Tributes to Darlington football coach and dad who died a year after their mother
Hurworth Albion FC is hosting the match to fundraise in memory of their under-10s coach Michael Johnson.
Michael and Carrie have left behind two children- Jack and Charlie.
Michael Johnson with sons Charlie, 12, and Jack, 13 (Image: CONTRIBUTOR) The club has now set up a GoFundMe to run alongside the plans for the match to help raise funds for the two boys.
Neil Linfoot, manager of the other under 10s team at Hurworth said: "We as a club have all rallied around the boys and want to make this time a little easier for them.
"We don't want them to have to worry about the future or anything.
"Michael was just great. He was so happy-go-lucky and everyone at the club just loved him."
Michael Johnson with his under 10s football team (Image: CONTRIBUTOR) Neil continued: "He worked so hard out of the goodness of his heart and from his love of the club and would do anything for those children.
"We will all dearly miss him. We will put all our efforts into raising funds to help the two lads find some sense of normality as they move forward.
"While nothing can ease the pain of this loss, we hope to show them just how much love and support surrounds them."
READ MORE:
Tribute to 'selfless' Darlington dad after death aged 38
Ducks help Hurworth junior football club to pay the bills
'The stress has taken its toll': Pub announces closure six months after take over
Michael is being remembered as a 'selfless' dad (Image: CONTRIBUTOR) The friendly match is set to be held on Sunday, April 13 between the two under 10s teams at the Hurworth Albion FC club- one of which was managed by Michael and the other by Neil.
The GoFundMe has already raised over six thousand pounds for the boys with more expected in the coming weeks after the charity match.
Youth football clubs from across the region have been doing their own fundraisers with many donating hundreds of pounds to the page.
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New York Times
27 minutes ago
- New York Times
From worst to nearly first: Inside Michael Harris II's midseason turnaround for Braves
ATLANTA — Seldom has there been a midseason turnaround as resounding as that of Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Harris II, who went from having the worst OPS (.551) among all major-league qualifiers before the All-Star break to having the third highest (1.144) since the break. It's a transformation that involved, among other things, watching video alone on a cross-country flight to Sacramento, getting back to the way he once did things and hearing some reassuring wisdom from Hall of Famer Chipper Jones. Advertisement 'I knew what kind of player I could be, and I'm starting to feel that now,' said Harris, whose .398 average in 30 games since the All-Star break is second best among MLB lineup regulars, after his .210 average in 93 games before the break tied for third lowest. Harris was 4-for-4 with a two-run homer in Monday's 13-9 series-opening loss against the Chicago White Sox, which ended Atlanta's five-game winning streak and gave Harris a majors-leading .430 average and 1.251 OPS since July 25. 'I guess it's better late than never,' he said of his stunning turnaround. 'Find it going into the next season and even making a push here in the late season, just trying to help the team win. So, it feels good.' The Braves scored eight runs after the fifth inning, after falling behind 10-1 on a night when Spencer Strider got hit hard for the third consecutive start. Jurickson Profar had two homers and five RBIs to continue his recent tear. Harris led off the eighth inning with a single and, with the Braves still trailing 13-5, manager Brian Snitker pinch-ran for him with Eli White to get Harris off his feet. The Braves ended up batting around in the inning, with Profar's three-run homer getting them within 13-9, and had the bases loaded with two out when Harris' would-be spot came up. White struck out to end the inning. 'I was trying to do him a solid, getting him off his feet,' Snitker said. 'The last thing I thought in my mind was we're gonna bat around and his spot come back up. He's played every inning in every game (recently) and I just thought, give him an extra bat and then get him off the seat. God, I had no idea we were going to bat around, and I'm like, holy cow. Just trying to give the kid a break and it blows up.' Strider was charged with 10 hits, seven runs and two homers, and exiting with none out in the fourth inning. His recent woes — Strider has allowed a staggering 29 hits, 20 runs and seven homers in 11 2/3 innings over his past three starts — have been as pronounced as Harris' resurgence. Advertisement Harris has hit .500 with nine extra-base hits and 15 RBIs during an 11-game hitting streak, including a run of eight consecutive multi-hit games that ended Sunday and tied a Braves franchise record. The out-of-contention Braves have won eight of 10, and he has played arguably the biggest role. 