So much for the beginning of the big quarterback competition at training camp for the Atlanta Falcons. The team opened camp this morning with exactly one healthy option at the game's most important position: undrafted rookie Jack Strand.
The biggest news is that Michael Penix has still not been cleared for 11-on-11 drills despite hoping to be cleared in time for camp. Tua Tagovailoa is out for now with a minor back injury. To make do, the Falcons have released their third-string quarterback Trevor Siemien and signed capable career backup Cooper Rush.
Given the way training camp has started, it's tough to argue that this team is poised for a big breakthrough this season from the NFC's longest-running playoff drought. According to Bleacher Report, Atlanta is one of the NFL's 11 most-cursed franchises, coming in at No. 6 on their list.
"They suffered arguably the most extreme big-game choke in modern sports history in the 2016 Super Bowl, and they haven't won a division **** le since then. They've won just six playoff games this century... They're still stuck in a slump of eight consecutive losing seasons, and only a handful of teams have worse Super Bowl odds this summer."
You may not believe in curses, but try telling that to anyone who's been foolish enough to go swimming at Lake Lanier.

#atlanta #still

Jürgen Klopp has yet to make any decisions regarding Joshua Kimmich's role in the Germany national team, according to Sport Bild.
The report states that Klopp has so far remained tight-lipped about his plans and has not yet contacted the Bayern Munich midfielder.
As things stand, the new Germany coach has neither confirmed whether Kimmich will continue as captain nor revealed where he sees him playing on the pitch.
Kimmich, however, is reportedly unfazed by the situation and fully understands Klopp's decision to keep all options open ahead of his first squad selection.
With Germany entering a new era under Klopp, key decisions regarding the captaincy and tactical setup are expected to be made in the coming weeks.

#germany

Florida State football is upon us.
FSU heads into 2026 with plenty looming over the program after two straight losing seasons from the Seminoles. Ashton Daniels arrives as the latest attempt to solve the quarterback position, five new starters have to come together on the offensive line, the defense is banking on a young group taking a Year 2 leap and hanging over all of it is a coaching staff that most everyone outside the building believes is operating without a safety net.
FanDuel currently has Florida State's over/under set at 5.5 (betting $10 for over would earn you $6.58, under would be $12.40), having dropped from 6.5 in March. For perspective, last season's over-under was 7.5.
In ESPN's preseason FPI rankings, the Seminoles were placed at No. 28, ranking their strength of schedule at No. 22. FPI projects FSU's record as 6.7-5.4, giving it a 71% chance at finishing over 6 wins, a 3.2% chance to win the ACC and a 9.2% chance to make the playoffs.
With fall camp beginning and the countdown to kickoff against New Mexico State a month away, we wanted to dive into seven big questions heading into the season.

#state

Grimsby Town have signed midfielder Cian Doyle on a two-year contract from Bray Wanderers.
Doyle has joined for an undisclosed fee from the League of Ireland First Division side for whom he has played 53 league games, scoring five times.
"Cian is a bright, energetic and young midfielder who we feel has a high ceiling," said Grimsby head coach David Artell.
The 21-year-old is the Mariners' fifth signing of the summer as they try to improve on last year's seventh place in League Two.

#league #year #bray

Scotland agonisingly missed out on a Commonwealth Games bronze medal in the artistic gymnastics men's team final, falling short of third-place Australia by 1.350 points.
The Scots, inspired by 21-year-old Reuben Ward, threw everything they had at their final discipline of the six involved - the horizontal bar - but were left gutted in front of a raucous home crowd at The Arena in Glasgow.
"We didn't get on the podium but there was something truly special about that last rotation," a tearful Hamish Carter told BBC Scotland following his third - and potentially final - Games appearance.
"Whether it was a gold, fourth, or last, to share that with these guys was probably the highlight of my career, something that I'll likely never experience again."
The standings were overshadowed by a sickening injury to England's Gabriel Langton in the final rotation, which delayed proceedings.

