#real-chance

#real-chance

The Yankees knew that they had some dicey weeks ahead once they learned of Aaron Judge's toe injury.It's hard to replace the defending MVP in a lineup that revolves around him.Often, it feels like something is just missing to these Yankees rallies.That was the case on Friday, as New York scratched out nine hits but only ended up plating a pair of runs (one on a solo homer).

Oswald Peraza entered spring training as the favorite to win the Yankees ' shortstop job.Frankly, had he hit a bit better (think an .800OPS or around that mark), he could have still gotten it.But Anthony Volpe had other plans.While Peraza posted a .616OPS, Volpe slashed .309/.415/.618with three homers, five steals and a 1.033 OPS.

Yankees ' history prior to Babe Ruth's arrival tends mostly to be grouped together."Their first year was 1903.They were mostly bad.They were called the Highlanders for a while.Then Babe Ruth showed up and the rest is history."Before I truly started to dive into Yankees history, that's generally how I thought of it to.

There are a lot of moves that the Yankees would love to make this offseason, but there are plenty of restraints in place that block some of the more appealing ones.Some are self-restrictions around just what the budget is, more involve what a prospective trade partner would demand in return for any potential deal, but a few revolve around decisions the Yankees have already made to tie up money into players that aren't holding up their end of the bargain.

The Packers still have questions after the draft but, in light of that, these three UDFA signings afterward have a great chance to make the roster.With Aaron Rodgers gone and Jordan Love now QB1, things look much different for the Green Bay Packers.More pressingly, though, the task at hand has become putting the first-time starter in the best position to succeed.

The Chiefs replacing Juan Thornhill, Odell Beckham Jr. clearing up his price, and the Titans possibly making a huge cut headline the big NFL rumors.Yes, much of the news cycle throughout the NFL and the NFL rumors mill centers around Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers.Yes, we know it's tiresome.But until something actually happens with either quarterback, both former MVPs in their own right, every move from both is going to be put under the microscope.

Here's an updated look at the NFC Playoff Picture and NFC Wild Card standings after yet another thrilling Minnesota Vikings comeback in Week 16.The  NFL Playoff Picture looks it's going to be a photo finish in terms of who gets in and where everyone stands when the dust settles.No team in the league is better equipped to deal with photo finishes than the Minnesota Vikings.

Welcome to Chicago baseball in 2023, a mind-numbingly dark, painfully slow-moving, utterly joyless movie that has brought us to June with no real reason to believe that redemption is coming.Tagline: Mope springs eternal.Or maybe that's just my own cynical outlook.But it can't be, can it?We've all been tortured by the Cubs, who entered the month a relentlessly underwhelming 24-31, and/or tormented by the White Sox, who were an egregiously underachieving 23-35.

In the spirit of the holiday season, SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, raise glasses high to José Abreu, reportedly at the top of the San Diego Padres wish list, thanking him for all of his years of being about the only player on the White Sox worth watching and, often, the only one who seemed to be trying.

Victory on the south coast, together with Liverpool's failure to beat Aston Villa, strengthened United's grip on a top-four spot with two games to play and meant Erik ten Hag is close to achieving his primary objective in his first season in charge.This was not Ten Hag's side at their best, but once they were in front they limited a spirited and organised Bournemouth to a handful of chances, with David de Gea in form to deny Gary O'Neil's side whenever they threatened.

That is according to Danny Murphy, who spoke ahead of the Red Devils' clash with West Ham in the FA Cup as Erik ten Hag looks to guide his side towards more silverware.A trophy drought lasting over five years was broken at Wembley on the weekend and Murphy, who starred for arch rivals Liverpool during his playing career, has stated his worry that United are unstoppable.

Man United are without a trio of first-teamers for the away leg of the Carabao Cup tie against Nottingham Forest.The aim going into the campaign was to finish inside the top four and hopefully have a decent run at winning a trophy.Despite suffering a setback away at Arsenal this past weekend, the Red Devils are looking good under Erik ten Hag.

