Party pooper! No free beer for England fans in Kosovo

The mayor of Pristina is promising England fans and players a warm welcome for their European Championship qualifier against Kosovo, but there's no free beer.

England play Sunday in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, after their Euro 2020 matches against Bulgaria and Montenegro were marred by racist abuse directed at their players.

Pristina Mayor Shpend Ahmeti told the Associated Press on Thursday that big celebrations were planned to welcome England players and fans to the city.

Big posters showing England players have been put up around downtown Pristina and other cities, with slogans like "Miresevjen broo [Welcome brother]."

Ahmeti said waiters at coffee bars will wear T-shirts with words of welcome for visiting fans, and an organised celebration will be held at the stadium ahead of the match.

However, one idea to hold an event offering free beer to England fans was turned down, said Ahmeti, with advice coming from the British embassy in Pristina.

Hundreds of England fans -- possibly more -- are expected to watch the game at the 13,000-seat Fadil Vokrri stadium in Pristina.

Kosovo, which was accepted as a member of UEFA and FIFA in 2016, are third in Group A and play at second-place Czech Republic on Thursday.

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo scored another hat- rick, moving closer to 100 international goals, as he led the European champions to a 6-0 drubbing over Lithuania in their Euro 2020 qualifier on Thursday.

Ronaldo, whose hat-trick was the 55th of his career and his ninth for Portugal, has 98 goals and would become only the second player to score a century for his country after Iran's Ali Daei.

Pizzi, Goncalo Paciencia and Bernardo Silva shared the other goals in the one-sided Group B match.

The defending champions, however, were left waiting to confirm their place at next year's finals after Serbia beat Luxemburg 3-2. Portugal are second with 14 points, one ahead of Serbia, and will qualify if they win in Luxemburg on Sunday. Leaders Ukraine have already qualified.

CHAMPIONS GATE, Florida -- United States manager Gregg Berhalter said there is no fear of failure in his side as it prepares for a must-win CONCACAF Nations League match against Canada on Friday.

The U.S. currently sits in second place in its three-team group, and must win against Canada and Cuba, while making up a three-goal differential in order to progress to the semifinal round next summer.

When asked if he thinks there is a fear of failure about the team, Berhalter said: "I don't, not at all. I think it's a group that is developing. I think it's a resilient group. I think it's a brave group. From day one, the players have been focused on doing every single thing we've asked of them. For me that mindset is amazing."

Berhalter added that his team is embracing the pressure it is under, especially in the wake of the 2-0 loss to Canada last month.

"When you look at the history of U.S. Soccer, we've been in games like this before," he said. "In the pre-Hex groups we've been in must-win situations. In the Hex group we've been in must-win situations. And this is what builds the team. This is what makes the team strong. We absolutely need events like this to help the team grow."

Berhalter was critical of his side following the Canada loss, stating that his team lacked intensity and competitiveness. He noted that seven of the players from that night were playing their first away match in CONCACAF and that it was new for the staff as well, though Berhalter and assistant Josh Wolff did have plenty such experiences as a player. But Berhalter feels his team has taken those criticisms to heart and responded well.

"I think that the message was received loud and clear from our end in terms of understanding what those games are like, and I think we're better prepared now," he said. "You see it right off the bat in this training camp that the guys, the intensity level has increased every day leading up to today."

The U.S. will have to prevail without the services of midfielders Christian Pulisic and Michael Bradley, who are out with hip and ankle injuries, respectively. Pulisic is impossible to replace given his ability in one-on-one situations.

"We'll have to compensate with other types of skills," said Berhalter. "But what we do have is speed, what we do have is physicality, and we'll want to take advantage of that. I think that will be a key component to the game."

Berhalter added he and his staff have been working with the attacking midfielders and wingers to take better advantage of the spaces that Canada left open last month.

"[It's been] having them focused on spaces we need to exploit, being very aggressive in and around the penalty box," said Berhalter about his attackers. "One thing we weren't happy with the game in Canada was our lack of ability to get behind their back line and our lack of ability in the final third to deliver accurate crosses. We got into some good positions and we didn't take advantage of that. So we focused on that this week, and it's been looking pretty good."

Berhalter has come under criticism for his team's adherence to playing out of the back, but he disputed that this was a problem against Canada, despite a giveaway from Tim Ream leading to Canada's opening goal. He didn't sound like a manager who plans on changing his approach.

"I think if we want to get to a certain point, we can't be afraid to try," he said about playing out of the back. "We can't be afraid to fail. There will be failures."

He added, "What I'd say is we have to be smart. If we think we're under pressure we should clear the ball. What we're trying to do is draw the opponent out to hurt them behind the back line. We're doing this to create goal-scoring opportunities. That's what we're focused on."

Sam Curran seems all but certain to play as England's third seamer in next week's first Test against New Zealand, after being preferred to Chris Woakes in the England side to play New Zealand A in Whangerai.

With the England management having made clear that the side named here will, fitness permitting, play in the first Test next week, it means Curran can expect to play at Mount Maunganui, on November 21.

Woakes' overseas record will have done him few favours. He averages 61.77 in his 12 Tests away from home when using the Kookaburra or SG ball (he averages 23.45 in home Tests using a Duke's ball) and finished wicketless in the tour match against a New Zealand XI earlier in the week.

Curran's record is no better - he averages 105.50 with the ball in his four Tests away from home - but he is, aged 21, nine years younger than Woakes and offers some variation from the rest of the attack with his left-arm angle.

While neither man gained much movement with the Kookaburra ball in that first warm-up game, Curran did take one wicket - that of Jakob Bhula - when the batsman misjudged the line; a result, perhaps, of that variation.

