Four years ago, Juraj Slafkovsky established himself as a dominant force on the international stage, earning the MVP title of the Beijing Olympics hockey tournament. The teenager scored seven goals in as many games as he led Slovakia to a first medal in men’s hockey, the Bronze one. That performance caught the Montreal Canadiens’ eye, and they decided to use the first-overall pick of the 2022 draft on the youngster.
In the run-up to this year’s Olympics, we heard it would be different because the competition would be much better with NHLers being able to take part this time around, but Slafkovsky has been just as dominant, if not more. On the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman summarized it nicely in this way:
If you’re a Montreal Canadiens fan, your nipples have to be erect, seeing how well Juraj Slafkovsky is doing (at the Olympics).
We’ve said time and time again that the future was bright in Montreal, but we’re slowly starting to see that future come into place, and Slafkovsky’s awakening this season has been one of the best stories in town. Not everyone noticed, though, but now that he’s taking center stage at the Olympics, more people are taking notice.
Former NHLer and Slovak player Marian Gaborik was the highest selected Slovak at the NHL draft until Slafkovsky was claimed first overall by the Canadiens, and he’s one of those who’s been paying attention. The Minnesota Wild draft pick at the 2000 draft played 1035 games in the NHL and gathered 815 points, and he’s spending the Olympics commentating on Slovakia’s games on TV.
Juraj is more mature as a player. We see him accomplishing big things on the Olympic ice. He didn’t have that confidence last year or during his other seasons in Montreal. Four years ago in Beijing, he was dominant for Slovakia with seven goals, but he didn’t play such a complete game. Now, he works as part of a team, he controls the puck, he plays well defensively, and he’s skating with intensity to get back to the bench. He keeps his cool when he’s hit, he doesn’t retaliate, I love the way he handles himself.
- Gaborik on Slafkovsky
A Stanley Cup champion with the Los Angeles Kings in 2014, Gaborik even added that the sky’s the limit for Slavkosky. While he’s progressed by leaps and bounds this season, it still feels like he hasn’t reached his ceiling yet, and one has to wonder what that will look like.
It feels like the youngster becomes more confident with each new Olympic game, and in the NHL, he’s on pace for a career year with 45 points in 57 games, on pace for a 64-point season, and his first 30-goal season. Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes must be incredibly glad not only that they selected him in 2022 but also that they were able to ink him to a very reasonable eight-year contract with a $7.6 M cap hit. As the years go on and the cap goes up, that contract could become an absolute steal.
CLEARWATER, FL - MARCH 06: Tampa Bay Rays Infielder Xavier Isaac (91) at bat during the spring training game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies on March 06, 2025 at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
DRaysBay works best as a place for community and conversation. Accordingly, in the lead up to the new season, we are posting “Daily Questions” in the month of February. I look forward to seeing you in the comment section!
Spring Training is always an exciting opportunity to see players you might never otherwise see during a season, and this is an interesting time in the Rays system after a dramatic overhaul of the team’s prospects — which might be obvious if you’ve been following our annual Community Prospect voting.
The playing I’m personally most looking forward to seeing on the field is 1B Xavier Isaac, a former first round pick who had his 2025 season cut short by brain surgery. Cleared for a return to baseball, the Rays have invited the 22-year old to his first major league camp this year.
Oct 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich (22) is introduced for game three of the NLCS during the 2025 MLB playoffs against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
We’re back with another daily question, and today’s question is: Which Brewer do you defend no matter what the numbers say?
For me, it’s Rickie Weeks. The No. 2 overall pick in 2003, Weeks never quite lived up to the hype, at least from a numbers perspective. Across 11 seasons in Milwaukee, he accumulated just 12.5 bWAR (roughly 1.1 per season) and picked up one All-Star selection, but he’s one of those guys where I don’t really care what the numbers look like — he’ll always be one of my favorite Brewers.
A player on the current roster? Christian Yelich. Yes, I agree he’s overpaid for what he provides on the field, but I think his veteran presence on a team filled with 20-somethings is underrated. Between him and Brandon Woodruff (another guy I’ll defend to anyone), the Brewers have had a consistent veteran presence over the last few years as they make playoff run after playoff run.
Who do you defend no matter what?
Weigh in in the comments, and join us throughout the month as we keep these conversations rolling into spring training. Have a question you’d like to ask in a future BCB Daily Question? Drop one in the comments and we may use it later this month.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 08: Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts after hitting a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fourth inning in game three of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 08, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 25: Adley Rutschman #35 of the Baltimore Orioles triples in the eight innings during a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 25, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
As we start to tick through the key dates leading up to the start of the 2026 baseball season, the Orioles arrived at one such benchmark yesterday by holding their first full-squad workout. The whole team has now reported to Sarasota for spring training, greeting old friends and meeting new ones. In just three days, there will be baseball, with the O’s hosting the Yankees at Ed Smith Stadium on Friday afternoon for the Grapefruit League opener.
Seeing the whole gang back together again, ready to work and full of positive vibes about the season ahead, is enough to bring a smile to the face of even the most hardened cynic. Baseball is on its way, and these are your 2026 Orioles, for whatever comes next. The guys now gathered in Sarasota are the ones we’ll be spending every evening with for the next 7-8 months, more or less. Of course, there will be roster changes along the way — maybe a boatload of them, if last year’s 70-player threshold is any indication — but the core group seems set. Now it’s a matter of whittling this massive camp roster down to the 26 who will represent the Birds on Opening Day on March 26.
