The Raiders moved up 13 spots to get Cook, who went 34-5 as a starter at Michigan State and led the Spartans to Big Ten championships in 2013 and ‘15. The Spartans won the Rose Bowl following their 2013 title and made it to the College Football Playoff last season. MORE: Cook didn’t deserve cold shoulder | NFL Draft: Check the picks Cook set school records for wins and passing yards (9,194) while throwing for 71 touchdowns and 22 interceptions, but some eyebrows were raised when Cook wasn’t voted by his Spartans teammates as a captain for his senior season....

Marco Rubio’s attempt to appeal to South Carolina voters ahead of Saturday’s Republican primary reached the realm of college football this week. The Florida Senator has paired with “USC football legend” Connor Shaw for an endorsement. MORE: Best recruiting schools since 2010 | LINEMAKERS: Odds to win it all in 2016 Shaw, now a quarterback for the Browns, was scheduled to speak at Rubio’s rally in Chapin, S.C., on Wednesday and again in Greenville, S....

Maddon exercised an opt-out clause in his contract and is leaving the Rays immediately, he announced Friday afternoon. Maddon was making an average of $2 million on his deal, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Topkin reported that Maddon’s decision was “a combination of financial issues and curiosity over what opportunities will present.” As Maddon follows former Rays general manager Andrew Friedman out the door — Friedman signed a five-year, $35 million deal last week to join the Dodgers’ front office as president of baseball operations — early speculation invariably settled upon Maddon teaming up with his old boss in Los Angeles....

In a statement shared on Wednesday by Nashville, Tennessee’s SuperTalk 99.7 WTN where Phil Valentine is a host, his family said: “Out of an abundance of caution, Phil has decided to be put in a ventilator to give his body much needed rest. “We are confident that he will pull through, & thank you for your continued prayers.” The escalation in the radio host’s treatment comes after his brother Mark Valentine said in an interview with Supertalk 99....

Ryan, whose prepared remarks were obtained by the Associated Press, was set to discuss the Republican Party’s future at a Thursday night speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. “We conservatives find ourselves at a crossroads. And here’s one reality we have to face: If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we’re not going anywhere,” Ryan said in his remarks ahead of his speech....

The Southern Baptist Convention and the ACLU are named in friend-of-the-court briefs arguing that the pastor for John Ramirez, who is scheduled to be executed in Texas, should be permitted to lay hands on him and pray aloud when he is put to death, the Associated Press reported. Though the ACLU is firmly against the death penalty, the group argues that those who carry out executions should at least permit prisoners to exercise their religious freedom....

On the surface, such a stark turnaround may have been surprising. But after years of being the well-heeled laughingstock of Major League Soccer, the club decided to try something that had evaded it for most of its first decade of existence — consistency. MORE: All you need to know about TFC It started at the top, beginning with general manager Tim Bezbatchenko’s hiring in 2013 and the subsequent slow build toward the front office that is in place today....

But these glasses, as well as bifocal, trifocal, or no-line progressive multifocal eyeglasses, are not your only options. Contact lenses can be a solution for those over 40 who are having trouble doing things like reading a menu or a book. This article describes different contact lens options and combinations to consider. Contact Lenses With Reading Glasses If you already wear contact lenses for distance vision, you may do so because you feel they are more comfortable, practical, or you just prefer the way they look....

Stoke is a famously hard place to win and Mark Hughes’ men looked to impose themselves phyiscally on the league leaders on Saturday, but Gary Cahill’s 87th minute strike earned Chelsea all three points. Willian opened the scoring, but Chelsea had to come back after Anthony Taylor’s harsh penalty decision gave Stoke and Jonathan Walters and equaliser against the run of play. And Conte underlined that his side will always go for the win and that they have learned a real winning mentality under his leadership....

