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Alexander Wennberg will return to the Columbus Blue Jackets‘ lineup for Game 5 at the Washington Capitals. Coach John Tortorella confirmed his return about an hour before puck drop on Saturday. Wennberg was back after missing Games 2 Womens Marian Hossa Jersey , 3 and 4 after a hit to the head from Washington’s Tom Wilson. Tortorella says Wennberg replaces Sonny Milano in the lineup.
Wennberg, the Blue Jackets’ second-line center, had developed chemistry with Boone Jenner and Thomas Vanek before being injured. His return restores Columbus’ depth down the middle and helps on the power play.
Capitals coach Barry Trotz said if Wennberg was back in it would help the Blue Jackets but expressed confidence in his four centers – Evgeny Kuznetsov Dante Fowler Jr Jersey , Nicklas Backstrom, Lars Eller and Jay Beagle – to match up with any opposing line.
The teams are tied at 2-all in the series. Game 6 is Monday night in Columbus.
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DENVER (AP) — Linebacker Brandon Marshall and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas weren’t with their teammates on the sideline for the national anthem prior to the Denver Broncos‘ game against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday night.
Marshall and Thomas emerged from the tunnel behind the Broncos’ bench after the anthem was over.
In Arizona, Los Angeles Chargers starting left tackle Russell Okung raised his fist during the anthem prior to the team’s game against the Cardinals.
The league and the NFL players’ union have yet to announce a policy for this season regarding demonstrations during the anthem after the league initially ordered everyone to stand on the sideline when the anthem is played Authentic Malik Jefferson Jersey , or remain in the locker room.
Marshall has knelt in the past during the national anthem, following the lead of his college teammate, Colin Kaepernick http://www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-will-dissly-jersey , who started the protests in 2016 to bring attention to social injustices. They played together at Nevada.
Thomas hasn’t been involved in the demonstrations but he wore the Malcom Jenkins “You ain’t listening” T-shirt at a pre-camp barbecue last month.
Okung stood with his fist raised behind the rest of the Chargers players, who lined up on the sideline for the anthem. New York Jets Elite Jerseys

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster won't participate in the offseason program while he tends to legal matters related to his domestic violence charges. The 49ers said in a joint statement Sunday from owner Jed York Authentic Mike Cammalleri Jersey , coach Mike Shanahan and general manager John Lynch that Foster's future with the team will be "determined by the information revealed during the legal process." San Francisco begins its offseason program Monday.
Foster was charged Thursday with felony domestic violence after being accused of dragging his girlfriend and punching her in the head, leaving her with a ruptured eardrum, authorities said.
Prosecutors said the 24-year-old Foster attacked his girlfriend in February at their Los Gatos home, leaving her bruised and with an injured eardrum.
The 28-year-old woman told responding officers that Foster dragged her by her hair, physically threw her out of the house, and punched her in the head eight to 10 times.
Foster was also charged with felony possession of an assault weapon and misdemeanor possession of a high-capacity magazine after officers found a Sig Sauer 516 short-barreled rifle in his home while investigating his girlfriend's domestic violence report.
If convicted on all charges, He faces up to 11 years in prison.
The 49ers drafted Foster 31st overall last year after questions about his health and character caused him to drop from being a possible top 10 pick.
Foster delivered on the field, ranking second on the team with 72 tackles in 10 games as a rookie and looking like a key part of San Francisco's defensive future.
Foster then was charged in January in Alabama with second-degree marijuana possession before the incident in February that led to the most recent charges.
The NFL has said it is looking into possible discipline for Foster for both infractions.The Cavaliers selected a point guard and pitch man. Moments after the team selected Collin Sexton with the No. 8 pick in the NBA draft Thursday night, the Alabama playmaker made his appeal for LeBron James to re-sign with Cleveland.
”Man, LeBron Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Jersey , let’s do it,” Sexton said during ESPN’s telecast from the draft in Brooklyn. ”Let’s do it. I’ve seen you needed a few extra pieces this past season, and let’s do it. Let’s go back to the Finals.”
The Cavs believe Sexton – and perhaps a few more tweaks to their roster – will help convince James there is no reason for him to leave home for the second time in his career.
”I hope,” said general manager Koby Altman, adding the club has no plans to trade Sexton. ”I think the pick along with our youth and our momentum as a franchise, for LeBron and for everybody, I think there’s a real energy here. And I think the talent level of Collin I’m almost sure LeBron recognizes.”
Sexton averaged 19.2 points and 3.6 assists as a freshman for the Crimson Tide, and the 19-year-old also led the school to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012. He’s confident, a proven scorer and he addresses a major need for the Cavs, who traded All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving to Boston last year and spent all season trying to replace him.
Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue started eight different point guards during the regular season.
Despite their issues at guard Authentic Jonathan Toews Jersey , James led the Cavs to their fourth straight Finals, but they sorely missed Irving and didn’t have nearly enough firepower to hang with the Golden State Warriors, who swept them and won their third title in four years.
Cleveland used the pick to draft Sexton – previously owned by Brooklyn – that it received from the Celtics in the Irving trade.
The Cavs’ front office led by Altman entered the draft in the dark on James’ plans. The three-time champion must notify the team by June 29 on whether he intends to opt out of his $35.6 million contract for next season – a move he is expected to make.
Altman said he has had ”really good dialogue” with James’ management team.
”LeBron has more than earned the right to approach his contracts the way he does,” Altman said. ”He’s done that before, so this is nothing new for us. We want to respect his space during this process. We don’t take him for granted. We love him, this city loves him. He means the world to us and this franchise.”
Sexton has been on Cleveland’s radar for some time. The Cavs scouted him throughout the season, and the day after they lost Game 4 in the Finals, Sexton worked out at the team’s facility and owner Dan Gilbert referred to him as a ”very intriguing draft prospect” on Twitter.
”Loved the substance and character that he was about, and then he came here and had an unbelievable workout,” Altman said. ”And what was really encouraging about the workout is he actually shot it a lot better. It looked more pure Nikita Kucherov Jersey , looked more natural, and his work ethic I know is going to be even better. I don’t want to put too much into the workout, but it helped. And then you feel people, like, you feel them. You’re going to feel this kid.”
While Sexton certainly improves the Cavs’ backcourt and adds a young player capable of breaking down defenders, there is no guarantee it will do anything to impact what James will do.
In the meantime, Sexton has his fingers crossed that he and James will soon be teammates.
”He’s one of the best players to ever play basketball,” Sexton said. ”Just being able to come in and learn from him, it’ll be big for me and big for my growth.”
James will factor family and his quest to win more championships into his decision. The 33-year-old has been unusually quiet on social media since the Finals ended, and he has given no hints about his future.
If James doesn’t stay in Cleveland Derrick Henry Jersey Big , there’s a strong chance he’ll look to join the Los Angeles Lakers, who have salary-cap room to sign two maximum contract players. James already owns two homes and a film production company in Southern California.
Based on his wardrobe for the draft, Sexton may have had an inkling Cleveland was going to take him. He wore a crimson-and-black tuxedo jacket that perfectly complemented the wine-colored Cavs cap he was given before taking the stage to shake hands with Commissioner Adam Silver.
Sexton burst on the national scene last season with several strong performances, including a 40-point game against Minnesota when Alabama had to play 10 minutes with just three players because of disqualifications.
He went on to be named the SEC’s top newcomer and a first-team all-conference selection.
”It just shows all my hard work paid off,” Sexton said. ”I just grinded, started from the bottom and came back up to the top. That was the biggest thing, just show people what I can do.”
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The Washington Redskins will host the New York Jets this summer for three days of joint training camp practices. The teams announced Tuesday that they will practice with each other at Washington’s Bon Secours Training Center fr om Aug. 12 to 14 http://www.washingtonredskinsteamonline.com/rob-kelley-jersey , leading into their preseason game at FedExField on Aug. 16.
The practices, which will be free and open to the public, will mark the first time the Jets have held joint sessions with another team since they joined the Giants at SUNY Albany in 2005. Meanwhile, this will be the third set of joint practices in the last five years for the Redskins, who hosted New England in 2014 and Houston the following summer.
Jets coach Todd Bowles says the practices will be ”a nice change of pace for our players to face another team.” Redskins coach Jay Gruden says similar sessions in the past have given his staff good opportunities to evaluate players in competitive situations.
Fans of both teams will be able to get a close look at Jets first-round pick Sam Darnold, who will compete for New York’s starting quarterback job. Washington, whose new QB is Alex Smith, selected Alabama defensive tackle Da’ron Payne with the 13th overall pick.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars might have lost their No. 1 receiver for the season.
Marqise Lee, who led the team in receptions in 2017 Authentic Anthony Barr Jersey , injured his left knee in a 17-6 victory against Atlanta in the preseason Saturday night and could be out for the year.
Lee was carted off the field in the first quarter after Falcons cornerback Damontae Kazee went helmet-first into his knee and then twisted his leg. Lee fumbled on the play, but it was overturned because Kazee was flagged for leading with his helmet.
Coach Doug Marrone said "obviously it looked bad," adding that Lee will have tests Sunday to determine the extent of the injury. Teammates sounded resigned to Lee being sidelined an extended period, maybe even the entire season.
"That's tough," Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles said. "You hate to see anytime, especially in the preseason, and to a guy like that who's been through what he's been through and plays with the passion that he does, and everything that he's put into this team and getting ready for this season. ... It's tough to see."
Lee was clearly in pain as he got helped onto the cart. Teammates and coaches walked across the field to offer well-wishes as he left the field.
It was the kind of preseason injury that leaves everyone on both sidelines shaking their heads.
"At the end of the day, we've got to come together as a team Authentic Patrick Mahomes Jersey , as a unit and pick up wh ere he left off," fellow receiver Dede Westbrook said.
"Everybody's got to step up," Jaguars receiver Donte Moncrief added. "Everybody in the room's got to be ready to go, from the young guys to me. He was one of the big roles in the offense."
Lee had 56 catches for 702 yards and three touchdowns last season. He signed a four-year, $34 million contract in March that included $16.5 million guaranteed.
A second-round draft pick from USC in 2014, Lee has 171 catches for 2,166 yards and eight touchdowns. He missed games because of various injuries in three of his four seasons.
