Latest news with #Maas
USA Today
18 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Virginia's Ben James leads PGA Tour University preseason rankings for Class of 2026
Fall is quickly approaching, which means college golf is right around the corner. The 2025-26 season is almost upon us, as plenty of the best amateurs in the game will tee it up in search of a national championship. This season, the NCAA Championship returns to Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, California, where the Northwestern women and Oklahoma State men took home titles in May. With the new season also means new PGA Tour University rankings for the Class of 2026. On Wednesday, PGA Tour U announced its preseason rankings for the Class of 2026. This will be the sixth year of PGA Tour U, with David Ford finishing in the top spot last year and earning a PGA Tour card. The preseason ranking includes players from 16 schools, with Ole Miss having four players in the preseason top 25. In all, the top 25 features players from seven countries: China, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and the United States. In partnership with the World Amateur Golf Ranking, PGA Tour U ranks players based on the last two years of their collegiate careers. Eligible tournaments include NCAA Division I men's team competitions, official PGA Tour tournaments and select DP World Tour events. The ranking period for the Class of 2026 began Week 23/2024 and concludes June 1, 2026, following the final round of stroke play at the NCAA Division I men's national championship. The No. 1 player in the final PGA Tour University Ranking next June will earn PGA Tour membership, while players Nos. 2-10 will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2026 and players Nos. 11-25 will earn exempt membership for PGA Tour Americas Segment II in 2026. Finishers Nos. 2-5 will be exempt into Final Stage of Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, while Nos. 6-25 will be exempt into Second Stage. PGA Tour University Class of 2026 preseason rankings James is a three-time Golfweek first team All-American. He has six victories in 35 collegiate starts, and he helped the Cavaliers to a national runner-up finish at the 2025 NCAA Championship. James has represented the United States twice at the Arnold Palmer Cup (2023, 2024) and will make his second appearance at the Walker Cup in September. He has made nine starts on the PGA Tour, including the last two U.S. Opens, and finished T-33 at the Valero Texas Open in April. In 2024-25, Maas led the Longhorns with 18 rounds in the 60s and posted eight top-10s, including a victory at the Pauma Valley Invitational. A native of Pretoria, South Africa, Maas has four made cuts in seven starts on the DP World Tour, including a fourth-place finish at the Investec South African Open Championship in March 2025. La Sasso became the second player from Ole Miss to win the NCAA individual title, joining Braden Thornberry (2017). In 12 starts during his junior season, La Sasso tallied three victories and compiled the lowest scoring average (69.48) in program history en route to being named a Golfweek first-team All-American. He is making his fifth PGA Tour start of the summer at this week's 3M Open, and in September he will join James on the U.S. team at the Walker Cup. Morrison posted 10 top-20 finishes during his junior season at Texas, including his first collegiate victory at the Amer Ari Invitational. In June 2024, he became the first American to win the European Amateur and earned an exemption into the 2024 Open Championship, where he made the cut and finished T-60. Morrison has advanced to match play at The Amateur Championship the last two years. Summy's junior season included seven top-10s and a victory at the Maridoe Intercollegiate, and he led the Sooners with 20 rounds in the 60s and a 70.35 scoring average. His 2024 summer was highlighted by a runner-up finish at the Sunnehanna Amateur, and this summer he has a T-12 at the Northeast Amateur and T-3 at the Southern Amateur. Oklahoma is the only school that has produced a PGA Tour U graduate each of the first five years (2021-25), and the Sooners lead all schools with eight PGA Tour U alumni. Nos. 6-25
Daily Mail
16-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Bloomsbury shares rise as analysts eye next Sarah J. Maas novel
