The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have one of the better offenses in the NFL. When healthy, this unit can compete with anyone, even the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks as we saw last year. In that game they beat the eventual world champions because they had no answer for Baker Mayfield and the Bucs' passing attack. While that is a moment fans can hang their hats on, sometimes the defense is due a win every now and again. In training camp on Thursday, the Bucs' defense rose to the occasion and was able to make some plays. ESPN's Jenna Laine wrote about the big day for the defense and the low-lights of the offense. Laine wrote, "QuarterbackBaker Mayfieldfelt the heat from the sun and from the defense, as the pressure got to him several times, and he was flushed from the pocket and forced to throw the ball away as he couldn't find any downfield options because of tight coverage by the secondary. And he was also picked off. Backup linebackerJohn Bullockjumped a route on a pass intended for tight endCade Ottonand returned the interception for a touchdown. Rookie inside linebackerJosiah Trotter, who has made his presence known now that the pads are on, immediately drilled Otton after catching a short pass from Mayfield. Overall, it wasn't a great day for Mayfield and the tight ends, with rookieKeionte Scottbreaking up a Mayfield pass intended forPayne Durham." The defense is going to win some days in camp, you at least hope they do. The biggest takeaway from her update, though, should be that the young players on this defense are already stepping up. The trio of Bain, Scott, and Trotter could be the nucleus of this defense as it makes its way into a new era. This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Defense gives Baker Mayfield, Bucs' offense, a rough day in camp

Were a little more than a week away from the Seahawks preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys.Thursday, the team had to take practice inside because of the smoke. Saturday, they will pack Lumen Field for the Seahawks Football Fest.The event is an evening of football, family, and fun. Featuring meet-and-greets, photo-ops with franchise legends, a live DJ, and team mascots.And, of course, the players. Rashid Shaheed is going through his first training camp with the Hawks after joining the team midseason last year.Im excited to see the energy of the fans, said the wide receiver. Its going to be good to get back on home turf. And its going to be a ton of good energy. Were all excited.Tickets are still available, and theyre about $17 each. A family-friendly way to enjoy the Seahawks up close before the season kicks off.Gates open around 4:15 pm, and practice starts at 5:20 pm.Plus, therell be an autographed football toss around 7:20 pm. However, while some of the younger players couldnt wait to get back in front of the 12s, one veteran admitted he was contemplating retirement this past offseason.Linebacker Demarcus Lawrence said last year if the Hawks won it all, hed hang up his cleats. But, after a Super Bowl ring, as well as a discussion with his wife, hes said hes back for a 13th season. Eager to defend the championship hed been chasing his whole career.With the type of team that we havewe shouldve been where we were last year, the veteran Linebacker calmly asserts.This is where the hard part begins, staying on top.Lawrence admits winning the Lombardi Trophy was bittersweet. He says he couldnt walk away. He compared the situation to going from being the hunter chasing a goal to the hunted defending a title. They say its no fun when the rabbit has the gun, Lawrence smirked.Were the ones with the dot on our back. So, I just want to see how that feels.After spending his entire career with Dallas, Lawrence joined the Seahawks last offseason. He says the brotherhood on defense, especially with so many journeymen, is genuine.Its just great to have those caliber of leaders in the locker room with you. Like-minded guys.That culture is on full display this year, thanks in part to HBOs Hard Knocks. The training camp docuseries debuted earlier this week. And, Shaheed said everyones hoping for a starring role. A ton of laughs, a ton of jokes. Its kind of cool to see how HBO portrays our team on TV, Shaheed said. He says its been a great insight into the mindset inside the building. A look at how the team competes against each other and how the franchise operates from top to bottom. Im excited to continue to watch, says Shaheed.

