Monthly Archives: July 2022

After consecutive weekends of early fight times, the UFC returns to its Saturday night pay-per-view schedule this weekend. UFC 277 is headlined by women's bantamweight champion Julianna Pena defending her title in a rematch against former champion Amanda Nunes.

But that's not the only title fight on tap for Saturday night.

The interim title for the flyweight division will be on the line when Brandon Moreno faces Kai Kara-France in the co-main event. Moreno, the former champion, got the best of Kara-France in 2019 with a unanimous decision victory at UFC 245. Rematches have historically provided solid angles for bettors, as the winner of the previous fight tends to duplicate their success more often than not. Moreno is a sizable favorite to defeat Kara-France for a second time, and here is why it's best to bet on him now as the odds continue to climb.

Kai Kara-France is coming off an upset victory over Askar Askarov where he was able to pour on the volume in the later rounds of the fight. Askarov is a freestyle wrestler whose only answer to Kara-France's striking was to shoot for takedowns. However, when those attempts failed, the door opened up for Kara-France to take over the fight. And Kara-France took full advantage of his striking and cardio advantages en route to a razor-thin decision victory. However, he won't have that luxury against Moreno, who used his jab to perfection as the technically superior striker in their first fight.

That's the biggest challenge for Kara-France. His power is his biggest asset, but Moreno has multiple weapons to limit his ability to utilize it. We have already seen Moreno have great success with his jab, and I don't think it's a given that Kara-France can work his way inside to deliver his straight right hand at the frequency he will need to.

Brandon Moreno reacts after his decision loss to Deiveson Figueiredo in their UFC flyweight championship fight at UFC 270 on Jan. 22. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Moreno can also use his aggression to keep Kara-France on the defensive. That was the turning point in the previous fight. Kara-France was uncomfortable and reactive when Moreno came forward, bringing the fight to him. I am sure it's a tactic the former champ will deploy, knowing his opponent hasn't been through five rounds in the Octagon. The experience gap in this environment shouldn't be understated.

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These flyweight fights can turn into chaos at any moment. And those unpredictable moments are where Moreno's championship experience will shine through. I am confident Moreno can win the grappling exchanges easily and take Kara-France's back if this one hits the canvas. He scored seven takedowns in his three fights with Deiveson Figueiredo, so that could be another way he keeps the fight on his terms. Kara-France is a game opponent with the heart of a champion. Still, his win condition is very limited against somebody as well-rounded as Moreno. All the reason to take the favorite at -200, and enjoy what should be the most entertaining fight of the night.

The Bet: Brandon Moreno (-200)

You are only as strong as your biggest weakness when you get to the highest level of mixed martial arts. Unfortunately, Cosce and Mathetha learned that lesson the hard way in their UFC debut losses. Now matched up against each other, Cosce has the more reliable tools to climb back into the win column. His athleticism will help him cut off the cage against Mathetha and he'll utilize his wrestling to get this one to the ground. Unfortunately, as was the case in Mathetha's debut, that's where the fight will end. His grappling is not good enough to survive against UFC competition, which forces him to be overly reliant on low-percentage, highlight-reel finishes.

In his UFC debut, "Blood Diamond" relinquished 4:25 of control time before being choked out at 4:38 into the first round. Mathetha's inability to keep the fight standing resulted in him connecting on only one strike during the contest. He might find some openings on Cosce, but I'm willing to bet Cosce survives long enough to put Mathetha on his back. At -160, I think we are getting a solid price on Cosce, who should get this to the mat and ground and pound his way to his first UFC victory.

The Bet: Orion Cosco (-160)

*Stats provided by ufcstats.com

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UFC 277: Here are two favorites to bet now before it gets pricier - Yahoo Sports

"Literally me," a friend DM'd me recently. The message came attached to a tweet of a story I'd written about how job seekers are anxious to land new gigs before the turbulent economic landscape becomes even more uncertain.

I was kind of shockedthis friend has a good job. Good pay. Admittedly, it's been a year or more since I spoke with him at lengthliving across the country from one another will do that. Had I missed a major (unfortunate?) career update? Had he been fired? Quit his job due to the mental exhaustion of the pandemic? That wasn't out of the realm of possibility; it's been the case for more than a few friends. Or maybe he was itching to escape a toxic work environment?

