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High School Sports

Elite 11 updates, player rankings from Day 1

The Elite 11 Finals got underway Tuesday night — the first of three days of competition among 20 soon-to-be high school senior quarterbacks in Los Angeles. The invite-only event is entering its 26th year and has served as a proving ground in the past for some of the game’s brightest stars. From Jayden Daniels, CJ […]

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Elite 11 updates, player rankings from Day 1

The Elite 11 Finals got underway Tuesday night — the first of three days of competition among 20 soon-to-be high school senior quarterbacks in Los Angeles. The invite-only event is entering its 26th year and has served as a proving ground in the past for some of the game’s brightest stars. From Jayden Daniels, CJ Stroud, Drake Maye, Caleb Williams, Bo Nix and Bryce Young to Drew Allar, Cade Klubnick, Garrett Nussmeier, Carson Beck, DJ Lagway and Dylan Raiola — the alumni list for the Elite 11 Finals is simply unrivaled.

Headlining this year’s roster are seven of the top 10 signal callers in the Top247 for class of 2026. That includes Faizon Brandon, the nation’s No. 1-ranked overall prospect. The big names will be joined by a promising group of other finalists that all profile as potential difference-makers on Saturdays and possibly even Sundays.

Action gets underway Tuesday night with an opening workout while a 20-throw scripted pro day anchors Wednesday night’s action. Thursday afternoon features 7-on-7 play before the Elite 11 staff crowns its annual top 11 quarterbacks and names an overall MVP.

2025 Elite 11 finalists

  • Faizon Brandon | No. 1 QB in 247Sports Rankings | Tennessee
  • Keisean Henderson | No. 2 QB | Houston
  • Dia Bell | No. 5 QB | Texas
  • Landon Duckworth | No. 6 QB | Uncommitted
  • Bowe Bentley | No. 7 QB | Uncommitted
  • Jake Fette | No. 8 QB | Arizona State
  • Oscar Rios | No. 10 QB | Uncommitted
  • Jonas Williams | No. 13 QB | USC
  • Troy Huhn | No. 14 QB | Penn State
  • Jeff Thomalla | No. 15 QB | Alabama
  • Will Griffin | No. 16 QB | Florida 
  • Helaman Casuga | No. 17 QB | Texas A&M
  • Dereon Coleman | No. 19 QB | Miami (FL)
  • Derek Zammit | No. 20 QB | Washington 
  • Tati Reynolds | No. 26 QB | Clemson
  • Travis Burgess | No. 27 QB | North Carolina 
  • Matt Ponatoski | No. 29 QB | Uncommitted
  • Terry Walker | No. 46 QB | Duke
  • Bryson Beaver | No. 55 QB | Uncommitted
  • Briggs Cherry | No. 82 QB | Louisville 

Powered by our partners at 247Sports, CBS Sports will be with you the entire way this week as the best high school quarterbacks in the country compete in the 2025 Elite 11 event. 

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High School Sports

Vestavia Hills football coach frustrated by 2025 playoff schedule, transfers

In the second season of the revamped Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 7A state football playoffs, the opening round will match Region 3 against Region 2 – the Birmingham metro area vs. the Auburn-Phenix City-Montgomery area. Vestavia Hills head coach Robert Evans said the pairing will feature “probably the best eight teams in the […]

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Vestavia Hills football coach frustrated by 2025 playoff schedule, transfers

In the second season of the revamped Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 7A state football playoffs, the opening round will match Region 3 against Region 2 – the Birmingham metro area vs. the Auburn-Phenix City-Montgomery area.

Vestavia Hills head coach Robert Evans said the pairing will feature “probably the best eight teams in the state playing in the first round.”

He’s not a fan.

“If 2 and 3 matched up last year, Thompson would have played Central in the first round and not the championship,” Evans said on Monday on Day 1 of the AL.com Birmingham High School Football Media Days at Thompson High School. “That’s how crazy it is.”

Last season was the first that changed the traditional North vs. South setup that had Birmingham schools always playing Huntsville/North Alabama teams and the Auburn/Southeast Alabama squads playing the Mobile schools in the opening round.

Birmingham schools won three of four first-round games against teams from Mobile last season with only Hewitt-Trussville falling – by a field goal in two overtimes. The other Birmingham teams won by 21, 25 and 50 points.

