Leody Taveras' RBI single
On the Sidelines S1E14: Guest Matthew Smith, Storm get statement win, division crown is Mariners' to lose
FOX 13 News Anchor and sports fanatic Matthew Smith joins the show for the first time. We break down the Storm's statement blowout win over Las Vegas on Sunday and what we learned about the team that should carry forward through the rest of the season and into the playoffs. Then, we recap the Mariners 6-4 road trip and discuss how the Mariners matchup with the Astros this season compared to years past. The Sounders took home another three points at Lumen Field continuing their unbeaten streak at home. We cover the hot topics from the NFL's spring meeting including the tush push surviving and NFL players being allowed to play flag football in the 2028 Olympics. We discuss whether the OG flag football players are getting unfairly pushed out and who we would want to see play most. We finish with another edition of Top 5 Dead or Alive, this time ranking our top 5 teams we each individually hate the most as sports fans.
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New York Post
29 minutes ago
- New York Post
The brutal reality for Shedeur Sanders as Browns' QB competition begins
Shedeur Sanders is carving up players who will be on practice squads or out of the NFL come September. And that may be an apt description for his standing. Mary Kay Cabot noted after Sanders' stats in a recent organized team activities (OTA) went viral that the polarizing prospect is the team's fourth-string quarterback. Advertisement 3 Shedeur Sanders during a recent OTA. AP 'Shedeur Sanders … did not take one rep in 11-on-11s,' Cabot said earlier this week on the 'Orange and Brown Talk' podcast. 'He has to come in here as the fourth-string quarterback and work his way up that depth chart. So, he did not take a team rep. He did not have (rookie defensive tackle) Mason Graham in his face yesterday at all.' Advertisement Discussion of Sanders' positioning in the Browns' quarterback battle comes after the four contenders for the starting job in Sanders, Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel participated in OTAs this week. Deshaun Watson is expected to miss the season after undergoing Achilles tendon surgeries. Cabot and Dan Labee offered key context on the podcast to the eye-popping practice stats from ESPN Cleveland that showed Sanders completed 7-of-9 passes with three touchdowns – better numbers than Pickett, Flacco and Gabriel had that same day. Except that all of Sanders' production came during 7-on-7 periods, presumably against the back end of the defensive roster. Advertisement Why is that distinction important? Spring practices are structured to favor offensive success because defensive linemen run by the quarterbacks and raise their hands for what would be a sack. Then, take it one step further and 7-on-7s — with no pass rush and endless quarterback comfort — are even more slanted toward completions. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski indicated the snaps order isn't rigid. Advertisement 3 Sanders is running fourth in the race, per the report. AP 'We're mixing it up every single day,' Stefanski said. 'So that's why I tell you not to read much into it, even though you guys don't listen to me. But we're just trying to get guys exposure to different concepts, those types of things. So, it varies by walkthrough. It can vary by drill. It's not something that we're really — we're not leaning into or worried about the order at this moment.' As a point of snap comparison, the Giants gave Russell Wilson most of the first-team 11-on-11 reps during last week's OTA but also mixed in rookie Jaxson Dart for three plays with the starters. Jameis Winston ran the second-team offense, Dart was first up with the third-team offense and fourth-stringer Tommy DeVito – the former viral sensation – only took four snaps (none consecutively) with the third-team offense. Sanders is not to blame for the NFL world running with his practice stats. He can only do the most with the reps he is given. 3 The four potential starters in Cleveland. Advertisement But – because he is the celebrity son of a Hall of Famer who endured an unprecedented fall from much-hyped first-round prospect to fifth-round pick – his development is going to be a major story this season. Before he can dream of getting on the field in a real game, Sanders has to start to earn some of the 11-on-11 reps that Pickett, Flacco and fellow rookie and third-round pick Gabriel are taking in practice. His 7-on-7 numbers are a good first small step when framed correctly.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jay Toia fits Cowboys vision for violent DT rotation