Shares in Bloomsbury rose on Wednesday as the publisher told investors best-selling novelists Sarah J. Mass and J.K. Rowling would continue to drive profitability this year. Fantasy novelist Maas topped bestseller lists again in the UK and US with the paperback launch of House of Flame and Shadow in June, helping to nab Bloomsbury the Publisher of the Year crown at this year's British Book Awards. The popularity of Mass' work has become a major driver of sales at Bloomsbury, which is best known for Rowling's Harry Potter series. Rowling's Pocket Potters series is set to hit shelves in August and Bloomsbury told shareholders on Wednesday is has 'a strong front list in the remainder of the year'. Bloomsbury's academic publishing unit has also shown progress following the 'game-changer' acquisition of Rowman & Littlefield earlier this year. It expects full-year results to be in-line with market expectations of £335.9million in revenues and £41.86million in profits before taxation and highlighted items. Fantasy novelist Maas topped bestseller lists again in the UK and US with the paperback launch of House of Flame and Shadow in June The group said: 'We continue to execute our Bloomsbury 2030 vision focused on our growth, portfolio and people. 'The resilience of our business created through the portfolio of portfolios strategy underpins the confidence our Board has in the future.' Bloomsbury Publishing shares were up 3.7 per cent to 505p in early trading. They were dealt a blow in May after the group posted weaker profits. Another Maas novel to lift earnings? Analysts at Peel Hunt expect academic performance to remain 'subdued in the near term' but think Bloomsbury's consumer arm could boost shares over the next year. Jessica Pok and Melanie Yang wrote in a note on Wednesday: 'Bloomsbury made no reference to a new Sarah J. Maas title in today's statement. 'However, the author revealed on social media last week that the first draft has been completed. 'Her Instagram post has garnered 835k likes and 35k comments in just four days. 'The publisher has not yet issued an official announcement regarding the book or its release date. For context, House of Flame and Shadow was published roughly 10 months after its formal announcement. 'While a FY26 release remains possible, we believe FY27 is a more realistic timeline. 'The book has the potential to add c.£9million to FY27E EBIT, representing a 20 per cent uplift to our current forecasts.' Peel Hunt holds a target price for Bloomsbury shares of 815p – roughly 60 per cent ahead of their current value.
Calgary Herald
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Were the Edmonton Elks right to overhaul things coming into this year?
Article content Now, offensive inefficiency contributes to that, of course, but it comes down to the defence not being able to stop anything. And that makes it hard for Ford to do something when he might as well have paid for a ticket, considering the amount of time he spent watching from the sideline. Article content And the worst part is, they have an entire bye week to think about things. Make no mistake, there are plenty of fair and hard questions they need to ask when looking themselves in the mirror. Not the least of which goes back 365 days ago, to when Jackson took over. Article content His win percentage as interim head coach, having gone 7-6, wasn't good enough, even though he earned the first winning record here since Jason Maas led Edmonton to its last playoff appearance in 2019. If you recall, Maas was fired after bringing the then-Eskimos to the divisional-final round for the third time in his four seasons as head coach. Again, not good enough? Article content Article content Since then, the three head coaches named in between Maas and Jackson went a combined 11-44 over four years, five if you include the 2020 season that was cancelled due to COVID-19. Article content Jackson wanted the job, and they didn't keep him or Simon, who went on to become GM at his alma mater, the University of Maryland, in the Big Ten. Now, under rookie head coach Mark Kilam and GM Ed Hervey, the Elks are 1-4. Article content That's a far cry from a run that saw Jackson guide the team to the playoff precipice by winning five of six, coming as close to punching their post-season ticket as they have in years. Article content But despite showing more oomph than the three previous seasons combined, the club decided not to carry over any of that momentum. Article content The new owner opted for change over continuity. And in his bid to distance the club, full stop, from its recent past, it's back to the ol' drawing board as Elks fans have to endure more growing pains in what feels like an endless cycle of rebuilds. Article content Article content That being said, as ugly as this first month has been, it doesn't necessarily mean it was the wrong decision. Article content Let's face it, there was never going to be an immediate turnaround this season just because the Elks received a sorely needed infusion of cash following the franchise-saving sale last summer. Article content Hervey has made no secret of his love for all things Edmonton, and already proved he has what it takes to put together a winner, given his stewardship of the club's last Grey Cup in 2015. But there is only so much a GM can do in one off-season. Article content And Kilam and his staff show promise, even if the runway for rookie head coaches is typically longer than a fan base going through a drought like Edmonton's cares to admit at this point. Article content At the same time, the Elks can't simply stay the course after the ship capsizes in a catastrophic loss like that one.
