Taylor Ward delivers dramatic double in Angels’ 4-3 win over Yankees
The Angels relied on their bullpen who retired all 12 of the batters they faced to complete the victory over New York., writes The Sporting Tribune’s Taylor Blake Ward.
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1. Taylor Ward delivers dramatic double in Angels’ 4-3 win over Yankees
The Angels relied on their bullpen who retired all 12 of the batters they faced to complete the victory over New York, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Taylor Blake Ward.
With a crowd mostly donning pinstripes, it may have come as a benefit for the Angels who relied on clutch pitching and a dramatic clutch hit from Taylor Ward to take the series opener over the Yankees, 4-3.
Countering runs, mostly by account of home runs in the first inning, the Angels relied on their bullpen who retired all 12 of the batters they faced and found a clutch two-run double from Taylor Ward in the eighth inning to complete the victory.
“We can compete with anyone,” said Kevin Pillar. “Believing that we can win games even when we don’t really see the path to victory.”
2. How video games connected me with Bill Walton
The Sporting Tribune's Arash Markazi traveled the world with Bill Walton as the two connected over their love of video games.
Bill Walton never thought of himself as a celebrity.
Despite being a 6-foot-11 hall of fame basketball player who loved wearing tie-dye shirts, he simply wanted to be a chameleon whenever he was out and about, exploring the world. When someone would walk up to him to ask for a photo or an autograph, he would first introduce himself and ask for their name. Sometimes he would do it twice if he didn’t catch it the first name.
“What was your name, again?” he would genuinely ask them. “My name is Bill.”
We were colleagues at ESPN for nine years and our travels took us around the world from Los Angeles and Las Vegas to Hangzhou and Shanghai in China.
But it wasn’t basketball that brought us together. It was video games. Yes, video games.
3. Players union chief on WNBA charter-flight rollout: ‘League is scrambling’
WNBPA's Terri Jackson has been lobbying for a WNBA charter flight program since 2020, but she said the league is "scrambling" to put program in place, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Jackson Thompson.
WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson said Thursday the WNBA has struggled to make good on its promise of charter flights for all teams so far this season as other issues with the flights have arisen.
“I recognize that the league was kind of scrambling to get this in place for the start of the season,” Jackson said to The Sporting Tribune. “Their decision-making came together kind of lake as the process as I understand.
However, the rollout of the charter flights hasn’t been a smooth trip early this season. Several players have spoken out about the limited availability and quality of the planes.
“(The league) is working as hard as they can to roll it out for everybody, so there’s some bumps and there’s some hiccups,” Jackson said.
The WNBA promised to make charter flights available to all 12 teams for player travel this season by Tuesday. The initiative marked one of the biggest wins for players in the league’s 28-year history and a professional victory for Jackson, who said she had been lobbying the league to make charter flights available to all teams since 2020.
4. ‘I’m a Team USA athlete! Don’t amputate it!’ The inspiring story of Goose Helton
Since 2006, Jonathan "Goose" Helton has consistently played for the best club and professional teams, writes The Sporting Tribue’s Josh Frojelin.
Team USA and San Diego Growlers ultimate frisbee player Jonathan ‘Goose’ Helton is as fit as any former national team athlete. He stands tall, with large shoulders and veins popping from his arms. But when he walks, it’s clear why he’s now glued to the sideline.
The 40-year-old’s right leg is uncharacteristically slender and seemingly held together by a complex brace with two large back rods and a carbon fiber heel. His strength, quickness, and athleticism couldn’t prepare him for a car suddenly pulling out of a driveway alongside a two-lane highway.
Traveling at 55 miles per hour, Goose tried to evade the car before it crushed his right leg between the body of his motorcycle and the bumper. Almost three months in the hospital, 38 surgeries, and several infections later, Goose returned to the field as an assistant coach for the Growlers on May 3, almost a year-and-a-half since the accident.
It was Thursday, Jan. 12, 2022. Kaela Helton was at work when she got a call from her husband Goose. She knew Goose left work early on beautiful, calm afternoons like that one to ride his motorcycle into the mountains.
“He has a speaker in his helmet,” she said. “He called me from the ground seconds after the accident… I answered. He just said, ‘I was in an accident. It’s bad. Come find me.”
5. Sparks’ perimeter shooting defeat Clark, Fever
The Sparks even their season series against the Fever after escaping with a win in Indiana on Tuesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Rey Moralde.
The Sparks shot the lights out.
Los Angeles made 10 of 13 3-point shots in the second half, added some timely buckets and the Sparks defeated the Indiana Fever, 88-82, despite rookie sensation Caitlin Clark scoring a career-best 30 points at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.
The Fever scored the first 11 points of the second half and were poised to get their second win of the season. But the Sparks countered with an 11-0 run to end the third quarter. From there, Kia Nurse and Aari McDonald scored 12 in a row for Los Angeles and then held off Indiana the rest of the way.
McDonald scored 21 points, easily her best with the Sparks.
“I’ve just been telling myself not to overthink,” McDonald said. “I know in the beginning of the preseason, I was not myself. I was just trying to learn the system, learn my teammates.
“I just thank my coaches and teammates for trusting in me. Just trying to be consistent and do my job.”
5. Belmont Stakes update: Waiting is hardest part for next race
Belmont Stakes updates from The Sporting Tribune's Louis Rabaut two weeks out from the final leg of horse racing's Triple Crown.
The two weeks between the Preakness and Belmont Stakes always drag. And it’s simple to see why.
The three circuits that hold the Triple Crown Races: Kentucky (Derby), Maryland (Preakness Stakes) and New York (Belmont Stakes) are all not a month out of their major stakes days. In other words, next week with mark a month since the Kentucky Derby; it also marks the first Saturday of major stakes since Derby weekend.
Maryland is just a week out from Preakness and the Belmont runs in two weeks. Simply put, it isn’t advantageous to host a number of high-level races when they are traditionally spread out a month at a time.
But this week was anything but quiet on the Belmont Stakes probables front.
6. Dodgers bounce back in New York against the Mets
The Dodgers ended their five-game losing streak behind a late comeback in game one and elite pitching in game two, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Grant Mona.
The Dodgers had a huge comeback in game one to win 5-2 and then capped the night off on Tuesday with a complete 3-0 victory to sweep the doubleheader. After the first five game losing streak for the team since 2019, they needed a spark, and found it in the eighth inning of Game One.
Ace right-hander Tyler Glasnow looked to rebound after a few shaky starts in his previous couple of starts. His ERA soared over 3.00 after a bad fifth inning in his last start, but Glasnow threw seven innings, only giving up two hits, and allowing eight strikeouts. His ERA now stands at 3.04.
7. Video of the Day
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8. Ticket Time
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game today:
6:30 p.m. – Yankees at Angels – $6
7:30 p.m. – FC Dallas at Galaxy – $16
7:45 p.m. – Minnesota United at LAFC – $23
9. On the Air
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today:
1:00 p.m. – Dodgers at Mets – SportsNet LA
5:00 p.m. – Aces at Lynx – WNBA League Pass
6:30 p.m. – Yankees at Angels – Bally Sports West
7:30 p.m. – FC Dallas at Galaxy – Apple TV
7:45 p.m. – Minnesota United at LAFC – Apple TV, FS1
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher. You can also watch every Friday on BLEAV on FuboTV.
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