Team USA might've accidentally blown their WBC chances
Italy brings USA to the brink of elimination, Bam Adebayo scores 83 points against the Wizards, Padres' starting rotation is already leaning on depth, an NFL trade falls apart, and a lot more!
Yesterday was a fun sports day. I’m not sure if it was a great sports day, but it was definitely a fun one.
First, you had Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (known for his defense) scoring 83 points in an NBA game. That is the 2nd most points ever scored in an NBA game, topping Kobe Bryant’s 81, depending on if you are a Wilt Chamberlain conspiracy theorist or not. How he scored those points is creating a bit of controversy, of course.
Second, you had Team USA getting blown out by Italy in the World Baseball Classic before making a furious comeback run at the end of the game that eventually fell short. Did Mark DeRosa think the team had already punched their ticket to the knockout round? It certainly seems that way! And that probably affected how he put together his lineup, if not the general guide of the team, for their loss to Italy.
There are a number of ways for the United States to still make it to the knockout round, but the easiest one would be for Italy to stay hot and beat Mexico later today.
There was also the Ravens backing out of their trade with the Raiders for Maxx Crosby, who reportedly failed a physical after offseason knee surgery, but the Ravens then immediately signed (top free agent) Trey Hendrickson….who plays the same position as Crosby. Is it possible they saw an avenue to keeping their two 1st round picks and decided to take it? Maybe!
Anyway, sports is back to being chaos for a little while. Strap in, it’s going to be a fun ride.
Now, onto the links…
World Baseball Classic
Italy stuns Team USA in WBC. Here’s how the Americans can still reach quarterfinals - The Athletic
The most celebrated Team USA roster in baseball history is going to need some help to advance out of pool play in the World Baseball Classic.
A stunning 8-6 loss to Team Italy at Daikin Park in Houston on Tuesday night left the Americans facing a potential tiebreaker to move on in the tournament. The pitching staff faltered, and the offense stalled early with many of its top hitters on the bench. Rather than bully its way into the quarterfinals, Team USA (3-1) is going to have to watch the scoreboard and hope for a blowout Wednesday.
Mark DeRosa Might’ve Boned This Big-Time - Defector
The crack of the bat. The smell of the grass. Hasty, scrawled attempts to understand and calculate a run-quotient formula. The romance of baseball is rarely felt as keenly as when it requires math. But those are the Wednesday night plans for Team USA, which after losing to Italy in a massive upset will be counting on help to decide whether it advances to the World Baseball Classic’s elimination rounds, or whether it goes home in shock and disgrace.
More to the point, because recrimination is America’s true pastime: Did manager Mark DeRosa think Team USA had already qualified? And did he construct his lineup accordingly, benching some of the U.S.’s best hitters in a game he didn’t realize he needed to win? It is extremely not clear.
Bam Scores 83!
Bam Adebayo Breaks The Concept Of Basketball, Scores 83 Points - Defector
There was nothing ethical about what happened in the second half on Tuesday. Most Miami possessions were simple: Give the ball to Adebayo, who would either chuck up a three or drive into the paint in hope of getting fouled. The former strategy was ludicrous and flawed; Adebayo shot 22 three-pointers, by far his career-high, and only made seven. But the latter proved both surreal and highly effective.
While 83 will be the number that stands the test of time from this random Tuesday night game, 43 deserves a lot of shine as well. That’s even putting aside that Adebayo shot the ball 43 times from the field, which ended up being a happy coincidence to go along with, and I’m sorry for yelling here, FORTY-THREE FREE-THROW ATTEMPTS. 4. 3. 43! That was a record, of course; even after having witnessed What Bam Did, the mind reels at the prospect of a game in which one player takes 44 free throws. (For the record, Dwight Howard had chucked up 39 attempts in two separate games.)
How unlikely star Bam Adebayo stormed into NBA lore with his 83-point night - Yahoo Sports
While the 28-year-old has worked to extend his range over the past couple of seasons, he’s still primarily an elbows-and-in operator, with more than 52% of his points coming inside the arc and nearly 46% of them coming within the paint heading into Tuesday’s contest. But Bam looked to let it fly early and often Tuesday, making his first 3-pointer less than 90 seconds into the affair before canning three more in a 102-second span midway through the frame.
Those four 3s — already tied for the third-most triples he’d knocked down in a game this season — all came off the catch, as 84% of his made long balls have this season. By the time he waltzed into a pull-up 27-footer in transition — having made all of 33 pull-up 3s in his career entering Tuesday — to make him just the sixth player in the last 29 years to score 30 points in a single quarter, it became clear that he was feeling very, very good.