#final #last #rotation #scots

The Atlanta Braves secured another series win after Thursday’s 6-5 defeat over the San Diego Padres. The Braves took the series 3-1, making it their second series win since returning from the All-Star Break.
Chris Sale got the start in the series finale, where he struck out 11 in six innings. He surrendered three runs, but the offense picked him up. The Atlanta lineup totaled nine hits, four of them home runs.
Up next, the Braves travel to Camden Yards for a weekend clash with the Baltimore Orioles. The series gets underway tonight at 7:05 ET.
Sean Murphy is joining the Gwinnett Stripers Friday evening to begin his rehab ***** ignment. He has missed the last two months with a fractured finger.
St. Louis Cardinals reliever Max Rajcic recently underwent Tommy John surgery. He will miss the remainder of the season and likely all of 2027.

#Braves

It's pretty well documented that the San Francisco 49ers' recent first-round draft history isn't good. But a recent ranking by CBS Sports showcased just how awful the picks under John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have been since 2000.
Mike Renner ranked all 191 first-round picks over the past six years, factoring in draft capital and the players available rather than pure talent evaluation. San Francisco's five picks over that span landed at No. 43 (Brandon Aiyuk, 2020), No. 95 (Ricky Pearsall, 2024), No. 133 (Javon Kinlaw, 2020), No. 135 (Mykel Williams, 2025) and dead last at No. 191 (Trey Lance, 2021). That works out to one top-third pick, one middle-third pick and three in the bottom third — including the single worst decision of the entire six-year sample.
Renner didn't hold back on the Lance pick, which cost the 49ers a 2021 first-rounder, 2022 first- and third-round picks and a 2023 first-rounder to move up for:
There's no telling what a team that went to the NFC Championship Game in 2022 and the Super Bowl in 2023 could have done if it had used its 2021 first-round pick, 2022 first- and third-round picks and 2023 first-round pick differently.
What's worse is the 49ers' "best" first-round pick is Aiyuk, who could be done in the NFL after his recent offseason social media firestorm. Pearsall has been injury-prone over his two seasons, Williams is coming off an ACL injury and Kinlaw hasn't been on the team since 2024

#pick

Tom Dundon continues to apply his Hurricanes playbook to the Trail Blazers.
On Tuesday, the organization laid off the majority of its broadcast team including ***** yst Michael Holton, who has been with Trail Blazers for nearly 20 years. Hosts Neil Everett and Jamie Hudson and ***** ytics expert Tom Haberstroh were also let go.
A spokesperson for the Trail Blazers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The news was first reported by Forbes.
A Portland native, Everett was on ESPN for 23 years and anchored late-night SportsCenter for 12 years before he left the network in 2023; he had featured on Blazers broadcasts from 2021 to 2025.

Haberstroh is a prominent writer with a statistical bent and has run a popular Substack after departing Yahoo Sports.

#everett #tuesday

The top priority for new Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy was to come in and improve a struggling offense. The jury is still out as to whether or not this happened based on our offensive grades but we do feel like the Steelers defense is ready to take the next step under new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
Here are our grades for the Steelers defensive positional units heading into training camp next week.
Even if Cameron Heyward is trending down in his career, he's still an excellent player. You pair him up with young star Derrick Harmon and they have the best pair of 3-4 defensive ends in the AFC. This unit would get an A if we had more confidence in a consistent season from nose tackle Keeanu Benton but the depth of Yahya Black and Sebastian Joseph-Day keeps this grade up.
The trio of T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig are the best trio of edge defenders in the NFL. Bar none. It's just a matter of getting them all of the field. All the focus is on them but Jack Sawyer is a great No. 4 edge.
This group is untapped potential and overrated salaries. Patrick Queen hasn't lived up to his contract, Payton Wilson is still a work in progress and no one else on the depth chart really matters.

