Author's Posts

Draymond Green may have had to ice his face after the Warriors’ 119-108 win over the Sixers on Monday night.

As Richaun Holmes finished off a huge alley-oop, the ball found Green’s face, and hit it — hard.

Those numbers are outrageous. However, Collins has a simple role for Gonzaga as their sixth man, and he could really help his stock by returning next season and becoming “the man.” We’ll see what happens here.

Ojeleye is a big riser this time around, as a powerful combo forward that showcases terrific defensive versatility along with a well-rounded offensive game. Not only can Ojeleye defend in a variety of situations both on the block and in switches on the perimeter, but he can also hit over 40 percent of his 3s and even create for himself off the bounce, be it in the midrange or all the way at the rim.

To pair with all of that, he’s considered an extremely hard worker. Given the way NBA teams are looking for combo forwards in order to play more versatile, perimeter-based lineups, Ojeleye will be a commodity if he decides to declare despite being 22 years old already.

In the second clip, notice where Kyle Lowry is on defense. Instead of sticking with Rozier on the cut when the Raptors hedge the initial pick-and-roll, Lowry parks himself underneath the basket to stop Thomas from getting a straight-line drive. Patrick Patterson then has to cover two players in the corner, and the Raptors panic when the Celtics start moving the ball around the perimeter following a scramble.broncos_118

Read more

Miami is expected to sell this month, and Gordon would represent a substantial piece of that sell-off. Nightengale reported three teams have expressed interest in the speedy (32 stolen bases) leadoff man, who would be a long-term play for those clubs. (UPDATE: Heyman reports the Angels, Blue Jays and the Royals are the teams that have inqured.) Gordon three years and $37 million remaining on his contract after 2017, plus a $14 million club option ($1 million buyout) for 2021, per Cot’s Contracts. One potential drawback: age. Gordon is 29, which means he will be entering his decline phase during the latter stages of that contract.
Joe Williams Elite Jersey
Darren Sproles Elite Jersey Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale may have had to take a no-decision in Saturday’s home game against the Yankees. Sale left the game with 1-0 lead in the eighth inning before the Yankees tied it in the ninth on Matt Holliday’s solo home run and then went on for a 4-1 victory over the Red Sox with three runs in the top of the 16th inning. But Sale continued his career dominance of the Yankees. He struck out 13 batters with just two walks and scattered three hits over 7 2/3 innings. Sale’s ERA against the Yankees is now 1.17 in 69 1/3 innings. After playing 16 innings on Saturday, the Yankees and Red Sox have a day-night doubleheader scheduled for Sunday.

Travis Shaw’s eighth-inning solo homer off Phillies reliever Joaquin Benoit lifted the Brewers to a 3-2 victory at Miller Park. Shaw’s go-ahead home run gave him an MLB-best 22 go-ahead RBIs this season, meaning a third of his team-high 66 RBIs have given the NL Central-leading Brewers a lead.

Cardinals right-hander Lance Lynn struck out just three and gave up eight hits, but did not allow a run in 6 1/3 innings against the Pirates. Batting left-handed, Lynn even hit an RBI double in the second inning to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead en route to a 4-0 victory.

Read more

There’s no resting his case, however, with major West Coast competition from Dodgers’ rookie Cody Bellinger, who’s on a similar pace. Can Judge keep the gavel pounding on his legendary debut past the All-Star Break? Here’s tracking the distance of every one of his majestic homers in ’17:

No. 30, July 7 vs. Brewers: Judge hits a 432-foot solo shot to center off LHP Josh Hader in the fourth inning of a 9-4 loss. His final blast before the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game broke the Yankees’ franchise rookie record of Joe DiMaggio, set in 1936.

12,483 feet. Judge’s homers would combine to land in New Jersey, more than spanning tre length of the George Washington Bridge on its way from Yankee Stadium.

Fournette saw accelerated work as a receiver through OTAs and minicamp, and he has impressed Marrone and the coaching staff with his natural feel to that aspect. After Ivory and Yeldon consistently produced a cloud of dust last season, the Jaguars are eager to maximize Fournette’s big-play ability by getting the ball in his hands in every way possible.
Elite Youth Steve Smith Sr Jersey
The Jaguars did not bring Denard Robinson back into the mix, and with at least one fullback needing to make the team, once Fournette has pushed aside Ivory and Yeldon, it’s matter of who becomes more expendable.

Elite Youth Pat Elflein Jersey Yeldon hasn’t show much upside, but he’s younger and cheaper and can do a little bit of everything to be an all-around backup to Fournette. Ivory’s skills are bit redundant with what Fournette can do much better on early downs between the tackles, and his age and contract weigh Ivory down further.

Read more

Mens Kent Tekulve Jersey
Monday night’s Home Run Derby will have not only a new look, with young sluggers such as Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger participating, but a new sound as well.
Mens Ramon Foster Jersey
Cubs fans had known that better than anyone, until the team snapped an 108-year drought last season. The Nationals are among the top contending teams this year, but injuries keep standing in their way.

