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Eric Woodyard covers the Detroit Lions for ESPN. He joined ESPN in September 2019 as an NBA reporter dedicated to the Midwest region before switching to his current role in April 2021. The Flint, Mich. native is a graduate of Western Michigan University and has authored/co-authored three books: “Wasted,” “Ethan’s Talent Search” and “All In: The Kelvin Torbert Story”. He is a proud parent of one son, Ethan.
DETROIT — Two years later, Dan Campbell still gets upset at the thought of how the Detroit Lions‘ game at the Dallas Cowboys ended on the night of Dec. 30, 2023.
The controversial prime-time loss remains a triggering moment for the Lions coach. But that night, while never forgotten by the Lions and their fans, was the start of something more for a journeyman offensive lineman who emerged as a cult hero for his role in the contest that now bears his name in Detroit: “The Dan Skipper Game.”
Detroit thought it had sealed the win. With 23 seconds left and down by a point in a back-and-forth nailbiter between two of the NFL’s top teams, starting left tackle Taylor Decker caught Jared Goff‘s two-point conversion attempt to give the Lions a 21-20 lead. But a flag was called on the play alleging Decker had not reported himself as an eligible receiver. Officials said after the game it was Skipper, instead, who had done so. Detroit would go for 2 again, but failed on two more attempts, before ultimately losing the game 20-19.
“I think more than anything it just makes you mad, that’s about it,” Campbell said during Sunday’s practice ahead of the Dec. 4 rematch with the Cowboys at Ford Field (8:15 ET, Prime Video). “But all good. If you’re a fan, that was a heck of a game, I know that.”
In the days following that loss in Dallas, fans and the Detroit community rallied around Skipper to the point that now, Ford Field erupts every time he reports as eligible as the Lions’ sixth offensive lineman for their jumbo package — an occurrence that will inevitably be the case Thursday night.
“Looking back, it definitely changed a lot of things in my life. It’s something to tell my kids about. It’ll be a lot of fun one day,” Skipper told ESPN. “I’m still bitter about it. There’s still some lingering frustration that may not ever go away, but at this point it’s pretty cool just how the city’s rallied behind me really and made us feel at home and it’s been awesome.”
Here are must-read and untold quotes from those who witnessed that wild finish in Arlington, Texas two seasons ago.
By the end of December, the Cowboys hadn’t lost a home contest all season at 7-0, while Detroit was coming off an emotional win at Minnesota where they clinched the NFC North title for the first time in 30 years while trying to secure one of the top two seeds in the NFC.
It was also a homecoming for Campbell, a native of Clifton, Texas. Campbell played for Texas A&M and played for the Cowboys from 2003-05 but was leading one of the greatest turnarounds in franchise history during his third season as Detroit’s head coach.
Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan to ESPN before kickoff in 2023: “(Campbell) has turned that thing around, man. This team has the confidence that he has, they know he believes in them and as you’re gonna see tonight, this thing can be anywhere. Who would’ve ever thought the Detroit Lions would come to play the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas has the record they have, that people would go, ‘We don’t know whose gonna win this game?’ I think that’s all attributed to Dan Campbell and what he’s done with this team.”
Dave Birkett, Lions beat writer for Detroit Free Press since 2010: “It was the second to last game of the season and we thought both the Lions and Cowboys were really good teams and thought it might be a playoff showdown.”
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions wide receiver: “I remember we were trying to get the 1 seed at the time … and if we lost, we would probably get the 3 seed because we really can’t get the 2 seed, so we were going all for the 1 seed.”
Skipper: “I feel like we kind of turned the tables a little bit. We were on a roll. I was thinking ‘just go in there and win one,’ and that would be a big one at the time. They were pretty hot. I was just thinking, ‘How do we win another game?'”
Birkett: “From the Lions standpoint, this is the first time that they had finally crossed that threshold where they were a really good team. I’ve covered this team for a long, long time and they were bad for many years, but under Dan Campbell they started to turn it around in 2022, so 2023 was the year where you’re like, ‘this team has a shot to go far in the playoff and maybe make the Super Bowl’ and that game against the Cowboys, you knew was like a litmus test for how good the Lions were.”
For Skipper, the game also felt personal as he returned to Dallas after being cut by the organization in 2017. Skipper signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Arkansas but failed to make the 53-man roster coming out of training camp, then was signed to the practice squad only to get released on Sept. 20, 2017 before beginning his first stint with the Lions’ practice squad five days later.
Skipper: “I have a lot of personal history with those guys. Anytime someone fires you, you have a little extra hate in your heart. So, yeah, definitely wanted that one. And then going back, just even that [AT&T] stadium … that f—ing place, I’ve got a terrible record in that joint so yeah, just trying to go in there and finally win one. The debacle played out.”
Kalif Raymond, Lions wide receiver: “I wanna say we were even ticked off from the year before we lost to them at the same place. I feel like every time we go into Dallas we had a sour taste. So, we just want to make a statement.”
It was a slow offensive start for both teams, but the Cowboys led 7-3 after two quarters following a 92-yard touchdown reception by Dallas receiver CeeDee Lamb on the second possession of the game.
Dallas also inducted two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Jimmy Johnson into the team’s ring of honor at halftime, so numerous franchise legends were in attendance, including Roger Staubach, Emmitt Smith, Tony Dorsett, Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin.
Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions running back: “It was fun. It was a lot of energy in that stadium.”
Penei Sewell, Lions offensive tackle: “It was kind of a rough game offensively at first. They were giving us different looks that we weren’t quite prepared for.”
Johnson in 2023 on entering the Cowboys Ring of Honor: “Well, I don’t think anybody can ever imagine what this means to me. This was a special time in my life. This was something that paid dividends for me the rest of my life. It’s something that I’m extremely proud of. We took over the worst football team in the NFL…the worst! Three straight losing seasons and a 3-13 record and not only did we win Super Bowls, we were able to put together the team of 90’s. So obviously, I’m very proud of that and I’m proud to have my name up in the stadium.”
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Cowboys took a 17-13 edge after Brandin Cooks‘ eight-yard touchdown reception from Dak Prescott. The Cowboys then took a 20-13 edge after a 43-yard field goal from kicker Brandon Aubrey with less than two minutes left as the Lions began their final drive. Lions QB Jared Goff would complete an 11-yard touchdown pass to St. Brown with 23 seconds remaining to cap a nine-play, 1:18 drive as they trailed 20-19, but decided to go for 2 instead of kicking the extra point.
Sewell: “We had a chance at the end of the game to go with a two-minute drive down [the field]. We ended up scoring and then we knew that play was in that week, but I didn’t think (Campbell would) call it for a situation like this. But yeah, he called it and to my knowledge the refs already knew about that play. Like, it’s one of those plays that they have a meeting about and they tell them beforehand.”
Skipper: “It’s kind of like every week. You kind of find out early in the week, how it’s gonna be called a little bit. I knew that there were a couple trick-play type things that were jumbo but not a whole lot. I wasn’t expected to play a bunch of snaps.”
Raymond: “All I know is we talked about it in detail, like what was gonna happen. We talked about how that game was gonna happen and then also that play in detail before the game because we knew exactly what the expectation was. So, it was no surprise by everybody, and it was a surprise to everybody because everybody knew the expectation that game was.”
Skipper: “Sure enough, it gets called. Going into it, we’d talked and repped it for a while, so we knew what we were getting.”
