Monthly Archives: January 2021

The weirdest bowl season in modern college football history is in the rearview.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the 2020 college football regular season and those impacts were also felt during the postseason. So many teams decided they had enough football during a pandemic and decided against playing a bowl game that bowl games had to be canceled. Other games were canceled before the season ended. And some were canceled just days before they were scheduled to be played because their participants had COVID-19 cases.

Forty-three bowl games were originally scheduled for this postseason. Mondays national title game between Alabama and Ohio State will be the 26th and final game of the postseason. With 25 games complete, here are our winners and losers from this bowl season unlike any other.

The Big 12: There wasnt a conference that performed better in bowl season than the Big 12. Sure, it didnt have a team that reached the College Football Playoff, but its top teams delivered against some solid competition.

Big 12 teams went 5-0 in the postseason, and four of those bowl wins came against teams from other Power Five conferences. No. 21 Oklahoma State beat No. 18 Miami 37-34 in the Cheez-It Bowl, No. 20 Texas beat Colorado 55-23 in the Alamo Bowl, No. 6 Oklahoma beat No. 7 Florida 55-20 in the Cotton Bowl and No. 10 Iowa State beat No. 25 Oregon 34-17 in the Fiesta Bowl. The fifth bowl win came courtesy of West Virginia, which overcame a 21-10 third-quarter deficit to beat a nine-win Army team 24-21 in the Liberty Bowl.

For Iowa State, winning a New Years Six bowl game capped off the best season in its history.

Texas A&M: Texas A&M thought it had a legitimate argument to make the College Football Playoff over Notre Dame. Instead, the Aggies finished No. 5 in the final CFP rankings and were matched up with No. 13 North Carolina in the Orange Bowl. Instead of sulking about getting left out of the playoff, A&M went out and beat UNC 41-27 in a hard-fought game.

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North Carolina went ahead 27-20 on a long touchdown pass with 13:51 remaining, but the Aggies fought back and closed out the game with three scoring drives. The biggest play of the game was the go-ahead 76-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Devon Achane with 3:44 to go. Achane is part of an exciting, young group of players set to return under Jimbo Fisher in 2021.

A&M is now 3-0 in bowl games under Fisher.

Northwestern: After a miserable 3-9 record in 2019, Northwestern bounced back in a big way in 2020. The Wildcats went 6-1 in the regular season and won the Big Ten West before giving Ohio State a huge scare in the Big Ten title game. From there, Northwestern capped off the season by beating Auburn 35-19 in the Citrus Bowl to finish the year with a 7-2 record. It was a heck of a way to go out for longtime Northwestern defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz, who is retiring after 13 seasons leading the Wildcats defense. Northwestern has now won four consecutive bowl games.

Liberty: One of the most-anticipated matchups of the early part of the bowl slate was Liberty vs. Coastal Carolina in the Cure Bowl. CCU entered the game undefeated while Liberty had just one loss. It lived up to the hype in terms of drama, and featured one of the strangest endings youll ever see.

With the game tied 34-34, Liberty was on the doorstep of the end zone. Coastal was trying to let Liberty score, while Liberty just wanted to run the clock out. Somehow amid the chaos, Libertys Joshua Mack was stripped and fumbled. Coastal recovered, forcing overtime. Liberty ended up winning the game 37-34 to finish the year 10-1 and knock the Chanticleers to 11-1. Hugh Freeze now has an 18-6 record in his two seasons at Liberty.

BYU: Despite having just one loss (to Coastal Carolina), BYU finished No. 16 in the final CFP rankings. But when the Cougars got an opportunity to play a good program like UCF in a bowl game, they took advantage of it. BYU trounced the Knights in the Boca Raton Bowl, 49-23. Zach Wilson, in his final college game, threw for 425 yards and three touchdowns while Tyler Allgeier rushed for 173 yards and a score on 19 carries. In all, the Cougars put up 655 yards of offense while limiting UCFs vaunted passing attack to just 217 yards. With the win, BYU finished the year with an 11-1 record.

Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin has given Ole Miss some life in his first season in Oxford. The Rebels capped off the 2020 season with a 26-20 win over No. 11 Indiana in the Outback Bowl. Indiana was playing with its backup quarterback, but has a really strong defense. Ole Miss ended up putting up nearly 500 yards in the win. Ole Miss led 20-6 entering the fourth quarter, but Indiana tied the score at 20-20 with 5:58 to play. Ole Miss responded quickly with a touchdown and then got the defensive stop it needed to pull out the win and finish the year with a 5-5 record. It was the programs first bowl win since 2015.

