At least six people died in South Sudan when a small aircraft carrying passengers from Juba International Airport to the city of Yirol crashed, a witness said.
“We are still removing bodies from the water because the aircraft fell into a river,” the witness told Reuters news agency.
“So far, in front of me there are six bodies recovered from the water.”
Other reports said up to 17 people were killed in the crashed.
Officials said they are investigating the cause of Sunday’s crash.
“We have not yet established full details of the airline but what we know it is a 19-seater plane coming from Juba to Yirol this morning,” Taban Abel Aguek, regional information minister for the Eastern Great Lakes state, told AFP news agency.
“When it arrived the weather was so foggy and when it tried to land it crashed… Its so sad. Many people on board are feared dead. We are still establishing details,” he added.
Anglican Bishop of Yirol, Simon Adut, was confirmed among the dead, according to Abel.
Meanwhile, the United Nations radio station Radio Miraya reported there were only three survivors, and posted a picture on its Twitter account of the twisted wreckage of the plane submerged in water.
WARREN, Ohio—U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan wants you to know: Just because he meditates doesn’t mean he’s soft. He’s from Ohio’s blue-collar Mahoning Valley, the steel valley, home of Youngstown, a district where 45,000 people voted for both him and Donald Trump.
So if you’ve read that Congress’ foremost advocate of mindfulness wants to run for president in 2020 by winning the “yoga vote”—and if that seems risky against an incumbent with a Triumph-the-Insult-Comic-Dog attack style—well, that’s only part of Ryan’s story.
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“I think once you meet me, you realize I’m not necessarily some soft yoga guy,” says Ryan, a tall, well-built former high-school quarterback. “I’ve been on the picket line. I’ve been in the union halls. I’ll drink a Miller Lite with you.”
Fighter is a political compliment. Inner-peace seeker is not. But Ryan will tell you a candidate can be both. Ryan speaks in sports lingo even more than the average male pol. That’s how he pitches mindfulness to skeptics: It’s something he learned about from legendary former NBA coach Phil Jackson’s book, Sacred Hoops. “I always saw it as a performance enhancer,” Ryan says.
Sports talk is also how the eight-term congressman expresses the reasons he might, just might, run for president in 2020. “The only reason I entertain the conversations is that I’m tired of losing,” Ryan says. “I’m tired of playing defense.”
As Democrats try to reverse their 2016 losses in the Rust Belt, Ryan’s popularity in Ohio’s working class 13th Congressional District stands out. He far outran Hillary Clinton’s performance there, immune to her Midwestern collapse. When Ryan led a revolt against House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi in late 2016, he pitched a leadership shift away from the coasts and toward a pro-worker economic agenda. Pelosi doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, and Ryan lost that vote by a 2-1 margin—but his challenge seems prescient two years later, as roughly 60 Democratic House candidates have declared they will not support the much-demonized Pelosi for speaker.
This summer came reports that Ryan is open to taking on Pelosi again, or even running for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. A dozen bigger names might outrank Ryan on the presidential racing forms, he might be unknown outside Ohio and Capitol Hill, and he’s only 45. But Ryan believes he could help shape a Democratic answer to Trumpism that transcends geographic and economic boundaries—a coalition of yoga mats and hard hats.
Ryan’s traveling like a presidential candidate, hitting the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding dinner, going to California to fund-raise, barnstorming for Democrats in swing House districts, speaking at both the centrist Third Way think tank’s conference and the progressive Netroots Nation convention. He’s talking like a candidate, too.
“Maybe the country needs a scrapper, a guy who’s not going to take any prisoners—sportsmanlike, but play to win,” Ryan says. “We collectively should be helping the people who have gotten screwed for the last 30 years, and not apologize for it,” Ryan says. “So that’s why, at the very least, I’m going to be part of shaping the national discussion. The very least.”
***
A political prodigy, Ryan was elected to the Ohio state Senate at age 27 and the U.S. House at 29. He succeeded his former boss, Jim Traficant, Youngstown’s bombastic, profane proto-Trump congressman. Ryan ran for the House in 2002, the year Traficant was convicted of bribery and racketeering and expelled from the chamber. In the Democratic primary, Ryan took on incumbent Rep. Tom Sawyer of Akron, who was competing on new turf due to redistricting. Ryan beat Sawyer by pulling a Trump: bashing his votes for NAFTA and trade with China—a winning play in the anti-free trade Mahoning Valley. In the general election, Ryan won 51 percent in a three-way race against Traficant (who got 15 percent from jail) and a Republican.
Though a strong union supporter, Ryan developed a centrist reputation in Congress. He had an A rating from the NRA in his 2002 race. A practicing Roman Catholic, he opposed abortion rights. Then came his turning point.
On a days-long retreat after the 2008 election, Ryan found that meditation helped him cope with the congressional grind of traveling and fundraising. He quickly integrated mindfulness into his policy program. “I recognized its potential to help transform core institutions in America—school, hospitals, the military, and social services,” Ryan wrote in his 2012 book, A Mindful Nation. “I felt that this simple practice could help my constituents face the many stressful challenges of daily life.”
Ryan advocates teaching mindfulness in schools and has sponsored deep-breathing and meditation programs in his district for veterans suffering from PTSD. “People will tease me a little bit about it,” Ryan says, “but you would be surprised at the amount of people who come up to me and say they’ve tried it, or they read my book and how much it’s helped them.”
As Ryan has embraced mindfulness, he’s also moved to the left politically, including on issues that fall along cultural fault lines.
After the December 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, he distanced himself from the NRA, and after the 2017 Las Vegas massacre, he gave $20,000—the amount the NRA had contributed to his campaigns over the years—to gun-safety groups.
In 2015, Ryan announced that he now supported abortion rights, influenced by constituents who’d chosen abortion because of abuse and personal hardships. “Today, I am a 41-year-old father and husband,” he wrote in an Akron Beacon Journal op-ed. “I have come a long way since being a single, 26-year-old state senator.” Marriage and fatherhood influenced him. The final step in his rethinking, he says, came before the 2014 birth of their son, Brady, as Ryan and his wife, Andrea, nervously awaited the results of prenatal testing. “As we were sitting there, I thought to myself, ‘Man, if something’s really, really wrong here, should the government be in this room, telling us what we should or should not do?’ I’ve got a little bit of that libertarian streak in me on certain issues, and I was like, ‘You can’t do this anymore.’”
Ryan joined the healthy-food movement with his second book, 2014’s The Real Food Revolution, itself a mix of feel-good self-help and crunchy policy proposals (decentralization of seed production, labeling of GMOs). He voted against this year’s farm bill after writing op-eds about the need to help family farmers more and reduce subsidies for big agriculture.
This year, he endorsed marijuana legalization, citing the potential for new tax revenue and the “unjust” fact that “the burden of these low-level drug charges fall on minority communities.”
Republicans portray Ryan’s changed positions as a sign that he lacks core values. “Obviously, his ambitions are higher than his current status,” says Ohio Republican Party chair Jane Timken. “He seemed to be a Blue Dog moderate Democrat when he first ran. Now he’s espousing very liberal positions. I see him as more of an opportunist than a principled Democrat.”
