It’s not exactly the 11th hour but as the long days night that is the NBA’s attempts to return in conjunction with the Player’s Association, as well as Disney World and their employee’s union, an important figure on the player’s side as emerged as a voice of resistance among the players on whether players should return to play at all given the current backdrop of racial unrest in the country.
Yahoo’s Chris Haynes reported, along with Howard Beck and Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report, that Irving is a force behind organizing a call among the players scheduled for later on Friday.
As @TaylorRooks, @HowardBeck reports, Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has organized a call tonight for players to discuss what position they should take. He’s of mindset that during racial tension, not returning to play should be considered, sources say. https://t.co/8W8VaZMxQh
Obviously, the previous dramas of Kyrie Irving and LeBron James cannot be escaped here. Irving and his Nets superstar teammate Kevin Durant, according to reports, will not be with their team on the Nets, but their concerns are bigger than just the competition and more about their concerns of playing amid the current social climate. LeBron James has been as vocal as anyone about the current state of the country, police brutality against Black people, and voter suppression, but he is one of many superstar players, including the union president Chris Paul, who appears intent on playing.
However, players and teams have differing concerns, including everything from the current social unrest to the restrictiveness of the NBA’s campus environment, as well as general concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
The siblings have not forgotten what their mother, Lucia Velez, used to chant at their Eastside San Jose home. Duro duro a los libros — hit the books hard. Xavier Gutierrez, Lucia’s oldest child, took those words to heart as a student at Bellarmine College Prep, and later at Harvard University and when earning a law…
As the NHL begins to allow voluntary workouts for players at team facilities, a Boston Bruin has tested positive for COVID-19. The team announced Friday morning that one of its players tested positive for the coronavirus. However, the player proceeded to test negative twice thereafter and has been asymptomatic. During a Zoom call with the…
The 2020 Major League Baseball Draft is in the books, and there’s far less to sort through this year, as the event consisted of just five rounds — instead of the usual 40 — in response to the coronavirus pandemic. There were 160 players selected Wednesday as part of the two-night draft, which was held…
The 2020 Major League Baseball Draft is in the books, and there’s far less to sort through this year, as the event consisted of just five rounds — instead of the usual 40 — in response to the coronavirus pandemic. There were 160 players selected Wednesday and Thursday as part of the two-night draft, which was held remotely and seemed even more bizarre given the uncertainty hanging over the 2020 MLB season. So, which teams made the most of the condensed format and which teams whiffed with their picks? Let’s break down the winners and losers, acknowledging full well it’s nearly impossible to place teams into two such buckets in the immediate aftermath of an MLB draft since it often takes years for the players chosen (and signed) to make an impact at the major league level.
WINNERS
Detroit Tigers The Tigers owned the No. 1 pick and they didn’t screw it up. While one could argue Austin Martin is a better all-around player than Spencer Torkelson, selected first overall out of Arizona State, the Tigers added a prodigious power-hitting prospect who could mash from the middle of their order sooner rather than later. If that’s not enough, Detroit used its second-round pick on Ohio State catcher Dillon Dingler, who many were stunned to see go undrafted on Day 1, and its Competitive Balance Round B pick on LSU outfielder Daniel Cabrera, another college prospect who fills an organizational need for near-MLB-ready bats.
Kansas City Royals Don’t be surprised if we look back several years down the road and wonder how three players were selected ahead of Texas A&M left-hander Asa Lacy, whom the Royals picked at No. 4 overall. This year’s draft was loaded with college pitchers, and Lacy arguably is the best of the bunch. He’s a hard-throwing southpaw with the type of stuff scouts dream about, so there’s definitely ace upside there. Kansas City supplemented the Lacy selection with strong picks in subsequent rounds, highlighted by Nick Loftin at No. 32 overall. Loftin, a Baylor product, might be the best shortstop in the draft, although he also has the versatility to play other positions.
Toronto Blue Jays Martin was in the discussion to go No. 1 overall, and he seemed like a lock to go No. 2 once the Tigers picked Torkelson. Instead, the Baltimore Orioles threw everyone for a loop by selecting Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad, paving the way for Martin to fall to No. 5, where the Blue Jays nabbed perhaps the best all-around player in the draft. Toronto already has an impressive young core. It’ll soon become even stronger. MLB Draft Results: Here’s Every Pick Of Five-Round 2020 Draft
LOSERS
Baltimore Orioles The Orioles owned the No. 2 pick and, unlike the Tigers, they did screw it up. Or so it seems. While Kjerstad could develop into a nice player, the flaws in his game — namely his strikeout tendencies — make it difficult to justify the selection, especially since Baltimore didn’t really take advantage of the money it presumably saved by drafting him over Martin. If you own the No. 2 pick, you better come away with an elite prospect. The O’s didn’t.
San Francisco Giants The Giants selected catcher Joey Bart with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft. Now, two years later, they went back to the same well, choosing North Carolina State backstop Patrick Bailey. This obviously gives San Francisco enviable depth behind the plate, but Bailey’s offensive upside is limited relative to other prospects available. The Giants, who owned seven picks, including five among the top 85, should’ve aimed a bit higher
. Texas Rangers The Boston Red Sox raised some eyebrows on Day 1 by selecting Nick Yorke at No. 17. But what about the Rangers following up their selection of Justin Foscue at No. 14 — a reach in itself — by choosing Evan Carter at No. 50. Carter wasn’t ranked among MLB Pipeline’s top 200 prospects. In fact, he wasn’t ranked among Baseball America’s top 500 prospects. Texas hasn’t drafted well in recent years, and it appears that trend has continued.
Alex Cora is accepting responsibility for his role in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, but he said Thursday that he is tired of the chatter that it was just he and then-player Carlos Beltran behind the infamous scheme. Particularly bothersome is that then-Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow fingered him as the ringmaster. “If there is […]
A group of 40-50 NBA players held conference calls over the last several days to voice their concerns about restarting the season in “the bubble” in Orlando. What We Know: The NBA announced its plan to restart the season on July 31 at ESPN’s World Wide of Sports Complex in Disney World. The announcement included […]
Rangers outfielder Delino DeShields said that in 2015, his rookie season, Yankees fans taunted him and called him the N-word while he was in left field.
Coach Greg Popovich doesn’t pull punches about his take on Trump’s leadership and the danger he feels this president poses to democracy. “Pop,” as he’s widely known, grew up in my hometown of East Chicago, Indiana – an industrial melting-pot, blue- collar town near Chicago. What’s remarkable about such an experience is that unlike Chicago […]
The view from left field 