#defensive #grades #best #depth

The Detroit Red Wings received a major Jason Robertson trade update after an NHL insider shared new insight into the Dallas Stars forward's future. Robertson has been at the center of trade speculation this offseason, and the latest report offers a clearer picture of where things stand. As Detroit continues searching for another impact scorer, the update could have significant implications for the Red Wings.
Robertson has been linked to several NHL teams, and Detroit stands out right now. The Stars are on Dylan Larkin's trade destination list, while Robertson looks for a new contract extension. In fact, one NHL insider has provided a major update on a potential trade with Robertson, as Dallas pursues Larkin.
The Stars are believed to be willing to trade Robertson to Detroit for Larkin, as reported by The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta. The potential deal would require additional pieces, resulting in some roadblocks. One includes whether the 26-year-old forward would sign a contract extension with the Red Wings.
Robertson spends part of his offseason in Detroit and has been linked to the organization for several years. However, it is uncertain if Robertson would want to sign an extension with the organization, as it continues to push toward breaking the NHL's longest Stanley Cup Playoff drought right now.
The Red Wings are dealing with Larkin's trade request, and the best outcome would be trading for Robertson. It takes two teams to tango, so it is very positive that Dallas would be willing to deal its superstar forward. However, the biggest question is whether the 26-year-old forward would want a contract extension.

#trade

The 2026 All-Star Game festivities have come and gone. The dust has settled, and for the first time since 2024, the American League came away victorious by shutting out the National League 4-0 at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday.
Scoring was scarce on Tuesday, as the four runs the AL scored came in only two innings. Former Dodgers MVP Cody Bellinger had the deciding hit in his first All-Star Game since 2019, driving in two against Cristopher Sánchez. As a result of him driving in half of Tuesday's final score, Bellinger was awarded with the All-Star Game MVP honors, becoming the first Yankee to do so since his teammate Giancarlo Stanton in 2022.
From being atop the baseball summit, to the pitfalls he experienced with the Dodgers in 2021-22, to reviving his career with the same organization his father played for, Tuesday marked a full-circle moment for Bellinger, as he envisioned being in the All-Star game regularly following his first three big league seasons, writes Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
"I was like, 'Oh, I'll be here every year,'" Bellinger said. "It took a long time to get back. It's such a competitive league. It's hard to be an All-Star. Health, performance, it all has to come together."
Another former Dodger, though lacking the hardware Bellinger earned in Los Angeles, added the exclamation mark for this year's Midsummer Classic. Miguel Vargas tattooed a 433 foot home run into the second deck of the left field bleachers against Justin Wrobleski, bringing the score to its final mark. With his home run, Vargas now joins Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordoñez as the only White Sox with a home run in the All-Star Game.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ pursuit of LeBron James is a star-led initiative with Tyrese Maxey reportedly taking the lead in recruitment efforts.
LeBron’s free agency has led to nearly a third of the NBA pausing their offseason business until James’ decision has been confirmed.
Instead of wasting time without contacting James, the 76ers have come up with a clever way of keeping in touch with James without using overbearing executives.
In a report from ESPN, Dave McMenamin claims that the 76ers’ big three of Maxey, Joel Embiid, and summer addition Jaylen Brown have been actively recruiting James throughout the summer.
The Philadelphia 76ers have kept up their pursuit of the four-time NBA champion through three of their players. Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Jaylen Brown have all been in communication with James, sources told ESPN on Tuesday, with Maxey leading the charge.”