Even so, you’ll still see Ryan described as centrist sometimes. Last year, he broke with his party to support a corporate tax cut, though he ended up voting against the tax-reform law. He’s not that far left. He says he opposes a federal jobs-guarantee program: “I think the path forward is to get private capital into communities and create a new and better free enterprise system,” he says.
But he’s not that centrist, either. He has supported single-payer health care since at least 2007, and he’s a reliable vote for labor and against free trade, earning a 98 percent lifetime rating from the AFL-CIO.
“I think he’s gotten much better over the years, and really matured as an officeholder,” says Harriet Applegate, executive secretary of the North Shore AFL-CIO in Cleveland. Applegate, who has worked with Ryan on statewide labor issues, recalls the young Ryan as a “swashbuckling maverick.” She thinks his mindfulness training has mellowed the swagger. “He’s made himself a more complete person and shed some of that uber-masculinity.”
In an interview with ABC News’ Dan Harris just after Trump’s inauguration, Ryan said he hoped meditation could help him see through Trump’s bombast to find an issue they could work on together. Did it work? Ryan laughs. “It helped me not get frustrated when he has not worked with us,” he says. Like some other Democrats, he’d hoped to work with Trump on infrastructure and maybe health care. “I thought there were going to be a few issues that we would maybe find some common ground on. And then he came right in and torched the joint.”
Trump’s belligerence seems to threaten a lot of Americans’ inner peace — causing them extreme stress, even trauma. Can mindfulness help? Ryan, who meditates for about 25 minutes each morning, suggests politically minded people should claim some quiet, silent time every day. “Do it for a week or two, and you will notice that there’s a little bit of space between stimulus and response,” Ryan says. “We can get so overstimulated that we get hyper-reactive and we develop habitual reactions, to Trump, or politics, or our own personal relationships. It helps you create a little bit of space that will get your blood pressure down.”
***
Ohio’s Mahoning Valley used to vote deep-blue in presidential elections, but no longer. Hillary Clinton beat Trump in Ryan’s 13th Congressional District, but only 51 percent to 44 percent, a plummet from Barack Obama’s 63-36 win over Mitt Romney there four years earlier. Trump’s opposition to free trade helped him in Ohio, Ryan thinks, as did the fact that many voters there were still struggling after eight years of Obama. “Because he was a Republican breaking orthodoxy, I think people gave him a chance,” Ryan says.
Ryan, though, won with 68 percent of the vote, beating his Republican opponent by 36 percentage points and outrunning Clinton in his district by 45,000 votes. That means roughly 45,000 of Ryan’s supporters in 2016 were Ryan-Trump voters.
Ryan says he’ll often chat with people who tell him they voted for him and for Trump, to understand their thinking. “Most of the time, it’s not an issue,” Ryan says—it’s about attitude. “Maybe it’s China. Maybe it’s taking on the system.” He thinks his constituents respect his early runs against fellow Democrats and his challenge of Pelosi. “People around here see me as the guy who was always taking on the establishment,” he says. “I’ve been on picket lines with them, and just lived with them for 16 years, so they know I’m with them.”
Ryan points me to Leo Connelly, a retired salesman and Vietnam veteran in the Youngstown suburb of Boardman, who voted for him and Trump. Connelly led the Pledge of Allegiance at a 2016 Trump rally and organized the president’s 2017 visit to a Mahoning Valley AMVETS chapter. Connelly’s Facebook feed includes messages of support for Trump — and pictures of Connelly posing with Ryan at the dedication of a local veteran’s painting of George Washington.
“This guy goes to bat and fights for us,” Connelly says of Ryan. “He fights for us veterans and a better country.” Connelly says he’s all for Ryan’s interest in meditation, because it’s a way to help vets with PTSD. “Do we always agree? No. But we do agree on China, the military and veterans’ issues. He never stops fighting.”
Connelly says Ryan “comes from a blue-collar working family.” Ryan was raised in Niles, a one-time ironmaking town, by his single mother, Rochelle, a courthouse worker.
“I think Tim Ryan gets where the working class is coming from in a way that a lot of Democrats don’t, and in a way the coastal Democrats seem not to,” says the AFL-CIO’s Applegate.
Ryan says the Democrats need a sharper economic message to win. He’s for a $15 minimum wage, but says that’s not enough. Many of his constituents, he says, lost $30 to $40 per hour jobs in the 2000s when the automotive supplier Delphi moved work from Warren to Mexico.
“We are all for the ‘fight for 15,’ but my people were making $40 an hour, and now they’re making $15,” Ryan says. “We need to be a party saying, ‘We are not going to be happy until we get those $30, $40, $50 an hour jobs back for working-class people.”
Ryan says the “A Better Deal” agenda proposed by congressional Democratic leaders, including Pelosi, isn’t bold enough. He wants to rebuild communities “bypassed by globalization” by eliminating all blighted buildings within three to four years, wiring the communities with broadband, and funding education and early-stage startups.
Does Ryan want a rematch with Pelosi for the job of minority leader, or even speaker? “The door is open,” he says. “Clearly, she does not play well in a lot of the districts that we need to win.”
Pelosi has been dismissive of her once-and-maybe-future challenger. She called Ryan and fellow Pelosi critic Seth Moulton “inconsequential” in a July Rolling Stone interview. “They don’t have a following in our caucus. None,” she said. “I can’t even think that they think it’s a good idea to say, ‘We have the first woman speaker, and now we’re going to say we’re not going to do that.’”
Those are fighting words in a Democratic Party that seems increasingly torn between a political approach dominated by identity versus one defined by economics. Could taking on Pelosi hurt Ryan with Democratic women if he runs for president in 2020?
Ryan waves off the question. “My opposition to Nancy Pelosi has nothing to do with her. We’re down 1,000 state legislative seats [since 2009]. We lost 68 seats in Congress [between 2009 and 2015]. We keep losing. And, on behalf of women, on behalf of people of color, on behalf of working-class whites and immigrants — we need to win. We have a moral obligation to win, and we’re not.”
As identity’s importance grows in politics, Ryan’s trying to straddle at least two worlds in the Democrats’ fraying coalition. He sells meditation to the working class with appeals to star-athlete yogis, mentally disciplined Navy SEALs and veterans soothing their PTSD.
But what about the other way around?
In the Trump era, Democratic primary voters may not be interested in a Rust Belt-based white guy who hasn’t given up on winning over Trump voters. If the wellness vote or yoga vote is more deep-blue, professional and feminine than the hard-hat vote, can Ryan get the mindful to keep an open mind?
“I would hope that people who are spending time calming themselves down, taking care of themselves, would be slightly less judgmental,” Ryan says, and “at least open their hearts up to understanding why some of these folks voted for Trump. Obviously, something was going wrong. Obviously, they wanted something different.”
At the height of the refugee crisis in 2015, the Netherlands took around 60,0000 refugees. Now the country is looking at how to integrate those who claimed asylum.
