Pro football teams didn’t always sport their identification on their helmets. The first team to do so was the Los Angeles Rams, who 70 years ago put an emblem on their headgear. Today’s football helmets have come a long way in the past seven decades. Let’s take a look at their form and function.

A 1948 Rams helmet was bought at auction by SCP Auctions in January 2017 for more than $9,500.

Scoring with art

Los Angeles Rams halfback Fred Gehrke was an artist and designer in the offseason. He took it upon himself to make the Rams’ brown leather helmets a bit more exciting. He used chalk to outline the spiral ram’s horn shape, painted blue and yellow horns, then presented the design to team owner Dan Reeves.

Reeves approved and offered to pay Gehrke $1 per helmet. Gehrke spent the summer painting, and the new helmets were well-received when the Rams played their first intersquad exhibition game in 1948.

The NFL switched to plastic helmets in 1949, and the Rams continued to use the emblem but changed the colors to red and yellow.

Protection through the years

2010sHelmets are tested by the NFL and scientists for significant reduction in impact forces. The highest ranked helmet in 2018 for safety was the VICIS Zero1. These cost about $950 on the company’s website.

Features of the VICIS Zero 1 helmet:1. Absorbs impact load by locally deforming, like a car bumper. It is the first football helmet to use this technology.2. A system of columns absorbs impact.3. There are three shells available, for heads of different sizes and shapes.4. A waterproof foam liner conforms to a player’s head topography.Several Seattle Seahawks experimenting with the new helmet told GeekWire.com that the helmet is a little heavier than others, but impacts were more comfortable.

Sources: NFL, billsportsmaps.com, Pro Football Hall of Fame, NJ.com, UniWatch, SCP Auctions, Vicis

The brawl that took place after the UFC 229 main event fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor will likely overshadowed anything that happened in the octagon Saturday.

FWIW … lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov d. Conor McGregor via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:03 of the fourth round. #UFC229 #AndStill

— Brian Martin (@TheBMartin) October 7, 2018

IT’S OVER!! KHABIB TAPS MCGREGOR!!

WOW!!! #UFC229

— UFC (@ufc) October 7, 2018

All hell has broken loose at the McGregor vs KHabib fight….Notorious tapped out and KHabib rushes after McGregor’s corner…Wow! @ufc #UFC229 @espn @FOXSports #mcgregorvskhabib pic.twitter.com/7qqBrDcScH

— J.G. (@St_Longhorn) October 7, 2018

Reaction:

All hell has broken loose at T-Mobile Arena. People jumping barricades to get into the melee. Cops cuffing people on top of my laptop on media row. #UFC229

— Brian Campbell (@BCampbellCBS) October 7, 2018

This UFC fight has gone wild….

— G (@tacoboutpics) October 7, 2018

There’s chaos. Brawls. This is horrible.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 7, 2018

Umm… yeah… #ufc229 basically had the best fight AFTER the main event!!! WOW… ABSOLUTE CHAOS!

— Jensen Lewis (@JLEWFifty) October 7, 2018

UFC President Dana White says Conor McGregor refused to press charges against his attackers after being ambushed in the octagon: pic.twitter.com/jIsXg3D4Me

— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) October 7, 2018

Top that UFC 230

— John Baker (@manbearwolf) October 7, 2018

Watching the @TheNotoriousMMA vs @TeamKhabib fight. Unimaginable never thought it would go down like this. Crazier than my fight riot.

— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) October 7, 2018

That dude in the red shirt took an unforgivable cheap shot at McGregor. https://t.co/wxS0QALzaC

— Jay King (@ByJayKing) October 7, 2018

Wow….. McGregor went down :/

— Marcin Gortat (@MGortat) October 7, 2018

I know Khabib has a lot of pride. I know he didn’t like all of Conor’s digs. He wanted to get revenge.

But that’s what the fight is. That’s your chance. Everything after that is gratuitous.

— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) October 7, 2018

That’s what I paid to see UFC

— Bobby Brown (@BBROWNLAU) October 7, 2018

CONOR JUST GOT JUMPED! Tf is this?! #UFC #UFC229 #ConorKhabib pic.twitter.com/rGY20b9rby

— ROB TRAMONTEGUNSMITH CLOTHING CO. (@RobTramonte) October 7, 2018

Dana White saw one of Conor’s guys yelling at Khabib, who went after him. Two of Khabib’s guys got into Octagon, hit Conor with two shots from bheind. NSAC pulled the footage from UFC, there’s an investigation gong on. They are withholding Khabib’s purse, not Conor’s #UFC229

