Sports
Tight Ends Steal the Spotlight on National Tight Ends Day
On National Tight Ends Day, it was fitting in the end that the Hummers got the better of the Ferraris.
Some gaudy stats in Sunday’s nightcap indicate that superstar speedster CeeDee Lamb outperformed tortoise-like George Kittle. The most important numbers say otherwise.
The final score had Kittle’s 49ers beating Lamb’s Cowboys 30-24 (again). But in the big picture, the disparity was much greater.
You see, Lamb is a part of a growing problem in the NFL. Simply stated: Wide receivers make too much money.
You pay a wideout $34 million — like the Cowboys do Lamb — you wind up with a defense that gets run over by a third-string running back.
Not always, but enough that some forward-thinking NFL teams are changing the way they model a roster.
Take the Bills. When it came time to dole out big bucks to Stefon Diggs last offseason, the Bills told him to take a hike … and take sidekick Gabe Davis with him.
Rookie Keon Coleman would suffice … especially at about a $15 million-a-year savings.
Don’t look now, but the Bills are playing arguably the best football east of Detroit all after allowing someone else — thank you, Browns — to pay the bulk of their almost No. 1 receiver Amari Cooper.
The Chargers took the concept one step further when Jim Harbaugh turned his newest NFL project into a college economics class.
Simply stated: You recruit top talent on the cheap, ride it to riches for four years, then wave goodbye and start the process over again, all the while investing heavily in line depth on both sides of the ball.
Few, if any, in the NFL would understand this concept better than Harbaugh, who employed it all the way to a national title at Michigan. So you can’t really be surprised that the first thing he did upon getting the Chargers gig was tell Keenan Allen and Mike Williams to hit the pike.
In came Ladd McConkey at a massive savings, and while many projected Harbaugh’s first season would be a disaster, the club currently has a better record than, well, the Cowboys.
And a savings account that indicates a heckuva better future as well.
National Tight Ends Day brought us nine catches, 81 yards, and two touchdowns from Cade Otton; 91 yards and two scores from Kyle Pitts; nine receptions and 124 yards from Trey McBride.
Guys named Adam Trautman, Josh Oliver, Tucker Kraft, Tyler Conklin, Brock Wright, and Nate Adkins scored six more touchdowns Sunday than A.J. Brown, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Davante Adams, D.J. Moore, and Deebo Samuel. Feel free to throw in Justin Jefferson, kept out of the end zone Thursday night, and retain the shutout.
David Njoku, Sam LaPorta, Dalton Kincaid, and Evan Engram even got into the big-man scoring act Sunday. Michael Pittman, Calvin Ridley, Terry McLaurin, and even Cooper didn’t.
Some tight ends make decent money; don’t get me wrong. But on their day, they were well worth it.
Kittle had six catches, 128 yards, and a touchdown, and Travis Kelce had 10 catches, 90 yards, and a score. Sam LaPorta and Mark Andrews also had touchdowns.
And rounding out the $20 million-a-year wideout group, the aforementioned Diggs and Allen laid goose eggs.
Oh, let’s not forget: Hummers are not only cheaper, but they’re a lot more durable than Ferraris.
Injuries kept Dallas Goedert and T.J. Hockenson from rooting on their brothers Sunday. Meanwhile, flat tires prevented Brandon Aiyuk, Nico Collins, D.J. Metcalf, Tee Higgins, and Mike Evans from earning their bloated paychecks.
It wasn’t posted on any scoreboard, but the real final score Sunday was this: Tight ends 17 touchdowns, the 22 members of the $20 million wide receiver club: 4.
Note to Ja’Marr Chase: It’s probably not a good time to press the negotiations.
Then again, maybe that’s Jerry Jones on Line 1.
Sports
Diamondbacks smack five homers in rout of Athletics
Jul 22, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Ryan Waldschmidt (15) celebrates with Tim Tawa (13) after hitting a two-run home run against the Athletics in the fifth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images The Arizona Diamondbacks enjoyed their best game of the season at the plate as they thumped the visiting Athletics 15-5 on Wednesday to claim the rubber match of their three-game series in Phoenix.
Each of the starters in the lineup reached base, and nine Diamondbacks batters registered hits as the team posted season highs in runs, hits (17) and home runs (five).