It would be premature to write off Woakes, but the decision does raise questions about his future at Test level. England hope to have Mark Wood and James Anderson back by the time they go to South Africa in December, and there are unlikely to be many opportunities for seamers of Woakes' style in Sri Lanka in April. He remains a potent force in England but as England start to look to the future, it is possible he may struggle to win a recall.

The rest of the England side for the three-day match in Whangerai is as expected. Dom Sibley opens alongside Rory Burns, with Joe Denly moved to No. 3 and Joe Root to No. 4. Ollie Pope will bat at No. 6 in between Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler. Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad are expected to take the new ball, with Jack Leach playing as the only spinner.

England XI 1 Rory Burns, 2 Dom Sibley, 3 Joe Denly, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Ollie Pope, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Sam Curran, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 Jack Leach.

Former NFL head coach Hue Jackson will lead the drills during quarterback Colin Kaepernick's scheduled workout in Atlanta on Saturday, and former NFL head coach Joe Philbin will be in attendance to assist, the league announced Thursday.

The league said 11 teams have committed to attend: the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Giants, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins.

The league said it expected additional teams to commit.

Jackson told ESPN's Josina Anderson that he "just found out about it" on Thursday.

"The NFL asked me to do it. I'm excited to about doing it for Colin and the league. As far as I know right now, Colin is still attending," he said.

The league reiterated that it would send video of the workout and an interview with Kaepernick to all 32 teams.

Kaepernick, 32, has been out of football since 2016, the year he began protesting police brutality and racial injustice by kneeling during the pregame national anthem.

The NFL will not provide Kaepernick's representatives with a list of executives and coaches who will attend the quarterback's workout Saturday, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday.

Sources earlier Wednesday told ESPN that the NFL had agreed to give the Kaepernick camp a list of attendees. However, an NFL source later told ESPN that the league never promised to provide that list.

The NFL informed its clubs Tuesday that the private workout would be held for Kaepernick on Saturday in Atlanta. Sources previously told ESPN that the league office said none of the 32 teams had been made aware of the workout before Tuesday's memo was sent. When Kaepernick's representatives asked whether a team or teams had asked for the workout, the NFL league office said, "We can't tell you that," the reps explained.

Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid, who was the first player to join Kaepernick in taking a knee during the anthem while both were with the San Francisco 49ers, said Wednesday that "it feels disingenuous" that the NFL would schedule a workout for the quarterback on Saturday.

"I'll believe it when I see it," Reid said Wednesday. "At this point, it feels like a PR stunt."

NFL workouts typically take place on Tuesdays because head coaches and general managers can attend more easily. On Saturday, almost half of the NFL teams will be traveling to games, and most of the rest of the coaches and players will be heading to their team hotels to prepare for games the next day.

Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins said Thursday he also was skeptical.

"I really hope it's a serious shot for him to get back in the league," Jenkins said. "I think he deserves to be in the league. For the last three years, he has unjustly not had a job. But based on all of the things that have led us to this point, it leaves me a little skeptical of the motivations behind it. But I think like anybody, we're just all waiting to see."

ESPN's Tim McManus contributed to this report.

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Browns waived Antonio Callaway on Thursday, with a source telling ESPN's Jeremy Fowler that the team was fed up with a series of off-the-field problems for the second-year wide receiver.

Callaway was benched for Sunday's win against the Bills after showing up late to a game. A source told Fowler that Callaway was late again this week.

In addition, the Browns were bracing for another potential drug-related suspension for Callaway, a source told Fowler. He was suspended for the first four games of this season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, and a second suspension would result in a 10-game ban.

When asked why the team waived him, a source told ESPN's Josina Anderson that Callaway had "too many issues."

Callaway, a fourth-round pick out of Florida in 2018, was inactive for the Bills game after being late. His replacement in the lineup, wide receiver Rashard Higgins, wound up catching the game-winning touchdown.

But Callaway's troubles ranged far before that.

He tested positive for marijuana at the 2018 NFL scouting combine, and was cited for possession of marijuana while driving with a suspended license last August. Police also found bullets and a gun part while searching his vehicle. The possession charge was dropped at a hearing on Jan. 25, and Callaway pleaded guilty to operating without a valid license and speeding.

While at Florida, Callaway was suspended for the entire 2017 season for allegedly using stolen credit card information to fund bookstore accounts. He was also cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession and possession of drug equipment during a traffic stop by Gainesville police in May 2017.

The Browns drafted Callaway anyway, then backed him after the four-game suspension was announced, with general manager John Dorsey declaring that the franchise would stand by him as long as he was "committed to taking advantage of the resources made available to him by our club and the league to help him become the best version of himself as a person first and foremost."

Yet earlier this week after Callaway was late, Kitchens admitted he didn't know if the second-year player "had gotten the message or not."

The Browns, who play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night, used Callaway's roster spot to activate rookie offensive lineman Drew Forbes, who had been on injured reserve.

Callaway had only eight catches for 89 yards this season.

Longtime listeners of the Fantasy Focus 06010 podcast are aware that my wife likes to call at the most inopportune time. She constantly calls when I am on the air, not able to (or at least refusing to) remember my schedule. In fairness to her, she has a lot going on with our five kids, and my schedule is a little all over the place. But still she calls. On air, on set, in a meeting, she calls me all day, every day.

My wife doesn't keep anything in. If she thinks it, she expresses it. She will wake me up in the middle of the night on a Tuesday to ask what I want for dinner on Friday because she suddenly thought of it. It's annoying and adorable and it's just how she is.

But I always answer when she calls, wherever I am, whatever I am doing, because you never know if it's an emergency.

It never is.

Until last Monday, when it was.