Ball State: Ball State capped off a historic season with a blowout 34-13 victory over San Jose State in the Arizona Bowl. It marked the first bowl victory in program history for the Cardinals, who were previously 1-7 in bowl games. San Jose State, the previously unbeaten Mountain West champion, was missing coaches and players due to COVID-19 issues, but it doesnt take away from Ball States accomplishments. The program won the MAC for the first time since 1996 and finished the year 7-1.

Sun Belt: Another conference that performed well on the bowl stage was the Sun Belt. While Coastal Carolina carried the torch for the league throughout the regular season, Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Louisiana and Georgia State all won their bowl matchups this year. The average margin of victory in those games was 22 points.

The ACC: Thanks to Notre Dames one-season membership, the ACC entered the bowl season as the only conference able to brag about getting two teams in the playoff. Both of those teams lost their semifinal games. And every other ACC team lost its bowl game as well. The conference went 0-6 in bowl games after NC State capped off the ACC bowl season with a two-point loss to Kentucky in the Gator Bowl.

Is the ACCs bowl season a sign that the conference is down? Its hard to draw conclusions about a conference from bowl season. But its definitely not a sign that the ACC is anything more than the third or fourth-best Power Five conference in the country.

Miami: The Hurricanes contributed to the ACCs 0-6 record with a loss in the Cheez-It Bowl to Oklahoma State. That was Miamis fourth straight bowl loss and the Hurricanes are a whopping 1-10 in bowl games since winning the MPC Computers Bowl in Larry Cokers final season in 2006. That game is now the Potato Bowl.

Miami also lost QB DEriq King in the bowl game too. King announced before the game that he would be back for another season as Miamis QB and then unfortunately tore his right ACL in the second quarter. Miami said it expects King to be ready for fall practice as the Hurricanes look to get back into ACC title contention.

Florida: The Gators entered the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma without their top four receivers and it showed. Florida got blown out by the Sooners as Kyle Trask threw three interceptions for the first time all season. It was a whimper of an end to 2020 for Trask after he played well enough to be a Heisman finalist throughout the regular season.

The Gators were missing key players on defense too, though that wasnt necessarily an excuse for Floridas defensive struggles. Florida gave up over 30 points per game throughout the 2020 season after giving up 55 to Oklahoma. There are going to be staff changes on that side of the ball at Florida but coach Dan Mullen is reportedly keeping defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.

Cincinnati: The Bearcats were so close to a statement win over Georgia in the Peach Bowl. But the offense stagnated in the second half outside of a long TD run by Jerome Ford and Georgia kicked a late field goal to eventually win 24-21. The field goal came after the Bearcats had the chance to run more time off the clock, but went for a game-deciding first down via the pass a pass that fell incomplete and stopped the clock.

A win would have capped an undefeated season for Cincinnati and helped show how the AAC is a conference that isnt far off from the Power Five. Instead, Cincinnatis loss was part of a 1-5 bowl season for the conference. The only AAC team to win a bowl game was Memphis. The Tigers beat Florida Atlantic 25-10 in the Montgomery Bowl. UCF, Tulane, Tulsa and Houston all lost.

Tom Herman: We all thought Herman was going to be back for the 2021 season. After all, Texas convincingly beat Colorado in the Alamo Bowl and athletic director Chris Del Conte said that Herman would be back. Well, that promise to keep Herman lasted less than two days into the new year. Herman was fired on Saturday and was given a $15 million buyout to depart as Texas coach. While Herman will undoubtedly be back in college football sooner rather than later with a good job, its a bit unusual to be told youre keeping your job only to get fired less than a month later.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons were up 14-0 in the first quarter over Wisconsin yet somehow lost the Dukes Mayo Bowl by 14. How in the heck did that happen? Blame the four second-half interceptions that Sam Hartman threw. Three of Wisconsins four TDs in the final half were set up by interceptions and the longest drive leading to those four scores went a whopping 33 yards. Two of those drives lasted less than five yards thanks to interceptions. It was a brutal way for Wake Forest to finish the season at 4-5.

Mississippi State and Tulsa: The Armed Forces Bowl was an entirely forgettable bowl game between a 3-7 team from the SEC and a good AAC team that casual fans dont really care about. And then the brawl happened. Thursdays game produced the lowlight of bowl season as Mississippi State and Tulsa players fought after the game while MSU coach Mike Leach was taking pictures with fans in the stands. There were kicks, punches, helmet swings, you name it. It was ugly. And itll be a fight that will undoubtedly have consequences for players during the 2021 season.

