SAN FRANCISCO – Steve Kerr on Thursday gave NBA fans something to think about. It pertains to Stephen Curry, and it’s profoundly logical.
Before digging into your wallet in hopes of coming to an arena and seeing the splendor of Curry in action, please consider that your wish might not be granted.
“We have fans who buy tickets expecting to see Steph,” Kerr said Thursday after practice. “Usually Steph, sometimes other players. People expecting to see vets. And then we have a back-to-back, and we don’t play him. I would just come out and tell the fans out there to be mindful (of the schedule) when you’re buying the tickets because we’ve got not just Steph, but we’ve got multiple vets we are going to try to manage because it’s the only way we can do this.”
This is a warning that goes far beyond basketball fans. This is about being prudent with Curry. About acknowledging that the man who has been scampering circles around NBA defenses since 2009 is now 38 years old and coming off a season in which he missed 27 late-season games after being diagnosed with runner’s knee.
First and foremost, this is about saving Steph, a notorious pusher of envelopes, from himself.
And, in the process, hoping that will keep the Warriors in position to compile a much better record than the 37-45 mark posted last season.
Everyone on Golden State’s payroll understands that Curry the team’s barometer. If he’s available and healthy, the Warriors have a chance to beat any team in the league. If he’s neither, they can tumble like a house of toothpicks. They were 9-18 while Curry was coping with a malady he’d never experienced – and can become chronic if mistreated.
Curry’s body is different than it was 10 years ago, or even five years ago, which has forced an adjustment to his legendary conditioning regimen. He had to curtail the amount of offseason running that was at the base of his fitness.
In four preseason games, Curry has played a total of 64 minutes. He made his first second-half appearance Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers and was on the court for a preseason-high 23 minutes. Normally, when the regular season is so close, he’s closer to 30.
“We are purposely ramping up Steph more slowly this year, this training camp, than he’s used to,” Kerr said. “In the past, by this time he was already in such good playing shape and rhythm because of his routine and his work ethic.
“We purposely are holding him back this year, trying to lessen the load with the knee in mind in particular. So, we’re ramping him up more slowly. He’s right on schedule. This is exactly how we planned it to this point, but every day means he’s doing less.”
Curry’s practice time once again will be reduced in the regular season, just as it has been throughout training camp and the preseason. He participated in only a portion of the team’s practice on Thursday.
“We’re really scaling back his overall workload,” Kerr said, “and trying to find that sweet spot where he can still be in rhythm and be ready to play 32, 34 minutes without all the load that that comes. It’s a different approach.”
This will be a season in which Curry plays few, if any, back-to-back sets. There could be instances in which he misses consecutive games. He’ll hate it, but he’s better about listening to his body than he was 10 years ago.
And Curry won’t be alone.
Golden State’s roster is deeply reliant on a group of players over 35, with Al Horford the oldest at 40 and Draymond Green the youngest at 36. Jimmy Butler III is 37 and won’t be a factor when the season begins on Oct. 21. Kristaps Porziņģis is only 31, but various health issues have made his anatomy considerably older.
Caution is the word for this season, as it should be. It won’t be popular, but it is absolutely necessary.
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 13: Walker Kessler #14 of the Los Angeles Lakers warms up before the game against the Golden State Warriors on October 13, 2026 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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 Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
With Kessler on the floor in the first half, the Lakers scored 46 points in 16 minutes. Across the 32 minutes he rested overall, they mustered just 43 points. His pick-and-roll connection with Austin Reaves was quite effective between his vigorous dives to the rim and Reaves’ playmaking abilities. Of Reaves’s seven assists Tuesday night, four stemmed from ball-screens with Kessler, whether it be directly feeding Kessler inside or Kessler commanding extra attention to open up looks on the perimeter.
“I mean, he created probably four or five really good looks for us from three just rolling hard,” Reaves told reporters postgame. “Nobody’s going to give him credit for it, but him putting pressure on the rim and roll opportunities is going to make the X-man [on defense] sink, and we’re going to get wide open threes. We had quite a bit of them tonight.”
Kessler made clear postgame he’s still establishing his footing and timing after not playing since Halloween last year. But he already senses the stress he and Reaves can impose upon defenses out of ball-screen actions, which should also presumably extend to his partnership with Luka Dončić, who received a night off Tuesday.
“With Austin, he’s so good at making the right decision out of the pick and roll. Even if I’m not getting the ball, my roll, that corner guy cracks down and Austin’s so good at throwing that corner pass,” Kessler said. “It’s a lot of fun to play with. I think as I play more, my rhythm will kind of come back as well as kind of game sense. I mean, that first layup I made, I almost fell out of bounds. I had no footing whatsoever. But yeah, it was good to be out there.”
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor's wife, Katia, gave a hilarious basket of treats before he undergoes a vasectomy surgery, she revealed in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor’s wife, Katia, gave him a hilarious basket of treats for undergoing a vasectomy, she revealed in an Instagram post Wednesday.
“Three beautiful children later, we decided our family is complete. ” Katia wrote, including a behind the scenes video of her assembling a snack basket with jokes referencing the procedure. “I’ve carried the babies, now it was his turn to take one for the team. Love you, babe! ”
The couple are parents to daughters Kalina Zoé, 5, and Amapola Chloé, 3, and 18-month-old son Koa Amani.
This surgery comes after Lindor and the Mets finished last place in the National League East with a 74-88 record and missed the postseason for the second consecutive year.
Katia showed a handmade card that said, “Snip snip hooray it’s vasectomy day!” with the date of Oct. 14, 2026.