San Diego Padres
Padres notebook: Walker Buehler may have pitched way onto team; Ramón Laureano update; Nick Pivetta’s progress - San Diego Union-Tribune
“It’s kind of like the ex-girlfriend that you fell in love with and always will want her back,” Buehler said of his fastball. “I want to throw 100, and I want it to jump. I want to kind of stand and throw. But the reality is that probably won’t happen. We’ve just got to be really good on the execution of it and keep working through. I can go play long toss until my heart’s content, I don’t think I’m gonna sit 98 to 100 anymore. But the quality of it to kind of go with the other things I can do, I think something that’s achievable and attainable.”
Latest On Padres’ Rotation - MLB Trade Rumors
A brief season-opening injured list stint wouldn’t necessarily represent a setback. The Padres will need to keep an eye on Musgrove’s workload over the course of the season. They have two off days within the first eight days of the regular season, meaning they could theoretically get by with a four-man rotation if Musgrove had a minimal IL stint. The likelier outcome is that they’d turn to one of their depth starters to fill out a five-man starting staff.
That could open an opportunity for Walker Buehler, who is in camp as a non-roster invite. If there’s only one rotation spot available, that’s likelier to go to Germán Márquez. Márquez signed a big league contract and is guaranteed $1.75MM. He’s going to make the team, and the Padres don’t have a ton of roster flexibility in the bullpen to carry him as a long reliever.
Odds & Ends
WNBA union boss: Talks ‘in the right direction’ after 12-hour day - ESPN
After a marathon, 12-hour bargaining session running Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning, the WNBA and its players’ union did not reach a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement.
The talks took place on the target date the league had given the union and its teams last month for a term sheet to be completed by to avoid the 2026 schedule being impacted.
San Diego FC’s undefeated start is driven by defense - San Diego Union-Tribune
For all the attacking flair that has defined San Diego FC since its arrival in Major League Soccer, the most revealing development of the club’s early 2026 season might be unfolding somewhere far less glamorous — the back line.
Three matches into the campaign, San Diego is undefeated and defensively immaculate.
It doesn’t require a soccer expert to recognize the obvious: Teams that don’t concede goals are extremely difficult to beat.
The foundation of San Diego’s fast start has been an organized, increasingly authoritative defensive spine led by Christopher McVey, Manu Duah and Kieran Sargeant.
Sources: Ravens nixed trade for Crosby due to medical concerns - ESPN
The Las Vegas Raiders announced Tuesday that the Ravens have “backed out” of a trade agreement that would have sent All-Pro defensive end Maxx Crosby to Baltimore in exchange for two first-round picks.
No further details were provided in the Raiders’ announcement, but league sources told ESPN that the Ravens backed out because of medical concerns that arose during a physical.
Maxx Crosby’s surgeon says pass rusher is ‘doing very well’ in rehab from surgery after Ravens pulled out of trade - Yahoo Sports
Dr. Neal ElAttrache told ESPN that Crosby is “doing an excellent job attacking his rehab,” and that the timing of his physical with the Ravens was unfortunate, as the pass rusher’s prognosis will improve the further out he gets from surgery.
Ravens reportedly agree to 4-year, $112M contract with Trey Hendrickson after ‘backing out’ of Maxx Crosby trade with Raiders - Yahoo Sports
On Tuesday night, the Raiders suddenly announced that their trade that sent Maxx Crosby to Baltimore was off. The Raiders only said that the Ravens had “backed out” of the deal.
First thing Wednesday morning, the other shoe dropped as it was reported that the Ravens had come to terms with star defensive end Trey Hendrickson on a four-year, $112 million contract. They land a star pass rusher after all.
Miles Byrd named Mountain West defensive player of the year, adding some sunshine to a cloudy season - San Diego Union-Tribune
He wasn’t the conference’s postseason player of the year. Utah State guard Mason Falslev was, in awards announced Tuesday in balloting by coaches and media.
But Byrd did get a player of the year honor — defensive player of the year, the fifth straight season an Aztec has won it and the ninth time in the last 12.
“Obviously,” he said, “it’s a trend at our school that we guard.”
The Nine Biggest Takeaways From the First Wave of NFL Free Agency - The Ringer
The Rams were already a bona fide contender entering the offseason, but their moves have cemented them as a team to beat in the race to next season’s Super Bowl. Their trade for former Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie last week instantly reminded me of the Jalen Ramsey trade in 2019, a move that helped the Rams defense make the leap before their eventual Super Bowl run in the 2021 season. And on Monday, the Rams doubled down on improving the secondary by signing McDuffie’s former Chiefs teammate Jaylen Watson to a three-year deal worth $51 million.