The Sydney Thunder have parted ways with coach Trevor Bayliss after a disappointing Big Bash League campaign where the club received the dreaded wooden spoon for a record sixth time.
Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz fight pitch-rigging case as spring training starts
NEW YORK — A scheduled spring fraud trial for two Cleveland Guardians pitchers accused of colluding with sports bettors to rig bets and betray “America’s pastime” will likely be postponed until October, a federal judge said Wednesday as the men pleaded not guilty to a rewritten indictment.
Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto left a May 4 trial date on the books for now, but indicated she’ll probably move it to the fall in the coming weeks.
Pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, speaking Spanish, entered not guilty pleas through a translator to a rewritten indictment in Brooklyn federal court.
No new charges were in the superseding indictment unsealed on Friday, as prosecutors charged a third individual with serving as a middleman between bettors and Clase. That person also pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
The pitchers were first charged in November with accepting several thousand dollars in payoffs to help two gamblers from their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 by placing more than 100 in-game prop bets and parlays on the speed and the outcome of certain pitches. Charges include wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to influence sporting contests.
The rewritten indictment released Friday added allegations that Clase used code words like “rooster” and “chicken” in communications about pitches to be thrown.
Prior to a May 18, 2025, game against the Cincinnati Reds, Clase received a message to “throw a rock at the first rooster in today’s fight” and responded with: “Yes, of course, that’s an easy toss to that rooster,” the indictment said. However, Clase never entered the game and could not fulfill the plan to throw outside the strike zone to the first batter he faced, it added.
A day earlier, though, Clase broke Major League Baseball rules by using his cellphone in the middle of a game against the Reds to signal to gamblers that a pitch would be outside the strike zone, enabling them to win about $27,000, the indictment said.
Clase, the Guardians’ former closer, and Ortiz, a starter, have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since July. Their teammates are just starting training camp for the new season. The team’s home opener is April 3.
Clase and Ortiz, who are free on bail, left the courthouse separately after Wednesday’s hearing. Neither commented. Lawyers for both men have insisted their clients never colluded with gamblers.
Lawyers for Ortiz have asked that he be tried separately, saying in court papers that if Clase passed along Ortiz’s pitching strategy to gamblers, he did so without Ortiz’s knowledge. They also noted that Ortiz is accused of throwing only two pitches that drew scrutiny over a 12-day span, while Clase is charged with colluding with gamblers on numerous pitches since 2023.
“Mr. Clase may have abused his relationship with Mr. Ortiz as friends and teammates by convincing Mr. Ortiz to throw certain pitches at certain times — ostensibly for baseball reasons as far as Mr. Ortiz was aware,” the lawyers wrote.
They said they might present a defense to the jury that would cast “Ortiz as a victim of Mr. Clase’s scheme, rather than a knowing and willing participant.”
Clase, a three-time All-Star, had a $4.5 million salary in 2025, the fourth season of a $20 million, five-year contract. Prosecutors say he started providing bettors with information about his pitches in 2023 but didn’t seek payoffs until last year.
Prosecutors have said that Ortiz, who had a $782,600 salary last season, joined the scheme last June.
The Guardians and Major League Baseball have said they are cooperating with the investigation. MLB said it contacted federal law enforcement when it began investigating unusual betting activity.
Braves will begin season without starters Schwellenbach and Waldrep
NORTH PORT, Fla. — Atlanta Braves right-handed starter Spencer Schwellenbach had surgery Wednesday to clean up “loose bodies” in his elbow, and rotation candidate Hurston Waldrep is scheduled to undergo a similar procedure next week.
While the Braves didn’t reveal a timeline for when the pitchers could be available, manager Walt Weiss told reporters Wednesday that he is hopeful that both will be able to pitch this season.
Schwellenbach was placed on the 60-day injured list on Feb. 10, at the start of spring training, because of inflammation in his right elbow. The 25-year-old was 7-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 17 starts last year before missing the final three months of the season because of a broken right elbow.
Waldrep, the Braves’ first-round pick out of Florida in the 2023 amateur draft, experienced discomfort after throwing batting practice over the weekend. An MRI showed no ligament damage for the pitcher who turns 24 on March 1.
Before getting hurt last season, Schwellenbach was 6-1 with a 2.60 ERA over his final 10 starts, with the Braves winning eight of those games. He had 71 strikeouts and 11 walks in 69 1/3 innings over that stretch. His big league debut came in 2024, when he was 8-7 with a 3.35 ERA in 21 starts.
Chris Bassitt believes MLB salary cap ‘doesn’t fix anything’ as lockout threat looms
Orioles pitcher Chris Bassitt said Major League Baseball potentially implementing a salary cap “doesn’t fix anything” as the possibility of a lockout looms after the 2026 season.