If Lee misses time this fall, the Jaguars would rely on second-year pros Keelan Cole and Westbrook, one-year rental Moncrief and rookie DJ Chark.
WINLESS FALCONS
Atlanta managed 96 yards in the first half and 261 for the game. The Falcons have lost all three preseason games.
Matt Ryan completed 5 of 12 passes for 57 yards. Tevin Coleman ran seven times for 38 yards http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/mark-sanchez-jersey , with 22 of those coming on one scamper.
"When you're going against a good defense, that's how the game is going to shake out," Ryan said. "You're going to have your opportunities at times to make plays. I don't think we came away with all of them, but we certainly made some good ones as well."
The bright spots for Atlanta were two interceptions against Blake Bortles, who played into the third quarter and finished 17 of 23 for 204 yards. Bortles was picked once on a tipped ball and another on a pass that sailed wide of a receiver.
ANTHEM PROTEST
Jaguars All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Pro Bowl linebacker Telvin Smith remained in the locker room during the national anthem. Smith has skipped the anthem in each of the team's three preseason games. Ramsey was suspended for last week's exhibition at Minnesota, not for anything related to the anthem.
PRESEASON DEBUT
Falcons placekicker Matt Bryant made his preseason debut after sitting out the first two games with an undisclosed injury. The 43-year-old Bryant drilled a 47-yard field goal to cap the opening drive and later added a 33-yarder.
The Jaguars had two players make their preseason debut. 2017 All-Pro guard Andrew Norwell (calf) and defensive lineman Taven Bryan (abdomen), a first-round pick from Florida, missed the first two exhibitions. Bryan's best play was batting down a pass in the closing minutes.
SITTING OUT
Receiver Marvin Hall, guard Ben Garland Authentic Derrick Henry Jersey , cornerback Desmond Trufant, safety Ricardo Allen and linebacker Deion Jones sat out for Atlanta with minor injuries.
The Jaguars were without six players: cornerback A.J. Bouye (illness), center Brandon Linder (knee), safety Ronnie Harrison (hamstring), linebacker Donald Payne (hip), defensive tackle Eli Ankou (knee) and defensive end Dawuane Smoot (foot).
UP NEXT
Atlanta hosts Miami to end the preseason Thursday.
Jacksonville plays at Tampa Bay on Thursday. Authentic New York Jets Jerseys

Fixing the running game has been one of Pete Carroll’s foremost goals this offseason with the Seattle Seahawks.
Seattle was woefully inept running the ball last season. J.D. McKissic was the only Seahawks’ running back to score a rushing touchdown last season. Eddie Lacy was wholly ineffective Nikolaj Ehlers Jersey , and Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise were both sidelined with injuries for most of the season.
The Seahawks have changed offensive line coaches and offensive coordinators this offseason, selected Rashaad Penny with their first-round draft pick and made it a priority to reintroduce a fullback into their offense to a greater extent. With the number of changes that have been made this offseason, Carroll believe they are on the right track to getting their running game back in order.
鈥淲ell, I鈥檓 really excited about that and that鈥檚 part of Morgan Rielly Jersey , it just feels different, just to have everybody healthy and out there working and all,” Carroll said following practice on Thursday. “We鈥檝e had really high hopes for C.J. and we鈥檝e seen Mike Davis play really good for us and we got excited about J.D. McKissic and now to see Chris back out there in really extraordinary condition, he鈥檚 had a tremendous offseason Tuukka Rask Jersey , and then add Rashaad in there as well. It鈥檚 just a really fine group and very versatile”
The Seahawks averaged just 3.3 yards per carry for the year, which was the worst output of any team in the league. Seattle also had 15.6 percent of all carries on the year go for negative yardage. Additionally, Seattle鈥檚 running backs had just 17 yards on 34 carries with no touchdowns and one converted first down inside an opponent’s 20-yard line.
Inside the 10-yard line, the Seahawks had a total of 23 carries for zero yards and two 1-yard Russell Wilson touchdown runs.
Getting Carson and Prosise back healthy would go a long way toward stabilizing Seattle’s backfield. Both players are healthy and taking part in OTAs despite having their seasons ended due to injury. Penny also adds a top talent to the group that is expected to be able to contribute as a receiver and potential kick returner as well.
“There鈥檚 really kind of no restrictions on what they can do in terms of catching the ball and getting out of the backfield and the kicking game and all kinds of stuff. It鈥檚 a really good group and again Chris Wideman Jersey , it helps that they鈥檙e all healthy. It keeps their reps down and hopefully we can keep marching forward in a positive way and just keep growing. It is really the source of my excitement to see all those guys together because we鈥檝e needed them. It鈥檚 been two years really not having a group all together so it鈥檚 pleasing.鈥?/p>
The positives for Seattle is that it’s difficult to get much worse than they worse a season ago. Improvement on the ground should certainly be expected this year. How much it will improve remains to be seen.Long snapper L.P. Ladouceur has re-signed with the Dallas Cowboys, the team he initially joined after a workout in 2005. Ladouceur will be going into his 14th season, the second-longest tenure among current Cowboys. He has played in 205 consecutive games and made 1,875 snaps without a miscue.
The only current Dallas player with the team longer is 11-time Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten Brendan Leipsic Jersey Kids , who was a third-round pick in the 2003 draft.
Last year Witten matched the franchise record by playing his 15th season with the Cowboys. The 35-year-old Witten is already signed for his 16th season in 2018.
Ladouceur went to the Pro Bowl in 2014. Last season marked the completion of a five-year contract extension.
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The Tampa Bay Lightning are on the brink of a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Coach Jon Cooper and his players say it won’t be easy to close the deal against the Washington Capitals.
”We haven’t won anything yet Nick Jensen Jersey ,” Cooper said Saturday night after Cedric Paquette scored in the opening minute and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots to help the Lightning hold off the Caps 3-2 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final.
Ondrej Palat and Ryan Callahan also scored as the home team won for the first time in the best-of-seven matchup, with Tampa Bay taking a 3-2 series lead and moving within one victory of advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in four seasons.
”Let’s be honest,” Cooper added. ”You’ve got to get four, not three.”
The Capitals, in the conference final for the first time in the Alex Ovechkin era, have lost three straight after winning twice on the road to begin the series.
Ovechkin scored with 1:36 remaining, trimming what once was a three-goal lead to one Authentic Marcus Mariota Jersey , however Vasilevskiy made three more saves to finish the victory.
Game 6 is Monday night in Washington, where Tampa Bay has already won to improve to 5-1 on the road this postseason.
”We have a lot of unfinished business. This isn’t even close to being over,” Callahan said. ”This last game’s definitely the hardest against a very, very good Washington team. ”To go in their building and try to close it out is going to be tough.”
The Capitals were encouraged by the way they finished the game and are confident they can force the series back to Tampa for Game 7.
”This group has got its backs against the wall, and this group has responded all year,” coach Barry Trotz said. ”I don’t expect anything different.”
The Capitals won the first two games on the road, scoring 10 goals on Vezina Trophy finalist Vasilevskiy and sending the Lightning – won had the best record in the East during the regular season – into desperation mode.
Tampa Bay responded by winning Game 3 in Washington Ondrej Palat Jersey , evening the series despite being outshot and outplayed for sizeable stretches of a 4-2 victory in Game 4 and returning home, where Cooper was confident the Lightning would be better than they were in the first two games.
Turns out Cooper was right.
Washington’s Dmitry Orlov turned the puck over in the neutral zone on the opening shift of the night and Callahan made the Caps pay for the mistake, feeding Paquette for a 1-0 lead just 19 seconds into the game.
Palat’s second goal of the series made it 2-0. Tampa Bay extended the advantage to three goals when Callahan scored 33 seconds into the second period.
Outshot 13-4 and limited to one scoring opportunity in the opening period, the Caps began to put some pressure on Vasilevskiy in the second.
Evgeny Kuznetsov scored a goal in his fourth straight game, giving him a franchise single-year, playoff-best 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) and trimming Washington’s deficit to 3-1 at 4:21 of the period.
The Capitals kept pressing in the third period TJ Brodie Jersey , but didn’t breakthrough against until Ovechkin scored his 11th goal this postseason.
”It’s not frustrating,” Ovechkin said. ”Of course, when you lose a game you feel bad. We just had a bad start. We didn’t handle the puck in the neutral zone. They got a lucky bounce and put in the first goal. That gave them momentum.”
”It’s disappointing, but I thought our second two periods were great,” Capitals winger T.J. Oshie said. ”We showed a lot of character. Character doesn’t always win you games, but I think it’s going to be important to have that feeling going into Game 6 at home.”
Notes: The road team won each of the first four games of a series for the sixth time in the last 10 years and 26th time in Stanley Cup playoffs history. Under that scenario, the road team has won Game 5 only three times. … Paquette’s goal was his first in the playoffs since Game 3 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final Aaron Ekblad Jersey , ending a 34-game drought for the 24-year-old center. … At 19 seconds of the opening period, Palat’s goal was not the fastest to start a game in Lightning history. Adam Hall scored for Tampa Bay 13 seconds into Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final against Boston in 2011. … Capitals winger Andre Burakovsky was a game-time scratch.
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The Buffalo Sabres say Victor Antipin suffered a concussion and a broken nose when he was boarded during Saturday night’s game against the Nashville Predators.
The Sabres say Antipin also suffered cuts to his face and dental injuries when he was hit by Predators forward Scott Hartnell behind the Buffalo net. Antipin was strapped to a backboard and taken off the ice on a stretcher. He was hospitalized briefly. Hartnell was given a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for the hit.
The Sabres say Antipin will be out indefinitely. He was to fly with the team later Sunday to Toronto, where the Sabres face the Maple Leafs on Monday.
Antipin was skating in his 47th NHL game after reaching the NHL this season.
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WASHINGTON — Bryce Harper made some strides at the plate Thursday night just as the Washington Nationals prepare to welcome the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies to town for a weekend series.
Moved back to the leadoff spot by manager Dave Martinez Viktor Arvidsson Jersey , Harper walked twice and had a sacrifice fly and a double in four plate appearances during a 4-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Harper doubled in the eighth inning of a tie game and came in on Juan Soto’s two-run double and the Nationals took two of three from the Orioles.
“I was able to see a lot of pitches tonight,” Harper told the Washington Times after the Nationals (40-33) improved to 9-1 with him in the leadoff spot.
