It might have been whether he takes another snap for Baltimore. Jackson and the Ravens will soon have to revisit failed contract negotiations after the team failed to come to terms with the Pro Bowl quarterback and 2019 NFL MVP ahead of the 2022 season. Baltimore certainly would love to delay those talks for as long as possible, as that would indicate a deep run in the NFL playoffs. A win over the 4-seed Bengals would send the Ravens to the divisional round....

More than 80 percent of all COVID cases across the country are thought to involve the Delta variant, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Lambda variant has attracted attention in recent weeks, however, particularly because the World Health Organization declared it a “variant of interest” on June 14. This designation means it has genetic changes that can affect how transmissible it is and the severity of the illness it causes, among other factors....

CHARGE IT! THE MALL THE MERCHANTS HAVE clustered together ever since they started laying out arrowheads on animal skins, so defining what constitutes the first modern shopping center has been a matter of fierce debate. We’ll define it as retailers gathering in a unified site operated as a single unit - with lots of free parking. And we’ll go with J. C. Nichols, who in 1922 built the Spanish-style Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Mo....

Reports circulated ahead of Thursday’s announcement. The team confirmed the deal and included a video in a Twitter post. MORE: National anthem protest thwarted | Men’s team routs weak opponent The video answered another question about Donovan’s return. In it, he pulls on a No. 26 Galaxy uniform, signaling that he won’t take back his No. 10 from its current holder, Giovani dos Santos. Donovan expanded on his decision in a Facebook post, explaining that the move came about quickly after the Galaxy lost Steven Gerrard, Gyasi Zardes and Jelle Van Damme to injury and Nigel de Jong to a transfer in recent weeks....

The current head man at Ole Miss, Kiffin boasts a resume that includes stops at some of football’s premier programs in both college football and the NFL. But, while he earned those coaching opportunities, there is a reason he has so many to his name: Nearly everyone of his stints has concluded in controversy, from his first head coaching job with the Raiders to his time as offensive coordinator at Alabama....

Let’s help you understand the gravity of that. Just so you know, Miles leaves with a 114-34 record at LSU — a winning percentage of .770 — not to mention a national championship. Yes, that’s dried up with a 19-10 record since the start of the 2014 season and an almost-bottoming-out for a program that recruits on a top-10 level. MORE: Top candidates to replace Les Miles The next hire has to be a home run....

The awkward video was shared by FAU Football’s official Twitter account, but was later deleted. MORE: Lane Kiffin looks absolutely miserable in awkward FAU promo During Kiffin’s National Signing Day press conference on Wednesday, the first year FAU coach said the video was just a joke. Joke or not, National Signing Day was a huge success for Kiffin. FAU finished with the best recruiting class in Conference USA and the best in program history....

This week’s preferred teams are New Orleans (-10.5), Dallas (-2.5), Cincinnati (-6.5), Baltimore (-2), Indianapolis (-7), San Francisco (-3) and Carolina (-3) in the nightcap. Each of those games have been bet at a ratio of 65 percent or higher in parlay wagers, with the Saints coming in at a whopping 91 percent choice, making them public enemy No. 1 for the books and the root game for every big parlay....

The sports book lists the Cubs at 3-to-1 odds, then there’s a substantial gap to a trio of teams with the next shortest odds. The Dodgers, Nationals and Red Sox are all priced at 10/1. The Indians, at 12/1, are among the next tier of teams that also includes the Mets and Astros. “(The Cubs) are priced so low because they will have a win total of close to 100,” Westgate oddsmaker Ed Salmons said in a text message to Omnisport....

Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said the Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) officer is in a “grave condition” following a shooting near the Circus Circus hotel and casino on the Las Vegas strip. “This has been a long night for your police department,” Lombardo told a press conference. “As you are all aware there have been protests going on over the past week and those protests are what led to two shooting incidents last night involving LVMPD officers....

Fake-zapping your friends under the black lights is a recruiting staple in Louisville, apparently, because it forced the men’s basketball program to self-report two separate Level III NCAA violations from a laser tag trip it took in April. MORE: Kentucky told Drake to cease and desist | How to watch Louisville’s Puerto Rico trip On April 19, six members of the men’s basketball team took a trip to a local laser tag facility where they were given admission money by the program, according to information obtained by Sporting News in an open records request....

During the halftime show between Ohio State and Nebraska, the band performed a superhero-themed show, including references to Batman, Superman and various other comic book heroes. Fittingly, Foltz — who died alongside Michigan State punter Mike Sadler in a July car accident — was the last hero honored: The band formed to spell his initials and the number he wore in college, No. 27. MORE: Ohio State 62, Nebraska 3: Five things we learned...

The poll by Voter Participation Center/Voto Latino showed low enthusiasm among Latinos in states where the population could affect the outcome, particularly among young voters—a finding that Stephen Nuño, a Latino Decisions pollster who conducted the poll, said is concerning for the presumptive Democratic nominee. The poll surveyed 1200 Latino voters in the six battleground states of Arizona, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Page Gardner, founder of the Voter Participation Center and the Center for Voter Information told Newsweek that taking the pulse of Latinos in those states is important because the burgeoning Latino populations could affect the election and they are the key battleground states not just in the presidential race, but have down-ballot implications....

But the most eye-opening part of Jon Frankel’s piece was NFL sideline reporter Laura Okmin saying Fox Sports benched her for a few games last season in favor of a younger female reporter with no NFL reporting experience. Neither Okmin nor Frankel named the other sideline reporter. But sources tell me that Okmin was talking about 29-year old Fox colleague, Holly Sonders. Sonders jumped to Fox from Golf Channel, where she served as an on-air host....

The Gunners made history over the course of a remarkable campaign that saw the ‘Invincibles’ complete a 38-game season without suffering a single defeat. Wenger: My critics would like to jail me There were 12 draws along the way, but 26 victories helped them to a 90-point haul and top-flight glory some way clear of the chasing pack. In total, Arsenal would go 49 games unbeaten, before Manchester United brought their run to an abrupt halt at Old Trafford in October 2004....

Boebert has been a vocal critic of President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan in a move that has seen Taliban insurgents seize control of much of the country over the past week. However, her latest tweets have not sat well with many on social media, who were quick to take the freshman Representative to task over her choice of words. The controversy began when the Colorado Republican tweeted: “The Taliban are the only people building back better,” in apparent reference to Biden’s economic recovery plan for the U....

The Equality Act, which passed the House last week, would add sexual orientation and gender identity to existing federal civil rights laws. It would ban anti-LGBTQ discrimination in employment, education, housing, public accommodations, jury selection, credit and federal programs. Boebert mentioned the bill during a Wednesday interview on Real America’s Voice, a right-leaning media network. Calling the bill “the so-called Equality Act,” Boebert said, “We all know that that’s just the Democrats using a play on words....

Boebert made the remarks on Charlie Kirk’s podcast that was recorded during Turning Point USA’s Student Action Summit over the weekend. A video featuring her comments was shared by the Twitter page Patriot Takes on Sunday evening, amassing more than 34,000 views so far. Kirk, the founder and president of the conservative nonprofit, had asked the congresswoman about the 47 House Republicans who last week joined with Democrats to pass the landmark bill that would codify protections for same-sex marriage into federal law,....