Month: June 2018

He’s special when he’s right and feels good, manager Mike Matheny said. You can tell he’s in a good place.

Harvey is 1-2 in six starts for Cincinnati, which got him in a trade with the Mets on May 8. He also allowed Yairo Munoz’s solo homer, the fifth time in his career that he’s given up three in a game.

The Dodgers took the series from Atlanta and have won seven of their last nine games. The NL champions moved to 33-32 they have not been more than one game over .500 this season.

Ross Stripling (5-1) has been the Dodgers’ most consistent and healthy part of the rotation. He allowed home runs by Ozzie Albies, his 15th, and Freddie Freeman, his 12th, in the fourth inning. Stripling gave up four hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Stripling also had a sacrifice bunt and a stolen base to complete an all-around day of solid work.

I was able to get off to a good start, going through the lineup once in less than 30 pitches so I was in a good spot, Stripling said. Then I had a 33-pitch fourth, the two homers and I was able to limit it to that. After that, you just try to get through that inning and settle back down. I was able to do that and gave us a chance to win, which is what I was trying to do when I went out there.

In the three years prior to signing that deal, Shields averaged 15 wins, 34 starts, 228 innings, 200 strikeouts and posted a 3.29 ERA and a 121 ERA+, per baseball-reference.com. In the three years after signing the pact, he averaged 8 wins, 29 starts, 167 innings, 151 strikeouts and put up a 4.92 ERA with an 80 ERA+. His deal was a classic example of a team doling out a free-agent contract based on what a player had done, not what he was going to do.

Shields landed with Chicago just over two years ago and has toiled in relative anonymity since, while emerging as a veteran clubhouse leader and a go-to voice for the local media. The Padres have picked up a little over half of Shields’ tab since dealing him to the White Sox, so if Chicago were to deal him now, the team acquiring him would be on the hook for only a prorated portion of $10 million, plus the $2 million buyout. Those numbers could be even less if the White Sox were to take on some of the remaining cash.

Former Pro Bowl tight end Kellen Winslow II was arrested in Encinitas, Calif. on Thursday following a call to police regarding a residential burglary, according to KUSI News.

Police were called Thursday afternoon regarding a possible burglary as a neighbor in a mobile home park saw a black male he didn’t recognize enter a home. After the person confronted the unknown individual, the man alleged got back into his black SUV and drove away. Police later stopped a vehicle with the driver, Winslow, being identified as the person that had entered the home.

Jackson won the Heisman Trophy for his play at Louisville during the 2016 season and picked up several other honors over his final two college seasons. He was an effective weapon as both a passer and a runner, although questions about how much he’d develop in the former area helped keep him from going at the top of the first round.

Jackson is behind Joe Flacco in Baltimore as he starts his professional career and the length of time he spends in the No. 2 role will be partially determined by how well the veteran does during the 2018 season. Should it look a lot like the last couple of years, Jackson’s wait may not turn out to be an extended one.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a tweet cross over a million retweets before, but here we are, proving yet again this self-evident truth about America: We love free stuff. VIDEO During the whole Pats/fun argument, I couldn’t stop thinking of this video that my buddy Danny put together in April. Just perfect. He earned all 3,000 of those retweets, without question. QUOTE I was trying to help a guy up out of the pile, and he wanted to say some foul stuff. Listen, I’m not here to be pushed over. You can come at me because my name is in the papers or on TV, so you can come at me. I’m not backing down. I’m here for a reason

Seahawks defensive lineman Dion Jordan recently underwent knee surgery, which has kept him out of organized team activities.

Watching Alex Ovechkin’s flying goal on Saturday night in the NHL finals was another reminder of how crazy it is that he didn’t make it to this stage, or even within a round of this stage, until after his 32nd birthday. The guy has been a top-two or top-three player in his sport for most of the last decade.

Tiger Woods contending at the Memorial through three days reminded me of when I was in college in Columbus and he absolutely owned that tournament—which mattered to him because it was Jack Nicklaus’s tournament on Jack’s home course. And it seemed a foregone conclusion then that he’d wind up catching Jack’s mark of 18 majors. Which makes that seem like a long time ago.

Incognito is now back home in Arizona and told John Wawrow of the Associated Press that he is training in hopes of continuing his NFL career in 2018. Incognito said he was retiring early in the offseason, but became a free agent when he was released by the Bills shortly before the incident in Florida.

In a text message to Wawrow, Incognito expressed thanks to former teammate Eric Wood for being a bright shining light when he was having a bad day and to Bills ownership for giving him a chance to continue his career.

