Oregon Ducks football is having a good recruiting year.

The Ducks are as high as No. 5 (On3) in the national team rankings and as low as No. 11 (247Sports) and No. 12 (Rivals). Those rankings only dipped recently with the decommitment and flip of four-star tight end Da’Saahn Brame to Tennessee.

Oregon still boasts a 2025 class of 14 commitments, two of which are five-star prospects: Dakorien Moore and Dallas Wilson. There are also 11 four-stars in the bunch.

So who is left for coach Dan Lanning and company to target that could push this class even higher before the early signing period in December?

Right off the bat: Trey McNutt. The five-star safety has been a big time target for the Ducks for awhile, and the Ohio native was even projected to pick Oregon at his originally planned commitment date earlier this month. He even made another trip to Eugene for Saturday Night Live.

But Texas A&M has continued to push hard. The Aggies brought in the talented rising senior again recently. Although Oregon remains the favorite, the Aggies are going to make the Aug. 3 announcement one to tune in for.

Five-star athlete Michael Terry was in Eugene last week but has also been in Austin (Texas) and Lincoln (Nebraska). This is another one where the Aggies are also in the mix. The Cornhuskers are getting some buzz—also tring to flip four-star wide receiver Isaiah Mozee—and the Longhorns are trying hard to keep him “home”, but the Ducks are still the favorite to pull Terry out of the Lone Star State.

Also looking at a commitment this weekend, four-star offensive tackle Juan Gaston out of Georgia is set to pick between the Bulldogs, Tennessee, and Oregon. The Ducks don’t want to lose another recruiting battle to the Volunteers in about a week’s time, and the in-state school of Georgia has plenty of pull.

Expectations are for Gaston to end up in the SEC wearing red and black, but he did call Oregon a “dream school”, so keep an eye out on Aug. 2.

The Utah Jazz are a curious case in the greater mixing bowl of the NBA. They’re now belly-deep into a rebuild that began 2 seasons ago when the new CEO of basketball operations scanned his team and firmly declared, “Hold my non-alcoholic beverage” before tearing down their Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell All-Star core to start over from scratch.

The landscape of the NBA is typically broken into three equal, yet distinct sections. Not all NBA teams are created equal, and as every season commences, we find teams across the league begin to filter into 3 divisions.

At the top, you have your contenders; these are the squads with championship aspirations and a roster that they believe is capable of reaching the mountaintop. These teams are often the home of an all-star or two, with plenty of playoff experience. Some of these squads may be what you could call “pretenders”, but they’re championship-minded nonetheless.

In the middle, we have the aptly named section: “The Middle”, and as much as it pains me, I’ll abstain from making a sitcom reference here (My apologies to Atticus Shaffer). Whether they’re on the rise, slipping down the standings, or stuck in NBA limbo, these are the teams that won’t be winning the championship this season but are just too good to go all-in on the tank. This is a dangerous place to be in basketball—many have found themselves stuck here for years—but it’s a necessary stepping-stone toward joining the contenders.

Last and least, we have the teams that have gone full tank mode. Accumulating assets and sending prayers to the lottery gods are these teams’ M.O. Each squad has some promising talent, but is simply too young, too underdeveloped, or too incompetent to rise out of the pit of bottom-dwellers.

In the ranks of the tanks, jostling for position is the prime objective. In a nutshell, to lose is to win, and a battle to lose better than your peers becomes the motivating factor in order to obtain the best odds for the upcoming draft.

Utah has embraced the tank at the perfect time as you could make the argument that 13 of the 15 Western teams have shifted to “win-now mode”. As we stand, the Jazz are rivaled only by Portland in the dive toward the bottom of the standings. Like the lake challenge of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, each party is actively exploring ways to gain an advantage to reach the bottom faster than the others.

The Jazz’s front office has received some recent heat for its lukewarm approach toward roster construction—too good to bottom out, too bad to contend for a playoff spot. The massive shadow of the 2025 NBA Draft class is beginning to loom over the Salt Lake Valley and the Utah Jazz are certainly locked into a single result: the coveted top 5 picks of the upcoming draft.

