Those who spent up on Patrick Mahomes and Kyler Murray will be without their studs as the Chiefs and Cardinals take the week off. Of course, Murray owners are used to that, but hopefully that will change after his bye. This week also features three Thursday games, so your start 'em, sit 'emi decisions will feel a little more rushed. Winning the week starts with deciding who to start at quarterback, and our Week 12 fantasy QB rankings can help you makes those tough start 'em, sit 'em decisions.

We mentioned Murray and Mahomes are out, but season-long stud Matthew Stafford (@ Packers) and popular streaming option Teddy Bridgewater (vs. Chargers) are back in action after their byes. For those Mahomes and Murray owners, we'll admit it's not a very deep week for streamers, but there are just enough options to get by. Again, Murray owners are used to this routine, so they should have a decent backup. 

Stafford, along with Aaron Rodgers (vs. Rams), Justin Herbert (@ Broncos), and Joe Burrow (vs. Steelers), headline the "studs with tough matchups" category, but again, it's not the greatest week for streamers, so they all remain QB1s in our rankings.
The best streamers include Mac Jones (vs. Titans), Cam Newton (@ Dolphins), Trevor Lawrence (vs. Falcons), and Justin Fields (@ Lions). Matt Ryan (@ Jaguars) is over 50-percent owned, but if you consider him a streamer, he's in play, too. Those QBs either play teams that are downright awful against the pass statistically or bottom-dwellers that haven't forced many pass-happy game scripts. So, yes, we're counting on three rookies, a guy who was just signed off the street a few weeks ago, and a boom-or-bust veteran. What else did you expect at this point in the season? Also, he's not a streamer at this point either, but start Carson Wentz (vs. Buccaneers). The matchup and game script should set him up for a nice fantasy day.

On the other side of the start-or-sit bubble, we're out on Ryan Tannehill (@ Patriots), Daniel Jones (vs. Eagles), Tua Tagovailoa (@ Panthers), and Teddy Bridgewater (vs. Chargers). These guys have been mentioned several times by us on the "start" side of the conversation, but the matchups just aren't favorable enough to tout them as viable considerations this week. They're looking at some top defenses against fantasy QBs, so we'd opt to play the guys listed above. If you're forced to start one of the three, Jones has the highest upside because of his rushing ability.

This week isn't quite as disastrous of a week as we thought it could be in the preseason, so you can survive. This is the last week with two elite fantasy QBs out of commission, so there should be less competition for streamers going forward. Still, you have to stay on top of everything. We saw last Sunday with Lamar Jackson's surprise scratch that injuries and illnesses can strike with little warning, so always have a plan going into a week.

Note: We'll be updating these QB rankings throughout the week, so check back for the latest player movement and analysis.

Fantasy QB Rankings Week 12: Who to start at quarterback
Rankings are based on standard, four-point passing TD formats.

Rank Player
1 Russell Wilson, SEA @ WAS
2 Josh Allen, BUF @ NO
3 Tom Brady, TB @ IND
4 Lamar Jackson, BAL vs. CLE
5 Dak Prescott, DAL vs. LV
6 Jalen Hurts, PHI @ NYG
7 Matthew Stafford, LAR @ GB
8 Aaron Rodgers, GB vs. LAR
9 Carson Wentz, IND vs. TB
10 Joe Burrow, CIN vs. PIT
11 Justin Herbert, LAC @ DEN
12 Mac Jones, NE vs. TEN
13 Derek Carr, LV @ DAL
14 Cam Newton, CAR @ MIA
15 Kirk Cousins, MIN @ SF
16 Matt Ryan, ATL @ JAX
17 Tyrod Taylor, HOU vs. NYJ
18 Trevor Lawrence, JAX vs. ATL
19 Justin Fields, CHI @ DET
20 Daniel Jones, NYG vs. PHI
21 Jimmy Garoppolo, SF vs. MIN
22 Ryan Tannehill, TEN @ NE
23 Tua Tagovailoa, MIA vs. CAR
24 Teddy Bridgewater, DEN vs. LAC
25 Taylor Heinicke, WAS vs. SEA
26 Baker Mayfield, CLE @ BAL
27 Joe Flacco, NYJ @ HOU
28 Ben Roethlisberger, PIT @ CIN
29 Trevor Siemian, NO vs. BUF
30 Tim Boyle, DET vs. CHI

Terence Crawford will face his toughest challenge yet to retain his WBO welterweight belt.

