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Cowboys find much-needed ‘joy’ in bouncing back from two losses

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Dallas Cowboys watched their best defensive player require assistance to leave the field in the game’s closing minutes. They touched the opposing quarterback three times and had to survive two last-gasp drives from the New York Giants in an eventual 20-15 victory. They were outgained, held the ball for 10 minutes less than New York and were flagged 11 times for 89 yards.

Yet the vibe inside the locker room was more of relief than an anxiety-riddled escape.

“It’s more joy in here,’ wide receiver CeeDee Lamb said after the game. ‘You lose two in a row, kind of start going through a phase where everybody is kind of uptight.’

Of course, being professionals, the Cowboys would be ready to play again, even on a short week, Lamb said.

‘Good for us to come out 1-0 this week. It was the one we needed,’ Lamb said. ‘It was a division game – put us in the right place.”

All things Cowboys: Latest Dallas Cowboys news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

The win moved Dallas back to .500 (2-2) and denied sports television analysts the chance to explore everything wrong with the Cowboys for the next 10 days until their Week 5 ‘Sunday Night Football’ tilt on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“We see all that,” linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (eight tackles) said. “We (are) humans, but most of all, we (are) grown men and competitors … so this whole week we’ve been wanting to come out here and showcase what we’re capable of. Now we just got to stack them.” 

Last week, Lamb was seen yelling on the sidelines as the Cowboys fell behind early against the Baltimore Ravens. Against the Giants, he roared for a much happier reason.

Lamb caught seven passes for 98 yards – 55 of which came on his touchdown from Dak Prescott late in the first quarter. New York lined up second-year cornerback Deonte Banks against Lamb.

All Prescott had to do was let Lamb beat Banks off the line of scrimmage and deliver the ball before the deep safety rotated to that side of the field. Lamb, who said after the game it was the lone one-on-one look he saw all game, caught the ball at the Giants’ 40-yard line and housed it from there.

“‘Let’s go score.’ That’s my mindset. Whenever I get one-on-one, let’s go score,” Lamb said.

Lamb’s celebration drew three separate flags for taunting, resulting in a 15-yard penalty assessed on the extra point. In the wideout’s mind, everything went fast in those moments, as he tossed the football upon crossing the goal line and flexed toward the crowd.

“All that passion and everything came out of me,” he said.

Lamb told his coaches that won’t happen again in 2024; he has one free pass per year.

“That was built up from a long time ago,” Lamb said of the celebration.

Winning can release that tension – and bring ‘joy’ to a team seeking it.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Why Were Chinese Stocks Up 20% Last Week?!

In this StockCharts TV video, Mary Ellen reviews the broader markets, including sector and industry group rotation, before highlighting the sharp move into Chinese stocks. She shares her thoughts on whether it’s too late to participate. In addition, she looks at the key traits that signal your stock is in a new uptrend and presents several examples.

This video originally premiered September 27, 2024. You can watch it on our dedicated page for Mary Ellen on StockCharts TV.

New videos from Mary Ellen premiere weekly on Fridays. You can view all previously recorded episodes at this link.

If you’re looking for stocks to invest in, be sure to check out the MEM Edge Report! This report gives you detailed information on the top sectors, industries and stocks so you can make informed investment decisions.

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Alycia Baumgardner vs. Delfine Persoon: Walk-in time for main event

The World Boxing Council (WBC) Super Featherweight title is on the line. Alycia Baumgardner (15-1, 7 KOs) is set to defend her title against veteran boxer Delfine Persoon (48-3, 19 KOs) in Atlanta on Friday.

The fight will mark Baumgardner’s first since July 15, 2023, when she successfully defended her undisputed world super featherweight title against Christina Linardatou in a unanimous decision. It was later revealed that Baumgardner tested positive for two banned substances — mesterolone and methenolone acetate metabolites — ahead of the July fight against Linardatou.

Following an investigation, the WBC ruled in January that Baumgarner was ‘not guilty of intentional ingestion or consumption of a banned substance for performance enhancement purposes,’ clearing the way for her to fight on Friday.

Baumgardner will face a formidable opponent in Persoon, a 39-year-old veteran that has over 50 fights to her name. Persoon held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Lightweight title in 2012 and the WBC Lightweight title from 2014 to 2019.

