Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

10:21 PM ET

Tim BontempsESPN

Free-agent guard Joe Harris has agreed to a four-year, $75 million deal to return to the Brooklyn Nets, his agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Harris, 29, averaged a career-high 14.5 points per game last season for Brooklyn while shooting 42.4% from 3-point range. His return -- along with the additions of Landry Shamet and Bruce Brown in trades earlier this week -- should help the Nets provide spacing for stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Signing Harris represents a massive financial commitment from Nets owner Joe Tsai. Brooklyn is now well into the luxury tax and still has a few open spots on its roster.

The 6-foot-6 guard resurrected his career in Brooklyn over the past four years, going from a castoff after a season-ending injury in his second year with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015-16 to one of the league's best 3-point shooters. Among 208 players to attempt at least 400 3-pointers since the start of 2017-18, only Seth Curry has a higher 3-point field goal percentage.

Harris' development helped the Nets recover following the 2013 trade for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce that left the team without control of its first-round pick for five years.

During that time, Brooklyn relied on finding underused talent to rebuild -- players such as Harris, Spencer Dinwiddie and D'Angelo Russell, who similarly resuscitated their careers.

The Nets' player-development success helped attract the attention of Durant and Irving, who signed with Brooklyn as free agents in the 2019 offseason.

Follow this link:
Agent - Joe Harris agrees to return to Nets on 4-year, $75 million deal - ESPN

The ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2021 has been revealed and former Boston Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino is among the new additions to the list of eligible candidates.

Victorino joins a crowded ballot of 25 former players, 11 of whom are joining the ballot for the first time this year. Members of the Baseball Writers Association of America who are eligible to vote are allowed to select up to 10 candidates on their ballot.

Eight of Victorinos 12 major league seasons were spent with the Philadelphia Phillies following a brief debut with the San Diego Padres. He spent the second half of the 2012 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers before coming to Boston for parts of three seasons and then wrapping up his career with a partial season with the Los Angeles Angels.

Victorino hit .275 with a .765 OPS, 108 home runs and 231 stolen bases in his 12-year career. He was a two-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove award winner, and a key contributor on a pair of World Series championship teams.

In three seasons with the Red Sox from 2013-2015, Victorino hit .282/.339/.418 with 18 home runs and 28 steals. He was a spark plug in the lineup who energized the club and established himself as a fan-favorite.

Victorino immortalized himself as a postseason hero with his 7th-inning grand slam in Game 6 of the 2013 ALCS against the Detroit Tigers. The game-winning blast over the Green Monster at Fenway Park sent the Red Sox to the World Series where Victorino would earn the second championship ring of his career.

Injuries limited Victorino to 30 games in 2014, paving the way for Mookie Betts to make his major league debut that year and steal the starting spot in right field.

Boston traded Victorino to the Angels at the 2015 deadline, allowing the veteran to finish his career with a contender. Los Angeles ultimately fell a game short of the Wild Card but they came a lot closer than a Red Sox team that finished in the AL East basement that year.

At least one player has been elected to the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility in each of the last seven years but there are no sure-fire first-ballot additions this year. Most of the new additions could be one-and-done if they fail to receive at least five percent of votes to remain on the ballot next year.

Roger Clemens, Manny Ramirez, and Curt Schilling are the other notable former Red Sox players who are holdovers on the ballot. All three are worthy based on their production but the former two stars have had their legacies tarnished by performance-enhancing drugs while the latter has cost himself votes with his combative relationship with the media members who vote for the Hall of Fame. It will be interesting to see if any of them make any progress on this years ballot.

Victorino doesnt have a Hall of Fame resume but with an underwhelming crop of first-time eligible players combined with several holdovers who remain in limbo due to their PED-tainted past, he might garner enough attention to squeeze over the threshold for staying on the ballot.

Want your voice heard? Join the BoSox Injection team!

He was never a serious MVP candidate but Victorinos multiple All-Star appearances, Gold Glove awards and postseason heroics warrant some consideration. Those who refuse to vote for the PED guys but still prefer to fill all 10 spots on their ballot could toss Victorino a vote.

Read more from the original source:
Former Red Sox outfielder among new additions to Hall of Fame ballot - BoSox Injection

By Jim Fenton| Brockton Enterprise

There is always plenty of hope in the air on the night when the NBA Draft takes place.

Young basketball players find homes to chase their dream of having a professional basketball career, and 30 teams have new additions to their rosters.

Sometimes, those draft connections work out, but a lot of other times, they dont.

The Celtics, who went into Wednesday nights draft with three first-round choices and one more in the second round, have had mixed results over the past 10 years when it comes to the draft.

In the first round, starting with Avery Bradley being picked in 2010, the Celtics have acquired seven players who made an impact in their rotation.

The second round, however, has produced very little help from the 14 players they have taken in the past 10 years.

The Celtics have six of their first-round selections on their roster, including Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, Grant Wiliams and Romeo Langford.

Two players from the second round Semi Ojeleye and Carsen Edwards are also on the roster while Tremont Waters appeared in 11 games and spent most of the season with the Maine Red Claws.

Tatum and Brown, both drafted No. 3 overall thanks to a trade with the Brooklyn Nets, are the players the Celtics are banking their future on.

Tatum, in line to sign a lucrative extension next month, made the All-NBA third team in his third season after averaging 23.4 points.

His is becoming one of the top offensive players in the league and appeared in the NBA All-Star Game last February.

Brown, who is signed through the 2023-24 season, averaged 20.3 points and continues to get better in every aspect of his game.

Smart was taken No. 6 in the 2014 draft and has developed into one of the best defensive players in the NBA.

Robert Williams has dealt with injuries through his first two seasons and played just 29 games this past year.

The Celtics are in need of an athletic big man and Williams could fill that role, but his inconsistency has held him back.

Langford, the No. 14 pick last year after one season at Indiana, showed some promise as a rookie but was sidetrack by injuries while Grant Williams looks like hell be a solid role player after his performance as a rookie.

As for the other first-rounders acquired by the Celtics since 2010, Bradley spent seven seasons in Boston before getting traded in a salary-cap move. He is now a free agent after opting out of the resumption of the season this past summer as a member of the champion Los Angeles Lakers.

In 2011, the Celtics drafted Providence Colleges MarShon Brooks in the first round, but via a trade, actually wound up with JaJuan Johnson of Purdue as their top rookie that year. Johnson played just 36 games for the Celtics and is now with Bayern Munich in Germany.

The two first-round picks in 2012 were Jared Sullinger, who averaged 11.1 points and 7.7 rebounds in 258 games over four seasons, and Fab Melo, who played six games and died at the age of 26.