Harper began the night hitting .133 (8-for-60) in June, with five walks and 23 strikeouts.
“My swing has felt great,” Harper told mlb.com. “I’ve felt great the past month and a half or so, just chasing pitches. Tonight, I tried to do the best I could to get a ball over the middle (of the plate), and I was able to do that.”
The 19-year-old Soto just continues to hit. Thursday night he went 1-for-3 with a walk in the cleanup spot and enters the weekend hitting .326 with six homers and 16 RBIs over 92 major-league at-bats.
“I think we’re all amazed every single day Ben Bishop Jersey ,” Washington starter Max Scherzer told mlb.com. “He’s a great young player. He’s just enjoying himself. He’s the bat we kind of need in our lineup right now, that’s hot. And teams are going to have to figure out how to get him out, because it’s tough right now.”
Friday night that task falls to Philadelphia right-hander Zach Eflin (4-2, 3.43 ERA). He has won three straight starts, allowing four runs over 18 2/3 innings while striking out 17 batters and walking just three after pitching five effective innings Saturday in Milwaukee.
Elfin will be making his first career start against Washington, which counters with right-hander Tanner Roark (3-7, 3.87).
Roark gave up four runs on eight hits over four innings of in an 8-6 loss at Toronto on Sunday.
On May 5 he lost to the Phillies in Washington when he allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings. For his career Vladislav Namestnikov Jersey , he is 6-7 with a 3.98 ERA in 18 games (16 starts) versus the Phillies.
The Phillies (39-33) trail the second-place Nationals by one-half game in the NL East and trail the Braves by 3 1/3 games. Philadelphia has won seven of its last 10 games and has taken three straight series — against Colorado, at Milwaukee and against St. Louis — as it begins a 10-game stretch against the Nationals and Yankees.
“I think coming off this series, we anticipate a highly-competitive series against a good ballclub on the road, and it seems like we’re ready for that challenge,” Philadelphia right-hander Jake Arrieta told mlb.com.
Off on Thursday, the Phillies defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 on Wednesday.
Odubel Herrera hit what proved to be the game-winning home run in the seventh inning to go along with a single and a double.
“It was one of those ‘Wow’ moments,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler told the Courier Post. “He’s so hot Jakub Vrana Jersey , but he’s such an incredible athlete. It’s really elite barrel accuracy. I don’t know how to describe it. He just knows how to find the barrel, find the sweet spot.”
Herrera is hitting .419 (13-for-31) with two doubles, five home runs, eight RBIs in the past seven games. He is 13-for-31 (.419) versus Roark.
The NHL draft is one of the most important times of the year for NHL general managers. Jobs have been lost because of terrible picks, and Cups have been won in part thanks to late-round steals.
As the game progresses and scouting evolves, busts are becoming rare in today鈥檚 NHL. That makes sense鈥攚ith all of the tools at their disposal, scouts should be able to determine the likelihood of a professional career for a given player by the time he鈥檚 18 years old. They have the trusty 鈥渆ye test鈥?to rely on William Karlsson Jersey , but now they also have a plethora of methods at their fingertips, including analytics, which some teams are placing more focus on these days.
With all that said, busts still happen. This week I looked back at the drafts of the past 10 years (since 2007) and selected the 15 biggest busts of the bunch. It鈥檚 tough to say what exactly qualifies as a bust鈥攕ome of the players on this list are actually enjoying NHL careers. Their inclusion here just means that there were high expectations placed on them on draft day, and they鈥檝e thus far failed to meet them.
To qualify for the list the player had to have been drafted inside the top 10 in any of the drafts since 2007. I only used the drafts from 2007 to 2014, as it鈥檚 simply too early to call someone who was drafted in 2015 a bust. Enjoy: Youth New York Giants Jerseys

The Seahawks moved George Fant to right tackle last week to compete with Germain Ifedi.
Ifedi started Friday’s preseason game Elias Lindholm Jersey , and according to Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, the former first-round pick has responded to the challenge.
“I think he’s doing well. He’s doing really well,” Carroll said, via Brady Henderson of ESPN. “He’s really cleaned up his game. He’s playing hard. He’s got some technique things that he’s working on that show up. You can tell that he is. I think he’s responding well.”
Ifedi played 23 snaps against the Vikings and Fant a team-offensive high 43. Ifedi helped pave the way for Chris Carson to get into the end zone on a 6-yard run.
“He did fine,” Carroll said of Ifedi’s performance. “He played a very solid game.”
Ifedi, a first-round pick in 2016, drew a league-high 20 penalties last season. As a right guard in 2016, he had seven penalties.Needing a good night’s sleep, Jose Urena left the ballpark shortly after midnight Wednesday before the end of the Miami Marlins‘ 16-inning loss to Tampa Bay, monitoring the game on his phone as he drove home. That made him perhaps the best-rested player when the teams returned to the field barely 12 hours later. And it showed.
Urena and three relievers combined on a four-hitter and the Marlins bounced back from their marathon loss to beat Tampa Bay 3-0.
J.T. Riddle singled Womens Tom Pyatt Jersey , tripled and homered.
”There is a little bit of a hangover. I’m not going to lie,” Riddle said. ”You play 16 innings like that, and you come in eight hours later and have to play again, the body doesn’t feel the greatest. But it’s part of your job.”
While both teams were dragging, Urena looked fresh in his first outing since June 20, when he was sidelined by right shoulder impingement. He pitched five scoreless innings and struck out six before departing for a pinch hitter after throwing 78 pitches.
”Everything was good,” Urena said. ”I felt I could go longer, but I haven’t thrown that much the past 12 or 13 days.”
Drew Rucinski (4-1) pitched two scoreless innings for his second win in the series. Brad Ziegler pitched around a walk in the ninth to earn his 10th save.
The Marlins took the series and went 5-5 on their longest homestand of the year. The Rays lost for only the third time in the past 12 games.
Riddle’s RBI triple in the sixth put the Marlins ahead. The ball appeared catchable, but sailed over the head of center fielder Kevin Kiermaier near the wall.
Riddle added his fifth homer in the eighth.
Three Rays – Kiermaier, Daniel Robertson and Jake Bauers – started after playing all 16 innings Tuesday. They went a combined 0 for 11.
”Urena pitched well Authentic T.Y. Hilton Jersey ,” manager Kevin Cash said. ”He kind of changed his approach a little bit, started throwing fastballs in to the lefties and away to the righties. That has generally not been his M.O.”
TANTRUM
When the Rays’ Carlos Gomez returned to the dugout after striking out in the second inning, he took three swings at a cooler, and the resulting thuds could be heard throughout the ballpark.
”He squared it up pretty good, it sounded like,” Riddle said.
Gomez then punched another cooler, which sent cups flying over the dugout railing.
Despite all that solid contact, Gomez is batting only .195.
”When I’m angry, I’m not thinking really well,” he said. ”If they fine for me this Brandon Manning Jersey , I’ve got enough money to pay.”
Gomez said he was upset because he was hit by a pitch during the at-bat, and the umpire blew the call. He was jeered in subsequent at-bats by the crowd of 7,572.
UP AND DOWN
After using nine pitchers Tuesday, the Rays called up right-hander Ryan Weber from Triple-A Durham as reinforcement. Weber (0-1) allowed two runs in five innings and was optioned after the game back to Durham.
”I knew I was coming up to get the team innings, and that’s what I did,” Weber said. ”I kept the pitch count low so they could keep running me back out there. That’s all I could have asked for.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays: RHP Chris Archer (left abdominal strain) felt fine after a rehab start and could rejoin the rotation as early as Monday against the Tigers. … LHP Vidal Nuno (right hamstring strain), who earned the victory Tuesday and contributed two hits before he was hurt, went on the 10-day disabled list. … RH Wilmer Font (right lat strain) was transferred to the 60-day DL.
Marlins: OF Lewis Brinson (left hip inflammation), batting only .186, was placed on the 10-day disabled list. … 3B Martin Prado (left hamstring) and 1B-OF Garrett Cooper (bruised right wrist) are expected to be activated for the upcoming series at Washington. … Miami recalled LHP Dillon Peters from Triple-A New Orleans.
UP NEXT
Rays: Following a day off Youth Matt Irwin Jersey , the Rays play a three-game series at the Mets, with RHP Ryne Stanek (1-2, 1.98) expected to start.
Marlins: RHP Pablo Lopez (1-0, 3.00), who beat the Mets in his major league debut Saturday, is scheduled to start Thursday when Miami opens a four-game series at the Nationals.
Miami is 6-16 against Washington since the start of 2017.
”We’ve had our trouble with those guys,” manager Don Mattingly said. ”They’ve beat us up pretty good the last couple of years.”
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Every year the NFL gets a jolt of excitement when free agency opens up and players get an opportunity to cash in for their years of hard work. It can be a heartbreaking time for some fanbases as they see some of their favorite players move on to new teams. It's something that may become even more difficult if they sign with a team you hate Tom Kuhnhackl Jersey , like Richard Sherman who decided to sign with the San Francisco 49ers, or go on to reach their full potential under a new system, like Golden Tate with the Detroit Lions (poor Seattle!).
But for every player that breaks your heart as they walk out the door, I'd hope you can find someone new on your team to help give you some new reasons to be pumped for September. While I would love to say that it is, free agency is not a guaranteed way to improve your team. And if your team makes the wrong moves, it may be the quickest way to guarantee your team isn't improving for at least another year or more depending on the contract that was handed out.
Let's just hope that some of the bigger moves that were made in this past offseason are ones that end up benefitting your team. If not, instead of having a new player to love, you may just have a new reason to shut the TV off with frustration! But don't get too frustrated, as there is always the next offseason to help turn your team's fortunes around.Mashaun Alston’s office has a corkboard with pictures of some of the kids he has helped over the years. A basketball player in his uniform. A row of smiling teenagers. On one side of the room there is a framed quote that reads, ”All those who achieve great things are great dreamers.”
Alston, 41, is definitely dreaming. In one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago, he is dreaming of more graduations and birthday parties. Life for a group of kids on the edge.
”I can be overwhelmed, but then when I go home … I never say I’m not doing this Womens Todd Gurley Jersey , I always reflect and say, `Wow, this kid is going through this,’ and then the next day, I’m renewed,” Alston said.
