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After Falcons' collapse, Raheem Morris says '2025 starts today'

NFL: Carolina Panthers at Atlanta FalconsJan 5, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris reacts on the sidelines against the Carolina Panthers during the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

It would have been hard to believe on Nov. 3 that the Atlanta Falcons were going to be watching the NFL playoffs from home for a seventh straight year, but that’s the franchise’s reality.

After beating the Dallas Cowboys 27-21, Atlanta was 6-3 and had a two-game lead and a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South. But the Falcons dropped six of eight games down the stretch while benching their $180 million quarterback, Kirk Cousins, in the process.

Despite the calls made by many Falcons fans and radio personalities to dump Raheem Morris, the first-year coach survived “Black Monday” and will live to see another season in Atlanta.

That doesn’t mean this year was any less of a letdown for Morris and the team.

“Obviously I’m disappointed for our organization, our fanbase, for all of us,” Morris said in his press conference on Monday. “But the work has to start today. 2025 starts today and the process has already begun.”

Cousins, who was benched in December after signing with Atlanta in the offseason, is expected to be cut before his $10 million roster bonus is due on March 17.

In his place, rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw for 775 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions over the final three weeks of the season. Penix, along with running back Bijan Robinson (1,456 rushing yards, 15 total touchdowns in 2024) and wide receiver Drake London (100 receptions for 1,271 yards and nine scores) will give Falcons fans reason to be hopeful heading into 2025 after an 8-9 campaign.

“Michael Penix in those last three games was definitely a positive,” Morris added. “Pairing him with Drake London and Bijan Robinson, watching that combo get a chance to start fresh and grow will be something you really lean on.

“This is 100 percent an awful day. You hate it. But when you look at those guys on the offensive side of the ball, it does create a certain level of excitement for you. This is certainly a disappointing day because you want those guys to get a chance to showcase what they can do at a high level. We’ll get there. It’s our job to get there.”

Defensively, Atlanta allowed 24.9 points per game, ranking 23rd in the league and representing the franchise’s worst scoring defense since 2021 (27.0 ppg).

Morris didn’t give a definitive answer on whether first-year defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake would return next season.

“We’ve got to evaluate all of our coaches,” Morris said. “We’ve got to evaluate everything we do within our entire program. … There will never be anything that’s the same in the National Football League, whether it’s players or coaches. That’s just how it is.”

–Field Level Media

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On 6-game win streak, Cards out to keep Dodgers' bats cold

MLB: Cleveland Guardians at St. Louis CardinalsApr 15, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dustin May (3) pitches against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Players and coaches are wearing number 42 in recognition of Jackie Robinson Day. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Two teams trending in opposite directions meet when the St. Louis Cardinals aim for a sweep of their three-game series against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

St. Louis beat the Dodgers 3-2 on Saturday for their sixth straight win, while Los Angeles’ offense has gone quiet during its four-game losing streak.

Michael McGreevy tossed six scoreless innings on Saturday to help the Cardinals move a season-best seven games over .500 at 20-13.

“We’re going to give you hell when you play us,” McGreevy said. “There (were) a ton of expectations put on us in the offseason, and it’s been so freeing for the guys just to be able to show up and play.”

Jordan Walker hit his 10th home run of the season Saturday and is 6-for-8 with four RBIs in the first two games of the series.

“It just feels nice that the work that I put in during the offseason is showing up here,” Walker said. “Now the main focus is just keeping it consistent, and it feels like I know what it feels like, so when I get (off track), just get back on.”

The Dodgers have gone five straight games without a home run and have hit a total of three homers in their past 11 games. Los Angeles also hit into four double plays in Saturday’s loss.

“It’s what every team is going to go through in baseball throughout the course of a season,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I felt tonight, although it didn’t show for the first eight innings, I thought the intentions were better on balls in the hitting zone.”

Los Angeles has been held to two runs or fewer in six of its last 11 games.

After opening the season on a tear at the plate, Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages has eight hits in his last 38 at-bats. He struck out twice Saturday.

“Just trying to focus on what I can do, not focus so much on the whole,” Pages said through an interpreter. “Just focus on taking good at-bats, doing good turns, not really trying to get too ahead of myself. Baseball is really hard. So offensively, there’s gonna be times where we’re not clicking, and that’s one of those times right now.”

Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (4-0, 1.50 ERA) will take the mound for the Dodgers. He won his fourth straight start last Sunday, allowing four hits over six solid innings in a 6-0 home win over the Chicago Cubs.

Wrobleski, 25, has allowed two runs on 16 hits in 26 innings across his last four outings.

Pedro Pages is 4-for-6 with two homers against Wrobleski, who is 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA in three career games (two starts) versus St. Louis.

The Cardinals will counter with right-hander Dustin May (3-2, 5.28), who spent the first five-plus seasons of his career from 2019-25 with the Dodgers.

May, 28, gave up two runs over six innings in a no-decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates last Monday. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his last four starts, going 3-0 in those outings. May is facing his former team for the first time.