Via a trade with the Dallas Mavericks, the Celtics picked up Kelly Olynyk via the draft in 2013, and he was a quality role player for four seasons and now plays for the Miami Heat. Terry Rozier was a first-round pick in 2015, and after four seasons with the Celtics, signed a contract with the Charlotte Hornets.

The same draft that produced Brown in the first round also brought the Celtics Guerschon Yabusele and Ante Zizic at Nos. 16 and 23. Yabusele is back playing in France after doing little in 74 games with the Celtics while Zizic was part of the Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas trade and is now playing in Israel.

Since 2010, the players taken by the Celtics in the second round include Luke Harangody, ETwaun Moore, Kris Joseph, Jordan Mickey, Marcus Thornton, Deytona Davis, Demetrius Jackson, Providence Colleges Ben Bentil, Abdel Nader, Ojeleye, Kadeem Allen, Jabari Bird, Edwards and Waters.

Harangody appeared in 28 games for the Celtics before being shipped to the Cleveland Cavaliers in his rookie season while Moore got into 38 games as a rookie, his only season with the Celtics. Moore is still in the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Joseph, who played six games with the Celtics, wound up with the Brooklyn Nets and was sent back to Boston as part of the trade involving Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce for the draft picks that netted Tatum and Brown.

Mickey got into 41 games over two seasons with the Celtics and is now playing in the EuroLeague while Thornton went to play in Australia after being drafted and is now playing in Germany.

Davis was traded away on draft night while Jackson played five games for the Celtics and is now on a team in Lithuania.

Bentil was waived at the end of his first training camp and played three games for the Mavericks. He was on the Panathinaikos team that won the Greek championship inthe 2019-20 season.

Nader got into 48 games for the Celtics and was recently part of the Chris Paul trade, joining the Phoenix Suns after being with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Ojeleye has gotten minutes the past three seasons, Edwards received little playing time as a rookie while Waters was the NBA G-League rookie of the year.

Allen is now playing in France after getting into 18 games with the Celtics. Bird played 13 games for the Celtics, but he was arrested in 2018 for domestic abuse and kidnapping of a former girl friend, and has not played since.

Go here to read the rest:
Celtics have had mixed results in draft in prior years - Seacoastonline.com

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

The United Soccer League is boom and bust. Expansion and contraction. Stunning growth tempered by frequent failures.

Since Louisville City FC joined Americas second-tier professional soccer league in 2015, expansion fees for the USLs championship level have soared from $1 million to $12 million with no sign of saturation.

A league comprised of 11 teams as recently as 2012 finished its 2020 season with 35 franchises, with new additions duein both 2021 and 2022.

By any tangible metric, this is a league that is heading in a pretty incredible direction, said USL vice president Ryan Madden. I think despite our relative youth, the future of our league has never been brighter.

Yet the USLs growth has coincided with collapse. Two of the leagues championship clubs Saint Louis FC and Reno 1868 went out of business within the last month. Two other teams Philadelphia Union II and Portland Timbers 2 have withdrawn from the USL, presumably to resurface in an anticipated Major League Soccer reserve league.

Though some of the USLs shrinkage is attributable to MLS awarding St. Louis a franchise in the top tier of the U.S. Soccer pyramid, and some is surely due to financial pressures exacerbated by COVID-19, soccers boom-and-bust cycle is nothing new. Since 2015, at least 22 USL championship teams have either folded, rebranded, relocated, gone on hiatus, left the USL entirely or dropped to a lower level.

If there has been a constant, it has been churn.

Theres a long history of lower-division soccer and thats been a tumultuous history, said Connor Tobin, an active player in USL League One who also serves on the USL Players Association executive committee. It speaks to the unique challenge that we have in the United States to build out the structure.

More: Louisville City FC's Ben Lundt named 2020 USL Championship's Goalkeeper of the Year

On a macro level, Americas soccer explosion is undeniable and seemingly inexorable. In 1967, the number of people playing soccer in the U.S. was estimated at 100,000. By 2015, it was 24.4 million.

As its participation rate has rocketed, so has the size of soccers audience. The USL reported a 500% rise in viewership for its games on ESPN+ in 2020, and a 39% increase in its social media following. Over the past five years, MLS expansion fees have jumped from $70 million to $325 million.

But while successful launches such as Louisville City FC underscore the broadening appeal and financial potential of the sport, the rush to get in on the ground floor has resulted in numerous casualties.

Including Louisvilles Lynn Family Stadium, the USL has opened three soccer-specific venues since 2019, with two more expected next year. Meanwhile, Reno 1868s failure to make progress on the facilities front has been blamed for the demise of that franchise. Bethlehem Steel FCs move and rebranding as Philadelphia Union II was prompted, at least in part, by the inadequate lighting at its Lehigh University home.

Build it and they will come. Dont build it and they are likely to leave.

Earlier: Rowdies spoil party with 2-1 win over LouCity in USL Eastern Conference Final

I do think there are clubs like ours that will continue to get stronger, LouCity coach John Hackworth said. But without a facility, I dont think Louisville City survives if they dont get out of (Louisville) Slugger (Field) at some point.

To maintain its second-tier sanctioning within U.S. Soccer, the USL championship league is required to operate 75% of its franchises in markets with at least 750,000 people, with a principal owner whose net worth is at least $20 million and a stadium that seats at least 5,000 spectators.

But because 11 of the remaining USL championship-level clubs are either owned by or affiliated with MLS teams, they tend to pursue different priorities than independent investors such as those of Louisville City. Their focus is on developing young players rather than upgrading facilities and chasing championships with veteran teams. Accordingly, as their costs and franchise values rise, some of them may follow the leads of the MLS-owned Philadelphia Union II and Portland Timbers 2 and head for the exits.

To some degree, a little bit of contraction is a solution, said LouCity chairman John Neace. I dont think theyve expanded too fast, but were reaching the point where a lot more expansion would not make sense at least in the Championship league.

Also: Racing Louisville FC selects Tobin Heath and Christen Press in NWSL Expansion Draft

Here, there could be conflict. Though the USL reportedly provided more than $5 million to its franchises to help cover the costs incurred because of COVID-19, it does not distribute expansion fees directly to its franchises. Its growth strategy, as chief operating officer Justin Papadakis outlined in a recent interview with The Athletic, allows for the addition of another eight or so independent clubs before membership is capped.

I definitely think theres growth that can occur, Tobin said. One of the things we want is that whatever growth happens, its stable growth. ... Its gut-wrenching every time you see a local community lose their football club.

Boom and bust can be a vicious cycle.

