An “angry” and “horrified” Toronto FC captain Michael Bradley made an impassioned plea on Thursday to try be “part of the fix” in terms of better understanding the racial inequality and social injustice that has continued to plague the black community. Read More
TFC captain Michael Bradley slams Trump, saying the U.S. president does not have a “moral bone in his body” — Toronto Sun
On Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays organization cut 26 minor league players, including four that spent time with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2019.
Blue Jays cut four members of 2019 Fisher Cats — Manchester Ink Link
TORONTO – On Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays organization cut 26 minor league players, including four that spent time with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2019.
Perhaps the most famous name on the list is first baseman Kacy Clemens, son of former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens.
Kacy began the season platooning at first base for the Fisher Cats, but went back down to Advanced-A Dunedin after putting up a .145/.247/.169 slash line over 24 games with New Hampshire, collecting just two extra-base hits and seven RBI, with a strikeout to walk rate of nearly 3:1.
Another first baseman, Christian Williams, was also on the list. Williams came to New Hampshire from Dunedin in May, just as Clemens was heading in the opposite direction. During his 79 appearances with the ‘Cats, Williams wasn’t much better offensively (.228/.276/.342)
Whenever the season finally starts, the Fisher Cats will still have options at first base. Nash Knight has played just under half of his five-year minor league career at first (127 games), and can fill in at second even though he’s played mostly at the hot corner.
Cullen Large and Deiferson Bareto could also theoretically step in, with each playing two games each at first during their minor league careers, and Ryan Noda may get a shot after he supplanted Clemens as the primary first baseman in Dunedin last year (.238/.372/.418), leading the team in homers (13), doubles (27) and RBI (74) over 117 games, also collecting 14 stolen bases and 74 walks.
The other two cuts included pitcher Turner Larkins, who threw one inning of relief for the ‘Cats last season and infielder Jake Brodt, who went 0-for-6 with two strikeouts in two games in Manchester in late August.
Alabama football players returned Tuscaloosa this week as voluntary workouts are set to begin next week.
Reports: ‘At least 5’ Alabama players test positive for coronavirus — nyob.news
On the same day it was announced that MLS would return to play, it was also revealed that an unidentified player had contracted COVID-19. FC Dallas announced on Wednesday afternoon that one of its players has (…)
FC Dallas player tests positive for coronavirus — SBI Soccer
Lakers guard Danny Green joined a growing number of NBA players who’ve taken to the streets to protest in the aftermath of George Floyd was killed in police custody on May 25. With thousands of others making their way through Downtown L.A., from City Hall to the Hall of Justice, Green marched Wednesday evening with…
Lakers’ Danny Green joins Black Lives Matter march through Downtown L.A. — Daily News
Dressed head-to-toe in black, his right fist thrust firmly in the air, Steph Curry took a knee alongside several hundred protesters Wednesday in Oakland. Along with four other Warriors, Curry joined a 3.4 mile march around Oakland’s Lake Merritt to protest the death of George Floyd last week at the hands of Minneapolis police. The…
Steph Curry and Warriors join in Oakland protest — Times-Standard
Dressed head-to-toe in black, his right fist thrust firmly in the air, Steph Curry took a knee alongside several hundred protesters Wednesday in Oakland.
Along with four other Warriors, Curry joined a 3.4 mile march around Oakland’s Lake Merritt to protest the death of George Floyd last week at the hands of Minneapolis police. The march was organized by Curry’s teammate Juan Toscano-Anderson, a Castro Valley native of African American and Mexican descent.
“My name is Juan Toscano-Anderson, and I play for the Warriors,” Curry’s teammate said through a megaphone as the two-time NBA MVP looked on. “But, before the Warriors, I’m a black man. Half black. Half Mexican.”
In addition to Curry and Toscano-Anderson, Klay Thompson, Damian Lee and Kevon Looney marched alongside protesters wearing black, carrying signs and chanting “NO RACIST POLICE. NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE.”
After four days of protests in Oakland, some violent, Toscano-Anderson made an announcement via Twitter late Tuesday night. “JOIN US TOMORROW. PEACEFULLY!” he wrote above a flyer that provided details of the event.
JOIN US TOMORROW. PEACEFULLY! pic.twitter.com/Z9Ji3QtqBl
— Juan Toscano Anderson (@juanonjuan10) June 3, 2020
The march began with eight minutes of silence — protesters laying chest-down on the lawn at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater — representing the amount of time Floyd lay on the street while police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck, killing him.
The silence was interrupted by Floyd’s last words. Cries of “I CAN’T BREATHE,” “MAMA” and “MY NECK” echoed across the lake.
Curry, Lee and Toscano-Anderson then began marching with protesters, first in front of the Alameda County courthouse and onto Lake Merritt Blvd. Midway through the march, Thompson and Looney joined Curry and Lee as Toscano-Anderson led.
Eventually, the march rounded onto Lakeside Drive. In happier times, this is where the Warriors’ championship parades have ended.
“I’ve got people in the locker room who are not only going to stand up for what I stand up for, but who are actually going to stand up with me,” Toscano-Anderson said. “It’s a different feeling. I’d run through a wall for those guys now.”
As protests unfolded across the country in the days since Floyd’s death, Toscano-Anderson and a group of childhood friends felt they needed to do something for their community. After exchanging texts and phone calls, the group made the decision to arrange the peaceful protest around 8:30 pm Tuesday night. By 10:15, they posted their plans to social media. They had no idea how many people would turn out on such short notice.
As protesters filed into the amphitheater, Curry and his wife Ayesha quietly made an entrance and took a seat. They were not approached for autographs or selfies. This wasn’t a day for anything like that.
“People know what they mean to the Warriors community,” Toscano-Anderson said of the Currys. “But, unless you’re from Oakland, you don’t really understand what Steph means to the Oakland community.”
Steph Curry and Ayesha Curry marching around Lake Merritt. pic.twitter.com/g56rHydnD5
— Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg) June 3, 2020
While helping organize the protest, Toscano-Anderson was nervous about the blowback he might receive. After all, he only made his NBA debut this past season after toiling in Mexico’s professional league and the G League, and figures to be deep on Golden State’s bench next season, if he makes the roster at all.
But he received the support of the Warriors organization, which was only buoyed by Curry’s appearance. “If I got Steph Curry out here with me, nobody trippin,” Toscano-Anderson said.
Confidently, Toscano-Anderson helped lead the march, breaking at intersections to talk to the group of protesters with his megaphone. At one corner, Curry, wearing a black face mask and dark sunglasses under a black bucket hat, chanted “DON’T SHOOT” and put both hands in the air before kneeling for another moment of silence.
As the country deals with the fallout of Floyd’s death, the sports world has grappled with how to make a statement while preserving its own business interests, and the NBA is finalizing plans to resume its season.
Last week, the Warriors issued a statement saying “We condemn, in no uncertain terms, racism and violence perpetrated against members of the Black community, and we call on all people to channel their justifiable anger into creating a more just and equitable society.”
Prepared statements can only do so much. The NBA’s players, a majority of whom are black, are in a unique position to help bring awareness to these issues.
“It’s not a million people, it’s not 100,000 people, it’s not 10,000 people, but it’s a crowd,” Toscano-Anderson said. “It’s just a step in the right direction.”
The view from left field 