ATLANTA − Tennessee football quarterback Faizon Brandon faced some adversity while playing on the road for the first time in his very young college career.
Furman offered little resistance in his first career start but Brandon was challenged in Week 2 at Georgia Tech. His first road start didn't look pretty in the final box score but it was more than enough to get the No. 18 Vols (2-0) to a 45-24 win over the Yellow Jackets (0-2) on Sept. 12 at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
"The stat sheet's not going to be elite. I actually really like how he played the game," UT coach Josh Heupel said. "I thought he was composed, he handled himself in situational football pretty well. First game on the road, 18 years old, handled himself well."
Brandon completed 10 of 21 passes for 148 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked once and added 23 yards on five rushing attempts.
He was particularly inaccurate in the first half, completing only 5 of 15 passes but racking up 106 yards and two touchdown passes. Of his five first-half completions, four went for 15 yards or more and three gained 20 yards or more.

#road #Career #start

Six weeks after AI bets nearly wrecked his hedge fund, Leopold Aschenbrenner is putting money into the same companies again. His hedge fund, Situational Awareness, bought call options on AMD, Bloom Energy, CoreWeave, SK Hynix and SanDisk, CNBC reported, citing sources. The trades ran from late last week into this week.
The former OpenAI researcher became famous for a 2024 essay arguing that AI could reach human-level intelligence by 2027. He built an investment business around that belief, backing companies supplying the computing capacity and electricity AI needs.
July exposed how dangerous that bet had become. Borrowed money magnified falling share prices, triggering demands for cash the fund could not meet. **** ets shrank from a peak above $45 billion to roughly $10 billion, according to CNBC.
Ken Griffin's Citadel bought distressed holdings at a discount. Situational Awareness kept private investments, including Anthropic. The SEC later subpoenaed Wall Street banks over their dealings with the fund. The reported inquiry carried no allegation of wrongdoing.
His return uses call options: contracts that let buyers purchase shares at a fixed price before a deadline. When paid for upfront without borrowing, their losses are capped at the purchase cost. That entire amount can still disappear if the options expire worthless.

#bought #call

Jared Curtis' entry into Vanderbilt football's 35-26 win over Delaware was intended to happen when it did, coach Clark Lea said.
Curtis entered the game for the third drive after Blaze Berlowitz had not completed a pass in his first two drives. Lea said that the third drive was always the intention for when Curtis would enter the game, unless the game situation dictated otherwise.
Berlowitz re-entered the game near the end of the second quarter. He committed a fumble on a run play and then led Vanderbilt to a three-and-out, resulting in boos.
Curtis then played the entire second half.
"We had prescribed that, so that was less a response to the game flow," Lea said. "Obviously we were not able to move the ball offensively early, but he was going to go in third series unless it was situational."

#game #entered #drive

Jared Curtis' entry into Vanderbilt football's 35-26 win over Delaware was intended to happen when it did, coach Clark Lea said.
Curtis entered the game for the third drive after Blaze Berlowitz had not completed a pass in his first two drives. Lea said that the third drive was always the intention for when Curtis would enter the game, unless the game situation dictated otherwise.
Berlowitz re-entered the game near the end of the second quarter. He committed a fumble on a run play and then led Vanderbilt to a three-and-out, resulting in boos.
Curtis then played the entire second half.
"We had prescribed that, so that was less a response to the game flow," Lea said. "Obviously we were not able to move the ball offensively early, but he was going to go in third series unless it was situational."

#game #Third #vanderbilt #jared

Wall Street delivered a sharp split on September 4. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% after a stronger-than-expected jobs report lifted rate concerns, but Sandisk jumped 11.9% and Micron gained 6.1%. The divergence matters because it was not a broad risk-on move. The pattern was consistent with investors rotating toward memory and storage suppliers that help keep AI systems fed with data. That put Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) and Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) at the center of the session.
Source: Sandisk Corporation
Sandisk offers the purer NAND and flash-storage argument. Its August results established data center as a key growth pillar, and management said it had signed five more new-business-model agreements since April. The bull case is that AI expands high-value enterprise storage demand while tighter supply supports pricing. The bear case is cyclicality: customer agreements cannot eliminate inventory swings, pricing reversals, or the execution risk that comes with a newly independent public company.
Professional ownership broadened before Friday's rally. Insider Monkey counted 128 hedge funds holding Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) at June 30, up from 114 at March 31. Leopold Aschenbrenner's Situational Awareness LP disclosed 2,495,344 shares, about 119% more than the 1,140,119 shares reported in Q1. Those filings are quarter-end snapshots and do not show what the funds did during the September move.
Micron supplies both high-bandwidth memory and conventional DRAM and NAND. Its fiscal third-quarter revenue reached $41.46 billion, while Cloud Memory revenue rose to $13.77 billion and Core Data Center revenue to $11.52 billion. That operating leverage is the bull case. The counterargument is that extraordinary margins invite capacity additions, and today's scarcity economics may normalize faster than investors expect.

