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Josh Allen looked every bit an MVP candidate in Week 1's trouncing of the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.

The Buffalo Bills quarterback put his arm on full display in a 297-yard, three-touchdown effort the likes of which even All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey had no answer. The accuracy that has become the hallmark of his development as an NFL quarterback manifest in an 83.9% (26 of 31) completion rate that set a franchise record for a regular-season game.

When the Rams took away the deep ball, he didn't force things. When they didn't, he made them pay. And when he ran? Well, good luck.

That run up and over eight-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner embodies the Josh Allen experience. His traditional quarterback skills arm strength, accuracy, field command make him special. Add in his physical presence as a ball carrier, and he makes the short list of elite NFL talents.

That style of play is also the biggest source of unease in Buffalo. Allen led the Bills in rushing Thursday with 10 carries for 56 yards, including the 4-yard score. There was more than one occasion in which he appeared to seek contact. In doing so, he exposed himself to repeated physical punishment that raises short- and long-term concerns about his health.

Josh Allen took some punishment during Thursday's season opener against the Rams. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The short-term concerns are obvious. The Bills entered the season as Super Bowl betting favorites. Nothing from Week 1 has altered that status. Buffalo has a stout defense, a respected head coach in Sean McDermott and a talented corps of playmakers featuring Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis and Dawson Knox.

But make no mistake. Allen is the reason No. 1 for Buffalo's status as Super Bowl favorite. If he sustains a significant injury during the season, Case Keenum would take over at quarterback, and Buffalo's championships dreams would be all but dashed.

Allen's aware of the concerns. His physicality has been a featured part of his game since he joined the NFL in 2018. He addressed them on Wednesday after last week's display in front of a primetime audience renewed worries.

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I think I can be better in that aspect, Allen told reporters in a news conference on Wednesday. But given the circumstances of what it was, understanding the flow of the game, I do things sometimes that are necessary in my eyes to help our team win a football game. Thats all it is.

"But at the end of the day, availability is the best ability. So, just understanding that and getting down and not taking too many hits, obviously thats year-in and year-out.

Allen's "year-in and year-out" acknowledgement addresses the long-term concerns. Even if he gets through this season relatively healthy and with a Super Bowl ring, the cumulative impact of the collisions he endures are bound to take a toll. Look no further than Cam Newton.

Newton joined the Carolina Panthers in 2011 as a rookie with a profile similar to Allen's. Allen stands 6-foot-5 and 237 pounds with a cannon of an arm and running back skills. Newton stands 6-5 and 245 pounds. He likewise joined the league with a cannon of an arm and running back skills.

Newton exceeded the expectations that came with his No. 1 draft-pick status as his unprecedented skills resulted in Rookie of the Year honors. His 706 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground alone would have put him in contention for the award.

In each of his first five seasons, he ran the ball more than 100 times per year with rushing totals ranging from 585 to 741 yards. At his best in 2015 he was a league MVP who led his team to the Super Bowl. He was a Pro Bowl level quarterback and Carolina's best running back wrapped up in a single package.

Cam Newton's physical style of play ultimately took a toll on his body. (Chuck Cook/Reuters)

But it wasn't sustainable. Injuries mounted. His performance showed signs of decline in 2016, a year after his MVP campaign and his sixth season in the NFL. In 2019, he acknowledged that he'd played through lingering shoulder issues since that 2016 season, a span that saw his downfield accuracy decline. It wasn't just his shoulder. There were likewise foot injuries, walking boots, concussions and ankle surgery.

In 2017, anonymous team officials whispered concerns that his body was breaking down. In 2020, team owner David Tepper said the quiet part aloud when asked about Newton's future with the franchise. His response: "Is he healthy?"

He was not. Newton had played in just two games the previous season, and the Panthers ultimately released the best player in franchise history after nine seasons in Charlotte. Newton went on to take over for Tom Brady in New England in an eight-touchdown, 10-interception passing campaign that fall before returning to Carolina for what amounted to a nostalgia tour as Sam Darnold's injury replacement in 2021. A week into the 2022 campaign, Newton is not on an NFL roster.

This is the fate the Bills want Allen to avoid. In his first four seasons, Allen's averaged 105.5 carries and 581 rushing yards per year. Most of those carries end with a hit. That's in addition to the 118 sacks and additional quarterback hits he has endured. So far, he has remained relatively unscathed, as Newton did through his first five seasons.

Does Newton's career trajectory mean that Allen's will traverse the same path? Of course not. But the parallels are impossible to ignore. Meanwhile Allen's physical on-field heroics continue to draw deserved praise and celebration.

There's no easy answer as Allen's play continues to produce wins and highlights. But it behooves both Allen and Bills to seek out the proper balance.

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Josh Allen wary of 'taking too many hits' as Cam Newton parallels become impossible to ignore - Yahoo Sports

Yahoo has acquired The Factual, a company that uses algorithms to rate the credibility of news sources, Yahoo president and general manager Matt Sanchez told Axios.

Why it matters: The deal could provide Yahoo News' 200 million+ monthly visitors with ratings for the thousands of news sources Yahoo aggregates on its site.

Details: With the transaction, which closed last month, The Factual's eight employees, including its founders, have joined Yahoo News full time.

Be smart: While Yahoo has a set of its own criteria it applies when it adds syndication partners across all Yahoo properties, Sanchez said labels will help the readers "make their own informed decisions about what they're reading," which will add trust over time.

How it works: Launched in 2019, The Factual uses artificial intelligence to rank articles based on four criteria: site quality, author expertise, article tone (level of opinion) and quality of sources.

What's next: For now, Yahoo's plan is to integrate The Factual's rating system within Yahoo News articles, not other Yahoo properties like Yahoo Finance or Yahoo Sports.

