Articles by Alex Butler

Technology

Robinson, McCaffrey lead Week 8 fantasy football running back rankings

MIAMI, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey lead my Top-50 fantasy football running back rankings for Week 8 of the 2025 season. Jonathan Taylor, Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs join Robinson and McCaffrey inside my Top 5. Derrick Henry, James Cook, De'Von Achane, Javonte Williams and D'Andre Swift are my other Top-10 options. My Week 8 quarterback and wide receiver rankings can be found here. My waiver-wire and free agent targets for Week 8 are available here. All of my positional rankings will be updated until Week 8 kickoffs. Players also will be moved out of or adjusted within the rankings based on injuries. Be sure to monitor your lineups for injury developments. Players from the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, who are on bye, should not be in starting lineups. Los Angeles Chargers and Minnesota Vikings players, who played Thursday, were removed from my rankings. Week 8 running back rankings 1. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons vs. MIA 2. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers at HOU 3. Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts vs. TEN 4. Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles vs. NYG 5. Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers at PIT 6. Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens vs. CHI 7. James Cook, Buffalo Bills at CAR 8. De'Von Achane, Miami Dolphins at ATL 9. Javonte Williams, Dallas Cowboys at DEN 10. D'Andre Swift, Chicago Bears at BAL 11. Breece Hall, New York Jets at CIN 12. Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at NO 13. Rico Dowdle, Carolina Panthers vs. BUF 14. Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns at NE 15. Cam Skattebo, New York Giants at PHI 16. J.K. Dobbins, Denver Broncos vs. DAL 17. Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. GB 18. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints vs. TB 19. Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals vs. NYJ 20. Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs vs. WAS 21. Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons vs. MIA 22. Woody Marks, Houston Texans vs. SF 23. Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots vs. CLE 24. Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans at IND 25. Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders at KC 26. Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers vs. BUF 27. Kenneth Gainwell, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. GB 28. Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears at BAL 29. Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs vs. WAS 30. Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants at PHI 31. R.J. Harvey, Denver Broncos vs. DAL 32. Isaiah Davis, New York Jets at CIN 33. Justice Hill, Baltimore Ravens vs. CHI 34. TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots vs. CLE 35. Jeremy McNichols, Washington Commanders at KC 36. Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns at NE 37. Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans at IND 38. Brashard Smith, Kansas City Chiefs vs. WAS 39. Brian Robinson Jr., San Francisco 49eres at HOU 40. Nick Chubb, Houston Texans vs. SF 41. Samaje Perine, Cincinnati Bengals vs. NYJ 42. Emanuel Wilson, Green Bay Packers at PIT 43. Ollie Gordon II, Miami Dolphins at ATL 44. Ameer Abdullah, Indianapolis Colts vs. TEN 45. Sean Tucker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at NO 46. Chris Rodriguez Jr., Washington Commanders at KC 47. Jaydon Blue, Dallas Cowboys at DEN 48. Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. GB 49. Ollie Gordon II, Miami Dolphins at ATL 50. Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills at CAR

Oct 24, 2025

Technology

Egbuka, Chase lead Week 8 fantasy football wide receiver rankings

MIAMI, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Emeka Egbuka and Ja'Marr Chase lead my Top-50 fantasy football wide receiver rankings for Week 8. CeeDee Lamb, Rashee Rice and Rome Odunze join Egbuka and Chase in my Top 5. Courtland Sutton, Drake London, Zay Flowers, DK Metcalf and A.J. Brown are among my other Top-10 options. My top free agent and waiver-wire targets for Week 8 are available here. My Week 8 running back and quarterback rankings can be found here. All of my positional rankings will be updated until Week 8 kickoffs. Players also will be moved out of or adjusted within the rankings based on injuries. Be sure to monitor your fantasy football team lineups, especially if you roster or other injured wide receivers. Players from the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, who are on bye, should be benched or, in some cases, dropped from rosters. Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Chargers wide receivers, who played Thursday, were also removed from my rankings. Week 8 wide receiver rankings 1. Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at NO 2. Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals vs. NYJ 3. CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys at DEN 4. Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs vs. WAS 5. Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears at BAL 6. Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos vs. DAL 7. Drake London, Atlanta Falcons vs. MIA 8. Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens vs. CHI 9. DK Metcalf, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. GB 10. A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles vs. NYG 11. Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints vs. TB 12. Wan'Dale Robinson, New York Giants at PHI 13. Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals vs. NYJ 14. DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles vs. NYG 15. Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins at ATL 16. Stefon Diggs, New England Patriots vs. CLE 17. Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers vs. BUF 18. Matthew Golden, Green Bay Packers at PIT 19. Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills at CAR 20. George Pickens, Dallas Cowboys at DEN 21. Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers at PIT 22. Tez Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at NO 23. Darnell Mooney, Atlanta Falcons vs. MIA 24. Kendrick Bourne, San Francisco 49ers at HOU 25. Marvin Mims Jr., Denver Broncos vs. DAL 26. Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints vs. TB 27. Marquise Brown, Kansas City Chiefs vs. WAS 28. Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts vs. TEN 29. Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos vs. DAL 30. Josh Reynolds, New York Jets at CIN 31. Sterling Shepard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at NO 32. Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs vs. WAS 33. Kayshon Boutte, New England Patriots vs. CLE 34. Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills at CAR 35. D.J. Moore, Chicago Bears at BAL 36. Jauan Jennings, San Francisco 49ers at HOU 37. Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns at NE 38. Jaylin Noel, Houston Texans vs. SF 39. Chris Moore, Washington Commanders at KC 40. Xavier Legette, Carolina Panthers vs. BUF 41. Malik Washington, Miami Dolphins at ATL 42. Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts vs. TEN 43. Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans at IND 44. Lil'Jordan Humphrey, New York Giants at PHI 45. Van Jefferson, Tennessee Titans at IND 46. Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers vs. BUF 47. DeAndre Hopkins, Baltimore Ravens vs. CHI 48. Olamide Zaccheaus, Chicago Bears at BAL 49. Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears at BAL 50. Calvin Austin III, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. GB

