Yankees turn to All-Star Carlos Rodon vs. Red Sox to stay aliveNew Foto - Yankees turn to All-Star Carlos Rodon vs. Red Sox to stay alive

NEW YORK -- Carlos Rodon watched Garrett Crochet debut as a promising hard-throwing reliever while they were teammates with the Chicago White Sox in 2020 and 2021. A lot has changed for both left-handers since, as Crochet is now the Boston Red Sox's staff ace and Rodon was an All-Star with the New York Yankees this season. Crochet dominated Game 1 of the Red Sox's American League wild-card series against the Yankees. Now it's Rodon who will be pitching to prevent New York from being ousted in the best-of-three series on Wednesday. The Red Sox opened the series by getting a dominant performance from Crochet, who allowed just one run -- on a second-inning homer by Anthony Volpe -- among four hits in 7 2/3 innings. Crochet retired 17 straight after Volpe went deep and threw the last of his 117 pitches at 100 mph for his 11th strikeout. Rodon will be pitching after the Yankees attempted to stage a late comeback against their former closer, Aroldis Chapman, by loading the bases with no outs. Chapman escaped with a strikeout, a flyout and another strikeout. "We have been playing these types of games for a while now," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after his team went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and struck out 13 times. "We have been playing with a lot on the line seemingly every single day. Tonight was a great baseball game that we just couldn't get that final punch in. So we will be ready to go, and I expect us to come out and get one tomorrow." Rodon will take the mound after holding opponents to an AL-best .188 batting average while setting a career high with 18 wins. Rodon went 7-2 with a 2.43 ERA in his last nine starts, which included 5 2/3 innings of one-hit ball in a 7-2 home win over Boston on Aug. 24 that started New York's 25-8 run to finish the season. He was 1-2 with a 5.74 ERA in three starts against the Red Sox this season and is 5-6 with a 4.28 ERA in 12 career starts vs. Boston. Rodon pitched four times in the postseason for the Yankees last season, going 1-2 with a 5.60 ERA. "I learned a lot about staying within myself and just trying to keep, you know, everything in check," Rodon said. "So hopefully I can keep that going for this year." Brayan Bello, who finished 11-9 and posted career-best figures in ERA (3.35) and innings (166 2/3), will make his postseason debut for Boston on Wednesday. The right-hander was 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA in his final three starts of the season. Bello will face a different Yankees lineup, as Boone figures to insert three left-handed hitters. Ben Rice likely will start at first base, Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second and Ryan McMahon at third. "We have a tough one tomorrow again," Boston manager Alex Cora said. "Rodon has been amazing throughout this season. They are obviously going to have their left-handed hitters in the lineup. We have Brayan, who likes it here, pitched well here throughout his career. I expect the game to be just like this one." One of Bello's losses in the final weeks came against the Yankees in Boston on Sept. 13, when he allowed four runs on five hits in five innings. He is 5-4 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 career starts against New York, including 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA in three outings vs. the Yankees this year. In five lifetime outings at Yankee Stadium, Bello is 3-1 with a 1.44 ERA in five starts. "I feel like as soon as you step on the field, you feel the pressure from the fans, even when you are in the bullpen and you go to the mound," Bello said through a translator on Monday. "For me, nothing changes preparation-wise, but I feel like that extra pressure from the fans and from everybody, it gets me going." --Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media

byAdministrator
in
September 30, 2025

Yankees turn to All-Star Carlos Rodon vs. Red Sox to stay alive

Yankees turn to All-Star Carlos Rodon vs. Red Sox to stay alive NEW YORK -- Carlos Rodon watched Garrett Crochet debut as a promising hard-t...
Read More
How do the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury match up? First look at 2025 WNBA FinalsNew Foto - How do the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury match up? First look at 2025 WNBA Finals