— Brian Martin (@TheBMartin) October 7, 2018

Dana White says Conor was one of the guys attacked but refused to press charges. Three guys from Khabib’s team (he thinks) were arrested and released b/c Conor chose not to press charges. #UFC229

— Brian Martin (@TheBMartin) October 7, 2018

Dana White says Khabib scaled the fence “like a Parkour guy.” But police did a great job containing it. He was at Tyson-Holyfield, and that was crazy. #UFC229

— Brian Martin (@TheBMartin) October 7, 2018

Dana White says no regret with guys saying mean things to each other. “It’s the fight game. It’s how it works.” 18 years people saying mean things to each other, nothing ever happened. #UFC229

— Brian Martin (@TheBMartin) October 7, 2018

Dana White says there will be fines. Wonders whether Khabib will get a visa to come back to the country. “18 years, biggest night ever, I couldn’t be more disappointed.” #UFC229

— Brian Martin (@TheBMartin) October 7, 2018

Dana White says Conor cares that he lost the fight, not about the postfight fight #UFC229

— Brian Martin (@TheBMartin) October 7, 2018

Dana White says Khabib wanted him to put the belt on him in the Octagon, but White refused out of fear of fans’ reactions. White credits Cormier and Rockhold for helping calm Khabib down and get him out of there. #UFC229

— Brian Martin (@TheBMartin) October 7, 2018

Dana White says it’s not 100% certain Khabib won’t be stripped of the title. NSAC will probably go after him hard. The governor of Nevada was here tonight and ran out of the building. “That’s not good.” #UFC229

— Brian Martin (@TheBMartin) October 7, 2018

PASADENA — Dorian Thompson-Robinson can’t help but smile. That’s what happens when a freshman quarterback has a running back like his.

Joshua Kelley rushed for 125 yards on 20 carries in UCLA’s 31-24 loss to No. 10 Washington on Saturday at the Rose Bowl to become the first UCLA player to rush for 100 yards in back-to-back games since Paul Perkins in 2015. The UC Davis transfer is known for an ever-present smile that is quickly rubbing off on his teammates.

“He’s definitely the most energetic, the most positive guy on the team,” Thompson-Robinson said. “Coach (Chip Kelly) made a reference to him earlier this week, (saying) energy is a choice. So he definitely brings that, and I think it sparked everybody up this week.”

Against the one of the toughest defenses in the country, Kelley helped UCLA (0-5, 0-2 Pac-12) gain a season-high 422 yards, and the Bruins nearly engineered a comeback by controlling the ball for more than 11 minutes in the third quarter. UCLA strung together long drives and climbed within seven points early in the fourth.

The Bruins have averaged more than 5 yards per carry in back-to-back games after 151 yards on 28 carries against Colorado last week.

“(It) definitely makes my job a lot easier,” Thompson-Robinson said of a functioning running game. “It opens up defenses more, it allows me to sit back there and go through my reads and stuff like that too.”

Kelley said becoming the first player to rush for back-to-back 100-yard games since Perkins, who did so against UNLV and BYU on Sept. 12 and Sept. 19, 2015, was meaningful, but it would have been more meaningful if the Bruins could have avoided their first 0-5 start since 1943.

“I guess it means a lot,” the former walk-on said, “but to me, it doesn’t mean that much because we’re not really winning.”

UCLA missing starters

Outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips and offensive lineman Justin Murphy missed the game due to undisclosed injuries and were not seen on the sideline.

Phillips was limited in the past two games after getting injured in the first half against Oklahoma and was not spotted at practice at all this week. The sophomore has also been nursing a wrist injury after he was struck by a car during the offseason.

Redshirt freshman Odua Isibor started in Phillips’ place for the third straight game.

Murphy, who was limited to individual conditioning during practice this week, appeared to injure his knee late in the fourth quarter against Colorado.

The Bruins subbed Jake Burton at right tackle for Murphy. Burton started the first three games of the year at right tackle while junior Boss Tagaloa was suspended.

Receiver Kyle Philips and linebacker Mique Juarez also appeared absent from the game.

UCLA Hall of Fame class honored

At halftime, UCLA honored its 2018 hall of fame class. The group was headlined by long-time women’s tennis coach Stella Sampras Webster, who is currently in her 23rd season in Westwood, and former softball player Amanda Freed. Freed was a four-time first-team All-Pac-10 honoree prior to winning a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics.

The 2018 hall of fame class included two other Olympians: Jenny Johnson Jordan (women’s volleyball) and Eric Lindroth (men’s water polo).

