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CBS News
30 minutes ago
- CBS News
Brandon Woodruff helps Milwaukee Brewers to 3-1 win over Miami Marlins in his first start since 2023
Brandon Woodruff pitched six strong innings in his first start in 651 days, Jackson Chourio homered and drove in three runs, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Miami Marlins 3-1 on Sunday. Woodruff (1-0) allowed a third-inning single and a homer in the fifth — both to rookie Heriberto Hernandez. He struck out eight and didn't walk a batter, throwing 53 of 70 pitches for strikes. Woodruff has a 47-26 record over eight seasons with the Brewers. Miami Marlins' Heriberto Hernandez (64) hits a single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Miami. Marta Lavandier / AP Christian Yelich had an infield hit in the third and stole his 13th base before Chourio hit his 15th homer on a 1-1 pitch from Edward Cabrera for a 2-0 lead. Yelich has reached base in 19 straight games. Hernandez hit his third homer to cut it to 2-1. Chourio had a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Trevor Megill worked the ninth for his 20th save in 23 opportunities. Cabrera (3-3) yielded two runs in seven innings. He allowed two hits in seven innings in a 2-0 win over the Twins his last time out. Miami lost for the third time in 13 games. Milwaukee went 3-3 on a six-game trip. Key moment Jim Leyland, who managed the Marlins to their first World Series victory in 1997, was inducted into the team's Wall of Fame. Key stat Woodruff, 32, hadn't made a start in the majors since Sept. 23, 2023 at Miami, when the Brewers beat the Marlins to clinch a postseason berth. He had right shoulder surgery that October and then had his return delayed this season by ankle and elbow injuries. Up next The Marlins begin a four-game series at Cincinnati. They have not announced a starter for Monday against Reds RHP Brady Singer (7-6, 4.36 ERA). The Brewers will start RHP Freddy Peralta (9-4, 2.91) on Monday in the first of three against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers.
New York Times
31 minutes ago
- New York Times
How I'd size up the West
A deal involving seven teams highlights the weekend. Meanwhile, Houston is parting ways with one of its young assets. Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images Joshua Gateley / Getty Images This is an excerpt from The Bounce, The Athletic's daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox. Let's run through some current tiers in the West. Tier 1: Championship contenders — Thunder 🏆, Nuggets The Nuggets took OKC to seven games despite not really being very good. Now they have reliable depth. Plus, Aaron Gordon's hamstring should be fine. Two true titans now. Tier 2: Worthy challengers — Rockets, Timberwolves Minnesota has made the conference finals two straight years. Losing Nickeil Alexander-Walker is tough, but they have some young players to fill the rotation. Continuity matters. Houston acquiring Kevin Durant, Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela has the Rockets on the verge of jumping into contender status. Tier 3: I can see the vision, if all breaks well — Warriors, Clippers Both of these teams have to be really lucky with extended injuries. Enduring a long season is tough, but being healthy in the postseason would make them a nightmare opponent. Tier 4: You're good but missing something — Lakers, Mavericks, Grizzlies, Spurs The Lakers losing Finney-Smith hurts their defense quite a bit. Dallas is missing Kyrie Irving to start the season, and we don't know how he'll return from the ACL injury this year. I like what Memphis has done, but they have a very young core. The Spurs probably need a year of jelling. Tier 5: Let's hope for the best — Suns, Kings, Pelicans, Blazers, Jazz Portland is kind of here by default, but I like the way they're building. The rest of these teams? They're either falling apart or putting players together haphazardly. Jason Miller / Getty Images By Mike Vorkunov, Jon Krawczynski and James L. Edwards III Lawsuits and liens have trailed free agent guard Malik Beasley since he entered the league in 2016, and he has drawn concerns from at least one team about his off-court life. Now, he faces even more scrutiny. Beasley, 28, is a person of interest in a gambling investigation out of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, his attorney, Steve Haney, confirmed to The Athletic over the weekend. No charges or formal allegations have been filed against him. 'This is simply an investigation,' Haney said. 