In the three years before that, Birmingham schools beat Huntsville/North Alabama teams in every matchup – including the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds knocking off the top two seeds from North Alabama – with only one game’s margin being less than 18 points.

Of course, Thompson and Central-Phenix City have dominated the 7A championship games lately with the Warriors taking titles in 2024, 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019. Central won in 2023 and 2018. Hoover won the two championships before the Warriors-Red Devils run, both over Mobile’s McGill-Toolen.

So, what does Evans believe should happen? The fourth-year head coach and Vestavia alumnus said he agreed with head coach Mark Freeman of rival Thompson, who has advocated for a straight seeding of the 16 teams (of 32) who make the playoffs.

“We don’t agree on everything, but we do on that,” he said.

Evans also said he has high hopes for the AHSAA task force that is investigating non-compliant transfers.

“We have some high-end transfers coming in from throughout the state,” he said. “I want to see what will come from the task force led by Mr. (AHSAA executive director Heath) Harmon that is looking into what is essentially a transfer portal in Alabama high schools.

“We are truly a community-based program. There are so many talented kids in places like Alabaster, Hoover, Prattville who didn’t necessarily grow up there. That’s not a knock on anybody, not an accusation. When you have a good program, you attract players.”

Evans also said that Region 3 has “never been as loaded as it is this year” and that Vestavia Hills will “play the hardest schedule in the state with our non-region games.”

“We don’t complain. We don’t b—- and whine, we go right at it,” Evans said. “It’s a selling point to our parents. We embrace playing talented rosters with really good coaches. We want to challenge ourselves and play this region and Region 2 as well.”

Vestavia’s non-region schedule begins with the opener against Westside of Anderson, S.C., followed by Auburn, both at home. Westside was the No. 3 team in South Carolina last season with a 13-1 record and second at 14-1 in 2023. Auburn finished 10-1 last year. The Rebels’ final game of the season is at home against Montgomery Catholic, last season’s 14-0 Class 5A state champion.

“Teams like Stanford, Northwestern and Vanderbilt and when coach (David) Cutcliffe was at Duke are the teams I look to,” Evans said. “It’s very cyclical in nature for those teams. When those programs are humming, they are really good at the line of scrimmage and they play a quirky brand of football with smart stuff. That’s what we have to do at Vestavia and we hope to do it this year.

“We specialize in getting creative.”

The 2025 Rebels have five returning starters on offense, including junior quarterback Charlie Taaffe. Evans said junior Price Lamaster would also likely challenge for playing time at QB. Defensively, Vestavia Hills has four starters returning from a 6-6 team that lost in the second round of the playoffs to Central-Phenix City after whipping 9-2 Mary G. Montgomery in the playoff opener. The Rebels were fourth in Region 3 with a 4-3 mark.

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High School Sports

MVC ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT EARNS CHAMPIONS OF CHARACTER AWARD

The Missouri Valley College athletic department has earned the NAIA Champions of Character Five-Star Institution Award for their conduct in competition, in the classroom and in the community during the 2024-25 athletic year. In addition to the award, the athletic department was recognized as a COC Gold Institution, the highest honor for NAIA schools. The […]

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MVC ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT EARNS CHAMPIONS OF CHARACTER AWARD

missouri-valley-college1

The Missouri Valley College athletic department has earned the NAIA Champions of Character Five-Star Institution Award for their conduct in competition, in the classroom and in the community during the 2024-25 athletic year. In addition to the award, the athletic department was recognized as a COC Gold Institution, the highest honor for NAIA schools.

The NAIA Champions of Character Five-Star Award was established to recognize NAIA institutions that focus on character, academics and positive conduct in competition. Schools earn points based on their involvement in those areas, including overall GPA, community service and outreach projects, character training and conduct during competitions.

Missouri Valley finished the 2024-25 school year with a perfect score of 100 out of 100 possible points, earning the Gold designation. Highlights from the NAIA Champions of Character scorecard includes various community service projects from multiple athletic teams, character and sportsmanship training by athletic staff, and embracing the five-core values the NAIA represents.

Missouri Valley has earned the Gold Award in eight of the past ten athletic years, and has been recognized as a Champions of Character institution each year since the program was established in 2000. This year, the school is one of 132 NAIA institutions to earn the Gold Award and a perfect COC score. A total of 11 institutions from the Heart of America Athletic Conference finished with a perfect scorecard. Missouri Valley also helped the Heart earn the Five-Star Conference Award.