Auburn: Well look on the bright side first. After a circuitous coaching search that seemed to keep coming up empty, Auburn found Boise State coach Bryan Harsin to succeed Gus Malzahn. But with Harsin in attendance at the Citrus Bowl, Auburn capped a 6-5 season with a 35-19 loss to Northwestern and allowed the Wildcats to rack up 457 yards of offense. The Tigers were absolutely stifled on the ground and rushed for just 61 yards. That put pressure on sophomore QB Bo Nix, who threw for 292 yards. But that was a product of Auburn playing catchup from the start. Northwestern jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

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College football winners and losers: Big 12 thrives, ACC struggles in bowl season - Yahoo Sports

Video has emerged from inside the US Capitol showing a protester appearing to take a selfie with a police officer.

Thousands stormed the US Capitol complex on Wednesday (local time), freshly riled from a Donald Trump rally where the president reiterated his baseless claims the election has been stolen from him and encouraged protesters to march towards the building.

As the raucous crowds became too much for Capitol Police, a minority managed to break into the building.

From this chaos, the short clip, which has circulated widely across social media, shows several protesters inside an entrance to the building surrounded by police in riot gear.

One unidentified officer, wearing a face covering and a high-vis police vest, then poses with one protester who leans in for a selfie with him before he nods his head in acknowledgment.

Someone out of shot can be heard shouting ACAB (all cops are bastards) repeatedly.

The video has sparked outrage online, and was branded embarrassing and sickening by one Twitter user.

However some have said the officer acted in a way to help diffuse the situation.

Dramatic images from outside the US Capitol show protesters violently clashing with outnumbered police as they tried to contain the raucous crowd.

Yet there were allegations online some officers were reluctant to prevent the protesters and some were even facilitating them.

Another video shared online appears to show a group of officers, moving barriers aside, allowing protesters to advance on the building.

NBC News Analyst Howard Fineman questioned on Twitter the actions of Capitol Police.

Were Capitol Police just inept and unprepared, or did they either unthinkingly or deliberately lack motivation to block rioters from busting into the building? he asked.

There has been comparison to last years Black Lives Matter protests in Washington which was met with a much stronger police presence in comparison to Wednesdays riot.

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When Black folks are protesting and progressives are protesting peacefully they were tear-gassed, they were arrested, they were shot with rubber bullets. They were shot with real bullets, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Derrick Johnson told USA Today.

Political commentator and television host Joy Reid called for an investigation into Capitol Polices response.

