PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 2: Jack Suwinski # 65 of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks on during the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park on September 2, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Pittsburgh Pirates are cutting ties with tenured outfielder Jack Suwinski as they are officially designating him for assignment.
Suwinski has been a part of the Pirates’ organization since July of 2021 when he was acquired in a trade that sent second baseman Adam Frazier to the San Diego Padres. Suwinski having now being DFA’d will have the opportunity to be claimed off waivers by the other 29 MLB organizations. If Suwinski is not claimed off waivers, he will return to the Pirates’ Minor League system and likely elect to hit the free-agency market.
Suwinski being DFA’d frees up space on the Pirates’ 40-man-roster to officially sign newly acquired designated hitter, Marcell Ozuna. The Pirates resigned Suwinski to a one-year contract this offseason to avoid arbitration.
The time that Suwinski spent with the Pirates was highlighted by power at the plate coupled with wild inconsistency. The 27-year-old slugger made his MLB debut in 2022 and played in 106 games for the Pirates that season. Suwinski enjoyed a breakout season in 2023 where he had 26 homers, which ranked as the 20th-most in the National League. Suwinski’s cardinal sin was while he would have incredible power at the plate, he also had a nasty reputation of having a high swing and miss rate. That same 2023 season where he ranked 20th in homers, he also ranked sixth in total strikeouts with 172.
Jack Suwinski: 2nd more home runs by a Pirate player in their first 2 MLB seasons, behind only Ralph Kiner.
While he had flashes of greatness and potential as a power hitter in Pittsburgh’s lineup, Suwinski was never able to replicate the pop he he showed during the 2023 season. 2024 saw Suwinski appear in 88 games and hitting just 9 home runs.
2025 seemed to be the real breaking point for Suwinski’s time in Pittsburgh. He would appear in just 59 games, as he battled inconsistent play at the plate and did several stints with Triple-A Indianapolis. Suwinski finished the season with a slash line of .147/.281/.534 with 57 strikeouts and a career low t3 homers.
Suwinski’s departure opens the door for prospects Jake Mangum, Jhostynxon Garcia and Esmerlyn Valdez to have more playing opportunities in a thin Pittsburgh outfield group.
LONDON (AP) — Real Madrid and Benfica will do it all over again on Tuesday after their epic Champions League showdown last month.
A 4-2 win for Benfica against Madrid in the last round of games in the league phase produced one of the most dramatic finishes in the competition's history.
A goal deep into added time by goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin secured Benfica's place in the playoffs. Defeat for Madrid, meanwhile, meant the record 15-time European champion missed out on automatic qualification for the round of 16.
The mastermind behind that win for Benfica was former Madrid coach José Mourinho.
Now he gets the chance to inflict more pain on his old team in the first leg of their playoff series at Benfica's Stadium of Light.
“I don’t think it takes a miracle for Benfica to eliminate Real Madrid,” Mourinho said, although he did acknowledge his team would have to be close to perfect to advance.
Defending champion Paris Saint-Germain is playing at Monaco in the playoffs on Tuesday. Galatasaray hosts Juventus and Borussia Dortmund is at home against Atalanta.
It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Jeremy Sochan. After a year riding the pine for the San Antonio Spurs, he and his camp received permission to pursue a trade. The one trade that was publicly shared was the offer from the New York Knicks, which was rejected by the Spurs.
After a suitable trade did not materialize before the deadline, the Spurs graciously waived him, allowing Sochan flexibility to his future.
Jeremy signed with the New York Knicks, packed up, and took himself out East.
And now it has been revealed that Jeremy and his girlfriend Mya Mills are going to be parents.
Mills, a British model and social media influencer, made the announcement via Instagram. Looks like their baby girl is expected May 20th, one day after Mills turns twenty-five.
Sochan is currently twenty-two-years-old. The Knicks is his second NBA team after starting his career in 2022 being drafted by the Spurs.
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CHENNAI, India (AP) — Canada batter Yuvraj Samra’s exhilarating century proved in vain as New Zealand advanced to cricket's T20 World Cup Super 8s with an eight-wicket win on Tuesday.
New Zealand’s resounding victory knocked 2024 semifinalist Afghanistan out of the tournament, with the Black Caps joining England, South Africa, West Indies, India and Sri Lanka in the next round.
Australia will miss out for the first time since 2009 if Zimbabwe beats Ireland in their Group B tussle in Pallekele later on Tuesday.
On a perfect batting wicket, Glenn Phillips (76 not out) and Rachin Ravindra (59 not out) led New Zealand to 176-2 in 15.1 overs as the Black Caps claimed their third win in Group D.
Samra’s 110 off 65 balls, which included six sixes and 11 fours, had earlier guided Canada to 173-4 after captain Dilpreet Bajwa won the toss and elected to bat.
