Over the first five months of his tenure as San Diego Padres manager, Craig Stammen offers the perfect poker face when answering questions about his team's play. But his unshakeable composure might be tested in the season's final month.
Coming off a memorable 21-7 hot streak out of the All-Star break, the Padres limped into September with a 2-7 mark in their last nine games. That recent slump has sparked restlessness among the Friar Faithful.
It has not been easy for Stammen to keep the Friars playing consistent baseball all season. He faces another challenge in seeking a path to a Wild Card berth.
Most of his upcoming decisions will not be easy, as they will center on the pitching staff. And Stammen's choices must put the team in position to win each night.
No question, the Friars have a reliable five-man starting rotation. Everyone is in relatively good health after early-season injuries nearly decimated the staff.

#stammen #craig

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are reportedly set to settle down in Ohio. The couple has purchased a $5.3 million lakefront mansion in Bratenahl, a Cleveland suburb. They reportedly bought their property four months before their big-fat wedding at Madison Square Garden. Swift and Kelce's new home has neighbors nearby, but as per a source, this won't affect their privacy.
According to Page Six's area source, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's privacy won't be invaded at their new house despite neighbors and fans nearby. "They will have privacy," the source said. They added, "[Cleveland Cavaliers mega star] LeBron James lived here in his prime and ******* ody bothered. It's the Cleveland charm." Nevertheless, locals are excited to have the "Bad Blood" hitmaker in the neighborhood.
"Everybody would love their grandkids to spot her at Shoreby Club," the source noted in reference to a nearby yacht club. However, the question is how much time Swift and Kelce will spend at their new place. "People are excited, but they want to know if they will really spend time there," the source stated. The source also wondered if there will be star-studded parties hosted by the Grammy-Award winning singer like her 4th of July bash.
Additionally, many are curious to know what the pair are planning for the property. The source called the mansion a "modest old home" for the upscale area. Moreover, they wondered whether the pop icon and footballer would go for a major renovation to make the house their own, despite the listing calling it "extensive renovation." The lakefront home reportedly has 8 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, and more than 21,000 square feet of living ******* e.
It underwent a yearlong renovation with almost every aspect of it replaced or restored. The transformation includes original door hardware, detailed walnut and oak carvings, cut glass leaded windows, and numerous fireplaces. Moreover, the third floor and lower level boast a game room and home theater in the original ballroom. The lower level also features a poker area, billiards room, temperature-controlled wine cellar and tasting room, bar, fitness center, and sauna. A stone terrace takes one to a bluestone patio and heated pool, facing the lake.

#home #privacy

The Portland Trail Blazers star Ja Morant has officially put his Memphis days behind him, as he no longer has a home in the city where he was drafted. The former Grizzlies player sold his two-story mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, for a reported amount of $3.2 million earlier this week after initially listing it for $3.5 million.
He initially paid $3.05 million for the mansion and has since made a $150,000 profit on the sale four years after buying it in 2022, when he signed his $197.2 million max contract with the Grizzlies. The house reportedly has seven bedrooms and spans 13,836 square feet on 6.45 acres.
'Homes of Celebs' got an inside look at the property. They described that it has a beautiful foyer, a home office, a living room with a built-in bar, a formal dining room, a kitchen, a private lounge, an en-suite bathroom, walk-in closets, a salon, a poker room, a billiards room, a sauna, a movie theater, and much more.
This property is apparently just 62 feet away from a property that he bought for his parents with his first contract in 2019. Morant reportedly has a net worth of $50 million and has already earned about $150 million through 2026 of his $236.8 million in guaranteed career earnings (leaving almost $87 million in future earnings over the next two years).
The 27-year-old begins a new life in Portland with the Trail Blazers, now looking to bounce back from a controversy-ridden 2025-26 season in Memphis. Former NBA players Isaiah Thomas, Matt Barnes, and Stephen Jackson feel all eyes will be on Ja Morant in 2026-27 for a comeback season.

#memphis #property #grizzlies

Aug. 5—LAS VEGAS − Spokane's 22-year-old poker phenom, Lucas Jumalon, is set to go heads-up against Finland's Lauri Saaskilahti starting at 6 p.m. PST for a chance to take home $10 million at the final table of the World Series of Poker's Main Event. The Spokesman-Review is providing live updates from the scene.
Since the only people who are able to see who has what cards are the players, the dealer, and a production team stationed in a trailer outside of the venue, reporting will be focused on the number of chips each respective player has at different points throughout the night. Once pokernews.com posts what hands each player had, the Spokesman-Review will update accordingly.
5 p.m. — Six men in black suits with briefcases in both hands strolled into the Main Event's final table on Wednesday, accompanied by heavily armed guards. Inside the briefcases was $10 million. The money was then dumped in the middle of the poker table and arranged into a pyramid for Saaskilahti and Jumalon to stare at during the game.
5:30 p.m. — Jumalon and his crew have arrived.
6:12 p.m. — Jumalon's support team is chanting the song "We Ready," by Archie Eversole, "Lucas, Lucas, Lucas," while Saaskilahti's supporters are chanting "ole, ole, ole." Jumalon's friends and family are all wearing black shirts, while Saaskilahti's team stand in contrast with all white apparel.