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 06: An overall photo before the game between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees on May 6, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesIts Unofficial 1990s Throwback Night at Yankee Stadium on Friday, as the Atlanta Braves are in town to face the Yankees for a three-game set.These showdowns always bring to mind fondfor us anywaymemories of the 1996 and 1999 Fall Classics, when the Yankees came back from down 0-2 to win their first championship in 18 years and then when they polished off a similarly potent Braves team in a four-game sweep durig the final year of the 20th century (securing a repeat to follow the act of the legendary 1998 club). Of course, its been many years since those rumbles, and from 2001 onward, the Yankees and Braves have the same number of titles: one apiece, in 2009 and 2021 respectively.Tonight has a special sort of buzz about it, as erstwhile Braves ace Max Friedwho won the World Series clincher in Houston during that special 2021will face his old team for the first time. The personnel has changed a bit since Fried departed after 2024 (including now-retired skipper Brian Snitker), but Ronald Acua Jr., Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson, and plenty more are still around. Meanwhile, Atlanta will send out one of their Trade Deadline acquisitions, Tyler Mahle, who will make his Braves debut.Itll be a fun showdown whenever they get to play it. The weather in the Bronx is crummy at the moment and even though first pitch is still an hour away, the Yankees have announced that the game will not begin at 7:05pm ET as expected. Whenever the Yanks and MLB offer updates, well update our own article in turn. Stay dry and hang in there! The rain is supposed to subside, so we should get baseball tonight.Please be advised we do not intend to start tonights game on time. Information will be provided as it is received. New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 7, 2026UpdateTonights first pitch is scheduled for approximately 9:00 PM. New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 8, 2026Well, it took awhile, but we finally got an update. Well see you in a little over 45 minutes for first pitch from Fried at 9pm ET.

Houston Astros starting pitcher Ronel Blanco throws against the Texas Rangers during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (David J. Phillip/Associated Press) SAN DIEGO- Deterred by asking prices and optimistic about internal options, the Houston Astros did not augment their pitching staff before a trade deadline.Those internal reinforcements did arrive, but their performance down the stretch underwhelmed, and it contributed to the Astros missing the playoffs.That was last year. After this year's deadline unfolded similarly, with no additions on the pitching front, Houston's aspirations to return to the postseason may hinge on its tenuous rotation avoiding a reprise.After making one deadline trade to acquire center fielder Daulton Varsho, general manager Dana Brown said last week the Astros "felt like we got close" in their pursuit of pitching help, but they made no deals there while weighing "what it's going to do to your prospect capital and the future of the organization."JEFF BAGWELL:How Astros star fought alcoholism, got soberIt echoed a year ago, when the Astros balked at asking prices that were "too high" for pitching, as Brown said then, and focused on adding to their lineup. Erratic offense did prove arguably the main reason they missed the playoffs by a win, but the stretch run also illustrated the risk in their rotation approach.Houston placed an onus on pitchers returning from surgeries- Cristian Javier and Luis Garcia, who were both coming back from Tommy John procedures; Spencer Arrighetti in his return from a thumb fracture; and for depth J.P. France returning from shoulder surgery- to fortify its major-league rotation.Of that group, Javier alone remained in the rotation for the final two months and posted uneven results. Arrighetti made five starts before an elbow issue ended his season, Garcia made two starts before he re-injured his elbow and France returned late in the year for a brief appearance as a reliever.Again, this year, the Astros are positioned to rely on two pitchers who just returned from elbow surgeries- Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski- to hold rotation spots. Both are already