With names like Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey, and V.J. Edgecomb gaining traction, securing a pick in the top 5 spots of the lottery seems to be a “can’t-miss” opportunity (though I would argue there’s no such thing as a bust-proof prospect). For the Jazz, locking into a favorable draft spot has everything to do with how Utah handles business throughout the regular season.

Forming the Ensemble

The NBA Draft is a crapshoot, and it always has been (or do I need to remind you of names like Enes Kanter, Dante Exum, and Trey Lyles?). For a rebuilding team, the only hope your squad has to avoid becoming a perennial loser is by drafting well and developing young talent—especially for a small market team like Utah, that won’t attract the attention of top free agents.

Over the past two seasons, this Jazz team has consistently surpassed preseason expectations. A number of factors have been speculated to directly impact Utah’s success, including Lauri Markkanen’s emergence as an All-Star and Will Hardy’s impact on the team, but I believe that even with The Finnisher playing at the peak of his powers, this team can command the tank in the right direction.

Discounting the incoming players for a moment, as Dwight Shrute was born to be Belshnikel, this Utah Jazz roster is built to be bad. Following the All-Star break in February, the Jazz were a horrific 5-21. That certainly leans impish over admirable, and I believe that Utah can carry that negative momentum into this season.

Hendricks and Sensabaugh are still acclimating to the NBA game, and with three rookies in Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier, and Kyle Filipowski all looking to rack up NBA minutes, the Jazz are assembling an ensemble of youth that may stumble out of the gate but could spark a glimmer of hope for the coming years.

Fortunately, as I will emphasize several times throughout this article, to lose is to win for the rebuilding Jazz, and a top 5 pick is the prize.

This team is also populated by players whose games don’t serve winning basketball. With no disrespect intended, when the back end of your roster is filled in by the likes of Talen Horton-Tucker, Luka Samanic, and Drew Eubanks, you’re in peak position for a season of sadness. My sincerest congratulations!

Emphasis on Youth

Though the Jazz have been caught in the 9-10 range of the draft lottery, early returns from the young core have been promising and indicate to the Jazz faithful that this team is fully capable of drafting well. Keyonte George has shown flashes of brilliance in his rookie season in Utah, and all three of Utah’s incoming rookies are showing tremendous potential.

In an interview with ESPN700, Jazz insider Tony Jones of The Athletic shared some insight on Utah’s shift toward favoring youth over experience.

To build a team’s foundation on youth above experience is a risky proposition, but in putting the focus on developing young talent, growing pains are sure to tally up the loss column.

As we’re on the topic of Walker Kessler, seeing John Collins eat into his playing time was eating into my soul. Even in an uneven year for Kessler, he boasted the second-highest average of blocks per game in the NBA, behind only the unearthly wingspan of Victor Wembanyama. With the statement from Tony Jones that Kessler would take priority over Collins in Utah’s rotation, I could hear the jubilation in the streets as Jazz nation rejoiced.

Youth is the core of Utah’s focus, so be prepared to see some sloppy basketball. Growing pains may be unbearable at times, and just as the Wizards and Pistons suffered last season, so too must the Jazz suffer to improve their lottery odds.

I for one am incredibly giddy to see Williams, Collier, and Filipowski improve through the course of the 82-game NBA season, and I expect George, Hendricks, and Sensabaugh to build upon their solid rookie seasons. Sure, the future of the Jazz likely lies on these players’ shoulders, but Utah can afford to miss on a prospect occasionally as long as they retain their war chest of draft capital.

Markkanen’s Future

Of course, uncertainty surrounding Lauri Markkanen’s future with the Jazz has headlined trade rumors since the offseason began, and the shape of the Utah Jazz in the coming years likely hinges on Markkanen’s presence—or lack thereof.

