Gerrit Cole did not come through for the New York Yankees in Tuesday night’s AL Wild Card Game against the Boston Red Sox. Not even in the least bit.
Cole was lifted from the game by Yankees manager Aaron Boone after allowing the first three batters in the bottom of the third inning to reach base. He allowed a leadoff home run to Kyle Schwarber, an infield single to Enrique Hernandez, and a walk to Rafael Devers.
Cole also walked Devers when he faced him in the bottom of the first. Xander Bogaerts followed with a 2-run home run to make it 2-0. The combination of allowing the first three batters to reach in the third plus Bogaerts coming up next likely led Boone to make the switch.
Cole allowed four hits and two walks in his two-plus innings. He left down 3-0 and was responsible for both runners on base. Another former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher, Clay Holmes, came in to relieve Cole. He got a strikeout and double play to escape the jam.
Boone did not want to give the Red Sox a chance to do even more damage against Cole with the stakes so high. The winner of the game moves on to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, while the season ends for the loser.
Though Cole has largely been excellent since signing with the Yankees, he has not been his usual dominant self since leaving his Sept. 7 start with a hamstring issue.
Jaylon Smith has been with the Dallas Cowboys since 2016, made the Pro Bowl in 2019, and signed a big contract with the team two years ago. Tuesday’s news that the team was cutting him left many stunned.
So, why would Dallas get rid of Smith, especially when they still owe him $7.2 million this season? We have our answer, and it has to do with the linebacker’s contract situation.
Smith was set to make $9.2 million next season. That amount would become fully guaranteed if he were on the roster on March 20, 2022. But there’s a twist: Smith has an injury guarantee.
That means if Smith cannot pass his physical leading up to the March 20 date, the Cowboys would have to pay the $9.2 million.
Dallas decided it was worth it to eat the $7.2 million they owe Smith for this year now rather than risk him getting injured, which would cost them $9.2 million next season.
The move also frees up $5 million against the salary cap for next season.
This is the second notable move Dallas has made to their linebackers this year. They also declined the 2022 option for Leighton Vander Esch in March.
Dallas apparently tried to trade Smith but were unable to do so, leading to his release.
Teams did not want to pick up the 26-year-old on his current contract, but they will likely have interest in him for more favorable financial terms.
The Dallas Cowboys made a surprising move on Tuesday regarding their defense.
Dallas cut linebacker Jaylon Smith despite him being owed $7.2 million.
The 26-year-old was a 2nd-round pick by the Cowboys in 2016, though he missed that season due to an injury he suffered in Notre Dame’s bowl game. He has not missed a game since beginning to play in the 2017 season and made the Pro Bowl in 2019. Smith had 18 tackles in four games this season.
Dallas signed Smith to a 6-year, $68.4 million contract before the 2019 season. He still has five years left on his contract and will count for $16.6 million in dead cap money.
Smith has actually graded out fairly well this season according to PFF, making the move even more surprising.
Photo: Jeffrey Beall/Wikimedia via CC-BY 4.0
Giancarlo Stanton cost himself extra bases by misjudging a ball he crushed in the top of the first inning of Tuesday night’s AL Wild Card Game between his New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Stanton sent a Nathan Eovaldi breaking ball deep to left field. Stanton thought it was gone for a solo home run that would have put his Yankees up 1-0, so he began to pimp the deep shot. However, the ball had everyone fooled and didn’t travel as far as initially thought. It hit off the Green Monster.
Because he was admiring his ball instead of running, Stanton only got a single. The Yankees’ Joey Gallo struck out next for the third out, but that still was a poor reflection upon Stanton.
This has become a trend for Stanton, who also pimped a ball last week that didn’t even go for a hit!
Giannis Antetokounmpo is now an NBA champion and Finals MVP, but he still is not taking himself too seriously.
The Bucks tweeted a video on Tuesday of Antetokounmpo having a funny conversation with the social media staffers. In the video, Antetokounmpo hilariously roasted himself over his shooting ability.
“Yоu guys pоst my dunks, my threes,” Antetokounmpo told the staffers. “When I make a three, make it lооk gооd. Post it frоm diffеrent anglеs, you know what I’m saying? Like post it from this angle, from this angle, sо it lооks like I madе four of thеm. Sо peоple can think I can shооt nоw.”
Antetokounmpo’s shooting ability is really the only weakness in his entire game. He shot 30.3 percent from deep last season and is only a 28.7 percent career three-point shooter. Opponents are more than willing to seal off the paint and sag off Antetokounmpo in the hopes that he launches a jumper.
But Antetokounmpo is quietly becoming a very effective midrange jump shooter, especially out of post-up situations as we saw in this year’s Finals against Phoenix. He has remained humble through it all though and still does not mind poking fun at himself every now and then.
The New Orleans Saints have found a replacement kicker for Aldrick Rosas.
The Saints cut Rosas on Tuesday, two days after head coach Sean Payton complained about his kicker being unable to make a field goal. Rosas was 0-for-3 on field goal attempts in New Orleans’ last two games, including a 58-yard miss on Sunday.
The Saints worked out Cody Parkey on Tuesday and have agreed to terms with him.
Parkey, 29, has kicked for five NFL teams since 2014. He began with the Philadelphia Eagles, then kicked for Cleveland, Miami, Chicago, Tennessee and Cleveland again. He has made 84.6 percent of his career field goals and 94.3 percent of his extra points.
