Monthly Archives: August 2017

Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell killed 5-year, $60M deal his agent OK’d, report says

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Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell killed a five-year, $60 million deal his agent agreed to with the team at the July 17 NFL deadline for players to sign long-term contracts, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Friday.

The Steelers wrapped up their training camp in Latrobe, Pa., on Friday with Bell still holding out.

“I think the coaches are allowing me to rest it and allow it to heal. I don’t think it will be a problem during the season because it’s starting to heal up really good right now.”

The Redskins had placed Reed on the PUP list the day before training camp started as he battled a sprained big toe and ankle.

Reed’s return is good news for Kirk Cousins and Washington’s offense. Reed has 153 catches, 1,638 yards and 17 touchdowns the past two seasons despite missing six games.

Peterman entered Saturday’s preseason matchup against the Ravens after Taylor exited the game in the first quarter with a head injury. While the Bills have seemingly made Taylor the team’s starter for the regular season opener Sept. 10 against the Jets, his return could be delayed. In the meantime, the team wants Peterman to get comfortable and work on making improvements should he be needed.

“I got all of the reps (Sunday), so that’s helpful for me,” Peterman said. “The more reps I can get, the more ways I can see a live defense against our plays, and how they react, especially against a one-defense, where they react pretty fast. I think it was helpful for me.”

“That’s obviously why I’m here. It’s my job to be ready,” Peterman said. “I’m going to help the team as much as I can to be ready.”

Peterman, 23, was a fifth-round pick out of Pittsburgh in this year’s draft.
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Dirk Nowitzki will reportedly take a massive pay cut to re-sign with Mavericks

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The Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki are reportedly nearing an agreement on a two-year deal worth $10 million that could bring the perennial All-Star back past his 20th season in the NBA. The contract is a massive pay cut for Nowitzki, who earned $25 million last season alone.

The Celtics and Wizards really, really hate each other.
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Marcus Smart and Jae Crowder had serious beef with John Wall and Bradley Beal all of last season. They’ve had pushing matches, Crowder poked Wall in the face, and there were more pushing matches and some scuffles mixed throughout as well as infinite amounts of trash talking.

It’s highly unlikely that this beef is said and done with as long as Smart and Crowder are still with the Celtics next season. So the Morrii will have to either fight against each other or sit out of the trash-talking battles between the teams.

The Morris twins could flip jerseys. In the heat of the conflict, nobody would notice. They are so identical, I have no way of describing it except the fact that they have IDENTICAL TATTOOS. Like seriously, how do their friends tell them apart?
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Anyway, if they flipped jerseys they could totally mess around, quarrel with teammates, then reveal themselves and show how dumb this beef is.

BUT, the beef is fun. So hopefully, the Morris conundrum only fuels the fire.

What the Seattle Sonics’ roster would look like if there was a 2017 expansion draft

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We were a little surprised not only that Matthews was available, but that he fell this far. He is a guy who can flat out shoot the ball. He actually had an up year last season, averaging 13.5 ppg while also handing out a career-high 2.9 assists. If we can get that kind of production, this pick will be justified.

Because of the advantages of restricted free agency, the Wolves don’t have to pay Wiggins this summer. Minnesota can play out the season and assess where the club fits in a top-heavy West. Perhaps some glaring hole (shooting?) will show itself, and the Wolves can consider the trade market for Wiggins at midseason.

The Kyrie Irving rumors continue to swirl given that player’s interest in joining Butler. There’s a chance that finding NBA team success for the first time in a winning season could convince Wiggins to keep the team together by taking a salary haircut. That doesn’t seem his style and frankly shouldn’t be encouraged for tax-saving purposes. But it’s possible.

There’s no rush here. The worst that can happen by waiting is for the Wolves to extend a max offer sheet to a somewhat annoyed Wiggins in July 2018, bringing him back at the salary he wanted all along. There are worse things. Chances are Wiggins gets his max deal one way or another, but there’s no impetus on the Wolves to lock it in now.

Brandon Marshall Jersey If a truly blockbuster deal 鈥?for Irving or someone else 鈥?comes along in the meantime, the flexibility may be worth having.

Ian Clark, Pelicans agree to 1-year contract, per report

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Limited Mens Pierre Garcon Jersey Ian Clark, an NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, is heading to the New Orleans Pelicans on a one-year deal, according to the Vertical’s Shams Charania. The contract is worth $1.6 million.

Clark spent the last two seasons with Golden State and played a role off the bench. In his first season with the Warriors he shot 36 percent from three-point range and averaged four points per game, and last year he averaged seven points in 15 minutes.

Ultimately, he became a more replaceable bench player in his contract year, as rookie Patrick McCaw had a breakout playoffs performance. The Warriors chose to spend their spare cap money on another shooter in Nick Young.
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For the Pelicans, Clark should have a larger role as a good three-point shooter on a team with few good three-point shooters. He’ll likely battle Jordan Crawford and E’Twaun Moore for minutes on the wing.

