Daily Archives: July 31, 2023

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll was giddy, greeting his quarterback with an emphatic high-five and a slap on the helmet after Daniel Jones connected with his tight end on a long touchdown pass during the team portion of practice on Monday.

But this time, it wasnt prized tight end trade acquisition Darren Waller stealing the targets and the headlines. Rather, it was second-year tight end Daniel Bellinger who found the end zone twice.

While this performance is likely not indicative of a major role in 2023, Bellingers emergence on Monday, in many ways, epitomizes the mindset and desired approach for the Giants offense in 2023. As wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins and safety Jason Pinnock both put it: Its pick your poison.

Before opponents are forced to pick who they focus on trying to slow down within this group, though, Daboll will have to make some choices himself, as the Giants currently have upwards of 10 wide receivers who could legitimately make the roster battling for spots.

It really is what training camp is for, Daboll said of the ongoing competition among wideouts. Thats why were out here. I think everybody deserves an opportunity. Those that deserve the opportunity should get the opportunity. And then what they make of it is up to them.

Perhaps overshadowed by the ceremonious return of Saquon Barkley and the impressive showings from Waller, this wide receiver corps features a unique, non-traditional mix of size (or lack thereof) and positional versatility. And although the pecking order remains up in the air, its clear that New York will not be adhering to its Giants epithet in 2023.

Seven of the Giants' wide receivers, WanDale Robinson, Sterling Shepard, Parris Campbell, Jamison Crowder, Cole Beasley, Jaydon Mickens and Kalil Pimpleton, are listed at 6 feet or shorter, with each known for their short-area quickness and thus having primarily played in the slot previously.

The rest of the unit includes 2023 third-round pick Jalin Hyatt, Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins, Jeff Smith, Collin Johnson, David Sills and Bryce Ford-Wheaton, all of whom bring some size and field-stretching ability.

Aside from Beasley and Crowder, though, this group is almost entirely unproven and somewhat injury-prone. Shepard and Robinson are still working their way back from ACL injuries last year, while Campbell, whom New York signed this offseason, has had his growth stunted by injuries to this point. While this could lead to questions come September, for now, the openness of the depth chart is serving as motivation.

Its a competitive room, said Hodgins, who broke out with eight catches for 105 yards and a touchdown in the Giants playoff win over the Minnesota Vikings. You want to be able to sit here and know that you gotta work day in and day out because you got people all around you who can make plays, and I feel like thats what I love about our room.

The wild card, of course, is Waller, who has also struggled to stay on the field in the past but could serve as a hybrid, unicorn-type tight end due to his rare combination of size and speed.

Every other safety or DB whos probably 5-foot-11 has to probably take two whole strides for his one, Pinnock said of the Giants new tight end. Youre playing catch up really the whole time.

For the Giants' pass-catchers, the reality that comes with having a plethora of comparable targets in the running for meaningful snaps is that there likely will be less opportunities, as snap counts are likely to vary depending on the opponent and game plan. But in 2023, the Giants have bigger aspirations than just individual accolades, and thus they are embracing the committee approach.

I think we have a lot of unselfish guys on our team that are able to take on that role and understand that every day you may not have five catches, Hodgins said. You just have to be ready for when it does come your way.

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Giants' pass-catchers are wielding uncertainty to their advantage - Yahoo Sports

AUCKLAND, New Zealand The U.S. players diagnosed their debilitating ills before coaches had even reached the locker room. They jogged off a field in Wellington last Thursday after a dispiriting first half. As their Dutch counterparts strolled toward the tunnel, leading 1-0, the Americans moved with purpose, and then began hashing out flaws. Starters shared perspectives from the heat of battle. Reserves shared sideline viewpoints. Coaches eventually shared video. All involved were very direct, midfielder Andi Sullivan recalled. And although the conversations were nuanced, the overarching diagnosis was simple.

We weren't in sync, Sullivan admitted two days later.

