Watch Nick Saban preview Arkansas, talk injuries, at his Monday press conference
In a game where not much went wrong offensively for Alabama, Jalen Hurts and Damien Harris combined for 375 yards of offense as the Crimson Tide pummeled the Arkansas Razorbacks 49-30 in their first true road test of the season.
Heres are the three big takeaways from Saturday nights matchup.
1. The defense for the Tide is good, not great. Alabama did a great job of making Arkansas one-dimensional with under 75 rushing yards allowed and two yards per rush, but the passing yards given up to Austin Allen has to be disappointing for Nick Saban. With quarterbacks like Joshua Dobbs and Trevor Knight next on the docket, the secondary needs to make corrections or itll put a lot of pressure on its true freshman quarterback.
2. Harris is the next great Alabama running back. Against a Razorback team that prides itself on its toughness, seeing Harris go off for 122 yards on 13 carries ought to be an encouraging sign for Alabama fans. The light load for him on Saturday is a big deal, because the team will need him at full strength when it squares off against arguably two of the top three teams in the SEC this season in Tennessee and Texas A&M.
3. Hurts came of age in a tough road environment. Just how efficient was Alabama on the night? IT ONLY HAD EIGHT THIRD DOWNS ON OFFENSE. Hurts combines efficiency (13-of-17 passing) and explosiveness (14.9 yards per attempt) in an offense that has a plethora of weapons with ArDarius Stewart, Calvin Ridley, and O.J. Howard. If he can maintain his steady play, itll be hard for any team to stop this Alabama offense.
2016 American Football Highlights - Navy 52, Fordham 16
Changing your number to honor a captain who was lost for the season with a broken foot is a nice gesture.
But on Saturday, Navy linebacker Josiah Powell took his tribute to the injured Daniel Gonzales a full step further.
After making the switch from No. 40 to No. 58, Powell recorded his first two career interceptions, the second of which went for a touchdown to open up a 14-point lead in the second half against No. 6 Houston.
Gonzales" 23 tackles were tied for second on the team through four games, and his contributions will certainly be missed for the Midshipmen. But hey, maybe it"s all in the two digits on the back of the jersey.
RALEIGH When you think of Notre Dame football, you think of the Golden Dome and Touchdown Jesus and the catchy fight song and the only college football program with its own TV contract.
All of the Fighting Irishs tradition the 11 national titles, the seven Heisman Trophy winners, the movie with Rudy and the other movie with The Gipper is kinda cool, to use N.C. State linebacker Airius Moores words.
Notre Dame (2-3), a member in the ACC in all sports but football, will make its first-ever visit to N.C. State (3-1) on Saturday.
As a football fan, you understand the tradition they have, Moore said. But being a player now, I cant worry about that, all we can worry about is the game.
Thats exactly the message Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren wants to get through to his players.
The history of that program has nothing to do with whats going to happen on Saturday, Doeren said.
The history of that program has nothing to do with whats going to happen on Saturday.
N.C. State coach Dave Doeren on Notre Dame
So while a big deal will be made of Notre Dames first visit to Carter-Finley Stadium and on the 50th anniversary of the first game ever played there the challenge at hand means more than anything else on the periphery.
For us to beat anybody regardless of what they used to be or what they are now or what people say they are going to be or how many stars they have or what their preseason rankings we have to control the things that we can control, Doeren said. Thats all were going to talk about with our players.
N.C. States laser focus also means theres no sense in trying to interpret what Dukes 38-35 win at Notre Dame on Sept. 24 means to this game.
Duke lost at home to Wake Forest but won at Notre Dame. N.C. State beat Wake Forest this past Saturday. None of which means anything, Doeren said.
I dont think you can say, Because this team beat that team then we can beat that team, Doeren said. We have to earn the right to beat that team.
Doeren spent a good amount of time on Monday talking about the challenge Notre Dames offense represents.
The Irish are coming off a 50-33 win over ACC foe Syracuse. Quarterback DeShone Kizer threw for 471 yards and three touchdowns and has Notre Dame ranked No. 15 in the country in passing offense at 327.8 yards per game.
