There aren't many teammates who would do what Frankie Muniz decided to do on Friday. After qualifying for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Team Reaume's Luke Baldwin and the No. 2 Ford were among the five DNQs.
Muniz, who is a full-time driver in the Truck Series in the No. 33, was set to start at the very back of the field in 36th for Saturday's race.
However, the actor-turned-racer made the decision to willingly give up his seat for the race, allowing Baldwin to take over the No. 33 for this weekend's NCTS event.
"Luke is one of the most talented young drivers in this garage, and this team has two trucks here this weekend," said Muniz in a release from the team. "He came here ready to race and did everything he could. Sitting him out when we have a qualified truck that can put him in the field doesn't make sense for anyone. I'm giving up my seat because I believe it gives the 33 team the best chance to compete for the most available points this weekend. Luke's speed and his ability to run up front when he gets a clean run is what this organization needs right now. I'll be in the pits cheering him on."
Team owner Josh Reaume praised Muniz for the decision, saying: "Frankie didn't hesitate. That's the kind of teammate and person he is. "Luke has shown time and time again that he can extract everything from our equipment. With the regular season ending Saturday and owner points still on the table, this move puts our strongest available driver in the No. 33 for the 175-lap race. We appreciate Frankie's selflessness and look forward to seeing Luke behind the wheel."

#muniz #LUKE #ncts

The NASCAR community is still reeling over the death of Kyle Busch, including his older brother and fellow racecar driver Kurt Busch. The Busch family lost Kyle suddenly on May 21 after a severe case of pneumonia worsened.
Kurt's first public comments since his brother's death came this week during an appearance on NBC's "Today." The emotional interview gives some insight into the traumatic experience for the Busch family.
"I was at the hospital, I was there all day, hoping, praying, hoping for a turnaround," Busch said during "Today" show Friday. "I said, 'I got you man. Come on, I got you. I got you. Come on, be strong.'"
The Busch brothers' NASCAR careers span several decades, including various championships. Kurt received entry into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2026, joining the exclusive group of 70 drivers and other members.
MORE: Sea-Doo unveils game-changing watercraft honoring F1 legend Ayrton Senna

#busch #kyle #come

DENVER (AP) — DeMar DeRozan has agreed to sign a one-year contract with the Denver Nuggets worth the veteran minimum of $3.9 million, a person with knowledge of the deal said Friday.
It will be DeRozan's fifth team in his 18th season for a six-time All-Star looking for his first championship. The person spoke to The **** ociated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement hasn't been announced.
The addition of DeRozan gives the Nuggets a veteran backcourt presence after sending young, versatile wing Peyton Watson to Cleveland as part of a four-team trade. The 23-year-old Watson started a career-high 40 games last season and averaged career bests in points (14.6), rebounds (4.9) and **** ists (2.1).
DeRozan, the ninth overall pick by Toronto in 2009, spent his first nine seasons with the Raptors, only to get traded to San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard as his former team won the **** le in Leonard's only season in 2018-19.
The 37-year-old DeRozan spent three seasons with the Spurs and three with Chicago before joining Sacramento the past two seasons. He was part of sign-and-trade deals in the moves to the Bulls and Kings.

#year #team #watson

The NBA has been showing us for a while that simply putting several stars together isn't enough to win anymore. The 2024 Celtics had a stacked roster almost everywhere, with close to 10 guys who could handle minutes, while the 2025 Thunder might honestly be one of the deepest teams we have seen in a long time. Then the Knicks won the 2026 ***** le with a rotation that became much more important after Mike Brown replaced Tom Thibodeau and started trusting the bench more.
That is pretty much the rule now. A team can have crazy firepower in the starting five, but if the second unit can't score, defend, or survive five minutes without the stars, competing for four playoff rounds becomes much harder. Over 82 games, it matters even more, because injuries, rest, and bad shooting nights are going to happen no matter how talented the roster is.
So for this ranking, the focus is simple: which five teams enter 2026-27 with the deepest benches in the league? These are second units with several players who can change a regular-season game, cover an injury for a few weeks, or even stay on the floor during a tough playoff series. That obviously doesn't mean one of these five teams is guaranteed to win the ***** le, but having too many productive bench pieces is always a pretty nice problem to have.
The Rockets have a ridiculous amount of bodies behind their starting five, and the interesting part is that most of them bring something different. If Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., and Alperen Sengun start, Ime Udoka can still bring Reed Sheppard, Tari Eason, Marcus Smart, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Steven Adams, and Clint Capela from the bench.
Sheppard gives them the scoring and shooting that second units usually need. He was up to 13.5 points and 3.4 ***** ists last season while hitting 39.4% from three, so Houston doesn't have to leave Durant on the floor every time VanVleet sits just to have somebody who can create offense.