They looked like a shell of their once-dominant selves because their press lacked coordination and aggression. The USWNT used to strangle teams by defending from the front. On Thursday, they attempted to press out of a mid-block, but I saw indecision everywhere, former forward Tobin Heath said on her postgame show.

We were looking for somebody else to do something, Heath said. Everybody was kinda looking around like, Who steps? Do you step? Do I step? How do we get the ball? And it looked like we were being toyed with.

An effective press requires 11 in-sync players. It requires understanding and trust. Forwards read certain triggers a back-pass, for example, or a loose touch and sprint at opposing defenders; teammates take those cues and follow, shutting off passing lanes, and suffocating opponent attacks before they begin. A coordinated effort can force turnovers, and disrupt an opponents coordinated movements or dissuade fluidity.

But the U.S. did hardly any of that in Thursdays first half, especially after the opening 10 minutes. It failed to get pressure on the ball, which permitted the Dutch time and space to create midfield overloads. One of those overloads created a goal and sparked all sorts of questions about the USWNTs tactical readiness at this 2023 World Cup.

We knew that the Netherlands they werent gonna be a massive threat, Heath, a two-time World Cup winner and soccer junkie, said. I thought we were more of a threat to ourselves, with our decision-making defensively, than they couldve been to us.

The Netherlands (in orange below) set up in a 3-5-2 that, on paper, matched the USWNTs 4-3-3 player-for-player. The U.S. defended with forwards on center backs, fullbacks on wingbacks, center backs on strikers, and midfield three versus midfield three.

But the U.S. knew that Lieke Martens (No. 11), a playmaker shoehorned into a striker role, would drop into midfield to create something of a 3-4-2-1 shape. Players were prepared for this, Sullivan said we watch a lot of film.

Their apparent plan to cope with it was multifaceted. Sullivan would shuttle side to side, between Martens and Dutch No. 10 Danille van de Donk, as best she could. Her midfield partners would also shut off passing lanes; fullbacks could pinch in from the weak side; center backs could step in to prevent Martens or van de Donk from turning.

All of those solutions, however, depended on U.S. forwards putting pressure on the ball.

Without that pressure, the Dutch had time to swing the ball side-to-side and manipulate the U.S. midfield. Martens had time to sneak into pockets of space; defenders had time to pick their heads up and find her. And all of that happened in the critical 16th minute.

The Dutch dragged the U.S. to the far sideline. Sullivan slid over, shadowing van de Donk, leaving Martens on the weak side, seemingly inaccessible.

But then the Dutch swung the ball back to center back Stefanie van der Gragt. U.S. forwards rotated without urgency. Van der Gragt had space to stride into, and time to pick up her head. When she did, she saw U.S. right back Emily Fox pulled toward the sideline by her opposite number, and Sullivan stretched between van de Donk and Martens, leaving the latter free.

Martens received the ball on the half-turn and skipped by Sullivan, into acres of space. Orange jerseys flooded forward, and pretty soon led 1-0.

Sullivan acknowledged two days later that, honestly, I needed to do my job better, and just commit and get over faster. I think that happened a few times in the first half that I would wanna fix.

But she also needed help from teammates. A coherent press would have given her time to get over, and wouldve allowed the USWNT to get a grip on the game. Instead, the U.S. lost touch with it; the Dutch dictated it. The goal wasnt an isolated incident. For long stretches, the U.S. front five couldnt even get close to the ball.

We got a little bit stretched, and weren't getting that much pressure on them, defender Naomi Girma said.

The result was an overwhelmed midfield, but I think that starts with our front line, Heath noted. And its what the players hustled into halftime knowing they needed to sort out.

They largely did sort it out, and improved in the second half, and earned a 1-1 draw though an injury to van der Gragt and some conservative Dutch tweaks helped.

In the second half, we came out a lot more on the same page, midfielder Savannah DeMelo said. We all needed to go together or we all needed to stay together. And it was more about being in sync with one another.

The worry, though, is that they failed to adjust on the fly and failed to get it right from the start.