Officials flagged Lions offensive lineman Taylor Decker after he caught a clean pass after breaking free from the end of the line that appeared to be the potential game-winning 2-point conversion with 23 seconds left. Decker was called for an illegal touching penalty for not reporting as eligible after catching the play-action pass from Goff in the end zone that left the crowd stunned momentarily.
The Lions and the referees gave contradictory accounts afterward, with Detroit saying definitively that Decker reported as an eligible receiver and Skipper did not. Skipper also said afterward that he did not report to an official.
However, in a pool report, NFL referee Brad Allen said the opposite, that Skipper reported to him as eligible and Decker did not.
Allen said of Decker in the 2023 pool report: “On this particular play, number 70 (Skipper), who had reported during the game a couple of times, reported to me as eligible. Then he lined up at the tackle position. So, actually, he didn’t have to report at all. Number 68 (Decker), who ended up going downfield and touching the pass, did not report. Therefore, he is an ineligible touching a pass that goes beyond the line, which makes it a foul. So, the issue is, number 70 (Skipper) did report, number 68 (Decker) did not.”
Decker in 2023 on what the officials told him after he was flagged on the two-point conversion: “They didn’t tell me anything after the play. I mean all I really want to say on it, just so I don’t get myself into trouble, is, I mean, I did exactly what coach told me to do, and went to the ref, said ‘report.; Yeah, I don’t know. It was my understanding, too, you know, Dan brings up the possibility of those sorts of plays pregame, so I did what I was told to do. Did how we did it in practice all week, and that’s probably all I’m really going to touch on with that.”
Skipper: “Several years later, we’re all human. We all make mistakes. Ran on the field, and they said, ‘Hey 68’s eligible.’ All three of us were in there and they went over and said 68 in front of the ball. Just the whole debacle for how that was handled after the fact and then even after they threw the flag, you could see the referee on the opposite sideline talking about the fact that they knew the play was coming and f—ed it up.
“That was one of the few times I’ve seen red. That was frustrating to say the least.”
Sewell: “Emotions were a rollercoaster. It was very high because we caught the game-winning touchdown and then we’re all going to the sideline and the refs said there was a flag on the play and that happened. And we went up again, we’re like ‘all right, cool, whatever, they called it.’ Went over again. They went offsides and we had an incomplete so we’re like, ‘OK, we have another opportunity.’ And then we just went incomplete again.”
Skipper: “Unfortunately, no one was miked. I think the refs got confused. I’ll go to my grave telling you how it was executed. How it went down and I think there’s two other guys that would back me up on that one and one guy who didn’t see it that way. So, it is what it is, it’s all good.”
Detroit would continue to go for the win in a 2-point conversion fest but was stopped twice after the controversial play. Goff was intercepted on the next attempt, but the Cowboys were flagged for being offside. Then on the final attempt, Goff threw another incomplete pass to tight end James Mitchell that was short of the goal line as the Lions fell short of a comeback victory, losing their sixth straight game to the Cowboys.
Birkett: “I’m definitely in my head like, ‘Wow this guy [Campbell], this is a little crazy.’ I can’t believe all this is happening, but I will say I thought for sure when they were going for it a third time, they were going to get it. And you know most teams have a couple two-point plays per week and then they ran three of them, but that was just the ultimate belief that he has like, ‘we’re going for it.’ It doesn’t matter where we’re at on the field, doesn’t matter what’s going on in the game, we’re going to get this and we’re going to win this game. Didn’t work out, but that’s certainly the thought that I had watching that was like, ‘holy crap, they’re gonna get this’ but then they didn’t.”
St. Brown: “I remember going for the 2-point conversion after that like 3 times so that’s really what stood out to me. In my head I was like, ‘We’re gonna go for it again?’ And then we got the flag, and it’s like ‘We’re going to go for it again?’ That was probably one of the only times since I’ve been here where it was like, ‘I probably would’ve kicked the field goal there.’ But we were rocking with it. It was 1 seed or 3 seed, so that’s what we did. It was a fun game.”
Dak Prescott, Cowboys QB, in 2023 after win: “To us getting the stop on the last one, it was just a roller coaster, a roller coaster of thoughts and that sense of let me get the ball. From earlier with the punt conversion they got to one of the early fourth downs, I said this guy is crazy. Respect with the craziness talking about Coach Campbell. I love it. I really do. You’re playing to win a game and not lose a game. That’s what he did tonight. Credit that mindset. That’s a helluva team. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them again.”
Gibbs: “It was crazy. It was my first time doing that. Cool experience though.”
Campbell: “If anything, you get in that situation again, you try to find a way to win that one instead of how do you keep it out of the hands of the officials? That’s really what you’re trying to do. Just leave it out of there, that way it’s just up to you.”
As he entered the postgame news conference, Campbell was visibly frustrated after a controversial penalty negated what would have been the go-ahead 2-point conversion late in the game. Detroit’s loss in Dallas would become a trending topic across the sports world as flashing billboards were spotted in metro Detroit alongside Interstate 75 and I-696 from an anonymous donor that read: “DECKER REPORTED”.
In the aftermath, Campbell said he woke up feeling fine the very next day. The following season, Detroit would use that 2023 experience as motivation when they delivered a 47-9 beatdown against the Cowboys in Dallas to end its losing streak.
Birkett: “So my recollection was Dan was definitely frustrated, and I believe Lions PR tried to cut his press conference off after a couple minutes and it was a little bit unclear in my recollection what he was frustrated about. Was he frustrated with Dan Skipper? Was he frustrated with Taylor Decker? Was he frustrated with the officials? And so I think I was trying to get to that at the end of the press conference so I was like, ‘what is your frustration about?’ And he said something to the effect of ‘I don’t like losing, Dave!’ And that sort of went viral because ESPN’s showing it on SportsCenter and wherever it was and I got back up from the press conference after that and I had a text from (Lions great) Calvin Johnson that was like, ‘Were you the one that pissed Coach off?’ And that’s when I knew like ‘Oh, my God, this thing has taken off.'”
St. Brown: “I felt that was the first game where you feel like you won, but you actually lost.”
Goff: “It was a very sad moment for all of us. But it created some notoriety for (Skipper). It was unfortunate the way that happened at the end and would’ve been a cool story otherwise, but I’m glad it’s made him a culture symbol in our city.”
Birkett: “It’s crazy now because anytime (Skipper) steps on the field and they announce 70’s reporting as eligible, Detroit fans go wild. He’s become like the ultimate cult hero and really a symbol of the team and kind of this era of Lions football where this guy, who’s a sixth lineman, who had to scratch and claw for every inch of his playing career and got cut I don’t know how many times, is now this guy that the Lions can’t do without because he’s a valuable part of what the Lions do with their jumbo package but also that fans truly embrace.”
Campbell: “Skip’s a different breed of man. He’s something else. … He’s reliable, dependable, and he does a lot of jobs for us.”
Skipper: “It just goes to show that when you roll with Detroit, there’s no place better to be. It’s one of those really special places that has been beaten down and thought of as a certain way, but you get here and it’s not like that. I think when people come, they’re always just so shocked that it is what it is. That’s the people, that’s the things that this place has done, and it’s changed so much. At this point, people talk shit and I’m like show up and they see it’s a sweet place. This team we try to embody what this city’s about.”
The first College Football Playoff rankings came out five weeks ago. They looked a lot like tonight’s rankings.
We’ve had precious little movement at the top, with a few teams jockeying up or down a slot, but effectively no seismic shifts in the landscape. BYU and Texas are the only two teams that were projected in the field in the committee’s first ranking that aren’t now — and they’re just barely on the outside with reasonable arguments for inclusion.
