Culture
In a Twist, Carlos Correa Heads North to the Minnesota Twins
Carlos Correa, the star shortstop who helped lead the Houston Astros to a now tainted 2017 World Collection title, has discovered an surprising residence: the Minnesota Twins.
As a substitute of touchdown the huge long-term deal that was as soon as predicted for him, Correa agreed to affix the quickly rebuilding Twins on a three-year $105.3 million contract. The main points of the contract had been confirmed by a private acquainted with the negotiations who was not licensed to debate it publicly as a result of it was pending a bodily examination.
Whereas the deal is much smaller in size and whole worth than some handed out earlier than the lockout, the advantages to Correa are clear: It has opt-outs after every of the primary two years, permitting Correa to re-enter the market as quickly as subsequent season, and it has a mean annual worth of $35.1 million, which supplants the deal Anthony Rendon of the Los Angeles Angels signed two years in the past, which was beforehand the best mark for an infielder.
Solely pitchers Max Scherzer ($43.3 million) and Gerrit Cole ($36 million), and outfielder Mike Trout ($35.5 million), have greater common annual values of their contracts than Correa, in line with Cotâs Baseball Contracts.
Whereas Correaâs new staff had not formally introduced his arrival as of Saturday morning, Correa modified the photograph on his Twitter profile to one among Goal Discipline, the Twinsâ residence stadium in Minneapolis.
Correa, 27, joins a staff that has been overhauled this low season. After an 89-loss 2021 season, the Twins entrance workplace remade the staffâs infield by buying and selling away Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Yankees for catcher Gary SĂĄnchez and third baseman Gio Urshela. Additionally they traded for beginning pitcher Sonny Grey.
And now the Twins went far bigger, including the top-ranked free agent of this low season and among the best total gamers in baseball. A cornerstone of an Astros infield that led the staff to a few American League pennants in 5 years, Correa had maybe his finest season in 2021.
He hit .279 with 26 residence runs and an .850 on-base plus slugging proportion, whereas additionally main the key leagues in defensive wins above alternative, in line with Baseball Reference. He gained the A.L. Platinum Glove, an annual award given to the most effective defender in every league, no matter place.
Whereas accidents slowed Correa at occasions all through his seven years in Houston, he hit .277 with an .837 O.P.S. and smashed no less than 20 residence runs in 5 seasons. He was a vocal staff chief, dwelling as much as his hype as the primary total choose within the 2012 draft.
Correaâs brief and versatile contract in Minnesota stands in sharp distinction to the one Corey Seager obtained when he agreed to depart the Los Angeles Dodgers this winter. Seager, a extra polished hitter than Correa who’s a far much less achieved defensive participant, landed a 10-year $325 million take care of the Texas Rangers.
The information of Correaâs departure reverberated by the Astrosâ spring coaching facility in West Palm Seashore, Fla., on Saturday morning. First baseman Yuli Gurriel, who was Correaâs teammate for six years, stated Correa was âvery energeticâ sending messages to Astros gamers on Friday night time and that Correa was having hassle sleeping given the large determination on his plate.
Gurriel stated Astros gamers had been stunned they usually had hoped that Correa would return. He stated he by no means imagined Correa would find yourself in Minnesota however he understood the enterprise aspect of the game.
âWeâre going to overlook him,â Gurriel stated. âHe helped me lots right here, not solely on protection however with a variety of facets that I wanted to get higher at, like sabermetrics.â
Astros Supervisor Dusty Baker stated he heard the information from his spouse on Saturday morning. He didnât need to discuss it a lot till Correaâs deal was formally introduced, however he stated, âItâs not very nice information if itâs true.â
MartĂn Maldonado, the Astros catcher and a fellow Puerto Rican like Correa, stated he talked to and visited Correa usually all through the free company course of.
âHe knew after the lockout it was going to be onerous to get these years that he needed,â Maldonado stated, referring to the 99-day work stoppage that froze all transactions from Dec. 2 to March 10 and compelled many remaining free brokers to signal throughout a delayed and abbreviated spring coaching.
Maldonado stated the opt-outs within the deal had been one thing Correa âactually needed.â He continued, âHeâs betting on himself once more. I do know heâs going to go on the market and have a monster 12 months and hopefully exit to free company and obtain that aim of a 10-year deal.â
Culture
How the Las Vegas Aces guards came to life to stave off elimination
LAS VEGAS â Becky Hammon has said all season that she has been waiting for the game when all of her Las Vegas guards click on all cylinders.