Alston is a therapist in Choose to Change, a five-month program that aims to reduce youth violence through therapy and mentorship. And it very well might be gone by now if not for the effort of one unusual coalition.
The Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks. The titans of Chicago sports, united with a singular purpose.
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Near the end of a violent 2016 in Chicago, Roseanna Ander went to a meeting. Ander, the executive director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab, goes to a lot of meetings Authentic Drew Brees Jersey , but this one was different.
The room included White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and his son, Michael, the president and chief operating officer of the Bulls. Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and his sister, Laura, who also is part of the Cubs’ ownership group, were there. Same for Bears chairman George McCaskey and Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz.
”It was like a very Godfather-esque moment,” Ander said with a grin.
Concerned about a precipitous rise in violent crime – Chicago had 762 homicides in 2016, a 64 percent increase fr om 485 in the previous year – the city’s most prominent sports executives had an idea, and they were looking for help.
”They decided that this was a very unprecedented challenge facing the city and they wanted to do something unprecedented,” Ander said, ”and that was really to try to see if putting their resources together that they might be able to do something more significant than they could each do independently.”
It began with Jerry Reinsdorf, 82, who once lived in some of the South Side neighborhoods that have been racked by violence. He took the idea of a united effort to the rest of the owners, and they quickly signed on for what became the Chicago Sports Alliance.
Then came the tricky part.
”It became very clear that we really didn’t understand what was behind the homicides and the violence http://www.officialbluejackets.com/authentic-adidas-david-savard-jersey ,” Michael Reinsdorf said. ”We all had ideas and theories, but we really weren’t as educated as we should be.
”We decided instead of just jumping in there and making some type of investment, let’s get smarter.”
That led the group to Ander and the Crime Lab, which was created in 2008 following the shooting death of a graduate student at the University of Chicago to study crime and develop and evaluate crime-reduction programs. While the room grabbed Ander’s attention, her presentation struck a chord with the group.
”It’s just tough,” Michael Reinsdorf said. ”I have kids and we teach our kids that they can dream and they can do anything they want and they have such incredible opportunities. But the kids that we’re talking about trying to help in some of these communities, their dreams are totally different than the dreams of like my children.
”Their dreams are like, surviving. … Their expectations are I won’t live a long life.”
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Alston had a group session in May wh ere only one of the six young men showed. It was a nice day in Chicago and graduation festivities were in full swing.
The 17-year-old who made it to the session was depressed about the death of his cousin in January. He wanted to retaliate sometimes, but he said the program was keeping him on the right track.
”He says, `Yeah, but this group,’ he says, `since I’ve been coming in February is helping me think,”’ Alston said.
A buoyed Alston kept going Oliver Ekman-Larsson Jersey , sitting straight up in his chair in a common room down the hall from his office on the city’s South Side.
”You know just with the people he knows, the family he’s involved with, it’d be easy to go and retaliate,” he continued.
”I want you to think logical. If you go retaliate and you’re 17, there’s two things going to happen. You may get away with it for a little bit. But you’re going to end up dead because they’re going to retaliate, or you’re going to be in jail and you’re 17, I want you to get to my age.”
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The Chicago Sports Alliance was unveiled in December. The teams announced a total of $1 million in one-time grants for Choose to Change, the Crime Lab and for training for embedded civilian analysts who work with the police department to develop strategies to reduce crime in the city’s most violent areas.
While the money provided a lift, the alliance itself might have made an even bigger statement.
”It’s not just the dollars, but I think it’s kind of who they are, their ability to have influence with such a huge range of the population,” Ander said. ”But I do think for me the most important thing was sending a message that this isn’t just somebody else’s problem to fix.”
The funding for Choose to Change had run out by the end of 2017, so the money from the alliance kept it alive for the first part of this year. Another group of teenagers w Cheap Seattle Seahawks Jerseys

Offensive lineman Joshua Garnett started 11 games in 2016 after the 49ers made him a first-round pick. His second season never got off the ground as he spent the year on injured reserve rehabbing a knee injury and then working himself into shape.
Garnett has returned in better physical condition and is competing with veteran Mike Person for the starting right guard spot.
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Laken Tomlinson remains with the first team at left guard after starting 15 games there last season. Veteran guard Jonathan Cooper continues to rehabilitate from surgery to repair the MCL in his left knee but will return in late July to compete for a role.Indianapolis Colts center Deyshawn Bond remembers camping out inside a cramped hotel room late last summer, reveling in the sound of silence. For the undrafted rookie who attended high school on Indy's east side before heading to Cincinnati, cutdown weekend seemed like the perfect antithesis of draft weekend.
In the spring, every college prospect dreams of picking up the phone and hearing an NFL team on the other end. But if that call comes in the first 72 hours following the preseason finale Authentic Tyler Eifert Jersey , everyone knows it's probably time to turn in a playbook and find another job.
So Bond spent those first 24 hours waiting it out alone before accepting a dinner invite from his mother across town.
"I didn't really come out of my room that first day. Didn't get the call," Bond said. "So my mom had ended up telling me she wanted to have dinner for me and I went over and she surprised me with a lot of family. So it was an exciting time in my life."
It seems just about everyone who's played in the NFL has some semblance of the same story.
Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy often started decision weekend by talking about when he sat inside a room with Pittsburgh Steelers greats Joe Greene, Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris when the knock on the door came. Dungy took a quick look around the room and instantly realized none of the four future Hall of Famers were about to be cut.
But this weekend, all around the league, the stories bubble up again.
Bond and a few teammates have already recounted their tales to a group of wide-eyed rookies, still hopeful of landing their dream job and some of whom envision extending the Colts' streak of consecutive seasons with an undrafted rookie on the opening day roster.
Last year, Bond and punter Rodrigo Sanchez helped keep the streak alive. Now Youth Joe Flacco Jersey , a whole new batch of rookies will try to make it 20 consecutive years albeit on a roster with significantly fewer openings.
"I've heard, a couple times," said linebacker Skai Moore, the South Carolina product who started turning heads in rookie minicamp. "What's it been, like 19 seasons an undrafted rookie made the team? Yeah, I've heard that a couple times. I hope I can (make it 20)."
Moore seems like the best bet.
He's been starting at middle linebacker while Anthony Walker recovers from an injured groin. But Moore isn't the only potential prospect on the roster.
Cornerback Henre' Toliver has steadily moved ahead of several other undrafted rookies on the depth chart and now may have to fend off Lenzy Pipkins, whom Indy acquired in a trade with Green Bay earlier this week.
Receiver Steve Ishmael is fourth on the team in receptions while safety George Odum has one of the Colts' two interceptions. Kicker Mike Badgley is 5 for 5 on field goals, including a 51-yarder he made in the fourth quarter of Saturday's win over San Francisco.
Each has one more chance to impress the coaches at Cincinnati on Thursday.
The biggest longshot might be Badgley Authentic Melvin Gordon Jersey , who finds himself behind one of the most reliable kickers in NFL history. Adam Vinatieri enters the season needing seven field goals to become the league's career leader and 58 points to pass Morten Andersen as the league's career scoring leader.
Badgley has done nothing to hurt himself and may actually have done enough to find a spot on another team. Besides, he has Vinatieri's stamp of approval.
"He's wise beyond his years and we have had a lot of good conversations," Vinatieri said. "He's a really strong-minded kid and obviously very, very talented as well. So here, there, anywhere, he's going to be successful."
The reality of the salary cap is teams need productivity out of capable, less costly players such as Moore and Bond.
Bond did his part in 2017 Authentic Patrick Mahomes Jersey , replacing the injured Ryan Kelly as Indy's starting center for the first four games 鈥?until he was carted off the field at Seattle with a season-ending torn quadriceps.
There have been plenty of examples of other undrafted rookies playing big roles for the Colts. Center Jeff Saturday signed with Indy after selling electrical supplies in North Carolina and went on to form the longest-playing center-quarterback duo with Peyton Manning in league history.
Dominic Rhodes rushed for 1,104 yards as a rookie in 2001 after replacing the injured Edgerrin James. Five years later, Rhodes had a vital part in Indy's Super Bowl title-winning run.
Pro Bowl tight end Jack Doyle wound up making the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted rookie before the Colts claimed him off waivers in 2013.
And Bond's advice to Moore, or anyone else feeling the angst this weekend is simple: Keep the head up and the phone might not ring.
"I wouldn't say you should be nervous about it. I would say just stay positive," he said. "This is not just an interview with the team you're playing with at the time, it's an interview for every team in the league. So keep a positive mindset and go out and perform at your best." Authentic Womens Dorance Armstrong Jr. Jersey

When the inevitable comparisons happen in July between no-name NBA players who make millions more as free agents than star players in the NFL Nyheim Hines Jersey , one star player in the NFL will have a unique perspective on the issue.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has become one of the owners of one of the teams that will be giving those huge contracts to mid-level pro basketball players. Specifically, Rodgers has become a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I have proudly called Wisconsin my home for the past 13 years, and I am thankful for the friendships and the opportunities I have been given to live and play here,” Rodgers in a statement released by the Bucks, via ESPN.com. “I am excited and honored to deepen my connection to the region by joining Wes Edens http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/marcus-cooper-jersey , Marc Lasry, Jamie Dinan, Mike Fascitelli and the ownership group of the Milwaukee Bucks. As a huge fan of the NBA and the sport of basketball, this is a dream come true for me, and I look forward to furthering my affinity for Wisconsin sports as a minority owner in a team I love and support.”
At a time when friction reportedly has emerged between Rodgers and Wisconsin’s only NFL team http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/jaire-alexander-jersey , his decision to buy a piece of Wisconsin’s only NBA team coupled with a statement in which he reconfirms his commitment to Wisconsin makes it clear that, if he ever leaves the Packers, it won’t be his decision.
The comments also could get more Packers fans behind Rodgers in the slowly-simmering back-and-forth that ultimately flows fr om the team’s failure to address a contract that has Rodgers woefully underpaid in comparison to other quarterbacks — specifically in his own division, wh ere Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins makes $28 million per year and Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford earns $27 million annually. Rodgers, at $22 million per year http://www.washingtonredskinsteamonline.com/zach-brown-jersey , has accomplished more than both of them, combined.
Indeed, Cousins and Stafford have combined for zero career postseason wins.
