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With ten drug suspensions and former UFC stars losing most fights in the first half of the PFL’s 2023 regular season, many had concerns. However, the second half of the regular season was filled with highlight reel knockouts and Cinderella stories.

The PFL has become the land of opportunity, where fighters are always within four victories of becoming a world champion and earning a million dollars. Their performances often dictate their destinies, and many lives have been changed as a result. Many champions have used their million dollars for college funds, buying a house, paying back debt, and visiting their countries of birth.

The PFL is entering the knockout stages of its 2023 season tournament, with the playoffs beginning on August 4th. Here are some takeaways from the second half of the regular season:

Despite a controversial lightweight playoff decision, barnburners are coming The morning after PFL 6, the PFL announced that Natan Schulte would be disqualified from the playoffs. Their statement read: “All fighters in their PFL Fight Agreements agree to use their ‘best efforts… skills and abilities as a professional athlete to compete… and defeat any opponent.’ It was very clear that Natan and Raush [Manfio] did not meet that contractual standard in [their] bout.” With this ruling, bonafide superstar Shane Burgos was granted a spot in the playoffs and will face Clay Collard in a semifinal matchup that is expected to be a war. This could be a fight-of-the-year contender that fans have hoped for since Burgos’ signing. This will headline the PFL 9 card at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Pressured featherweights stole the show with spectacular finishes Defending champion Brendan Loughnane was the only featherweight to win via stoppage at PFL 1 and was a favorite to cruise into the playoffs. In a shocking turn of events, every featherweight fight finished within two rounds at PFL 4. In the upset of the night, Jesus Pinedo knocked Loughnane out and snatched his playoff spot. Movlid Khaybulaev was close to going 2-0 and still missing the playoffs but turned on the urgency to win via second-round submission. Chris Wade rebounded from a defeat by scoring a quick six finish in his next fight and replacing the injured Khaybulaev in the playoffs. When the pressure was on, the featherweights delivered. That only adds more hype to the playoffs, with Pinedo looking to upset 2022 finalist and top-seeded Bubba Jenkins. The other semifinal matchup features an intriguing battle of the undefeated Gabriel Braga and Wade.

The welterweight division might have the most intriguing playoff matchups, as everyone looked their best at PFL 6. The second half of the regular season showed some of the highest skill levels in the welterweight division. Iron sharpens iron when everyone is at their best, and that is what seems in store for the playoffs. 2018 champion Magomed Magomedkerimov has won both of his fights by quick six knockouts to earn him the top seed. He will face training partner Magomed Umalatov. With nine points, many are the top seeds of their divisions, however, Umalatov is the lowest seed in the welterweight playoffs, which proves how high-level the competition is. On the other half of the bracket, Sadibou Sy won four decisions en route to his 2022 title. At PFL 6, he won by his second straight highlight reel knockout of the season with a spinning wheel kick, which was all over ESPN. He will face Carlos Leal, who has improved immensely, winning by two knockouts this year, in a rematch of last year’s semifinal. True MMA fans are in for a treat to see some of the best welterweights in the world compete.

Larissa Pacheco looks like she is on her way to becoming the organization’s first-ever multi-division champ Larissa Pacheco had a rare decision victory over Julia Budd at PFL 1. She returned to her old ways by starching Amber Leibrock in 45 seconds at PFL 4. Her power looked as if it was too much for anyone, and barring any bad weight cuts, she is the clear favorite to become the featherweight champion.

The light heavyweight division provided many feel-good stories with underdogs Josh Silveira’s father Conan is a former UFC veteran. In last year’s semifinals, he suffered his first defeat in a disappointing performance against American Top Team teammate Omari Akhmedov. He has burst onto the scene this year with two first-round stoppages and has claimed the top seed for the playoffs. If he were to win the title, odds are his father will wrap the belt around his waist. On the other hand, number three seed and challenger series standout Impa Kasanganay won his third fight in three months to earn a spot in the playoffs. After jumping up two weight classes to the light heavyweight division, his ability to stay ready has paid off.