In 2023, the three-headed monster of Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum was an unstoppable unit most nights, culminating in a WNBA Finals series when the perimeter trio convincingly outplayed its New York Liberty counterparts, even without Gray in the closeout win.
Fast forward a season, and Las Vegas has been mixing and matching. Despite the addition of Tiffany Hayes to an already talented guard group, the Aces have been lucky to get two of their quartet to pop off in any given game. If Young is scoring well, that often portends an off night for Plum, as was the case in Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals series against the Liberty when she notched 17 points and 6 points, respectively. Plum was on her A-game in the series opener with 24 points, but then Gray stumbled to four points and one assist in the loss.
âWeâve had two on a night have good nights,â Hammon said. âAâja (Wilson has) been ridiculous, is ridiculous, she will continue to be ridiculous. But then after that, itâs all those other little pieces.â
On Friday, Hammon was finally dealt her long-awaited hand with four Aces delivering peak performances. Five players scored double digits in Friday nightâs 95-81 Acesâ victory to stave off elimination and ensure Game 4 on Sunday to keep their three-peat championship quest alive.
Aces NOT done yet â ïž
After facing elimination for the first time since 2021, the Las Vegas Aces force a Game 4 against the Liberty in the Semi-Finals! Jackie Young led the charge with 24 points đ„
Final Score: 95-81#WelcometotheW | #WNBAPlayoffs presented by @Google pic.twitter.com/fDGNmr66M1
â WNBA (@WNBA) October 5, 2024
âEverything was just on point really with everybody,â Hammon said. âI thought that was probably our most complete game of the season. Itâs the game Iâve been waiting for and believing in.â
The effort for the Las Vegas guard group started on defense. Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu had been the best perimeter player in the series, dicing up the Acesâ pick-and-roll coverages and scoring at will from all levels in addition to setting up her teammates for open shots.
Hammon said after Game 2 that she wanted to get to a C-plus effort defending Ionescu because the defense hadnât even been average in the first two games at Barclays Center. What that meant was simplifying the scheme and making it exceedingly clear what the principles were on Ionescu and which Liberty players to help off of.
Ionescu broke free of the defense on a couple occasions in the first quarter to get to her floater, but she wasnât able to convert. Once the Aces tightened up coverages, Ionescu was repeatedly trapped far from the basket, unable to turn the corner or find outlets in the half court. She had as many assists as turnovers (five) and submitted the lowest-scoring playoff output of her career with four points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Hammonâs grade Friday? A-plus, no notes.
âSheâs been playing great, so of course, they want to make it hard for her,â Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. âThey put her in action down the other end, they were being really aggressive in the pick-and-rolls this time. She wasnât able to get downhill. It was more of a hard hedge and very active with their hands getting deflections.â
Without Ionescu running the show, the Liberty devolved into isolation basketball, a style of play incongruous with the movement and screening that defined them during the regular season, when they had the leagueâs best record.
Meanwhile, the Acesâ defense propelled them into the offensive rhythm that was lacking earlier in the series.
âWe always say our defense drives our offense,â Hayes said. âWe know that we thrive on the defensive end, and even though weâre a little bit smaller, we got some dogs out there, and weâre able to get a lot done.â
New Yorkâs starting perimeter trio of Ionescu, Leonie Fiebich and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton combined for 21 points. Young exceeded that on her own with 24. Plum added 20, Gray chipped in 10, and Hayes provided 11 off the bench.
Their collective might was on full display during a game-defining 16-0 run in the third quarter, as the Aces extended a four-point lead to 20. Plum got things started with a drive to the hoop off the dribble, then found Gray for the next score in early offense on a trailing 3-pointer. Gray followed that with a beautiful lob over the top to Wilson as Breanna Stewart fronted her in the post to push the lead to double digits.
Then it was Hayesâ turn. She faked left and drove to her weak hand, leaving Nyara Sabally in the dust. Plum had a 3-pointer off an offensive rebound, hit a technical free throw, and then added another 3-pointer off a drive-and-kick from Hayes. Fourteen points and three assists came from the guard group, while the Liberty missed nine shots and committed seven turnovers in that stretch.
âI think our attention to detail defensively was super sharp,â Gray said. âTheyâre a good team but you want to make them take tough looks, and it was the same with Sabrina. We were just attentive to detail coming off the pick-and-roll, making sure sheâs not comfortable. And it all starts in the defensive end so we can flow into our offense a little bit better.â
The Aces know that their advantage has to come in the backcourt, given the Liberty have two frontcourt MVPs in Stewart and Jonquel Jones. Wilsonâs excellence is consistent, but the perimeter has been the separating factor during the last two title runs.
