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Luciano Spalletti and Aurelio De Laurentiis continue to be at odds following the coach’s sudden exit after winning the Scudetto two years ago. The two haven’t mended fences, as the Italy boss stated in an interview to Rai Uno (via Ansa).
“The relationship with the president was a little rocky. I would have preferred more humanity since I exerted myself there. Wins or losses, nothing slides off of me. I’m very loyal, both professionally and sentimentally. We have never gotten in touch, maybe there’ll be a chance in the future.”
The Azzurri coach commented on Napoli, which could lift their second title in three years.
“No city can be so happy and melancholic. Seeing it happy is something that I will carry with me forever.”
Spalletti motivated his abrupt departure in his book ‘Le verità nascoste’ (via Calcio e Finanza).
“I left because I didn’t want to continue this clash of characters with a capable entrepreneur but with large ego. He rubber-stamped everything and certified whether a choice was right or from. I was tired of battling for everything, whether it was a jersey the players asked for their kids or changing hotels continuously for all sorts of reasons. The sultan knew hot to surprise us and is capricious, unpredictable, jarring.”
“He proved his love for the team when, during our Scudetto-winning campaign, he stopped not only commenting on the lineups but even speaking in public. His silence was loud. It was the biggest sacrifice for him. Maybe that caused him not to call anybody the night we won the title, not even to share the feat. He sent me a letter later on. It would have been more useful and right to talk it out. I would have stayed if there were more respect on a human level and more dialogue about what to do to win again.”
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Dodgers facing potential trade decision amid Blake Snell news
Left-handed starting pitcher Blake Snell is in his 10th major-league season after making his debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016. Snell spent time with the San Diego Padres, then signed a deal with the San Francisco Giants after the 2023 season, which he later opted out of to enter free agency in 2024. The 32-year-old veteran signed a five-year, $182M contract this offseason with the Los Angeles Dodgers after an exceptional 2024 campaign. Snell earned such a lucrative contract thanks to his outstanding career to date, which includes two Cy Young Awards and an All-Star appearance. Over 213 career starts, he owns a 77–58 record, a 3.18 ERA and 1,372 strikeouts. Snell was placed on the injured list on April 6 (retroactive to April 3) with left shoulder inflammation after experiencing discomfort during a bullpen session; he had made only two starts for the Dodgers before the injury. After four minor-league rehab outings, manager Dave Roberts announced on Sunday that Snell is expected to rejoin the rotation next week. With his return looming, the Dodgers have decided to shift to a six-man rotation but now face a decision on right-hander Dustin May’s roster status. May returned to a full-time starting role for the first time in two seasons and has struggled. On Sunday against the Boston Red Sox, May allowed four runs in five innings of work, and he entered the start with an ERA of 4.73. May’s name has surfaced in trade rumors, and he is a candidate to potentially be moved to the bullpen. He is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
Ryan McMahon Only Needed 2 Games With the Yankees to Embarrass Aaron Boone
Only eight plate appearances into his New York Yankees career, Ryan McMahon has already been more productive than the team’s previous third base options. What might sound hyperbolic or outright false at first glance is actually true, at least from a certain point of view. Analytics — specifically, Wins Above Replacement — proves that argument, and it’s one that Yankees manager Aaron Boone should be ashamed of. McMahon went 2-for-3 with a two-run double in Sunday’s victory over the Phillies, giving him four hits in his first eight at-bats. FanGraphs ruled that McMahon is already worth 0.2 fWAR through two games in a Yankees uniform. Amazingly, McMahon has a higher fWAR than the trio of DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza, and Jorbit Vivas, who have played a combined 148 games in the infield thus far. LeMahieu provided -0.1 fWAR over 45 games before being unceremoniously cut earlier this month, while Vivas (-0.2) is currently at Triple-A. Peraza and his -0.6 fWAR remain on the active roster, though he’s shifted into a bench role. Baseball-Reference has been slightly more generous, giving Peraza -0.2 bWAR. Boone stuck with LeMahieu and Peraza until he couldn’t anymore, and it’s partly why the Yankees have dropped to 5 1/2 games back in the AL East. Injuries and age took their toll on LeMahieu, who only played second after returning from calf and hip problems. Peraza owns a .152 average and .452 OPS in 170 plate appearances. We’ll see if McMahon can elevate the Yankees, who open a pivotal four-game set with the rival Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.
