Sports
Tua Tagovailoa Can Extend His Career With This One Simple Trick
Tua Tagovailoa was a full participant in practice Thursday, and it seems likely that he’ll be back on the field for the Miami Dolphins’ Week 8 game against the Arizona Cardinals. His final step before clearing the NFL’s concussion protocol is to be cleared by an independent neurological consultant.
Despite another scary scene in September that had former players pleading with him to consider retirement, the star quarterback has opted to pursue a comeback after his fourth known concussion between his college and NFL careers.
Tagovailoa also won’t utilize the new guardian cap option available to players—”personal “hoice”—but helmet safety technology isn’t what’s going to save his career, in my view.
The guy needs to slide.
Tagovailoa’s concussion in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills could have been avoided if he had dropped his rear end to the ground to slide feet-first and avoid contact, the way quarterbacks have been taught to do it for decades. Instead, after gaining the necessary yardage for a first down on his scramble up the middle, Tagovailoa semi-lunged into Damar Hamlin’s attempted tackle, needlessly lowering his head on the defender.
What makes it all the more frustrating for his supporters and teammates is that this wasn’t one, uncharacteristic bad decision. Tyreek Hill said teammates have been asking Tagovailoa to slide for some time now.
“When we were playing against the Colts, you see the fans start clapping for Anthony Richardson when he slid,” Hill said. “I said our fans need to clap for Tua; make him slide.”
Go back to 2022. After Tagovailoa’s concussion against the Bengals—the fencing response and hospitalization, the controversy around whether he was properly cleared to play in the days before the game—it took less than a month before he returned to face the Steelers.
Twice in that game, he lowered his head and shoulder at the end of a run, scaring the daylights out of everyone watching.
The following week, Tagovailoa summarized: “Obviously, I had my coaches telling me, ‘We don’t ever want you to do this.’ Obviously, I get that, coming off the injury and what happened prior with the concussion. To me, it’s football. You go out there, and for me, I can see the first down in instances and want to do all that I can to get it.”
There’s the entire issue.
Tagovailoa lets his competitive instincts override his need for self-preservation. It resulted in another concussion last month against Buffalo. Now his teammates and coaches are basically begging him to slide.
“We can say those things to him until we’re blue in the face, but one thing that I would say that’s always my saying is, ‘Hey, you can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink, right?’“ Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert said Thursday. “We’re going to bring Tua to that water, but we can’t make him drink. He has an understanding of that, and moving forward, he’s going to do his best.”
That’s a pretty wild admission to make about your highly-paid franchise quarterback! Even setting aside Tagovailoa’s own well-being, his greatest ability is availability when it comes to the well-being of the team. Miami is 1-3 since his injury. They’re counting on him to play things safer, or at least wiser, in service of the team’s long-term goals.
NC State quarterback Grayson McCall retired from football this week after suffering the latest in a series of concussions. McCall was a terrifically fun player to watch in his Coastal Carolina days before transferring, but his most recent helmet-jarring hit was unfortunately the last straw.
“Brain specialists, my family, and I have come to the conclusion that it is in my best interest to hang the cleats up,” McCall wrote on social media. “As I feel like my whole world is being taken from me, I feel some sense of contentment. Every time my feet hit the grass, I left every single ounce of myself on that field. I always played my hardest and to the best of my ability because I never knew what play would be my last.”
However much you think ACC quarterbacks make in NIL money, McCall didn’t sniff one one-hundredth of Tagovailoa’s career earnings from football.
Put another way, Tagovailoa has financial security to retire early.
McCall had plenty more to play for if he were stubborn enough.
McCall made his decision. Tagovailoa has made his.
Players’ personal medical histories vary wildly, as do their motivations, so concussion-related decisions will never be one-size-fits-all.
“I appreciate your concern. I really do,” Tagovailoa said to those who are worried for his health. “I love this game. And I love it to the death of me.”
I just hope he’s listening to the concerns of his coaches and brothers on the Dolphins.
Sports
Phillies look to ignite sluggish offense in finale vs. Yankees
Jul 25, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Yankees shortstop Jose Caballero (72) throws for a double play after tagging out Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) during the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images The New York Yankees have thrown the first two punches in their series with the Philadelphia Phillies.
The visiting Yankees will go for a three-game sweep of the Phillies on Sunday night when the teams conclude their weekend series.
New York comes into this one having captured five of its last six games. The Yankees notched a 1-0 victory in Friday’s series opener and then followed that up with a 3-1 triumph on Saturday.
Austin Wells and Jasson Dominguez each homered in Saturday’s win, while Ryan Weathers pitched into the sixth inning. For Wells, his third homer in nine games came amid rumors that the team could look to upgrade at catcher before the trade deadline.
“All I can do is go play and try to win,” Wells said. “I feel that being behind the plate for our staff and the guys is giving us the best chance to win. I tell myself that. I can’t control anything other than that.”
Cody Bellinger delivered the go-ahead RBI single in the sixth inning, although he later exited with a hamstring injury that will require further testing.
“It just feels a little tight,” Bellinger said. “I really don’t think it’s anything too serious. I feel like it’s on the smaller side.”
