What will hold College Football Playoff hopefuls back, or push them forward this season

Arsenal interested in Konsa after Romeo enquiriesArsenal are reportedly once again keen on signing Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa.The Gunners have previously been linked with a move for the English centre-back this summer but a big gap in price has prevented any move from progressing.However, according to Sami Mokbel of BBC Sport, Mikel Arteta's side are back in for the 28-year-old but will have to improve on their initial valuation of 30 million with Villa said to be more interested in 60 million.In perhaps a more surprising move, Arsenal were also said to be interested in bringing in Tottenham Hotspur's Cristin Romero. Although signing the player from such a fierce rival would prove to be a big obstacle.Konsa played 48 times for Villa in all competitions last season, chipping in with two goals from defence.

No broadcast entity in boxing has access to more elite talent than DAZN. It has almost all of the major promoters and top fighters under the same umbrella. Theoretically, that should allow for fight cards every week on both sides of the pond; it should produce shows stacked with quality fights, and it should result in the best matchups happening on a regular basis. So why is it that last month, I opened social media to see the undercard for Teofimo Lopez vs. "Rolly" Romero and went, Meh. Mid. Who? And by the way, that's a pay-per-view card. It's gonna cost you $75 to watch Lopez who lost nearly every round to Shakur Stevenson in January fight Romero, who is not even a consensus top-10 welterweight but is somehow a titleholder. That is, of course, unless you fork out for DAZN's $500 annual subscription to watch the best and biggest fights in boxing except for Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn because that's not on DAZN. Oh, and Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua? That's not gonna be on DAZN either. What exactly are we even paying for again?Yes, I know DAZN can't guarantee every big fight, but Joshua, Matchroom, Queensberry, Garcia and Golden Boy are all exclusively with DAZN. Yet we still can't get either marquee matchup on the platform? I find it crazy how boxing fans have spent years complaining about the fragmentation of the sport and how fighters being with different promoters and networks have prevented the best matchups from being made. Now, almost all of the top promoters are with the same network. And we still don't seem to be getting a great product, or a regular product, for that matter.Who wants to pay a lot of money to watch Teofimo Lopez (center right) fight Rolly Romero with a weak undercard? (Photo by Melina Pizano/Getty Images)Melina Pizano via Getty ImagesTop Rank announced its deal with DAZN five months ago. But it has promoted only two shows on the platform since then. When is its next show? We have no idea. It was supposed to be involved in Devin Haney vs. Keyshawn Davis in October, but that fight isn't happening now. Two of its fighters are battling in a main event next month, and it's on ProBoxTV. Giovani Santillan from California is one of those two. Raymond Muratalla, also with Top Rank and from California, fought on a Golden Boy show earlier this month. Albert Gonzalez and Samuel Contreras, two more Top Rank fighters from California, boxed on a Matchroom show last month. You see where I'm going with this? It's hard to imagine they would be fighting on other promoters' shows if DAZN had enough dates to accommodate Top Rank, and it would make sense to place them on a card in the same state. If DAZN didn't have enough dates, why sign all these promoters?The show Gonzalez and Contreras fought on was headlined by Diego Pacheco in a step-back against Immanuwel Aleem. OK, Pacheco didn't look good against Kevin Lele Sadjo in December; he was changing trainers and in the first fight of a new promotional deal, so that's understandable. But maybe it shouldn't have been a headliner. The co-feature on that card? Andy Cruz in a comeback fight after a loss. Those should not be the top two fights on a DAZN card especially when it was the only U.S. card exclusively on DAZN in the month.DAZN has all these promoters, and that's the only U.S. show we're getting for our subscription? There was only one UK card on the platform that month as well. Yes, I know the World Cup is a big deal on both sides of the pond, but I still expect more bang for my buck. I'm sure the promoters it has under its banner would like more dates too.To fund these promoters, fans are expected to pay for a subscription service that puts its best fights on additional paywalls or not on the platform at all. DAZN Ultimate a very expensive membership that hardly anybody seems to have is necessary to watch every big fight on the platform. If you don't have that subscription, all big matchups become pay-per-views. Moses Itauma in his first world-level step-up? That's a pay-per-view. Joshua in a tune-up against someone I've never even heard of? That would've cost you another $60.And let's say you do have DAZN Ultimate. Ultimate is supposed to provide fight fans with 12 pay-per-view shows per year. But the meaning of "pay-per-view" has become skewed with this subscription model. Fights that should be on a normal subscription or if they were on pay-per-view would have a small buy rate are being used to justify the value of the subscription. We are certainly not getting 12 genuine PPV-quality events per year maybe three or four at best. If you're a U.S. fight fan, only David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde, Stevenson vs. Lopez, Garcia vs. Romero, and Benavidez vs. Gilberto Ramirez have been genuine PPV-worthy since the scheme sorry, model started last October. The half-dozen UK PPVs in the afternoon? No, they shouldn't have been PPV to begin with and wouldn't have been in past eras, which brings me to my next point.DAZN appears to have very little awareness of this thing called time zones. In past eras of boxing, the majority of U.S. PPVs, barring the very top ones, were available on a regular subscription model in the UK and vice-versa that is to say U.S. fans were not expected to pay extra for pretty much any UK PPV. In the DAZN era, this is no longer the case. Fights like Boots Ennis vs. Xander Zayas and Lopez vs. Romero are PPVs for UK fans, while U.S. viewers are expected to pay extra for Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois (which, to be fair, was worth every penny), Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Benn and the like. It should be simple. If, as a Brit, I'm watching two Americans fight at 4 a.m., I shouldn't be expected to pay extra unless it's a genuine mega-fight funnily enough, those seem to be ending up on Netflix or Paramount nowadays anyway. And I don't expect my U.S. friends to have to pay for two Brits battling it out in the afternoon.By making everything PPV, DAZN has tried to convince you that Ultimate is terrific value when it's pretty much what we were supposed to get on DAZN in the first place except for about five times the price.Showtime PPVs stateside and Sky Sports ones in the prime Matchroom era perhaps excluding Joshua stadium shows may have cost you dearly for a single evening of entertainment, but you know what? They were worth every penny. We had a top-class main event and a compelling undercard to support it. You could sit down from 6 p.m. onward and know that you had a quality night of boxing in store. That is not the case with these DAZN PPVs. Because DAZN is relying on its Ultimate model, there isn't as much emphasis on getting consumers to fork out for individual cards, and thus they consistently lack depth. The Lopez-Romero and Ennis-Zayas undercards are SHOBox-worthy cards at best. And not even good SHOBox cards. Just average ones. Emiliano Vargas and Ben Whittaker are quality prospects, but their fights against overmatched opposition should not be the top two featured undercard fights on a PPV.I'm telling you a lot about what isn't good enough. Let me show you what should be setting the standard: Showtime's final PPV, headlined by a compelling matchup between two unbeaten fighters in David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade. The undercard? Jermall Charlo vs. Jose Benavidez, Subriel Matias vs. Shoshajon Ergashev and Hector Luis Garcia vs. Lamont Roach. Any one of those three fights two of which were for world championships could've headlined a non-PPV offering. And the prelims? Sergey Lipinets and Michel Rivera in a battle of fringe contenders, and a WBC title eliminator featuring Pablo Vicente vs. Muhammad Yaqubov. Those two prelim fights alone were better than the Lopez vs. Romero and Ennis vs. Zayas undercards. That was a quality night of fights. That was worth $75. That is what I should be getting from DAZN 12 times a year. DAZN has deals with Matchroom, PBC, Top Rank, Golden Boy, Queensberry and BOXXER, among others. And we still can't get those kinds of cards?There's a fundamental lack of quality control at DAZN. No two ways about it. There's no reason these promoters can't combine to give us quality pay-per-view-level cards every month and compelling regular shows as well. At some point, somebody at DAZN has to see what a promoter puts to them and say, "That just isn't cutting it. Either create a card that is good enough, or we'll take that slot away from you, or better yet, we'll replace some of your fights with ones worthy of being broadcast on our $500 subscription."To its credit, DAZN has done what it always set out to do. It is the home of boxing. It just isn't very good boxing.