Here’s what to know about the full card – and when the fight begins:

When does the Alycia Baumgardner vs. Delfine Persoon fight start?

The main event ring walk is expected to begin at approximately 11 p.m. ET.

Baumgardner vs. Persoon full card

Alycia Baumgardner vs. Delfine Persoon; WBC super featherweight title fight
Rosalinda Rodriguez vs. Amy Naert; Super Bantamweights
Nicole Schafer vs. Mariya Agapova; Featherweights
Natalie Dove vs. Sydney Smith; Bantamweights
Stephanie Simon vs. Claudia Zamora; Welterweights
Isabel Vasquez vs. Crystal Van Wyk; Bantamweights
Samantha Ginithan vs. Martyna Krol; Lightweights
Yvonne Flores vs. Katharina Lehner; Welterweights
Agustina Vazquez vs. Sabrina Persona; Minimumweight

How to watch Alycia Baumgardner vs. Delfine Persoon main event

When: Friday, September 27

Full card coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Main card coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET.
Main event ring walks scheduled for around 11 p.m. ET.

Where: Lux Stage at Trilith Studios, Atlanta, Georgia

Streaming: Brinx.TV, Fubo

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Could U.S. Stocks Crash In October?

That’s a great question right now as many folks still remain quite nervous. The Volatility Index ($VIX), for example, gained more than 10% today, despite a minimal decline in the S&P 500. It’s a signal that the stock market likely won’t handle bad news very well. Next week, we have the September nonfarm payrolls. And earnings season is set to kick off in just a couple weeks, when the banks begin reporting. Could we see an earnings warning or layoffs from a big name or two? We don’t know, but if we do see bad news, it’s quite possible we see another leg lower in October.

But could it crash?

Well, first we’d have to define “crash.” Over the past 74 years, the S&P 500 has seen a drop of 9% or more in a calendar month just 17 times. That’s 1 monthly drop of 9% or more every 4 years or so. If you’re looking for the start of a 20% to 30% drop, or even more, I’d say the chance of that is extremely slim, probably negligible.

Let’s take a look at the 2 worst October declines in U.S. history. First, there was October 1929 – The Great Depression:

October 1929 began the largest decline in U.S. stock market history. The decline didn’t find a bottom until nearly 90% of the stock market’s value was lost.

The other October decline that gives the month its bad name was October 1987 crash. Remember Black Monday? If you weren’t investing back then, this is what the chart looked like:

The 1987 “crash” happened over the course of a few weeks, not a few years like in 1929. There have been other rough Octobers, but they simply haven’t been as catastrophic as the 1929 and 1987 versions. In fact, earlier I mentioned that we’ve seen calendar month declines of 9% or more 17 different times since 1950. October has played a role in many of these. Furthermore, there have been 14 bear market declines (losses of 20% or greater from all-time highs) since 1950 and October has played a very interesting role in those too.

So what might we expect in October 2024?

If you’re interested in stock market history, then EarningsBeats.com is the right place to get your information. It’s interesting that the “Go Away” month (May, according to the Wall Street “experts”) has never had one of those 9% or more calendar month losses. May also has never started a bear market, yet the bottom of one was found in May. You can’t trust the historical information that you get from the media, but I can promise you that the information that we provide at EarningsBeats.com is 100% factual and ZERO percent false or misleading. As a practicing CPA for two decades, I can analyze and report data.

Tomorrow morning, on Saturday, September 28th at 10:00am ET, I’ll be hosting a FREE event, “History of Market Bottoms.” I want all of you to understand history the way we do at EarningsBeats.com. This event does require registration. To get more information and to save your seat, REGISTER NOW! If you’re reading this article and it’s beyond Saturday 10:00am ET, no worries. Anyone who registers (even late) will receive a recording of the event. Finally, we’ve developed an ebook, “74 Years of Market Bottoms”, that will be sent to you immediately upon registration, so don’t delay!

I’ll see you Saturday morning!

Tom

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Stocks

Stock Market Regains Bullish Edge: Can Geopolitical Tensions Change Its Direction?

There’s one trading day left for the month of September. Unless something drastic happens over the weekend, the stock market looks like it has bucked the September seasonality pattern of being the worst trading month for equities. That’s not to say seasonality doesn’t work; in the early part of the month, after all, there was a dramatic pullback. But the stock market has recovered and is now moving higher.

