SARATOGA SPRINGS - More than $60 million was wagered on Saturday's Travers Day card at Saratoga Race Course, a noted increase from 2025 and the second-highest all-sources wagering handle in the history of the Travers.
The New York Racing **** ociation announced Saturday night that Travers Day, headlined by Leading Change's win in the Midsummer Derby, generated an all-sources handle of $60,863,320, including an on-track wagering handle of $11,197,855.
Wagering on Travers Day jumped more than $6 million from a year ago, when $54,309,929 was wagered from all sources on a day highlighted by Sovereignty's Travers victory and a gutsy victory by the popular filly Thorpedo Anna in the Personal Ensign. This year's on-track handle was also an increase of nearly $1 million from 2025's figure of $10,369,950.
This year's Travers Day handle was second only to 2024, when a card highlighted by Fierceness winning the Travers over Thorpedo Anna generated a record $63,023,405.
The field breaks from the gate in the 157th Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday in Saratoga Springs. (Skip **** stein)

#sources #springs

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been without Shohei Ohtani in the rotation for a while now, and just as he was supposed to return, he has suffered a setback.
Following a 20-pitch bullpen session on Friday, Ohtani reportedly was not "100 percent," per The Athletic's Katie Woo. The Dodgers decided that he would not pitch on Sunday or Tuesday. Ohtani has been dealing with a knee issue that caused him to get an orthovisc injection. He is also dealing with a biceps issue.
Roberts noted that if any pitcher was feeling the way Ohtani was, the team would not let them pitch. However, unlike a normal pitcher, Ohtani can't go on a rehab **** ignment and is a major piece of the Dodgers offense. Ohtani was planning to build up in big league games, but Roberts noted that if he is not 100 percent, it may not be worth pushing him.
"In the sense of coming out of (the bullpen), you're a couple days away from taking the mound again, and you don't feel you know 100 percent," Roberts said. "So it's to ask the question, if you're not 100 percent going into now ramping up in a major-league game, is it worth it?"
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#ohtani #roberts #ISSUE #noted

Dave Doeren's 14th season at NC State needed just one game to become another referendum on his future. Virginia turned Saturday's opener into a 34-8 rout, while the reaction around the Wolfpack became increasingly unforgiving.
NC State trailed 17-0 at halftime after CJ Bailey threw an interception and lost a fumble, then watched Virginia squeeze more than 12 minutes off the clock on a 23-play fourth-quarter touchdown drive. By then, the frustration had moved well beyond one ugly possession.
One user didn't mince words in anX post: "The Wolfpack better go ahead and just fire head coach Dave Doeren. Start the search now and try again next year."
Todd Bryant chimed in as well. After joking through months of missing college football, he endedhis post with, "Dave Doeren is a joke , I hate watching him on the sidelines for PackFootball."
CBS Sports college football ******* yst Brad Crawford noted that NC State entered with "the easiest schedule in Dave Doeren's 13 seasons," only to get "blown off the field in the opener." In another post, Crawford summed up the Doeren experience more simply: "Watching NC State under Dave Doeren just makes you bang your head against the wall."

#post #virginia #opener #well

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus was looking forward to watching New Zealand counterpart Dave Rennie squirm for the next week after tying their four-test series on Saturday.
The Springboks relied on a masterclass of goalkicking by Cheslin Kolbe — seven from seven off the tee — to win the second test 33-26 after New Zealand outscored them on tries 4-3.
World champion South Africa dropped the first test in Johannesburg and hasn't lost consecutive tests at home on Erasmus' watch — since 2018 — and he was relieved they got back into a series in which they started as the heavy favorite.
"Of course I felt the pressure, and the players will tell you I felt the pressure. I try not to put it on them but I was nervous," Erasmus said.
He noted he and the older Rennie were November babies, both Scorpios, and quipped: "That's why he's able to work me out.

#south #africa #erasmus #series

The Jacksonville Jaguars will soon have to make roster cuts to trim their roster down to 53 players ahead of the league deadline at 6 p.m. on Aug. 30.
The team completed the preseason on Friday, wrapping up with a win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The game was headlined by several players who were competing for spots on the roster, making one final push to earn their spots.
However, as Liam Coen noted earlier in the week, the final roster spots are earned via a players' body of work over the entire offseason.
Hear from QB1: Trevor Lawrence says he found a 'groove' during Jaguars' training camp
Follow the Times-Union for updates from cut-down day as the decisions arrive and the news rolls in.

