Sports

The Pittsburgh Steeler starters looked to be quite sharp yesterday, beating up on the Bills.

The offense saw good performances from all three quarterbacks. The starters would get two touchdowns before the first quarter was halfway over, second string would get another in the third quarter followed by (2) field goals in the fourth quarter.

Special teams pinned Buffalo behind their own ten-yard line not just once but three times following kickoffs/punts.

The defense, Pittsburgh's long time centerpiece, performed quite well. Having said that, their zone defense is still ineffective against a passing offense.

Their running game again looked sad and pathetic. Taking away Jaylen Warrens (62)-yard barely touched touchdown sprint in the first quarter, the remaining (9) runners combined for another (59) yards from (32) attempts. That's just over half a yard a carry kids.

The center made a few bad snaps for the second week in a row, one resulting in a turnover.

The Buffalo Bills did not look so good at all in the first half. They were undisciplined taking (12) penalties for (90) yards in the first half alone. This was essentially their sole undoing.

The Bills offense played much better the second half versus the non-starters and they mostly ceased taking penalties but it was too little too late.

Deservedly so, sixty people in Buffalo are going to get their asses ripped on Monday, possibly review the rules of the game again.

Best wishes to Tommy Doyle of Buffalo, who left late in the game with a leg injury.

And congrats to Joey Porter of Pittsburgh for his first of many interceptions.

Jon Bois' and Alex Rubenstein's documentary about the Minnesota Vikings continues. Will Bud Grant win a Super Bowl this episode? Will someone freeze to death? Who will perform a feat of humanity so impressive that we will become lifelong fans, not for their exploits on the football field, but for their acts of humanity outside the world of sport? Tune in to find out!

The fake high school that defrauded ESPN back in 2021 is finally getting a documentary

I've seen all of the previous Barkley Marathons documentaries on YouTube and they are all very good.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/YOqIz

The government of Alberta has pulled its support for a bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games due to rising costs.

A joint bid was being considered by the Canadian province, centred around the cities of Edmonton and Calgary.

Tourism Minister Joseph Schow said the bill was estimated at C$2.6bn (£1.5bn) - a burden "too high for the province to bear".

Last month Australia pulled out of hosting the 2026 Games in Victoria due to budget blowouts.

The initial plan was to host the games over 11 days in August 2030 with competitions and events spread between Calgary and Edmonton, as well as the Tsuut'ina Nation and Enoch Cree Nation.

In a statement Mr Schow said: "The corporate sponsorship model and limited broadcast revenues for the Commonwealth Games would have put 93% of those costs and risks on taxpayers.

"We committed to remain transparent with Albertans about the costs of hosting international sporting events and clearly demonstrating a return on our investment for the people and communities in Alberta.

"That is why we have made the decision not to continue pursuing the bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games."

Alberta's provincial government said it had committed up to C$2m to explore the feasibility of hosting the Games - and the city of Edmonton another C$1m, according to Reuters.

Commonwealth Sport Canada previously said it expected to complete the feasibility study in August when a decision would be made on whether to submit a formal bid.

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek's office told Canada's national public broadcaster CBC the bid was finished without support from the province.

"The provincial government's decision to withdraw from Alberta's 2030 Commonwealth Games bid process effectively terminates the bid and the City of Calgary's participation," the statement said.

The only thing that matters in the NFL Preseason is zero injuries.

Northwestern has fired coach Pat Fitzgerald amid allegations of hazing within the football program, university president Michael Schill announced Monday in an open letter to the school community.

"The head coach is ultimately responsible for the culture of his team," Schill wrote. "The hazing we investigated was widespread and clearly not a secret within the program, providing Coach Fitzgerald with the opportunity to learn what was happening. Either way, the culture in Northwestern Football, while incredible in some ways, was broken in others."

NBA teams compete for the all new NBA Cup with a prize pool for teams that reach the knockout rounds
Groups are split up by division and randomly divided into 3 groups
Group play will take place on Tuesdays and Fridays throughout the month of November with each team in a group playing each other once for a total of four group games per team.

From there, eight teams will advance to the si ngle-elimination knockout rounds. Those eight teams will consist of the squads with the best tournament record from each group as well as one Wild Card team from each conference.

The top-four teams will eventually end up back in Vegas where they'll battle it out in the semifinals and final in December with the hopes of bringing home the first-ever In-Season Tournament Cup, which was on display Saturday.

Group Play Begins: Nov. 3

Semifinals: Dec. 7

Final: Dec. 9

Groups

Western Conference Group A:

Memphis Grizzlies
Phoenix Suns
Los Angeles Lakers
Utah Jazz
Portland Trail Blazers

Group B:

Denver Nuggets
New Orleans Pelicans
Los Angeles Clippers
Dallas Mavericks
Houston Rockets

Group C:

Sacramento Kings
Golden State Warriors
Minnesota Timberwolves
Oklahoma City Thunder
San Antonio Spurs

Eastern Conference Group A:

Philadelphia 76ers
Cleveland Cavs
Atlanta Hawks
Indiana Pacers
Detroit Pistons

Group B:

Milwaukee Bucks
New York Knicks
Miami Heat
Washington Wizards
Charlotte Hornets

Group C:

Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Toronto Raptors
Chicago Bulls
Orlando Magic

Happy Gilmore is happy for Happy Gilmore.

On Friday, Adam Sandler congratulated the high school golfer who goes by the same name as Sandler's 1996 character in the movie after he announced his commitment to play at Ball State as a member of the Class of 2024.

"Go get em Happy," Sandler wrote on Twitter, quoting Gilmore's announcement post. "Pulling for you."

The real life Gilmore, who was born Landon James Gilmore, expressed excitement at getting a response from the movie star.

"My life is complete," he replied.

Live Leaderboard: US Open Tournament Scores, Schedules, Pairings and More

Per Golf.com, Gilmore, who attends Indiana's Bloomington High School South, earned the nickname "Happy" as a child because he can hit the long ball like Sandler's character. When he was nine, he won a long-drive contest at a junior event.

The name stuck and the senior plays it up. He enters all tournaments using the moniker and even posed for a picture wearing a Boston Bruins jersey like Sandler's character. Unlike Sandler's character, Gilmore does not play hockey.

Gilmore said people still get fascinated at his name, but he's risen on his own merit. Earlier this month, he tied for seventh in the Indiana high school state championship and helped his team to a fourth-place finish.

“I don’t think it adds any pressure to me,” Gilmore told the IndyStar. “But I do know that whatever I do is going to be seen. Especially as far as leaderboards when people are scrolling down and see ‘Happy Gilmore’ they are going to look at it, obviously. So I do know that, but I don’t let it get in my head or that I have to play good because of it. I just go out and do my thing.”