Despite the solid numbers, Parkey has also been a part of infamous Chicago Bears history. Payton is hoping that Parkey is well past that.
It did not take long for Boban Marjanovic to work his trademark charm on new Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison.
Harrison spoke this week with Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News and told a funny story about the time that he spent this summer with Marjanovic while visiting Mavs star Luka Doncic in Slovenia.
“I met Boban several times,” said Harrison, the former Nike executive. “He was a Nike athlete, so I knew him as a Nike athlete. But I didn’t know him very well. But when we went to see Luka, he was there as well.
“We drove out to a dinner party together,” Harrison went on. “40 minutes in a car in the countryside of Slovenia and he was in rare form. He couldn’t stop talking the whole time. It was good. We’re buds for sure.”
The 48-year-old Harrison was just hired by the Mavericks in June to replace longtime GM Donnie Nelson. Fortunately for him, there is no better way to get acquainted with the team’s culture than by going on a scenic overseas roadtrip with the delightful Marjanovic.
It is unclear how many times Marjanovic busted out his “Addams Family” impression on the drive to the dinner party, but we will guess at least five.
Boban Marjanovic is hilarious and a fan-favorite. Now it’s time to get the Boban Marjanovic You Rang shirt that will make all your friends laugh. It’s great as a gift for yourself or a friend. You can buy it here:
Photo: Frenchieinportland/Wikimedia via CC-BY-SA 4.0
Arch Manning is in the middle of exploring various universities this fall, and he has offered a compliment to one of them.
Manning is checking out five schools during the fall: Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss and Clemson. He went to Georgia and complimented them. Then he witnessed Bama take it to Ole Miss last weekend. His next visit will be to Texas against Oklahoma State at Oct. 16.
Ahead of the visit, Manning told Orange Bloods that Austin, where the school is located, has a “home feel” to him.
Arch offered a similar compliment to Georgia.
It’s no surprise that Manning would be complimentary to the schools. These appear to be finalists to secure a commitment from him, so he obviously finds them all to be appealing in one way or another.
Arch is the grandson of former Saints quarterback Archie Manning and the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning. He is the top quarterback in the 2023 recruiting class. He is a legacy at Ole Miss, where his father cooper, grandfather Archie and uncle Eli went. Uncle Peyton went to Tennessee, but the Vols do not appear to be in consideration.
Zion Williamson may soon be changing his name to Zion Shuttlesworth.
Retired Basketball Hall of Famer Ray Allen appeared recently on “The Dan Patrick Show.” During the interview, Patrick asked Allen about rumors of a sequel to the famous 1998 film “He Got Game,” potentially starring the New Orleans Pelicans star Williamson. Allen, who starred in the original movie, confirmed that talks had begun but added that they needed to get Denzel Washington invovlved as well.
“We have talked with several younger players, including women, because there is definitely a dynamic there,” said Allen. “If you think about since 1998, when the movie “He Got Game” came out, there has been so many storylines … There are so many different ways that we can take this.
“I think the one caveat for us, [director] Spike [Lee] and I talk about it all the time, is trying to figure out a way to get Denzel Washington involved,” Allen continued. “I think until ‘Equalizer 2’ he was against doing sequels. So when ‘Equalizer 2’ came out, we thought we might have a chance. I think that’s the main thing to get him excited and get him on board. It’s just not the same if he didn’t have something to do with the movie, with the Part 2.”
The original “He Got Game,” starring Allen as a young basketball phenom and Washington as his convict father, was one of the great sports films of all-time as well as one of the most iconic movies of the ’90s. It also featured cameos from ex-NBA players Rick Fox, Walter McCarty, and Travis Best.
Either Williamson or a female lead (perhaps a la Hilary Swank in “The Next Karate Kid”) would be a strong choice for a sequel. It would also make “He Got Game” the latest ’90s basketball film to get a second part.
H/T Basketball Network
The woman attached to the video of Urban Meyer that went viral this weekend has been identified as Cayman Nebraska.
The first video that went viral involving Meyer showed a woman dancing in front of him, making contact with his leg. In that video, the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach had his right arm in front of his body, as if to serve as a barrier for some unwanted contact. A few other photos from that evening emerged, including one that appeared to show the same woman resting her head on Meyer’s shoulder.
Meyer played it off in his public apology Monday by indicating someone was trying to drag him to the dance floor.
A second video emerged and it shows a new angle where the coach has his hand and fingers around the same woman’s rear. That second video comes from a camera roll identified as belonging to Cayman Nebraska. Nebraska also appears to be the same woman in both videos and the photo where the woman has her head on Meyer’s shoulder.
According to her Instagram bio, Nebraska is 24, lists her location as Columbus, and says she is an Ohio State alum. She appears to work for New Horizon Media Group and was at Urban Meyer’s Chophouse in Short North, Ohio for a photoshoot in June. She was described as “running the show” for the photoshoot.
Nebraska’s Twitter account is deactivated, her Facebook profile seems to be as well, her Instagram is private, and her LinkedIn profile is currently deactivated too.
Based on the way she captioned the videos, Nebraska’s encounter with Meyer on Friday night seemed to be more of a chance one between her and a famous person rather than a continued/ongoing relationship she is trying to keep discreet.
