5 non-tendered players the Blue Jays should immediately be targeting - Jays JournalDell’s third-quarter revenue misses on PC weaknessA couple living nearby, Shobha and Vineet, both scientists, dropped in a few weeks after a visit to Varanasi on the 10th anniversary of Shobha’s father’s passing. “It’s more than a fortnight since the anniversary,” Vineet said, placing a bottle of Scotch on the table beside a pack of still-warm home-made samosas. “Time to unwind a little.” I wasn’t in the least surprised when Murthy, with his nose for other peoples’ Scotch, turned up 15 minutes later. He was passing by, he said, and had a little time to spare. I introduced all of them, and Vineet, who had unwound quite a bit, mentioned that the street food he’d got in Varanasi had been wonderful. “Out of this world,” he said, “just out of his world.” Like most attentive husbands, he became aware of a dangerous glint in his wife’s eyes without even seeing it, and he added, looking earnestly at me, “Almost as good as these samosas!” A couple of drinks later, he had unwound a little more. “We’ve got companies selling these plastic packets of plastic junk food all over the country,” he said. “I wish someone would start selling the kind of junk food you get in Varanasi. The range there is incredible!” “It doesn’t fit their business model,” said Murthy, who himself was unwinding. “Won’t happen.” “You mean...” Vineet stuttered a bit. “They sell only what fits their business model?” “Exactly,” replied Murthy, emptying his drink and pouring himself a fresh one. “That’s terrible,” Shobha said, joining the conversation, “because it means that we eat what sells, not what we should!” “Right,” said Murthy. “Everyone follows the model, not just the private sector. Farmers produce large quantities of grain using fertilisers and lots of water. The government makes sure these farmers get paid enough for the grain. That’s what the minimum support price is for. They do it because if farmers produced grain the traditional way, we wouldn’t have enough grain to feed everyone. “If that grain lacks nutrients, when enough people know, companies come up to sell those nutrients as supplements. If the deficiencies bring on ailments, pharma companies provide medicines to fix those ailments...” “That’s terrible!” said Shobha. “I’ve read about this. Hunter-gatherers who lived thousands of years ago had a more varied and balanced diet than ours.” “Perhaps,” said Murthy, “but only for a very small population. Most people lived very difficult and short lives. Especially in colonies.” “Really?” asked Shobha, an edge of sarcasm in her voice. “Yes,” replied Murthy. “Short life spans, high child mortality, starvation in years of poor rainfall, and so on. Those stories of paradise in ancient times — fairy tales. Traders were exactly the same then as they are now.” “What!” said Vineet. “Do you mean that people followed business models back then?” “Do you think a shopkeeper a few centuries ago would have stocked goods that he wouldn’t be able to sell at a profit?” asked Murthy. Vineet said, “Well, no.” “There you are,” said Murthy. “The business model has always been important. In many ways.” “What do you mean?” asked Vineet. “What do you think tourism is?” asked Murthy. “If you have something beautiful and rare to show but access is difficult, or staying is uncomfortable, how many tourists do you think would visit? The whole purpose of developing tourism is to make money through demonstrating that your place is more fun than any other place. “If you have something rare and beautiful but you need to spend more to make it accessible and comfortable than you would earn out of it, would you spend that money?” “N-no,” said Vineet. “The business model,” said Murthy. You see it in pharmaceuticals, arms, energy, food, construction, everything...” “But it does a lot of damage, doesn’t it?” asked Vineet. “To health, to technology, to everything... Industry is built on greed. A reasonable profit is fine, but many people make extortionate profits. That’s what makes the business model so corrosive.” “Are you sure?” asked Murthy. “How much is reasonable, and how much is extortionate? Who decides? Who decides what’s corrosive and what’s not? Do you want the government to interfere in every business?” “No,” said Vineet very definitely. “Well, I suppose the answer is education. Make people aware.” “Ah!” said Murthy. “But education also follows a business model.” “What do you mean?” “We judge how good a college is by the jobs its students get when they leave,” said Murthy. “Would you send your child to a college that leaves its students unemployable?” “No,” said Vineet. “What about a university that produces people taken by Google?” asked Murthy. “You would. Perhaps the education system is the most... What was that word you used? Corrosive? Yes. The most corrosive part of our society.” “Not all of it,” said Vineet. “It’s got reservations for backward caste people, and so on. That’s hardly following a business model.” “Really?” said Murthy. “Our colleges have reservations for backward caste people and the government pays for their education in the hope of earning votes from those caste groups. But then private colleges have reservations for rich people!” “Of course not!” said Vineet. “How could you say such a thing?” “What do you think ‘management quotas’ are?” asked Murthy. “Pay enough and you can get a degree in education or medicine or whatever even if you’re nowhere near the top one per cent or whatever that would get that education on merit. That’s the irony of it. There are places for backward classes, and for rich people, but nothing for poor people. What kind of an education do you think you’d get from a system like this?”