The big picture: The deal marks Yahoo's first acquisition since Apollo Global Management bought it and AOL for $5 billion from Verizon in 2021.

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Exclusive: Yahoo buys The Factual to add news credibility ratings - Axios

The iPhone 14 Pro is here, and it's one of Apple's most significant upgrades in years. We're used to seeing better camera and screen technology in Apple's "Pro" lineup, but this time around it's a dramatic departure from the standard iPhone 14. For one, Apple has done away with the notch, which first arrived with the iPhone X way back in 2017. Instead, there's a large cutout Apple is calling the "Dynamic Island," which can expand via software to include notifications and other app information. The result is a portion of the screen that looks, well, very dynamic.

iPhone 14 Pro

The iPhone 14 Pro features Apple's new Super Retina XDR display, which can reach up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness outside. That new screen tech also allows the Pro's 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screens to stay on all of the time, so you don't have to tap your phone to see essential information. How is that possible? Apple has developed a new low power mode, which allows the screens to drop down to a super low 1Hz refresh rate.

As expected, there's also a new mobile chip powering all of this magic, the A16 Bionic. It's a 6-core CPU (2 high performance cores and four high efficiency) paired together with a 5-core GPU. Apple claims the high-performance cores use 20 percent less power than the A15's, and, not surprisingly, they're also faster. The A16 will be a big draw for the Pro lineup, as the standard iPhone 14 is stuck with last year's (still very capable) A15 chip.

iPhone 14 Pro

The iPhone 14 Pro's beefier processing power will come in handy for its new 48 megapixel main camera, a huge leap from the standard 12MP shooters Apple has relied on for years. It sports a quad-pixel sensor, which allows it to easily oversample large photos into 12MP-sized pictures. And if you actually want a beefy 48MP photo, you can shoot that in ProRAW as well. For on-the-go video shooting, a new action mode can also significantly smooth out bumps and shakes.

Apple's Photonic Engine improves low-light performance across all of the iPhone 14 Pro's cameras, something that it also shares with the standard model. There's also a new telephoto camera offering 2x optical zoom (down from 3x with the iPhone 13 Pro), along with a refreshed 12MP ultrawide shooter. Even the flash has been updated, allowing for twice the brightness thanks to a 9 LED array.

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iPhone 14 Pro

You'll also be able to tap into Apple's Emergency SOS feature, which relies on satellites to send messages when you're out of cellular range. It's a nifty feature, but it will also be available on the non-Pro iPhone 14.

Overall, the iPhone 14 Pro looks like a bigger step forward than last year's model. The Dynamic Island fundamentally reshapes the way notifications will work in iOS, and for many photographers, the larger camera sensor has been a long time coming. The iPhone 14 Pro will start at $999, while the Pro Max will go for $1,099, just like last year. You can pre-order both models on September 9th, and they'll be available in stores on September 16th.

Follow all of the news from Apples iPhone event right here.

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The iPhone 14 Pro ditches the notch for a giant hole in the screen - Yahoo Finance

The preseason doesn't mean much, especially to the New England Patriots.

Still, it's not like the panic over their offense is entirely misplaced. In the preseason finale, after a few weeks of alarmist stories about how bad the offense looked in training camp, the Patriots' starting offense struggled against the Las Vegas Raiders. That's bad. What's worse is it came against the Raiders' backup defense.

The Patriots' starting offense played four series. Two of those possessions ended with punts after three-and-outs. There was also a horrid interception by quarterback Mac Jones, and a field goal. The offensive line, which was a focus of all those worrisome stories out of camp, didn't look good. Everyone has had their say about the odd offensive coordinator combination of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, and after the preseason it seemed like maybe New England should have gone a more traditional route in replacing Josh McDaniels.

It's not like New England hasn't been through this before. Most of the past decade-plus has been spent trying to bury the Patriots, and most times it just looks foolish by the end of the season. While the NFL world wonders if the Patriots offense will be a disaster, the Patriots themselves seem pretty calm.

I say all the time, the NFL is a league of extremes" Judge said, via Boston.com. "Its one week, whats the storyline. Weve got a week in between the games, in this instance we have two weeks in between the games. So its whats the storyline thats going to run? You cant chase that. You cant chase the narratives. Youve got to show up every day.

Jones was one of the Patriots who had a rough preseason. He isn't worried either.

"It's not about rah-rah speeches and things like that," Jones said, according to NBC Sports. "It's about pure execution. We're gonna work on it, we're gonna grind through it. I think its kinda good to be where we are. Learn from everything and have good conversations. That's the important part. Dont just sit there and say that it was bad. It is what it is."

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How much should the preseason matter to our perceptions of teams? The 2008 Detroit Lions and 2017 Cleveland Browns, the two 0-16 teams in NFL history, were both 4-0 in the preseason. Plenty of teams and players have looked great or terrible in August, and it doesn't resemble anything we see once the regular season starts. Teams don't generally show enough, schematically and with lineups, in preseason to get a reasonable read on what they'll be during the regular season.

Yet, it matters a little. The Patriots weren't trying to be bad in the preseason and especially during camp. They're introducing new schemes with the coordinator change. They weren't sharp. That does matter. Maybe it will cause a slow start to the regular season for New England.

Bill Belichick usually figures things out, though. Sometimes it takes a few weeks into the season, but the Patriots end up fixing their issues as the season goes on. Patriots fans better hope so, or it might be a long season watching this offense.

Quarterback Mac Jones (10) and the Patriots offense had a rough August. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Here are the power rankings before Week 1 of the NFL season. Click on any of the team names below for an in-depth season preview on that team from our summer countdown series; the "last week" ranking is from our pre-preseason rankings.

The Falcons looked fine in the preseason but that doesn't mean much. If Arthur Smith can get this roster to six, seven wins or more, it'll say a lot about his coaching ability.

