Steelers

1. Amari Cooper paying off early. Think the Dallas Cowboys might be regretting the Cooper trade? In what amounted to a salary dump, the Browns picked up a potential game-changer. Through three games, he's been as good as expected. After a quiet opener, Cooper had a big Week 2 game that largely was forgotten when the Browns blew a two-score lead late (and Cooper admitted he was partly at fault in that loss). But in Week 3, Cooper was mainly excellent, turning in his second-straight 100-yard game and got the Browns in business Thursday with an 11-yard score. When Ahkello Witherspoon -- arguably the Steelers' best corner -- went down in the third quarter due to injury, the Browns immediately ran a vertical route for Cooper and he delivered with a 32-yard catch that led to an important TD that put the game away. Even with a fourth-quarter drop on a Jacoby Brissett bullet, Cooper has proven his worth in the early going.
   
2. Heat rising for Trubisky. Everyone knew this was a big game for Mitchell Trubisky. And he started out pretty hot, completing eight of his first nine passes -- with a big assist from George Pickens -- and a rushing touchdown, leading the Steelers to a 14-13 halftime edge. He mostly attacked the sidelines and avoided the middle of the field, true to his scouting report. The Browns couldn't stop it at first, but the Browns made necessary second-half adjustments and forced Trubisky to look more inside. It didn't go well. The Steelers opened with back-to-back three-and-outs, and the Browns turned a one-point deficit into a 23-14 lead. The Steelers made it three straight three-and-outs before Trubisky led the team on a late field-goal drive. To be fair, not everything was Trubisky's fault. While the Steelers threw the kitchen sink at Myles Garrett, the Browns star pass rusher eventually broke through in the second half. The receivers were guilty of a few third-quarter drops, and offensive coordinator Matt Canada abandoned the run game after a certain point, too. But it's hard not to wonder, with a semi-bye this week, whether the Steelers will start mulling a switch to rookie Kenny Pickett, even though Mike Tomlin shot that idea down quickly after the game.
3. Run-defense leaks not yet plugged. The Steelers run defense couldn't get a stop when it needed one (or two or three) against the Patriots last week. Thursday night was more of the same. The Browns pummeled away at the Steelers' front and stressed the back seven with several second-level runs. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are as good a duo as there is in the NFL, and the Browns have a gnarly offensive line. But this kind of dominance won't go over well with a Mike Tomlin-coached team. This is not just an absent T.J. Watt problem -- and it's not as if this issue just arose from thin air. Last season's run defense was borderline ugly; through three 2022 games, it's merely frustrating as heck. They made several personnel changes, changed coordinators (from Keith Butler to Teryl Austin) and added Brian Flores to the coaching staff. So far, the changes have not taken. Cleveland finished the game with 171 yards rushing on 38 carries, for a 4.5-yard average. With several multi-faceted offenses coming up on the schedule, the Steelers have a glaring issue to fix on defense.
4. No joke: Njoku shines in primetime. David Njoku tied a career-high for catches in a game before the first half's two-minute warning -- and he'd pass his personal best midway through the third quarter. When the Browns signed Njoku to a four-year, $56.75 million deal in May, more than a few eyebrows were raised. He's had some big moments and flash plays but rarely took over games. We can't say Njoku did that exactly on Thursday, but this is the kind of performance he should turn in two or three times a season. He finished with nine catches for 89 yards (the second-highest game total in his career) and a big early score. Njoku dropped a slightly high pass inside the Steelers' 5-yard line late in the third quarter, and the Browns settled for a field goal in a tight game. But that was about the only complaint about his performance against the a Steelers team that had pretty much put a lid on him previously in his career.
5. Banged-up Browns defense turns in gutsy effort. Coming off the loss to the Jets, the Browns' young, talented defense faced some heat this week. Understandably, too. But Thursday night was a positive step in the right direction -- and a step backward in another area. The Steelers had some juice early, but the Browns' defense finished the game strong, allowing only one conversion on nine third downs. Even more impressive? They did it without several key performers on that side of the ball. Cleveland was already without Jadeveon Clowney and Chase Winovich, who were ruled out earlier in the week. But during the game, three more key defenders went down with injuries: Linebackers Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (quad) and Anthony Walker (knee), and safety Ronnie Harrison (hamstring). All the injuries left the Browns extremely short-handed, and it's fair to wonder if all the missing personnel led to communication errors -- hence the three (!) too-many-men-on-the-field penalties. But overall, this was a gutsy effort by a thinned-out unit that badly needed this performance.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