#players #jaguars #down #final

Cramer exited AVGO over plans to raise $80 billion in debt but dismissed identical vendor financing concerns at NVDA as "lazy Susan deals."
Nvidia's 503x interest coverage and $49 billion in free cash flow let it fund an $80 billion buyback without touching bond markets.
Don't wait: the ****** yst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just revealed his top 10 AI stocks. See the full list FREE now.
The split screen from Aug. 25 is the setup investors need to understand heading into tonight's earnings report. In the morning, a CNBC clip logged Jim Cramer selling Broadcom and defending NVIDIA. That evening on Mad Money, he called NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) "the loom, the steam engine and the computer all balled up into one" and waved off the same vendor financing practice he had flagged at the other chipmaker as harmless.
The chipmaker he exited was Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), a charitable trust holding. Cramer had noted the night prior that Broadcom was looking to raise a significant amount of debt to support a planned chip financing deal, and traders were already weighing AI leverage risks tied to a debt raise of up to $80 billion. Yet when the same circular financing critique was aimed at NVIDIA, Cramer brushed it aside: "The critics say these are circular deals where Nvidia gives someone money and then they spend that money on NVIDIA product. I call them lazy Susan deals."

#NVIDIA #financing #avgo

The gap Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa has been closed in the Atlanta Falcons quarterback race, according to Yahoo Sports. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport says the lead Tagovailoa held is gone. Both players will now split first-team reps to settle the starting job. The competition is wide open and the pressure is on for both men.
Tagovailoa started with a huge advantage. He looked great during the offseason while Penix was stuck on the sideline. The organization wanted him to win the job and move forward as the starter. That plan relied on Penix staying injured for a while. But the knee injury healed faster than expected.
Penix needed surgery in the week of November 24, 2025, to address a partially torn ACL in his left knee. Before that hurt knee, he threw for 1,982 yards. He completed 60.1 per cent of his passes. Nine total touchdowns and three interceptions were recorded by him during the 2025 season. Now he is back and ready to fight.
Tagovailoa has not looked as sharp in the preseason. Both in practice and in games, Rapoport noted that he had been inconsistent. The gap that seemed so wide has shrunk to nothing. Rapoport explained that Tagovailoa 'had a big-time lead in this race'. That lead is under serious pressure now.
Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed the split reps. This move proves the door is open for Penix. Rapoport stated that while he seems to have been practicing better the last couple of days, the door is open for Michael Penix. That quote from Rapoport sums up the whole situation perfectly.

#lead #michael #race

SpaceX's first orbital data center is now due to launch in the fourth quarter of 2027 — about a year earlier than the company told investors when it went public.
The company had earlier noted plans to start deploying satellites "as early as 2028" in its initial May Prospectus. Then on the company's first earnings call on Aug. 4, Musk said launches would start next year. And on Aug. 24 he put a quarter on it: "SpaceX, in partnership with Nvidia, has designed a ******* e-optimized Vera Rubin NVL72 system for launch to orbit in Q4 next year, with significant scale in 2028," he wrote on X.
Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one
Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake. Here's what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP
The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028. Here are 4 moves to make before the window closes

#next

Aug 28 (Reuters) - BioNTech SE said on Friday it has decided to ‌terminate the mid-stage trial of ‌its experimental mRNA-based cancer vaccine for patients with a type of colorectal cancer, sending the German firm's U.S.-listed shares down nearly 9%.
An independent data safety monitoring board, responsible ‌for overseeing the ⁠safety and integrity of the trial, recommended discontinuing treatment of ⁠patients and terminating the study.
The immunotherapy, autogene cevumeran, is being jointly developed by BioNTech and Roche's Genentech. The trial was evaluating ‌it as an adjuvant monotherapy in patients with high-risk stage II or stage III colorectal cancer whose tumors had been surgically removed but who remained ctDNA-positive.
In ‌its most recent review of the available data of this trial, the board identified a ‌numerical imbalance in overall survival between treatment arms in this specific patient population and noted that further trial continuation was ‌unlikely to change the efficacy outcome.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

#patients #colorectal

The second quarter earnings season is nearly complete, and Nvidia's (NVDA) Q2 earnings beat on Wednesday served as a keystone to a remarkably strong stretch of corporate reports.
Nvidia stock jumped 8% on Thursday following the company's earnings release. Software and cybersecurity stocks also rose following a string of strong earnings reports. Salesforce (CRM), CrowdStrike (CRWD), and Okta (OKTA) stocks lifted by double digits in afternoon trading.
According to FactSet data, second quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are on pace to rise 50% year over year, the highest growth rate since 2021. Artificial intelligence has been the growth engine of that broad-based earnings growth, Bank of America strategists noted.
In addition to Nvidia's results, investors weighed key updates this week from dollar stores Dollar Tree (DLTR) and Dollar General (DG), software companies Intuit (INTU) and Zoom (ZM), and other retailers like ******* 's Sporting Goods (DKS) and Kohl's (KSS).
Marvell (MRVL) stock dipped after the data center chip manufacturer's second quarter earnings beat and guidance raise wasn't enough for Wall Street investors.

