Steelers’ Cam Heyward sends warning to rest of NFL
Raiders shockingly cut two-time All-Pro after altercation with head coach
The Las Vegas Raiders sent a bold statement to the locker room after they cut a player a day after an ugly scene on the sideline Sunday. The Raiders had some frustrated players during their 31-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12. Two-time All-Pro cornerback Marcus Peters had a serious altercation with head coach Antonio Pierce on the sideline. Peters was pulled from the game. According to Vic Tafur with The Athletic, the Raiders released Peters Monday morning. Las Vegas saved nearly $1.5M by cutting Peters before he could earn performance-based incentives. This isn’t the first time players have shown outrage at the coaching staff this season. Star wide receiver Davante Adams and several teammates voiced their displeasure with former head coach Josh McDaniels before he was fired. Interactions between players and coaches seemed better when the team had their two-game winning streak earlier this month. But the Raiders have dropped two straight to end the month of November.
Deion Sanders Jr., Danny Kanell exchange words after Colorado finishes 4-8
MLB
Yankees need to give Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto an ultimatum
The Deadline The Yankees set an undisclosed deadline for Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Japanese ace arrives in the major leagues after being posted into MLB free agency last week. Every team will at least inquire about the pitcher’s services, while teams like the Yankees will try to sign him. It is not hard to see why so many teams are interested in the right-hander, as he is arguably the best pitcher to come out of Japanese baseball. Yamamoto has won three Eiji Sawamura Awards in a row, the Japanese equivalent to the CY Young Award. He completed these impressive feats at 25 years old. Combine the factors of age, talent and foreign marketing, and you have a potential superstar. Yamamoto is a much-needed player for multiple franchises and one who could change their prospects going into 2024. However, Yamamoto is expected to sign with the team that presents the most money. If the Yankees are outbid, they must change course quickly and focus on other starting pitchers, such as World Series champion Jordan Montgomery and 2023 NL CY Young Award winner Blake Snell. Yamamoto will also have to sign with a major league team before the positing deadline expires on Jan. 4, 2024. He will be sent back to Japan if he fails to sign with a major league team before the deadline. This is unlikely to happen. However, he will take his time in deciding. While Yamamoto takes his time, other valuable free agents may come off the board, and the Yankees cannot put all their eggs in one basket. Why the Yankees are proceeding correctly with Yamamoto The 27-time World Series champions must fill in multiple gaps within their roster. This is why the front office has set a critical deadline for Yamamoto. As great a talent as he is, other players could also fill the hole in the injured Yankees rotation. Plus, the Yankees’ most important task to fix is the offense. This is why GM Brian Cashman has come out and stated the team is looking for two left-handed outfielders. These could be names such as Juan Soto, Cody Bellinger, Kevin Kiermaier and Jung Hoo Lee. Even two of these players will take up a lot of the payroll and probably cost more than Yamamoto. The Yankees do not have a choice this offseason as they are still without a left fielder, and the starting center fielder Jasson Dominguez will miss a significant portion of next year. Yamamoto is a big priority for the Yankees this offseason to fill the rotation with quality and healthy arms. However, he is not the only player capable of fulfilling this task. The Yankees must fix all their glaring issues to make the playoffs next season. Yamamoto could significantly help them but cannot come at the cost of offensive production. The Yankees have no choice but to retool the offense to fix their largest hurdle in recent years. Conclusion The Yankees would be happy to have Yamamoto but within a certain time frame. The front office must work overtime to fix this team before spring training. Waiting even on a phenom could prove costly to the overall big picture.
NBA Exec Gets Brutally Honest On Trade Value Of Bulls Stars Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan
NBA
Celtics release concerning Kristaps Porzingis injury update
Boston Celtics forward Kristaps Porzingis is expected to have his left calf re-evaluated in about a week or so. Porzingis suffered a left calf injury on Nov. 24 against the Orlando Magic in the middle of the third quarter and didn’t return to the game. Porzingis has appeared in 15 games for the Celtics this season. He’s averaging 18.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.7 blocks while shooting 54.7% from the field, 32.4% from beyond the arc and 80.0% from the free-throw line. The Celtics have the best record in the NBA at 13-4. It will be fascinating to see when Porzingis returns from his injury. The former New York Knicks star has been injury-prone for the last couple of years.
