Funky ‘swing off' gimmick just what All-Star Game needed
Everyone involved agreed that the so-called 'swing-off' that decided the All-Star Game worked, nearly to perfection, in fact. It was a long night, but it was a beautiful finish for baseball.
Advertisement
A few of the players didn't even know a tie after nine innings was going to be settled in a quickie Home Run Derby. But once it got started, and after it was done, almost everyone loved it.
The players who remained here long into the night all stayed involved. The six makeshift derby participants all were into it, and so was everyone on the benches, and the stands, too, as the six derby hitters (well, five since Pete Alonso wasn't needed as the National League's anchor) took their cuts.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Consortium 'ready' to buy ailing Morecambe
London-based sports investment company Panjab Warriors have released a statement to say they are "ready, willing and able" to buy Morecambe. The Shrimps were suspended by the National League until 20 August on Monday over failing to comply with the league's rules. Panjab Warriors have been in talks with the club's owner Jason Whittingham for over a year and a deal had looked set to be concluded earlier this summer. They have now said in a joint-statement with minority shareholders, the Shrimps Trust and Lizzi Collinge MP that the National League is ready to sanction the deal and "immediately lift the suspension and embargo should it be agreed". BBC investigates takeover turmoil behind Morecambe suspension Morecambe suspended from the National League Morecambe owner 'not heard from' potential bidder As it stands, Morecambe's fixture away to Boston United on 9 August, their first home game against Brackley Town on 16 August, and the trip to Scunthorpe United on 19 August, will no longer take place as scheduled. Whittingham, who has been looking to sell the club since 2022, announced a new buyer, named as a consortium led by Jonny Cato, had been found earlier in July, but it remains unclear where that bid also stands. Whittingham said on Sunday he had "not heard from" Panjab Warriors in the past week and talks with Cato were ongoing. The Lancashire side, who were promoted to League One in 2021, were relegated from League Two last season - their second relegation in the past three seasons.
The Hill
17 minutes ago
- The Hill
Obama mourns Cubs great Ryne Sandberg: ‘Class act'
Former President Obama is remembering Ryne Sandberg as a 'class act' following the Chicago Cubs second baseman's death. Sixty-five-year-old Sandberg died Monday, the Cubs said in a social media post. The famed baseball player had announced last year that he had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. 'Hall of Famer and Cubs stalwart Ryne Sandberg wasn't just a great baseball player — he was a class act who never cheated the game,' Obama said on Tuesday. 'Everyone in Chicago — including White Sox fans — will miss him deeply,' he added. The former commander in chief, whose home city is Chicago, is a noted White Sox fan. But he's expressed admiration for the Windy City's crosstown rival before. Ahead of the Cubs' 2016 World Series win, then-White House press secretary Josh Earnest said of Obama, 'The president is a loyal Chicago White Sox fan.' 'But the president is also a champion of his hometown, and he has been pleased to see the Chicago Cubs play so well this year,' Earnest said at the time. In a statement, MLB commissioner Bob Manfred called Sandberg a 'legend of the Chicago Cubs franchise.' 'He was a five-tool player who excelled in every facet of the game thanks to his power, speed and work ethic,' Manfred said, recognizing Sandberg's '10 consecutive All-Star selections, nine straight Gold Gloves, seven Silver Sluggers and 1984 National League MVP honors.'
New York Times
18 minutes ago
- New York Times
Can Quentin Grimes and the Sixers find a deal that works for both?
Every dollar matters for the Philadelphia 76ers, a 24-win team caught in a financial crunch. But every dollar matters for the Sixers' most important current free agent, too. Can they and Quentin Grimes meet in the middle? Grimes, a two-way shooting guard who balled out last season for the tanking 76ers after arriving in a February trade, is one of four restricted free agents who remain on the market. The Athletic recently polled 16 people in NBA front offices (including no one from Philly's), asking them what they would deem a 'fair' contract for each member of the four: Grimes, the Golden State Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga, the Chicago Bulls' Josh Giddey and the Brooklyn Nets' Cam Thomas. Advertisement Results for Kuminga and Giddey have already published. Now, it is on to Grimes, a 25-year-old who averaged an efficient 21.9 points in 28 games with the 76ers last season after a midseason trade. Most people polled for the story considered Grimes within shouting range of the midlevel exception, which is worth $14.1 million in starting salary. Twelve of the 16 proposed average annual salaries between $12 million and $16.7 million. One front-office staffer who is especially high on Grimes suggested a four-year, $75 million deal, the most total money and the highest average annual value ($18.8 million) anyone in the poll mentioned. On the other side of the spectrum was an executive who considered Grimes worth just $30 million over three years, $10 million in average annual value, the lowest number in the poll. The executive said he couldn't properly contextualize Grimes' scoring outburst at the end of last season, when the injured 76ers were losing intentionally in the hopes of keeping their first-round pick, because he 'played on a bad team.' Others who suggested salaries lower than the midlevel exception mentioned market conditions as to why Grimes, a strong on-ball defender and 3-point sniper even at his worst, may not receive a salary commensurate with his end-of-season numbers. 