1 hr. ago
The NFL and the NFL Players ******* ociation have agreed to a new three-strike formula that will trigger automatic suspensions for repeated violations of five specific safety rules: hip-drop tackles, horse-collar tackles, launching, hits on defenseless players, and blindside blocks.
Per the NFLPA, the new procedure doesn't commence until the 2026 regular season. Which means that players who were fined for any of the five specific rules won't carry them into the games that count.
That's good news for any of the various players who were dinged for the infractions that otherwise would have counted toward a potential suspension.
It applies to Cardinals safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, who was fined $7,148 for a hit on a defenseless player in Week 2 of the preseason. And to Cardinals safety Wydett Williams, who was fined $4,935 for a hit on a defenseless player in the same game.
And to Bengals linebacker Shaka Heyward, who was fined $5,972 for a hip-drop tackle in Week 2 of the preseason. (He's currently on Cincinnati's practice squad.) And to Chiefs tight end Jake Briningstool, who was fined $4,972 in Week 2 of the preseason for a blindside block.
#defenseless #preseason #specific #rules
Per the NFLPA, the new procedure doesn't commence until the 2026 regular season. Which means that players who were fined for any of the five specific rules won't carry them into the games that count.
That's good news for any of the various players who were dinged for the infractions that otherwise would have counted toward a potential suspension.
It applies to Cardinals safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, who was fined $7,148 for a hit on a defenseless player in Week 2 of the preseason. And to Cardinals safety Wydett Williams, who was fined $4,935 for a hit on a defenseless player in the same game.
And to Bengals linebacker Shaka Heyward, who was fined $5,972 for a hip-drop tackle in Week 2 of the preseason. (He's currently on Cincinnati's practice squad.) And to Chiefs tight end Jake Briningstool, who was fined $4,972 in Week 2 of the preseason for a blindside block.
#defenseless #preseason #specific #rules
15 hours ago
For the vast majority of the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, George Russell appeared completely in control of his own destiny. After pulling off a sharp opening-lap move on pole-sitter Pierre Gasly and surviving the Lap 3 red flag triggered by Charles Leclerc's crash, the Mercedes driver looked poised to convert his front-row start into a commanding victory at the Temple of Speed.
Instead, a critical strategic gamble under a late Virtual Safety Car completely upended the race, leaving Russell defenseless on fading rubber while his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli charged from the back of the grid to **** the win.
Mercedes opted for an extreme tire management strategy with Russell, keeping him out on a single set of hard compound tires following the early race stoppage. But when a late Virtual Safety Car period neutralized the field, the Silver Arrows pit wall was forced to make a high-stakes tactical call: preserve track position or pit for fresher, faster rubber.
While Russell remained out on track to protect the race lead, Antonelli and Red Bull's Max Verstappen both dove into the pits for fresh tires. The stark difference in grip proved decisive in the final laps, as Antonelli rapidly eliminated the gap and swept past Russell to claim an astonishing victory from 19th on the grid.
Speaking post-race, Russell admitted he never expected the team to bring Antonelli in.
#russell
Instead, a critical strategic gamble under a late Virtual Safety Car completely upended the race, leaving Russell defenseless on fading rubber while his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli charged from the back of the grid to **** the win.
Mercedes opted for an extreme tire management strategy with Russell, keeping him out on a single set of hard compound tires following the early race stoppage. But when a late Virtual Safety Car period neutralized the field, the Silver Arrows pit wall was forced to make a high-stakes tactical call: preserve track position or pit for fresher, faster rubber.
While Russell remained out on track to protect the race lead, Antonelli and Red Bull's Max Verstappen both dove into the pits for fresh tires. The stark difference in grip proved decisive in the final laps, as Antonelli rapidly eliminated the gap and swept past Russell to claim an astonishing victory from 19th on the grid.
Speaking post-race, Russell admitted he never expected the team to bring Antonelli in.
#russell
8 days ago
The NFL and NFL Players ****** ociation announced this week, out of the blue, a new procedure for imposing automatic suspensions on players who commit three violations of one of five specific safety rules: hip-drop tackles, horse-collar tackles, launching, hits on defenseless players, and blindside blocks.
There's a lot to process in this yellow-card style approach to stacking violations in advance of automatic consequences.
First, it's important to remember that a suspension only happens when a player commits three violations of one of the five specific rules. In theory, a player could have two violations as to each rule and not be suspended.
Second, some have asked what happens when there's a fourth violation. For each violation after the third, the player gets suspended for one game. And, because a player who has three violations in a given year carries two of them into the next season, a player who is suspended once will continue to be one infraction away from another suspension for the rest of the current season — and for all of the next season.
Third, the formula extends into the postseason. If the player gets his third violation in Week 18, he misses the first playoff game. If he gets his third violation in the wild-card round, he'll be suspended for the divisional round (if his team wins). If his team loses in the playoff round when the third violation occurs, he'll miss Week 1 of the next season.