On Football analyzes the biggest topics in the NFL from week to week. For more On Football analysis, head here . Saquon Barkley has become the Shohei Ohtani of the NFL. There’s no better home run hitter playing football right now. Barkley had touchdown runs of 72 and 70 yards for the Philadelphia Eagles in a 37-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night. He now has five runs of 50-plus yards this season and is on pace to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105 yards set in 1984. Barkley’s historic performance against the Rams — his 255 yards set a team record — captivated a national audience and turned him into a fan favorite for the AP NFL MVP award. He’s not the betting favorite, however. Josh Allen has the best odds at plus-150, according to Bet MGM Sportsbook. Two-time MVP Lamar Jackson is next at plus-250 followed by Barkley at plus-400. Running backs have won the award 18 times, including three-time winner Jim Brown, who was the AP’s first NFL MVP in 1957. Quarterbacks have dominated the award, winning it 45 times. Only three players who weren’t QBs or RBs have been MVP. It takes a special season for a non-QB to win it mainly because the offense goes through the signal caller. Quarterbacks handle the ball every offensive snap, run the show and get the credit when things go well and the blame when it doesn’t. Adrian Peterson was the most recent non-QB to win it when he ran for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings in 2012. Playing for a winning team matters, too. Nine of the past 11 winners played for a No. 1 seed with the other two winners on a No. 2 seed. The Vikings earned the sixth seed when Pederson was MVP. Barkley is a major reason why the Eagles (9-2) are leading the NFC East and only trail Detroit (10-1) by one game for the top spot in the conference. Does he have a realistic chance to win the MVP award? Kicker Mark Moseley was the MVP in the strike-shortened 1982 season when he made 20 of 21 field goals and 16 of 19 extra points in nine games for Washington. If voters once selected a kicker, everyone has a chance, especially a game-changer such as Barkley. Defensive tackle Alan Page was the MVP in 1971 and linebacker Lawrence Taylor won it in 1986. Running back Christian McCaffrey finished third in voting last year and wide receiver Justin Jefferson placed fifth in 2022. The Offensive Player of the Year award and Defensive Player of the Year award recognize the best all-around players on both sides of the ball, allowing voters to recognize non-QBs if they choose. Wide receivers and running backs have won the AP OPOY award seven times over the past 11 seasons. McCaffrey was the 2023 winner. The AP’s new voting format introduced in 2022 also gives non-QBs a better opportunity to get MVP recognition. Voter submit their top five picks for each award, with a weighted point system. Previously, voters made one choice for each award. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league vote for MVP and seven other awards. The awards are based on regular-season performance. The Chiefs (10-1) and Bills (9-2) already are in position to lock up postseason berths right after Thanksgiving. Kansas City clinches a playoff berth with a win over Las Vegas on Black Friday and a loss by Miami on Thursday night, or a win plus a loss by Denver on Monday night. Buffalo can wrap up a fifth straight AFC East title with a victory over San Francisco on Sunday and a loss by the Dolphins. It’s not a given that the Dallas Cowboys will be looking for a new head coach after this season. Owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday on local radio that Mike McCarthy could end up getting a contract extension. “I don’t think that’s crazy at all. This is a Super Bowl-winning coach. Mike McCarthy has been there and done that. He has great ideas. We got a lot of football left,” Jones said. McCarthy led the Cowboys (4-7) to three straight 12-win seasons, but they went 1-3 in the playoffs and haven’t reached the NFC championship game since winning the Super Bowl 29 years ago. Injuries have contributed to the team’s struggles this season, but Dallas was just 3-5 before Dak Prescott was lost for the rest of the season. The Cowboys upset Washington last week and their next four games are against teams that currently have losing records. If they somehow end up 9-8 or even 8-9, Jones could make a case for keeping McCarthy. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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