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AP Top 25 Reality Check: The top-tier of teams widens as points gap between them in poll shrinks

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:56:32 GMT

The top tier of The Associated Press college football poll is getting crowded.Georgia remains a clear No. 1 in the Top 25. The two-time defending national champions have not budged since last season, a streak of 15 straight polls. The Bulldogs received 55 first-place votes this week.Five other teams split up the other eight first-place votes. No, 2 Michigan got one; No. 3 Texas two; No. 4 Ohio State had one; No. 5 Florida State got three; and No. 7 Washington one.That’s the most teams with a first-place vote during the regular season since November 2015.The teams in the top five are also tightening by points, with No. 2 and No. 5 separated by a season-low 79. Washington’s 1,228 points are the most by a team ranked seventh this season.It might be too early to draw conclusions about this, but it does seem like the band of teams with a chance to contend for a national title is wider.To use another barometer, ESPN’s SP+ — which is a forward-looking metric — has the top...

102-loss Royals have turned out to be quite the spoilers against playoff-chasing Houston

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:56:32 GMT

This wasn’t a run you saw coming — but then again, you rarely do when a baseball team starts to play spoiler.The Kansas City Royals, who reached 100 losses over two weeks ago and have been out of contention for almost the entire season, suddenly became a huge thorn in the side of the defending champions. The Royals went 5-1 in two recent series against Houston, leaving the Astros in a precarious spot in the playoff race. Kansas City has now won 10 of its last 11 games.Even after that impressive stretch, the Royals have the second-worst record in baseball, but you wouldn’t have known it watching those matchups with Houston. And the Astros looked nothing like the World Series champs from a season ago.On Friday night, Kansas City scored seven runs on only five hits in a win over Framber Valdez. The next evening, Jordan Lyles pitched five scoreless innings and improved to 5-17 on the year for the Royals.A nice September stretch doesn’t necessarily mean Kansas City will...

Toymaker Lego will stick to its quest to find sustainable materials despite failed recycle attempt

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:56:32 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s Lego said on Monday that it remains committed to its quest to find sustainable materials to reduce carbon emissions, even after an experiment by the world’s largest toymaker to use recycled bottles did not work.Lego said it has “decided not to progress” with making its trademark colorful bricks from recycled plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate, known as PET, and after more than two years of testing “found the material didn’t reduce carbon emissions.”Still, the toymaker remains “fully committed to making Lego bricks from sustainable materials by 2032,” it addedTwo years ago, the privately-held group which makes its bricks out of oil-based plastic, started researching a potential transition to recycled plastic bottles made of PET plastic, which doesn’t degrade in quality when recycled.It had invested “more than $1.2 billion in sustainability initiatives” as part of efforts to transition to more sustainab...

Byron gets milestone win for Hendrick and moves closer to chance to race for team’s next title

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:56:32 GMT

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — William Byron grew up a huge fan of Hendrick Motorsports, watching Jimmie Johnson win championships and knowing how much he wanted to one day drive for that organization.The 25-year-old Byron is now a step closer in his sixth Cup season to having an opportunity to race for Rick Hendrick’s next title after getting the team owner a milestone victory in the second-round opener of the NASCAR playoffs. Byron led only the last six laps Sunday at Texas, going in front by passing Bubba Wallace and Chase Briscoe right after the final restart, and advanced to the round of eight with his series-best sixth win of the season. It was the 300th for Hendrick, coming just more than two years after passing Petty Enterprises’ longtime record of 268 wins for the most in Cup history. “The 300 wasn’t a goal, 269 was a goal to beat Petty’s record,” Hendrick said. “I never thought we’d get there, so we started counting down until we got to break that record. Once we got...

STAT WATCH: Iowa’s 76 yards against Penn State were second-fewest in Kirk Ferentz’s 25 years

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:56:32 GMT

Iowa’s 31-0 loss at Penn State certainly didn’t help Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz in his bid to meet metrics required for him to keep his job after this season.The game marked the first time since 2000 the Hawkeyes were shut out and lowered their season average to 21.3 points per game. Of their 85 points through four games, 41 came in a win over Western Michigan.Ferentz’s contract, revised after last season, requires Iowa to win seven games and average 25 points per game (13-game total of 325).The Hawkeyes’ 76 total yards Saturday were the second-fewest in head coach Kirk Ferentz’s 25 seasons. The only other time Iowa totaled under 100 yards was in a loss to Wisconsin in 2017, Brian Ferentz’s first year as OC.In fact, nine of the 17 games since 1999 in which Iowa has failed to gain 200 yards have come with Kirk’s son calling the plays.Iowa is 131st out of 133 FBS teams in total offense (245.5 ypg). The Hawkeyes were 130th out of 131 FBS teams last season (251.6...