taking regular turns, with little experienced depth behind them if any issues arise.Wesneski's first two starts back have been encouraging. He has a 3.86 ERA and threw 5 and 6 innings in them, despite totaling fewer than 80 pitches in both. Manager Joe Espada said after Wesneski's outing Tuesday he is keeping the right-hander around 80-85 pitches initially "before we can extend the leash.""But his stuff is good, the velo is there, breaking pitches have the action that we're looking for," Espada said. "So he's checking all the boxes."Blanco, slated to start Friday's opener against the Padres in his fourth start back, had a 7.36 ERA in his first three outings. He fell short of completing five innings in two of them, while allowing five home runs and eight walks in those 14 innings.Brown, in an appearance Wednesday on the Astros' flagship radio station 790 AM, voiced optimism that Blanco is "going to get back to the old Blanco." Brown also suggested, however, the Astros could "rotate him and (Tatsuya) Imai out at times, just to get him built back up.""Once you come off these injuries, sometimes it's really tough to get your rhythm and consistency," said Brown. "So we'll monitor it closely with the (40-plus) games that we have left. But there's an opportunity that maybe we could put him in the pen for three or four innings, kind of like we're doing with Imai."Since moving Imai to the bullpen last weekend, the Astros have remained vague about their plans for the right-hander down the stretch. Imai entered one game against Toronto in relief and worked three perfect innings. Espada said Tuesday that Imai was "being considered" for a start on this road trip.Brown, in his radio appearance, said the Astros "feel like at some point (Imai)'ll be back in the rotation." Plugging him back in amid a playoff push would only magnify the pressure on Imai and the Astros' staff to rein in the inconsistency that has defined his first MLB season- and do so while the stakes increase.Imai has cruised at times, but his tendency to derail early risks a toll on Houston's bullpen. If the plan is to rotate him back into occasional starts, having a stretched-out arm behind him could offer coverage- be it Blanco or someone else- but still carries uncertainty unless the Astros commit to a piggyback idea.After his relief outing against the Blue Jays, Imai said he was alerted before the game he would likely be used after Javier ended his start and for multiple innings. The Astros trailed when he entered, however, leaving open the question of whether they would have handled the late innings differently with a lead.Amid all of the rotation machinations, perhaps no pitcher has the chance to be more pivotal than Javier.Javier, the highest-paid pitcher on Houston's roster, struggled in three starts before missing three months to a shoulder strain, then was stowed in the bullpen. He has a 6.59 ERA in 27 innings, but his last two outings comprised five scoreless relief innings in Anaheim and a quality start against Toronto.Only others' struggles have put Javier back in a position to start, yet none of the Astros' other options to fill out the rotation have his experience. Javier resembling his pre-surgery form could bolster the middle of the rotation behind Hunter Brown and Peter Lambert and ease the demand on the pitchers above.The depth Dana Brown lauded this spring has dwindled. Trading Arrighetti for Varsho depleted it further, though Arrighetti was on the injured list. Mike Burrows is rehabbing from elbow neuritis, with no projected return date. Erstwhile starter Kai-Wei Teng is pitching as a reliever at Triple-A Sugar Land.Houston just promoted pitching prospect Bryce Mayer to Triple-A, where he joins fellow prospect Ethan Pecko, forming perhaps a next wave of starting depth. Delving into it during a stretch run would double as an admission by the Astros of diminished faith in their options with major-league experience.Entering Friday, the Astros still had the majors' third-highest rotation ERA. The group sported a 5.16 ERA since May 22, when Houston began a pivot from being 11 games under .500 to two games over with a 1- game division lead. Sustaining the latter, again, will fall to arms already in place.SubscribeTheres more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25.This article originally published at For second year in a row, Astros missed on pitching at trade deadline. Can fragile rotation hold up?.