In a former sports ground in southwest Amsterdam, the “Startblok” housing complex accommodates refugees and Dutch people aged between 18 and 28.
It is partly run by the municipality of Amsterdam and features 565 units – studios and shared apartments – and communal living spaces.
As well as an integration platform, it is an important addition in a city where demand for housing often outstrips supply.
The block opened in 2016 and many of its residents have lived there from the beginning.
The Startblok accomodates both young refugees and Dutch people in a bid to foster inter-cultural understanding [Katy Fallon/Al Jazeera]
Al Jazeera spoke to refugees in the Starblok about Dutch culture.
‘The Dutch are direct’
Razan, 23, Syria:
“In the beginning when I moved here, I really hated it. I felt like I was in a new refugee camp but at some point, you make your room yours.
I’ve made it my personal space so I feel better about the place now. The nice thing is that every year we have a festival, so we get to know each other better.
From my perspective, however, it didn’t really help cultures mix. You still see the same nationalities hanging around with each other.
Sometimes [directness] could be considered rude in other cultures, but at some point, you’re done with the fake sweetness they have in Arab cultures.
Razan, 23-year-old Syrian refugee
I’m on the ground floor and when I first moved here, there was someone at my window looking in a lot.
You don’t know if it’s OK in this person’s culture but I didn’t feel safe. It’s not perfect but it’s not horrible.
I don’t really like Dutch food but what I do like about the Dutch is that they are very direct and honest.
Sometimes it could be considered rude in other cultures, but at some point, you’re done with the fake sweetness they have in Arab cultures.
When I came here I thought that’s something I like, they say what they mean.”
‘They plan things so far ahead there isn’t room for spontaneity’
Noh, 26, Eritrea:
“I’ve lived in Holland for three years and in the Starblok for two. I now work in Rotterdam and I’m helping to digitise the Eritrean language.
In the beginning the Startblok wasn’t somewhere I wanted to live because it was just a placement for the municipality, but later on, when I met people I started to realise the importance of it.
At the start, there were some misunderstandings but now it’s a common culture of everyone: you kind of create your own culture here.
I used to work here too. There’s a foundation which is a part of the block and that opened up a lot of ways for me to meet people.
I’ve met a lot of Dutch people by living here.
When I first arrived in Holland, there were a lot of differences I had to get used to.
Dutch people are very direct which I like and they are also always on time.
However, they plan things so far ahead all the time there isn’t much room for spontaneity. I don’t see myself leaving Holland though. I’m now about to start a degree in cultural anthropology and the future seems brighter here.”
‘The lifestyle is regimented’
Syreez, 23, Syria
“I’ve been living in the Startblok for two years.
When I first came to Amsterdam I didn’t like it, I know that for many people it’s the craziest city but I felt it was a bit boring and the lifestyle was very regimented: everyone just works five days a week and looks forward to their next holiday.
What I do like about the Dutch is their directness, I actually like that so much. In Syrian culture, the people aren’t really direct at all.
Syreez, 23, says she found the Dutch lifestyle boring at first [Katy Fallon/Al Jazeera]
The Startblok is nice but I’m not really connecting to the other people there. This is probably because I’m studying a lot so I really just go there to sleep.
The idea of it is really nice and it’s good that they wanted us to integrate in this way.
I met one of my best friends who is Dutch at the Startblok.
I don’t always think that they are successful in bringing everyone together. Sometimes they have workshops that not many people go to. I do like the point of it: After all, it is teaching people from both cultures about each other.”
‘It’s difficult trying to learn Dutch’
Nasr, 24, Syria:
“Integration is not an easy word. When I first moved to the Netherlands I had no idea what Dutch people were like.
I think it can be hard to get them to trust you but in general, I’ve found that the people I’ve met here have been very friendly and welcoming.
Sometimes it’s difficult trying to learn Dutch as you speak to people in Dutch but they will just speak back to you in English because they speak it so well. You have to be strong and insist that they speak to you in Dutch.
It was difficult to integrate, but I started going out and learning, speaking to people and finding a job. Now most of my friends are Dutch
Nasr, 24-year-old Syrian refugee
Living in the Startblok has been amazing. I wouldn’t have made the amount of friends I’ve made in two years if I’d been living alone.
There are so many different cultures here and I have made friends from many different places.
I don’t see myself moving away for at least another two years.
Nasr, a 24-year-old Syrian refugee, is trying to learn Dutch but finds people prefer speaking to him in English [Al Jazeera]
It was difficult at the beginning, it was difficult to integrate, but I started going out and learning, speaking to people and finding a job.
Now, most of my friends are Dutch.”
‘I don’t think that there is enough care for the people’
Fares, 28, Palestine:
“I think I come from a different perspective as I’m actually working in integration so I’m a bit critical of Startblok.
The concept of it is really amazing; it’s one of the biggest integration concepts as people are actually living together not just taking language courses.
I do think that there needs to be more done to look after some of the people living there who have certain needs that aren’t being met.
Fares is 28 years old and from Palestine. He says more effort needs to be made to support integration [Katy Fallon/Al Jazeera]
The Startblok should be a model for further integration projects like this but the people running it aren’t integration experts. From my perspective, I don’t think it’s going very well in the sense that I don’t think that there is enough care for the people living there.
It was good for meeting people though and in general, I like Holland: it’s got one of the highest qualities of life in the world. Dutch people are really nice but they are different too and I think that what we need to do is find the bridges between us.”
On a streak-ending Saturday that saw few upsets and many of the nation’s top teams hold serve, it was more about style points than who lost.
While powerhouses Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Ohio State continued to build their impressive early-season resumes, Clemson survived a 28-26 scare on the road against Texas A&M at Kyle Field.
Notre Dame avoided a post-Michigan hiccup by barely beating Ball State, 24-16, and Stanford announced its return to the Pac-12 picture with a patented Cardinal thumping of USC in Palo Alto, California.
So, how did all that action affect our rankings?
Bleacher Report’s panel of experts—Matt Hayes, David Kenyon, Adam Kramer, Kerry Miller, Brad Shepard and Ian Wharton—voted on the action. A first-place vote is worth 25 points, followed by 24 points for second, 23 for third, etc.
David Shaw and his rugged Stanford Cardinal team are back to being a Pac-12 force. That was on full display Saturday night when a young USC team visited and left town looking like a bunch of frustrated freshmen in a 17-3 loss.
A week after disposing of San Diego State to open the season, the Cardinal played yet another dominant game, manhandling the Trojans in all areas. Bryce Love forgot his off-night against the Aztecs with 136 rushing yards, and K.J. Costello added 183 through the air.
Perhaps most impressive was the defense, which hearkened back to several years ago when the Derek Mason-led units were among the nation’s best, stifling some of those stout USC and Oregon teams.
With the Trojans mounting a last-ditch effort, Malik Antoine intercepted JT Daniels to cap a frustrating night for the talented freshman signal-caller. It put the perfect punctuation on the contest for Stanford. Antoine added another pick for good measure.
“I’m going to say this in the most respectful way possible: All we hear about is all the great athletes at USC. We’ve got great athletes,” Shaw told Fox’s Bruce Feldman during the postgame interview. “It was a good matchup, and our guys play well. We can play much better.”