The USMNT’s loss to Belgium last week was so spectacular that it would be impossible to peg it on one single explanation, but star striker Folarin Balogun has confirmed the team was uneasy over the political influence it faced over his reinstatement by FIFA.
The U.S. team got a surprise boost about 24 hours before the game when FIFA suspended Balogun’s one-game ban over a questionable red card against Bosnia. Soon after, reports surfaced indicating the Trump administration had lobbied FIFA on Balogun’s behalf, leading Belgium to appeal.
The clear disparity in energy between Belgium and the U.S. in Seattle last Monday led some to speculate that the USMNT was overwhelmed by the scrutiny brought upon it by the ruling. And in an interview on CBS Mornings, Balogun confirmed it led to “a bit of nerves” among his teammates.
“My initial reaction was I was happy to be back on the team. But when I kind of started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy,” Balogun said. “And I could almost see within my teammates, a bit of nerves because it was something that’s so unique. But the closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could. But it was difficult, you know, a lot of outside noise.”
As with President Donald Trump’s appearance at Game 3 of the NBA Finals and his administration inserting itself into Team USA’s dual gold medals in hockey at the Winter Olympics earlier in the year, the backlash was significant to Balogun’s reinstatement. Even supporters of the president, such as WFAN’s Boomer Esiason, were critical of his involvement with the USMNT.

One way to find hitters who could bounce back in the second half is to look at expected metrics. Most expected batting average (xBA) formulas involve exit velocity. We want hitters to hit the ball hard. If hitters hit the ball hard and make enough contact, positive outcomes should occur. That’s a case where we want to trust a player’s skills instead of luck.
The visual below shows the hitters with the biggest gap in their xBA and actual BA. That suggests these hitters should have a better BA based on their skills.
We’ll take this a step further, looking at the hitters with the biggest expected wOBA difference in their actual wOBA, adding another layer to their profile. Unsurprisingly, some of the hitters with potential positive regression in their xBA also land on the list of xwOBA improvers, as seen below.
That said, let’s examine several hitters who could rebound in the second half based on the advanced metrics.
After hitting 20+ home runs and stealing double-digit bases in the two previous seasons, most of the projections have Nimmo under 20 home runs. The Mets' home park ranks 18th, with the Rangers at 17th in Home Run Park Factors for left-handed hitters in the three-year rolling average. That said, it’s a neutral change. However, the Rangers' home park ranks 12th and the Mets is 19th in Home Run Park Factor for left-handed hitters if we filter by this season.

One of the underrated aspects of college football recruiting is scouting which players have the best chance to develop. It's easy to look at an athlete's rating and pursue them based on that, but it's an entirely different story to identify a lower-profile talent and mold them into the four- or five-star recruit that they have a chance to be.
Penn State snagged a pair of recruits in recent weeks, four-star prospects David Tarawallie and Elijah Guertin, but those ratings weren't a consensus among all recruiting services. Rivals initially had them listed as three-star players, also excluding them from the prestigious Rivals300, a comprehensive list of the 300 best prospects in the nation.
Now, the trusted institution has given each player their fourth star and added both of them to the Rivals300. Tarawallie is flirting with the top half of the list at No. 168 and Guertin just barely made it at No. 298. The exciting piece of this for the Nittany Lions is that each player has another season of high school football to continue making a strong impression and climbing up the list.
With most of the team's top recruits off the board for the Class of 2027, a sure fire way to improve its standing nationally is to have players add stars or ascend lists like these. Let's see just how high Tarawallie and Guertin can climb before they set foot in Happy Valley next year.
FollowNittany Lions Wire on X and Facebook.

The country's 250th anniversary won't be the only thing Philadelphia celebrated this month as the 96th MLB All-Star Game will be held at Citizens Bank Park this week.
Much like when the country was celebrating its bicentennial in 1976, the home of MLB's Midsummer Classic was hosted by the City of Brotherly Love.
But it's not the only time MLB has showed off its top players in Philly.
See when the All-Star Game was held in Philly and details on this year's game against the American and National leagues:
The last time Philadelphia hosted the All-Star Game was in 1996 at Veterans Stadium, the former home of the Phillies.