Jay Toia fits Cowboys vision for violent DT rotation originally appeared on Athlon Sports. If his arms were two inches longer, he's a Day 2 pick. If the league valued the 1-tech the way it did before the pass-happy era, he's not on the board in the seventh. Advertisement But things happen. And the Dallas Cowboys may have found something worth exploring here. Jay Toia is already taking some turns running with the 1's in OTA's, as noted as we watched practice inside The Star on Thursday. Does that mean Toia is already more pro-ready than Mazi Smith? Or is this just more "Schotty-psychology" at work? A subtle way to light a fire under Mazi and get him "playing mad''? We don't know all of the answers here yet. But here's what we know for certain, Toia was PFF's highest graded run stopper in the class. Toia is incredibly difficult to move. And Toia comes from an entire family of NFL war-daddies. Advertisement Let's break this down. Cowboys D-line coach Aaron Whitecotton has been consistent since the day he got here: he prioritizes violence, penetration, rotation, and relentless energy. He wants fresh legs, interchangeable pieces, and an interior that attacks rather than absorbs. That's the lens you need when looking at Jay Toia. The 6-3, 335-pound rookie was a seventh-rounder in April, but don't let that shape your ceiling for him. The only reason he slid that far? Positional value. Nose tackles and true 1-techs aren't getting top dollar or draft love in a league obsessed with splashy pass-rushers. But maybe that's changing — fast (stay tuned on that front). Advertisement Now look at Dallas. The front office wasn't aggressive at defensive tackle in free agency, and they waited until Round 7 to address it in the draft. That might say more about their belief in Mazi than fans want to admit. Or maybe it's new coach Brian Schottenheimer doing what he's done all offseason — turning every roster move into a spark for competition. You need at least four defensive tackles to survive an NFL season. Some teams carry five. In years past, Dallas relied on aging journeymen like Jonathan Hankins and Linval Joseph to plug that hole. But now? Toia, Mazi, and second year man Justin Rogers give them potentially three 330+ pound bodies to throw into the fire. The problem is, most rookie DTs don't contribute early and Justin Rogers might as well be considered a rookie, too. It's the second-hardest transition in football behind quarterback. But Toia might be an exception because of the aforementioned bloodline of NFL trench warriors. You can feel it in how he plays. He walks, talks, and breathes interior football. But if that's not the case, which even despite early OTA reports shouldn't come as a surprise, then who can the Cowboys call on as the "mentor" in the room to help continue to cultivate the growth of the room. Advertisement You wouldn't be wrong to default to either Osa Odighizuwa or Solomon Thomas as the answer to that question. Those two guys are well-thought of in the Cowboys organization and also league-wide, but they're both more of your penetrating-pass-rush type 3-techs and much less so true run stoppers. So maybe this is where we glance back at something we discussed just a couple short weeks ago. Maybe the time is coming when the league starts valuing a guy like this. But for now? If Jay Toia can play? He'll be plenty valuable to a Dallas team that needs major improvement in plugging the run. Related: Cowboys Need 1 More Major Roster Move And Stats Reveal Why Related: Cowboys Lack Of Urgency Creates Huge Pressure on Mazi Smith This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 31, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
USWNT match-worn jerseys to be auctioned off while they're being worn
In April, Trinity Rodman struck early for the U.S. Women's National Team against Brazil, with her first goal for the team since the 2024 Olympics. She received the ball from forward Alyssa Thompson and finished with a shot into the lower right corner of the net. It was her 11th goal for the national team. While the crowd's cheers filled SoFi Stadium, they did not see what happened in the locker room at halftime. Advertisement Rodman's sweat-soaked, mud-streaked jersey was carefully collected by the team's equipment manager and placed in a sealed container bound for a warehouse in Amsterdam with eight other jerseys. These belonged to her teammates: Lindsey Heaps, Catarina Macario, Tara McKeown, Emily Fox, Allyson Sentnor, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Crystal Dunn and Sam Coffey. Almost three months later, on Saturday, the jersey was sold for $1,833 on an online marketplace that auctions signed match-worn shirts from around the world. The Dutch company collaborates with over 300 soccer clubs and federations across 35 countries, and it has just signed a deal with both U.S. national teams. During the USWNT's friendly against China in Minnesota on Saturday, the platform will launch its first live auction tied to a match. Every jersey worn will be up for grabs. The deal with U.S. Soccer and the USWNT Players Association also covers player-worn kits from all international tournaments moving forward, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, and the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil. The idea of selling worn jerseys came to brothers and co-founders Bob and Tijmen Zonderwijk in 2016 while they were searching for a special gift for their father, a die-hard Ajax supporter, who was moving across the country for work. They wanted to get him a match-worn, signed jersey from one of his favorite players to hang in his new office. At the time, the only option was the annual club auction. Advertisement After a year trying to convince Dutch clubs of their new idea, one finally gave in: FC Twente, where Dutch captain Jill Roord recently signed. 