Julio Rodríguez
It looks like the Seattle Mariners and their All-Star rookie outfielder, Julio Rodríguez, are going to be together for a very long time. Per reports, the two sides are working on a 14-year contract extension of over $200 million guaranteed.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan is reporting the exact number to be $210 million, which would make it MLB’s largest contract ever to a player with less than two years of major-league service time, while ESPN is also reporting the contract total to be over $400 million.
Rodríguez is hitting .269 with 20 home runs, 64 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. The 2022 Home Run Derby runner up is the rookie in Mariners’ history with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season.
Matt Araiza
Buffalo Bills rookie punter Matt Araiza and two of his former San Diego State teammates are accused of gang-raping a 17 year-old girl in October 2021 in a lawsuit filed in San Diego County Superior Court on Thursday. The three men have been accused of rape, gender violence and false imprisonment. The details of the case are horrifying.
The attorney who filed the suit told ESPN that the Bills knew of the allegations in July. The team put out a statement on Thursday, saying, “We were recently made aware of a civil complaint involving Matt from October 2021. Due to the serious nature of the complaint, we conducted a thorough examination of this matter. As this is an ongoing civil case, we will have no other comment at this point.”
Since the alleged incident happened before the 2022 NFL draft, Araiza would not be subject to the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Araiza’s attorney said the allegations are not true.
Jimmie Ward
San Francisco 49ers free safety Jimmie Ward will start the season on the injured reserve list, meaning he will miss at least the first four games of the season.
Ward suffered a hamstring injury that head coach Kyle Shanahan called “pretty bad” earlier this month. Shanahan confirmed the IR stint after Thursday night’s preseason loss to the Houston Texans. NFL rules state that the 49ers cannot place Ward on IR until after they finalize their initial 53-man roster.
With Ward out, San Francisco signed safety Tashaun Gipson earlier this week, while Dontae Johnson moved from corner to safety in training camp. Tarvarius Moore and George Odum have also seen snaps there since the injury.
Denzel Mims
WR Denzel Mims is not in an empire state of mind, as the 2020 second round draft pick has requested to be traded from the New York Jets, per a statement from his agent. The issue at hand is lack of opportunities. Head coach Robert Saleh expressed a desire to work it out, but he did not say a trade was impossible.
Mims had 23 catches for 357 yards in nine games as a rookie, but last season had only eight catches for 133 yards and has not yet scored his first NFL touchdown. He’s seen second and third-team reps in training camp.
Becky Hammon
And the winner of the 2022 WNBA Coach of the Year is…Las Vegas Aces head coach, Becky Hammon. Hammon received 27 of 56 votes and is the first former player to win the award in her first season as coach.
The No. 1 seed Aces are currently looking for the franchise’s first WNBA championship. They play the No. 4 seed Seattle Storm starting Sunday in a best-of-five semifinals.