#bench #several

Nine days from now, NFL teams will need to cut their rosters down from 90 players to 53 ahead of the regular season. That represents the most difficult days for head coaches and general managers around the league.
For the Carolina Panthers, one of the toughest decisions will be who to carry at tight end, where they've long had one of the worst units in the league. The addition of veteran Darren Waller gives the toom some hope, but also means somebody else will probbaly wind up on the chopping block.
According to a new initial 53-man roster projection from Joe Person at The Athletic, 2024 fourth-round draft pick Ja'Tavion Sanders is going to be the odd man out at tight end. Person wrties:
Waller was a low-risk signing with the potential for a high return. ***** uming he's healthy, he's on the 53. Waller, who turns 34 in September, tore his quad during training camp in Miami last year. That injury — and two others that followed — came after he'd been out of football for a year. But Canales said Waller showed up this week in "phenomenal shape." Waller's skill set is similar to that of Sanders, who could be the odd man out. Canales called Franks one of the top special teams players in the league, and the former QB has improved as a receiver.
It's a shame to waste an early Day 3 pick after just two seasons, but it's also hard to make a case that anybody else shouldn't make the roster over Sanders at this spot.

#waller #league #else

When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Asante Samuel Jr., the move was largely viewed as an opportunistic depth addition to bolster the secondary. However, as training camp rolls on, the former second-round pick is quickly proving that his ceiling in Pittsburgh extends far beyond a traditional backup role.
Through the early weeks of camp in Latrobe and into the preseason opener, Samuel has put together a dominant stretch of play. His crisp coverage and knack for shutting down opposing receivers have sparked serious conversations about how the coaching staff can fit him onto the field alongside starters Joey Porter Jr. and Jamel Dean.
Speaking on the "Locked on Steelers" podcast, host Christopher Carter highlighted how Samuel's impressive performance gives defensive coordinators a unique blueprint to optimize their lineup.
"He has been lighting it up. He has been shutting it down. He had a great first preseason game," Carter noted. "He has the opportunity, in my opinion, to shake things up because he can be the guy that gives the Steelers confidence that, you know what, we got to put him at in the starting rotation somehow."
Rather than forcing Samuel into a rigid reserve position, Carter suggested that using him on the perimeter allows Pittsburgh to unleash three elite cover men simultaneously while unlocking greater scheme flexibility for veteran stars like Jalen Ramsey.

#samuel #camp

As Prince Harry and Meghan Markle prepare to take up residency again in the U.K. six years after giving up their royal roles, Markle will be serving up her fashion influence and continue running her brand, As Ever.

While millions around the globe are chiming in about what their surprise decision could mean to the modern monarchy, others speculated about how commercial prospects may have played into their decision to relocate with their two children Archie, 7, and Lillibet, 5. Much has happened since Princess Diana and King Charles III's younger son lost his honorary military and royal patronage appointments in 2021.

The prince spelled out his many grievances with his kin in his memoir "Spare," and the pair sounded off in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. Harry has also openly criticized his home country for not providing his family of four with security. As for how that will be handled in a few weeks upon their return, Prime Minister Andy Burnham described that as "a private matter."

Although King Charles III and Queen Camilla were reunited with Harry's two children earlier this month at the monarch's private country estate Highgrove House, Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, were not there. The strained relations between Harry and his brother continue to be scrutinized on social media and in traditional media.

David Haigh, founder and chief executive officer of the independent brand evaluation consultancy firm Brand Finance, said, "My take is they clearly haven't succeeded in America like they thought they would."

Acknowledging how Harry and Markle each have critics and loyalists, Haigh said that Harry is "much more highly regarded in the U.K. than Markle is. And the dynamic will shift much more in his favor."

To that point, the latest YouGov public opinion poll of Harry gives him a 27 percent popularity ranking and Markle an 18 percent rating. But Markle has a track record for boosting designers' sales by wearing their label. She sported 16 Australian labels during a trip Down Under in April. That resulted in a total of $51.6 million in media impact value over a four-day stretch, according to Launchmetrics.