Wilson was confident that the desperation of the situation would bring out the best in her teammates. âOne thing I know for sure is that sometimes when our backs are against the wall, thatâs when we really break loose and shine the brightest,â she said.
A 14-point victory that was more lopsided than the margin would suggest, validating Wilsonâs belief. The Aces finally executed defensively and set the tone. Their pace was infectious on offense, involving their guard quartet for the first time this season, enabling Las Vegas to play at least one more game and remain in pursuit of a three-peat.
âWeâre the Aces,â Hammon said. âWeâre not going to fold.â
(Photo, from left, of Chelsea Gray, Jonquel Jones and Kelsey Plum: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
Culture
What to know about college footballâs new helmet communication rules
Consider it a high-stakes game of telephone.
You may have noticed the uptick of college football quarterbacks cupping their helmets to muffle the sounds of the loudest stadiums in the country. Thatâs because coach-to-player helmet communication arrived this season for all 134 Football Bowl Subdivision programs.
Thirty years after the NFL debuted the technology, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved the use of helmet communication (as well as sideline tablets) for FBS teams in April, following a trial period in last seasonâs bowl games.
Hereâs how it works.
Who has access to helmet communication, and how does it work?
One player on the field for each team â one on offense and one on defense â can have helmet communication. On offense, that player is typically the quarterback.
The designated player is identified by a green dot on the back of his helmet, just like the NFL. If more than one green dot per team is detected on the field by the officials, the team will be penalized with a 5-yard equipment violation penalty, automatically initiating a conference review, per the NCAA.
The conference review would examine whether teams intentionally allowed a second green-dot helmet in the game at the same time. The review would occur in the days following the game and any additional discipline would be up to the conference, an NCAA source with knowledge of the review process said.
On the sideline, each team is limited to three coach-to-player caller radios and belt packs. Presumably, teams allocate those to the head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator.
Coach-to-player helmet communication shuts off at the 15-second mark on the play clock or when the ball is snapped, whichever happens first, and remains off throughout the down. When the play clock is reset to 25 or 40 seconds, the communications are restored. (The play clock is set to 25 seconds after a penalty, charged team timeout, media timeout or injury timeout for an offensive player and to 40 seconds after a play ends or after an injury timeout for a defensive player.)
The cutoff operator is hired, assigned and managed by each conference.
On free-kick plays, the coach-to-player communication is not in effect.
Each team can use a maximum of 23 regular headsets within the team area, coachesâ box or coachesâ booth. Any team personnel can wear one, and two additional headsets are used by technicians to monitor the system and address any technical issues.
Is coach-to-player helmet communication mandatory?
No. The technology is optional, as is using tablets to view in-game video â including broadcast feeds, All-22 sideline and end zone angles.
A team can use helmet communication even if its opponent does not. If a team opts not to use or fully rely on the technology, a coach can communicate with the QB through the traditional methods of sideline signs and hand signals.
If one teamâs communication stops working, however, the opposing team must also cease use of its helmet comms.
What happens when an FBS team plays an FCS team?
Helmet communication is not permitted at the Football Championship Subdivision level, but FCS teams can use the technology when playing an FBS opponent.
North Dakota State did so when it opened its season against Colorado in Week 1. Bison offensive coordinator Jake Landry said in August the single-game adjustment would still be âa learning curveâ for the team, which fell to the Buffaloes 31-26.
âHow much is too much information?â Landry said, according to 247Sports. âHow much do you want to know? What little tidbits can we provide?â
Important ones, according to Georgia quarterback Carson Beck.
This offseason, Georgiaâs QB1 said he âlovesâ that offensive coordinator Mike Bobo can talk into his ear âbecause thereâs maybe like a little cue that he might say for a play, like look out for this coverage or look out for this, if they do this, do this â just like little things.â
Advantages vs. disadvantages
A coach can do more than tell his QB which play to run. Helmet comms can also be used for bigger-picture reminders of time, down and situation and when itâs time to take a risk or play it safe.
Another big advantage is what it could help minimize â sign stealing.
Using electronic equipment to record, or âsteal,â opponentsâ signs is not legal in college football. The NCAA also prohibits off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents during the same season. An alleged scheme at Michigan concerning the latter led to an NCAA investigation this past year.
But on-field, in-person sign stealing is allowed. Former Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy estimated â80 percentâ of college football teams steal signs, âwhich is legal,â he said in January.