Kyle Schwarber, Bryan De La Cruz and J.T. Realmuto each recorded two of the seven hits for the Phillies, who have dropped six of eight since the All-Star break.
“Obviously it hasn’t been great,” Philadelphia interim manager Don Mattingly said. “We haven’t really scored, but the one thing you can rest assured (about) is that nobody is going up there not trying to get hits. … We’ve got to continue to work and keep fighting through it.”
Left-hander Cristopher Sanchez (12-4, 2.65 ERA) takes the mound for his second start since a shaky effort in the All-Star Game. He needed 99 pitches to get through 5 1/3 innings Monday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, although he limited the damage to three runs (two earned) in a 10-7 victory.
“I would have liked to finish that inning up in my last inning out, but those things you can’t control,” Sánchez said via an interpreter.
In two career appearances (one start) against New York, Sanchez is 0-1 with a 10.80 ERA. He also faced Bellinger and Ben Rice in the All-Star Game and allowed run-scoring singles to both Yankees stars.
New York will give the ball to Will Warren (7-4, 4.00), who made a relief cameo in Wednesday’s double-header against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The right-hander threw two-thirds of an inning in the nightcap, allowing one hit and one walk in a 16-pitch effort.
Now, Warren will make his first start since July 12, when he yielded one run in five innings against the Washington Nationals. He originally was slated to start Tuesday’s affair against the Pirates before that game was rained out.
“As a starter, I feel like I’m being crafty and pitching a little more than just the blacked-out adrenaline, throwing as hard as I can in the ninth,” Warren said after facing Pittsburgh.
Warren has made two career starts against the Phillies. He has yet to factor into a decision against Philadelphia while posting a 4.91 ERA.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: A's C Shea Langeliers (knee) could miss rest of season
Jul 18, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers (23) throws to first base for an out against the Washington Nationals during the fifth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images Athletics’ All-Star catcher Shea Langeliers could miss the remainder of the season after tearing the meniscus in his right knee while running the bases, ESPN reported on Sunday morning.
Should he opt for surgery, he is expected to miss the rest of the season.
The Athletics placed Langeliers on the 10-day injured list Sunday — retroactive to Saturday — and recalled fellow catcher Brian Serven from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Backup Jonah Heim, a former All-Star, is expected to receive the bulk of the work in Langeliers’ absence.
Langeliers, 28, is batting .263 with 23 homers and 51 RBIs in 93 games this season. He leads American League catchers in homers and hits (99).
He is hitting .240 with 111 homers and 288 RBIs since being selected by the Atlanta Braves with the ninth overall pick of the 2019 MLB Draft. He was acquired from the Braves in the Matt Olson trade on March 14, 2022.
Serven, 31, is batting .308 with nine homers and 46 RBIs in 61 games with the Aviators this season.
With the Athletics, he has appeared in two games on the season with a .250 average (1-for-4). against the Miami Marlins on July 5.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jenny Shin captures first win in 10 years at Scottish Open
Apr 23, 2026; Houston, Texas, United States; Jenny Shin of Korea hits a tee shot on the first hole during the first round of The Chevron Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images Jenny Shin recorded her first win on the LPGA Tour in 10 years on Sunday by securing a two-stroke victory at the Women’s Scottish Open in North Ayrshire.
Shin entered the final round with a five-stroke lead — and needed it. She overcame five bogeys to finish at 3-over-par 75 on Sunday at Dundonald Links and finished at 9-under 279 for the tournament.
The 33-year-old South Korean’s last win on the tour was her maiden one in 2016, at the now-defunct Volunteers of America Texas Shootout.
“Yeah, my first win didn’t really feel like a win at the time. I didn’t feel like I deserved it,” said Shin, who was still wet after being doused with water during the post-round celebration.
“But this one definitely feels a lot different. This one feels like I earned it. I worked hard for it. I started working with my putting coach four years ago, and he asked me what my goal was. I said I needed to win before I retire.
“So I had been wanting it so badly in the last four years. I’m very, very excited.”
The last LPGA Tour player to go 10 or more years between official victories was Vicki Fergon, who went 12 years and three months between wins at the 1984 S&H Golf Classic and the 1996 Michelob Light Heartland Classic.
Shin carded bogeys on hole Nos. 6-8 before stopping her skid with birdies on hole Nos. 10 and 12. She limped down the home stretch with bogeys on Nos. 16 and 18.
“I feel like I’ve done everything wrong, just wasn’t hitting it like I was the last three days and was hitting it into bunkers, bushes, and it wasn’t fun,” Shin said. “With the three bogeys in a row, I thought, ‘Oh, boy, I don’t know where this is going to go.’
“But yeah, I hung in there and so I’m quite proud of myself. Very happy.”
A Lim Kim recorded a 68 on Sunday to ascend into second place at 7-under, two strokes ahead of Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn (74).
Kim, of South Korea, answered a bogey on the second hole with a birdie on the third. She rattled off four straight birdies on Nos. 9-12.
Germany’s Esther Henseleit (73) finished in fourth place at 4-under for the tournament.
–Field Level Media
Phillies look to ignite sluggish offense in finale vs. Yankees
Report: A's C Shea Langeliers (knee) could miss rest of season