#sandisk #corporation #center #storage

During the August 31 episode of Mad Money, Jim Cramer addressed shifting market dynamics, highlighting how the fallout from heavily crowded hedge fund positions was finally unwinding. Turning his attention to a heavily shorted stock on Wall Street, Cramer pointed to Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) and explained why skeptics were forced to rethink their thesis. He stated:
Now, I don't want to say that Situational Awareness, again that's the hedge fund, has disappeared. The fund still has some ******* ets. Still, the fallout from its collapse does finally seem to be unwinding. Still, when you look at the 10 best and worst performers for the month, they're stark in their themes that include the unwind of the Situational positions. Let's go over the winners first. First, let's start with a heavily shorted stock known as Moderna. Yes, there was a huge bet being made against these guys. Skeptics believed that its technology would never produce the breakthroughs that the bulls expected and were initially promised when the company came public. But this month, that's exactly what we got. See, working with Merck, Moderna's developed a vaccine for those who have beaten melanoma once. Now, this, my friends, is miraculous. So, it got a miraculous welcome. Do you know what? I think this could still have a huge potential to go higher.
The basis of Moderna, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:MRNA) recent transition is its co-development partnership with Merck. Together, the companies advanced an mRNA-based personalized cancer vaccine designed to prevent melanoma recurrence in patients who have already beaten the disease once.
Beyond oncology, Moderna has worked to diversify its commercial footprint. Management has navigated a sharp post-pandemic revenue drop by tightening operational controls, tightening operating costs, and maintaining a solid cash cushion of $6.9 billion.
Despite the enthusiasm surrounding its cancer pipeline, Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) remains a high-risk bet. The company continues to post substantial net losses, reporting a quarterly net loss of nearly $0.8 billion, along with heavy research expenditures needed to push its pipeline forward.

#NASDAQ #heavily #fund

During the August 31 episode of Mad Money, Jim Cramer examined the sharp rotation back into enterprise software following the forced unwinding of bearish hedge fund positions. Mentioning Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE:VEEV) and Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) as examples of sector leaders, he commented:
Situational Awareness just despised enterprise software and Veeva Systems, number three, up 40%, is enterprise software writ large for the healthcare industry. I think it's bounced back in conjunction with all the other enterprise software companies that Situational Awareness believed would be destroyed by AI that haven't been. Once that hedge fund blew up, the whole group came roaring back as Situational was no longer there to put pressure on them. Hey, Salesforce had a similar rally, up nearly 40%. Now, here's one that openly took on the short sellers first with rhetoric and then with numbers which have not been hurt at all by… the SaaS-pocalypse. His blowout quarter obliterated the shorts. I don't think they still know what hit them.
For months, bearish macro funds aggressively shorted enterprise software providers, on the belief that emerging artificial intelligence platforms would easily replicate proprietary workflows and trigger severe pricing compression.
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) and Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE:VEEV) proved the exact opposite. Salesforce showed that autonomous enterprise features act as expansion engines. Similarly, Veeva Systems, which powers critical clinical and commercial operations for the heavily regulated life sciences sector, integrated advanced data capabilities directly into its platform. Rather than cannibalizing software licenses, artificial intelligence features reinforced the massive switching costs embedded in both platforms.
Despite solid execution, market skeptics continue to scrutinize the growth limits and valuation multiples of both companies. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) trades at a forward P/E of 19x, showing market hesitation over macroeconomic budget tightening and the necessity for the company to rapidly monetize its heavy artificial intelligence investments.