Notre Dames offensive line, led by left tackle Mike McGlinchey, might be the best we face all season, Doeren said.
Receiver Equanimeous St. Brown already has six touchdown catches, and 541 receiving yards, in five games.
The offense is not the reason the Irish lost three of its first four games. The defense ranks No. 106 in yards per game (461) and No. 100 in scoring (33.4 points per game).
After the home loss to Duke, when freshman quarterback Daniel Jones threw for 290 yards for the Blue Devils, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly replaced defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder with Greg Hudson.
Hudson, a former assistant at East Carolina for Skip Holtz, provides one of the few tangential links between Notre Dame and N.C. State. Hudson worked at ECU for Skip Holtz, whose dad, Lou, was the head coach for both N.C. State (1972 to 75) and the Fighting Irish (1986 to 96).
Other than Holtz, and a matchup in the 2003 Gator Bowl a 28-6 N.C. State win fueled by quarterback Philip Rivers theres not a lot of common ground between the two programs.
And all of thats fine with N.C. State. Theres not really time for a history lesson this week, just a football game.
When you get into all the hype and things like that, you kind of over-hype yourself and get out of your game, Moore said.
Were just really trying to focus on the game and take care of business.
Two Palm Springs police officers were fatally shot and another wounded Saturday afternoon while responding to a domestic disturbance call, police said.
Just before 1 a.m. Sunday, more than 12hours after the shooting, the suspect was taken into custody, the Riverside County Sheriffs Department said.
In a sheriffsstatement early Sunday, the suspectwas identified as John Felix, 26, of Palm Springs, who was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The statement said he surrendered peacefully.
Felix will be booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on two counts of murder of a peace officer, the statement said.
Chief Bryan Reyes said a news conference on the arrestwill be held at 11 a.m.
The officers went to the scene in the 2700 block of Cypress Road shortly after noon, police said. They tried to make contact with the suspect, who threatened to shoot the officers through the front door.
They were responding to a simple family disturbance and [the gunman] elected to open fire, an emotional Reyes told reporters during an afternoon news conference.
Reyesidentified the two victims as Officer JoseGil" Vega, a 35-year veteran of the department who was due to retirein December,and Officer Lesley Zerebny, whois the mother of a 4-month-old. He said the third officer, who was being treated ata hospital, was doing well and was helping investigators.
The Palm Springs Police Department turned the investigation over to the Riverside County Sheriff"s Department, Reyes said.
Today Palm Springs lost two of its brave officers, Reyes said, his voice quivering. "They go out every day with their boots on the ground.They gave their all for you.
Late Saturday, policeused a remote-controlled robot to open the door to the suspects house.
Frances Serrano, who lives on Cypress Road, across the street from where the shooting took place, was coming out of her garage around noon Saturday when her neighbor came bursting out of his own garage.
The man sought Serranos attention.
He said, Help. I need help. My son is in the house, and hes crazy. He has a gun. Hes ready to shoot all the police, Serrano recalled the father saying.
The father was very nervous, Serrano said. He was afraid of his son.
Serrano, 65, said she called authorities, and as soon as she began walking back into her house, she heard gunshots, starting with a loud I mean really loud bang!
Law enforcement and the suspect appeared to be exchanging gunfire, she said.
There were police everywhere, Serrano said. I looked out the window and saw police with rifles.Serrano said she remembered her neighbors son, who she believed was in his mid-30s, as a very nice young man very polite.
Juan Graciano, 67, who lives a block away from the suspects residence, said he saw officers trying to revive Zerebny. He said he was out in the yard about 1 p.m. when he noticed a crowd gathering at the corner of Cypress and Delgado roads.
I saw a woman officer who had been laid down in the trunk of a police cruiser, he said. There were about four officers around her. I watched as they picked her up and laid her down on the street and began administering CPR. A few minutes later paramedics arrived and took her away.
By 5:50 p.m. with police on every street corner continuing their search, Serrano said she was really scared, and had locked her windows and doors.
Some are saying [the suspect] is still in the fathers house. Others say hes on the run, she said. I knew there were problems before between the father and this young man. But I never imagined he would do something like this. I dont want to believe it.