My wife was in New Orleans for the weekend, as our second-oldest goes to Tulane and it was parents weekend. And I'm on set of The Fantasy Show, doing our Week 9 recaps. And my phone rings. Now, it's on silent, and during the show we are often all over the studio, doing sketches, interacting with puppets, lots going on. But the phone is usually near me. And in between segments, I notice she's calling.

"Hey, I'm on set. Is everything OK?"

"No! There's an emergency at school. I need you to get there, I'm trying to get an earlier flight out butIjustspoketothenurse ..." She's talking a million miles a minute when suddenly the other line rings. It's my daughters' school. I have twin daughters who are in second grade, and, obviously, they attend the same school. "Beth, it's the school. Let me call you right back."

I am standing on set. I have a microphone on, I'm surrounded by four cameras and I hear Javi the director in my ear. Daniel Dopp, producers, crew members and a guy in a bear costume are staring at me as I answer the phone.

"Mr. Berry, it's Kate, the school nurse, and we have an emergency."

And my heart stops in a way it never has before.

These days, an emergency at school can mean many things and none of them good.

And I'm helpless to do anything, 30 minutes away, wearing makeup as a dozen people patiently wait for me so they can get back to doing their jobs.

As Kate the Nurse starts to tell me what's going on, I hear a familiar sound. My daughter screaming and crying in the background. She is in pain like I have never heard before, yelling for me and her mom, but morbid as it is to admit this, I'm relieved to hear those sounds. My first thought is, "OK, whatever it is, at least she's alive."

Kate explains that my daughter fell off the monkey bars at school and she has broken her arm in multiple places. They have called an ambulance. I tell them I know my daughter and that in addition to being in pain, I am sure she is scared. Who is going to ride in the ambulance with her? They tell me they're trying to find someone. I am adamant that someone she knows rides with her.

The school offers to have me come and pick her up or ride with her, but I am about a half-hour away. Finally, they tell me her teacher, bless her, will ride with her. My daughter loves her teacher, so, "Great," I say. Please get her in the ambulance and to the emergency room as soon as possible. I'll meet them at the hospital.

I look around at my co-workers, who are all staring at me and have heard only half of this conversation -- the parts about an ambulance and the emergency room. But I have no time to explain because my wife is on the other line. Our 15-year-old, who is a freshman in high school, was on the other line with Beth. He was very worried. He can't drive yet, and like many teenage boys is often annoyed with his little sisters, but none of that matters now. He wanted to leave his school and take a ride-sharing service to his sisters' school, or have the ambulance come pick him up so he could ride with her. I was really touched by that. Very sweet.

But there is no time. I told them she was in a lot of pain and it was most important to get her help quickly. So I finally hang up and look at the crew. "She fell off the monkey bars at school and broke her arm. They say it looks really bad. I'm sorry, but I have to leave right now." My producers don't hesitate. "Go. Don't worry. We will figure something out." I turn to Daniel. "Will you host?" Daniel says of course, whatever is needed. I thank them all and run out of the taping. And that's why, if you watched last week's Monday and Tuesday episodes of The Fantasy Show, you saw a lot of Daniel and no sign of me.

Driving to the emergency room at Yale New Haven Children's Hospital, I quickly talk again to my wife, who is now heading to the airport to try to get on the first flight she can back. She'll do her best, but getting from New Orleans to Hartford, Connecticut, is not easy and certainly not direct. She hangs up to call the airline as I'm left with a new realization.

I'm on my own here. Even if she can get an earlier flight, she's out of pocket for many hours. I'm going to have to make all the decisions. Beth and I generally decide things about the kids together, but as anyone who knows both of us will tell you, I'm an idiot. Certainly compared to her. I feel naked and nervous and completely unprepared to handle the first major emergency with one of my kids, by myself.

I can't dwell on that because I'm now at the ER, and as hospital staff are bringing me back to my daughter's room, I hear her screaming all the way down the hall. She is in incredible pain, and as I get into the room, I quickly understand why.

Both of her arms are broken.

Her forearms are bent in ways that they shouldn't be.

She looks at me, eyes wide, tears in them but trying to force a brave smile. "Daddy, I want to hug you but my arms are broken."

And my heart just snaps in two.

Too many doctors and nurses to count are all around, sticking and poking and hooking her up to everything under the sun and getting her some pain medication while I speak to her teacher about exactly what happened at school, and a doctor who explains that each of your forearms has two bones, the radius and the ulna. And my daughter has broken both of them.

In each arm.

She's likely going to need surgery, that night. They'll know more after the orthopedic surgeon looks at her X-rays. OK, I say, pulling the doctor away quietly. I get that this is bad and fairly rare to break both arms, especially all four bones. But she'll eventually be OK, right? No long-term damage?

Too soon to tell, he says.

Too soon to tell.

And I just sit there with that.

My thoughts are interrupted by her teacher and the school's principal, who had also come in the ambulance with my daughter. Making sure there was nothing else we needed, they were heading back to school. I thank them both profusely as I turn back to my daughter. The meds had kicked in by this point, so while still very uncomfortable, she is no longer in immense pain.

The doctors and nurses leave, telling us they will come grab us when it's time for X-rays. And then a room that was full of insane commotion just 30 seconds earlier is now still and quiet. Just me, my daughter and her bent arms, lying listlessly on the bed.

And I don't know how to make this better. That's Daddy's job, right? "Everything's going to be all right, Daddy's here, I'll fix this, I'll take care of it, don't worry. Daddy's here." That's the job and I say all of these things and more. But inside I have no idea how to make this better, how to fix this. I feel as helpless as I ever have.

She's the rule follower of my twins, and she keeps apologizing. I keep assuring her that this isn't her fault, it's an accident and that Mommy and Daddy aren't mad. That now we are in the hospital and they have doctors here and everything is going to be all right, even if I don't fully trust that myself.