Bassitt, who signed a one-year, $18.5 million contract with Baltimore last week, was among eight players named to the Major League Baseball Players Association’s executive subcommittee in December 2024 — a role that places him at the center of labor discussions as the collective bargaining agreement nears expiration.
“The salary cap doesn’t fix anything,” Bassitt, 36, said Wednesday, according to the Baltimore Banner. “If you look at every major sport that has a salary cap, we have the best parity. The salary cap is not the issue. Having suppressed salaries across the league so owners can make more money is not the answer.”
MLB owners are expected to push for a salary cap “no matter what it takes” when the current CBA expires in December, a source told The Athletic last month.
Talks of a possible lockout accelerated this offseason when the reigning back-to-back World Series champion Dodgers added star outfielder Kyle Tucker on a $240 million contract.
Los Angeles’ projected luxury tax payroll for 2026 is an MLB-leading $410,771,686, per Cot’s Contracts, which is larger than the bottom four payroll clubs combined.
Beyond the Dodgers, the Mets’ three-year, $126 million signing of Bo Bichette “raised dander” across the sport — fueling speculation that New York and Los Angeles could be the organizations opposed to a salary cap, per The Athletic.
A veteran of 11 MLB seasons, Bassitt insisted that MLB’s parity, even with lavish spending by the Dodgers and Mets, is superior to the other major sports.
“Like, if I tell you in 25 years, the Dodgers will be going to 10 World Series and winning seven of them, is that an issue?” Bassitt said. “Because that’s the [New England] Patriots. The Chiefs have been to six or seven [Super Bowls]. The Philadelphia Eagles have been to four or five. The parity in our sport is better than any other sport.
“So, we will make changes to try to help the so-called bottom teams out, but a salary cap and suppressing salaries and taking from players to try to help the so-called bottom teams spend more, that is not the answer, because again, if you’re trying to make a competitive league across the board, we have proof that every single league has less parity than ours.”
The union’s labor fight saw an unexpected twist Tuesday when MLBPA executive director Tony Clark shockingly resigned over reports of an alleged inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law.
Clark’s abrupt ouster left the union without a key voice ahead of the critical labor discussions, but several player reps have downplayed the situation.
Tigers ace Tarik Skubal does not think Clark’s exit “has any impact on negotiating,” while Yankees representative Austin Wells said the players “have a lot of confidence in our executive subcommittee” as the MLBPA looks to name an interim executive director.
Bassitt praised Clark on Tuesday for his role in helping “grow the game” but echoed his fellow players’ sentiments.
“I understand that there’s a sense…there’s weakness all of a sudden,” Bassitt said. “The reality is, no matter who’s in charge, our strength is the players and I don’t think for a second that has changed. We will continue to fight and protect our rights.”
Tobias Harris, Andrew Wiggins, Peyton Watson potential offseason Lakers targets
The Lakers are looking at an offseason with a ton of cap space and a handful of roster spots available, but how are they going to use these resources to build a winner around Luka Dončić?
They are flirting with being a top-four team in the Western Conference, but to truly be a contender, they need a productive summer that brings in the right players.
Of course, Giannis Antetokounmpo is the biggest player that could be on the market. The Lakers are reportedly expected to make a “hard push” at Giannis if he becomes available, but what if he doesn’t come to LA?
In a recent article, Dave McMenamin of ESPN outlined some of the players the Lakers are potentially eyeing for what could be a busy offseason.
An unrestricted free agent who has been discussed internally, sources told ESPN, is Andrew Wiggins, but he has a player option with Miami he could exercise. Tobias Harris, Quentin Grimes and Dean Wade are other players who fit that profile.
The Lakers have also privately discussed restricted free agents Tari Eason and Peyton Watson, sources told ESPN, and could land the latter if Denver, which already has $215 million in salary committed to returning players for next season, doesn’t match the offer sheet.
Wiggins has been linked to the Lakers since last summer. Back then, it was reported that the Heat’s asking price was too high, and Wiggins stayed in Miami.
During the trade deadline, he was also in rumors connecting him with Los Angeles.
The draw Wiggins has is clear, he’s a wing that can give the team another scoring option on the perimeter. Wiggins is averaging 15.9 points and shooting 39% from 3-point range. The issue, as McMenamin states in his article, is that Wiggins can opt into his player option, making it harder to acquire him.
A player the Lakers can pursue without any friction is Tobias Harris. He’s an unrestricted free agent, and his 13.4 points per game would be an upgrade at the wing position.
With other names currently being mentioned, such as Quentin Grimes and Peyton Watson, it’s clear the Lakers are in pursuit of some improved wing depth.