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor’s wife, Katia, revealed he’s undergoing a vasectomy surgery in an Instagram post on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Inatagram/Katia LindorMets shortstop Francisco Lindor’s wife, Katia, shared a card she wrote to him for his vasectomy surgery. Instagram/Katia LindorMets shortstop Francisco Lindor react to a vasectomy gift from his wife, Katia, in an Instagram post she shared on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Instagram/Katia Lindor
Another card said, “It’s a whole new ballgame Happy Vasectomy Day!”
Inside, it read, “Paquito, Thank you for taking one for the team! Blessed with the best teammate,” including the message, “No more babies.”
Katia’s post was set to the song, “Bye Bye Bye” by NSYNC.
Katia included some snacks with a few jokes such as, Chips Ahoy, which she switched to “Snips Ahoy” — and a box of Sour Patch Kids that had a “No more” sign on it.
She also packed cooling boxer briefs for the five-time MLB All-Star.
New York Mets’ Francisco Lindor follows through on a swing against the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning of a baseball game Thursday, September 24, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. AP Photo/Julio Cortez
Lindor flashed a big smile as he read the cards.
“Yeah, done,” he said.
“He’s home and we’re giggling together,” Katia wrote.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 05: LaMelo Ball #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrates against the Milwaukee Bucks in the second quarter during the preseason NBA game at Fiserv Forum on October 05, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Minnesota Timberwolves head to the Windy City to close out their preseason schedule against the Chicago Bulls. After a series of games that showed the awe-inspiring flashes of the starting five’s offense and the tenuous causeway the bench will need to walk to maintain leads, we’re ready for the games to actually matter. Before we can get started with the real stuff, once more we head into the breach.
The Chicago Bulls are a team on the rise. After years of playing towards the play-in, they dismantled much of their team for second-round picks and young players, including four seconds from Minnesota along with Leonard Miller and Rob Dillingham to acquire Ayo Dosunmu. After that mid-season overhaul, they moved up in the lottery odds and selected UNC forward Caleb Wilson.
Head Coach Chris Finch has extended his starters’ minutes more and more as the preseason has worn on, and I expect the same, especially with four full rest days before the opening tip in Miami.
Between both Chicago and Minnesota’s combined starters and benches, this will be a battle of young talent. The Wolves core, most of whom are around 25 years old, have played minutes deep into the playoffs and are gearing up for a long season. They’ll play with their newfound “giddiness” – as Chris Finch called it – with a shade more maturity.
The Bulls, who boast the second-youngest team in the league, will play with a “Giddeyness” of their own. Bulls guard Josh Giddey will be helming the offense and looking to feed the ball to slashing forwards Matas Buzelis and aforementioned top pick Caleb Wilson. If the defense collapses too hard, he will kick out to newly acquired three-point threats, Norman Powell and Buddy Hield.
Giddey, like LaMelo, is a point guard bigger than some NBA forwards at 6’7”. He has a strong handle and averaged a shade over nine assists per game to a decent 3.5 turnovers. His great deficiency is his outside shot, which allows teams to frequently go under screens and dare him to let it fly.
The Bulls figure to be at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Even in the weirdness of preseason, this is a game the Wolves should win.
Minnesota’s starting five showed in the Detroit Pistons game that they can score in bunches out of the gate. What’s more, whether in the lead or chasing, these young Wolves are looking for highlight plays that spark energy throughout a team. The primary concerns for Minnesota were shown in their recent bout as the Pistons’ big and physical team continued to disrupt the flow on defense and pushed their way to the hoop through the Wolves’ skinnier players.
Containing Big Forwards
DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 11: Caleb Wilson #8 of the Chicago Bulls drives to the basket during the game against the Denver Nuggets during a 2026 NBA Preseason game on October 11, 2026 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. 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 Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
In Buzelis and Wilson, the Bulls have two dynamic forwards who love to put their heads down and drive. Buzelis was in the 92nd percentile last season in rim frequency and saw his average points nearly double as the Bulls put the ball in his hands more.
Wilson apparently reminds people of Kevin Garnett, but thems fighting words in these parts. I do see shades of the Big Ticket’s energy in Wilson’s twiggy 6’10” body, so I won’t begrudge the national media their deja vu. The rookie is developing a three-point shot but butters his bread at the rim.
With defensive legend Rudy Gobert minding the paint, he should be able to shut off most of these attempts by less experienced players. The Bulls’ presumed starting center Nic Claxton, who they acquired as the third team in the Julius Randle trade, has missed all of preseason with an injured hamstring.
To try and give their wings room to fly, Chicago will look to Jalen Smith, who shot 37% from three on over four attempts a game last season. This might juice the offense a bit, but at 6’8”, Smith at center allows the Wolves to contend in the rebound battle.
Bring the Illinoize
AMES, IOWA – OCTOBER 07: Ayo Dosunmu #13 of the Minnesota Timberwolves shoots the ball during the first half against the Indiana Pacers at Hilton Coliseum during a preseason game on October 07, 2026 in Ames, Iowa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tyler Clouse/Getty Images) | Getty Images
This will be Ayo Dosunmu’s first time playing against Chicago since he was traded. He was drafted by the Bulls in 2021 with the 38th pick.
As a kid who grew up in Chicago in the twilight of the Jordan era, he watched the rise and fall of the Thibe-Bulls headed by Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, and Jimmy Butler.