And then there were two. The 2025 WNBA Finals is set as the No. 2 seedLas Vegas Acesand No. 4 seedPhoenix Mercurywill face off following wins over the No. 6 seedIndiana Fever(3-2) and No. 1 seedMinnesota Lynx(3-1), respectively, in the best-of-five semifinal round. This will be the Aces fourth Finals appearance since 2020 and the Mercury's first since 2021. The WNBA Finals is expanding to a best-of-seven series, which will follow a 2-2-1-1-1 format that will see the higher seed Aces hosting the first two games at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. The series will shift to PHX Arena in Phoenix for Game 3 and 4. The Aces are vying for their third WNBA championship in four years, while the Mercury are in search of their first title since 2014. Aces center A'ja Wilson is also trying to become the second player in league history to win the league MVP and a WNBA championship in the same season twice. (Cynthia Cooper won the MVP and titles in 1997 and 1998 and Wilson in 2022.) The journey to the title continues on Friday. Here's a look at the 2025 WNBA Finals, including projected starting lineups, full rosters, head-to-head records and X factors: Las Vegas won the regular-season series vs. Phoenix, 3-1 Date Game M Time (ET) TV Channel Fri, Oct. 3 1 Mercury at Aces 8:00PM ESPN Sun, Oct. 5 2 Mercury at Aces 3:00PM ABC Wed, Oct. 8 3 Aces at Mercury 8:00PM ESPN Fri, Oct. 10 4 Aces at Mercury 8:00PM ESPN Sun, Oct. 12 5* Mercury at Aces 3:00PM ABC Wed, Oct. 15 6* Aces at Mercury 8:00PM ESPN Fri, Oct. 17 7* Mercury at Aces 8:00PM ESPN *if necessary Head coach:Becky Hammon 0Jackie Young| G 6' 0" - Notre Dame 1Kierstan Bell| F 6' 1" - Florida Gulf Coast 3NaLyssa Smith| F 6' 4" - Baylor 12Chelsea Gray| G 5' 11" - Duke 22A'ja Wilson| C 6' 5" - South Carolina Batman has Robin, and A'ja Wilson has teammate Jackie Young. Wilson is a gamechanger but the four-time MVP proved she's only human with a couple of "stinkers" in the semifinal round against the Fever. Wilson was limited to 13 points (6-of-20 FG; 1-of-2 3PT) in Game 3, but the Aces still beat the Fever behind a 25-point performance from Young. The dynamic duo were the highest scoring pair in the league this season, averaging a combined 39.9 points per game. Wilson and Young made history in Game 5 by becoming the first pair of teammates to score 30-plus points in the same game, finishing with 35 and 30 points in the must-win game. Wilson and Young can only carry the team so far, as evidenced in Game 5. Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd lifted the Aces to the finish line in overtime and will be critical moving forward. "It's not just one person, it's not just five people, it's everybody," Wilson said. The Aces not only have the highest field goal percentage (48.5%) and the highest amount of average points (87.0) in the postseason, Las Vegas has experience, playing in their third WNBA Finals in the four years. Smith was fire in the Aces' semifinal series win against the Indiana Fever, the team that drafted her No. 2 overall in 2022. After averaging 6.6 points in the Aces' first-round series against the Seattle Storm, Smith aggressively looked to score against the Fever. The forward averaged 11.5 points in four games, including an 18-point performance in their Game 2 win, shooting 7-of-9 from the field and securing seven rebounds. "When you are on a team where winning is the standard, it raises your level of focus," Smithsaid. Wilson's load is eased when Smith is on the court, but she must stay out of foul trouble. (She had five fouls in Games 3, 4, and 5.) Head coach:Nate Tibbetts 0Satou Sabally| F 6' 4" - Oregon 2Kahleah Copper| G 6' 1" - Rutgers 4Natasha Mack| C 6' 4" - Oklahoma State 8Monique Akoa Makani| G 5' 11" - Cameroon 25Alyssa Thomas| F 6' 2" - Maryland The Phoenix Mercury's stout defense is undeniable. The Mercury turned in a defensive clinic and leaned into their physicality to knock out the league-leading Minnesota Lynx. The Mercury have the best defensive rating of the 2025 WNBA