Some players have cited their relative unfamiliarity with one another. In 2019, the USWNTs starting 11 was essentially set nine months in advance; four years later, its been in flux. A lot of other years, we've had a consistent group in the whole time, forward Megan Rapinoe said Sunday. Whereas this time around, we've had players coming back from injury, we've had different lineups, we've had players playing with a lot of different people around them, and not having that consistency.

So, I don't think this is anything that anybody was really worried about, she added. We knew we were gonna have to build into the tournament, and just understand that's where we are.

But the time for building has almost elapsed. The time to get in sync is now. The U.S. likely wont win this World Cup without a coordinated press. Systematizing it requires communication but also shared understanding and belief. Forwards must know and trust that midfielders and defenders will follow their lead but midfielders and defenders can only follow instinctively when forwards trigger the press consistently at agreed-upon moments.

It's always like a chicken-egg situation, right? Sullivan explained. Like, if you don't step high enough, then it's hard for people behind you to read. And if people behind you aren't reading it, then it's hard for you to go.

All of that, for 11 players that had never shared the field as a single unit until this month, is definitely a challenge that we're going through, Sullivan said.

Portugal, on Tuesday, in a game that the U.S. cant afford to lose, likely isnt talented enough to expose the Americans like the Dutch did. It's also "a lot more conservative than aggressive," U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski said Monday. A more impactful fix in Tuesday's game, Rapinoe argued, will be attacking width. I think we got quite narrow against the Netherlands, and it enabled them, even when they got tired towards the end of the game, to still get players around the ball, and stop our creative flow quite a bit, she said. Positional discipline in the attacking phase will spread the Portuguese defense and unlock space in which the USWNT can playmake and flourish.

Before long, though, more elite opponents will come knocking. Some, such as Spain, would be far more potent than the Netherlands. The U.S. cant afford 45 minutes of indecision and discombobulation.

Andonovski, when asked Monday about how he plans to synchronize things moving forward, noted that Rose Lavelle's introduction as a second-half substitute "helped with some of those triggers and aggressive pressing." Lavelle, who has been on a minutes restriction since recovering from a knee injury, should start against Portugal and beyond.

But Andonovski seemed to believe that the U.S. problems stemmed from the Dutch goal. "I think actually it started well in the beginning," he said. "The moment we got scored on, there was a little bit of hesitation. And when you go in to press, if one player hesitates, that kills the press. So, it just became a chain effect. One player hesitated, and then that affects the next player, so the next player starts hesitating, and obviously it results in the way it did, where Netherlands just took the game over."

More here:

The USWNT diagnosed their biggest flaw in Dutch draw. Can they fix it? - Yahoo Sports

Philadelphia 76ers Host 1982-83 Championship Team

Julius Erving has had the same five best players of all time ever since he was 15. He's not changing it now for the modern game.

Dr. J sat down with an interview with Joy DeAngela and she asked him about his top 10 players of all time list. His answer is not what you expect (hat tip Basketnews for the transcription).

"I have five guys who are untouchable Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor. That's my all-time best team. Everybody else has to be on the second or third teams, and I made this decision when I was 15 years old. I'm sticking with it now all these years later. There is no order. I think West and Robertson would be in the backcourt. Elgin Baylor would be in the frontcourt with Wilt and Bill Russell.

The next group of guys would be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Ervin 'Magic' Johnson, probably Karl Malone. I always argue with my son where Tim Duncan belongs, and he's like, 'He belongs ahead of Karl Malone for sure.' I'm taking Karl Malone and that last position... I like Tiny Archibald."

When DeAngela asks him about current players such as Stephen Curry or LeBron James, Erving said he only names players whose careers are over.

He's Dr. J, a Hall of Famer and Philly legend, and we won't argue his list. Baylor may be the star player most underrated by modern fans, who don't always understand he was the first to popularize playing above the rim. Karl Malone over Tim Duncan may not be the call I would make, but one can argue it, at least. No active players? I think we have reached the point in LeBron's career where there is a large enough body of work to say he is top 10 all-time. But it's Dr. J's list, and if he wants the also underrated Tiny Archibald on there, so be it.