'He's been unbelievable,' Snitker said. 'Just what he's doing, the consistency, and how he kind of found what he's doing has been awesome to see.' Harris raised his average and OPS from .210/.555 on July 21 to .260/.706. He has 46 hits in his last 26 games, the most by any Brave within such a span since Martin Prado had 47 in 26 games spanning May and June 2010. 'I told him many times how much respect I have for him, because even when he wasn't hitting, he was out there helping us defensively,' Snitker said. 'I mean, he never took (the hitting woes) out there. He was making great plays and busting his rear, and it says a lot about the individual doing that.' Harris' improvement began in the last games before the All-Star break, at the end of a two-city trip to face the Athletics in Sacramento and the Cardinals in St. Louis. The Atlanta-area native had been working with hitting coach Tim Hyers for much of the first half on trying to get his hands higher to begin his batting stance, up near ear level instead of down around his stomach. However, Harris, 24, couldn't get comfortable with it, despite having hit with his hands up there during his amateur and minor-league career. He lowered his hands in the first week of his MLB career in May 2022, after being called up from Double A and struggling in his first few big-league games. He lowered them, then brought them up as the pitch was being delivered, an extra 'load' step added to help him get into rhythm. And it worked. Harris hit .347 with a .946 OPS in his next 27 games and finished his first season with a .297 average, 49 extra-base hits (19 homers) and an .853 OPS in 114 games, winning NL Rookie of the Year with 22 of 30 first-place votes (Strider was runner-up and got the other eight first-place votes). Advertisement In 2023, his second season, Harris hit .293 with 54 extra-base hits and an .808 OPS in 138 games, his stats slipping some but still quite good for such an outstanding young defensive player. However, in his third season, he was hitting just .250 with a .653 OPS in 67 games before missing two months with a strained hamstring. He finished the year at .264 with a .722 OPS, and Harris' 102 OPS+ was a mere 2 percent above a theoretical average MLB player, down from 133 in his rookie season and 116 in 2023. Snitker attributed his 2023 stats to a slow start and missing so much time with the injury. The Braves were eager to see what Harris could do if he stayed healthy for a full season. Teammates believed Harris was an All-Star selection waiting to happen, a five-tool talent who just needed to stay healthy. 'That was one of the first things Matt (Olson) told me at spring training,' said Hyers. 'We were in the first couple of (batting practices), and he goes, 'Tim, that's one of those talented guys we have, if not the most talented guy we have. He's a special talent.'' So imagine the angst when Harris got off to a nightmarish start this season, and kept slumping. He hit .179 through 18 games. He had a .588 OPS through 52 games. At the end of June, he was hitting .212 with a .559 OPS for a team that was 38-44. Snitker kept him out of the lineup for a couple of games but said Harris was working hard with Hyers to get things turned around at the plate. 'The whole year he's tried to find that spot (with his hands), and he just couldn't find it,' Hyers said. 'Whenever he lowered them (after first being called to the majors), his hands went back up to that spot (after he loaded). Because his whole life, he swung from there. But over time, our bodies want to go to comfort. So he started to kind of load out here in no-man's land (Hyers demonstrates hands away from body) in a weaker position.' Advertisement A week after Harris was benched for two games and went 0-for-11 in a July 4-6 series against Baltimore that included a three-strikeout game, he watched a lot of video from his minor-league career during the Braves' flight to Sacramento. He noticed how free and easy he looked while hitting .305 with only 39 strikeouts in 196 plate appearances at Double-A Mississippi before being called up, and how he did it with his hands up, for a more direct path to the ball. He thought about something Braves great Jones told him just before the break. 'Chipper told me it's better to swing up to down than down to up, so being up there is a good thing,' Harris said. 'And I feel like everything's been a lot cleaner since then and I haven't had to think as much.' It's what he had worked all season trying to get back to, but this time, after watching the video, he was committed to doing it in games. He was out of the lineup for the series opener in Sacramento, then went 0-for-8 in two games there while keeping his hands up, not loading from the lower position. 'It felt a little weird, like my hands were way higher than they actually were, because my hands were down for the past three years,' Harris said. However, at St. Louis in the last series before the All-Star break, Harris went 4-for-10 with two doubles. He was on his way. Before Monday night's game, Harris recalled that conversation with Jones. 'We were trying to find something and trying to get those hands in the right spot,' Harris said. 'And ultimately it came down to me just saying, all right, I'm just going to raise them up. It can't hurt. I was doing it my whole life, so if I made the change to moving down after getting called up, why not be able to go back up now?' The kid from Stockbridge High outside Atlanta went back home, figuratively speaking, to the place where his hands work best. The results have been resounding. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
