#midway-point

#midway-point

There aren't a ton of things to feel happy about when it comes to the Boston Red Sox.Alex Cora's squad hasn't been able to find their footing as we approach the midway point of the Major League Baseball season.There have been crushing injuries to Chris Sale, Adam Duvall and Trevor Story at different points in the season.

Stolen bases are up across the league, as we all knew they'd be with the new base sizes and pitcher disengagement rules implemented this season.The Yankees aren't taking too much advantage of it - they rank near league average in stolen bases (42) but are almost dead last in the league with a 74 percent success rate - but nonetheless, they're fitting in with the trend.

Winning back-to-back games in Utica appeared to be a tall order after splitting Games 1 and 2 in Toronto.After the Toronto Marlies won Game 3 on the back of secondary scoring, it was the same story in Game 4.
Having survived the initial barrage, the Marlies turned up the heat in the middle frame to give themselves an unassailable lead en route to clinching a 3-1 series victory.

"I just don't think we had the effort we needed, we weren't connected as a team, and it showed," said captain Logan Shaw after this 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Charlotte."There were a lot of compounded elements to the game...We didn't work as hard as we needed to, and we weren't executing our plan," added head coach Greg Moore.

Losers of three straight and seeking a spark, the Clippers hoped this night would represent a turnaround.In one sense, that is exactly what took place.After four quarters of their most ineffective, uncompetitive basketball of this season, the Clippers were spun around in circles so easily during a disastrous, 122-91 display in Denver, that as the midway point of the season rapidly approaches, their season appears as though it is now heading backward.

Those platitudes masked a largely inept performance from the Marlies, who dug themselves into an early two-goal hole and continued to give up scoring chances through really leaky defensive play.First Period
The Just 17 seconds had passed when the Marlies could not have dreamt of a better start to the game with their season on the line.

If anything, the Marlies played worse and Utica made them pay for it thanks to a dominant second-period showing.First Period
A promising, fast-paced start by Toronto quickly unraveled before the two-minute mark.Loose defensive coverage allowed Utica to zip the puck around before Brian Halonen scored off of a feed from Alexander Holtz.

Despite a good performance from Erik Kallgren, defensive woes cost the Marlies a point as they surrendered a 2-0 advantage in the second period and a 3-2 lead in the final two minutes of regulation.First Period The Amerks dominated the opening eight minutes of the game and should have established themselves a healthy lead.

SAN FRANCISCO The Warriors run, the Lakers bruise.This Western Conference semifinal matchup is not just a meeting of two California rival teams, but the ultimate clash of styles.Anthony Davis is at the center of that clash, literally.If the Warriors hope to overcome a 1-0 series deficit, they'll have to figure out how to beat Davis, the Lakers' 6-foot-10 center, instead of working around him.

SAN FRANCISCO Andrew Wiggins returned to the Warriors from a month-plus absence just in time for their first-round series against the Kings.He made an impact, slowing Sacramento's wings and picking his spots offensively.Now that he's in the second round, though, he's facing a bigger challenge.It's tough.

The Washington Commanders' winning streak came to a screeching halt in Landover, Maryland as they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.Up 17-7 early in the fourth quarter, the Commanders were on the precipice of a four-game winning streak, and moving above .500for the first time in Ron Rivera's tenure.

For eight minutes Friday, the Clippers played like the team that left training camp openly declaring its championship aspirations - their long-armed defenders forcing consecutive stops on one end, their litany of shooters blowing open a lead with ruthless efficiency on the other.For the final 40 minutes, though, they looked like the team they have actually been since the season's start - uneven, uncomfortable, unexpectedly missing a key player and unable to hold onto a lead.

Anyone remotely tapped into the design world is giddy with excitement right now.Why, you ask?Because we're in the midst of 36 Days of Type, of course!The design studio Treintayseis ' annual online challenge calls on typographers, graphic designers, and creatives of all stripes to create a letter (or number) for 36 days straight.

The Toronto Marlies laid down a marker against a divisional rival that is a potential first-round opponent in the playoffs.In the final game of the regular-season series, the Marlies built an early lead in Rochester that they never relinquished.First Period
The Marlies got off to a brisk start and almost scored just 35 seconds when they swarmed the Amerks' net, but Pontus Holmberg was unable to corral the puck with the goal at his mercy.