playoffs (92.2), holding opponents to the fewest points (75.9) and paint points (32) per game this postseason. That'll make for an interesting matchup as the Aces' have scored 47.5% of their points in the paint. We can't forget about the Mercury's ability to score, primarily Phoenix's Big 3 of Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper, who average 47.3 combined points per game this season. The Mercury haven't been shooting the 3-pointer as consistently as they did in the regular season, averaging 31.4%, slightly down from the team's 34% average in the regular season. If the Mercury can get going from the 3-point line and stretch the floor, they will be clicking on all cylinders heading into the WNBA Finals. The Mercury entered the postseason with the highest scoring bench in the league and Phoenix will need two-time WNBA champions Sami Whitcomb and DeWanna Bonner to win the Mercury's first title since 2014. Whitcomb was pivotal in the Mercury's Game 2 comeback win over the Lynx, knocking down a clutch 3-pointer to send the contest to overtime. But Whitcomb was held to four points (2-of-7 FG, 0-of-2 3PT) in 24 minutes in Game 3 and six points (2-of-8 FG, 1-of-6 3PT) in 27 minutes in Game 4. The Mercury are 2-1 this postseason when Whitcomb scores 10 or more points. Bonner struggled in the first three games of the semis against the Lynx, averaging 2.6 points in about 24 minutes per game, although she found other ways to impact the game, with eight rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in Game 3. Bonner turned in a breakout performance in the Mercury's Game 4 win over the Lynx to clinch the semifinal series, scoring 11 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. The Mercury will benefit if she can consistently contribute on both sides of the ball. Bonner has appeared in 94 career playoff games, the most in WNBA history, and her experience will be crucial in the Finals. She previously won two titles with the Mercury in 2009 and 2014. # NAME POS EXP HT COLLEGE 0 Jackie Young G 7 6' 0" Notre Dame 1 Kierstan Bell F 3 6' 1" Florida Gulf Coast 3 NaLyssa Smith F 3 6' 4" Baylor 11 Dana Evans G 4 5' 6" Louisville 12 Chelsea Gray G 10 5' 11" Duke 13 Aaliyah Nye G Rookie 6' 0" Alabama 17 Megan Gustafson C 6 6' 4" Iowa 22 A'ja Wilson C 7 6' 5" South Carolina 24 Jewell Loyd G 10 5' 11" Notre Dame 32 Cheyenne Parker-Tyus F 10 6' 4" Middle Tennessee State 41 Kiah Stokes C 10 6' 3" Connecticut # NAME POS EXP HT COLLEGE 0 Satou Sabally F 5 6' 4" Oregon 1 Alexa Held G Rookie 5' 10" DePaul 2 Kahleah Copper G 9 6' 1" Rutgers 4 Natasha Mack F 4 6' 4" Oklahoma State 8 Monique Akoa Makani G Rookie 5' 11" Cameroon 9 Kitija Laksa G Rookie 6' 1" South Florida 14 DeWanna Bonner G 16 6' 4" Auburn 21 Kalani Brown C 7 6' 7" Baylor 23 Kiana Williams G 4 5' 8" Stanford 24 Kathryn Westbeld F Rookie 6' 3" Notre Dame 25 Alyssa Thomas F 11 6' 2" Maryland 33 Sami Whitcomb G 8 5' 10" Washington Who will be the next team to join this list? Year Champion Runner-Up New York Liberty Minnesota Lynx Las Vegas Aces New York Liberty Las Vegas Aces Connecticut Sun Chicago Sky Phoenix Mercury Seattle Storm Las Vegas Aces Washington Mystics Connecticut Sun Seattle Storm Washington Mystics Minnesota Lynx Los Angeles Sparks Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Minnesota Lynx Indiana Fever Phoenix Mercury Chicago Sky Minnesota Lynx Atlanta Dream Indiana Fever Minnesota Lynx Minnesota Lynx Atlanta Dream Seattle Storm Atlanta Dream Phoenix Mercury Indiana Fever Detroit Shock San Antonio Silver Stars Phoenix Mercury Detroit Shock Detroit Shock Sacramento Monarchs Sacramento Monarchs Connecticut Sun Seattle Storm Connecticut Sun Detroit Shock Los Angeles Sparks Los Angeles Sparks New York Liberty Los Angeles Sparks Charlotte Sting Houston Comets New York Liberty Houston Comets New York Liberty Houston Comets Phoenix Mercury Houston Comets New York Liberty The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:How do the Aces and Mercury match up? 2025 WNBA Finals analysis