Carolina Herrera, Heidi Merrick, Dior, Valentino, Mackage, Emilia Wickstead, Victoria Beard, Reformation, Jason Wu and Anine Bing are among the many brands that 45-year-old Markle has rotated into her wardrobe. In addition to launching the lifestyle brand As Ever in the spring of last year, the former "Suits" actress and her husband were the executive producers for the documentary "Cookie Queens" about American Girl Scouts' cookie selling.
Meghan Markle at the Balenciaga spring 2026 show.
Last month, she earned an Emmy nomination for her Netflix lifestyle series "With Love, Meghan." In September 2020, the husband-and-wife team's Archewell Productions secured a multiyear deal with Netflix, which was reportedly in the $60 million to $100 million range.

With the couple maintaining their homes in Montecito,

A Bloomberg report on August 18 revealed that BP plc (NYSE:BP) has become the latest foreign company to enter the Venezuelan oil trade, with the tanker Monte Lema loading 400,000 barrels of heavy fuel oil for the British energy giant. The oil is being supplied by the state-owned PDVSA. The strategic move places BP among a select group of companies, including trading giants Trafigura and Vitol, with direct access to Venezuelan oil.
The development comes a few days after it was announced that the London-based company would partner with two other firms to develop the second phase of the Loran gasfield, in one of the first large-scale foreign investments in the South American country since the ouster of Nicolás Maduro earlier this year. That said, while the consortium has secured the official exploration and production license, the project remains in the pre-FID phase.
The developments come after President Trump called for global oil companies to invest in Venezuela and help restore and modernize its dilapidated oil infrastructure. The South American nation is sitting on the largest proven crude oil reserves in the world, accounting for roughly 17% of the global total. However, the oil-rich country's government nationalized major heavy oil projects in 2007, forcing foreign operators into minority stakes or outright seizing their **** ets.
As a relatively early mover, BP plc (NYSE:BP) stands to gain a lot from a gradual revival of Venezuelan oil output. The company appears to be positioning itself across multiple areas of Venezuela's energy value chain – from exploration to production, to trading and international marketing. It means that the energy giant could benefit from the country in many ways as it reconnects with global energy markets.
Moreover, BP's entry into the Venezuelan oil trade could give it an opportunity to capture trading margins in addition to upstream earnings. This could be particularly beneficial for the company as it could potentially leverage its already existing refining, marketing, shipping, and trading infrastructure in the region. Although Trafigura and Vitol have an early foothold in Venezuela's oil trading business, BP's large integrated energy business gives it a significant competitive edge.

#energy #company #vitol

Arsenal start the defence of their Premier League ******* le on Friday night, and the expectation is obvious. They have already brushed aside Manchester City in the Community Shield, winning 3-0 in Cardiff, and now they open at home against promoted Coventry. Same sky-blue shirts, very different level of threat.
Mikel Arteta's side go into the new campaign as favourites for good reason. They won the league by seven points last season, ended a 22-year wait for the ******* le, and reached the Champions League final. The immediate task is simpler, start fast, stay in control, and avoid handing a newly promoted team encouragement.
Coventry arrive with a different kind of momentum. Frank Lampard guided them back to the top flight after a 25-year absence, and they did it emphatically. While ******* nal finished seven points clear at the top of the Premier League, Coventry won the Championship with 95 points, nine ahead of Ipswich. Promotion earned them a place here, now comes the difficult part.
Arsenal still have defensive issues to manage. William Saliba is set for a lengthy spell out, while Jurrien Timber remains unavailable with a groin problem. That leaves Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera continuing in the back line, with Ezri Konsa still waiting to complete his £51million move from Aston Villa.
There should also be changes from the side that beat City. Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice both began on the bench in that 3-0 win, but are expected to return to the starting XI here. That matters. ******* nal are a different side when both play from the first whistle, one gives them incision, the other gives them authority.

#different #premier

Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) has expanded its partnership with Google to develop custom chips for AI infrastructure, strengthening its position in the growing custom-silicon market. The agreement covers several areas linked to Google's Tensor Processing Unit ecosystem, including AI inference accelerators, storage and networking products, memory interface controllers, and near-memory computing.
Alongside the commercial agreement, Marvell issued Google a warrant to buy up to 58.97 million Marvell shares at $206.58 each. If fully exercised, the warrant would be worth about $12.18 billion. The headline figure is important, but it needs some context because Google is not committing $12.18 billion upfront. Most of the warrants will vest only as Marvell generates revenue from Google over the coming years.
Investors reacted strongly to the news, with Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) shares gaining more than 11% in premarket trading. Broadcom, Google's existing custom-chip partner, fell more than 2%.
Photo from Marvell website
The most important part of the deal may be the way the warrant is structured. Most of the shares are linked to actual revenue from Google rather than simply vesting over time. That gives investors a fairly clear way to track how the relationship develops.