The 2023 Transgrancanaria Classic 128k, the queen race of the Transgrancanaria (TGC) festival of races, started at midnight local time on Saturday, February 25, in Las Canteras on the northeastern coast of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria.Over the next 30 hours, more than 600 runners attempted to cover the 79.5 miles (128 kilometers) and 23,160 feet (7,060 meters) of vertical gain before reaching the outskirts of the town of Maspalomas on the island's southern shore.

Through 41 games, the Leafs are 25-9-7, and essentially, they're pretty much clocking at the same pace as last season (115 points).Before looking ahead to the second half of the regular season, the Tuesday edition of Leafs Morning Take offered a full scope of Sheldon Keefe's squad at the midway point of the campaign.

Semyon Varlamov notched his first shutout of the season as the New York Islanders ended their two-game skid with a complete game against a team they should beat (even though the Rangers couldn't), a 3-0 professional dispatching of the Chicago Blackhawks.The Blackhawks were coming off a 5-2 win over the Smurfs the previous night, but that was the Central cellar-dwellers first win in nine games.

The New York Rangers aren't playing very good hockey right now at the midway point of March.New York is 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, they've struggled with plenty of issues both on and off the ice and offer serious concerns about their potential as a title-contending team.Whether it's injuries or the after-affects of having to play shorthanded for over two weeks, the Rangers have plenty of things to be concerned about as a big week against top teams in the Metro division kicks off.

On this week's episode of Live from the Blue Seats, Dave and Rob review the Lafreniere scratch and the Rangers' recent run of form.The Blueshirts are 10-2-1 in their last 13 games, with their latest victory an impressive comeback win over their Metropolitan division rival the Carolina Hurricanes.Speaking of the Metro, it's shaping up to be the best division in hockey, with the potential to send five teams to the playoffs.

Tonight was a big game in multiple ways.The biggest storyline was the fact that the New York Islanders were hosting the Vancouver Canucks just a week and a half removed from executing a blockbuster trade that brought Bo Horvat to Long Island and sent Anthony Beauvillier out west.But more importantly, the Islanders had a chance to extend their winning streak to five games and pick up more points in their quest to make the playoffs.

The New York Islanders still have some key injuries up front and on the blueline, but it looks like they'll start the second half with Simon Holmstrom back from an extended absence and Mathew Barzal back from a one-game miss.For Holmstrom, who was officially activated from IR today, this is another chance to give the team reason to keep him up even after Kyle Palmieri returns.

Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves, Mathew Barzal added two more assists to his Reverse Cy Young campaign, and the Islanders penalty kill spent half the second period on the job as the New York Islanders gutted out a 4-2 win over the Senators start their four-game road trip off on the right foot.Varlamov stopped 10 shots on the PK and a few more game-saving chances as the Senators pressed for an equalizer late in the game.

After a scoreless and evenly played first period, the Colorado Avalanche appeared to restore the natural order of things by blitzing the New York Islanders in the second period, starting with the opening goal just 46 seconds after the puck dropped.But after falling behind 3-0 before the second was nine minutes old, the host New York Islanders got one back at the midway point, which set the stage for a stunning comeback in the third.

Blue Jays radio broadcaster Ben Wagner has been on-site at the team's player development complex for spring training to conduct interviews, gather information and prepare for the upcoming campaign.The pre-season will be the only time he's on the road this year.Sportsnet, the team's radio rightsholder, will not resume on-site radio broadcasts for road games this season and will instead provide remote coverage from its downtown Toronto studio.

The Toronto Marlies bounced back from Saturday's loss to Syracuse with a 3-1 win over their nearest divisional rival in the Belleville Senators.In contrast to the game against the Crunch the day prior, the two teams were happy to exchange scoring chances off the rush in a free-flowing affair that neither coach would have been completely happy with.

For 30 minutes, the Toronto Marlies were in complete control of this game and should have gone on to win by a comfortable margin.A lack of discipline and complacency crept into their performance, allowing a struggling Grand Rapids Griffins team to rally back from a three-goal deficit.First Period
The Marlies found themselves on the penalty kill at the three-minute mark, but they didn't allow Grand Rapids to build any momentum.

Manchester United beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday to seal a 5-0 aggregate victory in their Carabao Cup semifinal.Anthony Martial and Fred were on the scoresheet as United booked their place at Wembley, where they'll face Newcastle United on Feb. 25.Notwithstanding United's healthy aggregate lead, Erik ten Hag named a strong starting XI.

Flyers earn first OT win of season in impressive fashion over Sharks originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia Following the leaguewide holiday break, the Flyers returned to action Thursday against the Sharks and started their west coast road trip off on an impressive note.The Flyers pulled off a 4-3 comeback victory against the Sharks in overtime.

