Arizona
GOP megadonor Peter Thiel to host fundraiser for Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters
Republican megadonor Peter Thiel is internet hosting a fundraiser at his Los Angeles dwelling subsequent week for Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters after GOP officers requested the tech mogul for more cash heading into the ultimate stretch of the November midterm elections.
The invite lists Thiel because the host for the Masters marketing campaign occasion and says the gathering is ready to happen on Sept. 30 at his $5 million dwelling in Southern California. Tickets for the occasion go from $1,500 per particular person to $11,600 per couple and embody a bunch and VIP reception, adopted by a common reception, relying on the ticket, in accordance with the invite.
Different co-hosts of the occasion embody a number of of Thiel’s allies, together with Keri Findley, CEO of funding agency Tacora Capital, whose fund was as soon as backed by Thiel, in addition to longtime hedge fund supervisor Michael Wang, whose social media investing platform was reportedly supported by Thiel. Erik Finman, a Thiel affiliate who grew to become a bitcoin millionaire by the point he was 18, can be listed as a co-host.
The transfer by Thiel to host Masters comes as donations from the tech mogul to separate tremendous PACs supporting Masters and Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance seem to have dried up with just below 50 days till the November elections. Thiel gave $15 million apiece unfold throughout a number of donations to Defend Ohio Values, a brilliant PAC backing Vance, and to Saving Arizona, an out of doors group supporting Masters, through the major races, in accordance with Federal Election Fee filings.
His final donation to the PAC backing Vance was in April, whereas he final gave to Saving Arizona in July. He has but to offer them any cash for the overall election that can pit the candidates in opposition to Democrats in aggressive Senate races, in accordance with FEC information.
A Actual Clear Politics ballot exhibits Vance main over Home Rep. Tim Ryan by simply over two factors within the bid for retiring Sen. Rob Portman’s GOP seat. Masters, in the meantime, is behind incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. by nearly three factors. Masters and Vance have been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Both race might decide management of the U.S. Senate with Democrats holding 50 seats and Vice President Kamala Harris breaking any tie votes.
Masters’ marketing campaign, which has raised simply $4.9 million, wants more cash to combat Kelly, who’s outraised him by greater than tenfold with $54 million in donations.
Republican leaders and marketing campaign officers, together with Senate Minority Chief Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have reportedly requested Thiel to assist Vance and Masters within the common election. The Washington Publish reported that Thiel initially rebuffed McConnell’s requests.
“Not now,” has been the response from Thiel and his crew in current weeks when requested for extra donations for Vance or Masters, one of many folks stated.
Thiel, nevertheless, was a featured visitor at a current fundraiser for Masters on the Florida dwelling of Keith Rabois, a common associate on the enterprise capital agency Founders Fund which was co-founded by Thiel. Businessman Tom Sauer, who tweeted out a photograph of Thiel talking on the Rabois fundraiser, can be listed as a co-host for the fundraiser at Thiel’s dwelling.
Those that spoke to CNBC about Thiel’s maneuvers did so on the situation of anonymity with the intention to communicate freely about personal conversations.
Vance and Masters each labored with Thiel earlier than they launched their Senate campaigns. Vance as soon as labored at funding agency Mithril Capital, which was co-founded by Thiel, whereas Masters was the chief working officer at Thiel Capital.
A few of Thiel’s associates, who requested to not be named to talk freely about his fundraising technique, say he is been pissed off with what he beforehand noticed as an absence of cash from different teams, together with the Senate Management Fund, a brilliant PAC tied to McConnell. Thiel did not need to make investments too closely within the races if GOP leaders weren’t keen to commit their very own cash to bolster the celebration’s probabilities of taking again the Senate, they stated.
“It is a sport of rooster between McConnell and Thiel,” an ally of the tech billionaire instructed CNBC.
Thiel has publicly hinted he does not solely help the Republican Celebration’s messaging throughout this election. “My scoring on the ’22 cycle is we’re doing even much less effectively than ’94 with Contract with America, we’re doing much less effectively than 2010” when the conservative tea celebration rose to energy, Thiel instructed the Nationwide Conservatism Convention earlier this month.
Arizona
How to watch Arizona State football vs. UCF: TV channel, live stream, prediction
The Arizona State football team is 5-0 at home this season.
But they have yet to play in front of a crowd like the one expected at Mountain America Stadium on Saturday afternoon vs. BYU.
