Latest news with #draftpick
Washington Post
10-08-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Shedeur Sanders and a 70-yard FG highlight NFL's first preseason weekend
The summer's first full weekend of NFL preseason games wrapped up Sunday. It was notable more for the mere fact that teams were back to playing games than for much that will still matter once the matchups actually count next month. But there was an eye-catching performance by the NFL's most prominent fourth-string quarterback and most closely scrutinized fifth-round draft pick. There was a harrowing on-field scene in Atlanta. And there was a 70-yard (70!) field goal.
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Series Preview #38: Diamondbacks vs. Rockies
The Diamondbacks are coming off a series that sums up much of the 2025 season, namely that they were arguably two competent relievers away from sweeping the contending San Diego Padres. Unfortunately, as we all know, they do not have those competent relievers (or a few other pieces), and so instead they turn their attention to a truly meaningless set of games against the Colorado Rockies. I suppose it's not truly meaningless. The Diamondbacks are somewhat in the running for the number one draft pick next season, currently sitting at 6.05% odds according to Tankathon. The Rockies themselves are not eligible, as they've sucked for too long and MLB has cut them off from that sweet, sweet draft pick high, but they could play a spoiler of sorts by losing to the Diamondbacks. It's hard to find narratives these days. In his last start, good Gallen showed up, pitching six innings of two run ball against the Athletics. It did seem as though he had his curveball working for him better than he had had in recent starts. It could have been extra motivation from being essentially untradable at the deadline, or it could have been the fact he was facing the Athletics. If this is another good start, the Rockies being the opponent will clear up exactly nothing. Gomber has had a rough season. I mean, look at that ERA+. He's basically Zac Gallen. He's started nine games for the Rockies. In only two of them has he avoided a home run. He has yet to have a start without walking anyone. Only twice has he avoided giving up multiple runes, though probably no coincidence that those were the starts without home runs. Basically, he's the type of pitcher I would have expected the Diamondbacks offense to jump all over two months ago. Now? I rate this game as a toss up. Eduardo Rodriguez had a decent start against the A's as well last time out, going 6+ innings and gave up two earned runs. An improvement over his prior start where he gave up five runs to Detroit, but the Sacramento caveat applies. I wonder if we'll ever find out why the current Diamondbacks regime struggles so hard to evaluate pitchers. Blalock is a rookie, having only pitched in seven games last year, one with Milwaukee and six with Colorado. This season, he's played in nine, started seven. At first glance it would seem he's done incredibly poorly this season, and, well he has, but the numbers are severely inflated by three particularly bad games he's had. The first was a 12 run start against the Padres, second a six run start against the Reds, and a seven run start against the Pirates this past weekend. Those are bad, and he can't erase them, but it's worth noting that they all were at Coors Field. At Coors, he has an ERA north of 11. On the road? It's an even 3.00. Pfaadt has been settling down over all since the start of July, with the only wrong turn being the seven run beat down that Detroit put on him just before the deadline. Last time out, he almost completed six innings of two run baseball, but couldn't quite record that final out. He walked three, and struck out four, which is definitely not the ratio one wants, but whatever works I guess. When I went to the Rockies game last week I saw Dinger spin his head around like he was possessed. That thing is evil and deserves to be drowned in a vat of Holy Water.
New York Times
31-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
This is why the Wizards won't reacquire their 2026 first-rounder from the Knicks
An ominous cloud will loom throughout the Washington Wizards' upcoming season. The question is this: Will that storm hit the team's rebuilding effort head-on, or will the storm deliver merely a glancing blow? Stemming from a trade made almost five years ago, the Wizards owe the New York Knicks either a protected 2026 first-round pick or a pair of second-round picks. For Washington, losing that first-round pick could be disastrous. Parting ways with second-round picks in 2026 and 2027 would hurt, but would be a less painful outcome. Advertisement And this is where the weather metaphor doesn't apply to the debt the Wizards owe the Knicks. When forecasters talk about a hurricane or a blizzard, it's with the knowledge there's nothing that can be done to prevent the storm's path. But as the Wizards prepare for, and go through, the season ahead, the team's front office can do something to mitigate the storm's impact. Washington will keep its 2026 first-round pick if it falls within the draft's first eight selections. Because of how the annual draft lottery works, the Wizards would guarantee a top-eight pick for themselves — and, therefore, keep the pick — if they finish the regular season with one of the league's four worst records. If the team ends the season with the fifth-worst record, then it would begin to risk losing the pick in the lottery. To sum up the situation bluntly, if the team tanks hard enough, it will retain that first-round pick. This partly explains why the Wizards' roster skews so young and with minimal defensive-rebounding depth right now; allotting minutes to inexperienced players could help the youngsters develop, while it also aligns the team to lose lots of games. This, no doubt, sounds like a morbid way to frame the Wizards' 2025-26 season long before the opening tipoff. As soul-crushing as it might be, even though team officials would love to see their young players flourish in the season ahead, the franchise nonetheless has an unquestionable incentive to rank among the league's worst teams. All of this