'At this point, Malik has not been charged with any crime and there has been no formal accusation of wrongdoing. Hopefully, everyone will afford him that same presumption of innocence that everyone else deserves.' The investigation into Beasley came at what should have been a moment of triumph for him. After playing for five teams over his last four seasons, he was set to cash in this month following a strong campaign with the Detroit Pistons, where he averaged 16.3 points per game and made a career-high 41.6 percent of his 3s. The Pistons had been in talks with Beasley and his agent leading up to June 30's official start of free agency, and were prepared to offer him a three-year, $42 million contract that included a team option for the last year, according to two sources briefed on the negotiations. But the NBA reached out to the club several days before free agency began and let it know about the federal investigation involving Beasley. The Pistons quickly pivoted away and are now unlikely to sign him. The league has not said whether it has also investigated Beasley. The NBA has previously said it is cooperating with the federal investigation. The contract would have been a windfall, although Beasley has already made nearly $60 million over his nine seasons in the NBA, including $6 million with Detroit this past season. But he has a line of creditors who have taken to courts to try to recoup the money they believe they were owed. He has been sued at least five times over the last eight years, according to available public records, and has more than a dozen different liens filed against him. Read more here. GO FURTHER Malik Beasley facing complaint from former agency amid gambling investigation Maddie Malhotra / Getty Images The Boston Celtics front office isn't done making moves. How can we be so sure? By all indications, Brad Stevens will at least get his team under the second apron — and as of late Wednesday night, the team was still above it by about $332,000. It wouldn't take much maneuvering to dip under that threshold, but it would take more work if Stevens is motivated by the prospect of escaping the luxury tax. With Jayson Tatum injured, it could be smart for the Celtics to get out of the luxury tax now and begin the process of resetting the repeater tax. They would need to stay out of the luxury tax for two straight seasons to do so. Whatever comes next, the Celtics' supporting cast already has been crushed this offseason. Over the last two weeks, they have said goodbye to three rotation players from last season and could soon lose a fourth in free agent Al Horford. That total doesn't include Tatum, who is set to miss much of next season with an Achilles injury. The Boston front office hasn't done much to replace the departed players. Free-agent signings Josh Minott and Luka Garza were end-of-bench players for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang, acquired via trades, could be flipped again to help Boston shed more salary. While prioritizing their salary-cap situation this summer, the Celtics have allowed their talent level to shrivel up. Who's left on the roster? Read more here. GO FURTHER Celtics depth chart: More changes coming, but where does the roster stand? Trevor Ruszkowski / Imagn I've mentioned this before, but the Pacers painted themselves into a corner once they extended Andrew Nembhard last summer. By taking Nembhard's salary from $2 million to $18 million for 2025-26, Indiana put itself in a position where paying Myles Turner any kind of market rate would certainly put it into the luxury tax. (That extension, by the way, paid Nembhard two years and $56 million in new money; he's a good player, but this was roughly double what Nickeil Alexander-Walker got in free agency … for a guy they already had under contract.) Setting things up to be a tax team works better if your team is owned by Steve Ballmer as opposed to Herb Simon. We'll never know if the Pacers would have shelled out if Tyrese Haliburton hadn't been injured, but they've also never paid a cent of luxury tax in their history. The smart money was on that streak continuing. The Pacers, however, still have outs to survive this, particularly in the trade market. The first step is to turn Turner's departure into a sign-and-trade with Milwaukee, thereby generating a $24.5 million trade exception that they can use until next July. It likely will cost them a second-round pick, but it's worth it. Indiana also reacquired its 2026 first-round pick from the Pelicans just before the Haliburton injury, greatly lessening the worst-case scenarios for this coming season. That reacquisition also makes possible my favorite fake trade: Indiana sending a lightly protected 2027 first to Dallas for Daniel Gafford. He would need to fit into a trade exception created by a Turner sign-and-trade, but Gafford is a starting-caliber center who's tough and runs all day, plus he's signed for four years, and his money won't put Indiana into the tax. The Raptors have officially signed Sandro Mamukelashvili to a 2-year contract. A one-year deal with Orlando for Moe Wagner gives him a de facto no trade clause while he rehabs from a torn ACL. Wagner will have full Bird rights next summer to re-sign with the Magic, who also employ his younger brother (and roomate!), Franz. There is no denying the price the Bucks have paid to get Myles