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Lewis’ late decision paying off at Korn Ferry Tour finale; Baker still leads
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 31 August 2019 12:42

It was less than two weeks ago that Tom Lewis decided to skip the Omega European Masters in Switzerland and instead make his first career Korn Ferry Tour start this week at Victoria National.
“I’m not very good at altitude, so I decided I’d come here and sweat a lot,” said the 28-year-old Lewis, who has played almost exclusively in Europe since turning pro in 2011.
The last-minute decision is paying off so far.
Lewis shot 6-under 66 Saturday to climb into a tie for second at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship and move into position to secure a PGA Tour card for the first time.
Lewis, who at 10 under is two shots back of leader Chris Baker, currently is a member on the European Tour and sits 47th in the Race to Dubai standings with nine events left before the European Tour’s three-event playoffs begin. He also is No. 85 in the Official World Golf Ranking and is trying to get into the top 50 by the end of the year in order to secure a Masters invite.
“Europe obviously is my main focus,” Lewis said, “and I wanted to not miss too many events and lose too much ground in Europe in the Race to Dubai because obviously top 30 is going to be big for me, and obviously top 50 in the world is big, as well. … Hopefully, it’s going to be a good decision made.”
Lewis is best known for a strong 2011 in which the Englishman was low amateur at The Open, helped the GB&I win the Walker Cup and picked up his first pro win at the Portugal Masters. The next handful of years saw Lewis struggle and drop outside the top 600 in the world, but he won twice last year, including his second European Tour event, and has continued his resurgence this year, nearly winning in Saudi Arabia and tying for 11th at The Open.
Recently, though, Lewis has struggled, playing just twice since Royal Portrush and not finishing better than T-59, hence why he decided to give a run at a PGA Tour card. He’s currently projected to rise to seventh in The Finals points list. (The top 25 after Monday’s finish earn cards.)
“My aspirations are to be as good a player as a I can, and being over on the PGA Tour would be a dream of mine,” Lewis said. “Maybe I thought I’d already be out here at some point in my career.”
Joining Lewis at T-2 is Lanto Griffin, who shot 65. Griffin already secured his card via the regular-season points list. Joseph Bramlett and Kramer Hickok are tied for fourth at 9 under. Neither has their card locked up yet, though both entered the week top 25 in Finals points.
Scottie Scheffler’s second-round 65 moved the Texas product to solo sixth. Scheffler is trying to earn fully-exempt status as the top player in combined regular-season and Finals points. He leads the list at the moment.
Among the notables to miss the cut and clinch a return to the Korn Ferry Tour next season: Cody Gribble, Johnson Wagner, Shawn Stefani, John Oda and Smylie Kaufman, who withdrew Friday.
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Barcelona have given up their pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar but will make a renewed effort to sign the Brazilian superstar next summer, sources have told ESPN FC.
Sources close to the Ligue 1 champions also confirmed on Saturday that the deal is off and that Neymar will be staying in Paris.
Following weeks of negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain, Barca have been unable to strike a deal to bring Neymar back to Camp Nou.
However, sources at Barca have told ESPN FC that they don't view this as the end of the saga. The club have not ruled out returning with another offer next summer for a player they consider to be a "strategic" signing -- someone who brings the club as much on the pitch as he does off it.
- When does the transfer window close?
- Transfer grades: Tracking every big club's deals
- All major completed transfer deals
The hierarchy at the club has appreciated the part played by Neymar during the negotiations with PSG, according to sources, with Barcelona saying he had expressed a desire to come back and exerted pressure on the French club to let him go.
Speaking on Friday, PSG's sporting director Leonardo said the club were still open to selling the Brazilian if Barca made an acceptable offer, but that none had arrived. Now with 48 hours to go until the window shuts, that is looking improbable.
Despite PSG's apparent openness to sell, sources at Barca claim that a deal this summer became impossible when faced with the Ligue 1 side's reluctance to reduce their asking price for the forward, who they signed for €222 million from the Catalans in 2017.
Barca have been working on the viability of doing a deal for two months but they cannot put the club's financial health at risk. Matching PSG's demands would signify a huge initial outlay in addition to another huge salary on the books.
ESPN FC first revealed on June 17 that Barca believed it would be possible to sign both Antoine Griezmann and Neymar. Therefore, once they bought the French forward from Atletico Madrid for €120m in July, they began to work on a deal for Neymar.