I don't know what to do, but whatever it is, I decide, we are going to do it together. It's a busy day (and eventually night) at the ER, so I am told to get comfortable. We are going to be here awhile. We decide to watch "Frozen," her favorite movie. It's been awhile since we've watched it, but it's familiar and comforting, and right now, I'm for all the comfort she can get.

We watch the movie together, me sitting as close as I can to her bed as she holds my hand with two little fingers, the only parts of her arm that can move at the moment. And as the movie starts, she looks at me. "I'm glad you're here, Daddy."

"I am too, love bug. I am too."

After the movie, the X-rays, more tests, doctors and pain meds. She is hungry (they won't let her eat) but feeling calmer. We talk about it, and I ask if she's up for seeing some folks, because my phone has been blowing up with concerned family, friends and co-workers. She video chats with her mom (now in a layover in Charlotte, North Carolina), her aunt, grandmother, brothers and a few friends at school. Her best friend's mom texts and asks if she can bring my daughter's friend by to visit. This sparks a smile and a "please, please, please" from my daughter, so with the blessing of the doctor, I say come on down. She comes with gifts, and I see the smile I love finally start to peek out.

The orthopedist comes in. They need to put her under and get to work. And it goes ... well. Thank goodness. More tests, more X-rays, but the orthopedic surgeon tells me my daughter did great, and the doctor expects a full recovery, with no long-term, lasting effects. I sign all the discharge papers. My daughter finally gets to eat something and chooses a multicolored ice pop. We leave the ER almost 12 hours after I got there, a little after 2 a.m.

And now, we are adjusting to this temporary yet life-altering new reality. She has a full cast on each arm from wrist to shoulder. She can't use her arms at all. She can't feed herself, go to the bathroom or even scratch her nose. She needs someone to do all of that for her. She needs pain medication every three hours, so we are waking up in the middle of the night to give her medicine. It's why I was mostly absent last week, including from this column. Thank you to my editors and to Field, Tristan and Matt for filling in last week.

We've met with the school about accommodations -- my daughter is getting some home help, and the hope is that she can return to school on a partial basis with an aide in a few weeks. Poor thing weighs like 45 pounds soaking wet, so her arms feel like they weigh more than she does, so she might need a wheelchair at school as well. Lots of adjustments for her and for us. It's going to be a long road back.

But here's the thing. Beth and I feel incredibly lucky.

She fell almost 7 feet off a jungle gym. She could have landed on her head, neck ... things could have been much, much worse than four broken bones. As I walked the hall of the children's ER that night, I saw much worse than what my daughter was going through, and I know that happens every day, to way too many children. Way too many kids, all over the world, suffer significantly more than my daughter currently does.

There are a lot of clichés in this lesson -- taking time to smell the roses and not taking things for granted and how you never know when life will change. But clichés are clichés because they are universally true and repeated until all the originality has been squeezed out of them.

I will tell you: That Monday morning I was annoyed at how some of my fantasy teams had performed the day before, and about an issue at work that continues to bug the hell out of me, and it had been a long few days of just me and the kids with Beth in New Orleans. And the minute I got that call, I forgot all about all of it. None of it really matters. And all my worries about handling all this by myself? Gone.

And this is the part where I usually try to tie my intro to fantasy football, and sometimes it's more of a stretch than others. But I just don't see one this time, and to be honest, I shared this with you all because writing is cathartic, it helps me deal with things, and to put them in perspective. Like, not sweating the small stuff. You know. Small stuff like the fact that this story has nothing to do with fantasy football. Do you care? Because I don't. Let's get to it.

For those joining us in progress ... this is not a start/sit column but merely about who I think will exceed or fall short of projections. Always check my ranks Sunday morning for the most up-to-date thoughts on where players stack up. Programming note: This week, Fantasy Football Now will be on ESPN2 from 10 a.m. ET to 11:30 and then will switch to ESPNEWS from 11:30 to 1 p.m. Thanks as always to "Thirsty" Kyle Soppe of the Fantasy Focus 06010 podcast and The Stat-a-Pillar Damian Dabrowski of The Fantasy Show for their help at various points in this column. Unless otherwise noted, all stats are for the past four weeks (Weeks 7-10). Here we go.

Quarterbacks I love in Week 11

Jameis Winston, Bucs (vs. Saints): Quietly averaging 348.5 passing yards over his past four games, we should get Good Jameis this week in a potential shootout against a Saints secondary that is likely without standout corner Marshon Lattimore (hamstring). Given the success teams have throwing the ball against Tampa Bay (Bucs are 28th against the pass), the Saints will put up points, and I expect Winston to keep the Bucs in it with his arm in a game Caesars has as the third-highest over/under on the board this week.

Tom Brady, Patriots (at Eagles): He's had over 255 passing yards the week following a bye in each of the past six seasons and comes off his rest week having had more time to practice with Mohamed Sanu to face an Eagles defense that has given up at least 17 points to opposing quarterbacks in six different games this year. With two weeks to prepare for the NFL's eighth-worst red zone defense, I like Brady's chances at a top-seven finish this week.

Josh Allen, Bills (at Dolphins): With at least 21 fantasy points in all three career games against the Fins, Allen should continue his hot streak against a hard-playing but still undermanned Miami defense that is bottom five in the NFL in yards per pass attempt, touchdown percentage allowed, pressure rate and more. With three rushing scores in his past two games, there's a good floor here for Allen and a pretty high ceiling as well.