Since the first CFP ranking, teams ranked in the top 18 are a combined 55-9, with six of those losses coming to other teams ranked in the top 18. All three outliers are courtesy of — you guessed it — the ACC (Louisville to Cal, Virginia to Wake and Georgia Tech to Pitt).
That’s a massive anomaly. Last year, top-18 teams at this point had lost 19 games, including 14 to teams outside their own grouping. Top-10 teams are 33-4 this year. In the first 11 years of the playoff, top-10 teams had lost an average of nine games by this point in the season.
The two words that best describe this year’s playoff push are “status quo.”
That, of course, has been bad news for all the teams on the outside looking in — from those with valid cases such as Miami, BYU and Vanderbilt, to underdogs such as USC, Utah or Arizona that might’ve had a shot in a more chaotic year.
But the real loser in this copy and paste rankings season is all the fans who just want to see things get weird. It’s a sad state of affairs when we’re left to rely on MACtion and the ACC to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to college football drama. The power players need to step up — or, perhaps, ratchet down — their game to add a bit more drama.
The good news is, the committee’s ad hoc reasoning, mushmouthed explanations and mind-boggling about-faces still leave plenty to argue about, even if the big picture hasn’t changed all that much.
Here’s this week’s biggest slights, snubs and shenanigans.
It’s not entirely clear how this committee values wins. For the past month, the priority has certainly appeared to be about which team has the better losses (unless, of course, you’re Alabama).
That seems a foolish way to prioritize playoff teams, since the goal of the playoff isn’t to lose to good teams but to win games.
Does Texas have a bad loss? Yes. A 29-21 defeat to woeful Florida — even if the Gators also played Georgia and Ole Miss close and just walloped a team that beat Alabama head-to-head — is problematic.
But look who Texas has beaten: No. 7 Texas A&M by 10, No. 8 Oklahoma by 17 and No. 14 Vandy by three (in a game they led by 24 in the fourth quarter). That’s the résumé of a team capable of winning a national championship — even if the Horns were also capable of losing to a second-rate SEC team.
Are we trying to find teams with the most upside or give participation trophies to the ones which have not lost an ugly one? (Except, again, Alabama.)
And it’s not as if the committee believes an extra loss is disqualifying. Oklahoma, Alabama, Notre Dame and Miami all have two losses and are ranked ahead of one-loss BYU (more on that in a moment), so what’s the harm of moving a three-loss Texas ahead of a two-loss team that has accomplished less?
This all comes back to the most frequent and justified criticism of the committee: The same rules aren’t applied evenly. In some cases, record matters. In some cases, best wins matter. In some cases, better losses matter. The standard varies based on the team being considered. But if the committee is going to err in favor of any team, it should probably do so for one that’s proved — not once, not twice, but three times — that it can beat an elite opponent.
Oh, and moving Texas up ahead of, say, Notre Dame would also have the added bonus of allowing the committee to sidestep another tricky situation. Which leads us to…
We’re putting these two teams together because we’ve already lamented the committee’s utterly disingenuous evaluation of them repeatedly, so it feels redundant to keep going down the same rabbit hole. But, for the sake of two programs being astonishingly misevaluated, let’s do one more round.
For Miami, the logic is obvious: The Canes beat Notre Dame head-to-head.
But let’s keep going. Miami’s two losses — SMU and Louisville — would rank as the fourth- and fifth-toughest games on Notre Dame’s schedule, had the Irish played them. Instead, Notre Dame has cruised through an essentially listless slate. Six of Notre Dame’s 10 wins came against teams that beat zero or one other Power 4 opponent. Stanford — seriously, Stanford! — is Notre Dame’s fourth-best win (by record). Yes, Notre Dame played well enough in losses to two very good teams, but one of those teams has the same record and is somehow ranked lower! Even if this is strictly about the “eye test,” there’s little argument for ignoring the head-to-head outcome. Notre Dame’s strength of record is 13th. Miami’s is 14th. Notre Dame’s game control is fifth. Miami’s is sixth. If all else is the same, how is head-to-head not the deciding factor?
Yet, here’s a little more salt in the wound for the Canes: Had Florida State finished 6-2 instead of 2-6 in ACC play, Miami would’ve won the (fifth) tiebreaker for a spot in the ACC title game and could’ve locked up its place in the playoff by simply beating Virginia. Instead, the Canes will sit at home and watch and hope and, at this point, probably get left out. Chess, not checkers, by rival FSU.
As for BYU, the committee’s desire to overlook the Cougars makes no sense. Let’s take a look at a blind résumé, shall we? (Note: Best wins and composite top 40 based on an average of SP+, FPI and Sagarin ratings.)
Team A: No. 6 strength of record, No. 14 game control, best win vs. No. 11, next vs. No. 28, loss to No. 5, four wins vs. composite top 40, five wins vs. teams that finished 7-5 or better
Team B: No. 7 strength of record, No. 10 game control, best win vs. No. 13, next vs. No. 27, loss to No. 7, three wins vs. composite top-40, two wins vs. teams that finished 7-5 or better
Now, just based on that information, Team A would seem the obvious choice. Now what if I told you Team B just lost its head coach, too?
That’s right, Team A is BYU and Team B is Ole Miss. Every bit of data here suggests the Cougars are, at worst, on even footing with the Rebels or ahead, and yet the committee has Ole Miss ranked five spots higher.
This is, arguably, the second year in a row in which BYU was clearly the most overlooked team in the country.
A week ago, Notre Dame was ranked one spot ahead of Alabama.
Then on Saturday, the Irish beat 4-8 Stanford by 29 (in a game they at one point led 42-3), while Alabama beat 5-7 Auburn by seven (in a game the Tigers had a chance to tie before fumbling in Tide territory late).
The committee looked at those two results and said, “You know what, we like what we saw from the Tide! Move ’em up!”
What could possibly be the logic for shifting opinions on these two teams? The only other team that jumped another winning team was Texas, and the Longhorns beat the No. 3 team in the country emphatically, not a second-tier team that fired its head coach a month ago.
Oh, and hasn’t the committee made it pretty clear losses are supposed to matter? Well, Notre Dame has two losses to teams ranked in the top 12. Alabama got beat by a Florida State team that finished 5-7.
Even by the eye test, this makes little sense. Notre Dame has proved to be one of the most complete, dominant teams in the country, with a secondary that’s near impossible to throw on, a rookie quarterback who has been nearly flawless and a running back who might well be the best player in the country. Alabama, on the other hand, has a one-note offense that can’t run the football.
We’re not believers in using advanced metrics as a ranking of accomplishment, but if this is simply a “who’s better” debate…
SP+ ranks Notre Dame fifth and Alabama 12th.
FPI ranks Notre Dame third and Alabama sixth.
Sagarin ranks Notre Dame second and Alabama seventh.
FEI ranks Notre Dame fourth and Alabama ninth.
So, again, we ask: Why would the committee possibly make this change?
We’d wager you know the answer. That sticky Canes vs. Irish head-to-head debate is a real headache for the committee. But if Notre Dame’s currently the last team in and something unexpected happens this weekend (hello, BYU over Texas Tech), then the committee can do as it did in 2014 and wash its hands of a tough choice and keep both Notre Dame and Miami out.
(It’s also interesting that a seven-point win over a team with a losing record is enough to jump Notre Dame, but a 31-point win over a ranked Pitt did nothing for Miami’s relative placement with the Irish despite — and we’re not sure anyone has mentioned this yet — a head-to-head win!)