The Texans might be improved. Rookie running back Dameon Pierce was great in the preseason. Receiver Nico Collins and tight end Brevin Jordan could have breakouts. Not great, but better than their previous ranking.

Geno Smith won the Seahawks' QB competition, mostly because Drew Lock didn't do much to win it. We don't know whether rookie running back Kenneth Walker III, a second-round pick, will play in the opener after having hernia surgery. You would have liked some more positive news from Seattle in August, but there wasn't much of it.

Tight end Cole Kmet had a nice preseason. It would help the Bears offense immensely if he had a breakout season. They need someone other than Darnell Mooney to catch the ball.

Here's Giants general manager Joe Schoen on the Giants' expectations this season, via Fox Sports: Were just trying to get through today.

"The situation were in is the situation," Schoen said. "Its the hand we were dealt. Were going to do the best we can.

How's that for some preseason excitement?

We're still waiting for word on Zach Wilson's availability, but it seems his recovery from arthroscopic knee surgery is going well. The Jets won't rush him and risk setting him back for what is a crucial second season.

Jaguars-Commanders in Week 1 is an interesting game. If the Jaguars do have a shot to be a breakout team this season, as many believe, this is a game they should win.

The Panthers wasted a lot of time before naming Baker Mayfield their starting quarterback. Mayfield should be an upgrade for the passing game, and as long as the Panthers are healthy they should be a tough out. A Week 1 game against Cleveland will be telling.

The Lions gave us a good "Hard Knocks" show. What is clear already is Aidan Hutchinson, the second overall pick of the draft, has a chance to be really good. This should be a fun season in Detroit.

Thankfully Brian Robinson Jr. is doing OK after being shot in a robbery attempt. The rookie running back looked good before that. Another rookie who could be a surprise is Jahan Dotson, who hasn't gotten as much buzz as you'd expect from a receiver taken No. 16 overall.

Mike Tomlin was drawing out announcing a starting quarterback, though it would be a surprise if it's not Mitchell Trubisky. But Kenny Pickett looked good in the preseason. He should play pretty soon this season.

Tua Tagovailoa had a good preseason finale, offering some positive vibes heading into a huge season for him. His connection with Tyreek Hill will be one of the NFL's most-watched storylines in September.

The loss of pass rusher Harold Landry to a torn ACL in practice is brutal for the Titans. If Mike Vrabel can get this team back to the playoffs, it will stamp him as a top-five coach in the NFL.

Kirk Cousins is set up well for a big season under new coach Kevin O'Connell. But it's funny: No matter how good Cousins is, your opinion on him won't change unless Minnesota somehow wins a Super Bowl.

The Saints' trade of versatile defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Eagles was surprising. Gardner-Johnson could become a free agent next offseason, but he could have helped this season and the Saints didn't get much back (a 2023 fifth-round pick, the lowest of the Eagles' two 2024 sixth-rounders and a 2025 seventh-round pick). Gardner-Johnson wanted a new deal but it's not like he'd sit out all season. An odd move.

The problem with evaluating the Browns is that the assumption is Deshaun Watson will look like his normal self when he returns from an 11-game suspension. Watson didn't play at all last season, got just a handful of preseason snaps this year, and will be joining a brand new team and offensive scheme about two-thirds of the way into the season. Watson is a talented quarterback but assuming he'll be great right away is asking a lot.

Cutting offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood a year after he was drafted in the first round brought a lot of attention to how bad the Raiders' drafts were with Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden running the show. Imagine how good the Raiders might be right now if they hadn't whiffed on so many picks. The blown drafts will set them back for the next couple years, too.

The Cardinals will be tested right out of the gate with a home game against the Chiefs. We'll find out if Arizona's cornerbacks are good enough by facing Patrick Mahomes.

I don't buy the notion that Nyheim Hines is going to get much more run this season. Jonathan Taylor is still either the best running back in the NFL or on a very short list. The Colts missed the playoffs last season and aren't going to be taking their best offensive weapon off the field that often.

Maybe there will be no problem with Jimmy Garoppolo being back on the roster, and Trey Lance will take off anyway. I just wonder how Lance will react to it all. I still like Lance to have a breakout season, but a little less than I did before Garoppolo restructured his contract.

The Patriots open the season at the Dolphins. It's a big Week 1 game, and it's very possible that after it we're talking not about the Patriots' offense, but how Bill Belichick's defense forced Tua Tagovailoa into plenty of mistakes.

The Broncos didn't play any starters in the preseason and had some rough moments, which caused a freakout with some of the fanbase. The Broncos will be fine. But if Denver starts slow in its opener at Seattle, new coach Nathaniel Hackett will be answering a lot of questions about his preseason strategy.

There hasn't been much talk about Joe Burrow's appendectomy. He returned to practice fairly soon after the procedure and seems good to go. Apparently, there won't be any issues going forward, which is good news for one of the NFL's young stars.

The Tyron Smith injury is a brutal one for the Cowboys. I'd hesitated moving Dallas too far down over the offseason, because the Cowboys were better last season than anyone seems to remember. But the holes are tough to ignore.

General manager Howie Roseman has had a tremendous offseason. The trade for defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson gives the Eagles an answer to one of the few questions on the roster. The more you look at the Eagles, the more you see a team that could be a surprise NFC champion.

The Chargers have been trying to find a backup for running back Austin Ekeler. Maybe free-agent addition Sony Michel, cut by the Dolphins at the end of the preseason, will be the answer. Michel had some good moments with the Rams last season.

It's not ideal for the Ravens to be starting the season with a lot of questions at running back. Gus Edwards will start the season on PUP. They've been coy about J.K. Dobbins' health and availability heading into Week 1. The Ravens did sign Kenyan Drake, and maybe that saves them early in the season as Dobbins and Edwards get back to full health.