Others receiving votes: Philip Rivers is coming off a mini-bye after the Chargers played Week 10's Thursday game and are being featured in Week 11's Mexico City Monday Night Football game, so that helps mitigate a bit of the travel concerns. Rivers averaged 23.7 points per game against the Chiefs last year and should have to throw to keep up with Patrick Mahomes. K.C. has allowed over 17.5 points seven different times this season (and over 21 points five times). ... The week's obvious top streaming option is Derek Carr against a Cincy team that has allowed each of the past five quarterbacks it has faced to score at least 21 fantasy points and coughs up a league-high 7.2 yards per catch after the reception. ... Two first names, always a crowd-pleaser. As is a matchup with the Falcons' porous defense (last week notwithstanding). All of which means Kyle Allen is a very "QB2 with upside" this week against an Atlanta team that has allowed at least two touchdown passes in six of its past seven games and that hasn't had an interception since Week 2.

Quarterbacks I hate in Week 11

Carson Wentz, Eagles (vs. Patriots): Been a tough year for Carson Wentz. The eighth QB off the board in most ESPN drafts this year, Wentz has yet to finish better than QB8 a single time this season and has more finishes outside the top 15 at the position than he does in the top 10. Lamar Jackson, who has a decidedly different skill set, is the only QB to score more than 12 fantasy points against the Patriots. Vegas projects 20-22 points for Philly this week, and for his career, Wentz averages just 14.99 FPPG when the Eagles are held under 25 points.

Kyler Murray, Cardinals (at 49ers): Yes, he had a nice game two weeks ago against these same 49ers. But don't forget that 55.7% of his points in that game came on one completion (the 88-yard TD to Andy Isabella). Yes, all completions count, but we are in the business of preparing for what is most likely to happen, and banking on an 88-yard score from a player who had eight receiving yards on the season prior seems ... optimistic. With five different games this year without a single TD pass, Murray is merely a boom/bust option on the road against one of the best defenses in the NFL.

Sam Darnold, Jets (at Redskins): I get it, I swear. Dude put up 21.7 FP last week and now he gets the Deadskins. But look closer. As the sixth-best passing defense, Washington allows the seventh-lowest deep completion percentage this year. It's partially because it is so easy to run on the Skins, and teams are rarely down to them, so you just don't need to pass on Washington. With one of the lowest under/overs on the slate and featuring two of the slowest offenses in the league, there are better Week 11 streamers.

Running backs I love in Week 11

Josh Jacobs, Raiders (vs, Bengals): A popular fade for many during draft season, my 2019 preseason Fantasy Ride or Die has been much more ride than die these days, with five rushing scores in his past five games. Vaulting into the top 10 of fantasy running backs in total points, Jacobs has six straight games with 17-plus touches. And I expect the heavy workload to continue as a double-digit home favorite against a Cincy squad allowing a league-high 173 rush yards per game this season. He's a top-three play for me this week.

Melvin Gordon, Chargers (vs. Chiefs in Mexico City): Ohhh, that's right. That's what Melvin Gordon looks like. We said all along in the preseason we didn't expect Melvin Gordon back until Week 10, and while we got the reporting date wildly wrong, we were right on in terms of him being the guy you drafted. With 23 touches in each of the past two games, expect a heavy dose of him as the Bolts try to slow down K.C. Five teams this season have seen their running backs rush for at least 150 yards versus the Chiefs as KC allows the third-most yards per carry (5.14) and is bottom-six in terms of both yards before and after first contact.

Le'Veon Bell, Jets (at Redskins): As hinted at in the Sam Darnold section, the way to beat Washington is exploiting a run defense (I use the term "defense" loosely here) that allows the fifth-most rush yards per game (136) and the seventh-most RB PPG (27.5). Well, to be fair, there are many ways to beat Washington, but the run seems to be a popular one. Only Christian McCaffrey has a higher percentage of his team's touches than Bell, so a heavy workload is coming against a squad that also allows a 78.8% completion rate on passes shorter than 15 yards.

Others receiving votes: Since Week 8, Devin Singletary has outsnapped Gore 122-57 and is averaging 6.4 YPC this season. A true three-down back (16 targets in his past three games), the only concern is that they seem to use Gore (and QB Josh Allen) at the goal line more than you'd like. And there's always a chance they give Gore a chance to run one in against his former team. Still, Singletary is good enough to be a very viable RB2 against Miami. ... Eleven different RBs have scored 10-plus points vs. Carolina this season as the Panthers have allowed a league-high 17 rushing TDs (five more than the next-closest team). And with Devonta Freeman unlikely to play, this sets up as a week to flex Brian Hill in a game with an over/under of 49.5. ... Always dangerous picking a Patriots running back, but this smells like a James White game to me against an Eagles defense that creates pressure at the fifth-highest rate. Expect lots of dump-offs to White, who quietly trails only Austin Ekeler and Christian McCaffrey in running back receptions. ... Speaking of PPR flex types, my "bold prediction" last week on Fantasy Football Now was that J.D. McKissic would finish as a top-20 RB in PPR. He finished as RB19. With Ty Johnson still banged up as of this writing, you could do worse than McKissic as a desperation flex this week against a Cowboys team that has allowed the third-most RB receptions per game this season.

Running backs I hate in Week 11

Todd Gurley II, Rams (vs. Bears): Free Todd Gurley? Gurley has not caught a pass in consecutive games and has failed to catch multiple passes in five of his eight games this season. He has yet to have more than 18 carries in a game this season, and 45% of his points have come on plays in which he has scored, making him a (checks notes) touchdown-dependent RB2. Um, yeah. Free Todd Gurley! Sadly, I don't think it happens this week against a Bears team that is fourth in yards-per-carry-against. Add to that a struggling offensive line that just lost its starting center for the year and will be without their right tackle this week. You likely don't have better options, but I'm not optimistic about a big game unless he falls into the end zone.