But, speaking of Alabama…
4. Championship game participants
Step into the time machine with us for a moment, all the way back to championship week 2024. Here’s the state of play: Alabama, at 9-3, is ranked No. 11, the first team out of the playoff and also out of the SEC title game. Still, the Tide and the SEC hope there’s a pathway to salvation because SMU — 11-1 and ranked eighth — still has a game to play against Clemson in the ACC championship. If the Mustangs were to lose, couldn’t the committee then justify slotting SMU behind Alabama based on another data point, even though the Tide were simply sitting at home watching the action?
This was the case being made throughout the run up to the ACC championship last season. SMU, which should’ve been celebrating a miraculously successful first season in the Power 4, spent hours upon hours defending itself against criticism that it didn’t belong in the same conversation with big, bad Bama. Rhett Lashlee hinted he thought the committee’s vote was rigged, SMU players lamented their status on the chopping block despite a ranking that should’ve put them safely in the playoff field, and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey made the rounds arguing that Alabama’s (and Ole Miss’ and South Carolina’s) strength of schedule ought to put them ahead of SMU (and others).
OK, back to the present day. Here we are with Alabama sitting perilously on the dividing line between in the field and out — a week ago, it would have been the last team in, but of course the committee had other ideas this time around — with a game to play against Georgia in the SEC championship. An ACC team (Miami) sits just a tick behind the Tide in the rankings, but it will be off this week.
So, what happens if Alabama loses?
The comparison to last year’s SMU isn’t even a particularly fair one. The Mustangs were at No. 8 before the ACC title game. Alabama is at No. 9 (and probably should be a spot or two lower). SMU’s game against Clemson was new territory. A loss to Georgia will actually undermine Alabama’s best argument for inclusion — the three-point win in Athens in September. And while SMU did make the playoff field last year, a last-second loss on a 56-yard field goal still dropped the Mustangs from No. 8 to No. 10 in the rankings.
Play this scenario out now: Alabama, ranked at No. 9, plays a team that currently counts as the Tide’s best win. Imagine if Georgia wins the rematch and does so convincingly. The committee docked SMU two spots for a last-second loss, so surely it will do at least that much to Alabama for a more convincing defeat, right? And here’s the other thing: Even with the ACC title game loss last year, SMU was 11-2 — one less loss than Alabama had. A Tide loss in the SEC title game will be defeat No. 3 — one more than Notre Dame or Miami or (presumably) BYU.
It’s hard not to see a conspiracy here given the committee’s inexplicable flip-flop between Alabama and Notre Dame. It’s hard not to see brand bias in how the Tide’s championship week narrative diverges from SMU’s a year ago. It’s not at all hard to envision a scenario where Alabama loses to Georgia, gets in as the last team anyway, and it’s all explained away as a completely reasonable decision.
Well, the committee finally weighed in on more than one team outside the Power 4 — mostly because it was just impossible to find enough Power 4 teams worth ranking — and the news isn’t good for JMU. With the committee deciding already that North Texas is the higher ranked team, the Dukes’ only hope for the playoff would seem to be a Duke win in the ACC title game.
But what exactly has the committee seen to warrant that decision? Check out the numbers.
Best win (by average FPI, SP+ and Sagarin ranking) JMU: No. 54 Old Dominion UNT: No. 62 Washington State
Next best JMU: No. 62 Washington State UNT: No. 68 Navy
Loss JMU: No. 29 Louisville UNT: No. 24 USF
Wins vs. bowl-eligible JMU: six UNT: five
Strength of record JMU: 18th UNT: 22nd
FPI JMU: 28th UNT: 37th
There are certainly some check marks in North Texas’ favor, including a more impressive win over common opponent Washington State and a slightly better SP+ ranking, but on the whole, James Madison has had the tougher path here. That can change should UNT beat Tulane, but the committee should’ve waited for that to happen. Instead, it has made it clear JMU isn’t sniffing the playoff unless it comes at the expense of the ACC.
Also angry this week:Vanderbilt Commodores (10-2, No. 14); The ACC leadership who voted on its tiebreaker policies; Manny Diaz, who has to try to make a coherent argument for his five-loss Duke Blue Devils getting in ahead of a one-loss JMU; Every 8-4 team with a markedly better résumé than 9-3 Houston, which isn’t ranked this week; and Lane Kiffin’s yoga instructor and Juice Kiffin’s dog walker.
Fitness trackers have come a long way from the simple bands that tracked steps and little else. Modern trackers can monitor everything from your heart health to how well you’ve recovered from a hard bout of training. Even flagship smartwatches, which used to be lackluster trackers, have become pretty adept workout companions. Whatever your fitness goals are, there’s probably a fitness tracker that can help you achieve them.
Compared to some other gadgets, wearables are incredibly personal, which means there are a few extra considerations you’ll have to take into account before reaching for your wallet. It makes it hard to say that any one fitness tracker is the best for everyone. Thankfully, the best thing about fitness trackers in 2025 is that there’s enough variety to fit into every kind of lifestyle.
What we’re looking for
Fitness trackers are meant to help you keep track of your health and activity. We do a mix of benchmark testing and experiential, real-life testing. That means snoozing with them, taking them out on GPS activities like runs and hikes, working up a sweat in several workouts, and comparing how they do against long-term control devices for heart rate, sleep, and GPS accuracy. Some factors we consider in our rankings are durability, performance, accuracy versus consistency in metrics, and of course, battery life.
Who is this fitness tracker for? The ideal fitness tracker for hardcore athletes will look different than the best one for casual users looking to get a few more steps in.
A fitness tracker should be able to go at least two to three days between charges. If it’s a flagship smartwatch, it should at least offer quick charging.
Is it a band or a smartwatch? Is it comfortable to wear 24/7?
What metrics does this device track? We prioritize active minutes over steps and calorie burn, but health metrics like resting heart rate, VO2 Max, and sleep quality are plusses.
Accuracy is nice, but it’s more important for measuring progress that your device delivers consistent results for heart rate, distance tracking, and steps.
Certain trackers are limited to specific phone ecosystems — others will work regardless of what your phone is. We prioritize the latter wherever possible.
Best fitness tracker overall
$100
The Good
Stacked feature set for the price
Looks spiffy
Good battery life
The Bad
Touchscreen and voice commands are finicky
Can’t edit workouts
AI chatbots are meh
Size: 43mm w/ 20mm straps / Weight: 29.5g for standard, 31.7g for premium / Battery life: Up to 10 days / Display type: OLED touchscreen / GPS: Five GNSS systems / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage:N/A
Hear us out: the Amazfit Active 2 is the best all-rounder on the block. Smartwatches are definitely getting more high-tech, but the Active 2 keeps the spirit of a humble fitness tracker — a good price, all the basic health features with a holistic tracking approach, and a comfy yet stylish design. At $99.99 for the standard version, and $129.99for the premium version with a leather band, you get an incredible amount of bang for your buck.
The hardware and design are surprisingly chic for the price. The standard version has a stainless steel case and tempered glass screen, while the premium version bumps you up to sapphire crystal and gets you an extra leather strap. The screen itself is nice and bright at 2,000 nits and you get an estimated 10 days of regular use on a single charge. (In testing, I got closer to eight to nine days as a power-user.) European users also get NFC payments.
