players Page 50 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Daniil Medvedev broke Andrey Rublev on a point he lost
The big story out of Melbourne today is that Rafael Nadal actually looked like he’s in his mid-30s last night, as he blew a two-set lead to Stefanos Tsitsipas, with the latter looking much the fresher in the fifth set. That sets up a semifinal match with Daniil Medvedev, who when he hasn’t been yell...
Brett Gardner isn’t a Yankee right now and it makes zero sense
Brett Gardner was the Yankees’ third-round pick in the 2005 draft, debuted in pinstripes in 2008, and has been in the Bronx ever since. He’s the last remaining player with the Yankees from their last championship team in 2009… except that right now, even he’s not remaining....
Hold on to your Grapefruits, it’s time for pitchers and catchers
Spring training starts this week, with pitchers and catchers day arriving on Wednesday for eight teams, and the rest of the majors getting going on Thursday or Friday. Hopefully, this year’s ramp-up to the season will go more smoothly than 2020, when the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues had to shut dow...
It’s been a wacky Australian Open, even if no one’s around to see it
As we’ve previously stated, the Australian Open has a surreal quality, at least on these shores, where an already-niche sport takes place in the dark for only the truly dedicated/bewildered. It’s even more so this edition, as on Friday the live spectators were shooed out of the tournament altogether...
Inebriated fan flips bird and curses out Rafa Nadal because Australia gets to have nice things like that
I’ve missed sports fans....
The Makur Maker experiment at Howard failed, but, that’s no reason to start ignoring HBCU sports again
It was never going to work. Not in a million years....
Venus Williams is still there
The Australian Open is candy for the insomnia and drunk crowd, both of which I happen to be a member. I guess it has the same charm as New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom. Not only is it a must-see event, but you know that only the truly die-hard fans are watching along with you... or the trul...
Stop the seasons now and let’s get sports right
We learned this week that the Biden administration wants the start of baseball season to be delayed, a desire that at this point stands to go unfulfilled because the Major League Baseball Players Association is not willing to let ownership link such a delay with a reopening of their collective barga...
MLB's biggest question answered as Twins add promising pitcher; also, Dodgers sign jerkwad Bauer
The wait is over, and one of baseball’s top contenders can move toward spring training confident that its new addition to the pitching staff will be just the man to put them over the top....
Doug Polk wins $1.2 million in ‘Grudge Match’ with Daniel Negreanu
Doug Polk finished his heads-up “Grudge Match” vs. Daniel Negreanu in style, winning $250,000 in a roller-coaster six-hour session on Wednesday....
Story, Lindor and Tatis are the best crop of shortstops since A-Rod, Jeter and Nomar
People really like to post rankings, because they generate a lot of conversations and tend to rile people up with strong feelings about players or teams. “You have WHO ranked at No. 1? You have to be kidding. No way.” It’s a good time. In fact, I love posting rankings. I love sharing my opinions and...
The Nets might just have too much
Most eyes were on Brooklyn again last night, as the Clippers, the hottest team in the league, were the guests of the NBA’s latest and most vibrant science experiment in the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets came out on top 124-120, with Kyrie Irving going for 39, James Harden merely “settling” for a triple-do...
For better or worse, Dustin Pedroia was Boston
There’s an easy-to-reach joke when someone really old dies. “Oh he died years ago, he just fell down yesterday.” That’s basically how it feels with Dustin Pedroia announcing his retirement today. He’s only played nine games in the past three seasons, so his retirement basically announced him. ...
Remember normal? Look to Serena's Australian Open tuneup Down Under if you can’t
We’re coming up on 11 months since the last time fans could pack a stadium in America to watch sports. Sometimes, it feels like the pandemic restrictions will last forever. But on Friday in Adelaide, Australia, there was a glimpse into the future, and the present that America could have had with com...
MLS is all grown up, on the verge of its very own work stoppage
Can you be a legitimate league in North America and not have a work stoppage? Apparently MLS doesn’t think so, as it is on the verge of careening into their first one in their 25 years of existence....
Masahiro Tanaka to return to Japan, why this Yankee fan is happy for him
It sucks that Masahiro Tanaka will no longer be a Yankee, but at least I don’t have to root against him on another MLB team....
Masahiro Tanaka won’t make it to Cooperstown, but — like hoops' Hall — there should be room for stories like his
In seven seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, Arvydas Sabonis averaged 12 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. His biggest accomplishments were being the NBA’s Player of the Week at the end of March in 1996, and finishing 12th in the league in total rebounds in 1997-98....
Texans hire David Culley, hope he can beg Deshaun Watson to stay
Well, they know football soap operas in Texas....
Phillies forced to bring back J.T. Realmuto because they made a decade’s worth of mistakes
The Phillies acted as if the franchise — which has lost more games than any professional team in the world of sports since its inception — didn’t have to bring back J.T. Realmuto. However, the 138-year old organization with just two World Series championships to its credit, had no choice. After trad...
With A-Rod and Big Papi on ballot next year, gatekeepers of Cooperstown will face a reckoning
Just as most writers want, to get the affirmation they apparently crave by denying millionaires access to a club, no one will enter the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer. Once again, they have kept the sanctuary safe from the heathen of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, as they see it. They won’t get t...