#earnings #second #beat

The Dallas Cowboys saw one of their bubble players suffer an apparent injury halfway through the second quarter of their preseason finale against the New Orleans Saints. It was Marist Liufau who had the apparent wrist injury.
The broadcast noted that Liufau was labeled as questionable to return to the game with a wrist injury. He could indeed be seen grabbing at his wrist as he took a knee on the ground and had to be tended to. He has been one of the players on the roster bubble with regards to making the team in general, and it goes without saying that this could be a potential factor in that math.
Time will tell what his status is moving forward and into Sunday when roster cuts are due as teams have to create an initial 53-man roster. The team likes his special teams ability, but this injury could be a deciding factor depending on severity.

#roster #liufau #bubble #teams

The Philadelphia 76ers will be a much different-looking team when they take the floor in October after the moves they made in the offseason. The Sixers were able to add two decorated players in Jaylen Brown and LeBron James in an effort to make life easier for Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid to get Philadelphia to the mountaintop of the league.
The Sixers have been the clear winners of the offseason with both Brown and James winning championships and finals MVP awards. That new star duo will look to help the Sixers end a long ******* le drought and give this team the boost it needs to finally get over the hump and end some long droughts in the playoffs, which has been noted plenty of times this offseason.
Jason Williams, who won a championship with the Miami Heat in 2006, gave his thoughts on the James-Brown duo for the Sixers as he believes they're the two best players for Philadelphia:
They're the best two players on that team. If LeBron James is in the league, he'll be number one on my list, every list, till I die. That's just what it is with me...You can never fix your mouth to say that Maxey is better than LeBron James, you can't.
As talented as James and Brown are, and they will certainly make a difference for the Sixers, it will likely come down to Maxey and Embiid as this is still their team. James and Brown are here to help them get the job done rather than the other way around. Williams makes a point, but the Sixers will need Maxey and Embiid to be great for this group to make the leap they need them to make in order to win that championship.

#sixers #maxey #lebron #offseason

Michael Olise has picked up right where he left off this summer, scoring a cool-as-you-like goal in Bayern Munich's league opener against VfB Stuttgart and having an even slicker finish cancelled by a narrow offside ruling in review.
The Frenchman, who was the subject of some summer transfer rumors, is one of Vincent Kompany's key men in a formidable and multi-faceted attack — and he's well on his way to a third Bundesliga season with outstanding production. But it's too early for talks of an extension, according to Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen in comments captured by Sky Germany journalist Kerry Hau (via iMiaSanMia).
"We're not currently in [contract] talks," Dreesen noted after the match — a runaway 5-1 winner after Olise's second-half goal restored a Bayern lead that had only just slipped away. "He's under contract until 2029, so there's no reason to rush into anything."
Okay…but maybe there is a little bit of a reason?
Olise is 24, turning 25 this season, and flying just about as high as any footballer in the world today after two explosive, breakout seasons at Bayern Munich and a sensational World Cup with France. His value has skyrocketed beyond the €60M fee that brought him to Germany from Crystal Palace and consequently, so too has he outgrown his initial contract. All the biggest clubs in the world should be after him, and any club that can't fit him in at right wing can probably find a place for him in the center, where he may even prefer playing.

#World #contract #right #goal

With training camp in the rearview, the Tennessee ***** ans are about ready to fully turn their attention to the season opener against the New York Jets. Just two hurdles remain: the preseason finale against the Chicago Bears on Saturday and the cut-down to 53 on Sunday.
This past week, head coach Robert Saleh and ***** istant general manager Dave Zeigler discussed the week and noted that a few roster spots remain up for grabs. But what are those? And who are those in contention?
While some players like Julius Chestnut appear to have locked up a roster spot as the fourth running back or Kylen Granson as the fourth tight end, others are still fighting for the final spots, and the final roster breakdown will be dictated by the final positional breakdown.
Here is a breakdown of what ***** ans Wire believes could be those final spots.
The ***** ans are five deep, but will have some decisions to make at receiver. Bryce Oliver is a special teams ***** et, which could give him an advantage, but Xavier Restrepo is making a strong push. With Wan'Dale Robinson going down with a potential concussion, Restrepo could be in-line to gain some extra snaps in the preseason finale and could have a golden opportunity to cement his case.