"It's difficult but complicated," a club source told ESPN FC at the time, but the Spanish champions have been unable to get PSG to budge.
Barca made three offers in the end, with all of them rejected. The first bid included Philippe Coutinho, Ivan Rakitic and cash between the value of €80m and €100m. PSG were keen on Coutinho being included, so his loan move to Bayern Munich set the talks back.
Barca later returned with an offer to take Neymar on loan this season with an option to sign him next summer which was also declined.
The third and final offer was based on a figure of €170m, with Rakitic and Jean Clair Todibo plus the loan of Ousmane Dembele included to bring the money part of the transfer down to around €130m.
However, none of the three players were keen on being included in the deal.
Real Madrid and Juventus have also been linked with Neymar throughout the summer, but Leonardo said on Friday that Barcelona were the only side who PSG had held talks with.
ESPN FC's Julien Laurens contributed to this story.
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Loma tops Campbell, adds WBC to title collection
Published in
Breaking News
Saturday, 31 August 2019 16:45

Pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko moved a step closer to becoming the undisputed lightweight world champion with an action-packed unanimous decision victory against Luke Campbell on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London.
Lomachenko defended his two 135-pound belts and added a vacant one to his collection as he won a lopsided, but hard fought battle with England's Campbell on ESPN+ in a fight between Olympic gold medal winners before a wild sold-out crowd of 18,000-plus.
Lomachenko, who knocked Campbell down in the one-sided 11th round and nearly stopped him, won 119-108, 119-108 and 118-109. ESPN scored the fight 117-110 for Lomachenko, a dazzling performer now with another significant victory on his resume.
"Loma is up there with Muhammad Ali, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao. He belongs with those fighters," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who promoted each of those legends, said of the two-time Olympic gold medalist many consider the greatest amateur of all time and now the class of professional boxing.
Lomachenko now needs only the fourth belt to become the undisputed champion and is expected to get the opportunity in his next fight in the first part of 2020 against the winner of a fight between world titlist Richard Commey and mandatory challenger Teofimo Lopez Jr., who likely will meet on Dec. 14 in New York on ESPN.
First, Lomachenko, 31, of Ukraine, who has also won world titles at featherweight and junior lightweight, had to deal with Campbell, a fellow southpaw with a height and reach advantage. But Lomachenko dismissed Campbell, the second Brit in a row he has defeated after destroying Anthony Crolla, a former world titleholder, by easy fourth-round knockout in April in Los Angeles.
"Maybe it's a lucky place for me. I like it," Lomachenko said of London, the city where he won his Olympic gold medal in 2012. "Of course, I'm happy. In U.K., fans are the best fans in the world. Thank you. I appreciate it. Of course, I want to fight (for the fourth belt). Of course, I want to fight with (Commey-Lopez winner). I want to fight with Teofimo Lopez but I do not think he will win this fight (against Commey)."
Campbell was classy despite the disappointment of losing his second opportunity to win a world title.
"He just beat me so he's very good," Campbell said. "He's a special fighter and we all knew he was a special fighter. This is boxing and we train to win. Obviously, I'm disappointed in myself for not getting the victory. Tonight was Lomachenko's night, and my time will come."
Shane McGuigan, Campbell's trainer, also gave it up to Lomachenko.
"It's hard to prepare for him. Luke did himself proud tonight. He boxed a once in a lifetime fighter," McGuigan said.
The fight began at a measured pace with Lomachenko and Campbell trying to see what the other had. Campbell landed a nice left hand to the head in the closing seconds of the first round, but he would struggle to win rounds thereafter.
Lomachenko began to establish his jab in the second round and also nailed Campbell with a left hand in the final seconds. In the third round, Lomachenko, poised as ever, began to pick up the pace and unleashed a hard straight left hand that caught Campbell cleanly and snapped his head back. Lomachenko fired off several jabs that landed also.
Lomachenko continued to land his jab, jumping in with it and snapping Campbell's head back in the fourth round as well as landing body punches, although Campbell stood his ground and fired back.
Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs), making his third title defense, had a strong fifth round. He was stalking forward and eventually nailed Campbell with a clean straight left hand late in the round. Campbell was clearly hurt and Lomachenko followed up with several powerful body shots that had him in trouble as the bell sounded.
