Sports
Best Landing Spots for the Veteran Slugger Nick Castellanos After Phillies Release
The situation between Nick Castellanos and the Philadelphia Phillies had reached an untenable situation last year, and it’s probably better for both sides that they are moving on from him.
Through most of last season, the Phillies were in search of a trade partner for Castellanos but were unable to offload the back end of his hefty contract. They’ll now be stuck holding the bill on the final $20 million that he was owed this season.
It made sense for Philly to move off his contract. Castellanos has been the worst defender in baseball over the last few years and has not provided enough at the plate to justify ever DHing him. The Phillies are slowly watching their window for contention close, and they need to be playing the best possible lineup every night.
Besides his play on the field, reports have come out today that he was a liability in the clubhouse as well. From drinking beer in the middle of a game to fighting with coaches, both sides needed to move on.
Castellanos might not have a spot in Philly, but could he find renewed life as a platoon bat? This past season, Castellanos had somewhat even splits against left and right-handed pitching, but over his career, he’s dominated lefties.
With the Tigers adding Framber Valdez to their rotation, teams in the AL Central will be seeing a whole lot of dominant left-handers each night. Both the Royals and Guardians seem like they could be perfect fits for Castellanos if he’s willing to take a role as a platoon hitter.
More specifically, the Guardians could really use any sort of right-handed hitting in their lineup. Cleveland is always one of the cheapest teams in baseball, but their payroll going into this season is $7 million less than that of any other team in baseball. Heck, they have a payroll nearly $25 million below the Pirates. They should be more than capable of adding a guy like Castellanos, even if he still wants over $10 million.
Cleveland will work with three right-handed options in the outfield during spring training: Angel Martinez, Jonathan Rodriguez, and the newly signed Stuart Fairchild. I’m sure Cleveland isn’t particularly sold on any of those options, so a veteran presence like Castellanos could help what was one of the worst offenses in baseball last season.
It’ll be interesting to see whether or not a serious contender will take a risk on Castellanos before spring training gets underway. I think with his long tenured track record of crushing lefties, I’d still be willing to see if he has one more solid season left in the tank.
Sports
Minnesota, Washington chase reset as skids collide
Feb 1, 2026; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Niko Medved reacts from the bench during the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images Minnesota will look to break out of a slump when it travels to Seattle on Saturday for a Big Ten tilt against Washington.
At this point, watching game film has left Minnesota coach Niko Medved feeling stuck in a loop.
Kind of like Bill Murray’s character, TV weatherman Phil Connors, in the 1993 classic “Groundhog Day.”
Only Medved is watching his Golden Gophers, a different type of burrowing rodent.
“It’s kind of the same movie,” said Medved, referring to a 67-62 loss to visiting Maryland last Sunday in which his team allowed the final seven points. “We just had to find a way to get a few more stops down the stretch, and we still would have found a way to get out of here with a win, and we just couldn’t.”
Minnesota (11-13, 4-9 Big Ten) has lost eight of its past nine games, the only win in that stretch a 76-73 upset of No. 10 Michigan State on Feb. 4.
“Just look at our entire schedule over the whole season,” Medved said. “The margin for error is really, really small. We have to play one way and have to play with a certain edge regardless of our opponent.”
Washington coach Danny Sprinkle can relate. The Huskies (12-13, 4-10) have lost three in a row, including a 63-60 decision Wednesday against Penn State — the Nittany Lions’ first Big Ten road victory of the season.
“It was a game that you have to win at home,” Sprinkle said. “We can’t have some of our best players playing like that from an energy standpoint and a production standpoint if you’re going to win. They made plays. We didn’t.”
Senior Cade Tyson leads Minnesota with 19.4 points per game and shoots a team-best 38.5% from 3-point range. Washington is paced by freshman Hannes Steinbach, who averages 17.6 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Wisconsin blitzes No. 10 Michigan State, fells another top-10 foe
Feb 7, 2026; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Nick Boyd (2) rebounds the ball against the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images Nick Boyd had 29 points and John Blackwell added 24 to pace Wisconsin to a dominant 92-71 victory over No. 10 Michigan State in a Big Ten Conference matchup Friday night in Madison, Wis.
It was the second consecutive top-10 victory for Wisconsin (18-7, 10-4 Big Ten), which won at No. 8 Illinois 92-90 in overtime Tuesday. The Badgers are also the only team to have beaten Michigan, currently No. 2 in the country.
Wisconsin’s Nolan Winter had 10 points and 11 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season. The Badgers had 38 rebounds to match the Spartans, who entered second in the nation with a 13.1 rebound margin.
Wisconsin went in front 67-45 with 13:10 left on consecutive 3-pointers by Blackwell and Boyd. The Spartans (20-5, 10-4) got no closer than 17 points the rest of the way for their third loss in four games.
Coen Carr had 19 points and Jeremy Fears Jr. added 14 points, along with 12 assists on Michigan State’s 24 field goals. Fears entered No. 1 in the country with 9.1 assists per game.
Wisconsin, 13-2 at home, improved to 16-0 this season when scoring at least 80 points. The Badgers hit 15 of 35 shots from deep, improving to 15-2 when making at least 10 3-pointers.
Wisconsin had a 28-14 edge in points in the paint and 19-8 advantage in second-chance points.
Wisconsin hit 7 of its first 10 3-pointers to open a double-digit lead midway through the first half.
Austin Rapp drained a 3-pointer from the top left to cap a 15-0 run that put the Badgers up 32-14 as Michigan State went scoreless for more than 5 1/2 minutes.
Michigan State pulled within 36-27 by hitting three consecutive 3-pointers, the latter two by Jordan Scott (11 points).
Boyd capped a 20-point first half with his fourth 3-pointer to give Wisconsin a 51-34 lead at the break. The Badgers shot 57.6% in the first half, including 10 of 17 beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tyson Fury's comeback fight to take place at Tottenham's stadium
Oct 9, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Deontay Wilder (red/black trunks) is knocked out by Tyson Fury (black/gold trunks) during their WBC/Lineal heavyweight championship boxing match at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images Tyson Fury’s return to the boxing ring will take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The former heavyweight champion’s April 11 bout against Arslanbek Makhmudov was announced last month, but the venue wasn’t revealed until this week.
Fury, a 37-year-old Manchester, England, native, hasn’t fought since losing back-to-back matches in 2024. He lost his title belts in a split decision against Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk that May in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, then dropped a rematch to Usyk in a unanimous decision at the same venue seven months later.
Those were the first two career defeats for Fury (34-2-1).
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was the site of Fury’s last title defense, on Dec. 3, 2022, against fellow Briton Derek Chisora. Fury won his next fight, vs. former UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou, in Riyadh on Oct. 28, 2023, before taking the two defeats the following year.
Makhmudov (21-2) will be fighting in England for the second straight time. The 36-year-old Russian defeated David Allen by unanimous decision in Sheffield last October.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in addition to being home of a Premier League soccer team, plays host to two NFL games per season.
The Fury-Makhmudov fight will be shown on Netflix.
–Field Level Media
Minnesota, Washington chase reset as skids collide
Wisconsin blitzes No. 10 Michigan State, fells another top-10 foe