Tim Sullivan: 502-582-4650, tsullivan@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @TimSullivan714.

See original here:
The pandemic isn't the only reason for the constant churn facing the USL - Courier Journal

CHAPEL HILL As if five decades in the basketball coaching business, and a notorious competitive streak that extends to the golf course and craps table havent sharpened Roy Williams creativity for dispensing motivation, theres a new tool at his disposal.

After all these years, the nine Final Fours and three NCAA championships, Williams is coming off the only losing season in his long Hall of Fame career.

And the North Carolina team hes preparing now is being reminded of that dismal 14-19 experience, just the programs second losing record since 1962, with all the subtlety of a blast furnace when the mood strikes Williams.

Oh yeah, hes pissed, for sure, senior guard Andrew Platek said. I think whenever he chews us out in practice for making a mistake, he always mentions 14-19 and how its not going to happen again, and its not. Were going to do everything in our power to make sure it doesnt happen again, and not even come close to that. Were going to get back to winning.

Thats undoubtedly the expectation this season for the 16th-ranked Tar Heels, who open Nov. 25 against College of Charleston. Its not difficult to imagine North Carolina becoming one of college basketballs most improved teams, while perhaps challenging projected frontrunners Virginia and Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference race.

North Carolina has restocked considerably with the addition of six freshmen, a recruiting class ranked as high as No. 2 nationally, joining a group of returnees that includes starters in forwards Garrison Brooks and Armando Bacot, and swingman Leaky Black.

Then there are the flames burning off the 70-year-old Williams, whose method of moving on to a better place involves recalling unpleasant parts of the recent past.

What positives did the coach take from last seasons injury-marred struggle, during which the typically up-tempo Tar Heels starved for shooting from the perimeter and bogged down to their slowest pace on offense in his tenure? Few other than the determination to turn that frustration into fuel for this season.

Im hungry, Williams said. I did not enjoy that. Its not something that was fun. So Im hopeful that the hunger and the motivation, our players will feel it the same way.

It was not a fun year for us. It was not a normal year that North Carolina has. It was the first losing season our entire staff has ever had. Im motivated because I did not enjoy it, and I think our returning players are motivated because they didnt enjoy it, also.

North Carolina has an acknowledged leader and potentially the ACCs top commodity in the senior Brooks he was the overwhelming choice as the leagues Preseason Player of the Year to go along with a wealth of big bodies to utilize around the basket and impact additions in the backcourt.

Highly regarded freshman Caleb Love, the Tar Heels top-rated recruit among their new arrivals, figures to run the team. Hes a lead guard with 6-foot-4 size and explosiveness. Combo guard RJ Davis, a 6-foot freshman billed as a natural scorer, should contribute immediately and step in to relieve Love at point guard on occasion.

Brooks called Davis the most surprising performer of the North Carolina freshmen during the preseason, and used its not even close for emphasis.

Im impressed with all the new guys, but I like RJ the most, Brooks said. RJs been great. Hes adapted really well, been pushing the ball really well, playing how Coach Williams expects his guards to play. He can get out there and score the ball the best of anybody.

The 6-10 Brooks delivered 16.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last season and proved even better in ACC league play. He led the conference in scoring (18.8 points per game), while ranking second in rebounding (9.0 per game) and field goal percentage (shooting 53.5 percent).

Bacot, the 6-10 sophomore, started alongside Brooks during his inconsistent first season in college (9.6 points, 8.3 rebounds per game). The freshman duo of 6-11 DayRon Sharpe and 7-1 Walker Kessler provides North Carolina an ample supply of supersized options for mixing and matching in the frontcourt.

Platek already has described Sharpe as one of the best offensive rebounding bigs Ive seen in my time here. Williams has hinted that the Tar Heels even could slide Brooks to small forward some, given his shooting touch and mobility on defense.

The big guys can get to the board and rebound the ball and defend around the rim and score, Williams said of Sharpe and Kessler.

Freshman guards Puff Johnson and Kerwin Walton might be needed to contribute their 3-point capabilities in spot duty off the bench, along with Love and Davis in their more prominent roles. The junior Black (25.4-percent shooting) and Platek (22.8-percent shooting) were unreliable from beyond the arc last season.

In the ACC, only Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech made fewer 3s than North Carolinas 5.5 per game last season. The Tar Heels generated just 22.8 percent of their scoring from 3-point territory, ranking them 330th in that department out of the 353 college basketball teams competing in Division I.

Black said we have a lot of different weapons in assessing North Carolinas backcourt depth.

We all still feel everything we felt from last year, Black said. Every loss, buzzer beater, whatever the case may be, we still feel it to this day. Even if we have a great practice, we still feel the pain. I feel like were just going to take that fire into every game and make sure we dont have a season like we did last year.

Link:
Season preview: Angry and hungry, Roy Williams readies UNC basketball for return to form - Burlington Times News

By 6 p.m. tonight, the Rockies have some tough choices to make. Its the deadline for adding Rule 5 Draft eligible players to the 40-man roster. Players who signed professional contracts at age 18 or younger must be added to the 40-man roster within five seasons after signing the contract and those who were 19 years old or older must be added within four seasons. If a player is not added to the 40-man roster, then they are free to be picked up by another organization in the Rule 5 Draft, which is scheduled for Dec. 10.

One interesting curve ball in 2020 is that teams dont have a regular season to access. With the MLB instructional league under way in Arizona right now, at least there is a little info and scouting to be done, but, like everything else in 2020, much is an unknown frontier. Without any MiLB play this year, 2019 might mean more and organizations are left with a little more guessing and hoping (but, hey, that seems like the Rockies motto!). Some teams might look more within and keep salaries low as opposed to wading into the expensive free agent market. The coming downsizing of the MiLB also casts a lingering shadow on the futures and dreams of a lot of players. Its a lot of heavy stuff.

But, back to the Rockies roster. With the most recent additions to the Colorado 40-man roster, Scott Oberg, Peter Lambert, and David Dahl, who were all activated from the 45-day injured list, along with Ian Desmond, who was placed back on the roster after opting out of the 2020 season, the Rockies roster currently stands at 38. The Rockies currently have five players in the teams top 30 prospects who will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft if they are not added to the 40-man roster. Before the deadline, it seems like a good idea to take a closer look at the five prospects the Rockies have to consider adding or risk losing.

The Rockies drafted Welker in the fourth round (110th overall) of the 2016 draft. In his three seasons, Welker proved he could hit and was working his way up from Grand Junction in 2016 (.329/.366/.490), Single-A Asheville in 2017 (.350/.401/.500), Single-A-Advanced Lancaster in 2018 (.333/.383/.489). In 2019, he continued climbing the ladder to Double-A Hartford and started with a bang, hitting .356 in the month of April. Welker then struggled, missed two months with a shoulder injury, and then also didnt stand out in the Arizona Fall League.

