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Where Andy Katz Ranks Indiana Basketball in Big Ten Preseason Predictions
LaDamion Guyton Set to Announce Commitment - Will it Be Georgia?
Browns play cruel joke on Shedeur Sanders before preseason opener
The Cleveland Browns aren't setting fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders up for success before he makes his debut against the Carolina Panthers on Friday night. Amid hamstring injuries to Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel, the Browns are giving the start to Sanders, hoping to keep QB1 Joe Flacco healthy before the regular season. However, the Browns aren't making Sanders' life easy before Friday's game. Per Zack Jackson of The Athletic, Sanders has yet to receive reps with the first-team offense in practice and has mostly worked with the third team in training camp. "Through 10 days of camp, Sanders is the only one of the four Browns quarterbacks not to take snaps with the No. 1 offense," Jackson wrote. "He piloted the No. 2 offense in one drill last week against the Browns’ No. 1 defense, but the majority of his snaps in camp have come with and against the No. 3 units... "Wednesday’s joint practice should provide some clarity on the Browns’ exact thinking and availability for Friday. Sanders likely won’t take No. 1 reps in the joint session, but he’ll have that practice and a Thursday walk-through to prepare further — and potentially get the chance to play the full game in the preseason opener." Per Fred Greetham of 247 Sports, Sanders did not receive reps with the first-team offense during the joint practice on Wednesday, but did take part in four plays during an 11-on-11 period against the Panthers following Flacco's reps. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski thinks Sanders has received enough reps from the second and third team units to be ready for Friday night, arguing that the only thing different about the players on the first team is the "batteries" they're built with. "That's part of, I think it's just preseason ball, where you may have some ones going against twos," Stefanski said. "Two's going against one's. You could have, there's different guys in there at different times, but I think both sides, particularly in that first game, it's all about playing fast. "So you typically don't see a ton of looks that are unusual per se. So if you stick to your rules and you stick to what you've been taught over the last few weeks, you should be able to operate and function well." Sanders is going into his first NFL game flying blind after the Browns played a cruel joke on him this week. Frankly, there is a considerable difference in throwing to the equipment staff and players signed as undrafted free agents versus the speed that a first-team offense in the league has. The Browns aren't giving Sanders a fair fight by allowing him to practice a few reps with the first team. It's now up to Sanders to quickly respond to the differences if he wants a chance to move up the depth chart.
Blue Jays demolish MLB records with eye-popping Coors Field performance
DENVER — There's nothing like coming to Coors Field to fix what ails you. Just ask the Toronto Blue Jays. Losers of six of eight games before arriving in Denver, the Blue Jays posted an MLB-record 63 hits in a three-game series while easily sweeping a road series from the Colorado Rockies. By totaling 25 hits on Monday night, 14 on Tuesday and 24 in Wednesday's matinee, the Blue Jays set a new MLB standard for offensive prowess. Toronto passed the MLB record of 62 hits in a three-game series, set by the Boston Red Sox in a June 7-9, 1950 matchup against the St. Louis Browns. As part of the hit parade, Toronto smashed 13 home runs, the most ever surrendered by the Rockies in a three-game set. Included in that barrage were three hits by Bo Bichette, including a three-run shot on Wednesday afternoon that got the Blue Jays rolling in the third inning. Kyle Freeland, Wednesday's starter for Colorado, allowed seven hits in his 4.2 innings of work. That was the fewest amount of hits given up by a Rockies starter against Toronto, as Rockies starter Tanner Gordon allowed 11 in 2.2 frames on Monday, while Anthony Molina surrendered nine in 5.0 innings on Tuesday. "We need to pitch with confidence as starting pitchers. We need to command the baseball better in general," said Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer as his team slipped to 30-84 on the season. "We have to put hitters away when we have that opportunity." That was something Colorado couldn't do against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, as their first six runs of a 20-1 blowout win came with two outs in the frame. Wednesday's offensive explosion helped Toronto outscore the Rockies, 45-6, in the series. That run differential was the second-most in MLB's modern era and the most runs scored by an MLB team in a three-game series since the 2019 Chicago Cubs scored 47 runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates from Sept. 13-15, 