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Buyer beware with Ohtani next year

By David Brandt The Associated Press The two-way baseball superstardom of Shohei Ohtani these past three seasons has been nothing short of absurd. Tape-measure homers on the regular. Fastballs that hovered around 100 mph. Sometimes, just a few minutes apart. In a sports world littered with questionable hyperbole, Ohtani’s on-field heroics lived up to every bit of the hype. It’s why there was a palpable sense of melancholy around the sport after the Los Angeles Angels announced that the 29-year-old Japanese sensation has a torn ligament in his elbow and won’t pitch again ...

What happened to the Yankees?

By Paul Newberry The Associated Press The franchise of Ruth and Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle, Jeter and Rivera is a pinstriped mess. The only recognizable thing about this storied club is the “New York” stitched across its uniforms. These are the Damned Yankees. “We’re not showing up,” Aaron Judge conceded. “No one’s happy about it.” Speak for yourself, Mr. Judge. Much of the baseball world is gloating about the misfortune of America’s most famous sports team, the one that always receives out-of-proportion media coverage and excessive slots in the national ...

Reaching for Messi is not new

Lionel Messi’s first appearance in a South Florida soccer stadium this season created high drama, and he wasn’t even wearing cleats. Messi’s formal introduction as the newest addition to the Inter Miami CF roster attracted a near-capacity crowd for an event that had all the trappings of a championship celebration. This wasn’t the first time an American city rolled out the red carpet for a superstar who was seeking a new experience, big payday, elusive team championship or fulfillment of a personal goal. Teams that are flush with cash doggedly pursue athletes who they view ...

All will suffer from realignment

The realignment frenzy in college athletics is all about football. And all that money, of course. There is barely a consideration of how these seismic changes will affect every other team on campus. From grueling road trips to missed classes to mental health challenges, it’s hard to see anything positive in all this dollar sign-driven nonsense if you’re an athlete who doesn’t happen to suit up for the pigskin squad. “I chose to play in the Pac-12 because of the ability to play close to home and in front of family,” said Shannon Cunningham, an Arizona State softball ...

Training camp traditions are simply priceless

By Bill Contz For the Mirror NFL teams require most personnel under contract to report to training camp in late July. Said personnel complies reluctantly and usually on a day with a heat index exceeding triple digits. This triggers a feeding frenzy among the local media that flock to various small college dormitories hoping to either secure an exclusive interview with a top draft pick, identify players sporting much-improved physiques or any tricked out, customized modes of transportation that have been idling too long in the nearby towaway zone. This spectacle mirrors how ...

Jets may get it right this time around

By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press CANTON, Ohio — A group of Jets die-hards were reminiscing about Rich Kotite’s futile tenure as head coach in the mid-1990s when another New York fan wearing an old, green-and-white Browning Nagle jersey approached the group outside the entrance to the Hall of Fame game He reminded them Aaron Rodgers is the team’s new quarterback. They all burst into “J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets!” chants and rattled off random names from the franchise’s past. From Kotite, Bruce Coslet and Joe Walton to Vinny Testaverde, Richard Todd and Ken O’Brien, ...