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Tiger Woods says he is aiming to play the 2022 Masters – Yahoo Sports

Posted: April 6, 2022 at 8:45 pm

AUGUSTA, Ga. Tiger Woods will attempt a remarkable comeback this week in Augusta, aiming to play in the 2022 Masters just 14 months after a catastrophic wreck nearly cost him his leg.

"As of right now, I feel like I am going to play," Woods said at a news conference Tuesday.

Woods was involved in a one-car crash in February 2021, a high-speed rollover that left Woods with compound fractures and extensive damage across his legs and ankles. He spent months in physical therapy and recovery out of the public eye, offering only tantalizing glimpses of his progress on social media. He played in a parent-child event in December with son Charlie and appeared to have recovered his swing, but he rode in a cart for much of the event.

Alert observers noticed several weeks ago that Woods was not listed among the "former champions not playing" on Augusta National's Masters roster, and soon afterward Woods' plane was tracked flying from Jupiter, Florida, to Augusta. Woods later played nine holes on Sunday and another nine holes Monday, declaring that his playing status would be a "game-time decision."

In the hours before making his announcement, Woods was on Augusta National's practice green, going through a litany of drives, chips and putts. He walked gingerly but without a limp, as he had the previous two days. With ugly weather rolling into Augusta at midday Tuesday, Woods opted not to practice any more on Tuesday and instead planned for nine more holes on Wednesday. Assuming that preparation went well, Woods would tee off at some as-yet-undetermined point on Thursday for his latest run at the Masters.

Although he's ranked 973rd in the world, Woods is still +5000 to win the tournament, per BetMGM, which are better odds than several recent champions. Money will continue to flow in on Woods right up until he leaves the tournament, whether it's with or without a sixth green jacket.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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Tiger Woods plays his shot from the ninth tee during a practice round prior to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 4, 2022, in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @jaybusbee or contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com.

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Measuring the weight of statistics, losses and legacy in LeBron James’ All-NBA case – Yahoo Sports

Posted: at 8:45 pm

A member of the annual 100-person All-NBA voting panel recently said on a prominent podcast, "What LeBron [James] is doing warrants first team. It's not even close to me. He is going to get one of those two guard spots." To which another All-NBA panelist responded, "I have him, at worst, a second-team lock."

That was on March 21, when James' Los Angeles Lakers sat in ninth place in the Western Conference with a 31-41 record. They have since lost seven straight and been eliminated from the postseason with a week left in the season. We do not know if those locks still stand, but there is still widespread sentiment that James will secure one of the league's 15 All-NBA roster spots playing for a team that could lose 50 games.

This would not be unprecedented, but it would be a rarity, especially in the sport's most talent-rich era. Naming James to an All-NBA team this season would be an embrace of statistics and credentials in a way that betrays winning contributions and the very reasoning many have used to exclude players historically.

Take Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal, for example. He averaged 30.5 points (46/35/84 shooting splits), 4.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists for a team that won 35% of its games and failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2020. He was left off the All-NBA third team in favor of guards Ben Simmons and Russell Westbrook, whose Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets, respectively, made the playoffs that season.

A year later, Beal averaged a near-identical 31-5-4 on 49/35/89 splits and made the third team over a similar candidate field. The sub-.500 Wizards squeaking into the play-in tournament made a difference.

Another prominent All-NBA voter recently suggested his placement of Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant on this year's first or second team would depend on whether he reaches a 55-game benchmark the lowest figure ever for a first-team selection. This ignores the impact Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has made in 22 more games. Durant has played 52 of 79 games to Tatum's 74 appearances in 79 chances. That difference might be the entirety of the nine wins separating their two teams. (James has played 56 games.)

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You cannot help but wonder if members of the voting panel apply different sets of criteria depending on a player's past contributions. All awards can be subjective, and All-NBA especially depends on what you consider to be the spirit of the honor. But keep your rationale consistent if you start weaving in narrative. If losing matters less to the candidacies of a James or Durant than it does for a Beal or Tatum, who wins?

Only 37 players selected to an All-NBA team since the league's merger with the ABA in 1976 have made the roster for a team that finished with a record below .500 an average of fewer than one per year. That list already includes James, who made the third team for the 37-win Lakers in 2019. Remarkably, he and Anthony Davis are the last two players to be named All-NBA for teams that finished in 10th place or worse.

Should the Lakers finish 32-50, as projected by FiveThirtyEight, their .390 win percentage would draw a finer demarcation line. Only 22 of the 283 players who have made an All-NBA roster in the league's 75-year history and just nine since the merger have done so for a team that won fewer than 40% of its games.

DeMarcus Cousins (2015 Second Team)59 games for the 2014-15 Sacramento Kings (29-53): 24-13-4 on 47/25/78 splits

Kevin Love (2012 Second Team)55 games for the 2011-12 Minnesota Timberwolves (26-40): 26-13-2 on 45/37/82 splits

Kevin Garnett (2007 Third Team)76 games for the 2006-07 Minnesota Timberwolves (32-50): 22-13-4 on 48/21/84 splits

Tracy McGrady (2004 Second Team)67 games for the 2003-04 Orlando Magic (21-61): 28-6-6 on 42/34/80 splits

Stephon Marbury (2000 Third Team)74 games for the 1999-2000 New Jersey Nets (31-51): 22-3-8 on 43/28/81 splits

Antonio McDyess (1999 Third Team)50 games for the 1998-99 Denver Nuggets (14-36): 21-11-2 on 47/11/68 splits