It's definitely a deviation from the standard, but it's an interesting top 10.

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Julius Erving's all-time top 10 includes Tiny Archibald, no active players - Yahoo Sports

It's almost time to cheer on the USWNT in the 2023 Women's World Cup. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)

Soccer fans, get the jerseys ready and the coffee brewing, its time for the 2023 Womens World Cup. The US Womens National Team (USWNT) took home the World Cup trophy back in 2019, and in 2015, so its no surprise that US audiences are ready to set their alarms for some awkward start times and tune into all the soccer action at the Womens World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. With 32 teams playing 64 games, theres a lot to follow on the field. Heres everything you need to know about where to watch the Womens World cup, the full Womens World Cup schedule, where to stream World Cup games and more.

Best way to watch World Cup games on Fox and FS1

Dates: July 20-August 20

Locations: New Zealand and Australia

TV Channel: Fox

Streaming: Sling, Fubo

Livestream: VPN

The Womens World Cup opens on July 20 and runs through August 20, 2023.

Day one will feature three games played across New Zealand and Australia: New Zealand vs. Norway, Australia vs. Republic of Ireland and Nigeria vs. Canada. Opening day of the Womens World Cup kicks off bright and early for U.S. audiences, beginning at 3 a.m. ET.

Since 2015, Fox has the English-language broadcast rights to the Womens World Cup in the United States. Telemundo will broadcast the Spanish-language coverage. Both Networks will show each of the 64 games live.

Out of the 64 games, Fox will air 29 including all of the quarterfinals, semifinals and final on its flagship, over-the-air network (which you likely already have on your TV). The rest will air on Fox Sports 1, which might be a bit trickier for you to access.

If you dont have access to Fox and FS1 (or Telemundo), check out our recommendations to help you watch the Womens World Cup in 2023.

(Photo: Sling)

Starting at just $20 for your first month, Sling TV's Blue plan offers Fox and FS1 in select markets, along with 41 other channels. A Sling subscription also includes 50 hours of free DVR storage, so if youre worried about missing any of the early morning World Cup action, you can always record games. With no tricky contract to get out of, at $20, Sling blue is an easy and affordable way to watch the entire month of World Cup games.

(Photo: Julio Cortez/Ap Photo)

Fubo TVs Pro tier gives you access to Fox and FS1 (make sure to check your zip code for eligibility) along with tons of other great channels for watching sports like ABC, CBS, CBS Sports Network and Ion. At a total of $75 per month, the live TV streaming service is definitely the priciest option on this list, but will allow you to watch every World Cup game, and still leaves you with major savings compared to a traditional cable package. Fubo subscribers also get 1000 hours of cloud DVR storage, so you can record those early morning games to watch later. The platform also offers a 7-day free trial period, so you could catch some of the Women's World Cup totally free.

Get over-the-air Fox with a digital TV antenna

BBC and ITV will share coverage of the Womens World Cup in 2023, with all 64 matches shown across the BBC network, on ITV and ITV 4. That means if youre in the UK, you can also tune into World Cup coverage totally free on the BBC iPlayer or ITVX. But what if you're outside of the UK? Say, across the pond? Dont worry, weve got a hack for you:

(Photo: ExpressVPN)

ExpressVPN offers internet without borders, meaning you can tune into the BBC and ITV's free UK coverage of the Women's World Cup this month as opposed to paying for Fox and FS1. All you'll need to do is sign up for Express VPN, change your server location to the UK, and then make a free BBC iPlayer or ITVX account. Be sure to check the BBC coverage schedule to find out which games you can watch where.

ExpressVPNs added protection, speed and range of location options makes it an excellent choice for first-time VPN users looking to stretch their streaming abilities, plus, it's Endgadget's top pick for the best streaming VPN. New users can save 49% when they sign up for ExpressVPNs 12-month subscription. Plus, the service offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, in case you're nervous about trying a VPN.

