Russell Steinberg Articles - Page 8

The New York Liberty trimmed their roster to 11 on Sunday, waiving second-year guard Marquesha Davis hours before they defeated the Atlanta Dream, 79-72. It’s never an easy decision, but Davis rarely saw the court for New York — even in blowouts. And she was one of a handful of players league-wide to lose their […]

When a team is in a funk but finally wins a game, it’s hard to tell whether it’s a blip on the radar or if the group has truly turned it around. For New York Liberty fans, that was certainly the case on Tuesday night, but there’s reason to hope that the worst of this […]

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese became the latest in a wave of WNBA players and coaches to criticize league officiating this season after her team’s loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday. In her next game, Tuesday afternoon against the Washington Mystics, she attempted a career-high 15 free throws. These are professionals doing their jobs […]

There’s no reason to suspect the Pittsburgh Pirates are going to deal starting pitcher Paul Skenes at the trade deadline. But this is early July, which is peak trade rumor season, and that means we can all explore the possibility. ESPN’s David Schoenfield did just that on Tuesday, examining what it would take to send […]

Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry DiPoto spent time with the Arizona Diamondbacks in the early 2000s, ascending to the role of general manager in 2010. Though he’s since moved north, the Mariners and Diamondbacks have become frequent trade partners over the past few years. With the 2025 MLB trade deadline approaching, that could […]

There is no panic in the New York Liberty locker room. The reigning WNBA champions have hit a prolonged rough patch, losing six out of nine games after starting the season 9-0. Their first-year point guard and quick fan favorite Natasha Cloud had a message for the fanbase after their latest loss, a 79-70 defeat […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers may have a commanding seven-game lead in the National League West, but the defending World Series champions have had a rough go of it the last few days. It didn’t get any better on Monday after Yoshinobu Yamamoto recorded just two outs in the Dodgers’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Yamamoto […]

The St. Louis Cardinals have promoted top prospect JJ Wetherholt to Triple-A Memphis, the team announced on Monday. A middle infielder, the 22-year-old Wetherholt is the No. 1 prospect in St. Louis’ system and the No. 19 in baseball, per MLB.com. Wetherholt was the Cardinals’ top pick in the 2024 MLB Draft (No. 7 overall) […]

The week between the MLB All-Star Game roster announcement and the game itself is for two things and two things only: pressuring power hitters into participating in the Home Run Derby and debating All-Star snubs. Well, Cal Raleigh is in the Derby so that part is taken care of. As for the snubs, there are […]

Just about everyone who has ever aspired to play Major League Baseball has played a game of Home Run Derby in their backyard. Seattle Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh is no different. A week before Raleigh participates in the real thing in Atlanta, video has surfaced of a young Raleigh fantasizing about winning it. Daniel Kramer, […]

The New York Yankees find themselves in a familiar place as July heats up and the 2025 trade deadline approaches. They’re still clear playoff contenders, sitting three games out of the American League East lead and, for now, in control of a Wild Card spot. But it’s the fourth year in a row that the […]

The Washington Nationals have named bench coach Miguel Cairo interim manager, one day after the team fired manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo. This is Cairo’s second season on staff in Washington, coming to DC from New York, where he was the Mets’ Minor League infield coordinator. Before that, he spent two seasons […]

ESPN icon Dick Vitale has a health update for fans, and it’s awesome, baby. The 86-year-old college basketball analyst is still cancer free as of his latest check-up, he announced on Monday. “Positive news today after my scoping & examination by Dr Steven Zeitels in Boston,” he wrote via X alongside a trio of photos […]

The phrase “Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Felix Hernandez” just sounds weird — but it could have been a reality. Before San Francisco Giants general manager Zack Minasian moved out west, he was a scout with Milwaukee, and as he tells it, there was a time where the club really thought it was about to land King […]

New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart came into Sunday averaging 50 percent shooting and a career-high 7.3 free throw attempts per game. Then, she went 4-17 from the field and didn’t make a single trip to the stripe against the Seattle Storm. It was a brutal offensive showing as the Liberty lost for the sixth […]

New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud has won a WNBA championship, led the league in assists and been part of the All-Defensive team. But she’s never been an All-Star. In her first year with the Liberty, Cloud is out to change that, and she’s making a strong push as the break nears. Cloud scored 23 […]

There aren’t many rules to attending a Major League Baseball game, but one of them is to never interfere with a ball in play. One Arizona Diamondbacks fan didn’t get that memo — any of the four times it’s been delivered to him. The fan, who interfered with a ball yet again on Monday, has […]

With the Atlanta Braves’ roster getting more crowded after the team traded for pitcher Hunter Stratton, it needed to clear room on the 40-man roster. To do that, the Braves have moved Chris Sale to the 60-day injured list. Atlanta acquired Stratton from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, sending minor league outfielder Titus Dumitru and […]

Three days after Jeremy Pena was hit by a pitch on Friday, the Houston Astros placed him on the injured list with a small fracture in one of his ribs. Speaking to the media on Tuesday before the Astros took on the Colorado Rockies in Denver, Pena explained what’s next as he works to get […]