Turns out he's still at the prominent news outlet where he's worked for going on five years. And like many Americans, he's searching for his next gig.

My friend says he feels undervalued, underpaid, and overworked. He feels like he's outgrown the work he's doing, and he's waiting for the right opportunity to propel him forward to potentially greener career pastures.

This line of thinking probably feels familiar to a lot of people who have watched their colleagues quit for new roles during this strong jobs market. At the same time, executives are stressing over the stream of employees who are leaving organizations in droves. In May, 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs, continuing the "Great Resignation" trend. And it's been difficult for employers to fill the open roles those great resigners are creating. At the end of May, there were 11.3 million job openings in the U.S., and the number of hires was little changed month-to-month at 6.5 million. On top of that, all this hiring is expensive: Companies typically spend $4,700 when recruiting to fill one open role.

Wouldn't it be easier if companies just made the effort to keep their current employees happy? Sure in some instances, bringing in new talent can revitalize an organization. But that's not been going so well for U.S. companies recently. Instead experienced employees are walking out a door and taking their institutional knowledge with them.

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Still, even with millions of workers giving their notice, companies don't really have a grasp on why employees quit, says Bill Schaninger, a senior partner at McKinsey & Co., who co-authored a report on how organizations can contend with attrition while attracting and retaining talent. When surveyed, employers cited compensation, work-life balance, and burnout as reasons employees were leaving. While workers did have those concerns, according to the McKinsey report, the top three factors they gave were: not feeling valued by their organization, not feeling valued by their manager, and not feeling a sense of belonging at work.

Money is obviously a primary motivator for working, and increasing pay can influence whether someone decides to make a job change. Still managers need to stop underestimating how employees feel. A sense of belonging, accomplishment, and being challenged positively in your work are "still very important," Schaninger says. "You could even say more important."

Managers need to "wrap your head around the idea that the power dynamic is different now than it's ever been," he argues. "The person comes first; then it's the employee."

So what's a company to do when a fed-up and burned-out employee is wistfully looking for other job opportunitiesand potentially a 6.4% pay increase?

If an employee has reached the point where they already have a new job offer in hand, it might already be too late. Instead, managers would do better totake the time to consider how reinvesting in theemployees who are staying could impact retentionand their workplace.

"Many employees increasingly are saying, 'Look I need to know there's a long road for me here,'" Schaninger says.

That doesn't always have to mean a promotion in the next six months. Even the flexibility to do meaningful work outside an employee's typicalday-to-day tasks, goes a long way, Schaninger says. That could be working on a variety of projects, launching initiatives, having a stake in the company so they feel like they're more than just a cog in the wheel.

People don't want to be treated like robots, Schaninger says.

"It should be that not all of your working day is taken up with tasks," he says. "Companies absolutely have the ability to do this."

As for my friend, so far he's turned down a few offers that weren't the right fit creatively or monetarily. He's still looking for the right role, but he also knows what would keep him happy at his current job: new challenges, redistribution of the workload he's acquired as other colleagues have quit, as well as a raise that he feels fairly reflects his value to the company.

Hopefully, the bosses are reading.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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Bosses are oblivious to why employees are really quitting. Heres what they need to know - Yahoo Finance

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh says he told his team that he and his wife would raise a child anyone on the team couldn't care for. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is vowing to raise the child of any player or member of the Michigan football team staff if the child needs a home.

Harbaugh is a Catholic and devout anti-abortion supporter. He recently spoke at a Catholic anti-abortion event and told ESPN in a weekend interview that the topic needs to be discussed with respect in light of the recent Supreme Court decision that allows states to implement bans on the practice.

The longtime Wolverines coach said at the Plymouth Right to Life dinner on July 17 that he believed in having the courage to let the unborn be born and that he believed that the potential life of an unborn child should always receive priority when it comes to abortion.

On Saturday, he told ESPN how he and his wife Sarah are willing to back up their strong beliefs about abortion.

Any player on our team, any female staff member or any staff member or anybody in our family or our extended family that doesnt feel like after they have a baby they can take care of it, we got a big house. Well raise that baby.

Harbaugh has been open about his Catholicism during his time at Michigan. The team went to Italy in 2017 and visited the Vatican. He has also been outspoken about social justice issues, speaking out in the wake of George Floyds murder in 2020 and he has voiced support for his former San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick.

