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Baseball injuries are just the worst, and we unfortunately had two severe ones last night, to two very promising young players. Thats a downer way to start a Friday leading into what might be a long holiday weekend, but hey, its only getting better from here, right?

This happened as the Nationals took on the Cubs, a game Washington would eventually blow late. But more than the game, the bigger loss for Washington was young shortstop stud Trea Turner, who took a Pedro Strop fastball off the right wrist, resulting in a fracture:

Ugh.

Turner could be back in a few months, at least, which is probably more than we can expect for the other young player who went down injured last night.

This is so, so hard to watch. Ranked as a consensus top prospect in the Yankees system, Fowler was making his major league debut last night in Chicago when he went all out for a foul ball down the right field line. Theres not much room there. The result was about as bad as it could have been:

Damn it. Thats a ruptured patellar tendon. The kind of injury that results in pictures like this one, which was what I immediately thought of, from when former Indiana guard Maurice Creek suffered the same injury:

What an unfortunate thing.

From Wednesday, we wrote about umpire John Tumpane, who physically and verbally helped prevent a woman from committing suicide in Pittsburgh on his way to the park. On Thursday, the crowd and both teams gave Tumpane the standing ovation he clearly deserved:

Thats fanatastic.

-Were in a bit of a dead season, sports-wise, but along with baseball and the NBA free agency/trade market, theres also some international soccer, routinely one of the most entertaining parts of any summer.

Yesterday, Germanys B-team handled Mexico easily in the Confederations Cup semis, despite this ridiculous late goal from Marco Fabian:

Good heavens, thats a firecracker. This was yet another knockout round defeat in a FIFA tournament for Mexico, and as Leander notes at Yahoo, thats becoming an unfortunate trend for Mexico:

Mexico has never won a knockout game in either of the two global soccer tournaments put on by FIFA, the World Cup and the Confederations Cup, when that tournament was notstaged on its home soil.

El Tri won its only World Cup round of 16 game in 1986, when it hosted. And it managed to win the 1999 Confederations Cup when it came to Mexico, claiming a semifinal victory over the United States in extra-time, and then outlasting Brazil 4-3 in a slugfest final. When Mexico put on the World Cup in 1970, it stumbled in the quarterfinal, which was the first knockout game then.

Mexico manager Juan Carlos Osorio has an absurd record since his first match in charge in November of 2015, having managed 29 matches while suffering just 3 defeats, only two in competitive games. Unfortunately, one of those was the loss yesterday, and the other was a 7-0 shellacking at the hands of Chile during last summers Copa America. Germany and Chile are both top-class teams, of course, and it would seem absurd to boot Osorio; that would basically be admitting that in order to keep your job as manager of Mexico, you essentially cant lose, ever, to anyone.

Still, its Mexico, who have burned through 11 managers over the past 10 years. (Including, hilariously in retrospect, Sven-Goran Eriksson.) Its not a place for stability, but considering all the good work hes done, and how dangerous Mexico has looked under his leadership (including looking like a much better squad overall despite a 1-1 draw with the United States earlier this month), that would be a pretty foolish decision to make. Osorio deserves to lead the squad through the World Cup, barring further meltdown.

-Hey, theyre making another movie that takes place in the Jumanji Cinematic Universe, which isnt actually a thing but might as well be, apparently. It has the Rock, and Kevin Hart. It does not look great, to me, but your mileage may vary, so heres the trailer:

-A ref in Brazil pulled a gun on a player. (Reading the story, though, it almost sounds justified!)

-So, John Calipari may or may not be angling to lead the Knicks basketball operations, along with coaching the team.

-A professional golfers mom waded into a water hazard to retrieve a putter he chucked in.

-What should the San Francisco Giants do? A rebuild could be the right call, but they probably dont have the stomach for that.

-Ty Duffy wrote a great piece over at Awful Announcing on the likely future of the online media industry. Itsnot uplifting.

-Whats been the biggest disappointment of this years baseball season so far? Our staff offers plenty of options, though my choice would have just been the Cubs. But, as a Cubs fan, I honestly dont care that much. Its hard to. The last thing I want to do is become the Boston fans who immediately sounded entitled as hell after winning multiple titles.

Guy Buying The Shredded Cheese Brand Not On Sale Must Be Some Kind Of Billionaire Playboy

Ducks are excited about lunch

What the hellsin that container?

The rest is here:
The Cheat Sheet: A pair of devastating baseball injuries, a big loss for Mexico, and excited ducks - The Comeback (blog)

Benfica won a record fourth straight Portuguese league title in May.

Porto communications director Francisco J. Marques has accused the Portuguese champions Benfica of resorting to sorcery to win the past two seasons.

Marques told local TV channel Portothat he saw emails that Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira and Dr. Armando Nhaga, the national Police Commissioner of Guinea-Bissau, exchanged earlier this year regarding agreements for witchcraft services.

