passes, had his best moment yet Friday, eluding multiple would-be sackers and flipping the ball out of trouble for the key play in a comeback win over Virginia Tech. He was fourth and Williams, the Alabama freshman whose spin, hesitation and acceleration finished that electric game-winner, received a vote.

ABSOLUTELY UNREAL SEQUENCE FROM CAM WARD 🤯 pic.twitter.com/FyIy5cPnwJ

— ESPN (@espn) September 28, 2024

That’s an exclusive group for September. A year ago in our first poll, 11 players got at least one vote. But there’s still plenty of time for others to play their way into the conversation. Georgia’s Carson Beck might be in it had his wildly up-and-down night at Alabama ended in victory.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava, Missouri receiver Luther Burden III, Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan and others have opportunities ahead. How about that other absurdly gifted freshman receiver, Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith? Eventual 2023 Heisman winner Jayden Daniels, currently carving up the NFL as a Washington Commanders rookie quarterback, had a single third-place vote in last year’s initial poll.

Daniels was the 12th winner of the past 14 to play quarterback, the exceptions being Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith in 2020 and Alabama running back Derrick Henry in 2015. Jeanty’s start makes him a threat to become the first running back since Henry to win it. He leads the nation with 845 yards — at 10.3 per carry — and 13 rushing touchdowns.

One of those was a tackle-breaking 59-yard sprint to the end zone in a Saturday win over Washington State that warrants a million replays, just like the Milroe-to-Williams theatrics. As tough as it may be to win a Heisman at Boise State, if Jeanty stays close to this pace all season he should at least be in New York on Dec. 14 watching that play at the Heisman ceremony.

Ashton Jeanty made Washington State’s defense look like a JV squad. I’ve never seen more forced missed tackles on a RB tape.

Just watch these 5 clips. #RB1 pic.twitter.com/kVZGdYLBeR

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) September 29, 2024

And Hunter will be a test of voters’ willingness to stray from the norm of favoring the best quarterbacks on the best teams. He looks like the best player in college football right now. He’s a true two-way player, unlike the lone defensive player to win the award, Michigan’s Charles Woodson in 1997. Hunter is tied for third nationally in receptions (46) and touchdown catches (six) and is eighth with 112.2 yards per game.

In Colorado’s 48-21 win Saturday at UCF, he had a touchdown catch and a brilliant interception — dropping into a zone, reading a short pass, accelerating and diving for the pick — and then struck the pose. If the 4-1 Buffaloes keep winning and he keeps producing numbers and “wow” moments, that could prove prophetic.

(Photo: Chris Leduc / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

DETROIT — Dan Campbell bashfully stared down at the lectern in front of him, looking like a toddler who knows he’s guilty.

He nervously stacked a couple of sheets of paper in his hands, as he was asked about his quarterback’s performance. He then took a deep breath, preparing to own up to his mistake, as Campbell so often does. In the aftermath of Detroit’s 42-29 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night, it was time to face the music.

Jared Goff went a perfect 18-of-18 in the win. Campbell left him hanging in the locker room.

“I just gave the game ball to somebody else,” Campbell said, smiling, as the local media room laughed collectively. “So, I feel awful right now. I knew he played a heck of a game. I did not realize he was perfect.”

Coach Campbell on Jared Goff’s performance tonight pic.twitter.com/QCwkneojX8

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 1, 2024

Against the Seahawks on “Monday Night Football,” Goff set an NFL record for most completions in a game without an incompletion. However, the simple fact that there were several viable recipients of the game ball after the win tells you what kind of performance this was for the Lions — in particular, this Detroit Lions’ offense.

It was much needed.

Entering Week 4, Goff and this Detroit offense had not played up to their lofty standards. This offense has taken up shop in the top 5 of scoring offenses the past two seasons. They were league average through three weeks in that department, ranking 16th at just 20.7 points per game, scoring touchdowns in the red zone just 38.7 percent of the time (26th in the NFL). Their season high was 26 before tonight, needing overtime in Week 1 to get there. The offense had yet to score more than 20 in regulation through three weeks.

The yards have been there. The consistency hasn’t. This unit had yet to put together a complete performance. They all wanted more.

“Our defense is playing great,” Amon-Ra St. Brown said after Detroit’s win over the Cardinals last week. “I feel like we’ve got to, as an offense, put more points in the board. … Nice to get a win, but we feel like, as an offense, we could still get a lot better.”

Some of those struggles were on Goff. He had more interceptions (4) than touchdowns (3) through Detroit’s first three games. His passer rating of 79.2 during that span ranked 23rd among quarterbacks. His EPA per dropback early this season was 18th in the league, after finishing seventh last year and fourth two years ago. When Goff is in rhythm, seeing the field well, and not trying to overcompensate for an overall stagnant offense, he plays some of his best football. But sometimes, he simply looks off when things around him are in sync.

Monday night was a return to form, for a quarterback and an offense that knows there’s a high level of play achievable, week in and week out.

It started early. After a rough three-and-out to begin the game, you wondered what kind of night this would be, against a Seahawks defense that had taken care of business en route to a 3-0 start. But on the Lions’ second possession, the offense would remove all doubt — going 93 yards on 12 plays for a 7-0 lead. It was an impressive drive capped off by three consecutive David Montgomery goal-line runs, with the final one punched in from 1-yard out — vintage stuff.

The Lions scored on three of their five first-half possessions, jumping out to a 21-7 lead at halftime. But this was the Seattle Seahawks on the opposing sideline. They’ve put up 51, 48 and 37 points in their last three contests against the Lions — all Seattle wins. You knew they weren’t going down quietly. And they didn’t.

Geno Smith played at a Herculean level, completing pass after pass, escaping sacks, navigating tight pockets and stepping up to extend plays when needed. For a Lions defense that had kept the team afloat when the offense struggled, this was a night they didn’t have it. Penalties were racked up. There was trouble finishing, trouble tackling. It was a sloppy effort for the defense, which gave up 516 yards and 38 first downs — two shy of tying the NFL record.