David Montgomery, Bears (at Rams): Other side of the ball in that same game, Rams are the No. 1 run defense in the NFL over the past four weeks and are second best in yards-per-carry-against. Montgomery is another guy who is touchdown-dependent for fantasy value: If you remove a fluky 55-yard-run against the Chargers in Week 8, he is averaging 3.21 yards on his other 128 carries this season.

Ronald Jones II, Bucs (vs. Saints): Since Week 4, the Saints have allowed 3.5 yards per carry (third best) and 69 rush yards per game (fewest in the NFL). They are the third-best run defense in the NFL over the past four weeks, and hey, I know Bruce Arians said he wasn't going to hold Jones' fumble against him this week, which is promising, but still, it's a tough matchup. Jones' floor is helped if he continues his passing-down work, but we saw that in only one game and that game was against Arizona. Hard to declare it's definitely a thing now, and if he doesn't get the passing-down work, this is a tough sell as anything other than a cross-your-fingers flex this week.

Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, Broncos (at Vikings): The only teams that have rushed for even 110 yards vs. Minnesota this season had an elite QB or deep threats to keep the Vikes defense downfield (Packers and Chiefs, in a game where Patrick Mahomes was injured but Tyreek Hill had returned). Can't imagine Brandon Allen coming into Minnesota and moving the ball at all in this one, and falling behind quickly does not help this split job on a team that is unlikely to have a lot of possessions and isn't likely to be in scoring position often. As double-digit underdogs on the road in a game with an over/under of 40, they are merely desperation flex plays at best.

Pass-catchers I love in Week 11

Keenan Allen, Chargers (vs. Chiefs in Mexico City): How bad has it been for Allen? Been so brutal I can put him on the "love" list and it doesn't seem obvious, as he is just WR56 since Week 4, behind guys like Danny Amendola and Randall Cobb. Brutal, but this is his week in a shootout against a Chiefs team that allows to the slot the 10th-highest completion percentage, the fifth-highest touchdown percentage and the third-highest passer rating.

DJ Moore, Panthers (vs. Falcons): With double-digit targets in two straight and in three of the past four, and at least eight targets in five straight, Moore should stay busy on Sunday against a Falcons team that is bottom three in the NFL in yards per completion, catch rate allowed, touchdown rate and passer rating allowed. Over 15 fantasy points in four of his past five games, I have Moore as a top-12 play this week.

Michael Gallup, Cowboys (at Lions): With Darius Slay expected to shadow Amari Cooper, I expect Dak to take at least a few deep shots to Gallup here, as he's had multiple deep targets in four of his past five games. That's significant because since Week 5, the Lions have coughed up the second-highest deep completion percentage and the highest deep-touchdown pass percentage in the league. Gallup's 102.1 air yards per game (12th most in the NFL) are not a fluke, and against the Lions' bottom-two pass defense, I expect him to get looks early and often. I have Gallup as a top-20 play this week and like his chances to get into the end zone for the third straight game.

Jamison Crowder, Jets (at Redskins): Revenge game! Or ... just another really good matchup for a slot receiver against a Washington squad that allows a league-high 78.9% completion rate to slot receivers and gives up touchdowns to the slot at the ninth-highest rate. Crowder has scored in two straight, with a strong chance to make it three in a row on Sunday in front of a bunch of Jets fans at FedEx Field.

Darren Waller, Raiders (vs. Bengals): Been a tough few weeks for Waller the Baller, but that turns around this Sunday at the Black Hole. Cincy has been pummeled for a league-high 7.2 yards per catch after the reception this season and allows opponents to complete 73.1% of their TE targets. Still getting a 24% target share (fourth highest at the position), Waller the Baller gets back on track this week against the NFL's 32nd-ranked scoring defense the past four weeks.

Others receiving votes: For all that has gone wrong this year for the Jets, they have a great run defense. Which is why teams try to exploit their bottom-10 pass defense. Definite risk here, especially with unproven rookie Dwayne Haskins under center, but I like Terry McScorin's chances (come on, that's better than "F1" for a nickname) to get into the end zone, or at least have a top-30-ish day. ... The Texans cough up over 295 passing yards per game on the season (fourth most) and there's not a QB in the NFL hotter than Lamar Jackson. Gimme some Marquise Brown on Sunday. ... Don't look now, but since the Bills' bye week, Cole Beasley is the 29th-best WR in fantasy. You could do a lot worse for a WR3 this week than Beasley against Miami. ... Since Week 5, the fifth-best tight end in fantasy has been Darren Fells. He's touchdown-dependent, but most tight ends are. Off the bye and potentially a nice target for Deshaun Watson given how tough Baltimore's secondary is, Fells is available in 75% of ESPN leagues. ... With George Kittle likely out, the tight end that gets the most snaps against Arizona this week is likely to be Ross Dwelley. As desperation dart throws go, the tight end against Arizona has paid off a lot more often than not this year.

Pass-catchers I hate in Week 11

Allen Robinson II, Bears (at Rams): With Jalen Ramsey likely shadowing him and Mitch Trubisky on the road trying to get him the ball against the Rams' No. 1 scoring defense, lowering expectations for A-Rob would be wise. In the past four weeks, the Rams are fourth best in opponent TD pass percentage, fifth in sack percentage and seventh in fewest yards per completion. A-Rob has played great this year, but in Week 11, he's outside my top 20.

