Restaurant Brands International's executive chairman sells $2.9m in stockSaquon Barkley has become the Shohei Ohtani of the NFL. There's no better home run hitter playing football right now. Barkley had touchdown runs of 72 and 70 yards for the Philadelphia Eagles in a 37-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night. He now has five runs of 50-plus yards this season and is on pace to break Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105 yards set in 1984. Barkley's historic performance against the Rams — his 255 yards set a team record — captivated a national audience and turned him into a fan favorite for the AP NFL MVP award. He's not the betting favorite, however. Josh Allen has the best odds at plus-150, according to Bet MGM Sportsbook. Two-time MVP Lamar Jackson is next at plus-250 followed by Barkley at plus-400. Running backs have won the award 18 times, including three-time winner Jim Brown, who was the AP's first NFL MVP in 1957. Quarterbacks have dominated the award, winning it 45 times. Only three players who weren't QBs or RBs have been MVP. It takes a special season for a non-QB to win it mainly because the offense goes through the signal caller. Quarterbacks handle the ball every offensive snap, run the show and get the credit when things go well and the blame when it doesn't. Adrian Peterson was the most recent non-QB to win it when he ran for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings in 2012. Playing for a winning team matters, too. Nine of the past 11 winners played for a No. 1 seed with the other two winners on a No. 2 seed. The Vikings earned the sixth seed when Pederson was MVP. Barkley is a major reason why the Eagles (9-2) are leading the NFC East and only trail Detroit (10-1) by one game for the top spot in the conference. Does he have a realistic chance to win the MVP award? Kicker Mark Moseley was the MVP in the strike-shortened 1982 season when he made 20 of 21 field goals and 16 of 19 extra points in nine games for Washington. If voters once selected a kicker, everyone has a chance, especially a game-changer such as Barkley. Defensive tackle Alan Page was the MVP in 1971 and linebacker Lawrence Taylor won it in 1986. Running back Christian McCaffrey finished third in voting last year and wide receiver Justin Jefferson placed fifth in 2022. The Offensive Player of the Year award and Defensive Player of the Year award recognize the best all-around players on both sides of the ball, allowing voters to recognize non-QBs if they choose. Wide receivers and running backs have won the AP OPOY award seven times over the past 11 seasons. McCaffrey was the 2023 winner. The AP's new voting format introduced in 2022 also gives non-QBs a better opportunity to get MVP recognition. Voter submit their top five picks for each award, with a weighted point system. Previously, voters made one choice for each award. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league vote for MVP and seven other awards. The awards are based on regular-season performance. The Chiefs (10-1) and Bills (9-2) already are in position to lock up postseason berths right after Thanksgiving. Kansas City clinches a playoff berth with a win over Las Vegas on Black Friday and a loss by Miami on Thursday night, or a win plus a loss by Denver on Monday night. Buffalo can wrap up a fifth straight AFC East title with a victory over San Francisco on Sunday and a loss by the Dolphins. It's not a given that the Dallas Cowboys will be looking for a new head coach after this season. Owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday on local radio that Mike McCarthy could end up getting a contract extension. "I don't think that's crazy at all. This is a Super Bowl-winning coach. Mike McCarthy has been there and done that. He has great ideas. We got a lot of football left," Jones said. McCarthy led the Cowboys (4-7) to three straight 12-win seasons, but they went 1-3 in the playoffs and haven't reached the NFC championship game since winning the Super Bowl 29 years ago. Injuries have contributed to the team's struggles this season, but Dallas was just 3-5 before Dak Prescott was lost for the rest of the season. The Cowboys upset Washington last week and their next four games are against teams that currently have losing records. If they somehow end up 9-8 or even 8-9, Jones could make a case for keeping McCarthy. Get local news delivered to your inbox!The Trump economy: How will tariffs, taxes, and big debt affect workers?
New Delhi, Dec 26 (PTI) His flailing and delicate health notwithstanding, the politician in former prime minister Manmohan Singh came out sharply during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when he accused his successor Narendra Modi of lowering the dignity of public discourse and the gravity of the office of the prime minister by giving "hateful speeches" during the poll campaign. In an appeal to voters of Punjab ahead of the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls on June 1, Singh had asserted that only the Congress can ensure growth-oriented progressive future where democracy and Constitution will be safeguarded. The senior Congress leader had also hit out at the BJP government for imposing an "ill-conceived" Agnipath scheme of the Armed Forces, which he termed as a threat to national security. "The BJP thinks that the value of patriotism, bravery and service is only four years. This shows their fake nationalism," he had said in what is considered as his last letter to voters of Punjab. The Congress had released Singh's letter to the media on May 30 in the peak of electioneering that was written ahead of Lok Sabha polls in Punjab. Singh had said those who trained for regular recruitment were woefully betrayed by the outgoing regime. "The youth of Punjab, the son of the farmer, who dreams of serving the motherland through the Armed Forces, is now thinking twice about getting recruited only for a 4-year stint. Agniveer scheme endangers national security. Congress party has therefore promised to abolish the Agniveer scheme," he had said. Mounting an attack on Modi, Singh had said, "I have been keenly following the political discourse during this election campaign. Modi ji has indulged in the most vicious form of hate speeches, which are purely divisive in nature. Modi ji is the first prime minister to lower the dignity of public discourse, and thereby the gravity of the office of the prime minister. "No prime minister in the past has uttered such hateful, unparliamentary and coarse terms, meant to target either a specific section of the society or the opposition. He has also attributed some false statements to me. I have never in my life singled out one community from the other. That is the sole copyright of the BJP," the former prime minister had said. "People of India are seeing through all of this. This narrative of dehumanization has now reached its peak. It is now our duty to save our beloved nation from these forces of discord," Singh had said. He had appealed to the voters to give love, peace, fraternity and harmony a chance in India and urged the Punjab voters to vote for development and inclusive progress. "I appeal to all the young minds to exercise caution and vote for a brighter future. Only Congress can ensure a growth-oriented progressive future, where democracy and the Constitution shall be safeguarded," Singh had said. Modi had accused Singh of saying that Muslims have the first right on the country's resources. Singh had said people of India are seeing through all of this. "This narrative of dehumanisation has now reached its peak. It is now our duty to save our beloved nation from these forces of discord," he had said in the letter. The former prime minister had noted that India is standing at a crucial juncture and in the last phase of voting, "we have one final chance to ensure that democracy and our Constitution is protected from the repeated assaults of a despotic regime, trying to unleash dictatorship in India." Lauding Punjabis as warriors, he had said they are known for their spirit of sacrifice and indomitable courage and innate belief in the democratic ethos of inclusiveness, harmony, amity and brotherhood can protect our great nation. "In the past ten years, the BJP government has left no stone unturned in castigating Punjab, Punjabis and Punjabiyat. 750 farmers, mostly belonging to Punjab, were martyred while incessantly waiting at Delhi borders, for months together. "As if the lathis and the rubber bullets were not enough, none less than the Prime Minister verbally assaulted our farmers by calling them 'Andolanjeevis' and 'Parjeevi' (Parasites) on the floor of the Parliament. Their only demand was the withdrawal of the three farm laws imposed on them without consulting them," he had said. "Unprecedented unemployment and unbridled inflation have greatly widened inequality, which is now at a 100-year high. While the Congress-UPA, despite challenges, increased the purchasing power of our people, the misrule of the BJP Government has resulted in depletion of household savings to a historic 47-year low," he had added. (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)
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