The offseason is the next chance they’ll have to upgrade that position or chase for a superstar like Giannis, so all eyes will be on the Lakers’ front office to see if they can get the job done and make LA the team to beat in the NBA again.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
Arizona Diamondbacks 2026 Non-Roster Invitees, Part 5
I was about to say we finished with the pitchers, but since our previous installment, the D-backs added a couple of further players on minor-league contracts, with spring training invites. While they don’t yet appear on the team’s official page of non-roster invitees, I figure I should catch up with these before I forget, and we’ll then move on to the catchers who are NRIs.
Joe Ross
This right-handed pitcher was a first-round pick (25th overall) by the Padres back in 2011, and comes with more than 500 innings at the MLB level, acquired across eight seasons. He also had a World Series ring, won in 2019 with the Nationals Last year, he was with the Phillies and made 37 appearances with a 5.12 ERA and a K:BB of 39:18 across 51 innings, before being released by them in late August. That’s not especially impressive, so I feel like he is going to be depth in Reno this year, unless he really impresses in Spring Training. He has had his career interrupted by various injuries, including a pair of Tommy John procedures, but seemed healthy enough in 2025.
Oscar Mercado
Though born in Venezuela, Mercado was part of the MLB draft, being picked in 2011 by the Cardinals. He was subsequently traded to the Indians, and debuted for them is 2019, with a solid campaign which got some down-ballot Rookie of the Year acknowledgment. But it has been a replacement-level struggle since, and he hasn’t appeared in the majors since July 2023, back with the Cardinals. He spent last year in Triple- A with the Phillies, where he had a line of .249/.369/.373 for a .741 OPS across 115 games. Mercado turned 31 in December,but given the shortage of outfielders on the 40-man roster, I don’t mind seeing
And now, onto the catchers.
Aramis Garcia (35)
That name might be vaguely familiar. He did appear for the Diamondbacks last year, but very much in a “blink and you’ll miss it capacity,” being selected, making a single appearance and then being designated for assignment twice in the month of June. The team then signed James McCann as a better backup, and Garcia stayed in Triple-A the rest of the way. There, he was the Reno Aces most regular catcher, appearing in 56 games there. He re-signed with Arizona in November, and will likely remain in a similar position of emergency catcher, tucked away behind a plate of glass in Reno, with a hammer conveniently to hand.
Gavin Logan (94)
Canadian alert! Logan was born in the wonderfully-named Medicine Hat, and was a ninth-round pick by the D-backs in 2022. He racked up the frequent flyer miles in 2025, changing levels four times between mid-June and mid-August. He initially bypassed Double-A, jumping straight from High-A to Triple A not once, but twice, before ending the season in Amarillo. Across all three levels the catcher, who turned 26 last month, posted a .754 OPS, and hit eight home-runs in 65 games, including the grand-slam above for Reno. He’ll likely start the year again in Amarillo, with the aim of getting a more permanent promotion by the end of the year.
Matt O’Neill (66)
This will be O’Neill’s first year outside the Mets organization, which originally selected him in the 20th round of the 2019 draft. Last year, Matt split time between Double-A and Triple-A, with an overall line of .231/.335/.343 for an OPS of .678. That’s actually his highest figure since the year he was drafted, and it’s very unlikely he is going to see major-league playing time this year. If he does, a lot has gone very wrong for Arizona. But the news that Adrian Del Castillo is struggling with a calf injury, and is likely to miss Opening Day, does emphasize the importance of depth at this position.
It’s time we finally stop overthinking the NBA tanking crisis
There is one conversation dominating NBA headlines right now, and thankfully, the Phoenix Suns are nowhere near it. They are safely outside the noise for two very simple reasons.
First, this team is competitive. Not pretend competitive, not vibes competitive, but legitimately playing games that matter with a real path to the postseason. And maybe even a path that skips the Play-In entirely, which felt unrealistic when the season tipped off. They have surprised in a way that buys you meaningful basketball in April, and that alone changes the temperature around a franchise.
Second, the Suns are not part of this conversation because they do not have draft picks to weaponize. Whatever picks exist are tied to past decisions, past swings, past bets on players who are no longer here. You either compete or you waste a season, and Phoenix chose the former.
The conversation everyone else is having is tanking.
Players sitting in competitive games. Rotations are getting weird. Injuries are stretching a little longer than necessary. Entire franchises quietly shifting their posture from trying to win to trying to lose with purpose. It is one of those topics that lives perfectly in bar conversations or office debates, the kind where everyone suddenly has a solution. How do you fix tanking? How do you punish it? How do you make losing hurt more than winning helps?
I have heard plenty of ideas. Remove protections entirely. Create a tournament for the bottom teams where the prize is the top pick. Penalize teams financially the following season if they are clearly gaming the system. Some of them are creative. Some of them are fun.
None of them really move me. Okay, maybe the example above, because it incentivizes winning versus losing. But honestly? I do not care.