Entering the 2020 season, Purple Row ranked Welker as the organizations No. 3 prospect. (behind only Brendan Rodgers and Ryan Rolison and ahead of others who saw big league action in 2020 like Sam Hilliard (5), Josh Fuentes (30), Ryan Castellani (14), Ashton Goudeau (13), Tommy Doyle (16), and Antonio Santos (20). Obviously, the Rockies currently have the best third baseman in the game, so the 23-year-old Welker doesnt have anywhere to go. However, Welker started playing some first base in for the Yard Goats and in the AFL, so that could give him more value. The Rockies currently are hoping Josh Fuentes can replicate his 2020 success in a full season, or that Ryan McMahon will be the consistent hitter we all want him to be and could take over at first or split time with Fuentes. With those unknowns, as well as Nolan Arenados uncertain future with the Rockies, Welker is a good backup player to have for the corners for the Rockies. If 2020 would have been a normal 162-game season, he just might have made his debut or at least gotten a solid year of Triple-A action, but instead he spent the year at the Rockies alternate training site. MLB.coms Thomas Harding reported that Welker will be protected with a roster spot.

Just after he turned 16 years old in 2016, Olivarez inked a deal with the Rockies, who compared his potential to Ubaldo Jimnez. From 2016-2019, he spent time developing in the Dominican Summer League each year before pitching in Grand Junction in 2019. He spent the first year as a reliever, but has shifted to a starter ever since. His fastball is already 93-95 mph and hes still growing and building strength that should add speed down the road. His breaking ball and changeup are also showing promise. He still needs to work on command, but faired decently in the Pioneer League, which isnt pitcher friendly. In 11 starts over 46 2/3 innings, the 20-year-old posted a 4.82 ERA with a 1.52 WHIP, striking out nearly 12 batters per nine innings. Olivarez was also listed No. 17 in the preseason 2020 Purple Row prospects (PuRP), but Purple Rows Jeff Aberle put him at No. 13 on his personal ballot because In a system that lacks starting pitcher depth like Colorados, Olivarez represents a hope for an impact pitcher (and from the left side to boot).

Olivarez is currently at the MLB instructional leagues in Arizona for the Rockies. His upside is huge, and the Rockies need lefties. Hes still young and has yet to test his stuff or resolve above the Rookie League level. Then again, he might just be too much promising to risk.

Montano was a $2 million signing in 2015 at age 17 and he proved to be a decent hitter with a lot of promise in his three DSL seasons. The left-handed hitting and right-handed throwing Venezuelan has decent speed and plays center field well. In his first season with Grand Junction in 2018, he hit .279/.338/.433 with 15 doubles, five homers, 21 walks, and 57 strikeouts in 62 games. He moved to Single-A Asheville in 2019, but couldnt capitalize and struck out 119 times in 454 at-bats while also slashing .218/.274/.344. After being ranked No. 21 in 2017, No. 15 in 2018, No. 22 in 2019 on PuRP list, he no longer made the top 30 in 2020. Montano, who is currently on the Triple-A Albuquerque roster, might be more like a backup outfielder at this point and is not a strong candidate for 40-man roster protection.

A first-round draft pick in 2016 (fourth overall), Pint promised to be a power pitcher at 6-foot-5 and hurling 100 mph in high school. Things havent quite gone to plan for Pint. Injuries caused him to miss most of 2018 and a big part of 2019, but even when hes been able to play, hes struggled with control. Pint posted an 8.66 ERA in Single-A Asheville in 2019 and was demoted to the bullpen where things didnt get much better for the now 23-year-old. If anyone needed a MiLB 2020 season to get back on track, it was Pint.

Interestingly enough, Pint is still ranked one spot ahead of Antonio Santos, who saw six innings of action over three games for the Rockies in 2020 and left with a 16.50 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, and .483 batting average against. Pint was ranked No. 22 in our PuRP list, with Aberle laying out Pints outlook perfectly: Pints potent arsenal (which includes a 102 mph, 75 grade fastball and multiple potential plus secondary offerings including a 70 grade curveball), if harnessed and polished, is that of a big league ace. His floor, given his struggles with command and two years mostly lost to injury, is that he never pitches a game above A ball. Pint, who has a spot on the Isotopes roster at the moment, is also currently in Arizona playing in the instructional leagues. Its clear Pint hasnt proved himself ready for the 40-man roster or as a temping steal for other teams.

In the five years since the Rockies signed Moya out of Panama in 2015, the now 21-year-old lefty has put on 60 pounds and grown an inch to fill out his 6-foot-5 frame, while also adding speed to his now 96 mph fastball. Hes still working on secondary pitches and has struggled with command, which caused him to move to the bullpen where he is doing better. For three years in the DSL (2016-18) Moyas ERA ranged from 3.58 to 5.58 to 5.18 with a WHIP around 1.50. In 2019, he joined the Grand Junction Rockies. In 29 1/3 innings, he posted a 3.99 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and struck out 43. He also walked 17 batters. If he can continue to develop his arsenal, then he could be a great addition to the bullpen someday a much needed left-handed arm but he hasnt even been to Single-A yet. Like Pint, Moya is a member of the Isotopes currently. Moya also joins Pint and Olivarez in the MLB instructional league in Arizona right now.

In the 2019 Rule 5 Draft, the Rockies werent involved in the Major League phase, but did lose five prospects while adding one in the minor league phases. The Rockies lost RHP Erick Julio to the Angels and RHP Eris Filpo to the Rangers in the first round. In the second round, the Rockies added Brewers RHP Michael Petersen (who is currently on the Albuquerque Triple-A roster), but also lost PHP Enrique Saldana to the Cardinals. In the third round, the Rockies lost two more prospects, outfielder Vance Vizcaino (Cubs) and RHP Jacob Bosiokovic (Cardinals).

Lost then found: Daniel Bards seven-year detour through baseballs wilderness | The Athletic ($)

If you have a few minutes, then each and every of the over 4,000 words in this feature is worth your time. Daniel Bards story is remarkable. He never imagined hed be able to pitch in a baseball game again. He got second, third, fourth, and more chances. He felt he was broken and lost his joy in the game. But then he did it. He coached, he learned, he rediscovered his form and his joy.