byAdministrator
in
September 30, 2025

How do the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury match up? First look at 2025 WNBA Finals

How do the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury match up? First look at 2025 WNBA Finals And then there were two. The 2025 WNBA Finals is set ...
Read More
Syracuse basketball great Lawrence Moten dies at age 53New Foto - Syracuse basketball great Lawrence Moten dies at age 53

Lawrence Moten, a basketball star at Syracuse in the early 1990s who still holds the program scoring record, has died. He was 53. An athletic department spokesperson said Tuesday that multiple staff members learned of Moten's death from various contacts and that Moten was at home in Washington, D.C., when he died. A cause of death was not immediately clear. A 6-foot-5 guard known as "Poetry in Moten," he scored 2,334 points over four seasons with the Orange from 1991-94. His 1,405 points in Big East play was a conference record that stood until 2020. Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, who recruited and coached Moten, called it a tragic day for the Syracuse basketball family. "Lawrence's passing is such a sudden thing — it's very hard to take," Boeheim said. "He was one of the most underrated college basketball players of all time. I believe some people took his ability for granted because he made it look so easy. Lawrence was one of our greatest players and one of the best in the history of the Big East Conference." Syracuse made the NCAA Tournament three times with Moten, who had his No. 21 jersey retired in a pregame ceremony March 3, 2018, at the Carrier Dome. "I can't think of anybody that was more positive or who loved Syracuse more than he did," said Adrian Autry, who was teammates with Moten for three seasons and succeeded Boeheim as coach in 2023. "He was one of the greatest to put on the uniform. It's a big loss. I was able to play alongside him for three years and watch him do some amazing things. I was fortunate to spend time with him on and off the court." Athletic director John Wildhack called Moten a Syracuse icon. "His accolades as Syracuse's all-time leading scorer and holding the Big East scoring record for 25 years speak for themselves, but his style of play is what energized the Dome. ... He was a fixture around the program long after his playing career, always with a smile on his face." Moten was a second-round pick of the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1995 NBA draft. He played two seasons with them and an additional eight games with the Washington Wizards in '98. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphereandhere(AP mobile app). AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

byAdministrator
in
September 30, 2025

Syracuse basketball great Lawrence Moten dies at age 53

Syracuse basketball great Lawrence Moten dies at age 53 Lawrence Moten, a basketball star at Syracuse in the early 1990s who still holds the...
Read More
Read the email federal workers are getting hours before a potential government shutdownNew Foto - Read the email federal workers are getting hours before a potential government shutdown

