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Bengals' three biggest needs following free agency
There are still a few big-name players on the open market, but with the bulk of NFL free agency over, teams must turn their attention to the 2024 draft.The Bengals did a nice job filling the holes on their roster with the additions of running back Zack Moss, tight end Mike Gesicki, defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins and safety Geno Stone.Here are Cincinnati's three biggest needs following free agency.Running backThe Bengals made the surprising decision to trade running back Joe Mixon to the Houston Texans this offseason. Adding Moss, who rushed for 794 yards and five touchdowns in 2023, will help...
Nuggets' Michael Porter Jr. breaks silence on NBA investigating his brother
Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr. is convinced that his younger brother, Jontay Porter, wouldn't do anything to jeopardize his NBA career. After the Nuggets' 104-97 loss to the Suns on Wednesday, MPJ addressed the gambling allegations leveled against his brother for which he is under investigation by the NBA."I know Jontay loves the game of basketball," Porter Jr. told reporters. "He's been really excited to play with the Raptors. At this point, I know as much as you guys know [about NBA's investigation].""I've known my brother my whole life. I know what type of dude he is and I know he's...
CJ McCollum credits Lakers for Pelicans' turnaround this season
It's not often a team can pinpoint the exact moment in a season that catapulted its turnaround. But the Pelicans (45-28) know well that their loss to the Lakers in the semifinals of the in-season tournament was their watershed moment. On that early December night, the Pelicans were destroyed 133-89 by the Lakers, causing many in the media to write them off as a playoff contender. ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith poked fun at Zion Williamson's weight, suggesting that the Duke product wasn't committed to being a pro. Others urged the Pelicans to blow up the team. Some even sympathized with coach...
Hawks' Dejounte Murray on taking 44 shots: 'Kobe would be proud of me'
Dejounte Murray willed the Hawks to an improbable overtime win over the Celtics on Thursday night. With his undermanned Atlanta squad going up against the Boston juggernaut, Murray took a whopping 44 shots to match his points tally of 44, which included a go-ahead bucket with 0.1 seconds left to ice the game.Murray's volume shooting and clutch performance were reminiscent of the late Kobe Bryant, who holds the record for most field goals attempted (50) in a game besides three other times he took over 45 shots. By jacking 44 shots, Murray tied for the seventh most in an NBA game since...
Watch: Red Sox outfielder Tyler O’Neill makes MLB history on Opening Day
Acquired this offseason in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox outfielder Tyler O'Neill wasted no time making history in his new uniform.In the eighth inning versus the Seattle Mariners, O'Neill smashed a home run to right center and became the first player in major league history to hit a home run on Opening Day in five consecutive seasons. Tyler O'Neill is the first player in MLB history to homer in five straight #OpeningDay games! pic.twitter.com/qOwIKjvYZA— MLB (@MLB) March 29, 2024 Dealt from the Cardinals after struggling with injuries over the last two seasons, the 28-year-old outfielder hopes to...
Watch: Massive three-point swing helps No. 4 Alabama stun No. 1 North Carolina in Sweet 16
Alabama secured its first trip to the Elite Eight after a massive three-point swing late in the second half helped the Crimson Tide pull away from No. 1 North Carolina in a shocker, 89-87, in the Sweet 16.North Carolina led Thursday's Sweet 16 contest by one point, 85-84, with a minute remaining in regulation. However, Jae'Lyn Withers followed an inexplicable three-point attempt with 15 seconds left on the shot clock with a foul on the other end, leading to a three-point play for Alabama. GRANT NELSON IS ON FIRE BAMA LEADS AGAIN.#MarchMadness @AlabamaMBB pic.twitter.com/DqRZvQRA1m— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 29, 2024 Center...
Thursday's NCAA men's tournament Sweet 16 takeaways: New faces going to the Elite Eight
The Sweet 16 of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament kicked off on Thursday night with a couple of No. 1 seeds in action and a rematch of last year's national championship game. One of those No. 1 seeds (UConn) is moving on. One of them (North Carolina) is not. We take a look at all of that and more with some takeaways from Thursday's action.Some new teams reaching the Elite EightWe are used to seeing Clemson and Alabama play each other for national titles on the football field.Now we get to see them do so on the hardwood.Both teams punched...
