Sports
Josef Martinez scores twice to lead Montreal past Atlanta
Oct 2, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; CF Montreal forward Josef Martinez (17) handles the ball before scoring a goal against Atlanta United in the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Josef Martinez capped a two-goal performance against his former team by tallying in the 76th minute, lifting visiting CF Montreal to a 2-1 victory over Atlanta United on Wednesday.
Martinez, a 2018 MLS MVP who played six seasons with Atlanta, converted a set piece to open the scoring in the 43rd minute. He answered Daniel Rios’ tally by splitting a pair of defenders and depositing Tom Pearce’s cross just inside the near post.
Martinez’s fifth goal in three matches boosted his team-leading total to 10 on the season and 115 in his career, moving him past Ante Razor for seventh place in MLS history.
Pearce and Kwadwo Opoku each notched an assist and Jonathan Sirois made six saves for Montreal (9-13-10, 37 points), which extended its unbeaten run to five matches (4-0-1).
Rios scored late in first-half stoppage time and Brad Guzan turned aside one shot for Atlanta (8-14-10, 34 points), which saw their winless stretch extend to five matches (0-2-3).
Rios forged a 1-1 tie after heading home Pedro Amador’s cross in first-half stoppage time. Rios’ goal was his seventh of the season and first since he tallied twice in a Leagues Cup match vs. D.C. United on July 26.
Atlanta’s Saba Lobjanidze hit the crossbar in his bid to break the tie in the 59th minute.
Teammate Brooks Lennon received a yellow card for a bad foul in the 55th minute. He will sit out Atlanta’s match against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday due to yellow card accumulation.
CF Montreal nearly seized a lead right out of the chute, however Caden Clark’s bid caromed off the right post in the second minute of the contest.
Atlanta United attempted to open the scoring in the 25th minute, however Lobjanidze’s shot from the right side of the box sailed just to the left of the net.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jung Hoo Lee, Rafael Devers shine as Giants torch Angels
Jul 25, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants first baseman Rafael Devers (16) celebrates with second baseman Luis Arraez (1) after batting him in on a three run home run against the Los Angeles Angels during the fourth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images Jung Hoo Lee lifted a three-run home run as part of a five-run third inning, Rafael Devers homered for the second consecutive day and the San Francisco Giants made it two straight over the visiting Los Angeles Angels with a 9-2 shellacking Saturday afternoon.
Robbie Ray (9-6) threw six shutout innings for the Giants, who followed up on a walk-off win by scoring nine runs in the rematch’s first four innings.
Lee’s homer, his sixth of the season, capped a lead-creating third that began with one-out hits by Luis Arraez and Heliot Ramos, followed by two-out RBI singles from Devers and Casey Schmitt.
Arraez also singled in the fourth, an RBI hit that plated Drew Gilbert, before Devers launched his 22nd homer, another three-run shot, that made it 9-0.
Angels starter Ryan Johnson (2-5) was pulled one out into the fourth, eventually charged with eight runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four.
Ray retained the nine-run margin through his six innings, during which he allowed six hits and two walks. He struck out five.
In becoming the team’s first nine-game winner, the left-hander ran his career record against the Angels to 4-1, equalling his best career winning percentage against any opponent.
The Angels avoided a shutout in the seventh when Mike Trout, who had two earlier singles, grounded into a bases-loaded double play, scoring Jose Siri.
The visitors completed the scoring in the ninth when Vaughn Grissom drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk.
Backup catcher Tyler Heineman finished the game on the mound for the Angels, throwing a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth.
Devers, who had a fourth RBI taken away in Friday’s opener when what was originally scored as a two-run, ground-rule double was changed to a walk-off, RBI single, got his four RBIs a day later along with three hits and two runs scored. Arraez had two hits and scored twice for the Giants, while Lee added a double to his home run.
Siri and Logan O’Hoppe joined Trout with two hits each for the Angels, who dropped their third straight. The Angels were out-hit 11-9.
-Field Level Media
Sports
An Autopsy of LeBron's Decision: And Why You Shouldn't Trust Rich Paul
With the dust settling on LeBron’s surprise decision to take his talents to his fourth team in Philadelphia, we’re starting to see why his last dance would be with the Sixers. Well, more than seeing why he decided to go to Philly, we’re seeing why he didn’t go anywhere else.
