Yardbarker

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

EXPERTISE:

NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, Premier League, MLS, US Soccer, UFC

Renaming Washington Football Team could take at least a year?

Washington could have a new name as soon as the upcoming NFL season, but the club may not receive final trademark approval for the name and new logo until the end of 2021.

Atlanta United, coach Frank de Boer part ways

De Boer's side never looked right during the return-to-play tournament held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Atlanta lost to New York Red Bulls, Cincinnati and Columbus Crew, and the club failed to tally a single goal in the tournament.

Report: Clippers' Lou Williams leaves NBA bubble for personal reasons

Williams, a three-time Sixth Man of the Year award winner, led the Clippers in assists (5.7 AST) when the NBA halted play on March 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Liverpool's Jordan Henderson wins Footballer of the Year honors

The 30-year-old midfielder beat out teammates Virgil Van Dijk and Sadio Mane, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford for the honor.

Two Braves catchers to miss Opening Day due to coronavirus symptoms

Snitker claimed that both players tested negative for the virus but remained in Atlanta out of fears that they could potentially infect teammates and opponents.

Hurricanes' Dougie Hamilton misses practice, is 'unfit to play'

The Carolina Hurricanes may be without All-Star defenseman Dougie Hamilton when they open their five-game series versus the New York Rangers on Aug. 1 for the NHL's 24-team format to crown a 2019-20 Stanley Cup champion. 

Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton crushes season's first home run 459 feet

Yankees DH Giancarlo Stanton didn't wait long to deliver what will go down as one of the most memorable home runs of a pandemic-shortened season.

Twitter reacts to awful first pitch tossed by Dr. Fauci

Among the hot takes, "Dr. Fauci missed by exactly 6 feet on his first pitch."

Radio legend Mike Francesa retires from WFAN again

Mike Francesa is retiring from New York's WFAN again. This time, though, there will be no "back afta this."  

Dodgers place LHP Clayton Kershaw on IL with sore back

Dustin May, 22 years old, will take the bump in place of the injured Kershaw.

Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka to wear protective insert after line drive incident

Whenever veteran New York Yankees righty Masahiro Tanaka makes his debut during the pandemic-shortened MLB season, he'll have some extra protection.

Report: Matt Harvey close to joining Royals

Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Harvey had been linked with the Toronto Blue Jays and a potential move to Korea Baseball Organization. 

Portland's Carmelo Anthony drops audible f-bomb during scrimmage

With under three minutes to play in the first quarter of Thursday's scrimmage, Carmelo Anthony feared a teammate may try to take a rebound from his personal stat sheet.

Report: MLBPA accepts MLB request for expanding playoffs to 16 teams

The MLBPA approving this request would lead one to believe MLB will look to make playoff expansion a common occurrence beyond 2020.

Kentucky faculty members ask for renaming of Rupp Arena

Adolph Rupp, for whom the arena is named, refused to sign a Black player until six years after the university integrated athletic teams.

Red Sox's Eduardo Rodriguez out at least a week due to coronavirus complications

Fortunately, the 27-year-old lefty, who went 19-6 last season. still isn't testing positive for the virus.

Nationals' Juan Soto will miss Opening Day after positive coronavirus test

Soto missed the first two weeks of spring training 2.0 due to undisclosed reasons. The 21-year-old hit .282 with 34 home runs and 110 RBI in 150 games last season.

Could NFL training camps begin remotely?

As the target date for training camps draws incredibly close, the NFL still has plenty of unanswered questions ahead of an unprecedented 2020 campaign.

Mets hitting coach Chili Davis may not rejoin team due to coronavirus

Assistant hitting coach Tom Slater is serving as Davis' temporary in-person replacement. 

Atlanta United intends to permit fans amid pandemic

With Atlanta eliminated from the MLS is Back tournament held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida, club president Darren Eales emailed season ticket holders about the third tier of an MLS season unlike any other.

Nine arrests made amid Liverpool title celebrations

Klopp passionately asked supporters to commemorate the occasion at home both before and after the match versus Chelsea. 

Alabama plans to start high school football on time

The Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) Central Board of Control has approved plans for sports to start on time in the state as of July 22.