The offense was going to need to keep scoring on a night like this. Not a given, considering their second-half struggles.

But they put together their best effort when it mattered most.

“We really needed to show growth, especially coming out in the second half,” left tackle Taylor Decker said of the offense. “Because we’ve had spurts here and there where we played really well, but we know we need to be able to play a full four quarters to get where we want to go. And then the defense was really, really solid for us the first couple weeks of the season, and we were able to kind of grow and pull our weight a little bit more today, so that feels good.”

The Lions kept scoring. And scoring. And scoring some more. Every time Seattle inched close, Detroit pulled away, flexing its offensive firepower in the process.

Up 28-20 after a Seattle score to start the third quarter, the Lions answered with a 70-yard drive, highlighted by a pass from wide receiver St. Brown to Goff, on a play Ben Johnson calls “Alcatraz.” The Lions have been waiting to run it but needed the right look.

They got it.

Jared GO-OFF#SEAvsDET | 📺 ABC/ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/U0zwvFn75D

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 1, 2024

“That play has been in for a long time and we’ve never gotten the right situation for it to get called,” Goff explained. “I think we actually have called it in a game before, and then if it’s not the right look, I get out of it. But, that was the right look.”

Seattle quickly responded with a score of its own, once again making it a 7-point game. That’s when you knew the defense didn’t have it, and points were a prerequisite to a win. It didn’t take long to alleviate concerns about a comeback. Only one play.

Goff hit Jameson Williams on a pass over the middle. Williams flashed his signature speed, began high-stepping at the 30-yard line, then dunked the ball through the goalposts — an homage to Lions’ great Calvin Johnson, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Sunday and was inducted into the franchise’s ring of honor Monday evening.

You knew the offense was back after that one. If anything, it was a glimpse of how explosive this group can be when they’re firing on all cylinders with a fully realized Williams in the mix. That play, and his blocking throughout the night, is the reason why Williams received one of the game balls from Campbell in the locker room.

Waymo: Primetime Mode#SEAvsDET | #OnePride pic.twitter.com/D6S8q4PAud

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 1, 2024

And finally, it’s worth further analyzing how good Goff was in prime time. He had 18 pass completions for 292 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He hauled in his lone target — probably for the season, though you can’t rule anything out with Johnson calling plays — for a 7-yard touchdown. He hung in the pocket and delivered, making the right reads, playing within the structure of the offense and letting his playmakers do their thing. An 18-for-18 stat line isn’t sustainable, but this style of play is. It’s exactly what the offense needs from Goff.

“I don’t want to speak for Jared, but I would be willing to bet somewhere in there, he knew that he was going to have a good game,” Campbell said.  “I felt like last week was his get back to balance, get back to center. Take what’s there, be smart with the football, play fast, play efficient, and before (it was), ‘Maybe I’m trying to do more than I need to do.’  … And so I felt like, after last week, this is going to be the week, like all right, now he finds that happy balance and man, he really did. He came alive.”

In total, the Lions recorded 389 yards, averaged a whopping 7.8 yards per play and put up a season-high 42 points. Detroit’s running backs, Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, combined for 118 rushing yards and three touchdowns. They took care of business against a Seattle defense that was down several key pieces. And when Detroit’s defense needed a stop at the end of the game, it got one from Kerby Joseph — the other recipient of the game ball from Campbell. It was Joseph’s third interception in four games, with the Seahawks still fighting down by 13, that sealed the victory.

Lining ’em up and knocking ’em off pic.twitter.com/59tOia82Yi

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 1, 2024

The Detroit Lions are 3-1 entering their bye week. Most players and coaches will tell you they prefer a bye scheduled later in the season, but the early one will allow a banged-up team some time to rest, self-scout and prepare for a trip to Dallas versus the Cowboys in Week 6.

All things considered, the Lions are right where they need to be, amid a season of sky-high expectations.

“We play a pretty physical brand of football,” Campbell said. “We played some physical opponents these first four weeks and so, I do think it’s coming at a good time. And it’s good to get the three. It’s good to get to 3-1 with this bye. We rest up, we heal up, we get fresh again, and then we make a big push.”

(Photo of Jared Goff after catching a pass for a touchdown: Junfu Han / USA Today via Imagn Images)

At the heart of the doping case against Jannik Sinner, the top-ranked men’s tennis player in the world, is an existential debate about the policing of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in sport.

Are the primary goals to catch cheats and prevent athletes from gaining unfair advantages over their peers? What happens when the enforcers of the World Anti-Doping Code see violations but uniformly agree that an athlete didn’t gain or chase such an edge?

Numerous athletes have found themselves in the middle of this debate and now the two-time Grand Slam champion is having his turn, with one anti-doping agency taking another anti-doping agency to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

An apology to anyone with a sensitivity to the alphabet soup of sports bureaucracy.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed a ruling from an independent panel convened by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which found that the 23-year-old bore “no fault or negligence” after twice testing positive for clostebol, an anabolic steroid on the WADA prohibited substances list. The panel still found that he had committed two anti-doping violations.

WADA said in a statement that it is not seeking for any of Sinner’s results to be disqualified, aside from his run to the semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open, held at Indian Wells, Calif. (Those results were already disqualified in the decision shared by the ITIA).

It is contesting the dismissal of any blame attributable to Sinner, which, it says, “was not correct under the applicable rules”.

WADA therefore accepts the final ruling that Sinner did not intentionally dope, but is still making a point about its own credibility by seeking to change the terms of that ruling.

Sinner, who recently won the U.S. Open, could be banned from tennis for between one and two years if WADA prevails.

GO DEEPER

World anti-doping agency seeks ban of up to two years in Jannik Sinner case appeal

Sinner was informed of his positive tests in late March. The ITIA said he tested positive for clostebol on March 10, at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., and again on March 18, between that tournament and the Miami Open. The results carried mandatory provisional suspensions, which Sinner appealed.