Cleveland appeared to be the frontrunner to land James for most of July. Both sportsbooks and prediction markets featured Cleveland within the top two teams nearly the entire waiting period, with Golden State and Miami also briefly having the top odds as well.
Now we know that most of that was a smokescreen from Rich Paul’s Klutch Agency. Cleveland and Miami were prohibitive favorites down the stretch, with Shams Charania and even Adam Schefter predicting moves to one of those destinations; however, LeBron’s decision actually came down to Philly and Golden State.
Both of LeBron’s former teams were shocked they weren’t picked for the last dance, and more than just astonishment, both organizations have to be filled with some level of embarrassment. They were strung along by James when they were never really in the running to begin with. Cleveland has been given the most detailed autopsy as to why they weren’t able to bring LeBron home, and the specifics make the move to Philly even more confusing.
When LeBron first decided he was no longer returning to Los Angeles, his biggest reasoning was to find happiness in his final destination. Maybe creating new business connections in a location close to New York is what makes him happy, but that reasoning led many to believe a return home would be in the cards. You can’t enter LeBron’s mind as to why this location makes him the happiest, but it more so felt like he was looking to team up with specific players that Cleveland and Miami didn’t have.
His next complaint of wanting the Cavs to make a move for Jaylen Brown has a multitude of issues. Boston was never shipping Brown to Cleveland without getting Evan Mobley back in the process. Mobley is a flawed player and hasn’t met the lofty expectations laid out for him, but Cleveland has continued to view him as a franchise pillar they were entirely unwilling to move.
Even if they were to trade him, a starting lineup of James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, and Jarrett Allen would have one of the worst defenses we’ve ever seen in NBA history. And it wouldn’t have just been on defense; those five paired together would have little synergy on offense, a problem I foresee occurring for the Sixers this year as well.
Lastly, the most egregious reason from the Klutch team is that the Cavs no longer had Darius Garland. For the last two years, Rich Paul had asked for Cleveland to move Garland elsewhere, and they did that for him.
Cleveland moved on from Garland, a player who had become exceedingly unreliable, for another unreliable option in Harden. Nevertheless, Cleveland was finally able to get over the hump and make it to the Eastern Conference Finals by moving off of Garland.
I find it patently ridiculous that Paul requested that Garland be traded, then used that as leverage to remove Cleveland from the equation. If those are truly LeBron’s reasons for picking Philly, a lot of mended bridges between James and Cleveland have been burned back to the ground.
Not only should Cleveland feel scorned by this entire endeavor, but the entire league should be over the Klutch Agency. They put out completely fake news to hinder other Eastern Conference teams during the early stages of free agency, when they never had a real chance at LeBron.
This past season, the Cavs gave James a tribute video that led him to tears. While they will always be thankful for his championship run in 2016, I think the city has truly soured on him this time around. For now, Cleveland will be angry with LeBron, but in the future, I feel it won’t be anger, but apathy. One of the greatest players of all time has continued to make short-sighted moves for his legacy, all in the vein of trying to chase down Jordan in the win column. Unfortunately for LeBron, his legacy is now set, and he will never be looked at like Michael Jordan.
Sports
Report: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope joining 76ers after Grizzlies buyout
Feb 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3) in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is set to reunite with former teammate LeBron James after agreeing to a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and planning to sign a one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, ESPN reported on Saturday.
Caldwell-Pope, 33, who played with James on the 2020 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, must clear waivers before signing with Philadelphia.
Per the report, the Grizzlies and Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul — Caldwell-Pope’s agent — finalized the buyout on Saturday, a day after Sixers agreed to sign James to a two-year, $8 million deal.
Caldwell-Pope, who also won an NBA title with the Denver Nuggets in 2023, missed the last 31 games of the 2025-26 season after surgery to fix a misalignment on his right pinkie finger. He finished with averages of 8.4 points, 2.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 21.3 minutes in 51 games.
A 13-year veteran selected eighth overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2013 NBA Draft, Caldwell-Pope has averaged 11.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 29.2 minutes with the Pistons, Lakers, Washington Wizards, Nuggets, Orlando Magic and Grizzlies in 963 games (784 starts).
–Field Level Media