Rounding out UCLA’s 2018 hall of fame class were Nikki Blue (women’s basketball), Kevin Chappell (men’s golf), Lynn “Buck” Compton (baseball and football) and Larry Farmer, the only member of the UCLA men’s basketball team to play in every game of the Bruins’ 89-1 run in the early 1970s.

PRACTICALLY SPEAKING: As any politician can attest, setting the stage is essential to an public appearance. While First Lady Melania Trump is once removed in terms of being an elected official, she made today’s visit to Cairo – the finale of a four African nation tour, a cinematic one with a visit to the Pyramids in Ginzi.
Her arrival in Egypt began with some of the ingredients of the standard airport meet-and-greet: Schoolchildren, her fellow First Lady Entissar al-Sisi and a red carpet. But what was the third of four diplomatic entrances this week bordered on silent, according to a press pool. No music played and “very tough security” kept a close eye. In addition, police manned rooftops as the motorcade made its way through the city streets. Although work weeks can reel into Cairo as many as 25 million people, traffic was not an issue, partially due to Saturday being a holiday, the pool said. Media types were advised to leave their electronic devices behind, when the caravan stopped at the presidential palace. There, Trump and Egypt President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi met behind closed doors for under an hour.
Today’s activities included paying a visit to officials at the U.S. Embassy

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By ALAN FRAM and LISA MASCARO, Associated Press

WASHINGTON >> The bitterly polarized U.S. Senate narrowly confirmed Brett Kavanaugh on Saturday to join the Supreme Court, delivering an election-season triumph to President Donald Trump that could swing the court rightward for a generation after a battle that rubbed raw the country’s cultural, gender and political divides.

The near party-line vote was 50-48, capping a fight that seized the national conversation after claims emerged that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted women three decades ago — which he emphatically denied. Those claims magnified the clash from a routine Supreme Court struggle over judicial ideology into an angrier, more complex jumble of questions about victims’ rights, the presumption of innocence and personal attacks on nominees.

Acrimonious to the end, the battle featured a climactic roll call that was interrupted several times by protesters in the Senate Gallery before Capitol Police removed them.

The vote gave Trump his second appointee to the court, tilting it further to the right and pleasing conservative voters who might have revolted against GOP leaders had Kavanaugh’s nomination flopped. Democrats hope that the roll call, exactly a month from elections in which House and Senate control are in play, will prompt infuriated women and liberals to stream to the polls to oust Republicans.

In final remarks just before the voting, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said a vote for Kavanaugh was “a vote to end this brief, dark chapter in the Senate’s history and turn the page toward a brighter tomorrow.”

Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York looked ahead to November, appealing to voters beyond the Senate chamber: “Change must come from where change in America always begins: the ballot box.”

Rep. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, confronting a tough re-election race next month in a state that Trump won in 2016 by a landslide, was the sole Democrat to vote against Kavanaugh. Every voting Republican backed the 53-year-old conservative judge.

Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, the only Republican to oppose the nominee, voted “present,” offsetting the absence of Kavanaugh supporter Steve Daines of Montana, who was attending his daughter’s wedding. That rare procedural maneuver left Kavanaugh with the same two-vote margin he’d have had if Murkowski and Daines had both voted.

It was the closest roll call to confirm a justice since 1881, when Stanley Matthews was approved by 24-23, according to Senate records.

Murkowski said Friday that Kavanaugh was “a good man” but his “appearance of impropriety has become unavoidable.” Republicans hold only a 51-49 Senate majority and therefore had little support to spare.

The outcome, telegraphed Friday when the final undeclared senators revealed their views, was devoid of the shocks that had come almost daily since Christine Blasey Ford said last month that an inebriated Kavanaugh tried to rape her at a 1982 high school get-together.

Since then, the country watched agape at electric moments. These included the emergence of two other accusers; an unforgettable Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at which a composed Ford and a seething Kavanaugh told their diametrically opposed stories, and a truncated FBI investigation that the agency said showed no corroborating evidence and Democrats lambasted as a White House-shackled farce.

All the while, crowds of demonstrators — mostly Kavanaugh opponents — ricocheted around the Capitol’s grounds and hallways, raising tensions, chanting slogans, interrupting lawmakers’ debates, confronting senators and often getting arrested.

Trump weighed in Saturday morning on behalf of the man he nominated in July. “Big day for America!” he tweeted.

Democrats said Kavanaugh would push the court too far, including possible sympathetic rulings for Trump should the president encounter legal problems from the special counsel’s investigations into Russian connections with his 2016 presidential campaign. And they said Kavanaugh’s record and fuming testimony at a now-famous Senate Judiciary Committee hearing showed he lacked the fairness, temperament and even honesty to become a justice.