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College Sports

U23 Worlds Sunday

The U23 Worlds wrapped with the USA women’s eight winning a repeat silver, and saw the US in the running in all the big sweep boats. The W8’s charge into second place gave the squad three medals on the weekend: gold in the men’s four, silver in the women’s eight, and silver in the light […]

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U23 Worlds Sunday

The U23 Worlds wrapped with the USA women’s eight winning a repeat silver, and saw the US in the running in all the big sweep boats. The W8’s charge into second place gave the squad three medals on the weekend: gold in the men’s four, silver in the women’s eight, and silver in the light men’s single.

Head here to read our report on Saturday’s medals in the four and light single.

The US men’s eight also made the A Final, and took fifth in the last race of the regatta. In that final, Britain won a sixth straight gold medal while New Zealand–who had not fielded an eight in eight years–stormed through the pack for a silver ahead of Germany.

U23 Worlds Sunday: Being 'Ruthless Out There'

USA M8 in the A Final

In all, the US put five of its nine crews into the A Finals this year, and the men’s quad made the AB semis before taking 10th overall in the B Final. Two of the others–the men’s pair and double–made the C finals, while the light men’s double was the odd boat out in a seven boat field and did not advance from the heats.

W8+ Wins Silver – ‘Friendship Moves Boats’

Not only did the women’s eight win silver, with a patient start and firm command of the middle thousand, but they added a 19th year to the nation’s medal-winning streak in this event. Since the W8+ became part of the U23 program in 2006, the USA has made the podium every time, for 11 golds, 4 bronzes and now 4 silvers.

Four of the women in the boat returned from the crew that kept the streak going last year: stroke Joely Cherniss, seven seat Áine Ley, five seat Natalie Hoefer, and four seat Kathryn Serra all collected a second silver in Poznan to add to the one they won a year ago in St. Catherines.

“Friendship moves boats,” was how coxswain Honor Warburg summed up in the race talking to USRowing after the race.

“It is an honor to race such a fast field and we wouldn’t have wanted any other competition,” Warburg added, when row2k caught up with her. “Our word of the race week was from Coach Gia Doonan. She told us to be ruthless out there.

“Second in the world is such a privilege,” Warburg said, “and a wonderful closing for these women. Our support on land, our teammates who pushed us, the coaches who inspired and everyone who has represented the United States of America. This is a race to be proud of.”

U23 Worlds Sunday: Being 'Ruthless Out There'

USA W8

Warburg, who coxes at Stanford and raced here on her first US team, told row2k that the key to the race was the crew’s base speed.

“We knew we were a middle thousand crew, and our goal was to execute a lethal base rhythm. With confidence and composure we trusted one another, just thinking about the stroke we were on.

As the race unfolded, Great Britain got away early to claim a repeat gold, but the US crew moved relentlessly through the field, and overtook a fast starting Canada to grab the silver medal.

“All summer, this boat has been working on improving each practice by one percent,” said Warburg. “We talked about how this race is just an opportunity to put the training together and have fun with it. I think we did exactly that. I’m so incredibly proud to be a part of this year and this moment.”

U23 Worlds Sunday: Being 'Ruthless Out There'

Six seat Ella Wheeler, making her debut at this next level after wining two golds as a U19 national teamer, talked about how the boat gelled through selection camp and training.

“It has been such a great experience coming together as a crew and I think every time we got in the boat at practice and even through the racing here we got better,” Wheeler said. “As a boat, I think we are really proud of our performance in the final.

“For my first time at Under 23s, it was super exciting being in a boat that was so hardworking and being pushed by our coach, Gia Doonan, who was so inspiring and helped us all grow as rowers.”

Dartmouth College’s Áine Ley echoed those thoughts, telling USRowing:

“We’ve talked about putting the pieces together for the last few weeks. This group has come so far, and I’m so proud of all of us.”

Staying on the Pathway, to Win

The US has been putting more emphasis on developing national team talent over time with its Pathways program: this year, fourteen athletes made at least their second U23 team and a few, like Ella Wheeler in the W8, were moving up from successful U19 appearances. In Poznan, Wheeler aded a U23 silver to the back-to-back golds she won in the U19 four with in 2022 and 2023.

Sam Sullivan, who helped the men’s four win the USA’s first ever gold on Saturday, told row2k that his experience as a returning athlete played a role in winning this time around.