Rookie receiver Romeo Doubs is one of the more interesting players to watch this September. He had a good camp and flashed in the preseason. Will a fourth-round rookie really be one of Aaron Rodgers' most important targets this season? That's a lot of pressure, but if Doubs hits big it could transform the Packers.

The Buccaneers have dealt with offensive line injuries and Tom Brady's unusual training camp vacation. They don't know when Chris Godwin will be 100 percent this season. Rob Gronkowski has retired. Are the Buccaneers much more vulnerable than we expect?

A key player to watch early is rookie receiver Skyy Moore. It didn't seem through the preseason like he'll be a big part of the offense early on, but his versatility could be a nice asset through the season. Perhaps coach Andy Reid has an early-season plan for the rookie too.

Matthew Stafford's sore elbow got a lot of attention in August, but there doesn't seem to be much concern heading into the season. It's worth watching if he's not quite 100 percent early, but as of now it appears Stafford should be fine.

If the Bills go to Los Angeles and beat the Rams on Thursday, the hype for them will be massive. They're the Super Bowl favorites for a reason. This could be a special season in Buffalo.

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NFL Power Rankings: Patriots' offensive struggles are concerning, will they linger? - Yahoo Sports

Special to Yahoo Sports

4for4 takes using strength of schedule for fantasy to a different level with their signature metric, schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed, or aFPA. By removing schedule bias, we can level the playing field and compare matchups in an apples-to-apples manner.

Making decisions on who to draft at ADP can come down to several factors, but for this article, Ill point out some players who have an easier start to the season than others so that you can maximize points right out of the gate.

By ensuring a solid start to the year, beginning 3-1 or 4-0, we can vastly increase our odds of making it to the fantasy promised land in the cold months of winter: The playoffs. In a fantasy league where 6 teams out of twelve make the playoffs, there's a 92 percent chance of making the playoffs if you start 4-0; conversely, if you start 0-4, your odds are 9%.

[It's fantasy football season: Create or join a league now!]

I omitted elite players whom youd be drafting anyway and focused on more of the middle-to-late-round guys that we sometimes have difficulty distinguishing from one another.

There are many reasons to like Matt Ryan for fantasy purposes in 2022, so his easy schedule at the start just sweetens the pot. Indy kicks off the season with the Texans, Jaguars, Chiefs and Titans, who all sat 19th or worse in QB aFPA in 2021.

Ryan gets a fresh start with the Colts and has some solid young talent in Michael Pittman Jr. and Jonathan Taylor to share the field with, along with a much better offensive line than hes had in recent years in Atlanta. Ryan is currently being drafted as QB27 but has the potential to crack the top 15, for a very inexpensive 14th-round draft price tag.

[Visit 4for4, where 92% of subscribers made the playoffs, for more]

I know I said I wasnt going to include the high draft-pick players in here, but Nick Chubbs stock has fallen steadily this summer, and hes now into the mid-second round, so Im including the Cleveland RB. With the Browns QB situation murky, to say the least, drafters seem unsure of what to do with their entire offense.

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It should continue to be a run-first situation in Cleveland, and Chubb is one of the best pure rushers in the game, but he doesn't have that pass-catching upside that fantasy managers crave. He does, however, have a glorious commencement to the 2022 season. After a Week 1 tilt with Carolina, Chubb faces the Jets, Steelers, Falcons and Chargers, who sat 32nd, 23rd, 26th and 28th, respectively in RB aFPA last year. Chubb is currently the ninth back off boards and the 13th-ranked back in Yahoo's half-PPR rankings.

There is a multitude of reasons to like Chris Olave this season, including his path to volume, his deep-threat ability and how the rookies big-play style could jive really well with how Jameis Winston delivers the football.

Chris Olave has a chance for early fantasy success this season. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Lets add to Olaves allure with a favorable schedule to start his NFL career. The Saints' first two contests are division rivals, with the Falcons in Week 1 followed by Tampa Bay, both among the bottom seven in WR aFPA last season. They get a stronger Carolina secondary in Week 3 but then face a dead-last Vikings unit that yielded 33.3 aFPA to enemy WRs the following week. Olave is being drafted as a fantasy WR4, but the upside is there to overdeliver this season.

The stars seem to be aligning for yet another rookie, as Jalen Tolbert is in a great spot to find success out of the gate. With both Michael Gallup and James Washington sidelined for the start of 2022, Tolbert is in line for WR2 duties and should be third in targets behind CeeDee Lamb and Dalton Schultz.

Also working for Tolbert is whom the Cowboys match up against to begin his first year in the league. The average ranking of their first four opponents was 24th, with an average aFPA to enemy wideouts of 30.0 half-PPR points per contest. The consistency may not be there all season long for the 23-year-old, but with his opportunity and cushy schedule, Tolbert could be a sneaky late-round flex play at the start.

Not only will Zach Ertz eat in the first six weeks of the season due to the suspension of DeAndre Hopkins, but the 31-year-old faces some suspect defensive units when it comes to defending TEs in that time frame, as well. Four of those six teams sat 20th or worse in 2021 in TE aFPA, yielding an average of 12.5 half-PPR points to enemy TEs per matchup.

Ertz is leaving draft boards as TE10 and has the potential to play up a few spots based on predictive volume and opposition. Be sure to monitor his Week 1 status, however, as he's been dealing with a calf issue.

This article was originally published on 4for4.com

A proud alumna of the UGA Grady College of Journalism, Jennifer Eakins has been working in the sports industry for well over a decade. She has had stints with CNN Sports, the Atlanta Hawks and the Colorado Rockies. Her first fantasy football draft took place in 1996 where she selected Ricky Watters with the first overall pick, and she has been a fantasy degenerate ever since.

