jessespector Page 19 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Hats off to a great deal in Vegas
The Golden Knights traded a couple of draft choices to get Mattias Janmark from Chicago in April, and whatever those picks turn out to be, Vegas can rest easy that it was worth it....

Great job, Japan… FIFA… IOC… y’all really just nailed everyone’s mood
The latest wave of COVID-19 appears to be ebbing in Japan, but on Friday the country still extended the state of emergency for many areas, and “pre-emergency measures” for other prefectures, including Chiba, just outside of Tokyo....

The Mickey Callaways should never be able to don a uniform again, period
Rob Manfred finally finished reading The Athletic’s report from February about Mickey Callaway’s sexual harassment. Or perhaps he clicked on the tube this week and caught Andrea Kremer’s HBO Real Sports piece on the sex harrassment women in sports media regularly receive that was partly based on The...

Run the NBA play-in tournament as a series of high-stakes gauntlet matches
The NBA wants to have an in-season tournament, and a lot of the reaction to this idea is that it’s terrible, that it’s basketball trying to be soccer, that it’s a huge waste of time....

Connecticut high school phenom tosses fourth no-hitter in a row
If you think the no-hitters are getting out of control in Major League Baseball, you ought to check out the high school scene in northern Connecticut. ...

Falcons would be nuts if they let Julio Jones escape to Patriots
The Patriots have reportedly been weighing the idea of trading for Julio Jones, and the seven-time Pro Bowl receiver is said to be interested in going to New England, so it makes all the sense in the world for the Falcons not to trade him....

Scott Kazmir returns for first start in five years
After José Godoy became the 20,000th player in major league history on Friday, Rays’ shortstop Taylor Walls debuted on Sunday, becoming No. 20,001....

Blazers-Nuggets briefly bumped to ESPN2, still a far cry from tape-delayed 1981 Finals
The start of Trail Blazers-Nuggets was bumped to ESPN2 as Jose Ramírez and Josh Taylor fought for the undisputed junior welterweight title on ESPN, which is barely fathomable in 2021. Taylor won by unanimous decision, and ESPN switched over to the action in Denver with 6:40 left in the first quarter...

Position player pitching alert gone awry: Wilmer Difo ignominiously and historically lit up
Wilmer Difo has played second base, shortstop, third base, and all three outfield positions during his career with the Nationals and Pirates, and now he can add pitching to his resume....

Gimme an X! MLB’s 20,000th player reminds us what baseball desperately needs
In 1975, Bob Watson scored Major League Baseball’s one millionth run, an achievement which earned him one million Tootsie Rolls and one million pennies from the candy company, all of which Watson donated to charity....

La Russa is still managing like it’s 1989
The Yankees and White Sox combined for 26 strikeouts in a nine-inning game. In 2012, that’s not so surprising. What is a bit of a stunner is that Aroldis Chapman didn’t get any of those K’s. Carlos Rodón fanned 13, Jordan Montgomery punched out 11, and Michael Kopech added two whiffs out of the Chic...

I dunno, maybe try a little harder to get the ball to the world’s best shooter?
Stephen Curry scored 39 points on Friday night, shooting 13-for-28 from the field with six three-pointers… and it wasn’t enough....

Baseball America’s Top 50 names in college baseball is missing some Sharts and a Hug
Baseball America has ranked this year’s top 50 names in college baseball, and it’s a good list....

The 21 best multi-sport athletes of the 21st century (yes, there are that many!)
Tim Tebow is attempting a return to football, attending minicamp with the Jacksonville Jaguars, this time as a tight end after he ran out of chances as a quarterback in 2015 when the Philadelphia Eagles cut him. In the interim, Tebow pursued a baseball career, making it as far as Triple-A in the Met...

The boys of… spring? Full-season baseball back in Brooklyn for the first time since 1957
Tuesday was a big night for the Brooklyn Cyclones, as they played their first home game in more than 600 days, celebrated their 2019 New York-Penn League championship, and, after 20 years as a short-season affiliate of the Mets, brought full-season baseball back to Brooklyn. The Cyclones’ 4-3 loss t...

As Rudy Giuliani’s kid runs for governor of New York (yes), let’s revisit his ridiculous lawsuit after getting dumped by Duke golf
Andrew Giuliani has been an obnoxious twit for so long that when his father Rudy was elected mayor of New York in 1993, it wasn’t out of line for Saturday Night Live to lampoon him by having Chris Farley portray the out-of-control seven-year-old....

Does the 'hot hand' really exist? Deadspin investigates, using Steph Curry's historic streak
On April 2, Golden State’s season reached its nadir with a 53-point loss to the Raptors in Tampa. Stephen Curry, who had recently returned from a five-game absence, sat out the second game of a back-to-back, Draymond Green was out with a finger injury, and it was the kind of night where the dynasty ...

The NBA’s very confusing playoff picture, as it currently stands
We know which 20 teams won’t be heading for summer vacation after the last day of the NBA regular season on Sunday, but that’s about all we know....

Albert Pujols is the latest Hall of Famer you’ll forget played for the Dodgers
The possibility of Albert Pujols returning to St. Louis to finish his career where he started it, this time as a bench bat for a Cardinals team that has title aspirations and Paul Goldschmidt at first base, was too good to be true....

The obvious case for Connor McDavid as unanimous MVP
The Stanley Cup playoffs started on Saturday, which is weird because the NHL regular season continued on Saturday, as the Canucks handed the Oilers a 4-1 loss that was notable only because Connor McDavid picked up his league-best 72nd assist, which also wrapped up the scoring title for the presumpti...