They were just as athletic and more physical, too.
Barstool Stanford @StoolStanford
Just another view to show how RUTHLESS Bryce Love’s stiff arm actually is
It remains to be seen if Shaw’s team can be a national force, especially because its old-school brand of football stands out as an anomaly. They field a hard-nosed defense, run the ball between the tackles and play exceptional special teams.
It’ll be interesting watching the clash of style between Stanford and Oregon on Sept. 22, and Washington looms later. But the Cardinal should be firmly in the conversation as one of the most impressive early-season teams with Saturday’s thorough handling of USC.
Who’s not: SEC East “pretenders”
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
One team’s upset hopes were quickly history. The other squad made the wrong kind of history.
It was a bad day to be a ranked SEC East team not named Georgia.
All the talk about South Carolina’s being a trendy upset pick over the visiting Bulldogs fizzled in a flurry.
Nothing was flashy about Georgia’s 41-17 annihilation of the Gamecocks. But it didn’t change the fact that the ‘Cocks got clocked in every facet of the game in what was supposed to be a marquee matchup.
The Gamecocks allowed three Georgia running backs to score, yielded 30 first downs and endured a pedestrian performance from quarterback Jake Bentley, who threw two interceptions, including a momentum-squelching early pick that gave the Bulldogs the game’s first score.
Will Muschamp‘s team also finished with a measly 54 rushing yards. All of that equalled a rout at the rocking Williams-Brice Stadium.
Meanwhile, Kentucky erased 31 years of misery and recent years of oh-so-close losses by going into the Swamp and upsetting AP No. 25 Florida with a gutsy performance and a 27-16 final tally. It proved ranking the Gators after Week 1 was premature, and there’s still a long way to go for that rebuild.
At this point, it looks like smooth sailing into the SEC title game for Georgia unless somebody emerges in that scuffling division. The Wildcats may be legit, but Florida didn’t look good Saturday night.
Neither the Gamecocks nor Gators should be in this week’s polls.
Fun fact: Kansas beats Central Michigan, 31-7, to snap a nine-year road losing streak
Ed Zurga/Getty Images
Maybe it’s a little poetic that the last time the Kansas Jayhawks football team won a road game, the No. 1 song in the nation was “I Gotta Feeling (That Tonight’s Gonna Be a Good Night)” by the Black Eyed Peas.
They didn’t play at night, but Saturday was a great day to be a Jayhawk.
The sad thing is, their last road win was all the way back on Sept. 12, 2009. That’s a streak of futility consisting of 46 consecutive losses away from home. The good thing for the Jayhawks is that streak of ineptitude is over.
They join the Kentucky Wildcats for getting the biggest gorilla off their backs Saturday.
That win was so long ago (against UTEP) that the notorious Mark Mangino was the head Kansas coach, muddling through his final season in Lawrence.
The Jayhawks used an opportunistic defense to force six Chippewas turnovers, and they celebrated appropriately afterward.
Fun Fact No. 2: Buckeyes add to historic excellence
Joe Robbins/Getty Images
With yet another lopsided, soul-crushing 52-3 win over an overmatched Rutgers team, Ohio State added to its impressive early-season resume.
It also made it into some elite company, joining rival Michigan as the only college football teams in history with 900 or more victories, according to ESPN Stats & Info. There have been many brilliant players and legendary coaches to lead the Buckeyes, and they hope this season is special, too.
After a headline-filled offseason, Ohio State has proved the Urban Meyersuspension hasn’t affected its on-field play. Dwayne Haskins is an early-season Heisman Trophy candidate, there are waves of talented running backs and the defense looks as strong as any in the nation.
The Scarlet Knights had no answers for OSU. They shouldn’t hang their heads too low; 899 other teams felt the same way after playing the Buckeyes.
Keep an eye on: a pair of AAC sleepers
Jason Behnken/Associated Press
Most of the Group of Five conversation so far has centered on Central Florida and Boise State, and rightfully so. Both of those teams have solid rosters and should be in the mix for a major bowl all year.
But another couple of American Athletic Conference squads are quietly sneaking up on solid early seasons after registering wins over Power Five opponents Saturday.
South Florida has moved on from the Quinton Flowers era with former Alabama and Arizona State quarterback Blake Barnett, and it looks like his third school is the charm. He racked up 202 passing yards, 91 rushing yards and four total touchdowns in a 49-38 win over Georgia Tech.
Fellow AAC member Houston dominated Arizona 45-18, smothering quarterback Khalil Tate early to drop head coach Kevin Sumlin to 0-2. With new offensive coordinator Kendal Briles dialing up dimes and the Ed Oliver-led defense looking stout at times, the Cougars may make some noise in the conference, too.
Both teams are worth monitoring. Either could wind up representing those “other” conferences in big bowls.
What to watch for
Jim Cowsert/Associated Press
LSU at Auburn (3:30 p.m. ET)
This game could be everything for the SEC West that Georgia-South Carolina was supposed to be (and wasn’t) for the East. That side of the conference is by far the deepest again, and the two sets of Tigers look like contenders.
Between these teams, Mississippi State and possibly even Texas A&M, Alabama will have a tough road to the SEC title game again in 2018. Both of these defenses are playing stellar, and both teams feasted on cupcakes in Week 2.
Jordan-Hare Stadium will be rocking, and if LSU wins, Ed Orgeron’s program stability looks a whole lot stronger.
Ohio State at TCU (8 p.m.)
Haskins is one of the two candidates, along with Oklahoma signal-caller Kyler Murray, for the breakout early-season star.
The Ohio State first-year quarterback starter is efficient, possesses a big-time arm and is posting remarkable numbers. But the Buckeyes head to AT&T Stadium for a prime-time showdown with TCU on Saturday that would go a long way toward proving they’re once again for real.
If the Buckeyes can get pressure on young Horned Frogs quarterback Shawn Robinson, it could be a long game. These are the types of matchups TCU coach Gary Patterson normally has his players prepared for, so it’ll be interesting to see if that remains the same.
This should be a fun nonconference feast for us all.
USC at Texas (8 p.m.)
This matchup in Austin is the early front-runner for the Overrated Bowl, but that doesn’t take away much of the intrigue of the Trojans’ return trip in the series after last year’s 27-24 win in double overtime.
The Longhorns followed a season-opening loss to Maryland with a sputtering 28-21 win over Tulsa on Saturday, and the Trojans showed their youth in a stumbling road loss to Stanford. Now, both teams must get back on track to satisfy expectations.
Neither squad really was predicted to win its conference, but these are two young, talented teams in need of a spark. They’re powerhouses in name only, but it still should be a fun game.
Polls have opened in Sweden’s legislative elections on Sunday, with the far-right expected to win a record score as voters unhappy about immigration punish one of the few remaining left-wing governments in Europe.
Polling institutes have suggested the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats (SD) could win anywhere between 16 and 25 percent of the vote, which would give it significant influence, making it impossible to predict the make-up of the next government.