The seventh round featured wild action with Campbell hurting Lomachenko with a left hand but his success was brief. Lomachenko came back strong to rock Campbell with a right hand and then sunk in a series of hard body shots.
Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs), 31, of England, was game and continued to give a huge effort but it was Lomachenko landing the cleaner, harder shots in the ninth round. They continued to go hard after each other in the final rounds with each man having his moments before Lomachenko authoritatively took over in the 11th round.
He pounded Campbell and dropped him to a knee with a brutal right hand to the body followed by a right to the head. Campbell got to his feet but was shaky. Lomachenko was all over him during the follow-up attack, lashing him with punches as Campbell went into survival mode. Overall, Lomachenko outlanded Campbell 44-17 in the 11th round.
Referee Victor Loughlin warned Lomachenko for a low blow in the 12th round but after the warning, Lomachenko again pounded Campbell with so many clean shots that he grabbed on hard to Lomachenko around the waist to keep from going down and wrestled Lomachenko to the mat in another huge Lomachenko round.
Although Campbell had been competitive round to round over the first half of the bout, Lomachenko took over in the second half of the fight.
According to CompuBox statistics, Lomachenko landed 211 of 527 punches (40 percent) and Campbell landed 131 of 420 (31 percent). Lomachenko, however, outlanded Campbell 140-73 from the seventh through 12th round, including the huge 11th and 12th rounds.
Campbell was getting his second shot at a lightweight world title. He challenged Jorge Linares for his belt in September 2017 in Inglewood, California, but got knocked down and lost a split decision in an overall competitive fight. Linares would go on to lose the title by 10th-round knockout to Lomachenko two fights later in May 2018.
Campbell won three fights in a row after losing to Linares to earn a mandatory shot at Mikey Garcia, but when Garcia vacated, Lomachenko was given the opportunity to face him for the vacant WBC title in addition to putting his WBO and WBA belts on the line.
Now Lomachenko has three of the four major belts and will aim to become the fifth man to win all of them in the four-belt era. He hopes to join cruiserweight and close friend Oleksandr Usyk (2018), who was ringside; junior welterweight Terrence Crawford (2017); and middleweights Jermain Taylor (2005) and Bernard Hopkins (2004).
Arum, the promoter of Commey-Lopez, plans to match the winner with Lomachenko.
"Obviously, we're looking to win the fourth belt to unify the title," Arum said. "But Loma and (manager) Egis (Klimas) have told they can't wait to come back to the U.K. to fight here again. The English fight fans are the best fans in the world.
"Luke Campbell didn't disgrace himself. He fought a hell of fight. He's a hell of a fighter. Big, big heart, and Luke will be back. (Lomachenko) will fight the best fighters at featherweight, (junior lightweight) or lightweight. Only the best. He's a special, special fighter."
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Tennessee stunned as Georgia St. rallies for win
Published in
Breaking News
Saturday, 31 August 2019 17:49

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Dan Ellington threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third score as 26-point underdog Georgia State upset Tennessee 38-30 on Saturday in one of the first stunners of the college football season.
Georgia State (1-0) beat a Power Five opponent for the first time since this Sun Belt Conference school launched its program in 2010. The Panthers' closest call before this had come in 2016, when they lost 23-17 to Wisconsin after leading in the fourth quarter.
Tennessee (0-1) suffered one of the more embarrassing setbacks in its history, the latest blow for a storied program attempting to bounce back from two straight losing seasons.
Georgia State was coming off a 2-10 season in which it had lost its last seven games. Only one of those seven losses was decided by less than two touchdowns and one of its two wins came against FCS opponent Kennesaw State.
But the Panthers outplayed and outworked Tennessee on Saturday to earn their first road win since 2017.
The hard times for Tennessee were evident from a look at the Neyland Stadium stands. Although the announced attendance was 85,503, thousands of fans apparently left at halftime and many others headed for shaded areas, leaving plenty of sections of the 102,455-seat facility virtually empty as Tennessee attempted its comeback.
Tra Barnett put Georgia State ahead for good 28-23 when he raced untouched around the right side with 8:56 remaining. Barnett ended up rushing for 95 yards on 21 carries.