#warrant

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B) repurchased no stock at all in 2025. In the first quarter of 2026, it spent $235 million. In the second quarter, it spent about $4.5 billion, roughly 19 times as much in three months.
At most companies, a repurchase is a routine capital return. At Berkshire Hathaway, it is a published opinion about price. The standing program, as described in the Q2 10-Q, permits repurchases "any time that Berkshire's Chief Executive Officer, after consultation with the Chairman of the Board, believes that the repurchase price is below Berkshire's intrinsic value, conservatively determined." Note the construction. Warren Buffett stepped down as chief executive on Jan. 1 and remains chairman; the filing now vests the decision in the CEO and gives the chairman a consultation. This is Greg Abel's call, and it is the first loud one he has made.
Barron Trump, 20, Now Worth $150 Million — More Than Mom, Melania — From Crypto And $39 Energy Drink
Billionaire Michael Saylor Warns Against Buying a House Because 'Every 36 Years You Actually Pay the Cost of the House in Tax to the Government'
QQQ Just 'Gamma Flipped' as Market Makers Were Forced to Sell. Here's What Our Top Chart Expert is Tracking Next.

#first

'Prove them wrong!': Ramiz Raja gives emotional war cry to Pakistan after Michael Vaughan's humiliating 'weakest team' jibe originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
England dominated Day 2 at Headingley, closing on 366/8 for a commanding 195-run first-innings lead over Pakistan.
Ramiz Raja urged Pakistan to fight back after Michael Vaughan called them the "weakest team" to tour England.
Harry Brook fell agonisingly short of a century, dismissed for 91 by debutant spinner Ali Usman's five-wicket haul.
Ramiz Raja has issued an impassioned rallying cry to the Pakistan cricket team, urging them to hit back with a fight after Michael Vaughan handed a brutal ****** sment of the tourists.

#Pakistan #ramiz #michael #vaughan

By Christy Santhosh and Shashwat Chauhan
Aug 19 (Reuters) - Moderna shares more than doubled on Wednesday, adding about $30 billion to its market value, after promising late-stage data on its personalized mRNA cancer ‌therapy developed with Merck sent investors piling into the stock.
The therapy is central to Moderna's ‌efforts to prove that its mRNA technology can succeed beyond its COVID-19 vaccine franchise and infectious disease shots, as it seeks to build a more durable revenue base. The company recently added a flu vaccine to its portfolio and is advancing experimental vaccines for conditions including norovirus and Lyme disease.
Analysts had noted the cancer vaccine data could be an important catalyst for the company and potentially strengthen investor sentiment.
"A successful trial gives investors stronger evidence that mRNA technology can ‌have a meaningful future beyond infectious diseases," ⁠said Lale Akoner, global market strategist for eToro.

#market #cancer #Therapy #investors

The San Francisco 49ers have been a battered squad, but received some good news that one of their key players is eyeing a return.
San Francisco's George Kittle has been optimistic about his return from an Achilles injury he suffered in the 49ers' wild card-round win over the Philadelphia Eagles, eyeing a potential return date of Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season; the Niners kick off their season in Melbourne, Australia to face NFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Rams.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Kittle's recovery timeline is "ahead of schedule," further clarifying his Week 1 status.
"Kittle visited Wednesday in Los Angeles with renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed the surgery on his torn Achilles in January. It was said to be an encouraging visit," Schefter said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). "Kittle's recovery is ahead of schedule, and it gives him a legitimate chance to play in the regular season opener in Australia against the Los Angeles Rams."
The 32-year-old tight end is currently listed on the roster's physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Just a month ago, Kittle was seen deadlifting 665 pounds as he worked to return from a torn Achilles injury.