At each appeal, and in a final hearing on Aug. 15, three separate independent tribunals convened by the ITIA and conducted by Sport Resolutions, an arbitration company, accepted the Italian world No. 1’s explanation for the positive tests. His physiotherapist, Umberto Ferrara, had brought Trofodermin, an over-the-counter healing spray containing clostebol, to Indian Wells. His physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, cut his hand and used the spray on that cut. Naldi then conducted massages on Sinner, which led to contamination with the substance on Naldi’s skin getting to Sinner’s skin.

GO DEEPER

Jannik Sinner built the team that made him world No. 1. Then he blew it up

Those tribunal decisions meant that Sinner first avoided the two provisional suspensions, and then, in the final hearing, a “period of ineligibility”, which would have been a dreaded, reputation-destroying ban. The first two successful appeals also meant that his case remained private until that final hearing, under ITIA protocol.

At the final hearing, the independent tribunal ruled that Sinner was not at fault for the positive tests. It said he received no advantage from clostebol, a notorious and antiquated anabolic steroid that East Germany used as part of state-sponsored doping programs in the 1970s and 1980s.

“Even if the administration had been intentional, the minute amounts likely to have been administered would not have had any relevant doping, or performance enhancing, effect upon the player,” said Professor David Cowan, a member of the tribunal who explained the ruling.

Still, since the clostebol was in his system, Sinner was found to have committed two anti-doping violations, for which the ITIA stripped him of his ranking points, prize money and results from Indian Wells. But it did not seek a suspension.

After six months of playing under a secret cloud, Sinner won the U.S. Open, the first tournament after the ITIA publicized the case and final ruling.

But three weeks later, on Saturday, WADA publicized its appeal against that ruling. The case now goes to CAS, generally the final arbiter of sports doping litigation.

Jannik Sinner is currently playing in Beijing, at the China Open. (Lintao Zhang / Getty Images)

Sinner is none too pleased. In a statement issued that Saturday, Sinner noted that there he had already gone through three separate hearings that confirmed he hadn’t intentionally broken the rules or competed unfairly.

“I understand these things need to be thoroughly investigated to maintain the integrity of the sport we all love,” he said. “However, it is difficult to see what will be gained by asking a different set of three judges to look at the same facts and documentation all over again.”

Sinner and WADA now find themselves in difficult territory. Ever since the ITIA’s announcement, Sinner has indirectly faced criticism — some of it more vituperative than verifiable — over perceptions of preferential treatment. Tennis is a sport of double standards, from better court allocations and higher appearance fees for higher-ranked players, to a keener ear from tennis authorities on the biggest issues in the sport. Sinner, as world No. 1, has more powerful and more readily available legal resources than most tennis players would in a similar situation.

While in other anti-doping cases, players have been provisionally suspended for many months while under investigation, it remains that the so-called silence over his case was not an element of preferential treatment, and instead adherence to the ITIA’s process for investigation.

Other Italian tennis players who have tested positive for the same substance as Sinner have been suspended and found at fault. Stefano Battaglino, another Italian tennis player, received a four-year ban in 2023. Battaglino failed to prove that his testing positive for clostebol was inadvertent after it was detected during a random drug test at an ITF event in Tunisia.

Jannik Sinner lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals at Indian Wells, where the first positive test was recorded. (Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)

This is one of the most complicated factors. Italy has a widespread and readily acknowledged issue with athletes testing positive for clostebol, because it is freely sold in the country as an ingredient in healing products — including the Trofodermin that Ferrara brought to Indian Wells. WADA has stated that around half the cases of positive clostebol tests come from the country.

WADA, meanwhile, is dealing with the aftermath of its decision not to investigate 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for the same heart drug seven months before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The swimmers were allowed to compete, and several of the athletes went on to win medals. In its statement on the case, issued in April 2024 after what it called, “Some misleading and potentially defamatory media coverage,” the agency said that it “was not in a position to disprove the possibility that contamination was the source” of the positive tests.

Travis Tygart, the leader of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and a key figure in the cases of Lance Armstrong in cycling and Alberto Salazar in track, on Saturday tied their situations to WADA’s decision on Sinner.

“It’s unimaginable that WADA leaders would appeal this case when the rules were clearly followed by tennis yet do nothing when China swept 23 positive tests under the carpet that indisputably violated the rules,” Tygart said.

“As athletes are held to high standards by anti-doping authorities, it’s high time for WADA decision makers to also be.”

WADA responded to that statement by criticizing Tygart. “It is strange for Mr. Tygart to comment on a case when he is not involved, has not reviewed the file and does not have all the facts to hand. It is equally strange he would then compare it to a completely unrelated case in which he was also not involved and does not have the facts to hand,” said James Fitzgerald, a WADA spokesperson. “It might be more productive for Mr. Tygart to spend his time working on the problems in U.S. anti-doping rather than constantly commenting on what is going on elsewhere in the world.”

WADA acknowledges that the detection of clostebol has been greatly enhanced in recent years by advances in technology that make it possible to detect lower concentrations.

That has helped catch some instances of doping, especially when it comes to hard-to-detect new substances. But it has also led to capturing innocent athletes who, judging by the levels of a given substance detected, are not doping — at least not with the substance that triggers a positive test.

WADA’s rules, in this case, appear to still be catching up with its testing advances, creating an imbalance between science and administration as athletes see their careers and reputations at stake.

(Top photo: Lintao Zhang / Getty Images)

Follow live coverage of Arsenal vs PSG in the Champions League today

When European club competition was originally devised back in 1955, it was in the form of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the predecessor to the UEFA Cup and Europa League.

As the name hints, the competition was originally designed to promote European trade fairs, and had a strict ‘one club per city’ rule. On that basis, this week’s Champions League clash between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain is, in basic terms, pretty much what you’d expect. On the basis of domestic titles won, this is the most successful club from each of Europe’s biggest two cities (discounting Russia) playing each other.

But there are several complications.