I almost never get compliments on budget trackers. I got several while wearing the Active 2.Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
As far as health features go, you get all the basics like continuous heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen rate, heart rate variability, stress tracking, alerts for abnormally high and low heart rate, and skin temperature tracking. It’s also got a daily readiness score and detailed sleep tracking if you’re into recovery metrics. (There’s also a Zepp Aura AI chatbot if you ever want to get more in-depth insights into your recovery metrics; It costs an extra $77 yearly including taxes, but it’s also totally optional.) For workouts, it supports 160 different sport types, including HYROX and a strength training mode that automatically counts reps. The Active 2 also adds offline maps, turn-by-turn directions, the ability to connect to third-party peripherals, and Zepp Coach — an AI-powered coach that can generate custom training plans for you. Built-in GPS with five satellite systems is also included.
I don’t have a lot to complain about. My biggest gripes are the touch screen is hard to use with sweaty fingers and the onboard AI assistant for voice commands sometimes requires you to enunciate. You do lack advanced health features, like EKGs or sleep apnea detection, but that’s not really the point of something like the Active 2. This is meant to be a classic, basic fitness tracker that happens to look like a watch — and it does that with aplomb.
Sizes: 40mm w/ 20mm straps / Weight: 38g / Battery life: Up to 11 days / Display type: OLED touchscreen / GPS: All-systems GNSS / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Ant Plus / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 4GB (for Music Edition)
The $250 Garmin Venu Sq 2 is the watch I recommend for anyone looking to replace their aging Fitbit Versa 2, 3, or 4. It’s got a similar look and vibe, with a much nicer OLED display and longer battery life.
Garmin is known for its comprehensive fitness tracking, and that’s not an exception here. Of course, you get the basics, like steps and calories burned, but you get a whole lot more, too. There’s built-in GPS for tracking walks, runs, and bike rides, as well as plenty of other sports profiles like yoga and strength training. For smart features, you get push notifications, timers, contactless payments, and a bunch of safety features like Garmin’s Incident Detection, which is its take on fall detection. (You will need to carry your phone with you, however, as the Venu Sq 2 doesn’t have LTE.)
The Garmin Venu Sq 2 has a bright, beautiful OLED display and long battery life.Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
If you want the option of onboard music, you can shell out $50 extra for the Music Edition, which comes with enough storage for about 500 songs. I wouldn’t recommend it, however, as you’ll most likely have your phone on you since this isn’t a true standalone watch.
What I like most about this watch, however, is that it’s one that you can grow with. On top of recovery metrics and sleep tracking, it also has Garmin Coach — a built-in, free training program for beginner and intermediate-level runners hoping to tackle a 5K, 10K, or half marathon. For health tracking, you can monitor heart rate, blood oxygen, intensity minutes (how many minutes of moderate exercise you get per week), stress, hydration, respiratory rate, and menstrual cycles. None of these existing data features are locked behind a paywall; however, Garmin introduced a premium tier earlier in the year that provides personalized AI-powered insights and additional features for $6.99 a month (or $69.99 a year).
One note: there is a Venu 3, which adds a newer heart rate sensor and nap detection. I liked it quite a bit, and it ticks off a lot of the right boxes — except for price. It’s $450, which puts it outside what I’d consider ideal for casual users. Another option is Garmin’s Forerunner 165 — it’s a $249 budget training watch that’s quite similar to the Venu Sq 2 feature-wise, albeit with a sportier vibe.
Basically, go with what you find within your budget. I firmly believe older models are still a good choice if all you want is the fitness-tracking basics. This is especially true since newer software updates often make their way to older Garmin hardware. Garmin users also tend to hang onto their devices for a good while. Strava’s 2023 year-end survey found that the most popular smartwatch among its users was an eight-year-old Garmin!
The Garmin Fenix 8 adds smart features like the ability to take calls on the wrist, and an on-board voice assistant.
Sizes: 43mm w/ 20mm straps; 7: 47mm w/ 22mm straps; 7X: 51mm w/ 26mm straps / Weight: 60g (43mm), 73g (47mm), 92g (51mm)/ Battery life: Up to 10 days (43mm), 16 days (47mm), 29 days (51mm) Display type: MIP or OLED / GPS: All-systems GNSS and dual-frequency GPS / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 10ATM / Music storage: Up to 32GB
The Fenix 8 is Garmin’s response to the Apple Watch Ultra and Galaxy Watch Ultra in terms aesthetics and the addition of smart features. The watch has a circular OLED display with a Gorilla Glass or sapphire crystal lens, stainless steel or titanium bezel, and battery that lasts between 10 and 26 days, depending on which size you get. These are mostly the same materials Apple and Samsung uses for high-end smartwatches, though the Fenix 8 stands out with its circular frame. What sets the Fenix 8 apart from its predecessor is the addition of many welcome smart features.
The smartwatch has a built-in microphone and speaker that allow you to take calls, and its smart voice assistant can be used to set timers, start activities, or access your phone’s assistant to handle more complicated tasks. The watch’s smarts are held back by its lack of LTE, which means some of its features (including the ability to make and receive calls) is dependent on it being connected to your smartwatch via Bluetooth. That’s less of a limitation in your home, but it may be frustrating if you’d like to stay connected during a phone-free run. Cellular connectivity is available on the Fenix 8 Pro, which starts at $1,199.99.
But the reason to choose the Fenix 8 over other premium smartwatches is its plethora of fitness features. The free, built-in Garmin Coach offers running, cycling, and strength training plans, and will make tweaks by factoring in data it collects about your health and how you’re performing in workouts. It’ll also offer suggested daily workouts, give you estimated recovery time, and plot out a recommended pace time for long races using GPS data. It can also assess the impact of a run has on your body and give you a recommended milage cap to avoid overexertion.
This smartwatch can record your activity, heart rate, and sleep (including naps), and use that information to generate a daily health and wellness summary in the morning. It’ll also create an evening report suggesting how much sleep you need, and details about your upcoming workout. If you’re traveling, the watch can offer suggestions adjusting on your sleep schedule and exercise. These features can help prepare you for your next race, while the smart features improve the watch’s usefulness when you’re not on the track.
Sizes: 12 proprietary sizes, 4–15, sizing kit needed / Weight: 4–6g (depends on size) / Battery life: Up to seven days / Display type: None / GPS: None / Connectivity: Bluetooth / Water resistance: Up to 328 feet / Music storage: None
The vast majority of fitness trackers are worn on the wrist, but the $349 Oura Ring isn’t. The smart ring is a good option for people who are looking for something a little more discreet. It’s also less distracting than some other wrist-based options, as it lacks a screen and doesn’t mirror push notifications from your phone.
The Oura Ring 4 isn’t functionally that much different from the previous Gen 3. It’s slimmer, features a all-titanium design, has improved battery life, and has an updated sensor algorithm that Oura says is more accurate. None of these software features are gatekept to the Ring 4, so Gen 3 owners shouldn’t feel the need to upgrade unless their ring no longer lasts more than two days on a single charge. That said, the fourth-gen ring has an expanded size range spanning from 4 to 15. If you felt your Gen 3 was a bit snug or couldn’t find a size that fit right, you may have a better option now.
The Oura Ring 4 has an expanded size range, spanning sizes 4 to 15.Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
While smaller than your average wearable, the Oura Ring still tracks a ton of metrics, including heart rate variability, body temperature, blood oxygen, all-day heart rate monitoring, and cycle tracking. Since launching, the Oura Ring has also added activity tracking, blood oxygen levels, chronotypes to help visualize your circadian rhythms, a social feature called Circles, improved stress tracking, and cardiovascular age and capacity metrics.
More recently, it’s added an AI chatbot, meal logging, and glucose tracking, though you’ll have to purchase a $99 Dexcom Stelo CGM to take advantage of the latter. It’s rolled out a more accurate sleep stages algorithm as well, and the app has been entirely revamped to better organize these features and metrics. An update that rolled out in May improved its step-tracking accuracy by using an algorithm that can better detect when movement is the result of a step. The same update improved its calorie burn estimates by using heart rate measurements to determine the intensity of your workouts.
