Baseball’s hottest hitter got a tough break Friday when he suffered an apparent hamstring injury while running the bases.
Washington Nationals outfielder Kyle Schwarber pulled up rounding first on a single Friday and left the game. He appeared to be in serious pain as he headed into the tunnel, and was not putting much weight on his right leg.
Schwarber’s injury comes amid the hottest stretch of his career. He hit 16 home runs in 27 games in the month of June, and had just been named NL Player of the Month earlier Friday.
Injuries have been an ongoing issue for the Nationals all year. They’ve managed to climb back to second in the NL East in spite of it, but Schwarber’s injury will really test their depth if he’s out for a while.
The Miami Marlins have a long history of hitting Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. with pitches, and it got them in some serious hot water on Friday night.
Marlins starter Pablo Lopez hit Acuna with his first pitch of Friday’s game, which led to Braves manager Brian Snitker angrily coming onto the field to protect his star. After the umpires consulted with each other, home plate umpire Andy Fletcher and crew chief Dan Iassogna ejected Lopez, deeming the pitch intentional. That prompted Marlins manager Don Mattingly to come out and argue, resulting in his ejection as well.
The Marlins were furious, as no warnings had been issued and the ejection seemed abrupt to them. However, there is no ignoring the history between the two sides. Acuna had been hit four times in his career by the Marlins coming into Friday, including twice to lead off a ballgame. Not all of those resulted in ejections, much to Snitker’s fury. The Marlins hitting Acuna has become so common that Acuna himself has acknowledged it.
Lopez’s pitch may have been an attempt to control the inside of the plate. That said, he plays for a team that has obviously targeted Acuna before. Miami simply doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt anymore. Too much has gone down in the past for that, and a warning is hardly necessary for both teams to be aware of it.
The Milwaukee Bucks are hopeful they can finish off the Atlanta Hawks in six games, but if not, they might get a boost for Game 7.
According to Chris Hayes of Yahoo Sports, there is a belief that injured forward Giannis Antetokounmpo could be cleared for Game 7 if the Eastern Conference Finals go that long. Game 6 appears less likely.
Antetokounmpo is listed as doubtful for Saturday’s Game 6. He has not played since suffering a hyperextended knee in Game 4. Amid fears that the injury could be a serious one, the Bucks got some good news about his status going forward even before this latest report.
The other good news is this would seem to indicate that Antetokounmpo would have a chance of playing early on if the Bucks make the NBA Finals. They have to get past Atlanta first, and the Hawks could have some help coming their way for a do-or-die Game 6.
The New York Mets want to add some more punch to their lineup, and are reportedly eyeing some big-name third basemen in order to do so.
According to Andy Martino of SNY, the Mets have engaged in preliminary talks with the Minnesota Twins about a possible trade for third baseman Josh Donaldson. The Mets have also maintained interest in Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant since the offseason, though it’s not clear if the Cubs would still be open to trading him.
The Mets are also faced with the issue of potentially exceeding the $210 million luxury tax threshold, which they are reluctant to do. The team currently sits less than $10 million shy of that number. Plus, the organization is reluctant to trade top prospects in any deal.
Donaldson is a big name that could theoretically be available. The Twins have been a huge disappointment in 2021 at 33-46, and they could become sellers ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. The 35-year-old would not be a rental, either, as he is under contract through 2023 with a $16 million team option for 2024. He’s owed just shy of $22 million annually, though, so he won’t come cheap financially.
Donaldson is hitting .250 with 13 home runs for the Twins this season. He may be able to bring some attitude to the Mets too judging by a recent spat he had with one pitcher.
The first key deadline of Aaron Rodgers’ offseason has passed in terms of whether he’ll play for the Green Bay Packers in 2021.
Rodgers had until 4 p.m. ET Friday to decide whether or not he was going to opt out of the 2021 season. Doing so would have protected Rodgers from any fines he would pick up from holding out from the Packers and allowed him to retain some bonus money, but the decision also would have been irreversible.
Unsurprisingly, the deadline passed without any news from Rodgers, meaning the quarterback is still eligible to play in 2021. While this doesn’t necessarily clear up the quarterback’s future in Green Bay, it’s at least a key step toward adding some clarity to the situation.
Rodgers was considered unlikely to opt out even though he’s unhappy with the Packers and wants a trade. The finality of the decision simply made it unfeasible for the veteran quarterback. It leaves the door open to him possibly playing for Green Bay in 2021. On the other hand, it also suggests he believes there’s still the possibility of a trade, though a new report cast some serious doubt on that.
Charles Barkley does not know quite what has gotten into Scottie Pippen.
Appearing this week on “The Dan Patrick Show,” Barkley reacted to the recent slew of criticisms that Pippen has been airing out against former coaches and teammates, including Barkley himself.
“I’m disappointed in Scottie because he’s burning every bridge,” Barkley said. “I know he has a book coming out. Listen, Scottie was a very good player. I’ve always liked Scottie too. I’ve always liked him. I’ve never had a disagreement or an argument with him.
“But he’s taking shots at me, and I’m just laughing,” continued Barkley. “Because I’m like ‘Yo man, you do know we’re like 60 years old? We don’t have beefs any more. We’re like 60. What we accomplished was 30 years ago. It’s not important or significant. It was great in the day, but now it’s irrelevant.’ So I was disappointed he’s taking shots at Michael [Jordan], Phil Jackson, and myself. But I understand he’s got a book coming out. I just think it’s silly and stupid to be honest with you.”