–Field Level Media

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Cubs eager to continue home dominance in clash vs. D-backs

MLB: Chicago Cubs at San Diego PadresApr 27, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (16) delivers during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs will turn to left-hander Matthew Boyd in an attempt to sweep the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon and bump their home winning streak to 11 games.

Winners of 14 of their last 17 games overall and 13-5 at home this season, the Cubs secured a series win with a 2-0 triumph on Saturday. Behind starter Shota Imanaga’s seven scoreless innings, Ben Brown became Chicago’s seventh reliever to record a save this season.

“You play the game in front of you and play with the guys you have and then you go from there,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said about a series of injuries that have put pitchers into new roles.

“That builds resiliency, if anything.”

Boyd (1-1, 7.00 ERA) will oppose Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly (1-2, 9.20) in a matchup of rotation stalwarts who have yet to find their footing in a season disrupted by injury.

Boyd, the Cubs’ Opening Day starter, struck out 10 in a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in his second start of the season on April 1. He reported slight arm discomfort, however, and the Cubs placed him on the injured list with a left biceps strain as a precaution.

He returned to the rotation on April 22 and since has made two starts, although he has not made it through five innings in either one. He notched a no-decision against both Philadelphia and San Diego in which he gave up seven runs on 13 hits in 8 2/3 innings.

Boyd was irked at himself for a failed ABS challenge in the first inning of his latest outing, the Cubs’ 9-7 loss at San Diego on Monday.

He called for a review on the fourth pitch of the first inning — a 2-1 fastball to leadoff hitter Ramon Laureano that was shown to be a ball. The Padres used two walks and three hits to score three runs that inning.

“It’s putting our hitters and our team in a hole when you do something like that in that situation, so early in the game,” Boyd said. “It was not a smart move on my part. I regretted it. I’ll do my best to not make that mistake again.”

The Cubs rallied to take a 5-3 lead into the last of the third inning but could not hold on.

Boyd is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in three career starts against the Diamondbacks, the most recent a no-decision in which he gave up four hits over five scoreless innings in a 10-6 loss in Arizona on March 30, 2025. Ketel Marte is 2-for-5 against him.

Kelly opened the season on the injured list with intercostal nerve irritation, which caused mid-back tightness. He has not shown his typical control in three starts since returning in a 4-3 victory at Baltimore on April 14. He has surrendered 13 runs on 16 hits in his two most recent starts while walking eight, ballooning his WHIP to 2.25.

Kelly was asked if command of his four-pitch repertoire might be the last thing to come after the injury-forced layoff.

“I think every comeback is different,” he said after walking five in a 13-2 loss at Milwaukee on Tuesday. “I think everybody’s different. The answer for me right now is ‘yes.’ I have to stop putting myself in bad situations.”

Kelly is 3-1 with a 3.25 ERA in eight career starts against the Cubs, the most recent an 8-1 victory in Arizona on March 28, 2025. Michael Busch is 2-for-6 with a homer against him.

–Field Level Media

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Why Cavaliers Should Cover at Home in Game 7 Against Raptors

In the world of basketball, the saying goes, “a series doesn’t start until someone loses at home”. Well, we’re heading into game seven in Cleveland, and neither the Raptors or Cavaliers have been able to steal one on the road. If the Raptors want to pull off the big-time upset, they’re going to have to end that streak and find a way to pull one out in Rocket Arena.

The Cavs have been heavy favorites each game in this series, and enter Sunday once again as 8.5-point favorites. Cleveland is 2-1 ATS at home this series, and had to go the final two minutes of game five without scoring to not be 3-0 ATS.

That’s been the biggest negative for Cleveland in this series. They’ve struggled to close out games and threw away two road games against the Raptors, and now are battling to avoid a massive collapse here in this one.

However, despite losing game six in dramatic fashion, I think they figured a few things out. Donovan Mitchell finally came alive in the 4th quarter, scoring 11 points, finally figuring out how to get into the teeth of this large, physical Raptors defense.

A big reason Toronto’s defense has looked so great is the play of Scottie Barnes. He’s been the by far best player in the series, shutting down Mitchell and company on defense, and scoring on whoever’s thrown on him from Cleveland.

Shockingly, James Harden has actually done a solid job walling up against Barnes. He and Dean Wade have been the only two players to give Barnes any fits at all. Speaking of Wade, it was shocking to see him out of the Cleveland starting lineup the last few games. He’s been inconsistent offensively, but has still provided spacing and saved Cleveland defensively.

Wade has a +23 net rating for the Cavs in the postseason, easily the best on the entire team. Max Strus, who replaced him in the starting lineup, has been a -8.3. More specifically, the starting lineup with Strus has been a -19.7, while the one with Wade has been a +30.8. Cleveland ran the lineup with Wade as they made their comeback in game six, so if he’s inserted back in the starting lineup, I think they have a great chance to cover in this one.

Lastly, Toronto’s offense fell incredibly stagnant in game five after Brandon Ingram’s injury. If he’s unable to go in game seven, I can’t see a way they’re able to pull off the upset.

I love Cleveland -8.5 and o211.5 as they will move on to face the winner of Detroit and Orlando.

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