Tennessee crossed midfield on its next possession before Jaylon Jones came in from Guarantano's blind side and sacked him, forcing a fumble that Georgia State's Jhi'Shawn Taylor recovered at the Vols' 39 with 7:10 left.
That led to the game-clinching touchdown by Ellington with 4:45 left.
Ellington faked a handoff and then made multiple moves to elude defenders before running into the left corner of the end zone for a 22-yard score that left Tennessee defensive backs Alontae Taylor and Shawn Shamburger lying on the field hurt as the Panthers celebrated in the end zone.
Brandon Wright made it 38-23 by kicking a 48-yard field goal with 2:37 left after a Guarantano interception. Guarantano ended up 26 of 40 for 311 yards with two touchdowns, including an 18-yarder to Jauan Jennings that capped the scoring with two seconds remaining.
A huge momentum swing early in the fourth quarter made it seem as though Tennessee would avoid the upset.
Georgia State led 21-20 and had the ball at Tennessee's 19-yard line when DeAndre Johnson sacked Ellington, forcing a fumble that LaTrell Bumphus recovered for the Vols.
On the next play, Guarantano found tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson wide open down the left sideline for a 54-yard gain. That completion set up a Brent Cimaglia 31-yard field goal that put Tennessee ahead 23-21 with 12:05 left.
That's the moment when the Panthers could have let the game get away from them. They instead regrouped and delivered the most memorable moment this program has ever produced.
Entering today, SEC teams had won 82 straight games as a favorite of 25 points or more. The last loss also came to a Sun Belt team: Mississippi State lost to South Alabama on Sept 3, 2016.
THE TAKEAWAY
Georgia State: Ellington's a senior quarterback who showed the kind of veteran moxie that's needed to produce this kind of upset. After completing just one of his first nine passes, Ellington ended up going 11 of 24 for 139 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 61 yards on 14 carries. Most importantly, he found a way to bounce back after committing the turnover early in the fourth quarter that helped Tennessee take the lead.
Tennessee: Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt had overhauled his coaching staff after going 5-7 in his debut season last year. Tennessee's paying $1.5 million this season to new offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and $1 million to new defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley. That new-look staff opened the season with an utterly unimaginable loss
UP NEXT
Georgia State hosts Football Championship Subdivision program Furman on Saturday.
Tennessee hosts Brigham Young on Saturday.
Information from ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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LeBron files to trademark term 'Taco Tuesday'
Published in
Basketball
Saturday, 31 August 2019 16:37

LeBron James wants a little lettuce on his Taco Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar is looking to monetize his popular videos by filing to trademark the term "Taco Tuesday."
One of James' companies, LBJ Trademarks, submitted the necessary paperwork with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in August. The application states that the goods and services involved with the trademark involve "advertising and marketing services provided by means of indirect methods of marketing communications, namely, social media, search engine marketing, inquiry marketing, internet marketing, mobile marketing, blogging and other forms of passive, sharable or viral communications channels."
The company also lists "podcasting services" and "online entertainment services, namely, providing a website featuring non-downloadable videos, and social media posts in the field of sports, entertainment, current events and popular culture."
A source told ESPN's Brian Windhorst that James' team has no firm plans for the term but wants to keep all business opportunities open.
James isn't alone in requesting to trademark the term "Taco Tuesday." A search of the USPTO website yields 29 results, many of them no longer active. Other services listed by companies requesting the term are for electrical appliances, clothing and -- of course -- food.
In fact, the restaurant chain Taco John's -- which has a corporate office in Wyoming -- had a trademark on the term "Taco Tuesday" for restaurant services as far back as 1989.
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Hop in the back, Mom and Dad are driving! What it's really like getting called up to the majors
Published in
Baseball
Monday, 26 August 2019 09:00

Some guys get it straight. Others get punked. Regardless of how the news comes, big leaguers never forget the moment they got called up to The Show.
Even though expanded rosters are going the way of the mound visit -- starting next year, the limit drops from 40 to 28 players -- that doesn't change the fact that leveling up to the majors is pure awesomeness.
In honor of the final year of September call-ups as we now know them, we asked some of the game's brightest stars to share their stories.
I was in Rochester, New York. We were playing the Triple-A team from Minnesota. Just finished the game, out to eat at one of the best and only spots right there in Rochester by our hotel -- Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. My family and my girlfriend were in town, and our whole team was there, eating dinner at midnight. All of a sudden, our manager, Al Pedrique, comes up to the table and says, "Hey, you might want to speed your dinner up a little bit -- you gotta go play right field in New York tomorrow."