2019. In all, the 45 runs, 63 hits and 13 home runs allowed in the series were each the most allowed by Colorado pitchers in a three-game set in franchise history. How bad did it get for Colorado at the end of the series? Down 12-1 entering the ninth inning on Wednesday, the Rockies put catcher Austin Nola on the mound for his first-ever pitching appearance. He was nothing like his younger brother, Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola, as he promptly gave up four consecutive doubles, including RBI shots from Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as part of eight hits and eight runs posted by the Blue Jays against him. "It hurts when you get beat that bad for three games," Nola said. "We can compete with anybody. I know we can. We're all Major League players, so it definitely hurts. We're going to have to flush this one and get back out there on Friday in Arizona and have a new competitive attitude." All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Angel Stadium experiences embarrassing issue after game
Angel Stadium is apparently doing its best impression of Oakland Coliseum. The Los Angeles Angels hosted the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday afternoon for a game at their Anaheim, California, home. It was the Rays who emerged victorious by a 5-4 final score, turning in some impressive plays along the way as well. After the loss by the Angels, the baseball gods continued to rain on them … literally. While reporters were gathered in the media room waiting for Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery to give his press conference, the roof in the room was noticeably leaking, resulting in water puddling on the floor and on a nearby trash can. Sam Blum of The Athletic shared the footage, noting that Montgomery’s press conference was ultimately moved to a different room. Angel Stadium opened back in 1966 and has served the home of the Angels ever since (also notably housing several other professional and collegiate teams, including the Los Angeles Rams from 1980-94). But it is clear that some renovations are badly needed at this point (beyond the trash can that appeared to have been intentionally placed under the leak to deal with the dripping water). Angels owner Arte Moreno, who has owned the team since 2003, is often accused of penny-pinching, particularly when it comes to resources and accommodations. Now that Angel Stadium looks to be slowly falling apart as well, perhaps Moreno will call for cups to be taped to the ceiling like other MLB teams have done before to stop leaks.
NFL Hall of Famer reveals why he chose to join Deion Sanders' Colorado coaching staff
Agent reveals if James Cook still wants to play for Bills amid contract saga
Running back James Cook seemingly surprised the Buffalo Bills when he changed course regarding his desire for a multi-year contract extension and stopped participating in training-camp practices as part of a hold-in. For an article published on Wednesday night, Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic spoke with Zac Hiller, one of Cook’s agents, about the 25-year-old's mindset as the ball-carrier remains in the final year of his rookie deal this summer. "James Cook only wants to be a Buffalo Bill," Hiller said. "This isn’t some $200M Micah Parsons-Jerry Jones negotiation. We’re hopeful there’s a resolution soon, and we’ll keep working toward that every day." Cook previously suggested he wants to earn around $15M per season via an extension. However, that was before Kyren Williams of the Los Angeles Rams agreed to a three-year, $33M deal that included $23M in guaranteed money. While Buscaglia noted that "it’s an imperfect comparison," the perception exists that the Bills may now feel that Cook isn't worth more than $11M per year. According to StatMuse, Cook has recorded the ninth-most regular-season rushing yards (2,131) since Week 1 of the 2023 campaign. ESPN stats show that Cook, Baltimore Ravens star Derrick Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions finished last season leading the league with 16 rushing touchdowns each. According to Buscaglia, "there is no indication" that Buffalo will trade Cook before the upcoming season gets underway. That makes sense considering the 2025 Bills are expected to do more than simply compete for a playoff berth. As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Buffalo and Baltimore tied as the betting favorites at +600 odds to win Super Bowl LX. Buscaglia added that the Bills and Cook could agree to a reworked one-year deal "with enhanced bonus incentives to potentially earn more in a single season." It's unclear how Cook would feel about punting conversations about a potential multi-year extension down the road with Buffalo's regular-season opener against Baltimore still a month away (Sept. 7). For what it's worth, ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg shared on Wednesday that Cook "is continuing to talk with the team" amid his hold-in.
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