Greetings, Olympic fanboys! Or should I say … TOP OF THE OLYMPICS TO YE?!! The London Olympics are here at long last, and I think we're all excited for 16 days of corrupt amateur sports, monumentally wasteful publicly funded infrastructure, and totalitarian branding guidelines. Also, I'm told there will be gratuitous shots of the Middleton sisters. So let's pack up our kit (that's what people in England say instead of "clothes"), put some salad on our sandwiches (that's what people in England say instead of "lettuce"), and wash down a pint (that's what people in England say instead of "bukkake session"). It's time for us to spend an afternoon saying hateful, vile, repugnant things about these Olympics, because the Olympics…
We thought it would happen during last year's playoffs, but in the wake of a high-profile loss to the Red Sox last night, Indians fans have finally had enough: They're ready to take Joe Borowski out to the woodshed and, you know, do whatever you do to people behind the woodshed. Over at Clevescene, they're keeping their head about this whole thing. Here's their reaction to last night's game: Theiona diaevion aeionfvaewoivna!!!?!? Lidsj navienvae!! Hiag!!?@! Ghai;oehg!! $#&%*#&%!! Dihweof weonaweovi oeivna!!
Roughly translated: F*#k!!!!!! To be fair, anytime Borowski successfully saves a game, nobody notices; it's the blown saves that inspire the overheated reaction. (If the Tigers could ever win, Todd Jones would be going through the same thing…
data-mm-id=”_exewkb9wb”>Keith Law is a senior baseball writer at The Athletic. After becoming a huge part of ESPN's baseball coverage over the last decade, he joined The Athletic in January of this year. His scouting pieces, draft coverage and Top 100 Prospects list are all must-reads for baseball fans. This week I caught up with Keith to discuss his move and how his job has changed under quarantine. We also chatted about his new book The Inside Game, which explores cognitive biases through the lens of baseball. What was it about The Athletic that made it an attractive destination at this point in your career?The chance to do some different things, some different kinds of writing. To expand beyond being maybe just a prospect guy. I like what I do, I don't want to give that up…
data-mm-id=”_tdl60mwm9″>Dana White and the UFC may have already set their sights on the next fight card they will try to promote. Unsurprisingly, it is their next scheduled pay-per-view, UFC 250 on May 9th. Brent Okamoto floated the date on Get Up this morning. "May 9th … it's optimistic, but it's feasible."@bokamotoESPN on a possible return for UFC. pic.twitter.com/agRZ2n2tb1— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 10, 2020The fight was scheduled to take place in Sao Paolo, Brazil, but with most of the world shutting down for COVID-19, if it does take place, it will have to happen on the secretive Fight Island where Dana White is currently building an "infrastructure." White insisted on going forward with the UFC's schedule as scheduled, coronavirus be damned…
data-mm-id=”_nbak9ezrt”>James Harden's resume as a top-five player in this league is very strong. This year will mark the third year in a row he's led the league in scoring, a feat very few have accomplished before him. He has an MVP trophy. He has put up ridiculous statistics of all kinds, from 60-point games to triple-doubles left and right. Yet, time after time, Harden has come up short in the playoffs. There are plenty of reasons why. He isn't gifted whistles like in the regular season and has to scratch and claw for the plentiful amount of free throw attempts he usually enjoys. But the main reason Harden has come up short down the stretch is relatively simple, but still very impactful: he gets tired. The man has posted historic usage rates in every season since Mike…
data-mm-id=”_a8te2cfll”>Perhaps no NFL reporter embodies Philadelphia more right now than Sal Paolantonio. He's been ESPN's primary Eagles reporter since Randall Cunningham was their starting quarterback and has endured all the highs and lows along with fans for over 25 years. The point is, when he talks Eagles, smart people listen.Which brings us to the current Eagles situation. Starting quarterback Carson Wentz has been terrible this year, leading the league in interceptions and sacks and ranking second in fumbles. Many people think Jalen Hurts should start over him. Paolantonio agrees, but for a different reason than anyone else I've heard. Sal Paolantonio says it is absolutely time to sit Carson Wentz down."You gotta put Jalen Hurts on the football field!" …
data-mm-id=”_v1giv0eq8″>When the Los Angeles Angels signed Anthony Rendon to a seven-year, $245 million contract in December of 2019, they thought they were adding a franchise cornerstone to complement Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Instead, they imported an albatross of a contract he hasn't come close to living up to. So far in 2023, Rendon has actually been better at the plate, but is nowhere near the player he needs to be. After awful seasons in 2021 and 2022, Rendon has started 2023 more favorably. But he's had a really weird campaign. In 2021 he hit. 240 with a .329 on-base percentage, while slugging .382. His .712 OPS was far below the .937, .909, 1.010 and .915 of the previous four seasons. He followed that up in 2022 by hitting .229 with an on-base percentage of .326 a…