Jorge Messi sadly died at the age of 68 after a lengthy illness -Credit:Luciano Bisbal, Getty ImagesLionel Messi disclosed in a heartfelt Instagram post that his journey to this year's FIFA World Cup final was fueled by a personal vow made to his father, Jorge, who had been fighting a severe illness in the days leading up to the tournament's start and was ultimately unable to be present.Jorge Messi passed away last week at a hospital in Rosario, Argentina, at age 68, after an extended illness, casting his son's career into uncertainty as he suggested retirement.Newell's Old Boys, the club where Jorge himself once competed and where Lionel launched his youth career, characterized him in a statement as "the pillar and the person who, with vision, rigor and affection, supported the career of the best player of all time."Kylian Mbappe drops World Cup truth bomb after absurd third-place loss to EnglandDonald Trump sparks outrage with Harry Kane World Cup comments -Credit:Hector Vivas - FIFA, FIFA via Getty ImagesJorge had acted as his son's representative since Lionel was 14 years old, brokering his transition to Barcelona's renowned La Masia academy and subsequently his moves to Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami.In his tribute, Messi disclosed that his father's condition had deteriorated dramatically just days before the World Cup commenced, representing what would have been the first tournament of Messi's career that Jorge could not witness in person, as per The Mirror US."You asked me so much to play in the last World Cup and days before the start was when you reached your worst," Messi wrote. "It was the first time you weren't going to be at a tournament, but mom told me that you were going to be better and that you were going to be fine to be able to travel. I told you that we were going to reach the final so you could travel."That pledge brought fresh significance to Argentina's journey through the competition, which eventually concluded with a 1-0 extra-time defeat to Spain in the Final.Messi described driving his body beyond its physical boundaries in a bid to reach that Final for his father's sake, even as his condition declined.To listen to the latest episode of 'All Out Soccer' - CLICK HERE"I wanted to win it to take the trophy and show you a new one," Messi wrote. "I couldn't, my legs couldn't take it anymore. This time I tried to go against my physique, but I couldn't. I could never feel good."Messi also outlined the emotional burden of competing throughout the tournament while his father's condition worsened from a distance."Every time a game ended, I expected and missed your message. That's when I realized that the situation was real," he wrote. He disclosed that by the time he returned home after the final, his father's recollection of events had already started to diminish. When I arrived you thought we had lost the final on penalties. We couldn't talk about anything that happened."Messi continued to characterize his father as "a father, a friend and a manager," concluding his message with a vow to uphold the principles Jorge instilled in him."I am going to miss you a lot, but you will always be present, and especially in the education of my children, because I teach them and educate them as you did with me," Messi wrote. "Rest in peace and take care of us from above as you did here. Thank you for everything. I love you, pa."