On the cusp of reclaiming their relevance behind the play of DeMar DeRozan, former Wolf Zach LaVine, and Lonzo Ball, he was selected to play for his hometown team and even given starter’s minutes several times in his first two seasons. From there, the Bulls unfortunately fell apart due to injury and bad management.
Despite his bench assignment, Ayo continued to improve. He honed his three-point shot (save for a weird 2025 season), improved his rebounding, and continued to bring energy to a team badly in need of it. When he was traded to Minnesota, he went right to work finding where he could fit in and help his new team. Now, with the bag secured and more familiarity with his team, he is primed for a breakout.
There will be plenty of emotions playing against his old team in their home arena in front of his community. The Bulls are looking for direction after tearing down their team. For Ayo Dosunmu, his eyes are raised higher than the Willis Tower.
Aug 9, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Caleb Kilian (56) throws a pitch during the twelfth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Phillies made a trade with the San Francisco Giants this trade deadline in which the headliner was Luis Arraez. With an offense that would be considered “moribund” at the time of the deal, getting Arraez was supposed to help revive them (narrator: it did not help revive them). To make the deal happen, the Phillies had to part with a solid prospect in Ramon Marquez, an overpay when considering just those two names. Yet there was a third name there in the deal, one Caleb Kilian.
Did you remember him?
What went right
Well, he helped them get Arraez. That’s something, right?
Oh yeah, he has team control. That’s basically why they traded for him.
What went wrong
He got hurt.
That’s basically it. There was something the team saw in him that made them want to make sure Kilian’s name was included in the deal for Marquez, something they saw and liked. However, an oblique strain basically ended Kilian’s season as he was unable to recover in time to help the team down the stretch and into Atlanta.
Final grade: Incomplete
You can’t really grade anything Kilian did as he threw 48 pitches wearing Phillies red. He was abjectly terrible in one of his appearances with the team, so saying that there is something to build on for future seasons might be a bit of wishcasting. It could end up being in the same vein of the Jonathan Bowlan trade where the team saw the unmolded clay of a relief pitcher that they feel they can turn into a piece of art worthy of a major league bullpen, but we’ll just have to put a pin in it for now.
(Original Caption) Sam Byrd of the New York Yankees is shown, he was the pitch runner for Babe Ruth, and was nicknamed "Babe Ruth's Legs." (Photo by George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images) | Corbis via Getty Images
Before he had a chance to grow up and become affectionately known as “Babe Ruth’s Legs,” Samuel Byrd was known to his family as Dewey. While growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, Byrd excelled at basketball and baseball for Simpson High School. During his high school days, Byrd also found another sport to love, as he grew up close enough to the golf course to work as a caddie. Remarkably, both played a role in his long-term future.
Samuel Dewey Byrd Born: October 15, 1907 (Bremen, GA) Died: May 11, 1981 (Mesa, AZ) Yankees Tenure: 1929-1934
Following his graduating from Simpson High, Byrd worked as a bricklayer like his father while playing sandlot baseball. That changed in 1926 when the Southern Association’s Birmingham Barons signed Byrd to a contract and promptly sent him to the Jonesboro Buffaloes in Arkansas. In 59 games, Byrd posted a .348 average and led the league in hits.
Following that successful debut, the Barons tried Byrd out with the Knoxville Smokies for the 1927 season. Byrd caught fire again in the hills of Tennessee, batting .331 with 15 home runs. This performance landed him his big break. The New York Yankees purchased Byrd’s contract and assigned the right-handed outfielder to the Albany Senators for the 1928 season.
In Albany, Byrd kept rolling. His batting average jumped to .371, and he hit 18 home runs in 130 games. After that season, it was clear Byrd had a future in the big leagues. The Yankees invited him to spring training, and he made the club to start the 1929 season. The rookie had trouble finding playing time, as the Yankees’ outfield included Ruth, Earle Combs, and Bob Meusel. Wearing number 27 on his jersey, Byrd finished his rookie season with 202 plate appearances and slashed .312/.409/.471.
Meusel vacated left field prior to the 1930 season, but the Yankees used a rotation of players alongside Ruth and Combs. In his second big league season, Byrd appeared in 30 more games than he had as a rookie but only netted 52 more trips to the plate. Of the 92 games he appeared in, Byrd started only 54. This was when the nickname and honorific of being “Babe Ruth’s Legs” took hold, as Byrd was often used to pinch-run or serve as a defensive replacement for Ruth late in games.
The Yankees experienced some change prior to the 1931 season, as Joe McCarthy was brought in to lead the club and Ben Chapman was moved out of the infield to cover the spacious “Death Valley” in left. Byrd was locked in as the team’s fourth outfielder and continued to serve as Ruth’s late-game replacement. Byrd appeared in 115 games that year while starting only 45. In that role, he produced a .270/.349/.395 slash line.
The 1932 season was a magical one for the Yankees. The team won 107 games and went on to sweep the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. For Byrd, the season was much of the same: another solid year serving as the team’s fourth outfielder, batting .297 with a career-high eight home runs in pinstripes. Byrd appeared in one inning of the World Series, as you guessed it, a defensive replacement for Ruth in the final inning of the final game.
Byrd spent two more seasons in the Bronx, continuing to serve as the team’s fourth outfielder and primarily taking over for Ruth at some point during games. In 1933, he appeared in 85 games with 18 starts; in 1934, the numbers were 106 games and 42 starts. Perhaps not coincidentally, once Ruth’s time in pinstripes ended, so did Byrd’s, as the Cincinnati Reds purchased his contract ahead of the 1935 season.
