Author: PlayActionNews

BALTIMORE — The Houston Astros are in agreement with nine-time All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel on a major-league contract, league sources told The Athletic on Thursday, adding veteran depth to a bullpen in need of it.Kimbrel, 37, has not pitched in a major-league game since June 6. He spent time in both the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers organizations this season. The Rangers granted him his release on Thursday afternoon after Kimbrel posted a 3.86 ERA across 21 innings for Triple-A Round Rock.Kimbrel’s 440 career saves trail only Los Angeles Angels closer Kenley Jansen for the most by any active reliever.…

Quenton M. Brown, 57, the father of Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown and a former professional boxer who goes by his middle name “Marselles”, was arrested and charged with attempted murder on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.The elder Brown was booked into the Clark County Detention Center.Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said they responded to a stabbing at 5:42 p.m. PT on Wednesday along the 1500 block of South Buffalo Drive. According to reports, the altercation started because of a “door ding” in a parking lot. The victim’s girlfriend said she and her boyfriend,…

Andreas HaleAug 21, 2025, 05:04 PM ETCloseAndreas Hale is a combat sports reporter at ESPN. Andreas covers MMA, boxing and pro wrestling. In Andreas’ free time, he plays video games, obsesses over music and is a White Sox and 49ers fan. He is also a host for Sirius XM’s Fight Nation. Before joining ESPN, Andreas was a senior writer at DAZN and Sporting News. He started his career as a music journalist for outlets including HipHopDX, The Grammys and Jay-Z’s Life+Times. He is also an NAACP Image Award-nominated filmmaker as a producer for the animated short film “Bridges” in 2024.Vergil…

Each week during the season, I take a look at the reliever landscape to aid with waiver wire decisions. It’s time to prep for the fantasy playoffs as there are only a few scoring periods left for the regular season. Saves + Holds Leaders Here are the top 15 healthy relievers in total saves plus holds through August 20. Takeaways Abner Uribe is distancing himself from the rest of the relievers, as the Brewers have been the best team in the second half. On the season, he’s put up a 1.82 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 11 K/9 across 59.1 innings.…

Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday that he’s confident Micah Parsons will be on the field Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Judging by Jerry Jones’ comments Thursday, there’s a good chance that’s without a new contract.While joining former Cowboys star wide receiver Michael Irvin on his YouTube channel, the Cowboys owner and general manager sounded completely committed to not renegotiating what he believes was already negotiated back in March with Parsons. Jones said the offer would have made the All-Pro pass rusher the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback in guaranteed money.“The world would know that I want Micah if they…

The UFC returns to China for the first time since 2019 for a Fight Night (6 a.m. ET; prelims at 3 a.m. ET on ESPN+) headlined by Zhang Mingyang, who has three first-round knockouts in his first three UFC bouts. His opponent, Johnny Walker, is the only other person in history to have won his first three UFC fights by first-round KO. But that was 2018-19. Since then, Walker has a 4-6-1 record that includes knockout losses in his past two outings. Zhang, a significant betting favorite, hasn’t lost an MMA fight since October 2019.The co-main event features two top-10…

Scoring three minutes after coming on is a dream impact for any substitute, which is what the rangy Polvara did.But it was not just the fact he scored but the quality of the goal itself which was so impressive. A cross was guided behind him by Adil Aouchiche, and he reacted brilliantly to get to the ball first.His awareness and agility to swivel and hit it first time off his left foot was even better, with the ball kissing the inside of the post on its way in.But Polvara did not stop there. Four minutes later, his pinpoint cross teed…

The Mets dropped the rubber game against the last-place Washington Nationals on Thursday afternoon, losing 9-3.Here are the takeaways…-For the first time since late July, it looked like Sean Manaea was poised to have a good day on the mound. The left-hander began his outing by retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced, including seven via strikeout. The only hit Manaea allowed over the first three innings was a ground-rule double by Brady House that got stuck in the left-field wall padding and barely missed being a home run. Still, after the first hard-hit ball against him and the…

Derrick Rose was born in Chicago. He starred at Simeon High School in Chicago. And then he became an NBA MVP in Chicago.He and the city are forever intertwined, and his No. 1 Chicago Bulls jersey will reflect that long-lasting connection in the rafters of the United Center.AdvertisementThe Bulls announced Thursday that Rose’s jersey retirement ceremony will take place Jan. 24 next year, with the Boston Celtics in town for what’s now a highly anticipated, regular-season matchup.Around noon ET on Thursday, TickPick reported that, with a get-in price of $332, the Derrick Rose Jersey Retirement Night is the most expensive…

EXCLUSIVE | Dmitry Bivol’s long-awaited trilogy with Canelo Alvarez is open for the first quarter of 2026, according to the Russian’s manager Vadim Kornilov, who spoke exclusively to World Boxing News. Bivol, who outpointed Canelo in 2022 and holds ties to a Riyadh Season return, is currently recovering from injury. While some feared the layoff could end a trilogy with Artur Beterbiev, Kornilov assured WBN all options remain on the table. The rematch with Alvarez is already in question after Bivol won the first bout. Kornilov insists that the former undisputed light heavyweight champion will agree to fight Canelo again…