Priority number one: stay healthy. The O’s have already gotten some bad news injury-wise on Jackson Holliday, who will miss the first few weeks due to hamate surgery, and Jordan Westburg, who has been limited by an oblique flare-up. The Orioles no doubt will continue to suffer some aches and pains throughout their four-week exhibition season. It’s a hazard of the job. But if they can avoid major injuries and keep their projected lineup and pitching staff largely intact for the entirety of the spring, hopefully they can carry more momentum into their 2026 season than they did into their doomed 2025.
Orioles season is upon us. Let’s go have some fun.
Holliday expects he’ll have a quick recovery from his surgery and will be able to rejoin the O’s early in the season. My bigger concern is whether the hamate injury is going to sap his power long after he returns to the lineup.
Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers both have ace ceilings, too, but one is coming off of Tommy John surgery and the other has less than a full season of top-notch pitching. Again, the O’s are banking a lot on less-than-sure things.
A great read from Andy Kostka about everything Rutschman and the Orioles coaches have been doing this offseason to try to reverse his year-and-a-half slide. Adley’s got a great head on his shoulders, for sure. But whether he can translate that into production at the plate remains to be seen.
FanGraphs is the latest to drop a top-100 prospects list, and four Orioles make the cut. I won’t stand for this Nate George erasure.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You share your day with four ex-Orioles: right-hander Scott Williamson (50), outfielders Mike Hart (68) and Willie Kirkland (92), and the late infielder Alan Wiggins (b. 1958, d. 1991).
On this date in 2003, tragedy struck the Orioles when 23-year-old rookie righty Steve Bechler collapsed at spring training and died of multi-organ failure. The autopsy determined that a weight-loss supplement containing ephedra likely contributed to Bechler’s death, and a year later, the FDA banned the sale of ephedra-based dietary supplements in the United States.
And on this date in 2014, according to Baseball Reference, “The Orioles significantly improve their pitching staff as they sign free agent Ubaldo Jimenez … as well as South Korean Suk-min Yoon.” Yeah, uh, I’m gonna have to take issue with that “significantly improve” description. Yoon never pitched for the Orioles, posting a 5.74 ERA in 23 games at Triple-A before returning to Korea. As for Ubaldo, well, you know. He went 32-42 with a 5.22 ERA during his four years with the Orioles, ending his MLB career, and for all of our sakes I won’t mention his most infamous game.
SACRAMENTO, CA - 1992: Kevin Johnson #7 of the Phoenix Suns looks on against the Sacramento Kings circa 1992 at Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1992 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The journey keeps rolling as we build out the Phoenix Suns All-time Pyramid, a thought exercise that tries to give shape to a long, complicated, and deeply personal history. So many players. So few spots.
We have three tiers left to navigate on this Phoenix Suns All-Time Pyramid and only six players left to place, which is where the air starts to thin and every decision feels heavier. Tier 3 is where things really crystallize. This is the Franchise Pillars tier. Three players whose effort, style, and basketball identity did not merely contribute to Suns history, but actively shaped it.
I genuinely feel good about this group, and that is not something I have said lightly throughout this process. I like where I landed.
One of them owns one of the purest jump shots you will ever see. Another embodies the grit and edge of the Valley itself, a player who maximized every inch of his frame and turned effort into identity. The third was the Swiss Army knife, the guy who did everything, filled every gap, and quietly held things together in ways that did not always show up in headlines, but absolutely showed up in wins. Take any one of them away, and the franchise looks materially different.
Tier 3? Revealed.
Now, if you saw all three of these guys play, your voice carries real weight here. That perspective matters. For me, I only had the privilege of watching two of them live, but those two live near the very top of my personal favorite Suns list, and that says something. That is memory. That is emotional gravity. That is bias, sure, but it is also built on longevity, production, consistency, and moments that stuck.
These are not fleeting stars. These are pillars. Players who helped define what this franchise was, and in many ways, still is.
Tier 3: The Franchise Pillars
When I sat down to construct Tier 3, there was one decision staring back at me that I knew would come down to bias, preference, and how you personally experienced that era. The Amar’e Stoudemire versus Shawn Marion conversation.
Everyone loved Steve Nash. That part was universal. Where things splintered was who you believed the second most important Sun on those teams actually was. That answer said more about you than it did about them. Did you value raw power at the rim, the force and violence Amar’e brought to the basket? Or did you value the guy who did the junkyard work, the one who filled every gap, guarded everyone, ran the floor, rebounded in traffic, and never stopped moving?
If you read the Tier 4 chapter, you already know where I landed. Amar’e Stoudemire sits in Tier 4, not because he lacked greatness, but because this came down to preference. For me, Shawn Marion did more. And the season that cemented that belief was 2005-06, the year Amar’e missed almost entirely. That was the year the question got answered on the court.
Marion stepped up in a way that felt expansive. He did not fill in. He took over. He averaged 21.8 points and 11.8 rebounds, carried the load nightly, and posted the most defensive rebounds ever recorded by a Phoenix Sun in a single season. That was dominance.
The numbers only deepen the case. Marion is number one all-time in franchise history in value over replacement, win shares, and defensive rebounds. He is second in total minutes played and the only player to appear in the top ten for minutes per game more than once. He did it three times, including an absurd 41.6 minutes per game in the 2002-03 season. He ranks second in total steals, second in total rebounds, third in blocks, fifth in total points, and seventh in games played.