The Oura Ring tracks typical metrics — such as steps and calories burned — but its main focus is sleep and recovery. Each day, you’re given three sets of scores for your readiness, sleep, and activity. It’s a simple, holistic look at your overall wellness and an ideal pick if you want a more hands-off experience with your data. In October, Oura announced a feature called Health Panels, which allows you to schedule a blood test with a local Quest Diagnostics location. The results include dozens of biomarkers relating to your cardiovascular and metabolic health and can be viewed within Oura’s app. You can also ask Oura Advisor, the company’s AI chatbot, to help you parse the results.
If you’ve got a Samsung Galaxy Watch, you may want to consider the $399.99 Galaxy Ring. It’s a bit more expensive than the base Oura Ring, but it doesn’t come with a subscription, and you get much better battery life when used with the Galaxy Watch. The hardware is also excellent, especially the charging case. That said, this is only an option for Android users, and even then, you don’t unlock its full potential unless you’ve got other Samsung gear. I also recommend the $349 Ultrahuman Ring Air for folks who don’t like the idea of Oura’s monthly subscription.
You can read my experiences with a bunch of other smart rings, but right now, the Oura Ring is the most polished with the best overall experience.
Size: 42mm x 24mm x 12.2mm with 16mm straps / Weight: 28g / Battery life: Up to 18 days / Display type: OLED / GPS: Tethered / Connectivity: Bluetooth / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: None
It’s truly hard to beat the Amazfit Band 7’s $49.99 price — doubly so since you can often find it on sale for even less. Wearing the Band 7 feels like a throwback to 2014, which is great if all you’re looking for is a simple and casual tracker that won’t break the bank.
No one is going to compliment you on the Band 7’s design, but it’s got a handful of cute watch faces that make good use of its OLED touchscreen. And despite having an OLED display, you’ll still get roughly 14 days of battery life on a single charge. It’s also incredibly lightweight, making it a good option for sleep tracking as well.
The Amazfit Band 7 won’t turn heads, but it’s the type of capable yet affordable fitness band that’s much harder to find nowadays.Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
You also get an absurd number of features for the price, including Amazon Alexa, continuous heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen monitoring, stress tracking, advanced sleep tracking, training metrics like VO2 max and load, abnormal heart rate alerts, menstrual tracking, push notifications, find my phone, a camera remote, and even a Pomodoro timer. You’re sacrificing contactless payments and will have to settle for tethered GPS, but this is a fair tradeoff considering everything else you’re getting. It’s not the best option for hardcore fitness tracking, but this is a great option if all you’re looking to do is casually track activity and your steps.
Amazfit’s been making surprisingly good budget trackers for a while. That said, if you’re a little wary of a lesser-known brand, the $159.95 Fitbit Charge 6 is a decent alternative. It’s pricier, but you get a lot of what Amazfit is missing. That includes access to Google services like YouTube Music, Google Wallet, and Google Maps. Plus, it has built-in GPS and the ability to broadcast your heart rate with some Bluetooth-compatible gym equipment.
Sizes: 37mm with 18mm straps / Weight: 45g / Battery life: Up to 39 days / Display type: OLED display / GPS: Tethered GPS / Connectivity: Bluetooth / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: N/A
The $249.95 Withings ScanWatch Light is a fetching hybrid analog smartwatch. Think of it as a dressier fitness band with some Swatch-like design sensibilities. It’s got all your basics like simple push notifications, timers, and alarms. Plus, you can track steps, sleep, menstrual cycles, and GPS activities straight from the wrist. It looks spiffy on the wrist, and if you like a pop of color, Withings offers minty green and pale blue color options. It’s also got excellent battery life, with an estimated 30 days on a single charge. I got a little less in testing at around 25 days, but that’s still much better than the vast majority of flagship smartwatches. This also looks way more stylish than beefier multisport watches with similar battery life.
As its name suggests, the Light is a pared-down version of the $369.95 ScanWatch 2. The main things you’re missing are an EKG sensor for atrial fibrillation detection, a temperature sensor, blood oxygen tracking, and an altimeter for tracking elevation. For basic fitness tracking, you don’t really need those sensors. That’s why I think the extra $100 in savings is worth it for the Light, especially since both are lacking in safety features, contactless payments, and some other bells and whistles you can get from other watches in the $350 price range. That said, if you want extras, the ScanWatch 2 also gets you a slightly more elegant look thanks to the second step-counter dial.
The ScanWatch 2 is about $100 more but adds more advanced health tracking.Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Another option I like is the $179.99 Garmin Vivomove Sport, which actually dominated this category in the past few years. It’s hard to beat the price, especially since it gets you access to Garmin’s platform. However, Garmin’s “hidden” OLED display can get washed out in bright lighting, and battery life was significantly shorter than other hybrid analog watches at around five days. Still, if you’d prefer a platform with a focus on fitness rather than wellness, the Vivomove Sport may be the better move over a Withings watch.
Sizes: 40mm, 44mm / Weight: 26.3g (40mm), 32.9g (44mm) / Battery life: Up to 18 hours / Display type: Always-on LTPO OLED / GPS: Built-in GPS, plus GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, Beidou / Connectivity: 5G (optional), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: Up to 50 meters / Music storage: 64GB
The Apple Watch SE 3 being Apple’s most exciting smartwatch of 2025 was unexpected, but it’s true. Apple’s latest entry-level smartwatch has an always-on display that the company claims to be more scratch-resistant than its predecessor. Not to mention, it has the same S10 chip that’s in the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3, though it lacks the Ultra Wideband chip found in those higher-end models. Apple brought fast charging, on-device Siri, its double tap and wrist flick gestures, and a built-in speaker to the SE line for the first time. The cellular version of the Apple Watch SE 3 supports 5G for faster downloads and better coverage.
The better specs make it harder to recommend the pricier Apple Watch Series 11 unless you care about having a smartwatch that can take an EKG, although the SE 3 can passively check for signs of atrial fibrillation via irregular heart rhythm notifications. It can also send you sleep apnea notifications, and has more robust period tracking. The watch can’t record your blood oxygen level, a feature that was recently reintroduced to Apple Watch models that support it in the US after being removed due to a copyright dispute in 2023.
The Apple Watch SE 3 was released alongside WatchOS 26, which includes additional fitness and wellness features. Workout Buddy uses your fitness data to generate personalized insights, advice, and pep talks through a virtual assistant. Your Workout Buddy will remind you of your goals, recent achievements, and recap your results at the end of your workout. WatchOS 26 also comes to the Apple Watch SE 2, Apple Watch Series 6 and above, and all Apple Watch Ultra models.
One of the few technical details Apple didn’t improve was battery life — the SE 3 still lasts around 18 hours per charge. In one of our tests, which included a cross-country flight and 48-minute mini golf session, the watch has 27 percent battery left after around 13 hours of use with no reliance on low power mode. The Apple Watch SE 3 is the one to get unless you need an Apple Watch with a larger screen, or if you want more sophisticated health tracking, or you’d benefit from the ruggedness and multi-day battery life of the Apple Watch Ultra.
Sizes: 47mm / Weight: 60.5g / Battery life: Up to 100 hours / Display type: Always-on OLED / GPS: Built-in GPS / Connectivity: LTE (optional), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 10ATM, IP68 / Music storage: 32GB
Truthfully, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra left me a bit disappointed after reviewing it — not because it’s a bad piece of hardware, but because it copies a bit too much from Apple. Even so, this is the most full-featured fitness smartwatch a Samsung phone owner can buy.