The top two heavyweight seeds look violent as ever Denis Goltsov earned the fastest finish in promotional history by knocking out fan favorite Yorgan De Castro in 18 seconds at PFL 5. On the same card, Renan Ferreira stood and traded with last year’s runner-up Matheus Scheffel and knocked him out. Fans could be in for a dream final between Goltsov’s dynamite hands and the six-foot-eight Ferreira.

Despite all the obstacles this season, viewers are in for breathtaking matchups in the PFL playoffs. Will current superstars’ reign of stardom continue, or will new heroes emerge?

Anik Subramanian is an aspiring MMA journalist based in the United States. He discovered his passion for MMA when the sport was the first to return to live action during the pandemic. He is also a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has been a lifelong sports fan.

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LAKELAND, Fla. — A source of help is being provided within reach at the Lakeland Police Department.

What You Need To Know

• The Lakeland Police Department helped launch a mobile app in March this year to help employees with mental health issues
• It’s been serving as a one-stop-shop for resources, something that was non-existent until one of the assistant chiefs stepped in
• Many departments are facing the same struggle nationwide, leading the department to help build the Lakeland PD Lighthouse app

The Lakeland Police Department is making it more convenient for officers to seek help when it comes to mental health. And it’s thanks to a mobile app that one of the department’s very own helped develop.

The app launched in March and, since that time, it’s been serving as a one-stop-shop for resources. It’s something that was non-existent until one of the assistant chiefs here stepped in.

“It’s bringing to light a problem that we’ve probably experienced for a long time. It was just untracked,” said Assistant Chief Steve Pacheco.

But until recently, he’s noticed something.

“I noticed there was a lack of accessibility to some of the things we had and it was very cumbersome for officers or members to find where to go to find help,” said the 30-year veteran of the department.

Many departments are facing the same mental health struggle nationwide. That led Pacheco to help build the Lakeland PD Lighthouse app.

“The stigma around mental health is super strong and officers or members don’t want to seek help because of the label that’s put on them and they’re afraid of losing their job,” he said. “They’re afraid of getting their gun taken away from them and not being able to work.”

Pacheco understands that struggle all too well, after his wife died by suicide 16 years ago.

“There were some key people that were instrumental in me seeking help to get through what I went through, and I just made it kind of my personal mission to hopefully pass that on,” he said.

With a few taps on a mobile phone, the app launches a list of resources available — all at one’s fingertips.

“On the app, you can see that it’s customized to the local police department and all of the resources we have available to our officers and members are listed in there.”

The app has self-assessment tests for officers to run through themselves. It’s not only private but convenient for them to take on their own time.

“It takes them through a series of questions and it returns a score to them,” Pacheco said. “The score may tell you that you’re OK on a certain level or the score may tell you you scored pretty high, which means you might be having some issues that you need to deal with.”

Pacheco hopes it will help everyone take a step toward making the conversation about mental health normal.

“Once we normalize a person’s ability to seek help, for them to realize that it’s OK to seek help, that it’s OK to not to be OK and we’re all human beings, that’s what it’s really about.”

The app is available for those LPD employees, both active and retired. They even have a website you can find can find online here.

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July 22, 2023 – Perth, Australia – 24 year old Krystal Pitt collapsed while lining up at a local post office just 10 days after giving birth to her 2nd child, and died in hospital a few days later (click here).

Translation:

During her hospital stay, “while her prognosis was initially positive, her health quickly deteriorated before she died in hospital…from blood clots that had formed in her lungs and triggered the cardiac arrest” (fourth red flag – the blood thinners doctors were treating her with didn’t work and she died from the blood clots in the lungs – vaccinated patients have treatment resistant blood clots).

Another news story confirms that doctors were trying to stabilize her and treat her blood clots but were unsuccessful (click here).

Other Cases

May 15, 2023 – Perth, Australia – 36 year old Monika Mann died 7 days after giving birth to twins. She arrived at ER “unresponsive” and was declared dead (click here).