2020 has been a brutal year and the Rockies struggled as well. I think we all delighted in Bards comeback and the thrill of him being on the mound again and what that meant for him, for baseball, and for the Rockies, but to truly reflect on it after the season is over in the amount of depth and detail that Nick Groke lays out in retelling the tale is special. Treat yourself to this one. If you dont subscribe to The Athletic, this might be a reason to.

Colorado Rockies: How Robinson Canos 2021 suspension will impact the Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story sweepstakes | Rox Pile

Disappointment and relief. Those were my first two thoughts when I heard that Robinson Cano had tested positive again for PEDs, resulting in being suspended for the 2021 season. Its the same stomach punch when this happens to a star, one named after Jackie Robinson and was a very exciting player to watch in years past. Then came the relief because at least the Rockies didnt sign him or trade for him (not that the Rockies make big moves like that and second base isnt the most dire position at the moment). It wasnt a Jose Reyes-like moment. The Rockies front office deserves a lot of criticism for where the Rockies are at, but at least we arent in this mess.

But then, after reading Noah Yinglings take, a new feeling emerged: horror.

This development means the Mets, who Yingling points out is a team looking to spend money, now got $24 million back. On top of that, they are looking for a second baseman. The Mets have already been rumored to be interested in Nolan Arenado (who wouldnt be?), but this is the most fear-inducing line: instead of trading for Nolan Arenado or Trevor Story, if [the Mets] wanted to, they could try to trade for Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story.

This would be soul crushing, regardless of the haul the Rockies would get in return. It seems hard to imagine that Dick Monfort would allow this type of extreme move, which would clearly sound the rebuilding alarms for an organization that doesnt believe in rebuilds. But if Jeff Bridich is calling the shots and seemingly has no consequences, its hard to completely dismiss any scenarios. I just cant let my imagination go down that dark road too much though. Yingling closes with The chance that both are traded to the Mets is very slim but the chance that the Rockies could try to trade one of them to the Mets have definitely gone up.

1 untouchable player for each club | MLB.com

For the Rockies, its Antonio Senzatela. While I certainly want him to be a Rockie for a long time, especially after his 2020 performance, this isnt the most obvious choice. Writer Will Leach says hes actually third behind Story and Arenado, but since he sees both leaving the team sometime in the next year, he went with Senzatela. Even above Germn Mrquez. Interesting.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when youre commenting. Thanks!

Here is the original post:
Colorado Rockies news: What will the Rockies do with Rule 5 Draft roster deadline? - Purple Row

Men are more straight up and down, with or without beer bellies, she said. Instead, she has sold tens of thousands of dollars worth of pandemic masks, some from leftover shirt fabric, and, more ambitiously, is prepping a new, socially distanced venture an online store called Form Tailoring by Gormley & Gamble.

Completely Covid-proof, she said.

Richard Anderson, owner of a shop that bears his name, stuck to an in-person approach to sales in the months between lockdowns. He had designed a trio of casual blazers, and one afternoon, before he had to close his doors again, he modeled them in a mirror. They were identical in cut one button, peak lapels, slightly padded shoulders and sold in wool, suede and leather. The leather version was a shade of shiny, riotous red rarely seen on anything but fire trucks or Michael Jackson.

Well put it in the window and it brings them in, he said, eyeing himself in the leather. Weve done something similar before. A peacoat in an orange billiard cloth. No one bought it in the orange, but we put in the window and people bought it in blue and green.

Set in the upscale Mayfair neighborhood in Central London, Savile Row is a three-minute walk from Regent Street, one of the busiest shopping boulevards in Europe. Somehow it still feels separate and secluded, like a private club you might miss unless someone pointed out the entrance. Its a by-appointment destination that doesnt get a lot of foot traffic. Customers range from royals to mobsters, plus plenty of financiers.

I had this one customer, young guy, whose father brought him in, Mr. Carnera said. He insisted I make an inside pocket for his joints.

Raised in southeast London, Mr. Carnera skipped college to start an apprenticeship at Anderson & Sheppard that lasted for three and a half years. During that time, he worked solely on jackets, though his duties also included sweeping the floor, making tea and enduring practical jokes, like being sent on errands to buy button holes.

Continued here:
To Survive the Pandemic, Savile Row Cuts a Bespoke Strategy - The New York Times

If you are looking for co-op games to play on your shiny new PlayStation 5, you cannot go wrong with Overcooked! All You Can Eat. This edition packages the original game, its sequel, and all of that delicious add-on content to provide us a smorgasbord of entertainment.

Weve talked about this series in the past. The first Overcooked made it onto our Best PS4 Couch Co-op Games list. Overcooked 2 landed a 8.5/10 score here at PSLS when it debuted. Today I am going to review what is new in this jam-packed edition exclusive to the PS5 and tell you why you should be adding it to your library ASAP.

Two player Versus mode had us each controlling two chefs!

Two of the biggest additions in Overcooked! All You Can Eat are the new Arcade and Assist modes. Arcade allows you to quick play from any one of the settings in the collection. We took this mode for a spin using Sushi City as our desired arena. Each game randomized which level from that arena we would be tackling. For our first game we ran a regular co-op game. These play just like they do in story mode, but at the end of each game you will have to select an arena again. Versus mode is the other option here. We were two people playing Versus, which meant our stage was split into two and we each had two chefs to control. Switching between them with the L1 and R1 buttons and timing ingredient hand-offs and serving plates was challenging as heck, but still a lot of fun.

Are you playing with younger children, grandparents, or people who may not be as quick to pick up games of this speed? Turn on Assist Mode. Assist Mode increases the amount of time you have to complete a level. And the timer wont even start until you serve your first plate! While playing the Chinese New Year DLC with this mode on it felt like the level maybe even shifted a little slower than normal.

Turn on Assist Mode when you start a new Campaign

Accessibility has become increasingly more important these days. Team17 wants to make sure everyone can enjoy Overcooked. Theres a brand new font slider that lets you shrink or enlarge font from small to large, as well as a Dyslexia Friendly Font option. I upped my font size to medium; just because I sit fairly close to my television doesnt mean I want to put any extra strain on my eyes. Its also great for those of you playing on much larger screens or using projectors.

Everything in Overcooked! All You Can Eat can be played online. Yes, that includes the originalOvercooked. Even better news? Cross platform multiplayer is scheduled to come out in 2021. I cant wait to play everything all over again with friends who are a little too far away for couch co-op adventures and havent been able to upgrade consoles just yet.

The newly implemented online mode for the original Overcooked is a tad wonky. Ive noticed that there are times where either the game is lagging or some other issue is at play which makes the chefs bounce back from the counter. It doesnt seem to affect timers at all, just the positions of our chefs. This also happened when we played Arcade Versus. Right now I cant determine if this is a bug exclusive to the first game or not. My co-op partner and I didnt experience these issues in Overcooked 2 so perhaps this is just a side effect of online being added to Overcooked.