Mitch Richmond (1994 Second Team, 1998 Third Team)78 games for the 1993-94 Sacramento Kings (28-54): 23-4-4 on 45/41/83 splits70 games for the 1997-98 Sacramento Kings (27-55): 23-3-4 on 45/39/867 splits

Bernard King (1985 First Team, 1991 Third Team)55 games for the 1984-85 New York Knicks (24-58): 33-6-4 on 53/10/77 splits64 games for the 1990-91 Washington Wizards (30-52): 28-5-5 on 47/22/79 splits

Adrian Dantley (1981 Second Team)80 games for the 1980-81 Utah Jazz (28-54): 31-6-4 on 56/29/81 splits

McGrady, King and Dantley all won scoring titles in their sub-.400 All-NBA seasons. The scoring title has meant an automatic entry to the All-NBA roster (and often a first team invite) in all but two instances. Elvin Hayes failed to earn one of two All-NBA center spots when he averaged a league-leading 28.4 points per game as a rookie on the 37-win San Diego Clippers in 1969, and Bob McAdoo could not secure one of the two center spots when his 31.1 points per game led the NBA for the 46-win Buffalo Braves in 1976.

James, who has played 56 games this season and missed four of his last five with an ankle injury, needs two more appearances in the Lakers' final three games to qualify for the scoring title. His 30.3 points per game currently fall between MVP candidates Joel Embiid (30.4 ppg) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (29.9).

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James could be the 10th player in modern history to make an All-NBA roster for a 50-loss team. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

James has enjoyed a better career than everyone on the nine-player list above, and his numbers this year (30-8-6 on 52/36/76 shooting splits) are also arguably better than any of their sub-.400 All-NBA seasons. James ranks among the top-five players in most all-encompassing advanced statistics, save for win shares and real plus-minus, where he falls into the lower half of the top 20. He has his numbers-based argument, and a near two-decades-long history of winning games can give voters permission to ignore all the losses.

The opposite was true for Devin Booker last season, when he averaged a 26-4-4 on 48/34/87 splits for the upstart Phoenix Suns. A career's worth of prior losing seasons almost certainly contributed to his 10th-place finish among guards in All-NBA voting. He is averaging a 27-5-5 on 46/38/87 splits this season for the more established Suns, and it would be surprising if he is not named to the All-NBA first or second team.

If it takes a legacy-establishing trip to the Finals to swing the narrative in a rising star's favor for All-NBA consideration, could the same lag be true for an all-time great on the other side of the spectrum? If a rising star waits an extra year for All-NBA consideration but gets an extra nod at the end, does it all even out in the end? Or does the entire system one with tens of millions of dollars on the line lose its meaning?

James is the highest-usage player for the NBA's 24th-ranked offense. The Lakers operate like the 19th-ranked offense when James is on the court and the 29th-ranked offense when he is on the bench. The Lakers also rank 22nd on defense this season, and they are 4.1 points per 100 possessions worse the difference between the league's eighth- and 26th-rated defenses with James on the floor. He has a negative net rating for the first time since his rookie season, when his Cleveland Cavaliers won 35 games.

James posted a pair of 50-point games over a six-day span in March that also included a DNP-rest. But for every dynamic offensive performance, there are long stretches during which he opts out of defense entirely. This should be expected of a 37-year-old sitting on 36,174 career minutes in a lost cause of a 19th season.

Of the 34 greatest players in NBA history, only four times has one played 50-plus games for a sub-.400 team in his prime: Elgin Baylor's 1959-60 Lakers (25-50), Wilt Chamberlain's 1962-63 San Francisco Warriors (31-49), Garnett's 2006-07 Wolves (32-50) and Dwyane Wade's 2007-08 Miami Heat (15-67).

Ricky Davis was the minutes leader and next-highest scorer for both the '07 Timberwolves and '08 Heat. Baylor and Chamberlain were playing for teams in financial disarray. The Lakers moved from Minneapolis to L.A. in 1960 with "no team, no coach and only one player, Elgin Baylor, under contract. The Warriors fled from Chamberlain's hometown of Philadelphia for San Francisco in 1962, losing half the roster in the move.

An all-time greats does not lose 50 games unless his franchise is moving, Ricky Davis is his co-star or he is no longer in his prime. Every other sub.-400 season from an NBA icon came outside of his prime (or, in Michael Jordan's case, when a broken foot limited him to seven starts in 1985-86). The lines are definitive.

Moses Malone's four 50-loss campaigns fell outside ages 23-35. John Havlicek, Isiah Thomas and Scottie Pippen only lost 50 games in their final seasons. Allen Iverson suffered 111 losses in his first two seasons and 55 in his last season. Dirk Nowitzki lost 40% of his games as a rookie and at age 39, never in between. Kobe Bryant lost 55-plus in each of his final three seasons. Garnett lost 56 games as a rookie and 53 at age 39. Durant and Curry lost more than 100 games over their first two seasons. Giannis Antetokounmpo lost 67 games as a rookie. None of those 22 50-loss campaigns resulted in an All-NBA selection for the player.

The evidence points to the dawn of a post-prime era for James. Only, none of those legends won a scoring title in his sub-.400 season, which raises some questions for All-NBA voters hoping to wedge James into a crowded field of candidates on superior teams. How much do you weigh individual production against team success? And does career achievement impact how you apply that weight toward a single-season honor?

Sharpie in eight of the 12 All-NBA guards and forwards Curry, Booker, Antetokounmpo, Durant, Luka Doncic, Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum and DeMar DeRozan before considering the contributions of Trae Young, Chris Paul, Donovan Mitchell, Jimmy Butler, Pascal Siakam, Zach LaVine, Dejounte Murray and Jrue Holiday, among others, to above-.500 teams. To say nothing of the debate over including Nikola Jokic as a first team forward alongside Joel Embiid and creating a fourth center spot beyond Karl-Anthony Towns.