The Reds let the 27-year-old Byrd start 111 games in 1935. In the full-time role, he slashed .262/.322/.406 with a career-high nine home runs. The 1936 season was not as kind to Byrd, as he returned to a reserve role, but he did achieve the rare feat of hitting a Jason Giambi-esque “ultimate grand slam,” a walk-off slam that turned a three-run deficit into a one-run victory against the Pirates. The Reds traded Byrd to the St. Louis Cardinals after the season, but he opted to retire rather than return to the minor leagues and started to pursue golf full-time.
Byrd’s passion and talent for golf were known throughout the majors. Byrd, along with Ruth and other teammates, played as much as they could, and many players at the time agreed that the Yankees’ odd man out in the outfield was actually the leader on the links. After just a few years, Byrd found himself competing at golf’s highest level. He finished third in the Masters in 1941 and fourth in 1942.
When he retired from professional golf in 1949 (incidentally, one year after Ruth’s passing), he had won six times on the PGA Tour while playing in 20 majors with four top 10 finishes. Today he still holds claim as the only person to ever play in both a World Series and the Masters Tournament.
After all his playing days were over, Byrd became a golf instructor. He taught people how to swing a club using a drill he picked up from the Babe himself, keeping a cloth pinned between his arm and body. In 1974, Byrd was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and got to enjoy those honors for seven years before passing away in 1981.
Whether you call him Dewey or Sammy, we wish him a happy birthday!
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
David Peterson came over from the Mets in a trade made well before the deadline, in late June. The Cubs gave up 23-year-old infielder Cole Mathis, who was the team’s second-round pick in 2024 and who has yet to play above A ball.
Peterson made 16 appearances (15 starts) for the Cubs and overall his numbers were good, not great: 3.70 ERA, 1.369 WHIP, 0.9 bWAR.
That ERA is decent, but even that was skewed by a horrific start against the Cardinals July 3, when Peterson was tagged for 10 runs in 3.2 innings. In 14 games (13 starts) after that his ERA was 2.66 and he allowed only seven home runs in 71 innings, with a 3.83 FIP.
Those numbers would play, I think, in the Cubs rotation going forward. It’s still a bit of a mystery why the Cubs didn’t start Peterson in one of the Wild Card Series games. He wound up throwing 1.2 scoreless innings in Game 2 once the Cubs were already behind 4-1.
In some ways Peterson became the forgotten man of the Cubs rotation. He was even shuffled into a relief role when Edward Cabrera made his first disastrous return to the rotation in mid-August. Even then he was productive, getting this important out in the eighth inning Aug. 17 against the White Sox [VIDEO].
Peterson turned 31 in September. He’s another ground-ball type like Clay Holmes and generally keeps the ball in the ballpark (2.3 percent career HR rate). He made $8.1 million in 2026.
I would not be opposed to offering him, say, a three-year, $35 million deal. I think Peterson is much more worth keeping around than, say, Matthew Boyd, who will be 36 in February.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 08: LeBron James #23 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on during the first quarter of a preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on October 08, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images) | Getty Images
LeBron James is already all over the NBA’s record books. Heading into the 2026-27 season, he’s first in league history in regular-season points (43,440 and counting), games played (1,622), minutes played (61,030), made field goals (15,961), field-goal attempts (31,502), win shares (276.8) and value over replacement player (159.4).
LeBron is widely considered no worse than the second-best player in NBA history, depending on how old you are/how you feel about Michael Jordan. While LeBron has the leg up on Jordan in most counting stats, Jordan has the edge in championship rings (six to four) and Finals record (6-0 vs. 4-6).
To some, that’s where the story starts and ends. There’s nothing LeBron can do to jump over Jordan given his deficit in the ringzzzzz department and his sub-.500 Finals record. (Whether it makes sense to punish LeBron for helping guide more teams to the Finals is another matter entirely.)
LeBron signed with the Sixers this offseason because he thought they gave him his best chance at winning a fifth championship. Even if he does win a title with the Sixers, it still might not be enough to vault him over Jordan as the NBA’s consensus GOAT. But it would put him in even more unique historical company.
How a Sixers ring would impact LeBron’s legacy
LeBron is already one of only four players in NBA history to win a championship with three different teams. John Salley, Robert Horry and Sixers legend Danny Green are the other three, and none of them were the focal point of their respective teams like LeBron was.
But if LeBron wins a championship with the Sixers, he’ll become the first player in league history ever to win with four different teams.
Again, that might not be enough for him to supplant MJ in all-time rankings. But that feat would be the perfect encapsulation of LeBron’s career.
After spending the first seven years of his career with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron ushered in the so-called Player Empowerment Era with “The Decision” in 2010. Rather than stick it out with the Cavaliers for his entire career, a la Kobe Bryant on the Los Angeles Lakers or Tim Duncan on the San Antonio Spurs, he took his fate into his own hands and sought greener pastures that might put him closer to a championship. Four years later, he had two rings and two Finals MVPs to show for it.
In 2014, LeBron exercised his early termination option to opt out of the final two years of his contract with the Miami Heat and head back home to the Cavaliers. In his absence, they landed the No. 1 pick in 2011 (Kyrie Irving), 2013 (Anthony Bennett) and 2014 (Andrew Wiggins), the latter of whom they’d eventually trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love. Two years later, LeBron and the Cavs overcame a historic 3-1 series deficit to topple the 73-win Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals.
And two years later, LeBron once again left Cleveland to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. That also resulted in a ring—one with a Disney bubble-sized asterisk, depending on who you ask—in 2019-20.