First, PSG might be France’s biggest club today, but back in 1955, they were 15 years away from being formed.

Second, Arsenal are one of seven top-flight London clubs in 2024-25, and have often finished behind Chelsea and Tottenham in recent seasons. PSG, meanwhile, have been the only top-flight Parisian club for the last three decades.

And when you look at the average attendances of the biggest clubs in both cities last season, the difference is stark.

So how have western Europe’s two major cities managed to do club football quite so differently? Or, more to the point, how come Paris can only support one major club?

The British clubs

London is unique, in terms of boasting so many major football clubs. If we’re slightly generous with our definition of city boundaries, Madrid and Lisbon often feature four top-flight sides, Athens effectively has five this season, while Istanbul can offer six. But London’s seven is highly unusual, and a further three London clubs — Charlton Athletic, Queens Park Rangers and the old Wimbledon FC — have previously played in the Premier League since its formation in 1992. Millwall featured in the top flight between 1988 and 1990 too.

London has a network of intense football rivalries (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Paris, on the other hand, is highly unusual in contributing just one top-flight club. The standard approach for big cities — Rome, Milan, Manchester — is generally two. But while Paris is an outlier in European terms, it isn’t in French terms. In 2024-25, France’s top-flight features 18 teams from 18 different settlements.

In keeping with many other major European cities, the first Parisian football clubs were formed by Britons. Sides with English-language names like the Standard Athletic Club and White Rovers came into existence in the final decade of the 19th century, and primarily featured British players. In comparison with Nordic, Mediterranean and central European nations, football was slow to develop in France. The authorities considered the rugby version of football to be more sophisticated, and association football was barely played in schools.

The first Olympic football tournament was held in Paris in 1900, and won by Great Britain — or, in reality, by an East London outfit named Upton Park. They had no link to nearby West Ham and were an amateur side, as professional athletes were, at that stage, not allowed to compete in the Olympics. Britain had a hold over Parisian football already.

Meanwhile, as noted by Chris Lee in his book Origin Stories, when France formed a cup competition in 1910, quality and interest was so low from within France that the tournament was an invitational event open to English sides. Therefore, while this was not the Coupe de France — which would be formed in 1917 — the first three winners of a major cup in Paris were Swindon Town, Clapton Orient (now Leyton Orient) and Fulham. They defeated Barnsley, Millwall and QPR respectively at the Parc des Princes, the same site PSG play on today, between 1910 and 1912.

In that sense, you can reasonably argue that London was more influential than Paris in the rise of French football. While the key figure in France’s belated footballing development was Henri Delaunay, the man after whom the European Championship trophy is named, he was inspired after attending the 1902 FA Cup final at Crystal Palace between Sheffield United and Southampton.

Scenes from the 1902 FA Cup final between Sheffield United and Southampton, an inspirational match for Henri Delaunay (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The French clubs

So what about actual Parisian clubs themselves?

Well, the other famous French football innovator of this time — and another with a major international trophy named after him — was Jules Rimet. He formed Red Star, a Parisian multi-sport club, in 1897. They are the only true constant of the last 125-odd years.

When Ligue 1 was originated in 1932, Red Star were one of four Parisian clubs in the top flight. The others were Club Francais (as the name suggests, the first Parisian club formed by French players, and represented France at the aforementioned 1900 Olympics), Cercle Athletique de Paris and Racing Club de Paris.

But these clubs struggled to grow. The Tour de France was created in 1903 and cycling was unquestionably the biggest sport in France. Rowing and gymnastics were also favoured, and rugby was still more popular. Football was, in contrary to what was happening in England, not the sport of the working class — it was favoured by the anglophile liberal metropolitan elite of the early 20th century. Paris was clearly the centre of that, but the game was treated as a pastime rather than to build a town around.

Cycling became France’s most important sport in the 20th century, not football (AFP via Getty Images)

Intra-city rivalries didn’t develop anywhere in France. With some early French competitions only accepting one club per region, combined with minimal public support and a reliance on local councils for income and building stadia, French clubs found that mergers were more conducive to success than city rivalries. Of the aforementioned four clubs, Club Francais were relegated from the inaugural Ligue 1 season and essentially ceased to exist after a merger in 1935. Cercle Athletique de Paris were also quickly relegated, managed another three decades and then also fell victim to a merger, becoming an amateur side.

It was really only Red Star and Racing Club which survived.

Red Star are more notable for being a left-wing club than a successful one, attracting a committed cult support and experiencing a turbulent time on the pitch. In the 21st century, they’ve competed at every level between the sixth and the second tiers.

Racing Club, meanwhile, were briefly managed in the 1930s by Jimmy Hogan — referred to as ‘the most influential coach in football history’ by Jonathan Wilson in his history of football tactics, Inverting The Pyramid — and won a single Ligue 1 title three years after his departure in 1936. They suffered serious financial problems in the 1960s and tumbled through the divisions, but were revived by a famous French businessman, Jean-Luc Lagardere, in the 1980s. He was most notable for his stewardship of Formula 1 team Matra, who won the world championship in 1969.

Lagardere threw money at the side, signings the likes of David Ginola, Luis Fernandez, Pierre Littbarski and Enzo Francescoli, and even appointed Artur Jorge as manager immediately after he’d led Porto to the European Cup in 1987. Lagardere was serious about Racing Club, although it attracted few supporters. After a desperate attempt to increase the profile of the club, and his brand, by renaming it Matra Racing, Lagardere eventually conceded defeat and withdrew his financial support. The club was relegated from Ligue 1 in 1990, and financial problems meant they were double-relegated to the third tier.

David Ginola playing for Matra Racing in the 1980s (Marc Francotte/TempSport/Corbis via Getty Images)

There’s a wider question about quite how football-crazy France is, compared to other European nations. The country didn’t really capitalise on the national side’s fine performance in finishing third at World Cup 1958. Then the national side didn’t qualify for a major tournament between 1966 and 1978. David Goldblatt, in his seminal book The Ball is Round, writes that, “While in Britain the new youth and musical cultures of the 1960s interacted with football, in France they stood as an alternative and an opponent. The counter-cultures of the late 1960s explicitly rejected football and its antiquated provincial hierarchies.”