Watch: Diamondbacks set franchise record with 14-run inning
The Arizona Diamondbacks took a huge step forward in 2023 by winning the National League pennant and making their first World Series appearance in more than two decades. They have a chance to be even better this season and made a pretty big statement against the Colorado Rockies in their season opener. It was during the third inning that the Diamondbacks set a franchise record by scoring 14 runs as they jumped out to a 16-1 lead.The Diamondbacks sent 18 batters to plate in the frame, batting around two entire times and collecting 13 hits against three different Rockies pitchers.Here is a look at all 13 hits from the inning. All 13 hits from our record-breaking inning. pic.twitter.com/VQu9ziNYpp— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) March 29, 2024 Amazingly, the inning did not include a single home run, though it did include five different hits with an exit velocity of 100 mile per hour or higher. It was an incredible start for a Diamondbacks team that should be considered a bonafide World Series contender. And it was a terrible start for a Rockies team that might be one of the worst clubs in baseball.
Watch: MLB umpires already in midseason form with horrendous missed call in Cubs/Rangers game
Barely a day into the 2024 MLB season, umpires are already under fire for an egregious error. During Thursday's Opening Day matchup between the Chicago Cubs and the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers, a blunder by home plate umpire Chad Fairchild nearly changed the game's outcome. With two outs in the ninth of a 2-2 ballgame, Fairchild ruled what should have been a foul ball a passed ball, leading to the Cubs' go-ahead run. Looks like the umps missed a call here, not calling this a foul ballInstead the Cubs score the go-ahead run and Jonah Heim isn't pleased pic.twitter.com/Af2CHT4RLT— Talkin’...
Watch: Dejounte Murray buries Celtics with .1 seconds left in OT on career night
The Boston Celtics have already clinched the top seed in the East. They better hope the Atlanta Hawks don’t come out of the play-in. DEJOUNTE MURRAY PUTS ATLANTA ON TOP WITH 0.1 LEFT IN OT!Get to the NBA App: https://t.co/SKcVXNJBFv pic.twitter.com/6rNqjhjl9E— NBA (@NBA) March 29, 2024 Dejounte Murray had a career-high 44 points, along with the game-winning shot in overtime, as the Hawks beat the Celtics for the second straight time. Monday, the 10th-place Hawks came back from down 30 points to win. Thursday’s game was a back-and-forth affair that wasn’t settled until Murray hit his jumper, his 10th and 11th points of...
Rockets are surging, but bettors are slow to show their support
Everyone around the NBA is impressed by what the Houston Rockets are pulling off, climbing into play-in territory as the Golden State Warriors stumble.But not too many bettors are buying into the Rockets, even with their championship odds still at +100000 (1,000-1) at some sportsbooks, including ESPN BET, and reduced to +50000 at others."We haven't seen much interest in the Houston Rockets to win the NBA Championship," said Kevin Hennessy of Fanatics Sportsbook, which has Ime Udoka's team listed at +50000, the same odds as the Chicago Bulls (35-38), Atlanta Hawks (33-39) and Utah Jazz (29-44).The Bulls and Hawks are...
UConn continues historic run of dominance after rout of San Diego State
Some basketball teams have a big home-court advantage. The UConn Huskies are unstoppable at a neutral site. The University of Connecticut men’s basketball team has won 16 consecutive neutral site games, with all 16 wins coming by double digits. https://t.co/xfTMyJ0pN8— No Escalators (@NoEscalators) March 29, 2024 The University of Connecticut has won nine straight NCAA Tournament games, all by double digits, dating back to last year’s run to the title. It’s the 16th straight game they’ve won at a neutral site, all of those by double digits as well.Thursday night was more of the same. In a rematch of last season’s title...
Watch: Kendall Diggs' three-run blast lifts Arkansas to victory over LSU
Arkansas and LSU were locked in a fierce top 10 battle at Baum-Walker Stadium on Thursday night, but it was Arkansas infielder Kendall Diggs who had the final say. With Arkansas clinging to a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, Diggs put a ball into orbit on an 0-2 count with two fellow Razorbacks on base. WHOAAAA DIGGGSSSSY pic.twitter.com/xQ7vVs1wP4— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) March 29, 2024 The homer further exemplifies Diggs' history of clutch hits, with the slugger knocking home walkoff wins over Texas A&M in last year's SEC Tournament and against Illinois State earlier in the season. The three-run home run...
