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The Yankees Have A Fundamental Problem: Their Fundamentals

After a shaky start to the 2021 season, the New York Yankees have gotten back to the business of winning recently, with victories in nine of their previous 12 games (including Tuesday’s 7-3 defeat of the Houston Astros). Mostly because of their superior talent — and partly because it takes forever to know if a […]

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Michael Porter Jr.’s Breakout Is Real

When star guard Jamal Murray went down with a torn ACL in mid-April, it was easy to assume that the Denver Nuggets would fall back from the pack of contenders atop the Western Conference. When both Murray’s backup, Monte Morris, and starting wing Will Barton joined Murray on the sideline with matching hamstring injuries soon […]

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We Give NFL Draft Grades A C+

First, we look at the results of the NFL draft and specifically the usefulness of giving teams draft grades. Turns out, they’re not very useful at all in terms of predicting teams’ ultimate success down the line (team-building is hard), although they are still a fun way for fans to contextualize their expectations for future […]

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One Month Into The MLB Season, Which Rookies Are Standing Out?

Plenty of rookies have taken Major League Baseball by storm through the years. Ted Williams. Mark Fidrych. Kevin Maas. But Yermín Mercedes, the hitting machine for the Chicago White Sox, has already achieved the ultimate in baseball immortality: There’s a burger named after him. It sounds delicious (Mercedes himself is a fan), but it can’t […]

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The Long Arc Of JJ Redick’s Career

It was April Fools’ Day, but the sight of veteran NBA 3-point shooter JJ Redick in a Dallas Mavericks warm-up shirt was no joke.  Neither was his proclamation that he was ready to play ball.  “I’ve not played a basketball game since March 3, I think, so I’m itching to get back out on the […]

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