More from 4for4.com: 12 Winners and Losers in PPR Formats

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Fantasy Football 2022: Five players set to score a lot of points in the early going - Yahoo Sports

Nobody is sounding the trumpets this week.

The Atlanta Braves are on a roll and have tied the New York Mets in the NL East, setting up a pretty fun September. The Braves have won six in a row. The Mets have lost three in a row. The Mets' reasonably comfortable lead is gone. Both teams sit at 85-51.

The Mets are still -185 to win the NL East at BetMGM as of Wednesday morning. There's value on the Braves at +150. They came back to win the division last season. Then they won the World Series.

The Mets' offense has been in a slump. That's why they're in danger of losing first place in the NL East for the first time since taking the lead all the way back on April 12.

Both teams play on Wednesday afternoon, and the Mets have a doubleheader. The Mets are -250 favorites in the first game over the Pittsburgh Pirates, but maybe nothing should be assumed during this slump. Jacob deGrom is starting the second game and the Mets should be an even bigger favorite for that game. The Braves are also favorites, at -275 over the Oakland A's.

The best reason the Mets are still favored to win the division is their top-end pitching, and that could end up carrying them home to the NL East title. But the Braves have a really good roster, bolstered after last season's World Series win by some exciting rookies. They also have the momentum.

There are sure to be some nervous moments in New York over the last 26 games of the season. You knew it wouldn't be easy for the Mets.

Brandon Nimmo of the New York Mets comes up short on a catch attempt against the Pirates. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)

Here's a first look at the sports betting slate on Wednesday?

Well, there is some Champions League soccer. Yahoo Sportsbook's Nick Bromberg talked about that earlier this week. But other than that, it's mostly just MLB.

It's OK. We all know what's coming on Thursday night.

Due to a couple doubleheaders, we have 17 games in total. The New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins are the other doubleheader on the schedule. The Yankees are favored in both games, -160 in the first game and -200 in the second.

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The Twins are part of a fun race in the AL Central. They're 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians, who are -140 favorites at the Kansas City Royals. If the odds are an indication, the Guardians could lead the division by three games after Wednesday.

We'll go off the board a bit and take the Braves to win the division as the best bet. Lock that in now while you're getting a good number. There's no great reason the Braves should be +150 after tying up the NL East on Tuesday night. They're a good team with a championship pedigree now, and there's going to be a lot of pressure on the Mets.

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The Daily Sweat: The Mets need some wins to hold off hard-charging Braves - Yahoo Sports

This is not a rebuild

I repeat: This is not a rebuild.

Thats effectively what New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis has said for the past two offseasons despite losing Drew Brees to retirement after the 2020 season and then losing head coach Sean Payton after the 2021 season.

"I think our team feels confident in our ability, but there's so many variables that go into a season, Loomis said at the start of training camp this year. But we're not a rebuild. This isn't a rebuild, I guess is the best way to describe it. Yeah, we think we can win now."

He proved that this offseason by circumventing the traditional teardown roster strategy.

Instead of trading away key assets to bolster draft capital, Loomis traded up twice in the 2022 draft to select Ohio State receiver Chris Olave with the 11th overall pick and then grab Northern Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Penning with the 19th overall pick. Instead of pinching pennies in free agency, Loomis paid for veteran players like receiver Jarvis Landry and safeties Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye, all while clearing $110 million in cap space primarily by pushing big cap hits to future years.

And finally, Loomis didnt go out and mortgage the future by acquiring a new quarterback even though there were many available this offseason. He re-signed Jameis Winston to give the position some semblance of continuity with the majority of the offensive coaching staff returning under new head coach Dennis Allen, who was promoted from defensive coordinator.

With all of these moves, Loomis and the Saints are trying to pull off one of the hardest things in the NFL: a soft reboot of the roster without a succession plan at quarterback.

And it just might work.

The New Orleans Saints aren't rebuilding despite the retirement of Drew Brees and the stepping away of Sean Payton the last two years. (Amber Matsumoto/Yahoo Sports)

One of the tenets of Loomis roster-building strategy, according to his former boss, colleague and ex-Saints GM Randy Mueller, is to never get rid of good players. The idea is simple enough because it guarantees some level of consistency across your roster and keeps the team at least as competitive as in years past, barring injury or decline in production.

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He's seen the work that they've done to get these players. Why would we change course now? Mueller told Yahoo Sports. He just wants to add to it that, that's why you see some of these signings. And that's always been our philosophy.

Take a look at what the Saints will look like in 2022. They return most of the key contributors to their 2021 defense, which finished third in Football Outsiders defensive DVOA but replaced safety Marcus Williams with Mathieu and Maye. Running back Alvin Kamara is back. Receiver Michael Thomas is back and healthy. The offensive line is mostly intact save for Terron Armstead, who earned a lucrative deal with the Miami Dolphins in free agency. And Winston is recovered from his Week 8 ACL tear.

Loomis then added a good possession receiver in Landry and injected the dynamic Olave to supercharge Winstons receiving corps.

I think they're gonna be one of the better teams in the league, in my opinion, Mueller said, if they get some consistent play from the quarterback. I think they're better this year than they were last year.

Loomis has done the complete teardown before. When he replaced Mueller in 2002, Loomis traded star running back Ricky Williams to the Miami Dolphins for four picks, including two first-rounders, sent Pro Bowl tackle Willie Roaf to the Kansas City Chiefs, and let defensive tackle LaRoi Glover walk in free agency. All in one offseason.

And It didnt work.

The Saints toiled in mediocrity for years before Loomis hired Payton and traded for Brees in 2006. That year, the Saints immediately won the division and made it to the divisional round of the playoffs. Loomis' previous team, the Seattle Seahawks, went to the postseason just four times during his 15-year tenure before he followed Mueller to New Orleans in 2000.