Abortion did not come up at Harbaughs Big Ten media day appearance on Tuesday. Harbaugh took to the stage as the coach of the defending Big Ten champions for the first time in his career and was not asked about the topic or anything else outside of football during his time at the podium.

Michigan enters the season with nine starters back on offense after the school's first College Football Playoff berth. The Wolverines do, however, need to replace seven starters from a defense that allowed just 17 points per game in 2021 before a 34-11 loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl.

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Jim Harbaugh says he and his wife would raise a player or staffer's child if they couldn't care for it - Yahoo Sports

Minty Bets & Jared Quay give their best bets for who will win the most & least games in the NFL.

MINTY BETS: Welcome to Mad Bets, everyone. I'm Minty Bets. And joining me is the one and only Jared Quay. We're here to talk some NFL futures, specifically which teams we believe will end the season with the most wins and the least amount of wins. So, Jared, why don't you kick us off and tell us who you believe will record the most wins?

JARED QUAY: Minty, I'm taking the Green Bay Packers to have the most wins in the regular season at plus 700. I kind of think this is a steal. I don't think they win a championship, but I do think they have a fairly easy division, which would give them a lot of wins. They've got to play the Lions twice. They get to play the Bears, who I think are beat up. And then the Vikings have Kirk Cousins at the helm.

You add that with the fact that Aaron Rodgers is a two-time MVP and playing amazing this year. And their defense, people sleep on how good the Green Bay Packers defense is. With that being the case, I think they have the most regular-season wins. And I don't know what happens in the playoffs because the Packers always choke. But during the regular season, they win games, and they're going to win me some plus-700 money.

MINTY BETS: My pick for most wins is a little square. I'm going with the Buffalo Bills. Josh Allen seems to be improving just about every year. They will dominate this division, as they have been for the past couple of years. I mean, the Bills are complete on both sides of the ball. On top of that, they've got a new offensive coordinator. They've got Von Miller this offseason. They drafted well. And their schedule really works in their favor. So give me the Bills at plus 500. Jared, who do you have for fewest wins?

JARED QUAY: Oh, this is where people are going to hate me, man. I got friends on this team. But I'm taking the New York Giants plus 1400 to have the worst record in the NFL. They didn't do much this offseason. They got a new coach, but they're expecting that coach to make Daniel Jones play like Josh Allen. I don't think it's possible.

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They were the most dumpster fire team in the most dumpster fire division last year, only getting four wins in the NFC East. And I don't think they're going to do anything to improve that. So with that being the case, I actually think that the Giants at plus 1400 is a good bet.

MINTY BETS: That is a very, very hard number to pass up. But I'm going to go with the Atlanta Falcons. They averaged the worst attempt per sack rate last year. They lost their quarterback, Matt Ryan, as well as several other stars on offense in the past couple of years. They're the worst fourth quarter team, averaging the fewest points in the fourth quarter.

No surprise there. They blow leads all the time. This defense is allowing the third-most points per game and the fourth-most total yards. So I'm high on the Falcons to have the fewest amount of wins.

To recap our picks, for the most wins, we have the Packers and Bills. And for the least wins, we have the Giants and the Falcons. Bet $10 and win $200 in free bets by signing up at BetMGM.com/YahooVIP. New customers only. Must be 21 and older. Terms apply.

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Betting: Which NFL team will win the most games this season? - Yahoo Sports

(Bloomberg) -- Georgia Governor Brian Kemp will become the latest politician to answer to Fani Willis, the Atlanta-based prosecutor commanding a wide-reaching investigation of former President Donald Trumps attempts to change the outcome of the 2020 election.

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Kemp will testify on Monday afternoon. Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, has also issued subpoenas in recent days seeking testimony from some of Trumps closest confidantes and allies including Rudy Giuliani and US Senator Lindsey Graham -- and sent letters to 16 Georgia Republican leaders warning them that they are targets in a criminal probe.

While the House committee in Washington investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack has held live nationally televised hearings, a concurrent investigation in Georgia has been quietly honing in on the former president. With evidence such as Trump on tape asking Georgias chief election official to find an additional 11,780 votes in his favor, Willis is now moving to get lower-level politicians and government officials to flip and testify against the president.

