Sports
Yankees look to punch ticket to playoffs in clash vs. Mariners
Sep 17, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Juan Soto (22) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run against the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images Juan Soto hit the trifecta on Tuesday.
His milestone home run helped the New York Yankees record an 11-2 win over the host Seattle Mariners.
The Yankees (88-63) can clinch at least a wild-card playoff berth with a victory when the series continues Wednesday night in Seattle.
Soto’s two-run blast off Mariners starter Bryan Woo in the fourth inning was his 40th homer of the season, the 200th of his career and gave him a home run in all 30 active major-league ballparks.
“To get to another goal in my career is just a great feeling. All the work that I’ve been putting in and get the results is really cool,” Soto said.
Soto became the seventh-youngest player to reach the 200-HR plateau, at 25 years and 328 days old. Only Jimmie Foxx (222), Eddie Mathews (222), Alex Rodriguez (216), Mel Ott (211) and Mickey Mantle (207) hit more before turning 26. Albert Pujols belted exactly 200 prior to his 26th birthday.
Soto and Aaron Judge became the third Yankees duo to hit 40 homers in a season, joining Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig (three times between 1927-31) and Mantle and Roger Maris (1961).
“It’s an honor. It’s tough to really put into words. Those are baseball legends you’re talking about,” said Judge, who drove in four runs with a two-run double in the first inning and a two-run single in the second.
Jasson Dominguez also homered for the Yankees, who extended their lead over Baltimore atop the American League East to four games. Right-hander Luis Gil allowed one run over five innings.
Trailing 2-0, the Mariners loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning. Victor Robles was thrown out trying to steal home and the Yankees pulled away.
“Vic is an aggressive player, no doubt. That’s part of his game,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “That’s a situation you have got to know you’re going to make it.”
Robles, who reached base when he was hit by a pitch, had to leave the game after the first inning with a contusion on his right hand. He availability for Wednesday’s game is uncertain.
Julio Rodriguez went 4-for-5 and Jorge Polanco and Luke Raley hit solo homers for the Mariners (77-74), who dropped five games behind Houston in the AL West and three back in the wild-card chase.
Wednesday’s pitching matchup of Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes (9-10, 3.90 ERA) and Mariners righty Bryce Miller (11-8, 3.12) is a rematch of a May 22 game at Yankee Stadium.
Cortes pitched five scoreless innings that day, earning the victory as the Yankees prevailed 7-3. Miller gave up five runs over six innings, with Soto hitting two home runs and Judge adding another.
Cortes, a former Mariner, has won his past four decisions, including one in relief. He’s 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA in five career appearances against Seattle, including four starts.
Miller, who has allowed one earned run and struck out 11 over his past two starts combined, is 0-2 with a 10.97 ERA in two matchups with the Yankees.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Which NFL Teams Improved the Most in Free Agency? Four Stand Out
The official 2026 calendar just started and the NFL still has that new-league-year smell.
Depending on what your favorite team did since player negotiations began on Monday and free agency opened on Wednesday, there’s a great chance it will end up smelling like either fresh roses or rotten eggs 11 months from now after the confetti settles on Super Bowl LXI.
Last March, the Seattle Seahawks signed quarterback Sam Darnold to a three-year, $100 million contract and went on to win the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens mostly window shopped, missed the playoffs and ultimately said farewell to John Harbaugh, the most successful coach in franchise history
In March 2024, the Philadelphia Eagles locked up running back Saquon Barkley on a three-year, $37.75 million deal and then rode his historic 2,000-yard season to a Super Bowl championship. The Dallas Cowboys were the last team to sign anyone, kept their purse strings knotted and showed coach Mike McCarthy the door after a 7-10 season.
Who made the largest “Lombardi leaps” this week, keeping in mind that neither the 2025 Seahawks (10-7 during the previous season) nor 2024 Eagles (11-6 in 2023) needed massive makeovers? Who plugged the decisive pieces into their championship puzzles?
Four teams fit the mold. Two made playoff runs last season and two slipped from perennial AFC contenders to 6-11 records: the defending NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams and the NFC North champion Chicago Bears and the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs.