The 19-year-old Samra, who caught the eye last year when he smashed a 15-ball half century against Bahamas, became the first batter from an associate country to score a hundred at the T20 World Cup.
Bajwa made 36 off 39 balls and together with Samra put on 116 for the first wicket.
New Zealand struggled to stem the flow of runs and felt the absence of captain Mitchell Santner, who was ruled out of the game due to a “dodgy burger” on Monday night, and fast bowler Lockie Ferguson.
Ferguson is on paternity leave but is expected to re-join the team for the Super 8s.
Samra was dropped, but not before he had raised his century off 58 deliveries, when the ball burst through the hands of James Neesham at long-off.
His belligerent knock ended in the final over when Phillips caught him at deep backward square leg at the second attempt.
When it came to New Zealand's reply, Finn Allen and Tim Seifert fell inside four balls in the power play before Phillips and Ravindra shared an electrifying 146-run partnership in just 12 overs.
Nepal, which lost its first three Group C games, takes on Scotland in Mumbai later on Tuesday.
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Cameron Boozer had 22 points and 12 rebounds and helped No. 3 Duke rout Syracuse 101-64 victory Monday night.
Isaiah Evans scored 21 points, Nikolas Khamenia added 14 points off the bench and Patrick Ngongba and Cayden Boozer each had 12 for the Blue Devils (24-2, 13-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who looked primed for a weekend nonconference showdown with top-ranked Michigan.
Duke shot 62.3% from the field, including 12 for 20 from 3-point distance.
Boozer shot eight for 10 from the field and finished with the 14th double-double of his freshman season.
William Kyle III scored 12 points and Nate Kingz added 10 for Syracuse (15-12, 6-8), which failed to carry the momentum from back-to-back victories for the first time since winning three straight in January.
NO. 6 IOWA STATE 70, NO.. 2 HOUSTON 67
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Nate Heise hit a go-ahead 3-pointer and Tamin Lipsey came up with an offensive rebound in the final seconds to cap Iowa State’s rally in a victory over Big 12 leader and Houston.
Heise was 3 for 3 from 3-point range hours after sister Taylor Heise scored to help the U.S. Women’s Olympic hockey team beat Sweden 5-0 to reach the gold-medal game in Milan.
The Cyclones (23-3, 10-3) closed with a 17-4 run to take down a second top-10 team in three days. Iowa State topped No. 8 Kansas 74-56 on Saturday.
The Cougars (23-3, 11-2) had their six-game winning streak snapped and their conference lead was cut to a half-game over No. 4 Arizona heading into their matchup Saturday in Houston. Iowa State is third, a game behind Houston.
Heise hit the 3-pointer from the left corner with 1:17 to play to give the Cyclones a 69-67 lead. Houston had two chances to tie or take the lead, but was called for a shot-clock violation with 43 seconds to play, then Chris Cenac Jr., missed a shot with four seconds left.
Blake Buchanan was fouled after rebounding Cenac’s miss, but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Lipsey, though, got the offensive rebound, tapping the ball back to Joshua Jefferson, who was fouled with asecond left. Jefferson made his first free throw for the final margin.
Jefferson led Iowa State with 12 points. Heise had 11 and Buchanan had 10.
Kingston Flemings led Houston with 22 points. Emanuel Sharp had 16 points, all in the first half. Milos Uzan had 11 points.
Walker Buehler throws a pitch during a June 2025 game for the Red Sox.
Former World Series hero Walker Buehler is getting another chance to revive his MLB career — and this time, it’s with a former rival.
Buehler, 31, has agreed to a minor-league deal with the Padres, and he’ll get a chance to compete for a spot in their starting rotation throughout spring training, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Triston McKenzie, Matt Waldron, Germán Márquez, JP Sears and Marco Gonzales are all competing with Buehler for likely just one rotation spot with the Padres, according to the Union-Tribune.
Walker Buehler throws a pitch during a June 2025 game for the Red Sox. Robert Sabo for the NY Post
The deal marked a return to the NL West division where Buehler starred for the first seven seasons — not counting 2023, when he missed the entire campaign due to a second Tommy John surgery — with the Dodgers and won a pair of rings with them in 2020 and 2024.
He started just one game for Triple-A Lehigh Valley and appeared in three — while starting two — for the Phillies the rest of the season. Buehler finished with a 4.94 ERA across his stints with both teams in 2025.
“It’s obviously disappointing,” Buehler said after being demoted to the Red Sox’s bullpen. “It’s the first time in my career that I’ve been in a situation like that, but at the end of the day the organization and to a lesser extent myself, kind of think it’s probably the right thing for our group and it gives me an opportunity to kind of reset in some ways.”