But the fight was defined by the sexual assault accusations. And it was fought against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement and Trump’s unyielding support of his nominee and occasional mocking of Kavanaugh’s accusers.

About 100 anti-Kavanaugh protesters climbed the Capitol’s East Steps as the vote approached, pumping fists and waving signs. U.S. Capitol Police began arresting some of them. Hundreds of other demonstrators watched from behind barricades. Protesters have roamed Capitol Hill corridors and grounds daily, chanting, “November is coming,” ”Vote them out” and “We believe survivors.”

On Friday, in the moment that made clear Kavanaugh would prevail, Collins delivered a speech saying that Ford’s Judiciary Committee telling of the alleged 1982 assault was “sincere, painful and compelling.” But she also said the FBI had found no corroborating evidence from witnesses whose names Ford had provided.

“We must always remember that it is when passions are most inflamed that fairness is most in jeopardy,” said Collins, perhaps the chamber’s most moderate Republican.

Manchin used an emailed statement to announce his support for Kavanaugh moments after Collins finished talking. Manchin, the only Democrat supporting the nominee, faces a competitive re-election race next month in a state Trump carried in 2016 by 42 percentage points.

Manchin expressed empathy for sexual assault victims. But he said that after factoring in the FBI report, “I have found Judge Kavanaugh to be a qualified jurist who will follow the Constitution.”

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who has repeatedly battled with Trump and will retire in January, said he, too, planned to vote for Kavanaugh’s confirmation.Vice President Mike Pence planned to be available in case his tie-breaking vote was needed.

In the procedural vote Friday that handed Republicans their crucial initial victory, senators voted 51-49 to limit debate, defeating Democratic efforts to scuttle the nomination with endless delays.

When Trump nominated Kavanaugh in July, Democrats leapt to oppose him, saying that past statements and opinions showed he’d be a threat to the Roe v. Wade case that assured the right to abortion. They said he also seemed too ready to rule for Trump in a possible federal court case against the president.

Yet Kavanaugh’s path to confirmation seemed unfettered until Ford and two other women emerged with sexual misconduct allegations from the 1980s.

Kavanaugh would replace the retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was a swing vote on issues such as abortion, campaign finance and same-sex marriage.

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Matthew Daly, Padmananda Rama, Ken Thomas and Catherine Lucey contributed to this report.

LOS ANGELES — June 8, 2015 was not a day that began like any other, or ended like any other, for the Vanderbilt University baseball team. Game 2 of the Commodores’ Super Regional series against the University of Illinois had been postponed a day by rain. If they were going to clinch a spot in the College World Series, they would have to do so on the day of the Major League Baseball draft.

The timing worked out perfectly. Vanderbilt won 4-2. After their exclamatory dogpile on the field, the players lingered, gathering around a single mobile phone to hear shortstop Dansby Swanson’s name called as the first overall pick. Two once-in-a-lifetime moments were still fresh in mind as Vanderbilt packed into the team bus, then caravaned back to the team hotel. The draft was not over.

Back in the lobby of the Wyndham Garden Hotel, Walker Buehler blended in. The players were still in uniform – white tops, gold lettering, and black stripes running down the outside of both pant legs – filling the room with the aroma of dirt and sweat. The sun had set by the time the Dodgers picked Buehler 24th overall, making him the third Commodore to hear his name called in the first round. Pitcher Carson Fulmer was drafted eighth overall by the Chicago White Sox.

“That was an incredible day when you look back at it,” Swanson said Friday. “What happened that day, for us as a team, being able to win a Super Regional to go to Omaha, then between myself getting drafted on the field, our other best friend Carson Fulmer getting drafted, then (Buehler) had to wait a little bit later, but he got drafted by the Dodgers … it was just a really special moment.”

This week, Buehler and Swanson have been in opposite dugouts, Buehler for the Dodgers and Swanson for the Atlanta Braves. Buehler will start Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Sunday in Atlanta. Win, and the Dodgers will eliminate the Braves and move on to the NLCS for the third consecutive year. Swanson’s season is likely already over; he has missed the entire series with a torn ligament in his left hand.

There are close ties between the two teams. Matt Kemp played for Atlanta last year. He and Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman have been playfully talking smack over FaceTime this week. Kyle Farmer, the Dodgers’ non-roster utilityman, is among the smack talkers invading Charlie Culberson’s phone. Culberson played for the Dodgers until he was traded for Kemp last December. Even the Braves’ general manager, Alex Anthopoulos, isn’t immune to digital jousting with his former colleagues in the Dodgers’ front office.

The strongest bond is between Buehler and Swanson.