I looked around and I was like, "I know that, Skip, we're in Rochester, New York. Of course I'm playing right field tomorrow." He's like, "Nah, you're going to be playing right field at Yankee Stadium."
"I think that's the secret, to be honest -- you should probably stop sleeping." Aaron Judge
I was shocked. I was still waiting for my food. I was hungry. It really didn't hit me. My parents start going crazy. My mom's crying, everyone's happy. My next thought was, "Well, how are we getting there? What's the next move? We drivin'? We flyin'?"
Since my family was there, we packed up the rental car and all drove together through the night. I told my mom I would drive, but she was like, "No, you need to rest, so sleep in the back." I was like, "Mom, I just got called up I'm not gonna be sleeping back here in the back of the car." I barely fit back there. It was a tight squeeze. Legs up, knees up. We get in at 5 [a.m.], and then at 6 o'clock, someone pulled the fire alarm. So I had to get up, go out of the hotel, everyone's sitting outside. By the time I came back in, it was 7, and I was like, "I'm just gonna head to the stadium." No sleep, no rest. I think that helped me. Adrenaline kicked in, and we were ready to roll. Went 2-for-3 with a homer [in his first major league at-bat].
I think that's the secret, to be honest -- you should probably stop sleeping.
Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox
I was in Triple-A at the hotel room in Pawtucket [Rhode Island]. It was late at night, and I was playing dominoes with a couple of my teammates. I got a call from our Triple-A manager. I was so not expecting it. I was going through a rough stretch. I was like, maybe 0-for-10 with seven strikeouts. I wasn't even looking for a call. It caught me by surprise. I had no idea.
I definitely thought they didn't want to win. I mean, I was a prospect coming up, and I was having a good season, but those last couple days, I wasn't playing well.
He told me someone was coming to pick me up to take me to the hotel in Boston because in the morning we were flying to San Francisco. There were a lot of emotions. I couldn't tell my mom because it wasn't official. But then I still ended up calling her. I had to tell my mom.
Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
I was in Tennessee in Double-A, and I got taken out in like the third inning, after a base hit. Got told I was getting called up. I got a pinch runner, so I kind of knew what was happening.
Why else would I be getting taken out of the game in the third inning? There's no other reason.
Jake Marisnick got hit by the next pitch. He got taken out of the game, and they told him he was getting called up, too. So we got to go together as buddies.
Dude, it was cool because it's a major experience, and me and him were like best friends at the time. Still are really good friends. We were roommates in Double-A with J.T. Realmuto. The three of us lived together. So it was cool. You get to experience that with one of your really close friends. There's nerves, and you don't know what you're doing at all because you've never been in the big leagues.
So you get to experience that with somebody who also has no idea what's going on or what to expect. The ups and downs, and everything that comes with being a rookie in the big leagues -- you get to experience it with a really close buddy. Very fortunate in that aspect. It's rare that two guys get called up at the same time, ever, let alone who are really good friends. So it was fortunate. We lived together in Miami that year. It was awesome.
Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
I was in Triple-A, and we had an off-day before Sept. 1st call-ups. I was only 20, but I was like, "Man, I just hit .320 and I had 18 homers and 90 RBIs, so there's a chance." They called me in, and they were like, you've had a great season and we just want you to know how great you've done this year, and you're going to the Arizona Fall League. I was like, "I already know that." I was a little disappointed.
I was like, it's all right, I'll just go and finish out this year. Then they told me they wanted me to go to Atlanta first. Jason Heyward and I were living together. We lived together all through the minor leagues -- 2008 in Rome, 2009 in Myrtle Beach and Mississippi, and then 2010 he bought a townhome and he was like, "Why don't we live together?"
"It's everything. When you finally get that call, it doesn't matter what day it is, or where it is, or what happens -- it's the best moment there is." Freddie Freeman
But that year, he made the team out of spring training. So we would leave, and he would go to Atlanta, and I would go to Gwinnett. I was like, "Man I want to go that way." So I just had to sit there at his house while the big league team played the day before -- then I finally got to go on Sept. 1st.