GO DEEPER
‘That’s as big as it gets’: How much does knowing an opponent’s signals matter?
Teams havenât stopped using sideline signals. But move some of that communication to the helmet, and you can take away â or at least, reduce â the interception of it, right?
âSign-stealing happens every game,â Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said in March. âThereâs nothing wrong with teams looking over trying to steal our signs. Thereâs nothing wrong with us trying to look at their signs. Thatâs why you should have mics in the helmets.â
Coach Rhule touches on sign stealing and if he noticed it when they played vs. #Michigan đ pic.twitter.com/NsZQDtXNY3
â 247Huskers (@247Huskers) October 23, 2023
The enemy of coach-to-player helmet communication is, ironically, noise. College games âjust have a tendencyâ to be louder than NFL games, said Rhule, who coached the Carolina Panthers from 2020 to 2022.
âIn general, how loud (the fans) can be in a stadium really impacts the game,â Rhule told reporters following Nebraskaâs Week 1 win over UTEP. âItâs not just, âItâs third down, letâs try to make them jump offsidesâ anymore, itâs âMake it really hard for them to hear the play calls and the checks,â because it was hard for us at times.â
While helmet communication is helpful, it is imperfect. Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said the team is preparing for alternate solutions as it heads to a hostile road environment in Georgia on Saturday. The Tigers played their first five games of the season at home.
âWeâre making it loud at practice for them to have difficult time communicating and see how they handle that,â Freeze said, according to AL.com. âHaving alternative plans of how we are going to do play calling, or whatever it takes to try to make sure our kids at least have a good understanding of whatâs fixing to go on.â
Required reading
(Photo: James Black / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Culture
Jared Allen: The Minnesota Vikings great aiming for an Olympics Curling spot
Ever hear the one about the daredevil plasterer who lit an Olympic flame in a four-time first-team All-Pro defensive end?
Jared Allen roars at the mention of Eddie âThe Eagleâ Edwards, the face of the 1988 Winter Games and embodiment of Pierre de Coubertinâs mantra. The beaming, bespectacled British ski jumper finished last in the 70m and 90m events in Calgary but won hearts and minds the world over.
After 136 sacks in 12 NFL seasons, a happily retired Allen and an old friend watched the feelgood 2016 biopic that celebrates the life and times of Michael David Edwards. It had consequences.
âYeah! Eddie the Eagle! Great movie,â Allen tells The Athletic on the telephone from Nashville. âThatâs what inspired me to make a bet with my buddy to try to make the Olympics!
âEddie the Eagle had to work his butt off to qualify and become a ski jumper, which was the inspirational side of it. But the point I loved about it was like, âOh, yeah, I just need to go find a sport thatâs not on the books that we donât really do well at and go join thatâ,â says Allen, bursting into laughter.
And what of the bet?
âThe number was pointless. My buddy threw a number out. I was like, âSure, whateverâ. Yes, it was over beers⊠Itâs more just a gentlemanâs bet. But nobody wants to welch on a bet! I donât want to have to tell him he was right â I want him to have to eat crow and tell me that I was right!â
So Allen got to work. In 2018, he formed the All-Pro Curling Team with three former NFL players â quarterback Marc Bulger, linebacker Keith Bulluck and offensive tackle Michael Roos â and set his sights on Beijing.
âI started off as skip, no one had curled ever â we were four football players. Life took off and I ended up joining some other teams. I had no ego, so I ended up playing lead and playing pretty good at lead and sweeping pretty good. So thatâs kind of where I found my spot. I really like playing second â I think second is a fun position. But wherever they tell me they need me is where Iâll fit in.â
While he didnât make the 2022 Games, Allen has had some minor miracles on ice.
âI beat (John) Shuster two years ago at the nationals in Denver, we beat a team last year that were top 30 in the world, we had some success over in Switzerland and Canada, Iâve got to play some really tough teams, and itâs been a fun deal.â
But brace yourselves. Just as the Milan-Cortina Winter Games loom into view, here comes the plot twist.
âIâll probably not play this year,â Allen, 42, says. âMy team kind of broke up. One guy in my team retired. Another guy has moved on. And then I actually got invited to play with Korey Dropkin as his alternate this year, but USA Curling and the USOPC put the kibosh on it, saying I didnât have a good enough curling resume.
âTheir exact words. We won nationals and all the trials, but they have replaced me as the alternate.
âAnd then they changed our rules â we used to have a two-year point run-up for Olympic trial qualification and now theyâre taking the top three point-earners for the year based on their year to date, and then theyâre doing a one tournament play-in.â
Does that mean that the Olympic dream is⊠over?