Oct 24, 2025

Technology

Dolphins' Tyreek Hill considering retirement after knee injury

Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is considering retirement while recovering from his season-ending knee injury. Hill, 31, made the revelation during an appearance Thursday on The Set, a podcast hosted by former teammate Terron Armstead. The eight-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time All-Pro dislocated his left knee and tore several ligaments in the joint during a Week 4 win over the New York Jets. "I'm at the point now where I need to have a conversation with mom, family, everybody," Hill said. "Wherever my mind is at the time, there is a decision to be made, but I just know right now I feel like I haven't had time to just live in the moment, and just be in the moment with my family. . . . I think that's the appropriate answer for something like that. "I don't want to make any rash decisions." Hill reworked his contract in 2024, resulting in a total value of $90 million of the final three years of the pact. He is set to make $36 million (including bonuses) in 2026, with a salary cap hit of $52 million and dead cap value of $28.2 million, but the Dolphins could opt to move on from the wide receiver this off-season. Hill said his rehab is going well, but knows he has "a long journey ahead." He also said he had a moment of reflection about his career when he was down on the field after dislocating his knee. "I feel like I've been able to play this game for 10 years, really my whole life and I've been blessed with great talent and great gifts," Hill said. "The amount of support I get from my family is amazing. I really wasn't event thinking of the injury. I was just thinking about the great times I've had playing this game and just me being in Miami. "It all came full circle. I know it's not it, but I was just happy. I'm always trying to find the good in everything. I get time to spend with my kids. I get time to travel. I get time to sit down and enjoy my life and not always train. I feel like all of my life, that's all I do. I'm nonstop, you can ask anybody. All I wanna do is just train. I wanna live in the gym. I wanna live on the track. I want to live on the JUGS machine. That's always been me. It's never been me sacrificing my time for my family or sacrificing my time to do some of the things I want to do." Hill totaled 11,363 yards and 83 scores on 1,201 receptions through his first 10 seasons. Cheetah also scored seven rushing touchdowns, four times on punt returns, once on a kick return and another time on a fumble recovery, pushing his career total to 96 scores. He also totaled 1,212 receiving yards and seven total touchdowns over 15 postseason appearances. "At the end of the day, I feel like that decision is all based upon how I feel and where my mindset is at the moment," Hill said of potential retirement. "Like right now, I'm happy. I'm happy with being with my kids. I'm happy with the career that I've had. I love playing football. I love it, but it takes a lot. "It takes a lot to be the best and to stay at the top and make a lot of money and help your team win games and stuff like that. It takes a lot. It takes a lot on you mentally. It takes a lot on you physically." The Dolphins (1-6) will face the Atlanta Falcons (3-3) at 1 p.m. EDT Sunday in Atlanta.

Oct 24, 2025

Technology

Yesavage, homers help Blue Jays beat Mariners, force Game 7 in ALCS

Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Trey Yesavage carried a shutout into the sixth inning, while two homers helped the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners and force Game 7 in the ALCS. Yesavage allowed six hits and two runs over 5 2/3 innings in the 6-2 triumph Sunday in Toronto. Right fielder Addison Barger went 2 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs. First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also homered for the Blue Jays. "This was the most electric, energized crowd I have ever played in front of before," Yesavage told reporters. "And the team rallied behind the fans. They were huge motivation for us." The Blue Jays will host the Mariners in Game 7 on Monday in Toronto. The winner will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, with Game 1 set for Friday. "You've gotta enjoy it," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. "This is what we signed up for. Whenever you can play for Game 7 to go to the World Series, it sounds cool to say it, but this is why we sacrifice everything." Barger gave the Blue Jays their initial Game 6 advantage with an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning. Second baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa smacked another RBI single in the next exchange for a 2-0 edge. Barger returned to the plate for a 403-foot, two-run homer in the third. Guerrero led off the bottom of the fifth with a 384-foot solo blast. Yesavage retired the first six hitters he faced in order. He escaped bases-loaded jams in the third and fourth innings before the Mariners finally broke through in the sixth. First baseman Josh Naylor hit a 389-foot solo homer in the top of the inning for the Mariners' first run. Third baseman Eugenio Suarez ripped a line drive single down the first base line two at-bats later to plate the Mariners' final score. The Blue Jays scored the last run of the night off a wild pitch from Mariners reliever Matt Brash in the bottom of the seventh. Guerrero went 2 for 4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Third baseman Ernie Clement and outfielder Nathan Lukes joined Guerrero and Barger with two hits apiece in the victory. Clement recorded a double and a triple and drew a walk. Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh and Jorge Polanco -- the first three hitters in the Mariners' batting order -- went a combined 0 for 11 in Game 6. First pitch for the Blue Jays-Mariners Game 7 finale is set for 8:08 p.m. EDT Monday at Rogers Centre. Shane Bieber will take the mound for the Blue Jays, while fellow right-handed pitcher George Kirby will start for the Mariners.

Oct 20, 2025