Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

Each year after the second week of the NFL season, the long odds that teams face to make the playoffs after losing their first two games get bandied about.The odds have hovered at just under 12% ever since the NFL expanded the season to 16 games and added a second wild-card team in 1978, with little fluctuation when additional playoff teams were added in 1990 and 2020.None of those other teams have come off three straight Super Bowl appearances like Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.The oddsmakers at BetMGM Sportsbook have Kansas City as a favorite to make the…

New club, new country, new culture, new position. Kevin De Bruyne seems to have adapted to it all at Napoli, but the 34-year-old midfielder is heading back to his old life this week.Napoli’s Champions League opener on Thursday sees De Bruyne return to Manchester City, just a few months after his tearful goodbye following 10 trophy-laden years at the club where “King Kev” became a firm fan favorite and one of its greatest ever players.After nine years working under Pep Guardiola, De Bruyne has slotted seamlessly into Antonio Conte’s team and has already scored two goals in three matches to…

Aaron Levie, the cofounder and CEO of cloud-storage giant Box, said founders need to build strong teams and ride disruptive trends to launch successful startups.Levie was speaking to participants at startup incubator Y Combinator’s AI Startup School, which ran from June 16 to 17, when he was asked for advice on building a startup. Levie’s remarks were published on Y Combinator’s YouTube channel on Tuesday.The 40-year-old said there were three things startup founders should do to be more effective.First, Levie recommended that founders read three books: “The Innovator’s Dilemma” by Clayton Christensen, “Crossing the Chasm” by Geoffrey Moore, and “Blue…

PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain starts the defense of its Champions League title on Wednesday when the six-game program includes two rematches of past finals.Liverpool also opens its campaign, against Atletico Madrid at Anfield, while two of the four newcomers in this season’s edition make their debuts on the road.PSG resumes against more Italian opposition, hosting Atalanta at Parc des Princes for its first game in the competition since demolishing Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich.That was three-time European champion Inter’s fourth loss in a final. The second defeat, in 1972, was against Ajax which now hosts Inter in Amsterdam. Both…

Elizabeth Banks says her antiaging routine is simple: sleep, water, and a positive mindset.”Getting rid of negative self-talk and just being positive about how you feel about yourself,” Banks said.The actor also says she sees aging as something to embrace.Elizabeth Banks, 51, says a simple routine is her key to aging well.”Water, better nutrition, eight hours of sleep. I’m struggling [with the latter] now that school has come back,” Banks, who has two sons, told People in an interview published on Tuesday.”I’ve really come to terms with the fact that I need seven to eight hours of sleep. It affects…

Airbnb is growing a lot slower than it was just a few years ago, but CEO Brian Chesky is hopeful the company can turn it around.The Airbnb cofounder and CEO discussed the company’s growth rate during an interview on Tuesday at the Skift Global Forum conference, where Chesky appeared virtually.Chesky was asked to address how the company’s revenue growth has slowed over the past several years. Airbnb saw 40% revenue growth in 2022, 18% growth in 2023, and 12% growth in 2024. In the first quarter of 2025, its revenue grew 6% year-over-year. In the second quarter, it was up…

By Yantoultra NguiSINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Indonesia Investment Authority is prioritising digital infrastructure, healthcare and renewables as the sovereign wealth fund seeks foreign partners and supports the nation’s economic development, its chief investment officer told Reuters.INA was established in 2020 and started operations in 2021 with $5 billion in capital from the government and a dual mandate to generate returns and foster sustainable growth. It initially focused on direct equity investments to bring in foreign co-investors.The fund, which now manages 163.4 trillion rupiah ($10 billion) in assets, has since added hybrid capital and private credit to help Indonesian companies expand…

A woman who died at age 28 after publicly sharing her battle with cancer on social media is being remembered for being a fierce advocate, especially for young people with cancer.Natasha Allen, who died on Aug. 22 after a five-year battle with synovial sarcoma, a type of cancer, was honored Monday night at the Sarcoma Foundation of America’s annual gala in New York City.At the gala, the foundation announced a mentorship program for young cancer patients that Allen helped develop will launch this fall.”Natasha was disarmingly funny, thoughtful compassionate, intelligent and wise beyond her years,” Natasha Nathan, the foundation’s program…

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell scored 19 points and made four 3-pointers while Aliyah Boston added 15 points to lead the Indiana Fever past third-seeded Atlanta Dream 77-60 on Tuesday night to extend their best-of-three series.Game 3 will be Thursday in Atlanta, which hasn’t won a playoff series since 2016. Indiana’s last series win came in 2015.Natasha Howard added 12 points and five rebounds. Mitchell also had four assists and Boston finished with five rebounds and three assists.Te-Hina Paopao scored 11 points off the bench to lead the Dream, and Rhyne Howard added 10. The Dream fell 25 points short…

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi had a goal and an assist as Inter Miami beat Seattle 3-1 on Tuesday night just over two weeks after losing to the Sounders in the Leagues Cup final.The Sounders beat Inter Miami 3-0 in the Leagues Cup on Aug. 31, but Messi assisted a wide open Jordi Alba with an outside-of-the-foot pass in the 12th minute to give the Herons early command.Messi nearly doubled the score in the 28th minute when he received a ball over the top and once again tried to execute using the outside of his left foot, but…