Former Boston Celtics teammates Jaylen Brown and Kyrie Irving - who famously didn't see eye-to-eye when the latter was a Celtic for two seasons, leading to the former being benched during the 2018-19 season - would be reunited as teammates on the Mavericks alongside All-NBA guard Luka Doncic if the trade Dallas Basketball's Dalton Trigg concocted ever came to fruition.

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer
LAS VEGAS - Alec Martinez was part of the 2014 Kings team that erased a 3-0 first-round series deficit and beat Joe Pavelski and the San Jose Sharks in Game 7.
Pavelski and Coach Pete DeBoer were the centerpieces of a Sharks comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the opening round of the 2019 playoffs to knock off the Vegas Golden Knights.

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer
LAS VEGAS - Alec Martinez was part of the 2014 Kings team that erased a 3-0 first-round series deficit and beat Joe Pavelski and the San Jose Sharks in Game 7.
Pavelski and Coach Pete DeBoer were the centerpieces of a Sharks comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the opening round of the 2019 playoffs to knock off the Vegas Golden Knights.

Celtics COMMENTARYBoston sports fans know what it feels like to start dreaming down 3-0.Can you imagine if the Celtics pulled this off?Of course you can.You're reading this story about a Boston sports team on Boston.com,which - per the Google metrics - means there's an incredibly high statistical chance that you are a Boston sports fan.

Celtics Mazzulla was officially named the team's head coach last week following a 42-17 start to the season.The Celtics' announcement last week that they were removing the interim tag from Joe Mazzulla's job description and making him the 19th head coach in franchise history was the right thing to do in every way.

Tim Miles is doing it again.A down-in-the-dumps program, but Miles the fixer comes in and cleans it up.The latest step in the Miles rebuild at San Jose State came late Tuesday night against one of his former teams.San Jose State beat the Colorado State men's basketball team 63-46 in San Jose to complete a regular season sweep of the Rams.

Do the Dallas Cowboys still have a chance to win the NFC East?The Eagles are leaving the door ready to be kicked in for the division crown.Just a few weeks ago, it seemed like a stretch to think that the Dallas Cowboys had any chance to win the NFC East.Sure, they'd locked in a playoff spot, but with the Philadelphia Eagles sitting firmly atop the division and the conference as a whole, they would need a lot of help from their bitter rivals to climb out of the No. 5 seed.

Patriots The latest on the Patriots' chances following their disastrous loss.With three games left in the regular season, a whopping 13 of the 16 teams in the AFC still have a shot at reaching the playoffs.While the top two appear locked in - the Bills and the Chiefs - the surging Bengals are still capable of crashing the party.

When the New York Knicks signed center Isaiah Hartenstein to a two-year $16 million contract in the offseason, there was not much buzz around it.The 24-year-old was coming off a season on the Los Angeles Clippers that saw him average 8.3 points and 4.9 rebounds in 17.9 minutes as the backup center.He was going to be joining his fifth team in his young career.

Ron DeSantis is expected to enter the 2024 presidential race this week.But the Florida governor begins his campaign to win the GOP nomination with his poll numbers flailing and with former President Donald Trump as the clear primary front-runner.Still, DeSantis remains by far the best hope for anti-Trump forces within the GOP.

Linda King Newell, whose pioneering work on the history of women in the Mormon faith won her acclaim as the leading feminist scholar in her field, but also led leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to blacklist her for undermining traditional views about the religion's founding era, died on Feb. 12 at a hospice facility in Salt Lake City.

A proposed amendment to the Online Safety Bill would require social media firms to prevent online abuse and violence against women and girls.A cross-party group of lords, led by former culture secretary Nicky Morgan, is backing the amendment, which would mean companies that failed to remove abusive misogynistic content and ban repeat offenders would face fines, while bosses could be jailed for persistent breaches.

