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🏈 The best division in football
The 2024 NFC North is a juggernaut. The Lions (5-1), Vikings (5-1), Packers (5-2) and Bears (4-2) are all in the top 12 of our latest power rankings as we near the midway point of the season, and all four teams would make the playoffs if they started today.
By the numbers: The NFC North is 17-4 (with a +213 scoring differential) against outside competition, and all four losses have come by six points or fewer against teams that had winning records last year. There’s not really a “bad” loss in the lot.
Record by division:
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NFC North: 19-6
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AFC West: 15-10
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NFC East: 14-12
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AFC North: 13-14
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AFC South: 12-15
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NFC West: 11-15
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NFC South: 11-16
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AFC East: 10-17
Consider this: Detroit (+62), Minnesota (+61), Green Bay (+47) and Chicago (+43) are all +40 or better in point differential. Only four other teams in the entire NFL can say that: Washington (+66), Buffalo (+63), Pittsburgh (+60) and Kansas City (+43).
Best division ever? The NFC North entered Sunday with the best winning percentage through six weeks (.773) of any division in the Super Bowl era. All they’ve done since then is take down two first-place teams, with Green Bay beating Houston and Detroit handing Minnesota its first loss.*
*NFC North vs. NFC North: As you might expect from such a strong division, the internal competition has been fierce. Both divisional games have gone down to the wire and ended in the same 31-29 score (Lions over Vikings on Sunday, Vikings over Packers in Week 4).
🏀 The Intuit Dome is open for business
The Intuit Dome, the Clippers’ new $2 billion arena that was more than three years in the making, hosted its inaugural regular-season game on Wednesday night in Inglewood.
A place to call their own: The Clips lost to the Suns in overtime, 116-113, but regardless of the result, the game marked a new era for the franchise. After spending 25 years sharing an arena with the Lakers, they’re no longer trapped under their big brother’s shadow.
A billionaire’s passion project: Steve Ballmer, by far the wealthiest owner in sports with a net worth of $125 billion, spared no expense to provide fans with the ultimate game-day experience.
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The Halo Board: The massive 360-degree, double-sided jumbotron is nearly the size of an acre. Just how big is that? If you unrolled it, it would be three times the size of the nearby Hollywood Sign, per Forbes.
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Heated, interactive seats: Seats are heated and include USB ports to charge your phone. They also have four remote-control buttons that allow fans to play interactive games on the Halo Board like “The Mentalist,” a color-guessing game.
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“The Wall”: The arena features a student section-style set of 51 rows for diehard fans only, who aren’t allowed to cheer for the other team. Seats are $32 per game and only available to those who purchased a pass before the season.
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Concessions: All food and drink stands have the same menu to minimize decision-making, and facial recognition is used throughout the arena to allow fans to buy food and merchandise without waiting in line.
Speaking of convenience, just ask Ballmer about the toilets: “1,160 toilets and urinals!” he exclaimed last year. “Three times the NBA average! We do not want people waiting in line, we want ’em to get back to their damn seats!”
🏈 Huge upset: Owls extinguish the Flames
Previously winless Kennesaw State, a 26.5-point underdog in their first year as an FBS program, pulled off a stunning 27-24 upset over previously undefeated Liberty on Wednesday. It’s the first time in 23 years that a team 0-5 or worse beat a team 5-0 or better.
Nine unbeatens remain: The Owls’ victory over the Flames leaves nine undefeated FBS teams. Three are in the Big Ten (Oregon, Penn State, Indiana), two are in the Big 12 (Iowa State, BYU), two are in the ACC (Miami, Pittsburgh) and two are military academies in the AAC (Army, Navy).
📸 The world in photos
Barcelona — Barça is back. Raphinha scored a hat trick to lead Barcelona past Bayern Munich, 4-1, in the Champions League, snapping a six-game losing streak against their fellow super club.
Portland — Vancouver blanked Portland, 5-0, in the Western Conference Wild Card match to advance to play top-seeded LAFC in a best-of-three first-round series.
Washington D.C. — The Capitals beat the Flyers, 6-3, in Wednesday’s lone NHL game to improve to 5-1 on the season, their best start since 2015.
📆 Oct. 24, 2004: Arsenal’s streak ends
20 years ago today, Manchester United beat Arsenal, 2-0, to end the Gunners’ Premier League record 49-match unbeaten streak.
One of three: That Arsenal team remains one of just three in Premier League history to rattle off a streak of at least 40 league games without losing.
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Arsenal (2003-04): 49 straight (36 wins, 13 draws)
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Liverpool (2019-20): 44 straight (39 wins, 5 draws)
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Chelsea (2004-05): 40 straight (33 wins, 7 draws)
Will a fourth join them soon? Manchester City’s active streak of 31 straight (25 wins, 6 draws) is the fourth-longest ever.
📺 Watchlist: Vikings at Rams
The Rams host the Vikings tonight (8:15pm ET, Prime) at SoFi Stadium in a clash of teams on opposite ends of the NFC.
Head-to-head: Minnesota (5-1) is tied for the conference’s best record, while Los Angeles (2-4) is fourth-worst, ahead of only the Saints (2-5), Giants (2-5) and Panthers (1-6). But help, at least temporarily, is on the way.*
More to watch:
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🏀 NBA: Spurs at Mavericks (7:30pm, TNT); Thunder at Nuggets (10pm, TNT)
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🇺🇸 Friendly: USWNT vs. Iceland (7:30pm, TBS) … In Austin, Texas.
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🏈 NCAAF: Syracuse at No. 19 Pitt (7:30pm, ESPN) … Will another unbeaten fall?
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⛳️ PGA: Zozo Championship (11pm, Golf) … Round 2 in Chiba, Japan.
*Kupp’s return: Rams star wideout Cooper Kupp, who’s been sidelined since spraining his ankle in Week 2, is expected to return tonight. But with trade rumors swirling, his time with the team could be nearing its end.
⚾️ MLB trivia
The Yankees (27) and Dodgers (7) have won the most and sixth-most World Series of any team.
Question: Can you name the four teams between them?
Hint: Two AL, two NL.
Answer at the bottom.
🏈 When jury duty calls
Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey missed practice on Wednesday with an injury-report designation I can’t recall ever seeing before: Jury duty.
Details: Aubrey is serving on a 12-person jury in a felony assault case centered around a second-degree strangulation charge, according to the Star-Telegram. The Cowboys reportedly tried to get him excused, but the 29-year-old All-Pro insisted on doing it.
Will he miss any games? The good news for the Cowboys is a typical trial schedule won’t get in the way of Aubrey’s availability on Sundays, barring special circumstances. He will reportedly return to court today and tomorrow but isn’t expected to miss Sunday’s game against the 49ers.
Trivia answer: Cardinals (11 World Series), Red Sox (9), Athletics (9), Giants (8)
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