#salesforce #situational #artificial #intelligence

After this year's draft, much of the conversation turned to what else the Colts needed. Unfortunately, it wasn't asking the question, "What player or positional improvement puts us in the Super Bowl conversation" but more along the lines of "If we don't get better at this position, how bad are we are going to suck?". Pierce being hurt saw the biggest area of concern shift from an Edge rusher, to a proven, dependable WR. Swing Tackle was a concern, as was a RB2. I was personally concerned with the inexperience at LB.
Training camp came and eased some of the RB concerns. McGowan was able to impress in practices and looked good in preseason games as well, while showing he could contribute on STs when called upon. Some didn't like the choice for #3 RB, but Giddens has also been in the building for two years and must have gained more confidence that Bentley. We saw some good play out of what will be depth or situational Edge play from our later rookies, even if we never got a glimpse of our starters on the outside. We may still be a pass rusher away from being the best that we can be.
One unforeseen weakness did appear during camp. We discovered that the loss of Pinter left us without a Center who could handle snapping the football. Many tried, but all looked bad in their efforts. It was glaring enough that we had to make a low level deal to bring in an experienced backup. Given that OL players seldom get through a season unscathed, I feel better about our backup Center, without the benefit of ever seeing him play a snap.
As camp ended, we did as hoped by bringing in an experience WR. Some of the shine came off of our new toy, when overserved, crossed paths with a bad choice, to result in an arrest. We may or may not lose Allen for a few games this year, but if it happens, it will likely be manipulated to minimize the loss. This leaves Swing Tackle as the last perceived deficiency to address. Tenuta was not as popular among the coaches as he was with fans, as he didn't make the 53 man roster and had to clear waivers to remain on the practice squad. It looks like we are more willing to move our Guards to Tackle, than to have a true Swing Tackle. We may have to call that position a weakness.

#play

The White Sox (73-65) rebounded from Monday's rough loss to the Astros (70-69), defeating Houston behind South Side ace Sean Burke. The righthander earned his eighth win of the season.
Despite getting off to a rocky start in the bottom of the first, Burke battled through his 5 2/3 innings, allowing just one hit while walking three and striking out six. The righty started the game with back-to-back walks. To his credit, Burke battled back from 3-0 to fill the count against Yordan Alvarez, but ultimately walked him to put two runners on with no outs. To be fair, a walk beats Yordan blasting a home run over the right-field wall, so all things considered, I'll take it. Burke was able to lock in and induce three consecutive fly outs to get out of the jam. There was one final scare when José Altuve drove a ball to the wall in left, but Sam Antonacci had just enough room to make the catch.
Once Burke put the first inning behind him, he recovered beautifully and did not surrender a hit until the fifth. It would be the first and only hit he allowed. Burke labored early, running the count full five times and needing 49 pitches to complete the first two frames. He did, however, limit the damage and kept the Astros off the scoreboard.
The righty settled in during the third, needing only nine pitches to retire Houston in order. He also froze Alvarez with a 95-mph fastball for his second strikeout of the night. Burke rang up two more in the fourth, preserving the no-hitter a little longer. With one out in the fifth, Taylor Trammell poked a double down the right-field line to finally put Houston in the hit column, but Burke moved right along and recorded the final two outs without incident.
On the other side of the ball, the White Sox scattered a few hits through the first four frames but remained relatively quiet until the fifth. Their recent lack of situational hitting carried into the beginning of this one, and the South Siders made Ronel Blanco look much better than his ERA suggested. Blanco entered with an ERA above 7.00 but stranded five runners and kept the White Sox off the scoreboard. He struck out only three over four innings, while three walks helped drive up his pitch count. Still, he worked through the lineup well enough to keep Houston in the game.

#burke #first #back

Moderna led the S&P 500 in August after reporting promising results from a late-stage trial of a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine it co-developed with Merck, according to CNBC. The data challenged years of skepticism about whether the company's mRNA technology could produce another major breakthrough following the decline of its Covid-19 vaccine business. "This is miraculous, so it got a miraculous welcome," CNBC's Jim Cramer said Monday.
Enterprise software stocks accounted for many of the index's other top performers. Palantir, Veeva Systems, Salesforce, and ServiceNow had each come under sustained selling pressure as investors grew skeptical that traditional software models could remain competitive against the backdrop of accelerating AI development, according to the outlet. Those declines were compounded by large short positions held by Situational Awareness, a leveraged hedge fund that had bet against software companies based on that thesis. When the fund was forced to unwind its trades in late July, those shorts became a tailwind for the stocks it had targeted. "As August comes to a grinding end, it's hard to believe that the reverberations of a hedge fund implosion could color so much of the month's action," Cramer said.
Situational Awareness, which was run by Leopold Aschenbrenner and peaked at $45 billion in **** ets at the start of July, lost roughly $35 billion after margin calls from prime brokers Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase forced a distressed sale of its publicly traded holdings to Ken Griffin's Citadel. The fund had used as much as 400% leverage and held large short positions in software names including Adobe alongside bullish bets on AI infrastructure stocks.
Among individual software stocks, Salesforce bounced back after better-than-expected quarterly results quieted fears of what Cramer called a "SaaSpocalypse," while ServiceNow gained ground after showing investors that AI could be folded into its platform without disrupting existing operations. Veeva Systems climbed in tandem with the wider software sector after the anticipated AI threat to its life sciences niche failed to materialize in any meaningful way. Gartner also joined the recovery, as worries that large AI models would erode the market for its research and advisory services turned out not to be borne out by the company's actual results.
Outside software, Newmont benefited from a recovery in gold prices, while Coinbase climbed as cryptocurrencies rebounded amid concerns about U.S. debt and government spending. Super Micro Computer and Sandisk also surged on strong demand for memory used in AI data centers.