Recent reports indicate that Lauri intends to re-sign with the Jazz, though he may wait until after the August 6th window to ensure he can’t be traded during the 2024-25 season.

Lauri has really taken to Utah. His family has taken to Utah. Obviously the Jazz can trade him between now and Aug 6th, and Lauri knows that, but Lauri has forged a really close relationship to Will Hardy. And Will [Hardy] has really found a way to unlock his career. -Tony Jones, The Athletic

First of all, I’d like to point out how refreshing it is to see a player of Markkanen’s caliber openly enjoy living in Utah. Markkanen and the Jazz have been a wonderful tandem, and with every passing day, the chances that the front office ships Lauri to another team decrease with every passing day and I think that’s a positive for the Jazz.

The most significant question mark surrounding the Jazz is Markkanen’s impact on team success. He’s proved in the past that a Finnish scoring avalanche can be enough to drag his team to wins, but those results are counterproductive to the central objective of the team. I doubt Lauri’s feelings about Utah would be tarnished by a losing environment—two years into a rebuild and he seems as happy as ever—but finding the perfect balance of Markkanen’s brilliance and youth development won’t be an easy task for Coach Will Hardy.

I could agonize over every possibility for 1,000 more words, but I’ll spare both of us by wrapping this up on a positive note. At the moment, the Utah Jazz rebuilding process is right on schedule. With a batch of promising young prospects and a star to build around in Lauri Markkanen, this team will have plenty of fun moments throughout the season. Though it will likely be a “fun” team to watch from time to time, it won’t be a winning team, and I believe that this Jazz squad has a high chance of fighting for the 15th spot in the Western Conference.

The tank is on, and the Jazz have the supplies and artillery to inspire hope of a bright future in Utah. Let me know what you think.

A British police special enquiry team is examining allegations that Will Lewis, now the chief executive of the Washington Post, presided over the deliberate destruction of emails at Rupert Murdoch’s UK newspaper business when he worked for the company 13 years ago.

The Met has told the former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown that its standing unit responsible for high-profile cases is reviewing a complaint he had submitted about Lewis after fresh disclosures emerged during civil actions relating to the phone-hacking scandal.

The letter, seen by the Guardian, is signed by the Met’s most senior officer, Mark Rowley, and tells Brown: “Please be assured that the contents of your letter, dated 2 May 2024, is being considered by the Met’s special enquiry team.”

The police chief adds: “The issues you raise are complex and will take time to consider against investigations that have already taken place.”

Brown’s original letter to Rowley had urged him to review new evidence relating to “the concealment and destruction of up to 30 million emails, hard drives and documents” – and police to launch an investigation “into the destruction of evidence” and “the cover-up that followed”.

In response, Brown, writing in the Guardian, questions whether Lewis is an appropriate leader for the flagship US newspaper owned by the billionaire founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos – accusing Lewis of displaying a “lack of ethics” when he worked for Murdoch during the hacking scandal.

“Blazoned across the top of every edition of the Washington Post is the statement, ‘Democracy dies in darkness.’ But what if the publisher himself is a master of the dark arts?” Brown says.

The former PM goes on to accuse Lewis of trying to mislead British detectives investigating phone hacking at the News of the World in the summer of 2011 – by telling police that Brown himself was behind a plot to steal emails of senior executives at the tabloid’s UK owner, Murdoch’s News International.

“I have only recently discovered how Lewis attempted to accuse me of a crime I did not commit,” Brown says. He accuses Lewis of being engaged in a “complete fabrication”.

“While Lewis has always claimed that he was Mr Clean Up, these new allegations point to a cover-up,” he says.

Documents disclosed in high court civil actions this week include a minute taken by the Met police of a meeting detectives had with Lewis on 8 July 2011. Detectives were inquiring into the deletion of emails belonging to senior executives at Murdoch’s newspaper company.

