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Fox Sports
4 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Birmingham Stallions' Skip Holtz, J'Mar Smith reunite with chance to make history
For the fourth time in four years, the Birmingham Stallions ended up right where they expected to be when the 2025 UFL regular season came to a close: in the postseason, hosting the USFL Conference Championship Game at Protective Stadium. But the route they took to get back to within two wins of claiming a fourth consecutive professional spring football league title was circuitous. The Stallions entered their first season without former general manager and wunderkind Zach Potter and with some new faces making their way to Birmingham out of sheer necessity. The Stallions, who have never looked like an unbeatable team even when they have been virtually unbeatable, have made finding ways to win their hallmark. This season stands as the best example of that, especially at quarterback. What began with a former league MVP and championship-caliber QB in Alex McGough quickly became a near-season-long exercise in triage by coach Skip Holtz, who also acts as quarterbacks coach and playcaller. In 10 weeks, he's been forced to play five different quarterbacks and start four. Not one Birmingham QB has started more than three games, and only one has not been forced to miss playing time due to injury. And yet the Stallions enter the postseason sitting at 7-3 with an offense and defense that is playing so well that they beat the Memphis Showboats 46-9 in their regular-season finale. With so many changes in place, from injuries to new individuals running his offense, how has Holtz managed to come through this season with not only a winner, but a team that looks capable of taking the 2025 UFL crown? "I don't know," Holtz said with a brief chuckle as he attempted to put a season unlike any other he's coached into context. In 10 regular-season games, the Stallions have suffered injuries on the offensive line, defensive line and both cornerback positions. Still, the circumstances surrounding the team's quarterback room were unique. Just two of the five QBs on Birmingham's roster this season, McGough and Matt Corral, were present for the first five days of installation at training camp. Veteran Case Cookus joined the team a week late and was thrust into duty after McGough and Corral went down with injuries. Holtz even brought in former Wyoming QB Andrew Peasley to play meaningful snaps. That is when it became clear that Holtz wanted J'Mar Smith to return to the team. Holtz not only needed a player he could trust, but someone he was familiar with. When Corral went down, Holtz knew he needed to get a QB in his room who knew his offense, his scheme, and could give them a chance to finish the season with an offensive identity. "I tried to call J'Mar, but he was getting a new phone or something, and didn't call me back," Holtz said. "And so I went and moved on Peasley, not thinking that he would be interested." Eventually, Smith got in touch with Holtz and let him know that he was indeed interested, but the timing didn't work, as an offer had already extended to Peasley. Corral suffered a shoulder injury and was placed on injured reserve by the Stallions, and that's when Smith got the call. Holtz found a roster spot and succeeded in getting Smith on the sideline in time for Birmingham's game against conference rival Houston in Week 7. Down 25-6 at halftime, the Stallions looked like they were on their way to another loss, which would put them squarely on the bubble to make the postseason with just three games left in the regular season. And then Cookus, who started that game, reaggravated a knee injury. Holtz put his former Louisiana Tech star quarterback in, and the Stallions finished with the biggest comeback win in UFL history, scoring 27 unanswered points in a memorable 33-25 win. In that game, Smith looked like the player he was at Louisiana Tech, where he averaged better than 3,000 passing yards per season as a three-year starter. The former Bulldog standout, who has thrown for more than 10,000 yards with Holtz as his playcaller, showed off his elite playmaking ability, completing 3-of-5 passes for 63 yards and adding a rushing score in the victory. It was then, in that Week 7 comeback win over the Roughnecks, that Holtz found his quarterback. Since then, the Stallions have gone 3-1 when Smith is under center, including going 22-of-31 for 306 yards and two touchdowns against conference-title foe Michigan in Week 9. "I still had my questions after the St. Louis game [Week 8]," Holtz said. "But it was after the game against Michigan that I said, 'There you go now.' That's when the thing went off where you went, 'All right, that's our guy.'" Smith has relished the opportunity to lead the Stallions into the postseason as QB1. Though he started the first-ever USFL game for Holtz, he has never had the chance to be "The Guy" in the postseason, and now, Smith's son will get to see his father play for a championship too. "I'm literally thinking about it, getting chills," Smith said of playing in front of his one-year-old son. "It's just one of the big things that was very special to me about having this opportunity to play again." It's a gorgeous moment for Holtz and Smith, who have known each other for 11 years — half of Smith's life — across college and professional football. "A lot of people can't say that they've been with their coach this long, especially playing football," Smith said. "In my situation, me being a quarterback and him being an offensive playcaller and coach, it is a great connection, a great feeling. "You understand what he wants. You know the offense: front, back, side-to-side." Both Holtz and Smith admitted that their connection has been a true strength over the last four weeks, and that is quite possibly the reason the Stallions could win the UFL title. In a league where change is a part of the game and being comfortable with the unfamiliar is the best trait you can possess, Holtz and Smith have the one attribute every coach and player in the UFL craves: chemistry built on experience, earned trust and an insatiable desire to be better tomorrow than each was today. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The Number One College Football Show." Follow him at @RJ_Young . [Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily .] FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience recommended Get more from United Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Residents critique care at Rochester's Frisbie Hospital under HCA
If you wanted to know how things have gone at Frisbie Memorial Hospital since for-profit HCA Healthcare, the world's largest hospital conglomerate, took over in 2020, Wednesday's public meeting in Rochester told two stories. Corporate leaders and hospital staff marched in lockstep to the podium and offered their own positive self-assessments. Residents came not to praise HCA, but to plead with the state's Health Care Consumer Protection Advisory Commission and Attorney General John Formella to help make their community hospital better. The meeting was 2½ hours long so everyone who signed up could speak. The first 88 minutes of input, however, was almost entirely HCA and Frisbie officials talking about the strides they've made. State Sen. Tom McGough and state Rep. Julie Miles, both Merrimack Republicans who are on the commission, prodded doctors, nurses and officials to speak in unscripted terms, answer questions and be accountable to patients. 'That's a great testimonial from the CMO. I'm thrilled to hear that things have come back — ortho, neuro, partial hospital psych services. That's fantastic. We've got a room full of folks. What are we about to hear? What are you still missing?' McGough asked Dr. Trevor Eide, the chief medical officer. Eide said Frisbie's goal is to take care of as many patients as possible in Rochester and send only the sickest patients to Portsmouth Regional Hospital, which is also owned by HCA. 'If I had to say there's one thing that I'd like to have back, one service line, I think nephrology to provide dialysis for our dialysis patients.' Eide said when pressed. Hospital officials listed several areas of improvement, including faster turnaround to transfer critically ill patients to other hospitals and better access to outpatient services, primary care and specialists. Frisbie has also decreased the time it takes a patient coming into the emergency room to be evaluated by a provider, which is now less than six minutes, according to Dr. Carly Shiembob, the medical director for Frisbie's emergency department. Yvonne Goldsberry, a member of the commission, suggested HCA provide a community benefit report like nonprofit hospitals are required to share with the public. Goldsberry, Formella, McGough and Miles all suggested better communication and community outreach. Merger fallout Residents focused mostly on services they lost after HCA saved Frisbie from closing just before COVID-19 hit. Commission members also made note of services Frisbie no longer provides, such as discontinuing labor and baby delivery services. In 2022, Formella's office investigated why HCA, which had agreed as part of the merger in 2020 to continue several services for at least five years, reneged on its promise and began sending expectant mothers 21 miles down the Spaulding Turnpike to Portsmouth. Ultimately, HCA and the AG's Office worked out a deal in 2023 for HCA to provide $2.75 million to the Greater Rochester Community Health Foundation to improve health and well-being for Rochester-area residents. 'How would you have us spend the $2.75 million, which is not much to a big company like HCA. But that money came from HCA and, let's face it, it's got to be part of the cost of business. How would you have this commission spend it?' McGough asked Rochester Mayor Paul Callaghan, one of the speakers who praised Frisbie. Callaghan suggested using the money to improve mental health and drug addiction services. Sharp criticism Dr. Mike Metzger, who worked at Frisbie as a cardiologist from 2005 to 2023 and now works at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, said the most seasoned doctors and nurses have left Frisbie. 'I feel like HCA does have a playbook, and it knows how to harvest its profit,' Metzger said. 'I say this with great sadness. I was one of the biggest cheerleaders of Frisbie, but I feel like this has to be said. While there may be some services there, they're nominally there. Most patients are being transported to Portsmouth Hospital.' Sharon Croft, who was born at Frisbie and was a school nurse for almost 30 years, said she and others lost their doctors and received little or no notification. Others said the bad communication about doctor departures put some of them in a bind when it came time to renew the medications they relied on or couldn't find where their doctors moved to. Incidents like those eroded trust in the hospital and HCA, they said. 'Even though we hear all of these good things, people that I deal with, people in my neighborhood, they don't want to go to Frisbie,' Croft said. 