I will always believe that Shawn Marion never got, and still does not get, his proper flowers for what he did on a basketball court. He played during a brutal stretch for forwards, right as the league was shifting away from being center driven or guard driven and settling into an era ruled by wings and combo forwards. This was the time of Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony. It was a murderers’ row of stars who soaked up attention, accolades, and oxygen.
What Marion did lived on the margins, and that is part of why it was so easy to miss if you were not paying close attention. He was electric in ways that did not always headline highlights. He guarded everyone. He rebounded out of his area. He ran the floor relentlessly. He filled gaps before you even realized there was a hole. And in several of those peak years, he was the third best player on his own team, which meant the spotlight rarely found him the way it should have.
As a result, the recognition never quite matched the impact.
He finished his career with only two All-NBA selections, and that number still feels wrong every time I say it out loud. He easily could have had two more, maybe even more than that, if the league had been better at valuing what he actually brought to winning. Shawn Marion did not fit neatly into a box, and because of that, history has been a little slow to fully appreciate just how important he really was.
Eight and a half seasons. A walking double-double. And when you read through that résumé, it becomes clear that Shawn Marion did not do one thing well. He did everything well.
Yes, Amar’e was the exclamation point on the Nash pick-and-roll, the punctuation that rattled the rim and shook the building. But Shawn Marion was everything in between. That is why he was The Matrix, because he was doing things that made you blink twice. The second pogo step. The quick bounce back up before defenders even realized the play was still alive. The shot looked strange, sure, but it went in, and it kept going in. He flew around the floor, covered ground nobody else could, and as a fan, I fell hard for his game during his rookie season.
And that is where the preference and bias live. Because I loved Amar’e too. Let’s be clear about what we are actually debating here. Two players who both sit near the very top of the Phoenix Suns All-Time Pyramid. There is no disrespect in this conversation, none at all. It simply comes down to taste. Which flavor speaks to you?
For me, it has always been the guys who defend, who work the margins, who make a team better in ways that do not always scream at you from the box score. The players you truly appreciate when you watch night after night, possession after possession, and slowly realize how much harder everything would be without them.
That was Shawn Marion.
Kevin Johnson was my first love as a Suns fan. He arrived in Phoenix right as I started watching basketball, around six years old, and from that moment on he had my attention.
KJ was electric in a way that felt impossible, the smallest guy on the floor doing things that made no sense to a kid trying to understand gravity, speed, and fearlessness all at once. If you were a young fan in the late 80s or early 90s, you gravitated toward Kevin Johnson naturally. Because he looked like someone who should not be able to do what he was doing, and then he did it anyway.
As time went on, we learned the cost of that style. You cannot play that fast, that violently, and that relentlessly without paying for it. Injuries became part of the story, especially as the team transitioned into the Barkley era.
Still, when you step back and look at what he did over 12 seasons and 683 games in Phoenix, the résumé is staggering. He averaged 18.7 points and 9.5 assists per game, numbers that hold up in any era. His 1988–89 season remains a landmark, when he dished out 12.2 assists per game and set the franchise record with 991 total assists in a single season. That same year, he also set the single-season turnover record with 322, which honestly tracks when you understand how much of the offense lived in his hands.
Reading through his career numbers, you start to appreciate how much he packed into that frame. He is second all-time in franchise win shares, second in assists per game, second in total assists, and second in triple-doubles. He ranks fourth in total points, fourth in total steals, fifth in total minutes played, and sixth in games played.
What stands out most to me is that he is first all-time in free throw attempts in Suns history. Longevity plays a role there, sure, but the number itself tells you exactly who Kevin Johnson was. He was an attacker. A guard who lived at the rim, who sought contact, who created chaos by forcing defenses to react to him over and over again.
It is hard not to imagine what he would look like in today’s NBA. He was Russell Westbrook before Russell Westbrook existed, minus the rebounding totals, but with that same sense of urgency and that same refusal to slow down. Watching him was an experience, not an exercise in efficiency, but a constant surge of pressure.
He also sits firmly in the category of great Suns’ “what ifs”. If he could have stayed healthy through the heart of the Barkley years, things might look very different in the history books.
Everyone remembers the 1992–93 season as a turning point for the franchise, and it was. For KJ, it was also a year defined by frustration. He played only 49 games that season, constantly in and out of the lineup, never quite able to find rhythm.
He had moments, like that unforgettable triple overtime win in Chicago in the NBA Finals, where he scored 25, but his lone Finals appearance ended up feeling underwhelming relative to what we knew he could be. He averaged 17.2 points and 6.5 assists during that run, solid numbers, though not the peak version of KJ.
Even so, he remains third all-time in Suns postseason history in assists per game at 8.9. No has logged more postseason games (105, number two is Thunder Dam at 83), postseason minutes (3,879), or assists (935) in a Suns uniform than KJ.
For me, though, the numbers only tell part of it. Kevin Johnson is the foundation of my Suns fandom. He is the player who made me care, who made me believe basketball could feel like that, and whose imprint on this franchise goes far beyond any single season or playoff run.
If there were a pyramid for best nicknames in Phoenix Suns history, Walter Davis would be sitting comfortably near the top, and honestly I think I may have talked myself into another entire series while writing this. Damn it.