Tanking is almost unavoidable, and it is unavoidable for one very simple reason. The draft exists to distribute talent across the league. That is its purpose. If you are bad and you want to get better, the fastest and most realistic path is the draft. You add young talent. You hope it grows into something real. You hope it becomes a cornerstone. And the only way to consistently access the top tier of that talent pool is to be near the bottom.
Until the fundamental idea of what the draft represents changes, all the surface-level tweaks in the world are not going to solve much. You can shuffle odds. You can add incentives. You can dress it up in new language. Teams will still find a way to position themselves for the best chance at the best players. That is not corruption, it’s logic.
The Suns are fortunate to be operating in a different lane right now. They are chasing wins, not probabilities. They are playing games with consequence. And in a league where so many teams are already thinking about June, that is a place worth appreciating.
The Suns are not immune to this either, though. We lived it. We spent a decade squinting at injury reports, wondering what was really wrong with T.J. Warren’s neck, wondering why Devin Booker was sitting on a random March night when he looked perfectly fine two days earlier. We all knew the answer, even if we pretended we didn’t. The organization was trying to be less competitive at the end of the season in order to improve draft position. That was the plan, that was the play, and it was not unique to Phoenix.
This happens everywhere, across every major sport. In Major League Baseball, once a team realizes October is not happening, September turns into a parade of call-ups, auditions disguised as games, futures being prioritized over present results. Do you know how many fantasy baseball seasons have been derailed because I had a guy who launches dingers, but he’s on the Pirates or Rockies?! I’ve learned my lesson. Mostly.
In the NFL, the final two weeks for bad teams become a showcase for backups, not because coaches suddenly love depth charts, but because organizations are protecting assets and thinking long term. Nobody loses their mind over it. It is understood as part of the ecosystem.
So why does the NBA always catch the heat?
It starts with timing. The spotlight is brightest on the league right when tanking becomes most visible. Football is finished. Baseball has not started. The NBA owns February and March. And because of how the season is structured, because of the sheer number of games and when the calendar flips, teams often know by that point that the postseason is not in their future. When that realization sets in, priorities shift. Development matters more. Health matters more. Next year starts creeping into the room.
That is also the exact moment when casual fans and national voices start paying closer attention. And what they see is a diminished product. Players are sitting, rotations are changing, and outcomes feel preordained. The league does not condone it publicly, but it has also done a poor job of managing the optics. Whether that comes down to an 82-game season, the calendar start, or the way incentives are aligned, the result is always the same. Right when the NBA has the stage to itself, the cracks become visible.
And then we do the dance. Same cycle every year. Same outrage. Same proposals. Same debates on how to fix something that is not really broken, it is functioning exactly as designed.
In my opinion, there is no true fix. Not without fundamentally changing what the draft represents and why teams value it. Until that happens, this will keep looping, season after season, argument after argument, while the teams that have something to play for keep playing and the rest start quietly looking ahead.
Teams are always going to prioritize long-term possibilities over short-term competitiveness, especially when the math tells them that sacrificing now gives them a better chance to be something later. That part is inevitable. My real issue with tanking has always lived in one place, and that place is the fans, because they are the ones who ultimately pay the price. Literally.
If you are a season ticket holder and your team tanks one year in an effort to secure a better draft pick, then comes back the next season and still isn’t any good, there is no refund waiting for you. The league is not cutting you a check. The team is not knocking 20% off your invoice because they decided to roll out a lineup full of G League-level talent while preaching patience and development. You paid full price for a diminished product, and that is the part of this equation that never really gets discussed. Or at least not enough.
That is why tanking feels unfortunate, even when you understand it. On the surface, the logic tracks. If you are bad and you want a chance to stop being bad, you often have to lean into being bad long enough to draft someone who can change your trajectory. It is the natural order of how this league is built. You can workshop a million ideas on how to fix it, flatten the lottery odds, create tournaments, punish cap sheets, tweak incentives, but someone will always find the seam. Someone will always locate the weakness and exploit it, because that is human nature.
I have seen this play out countless times outside of sports. In the hospitality world, I cannot tell you how many processes I have helped put in place, well-intentioned, thoughtful, designed to create fairness, only to watch guests immediately search for ways around them. Everybody loves rules in theory. Everybody supports structure and order right up until it inconveniences them personally. Then it becomes negotiable.
That is the space tanking lives in. It makes sense from the top down. It is defensible from an organizational standpoint. But from the seat in the arena, from the fan who keeps showing up, keeps paying, keeps caring, it feels like a tax with no return policy. And that is the part that will always sit a little sideways with me, no matter how logical the strategy might be.
But again, it is the fan, the person who simply wants to enjoy the product, who ultimately pays the price. And in my opinion, that is the one place where there is an actual fix, even if it is the hardest one to pull off.
