Author: Michael

The day that Reds fans have long been waiting for finally came on Tuesday, as star prospect Elly De La Cruz made his first career start in the big leagues. 
The 21-year-old third baseman, who recently hit a home run over a scoreboard in the minors, got on base twice with walks and also got his first career hit—a scorched double that he made look way too easy. 
Even better for the Reds, they were able to score three runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9–8.
Let’s get back to De La Cruz’s first hit because all of it was impressive.

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When the Women’s College World Series championship kicks off Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET, No. 1 Oklahoma will try to cap a historic season with a third consecutive title, while No. 3 Florida State will do everything it can to prevent that.
Here’s the rundown for the best-of-three series.
Just How Good Is Oklahoma?
It’s almost impossible to understate it. This is potentially the best team in the history of the sport. The Sooners are 59–1 with a record 51-game win streak (and counting).

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It’s Corbin Day, and here at SI, that means we are going over.
The Nationals will host the Diamondbacks tonight at National Park in D.C. Lefty Patrick Corbin gets the start today, and those who follow this column know that we always bet the over when Corbin starts. It cashes nearly every time, and we aren’t going to mess with what’s been working. Corbin’s ERA for this season is 4.92, but his xERA is 6.11, and tonight he faces a D-backs team that has scored the sixth-most runs per game this season (5.03). Arizona owns the ninth-best batting average vs.

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BATON ROUGE, La. – Either way, LSU pitcher Paul Skenes’ life will be centered around jet fuel.
At the moment, he is throwing it for the Tigers. He hit 101.2 mph on his 124th and final pitch for the last out in the ninth inning against Tulane last Friday in an NCAA Regional opener. And he was not pitching on fumes by any means in his longest outing of the season. Skenes hit 100.02 and 100.15 earlier in the count against that last batter in his 7-2 win.
Oh, and Paul Skenes mixed in an 89 mph slider to Brennan Lambert just before he grounded out to shortstop to end the game.

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The cliché of football being a young man’s game might not apply to inside linebackers.
Bobby Wagner, Demario Davis and Lavonte David are all 32 or older, but the trio continued to play at a high level for their respective teams in 2022.
NFL teams are playing fewer off-ball linebackers nowadays, but they’re asking more from them. The ones who tend to succeed in today’s game are the ones who can contribute in many areas, from pass rushing to run stopping to playing in coverage. That’s why Wagner, Davis and David remain three of the best linebackers in the league.

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As we enter the lone remaining hibernation period on the NFL’s calendar, there is one lingering question for which I’m struggling to find an answer: Why aren’t we talking more about the cataclysmic impact the Cardinals could have on this NFL season?
Think about the most important benchmarks on the coming NFL calendar (the trade deadline, free agency and the massively anticipated 2024 draft), and ask yourself how Arizona could avoid becoming a major player in all three. It all comes back to Pepe Silvia.

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PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Max Homa smiles during a press conference following practice for the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club on February 15, 2023. | Photo by Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
The PGA Tour star loves to crack jokes on social media. He continued to do so even with the golf world crumbling around him.
Max Homa has one of the most charming personalities on the PGA Tour.
He is quick-witted too.

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Let’s rank the top free agents in the NBA.
Young NBA superstars don’t hit free agency like they used to, but championships can still be won or lost with signings in the offseason. This summer’s free agent crop is headlined by several big-name veterans expected to hit the open market, and includes plenty intriguing talents available at a variety of price points.
When we did this list a year ago, Jalen Brunson was ranked No. 7, Nicolas Claxton was No. 21, Kevon Looney was No. 30, Malik Monk was No. 32, and Caleb Martin was ranked No. 37.

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Last Thursday, as SEC officials readied to make a grand announcement on their football scheduling format, another news item, this one much more important, filtered through the labyrinth of conference rooms from the league’s meetings in Florida.
Minutes before commissioner Greg Sankey took to the podium to announce the conference’s plan to remain at eight conference games for the 2024 football season, the California State Assembly passed a bill that would require its NCAA Division I schools—there are 26 of them—to share revenue with athletes.

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Jimmy Butler can shoulder his team to the NBA Finals. Once he gets there, the eccentric Butler relishes the moment.
Butler showed off his signature sense of humor on Tuesday during a Finals presser.
As Miami big man Bam Adebayo talked to the press, Butler stood to the side and flashed his bum at Adebayo.
It was a different side for Adebayo and online audiences to see from a man with plenty of character.
Butler manages to blend strange and fearless during basketball’s greatest series. Butler must surely be feeling good about the Heat’s odds on Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets.

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