The party with roots in the neo-Nazi movement has called the arrival of almost 400,000 asylum seekers since 2012 a threat to Swedish culture, and claims they are straining Sweden’s generous welfare state.
The traditionally two biggest parties, the Social Democrats and the conservative Moderates, were together predicted to win around 40 percent, down by 10 percentage points from the last elections in 2014.
Candidates from the eight parties campaigned down to the wire on Saturday, targeting in particular the 20 percent of the 7.5 million eligible voters believed to still be undecided.
Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has repeatedly called the legislative elections a “referendum on the future of the welfare state”.
But the far right has presented it as a vote on immigration and integration, after Sweden took in more than 160,000 asylum seekers in 2015 alone, a per capita record in Europe.
‘No racists on our streets’
On the eve of the election, Lofven condemned “the hateful forces” in Sweden.
He urged voters to “think about how they wanted to use their time on Earth”, calling on them to “stand on the right side of history”.
Moderates leader Ulf Kristersson meanwhile said that after the election, Sweden would need “a strong cross-bloc cooperation to isolate the forces… pushing for Sweden to withdraw from international cooperation”.
In southern Sweden, an SD stronghold, party leader Akesson campaigned among throngs of supporters as detractors booed him and shouted “No racists on our streets!”
“We’re now competing against the Social Democrats and Moderates to become the biggest party in the country,” he said, dismissing the protesters as “communists”.
Around 7.5 million Swedes are eligible to cast a ballot on Sunday.
Polling stations opened across the country at 8am (06:00 GMT) and close at 8pm (18:00 GMT), with first estimates expected soon afterwards.
Final results are due before midnight (22:00 GMT), but the composition of the next government may not be known for weeks.
UFC 228 didn’t have the most hype surrounding it, but it’s safe to say it exceeded expectations.
Tyron Woodley—often panned for boring performances as champion—turned in a dominating second-round submission victory over Darren Till to close out the night, marking T-Wood’s third title defense.
Woodley established his wrestling early, threatening with takedown attempts and neutralizing a slow-starting Till with the clinch.
Then Woodley turned things on in the second round, landing a crushing right hand that floored Till and started the ending sequence:
After an extended sequence on the ground, the champion worked his way to a D’Arce choke and forced the tap from the challenger. Michael Carroll of FightMetric provided the statistical context for the one-sided beatdown.
Michael Carroll @MJCflipdascript
Official: Woodley connects with 57 signfiicant strikes, holds Darren Till to zero. Till landed one total strike. #UFC228
After more than one lackluster defense of the title, this was the kind of performance Woodley needed to gain respect as a champion that can carry a pay-per-view. It’s hard to argue that he isn’t working on shedding the label:
Brett Okamoto @bokamotoESPN
Since January 2015, Woodley has defeated Kelvin Gastelum (fighting for mw title), Robbie Lawler (Robbie freakin’ Lawler), Stephen Thompson (one of most talented strikers in MMA history), Demian Maia (arguably the best grappler in MMA history) and an undefeated Darren Till. Damn.
Much like Woodley, the card surprised fans with a lineup of fights that were well worth watching. Here’s a look at the complete results from the evening and a closer look at each of the main card bouts.
Simon Head @simonhead
#UFC228 was a cracker of show. Eight of the nine televised fights produced a finish, we saw two strong contenders emerge in the women’s strawweight division and Tyron Woodley showed his class with a championship performance in the main event. Dallas delivered.
Main card
Tyron Woodley def. Darren Till via submission (R2, 4:19)
Jessica Andrade def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via first-round KO (1:57)
Zabit Magomedsharipov def. Brandon Davis via submission (kneebar) (R2, 3:46)
Jimmie Rivera def. John Dodson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Niko Price via first-round KO (0:43)
Undercard
Tatiana Suarez def. Carla Esparza via third-round TKO (4:33)
Aljamain Sterling def. Cody Stamann via submission (kneebar) (R2, 3:42)
Geoff Neal def. Frank Camacho via second-round KO (1:23)
Darren Stewart def. Charles Byrd via second-round TKO (2:17)
Diego Sanchez def. Craig White via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Jim Miller def. Alex White via submission (RNC) (R1, 1:29)
The women’s strawweight title picture is fairly crowded right now, but Jessica Andrade did her best to make it much more clear against Karolina Kowalkiewicz. The Brazilian landed an impressive one-punch knockout to win the co-main event.
Andrade set the tone early, wobbling the Polish kickboxer from the opening bell, but Kowalkiewicz fought back and landed clean shots of her own.
Trading punches with Andrade at strawweight has proved to be a recipe for disaster, though. Kowalkiewicz found that out when an Andrade looping hook brought the bout to an end.
After the fight, Andrade did her best to plead for a card that already has a heavy Brazilian presence:
MMAFighting.com @MMAFighting
Andrade: Dana, I’m ready. I’m here to prove I’m better than I’ve ever been. There are two Brazilians fighting for a title on the year-end card — I want to be fighting on that card, too. #UFC228
Andrade has been deadly since moving to women’s strawweight. She’s won six of seven fights in the weight class, and her only loss was against former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. With Rose Namajunas now holding the belt, Andrade is the no-brainer next fighter up to challenge.
If this performance is any indication, she might be the favorite in that matchup.
Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Brandon Davis
Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images
One day, Zabit Magomedsharipov will finally get a ranked opponent. Until then, fans are just going to have to enjoy the beatdowns that he puts on inferior competition. Brandon Davis came in on short notice and survived one-and-a-half rounds before being submitted with a slick kneebar.
Magomedsharipov was patient in the first round, gauging Davis and allowing him to get off to a good start. As the round progressed, the Russian was able to open up with some violent takedowns:
In the second phase of the fight, the winner got a little more aggressive on the ground and ultimately sunk in a funky kneebar that drew the tap and added even more momentum to his hype train.
UFC Canada @UFC_CA
4-0 in the UFC! @Zabit_MMA with another INSANE submission win at #UFC228! https://t.co/sgXv8DBKty
Magomedsharipov is clearly a cut above anyone who doesn’t have a number beside his name, so the time is now to get him a ranked opponent so that he can prove where he belongs in the featherweight hierarchy.
Jimmie Rivera vs. John Dodson
Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images
The air might have taken the biggest beating in the bantamweight bout between Jimmie Rivera and John Dodson. That’s what most strikes in the fight hit as Rivera picked up a unanimous decision victory.
Rivera was the aggressor for most of the three rounds, however, Dodson’s usual athleticism and movement made him an elusive target.
Still, there were moments in which Rivera’s strikes found their target:
This wasn’t the most memorable performance. It won’t win Rivera or Dodson any fans, but it is a much needed return to the winner’s circle for Rivera. He suffered his first UFC loss at the hands of Marlon Moraes last time out.
For Dodson this just continues a trend of inconsistency. He’s alternated wins and losses over his last seven fights and simply doesn’t appear to be the contender he once was.
Niko Price vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Don’t be fooled by the Disney music. You don’t want to stand with Abdul Razak Alhassan.