#achilles #angeles

On August 18, Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) announced Xfinity Shield, a new home security platform meant to make its broadband service harder to leave. The rollout matters because Comcast has spent much of 2026 managing broadband subscriber losses, and a bundled security product gives the company something fiber and wireless rivals cannot easily replicate. Xfinity Shield combines Wi-Fi-based protection, cybersecurity, and family controls inside the existing Xfinity app, folding a new revenue lever onto a business that badly needs one.
Xfinity Shield ships free to every Xfinity Internet customer, with a $15-a-month tier adding an indoor camera, door and window sensors, cloud video storage, and 24/7 urgent response. Comcast product chief Fraser Stirling described the strategy plainly, saying the company is "lowering the barrier of entry to the idea of a total security product under Xfinity Shield." The timing lines up with how connected the average home has become. Comcast says the typical Xfinity customer now runs 36 devices on their home Wi-Fi, and its network filters an average of 30 million threats every day, numbers that make a bundled security layer feel less like an add-on and more like a necessity.
That stickiness push sits on top of a business that already throws off serious cash. Comcast generated nearly $21.9 billion in free cash flow in FY 2025 and turned $123.7 billion in revenue into roughly $20.0 billion of net income, a 16.2% margin. Execution has held up too. Peacock turned profitable for the first time, wireless lines crossed a major milestone, and Comcast beat earnings estimates in its most recent quarter, evidence that the company can still deliver even while restructuring around it.
None of that changes the core problem Xfinity Shield is designed to fix: broadband subscribers are still leaving. Comcast faces intensifying competition from fiber providers and 5G fixed wireless rivals, a fight that keeps chipping away at what was once a near-monopoly business. The balance sheet reflects a company carrying real leverage, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.1x and a current ratio of 0.9x, meaning short-term liabilities outweigh short-term ***** ets as of the December 2025 balance sheet.
Comcast also paused its share buyback program ahead of a planned NBCUniversal spinoff, a separation that adds years of complexity for investors trying to value the pieces separately. The company took an $8.6 billion noncash impairment tied to Sky, and rising costs for sports broadcasting rights, including the NFL and NBA, continue to pressure the media segment. There is also an uncomfortable irony in Comcast selling a cybersecurity product months after agreeing to a $117.5 million settlement over a prior Xfinity data breach, a reminder that the company's own network security has already been tested and found wanting once.

#home #broadband

The biological parents of a baby born after their surrogate refused their request for an abortion are now seeking more than $100,000 from the woman who carried their child, alleging she breached their surrogacy agreement.
TMZ reported Wednesday that it obtained the countersuit filed by Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed against surrogate McKenna West, weeks before she gave birth in Texas Aug. 12.
The couple is seeking more than $100,000 for alleged breach of their surrogacy agreement, along with unspecified damages over what they call West's "malicious, outrageous conduct."
The couple alleges they paid West $60,000 during the pregnancy under the surrogacy agreement, which included provisions addressing termination, TMZ reported. The counterclaims accuse West of breaching that deal and causing the couple emotional distress.
Surrogate Gives Birth In Texas To Baby With Heart Defect After Parents Requested Abortion

#surrogate #couple #abortion #birth

This year's rally is no longer just a megacap story. Now the calendar is pushing back.
The S&P 500 Equal-Weighted Index (^SP500EW) is up about 15% in 2026, beating the roughly 12% gain for the standard S&P 500 (^GSPC).
That distinction is useful here. The standard S&P 500 gives its biggest companies the most influence, while the equal-weight version gives each stock the same weight. In other words, it is a better look at how the average S&P 500 stock is doing.
And lately, the average stock has been doing quite well. The broader rally has helped push some of Wall Street's riskiest trades back to the top.
But BTIG technical strategist Jonathan Krinsky sees a tougher stretch of the calendar arriving right on schedule.

