Sports

TAMPA, Fla. — First, the meme made Freddie Freeman laugh. Then, in a serendipitous twist, it gave him a lightning-bulb epiphany about his recently ailing swing. At the end of a long day during last week’s homestand — when Freeman was hit by a pitch on July 20, immediately removed from the game to get an X-ray,…

Let’s offer a preseason top-10 rankings in high school football for the City Section: 1. BIRMINGHAM: The Patriots have weaknesses (lack of a passing game), but a big offensive line, two transfer running backs and a big-play weapon in receiver Paul Turner make them the team to beat. They have a 49-game winning streak against…

TAMPA, Fla. — The Dodgers didn’t go shopping at the top of the market ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. But what they came away with — right-handed relievers Brock Stewart and Paul Gervase to bolster the bullpen, and versatile outfielder Alex Call to round out the lineup — are the kind of moves that “just raises the…

Keenan Allen achieved quite a bit in his career with the Chargers — and that’s probably one of the reasons why they’d like to give him another chance. The veteran wide receiver, who was a salary-cap casualty when the Chargers traded him last year, was scheduled to meet with the team Thursday to discuss a…

Walt Disney Co. is expected to announce the NFL is taking an equity stake in its sports media property ESPN, according to people familiar with the plan. Disney may reveal the deal during its earnings call Wednesday. Representatives at the NFL and ESPN declined comment Friday. In return for the equity stake, ESPN is expected…

José Caballero was a member of the Tampa Bay Rays at the start of Thursday’s game against the New York Yankees. He was a member of the Rays when he turned a double play to end the fifth inning. He was a member of the Rays when he popped out to second base to start…

So much for the Dodgers ruining baseball. They won’t finish this season with the best record in history, as they could win every one of their remaining games and still not realize the 120-win season that was envisioned for them. They might not even finish this season with the best record in the National League…

Shakira Austin didn’t realize how important fashion would become when she entered the WNBA in 2022. Her introduction to game-day tunnel fashion began at the University of Mississippi in 2020. “My school started doing their own tunnel fits,” she said. “It was cute, but I definitely didn’t know [the WNBA tunnel walk was] as popping…

A funny thing blocked the path to another Andrew Friedman midsummer triumph. An Andrew Friedman midsummer failure. The Dodgers and their renowned baseball boss came to bat at baseball’s trade deadline Thursday poised to knock another fat midseason pitch out of the park en route to a second consecutive World Series championship. They never took…

p]:text-cms-story-body-color-text clearfix”> Chargers quarterback Trey Lance passes in the first half of the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday. (David Richard / Associated Press) Lance, the onetime third overall pick of San Francisco, looked sharp and polished. Whether that’s enough for him to get the upper hand on Taylor Heinicke for the Chargers’ backup job…