The training wheels are about to come off for the New England Patriots' rookie class. After 13 training camp practices of only going up against their themselves and their veteran teammates, they now will get a chance to hit somebody else.
That somebody else is the Indianapolis Colts, who are in Foxborough on Tuesday for a two-hour joint session. It projects to be the most competitive practice of the summer thus far, and a new experience for the first-year players on New England's roster.
"That'll be the real taste of the NFL going against a different team," said offensive tackle Caleb Lomu.
Lomu, who projects to spend his rookie season as the third offensive tackle behind starters Will Campbell and Morgan Moses, last competed against other players in late November. That day, he played 59 snaps as Utah's left tackle in a 31-21 win over Kansas.
There are obvious differences between that game and Tuesday's practice. Nonetheless, the first-round draft pick is looking forward to the upcoming challenge.

#lomu #somebody

Jo-Ellen Tiberi and Alicia Carmody are sharing some reflections following their first season of The Real Housewives of Rhode Island.
While speaking exclusively with In Touch while promoting their partnership with Angel Soft, the two reality TV stars reveal which celebrities were rolling into their DMs after their first season.
Carmody, 41, shares that Golden Globe-nominated actress Emmy Rossum from Shameless, Jamie-Lynn Sigler from The Sopranos, and The Real Housewives of New Jersey alum Margaret Josephs have all reached out.
As for Tiberi, 38, she says she's in contact with The Real Housewives of Orange County star Tamra Judge.
"I'm obsessed with her. I love her," Tiberi gushes. "I got her number the other day, and I was texting her. I was like, 'Hi, it's Jo-Ellen.' She's amazing, and she's somebody that, like, is a trailblazer with this. So, I feel like I can go to her if I need any, you know, advice or questions."

#tiberi #like

He's been a dominant persona in the world of hip-hop for more than three decades. He also remains the only living eyewitness to the drive-by **** assination of Tupac Shakur.
And from prison, Marion "Suge" Knight said he still refuses to cooperate with law enforcement as prosecutors try to convict the only man ever charged in connection with the 1996 shooting of the legendary rapper.
"This trial has nothing to do with me and if somebody brings me there, it's gonna hurt whoever brings me there. I promise you that," Knight said in an interview last week with ABC News.
Pool/Getty Images - PHOTO: Marion "Suge" Knight appears at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, October 4, 2018, in Los Angeles, California, for a sentencing hearing connected to a 2015 hit-and-run voluntary manslaughter charge.
The 61-year-old Knight, now serving an unrelated 28-year sentence in California for voluntary manslaughter stemming from a 2015 fatal hit-and-run in Los Angeles, is well aware that jury selection starts Monday in Las Vegas in the trial of onetime Crips gang leader Duane "Keffe D" Davis. Nearly 30 years to the day that Shakur was gunned down in the passenger seat of a BMW Knight was driving, Davis is accused of murder for allegedly giving his crew the order to open fire on Shakur in retaliation for a fight.

#knight #brings

BEREA, Ohio – Shedeur Sanders or Deshaun Watson?
Wait on it. Barring some unforeseen circumstance, this won't be the week that new Cleveland Browns coach Todd Monken settles on his starting quarterback.
The Browns open the preseason on Saturday at Chicago, and somebody has to start. The next week, the other quarterback is pegged to get a turn. From there, let's see what gives.
Those are the ingredients for what's become so rare in the NFL: a legitimate training camp quarterback competition.
That Monken has been alternating the days for Sanders and Watson to work with the first-team unit throughout camp provides quite the barometer.

#berea

The San Diego Padres signed outfielder Austin Hays to a Major League contract on Sunday afternoon.
After San Diego signed Hays, Stammen almost predicted what would happen later in the game. The Padres manager said, "He's a good right-handed bench bat…one of those guys that, in his career, has hit lefty pitching really well. So he's somebody that we can bring in to pinch-hit against a tough lefty, or someone that we can start against a lefty."
A few hours later, Hays was pinch-hit to face left-handed pitcher Bryan King and hit his second home run of the season in his first plate appearance with San Diego, almost exactly as Stammen predicted when explaining the free agent signing.
Hays' number was called in the bottom of the eighth inning of Sunday night's game against the Houston Astros. There was a runner on first, and Hays hit a 371 ft. home run to left field to put his new San Diego team up 7-2, making quite the first impression.
Hays replaced designated hitter Gavin Sheets. Hays bats right-handed while Sheets hits lefty. Manager Craig Stammen made the substitution call with Houston bringing on southpaw Bryan King in relief.

