Many professional athletes have spoken about how much they missed having fans at games during the pandemic, but Zack Greinke offered a different take during the playoffs last year. Now that ballparks are once again allowing spectators, the pitcher seems to have changed his mind.
Greinke allowed just five hits and two earned runs in seven innings in Houston’s win over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night. More than 11,000 fans were in the stands at Angel Stadium, and Greinke admitted he enjoyed having them there.
“It has been pretty nice having the fans in the stadium actually,” the right-hander said, via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. “I thought I enjoyed it last year without them. So far, I would say it’s been pretty nice having the fans. Going home will be nice also.”
MLB played the entire 2020 regular season without fans. It wasn’t until the NLCS at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas that a limited amount of fans were allowed to attend games. Greinke said during the postseason that he actually preferred not having fans at games and listed some reasons why.
Of course, Greinke is known for being somewhat of an introvert. He has also made plenty of unintentionally humorous remarks in the past, which is why most people brushed off his comment about enjoying empty ballparks. Astros fans should be pleased to hear that Greinke now appreciates their presence.
Deshaun Watson has been sued by 22 women who claim they were sexually assaulted by him, and the Houston Texans star is now facing his first major consequence from the allegations.
Nike announced on Wednesday that it has suspended its endorsement of Watson amid the sexual assault scandal.
“We are deeply concerned by the disturbing allegations and have suspended Deshaun Watson,” the company told CNBC’s Jabari Young in a statement. “We will continue to closely monitor the situation.”
Watson is one of the NFL’s biggest stars and has numerous endorsement deals, so Nike’s decision could start a domino effect among some of the quarterback’s other partners.
The decision from Nike comes a day after two of Watson’s alleged victims publicly revealed their identities. One of the women, massage therapist Ashley Solis, delivered a powerful statement in which she spoke about how Watson’s alleged misconduct has negatively impacted her career and life. You can see the video here.
The NFL confirmed on Tuesday that Watson is under league investigation. All of the lawsuits against Watson to this point have been civil in nature, but Houston police said on Friday that one criminal complaint has been filed.
Watson’s agent has publicly accused at least some of the alleged victims of lying for financial gain. The 25-year-old’s legal team also claims he was a victim of a blackmail attempt in at least one of the cases.
There a few umpires in MLB history who have a worse reputation than Angel Hernandez, and he once again reminded fans of why during Tuesday’s game between the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels.
Hernandez was the home plate umpire for Houston’s 4-2 win. To say that he had a rather large strike zone throughout the game would be a massive understatement. Here’s a video that shows all the questionable ball-strike calls Hernandez made in the contest:
In Hernandez’s defense, some of those pitches were just barely outside the electronic strike zone, and plenty of umpires miss similar calls. He also seemed to be calling strikes for both teams on pitches that were well outside the zone, so at least he was consistent.
All that said, this is obviously a frustrating theme for Hernandez. The 59-year-old has been an MLB umpire since 1991 and has long faced criticism for his controversial calls. He was even ruthlessly mocked by TV announcers during a spring training this year because of his reputation. You can see that video here.
It’s no wonder why players and managers cringe when they learn that Hernandez will be working one of their games.
Photo: tunnelarmr/Flickr via CC-by-SA-2.0
Reports are saying that the San Francisco 49ers are likely to take Mac Jones with the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL Draft. If that’s the case, the 49ers’ brass didn’t seem to give that impression to Nick Saban at Alabama’s Pro Day.
Saban was a guest on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Tuesday and talked about his encounters with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.
Saban told Patrick that Shanahan didn’t ask Saban one thing.
The discussion came up because Patrick asked what Saban’s duties are for a pro day. He said one of the things he does is answer questions from some NFL people. Saban seemed serious when he said he didn’t think the NFL coaches felt they were allowed to talk with him.
Jones threw at both of Alabama’s Pro Days on March 23 and March 30. There was a ton of positive talk about him after his sessions, with teams reportedly coming away impressed.
The 49ers made their trade with Miami to move up in the draft just days after Alabama’s Pro Day. If it was a coincidence, they apparently didn’t give many hints to Saban.
Sam Darnold seems thrilled about his trade to a new team.