May 2, 2023 – 32 yo Olympic sprinter Tori Bowie was found dead alone in bed after wellness check, was 8 months pregnant and was “undergoing labor” when she was found deceased. (click here)

March 25, 2023 – New York, 28 year old Samantha Dannecker died unexpectedly while giving birth to her first child, a baby girl (click here).

Jan. 10, 2023 – 31 year old April Valentine had an emergency c-section for her daughter on Jan. 9, complained of pain the following day and died suddenly, while her boyfriend performed CPR on her (click here)(click here).

Nov. 8, 2022 – Newtown, PA – 30 year old teacher Jennifer Krasna died suddenly only days after giving birth to her second son (click here).

Oct. 24, 2022 – Texas – 29 year old Krystina Pacheco suffered septic shock. Two days after giving birth to a girl, she developed shortness of breath, vomiting, stomach pains, was hospitalized with septic shock. Sedated for 2 weeks she nearly died and had to have her hands and feet amputated (click here).

Feb. 1, 2022 – UK – 41 year old Amber Pendlebury delivered a baby boy, then cried out “I can’t breathe”, had two cardiac arrests and died shortly after (click here).

“She was supposed to go in for a c-section in the morning, and when she got there, she decided she wanted to do a natural birth.

“So they induced her, but she’d been on the drip for the inducement for at least ten hours, and she was only 4cm dilated, which is not good. They later said they’d have to do a caesarian section, but said they’d have to put her to sleep while they did it.”

Doctors were bringing the mum round when she had a series of sudden heart attacks and never caught a glimpse of her baby before she collapsed.

Vida added: “Doctors delivered the little baby, who was 6 pounds, 2 ounces. But she never saw him, as when she woke up, she said, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe! My chest is on fire, my chest is on fire!”

“That’s all her partner heard her say, and then she was whisked away.”

On January 26, the family received the news that Amber was on a life support machine.

Aug. 6, 2021 – Florida – 30 year old Kristen McMullen had an emergency C-section on July 27 and was transferred to ICU. Because she had tested positive for COVID she was placed on ventilator on Aug. 6, 2021 and died the SAME DAY. Killed by hospital protocols? (click here)

I have written two substack articles already on COVID-19 vaccinated women dying shortly after delivery:

April 15, 2023 – Pregnant women having heart attacks, strokes and dying (15 cases)

My Take…

US Obstetrician and Maternal Fetal Medicine expert with 44 years experience Dr.James Thorp and I have been raising alarms about the extreme dangers of COVID-19 mRNA vaccination in pregnancy. (click here)(click here)

COVID-19 vaccines ARE NOT SAFE IN PREGNANCY. They were never studied for safety in pregnancy.

COVID-19 vaccines significantly increase risks to the pregnant mother, especially during labor and shortly after giving birth. Some of the outcomes are catastrophic.

In many such cases, these risks are from blood clots – pulmonary embolism, but also cardiac arrests, strokes and infections since COVID-19 vaccines severely damage the immune system of the mother, increasing risks of various infections that could lead to sepsis and septic shock.

These sudden deaths of new mothers are being covered up right now as health authorities continue to lie to pregnant women about COVID-19 vaccines being “safe” at all stages of pregnancy.

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Dr. William Makis is a Canadian physician with expertise in Radiology, Oncology and Immunology. Governor General’s Medal, University of Toronto Scholar. Author of 100+ peer-reviewed medical publications.

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The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity

by Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.

“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”

ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0,  Year: 2022,  PDF Ebook,  Pages: 164, 15 Chapters

Price: $11.50 FREE COPY! Click here (docsend) and download.

We encourage you to support the eBook project by making a donation through Global Research’s DonorBox “Worldwide Corona Crisis” Campaign Page. 