Arizona also celebrated milestones as catcher James McCann (3-for-4, 3 RBIs) hit his 100th career homer in the fifth inning just two batters before rookie Ryan Waldschmidt (2-for-4, 3 RBIs) cracked his first. Gabriel Moreno hit a solo homer to cap the Diamondbacks’ seven-run fifth.
Ildemaro Vargas also finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI before closing the rout on the mound by allowing two runs in the ninth.
Corbin Carroll (2-for-4) homered and hit his MLB-best 11th triple. Tim Tawa (2-for-5) doubled and brought home a pair while Ketel Marte (2-for-4) doubled and scored. Nolan Arenado homered during his only official at-bat and scored three times while drawing three walks.
Merrill Kelly (8-8) was the beneficiary of this outburst as he went five innings and gave up two runs on five hits and a walk. He allowed a solo homer to the Athletics’ Jeff McNeil (2-for-4) in the fifth that tied the game at 2 after Carroll and Arenado put Arizona ahead with solo shots in the fourth.
It was all Arizona from there as the team clinched its eighth win in the last 10 games by scoring seven times in the fifth and five in the six.
The Athletics dropped to 2-13 in their last 15 as starter Gage Jump (3-6) gave up six runs in 4 2/3 innings on eight hits and four walks. He struck out five but also gave up three homers.
Reliever Yunior Tur, pitching in his second major league game, allowed eight runs on five hits and three walks in just 2/3 of an inning. He gave up the homers to McCann and Waldschmidt that made it 9-2 after five.
–Field Level Media
Sports
JJ Wetherholt's HR stands up as Cardinals blank Angels
Jul 22, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Hunter Dobbins (40) pitches during the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images JJ Wetherholt hit a home run and four St. Louis pitchers combined on a seven-hitter as the Cardinals blanked the Los Angeles Angels 1-0 to salvage the final game of their three-game series on Wednesday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif.
Hunter Dobbins (2-1) picked up the victory, allowing six hits over six innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five to pick up his sixth career major league win.
Luis Gastelum, George Soriano and All-Star closer Riley O’Brien each pitched a scoreless inning of relief after that with O’Brien notching his 26th save.
The win, just the fifth in the last 15 games for the Cardinals, snapped a season-high matching four-game losing streak for St. Louis. It marked the first time since May 17, 2025 at Kansas City that the Cardinals won a 1-0 game.
Wade Meckler and Josh Lowe each had two hits for Los Angeles, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Reid Detmers (3-7) was the hard-luck loser, giving up one run on two hits over 5 1/3 innings. It marked his 19th straight start at Angel Stadium without picking up a win dating back to 2024.
St. Louis took a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning on Wetherholt’s 15th home run of the season, a 409-foot drive to left-center.
Los Angeles had multiple runners on base in four different innings, including the bottom of the ninth against O’Brien. Jo Adell and Meckler both walked with one out but O’Brien bounced back to strike out Oswald Peraza and Josh Lowe to get out of the jam.
St. Louis had blown six leads in its 10 losses over a 15-game stretch, including back-to-back walk-off losses at Arizona on Sunday and to the Angels on Monday night when O’Brien hit Adell with a pitch with the bases loaded. That snapped a streak of 106 games that the Angels had lost when trailing after eight innings, including 48 this season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees LHP Max Fried activated for Game 2 of Pirates doubleheader
New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) throws during the first inning of their game against the Milwaukee Brewers Friday, May 8, 2026 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Between games of their day/night doubleheader with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, the New York Yankees activated left-hander Max Fried so he could start Game 2.
Fried, 32, had not appeared in a major league game since May 13, when he left after three innings against the Baltimore Orioles. He went on the injured list three days later (retroactive to May 14) with a bone bruise on his left elbow.
Fried entered Wednesday’s game with a 4-3 record and a 3.21 ERA in 61 2/3 innings spread across 10 starts. He owned a 4-1 mark and a 2.09 ERA through April, but surrendered 11 earned runs in 14 1/3 innings during May before going on the shelf.
To make room for Fried, the Yankees sent right-hander Kervin Castro to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Castro, 27, was called up in the middle of Sunday’s doubleheader with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He allowed one run in two innings on May 8 in his only game for the Yankees, which doubled as his first MLB appearance since 2022.
–Field Level Media
Diamondbacks smack five homers in rout of Athletics
JJ Wetherholt's HR stands up as Cardinals blank Angels
