Liverpool are the best in Europe right now — and two understudies are key - The Independent
ATLANTA (AP) — Even when grappling with a four-game losing streak and the uncertainty generated by quarterback Kirk Cousins’ eight interceptions and no touchdown passes in that span, there is some solace for the Atlanta Falcons. They play in the NFC South. There is more good news: The Falcons' next two opponents, the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants, are tied for the NFL's worst record at 2-11. Coach Raheem Morris says he is sticking with Cousins for next Monday night's game at Las Vegas. Sunday's 42-21 loss at Minnesota dropped Atlanta to 6-7, one game behind Tampa Bay in the NFC South. The Falcons hold the tiebreaker advantage over the Buccaneers, so if they can take advantage of their cushy closing stretch of games that also includes Washington and Carolina, they could salvage their season. “We’re right in this thing,” right guard Chris Lindstrom said Monday before acknowledging he is “obviously not happy or satisfied with where we’re at." Lindstrom said he maintains "the ultimate belief in what we’re doing and everything that we have going on and everything is still in front of us.” Cousins and the Falcons must solve their red-zone woes to maintain hopes of the team's first playoff appearance since 2017. The Falcons rank eighth in the NFL with 371 yards per game but only 19th with their average of 21.4 points thanks to their persistent problems inside the 20. Even the forgiving NFC South can't make up for the scoring problems caused by penalties, turnovers and other persistent breakdowns. “You can't live with it at all,” Morris said Monday when asked about Cousins' recent streak of interceptions. Even so, Cousins remains the starter as first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr. awaits his opportunity. “It’s for sure Kirk is our quarterback but I have no hesitations about what our young man has been doing and how he has been preparing and the things he is ready to do,” Morris said. “So if that time ever came I would have a lot of confidence in what Mike is able to do, but Kirk is our quarterback. Kirk is the guy who is going to lead us.” What’s working With four sacks against the Vikings, the Falcons may have finally solved their longtime pass-rush woes. Atlanta had five sacks in a 17-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 1, giving the team back-to-back games with at least four sacks for the first time since 2019. Outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie had one of Sunday's sacks, giving him four for the season. With nine sacks in the last two games, the Falcons have almost doubled their NFL-low total of 10 through their first 11 games. What needs help Even as the pass rush was productive, the Falcons' defense showed a sudden inability to prevent big plays through the air. Atlanta allowed four completions of more than 40 yards as Vikings receivers Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson combined to catch five scoring passes from Sam Darnold, who did not throw an interception. Morris said the Vikings' strategy was to avoid cornerback A.J. Terrell, “making other people make plays, and we didn’t go out there and make them.” Stock up Running back Tyler Allgeier had nine carries for 63 yards and a touchdown. Even while Bijan Robinson continued to produce with 22 carries for 92 yards and a score, Allgeier re-emerged as a strong complement with his second-highest rushing total of the season. Stock down Cousins has an unhealthy ratio of 17 touchdown passes to 15 interceptions. “Kirk was the guy who led us to the 6-3 record,” Morris said. “We’ve got to find a way to get out of the funk. ... For us, it’s going to be his opportunity to go out and right the ship and he has earned it.” Key number 142: Wide receiver Darnell Mooney set a career high with 142 yards on six catches. It was the third game this season Mooney has led the Falcons in receiving yards. Next steps Former Atlanta quarterback Desmond Ridder is expected to start for the Raiders on Monday night after Aidan O’Connell's knee injury in Sunday's 28-13 loss at Tampa Bay. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
What happens when the team with the fastest pace in the NBA meets the team with the second-worst? Sunday offered an answer to that question. The Bulls have gone from 28th in pace to first thanks to the personnel changes and a coach who has rebuilt an offense to maximize their talents. Meanwhile, the Sixers have struggled to succeed with an injury-ridden roster. Sunday, all Nick Nurse could muster pregame when asked how to slow the Bulls down was, “You gotta run back really fast.” Turns out, the Sixers didn’t have an issue keeping up with the Bulls thanks to one MVP being reinserted. Joel Embiid exposed what’s been the Bulls’ Achilles’ heel all season: physicality in the paint. He finished with 31 points, helping hand the Bulls a 108-100 loss on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Bull’s big man — Nikola Vucevic — was rendered largely ineffective, finishing with just 13 points on seven attempts. “One area that’s gotta be a major focus for us going into these four days is we’ve gotta be able to post feed better,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “He could have had a much better offensive night.” Sunday was the Bulls’ second consecutive game with at least 50 three-point attempts, which isn’t necessarily an issue for a team leading the NBA in pace. The task for the Bulls — emphasized by Vucevic’s lack of involvement in the last two losses — is melding their high volume from behind the arc with getting Vucevic his inside touches. “There was way too many passes deflected, tipped away,” Donovan said. “We’ve got to