Bay Area Racetrack to Close; Development Potential Uncertain
The owners of Golden Gate Fields, which straddles the border between Albany and Berkeley, announced that the horse racing track will close at the end of this season in December. The closure potentially prompts a struggle between open space advocates and developers hoping to take over the 140-acre waterfront property. The track opened in 1941. Some developers have eyed the area for a potential commercial center, while parks advocates hope to see the space incorporated into neighboring McLaughlin Eastshore State Park. Zoning rules for the site bordering both Berkeley and Albany currently prohibit new housing on the property, only including zoning permissions for commercial uses such as restaurants. Both cities would need to update their master plans before changing zoning laws. Berkeley’s master plan dates back to 1986. Albany, on the other hand, requires any changes to the park be approved by voters. (See related CP&DR coverage.)

Coastal Commission Clashes with City of Santa Cruz over Housing Project
A seven-story, 175-unit housing project proposal in Santa Cruz could set a precedent on the Coastal Commission’s decision-making between state requirements for housing and coastal standards for development. The project sits along the San Lorenzo River, prompting Coastal Commission review and a standoff between the city’s planning department and the Coastal Commission who has the final vote on the project. The project currently includes only 15 affordable units, prompting the California Coastal Commission Central Coast district supervisor to say that few number of affordable units does not warrant potential project impacts to coastal characteristics like the view and community character. City staff have responded that there will not be any impact to local character in the area. The Coastal Commission will meet with city staff in the coming weeks and the developer to let them know their recommendation.

Los Angeles to Explore “Park Blocks”
Los Angeles City Council voted to move forward with a “Park Block” pilot program, based on Barcelona’s transformation of street surface area into public space. The vote directs the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to locate a site for the first “Park Block” of allocated portions of the street for expanded open space. The proposal would, in part, attempt to eliminate “cut through” traffic on local streets, thereby reducing vehicular traffic and freeing up street space for other uses through methods of tactical urbanism. The Department of Transportation will also develop public outreach and a community application process for future sites with priority given to neighborhoods with higher rates of vehicle collusions and less access to outdoor space. They will also located funding and potential staffing necessary for a citywide program. According to a city report, “[Park Blocks] can create instant public open space with substantial shade, outdoor recreation, greening and storm water capture in communities desperate for parks.”

Conservation Group Makes Major Acquisition on S.F. Peninsula
One of the Bay Area’s largest private conservation properties will become a public space after the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District gained permission to purchase the coastal Cloverdale Ranch. Moving forward, 6,300 acres of San Mateo County’s rolling hills are set to become a park. In the 1990s, the conservation group purchased part of the property to prevent housing developments on the green space. Now, the $16 million purchase, over half of which was funded by grants, marks one of the largest transfers of private-to-public property. As well as providing an open space for residents to enjoy, the regional district plans to improve wildlife protection and has contributed to the state and federal goal of conserving 30% of land and waters by 2030.

CP&DR Coverage: Midseason Legislative Update
Despite cries of “legislation fatigue” from some municipal planning departments, the state legislature is moving forward with dozens of bills related to land use, including a bevy of housing bills. Essentially every housing bill that was introduced at the beginning of the session has advanced out of its house of origin. Bills must pass the legislature by Sept. 14. and be signed by Oct. 14.

Quick Hits & Updates

Last-minute amendments to a bill in San Francisco allowing single-family homes to convert to smaller-scale apartments postponed the Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee’s recommendation of the bill. Neighborhood groups from affluent areas pushed back against the bill in a public hearing, causing an additional barrier for the bill’s passage.

Fresno City Council unanimously approved the Capital Projects Department, a new department under Mayor Jerry Dyer’s new budget designed to speed up engineering and oversee large infrastructure and construction projects. The department will be funded by $50 million in state budget allocation for downtown infrastructure and $250 million over the next three years, as well as $6.3 billion moved from the Public Works and Public Utilities departments.

A new study by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Association of Bay Area Governments and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission found the cost of protecting San Francisco’s shoreline from sea level rise will be approximately $110 billion by 2050. The study found the money presently available for the type of projects to protect the homes, businesses, airports and infrastructure on the shoreline is only $5 billion.