'They want to go someplace else. It's not the people, it's what's available to them, and whether they are actually going to get the things they need. Or are they going to end up going someplace else anyway?' Roberta Goodrich, who lived in Rochester for 22 years before moving to Wakefield and previously worked at Frisbee, was disappointed when HCA closed the White Mountain Medical Center, the Barrington Walk-In Care and Seacoast Readicare in Somersworth. HCA officials said they had to close their clinics because they were losing money and didn't have enough patients to justify staying open. Goodrich said the reduction in services makes it clear that HCA values profits over patients. 'Since the HCA acquisition, Frisbie Hospital no longer has labor and delivery maternity care. How many women want to have prenatal care and then find out they have to go somewhere else to deliver,' Goodrich said. 'Delivery doesn't really generate much money for the company unless it's a complicated delivery or involves a C section.' Marsha Miller, who lives across the street from Frisbie, said she goes to Wentworth-Douglass because her husband can't get the care he needs in their home city. 'No matter what stories we hear today, and they are awesome, the reality is that people in Rochester that have touched the hospital before these changes, have that negative image,' Miller said. She said Frisbie can overcome the negative perception with better care and better communication. Putting patients first Formella was asked why so many people from HCA took up the majority of time during public comments and why residents didn't get to speak until the meeting was more than half-way over. 'We're going to think hard about that going forward as to how to make sure that these forums are true community forums, and we hear mostly from community members,' Formella said. 'Obviously, we don't' want to tell people they can't speak, but we also need to make sure that we're setting this up in a way that we hear from the community. I think we heard a lot from the community tonight, but I think in forums going forward, we're going to work to make sure we're hearing even more from community members and less from representatives from corporations.' Goldsberry agreed, saying HCA knows how to stay on message. 'The hospital has a lot of resources, and when they come to public events, they come with all their resources,' she said. 'Community members don't have those kinds of resources.' She said the commission will balance the testimony during the public meeting with a large amount of feedback its received from residents who email in their concerns. To submit a question for the Health Care Consumer Protection Advisory Commission, email Christine Rioux at dpierce@
Fox Sports
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Five things to watch for in Week 8 of the 2025 UFL season
Since the start of the 2025 UFL season, St. Louis Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht has been preparing his team for this weekend's matchup. Becht has built the Battlehawks to win an UFL title, St. Louis will have to dethrone the current champion Birmingham Stallions in order to do that. They'll get an opportunity to see if they're up to that task this weekend when they host the Stallions at The Dome at America's Center on Saturday (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). "They're the reigning champions, so if you want to be where they are, you've got to take it from them," Becht said. [MORE: What is the UFL? Everything to know about the 2025 United Football League ] The Stallions won the first and only matchup between these two franchises last season, a 30-26 victory in Birmingham in Week 7 of the regular season. St. Louis failed to make it to the championship game last year, losing to the San Antonio Brahmas in the XFL Conference title game, 25-15. However, with both teams sitting at 5-2 and tied for the lead atop their respective conferences, Saturday's game could be a preview of this year's championship tilt. The Battlehawks hope to play in that one, with the highly anticipated contest taking place in St. Louis. However, Becht understands there's still a lot of work to do. "We know how good Birmingham is, but we're a good team, too," Becht said. "They're going to have to worry about us as well, so it's going to be a great matchup." Elsewhere, the Brahmas (1-6) kick things off by hosting the Memphis Showboats (1-6) on Friday (8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). On Saturday, the Michigan Panthers (5-2) hit the road to face the Houston Roughnecks (3-4) in a game that'll be broadcast simultaneously (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) alongside Stallions-Battlehawks. Things come to a close with the DC Defenders (5-2) hosting the Arlington Renegades (3-4) on Sunday (noon ET). Here's a closer look at five things to watch for in Week 8: 1. Alex McGough returns, but J'Mar Smith to start for Stallions Out since suffering a separated shoulder in Week 2, Birmingham's starting quarterback McGough returned to practice this week, giving head coach Skip Holtz a tough decision to make as to who to start against St. Louis in an all-important contest with huge postseason implications. Last week's starter, Case Cookus, could not finish the game due to an injured elbow on his throwing arm. Cookus has also been nursing a balky knee and was limited in practice this week. Smith, who helped lead Birmingham to a USFL title in 2022, subbed in for Cookus and helped lead the Stallions to a comeback victory over Houston in Week 7. Backup QB Andrew Peasley also returned to practice this week after suffering a knee injury in Week 6. The Stallions released Jalen Morton to make room on the roster for McGough. Holtz says he's carrying four QBs on the roster this week because he doesn't know who's healthy enough to play, but Smith will get the start against the Battlehawks. "The only healthy guy I've got right now is J'Mar Smith," Holtz said. "He's the healthiest quarterback right now and gives us the best chance to win." 2. QB Troy Williams to start for Showboats The quarterback carousel churned again for Memphis, as interim head coach Jim Turner made the decision to start Williams this weekend against the Brahmas. Williams split time with E.J. Perry to start the year. The Utah product has played in three games, making one start and completing 16 of 27 passes for 180 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. Perry will serve as the backup and Dresser Winn, who started the last three games but missed practice time this week with a knee injury, will serve as the emergency third-string quarterback. The Showboats will also be without running back Wes Hills due to a calf issue. For San Antonio, star running back Anthony McFarland (shoulder) and receiver Mathew Sexton (hamstring) are inactive. 