Broncos fans disappointed after 50-point loss in Miami

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:56:32 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Fans of the Denver Broncos are rightfully upset after a historic 50-point loss to the Miami Dolphins."I'm disappointed, to be honest," one fan said.The Dolphins scored the most points in an NFL game since 1966, devastating the Broncos with a final score of 70-20.If the Dolphins had scored three more points, the franchise would have set a new record. The Dolphins became the fourth team in NFL history to score at least 70 points in a regular-season or playoff game. 5 things to know about the 2023 Denver Broncos Some fans are hoping for improvement this season as the team has gone winless in the first three games.A Jets fan said, "All the elements are there. You say you're a quarterback or a coach and you just get a loss like that, it's like, what more can you do.""I felt like getting a different shirt on," said a fan wearing orange and blue.Another fan said it's difficult to wear any gear associated with the team."It's very upsetting as you can see with me wearing t...

Denver weather: Nice start to workweek with dry, warm conditions

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:56:32 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The Denver weather forecast will be dry and warm to kick off the workweek.Weather today: Plenty of sun, mild temperaturesMonday will bring high temperatures in the lower 80s with more sunshine. Photos: Glenwood Springs brush fire Clouds will be tough to find, helping highs stay a little above average for this time of the year.Pinpoint Weather: Daily highs on Sept. 25. Weather tonight: Clear and coolThere will be a comfy and cool evening ahead. Overnight low temperatures sink into the upper 40s and lower 50s under mostly clear skies. Look for winds out of the southwest at around 5-10 mph. Pinpoint Weather: Overnight lows on Sept. 25.Looking ahead: More sunshine and warmer temps this weekMore sunshine is in the forecast for the rest of the workweek. This will help temperatures to climb to the mid-80s Tuesday through Friday, which is about 10 degrees warmer than normal. Colorado fall colors photo gallery 2023: Share your pictures Pinpoint Weather 7-day forecast for...

Pedestrian hit, killed on Colorado Boulevard

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:56:32 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The Denver Police Department said a pedestrian was killed in a crash Sunday night.It happened near 40th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. DPD tweeted about the crash just before 10 p.m. Jeep SUV wanted in fatal hit-and-run in Littleton The person was pronounced dead at the scene.DPD said officers were investigating and did not immediately release any further details.

Governor Ron DeSantis cuts funding for 4 schools citing Chinese Communist Party ties

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:56:32 GMT

Governor Ron DeSantis has taken a firm stance against any connections between educational institutions and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).According to a news release issued on Friday by the governor’s staff, the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) has suspended the availability of school choice scholarships for four schools believed to have direct ties to the CCP.The FDOE has identified the Lower and Upper Sagemont Preparatory Schools in Weston, Parke House Academy in Winter Park, and Park Maitland School in Winter Park as having direct links to the CCP. The FDOE asserted that these connections pose an imminent threat to the health, safety, and welfare of both the affected schools’ students and the public. As a response to this, the Department is collaborating with non-profit scholarship funding organizations to aid impacted students in finding and enrolling in nearby eligible schools.

*NSYNC members get nostalgic about their peak boy band days on ‘Hot Ones’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:56:32 GMT

(CNN) — When 90s boy band *NSYNC were at the height of their fame, their tour bus was followed by a “stampede” of fans on one specific occasion, Justin Timberlake recalled while appearing on Thursday’s episode of “Hot Ones” with the group.He described how he and his bandmates – Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez and Joey Fatone – watched this group of fans follow their bus through a giant field that had a hole in the middle of it – into which they all fell.“I felt terrible,” Timberlake said, adding that on a separate occasion, the *NSYNC fandom was so wild that they returned to their hotel suite to find a fan had somehow snuck in.The anecdotes were just a few that the recently-reunited boy band reminisced about while appearing on Season 22 of the famed hot wing interview show – including Timberlake mentioning how he did in fact get a “note” from a producer to pronounce “me” like “may” in their 2000 hit song “It’s Gonna Be Me.”The pronunciation of the word spawned a viral meme ...