The Coastal Commission delayed discussion of a zoning amendment for the controversial Magnolia Tank Farm, a mixed-use project located in Huntington Beach including 250 residential units, a hotel with affordable rooms and a new park and recreation. The City Council approved the zoning amendment in 2021 to change the land from public use to infrastructure, residential, commercial and open-use despite a risk of increased flooding, according to the Coastal Commission.

In new poll findings, Sacramento residents cited the region’s top priorities are increasing housing affordability and reducing traffic congestion. 49% of respondents find their own neighborhood unaffordable, with another 79% respondents thinking first-time homeowners will have a difficult time buying a home in five years.

The California Transportation Commission approved funding for three large proposed projects with SB 1, or gas tax, funding. The projects are billed as applicable to California’s Climate Action Plan for Transportation Investment calling for projects to decrease vehicle miles (VMT) travelled even as two of the three projects involve highway expansion. Critics claim these projects will increase VMT statewide.

The proposed reopening of the largest gold mine in California met with an overcrowded public hearing including a discussion of environmental impacts of the city in Nevada City. The company behind the project seeks to reopen the mine closed in 1956, stating no environmental concerns despite many community members stating the project will disrupt life and health in the area.

Seven downtown business filed a claim against the city of San Diego for $2.5 million in damages due to the ongoing homelessness crisis in the downtown area, asking the city to remove encampments or face court. The claim follows the city’s new controversial ban on homeless encampments in parks, riverbeds and waterways, and transportation areas within two blocks of shelters.

A group of tenants filed suit against the owner of their 712-unit rent-controlled West Los Angeles apartment building, accusing the company of misusing the Ellis Act, a state law enabling landlords to exit the rental market, initially to convert apartments into condominiums. The owners of the building originally posted notices of evictions to all residents for the addition of fire sprinklers and safety upgrades.

The state’s first settlement under the Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482) prompted a San Jose-based landlord to agree to lower rent for several tenants and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and penalties for raising rent more than 150% on average for 20 tenants and evicting six tenants during the pandemic. AB 1482 prohibits a rent increase of more than 5% plus the percentage change in the consumer price index, or 10% overall — whichever is lower. The law also protects tenants from unjust eviction.

Only 74 San Francisco property owners — or 2.6% of eligible properties — have paid the city’s retail vacancy tax since it went into effect last year. In addition to exempt properties, thousands of landlords and tenants did not submit filings for their parcels. The tax created $667,847 in revenue in 2022 for a small business assistance fund, a much smaller revenue than previously projected. (See related CP&DR coverage.)

A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge found the Santa Clara Valley Water District incorrectly claimed they were exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, putting the second phase of their new dam project for Pacheco Reservoir on hold.

According to a new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, as of February 2023, seven in ten Californians say housing affordability is a large issue in their local housing landscape. This marks the highest percentage of respondents to say housing affordability is a major problem since 2017. 72% of both Democrats and Republicans and 75% of independents also state housing affordability is an issue. Six in ten Californias are very concerned, with another 27% somewhat concerned, that the cost of housing will prevent younger generations from buying a local home. That is an eight point increase since 2004.

The Supreme Court allowed a number of California county and city cases against oil companies to continue, rejecting five additional appeals by oil companies in five other states. The original cases filed by local governments in the state seek damages from over 30 companies profiting off oil.

A Chicago-based developer formally withdrew its application for one of the biggest life sciences developments in Emeryville. The project was slated to be one of the first mixed-use buildings including housing units and medicine and healthcare real estate, including 30 affordable units.

An audit of San Francisco’s affordable housing agency found the organization is not spending money as fast as it accrues funds. The study found that it is taking the city between $800,000 and $1 million per unit and five years to build affordable housing. The report cited delays due to the city’s project approvals process.

The New York Giants notched their first win of the 2023 season Tuesday, enticing previously unsigned Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley to training camp by – per multiple reports – (slightly) sweetening his one-year franchise tag with not even $1 million in incentives while converting a portion of the original $10.1 million, fully guaranteed payout into a $2 million signing bonus. It hardly amounted to long-term security – Barkley isn’t eligible for an extension until next year – for one of the best NFL players at his position.