#finale

On August 18, Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) delivered a fiscal third quarter that beat the high end of its own guidance across the board. Revenue climbed 36% year over year to $1.85 billion, non-GAAP earnings per share jumped 79% to $3.07, and orders topped $2 billion for the second straight quarter. Management raised its outlook for both the fourth quarter and the full fiscal year, pointing to demand tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure, defense modernization, and next-generation communications standards. The results position Keysight as one of the more direct ways to invest in the testing and validation side of the AI buildout, a corner of the market most investors rarely think about.
Orders reached $2.091 billion in the quarter, up 56% on a reported basis, the second straight quarter above the $2 billion mark. Wireline orders more than doubled year over year as customers scaled out AI data center infrastructure, and Commercial Communications crossed $1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, up 56%, while revenue from wireline products outpaced wireless within that segment for the first time. The Electronic Industrial Solutions Group posted a record $501 million in revenue, up 21%, with double-digit order growth across general electronics, semiconductors, and automotive and energy. Aerospace, defense and government revenue grew 14% to $339 million as spending shifted toward lower-cost autonomous platforms, including UAVs and low earth orbit satellite constellations built by venture-funded defense technology firms.
Profitability expanded right alongside the growth: operating margin hit 33.2%, up 820 basis points and above the company's long-term target range of 31% to 32%, while free cash flow rose to $403 million from $291 million a year earlier. The company also added nearly 3,000 new customers so far this fiscal year, a group that has already contributed more than $100 million in new business, and said July was its busiest month yet for incoming sales opportunities, pushing the trailing 12-month pipeline to a record. Further out, the 3GPP standards body confirmed in June that the first 6G standard is targeted for March 2029, a milestone management said is already moving customers from exploratory research into funded development work.
CFO Neil Dougherty tempered the enthusiasm, warning that supply availability remains "a governor of our ability to convert demand into revenue" over the next several quarters, meaning orders are outrunning what the company can actually ship and book as revenue right now. He also noted that one-time tariff impacts in fiscal 2026 inflated this year's profitability in ways that are not expected to repeat in fiscal 2027. That combination, a backlog constrained by supply and a margin base partly lifted by tariffs, complicates how much of this quarter's strength carries forward unchanged. The integration of recent acquisitions is also still working through the system.

#quarter #billion #m

On August 19, Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW) reported second-quarter sales of $26 billion, up 8.3% from a year earlier, even though comparable sales inched up just 0.2%. The headline number hides a split personality inside the business. Pro contractors, online shoppers and Do-It-For-Me customers kept spending, while everyday DIY homeowners pulled back hard enough that management trimmed its full-year guidance. That gap between who is still spending and who isn't is the real story in this quarter.
Pro sales grew again, and management credited small and medium-sized contractors responding to the company's digital planning tools and the MyLowe's Pro Rewards loyalty program, which lets Pros quote, plan, and manage jobs inside Lowe's own platform. Online sales jumped 15.7%, helped by expanded visualization tools and the Mylow AI agent, which has fielded more than 25 million customer and ******* ociate questions since launch.
Notably, CEO Marvin Ellison said the conversion rate for online shoppers who use Mylow runs triple that of shoppers who don't, a sign the tool is doing more than answering questions. Appliances delivered a seventh straight quarter of positive comparable sales, aided by next-day delivery in virtually every US ZIP code and a push into premium products like Traeger grills and a GE Profile refrigerator that scans groceries for an Instacart shopping list. Loyalty is compounding too: MyLowe's Rewards has crossed 30 million members who shop more often and spend more per visit than nonmembers, giving the company a growing base to sell that premium ******* ortment into even while the broader housing market stalls.
Comparable transactions fell 2.1% during the quarter, offset only by a 2.3% rise in average ticket, and management pinned the weakness on weather-sensitive and seasonal categories where DIY shoppers dominate. Executive Vice President Joe McFarland said Pro customers themselves are noticing it, describing homeowners who are "more cautious about their spending" and shifting toward smaller repair jobs instead of full remodels.
That caution pushed Lowe's to guide toward the bottom of its prior range, now targeting roughly $92 billion in sales and $12.25 in adjusted earnings per share for the full year. Margins felt it too. Adjusted operating margin slipped 62 basis points to 14%, and CFO Brandon Sink noted that an $80 million tariff refund benefit was largely wiped out by elevated fuel and transportation costs. The company's Foundation Building Materials and Artisan Design Group acquisitions add another layer of risk, since Sink flagged "softer-for-longer new home construction" pressuring demand in both segments. Inventory climbed to $17.7 billion, up $1.4 billion year over year, and adjusted debt to EBITDA sits at 3.0x against a 2.75x target management doesn't expect to hit until mid-2027. Third quarter earnings are guided to come in roughly 7% below last year's adjusted EPS.

#sales #billion #shoppers #online

Aristotle Capital Management, LLC, an investment management company, released its "Value Equity Fund" Q2 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Fund delivered a 4.32% total return in Q2 2026, underperforming the 13.87% gain for the Russell 1000 Value Index and the 15.20% return for the S&P 500, while its 1.99% year-to-date return also lagged the Russell 1000 Value Index's 16.26% and the S&P 500's 10.21%. The Fund attributed the performance gap largely to limited exposure to the AI infrastructure spending boom, noting that the U.S. has about 4,000 existing data centers and nearly 3,000 more planned or under construction, while AI-related demand has created bottlenecks in processors and memory. The letter highlighted the scale of the cycle, with industry cash flows in key AI hardware areas rising sharply, while the Russell 1000 Value Index's top 10 contributors gained an average 182% year to date and accounted for 9.29 percentage points of the index's 16.23% return. Looking ahead, the fund expects investors to eventually reassess the sustainability of current AI infrastructure earnings and valuations. In addition, please check the Fund's top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Aristotle Value Equity Fund highlighted stocks like QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM). QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) develops wireless technologies and semiconductor solutions powering smartphones, automotive systems, and connected devices worldwide. The one-month return of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) was 11.63% while its shares traded between $121.99 and $259.92 over the last 52 weeks. On August 27, 2026, QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) stock closed at approximately $163.72 per share, with a market capitalization of about $176.00 billion.
Aristotle Value Equity Fund stated the following regarding QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM), a leading semiconductor and communications technology company, was the largest contributor for the quarter. Shares recovered as management indicated that the inventory adjustments and production constraints resulting from higher memory costs were progressing largely as expected and that handset revenues from Chinese customers were expected to reach a bottom. As we noted last quarter, we believed these headwinds to be cyclical rather than structural and did not alter our long-term investment thesis. The company also continued to make progress on its long-term strategy of evolving from a handset-centric company into a broader provider of connected computing technologies. Automotive revenue reached another record high, while Internet of Things (IoT) and newer businesses such as AI-enabled PCs, industrial applications, and data center computing continue to represent a growing portion of the company and remain central to its long-term diversification strategy. We believe Qualco