“We’ve already sold out [for the BYU game],” Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said during his Monday press conference. “There’s like a thousand person wait line for tickets. For The Valley to be able to experience what they get to experience, which is an unbelievable college football environment on Saturday, is what we need to get people bought back into here. That there’s nothing that can replicate it. We haven’t had one like this yet since I’ve been here.”
In the biggest game for Arizona State (8-2) in more than a decade, they are 3.5-point favorites over BYU (9-1). The winner will have a great shot at a berth in the Big 12 football championship game. The loser will be all but eliminated.
Quarterback play will be a huge factor on Saturday. Over the last three weeks Arizona State redshirt freshman QB Sam Leavitt has arguably been the best quarterback in the nation. In wins over Oklahoma State, UCF and Kansas State, Leavitt completed 65% of his passes for 740 yards and 9 touchdowns, with no interceptions. He also rushed for 69 yards.
BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff, a senior, has had a big season, throwing for 2,283 yards and 19 touchdowns, and rushing for 312 yards and 4 TDs. But he has struggled in the passing game the last two weeks. He completed just 45.5% of his passes and didn’t throw a TD pass in BYU’s 22-21 road win over rival Utah. In last week’s 17-13 home loss to Kansas he passed for just 192 yards, with one TD and one interception.
Which QB will rise to the occasion on Saturday? Stay tuned. Here are the details on how to watch and follow Arizona State’s Big 12 showdown vs. BYU on Saturday:
Arizona State vs. BYU TV Channel, Live Stream, Betting Odds
Who: Arizona State (8-2, 5-2) vs. BYU (9-1, 6-1) in a Big 12 football game
When: 1:30 p.m. MST | Saturday, November 23
Where: Mountain America Stadium | Tempe, Arizona
Live Stream: Stream Arizona State-BYU live on fuboTV (Start your free trial)
TV Channel: ESPN
Our Prediction: Arizona State 30, BYU 27
Betting Odds: Arizona State is favored by 3.5 points per FanDuel Sportsbook
Live Updates, Highlights: Follow the game on Arizona State On SI for live updates and big-play highlights throughout Saturday’s matchup
More Arizona State & Big 12 Analysis
Arizona
Flagg quiets Arizona crowd as Duke aces road test
TUCSON, Ariz. — Seconds after No. 12 Duke’s players ran onto the court for pregame introductions at the McKale Center on Friday night, someone in the crowd hurled a beer can in their direction.
That moment did not define the largely positive and vibrant atmosphere at the arena, where Cooper Flagg’s 24-point effort led the Blue Devils to a 69-55 win over No. 17 Arizona.
But throughout the game, building security and local police gathered near Duke’s tunnel and the team’s family and friends section because of concerns that additional objects would be thrown, sources told ESPN. Those same security and police personnel also entered the Arizona student section at halftime to address at least one fan’s behavior.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer said he didn’t notice the off-court chaos, a metaphor for the way his team responded in its first true road game of the season.
“I didn’t even see that,” Scheyer said afterward about the beer-can incident. “First of all, I thought the environment and atmosphere was top notch. I mean, people were respectful. I thought there was just a big-time college basketball crowd, but at the end of the day, the crowd doesn’t control how you defend, how you sprint back on defense, how you take care of the ball.”
More than 14,000-plus gathered for the highly anticipated matchup involving a pair of teams that hadn’t met in Tucson since the 1980s. The notable personalities in the crowd gave the game a prime-time vibe. Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft, and his teammates faced an Arizona squad led by Caleb Love, a preseason All-American.
Mike Bibby and Gilbert Arenas, a pair of former NBA stars who anchored some of Arizona’s greatest teams, sat in the front row. Phoenix Suns star Bradley Beal found his seat next to theirs early in the game, and Beal’s teammates Tyus Jones and Grayson Allen — who starred on Duke’s 2014-15 national title team — sat behind the Blue Devils’ bench.
Bryce James, son of LeBron James and a prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, also attended the matchup with his mother, Savannah James.
Flagg delivered his best performance this season in another high-profile matchup, more than a week after he committed multiple turnovers in the final seconds of a loss to Kentucky in the Champions Classic in Atlanta. Arizona seemed to corral him in the first half, but Flagg dominated after the break, scoring 16 points.
Flagg, who shot 10-of-22 from the field, also finished with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal.