The lift-off moments were the national team successes on Parisian soil in 1984 and 1998, but the boosts to domestic football — and in particular, domestic support — were negligible. The heroes of those sides soon moved abroad, if they hadn’t emigrated already, in part due to high taxation rates in France.

The modern clubs

So where did PSG come from?

Well, in a sense it was a new club, and in another sense it was another merger. While generally mocked for a relative lack of history — even before the Qatari takeover in 2011 — PSG are interesting in that they were born due to a crowdfunding campaign that attracted startup capital from 20,000 ‘supporters’ who were prepared to contribute to the foundation of a new club, although two wealthy businessmen were the figureheads.

Slightly confusingly, PSG was originally a merger of Paris FC (a club only formed the previous year) and Stade St Germain, although two years after the formation of PSG, Paris FC split from the new club because the city’s mayor refused to financially support a club which technically played outside the boundaries of the city. Paris FC re-established themselves as an independent entity, retained the club’s players and Ligue 1 status, while PSG were relegated to the third tier and had to work their way through the divisions again.

PSG’s first golden era came in the 1990s, when they were taken over by television giants Canal+, but attendances were always relatively modest considering the size of the city they represented. PSG, of course, are unlike any clubs in London in that they carry the name of the city, something they’ve been increasingly keen to take advantage of over the last decade. They’ve made ‘Paris’ more prominent on their crest, and like their name to be abbreviated to ‘PAR’ rather than ‘PSG’ on television graphics.

PSG won the Coupe de France three times in the 1990s (Christian Liewig/TempSport/Corbis via Getty Images)

Also worthy of mention is US Creteil, from the south-eastern suburbs of Paris. Formed in the 1930s, they played in the second tier regularly at the start of the century, and as recently as 2016, although even at that stage only attracted attendances of around 2000. They’re now back in the fourth tier.

But Parisian football is at its strongest point for many decades. Red Star won the third-tier Championnat National last season and are competing in Ligue 2 alongside Paris FC — who are currently top of the table, and aiming for promotion to Ligue 1 for the first time since relegation in 1979. Paris FC also have a strong women’s side, who regularly finish third in the Premiere Ligue (formerly known as Division 1 Feminine) behind PSG and Lyon, and eliminated Arsenal in the Champions League qualifiers last season, although they were soundly beaten by Manchester City this time around.

Red Star’s players celebrate winning the 2023-24 Championnat National (ANTONIN UTZ/AFP via Getty Images)

But those two clubs are still struggling for support. Paris FC averaged 5,500 last season, the 13th-highest attendance of the 20 clubs in Ligue 2. Red Star attracted around 3,500. And the reality is that their dual rise owes little to local support, and more to what many would consider the twin evils of modern football: state ownership and multi-club ownership.

Since 2020, Paris FC have been 20 per cent owned by by the Kingdom of Bahrain, who have seemingly been inspired by PSG’s Qatari-led dominance. Bahrain also act as the club’s main sponsors. “They join us for many objectives — mainly to help them to spread the image of Bahrain in France and Europe,” said director general Fabrica Herrault said in an interview upon the takeover.

The situation at Red Star also feels familiar, and somewhat unsatisfying given their long history of being a left-wing club. In May 2022 they were purchased by a US investment firm, 777 Partners, who also own the likes of Genoa, Hertha Berlin and Vasco da Gama. That attracted serious opposition from supporters, and their protests led to the postponement of a league match two years ago.

With a major fraud claim recently brought against 777, Red Star have been the subject of interest from another American, Steve Pagliuca, who owns Atalanta and is part-owner of the Boston Celtics. According to Bloomberg, Pagliuca “saw opportunities to invest in French football, where lower broadcast revenue has left clubs in need of capital.”

Average attendances in French football are currently positive. Ligue 1 recorded its highest-ever attendance last season of 27,100, while Ligue 2’s figure was 8,650, the best figure for 15 years — although that was boosted by two traditional giants, Saint-Etienne and Bordeaux, unusually, being in the second tier. The Ligue 2 stadiums, in general, were still only 55 per cent full.

In the capital, Paris FC’s 20,000-capacity stadium is only around a quarter full most weeks, while Red Star at least manage to make a modest 5,600-capacity ground in the northern suburbs look busy.

And while the nature of these clubs’ ownership is relatively modern, this is the history of Parisian football. The financial investment arrives before the support — if the support ever arrives at all. Of course, PSG have won 10 of the last 12 Ligue 1 titles and attract an average attendance of over 45,000, although there have been waves of unhappiness from supporters in recent years, and there are sporadic reports that Qatar might consider rethinking its investment.

Arsenal’s Ian Wright taking on PSG in March 1994 (Anton Want/Getty Images)

In general, French clubs are still struggling to generate their own money. Ligue 1’s new television rights deal represents a 12 per cent decrease on the previous agreement, and that’s a joint agreement with DAZN and BeIN Sports, the latter being Qatar-owned and surely less likely to stick around if Qatar isn’t investing in PSG. Unlike in England, domestic football has never become appointment television viewing in France.

If Paris FC continue their fine start to the campaign, next season there will be a top-flight Parisian derby in Ligue 1 for the first time since Racing Club’s relegation in 1990. But with seven top-flight sides, London boasts 42 derbies a year. The difference owes to many factors, including the historic structure of competitions and clubs’ reliance on local councils for funds.

But more than anything else, it’s simply a reflection on wildly varying levels of interest in football.

(Header photo: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors begin their pre-season training camp on Tuesday in Montreal. Here are five things to know about what the Raptors’ pre-season will look like.