Walker Buehler reacts during a June 2025 start for the Red Sox. Robert Sabo for the NY Post
But at the peak of his career, Buehler was an ace for the Dodgers who topped 23 starts in a season three times and finished inside the top-10 for Cy Young voting twice.
During the Dodgers’ World Series run in 2024, Buehler threw five shutout innings against the Yankees in Game 3 before recording the final three outs in Game 5 to secure Los Angeles’ championship.
He also delivered a strong start for the Dodgers during Game 3 of the NLCS against the Mets.
Feb 13, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits during live batting practice at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
MLB | Bryan Hoch: Flame-throwing prospect Carlos Lagrange knew he’d be throwing a three-inning live batting practice session. He did not know he would be facing the greatest hitter on the planet, Aaron James Judge. Each got the better of the other, as they faced off three times. Judge demolished a 99-mph heater from Lagrange out over the left field wall. Later, Lagrange struck out Judge with 102.6-mph gas. There’s video of the two facing off over on X, so it’s not hard to find Monday’s battle of power versus power.
The Athletic | Chris Kirschner ($): Speaking of Judge, he is preparing for more than the regular season. For the first time in his career, he will represent Team USA at the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Monday, he gave some of his thoughts on the opportunity. Noting that Team USA fell short against Japan in 2023, Judge made his feelings clear that he wants a rematch with the reigning champions this time around. “They’re the reigning champs. They got a great squad coming back. I think that’s why Team USA really bulked up this year to go out there and take care of business. If (Japan) is bringing back the same crew they did three years ago, it’s gonna be a heavyweight fight…”
ESPN: One more from the Yankee Captain. Discussing the club’s offseason, Judge made it clear he was impatient for the Yanks to make some moves. “Let’s sign these guys right now and start adding more pieces because I’m seeing other teams around the league get better… They’re making trades. They’re signing big prospects or big players. And we’re sitting there for a while kind of making smaller moves.” Judge also clarified that he expressed his discontent to the front office. All that said, with the first games of the spring coming later this week, Judge is confident the Yankees are right where they need to be.
MLB Trade Rumors | Charlie Wright: Finally, there is actually news that has nothing to do with Aaron Judge. Yanquiel Fernandez, whom the Yankees claimed from the Colorado Rockies, has cleared waivers after the club designated him for assignment. That enables the Yanks to outright Fernandez, once one of the brightest prospects in the Rockies’ system, to Triple-A. A path to the Bronx in 2026 for Fernandex is unlikely barring a whole slew of worst-case scenarios. But he provides depth and who knows… maybe the 23-year-old can figure it out with a change of scenery.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 12: Members of the Colorado Rockies pitching staff meet prior to a spring training workout at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on February 12, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Kyle Cooper/Colorado Rockies/Getty Images)
Spring training is in full swing. Pitchers and catchers reported to camp last Thursday, and the rest of the squad is set to officially join them tomorrow.
At the end of last season, the Colorado Rockies looked like they were going to once again trot out a very young rotation that saw Chase Dollander and McCade Brown make their MLB debuts, and Tanner Gordon and Bradley Blalock enter their second years in MLB after debuting the previous summer.
So, if the rotation is set with Freeland, Lorenzen, Tomoyuki Sugano and José Quintana, who is the fifth starter that will break camp with the Rockies? Will it be Feltner in his return from injury? Will Dollander prove himself right out of the gate? Will it be Senzatela making his case to return to the rotation? Or will it be someone else — Gordon, Brown, or someone else entirely?
But when Team USA announced its roster ahead of this year’s tournament in March, Turner was left off it and he revealed Monday that it wasn’t because he turned down an opportunity to play.
Trea Turner said he would have been interested in playing for Team USA again in the World Baseball Classic, but “phone never rang.”
“It’s something I wanted to do, but the phone never rang,” Turner told reporters from his locker at the Phillies’ spring training complex. “It’s so much fun. I gladly would have done it again. I said it last time, if they ever ask, I would say yes.”
Team USA manager Mark DeRosa and general manager Michael Hill selected the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. and the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson over the 32-year-old Turner as Team USA shortstops — giving the infield a different complexion as they look to win the tournament after falling to Japan in the 2023 championship game.
Trea Turner is pictured during the Phillies’ spring training session Feb. 16. AP
Led by captain and Yankees superstar Aaron Judge, Team USA’s star-studded roster also includes two of Turner’s Phillies teammates in Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.
“They’ve got a great roster this year,” Turner told reporters Monday. “It’s stacked.”
Trea Turner celebrates after hitting a grand slam during a March 2023 game in the World Baseball Classic. USA TODAY Sports
Instead, Turner will remain with the Phillies for the entirety of their Grapefruit League slate and spring training.
The next chance for Turner, whose vintage WBC moments in 2023 included a go-ahead grand slam against Venezuela in the quarterfinals, to play for Team USA will be in 2029, when the tournament unfolds next.
