Looking ahead to the Women's European Championships kicking off on Wednesday
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Forbes
25 minutes ago
- Forbes
While Yankees Show Painfully Mediocre Results, Blue Jays Surge To Top Of AL East
Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. celebrates after a baseball game against the New York ... More Yankees Friday, April 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) There was a time when you would hear things like if you gave the Yankees an opening or an opportunity, they often took it and rolled towards beating an opponent no matter the quality of the team across the field. These days it is not hard to think the Yankees are the ones giving their opponents those opportunities to get the win and eventually capitalize on any little mistake. Of late, the team fitting the description of what the Yankees from the first five seasons of Joe Torre's tenure and in other seasons achieved is the Toronto Blue Jays. It is easy to think it since in a span of 24 days the Blue Jays massively seized on any kind of mistake ranging from mislocated pitches, errors and sub-par defense that did not go down as errors due to rules or other reasons. While the Yankees' 52 errors are 30 fewer than the MLB-worst Red Sox, seven were in the series, including four on Wednesday. In the previous visit to Toronto when the Yankees were swept in four straight right before visiting the Mets, they committed four, giving them 11 in the past seven encounters with the Blue Jays. And to break it down a little further, the Yankees were charged with 24 errors in their first 55 games when they sped out to a 35-20 record and seven-game lead through May 28. Since then, they are 21-26 with 28 errors in that span and 17 in the other games not against the Blue Jays in which the Yankees are 21-19. Which leads to the question of what the Yankees are? Are they the team who won 16 of 20 to surge into first place when the other divisional competition was lacking or are they the painfully mediocre group who is 11-18 against the AL East, including an unsightly 4-12 since May 28? The answer is likely somewhere in between but highly closer to mediocre. They are playing with a novice left fielder in Jasson Dominguez, who has had his moments but is still learning on the fly. When Paul Goldschmidt is not capably scooping various throws out of the dirt, they are playing with another novice at first base in Ben Rice, who has done several good things at the plate but remains a work in progress in the field. At shortstop, they are in Year Three of Anthony Volpe, whose defense remains a lightning rod for fans and manager Aaron Boone based on his comments during his weekly spot on 'Talkin Yanks'. Volpe can get to balls but is up to 13 errors, with eight of those coming since May 28. His figure is three shy of last season and four shy of his rookie season. His pace gives him a chance to join Gleyber Torres, Chase Headley as the third Yankee with at least 20 errors since 2015. And in the latest rough showing against the Blue Jays, Max Fried made one of the errors while also appearing to deal with a recurrence of his blister though on a different finger. Dominguez also made an error right before Bo Bichette hit a two-run homer, Rice made an error that allowed a run to score and Cody Bellinger lost a ball in the lights for a triple. Capitalizing on those miscues kept the good times rolling for the Blue Jays, who are playing similar to some of their stretches in 2015 and 2016 and dominating the Yankees like they did in 2021. Back then when the Yankees tediously won 92 games, the Blue Jays won 11 of 19 meetings, including eight of 10 in New York highlighted by a four-game sweep when the Yankees somehow followed up winning 13 straight by losing seven straight a few weeks later. This season, it is not only George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr, though they are doing plenty of the heavy lifting against the Yankees. Springer, who went 5-for-5 in New York on Aug. 18, 2022, is 15-for-36 in the season series while Guerrero is 11-for-38. Addison Barger and Ernie Clement are amongst the others getting things done against the Yankees along with various pitchers such as Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt, giving the Blue Jays a clear pitching edge over the Yankees. As for where this goes, the way the Yankees played in Toronto in their past seven trips there, a four-game deficit might feel like an eight-game bulge. The rest of the schedule is evenly split with the Yankees mostly being home every other week. The Yankees get their first chances at moving beyond the disasters in Toronto by playing seven against the Phillies and Rays. It is certainly possible a big run could be in front of them or looming but the optics in Toronto did offer a basis for it.