'We pitched the idea there, and the guy was quiet for the entire hour. After that, he said, 'Hey, it sounds like a win-win. When can we start?' So we were like, 's***, this is happening!'' Bob Zonderwijk told . In addition to a handful of USWNT and USMNT jerseys, the company's warehouse in Amsterdam is home to about 9,000 match-worn jerseys. Historically, the locker room and those sweat-soaked jerseys are sacred for players. Most keep them. Some toss them to fans. Others trade them with opponents. Either way, they're prized. The Zonderwijk brothers, lifelong soccer fans, knew better than to mess with that. Advertisement 'We don't want to interfere with those traditions,' Tijmen Zonderwijk said. So they found a workaround: they collect only first-half jerseys. 'Players are free to do whatever they want with the second-half kits — keep them, swap them, toss them into the stands,' he explains. Which means the Rodman jersey that just sold is certified and guaranteed to be the very shirt she scored in. Operationally, every club is structured differently but MatchWornShirt's co-founders realized that to streamline their operations, they had to work with the most important person in the room: the kit managers. Last year, they hosted the first European conference of kit managers in Amsterdam, inviting 180 club representatives and 90 kit managers from partner clubs. 'The good thing about kitmen is that they are structured and reliable. They have their own protocols and once we become part of that protocol, we are all good,' Tijmen explained. Advertisement This is especially crucial when it comes to getting the jerseys cleaned. Or rather, not cleaned. Instead of soap and water, the jerseys are treated with UVC light, a method that breaks down any lingering DNA to protect the player's health data but preserves the emotion: the grass stains, the wear and tear, even a trace of the smell. 'Eighty percent of the smell is reduced, but the smell is always there. It's also what makes it authentic,' Tijmen said. 'If it smelled like flowers, then people might also question the authenticity.' Once the jerseys are cleaned, the process of authentication starts: using match footage, they check how patches are printed to match them to the player wearing them. Then they chip the shirts with NFC (Near Field Communication) chips that carry a unique ID to certify their authenticity. NFC, commonly used for non-contact payments, uses close-range wireless technology to communicate between devises. Advertisement So far, the highest price paid for a women's match-worn shirt belongs to Sophia Smith's (now Wilson) No. 9 jersey that she wore while scoring in Portland Thorns' 2-0 NWSLchampionship win over Kansas City Current in 2022. It sold for $9,507 (£7,062). On the men's side, the most expensive jersey auctioned on the site was worn by Lionel Messi from his final season playing for Paris Saint-Germain. The winning bid was $58,000. MatchWornShirt did not share how the money gets split between them and the clubs, as the company doesn't disclose specific contract terms. But each partnership is tailored to reflect the commercial and charitable priorities of the teams and organizations involved. In the case of the U.S. Soccer, the deal includes both the federation and the respective players' associations. That means the proceeds are shared, and players get a cut. According to USWNT Players Association's agreement with the players, the PA receives payment from licenses like MatchWornShirt and players receive royalties. According to their financial statements from 2023, the organization paid its members $1,059,963 in royalties which amounts to 34.7 percent of the total revenue. The U.S. Women's National Team Players Association's (USWNTPA) Department of Labor report from 2024 shows that in 2023 former U.S. forward Alex Morgan took home the most in overall royalties ($167,593). Wilson ($74,232) and Rodman ($41,643) weren't far behind. 'With so many newcomers earning their first caps for the USWNT, these jerseys carry deep significance,' Annie Mitchell-Reid, the director of strategic partnerships and business at USWNTPA, told . 'Think of sisters Alyssa and Gisele Thompson making their debuts side by side, and others who will wear the stars and stripes for the first time or even the last time. There are so many amazing moments to come that fans can have a tangible piece of.' Advertisement But what happens if a jersey doesn't sell at one of MatchWorn's auctions? The Zonderwijks are not worried. 'We've never sold a jersey,' Tijmen said with a grin. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. US Men's national team, US Women's national team, Portland Thorns, Soccer, NWSL, Sports Business, Memorabilia & Collectibles 2025 The Athletic Media Company
