MLB's baseballs are acting differently again - Yahoo Sports

Published 16 hours ago• 4 minute read

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🏀 The Celtics are trading Jrue Holiday, a key part of last year's championship team, to the Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons and two future second-round picks.

⚾️ The Athletics held a groundbreaking ceremony for their new stadium on the Las Vegas Strip, which is expected to be ready for the start of the 2028 season.

🏒 The Ducks are trading Trevor Zegras, the 2022 Calder Memorial Trophy runner-up (ROY), for Ryan Poehling, the 45th pick in this year's draft and a 2026 fourth-rounder.

🏀 Sunday's Game 7 averaged 16.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched Finals game since 2019. But the series as a whole (10.2 million per game) was the least-watched Finals since 2007, excluding COVID-impacted seasons.

⚾️ Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic are seeking a five-year prison sentence for suspended Rays star Wander Franco, who faces sexual abuse charges.

Stop me if this you've heard this before: MLB's baseballs are acting differently this season, and no one is entirely sure why.

Fly balls are traveling an average of four feet shorter in 2025 than they did in 2024 due to increased drag, according to analysis by The Athletic ($). MLB confirmed those findings, but said no intentional change was made and that "all baseballs remain within specifications."

This is just the latest instance of MLB baseballs — the game's most fundamental piece of equipment — becoming a central topic of discussion due to their altered behavior and the league's cagey response when questioned about it.

"The ball sure is carrying tonight, huh Joe?" quipped Dodgers announcer Eric Karros on Saturday after the Nats' fifth HR of the game. "Sure is, man," replied boothmate Joe Davis with a laugh. "I think these things are juiced." Even in the midst of a season with a ball scientifically proven to travel less far, they can't help but let the years of doubt creep in.

Tyrese Haliburton shared an update on Monday following successful surgery to repair his right Achilles tendon, which he tore during Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

"And honestly, right now, torn Achilles and all, I don't regret it. I'd do it again, and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers. For the chance to do something special."

The NBA has an Achilles problem. Haliburton is the latest star to suffer the devastating injury, which has become so common that most hoops fans can recognize when it happens in real-time. The "snap" that shoots up the leg; the way the player crumbles to the floor. It's terrible.

"10 years ago, I never would have thought player physical health would be a bigger topic in basketball than football. But with almost every recent NBA playoff now marked (and in some cases totally transformed) by lower-body ligament and tendon injuries, it's kind of happening," writes journalist Derek Thompson.

The 2025 NBA Draft is tomorrow night. Here's the latest mock draft, courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor.

NBA draft guide

Will Canada reach their fifth straight Gold Cup quarterfinals? (Christopher Morris/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

The group stage concludes tonight with four matches: Guadeloupe vs. Guatemala (7pm, FS2) and Canada vs. El Salvador (10pm, FS1) in Houston, Panama vs. Jamaica in Austin (7pm, FS1), and Honduras vs. Curaçao in San Jose (10pm, FS2). Who will join the USA, Costa Rica, Mexico and Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals?

Seattle (9-5) has won three straight games while Indiana (6-7) has lost two straight in the midst of Caitlin Clark's uncharacteristic cold streak (1-for-17 from 3-point range).

⚽️ Benfica vs. Bayern Munich (3pm, TNT) … Benfica can secure a spot in the knockout round with a tie. Bayern have already clinched.

For the first time in NBA history, the league produced seven different champions in a seven-year span (no repeats).

Can you name the past seven NBA champions?

Four West, three East.

Answer at the bottom.

A Lionel Messi fan during Monday's Club World Cup group stage finale in Miami. (Rich Storry/FIFA via Getty Images)

MLS sent three teams to the Club World Cup. Only Lionel Messi's Inter Miami made it count, advancing to the Round of 16 while Seattle and LAFC bowed out.

2025 Thunder, 2024 Celtics, 2023 Nuggets, 2022 Warriors, 2021 Bucks, 2020 Lakers, 2019 Raptors

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