NASHVILLE - Tennessee ****** ans tight end Gunnar Helm has been named the franchise's 2026 breakout candidate by NFL ****** yst Ben Solak. The piece, featured on ESPN.com, predicted one such player for all 32 clubs.
Helm earned the nod over other candidates such as quarterback Cam Ward or veteran wide receiver Calvin Ridley. It speaks to what Helm could mean for an offense desperate for reliable pass-catching options beyond its wide receiver room.
Helm possesses "the tools of an NFL starter, the length, the size, speed, ball skills above the rim, away from his frame, and toughness through contact," according to Solak.
That was on display during the former fourth-round pick's rookie season. Helm was one of the few bright spots that Tennessee fans had to watch as the team finished with a regular season record of 3-14 for the second consecutive year. The tools Solak describes of Helm are critical for a player with Ward's skill-set.
The ****** ans quarterback's style drew comparisons to franchise legend Steve McNair and Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes throughout Ward's pre-draft process. Few tools have served those players better during their respective careers than the tight end position.

Yesterday, the Minnesota Twins inducted former longtime play-by-play man ****** Bremer into the team Hall of Fame. I know I've trod this ground before, but it seems like a good opportunity to revisit who we all consider to be the all-time "voice of the Twins".
Here are the options (I'm sticking with primarily PxP guys)…
Radio: 1961-1966
Radio: 1961-1972
Halsey Hall and his famous blazer (Photo by PETE HOHN/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

Conor McGregor returns to the cage for the first time in five years to square off against Max Holloway in a welterweight headliner Saturday at UFC 329, and you can follow along right here for live updates and round-by-round coverage of the fight as it happens.
UFC 329 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and streams live on Paramount+. McGregor and Holloway are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 11:15 p.m. ET, so keep it locked here for coverage.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway live updates, round-by-round of UFC 329 fight

I've never been more grateful for my inability to hang – I was fast asleep before last night's rain-soaked resumption. And it seems like that was for the best.
There was a lot of time during yesterday's delay to worry about postponement logistics and the radar for the rest of the weekend's games. But for today's contest at Busch Stadium, our friends at Dugout Radar are only predicting a ~14% delay risk.
Let's even up a series. The All-Star break looms. Maybe two consecutive series wins is too much to ask for… Save us, Reynaldo López.
López (4-1, 3.18 ERA) is looking to continue stacking solid starts. Since his return to the rotation on June 21, he's steadily upped his pitch count and gone five straight appearances giving up one ER or less.
His first outing going five innings was against these very Cardinals at Truist Park on July 1. The Ozzie Albies wink game, if you remember. In his 69 pitches of work, he allowed two hits for the singular earned run in the first inning and was lights out for the four innings that followed. The only other baserunner for St. Louis was a walk, and he struck out six. Albies and the late offensive rally took care of the rest to get ReyLo his first win since June 7.

With training camp drawing closer for the Jacksonville Jaguars, we typically put together a 53-man roster prediction beforehand based on what we learned during offseason programs.
We will still be doing that, but the format will be different. Rather than cramming every position group into one article, we'll devote an entire article to each unit before compiling our predictions at the end.
So let's begin with the quarterbacks.
Trevor Lawrence
Nick Mullens

Caleb Wilson's NBA Summer League debut was a historic one.
On Friday night, Wilson made his debut with the Chicago Bulls as they took Cameron Boozer and the Memphis Grizzlies. While the Grizzlies earned the one-point win, Caleb Wilson scored 35 points, including making 7 three pointers to set a new Summer League record.
It was an impressive outing for Wilson, scoring 35 points in 33 minutes. That included a personal 9-0 run from him in the third quarter. As Wilson showcased his scoring ability, he was the talk of social media as Chicago Bulls fans and basketball fans were impressed.
Here's how social media reacted to Wilson's debut:
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: How social media reacted to Caleb Wilson's Summer League debut