A British soldier has revealed he will return to Ukraine less than two months after being freed from detention by Russian-backed separatists who sentenced him to death.Aiden Aslin, 28, was captured by the Donetsk People's Republic in April while fighting in the now-Russian-occupied city of Mariupol in the early days of the war.

A couple of days ago, ESPN Draft Analyst Matt Miller joined Lynnell Willingham this week to discuss Washington's offseason.The conversation steered toward the quarterback situation, Sam Howell specifically, and chaos ensued."I compared [Sam Howell] to Colt McCoy," Matt Miller, NFL Draft analyst at ESPN, said.

Week 17 of the 2022 season is almost complete, and the Washington Commanders have officially been eliminated from the playoffs.They were embarrassed on the field by Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns, then off the field when Ron Rivera didn't know his team could be eliminated if the Packers won.

After four games without a win, Juventus were in desperate need of a victory to keep their place in the top four secure.Under most circumstances, a game against Lecce at home would be considered easy points in a situation like this.The 2022-23 season, with its losses to Monza, Maccabi Haifa, and Sassuolo, has definitely not been most circumstances.

Juventus were made to pay for falling asleep after scoring early in the game against Nantes in their Europa League playoff first leg in Turin on Thursday night.The final score of 1-1 did not quite reflect the balance of play, but as we all know, that is exactly how football goes.Dusan Vlahovic had put the home side after a strong start, finishing off a delightful move between Angel di Maria and Federico Chiesa.

We are close to counting the amount of games left at the 2022 World Cup with just one hand.Before we get to that, though, there's two more spaces in the semifinals up for grabs.So what will the other semifinal be?We already know that Argentina will be facing Croatia in the first one.The other?Well, that's what we're here to find out on this day.

After a day in which a Juventus player featured in three of the four games played at the 2022 World Cup, the direct opposite will happen today.The only Juventus-related connections will be of those players who either used to play for Juventus or had been names we've spent a good amount of time discussing around these parts during a transfer window or two.

Wales feel the legacy left by Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and others at Euro 2016 has been integral to them qualifying for a first major youth tournament for over 40 years.Later this month Wales will join the likes of England, France and Germany at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals in Hungary.

The tides have shifted in recent weeks for the Maine Mariners.The beginning of the season was choppy for the Boston Bruins ' ECHL affiliate, with the side barely hovering around the .500mark and lacking any consistency.Maine has not lost in regulation since December 21, with their lone defeat in the past 11 games (10-0-1) coming via a shootout.

It's hard to imagine Jonathan Toews wearing any jersey other than a Chicago Blackhawks sweater.However, if he and the team decide that's best for their respective business, we could be looking at the final days in the Windy City for the longtime captain.Toews is in the final season of his contract, and the Blackhawks continue to sputter.

For the first time since 2004, the Toronto Maple Leafs have won a playoff series.After losing in the first round in six straight seasons, the Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime in Game 6 to advance to the second round.Not only that, but their rival, the Boston Bruins blew a 3-1 series lead to lose in the opening round after a record-setting regular season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have all but sealed their playoff fate with their lacklustre performance on Saturday.While the previous night, the Toronto Maple Leafs were incredibly efficient in dispatching the Blue Jackets, a poor display followed the next night.The harsh reality is that if the team is to have any chance of catching the Boston Bruins in top spot, they have to win every possible game.

Matt Murray is having an amazing start to his Toronto Maple Leafs career, but we still need to be patient with him.If you're the Toronto Maple Leafs, you have nothing to complain about so far.Despite battling adversity through injuries, the team is arguably the hottest team in hockey.However, we've seen this before.

By now, even those of us who live under a rock have become familiar with ChatGPT, the AI-powered chatbot that can find us the answer to almost every question under the sun.It seems to be able to effortlessly write reports, compose letters or even poetry for any subject its asked about, it dutifully complies and does so at breakneck speed.

