They are many people's favourites and the New York Giants not only have the deepest pass rush in the NFL but also an offence that can consistently run and pass the ball to great effect.
However, their National Conference (NFC) rivals Philadelphia Eagles beat them twice last year and have added offensive weapons to a team whose defence gave the Giants' fits.
The other likely challengers are the Minnesota Vikings who may have a better defence than either of them as well as the game's best young running back in Adrian Peterson. Many felt they were a proven quarterback away from being a contender before signing 40-year-old, future Hall of Famer Brett Favre, luring him out of retirement with the promise of one last run at the Super Bowl.
Although the defending NFC champions, the Arizona Cardinals, are better than anyone thought they would be last season, they may not be as good as people think they should be this year.
Same is true of the Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. They will have their moments but none will survive until the end.
In the AFC, the New England Patriots are the consensus pick but the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers will have a lot to say about that, as will the health of Tom Brady.
Brady is coming off a knee injury that sidelined him all season but he looked brilliant this summer until his right shoulder was slammed into the ground in a pre-season game.
Brady will not play again until the team's opening game on Monday. If he is ready the Patriots will be too. If not, the Steelers may repeat as conference champions.
That could happen any way because they have the league's best defence and one of the most reliable offences with Ben Roethlisbeger leading it. Last year he took them to a Super Bowl title despite a spotty running game. If it returns to form the Steelers could be as formidable as New England.
The Indianapolis Colts will be dangerous because of Peyton Manning's presence and the Tennessee Titans will be as well because of a ferocious defence and a running game that is much the same.
San Diego Chargers' offence, Baltimore Ravens' aging but still daunting defence and Miami Dolphins' scrappiness add to the competition. And the winner? Giants versus Pittsburgh in the big one. Pittsburgh wins.
The Giants have a simple formula: pound the run and pound you with their defence. They do both so well it takes pressure off quarterback Eli Manning, who is still without a proven elite receiver. Philadelphia upgraded both their offensive line and receiving corps, adding size, speed and explosiveness. Then they signed Michael Vick to make things even more interesting for quarterback Donovan McNabb. All that offence and the league's third-ranked defence make the Eagles solid contenders. Dallas were a better soap opera than team last year. After a house cleaning, that could change but not enough. Washington Redskins are stout on defence but Jason Campbell will have to prove he is a reliable playmaker at quarterback.
The Vikings were already the division favourite even before landing Brett Favre, a division legend from his days with the Packers. Favre will not have to do much because the defence and running game are how they intend to win. All he has to do is manage his ego. Green Bay have an easy opening schedule and must use it well. The pressure will be on a newly-installed 3-4 defence and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is the reason the Packers forced Favre out two years ago. Chicago could be a surprise if newly-acquired Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler can make average receivers better than they appear but he cannot help a defence that has faded from the 2006 Super Bowl season. The Detroit Lions will win a game. That's not saying much but when you go 0-16 it is a start.
The Falcons were the surprise of the division last year, fuelled by the superior play of rookie quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner, who carried 376 times. If he does that again his career will be short and so will the Falcons' success. New Orleans Saints have a Super Bowl offence but do they have a play-off defence? The Saints finished 26th in scoring defence and must be more aggressive this year. Carolina Panthers were a play-off team that fell apart in the post-season. They must prove they are more the former than the latter. To do that, quarterback Jake Delhomme and the defensive line must re-establish themselves. Tampa Bay Buccaneers are rebuilding and that will take time.
This is football's weakest division even though the Cardinals are defending NFC champions. They have an explosive pass offence as long as aging quarterback Kurt Warner is healthy but the defence was 28th in points allowed and 28th in red zone defence. That is a lot of defensive problems to survive. The San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and St Louis Rams are not likely to expose them but play-off calibre teams will. The 49ers are on the upswing but need a quarterback. The Seahawks have a quarterback when Matt Hasselbeck is healthy but wants to run the ball and may not have the backs to do it. As for the Rams, they lost 27 of the past 32 games for a reason.
New England are the heavy favourite as long as Tom Brady stays healthy. After missing last season he is back guiding arguably the most dangerous offence in football. The defence is suspect but Bill Belichick will worry about that in the play-offs. Miami were a surprise play-off team last year and will be in that hunt again despite playing the league's most difficult schedule. The Dolphins need to run the ball more effectively and continue to improve on defence to keep pace with New England. The New York Jets will start rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez and a blitz-crazy defence. The Buffalo Bills brought in Terrell Owens to revive the offence. He may try but it is unlikely he will not succeed.
The Steelers return 21 of 22 starters and that means they will have the stingiest defence again and an offence that should run the ball better but does not have to because quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can carry it if he has to. Baltimore may have a hard time repeating last year's 11-5 record. They lost two top-notch players from their rock-ribbed defence and second-year quarterback Joe Flacco will be forced to do more as opponents focus on shutting down his running game. Cincinnati Bengals are finally improving on defence but not fast enough. If Carson Palmer and Chad Ocho Cinco do not explode on offence the Bengals will implode. Then there is the lowly Cleveland Browns. Enough said.
This is a two-team race with Indianapolis trying to hold off the fast-rising Titans. The Colts surrendered the division to the Titans a year ago but as long as Peyton Manning is at quarterback it is difficult to pick against Indy. Long-time head coach Tony Dungy retired and has been replaced by Jim Caldwell, who has 20 of 22 starters back from a year ago, when the Colts reached the play-offs for the eighth straight season. The Titans had a league best 13-3 record in 2008 and should be just as dominating on defence and punishing with the run but must fill a hole left by All-Pro defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans will chase them but will not catch them. The Jaguars are on the downslide. Houston are improving after two 8-8 seasons but must play a consistent defence to challenge.
San Diego are the class of the division. The Chargers' offence is explosive and their defence will be aggressively creating pressure with an increased use of the blitz. The only thing that can stop them is an injury to Philip Rivers, one of the game's elite young quarterbacks. The rest of the division is battling for second place. Denver Broncos have a new offence, no defence, new coach, new GM, new quarterback and old problems. Kansas City Chiefs should be better but only because they cannot be worse than going 2-14 in 2008? The Chiefs have a new coach, new quarterback (ex-Patriot Matt Cassel) and a suspect offensive line. Oakland Raiders have not won more than five games since 2002 and will not this year unless Marcus Russell makes huge improvements at quarterback. Even if he does 8-8 would be a miracle.
rborges@thenational.ae
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
Traces%20of%20Enayat
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Vikram%20Vedha
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
RESULT
Norway 1 Spain 1
Norway: King (90 4')
Spain: Niguez (47')
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
MORE ON THE US DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES
MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
MWTC info
Tickets to the MWTC range from Dh100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 86 823 from within the UAE or 971 4 366 2289 from outside the country and all Virgin Megastores. Fans looking to attend all three days of the MWTC can avail of a special 20 percent discount on ticket prices.
STAY%2C%20DAUGHTER
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The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
Company%20Profile
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Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
BRAZIL%20SQUAD
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'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