2025 college football betting preview: Best bets to make/miss the College Football Playoff
Taking Oregon as our summer bet to win the College Football Playoff last season seemed like a good idea for the remaining months, weeks, and days of 2024, as the Ducks ran the table during the regular season, beat Penn State convincingly to end their first Big Ten season as league champs and earned the CFP No. 1 seed. Then 2025 hit, the Rose Bowl started, and minutes later, it became clear that Oregon was overmatched against Ohio State. What can you do? The goal for betting anything that won't be decided for four months or more, is to capture odds now that will improve over the course of the season (just like the Ducks did) because the team's path to winning gets easier in that time. Last year's debut of the 12-team playoff changed the calculus for that road to a title, as the Buckeyes were able to suffer not just an early loss (at Oregon), but an earth-shattering upset at the hands of Michigan, and still not just remain a contender, but garner a top-8 seed and crucial home-field advantage in their quarterfinal matchup with Tennessee. College Football Playoff odds The betting market will tell you who it thinks will make the College Football Playoff (and how likely they are to win it), and you can draw a literal line after 12 teams: The chart above (provided by BetMGM) shows that there's a different probability in making the playoff from the Big Ten (Oregon) compared to the ACC (Clemson), and even SEC teams like South Carolina and Tennessee have different odds to make the playoff, despite the same odds to win it all. Interestingly, while we have the teams ordered by national championship odds, the 'to make the CFP' odds aren't in lockstep. Florida is one of the 12 most-likely teams to win it all, but three other teams are apparently more likely to make it. Best bets to make the College Football Playoff With a whopping sample size of one season, we've seen that there are some long shots to be found. Last summer, SMU had 11-1 odds to make the College Football Playoff, while neither Indiana nor Arizona State even made our chart prior to 2024. That brings hope for teams like Missouri, North Carolina, Baylor, Kansas, BYU, TCU, Iowa, Duke and Washington. Live a little – pick a long shot. Notably, there were multiple routes to a surprising CFP berth, as the Sun Devils did it by winning the Big 12, while the Mustangs finished a close second in the ACC and the Hoosiers qualified as the fourth-best team from arguably the best conference. Meanwhile, the SEC only got three playoff teams, seemingly because the committee couldn't decide between Ole Miss, Alabama and South Carolina. Fundamentally, the whole thing is built on how clean your resume is, and managing the opportunities and threats to what could eventually be a playoff-caliber CV. Favorite Clemson Tigers (-185) Let's start with some math. And yes, I know you were told there'd be no math. At odds of -110 at BetMGM, Clemson is perceived to be better than 50/50 to win the ACC ( (52.5%), which feels about right. Odds of -185 to make the CFP imply that Clemson should make the playoff just shy of 65% of the time, which feels low for Yahoo's No. 1 ranked team. That 12.5% 'tax' measures the scenario where Clemson loses the ACC title game, but makes it into the CFP anyway. If you think that probability is higher than 1-in-8, then the Tigers are a valuable bet in this market instead of the conference championship. The reason to believe that is two-fold: The ACC showed they could pull two CFP bids last season, as SMU made it with an 11-2 record, and not much in the form of quality wins. Clemson has two non-conference opportunities to build its resume – favored over LSU at home, and South Carolina on the road. Wins over either, plus a berth in the conference title game (thanks to a soft league slate) should be enough to make sure a team that's already held in high regard gets back into the playoff … without having to win the ACC title game in Charlotte. Underdogs Oklahoma Sooners (+500) Oklahoma going 9-3 with the schedule in front of them might be a long shot, but +500 is just enough of a potential payout to coax us into a bet on the chances the CFP committee recognizes