None of this is to say James is not deserving of consideration. That he belongs in the conversation at age 37, outside of any deference paid to his past, is another achievement worth celebrating. I just have trouble following the logic of voters who in the past have referenced losing as reason for exclusion from awards.

"It is LeBron, and I know I'm supposed to go with the veil of ignorance," one of the aforementioned voters said on the same podcast. "Do I factor in a guy's legacy? Do I factor in a guy's contributions to the game, his incumbency in the Hall of Halls? I do. In this case, I do, and there are few guys in the league for whom I do that. There is a subjective measure there. I understand. It's me as a voter making an editorial decision."

"I did the same thing last year, when I put LeBron on second team, and some people didn't have him on," his fellow panelist responded. "And my rationale was, 'He's LeBron James. It's stupid to not have him on.' "

That leaves us to wonder if All-NBA is truly a democratic endeavor when the King can lose and still win.

Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach

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Heres why the IPO market is decelerating in 2022 – Yahoo Finance

Posted: at 8:45 pm

The IPO market has lagged so far in 2022, with recent data from Connecticut-based IPO investment management and research firm Renaissance Capital LLC revealing that fewer than 20 U.S. companies have debuted since the start of the year. According to EquityZen Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Phil Haslett, there are several factors contributing to the IPO slowdown.

So it's a number of things [causing the pullback in number of IPOs] and really just a perfect storm, Haslett told Yahoo Finance Live. You've got instability globally with what's going on in Ukraine. You've got inflation uncertainty. And you've also just got a big pullback in valuations kind of across many sectors, mainly in tech. And so when you put those all together, you get a lot of volatility, and volatility is kryptonite to IPOs.

Haslett joined Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the deceleration and volatility seen in the IPO market. EquityZen is a New York-based company which operates an online marketplace for trading pre-IPO employee shares from privately held companies. The platform provides accredited investors access to company-approved, pre-IPO late stage technology investments via their investment funds.

Last year was a record year for IPOs, with low interest rates serving as a catalyst for nearly 400 U.S. debuts to raise over $140 billion, according to Renaissance Capital. The 18 companies that have gone public so far in 2022 have only managed to raise a total of around $2 billion. On top of this, the performance of stocks that went public in 2021 has been lackluster the average 2021 IPO is down over 20% from its issue price, according to Renaissance Capital Research Director Nick Einhorn.

The market correction in bloated valuations of companies that debuted last year has encouraged some pre-IPO companies to reevaluate their worth. For instance, Instacart recently made headlines when it cut its own valuation by almost 40% to $24 billion.

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I absolutely think this is kind of just the tip of the iceberg, Haslett said. I think it was a really smart move by Instacart to kind of come out and say, look, we're not really a $40 billion company when you compare us to our public competitors. We're really a $24 billion company. Why penalize our employees and get stock valued at $40 billion, only to have the market down? So I think it's something that they kind of took on the chin up front, which I thought was really smart, and it's going to lead to some other companies [to do the same].

Smartphone with displayed Instacart logo is seen in this illustration taken March 25, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

SPAC crackdown

With the SEC now proposing new policies that would strip the advantages of special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) mergers over traditional IPOs, even further uncertainty looms for private companies aiming to hit the street. SPAC mergers represented a majority of new listings in 2021, and the prevalence of SPAC listings saw a jump of almost 150% last year from 2020.

The SECs proposed policies would eliminate safe harbor protections that allow companies being acquired through a SPAC to provide more forward-looking projections than are allowed for traditional IPO issuers. The new rules would also require more comprehensive disclosures to be made to investors regarding potential conflicts of interest between SPAC sponsors and target companies.

A lot of SPACs that would have normally approached these companies are facing more and more scrutiny and are really going to have to make a tough decision, Haslett said. So I do think this [slowdown] is going to be a bit sustained. The kind of key indicator we'll look at to see if the window will open back up a bit more is once you see some of these kind of bellwether tech names so think of companies like Peloton (PTON), Zoom (ZM), DocuSign (DOCU) start trading kind of back above even pre-pandemic levels to kind of show that maybe the worst is behind us.

Thomas Hum is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @thomashumTV

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NFL draft betting: Will the Lions go QB with the No. 2 pick? – Yahoo Sports

Posted: at 8:45 pm

We are only two months removed from the Los Angeles Rams capturing Super Bowl LVI, and I still find myself counting down the 155 days left until the 2022 NFL season kicks off.

Luckily, we don't have to wait that long to bet on football.

Team futures markets have been available for those bettors who like to bank on early projections, and the activity will increasingly ramp up in the coming weeks. The NFL draft is a little over three weeks away, and the prop markets will steadily start to expand.

NFL draft betting requires a different approach than in-season, as the market behaves much differently than what you see during the fall. The odds are extremely volatile, with mock drafts and NFL insiders carrying enough weight to cause massive shifts. Instead of leaning on advanced metrics, bettors are tracking the reporting accuracy of media members, team needs and draft history of general managers.

Identifying relationships between NFL and college teams or coaches can be valuable. If an NFL team is deciding between two players, it makes sense they would be more comfortable selecting the player from a program where they have trustworthy connections. Connecting the dots and separating the signal from the noise is how you can gain an edge on the market this time of year.

The news cycle and speculative reports will slowly speed up each week until they spin out of control in the days leading up to the draft. Even though it's very early in the process, it's a very good time to pick a few valuable spots that could be vulnerable to shifts in the market. Here are the two draft props I grabbed this morning that are worth a wager at the current price.