New York Times
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Romantasy: A Starter Pack
If you've been anywhere near a bookstore, library or BookTok feed in the last five years, you've probably encountered a growing crowd of fae, dragon riders and fated mates of various magical persuasions. These are among the hallmarks of romantasy, the crossover genre that blends the passion and spice of romance with the escapism and high-stakes drama of fantasy. The definition of romantasy is hotly contested and refers, at its narrowest, to romance-first stories with a secondary world (or 'high fantasy') setting. This list takes a more expansive approach, recognizing the slipperiness of genre boundaries and the many branches of the romantasy family tree (which includes what others might call paranormal romance, science fiction or historical fantasy). These books draw from a broad range of genre traditions: the Gothic literature of Mary Shelley and Sheridan Le Fanu, the urban fantasy trend of the 1990s (to say nothing of the urban fantasy revival of the 2010s), fairy tales, mythology, young adult fiction and the richly imagined worlds of fantasy and science fiction luminaries like Mercedes Lackey and Anne McCaffrey. If there's one thing as reliable in romance as the happily ever after, it's romance readers' eagerness to recommend books to newbies. This list offers a few places to start — but once you're in, there's a whole internet out there waiting to tell you what to read next. I want to start at the beginning A Court of Thorns and Roses The series that started it all! Maas's 'A Court of Thorns and Roses' began as a Y.A. series before transitioning to the adult section of the bookstore. In the first book, the human Feyre is brought as a captive to the faerie court of Tamlin, a High Lord of Prythian. Be prepared to wait a couple of books to understand the endgame: The arc of Feyre's romance takes a little while to unfold (and gets spicier as it goes on). There are currently five books in the series, with at least one more novel promised, so it's not too late to get it on the fun of obsessing over release schedules and fan theories. If you read it and love it, try … 'Faebound,' by Saara El-Arifi; A.K. Mulford's Golden Court series; Mai Corland's Broken Blades series; or the Last Binding trilogy, by Freya Marske. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Who is Cooper Maas? Dallas Cowboys rookie cheerleader becomes unexpected fan favorite ahead of 2025 NFL season
Cooper Maas, known for her role in 'Reacher,' is now captivating fans as a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader (Image via IG) As the Dallas Cowboys gear up for a season full of pressure and high expectations, attention isn't just focused on the gridiron. One unexpected rookie has been generating major buzz—but not in a helmet and pads. Meet Cooper Maas, a breakout star on the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders squad whose rising fame is turning heads even before the NFL action kicks off. From acting to dancing: Cooper Maas brings Hollywood flair to the Cowboys Cheerleaders Cooper Maas isn't your average rookie cheerleader. Already known to some TV fans for portraying Young Jack Reacher in the Amazon Prime Video series Reacher, Maas has made a seamless transition from acting to the high-pressure world of NFL cheerleading. A graduate of the University of Arizona, Maas entered the grueling selection process for the most iconic cheerleading team in sports—and emerged as a social media standout. With over 7,000 followers on Instagram, Maas has quickly built a devoted online following. Her blend of style, charisma, and authenticity has helped her connect with fans across the country, especially younger viewers who relate to her vulnerability and perseverance. A powerful message of resilience after unexpected result Although she didn't achieve the specific result she had hoped for during tryouts, Maas captured hearts by sharing an emotional, deeply personal message on Instagram. The quote, which has since gone viral, reads: "I don't think there are enough words to describe how much this opportunity has meant to me. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Lana Green Is Retiring - Her Final Jewelry Pieces Are 80% Off Design Craft Weekly Read More Undo It really taught me so much about myself and I can honestly say that I left a better person, dancer and friend." Maas followed that with another heartfelt post: 'Although the result was not what I had prayed for, the people I had the privilege of learning from and the memories I made exceeded any expectations… This opportunity gave me the most supportive, loving and genuine group that I am lucky enough to call friends and sisters for life.' These posts reveal more than just a cheerleader's journey—they reflect a powerful story of growth, gratitude, and sisterhood. Her genuine tone and self-reflection have struck a chord with many, especially as the NFL increasingly embraces narratives beyond just touchdowns and tackles. While Maas continues to win over fans, the Cowboys have also announced their official cheer squad leaders for the upcoming season, including familiar faces like Kleine Powell, Anna Kate Sundvold, and Karley Swindell. Also Read: 'I could prove them wrong': Victoria Kalina exposes Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders' politics after shock exit reflects on life after As the Cowboys seek to reclaim playoff glory, Cooper Maas' emergence as a fan-favorite cheerleader offers a refreshing reminder that sometimes, the most inspiring stories come from the sidelines. For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here . Catch Manika Batra's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 3. Watch Here!