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TipRanks

After a year that most of us want to forget, were all shaking off our New Years celebrations, and taking in 2021s promise of relief from a perpetually controversial politics, the never-ending corona crisis, and market volatility.That last may be the key, at least for stock investors. Were entering a period of relative calm, after a most unsettled year, and now is the time to start reviewing investment choices and making portfolio decisions for the months and years ahead.The TipRanks database has both the information and the tools necessary for this act of financial introspection. By combining the Strong Buy analyst consensus with the Perfect 10 rating from the unique Smart Score system, investors can navigate directly to stocks that present a strong case for bullish moves. Here are the details on three such stocks, along with corroborative commentary from the analysts.Devon Energy (DVN)Well start with Devon Energy, a mid-cap player in the Texas oil regions. The company owns mineral rights on over 1.8 million acres across Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico, with additional production areas in Wyoming. Devon has more than 10,000 production wells in active use, and sits on proven reserves totaling 757 million barrels of oil equivalent, with 64% of that total in recoverable liquids.The corona pandemic and chronic low prices in the energy industry hurt Devon in 1H20, and by Q2, revenues had fallen to $394 million. That has started to turn around, and the Q3 top line, at $1.07 billion, met expectations. In Q3, the company reported several strong metrics: oil production of 146,000 barrels per day exceeded guidance by 6,000 barrels; production expenses improved 8% yoy; and free cash flow hit $223 million in the quarter. Devon exited Q3 with $1.9 billion in unrestricted cash available. In a further sign of strength, Devon announced toward the end of the third quarter that it has entered into a $2.56 billion agreement to acquire WPX Energy.At the bottom line on Devon, Piper Sandler analyst Mark Lear writes, With the recently announced WPX merger, DVN reaffirmed the commitment to improving the balance sheet, increasing shareholder return via a fixed plus variable dividend model and alluded to further efficiencies to be captured through portfolio optimization, which we have expected would be a big added benefit of the deal.Lears upbeat comments come with an Overweight (i.e. Buy) rating, and his $21 target price indicates his confidence in a 15% upside over the next 12 months. (To watch Lears track record, click here)Overall, the analyst consensus on DVN is not unanimous, but almost. The Strong Buy consensus rating is supported by 14 Buys against a single Hold.(See DVN stock analysis on TipRanks)Invitation Homes (INVH)Next up is Invitation Homes, a major player in the rental home niche. The corona crisis has dampened much economic activity, including home buying, and one unexpected result was strength in the single-family rental home sector. Invitation Homes has a portfolio of high-quality properties in Florida and the Western US, totaling some 80,000 homes. Invitation saw $459 million in Q3 revenues, a 3.6% year-over-year gain, along with Same Store (that is, rental office location) growth of 4% yoy. The companys Q3 rental collection rate was 98% of the average historical rate this was considered a strong result, considering the ongoing economic and public health crisis. The company also paid out its 15-cent common share dividend for the third quarter, which puts the yield at 2%.Raymond James analyst Buck Horne sees INVH in a strong position to benefit from current trends in housing and employment."[We] continue to see ample evidence of a longer-term secular demand shift in favor of SFR homes. Millennial demographics, work-from-home flexibility, de-densification/de-urbanization, and cross-state population migration are all key catalysts. In our view, Invitation's industry leading scale, improving efficiency, and strengthening balance sheet position the company as a prime beneficiary of these trends, Horne opined.Hornes comments back up his Buy rating, and his $36 target price indicates a 24% upside for 2021. (To watch Hornes track record, click here)Invitation Homes has a unanimous Strong Buy consensus rating, supported by 7 Buy reviews. (See INVH stock analysis on TipRanks)Pinduoduo, Inc. (PDD)Last but not least is Pinduoduo, the second-largest online marketplace in China. This company had over 585 million active buyers in 2019, putting it just behind the higher profile Alibaba.Chinas e-commerce ecosystem is fast growing, and getting more crowded companies need to stand out to succeed. Pinduoduo manages this by offering several unique services to its customers, including consumer to manufacturer tools that put end-user preferences in the service providers sights; a New Brand Initiative, designed to help emerging merchants brand their products; and an agricultural initiative connecting small farmers with second-tier city markets. The company has built these initiatives around a logistic and data analysis platform, that lets merchants know what their customers want.The company also works from the buyer end. Pinduoduo has created a virtual bazaar, bringing social interaction to online purchasing. Customer can share information on products and prices through social networking, enhancing both the shopping experience and the value-for-money both are important for getting and keeping customers.In the third quarter, PDD reported $2.09 billion in total revenue, beating the estimates by 12% and growing 89% year-over-year. The total number of active buyers in the quarter grew 36% year-over-year to reach 731.3 million. Jailong Shi, 5-star analyst with Nomura, writes of PDD: What impressed us most was its marketing expense, which rose 46% y-y in 3Q, helping its operating margin improve 26pp y-y to -2%. Competition in Chinas ecommerce industry remained intense in 3Q which make PDDs results seem more striking in comparison. We believe this set of results was solid proof of PDDs strong execution and the effectiveness of its subsidizing strategy, which appears to have worked well in cementing the loyalty and engagement of its usersShi rates PDD a Buy, and his $192 price target implies room for ~10% upside potential. (To watch Shis track record, click here)Pinduoduo has 9 recent reviews, breaking down 8 to 1 in favor of Buys versus Hold, making the analyst consensus rating a Strong Buy. (See PDD stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence appears to be heading to the NFL.

Lawrence bid farewell to Clemson on Wednesday, a day after he finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting to Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith. Lawrence is the Jacksonville Jaguars presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

Looking back on it I hope my legacy at Clemson is that I was a great teammate and a great person overall, Lawrence said in a thank you video he posted to Twitter.

More than football, more than how I played each game is just how I treated people. I want that to be the main thing that Im known for and I think over the last three years thats the thing Ive kept as a priority just treating people well and being a good person.

Lawrence took over as Clemsons starting quarterback during his freshman season. The Tigers went undefeated with him at quarterback and beat Alabama to win the national championship after the 2018 season.

The Tigers first loss with Lawrence as a starter came a year later. Clemson went undefeated in 2019 before losing to LSU in the national championship game. And on Friday, Ohio States win over the Tigers was Lawrences second loss as a starter.

Lawrence threw for 400 yards in that loss. But his final pass as a Clemson QB was intercepted in the end zone late in Buckeyes 49-28 win.

Lawrence played in just 10 of Clemsons 12 games in 2020 because he contracted COVID-19 during the season. The Tigers 47-40 double-overtime loss to Notre Dame came while he was unable to play with the virus.

