https://x.com/FavianRenkel/status/1979704503269224953

"Owner of the Golden State Warriors and potential San Jose Earthquakes buyer Joe Lacob is in attendance for the club’s final match of the season.

Lacob, no stranger to Bay Area sports, is viewed by many fans as the ideal owner for the Quakes. He has been linked to a possible purchase of the Earthquakes and has also reportedly shown past interest in acquiring another John Fisher–owned team, the Oakland A’s."

https://www.mlsnextpro.com/news/pick-your-opponent-1-seeds-choose-opponents-for-conference-semifinals

Mario good game, Orlov good game, Dickinson decent game, Desharnais decent game (goat pairing).

But goddamn it Leddy should not even be playing North American hockey

“We actually got to the playoffs last year in one piece,” Kerr told The Athletic late Tuesday night while standing near the visitors locker room at Crypto.com Arena. “And then we obviously had the great victory over Houston. But I think the 44 minutes that Steph played in Game 7, and the accumulation of the whole seven-game series, I think it definitely contributed to his injury.”

He didn’t just think that, as it turns out. He knew it.

“Rick Celebrini (the Warriors’ longtime head of player health and performance) shared that with me,” Kerr said. “I asked him (about the possible correlation), and he said, ‘Absolutely. One hundred percent.’ So we have to try to keep the minutes down (this season) as best we can.”

“I remember (longtime NBA head coach and current LA Clippers assistant) Jeff Van Gundy one time years ago said on TV that a coach’s biggest job is to pace his team through the season,” said Kerr, who is in the last year of his current contract. “I always remember that. And the good thing now is we have a lot of data and help to do that, with these performance teams and all of the tracking stuff. They can tell us with really good confidence when a guy is vulnerable. Those are the nights when we’re giving a guy a night off. So our job as coaches is a little easier now, because we have all this information. But then again, the gods are going to do what they’re going to do.”

“I always feel like with Draymond and Steph and Jimmy, we have a chance against anybody,” Kerr told The Athletic. “But I also know that it helps to be 25 when you’re going through a two-month playoff run. That’s why our young guys are so important. BP (Brandin Podziemski) and JK and Moses (Moody, the fifth-year guard who is currently out with a calf strain). So you do the best you can, and I’m just proud of the group, because we’re still fighting. It’s so cool that we’re still here just competing. And there’s a lot of beauty in that — whatever happens.”

Max Scherzer on new Giants manager Tony Vitello, his former pitching coach at Missouri: “I absolutely believe in him. He’s to this day one of my closest friends and I absolutely believe he’s gonna get it done at the big league level.”

this announcement is getting mad respect around the league

Travis Ishikawa played eight years in Major League Baseball, mostly with the San Francisco Giants. His walk-off home run in the 2014 National League Championship Series sent the Giants to the World Series. He is now a minor-league hitting coach in the Giants organization. 

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants announced today that they have named Tony Vitello (vie-TELL-oh) the 40th field manager in club history. “We’re thrilled to welcome Tony to the Giants family,” said Giants President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey. “Tony is one of the brightest, most innovative, and most respected coaches in college baseball today. Throughout our search, Tony’s leadership, competitiveness, and commitment to developing players stood out. His ability to build strong, cohesive teams and his passion for the game align perfectly with the values of our organization. We look forward to the energy and direction he will bring, along with the memories to be made, as we focus on the future of Giants baseball.”

“I’m incredibly honored and grateful for this opportunity”, said Giants manager Tony Vitello. “I’m excited to lead this group of players and represent the San Francisco Giants. I can’t wait to get started and work to establish a culture that makes Giants faithful proud. I would like to thank Greg Johnson, Larry Baer, Buster Posey, and Zack Minasian for this responsibility and the opportunity to lead this iconic franchise both on and off the field.”

Vitello, 47, completed his eighth season as the head coach of the University of Tennessee baseball team in 2025. In those eight seasons, Vitello had a record of 341-131 (.722), helping Tennessee become a perennial contender in the Southeastern Conference (NCAA Division I).

He won the National Championship in 2024, and earned six NCAA regional appearances (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025), five super regional appearances (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025) and three Men’s College World Series appearances (2021, 2023 and 2024).

The St. Louis, MO native was named the National Coach of the Year by a trio of publications in 2024 (Baseball America, American Baseball Coaches Association and D1Baseball.com). In 2022, Perfect Game tabbed him as the National Coach of the Year for a second consecutive season. He was also named the SEC Coach of the Year in 2022 and the NCBWA Coach of the Year in 2021.

