Warmup at a Minnesota United FC practice session on Thursday, January 12, 2023 at National Sports Center in Blaine, MN. | Michael Lake / Lake Photography
Looking forward to a new season and a full year of soccer as some things change and some things stay the same for MLS and MN United FC It is hard to believe, but the MLS preseason has already begun. It was a soccer-full few months since LAFC beat the Philadelphia Union in the MLS Cup final to secure a domestic double, even as the cost fo...
Photo by Will Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images
Dynamo eye another attacker, Galaxy could have 2 DP spots open, Chelsea complete Mudryk signing, and much more. Hopefully you got some rest over the weekend. Let’s get the work week started by hitting some freshly cooked Breakfast Links!
Houston
The Houston Dynamo will be hard at work at Houston Sports Parks this week. At this point it seems that, behind the scenes, the front office is continuing to cook when it comes to improving the ...
Can the Blues turn around a sinking ship? To say that the Blues’ play as of late has been uninspiring is being very generous. Mired in their longest regulation losing streak since Craig Berube took over as coach, the pressure is on for this team to play as well as they did during the first three games.
Brandon Saad is still out for tonight, but the team has options, and they’ve chosen to exercise them. From stlblues.com, here’re tonight’s lines:
Forwards
Schenn - O’Reilly - Kyrou
Buchn...
Photo by Joe Puetz/NHLI via Getty Images
What is going on with this team? It’s been a while since Blues fans have been treated to a stretch of play this putrid. What began as a good effort loss to the Winnipeg Jets last week has slid into an absolute dumpster fire in which it looks like the Blues are actively trying to lose games.
Their 6-2 loss against the Nashville Predators was bad, but their 7-4 loss on Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens was atrocious. A blown 3-1 lead sl...
Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images
What lines will we see tonight against the Habs? If you saw the news that Pavel Buchnevich was activated from the IR and got very happy about the prospects for tonight’s game, well...
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be in.
He’s getting one more game’s worth of rest before returning Monday night against the Los Angeles Kings, and honestly, a healthy Buchnevich is worth one more game out. Will that make a win again...
Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports
Catching up on some news items out of Angels camp in recent days After more than three months with no baseball whatsoever, we’re finally back to business as usual. Spring Training games have been going on for almost a week now, and Opening Day is on all of our collective radars just a few weeks away.
After staying quiet for the first couple of days post-lockout, the Angels jumped back into the mix with a couple of moves of their own . They’ve also been in the...
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Trea Turner just got a healthy raise. One of the primary reasons that the Nationals decided to part ways with Trea Turner and trade him to the Dodgers was that is was clear he was going to be making big time money both in the short and long-term. With the Nationals not set to contend in the near-term, having a luxury like Trea around (especially with his free agency looming) didn’t make the most sense.
However, what that meant is that for 2022, the Dodge...
Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images
Natty talks fantasy basketball waiver wire adds for the coming week. For those in weekly leagues, please be aware that the following teams only play TWO games this week (March 21st to 27th): the LA Clippers, the Sacramento Kings , and the San Antonio Spurs . Try to avoid streaming fringe fantasy players on those teams as you probably won’t accumulate much volume this week.
The following are widely available players (by position) in ESPN l...
RHP Ryan Tepera (Left) & RHP Archie Bradley (Right) acquired via free agency by the Angels on Thursday, March 17. | MLB.com
A Dynamic Bullpen Emerges Out Of Free Agency As Archie Bradley And Ryan Tepera Join The Halos On The Eve Of Cactus League Opening Day Dominick, David and Cole react to Archie Bradley (1-year/$3.75 Million) and Ryan Tepera (2-years/$14 Million) signing via free agency with the Angels and how these moves solidify the back end of the bullpen entering the 2022 season. Th...
Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
Adell And Lorenzen Impress As The First Game Of Spring Goes Off Without A Hitch In the Valley Of The Sun It’s been 166 days since the last Angels game (October 3 @ Seattle) and having baseball return to Arizona for Spring Training could not feel anymore perfect. With the assortment of moves made in the bullpen of the past few days, much anticipation has gone into this Angels team and what to expect during this 20-game Spring Training schedule.
Kicking thing...
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
The second bullpen upgrade of the day is a big one After bringing in Archie Bradley earlier in the day, the Angels made another significant upgrade to their bullpen on Thursday afternoon, as they reportedly reached an agreement on a contract with free agent reliever Ryan Tepera. According to Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors, the deal is for two years and $14 million.
Right-hander Ryan Tepera has agreed to terms with the #Angels . Two years and $14MM...
Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
More reinforcements for a much improved bullpen A day after general manager Perry Minasian said that he was still looking to further improve the Angels’ pitching staff, the club made a move to do just that, reportedly reaching an agreement with free agent reliever Archie Bradley on Thursday morning. According to Sam Blum of The Athletic, the deal and its terms are not final just yet, but Bradley is on his way to Arizona in hopes of getting it done soon.
...
