If you are an NFL quarterback, here is a bit of advice: Look out!
It seems as if the fates – not to mention pass-rushers with malevolence on their minds – are gunning for you.
As many as five starting quarterbacks could miss Week 4 games due to injury, and nothing changes the complexion of an NFL game faster than the absence of the No 1 QB, especially if he is an upper-tier performer.
So far, elite quarterbacks Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys and Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers have missed games, and both teams suffered losses to lesser sides without them.
The bad news in Pittsburgh and Dallas is that their quarterbacks will be out for extended periods.
Each team were considered the favourites to win their division.
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But Dallas, with back-up Brandon Weeden handling the job, no longer look like a lock even in the mediocre NFC East.
Pittsburgh will try to make do in the treacherous AFC North with ageing second-stringer Michael Vick, who could not deliver a win in a key division match-up against previously winless Baltimore Ravens on Thursday.
Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts has a sore shoulder and barely trained. Also injured are Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints, who already missed one game with a bruised shoulder, and the Chicago Bears’ Jay Cutler, who sat last week because of a hamstring injury.
The Colts said they expect Luck to play against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they have been preparing their 40-year-old back-up, Matt Hasselbeck, as if Luck will not. Hasselbeck, who has played for four teams in his career, has not started a game in three years.
Colts general manager Ryan Grigson understands the importance of having a No 2 guy who can do a passable imitation of a No 1, especially if you lose your starter for a significant length of time.
“If you don’t have a back-up quarterback that can do it, you basically just gave up your season,” Grigson told the NFL’s official website.
The exceptions to the rule this year were the Cleveland Browns.
With back-up Johnny Manziel playing in place of Josh McCown in Week 2, the Browns defeated the Tennessee Titans. McCown regained his job the next week, and they lost to the Oakland Raiders.
Many believe Manziel should be the No 1, and that is what quarterback controversies are all about – no clear difference between 1 and 2.
As for the Bears, Cutler’s replacement, Jimmy Clausen, directed 10 fruitless drives against the Seattle Seahawks last week, all ending in punts.
New Orleans journeyman Luke McCown was efficient enough (31 of 38 passing for 310 yards, with one interception) in a loss to the Carolina Panthers last week.
Still, the struggling Saints are hoping Brees can return this week against Weeden and Dallas.
Developing a smart quarterback is a chore, and elite quarterbacks in the NFL are scarce and, thus, so valuable.
Some teams are looking for one good quarterback. Having two who can lead a team to victory is unlikely, and the current crop of back-ups are proving it.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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.
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
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Real Madrid (2) v Bayern Munich (1)
Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
When: 10.45pm, Tuesday
Watch Live: beIN Sports HD
Name: Colm McLoughlin
Country: Galway, Ireland
Job: Executive vice chairman and chief executive of Dubai Duty Free
Favourite golf course: Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club
Favourite part of Dubai: Palm Jumeirah
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