#cramer

In less than two weeks, Louisiana football will be gearing up for its 2026 season opener vs Lamar on Sept. 5, and the anticipation only continues to grow.
The Ragin' Cajuns wrapped up fall camp on Aug. 22, using the majority of their final scrimmage to work on situational plays, goal-line sets and redzone drives. Now fifth-year head coach Michael Desoremeaux and his staff will try to continue to put the pieces together as they hope to outdo 2025's 6-7 overall finish.
The biggest positive heading into this final offseason stretch for UL is the impending return of wide receiver Shelton Sampson Jr., who missed the entire preseason camp due to a knee injury. Sampson's return, however, doesn't put an end to the injury bug that lingers on the Cajuns roster.
"Injury-wise, we got some good and bad news, Brock Chappell and Broderick Stewart didn't finish the scrimmage," Desormeaux said. "They're going to go see the doctors today and we're hoping that it's not a long-term deal. They feel like Brock's is probably not. Broderick, we're gonna wait and see the image and what it looks like.
"Maxie [Baudoin IV] did miss the scrimmage last week, it's nothing major just some stuff that he's kind of having. Just a little bit of aggravation in his arm so I'll feel good about getting him back."

#broderick #camp #good

FAYETTEVILLE — Enough waiting around.
The Arkansas football quarterback competition is over with two weeks remaining in the preseason.
First-year head coach Ryan Silverfield teased during SEC Media Days and at his press conference previewing fall camp that the Razorbacks might not announce the winner between KJ Jackson and AJ Hill until the offense ran on the field in Week 1 against North Alabama. Instead, the Hogs made things official on Sunday, Aug. 23, labeling Jackson as the starter.
After splitting first-team reps through the first 14 practices, Jackson will now have two weeks to build chemistry with the other offensive starters. Silverfield said it was a tight battle, and he remains confident in Hill, but Jackson created separation in one key category.
"Ultimately, it came down to the actual situational football," Silverfield said. "I believe a quarterback, in order to have success, has to be really efficient in those things. You guys hear me quite often talk about two-minute offense, four-minute offense, the check plays, the different things that come up."

#first #things #hill #weeks

Ken Griffin bought Situational Awareness's distressed AI semiconductor positions at discounts over 10% after the leveraged fund collapsed 67% in July.
Citadel shed 80% of the acquired portfolio risk through nearly 100 block trades totaling $4 billion once markets stabilized.
The investor edge lies in distinguishing leverage-driven forced selling from fundamental decline, given that margin calls can manufacture the market's best entry points.
Don't wait: the ******* yst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just revealed his top 10 AI stocks. See the full list FREE now.
The AI trade has entered a new phase. After months of relentless optimism, leverage and crowded positioning collided with a sharp July sell-off in semiconductor stocks, exposing how quickly a winning trade can become a forced liquidation. The damage was especially severe for hedge funds that borrowed heavily to amplify returns.

#stocks #citadel #don 't

After having the most dominant preseason win last week, the Chicago Bears had one of the worst preseason losses in Week 2. The Cincinnati Bengals beat them, 27-9, but the score does not even fully demonstrate how badly the Bears played in this game.
Chicago started their opening drive with the starters, including quarterback Caleb Williams, wide receiver Rome Odunze and tight end Colston Loveland. They had a short field after the Bengals' kickoff was short of the landing zone and Williams led the Bears on a 33-yard drive to get them on the board early with a 3-0 lead. That might have been the most positive part of the entire game. The Bears would go the entire game without scoring a touchdown and quarterback Case Keenum struggled throughout the entire first half.
If head coach Ben Johnson was not satisfied after Chicago's preseason victory against the Cleveland Browns, he is going to be livid about this 18-point loss. The Bears struggled with penalties throughout, their third down efficiency was atrocious and quarterback Miller Moss lacked situational awareness at times. However, it was not all bad though with some rookies making a statement.
Here is a look at the good, bad and ugly from the Bears' first loss of the preseason against the Bengals:
Jordan van den Berg and Sam Roush: While their stats are not eye-popping, rookie tight end Sam Roush and rookie defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg had solid performances. Roush finished the game with two receptions for 30 yards, including an impressive 26-yard catch to close out the first quarter. Meanwhile, van den Berg recorded multiple tackles including two solo tackles, and showcased his disruptive play. These are both rookies that are expected to have some playing time in the regular season, so it was good to see them have some solid plays in the preseason.