I feel so sad for the officers, she added. Its like a nightmare.
Georgie Edensaid she was outside doing yard workwith her son and her husband whenall of a sudden I hear this pow, pow, pow pow.
At firstIm thinking,perhaps it was party poppers in the neighbors garden or something, and my husbands like, Uh, thats gunfire get in the house.
Eden then heard several more rounds of gunfire that seemed to continue for 10 to 20 minutes, she said.
So we stayed indoors, she said, and it was kind of, pretty scary.
Nothing like thishas happened during the three years Eden has lived in Palm Springs, she said.
Its horrible to even think that officers are out there and very much at risk because of guns and people that have a lot of mental health issues, she said. Just being a human being, it [hits] close to home.
Lee Weigel, the city"s former police chief and a onetime city councilman, learned of the shooting while out of town Saturday at his sons baseball game.
Weigels friend, who coaches another baseball team, walked upsolemnly. At first, Weigel said, he heard that one officer had been shot. Before long, he learned it was three.
It makes you weak in the knees, he said.
The police department is relatively small and everyone knows one another, said Weigel, who worked in the department for 32 years.
City officials saidthe department is made up of 98 sworn officers. The last time an officer was killed in the line of duty was about five decades ago.
Its a family,Weigel said. This is the worst incident in the history of Palm Springs in terms of officer shootings.... This is shocking, a blow to the entire department and community.
Times staff writers Vives and Sahagun and staff photographer van der Brug reported from Palm Springs. Stevens and Gerber reported from Los Angeles. Times staff writers Richard Winton and Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.
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UPDATES:
4:05 a.m.: Updated with the suspects name.
1 a.m.: Updated with the suspect taken into custody.
11:12 p.m.: This story was updated with new information from police.
8:40 p.m. This story has been updated with new witness accounts.
7:50 p.m.: This story has been updated with details from police and city officials.
6:17 p.m.: This story has been updated with new information from police.
5:35 p.m.: This story has been updated with new information from police.
4:35 p.m.: This article was updated with additional reaction.
4 p.m.: This article was updated with new details throughout.
3:55 p.m. This article was updated with conditions of officers.
3:45 p.m.: This article was updated with new details from police about why officers arrived at the scene.
3:25 p.m.: The article was updated with reaction from a business owner and other edits.
3:10 p.m.: The article was updated throughout with more details.
This article was originally published at 2:35 p.m.
Bruce Fessier, a reporter for the Desert Sun, recalls concerts he has attended performed by Desert Trip headliners. (Sept. 29, 2016) Richard Lui/The Desert Sun
Paul McCartney performs at Desert Trip Music Festival in Indio, CA on Saturday October 8.(Photo: Jay Calderon/USA TODAY NETWORK)
The shooting that killed two Palm Springs police officers and injured anothercast a pall over the start of Desert Trip on Saturday. People shuttling to the second day of the three-day concert at Indio"s Empire Polo Club had their rides delayed by almost two hours as police conducted their manhunt. People at the polo club followed the news on their mobile devices and talked about how terrible the shooting was.
Fortunately for some, opening act Neil Young started his set more than 20 minutes late. By then, the Palm Springs coach riders were just filing into the polo club. Young, dressed in a dark T-shirt with the words Water is life, a black hat and dark jeans, sat at his piano and started singing the sublime, After the Gold Rush. The figurative clouds seemed to part and the emphasis was again back on the music.
At 9:45 p.m. (30 minutes after his scheduled start time), headliner Paul McCartney wandered on stage after a long, bombastic recorded multimedia sequence emphasizing his historical place in pop culture, and the place melted into pure joy. The former Beatle opened with "A Hard Day"s Night," sounding magnificent on the huge Goldenvoice sound system, and middle-aged women started jumping up and down. Smiles were abounded among young and old.
Fans watch Paul McCartney perform on the 2nd night of Desert Trip on Saturday, October 8, 2016 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. (Photo: Richard Lui/USATODAY NETWORK)
He followed with a Wings song from the 1970s, "Jet," powered by his propulsive bass and happiness was restored as McCartney addressed the crowd as if they were at a festival that skewed much younger. "Good evening, Coachella!" he said, looking nattily attired in matching dark pants and coat with an open collared shirt. "Welcome to the desert!"