3. UFL's leading tackler Frank Ginda out for year with shoulder injury Michigan will have to play the rest of the season without its leading tackler after Ginda was placed on IR due to a left shoulder injury. Ginda leads the league with 61 combined tackles, including four tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. The Panthers already lost last year's UFL Defensive Player of the Year in edge rusher Breeland Speaks when he was placed on IR with an unspecified injury. However, the Panthers did get an explosive playmaker back, with running back Matt Colburn returning to the active roster after missing five games because of a shoulder issue. To make room, the Panthers waived running back Jaden Sheridan, who was claimed by the Brahmas. 4. WR Jacob Harris returns to action for San Antonio Speaking of the Brahmas, one of the team's leading receivers will return to action this week. Big-bodied pass catcher Harris returned to the active roster this week after missing Week 7 because of a foot injury. A fourth-round selection by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2021 NFL Draft, Harris spent two seasons in L.A. and one year with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Harris leads San Antonio with 247 receiving yards on 15 receptions, averaging 16.5 yards per catch. Kevin Hogan is set to make his third start at quarterback for San Antonio. The Brahmas also waived safety BoPete Keys (hamstring) this week. St. Louis signed a familiar face to the roster, adding depth to the defensive backfield with the addition of Micah Abraham. A sixth-round selection by the Indianapolis Colts last season, he was cut during final roster cuts. He spent part of the 2024 season on the practice squad with the Cincinnati Bengals and signed a deal with the team in January. However, he was released by the Bengals this week. Micah Abraham, 24, finished with 150 combined tackles and 12 interceptions during his college career at Marshall. He joins a St. Louis defense that's allowed just one touchdown over the last two games. To make room on the roster, the Battlehawks waived LB Olakunle Fatukasi. Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him at @eric_d_williams . Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience United Football League recommended Get more from United Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
CNBC
09-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Palantir is one stock to own in hopes of its growing to a trillion dollar market cap, investor says
Palantir is one stock to hold for the long term despite the stock market's recent volatility, as the artificial intelligence software company might eventually land a $1 trillion market value, according to Will McGough, Prime Capital Financial director of investments. The investor said Palantir remains a buy even though the stock has rallied 55% this year. The latest move has lifted the company's valuation to $281 billion, surpassing Salesforce, which is 10 times bigger in terms of revenue. Palantir was one of three stocks McGough called out as buys during CNBC's " Power Lunch ." Palantir Shares of Palantir have built on last year's 340% advance as the data analytics and AI software firm recently joined the top 10 largest U.S. technology companies by market capitalization. McGough said even though he's not a big fan of the stock's technical setup on the basis of price charts after this year's huge runup, the stock has a plenty more room to go in the long run. "I think you own for the ride to a trillion dollar market cap knowing it's going to be extremely volatile," McGough said. Palantir has price-to-earnings and other multiples that are far higher than its large-cap tech peers. Palantir currently trades for 520 times trailing earnings, almost 200 times forward earnings and 90 times revenue. Lyft On Lyft, which just reported earnings this week, McGough suggested investors hold it if they already own it. McGough said the wildcard about Lyft is that they could be a potential acquisition target. Lyft has been a big outperformer this year, up about 28%. The stock got a boost this week after the ride-sharing company boosted its share buyback authorization to $750 million as part of its first quarter earnings report. LYFT YTD mountain Lyft in 2025. Expedia McGough believes travel agency Expedia is a sell as it faces a tough fundamental backdrop due to trade conflict and rising protectionism that may serve to dampen consumer spending. Meanwhile, it's an old tech name in the cross hairs of AI, McGough added. EXPE YTD mountain Expedia Earlier this week, Expedia reported mixed first-quarter results. While earnings exceeded expectations, revenue came in slightly below analysts' consensus estimate, according to FactSet. On top of that, the company lowered its gross booking guidance for 2025.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) The Dirt Cheap Stock To Invest In Now?