Vikings Training Camp Notes: J.J. McCarthy has solid day, while Jonathan Greenard and UDFAs steal the show
The Minnesota Vikings are firmly entrenched in training camp right now, and Monday’s practice was the first where they put on the pads. How will players like J.J. McCarthy look now that it’s full physicality? Who stands out? What positions are the most competitive? Let’s break it down. Punt return battle The Vikings are going to have a lot of competition for the punt return job. I saw the following players field punts WR Myles Price WR Rondale Moore WR Tai Felton WR Silas Bolden WR Dontae Fleming Winning this job could be the deciding factor on one or two of these players making the 53-man roster. Dwight McGlothern season? One of the biggest question marks for this team comes at the cornerback position. After Byron Murphy Jr, many questions persist. Who is going to step up in a big way to make an impact? That player could be Dwight McGlothern. He looks much improved from last year’s training camp, including a fantastic rep where he got an interception on a comeback route covering Rondale Moore by staying insanely patient, and undercutting it. Dontae Fleming shows out When you are a depth wide receiver, there aren’t many opportunities to stand out. When they do come about, you need to jump on them, The Vikings did some one on ones before they transitioned into teams and we got a standout catch from UDFA wide receiver Dontae Fleming out of Tulane in both drills. Both catches were on deep balls, where he showed really nice separation and tracking to get both throws. With him being an option also as a punt returner, having some offensive prowess will only help his case. Max Brosmer makes play in limited reps The fourth quarterback doesn’t get a lot opportunities to throw the football. When you do, it’s best to make it count. While he did throw an interception, his last rep in team drills stands out. The pocket collapsed on him rather quickly, but Brosmer escaped through the pressure and fired a bullet to Myles Price on a deep crosser on the sidelines. It was his throw of the day and a very good one to end on. Jonathan Greenard wrecks the 2 minute drill To end practice, the Vikings did a two minute drill with the fist team and second team. It was an opportunity for McCarthy to wow the crowd. It didn’t happen, mainly due to the rush by Greenard. He was causing consistent havoc across the board. Greenard was doing his thing in getting off the ball extremely quick and forcing fast decisions. From my angle, I couldn’t tell him if he got any sacks, but he certainly forced the issue and at least one bad throw. J.J. McCarthy has solid day Consistency and growth are the keys for me this time of year. What does your process look like and how well do you perform? There wasn’t a lot to be upset about when it comes to McCarthy’s performance, but he only had one play that gave us a “wow” moment, when he hit Lucky Jackson in the cover-2 honey hole with a missile. Hitting that window unlocks a lot out of your offense. Zemaiah Vaughn looks the part The Vikings have a great history recently when it comes to UDFAs. The next one up looks to be the cornerback from Utah in Zemaiah Vaughn. He looks the part as a long, tall cornerback, but he moved incredibly well in and out of his breaks, including attacking at the catch point. He was firmly with the second team today, which puts him a leg up over others,
Commanders Training Camp Takeaways: First day of padded practice leads to vital position group erasing doubt and Jayden Daniels making plays again
Training camp is progressing for the Washington Commanders as Monday marked the first practice with pads on for players. This is a vital part of training camp for the team as they ramp up the intensity and really see where the team stands. Practice is really starting now and it showed in just the first day. Many Commanders players were ready to finally make some contact on the field. Today was a veteran rest day for Marshon Lattimore, Laremy Tunsil, Von Miller, Zach Ertz, and Clelin Ferrell, but others showed up and showed out. Deebo Samuel has made a quick impression on and off the field Deebo Samuel stands out again as HC Dan Quinn praised Samuel and said that he brings an energy to the team. He brought the energy on the field today as the media reported that he was on kickoff return with Austin Ekeler and made another big play with Jayden Daniels. Training camp started hot for Samuel with a touchdown on the very first pass from Daniels and he continues to keep things going. Daniels found Samuel in the corner of the endzone in red zone drills with a fingertip catch that went just over Mike Sainrisitl and Trey Amos. The pads were POPPIN’ Rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt made a cut up the field and was met by safety Tyler Owens for a reportedly “jarring collision”. Croskey-Merritt made a great play to find the hole and hit it, while Owens closed the gap and stopped the play from gaining more yards. These are the moments HC Quinn talked about when he addressed how they can see the true run game with pads on. You see the true cuts, who breaks tackles, and when the play would actually get stopped. Jayden Daniels has looked SHARP since the defense dominated last week Mike Sainristil and the defense turned into the no fly zone against Daniels and the quarterback room last Friday, but Daniels turned that into motivation and he has been DIALED IN. Yes, Sainristil had an insane interception on Daniels yesterday but the throw was perfect. Daniels then found rookie Jaylin Lane for an absolute dart who mossed Sainristil and Quan Martin. The franchise QB came back again today with big plays to TE Ben Sinnott and Samuel. Reports saying today was his best day of training camp. Love to see that on the first day of pads. The defensive line showed up in a big way Adding pads means that it’s time for the trenches to flex their muscles and move people around, and the defensive line won today. The offense reportedly had a hard time running the ball against Washington’s front four today which is great news for a group that couldn’t stop the run if their lives depended on it last season. The offensive line is much improved this year, so the defensive line will truly be tested on a daily basis at practice. Iron sharpens iron and the team has talent all around on both sides of the ball now Terry McLaurin made another appearance today McLaurin worked out on the side field again as he's still on the Active/PUP list and spent time signing autographs for fans afterwards. He also spent time on the field with his agent Buddy Baker again like he did on Sunday as well. NFL insider Adam Schefter dropped a new twist in the saga after practice, and this could drag a while. I'll be back in Ashburn on Tuesday for the next padded practice and I'll have articles following up my on-site observations later in the day. Who will continue to rise to the occasion and make the most of these critical practices in training camp?
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