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Billy Beane, Dave Dombrowski exchange funny trade deadline texts

August 1, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Billy-BeaneTwo World Series contenders from the American League got even stronger on Thursday when the Oakland A’s landed Jon Lester and the Detroit Tigers traded for David Price. The A’s and Tigers have arguably the two best starting rotations in baseball now, and both of their general managers are well aware of that.

Just before the trade deadline passed, A’s GM Billy Beane and Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski had a brief, entertaining conversation about the rich getting richer.

In case you weren’t aware, Sale has a 10-1 record and a 1.88 ERA in 16 starts with the Chicago White Sox this season.

Oakland and Detroit have redefined the term “arms race” as it pertains to baseball. The Tigers have the past three Cy Young Award winners all in one starting rotation. The A’s have acquired one of the best postseason pitchers of all-time in Lester. Both teams should be a lot of fun to watch down the stretch and hopefully well into October.

H/T Hardball Talk

Filed Under: Baseball, Viral Greatness Tagged With: ,

David Wilson reportedly ‘needs a miracle’ to play football again

August 1, 2014 By Leave a Comment

David Wilson GiantsNew York Giants running back David Wilson suffered a setback during Tuesday’s practice in his recovery from spinal fusion surgery. The 23-year-old is scheduled to meet with a doctor on Monday, and one report is anticipating that he may not receive good news.

According to Jordan Raanan and Conor Orr of NJ.com, a person with knowledge of Wilson’s medical condition says he would “need a miracle” to be cleared to play football again. Wilson himself seemed far more optimistic in a post he made on social media.

“Left practice early yesterday but everything turned out to be fine once the Dr. Looked @ me plus I passed all physical examination,” he wrote on Instagram Tuesday. “I find out more on Monday #gottagetback #pocketrocket.”

There was some fear back when Wilson first suffered the neck injury that he might not play again, but he seemed to be doing well with his rehab prior to this week. It would be an absolute shame if the former first-round pick is unable to get back onto the field. Wilson has a very promising career.

Filed Under: Football, Headlines Tagged With:

Austin Jackson pulled mid-inning after being traded (Video)

July 31, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Austin Jackson was traded to the Seattle Mariners as part of a three-team deal that brought David Price to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday. Considering this year’s trade deadline was one of the most hectic in recent history, it only makes sense that Jackson got the news in the middle of an inning.

During the seventh inning of Detroit’s matinee game against the Chicago White Sox, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski walked into the dugout to inform manager Brad Ausmus that Jackson had been traded. In a humbling reminder of the fact that professional baseball is a business, Jackson jogged off the field and said farewell to his teammates.

Austin-Jackson-traded

How about the baseball IQ from the fans at Comerica Park? They immediately recognized what was going on and gave Jackson a standing ovation as he headed to the clubhouse. Some of the fans may have already found out on their smartphones that Detroit had a deal pending for David Price, but that was still an impressive display of awareness.

Video via Deadspin

Filed Under: Baseball, Viral Greatness Tagged With:

Did Jamaal Charles literally break Sanders Commings’ ankle with open-field move?

July 31, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Jamaal CharlesJamaal Charles has some of the best open-field moves in football. The Kansas City Chiefs running back has lightning speed and is borderline unstoppable in space. Unfortunately, one of his teammates may have learned that the hard way earlier this week.

On Thursday, Andy Reid announced that Chiefs defensive back Sanders Commings underwent surgery to repair a broken ankle that he suffered during Wednesday’s practice. Couple that with the following tidbit of information and I think we all know what happened.

Saying that a player “broke an opponent’s ankles” is one of the most overused phrases in basketball and football. But if anyone can actually do it, Charles would be the guy. We’re not saying he should be proud of causing a teammate to break his ankle or anything like that, but if that’s really what happened it’s an amazing reflection of Charles’ skill set.

H/T Around the League

Filed Under: Featured Stories, Football Tagged With: ,

Dustin Johnson, Paulina Gretzky always seem happy (Pictures)

July 31, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Dustin-Johnson-Paulina-Gretzky

Dustin Johnson announced on Thursday that he is taking a leave of absence from golf, which came as a shock to most who have followed him this season. Johnson has seven top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour in 2014 and has played well in majors, finishing 4th at the US Open and 12th at The Open Championship earlier this month.

In addition to his performance on the course, Johnson always seems to be killing it in his personal life. We know people use social media to mask their problems, but Johnson and his fiancee Paulina Gretzky are constantly looked at with envy. The photo you see above was posted on Johnson’s Instagram earlier this month. Here are some others:

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Golf, WAG Tagged With: ,

Dustin Johnson once linked to drugs

July 31, 2014 By Leave a Comment

dustin-johnsonDustin Johnson announced on Thursday that he is taking a leave of absence from golf. The 30-year-old said he is seeking professional help to deal with some personal issues but did not get into specifics.

“I am taking a leave of absence from professional golf, effective immediately,” Johnson said, via USA Today Sports. “I will use this time to seek professional help for personal challenges I have faced. By committing the time and resources necessary to improve my mental health, physical well-being and emotional foundation, I am confident that I will be better equipped to fulfill my potential and become a consistent champion.

“I respectfully ask my fans, well-wishers and the media for privacy as I embark upon this mission of self-improvement.”

Last year, Vijay Singh filed a lawsuit against the PGA Tour after he was suspended for violating the tour’s anti-doping program. Singh felt that he was being targeted after several players had violated the same policy but were only told by the PGA Tour to stop using certain substances.

Singh’s lawyers requested any information related to a “possible or actual violation of the drug program” by five golfers — Doug Barron, Mark Calcavecchia, Scott Verplank, Matt Every and Johnson. Barron, Calcavecchia and Every all had known violations, but it is unclear why Singh’s lawyers included Verplank and Johnson.

Johnson later dismissed Singh’s probe in an interview with the Golf Channel, saying he doesn’t know why Singh would single him out and that there is “nothing there.” He also said he has never been reprimanded by the PGA Tour for any drug-related violation.

Under the Tour’s anti-doping policy, drug violations involving anything deemed to be a performance-enhancing substance are made public. Violations that have to do with recreational drugs are not.

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David Price to Tigers, Austin Jackson to Mariners in three-team deal

July 31, 2014 By 1 Comment

David PriceDavid Price has been traded to the Detroit Tigers, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The move was part of a three-team deal that will send Seattle Mariners shortstop Nick Franklin to the Tampa Bay Rays and Austin Jackson to Seattle. The Rays also get 25-year-old starting pitcher Drew Smyly from Detroit.

And with that, Thursday’s trade deadline was anything but uneventful.

Two of the best lefthanded pitchers in the game found new homes before the 4 p.m. deadline passed. Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes were traded to the Oakland A’s earlier in the day in exchange for Yoenis Cespedes. The Red Sox also dealt John Lackey to the St. Louis Cardinals for Joe Kelly and Allen Craig.

[Related: David Price thought trade deadline had already passed]

What makes this deadline — which has been one of the most exciting in recent history — so interesting is the amount of big names that have exchanged. Typically when we see top-tier starting pitching like Lester and Price traded, a boatload of prospects are involved. For whatever reason, Thursday’s deadline was more about star power than prospects. We have no complaints about that.

Starting pitching wins in the postseason. The A’s and Tigers are two of the best teams in the American League, and both have drastically improved their starting rotations. The Mariners also picked up some much-needed offense by adding Jackson. Almost all of the teams involved in Thursday’s blockbuster deals did well for themselves on some level, at least on paper.

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: ,