“Last year Wil Morton and I had the experience in the 8, where we left disappointed after not following up our performance in the heat,” Sullivan said. “This year, throughout the rounds, we made sure that we stayed within our boat and stuck to what we knew we were best at no matter who we lined up against.

U23 Worlds Sunday: Being 'Ruthless Out There'

Men’s 4, with Morton second from left, Sullivan third from left

“We knew that the US had never won the straight four, so there were no huge expectations on our shoulders,” Sullivan added.

“Overall it was a great experience. The team, with us, the 8, the quad and lightweight single, pushed each other throughout training together in OKC and we were lucky to have an amazing coaching and support staff behind the scenes to set us up to take the gold.”

Notes from the Course

More Driver’s Seat Alums – Coxswains who do the row2k ‘In the Driver’s Seat’ Interview keep popping up on national teams (coincidence? Probably.) We did run an updated version of Elenna Seguin’s column last week when we saw she would be driving the USA M8 this year, and then we spotted another familiar face as the regatta got underway: Rutgers coxswain Victoria Grieder. Victoria–whose interview from 2023 you can read here–was in Poznan coxing the Canadian women’s eight. Both she and Rutgers got a name-checked by Martin Cross on the commentary in the final, just as she was looking across at the the German eight to lock up Canada’s bronze medal on Sunday.

U23 Worlds Sunday: Being 'Ruthless Out There'

Grieder, on left, with her bronze medal winning CAN eight

Too Shallow For Tossing – one last consequence of the low water level that we mentioned in Saturday’s report? Lake Malta was not deep enough for the officials to okay a cox toss by the British men at the end of the regatta. For all of the great problem-solving that made the regatta happen despite the water level, there wasn’t a work-around for this one, so the Brits will just have to try winning again next year in Duisburg–which looked plenty inviting both for racing and cox-tossing in the coverage from the World University Games this past weekend.

Streaky Brits – The British won both eights again this year, and while that is “just” a two-in-a-row repeat for the women, then men now have a six year winning streak that runs all the way back to 2019 (math thanks to COVID, of course, since there was no 2020 event.) Six seat Harry Geffen has a streak of his own: this was his fourth gold in four tries at U23, and he also has the full “set” of sweep golds, winning in the pair in ’23 and the four in ’24, to go along with two wins in the eight.

U23 Worlds Sunday: Being 'Ruthless Out There'

GBR’s M8, with Geffen bottom right

But Five Still Beats Four – With Aurelia-Maxima Janzen’s dominating win in the single–by ten seconds–the Swiss sculler now has 5 straight U23 medals, so she is one up on Geffen. Janzen now joins the USA’s Kendall Chase, a Tokyo Olympian, as the second individual to win five U23 medals. Chase won her five–all gold–in just three years, doubling up in 2014-2016; Janzen collected hers by medalling every time she raced U23s, racking up 2 golds and 3 silvers, and of course, qualifying for the Paris Games along the way.

U23 Worlds Sunday: Being 'Ruthless Out There'

SUI’s Janzen

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Sights & Sounds

If you need help with the Public File, call (904) 393-9801 At WJXT, we are committed to informing and delighting our audience. In our commitment to covering our communities with innovation and excellence, we incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance our news gathering, reporting, and presentation processes. Read our article to see how we […]

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Sights & Sounds

If you need help with the Public File, call (904) 393-9801

At WJXT, we are committed to informing and delighting our audience. In our commitment to covering our communities with innovation and excellence, we incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance our news gathering, reporting, and presentation processes. Read our article to see how we are using Artificial Intelligence.

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College Sports

WWE Looks to Expand Its Audience With Netflix Docuseries WWE Unreal

Posted By: Ben Kerin on Jul 28, 2025 Netflix is set to take WWE behind the curtain with a new docuseries titled WWE Unreal, and according to the show’s director, the goal is to help the company grow its fanbase far beyond the wrestling world. Director Chris Weaver, who also works as a senior producer […]

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WWE Looks to Expand Its Audience With Netflix Docuseries WWE Unreal

Posted By: Ben Kerin on Jul 28, 2025

WWE Looks to Expand Its Audience With Netflix Docuseries WWE Unreal


Netflix is set to take WWE behind the curtain with a new docuseries titled WWE Unreal, and according to the show’s director, the goal is to help the company grow its fanbase far beyond the wrestling world.