And that’s the rub.

Relative to the billions the league generates annually, RBs find themselves in something of a financial crisis at a time when NFL economics have created a market in which ball carriers are readily available on the discount rack, and there’s little reason to pay retail no matter how capable the player. If Barkley hits all his incentives and takes home $11 million this season, he’d only rank sixth at his position (based on average salary) – and that would be partially due to the recent pay cut that knocked the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Mixon down the scale.

Barkley apparently didn’t even get a concession that would prevent the Giants from tagging him again in 2024, meaning he could be right back in this position – though with a 20% raise – a year from now.

Why?

From the individual perspectives of these often sublimely talented yardage, touchdown and highlight machines, it’s a shame they’ve fallen behind on the wage scale as teams remain perpetually focused on their salary cap’s bottom line – albeit while paying quarterbacks, wide receivers, offensive tackles (and select guards), pass rushers and cornerbacks at ever-increasing premiums. (Hello, Justin Herbert.) Yet can you really blame the general managers trained on their professional bottom lines – which is calculated by wins and titles?

Consider:

Current RBs aren’t helped by recent contracts

Even at a time when the cap continues to balloon – along with compensation of players at other positions – running backs have seen the top of their earning power diminish. It’s been four years since Ezekiel Elliott set the market with a six-year, $90 million extension that included $50 million guaranteed. It superseded then-Rams star Todd Gurley’s, four-year, $57.5 million deal, struck in 2018. Gurley was released not two full years later, while Elliott lasted four seasons into his extension before the Dallas Cowboys cut the cord this spring. Gurley was an All-Pro in 2018, but knee issues had already relegated him to a marginal role by that season’s playoffs, which ended with Los Angeles losing Super Bowl 53. The Cowboys won one playoff game after Elliott signed his megadeal – he’d won two rushing titles beforehand – and his production went into steep decline.

And those aren’t the worst of what evidently became cautionary contractual tales.

▶ Christian McCaffrey and the New Orleans Saints’ Alvin Kamara both signed extensions in 2020 that made them the only backs in the league to average at least $15 million annually. Since then, the Carolina Panthers – they didn’t reach the playoffs after CMC got his massive deal – traded their centerpiece, McCaffrey appearing in 10 total games over the 2020 and ’21 seasons. The Saints have one playoff win in the three years since paying Kamara.

▶ After refusing to play on the franchise tag a second straight seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018, Le’Veon Bell signed a four-year, $52.5 million deal with the New York Jets in 2019 – and was so abysmal that the NYJ released him early in the 2020 campaign.

▶ The Arizona Cardinals signed David Johnson to a three-year, $39 million extension in 2018. He hasn’t rushed for 1,000 yards since and was a former Card by 2020.

RBs are easily to replace

If you spend a first-round pick on one, as the Giants did with Barkley, you effectively control his rights for up to seven years by exercising the fifth-year option on the rookie deal and then using the franchise tag twice. Backs not taken in Round 1 can easily be tied to their original team for six seasons. And given the pounding players at the position endure while taking handoffs and catching passes – plus the more invisible toll exacted in pass protection – clubs are quite comfortable letting a veteran go rather than give one a second contract.

Just last season, the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Isiah Pacheco, who led the eventual champs with a moderate 830 rushing yards after he replaced former first-rounder Clyde Edwards-Helaire as the starter midway through the year.

“A guy like Pacheco, seventh-round pick, balled out in the Super Bowl,” former Giants vice president of player personnel Marc Ross told USA TODAY Sports. “You don’t have to pay him anything, and then you move on to the next guy. There’s just no leverage here.”

Ross also notes team can defray their expenses and limit their financial exposure by signing several lower-cost backs rather than pay one superstar. He was in the Giants front office when they won a pair of Super Bowls following the retirement of Pro Bowler Tiki Barber, New York thriving with a combination of players like Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward.