Image via @Angels
The veteran last played for the Cubs in 2021 The Angels added some infield depth to their roster on Wednesday afternoon, bringing in veteran infielder Matt Duffy on a one-year deal worth $1.5 million.
OFFICIAL: The #Angels have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with INF Matt Duffy. Welcome to the Halos, Matt! pic.twitter.com/PJ4s4IwdE1 — Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) March 16, 2022
Duffy played in 97 games for the Cubs in 2021, hitting .287/.357/.381 with e...
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Their first move post-lockout is to bring back a familiar face The Angels reportedly made their first move post-lockout on Saturday afternoon, as according to Robert Murray of Fansided.com, they brought back catcher Kurt Suzuki to a one-year deal worth $1.75 million.
Free-agent catcher Kurt Suzuki and the Los Angeles Angels are in agreement on a one-year, $1.75 million contract, pending physical, according to sources familiar with the situation. — Ro...
Tempe Diablo Stadium - Tempe, AZ | Michael Chow / USA TODAY NETWORK
March 18 Will Be The Magical Day The Angels Hit The Field Once Again Following yesterday’s MLB & MLBPA new CBA Agreement to end the 99-day lockout, Major League Baseball this afternoon released the revised 2022 Spring Training schedule for all teams in the Cactus and Grapefruit League.
With the revised schedule now in place, the Angels will play 18 games in a 20-day period with off days on Thursday, March 17 and Wednesd...
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Manager determined to get team back on track. The pieces were in place for a special night on Saturday for the San Jose Earthquakes , but it wasn’t meant to be.
A six-game winless run coming in, including a battering midweek on the road, came up against a resurgent LA Galaxy team in the Cali Clasico at PayPal Park, but even with a full crowd and hope that the Quakes would turn it on in the derby once again, it didn’t break that way, as San Jose lost 3-1...
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Cali Clasico at home does not go at all to plan. The San Jose Earthquakes ’ winless run has extended to seven games, after they lost the Cali Clasico against the LA Galaxy 3-1 on Saturday at PayPal Park.
While the margin of defeat was smaller than the Quakes’ last match, that comes as scant consolation for a team that did score late, but after the game was already decided.
Matias Almeyda opted for a three-man midfield in this game, with Eric Remedi returni...
Hey baseball fans! We are officially in Spring Training, which means the 2021 regular season is less than a month away! Because of this, as is customary on Baseball with Matt, it's time for some of my bold predictions for the upcoming campaign, five of them to be exact. Although they have catchy-sounding nicknames, Belli and Yelli will not escape their season-long slumps at the plate from last year . Yes, Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich have won two of the last three NL MV...
As one of the teams most ravaged by COVID-19 protocols, you can’t blame the Heat for being thankful that they’ll get to face a Clippers team dealing with its own big absences.
With only four wins on the year, the Pistons will need to lock things down defensively if they want a shot at getting win number five.
Hey baseball fans! The 2020 season is officially over and the Dodgers are world champions! This is their first championship since 1988, a championship I'd like to discuss this, because of how interesting a team it was. The 1988 Dodgers didn't have a star-studded lineup. Only three hitters in their lineup had double-digit home runs that year and only one hitter had more than 20. One might call it a coincidence, however, that the hitter with 20+ homers for the '88 Dodgers was the Nat...
Hey baseball fans! The 2020 World Series is here, which means that it's time for me to give you a historical look on the matchup, which pits the Rays against the Dodgers! The Tampa Bay Rays are making their second World Series appearance in franchise history and their first since 2008. This marks the second time that a 1990s expansion team is making its second World Series appearance, joining only the Marlins. Having lost that 2008 World Series to the Phillies, the Rays are one of ...
I missed this recent release from Topps yesterday. Featured here is a Topps 2020 Turn Back the Clock online exclusive card made available yesterday, and it celebrates Clayton Kershaw's complete game shutout ten-years ago. Per the description on the reverse:
September 14, 2010 -- In a game where the Dodgers only mustered one run, 22-year-old Clayton Kershaw gave the team a much needed dominant performance. The left-hander fired a complete-game shutout. allowing just four hits and leading the...
Is this the turning point to Gavin's season?
Lux has had a poor start to 2020 -- first, not making the teams roster and batting below the Mendoza Line when he finally came up to Los Angeles. But last night he put up the kind an results that can lead to something good.
Prior to yesterdays game he was slashing a woeful .148/.258/.222/.480 in just eight games played. Now, after last nights three hit effort he is slashing a much improved .219/.324/.469/.793 while also walloping his first two...
I think we all knew this day was going to come.
Yesterday afternoon came word that the Dodgers had dealt right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling to the Toronto Blue Jays for two players to be named later -- one of which we now know is 20-year old right-handed pitching prospect Kendall Williams (more on him later).
As you'll recall, Stripling had seemingly been traded to the crosstown Angels (along with Joc Pederson) over the winter, but that was thwarted by the Anaheim ownership -...