Turner to Milwaukee, a price that will show up on their salary cap sheet for the next five seasons. But as far as Turner's game is concerned, that should be a nearly perfect fit. Not only does Turner have the skills that made Brook Lopez indispensable for seven seasons, but also Turner is younger and more athletic. He might not be the lead ballhandler (Milwaukee will need to continue to search for help in that department) the Bucks lost when Damian Lillard tore his left Achilles tendon in Game 4 of Milwaukee's first-round loss to the Pacers, but if deployed correctly, Turner will be able to do all the things — plus a few more — that made Lopez one of the team's most important players. And that could allow the Bucks to evolve moving forward. Read my detailed breakdown of the Bucks' new signing. GO FURTHER What does Myles Turner bring to the Bucks? Breaking down the fit on both ends of the floor Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images The Washington Wizards entered the mix in the last 24 hours, and the idea of Jonathan Kuminga as a possible fit in Washington's rebuild has gained real momentum, according to league sources. The Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets have also registered varying levels of interest in Kuminga, league sources said. This is a difficult market for restricted free agents. Kuminga isn't alone. The Josh Giddey, Quentin Grimes and Cam Thomas situations also remain without resolution as free agency nears its fifth day. Kuminga and his agent, Aaron Turner, are in search of a situation where Kuminga will be a featured part of the core with the belief of the franchise and coaching staff behind him. That isn't something Kuminga has consistently felt in his four years with the Warriors and — holding a degree of agency for the first time in his professional career — he's in patient pursuit of a situation that matches his ambitions. That could mean the process drags deeper into July. Mike Brown verbally agreed to his head coaching contract with the Knicks last night and is expected to sign it early next week, a league source told The Athletic . Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images There's been increasing movement and conversation regarding Jonathan Kuminga, one of the most intriguing names remaining on the market. The Golden State Warriors, according to league sources, have been searching for a promising young player plus a first-round pick in return for Kuminga, should they ultimately choose to part with him in a sign-and-trade scenario. They extended the $7.9 million qualifying offer to the 22-year-old wing and maintain the ability to match any contract he signs. That gives them a level of leverage in a market devoid of significant cap space. They've drawn inbound calls in recent days, most notably from the Sacramento Kings, who floated an offer of Devin Carter, Dario Šarić and two second-round picks, league sources said. The Warriors have so far balked at what they felt was a buy-low attempt, league sources said. Read on for the latest Kuminga intel. GO FURTHER The latest on Jonathan Kuminga, the Warriors and his restricted free agency Moe Wagner has agreed to a one-year, $5 million deal to return to the Orlando Magic, a league source confirmed to The Athletic . Wagner, who was on track to be an NBA Sixth Man of the Year candidate before he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in December, will rejoin the team's big-man rotation of Wendell Carter Jr., Goga Bitadze and Jonathan Isaac when Wagner returns from his ACL rehab, which seems likely to occur sometime after the start of the regular season.I don't know how on earth the 76ers got Jabari Walker on a 2-way contract, but he is absolutely an NBA player and I wouldn't be shocked if he ends up in the Sixers' rotation. The fourth-year forward was a victim of a numbers game in the Blazers' frontcourt. But he rebounds, has some stretch capability and is still only 22 years old. My BORD$ formula had a value of $7.3 million on Walker. Meg Oliphant / Getty Images Jaxson Hayes has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Lakers, a league source confirms to The Athletic. During a 16-game stretch around the time of the Luka Dončić-Anthony Davis deal, Hayes was terrific. The Lakers went 14-2 and he averaged 8.