#hays #Padres #sunday

Buster Posey reveals why Giants didn't trade Logan Webb despite heated interest originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The San Francisco Giants were trade deadline sellers this season, parting with rentals in Luis Arraez and Robbie Ray, as well as controllable players in Heliot Ramos and Erik Miller.
As they sold off a lot of talent, the Giants were also fielding offers on All-Star starting pitcher Logan Webb. Plenty of teams reportedly had a heated interest in him, including the Atlanta Braves, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
But the Giants didn't trade him, and Nightengale shared the reason Buster Posey had for his decision to keep Webb, and Giants fans should like to hear this answer.
"He's a guy that I think we all see as somebody that can mentor the next wave of pitchers that come through San Francisco," Posey said. "And yes, I do think there's still a chance, as bad as this year has been, that we can be a team that's in contention."

#posey #logan #francisco #nightengale

Dan Campbell announced on Sunday that backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was stepping away from the team.
It leaves the Lions' quarterback room with just franchise signal-caller Jared Goff and rookie undrafted free agent signing Luke Altmyer.
Campbell confirmed that the Lions are targeting some veteran quarterback help after Bridgewater's departure.
"We're going to add somebody. We like Luke. Luke is growing, Luke is getting better. He just needs reps. He needs a million reps. But, the reps that he has gotten to this point, he has improved. And so we like him. But, we are going to add somebody and we'd like to add a veteran quarterback. We're hoping maybe something happens tomorrow. We'll see. But, yeah, that's the plan," Campbell said.
Bridgewater's exit means the Lions are looking to find someone like Bridgewater, who had 83 NFL regular-season games played and 65 career starts under his belt.

#campbell #quarterback #bridgewater

It's Sunday once more, and you know what that means — it's time for our weekly social media roundup! The Trade Deadline is in the rearview mirror, a top prospect has made his MLB debut, and the heavens opened up and brought a deluge to the Bronx. And while Yankees fans have certainly made their opinions about this week known — oh boy, they sure have — the players, coaches, broadcasters, and yes, even reporters have remained active on the feed. What have they been up to this week? Let's find out!
For those who opted not to take Latin in high school or college (shame, shame, shame), "ave atque vale" is the ending of Catullus poem 101, and translates as "hail and farewell." While the line was originally composed as a funerary gift (the poem is addressed to the "mute ashes" of Catullus's brother), it has taken on a life of its own, and has been used as the ***** le of a now-lost British film from the 1930s, the name of a transfer-of-command military dinner, and several songs in multiple languages, all dealing with simultaneous greetings and farewells.
Thus, it is an appropriate ***** le for the various "hellos" and "goodbyes" posted on social media at this year's trade deadline.
Rather humorously, we learned from the Washington Nationals that Jack Cebert had DMed the Nationals back in middle school to suggest they trade for somebody (the original post was deleted, so, uh, we have no idea how good of a scout he is).
The trade deadline wasn't the only way the Yankees added to their lineup. On August 4th, the Yankees promoted top prospect George Lombard Jr. to The Show — where he homered in his second big league at-bat…right around the same time his brother Jacob, making his professional debut, also hit a home run in his second minor-league at-bat. How awesome is that!

#deadline #time

When veteran defender Jamal Adams joined the Vikings, the team ****** igned him a traditional linebacker number: 54. He recently switched to 32.
And while he's still officially listed in the team's online roster as a linebacker, the change means Adams will be playing plenty of safety — his original NFL position.
Adams anticipates being deployed at both positions.
"I was telling some people inside the training room, just to have somebody believe in me again, and to know I can go back there and play the safety position, it feels great," Adams said, via Lindsey Young of Vikings.com. "I can kind of do it all in the back end. I just want to be versatile and do anything I can to help the team.
"The key is winning. So whatever they need me to do, I'm going to do. That's what I'm here for."