“I think we’re in a good spot to win,” Turner told reporters of Team USA, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I’ll definitely be watching it, and I wish Kyle and Bryce and all these guys, [Edmundo] Sosa, everyone playing, I hope they perform well for their countries, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Turner won the National League batting title last season after collecting a .304 average — in addition to 15 homers and 69 RBIs — in what served as his best season since signing with the Phillies ahead of the 2023 season.
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 15: Anthony Edwards #5 of the USA Stars Team poses for a portrait with the Kobe Bryant 2026 Kia NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Trophy during the 75th NBA All-Star Game - Post Game Portraits as part of NBA All-Star Weekend on Sunday, February 15, 2026 at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Zach Barron/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
It was February of 2003. Kevin Garnett walked into the All-Star Game as the Timberwolves’ lone representative, our one-man franchise, and walked out with the MVP trophy after leading the Western Conference to a win. I remember sitting in my college apartment obsessively tracking every KG rebound and elbow jumper like it was Game 7 of the Finals. My roommates looked at me like I had lost my mind. “It’s the All-Star Game,” they said.
But they didn’t get it.
Back then, the Wolves were the NBA’s awkward cousin. Six straight first-round playoff exits. No playoff series wins. No lottery luck. No national respect. Kevin Garnett was all we had. So when KG was announced as All-Star MVP, it felt like Minnesota had finally been acknowledged. Not pitied. Not ignored. Acknowledged.
Fast forward 23 years.
Anthony Edwards is now the second Timberwolf to win All-Star Game MVP. On the surface, it doesn’t hit the same way. The All-Star Game has spent the last decade drifting into irrelevance, with think pieces every February asking whether we should just cancel it altogether. The Timberwolves, meanwhile, aren’t the NBA’s afterthought anymore. They’ve been to back-to-back Western Conference Finals. They’re in the contender conversation. They don’t need validation in the same desperate way they did in 2003.
And yet, what we saw this weekend from Edwards may end up being even more significant than what Garnett did that night.
Because this wasn’t just about an exhibition trophy.
It was about the face of the league.
For the better part of three years now, I’ve been beating the same drum: Anthony Edwards should be the face of the modern NBA. Not just one of its stars. The guy. The centerpiece. The billboard. The post-LeBron answer.
The modern NBA features a buffet of talent. Luka Doncic slicing defenses. Nikola Jokic doing robot savant things. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP and champion, playing with surgical precision. Victor Wembanyama looking like a basketball cheat code from a lab experiment.
But here’s the thing: there’s only one player on that stage who has the charisma, the relatability, and the sheer gravitational pull to capture both the American fan base and the global audience in the way Michael Jordan did in the ’90s, Kobe did in the 2000s, and LeBron did for the last two decades.
It’s Edwards.
Luka and Jokic are generational talents, but they don’t connect culturally with U.S. fans the way a homegrown, charismatic star does. Shai is brilliant, but he doesn’t command a room the way Ant does. Wembanyama is fascinating, but he’s a unicorn. Kids can’t replicate that body, that reach, that alien geometry. They can’t go into the driveway and pretend to be 7-foot-4 with an eight-foot wingspan.
They can pretend to be Anthony Edwards.
They can practice the step-back three. The downhill drive. The swagger. The grin. The playful trash talk. The confidence.
From the opening tip of the All-Star Game, Edwards stole the show. He went at Wembanyama with a wink and a challenge. He embraced the moment instead of sleepwalking through it. And when the final buzzer sounded and the cameras swarmed, he didn’t retreat into cliché answers or exhausted platitudes.
He leaned in.
The postgame press conference was almost more impressive than the on-court performance. After a long All-Star Weekend, it would have been easy to mail it in. Instead, he flashed that smile, cracked jokes, engaged with reporters, and turned a room full of microphones into his own late-night talk show set. He looked comfortable. Confident. Born for it.
This is exactly the kind of personality the league needs right now. The NBA is navigating a strange era. The talent level is absurdly high. The global footprint is enormous. But culturally? It feels fragmented. Polarized. Searching for its next unifying figure. After MJ came Kobe. After Kobe came LeBron. After LeBron… the answer has felt murkier.
The answer should be Anthony Edwards.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting for Wolves fans. For years, Minnesota has lived on the wrong side of the NBA’s gravitational pull. The superstar whistle? Rarely ours. The free-agent magnetism? Not exactly strong. The benefit-of-the-doubt calls in crunch time? Let’s just say we’ve seen them go elsewhere.
Edwards has yet to consistently get the “superstar whistle.” You can debate whether that whistle should exist at all, but anyone who watches the league knows it does. Ant drives to the rim, absorbs contact, throws his arms up with that signature “hey!” yell, and too often jogs back without a call. Some of that is self-inflicted, officials don’t love demonstrative reactions, but some of it is about status.
