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Archives for July 25, 2026

Red Sox: The Streak is None

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – Dylan Cease threw a one-hitter and George Springer hit a three-run home run as the visiting Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 6-0 Saturday. Cease (7-5), who took a no-hitter into the ninth against the San Francisco Giants on July 8, only allowed four Red Sox hitters to reach base.

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The teams will play the rubber match of the series on Sunday. Boston is 11-2 in its last 13 games against the American League East and has won 16 of its last 18.

Cease was perfect until walking Caleb Durbin with two outs in the fifth and didn’t allow a hit through five innings. The complete game was the first for Toronto this season and the 12th in the majors. Seven of the complete games have been shutouts.

It was Cease’s fourth career complete game and his fourth career shutout. The right-hander walked three and struck out 12 on a career-high 120 pitches.

Boston starter Sonny Gray (12-2) gave up five runs on 10 hits in five innings. The right-hander didn’t walk anyone and struck out three on 75 pitches.

The Blue Jays took control in the third when they used six straight hits to score five runs with two outs. Nathan Lukes started the rally with a double into the left-field corner and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lined a single to left. Kazuma Okamoto kept it going by singling off the glove of third baseman Durbin and Springer made the Red Sox pay by homering just over the Green Monster in left to make it 4-0.

Varsho continued the inning with a single to center and he scored when Ernie Clement doubled off the base of the left-field wall to go up 5-0.

Gray had been 10-0 since coming off the injured list in mid-May. This was his worst outing since giving up five earned runs in four innings in a 6-0 loss to Minnesota on April 14.

Cease, pitching on the second anniversary of his no-hitter for the Padres, didn’t give up a hit until Andruw Monasterio doubled to lead off the sixth.

Monasterio did not advance, however, as Cease induced Connor Wong to ground out, struck out Anthony Seigler and retired Ceddanne Rafaela with a pop out to shallow center.

–Field Level Media

 

LeBron Signs with Philadelphia

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PHILADELPHIA – (Wire Service Report) – NBA great and sure first ballot Hall of Famer LeBron James is heading to the City of Brotherly Love. James, 41, is signing a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option, Klutch CEO Rich Paul told ESPN on Friday. The 76ers will be the fourth team for James, who spent the past eight seasons with the Lakers, highlighted by helping the franchise win the 2020 NBA title.

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A four-time NBA MVP and the league’s all-time leading scorer, James completed his record-setting 23rd NBA season in 2025-26. He addressed his reasoning to return to the court on Friday in a series of posts on X.

“I thought I was done when the season ended. I wasn’t ready to announce it, and I knew I needed some time to really decide, but I was pretty sure I played my last game,” James wrote. “I was honest at that last press conference when I said I needed to look at myself and decide if I still love (playing).”

The 76ers certainly hope so as they seek to halt a 43-year championship.

Per ESPN, 76ers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey stayed in constant communication with Paul behind the scenes. The network also noted that Philadelphia players Tyrese Maxey, who is a fellow Klutch client, Joel Embiid and the newly acquired Jaylen Brown also worked on getting James aboard with the 76ers.

“This is my last decision. I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point?

“I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship.

“I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time.

“Thank you LA. Miami I’ll forever love and Northeast Ohio will always home!”

The 76ers posted a 45-37 record last season and advanced to the second round in the Eastern Conference before getting swept by the eventual NBA champion New York Knicks.

While James warmed up to the 76ers, that meant he left teams like the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat out in the cold.

The time he needed to make his decision also affected other aspects of the NBA offseason, including next season’s schedule as well as key players’ respective destinations.

“We have to finish up the schedule, and where LeBron plays affects the schedule,” commissioner Adam Silver said last week at a CNBC event. “It will influence how we set the schedule — opening week, Christmas. So I need him to make a decision.”

James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds this past season with the Lakers. The 22-time All-Star and four-time NBA champion is the all-time leader in games (1,622) and points (43,440).

A native of Akron, Ohio, James was the No. 1 pick of his hometown team, the Cavaliers, in 2003. He played for the Cavs (2003-10, 2014-18) and the Heat (2010-14) before joining the Lakers.

 

 

PGA Tour: Koivun Leads 3M Open

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BLAINE – (Wire Service Report) – PGA Tour newcomer Jackson Koivun fired a 10-under-par 61 on the way to taking the third-round lead at the 3M Open on Saturday in the Twin Cities.

Koivun, in his just third tournament as a professional, holds a three-shot lead on Ben Kohles and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo going to Sunday’s final round at TPC Twin Cities. Koivun, who announced last month that he would forgo his senior collegiate season at Auburn to turn pro, finished on a tear with two eagles on the backside that allowed him to play the final 10 holes in 9-under. That contributed to a tournament-record 28 on the backside, rolling in a 14-foot eagle putt on the last hole.

Koivun’s bogey-free round included an eagle 3 on No. 12.

Grillo and Kohles also were without bogeys on the way to posting 65s. Grillo eagled No. 18 shortly after Koivun accomplished that. Kohles, the first-round leader, had three birdies on both sides.

Michael Brennan (63) and Chandler Phillips (66) are tied for fourth place at 16 under.

Michael Kim, fresh off Friday’s 59, was unable to maintain the momentum, shooting 70 and joining Denny McCarthy (64) and Billy Horschel (65) at 15 under. Kim had only one birdie until No. 16 on Saturday.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler had his best round of the tournament with 64 to move to 14 under, holding a share of first place when he left the final green. Competing in the tournament for the first time, he posted an 8 under score on the backside, highlighted by an eagle with a chip from the greenside rough on the par-4 16th.

Davis Thompson and Ireland’s Seamus Power were early finishers with 63s, also among those at 14 under before other golfers got rolling. Brian Harman (66) is at 14 under as well.

Defending champion Kurt Kitayama shot 66 to move to 10 under.

–Field Level Media

Kraft Being Krafty

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FOXBOROUGH – (Wire Service Report) – New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the team offered Christian Gonzalez a contract extension that would make him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.

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Kraft did not reveal the specific terms of the deal on Saturday, the first day of training camp.

“We love Christian Gonzalez,” Kraft said during the team’s Pawtriots pet adoption event, per the Boston Herald. “We love him as a player, as a person. That’s why we’ve made an offer to him that makes him the highest-paid player ever to play that position in the NFL, and coincidentally, it’s the highest contract in the Patriots franchise history.

“So we’re glad we drafted him and we developed here, and we hope he’ll be with us for a long time.”

Gonzalez is eligible for a contract extension for the first time after being selected by the Patriots with the 17th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Kraft did not reveal the specific terms of the deal on Saturday, the first day of training camp.

“We love Christian Gonzalez,” Kraft said during the team’s Pawtriots pet adoption event, per the Boston Herald. “We love him as a player, as a person. That’s why we’ve made an offer to him that makes him the highest-paid player ever to play that position in the NFL, and coincidentally, it’s the highest contract in the Patriots franchise history.

“So we’re glad we drafted him and we developed here, and we hope he’ll be with us for a long time.”

Gonzalez is eligible for a contract extension for the first time after being selected by the Patriots with the 17th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.

The Los Angeles Rams’ Trent McDuffie is currently the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback, pocketing $31 million per season on his four-year, $131 million contract that he signed this offseason.

Gonzalez, 24, made the Pro Bowl last season after posting 69 tackles and 10 passes defensed in 14 starts. He has three interceptions, 24 passes defensed, one fumble recovery, one sack and 145 tackles in 34 career games (all starts).

–Field Level Media