It looks like Fani Willis is closing in on an indictment for Trump, Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe said in an interview. Tribe said Willis has a clearer case to prove than the Justice Department, which is looking at broad issues such as obstructing a congressional inquiry, defrauding the government and inciting an insurrection.

Court filings revealed last week that 16 Trump allies involved in creating an alternate 2020 presidential elector slate from Georgia were notified they could face charges in the ongoing investigation led by Willis. Lawyers for some of the fake presidential electors are attempting to quash subpoenas sent to their clients.

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Unlike a regular grand jury, the special grand jury will not issue any indictments, only recommendations. Those recommendations will be used to determine whether a regular grand jury is convened for the purpose of seeking criminal charges.

In addition to Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, and Graham, the Republican senator from South Carolina, Willis has in recent days subpoenaed another half-dozen former top aides or advisors to Trump.

Republicans, meanwhile, have said Williss investigation is politically motivated, citing her a fund-raiser she hosted for the political opponent of one of the targets.

Fani Willis has issued subpoenas to all the right people and properly issued target letters, Tribe said.

Fani (FAH-nee) Willis, who declined requests to comment, is a seasoned prosecutor who has led prominent, if not always popular, cases such as the 2015 conviction and imprisonment of several Atlanta public school educators who conspired to change student scores on standardized tests. Earlier this year, Willis brought charges against Jeffrey L. Williams, an influential rapper known as Young Thug and many of his record label employees for running what Willis called a criminal street gang.

Telephone Logs

A Democrat in a county in which 73% of voters selected President Joe Biden in the last election, Willis was elected district attorney during the same November 2020 election season that delivered the White House to Biden and is now the nationwide focus of political theatrics and legal investigations. A graduate of Howard University and Emory University School of Law and the first black woman to serve as the countys top prosecutor, Willis won the job by defeating her former boss, Paul Howard, who was district attorney for 23 years.

Kemp, who is seeking a second term in the governors mansion, is alleged to have been contacted by the former president following the November 2020 election. The Fulton County special grand jury, which has been convened since early May behind closed doors in a downtown Atlanta courtroom, has also asked Kemp to provide documents such as telephone logs, text messages and emails related to the investigation.

Kemps office didnt respond to requests for comment or confirm that the governor is cooperating with the subpoena from Willis office. Kemp was loudly ridiculed by Trump for his refusal to cooperate in the former presidents attempts to alter the election outcome. In an act of political retribution, Trump encouraged former US Senator David Perdue to run in this springs Republican primary against Kemp. Despite strong campaign support from Trump, Perdue was defeated by a wide margin and Kemp emerged as a victorious slayer of the Trump political juggernaut.

Kemp won the nomination by a wide margin, University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock said. But if those who went for Perdue and believe in Donald Trump decide they are not going to vote for Kemp, or vote at all, he loses.

What he says to the grand jury could imperil his general election, Bullock said. Hes got to continue to disagree with Trump, but not boast about it or do anything that antagonizes that component of the electoral that believes everything that comes out of Trumps mouth.

Williss office wouldnt say whether it had offered any subpoenaed witnesses, other than Kemp, the opportunity to provide a recorded testimony. Both Giuliani and Graham have been fighting to avoid appearing and testifying before the grand jury. A Georgia judge on Wednesday ordered Guiliani to testify on Aug. 9, after he failed to appear for a hearing on the matter.

Pivotal State

Fulton County Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade wrote a June 22 letter to Kemps attorneys detailing what the grand jury was requesting and stating that the district attorneys office shared a spirit of cooperation with the governor and his schedule.

The Fulton County grand jury has already taken testimony from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the chief election official who received and recorded the now infamous call from Trump. At the time, Trump had just been officially declared the loser in the race, which took several days to decide as Georgia was one of the last and pivotal states to declare Biden the winner.

The district attorneys office has said that Trump contacted both Raffensperger and Kemp in the days after the election, urging them to find him enough votes to change the results in his favor. According to the letter to Kemps lawyers from Wade -- the special prosecutor appointed by Willis -- the Fulton County investigation is examining the conduct of former President Donald Trump, and those working on his behalf.

With the general election coming up, in a state precipitously see-sawing between red and blue politics, the stakes are high. The target letters that Willis sent out went to Georgia political leaders who were part of an alleged scheme to send 16 fake electorates to Washington, to cast votes for Trump instead of Biden, as the law required.