Fresh off a stellar showing at the World Baseball Classic, Masataka Yoshida returned to the spring training camp of the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday.While Yoshida felt tired from his strong contributing effort in helping Japan seize the WBC crown, his eye-opening performances energized his Red Sox teammates.

Chaim Bloom sees the Red Sox boasting a competitive ballclub in 2023, no matter how the Xander Bogaerts sweepstakes shake out.Boston's front office has expressed its interest in retaining Bogaerts ad nauseam, even identifying the star shortstop as the club's main priority this offseason.But the fact of the matter is, there's a real chance the four-time All-Star leaves the only Major League Baseball team he's ever known.

Victor Osimhen scored twice as Napoli cruised into the Champions League quarter-finals with a comfortable win over Eintracht Frankfurt.With Luciano Spalletti's side two goals up from the first leg, the Nigeria striker's thumping header in first-half stoppage time dispelled any lingering nerves at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Iliman Ndiaye scored a superb late winner as Championship side Sheffield United stunned Tottenham to progress to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.As the game looked to be heading to extra time, substitute Ndiaye weaved past a couple of defenders before beating Fraser Forster with a low strike at the near post.

Kalidou Koulibaly's nerveless volley sent Senegal into the World Cup's knockout stages for only the second time in their history as they eliminated Ecuador at a rowdy Khalifa International Stadium.All three goals came from players based in England as Ecuador's Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo cancelled out a penalty by Watford's Ismaila Sarr before Chelsea defender Koulibaly's side-footer won it.

Marcel Sabitzer injury fears have been eased, with the midfielder called up for international duty.Manchester United Football Club brought in Marcel Sabitzer on transfer deadline day, due to an injury suffered by Christian Eriksen.The man from Bayern Munich has been pretty impressive during his limited minutes thus far, though he too was struck down by injury.

Bayern Munich is leaving no stone unturned in its quest to find another goalkeeper to bring to Säbener Straße during the winter transfer window to take the place of injured captain Manuel Neuer.The latest goalkeeper to be linked to Bayern Munich is Aston Villa 's Emiliano Martinez, who will start for Argentina in the World Cup finale against France on Sunday.

Public opinion doesn't matter that much in sports, especially when it comes to injury.Whether Manuel Neuer will return to his starting spot for Bayern Munich and Germany depends on him, his doctors, and the respective teams' coaching staff.However, when a poll with over 100,000 respondents comes back with such an overwhelming response, it's something to take note of.

The Caps are back!As the bye week wraps up and the team heads into the stretch run starting tomorrow, we have one final thing in our minds: ways to be better.(The team, not us.We're perfection.)What is the one area the Caps need to improve upon the most down the stretch?Rob: JP did a great job diagnosing the problems with the team's scoring the other day, and an optimist might be tempted to find the silver lining in strong high danger scoring chances combined with low shooting percentages-hey, they're making things happen and if they bounces start going the way they usually do for these players they'll be really dangerous.

General Manager Brian MacLellan clearly wasn't going to wait until the summer to start getting the Capitals younger, faster, and better, as he sent Boston's 2023 first-round pick and Erik Gustafsson to Toronto last week for a soon-to-be 23-year-old, smooth-skating, hard-hitting, and offensively skilled defensemen in Rasmus Sandin.

The day the Ukrainian Parliament declared independence on Aug. 24, 1991, I witnessed the historical moment from the gallery with my wife and a group of Western expatriates.Below us, amid rapturous applause, a huge Ukrainian flag was carried into the hall on the shoulders of many of Ukraine's founding fathers.

Manchester City welcome a rejuvenated Newcastle United to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday lunchtime, eager to gain the three points that will keep pace with leaders Arsenal.City fell five points behind the Gunners on Wednesday as Arsenal thrashed Everton 4-0 in their game in hand, and the blues now have to once again play catch up if they are to secure a third successive league title.