The Greyhound. Sweet D. The Candyman. The Man with the Velvet Touch. You do not collect nicknames like that by accident. You earn them by playing the game in a way that feels smooth, controlled, and almost effortless.
Walter Davis had one of the most fundamentally sound and beautiful jump shots this franchise has ever seen. When you are talking about someone who Michael Jordan called his favorite player growing up, you are operating in rare air.
Davis was selected fifth overall in the 1977 NBA Draft out of North Carolina and made an immediate impact in Phoenix. His rookie season remains his offensive peak, and it was loud. He averaged 24.2 points per game, won Rookie of the Year, earned All-NBA Second Team honors, finished fifth in MVP voting, and made his first All Star appearance. That was the first of six, which is tied for the most All Star selections by any player in Suns history.
Statistically, his imprint is everywhere. He is first all time in field goals made, second all time in games played, and second all time in total points. He held the franchise scoring record for 28 years, finally being passed in 2025 by Devin Booker. He ranks third in total steals, fifth in total assists, and sixth in win shares. That kind of consistency over that kind of span is not accidental.
Davis spent 11 seasons in Phoenix, and while those years were not defined by deep playoff runs or sustained team success, that does not diminish what he was as an individual player. From 1977 to 1988, the team record sat at 517-467, solid but unspectacular. He excelled regardless. Night after night, season after season, he delivered.
If you are building a Phoenix Suns All-Time Pyramid, Walter Davis has to be on it. Where, however, is highly subjective.
He might be the most complicated placement in Tier 3, not because of on court production, which clearly belongs here, but because history asks you to acknowledge the full picture. The 1987 Suns cocaine scandal remains one of the darkest chapters in franchise history, and it will always be tied to his name. That cannot be ignored.
And that opens up a bigger question. How much do the things that happen off the court bleed into how we remember what happened on it? At what point does context reshape legacy?
Walter Davis sits right in the middle of that tension. His on court résumé is undeniable, but the full story is heavier, more complicated, and harder to compartmentalize. That is what makes him such a difficult evaluation, and why this tier, and his place in it, carries more weight than most.
Still, when you isolate the basketball, the production, the longevity, and the impact, it becomes very difficult to find many players who performed at his level for as long as he did in Phoenix. Walter Davis was a pillar of this franchise, and his place on this pyramid is earned.
What re your thoughts on Tier 3? Are these the right guys? Who should be higher? Lower? Let us know in the comments below.
Word on the street — and even in the dugout, from Al Lopez — was that the White Sox became the unofficial property of Bill Veeck on this day, 67 years ago. | (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images)
1934 Urban “Red” Faber retired after 20 seasons with the White Sox.
Somewhat overlooked in White Sox annals given he pitched in the immediate aftermath of the legendary Ed Walsh, Faber stakes a claim as the greatest hurler in White Sox history, with 67.7 WAR. That makes him their third-best player ever, behind Luke Appling and Frank Thomas.
But don’t feel guilty if you undervalue Faber, as it took him 17 tries to make the Hall of Fame despite ranking 11th all-time in pitching WAR at the time of his retirement (and still ranks 38th all-time, 90 seasons later). Faber never received more than 30.9% BBWAA voting support over 16 (!) different votes — and 10 times failed to poll at as much as 5%.
Faber’s 254 wins (254-212) fell just six short of Ted Lyons’ all-time White Sox mark.
Faber also authored the second-best two-season span in White Sox pitching history, with 21.0 WAR (11.4 in 1921, still tied for third in team history, and 9.6 in 1922, tied for eighth). Exactly 50 seasons later, Wilbur Wood topped Faber’s feat, with a 22.5 WAR two-season span in 1971-72.
1959 Bill Veeck exercised his option to purchase the White Sox from majority owner Dorothy Comiskey. However, due to her brother Chuck’s lawsuit claiming ownership of the club, the official date of sale would end up being March 5, with club transfer not occurring until March 10.
1964 Luke Appling was elected to the Hall of Fame, by curious means.
Sixty years ago, the BBWAA held “runoff” elections in years when no candidate crossed the 75% threshold on the first ballot. Appling tallied just 70.6% in regular voting, and while that led all players on the ballot, it was still nine votes short of election.
Given a second chance, the writers snapped out of their decade-long sleepwalk over Appling’s legitimacy and landslid him in, with 90.4% support.
It was Appling’s eighth attempt to be voted into the Hall, and until 1964 he hadn’t received more than 30% support! In his first year of eligibility (1953), Appling got … TWO VOTES from the BBWAA.
While of course the statistic did not exist at the time, Appling’s 77.5 career WAR ranked 18th all-time among position players and fourth among shortstops at the time (even today, Appling ranks 45th in position player WAR and 77th overall). And to this day, no shortstop has hit for a higher batting average than Appling’s .388 in 1936 — something you’d think would have had major impact in a counting-stats era.
But one aspect of the delay was sweet, at least for White Sox fans, as four-year Appling teammate Red Faber (elected via Veterans Committee) joined the Class of 1964 as well.
2006 In one of many before and after, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén issued an apology for an off-cuff remark. This time, it was to Yankees third baseman Álex Rodríguez, over his indecision on what country to represent in the World Baseball Classic. A-Rod, who was born in the United States with Dominican heritage, first opted to play for the Dominican Republic. Then he decided not to play in the WBC at all. Finally, Rodríguez settled on suiting up for Team USA.