Teams and organizations are businesses. Full stop. They exist to make money, just like any other business. And this is where short-term greed starts tripping over long-term greed. The short-term play is obvious. Maximize revenue, fill out the balance sheet. Walk into the boardroom and say, “Look, we might be bad on the court, but the numbers still look good”. Tickets sold. Sponsorships intact. Revenue streams humming along.
But if you actually want loyalty, real loyalty, not the fragile kind that disappears the moment expectations aren’t met, you give something back. You refund a prorated portion of season tickets during a tanking year. You lower prices so the building stays full even when the wins aren’t coming. You admit what the season is, instead of selling hope as a finished product. And the byproduct of that honesty is still revenue. People show up. They buy food. They buy drinks. They buy merchandise. They bring their kids. They stay emotionally invested instead of feeling taken advantage of.
That is where it gets interesting with the Phoenix Suns, if and when a tanking season ever arrives. A real one. One where they actually control their first round pick and decide that short-term pain is necessary to reset the trajectory of the franchise.
Because what Mat Ishbia has shown in a very short amount of time is that he cares about the fan experience. He cares about access. He cares about the relationship between the team and the community. And he has proven he is not afraid to do things that go against the grain. We have seen it with the value menu. We have seen it with free local broadcasts. We have literally seen him buy antennas so fans can watch games. That is not normal ownership behavior. That is someone who understands that if you make fans feel included in the process, the long-term payoff is far greater than squeezing every last dollar out of a down year.
So if the Suns ever reach a point where tanking becomes the path forward, Ishbia would have a rare opportunity. He could be a trendsetter. He could be the owner who says, “This season didn’t meet the standard, and we’re not going to ask you to pay full freight for something we know isn’t complete yet. We’re going to eat some of that cost, not you”. And in doing so, he would likely gain a level of trust that most franchises never touch.
Because if you want a fan base to understand a tank, to actually get behind it instead of resenting it, that is how you do it. Until something like that happens, tanking will always exist. These conversations will keep cycling. The league will keep pretending there is a fix just around the corner. And the truth will remain the same as it has always been.
Until someone gives back some money, which I think we all know will never happen, we’ll continue to have these circular conversations until the playoffs start. And then? No one gives a shit until next Febraury.
Spring Training open thread: February 18
Good evening! Hope it’s been a good day for you so far. Here’s a random clip:
Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray has the best chant in the NBA
SACRAMENTO — Whenever Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray scores a basket at Golden 1 Center, a slogan with his name his echoed.
The chant is led off with Kings public address announcer Scott Moak, who yells into the mic after each Murray basket, whether a free throw, layup, midrange, three-pointer or slam dunk. It's even shouted after a big play.
"KEEGAN!" Moak roars, igniting the Sacramento faithful to follow suit.
"MURRAY!" the Golden 1 Center attendees respond in unison.
During a podcast episode of "White Noise" hosted by Boston Celtics guard Derrick White and Alex Welsh, White was discussing some of the loudest arenas in the league along with Celtics center Luka Garza and former Celtic, now Chicago Bulls guard, Anfernee Simons.
Amidst the conversation, Garza brings up the Kings and how loud their fans get, especially when the team is winning. Simons was the one who mentioned Murray's chant.
"Oh my goodness. When he hit a three and it's packed in there, it's like," Simons said with an appalled look on his face.
White jumped in and continued to harp on Murray's chants in Sacramento.
"His like rookie year, I was like 'yo, this is the coolest thing I've ever heard,'" White said.
Keegan Murray contract and history
Murray was drafted by the Kings with the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. As White said, it's been his chant since day one.
It's a call that Murray, himself, tends to enjoy throughout the game. He said he builds more appreciation for the chant every year.
"For me, I think every single year I continue to have more appreciation for it," Murray told USA TODAY Sports. "Because when you go around the league, there's not many, or if any teams that do that kind of thing for their players."
Fans and NBA opponents can expect to hear that chant for Murray for at least another five seasons through 2031.
Murray signed a five-year, $140 million rookie scale contract extension with the Kings in Oct. 2025.
"Obviously for me to be here another five years is great," Murray said. "I think the fans have enjoyed it. I've personally enjoyed it a lot. I think it's just a really special thing that Sacramento has done for me."
Kings history of player chants
Believe it or not, the chant for Murray has been passed down from previous Kings players who grew to be fan favorites.
Before it was Murray's chant, it was reserved for and belonged to Yogi Ferrell, who played for the Kings from 2018 to 2020.
"I was surprised when I first heard it,” Ferrell told NBA.com in 2019. “When I made the bucket, it felt pretty cool. It feels amazing to have my name chanted out by all the fans – it just shows how special I feel like I am to them. I love this arena.”
Kings PA announcer Moak wasn't sure if it would initially stick, but he kept roaring Ferrell's first name and the fans eventually caught on to yell back his last name.