There are 53 players on an NFL roster. There is the quarterback, and then there is everyone else. The position is far too valuable for the Lions' to pass up at the top of the draft. Willis has the physical tools and upside to warrant being selected with the second pick. With the arm strength of Josh Allen and the mobility of Lamar Jackson, the risk of passing up on Willis' potential is greater than the worst-case scenario of failing to develop him as the new face of the franchise.

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 03: Malik Willis #QB16 of the Liberty Flames throws during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 03, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

His projection at the next level is more difficult due to the competition he faced and his supporting cast at Liberty, but Dan Campbell's new culture in Detroit is a pretty good match. Robert Zeglinski of USA Today pointed out that the improving offensive line and Jared Goff's veteran presence are two factors that would be big positives in Willis' development. The Lions' offensive line finished 12th, just above the Colts, in adjusted sack rate last season. Goff affords them the luxury of being patient with Willis' development, while the offensive line will assure him adequate protection once he is ready.

I think it's good value getting Willis at this price to go second overall to the Lions. NFL teams do not typically kick the can down the road when it comes to the most important position in football. You will consistently hear general managers repeat the same phrase when discussing drafting or trading up for a quarterback: "If he is your guy, you go get him." The Lions won't have to go anywhere.

It stings betting into -135 odds this early, but the 57% implied probability is too low. Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner is one of the best cornerback prospects to come out in recent years and fills a position of need for a few teams in the top seven. Gardner didn't allow a single touchdown in coverage during his three-year career at Cincinnati. In recent mock drafts, he's slotted as high as the fourth overall to the Jets, who are in dire need of help in the secondary. Robert Saleh's defense ranked dead last in EPA allowed per dropback in 2021. Gardner would provide an immediate upgrade.

If Gardner drops past the Jets, the other team in New York gets a shot at him at No. 5 and No. 7 overall. That's where the bet cashes. The ghost of former general manager Dave Gettleman is still haunting the G-Men. Salary cap constraints have forced them to shop their best cornerback. The impending departure of James Bradberry creates an immediate need to draft Gardner as a more fiscally responsible upgrade. Leaving Day 1 with Ahmad Gardner and a top offensive lineman in the draft would be an impressive start for the new regime in New York. It's a solid bet they go in that direction.

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MLB MVP Betting: The Fantasy baseball team’s top picks for 2022 – Yahoo Sports

Posted: at 8:45 pm

Guessing right on MLB MVP winners or, at least having some educated guesses as to who could win is huge for a fantasy baseball manager. Imagine drafting the soon-to-be most valuable player in the real game! It's a massive advantage that could propel you to the fantasy playoffs, a fantasy championship or, some profit if you choose to take your ticket to the betting window.

Here are our favorite AL and NL MVP bets for the 2022 MLB season.

All betting odds courtesy of BetMGM

Andy Behrens: It kinda feels as if Shohei Ohtani should have a stranglehold on this award in the AL if he can simply remain healthy over the next three to four seasons. But unlike last year, the MVP odds on Ohtani (+350) are no longer a gift. I'll happily take a flier on Xander Bogaerts instead, a star at a premium position for a high-profile team who's actually earned MVP votes in each of the past four seasons. Bogaerts will bat third for Boston, surrounded by hitters like Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez and Trevor Story. That feels like a recipe for a potential 120-30-120-.315 season if things break just right. So yeah, I'll take a Bogaerts +5000 ticket, thank you.

Dalton Del Don: Health remains a major obstacle, but Byron Buxton is among the leaders in homers per plate appearance over the last two seasons, is just now entering his prime at age 28 and also plays Gold Glove-level defense in center field. With the Twins sneakily putting together a strong roster that should push for the playoffs, Buxton has a real shot at winning the MVP should health somehow cooperate. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would be my pick to win (+500), but Buxton is well worth a flier at 30/1.

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Mo Castillo: I agree with Dalton in that 2022 looks like the year Vladdy Jr. puts it all together and wins the award, but there's no fun in picking one of the favorites who has just triple-digit odds.

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So I'll move instead to Vlad's Dominican compatriot, Jose Ramirez, at +2500. Ramirez has been one of the best hitters in baseball for the past four full seasons (2020 excluded for obvious reasons), has finished in the top-six in MVP voting each of those seasons and should be very well motivated to deliver the best year of his career.

For one, the Guardians don't look like a good team so Ramirez will be needed to do most of the heavy-lifted. He's also mired in a contract extension dispute; delivering a career year would only aid his cause for a monster payday. And finally, there was this hilarious Twitter exchange.

Overlooked, underrated, maybe even disrespected whatever you want to call him, Ramirez is a do-it-all player poised to make a statement this year. +2500 odds is one heck of a value play for one of the best hitters in the AL.

Andy Behrens: While it's hardly the most imaginative pick, I like seeing reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper available at +1000. His team added plenty of punch to its lineup via free agency, so there's a path for Harper to lead the circuit in runs and/or RBIs while hitting close to 40 bombs and reaching base at his usual elite level. If the Phillies are winning, he's going to be in the conversation to win his third MVP.

Will Bryce Harper deliver a third MVP win? (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

If you want a plausible winner with much longer odds, take a look at Paul Goldschmidt at +6600. He finished sixth in MVP voting last season the fifth time in his career he's placed at least that high and his Cardinals are pretty clearly going to pile up wins. Goldschmidt rarely misses games and his floor is probably something like 90-30-100-.290.