“He is tall, athletic and he can finish over a lot of bodies,” Arizona’s Jaden Bradley, who led his team with 18 points, said of Flagg. “He’s just super athletic. I feel like we did a good job of containing him in the first half. I think we just went away from the game plan and then didn’t talk, didn’t communicate as a group and he found openings in our defense. He provides mismatch problems for them. We get a smaller guard on him, he can take us inside and use his strength, his height advantage. We get a bigger guy on him, he can play quick, play fast and be able to shoot over the top or get by him.”
As his team entered halftime, Scheyer said, “We’ve been here before,” referencing Duke’s halftime lead over Kentucky in the Champions Classic loss. But Duke avoided a similar fate Friday when Flagg, Tyrese Proctor (8 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds) and Kon Knueppel (13 points, 3-for-6 on 3-pointers) wouldn’t yield.
“It was a high-level college basketball game,” Flagg said. “It was really physical, and they’re a very physical team. So I guess I found my footing [in the second half].”
Arizona entered the game ranked top five in adjusted tempo on KenPom and the Wildcats were also the top offensive rebounding team in the country. But against the Blue Devils, Arizona scored only six points on fast breaks and grabbed only six offensive rebounds.
After the game, the fears of security and police personnel were not realized. There were no further incidents, and Duke’s players, staff, family members and friends all safely exited the building without issue.
The Blue Devils, who next face No. 1 Kansas in Las Vegas on Tuesday, had weathered storms on and off the court in their first true road test. Scheyer said he was impressed by his team’s resilience in a hostile environment, especially as Arizona tried to close the gap late.
“I thought there were a couple of stretches at the beginning of the second half late when I think it got cut to eight points … but to have the maturity to answer and then come back on defense, I think that’s a credit to these guys,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of game situations this year and in the preseason [in practice], but it’s really the maturity by them.”
Arizona
By the Numbers: Seahawks vs. Cardinals
The Seahawks and Cardinals are set to do battle at Lumen Field in Seattle on Sunday. This will be the first of two meetings over a three-week span between the NFC West rivals.
What numbers and themes are relevant in this game between frequent divisional opponents?
The Seahawks have won five straight games against the Arizona Cardinals. They last lost to Arizona on November 21, 2021, in Seattle. The Seahawks held the Cardinals to just 30 total points in the teams’ two matchups last year.
That is Kyler Murray’s record as a starter against the Seahawks. He hasn’t beaten Seattle since October 2020. That includes being sacked 12 times over the last three games. The Seahawks will need to continue to pressure Murray to keep him contained. Otherwise, he can hurt them with his legs or downfield in the passing game.
That is how many points per game the Seahawks are allowing in their last two games as a defense. The defense has stepped it up after an abysmal showing against the Buffalo Bills. The Cardinals have the 13th-ranked scoring offense and 12th-ranked total offense in the NFL. If Seattle can ride this momentum on defense, they should be able to beat the Cardinals a sixth straight time.
Yards per rushing attempt by the Cardinals. That is the second-best in all the NFL. The running back tandem of James Conner and Trey Benson, alongside the lethal legs of quarterback Kyler Murray, make the Cardinals one of the most dynamic running teams in all of football. The Seahawks need to be disciplined in their run defense. If they are caught in the wrong gaps or miss tackles, the Cardinals could control the game on the ground.
Arizona’s pass rush win rate is next to last in the NFL. One of their top pass rushers has been former Seahawks first-round pick L.J. Collier. Dante Stills leads the team with 3.5 sacks. They rank 23rd in sacks as a team. Seattle’s offensive line needs to take advantage of not facing a stellar pass rush and give Geno Smith ample time to take shots downfield.
Yards receiving for running back James Conner against the Jets. He is a big play threat in the passing game as well as on the ground. The defense will need to be aware of Conner’s whereabouts at all times. They cannot afford to let Conner create big plays in the passing game, as he did against the Jets two weeks ago.
The Seahawks need to set a goal of getting at least 23 first downs. The Cardinals are 0-4 when they allow their opponents to get at least 23 first downs and 6-0 when they hold teams under 23. The Seahawks have only reached 23 first downs once. Incredibly, they got 38 first downs in their loss to the Lions. Racking up first downs is a positive result of having an offense in sync and sustaining drives. The longer Seattle can sustain drives, the less chances Kyler Murray and Arizona’s offense will have to make impact plays.
The Seahawks’ record over their six home games this season. This is a shocking development after the Seahawks enjoyed one of the best home-field advantages in all of the NFL for the better part of a decade. This includes having lost four straight. Their last win at home came on September 22 against the Dolphins. This game is a big opportunity to flip the script at home after a tough stretch.
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