McCartney mixed Beatles songssuch as "Day Tripper," "Can"t Buy Me Love" and "I"ve Got A Feeling," with Wings andsolo hits and even the surprise of an instrumental version of Jimi Hendrix"s "Foxy Lady." There wasa slight rasp to his voice, but it really didn"t prevent him from selling his classic hits to the adoring audience.
McCartney and Young were further realizations of promoter Paul Tollett"s dream of bringing active, creative legends from the 1960s to a massive audience at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones delivered on Friday, and Young and McCartney more than survived their legendary shadow.
READ MORE:Palm Springs shooting suspect wanted to kill police officers
While McCartney generated pure joy, Young brought a "60srelevance to the evening. Hissecond song was a solo acoustic guitar version of his biggest hit, Heart of Gold, satisfying a huge percentage of the sold-out crowd of 75,000 people. But then he got serious.
More so perhaps than even Bob Dylan, Young is the conscience of the baby-boomer generation and his repertoire reinforced the message from the news of the day that there are more important thingsthangoing to a concert and partying hard.
After his fourth song, Mother Earth (Natural Edition) -- performed solo on an antique pump organ and harmonica --a team of guys in radioactive-protective suits came out and sprayed the stage, as if to say the environment is toxic. Then Youngs backup band, the excellent Promise of the Real, joined him for a wide-ranging program of new, obscure and classic rock songs.
The recently introduced Show Me is about the battle for water, a theme further illustrated by tepees off stage that also said, Water is life. The new Hang Glider, referring to terrorist secret hang gliders, featuresthe lyrics, I think I know who to blame/All those people with funny names/Moving into our neighborhood/I cant tell if theyre bad or good.
Neil Young performs on the 2nd night of Desert Trip on Saturday, October 8, 2016 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. (Photo: Richard Lui/USA TODAY NETWORK)
READ MORE:Officer killed in Palm Springs had just returned from maternity leave
Young brilliantly paced his show to end with the hard-rocking "Welfare Mothers," which he called a new theme song for Donald Trump, and the anthem that proved a perfect bookend to his opener, "Keep On Rockin" in the Free World."
Young fan Terry Craig of Scottsdale called it the "best opening act of all time."
"He does not want to be in the Stones" shadow after their set last night," he said. "He wants to show -- with the kids in the band -- he"s still got it, especially with this old catalog. On fire! Top of his game!"
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The headlining act,McCartney, wasnt scheduled to begin his set until 9:15 p.m. and didn"t go on until about 9:45 p.m., but fans began taking positions at the front of the stage as soon as the gates opened at 2 p.m. Pete Ybarra of Dallas-Fort Worth was among the first to arrive in the standing pit for the opportunity to see McCartney for the seventh time. He brought his own chair and food and made plans to keep his spot until the show was scheduled to end at midnight.
Me and my wife go out separately, he said, because if you leave, someone will take your spots.
Its just so huge, Ybarra said of the concert. "Ive never been to something this big. The stage is so huge. Ive never seen anything like it."
Neil Young performs on the 2nd night of Desert Trip on Saturday, October 8, 2016 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. (Photo: Richard Lui/USA TODAY NETWORK)
Paul and Tracey Manning came from Melbourne, Australia for Desert Trip. They regularly follow their favorite groups on concert tours last year, they followed both the Rolling Stones and U2 at the same time. But they said they hadnt seen anything like this.
Youll never see these performers together again, Paul Manning said. I think theyre all similar sort of artists, so its probably a bit of a reunion for them as well.
Almost halfway through the three-day Desert Trip celebration, the inaugural Goldenvoice event was getting rave reviews.
The quality of the bands is off the charts, said Jennifer Glendon of Boston. Last night, the Stones were amazing.
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DESERT TRIP
Keep up on all of the coverage from the first weekend of Desert Trip at www.DesertSun.com, including photo galleries, stories and reviews.