NEVER REALLY STOPPED — Head coach Darko Rajakovic held mini-camps for his players throughout the summer. Backup centre Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, B.C., said he was eager to attend the camp in Spain after he was done with Team Canada at the Paris Olympics. He said that it was helpful to continue to get to know his teammates after being traded from the Utah Jazz to Toronto on Feb. 8.

“Looking back last year, obviously I got traded at the trade deadline, there was a bunch of moves that were made, brought in a bunch of new guys,” said Olynyk on Monday. “We played probably six quarters together, and then everybody got hurt or out or a lot of different stuff happened where we never got to really be together, play together, build any chemistry or continuity.

“That was my reasoning. I needed to get with these guys and start to build some chemistry, some continuity, some connectivity, and really start to jell.”

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YOUTH MOVEMENT — Toronto added some promising prospects to its roster at the NBA Draft on June 26 and 27. The Raptors took Baylor guard Ja’Kobe Walter (19th overall) in the first round. Then added San Francisco forward Jonathan Mogbo (31st), Houston guard Jamal Shead (45th) and NBA Academy Africa centre Ulrich Chomche (57th) in the second.

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“There’s going to be times when those guys will be on the roster, there’s going to be times when those guys will be in rotation, maybe starting,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. “There will also be times when those guys will need to go to (G-League affiliate) Raptors 905 and play games and practice with that team so they can get more reps or develop on certain things that we will lay in front of them.”

INJURED GUARDS — Although Walter will likely be a big part of Toronto’s future, he will not participate in on-court activities at training camp after sustaining a shoulder injury. The Raptors said Walter sprained his right acromioclavicular joint — where the collar bone joins the scapula — during informal workouts this week. Veteran forward Bruce Brown will also miss camp after he had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. Brown averaged 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 26.0 minutes in 34 games (11 starts) for Toronto last season.

NO LONGER A ROOKIE — Gradey Dick was selected 13th overall by Toronto in the 2023 NBA Draft. The Raptors one-and-only rookie last season was saddled with all of the razzing and menial tasks associated with being a first-year player last season. The 20-year-old said on Monday he was eager to be relieved of that burden.

“I guess I’m technically a rookie to the first game, so I’m not clear yet,” laughed Dick. “My rookie duty was always the playing cards on the plane, but I already saw in the group chat, someone else is going to get them now so that feels amazing.”

PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE — Toronto will play five pre-season games, including one at Scotiabank Arena. The Raptors will host the Washington Wizards on Oct. 6 at Montreal’s Bell Centre, before facing the Wizards in Washington on Oct. 11. They’ll then have a home-and-home series with the Boston Celtics on Oct. 13 and Oct. 15 before wrapping up the pre-season by travelling to Brooklyn to face the Nets on Oct. 18.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.

&copy 2024 The Canadian Press

Two weeks ago, the Baltimore Ravens walked off their home field 0-2 while boos rained down.

Super Bowl contenders? They’d just squandered a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to the Las Vegas Raiders. Penalties were killing them. The defense wasn’t right. Even Justin Tucker was missing kicks.

One of the league’s most consistent winners had suddenly dropped three in a row dating to last year’s AFC Championship Game. What was wrong? And how long was it going to take to fix it?

“There’s no way we should be 0-2, but it is what it is,” Ravens middle linebacker Roquan Smith said then.

Late Sunday night, the Ravens walked off the same field 2-2, having overpowered a pair of playoff teams from last season in consecutive weeks. Baltimore’s 35-10 dismantling of the previously unbeaten Buffalo Bills served as a reminder: this team’s not going anywhere.

GO DEEPER

NFL Week 4 takeaways: Does Rice injury derail Chiefs’ offense? Commanders best in the NFC East?

Two weeks ago in New Orleans feels like a long time, too: in mid-September, the Saints were the talk of the league. After Sunday’s 26-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans is back at .500 and no longer in first place in the division.

That spot belongs to the 3-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who raced to a 24-0 lead over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday before winning 33-16. Even with the addition of Saquon Barkley, who’s been terrific with five touchdowns already, Philly’s offense doesn’t look right. Maybe A.J. Brown’s return — whenever it comes — helps, but a month in the Eagles are playing like a very mediocre team. And credit to Tampa, where Todd Bowles once again has his team atop the NFC South, and where Baker Mayfield continues to script a comeback story few across this league envisioned when he signed there before the 2023 season.

In Chicago, Caleb Williams stayed unbeaten at Soldier Field in his young career, helping the Bears to a 24-18 win over the injury-battered Los Angeles Rams, who are suddenly 1-3 and among the league’s biggest disappointments. Williams, who threw two interceptions in each of Chicago’s previous two games, was sharper Sunday, completing nearly 74 percent of his throws.

The Cincinnati Bengals, meanwhile, avoided an unthinkable 0-4 start by beating the Carolina Panthers 34-24. Cincinnati is still 7-14-1 under coach Zac Taylor in the month of September, but 0-4 would’ve been pretty close to a death knell: only one team in NFL history, the 1992 San Diego Chargers, made the playoffs after losing their first four games of the season.

Staying in the AFC North, the league’s longest active regular-season win streak was snapped in Indianapolis, where the Colts upset the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24. Pittsburgh entered the game having won six straight dating to last season. But two fumbles proved costly, and Indy’s Joe Flacco was solid in relief of Anthony Richardson, throwing for two touchdowns after the Colts’ starter left with a hip injury.

That keeps the Colts (2-2) a game behind the AFC South-leading Houston Texans, who avoided an ugly upset at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars by covering 64 yards in nine plays and capping their final drive with a one-yard touchdown from C.J. Stroud to Dare Ogunbowale with 18 seconds left. Jacksonville is now a stunning 0-4, and Trevor Lawrence has somehow lost nine consecutive starts dating to last November.

“I’m pretty frustrated,” Lawrence said. “When we have the game in our hands, we have to go win it. And we obviously didn’t do that today.”