#standard #gives #doing

On August 18, Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) announced Xfinity Shield, a new home security platform meant to make its broadband service harder to leave. The rollout matters because Comcast has spent much of 2026 managing broadband subscriber losses, and a bundled security product gives the company something fiber and wireless rivals cannot easily replicate. Xfinity Shield combines Wi-Fi-based protection, cybersecurity, and family controls inside the existing Xfinity app, folding a new revenue lever onto a business that badly needs one.
Xfinity Shield ships free to every Xfinity Internet customer, with a $15-a-month tier adding an indoor camera, door and window sensors, cloud video storage, and 24/7 urgent response. Comcast product chief Fraser Stirling described the strategy plainly, saying the company is "lowering the barrier of entry to the idea of a total security product under Xfinity Shield." The timing lines up with how connected the average home has become. Comcast says the typical Xfinity customer now runs 36 devices on their home Wi-Fi, and its network filters an average of 30 million threats every day, numbers that make a bundled security layer feel less like an add-on and more like a necessity.
That stickiness push sits on top of a business that already throws off serious cash. Comcast generated nearly $21.9 billion in free cash flow in FY 2025 and turned $123.7 billion in revenue into roughly $20.0 billion of net income, a 16.2% margin. Execution has held up too. Peacock turned profitable for the first time, wireless lines crossed a major milestone, and Comcast beat earnings estimates in its most recent quarter, evidence that the company can still deliver even while restructuring around it.
None of that changes the core problem Xfinity Shield is designed to fix: broadband subscribers are still leaving. Comcast faces intensifying competition from fiber providers and 5G fixed wireless rivals, a fight that keeps chipping away at what was once a near-monopoly business. The balance sheet reflects a company carrying real leverage, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.1x and a current ratio of 0.9x, meaning short-term liabilities outweigh short-term ****** ets as of the December 2025 balance sheet.
Comcast also paused its share buyback program ahead of a planned NBCUniversal spinoff, a separation that adds years of complexity for investors trying to value the pieces separately. The company took an $8.6 billion noncash impairment tied to Sky, and rising costs for sports broadcasting rights, including the NFL and NBA, continue to pressure the media segment. There is also an uncomfortable irony in Comcast selling a cybersecurity product months after agreeing to a $117.5 million settlement over a prior Xfinity data breach, a reminder that the company's own network security has already been tested and found wanting once.

#company

This year's rally is no longer just a megacap story. Now the calendar is pushing back.
The S&P 500 Equal-Weighted Index (^SP500EW) is up about 15% in 2026, beating the roughly 12% gain for the standard S&P 500 (^GSPC).
That distinction is useful here. The standard S&P 500 gives its biggest companies the most influence, while the equal-weight version gives each stock the same weight. In other words, it is a better look at how the average S&P 500 stock is doing.
And lately, the average stock has been doing quite well. The broader rally has helped push some of Wall Street's riskiest trades back to the top.
But BTIG technical strategist Jonathan Krinsky sees a tougher stretch of the calendar arriving right on schedule.

#calendar #doing

The Oklahoma Sooners and head coach Brent Venables have agreed to a contract extension, the university announced on Thursday. OU Vice President and Director of Athletics Roger Denny announced that Venables has agreed to a new contract that spans six total years. The contract, which is pending approval from the OU Board of Regents, adds two seasons to Venables' current deal, and will run through the 2031 season.
Venables was hired as OU's 23rd full-time head coach in December of 2021. He replaced Lincoln Riley, who left to be the head coach at USC a week earlier. In his four seasons at the helm in Norman, Venables has compiled a 32-20 overall record.
In his first season in 2022, the Sooners went 6-7, but Oklahoma rebounded to a 10-3 mark in 2023, which was their final season in the Big 12 Conference. After Venables signed a contract extension ahead of the 2024 season, that year brought the program's first campaign in the Southeastern Conference, and with it, another 6-7 season.
In Year 4 in 2025, Venables posted his best season yet as a head coach. Oklahoma went 10-3 and made the College Football Playoff, losing in the first round. The Sooners won four big SEC games in the month of November that they absolutely had to have, making the CFP after going just 6-2 through the month of October.
Now, Venables is entering his fifth year as Oklahoma's head coach in 2026, and he's tied to the Sooners long-term. The new deal gives him more stability at OU, after the rocky 2024 season, when some questioned how long he'd be the head coach of the Sooners. His 2025 performance quieted many of his doubters, and now he has inked another extension. The board will meet in mid-September, with Venables' new deal on the agenda.

#venables #season #Sooners

Lakers receive positive update for landing Nuggets' Nikola Jokic after Peyton Watson trade originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Lakers are beginning to build their future around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves after moving on from LeBron James. It has been an eventful summer, with significant turnover throughout the roster as Los Angeles looks to create a team capable of competing for championships.
Doncic is excited about what is ahead for the Lakers, but he also wants to win now.
"Dončić being just 26 gives the Lakers a far longer timeline to build a championship-contending team, but that doesn't mean they can slow down and take their time. Dončić told Lakers president Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick in May that he's not interested in taking the slow approach in building a contender," CBS Sports' Jasmyn Wimbish wrote.
On Wednesday, the Denver Nuggets traded Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a five-team deal. The move left Denver without one of its most promising young players and raised questions about the team's long-term direction alongside Nikola Jokic.