Crawford has fended off Jose Benavidez Jr., Amir Khan, Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Kell Brook in four defenses of his belt, but on Saturday, the stakes will be raised as he faces Shawn Porter.
Porter has, at various points in his career, held different welterweight belts. He has held the WBC-NABF title, the IBF title and the vacant WBC title in the welterweight class, but Porter has lost three times in his past 10 fights, leading to the loss of the belts.

The winner of this fight will leave Michelob Ultra Arena with a belt, but both are going to be coming away with a good deal of money for the fight. Here's a look at how much each will earn, as well as the fighters' net worth, ahead of the fight.
Terence Crawford vs. Shawn Porter purse
These two fighters will each be coming away with a comparable payday for Saturday's fight. According to ESPN, Crawford will make upwards of $6 million, while Porter will pocket at least $4 million.

What is Terence Crawford's net worth?
Crawford's unblemished record does not yet accompany the lofty earnings. Celebrity Net Worth reports that Crawford has a net worth of $8 million.

What is Shawn Porter's net worth?
Porter's payday on Saturday will be a boon to his net worth. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Crawford has a net worth of $5 million.
Terence Crawford career record
Nationality: American
Born: Sept. 28, 1987 (34 years old)
Height: 5-8
Reach: 74 inches
Record: 37-0-0 (28 KOs)
Shawn Porter career record
Nationality: American
Born: Oct. 27, 1987 (34 years old)
Height: 5-7
Reach: 69.5 inches
Record: 31-3-1 (17 KOs)
We may earn an affiliate commission when you sign up for a streaming service through our links. Sporting News' affiliates have no influence over the editorial content included in this article.

The King is back. 

LeBron James returned from an almost three-week absence for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Boston Celtics on Friday night. James had been out of the Lakers lineup since November 2, missing the team's past seven games with an abdominal strain.

He was listed as a game-time decision with the team announcing he would play just before tip-off. 

Prior to his injury, James was averaging 24.8 points - his lowest scoring average since his rookie season - while also averaging his least amount of rebounds (5.5) also since his rookie campaign and his least amount of assists (7.0) since 2015-16. Most concerning was his shooting percentage (46.7 percent) which was also his lowest since 2003-04.

James played 32 minutes against Boston, and looked like his old self for large parts of the contest, hitting fadeaways, and taking it strong to the basket and absorbing contact. 

He finished with 23 points (10-for-16 from the field), six rebounds, two assists and two steals before exiting the game for good with 4:26 left in the final quarter. 

He played 32 minutes and recorded a team-best plus-minus of -4, among Lakers players to have logged more than 20 minutes.

"Felt okay," James said postgame. "Felt like a rookie again being away from the game."

With the 130-108 loss, the Lakers have dropped to 8-9 for the season and 4-3 in games when James suits up.

Sidney Crosby has played in just two of the Penguins' first 14 games this season. And even if he isn't lighting up the stat sheet, he certainly made his presence known on Sunday.

In the Penguins' 6-1 loss to the Capitals, Crosby struggled mightily. He recorded one shot on goal in just under 17 minutes of ice time, and let his frustration boil over in the third period.
After taking his lone shot on goal less than three minutes into the third period with Washington's Martin Fehervary playing defense, the two skated behind the net where Crosby threw the young defenseman face-first into the boards.
Crosby wasn't penalized on that play but did get sent to the box for cross-checking Evgeny Kuznetzov around seven minutes later. Tom Wilson scored on the ensuing power play to make it 6-1.
After the game, the 22-year-old Fehervary didn't seem to pay much mind to Crosby's actions and didn't really have much to say on the matter.

