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The best division in football.
The NFC North 2024 is a giant. The Lions (5-1), Vikings (5-1), Packers (5-2) and Bears (4-2) are all in the top 12 of our latest power rankings as we approach the midpoint of the season, and all four teams would make the playoffs if they started today.
In numbers: The NFC North is 17-4 (with a +213 scoring differential) against outside competition, with all four losses coming by six points or less against teams that had winning records last year. There really isn’t a “bad” loss in the lot.
Registration by division:
NFC North: 19-6
AFC West: 15-10
NFC East: 14-12
AFC North: 13-14
AFC South: 12-15
NFC West: 11-15
NFC South: 11-16
AFC East: 10-17
Consider this: Detroit (+62), Minnesota (+61), Green Bay (+47) and Chicago (+43) are all +40 or better in point differential. Only four other teams in the entire NFL can say that: Washington (+66), Buffalo (+63), Pittsburgh (+60) and Kansas City (+43).
Best division of all time? The NFC North entered Sunday with the best six-week winning percentage (.773) of any division in the Super Bowl era. All they’ve done since is beat two teams first: Green Bay beat Houston and Detroit handed Minnesota its first loss.*
*NFC North vs. NFC North: As you might expect from such a strong division, internal competition has been fierce. Both divisional games went down to the wire and ended with the same score of 31-29 (Lions over Vikings on Sunday, Vikings over Packers in Week 4).
The Intuit Dome is open to the public
The Intuit Dome, The Clippers’ new $2 billion stadium, which took more than three years to build, hosted their regular-season opener Wednesday night in Inglewood.
A place to call your own: The Clips lost to the Suns in overtime, 116-113, but regardless of the outcome, the game marked a new era for the franchise. After spending 25 years sharing a stadium with the Lakers, they are no longer trapped in the shadow of their older brother.
A billionaire’s passion project: Steve Ballmer, by far the richest owner in sports with a net worth of $125 billion, spared no expense to provide fans with the best game day experience.
The Halo board: The massive, double-sided, 360-degree jumbotron is almost the size of an acre. How big is that? If you unrolled it, it would be three times the size of the nearby Hollywood sign. by Forbes.
Interactive heated seats: The seats are heated and include USB ports for charging your phone. They also have four remote control buttons that allow fans to play interactive games on the Halo board like “The Mentalist.” a color guessing game.
“The wall”: The arena features a 51-row student section-style set just for die-hard fans, who are not allowed to cheer on the other team. Seats are $32 per game and are only available to those who purchased a pass before the season.
Concessions: All food and drink stalls have the same menu to minimize decision-making, and facial recognition is used throughout the stadium to allow fans to purchase food and merchandise without having to queue.
Speaking of convenience, ask Ballmer about the bathrooms: “1,160 toilets and urinals!” he exclaimed last year. “Three times the NBA average! We don’t want people waiting in line, we want them back in their damn seats!”
Great upset: owls put out the flames
Previously winless Kennesaw State a 26.5-point underdog in its first year as an FBS program, pulled off a stunning 27-24 upset over previously undefeated Liberty on Wednesday. It’s the first time in 23 years that a team 0-5 or worse beat a team 5-0 or better.
There are nine undefeated: The Owls’ victory over the Flames leaves nine FBS teams undefeated. Three are in the Big Ten (Oregon, Penn State, Indiana), two are in the Big 12 (Iowa State, BYU), two are in the ACC (Miami, Pittsburgh) and two are military academies in the AAC (Army, Marina).
The world in photos
Barcelona- Barça is back. Raphinha scored a hat trick to lead Barcelona past Bayern Munich, 4-1, in the Champions League, snapping a six-match losing streak against their fellow superclub.
Portland— Vancouver blanked Portland, 5-0, in the Western Conference wild-card game to advance and play top-seeded LAFC in a best-of-three first-round series.
Washington DC— The Capitals beat the Flyers, 6-3, in Wednesday’s only NHL game to improve to 5-1 on the season, their best start since 2015.
October 24, 2004: Arsenal’s streak ends
20 years ago today, Manchester United beat Arsenal 2-0, ending the Gunners’ defeat. First division record Unbeaten streak of 49 games.
One of three: That Arsenal team remains one of three in Premier League history to have an unbeaten run of at least 40 league games.
Arsenal (2003-04): 49 in a row (36 wins, 13 draws)
Liverpool (2019-20): 44 in a row (39 wins, 5 draws)
Chelsea (2004-05): 40 in a row (33 wins, 7 draws)
Will a fourth join them soon? Manchester City’s active streak of 31 games in a row (25 wins, 6 draws) It is the fourth longest in history.
Watchlist: Vikings at Rams
The Rams host the Vikings tonight (8:15 p.m. ET Prime Time) at SoFi Stadium in a clash of teams on opposite ends of the NFC.
Face to face: Minnesota (5-1) is tied for the best record in the conference, while Los Angeles (2-4) is fourth-worst, ahead of only the Saints (2-5), Giants (2-5) and Panthers (1-6). ). But help, at least temporarily, is on the way.*
More to see:
NBA: Spurs on Mavericks (7:30 p.m., TNT); Thunder in the Nuggets (10:00 p.m., TNT)
Friendly: USWNT vs. Iceland (7:30 p.m., TBS) …In Austin, Texas.
NCAAF: Syracuse at No. 19 Pitt (7:30 p.m., ESPN) …Will another undefeated team fall?
PGA: Zozo Championship (11:00 p.m., golf) …Round 2 in Chiba, Japan.
*Kupp’s return: Rams star receiver Cooper Kupp, who has been sidelined since spraining his ankle in Week 2, is expected to return tonight. But with trade rumors swirlingHis time with the team could be coming to an end.
MLB Trivia
The Yankees (27) and the Dodgers (7) they have won the most and the sixth-most World Series of any team.
Ask: Can you name the four teams among them?
Clue: Two AL, two NL.
Reply at the bottom.
When Jury Duty Calls
Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey I missed Wednesday’s practice because of a designation on the injury report that I don’t remember seeing before: jury duty.
Details: Aubrey is part of a 12-person jury in a felony assault case centered on a charge of second-degree strangulation, according to the Star-Telegram. The Cowboys reportedly tried to get him excused, but the 29-year-old All-Pro insisted on doing so.
Will you miss any games? The good news for the Cowboys is that a typical tryout schedule won’t hinder Aubrey’s availability on Sundays, barring special circumstances. He will reportedly return to the court today and tomorrow, but is not expected to miss Sunday’s game against the 49ers.
Trivia answer: Cardinals (11 World Series), Red Sox (9), A’s (9), Giants (8)
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