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They know the quarterback showdown is the headline heading into Saturday’s top-five matchup between the No. 2 Buckeyes and No. 5 Sooners at Ohio Stadium, even if both try to deflect from that narrative as much as possible. WEEK 2 PICKS: Straight up | Against the spread “I feel like I’m going against Oklahoma’s defense and he’s going against Ohio State’s defense,” Barrett said at a NEWS conference Monday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center....

The Browns have been searching for a trade partner for Mayfield since the conclusion of the 2021 NFL season. It sounds as if the front office may be willing to bite the bullet to move on from him. According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Browns are willing to eat about half of Mayfield’s 2022 salary — that would be roughly $9 million of the $18.858 due him this upcoming season — to facilitate a trade....

“This is unfortunate, but given this is a girl-driven program and the majority of cookies are sold in-person, it was to be expected,” said Kelly Parisi, a spokeswoman for Girl Scouts of the USA. Revenue from Girl Scout annual cookie sales allows troops and councils to finance various programs, trips, camps and other endeavors. The large store of untapped supply may take a financial toll on members of the 109-year old organization, which typically sells about 200 million cookie boxes, worth around $800 million, every year....

In April, media reports from the Austrian news magazine Falter accused the school of inflicting abuse, both mental and physical, upon its students, including sexual assault. Reports of students being hit, scratched until bleeding, bullied over their bodies and having their hair pulled occurred. The bullying was severe enough to cause an eating disorder in some of the students. “Many children have lost their dream to dance,” Luisa Solowjowa, a former student at the academy, told the New York Times in a phone interview when the allegations broke in April....

The Italy international, 26, scored 17 goals in 28 games for the French club in all competitions last season, helping them to a third-place finish in Ligue 1. Chelsea set to sign Alex Sandro for £60m Nice confirmed the news of Balotelli’s contract extension on Sunday afternoon, meaning he will remain at the Allianz Riviera as they attempt to qualify for the 2017-18 Champions League group stage. The striker, who also counts Milan and Inter among his former clubs, joined Nice on a free transfer in the summer of 2016, signing on a one-year deal....

In a joint statement addressed directly to Trump, religious leaders representing Catholic, Methodist and Lutheran denominations, among others, implored the president to “stop putting people down…in the name of all that is good, healthy and decent.” “We want you to know that many of our churches pray for you by name every Sunday in our worship services,” the group wrote. Yet, to their own “dismay and profound sadness,” they said, “you publicly slurred our beloved City of Baltimore in a tweet....

WHAT’S NEW There isn’t much new in Baltimore to start 2014, but that’s OK. The offense, which produced the league leader in home runs (Chris Davis), a five-tool asset (Adam Jones) and one of the game’s most exciting young position players (Manny Machado) returns largely intact. In fact, the top six spots of the lineup should be the exact same as last season. That’s a good thing. Every one of those hitters, with the possible exception of Nick Markakis, will be drafted in mixed leagues and all should provide solid fantasy production....

The officer is in stable condition after receiving a gunshot wound to the torso at around 3:14 a.m. on Sunday in the 2300 block of Winchester street in the Western District. Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said that two officers were called to the area to help disperse a large crowd who had converged in defiance of the calls for people to practice social distancing and avoiding large gatherings....

In an Instagram post late last week, the artist confirmed that he was responsible for a series of 10 artworks spotted in recent weeks across Norfolk and Suffolk, England, along the country’s eastern coast. Titled “A Great British Spraycation,” the collection is a playful ode to summer, with imagery ranging from seagulls to sandcastles. While the collection has been mainly met with enthusiasm both on- and offline—6.7 million people have viewed the Instagram clip, and visitors have flocked to see the murals in person—at least one of the artworks has already been the subject of vandalism....

A banner reading “THE REPORT IS IN, REMOVE CUOMO NOW” was flown over the Albany building on Wednesday. The banner was commissioned by UltraViolet, a national women’s group. “In case that report didn’t make it clear to everyone, we wanted to make sure that message was very clear. That message is now written in the sky across Albany that Cuomo must be removed from office,” Bridget Todd, UltraViolet’s director of communications, told Newsweek....