A handful of data this week stoked the stock market. The US economy continues to grow, the labor market appears to be moving toward a better supply/demand balance, the Federal Reserve made its first interest rate cut, and inflation is cooling. But the biggest news was the China stimulus decision. That was a surprise and sent Chinese stocks and ETFs soaring.

The August personal consumption expenditures (PCE) indicated that inflation is coming down and getting closer to the Fed’s 2.0% target. This isn’t a surprise, but it helped keep the optimistic sentiment going, at least into the first half of Friday’s trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) hit a record high, sold off in afternoon trading, and eked out a record close. The S&P 500 ($SPX) and Nasdaq Composite ($COMPQ) also sold off on Friday, closing in the red. Despite the selloff, the overall trend in equities is still very bullish.

An Analysis of the Broader Stock Market Indexes

Although the S&P 500 closed lower on Friday, the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index ($SPEW) closed slightly higher (see chart below).

CHART 1. S&P 500 EQUAL-WEIGHTED INDEX.

$SPXEW is trading well above its 20-day simple moving average. Its relative strength index (RSI) is just below 70, which means it has a lot of upside room.

This could mean that investors are shifting away from large-cap tech stocks and into other areas. The rise in the Dow Jones Average this week indicates that perhaps investors are rotating into Industrials and Materials. Small and mid-cap stocks also closed higher on Friday.

China-related stocks continued their bullish move on Friday. The iShares China Large Cap ETF (FXI) is getting pretty close to a resistance level. If it breaks above it on strong momentum, it would be worth allocating a portion of your portfolio to the ETF.

Then, There Are Bonds

After the Fed cut interest rates, US Treasury yields rose and bond prices pulled back. The August high in the chart of the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) is one to watch. If TLT breaks above this level (green horizontal area), bond prices could rise.

CHART 2. DAILY CHART OF TLT.

On Friday, TLT reversed after Thursday’s doji candle. However, Friday’s candle was also a doji, which failed to break above its 21-day exponential moving average. One day’s action doesn’t make a trend, but, in light of future interest rate cuts, there may soon be a buying opportunity in TLT. If you are already in bonds, like I am, then you could add to your positions after a breakout. This is one chart I’ll be looking at.

Of course, this could change if next week’s data doesn’t support an upward move in bond prices. Next week, there will be a lot of employment data and several speeches from Fed officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell.

The jobs data will show whether the labor market is tightening or loosening and could steer investor expectations about further interest rate cuts by the Fed. According to the CME FedWatch tool, the probability the Fed will cut rates by another 50 basis points is 54.8%. If the labor data supports a 50 bps cut, that probability could rise higher.

Metals Keep On Shining

The price of gold pulled back on Friday after a series of “all-time high” closes. Central banks continue to purchase gold and add it to their global reserves. Gold and silver prices have rallied this year, and interest rate cuts by the Fed, plus China’s recent stimulus measures, keep sending prices higher. Copper is another commodity that has benefited from China’s stimulus news.

One commodity that wasn’t rallying like the metals was crude oil. Oil prices saw massive declines this week but turned around on Friday afternoon. Geopolitical tensions that surfaced may have been the reason for the price turnaround. The Energy sector, which has been the laggard of late, was the top-performing S&P sector on Friday (see Friday’s MarketCarpet). It occupies very little real estate on the MarketCarpet, but it’s the greenest of the sectors.

FRIDAY’S S&P SECTOR PERFORMANCE.

While most of this week’s news was positive, we ended on a slightly uncertain note—the surfacing of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The CBOE Volatility Index ($VIX) inched up slightly. China’s stock exchanges will be closed most of next week in honor of China National Day, so there may be sideways movement in Chinese-related stocks and ETFs. There’s still plenty of US data to focus on, so keep an eye and ear tuned to the market. More importantly, keep an eye on the rotation. The StockCharts MarketCarpets are a great starting point.