Having already lost Trea Turner, Adam Eaton and Jayson Werth to the disabled list, Washington placed outfielder Michael Taylor on the DL Friday with an oblique strain. Oblique injuries have been all the rage in MLB this season, but the Nats could ill-afford another major loss.

Turner is out with a broken wrist. The timetable for his return is still unknown, but a multi-week absence is expected. Eaton, who the Nats acquired via a king’s ransom, is out for the season with a torn ACL. Werth is expected to start a rehab assignment soon, so he could return after the All-Star break.

Taylor, 26, had been starting in center field in place of Eaton. Many were starting to consider Taylor a bust because he had not been able to consistently take advantage of his opportunities. But this season has been different. Taylor was hitting .278 with 12 home runs and 35 RBIs before heading to the DL. He also pitched in 10 stolen bases and 40 runs scored.

Read more

The Raptors’ sluggish performance in Monday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals was nothing new, but at least it was better than the effort the Spurs displayed in a home rout to the Rockets.

Toronto dropped to 1-12 in playoff openers after falling 116-105 in Cleveland as they failed to stop LeBron James (35 points) and Kyrie Irving (24). The Raptors pulled within seven points in the third quarter before James knocked down a 3-pointer, converted a three-point play, then hit another jumper and considered washing it down with a beer.

As Lowry said, winning a ring is an important factor in his decision, but at the end of the day, you can’t ignore the money. That’s where the Raptors have an edge, as they can offer him a larger contract — five years, $205 million compared to four years, $152 million.

Although when asked if money will be in his decision-making process, Lowry said it’s not on his mind at the moment.

“I haven’t thought about any of that,” he said Monday. “Honestly, what I’ve thought about is, yes, I’ll opt out, and how I need to get better as a basketball player. That’s all I’ve thought about. And that I want a ring. That’s all that drives me.”

A ring could be possible with the Spurs, but it’s looking more unlikely with the Raptors. Expect Lowry to consider a shift to the other conference, but just because he’s thinking about it doesn’t mean he’ll jump. There are still plenty of good reasons to remain in Toronto.

10

Read more

Authentic Kevin Pierre-Louis Jersey
LeBron James wants to get the Cavaliers back to the NBA Finals for the third straight year, with a chance to repeat as champions.

But the Cavaliers are limping into the playoffs, going 10-14 since March 1 to lose control of the top seed in the Eastern Conference. James says he has the answer to turn things around, but he’s not sharing.

Hopefully the leak was solved; he had another procedure. It’s gone on for nearly two years. Very unusual, I believe, Lacob said. We feel really bad for him, the players. Everybody understands it. We just have to be in his court here and support whatever it takes for him to get back, and I’m sure they will eventually solve it. Hopefully sooner rather than later, and hopefully we’ll have him coaching on the court sooner rather than later.
Authentic Obi Melifonwu Jersey
Kerr, who did not travel with the team to Utah, missed his fifth straight game Saturday night as the Warriors took down the Jazz to take a 3-0 lead in the second-round series. The 51-year-old coach also missed the first 43 games of the 2015-16 season due complications from a pair of back surgeries in the summer of 2015.

The team had been optimistic he could return at some point during the playoffs, though Kerr admitted he won’t be back until he feels like he can stay for good.

Despite his absence, the team is getting along just fine without Kerr as assistant coach Mike Brown handles the coaching duties in his absence. Golden State is 7-0 in the playoffs, the longest winning streak in a single postseason in franchise history. The Warriors could complete their second straight sweep with a Game 4 win over Utah on Monday after eliminating Portland in four games in the opening round.

Read more

Kevin Durant said flatly after Game 1 of the Western Conference finals that, You can’t listen to people on Twitter, man. They’re irrational. And he has a point. But that doesn’t change the fact that the NBA has a problem, one that goes beyond the ankle injury suffered by star Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard on Sunday.

In case you missed it, the basics are these: With 7:55 to go in the third quarter and San Antonio leading by 21, Leonard went up for a shot in the left corner. Warriors big man Zaza Pachulia went out to challenge the shot, got a hand in the face of Leonard and had his foot come down in the vicinity of Leonard’s landing spot.

Kevin Durant doing Kevin Durant things. KD is the only Warriors starter shooting 50 percent or better from the field, and he’s grabbing the reigns of the offense with his team down 21 points midway through the second quarter. It’s not much, but it’s a sign of life.