The Fort Worth, Texas, native came into the Dallas arena to a frenzied crowd with Elton John’s “Circle of Life” blaring through the speakers. A unique sight to be sure, but it preceded a display of violence that should be scary for others in the welterweight division.
He took just 43 seconds to melt Niko Price. With Price looking to stand and exchange rather than take down the powerful striker, Alhassan buried his opponent under a barrage of punches.
Jordan Breen of Sherdog praised the 33-year-old’s power:
Jordan Breen @jordanbreen
Called that a mile away. Don’t swing them with Razak Al-Hassan, ever. This guy is still green as hell in the game, but he has that mutant freak one-touch death power.
With three straight first-round knockouts, its safe to say Alhassan is a fighter fans will see on more pay-per-view cards.
No. 10 Stanford opened its Pac-12 slate with a 17-3 win over No. 17 USC at Stanford Stadium on Saturday night.
Running back Bryce Love came alive with 22 carries for 136 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback K.J. Costello went 16-of-27 for 183 yards and a score to push Stanford to 2-0
USC’s offense, which was not nearly as prolific, produced 3.1 yards per carry and received a shaky outing from freshman quarterback JT Daniels. The former 5-star recruit finished 16-of-34 for 215 yards and two interceptions as USC dropped to 1-1 following a win over UNLV in its season opener.
Bryce Love’s Heisman Stock Shows Signs of Life
Fear not, Stanford fans: Bryce Love has arrived.
One week after last year’s second-leading rusher was bottled up to the tune of 29 yards against San Diego State, the 2017 Heisman Trophy runner-up returned to form by cracking the century mark and scoring his first touchdown of the season.
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It’s a good thing Love found his footing, too, considering his primary Heisman Trophy competition has started the season scalding hot.
Chief among that group is Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa—who has racked up 455 passing yards, 46 rushing yards and seven total touchdowns after beating out Jalen Hurts for the starting job.
Likewise, Oklahoma signal-caller Kyler Murray has blistered opposing defenses with 515 passing yards, 92 rushing yards and seven scores in a pair of wins.
As far as backfield candidates go, Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor has logged a cool 199 yards per game on the ground with five touchdowns to his name.
Following Saturday’s effort, Love is back on the radar with those big names.
But in order to stay there, he’s going to need more consistent results running between the tackles after his three biggest runs (59 yards, 28 yards and 14 yards) were all bounced to the outside.
A full-fledged eruption should be in store next weekend against UC Davis.
USC Offense Still Work-In-Progress with JT Daniels at QB
Last season, Georgia watched as true freshman Jake Fromm took the reins and led the Bulldogs to a spot in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Likewise, Alabama hoisted the title hardware thanks to a heroic performance from Tagovailoa, then a true freshman, in the all-SEC tilt.
Fair or not, those efforts skewed the expectations that have been placed on first-year quarterbacks—including USC’s JT Daniels.
And after Saturday’s effort, it’s safe to say the Trojans offense will need a few more weeks, at least, until it settles into a rhythm with Daniels under center.
Ryan Phillips @RumorsandRants
You can complain about the playcalling all you want but the fact is that #USC is hamstrung by having a true freshman quarterback. Starting JT Daniels was the right call, but there were always going to be growing pains. You’re seeing them right now.
Alden Gonzalez @Alden_Gonzalez
Clay Helton has taken heat for how his USC teams have performed against elite opponents, but it’s hard to judge that this year, with such a young, inexperienced quarterback. JT Daniels may be great someday, but he has left a lot of throws on the field tonight.
As one would expect, the 18-year-old didn’t look all that comfortable against a swarming Stanford front seven, and he made a slew of errant throws—including an interception in the end zone on a throw that could have helped cut the deficit to 17-10 with 2:22 remaining in regulation.
Of course, the offense’s struggles weren’t all on Daniels.
ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo
The USC Trojans were held without a touchdown for the third time in that last 25 years.
The other two instances came in 2016 against Alabama and 1997 against Washington. https://t.co/wM5yxuGBVa
USC’s protection was in a constant state of disarray, and the ground game didn’t take any pressure off the freshman in a winnable game.
At the very least, though, it’s clear the Trojans will need to exercise patience in the weeks ahead.
K.J. Costello Proves He Can Keep Stanford’s Offense Afloat
With defenses stacking the box to contain Love, the pressure shifted to Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello to keep the chains moving early on.
Lucky for head coach David Shaw, the junior was up to the task.
Although Costello didn’t light it up statistically, he led two first-half scoring drives and made a pinpoint touchdown pass to tight end Colby Parkinson late in the first half to help put Stanford up by 14:
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Now, it has to be noted that Costello had the benefit of working from almost exclusively clean pockets against a nonexistent USC pass rush.
But Given Love’s inability to find daylight in the first half—he had 40 yards total during that stretch, 37 of which came on the opening drive—Costello’s composure allowed the Cardinal to seize momentum and never look back.
Costello will need to follow that blueprint in big spots on the road against Oregon (Sept. 22) and Notre Dame (Sept. 29) if Stanford wants to keep its resume blemish-free entering October.
What’s Next?
USC will head to the Lone Star State for a nationally televised showdown with the Texas Longhorns on Saturday. Stanford, meanwhile, will enjoy a third straight home game when UC Davis comes to town.
Alhassan with a blistering KO in an under a minute. Dallas getting its money’s worth tonight.
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Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Niko Price: Round 1
Price counters hard off of a Alhassan leg kick. Alhassan throwing bombs. Price countering well, but Alhassan just landing huge shots. Lands clean. Price is out. Goodness.
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Aaron Bronsteter @aaronbronsteter
Suarez may have swooped in for the next title shot. A brilliant, flawless performance.
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Ariel Helwani @arielhelwani
Tatiana Suarez is the real deal. Super impressive.
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Ben Fowlkes @benfowlkesMMA
That first round for Carla Esparza? Went about as well as the first round of Leo Dicaprio vs. that bear in The Revenant.
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Carla Esparza vs. Tatiana Suarez: Round 3
Outside leg kick from Suarez. Esparza tries to shoot in, but it is stuffed. Suarez takes a single and puts Esparza down. Esparza up. Esparza down. Suarez more smothering action. Moves to mount. Esparza is able to get her out of mount. Full guard.
Suarez is punishing Esparza. Back to full mount. Elbows coming down. Violent ground and pound. The referee steps in and stops the onslaught. Goodness.
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Carla Esparza vs. Tatiana Suarez: Round 2
Suarez gets the takedown. Esparza fighting to stay off her back, but Suarez is controlling her. Esparza fights to her feet. Knees from Esparza land. Suarez lands one of her own. Bodylock takedown. Esparza flat on the mat.
Heavy elbow from Suarez. Esparza gets up briefly before Suarez puts her back down. The damage isn’t like the first, but it’s dominant. Pure dominance. Esparza gets up and out. Wow. Suarez with another takedown.
Bleacher Report scores the round: 10-8 Suarez.
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Carla Esparza vs. Tatiana Suarez: Round 1
Suarez shoots in, but Esparza defends briefly. Suarez continues to drive forward and completes the second attempt. Hammerfists from Suarez. Massive elbow from Suarez. Another elbow. Suarez in full Maul Mode.