Jordan Palmer, the younger brother of former NFL quarterback Carson Palmer and currently a quarterbacks coach, shared a video on his Instagram Story Monday night. The video showed Darnold walking into a house to celebrate his trade to Carolina.
Darnold raises his arm to pump things up, indicating how happy he is. There are also Carolina Panthers-colored balloons around the room.
If you’re Darnold, how could you not be happy about the trade? Darnold dealt with injuries, mono, a flawed roster, and below-average head coach while playing for the Jets. Now he has a chance to start over anew with the Panthers. This is a second chance for Darnold, and an opportunity to prove he belongs in the NFL as a starting quarterback.
The Jets already seem to have their quarterback replacement picked out.
The New York Jets cemented the notion that they will be taking a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft when they traded Sam Darnold on Monday. The Jets wouldn’t get rid of him if they didn’t like a quarterback available with the No. 2 pick more than the former USC QB. Their general manager said as much.
So who is the QB who has caught the Jets’ eye? Apparently it’s Zach Wilson.
Adam Schefter made an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up” and said he sent Wilson a text message saying “welcome to New York.”
Schefter said that Trevor Lawrence is going to the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 1 and Wilson is going to the Jets at No. 2.
The San Francisco 49ers traded up to the No. 3 spot, and this is whom they plan to take.
New York Yankees radio announcer John Sterling has a unique home run call for each member of the team. So when the Yankees add a new player, fans are curious what Sterling’s home run call will be.
On Tuesday, we learned what Sterling’s home run call is for Jay Bruce.
Bruce homered off Dean Kremer to put the Yanks on the board in the bottom of the second inning.
“The Bruce is loose!” is the call. Not bad.
Bruce, 34, made the Yankees out of spring training to fill in for the injured Luke Voit. Bruce is batting .200 on the season with three RBIs.
Former UCLA forward Jalen Hill announced on Instagram Tuesday that he is retiring from basketball.
Hill played in 15 games this season but left the team in February due to personal reasons. In an Instagram video he posted on Tuesday, Hill shared what he has been going through that led to his decision.
Hill shared that he left the basketball team because he did not feel he was a good influence at the time.
“The headspace that I was in was damaging to the team. I didn’t want to restrict them from achieving they (sic) goals,” Hill said. “The reason I left had nothing to do with the team, coaching or anything. It was me. I had a bunch of anxiety and depression problems. It started when I was arrested in China when I was 17. It was a lot for me. … so I had to take a step back.”
Hill says that when he took a step back, it changed him for the better.
“When I did that, it was a whole new life. I never felt this happy before in my life. I wake up and I’m just happy to be alive.”
Hill also says he is at peace with his decision to retire.
“I’m done with basketball, and I’m cool with saying that. I made my peace with basketball … has done a lot for me.”
Hill played in 78 career games over three seasons with UCLA. He was one of three players, along with LiAngelo Ball and Cody Riley, who were arrested during a Bruins’ trip to China in 2017. The players were suspended for the season as punishment.
Hill actually declared for the NBA Draft last year before withdrawing his name and returning to school.
You can watch his video below:
Fernando Tatis Jr. is headed to the injured list following the injury he suffered on Monday night.
The San Diego Padres shortstop reinjured his left shoulder on a swing that resulted in a strikeout. The Padres said Monday night that Tatis had a subluxation.
Padres general manager A.J. Preller said Tuesday that Tatis has slight labral tearing. Preller also said that Tatis will go on the 10-day injury list. The team is hoping to have him back after that.
The 22-year-old was 3-for-18 with a home run this season. He signed a massive 14-year, $340 million contract extension with the Padres in the offseason.
The Red Sox on Tuesday showed off some uniforms the team will be wearing at points during this season, and potentially in the future.
Nike signed a 10-year deal to be the uniform supplier of MLB, beginning last year. And in 2021, they’re introducing some of the city uniform concepts we’ve seen in the NBA.
Take a look at these uniforms the UCLA Red Sox showed off:
Yeah, looks a lot more like the UCLA Bruins than the Boston Red Sox. Or maybe a Chiquita banana.
The jerseys will first be worn on Patriots Day weekend in Boston. The colors are the traditional colors of the Boston Marathon, which will not be run until October this year.
Leave it to Nike and MLB to ruin one of the most classic uniforms in sports. What’s next, the Yankees in purple and without pinstripes?