Chair Jodie Parker, in orange, was pictured with fellow riders, club president Hugh Porter and his wife, Anita Lonsbrough, after completing the Round the Wrekin charity ride in aid of Compton Care [Jodie Parker]People who use a cycling club had been "upset" and "outraged" that more than 14,000 worth of equipment was taken after a break-in.Wolverhampton Wheelers, which is run by volunteers, said it thought 10 bicycles had been stolen at Aldersley stadium between Saturday night and Sunday morning.The club, founded in 1891, said specialist track bikes had been among items taken from a storage unit and the theft would impact its ability to deliver sessions.Chair Jodie Parker said it "had to tell people not to come on Monday night, because there was no bike for them".The Wheelers have 14 volunteer coaches and runs sessions four times a week, with money coming from more than 130 members. Bikes are usually funded through members' payments or are donated.Ian Horton and Mark Spruce are among more than 130 members at the club, which has appealed for information [Jodie Parker]Three of the stolen items had been specialist track bikes without brakes and gears, used twice a week in sessions on the outdoor velodrome, Parker said.The organisation was working with City of Wolverhampton Council and other clubs had reached out "to see how they can" assist in the short term."We're hopeful we can resume business as usual, thanks to the help from clubs who've helped us to date."There's a strong cycling network locally, but throughout the country clubs help each other in times of need... with offers of loans of bikes."'Develop a passion'Parker said if equipment was not available, it put the ability of members to progress "in jeopardy"."The club community are upset and a little bit outraged, because they give opportunities for children and [adults] to come together, be healthy and develop a passion."West Midlands Police said it was investigating after "sports equipment was taken during a burglary at Aldersley Stadium overnight on Saturday".The force said anyone with information could get in touch.Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. More on this story Cyclists complete Tour de France route to LiverpoolCounty hoping for cycling destination boom'We've never seen such a big event here' Related internet links Wolverhampton WheelersCompton Care

The Bills are dealing with injuries at cornerback, so they signed a healthy player to bolster the group on Wednesday. They announced the signing of Anthony Kendall to their 90-man roster. Defensive lineman Kody Huisman was waived in a corresponding move. Kendall signed with the Titans after going undrafted in 2023 and played in 16 games as a rookie. He had nine tackles while seeing almost all of his playing time on special teams. Kendall has also spent time on practice squads in Baltimore and Cleveland. Maxwell Hairston and Kani Walker have been out of practice for Buffalo recently. The Bills play their first preseason game against the Panthers on Saturday.

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SportsLine's Mike McClure, a daily Fantasy pro with more than $2 million in winnings, gives optimal MLB DFS lineup advice for Wednesday, Aug. 12