No. 2 Arizona beat themselves in Sweet 16 upset to No. 6 Clemson
Powered by an outrageous defensive effort and a massive night from guard Chase Hunter, No. 6 Clemson punched its ticket to the Elite Eight, earning a 77-72 upset victory over No. 2 Arizona on Thursday. However, when the Wildcats look back at this one, they'll see they essentially beat themselves. There is something to be said about a player, or a team, that's unafraid to keep firing, even if the ball isn't going in. However, Arizona took it to the extreme. Far too often, they freelanced into a terrible shot, resulting in a 37.3 shooting percentage from the field (25-of-67) and a horrid...
Former Ohio State WR commit being chased by Florida schools, UGA
Hailing from Cocoa Florida, it's not all that surprising that four-star wide receiver Jayvan Boggs could end up staying in the state.After all, when he was committed to Ohio State, he was looking at playing for a university basically on the other side of the world as far as a high school recruiting is concerned. Yes, Ohio State is one of the best college football programs in the country, but proximity to home can never be discounted as a factor on the recruiting trail.Boggs decommitted from OSU on March 26th and now the likes of MIami, Florida and UCF are...
Tigers' Tarik Skubal is already dealing to start the 2024 season
Much of the talk of the potential success the Detroit Tigers could have in 2024 has centered around starting pitcher Tarik Skubal and his ability to be a Cy Young-worthy pitcher.When his stuff is good, there are few pitchers in MLB better than the 27-year-old lefty.The good news for Detroit was that his stuff looked great all spring. Even better news? Skubal picked off right where he let off in spring training on Opening Day.Getting the start against the division-rival Chicago White Sox, Skubal was absolutely on fire. He pitched six innings of shutout baseball with no walks and six...
Opening Day winners and losers: Orioles shine, Giants disappoint
The 2024 MLB season kicked off in earnest on Thursday and featured dominant performances by the AL's and NL's best, a thriller in Houston and an unlikely hero in Cincinnati.Here are our winners and losers from Opening Day.WINNERCorbin Burnes dominates, Orioles are as good as advertisedBaltimore traded for Burnes during the offseason after its excellent 2023 season ended in disappointment when it was swept by the Rangers, 3-0, in the ALDS. The Orioles appear ready to improve on last season's run after ripping the Angels 11-3 in their home opener. Burnes had 11 strikeouts and allowed only one hit — a...
Watch: Rangers' World Series banner unveiling leaves a lot to be desired
The Texas Rangers finally won their first World Series in 2023 and continued the celebration on Thursday. They opened their 2024 title defense with a home opener against the Chicago Cubs and a banner-raising ceremony.The only problem?The banner seemed to leave a little to be desired. It’s a banner day in Rangers history. pic.twitter.com/Wpebn7F4vf— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) March 28, 2024 Not only did it seem to get stuck when it was being unveiled, but that just seems to be ... lacking. In size. In its design. In excitement. It just does not have any sort of a wow factor to it.The team and its fans waited decades for this moment. The organization had all offseason to design it. It just seems to miss the mark.Granted, Rangers fans probably do not care because they finally get to experience a championship moment. It is just unfortunate they did not get a banner to match the moment.
Did Brian Kelly just spoil which team will draft LSU QB Jayden Daniels?
With USC quarterback Caleb Williams all but guaranteed to go No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears, it appears the Washington Commanders are down to either North Carolina QB Drake Maye or LSU QB Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 pick.But LSU head coach Brian Kelly may have spoiled the surprise about where his Heisman Trophy-winning signal caller will end up during the Tigers’ pro day as he hyped Daniels up and tried to dispel any concerns about his 210-pound frame, which was closer to 185 pounds during the season.“[Daniels] is going to be so committed to taking care of...
Assessing MLB super-agent Scott Boras' forgettable spring
Scott Boras is the most (in)famous agent in MLB history, having engineered mega-deals for stars Alex Rodriguez, Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg, among many others.This offseason, however, things did not go as planned for Boras and his clients, who signed deals below what their agent most likely wanted. Contracts signed by Boras clients since Spring Training began: Cody Bellinger: 3 years, $80M w/ opt-outsBlake Snell: 2 years, $62M w/ an opt-outMatt Chapman: 3 years, $54M w/ opt-outsJD Martinez: 1 year, $12MJordan Montgomery: 1 year, $25M w/ a vesting player option pic.twitter.com/th6KlE3yhO— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 27, 2024 Let's assess how Boras clients...
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