Perhaps more than any modern star, LeBron understands the typical life cycle of NBA team-building. Once you get a star, you begin cashing in whatever chips you have (draft picks, young prospects, etc.) to maximize your win-now window. But at a certain point, you’re out of chips to play.
At that point, the star has two choices: tough it out through some rebuilding years and hope his team strikes gold with some under-the-radar moves, or head elsewhere. As Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo have proved in recent years, unyielding loyalty to a team often devolves into frustration. LeBron never allowed himself to get to that point throughout any of his career stops.
Other stars have taken LeBron’s lead over the past 15 years and have exerted more control over their own careers. Players who spend their entire careers with one team are a nearly extinct species, although Stephen Curry may wind up being a rare exception. It’s now far more common for stars to force their way off teams via trade—see: Kevin Durant and James Harden—since free agency for superstars is largely dead as well.
Durant might have been directly responsible for the creation of the “supermax” contract, but James’ decision to leave Cleveland in 2010 was a wake-up call to owners who expected player loyalty to outweigh their desire to compete for championships. LeBron exerted win-now pressure on every team that he ever played for, and deservedly so.
Beyond his laundry list of NBA records, that’s going to be a major part of his legacy. Becoming the first player in league history to win a title with four different teams would therefore be a fitting culmination for that aspect of his career resume.
The Knicks are waiving Drew Eubanks after the center suffered a torn pectoral muscle that will sideline him for an extended period of time.
Eubanks last played in the Knicks' preseason loss to the Raptors on Tuesday. He scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting with two rebounds and two assists in his 15 minutes on the court. Eubanks played in three of the Knicks' four preseason games, and combined to score 13 points and come down with three rebounds.
SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley reports that even before Eubanks' injury, James Wiseman put himself in a good position to make the final roster as the Knicks look to add center depth following the departures of Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti this offseason.
Wiseman was in the starting five against the Raptors on Tuesday. He posted 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting with 10 rebounds (four offensive) in his 24 minutes.
The Knicks also waived Tony Bradley and Ochai Agbaji.
Knicks have enough room under the second apron to keep one camp vet. Bruce Brown has also put himself in a good position to get a roster spot, but the Knicks would need to trade a rostered player to make that happen.
The Knicks will need to lock in their roster ahead of the regular season opener against the 76ers on Oct. 20.
Former Mets manager Carlos Mendoza is back in the NL East, joining the Phillies as their third base and infield coach.
Mendoza was fired by the Mets this past June and replaced by Andy Green, whose interim tag was removed near the end of the season.
In three seasons with New York, Mendoza had a 206-199 record. The Mets reached the NLCS in his first year at the helm and had a slow collapse in 2025 that resulted in them being eliminated from postseason contention. In 2026, a 12-game losing streak in April knocked the Mets out of contention early.
Before joining the Mets, Mendoza was a coach for the Yankees from 2018 to 2023.
In Philadelphia, Mendoza will work under manager Don Mattingly, who was given a two-year deal earlier this week after finishing the season with the interim tag.
Before hiring Mattingly, Philadelphia reportedly reached out to Alex Cora, Raul Ibañez, and Chase Utley to gauge their interest in the position.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 14: Blake Snell #7 of the Los Angeles Dodgers walks off the field during the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in game three of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dodgers were in a prime position to sucre a win at home in Game 3 of the NLCS, but Blake Snell couldn’t endure the wrath of Milwaukee’s lineup in a 6-2 loss on Wednesday.
Snell faced a similar fate as he did in Game 5 of the 2025 World Series, as he allowed a first-pitch home run to Jackson Chourio to start the scoring. From there until the seventh inning, Snell was exactly what the Dodgers had ordered, tossing six innings of scoreless ball while striking out nine hitters.
The Dodgers were able to give Snell some semblance of run support, as a two-run double from Will Smith helped put them up a run against Milwaukee. It looked like the Dodgers had enough momentum to come back in the seres, until the top of the seventh inning occurred.
Snell allowed a leadoff walk to Andrew Vaughn to put the tying run on base, and it seemed as if Snell was able to work around the situation. Instead, Snell got into a deep at-bat against Jake Bauers. and the Brewers first baseman was able to catapult Milwaukee to a 3-2 lead. Two pitchers later, center fielder Garrett Mitchell blasted his first postseason home run to put the lead evidently out of reach.
Snell spoke with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA, where he mentioned how he was able to bounce back after the leadoff home run to Chourio.
“It was just wild, the fact that t happened in back-to-back postseasons, It’s part of the game. It’s not gonna define me, but it’s frustrating. I was really locked in because I was focused. I knew what I needed to do, and that’s part of the game. To give up a home run to start the game was just frustrating, and I’ll learn from that.”
In a start where the Dodgers needed all the run production they could get behind Snell, the two-run double from Smith was the only help that the southpaw was able to get. Snell looked to be on the upswing before Bauers and Mitchell both got to him in the seventh inning.
When speaking with Watson, Snell spoke about his dominant performance over his first six innings on the mound, until the two Brewers lefty bats lit him up in the seventh. It was a moment that Snell reflected particularly on Bauers, whom Snell shared parts of his career with in Tampa.
“I got a strike pitch one, and then I left a fastball over the middle to Bauers. I’ve known him since he got drafted with San Diego and then was with the Rays. I’ve seen all the ups and downs he’s been through. For him to go through this, he’s earned it.”