Check Extra Trimmings to find all of the add-on levels

Couch co-op is still the very best way to experience this zany, fast-paced restaurant game. The updated graphics are as sharp as a santoku if youre playing on a 4K television. Another huge bonus is trophy pop-ups have shifted to the upper right side of the screen. No more blocking the orders in the middle of the lunch rush! This is the co-op game to get alongside your PS5 if you love playing games with friends and family. So fire up those ovens and get chopping.

Overcooked All You Can Eat review code provided by publisher. Version 1.001 reviewed on PlayStation 5. For more information on scoring please see our Review Policy.

More:
Overcooked! All You Can Eat Review A Second Helping (PS5) - PlayStation LifeStyle

As day broke on November 1, elephant safaris for tourists in the Kaziranga National Park resumed after a long pandemic-induced break. Many local residents heaved a sigh of relief, hoping the vacationers would finally start flocking in.

But a few kilometres away from where the elephant safaris started, Jaya Dutta woke up to a sight that made her break down: her coconut trees, which had just started flowering, lay on the ground, probably felled in a nocturnal onslaught by a hungry pachyderm.

This was the second loss of property in a month. In October, Duttas family and three of their neighbours were told in October that they were living inside the premises of the national park. The choice was theirs, an official from the district administration reportedly told them: dismantle your homes voluntarily or face eviction. The former, the official told them, would be less messy for everyone it would let them preserve valuables they possessed and claiming compensation would be easier. Soon, the district administration followed up with a formal eviction notice.

So sometime in the second week of October, as the rains let up, they hammered down their hearths, built several decades ago. That was the only home my husband had ever known, said Dutta. He was born in that house, his father died in it. Now it is gone.

The Duttas, the poorest among the four families facing eviction, shifted to a primary school building a few metres away. But each day, Dutta would go back to where their old home stood, pluck fruits from the trees she had grown over the years and sell them in the nearby market by the highway further south. Her family lived on these earnings as her husband was sick and unable to work. The other day, I sold the gooseberries and brought rice, she said. The coconuts had started flowering. I was pinning my hopes on the coconuts, but now they are gone, too.

Evictions in Kaziranga usually attract a lot of media attention in Assam, but there was scant coverage of the events of October in the local press. This is perhaps because only a few families were displaced and no force was used the Duttas and their neighbours voluntarily tore down their homes.

But the displacement is not isolated. It flows from a Gauhati High Court order in 2015, directing evictions to clear land for the reserve forest, that could affect nearly 700 families, their homes and their fields. So far, the administration has dragged its feet on the evictions. But the court has now demanded a status report by November 23.

The Kaziranga National Park is now more than twice the size that it was in January 1974, when it was first notified as a park. From 430 square kilometres, it has swelled to 914 square kilometres, courtesy nine additions to the park area over the decades. The latest three additions, amounting to 30 square kilometres, were notified in September by the state government.

These additions have often been sources of conflict between the authorities and the local population. Although the idea of the park has been more or less accepted, this has not been the case of its additions, notes researcher Jolle Smadja.

As Kaziranga became a focal point for Assamese pride, the tussles around the park from the periodic additions to who got evicted and who was allowed to stay within reserve limits became political. The politics of eviction was shaped by the larger anxiety in Assam, of foreigners taking over indigenous lands, .

The authorities have moved cautiously, and some allege, selectively. Before September this year, the last addition had been made in 1999. But large parts of these notified areas were not handed over to the park authorities until very recently. Some are still to be handed over, despite the court order.

The petition that was partly responsible for the court order for evictions was driven by the intention to remove illegal migrants from the additions and adjoining animal corridors. It was filed in 2012 by Mrinal Saikia, a Bharatiya Janata Party politician who is now a state legislator. Saikia alleged that some of those living in areas earmarked for the reserve were undocumented migrants from Bangladesh and part of the poaching racket operating in the park.

Saikias petition was clubbed with a suo motu petition by the Gauhati High Court. Alarmed by news reports it had taken up the matter of illegal poaching of rhinoceros and other wild animals in Kaziranga.

In 2013, when the court ordered evictions from the additions to the park within three months, it was challenged. Local residents in the additions, backed by the peasants rights group, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, moved the court. They were made party to the case.

They argued that the additions amounted to altering the parks borders and the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 did not allow such an exercise when the 2nd, 3rd and 5th additions were notified in 1985. Besides, while such a provision was inserted in the Act in 1992, the additions could only be made on the recommendation of the National Wildlife Board. The boards recommendations, they pointed out, had not been sought before notifying the 6th addition in 1999.

They also invoked the Forest Rights Act of 2006, which empowers forest-dwelling communities, lamenting that it had amounted to very little in Assam. In 2009, Gauhati High Court had adjudicated that state had no forest-dwelling communities a judgement that experts say was based on a poor reading of the historical and environmental complexities of the state.

But the court stuck to its original position. In November 2015, the court dismissed the local residents petitions, directing the civil administration to take expeditious steps to evict the inhabitants from these areas. The concept of national park in the Wildlife Act contemplates that there should be no human habitation, the court declared.

Outside the courtroom, Assam was undergoing a political churn at the time and Kaziranga was made a somewhat unlikely party to it.

The BJP had emerged as the most successful party in the 2014 Parliamentary elections, and was campaigning to dislodge the incumbent Congress in the 2016 state elections.

The party had liberally drawn on Kaziranga and its most famous inhabitant, the one-horned rhino, during its Lok Sabha election campaign, riding on increasing concerns about poaching, an emotive issue with the Assamese middle class. The rhino was Assams state animal, after all, and had become an enduring symbol of Assamese nationalism. The BJP left no stone unturned to make the poaching of rhinos in KNP into a highly-charged election issue, writes historian Arupjyoti Saikia in a recent essay.

For example, at a rally in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, Narendra Modi, then the BJPs prime ministerial candidate, accused the Congress-led state government of promoting the poaching of Kazirangas rhinos the pride of Assam to make space for illegal migrants.

It was the first time in the history of the state, observers say, that the issue of poaching was so explicitly fused with the contentious subject of undocumented migration to seek votes.

Commenting on the prime ministers speech, social scientist Sanjoy Barbora writes: For people who were about to vote for new representatives in the states legislative assembly, references to settlers and outsiders evoked memories of violence that had become a regular feature of political mobilisation in the state since the 1980s.

Not surprisingly, the BJP swept the Assam elections of 2016, riding largely on an anti-immigrant campaign that often invoked the rhino.

