5:03 am | August 16, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
THINGS TO CARE ABOUT
Cousins’ latest injury setback … Injurywise, it hasn’t been a great few years for DeMarcus Cousins. He tore his Achilles with the Pelicans, hurt his quadriceps with the Warriors, and now he’s suffered a torn ACL — putting his availability for next season in jeopardy. Boogie’s third serious leg injury in a year and a half comes after “bumping knees” with another player during a workout. When healthy, Cousins is one of the most dominant centers in the league. Here’s hoping he’s able to bounce back from this latest misfortune. Read More
From sleeping on the street to stardom … If you didn’t know Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi’s name before last week, you do now. The Cleveland Browns rookie dazzled in a punt return touchdown in their preseason opener, but the work that went into that play is just as compelling. Sheehy-Guiseppi slept in the grass outside a fitness facility in order to prepare for his tryout with the team. Read about his amazing journey right here. Read More
CFB’s century-and-a-half … It’s the 150th anniversary of college football, and to celebrate, we gave our Stats & Information group a hefty task: rank the top 50 programs across that entire time period. You probably won’t be surprised at the first few entries on the list … but once you get to No. 7 or so, you really start to feel the weight of all that history. Read More
WEEKEND BINGE READS
The disappearance of Nate Diaz … Three years ago, Nate Diaz was in the biggest fight of his life, a rematch with Conor McGregor that he lost in a majority decision. Since then … nothing other than a cancelled bout at UFC 230. He’s finally returning to the Octagon this weekend at UFC 241, where he’ll fight Anthony Pettis. Why was Diaz out of the spotlight for so long? He tells all in a wide-ranging interview. Read More
“Oh my God, how can we do this?” If you’re a baseball fan of a certain age, you undoubtedly have memories of the time when baseball just … stopped. MLB’s 1994 strike came in the midst of an amazing season, with exciting pennant races and Tony Gwynn’s chase for .400 competing for headlines. Why did it all go down this way? Some 25 years later, we talked to the people closest to the situation to find out. Read More
Holding a whole country’s attention … Bermuda has just one Olympic medalist: Clarence Hill, who won bronze in boxing at the 1976 Games. The country’s best hope in 2020 centers on one woman: triathlete Flora Duffy, who has a bevy of golds in other international competitions. Here’s what Duffy means to the island and why the country is in a frenzy one year out from the Tokyo Games. Read More
THINGS TO WATCH
0:54
Kyler Murray completes just 3-of-8 passes for 12 yards, commits three penalties and takes two sacks, including one for a safety.
0:34
Lamar Jackson breaks free for an 18-yard touchdown, but it is nullified because of Willie Snead IV’s illegal blindside block.
0:47
Bryce Harper rips a grand slam out of the park to give the Phillies a 7-5 walk-off win over the Cubs.
OVERHEARD
“I don’t think anybody wants to go to litigation. But with that said, we’re very confident in our case.”
— Megan Rapinoe, on negotiations for equal pay breaking down between the U.S. Soccer Federation and players. Read more
REMEMBER WHEN?
On this date in 2008, Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal, while Usain Bolt won his first. They’d both win quite a few more before it was all said and done.
WHAT’S ON THIS WEEKEND?
Little League World Series (Friday, 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET on ESPNU, and 5 p.m. on ESPNews): Mother Nature interfered on Thursday, causing several games to be postponed. Yep, that means we’ve got a full seven-game slate on Friday to kick off a weekend chock-full of LLWS action. Bring on the dingers and the epic intros.
UFC 241: Cormier vs. Miocic 2 (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN PPV): Daniel Cormier defends his heavyweight title belt against Stipe Miocic in Anaheim, California, while Nate Diaz makes his return to the Octagon against Anthony Pettis after a three-year absence. You can watch the prelims at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN and the early prelims at 6:15 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Navarrete vs. De Vaca (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN Deportes): Emanuel Navarrete takes on Francisco De Vaca for Navarrete’s WBO junior featherweight title. You can catch the undercard starting at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Backstory: Serena vs. The Umpire (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, ABC): Serena Williams’ 2018 US Open ended in controversy with a loss to Naomi Osaka that saw her arguing with chair umpire Carlos Ramos. In the debut episode of our new docuseries Backstory, Don Van Natta Jr. examines the buildup and aftermath of the whole ordeal, with on-camera interviews with more than a dozen of the people involved. Watch
Cubs at Pirates (Sunday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN): Every game counts now for the Cubs, as they’re locked in a vicious three-way battle for the National League Central crown with the Cardinals and Brewers. Fortunately, the Pirates have been struggling mightily recently, and on Sunday they’ll be sending Mitch Keller and his 7.94 ERA to the mound.
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