Yahoo Sports AM: The NFC North is a juggernaut

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🏈 The best division in football

The 2024 NFC North is a juggernaut. The Lions (5-1), Vikings (5-1), Packers (5-2) and Bears (4-2) are all in the top 12 of our latest power rankings as we approach the halfway point of the season, and All four teams would make the playoffs if they started today.

Based on the numbers: The NFC North is 17-4 (with a point differential of +213) against outside competition, and all four losses came by six points or fewer against teams that had winning records last year. Overall, there is no such thing as a “bad” loss.

Record by department:

• NFC North: 19-6

• AFC West: 15-10

• NFC East: 14-12

• AFC North: 13-14

• AFC South: 12-15

• NFC West: 11-15

• NFC South: 11-16

• AFC East: 10-17

Consider the following: Detroit (+62), Minnesota (+61), Green Bay (+47) and Chicago (+43) all have a point differential of +40 or better. Only four other teams in the entire NFL can say that: Washington (+66), Buffalo (+63), Pittsburgh (+60) and Kansas City (+43).

Best division ever? The NFC North entered Sunday with the best winning percentage in six weeks (.773) of any division in the Super Bowl era. Since then, they have only defeated two first-place teams, with Green Bay beating Houston and Detroit handing Minnesota its first loss.*

*NFC North vs. NFC North: As you would expect from such a strong division, internal competition was fierce. Both division games went down to the wire and ended with the same score of 31-29 (Lions over Vikings on Sunday, Vikings over Packers in Week 4).

🏀 The Intuit Dome is open for business

The Intuit Dome, The Clippers' new $2 billion arena, which took more than three years to build, played its first game of the regular season in Inglewood on Wednesday night.

A place to call your own: The Clips lost to the Suns 116-113 in overtime, but regardless of the outcome, the game marked a new era for the franchise. After sharing the arena with the Lakers for 25 years, they are no longer in their big brother's shadow.

A Billionaire's Passion Project: Steve Ballmer, by far the richest owner in sports with a net worth of $125 billion, has spared no expense in giving fans the ultimate gaming experience.

• The Halo board: The huge, double-sided, 360-degree jumbotron is almost the size of an acre. What size is this? If rolled out, it would be three times the size of the nearby Hollywood sign, according to Forbes.

• Heated, interactive seats: The seats are heated and have USB ports to charge your phone. They also feature four remote buttons that allow fans to play interactive games like The Mentalist, a color guessing game, on the Halo Board.

• “The wall”: The arena has a 51-row student section that is reserved for die-hard fans only and is not allowed to cheer on the other team. Seats cost $32 per game and are only available to those who purchased a pass before the season.

• Concessions: All food and beverage stalls will share the same menu to minimize decision-making, and facial recognition will be used throughout the arena to allow fans to purchase food and merchandise without waiting in line.

Speaking of comfort, just ask Ballmer about the toilets: “1,160 toilets and urinals!” he exclaimed last year. “Three times the NBA average! We don’t want people standing in line, we want them to get back to their damn seats!”

🏈 Great excitement: Owls extinguish the flames

Previously winless Kennesaw State, a 26.5-point underdog in his first year as an FBS program, pulled off a stunning 27-24 upset over previously unbeaten Liberty on Wednesday. It's the first time in 23 years that a team 0-5 or worse defeated a team 5-0 or better.

Nine are still unbeaten: The Owls' victory over the Flames leaves nine undefeated FBS teams. Three are in the Big Ten (Oregon, Penn State, Indiana), two are in the Big 12 (Iowa State, BYU), two are in the ACC (Miami, Pittsburgh), and two are military academies in the AAC (Army, Navy). ).

📸 The world in photos

Barcelona— Barca is back. Raphinha scored a hat-trick to lead Barcelona to a 4-1 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League, ending a six-game losing streak against the fellow superclub.

Portland – Vancouver defeated Portland 5-0 in the Western Conference wild-card game and played top-seeded LAFC in a best-of-three first-round series.

Washington DC – The Capitals defeated the Flyers 6-3 in their only NHL game on Wednesday to improve their mark to 5-1 this season, their best start since 2015.

📆 Oct 24, 2004: Arsenal's streak ends

20 years ago today, Manchester United beat Arsenal 2-0, ending the Gunners' Premier League record 49-game unbeaten run.

One of three: This Arsenal team remains one of only three in Premier League history to have a streak of at least 40 league games without defeat.

1. Arsenal (2003–04): 49 in a row (36 wins, 13 draws)

2. Liverpool (2019–20): 44 in a row (39 wins, 5 draws)

3. Chelsea (2004–05): 40 in a row (33 wins, 7 draws)

Will a fourth be added soon? Manchester City's active streak of 31 consecutive games (25 wins, 6 draws) is the fourth longest of all time.

📺 Watch List: Vikings at Rams

The Rams host the Vikings tonight (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime) at SoFi Stadium in a clash between teams on opposite ends of the NFC.

Head-to-head: Minnesota (5-1) has the conference's best record, while Los Angeles (2-4) is fourth-worst, ahead of only the Saints (2-5), Giants (2-5) and Panthers (1-6). . ). But help is on the way, at least temporarily.*

More to watch:

• 🏀 NBA: Spurs at Mavericks (7:30 p.m., TNT); Thunder at Nuggets (10 p.m., TNT)

• 🇺🇸 Friendly: USWNT vs Iceland (7:30 p.m., TBS) …In Austin, Texas.

• 🏈 NCAAF: Syracuse, No. 19 Pitt (7:30 p.m., ESPN) …Will another undefeated fall?

• ⛳️ PGA: Zozo Championship (11 p.m., golf) … Round 2 in Chiba, Japan.

*Kupp's return: Rams star wideout Cooper Kupp, sidelined since spraining his ankle in Week 2, is expected to return tonight. But with trade rumors circulatinghis time with the team could be coming to an end.

⚾️ MLB Trivia

The Yankees (27) and Dodgers (7) have won the most and sixth-most World Series of any team.

Ask: Can you name the four teams?

A notice: Two AL, two NL.

Answer below.

🏈 When jury duty calls

Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey I missed practice on Wednesday with an injury report that I can't remember ever seeing before: jury duty.

Details: According to the Star-Telegram, Aubrey is a member of a 12-member jury in an assault case that includes a second-degree strangulation charge. The Cowboys reportedly tried to pardon him, but the 29-year-old All-Pro insisted.

Will he miss any games? The good news for the Cowboys is that a typical testing schedule will not affect Aubrey's availability on Sundays, barring special circumstances. He will reportedly return to the field today and tomorrow, but is not expected to miss Sunday's game against the 49ers.

Trivia answer: Cardinals (11 World Series), Red Sox (9), Athletics (9), Giants (8)

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