End-of-Week Wrap-Up

S&P 500 closed up 0.62% for the week, at 5738.17, Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.59% for the week at 42,313; Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.95% for the week at 18,119.59$VIX up 4.48% for the week, closing at 16.87Best performing sector for the week: MaterialsWorst performing sector for the week: Health CareTop 5 Large Cap SCTR stocks: Insmed Inc. (INSM); Applovin Corp (APP); Carvana (CVNA); Vistra Energy Corp. (VST); XPeng, Inc. (XPEV)

On the Radar Next Week

Fed Chair Powell speech; speeches from Bowman, Bostic, Cook, and other Fed officialsAugust JOLTS Job OpeningsADP Employment ReportWeekly Jobless ClaimsSeptember ISM Manufacturing PMISeptember ISM Services PMISeptember Non-Farm PayrollsNike (NKE) Earnings

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

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Top Ten Charts to Watch for October 2024

As we near the end of what has been a fairly solid Q3 for the equity markets, we are left with the eternal question for investors: “What’s next?”

We now have the Fed’s first rate cut in the rearview mirror, with multiple rate cuts expected into early 2025.  We also have a highly contested election season, a rapidly escalating situation in the Middle East, and earnings season which is only a couple weeks away.

The beauty of technical analysis is that price action should compensate for investor expectations for all of the above.  If investors are excited, nervous, euphoric, despondent, or anywhere in between, the interplay between buyers and sellers can tell us a great deal about investor sentiment.

With that in mind, here are some of the individual stock charts I’ll be watching as we transition into the fourth quarter.

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)

As I reviewed hundreds of charts to eventually settle in on just ten to review, I was struck by the fact that five out of the ten are in the same sector: Communication Services.  From Magnificent 7 names to old telecoms, there are plenty of improving charts in this sector.

While many stocks could be considered overextended after this week, Comcast is definitely not one of the them.  This chart features a classic rotation from a distribution phase (lower highs and lower lows), through a consolidation phase (even highs and lows), into a new accumulation phase (higher highs and higher lows).

This week, CMCSA finally pushed back above its 200-day moving average, as well as the previous peak from mid-July.  If this stock can follow through above the $42 level, we could easily see a retest of the January 2024 peak around $46 and beyond.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)

One of the key questions for October is whether the market will remain strong despite the normal seasonal weakness around this time of year.  META may be the best chart to watch to determine whether our benchmarks will remain in a bullish phase.

Meta has tested resistance in the $520 to $540 range since first arriving at these levels in March, and a couple weeks ago that level was finally eclipsed.  Any time a stock breaks above a well-established resistance level, I want to see it hold that breakout point on any subsequent pullbacks.

META ended the week in an overbought condition, with the RSI remaining above 70.  This often suggests a pullback is imminent, particularly when the RSI dips back below this overbought level.  Will Meta Platforms hold $520 as well as the 50-day moving average on a pullback? If so, then this bull market could see unusual strength in arguably the weakest of the 12 months from a seasonal perspective.

VFCorp (VFC)

Next is VFCorp, my first selection outside of the Communication Services sector.  This producer of apparel and footwear brands, including Timberland and The North Face, has entered a new uptrend phase off a major low back in March.

While VFC has already gained about 80% off the March low, the bullish phase appears very much still in place here.  We can see a consistent pattern of higher highs and higher lows, and the price is now trending higher above two upward-sloping moving averages.  The RSI indicator tells us the momentum is strong but not excessive.  I tend to think of charts like this as “innocent until proven guilty,” and as a trend-follower that means I follow the trend until the chart tells me to do otherwise!

Looking for the other seven charts to watch?  Check out the full video on my YouTube channel!

RR#6,

Dave

PS- Ready to upgrade your investment process?  Check out my free behavioral investing course!

David Keller, CMT

President and Chief Strategist

Sierra Alpha Research LLC

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice.  The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.  

The author does not have a position in mentioned securities at the time of publication.    Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

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It just means less? Georgia-Alabama clash minimized in expanded playoff era

No. 1 Georgia and No. 4 Alabama have met six times since 2018 but just once in the regular season, an Alabama win in 2020. The Crimson Tide would take home the national championship that season and Georgia the ensuing pair, with the Bulldogs’ only loss during that two-year span coming to, yes, Alabama.

Separated by divisions throughout this span, the two heavyweights have still managed to cross paths in some of the biggest, high-stakes games of the era:

The College Football Playoff national championship game for the 2017 season, an Alabama win in overtime.
The 2018 SEC championship game, another Alabama win.
The 2021 SEC championship game, again taken by the Crimson Tide.
The 2022 national championship game, the lone Georgia win against Alabama under Kirby Smart.
And last year’s SEC championship game, an Alabama win that sent the Tide into the playoff while eliminating the Bulldogs.