Status changes everything. As Edwards’ star continues its supernova trajectory, maybe the memo gets passed. Maybe some of those borderline no-calls start turning into trips to the free-throw line. Not because he’s flopping or hunting whistles, but because the league subconsciously understands: this is one of our tentpole guys now.
And if that happens, it doesn’t just elevate Edwards.
It elevates Minnesota.
For 36 years, the Wolves have fought uphill battles: officiating, market size, free agency perception, you name it. But if Edwards becomes the gravitational center of the league, that pull starts working in Minnesota’s favor. Suddenly, the Wolves aren’t just the scrappy small-market contender. They’re the home of the face of the NBA.
That matters.
It matters for calls. It matters for national TV slots. It matters for free agents who want to play with a megastar in his prime. It matters for legacy.
Because while Garnett’s 2003 All-Star MVP felt like validation for a franchise that had never won anything, Edwards’ 2026 All-Star MVP feels like confirmation of something bigger: confirmation that Minnesota might be housing the next global icon.
The NBA is full of brilliance right now. But there’s only one guy who feels like he was made for the camera, built for the moment, and wired to embrace the spotlight without flinching.
After MJ came Kobe. After Kobe came LeBron.
After LeBron?
It should be Anthony Edwards.
And if that’s true, Wolves fans may look back at this All-Star Weekend not as a fun midseason footnote, but as the night the rest of the basketball world finally caught up to what we’ve known for five seasons.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 27: Joey Cantillo #54 of the Cleveland Guardians throws a pitch during the third inning against the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field on September 27, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
#Guardians Manager Stephen Vogt said today that Logan Allen and Joey Cantillo will be the starters in each of Cleveland's Spring Training games Saturday. Says he is not sure who will pitch against the Reds or Brewers just yet. #GuardsBall@WEWS
It is just about time for Guardians baseball to be back! The first full squad workout is today, and Steven Vogt announced that Logan Allen and Joey Cantillo will be the starters for the first two games Saturday. Vogt also mentioned that we would see a lot of Stuart Fairchild and Travis Bazzana before they have to leave for the WBC, which is very exciting.
FanGraphs posted their new top 100 and it includes six Guardians:
26. Chase DeLauter
40. Ralphy Velazquez
42. Angel Genao
54. Travis Bazzana
82. Parker Messick
91. Khal Stephen
In the past I have not been a fan of Eric Longenhagen, but I think this is a very good list. I would have Doughty in there as well, but I mostly agree with this order. Of course all of this will change by July, but it’s still fun to see where our guys stack up amongst the rest of the prospects in the league.
Sep 5, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs center fielder Kevin Alcantara (13) singles against the Atlanta Braves during the third inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
It’s another week here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and join us. We’ve waived the cover charge. The dress code is casual. We still have a few tables available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
Last week I asked you if the Cubs should sign Nico Hoerner to an extension. Normally this would be a no-brainer, but the presence of Matt Shaw complicates things. In any case, 55 percent of you thought my proposal of four years and $84 million sounded like a fair deal for Hoerner that the Cubs should make. Another 32 percent of you think my estimate was too low, but that the Cubs should pay what it takes (within reason) to sign Hoerner to an extension.
Basically, about 95 percent of you want to see Hoerner as a Cub for life. I hope Jed Hoyer is listening.
Here’s the part where we listen to music and talk movies. The BCB Winter Science Fiction Classic is almost over, but we still have a few contests left. But you’re free to skip ahead to the Cubs stuff at the end.
I guess real New Orleans people don’t say “Laissez le bon temps roulez,“ but it’s a good phrase anyways as it’s Mardi Gras time down in Louisiana. And since New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz, we can’t let the holiday pass without a tribute.
Here we have New Orleans trumpeter Kermit Ruffins playing “Drop Me Off in New Orleans” inside of a van in 2012.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) Directed by Nicholas Meyer. Starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Ricardo Montalban. oday I have to play teacher and scold some of you who are ruining things for everyone. Once again, someone stuffed the ballot box in the BCB Winter Science Fiction Classic. So no matter what the final vote total says, I’m declaring 2001: A Space Odyssey the winner of Godzilla (Gojira) since it seems clear to me that more of you voted for it than Godzilla, even if one or more of you decided to vote for Godzilla a few dozen times.
Should this kind of ballot stuffing continue, I’m going to discontinue this feature in future winters.
So 2001 advances to the final where it will definitely take on a sequel. I know this because the two pictures we have this evening are two of the greatest sequels ever made: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan versus Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Ironically, neither one of these films were ranked by me atop their brackets, although I do remember making up the brackets and saying to myself “Man, the ‘modern’ bracket is tough if Terminator 2 comes in seeded third.“
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) Directed by Nicholas Meyer. Starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Ricardo Montalban.