The San Francisco Giants have decided to exercise their 2026 option on manager Bob Melvin, the team announced on Tuesday. Melvin, who has been an MLB manager since 2003, is in his second year with the Giants, who are currently 45-40. That puts them 1.5 games out of the National League Wild Card and eight […]

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has never shown much interest in making friends around the WNBA, and it appears she’s angered some of the league’s new cities as well. The day after the WNBA announced its next round of expansion would include Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia, Cunningham suggested players wouldn’t be excited to travel to […]

As an established star having the best season of her career, there isn’t much that Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray can’t do on the court. On the dance floor, she has some work to do — but she got some help this week thanks to line dancing instructor Terressa Fields. As part of a partnership […]

The Toronto Blue Jays will be without Bo Bichette for a second straight game after he suffered a minor knee injury during batting practice on Monday before the team’s game against the New York Yankees. Though Bichette is considered day-to-day, the team has called up Leo Jimenez from Triple-A Buffalo for added depth. The Blue […]

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll is still working his way back from injury, but the former Rookie of the Year sounded optimistic when meeting with the media on Monday. Carroll, who is recovering from a chip fracture in his left wrist, has not played since June 18, but he said he is doing just about […]

The Detroit Tigers have well over a century of history, and even if the championships have been few and far between, the franchise has had more than its share of Hall of Famers. Perhaps only the New York Yankees can boast quite as many big names in the early 20th century, as many of the […]

Michael Harris II is just three years removed from winning the National League Rookie of the Year award with the Atlanta Braves, and just last year, he hit a respectable .264 with an OPS right around the league average. That’s why his woeful offensive numbers this year are so shocking — and why Braves hitting […]

Major League Baseball has one more full season before its collective bargaining agreement expires, but commissioner Rob Manfred is already laying the groundwork for what he’s looking for in the next round of negotiations. He says he wants to connect more with the players and that the Players Association no longer represents their will. “There […]

The scuffling Atlanta Braves are 38-45 and eight games out of a National League Wild Card spot. While there’s still plenty of time left in the season, you have to squint really hard to see a world where Atlanta makes a deep October run. That doesn’t mean the Braves are guaranteed to sell at the […]

The New York Mets are 3-13 since June 10 and a rough stretch got even worse for them over the weekend when the Pittsburgh Pirates not only swept them but outscored New York 30-4 over three games. Mets fans are understandably frustrated, and team owner Steve Cohen tried to stay optimistic on Monday when he addressed […]

As Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese continues rewriting the WNBA history books on the glass, she’s remembering who helped get her to where she is today. After pulling down at least 15 rebounds in her fourth straight game — a WNBA record — Reese took time to shout out her mom in a post via […]

22-year-old slugger James Wood has played in 163 career games and the Washington Nationals’ left fielder has already found himself on the same list as Barry Bonds. In the Nationals’ game on Sunday, the Los Angeles Angels intentionally walked Wood four times — a sign of respect no hitter has seen since Bonds in 2004. […]

The past two weeks of New York Liberty basketball have played out like a frustrating broken record. Head coach Sandy Brondello has criticized the team’s energy and players have bemoaned the slow starts. And they have kept happening. Their latest misstep was a 106-91 loss on the road to the Phoenix Mercury — their second […]

Before the Golden State Valkyries in 2025, the most recent WNBA expansion team went 4-30 in their first season. The Atlanta Dream turned it around the next year, and then had four straight winning seasons, but it was a rough start for the franchise that has won three conference titles in its short history. A […]

Championship DNA doesn’t have an actual dictionary definition, but you know it when you see it — and Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty has it. Ionescu, a streaky shooter as it is, had herself a woeful shooting game in New York’s 81-78 win over the Golden State Valkyries in San Francisco on Wednesday night, […]

The New York Liberty suffered their first casualty on their first west coast trip of the season before they even stepped on the court when the cross-country flight aggravated Sabrina Ionescu’s neck. With Leonie Fiebich overseas playing for Team Germany and Jonquel Jones out at least a month with an ankle injury, it left the […]

If Cincinnati Reds rookie Chase Burns had any butterflies on the mound in his Major League debut, they didn’t show. The Reds’ starter on Tuesday struck out six of the first seven New York Yankees he faced in an electric start to his MLB career. He also struck out the first five batters he faced, […]

Former Illinois men’s basketball standout Will Riley is expected to go somewhere in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night and when he does, he will have taken a global route to get there. Originally from Canada, Riley was a consensus five-star recruit when he committed to Brad Underwood and the […]

Three-time All-Star Whit Merrifield announced his retirement on Tuesday, and on his way out the door, he took time to thank Philadelphia Phillies fans in the most hilarious way possible. Merrifield played for the Phillies in 2024, hitting just .199 with a .572 OPS before the team released him and he caught on with the […]

LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey was in DC for the Washington Mystics vs. Dallas Wings game over the weekend to see two of her former players suit up for Dallas. One of her current players, Flau’jae Johnson, came away with a message for the Hall of Famer when the Mystics shared a picture of […]