how incredible that record would be given what the Sooners have to deal with. Brett Venables finally produced a dominant defense last season, but in order to keep his job, it appears he's not allowed anywhere near the offensive side of the ball, except for whatever input he had in bringing in the offensive coordinator-quarterback combination of Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer from Washington State. Arbuckle did wonders at Western Kentucky before working with Cam Ward the year before he went to Miami. With a potential non-conference home win over Michigan, Oklahoma should be 5-0 before the Red River Rivalry. Playing the AP No. 1 close in the Cotton Bowl, should keep them in the conversation. From there, if the Sooners go 4-2 in six games against South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, and LSU (five currently ranked teams), that translates into a resume with at least five big wins – one coming on the road, and a strong finish. The brutal SEC schedule may keep the best version of Oklahoma from getting to the conference title game, but will give it enough opportunity to impress a committee who might be feeling some regret about eschewing good teams with three losses for inferior ones with a better record last season. Utah Utes (+500) Both Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and Iowa State were chagrined by not being considered for the CFP last season, but the Cyclones could have just not blown a home game to Texas Tech in the final two minutes. Had it been a 1-loss team with a win over Iowa in the non-conference, Iowa State would have potentially gotten in, even after losing to Arizona State in the Big 12 title game. It wasn't that long ago (three years) that TCU made it into the (four-team!) playoff, even after losing to Kansas State for the conference championship. Utah's +500 odds here aren't far off from its +550 odds to win the Big 12, so why not pay a small tax for the backup plan – that the Big 12 can get two bids. After all, there's a bigger gap between the other Big 12 contenders' odds in those two markets. (e.g. Kansas State is +700 to win Big 12, but +400 to make the playoff) Without a notable non-conference showdown on the schedule, the TCU route — an outstanding regular-season record — might be the way that Utah can run up the rankings before arguably their trickiest road game, at Kansas in Week 14. Long shot Virginia Tech Hokies (14-1) In honor of Indiana, SMU, and Arizona State, we need one 'just for fun' long shot for 2025. In 2023, those three teams combined for a 17-21 record — buoyed by SMU's 11-3 mark in the American. A year ago, the case for those three teams would have been flimsier than making a case for the Hokies, who were considered something of a sleeper in the ACC. A disappointing 6-6 record was the product of a season-opening loss to Vanderbilt that looked less catastrophic just a couple weeks later, and four more one-possession defeats. Plus, Virginia Tech was in a dogfight with Clemson — shutting out the Tigers in the first half, only to lose Kyron Drones to injury for the season. A year later, they still have the mercurial Drones, an opportunity to get noticed with a home game against South Carolina in Week 1 and a schedule that's relatively cozy, with Georgia Tech as their toughest trip (Miami and Louisville come to Blacksburg). If the bad record in close games isn't a function of poor coaching, a turnaround won't be so surprising. Group of Five Memphis Tigers (+850) UNLV Rebels (18-1) On paper, it's a race between 64 teams from five conferences, competing for the committee's one token Group of Five (G5) CFP spot, but with all due respect to the MAC and Conference USA, it's not happening. The path to the No. 1 G5 ranking requires a convincing conference championship and one of two other resume points: Play another CFP candidate and be competitive in a loss (eg. Boise State vs. Oregon in 2024), and finish with one loss Beat a Power Five conference opponent to get noticed and finish with one loss or less Looking at the top candidates in American, Mountain West and Sun Belt, here are the top non-conference opponents of each contender, and the projected point spread in that game: If the equation is 'show-out in your big non-conference game' and 'win your league', every team but Memphis and UNLV has a big hurdle (to be competitive) before they even get to their league schedule, so it's worth splitting a unit across the Tigers and Rebels to generate the same payout. Example: 0.35 units on UNLV to win 6.3 units (net 5.65) 0.65 units on Memphis to win 5.5 units (net 5.25) The Tigers are +825 (10.8% implied probability) compared to +550 (15.4%) to win the American, and their schedule has all its most difficult opponents coming to Memphis. There's massive turnover for Ryan Silverfield's group, but that creates an element of uncertainty that we want in a long shot. Especially when it's a program that's been historically