Democratic Representatives Ted Lieu and Mondaire Jones drafted a letter to the association Friday, urging them to “open an immediate investigation” into Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City. “We request that your office open an immediate investigation into the President’s attorney for his statements calling for a ’trial by combat’ preceding a violent insurrection at the Capitol in which five people died, including a U.S. Capitol Police Officer, and Members of Congress and the Vice President were credibly threatened with violence,” the letter said....

When asked about his first three years in office and the noise surrounding the country’s most overwhelming job, Obama likened his approach to that of NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers. MORE: Best current NFL players at each jersey number | Have a problem with Cam’s dancing? You’re the disease, he’s the cure “(I’m like) Rodgers in the pocket, in the sense of you can’t be distracted by what’s around you, you’ve got to be looking downfield....

After more than a year of silence on the matter, Obama endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden in a video message on Tuesday. “Joe has the character and the experience to guide us through one of our darkest times and heal us through a long recovery,” Obama said in the 11-minute clip. “I’m so proud to endorse Joe Biden for president of the United States. Choosing Joe to be my vice president was one of the best decisions I ever made, and he became a close friend....

Now Israel’s new prime minister, Ehud Barak, wants the CIA to back off. The Americans didn’t catch Yasir Arafat’s men secretly abetting the terrorists, as Netanyahu had warned. On the contrary, CIA training and intelligence helped the Palestinian Authority wage a more effective counterterror campaign. Leaders of the militant Islamic group Hamas have loudly complained of being up against the world’s biggest intelligence operation. Still, Barak’s advisers think the agency’s involvement is not helping the peace process....

Trailing following a contentious 2-1 defeat in Bilbao last week, Barca had to wait for their breakthrough before it arrived in landmark fashion 10 minutes from half-time. Luis Suarez volleyed his 100th goal for the club on the end of a move that fittingly featured Messi and Neymar – it was the 300th goal for MSN since the awesome forward trio began playing together in 2014. Neymar won and converted a penalty early in the second period, but Athletic hit back through wideman Enric Saborit, a Barcelona-born product of the Espanyol youth system....

The 53-year-old stepped down after four seasons in a second spell at Athletic Club last week and was widely expected to take over from Luis Enrique this summer. Barca had promised an announcement after the Copa del Rey final and a statement on Monday confirmed Valverde as the new coach on a two-year deal. Messi leads Luis Enrique tributes “I have spoken personally with Ernesto Valverde and I told him of our decision,” said club president Josep Maria Bartomeu....

Goal revealed in June that the 33-year-old defender was to depart Camp Nou. He still has 12 months left to run on his contract with Barca, but no longer figures in their future plans. Neymar release clause reaches €222m Sporting have been linked with his services for some time and the France international will now link up with them on a trial basis. A statement released by Barca on the club’s official website read: “FC Barcelona has granted permission for defender Jeremy Mathieu to train on a trial basis during his holidays with Sporting Club de Portugal....

VID: Chape survivor takes first steps Chapecoense players, backroom staff and officials were among the victims when a flight carrying the team to the Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional crashed in Colombia last week. The football world has united in its support for the Brazilian Serie A side, with numerous clubs and players having offered to help in the wake of the tragedy. Brazil will play Colombia in January to help raise money for those affected, and Barcelona are also keen to assist Chapecoense’s recovery by offering a place in their pre-season plans for the 2017-18 campaign....

The Liverpool midfielder is keen to complete a move to Camp Nou in January after the Reds rejected three bids over the summer. Read the full story on Goal! PSG to make Seri move Paris Saint-Germain are set to make a January move for Nice midfielder Jean-Michael Seri, according to the Daily Mail . The 26-year-old almost joined Barcelona in the summer, but a £32.5 million bid was rejected by the Ligue 1 side....

Despite the club’s financial difficulties, Xavi has been given the power to bring in some key new players. The Catalan club have spent over €150 million (£127m/$153m) over the offseason to sign Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde alone. Their arrivals will shake things up in the Barca squad with some existing players now facing an uncertain future at Camp Nou. Barcelona squad and jersey numbers for 2022-23 Xavi has assembled a side bursting with attacking potential this season....