The 2023 Oscar nominations have been announced, and the debates have begun.But, if you're a busy parent, there's a very real chance you haven't seen all the nominees for Best Picture, much less the nominees for Best Animated Feature Film.Turns out, 2022 wasn't a bad year for animated movies for kids, and the five movies selected by the Academy aren't bad.

Amad Diallo is bossing it in the Championship right now, with the Ivory Coast feeling like someone who could have the impact of a new signing.Manchester United Football Club have some immense talents on their books right now.From Alejandro Garnacho, to the ever-improving Kobbie Mainoo, this club is stacked with quality.

A federal labor official on Wednesday rejected Amazon's attempt to overturn a union victory at a warehouse on Staten Island, removing a key obstacle to contract negotiations between the union and the company.The official, a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board, found that there was a lack of evidence to support Amazon's claim of election improprieties and that its objections to the election should be overruled.

The 49ers have won the NFC West, becoming the second team in the NFC to clinch a playoff berth and the first to clinch their division.Thursday night's win over the Seahawks made the 49ers the NFC West champions.The 49ers actually don't have a whole lot to play for over the final three weeks of the season: They're very unlikely to catch the Eagles for the No. 1 seed, or to fall behind the Buccaneers for the No. 4 seed, so the only real question is whether they'll finish ahead of the Vikings for the No. 2 seed.

When the Atlanta Braves selected Victor Vodnik with their 14th-round pick in 2018, there was much talk about his raw talent and his potential for durability issues, and both have been self-evident throughout his professional career.Vodnik asserted himself as the top player from an admittedly weak draft class, but also found himself left available (and unclaimed) in the Rule 5 draft this past week.

The Los Angeles Dodgers non-tendered Cody Bellinger last week to make him a free agent after another subpar season.The team also opted not to tender contracts to Edwin Ríos and Luke Williams.Bellinger was set to go through the arbitration process for the fourth and final time of his career.He made $17 million this past season and was projected by MLB Trade Rumors to receive an $18.1 million salary for 2023.

After years of not worrying about shortstop, it is now arguably the biggest need on the Los Angeles Dodgers roster after losing Corey Seager prior to the 2022 season and having Trea Turner enter free agency this offseason.The Dodgers extended the $19.65 million qualifying offer to Turner last week, but he is set to receive a long-term deal that could exceed $30 million annually, so there was never a real chance he would consider accepting it.

Brusdar Graterol has qualified for arbitration in the Super-2 Classification, meaning he ranks among the top 22 percent of players, in terms of service time, who have amassed between two and three years in the league.with that, the Bazooka is set to receive a nice raise over the $720,000 he made in 2022.

Money burns a hole in my pocket.So naturally, the idea of spending someone else's money has even more appeal to me than spending my own.The Leafs are presently in a situation where they have $2.1M of cap relief available, but that is also with a 21 player active roster and 2 players still on the injured reserve as well.

After dropping a very close 111-115 contest against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Chicago Bulls continue their desperate attempt to climb above a .500winning percentage.They'll get their chance to even out their 6-7 record at home tonight against a Western Conference powerhouse Denver Nuggets team.The Nuggets, on the other hand, have gotten off to a far more successful start to their season now that their roster is finally healthy.

With the Yankees mired in a 3-11 stretch to start August, they made a couple callups from the minors looking to create any sort of spark.One of them was outfielder Estevan Florial, who we had seen before in the majors.He had put up some good numbers in previous stints in the Bronx, albeit in a very small sample size.

Norway raised its military readiness earlier this week due to Russia's aggression in Ukraine and the security policy situation the war has led to in Europe.Speaking at a recent press conference, Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre warned that the country was faced with the most serious security policy situation in decades.

Social media isn't really about the posts - it's about connections.You can post 50 times a day, but unless you promote two-way conversations, it won't give you the results you're looking for.Comments, likes, saves & shares are great metrics to measure social media audience  interest in you, but they don't show that you're interested in your audience.