NCAAF

2025 five-star WR Caleb Cunningham commits to Alabama

When Nick Saban retired, it was fair to assume that Alabama’s recruiting would drop off. Six or so months later, that hasn’t really happened. The Crimson Tide, under Kalen DeBoer, have the nation’s No. 2 class and are still securing elite talent, including Cunningham, the No. 13 player in the 2025 class. Quarterback Keelon Russell and Cunningham should set off some fireworks in Tuscaloosa in the coming seasons.

NBA

Nuggets C DaRon Holmes suffers torn Achilles tendon

The Nuggets had high hopes for the rookie Holmes, even giving him a draft promise, and planned on the Dayton product serving as Nikola Jokic’s primary backup. Denver was already facing significant depth concerns in wake of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s departure to Orlando, and now the situation has become worse. DeAndre Jordan is still around for the Nuggets to play some backup center minutes, but he doesn’t have much left in the tank.

Hornets sign C Taj Gibson to one-year, $3.3 million contract

In the NBA, veteran leadership lands you a roster spot. Just ask Udonis Haslem. Gibson fell off the face of the Earth as a player last season, but Charlotte clearly feels the 39-year-old can be a positive influence on its young core. I disagree; the Hornets should’ve gone in a different direction, and my grade will reflect that.

Grade: D

MLB

Tigers 11, Dodgers 9

Colt Keith’s rookie season started slow, digging himself a deep hole, but he’s finally leveled things out. After finishing this game 3-for-4 with a home run, Keith’s OPS is .706 — right around league average.

The Dodgers probably aren’t losing much sleep over regular season games, but Los Angeles led this tilt 9-4 entering the bottom of the ninth and lost. That wouldn’t sit well with anyone, including a Dodgers team that has one goal: winning the World Series.

Evan Phillips has been solid all year, so him blowing this game was surprising. Phillips allowed two earned runs in the ninth inning.

Pirates 6, White Sox 2

There’s been some excitement around the Pirates recently — mostly due to Paul Skenes — but that excitement has been mostly surface level; it hasn’t led to many viewing Pittsburgh as a potential playoff team. That could change. Soon. The Pirates are now quietly 47-48, and if Luis Ortiz keeps putting together solid outings, Pittsburgh may find itself above .500. Ortiz tossed 5 2/3 innings yesterday, lowering his ERA to 2.84.

The excitement surrounding Pittsburgh is palpable — that is not the case for the White Sox. No team, perhaps other than the Rockies, is less exciting than Chicago right now. In this game, the White Sox had Andrew Benintendi hitting second. Benintendi’s WAR in 2024? -1.9. No, that minus sign wasn’t typed on accident.

Cardinals 11, Cubs 3

Due to his exceptional defense, Pete Crow-Armstrong is still arguably a net positive for the Cubs, but it’s been rough for the rookie at the plate. Crow-Armstrong went 0-for-3 yesterday, dropping his average to .192. Craig Counsell should probably keep trotting the center fielder out there — his defense is valuable and with Cody Bellinger sidelined, there’s no viable replacement — but Chicago’s lineup would vastly improve if Crow-Armstrong started hitting.

Yankees 6, Orioles 1

Juan Soto and Aaron Judge yesterday: 4-for-9 with two home runs. With Mookie Betts sidelined, the New York duo is the best in baseball, and it’s on Brian Cashman to supplement it with more support throughout the lineup.

Guardians 4, Rays 2

One of a manager’s biggest luxuries is a reliable bullpen, and you’d be hard pressed to find one more dependable than Cleveland’s. Cade Smith, Nick Sandlin, Hunter Gaddis and Emmanuel Clase shut the door on Tampa Bay yesterday across four scoreless innings.

The Rays are bordering on anemic offensively. The outfield, in particular, could use a facelift in Tampa Bay, as the Rays started Randy Arozarena, Jonny DeLuca and Richie Palacios in the grass yesterday. The trio combined to finish 1-for-11.

Red Sox 5, Royals 0

The rising Red Sox seemingly get a shocking performance from an underappreciated player every other game, and in this contest, it was Kutter Crawford. The 28-year-old is in the midst of the best season of his young career, and added to it with a two-hit, seven-inning gem to move Boston past Kansas City in the standings.

MJ Melendez isn’t having a *bad* season by any means, although a .194 batting average won’t win him many accolades, but he could be producing more for the Royals at the plate. Melendez finished this game 0-for-3, one of many Royals to be flustered by Crawford.

Phillies 11, Athletics 5

Why are the Phillies 62-33? There are countless reasons, but two simple ones stand out: Philadelphia beats up on bad teams — the Athletics would certainly qualify — and the club bounces back after defeats. This win checks each box, one in which the Phillies did their work early. No team in baseball should be patting itself on the back more during the All-Star break than Philadelphia.

The Phillies have appeared in each of the past two Fall Classics. The results weren’t ideal in either, so the franchise is surely lasered in on repeating what happened in 2008. That Phillies team had an awful lot in common with this iteration.

Mets 7, Rockies 3

The Mets didn’t punt this season with their actions — the roster is at least somewhat formidable — or words — David Stearns obviously never stated this year would be a rebuild — but New York didn’t actively try to get better last offseason, either. That line of thinking could change later this month, though. The Mets have been playing well for around a month and a half, led by resurgent performances from hitters such as Francisco Lindor. The shortstop was 1-for-3 with a home run in this game.

It has not been a fun season for Ryan Feltner. Sure, the righty has racked up a 5.36 ERA, but he’s now 1-9 — a record no starter wants to sport.

Reds 10, Marlins 6

Great American Ball Park is affectionately — or unaffectionately — known sometimes as Great American Small Park. That name played to form yesterday, as the Reds bombed six long balls, including two from the red-hot Rece Hinds. I already wrote about Hinds a few days ago, but his performance thus far in the big leagues has been nothing short of amazing.

Edward Cabrera needs to get it together. Cabrera was solid across 34 starts from 2022-23, but he’s been a disaster through his first seven this season. The right-hander fell victim to the Reds’ bombs in this affair, allowing seven earned runs in just 3 1/3 innings, increasing his ERA to 8.26.

Rangers 2, Astros 1

If the Rangers are going to pull this thing off and fight back into the postseason race, Marcus Semien and Corey Seager are going to have to dominate at the top of the lineup. This game counts towards that goal; Semien homered and Seager tallied a hit and two walks. At 45-50, Texas still has a long way to go.

Nationals 6, Brewers 5

CJ Abrams is awesome. Washington’s young shortstop is already approaching star territory, torching opponents with his bat, glove and speed. Yesterday, it was the bat that damaged the Brewers, as Abrams hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning, his 15th of the season.

The Brewers might need to keep at it in terms of adding fringe starting pitching. One of Milwaukee’s latest additions, Dallas Keuchel, struggled in this contest, lasting just three innings. Across the three frames, Keuchel permitted three earned runs and eight hits.

Nationals receive: 3B Cayden Wallace and 2024 39th overall pick

Royals receive: RP Hunter Harvey

Washington is clinging for its dear life at 44-52, so moving on from Harvey for this package is fine with me. This package, by the way, is an outstanding return for the reliever. Wallace is Kansas City’s No. 2 prospect and could see the majors as soon as the next year. Receiving the No. 39 pick in addition to Wallace is just gravy on top.

Harvey holds a 4.20 ERA, but has been a victim of bad luck, as evidenced by his 2.99 SIERA. Still, that doesn’t justify what Kansas City is sending out for the mid-level reliever. This is a huge overpay.

Nationals Grade: A+

Royals Grade: D-