#berg

No. 18 Tennessee held its second scrimmage during fall training camp on Saturday at Neyland Stadium. Rankings reflect the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll.
Sixth-year head coach Josh Heupel recapped the Vols' second scrimmage.
"Good second scrimmage," Heupel said. "Bunch of situational work. Crowd noise like you're on the road. A lot of mechanics, communication, things that did well and some things that, offensively in particularly, learned throughout the course of it. Got to continue to get better at that, but all in all, good work.
"I thought defensively did a good job. Created a couple turnovers. Played ****** ignment sound and, offensively you know, didn't play as clean as we need to. Some of that was communication, but some really positive things there too."
Tennessee will kick off its 2026 football season in 14 days. The Vols will host Furman on Sept. 5 at Neyland Stadium (3:30 p.m. EDT, SEC Network+).

#good #stadium #vols

Ken Griffin bought Situational Awareness's distressed AI semiconductor positions at discounts over 10% after the leveraged fund collapsed 67% in July.
Citadel shed 80% of the acquired portfolio risk through nearly 100 block trades totaling $4 billion once markets stabilized.
The investor edge lies in distinguishing leverage-driven forced selling from fundamental decline, given that margin calls can manufacture the market's best entry points.
Don't wait: the ****** yst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just revealed his top 10 AI stocks. See the full list FREE now.
The AI trade has entered a new phase. After months of relentless optimism, leverage and crowded positioning collided with a sharp July sell-off in semiconductor stocks, exposing how quickly a winning trade can become a forced liquidation. The damage was especially severe for hedge funds that borrowed heavily to amplify returns.

#july #griffin

The Baltimore Ravens' two joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings should give the key starters, critical rookies, and role players the type of intense, controlled work that Jesse Minter values more than extended preseason action. That makes Saturday afternoon's game at U.S. Bank Stadium especially important for other rookies, reserves and veterans competing near the bottom of the depth chart.
Some of those players will receive snaps during the joint sessions, but the first-team periods and situational work will naturally command most of the attention. Saturday afternoon's game offers longer evaluations, live tackling and unscripted situations that cannot be fully recreated in practice. Minnesota has also indicated that productive joint work could limit the number of additional snaps its starters receive Saturday, creating another reserve-heavy opportunity for both coaching staffs.
Here are 10 matchups to watch when the Ravens and Vikings complete their week in Minnesota.
Huntley was efficient in Baltimore's preseason opener, completing six of seven passes for 76 yards, but he also took two sacks. Minnesota's defense should present a more complex protection test, even if Flores does not use his full pressure package in an exhibition game. Huntley must identify the unblocked defender, get the offense into the correct answer, and avoid turning a negative play into a turnover. His experience and mobility give Baltimore stability behind Jackson, but a clean operation against Minnesota's reserve front would be more valuable than a few highlight throws. The evaluation begins with how consistently Huntley keeps the offense on schedule.
Fagnano delivered one of Baltimore's strongest performances against Philadelphia, completing 11 of 14 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown, although he also threw an interception. Thomas enters the matchup with momentum after the undrafted Vikings rookie intercepted a pass in Minnesota's opener against the Giants and continued receiving additional practice work. ******* nano must move the safety with his eyes and avoid predetermining throws over the middle. Thomas, meanwhile, will be tested in his communication and patience against a quarterback who has shown he can distribute the football accurately when the initial read is available.

#Vikings #baltimore

When a high-profile investor suddenly exits a stock, people immediately ******* ume something is wrong with the company. In Sandisk's (SNDK) case, the opposite appears to be true. A new regulatory filing shows that Situational Awareness — the AI-focused hedge fund run by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner — built a large position in Sandisk during the second quarter, making it one of the fund's biggest holdings at more than $5.6 billion. Then an AI-based selloff hit in July, and the fund took heavy losses, forcing Situational Awareness to offload much of its public portfolio to Ken Griffin's Citadel.
The forced selling helps explain part of the brutal July slide for Sandisk, as from late June to late July, SNDK stock's price essentially halved. But this says nothing about the company itself. The selling came from a fund unwinding under pressure, not from anything breaking inside Sandisk's business. If anything, the fundamentals have become even stronger. Sandisk recently posted the best quarter in its history, with revenue up 372% from a year ago and record gross margins.
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#sandisk #company #quarter

The Baltimore Ravens completed their two-day joint-practice work with the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday at the TCO Performance Center. The final session placed a heavy emphasis on red-zone and situational football, giving Baltimore's starters another valuable evaluation before Saturday's preseason game.
The Ravens defense delivered another strong performance, while the offense continued to struggle to protect Lamar Jackson and sustain drives. Baltimore also received difficult news about center Danny Pinter before practice began.
Here are 10 takeaways from Day 2 of Ravens-Vikings joint practices.
Pinter suffered a torn patellar tendon during Wednesday's opening practice and will face an extended recovery. The veteran had worked with the starting offensive line for much of camp and was a legitimate candidate to replace Tyler Linderbaum.
Ethan Pocic was already scheduled to increase his workload during the second week of the preseason. Pinter's injury now makes Pocic the most likely starting option, although Jovaughn Gwyn has also earned first-team opportunities. Baltimore's center competition went from a three-player evaluation to an immediate depth concern.