Game recap: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20, New Orleans Saints 10 | 2022 NFL Week 2

Bucs score 17 consecutive points after Marshon Lattimore was ejected

 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the New Orleans Saints 20-10 in a close defensive struggle that got away from the Saints following a fourth quarter fight Sunday at the Caesars Superdome.

The fight started early in the period with the score tied at 3 when Bucs receiver Mike Evans came off the sideline to blindside Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore while he and Bucs running back Leonard Fournette were shoving each other following an incomplete pass by Tom Brady. There was a scrum near midfield for a few minutes until order could be restored by the officials. Evans and Lattimore, who had a similar encounter in 2017, were ejected.

Following the ejections, Saints quarterback Jameis Winston was picked off in the end zone by Tampa's Jamel Dean. The Bucs then marched in for their first touchdown, a 28-yard pass from Brady to Breshad Perriman with 7:41 to play, The Saints offense, which struggled for most of the game, turned the ball over on the next possession on another Dean interception of Winston. The Bucs (2-0) turned that into a 47-yard field goal by Ryan Succop, his second one from that distance Sunday. Tampa put the game away on the following possession when safety Mike Edwards returned another Winston interception 68 yards for a touchdown. Winston was 25 of 40 for 236 yards with one touchdown and the three interceptions. He was sacked six times.

Premier League

 

Liverpool Premier League 2021/22 Prize Money Revealed - It's A Staggering Amount

Reds second only to Champions Manchester City in Premier League winnings last season.

 

 

As reported by The Mail, the Premier League have released details of the payments made to clubs for prize money for the 2021/22 season.

 

IMAGO / PA Images

It was an enthralling campaign with fans returning to stadiums in full after the pandemic and saw Manchester City pip Liverpool to the title.

At one point, Pep Guardiola's team trailed Aston Villa 2-0 on a dramatic final day but turned it around to retain their crown by winning 3-2 whilst Liverpool did their job and beat Wolves 3-1 at Anfield to agonisingly miss out by a single point.

It is City that understandably won the most Premier League prize money walking away with just over £153million.

 

Artemis launch

Though NASA's Artemis I mega moon rocket has been dominating the news lately due to its delayed launch, this first stage of the space agency's long-awaited lunar program is fascinating, and controversial, for a number of reasons. 

Here's our list of the seven most essential things to know about Artemis I, beyond the headlines.

It will be the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built

OK, so this might be the one interesting detail about the SLS that's widely known. The SLS used for Artemis I will generate about 15% more thrust than the Saturn V rocket that sent Apollo astronauts to the moon. The Soviet Union did build a more powerful rocket in the 1960s, but all its test flights failed. 

SLS will take the crown for most powerful rocket currently flying away from Elon Musk and the SpaceX Falcon Heavy post-launch, but if Musk's Starship ends up living up to its promise, it may retake that title within a few years. 

UFC 278

 

UFC 278 results highlights: Leon Edwards stuns Kamaru Usman with last-minute knockout to claim world title 

Leon Edwards just shocked the world. The "Rocky" story of Edwards came to life with a come-from-behind, head-kick knockout late in Round 5 of the main event of UFC 278 on Saturday night.