Marques told reporters: "In 2015-16, Benfica spent 75,000 (65,945) to fix the Championship [using sorcery]."

The Porto communications chief claimed that Nhaga warned Benfica that their attempts to win a fourth straight league title could be in jeopardy due to "sabotage" if the club did not increase their payments for using their services with respect to the 2015-16 campaign.

Vieira was reportedly not aware of the deal that was in place between a former ex-board member of the club, Rui Gomes da Silva, and Nhaga for that season. There was an agreement that also included the possibility of renewal.

However, Gomes da Silva did not maintain his place on the board.

Nevertheless, he alleged that Vieira was willing to consider an agreement.

The Porto chief claimed he saw an email that Nhaga sent to Vieira which said: "Regarding the 2016-17 campaign, which starts on Aug. 7 with the [Portuguese] Supercup, it could be a close fight for the [league] title, in which Benfica can make history.

"This entails the urgent need to reach a mutual agreement to provide services for the parties."

Nhaga then reportedly sent an itemised list of fees for his services for the season -- including 100,000 (88,000) to win the league title and a fee of 30,000 (26,398) for every Champions League knockout game.

However, Benfica lost 4-0 at Borussia Dortmund on March 8 to be eliminated from the Champions League round of 16. Marques alleged that after the loss, Vieira sent an e-mail to Nhaga asking "what happened?"

Nhaga replied that he was not "in Guinea at the time and that whoever was dealing with it [alleged sorcery] did not do it at the right time," but reportedly said: "However, now we are going to concentrate on what is essential, which is the league title and the Portuguese Cup. I thank you for your understanding and this will not happen again."

Marques said he was disgusted by the revelations.

"We are talking about witchcraft," he said. "Hundreds of thousands of euros were spent on that.

"I don't know what to make of this.

"This calls into question the coach, the players, but also [club executives] Paulo Goncalves and Pedro Guerra.

"There are people that in order to win, anything goes."

Benfica won a record fourth straight Portuguese league title in May with one game to spare, with Porto finishing runners-up, six points adrift.

The Lisbon-based club also lifted the Portuguese Cup after beating Vitoria Guimaraes 2-1.

Adriana Garcia is a Valencia-based football writer who covers La Liga for ESPN FC.

Read the original:
Benfica used sorcery to win past two seasons - Porto ... - ESPN FC - ESPN FC

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. -- Phil Mickelson isn't sure what's next for Jim "Bones" Mackay. He is sure there are going to be plenty of options for his longtime caddie.

Mickelson and Mackay announced last week they had decided to split up after 25 years and more than 600 tournaments around the world, ending one of golf's most successful relationships.

Mickelson's brother Tim is going to caddie for him for the rest of the year, and Lefty thinks there will be no shortage of potential suitors for Mackay.

"He's going to have some incredible opportunities," Mickelson said Monday in his first public comments since the split. "There's going to be a great player -- a lot of great players, but one great player's going to be lucky enough to have him and he's going to bring a lot to his game and they're going to be a great team. And then it gives me an opportunity to spend time with my brother for the rest of this year, which I'm looking forward to."

Tim Mickelson was the golf coach at Arizona State before he left the position to become Jon Rahm's agent, and Phil Mickelson thanked Rahm for approving his brother's new schedule. Tim Mickelson also carried his big brother's bag during the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship when Mackay went down with a stomach virus.

Asked if Mackay will start working for Rahm, Phil Mickelson said he had no idea and didn't want to speculate on Mackay's next job.

"He's not told me anything and I think that he's going to have a lot of players call him and inquire about his services," Mickelson said. "That would be what I would anticipate. But I don't know."

Mickelson, who celebrated his 47th birthday on June 16, and Mackay started working together at a U.S. Open qualifier in Memphis, Tennessee in 1992. Mickelson was hoping to have their final round together at this year's U.S. Open, but he skipped the tournament to attend his oldest daughter's high school graduation in California.

Mackay went to Erin Hills in Wisconsin to scout the course in case a weather delay would have allowed Mickelson to make his tee time, but it didn't work out. Instead, their last round was in the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

"We knew that final round in Memphis that that was our last round together -- or most likely," Mickelson said. "We were holding out hope that it wasn't, that we had one more week, and it was an emotional day. But we both know it's time."

Mickelson joined LPGA stars Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko and Stacy Lewis for a skills challenge at Olympia Fields on Monday ahead of this weekend's KPMG Women's PGA Championship. Mickelson and KPMG also announced a donation by the Phil and Amy Mickelson Foundation to the company's future leaders program, which awards college scholarships to young women and brings them to Stanford University for a leadership development retreat.

Mickelson signed autographs for about a half-hour after winning the skills competition, which included a couple different chipping contests and a knockout game involving images of each player behind plates of glass.

"I was nervous because I know how good they are," he said, "and it was fun because it gave me an opportunity to be around some of the best players in the world, best athletes in the world."

