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Mike Trout's newborn son, unsurprisingly, has initials B.A.T.
Mike Trout's dedication to baseball is unwavering.  Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Trout's newborn son, unsurprisingly, has initials B.A.T.

Mike Trout's dedication to baseball is unwavering. 

Trout and his wife Jessica announced the birth of their son on Saturday. Beckham Aaron Trout, or B.A.T. for short, was born on July 30.

With the initials B.A.T, Trout must've had baseball in mind when naming his child. Quite frankly, the name choice is epic. 

However, the middle name  has a special meaning. The couple decided to honor Jessica's late brother Aaron Cox who died two years ago at the age of 24. Cox was a minor leaguer in the Angels system and Trout was very close with him. 

With the baby's due date imminent, Trout was considering opting out of the 2020 season due to the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic. However, he announced to reporters two days before Opening Day that he'd be playing. 

Trout, the reigning MVP, was placed on paternity leave by the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday and is expected to return to the lineup on Sunday. 

Erin Walsh

Erin Walsh is a Boston sports fan through and through. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bridgewater State University and currently is in pursuit of her Master's Degree in Journalism from Northeastern University. Follow her on Twitter @ewalsh90

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Rafael Devers had telling comment about playing first base
MLB

Rafael Devers had telling comment about playing first base

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Christian Watson's new health update from Packers gives fans a clearer picture of the situation
NFL

Christian Watson's new health update from Packers gives fans a clearer picture of the situation

There isn't a specific date for wide receiver Christian Watson to return to the field. He won't practice throughout training camp, and will possibly start the regular season on the physically unable to perform list, missing the first four games of the year. But the Green Bay Packers are pleased with his recovery process. Before the first day of training camp practice on Wednesday, general manager Brian Gutekunst talked about Watson and how he's looking less than seven months after tearing his ACL against the Chicago Bears in January. "[Christian Watson looks] Great. Yeah, he's kind of a freak, you know," Gutekunst mentioned. "He did a run test the other day and looked great. Again, it's an ACL, and it's his second one, so we're going to take our time with it. I'm sure there's going to be a time where he's really pressing to get out there, but he's doing great." PUP rules At this moment, Christian Watson is on the active/PUP list, which means he can be activated at any point before the regular season. If he's to miss the first month of the season anyway, the Packers can move him to the reserve/PUP list on cutdown day, so he wouldn't count against the initial 53-man roster—and would miss at least the first four games, against the Detroit Lions, Washington Commanders, Cleveland Browns, and Dallas Cowboys. The Packers could open his 21-day practice window following that, and after three weeks the team had to make a final call about activating him or moving him to the injured reserve. However, the team is not forced to open the practice window after three weeks, and Watson could spend more time on the PUP. Usually, the Packers tend to wait ten months for players with ACL injuries to return, putting the wide receiver in position to play in early November. There is a curious extra element that applies to Watson, even though it's an unlikely one. Because he is in the final year of his deal, if Watson spends the entire season on PUP and is never activated, his contract will toll to 2026. That means he would be under contract for next year, with the same $1.965 million base salary. Players who weren't on the field on Wednesday: LB Quay Walker (ankle) WR Christian Watson (knee) CB Micah Robinson (knee) EDGE/LB Collin Oliver (hamstring) RB Amar Johnson (hamstring) G John Williams (back) C Elgton Jenkins (back)

Penn State QB Drew Allar gets candid about team's struggles against top opponents
College Football

Penn State QB Drew Allar gets candid about team's struggles against top opponents

It is no secret that Penn State has struggled to win big games under head coach James Franklin. While the Nittany Lions have finished with double-digit wins in six of the past nine seasons, including a 13-3 season in 2024 that culminated with a loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals, they have struggled to beat quality opponents. Quarterback Drew Allar, who enters the 2025 season with the fifth-shortest odds (+1600) to win the Heisman Trophy, per FanDuel, was honest about Penn State's lack of success during his appearance at Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday. "We definitely need to get over the hump," Allar said, per ESPN's Jake Trotter. "There's no question about it." Penn State is only 4-20 against top-10 opponents under Franklin, although the three losses last season were all by one score. Allar is 23-6 as a starter, but threw a costly interception against Notre Dame that ultimately led to the game-winning field goal from the Fighting Irish. With experience on its side and lofty expectations entering the season as the No. 1-ranked team in ESPN's offseason poll, Allar pointed to better execution as a key to Penn State's success. "We definitely need to find different ways to come out with different results in those games," Allar said. "We haven't really been blown out of the water by any team. ... it's just about execution. ... finding those areas to make one or two more plays throughout those games. ... That's going to be our focus." One key for Penn State is the return of its two leading rushers from last season, Kaytron Allen (1,108 yards) and Nicholas Singleton (1,099 yards), who combined for 20 TDs. That experience, along with Allar's improved accuracy (66.5%) and career-high 3,327 passing yards from 2024, gives the Nittany Lions a lot of upside going into 2025. Allar did have an uptick in interceptions (eight) and was sacked 19 times last season, which are two concerning areas, especially against top-ranked opponents. That must improve for Penn State to reverse course and finally win meaningful games. For now, the focus is on its lack of success in those games under Franklin. If Penn State can execute and not beat itself, perhaps one of those games will eventually go its way. Until then, it will face the same questions as it looks to put its past struggles in big games behind it.

Eagles' Jalen Hurts explains why he hasn't been spotted wearing Super Bowl ring
NFL

Eagles' Jalen Hurts explains why he hasn't been spotted wearing Super Bowl ring

Pictures from the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl LIX championship ring ceremony that took place on July 18 showed that quarterback and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Jalen Hurts elected not to wear his new piece of jewelry during the event. While speaking with reporters at training camp on Wednesday, Hurts was asked why he wasn't spotted wearing his ring during the celebration. "I’ve moved on to the new year," Hurts responded, as shared by Martin Frank of the Delaware News Journal. "It’s as simple as that." For a piece published earlier on Wednesday morning, Brooks Kubena of The Athletic noted how Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni "avoids the word 'repeat'" while discussing the club's goals for the 2025 season. According to Kubena, Sirianni instead is repeating a mantra from a portion of a book that stresses "how marathon runners 'run the mile they’re in.'" It appears Hurts and others on the Eagles roster have embraced Sirianni's messages. "It was honestly surreal to see it in person," Hurts said about receiving the first Super Bowl ring of his career. "Almost, not nostalgic, but to see something that you’ve earned and have a moment to appreciate it one last time. It's kind of overdue in terms of when it was supposed to be initially. But it was a moment, and now that moment is behind us." It almost feels as if it were a lifetime ago when reports emerged last summer suggesting that Sirianni was on the hot seat, in part because his relationship with Hurts was allegedly "fractured" after the 2023 Eagles suffered a brutal late-season collapse. Sirianni deservedly received a contract extension this past spring, and it appears he's on the same page as his players early into training camp. "I came there only for the ring," Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown added about the ceremony. "I didn’t eat. I didn’t do anything. The whole ceremony was great. It was good to see some of our old teammates and talk to them, but that ring was speechless. I really enjoyed it. Trying to find a place, or something, to do with it." As of Wednesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Eagles third among the betting favorites at +700 odds to win Super Bowl LX. One wonders how Sirianni and Hurts would feel about the "repeat" word if the Eagles are once again the last team standing in February 2026.

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