“We all came into school together,” Swanson said, “and there’s just something different when you’re going to school there because you’re coming there for a greater purpose. You’re trying to win as a team, and as a program, but there’s a level of development that happens individually that you know will pay off in the end. Going through that whole process together has made our bond, I would say, inseparable.”

Theirs is a remarkably relatable friendship. They met as 18-year-old freshmen and did the College Experience together. The part that played out publicly on baseball fields was enough to forge a lifetime’s worth of memories: One season ended in the NCAA Super Regionals, the next as College World Series champions, the last as national runners-up.

The part that played out privately is what Swanson cherishes.

“Our best memories are when we were just hanging out in our dorms together and being able to just be around each other away from the field,” he said. “We’ve been through so much – the highs, the lows, everything together, it’s a really cool thing to see now.”

Since they both spent the offseason living in Nashville, Swanson and Buehler were able to hang out more than usual last winter. They were both in Fulmer’s wedding last November. Sometimes they golfed, Swanson said, but mostly they talked trash.

While this week presented an occasion for some players on both teams to reach out to their friends on the other side, it was no different than any other for Buehler and Swanson.

“We don’t ever say anything nice to each other,” Swanson said. “We’re just always on each other’s case about anything and everything, you know?”

If anything, the occasion of Game 3 quieted the two friends.

Swanson exited the Braves’ game against the New York Mets on Sept. 25 with soreness in his hand. A subsequent MRI revealed the torn ligament. He traveled with the team to Los Angeles but was left off the roster for the Division Series. Swanson can talk about Buehler all day, but his feelings about not being able to bat against him Sunday were succinct.

“It sucks,” he said.

Two days before his postseason debut, Buehler guarded his thoughts about Swanson like a sentinel.

“I just want to win games against that team,” he said after the Dodgers won Game 2 on Friday. “I don’t really care who’s on that team. He’s not wearing our jersey, so kind of the past doesn’t really matter too much.

“If I hang out with him in the offseason, that’s fine, but we’re in the playoffs, so I don’t really care.”

Maybe it was the playoffs. Maybe it was in keeping with the trash talk between two friends. Maybe it was simply an extension of Buehler’s intensity and command over seemingly every moment. Even while guarding his comments, Buehler might have revealed a deeper truth about his friendship with Swanson.

“It’s obviously very competitive between the two of us,” Swanson said, “but at the same time there’s a lot of, like, love for one another.”

COSTA MESA – Melvin Gordon took the handoff on first down and ran headlong into a wall. The second half was just beginning last Sunday, and the 49ers had stacked the box with nine defenders, all of whom seemed to be in the hole where Gordon was meant to run.

Just to return to the line of scrimmage, amid this high-speed traffic, would require serious maneuvering. But by the time Gordon was finally brought down seven seconds later, he’d amassed 13 yards, five broken tackles and one dazzling, mid-air pirouette, anyway – all of which seemed to suggest what NFL defenses are quickly beginning to realize about the Chargers’ running back.

Melvin Gordon is really, really tough to take down.

And it’s only gotten tougher this season, his fourth in the league. After averaging 3.9 yards per carry in each of his past two seasons, Gordon averaged 5.1 yards per carry through the Chargers’ first four games, a large majority of which came after contact. In spite of facing stacked boxes 32 percent of the time (8th-most in the NFL), Gordon has been tackled on first contact on just 59 percent of his carries, better than every NFL running back outside of Marshawn Lynch, who, coincidentally, the Chargers will be tasked with stopping on Sunday, when the Raiders (1-3) come to Los Angeles.

Gordon contends he’s always been a physical, punishing runner, with the balance to stay upright through contact. “It’s natural instincts, man,” Gordon says. “It’s just something that happens.”

But the Chargers are running the ball this season better than at any point in his career, and Gordon, as he showed on that extraordinary run last Sunday, has been more physical and punishing with his touches than ever before.

“One of the things that we focus on is him extending runs,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. “He’s worked at that really hard. It’s been an emphasis for him. I think you can see it. He’s winning his one-on-ones more, and it’s paying off for us.”

You could certainly see it during that highlight-reel run last Sunday. Searching for a sliver of room, Gordon hit the brakes as he hit the line, buying just enough time to slither past linebacker Malcolm Smith and cut up field. In recent weeks, coaches had noticed him perfecting his footwork, and as 49ers nose tackle Earl Mitchell approached, that work was on full display. Gordon cut suddenly, landing several feet to his right, and sliding just past Mitchell’s arm tackle, before changing direction again to dodge another. He would slip past yet another tackle, before 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster lowered his shoulder into him, spinning the Chargers running back like a top.