I walk into the yard and Bobby Cox is there, and I see the lineup and I'm hitting sixth and playing first. I'm like, "Oh jeez." Instant heart to my stomach. Faced Mike Pelfrey and the Mets. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was so cool. It's what every kid dreams about. And my dad was there in the stands.
It's everything. When you finally get that call, it doesn't matter what day it is, or where it is, or what happens -- it's the best moment there is.
Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
I was in OKC. At 2:30 in the morning, my roommate Trevor Oaks came in to wake me up. [Then-farm director] Gabe Kapler had tried to get a hold of me five or six times, and I was asleep. I didn't hear it. I never hear my phone ring, even during the day. I have it on vibrate. So Gabe ended up calling my roommate, who actually answered his phone. So he had to come to my room and told me to call Kap.
He wouldn't have woken me up at 2:30 just to prank me like that, so I knew it was the real deal. Then Kap told me the news.
So I called my parents at 2:30 in the morning, then I had a flight that morning at 8 to San Francisco. I went and packed up one suitcase in my room, went to the stadium, packed up my bag there and stayed at the stadium until like 6, then got to the airport at like 6:30. I didn't sleep at all.
Shane Bieber, Cleveland Indians
It was last year. I had just thrown a rain-shortened no-hitter, and so I was pitching pretty well. I was working on developing a changeup, just like I have throughout my whole career, and I was working with Steve Karsay, our pitching coach in Columbus at the time. He was like, "Hey, come in early so I can show you some video." So I came in early. We were in Gwinnett, Georgia. It was kind of unusual, but I went in and we were watching some video of some right-handed changeups and comparing them to mine.
All of a sudden, our manager Chris Tremie walks in and goes, "Oh, Kars didn't tell you?" Kars goes, "Oh yeah. You didn't notice all these clips are in Minnesota?" I was like, "No." He goes, "Yeah, you're starting there on Thursday."
Looking back, every clip was another pitcher pitching in Minnesota's ballpark against Minnesota. So it was like a scouting report. It was cool. I was totally blindsided.
Right after that, it was go time. I hadn't been in major league spring training. I hadn't thrown a major league ball. They were a little different -- they're just now using major league balls in Triple-A. So Kars was like, "Hey, let's go play catch." Grabbed a couple major league balls and messed around with them. Then I left the next day.
Whit Merrifield, Kansas City Royals
We were in Tacoma [Washington]. It was Kids Day, so we had an 11 a.m. game. We had a tee time at 3 [p.m.] at Chambers Bay, so we're all just swinging at the first pitch. Just put the ball in play and get out of there.
We had just got done playing. I walked off 18 and got the call from our Triple-A manager. He just said, "Hey, they need you up there. You've got a 3 a.m. taxi to the airport." We were playing with two foursomes. Hunter Dozier was there. I was a little surprised. I had been playing, so I was hoping the call would come. But I was also 27 at the time and had been playing well for a while, so I wasn't sure if the call would ever come. So it was nice that it finally did come.
It was a cool moment. We celebrated, then got back to the hotel and celebrated a little more.
Franmil Reyes, Cleveland Indians
We were playing at Reno [Nevada]. We were wearing pink because of Mother's Day. I had a pretty good day. I gave my team the lead with a triple. Right after the game, I showered and got changed, and I was eating at one of the tables in the clubhouse. Lance Burkhart, the hitting coach, told me that Rod Barajas wanted to talk to me. I knew it was good news coming, so I threw away my food and walked into the office.
Barajas told me to sit in one of the chairs and he was like, "Hey, you're not playing tomorrow because you swung at two bad pitches." I was like, "Wow, this doesn't happen to no one. I'm not playing tomorrow just because of two pitches?" And he said, "No, because you're playing for the San Diego Padres tomorrow."
I couldn't believe it. First person I called was my mom. Then my wife. Had a pretty good time. I was flying the next day. When I got to San Diego, that's when I celebrated with my mom, my cousins and my best friend, Franchy Cordero.
Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies
We had a day game in Colorado Springs, and me and like four or five guys got out of there real early after the day game. We drove up to the mountains and went trout fishing.
It was a really tough day -- I think I was the only one to catch a fish that day. Right as we were done, they called and told me to get my crap together and get back to town because I was getting called up. So I had to cut the fishing trip short.
