Latest news with #Sal
USA Today
18 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Buffalo Bills depth chart, 53-man roster prediction after first days of training camp
The Buffalo Bills began their second week of training camp at St. John Fisher University with their first full pads practice, but they did so minus a double-digit sized injury list as early attrition is happening amid the heat and humidity. Here's my updated positional breakdown of the team as the first week of camp concludes and which 53 players I think will be on the Opening Day roster: Before camp's start: Buffalo Bills 53-man roster, depth chart prediction heading into training camp Quarterback ∎ Starter: Josh Allen. ∎ Reserves: Mitchell Trubisky, Mike White, Shane Buechele. ∎ Sal's update: No change here. Allen has looked terrific, and White and Trubisky are in a spirited battle to be the backup. ∎ Sal's picks for the 53: Allen, White. Running back ∎ Starter: James Cook. ∎ Reserves: Ty Johnson, Ray Davis, Reggie Gilliam (FB), Darrynton Evans, Frank Gore. Jr. ∎ Sal's update: Cook showed up to camp despite his dissatisfaction with his contract, and he looks supremely motivated to have a big year. ∎ Sal's picks for the 53: Cook, Johnson, Davis, Gilliam. Wide receiver ∎ Starters: Khali Shakir, Josh Palmer, Keon Coleman. ∎ Reserves: Curtis Samuel, Elijah Moore, Laviska Shenault Jr., Tyrell Shavers, Kaden Prather, Jalen Virgil, KJ Hamler, Christian Wilkerson, Stephen Gosnell, Deon Cai, Kelly Akharaiyi. ∎ Sal's update: Injuries have really taken a toll as Moore, Samuel, Shavers and Prather are currently out, though Shenault just returned Monday and practiced for the first time. Coleman's inconsistency remains an issue, but there has been much more good than bad which is a good sign. ∎ Sal's picks for the 53: Shakir, Palmer, Coleman, Moore, Samuel, Shenault. Tight end ∎ Starter: Dalton Kincaid. ∎ Reserves: Dawson Knox, Jackson Hawes, Zach Davidson, Keleki Latu, Matt Sokol. ∎ Sal's update: Knox has yet to practice but his hamstring injury doesn't appear serious. However, Kincaid reinjured the same knee he hurt last season and missed practice Monday, so that's a new worry the offense has. With increased reps, both Davidson and Hawes have really taken advantage. ∎ Sal's picks for the 53: Kincaid, Knox, Hawes. Interior offensive line ∎ Starters: Connor McGovern (C), David Edwards (LG), O'Cyrus Torrence (RG). ∎ Reserves: Alec Anderson (G), Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (G-C), Mike Edwards (G), Rush Reimer (G), Kendrick Green (G), Jacob Beyer (C). ∎ Sal's update: The starting three have remained intact, but I thought they struggled a little bit with run blocking Monday in the first full pads practice. Anderson has gotten increased reps with the continued absence of Van Pran-Granger who has yet to practice. ∎ Sal's picks for the 53: McGovern, Torrence, Edwards, Van Pran-Granger, Anderson. Offensive tackle ∎ Starters: Dion Dawkins (LT), Spencer Brown (RT). ∎ Reserves: Ryan Van Demark, Tylan Grable, Travis Clayton, Richard Gouraige, Chase Lundt. ∎ Sal's update: Brown has not practiced due to a sore back, but that has created a great situation for Grable and Van Demark who are in a full-fledged battle to win the swing tackle position. Lundt has been getting some pretty good work in as well. ∎ Sal's picks for the 53: Dawkins, Brown, Grable, Lundt. Defensive tackle ∎ Starters: Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones. ∎ Reserves: Larry Ogunjobi, TJ Sanders, DeWayne Carter, Deone Walker, Zion Logue, Casey Rogers, Marcus Harris. ∎ Sal's update: Carter is coming off an uneven rookie season but he has been noticeably better in the early days of camp. It's too early, especially with just one padded practice, to get a read on rookies Sanders and Walker. ∎ Sal's picks for the 53: Oliver, Jones, Sanders, Carter, Walker, (Ogunjobi suspended six games). Edge rusher ∎ Starters: Joey Bosa, Greg Rousseau. ∎ Reserves: AJ Epenesa, Michael Hoecht, Landon Jackson, Javon Solomon, Hayden Harris, Paris Shand. ∎ Sal's update: Rousseau has made some splashy plays which we expect, while Bosa has been fairly quiet and the Bills are taking it slow with him, giving him veteran rest days. Shand made an impression in the first few days with speed rushes, but he has to prove he can do it with pads on. ∎ Sal's picks for the 53: Bosa, Rousseau, Epenesa, Jackson, Solomon (Hoecht suspended six games). Linebacker ∎ Starters: Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard ∎ Reserves: Dorian Williams, Edefuan Ulofoshio, Joe Andreessen, Baylon Spector, Shaq Thompson, Keonta Jenkins. ∎ Sal's update: Bernard hurt his hamstring and is currently sidelined, and Williams has missed the last couple practices as well with a calf injury. It's an opportunity for bubble players like Spector, Ulofoshio and Thompson. ∎ Sal's picks for the 53: Milano, Bernard, Williams, Andreessen, Ulofoshio. Cornerback ∎ Starters: Christian Benford, Tre'Davious White, Taron Johnson (NCB). ∎ Reserves: Maxwell Hairston, Dane Jackson, Dorian Strong, Ja'Marcus Ingram, Cam Lewis (NCB), Brandon Codrington (NCB), Daequan Hardy, Te'Cory Couch (NCB). ∎ Sal's update: Hairston and White have been sharing first-team reps and each have made a handful of plays, but have also been beaten on several routes. That's the best competition in camp. ∎ Sal's picks for the 53: Benford, White, Hairston, T. Johnson, Strong, Lewis. Safety ∎ Starters: Taylor Rapp, Cole Bishop. ∎ Reserves: Damar Hamlin, Jordan Hancock, Darrick Forrest, Wande Owens. ∎ Sal's update: Rapp has looked really good and he had a three-interception day last Friday. Hancock has been moved around from safety to nickel and is holding his own. Bishop is a work in progress, but the good news is that there's progress. Meanwhile, Hamlin is cementing his roster spot because he knows the defense so well. ∎ Sal's picks for the 53: Rapp, Bishop, Hamlin, Hancock, Forrest. Special teams ∎ Starters: Tyler Bass (K), Brad Robbins (P), Reid Ferguson (LS). ∎ Sal's update: Robbins is the lone punter in camp, but special teams coach Chris Tabor said he still has to win the job. Bass is dealing with a sore pelvis and was out Monday. ∎ Sal's picks for the 53: Bass, Robbins, Ferguson. Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@ and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @
Straits Times
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
At The Movies: Boxing drama Salvable packs enough punch, K-thriller Wall To Wall overstays its welcome
Salvable (M18) 101 minutes, opens on July 24 ★★★☆☆ The story: Once a promising prizefighter, now nearing 40, Sal 'The Bull' (Toby Kebbell) is a failure in a Welsh coastal town who takes up with a dangerous crowd in the hope of a better life. Rocky was a cliche even before the 1976 movie Rocky, which makes you wonder at English music video duo Franklin & Marchetta's choice of another beaten-down boxer story for their feature directing debut. And yet, the British character drama Salvable is unexpectedly stirring in all its working-class bleakness. It is crafted with sincerity and humanised by Kebbell in a central performance heavy with sadness and shame, as Sal is reduced to sleeping in a trailer and battling his former wife (Elaine Cassidy) for custody of his estranged teen daughter (Kila Lord Cassidy ). The latter's approval is what he wants most. He feels alive only when b oxing with his old trainer (James Cosmos) at the local gym. And so Sal says yes when a shady pal from his past (Shia LaBeouf), fresh out of prison, offers him some of that long-ago thrill, as well as extra cash, in the underworld of bare-knuckle bouts. Sal's day job caring for the elderly at a nursing home shows his innate decency. He should know better than to become entrapped as the rackets get more frighteningly violent, culminating in a bloodbath. But he is desperate to prove his worthiness, and though there will be no redemption for him, much less any Rocky triumph, he gets you firmly in his corner in his doomed fight to do the right thing. Hot take: The raw film-making and strong acting punch above the generic trappings of a tragic tale about second chances. Wall To Wall (M18) 118 minutes, showing on Netflix ★★★☆☆ Kang Ha-neul is a salaryman drowning in debt in Wall To Wall. PHOTO: NETFLIX The story: The life and sanity of a 30-something salaryman (Kang Ha-neul) come undone from mysterious thumping noises in his apartment. The South Korean actor from the second and third seasons of Squid Game (2024 to 2025) stars as Woo-seung in a sweaty turn that is due not only to his delinquent air-conditioning bills. Rather, the walls are closing in on the office drone of the Netflix psychological thriller Wall To Wall. Three years earlier, he emptied his savings for a dream home in Seoul. He is drowning in debts, in the wake of a market crash, and the other occupants in his housing complex – including one upstairs played by Seo Hyun-woo – are a ccusing him of generating the very inter-floor disturbances that torment him. 84 Square Meters describes the standard apartment size in the capital. It doubles as South Korean writer-director Kim Tae-joon's local title for his relatable black comedy on the realities of modern urban living: the financial strain, the social isolation, the noisy neighbours, the owner-renter dynamics and illusion of class mobility. It is tense and claustrophobic. There are surreal scenes of paranoia, with Woo-seung as an everyman naive enough to trust Yeom Hye-ran's 'resident representative' living in the luxury penthouse . There is an abrupt tone shift into bloody mayhem once he uncovers an overblown conspiracy and murderous capitalist greed. The parable wants to be Bong Joon-ho's Parasite (2019), but it is just half a good movie, which continues to extend its runtime until viewers are left feeling as trapped as the pitiable hero. Hot take: What begins as an expressive home owner's nightmare overstays its welcome. It is all shoddy action violence towards the end.