.@Melvingordon25 just kept on going. pic.twitter.com/ZsjfC9PYpc

— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) October 1, 2018

“When I first came here, the trainers always told me the best backs in the league had good balance,” Gordon said.

As he fell forward, Gordon made a compelling case to join that group. While his right leg helicoptered through the air, Gordon somehow stayed upright, even as both of his feet left the ground. Steadying himself with his right hand in the dirt, he’d manage a few more yards before finally succumbing. Behind him, a pile of 49ers lay in his wake.

“It just didn’t seem like anybody could tackle him,” offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said.

This week, broken tackles will, again, be at premium. And no one is more adept at the fine art of breaking them than Lynch, who, at 32, has been running like a much younger back this season. Through one month, Lynch is on pace for 1,200 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, basically on par with the totals from his four-year stretch of dominance from 2011 to 2014.

Raiders coach Jon Gruden said Lynch “isn’t slowing down at all”, despite this being his 12th season.

“He looks better this year than he looked two, three years ago,” Lynn said. “You know, he sat out in 2016, came back last year and was a little rusty — but he’s in rare form right now. He’s just a very unsatisfied runner.”

The Chargers and Raiders have both been more than satisfied with their running games so far this season. Lynch ranks fourth in the league in rush yards. Gordon ranks fifth in all-purpose yards, trailing only Alvin Kamara, Ezekiel Elliott, Todd Gurley and Julio Jones.

“They’re doing a great job helping Melvin Gordon become one of the best all-purpose backs in football,” Gruden said.

But only one of these two AFC West foes have shown much interest in stopping opposing running backs. The Raiders rank 31st of 32 NFL teams in yards per carry allowed (5.6), after bottoming out due to the loss of defensive end Khalil Mack, who’s among the best run stoppers in the league. Last week, in Oakland’s first win of the season, Browns backs Carlos Hyde and Nick Chubb piled up 187 yards and three touchdowns on just 25 carries.

If Gordon continues to run with reckless abandon, he and shifty backfield mate Austin Ekeler could break similar ground on Sunday. Together, the two backs have produced exactly 50 percent of the Chargers’ total offense, as both continue to punish defenders who dare come at them with arm tackles.

“We’re running the heck out of the ball right now,” Phillip Rivers said. We’re averaging over five yards per carry, which is huge. The best offenses that we’ve had in my time here have been very balanced. That’s what it feels like right now.”

It was an image that won’t soon be forgotten, an injured NFL star and future Hall of Famer carted away, his leg fractured and his middle finger pointed to the sky. The gesture, aimed at his team’s sideline, spoke more than just the two words it suggested.

Before his leg broke on the field in Arizona, ending his Seahawks tenure, Earl Thomas was the best safety in the NFL and one of the best to ever play the position. He wanted either to be paid as such, with a long-term extension, or be traded. Seattle refused on both accounts. So with his contract set to expire in the offseason, Thomas skipped training camp and then waged protest by attending practice, but refusing to contribute.

Still, eventually, he chose to play, as almost every player does. To lose game checks, each worth around $500,000, wasn’t worth it, Thomas decided. In his first game back, he intercepted a pass. Two weeks later, he snagged two more picks. All the while, he continued to sit out practice, in hopes of proving a point. “If they were invested in me,” Thomas said, “I would be out there.”

But all that was proven in the end was that the playing field for NFL players at the negotiating table is anything but level. As Thomas was carted off the field, his long-term future in doubt, all of the league’s labor unrest was encapsulated in that one flip of the bird.

A few days later, in Pittsburgh, Le’Veon Bell told ESPN that he expects to return to the Steelers at the end of this month. For the past three years, the two-time All-Pro had feuded with the team over his contract, which he (rightfully) felt should reset the running back market. But unlike Thomas, Bell had, for months, refused to report at all. The Steelers, who reportedly offered him a contract with only $20 million guarantees, even made him available for a trade, but nothing materialized.

Now, Bell will return. If, like Thomas, Bell were to suffer a serious injury, sometime in the season’s second half, he’ll have no long-term security. He’d be paid the rest of his $14 million franchise tag, before kindly – or not so kindly – being asked to leave.

This sort of cold, calculated conclusion is inherent to the NFL’s current system. While players are risking serious physical harm, teams are rewarded for being as shrewd as possible with their players’ pay. They use the franchise tag to its fullest extent. They fill out deals with per-game bonuses which shift the risk to players, in lieu of paying them guaranteed money. And when players do exercise their leverage, they’re criticized by fans.