Many teams have since followed that example, Ross noting the reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles let Miles Sanders go in free agency and pivoted to lower-cost options in D’Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny – even though Sanders signed a moderate four-year deal with the Panthers that averaged a little more than $6 million.

The last 10 league MVPs have been QBs

And maybe that shouldn’t be surprising as MVP is often considered a quarterback award. But if you reach back to 2000, four running backs – Marshall Faulk (2000), Shaun Alexander (2005), LaDainian Tomlinson (2006) and Adrian Peterson (2012) – have been named Most Valuable Player. And while all four of their teams reached the playoffs in those respective years, only Alexander’s Seattle Seahawks won any postseason games … and many observers will point to his offensive line, with Hall of Famers Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson, as the primary reason. The only backs to win MVP and the Super Bowl in the same season are Emmitt Smith (1993) and Terrell Davis (1998). Over the past decade alone, five of those MVP quarterbacks reached the Super Bowl, though only Patrick Mahomes also won it (last season).

It’s been a quarter-century since an RB was Super Bowl MVP

Kinda hard to believe, right? But only five running backs in the past 40 years have been deemed the best player on Super Sunday, most recently Davis in Super Bowl 32 following the 1997 season. By comparison, five receivers have been Super Bowl MVP in the past 18 years, including the New England Patriots’ Julian Edelman in Super Bowl 53 and the Rams’ Cooper Kupp in Super Bowl 56. Otherwise, aside from Seahawks LB Malcolm Smith and Denver Broncos OLB Von Miller, it’s been all quarterbacks over that stretch.

“Teams figured out you can win big without them, and great backs don’t necessarily help you win,” says Ross, adding it’s also much easier for a defense to eliminate a running back from the offense’s game plan than the quarterback, who has any number of options on a given snap – particularly if he’s an effective runner himself.

“This might just be the tipping point.”

How else to rain on RB parade?

▶ Of the past six Super Bowl champions, none had a 1,000-yard runner. In fact, those teams’ leading rushers have averaged 808 yards.

▶ Of the past 15 champions, three had a 1,000-yard rusher, only one of them – the Seahawks’ Marshawn Lynch in 2013 – with as many as 1,200 yards.

▶ Of the past 15 league rushing champions, three played for teams that won even a single playoff game. None reached the Super Bowl, and only the Tennessee Titans’ Derrick Henry, in 2019, made it as far as the championship round. The Las Vegas Raiders’ Josh Jacobs ran for an NFL-best 1,653 yards in 2022 but, like Barkley, was franchised … and a year after the Silver and Black declined the fifth-year option of Jacobs’ rookie contract. He has yet to sign the tag and did not report to camp.

Despite Barkley’s estimable ability – arguably the best combination of speed, power and elusiveness since Hall of Famer Barry Sanders – 2022 was the first time his Giants reached the postseason. It was also only his second pro season that wasn’t significantly diminished by injuries.

Taking all that into account, it’s a pretty dire picture. Why would teams back up Brink’s trucks for backs given the likelihood of reduced production, crippling injuries endemic to the position and nary a whiff of the Lombardi? If running backs want the bag, they’ve got to re-establish their linkage to winning actual championships and not the fantasy variety – and probably featuring a skill set that allows for 200 carries and 70 receptions while being available to play most weeks.

“You definitely have to be versatile like that, no question. The days of just pounding it – you might never see a back like that again,” says Ross. “And those limited skill-set guys – no market for those guys.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.

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Two-time Grammy Award winning Los Angeles-based band, OZOMATLI, continues to release new music in 2022 – “Sunsets,” from the forthcoming album Marching On, is now available on all digital services.

Marching On is their first studio album since the critically acclaimed, 2017 reggae twisted Non-Stop: Mexico to Jamaica in 2017 and marks their debut with new label, Blue Élan Records.  The band is also hitting the road to preview this new music live. Beginning on May 15th they will take part in the popular Southern California Beach Life Festival before hitting several high-profile summer series concerts across the country. Rounding out their summer, the band will jump on The Old School Cruise in late September.
 
