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🤝 Five things to know Wednesday
- Aaron Rodgers reunited with his family after a decade-long estrangement. Rodgers posted multiple family photos on social media for the first time since their feud in 2014 and added the caption, "Another bonding week." This is the biggest step in rebuilding a relationship that very publicly fell apart when his brother appeared on "The Bachelorette" a decade ago. The timing is meaningful for Rodgers as he enters what he says will be the final season of his legendary NFL career, and on that note, we ranked the greatest farewell seasons the league has ever seen. Will this off-field development fuel Rodgers to claim a spot among the all-time great swan songs?
- Day 2 of SEC Media Days featured optimism, difficult injury news and questions about the conference's future. Commissioner Greg Sankey continues to float the idea of the SEC breaking away from the NCAA. All the while, his 16-member schools are gearing up for football season. Georgia announced that running back Dante Dowdell suffered spinal cord and brain injuries in a serious ATV accident, and it is unclear when he will return to the field. That raises more questions about whether the Bulldogs have enough playmakers around quarterback Gunner Stockton. Also, Josh Heupel expects an immediate impact from new Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Knowles (although his track record suggests otherwise), first-year Auburn coach Alex Golesh is confident quarterback Byrum Brown will thrive at the Power Four level, and Shane Beamer seeks to re-establish momentum in a critical sixth year at South Carolina.
- Multiple WNBA superstars turned down 3-point contest invitations. The competition's prestige is in question as three of the top invitees -- Caitlin Clark, reigning champion Sabrina Ionescu and active 3-point leader Kayla McBride -- declined their opportunity to participate. While the WNBA did get six worthy competitors to join the field, this could be an early indication that the 3-point contest is headed in the same disappointing direction as the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
- The Angels fired a scout for allegedly spying on the Rockies. The scout, who referred to himself as "The Baseball Spy," was reportedly caught filming members of the Rockies' coaching staff ahead of a series in early June. MLB cracked down on sign-stealing in 2020 after the Astros' scandal, and one of the rule changes that came during that time was the limitation on the use of technology to steal or decode signs. The Angels fired the scout after MLB informed them that he broke that rule.
- The NFL pushed back against players' calls for natural grass fields. Players banded together to urge the league to fully adopt grass after watching 11 stadiums hold World Cup matches on pristine natural surfaces. However, the NFL disagrees with their assertion that artificial turf is more dangerous. The two sides have different interpretations of the same injury data, which could lead to a standstill.
🏈 Do not miss this: 50 under-the-radar NFL players
Football is right around the corner. Yesterday, we crossed the 50-day mark in the countdown to the NFL season. To celebrate the milestone, our Zach Pereles identified 50 lesser-known players who could help define the campaign. The unheralded contributors fell into six categories, from "under-recognized players ready to make a star leap" to "supporting a star."
The very first player that came to mind for this exercise was Bengals cornerback DJ Turner.
- Pereles: "Turner should be on everyone's radar, but a few difficult years for the Bengals' defense have left him on the outside looking in when it comes to top-tier recognition. He finished first in pass breakup percentage (18.9%) and fourth in completion rate allowed (43.9%) last year, making him one of few bright spots on a poor unit."
Here is one other player from every category that you should get to know over the next 49 days:
- Under-recognized player ready to make a star leap: Packers LB Edgerrin Cooper
- Bounce-back candidate: Buccaneers WR Jalen McMillan
- Second-year jump: Cardinals CB Will Johnson
- Known face, new place: Cowboys DB Jalen Thompson
- Trenches: Rams DT Poona Ford
- Supporting a star: Ravens LB Teddye Buchanan
Quarterbacks were excluded from the list because of the high-profile nature of their position. We did not entirely leave them out of the conversation in our 50-day preview, though. Garrett Podell named the most overrated and underrated signal-callers heading into the campaign.
🔠 Clippers ace NBA offseason and Blazers are a dud
Yesterday, we shared our grades for every Eastern Conference team's offseason. Today, our focus shifts to the West. That's where the Clippers have shined over the first month of the summer with their flurry of trades and team-friendly free agency acquisitions. Everything is contingent on the Kawhi Leonard trade eventually going through, but assuming it does, this is an "A-" summer for Los Angeles, according to our Sam Quinn.