#jumalon #team #spokesman #review

Having pocket Aces cracked in poker will always be one of the toughest types of pain a player can endure, but it's even worse at the World Series of Poker. And for Texas poker pro Han Feng, he was dealt one of the worst imaginable blows at the worst possible time during the 2026 World Series of Poker Main Event. With five players remaining in the action and a $10 million payday for the eventual winner, Feng was dealt pocket Aces, and the chaos came shortly after.
To make things even better (pre-flop) for Feng, 3-time WSOP bracelet winner Greg Mueller picked up pocket Jacks, while Lauri Saaskilahti was dealt pocket nines. Following a raise from Feng and a three-bet from Saaskilahti that would put Feng all-in, Mueller opted to fold his pocket Jacks in the big blind.
The two players flipped over their cards, with Feng holding an 80/20 advantage with his Aces over the 99 of Saaskilahti. Then things really got off the rails.
The flop came down with 3d 10d 8d, and Feng held the Ace of diamonds, while Saaskilahti was diamond-less, making the former a 93% favorite to win the hand. The turn was the Jack of hearts, giving Saaskilahti life with a straight draw and a 16% chance now, having seven outs, but he'd have to avoid a diamond.
As you can see from the moment below, the Queen of spades completed the miracle runout for Saaskilahti's and made for the ultimate poker dagger and a miserable bad beat for Feng.

#World #jacks

Where to watch World Series of Poker main event final table: Schedule, live stream, channel for 2026 WSOP originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It's been a summer of poker in Las Vegas, but now it's time to crown a champion. The 2026 World Series of Poker main event final table starts Monday.
This year's WSOP had a record-breaking turnout of 9,208 participants in Sin City, and the field has been slowly whittling down since July 2. Only nine elite players remain in contention for a ***** le, and each are already guaranteed a prize of at least $1 million.
These nine players, hailing from the United States, Canada, Finland, France and Cyprus, had to battle through dozens of marathon sessions in recent weeks to secure a spot at the final table. There's now just one battle left, and it will continue until an outright champion is crowned, which could take days.
Be sure to tune in for this elite championship fight.

#Event

The Las Vegas Raiders have generated fresh buzz ahead of the 2026 NFL season after unveiling one of the league's most creative season ticket member packages. Fans began receiving the limited-edition boxes in early August, and social media is now filled with unboxing videos highlighting the team's Las Vegas-inspired presentation.
Raiders season ticket holder Josh ****** showcased the package on X and praised the team's effort. He wrote, "Well done once again, Raiders, amazing season ticket delivery. You outdo yourselves every year! #RaiderNation ."
MORE: NFL quarterback rankings from executives & coaches for 2026
In his video, ****** added, "Nobody does it better."
The package arrives in a premium aluminum briefcase featuring the Raiders logo. Inside are Raiders-themed playing cards, poker chips, and special paper tickets for the fans.

#vegas #package

Where to watch World Series of Poker main event final table: Schedule, live stream, channel for 2026 WSOP originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It's been a summer of poker in Las Vegas, but now it's time to crown a champion. The 2026 World Series of Poker main event final table starts Monday.
This year's WSOP had a record-breaking turnout of 9,208 participants in Sin City, and the field has been slowly whittling down since July 2. Only nine elite players remain in contention for a **** le, and each are already guaranteed a prize of at least $1 million.
These nine players, hailing from the United States, Canada, Finland, France and Cyprus, had to battle through dozens of marathon sessions in recent weeks to secure a spot at the final table. There's now just one battle left, and it will continue until an outright champion is crowned, which could take days.
Be sure to tune in for this elite championship fight.

#Event

While Santos traveled for the Copa Sudamericana playoffs, Neymar took part in a professional poker tournament.
Rested by the coaching staff to avoid the strain of the long trip, Neymar used his days in São Paulo to participate in the fourth stage of the Brazilian Poker Championship (BSOP).
The No. 10 was not missed, and Peixe beat Universidad Central 4-1, all but securing a place in the Copa Sudamericana round of 16.
As he was left out of the traveling squad, the No. 10 made the most of his free time in the São Paulo capital and showed up at the Golden Hall of the WTC Complex alongside friends, even bringing a card protector with the Santos crest.