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Dalton Del Don: The NL MVP looks fairly wide open since the leagues best hitter (Juan Soto) also plays for one of the leagues worst teams; Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ronald Acua Jr. are set to miss time; and all the Dodgers could easily cancel each other out. So, give me Pete Alonso, who should rack up homers and RBI on a winning Mets team (although the early injuries to Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer arent helping this theory).

Playing in an extreme pitchers park wont help Alonso, but hitting in front of Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte and a rebounding Francisco Lindor certainly will (as will the New York media). Alonso at 30/1, please.

Mo Castillo: As much as I'd like to give this award to Juan Soto, he's the current favorite (+300). He also doesn't really steal bases or play on a good team, so while he can still clearly win based on his inhuman batter's-box domination, that chalky +300 seems more like a boost received after the injury updates to Tatis Jr. and Acua Jr.

All that said, give me Harper at a wonderful +1000 here. To quote a legendary film, Harper has lived long enough to see himself become ... underrated. After all the fanfare the then-18-year-old received, Harper has changed the narrative surrounding him to help him become one of the most quietly elite hitters in the game. Consider that his .309/.429/.615 slash line won it for him in 2021 numbers that were nearly identical to his Statcast profile. Basically, he wasn't helped by luck to deliver that monster line; he's just that good.

Hilariously, Harper is still in the middle of his prime (even though it seems like he's been in the league for 500 years) and will be buoyed by one of the better lineups of his career. A 100-100 season with another 35+ home runs looks to be in the cards for the 29-year-old.

(I also like Kris Bryant at +5000 and here's why.)

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Frustrated Apple employees reject CEO Tim Cooks hybrid plan by threatening to quit – Yahoo Finance

Posted: at 8:45 pm

One day a week.

Thats what Apple is demanding right now in its return to the office.

Thats way too much for some employees.

I dont give a single fk about ever coming back to work here, a self-described Apple employee posted on a message board called Blind. Once April 11 comes around and brings this new rule into effect, they added, they will be resigning from their job.

This worker was not alone, the New York Post was first to report on the message board, citing anonymous messages from other employees.

Apples plan is to introduce a hybrid schedule, adding days in office after April 11, enforcing two in-office days weekly by May 2, and three days by May 23. What their piecemeal plan didnt account for was the employees removing themselves from the equation entirely.

A worker reacted to messages about resigning with a laughing emoji and said, Im gonna do the same. Another employee rallied, Hell YEAH my man lets do this! Fk RTO.

One of the employees said they would send in their resignation as soon as they came home. They cited the transit as part of their reason for leaving: I already know I wont be able to deal with the commute and sitting around for 8 hours.

When discussing this return-to-the-office process, Apple CEO Tim Cook mostly addressed those who were excitedly awaiting the end of remote work. For many of you, I know that returning to the office represents a long-awaited milestone and a positive sign that we can engage more fully with the colleagues who play such an important role in our lives. For others, it may also be an unsettling change, said Cook.

To say that these irate workers are unsettled by this change might be an understatement.

While President Biden has started urging workers to return to their offices, employees are less readily accepting the new normal that their companies are pushing. Pews recent research reveals that a majority of workers prefer hybrid or fully remote schedules.

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Sixty percent of workers with jobs that can be done from home say when the coronavirus outbreak is over, if they have the choice, theyd like to work from home all or most of the time. This is up from 54% who said the same in 2020, according to the Pew report. Now that some employees dont have the choice, it remains to be seen whether many will act on their promise of quitting.

A Gallup poll from October 2021 shows that workers prefer hybrid work (at 54%). The second most popular choice was completely working from home (37%). And preferences for working full-time in person came in dead last at 9%.

While Apples new schedule is hybrid, employees say theyre not sticking around to wait until a full return to the office occurs. The New York Post claims that multiple employees are looking to apply to other tech companies that offer more flexible work options.

Totally bummed and looking into full remote jobs now, an Apple employee said.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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Is there a place for the royal family in the modern world? – Yahoo News

Posted: March 31, 2022 at 2:34 am

The 360 shows you diverse perspectives on the days top stories and debates.

Earlier this month, Prince William and Kate embarked on a three-country tour of the Caribbean as part of an extended royal celebration of Queen Elizabeth IIs platinum jubilee commemorating her 70th year on the throne.

The trip to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas three of the 14 former colonies that officially still count the queen as their head of state was marred by controversy from the start. The couple was met by protesters at all three stops, and a group of prominent Jamaican leaders released a letter demanding reparations for the suffering of our ancestors caused by the monarchys legacy of slave trade and colonialism. The young royals were also criticized for multiple unflattering photo opportunities, most notably images of Kate touching the fingers of Jamaican children reaching through a chainlink fence.

The setbacks werent limited to bad press. During a public meeting, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced his country is ready to leave the British realm and establish itself as an "independent, fully developed, and prosperous nation. Belizes government also recently announced that it was launching a review of potential changes to its own constitution, including whether it should also become independent. Late last year, Barbados officially abandoned the monarchy, becoming the first Caribbean nation to replace the queen as head of state in more than four decades.

Kate and Williams rocky overseas visit comes during a period when the British royal family is reeling from a series of scandals and dealing with questions about its future. A year ago, Williams brother Harry and his wife Meghan raised serious concerns about racism within the monarchy during a bombshell interview that focused on why they had distanced themselves from the family. More recently, the queens second-oldest son, Prince Andrew, settled a lawsuit following allegations that he sexually abused a 17-year-old more than two decades ago.