So forgive Loomis if he doesnt want to go back to being a bottom-half NFL franchise again.

The Saints didnt have a firm quarterback plan in place for a post-Brees world (despite Paytons Taysom Hill experience), so Loomis is once again banking on the former No. 1 overall pick in Winston to play well enough to keep the Saints afloat in 2022.

Thats a risky decision when you consider the successful succession strategies with the Green Bay Packers (from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers) and Kansas City Chiefs (from Alex Smith to Patrick Mahomes), but Winston proved to be a more-than-serviceable quarterback for the Saints before his season-ending ACL tear in Week 8.

He had the highest touchdown percentage of any quarterback through the first seven weeks of the season and only threw three interceptions up to that point. His 102.4 passer rating ranked 11th and his yards per competition ranked eighth. Winstons completion percentage and passing yards were below average, but the Saints still held a 5-2 record before his injury.

I don't think they're expecting Jameis to elevate everybody else, Mueller said. They just want him to be functional and understand the system and make the plays that come his way. They don't need a hero.

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Winston initially only signed a one-year deal in 2021, so that left a possible opening for the Saints to go out and upgrade their quarterback in the draft, free agency or in a trade this offseason. Even though the Saints were at one point among the suitors for Deshaun Watson (who ended up being suspended 11 games anyway), Loomis eventually determined that Winston was their best option and re-signed him to a two-year deal. They didnt target a quarterback in a draft class perceived to be weak or sign any else in free agency like Mitchell Trubisky or Marcus Mariota.

They put the best spin on what they had available right now, Mueller said. I don't think the Saints are turning their back on the future of the quarterback. They just think Jameis gives him the best chance this year and they'll figure it out next year if he doesn't for whatever reason.

There are effectively three different methods of moving your team forward after losing a franchise-level player, depending on ownership: a complete teardown, where a brand new GM and coaching staff jettison expensive or aging players for draft picks and salary cap relief; a partial teardown, where certain players are traded away but the front office and coaches remain mostly intact (think the Seahawks right now); and then the Saints reboot, with the same front office, roster and most of the coaching staff.

Once the Saints opted to keep Loomis and promote Allen to head coach in lieu of making an outside hire, they decided on a direction that would ultimately lean into aggressive roster construction.

Trading up to draft Olave helped the Saints find what they believe to be the missing piece of their offense. They also brought in veterans to round out the shaky depth spots across the roster. And they didn't trade away key pieces that have fueled their recent history.

The other issue with a true rebuild? You never know when youll get out of one. Look at the New York Jets, whove missed the playoffs a league-leading 11 consecutive seasons. Or the Detroit Lions, who finally embraced a true teardown by trading away long-time quarterback Matthew Stafford for a bevy of picks in 2021.

For the Saints, they felt this was the best path forward.

It's the only way I ever would've thought of doing it, Mueller said. I'm not surprised that they're trying to put the best team forward this year as they can. And I think every year you should be all in.

Read more:

The Saints lost Drew Brees and Sean Payton and still opted not to rebuild. Will it work? - Yahoo Sports

Bronny James is entering his senior year of high school, coming off a great summer and European tour with his high school team, Sierra Canyon, last month. LeBron James' oldest son has kept his recruitment under wraps his entire high school career, but a few schools are starting to emerge as viable options and official visits are being scheduled for the fall.

His first visit took place over the weekend as Bronny, LeBron and agent Rich Paul traveled to Columbus, Ohio, and were seen on the sideline ahead of the Ohio State-Notre Dame football game. Ohio State's student section started chanting, "We want Bronny," after spotting them.

Where else will Bronny potentially visit this fall and where will he end up playing next season? Yahoo Sports takes a look at the teams known to be in on James, how he would fit within the program and other high school recruits who could be joining him.

If there's a preconceived favored program, Ohio State is it.

Bronny was born in Columbus, LeBron was born and raised in Akron, and has said in the past that if he didn't play basketball, he would have been a wide receiver and played at Ohio State. The university is sponsored by LeBron's Nike division, with athletes on the men's and women's basketball teams wearing LeBron-designed shoes and the football team outfitted in his designed cleats. LeBron has been to multiple sporting events at Ohio State over the years and it would be a bit of a homecoming if Bronny chose to play for Chris Holtmann and his staff.

The Buckeyes do a great job developing guards and have a handful of notable alumni currently in the NBA: D'Angelo Russell, Mike Conley Jr., Duane Washington Jr. and most recently, the No. 20 pick in the 2022 NBA draft, Malaki Branham. The Buckeyes finished last season 20-12 and fourth in the Big Ten.

Ohio State already has two commitments in the 2023 high school class: four-star power forward Devin Royal and center Austin Parks. There's availability and room for Bronny to come in and compete for early playing time. He's one of the best on-ball defenders in his class and has a solid jumper. He's a plug-and-play guard who is getting more comfortable as the primary ball-handler.

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LeBron James, left, poses with his Bronny James after a Sierra Canyon High School basketball game in 2019. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

There was a report from On3 Sports that named Oregon as the front-runner. LeBron quickly shut down that speculation stating in a tweet, "He hasnt taken 1 visit yet and has only had a few calls with coaches and universities. When Bronny makes his choice youll hear it from him."

Oregon is the flagship school for the Nike brand and head coach Dana Altman has already landed top players in the 2023 high school class. Five-star Kwame Evans and four-star Mookie Cook have already committed to the Ducks along with four-star guard Jackson Shelstad. Cook was actually cast to play a young LeBron in the feature film about his childhood and high school career coming out next year and filmed the movie this past summer.

"It's kind of hard to play LeBron because he's literally one of one," Cook told Yahoo Sports. "Of course I watched a ton of film and just the way he saw the game at that young of an age, man, he's something else."