Guillén had been quoted by Sports Illustrated as critical of Rodríguez’s “waffling’ over his decision, making him a “hypocrite.”
The defending champion White Sox would dominate the first half of the 2006 season, but faltered and did not qualify for the playoffs despite finishing with 90 wins.
New York, NY - October 2: Boston Red Sox first baseman Romy Gonzalez strikes out against the New York Yankees in the eighth inning of Game 3 of the Wild Card playoff series at Yankee Stadium on October 2, 2025. (Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
Manager Alex Cora announced yesterday that Red Sox utility man Romy Gonzalez is currently shut down from all baseball activities except for playing catch. This announcement came after earlier reports that he initially injured his shoulder in the final series of the 2025 regular season and has been dealing with pain and discomfort all offseason. Gonzalez has received a PRP injection and has not technically yet been ruled out for Opening Day, but the fact that he has now been dealing with an injury for over four months seems, uhh, really, really bad to me.
One year ago, it wouldn’t have been a very big deal if the Red Sox announced that Romy Gonzalez was injured. But he broke out last year, particularly against southpaws. Against lefties in 2025, Romy led the team in homers, batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, wOBA, and wRC+. And by the way, the players who were second, third, and fourth on the team in OPS against lefties were Rob Refsnyder, Rafael Devers, and Alex Bregman. The team’s entire offense against left-handed pitching is either gone or injured, with only Willson Contreras and Caleb Durbin to replace them.
Alex Cora says Romy Gonzalez is shut down from baseball activities right now and can only play catch.
Seems like they’re still waiting on the PRP injection to have an impact. Mentions 2B as his best position. pic.twitter.com/MjRXnOO4j8
Romy’s injury puts even more pressure on Roman Anthony, who was fifth on the team in OPS against lefties in 2025. Considering that he wasn’t even in the big leagues for the first few months of the season last year, Anthony’s swift rise to offensive cornerstone and face of the franchise is rather stunning. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
Outfielder/“fastest DH in the league” Jarren Duran was asked about his performance against lefties, saying “I did pretty good against lefties in ’24, right? So, ’25 they adjusted, so in ’26 I can adjust to them.” For the record, in 2024 Duran put up an OPS of .665 against lefties. (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
Someone who has performed well against lefties is Triston Casas, the slugger who posted an OPS of .817 against them in 2023. But 2023 was his only full season in the majors, as he is struggling to show he can stay on the field. Casas is not yet participating in full team activities and is expected to be out until at least May, but he’s okay taking his time: “This was a major injury and I’m a great player, and I don’t find any reason to rush this process. And whenever I feel ready to come back is when I am going to contribute best.” (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
The injury to Romy and the lengthy recovery for Triston Casas is also a major hit to the team’s first base depth. That’s why Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who has played every single position expect for first base in his big league career, is now working out there. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)
With so many question marks in the lineup, the 2026 Red Sox are going to need to be carried by their excellent (on paper) starting rotation. Sonny Gray is expected to be a big part of that, but right now it’s his 11-year-old son who is going viral on social media. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
Newcomer Johan Oviedo has not yet locked in a rotation spot alongside Gray, but Alex Cora likes what he sees out of him so far: “He’s physical. Good stuff. I don’t want to say he’s a work in progress but there’s a lot of things that we can help him accomplish and have the total package.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
SEATTLE - JUNE 14: Gary Payton #20 of the Seattle SuperSonics posts up against Michael Jordan #23 of the Chicago Bulls in Game Five of the 1996 NBA Finals at Key Arena on June 14, 1996 in Seattle, Washington. The Sonics won 89-78. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges 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 1996 NBAE (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Gary Payton built a Hall of Fame NBA career from 1990-2007. A 6-4 native of Oakland, California, Payton went to Oregon State, where he built a tremendous reputation as a defender and all-around point guard.
He was the second pick in the 1990 draft, taken by Seattle behind Derrick Coleman and ahead of Chris Jackson, now known as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.
It took Payton a couple of years to truly establish himself as a top-tier point guard, but he did and then some.
Known as “the Glove,” Payton was mostly celebrated for two things: his superb defense – he was the first point guard to win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year – and his relentless trash talking. Most people regard Larry Bird as the greatest trash talker in NBA history, but Payton is almost certainly a close second.
The bulk of his career was spent with the SuperSonics, but he played for four other teams, including the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Boston Celtics. In 2006, he helped the Miami Heat win the NBA Championship.
This video mostly focuses on Payton’s offensive talents, and some of these plays are spectacular. Incidentally, look for one against the Chicago Bulls where he takes the time to do something most people tried very hard not to do: he woofs at Michael Jordan immediately after scoring.
Connecticut is in and Houston is out on the No. 1 line of the USA TODAY Sports latest bracketology after the Cougars fell 70-67 at Iowa State on Monday night.
The Huskies regained their grip on a No. 1 seed after rebounding from a road loss to St. John’s with Big East wins against Butler and Georgetown. UConn joins Michigan, Arizona and Duke. This foursome has separated itself from the pack thanks to a combined 35-6 record in Quad 1 games.
It’s a big week coming up for Michigan, which travels to Purdue on Tuesday night and then plays Duke in Washington, D.C., this weekend.
Iowa State takes over as the top-rated No. 2 seed after notching a second high-profile Big 12 win in a row, following this past Saturday’s 74-56 victory against Kansas.