#Lakers #watson #doncic

SPCX slipped below its $135 IPO price after 319M shares unlocked; RKLB fell 3% in pure sector sympathy with no company-specific catalyst.
August's 911M-share unlock lifted SPCX 6%, making today's smaller drop below IPO price a clear signal of weakening market appetite at current levels.
UFO is up 21% YTD, but two larger SPCX unlocks in November and December dwarf today's tranche and make supply pressure a recurring risk.
Act now: the ****** yst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Rocket Lab didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) stock is down 6% to $131.86 midday Thursday, slipping below the company's $135 IPO price for the first time since the June debut. Roughly 319 million shares came off lockup this morning, the latest tranche in a staggered release schedule that will eventually free most of the float. A move under the offering price gives sellers a clear reference to trade against as more supply becomes eligible.

#spcx #price #free #shares

Bessent doubled Treasury's long-bond buybacks to $4B per operation, dropping the 30-year yield 10 basis points and sending silver surging 6%.
Silver outpaced gold because industrial demand from solar panels and green tech gives it higher sensitivity when yields fall and risk-on conditions emerge.
The buybacks are a rounding error against a $28T Treasury market, and the metals rally is a narrative response to fiscal concern rather than monetary easing.
Don't wait: the **** yst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just revealed his top 10 AI stocks. See the full list FREE now.
The bond market has been sending distress signals for months. With public debt surpassing $40 trillion and the 30-year Treasury yield touching levels last seen in 2007, Washington has had a buyer's strike problem on its hands. Long-dated debt kept cheapening as investors demanded more compensation for holding it, and that selloff was starting to ripple into everything from mortgage rates to gold.

#bond #buybacks #yield

Crystal Palace have agreed a deal to sign Chelsea defender Axel Disasi on loan without an option to buy, according to Fabrice Hawkins.
The Eagles desperately needed reinforcement at the back following the sale of Maxence Lacroix to the Blues. He was a priority target.
Palace have now turned to the Frenchman to anchor the defence alongside Chris Richards and Jaydee Canvot. Talks are ongoing with the player and his representatives.
A dry loan also gives the South London club the flexibility to sign Raphael Le Guen, a young defender they have been chasing for weeks.
Disasi could be Palace's sixth summer signing after Dwight McNeil, Anan Khalaili, Zavier Gozo, Oscar Mingueza, and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

#palace #Chelsea #fabrice #hawkins

For a decade, T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) has been one of the most preferred stocks in the telecom industry. However, on August 14, 2026, Wolfe Research's Peter Supino cut the stock's rating from Outperform to Peer Perform, and the shares declined. As Supino questions both TMUS's growth story and the cash-return story, the downgrade gives bulls some reason for caution.
T-Mobile's second-quarter print reported July 23, 2026, provides some support for Supino's first argument that
Long-term revenue growth forecast risk tilts negatively as competition expands in T-Mo's core.
Postpaid net account additions stood at 277,000 – a 13% decline from 318,000 a year earlier. Also, management expects third-quarter postpaid net account additions of approximately 250,000 as rate-plan modernization temporarily elevates account churn. Postpaid phone churn was 0.85% in Q2, with management saying the impact on phone churn should be smaller because the modernization is concentrated in accounts with fewer lines
The second argument targets cash returns. Supino warned that

#postpaid #account #Growth #argument

Interested in Belden Inc? Here are five stocks we like better.
Belden is not a chipmaker, but its connectivity products are becoming more relevant as AI data centers expand.
The company posted record second-quarter revenue and orders, helped by strong demand across data center and industrial markets.
The RUCKUS acquisition gives Belden a broader networking platform, though integration risk and competition remain important watch points.
Investors hunting for ways to profit from the artificial intelligence boom typically look to chipmakers, cloud giants, or maybe software firms embedding AI into everything.

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Microsoft's Azure surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, grew 43% year-over-year, and is guided to roughly 45% growth next quarter.
The OpenAI partnership, with IP rights through 2032 and $250 billion in contracted Azure services, gives MSFT a moat AMZN and GOOGL cannot replicate.
A $678 billion commercial backlog growing 84% year-over-year outpaces capex concerns, supporting continued accumulation before operating leverage emerges in earnings.
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I hit the buy **** on on Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) again last week, and I will hit it again next month. The stock is down 6.91% over the past year and roughly flat year to date, sitting at $480.35. That is exactly the window I have been waiting for. The consolidation is the invitation.