âNo! No! Iâve still got time. I still love curling, Iâm still gonna practise, weâll figure it out,â Allen says. âA lot of people arenât playing this year. Unless you can go to the Slams, Shuster, Dropkin, and (Danny) Casper pretty much already have the top three spots locked up.
âEverybody is like, âWhy are we going to travel, waste our time on these tournaments that mean nothing for us over the next year and a half?â. So everybodyâs trying to just practise for the next year, put a team together for The Challenger and try to win the play-in.â
Should Allen win his wager, it would represent another tale to tell for one of the NFLâs biggest personalities of the 21st century.
Drafted by Kansas City in 2004, Allen was traded to Minnesota four years later as the then highest-paid defensive player.
The 2009 Vikings are one of the NFLâs great nearly teams, with quarterback Brett Favre steering them to the NFC Championship in the Superdome. There, they were beaten by themselves (six fumbles, three lost, two interceptions and 12 men in the huddle in the fourth quarter to knock them out of field goal range) and the New Orleans Saints, who were later punished for the Bountygate scandal.
âIf we beat the Saints and we go out and win the Super Bowl, our 2009 season arguably goes down as one of the best seasons in NFL history,â Allen says. âUnfortunately, we didnât make it to the Super Bowl because we lost that controversial game.â
Allen headed to the Chicago Bears in 2014 and was traded to the Carolina Panthers in September 2015 for a last hurrah. The 15-1 Panthers almost went all the way, losing Super Bowl 50 against the Denver Broncos.
âIt was a blast. Itâs one of those surreal moments. I tell people it was my least productive statistical year of my career â I was dealing with injury and all sorts of stuff â but it was the most successful of my career because the goal is to get the Super Bowl.â
Allenâs is a career worthy of Canton (he has been a finalist for the past four years). He led the league twice in sacks (2007 and 2011), the second seeing a tally of 22, making Michael Strahan sweat about losing his all-time record (22.5).
The highlight reel moments are many. They include his one-handed sack of Eli Manning and the tete-a-tete with Donald Penn. And then thereâs his contribution to one of the most infamous plays in NFL history. You know the one.
It was 2008 and while playing for the winless Detroit Lions, quarterback Dan Orlovsky stepped out of bounds in the Metrodome for a safety. Orlovsky â now a stellar ESPN analyst â can look back and laugh. Allen is chuckling at it still.
âI wish he wouldnât have ran out the back â I could have actually hit him! It was my sack. I was actually laughing because Kevin Williams had like four sacks that game, so I was trying to catch up to him. He was pissed. We were in a tight sack race that year. I got a cheapo. I got a freebie!
âTo my credit, I did whoop the tight end. I was wide open! Could have throttled him. It was a good job they called a safety,â Allen says.
Johnny Knoxville was not so lucky. As the wider public embraced Allen with his signature mullet and everyman appeal, in 2010 he was invited to California to film a segment called The Blindside for Jackass 3.
âThat was a fun deal. Knoxville is a great guy â I still talk to Johnny. I actually found out later I separated his sternum when I tackled him from behind.
âWe filmed the run where he catches the ball over the middle a few times. Heâs like, âMan, come on!â Like, well, if you want to see what I actually do, letâs drop back for a pass and Iâll hit you from behind. So we did that. There was only one take on that one!â
Allen, who returns to England for the first time since the Vikings beat Pittsburgh at Wembley in 2013, will be inducted into the London Ring of Honor during Sundayâs game between the New York Jets and Minnesota.
He likes what he has seen so far this season from his former team.
âTheyâre aggressive. Whatâs most impressive is they are getting what they need to get out of their new acquisitions, who are already making massive impacts. Thatâs what you like to see when you pick up free agents.
âHats off to the coaching staff for getting the players that fit their system and creating a system and an environment that they can be successful in.â
And he may well come face-to-face with a familiar foe. It will be almost exactly 15 years ago to the day that Favre and the Vikings beat the Packers on Monday Night Football. Allen had a career-high 4.5 sacks against Aaron Rodgers in a raucous Metrodome. âThat was a great day,â he says. âGoodness. Time flies. Whenever I see Aaron itâs very cordial!â
But first, he wants to find some decent grub. âMy wife and kids are coming, so I want to show them some of the sights. I want to find some good pubs, have a couple of pints and some bangers and mash.â
Who knows, perhaps heâll bump into Eddie the Eagle.
(Top photo: David Berding/Getty Images)
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