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Meanwhile, the royal family, and the British people as a whole, are coming to grips with the reality that the queens 70-year reign the longest in British history may soon come to an end. The 95-year-old monarch had stayed out of the public eye for months before attending a memorial service for her late husband, Prince Phillip, on Tuesday.

The duke and duchesss troubled Caribbean trip has reignited a long-simmering debate about what, if anything, the royal family can do to find its place in a world that has become increasingly negative about the monarchy's past and skeptical about its future.

Many critics argue that the only way for the royals to move forward is to reckon with and atone for its brutal history of colonialism, exploitation and enslavement. While in Jamaica, William gave a speech in which he said Britains past role in the slave trade stains our history, but notably stopped short of apologizing or offering any pledge to make reparations. That omission, some argue, is a sign that the royal family isnt ready to treat the countries within its realm as equal partners.

Others say that the royal family will continue to see its influence diminish unless it undergoes a major effort to break from its old traditions and embrace a modernized role. Proposed steps to accomplish that include reducing the scope of the monarchys formal duties, allowing younger royals to set the agenda and to even shrinking the size of the royal family itself.

Some observers say theres plenty of reason to doubt that any substantial changes to the monarchys approach is forthcoming. The familys defenders point to polls suggesting that, for all their missteps, the British people still overwhelmingly see the royals as a benefit to their country.

Its still unclear whether Jamaica, despite its prime ministers comments, will follow through on his pledge to pursue independence. Experts say the matter would need to be put to a nationwide vote before the country could formally leave the British realm. On Sunday, William said the monarchy will respect the choice of any nation that chooses to sever its links to the crown, adding that the future is for the people to decide upon.

Unless the royals learn to listen to the people, the monarchy may not survive

With calls to abolish the monarchy appearing every couple of years, William and Middleton's role as the faces of the royal family is more important than ever. The survival of the monarchy is dependent on it staying modern and responding to issues that people care about. Mikhaila Friel, Business Insider

Theres no space for an institution founded on racism and exploitation in the modern world

Maybe its good for the world to see the British monarchy for the symbolic mess that it is, an outdated relic of imperialism. And it provides us an opportunity to bear witness to Black and Indigenous rebellion against the spectacle. Karen Attiah, Washington Post

Modern royals must meaningfully atone for the monarchys past sins

In the wake of global movements against racism and colonialism, perhaps its finally time for the monarchy to reckon with its history. Laura Clancy, Conversation

The decline of the royal family is grossly overstated

No doubt the Palace will have to work harder before the next royal tour and the royal entourage should be more racially diverse too. But dont write off The Firm, as theyre called, just yet. The appeal of monarchy remains potent; its adaptability to changing times is a hereditary trait. Martin Ivens, Bloomberg

The monarchy must become smaller, both in its role and its sheer numbers

While monarchs in Sweden, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands were retreating into bourgeois semi-obscurity where they have wisely stayed the Queen turned monarchy into a family firm under a blaze of televised publicity. The single best decision Prince Charles could make on assuming the throne is, quite simply, to abolish the royal family. He should go Scandinavian. Monarchs do not die young. The throne needs only an heir and a spare. The rest of the family should become commoners and lead normal lives. Simon Jenkins, The Guardian

Younger royals should be given the power to lead

[William] and Kate have, month upon month and year upon year, become a glittering asset of which our nation, and the Commonwealth, can be proud. Pretty much, they have followed the path laid down by the Queen, rather than the one pioneered by Charles. After the bruising he received during last weeks Caribbean tour, William will surely take heed. And when he has more say about the direction the Monarchy is heading, after last weeks shambles, he should be heard. Christopher Wilson, Daily Mail

The royals have endured plenty of shaky periods and will get through this one too

Is it sensible for an independent country thousands of miles away from Britain to have our monarch as its Head of State? By any rational measure, it certainly is not. And thats a truth that the royal family do, I believe, acknowledge. This isnt the first time a royal tour has run into difficulties, and it certainly wont be the last. But suggestions that this signals the end of the Commonwealth, or even the beginning of the end, are wide of the mark. Jennie Bond, iNews

The family should be prepared to face more intense scrutiny than in the past

There is no longer the forgiveness there once was for the slightly tone-deaf moment. Times have changed. The Royal Family have in the past been pretty good at changing with them. But not on this tour. And second chances are these days few and far between. Jonny Dymond, BBC

There can be no such thing as a modern monarchy

The idea of a modernised royal family is a contradiction in terms. Royalty is mystical and ancient: if it is not magnificent, whats it for? Alex von Tunzelmann, Prospect

Is there a topic youd like to see covered in The 360? Send your suggestions to the360@yahoonews.com.

Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Karwai Tang/WireImage via Getty Images, Dominic Lipinski-WPA Pool/Getty Images

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Is there a place for the royal family in the modern world? - Yahoo News

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Trucker on diesel prices: ‘We’re going to have a lot of bankruptcies’ – Yahoo Finance

Posted: at 2:34 am

Independent trucker Michael Whitaker is getting ready for his next haul of equipment from South Carolina to Arizona. Whitaker has been an owner-operator trucker since 1998. His specialty is hauling industrial machinery like construction and farming equipment.

"The diesel prices. Thats every truck driver's main expense, it's diesel," says Whitaker of the recent rise in diesel prices.

Whitaker says at the beginning of the year it cost $600 or $700 to fill up his truck tank. Now, he's paying about $1,000.

"You notice it into your pocket, oh yes," says the Iowa-based trucker.

The price of diesel has skyrocketed since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. Diesel averages hit their highest level since 1994 in mid-March.