Manu Ginobili is beating Green down the floor in transition. He is 39 years old. What is happening right now?
Elite Youth Alex Anzalone Jersey
Elite Youth Adam Gotsis Jersey Mike Brown calls a full timeout with 9:03 left in the second. Spurs 37, Warriors 19. San Antonio is shooting 57.7 percent (16 of 27) while the Warriors are down at 30.4 percent (7 of 24). And there’s this…

New Orleans — Retain their first rounder if 1-3 (otherwise it goes to Sacramento): This trade deadline’s biggest transaction sent DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans, and one of the pieces New Orleans included was their own first-round selection with top-three protection. New Orleans won’t end the season with one of the three worst records, but some good lottery luck could still be a possibility. If the Pelicans retain the pick this year, it has top-one protection from 2018 to 2020 and then would be unprotected in 2021.

Read more

Rockies (47-34) at Diamondbacks (50-30) 9:40 p.m. ET — The two NL wild card holders meet up in a series that promises to provide plenty of offense. Colorado had the day off Thursday, so they should be refreshed and ready for a competitive series. Arizona is fresh off a 10-4 loss against the Cardinals, so they will have to rebound quickly. The Rockies will send Jon Gray (0-0, 4.38 ERA) out to make his first start since April 13. He will face off against breakout star Robbie Ray (8-3, 2.87 ERA).
Kids Loui Eriksson Jersey
Kids Jaye Howard Jersey Why him? Because maybe, just maybe, if Goldschmidt won the derby in front of a national TV audience, people would finally start to understand how great of a player he has been for the Diamondbacks the past few years (here a quick stat: Goldschmidt leads the NL in fWAR, at 26.6, since 2013). Also, he has the longest home run of the year for any NL player, a 468-foot shot off Ivan Nova in mid-May (actually that one’s tied for the NL’s longest with Arizona teammate Jake Lamb, who hit his 468-foot homer off Tyler Anderson).

But Wilson grinded it out and showed his floor is very high when both he and his support weren’t right. That should make coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell feel confident that the next level of Wilson’s breakout was simply on delay. There were stellar results when the offense transitioned to be more pass-oriented down the stretch in 2015. There’s no reason to think Wilson won’t find that gear again with all those injuries gone.

With Lacy, there are some natural comparisons to Lynch. He at least looked the part of Beast Mode at times for the Packers, when his weight, which he appears now committed to keeping under control, didn’t affect his power. He was better than many thought in his last season in Green Bay, averaging 5.1 yards per carry before succumbing to an ankle injury.

Read more

Wilson was arrested near Toyota Stadium in suburban Frisco. There was a fireworks show and an FC Dallas game going on there at the time, but it is not clear as of yet whether that had anything to do with Wilson’s arrest.

The Cowboys have not yet commented on the situation.

The 24-year-old made headlines last July when he missed the beginning of training camp after being hit in the eye by a paintball.

He ended up playing in every game last season, making 34 tackles.

Welcome the first of the four rookie general managers (pending the Chiefs’ hire), and congratulate him on making such a good early impression. Lynch is generally considered to have owned his Bears’ counterpart on the draft-day trade down one spot from the second pick. Stockpiling picks and stripping down the roster gives him a little bit of a cushion, and a little bit of a honeymoon.

There’s a glimmer of hope now a year after Roseman’s return to power in the Eagles’ front office. After mortgaging so much of the future to get Carson Wentz as their franchise quarterback, Roseman snapped up Alshon Jeffery (albeit for one year) to help him and recently extended Jason Peters to protect him for the next few years. It likely will mean nothing in the standings, but the Eagles needed the overhaul post-Chip Kelly, and Roseman has been good enough so far.warriors_010-115x115

Read more

Yankees’ manager Billy Martin exited the visitor’s dugout to retrieve Torrez and call upon reliever Sparky Lyle to replace him. But what happened next is part of baseball lore and has been re-enacted in movies and TV shows.

Martin was so incensed with Jackson’s lackadaisical play in right that when he returned to the dugout, he told Paul Blair to run out and replace the right fielder. This surprised Blair, it surprised Jackson, it surprised the fans watching in the ballpark and it surprised everyone watching the game on TV.

Jackson was talking to the other pitchers in the bullpen when Blair made it out to right field. He turned around, saw Blair and asked him what he was doing there. When Blair told him, Jackson couldn’t believe it and his expression was shown clearly on television. He pointed at his chest and mouthed, Who me?
Authentic Youth Chris Pronger Jersey
After Jackson jogged back to the dugout, the manager and his star player nearly came to blows and they had to be separated by coach Elston Howard. Then, as Jackson made his way down the tunnel to the visitor’s clubhouse, Martin tried to go after him again. That time, he was held back by coaches Dick Howser and Yogi Berra.
Authentic Youth Nate Palmer Jersey
The only way I’ve been able to deal with the loss is joking about it. There’s not a scenario you could come up with in which I couldn’t make a Falcons Super Bowl joke out of it. I am now mentally wired this way now — same goes for many other Falcons fans. It somehow gets worked into damn near every conversation we could have.

In some ways, it’s easier for the players to get past it than the fans. They’re too busy working hard preparing for next season, while we’re sucked into trash tweets and reminders of that once-beautiful Sunday evening that turned into a nightmare.

Read more