#young

A Disney animator behind classics such as "The Little Mermaid" and "Tangled" just got the opportunity to thank the first responders who saved him from a mountaintop during a hike.
About a week after the incident, Glen Keane, 72, said he was grateful for the team that made it happen.
"I think it's the most difficult thing for somebody to say: I can't, I need help. And I got to that point, and I was so thankful there was somebody I could call," Keane told KPNX in Phoenix. "I've done a lot of animated fairytales, but this was a real life one, and I really wanted to see the crew who were responsible for that."
Keane also presented the department with a tribute to his rescuers. It was a drawn picture of the rescue, showing all of the first responders, helicopters and reads "Our family helping your family."
A 72-year-old hiker is airlifted during a helicopter rescue. FOX10

#keane #disney #mermaid #tangled

Caitlin Clark once again finds herself at the center of controversy for not speaking on the transgender athlete debate making waves across the WNBA and other sports.
Her decision to keep her focus on the game instead of siding with her Indiana Fever teammate, Sophie Cunningham, who reignited the transgender athlete debate, has sparked controversy among fans and media personalities.
The latest to weigh in on this issue is media personality Stephen A. Smith, who said there are people "negatively" using her as an excuse when she should be speaking up on these issues publicly.
"Nobody's blaming Caitlin Clark for it," Smith said on Friday's episode of First Take. "I'm simply saying that there's a lot of people that are being negatively affected because they're using her as a narrative and as an excuse to throw venom and hostility towards contemporaries. I'm saying when you see something like that happen, and you have the cachet to speak up about it, you should. That goes for all of us. I'm in the media. This is the position that I sit in. If I see somebody attacking an abundance of my contemporaries, and I believe that's unfair, I'll be ***** ed if I'm gonna be quiet. Why? Because I'm in a position where I can make a difference. Caitlin Clark is in a position where she can make a difference. I understand she's 24, but she ain't 14. She's smart. She knows how to speak."
While Smith believes Clark needs to speak out on these issues, Kevin Durant's brother, Tony Durant, feels the opposite. He responded to Smith's comments in the post's section on First Take's Instagram page:

#clark #controversy

Pete Crow-Armstrong went on a podcast last week and said with a laugh he likes the theory that Babe Ruth never existed. Baseball's internet treated it like a confession.
"This is gonna be crazy," the Cubs center fielder told Kristin Cavallari on her show "Let's Be Honest." Then he brought up the theory that the sport's greatest player may never have existed. He picked up the theory from Tayler Saucedo, a Mariners pitcher at the time, who floated it on a podcast in 2024 because he had barely seen any video of Ruth playing. Saucedo said this was a discussion in the Mariners bullpen and that they also decided that Ted Williams' legendary 500-foot home run never happened either.
Crow-Armstrong piled on Ruth saying the game has changed so much since then that pitchers back then might as well have been throwing underhand.
Then everybody lost it. One site used the quote to worry about American public education. Another brought up the plague of misinformation. A bunch of them criticized the young Cubs outfielder. It raised eyebrows and ruffled feathers! That's a lot of coverage for a 24-year-old answering a question about an unpopular opinion on a podcast hosted by somebody from "Laguna Beach."

#ruth #never #armstrong

Day one of study hall, as coach Jedd Fisch called Thursday's fall practice, is in the books for the Washington Huskies.
With no pads on and no team period drills, the majority of practice was spent working on individual drills with position coaches and special teams, as Fisch wanted to allow his team to get its feet under it and get back to the basics with a month to go before the Huskies open the season Sunday, September 6, with the annual Apple Cup matchup against the Washington State Cougars.
"It's all about getting better, it's all about improving our fundamentals," the head coach said after practice.
"I view this as study hall...it helps the kids gain confidence, especially young, first day at training camp practice, and you're a freshman, anxiety, and nerves, and you're like, 'Oh, what is it gonna look like?' It's a lot easier to kind of work your way into it. So by the time you're actually hitting somebody, you've gone through this enough time that you feel confident."
While that group is headlined by a pair of four-star freshmen who enrolled in June, cornerback Rahsjon Duncan and defensive lineman JD Hill, it also extended to a group of transfers going through their first practices as Huskies after missing all of spring while recovering from injuries: running backs Jayden Limar and Trey Cooley, and defensive tackle Kai McClendon.

