So is Christian Yelich dead?
It’s been quite a tumble for the former MVP.Image: Getty ImagesThe Milwaukee Brewers, probably the playoff team that everyone thought about the least, bit the dust yesterday in a fashion befitting a team that most didn’t realize were even there. They scored six runs across four games, got shutout twice, and while maybe not quite…
Even on MLB’s biggest night, Rob Manfred can’t keep his
Oh? Hey, someone tell the commish.Image: Getty ImagesI understand at the dawn of every league’s championship that the commissioner has to do something of a state of the union. Roger Goodell, Gary Bettman, Adam Silver… they all have a press conference before Game 1 or the Super Bowl. Given the daily nature of baseball, Rob…
The most unlikely college hoops powerhouse, centuries in the making
THE PARENTS OF Ryan Turell, the best player on the team with the longest active winning streak in men's college basketball, originally wanted their son to attend another school.They're sitting on an August Sunday afternoon in the living room of their ranch house in Sherman Oaks, California. Laurel, a personal trainer who appeared in some…
Which NFL teams are most, least analytics-advanced? We surveyed 22
The Cleveland Browns have taken over the title of the NFL's analytically advanced franchise from a division rival.When we surveyed analytics staffers across the league a year ago, they voted the Baltimore Ravens as the most analytically advanced -- defined by a combination of the level of data-driven work produced and the degree to which…
Book excerpt: Tom Brady’s bumpy ride to the top and
Editor's note: On Oct. 12, ESPN senior writer Seth Wickersham's book, "It's Better To Be Feared," will be published. This condensed excerpt is from the chapters documenting the bumpy ride New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had to the top -- and the man who believed in him from day one but never got to…
Shohei Ohtani has expanded what’s possible in baseball
WHEN SHOHEI OHTANI stands on the mound and stares into his catcher for a sign, his mouth is slightly open and his chin is raised just a little, giving off the impression he's every bit as curious as we are to discover what might come next. He comes set neck-high and stares somewhere over the…
Corey Seager and Marcus Semien are likely to sign before
Marcus Semien had an MVP-caliber season and will look to sign before December 1,.Image: Getty ImagesNobody wants Major League Baseball to skip a season. The players want to get paid. The owners want the revenue that comes from having a season. The fans definitely don’t want to go an entire year without Major League Baseball.…
Brewers RP Williams punches wall, breaks hand
Milwaukee will likely be without top setup reliever Devin Williams for the playoffs after the right-hander broke his pitching hand punching a wall after having a few drinks following Sunday's game that clinched the National League Central division title for the Brewers.President of baseball operations David Stearns told reporters Williams will undergo surgery to put…
Betting bullets: Big bets on Buccaneers to go 17-0
Two big bets on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to make history this year were placed in July and highlight an offseason filled with betting support for the defending champions.Caesars Sportsbook reported taking two big bets on the Buccaneers to go 17-0 in the regular season. The first, $10,000 at +5,000, would pay a net $500,000,…
Congrats to the Giants! (Now you might get to face
The Giants are the first team to clinch.Image: Getty ImagesThe San Francisco Giants are the first team to clinch a playoff spot this year, and congratulations to them for that, especially given that it’s a rare case in sports when a team can do something like this and really play the “nobody believed in us”…