More than ever, teams are building rosters loaded primarily with rookie contracts, which – thanks to the league’s rookie-wage scale – assures that good, young players play out their deals for wildly-below-market salaries. Last month, ESPN floated the hypothetical notion of the Rams trading Jared Goff before the end of his rookie deal, in favor of developing another young quarterback, early in his own rookie deal. This is how far we’ve swung away from the labor side of the spectrum.

For two straight offseasons, Aaron Donald held out for his own long-term deal. Donald had little leverage, other than to sit out and forfeit game checks. The Rams had little incentive to negotiate, other than to keep the defending Defensive Player of the Year happy. They could have franchise tagged him for three straight seasons, saving tens of millions. They signed him long-term, instead, rewarding one of the NFL’s best players.

The Seahawks could have signed Thomas to a long-term extension, one that would’ve kept him in Seattle for the rest of his career. The last remaining member of the Legion of Boom, Thomas was still performing at an All-Pro level. He deserved a long-term deal somewhere.

He may never get it now. And while Thomas may blame the Seahawks and Bell may blame the Steelers, it’s the system that’s screwing the both of them which truly deserves its own middle-finger salute.

BEST BET OF WEEK 4

Rams (-7) over Seahawks. On their way to becoming the NFL’s hottest team, the Rams beat their first four opponents by 20, 34, 12, and 7 points, respectively. As Jared Goff has emerged as one of the league’s best quarterbacks, the Rams offense is averaging 35 points per game. The Seahawks rank 24th in the league in points per game and 28th in yards per game. Unless the Rams unexpectedly fall apart on the road, the Seahawks, who nearly lost to the lowly Cardinals last week, simply won’t be able to keep up.

Season record: 3-1Last week: Texans (+1.5) over Colts — WIN

FANTASY PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Juju Smith-Schuster, WR, Steelers. Antonio Brown is still the top option in the Steelers offense, but Smith-Schuster, at just 21 years old, is gaining fast. He has at least five catches and 116 yards in each of his last three games, and this week, he’ll face a Falcons secondary that’s been picked apart by Andy Dalton in Drew Brees in consecutive weeks. With the Falcons’ focus on Brown, Smith-Schuster could be in for a huge game.

DID YOU KNOW … ?

As Drew Brees prepares to break the career passing yards record this weekend, the NFL record for most passing yards in a single game has stood for 67 years.

Rams quarterback Norm Van Brocklin threw for 554 yards on the opening night of the 1951 season, as the Rams trounced the New York Yanks, 54-14. Even as passing offenses have grown far more prolific, no one has surpassed Van Brocklin’s mark. Weird.

TOP 4 … MOST IMPACTFUL PLAYERS THROUGH FOUR WEEKS

4. Alvin Kamara, RB, Saints. We expected regression, after Kamara’s historic all-purpose rookie season. But it hasn’t happened. Kamara has 60 more all-purpose yards than Ezekiel Elliott, who has

3. Jared Goff, QB, Rams. Amid all the bluster that he might be a “system quarterback”, Goff has quietly been the best signal caller in his conference. At the helm of Sean McVay’s offense, the NFL’s best by a wide margin, Goff has made his share of absurd throws.

2. Khalil Mack, DE, Bears. His presence has immediately turned the Bears into a defensive juggernaut. His name is being mentioned in the MVP race. The next guy on this list is the only one who’s even close.

1. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Chiefs. Mahomes’ first month was nothing short of extraordinary. He’s currently on pace to throw 56 touchdowns and zero interceptions. He hasn’t lost yet as a starter. He’s a superstar.

LAS VEGAS — After starring at safety for Hesperia High and Stony Brook University, Dominick Reyes found no takers for his skills in the NFL.

Reyes chose to channel his energy and frustrations into fighting. Now he lays the wood on different opponents.

On Saturday at UFC 229, Reyes will pit his undefeated record against another former football player in former University of Tennessee defensive end Ovince Saint Preux inside T-Mobile Arena.

“He’s tough, he’s a veteran. He’s got the tools, man, but I feel like I’m just better,” Reyes said of the 35-year-old Saint Preux (22-11), who has gone 11-6 in more than five years in the UFC.

“I believe I’m more fluid, I got more speed, I’m a little quicker. Maybe a little smarter too. We’ll see.”

Saint Preux knows he has the experience advantage over Reyes, 28, who has been fighting for only five years and will be making just his fourth trip into the Octagon in 16 months.

But the former interim light heavyweight title challenger, who lost a unanimous decision to Jon Jones in April 2016, isn’t deterred by Reyes finishing eight of his nine wins. Saint Preux feels he has the edge everywhere.

