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Tua never should have played

By Paul Newberry The Associated Press There’s one thing we can all agree on: Tua Tagovailoa had no business being on the field. Not in the second half last Sunday. Not in the first half Thursday night. Beyond that, it gets a lot more complicated. The Miami Dolphins quarterback was taken away on a stretcher with a concussion during a prime-time game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday, an especially frightening incident because it came a mere four days after another hard hit against the Buffalo Bills left him wobbly. “I’m sick,” former NFL linebacker Emmanuel ...

Addressing MLB draft, shift

Editor’s note: Jim Krug has followed the ups and downs of the Pittsburgh Pirates since the late 1980s. He wrote over 150 articles about the Pirates from 2010-16 for online sports site isportsweb.com. This is the second in a three-part series examining the challenges of Major League Baseball. Large-market clubs neutering the draft Prior to 2012, smaller-market teams like the Pirates had one opportunity to best their large powerhouse counterparts — outspend them in the draft. (I could make a very strong argument that today’s notion of “small market” is a myth, but that’s ...

Atmosphere at Auburn, SEC like no other

The atmosphere was electric for the Penn-State Auburn game in Auburn, Alabama. It was the first time that a Big Ten team ever played in Auburn. Penn State played great and won 41-12, but the campus was just as impressive as Penn State’s victory. I have never seen tailgating like that on the Plains. Unlike most schools, people are allowed to put tents everywhere — including on the lawn in front of the president’s house. But at the end of the day, there was no trash anywhere. The campus is beautiful, and the downtown is right off the campus and filled with cool bars ...

MLB continues hurting itself

By Jim Krug For the Mirror Editor’s note: Jim Krug has followed the ups and downs of the Pittsburgh Pirates since the late 1980s. He wrote over 150 articles about the Pirates from 2010-16 for online sports site isportsweb.com. This is the first in a three-part series examining the challenges of Major League Baseball. Over the past two decades, Major League Baseball’s attempts to increase fan engagement and remain relevant against surging popularity from the NFL and NBA have spectacularly backfired. Here are some reasons why: 1. Interleague play Denounced by baseball ...

An appreciation for the career possessed by Roger Federer

By Howard Fendrich The Associated Press Roger Federer never let ’em see him sweat. He played tennis with a style that only rarely betrayed the effort behind the masterful serving, the rare-in-its-day attacking and the flawless footwork. He was not one to grunt loudly on shots or celebrate wildly after them. The way he wielded a racket helped him to win, yes, and win a lot, to the tune of 20 Grand Slam championships — a half-dozen more than any man before him — across a 15-year stretch, and 103 tournament titles in all, plus a Davis Cup trophy and Olympic medals for ...

Serena’s sendoff like no other

By Ira Kaufman For the Mirror Serena Williams’ epic final run at the U.S. Open captured the eyes of the world. Sports legends typically retire with a press conference after the season stating that, upon reflection, they are moving on to other things. There may be rumors during their last game of a potential “retirement,” but rarely do the fans know when they are truly watching the end of career. I was at Kobe’s final, “Mamba Out” game in 2016, when he scored 60 points in the final game of the regular season and his career (the Lakers were not in the playoffs). ...