One of the recipients of the letter, GOP state senator Burt Jones, on Monday was granted a request to have Willis and her team disqualified from questioning him in the case. The Superior Court in Fulton County granted the request from Jones, who argued that Williss primary support of the man who is now his Democrat opponent in the race for Lieutenant Governor rendered her biased and unqualified to lead the grand jury investigation. The court denied a similar request from 11 other fake electors who received the target letter.

In Washington, federal prosecutors are focusing, at least in part, on the fake elector slates from Georgia and other states. The chairman of the House committee, Representative Bennie Thompson, says the only issue committee investigators have engaged them on, is the list of fraudulent electors.

And Georgia Republican Party David Shafer is among those who the DOJ investigators are known to have subpoenaed for information related to the fake elector scheme coordinated with members of the Trump campaign.

(Updates with a court on Monday disqualifying Willis and her team from questioning one of the targets of her probe.)

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Georgia Governor Kemp Will Testify in Probe Over Trumps Bid to Overturn 2020 Election - Yahoo Finance

The Chicago Blackhawks tasted plenty of glory in the last decade, but the face of the franchise isnt so comfortable with the direction the team is now heading down.

Jonathan Toews has spent the entirety of his 14-year NHL career in Chicago and has been the teams captain since 2008. While he has lifted the Stanley Cup three times and has won multiple individual awards, the squad around him is in the middle of an aggressive teardown after years of mediocrity.

The highest the team has finished in the last five years is sixth in the Central Division, and after winning just 28 games last season, the team traded away young top-tier players Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach.

With the front office choosing to undergo a long-delayed rebuild, Toews knows the club wont see success for a while and doesn't see himself tagging along for the ride.

At the end of the day, were talking about a five-plus-year process, according to [Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson], Toews told Mark Lazerus of The Athletic. So that part of it doesnt sound appealing to me at all."

After over 1,000 games and three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks, captain Jonathan Toews' patience may be running out with the team entering a full rebuild. (Getty Images)

The 34-year-old is not alone in this predicament, as longtime teammate Patrick Kane finds himself in the final year of an eight-year, $84 million deal, identical to the contract signed by Toews in 2014, in the midst of their dynastic run of three Stanley Cups in five seasons.

I cant speak for [Kane], but I definitely feel that the amount of turnover our team has gone through every single year these last three or four years, thats where it gets really, really draining. And exhausting," he said. "You have a guy like Alex DeBrincat who was under Kaners wing. And I like to think that Kirby and I had that bond in some ways, too. And out they go, out the door. Over and over, weve seen that turnover."

At 34 years old, there is only so much time left in Toewss career and he knows that it might be enticing to cement his legacy elsewhere. Somewhere he might be able to win more hockey games something that he used to do regularly.

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Im not going to say, hey, look at that, look at how the grass could be greener on the other side, Toews said. But when you go through a couple of tough seasons like this, it definitely puts things in perspective and reminds you how good you had it when things were all clicking and the stars aligned for us."

Armed with a no-move clause, Toews can decide where he wants to get traded at the deadline next season if he desires a move. Or he can just wait it out, head to free agency and sign somewhere to start the final chapter in his career.

Of course, there is the dreaded notion of Toews succumbing to his injuries those which he has struggled through in recent years and was forced to miss the entire 2020-21 season for and deciding that his body is too weathered to think of another contract, and retiring at the end of the 2022-23 season.

I really cant answer that for you, he told The Athletic when asked if retirement is a real possibility. As boring of a response as this is, thats the beauty of it I can just be in the moment. I learned to really love the game again and find the joy in it, and to play with energy, play with passion, play at a high level. I feel like I still have so much to give to this team and to the game, and Im excited to show that not only to myself, but to everybody."

No matter what he does next, Toews has already had a career that is deserving of some recognition. No one can blame him for not wanting to stick around in the mess that the Blackhawks are creating for themselves by trading away some of their best young talent for questionable returns and bottoming out.

Through 1014 career games, Toews has scored 357 goals and 852 points, most recently registering a 37-point campaign in his comeback 2021-22 season.

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Jonathan Toews ponders over future with Blackhawks in latest interview - Yahoo Sports