Latest news with #NFLWildCard
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
You can't blame Jack Della Maddalena for ruining the fight everyone wanted to see with his UFC 315 win
On the one hand, the musical champions thing that the UFC has going on in the wake of UFC 315 is kind of fun, so long as newly crowned welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena doesn't get any bright ideas of going up to challenge Dricus du Plessis. For as good as Islam Makhachev's been for the last decade, he's still trying to distinguish himself from his coach and mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, his sauna soulmate who has been attached at his hip for as long as there's been MMA coverage. Now that Della Maddalena has taken out Belal Muhammad to win the welterweight title, it seems that Islam is moving up to do what Nurmagomedov never did. That is, go win a title in a second weight class. If ever there was a moment for Islam to create his own legend, that time is now. Advertisement What is less clear after UFC 315 in Montreal on Saturday night is whether Makhachev will vacate his lightweight title as he goes in search of that history. We didn't get immediate clarification because UFC CEO Dana White didn't attend the post-fight press conference to provide it. Makhachev himself seems to think he can hold onto his 155-pound belt as he attempts to add another to the collection. That, of course, would diminish some of the other bold moves going on around him. UFC 315 was set up like a Week 17 in the NFL Wild Card picture. It was full of scenarios that would determine who'd be facing who, depending on the outcome. If Muhammad wins – Makhachev, Belal's bosom buddy, remains at lightweight and defends his title for the fifth time against Ilia Topuria. If Della Maddalena wins – Makhachev moves up to face JDM for the welterweight title now that his buddy is out of the way, and Topuria faces Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title. Advertisement We knew going into UFC 315 there would be many fates riding on the main event. Topuria, who vacated his own title at featherweight to move up and challenge Makhachev, has been waiting to find out if he'd get his wish. Oliveira, who has been a step removed in this wait-and-see matchmaking food chain, seemingly benefits the most, as he now (presumably) gets thrust into a some form of title shot against Topuria. He defaults into a big spot. Lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan? He's like the little girl who got absorbed into the television set in 'Poltergeist.' You can hear his warbling cries for help but you can't see him. Not that any of what I just laid out is what the public at large wanted. Or at least not the vast majority. What fans want is a fight between Ilia and Islam, two of the best pound-for-pound champions going, each in the prime of their careers. That fight didn't have to be a pie-in-the-sky event. It was sitting right there for us to have. It was right freaking there. And who knows, maybe it still is. In a game where we are denied so much, optimism has a way of sprouting like a weed through the sidewalk. Advertisement Yet the danger in having an interested third party play so heavily into a title fight like Saturday night's is that big picture rooting interests get in the way of a masterful performance. Perhaps the focus should've been less on what's next and instead zeroed in on what's happening. Because what happened was that Giacomo Della Maddalena, as he was so regally referred to after White wrapped the belt around his waist, did to Muhammad what for a dozen fights nobody else could. That is, he made Muhammad fight on his terms. He shut down a dictator by becoming one. He let the world know that there are levels involved in earning a Picasso nose like his. Advertisement JDM lit Muhammad up in the first two rounds, staying on his front foot, moving forward, landing crisp shots and thwarting takedowns. By the end of the second round, the champ was — somewhat surprisingly — in a two-round deficit on the scorecards. What was more impressive is that Muhammad actually came to life. He turned into the pacesetting, level-changing human onslaught who dethroned Leon Edwards last year. He didn't stay holstered. He was actively turning the tables, especially in the fourth round, when he forced Della Maddalena into the deep waters. We didn't go without seeing Belal's best. Yet in the fifth, it was Della Maddalena who dug deep. He landed the bigger shots. He hurt and staggered Muhammad. He opened the champ's nose and split his lip, as if to paint a picture of what it's like to stand in front of him for five rounds. He wasn't going to be denied, and in the end he left no doubt. He won the fight clear and definitively, without controversy and/or regrets. Advertisement As he begins his run as the new 170-pound king, restoring Australia's status as a manufacturer of champions, he turned a neat trick. He made the idea of him defending that title against Makhachev feel like something more than a consolation prize. He made it feel like maybe Islam should be careful what he wishes for, as there's a buzzsaw now lying in wait. Now it seems like it might be JDM who destroys all of tomorrow's parties, if only because we were slow to understand he was the life of the party all along. Will the UFC make Makhachev jettison his lightweight belt? It's hard to imagine Topuria fighting Oliveira for anything other than the vacated title. But from the Della Maddalena perspective, none of it matters. He has his own thing he's protecting. And if Saturday night told us anything, it's that snatching it out of his hands might not be as easy as the UFC's most famous division jumper believes it to be.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Baltimore man charged in Ravens-Steelers playoff game drone incident
A man is facing three federal felony charges for illegally operating a drone during a wild-card playoff game between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers last month. Alex Perez Suarez, a 43-year-old Baltimore resident, is accused of flying an unregistered drone above M&T Bank Stadium on Jan. 11 when the Federal Aviation Administration had imposed a temporary flight restriction over the venue. 'We are very serious about temporary flight restrictions,' said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron in a news release. 'You will be charged and held accountable for any incursion into restricted airspace, including around sports and entertainment venues such as the Super Bowl.' According to the affidavit filed, the Federal Aviation Administration had put in place a temporary flight restriction for M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore during the NFL Wild Card game. Federal officials considered the 'unidentified and unapproved drone' to be a serious enough threat that NFL Security temporarily suspended the game. The man charged in the incident left the scene, but law enforcement officials later found him. If convicted, Suarez faces a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison for knowingly operating an unregistered drone and for knowingly serving as an airman without an airman's certificate. Suarez faces a maximum of one year in federal prison for willfully violating United States National Defense Airspace. Sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. The charges brought say the drone was not registered nor did its operator have a Remote Pilot certificate to operate it. Have a news tip? Contact Jacques Kelly at and 410-332-6570.