#practice #huskies #you 're

Ian Machado Garry is separating social media from the real world.
Machado Garry (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) , who challenges welterweight champion Islam Makhachev in the UFC 330 main event on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia (Paramount+), has been subject to heavy criticism after claiming that if the world was run by women, we'd all live in a better world.
Even his opponent Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) took a dig at his mic skills by saying, "It looks like somebody in the house control him."
"Social media is a false reality, because in the real world, I get nothing but love from everyone I meet on the streets," Machado Garry said in an interview with Betvictor Casino. "Online you can say what you want, you can do what you want. Now with AI, you can create what you want, and there are no parameters to where anyone can go. Anyone can do whatever they want, and it is a very different world that we live in right now. You have to understand that and just move on."
Machado Garry is unfazed by the online comments because he simply doesn't look at them.

#World #Social #anyone

Florida football enters the 2026 season unranked in the US LBM preseason Top 25 coaches poll.
That's news to first-year Florida Gators coach Jon Sumrall, who claims he doesn't pay attention to preseason polls.
Florida was the second-highest in the others receiving votes category, making the Gators 27th entering their season opener on Sept. 5 against Florida Atlantic.
Sumrall votes in the US LBM coaches poll and says he gets help from other staff members in selecting teams.
"I have somebody help me make sure that we know how to fill out the form the right way," Sumrall said. "But no, I look at it and talk through it with who helps me."

#preseason #poll

Draymond Green's contract allows Warriors to trade for Trey Murphy originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The problem for the Golden State Warriors is that they simply don't have enough ******* ets to really make that all-in trade. Not that the Warriors don't have some first-round picks they can move on from, but there's a limited amount of talent on their roster right now to suggest that they can really put themselves in a good position to make a trade for one of the best players in the NBA.
That's an unfortunate part that the Warriors are currently dealing with, though there's one situation that's being viewed as a potential option with Draymond Green. After Green got his new contract, and with the Warriors having three tradable first-round picks, it's possible they could be looking at somebody like Trey Murphy of the New Orleans Pelicans.
"Now, it is a longshot that the Warriors would trade Green this season, though they do have three tradeable first-round picks that they could package, and Green's contract is hefty enough that it could bring back a star-caliber player (Trey Murphy of the Pelicans comes to mind).
"But, as a player, Green does not have as much value to other teams as he does to the Warriors, where he has teamed with Curry and coach Steve Kerr for 12 years," Sean Deveney wrote.

#contract

Former Formula 1 driver Gerhard Berger is not ready to back Kimi Antonelli over George Russell in the ******* le fight, pointing to last season as proof that the championship can quickly swing after Oscar Piastri appeared to be the clear favourite midway through the year.
After 11 races, Russell trails his teammate by 59 points in the Drivers' Championship. While both Mercedes drivers have suffered technical issues throughout the season, the Briton has been hit harder by reliability problems, although the young Italian has also consistently demonstrated superior raw pace and delivered stronger results on a more regular basis.
Speaking to F1.com, Berger said life at a top Formula 1 team always involves facing exceptionally fast teammates, arguing that Russell has simply found himself up against a particularly talented rookie. He described Antonelli as a special talent, but also pointed out that Russell has responded by pushing himself to the limit.
"This is F1. If you are in a top team in F1, you always have to deal with somebody coming in quick. I'm sure Lewis Hamilton also wishes sometimes for somebody other than Charles Leclerc, from a speed point! George had a wake-up call from Antonelli – Antonelli seems to be quite special, no question. George, I can see he's pushing very much, I can see he puts it very much to the limit."
Photo: Race Pictures

#antonelli #championship #drivers #team

DarrenTill has labeled Ian Garry"fake" ahead of the Irishman's first ****** le bout in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Garry has emerged as a polarizing figure in recent years for avariety of reasons, including frequently switching gyms andallegations about his marriage. The former Cage Warriors champ's recent claim that women are better suitedto run the world is the latest remark that has drawn reactions fromprominent fighters, including Till and Garry's next opponent,IslamMakhachev.
Garry's comments came during a recent podcast appearance in whichhe claimed that if men listened to women and let them take over theworld, it would be a better place.