At first we were pretty nervous, Redden said. The Bills fans, they can get pretty crazy out there.

As the start of the anthem approached, they ran into armed men near the stadium. They said that members of the Sheriff’s Office told them where to stand and threatened to detain them. Redden raised a black fist and kept pushing. They found their way to Gate 5. The anthem rang, everyone in the group of protestors got down on one knee just as Kaepernick did on the sideline, then hundreds of fans booed.

It was pretty intense, Heany said. There were a lot of people, young white guys, who were being real antagonistic. Yelling things. Pointing at our faces. Once it ended, We packed it up and got outta there pretty quick.

Ryan Tannehill will have season-ending knee surgery

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Ryan Tannehill went down with a knee injury during a Dolphins training camp practice on Thursday. Early reports said Tannehill’s knee hadn’t suffered any structural damage, but Tannehill will need season-ending surgery on his ACL, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Kelly’s injury occurred last Thursday in a joint practice session with the Lions. At the time, the team thought that rest would take care of the problem, and Kelly would only be out a few weeks. Apparently rest wasn’t going to be enough.

Sound familiar? It should. The Colts went through something similar with Luck. After injuring his shoulder in 2015, the team was adamant that its franchise quarterback would not need surgery. Luck ended up having surgery in January.

Losing Kelly is a problem for the Colts, who have been struggling to piece together a quality offensive line for years now. Kelly was a building block in that effort.

So what do the Colts do without Kelly? Backup center Brian Schwenke is on the PUP list, so the next man up might not even be on the team right now. Free agent Jeremy Zuttah was already on their radar. Even if they don’t follow through with Zuttah, this will likely force their hand to bring in another free agent.

There’s still no indication of when Luck will return. Now, the Colts are in the same situation with Kelly. Throw in the other injuries the team is dealing with, and you can probably expect them to contend for the bottom of the AFC South … unless Blake Bortles has something to say about that.
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Gary Bettman says no progress on NHL’s 2018 Olympics talk: ‘Assume we’re not going’

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With negotiations between the NHL and International Olympic Committee at a stalemate, and neither side showing signs of budging anytime soon, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday it’s safe to assume the league won’t participate in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

In his latest update on progress (or the lack thereof) in talks, Bettman maintained the same pessimistic stance he’s held since the parties last met in early February.
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By adding a You Can Play ambassador to each of its 30 teams earlier this year, the NHL continued to show that it’s serious about its efforts to create a catchall setting. In the NHL’s release announcing the decision, Wade Davis, the director of professional sports outreach for You Can Play, outlined how aligning with the NHL helps on a broader level.

We are extremely proud of the work these teams and players are doing to promote respect for the LGBTQ community, Davis said. These You Can Play/Pride games and PSAs during Hockey is For Everyone month are a powerful reminder of how partnerships like the one between the NHL, NHLPA, and You Can Play can have a major positive impact on millions of players, staff members, and fans worldwide.

Jordan Richards Limited Jersey The Stars’ public stance was commended by You Can Play in comments made to Yahoo Sports on Thursday.

It’s unlikely many people would chastise the NHL should it wait to make a final decision until this bill is put to vote, and a decision, one way or the other, is come to. But this is an issue that hits home to the hockey community and one the league can be a role model in by preempting any official legislative judgment.

That means it’s good enough for our standards.

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Technically, this isn’t news. The idea that teams would be interested in a young, cheap pitcher who is under contract for the next few years shouldn’t surprise anyone. But it is a rumor, and we have one of the biggest teams in baseball linked to him.

A low-cost starter for years to pair with Jose Quintana and Kyle Hendricks. Those three would combine to make about as much as a No. 4 starter for the next three years, which would allow them to spend big on other free agents. Bryce Harper. Clayton Kershaw when he opts out. Manny Machado (who would play fifth base). Really, it doesn’t matter. The Cubs have money, and they would have even more of it if 60 percent of their rotation came cheap.

But they would also love to have a good starting pitcher, as would every team. Lugo just might be that guy. Did we talk about the spin rate? Frrrrrrrrrrrrr, it spins so much!

Elite Youth Christopher Gibson Jersey This evokes Who’s On First? in a big way, which is fun. Too bad Hu is a pitcher and doesn’t actually play first base. It’s a nice joke about the homonymic nature of his name, and hopefully the announcers take advantage of the weekend to make a lot of puns in the booth.
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Not only did Kyle Seager mock his own relative obscurity when compared to his brother, but he also insulted his sibling in the process of explaining the decision to put his name on his back.

Get it? Like Beef Wellington? Because his name is Wellington? He loses a few fake points here because it was already his nickname but it’s a great nickname that makes us laugh so it belongs in the Top 10.