Esparza is trying to tie Suarez up, but it is not working. She has huge swelling under her right eye. Esparza starts to work up before Suarez just tosses her back down. Suarez is controlling Esparza and picking spots to pelt her with strikes. A couple more mice appear on Esparza’s face. One on her forehead and one on her left cheek.
Bleacher Report scores the round: 10-8 Suarez.
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Mookie Alexander @mookiealexander
My god. We probably just saw KO of the Year and Submission of the Year just minutes apart.
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Aljamain Sterling vs. Cody Stamann: Round 2
Sterling begins the round aggressive. Stamann throws a kick, but he gets off balance and ends up on the mat. That is a big win for Sterling. Sterling takes his back. Stamann gets up. And now Stamann takes Sterling down. But he’s back up quickly.
They hit the mat again, but it’s Sterling with the advantage. He takes mount. Stamann gives up his back. He flattens him out with a full nelson! Nice ground and pound as he tries to get him to open up. Sterling reaches for a leg and gets the tap! Wow!
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Aljamain Sterling vs. Cody Stamann: Round 1
They exchange high kicks, but they do not land. Sterling shoots and has a leg, but Stamann defends. A lot of missed strikes, largely due to the distance. Two minutes of missed strikes.
Sterling back in on a takedown attempt. Stamann defends again. Half the round is gone. Stamann now pushing Sterling against the fence. They separate. Stamann becomes the aggressor. Sterling goes for another takedown that is easily stuffed. Stamann ends up on top after a scramble. Sterling stands but not before hitting the mat again.
Sterling gets a triangle, but it is not tight. Stamann is out. They go back to their feet. Stamann with another takedown.
Bleacher Report scores the round: 10-9 Stamann.
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The Mane Event@EliasTheodorou
OMG. Camacho is travelling the astral plane now… Neal just killed him. #ufc228 https://t.co/lIl7AT8sd7
Camacho grabs a leg, but Neal defends. Neal teeing off. Pinpoint accuracy. Neal is battering Camacho who just will not go down. Camacho now comes forward. What heart.
Neal throws the head kick again and this time it lands clean! Clean. Out. Cold.
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Geoff Neal vs. Frank Camacho: Round 1
Neal opens the action up first with a quick 1-2. Neal just misses on a head kick. Camacho pressing forward. Both men are fighting at a high pace, but most of the offense is just missing by a fraction. Neal looks to be the quicker of the two.
Neal’s corner is imploring him not to wait. Another head kick attempt from Neal just misses. Nice right from Neal lands as Camacho was coming forward. Stopped him in his tracks. Camacho grabs Neal as he started to unload and put him against the fence. Neal separates.
Neal beginning to find the mark over and over. Neal drops Camacho at the end of the round, but Camacho is able to survive! Wow. Will that warrant him a 10-8?
Bleacher Report scores the round: 10-9 Neal.
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Shaheen Al-Shatti @shaunalshatti
Jarred Brooks tells us he lost consciousness outside the Octagon after his #UFC228 win simply due to exhaustion. He accepted the fight on five days’ notice and threw up a ton immediately after the fight was over.
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UFC on BT Sport @btsportufc
100% win rate for English fighters named Darren at #UFC228 thus far
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Charles Byrd vs. Darren Stewart: Round 2
Strong outside leg kick opens the second for Byrd. Stewart ineffective with his striking. Byrd looking sharp.
Byrd cracks Stewart! That one hurt Stewart. Byrd coming forward. Stewart fires back with a quick elbow and wobbles Byrd! Byrd just covering up and Stewart drops him! The referee jumps in and stops it. Wow! Just like that and it is over.
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Charles Byrd vs. Darren Stewart: Round 1
Byrd tries for an early takedown, but Stewart defends. Byrd moves Stewart to the fence. They break.
Byrd with nice punches to set-up his way inside, but Stewart still defends the takedown. Byrd goes for a standing guillotine. Misses. A lot of offensive attempts from Byrd early in the fight. They go back to the center of the cage. Byrd keeping the pressure on Stewart and not allowing him to breath.
Byrd mixing up his strikes well. Stewart is starting to become reactive. He’s waiting on everything from Byrd. Nice inside elbow from Byrd. Another one lands inside. Stewart really struggling late.
Bleacher Report scores the round: 10-9 Byrd.
September 8, 2018
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Diego Sanchez vs. Craig White: Round 3
They start the third throwing and White drops Sanchez! Sanchez grabs a leg and White is on his back. Wild.
Nice elbows from Sanchez. White is unable to get up. He’s just taking a beating. There is not enough for the referee to stop it, but there is nothing to suggest White has a chance now. Sanchez smothering White. A couple solid elbows slip through for Sanchez. Solid win for Sanchez.
Bleacher Report scores the round: 10-9 Sanchez.
Bleacher Report scores the fight: 30-26 Sanchez.
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Diego Sanchez vs. Craig White: Round 2
White is aggressive on the outset. Sanchez grabs a leg, but he eats a knee in the process. Sanchez takes White down again. Strong upkick from White. Sanchez finding holes where he can punch White, but nothing strong to this point.
Sanchez is just keeping the pressure on White. Sanchez moves to side control. Sanchez just mauling White with unrelenting pressure.
Bleacher Report scores the round: 10-9 Sanchez.
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Diego Sanchez vs. Craig White: Round 1
Sanchez rushes right over to White and tries to throw hands. White tries to lock in a tight guillotine, but Sanchez throws him to the mat. White is active from bottom. White ties up Sanchez in the guard.
Sanchez works to pass, but the long legs of White is preventing him. Back to guard. Sanchez is getting control time, but there is no damage. Now Sanchez is able to posture up and land strong shots. Sanchez goes to side control. Still a minute left in the round. All Sanchez.
Sanchez is able to close the round with big ground and pound. Dominant round.
Bleacher Report scores the round: 10-8 Sanchez.
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Ben Fowlkes @benfowlkesMMA
When you’re an old dude MMA fan and you see Jim Miller win a UFC fight in 2018. https://t.co/FelVcGPFea
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Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA
Jim Miller earns his 17th UFC lightweight victory, the most in company history. Also ties Joe Lauzon and Nate Diaz for most submission wins in lightweight history. An epic night all around for him. #UFC228
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Ariel Helwani @arielhelwani
Jim Miller snaps his 4 fight losing streak with a 1st round RNC. He looked great. Huge win for him.
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Jim Miller vs. Alex White: Round 1
Miller connects with a left over the top. Combination knocks White down! Miller all over him. Miller sinks in the rear-naked and it is very tight! That’s a wrap! Big win for Miller!
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Chamatkar Sandhu @SandhuMMA
Hell of a scrap between Irene Aldana and Lucie Pudilová. Take a bow ladies. That was freaking awesome. #UFC228
Pudilova has some wind back and is fighting like the first round again. Aldana goes back to the leg kicks. Pudilova’s left leg is feeling the effects of the kicks. But Pudilova is still firing away. Aldana still answering!