While this transaction likely won’t be the catalyst for Rodgers getting the $30 million per year that he deserves, it’s definitely a factor to consider at a time when player and team occupy an awkward posture as he enters the final years of his career. If he ends up finishing that career elsewhere, he’s doing what he can to make it very difficult for any Packers fans to blame him for it.The Carolina Panthers have signed free-agent running back Kenjon Barner from the Philadelphia Eagles to a one-year contract. Financial terms were not available Friday.
Barner is expected to compete as a third-down back and returner. A day earlier Earnest Byner Jersey , the Panthers placed third-down back Fozzy Whittaker on injured reserve with a knee injury.
The 29-year-old Barner was drafted by Carolina in the sixth round in 2013 draft. He spent one season with the Panthers before being traded to Philadelphia in 2014.
Barner played in 13 games with one start last season with the Super Bowl champions. He ran for 57 yards on 16 attempts with one touchdown.
Carolina also signed third-round draft choice safety Rashaan Gaulden and seventh-round draft choice linebacker Andre Smith. Anfernee Simons Jersey

Adam Vinatieri vividly remembers his last game against Morten Andersen. Andersen had already logged more than 20 seasons in the NFL Adolphus Washington Jersey , was well into his 40s, nearing the end of his career and still kicking as well as anyone in the league. Back then, Vinatieri marveled at how the seemingly ageless Andersen managed to excel for so long.
Now, more than a decade later, Vinatieri finds himself grinding through his 23rd NFL training camp, hoping to join the NFL's career scoring leader in the Hall of Fame. Andersen was inducted last year.
"I would have liked to have seen a handful more kickers and punters make it in there, but finally getting a second kicker in and Ray Guy getting in, it's good that we have some representation in there because those guys did a lot for the league," the Indianapolis Colts kicker said.
Andersen's induction last year provided hope to specialists such as Vinatieri that they, too, could be headed to Canton Dion Dawkins Jersey , Ohio, one day.
Until Andersen's selection, Vinatieri wasn't sure. The only one other "pure" kicker to earn pro football's highest distinction was Jan Stenerud in 1991. Guy was elected in 2014, ending the shutout for punters.
Some believe Vinatieri could be next.
His sterling resume glistens with Hall of Fame credentials: four Super Bowl rings, the league record for 100-point seasons (20) and second all-time in career scoring (2,487 points). Anderson finished with 2,544 and Vinatieri needs 58 points to break the record, which could happen at midseason if all goes well.
He owns the career record for scoring in postseason games (234), is the only player to top 1,000 points and make 200 field goals with two teams, has celebrated a league-record 225 victories Troy Aikman Jersey , including playoffs, and made a league-high 44 consecutive field goals. If Vinatieri completes this season, he would become only the third 46-year-old player to suit up for an NFL team.
His highlight reel contains some of the most memorable kicks in league history: two last-minute field goals to win Super Bowls and the tying and winning kicks in the infamous Snow Bowl, which helped New England win the first of its five Lombardi Trophies. He has been dubbed the best clutch kicker in league history and there's no indication "Automatic Adam" is slowing down.
"It's ridiculous," holder Rigoberto Sanchez said. "It's honestly out of this world, I think. Twenty-three years in the league, still kicking the ball the way he kicks it, 60 yards out in practice. It's unreal."
Just how much has Vinatieri seen and done during his career?
He is the last link to the NFL's developmental league in Europe, the one Andrew Luck's father worked with, and one of only two players left fr om the 1990s. Former teammate Phil Dawson is the other.
Vinatieri joined the league before former teammates Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, still reminds people he once tackled Herschel Walker and acknowledges missing on Desmond Howard and Devin Hester as they returned his kickoffs for Super Bowl scores.
He played for Hall of Fame coaches Bill Parcells and Tony Dungy http://www.buffalobillsteamonline.com/patrick-dimarco-jersey , in addition to Bill Belichick. His newest coach, Frank Reich, actually threw for 281 yards against the Patriots during Vinatieri's rookie season in 1996.
Somehow, though, he remains the epitome of consistency.
Last year, with a new long snapper and a new holder, Vinatieri still made 85.3 percent of his field goals and scored 109 points and now he's back with his oldest son, A.J., serving as a ball boy at training camp.
"It comes to a point wh ere Adam is Mr. Clutch over here, so (long snapper) Luke (Rhodes) just tries to do his job right and get the 12 o'clock laces and I try to get the ball in the spot that he likes and let him do the rest," said Sanchez Eddie Yarbrough Jersey , who wasn't even born until a week after Vinatieri's NFL debut in 1996. "He's been kicking it straight for a long time."
Despite the honors, the nicknames and the Hall of Fame predictions, Vinatieri knows he may still need more to follow the kicker he has been watching since his younger days in South Dakota into the NFL's most hallowed halls.
"I don't think it hurts, that's for sure," Vinatieri said. "It's one of those things that I haven't really though too much about it. I'm still just trying to help my team win games and keep on putting chapters in this book and if that happens, fantastic."
NOTES: The Colts have activated starting safeties Clayton Geathers and Malik Hooker from the physically unable to perform list Thursday. Both were coming off knee surgery. ... Guard Jeremy Vujnovich also was activated from PUP. He had been out with an injured calf after starting all 16 games last season.The San Francisco 49ers said Monday that they have signed first-round draft pick Mike McGlinchey to a four-year deal. The 49ers drafted McGlinchey, the consensus top tackle available in the draft, with the ninth overall pick in April.
The 6-foot-8, 315-pound McGlinchey played both tackle positions at Notre Dame before settling in at left tackle as a junior. He was projected to be one of the top left tackles in 2017 but he returned to Notre Dame and improved his stock.
He will most likely play on the right side in the NFL since San Francisco already has six-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley, who is the longest-tenured player on the 49ers. Adidas Sergei Bobrovsky Jersey

Rookie right-hander Freddy Peralta seems to make history every time he steps on the mound for the Milwaukee Brewers barely weeks into his major league career.
Fittingly enough http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/tarik-cohen-jersey , too, since he’s about to face a Cincinnati Reds pitching staff — mainly, reliever Michael Lorenzen — that is doing some pretty historic things themselves. Only with their bats and not their arms.
The 22-year-old Peralta is 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his first four major league starts, including two in which he has struck out 10 or more and allowed only one hit. He’s the first pitcher in baseball’s live-ball ERA to do that, and the first Brewers pitcher to have two such games in a career.
How good has Peralta been? He has permitted more than two hits in only one of the four starts. In 22 2/3 innings, he has allowed only seven hits and struck out 35.
Peralta is the first major league pitcher since at least 1908 to give up three hits or fewer and strike out at least five in each of his first four career games.
“His stuff looks electric fr om center field, and you can see that in the swings and takes and called strikeouts,” Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich told reporters after Peralta pitched seven shutout innings of one-hit ball to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Tuesday. “He’s been great every time he goes out there, and hopefully that continues.”
Peralta is doing it without an overpowering fastball, like so many other young pitchers are today. He’s throwing his four-seam fastball at an average velocity of 91.2 mph, or about what an average starter threw 15 years or so ago.
“He’s got a high spin rate and the ball just kind of jumps at you, even though it’s 92 mph Lane Taylor Jersey ,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.
If the last-place Reds can get to Peralta on Sunday at Great American Ball Park — and no team has yet — they would split a four-game series in which they lost the first two games.
Cincinnati bounced back from a 3-2 deficit Saturday with an eight-run seventh inning powered by a pinch-grand slam from Lorenzen off a Jacobs Barnes fastball and went on to win 12-3 for its 10th victory in 13 games.
“Michael Lorenzen was pretty special,” Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said.
Pinch-hit grand slams are rare enough. But by a pitcher?
What’s even more remarkable is Lorenzen also homered Friday night during an 8-2 Brewers victory, and he homered in his previous at-bat before that while pinch hitting against the Chicago Cubs on June 24.
“I love playing baseball,” Lorenzen said. “Every day, I look forward to contributing in some form.”
That’s three homers in the last three at-bats for Lorenzen, who’s quickly becoming the National League’s bullpen equivalent of the Angels’ multi-dimensional Shohei Ohtani.
Lorenzen is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 15 games, and he’s 4-for-6 at the plate. He’s the first pitcher with multiple pinch homers in a season since Brooks Kieschnick in 2003 — and he has done it in only a week.
“The guy’s swinging the bat really well, that’s for sure,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “We treat him as a position player. Obviously, we’ve got to make some adjustments … he’s swinging it well.”
Then there’s this: No Reds pitcher had hit a grand slam in 59 years, or since Bob Purkey in 1959, until starter Anthony DeScalfani did it June 23 against the Cubs. Now Emmitt Smith Jersey , Reds pitchers have hit grand slams twice in eight days.
Lorenzen’s homer was more than enough for the Reds to overcome Eric Thames‘ 14th home run against them in the two seasons and his fourth this season — the first three of which were game-winners.
Only two of the Reds’ 15 hits Saturday were for extra bases — Lorenzen’s homer and a Scooter Gennett double — but they were 8-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
Peralta will go up against veteran right-hander Matt Harvey (3-5), who has recently given the Reds a glimpse of his former dominating self with the New York Mets. He has won each of his last two starts, giving up three runs in 12 2/3 innings, after going 0-3 in his previous four starts.Al Horford has been the Celtics‘ quiet leader this postseason, and Marcus Smart might be the kindling Boston was missing in back-to-back losses in Milwaukee. The duo was reunited for Game 5, and together, they helped put the Celtics on the verge of closing out their first-round series.
Horford had 22 points and 14 rebounds, Smart made an impact in his first game since mid-March and Boston beat the Bucks 92-87 on Tuesday night for a 3-2 lead.
Smart came off the bench and had nine points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks in his first action since right thumb surgery. He played 25 minutes wearing a protective splint and had a key assist to Horford late from the bottom of a scrum beneath three Milwaukee players.
”I just tried to make sure I got him the ball and it was going to take everything I had,” Smart said. ”They weren’t taking it from me.”
Terry Rozier added 16 points and five assists for Boston. The home team has won all five games in the first-round series, and Game 6 is Thursday in Milwaukee.
Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 23 points Tom Waddle Jersey , Jabari Parker added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Giannis Antetokounmpo had a series-low 16 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists.