For a number of reasons, this one feels different. For one, the series has a new head coach in Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, hired this offseason to replace Nick Saban.

‘You don’t have to pull anything as far as energy and enthusiasm out of them to get ready for our first SEC game against Georgia, you know,’ DeBoer said.

In terms of a national impact, the biggest change from this rivalry’s recent past is in the immediate fallout from Saturday night’s matchup in Tuscaloosa. To misquote the SEC, this one just means … less?

The impact on the College Football Playoff

The shift to the 12-team playoff format removes the winner-take-all mentality that has gripped this series since Smart ushered in a new era of Georgia dominance. While the winner will be in the driver’s seat for the playoff, the loser is no longer eliminated from contention, or even dropped to the back of the line among SEC contenders.

That raises the question: In this new era of an expanded postseason, what does a single regular-season game really mean — even one involving the two most powerful programs in the Bowl Subdivision?

No team during the four-team era reached the playoff with more than one loss, though several did advance to the national semifinals without winning a conference championship.

The math behind the 12-team format won’t be settled until the selection committee unveils this year’s bracket in early December. But the expectation is that every Power Four team with two or fewer losses would be in contention for an at-large bid.

If so, that drains Saturday night’s matchup of the risk and reward that has recently defined this series. Every other meeting since 2018 has decided who flat-out wins a national championship or, at a minimum, which of the two teams would get the chance to compete for one. What does it mean for this rivalry when the only impact may be on playoff seeding? What does that mean for the state of college football’s regular season?

‘Win or lose, the next one’s going to be really hard and the next one’s going to be really hard and the next one’s going to be really hard. They all are hard,’ Smart said. ‘They’ve got a tremendous team. I have nothing but respect for Kalen DeBoer and what he’s done with that team and that staff. I think he’s done a great job of putting them in a position to grow and get better, and they’ve gotten better with each game. So we need to do the same this week.’

WEEKEND FORECAST: Expert picks for every Top 25 game in Week 5

BOWL PROJECTIONS: Two newcomers join College Football Playoff field

What the game means for Alabama, Georgia

Regardless of the changes brought on by the new postseason format, Saturday night’s result will continue to shape the perception of which team is the favorite in the SEC and, by extension, the entire FBS.

Already ensconced as the No. 1 team in the US LBM Coaches Poll since the preseason, a win would reclaim many of the first-place votes Georgia has lost to No. 2 Texas amid the Longhorns’ unbeaten start. An Alabama victory would give the Crimson Tide their own case for No. 1.

In terms of influencing the playoff, the game will shape seeding and the path each team would have to take to win the national championship.

The winner will be favored to win the SEC, finish in the top four of the final rankings and earn a bye through the playoff’s opening round. In this expanded bracket, a top-four team would need three wins to capture the national championship: in the quarterfinals, the semifinals and final.

The loser may be relegated to one of the at-large bids, requiring an opening-round game — very likely played at home — before advancing to a quarterfinal matchup with one of the Power Four conference champions.

But in an SEC that now lacks divisions, the loser can still secure a top-four finish by reaching and winning the conference championship game.

That fact helps to explain why this year’s matchup means less than ever before: Alabama and Georgia could very well meet again in early December to settle the conference and they could face off again in the playoff, making Saturday the first of three possible meetings this season alone.

Saturday’s impact on Kalen DeBoer

The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide will meet against the backdrop of this season’s biggest coaching storyline: DeBoer’s arrival from Washington to replace the architect of a historic dynasty.

The signs have been mostly positive through three games. Alabama started with an easy win against Western Kentucky, struggled at times against South Florida before putting the Bulls away with a fourth-quarter scoring barrage, and then rolled over Wisconsin in a rare nonconference game in Big Ten country.

Georgia is the first of five SEC games the Crimson Tide will face against teams currently ranked in the Coaches Poll, joining No. 11 Missouri at home and No. 6 Tennessee, No. 13 LSU and No. 18 Oklahoma on the road.

‘This is a new team, this is a new season, and that’s why I always make sure we’re emphasizing that this is the 2024 Alabama Crimson Tide football team,’ DeBoer said. ‘But there’s certainly learning moments that you have when you’ve been through the experiences.’