(Photo: Peacock)

All 64 World Cup matches will be available to stream with solely Spanish coverage on Peacock! Starting at just $5 a month, a Peacock subscription is the easiest way to stream live sports and events airing on NBC. On top of access to the World Cup, youll also get access to thousands of hours of shows and movies, including beloved sitcoms such as Parks and Recreation and The Office and even recent theatrical releases like Book Club: The Next Chapter, Renfieldand soon the Super Mario movie. For $10 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.

This years Womens World Cup is playing out across five cities in Australia and four in New Zealand, with the 64 games split between ten stadiums. The two Oceania countries are the first co-hosts of the Womens World Cup. What does this mean for U.S. soccer fans? You may want to stock up on coffee.

This years World Cup time difference is inconvenient, to say the least. Those nine host cities are across four time zones, anywhere between 12 and 16 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time. Luckily, the U.S. team plays their first two games at an easy 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT). Unfortunately, the USWNTs third game is at 3 a.m. ET. So to catch Megan Rapinoe, Trinity Rodman and more of your favorite USWNT players live in action, you'll need to set your alarm accordingly. For more on the USWNT headed into the World Cup, check out the Yahoo Sports guide to following the U.S. team through the tournament.

Of the 64 total matches, 54 kick off between 12:30 a.m. and 7 a.m ET. Half of the elimination games start between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. ET. So be sure to set those alarms! And if you cant tune into a late night game, Yahoo Sports will have you covered with updates.

2023 Womens World Cup US broadcast schedule:

All times Eastern.

Wednesday, July 26

Group C: Japan vs. Costa Rica (1 a.m. on FS1)

Group C: Spain vs. Zambia (3:30 a.m, on FS1)

Group B: Canada vs. Ireland (8 a.m. on FS1)

Group E: United States vs. Netherlands (9 p.m. on FOX)

Thursday, July 27

Group E: Portugal vs. Vietnam (3:30 a.m. on FS1)

Group B: Australia vs. Nigeria (6 a.m. on FS1)

Group G: Argentina vs. South Africa (8 p.m. on FS1)

Friday, July 28

Group D: England vs. Denmark (4:30 a.m. on FS1)

Group D: China vs. Haiti (7 a.m. on FS1)

Saturday, July 29

Group G: Sweden vs. Italy (3:30 a.m. on FS1)

Group F: France vs. Brazil (6 a.m. on FOX)

Group F: Panama vs. Jamaica (8:30 a.m. on FOX)

Sunday, July 30

Group H: South Korea vs. Morocco (12:30 a.m. on FOX)

Group A: Switzerland vs. New Zealand (3 a.m. on FOX)

Group A: Norway vs. Philippines (3 a.m. on FS1)

Group H: Germany vs. Colombia (5:30 a.m. on FS1)

Monday, July 31

Group C: Japan vs. Spain (3 a.m. on FOX)

Group C: Costa Rica vs. Zambia (3 a.m. on FS1)

Group B: Canada vs. Australia (6 a.m. on FOX)

Group B: Ireland vs. Nigeria (6 a.m. on FS1)

Tuesday, August 1

Group E: Portugal vs. United States (3 a.m. on FOX)

Group E: Vietnam vs. Netherlands (3 a.m. on FS1)

Group D: China vs. England (7 a.m. on FOX)

Group D: Haiti vs. Denmark (7 a.m. on FS1)

Wednesday, August 2

Group G: Argentina vs. Sweden (3 a.m. on FOX)

Group G: South Africa vs. Italy (3 a.m. on FS1)

Group F: Panama vs. France (6 a.m. on FOX)

Group F: Jamaica vs. Brazil (6 a.m. on FS1)

Thursday, August 3

Group H: South Korea vs. Germany (6 a.m. on FOX)

Group H: Morocco vs. Colombia (6 a.m. on FS1)

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How to watch the Women's World Cup 2023: Full broadcast schedule, streaming info and more - Yahoo Sports