But it even originated before Ferrell. When Italian sniper Marco Belinelli played for the Kings during the 2015-16 season, he'd get remnants of the chant.
After Belinelli scored, Moak called out, "Marco!"
It took fans some time to catch on, but eventually they responded with the only acceptable response if you ever played games in the swimming pool with friends or family growing up.
"Polo," fans responded.
Thus, the chant in Sacramento was born, and nearly 10 years later, it'd be reserved for Murray.
Some believe the idea came from Champions League soccer as it was used as an introduction for Argentine soccer player Gonzalo Higuain, when he played for Napoli between 2013 and 2016.
Kings next game
No matter where it started, it's now recognized as Murray's chant.
Murray and the Kings will be back in action following the All-Star break on Thursday, Feb. 19 when they host the Orlando Magic at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The team announced Wednesday after practice that Murray, who was a full participant, will return from injury to play against the Magic after missing over six weeks with a left ankle sprain sustained in early January.
Tip-off is at 7 p.m. local time.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Keegan Murray just latest Kings player to get epic Sacramento chant
Aussie selector explains Smith snub in World Cup disaster that ‘smacks of England’
National selector Tony Dodemaide has reiterated that champion batter Steve Smith was only considered an injury replacement for the openers in Australia’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign, also jumping to the defence of the out-of-form Cameron Green.
Cavs vs. Nets: How to watch, odds, and injury report
The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the easiest schedules in the league after the All-Star break, but they have a tough stretch to start things off. They play five games in seven nights, and they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons (twice), and the Boston Celtics over the next two-and-a-half weeks. That will be a good test to show how the new-look Cavs stack up with the best teams in the league.
Fortunately for Cleveland, they have an easy one to open things up against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
The Nets are one of the worst teams in the league, and aren’t actively trying to win games. They should present a good opportunity for the Cavs to get off to a good start.
The Cavs will also be among the healthiest they’ve been all season. Evan Mobley and Dean Wade are expected to play. They’ll only be without Max Strus (foot) and Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who was just added to the injury report with calf soreness.
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Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (34-21) vs. Brooklyn Nets (15-38)
Where: Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH
When: Thur., Feb. 19 at 7 PM
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, FanDuel Sports Network App, NBA League Pass
Point spread: Cavs -16
Cavs injury report: Max Strus – OUT (foot), Nae’Qwan Tomlin – OUT (calf soreness), Emanuel Miller – OUT (G League), Tristan Enaruna – OUT (G League), Riley Minix – OUT (G League)
Nets injury report: Nic Claxton – OUT (ankle), Tyson Etienne – (G League), Chaney Johnson – OUT (G League), E.J. Lindell – OUT (G League), Josh Minott – OUT (G League), Ben Saraf – OUT (G League)
Cavs expectedstarting lineup: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Nets expected starting lineup: Nolan Traore, Egor Demin, Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney, Day’Ron Sharp
Previous matchup: The Cavs defeated the Nets 131-124 on Oct. 24 in a 22-point game from Jarrett Allen.
Here’s a look at both teams’ impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.
| Offensive Rating | Defensive Rating | Net Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cavs | 118 (8th) | 114.1 (11th) | +3.9 (8th) |
| Nets | 111.5 (26th) | 119.4 (27th) | -7.9 (27th) |
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Dodgers playoff heroes get early opportunities due to spring injuries
PHOENIX –– In the middle of their Camelback Ranch clubhouse Wednesday afternoon, the Dodgers laid out a stack of shirts commemorating their 18-inning victory in Game 3 of last year’s World Series.
Across the front of the blue tees, the four heroes of the game were displayed: Teoscar Hernández, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and, yes, Will Klein.
“It’s kind of been like a 180,” Klein joked about how much his life has changed since that night. “You can see the social media, fan stuff. But just on the personal side, there’s more confidence. Seeing myself do that kind of built a foundation to keep going.”
Indeed, when Klein arrived at spring training last week, he found himself in a peculiar spot: A postseason legend on one hand, after throwing four scoreless innings as the last man standing in the Dodgers’ bullpen during that marathon Game 3 triumph; but also, a fringe roster candidate on the team’s loaded pitching staff, trying to parlay his brief moment of playoff glory into a more established big-league job.
In this boat, Klein is not alone.
Entering camp, several other standouts from last year’s World Series run also found themselves battling for roster spots –– including Justin Wrobleski, the left-handed swingman who pitched five scoreless innings in last year’s World Series, and Edgardo Henriquez, the hard-throwing right-hander who provided two scoreless innings in Game 3 of the Fall Classic.
A week ago, all of their roles for 2026 seemed uncertain.
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But now, injuries elsewhere on the roster are giving them renewed opportunities.