In the meeting, Lewis justified the deletions by accusing Brown of “controlling” a plot with the former Labour MP Tom Watson to obtain the emails of Rebekah Brooks, the then chief executive of News International, through a third party. Lewis was the company’s general manager at the time.

“We got a warning from a source that a current member of staff had got access to Rebekah’s [Brooks’] emails and had passed them to Tom Watson MP,” Lewis told the police, who told officers he went on to meet the individual behind the claim.

“The source repeated the threat,” Lewis continued, according to the police memo. “Then the source came back and said it was a former member of staff and the emails had definitely been passed and that it was controlled by Gordon Brown.”

Brown writes that the police officer who headed the initial hacking investigation, Sue Akers, now regards this explanation as unbelievable, citing comments she made to the New York Times earlier this month. “Gordon Brown was obviously one of the victims,” she said. “The thought that he would do that is ludicrous.”

A spokesperson for the Washington Post said that Lewis declined to comment. He has consistently denied allegations of wrongdoing.

Lewis has enjoyed a high-flying career before and after the hacking scandal. He remained at News International until 2014, then moved on to another senior role in the Murdoch empire, as chief executive of Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, until 2020.

Lewis was picked by Bezos to become chief executive of the Washington Post last year, and he caused controversy at the US paper by trying to appoint an old ally, the Briton Robert Winnett, as editor. After a furore, Winnett eventually decided not to take up the job.

In June, Bezos sent a memo to staff at the newspaper, defending Lewis: “Team – I know you’ve already heard this from Will, but I wanted to also weigh in directly: the journalistic standards and ethics at The Post will not change.”

Brown said he now he believed the Met police memo demonstrated that Lewis “gave the game away” because “his explanation conceded that the emails were destroyed to prevent them being seen”.

The email archives of a handful of senior executives at Murdoch’s UK operation, including those of Lewis and Brooks, had been deleted a few months earlier in January 2011, during a period in which allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World were growing.

Brown writes: “The destroyed emails that the police wanted were likely to have revealed much more of News Group’s intrusion into the private lives of thousands of innocent people, not least ordinary families hit by tragedy, and almost certainly would have added to what I have only recently discovered about what happened to me.”

Back in July 2011, Lewis told police that Brooks was anxious about her emails becoming public, because of her professional relationship with Tony Blair, Brown’s predecessor as prime minister. “She was a Tony Blair supporter whilst she was editor of the Sun,” Lewis told officers.

“They were very good friends. There was potential for that to be used against her in a negative way,” Lewis said.

Civil actions relating to alleged phone hacking have been running in the English courts for more than a decade. Murdoch’s News Group has paid out hundreds of millions and settled more than 1,300 lawsuits relating to hacking at the now-closed News of the World, but always rejected allegations of wrongdoing at the Sun.

Brown writes in the Guardian he already knew that the Sunday Times had, among other things, “accessed information about my mortgage from my building society, had reverse engineered my telephone number, had faked my voice to secure personal information about me from my lawyer, and had paid an investigator to break into the police national computer to find out what personal information about me was available.”

But he claims he now knows the intrusion went much further than that.

“More recently, I have been given information that the Murdoch group also paid investigators to break into other personal accounts of mine – including bank, gas and electricity – suggesting that nothing was out of bounds.” Brown explains.

Murdoch’s goals were political and commercial, the former prime minister argues. The media mogul wanted to take full control of Sky television, buy control of ITV, “neuter the BBC” and “control much of the highly profitable UK telecoms industry, all of which the Conservatives were ready to go along with”.

A spokesperson for Murdoch’s News UK said that Brown had only seen “partial information” from the civil cases and “does not have access to all material including detailed statements served by the defence”.

They added: “He is seeking to persuade the Met to take sides in a public debate.”

It was “strongly denied” that News International “sought to impede or worse conceal evidence from the Met” by deleting emails, the spokesperson added.

They cited a Crown Prosecution Service statement from December 2015, which said: “There is no evidence to suggest that email deletion was undertaken in order to pervert the course of justice.”