Jul. 10—Noah Gillespie worked five high-traffic, low-impact innings and Boe Miles homered as Libby scored a bounce-back 11-5 win over Sasquatch 17U in Legion baseball action Tuesday. Gillespie worked around five walks and four hits allowed — and a bases-loaded situation in the first inning — while striking out three. He allowed three runs, two earned. But by the time Sasquatch scored in the fifth inning the Loggers led 8-0. That was thanks in part to seven walks issued by four Sasquatch pitchers. Libby, which lost 8-5 to the same team on Monday, scored four runs in the first inning, taking advantage of three walks and a hit by pitch. Bransen Holzer's two-run single made it 6-0 in the second inning and Kale Riddle's RBI single made it 7-0 in the third. Miles' solo home run made it 9-3 in the fifth. Jordan Griffin added a double for Libby. Ian Thom threw a spotless seventh inning, fanning two. WEDNESDAY Mission Valley sweeps doubleheader from Loggers POLSON — Brayson DuMont drove in four runs as the Mission Valley Mariners swept a Legion baseball doubleheader from the Libby Loggers on Wednesday evening. Mission Valley (14-11) opened the day with a 4-0 shutout before completing the sweep with a 10-3 victory over Libby (11-13). Libby grabbed an early 3-0 lead in the second game before Mission Valley answered with four runs in the fourth to take the lead for good. Libby faces Cranbrook on Sunday for a doubleheader. Action begins at 1 p.m. Libby lefty Noah Gillespie delivers the 2-1 pitch to Sandpoint's Carson Resso in the top of the first inning Tuesday, July 8, 2026, at Lee Gehring Field. Gillespue threw five innings as the Loggers dumped the Sasquatch, 11-5, in six innings.

The opening match of next season's Big Bash League will take place in India on 12 December.
The game between Melbourne Renegades and defending champions Perth Scorchers in Chennai will make Australia's Twenty20 competition the first foreign franchise league to play in India.
"I am excited to expand co-operation with India on sport, which not only brings joy to Australians but boosts trade, tourism and investment," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on the final day of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Australia.
Australian players are in high demand in the Indian Premier League and organisers of the BBL, which started in 2011–12, are looking to tap into cricket's most lucrative market.
Cricket Australia reported a net deficit of A$11.3m (£5.8m) for 2024-25 despite hosting the lucrative Border-Gavaskar Test series against India.

Denver Broncos defensive tackle Zach Allen has had himself one heck of a calendar year. In the past year, Allen signed a four-year, $102 million contract extension, racked up seven sacks on a squad that broke the franchise record for sacks in a single season, earned his first Pro Bowl appearance and a first-team All-Pro nod.
All of those factors led Allen to be named one of the NFL's top 100 players, as voted by his peers. Allen came in at No. 73, the first Bronco to appear on the 2026 list. Allen moved up 17 spots from last year, when he was the first Bronco to appear on the 2025 list of Top 100 players.
You can view a video from the NFL on Allen's spot on the list below.
In addition, Allen was named the eighth-best defensive tackle by NFL executives, coaches and scouts who were surveyed by ESPN's Jeremiah Fowler.
"It's hard to ignore his pass-rush prowess, as his 131 quarterback hits since 2022 are eight more than the next-closest player, Myles Garrett," wrote Fowler. "And Allen's 117 pressures during that span rank third most among interior defensive linemen. He can finish the backfield too, with 15.5 sacks over the past two seasons. "His get-off and his relentless effort make him productive," an NFL personnel director said. "He's really good in those two areas."

Real Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal has addressed speculation surrounding his future while also putting an end to the debate over Spain's centre-forward position.
After several years in which Alvaro Morata received much of the criticism directed at Spain's attack, Oyarzabal has firmly established himself as the national team's leading striker.
The Real Sociedad captain has scored 16 goals in his last 17 appearances for Spain, including four goals at the current World Cup.
His performances have not gone unnoticed at Barcelona, where sporting director Deco views him as one of the main alternatives should a move for Julian Alvarez fail to materialise.
However, the striker made it clear that he is in no rush to leave San Sebastian.