Mike Williams, Chargers (vs. Chiefs in Mexico City): One of these weeks Williams will go off, so since I am putting him on the "Hate" list, I'm sure it'll be this week. As you've read, I like Rivers, Gordon and Allen in this game, so this is not anti-Charger. But 69.6% of Williams' points have come on the perimeter this season, and K.C. allows the fewest completions to perimeter WRs and the third-lowest completion percentage to perimeter wideouts, and has allowed just one perimeter WR to score in eight of the past nine games. Williams has just seven targets in the two games since Ken Whisenhunt was fired, by the way.

Zach Ertz, Eagles (at Patriots): Ertz had the big week against the Bears, but prior to that he had three straight games outside the top 15 of tight ends, and it gets no easier this week off the bye. The Patriots allow the third-fewest TE PPG this season. If you have Ertz, you likely don't have better options, but just realize the odds say he is unlikely to provide significant fantasy upside this week.

Stefon Diggs, Vikings (vs. Broncos): Man, I hope I am wrong here, because I have Diggs on a team that desperately needs him this week. But with Adam Thielen likely out, my expectation is Diggs sees a lot of Chris Harris. That's not ideal, considering he's got just four catches for 53 yards (and zero touchdowns) in his past two games combined. In a game where Minnesota is likely up and up big, running all over Denver, it's worth noting the Broncos held Davante Adams (9.6 points), Allen Robinson (8.1), T.Y. Hilton (7.4) and Keenan Allen (5.8) to single-digit fantasy points this year.

Matthew Berry -- The Talented Mr. Roto -- is now firmly anti-monkey bars.

Minnesota Twins pitcher Jake Odorizzi and Chicago White Sox slugger Jose Abreu are accepting their one-year, $17.8 million qualifying offers for 2020 and will forgo free agency, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Thursday.

Barring contract extensions, both will be free agents without restriction after the 2020 season.

The seven players who will reject qualifying offers, sources told Passan, and have draft-pick and perhaps international-bonus compensation tied to their free agency: Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, Stephen Strasburg, Zack Wheeler, Madison Bumgarner, Josh Donaldson and Marcell Ozuna.

Prior to this season, only three players had accepted qualifying offers -- out of 80 -- since it was implemented after the 2012 season.

Odorizzi, who turns 30 in March, is coming off the best season of his career, going 15-7 with a 3.51 ERA in 30 starts for the AL Central champion Twins. He set career highs for wins and strikeouts (178) as the Twins racked up 101 wins and claimed their first division title since 2010. The All-Star right-hander started Game 3 of the AL Division Series against the New York Yankees, allowing two runs over five innings.

He has made at least 28 starts in six straight years and has thrown at least 143 innings in all of those seasons, reaching 159 innings in five of the six. His velocity jumped on all pitches, while the Twins had him work more with four-seam fastballs up and cutters down or down/glove-side, making his fastball a true out pitch for him.

Odorizzi's acceptance of the qualifying offer was first reported by The Athletic

Abreu, who made his third All-Star team in six seasons with the White Sox, led the American League with 123 RBIs last season while batting .284 with 33 home runs. The first baseman/designated hitter, who will turn 33 in January, showed he can still catch up to fastballs as he ranked among the leaders in overall exit velocity, but struggled with breaking pitches and rarely walks.

The $17.8 million qualifying offer was determined by the average of the top 125 major league contracts in 2019. If a team makes an offer to a player who signs with another club before the June amateur draft, his former club would receive a draft pick as compensation at the end of the first round.

A free agent can be made a qualifying offer only if he has been with the same team continuously since Opening Day and has never received a qualifying offer before.

The qualifying offer price started at $13.3 million in 2012, rose to $14.1 million in 2013, $15.3 million in 2014, $15.8 million in 2015, $17.2 million in 2016 and $17.4 million in 2017.

ESPN's Keith Law contributed to this report.

Paul Coll creates history as first Kiwi in to play in the World Champs final since Ross Norman in 1986 and Tarek Momen into his second successive final
By ALEX WAN – Squash Mad Asian Bureau Editor

Paul Coll and Tarek Momen will contest in the 2019 PSA Men’s World Championships final tomorrow after they both won monumental battles at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar.

Paul Coll perhaps won the biggest match in his career when he twice came from behind to beat Marwan ElShorbagy in a dramatic semi-final. The win meant Paul will be the first Kiwi to feature in the men’s World Champs final in 33 years since Ross Norman in 1986.

It was Marwan, who took out his top seeded brother Mohamed the day before, who came out firing. Marwan was quick to race to a 7-1 lead with some quick winners. But Paul slowly got into the game and manages to close to 8-5, before a stroke decision off a player review pulled him further away to 9-5. It was at this juncture when he strung four consecutive points to tie 9-9. But Marwan was not to be denied the lead as he finished off with a pair of volley drops – one of each side.

Marwan came back in the second firing and in two short rallies, he went 2-0 up. But he was ran into by Paul in the last rally and a rather long injury break followed. When the game resumed with Marwan strapped on the right thigh, Paul got onto the score board, but just. From 2-1, Marwan raced into a big lead 7-2 and once again, the Kiwi caught back to 8-8 and eventually closes it 11-9 to tie the match.

The third saw Marwan once again jumping into a big lead. It was 7-2 once again and Paul somehow claws back to 8-7. But it was eventually The Jackal who goes into the lead after winning the game with backhand straight kill, 11-8 in 14 minutes.

Paul came back in the fourth looking in a hurry. Each time, he was wanting to get on with the point, often rushing to serve and receive. It was just an 8-minute game with Paul dominating for most parts of it. It was played at a very high pace and from 6-6, Paul went into overdrive and took five points in a row to draw level.

Barely 30-seconds into the break, Paul was back on court and ready to go. It was definitely meant to send a psychological message which could’ve worked as he led from start to end. The final rally was a fitting finale to a wonderful match, Paul Coll being sent scrambling to all corners of the court before he finishes off with a backhand flick and a loud roar for his first win on the PSA World Tour over Marwan and a place in the biggest match the sport has to offer.