Read or Share this story: http://desert.sn/2dVM710
Rosie O"Donnell was so moved by her encounter with Ivanka Trump, she decided to make a piece of art out of it.
The comedienne, who has famously feuded withDonald Trump since 2006, came face-to-face with his daughter for the first time at the New York City restaurant Nobu on Wednesday night. Though she almost just got up and left,O"Donnell decided to talk to Ivankaand their conversation went surprisingly well.
At first, the 54-year-oldkept the encounter to a simple tweet, writing, "@IvankaTrump in a city of 8 million - we meet face 2 face - i thank u 4 listening - mother 2 mother - on this new years week - my best 2 u."
However, on Thursday night, O"Donnell went on to pen a poem titled "8 Million to One," opening up about their encounter and explaininghow she was "captivated" by Ivanka"s beauty and taken back by her kindnessthough she didn"t even realize who it was at first.
In the poem, O"Donnell explains she simply walked into the restaurant and saw a young couple sitting at a table in the corner, looking beautiful and in love. Later, her friend Dana revealed it was Ivanka. Though O"Donnell almost got up and left at that point, she decided to speak to the fashion designer.
She explained the encounter in her poem:"5 steps toward her table/introduced myself/she smiled genuinely/her husband was warm and gracious/i told her of my children/some truths about myself/my pain and shame/she was absurdly kind."
The poem continues,""i just wanted u to know"/i said in a shaky quiet voice/i then made my way down the large wooden stairway/into my waiting car."
She concluded,"i wrote a book once/about bashert/the concept of/meant to be/it has comforted me/on my darkest days/when my inner voices scream/u deserved it/as her father has/same as my own."
Ron Galella/WireImage.com, AP
Meanwhile, Donald and O"Donnell"s decades-long feud began in 2006 when the co-host called him a "snake-oil salesman on Little House On The Prairie" on The View after he gavethen-Miss USA 2006 Tara Conner a second despite comingunder fire for allegations of drug use and illegal drinking.
Donald shot back saying,"Rosie is just disgusting...she"s fat, she"s a loser. She"s a farm animal pig. She"s a beast, ok. She"s just a loser. She"s no good."
The feud has continued ever since, proving to still be ignited as the republican candidate made reference of her in the presidential debate a few weeks ago.
Donaldtold the country,"Rosie O"DonnellI said very tough things to her and I think everybody would agree that she deserves it and nobody feels sorry for her."
In return, O"Donnell called him an "orange a**s" and reminded everyone she"s #withher.
Trump Campaign Manager Kellyanne Conway on VP Debate Story highlights
Donald Trump enters the final month of the race down in the polls and at the center of controversy
His campaign manager told CNN Tuesday that the Republican nominee is listening to her
"He will make his own decisions and the campaign will continue in his own words," Kellyanne Conway told CNN"s Chris Cuomo on "New Day." "But he takes my counsel, other peoples" counsel very seriously. We have a fabulous relationship."
Conway, a veteran Republican pollster, joined Trump"s campaign in July after previously serving as an adviser to a super PAC supporting Ted Cruz"s presidential bid. She said she finds Trump to be a "generous" and "gracious" client and boss.
Trump enters the final month of the race down in the polls and at the center of controversy. After closing the gap with Hillary Clinton last month, Trump has lost ground with the Democratic nominee after a rocky first debate and public dispute with a former beauty pageant contestant.A new CNN/ORC poll conducted entirely after the debate showed Clinton leading Trump among likely voters nationwide, 47%-42%. Early last month, a CNN survey showed Trump with a two-point lead over Clinton.When asked Tuesday if she had admonished the candidate over his war of words with Alicia Machado, a past Miss Universe winner whom Trump had mocked for gaining weight, Conway said, "I think Donald Trump is the best when he sticks to the issues because the issue set is what favors him." Trump also faces renewed questions about his tax record, after The New York Times obtained records showing that he declared a $916 million loss in 1995, which could have enabled him to avoid paying federal income taxes for 18 years.
On Tuesday, Conway emphasized that Trump has not broken any tax laws. She said Trump was "great" before he suffered that loss, and has been ever since.
"He is the original art of the comeback," Conway said.