"Yeah, I don't know. I don't even know what should I talk about it," he told reporters. "I don't care. We'll see next game."
Crosby has zero points, five shot attempts and has a plus/minus of -4 to kick start his 2021-22 campaign. The star center — who has already been named to Canada's Olympic squad — missed the first seven games of the season while recovering from offseason surgery on his left wrist. He returned Oct. 30 vs. the Devils before having to enter COVID-19 protocols on Nov. 3. Sunday's game was his first time slotting in.

The Penguins and Capitals have had some notorious and infamous battles in recent years and will next face off on Dec. 10 in Washington.

George Steinbrenner, the fiery, volatile Yankees owner who prioritized winning over pretty much everything else, died of a heart attack at 80 years old in July 2010, about nine months after his club won the 2009 World Series in six games over the Phillies.

The Yankees, who won seven World Series titles in Steinbrenner’s era (1973-2010) — and made the final round four other times — haven’t been back to the World Series since his death. The team from the Bronx has been good since then, with two 100-win seasons and nine trips to the playoffs — including four to the ALCS — but hasn’t broken through.
Maybe the most frustrating thing of all? The Yankees have had more regular season wins than the eventual World Series champ five times since that 2009 title: in 2010 (95, to the Giants’ 92), 2011 (97, to the Cardinals’ 90), 2012 (95, to the Giants’ 94), 2019 (103, to the Nationals’ 93) and 2021(92, to the Braves’ 88).

So, yeah, there’s plenty of motivation this offseason to add significant talent to what’s already a very talented roster. Here are two things we know about the Yankees’ offseason plans: They are going to acquire a shortstop, and payroll will increase.

Longtime GM Brian Cashman has spoken often since his club’s season ended about the need to upgrade at shortstop — Gleyber Torres is moving full time to second base — and he addressed the payroll issue speaking to reporters at the GM meetings this week.

“Well, it’s going to have to be (increasing). We don’t have a lot of stuff coming off,” Cashman said, according to the New York Post. “So obviously I’ll have some latitude.”

The Yankees stayed under the competitive-balance tax threshold in 2021, which was important to the club because penalties for going over the set number — it was $210 million in 2021 — increase sharply for every consecutive year a team is over. Getting back under the number for a season resets everything. So the Yankees are back to zero, but expect them to exceed the luxury tax — whatever the number might be — next year.

Let’s take a look at what the Yankees might do, at positions that Cashman has said are in play this offseason. We’ll start with the obvious one.

Yankees shortstop options
Back when Cashman made his initial comments saying shortstop was an “area of need” we took a dive into the most obvious options in front of the club, so we’ll just link to that story and give you the Cliff Notes version here.

Carlos Correa and Corey Seager are the two biggest names, meaning they’ll both demand massive contracts of at least 10 years. Trevor Story is coming off a down year, but the Yankees had a lot of success with one ex-Rockie (D.J. LeMahieu). Marcus Semien is a top-three AL MVP finisher this year, and he could move to second when/if one of the Yankees’ shortstop prospects is ready for the bigs. Javier Báez is an intriguing option.

“It’s certainly the year of the shortstop, certainly with a lot of high-end, talented players coming out at the same time,” Cashman said at the GM meetings.

After those five free agents, there are options the fan base probably wouldn’t like but wouldn’t be awful, such as signing Jose Iglesias or Andrelton Simmons (Cashman’s mentioned defense a couple of times) or trading for Paul DeJong.
Yankees starting pitcher options
Here’s what Cashman said on the topic at the GM meetings: “Always pitching, pitching, pitching, even though our pitching was a good thing for us this year. It’s always good to try to reinforce it and add to it if you can.”