Houston’s drop is one of several in the updated bracket involving some of the biggest names in the Power Five.
The Jayhawks slip to a No. 3 seed after the Iowa State loss erases some of the good vibes stemming from a torrid eight-game run that included wins against the Cyclones, Brigham Young, Texas Tech and Arizona.
Three losses in four games sent Michigan State to the No. 4 line. While two of those setbacks came against the Wolverines and Wisconsin, the Spartans’ résumé is dinged by an ugly road loss to Minnesota. The Gophers are 4-10 in Big Ten play and are 86th in the NET rankings.
March Madness last four in
Georgia, UCLA, Ohio State, TCU.
March Madness first four out
New Mexico, California, Missouri, Santa Clara.
NCAA tournament bids conference breakdown
Multi-bid leagues: Big Ten (11), SEC (10), ACC (8) Big 12 (8), Big East (3), West Coast (2), Mountain West (2).
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 17: Jasson Domínguez #24 of the New York Yankees celebrates on second base during the game between the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Wednesday, September 17, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Graham Miller/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Spring training positional battles are storied Florida/Arizona traditions, but as of now, the Yankees don’t have many significant battles to play out in camp. Sure, there could be injuries that shake up the depth chart, and there will always be jockeying for spots at the back of the rotation and in the bullpen. But as far as the Yankee lineup goes, all the slots seems spoken for.
One of the few positional storylines actually left to follow is that of Jasson Domínguez and whether he’ll make the club’s Opening Day roster. After coming out of camp as the team’s starting left fielder last year, Domínguez is far from a lock to make the team, with Brian Cashman indicating earlier this week that Domínguez could plausibly start the season in the minors at this point.
What do you think the Yankees ought to do with Domínguez? From a pure roster-building standpoint, I think it’s hard to argue that he isn’t one of the most talented 26 players in the Yankee organization and that he shouldn’t make the team based on potential production alone. Domínguez struggled for chunks of 2025, but even as a 22-year-old coming off a series of major injuries that cost him huge chunks of development time, he managed a league-average batting line as a rookie, hitting the ball very well against right-handed pitchers and flashing elite athleticism.
Yet the Yankees’ decision on Domínguez doesn’t just hinge on whether he’s one of their 26 best players, as there’s obvious context to consider. The team’s outfield is plenty full, starting Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, and Aaron Judge from left to right, and Domínguez’s skillset at the plate (strong against righties, weak against lefties) doesn’t fit well as a backup, given the team’s desire for bats that can hit left-handed pitchers off the bench. Though Domínguez clearly has more upside than, say, Oswaldo Cabrera, or the veteran reserves the Yankees have brought in this offseason like Paul DeJong and Max Schuemann, they may be better served letting Domínguez get regular run in Triple-A while letting the others assume backup duties at the major-league level.
What do you think? Should the Yankees prioritize giving Domínguez consistent playing time in the minors, or should they include him on their Opening Day roster on the basis that he’s more talented than the other options?
Today on the site, you can get your morning started with Nolan’s overview on the state of relief pitching in the Yankee organization. Also, Matt celebrates Wally Pipp, the man most famous for losing his starting job to Lou Gehrig, and John previews J.C. Escarra’s 2026 campaign. And later, as part of our Free Agents series, Michael looks back at one of the most important signings in Yankees history, their re-signing of Aaron Judge in 2022.
Dodgers veteran infielder Miguel Rojas, whose surprising tying home run helped the Dodgers rally in Game 7 of the World Series, is back for his 13th season in the major leagues. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
When asked to describe Game 7 of the World Series and his place in it more than three months later, veteran infielder Miguel Rojas did not hesitate with his answer.
“Game 7 of the World Series was unbelievable,” Rojas said at his locker inside the Dodgers' clubhouse at Camelback Ranch last week. “Because nobody believed that I was able to hit a home run in the ninth inning with one out, and in that spot. No way.”
Rojas worked the count full, and on the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman left a slider over the plate, which Rojas rocketed over the left field bullpen, leaving the 44,000 fans on hand at the Rogers Centre — and the 51 million viewers watching — completely stunned.
“That was one of the most shocking World Series home runs I’ve ever seen,” award-winning baseball writer and Fox Sports commentator Tom Verducci said. “Here I was thinking, ‘Well, Ohtani’s on deck, so he doesn’t want to walk him.’ Never in my mind did I ever think that he was going to hit a home run. It was even more shocking to me than the Rajai Davis home run off [Aroldis] Chapman in 2016.”
Davis’ two-run blast in the 2016 World Series tied Game 7 at 6-6, capping a three-run comeback for the then-Cleveland Indians. It however, occurred in the eighth inning, and came in a loss, as the Cubs snapped their 108-year championship drought in extra innings that night in Cleveland.
How does Rojas’ tying homer rank historically? Is it on par with Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit, walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series?
“I think in terms of game leverage, it’s right up there in I want to say the top five [greatest hits in the World Series],” Verducci said. “You’re not going to match Gibby’s for the kind of cinematic quality of it. But, in terms of out-of-the blue, series on the line — not just game on the line. Kirk Gibson was Game 1. Freddie Freeman off [Nestor] Cortes [in 2024] was Game 1. This is down to your last couple of outs in the World Series by a guy who hadn’t hit a home run all year against a right-handed pitcher — he hit one off of a position player right-handed. The shock value and game-leverage situation, it’s got to be top five; I’m talking about any hit in a World Series game.”