DeBoer can look at his predecessor to see how a win Saturday could electrify his tenure. After winning seven games in his debut season, Saban sparked Alabama’s return to prominence in 2008 with a high-profile win at Georgia. The 41-30 victory, the Crimson Tide’s first under Saban against an elite SEC opponent, showcased a program quickly skyrocketing into national championship contention. They’d win the first of six titles with Saban the following season.

A win would do the same for DeBoer. But a loss would draw immediate and negative comparisons to Saban, who dominated the head-to-head competition against Smart and the Bulldogs.

At a time when new coaches at marquee programs have to strike fast or risk the consequences of an early failure — Florida’s Billy Napier is a prime example among active coaches — the result on Saturday promises to define DeBoer’s start with the Crimson Tide, for better or for worse.

‘It’s ‘Welcome to the SEC,’ right? But it’s going to happen to us, right?” said DeBoer. ‘There’s going to be a lot of great teams that we’re going to face.’

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Christine Sinclair, like Alex Morgan, to retire from pro soccer

Christine Sinclair, a longtime NWSL star with the Portland Thorns and the greatest player in the history of Canadian soccer, announced Friday she will retire at the conclusion of the 2024 season.

Portland (8-4-9) currently sits in seventh place in NWSL standings. The NWSL regular season ends Nov. 3 and playoffs begin Nov. 9.

Sinclair’s retirement announcement comes on the heels of the same news from American star Alex Morgan, who played her final NWSL game Sept. 8. But Sinclair’s announcement was less of a surprise than Morgan’s. The world’s all-time scoring leader, who turned 41 in June, retired from international play last October.

‘Soccer has been my passion since I was 4 years old and it has taken me on a journey I could have never imagined,’ Sinclair wrote in her announcement released on social media. ‘… I still have the same passion as that young 4 year old growing up in Burnaby, BC, but as I hang up my playing boots, I vow to channel it in a new way.

‘To continue growing the game I love, while inspiring the next generation.’

Sinclair has been a fixture in the Portland soccer scene for more than two decades.

As an All-American at the University of Portland from 2001-04 she led the Pilots to two national titles (2002 and 2004), helping jumpstart the soccer craze throughout the Rose City.  When the NWSL launched in 2013 Sinclair was a natural fit for the Thorns. She told the league she was only interested in playing in Portland and got her wish; last season she was one of five NWSL “originals” who had been with just one team for the league’s entire 11-year history. 

One of the most feared strikers in the history of the game, Sinclair is the all-time leading goal-scorer in international soccer, men’s and women’s, with 190 goals in 331 appearances. (For comparison’s sake, Cristiano Ronaldo has 132 goals in 214 matches for Portugal.) In the NWSL, Sinclair has scored 79 career goals — 64 in the regular season —across 12 seasons. That’s third-most all time in NWSL history, behind Sam Kerr (77) and Lynn Williams (67).

Sinclair’s international highlight came in summer 2021, when she led Canada to the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. That accomplishment drew praise from soccer greats across the globe, a testament to the respect Sinclair has garnered over a star-studded career. She also helped Canada to bronze medal wins at the 2012 Olympics and 2016 Rio Games. In the NWSL, Sinclair has helped the Thorns to three championships in 2013, 2017 and 2022. 

Though her resume is longer and more impressive than most, Sinclair and Canada never earned significant success at the World Cup, though she is one of only five players to appear in six Women’s World Cups, and one of just three to score in five.  

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Heritage flips script on fired director of Project 2025 after ‘disconcerting’ revelations surface

The former director of Project 2025 did not step down in July, as was initially reported, but was fired due to ‘dismissive and unprofessional’ workplace behavior, the conservative think tank revealed Friday. The man at the center of the controversy says he’s being made a ‘scapegoat.’

Project 2025 is only the latest iteration of a longstanding Heritage Foundation initiative to establish a conservative governing blueprint. But incessant attacks by Democrats focusing on Project 2025 have led to intense scrutiny and frequent misrepresentations of the plan’s details.

Still, Paul Dans’ departure from the institution had little to do with that firestorm, according to Heritage.

‘Paul Dans was terminated from the Heritage Foundation due to a number of related issues, including his dismissive and unprofessional approach to interacting with a number of his colleagues,’ Kelly Adams, director of people operations at Heritage, told Fox News Digital. 