Whitaker says he used to charge around $5/mile on certain routes. Now he's charging between $7-9 per mile. He also uses a discount fuel card, and app which identifies the most economical stations where he can fill up on his routes.

Although the industry standard is to apply a fuel surcharge to freight costs, drivers don't always see that money passed along to them.

"We're making the assumption that they [drivers] would all be recipient of fuel surcharges. And that's not necessarily always the case." Todd Spencer, President of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association told Yahoo Finance.

"Sometimes others, that would be intermediaries, or similar in trucking, they may keep some of it, they may keep all of it, and not pass it through. Now that does happen as well. It shouldn't, but it does," said Spencer.

As of last Monday, the cost of diesel was $1.94 higher than it was a year ago "which is significant," said Spencer.

"For our guys, the majority of truckers will burn between 18,000-20,000 gallons of fuel a year. So looking at those costs, you're talking about $90,000-$105,000 a year just on fuel," he added.

Michael Whitaker owns this truck which he uses to haul heavy machinery.

West Texas Intermediate (BZ=F) and Brent International (CL=F) declined on Monday and Tuesday, giving some relief to diesel futures. But both benchmarks are still above $100/barrel, and global inventories of the fuel used by truck and trains had been extremely tight recently.

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Most "goods are hauled around the country by truck and rail using diesel fuel to power their engines and diesel prices are going up more than gasoline prices," strategist Andy Lipow wrote in a recent email to investors.

"Fed Ex (FDX) UPS (UPS) and Amazon (AMZN) delivery services are all being impacted by the soaring diesel prices, and they eventually are going to have to raise their rates," he added.

One Morgan Stanley analyst raised his estimates for Amazon's transportation costs by $6 billion to account for higher diesel prices.

Owner-Operator driver Michael Whitaker's vehicle carrying industrial machinery

Whitaker says he remembers the gas crisis of the 1970s and the recession of 2009. He's afraid that some owner operators won't survive with costs so high.

"I think we're going to have a lot of bankruptcies of individual drivers, trucking companies," said Whitaker.

"If you don't manage your money, you ain't going to be in business long," he said. "When things get rough you've got to have enough money saved up to hold you up through the rough times."

Ines is a markets reporter covering stocks. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre

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The Bills’ grossly unethical stadium deal will burden the people it purports to unite – Yahoo Sports

Posted: at 2:34 am

In the state of New York, if you want to receive public assistance you know, money from state or local authorities to help keep a roof over heads or food in refrigerators there are conditions that recipients must meet.

And not just you, but any adult who lives with you. Can't have poor people getting a free ride, you see, no matter how the system is set up to make sure the poor stay poor.

When wealthy people want public assistance, well, that's a different story.

On Monday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Terry and Kim Pegula, the multi-billionaire owners of the Buffalo Bills, trumpeted a new stadium deal for the team that will see the state give the couple $600 million in taxpayer funds. As if that weren't enough, Erie County will kick in $250 million.

The $850 million is the largest amount of public monies ever given to finance a stadium for a privately owned team.

And yet, in all of the coverage of the agreement, there hasn't been a word about the conditions the Pegulas, and by extension, the Bills, will have to meet to get the public assistance funds.

Weird, right?

Shameful is more like it.

Terry and Kim Pegula are worth billions. Why do they need to stick Buffalo taxpayers with a record bill for their new stadium? (Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports)

Terry and Kim Pegula are reportedly worth $5.8 billion, give or take. In a hyper-exclusive club of wealthy team owners, they are among the top 10 wealthiest. They own two professional sports teams among their vast portfolio, the Bills and the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. They have more than enough to have financed a new stadium all on their own, but why pay for things yourself when you can sucker others into doing it for you?

Especially when Hochul can just propose to slash $800 million from New York's Office of Child and Family Services. Why make sure the most vulnerable citizens of the state are taken care of when there's a massive facility to build that will get used only 20 or so times a year? A building in which the tenants keep essentially all of the profits and reap all of the benefits when the value of the team increases because of the new facility?

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Keep in mind the value of the stadium itself, which the state will own, depreciates with every passing year. And very likely at the end of the 30-year agreement that's supposedly "ironclad," the Pegulas or whoever else own the Bills then will once again threaten to move the team and fleece taxpayers.

And the $850 million from the state and county is just for building the new stadium. The state will also pay almost $7 million a year for 15 years in maintenance costs and contribute $6 million a year for the full 30 years to a capital improvement fund.

Yet the $6 million a year Highmark Health pays for the Bills' current stadium to carry its name that all goes to the Pegulas.

The least the state can do, as it does with all people who ask for public assistance, is tie conditions to it.

For example: The population of Erie County is 25 percent non-white, including 14 percent Black, and New York is 45 percent non-white and 17.6 percent Black. Yet of the top 18 executives listed currently on the Bills' website, only two are ethnic minorities.

There will likely be requirements during construction for how many contractor companies must be minority- or women-owned, but the stadium construction is separate from the organization itself, and at some point the construction ends. And those in-stadium jobs on game days are not paths to riches, they're minimum wage temp jobs.

If you want The People's money, shouldn't your most senior leadership positions reflect The People?

Kim Pegula gets to tout that she's part of the diversity and inclusion groups for the NFL and NHL, whatever those are supposed to be accomplishing, but the Bills' top decision-makers are not diverse in the least, and exclusion seems more the goal than inclusion.

If you want The People's money, shouldn't you be nearer to The People?

The new facility will be built in Orchard Park, where the current stadium is, a town of fewer than 4,000 residents over 10 miles outside of Buffalo's city center. Like so many old mill cities, Buffalo would likely benefit from having the stadium built within city limits.