Stealing this from a TSN piece earlier this week: The Yankees’ 2022 rotation options at the moment consist of perennial Cy Young candidate Gerrit Cole and about eight or nine pitchers who seem likely to post an ERA in the 4s if given 25 to 30 starts. It would seem unlikely that the Yankees would add a bottom-of-the-rotation starter this offseason, unless it’s an opportunistic trade or signing with low risk.

Here are four options to slot in there next to Cole:

Max Scherzer, free agent: Scherzer is 37 going on 29, still an effective and often dominant starting pitcher in the big leagues. The right-hander with three Cy Young wins had a 1.98 ERA in 11 starts with the Dodgers after arriving in a trade with the Nationals. He’ll have lots of teams bidding for his services, offering two or three-year deals with crazy-high annual salaries. A short-term, high AAV deal makes sense for the Yankees, who have to tackle the Aaron Judge extension issue sooner than later.

Justin Verlander, free agent: Sure, he’s coming off Tommy John surgery and will turn 39 during spring training. But that TJ surgery was 17 months ago, and Verlander impressed during his showcase throwing session earlier this week, sitting 94-97 with his fastball. And the idea of pairing Verlander with Cole atop the rotation has to be intriguing. Remember 2019, when those two finished 1-2 in the AL Cy Young race as teammates in Houston? You can bet the Yankees — who lost to those Astros in the ALCS that year — remember the duo well.

Marcus Stroman, free agent: Stroman was outstanding for the Mets in 2021, one of the few players on the team who was good start to finish. He made 33 starts for the club, posting a 3.02 ERA and 3.49 FIP, with only 2.2 walks per nine. Stroman pitched at least five full innings in 29 of his 33 starts — including every July, August and September outing — and only three pitchers topped that number: Zack Wheeler, Walker Buehler and Julio Urias. And you know Stroman would love the pressure of pitching under the Bronx microscope.

Kevin Gausman, free agent: Gausman was outstanding in 2021 for the Giants, posting the best season of his career. He had a 2.81 ERA/3.00 FIP in 33 starts, with a 10.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. Plus, he played last year after accepting San Francisco’s qualifying offer, so he has no draft-pick compensation attached, which is nice for him. He knows the pressures of the AL East from his days with the Orioles, but now instead of facing the Yankees a couple times per season, he’d face an Orioles club that lost 110 games in 2021.

Yankees center field options
Aaron Hicks is a hard worker and a good teammate, but at this point in his career, he’s probably not a full-time center fielder, as much as the Yankees might want him to be. The club gave him a seven-year, $70 million contract after his breakthrough 2018 season — 27 homers, .833 OPS, 4.4 bWAR — but he only played 91 of the possible 324 games in 2019 and 2021, and though he played 54 of the 60 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, his production wasn’t great: 0.8 bWAR, 6 homers, 21 RBI, .225 average.

The injury issues aren’t new. Hicks has been in the majors for eight 162-game seasons, and he’s played more than 97 games only twice. His contract has four remaining years, but using “contractual obligation” to determine starters isn’t the best way to build a World Series team. Cashman acknowledged as much at the GM meetings.

“He’s going to finish off his rehab and he very well might be our starting center fielder, but again I’m going to be open-minded and evaluate all opportunities,” Cashman said. “We just want to make sure we put the best team out there. There are no guarantees right now, for anybody. … Aaron Hicks was hurt, so he’s been off the board. He might play some winter ball, we’ll see. In the meantime, center field was an area of concern this past year because of his injury.”

Here are four options:

Starling Marte, free agent: He’s heading into his Age 33 season, but Marte still is a great player. He led the majors with 47 stolen bases despite playing just 120 games combined for the Marlins and A’s, and he posted a career-best on-base percentage (.381) and OPS+ (131), plus a bWAR of 4.0 or better for the sixth time in his career. He’s also an outstanding defensive center fielder. A three-year deal with a relatively high AAV seems reasonable.