- Quinn: "To turn a 35-year-old with his injury concerns and a looming extension into two unprotected first-round picks in the 2030s plus a non-trivial 2027 first-round swap, considering they already owed a separate swap to the Oklahoma City Thunder is a potentially transformative deal. Between the Leonard, Ivica Zubac and James Harden trades, the Clippers have executed a brilliant organizational pivot from a decayed contender into a young, flexible and asset-rich rebuilder."
At the opposite end of the report card are the Trail Blazers, who built themselves a logjam in the backcourt. How are they going to find enough playing time and touches for everyone after trading for Ja Morant? Each of Morant, Damian Lillard, Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija need the ball in their hands to be effective.
Here's a taste of the other grades we handed out in the Western Conference:
- Jazz: B+
- Thunder: C
- Pelicans: D+
⚾ MLB trade deadline landing spots
The MLB trade deadline is now less than two weeks away, and it is still not fully clear which teams will buy and which will sell. There is no bigger domino that could potentially fall than Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. As disappointing as Detroit has been this year, it remains in the playoff hunt thanks to the weakness of the American League, and that reportedly has the front office thinking it should hold on to Skubal for the rest of the season.
Our baseball experts chimed in with predictions on where each of the trade deadline's biggest potential movers could land, and amid the Tigers' modest turnaround this summer, the majority of them now think Skubal will stick around in the Motor City. One of them, Mike Axisa, dissented and said the Dodgers will make an offer the Tigers cannot resist.
- Axisa: "Lazy and unoriginal pick? Maybe, but the Dodgers are motivated to three-peat, they have rotation injuries, and they have one of the deepest farm systems in the game. What are they supposed to do with all those outfield prospects, exactly? You can roster only so many. Using one or two to rent Skubal in an effort to win a third straight World Series seems pretty smart to me."
The panel only reached a consensus on one player, Aroldis Chapman, who looks destined to stay in Boston now that the Red Sox are in the midst of a historic 14-game winning streak and suddenly alive and well in the wild-card race.
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
- Not all of the five-star prospects in college football's 2023 recruiting class have lived up to expectations through three seasons.
- As the wait for LeBron James' free agency announcement enters Week 4, his agent, Rich Paul, says he is not going to rush into a decision. One question in this whole saga that is getting overlooked is whether James will keep playing beyond next season.
- Panthers starting right tackle Taylor Moton will miss the start of the season as he recovers from a blood clot in his lung.
- The cumulative 2026 major leaderboard shows just how strong Sam Burns and Scottie Scheffler have been on golf's biggest stages.
- Napheesa Collier is set to make her 2026 debut as the Lynx listed her as "probable" for tonight's game against the Storm.
- These elite college basketball recruits shined at Peach Jam.
- L.J. Cason will transfer from Michigan to Miami, but he is not expected to play next season due to the torn ACL he suffered in February.
- Our picks for the 3M Open are in.
- The MLBPA made a counterproposal in CBA negotiations, pushing for changes to the draft. Also, players hope that MLB will allow them to play in the 2028 Olympics.
- Here's how the World Cup shook up the Ballon d'Or race.
- The WNBPA explained why it will not license Sophie Cunningham's viral pointing meme.
- The Asian Tour joined a new partnership with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, while LIV Golf's uncertain outlook has Jon Rahm remaining noncommittal about his future with the league.
📺 What we're watching Wednesday
⚾ Pirates at Yankees, 1:35 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Mets at Brewers, 2:10 p.m. on Peacock
⚾ Athletics at Diamondbacks, 3:40 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited
⚾ Cardinals at Angels, 4:30 p.m. on MLB Network
⚽ Fire at Miami, 7:30 p.m. on Apple TV
🏀 Sun at Fever, 8 p.m. on USA Network
⚽ Atlanta at Charlotte, 8 p.m. on FS1
⚾ Tigers at Cubs, 8:05 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ San Diego at Rapids, 9:30 p.m. on Apple TV
🏀 Wings at Fire, 10 p.m. on USA Network
⚽ Salt Lake at LAFC, 10:30 p.m. on FS1