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DON pays monthly dividends sourced entirely from real mid-cap holdings, delivering a 2.26% yield that works out to roughly $2,260 annually on a $100,000 stake.
With financials at 24% and technology at just 5%, DON offers meaningful diversification away from mega-cap-heavy large-cap portfolios.
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Most dividend portfolios start in the same place. Investors buy large-cap funds stuffed with familiar names, collect quarterly checks, and rarely look further down the market-cap ladder. The WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend Fund (NYSEARCA:DON) takes the opposite approach. It targets dividend-paying companies outside the market's largest names, pays distributions monthly, and currently offers a 2.26% trailing-twelve-month yield. On a $100,000 investment, that works out to roughly $2,260 per year.
That yield alone is not enough to make DON a high-income ETF. Plenty of covered-call and high-dividend funds pay considerably more. The appeal is different. DON gives income investors access to a part of the market that tends to receive far less attention than the mega-cap stocks dominating the S&P 500, while still providing a diversified dividend stream and room for capital appreciation.

#yield #offers #large

Colombia's state-controlled oil company Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) has completed its roughly $1.2 billion acquisition of a controlling 51% stake in Brazil's Brava Energia, significantly expanding its position in one of Latin America's most important oil-producing markets.
The deal combines approximately 25% of Brava's shares acquired through a voluntary tender offer with another 26% purchased under an agreement reached with existing shareholders in April. Ecopetrol had offered R$23 per share in the tender and said earlier this month that the auction had been successfully completed.
The acquisition gives Ecopetrol control of a sizeable portfolio of Brazilian offshore and onshore **** ets. Brava produced an average of around 78,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) during the first half of 2026, rising to approximately 84,400 boed in June.
Brava also reported 459 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) of proved reserves at the end of 2025 under PRMS standards. Ecopetrol previously described Brava as Brazil's second-largest listed independent oil company by reserves and production.
At the approximately $1.2 billion purchase price, Ecopetrol is paying an implied $8.40 per boe of proved reserves and around $6.30 per boe of proved-plus-probable reserves. Brava generated approximately $2.34 billion in revenue and $1.05 billion in EBITDA during the 12 months through June 2026.

#approximately

On August 6, Cable One (NYSE:CABO) walked investors through a quarter that reads like two different companies. Residential broadband customers kept leaving, yet management pointed to improving connect trends, rising average revenue per user, and an aggressive debt paydown as signs the business is stabilizing underneath the subscriber losses. The result is a report that gives both the bulls and the bears real ammunition.
Cable One's acquisition numbers moved in the right direction in the second quarter. Connect activity improved sequentially from the first quarter and grew in each month of Q2, and door-to-door sales have more than doubled as a share of quarterly connects over the past year. Residential broadband ARPU also rose sequentially, lifted by promotional roll-offs, changes to the AutoPay Plus program, and customers adding higher-value products. Essentially all of Cable One's network can already deliver gigabit speeds, and the company expects most customers on multi-gig infrastructure by year-end, upgrades it credits to disciplined investment rather than new capital spending.
Business services found firmer ground too, with enterprise, wholesale, and carrier offerings benefiting from long-term contracts and recurring revenue, and Cable One rounded out that lineup with a new unified communications product called UCaaS. Underneath all of it, the company cut its debt balances by $63 million in the quarter, close to $60 million of that through voluntary repurchases at a discount, pushing year-to-date debt reduction to nearly $130 million with $700 million still undrawn on its revolver.
The subscriber numbers remain the core problem. Cable One lost 17,000 residential broadband customers in the second quarter as elevated churn persisted, and residential data revenue fell 7.3% year-over-year on a 6.6% drop in subscribers even as ARPU held roughly flat. Total revenue slid to $348.9 million from $381.1 million a year earlier, and the SMB broadband business stayed under pressure while business data revenue fell 6.6% year over year, partly reflecting tower ****** ets the company sold earlier in the year.
Profitability moved the wrong way as well. Adjusted EBITDA fell to $173.5 million, or 49.7% of revenue, down from 53.3% of revenue a year earlier, while capital expenditures climbed to $74 million, up $5.6 million year-over-year. That combination pushed adjusted EBITDA less capex down to $99.5 million from $134.8 million a year ago. Cable One also booked non-cash impairment charges tied to its franchise agreements, goodwill, and its MBI investment, and net leverage stood at 4.2 times against a gross debt load of $3.06 billion, as management flagged continued competitive intensity in fiber overbuild markets.

#million