After becoming the first person to score a takedown on the nearly perfect champion in Round 1, Edwards struggled in the following rounds to build any kind of momentum. Usman took over the fight with his superior wrestling and slung heavy boxing combinations and seemed on his way to yet another title defense as he neared Anderson Silva's record for most all time. 

Usman's pace slowed in Round 5, but it was likely leading towards a unanimous decision win for the champ as Edwards seemed defeated in his corner as his team begged him to come to life in the final round.

Suddenly, Edwards flicked out a right jab and fired up a left head kick that knocked Usman out cold at 4:04 of Round 5.

 

Wednesday

Though Morticia and Gomez Addams’ daughter is best known for her misanthropy, the first trailer for Netflix’s upcoming comedy Wednesday from director Tim Burton’s a very useful (and promising) reminder that the morose teen’s always been a social butterfly. While the people Wednesday Addams deigns to grace with her presence might not enjoy her idea of a good time, that’s not to say that she isn’t making a good faith effort to, you know, connect with them.

Wednesday’s first trailer introduces its take on Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) just as she’s being expelled from yet another one of her “normal” schools for terrorizing her fellow students — something neither her mother (Catherine Zeta-Jones) nor father (Luis Guzman) are especially surprised to hear. But while Wednesday’s parents know that she’s simply being herself and protecting her brother Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez), they also understand that if their daughter’s ever going to get a solid education, she’s going to need a school that can cater to her unique sensibilities.

It’s clear from the trailer that Nevermore Academy, a curious school run by Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie), is a much better fit for Wednesday, what with its classes focused on deadly duels and otherworldly creatures. But what’s harder to tell is whether the rest of Nevermore’s student body’s going to be ready for the madness its newest student will bring to the school when Wednesday hits Netflix this fall.

 

Florence Pugh

Welcome to Florence Pugh’s single era. Following the success of her earnest YouTube acoustic covers from nearly a decade ago, the Don’t Worry Darling actor has released her long-awaited debut … wait. [Squints.] Actually, it appears that Florence Pugh is single, as in no longer attached to the Scrubs actor Zach Braff after a three-year relationship, with no plans to release music anytime soon (rude). She and Braff quietly separated earlier this year, and they kept the breakup on the down low to avoid the glee of Zach-ence antis. “We’ve been trying to do this separation without the world knowing, because it’s been a relationship that everybody has an opinion on,” said Pugh in a Harper’s Bazaar cover story. “We just felt something like this would really do us the benefit of not having millions of people telling us how happy they are that we’re not together. So we’ve done that.” Honestly, Ms. Pugh, the only thing we have an opinion about is your music career. How dare you release sincere Jack Johnson, the Lumineers, and “Wonderwall” covers under the iconic stage name Flossie Rose, only to abandon your early musician dreams? Ma’am, where is the album?

In other Florence Pugh news, she’s not not addressing rumors about the set of Don’t Worry Darling, out September 23. What she does reveal is that Pugh was set to play Bunny, a supporting role, but eventually took on the lead role of Alice Chambers with Wilde now playing Bunny. “It was a different beast,” Pugh said on moving into the role of Alice. “I love playing a distressed woman.” The only drawback of starring alongside the “most famous pop star in the world”? “When it’s reduced to your sex scenes, or to watch the most famous man in the world go down on someone, it’s not why we do it,” she said. “It’s not why I’m in this industry. Obviously, the nature of hiring the most famous pop star in the world, you’re going to have conversations like that. That’s just not what I’m going to be discussing because [this movie is] bigger and better than that.” Welp, Flossie’s just not about the pop-star life right now. Truly a pity!

Epic

 

Epic deal alert: Visit the Canary Islands from $486 round-trip

Fall travel to Spain’s Canary Islands is currently available for a discounted price. Iberia, Air Europa and American Airlines all have sale fares available in this deal to Tenerife for less than $500 round-trip. Departures are from many of the usual big-city suspects, such as Chicago, New York and Miami. What sets this deal apart is that it also lets Midwestern cities such as Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit and Indianapolis in on the fun.