Now that we’re in July, it won’t be long before the Cincinnati Bengals report for training camp, hoping to begin a journey that ends with the team back in the Super Bowl.
In order to get there, the Bengals will have to navigate an AFC North that could very well produce three playoff contenders between the Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, and Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Cleveland Browns will likely remain toward the bottom of the NFL hierarchy.
A big reason why the Bengals haven’t been to the playoffs more often is not getting enough wins in their own division. They did manage to win the North in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but since then, they’ve finished fourth (2023), third (2024), and third (2025) in the division. They haven’t finished with a winning record in regular-season division play since 2021.
Last year, the Bengals went 3-3 and split with all three of their division rivals. So, how will they do in 2026?
Sound off in the poll below, and send us your thoughts in the comments section!

After Bayern Munich activated a buyback clause to re-sign Noel Aseko from Hannover 96, the central midfielder is now seemingly leaving the club again.
According to Sport1, Bayern have agreed to sell the 20-year-old to Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee in the region of €10-12 million.
Aseko is expected to sign a contract with Frankfurt until 2030, with an option to extend it by a further year.
The Germany U21 international will be hoping the move to Eintracht can provide him with more regular playing time than he would have been able to find at Bayern.
Aseko impressed in the 2. Bundesliga last season, scoring three goals and providing six ******* ists in 32 appearances for Hannover 96.

Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin had his 2025-26 rookie NBA season ended prematurely due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot that left some fans wondering how he would recover. Brooklyn saw Demin show more of his potential, especially with how well he shot the three-pointer compared to his one-and-done season at BYU and it looks like he carried that into this summer.
Demin has played so well during the California Classic that some around the league, specifically No Ceilings founder Tyler Rucker for the purpose of this article, arguing that the Russian has shown enough already. Through just two games in the Classic, Demin is averaging 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.0 **** ists per game while shooting 55.6% from the field and 26.7% from behind the three-point line.
Demin, 20, ended his rookie season with averages of 10.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.3 **** ists per game while shooting 39.9% from the floor and 38.5% from deep in 52 games played. The former BYU Cougar said prior to the Classic that he was focusing a significant portion of his time in the weight room so that he could get strong enough to be more of a threat off the dribble.
"[I'm] trying to drive to the rim as much as I can, more than I used to, and embrace the physicality, and my positional advantages," Demin said after his first game in the Classic when he dropped 23 points and seven rebounds against the Sacramento Kings. "I would say from a size standpoint, and just been working on a lot of stuff that I want to execute this this year."
Demin will likely play at the beginning of the Las Vegas Summer League, but it's possible that if he continues to play well that he may just one or two games so that the Nets can evaluate the rest of the players on the roster. Whichever way it goes, Demin has showcased how much he has improved from last season and if he keeps going, he'll have the kind of second year that will excite fans about the immediate future.

NFL redrafts often reveal how quickly priorities can change, especially after the fact. Some teams discover they missed on a player. Others simply recognize that a different position may have offered even greater long-term value. The Baltimore Ravens fell into the latter category during a recent CBS Sports reimagining of the 2024 NFL Draft,
Baltimore passed on its original first-round selection, cornerback Nate Wiggins. They instead used the 30th overall pick on former Georgia Bulldogs offensive tackle Amarius Mims. The massive lineman originally came off the board 18th overall to the division-rival Cincinnati Bengals, but the redraft gave the Ravens another opportunity to strengthen the trenches.
Something of note here. The Mims selection wasn't necessarily an indictment of Wiggins. Instead, it reflected the importance of maintaining one of the NFL's most physical offensive identities. CBS Sports pointed to Mims' size and upside, while noting that he would have been an ideal fit in Baltimore's run-heavy offense. With Derrick Henry serving as the centerpiece of the ground game and Lamar Jackson's mobility constantly stressing defenses.
The theory makes sense. Mims obviously adds another powerful blocker to the offensive front, which is an easy case to make. The projection also benefits from hindsight.
Baltimore eventually found starting right tackle Roger Rosengarten in the second round of the original draft, making the Ravens' offensive line one of the league's strengths. In a redraft, however, Mims' development over two NFL seasons makes him worthy of first-round consideration regardless of positional need.