"If the world was run by women, we'd all live in a better world,"Garry said on the "High Performance" podcast. "If we just listenedto them and let them take over, it would be an easier world."

While Till, who has four daughters, acknowledges women's power, heclaims Garry is just trying to "buy love."

"I'm not a hateful guy. I don't hate Ian Garry," Till told The MacLife. "But I just think every time that guy speaks, he justabsolutely tarnishes his brand, his image, by what he's talkingabout. Look, I'm a guy for the power of the women. I have fourgirls and my missus and stuff like that. Powerful women, of course,we love that, but it's just the things he says. And it's alwayslike he's trying to buy love. If he was a bit more like me, mate,people would love him, because he's obviously a great fighter."

The Briton sees Garry's public persona as inauthentic and believesthat fans can see right through it.

"The one thing as well, people can see and know a fake guy," Tilladded. "And he's got fake written all over him. For me he has,anyway."

Garry will face Makhachev for the welterweight ****** le at UFC330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Thereigning welterweight champion has also weighed in on Garry'srecent comments, questioning whether the challenger's wife hasinfluenced his opinions.

"He looks very bad in this interview. Better he does training moreand less interview," Makhachev told MMA Junkie. "It looks likesomebody in the house controls him and tells him what to say in theinterview."

#World #title

Shaquille O'Neal has been a staunch defender of LeBron James' move from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason, squashing any criticism of NBA's all-time leading scorer being a ring-chaser.
"The man is not chasing rings. The man has already gotten rings the right way," O'Neal told FTW and USA TODAY Sports. "Towards the end of your career, if you could join up and help somebody else get a ring and continue to get rings, I call it ring continuancy."
But one thing the Lakers legend won't do is sugar-coat James' time with the purple and gold. One championship was good, but it wasn't good enough to put him at the big table with past Lakers champions. "The good thing for LeBron, he did win one," Shaq said. "But you know, Kareem got six, Magic got five, Kobe got five, I got four, Rambis got three. So you know, he's at the party, but he's not on stage."
Below is our full conversation with O'Neal, including details on General Mills' No. 1 Biggest Fan contest, his thoughts on what's next for Stephen Curry and more.
This Q&A is condensed and edited for clarity.

#o 'neal #james #thing

Chiefs coach Andy Reid is dismissing talk that tight end Travis Kelce showed up to training camp out of shape.
Asked on NFL Network about Kelce's offseason, which included marrying Taylor Swift, Reid said Kelce is as focused on football as he's ever been.
"He came back in good shape," Reid said. "I know everybody's out there saying he's got the dad body and all this stuff, but he looks the same to me that he's always looked, and just playing like crazy. So he's doing a nice job with everything. He's focused in and ready to go, and I appreciate that, when you have somebody who's been here 14 years and wants to be out there every snap. . . he's going to play and play hard and be aggressive and not be stopped, and that's contagious."
Kelce will turn 37 this season, and he's no longer in his prime. But Reid has no doubt that he's ready to contribute this season as the Chiefs try to turn things around following a highly disappointing 2025.

#shape

The injury bug bit the Atlanta Falcons right in the rear end on Tuesday, with edge rusher Jalon Walker suffering a season-ending ACL tear at their latest training camp practice.
The blow is particularly brutal to the team's edge unit, which was already expecting a TBD suspension for James Pearce Jr. that could sideline him for a significant portion of the 2026 season.
According to ESPN, the Falcons were already looking for pass-rushing help before Walker's injury, so we can safely ******* ume that they're going to sign somebody. The only question is if they'll just sign a body to fill the roster spot, or if they'll actually spend to bring in a pass rusher who could make a difference.
Here are three free agents who could help Atlanta with Walker and Pearce out.
If the Falcons want to go the familiar face route, their best option will be to bring back Leonard Floyd, who spent the 2025 season in Atlanta. His pass rushing numbers weren't up to his usual standard (3.5 sacks, 11 QB hits), but keep in mind he was only on the field for 49% of the team's defensive snaps last year. With a larger role in the absence of Walker and Pearce, he could get back to posting the kind of numbers he did with the 49ers in 2024 - when he totaled 8.5 sacks and 16 quarterback hits.