I should point out that it was TWOK that established Star Trek’s “Magnificent Seven” of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov. Anyone familiar with the original sixties television show knows that only Shatner, Nimoy and DeForest Kelley were listed in the opening credits and Kelley only in the second and third seasons. The other four weren’t in every episode and it was TWOK that elevated the other four over characters like Nurse Christine Chapel (Majel Barrett), Yeoman Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) and a few other recurring characters that showed up on the original series from time to time.
Here’s the scene that didn’t have a dry eye in the house for. Spoiler I guess, but it’s a 43-year-old film and pretty much all of you know what happens here.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Directed by James Cameron. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Robert Patrick.
Here’s the scene where the T-800 (Schwarzenegger) and John Connor (Edward Furlong) break his mom Sarah (Hamilton) out of the psychiatric prison. The T-1000 (Patrick) is hot on their heels. Schwarzenegger also gets out one of his catchphrases: “Come with me if you want to live.”
Now it’s time to vote!
The winner will take on 2001: A Space Odyssey for the tournament title on Wednesday!
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.
Spring Training has started, which means we have a month of arguing over who should make the Opening Day roster. And since most of the roster spots are already set, most of what we discuss is who is the last guy on the bench or the final spot in the bullpen. That’s assuming there isn’t some major injury that we don’t want to think about.
Maybe the biggest discussion for Spring Training is who is going to be the fourth outfielder for the Cubs. The candidates are prospect Kevin Alcántara and three players who were added over the winter: waiver claim Justin Dean and free agent non-roster invitees Dylan Carlson and Chas McCormick.
That’s a debate for another day after we get a few Spring Training games in. I promise you we will revisit this topic later in Spring Training. But of the four players named, Alcántara is the one with the most promise and the one most likely to have a long career with the Cubs.
So tonight we’re going to focus on Alcántara. Whether or not you think he’ll break camp with the Cubs on Opening Day, there’s a good chance that he’ll spend some time in the majors this year. But how much? Will Alcántara be so good that he forces his way into a regular roster spot by May? Will he serve much of the season as a part-time player? Or will he, like in 2024 and 2025, just get a short cup of coffee with the major league team?
Just to refresh your memory, the Cubs acquired Kevin Alcántara at the deadline in 2021 in the trade that sent Anthony Rizzo to the Bronx. At the time, Alcántara had just turned 19 and had all of nine games in the rookie ball Gulf Coast League. Since then he’s slowly worked his way up the Cubs system until spending all of last year in Triple-A Iowa, save for that short major-league call-up in September. With Iowa, he struggled through some injuries but still hit a respectable .266/.349/.470 with 17 home runs and ten steals over 102 games.
“The Jaguar,” as Alcántara is nicknamed, is still in many ways the raw prospect the Cubs traded for in 2021. Yes, he’s made a lot of progress, but he’s still a player who gets by more on his raw athleticism than baseball skills. He has made progress in pitch selection, but he still has a ton of swing-and-miss in his game, especially against breaking pitches from right-handed pitchers. At 6’6”, he may always have trouble covering the strike zone. But his raw athleticism, power and speed mean that if he ever does put things together, he has the ceiling of an All-Star.
But it should be noted that he has become a very good defensive outfielder, both in center and right field. No, he’s not on Pete Crow-Armstrong’s level, but no one is. That makes him an ideal 4th outfielder. The problem is that turning him into a major league reserve player means he won’t be getting the regular at-bats that he needs to improve at the plate. So making Alcántara a regular fourth outfielder now might help the team win in 2026, but itcould stunt his growth as a regular right fielder for the future.
So whether or not you think Alcántara breaks camp with the Cubs at the end of March, how many major league games do you think he’ll play in 2026? I realized that I probably should have made this poll read “With the Cubs,” but I didn’t. So if you think the Cubs will trade Alcántara to the Tigers for Tarik Skubal (not happening) at the deadline, I guess you can add in the 45 games he’ll play in Detroit after the deal if you want.
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PHOENIX, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 19: Relief pitcher Walker Buehler #31 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the sixth inning at Chase Field on September 19, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Phillies defeated the Diamondbacks 8-2. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
How did San Diego Padres President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller celebrate his new multi-year contract extension? By continuing to add to the 2026 roster.
Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune posted on social media that San Diego and right-hander Walker Buehler agreed to a minor-league contract, Monday. The post contained a link to his article for the U-T.
Buehler was a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015 and broke into the big leagues with the club in 2017. Buehler pitched for the Dodgers until 2024 and left via free agency. He spent the 2025 season with the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies.
Buehler holds a career record of 57-29 with a 3.52 ERA. He has amassed 846 strikeouts over 839.2 innings pitched. Buehler finished the 2025 season with a combined record of 10-7 with a 4.93 ERA with 92 strikeouts in 126.0 innings pitched.