#Sudamericana #poker #brazilian #bsop

Jul. 14—Lucas Jumalon, the 22-year-old ace from Spokane, slid into the final table of the World Series of Poker on Monday night.
Jumalon entered Day 8 of the tournament with 40,800,000 chips, according to pokernews.com. He ended the night with a stunning 194 million chips.
His next closest competitor has 79 million chips, said Paul Burke, a spokesperson for the World Series of Poker.
On Day 8 , Jumalon won a single pot worth more than 50 million chips. Jumalon, who had a pair of jacks, bet big against Aussie Millions Main Event champion Malcom Trayner's pocket queens. The flop had a four, an ace and the jack Jumalon needed for a three-of-a-kind. With the river, came another four which gave Jumalon a full-house to easily beat Trayner's two queens.
Jumalon didn't stop there. He kept plundering chips until he eliminated Trayner. With Trayner out, Jumalon's pile of 194 million chips leaves him in an enviable position ahead of his debut at the Final Table.

LAS VEGAS — The field is growing larger with each passing week. It’s getting to the point where they should hand out numbers to stand in line, like a bakery does on Sunday morning.

You thought $8 billion was too exorbitant a price tag to join the NBA? Guess again.

There’s a lot of rich people in this world and the possibility of owning a professional basketball team is so tempting, money apparently is no object.

By my count, there are six potential groups or individuals that have publicly expressed interest of bringing the NBA to Las Vegas which if approved, is expected to begin play in 2028. And that doesn’t count Shaquille O’Neal, whose hulking presence lurks in the background as he wants to be part of whatever group ultimately prevails. Nor does it include the folks planning the Diamond Arena project across from Mandalay Bay.

If you’re Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, you’re rubbing your hands with glee. Because the price of poker is likely to go up. $8 billion you say? How about $10 billion? Or $12 billion? Who knows where the final number will land?

We probably won’t get a better sense of things come Tuesday when Silver meets with the media following the Board of Governors’ annual summer meeting here in Las Vegas. He’ll get asked the expansion question in various ways and he’ll calmly deflect giving direct answers because he’s not about to skewer the process, one that involves intense vetting and careful consideration on a number of factors, not the least of which will be where will the Las Vegas NBA team call home?

Whoever can deliver on an arena for the team which will allow it to control all the revenue streams a professional franchise needs to have in its possession to have financial success in the 21st Century — suites and club seats, naming rights to the arena, parking, concessions, regional television rights — will be the likely successful bidder.

Let us not forget that this is a business decision first and a basketball decision second. Remember, the current 30 teams are deciding to take a smaller cut of the basketball generated revenue pie by adding two teams (Las Vegas and Seattle). So the last thing they want is for one or both of the expansion teams to fail financially. On the court, they’ll hope the teams finish last and next to last though Silver doesn’t share that mindset.

So if you’re Bill Foley, the owner of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and who is one of the six bidders we know of, you may not be the leader in the clubhouse despite the success your franchise has had on and off the ice. Foley only owns a small piece of T-Mobile Arena — 15 percent —the rest is divided evenly between MGM Resorts and the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), each having a 42.5 percent stake in what VGK fans call “The Fortress.”

And even with Foley’s plans to spend $300 million to upgrade the 10-year-old arena, that still doesn’t mean the NBA team would reap the financial benefits that Silver would like to see.

Whi

June 23 (UPI) -- The Portland Trail Blazers hired Micah Nori as head coach, general manager Joe Cronin announced Tuesday.
Nori, 52, served as an ****** istant for the Minnesota Timberwolves over the last five seasons and previously worked in that role for the Detroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors.
"I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to lead the Trail Blazers and want to thank Tom [Dundon], Joe and the Rip City Rising ownership group for their trust," Nori said in a news release.
"From my conversations with Tom and Joe, it was evident that there is a strong commitment to building a culture that values accountability, development and team success. This is a team with tremendous talent, and I'm excited to begin working with our players and staff."
The Trail Blazers were 42-40 last season. Former coach Chauncey Billups, who was hired 2021, coached one game last season. He was arrested and suspended in October on accusations of participating in illegal sports betting schemes and rigged poker games back the mafia.

NASA launches twin rocket missions from Alaska to study mysterious black auroras

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NASA launched two rockets from Alaska this week to learn more about the electrical "circuitry" within auroras, the colorful light shows that occur when solar wind collides with Earth's atmosphere.
The missions saw two suborbital sounding rockets launch from the Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks, Alaska loaded with scientific equipment that will fly into the atmosphere for a short period of time to gat

Predicting trends in sports can be as volatile as a high-stakes poker game, but with data-driven insights, you can make informed bets on your favorite teams Wi