But I was the only one who caught anything, and I got called up. So I had a great day, and everybody else had a terrible day.
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Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly scored an injury-time own goal to hand Juventus a 4-3 Serie A victory in Turin on Saturday after the visitors had fought back from three goals down.
Goals from Danilo, Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo gave the Italian champions a 3-0 lead with less than half an hour remaining.
Napoli refused to give up as Kostas Manolas and Hirving Lozano scored within two minutes of each other before Giovanni Di Lorenzo completed a stunning comeback to draw level.
But Koulibaly volleyed a free kick into his own net in stoppage time to hand Juve an early advantage in the Serie A title race.
Juventus face a trip to Fiorentina next after the international break, while Napoli host Sampdoria.
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Jurgen Klopp confirmed Sadio Mane was "upset with a situation in a game" following the forward's angry reaction during Liverpool's 3-0 victory at Burnley, but that "everything is fine."
The Senegal international was atypically furious while making his way to the bench after being substituted on 85 minutes, seemingly at Mohamed Salah's decision moments earlier not to slide a simple pass to him in the box to increase his side's advantage.
James Milner, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino all tried to calm the speedster down as he remonstrated with Andreas Kornmayer, Liverpool's head of fitness and conditioning.
Klopp admitted Mane, who had scored Liverpool's second of the evening at Turf Moor and is typically the most timid player in the squad, "looked different to how he looks usually."
The manager revealed he spoke to the player in the dressing room to ascertain and sort out the issue.
"He was upset, that was obvious," Klopp said. "Sadio cannot hide his emotions and I like that. It's all sorted.
"We spoke about it and everything is fine. We are individuals, we are emotional. It was a situation in the game he wasn't happy about -- that's completely fine.
"Would he do it in exactly the same manner again? Probably not, but it happens. Nothing happened, he didn't say any wrong words.
"Of course, I can understand that it's a little story. Thank God we are now away for a week, so if you write something about it, we will not read it anyway. And after a week, nobody can remember anymore, so it's a really cool moment to do it. But it is all good really, all fine."
The win was a record 13th in a row for Liverpool in the Premier League and saw them stay at the top of the table with four wins from four to start the campaign.
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Sources: Texans finalizing deal for Tunsil, Stills
Published in
Breaking News
Saturday, 31 August 2019 15:28

The Houston Texans are finalizing a trade with the Miami Dolphins for left tackle Laremy Tunsil, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Saturday.
Wide receiver Kenny Stills also is going to Houston in the deal, a source told ESPN's Cameron Wolfe.
The Texans are sending a package that includes two first-round picks and one second-round pick to Miami, which continues to load up on draft capital, a source told Schefter. There was no immediate word on if more parts to the package were involved.
Tunsil is now expected to be protecting Deshaun Watson's blindside this season. The quarterback will be happy to have the upgrade in protection; last year, Houston's 62 sacks allowed were the most by a playoff team since the 1999 Detroit Lions.
Tunsil, who is under contract this year and has a fifth-year option for 2020, was a first-round draft pick (13th overall) of the Dolphins' in 2016. He started 44 games for Miami over the past three seasons.
Dolphins quarterbacks were sacked on 10.1% of their dropbacks in 2018, 31st of 32 teams in the NFL.
Stills joins an already dynamic offense led by Watson and star receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Since entering the league in 2013, he has hauled in 259 receptions for 4,138 yards (with 32 touchdowns). His 16.0 yards per-catch-mark is the fourth-best mark in the NFL since 2013.
Houston was busy on cut-down day Saturday.
It acquired running back Carlos Hyde from the Kansas City Chiefs in a trade for guard Martinas Rankin. In another trade, it acquired second-year cornerback Keion Crossen from the New England Patriots, a source said. And star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is in Seattle and about to sign his franchise tender, which will enable the Texans to trade him to the Seahawks, a source said.
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles will play a single-admission doubleheader Tuesday with Hurricane Dorian looming.
Wednesday's finale of a three-game series at Tropicana Field was moved up to Tuesday.
Weather forecasts Saturday had the hurricane possibly staying off the east of Florida, but the projected path of the storm has been changing.
One of the parking lots at Tropicana Field was closed Saturday for the staging of FEMA equipment.
The Class A Florida State League and rookie-level Gulf Coast League have ended their seasons early due to the hurricane.
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