The Celtics led by 16 before Milwaukee rallied to make it 74-70 with 7:33 left. Middleton scored later and was fouled to get Milwaukee within 84-79, but he failed to complete the three-point play.
A few possessions later, Smart managed to squeeze out the pass to Horford with three Bucks draped over him, and Horford easily dropped in a layup to make it 86-79 with 28.1 seconds left.
Milwaukee got within 87-84 after a layup by Eric Bledsoe, but the Celtics hit enough free throws the rest of the way to secure the win.
The Bucks entered the game shooting an NBA playoff-best 54 percent from the field, but they hit just 37 percent for the game (32 of 87) – a series low.
Boston needed an energy boost after slow starts in Games 3 and 4, and Smart gave the Celtics exactly that.
He checked in for the first time late in the first quarter. Less than a minute later, he deflected a pass and won a scramble on the floor for the loose ball.
A few possessions later, he was helping protect the rim, getting his hand in to deny an alley-oop dunk attempt by Antetokounmpo.
He was also active on the offensive end, helping drive the ball into the interior of Milwaukee’s defense Dexter Manley Jersey , like when he tossed an alley-oop to Horford late in the third quarter .
Boston made a change to a smaller lineup, shifting Horford to center in place of Aron Baynes and starting Semi Ojeleye at forward.
Ojeleye drew the primary responsibility of guarding Antetokounmpo and handled it well. Antetokounmpo had just 10 field goal attempts.
”It’s on me. I had open shots, but they wasn’t my shots,” Antetokounmpo said. ”I think my teammates did a great job finding me, but coming the next game, Game 6, I’ve got to be more aggressive and make more plays.”
TIP-INS
Bucks: F John Henson missed his third straight game with back soreness. … Scored 15 points in first quarter. It was low for a quarter in the series, excluding the Game 1 overtime period (eight points).
Celtics: Finished with 18 turnovers. … Outscored the Bucks 32-28 in the paint.
HE SAID IT
”It’s win or go home, so I mean you can’t leave nothing on the line. That’s pretty much how you play this whole playoffs – you leave it all out there. Tonight we had too many lapses wh ere we just didn’t want it as bad as they did.” – Middleton
DROUGHT AND A RUN
The Celtics went without a field goal from Rozier’s 3-pointer with 9:14 left in the third until Jaylen Brown hit from beyond the arc with 4:26 to go in the period.
It allowed Milwaukee to go on a 12-2 run, trimming Boston’s lead to 58-52.
STILL BEEFING
Rozier and Eric Bledsoe got tangled up with 9:33 left in the third quarter. Rozier bumped Bledsoe near the baseline. Bledsoe responded with a hard shove. They then got face-to-face and had to be separated.
Bledsoe was assessed a flagrant foul and Rozier was issued a technical foul.
It was the continuation of some off-court chiding between the pair.
Rozier called Bledsoe ”Drew Bledsoe” when asked about him after Game 1. Bledsoe has since responded by saying ”Who?” whenever he’s asked about Rozier.
”We’re looking forward to Game (6),” Bledsoe said. ”It’s as simple as that.”
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BOURBONNAIS Bobby Wagner Jersey , Ill. (AP) — It has become a familiar refrain for Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy.
Nagy has often repeated the words “nothing new” over the past 3½ weeks regarding contract talks with first-round draft pick Roquan Smith, and the situation remains status quo.
Nagy’s first training camp with the Bears concluded Sunday, and it remains uncertain when defensive coordinator Vic Fangio can plug the former Georgia linebacker into the lineup.
And that’s not the Bears’ only problem as they head into a week of practices in Denver before playing the Broncos on Saturday in their third preseason game.
Asked Sunday if missing all of camp would limit Smith’s ability to be defensive field general on opening day, Nagy did not mince words.
“I think it does,” Nagy said. “You’re playing at that position and there are a lot of calls that go on, very similar to a quarterback, there’s a lot going on. But I have full confidence in Vic and his staff that when he does get here, they’ll get him up to speed and whenever that is, we’ll see.
“But again, that’s why we all get paid as coaches is to try to help our players out as much as possible and that’s kind of where we’re at.”
Neither the Bears nor Smith’s agents have openly discussed the reason for the standoff.
The Chicago Tribune reported that the sticking point in talks is the Bears’ refusal to give up the right to reclaim some of Smith’s guaranteed bonus if he is suspended for an on-field rules violation outside the parameters of a football play.
Smith is the only unsigned player in the 2018 NFL draft class. The Bears haven’t had Smith around since their June minicamp.
“I think he knows that he’s to be in shape,” Nagy said. “I think he knows that.”
The Bears have two veteran inside linebackers on the field in Danny Trevathan and Nick Kwiatkoski Jameis Winston Jersey , so they’re not short on experience.
Players say they’ve avoided turning the holdout into a distraction.
“It’s pretty easy,” defensive end Akiem Hicks said. “I mean, we can’t make him appear out of nowhere. You play with what you got and go forward.”
Their other big problem revolves around the offense.
Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky struggled in the new offense with interceptions in practice, then went 2 for 4 for 4 yards in his first effort against Cincinnati in a 30-27 loss Thursday night.
“It’s not rocket science to know that we need to be better in that,” Nagy said. “It’s my job to make sure am I calling the right plays. It’s their job to make sure they execute when they get those plays to come in.”
Wide receiver Allen Robinson and wide receiver Taylor Gabriel did not play Thursday or in the Hall of Fame game against the Ravens that kicked off the NFL’s preseason. Also absent was starting running back Jordan Howard.
Robinson called camp a successful indoctrination to a complicated attack.
“I think it was really big for us, for us to stay around close to each other, to have those conversations not only in the film room, but outside, just talking about different looks and seeing different things,” Robinson said. “I think it was very beneficial for us, as well as going against the defense.
“We have a top-10 defense in this league and they give us a lot of different looks and they challenge us each and every day P.J. Williams Jersey , presnap and post-snap.”
The other issue the Bears are facing coming out of camp is that injuries have begun piling up.
Cornerback Prince Amukamara is out with a groin injury and tight end Dion Sims is out with a concussion. Gabriel has a foot injury and has been out a week.
Outside linebacker Aaron Lynch was counted on to be a starter after leaving San Francisco in free agency but hasn’t participated in a single practice due to a hamstring injury.
“We’re not concerned,” Nagy said. “He’s OK with where he’s at. It has drawn out a little bit. There were a few setbacks there a little bit ago, but he’s back on track and he’ll be ready to go.”New York Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins has been trying to keep his focus on football since the body of a 25-year-old friend was found in his New Jersey home last month. Jenkins' brother, William H. Jenkins, was charged with aggravated manslaughter days after the body of Roosevelt Rene was found in the football player's Fair Lawn home on June 26.
Addressing the media on Sunday for the first time about the death, Jenkins said he has not spoken to his brother since he was arrested by New York State Police late last month. He reiterated that he was not in the house when Rene died.
"My main focus has always been football," Jenkins said. "Things that happened, I can't control, because I wasn't there. Just coming back, being with my team, just being excited to be there. ... I haven't talked to (his brother) Drew Kaser Jersey , but I will, see where his head was at, and as far as that, I'll leave it at that. It's shocking. But, you know, I've still got to come and play football."
Janoris Jenkins, who is entering his third season with the Giants after signing a five-year, $62.5 million contract as a free agent, refused to say much else about the incident.
"It is difficult but at the end of the day you have to be a pro," Janoris said. "Things are going to happen in life. Some things you can't control and this is one of those situations."
Jenkins has been focused since the Giants starting practicing four days ago. He had an interception on the first day.
"It doesn't make me feel like I am ready," Jenkins said. "It makes me feel like I am taking steps to being ready. Like Derrick Nnadi Jersey , I said continuing to work, getting better and being there for my team."
Like the Giants (3-13), Jenkins struggled last season. He was suspended for a game for violating team rules in late October and eventually had his season end in late November by an ankle injury that required surgery.
Jenkins said he spent the offseason strengthening his ankle and he is excited about the 3-4 defense that new coordinator James Bettcher has installed.
"It's aggressive, lets players play a little and not be robots," Jenkins said, adding he also has been impressed with the new business-like attitude that fellow cornerback Eli Apple has displayed so far.
Jenkins also is enjoying the opportunity to play against star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in practice every day.
"It just feels good because you know you can compete in practice against a top receiver," said Jenkins, who has 16 interceptions in six seasons. "Me and him going at it every day; he is going to win, I am going to win. He might win the whole day, I might win. But it is only getting us better." Authentic Womens D.J. Fluker Jersey

EAGAN Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Jersey , Minn. (AP) — After the coaching staffs for Jacksonville and Minnesota met the night before, a group of 12 trusted players fr om both the Jaguars and Vikings convened before the two teams took the field for their first joint practice.
The goal of the gatherings could be boiled down to this: No fighting.
Please.
“We really don’t want to end up being on TV like some of these other things,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “We just want to get out there and get some work done and try to get each of us better.”
There’s no reason for the Jaguars and Vikings, who only play each other in the regular season every fourth year, to bring any grudges to these dual individual drills and simulated game situations.
Jaguars coach Doug Marrone spent three years as an assistant coach with the New Orleans Saints, when Zimmer’s son and current Vikings linebackers coach Adam Zimmer was also on staff. Jaguars assistant offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr . is the son of the late Vikings offensive line coach, who died suddenly of heart disease right before training camp .
“I think they’re an excellent football team. They’re well-disciplined. They’re well-coached,” Marrone said Eric Weddle Jersey , speaking of the Vikings. “Those are the type of teams you want to come and practice against.”
This was Marrone’s idea, proposed to Zimmer shortly after the exhibition game schedule was finalized in April with the Jaguars playing the Vikings on Saturday.
Zimmer acknowledged some hesitation, citing his preference to follow training camp routine, but he agreed to include his team in an exercise that has long been common around the league. The workouts at Minnesota’s gleaming new facility will feature two teams that reached the conference championship games in January.
“I figured, ‘OK, they’re a good team. Let’s go and do it,'” Zimmer said.
The purpose is to break up the monotony of two-a-days and providing extra opportunities for evaluation of bottom-of-the-roster candidates. The Vikings joined the Bengals for practices two years ago in Cincinnati where Zimmer used to be the defensive coordinator, a trip that conveniently allowed him to stay at his ranch retreat in rural Kentucky.