The Galaxy Watch 8’s squircle design may seem controversial at first, but it allowed Samsung to make the smartwatch slimmer than its predecessor. It also sits flatter against your skin, which made it more comfortable to wear. I preferred the Galaxy Watch 7 over the Ultra for casual fitness tracking and wearability, and that’s still true with the Watch 8, but the improvements over the previous generation aren’t significant. Its battery is barely bigger, and its brighter screen (up to 3,000 nits vs. 2,000) didn’t make a big difference even in direct sunlight.
There’s a Vascular Load feature, which measures how stressed your vascular system is while you sleep, but it doesn’t give a reason why this metric is important. Its Antioxidant Index, which gauges whether you’ve eaten enough fruits and vegetables, can help encourage you to eat more healthily when creating a new diet.
In testing, the sensor works by using blue, yellow, and infrared LEDs to pick up the carotenoid levels in your skin. Carotenoids are an antioxidant that gives fruits and vegetables their color. The sensor could be fooled by pressing any colorful objects — a piece of broccoli, blackberry (which exploded), marker-colored finger, and Cheeze-It — against it. I did find its Running Coach feature, which creates a training regimen based on your performance after a 12-minute run, to be helpful. Its assessment of my current fitness level was fair, and the workouts it suggested were well-structured.
As far as AI is concerned, the Galaxy Watch 8 has Google Gemini, which was hit or miss in my testing. It couldn’t send a message in Slack, and the K-pop-inspired running playlist it created had a few songs outside that genre, but it’s handy if you want to use Google’s AI on your wrist rather than taking out your phone. Google Gemini support is one feature of One UI 8 (Samsung’s fork of Wear OS 6, Google’s latest wearable operating system), which also includes Material 3 Expressive, a redesign optimized for circular watches. Live updates, which let you track things like deliveries, rideshares, and information from navigation apps, will also be coming in 2026. Samsung’s One UI 8 also came to the Galaxy Watch Ultra as a software update.
It’s not the prettiest Samsung watch, but it is the best at fitness tracking.Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge
However, there’s still a significant gap between the Galaxy Watch 8 and the Ultra in my testing as far as accuracy, especially for GPS tracking. And what really sealed the deal for me was the difference in battery life. (The gaps are much less egregious between the base Apple Watch and Ultra 2.) The caveat is, if all you want is casual fitness tracking, the Galaxy Watch 8 is the better choice for wearability. It’s just more comfortable for sleep tracking and lighter overall. Just keep in mind it lacks the Ultra’s emergency siren and shortcut button.
Both watches have the same processor, a 3-in-1 BioActive Sensor, some AI health features, and FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection. The hardware in both current-generation Galaxy smartwatches makes for a more future-proof purchase, but I found the AI health features to be hit-or-miss in practice. As always, some features, like EKGs and sleep apnea detection, are limited to Samsung owners. That makes this hard to wholeheartedly recommend this to non-Samsung Android users.
$250
Samsung’s latest smartwatch features a squircle design, Gemini, and some additional health features like an Antioxidant Index and Running Coach.
If the Ultra doesn’t float your boat, now is a good time to find the Galaxy Watch 7 series, particularly the base models, on sale. The base Galaxy Watch 8 is not a massive update over the Watch 7 as far as actual use goes.
Sizes: 41mm, 45mm / Weight: 31g / Battery life: Up to 30 hours / Display type: Always-on OLED / GPS: Built-in Dual Frequency GPS / Connectivity: LTE (optional), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 32GB
The Pixel Watch 4 isn’t just the best fitness smartwatch for Android, it’s the most interesting flagship smartwatch launch of the season. The watch has several hardware improvements over its predecessor, starting with display that has thinner bezels and a higher peak brightness. Google focused on repairability for Pixel Watch 4, and you can now have its screen and battery replaced on their own instead of scrapping the entire wearable.
Speaking of the battery, it can last a lot longer per charge. In our tests, the battery on the 45mm model lasted 45 hours on its first charge, which was 13 hours longer than the Pixel Watch 3. We averaged 36 to 42 hours with the always-on display enabled. Google also improved the Pixel Watch 4’s charging speed, and we were able to top up its battery from 14 to 97 percent in around 45 minutes.
Wear OS 6 comes preloaded on the Pixel Watch 4, which means Gemini is ready to go on your wrist. The smart assistant can be activated with a new Raise-to-Talk gesture, though it was hit-or-miss in our tests. A new AI-enabled feature called Smart Replies offers up personal replies to your incoming text messages, though it only works if you have a Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 9 series, or Pixel 10 series phone. Notification cooldown can automatically change the frequency with which you receive certain notifications without enabling a do-not-disturb mode. Wear OS 6 was rolled out to the Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch 3 as part of Google’s October update.
One of the biggest fitness improvements to the Pixel Watch 4 is improved activity detection. The watch can automatically record cardio activities for at least 15 minutes, and you’ll receive a notification and activity recap within an hour of finishing. You can train AI to better recognize your preferred activities, too. We tested these features during walks, runs, and cycling sessions, and it worked well each time. However, automatic activity detection is limited to tracking these activities: walking, running, bike riding, spinning, rowing, elliptical training, or team sport workout.
The Pixel Watch 4’s dual-frequency GPS allowed it to track my runs more accurately than the Pixel Watch 3, though the Galaxy Watch Ultra was even more accurate. The Pixel Watch 4 will also work with the new AI-powered Fitbit Health Coach, which can create exercise programs based on your goals, sleep, and it can adapt to extenuating circumstances like injuries.
Sizes: 34.7 mm x 24 mm x 10.6 mm / Weight: 27g / Battery life: Up to 14 days / Display type: None / GPS: None / Connectivity: Bluetooth / Water resistance: Up to 10 meters / Music storage: None
The Whoop MG isn’t a huge departure from the Whoop 4.0, which I reviewed previously, but it’s still the best choice for elite athletes. Its buckle still annoyed me, and bands from the previous generation are incompatible with this model, though Whoop will give you a credit for trading in your current bands. Its processor is 60 percent faster but I didn’t feel any difference in day-to-day use, save for faster data syncing with Whoop’s app. I did notice the bump in battery life from five to 14 hours, Whoop’s redesigned app, and a handful of new health and wellness features.
A key part of the Whoop MG’s appeal is the dense daily reports on your health and wellness accessible within its app. They verge on overwhelming, with an emphasis on how much activities have strained your body. The Whoop Coach (an AI-powered chatbot) summarizes information about your sleep duration, activity, and heart rate to give you advice on hitting the fitness goals you selected during setup.
Similarly, a feature called Healthspan calculates your Whoop Age based on three weeks worth of sleep, exercise, steps, VO2 Max, heart rate, and lean body mass data. It’ll update your Whoop Age weekly after its first assessment, but be mindful that it discounts factors like genetics, your environment, and lifestyle, which significantly impact the rate your body actually ages.
The Whoop MG has an FDA-cleared EKG reader, and can send you notifications if it detects atrial fibrillation. It can also give you blood pressure insights, but is currently in beta. Whoop Advanced Labs is an upcoming service that will let you send in a blood test to be reviewed by clinicians to give you even more health insights. If you like the distraction-free design of a smart ring, but want your wearable on your wrist instead of your finger, consider the Whoop MG.