Barkley was teammates with Pippen on both the 1992 “Dream Team” as well as on the 1999 Houston Rockets. Pippen recently called out Barkley for being a fake tough guy during their respective playing careers.
Pippen has also gone after Jordan and Jackson, his former co-star and head coach on the Chicago Bulls. Pippen was angry with Jordan over his portrayal in “The Last Dance” documentary. Not long after that, Pippen proceeded to blast Jackson as a racist.
As Barkley alluded to, Pippen has a new book plus a new bourbon line that he is looking to promote, so the timing of all this is hardly coincidental. But the promotion is clearly coming at the expense of Pippen’s relationships with his former NBA colleagues.
Josh Gordon is once again looking for an NFL return and is hopeful of joining up with a team for the 2021 season.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the veteran wide receiver has officially sent a reinstatement letter to commissioner Roger Goodell and hopes to be cleared for training camp. Gordon has been subjected to random drug tests for the last three months, and reportedly has passed all of them.
Gordon has dealt with substance abuse problems for his entire career, and has been suspended eight times. His most recent reinstatement was rescinded after a setback last December. He hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2019, though he has found a way to stay active in football even while ineligible for the NFL.
Now 30 years old, Gordon hasn’t been a major contributor to an NFL team for quite some time. Even if he is reinstated, he’s likely going to have to earn his way onto an NFL roster during training camp.
Photo: CLSN Media via CC-BY-SA 4.0
Reggie Bush wants his Heisman Trophy back, and it will be up to the NCAA whether he gets it or not.
The NCAA has officially begun permitting student-athletes to profit off of their names, images and likenesses in the wake of a unanimous Supreme Court ruling on Monday. Following the ruling, the sports world rallied around Bush and called for the NCAA give him his 2005 Heisman Trophy back. Bush issued a statement on Thursday saying he and his representatives have reached out to the Heisman Trust and NCAA multiple times in recent months seeking to have his records and trophy reinstated.
On Friday, the Heisman Trust responded. The organization said it supports the recent ruling regarding name, image and likeness. However, the Heisman Trophy ballot used by voters has a rule governing eligibility for the award that states that the recipient “must be in compliance with the bylaws defining an NCAA student athlete.” Since Bush’s and USC’s 2005 records remain vacated by the NCAA, he remains ineligible for the Heisman.
“Bush’s 2005 season records remain vacated by the NCAA and, as a result, under the rule set forth by the Heisman Trust and stated on the Heisman Ballot, he is not eligible to be awarded the 2005 Heisman Memorial Trophy,” the statement read. “Should the NCAA reinstate Bush’s 2005 status, the Heisman Trust looks forward to welcoming him back to the Heisman family.”
The last portion is the important part. Should the NCAA reinstate Bush’s accomplishments, he’ll get his 2005 Heisman Trophy back.
Bush won the Heisman trophy in 2005 following a season in which he amassed 2,611 all-purpose yards and scored 18 touchdowns. It was taken away in 2010.
Bush was basically shunned by the NCAA when it was determined that he received impermissible benefits while at USC. He also had a 10-year dissociation ban from USC that ended last year, and he has since been welcomed back to the program.
Police are looking into the assault allegations against Trevor Bauer to determine if criminal charges will be filed, and signs point to the investigation taking a while longer.
Pasadena Police Department lieutenant Carolyn Gordon, who is overseeing the Bauer investigation, told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale on Friday that the investigation was not initially expected to take as long as it has. She described the case as “bigger than we thought” and said it is not nearing a conclusion.
“We were looking into some things and we thought we were nearing the end,” Gordon said. “We are not close to the end. This investigation is bigger than we thought. So we have to look a few more places. We want to try to uncover as much stuff as we can.”
Gordon said the investigation began about six weeks ago, but police have since received new leads. She would not share any detailed information but added that “some things have been uncovered” that need to be examined further.
Nightengale notes that he spoke with Gordon hours before Major League Baseball decided to place Bauer on seven-day administrative leave.
Bauer has been accused of assaulting a woman with whom he had two sexual encounters this year. The woman claims the encounters began as consensual before going beyond what she consented to. She sought medical attention for injuries she suffered following their second encounter, which was on May 15. You can read her allegations here.
Bauer says the woman sought rough sex from him and that everything was consensual. His legal team provided Larry Brown Sports with text message conversations that Bauer and the woman allegedly shared between their two encounters.
The woman has been granted an ex parte restraining order, which is granted based purely on allegations. Bauer will have his chance to respond on July 23.
Chris Paul got the last laugh on Patrick Beverley and the LA Clippers, and he is still continuing to laugh.
Paul’s former teammate Matt Barnes posted a congratulatory message to him this week after Paul’s Phoenix Suns advanced to the NBA Finals. The second picture in Barnes’ post was a hilarious meme of Beverley as Motaw from the 1994 film “Above the Rim.”
Paul publicly reacted to Barnes’ post by commenting with three laughing-face emojis, which you can see here.
In the movie, Motaw pulls a gun on protagonist Kyle Lee Watson after losing to Watson’s team in a playground basketball tournament. Beverley’s two-handed shove of Paul in the Clippers’ season-ending loss to the Suns made for a pretty funny meme parallel to that scene.
The former All-Defensive Teamer Beverley will likely earn a suspension for the incident. To make matters even worse for him, he has earned widespread ridicule on the Internet as well.