When roster turnover hits an NFL unit, leadership voids rarely linger unfilled for long. Following the free-agency departure of veteran guard Isaac Seumalo to the Arizona Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive line found itself searching for a new anchor in the meeting room.
Third-year guard Mason McCormick has stepped directly into that void.
Speaking on teammate Cameron Heyward's podcast, "Not Just Football with Cam Heyward," starting tackle Troy Fautanu explained how the dynamic inside the positional unit shifted once Seumalo departed. He noted that it forced younger players to mature at an accelerated pace.
"I think just the dynamic switched when we lost Isaac to the Cardinals and someone had to step up," Fautanu shared during the episode. "I really think Mason did a really good job at being the vocal one out of all of us, just because that's who he is. That's the kind of person that he's always been and we needed that from the room."
McCormick's transition into a primary vocal presence reflects the rapid maturation required across Pittsburgh's front five. Despite entering only his third NFL season, McCormick is suddenly viewed as one of the established foundational pillars in a young, talent-heavy room.

#mccormick

Special thanks to Tristan Holmes, Addicted to Quack's Oregon football film reviewer, and Thomas Cicansky, my partner in this year's Big Ten preview series, for joining me on this week's podcast to discuss the Ducks' roster:
View Link
Oregon's offensive coordinator for the last three seasons, Will Stein, departed to take the head coaching job at Kentucky, he's replaced by OC Mehringer who's been the TE coach since Coach Lanning took over the program in 2022. Mehringer's only direct playcalling experience was a decade ago at Rutgers when he was of the youngest in college football history to do so, I didn't find much value on investigating it. Since then my reading of Mehringer's roles at Texas, FAU, and New Mexico has been as a strategist and gameplanner; there's quite a bit of oblique praise from head coaches and OCs in the literature over this time for his role in gameweek preparations, but no evidence about his down-to-down playcalling preferences.
It's also difficult to disentangle some of the idiosyncracies ATQ film reviewers have noted in Stein's playcalling over the last three years — positive notes on counter-programming defensive substitution rules, negative ones on forgoing "money down" opportunities for deep shots and an ***** ytically unsupportable habit for perimeter screens — from Mehriner's potential influence, since their time at Oregon overlaps. It's possible that some, none, or all of those qualities were unique to Stein and he takes them with him to Lexington. ATQ devoted considerable effort this offseason determining if any statistically valid ***** ysis could be performed to quantify Mehringer's effects on play sequencing or outcomes at Oregon or previous stops, and we concluded that nothing we could publish would meet our standards – there are just too many variables involved. We're just going to have to wait and see how Mehringer calls the game.
Otherwise, my expectation is continuity for the Ducks offense, and if anything a return to historical trends after a one-off dip in certain metrics from charting caused by an offensive line quirk in 2025 which it looks like the squad has firmly put behind them in 2026 and beyond. The coaching staff under Lanning all returns, as does starter #5 QB Dante Moore, five of the top eight skill producers on offense in addition to a key 2024 receiver coming back from injury, and the top talent pipeline in the conference:

#down #ducks #mehringer

While primary roster attention often centers on starting lineups, building a complete 53-man roster requires dependable depth. In the Pittsburgh Steelers' preseason finale, running backs Lew Nichols III and Eli Heidenreich delivered standout performances, demonstrating the complementary skill sets necessary to fortify the team's backfield depth.
With protection issues surfacing across the offensive line, running back pass protection has taken on heightened significance in Pittsburgh. Nichols distinguished himself not only by leading the ground attack with seven carries for 40 yards (5.7 yards per carry), but also by executing textbook blitz pickups in pass protection.
"Lew Nichols, seven carries, 40 yards, continues to run hard," noted host Christopher Carter on his "Locked On Steelers" podcast. "He's not just a runner. He's really good in pass protection. I've seen him put defenders down in the dirt and let them know. And that's a big thing that you need, especially what we just got done talking about with the offensive line."
Meanwhile, Heidenreich provided efficient groundwork and finished off a key drive with a touchdown run, carrying the ball nine times for 35 yards. He showed decisive vision when given operational ******* e, adding a scoring threat to the rotated backfield reps.
"Also, shout out Eli Heidenreich," Carter said. "Nine carries, 35 yards, and a tuddy. I thought that he did a pretty solid job when he got the ball in his hands and he had some ******* e to run."