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks. Hayes struggled after a knee injury and, obviously, the playoffs were the playoffs. But with him and Deandre Ayton, the Lakers have two lob threats at center. The Lakers, as is, also believe in Maxi Kleber's value as a stretch big. He's recovering well from foot surgery last January and could give them another dimension in their center rotation. The Pelicans waiving guard Antonio Reeves only makes sense if they are stretching his money to add a player who makes roughly $5 million, with either their biannual exception or the rest of their nontaxpayer midlevel exception, and want to do it while staying below the luxury tax. Reeves was guaranteed $1.955 million for this coming season, and New Orleans would be just more than $5 million below the tax if his money were stretched. If so, waiving a second-year player who shot 39.5 percent from 3 as a rookie would be a continuation of the string of bizarre moves emanating from the Pelicans of late. Reeves instantly becomes a priority two-way target, if not a roster add for the minimum, especially for younger teams trying to build. Our Doug Haller reported last month that the Suns were expected to try to part ways with Bradley Beal, and now an Arizona Republic report says that a buyout is being discussed. Phoenix buying out would save at least $34 million from its cap number for the coming season and make it possible for the Suns to escape the luxury tax entirely, although the Suns might clear it by mere pennies. Beal must give back at least $13.8 million for the Suns to legally stretch him, as our Fred Katz reported recently, and if that were to happen, the Suns would have a cap charge of $19.4 million over the next five years — a far cry from his $53.7 million salary in 2025-26. GO FURTHER How Jalen Green and Devin Booker can co-exist in a Suns backcourt My colleague Sam Amick has confirmed via a league source reports that center Jonas Valančiūnas, whom the Sacramento Kings agreed to trade to the Denver Nuggets at the start of free agency, is considering a move to the EuroLeague and an offer to play for Greek club Panathinaikos Athens. Valančiūnas has two years and a little more than $20 million left on his deal. If the agreed-upon trade goes through (Sam says it's still on, per a league source), Denver would have to waive or buy Valančiūnas out of his $10.4 million for 2025-26 for him to exit. I'm sure the Kroenkes are salivating over saving that cash, but the only plausible big-man replacement move would be signing Al Horford. Nobody else is left on the market, and the Nuggets have nothing to put into a trade. GO FURTHER Winners (Hawks), losers (July) and more from NBA free agency's first days No surprise on Houston waiving Jock Landale. In the absence of another trade, Houston needs to waive both his non-guaranteed deal and that of Nate Williams to get below the first apron, where the Rockets are currently hard-capped as a result of using their nontaxpayer midlevel exception on Dorian Finney-Smith. Williams has no trigger date on his guarantee, and the Rockets can keep him and stay under the apron if they move the contract of Cam Whitmore. If need be, Houston can also drag its feet on officially re-signing one of Jeff Green or Jae'Sean Tate while it figures out the resolution of that last roster spot. Steph Chambers / Getty Images For Deandre Ayton, who turns 27 at the end of July, the opportunity to re-establish himself couldn't be more clear. While his contract with the Lakers has a second-year player option, no one involved wants him to exercise it — the hope being that he far outplays that $8 million valuation and commands way more next summer. Team sources believe the Lakers have the right coaching staff to make that happen. In JJ Redick, they have a deadly serious head coach who also understands how to relate to players. Assistant Scott Brooks worked with Ayton in Portland two years ago, and Nate McMillan has either played or coached with or against virtually every personality type the NBA's ever concocted. And if not, the Lakers have maintained their flexibility for next summer and beyond. The Lakers weren't going to do better this summer than Deandre Ayton, not with what was on the market, not with the little they had to offer. If you polled 29 other general managers about whether they'd rather trade a first-round pick for Nic Claxton or if they'd rather pay Ayton $8 million, we can be pretty confident in the answer. And if there was hesitation, it wouldn't be because of the stuff on the court. It would be concerns about the culture, the fit, the commitment, the understanding about the required sacrifices that need to be made in order to win at the highest level. Read more of my column on the Ayton signing here. GO FURTHER Deandre Ayton fits with LeBron, Luka and the Lakers on the court. Will that be enough? Michael Reaves / Getty Images While things are slow ... I don't think the Knicks' tax apron situation has received enough attention. By adding Guershon Yaubsele via the taxpayer midlevel exception, the Knicks will trigger the second apron. It is going to take some serious limbo to stay beneath it. After agreeing to a minimum deal with Jordan Clarkson, New York has two open roster spots left. At the moment, they cannot sign a veteran to either one. The only players they could fit into those spots are ones they drafted — 2024 second-round Kevin McCullar (for $2,048,914) into one spot, and either 2025 second-rounder Mohamed Diawara, 2023 second-rounder James Nnaji or 2021 second-rounder Rokas Jokubaitis (for $1,272,870) into the other. Any other