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New Japan Cup 2025 is down to its final eight competitors. The tournament continued on Friday with a show in Osaka at Kanaoka Park Gymnasium. In the main event, Jeff Cobb advanced to the quarterfinals with a victory over Tetsuya Naito. There were also wins for Shingo Takagi and Drilla Moloney that eliminated Oleg Boltin and TJP from contention. All four quarterfinal matchups will take place in Aichi tomorrow (Saturday, March 15). They are: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Taichi David Finlay vs. Yuya Uemura Shingo Takagi vs. Drilla Moloney Jeff Cobb vs. Shota Umino The tournament runs through March 20 with the winner set to receive an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship shot at Sakura Genesis on April 5. Though Cobb is still in contention for that title shot, there are rumors that he could be headed to WWE soon. Cobb played on those rumors before today’s show in a tweet promoting his match: Hirooki Goto, the current IWGP World Champion, has a title defense against Yuji Nagata at tomorrow’s New Japan Cup show. Source

This article first appeared on F4WOnline.com and was syndicated with permission.

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Justin Fields Called 'Biggest Loser' In Jets Training Camp
NFL

Justin Fields Called 'Biggest Loser' In Jets Training Camp

The New York Jets opted to cut Aaron Rodgers and sign Justin Fields to replace him during the offseason. This kind of commitment to Fields should bolster his confidence, but it could also place a lot of pressure on his shoulders. To this point, Fields has looked solid in training camp, aside from a scary toe injury that was quickly resolved in July. Justin Fried of the Jet Press recently reported that Fields' training camp may have reached a new low over the weekend as the young signal caller struggled. "Justin Fields put together his best practice of the summer to this point on Friday, completing his first 12 passes en route to an excellent all-around performance. The same can't be said about his showing on Saturday, however," Fried wrote. "Fields finished the day an abysmal 2-of-10 in the air, including a drop from rookie tight end Mason Taylor. "Some of his incompletions were catchable balls, but the Jets' passing game struggles on Saturday can largely be blamed on No. 7. Fields did flash his running ability with a 25-yard rushing score on the first play of red-zone drills, but the Jets would like to see more consistency in the air from the starting quarterback. Saturday's scrimmage was far from his best showing of the summer." Fields is a runner first at the NFL level, but his arm is nothing to scoff at. For most of training camp, his arm talent has been better than advertised, but during Saturday's scrimmage, it just wasn't there. A 2 for 10 performance is unacceptable for a $40 million quarterback who was signed to take over the team. The running game should open up the passing game for the Jets, which is going to need to be the case if Fields is going to struggle like this. However, it's just one day of camp. It's nothing to be too concerned about. Just because Fields lost this specific practice doesn't mean he's heading in the wrong direction as a whole.

Caitlin Clark's Expected Return Date Could Bring Good News for Indiana Fever
WNBA

Caitlin Clark's Expected Return Date Could Bring Good News for Indiana Fever

The Indiana Fever have found a way to keep winning with star Caitlin Clark on the sidelines with a groin injury, improving their record to 17-12 with a win Sunday over the Seattle Storm. While it remains unclear exactly when Clark could take the floor again, her expected return timeline could match up well with a critical stretch in the Fever's schedule. ESPN's Holly Rowe reported in late July that while Clark remained day-to-day, it would be realistic for her to return sometime around the third week in August. That could put the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year back on the court for what could be the team's most important stretch of the season -- a back-to-back set with the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on August 22 and 24. The Fever are looking to climb up in the crowded playoff standings, and getting at least a split from the home-and-home series with the Lynx could be critical. Fever coach Stephanie White stressed after Sunday's win that the team was not going to rush Clark back onto the court. "I know she wants to be out here on the floor, we want her out here on the floor, but making sure that she's ready is the most important thing," White said. "I still don't know how far we are, we're gonna take it one step at a time, one day at a time, and go from there."