#nichols #protection #steelers

The PGA Tour finally pulled the trigger on a massive overhaul for its season finale. After years of sticking to the same starting-strokes format at East Lake, the circuit is shifting to a two-week match play event. We're seeing a complete reinvention of how the season ends, not just a tweak. The changes kick in for the 2028 season. Fans who love the drama of head-to-head golf now have a reason to tune in for the final two weeks of the year.
The new structure breaks the final event into two distinct parts. The first week features a group stage, according to Golf Monthly. Thirty-two players will split into eight groups of four. They will play three rounds of stroke play within their groups. The top two from each group move on. Week two shifts to pure match play. This format hasn't been seen on the PGA Tour since the 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. Brian Rolapp, the PGA Tour CEO, addressed the media ahead of the current Tour Championship to clarify the path forward. He noted that the current model is just the start of a broader evolution.
The goal is to create more excitement and higher stakes. The season-long points list will still determine who qualifies. The top 32 on that list earn their spot in the finale. But the way they compete will be totally different. The top 90 players on the points list will still retain their cards, but only the elite 32 get to fight for the trophy in this new way.
For years, East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta has been the only home for the Tour Championship. That ends in 2028. The tournament will now rotate between prestigious venues. The Tour has promised to include courses that the modern circuit hasn't traditionally been able to feature. This opens up the door for historic layouts to host the finale. Rolapp confirmed that conversations are already underway to secure these new locations. He told reporters that East Lake is still a strong option for the future, but it won't hold a monopoly anymore.
East Lake remains among the options being considered for upcoming Tour Championship events. This flexibility allows the Tour to bring the championship to different markets and fan bases. It also adds a layer of novelty that the starting-strokes format lacked. The rotation ensures that the final event feels like a grand tour rather than a local fixture.

#east #play #season #golf

Most Duke fans probably noticed that former Blue Devil Mark Mitchell won a temporary restraining order and shortly thereafter announced he would transfer from Missouri to Kentucky.
As it turns out, there's a catch.
CBS's Matt Norlander says this: "…as it turns out, his transfer from Missouri to Kentucky violates the SEC's prohibited intra-conference transfer rule because Mitchell did not enter the portal during the April window."
And it looks like the SEC will enforce the rules about the intra-conference transfer and apply the new penalties that it adopted this week for professional players who seek to return to NCAA competition. And, as noted previously, those are severe.
Coach Mark Pope could be suspended for half the season, Kentucky could be fined an amount equal to half of its basketball operating budget for 2026-27 (estimated to be about $10M), and UK would lose voting rights within the SEC for a year.

#missouri #turns

Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) delivered strong second-quarter 2026 financial results, highlighted by raised full-year guidance across key profitability metrics. The restaurant management software provider raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA outlook to $805 million–$825 million, up from its previous projection of $790 million–$810 million. Management also raised its guidance for recurring gross profit streams, defined as subscription services and financial technology solutions gross profit, to $2,325 million–$2,355 million (23%–25% year-over-year growth).
For Q2 2026, total revenue reached $1.90 billion, climbing 23% year-over-year, while total gross profit reached $516 million. GAAP net income rose sharply to $154 million ($0.26 per diluted share) from $80 million ($0.13 per share) in Q2 2025. Adjusted EBITDA reached $221 million, inclusive of a $10 million one-time benefit from tariff refunds, which management plans to reinvest into strategic growth initiatives. Operational expansion remained robust: Annualized Recurring Run-Rate (ARR) surged 25% year-over-year to $2.4 billion, supported by 22% growth in Gross Payment Volume (GPV) to $60.7 billion. The company added a record 9,500 net new locations in the quarter, bringing its global active footprint to approximately 180,000 locations.
This raises a core question: Does Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST)'s operational momentum and platform expansion justify a valuation premium, or will increasing market saturation and macroeconomic pressure on restaurant spending cap further upside?
Bulls emphasize Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST)'s industry-leading software adoption and expanding ecosystem. Following the Q2 report, on August 12, Truist raised its price target on Toast to $39 from $33 on August 12, maintaining a Buy rating. The firm noted higher recurring gross profit estimates driven by location net adds and rising subscription SaaS ARPU as new product launches ramp up. Operational tailwinds received another boost on August 10 when Adyen announced an expanded partnership with Toast into the U.S., supporting Toast's more than $215 billion in annual GPV across 180,000 locations and scaling its global processing capabilities.
Bears argue that persistent inflation and consumer spending fatigue could pressure restaurant transaction volumes, impacting Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST)'s payment processing revenues. While DA Davidson raised its price target to $34 from $30 on August 10 following the Q2 beat, the firm maintained a Neutral rating, pointing to a balanced risk-reward profile. Additionally, Toast's Q2 EPS of $0.26 came in below certain consensus estimates despite top-line beats, reflecting ongoing investments in international scaling, enterprise sales, and AI features like Toast IQ Grow. Free cash flow also slowed to $130 million in Q2 2026 from $208 million in the prior-year period.