In the bullpen, the Dodgers will start this season missing several key arms. Evan Phillips is recovering from Tommy John surgery and won’t be back until midseason. Brock Stewart is recovering from a shoulder surgery he had in September and is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day. Brusdar Graterol was also ruled out for the start of the campaign on Wednesday, with manager Dave Roberts saying the team is keeping him on “an intentionally slow build-up” process as he returns from a 2025 season lost to his own shoulder procedure.
Suddenly, there is a lane for Klein and Henriquez to not only make the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster but also serve potentially important roles in the early part of the season.
After closer Edwin Díaz, the team’s next-best righty reliever is veteran Blake Treinen, who is coming off a career-worst season in 2025.
Roberts voiced optimism in Treinen bouncing back this year, saying the 37-year-old still has “a lot in the tank” and that his early spring bullpens have been “as good as I’ve seen him throw the baseball in a while.”
Still, the Dodgers will need more right-handed depth. Ben Casparius figures to be part of the solution, having transitioned to a full-time relief role this year. But Klein (who had a 5.16 ERA in 22 career MLB appearances before last year’s playoffs) and Henriquez (a 2.42 ERA in 25 career outings prior to last October) might now have a pathway to more impact contributions themselves.
“I’m still the same guy, like I need to work and earn a spot and all that,” Klein said. “But on the mound, in games, there’s a little bit more (confidence) than I’ve had in the past. Like, I know I can do all this. I’ve seen myself do 10 times harder stuff.”
Wrobleski has an opening of his own this spring. Five weeks from Opening Day, the Dodgers are already facing several rotation questions, with Blake Snell taking things slow after last year’s shoulder injury and Ohtani facing a build-up that will be complicated by his participation in next month’s World Baseball Classic.
Thus, the Dodgers will look for extra starting depth this spring –– giving the 25-year-old Wrobleski, who was needed more in relief duty last season but is still seen as a high-upside starter long term, the chance to compete for a potential rotation spot.
Last season, Wrobleski’s two starts did not go well. He gave up eight runs over five innings in a dispiriting outing in Washington in April. He was tagged with four more runs in a six-inning loss to the Cardinals two months later.
After that, however, the left-hander found success in the bullpen, pitching to a 3.17 ERA over his final 25 appearances (including the playoffs) while showcasing an uptick in velocity and command.
“I think his ability to grow and mature and learn how to harness his stuff and compete in those moments will serve him well as he tries to navigate a lineup two, three times,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “So he’ll certainly be a candidate (to pitch in the rotation).”
It’s all part of the Dodgers’ ever-changing roster puzzle this spring, in which even old October saviors are having to compete to carve out their roster spots.
Kevin Durant isn’t interested in ‘Twitter nonsense’ after alleged burner controversy
Kevin Durant wants no part of his burner account accusations.
Days after alleged messages of Durant ripping current and former teammates leaked on social media, the Rockets star brushed off questions from the media about the internet firestorm.
“I know you got to ask these questions but I’m not here to get into Twitter nonsense,” Durant said. “I’m just here to focus on the season, keep it pushing.”
Later, Durant, 37, was asked by reporters if he had talked to his Houston teammates about the now-viral messages.
“My teammates know what it is,” he said. “We’ve been locked in the whole season. Enjoyed our break. Had a great practice today, looking forward to the road trip.”
Over the weekend, screen shots emerged of posts from an X account with handle @gethigher77 that’s alleged to be Durant, who is infamous for his social media activity and online persona.
The account, which has since gone private, criticized Rockets teammates Alperen Şengün and Jabari Smith Jr.
It also referenced former teammates James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Ben Simmons.
While we may never know if Durant was truly behind the account, his past “burner account” activity makes the rumors all the more believable.
In 2023, Durant announced that he was on Threads with a burner account, challenging fans to “come find” him on the then-newly launched platform.
Three years earlier, Durant admitted to using burner accounts to hit back at those talking about him online.
“I still have burners that I use for sure,” Durant said.
“I have a burner Twitter account still. When people use that burner thing against me they only thought I was on there just to talk s–t. I was really indulging in a lot of different communities on my burners.”
During his early days with the Warriors, Durant appeared expose one of his accounts, bashing his former team, the Thunder.
The Knicks need to match the Pistons’ intensity to open the second half
Does the regular season matter?
Well, you need to win enough games in the regular season to make the playoffs and get a favorable seed in the playoffs. Home court advantage is very important.
But does it matter who you beat and who you lose to? Probably not. The Knicks won the season series with the Hawks in 2021, the Heat in 2023, and the Pacers in 2025, but flamed out against all three in the playoffs. They were beaten up by Detroit and Boston last year in the regular season, but they sent them home in the playoffs. It doesn’t matter what happens before the playoffs start in that regard.
So, how much do I take from the two blowout losses at Little Caesars Arena in January, the same arena that the Knicks won thrice in the playoffs last April? Not much. We all know what happened with the Celtics last year.