We reached the final shattered: Tagliafico breaks silence after defeatDefender Nicols Tagliafico shared previously unknown details about how demanding Argentinas national team journey was during the World Cup. During a stream on his Twitch channel, the left-back acknowledged the enormous physical and emotional burden the squad carried into the decisive match against Spain.A grueling road to gloryTagliafico explained that the difficulty of each of the previous knockout rounds required an excessive effort. The intense battles on the pitch meant that the Albiceleste delegation reached the final with their energy nearly depleted.Physical and mental exhaustion before the decisive clashWe reached the final physically and mentally exhausted, the footballer confessed. His words reflect the enormous pressure and accumulated wear and tear the group had to endure in order to play for the title against the Spanish national team at the summit of international football.This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in here.

Aug. 6Today in sports historyToday is Aug. 6. On this date in:1890: Cy Young made his major league debut and pitched a three-hitter as the Cleveland Spiders defeated the Chicago Colts. He ended his career with a record 511 victories.1926: American swimmer Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to cross the English Channel, completing the swim in 14 hours, 31 minutes and surpassing the mens record by nearly two hours.1936: New Zealands Jack Lovelock won Olympic gold in the 1,500 meters at the Berlin Games and set a world record.1946: Ohio State guard Bill Willis signed with the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference, becoming one of the Black pioneers who reintegrated major professional football after World War II.1948: Seventeen-year-old Bob Mathias won the Olympic decathlon in London only four months after taking up the event, becoming the youngest Olympic track and field champion in history.1952: St. Louis Browns pitcher Satchel Paige threw a 12-inning shutout and defeated the Detroit Tigers at age 46.1966: Muhammad Ali retained the world heavyweight championship with a third-round victory over Brian London at Earls Court in London.1972: Gary Player captured the PGA Championship, winning the tournament by two strokes for the second PGA title of his career.1972: Atlanta Braves star Hank Aaron hit his 660th career home run, surpassing Babe Ruths record of 659 homers with one franchise, then homered again in the 10th inning to beat Cincinnati.1973: Roberto Clemente and Warren Spahn were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Clemente became the first Latin American player enshrined, while Spahn entered with the most career victories by a left-handed pitcher.1978: John Mahaffey overcame a seven-stroke final-round deficit and defeated Tom Watson and Jerry Pate on the second sudden-death hole to win the PGA Championship at Oakmont.1984: Carl Lewis won the Olympic long jump in Los Angeles, capturing the second of the four gold medals he earned at those games.1988: Jos Canseco became just the 11th player in major league history to record a 30-home run, 30-stolen base season.1988: Goose Gossage recorded the 300th save of his career, becoming only the second pitcher in major league history to reach the milestone.1992: Kevin Young won the Olympic 400-meter hurdles in a world-record 46.78 seconds in Barcelona, becoming the first man to break 47 seconds in the event.1999: San Diego Padres star Tony Gwynn collected his 3,000th career hit with a first-inning single against the Montreal Expos and finished with four hits in a 12-10 victory.2011: Deion Sanders, Marshall Faulk, Shannon Sharpe, Richard Dent, Chris Hanburger, Les Richter and contributor Ed Sabol were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.2016: Brett Favre, Tony Dungy, Marvin Harrison, Orlando Pace, Kevin Greene, Ken Stabler, Dick Stanfel and Edward DeBartolo Jr. were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.2021: Shaunae Miller-Uibo won her second consecutive Olympic 400-meter championship, while bronze medalist Allyson Felix earned her 10th Olympic medal and became the most decorated woman in Olympic track and field history.2022: Tony Boselli, Cliff Branch, LeRoy Butler, Art McNally, Sam Mills, Richard Seymour, Dick Vermeil and Bryant Young were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.2024: American Cole Hocker surged past Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win the Olympic 1,500 meters in an Olympic-record 3:27.65 in Paris.2024: Gabby Thomas won the Olympic womens 200 meters in 21.83 seconds, earning her first individual Olympic gold medal. USA TODAY NetworkThis story was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of information gathering, review, editing and publishing. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Today in sports history, August 6

The Los Angeles Dodgers might be on a losing streak, but theyre about to get a rather important player back from the injured list.Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Friday that Blake Snell will return to the rotation on Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals, according to The Athletics Fabian Ardaya. Trade deadline pick-up Tarik Skubal will also reportedly make his Dodger Stadium debut on Monday.Snell has made only one start all season, having begun 2026 on the injured list due to shoulder fatigue. He made a single bad start in May before returning to the IL, this time with loose bodies in his pitching elbow. He wound up undergoing the same procedure to remove them as Skubal did weeks earlier.While Skubal needed only 38 days to return from his loose bodies, Snell took a longer road back. The two-time Cy Young Award winner began a rehab assignment on July 18 and has made four starts since, topping out at 73 pitches on Tuesday for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets.This would hardly be the first season Snell has no-showed the first half of the season only to look like one of the best arms in the game in the second half. He holds a 4.00 career ERA in the first half and a 2.33 ERA in the second half, with nearly equal innings despite the first half taking up more of the calendar.The Dodgers will happily welcome him back as their rotation starts to take its true form. The team has plugged along with the likes of Eric Lauer and Emmet Sheehan, who was optioned earlier this week, in its rotation, but its postseason rotation is almost certain to feature Snell, Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and one of Shohei Ohtani or Tyler Glasnow.Glasnow is also currently on the IL due to the lower back spasms and recently began a rehab assignment, while Ohtani has been off the mound since the first half due to knee discomfort.