White Sox vs. Dodgers odds 2017: Los Angeles looking to continue payout run at home

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are 10-1 in their last 11 home games. The Dodgers are likely to keep their red hot streak alive when they host the Chicago White Sox Tuesday night.

Authentic Kids Jonathan Ogden Jersey Los Angeles is a -340 home favorite at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. On the season, the Dodgers are 49-14 in 63 home games. Alex Wood will take the mound for the Dodgers against Miguel Gonzalez and the White Sox as +300 underdogs.

With an 83-34 record so far this season, the Dodgers are running away with the top seed in the National League. Entering Tuesday’s action with a 12.5-game lead over the Washington Nationals for the best record in the NL and an 18-game lead for the NL West division title, there doesn’t appear to be much drama in store for Los Angeles until the postseason begins.

As usual, a random season from the ’90s snuck with the raw numbers, with 1998 producing eight different All-Star-caliber seasons. The names are fun, too, with Sammy Sosa (in that season), Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero, Larry Walker, and Bobby Abreu, all of whom have valid arguments for the Hall of Fame.
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In 1969, though, with the mounds lowered, pitchers got to face …

And Rusty Staub! I was nervous that I wasn’t getting the ’60s involved (and justifying it by assuming the pitching would be the representative in a future column), so this will do beautifully. Aaron, Robinson, Clemente all in their primes at the same time is all you need to say, really. That’s a Golden Age that will be nearly impossible to top.

I will pretend that I care about the DH long enough to point out that Frank Thomas and Edgar Martinez were both doing excellent things in 2000, and David Ortiz was just getting started. That’s a Golden Age. Done.

Dolphins coach Adam Gase: Ryan Tannehill will ‘absolutely’ be back for 2018

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Ryan Tannehill is out for the 2017 season, but Dolphins coach Adam Gase fully expects him to be ready for the 2018 season.

Tannehill will have season-ending surgery on his knee to repair a partially torn ACL he sustained in practice, which was a devastating blow for the Dolphins.

When the quarterback informed Gase that he would opt to have surgery, Gase said it was a tough pill to swallow.

“It was probably tougher for me because it’s more and more real,” Gase said, via the Miami Herald. “The fact that it’s him — he knows his body, he knows how he feels. It’s unfortunate for him. He’s worked so hard to be available for us. Those guys put in a lot of work during the offseason to get to this point.”

Trubisky completed his first 10 passes in the Bears’ 24-17 loss to the Broncos on Thursday. He finished the night 18 for 25 for 166 yards, a touchdown, and one flawlessly run two-minute drill.

Whether the former North Carolina Tar Heel turns into Brady remains to be seen, but Ditka sure sees a lot in the young man, and he’s seen some good quarterbacks in his day.

Trubisky will get his shot to prove his first time out wasn’t a fluke when the Bears travel to Phoenix to take on the Cardinals on Aug. 19.

Altman doesn’t want to get ripped off, and from all accounts, the Cavaliers are willing to hold on to Irving if they don’t get a deal they like.

They say the most popular player on a team with a struggling offense is the backup quarterback. Fans of every NFL team over the years (at some point) have endured frustrating, shaky play from somebody who should never have been thrown into the fire.

Looking back on the history of all 32 teams and looking at all the quarterbacks who got a long enough look as the No. 1, here are the ones who burned them most.
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Yankees acquire pitcher Jaime Garcia

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The Yankees have added a dependable starter with postseason experience to their rotation, acquiring left-handed starter Jaime Garcia from the Twins.

Garcia had spent less than a week with the Twins after being acquired July 24 in a deal wth the Braves.

He gave it a shot [Tuesday night], Black said. He got up and threw, but it wasn’t going to happen. This is one of those Mother Nature things.

Signed by the Rockies to a one-year, $7 million deal after missing all of 2016 recovering from Tommy John surgery, Holland, 31, is having a huge season.

Game Kids Kurt Warner Jersey In addition to converting 33 of 34 save opportunities, he has 50 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings, a 1.64 ERA and 1.04 WHIP for Colorado, which is tied for the NL wild-card lead.

Left-handers Chris Rusin and Jake McGee, with one each, are the only other Rockies relievers with saves.

Holland had 125 saves from 2013-15 with the Royals before hurting his elbow.

Let’s start with this: Verlander, 34, is owed a lot of money over the next couple years. He’ll bring in approximately $10 million for the rest of 2017, then he’s guaranteed $28 million next year and $28 million in 2019, too, with a vesting option for $22 million for 2020 that automatically kicks in if he finishes in the top five of the 2019 Cy Young vote.

Game Kids Moritz Boehringer Jersey No team is going to pay his entire salary and give up an elite prospect or two. That’s just not going to happen. So the question is this: Can the Tigers find the right money/prospects balance with any team? More on that in a moment.