He also wrote that he hopes to sign with a team that faces the Bills during the 2018 season so he can come back up there and kick their ass before closing the message with a smiley face emoji wearing sunglasses.

If Brady’s not on board to the same level, and chafing against the program openly in his documentary series, would that have an effect on a younger player who might be upset with his place on the team, or who’s going through a rough few weeks? Interesting to keep an eye on. Three, the Pats’ advantage has always been in the details. Remember that practice footage of the New England defense repping the Seattle play that Malcolm Butler would pick off in Super Bowl XLIX?

The best receiver in Rams camp at the moment may be the guy coaching them — even though he’s 41.

Longtime Rams standout Torry Holt is working this spring as part of the league’s Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship, as the Greatest Show on Turf star tries to branch out.

The Rams led the league in scoring last year, so even if they’re not quite matching the Holt-Kurt Warner-Isaac Bruce-Marshall Faulk years, they’re at least off to a good start. And with such players to work with, Holt’s coaching career might as well, if he chooses to pursue this path.

The questions were creative, aimed at getting something more than the usual nothing that Belichick offers. He still managed to say nothing, or close to it.

Question: Did the absence of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski slow down your progress at all? How did that affect what you’ve been trying to do?

He has had back-to-back 100-tackle seasons which included 32.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Edmunds will likely be able to play any linebacker position. He’s built like a front-line pass-rusher and tackles like an inside linebacker.

He brings production and potential to the table. Despite showing sideline-to-sideline athleticism in the Southeastern Conference, Smith is an ascending player. He can make plays at the point of attack, coupled with the athleticism to play man coverage down the field.

He has rare athleticism for a player this big but hasn’t always played to his ability. Some scouts worry that’s a habit he could bring to the NFL. With work and plenty of forceful guidance, he has the potential to be a defensive centerpiece.

The Jaguars announced the signing of third-round pick Ronnie Harrison.

I’m just excited, Harrison said, via quotes distributed by the team. I’m ready to get out there and show what I can do. I’m blessed to be in this position and am ready to work. I just want to say thank you to my mom and my family and everybody who’s been pushing me.

The Alabama safety became the fifth of the team’s draft picks to sign. Fourth-round offensive lineman Will Richardson (North Carolina State), sixth-round quarterback Tanner Lee (Nebraska), seventh-round linebacker Leon Jacobs (Wisconsin) and seventh-round punter Logan Cooke (Mississippi State) also are under contract.

Harrison appeared in 44 games with 30 starts for the Crimson Tide and made 177 tackles during his three-year career.

In a twist of irony, she — of all people — delivered.

What those numbers showed was a craving for simple respect, a genuine look at a family that had a Trump supporter as one of their own who was not the butt of all the jokes or incessantly mocked.

Critics, meanwhile, were unable to separate Roseanne the person from Roseanne the show.

But on TV, Roseanne is a mouthy, loving working-class mom.

The show’s only controversial moment was the time Roseanne and her husband, Dan, fell asleep in front of the TV, and they started talking about the shows Black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat.

You know at the [NFL owners] meetings I have had different conversations about him, Jones said. At the Competition Committee meeting, some of the coaches there speak to it. I’m sure other coaches have called our coaches and wanted input on him. The greatest thing about Dez is he is a fierce competitor. I think he is now more driven and more competitive than he has ever been. We wish him nothing but the best.

When he’s not bashing Cowboys coach Jason Garrett or campaigning for his Pro Football Hall of Fame bid — which was successful, and he will be part of the 2018 class — Owens has petitioned for his NFL comeback in what seems like an annual tradition. The last time the 44-year-old was under contract was with the Seahawks in 2012, but he was cut after training camp.

Owens had torn his ACL in 2011 but rehabbed and held a televised workout that fall, which no NFL teams attended. He went on to play in the Indoor Football League, but was released in May 2012 for what the team’s owner called a lack of effort both on and off the field.

Last month, Owens made headlines while questioning how Garrett still had a job. But the only one still looking for one is Owens.

Chanel Iman is simply glowing these days.

Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan wants a contract extension. He deserves a contract extension.

But the sides have had no substantial talks, according to Lewan.

Lewan, 26, will get something similar to the four-year, $62 million deal Nate Solder signed with the Giants. Lewan has become one of the NFL’s top tackles, or maybe the best.

