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The second seed eventually overcame his compatriot having let five match points slip
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MLB umpire Mark Ripperger is receiving praise for how he called a recent game.
Ripperger was behind home plate for Thursday's game between the Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Twins. While the Royals' shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.'s sacrifice fly broke the tie in the seventh inning, much of the talk after the game was about Ripperger.
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The umpire was credited with calling a "perfect game," which is something that reportedly has happened just one other time in the Umpire Scorecards era.
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Umpire Scorecards compile the major league's advanced pitch-tracking data to rate how accurate an umpire was during a given game. The data also considers how an umpire's call impacts the game.
Ripperger made calls for 136 pitches on Thursday. According to Umpire Scorecards metrics, he called every pitch accurately.
Kansas City trailed Minnesota by a run on Thursday before rallying in the seventh inning. Royals starter Michael Wacha pitched 5.1 innings, giving up two earned runs. He also struck out four batters.
The Royals' 2-3 win over the Twins on Thursday was followed by a 7-0 loss to the Guardians on Friday.
Former MLB umpire Pat Hoberg is credited with the only other perfect game Umpire Scorecards has recorded. Hoberg accomplished that feat in Game 2 of the 2023 World Series.
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The Gunners believe they still have a chance of winning the title despite trailing Liverpool by 11 points
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Golf influencer Paige Spiranac had kind words about Nick Dunlap’s performance in the second round of the Masters on Friday after he had a pretty awful first go at Augusta National.
Dunlap became the first Masters competitor in a decade, and the youngest in the tournament’s history, to shoot 90 at the course. He dropped five shots over his final three holes to end the nightmarish Thursday and did not speak to reporters afterward.
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He could have easily withdrawn from the tournament as he fell way off pace to make the cut. However, Dunlap showed his resolve and bounced back.
The 21-year-old carded a 71 in the second round on Friday – one of the best scores for anyone who stepped into the tee box. Unfortunately, the cut line was +2 and he was +17 for the tournament.
"Massive props to Dunlap for shooting under par today after his first round 90," Spiranac wrote on X. "He could have easily WD but he stuck it out and came back with a great round! We’ve all been there. Golf can eat you alive but your next great round is always right around the corner."
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After Thursday’s disastrous first round, the golf world felt for Dunlap.
I’ve played with him a few times this year, and what a great player, what a great guy," Robert MacIntyre said. "He was struggling out there today, (but) his attitude was solid. He didn’t get in the way. He didn’t lay off anything that was going to affect his two other playing partners because we’ve got a job to do.
"I feel for him today, but he’ll come back."
Dunlap was far from the only one to miss the cut. He talked about his two rounds afterward.
"I had more of a knot in my stomach today than I've ever had starting a round of golf," he said, via ESPN. "I had not a very good gut feeling about it stepping up today. Proud of myself to post something under par."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The cause of death for former NFL Pro Bowl cornerback Vontae Davis was reportedly undetermined more than a year after he died at a Florida home. He was 35.
Davis’ body was found at a home registered to his grandmother in Southwest Ranches, Florida, WSVN-TV reported. No foul play was suspected, police said at the time.
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"Due to the totality of the circumstances, including inconsistencies between the scene and the findings at autopsy, the cause and manner of death in this case is best classified as undetermined," according to ESPN, which cited the Broward County Medical Examiner’s report.
The report noted that Davis had abrasions near his right eye and a hemorrhage in the muscles of his back. A toxicology report also indicated the former defensive back had substances in his system, including amphetamines or methamphetamines.
The Miami Dolphins selected Davis in the first round of the 2009 draft. He was traded to the Indianapolis Colts before the start of the 2012 season, and he had a few great seasons with them.
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He joined the Buffalo Bills after the 2017 season and only made one appearance for them, retiring in the middle of a game.
In 121 games, Davis had 22 interceptions and 395 tackles. He was named to the Pro Bowl while with the Colts in 2014 and 2015.
Former NFL star tight end Vernon Davis, Vontae’s brother, released a heartbreaking statement at the time of his death.
"This thing definitely caught me by surprise. I just don't know what to make of it," Vernon told the Daily Mail at the time. "I'm leaning on the detectives to figure it out, but, right now, we have no answers.
"They are going to run tests, and they said they'll get back to us. It could be as long as a month, a month and a half, until we know anything."
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Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons blasted the state of college football amid scrutiny over Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava on Friday.
Iamaleava was reportedly a holdout at practice this week as he sought to renegotiate his name, image and likeness deal from $2.4 million to $4 million per year. He had 2,616 passing yards and 19 touchdown passes as the Vols finished 10-3 during the 2024 season.
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As the discourse entered social media, the former Penn State star was unhappy with what college football has become.
"College football a joke now! Yall minds well just make college into a semi pro league! Actually hold players accountable to the contracts they sign!" he wrote on X.
He then responded to another person on X who claimed that college football had always been a semi-pro league and that players were getting paid just illegally.
"Nah college was never about money! College is bout building character!" Parsons wrote back. "I am the man I am today because of the brotherhood and the amazing coaches I’ve had during my time at Penn State!
"We are failing kids now because life isn’t easy and we are allowing them to quit!"
Iamaleava is just the tip of the iceberg of what could happen in college athletics sooner than later.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark and Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti were on Capitol Hill last week to lobby Congress on getting help legislating NIL in college athletics.
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Yormark told Bret Baier on "Special Report" on Thursday that "we need help from Congress."
"From where I sit today, federal pre-emption, having a standardized platform that oversees and governs NIL is critically important," Yormark said. "Today, 34 states see it very differently, and it’s relatively unruly."
"The volume of laws that are being passed on a state level are making it really difficult for us to regulate and compete nationally," added Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti. Every single time someone doesn’t like a ruling, or something comes from the NCAA, we end up in litigation. Those rules then get aggregated, and we’re back to the start.
"We’re hopeful that the combination of what we’ve done in the settlement will give us an opportunity, with some help from Congress, to really put a system in a place that has some stability.
"We’ve crossed the bridge of being willing to provide revenue … but we need to have some structure. We can’t have a system that has complete unregulated movement."
Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.
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Basketball Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas took exception to LeBron James shooting shirtless before the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
Thomas, an analyst for NBA TV, took issue with James’ alleged lack of professionalism as he warmed up.
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"I just totally 100% object to this," Thomas said. "If I were the GM or coach, I would never let one of my players walk out on the floor looking like this. I mean, we’re a professional NBA league. We ain’t summer league. We ain’t at the YMCA."
Thomas agreed with Steve Smith when he said he thought the NBA should go back to making players wear suits.
"I just think the professionalism in our NBA league has diminished so much," he continued. "Look, I like LeBron, I’m a fan of his so forth and so on. But to walk out on the floor before a game with no shirt on and shoot – I mean come on man. Where we at? What we doing?
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"Adam Silver, if you want to fine somebody, fine that. Put a fine on that."
James appeared to respond to Thomas’ comment in a post on X after the Lakers won the game, 140-109.
"Man I was going to say something but it’s useless at this point in my career! Anyways more important CONGRATULATIONS JJ on a 50 win season in the WEST & Post Season nod!" he wrote.
James had 14 points, eight assists and four rebounds.
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Paqueta has been able to play for West Ham throughout the season despite being investigated for spot-fixing
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Raducanu hasn’t had a full-time coach since January
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