Happy Wednesday and happy June, everyone! Hope you're doing well.
Let's get right to it.
Good morning to everyone but especially to...
ALL OF US, FOR BEING FEWER THAN 100 DAYS AWAY FROM THE NFL BEING BACK!
Rejoice, NFL fans! Yesterday marked 100 days until the NFL season kicks off with what should be an absolutely awesome game between the Bills and Rams. And what better way is there to celebrate than by reading our NFL expert Cody Benjamin's 100 things to know for the upcoming season? I would say there's no better way.
There is a ton of great stuff in Cody's piece, so picking just a few is really hard. Here's the headline for the AFC:
Benjamin: "The Bills are arguably the hottest preseason pick to take over the throne. Caesars Sportsbook has Buffalo as the early favorite to win Super Bowl LVII... Most of the Bills hype revolves around quarterback Josh Allen, who happens to be Caesars' preseason MVP favorite. ... The Chiefs have been the Bills' kryptonite during Buffalo's transformation to contender. Kansas City beat Buffalo in the 2020 AFC Championship, then edged the Bills 42-36 in the divisional round of the 2021 playoffs."I absolutely love what Buffalo has done this offseason, from extending Stefon Diggs to signing Von Miller to drafting Kaiir Elam (and plenty of other good moves), and I wouldn't be surprised for another Bills-Chiefs thriller in the playoffs. Just remember, though, the AFC is much deeper than just those teams: there's the defending conference champion Bengals as well as the Ravens, Chargers, Broncos, Raiders, Dolphins and plenty of other contenders who made big win-now moves this offseason.
Meanwhile in the NFC, the Packers have a new look, but that might not be a bad thing.
Benjamin: "In Green Bay, star QB and reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers will have to navigate his first season without Davante Adams since 2013. Rookie Christian Watson, a second-round pick out of NDSU, could quickly become a go-to target on the outside. ... One area in which Green Bay should be improved is on defense, where star corner Jaire Alexander is healthier and newly paid, and rookie newcomers Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt should give the front seven more juice."Cody's article was a fun read and a great way to catch up on anything you may have missed this offseason.
... AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO RAFAEL NADAL
Getty ImagesRafael Nadal took a huge step in his quest for an absurd 14th French Open title yesterday, beating top seed Novak Djokovic in four sets 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) to advance to the semifinals.
Nadal trailed 3-0 in the third set and later broke Djokovic when the Serbian star was up 5-3 and serving to force a fifth set. Shortly thereafter, Nadal dominated the tiebreaker.Nadal is now a ridiculous 110-3 at Roland Garros in his career.Nadal's 13 French Open championships are more than double the next-closest man in the Open Era: Bjorn Borg with six.Up next for Nadal: world No. 3 Alexander Zverev on Friday, which is also Nadal's 36th birthday.