#season #edge #rusher

The Chicago Bears suffered a massive loss to their defense on Monday with safety Coby Bryant suffering a knee injury that is expected to keep him out of action for 8-10 weeks.
Bryant was the team's big signing in free agency this offseason, coming over from Seattle where he won a Super Bowl championship with the Seahawks last season, and he was expected to be a big piece of the puzzle for defensive coordinator Dennis Allen this year.
Those expectations have not changed for the Bears or Allen, but they have put on hold until he returns to full health on the football field, according to Chicago's defensive coordinator. Allen recently spoke about Bryant's injury and how the team will pivot without the player who was expected to help lead their secondary.
"Obviously it sucks to lose a guy like that for any particular time," Allen said Tuesday. "He's a big part of what we had planned to do and will still be a big part of what we have planned to do. In all adversity comes also opportunity so it'll be another opportunity for someone to step up. Whether it be somebody in the safety room to step up and take on that role or some of our other guys in the room to step up and become playmakers and leaders for the defense. It's part of football, part of what you deal with, and you move on. Hopefully he'll be on the quicker end and we'll get him back sooner than later."
A lot of the focus at the safety position will now move to rookie first-round pick Dillon Thieneman and veteran Cam Lewis, who will serve as Bryant's replacement.

#step

When I walk into a restaurant or store, I don't want a canned greeting. Having workers yell "welcome to Moe's," or watching Texas Roadhouse waiters have to stop waiting on people to do a line dance makes me want to leave.
I like Jordan, the drive-through guy at my Starbucks, who does funny voices, but also actually has a real human interaction with me. I don't, however, need him to write a message on my cup because it's a corporate rule.
These forced sayings, routines, and interactions aim to boost brand consistency and create a distinctive and memorable experience, but that's not always a positive.
"When they create scripts they're essentially trying to mandate behavior — but it backfires more often than it doesn't," Experience Investigators CEO Jeannie Walters told Restaurant Dive. "It's pretty obvious when somebody is not talking like a human would talk."
It's easy to understand why chains want friendly workers and shareable moments, but there's a better way to make them happen, and Trader Joe's may have found a better way.

#want #don 't #human

Jaylen Brown reveals he's looking for love after attending Donovan Mitchell, Coco Jones wedding originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Jaylen Brown is feeling inspired by love.
The NBA champion shared how moved he was after he attended Donovan Mitchell and Coco Jones' wedding over the weekend and is asking fans to aid in his desire for a partner.
"If y'all got somebody for me let me know," Brown said on his Twitch stream on Monday, Aug. 2. "Coco and Donovan ... they touched me, it was great to see it ... some beautiful people coming together."
The Cleveland Cavaliers star and Grammy-winning R&B singer tied the knot on Aug. 1 in Greenwich, Connecticut. They began dating in 2023, and Mitchell proposed in 2025.

#brown #donovan #jones #preferred

The mood in the home clubhouse was upbeat a day after a trade deadline in which few teams showed interest in the bevy of available Cincinnati Reds players.
There seemed to be a resolve among a group of guys who generally like each other, an attitude of embracing the underdog role to try to make a run down the stretch. Some players seemed open to the suggestion that they could use the fact no serious playoff contenders wanted them as a motivating factor.
"A lot of guys love playing here and have been wanting to stay," Reds outfielder JJ Bleday said. "Whether teams were interested or not, we've still got to show up at 7 o'clock ready to go."
More: How Reds' Tyler Stephenson passed time during stressful trade deadline
Manager Terry Francona told reporters: "I don't care what makes them play better. But I don't know why they'd have a chip on their shoulder, because they know they're wanted. I think they're happy to be here. … That's the last thing you want is somebody to stay here and say, 'I wanted to go somewhere else.' "