Pistons bench pair of top-five picks as losing streak stretches to 16 games
MLB
Three potential landing spots for two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell
The winter meetings are slated to begin on Dec. 3, which means MLB free agency should pick up speed. Coming off a season where he posted an MLB-best 2.25 ERA and won his second career Cy Young Award, left-hander Blake Snell is one of the most coveted pitchers on the open market. Here are three teams that could be a potential destination for Snell. Boston Red Sox After consecutive last-place American League East finishes and the hiring of Craig Breslow to replace Chaim Bloom as the club’s chief baseball officer, the Red Sox have plenty of work to do to become relevant again. It’s going to require a noteworthy signing to sell skeptics on the team’s direction, but Boston might not be well-equipped to make a serious run at two-time AL MVP Shohei Ohtani or RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Nonetheless, the Red Sox need a reliable front-line starting pitcher, and if Snell can replicate last season’s 180 innings pitched in 2024, he’d be worth splurging on. Boston’s 4.52 team ERA was the fifth-worst in the AL last season, and the team’s most innings pitched came from right-hander Brayan Bello, who ranked 51st in that category (157). Entering his age-31 season, Snell is an ideal target to keep Boston in contention for a wild-card spot in the coming years as it waits for more of its promising young prospects to debut. San Francisco Giants Eventually, San Francisco needs to make a splash after being the bridesmaid to several big-name free agents in past offseasons, including shortstop Carlos Correa and the infamous “Arson Judge” last winter. Although MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported earlier this week that San Francisco is “prioritizing” one of Ohtani or Yamamoto, if it fails to land them, Snell wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize. The Giants were in playoff contention for most of last season despite lacking much star power in their lineup, thanks largely to having the third-best ERA in the National League (4.02). To avoid another late-season collapse, the Giants hired former Padres manager Bob Melvin for the same role, a factor that may provide them with an edge in the Snell sweepstakes. Not to mention that ballpark-wise, there might not be a better place for Snell to pitch than Oracle Park, which is the sixth-most pitcher-friendly venue in MLB, per Forbes’ Tony Blengino. In four career road starts against the Giants, Snell posted a 2-0 record with an ERA of 1.59 and 31 strikeouts. Pairing Snell with righty Logan Webb, the runner-up for the 2023 NL Cy Young Award, would give the Giants arguably the top pitching duo in baseball, which no team would want to face in a playoff series. Seattle Mariners While the Mariners aren’t the ideal match for Snell, it’s impossible to ignore them as a suitor. Seattle ranked third in ERA (3.74) last season, which suggests it should instead upgrade its offense, which was second in strikeout percentage (25.9%) and 22nd in batting average (.242), but Snell’s hometown ties could influence that decision. According to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo, the Seattle native Snell “badly wants to pitch for his hometown Mariners.” Additionally, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times recently predicted on Seattle Sports’ “Brock and Salk” radio show that the Mariners will sign Snell and then trade one of their young starting pitchers for an impact bat. RHP Logan Gilbert has been floated as a potential trade chip for the Mariners, and considering he won’t hit free agency until after the 2027 season, the 26-year-old would surely fetch a strong return. However, it wouldn’t make much sense for Seattle to make that type of move without already having a deal with a player of Snell’s caliber lined up.
NFL flexes ‘Monday Night Football’ game for first time
MLB
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s younger brother expected to sign with big NL team
There is about to be another member of the Guerrero clan in Major League Baseball. New York Mets insider Mike Mayer of Metsmerized reports this week that Vladi Miguel Guerrero is expected to sign with the New York Mets during the 2024 international free agent period that begins Jan. 15. The 17-year-old Vladi is the younger brother of Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as well as the son of Baseball Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr. Vladi, a left-handed hitter, has already attracted plenty of buzz online. He went viral a couple years ago for his powerful swing during batting practice in his native Dominican Republic. For the Mets, they continue to cook up some interesting stuff this offseason. The team signed the family member of an NL MVP just last week, and now a family member of the for
