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NFL

Defense fuels sweep of Packers; Vikings one step closer to first-round bye

GREEN BAY, Wis. — With 2:51 remaining in the game, the Skol chant took over Titletown USA. Minnesota Vikings fans who traveled five hours to watch their team silence the crowd in Lambeau Field got an early Christmas present on Saturday night.

Minnesota recorded its first defensive shutout since 1993 when it beat NFC North rival Green Bay 16-0 in prime time.

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Another dominant performance bolstered the Vikings case as the NFL’s best defense from top to bottom. Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Hundley finished with a passer rating of 30.2 after throwing two interceptions and not being able to connect with his receivers in the end zone.

What it means: Well, it’s a rivalry again. Mike Zimmer said this week that the Vikings were still trying to make the series with the Packers a rivalry because of how many times Green Bay had been on the winning end this decade. For the first time since 2009, Minnesota swept Green Bay in the regular season.

What I liked: Harrison Smith made Pro Bowl voters look silly for his snub to this year’s game. The Packers got into the red zone for the first time just after the two-minute warning in the first half. On third down from the 15-yard line, Hundley dropped back and looked to throw a short pass over the middle. Smith, who was up near the line of scrimmage pre-snap, dropped back to cover tight end Lance Kendricks, who ran a skinny post about 10 yards before cutting up the middle of the field. Smith got in front of Kendricks at the last second and intercepted the pass for a 17-yard return. Smith picked off Hundley again late in the fourth quarter. In total, three of Smith’s five interceptions this season have been against Hundley. It’s no secret why he’s ranked as the No. 1 safety by Pro Football Focus for the success he’s having in arguably his best season to date.

The Vikings recorded their first shutout since 1993, beating the Packers 16-0 at Lambeau Field on Saturday. Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports

The Vikings entered Week 16 as the No. 1 defense on third down, allowing teams to convert just 26.3 percent of the time. Minnesota held Green Bay to 4-of-15 on third down, but more impressively stunted the Packers on fourth down as they were 0-for-4.

What I didn’t like: Maybe it had something to do with the cold temperatures, but the passing game wasn’t as sharp as it has been in recent wins. Case Keenum was 14-of-25 for 139 yards and a 4-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs, but three drives stalled and resulted in field goals.

Fantasy fallout: Diggs now has seven touchdown catches, the most by a Vikings receiver since Sidney Rice in 2009. Latavius Murray totaled 69 yards rushing on 21 carries, and Jerick McKinnon picked up 42 yards rushing. Kai Forbath booted field goals from distances of 49, 20 and 27 yards.

Injuries galore: Minnesota’s starting offensive line was intact for the first time since beating the Bears on Oct. 9. It was short lived, however, when left guard Nick Easton went down because of a right ankle injury at the end of the first quarter. Including Easton, three Vikings players were not able to return to the game after sustaining injuries Saturday night. Defensive tackle Shamar Stephen had to be carted off to the locker room when he injured his ankle late in the second quarter. Stephen was injured at some point on a play when Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson caught a 25-yard pass, which was subsequently overturned when Minnesota challenged the catch. A late substitution caused the Vikings to be penalized for having 12 men on the field as an injured Stephen couldn’t get off the field in time. Long snapper Kevin McDermott injured his shoulder with 27 seconds left in the first half and was ruled out shortly after the start of the third quarter.

What’s next: The Vikings took care of business on their end. Now they’ll wait for the outcome of the Panthers-Buccaneers game on Christmas Eve to see whether they’ve clinched a first-round bye. Minnesota needed to beat Green Bay and have Carolina lose or tie against Tampa Bay to secure another portion of their postseason fate in Week 16. The Panthers are 6-1 since Oct. 29 and are a 73.6 percent favorite to win Sunday, according to ESPN’s FPI. In its past seven games, Carolina is averaging 174.1 yards rushing per game as opposed to 97.3 yards on the ground in the first seven games.

Soccer

Prosecutor: Ex-FIFA officials found guilty after 'downpour' of evidence

There was torrential rain as the gavel came down on two ex-FIFA officials.

As detailed by the Guardian’s Oliver Laughland, the first ex-football officials to stand trial following a widespread corruption investigation of the sport’s governing body were convicted by a jury in New York on Friday. Juan Angel Napout, former president of CONMEBOL and the Asociacion Paraguaya de Futbol, and Jose Maria Marin, former president of the Confederacao Brasileira de Futebol, were found guilty on most of the charges. The verdict on Manuel Burga, former president of the Federacion Peruana de Futbol, is yet to be reached. He’s charged with a single count of racketeering.

Napout was convicted on three of five counts, and Marin was convicted on six of seven counts. Each count carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Sam Nitze, an assistant prosecutor, suggested that the evidence against them was overwhelming, and, while summing up, urged the jury to find the three men guilty on charges related to the receipt of bribes.

“In this case it’s a downpour,” Nitze said. He also dismissed the defence in his closing by declaring: “A couple of people come in and say I’m soaked and the defence says, where’s your photograph?”

Napout and Burga were among 16 additional FIFA officials who were indicted for racketeering conspiracy and corruption in December 2015. They were charged with racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracies in connection with their participation in a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves by corrupting international football. Marin, meanwhile, was among the nine FIFA officials who were indicted in May 2015, when the corruption scandal engulfing football’s governing body started. All three defendants pleaded not guilty.

As written by Laughland, individuals and entities who had already pleaded guilty testified against their former colleagues, and the trial included testimony from 28 witnesses who told the jury about meetings, recordings, ledgers, and bank records implicating Napout, Marin, and Burga.

Prosecutors stated that, between 2010 and 2016, Napout was owed $10.5 million, Marin was owed $6.55 million, and Burga was owed $4.4 million.

Regarding the racketeering conspiracy, most of the schemes alleged in the indictment relate to bribes and kickbacks by football officials from sports marketing executives in connection to various matches and tournaments, including the Copa America Centenario, the Copa America, the Copa Libertadores, and the Copa do Brasil.

“If you think about it, I've never held a job in my life. I went from being an NFL player to a coach to a broadcaster. I haven't worked a day in my life.”
-John Madden


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