CBS News
07-02-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Baltimore man facing federal charges after flying drone during Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers Wild Card game
BALTIMORE -- A Baltimore man is facing federal felony charges for flying a drone over M&T Bank Stadium during the NFL Wild Card game between the Ravens and Pittsburg Steelers on Jan. 11, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office. Before the game, the FBI warned that they would be monitoring the restricted air space above the stadium for drones. FBI Special Agent David Rodski told WJZ that illegally flying a drone could impact air operations when responding to emergencies or could cause injuries. "The dangers of flying a drone over a stadium - for starters - you have 70,000 people, if that drone falls from the sky, you can injure somebody, you can actually kill somebody with a drone," Rodski warned. According to court documents, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had a temporary flight restriction in place over the stadium during the game. The restriction prohibited certain aircraft from operating within a three-mile radius of the stadium. The flight restrictions are standard for sporting events and go into effect an hour before the event begins and remain in effect until an hour after the event ends, officials said. "We are very serious about temporary flight restrictions," said U.S. Attorney Barron. "You will be charged and held accountable for any incursion into restricted airspace, including around sports and entertainment venues such as the Super Bowl." On Jan. 11, the sighting of the unapproved and unidentified drone prompted NFL Security to temporarily suspend the Wild Card game, according to court documents. Maryland State troopers and FBI special agents tracked the drone's movement over the stadium and found it when it landed in Baltimore. The drone's pilot, 43-year-old Alexis Perez Suarez of Baltimore, had already left the scene, but officials were able to track his whereabouts, court records show. Suarez told officials he bought the drone for recreation and also used it for work. According to court documents, the drone was not registered and Saurez did not have the certifications needed to operate it. Court documents allege that Suarez flew the drone directly over M&T Bank Stadium about 400 feet or higher. He allegedly captured seven photos of the stadium during the game as thousands of people were below his flight path. Suarez faces a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison if convicted of flying a drone without certification and a maximum of one year for violating U.S. National Defense Airspace, according to court officials. "If you are going to fly a drone, you are responsible for learning all the laws and requirements to responsibly operate it. Failing to do so will not excuse you from the consequences of breaking the law," said Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI's Baltimore Field Office. East Coast drone sightings The drone sighting at M&T Bank Stadium came shortly after drone sightings along the East Coast caused confusion and frustration among lawmakers and prompted a federal investigation. In Maryland, several residents shared videos and pictures of drone activity, including former Gov. Larry Hogan who posted to social media claiming drones were flying above his home in Anne Arundel County. He called the federal response "entirely unacceptable," and tweeted, "The American people deserve answers and action now." Some social media users claimed the video posted by the former governor was actually stars from the Orion constellation. In Washington County, Pa., a medical helicopter was mistaken for a drone. "This drone was flying over our area and everything," resident Robert Zborowski said. "And in the comments, everybody's all, 'Shoot them down. Shoot them down. If they fly over my place, I'm going to shoot them down.' Well, it's been confirmed that that was her helicopter." At the time, President Trump claimed the federal government knew the origin of the mystery drones spotted in East Coast states, but said federal officials wanted to "keep people in suspense." In a joint statement, the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, FAA, and Defense Department said "...we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones."
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nielsen says Christmas had more viewing on streaming services than any day ever
NEW YORK (AP) — Christmas marked a milestone in media history: more streaming than any day ever before, according to the Nielsen company. Netflix streamed two NFL games on that day, with Beyonce appearing as the halftime entertainment when the Houston Texans hosted the Baltimore Ravens. Roughly half of all viewing in the United States that holiday was on streaming services, said Nielsen, the measurement service which has followed the rise of streaming in relation to traditional TV viewing over the past decade. It was the first day Nielsen has measured where streaming services exceeded 50 billion viewing minutes. While the football games were dominant, other services did well with holiday movies like 'Elf' and 'Home Alone.' The second most-streamed day ever came two weeks later, when Prime Video showed an NFL Wild Card game on Prime Video. The Associated Press
The Independent
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Nielsen says Christmas had more viewing on streaming services than any day ever
Christmas marked a milestone in media history: more streaming than any day ever before, according to the Nielsen company. Netflix streamed two NFL games on that day, with Beyonce appearing as the halftime entertainment when the Houston Texans hosted the Baltimore Ravens. Roughly half of all viewing in the United States that holiday was on streaming services, said Nielsen, the measurement service which has followed the rise of streaming in relation to traditional TV viewing over the past decade. It was the first day Nielsen has measured where streaming services exceeded 50 billion viewing minutes. While the football games were dominant, other services did well with holiday movies like 'Elf' and 'Home Alone.' The second most-streamed day ever came two weeks later, when Prime Video showed an NFL Wild Card game on Prime Video.