Rojas, who turns 37 next week, has not been known for his power. The middle infielder enters his 13th and final big league season with a total of 57 home runs. As Verducci notes, he hit just seven last season — six off left-handed pitchers and the one he hit off of a righty came against San Francisco Giants catcher Logan Porter late in a regular season game in which the Dodgers won, 10-0.
Miguel Rojas celebrates as he rounds the bases after he hit a home run to tie the game during the ninth inning of Game 7. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Batting ninth, with Shohei Ohtani on deck, Rojas stepped into the box with the goal of getting to first base. Hoffman started Rojas off with an 86-mph slider off the plate, getting the veteran to chase, putting him behind in the count, 0-1.
“I mean, my mentality was always to get on base,” Rojas said. “I think the first pitch taught me a lot about how the at bat was going to go. I was able to, kind of like, regroup and kind of keep myself in that at-bat and give myself an opportunity to get on base."
Hoffman proceeded to throw the next two pitches out of the zone, bringing the count to 2-1. He then attacked the strike zone with back-to-back fastballs, both of which Rojas fouled away, into the stands. An up-and-in slider brought the count full.
“Then he hung a slider, and I put a good swing on it,” Rojas said. “I knew a strike was coming. I didn't know what kind of strike I was gonna see. I was happy to put the barrel on that ball.”
The rest is history. The Dodgers would go on to win in 11 innings, repeating as World Series champions. What came in the immediate aftermath of confetti and champagne, was not something Rojas could have ever expected when he rejoined the Dodgers via trade before the 2023 season.
“It was a little bit more of attention, on the media side, fans and all that,” Rojas said. “It feels like it was overwhelming with the off-the-field stuff, because I was traveling a lot and all that.”
Little did he know, Rojas had unintentionally launched himself to stardom.
“There were definitely a couple things that I didn't have on my radar, like the Latin Grammys was one of them,” Rojas said. “I went and shot an episode of 'Wheel of Fortune.' A couple nice things that you don't even know that you're playing this game for. But then you got the opportunity to, kind of like, travel and visit the world and go to places that you never expected to go. Really, it was really cool, overwhelming… but I think it's something that you don't have another opportunity to do.”
After enjoying the ride of the unanticipated media tour, Rojas is back at Dodgers camp, itching to win the final game of the season for the third year in a row in what he has said will be the final season of his career.
“Ever since I got traded, I can feel like walking into this clubhouse in spring training, the expectations are the same,” Rojas said. “And they're always making the team better. It's kind of like, right now, it feels like you have to win. It's not like, ‘OK, let's try to win. Let's try to do our best.’ It's like, ‘We have to win.’ It feels the same as last year and the year before and the year before that. The mentality is 'win.'”
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 12: Dallas Mavericks have officially won the in NBA Draft Lottery with 1.8% pre-lottery chance to win the pick in Chicago, Illinois, United States on May 12, 2025. San Antonio Spurs got the second pick, Philadelphia 76ers got 3rd and Charlotte Hornets got the 4th pick in the lottery. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images) | Anadolu via Getty Images
It’s that time of year again. It’s tanking season. And it’s bigger and better than ever. There are seemingly more teams tanking than ever before, and they are doing it earlier and bolder and in more innovative ways. Everybody is talking about it, so why not Fear The Sword? There have been lots of crazy proposals to fix tanking thrown around. Even odds. Rookie free agency. The Wheel.
Here’s one more: Let’s try just forcing teams to win games.
I know this sounds crazy, but I believe basketball is the most fun to watch when teams are trying to win. And I also believe that the answer to what is wrong with basketball is usually more basketball.
Here’s the proposal:
You hold an eight-team tournament before the playoffs to determine draft order.
Lowest seeds gain entry, with the exception that every playoff team and play-in teams that reached the second round from last year are not eligible. No gap years. If one of those teams is at the bottom, take the next lowest seed.
Just like the player awards season, if you don’t play, you can’t play. Let’s set a low bar and focus on the stretch run. If you haven’t played > 1,230 minutes (15 minutes per game all year) or > 15 mpg post-All-Star break, you’re out (this can be fine-tuned for role players, but you can see the point). No miraculous recoveries for the draft tournament allowed.
Draft tournament winner gets the number one pick. Trades be damned.
That’s it. That’s the whole idea. Play basketball. Win. Get rewarded.
Why is this a good idea? Let’s break it down.
The Draft Lottery is the worst. There is no fixing it. We have this many teams tanking and piling picks because the draft is unreliable. Every time a San Antonio or a Philly gets lucky in the lottery, every time an Indiana takes a gap year, a team that has been tanking for years signs up for yet another year of tanking. The lottery is why we have so many teams tanking at once. It makes the draft unreliable. That’s bad. Not good.
The goal of a draft should not be to create middle-class citizens. It should not be to let the Chicago Bulls hang around near .500 forever. That isn’t parity. The goal should be to create contenders. The draft needs to help teams on the outside-looking-in become truly competitive. You can grow to Play-In status with picks five through 10 and shrewd acquisitions. It’s the leap that requires a top-four pick.
Even if teams figure out how to game the system and gain entry in nefarious ways, it’s largely a one-and-done scenario. They’ll do well, they’ll get a good pick, and they will graduate to a competitive level. That’s the goal. No tanking for half a decade or more.