Federal employees received an email on Tuesday ahead of a potential government shutdown. The email blames Democrats for blocking a funding bill. Multiple agencies are set to furlough workers if the budget isn't passed by the deadline. Federal employees' inboxes are dinging — it's yet anotheremail about their jobs. Employees of multiple departments shared with Business Insider an email they received on Tuesday warning of agovernment shutdownandpotential furloughsat midnight tonight. We spoke with 18 government workers, who used words like "confusion," "uncertainty," and "chaos" to describe the mood inside their agencies. Several at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Social Security Administration, Department of the Interior, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Office of Personnel Management confirmed they received the email from their leadership. It outlines what is expected to happen if Democrats and Republicans fail to pass afunding billby midnight and thefederal government shuts down. If the government shuts down at 12:01 am on Wednesday,federal employeesmight have to work without pay orget fired, if President Donald Trump's Office of Management and Budget goes through with potential plans outlined in a recent memo. Several agencies' contingency plans indicate that thousands of workers could be furloughed if the budget isn't passed. Tuesday's email does not mention firings. Federal employees are no strangers to mass emails during President Donald Trump's second administration. They've received messages about widespread firings related to the Department of Government Efficiency and spent months sending theirown weekly emails to leadership. Have a tip? Contact these reporters via Signal at alliekelly.10, alicetecotzky.05, julianakaplan.33, jnewsham.77, and asheffey.97. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device;here's our guide to sharing information securely. Read the email that some federal employees received on Tuesday afternoon: President Trump opposes a government shutdown, and strongly supports the enactment of H.R. 5371, which is a clean Continuing Resolution to fund the government through November 21, and already passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Unfortunately, Democrats are blocking this Continuing Resolution in the U.S. Senate due to unrelated policy demands. If Congressional Democrats maintain their current posture and refuse to pass a clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government funded before midnight on September 30, 2025, federal appropriated funding will lapse. A funding lapse will result in certain government activities ceasing due to a lack of appropriated funding. In addition, designated pre-notified employees of this agency would be temporarily furloughed. P.L. 116-1 would apply. The agency has contingency plans in place for executing an orderly shutdown of activities that would be affected by any lapse in appropriations forced by Congressional Democrats. Further information about those plans will be distributed should a lapse occur. On Tuesday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development website also posted a red banner that reads, "The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands. The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people." For one Social Security employee, Tuesday's email only brought confusion. "We are told as employees that we cannot be seen as supporting one party over another," they told Business Insider. "And it was very politically charged." The employee said the email did not clarify what to expect in the event of a government shutdown or how their job would be affected. The SSA's contingency plan suggests over 6,000 workers could be furloughed. With hours left before the shutdown deadline, the employee said that their whole office feels stressed about their paychecks and job security. Everyone has mortgages and bills to pay, the employee said, "How is this all going to work out in the end?" A CDC employee told BI that they feel "numb" about the potential shutdown becauseDOGE has already impacted their day-to-day work. Though they worry about the future. "I don't have any control over what happens," they said. "I don't trust that I will get back pay if I am not fired. Nobody, including us, wants our work to be paused indefinitely." A representative for Senate Majority Leader John Thune referred Business Insider to remarks he made on Tuesday afternoon, saying that "if the government shuts down, it is on the Senate Democrats." "Democrats have said for months that we don't want a shutdown and stand ready to work with Republicans to find a bipartisan way forward to address the looming healthcare crisis," a spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a comment to Business Insider. "If Republicans continue to put politics over people and put their petty antics over American families, they will own this shutdown." Representatives for the White House, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and House Speaker Mike Johnson did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Jack Newsham, Ayelet Sheffey, Ana Altchek, and Madison Hoff contributed reporting. Read the original article onBusiness Insider

byAdministrator
in
September 30, 2025

Read the email federal workers are getting hours before a potential government shutdown

Read the email federal workers are getting hours before a potential government shutdown Federal employees received an email on Tuesday ahead...
Read More
Trump posts deepfake video of Jeffries, Schumer with racist tropes as shutdown loomsNew Foto - Trump posts deepfake video of Jeffries, Schumer with racist tropes as shutdown looms