Not too long after, the government started its first eviction drive in Kaziranga, ostensibly to implement the 2015 courts order. The previous Congress government had not acted on it before it was voted out of power. But its target was not any of the additions, but the villages of Banderdubi, Deuchur-chang and Palkhowa.

In its order, the court had also asked for these villages to be cleared although they were not part of the national park or its additions at the time.

Banderdubi and Deuchur-chang were recorded as revenue villages in government records most inhabitants had permanent land titles. Yet the court said that the villages stood on what was once forest land and insisted that such land could not be de-reserved and converted to revenue village as the state government had done.

It is perhaps not so difficult to understand why the government chose these villages first: they were home largely to Muslims of immigrant origin, whom the BJP had branded as infiltrators in its high-pitched election campaign.

The eviction was an ugly affair two people died and several were injured as the police opened fire to disperse protesters resisting the demolition drive. But, cheered on by Assamese nationalist groups and the BJP high command, the state government maintained that eviction drives would continue.

They did not. In Kaziranga, things soon quietened down. The 2nd, 3rd, and 5th additions remained largely untouched (most of the 6th addition is the Brahmaputra river, barring some grazing fields with few human settlements, and the 4th addition is also largely uninhabited). District officials said eviction notices were issued in the 2nd addition, but they decided not to follow up on them, given the public sentiment at the time.

Although officials would not admit it in public, the reason behind the governments retreat is general knowledge in the area: the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th additions are inhabited largely by communities considered indigenous to Assam and tea tribes.

But just as the matter seemed to be slipping out off public consciousness, the high court took it up again in August, writing a letter to the forest department, asking for a status report.

On November 5, the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division issued a press statement saying the civil administration of Bokakhat sub-division under Golaghat district has handed over the 3rd and 5th addition areas to the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.

The Duttas home was in the 5th addition.

According to the official records, a total of 32 eviction notices have been issued so far all in the 3rd and 5th additions. The more heavily populated 2nd addition, home to around 600 families, most of them belonging to the Mising tribe, has been spared as of now. We are starting with the 3rd and 5th additions it will happen in a phased manner, said Shagufta Suheliy, circle officer of Bokakhat under which the additions fall. We have to consider multiple factors the 3rd and 5th additions amount to a significant amount of land.

Suheliy said discussions with those who stand to be evicted and those who have voluntarily retreated had been positive. They were sceptical initially, but now they have understood, said the official. We have told them they would receive fair compensation and it will be disbursed soon.

Many feel they have little choice but to move. The brute force of the 2016 evictions seems to have had a chilling effect. You cant fight with the government, said Niru Dutta, whose family also razed their home in October after an eviction notice. We saw what happened in Banderdubi we just hope that the government gives us compensation as they have promised soon.

For communities considered indigenous, the question of compensation is far from settled. In Halodhibari, an Adivasi dominated village that is partly located in the 5th addition, the demand is land in lieu of land. Here, the village commons where people farm are under threat people have been told their fields fall in the 5th addition.

What use is monetary compensation if we dont get land to farm? asked Ajay Karmakar, a farmer from the village. How will we survive without our farms? If the government agrees to give us fertile land somewhere else, we will talk.

Karmakar added: We want a village exactly like what we have the same people, the school, everything. It cant be that only people with land titles get compensation or land.

In Sildubi-2, part of the 2nd addition, there are similar conversations. The village came into being in 1972, when the state government settled people from the Mising community whose land had been swallowed by the Brahmaputra further east. If the animals have rights, so do we as the indigenous people of the land, said Mithun Pasang, a young man from the village. But for the sake of Kaziranga, we are willing to make sacrifices if the government gives us land somewhere else Guwahati, Delhi, Bokakhat we dont care, but it has to be fertile land where we can farm.

Just monetary compensation, though, Pasang specified, was not good enough.

Sunil Das, the headman of Sildubi-1, who challenged the additions with seven others in the high court, took a similar line. Land for land that is it, he said. We have given enough of our ancestral lands to Kaziranga already. You cant just draw a line in the map, call it an addition and ask us to leave. Where will we go?

Others have recalibrated their demands over time. Darsingh Hanse, the headman of a village largely inhabited by the Karbi community, was also one of the petitioners in the high court case challenging the additions. The Karbis stand to lose acres and acres of farmland that falls in the 3rd addition.

Now, the community is willing to give up the land for the right price, said Hanse. We are tired of fighting as it is our crops get destroyed by the animals all the time, he explained. We know we will become landless after that, but so be it. For the sake of Kaziranga, we will give up our land, but theres one thing people should know: we are not encroachers; we belong here.

Local land rights activists predict that most people who seem to be adamant about land in lieu of land will ultimately agree if given fair monetary compensation. People know that new land is not possible, said Deep Gogoi, a Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader from the area. They will move, but the compensation has to be right.

Indeed, Birsa Orang, the headman of Halodhibari, who had moved court along with Das and Hanse, was also more non-committal than younger men in the village. We will have to discuss with everyone our people, the forest officials, he said when asked about the plan of action.

Observers of the conflict over the years say it is not surprising that resistance is wearing off. Media, largely urban based, portray them as encroachers and unhealthy neighbours to a heritage site, said Biswajit Sarma, a researcher from the Indian Institute of Technology in Guwahati who works on Kaziranga. Obviously, nobody wants to live with such fears and slurs.

But how willingly people move would depend on the range and nature of compensation, he added. If compensation is solely determined by possession of permanent titles, several hundred families do not have it, said Sarma. People living in and around the park had settled there over the years under a variety of circumstances many of them were victims of erosion and rehabilitated by the government in those areas, explained Sarma.

Such historical and ecological factors behind village settlement are important in determining compensation and alternate livelihood opportunities, Sarma said. Evidence suggests that brutal dispossession leaves an intergenerational public memory. A hostile segment of population is inimical to the interest of the park and wildlife in the longer run.

Gogoi spoke along similar lines. The Misings of Sildubi dont have land titles, he said. But how can you call them encroachers each Mising person is akin to a land title themselves.

Conservationists and forest officials, however, say that time is running out and sentiments need to be kept aside. They went to court and lost, said Uttam Saikia, a local journalist and resident, and currently Kazirangas Honorary Wildlife Warden. Now they have no logic but only emotional pitches of indigenous, etc. What is illegal is illegal.

Saikia said if the additions were not cleared of human settlements quickly, trouble lay ahead. They are blocking corridors, forcing the animals to take other routes and that will inevitably lead to new human-animal conflicts, he said. My point is simple do you want to save Kaziranga or not?