“I feel over the moon. It’s a pretty thrilled feeling. I’m just going to enjoy the moment as it is and then focus on preparing for tomorrow. Tomorrow is the biggest match possible and I want to be firing for that. So very, very happy but I’m going to start looking to tomorrow.

“Marwan is one of the best in the game to win quick points and he did that at the start of the first three (games), and I’m kicking myself because my game plan was to not let him do that. I didn’t feel like I was playing terrible squash, just a few wrong shot selections. The important thing was to stay mentally focussed and believe that I was doing the right thing.

When asked what he had to do at the start of the second game when Marwan was on his injury break, Paul said:

“I just had to stay warm and it was important that I didn’t give away easy points after that. So I just wanted to focus on my length and stay in front of him because I knew he was going to come out and get some quick points while I was a little bit cold.”

“I’m ecstatic. I can’t wait for tomorrow. Hopefully I can sleep a little bit tonight but I’m pumped for tomorrow. I’m just so excited”, said Paul when asked if he was looking forward to tomorrow’s final.

While Paul Coll is into his first final, Tarek Momen won against Simon Rosner in four games to make his second consecutive final. Tarek, or The Viper, as he is known, took a while to get into the game, while Simon was quick to pounce from the start.

Simon came firing and was looking very sharp and quick onto the ball. He was in the driver’s seat and raced to a 7-2 lead with winners both at the front and the back. At 10-6 game ball to Simon, Tarek manages to save three of them, before a stroke on the backhand side gave the German the lead.

Despite Tarek seeming to have found his range at the beginning of the second game, it was all too familiar as Simon went into a 6-3 lead, winning three of those points from a stroke. But there was a major shift in momentum as Tarek took total control after that. It was winner after winner from the Egyptians racket, often at the front of the court. It was 11-7 to Tarek in just 10 minutes.

Simon started the third strongly, surging ahead with a 3-0 and later 4-1 lead. When Simon next hit a backhand into the tin, it became the turning point and we saw Tarek Momen at his best. Point after point, often creating a lot of trouble for The German Tree Chopper in the front left corner, he just worked through some hard rallies and won in 13 minutes for the lead.

Having worked Simon very hard in the previous game, the effects showed in the fourth. It was Tarek at the front for most of the time, dictating and varying the pace of the rallies so effectively. 11-5 to The Viper and a ticket into his second World Champs final.

“It was a really good match today. Simon really pushed himself really hard. He gave it all in the beginning and I was really struggling to cope with everything. It is the semi-finals of the World Champs and nerves have to have a role. I’m just so glad I managed to pull myself together and keep pushing.

“There was a pivotal moment in the second game when I was 6-3 down. I had to push really hard because to go 2-0 down against Simon, we’ve had this scenario a few times and I’ve never won. So I knew going 2-0 down, I would have a huge mountain to climb. I am so glad I came back to win that game. From there on, I just kept pushing and maybe used my speed advantage a little bit to close out the games.

“I had to readjust a few things. He makes up for his slight lack of speed with his curt coverage. He has a really massive reach and he can cut off so many of my shots. I tried to make him work as much as possible without giving him a lot on to his volley. It was a tough job and always hard to get the ball past someone as big as Simon.”

“It’s amazing, but it’s not done. I’ve been there already, I know how it feels and now the focus is to recover and prepare myself for tomorrow’s big battle and to lift the trophy I’ve always dreamed of”, Tarek said in his post-match interview.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

2019 PSA Men’s World Championships, Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Doha, Qatar.
Semi-Finals.

[2] Tarek Momen (Egy) 3-1 [5] Simon Rosner (Ger) 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 (58m)
[4] Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-2 [9] Marwan ElShorbagy (Egy) 9-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7 (84m)

Pictures courtesy of Qatar Squash

Gloucester have made front-row changes for Friday's opening Heineken Champions Cup pool game against Toulouse after successive defeats in the Premiership.

Props Val Rapava-Ruskin and Jamal Ford-Robinson will start at Kingsholm after Gloucester struggled in the scrum in losses to Saracens and Leicester.

Joe Simpson returns at scrum-half in place of Callum Braley.

Top 14 champions Toulouse will be without South African World Cup-winning winger Cheslin Kolbe.

However, the French outfit will see the return of a number France internationals after the World Cup, including Yoann Huget, Maxime Medard and Romain Ntamack.

"I don't think there will be a lack of motivation on their side and we must make sure we play our best game against a good opponent," said Gloucester coach John Ackermann.

Gloucester: Jason Woodward, Tom Marshall, Chris Harris, Mark Atkinson, Ollie Thorley; Danny Cipriani; Joe Simpson, Val Rapava Ruskin, Franco Marais, Jamal Ford-Robinson, Freddie Clarke, Gerbrandt Grobler, Ruan Ackermann, Lewis Ludlow, Ben Morgan.

Replacements: Corné Fourie, Josh Hohneck, Fraser Balmain, Alex Craig, Jake Polledri, Callum Braley, Billy Twelvetrees, Matt Banahan.

Toulouse: Thomas Ramos; Yoann Huget, Sofiane Guitoune, Romain Ntamack, Maxime Medard; Zack Holmes, Sebastien Bezy; Cyril Baille, Julien Marchand, Charlie Faumuina, Florian Verhaeghe, Joe Tekori, Francois Cros, Rynhardt Elstadt, Jerome Kaino.

Replacements: Peato Mauvaka, Clement Castets, Dorian Aldegheri, Richie Gray, Selevasio Tolofua, Alban Placines, Pierre Pages, Lucas Tauzin.