The Dodgers starting pitching so far has failed to live up to expectations, as they’ve been responsible for allowing nine earned runs allowed over 14 2/3 innings. The Dodgers will send Tyler Glasnow on the hill for Game 4 on Thursday, looking to avoid being swept by Milwaukee. This is the firs time the Dodgers have been down 3-0 in a playoff series since the 1966 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles.
NEW YORK - OCTOBER 20: The Boston Red Sox celebrate after defeating the New York Yankees 10-3 in game seven of the American League Championship Series on October 20, 2004 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We’re going to try something a little bit different today. With Boston out of the playoffs and anniversaries of awesome Red Sox postseason moments popping up on a daily basis during this stretch of the calendar, it got me thinking about some of the greatest games in franchise history.
Specifically, I started a little exercise in my head highlighting these magical moments, and by the end of it, I wanted to play the game with other Red Sox fans and the OTM community. The task is simple: Create the best Red Sox 7-Game series using the franchise’s rich catalog of postseason roller coaster rides. In doing so, you have just two limitations:
Each selection within your best 7-Game series must correspond to the actual game it was during the series played. (So you can’t use a Game 5 and place it at Game 1 or Game 7 or whatever.)
You can only use one game per series, meaning you have to dip into seven different series to create the full list. (This means you’re going to have to make some hard decisions when it comes to the 2004 ALCS.)
So with that, I’ll get everybody started with my list.
Game 1:2004 World Series
You can actually go a few different ways here. For a while I thought the one-game Wild Card win over the Yankees in 2021 was the answer since that’s the only Game 1 that’s winner-take-all and it came against the detestable Yankees. But it was also so early in the postseason, was a good — not great — game, and it has some surprisingly stiff competition.
I also almost went with Game 1 of the 2018 World Series (great game and an easy way to lead off with the most dominant Red Sox team of all time). But I landed on Game 1 of the 2004 World Series because even 22 years later, I can still remember exactly how I felt watching every inning of that surreal experience. The euphoria at the start of the game coming off the ALCS comeback, the wild twists and turns, the errors, and of course the sound of the Mark Bellhorn home run hitting Pesky’s Pole.
There’s also been some extra legend added to this game and moment in recent years now that we know the ESPN crew accidentally pulled down the pole and moved it just hours before the World Series got underway. What are the odds the decisive home not only ends up near, but off Pesky’s Pole in the aftermath? Just another incredible tidbit from a time in Red Sox history full of them.
Game 2: 2013 ALCS
For me, the 2013 ALCS was the easiest selection on the whole list. I don’t think there’s any other Game 2 in MLB history that so completely and decisively swung a best-of-7 series. That series felt like it was headed down a one way street before the Ortiz grand slam, and then it morphed it into a different universe. Add on the indelible image of Tori Hunter flipping over the bullpen wall in front of the cop celebrating, and you have a photo that will grace the walls of Boston bars forever. Special game, special player, special moment, special series, special season!
13 years ago, David Ortiz completely flipped the ALCS with one swing of the bat off Joaquin Benoit.
Down 5-1 in the 8th and on the verge of going down 0-2 to the Tigers… Ortiz had other plans. Torii Hunter then flipped over the bullpens and Steve Horgan became a Boston legend. pic.twitter.com/5dGv1Ml7ws
Here’s where it gets tricky, but I went with Game 3 of the 2003 ALDS for multiple reasons. First off, it was just peak bizarre baseball, which I love! But also, I’d argue this game was the catalyst of the entire epic saga that was the 2003-2004 postseason. If the Red Sox lose, they get swept by the A’s, the Red Sox vs. Yankees ALCS never happens, the Pedro/Grady Little controversy in Game 7 never happens, and that entire core is less battle tested and probably constructed a little bit different when the face the Yankees the following year.
It also had some of my favorite dumb baseball moments of all time with Eric Burns shoving Jason Varitek and Miguel Tejada stopping on the basepaths when Oakland had the Red Sox on the ropes.
Oh, and then it went 11 innings and featured a Trot Nixon walk-0ff. Man, the entire 2003 postseason was just nuts!
Game 4: 2004 ALCS
The 2004 ALCS. This one doesn’t need an introduction or video (we’ve all seen the highlights a million times). It’s the ultimate dividing line between the past and the present. I almost went off sequence here and wanted to save my 2004 ALCS bullet for the next game, but I couldn’t because …
Game 5: 2008 ALCS
This is by far the toughest pick! Despite my last answer, I’d actually argue that Game 5 of the 2004 ALCS is the better game from that series (and I’ve done so here at Over The Monster before). But here’s the thing: There is no team in baseball — and for that matter all of sports — that has a more impressive catalog of stunning Game 5s than the Boston Red Sox. It’s not even close!
There’s the Dave Henderson home run in 1986. There’s Pedro coming out of the bullpen against Cleveland in 1999. There’s the Andrew Benintendi catch to close out the 2018 ALCS. There’s the nail biting ninth inning of Game 5 of the 1967 World Series that nearly sparked a 3-1 comeback. There’s Derek Lowe stranding the bases loaded to end the 2003 ALDS. There’s even this beauty to close out the 1915 World Series in which the Sox rallied down 4-2 in the eighth.
But for this exercise, I’m going with the seven run comeback in Game 5 of the 2008 ALCS.
