Author: Michael

1. ESPN baseball reporter Buster Olney got a lot of people on social media all riled up because he asked Angels manager Phil Nevin about the team’s possibly trading Shohei Ohtani during an in-game interview on Sunday Night Baseball.

“It’s all business.”
Phil Nevin on Shohei Ohtani’s future with the Angels. pic.twitter.com/pt2H8s3Nvh
— ESPN (@espn) July 17, 2023

The backlash Olney is getting is absurd. Ohtani is having an all-time season and has gotten more coverage than any player in the league this year.

Trailing 11–3 heading into the ninth inning of Sunday’s game against the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs manager David Ross turned to journeyman catcher Tucker Barnhart on the mound to get his team’s final three outs. The result: One of the funniest pitches of the year.
Barnhart, making his second appearance of the season on the mound, turned to an eephus pitch to fool Red Sox hitters. 11 of his 12 pitches registered at under 45 miles per hour (the lone exception was a fastball that clocked in at 74.8 mph), with the slowest coming in at just 37.6 mph.

Elly De La Cruz has only been in the majors for six weeks, but plays like the one he made on Sunday are a big reason why he’s quickly becoming a household name. 
The Reds rookie is a true five-tool player. He’s stolen three bases on two pitches, hit for the cycle, beaten out a routine grounder and hit some tape measure home runs. In Sunday’s game against the Brewers, he showed off yet another one of his elite skills: his throwing arm. 
In the top of the third inning, Milwaukee center fielder Joey Wiemer hit a grounder between third and short.

Micah Parsons is an NFL star, a millionaire and, apparently, a momma’s boy. And a resourceful one at that. 
The Cowboys pass rusher, who is active on Twitter, was expressing his fondness of Netflix’s new docuseries, Quarterback, on the social media website when someone commented that they’re surprised he hasn’t complained about the price of Netflix yet. Parsons’s response on Sunday was nothing short of hilarious. 
“My mom still Pays for my phone bill and Netflix brother! Save what you can ! #momma’sboy,” Parsons wrote on Twitter.

Are the Braves closer to the 1927 Yankees or the 2001 Mariners? The postseason will decide whether this loaded Atlanta team will become famous or a footnote. By establishing themselves as the clear favorite to win the World Series, the Braves will take the most pressure into the postseason.
It’s not just that the Braves are on pace to win a franchise-record 107 games, even after losing two straight home games for the first time in two months this weekend against the White Sox. It is how the Braves are winning—with historic dominance.
Atlanta leads the major leagues in home runs and ERA.

Joel Embiid answered a routine question during a speaking event last week, but he didn’t give a routine answer.
The 76ers star and reigning NBA MVP appeared to hint that he might not spend his entire career in Philadelphia, leading to speculation by observers.
Embiid was promoting the launch of his Miniature Géant Studio while at the first annual Uninterrupted Film Festival at NeueHouse Hollywood on Thursday when he was asked what people can expect from him over the course of his career. 
“I just wanna win a championship.

Photo by Frey/TPN/Getty Images
Carlos Alcaraz’s Wimbledon championship proves greatness doesn’t have to wait.
Carlos Alcaraz skipped the line.
So often in sports, before a team or athlete has their big breakthrough, you hear about paying dues, getting playoff reps, failure before success; the old Michael-Jordan-having-to-get-past-the-Pistons analogy. But, sometimes, real greatness isn’t that patient.
At 20-years-old, Alcaraz is already a two-time Grand Slam champion and, in 2022, became the youngest world No. 1 in the history of men’s tennis.

Joel Embiid put 76ers on clock by hinting at trade request.
Joel Embiid is firmly in the prime of his career. The superstar center finally won NBA MVP this past season after consecutive second place finishes. He will turn 30 years old in March. There’s only one thing missing on Embiid’s resume at this point: an NBA championship.
Embiid’s lack of success in the NBA Playoffs is hard to ignore. He’s never even reached the conference finals since the Philadelphia 76ers drafted him in 2014.

ESPN is in need of a new host for Monday NFL Countdown after the network recently parted ways with host Suzy Kolber after 27 years. She hosted the show from 2015 until last year.
The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand reported Monday that ESPN is considering Scott Van Pelt and Laura Rutledge as top candidates to replace Kolber.
Van Pelt has been with ESPN since 2001 and is widely known now for hosting the midnight edition of SportsCenter since 2015.

Here’s what I believe to be a fair reading of the Titans over the past six-or-so months: They replaced one general manager with another, who may be a little more willing to side with Mike Vrabel on the coach’s vision for personnel and the state of the team.