The New England Patriots have continued holding tryouts as the team prepares for the 2026 NFL season.According to ESPNs Mike Reiss, the Patriots hosted defensive backs Hudson Clark and Jeremiah McClendon for tryouts on Friday. Clark began his NFL career with the Las Vegas Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2025. He has yet to play in an NFL game. Clark spent five years at Arkansas from 2020-24 prior to entering the NFL. He recorded six interceptions in five seasons spent with the Razorbacks.McClendon signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent after the 2026 NFL Draft. He was waived by the Saints on May 27. McClendon played for Marshall (2021), Charleston Southern (2022), FIU (2023) and Southern Illinois in 2024 before entering the NFL.The Patriots are led by Kevin Byard and Craig Woodson at safety, as well as Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis III and Marcus Jones at cornerback.Follow Patriots Wire onTwitterandFacebook.This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Patriots host two defensive backs for training camp tryout

At the request of the Harris County district attorney's office in Houston, a misdemeanor gun charge against Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden has been dismissed after he completed an alternative resolution program, reports the Associated Press.Alternative programs are a fairly common way for people to avoid a criminal record for a minor offense. In this case, Harden likely did some community service in the Houston area, although the agreement did not detail exactly what he did, according to the AP.Harden, an 11-time All-Star, had been arrested on June 13 for having a gun in the cupholder of his car. He had been driving a car as part of a multi-car group when one of the other drivers was pulled over, according to the Harris County police report. Harden had pulled up behind the police and the other vehicle, and while interacting with the police, one officer noticed Harden had a gun in the cupholder of his car, according to the report. Harden allegedly confirmed the gun was his, which led to his arrest and booking.Harden played eight seasons his peak seasons, statistically in Houston and has close ties to the city. He spends much of his offseason there every year.Harden, 36, technically still remains a free agent, but is expected to re-sign with the Cavaliers in the coming weeks. He opted out of the $42.3 million he was owed to give the Cavaliers more cap space to chase LeBron James (they struck out there) or make other moves. He is expected to re-sign in Cleveland for around $30 million a season (depending on what other moves the team makes) for multiple years. Harden was traded from the LA Clippers to Cleveland in the middle of this past season, and between the two teams he averaged 23.6 points and 8 assists per game while shooting 37.5% from 3-point range.

A matchup between the Denver Summit and the Utah Royals has been significantly postponed due to extreme heat and other environmental factors, the NWSL announced Friday. The match, which was set to kick off at 2 p.m. MT on Saturday in Denver, has been rescheduled to 8 p.m. MT.The NWSL said that the decision to push back the match was made after consulting with climate experts, doctors from both teams and the NWSL Players Association.The healthy and safety of our players, staff, officials and fans remains our top priority and will continue to guide our decision-making in this matter, the league wrote in a statement.Saturdays match will be held at Centennial Stadium, the Summits temporary venue while it builds a new stadium in Denver. Centennial, CO, where the stadium is located, is just southeast of Denver.Temperatures are set to near 100 degrees in Denver on Saturday. In addition, the area will be affected by air quality issues stemming from wildfires coming from the western part of the country. Both of those issues will only be exacerbated by the altitude, an ever-present issue when playing in Denver, which sits one mile above sea level.That combination, per the league, led to unique medical considerations that warranted additional precaution beyond the operational standards established in the leagues Gameday Heat Safety Policy. The leagues policy, which uses the wet bulb globe temperature to measure safety risk, is usually used to factor humidity and cloud cover into the baseline heat.An update from the NWSL on tomorrows match between Denver Summit FC and Utah Royals FC. pic.twitter.com/cUButIw5Ll National Womens Soccer League (@NWSL) August 7, 2026The NWSLs weather policy has been criticized over the past few years, especially as weather conditions worsen with climate change. Last August, a game between the Kansas City Current and Orlando Pride was delayed by more than three hours due to excess heat.Initially, the leagues focus seemed to be on money lost, rather than safety: The Athletic reported after that game that NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman had threatened to fine the Current over a disagreement on whether it was safe to play, with Berman citing the potentially high cost of missing their broadcast window.With the leagues heat policy facing scrutiny (and Bermans alleged threat receiving backlash) after that game, the NWSL updated its weather policy ahead of the 2026 season, adding additional hydration breaks during games within a set wet bulb globe temperature range.However, more changes are likely coming this offseason. A summer marred by wildfire smoke across the country has raised additional weather issues that can affect games.In the Queens Classic last month, when Gotham FC beat the Washington Spirit in Citi Field, the game proceeded as scheduled despite an air quality index of 170 just below the NWSLs threshold for postponing the match. Players after the game said that the air quality was less than ideal to play in, even with two hydration breaks per half to try and combat the effects of the smoke.During a midseason press conference on Wednesday, Berman said that it would be reassessing policies at the end of the season, and acknowledged that the Gotham-Spirit game would be used as a data point in that analysis.