find him and we’ve done a pretty good job of that, but I think that’s the versatility of Vooch. It’s OK if he’s not necessarily getting threes. He can do other things, finding the ball in the pocket. I thought he had some opportunities to shoot the basketball, but he’s so unselfish he moved it. We’ve got to be better at executing passes to him.” The Bulls gave up 21 points off turnovers, including six in the fourth quarter. Donovan added that he’s pleased with his team’s shot selection from behind the arc. They’re averaging 43.5 attempts this season and converting 38.4%. What’s impressed him most is their ability to generate uncontested threes. Against the Sixers, however, they shot 19-for-54 from deep. “We didn’t shoot the ball well,” Donovan said. “I thought it started slipping from us in the first half. I give the guys a lot of credit coming out of the half. Even though we struggled offensively to shoot the ball, we gave ourselves a chance.” “Physically, we competed a lot better defensively.” The Sixers outscored the Bulls 54-30 in the paint and outrebounded them 56-35. Embiid’s presence was the difference. He started the game shooting 0-for-7 before going on an 8-for-11 tear to close the first half, helping give his team a 12-point advantage as they headed for the locker rooms. Rookie Matas Buzelis earned significant minutes in the second half, playing a 15-minute stint between the third and fourth quarters. “It surprised me a little, but I’m always ready for the opportunity,” Buzelis said. “I’m always ready to compete. I was fine today. I just missed some shots. Defensively, I was really solid, got in transition for our guys, and rebounded well. That stretch was pretty good to me, but I’ll rewatch the film.” LaVine led the Bulls with 30 points on another efficient shooting night, going 10-for-21 from the field. Josh Giddey added 13 points and Lonzo Ball finished with three points and two assists. Ball was part of Donovan’s closing lineup after his minutes restriction was upped from a hard cap of 18 minutes per game to 20.Playoff game at Ohio State has sold 34% more tickets than Notre Dame game on StubHub
DETROIT (AP) — In the waning days of President Joe Biden's administration, the government's highway safety agency is proposing voluntary safety guidelines for self-driving vehicles. But a rule from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration putting the plan in place won't be approved before the end of Biden's term in January and likely will be left to whoever runs the agency under Republican Donald Trump. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whom Trump has named to co-lead a “Department of Government Efficiency” to cut costs and regulations, has floated the idea of him helping to develop safety standards for self-driving vehicles — even though the standards would affect Tesla's automated driving systems. At present there are no federal regulations that specifically govern autonomous vehicles, and any regulation is left to states. However, self-driving vehicles must meet broad federal safety standards that cover all passenger vehicles. Under the agency's proposal, released on Friday, automakers and autonomous vehicle companies could enroll in a program that would require safety plans and some data reporting for autonomous vehicles operating on public roads. To apply companies would have to have independent assessments of their automated vehicle safety processes, and there would be requirements to report crashes and other problems with the vehicles. Companies would have to give NHTSA information and data on the safety of the design, development and operations of the vehicles. The agency would decide whether to accept companies into the program. But auto safety advocates say the plan falls short of needed regulation for self-driving vehicles. For instance, it doesn't set specific performance standards set for the vehicles such as numbers and types of of sensors or whether the vehicles can see objects in low-visibility conditions, they said. “This is a big bunch of nothing,” said Missy Cummings, director of the autonomy and robotics center at George Mason University and a former safety adviser to NHTSA. “It’ll be more of a completely useless paperwork drill where the companies swear they’re doing the right thing.” Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, said one of the few good things about the plan is that companies will have to report data on crashes and other problems. There have been reports that the Trump administration may want to scrap a NHTSA order that now requires autonomous vehicle companies to report crashes to the agency so it can collect data. A message was left Friday seeking comment from the Trump transition team on crash reporting requirements. Brooks said the incoming administration probably will want to put out its own version of the guidelines. NHTSA will seek public comment on the plan for about 60 days, then the plan would have to wind its way through the federal regulatory process, which can take months or even years. “It is important that ADS (Automated Driving System) technology be deployed in a manner that protects the public from unreasonable safety risk while at the same time allowing for responsible development of this technology, which has the potential to advance safety,” the proposed rule says. The agency concedes that in the future, there may be a need for NHTSA to set minimum standards for self driving vehicle performance that are similar to mandatory safety standards that govern human-driven cars. But the agency says it now doesn't have data and metrics to support those standards. The voluntary plan would help gather those, the proposal said.The power of words
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