These are basic economy tickets. If you absolutely need to check luggage, it will cost you $75 each way on Iberia.

One other thing: The routes below are to Tenerife Norte Airport (TFN). If you want to visit one of the other islands, such as Gran Canaria or Lanzarote, booking a flight from Tenerife will cost you between $100 and $150 extra. In most cases, for about the same price you can book these itineraries as open jaws, which let you fly into one airport and fly home from another.

These prices are available for travel in November, and Thanksgiving is included for some routes. There is also some availability between January and March 2023.

Want more TPG news, deals and tips? Sign up for our daily newsletter and download our free TPG app!

Our thanks to the folks at Scott’s Cheap Flights for first spotting this deal. Its Premium membership is available for $49 per year, while the Elite option is available for $199 per year. The latter offers access to deals on premium economy, business- and first-class tickets.

As always, be as flexible with your travel plans as possible, as it’ll typically help you find better prices.

Deal basics

Airlines: Air Europa, American and Iberia.
Routes: Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Miami, New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities to Tenerife.
How to book: Search Google Flights and book directly with the airline.
Travel dates: Most availability in November, including Thanksgiving; some routes available between January and March 2023.

Brentford vs Man United

 

Man United suffer 4-0 thrashing at Brentford

Manchester United slumped to the bottom of the early Premier League standings after a 4-0 thrashing at Brentford in what was Cristiano Ronaldo's first start of the 2022-23 season on Saturday.

United's calamitous afternoon began in typical fashion with David de Gea allowing Josh Dasilva's tame, low effort through his hands and into the back of the net 10 minutes in.

- Notebook: United told Ten Hag to lower expectations
- Don't have ESPN? Get instant access

The lackadaisical United defence then had their deficit doubled eight minutes later. Ex-Brentford player Christian Eriksen, who was booed by the home fans earlier in the match, was harried out of possession by Mathias Jensen after a poor pass by De Gea and the midfielder dummied and sent the United player the wrong way to slot home.

Manchester United have lost their first two matches of the 2022-23 season. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

On the half hour mark, Brentford had their third. More poor defending saw United's defence at standstill when Ivan Toney headed a corner back across goal, and Ben Mee outbattled Lisandro Martinez to head in from close range.

Thomas Frank's side continued the onslaught and scored their fourth goal five minutes later. In a perfectly-executed counter-attack, Ivan Toney slid the ball through to Brian Mbuemo, who shook off a challenge and fired past De Gea.

"It was a horrible day," De Gea said. "I should have saved the first shot and then the result may have been different.

"Other teams concede one goal and win 5-1. We have to react much better. It was a poor performance."

It was the first time United had conceded four goals in the first half away from home in their Premier League history. Ten Hag's side managed to stop the flow of conceded goals in the second half, but failed to convert their chances which would have restored some pride.

The demolition was Brentford's first win over United in all competitions since a 2-0 victory in the FA Cup in February 1938. Former Ajax boss Ten Hag becomes the first United manager in over 100 years to lose his first two matches.

Tommy Lee

Tommy Lee's nude photo on Instagram fuels debate over platform's censorship double standard

Rocker Tommy Lee's penis was once again available for the public to see but this time it appears to be his choice.

The Mötley Crüe drummer, 59, posted a full-frontal nude photo on Instagram and Facebook Thursday. "Ooooopppsss," he captioned the post. 

The photo, showing a naked Lee sitting on the edge of a bathtub, has since been removed from both social media platforms. It's unclear, however, whether he or the social media sites took the photo down. 

While the post was online, Lee’s wife Brittany Furlan, commented on the picture with “OH MY GOD.” 

Lee's nude photo was online for nearly four hours, according to Newsweek, and consequently sparked outrage from people calling out a double standard with Meta-owned social media platforms' community guidelines.