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Brittney Griner is back in WNBA, and she is playing as well as ever
After being detained in a Russian prison for over nine months, Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner is back in the WNBA and playing as well as ever. Despite an 0-2 start for the Mercury, Griner is putting up big numbers and maintaining her status as one of the best players in the world.
Through two games, Griner is sixth in the WNBA in scoring, averaging 22.5 points per game and is averaging eight rebounds per game through the first couple of games in the 2023 season.
Author: Michael
Now, a word about the state of starting pitching: abysmal.
Injuries, six-man rotations and the curtailing of workloads are continuing a decade-long trend of sapping the glamour out of the role, not to mention the effectiveness.
As former GM and pitcher Ed Lynch likes to say, pitcher is the only position in sports for which we build a literal pedestal. For many years the biggest draw to sell tickets was simply the starting pitching matchup. Now, starting pitching is increasingly a losing proposition.
Carmelo Anthony’s retirement announcement on Monday has the basketball world expressing its appreciation for his impressive career.
Kevin Durant joined that party in a way only Durant could, popping on Instagram to roast his former Team USA teammate. Durant shared two pictures of himself playing against Anthony during his prime with the Knicks, labeling one, with Anthony defending him, as a foul and the other, with him defending Anthony, as an offensive foul. He also threw in a screenshot of an old Instagram comment in which Anthony jokingly called Durant a “milk dud head a–.
The NFL might not be done suspending people for violating the league’s gambling policy.
Individuals involved with the NFL, including staff and players, are strictly prohibited from gambling on any sports. The only gambling players may do is non-sports related gambling at legal casinos, such as blackjack or slots, according to the league’s written policy.
So far, seven players have received suspensions of varying severity for violating this policy. The most famous example was Calvin Ridley getting an entire year for making relatively small bets on NFL games.
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Could this actually happen?
It goes without saying that both Mercedes and Ferrari are a bit of a mess in 2023, and that phraseology is extremely generous. Any hopes of challenging Red Bull this season are out the window, and it’s reached the point where Fernando Alonso’s breakout for Aston Martin has bumped them into second place in the constructors’ championship, leaving two of F1’s most popular teams in their wake.
A shake up is needed — and Ferrari are reportedly interested in putting Lewis Hamilton in the red car next season.
The Celtics made plenty of frustrating decisions in their Game 3 loss to the Miami Heat, but if you ask John Tomase, it was how the players conducted themselves on the court that was most difficult to watch.
Michael Block awoke in the rental house near Oak Hill Country Club on Monday and sobbed. These were tears of joy, as he reflected on four days that, at 46 years old, have changed his life.
1. I’m not an analytics guy. I try my best not to pay attention to any analytics in any sport. I still have no idea what WAR is.
So I have no idea how ESPN’s analytics gave the Heat a 3% chance to beat the Celtics before the Eastern Conference finals, but they did.
The Miami Heat have a 3% chance of reaching the NBA Finals, according to ESPN Analytics 
pic.twitter.com/CbeoYzZQOx
— ESPN (@espn) May 15, 2023
ESPN Analytics then gave the Heat just a 35% chance to win the series after it won the first two games in Boston.
Earlier this month, the Colts asked the NFL to investigate the Commanders for tampering after an ESPN report noted that Washington had reached out to retired quarterback Andrew Luck, whose contractual rights still belong to Indianapolis.
The allegation has been resolved, ESPN reported Monday, and the Colts seem satisfied with the outcome, league sources told ESPN’s Stephen Holder.
The investigation determined the Commanders never directly spoke to Luck or anyone close to him, according to ESPN’s sources.
The New York Mets swept a doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday, giving them an overall three-game sweep. The second half of that doubleheader was part of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball package. After the game, ESPN SportsCenter anchor Nicole Briscoe attempted to interview Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor. But Justin Verlander took issue with the length of the interview.
During Lindor’s interview, someone clearly shouts “F**k ESPN! Let’s go!”
Because it occurs off-camera, it’s unclear who that person is. However, it sounds an awful lot like Justin Verlander.