More:
Mickelson confident in opportunities for 'Bones' - pgatour.com

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill.

Phil Mickelson isn't sure what's next for Jim "Bones" Mackay. He is sure there are going to be plenty of options for his longtime caddie.

Mickelson and Mackay announced last week they had decided to split up after 25 years and more than 600 tournaments around the world, ending one of golf's most successful relationships.

Mickelson's brother Tim is going to caddie for him for the rest of the year, and Lefty thinks there will be no shortage of potential suitors for Mackay.

"He's going to have some incredible opportunities," Mickelson said Monday in his first public comments since the split. "There's going to be a great player a lot of great players, but one great player's going to be lucky enough to have him and he's going to bring a lot to his game and they're going to be a great team. And then it gives me an opportunity to spend time with my brother for the rest of this year, which I'm looking forward to."

Tim Mickelson was the golf coach at Arizona State before he left the position to become Jon Rahm's agent, and Phil Mickelson thanked Rahm for approving his brother's new schedule. Tim Mickelson also carried his big brother's bag during the Mexico Championship when Mackay went down with a stomach virus.

Asked if Mackay will start working for Rahm, Phil Mickelson said he had no idea and didn't want to speculate on Mackay's next job.

"He's not told me anything and I think that he's going to have a lot of players call him and inquire about his services," Mickelson said. "That would be what I would anticipate. But I don't know."

Mickelson, who celebrated his 47th birthday on June 16, and Mackay started working together at a U.S. Open qualifier in Memphis, Tennessee in 1992. Mickelson was hoping to have their final round together at this year's U.S. Open, but he skipped the tournament to attend his oldest daughter's high school graduation in California.

Mackay went to Erin Hills in Wisconsin to scout the course in case a weather delay would have allowed Mickelson to make his tee time, but it didn't work out. Instead, their last round was in the St. Jude Classic in Memphis.

"We knew that final round in Memphis that that was our last round together or most likely," Mickelson said. "We were holding out hope that it wasn't, that we had one more week, and it was an emotional day. But we both know it's time."

Mickelson joined LPGA stars Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko and Stacy Lewis for a skills challenge at Olympia Fields on Monday ahead of this weekend's KPMG Women's PGA Championship.

Mickelson and KPMG also announced a donation by the Phil and Amy Mickelson Foundation to the company's future leaders program, which awards college scholarships to young women and brings them to Stanford University for a leadership development retreat.

Mickelson signed autographs for about a half-hour after winning the skills competition, which included a couple different chipping contests and a knockout game involving images of each player behind plates of glass.

"I was nervous because I know how good they are," he said, "and it was fun because it gave me an opportunity to be around some of the best players in the world, best athletes in the world."

Visit link:
Mickelson thinks Mackay will caddie again soon - MyAJC.com - MyAJC

WELLINGTON, June 29 (Reuters) - British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland was always going to show his hand most obviously in his midfield selection and moving Owen Farrell into the centres for the second test against the All Blacks was a statement of intent.

The hard-running duo of Jonathan Davies and Ben Te'o made up a successful centre partnership in the 30-15 loss in the tour opener but Gatland has clearly concluded that attack is going to be the best form of defence in Wellington.

While the Lions made several line breaks during the first test in Auckland, they still ended up 3-2 losers in the try-scoring count and Saturday's test is one they must win to retain any hope of claiming the three-match series.

Ireland's Jonathan Sexton will therefore come in at flyhalf and start in tandem with Farrell for the first time on this tour as the Lions look to take the game to the All Blacks from the backline.

"From an attacking perspective it has given us more of an attack with the 10-12 combination," Gatland explained on Thursday.

"We looked at it. They haven't started together but they have spent a bit of time together. Their combination against the Crusaders was good and they had a bit of time together last weekend as well.

"It just gives us two ball players, two kicking options. A first and second receiver and we have two left foot options with Jonathan Davies and Elliot Daly as well.

"We're happy with the mix."

If there is a downside to the selection it is the loss at inside centre of Te'o, who made plenty of hard yards with ball in hand in Auckland and kept his fellow former rugby league player Sonny Bill Williams relatively quiet.

"Ben has done really well. He has carried well. Defended well. It was a tough call. He will get some time off the bench, but we made a call based on the opportunities we created and think we stretched the All Blacks at times," Gatland added.

"We also have to do a defensive job on Sonny Bill Williams as well. He came pretty direct at us, got a couple of offloads away so it will be important we shut him down."

Gatland said the rain forecast for Saturday in the New Zealand capital may yet change the gameplan but whatever approach the tourists took to the match, they had to leave everything on the pitch.

"It's definitely a knockout game, you lose on Saturday and the series is over," he said.

"We're all pretty aware of that." (Writing by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Originally posted here:
Lions roll the dice on Sexton-Farrell axis for knockout test - Eurosport.com