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Michigan State football extends offer to Harrisburg (PA) 2027 safety
It was a day where the Michigan State football coaching staff has extended new offers to the 2027 recruiting class. First the Spartans extended an offer to running back Trey Martin, and following that, the Spartans extended an offer to a defensive back from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Julius Fuentes-Bream received the offer from Michigan State safeties coach James Adams. He is a 3-star product, according to Rivals, as a 6-foot-2, 190 pound safety. A member of Bishop McDevitt High School, Fuentes-Bream holds power conference offers from Arkansas, Cal, Cincinnati, Louisville, Minnesota, Missouri, Ole Miss, Pitt, UCLA and Wisconsin. With Michigan State defensive coordinator Joe Rossi being a Pennsylvania native, the Spartans have taken a keen interest in the state, especially on the defensive side of the ball, in recruiting. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on X @Cory_Linsner This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Michigan State football extends offer to Julius Fuentes-Bream
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Why the British and Irish Lions' uncertain future could be bad news for Australia
A British and Irish Lions tour is sold, principally, on history and mystery. Anachronistic in its very concept, the actions and anecdotes of trips of yesteryear are woven into the rich red fabric adorning the current crop, links with the century and a half of touring parties evident at every moment before, during and after each squad's assembly. The cultural capital of the Lions is vast and trades, primarily, on that which has gone before – each trip bringing with it a chance to stir the nostalgic senses with a retrospective look. The mystery is inherent: how will a squad drawn at short notice handle the pressure of coming together to take on a big southern hemisphere beast? Yet even the great bastions of heritage and history must eventually become forward-looking. A corporate and commercial behemoth in a sport lacking in that sort of commodity, this may be a time of great change for the British and Irish Lions as bigwigs look ahead to a future that feels more uncertain than usual. Which is not to suggest that the Lions are in any kind of jeopardy. The strength of the brand ensures that the concept is surely safeguarded for the foreseeable future. But for the first time in recent memory, it feels like the concept itself could be tweaked. Already, of course, there is a women's tour on the way, the exact details still be confirmed for the 2027 trip to New Zealand but the planning well underway, even if there are plenty within the game who question whether the sport is ready for such a venture. That will precede a men's trip to take on the All Blacks two years later. The British and Irish Lions are one of rugby's biggest brands (Getty Images) But speculation otherwise abounds, and there is no guarantee that the traditional quadrennial cycles remain intact. While the Lions' touring history stretches back to 188, the actual lineage of the now familiar format is not that long – it was only in 1989 that the tourists first travelled solely to Australia, and only in 1997 that the South Africa/Australia/New Zealand rotation was fully established after the fall of the apartheid regime. The idea of taking a tour to France, which would represent a radical rethink, will not go away. Discussions have begun over possible pre-tour meetings in 2027 and 2029, while former Lions scrum half Matt Dawson recently told The Times that it would be 'insane' not to organise a full trip and itinerary. Such an idea would be glorious fun, with the fire and fervour of the French fans sure to cancel out the sea of red, and the depth of the sport in the country sure to provide compelling contests throughout the tour. A Lions tour would probably land well in a nation where club rugby is often king. It is a personal view, however, that a trip to less far-flung shore would have a rather different and likely inferior feel, though providing greater accessibility to a wider spectrum of supporters would be welcome. Equally, those that criticise the Lions as being Anglocentric or imperialistic would relish a broadening of the boarders; the performance and passion shown by Argentina in their two pre-tour encounters in the last two decades show that a return for the Pumas to the touring schedule more regularly would be embraced. Equally, the development of Pacific Island nations, Japan and others could be aided – it feels a misstep that Fiji, particularly, were not an opponent on this trip. An already congested calendar has limited room for expansion, though, which means that one of the traditional touring locations would surely have to be squeezed. For various reasons, it feels unlikely that New Zealand or South Africa would be under threat; Australia, by contrast, feel almost interminably imperilled in the modern landscape, and this has not necessarily been a buoyant start. The failure to release Wallabies to already under-powered Super Rugby Pacific sides has led to tour games generally won with a degree of comfort by the Lions, even amid plenty of errors. Australia may need a strong series to prove they remain worthy opponents of the Lions (AP) This should be a time of prosperity and promise for the Wallabies as they gear up for a home World Cup in two years' time, and yet the alarm bells still ring. Financial pressures on the unions have eased slightly – aided by this Lions trip – but it is not long since the Melbourne Rebels were lost as an entity, while rugby union is ever more marginalised by the popularity of the NRL and AFL. The truth is that the opening skirmishes of this Lions tour barely made a dent in the sporting psyche; that will change once the Tests are underway a bit, but union generally has to be content to play second or third fiddle. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii swapped rugby league for union - but most go the other way in Australia (Getty) Within that comes a talent drain – the (expensive) luring of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is a mere breath into a prevailing wind that blows young talent to league from union. Amidst that, there are nonetheless intriguing reports of NRL superstar Kalyn Ponga hiring an agent in union to keep his options open – though it would be an All Blacks call that the son of Kiwi parents would covet. Next summer will see South Africa and New Zealand tussle in a traditional tour of their own kind, expected to be sold on the strength of their rivalry as the Rugby Championship is ripped up in the name of bringing together two of the sport's fiercest foes in an encounter of greater meaning. What this means for Australia and Argentina is still somewhat unclear, but with the death of the traditional summer tour for the European nations with the advent of the Nations Cup in 2026, the established rugby calendar will certainly start to look rather different. It all makes this a rather opportune moment for the Wallabies to prove a few doubters wrong. By ranking and recent record, they are the poorest of the Lions' opponents of the modern era but never doubt the capacity of an Australian sporting side to rise to the occasion.