#toast #gross #raised #billion

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) shares are drawing heightened attention following the release of its second-quarter 2026 financial results. The company delivered substantial growth across key operational and financial metrics, prompting management to raise its full-year 2026 Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA guidance to $8.7 billion–$9.1 billion (up from $8.2 billion–$8.5 billion). Driven by accelerating production from its Plaquemines LNG facility, Venture Global exported 127 cargoes and sold 466.4 TBtu during the quarter, a 42% surge in volume year-over-year.
For Q2 2026, Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) reported total revenue of $4.6 billion, up 48% from $3.10 billion in Q2 2025. Operating income soared 111% year-over-year to $2.2 billion, while net income attributable to common stockholders surged 266% to $1.3 billion ($0.51 diluted EPS vs. $0.14 a year ago). Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA reached $2.5 billion, marking a 79% jump compared to $1.39 billion in the prior-year period. Stronger implied liquefaction fees under commissioning sales agreements and tight cost controls allowed operating margins to expand to 47.8%. Additionally, the board declared a $0.04 per share cash dividend for Q3.
On August 12, Wells Fargo raised its price target on Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) to $15 from $14 while maintaining an Equal Weight rating. The firm noted Q2 was essentially in line with expectations, highlighting the company's raised 2026 guidance above consensus on higher market spreads. Wells cited higher underlying EBITDA estimates and a significant increase in Venture Global's dividend per share as key supporting drivers.
This brings up a core question: Does the guidance hike and operational expansion signal a lasting multi-year earnings transformation, or are investors exposed to project execution and leverage risks?
Proponents point to Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG)'s strong profitability, expanding scale, and long-term contracted position. Rapid volume growth, evidenced by passing its 1,000th total exported cargo, proves operational capability, while 91% contracted cargo coverage for 2026 offers high cash flow visibility. Furthermore, management's recent refinancing efforts extend maturities and lower debt-service costs, offering a stable financial foundation to fund project build-outs like CP2 and maintain shareholder returns.

#billion #global #ebitda

Bloomberg senior ETF ******* yst Eric Balchunas says the "debasement trade" is increasingly stealing attention from artificial intelligence, pointing to record demand for gold and Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
"Gold and Bitcoin ETFs have combined for +$7b in flows in past week, by far a record for a 5-day period as debasement trade steals spotlight from AI," Balchunas wrote on X on Aug. 26.
He said SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led the move, with both ranking among the 10 most-traded ETFs over the week.
Balchunas also noted that IBIT's year-to-date flows had turned positive after recovering from earlier outflows.
The latest comment builds on a post a day earlier, when Balchunas said GLD and IBIT had returned to the top 10 most-traded ETFs while semiconductor funds, which dominated much of the summer, slipped down the rankings.

#Bitcoin #traded #ibit

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX), a global medical device maker, closed at $48.17, down 3.38%. Premarket reports said a cybersecurity incident disrupted global operations and shipping. The company also announced a product recall for certain types of its percutaneous catheters, further weighing on the stock. Investors are watching how quickly the company restores its systems and whether the recall exacerbates the interruption. Trading volume reached 31.8M shares, coming in about 48% above its three-month average of 21.4M shares.
S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) fell 0.04% to 7,675, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) slipped 0.08% to 26,130. Among medical devices and interventional medtech peers, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) closed at $114.10, down 1.75%, while Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) finished at $92.01, up 0.95%, as Boston Scientific's cyber disruption stood out.
Boston Scientific has seen its stock drop 55% over the last year, and today's double dose of bad news didn't help things. The product recall is tied to the company's ENROUTE Transcarotid Neuroprotection System (NPS) following the FDA's concerns about the potential separation of the product's arterial sheath tip.
Making matters worse, the company also disclosed a cybersecurity incident that disrupted its global operations, potentially disrupting the processing and shipping of customers' orders. Management noted that it was working to restore lost functions but couldn't yet determine whether the event would have a material impact on BSX shares.
Following several quarters of weaker-than-expected earnings results, disappointing Watchman sales, slashed guidance, and a major acquisition now weighing on Boston Scientific's balance sheet, the stock has shifted from a steady compounder to more of a turnaround or value type of stock -- especially after today's news. While BSX stock is on my watch list, I'd need to see some type of positive developments before I consider buying.