The Sox failing to close out this series in Game 7 is one of the biggest missed opportunities in franchise history! Game 5 very nearly set off a dynasty with what could have been the franchise’s ultimate comeback game, and it was the eighth straight Red Sox win in the LCS when facing elimination (appropriately dating by Game 4 of the 2004 series against the Yankees). Mathematically, Boston’s odds to win the 2008 ALCS were lower in the seventh inning of Game 5 of this series than they were in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, and they took that all the way to an early lead in Game 7.
It probably won’t be the most popular answer among the masses because of how the series turned out, but I’m obsessed with what this game could have set off if Game 7 went differently.
Game 6: 1975 World Series
Even after all these years and four championships, it’s still Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. It’s a damn near perfect baseball game!
The Bernie Carbo home run fueled the dramatic eighth inning comeback, the Red Sox blew a golden bases loaded, nobody out opportunity to win it in the ninth, the Dwight Evans catch in right field in the 11th, Hall of Famers all over the place, and of course the iconic Carton Fisk home run where he waves it fair off the pole.
For decades, this was the best thing Red Sox fans had. It’s the closest many people ever came to tasting a championship, and it was savored so much by the region it was frequently mentioned in movies, books, and other literature for years.
Game 7: ???
And here’s where we get to the title of the article. For a franchise blessed with so much rich postseason history, the Red Sox don’t have a signature Game 7 win. Take your time. Dig. It’s not out there.
They have plenty of signature Game 7 losses, but all of their modern Game 7 wins tend to be exclamation points on other more iconic games from earlier in the series. (The 2004 ALCS is a perfect example of this.)
Oddly, they do have an easy pick for a Game 8. Back in the 1912 World Series, Game 2 ended in a tie, so Game 8 became the decisive, winner-take-all contest, and it ended up going to extra innings. The Sox fell behind 2-1 in the top of the tenth, only to score two in the bottom of the inning following an extremely costly error by Giants’ centerfielder Fred Snodgrass. What a way to close out Fenway Park’s inaugural season!
But anyway, back to the matter at hand. I’m going Game 7 of the 2007 ALCS to complete the comeback vs. Cleveland. It was more of a party than a great baseball game, but again, where else do you go with this exercise? (It also holds a special place in my heart personally.)
Here’s the most fun takeaway of this exercise for me: We have yet to see the best Game 7 in Red Sox franchise history. For all the records, all the heroics, and all the rhetoric about how we’ll never experience the same highs as 2004 again, any modern Red Sox team has a chance to go one last place no other Red Sox team has gone before. Make a deep postseason run and end it with an unforgettable exclamation point of a Game 7.
When it happens, that group will go right up there with all the other magical seasons we touched on throughout this list. In other words, there’s still new places to explore out there, and maybe — just maybe — our young stars will light the way.
So with that, I turn it over to you. What’s your best 7-Game Red Sox series?
Thirty-five homers, one award nomination, and a bromance with Miguel Vargas. Munetaka Murakami’s rookie year had range. | (Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
The finish was frustrating. The power was undeniable. And the players who shared the field with Munetaka Murakami apparently saw plenty worth recognizing.
The White Sox first baseman was named one of three finalists for the American League Outstanding Rookie Award in the MLBPA’s Players Choice Awards on Wednesday, joining Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle and Cleveland’s Parker Messick. It’s an all-AL Central field. Apparently, the division had a few things going for it this year.
The winners will be announced the week of Oct. 26. Established in 1992, the Players Choice Awards recognize excellence on and off the field, with the voting handled by the players themselves. There’s something meaningful about getting the nod from the same guys trying to get you out. And for stretches of his first big-league season, getting Mune out was quite the assignment.
Murakami finished the regular season with a .207/.347/.478 slash line, an .825 OPS, 35 home runs, 77 RBIs and 92 walks in 127 games. Even with a right hamstring strain costing him roughly six weeks from late May into July, the slugger supplied the kind of power the South Side has spent far too long trying to find.
The batting average? Nobody is framing that one, but 35 homers and 92 walks will play, especially when they come with a 130 OPS+ and 2.3 WAR. There was real production underneath the strikeouts and the frustrating stretches.
His Baseball Savant profile tells that story in rather dramatic shades of red and blue. Murakami finished in the 100th percentile in barrel rate, the 99th percentile in hard-hit and walk rates, and the 98th percentile in average exit velocity. When he connected, pitchers generally had reason to turn around. Making that connection consistently was the problem.
His whiff and strikeout rates both landed in the first percentile, while his expected batting average sat in the second. Yet his chase rate ranked in the 91st percentile, a useful distinction: Murakami could lay off pitches outside the zone and still struggle mightily to put bat to ball. The power was elite. The patience was there. The contact remains a work in progress.
That combination made for a rookie season with some awfully high highs and a difficult landing. Through his first 74 games, Murakami had already launched 24 of his eventual 35 home runs and looked like someone the White Sox should be discussing a future with immediately. August and September were considerably less fun.
Those struggles followed him into Soxtober, when he hit .185/.258/.296 with a .554 OPS, one homer, five RBIs, three walks and 15 strikeouts in 27 at-bats. It was a rough ending for a hitter who had given the offense so much early electricity. Still, the entire season counts, and it gave Chicago plenty to build on.
When the Sox signed Murakami to a two-year, $34 million contract on Dec. 21, 2025, the surprise extended well beyond the South Side. This franchise isn’t usually the one landing an accomplished international slugger while the rest of baseball watches.
Mune arrived with quite the résumé: consecutive Central League MVP awards in 2021 and 2022, four NPB All-Star selections, the 2019 Central League Rookie of the Year award and a 2021 Japan Series championship with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. In 2022, he captured the Triple Crown by hitting .318 with 56 home runs and 134 RBIs. Those 56 homers established the single-season record for a Japanese-born player.