S. Barnes 37 MIN, 27 PTS, 12 REB, 2 AST, 3 STL, 9-16 FG, 0-1 3FG, 9-10 FT, 1 BLK, 3 TO, -10 +/-
Barnes was very aggressive in this one as he was attacking the paint all game long.Easily Toronto's best player of the game and the new hairdo itself deserves an A+.The Raptors ended the homestand with a Deja-vu performance of their first game of the homestand against the Bucks as they struggled mightily offensively.

Less than 24 hours after putting together a thrilling overtime comeback victory over the Islanders, the Caps were back home and back in action against the visiting Wild.While his troops performed pretty well in the second half of last night's win, Peter Laviolette took the opportunity to shake up the lines a bit and inject a little more NAK into them for the second of back-to-back games:

#Caps' lines vs. MIN:8-Ovechkin, 17-Strome, 96-Aube-Kubel15-Milano, 19-Backstrom, 43-Wilson 73-Sheary, 20-Eller, 77-Oshie 90-Johansson, 92-Kuznetsov, 21-Hathaway56-Gustafsson, 57-van Riemsdyk9-Orlov, 3-Jensen52-Irwin, 42-FehervaryLindgren vs. Gustavsson.

Bruins Montgomery and Cassidy have led the Bruins and Golden Knights to the top of their respective divisions.Both Jim Montgomery and Bruce Cassidy have led their teams to the top of their respective divisions during the 2022-23 NHL season.Both Jim Montgomery and Bruce Cassidy's teams sit at the top of their respective divisions at the midway point of the 2022-23 NHL season.

Dawn FM is the Dom Perignon of male manipulator music  a slick of negging and neediness, sleaze and sanctimony that carries the unnatural, alluring glow of toxic waste.Released without fanfare in the first week of the year and still as luridly spectacular 11 months later, the Weeknd's fifth album  eighth if you count his superlative and still-astounding 2011 mixtape trilogy  is also his most dazzlingly deranged, and a high watermark for any star seeking to inflict their own vision on mainstream, stadium-primed pop music.

It's that time of year, when we simultaneously count up our SSS Top Prospects, from 100 to 1, while gauging our readership's picks for the top two or three dozen prospects in the system.As always, I will be proctoring the Top Prospect Vote.Each round will feature 10 players to choose from.Some basic stats and prior SSS prospect ranking will be provided to help you choose, and after a day or two of voting, we'll move to the next round.

There will be at least two head-coaching vacancies across the NFL this upcoming offseason.After the Carolina Panthers were the first NFL team to do so by firing Matt Rhule, the Indianapolis Colts joined the party by parting ways with Frank Reich at roughly the midway point.With 10 teams changing head coaches this past offseason, we are not expected to see that many jobs open up across the league.

The 2022 NFL season is about to hit Week 9, and here, we take a look at what the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft could look like when all is said and done.As we pass the midway point of the 2022 NFL season, teams are starting to distance themselves from the rest of the pack in one way or another.The first round of the 2023 NFL Draft got a bit of a shakeup during the trade deadline as well, so team needs have changes a bit since last week.

As a whole, the 2022 season was a disappointing one for Jacob Stallings.The Miami Marlins traded for Stallings on November 29, 2021, just before the owners locked out the players and things came grinding to a halt.To acquire the 2021 NL Gold Glove Award winner, the Marlins traded pitcher Zach Thompson and prospects Kyle Nicolas and Connor Scott.

6:44 AM ET



Jeremy FowlerESPN Staff Writer

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     ESPN staff writer
     Previously a college football reporter for CBSSports.comUniversity of Florida graduate




Every year, the NFL resets its unpredictability scale to deepen the intrigue.Last year, that came in the form of extreme parity, with 12 AFC teams winning at least four games by the midway point.

The strength sports icon seems ready for his return to strongman.A year and a half ago, Nick Best was on the mend.After tearing a lat muscle in April 2021, it was unclear when the athlete would again go full throttle in training and competition.With less than two weeks until the 2022 Official Strongman Games (OSG), the versatile athlete seems to be back at a complete strength capacity.

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     CBS Boston previews Patriots-Colts Week 9: News, notes, and fun facts.Karen Guregian points out how the Patriots are near the bottom of the league in red zone offense, and that needs to be fixed soon.Mark Daniels finds that Patriots offensive players remain confident despite the unit's recent struggles.