A new stadium will mean personal seat licenses, one of the greatest scams in modern history. You have to pay for the right to pay rent for seats. In this case, in a stadium built largely with your tax dollars. Assuming you can even afford a PSL and season tickets, which is more exclusion.

If you want The People's money, shouldn't all of The People get to see what their money helped pay for?

And what of the people who don't care about the Bills? What do they get out of this?

And how are we in 2022 still seeing these disgusting displays of state and local lawmakers allowing billionaire private business owners to fleece them out of taxpayer funds for facilities the vast majority of taxpayers won't have or don't want access to?

In what can be seen as one more concession to the Pegulas, Hochul waited to announce the deal until this week, days before the state's annual budget deadline on April 1 meaning there isn't much time for state legislators to demand changes that benefit the taxpayers who will be funding the stadium.

Public assistance always comes with conditions. It does for the alleged "little people" who are desperate to have four walls and a roof to sleep under at night.

The wealthy, in this case the Pegulas, should be no different.

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Take it from Geno Auriemma: The ‘dumbest things’ don’t solve real gender inequities – Yahoo Sports

Posted: at 2:34 am

Its always the trivial aspects that blow a story open. Thats the chatter acceptable for the surface-level dinner-table talk or quick did u c this?? share of a TikTok.

Basically, we talk about the dumbest things, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma told reporters on Tuesday in Minneapolis ahead of the Final Four. And as with most things Auriemma says, theres some truth to it if you dig between the rest. Like a realtor gushing about the cute, staged kitchen while the foundation sits cracked behind a boarded-up basement door, theres more to see beyond the surface.

Coaches of First Four teams to Final Four ones have been asked over the past two weeks if they believe the NCAA has made substantial progress toward gender equity in the mens and womens basketball tournaments. It has been the guiding conversation this season after putting the 2021 tournaments in separate bubbles forced the world to see the clear differences in plain view.

The overwhelming answers appear to be, well, no. At least not in the necessary big-picture ways that create significant impact. The issues coaches have homed in on for decades and most glaze over.

You know what we didn't take care of? said Auriemma, who is finishing his 37th year with UConn. Two teams played last night, Monday night, to go to the Final Four, and now we play Friday, and we fly out [Tuesday]. The guys finished Sunday, and they get Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and then they play Saturday.

Why don't you address things that actually help kids get ready to play their best basketball at the most important time of the year? But we've got the weight room squared away, and I'm sure we got other things squared away, but we don't get squared away the things that are most important.

It is the best year for Auriemma to bring this concern. UConn and N.C. State played the first double-overtime game in Elite Eight history on Monday in Bridgeport, Connecticut, that ended around 10 p.m. ET. Auriemma told NCAA digital the team didnt get home until 2 a.m. and flew to Minnesota on Tuesday afternoon. By the time they arrived in Minneapolis, thats two full days at the Target Center before tipping off Friday night.

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Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma talked about the short turnaround his team and the other Final Four teams face in the NCAA women's tournament compared to the men's tournament. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

It doesnt have to be this way. The time is here to look at everything. The NCAA, on the recommendation of the Kaplan Report, conducted a zero-based budget to start from scratch and eliminate inequities that have grown over time.

Zero-base it all, from the selection committee to regional sites to the day the season ends. Everyone should be asking why are we doing this? to every bit. And when the answer is because its always been that way, rip it down. If you assess your financials every year, theres no reason not to do the same for policies and structures.

A simple solution is to push games back to Sunday/Tuesday to allow more recovery time and for these student-athletes to enjoy the week without feeling squeezed into a short time frame. Now is the time to think bigger than simple. Because even that would still fall into the trite habit of placing an emphasis on the men as if they are the default and women should program around them.

There has been so much talk of a combined Final Four location a proposition most coaches disagree so how about combined Final Fours on TV? Do a full day of Saturday semifinals, rotating between the men and women, then back-to-back championship games on that Monday night. Every year the lead game can be switched between women and men.

That shouldnt be a problem. All womens sports fans hear in online "well actually" chatter is that TV time and channels dont, well, actuallymatter when it comes to TV viewership numbers (which is not true). And basketball fans will love another full day of action. That is the beauty of March Madness.

To do that would take buy-in from broadcasters and thats hard to come by as it is. The womens championship game was pushed back into prime time on ESPN only because the MLB lockout wiped out the first two weeks of games. Otherwise, it would have served as the companys lead-in to Sunday Night Baseball with a dinner-time tip. And none of these womens programs at the peak of their sport will receive a dime for their success as the mens programs do with units awarded to conferences for their teams tournament runs.

To really make changes, we have to have a similar unit structure, Tara VanDerveer, the Stanford head coach since 1985, said on Tuesday. I mean, I love the crowds. I love the signage. I don't really notice it. It doesn't feel like that much different.

I think really the bottom line is it's a television package and it's a unit structure. When that happens, then we'll know that it's serious.

Its unfair to hinge a lack of dramatic change on an organization that plans years in advance and cant pivot on big issues. Its one thing to call in a weight room at the last minute, a necessary change even if Auriemma quipped his players havent picked a weight up in 21 years. Its another to change the entire system in an offseason.

NCAA president Mark Emmert hedged on the issues during a news conference Wednesday, saying there are the beginning of discussions and theyre considering splitting up the sports media package. Any of that is in play only because of those trivial issues that spread on social media and third-hour morning TV shows. It forced the NCAA's hand. Now, think wider.

It is past time for everyone to stop talking about the dumbest things and start talking about issues like unit structure and zero-balanced planning at the dinner table before tipoffs this weekend.

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