#Ravens #center #practice #evaluation

Real Madrid rarely do anything quietly, and even in a week without a blockbuster arrival, there is still plenty to read between the lines at the Bernabeu. According to The Athletic, the most important development concerns Endrick, the Brazilian forward whose immediate future has been the subject of considerable chatter. For now, that noise can be parked. The teenager is staying.
That alone says much about the current mood inside Madrid. A club of this scale is always planning for today and tomorrow, weighing instant need against long-term stardom. In Endrick, they have one of world football's most intriguing young attacking talents, and the decision to keep him points to a coaching staff that still sees practical use for him this season, not merely future promise.
The report states: "The most notable news was the decision that Brazilian striker Endrick will stay, despite rumours linking him with a loan move to Aston Villa and Roma." In the churn of summer speculation, clarity matters. This is clear. Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho and the player are aligned, at least for the opening phase of the campaign.
There is a tactical thread running through this decision. The Athletic reports that "The Portuguese coach does not see Bernardo Silva or Federico Valverde as regular performers on the right wing, so in addition to Yan Diomande and Brahim Diaz, he wants Endrick as an option for that position as well as at centre-forward." That is revealing in several ways.
First, Mourinho appears to be defining roles firmly. Valverde's vast gifts remain more persuasive in central and transitional zones, where his running power and authority can tilt matches. Bernardo Silva, if used in wider areas, would clearly be viewed more as a situational solution than a weekly answer. Endrick, then, becomes more than a young striker waiting politely in line. He becomes squad architecture.

#endrick #decision #Athletic #mourinho

Christian Parker's fingerprints have been on the Cowboys' defensive rebuild from the start. Dallas has not positioned its first-year defensive coordinator as the club's final authority on personnel (this is still the Cowboys after all), but it has clearly made room for his input in shaping the unit.
Will McClay said Parker "has a vision for the guys that we have," and the coordinator reportedly spent draft week sending McClay photos of Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence. Dallas came away with both players in the first round. Cute little coincidence? Please.
That context matters in the ongoing conversation around Von Miller's arrival.
Parker has consistently presented himself as a detail-driven coordinator who wants to build around the players at his disposal, rather than shove everyone into a rigid, prepackaged system and hope it works out.
Earlier in training camp, Parker said Dallas wanted to be "detailed" in its fundamentals, technique and scheme mastery. He has also described an instructional environment built on repeated communication, situational adjustments and mental reps.

#players

Week 2 of the preseason marks a pivotal point in the backup quarterback battle for the Los Angeles Rams, as Stetson Bennett and Ty Simpson look to put on a show against the New Orleans Saints in a joint practice and in Saturday's game.
Bennett started the preseason opener in Kansas City, but Simpson dominated headlines with an efficient, effective performance that saw the Rams pull away in the fourth quarter. When asked on Monday, head coach Sean McVay stated that the joint practice would determine what this week's quarterback rotation will look like when the Rams make their 2026 SoFi Stadium debut.
"I think that will be predicated on how the practice against New Orleans goes, how tomorrow goes," said McVay. "I think what's been helpful for us is really just taking it a day at a time. I know I get myself out of whack when I get too far ahead of myself. We ask our players to stack days, be totally and completely present. I have not made that decision yet and genuinely, that is the truth.
"A large part of that decision will be predicated on what happens on Tuesday and then a lot of it, especially with what happens on Thursday. I'm hopeful that we're able to get as many reps as we did against Dallas. New Orleans has a practice against the Cowboys on Tuesday. Hopefully they come out of that thing healthy and we're able to get what Kellen [Moore] and I have talked about as the workload for our ones and twos. That'll be great situational work and great ability to be able to move the ball all over the field."
In Kansas City, Bennett played the first quarter, with Simpson finishing out the game. Starting quarterback Matthew Stafford is expected to participate in the joint practice, as well, which will push Bennett to the second team and Simpson potentially out of the rotation again.