Pudilova throws and eats a crisp jab. Half the round remains in a close fight.
This is a donnybrook! Both women giving and receiving punishment. Aldana with more volume, but the pressure puts her against the cage. Knees from Aldana forces the break! And Pudilova is still coming forward. Pudilova with a Superman punch. Leader in the clubhouse for Fight of the Night!
Bleacher Report scores the round: 10-9 Aldana.
Bleacher Report scores the fight: 29-28 Aldana.
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Irene Aldana vs. Lucie Pudilova: Round 2
Pudilova walking Aldana down. Aldana goes low with a hard leg kick. They exchange leg kicks. Aldana is not able to be effective with her counter-striking. Pudilova will walk right through Aldana’s offense.
Pudilova’s hands are beginning to lower. She is still coming forward, but she seems to be breathing harder. Aldana not able to take advantage. Two minutes remain in the round. The lack of quality offense is making the round hard to score. Nice leg kicks from Aldana. Aldana with a clean combo late in the round.
Bleacher Report scores the round: 10-9 Aldana.
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Irene Aldana vs. Lucie Pudilova: Round 1
Aldana tests her range with a low leg kick and jabs. Slick combo finds a home for Aldana. Aldana is the cleaner striker early, but Pudilova scores with a counter shot of her own. Aldana just has a bit more volume.
Pudilova landing her jab now with 2:30 left in the first. Aldana responds with an overhand right. Pudilova is struggling with the distance when she wants to be first. Pudilova’s pace and pressure is starting to cause issues for Aldana. She isn’t able to play her game.
Pudilova putting her hands together. Now a kick to the face! Aldana connects with a spinning back fist! Pudilova keeping it coming! What a way to finish that round!
Bleacher Report scores the round: 10-9 Pudilova.
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Mookie Alexander @mookiealexander
The judge who scored that fight for Roberto Sanchez likely thought Diego was fighting.
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Roberto Sanchez vs. Jarred Brooks: Round 3
Spinning back fist from Brooks is blocked. Brooks initiates the clinch and drives Sanchez to the fence. Brooks advances to side control. Sanchez is doing well to avoid damage, but there is little to no offense from either man with less than half the round to go.
Brooks lands a couple knees as Sanchez looks to stand. Now Sanchez is back down. He went to his back and it is almost conceding the fight at this point as he has been able to do nothing off his back. Strange. They both throw shallow strikes on the mat in the final 30 seconds. Brooks should hold on and take this fight.
Bleacher Report scores the round: 10-9 Brooks.
Bleacher Report scores the fight: 30-27 Brooks.
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Roberto Sanchez vs. Jarred Brooks: Round 2
Brooks barely misses with a right hand. Quick hands from Brooks. Sanchez goes for a single leg, but Brooks stays on his feet. Sanchez tries to take Brooks down but ends up on his back, but only for a moment. Brooks now has Sanchez against the cage.
Sanchez pulls guard after an extended period defending Brooks from the clinch. Not a lot of offense, but Brooks is controlling from top. Brooks tries to throw some ground and pound near the end. It’s his frame.
Bleacher Report scores the round: 10-9 Brooks
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Roberto Sanchez vs. Jarred Brooks: Round 1
UFC 228 is officially underway.
Brooks fires away on the outside while Sanchez takes the center. Sanchez closes the distance and looks to take the fight to the mat, but Brooks defends initially. They sink closer to the ground while entangled. Sanchez takes top position.
Brooks attacks with a heel hook, but Sanchez is able to get out of danger. Brooks goes back to the heel hook. Sanchez scrambles and they are back on their feet. Sanchez pressing Brooks against the fence. Close round, but it was Brooks who threatened with submissions and had the most offense.
Bleacher Report scores the round: 10-9 Brooks.
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UFC @ufc
RT b/c it’s FIGHT DAY!
#UFC228: @TWooodley vs @DarrenTill2 goes down TONIGHT | 10pmET/7pmPT | LIVE on PPV! B2YB @HarleyDavidson https://t.co/YBlsqyOezv
In a primetime matchup with major Pac-12 title implications early in the 2018 season, the USC Trojans and Stanford Cardinal square off at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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Ryan Abraham @insidetroy
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USC Trojans at TrojanInsider.com @USCScoop
After SC’s drive stalls, Chase McGrath misses the 53-yard field goal.
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Annenberg Sports @ANNMediaSports
End of the 1st here in Palo Alto. #Stanford 7, #USC 0. Trojans will begin the 2nd quarter with 3rd and 10 from the Stanford 35 yard line.
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USC QB Exits with Injury
Bryan Fischer @BryanDFischer
J.T. Daniels into the locker room for USC. @BruceFeldmanCFB says they’re looking at his hand.
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Brady McCollough @BradyMcCollough
Matt Fink is in the game, and JT Daniels is being checked out in the tent. So all is going well in Palo Alto.
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Reign of Troy @ReignofTroy
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Conquest Chronicles @CChroniclesSBN
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Bruce Feldman @BruceFeldmanCFB
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Daily Trojan Sports @DT_Sports
Daniels’ third down pass is almost intercepted. USC will punt on its first drive.
Huge run for Bryce Love. The Stanford line went right and Costello pitched it left to Love for 28 yards.
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Live: SC’s Starting QB Returns vs. Stanford
via Bleacher Report
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Stanford Daily Sports @StanfordSports
Pac-12 football kicks off tonight at Stanford Stadium, with #10 Stanford hosting #17 USC. Kickoff set for 5:45. Live broadcast on FOX. https://t.co/E8zmRD9C4p
In a primetime matchup with major Pac-12 title implications early in the 2018 season, the USC Trojans and Stanford Cardinal square off at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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Ryan Abraham @insidetroy
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USC Trojans at TrojanInsider.com @USCScoop
After SC’s drive stalls, Chase McGrath misses the 53-yard field goal.
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Annenberg Sports @ANNMediaSports
End of the 1st here in Palo Alto. #Stanford 7, #USC 0. Trojans will begin the 2nd quarter with 3rd and 10 from the Stanford 35 yard line.
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USC QB Exits with Injury
Bryan Fischer @BryanDFischer
J.T. Daniels into the locker room for USC. @BruceFeldmanCFB says they’re looking at his hand.
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Brady McCollough @BradyMcCollough
Matt Fink is in the game, and JT Daniels is being checked out in the tent. So all is going well in Palo Alto.
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Reign of Troy @ReignofTroy
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Conquest Chronicles @CChroniclesSBN
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Bruce Feldman @BruceFeldmanCFB
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Daily Trojan Sports @DT_Sports
Daniels’ third down pass is almost intercepted. USC will punt on its first drive.
Huge run for Bryce Love. The Stanford line went right and Costello pitched it left to Love for 28 yards.
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Live: SC’s Starting QB Returns vs. Stanford
via Bleacher Report
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Stanford Daily Sports @StanfordSports
Pac-12 football kicks off tonight at Stanford Stadium, with #10 Stanford hosting #17 USC. Kickoff set for 5:45. Live broadcast on FOX. https://t.co/E8zmRD9C4p
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