#boston #NYSE #global #following

Jim Cramer warned on August 24 that mounting political and community backlash against data center power consumption could directly impact equipment suppliers like GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV). He noted:
What happens if the hyperscalers get their act together and offer a code of conduct instead of being out there all by themselves cutting deals that are now regretted? Stranger things have happened than a code of conduct. It must happen if this issue is going to be tempered… I can't believe they haven't figured that out. That's why you have to look at certain companies that were thriving because of data centers, companies like the biggest turbine company that turns natural gas into power. That's GE Vernova. Now, we own it for the Charitable Trust and I now feel that the market won't pay up for its order book because maybe it's gotten soft. I don't want to get rid of it but I don't want to take a beating either.
GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) is fundamentally reshaping the grid for the AI era, and its second-quarter 2026 results validate that dominance. Revenue climbed 22% year-over-year to $11.1 billion, but the real story was the order book. Total Q2 orders surged 88% organically to a record $24.2 billion, as data centers scramble for heavy-duty and aeroderivative gas turbines. The runaway demand pushed the company's total backlog to a staggering $176 billion. Management is highly confident in this trajectory, aggressively raising full-year free cash flow guidance to a massive range of $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion and cementing GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) as a solid cash-generating AI infrastructure play.
Despite the top-line explosion, GE Vernova Inc.'s (NYSE:GEV) Q2 diluted EPS of $2.47 missed consensus estimates, while margin pressure persisted in parts of its business, particularly Wind, where organic orders fell 40%. More importantly, as Cramer admitted about his own stake in the Charitable Trust, he now feels the market might refuse to pay up for the company's massive order book if it starts to soften. With local governments imposing stricter regulations and higher compensation requirements on data centers, the pace of hyperscaler expansion is facing real bottlenecks. If developers are delayed by political pushback and grid limitations, the company's delivery timelines and following revenue recognition could stretch further out, which could test investor patience.

#billion

Boston Scientific (BSX) stock crumbled Wednesday after the company said a cybersecurity incident interrupted its ability to process and ship customer orders.
The medical devices company said the incident disrupted certain IT systems worldwide. It's working with third-party security experts to contain the threat and restore systems, but didn't offer a timeline for a return to regular operations.
Shares tumbled 3.4%, closing at 48.17. After years 13 years of climbing, Boston Scientific stock began a precipitous decline last December. Shares have lost about 49.5% this year, as of Wednesday's close.
Evercore ISI **** yst Vijay **** ar noted Stryker (SYK) had a cybersecurity incident earlier in the year. It was identified on March 11 and resolved about three weeks later on April 1. The Stryker incident was related to a Microsoft (MSFT) system.
Both companies noted the incidents led to order processing and shipping disruptions.

#scientific #Cybersecurity #systems

On August 10, 2026, Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY) agreed to acquire Varex Imaging for $18.90 a share in an all-cash deal valued at about $1.1 billion. It sent Varex Imaging Corporation (NASDAQ:VREX) shares up nearly 50% before the opening bell.
Teledyne is paying a large premium for a smaller X-ray components maker just as Varex posted a genuine earnings beat of its own. Is Teledyne buying real, complementary technology at a fair long-term price, or paying a steep premium right as Varex's turnaround was already starting to work?
CEO Robert Mehrabian said the companies serve similar customers with "uniquely complementary" products and minimal overlap. He noted Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY) doesn't make X-ray detectors suited for high-radiation environments like oncology the way Varex does. Both boards unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in early 2027.
Nearly a 50% one-day jump in Varex's stock shows the market sees this as a rich price for Teledyne to pay. Integrating Varex's X-ray business, which serves medical, security, and industrial markets, adds real complexity to Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY)'s existing operations.
CEO Sunny Sanyal said the deal marks "an exciting new chapter," giving Varex Imaging Corporation (NASDAQ:VREX) access to Teledyne's resources to accelerate use of its imaging technology. Varex also posted third-quarter adjusted profit of 31 cents a share, 10 cents ahead of **** yst estimates, after recovering tariff-related costs and generating $21 million in operating cash flow. It shows the business was already improving before the deal was announced.

#NASDAQ

A popular co-host of ABC's Good Morning America has surprised everybody with big baby news. Michael Strahan, 54, is now a father of five!
According to TMZ on August 27, Strahan and his girlfriend, Kayla Quick, have welcomed their first child together. Sources for the media outlet indicate that the couple welcomed a baby girl. At this point, neither the baby's name nor her arrival date has been publicly disclosed.
As TMZ noted, Strahan and Quick began dating over a decade ago, in 2015. They kept their relationship quite private over the years, rarely making public appearances together or gushing over one another on social media.
Strahan is already a father to three other daughters and one son. His oldest two children, Tanita and Michael Jr., are Strahan's with his first wife, Wanda Hutchins. In 2024, Tanita welcomed her first child, a son she named Onyx, making Strahan a grandfather for the first time.
The Good Morning America star and former professional football player later welcomed twin daughters, Isabella and Sophia, with his second wife, Jean Muggli.

#michael