He finished the 2020 season 231-of-334 passing for 3,153 yards and 24 touchdowns with just five interceptions. He also rushed for eight TDs.

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Over 40 games at Clemson, Lawrence threw for 10,098 yards and 90 TDs. He completed two-thirds of his passes in three seasons and also rushed for 18 scores.

Lawrences departure from Clemson was a foregone conclusion. While he had previously left the door to a return for his senior season slightly open, most everyone expected the 2020 season to be Lawrences final one at Clemson.

That included coach Dabo Swinney. The Clemson coach said in October that he would be surprised if Lawrence returned to school in 2021.

Well certainly let him stay if thats what he wants to do but Id be surprised if hes back with the Tigers next year, Swinney said on SiriusXM over two months ago.

Lawrence makes Jacksonville more enticing for general manager and head coaching candidates. The franchise is looking for both a GM and a coach and offers a team with the most salary cap space in the NFL and the chance to have Lawrence as the teams franchise QB for the next decade.

Lawrence has been at the top of Yahoo Sports NFL draft analyst Eric Edholms 2021 mock drafts for a long time, and its hard to see how Jacksonville will seriously consider any other player with the top pick in the upcoming draft.

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Trevor Lawrence thanks Clemson in Twitter video as he's expected to declare for 2021 NFL draft - Yahoo Sports

The top of the 2021 NFL draft is set in stone that is, until picks can be traded. We know the order of the first 18 selections, with the remaining 14 in Round 1 to be determined based on the results of the playoffs.

And what we have atop the draft is a fascinating landscape that could lead to a lot of trade activity. Why? Well, it appears that the most interesting and perhaps most coveted prospects in the drafts upper reaches will be quarterbacks.

But not all teams picking in that range will draft QBs. The Miami Dolphins at 3 just announced that Tua Tagovailoa will be their starter next season. The Atlanta Falcons have Matt Ryan under contract, with nearly $50 million in dead money remaining. The Cincinnati Bengals wont pick another QB.

So that certainly opens the door for multiple trades in the top 10, pending what happens during the free-agency period. Quarterbacks are expected to be the main trade-up targets. We could end up with three going in the top five overall picks and perhaps four in the top 10.

Then again, that means many mock drafts figure to look pretty ugly. Uglier than normal, that is.

Heres a quick snapshot how the top five stands now:

Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence

Lawrence has bid farewell to Clemson in an apparent declaration for the draft, so the first domino has fallen. There will be a new general manager in Jacksonville. Could this be like Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay after he hired former GM Ryan Grigson? Grigson admitted after the draft that Andrew Luck was in essence Irsays pick.

Earlier this week, Jaguars owner Shad Khan said that he would retain personnel control for the time being. That cant sit well for prospective GM candidates. But what would happen if, say, Urban Meyer becomes head coach?

Even if Lawrence feels like a mortal lock to Jacksonville, were not putting the chances quite at 100 percent right now. Well hedge and say 99 or so.

BYU QB Zach Wilson

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There is a lot of chatter that GM Joe Douglas will look to trade down. But then again, Douglas was pretty vague and non-committal when asked about Sam Darnolds future in New York. Perhaps Douglas is just playing smart poker. It never hurts to listen to offers and see what options present themselves.

As for the Wilson vs. Justin Fields debate, the one thing we can tell you, having spoken to multiple teams about the quarterbacks this season, is that there will be no consensus. Some like Wilson better. Others prefer Fields. And there are some Trey Lance supporters out there, too. This is going to be fascinating theater to watch everything play out over the next 16 weeks.

LSU WR JaMarr Chase

Many are mad that Ive had Chase in this spot over, say, Alabamas DeVonta Smith, the newly minted Heisman Trophy winner. Readers have informed me that Smith and Tagovailoa were college teammates. Good info; well file that away for certain.

The truth is that I dont know which receiver the Dolphins favor, and I dont believe they know yet, either. Theyll take the best player here, regardless of what uniform they wear. Now, is Chase better than Smith? Is there another option that would be superior to either?

Those are fine questions to ask. But keep this in mind: Last year, around late March, there were some reports that came out that the Dolphins did not believe in Tagovailoa. (Go look, most of them are still online.)

So heres our mock-building tip of the day: If you hear similar reports about a different prospect and Miami this time around, perhaps thats a sign we should lock that player into the third slot.

Ohio State QB Justin Fields

The Falcons were 0-7 in one-score games. They still have Ryan, and his contract is a boat anchor. Everything in my head is screaming, no with this pairing, and yet I think the next general manager is going to have to have a real honest and tough call on the longer-term future of the franchise.