PresidentDonald Trumpposted an expletive-laden, deepfake video with racist tropes about immigrants after talks with Democrats did not end in agreement tokeep the federal government open. Senate Minority LeaderChuck Schumerand House Minority LeaderHakeem Jeffriesmet with Trump and Republican leaders on Sept. 29, just over 24 hours ahead of the government funding deadline. Later that night, Trump posted anapparently AI-created videoof Schumer speaking in a fake voice and Jeffries standing next to him with a sombrero, a mustache and mariachi music playing in the background. "There's no way to sugarcoat it, nobody likes Democrats anymore. We have no voters left because of our woke, trans (expletive)," Schumer's fake voice says. "Not even Black people wanna vote for us anymore, even Latinos hate us. So we need new votes. And if we give all these illegal aliens free healthcare, we might be able to get them on our side so they can vote for us. They can't even speak English, so they won't realize we're just a bunch of woke pieces of (expletive)." Jeffries and Schumer responded to the video by bringing it back to the fight over government funding. "Bigotry will get you nowhere," Jeffriesposted after Trump's video."Cancel the Cuts. Lower the Cost. Save Healthcare. We are NOT backing down." What is a government shutdown?Here's what it means and how it works The video is widely considered racist, includingby Jeffries himself. Trump shared it on his Truth Social account and X account, where it garnered more than 22.8 million views. The video contains several pieces of disinformation. Abouthalf of all U.S. immigrants speak Englishaccording to Pew, immigrants in the U.S. illegally can't vote, and undocumented immigrants are not eligible forfederally funded coverage, like Medicaid.Some have characterized the video as satire, mocking or trolling. "Whether or not it's satirical, it's still racist," saidPeter Loge,the director of the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at The George Washington University. He explained how it used Mexican stereotypes with the hat and music, falsely equated every Mexican person with undocumented immigrants, and put down the intelligence of Black and Latino voters. "The president of the United States has a responsibility to increase trust in the democratic institutions and to bring the American people together," Loge said. "Nobody should be sharing that video. Certainly not the president of the United States who represents all of the Americans, not just a small political base that supports him." "Anyone who's feigning outrage over a perfect meme should instead focus on the countless Americans who will suffer as a result of the Democrat shutdown," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told USA TODAY in a statement. Jeffries and House Democrats held a press conference on Sept. 30 to highlight their efforts to fight for their healthcare demands as the threat of a government shutdown looms. "Mr. President, the next time you have something to say about me, don't cop out to aracist and fake AI video. When I'm back in the Oval Office, say it to my face," Jeffries said on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. He went on to blame Republicans for not negotiating to fund the government. Jeffries also took a hit back at Trump on social media shortly after the AI video went up, pointing to the ongoing controversy over Trump's relationship with the late sex offenderJeffrey Epstein. This is real.pic.twitter.com/MSANoEbFCP — Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeemjeffries)September 30, 2025 "If you think your shutdown is a joke, it just proves what we all know: You can't negotiate. You can only throw tantrums," Schumer posted on Sept. 29 whensharing Trump's AI video. Schumer also called Trump a 10-year-old trolling the internet in remarks on the Senate floor, accordingThe Hill. Funding for the government expires at midnight on Sept. 30 and a breakthrough for an agreement looks unlikely. "There was a frank and direct discussion with the president of the United States and Republican leaders," Jeffries said after meeting with the president on Sept. 29, but added, "significant and meaningful differences remain." Republicans want a stopgap solution that would extend funding through Nov. 21, and Democrats want changes to healthcare access and subsidies as part of the deal. Both sides are trying to blame a potential shutdown on each other. Without funding, staffing at many federal agencies will be significantly reduced and federal services (except those considered "essential") will be halted. (This story has been updated with additional information.) Contributing: Zachary Schermele, Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trump posts 'racist' video of Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer on shutdown

byAdministrator
in
September 30, 2025

Trump posts deepfake video of Jeffries, Schumer with racist tropes as shutdown looms

Trump posts deepfake video of Jeffries, Schumer with racist tropes as shutdown looms PresidentDonald Trumpposted an expletive-laden, deepfak...
Read More

 

AB JRNL © 2015 | Distributed By My Blogger Themes | Designed By Templateism.com