“After going against the same defense Shareece Wright Jersey , the same schemes, the same players every day, at some point it gets a little old,” Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen said.
The excitement and, thus, the intensity have ramped up for these sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. That’s why the pre-practice conversations took place about keeping the competition healthy and respectful.
“I’ve done it almost every year I’ve been a head coach in this league so I’ve seen great results from that if it’s done properly,” Marrone said.
The New York Jets and Washington Redskins had a multiplayer melee on Sunday spill into the crowd of fans . The Jaguars had their own scuffle to sort out, with a scrap between defensive ends Dante Fowler and Yannick Ngakoue that prompted Marrone to keep Fowler and star cornerback Jalen Ramsey home from this trip . Zimmer banished wide receiver Stefon Diggs and cornerback Xavier Rhodes from practice one day last week after their trash-talking antics angered him.
The Vikings had some testy joint practices with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2003 and again in 2004 Stephen Gostkowski Jersey , when pro wrestler Brock Lesnar made his ill-fated tryout with the Vikings as a defensive lineman and stirred up his share of shouting and shoving in scrimmages.
So even the best of intentions can be cast aside in the heat of the moment when it’s, literally, as hot outside as it’ll be all season.
Diggs and Thielen, for their part, were disappointed by Ramsey’s absence and the lost opportunity to test their skills against an All-Pro. The Vikings still faced plenty of challenges against the Jacksonville defense, which ranked second behind the Vikings last season in fewest yards and points allowed.
“We came here to work. We came here to get things done,” Diggs said. “So as far as anything extra, we’re not interested.”
The first session on Wednesday came and went without any drama Jimmie Ward Jersey , as both sides intended.
“This is a good team to go against, a good team to get us right and to see wh ere we are,” Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith said afterward. “Hopefully we push each other in the right way and we’ll be seeing each other in the right game later on.”Basketball officials from Australia and the Philippines have issued a joint apology for the vicious brawl during a World Cup qualifier on Monday that resulted in the ejection of 13 players. Philippines basketball federation president Alfredo Panlilio and Ned Coten, president of Basketball Australia, said in the statement Thursday that the ”actions displayed have no place on any basketball court.”
”We wish to apologize to the entire basketball community worldwide, and in particular to our fantastic fans in the Philippines and Australia, for the behavior displayed by both teams and for bringing the game of basketball into disrepute.”
World body FIBA has yet to announce any sanctions for the brawl that saw nine Philippines players ejected and four from Australia.
Australia assistant coach and former NBA player Luc Longley said on his return to Australia that the brawl at Philippine Arena in Ciudad de Victoria was the worst thing he had seen on a basketball court. Adidas Sergei Bobrovsky Jersey

The Panthers have announced that defensive backs coach Curtis Fuller resigned following an investigation into complaints of inappropriate conduct. Panthers spokesman Steve Drummond released a statement Friday that said "after approaching Coach Fuller with the findings of an investigation into complaints of inappropriate conduct Steve Young Jersey , we accepted his resignation."
The 39-year-old Fuller joined the Panthers in 2013 as a coaching assistant after playing in the NFL.
He took over the secondary before the 2017 season.
The team has not yet named a replacement.
The move comes with Panthers owner Jerry Richardson still under investigation by the NFL for sexual and racial misconduct in the workplace.The Cincinnati Reds traded right-hander Dylan Floro and a minor league pitcher to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday for two minor league pitchers. The Reds also optioned utility player Brandon Dixon to Triple-A Louisville and recalled Tanner Rainey and Cody Reed from Louisville to bolster a depleted bullpen.
The Dodgers sent James Marinan and Anerurys Zabala to the Reds for Floro, Zach Neal and international signing bonus pool space. Marinan锟絯ill report to Billings of the rookie-level Pioneer League and锟絑abala锟絫o Single-A Dayton.
Floro was 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA in 25 relief appearances this season with Cincinnati.
”He’s got a good arm Emmanuel Lamur Jersey , a heavy sinker, puts the ball in the ground Alec Ogletree Jersey ,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. ”He’s a guy that can go multiple innings if we need as well.”
Rainey had no record in five previous stints with the Reds this season. Reed had spent the entire season with the Bats.
Dixon hit .219 with a home run over 29 games, including 2 for 8 with two RBIs as a pinch hitter.
To make room on the 40-man roster Tahir Whitehead Jersey , the Dodgers designated right-hander Daniel Corcino for assignment.
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Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is 77 and wants to win now. Executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum and general manager Chris Grier Mike Evans Jersey , mindful that last season's 6-10 record didn't help their job security, also want to win now.
Coach Adam Gase, however, wants to draft a quarterback to groom as an eventual successor to Ryan Tannehill.
The tension between seeking an immediate draft dividend and investing for the long term is at the core of the Dolphins' decision with the 11th overall pick.
The choice may show how much power Gase wields, but even if the other leaders in the organization yield to his preference, it's uncertain which quarterback will land in Miami.
"Until you're just a couple of picks away, we're really not sure how it's going to unfold," Tannenbaum said.
Bad draft decisions are a big reason the Dolphins haven't won a playoff game since 2000, eight years before Ross became majority owner. They hope to fare better in the upcoming draft, and here are things to know as the Dolphins wrestle with a multitude of options and needs:
A QUARTERBACK?
The Dolphins have devoted a first-round pick to a quarterback once since 1984, and that was Tannehill in 2012. He has undergone two major operations on his left knee in the past 18 months and missed all of last season Ja'Wuan James Jersey , but Gase says he'll be the starter this upcoming season.
The draft is deep in QBs, however, and Gase wants one. Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield will likely be gone by the 11th pick, and while the Dolphins could trade up, they're reluctant to give away multiple lower picks when they have glaring needs at numerous other positions.
"You can always make a deal to move up," Grier said. "It's just always dependent on how much you want to give up. We're not going to reach or overextend for something."
If one of the top four quarterbacks slides to 11th, the Dolphins will probably pounce. Or they might opt for Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Miami could wait until a later round to take a QB, and Luke Falk of Washington State might then be the choice.
DEFENSIVE HELP
The 2017 Dolphins allowed 24.6 points to rank fourth-worst in the NFL, and then released their best defensive player John Hannah Jersey , five-time Pro Bowl tackle Ndamukong Suh.
That means defensive coordinator Matt Burke will be lobbying hard in the draft room for help. It could come in the first round from Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith, Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds or Washington defensive tackle Vita Vea.
OFFENSIVE HOLES
Last season's Dolphins averaged 17.6 points to rank fifth-worst, and then parted with receiver Jarvis Landry and center Mike Pouncey, each a three-time Pro Bowler. Miami shored up those positions in free agency, but needs a starting tight end and help at guard and running back, and will try to address those needs in the middle rounds.
ANNOUNCING SELECTIONS
Eighteen seniors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the family of assistant football coach Aaron Feis will announce the Dolphins' picks from the team complex on the third day of the draft. Feis was among 17 people killed in the shooting at the school in February.
HITS, MISSES AND BARGAINS
This is the third draft together for Tannenbaum, Grier and Gase, and the biggest bust in recent years precedes them. It was defensive end Dion Jordan, the No. 3 overall pick in 2013. Violations of the league's substance abuse policy limited him to one start and three sacks in Miami before he was released a year ago. He has since revived his career with the Seattle Seahawks.
Subsequent first-round picks Ja'Wuan James, DeVante Parker Dalvin Tomlinson Jersey , Laremy Tunsil and Charles Harris have combined for zero Pro Bowl appearances.
Miami hit on a second-round pick in 2014 with Landry, but traded him this offseason. Running back Jay Ajayi became a bargain as a fifth-round choice in 2015, but he was also traded. Rookies contributed little last season, and the draft grade for that class is incomplete.
The best-case scenario for Johnny Manziel in Canada would be to follow the lead of Doug Flutie, who like Manziel was a Heisman Trophy winner who played briefly in the NFL, ran out of options in the United States, then went to the Canadian Football League, played very well, and returned to the NFL as a starter. So what does Manziel need to do?
Flutie says the first thing Manziel needs to do is learn the Canadian game, which has different rules and strategies with a bigger field, three downs and 12 players on the field.
“In Johnny’s situation Andrew Adams Jersey , very similar to me, there’s a learning curve that goes on up there and you’re competing against guys who are veterans in the league and know what they’re doing,” Flutie said. “You really have to learn that game and get efficient at it to win championships and be at that caliber.”
Flutie said Manziel will need to be all-in on football if he’s going to learn the Canadian game in a short period of time and play well enough that NFL teams are interested in signing him.
“He needs to be a leader on the team, show that he’s serious about football again, and put his nose to the grindstone and go,” Flutie said.
If Manziel does that, he may play in the NFL again. But he needs to take the CFL seriously, and not view it as just a stop on the road back to the NFL. Womens JK Scott Jersey

The Tennessee Titans have filled their final roster spot by agreeing to terms with defensive lineman Claude Pelon before their first practice of training camp. The Titans also announced Thursday that offensive tackle John Theus has been designated as a "non-football injury."
Pelon gives the Titans 90 players in camp and fills the spot created Tuesday when Tennessee released outside linebacker Kevin Dodd when the 33rd pick overall from 2016 did not report last weekend.
The 6-foot-4 Pelon joined the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2016 and spent time on both the practice squad and active roster with one game played. He played 20 games at Southern California with four sacks and a forced fumble.The first pitch set the tone for Minnesota. Jake Cave robbed Tim Beckham of a home run Blidi Wreh-Wilson Jersey , helping Lance Lynn bounce back from two poor starts, and Max Kepler homered to lead the Twins to a 6-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.
Beckham drilled Lynn’s first offering to the deepest part of Target Field, but Cave raced to the wall, leapt, reached back and caught the ball while fully extended to deny a home run.
”It’s up there with actually hitting a home run, it’s cool to be able to help the pitcher like that and take one back,” Cave said.
Beckham tipped his cap to the Twins’ rookie.
”That’s pretty cool for him to do that. I’m sure he’s made a lot of great plays against guys in his career Joe Williams Jersey , so he knows what it feels like to do something like that,” Cave said.
It was the second straight day Cave made a fully extended catch at the wall. He robbed Chris Davis in right-center Thursday.