among the favorites to emerge from the Group of Five. UNLV's 'uncertainty' comes from Dan Mullen taking over in Vegas. Mullen oversaw quick turnarounds in his first seasons at both Mississippi State and Florida, taking over a 4-7 team and going 10-3 in Gainesville. Rather than bet UNLV at +700 for the Mountain West, if they can convert being a projected favorite into a win over UCLA, even a loss at Boise State could still result in a title game rematch. Winning that game would give the Rebels a legitimate argument to be included in the College Football Playoff. Best bets to miss the playoff Given that just eight teams are favored to make the CFP, the odds reflect how difficult it still is to get in. There are plenty of good teams not favored who intend to put up a significant challenge. So, who's vulnerable to get 'their' spot stolen? Ohio State (+250) To pick against a team that's 'supposed to make it' is never easy since any one of them is a perennial powerhouse. The only case against a team like Ohio State (relative to the odds), is that there are enough tough games that might not go the Buckeyes' way that they don't qualify for the 13th data point that a conference championship game provides. Ohio State didn't need to get to the Big Ten title game last year, but with Texas in the opener and Penn State also coming to Columbus, they face the top two teams in the AP poll. If they went 0-2 in those, would anyone be shocked? If they lose both, not only will their at-large candidacy be in jeopardy, but making it to Indianapolis will be too. Especially, with a road slate that includes Washington, Illinois, Wisconsin and, yes, Michigan. With a new quarterback and coordinators on both offense and defense, a nine-win season would be understandable, and even the 'wrong' 10-2 record might not be enough, depending on how things shake out elsewhere.
USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
Troy Franklin, Bucky Irving dominate in NFL Preseason Week 2 action
We are less than two weeks away from the start of the Oregon Ducks season against the Montana State Bobcats, but NFL action is already underway with Week 2 of the preseason, giving Oregon fans a chance to see some of their favorite Pro Ducks on the gridiron. Week 1 of the preseason gave us great looks at guys like Traeshon Holden, Bo Nix, Jamaree Caldwell, and Noah Sewell. In Week 2, some more famous Ducks got a chance to produce and get in on the action, with the likes of Troy Franklin, Bucky Irving, Tez Johnson, and Derrick Harmon dominating in their respective games. It also gave us our first look at quarterback Dillon Gabriel in a Cleveland Browns uniform, where he looked solid in his preseason debut. Whether it was an established player who received minimal reps or a young gun fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster, the former Ducks provided a lot to look at this weekend. Here's a glance at some of the standout performances. Troy Franklin — Denver Broncos Troy Franklin has been having an incredible training camp in Denver, and he showed that on Saturday night with four catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals. It left head coach Sean Payton declaring that Franklin's breakout season is underway, and he has high expectations for the former Duck going into 2025. More: Sean Payton on Troy Franklin's breakout season with Denver Broncos: 'It's happening' Bucky Irving — Tampa Bay Buccaneers We saw a year ago what Bucky Irving could do as a running back in the NFL, but he showed everyone on Saturday night that he can be pretty great as a wide receiver too, splitting out wide and bringing down this impressive TD catch on a dime from Teddy Bridgewater. Derrick Harmon — Pittsburgh Steelers As a first-round pick, there are high expectations for Derrick Harmon going into his rookie season on a dominant Pittsburgh defensive line, and he's proving himself early on, especially wit this bull rush through the Tamba Bay offense, getting home for a sack. Tez Johnson — Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tez Johnson has received a lot of positive buzz from his teammates throughout training camp, and he showed how dynamic he can be on the field, even with the special teams unit, as a punt returner on Saturday against the Steelers. Johnson also finished the day with four catches for 24 yards in the game. Dillon Gabriel — Cleveland Browns Dillon Gabriel had some highs and a couple of lows in his preseason debut with the Browns. His first drive was nearly perfect, with a lot of strikes over the middle and conversions on third downs, leading to a touchdown. However, he later threw a pick-six on a play where his receivers didn't help him out, and was credited with a fumble. Ultimately, he looked solid in the game, but he still has competition to win the starting spot. More: Social media reacts to Dillon Gabriel's NFL preseason debut with Cleveland Browns Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