#quarterback

ESPN **** yst Dan Orlovsky believes Von Miller can make a meaningful impact for the Dallas Cowboys despite entering his age-37 NFL season.
Miller signed a one-year contract with Dallas on August 16. The eight-time Pro Bowler returns to his home state after recording nine sacks for Washington last season.
Speaking on ESPN's Get Up, Orlovsky pointed to Miller's value in specific situations rather than his overall workload.
"I think it's a huge impact situationally," Orlovsky said. "He had nine sacks last year. He also only rushed less than 250 times."
MORE: Von Miller sends 'special' message after signing with Cowboys

#cowboys

Customer relationship management software provider Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)'s shares are down by 19% over the past year and by 22% year-to-date. It is one of the most commonly discussed stocks by Jim Cramer. For instance, in May, Cramer revealed that Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) was one of his smallest positions because the "market hates software." However, in July, the CNBC TV host countered Keybanc's negative coverage by pointing towards remarks made by Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff. In his morning appearance on August 6th, he discussed the firm's decision to promote Miguel Milano to operating chief:
"Yeah, look, I've met Miguel, he's a terrific guy, the guy that just got promoted, but, look, we're not that far from Dreamforce, so I'd hate to see any turmoil there. Miguel Milano is the guy who did, the last time I went, he was part of the major speech. But, you need to see, right before Dreamforce, it's really important. I can't wait to talk to Marc, cause, the stock had been going up but that may have been as part of an unwind of Situational along with Workday, along with ServiceNow, but didn't want to see this. Didn't want to see that departure."
Cramer's remarks about Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) tie into his earlier sentiments and the broader debate surrounding the firm. On multiple ocasions he has discussed the difference between the firm's AI (Agentforce) and non-AI offerings. With Milano previously being the chief revenue officer, Cramer's worries seem to reflect his concerns about Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)'s revenue from its AI products.
On the bullish front, Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)'s market presence and enterprise relationships can drive Agentforce revenue higher and enable businesses to expand their operations without relying on the traditional seat-based business model. Despite being a legacy software firm, it is also growing sales in the AI era. During its fiscal Q1 2027, Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)'s revenue jumped by 13.3% annually to sit at $11.13 billion, while its earnings marked a whopping 50%+ annual jump. Yet, there are fears that this growth could moderate. As its fiscal Q1 ended, Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) kept its full-year support-and-subscription guidance growth at 12% while its Q1 growth was 14%. Additionally, $444 of the firm's Q1 revenue came from its Informatica division and didn't reflect organic business.
Looking at the hedge funds, sentiment slightly moderated in Q1. In Q4 2025, 115 out of the 1,041 hedge funds covered by Insider Monkey had owned a stake in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM), while this figure dropped to 101 out of 1,022 in Q1 2026. The bearish sentiment appears to be reflected in the valuation as well, since Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)'s forward P/E of 14.51 is lower than ServiceNow's 31.15 and Oracle's 18. Short interest is higher at 4.15% of the float compared to 0.74% for SAP.

#salesforce #revenue #didn 't #Growth

Two Ohio State players continue to receive preseason recognition on the offensive side of the ball, and that continued with ESPN unveiling its preseason college football All-American team last week. The "worldwide leader" only selected a First and Second Team, with special teams included, so it was an exclusive group. Eli Lederman and Max Olson only went into detail with the First Team.
The Buckeyes are expected to have one of the best offenses in the country this year with so much returning production, and it's that side of the ball that saw players named by ESPN. As you would expect, quarterback Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith were the two players that made the cut.
"A compelling case can be made that Ohio State's star pass catcher is the best all-around player in college football entering the season, regardless of position. Smith recorded 87 catches for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns last fall and returns for his junior season on the heels of back-to-back first-team All-America selections. Equipped with an elite combination of speed, explosiveness, and size at 6-foot-3, Smith is a matchup nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators, a go-to target for Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin and one of the top prospects in the 2027 NFL draft class for good reason. No current FBS pass catcher has logged more receiving yards (2,258) and touchdowns (27) than Smith since the start of the 2024 campaign."
Even the most casual fan knows about Smith. Widely considered the best player in the country despite what the awards say, Smith has already put together two of the best seasons we've ever seen a wide receiver do. So far, he has totaled 163 receptions for 2,558 yards (15.7 avg.) and 27 touchdowns. He's also rushed for two scores. He is expected to have another huge year and is closing in on breaking some of the biggest all-time receiving records in Columbus.
"Sayin took over as the Buckeyes' starter a year ago and immediately established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the country. Prolifically accurate -- his FBS-best 77% completion percentage last fall ranks third in NCAA history -- Sayin threw for 3,610 yards and 42 touchdowns and flashed situational poise in his debut season. His third-down passing conversion rate of 47.8% trailed only those of USC's Jayden Maiava (48.5%) and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza (48.1%) among FBS quarterbacks with at least 250 attempts, per ESPN Research. Sayin will be tested by a more challenging schedule and a new system under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith this fall. But supported by elite pass catchers (see: Jeremiah Smith) and a promising running game, Sayin should be even better in 2026."