‘After some specific disconcerting interactions were brought to the attention of senior management, an internal review was conducted, and a decision was made to separate Mr. Dans’ employment as amicably as possible.’

At the time, Dans was said to be stepping down as the Project 2025 head.

But Heritage soon reportedly received multiple communications from Dans that accused the think tank of terminating him on false grounds.

‘I was made a scapegoat by The Heritage Foundation to cover up for their own mishandling of the public relations fiasco over Project 2025,’ Dans told Real Clear Politics. ‘It appears that the Heritage Foundation continues to trash my good name and professional reputation for their benefit.’

The Heritage Foundation defended its decision and said it was Dans’ workplace behavior that led to his firing.

‘The Heritage Foundation deeply values all of our staff and is committed in both practice and principle to maintaining a positive work environment where abusive or demeaning behavior is not welcome,’ Adams said.

‘We are deeply disappointed that Mr. Dans is using the liberal media to attack Heritage’s decision to terminate him, thereby making the rationale behind his dismissal public. We will not allow him to falsely attack Heritage and its people, without defending the difficult decision to terminate Paul’s employment based on facts. We will continue to defend our staff and our institution from false narratives and disgruntled former employees.’

New reports have surfaced detailing Dans’ behavior leading up to the termination, specifically allegations about his conduct at the Republican National Convention in July, when he reportedly cursed at colleagues while critiquing their performance and was issued a warning by Heritage President Kevin Roberts. 

‘He was being so demeaning,’ a source told Real Clear Politics. ‘It was constant, and he refused to listen.’ 

After he was fired, Dans, through his legal counsel, reportedly sought $3.1 million from Heritage and wanted the funds delivered in two days, according to documents reviewed by RCP. Heritage rejected the request.

Soon after he was fired, Dans became a vocal critic of the Trump campaign, telling The New York Times in September the former president should replace two of his senior advisers, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita. Dans claimed their mismanagement had prevented Trump from surging ahead of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump has repeatedly denied any involvement in Project 2025’s formation, saying, ‘I disagree with some of the things they’re saying, and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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Zelenskyy downplays comment that Trump doesn’t know how to end Russia’s war with Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is downplaying past disagreements with former President Donald Trump following a meeting in New York City.

Zelenskyy visited Trump Tower on Friday to meet with the Republican presidential nominee, then sat down with Fox News’ Griff Jenkins to discuss what seems to have been a good-spirited conversation.

‘We understand that even in any kind of future negotiations, Ukraine has to be strong. That’s what it’s about,’ Zelenskyy told Jenkins when asked why he met with Trump. ‘We spoke with Biden, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump and the Congress of the United States.’

Jenkins pressed Zelenskyy about his comments that appeared in a New Yorker article earlier this week — in which he was quoted saying that he believes Trump ‘doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how’ — and whether Trump had said anything to change Zelenskyy’s mind.

‘No, I said that I think that we understand much more better than everybody, really, including Donald Trump, what’s going on in Ukraine and how to stop him. It’s difficult to understand,’ Zelenskyy responded.

The Ukrainian president said his country is now a completely different nation from the one that was first invaded in 2022.

‘Ukraine, during the war in Ukraine before the full-scale invasion — two different countries. So without this experience, you can’t really understand how to stop [Russian President Vladimir Putin],’ Zelenskyy continued. ‘And that’s what I wanted to share to president . . . and the price of this tragedy of bloody invasion of Putin.’

At one point during their meeting, Trump told the press that he had a ‘good relationship’ with both Zelenskyy and Putin. Zelenskyy then interjected to say he hopes the U.S. has a better relationship with Ukraine than Russia.

Jenkins asked the Ukrainian president whether Trump’s comment about maintaining a good relationship with Putin concerned him.

Zelenskyy said he was not necessarily concerned, acknowledging that ‘Trump has relations and had relations when he was the president, during his term’ and maintains ‘relations with a lot of countries and a lot of UN leaders.’

During the exclusive interview, Zelenskyy lamented the lack of response Putin received from the rest of the world when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in 2014 with the taking of Crimea.

‘Nobody kicked him, and that meant he understood that he can occupy it and go further. He can occupy new territories of Ukraine,’ Zelenskyy said. ‘He began to prepare to do this — his plan — and he did it.’

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