combination of salaries signed this summer would put the Knicks over the second apron. There are two possibilities to get around this. The most likely one is that Yabusele takes slightly less than the full nontaxpayer midlevel exception. If he takes just $36,641 below that number, the Knicks can put a veteran into McCullar's spot and fill the other with any of the second-rounders besides McCullar. The second possibility is that the Knicks sign non-McCullar second-rounders into both spots, but waive Ariel Hukporti's non-guaranteed deal and put a veteran into his place instead. In the meantime, one can see why New York picked up Hukporti's team option. Right now the difference between his $1.955 million salary and the $2.3 million veteran minimum is the glue holding New York's entire salary cap Jenga structure together. Page 2
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'F1' movie review: Brad Pitt's crowd-pleaser is 'Top Gun' on wheels
Brad Pitt moseys into 'F1: The Movie' like a cowboy, rocking jeans, smirk and devil-may-care attitude. This dude, however, is more into horsepower than actual horses. As an aging wheelman-for-hire on an underdog racing team, Pitt brings plenty of personality – and vroom-vroom steeliness – to the on-the-track thrills of the crowd-pleasing if mildly predictable 'F1' (★★★ out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters June 27). Director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the brain trust of 'Top Gun: Maverick,' harness that same need for speed here as the immersive world of Formula 1 races into view in blistering fashion. Hairpin turns and stressful pit stops go a long way toward entertaining F1 fans and neophytes alike, though melodrama and a bloated run time put the brakes on what should be a film that zips. Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox After pulling the midnight shift on a 24-hour race and winning at Daytona, Sonny Hayes (Pitt) rolls out to the next driving gig in his minibus – as long as it's got an engine and a steering column, he's game. At a random laundromat, he's tracked down and recruited by his old teammate Ruben (Javier Bardem), whose Apex racing team is one of the worst in F1 and hasn't won a point in 2 ½ years. That and the fact Ruben is $350 million in the hole spells pink slips for him, drivers and crew alike, barring a miracle. Sonny is a guy needing some serious redemption: Known as 'the greatest that never was,' he spun out professionally and personally in the 1990s, and getting a spot on Ruben's team gives him a second chance. Immediately, he chafes with hotshot rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) and is seen as less than serious by technical director/engineering whiz Kate (Kerry Condon). While character development could use an upgrade overall, Idris and Condon are fun foils for Pitt. Sonny and Joshua butt heads like a couple of alpha dogs, the new guy flirts hard with Kate (who puts Sonny in his place), and everybody, even the people swapping out tires, need to be a team player with only nine races to go. If this sounds like 'Top Gun' with cars, well, that's pretty much 'F1.' Not that that's a bad thing. The movie isn't shy about lapping many a trope, yet the white-knuckle action sequences are where 'F1' lives and breathes. Kosinski wants audiences to feel the danger of essentially sitting in a rocket that can go 200 mph, and the euphoria of passing a foe in a Ferrari or having a straight line to the checkered flag. Those go a long way in forgiving the multitude of subplots and the toolbox of car cliches. (And will have you binging "Drive to Survive" soon enough.) Like Cruise in the cockpit of a fighter jet, Pitt feels like he belongs in the driver's seat, which goes a long way in appreciating Sonny for the entertaining mess of a man that he is. Most of us wish we looked at 31 like he does at 61, but Pitt is weathered enough to be the perfect fit for his older guy's guy roles in 'Wolfs,' 'Babylon,' and 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.' Sonny is an analog, slightly peculiar fellow who doesn't jibe with a modern F1 landscape – while Joshua runs with a gazillion high-tech gadgets hooked up to him, the veteran is off jogging around a Grand Prix track. And watching Sonny throw his team, important races and everything else into chaos ('Plan C,' he calls it) before figuring his own issues out is delightful stuff. 'F1' leans extremely rousing, though it intrigues when it mines the strategic idiosyncrasies of the motorsport and the psychological and physical toll it takes to be a champion. There's a mental health angle touched on that, if explored more, would have led to a great albeit bleaker movie. Not that this thing deserves a participation trophy. Watching Pitt burn this much rubber, and with macho panache, puts "F1" in the winners' circle. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'F1' movie review: Brad Pitt brings champion steeliness to racing