Questions about how his swing would handle major-league velocity and breaking stuff accompanied him to Chicago. His first season offered evidence of both the enormous upside and the adjustments still ahead.
There was a defensive transition, too. Primarily a third baseman in Japan, Murakami moved to first for the Sox and finished with -2 Fielding Run Value. The bat was always going to carry this particular investment.
Now, the question is how long Chicago can keep it around. According to Bruce Levine, general manager Chris Getz said Tuesday that extension discussions with Murakami’s representatives began in late summer and remain ongoing. A longer stay would give Mune time to make those adjustments — and Sox fans more opportunities to watch baseballs disappear.
The broader awards slate also includes several familiar names: Dylan Cease and Chris Sale are finalists for their respective leagues’ Outstanding Pitcher awards, Chris Bassitt is up for Marvin Miller Man of the Year and Jake Burger is a Philanthropist of the Year finalist. Plenty of former South Siders will be represented when the winners are revealed later this month.
This time, there’s a current one worth celebrating, too.
Welcome back to Mavs Moneyball Mailbag, where we answer all of your questions relating to the Dallas Mavericks. Take a look in our Feed where you can post your questions. We will also pick up questions from our social media and even face-to-face as the case may be. As always, thanks for participating! Please spread the word; we’re always happy to talk all things Mavericks!
“Which new addition to the team is most likely to exceed expectations and earn a lot of minutes?”
CDubss asks a good one, as Dallas will surely benefit from one of the newbies showing out. I have an irrational belief that Tarik Biberovic is going to exceed expectations in a big way for Dallas this season. Cynically, one could argue that expectations for him are low in the first place, but our very own Mette Robertson reminds us that Biberovic has been a pro overseas for years, in a piece written earlier this month. Even before reading what she had to say, I thought Biberovic could be a sleeper hit for Dallas. He is a full-grown man with an NBA body, has played for high-level teams overseas, and can shoot lights out. Dallas was below league average from downtown last season, so if Biberovic can come in and light it up, he’s going to have a spot in short order. His defensive prowess is also apparently nothing to scoff at, so that will only help his cause for floor time. He gets my vote for the newbie most likely to blow expectations away. I don’t think many will see him coming, but he will surprise people in how he adapts to the NBA game with shooting that translates.
“Can we expect Kyrie Irving’s play in the one Macau game to continue in the regular season?”
Time for my second irrational belief of the column. Almost from the time he was injured I felt like Irving was the type that would have a recovery on the more favorable end of the spectrum. Nothing has changed my mind on that front throughout his recovery process and I remain onboard with the thought he is going to return to form – especially after what we saw during his single game in Macau. Irving just simply strikes me as the type of guy who is so focused on his craft and so dedicated to the behind-the-scenes work, that he was well-suited to make a strong comeback. His lengthy duration away from the court probably caused some consternation amongst the fanbase, but I thought even that was a good thing. He wasn’t going to forget how to play basketball and would have training camp and preseason to shake off some rust, but I’d like to think the time away allowed him even more space to get stronger and more fully recover. So, color me crazy, but I think Irving is back and the ACL injury is behind him. At age 34, it’s fair to expect some other dings and dents, “load management” games and the like, but I’d like to think he gets better as the season progresses and ultimately returns to the player we remember.
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LOS ANGELES — Amid Dodgers despair, Shohei Ohtani provided a sliver of hope.
Maybe more.
It was the bottom of the eighth inning on Wednesday, Oct. 14, with the Dodgers on their way to a 6-2 loss against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the National League championship series, when Ohtani stepped to the plate.
Two out. No one on.
Ohtani, stuck in a horrendous hitting slump, jumped on the first pitch, a 96-mph sinker from Brewers reliever DL Hall. The Dodgers superstar laced it right back up the middle for a single to center.
Hall nearly got hit as the ball rocketed off Ohtani’s bat with a reported exit velocity of 113.5 mph. It was the top exit velocity of the game, according to Baseball Savant, and considered elite-level velocity.
Of course it did nothing to slow the Brewers, who took a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven NLCS. But it looked like signature Shohei, unfurling a quick, powerful swing.
In MLB history, the 2004 Boston Red Sox became the only team to rally from a 3-0 deficit. It’s hard to imagine Ohtani leading the Dodgers to such an unthinkable comeback. He still hasn’t homered since Aug. 18 while dealing with an assortment of injuries.
But then there were the Dodgers fans posting video of Ohtani’s eighth-inning single from Game 3.
"Perfect," wrote one commenter. "Too early to give up."
Ohtani and the Dodgers will try to stave off elimination Thursday, Oct. 15, with Game 4 set to start at Dodger Stadium at 8 p.m. ET.
Shohei Ohtani's woes
The Dodgers broached the possibility of taking Ohtani out of the lineup for Game 3 before he convinced them otherwise. Other than the eighth-inning single, there was no extraordinary evidence that he is on the verge of going on a tear – or producing his first extra-base hit in 11 games. The last one was a double Sept. 24 against the San Francisco Giants.
In the postseason, he is batting .182 (4 for 22) with seven strikeouts.
But then, amid a demoralizing loss in Game 3 of the NCLS, Ohtani provided a jolt.
” Katia wrote, including a behind the scenes video of her assembling a snack basket with jokes referencing the procedure. “I’ve carried the babies, now it was his turn to take one for the team. 
Love you, babe! 
” 