#Third
There's a lot to process in this yellow-card style approach to stacking violations in advance of automatic consequences.
First, it's important to remember that a suspension only happens when a player commits three violations of one of the five specific rules. In theory, a player could have two violations as to each rule and not be suspended.
Second, some have asked what happens when there's a fourth violation. For each violation after the third, the player gets suspended for one game. And, because a player who has three violations in a given year carries two of them into the next season, a player who is suspended once will continue to be one infraction away from another suspension for the rest of the current season — and for all of the next season.
Third, the formula extends into the postseason. If the player gets his third violation in Week 18, he misses the first playoff game. If he gets his third violation in the wild-card round, he'll be suspended for the divisional round (if his team wins). If his team loses in the playoff round when the third violation occurs, he'll miss Week 1 of the next season.
#Third
11 days ago
The NFL and NFL Players ******* ociation have agreed to a new system aimed at enhancing player safety. It calls for a suspension if a player violates a given rule three times in the same year.
The five applicable rules are hip-drop tackles, horse-collar tackles, launching, hits on defenseless players and blindside blocks.
The suspension applies only if a player commits three violations of the same rule. For example, three hip-drop tackles will trigger a suspension. Two hip-drop tackles and one horse-collar tackle won't.
So how would this new procedure have applied in recent years? Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFLPA informed players on Wednesday that one player would have been suspended in 2024, and one player would have been suspended in 2025.
Players often view fines as the cost of playing football the way they believe football should be played. The possibility of a suspension should make them view it differently, because a third violation of the same rule will keep them off the field.
#player #suspension #rule
The five applicable rules are hip-drop tackles, horse-collar tackles, launching, hits on defenseless players and blindside blocks.
The suspension applies only if a player commits three violations of the same rule. For example, three hip-drop tackles will trigger a suspension. Two hip-drop tackles and one horse-collar tackle won't.
So how would this new procedure have applied in recent years? Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFLPA informed players on Wednesday that one player would have been suspended in 2024, and one player would have been suspended in 2025.
Players often view fines as the cost of playing football the way they believe football should be played. The possibility of a suspension should make them view it differently, because a third violation of the same rule will keep them off the field.
#player #suspension #rule
3 months ago
New Mexico's forests are dying faster than at any time on record. In 2025, the state mapped 209,000 acres of trees killed by bark beetles and other insects, which was more than a 200% increase over the year before, according to a newly released report from the New Mexico Forestry Division. And the main impetus for that arboreal death was the state's dwindling water supply.
"At the beginning of January 2025, 35% of the state was in moderate drought and 20% in severe drought," the report read. "By the end of December 2025, 71% of the state was in moderate drought and 52% was in severe drought."
According to the report, New Mexico recorded its second-warmest year on record. The lower Rio Grande, the river that has sustained farming communities in the southern part of the state for centuries, is now a river of sand most of the year, as the aquifer underneath is dropping by more than a foot each year. The issue has to do with the dry conditions creating the perfect environment for bark beetles to kill trees in record numbers.
And 2026 is shaping up to be no different. "We had a bleak winter and little to no snowpack, and there are areas that are currently experiencing bark beetle attack," said Victor Lucero, forest health program manager for the New Mexico Forestry Division. Drought stress, he said, is the primary condition that leaves trees defenseless: stripping them of the sustained sap flow that is their only natural shield against infestation. "Things may change with respect to tree mortality if things remain hot and dry," Lucero said. The one scenario that could turn the tide: "If the summer monsoon rains arrive as predicted, this may improve the resilience of live trees to withstand bark beetle attack."
Now, just two miles of the Mexican border in the Chihuahuan Desert, Oracle and OpenAI are building one of the largest data centers in the country.
"At the beginning of January 2025, 35% of the state was in moderate drought and 20% in severe drought," the report read. "By the end of December 2025, 71% of the state was in moderate drought and 52% was in severe drought."
According to the report, New Mexico recorded its second-warmest year on record. The lower Rio Grande, the river that has sustained farming communities in the southern part of the state for centuries, is now a river of sand most of the year, as the aquifer underneath is dropping by more than a foot each year. The issue has to do with the dry conditions creating the perfect environment for bark beetles to kill trees in record numbers.
And 2026 is shaping up to be no different. "We had a bleak winter and little to no snowpack, and there are areas that are currently experiencing bark beetle attack," said Victor Lucero, forest health program manager for the New Mexico Forestry Division. Drought stress, he said, is the primary condition that leaves trees defenseless: stripping them of the sustained sap flow that is their only natural shield against infestation. "Things may change with respect to tree mortality if things remain hot and dry," Lucero said. The one scenario that could turn the tide: "If the summer monsoon rains arrive as predicted, this may improve the resilience of live trees to withstand bark beetle attack."
Now, just two miles of the Mexican border in the Chihuahuan Desert, Oracle and OpenAI are building one of the largest data centers in the country.