Bronny teaming up with the player who played his father in a movie would be fun to watch on the court, but LeBron made it very clear they're still early in the process and reports that Oregon is the early leader appear to be false.

Head coach Juwan Howard and LeBron have had a great relationship for years. Howard has made back-to-back trips to the Sweet 16 in his first two seasons as head coach and has turned around the program.

There are always a handful of things to consider when choosing a college program. Howard played in the NBA for 19 seasons and was an assistant coach when LeBron played for the Miami Heat and won two championships in South Florida. Trusting a coach and his staff to push Bronny each day at practice could give Michigan a slight edge.

The only thing that could hurt Michigan's chances of landing Bronny is Michigan is a Jordan Brand-sponsored school. This might not seem like a big deal, but to put things in perspective, all Bronny's other potential college programs are sponsored by Nike. Bronny has played on Nike-sponsored teams his entire high school career. LeBron is one of Nike's biggest athletes and the name, image and likeness opportunities that could surround Bronny will undoubtedly be considered.

The Wolverines don't have a commitment from any player in the 2023 high school recruiting class yet but are in a good spot with five-star Isaiah Collier and four-star center Papa Kante. Bronny has played alongside top guards his entire high school career; he played with NBA guards Brandon Boston Jr. and Ziaire Williams, and played off the ball last year alongside UCLA freshman Amari Bailey.

Head coach Andy Enfield and two assistants sat courtside at every one of Bronny's games at Nike's Peach Jam in July. USC is the hometown school and would be relatively easy for LeBron and the rest of the family to be at home games when schedules permit. Bronny's little brother, Bryce, is only a sophomore and will be playing varsity this season with his older brother. Bryce is starting to come into his own game, listed at 6-foot-5 and Bronny would be only an hour away and could still be close to family.

USC finished last season 26-8 and third in the Pac-12. The Trojans don't have a commitment for the 2023 high school class yet but are in a good spot with James, and five-star prospects A.J. Johnson and Isaiah Collier.

Penny Hardaway is the most recent head coach to get involved in Bronny's recruitment. Similar to Howard and Michigan, Hardaway brings pro experience to the college level and has landed top players in the past. James Wiseman, Precious Achiuwa and Jalen Duren all played under Hardaway and were first-round NBA draft picks. Last year, Hardaway landed the top recruit in the nation, Emoni Bates, but due to injuries, Bates didn't play a ton his freshman year and ended up transferring to Eastern Michigan in his hometown.

Last season, Hardaway added Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown to his coaching staff. The knowledge and depth the pair bring will be intriguing for the James family and an option to explore. Right now, Memphis is in a good spot with one of the top point guards in the class, D.J. Wagner Jr., but has yet to land a player in the 2023 high school class.

Read more:

Where will Bronny James play next year? A breakdown of his top schools - Yahoo Sports

AEW owner Tony Khan gestures to the crowd. (Photo Credit: AEW)

A year ago, Tony Khan and AEW were in the midst of a pro wrestling revolution. Sure, the company had been around since 2019, but last summer Khans promotion was able to sign and debut three massive talents all wildly popular with fans in a matter of weeks.

The debuts of Adam Cole, Bryan Danielson and CM Punk should have represented the start of one of the most exciting times in the companys brief history, unlocking myriad potential matchups most enthusiasts had only dreamed of. Instead, AEW was forced to scramble somewhat over the past 10 months due to several health issues among its three new signings as well as three of the company stalwarts in Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega.

Looking back at a year with these wrestlers, its been the strangest thing because of the availability, Khan told Yahoo Sports. We had the first three champions in the history of AEW Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega and then we added these three stars in the summer of last year. Within a couple of months, Omega, due to a variety of injuries, had to step away in November. Moxley, for his personal health, had to step away in November and right after that, Jericho had a blood clot. All of a sudden we went from having these six huge stars on top of the talent up and down the card to having our first three champions need to take time for their health.

The absence of three foundational stars forced Khan to adapt, quickly crafting programs involving Cole, Danielson and Punk against other talent in MJF, then-champion Adam Hangman Page, and Orange Cassidy. As AEW continued to march along during the first half of the year, leading up to one of the companies signature events, Double or Nothing, it seemed as if the roster had finally turned a corner health-wise.

Although Omega, one of AEWs executive vice presidents, was still recuperating, Jericho and Moxley returned in peak physical form and provided an extra level of star power.

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Once again, however, the injury bug struck and AEW would lose newly crowned champion Punk to a foot injury, Cole to a torn labrum and concussion, and Danielson to a concussion.

We felt like things were really clicking and then boom, we lose Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson on the same night to injury and CM Punk gets hurt not long after, Khan said. It all happened in the matter of about a week. The summer was way different than what we had planned, but thankfully we had Jericho and Mox back.

Complicating matters was the fact that Khan and AEW were on the cusp of launching an entirely new tentpole pay-per-view event, Forbidden Door, where AEW talent would compete against overseas stars from New Japan Pro Wrestling. All of a sudden, AEW needed to crown a new, interim, world champion, setting the stage for a reinvigorated Moxley and Japanese wrestling legend Hiroshi Tanahashi to square off.

I think Forbidden Door was the most challenging pay-per-view weve ever put together, Khan said. People dont know half of the stories about the challenges. It was really pushing and pulling to get the wrestlers from New Japan sooner than they were originally scheduled to arrive. New Japan worked with me and we got Will Ospreay and Tanahashi in a little earlier than planned. Nobody will know the full plans, but Ive publicly admitted there were some really cool matches that had to change in the build to Forbidden Door and that changed the rest of the summer.

Moxley versus Tanahashi lived up to the hype, with the former AEW champion emerging as the winner and essentially becoming the driving force behind the company for a summer that looked to be uncertain at best.