'The way the cap (environment) is now, why would you spend $20 million on Quentin Grimes when you can get (Bucks guard) Gary Trent (Jr.) for a minimum?' said one executive, who proposed a three-year, $40 million contract for Grimes. 'We shouldn't just sign young players because they're young. … You've got to believe Grimes is gonna develop into your starting backcourt with (Tyrese) Maxey.' The 76ers are loaded with young guards. There's Maxey, already an All-Star at age 24. There's 21-year-old Jared McCain, the rookie of the year favorite until he suffered a season-ending injury in 2024-25. Coming in this season is the No. 3 selection in this past June's NBA Draft, V.J. Edgecombe. Advertisement If the Sixers consider Grimes a starter, they can pay him like one. If they worry he could lag behind those three, then they would be more hesitant to hand him a briefcase of cash. One person in the poll suggested a two-year deal (for $24 million). Eleven people proposed three-year deals. The total money for those were $30 million, $36 million, $39 million, $40 million, $42 million, $45 million (two), $45.7 million (which is the exact worth of the midlevel exception), $48 million (two) and $50 million. Four people mentioned four-year contracts: One for $60 million, one for $64 million, one for $72 million and one for $75 million. The restricted free agency experience, rarely a fun one, is even damper than usual this summer. The little cap space that was once out there has evaporated. Meanwhile, leverage isn't easy to find for players in Grimes', Kuminga's, Giddey's and Thomas' situations. Since they are restricted free agents, their 2024-25 teams have right of first refusal, meaning if Grimes, for example, signed an offer sheet with another franchise, the Sixers could match it to bring him back for the same price. It makes rival organizations hesitant to tie up cap space with restricted free agents. Meanwhile, sign-and-trades are difficult because of a niche rule in the collective bargaining agreement called base year compensation, which makes the math in matching salaries far more complex than usual. Yet, whether he's a 20-point scorer or not, Grimes can play. By his second season, he was a starter on a New York Knicks team that won a playoff series. He drained 3-pointers and consistently guarded the opposition's best perimeter player. He's bounced around since — to the Detroit Pistons and then Dallas Mavericks and eventually to the Sixers, who let him cook after most of their top performers left the court late in the season. Advertisement As Grimes' usage climbed in Philadelphia, his above-average efficiency maintained, not normally the case when a young player ratchets up his responsibilities. He ran more pick-and-rolls, attacked the basket and controlled his squad's offense more than ever while in Philly. 'There are not many Swiss Army knife wings out there that score it as efficiently, defend, pass or rebound like he does,' said the front-office staffer who suggested the four-year, $75 million contract. 'He might not be elite at any one thing, but (he's) very good at a lot of them.' But even if the 76ers agree with that assessment, they have a problem. The cheapest salary a four-year, $75 million contract could start at is $16.7 million. As of now, Philadelphia is approximately $3 million below the luxury-tax threshold. Any Grimes contract, including if he picked up his qualifying offer of $8.7 million (which would send him back to Philly on a one-year deal and allow him to enter unrestricted free agency a year from now), would drive them past it. But this contract would blast them into the first apron and only approximately $5 million short of the second apron, which the team is hoping to avoid. The Sixers may overflow with talent but they also have the largest delta between their possibilities for the upcoming season. In a best-case scenario, a former MVP in Joel Embiid looks like himself again; a renaissance season from nine-time All-Star Paul George emerges; and a young stud in Maxey continues to improve. There is additional talent to fill in the gaps. In a worst-case one, Embiid and George, who just underwent another surgery, can't stay on the floor and the team combusts, just as it did in 2024-25, when expectations were high and results were the league's most disappointing. The Sixers finished 24-58. It will be difficult to justify such an expensive roster if they falter again this season. Advertisement For that reason, people polled about Grimes' contract concentrated on keeping him tradable. If the Sixers need to break it down, if they need to flip him for a center because Embiid misses time, maintaining him either on a short-term contract or on one with a salary below the midlevel exception could be an emphasis. 'I like Quentin Grimes. He's a very good player. I would present him with two options: You can have a three-year, $48 million deal or a four-year, $60 million,' one executive said. A three-year contract of that value would crest barely above this season's MLE, which can be used as a trade exception (meaning the Sixers could hypothetically trade Grimes into someone else's midlevel exception without having to match salaries). His 2026-27 salary would clear that season's MLE, too. But the four-year, $60 million deal could keep both seasons under it. 'You say to him, 'Do you want money or do you want longevity?'' the executive said. 'And if he says both, you say, 'We can't offer both.'' Starting-caliber players tend to make more than this. In 2025-26, 22 point guards, 28 shooting guards, 21 small forwards, 25 power forwards and 22 centers will earn more than the MLE. One participant in the poll suggested a salary barely above the midlevel, just to signal that Grimes is worth it. 'It's the same ballpark as what (Caris) LeVert and Nickeil Alexander-Walker got in average annual value,' he said. So now, like the rest of his restricted counterparts, Grimes waits, hoping to make the money his performance dictates he deserves and hoping to avoid the contract his lack of leverage could plop in front of him.