Premier League Team of the Week Fabregas came off the bench to set up fellow substitute Willian for the sealer in a 3-0 win at Everton on Sunday. A stunner from Pedro and Gary Cahill’s goal had given Chelsea control on their way to retaining a four-point buffer atop the table. Conte was full of praise for Fabregas, who has started just 10 league games this season, as well as Willian....

Morata only signed for the Premier League champions on Friday but came off the bench in Singapore and set up Michy Batshuayi for Chelsea’s second. The Spain international was introduced just after the hour and was able to flick Cesc Fabregas’ corner into the path of Batshuayi to score with five minutes to play. dabblebet: Back Chelsea to win the league! And despite his lack of time with the Chelsea squad, Conte was happy with what he saw from his new signing and expects him to get even better....

‘My focus is City’ - Yaya won’t speak to clubs about free transfer As they threaten to run away with the Premier League title, Chelsea’s winning streak is a short-term worry for everyone in English football. Even if they lose against Spurs on Wednesday, Conte’s unprecedented early success is giving him a chance to build something special in west London. This run has left those around Stamford Bridge glowing with pride as Conte appears to have grasped everything that is needed to run a major club in a competitive market in England....

Malaysia’s two representative in the 2017 AFC Cup got their campaign underway but while there were joy for Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) fans, it was only sorrow for fans of Felda United. Despite having their new head coach in B. Sathianathan present, Felda found it tough to get going at the Jalan Besar Stadium. After a tepid display in the first half which ended nil-nil, poor defending in the second half meant that Felda’s debut outing in the continental cup competition ended in disappointment....

On Tuesday, police in Oita Prefecture revealed they arrested an unnamed 36-year-old from Shiga suspected of stealing approximately 10 million yen ($94,150) from convenience stores in 16 of Japan’s 47 prefectures. Between August 2017 and October 2018, the alleged embezzler would reportedly get hired as a part-time employee, take whatever cash he could get from the register, safe and customers on his first day, and leave, never to return....

C.W. Bush - Cowboy mouth and dumb diplomacy put him in a pickle. Will Saddam give him a break by miscalculating? Antiwar + Old CW: Unpatriotic ’60s leftover fringe. New: Not-so-silent movement minority is respectable, and growing fast. Ridge = Flattop finally stumbles toward something coherent–but ready.gov is comedian’s gold mine. Nightclubs - Pepper spray, indoor fireworks, jammed exits equal disaster. CW will stay home with cable. Koufax + If one Murdoch unit prints lies, why play ball with another?...

The victim told Opa-locka police that she and officer Alaindy LouisXVI, 24, had attended two parties before he allegedly forced her to have sex with him in a Krispy Kreme parking lot in Miami-Dade on July 9. Every year tens of thousands of rapes happen across the U.S. Florida was the state with the third-highest number of reported rapes in 2020 with 7,686, according to Statista. Only Texas and California had higher instances of reported forcible rapes with 13,509 and 13,499, respectively....

Down to its final eight participants, the Coppa Italia returns to action this week, with the four games spread across three midweek days. Nearly all the top clubs in Italy remain alive in the competition, and a number of exciting matches have already been played. In the Round of 16 alone, four of the eight games required extra time to resolve, and stunningly, none of those games went to penalties, as four clubs found extra-time winners....

Eugene McLaurin, 28, was taken into custody Wednesday morning and charged with one count of using a dangerous and deadly weapon to assault a special agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Two ATF agents and an officer from an ATF task force were participating in a federal investigation when the shooting occurred near the 22nd District police station in the city’s Morgan Park neighborhood shortly before 6 a....

Black Lives Matter counter-protesters far outnumbered the white nationalists that gathered near Huntington Beach pier for the rally, which started at 1 p.m. local time. After some arrests, cops declared the event an unlawful assembly by 2:30 p.m. and ordered the “unruly crowd” to disperse. Several violent confrontations occurred between rallygoers and counter-protesters before authorities broke up the event. In a video shared to YouTube, one man can be seen punching another man in the face in front of a police officer for repeatedly asking him, “Why do you hate me?...