#reds #trade #seemed #guys

The mood in the home clubhouse was upbeat a day after a trade deadline in which few teams showed interest in the bevy of available Cincinnati Reds players.
There seemed to be a resolve among a group of guys who generally like each other, an attitude of embracing the underdog role to try to make a run down the stretch. Some players seemed open to the suggestion that they could use the fact no serious playoff contenders wanted them as a motivating factor.
"A lot of guys love playing here and have been wanting to stay," Reds outfielder JJ Bleday said. "Whether teams were interested or not, we've still got to show up at 7 o'clock ready to go."
More: How Reds' Tyler Stephenson passed time during stressful trade deadline
Manager Terry Francona told reporters: "I don't care what makes them play better. But I don't know why they'd have a chip on their shoulder, because they know they're wanted. I think they're happy to be here. … That's the last thing you want is somebody to stay here and say, 'I wanted to go somewhere else.' "

#wanted

ESPN featured commentator and sports ****** yst Stephen A. Smith stepped into the WNBA's debate surrounding the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports Tuesday.
Smith launched an incensed rant against Cheryl Reeve, the head coach of the Minnesota Lynx. Reeve recently wore a shirt that read "Trans Kids Belong" while coaching a WNBA game.
"We gotta stop this. We gotta stop acting like somebody that's speaking up on behalf of girls, like the Sophie Cunninghams, like the Riley Gaineses, are scourges of the earth. You are Cheryl Reeve, the head coach of the Minnesota Lynx. That is an irresponsible thing to do," Smith said.
He continued:
You are a coach for a female basketball team. Do you not think that the females are being screwed over if they have to compete against an individual born as a male? What are you talking about? What are you talking about? Trying to tell me that a college player, a man, at a college program anywhere in the country, or an NBA player, should transition to being a woman and be allowed to compete in the WNBA? On a collegiate level to a women's college program, whether it's UConn, South Carolina, Iowa, Tennessee, or wherever else you want to come up with. What the ****** are you talking about? It's not true. It's false … If you're a male transition into female, you shouldn't be playing against the women. ****** ody said you can't transition from male to female. The issue here is competing against the women.

#coach #male #talking

Anya Taylor-Joy would probably love to be a method actor. But alas, she's a woman.
The "Furiosa" star casually roasted the male actors who pursue that particular acting technique in a new interview with Complex News that quickly went viral for her very matter-of-fact take.
Buzz: Alex Cooper Reveals The One Thing Her Pregnancy Trolls All Have In Common
"If you'll notice, women don't method act because we have things to take care of, so we can't completely lose our minds," the 30-year-old said last week.
"I see acting as a controlled psychosis in a way," she explained. "You're pretending to be somebody else and having their thoughts 16 hours a day and moving like them, in their house, in their clothes. It's like having a sister or a roommate check in up [there] for a little bit."

#method

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo discussed the current status of his relationship with LeBron James after the 41-year-old snubbed Miami for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Adebayo's first public comments after James' decision included him sharing his top-five players of all time, while naming four of LeBron's past opponents.
However, the center's comments about his relationship with James indicate they still have a good bond with each other.
Adebayo was being interviewed at a youth basketball camp, where he broke the silence on his relationship with James after Miami's recruitment of him failed.
"I'm cool with Bron. I consider Bron like a brother, honestly. We've been Olympic teammates, but even before that, we've always had down-to-earth conversations. I'm happy for him. You want what's best for somebody. That's really how you go from there"

#Miami #adebayo #heat #philadelphia

Former Washington Huskies star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has taken the next step in his rehab from a torn ACL as he aims to regain his starting job with the Atlanta Falcons.
During the early days of training camp, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, after leading the Huskies to a 25-3 record in his two years as a starter and finishing as the runner-up for the 2023 Heisman Trophy, was seen participating in individual and 7-on-7 drills, but he is not yet cleared to return to full team periods of practice.
After making such a significant investment through the draft in the rocket-armed lefty, the Falcons are playing it safe, and based on Penix's recent comments, that may be the best decision.
"To be honest, I've been feeling really good," Penix told the media on Wednesday. "I feel like I can do everything, but I have to still be smart about it. I can't afford to have somebody trip and fall and land on me right now."
With veteran quarterback Tua Tagovailoa also sidelined with a sore back, Penix has an opportunity to show off his arm talent to new head coach Kevin Stefanski. He made one of the biggest plays at practice on Wednesday, completing a 45-yard touchdown to rookie wide receiver Zachariah Branch in a 7-on-7 period, displaying his elite ability to push the ball down the field.

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