Troubling update emerges about Joel Embiid’s health
NBA

Troubling update emerges about Joel Embiid’s health

Joel Embiid’s trust in the healing process may not be paying off. A concerning update emerged over the weekend about the health of the Philadelphia 76ers star center. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reports that there is “genuine concern” around the league about the health of Embiid’s knee. Siegel adds that Philadelphia’s camp is attempting to downplay the concerns but notes that “word is bad” about Embiid’s health around the rest of the NBA. Now 31, the former MVP Embiid is still dealing with the ill effects of a torn left meniscus suffered during a 76ers game in February 2024. Embiid, who previously tore the same left meniscus back in 2017, quickly underwent surgery on the knee and missed two months. It appeared that everything was peaches and cream for Embiid after he returned to finish out the 2023-24 NBA season and even played at the 2024 Paris Olympics last summer as the starting center for Team USA. But Embiid missed significant time while managing his left knee throughout the 2024-25 season and even suggested at one point that he would need to have another surgery. In the end, Embiid appeared in just 19 total games for the 76ers last season and was shut down in February with the team nowhere close to contention. There was some talk a few months ago that Embiid might be undergoing the Kobe Bryant treatment to address the troublesome knee, but it looks like Embiid still hasn’t found a course of treatment that his knee is responding to. We know that the 76ers were already growing frustrated with Embiid’s lack of availability going back to last season. Now they may have to prepare for the potential of Embiid missing more time in 2025-26, a disastrous possibility given that they still owe the seven-footer an absurd $187.6M over the next three seasons.

 Maurice Jones-Drew Ranks Omarion Hampton Above Ashton Jeanty As Top Rookie RB
NFL

Maurice Jones-Drew Ranks Omarion Hampton Above Ashton Jeanty As Top Rookie RB

The Las Vegas Raiders selected running back Ashton Jeanty sixth overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, the highest a back has been taken since Saquon Barkley was drafted second overall in 2018. With the Raiders bringing in Pete Carroll as head coach, who loves to run the ball, many are expecting a big rookie season for Jeanty. However, former three-time All-Pro running back Maurice Jones-Drew believes rookie Omarion Hampton of the Los Angeles Chargers will have an even better year. In his running back rankings on NFL.com, Jones-Drew ranked Hampton 13th, ahead of Jeanty, who was 17th, and explained why he is higher on Hampton going into this year: Some of you might be surprised to see Hampton ranked higher than No. 6 overall pick Ashton Jeanty, based on their respective standings in my pre-draft RB rankings, but hear me out. Hampton joins a Jim Harbaugh-led offense that loves to the run the ball, so there will be plenty of touches to go around. He should be the bell cow for this unit — with veteran Najee Harris in the backup role — thanks to his patience and ability to bounce off defenders. Hampton is in the perfect situation to find early success, and while you could say similar things about Jeanty, Pete Carroll’s recent comments (which I’ll get to in a minute) swayed my opinion some. It seems as if Jones-Drew views Hampton’s situation with the Chargers under Jim Harbaugh in a run-first offense as better than that of Jeanty. However, when he got down to Jeanty at 17th in his rankings, Jones-Drew echoed many of the same things that have him high on Hampton: I can’t wait to watch Jeanty take his first NFL snap. The No. 6 overall pick in this year’s draft is tough to tackle and should fit perfectly in an attack that wants to bully opponents under Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly. Carroll said last month that the offense won’t rely on just one back in the ground game, but it’s hard to envision the Raiders consistently looking to Raheem Mostert, Zamir White or Sincere McCormick when they have a talent like Jeanty on the roster. While it is true that Carroll has said that he plans on a committee approach, as Jones-Drew noted, Jeanty’s talent should have him head and shoulders above the other backs in the Raiders’ backfield. And like Hampton, Jeanty is coming in under a coach that prioritizes running the ball. Who will wind up having the better rookie season will be found out, but Jeanty could certainly use this as some extra motivation going into his debut season with the Raiders. Raiders rookie Ashton Jeanty names Saquon Barkley as favorite current running back Most would consider Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley as the best running back in the NFL today, and Raiders rookie Ashton Jeanty likewise views him as his favorite in the league today.

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