We were able to test the ceramic version of the Oura Ring 4, which was released in October. The new material less prone to scuffing, and you don’t have to worry about a coating rubbing off with use, which was an issue with the standard model.
Update, December 3rd: Adjusted pricing / availability and added Garmin’s Fenix 8. Brandt Ranj also contributed to this post.
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Hart received the loudest reaction from Golden Knights fans during pregame introductions, and if there were any boos, they were difficult to hear. Some fans also held signs supportive of Hart.
Hart made 27 saves, including six in overtime.
“I think just skating out the first time onto the ice wearing a Golden Knights sweater is an amazing feeling,” Hart said. “It didn’t really sink in until the national anthem. Just looking around and that feeling you’re back playing.”
Hart then became emotional, wiping his right eye.
“Sorry,” he said. “Yeah, it’s been a really difficult journey to get back, one I wouldn’t have been able to do without my family and friends. I’m just so happy to be playing the game again.”
Hart was the first of those five Canada junior players to agree to an NHL contract. The league ruled those players were eligible to sign deals beginning Oct. 15 and to play starting Dec. 1. Hart signed a two-year, $4 million contract and has been working with Vegas’ American Hockey League affiliate in Henderson, Nevada.
After he agreed to sign, Hart read a statement to reporters that, in part, said he wanted “to show the community my true character and who I am and what I’m about.”
Hart was asked Monday what steps he has taken to fulfill that pledge.
“There’s been a few things we’ve talked about,” Hart said. “We did a thing there in Henderson helping out the homeless. There’s some things we’ve talked about throughout the season. Whatever I can do to help, I’m happy to help.”
Giving Hart his first start at home could help ease him into what could be a rocky reception around the league. After facing the Blackhawks, Vegas goes on a five-game road trip against Eastern Conference teams, including a Dec. 11 stop at Hart’s former club, the Philadelphia Flyers.
“I think he just wants to go back to being a hockey player,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Getting back on the ice and practicing, all that was step one of preparation for this moment. He’ll keep doing that for his next start. We’ve got Philly around the corner. I’m sure there will be a conversation about that down the road. We’ll deal with that next week when we get to it, but right now, he should just enjoy his night.”
Hart worked in Henderson on getting back into NHL game shape. He appeared in three games and went 1-2.
“I’ve worked my (butt) off to get back to this point,” Hart said Monday. “For me, the key is preparation and I’ve done everything I can to be prepared.”
Against the Blackhawks, Hart gave up a goal on the second shot he saw, a drive from Oliver Moore above the right circle. In the second period, Hart left his crease to try to clear the puck but instead sent the pass right to Tyler Bertuzzi, who scored for Chicago. Connor Bedard then beat Hart with pinpoint shot from the right circle for a 3-2 lead early in the third.
But when the Golden Knights absolutely needed saves, Hart delivered. He shut out the Blackhawks over the final 15:15 of regulation and was spectacular in overtime — particularly when teammate Shea Theodore broke his stick. Hart then stopped three of four attempts in the shootout to end Vegas’ seven-game losing streak in games that went to overtime.
“Everybody here has been so great,” Hart said afterward. “They’ve been very welcoming. The organization’s been awesome, and I’m just grateful for everything and the opportunity here.”
The 27-year-old last played in an NHL game on Jan. 20, 2024, for Philadelphia. Hart played six seasons for the Flyers, going 96-93-29 with a .906 save percentage and 2.94 goals-against average.
The Golden Knights could use the help in net, especially with starting goalie Adin Hill on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and his return possibly weeks away. Akira Schmid has received the majority of the work with Hill out and is 9-2-4 with an .896 save percentage and a 2.51 GAA.
Vegas had lost four straight games before defeating San Jose 4-3 on Saturday night.
“I thought he was outstanding,” Theodore said about Hart. “He made a lot of huge saves, especially in the shootout. That’s what you need, and we’re all so happy for him.”
Android users will soon have an option to add an “urgent” indicator to their calls, which shows up on the receiver’s incoming call screen and in their call history if they don’t pick up. It’s a new feature in beta testing in the Phone by Google app, Call Reason, that will only work for people who are saved in your Contacts list already, and if you both use Google’s default calling app on Android phones.
If you often send calls to voicemail (or your friends don’t pick up your calls), this feature allows you to tell each other when you’re calling about something important, or need to talk right away, without sending a separate text.
Right now, Call Reason is just for marking calls as “urgent,” but it would also be nice to see more options down the line, like a custom message or emoji to show why you’re calling. Since the Call Reason message also shows up in your call history, it could also be a helpful reminder to call someone back about something specific if you can’t pick up in the moment.
Call Reason is rolling out as a beta feature, and availability will vary by phone manufacturer. You can check for the update on your phone by tapping your profile icon on the Google Play Store, “Manage apps & devices,” and “Check for updates.” You can also double-check that you’re using Phone by Google for your calls by going into your Settings app, then “Apps” and “Default apps.”
Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the NHL is warning teams against taking warmups without helmets, a growing trend this season that violates NHL rules.
Daly told ESPN that the league is sending out a memo to remind teams that helmets are mandatory in warmups for “all players who entered the NHL beginning with the 2019-2020 season or later,” per Rule 9.6.
The Ottawa Senators skated out for warmups without helmets in a game at the Vegas Golden Knights last Wednesday, having lost in their past six trips to T-Mobile Arena. Forward Shane Pinto told TSN that the players decided at a team dinner to change their Vegas luck by doffing their helmets. “It was pretty cool to do,” he said.
The Senators won the game 4-3 in a shootout.
The San Jose Sharks also went without helmets in warmups in Vegas, having lost five straight road games to the Knights. Alas, their luck didn’t change, losing 4-3 to their division rival. Forward Will Smith said there was no particular motivation for it.
“It was a team decision. It was Saturday night in Vegas, so I think all the guys were pretty easy to [do] it,” he said.
On Tuesday night, the New Jersey Devils skated out wearing hats instead of helmets, in honor of defenseman Brenden Dillon‘s 1,000th NHL game.
Rule 9.6 reads:
“It is mandatory for all players who entered the NHL beginning with the 2019-2020 season or later to wear their helmet during pre-game warm-up. To be clear, all players who entered the League prior to the 2019-2020 season and who are currently playing are exempt from this mandate.”
The NHL amended its rules in 2022 to mandate helmet usage in warmups out of player safety concerns, in particular with rookies who took the ice without helmets before their debut games as part of a longstanding NHL tradition. Much like the league’s visor rule, some veteran players were “grandfathered” in and exempt.
What Do American Idol Contestants Do When They’re Not Performing on the Show?
They stay quite busy.
Season two winner Ruben Studdard remembered how packed his schedule was with song selection, preparation, vocal coaching, and filming for show packages and commercials.
“Thursday we got the songs,” he recalled on a 2023 interview with West Byrd. “Friday we chose the songs. Friday-Saturday we taped commercials. Sunday we made final selections. Then Sunday night-Monday night we went to the studio to make sure everything was right for the track. And then Tuesday morning we would do a dry run of the show, like top to bottom. So when you see the package when people are like, ‘You should vote for X, Y, Z’ that’s already been taped Tuesday morning.”
Then, of course, there’s the actual show. “Wednesday is the elimination, and then it starts all over,” Ruben added. “And it gets even tougher when the group gets smaller because the work is the same.”
Jena Irene Asciutto has shared a similar sentiment.
“As the weeks went on and people were eliminated, the people left were responsible for filling that episode of time,” the season 13 runner-up told Business Insider. “So we were needed for more things. And I think at like top eight was when we started doing Ford commercials every Sunday.”