The Age
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
I didn't set out to make a ‘diverse' film. I wanted to create a hero
There's a particular kind of magic that happens when you see yourself on screen. Not just someone who looks like you, but someone who feels like you. Someone whose story rings familiar – not because it's perfect, but because it's true. That magic is still far too rare. For decades, the stories we've consumed on screen have followed a narrow path: familiar faces, familiar arcs, familiar settings. We were taught to believe that these stories were universal. That if they resonated with the mainstream, they must be enough. But enough for whom? As a filmmaker, I've seen firsthand how the industry is slowly, sometimes painfully, waking up to the power of diversity – not just as a checkbox, not just as a quota, but as the lifeblood of meaningful storytelling. When I made What About Sal, I didn't set out to make a 'diverse' film. I set out to tell the story of one man – Sal, a young adult with Down syndrome on a mission to find the father he's never known. But in doing so, I quickly realised just how few films had ever placed someone like Sal at the centre. Not as comic relief. Not as a side character. As the hero. That shouldn't be rare. But it is. And that's why it matters. Diversity in film isn't about ticking representation boxes. It's about widening the lens – both literally and metaphorically – so that the world we see on screen starts to look a little more like the world we actually live in. It's about nuance, depth, and honesty. It's about telling the stories that have been sitting quietly on the sidelines, waiting to be heard. I'm often asked why diversity feels so urgent right now. Why the push? Why the focus? The answer is simple: because storytelling shapes perception. Film teaches us how to see one another. It teaches us who gets to be the hero, who gets to be complex, who gets to be loved, forgiven, redeemed. When we limit the stories, we limit the humanity.
Sydney Morning Herald
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
I didn't set out to make a ‘diverse' film. I wanted to create a hero
There's a particular kind of magic that happens when you see yourself on screen. Not just someone who looks like you, but someone who feels like you. Someone whose story rings familiar – not because it's perfect, but because it's true. That magic is still far too rare. For decades, the stories we've consumed on screen have followed a narrow path: familiar faces, familiar arcs, familiar settings. We were taught to believe that these stories were universal. That if they resonated with the mainstream, they must be enough. But enough for whom? As a filmmaker, I've seen firsthand how the industry is slowly, sometimes painfully, waking up to the power of diversity – not just as a checkbox, not just as a quota, but as the lifeblood of meaningful storytelling. When I made What About Sal, I didn't set out to make a 'diverse' film. I set out to tell the story of one man – Sal, a young adult with Down syndrome on a mission to find the father he's never known. But in doing so, I quickly realised just how few films had ever placed someone like Sal at the centre. Not as comic relief. Not as a side character. As the hero. That shouldn't be rare. But it is. And that's why it matters. Diversity in film isn't about ticking representation boxes. It's about widening the lens – both literally and metaphorically – so that the world we see on screen starts to look a little more like the world we actually live in. It's about nuance, depth, and honesty. It's about telling the stories that have been sitting quietly on the sidelines, waiting to be heard. I'm often asked why diversity feels so urgent right now. Why the push? Why the focus? The answer is simple: because storytelling shapes perception. Film teaches us how to see one another. It teaches us who gets to be the hero, who gets to be complex, who gets to be loved, forgiven, redeemed. When we limit the stories, we limit the humanity.
BBC News
13-07-2025
- BBC News
Cockermouth holidaymaker suing TUI over quad bike crash
A father-of-three is suing holiday provider TUI at the High Court after he claims a quad bike crash left him feeling as though he was "not the same person".Tony Holliday, 57, who lives near Cockermouth in Cumbria, needed operations after the bike crashed into rocks while on holiday in Cape Verde in is seeking £500,000 in damages claiming the excursion, which was provided as compensation for lost luggage, was misrepresented as suitable for beginners and did not have adequate safety is understood to be opposing the claim and is due to file its defence later this year. Mr Holliday said he needed two operations on his fractured right leg and also suffered head, shoulder and hand injuries, after he was thrown from the vehicle."I'm not the same person I was. I have anxiety, I struggle sleeping at night, going over the same accident, or similar events like that," he told the PA news agency. 'Inadequate instruction' The family flew to Sal, Cape Verde, on 1 March 2023 for a week-long holiday costing £4, court documents filed by law firm Stewarts, which is representing Mr Holliday, Sarah Prager KC said that on arrival, the family found their luggage had been lost, although it was later then found their rooms "smelled very strongly of sewage", and replacement rooms were Prager said TUI representatives offered a free excursion to compensate and recommended quad biking, claiming this was "suitable for total beginners".She said the accident was caused by the route being "unsuitable for beginners", Mr Holliday and his family being given "wholly inadequate instructions", and the quad bike being "defective". A spokesperson for TUI said: "We are sorry that Mr Holliday was injured during his holiday to Cape Verde."As this is now a legal matter, we are unable to comment any further at this time." Additional reporting by PA Media. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