brings up a pertinent question that, in theory, could resolve the Wizards' dilemma: Why not proactively approach the Knicks' decision-makers and attempt to make a trade to regain that 2026 first-rounder in its entirety? The answer: Such an effort would be nowhere near as straightforward, or as sensible, as it might seem. Advertisement This gets complicated. First, the backstory. In 2020, the Wizards traded John Wall and the conditional first-round pick to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook. In the intervening years, that conditional first-round pick was rerouted to the Knicks. In 2023, the Wizards made a trade with the Phoenix Suns that sent Bradley Beal, Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd to Phoenix for Chris Paul and Landry Shamet; first-round pick swaps in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030; and six future second-round draft picks. (The trade also involved the Indiana Pacers, but that aspect is not pertinent to this discussion.) The Suns agreed to those terms knowing the Wizards already owed to another team a first-round pick that was top-12-protected in 2024, top-10-protected in 2025 and top-eight protected in 2026. Those existing protections — even though they applied to a prior trade the Wizards had already made with another team — figured into the Suns' decision-making when they agreed to the Beal trade. Phoenix's front office figured a potential pick swap with Washington in 2026 was worth the risk, partly because a swap in that year seemed unlikely. One month after the Suns agreed to the trade with the Wizards, the Suns made another deal. The Suns traded unprotected swap rights to a 2026 first-round pick — the less favorable pick that year among the Suns' first-round pick and the Wizards' first-round pick — to the Orlando Magic for three future second-round picks. (In June, the Magic rerouted that pick swap to the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade for Desmond Bane.) See how complicated this is? Long story short: If the Wizards reacquire their 2026 conditional first-round pick from the Knicks, the Wizards would upset the original terms of their pick swap with the Suns. Therefore, to strike a deal with the Knicks, league sources said the Wizards first would have to proactively decline their 2026 first-round pick swap with the Suns. Advertisement The Wizards value that potential pick swap too highly to consider giving it up, a team source said. Right now, as long as the Wizards pick in the top eight in 2026, they will retain the right to swap 2026 first-round picks with the Suns. For a swap to be made, Phoenix would have to miss the playoffs during the 2025-26 season, which is not out of the question given how competitive the Western Conference likely will be, and the lottery would have to give Phoenix a better draft pick than Washington has. All of that happening is unlikely, but much stranger things have occurred. Remember, the Suns ended last season 11th in the West standings, and that was with Kevin Durant and Beal on their roster; this offseason, Phoenix traded Durant and bought out Beal's contract. So it's not unreasonable to conclude the Suns will miss the playoffs. If the Suns enter the 2026 lottery, they could defy the odds and win an early pick. This spring, the Dallas Mavericks won the lottery even though they entered the event with a 1.8 percent chance of winning the top pick. So, this explains why Washington has no intention of engaging in trade talks to recoup its conditional first-rounder from New York. The possibility of swapping picks with Phoenix, though remote, is too valuable to give up. (Photo of Wizards general manager Will Dawkins: Kenny Giarla / NBAE via Getty Images)
National Post
27-07-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes making his case at Canadian world junior camp
Vancouver Canucks 2025 first-round draft pick Braeden Cootes is among the 20 forwards and 36 players overall slated to represent Hockey Canada in the World Junior Showcase, which runs today through Saturday in Minneapolis. Article content Cootes, 18, is a right-shot centre with the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds, and Vancouver picked him at No. 15 a month ago in Los Angeles. Cootes signed his three-year, entry-level deal with the Canucks July 9, and he's expected to return this season to the Thunderbirds. He had 26 goals and 63 points in 60 regular season games with a young, rebuilding Seattle team last season. He was Seattle's captain as well. Article content Article content Article content There were 44 players invited to the camp this week, but eight forwards are listed as 'unable to attend' by Hockey Canada. The includes Kelowna Rockets centre Tij Iginla and Brandon Wheat Kings centre Roger McQueen, who both missed much of last season with injuries. Article content Canada's invited list features seven players from last year's world junior squad who were eligible to return. Cootes is among 22 players invited who previously won gold at the Under-18 worlds. There are eight 18-year-old forwards invited, including Cootes. The remaining 20 are 19 years old. Article content Longtime London Knights coach Dale Hunter is bench boss for this Canadian representative. The tournament is in Minneapolis and St. Paul and gets going Boxing Day. Article content Cootes has been lauded for his leadership and character. Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said on draft day: 'They have a lot of great history of NHL players coming out of that program and Braeden being a captain, a leader of that team, that excited my staff.' Article content Canucks defence prospect Sawyer Mynio, who was a Cootes teammate with Seattle before being traded to the Calgary Hitmen last year, played for Canada at last year's world juniors in Ottawa. Canada lost 4-3 to Czechia in the quarterfinals. Article content
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Future on the Ice: Devils and O'Brien Nurture the Next Generation of Girls' Hockey
Newark's newest first-round draft pick, Casey O'Brien, has already made an impact on New Jersey Devils fans. O'Brien was selected third overall in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) by the New York Sirens.