Robin Sharma, research officer at the park, spoke of disappearing forest cover because of human settlements and the pressure it was putting on animal habitat. The rhino, even if it wants to, cannot just go anywhere else, he said. But people can definitely go to another town or village.

P Sivakumar, the parks director, said it was imperative that land additions be made to maintain the success story of rhino conservation in Kaziranga. Theres an upper limit on how many animals can sustain in a fixed area, he said. After that, we cannot have a healthy population.

With the current area at its disposal, the park cannot sustain more than 3,000 rhinos, said Sivakumar. It is currently home to around 2,400.

But local residents say that the rhino cant be saved at the expense of people. It is simply not possible, said Gogoi. From poaching to floods, we have always given protection to the rhinos. So if they think rhinos will thrive if they throw all humans out, they are wrong.

Observers say that the debate between contrasting views of conservation can only be settled through a long- term and comprehensive ecological study, which Kaziranga has never seen. We dont know the entire gamut of challenges the park faces and how far the current measures form logical solutions, said Sarma.

In India, he said, conservation was still subjected to the paradigm that only a complete separation of human and wildlife habitat will protect the wildlife. This was misguided, he felt: only a paradigm that assures inclusion and mutual trust can produce sustainable results in conservation.

Excerpt from:
As Kaziranga National Park spreads, residents tear down their homes before they are evicted - Scroll.in

USA TODAY Sports' Paul Myerberg breaks down the latest Amway Coaches Poll. USA TODAY

Florida quarterback Kyle Trask is the talk of college football.

Through six games, the senior has thrown 28 touchdowns in 211 attempts, putting him ahead of the record-setting pace set last season by LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, who would win the Heisman Trophy in a landslide.

The competition for the Heisman is a bit stiffer in 2020. In terms of college production, in fact, this year's quarterback class is ramping up to be one of the best in recent history.

Here's a look at the best of the best the 10 best Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks during a season when two dozen or more passers are under consideration.

1. Kyle Trask, Florida

Burrow played 15 games last season. Trask won't play as many during this unique year. But if his current pace is extrapolated across 15 games, Trask would ended up with 525 attempts, nearly exactly the same amount as Burrow (527) tossed in 2019. And at the rate set through six games, Trask would eclipse Burrow's mark of 60 passing touchdowns and throw for roughly the same amount of yardage (5,428 to Burrow's 5,671).

Trask's pace may be unsustainable. But it's worth noting that Burrow's 2019 totals included games against Georgia Southern, Northwestern State and Utah State. In nine conference games, Burrow threw 32 touchdowns on 10.4 yards per attempt. As noted, Trask is sitting at 28 scores on 10.3 yards per attempt through six games against the SEC.

BOWL PROJECTIONS: Notre Dame bolsters College Football Playoff chances

HEISMAN WATCH: Florida's Kyle Trask makes major move into second

FINAL FOUR: Where the College Football Playoff stands after Week 11

2. Justin Fields, Ohio State

Fields has a chance at reclaiming some national attention in this week's matchup against unbeaten Indiana. Through three games, he has as many touchdowns (11) as incompletions, which is nearly as mind-boggling as his completion percentage (86.7%).

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields has accounted for more touchdowns (13) than incompletions (11) this season(Photo: Jamie Sabau, Getty Images)

3. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson

After missing two games following his positive test for COVID-19, including Clemson's overtime loss to Notre Dame, Lawrence is scheduled to return Saturday against Florida State. The Seminoles are a friendly matchup: Lawrence has thrown seven touchdowns in his two games in this former rivalry, both lopsided wins. Through six games in 2020, Lawrence has made three appearances and 14 attempts in the fourth quarter.

4. Mac Jones, Alabama

Will Jones and this offense have any rust when Alabama retakes the field Saturday against Kentucky? The Crimson Tide haven't played since Halloween, with a normal off week followed by the cancellation of last week's game against LSU after the Tigers' outbreak of COVID-19 cases. Even withoutplayingthis month, Jones ranks eighth in the Bowl Subdivision in passing yards, first in yards per attempt and third in efficiency rating.

5. Zach Wilson, Brigham Young

As conferences races heat up in the Power Five and Group of Five, BYU is set to end its regular season against North Alabama and San Diego State. Can Wilson make enough noise in these games to remain in the Heisman mix? (The same can be asked of BYU's chances of being a College Football Playoff contender.) Even if not, Wilson's play in 2020 puts him in the upper echelon of passers in program history, which is a statement in itself given the Cougars' history at the position.

BYU quarterback Zach Wilson scores a touchdown against Louisiana Tech during the second half at LaVell Edwards Stadium.(Photo: Rick Bowmer, Pool photo via USA TODAY Sports)

6. Sam Howell, North Carolina

Howell can't be blamed for the play of the Tar Heels' defense, which has struggled against ACC competition and hit a low in Saturday's 59-53 win against Wake Forest. The sophomore is at his best when in a shootout, however: In the four games when UNC has given up at least 30 points,Howell has throw for 1,624 yards on 12.9 yards per attempt and 16 touchdowns with two interceptions.

7. D'Eriq King, Miami (Fla.)

While limited as a runner by Virginia Tech, which accounted for six sacks and eight tackles for loss, King threw for 255 yards and a score to key the Hurricanes' fourth-quarter comeback and 25-24 win. Though other factors are at play another offseason under coach Manny Diaz, other additions in recruiting and via transfers King's arrival from Houston this offseason has played an enormous role in Miami's development into an ACC and playoff contender.

8. Dillon Gabriel, Central Florida

With Gabriel under center, UCF leads the nation in passing plays of 20 or more yards (47), ranks second in plays of 30 or more yards (25), first in plays of 40 or more yards (17) and is one of two teams, with Alabama, with two or more completions of 80 or more yards. The sophomore is playing the best football of his young career heading into Saturday's matchup with Cincinnati.

9. Kellen Mond, Texas A&M

Overshadowed in the SEC by Trask and Jones, Mond has been terrific in his past two games, with a combined 484 yards and seven touchdowns without an interceptionin wins against Arkansas and South Carolina. The senior and multiple-year starter has A&M smack in the mix for a playoff berth.

10. Malik Willis, Liberty

The former Auburn transfer has a shot at joining the short list of FBS quarterbacks to post 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season. With three games left in coach Hugh Freeze's quarterback-friendly system,Willis has thrown for 1,645 yards on 9.1 yards per attempt and run for 700 yards on 7.1 yards per carry with a combined 24 touchdowns.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

See the original post:
Ranking the best QBs in college football through Week 11 of the 2020 season: Kyle Trask's pace is record-setting - USA TODAY