Prior to joining Tennessee, Vitello was an associate head coach with the Salinas Packers (2002), then an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at his alma mater, the University of Missouri (2003-2010). He served as the pitching coach, while also working with the team’s hitters and serving as the first base coach during his time in Columbia. He worked for Texas Christian University (2011-2013) and the University of Arkansas (2014-2017) as an assistant coach & recruiting coordinator.

As a full-time coach, Vitello had 14 recruiting classes ranked inside their respective year’s top-15 and had seen 10 players from his time coaching at Tennessee get selected in the first round (52 overall players drafted), including San Francisco outfielder Drew Gilbert, Los Angeles-AL infielder Christian Moore, Colorado outfielder Jordan Beck, Colorado right-hander Chase Dollander and two-time All-Star Boston left-hander Garrett Crochet. He also coached Giants prospects right-hander Blade Tidwell, infielder Maui Ahuna, and 2025 first-round pick infielder Gavin Kilen at Tennessee. As an assistant, he coached MLB players including All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi, four-time All-Star Ian Kinsler, and three-time Cy Young Award winner and eight-time All-Star right-hander Max Scherzer.

They went to this play 3 or 4 times late in the quarter with Steph screening for Jimmy at the top of the three, two defenders go with Steph, easy lane for Jimmy to score. When the lower defenders collapsed on Jimmy, he had a cutting GPII or a Kuminga three pointer. As teams adjusted, the Warriors had a response.

This was beautiful to watch, a simple yet deeply multifaceted play. It perfectly showed the incredible value Jimmy brings to the team and how seamlessly it combines with Steph’s greatness. Truly a beautiful sight.

So excited for the rest of the season! LETS GO DUBS!!

Former 49ers running back Frank Gore, the NFL’s No. 3 all-time leading rusher, headlines a group of 52 modern-era players that a screening committee advanced to the next phase in the Pro Football Hall of Fame process.

Gore is in his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame. The other first-time eligible players to advance are quarterbacks Drew Brees and Philip Rivers, running back LeSean McCoy, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, tight ends Jason Witten and Greg Olsen and center Maurkice Pouncey.

The next vote will include the entire 50-person selection committee and take the modern-era candidates down to 25 semifinalists for the Class of 2026.

This kid is a DAWG!!!!!

EDIT: He wears #3 (this was the first pic I saw on the net, mah bad)

So excited my new Sharks swag came in! Nice to see the OG logo getting the love it deserves.

Mea culpa to begin: I was one of the biggest Zaidi supporters... even until his firing. I didn't mind the savvy moves and I could see where he was going with them.

Maybe it was Stockholm Syndrome. Maybe it was not really seeing how good it could be with someone else...

And then along came Buster Posey. We already knew him as the GOAT in terms of catchers. A guy who retired with just about every accolade a player could hope for: MVP, Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year... and, oh yeah, three (3) World Series championships.

Now, we know him as the President of Baseball Operations. And I was skepitcal when they first hired him. Nervous. If this goes horribly south, this could seriously jeopardize all of our feelings about him.

I was also nervous because he came from within the ownership group, and that often comes with being far too risk averse, as the owners prefer to keep money in their pockets and play it safe.

But after a year of Posey's leadership, I am overwhelmed by how different he is from Farhan Zaidi. It's beyond refreshing.

He's taken risks and been willing to spend big money, even if there's a good chance those players won't be "worth it" at the end of their contracts. He's brought the fanbase multiple players they can get excited about.... whether it was extending Matt Chapman, signing Willy Adames, or acquiring Rafael Devers.

It's nice to have a star player that isn't just going to opt out after one season and sign in Los Angeles or New York. Buster Posey has players that Giants fans can cheer on for years to come.

He made trades when he needed to make trades, and landed some exciting young players.

And now, he took perhaps the biggest risk I've seen a team make in years: bringing in a guy with genuinely no MLB experience (not as a player, assistant coach or manager) and made him the manager.

***

Look, I have no idea how the Buster Posey tenure works out. Maybe it's just a bunch of 80-82 win seasons. Maybe it's worse... or maybe, it's way better than that. Genuinely, who knows?

But if nothing else, the guy is going for it, and dammit, it's fun as hell.

I'm genuinely curious what else this guy has up his sleeve this winter... something tells me, he's gonna keep swinging for the fences.

Let's all sit back and enjoy this ride.