Teams that think too much in the short term tend to fizzle fast. Fans dont like being patient, and frankly most owners dont either. This will be a fascinating time for Arthur Blank. But its potentially the smartest payoff in the end, with the prodigal son coming home to ATL.

Oregon OT Penei Sewell

Sewells hagiography has frankly been a little too much, at least in some NFL evaluators minds. Truly. Ive spoken to a scout (whose name fans would recognize) who is not a huge fan of Sewell; then again, other people really, really like him.

But my chorus since August on Sewell has been consistent: Hes not Jonathan Ogden, folks. However, if hes Willie Anderson-level good, certainly if hes Andrew Whitworth good, Sewell will be well worth it here. The Bengals need blocking help as much as anyone.

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NFL draft top-5 snapshot: Quarterbacks will be in high demand in 2021 - Yahoo Sports

A woman said she was assaulted at gunpoint by masked men who stole her puppy while she was on a walk.

Sarah Vorhaus from San Francisco is offering a US$2000 (A$2670) reward for the return of her five-month-old French bulldog, Chloe, after three men attacked her and drove away with the dog.

The 30-year-old woman said she was walking Chloe around 6pm on Tuesday (local time) when she heard a man from behind her say, give me your dog!.

When she turned around Ms Vorhaus said she was punched in the face several times by a man holding a gun.

"I just started screaming for help, she told ABC7, still shaken from the incident.

Ms Vorhaus said the man then grabbed her puppy and got into a car with three other men and drove off.

The distraught pet owner said there were several people in the area at the time of the attack and one of them called an ambulance. She was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Ms Vorhaus is now recovering but is desperate to get her pet back and told ABC7 she doesnt care about the thief, she just wants her beloved dog back.

"No questions asked, we will pay truly anything, no questions asked, I don't even care what happens to this guy. I just want to get Chloe back, Ms Vorhaus said through tears via video chat.

San Francisco police confirmed to ABC7 that they were investigating reports of a robbery and Ms Vorhaus had suffered non life-threatening injuries in the attack.

She said the man with the gun who punched her appeared to be in his 20s or 30s and was wearing a hoodie, while all the men were wearing masks.

The dog owner said she has had Chloe since October but the puppy had yet to be microchipped because she was advised by vets to wait until the dog had been desexed.

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Woman assaulted at gunpoint as three masked thieves steal puppy - Yahoo News Australia

Shells and bullets are hurtling thicker and faster than ever between Indian and Pakistani forces across Kashmir's ceasefire line, killing and maiming at a rate not seen in the entrenched conflict for two decades.

Zameer Ahmad was building a community bunker on the Indian side of the Himalayan region's disputed frontier -- officially known as the Line of Control (LoC) -- when a sniper round fired from Pakistani-controlled territory struck the ground nearby.

Ahmad and co-worker Sadakat Hussain took cover behind a wall in the village of Simari. "We finally decided to try to run but we both got hit," the 26-year-old told AFP.

Ahmad took a bullet in the stomach and now has to wear a colostomy bag. Hussain, 23, walks with a limp because of his wounded foot.

"It is scary, we just don't know why the firing starts," said Hussain, speaking during a visit to the frontier zone organised by the Indian military.

Similar stories are told on both sides of the 344-kilometre (213-mile) partition amid ever-tougher talk between the nuclear-armed neighbours, who have fought two wars over the region in the past seven decades.

Scores of civilians have been killed this year, and a UN observer mission car was struck by a bullet in December.

India says at least 10 of its forces have been killed by artillery shells or sniper fire from Pakistani-controlled Kashmir since the start of November.

It claims Pakistan violated a 2003 ceasefire accord more than 5,000 times last year -- the highest since it started.

About 20 civilians were killed over the year, and incidents included drones dropping grenades into Indian territory.

Pakistan, in turn, accuses India of more than 3,000 violations in 12 months, leaving 29 dead, 250 civilians wounded, and hundreds of buildings destroyed or damaged.

Jura, just four kilometres from the LoC in the Neelum Valley, has been worst hit on the Pakistani side, authorities say.

- House arrest -

The shelling can last for hours or days, the town's residents told AFP. Half the homes have blast damage and the farmland is pock-marked with craters.

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"Most of the time we are shut up in our house. It is a war on us," Amna Bibi, 40, said while washing clothes outside her home.

In the nearby village of Chilyana, the 500 inhabitants also rarely stray outside.

"When we leave in the morning to open our shop, we don't know if we will return home," Khawaja Zubair Ahmad said.