The Padres have added multiple arms since Saturday with Griffin Canning, German Marquez and now Buehler being added to the mix for a backend of the rotation. The three additions will compete with JP Sears, Kyle Hart, Matt Waldron, Marco Gonzales and Triston McKenzie throughout Spring Training for one of the final rotation spots. Randy Vasquez has been the presumed No. 4 starter for much of the offseason, but with the added competition he will have to earn it.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 14: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a press conference during 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend at Intuit Dome on February 14, 2026 in Inglewood, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the GettyImages License Agreement. (Photo by Ryan Sirius Sun/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the unfair and unprecedented fines against the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers last week, there has been a tipping point of frustration for fans and media over how poorly things have gone for the NBA under the leadership of Adam Silver.
Adam Silver has done one thing right in his time as Commissioner: he has made money for the Owners, those with one of thirty memberships in the league.
In terms of the product on the floor, he’s done a terrible job. The actual on-court elements of the game have consistently gotten worse under his leadership.
Problems with the product
Tanking
Instead of focusing on the two-thirds of the league vying for playoffs, Silver has made it important to punish and terrorize the small markets of the league, doing everything they can to try to be competitive. Steph Curry, over had a great quote over All-Star weekend about the state of the league and the “tanking problem.”
Steph Curry was asked what he thinks the NBA should do to reduce tanking:
“Is it really that big of a problem? I’m asking. We feel like there’s obviously a lot of competition. It’s something I’m sure every year the NBA wants to address, why the Play-in Tournament exists. Things… pic.twitter.com/tMVMb1VaNK
Tanking, which has been done for forty years, is just now apparently ruining the “integrity of the league.” Teams that are focusing on having their young players play, knowing that they won’t win, are receiving threats from the commissioner to do things that aren’t in their best interest. You’d better play your vets, we’re monitoring your substitution patterns! Win meaningless games, so you miss out on the talent in the draft, or else! That’s the message from Adam Silver recently.
In Silver’s disastrous press conference over All-Star weekend, in which Silver had All-Star Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night during the day, he claimed that all things are on the table to punish teams for tanking, including losing draft picks. So, the one thing teams like the Utah Jazz have to bring top-tier talent on their team, the one thing that allows them to make trades to improve, Silver wants to remove.
Adam Silver: "What we're doing, what we're seeing right now, is not working…"
David Aldridge: "Is there any talk of taking draft picks away from teams… as opposed to fining them?"
There are so many things he says that show an absolute misunderstanding of fans. First, Silver mentions that fans don’t want tanking. Maybe for the casual fan, but for the diehards, the ones paying for league pass and going to games in losing seasons, that’s just not the case. Silver is treating fans like a tech company treats users of its apps, they’re data points. Fans may not like tanking, nobody does, but they understand the necessity of it. I see that in our site’s numbers and in my own YouTube and social media. Fans view the draft as hope, and tanking as the means of restoring it. They know that you can’t get anywhere in the NBA other than drafting top-tier players on draft night. And for small market teams, tanking is the only way they’ll get their own superstar. Silver throwing around threats about losing draft picks is the worst possible type of leadership. It’s a tyrannical leader, unchecked, threatening the smaller markets to bend the knee to his beloved larger markets like LA and New York, as well as his beloved gambling companies (more on that later).
Yes, there are season ticket holders who would like to see their teams win. And at some point, you have to make sure that NBA owners are actually making a profit, but the NBA taking draft picks away from a team like the Jazz would only hurt the fans, the ones that Silver claims he is worried about.
Season Length
For far too long, the NBA season has been too long. Players are still playing back-to-backs and three games in four nights that is leading to a wide variety of issues. Load management has been a problem that has plagued the league for all of Silver’s tenure. We don’t hear as much about it now because the commissioner wants you to think it’s been solved. To his credit, Silver did add the rule that players must reach 65 games to be eligible for awards and all-star consideration, and that appears to have curbed some problems. But this rule alone should tell you about the need for a shortened season.
Imagine the NBA reduced games to something in the 70-72 range. Teams would actually be able to practice (what a novel thought). It would literally improve the product on the floor with teams being prepared for each game. It would also make each game matter more, in a way that has given the NFL an advantage. Each NFL game matters more because every game counts towards the playoff picture. If the NBA had a shorter season, spread out, there would be less tanking in general because, when it would happen, it would be late in the season when people wouldn’t care anyway. The playoff picture would hinge on every game that much more. As it currently stands, the season is more or less decided by February and March. Teams like the Utah Jazz have to make decisions for what’s best for them earlier because the season is so long.