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) stands against other dirt cheap stocks to invest in now. The stock market has been experiencing volatility and has quickly shifted from the post-election highs to being priced for recession. As of April 8, the S&P 500 had declined 19% from the all-time highs. The magnitude of this fall is slightly shy of the bear market threshold, thereby creating a sense of confusion for the investors to pave their way forward. To talk about the investment strategy during times of volatility, Prime Capital Financial CIO Will McGough joined Yahoo Finance on April 11 for an interview. McGough noted that they have been telling their clients and advisors to prepare for the volatility before the start of 2025. This is partly due to the new regime in Washington DC and its policies. However, more importantly, the market has had two really great years with more than 20% gains back to back, as a result, the price-to-earnings ratios were extended to historical extremes and earnings growth was delivering around 15% to 20%. These figures suggested that the market was almost at its peak with very little upside potential left to explore, which pointed towards risks of volatility. McGough presented his investment strategy during this time of volatility. He highlighted that they have been advising investors to look for diversity and increased exposure, which essentially means to be cognizant of the exposure your portfolio has in terms of growth and value stocks. He noted that if you have the 'Mag Seven' in your portfolio, they are concentrated and are categorized as large-cap growth, which suggests that the portfolio should be balanced with value and dividend-paying stocks as well. McGough noted that this helps temper the volatility and provides some stability. He also highlighted that after 15 years the market is finally moving away from the Mag Seven and in this scenario, the investors simply need to look for Market Weight stocks rather than Overweight. Another area for investors to look at is the international market. McGough pointed out that for a greater chunk of recent history, the United States market has dominated international stocks, however, the current market tightening and Trump administration policies are encouraging international stocks to increase spending and promote revenue growth. Therefore this can be a good time for investors to look ahead of the United States market into international stocks such as those based in Europe and Germany. McGough concluded that all of the market situation points towards a single mantra of being diversified rather than placing all the eggs in a single basket. To compile the list of 10 dirt cheap stocks to invest in now, we used the Finviz stock screener, Seeking Alpha, and Yahoo Finance. Using the screener we first aggregated a list of stocks trading below the Forward P/E of less than 10 with earnings expected to grow during the year. After sorting the list by market capitalization, we cross-checked each stock's P/E and earnings growth from Seeking Alpha and Yahoo Finance, respectively. Lastly, we ranked the stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders, sourced from Insider Monkey's database. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). A smiling customer receiving customer contact center solutions on their Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is a global technology and telecommunication company that provides the latest communication technology services to individuals, businesses, and government. It operates through two main segments including the consumer segment and business segment. On April 8, analyst Kutgun Maral from Evercore ISI upgraded the stock to a Buy rating with a price target of $48. The analyst noted that Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) has shown improvement in its postpaid subscribers, which he believes is a critical metric for telecommunication companies. Moreover, the company also continues to meet its broadband subscriber targets, while making progress in its fiber optic network. On top of this rating upgrade, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) also delivered strong financial and operational results in fiscal 2024. It grew its wireless segment revenue by 3.1% and adjusted EBITDA by 2.1% both coming ahead of its guidance. The company expects to grow its wireless service revenue by 2% to 2.8% in the future. It is one of the dirt-cheap stocks to invest in now. Overall, VZ ranks 7th on our list of dirt cheap stocks to invest in now. While we acknowledge the potential of VZ to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VZ but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