With each side blaming the other, the firing is at dangerous levels, according to observers.

Residents say tensions have risen since February 2019 when India staged an air attack on Pakistani territory after a suicide bomber killed 40 Indian troops in Kashmir.

India says Pakistan uses shelling to cover increased attempts to infiltrate militants across the line to fuel an insurgency.

Pakistan has been incensed by India's revoking of Muslim-majority Kashmir's semi-autonomous status in 2019 -- "a move that Islamabad regarded as a particularly serious provocation", said Michael Kugelman, a South Asia specialist at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington.

Residents on the Indian side say Pakistan deliberately cut off their water supply for farms. Pakistan bemoans the closure of a bridge that until last year was used to bring divided families together.

Khaleel ul Rahman, village head in Sudhpura on the Indian side, rushes to his cow shed and stays with the animals when a midnight barrage starts.

Sudhpura suffers badly even by Kashmir's violent standards. It is surrounded on three sides by Pakistan-administered Kashmir and a third of the village is on the Pakistan side.

Shells also fall when markets are open and children are in school. "People just panic. It is like a stampede," said local school principal Mansoor Ahmad.

Observers say though that neither India nor Pakistan is in a rush to find a solution. The Hindu nationalist government in New Delhi and Muslim administration in Islamabad are too entrenched.

"The history of India-Pakistan relations has had many more lows than highs, and right now we're experiencing a particularly ugly, prolonged low," said Kugelman.

"There is little incentive on either side to dial down tensions."

Rival prime ministers Narendra Modi and Imran Khan both offered better relations on taking office -- Modi even visited Pakistan -- but their gestures were rejected by the other.

Modi boasted last year that Pakistan would "bite the dust" in seven to 10 days if it started a new war. Khan replied last month that India would get a "befitting" response if it tried anything.

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The out-of-control line between India and Pakistan - Yahoo News Australia

Indian cricket chief Sourav Ganguly left hospital on Thursday as a cooking oil company withdrew adverts featuring him because of the heart attack he suffered.

Hundreds of youths gathered outside the hospital as the 48-year-old walked out accompanied by his wife Dona.

"I am absolutely fine and hope that I will resume my work soon," the Board of Control for Cricket in India president and former national captain told reporters.

"I also hope to fly soon," he added.

Ganguly suffered a heart attack while working out in a gym on Saturday and was rushed to hospital where he underwent an angioplasty operation.

"His heart today is as strong as it was when Sourav was 20 years old," cardiac surgeon Devi Shetty told reporters.

"Sourav can participate in a marathon, fly a plane, or even get back to cricket if he wants without this event being any setback."

But a series of cooking oil adverts featuring the cricket icon have been pulled off the air because of the incident. Ganguly says in the adverts that the oils are "heart healthy".

Social media users accused the oil brand Adani Wilmar, co-owned by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, of making false claims through a cricket hero.

The company said it was "a very unfortunate incident and can happen with anyone" as they confirmed a halt in the commercials.

"The ricebran oil is not a medicine but only a cooking oil. There are several factors which affect heart ailments including dietary and hereditary issues," Angshu Mallick, Adani Wilmar chief executive, said in statement.

"We shall continue to work with Sourav and he will continue to be our brand ambassador. We have only taken a temporary break in our TV commercial until we again sit with Sourav and take things forward."

Ganguly retired from Test cricket in 2008 having scored 7,212 runs including 16 centuries. He also scored 11,363 runs in 311 one-day internationals.

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Ganguly leaves hospital as oil brand's 'heart healthy' ads pulled - Yahoo Sport Australia

Mitchell Pearce will step down as captain of the Newcastle Knights, after reports his wedding was called off because he'd been messaging a member of staff at the club emerged. Picture: Instagram/mitchpearce_7

Mitchell Pearce will reportedly relinquish the captaincy of the Newcastle Knights as the fallout from the NRL stars texting scandal continues.

The 31-year-old called off his wedding to fiancee Kristin Scott late in December after it was reported that he had been caught sending flirty messages to a female member of the Knights staff.

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Pearce has denied that this was the reason why the wedding was postponed, citing the coronavirus as cause for the delay.

However, both the Daily Telegraph and Sydney Morning Herald have reported it was due to his messages with the staff member.

The situation has reportedly led to some tension within the Newcastle playing group, with the club issuing a statement on Wednesday confirming that Pearce would step down from the captaincy.

Earlier this week, Pearce met with Head Coach Adam OBrien, CEO Philip Gardner and General Manager of Football Danny Buderus, to address recent events and to apologise for the distraction and inconvenience they have caused during the Christmas leave period, the statement read.