Chris Taylor, free agent: Playing center field is just one of his many talents. The Yankees could sign him with the idea that he’s the starting center fielder, but they’d also be getting a replacement third baseman if Gio Urshella gets hurt, a replacement shortstop if the new shortstop gets hurt, a replacement second baseman if Torres goes down and he could probably catch, too, if Gary Sanchez gets hurt (OK, not the last one, but you get the picture).

Joey Gallo, on the roster: The Yankees could decide to keep this one in house, with Gallo — yes, he’s a large human but he’s an excellent defensive outfielder who has played 55 games in center in his career — as the fallback option if the club decides that Hicks is ready to take the full-time role this spring.

Brett Gardner, free agent: Yep, Gardner could possibly come back, even after both sides declined their options this offseason. Another year of “hope Hicks is healthy, but at least we have Gardy” might not be the most appealing, but if the Yankees spend big at shortstop and in the rotation, that could what winds up happening.

As the NBA has grown in popularity, so has the influence of its players. In recent years, members of the basketball community have raised their voices and stepped up their efforts in advancing social justice.

One particular date served as a major turning point in the NBA's movement. On Aug. 23, 2020, Jacob Blake, a Black man, was shot multiple times in the back by Rusten Sheskey, a white police officer, in Kenosha, Wisc. The shooting left Blake paralyzed from the waist down and sparked several protests against police brutality and systemic racism in the United States.
At the same time, the NBA season was playing out inside the Florida "bubble" as the news emerged about the shooting, leaving the entire NBA community with the difficult task of staying engaged as the 2019-20 season resumed amid a global pandemic while also speaking to events happening in the real world.

Then, basketball suddenly stopped.

Bucks lead response in NBA 'bubble'
On Aug. 26, 2020, the Bucks were scheduled to face the Magic in Game 5 of their first-round series. Milwaukee players never took the floor for pregame warmups, though, and Orlando players returned to their locker room once it became clear that the Bucks did not intend to play.

Hours after the game was supposed to tip off, Bucks guards Sterling Brown and George Hill delivered a team statement calling for the Wisconsin State Legislature to "take up meaningful measures to address issues of police accountability, brutality and criminal justice reform" in the wake of the Blake shooting. Milwaukee players also attempted to reach Josh Kaul, the attorney general of Wisconsin, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
The NBA then announced that the three playoff games scheduled to be played that day had been postponed.

"The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association today announced that in light of the Milwaukee Bucks' decision to not take the floor today for Game 5 against the Orlando Magic, today's three games — Bucks vs. Magic, Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers — have been postponed," the league said in its statement. Game 5 of each series will be rescheduled."

Milwaukee's decision reportedly caught the rest of the NBA off-guard, including the team's front office, but Bucks ownership offered full support to the players.

"Although we did not know beforehand, we would have wholeheartedly agreed with them," Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan said in a joint statement. "The only way to bring about change is to shine a light on the racial injustices that are happening in front of us. Our players have done that and we will continue to stand alongside them and demand accountability and change."

Tense meeting after 'bubble' boycott
Once games were postponed, multiple reports emerged indicating players would hold a meeting that evening to discuss the state of the season. Coaches were in attendance as well, but they were asked to leave at one point, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe.

A few key items from that meeting:

Players talked about voting and police reform and what team owners must do in order for the season to proceed, according to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, who also noted members of the Bucks and Raptors were particularly outspoken during the meeting.
The Clippers and Lakers voted to boycott the season, per multiple reports, though ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski clarified those votes were part of an informal poll. Every other team voted to continue play, according to Charania.
There was reportedly frustration with how the Bucks handled the boycott, and some players wanted an explanation for why they didn't alert other teams of their decision. Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, however, supported the Bucks and said they didn't need to explain anything.
Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James were "adamant" about not finishing the playoffs, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times. James reportedly left the meeting early and was followed by the rest of the Lakers and Clippers.
Michele Roberts, the executive director of the NBPA, laid out the financial ramifications of boycotting the season, including the possibility of owners terminating the collective bargaining agreement and a future lockout, per Wojnarowski.
A source told The Athletic's David Aldridge the meeting ended "ugly" and there was uncertainty about what would happen the next day.