“His striking is pretty good, but I think my striking is just as good too. Same thing. I’ve knocked people out with my hands, knocked people out with my feet. It’s no biggie to me,” the seventh-ranked Saint Preux said. “I want it to go on the ground. A lot of people don’t know what’s gonna happen once they get on the ground.”

A little gridiron positional rivalry has also come into play. Saint Preux says, as a former defensive end, he was doing the hard work in the trenches.

Reyes counters by pointing to his fluidity, speed, quickness and intellect.

“I made all the calls. I made all the checks. I was making calls on the fly,” said the 6-foot-4 Reyes, a two-time All-CIF pick at Hesperia and two-time all-conference player and four-year starter at Stony Brook. “I had to check the linebackers, the D-line and the cornerbacks and the other safeties.

“I was considered the quarterback of the defense. I take pride in that.”

The biggest similarity between football and MMA, according to the 12th-ranked Reyes, is how it feels when it’s game time.

“It’s that butterfly feeling, that anxiety, excitement, everything at once and you just hone in on it,” Reyes, who fights out of Victor Valley. “You understand the preparation you’ve done is enough and then you let go and you ball out.”

One difference is obviously the numbers – relying on your 10 teammates on defense, as well as the other 11 on the other side of the ball, to work together and perform as a unit.

Reyes does have coaches and trainers – Joe Stevenson at Cobra Kai, along with Team Quest in Temecula and Team Elevation in Colorado – but it’s often his burden to shoulder alone.

“It’s up to me to prepare. It’s up to me to not eat this, it’s up to me to sacrifice that or run these miles when nobody’s looking or getting up early,” said Reyes, who graduated from Stony Brook with a degree in Information Systems.

“I know what I gotta do for myself. Nobody is holding my hand. I’m not getting a whistle blown at me. It’s all on my own. If I don’t, the chances of me being unconscious on fight night go up drastically.”

When that Octagon door closes, it’s just Reyes, his opponent and the referee.

And the biggest difference between football and MMA becomes a cold, hard truth.

“It’s just you. Just you,” Reyes said. “In football, you’ve gotta do your job. I understand that. In this, it’s just you. Your margin for error is much smaller. And you mess up in this, you’re asleep. You mess up in football, they score a touchdown and you’re OK.”

Instead, it’s been Reyes rendering opponents unconscious in the cage.

His breakthrough moment came June 2, 2017, at LFA 13 at the Los Angeles-Burbank Marriott Convention Center in Burbank. After cracking Jordan Powell with some punches, Powell dared to laugh off Reyes’ strikes and showboat a bit.

And that’s when Reyes quickly crushed Powell with the head kick seen around the world. The knockout went viral, garnering millions of views online.

When Reyes walked into a bar with his family and friends after the fight, his knockout was already playing on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

Five days later, the UFC called and asked if he wanted to fight in 10 days.

“I was like, man, I’m on this wave. Might as well, and here I am,” Reyes said. “It’s been a whirlwind.”

In the ensuing 11 months in the UFC, Reyes delivered first-round finishes over Joachim Christensen (TKO via punches), Jeremy Kimball (submission via rear-naked choke) and Jared Cannonier (TKO via punches).

Being on the UFC 229 main card – just two fights before lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov defends his belt against Conor McGregor in the biggest fight in UFC history – is a far cry from his days immediately out of college doing construction and later working as a Technical Support Specialist at Oak Hills High.

Gone are the “What if?” thoughts about the NFL. Now he’s all about “What’s next?” in the UFC.

“I love playing sports. I love competing. I’ve been doing it my whole life and I still do it,” Reyes said. “And now I get to get paid for it, have a lifestyle where I don’t have a boss. I don’t have to answer to anyone and it’s such a blessing and I’ll literally fight for it.”

FATHER TO SON: Arje Griegst forged a unique path as a jeweler and sculptor, since founding his eponymous label in the Sixties, and now a whole new generation has the chance to own — and wear — his work.
Two years after his father’s death, Noam Griegst is setting out to honor his legacy and bring pieces from his archive alive. They’re currently on display — and for sale — outside Copenhagen for the first time at Dover Street Market in London. The store is debuting 10 reissued designs by the late jeweler during the Frieze Art Fair, which runs until Sunday.
Griegst’s commitment to craftsmanship was unrivaled: He made his first piece of cutlery at age 10, received a De Beers Prize at 19 and went on to create a world of his own inside his Copenhagen studio, designing sculpted pieces in gold and precious stones and often receiving commissions from the Danish Royal Family.
“A single ring could take two years to make. He would cast it in wax, again and again, until it was perfected, and in the meantime we were all starving at home and my mum would go completely crazy,” Noam said in an interview. “I’ve been working

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