The Rams fell short of the Big Game when they allowed Darnold to throw for 346 yards and three touchdowns in the Seahawks’ 31-27 victory in the NFC Championship.
General manager Les Snead attacked the situation head-on this month, shelling out a combined $176 million to add ex-Chiefs cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson (who both own two Super Bowl rings) and also re-signing safety Kam Curl to a three-year, $36 million deal.
The Bears were 4-5 during the 2025 regular season when opponents averaged at least 6.0 yards per play (7-1 when foes were under that mark).
Seeking speed for Dennis Allen’s defense, Chicago GM Ryan Poles signed former Seahawks safety Coby Bryant and replaced Tremaine Edmunds with former Browns linebacker Devin Bush. The Bears also solidified the defensive line with tackles Neville Gallimore and Kentavius Street.
The Bengals surrendered a franchise-record 492 points last season and finished 31st in total defense, including three games with more than 500 yards allowed.
Offsetting the departure of 31-year-old pass rusher Trey Hendrickson to the Ravens, Cincinnati got better by making former Chief Bryan Cook (another two-time champ) the highest-paid safety in franchise history and making former Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe the franchise’s first $20 million per year free agent.
The Chiefs’ 10-year playoff streak ended last winter but the dynasty isn’t dead as long as Patrick Mahomes has two healthy legs to stand on. If he returns early enough from a torn ACL, you can’t count them out.
Sure, Kansas City lost a few key players, but GM Brett Veach signed reigning Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker III, veteran safety Alohi Gilman, defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga — a solid backup for 31-year-old Chris Jones — and wideout Tyquan Thornton. Tight end Travis Kelce also committed to another season, with the encouragement of Taylor Swift.
As for the rest, don’t start burning jerseys if your team didn’t make the cut here. There will be plenty more signings and trades before next month’s draft. At the time of writing, A.J. Brown is still an Eagle, Kyler Murray is still on the market and Maxx Crosby is still not a Raven.
Sports
No. 19 North Carolina, Clemson battle again in ACC quarterfinals
Mar 3, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers guard Efrem Johnson (4) shoots against North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) during the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images No. 19-ranked North Carolina and Clemson just played an airtight game that went down to the wire last week in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The fourth-seeded Tar Heels (24-7) and fifth-seeded Tigers (23-9) won’t have to dig far to pull out that game film as they prepare for a rapid rematch Thursday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals in Charlotte.
North Carolina’s 67-63 win over Clemson on March 3 wound up as the tiebreaker that determined the fourth and final double-bye into the quarters, as both teams finished 12-6 in the league. Clemson had to play Wednesday night and outlasted No. 13 seed Wake Forest 71-62.
“It was a heck of a game the first time,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “Give North Carolina credit: They found ways to make plays down the stretch, made some big threes against us. But it was a heck of a matchup. Our guys competed our tails off. They did, as well. It was a great college game. Hopefully, (Thursday) is the same.”
North Carolina lost superstar freshman Caleb Wilson for the season last week. Wilson, who hasn’t played since Feb. 10, broke his right thumb while dunking as he worked to recover from a fractured left hand.
That means Clemson is familiar with how the Tar Heels look without their best player — and knows what else their rivals can do.
Luka Bogavac had the best game of his first season of college basketball when he hit six 3-pointers and dropped 20 points on Clemson. He and veteran Seth Trimble (14.0 points per game) lead the backcourt, while 7-footer Henri Veesaar (16.3 ppg, 8.4 rpg) has 13 double-doubles and seven 20-point games.
North Carolina coach Hubert Davis hopes to guide his alma mater to more postseason success four years removed from the Final Four run on his first year on the job. He knows what he wants to see in tournament play.
“We want to live in the paint and live at the free-throw line. Those plays generate open threes,” Davis said after the regular season ended with a 76-61 loss to top-ranked Duke on Saturday. “The foundation of who we are hasn’t changed whether Caleb is in the lineup or not. That’s the way we play here at North Carolina, and we’ve got to dictate that next week in Charlotte.”