With the game on the line in Las Vegas, Raiders defensive end Charles Snowden ended it, sacking Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson to preserve a 20-16 victory. Cleveland and its $230 million quarterback are now 1-3 on the season and have yet to score more than 20 points in a game. And in San Francisco, the 49ers got right with a 30-13 rout of the New England Patriots.

Here’s what we learned in Week 4 of the NFL season:

Ravens get their mojo back

This wasn’t just the Ravens reminding the AFC — and the rest of the league — how scary they look when everything’s clicking. This was Lamar Jackson, twice an MVP already, tempering the Josh Allen MVP hype that’s picked up considerable steam in the early part of the season.

The Ravens and Bills remain the top threats to unseat Kansas City in the AFC. And on Sunday night at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, the Ravens flexed their muscle, putting to rest any early-season concerns that they’d taken a step back after last year’s disappointing showing in the conference championship game.

This was Baltimore at its best, bruising on defense and punishing with the football. It started with Derrick Henry’s 87-yard touchdown burst on the first play from scrimmage, the longest by any team to open a game in 11 years. And from there it was a beatdown, methodical and convincing, one of the more impressive showings by any team nearly a quarter of the way into the season. The Bills (3-1) had looked terrific the last two weeks. Sunday night, they couldn’t keep up.

Jackson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. In his sixth full year as a starter, he’s now 17-5 in primetime games, the second-best record of any quarterback all-time behind only Hall of Famer Steve Young.

The Bills’ loss leaves just three unbeatens left in the league, with Seattle putting its 3-0 record on the line Monday night against Detroit. Minnesota and Kansas City are both 4-0.

For the second straight season, the No. 2 pick is taking the league by storm.

And, same as C.J. Stroud did a year ago in Houston, Jayden Daniels has the Commanders believing the playoffs are possible. A month in it’s Washington — and not Dallas or Philadelphia — sitting atop the NFC East.

The rookie quarterback out of LSU is the biggest reason why. In two games across six days, Daniels has accounted for nearly as many touchdowns (five) as he’s thrown incompletions (six). Daniels is a staggering 47 of 53 in consecutive wins over the Bengals and Cardinals, and on Sunday in Arizona, he piled up 280 all-purpose yards and completed passes to nine receivers in a dominant 42-14 win. That’s three straight wins for the Commanders, who won four games all of last season.

Dan Quinn’s second stint as head coach is off to a stellar start, and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who earned a game ball after lighting up his former team Sunday, is doing a masterful job calling the offense.

“Me and Kliff just have that communication, that honesty, where I’m able to go into his office and say, ‘Hey, I don’t like this,’” Daniels said. “And he’s here for it. He wants to put us in the best spot.”

So far, Kingsbury has. Daniels is the first player in NFL history with completion percentages of 85 or higher in consecutive starts. His 82.1 completion percentage four games into the season is not merely the best of any rookie passer to begin a career, but also the best of any QB four games into a season ever, including Tom Brady (79.2 percent) during his career year of 2007.

It’s early, but so far the Offensive Rookie of the Year award is Daniels’ to lose.

Another close Chiefs’ win comes at a cost

Sunday’s game in Los Angeles started with every wide receiver on the Chiefs’ roster warming up in a Travis Kelce T-shirt, a sign of support for the All-Pro tight end after his forgettable three-game start to the season. Once the game started, Kelce was Kelce again, snagging seven catches for 89 yards, and the Chiefs were the early-season Chiefs, doing just enough to beat the Chargers, 17-10.

That’s now four straight one-score wins to open the year for the two-time defending champs.

But Sunday’s victory came at a cost, one this team will feel for months: second-year receiver Rashee Rice left with a knee injury, and the Chiefs fear it’s a torn ACL, which would knock him out for the rest of the season. Coach Andy Reid said an MRI is set for Monday. This is already a team without wideout Marquise Brown (for the year) and running back Isaiah Pacheco (for several more weeks). The defense remains one of the most punishing in the league, and there’s no need to sweat over a middling offense that hasn’t yet hit its stride — this unit has earned the benefit of the doubt over the years — but there’s no way around it: Rice’s injury is a big loss. He was off to a terrific start this season and gave Kansas City a consistent downfield threat.

His absence will put more on Patrick Mahomes, still the league’s best player despite a sluggish start to the season, and Kelce, who’ll turn 35 this week.

Xavier Worthy, time to step up.

The Chiefs always seem to find a way, and they’re 4-0 despite not playing anything close to their best football to start the year. But Rice’s absence will matter in the months ahead as Kansas City chases the first three-peat in the Super Bowl era.

Who had the Vikings starting 4-0?

Entering the season, most sportsbooks had between 20 and 22 teams with better odds of reaching the Super Bowl than the Minnesota Vikings; plenty more projected them to finish last in the crowded NFC North. On the surface, it made sense. Kirk Cousins signed with the Falcons in the offseason, then the Vikings’ first-round pick at quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, tore his meniscus during training camp and was lost for the year.

But even if McCarthy had stayed healthy, Sam Darnold was the Vikings’ most likely Week 1 starter. Few knew what to expect. Darnold is on his fourth team in five years. He’s never thrown more than 20 touchdowns in a season. And when it came to the division, the preseason chatter centered elsewhere. Jared Goff and the Lions were fresh off an NFC Championship Game appearance. Jordan Love and the Packers were a trendy Super Bowl pick. In Chicago, Caleb Williams was supposed to be the quarterback who would erase decades of futility in Chicago.

The Vikings were, essentially, afterthoughts.

A month into the season they’re one of three NFL teams without a loss. Darnold’s thrown 11 touchdowns against three interceptions and is one of the best stories in football: the third overall pick who was run out of New York, spent the next three years bouncing around as a backup and has found a way to resurrect his career for a team that was all but written off before the season started.