#smith #sayin #best #players

No. 18 Tennessee held its first football scrimmage in fall training camp on Saturday. Rankings reflect the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll.
"Good work today inside the stadium," Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said after Saturday's scrimmage. "Scrimmage, a lot of situational football, from special teams to different field zones, offense and defense. A lot of really good work. Some things that, obviously, we got to continue to clean up. Some young guys that did some really good things, but some young guys that got to continue to grow and be ready to play championship level football here as you get ready to play this season.
"A lot of positives, but we got to continue to grow here. A lot of work left here in the next three weeks to get ready to go play."
The Vols have a starting quarterback competition during fall camp with sophomore George MacIntyre and freshman Faizon Brandon.
Heupel discussed Tennessee's starting quarterback competition following Saturday's scrimmage at Neyland Stadium. Everything the sixth-year head coach said is listed below.

#scrimmage #Football

No. 18 Tennessee held its first football scrimmage during fall training camp at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.
Sixth-year head coach Josh Heupel recapped the Vols' performance.
"Good work today inside the stadium," Heupel said. "Scrimmage, a lot of situational football, from special teams to different field zones, offense and defense. A lot of really good work. Some things that, obviously, we got to continue to clean up. Some young guys that did some really good things, but some young guys that got to continue to grow and be ready to play championship level football here as you get ready to play this season.
"A lot of positives, but we got to continue to grow here. A lot of work left here in the next three weeks to get ready to go play."
Heupel also discussed Tennessee's starting quarterback competition between sophomore George MacIntyre and freshman Faizon Brandon.

#play

Intense volatility led to a meltdown of levered positions held by Leopold Aschenbrenner's hedge fund last month.
The market was caught off guard, and fears of wider contagion briefly circulated.
Polymarket says its users saw the issues that hit the fund forming long before the news broke.
The meltdown of Leopold Aschenbrenner's hedge fund may have come out of left field for many market watchers, but Polymarket says traders on its platform saw it coming.
The implosion of the AI wunderkind's Situational Awareness at the end of July shocked the market, with fears of wider contagion percolating before Citadel swooped in to buy the soured stock portfolio and stoke a fresh tech rally in the process.

#meltdown #hedge

The New England Patriots held a joint training camp practice with the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday.
It was an extended session that included one-on-one work, 7-on-7s, 11-on-11s, red zone work and situational drills during the competitive team period.
The Patriots were missing their top two cornerbacks for the practice. Christian Gonzalez was absent, and Carlton Davis has been limited since returning from a previous injury. That left plenty of opportunities for the backup cornerbacks to see reps with the top defensive unit.
On the offensive side of the ball, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had a solid day, aside from an interception he threw during a two-minute drill. But the unit as a whole was clicking throughout the joint practice setting.
Here are the five standouts from Day 14 of training camp:

#Patriots

It appears Kevin O'Connell has seen enough in the Minnesota Vikings' quarterback competition. The Vikings named Kyler Murray their starter over 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, ending the battle before a single preseason snap.
O'Connell has kept his thoughts on the QB competition mostly out of the public eye, but he recently praised Murray's ability to grasp the playbook. Murray signed a one-year veteran minimum contract with the Vikings after seven seasons and two Pro Bowls with the Arizona Cardinals.
"I think mentally he's definitely probably ahead of where I thought," O'Connell said of Murray, per ESPN's Kevin Seifert.
Murray has a loaded skill group to work with, plus one of the game's brightest play callers and offensive designers in O'Connell. Here's a detailed look at how he'll impact the Vikings' offense and possibly your fantasy team.
This is the best news possible for the Vikings' offense, from a fantasy perspective at least. McCarthy never truly clicked with Justin Jefferson, resulting in the least productive season of his career. That'll change with Murray. The former No. 1 pick's habit of holding onto the ball too long may put his team in tough spots situationally, but it leads to big play potential, with Jefferson and Jordan Addison being the major beneficiaries now. Even Jauan Jennings is worth a late-round dart throw, as he's a flex right now with potential for a much bigger role if Jefferson or Addison miss time. As for the running backs, Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason get a boost because Murray's mobility helps open run lanes that wouldn't otherwise exist. However, neither are great fantasy options given they're in a committee behind a shaky offensive line.

#Vikings #murray #o 'connell #fantasy