But there was one thing that happened in the Knicks-Celtics season series that year that made you raise an eyebrow. On April 8, the Celtics, without Al Horford but otherwise pretty healthy, came to the World’s Most Famous Arena and, after three blowouts in the season series, got caught up in a very competitive game.
The Knicks led for much of the first half, but the Celtics took control late in the third quarter. Yet, the Knicks rallied back from a seven-point deficit to take a three-point lead in the final 15 seconds, only to get their hearts broken by Jayson Tatum at the end of regulation and in overtime.
While the Celtics prevailed and pulled off the season series sweep, that game being as competitive as it was surely made the Knicks believe in that locker room, “We can beat these guys.” If they fouled up 3 or executed in overtime, they would’ve won. They used the lessons from that clutch scenario to pull off several clutch games in the second round series.
So, even though the Knicks knocked off those same Pistons last season, it’s imperative that they don’t get embarrassed a third time. They had excuses the first two games, they don’t on Thursday.
In the first game, they were in the midst of their 11-game rut where they couldn’t defend a thing, and the offense similarly slumped. In the second game, they were down OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns, along with the still-injured Deuce McBride. Towns and possibly Anunoby will be back on Thursday, and the game will be in MSG.
They have to match the intensity. The Pistons are a team that knows they were a few key plays away from pulling off the upset last year, and they don’t like that the media still hasn’t anointed them as the East favorite. They see the Knicks on the schedule and feel hatred. They can’t get revenge until May, so they want to beat them into the ground to vindicate themselves until then.
The Knicks haven’t felt like they needed to match that intensity yet, and you can do with that what you want. It feels like they have to on Thursday, even if they don’t pull it out for whatever reason. You can’t get boatraced every single game in the regular season series. That’s when doubt starts to creep in.
Did Astros Miss the Boat in Trade Market?
Team could be looking at an infield logjam that could compromise their outfield depth.
In the aftermath of Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reporting that the Astros could be looking at OF Michael Conforto as a left-handed hitting option in the outfield primarily because they are finding their trade options dwindling, it is impossible not to consider this very serious idea:
Did the Astros blow it?
Houston has been shopping players on its major league roster all offseason. Isaac Paredes is the most valuable of the names often mentioned, but Christian Walker and Jake Meyers names have also been mentioned.
We have seen reports of the high interest in both Paredes and Meyers, and of the very faint interest in Walker, but for a team with obvious roster holes it seems unconscionable that GM Dana Brown was unable to deal from his infield surplus to fix at least one hole in his roster. It doesn’t even matter if that hole addressed the outfield, the bullpen, or backup catcher situation, as long as it addressed something.
Did they overplay their hand? Did they hold too high an asking price? Did other teams simply not value the Astros’ players as much as Houston did? We don’t actually know the answers to these, which is why we will speculate. When you are trying to create a properly balanced lineup for a playoff run, sometimes the end justifies the means.
It won’t matter if Dana Brown held on to his players because he didn’t think he was getting enough value if the team fails to make the postseason again, because he won’t be here. It is very likely such a scenario could cost Joe Espada his job as well, even though he would again be forced to work with a roster that is clearly flawed and been decimated in the past 2 seasons by injury.
The fact that the team is now looking at Conforto, a player who is a shell of what he once was in his heyday as a power hitter who got on base and was a defensive star. Today’s version of Conforto still has some power but doesn’t make nearly enough contact and is now below average in the field.
Conforto’s last strong full season was 2019. He had shoulder surgery after the 2021 season and the difference has been notable. He has also played in some absolutely stacked lineups the past 3 seasons, making his mediocrity (or worse) even more damning.
The Astros could have been in on Mike Tauchman, a superior player to Conforto at this stage and Tauchman signed a minor league deal with the Mets. Yes you read that right, a minor league deal.
Of the remaining free agent outfielders, Starling Marte is probably the best hitter of all of them. Even though he’s right-handed, he hits equally well against both righties and lefties, and for more power against righties as well. of course, he’s now 37 and there is no telling how long his balky right knee will hold up. The Mets made him a part time player last year to get him through the season. The Astros deal will too many injuries already for such a risk.
What is left of the free agent crop is very “slim pickins” indeed. In reality, a trade is probably the only way the Astros can get an impact outfield bat unless Zach Cole, Cam Smith or Zach Dezenzo becomes that player.
Coming into camp with the infield logjam was a miscalculation by the Astros. There may not be a way out of it at this point.
I posed the question of whether the Astros should just heed the request of Yordan Alvarez and allow him to play more LF than he has previously been permitted just three days ago:
Now they may find themselves without a choice.
Do you think the Astros can still pull off a deal to get one of their three biggest needs before the season starts? Let us know in the comments.