I would say from a competitive standpoint, absolutely, Lewan said when asked if he was the best. There are a lot of things I do well and a lot of things I can improve upon as a football player. But for me, if I don’t walk on the field and think I’m the best player in the NFL every time I step on the field, then I’m doing something wrong.

Honestly, I feel like I set the standard high for myself and him, so I think we can be the best in this league, Hopkins said, via John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. I think he can be the best quarterback. I know I can be the best wide receiver. That’s our mindset coming into the season.

Watson is still being held out of 11-on-11 drills to protect his surgically repaired knee, but he is making good progress and expected to be cleared well before the start of the regular season. Hopkins said he’s been impressed with how Watson has tried to improve mentally while he hasn’t been able to do everything physically.

I would say him studying off the field, just learning the system [and] not just coming out and making the plays that he naturally can do, Hopkins said. I would say studying defenses, being a student of the game. Just the conversations we have in between workouts and warming up. It’s constantly going over defenses, talking about what we can do to get better. I definitely can see him wanting to be the best.

The last great alternative to the primary NFL video game franchise had Terrell Owens on the cover. The latest installment of the only remaining NFL video game franchise has Terrell Owens on the cover.

Yes, T.O. will be on the cover of Madden 19, wearing a Cowboys uniform. They’re calling it the Hall of Fame Edition, and it comes out on August 10, the Tuesday after Owens enters the Hall of Fame.

Greene was demoted after the Times published the harrowing accounts of former ambassadors, while a team spokesman later Thursday said that he had resigned.

Several former ambassadors said that Redskins officials went as far as to steer them to salons that sponsored the teams so they could get dressed up like a cheerleader but not actually become one.

It was like, if you want to make the cheerleading team, you’d better do all this stuff, and that included going to parties where there was a lot of drinking and there were definitely underage ambassadors. It might not be the best experience for the ladies, but you just shut up and do it because you want to be a cheerleader, one of the former ambassadors told the New York Times.

Redskins president Bruce Allen said in May the team was investigating accusations about the cheerleading squad.

You would hope so, he said. But at the end of the day, we’re paid to play this game. They own the game. And that’s the difference at the end of the day.

Jets coach Todd Bowles said it is nice to have Johnson’s support, but did not have much to say about the new policy.

It’s always nice to have the owner have your back, Bowles said. It’s about the issues for us. We didn’t have a problem a year ago. We’ll continue to talk as a group, as a team, as an organization and go from there. We try to focus on the issues and do things behind the scenes that make a difference as opposed to sit out here and go tit for tat with a lot of things going on.

But that was nothing in comparison to the decision to pick at a scab in a way that nearly severed an artery, courtesy of the clumsy change to the anthem policy. For the first time since the President attacked the NFL and its players over a controversy that had come close to sliding off the back burner, the NFL’s handling of the anthem became mainstream news all over again, with few if any happy about the current status of the rule.

The Vikings were pretty good in the red zone last year.

But then they changed quarterbacks and lost their play-caller.

That’s why they’re spending so much time on the close-to-the-end zone stuff in OTAs, as quarterback Kirk Cousins adapts to his new environment.

While seeing a different number on the scale is nice, Adams really wants to see different numbers in the standings this season. Then, he’ll know his work is paying off.

It’s not always going to be about me … it’s never going to be about me, excuse me, Adams said. It’s about the team. Whatever I can do, as long as I do my job, I’m helping the team get better.

A week after NFL owners implemented a policy to keep any national-anthem protesters in the locker room, a few Jets players expressed their dismay with the decision.

The source said that Roethlisberger has done the same thing in past years. However, no reports surfaced of Roethlisberger being absent.

And last year, Roethlisberger spoke out about running back Le’Veon Bell’s absence from the first practice of OTA season.

I wish he’d be here just because he’s one of the pieces to our puzzle, Roethlisberger said. I know he can’t participate because I don’t think he’s 100 percent healthy, but it would be nice to see him here just in terms of the chemistry and learning and being a part of this process. But obviously it’s up to him.

While Roethlisberger once again was present for the first day of OTAs, he hasn’t been there since. Even if it’s consistent with his preparations from past years, it’s safe to safe that nothing is amiss, because (unlike Patriots quarterback Tom Brady), Roethlisberger has no qualms about speaking his mind.

Disappointing, veteran wide receiver Jermaine Kearse said on Tuesday. Me personally, I think they’re kind of missing the point. For us, as a team, nobody on our team kneeled. Yet that doesn’t mean we don’t support the causes of why people are kneeling.