2020 NBA playoffs resume
The league's Board of Governors conducted an emergency call with NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Aug. 27, 2020, per multiple reports. NBA players also had a meeting scheduled at that time. Players eventually decided to resume the 2020 NBA playoffs.

James and other players reportedly changed positions after initially supporting a boycott of the season, saying it was in the best interest of the players' movement to resume the season. A major source of frustration in the previous meeting "stemmed from players not being on the same page," according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

The NBA and the NBPA then announced three new initiatives after discussing what steps needed to be taken in support of social justice and racial equality:

Creating a social justice coalition, which includes players, coaches and owners and focuses on increased access to voting, civic engagement and police and criminal justice reform
Working with local officials to turn NBA arenas into voting centers for the November general election
Airing public service ads during playoff games to increase engagement in elections and raise awareness of voter access
All parties agreed to resume playoff games on Aug. 29, 2020.

NBA reaction to Jacob Blake ruling
On Jan. 5, 2021, Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley announced that no charges would be brought against Sheskey in the shooting of Blake. The Wisconsin Department of Justice said that Blake had a knife in his possession.

"Jacob Blake, while actively resisting, arms himself with a knife," Graveley said (via CNN). "It's absolutely incontrovertible that Jacob Blake was armed with a knife during this encounter. … All the discussion that he's unarmed contradicts even what he himself has said multiple times."

However, an attorney for Blake's family didn't believe that Blake ever posed a threat to officers.

"I think that's completely bogus and I think that is just a rationalization to try to show what is really, essentially, an intentional act," B'Ivory LaMarr said after Graveley's announcement. "It's not against the law to have a knife. People have knives for a variety of different reasons. Jacob Blake is privy to having a knife."

Graveley added that Blake would also not face charges.

Blake's legal team shared their disappointment in the decision, as did NBA players upon hearing the news. James called the results of the investigation a "blow to the heart and to the gut." Wesley Matthews, who was part of the Bucks team that led the "bubble" boycott, described the development as "disheartening."

"It's upsetting as a human being that justice isn't justice. It's tough," Matthews said. "But it can't knock us off our path that we're trying to get to, which is equality and just simply right and wrong."

The U.S. Justice Department announced on Oct. 8, 2021, that it would not pursue charges against Sheskey.

Kyle Rittenhouse shooting
In the aftermath of the Blake shooting, one of the protests in Kenosha turned violent. On Aug. 25, 2020, Kyle Rittenhouse, then a 17-year-old from Antioch, Ill., shot and killed two men and wounded another man.

Rittenhouse, who claims that he acted in self-defense, faces the following charges:

First-degree reckless homicide, use of a dangerous weapon
First-degree recklessly endangering safety, use of a dangerous weapon
First-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon
Attempted first-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon
First-degree recklessly endangering safety, use of a dangerous weapon
Possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18
First-degree intentional homicide carries a mandatory life sentence.

A jury for the Rittenhouse trial was selected on Nov. 1, and the trial began on Nov. 2.

LeBron James reaction to Kyle Rittenhouse trial
Rittenhouse took the stand on Nov. 10 and told jurors that he shot the men because he had to "stop the people who were attacking me." He also claimed that he was in Kenosha to protect private property and provide first aid.

At one point while he was on the stand, Rittenhouse broke down in tears, leading to a brief break. James posted on Twitter in response to a video of the moment captured by USA Today.

"Man knock it off!" James tweeted. "That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court."
What happens next in Kyle Rittenhouse trial?
Testimony in the trial concluded on Nov. 11 after jurors heard from more than 30 witnesses. Closing arguments are expected to begin on Nov. 15, and each side will have two and half hours for their closing arguments. The judge will also give the jury instructions before final deliberations.

Regardless of where the jury lands on the charges, there will be a strong reaction to the ruling in the Rittenhouse trial, and it is expected that NBA players will once again let their voices be heard.