Justin Jefferson and Sam Darnold have the Vikings atop the NFC through four games. (Stacy Revere / Getty Images)

It helps that he’s throwing to the best receiver in the league in Justin Jefferson, who’s been on a tear to open 2024: Jefferson already has 358 receiving yards and four touchdowns in four games. Adding Aaron Jones has given the run game a new punch, and Kevin O’Connell has done an excellent job of tailoring his offense to Darnold’s strengths, then allowing the veteran to let it rip on Sundays. Brian Flores’ defense has been one of the league’s stiffest units.

This week, the Vikings raced to an improbable 28-0 lead on a Packers team that had won two straight and was welcoming Love back to the lineup. Then it got dicey. After the 31-29 victory, O’Connell seemed less than satisfied. “Lot of things to clean up,” he said. “Starts with me.”

But the win moves Minnesota to 4-0. So far, the Vikings are proving their staying power: this isn’t just a contender in the NFC North but in the wide-open NFC.

“It’s awesome to be the head football coach of this organization right now,” O’Connell added. “Because I feel we’ve got the right kind of guys, the right kind of leadership, and we’re gonna continue to improve, which is important.”

Rodgers: ‘That’s on the offense. That’s on me.’

Aaron Rodgers’ look said it all. Sitting on the bench in the final moments of the Jets’ 10-9 home loss to the Broncos, he slipped his hat on, then covered his face with his towel.

Disgust. Disappointment. And, more than likely, disbelief.

New York couldn’t manage a single touchdown all day? And couldn’t beat a Broncos team that scored just 10 points? That had a rookie quarterback who threw for just 60 yards?

It was a strange, sloppy afternoon at MetLife Stadium. And to be fair, the Jets’ offensive line struggled — Rodgers was sacked five times. But for a team trying to hunt down the Bills in the AFC East, this was a discouraging result, a reminder of what football looked like last year for this team when Rodgers wasn’t on the field.

These are games serious teams can’t afford to lose. Afterward, Rodgers knew it.

“When your defense holds them to 10, you’ve got to win the game 100 percent of the time,” he said. “That’s on the offense. That’s on me. Not good enough.”

He finished 24 of 42 for 225 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. The Jets running backs managed just 38 rushing yards. Six of their first seven possessions ended with either a punt or a fumble. Still, with 47 seconds left, they had a shot to escape with a win. Then, in fitting fashion, kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a 50-yard field goal wide right. Rodgers covered his face on the bench.

Four games into the season, the Jets (2-2) have sandwiched two wins over lousy teams (the Titans and Patriots) with two dispiriting losses (routed in the opener by the 49ers, then Sunday’s 10-9 loss to the Broncos). Tougher tests await. Over the next three weeks, the Jets will face the Vikings, Bills and Steelers, teams with a combined record of 10-2.

(Photo of Lamar Jackson: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)

TORONTO – Head coach Darko Rajakovic is putting on his foreman’s helmet as the Toronto Raptors lean into developing their young core this season.

Rajakovic thinks the Raptors have a “clean slate” in his second year in Toronto and team president Masai Ujiri called it a rebuild — a term he had previously avoided — on Monday. Rajakovic spoke in construction terms at Raptors media day at Scotiabank Arena, with the venue itself still in the midst of renovations.

“The first thing that you do when you’re building a house, you need to find land where you want to build your house,” said Rajakovic. “After that you need to dig a really big hole so you can make your basement and work on the foundation of the house.

“A lot of the time, from the street, you cannot see what’s going on. You cannot see the results very quickly. But those are the most important steps we’re going to be making right now.”

Ujiri tore the Raptors roster down last season in a series of trades that essentially ended Toronto’s 2019 NBA championship era. That included sending steady defenders O.G. Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa to the New York Knicks for Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont. It also meant trading all-star forward Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers in another blockbuster deal.

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That turnover and a series of injuries to key players like all-star forward Scottie Barnes and starting centre Jakob Poeltl led to a disastrous 25-57 record in Rajakovic’s first season as an NBA head coach.

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Toronto also restocked its depth, making trades during the NBA Draft to bring in four young prospects: Ja’Kobe Walter (19th overall), Jonathan Mogbo (31st), Jamal Shead (45th) and Ulrich Chomche (57th).

Rajakovic said that when the Raptors rebuild gets to the more apparent features of his metaphor like putting up walls, a roof, and windows, it will be thanks to work behind the scenes.

“A lot of film, a lot of education on the court and off the court that we’ve got to do this year,” he said. “I’m going to have a much more holistic approach in developing our team and our roster.

“The most important thing is going to be not skipping any steps. If we need to stick a little bit longer for some teaching and some implementation of stuff, we’re going to stick on that until we really get to the level that we believe it’s time to make the next step for the team.”

In the past, Ujiri had called the Raptors’ overhaul a refresh or a reset, but he declared it a rebuild on Monday. He also said it’s not the players’ job to worry about it.

“I don’t want them to talk about rebuilding — that’s me,” said Ujiri. “They should be talking about winning and they should be talking about playing and competing.”

Barnes wasn’t concerned with striking a balance between development and winning, since he was committed to trusting his coach’s process.

“Don’t get frustrated throughout the season, throughout the ups and downs,” said Barnes, in a crisp white and red jersey after taking his team photo. “Of course we want to win and we know we can win but it just takes time.

“So don’t get frustrated throughout that process and just keep trying to focus on our main goal, try to get better and focus on that picture.”

Barrett and Quickley were traded from New York to Toronto on Dec. 30. Because the Knicks were on the road when the deal was finalized both players had most of their clothes back in New York, making their personal lives a logistical tangle while they had to try and get up to speed on the Raptors’ on-court systems.

“Coming in midway, I was playing without really knowing any of the plays,” said Barrett. “I got here and I think I played, like, two days after I got traded, or something like that.

“Learning everything on the fly was fun, but now to be here and being locked in from the jump, it’s more comfortable for me, for everybody. Now, we’re able to know what we’re doing, the direction we’re going from the start.”

The Raptors will hold their training camp at the Université du Québec à Montréal. It’s the first time their training camp is in the city of Montréal. Toronto trained in Quebec City in 2019.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.

&copy 2024 The Canadian Press