Clemson’s balanced attack against Wake Forest on Wednesday was a perfect illustration of the Tigers’ season-long identity. They don’t have anyone scoring more than RJ Godfrey’s average of 11.7 points per game, but eight active players entered the week averaging at least 5.7.
Brownell utilized a “hockey sub” during Wednesday’s game — making five subs at a time to keep players fresh. Godfrey tallied 11 against Wake, Chase Thompson scored nine points, and four other players reached eight apiece. The Tigers’ bench racked up 34 points and is top-30 nationally at 30.0 bench points per game.
“Personally, it’s just how can I affect the game, winning plays, use my IQ to my advantage,” said Thompson, a freshman forward. “It brings five fresh guys going against guys that have been in the game four or five minutes. That’s an advantage, as well.”
Brownell said Carter Welling, the Tigers’ second-leading scorer at 10.2 ppg, was being evaluated after suffering an unspecified injury in the first half.
“I find it unlikely that he would play (Thursday),” Brownell said.
Clemson allows opponents to shoot a mere 32.3% from 3-point range, but in its four-game losing streak from Feb. 11-21, opponents hit double-digit 3-pointers in every game at a combined 42.7% clip. Bogavac (51 made 3-pointers) and Derek Dixon (43) are the Tar Heels’ top perimeter threats.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mark DeRosa Needs To Take More Accountability for Team USA
Mar 18, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; USA manager Mark DeRosa (4) returns to the dugout after a pitching change during the fifth inning against Venezuela at LoanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Team USA was dealt a massive upset loss to Italy in the World Baseball Classic, falling 8-6. The US battled back, with Gunner Henderson and Aaron Judge having at-bats in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game, but ultimately fell short in what will be one of the greatest upsets in WBC history.
The US was -1100 entering the matchup, and it seemed like a night to give a few guys some rest. Well, that would have been the case if Team USA hadn’t needed a win to move on to the quarterfinals. Manager Mark DeRosa completely mismanaged the team, benching multiple key starters to get Paul Goldschmidt and Ernie Clement some ABs.
Somehow, nobody had told DeRosa that the US could be eliminated with a loss, and now they have to wait for the results of Mexico and Italy to learn their fates. Mistakes happen; at this level, they shouldn’t, but they do. However, the biggest issue in this entire debacle is that DeRosa was never looking to take any accountability for this disaster.
DeRosa was on MLB Network’s ‘Hot Stove’ the morning before the Italy matchup, and he openly said he was resting guys because they had their ticket punched to the quarterfinals. That mistake alone should get you fired, but he didn’t say that by accident; he had no idea that they could be eliminated with a loss!
DeRosa had Clayton Kershaw warming up in the 8th inning, then mysteriously sat him back down to get Mason Miller into the game for the top of the 9th. Somebody must’ve told him that this game was still a must-win, and he wasn’t going to waste some innings with a mostly retired Kershaw.
In the post-game, he has to take way more accountability in that situation. He messed up; he didn’t just bungle his words. DeRosa needed to step on the stand after that game and, honestly, say he didn’t know the rules of the pool calculations, and that mistake was on him.
I’m not sure how anyone can take DeRosa seriously at this point. Anytime he’s criticizing a managerial decision on MLB TV, you’ll only be thinking about how he made one of the dumbest managerial moves you’ve ever seen in the sport. Also, if he was ever thinking of actually managing an MLB team, you can kiss that goodbye.
Honestly, it’s somewhat insane that the US Baseball Federation hasn’t fired him yet. This still shouldn’t all be on DeRosa. Even if you were playing with your C team, you shouldn’t be having any issues getting past Italy. Well, when you look at Italy’s roster, it’s essentially the USA’s C team, since it’s full of guys who aren’t even dual citizens.
Well, it’s a waiting game now to see if Team USA advances. If Italy wins, Team USA advances, or if Mexico wins and scores five or more runs, the Americans also still advance. No matter what happens, I don’t think we will be seeing DeRosa in the dugouts past this WBC.
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Which NFL Teams Improved the Most in Free Agency? Four Stand Out