As lead vocalist/guitarist Raul Pacheco describes of the reggae tinged, island swaying new single, “’Sunsets’ is about the city of LA, traveling from the east side to the beach and all of those special moments in between. We wish they could last forever but even beautiful sunsets have to end sometime. The inspiration came from the ending of beautiful things, sometimes it’s relationships, sometimes it’s important parts of your life. When you’re looking at a sunset, it’s just for a moment – you really have just a few minutes to capture this image because then it’s gone. For me, there’s something about that – about life, about how we live, there are beautiful things everywhere but they might not be permanent and you might as well enjoy it while you can.”
 
Last year, the band debuted two new singles from the album – the soulful grooves of “Mi Destino,” featuring guests B-Real (Cypress Hill/Prophets of Rage) and vocalist, Gaby Moreno, was featured on KCRW while the freestyle dance party tune, “Fellas” which features Lisa Lisa of Cult Jam fame and the ladies of J.J. Fad, became a sought out duet on tik tok.  Following in March, influential Los Angeles based radio station, KCRW, premiered the maraca shaking single, “Sacude” on “Morning Becomes Eclectic”.
 
Produced by David Garza (Fiona Apple), Marching On features the six Ozo core members: Asdru Sierra (lead vocals, trumpet, keyboards), Raul Pacheco (lead vocals, guitar), Willy (Wil-Dog) Abers (bass, vocals), Justin Poree (rap, vocals, percussion), Ulises Bella (saxophone, melodica, clarinet, guitar, requinto, keyboards, vocals) and Jiro Yamaguchi (drums, percussion) as well as the previously mentioned special guests.
 
While the basic tracks were all completed at Sonic Ranch, due to the pandemic, other parts of the record were completed remotely. Despite the often-terrifying uncertainty of the world in 2020, ultimately Ozo were able to complete Marching On, which turned out to be an almost prescient song and album title.  As the lyrics to the track clarify: “Yeah we keep marching till the justice reigns / And the world sings the freedom’s song / Yeah we keep marching while the battle rages / As the new generations born / Till we right the wrongs.”

The 11 songs are a unified blend of the members’ influences and ideas. Or, as founding members Jiro Yamaguchi and Uli explain: “You drive down Sunset Boulevard and turn off your stereo and roll down your windows and all the music that comes out of each and every different car, whether it’s salsa, cumbia, merengue, Hip Hop, funk or whatever, it’s that crazy blend that’s going on between that cacophony of sound is Ozomatli, y’know?”

Ozomatli on tour
5/15/22 – Redondo Beach, CA – BeachLife Festival
5/16/22 – Los Angeles, CA – The Venice West (BeachLife afterparty)
5/22/22 – Los Angeles, CA – Getty 25 Celebrates Lincoln Heights/East L.A.
5/29/22 – Taos, New Mexico – Kit Carson Park
5/30/22 – Pelham, TN – Dia de Los Muertos in the Caverns (A PBS Television Event – with Los Lobos)
6/17/22 – Menlo Park, CA – The Guild Theatre
6/18/22 – Mammoth Lakes, CA – The Village at Mammoth
6/19/22 – Ukiah, CA – Todd Grove Park (Sundays in the Park)
6/23/22 – Fullerton, CA – Craig Regional Park (OC Parks Summer Concert Series)
7/16/22 – Ventura , CA – Ventura Pier (Surf Rodeo)
7/28/22 – Ridgway, CO – Hartwell Park
7/29/22 – Fort Collins, CO – Washington’s
7/31/22 – Carbondale, CO – Sopris Park (Carbondale Mountain Fair)
9/02/22 – Silverthorne, CO – Rainbow Park
9/15/22 – Long Beach, CA – The Old School Cruise
9/16/22 – Long Beach, CA – The Old School Cruise
9/17/22 – Long Beach, CA – The Old School Cruise
9/18/22 – Long Beach, CA – The Old School Cruise