Immediately following this meeting, Pearce met with his teammates and football department staff, to advise the group of his decision to relinquish the captaincy.

Pearces decision followed a lengthy review of current issues, last seasons performance and reflection upon the added pressure the captaincy brings to both his on field performance and personal life.

The club is fully supportive of his decision.

The Knights will continue work to develop a new club leadership model, with a decision on new club leaders including who will ultimately perform the role of captain yet to be made.

Story continues

The Newcastle Knights are committed to respecting the privacy of their employees, including any discussion of private matters in the public domain. At the conclusion of tomorrows media opportunity, no further comment will be made on this matter.

The situation is made even more complicated with Knights second-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon a close friend of the partner of the staff member who exchanged texts with Pearce.

On day one of the 2021 pre-season, general manager of football Danny Buderus said Pearce's conduct was unacceptable and confirmed the leadership of the team was under review.

"At this stage for several months we've been addressing and looking at our leadership model within the club," Buderus said on Monday.

"Adam O'Brien is a big believer of strong leadership, group leadership, and we really need to hone down into that and work it out and we're still to finalise those decisions into which way we're going to go.

"We're going to take our time and roll it out.

"We have got some good candidates for leadership within that group but that will be for Adam and his team to work out which way the captaincy will go."

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Mitchell Pearce rocked by latest twist in texting scandal - Yahoo Sport Australia

Less than a year into his Test career, Kyle Jamieson is already the toast of New Zealand and being compared to the country's cricketing greats, but despite stunning figures he considers himself still a work in progress.

The towering fast bowler made his debut last February against India on a grey Wellington day when regular firebrand Neil Wagner was on paternity leave.

Eleven overs into the Test he was called up to bowl and 15 deliveries later had the first of his four wickets in the innings with Cheteshwar Pujara caught behind.

Six Tests on, all on New Zealand's green, bowl-first wickets, Jamieson has taken 36 wickets at a stunning 13.27 average and has four five-wicket bags.

His 11-wicket, man-of-the-match performance in this week's innings defeat of Pakistan helped put New Zealand on top of the world rankings for the first time.

"Brilliant figures," purred the International Cricket Council on Twitter, while cricketing authority Wisden called Jamieson "a special find for New Zealand" with his "brutal" bowling.

The most talked-about feature is the 26-year-old's height at 2.3 metres (6ft 8in) and the extraordinary bounce he generates when he bangs the ball into the wicket.

But he is no one-trick pony, with a repertoire that includes full and short deliveries as well as swing and seam movement which were all on display in his 11 for 117 against Pakistan in Christchurch.

Only Richard Hadlee and Daniel Vettori have produced better figures for New Zealand.

"It's kind of weird when you say it. Those two guys are legends of New Zealand cricket and I've just played my sixth Test," Jamieson said.

"It's nice to be in and around those names but I'm just happy to be part of this group and to help in some small way in us winning games."

- 'Impressive' attitude -

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said Jamieson's height was his most obvious attribute, but there was much more to the modest 26-year-old.

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"The most noticeable thing is height. Coming from that trajectory and getting that extra bounce is a real asset, but the most impressive thing is his attitude," Williamson said.

"He's swinging the ball both ways as well. He's a really special talent but the way he's come in (and) just tried to add to the group, whether that's on the field or off the field, has been the most impressive thing.

"In a lot of ways he's leading as well."

Although Williamson's 238 set up New Zealand's win by an innings and 176 runs, Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan singled out Jamieson as "the only difference" between the two sides saying "he took too many wickets".

Jamieson bowled Rizwan in the second innings with a ball heading outside off stump until it swung in late and stormed between bat and pad.

It was a special delivery Jamieson had worked on during the year and he said there was still a lot more he needed to do to improve his game.

"I'm a long way off the cricketer I want to be. I'm 12 months into my international career and it's a long process and hopefully I've got another nine-10 years in this group and if that happens there could be a wee bit more to come.

"There's always things you're trying to work on. It's nice to be able to move the ball both ways and in different conditions that won't necessarily always be helpful. In terms of different deliveries and different formats you've got white-ball cricket and there's different variations there.

"There's nothing specific but you're always trying to improve your game and those things kind of pop up from time to time."

While the focus has been on Jamieson's bowling he has also proven himself an efficient number eight batsman, with an average of 56.50 from six innings including two not outs.

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Jamieson, modest but 'brutal' bowler who put New Zealand on top of the world - Yahoo Sport Australia