Director Chris Weaver, who also works as a senior producer with NFL Films, recently spoke with the Miami Herald about WWE’s ambitions for the series. He explained that WWE is looking to replicate the success of other Netflix sports documentaries such as Formula 1: Drive to Survive and Tour de France: Unchained, which helped bring those sports to new audiences.

“I think that was a goal for WWE, for sure,” said Weaver. “They’ve seen how these behind-the-scenes follow-doc-series on Netflix have propelled leagues and athletes and opened up to new audiences. And I think that was a major goal for them, like ‘Hey, let’s see if we can get more people to watch this thing and expand our footprint, expand our audience, our fan base.’”

“I know it’s been a polarizing discussion in the wrestling realm, but the next fan coming in is what we’re after. Bringing in new fans,” he added.

The first episode of WWE Unreal will premiere on July 29 and will cover the debut of Raw on Netflix, which took place on January 6, 2025, at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The series will consist of five episodes, each roughly 50 minutes in length, featuring in-depth coverage of major events including John Cena’s heel turn, the Royal Rumble, the Elimination Chamber, and a spotlight on WWE’s women’s division.

The full interview with Chris Weaver is available below:

WWE Monday Night RAW

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High School Sports

Freehill's Late Two

Story Links PLL at Barton (This Weekend) DENVER – The University of Denver men’s lacrosse program’s #ProPios continued the second half of the PLL season with its trip to Salt Lake City last weekend before this week’s focus moves to Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium to open the August schedule.   TD Ierlan went 13-of-19 from the […]

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Freehill's Late Two

DENVER – The University of Denver men’s lacrosse program’s #ProPios continued the second half of the PLL season with its trip to Salt Lake City last weekend before this week’s focus moves to Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium to open the August schedule.  
 
TD Ierlan went 13-of-19 from the stripe and picked up six ground balls in California’s one-goal win over Utah last Friday night.
 
On Saturday, Jack Hannah had a pair of goals and an assist, Alec Stathakis went 15-for-27 with four ground balls and Jimmy Freehill tied the clash with Carolina with a two-point goal with 3:55 remaining, but the Waterdogs lost in overtime.
 

 
The PLL returns to Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium next weekend for four games in three sessions across the opening weekend of the month. Tickets for the PLL’s return to the Mile High City are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
 
Week 9 PLL Recap – Salt Lake City, Utah
Friday, July 25
California (Ierlan) 9 vs. Utah 8
Ierlan: 13-19, 6GBs
Maryland (Squires) 8 vs. New York (Baptiste, Logan) 11
Squires: 1CT, 2GB
Baptiste: 7-22, 2GB
Logan: 1GB
Saturday, July 26
Philadelphia (Lampert, Hannah, DiBenedetto, Freehill, Stathakis) 14 vs. Carolina (Sillstrop) 15 (OT)
Hannah: 2G-1A-3P, 2GBs
Freehill: 1 2PTG, 1CT, 2GBs
Stathakis: 15-27, 4GBs
Sillstrop: 1GB
 
Week 10 PLL Schedule – Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium (Denver, Colo.) – All Games on ESPN+
Friday, August 1
Carolina (Sillstrop) vs. Denver – 6 p.m. MT
Philadelphia (Lampert, Hannah, DiBenedetto, Freehill, Stathakis) vs. Boston (Kelly) – 8:30 p.m. MT
Saturday, August 2
New York (Baptiste, Logan) vs. Denver – 11 a.m. MT – ABC
Maryland (Squires) vs. California (Ierlan) – 6 p.m. MT – ESPN+
 
#ProPios on 2025 Season Opening PLL 25-Man Rosters
Boston: Mic Kelly
California: Wes Berg, TD Ierlan
Carolina: Jackson Morrill, JJ Sillstrop
Denver: Eric Law
Maryland: Colin Squires
New York: Trevor Baptiste, Danny Logan
Philadelphia: Michael Lampert, Jack Hannah, Jack DiBenedetto, Jimmy Freehill, Alec Stathakis
Utah: Richie Connell
 
DENVER’S HOME FOR COLLEGE SPORTS
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of DU’s NCAA Division I sports.
Like
Denver Pioneers and DU Men’s Lacrosse on Facebook
Follow
@DU_Pioneers and @DU_MLAX on Twitter
Follow
@denverpioneers and @denvermlax on Instagram
 
 

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