It was a fitting, full-circle moment for Moxley, who stepped away from the company last November to seek treatment for an admitted alcohol addiction.

CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 26: Jon Moxley in the ring during the AEW Dynamite - Beach Break taping on January 26, 2022, at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

[Since hes been back] His mind is clearer, his body is healthier, hes leaner, hes more fun, hes having a better time, Khan said. Jons always been a great professional and great to work with, but honestly hes been better than ever since he got himself totally clean and sober. A total breath of fresh air since his return. Its fitting that he had this great run throughout the summer and is the AEW champion. Hes been one of the driving forces that has helped us beat this injury bug.

The burden on Moxley and Jericho would be lifted as the summer went on, as Danielson returned to action in July and then Punk and Omega in August at two of AEWs bigger shows, Quake at the Lake and House of the Dragon a direct tie-in to one of the most coveted and successful intellectual properties in entertainment, requested by Warner Bros. Discovery, AEW and HBOs parent company.

It was great to get Danielson back at the end of July after he had been gone for a few months and he has been a huge part of the show since he returned, Khan said. He had a great comeback match with Daniel Garcia it was more than a great match, I believe it was a star-making bout for Garcia. We built something really cool around The American Dragon versus the Dragon Slayer. It was a classic and one of my favorite matches we ever had on Dynamite. I think it showed that we can adapt and work to be a really good partner for Warner Bros. Discovery and promote their projects.

Now, this Sunday, AEW is holding its signature event, All Out, with as close to a full-strength roster as it has had in a calendar year. Moxley is set to face Punk again for the AEW World Championship and in what is Khans most-anticipated match, Jericho against Danielson Lionheart versus The American Dragon.

I was sitting in an audience wearing a Tazz shirt holding a Chris Jericho sign as a 13-year-old at Jerichos last two matches in ECW, Khan said. His second-to-last match against Sabu and his match the very next night against 2 Cold Scorpio. When he came back in this kind of condition [having lost 30-plus pounds], where he looked like Lionheart again, it was very fitting for him to bring it back.

CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 26: Chris Jericho is introduced during the AEW Dynamite - Beach Break taping on January 26, 2022, at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Sundays card represents somewhat of a reset for AEW and the start of a new season hopefully for Khan, one that comes with fewer curveballs and less treacherous waters to navigate than the past 12 months have provided him.

The goal is to strike a balance between having happy fans, good stories and a happy locker room, Khan said. I think for the most part we do have that. I think the really exciting thing about All Out and this week for AEW is that we are approaching a full-strength roster again.

It felt like last year we kicked off a season it was a wild, tumultuous, one but we had some of our greatest business heights. It has been challenging but I do believe this will wind up being one of our greatest pay-per-views.

Continue reading here:

AEW All Out: Tony Khan excited about nearly full-strength roster - Yahoo Sports

Small business owner Nesha Pai says it took a year to find a solid bookkeeper for her accounting business based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"If you're a big company you might have a bigger pool, but for the small business for me for example it's been very difficult," said Pai. "It took me a whole year to find this person that I'm now hiring."

Pai reviewed more than 150 resumes and interviewed about 10 people for the part-time position, which offered $25-35K a year, benefits, and a 401K plan matching contributions.

"It's just been hard to find good talent," she said.

Pai CPA already has five employees, serving about 80 small businesses accounting needs across different industries. Demand boomed during the pandemic, as small companies asked for accounting services to apply for PPP loans and survive the lockdowns.

My demand is growing way past my capacity," said Pai. "All of a sudden the floodgates are open for me. I have the demand, I don't have the capacity."

Kayla Marx places an order outside the door of Day's Espresso and Coffee Shop (REUTERS/Bryan Woolston)

'It's something that I have never witnessed in my 30 years of business'

Al Cediel, the owner of ALFA Driving school in Atlanta, faces the same issue.

Cediel says business spiked once classes went online during the lockdowns. However, his $20/hour job openings for drivers haven't attracted many applicants over the last two years.

In those two years Ive only been able to hire 2 qualified people and Im looking for at least 3 more, Cediel said.

Its very difficult. Its something that I have never witnessed in my 30 years of business, he added. Ive had to put myself as an owner, in the position of do-it-all."

'Humans are the fossil fuel of the growth engine'

Hiring is one of the biggest challenges facing businesses, according to WSJ/Vistage polling of small and midsize firms.

"Humans are the fossil fuel of the growth engine, and there simply aren't enough humans out there for the amount of jobs, Joe Galvin, Chief Research Officer of Vistage told Yahoo Finance. We still see 54% of our members say that their inability to hire is impacting their ability to operate a full capacity."

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Galvin added, "52% of our community still plan to increase headcount in the year ahead."

Katherine Anderson and Zach Lucido plan a delivery schedule as part of an effort organized by The London Plane restaurant. (REUTERS/David Ryder)

The survey shows economic conditions have led one-in-five small businesses to slow their pace of hiring, with only 8% instituting a hiring freeze, layoffs, or rescinded job offers.

Compared to their hiring plans at the start of 2022, the plans of most small businesses (70%) have not changed. Small businesses say the biggest factors that help attract talent are higher salaries, benefits, and bonuses.

"Myself included, and even my restaurant clients and retail clients are facing this. In order to attract that higher talent pool, we need to offer a higher compensation," said Pai. "There's desperation almost."

Pai says she's still looking for more bookkeepers for her growing business.

"I know it's out there because pre 2020, when I was hiring, I had many applicants to choose from back then," she said. "I'm always looking cuz it could take me another year."

Ines Ferre is a reporter for Yahoo Finance covering the US stock market from the floor of the New York Exchange.

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It took 'a whole year to find the person I'm hiring': Small biz owner - Yahoo Finance