”I definitely didn’t want to start the game by giving up a solo home run. One heck of a play and I was able to get into a rhythm after that,” Lynn said.
Lynn (6-7) allowed six hits and one earned run in six innings as he continued his up-and-down season. He allowed 11 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings over his previous two starts, including seven in 1 2/3 innings last Sunday at Wrigley Field. His ERA was 1.74 ERA in six starts from May 22 to June 20, but 7.47 in his first eight starts of the season.
”You’re gonna have your good ones and your bad ones,” he said.
Up 6-0, Lynn needed 27 pitches to get through the sixth when Baltimore scored its first run Laken Tomlinson Jersey , including 10 against Jonathan Schoop, an at-bat that ended in a double play.
”I threw a couple pitches that I thought he’d do that earlier,” Lynn said. ”He covers a lot of the plate both sides and he finally hit a ball and we were able to turn it.”
Caleb Joseph had a season-high three hits for the Orioles, losers of four straight and 11 of 12.
In his first start since going on the disabled list June 23 with a left ankle sprain, Baltimore’s Dylan Bundy (6- allowed nine hits and five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. It is his second-shortest start of the season. The right-hander allowed seven runs without recording an out May 8 vs. Kansas City.
Brian Dozier and Jorge Polanco had RBI singles in the first inning as Minnesota jumped out to a 3-0 lead, increasing Bundy’s opening frame ERA to 9.00. It is 3.13 in innings two through nine.
Kepler made it 5-0 in the fourth with a two-run homer to right field.
”If anything, I was trying to miss low and it ended up right down the middle and he was able to hit it out. That was pretty much how the whole game was Fred Warner Jersey , throwing stuff right down the middle,” Bundy said.
BALANCED ATTACK
Polanco, Joe Mauer, Eddie Rosario and Mitch Garver each had two hits for the Twins, who have won two straight after a six-game skid.
FRY IS FINE
In his third career game, Baltimore reliever Paul Fry struck out four and did not allow a hit in 2 1-3 innings. The left-hander was called up June 29.
”Pitching looks easy when you locate a fastball and spin a ball for a strike anytime in the count, but it’s not that easy. He was in a really good place today and you could tell Jatavis Brown Jersey ,” said manager Buck Showalter.
TRAINERS ROOM
Orioles: To make room for Bundy, RHP David Hess was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. . INF Luis Sardi锟絘s (left ankle sprain) was reinstated from the 60-day disabled list. He cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Norfolk.
Twins: Manager Paul Molitor said there is a ”really good chance” INF Ehire Adrianza, out since July 2 with a left hamstring strain, will be ready to play when he can come off the DL next Thursday. . INF/OF Taylor Motter was activated off the 7-day DL (concussion-like symptoms) and optioned to Double-A Chattanooga.
UP NEXT
A pair of right-handers are scheduled to start Saturday with Baltimore’s Kevin Gausman (4-6, 4.05) facing Minnesota’s Kyle Gibson (2-6, 3.58). Gausman has allowed two or fewer runs in four straight starts. Gibson has allowed more than three earned runs just once in his last nine turns.
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Not even the signing of free agent Case Keenum could keep the Broncos from staging yet another quarterback competition this offseason. This time it’s a battle for the backup job.
After bypassing a quarterback in a draft that was deep on passing prospects Mike Hull Jersey , general manager John Elway declared that Paxton Lynch and Chad Kelly would duke it out for the No. 2 job.
That served as a vote of confidence in Lynch, his 2016 first-round pick who hasn’t been able to win the starting job, and a golden opportunity for Kelly, ”Mr. Irrelevant” in 2017 as the last player picked in the draft.
”With Paxton, we still think he is young. We are not kicking him to the curb. He can still develop. When we drafted him two years ago, we knew it was going to take some time,” Elway said. ”Paxton is going to compete with Chad for that backup spot. We are not going to bring another one in for OTAs.”
That marked the first time Elway had publicly mentioned Kelly as having a chance to win a roster spot a year after missing his entire rookie season while recovering from wrist and knee surgeries.
”I thought of it as J'Mon Moore Jersey , OK, perfect, I can get more reps,” Kelly said Saturday after serving as the only quarterback during a 90-minute walkthrough that capped the Broncos’ three-day rookie orientation. ”I just look at it as another opportunity to get better each and every day and each and every rep.”
Kelly’s offseason work habits have resulted in a reshaped body.
Kelly said ”eating a lot of spinach and chicken paid off instead of fried food. … I came here and knew I needed to move around and get back to my old playing weight back in early college and high school. So, I’m kind of feeling I can move around and so some things with my legs but also be powerful in throwing the ball.”
Kelly has impressed both on and off the field.
”Well, I’ve been proud of Chad overall,” coach Vance Joseph said. ”I mean Danny Shelton Jersey , he’s been here every day. He’s worked his butt off. And he’s changed his body. Last year he was a little tubby kid. He is really lean now. He’s eating right. He’s working hard. He’s definitely put the work in.
”And he’s throwing the ball really well right now.”
So much so that bare hands are a bad idea for receivers, suggested tight end Jake Butt.
”He can rip that thing now,” said Butt, who also sat out his rookie season. ”You’ve definitely got to wear gloves. He’ll be spinning that bad boy pretty tough. He’s learning the offense, he’s taking leadership, he’s doing a great job.”
Joseph insisted Lynch was handling himself fine, too.
In March Terron Armstead Jersey , the Broncos declared Keenum the starter as soon as he signed. In April, they said Lynch would have to beat out Kelly for the backup job.
”I think Paxton’s done a good job, also,” Joseph said. ”I think for Paxton and for our football team, it’s been a weight off all of our backs to have a starting quarterback and have everyone’s role defined from Day 1.”
He said that allows Lynch to ”relax and get better each day and not worry about a competition.”
Joseph suggested Lynch could learn how to handle adversity from Keenum.
”Case has been through some ups and downs throughout his career. So, he can learn from Case on how to handle those things,” Joseph said. ”And it takes time to be an NFL quarterback. And you would hope with Case being here Chris Hogan Jersey , he can sit back and relax and get better as a quarterback and not worry about being the guy right now and just compete to be our backup.”
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Winners at the ESPY Awards presented Wednesday:
Male athlete: Alex Ovechkin
Female athlete: Chloe Kim
Olympic moment: Shaun White
Championship performance: Nick Foles
Breakthrough athlete: Donovan Mitchell
Game: U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team defeats Canada
Moment: Minnesota Vikings defeat New Orleans Saints
Team: Houston Astros
College athlete: Baker Mayfield
Play: Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale hits second buzzer-beater to win NCAA women’s basketball title
Record-breaking performance: Roger Federer
International men’s soccer player: Cristiano Ronaldo
International women’s soccer player: Sam Kerr
NFL player: Tom Brady
MLB player: Mike Trout
NHL player: Alex Ovechkin
Driver: Martin Truex Jr.
NBA player: LeBron James
WNBA player: Maya Moore
Fighter: Terence Crawford
Male golfer: Jordan Spieth
Female golfer: Sung-Hyun Park
Male Olympian: Shaun White
Female Olympian: Chloe Kim
Male tennis player: Roger Federer
Female tennis player: Sloane Stephens
Male action sports athlete: David Wise
Female action sports athlete: Chloe Kim
Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Male athlete with a disability: Mike Schultz
Female athlete with a disability: Brenna Huckaby
Bowler: Rhino Page
MLS player: Nemanja Nikolic
NWSL player: Megan Rapinoe
Jimmy V Award for Perseverance: Jim Kelly
Arthur Ashe Award for Courage: women who spoke out against sexual abuse by former team doctor
Pat Tillman Award for Service: Jake Wood, Team Rubicon
Coach: Aaron Feis, Scott Beigel and Chris Hixon of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Arizona Cardinals Customized Jerseys

Steven Stamkos is back on the ice Brandon Linder Jersey , eager to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning into the NHL playoffs. The five-time All-Star missed the last three games of the regular season with a lower-body injury. He returned to practice this week and hopes to be ready Thursday for the start of a first-round series against the New Jersey Devils.
”It was obviously tough,” said Stamkos, who watched the Lightning go 2-0-1 down the stretch to hold off the Boston Bruins for the Atlantic Division title and No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
”You want to be in those games. But the more important games are now, and I just want to make sure I feel as good as possible heading into the playoffs,” the team’s second-leading scorer added. ”Hopefully it keeps progressing and I can feel good come Thursday.”
Stamkos, a two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner T.J. Green Jersey , rebounded fr om missing most of last season with a knee injury to bolster the NHL’s most prolific offense with 27 goals and a career-high 59 assists for 86 points in 78 games.
The 28-year-old center anticipates a tough matchup against the young Devils, who won all three regular-season meetings between the teams.
”It doesn’t really matter wh ere you finish (in the standings) any more. All these other teams are their own different animals come playoff time,” Stamkos said. ”It’s a fresh start once you get into the playoffs. Regular season is regular season. We all know that.”
Stamkos’ health figures as a key to the series.
He missed 65 games after undergoing surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee last season, when the Lightning narrowly missed the playoffs. Two years ago, a blood clot discovered near his collarbone sidelined the center from late in the regular season until Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, when Tampa Bay lost to eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh.
The Lightning didn’t practice Tuesday Joe Mixon Jersey , but coach Jon Cooper said the team remained hopeful of having Stamkos back for Game 1 against the Devils.
Stamkos is optimistic, too, though with his history of injuries in recent seasons he has no illusions about being completely healthy when he returns.
”Listen, my body will never be 100 percent, regardless, going through the stuff I’ve been through Josh Malone Jersey ,” the No. 1 overall pick from the 2008 draft said. ”So there’s no point asking about percentages.”
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More NHL hockey: A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press that the Indianapolis Colts have agreed to terms on a three-year deal with free agent defensive end Denico Autry.
The person requested anonymity because the deal, worth $17.8 million, has not yet been announced.
It’s the first move for Indy, which started Wednesday with about $72 million in salary cap room.
The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Autry was a rotational player in Oakland. He had his most productive season in 2017, finishing with 36 tackles Prince Amukamara Jersey , five sacks and seven passes defensed – all career highs.
In Indy, he could fill a need as an edge rusher. The Colts struggled to generate a consistent pass rush last season and wound up 31st in the league with 25 sacks.
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