The top-two picks landing in the worst situations is also the worst. What are our favorite stories? It’s rookie Kobe playing with Shaq. It’s rookie Tim Duncan playing with David Robinson. It’s Wemby being competitive *right now*. It is not Kevin Garnett dragging Sprewell to the Western Conference Finals or LeBron dragging Larry Hughes to the Finals before they inevitably leave the team that drafted them because they were too good for the team to build around them. The best-case scenario is that you get your second or third-best player, and then you get your generational talent. Not the other way around.
A draft tournament is still high variance. In a single-elimination format, anything can happen. You get that excitement. Whether your team is awful or your pre-season expectations are falling apart, you get that hope. And as a fan, you get to hope your team wins important ball games rather than hope they lose 75 meaningless ones.
It incentivizes teams to try to win. Think about what a draft tournament does to a rebuild cycle. Right now, when a team thinks they are close, they worry that if they get too good, too soon, then they might never get good enough. The entire young core could be wasted. They worry they should tank for one more high pick. With a draft tournament, you can go for it. You can try. You can bring in vets. Maybe you’re right, and you’re in the playoffs. Maybe you’re wrong, and you’re in the draft tournament with the best chance of winning it. Either way, the current core has a future.
It revitalizes the NBA middle class. No more player purgatory. No more players that are too good to tank with and not good enough to win with. These players instantly have value because even if they can’t help you win the NBA championship, they can help you win the draft tournament. Shout out to Georges Niang. Pay the Miini-van.
So that’s it. That’s the pitch. Structure everything so that in order to accomplish your goals, you have to win basketball games. Always.
And if you like that, just let me know. Because we can keep going with this concept. More tournaments, all with critical team-construction rewards. The rewards are the key. If the tournament helps a team build and helps a player get paid, everybody cares. Teams, GMs, players, fans. That adds value. That drives interest. That drives revenue. And that, ultimately, is the only way we ever get to shorten the regular season, which is what the sport truly needs. But that’s a story for another day.
Antoine Dupont and Matthieu Jalibert have thrilled during Les Bleus’ storming start to the Six Nations
The greatest double acts roll off the tongue. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Morecambe and Wise, Lennon and McCartney. It’s the same in sport: Lillee and Thomson, Torvill and Dean, Redgrave and Pinsent. After a while their individual talents complement each other so perfectly it becomes hard to mention one without the other.
Which is what is now happening on the rugby fields of Europe. For Butch and Sundance read Antoine Dupont and Matthieu Jalibert, the creative partnership behind a France team weaving the prettiest of Six Nations patterns. Between them “Jalipont” are helping to fashion some of the most spectacular attacking rugby anyone could wish for.
Nikola Vučević has played three games with Boston and, so far, he’s been exactly as advertised.
The Montenegrin big man is averaging 13.7 points and 9.7 rebounds while shooting 48.5% from the floor and better than 41% from three. As a proven veteran, you generally know what you’re getting from Vučević — steady scoring, strong rebounding, and a polished offensive game.
Growing up, my two favorite NBA players were Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan — Garnett for his defense and intensity, and Duncan for his fundamentals and beautiful post game. What I admire most about Vučević is that same kind of polished presence on the block. It’s something that the Celtics have lacked over the years. Al Horford, in his early years with Boston, was a reliable post option, but as he got older, he drifted behind the arc more to help space the floor.
Now, Boston has a player who is both a legitimate post threat and a capable outside shooter. On any given night, Vučević can easily be the team’s second-leading scorer, which gives Boston’s offense more balance — and that’s already been the case through his first three games.
In his first game in green, Vučević was clearly a bit passive. It looked like he didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes as he adjusted to a new team and system. He’s not going to be a great defender, and there will be moments when quicker players beat him. But having him come off the bench alongside Payton Pritchard creates a dynamic one-two, inside-outside punch that can keep the scoring flowing when Jaylen Brown and/or Derrick White are off the floor. Over time, Vučević will get more comfortable with the defensive rotations and team schemes. I expect him to look sharper on that end as he settles in.
Against his former team, Vučević showed the Boston Celtics faithful at TD Garden exactly what he’s capable of. The big man finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in the win over the Bulls. What impressed me most was his 4-of-5 shooting from three. If Vučević can consistently knock down the three-ball, he adds a dimension this team was missing prior to the deadline.
Another key element Vučević brings to this Celtics team is elite rebounding. Before joining Boston, he averaged nine rebounds per game, and so far, he’s posted rebound totals of 11, 6, and 12. In his debut alone, he grabbed six offensive boards — a huge boost for second-chance opportunities. That presence will pair well when Neemias Queta heads to the bench. Having at least one strong rebounder on the floor at all times — and the ability to consistently attack the offensive glass — will be pivotal for Boston, especially in tight playoff-style games.
Three games in, it’s hard not to like the fit. Vučević gives Boston a different look offensively — a true interior scorer who can also step out and stretch the floor, something Boston has missed since getting rid of both Horford and Kristaps Porziņģis. He stabilizes bench units, adds rebounding toughness, and brings veteran poise to a team with championship aspirations.
If this is the baseline, then Boston may have found exactly what it needed. I truly believe Vučević is going to be a great addition to this roster. More than anything, I’m glad he gets the opportunity to play meaningful basketball on a legitimate contender. Veterans like him don’t always get that chance late in their careers, and if these first three games are any indication, he’s going to make an impact.