In addition to improvements to the games themselves, we’re seeing players sustain more and more injuries. The game is faster, harder, and requires more skill than ever before. Players have to be at an elite level, and they’re pushing themselves to the absolute limit, and we’re seeing more injuries, which is costing stars to play. And if there’s one thing the NBA likes to boast about, it’s its stars. It is not good to boast about those stars if they’re always out with calf injuries, or worse.
How to fire Adam Silver
The decision to single out the Utah Jazz specifically was not for the integrity of the league, the lie that Adam Silver told. It was to protect the thing that he is most worried about, the revenue of the league. But not in the way you would think, with attendance or viewership, he is most worried about the integration of gambling. There are a lot of legacies that Adam Silver will leave whenever he stops being the commissioner (player injuries, bad officiating, a ruined all-star experience, a poor league-pass experience, tournaments no one asked for, the list could go on), but the one he will be most known for is the invasive implementation of gambling in every aspect of the game. Gambling companies need reliable information for games to remove issues with their lines. For the Utah Jazz to rest players puts those lines at risk and could cause bookkeepers to lose reliable data. That’s the worry for Adam Silver.
One of the most telling stories about Silver’s interest in the gambling aspect of the league comes from this Ringer article on pitch-counting scandals and their relationship to prop bets. Something that sounds very familiar to things we’ve seen with Terry Rozier and Jontay Porter. But what’s interesting from that article is what it revealed from Adam Silver talking to Rob Manfred, commissioner of the MLB.
With parlays, the house almost always wins. With prop bets, the house almost always wins except when it’s set up to lose by a duplicitous, unscrupulous player. In 2021, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred divulged that NBA commissioner Adam Silver had advised him not to dwell on baseball’s deliberate pace because all that time between its hundreds of thousands of pitches per season made the sport perfect for micro-betting—an in-game, real-time form of prop bet along the lines of the kind Clase is accused of abusing, which wasn’t even feasible in sports betting’s bookie-based era, before smartphones and apps. Micro-bets are made for problem gamblers—both the kind that can’t lose and the kind that can’t win.
This bit of information is everything you need to know about what Adam Silver’s focus is. It’s not what’s best for the game and the fans, it’s not the integrity of the game, it’s how much money he can squeeze from every opportunity he can. It’s why every change for the league always entails some addition/change that doesn’t actually improve the actual product, it’s just to manipulate things in a way that keeps revenue while also manufacturing interest. The integrity of the game is the last thing he’s worried about.
In the NBA’s constitution, Article 13 talks about the ways that an owner can lose their membership in the NBA. One of those (Article 13, section g) is for a team, or a member of a team, who willfully manipulates scores, but for bets/wagers. There is nothing there regarding losing games for draft purposes. But for a removal of a member of the NBA, it would take the member breaking one of the rules of the league and having a 3/4 vote by the Board of Governors consisting of a representative of all 30 NBA teams.
The problem? Adam Silver is the commissioner, he is not a member of the association. He recently received a contract extension through 2030. It’s clear that if the NBA Board of Governors wanted to remove Adam Silver, it would take a special meeting, and then a vote would have to be taken. That vote would require a 3/4 majority. With 30 NBA teams, 23 teams would have to vote for it.
The cynical part of me makes me think that this is very unlikely. There may be a lot of team owners that are perfectly fine with the direction that Adam Silver is running things. But the small market teams have to pay attention to what is happening. Adam Silver appears to be using this situation as an opportunity to make drastic changes to the draft, the only way a team like the Utah Jazz or the Indiana Pacers can actually build toward a title. Recently, the idea of abolishing the draft has been bandied about online. Apparently, Adam Silver is actually considering it.
Adam Silver and his advisors would “seriously consider” abolishing the rookie draft and turning rookies in free agents if it is the only way to stop tanking, per @joevardon
If there is anything that small markets should avoid at all costs, it is this. If you are putting the choice for rookies to choose between going to LA, Miami, New York, and a smaller market? You’re never going to see the small markets be competitive again. Even if the player might want to go to a better situation, the agents are going to steer their client to the place they think will generate more deals and earning power. And what’s obvious from Adam Silver lately is that he couldn’t care less about the fans from Utah or Indiana. What he’s interested in is the data points that tell him he needs to always give the advantage to larger markets while coming up with new ways to squeeze more from the fans.
The NBA Draft needs to return to the old lottery odds that favor the worst teams with the best odds of getting the top pick. Silver’s decision to flatten odds has created this “tanking problem” he’s talking about.
And that’s the reason that a change needs to happen. There needs to be a commissioner committed to improving the product, one who understands what’s actually best for the league. THAT is where the integrity of the game is on the line. The person who has “undermined the foundation of NBA competition” is Adam Silver, who puts gambling companies’ interests over those of the fans at every point. His leadership has hurt the “integrity of the league,” and it’s time for a change to happen.
