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Outfielder Marcell Ozuna comes back to Atlanta Braves on four-year, $64 million contract

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The Atlanta Braves are bringing back Marcell Ozuna, signing the slugger to a $64 million, four-year contract.

The Braves declared the arrangement for the 2020 NL grand slam and RBI pioneer on Friday night, under about fourteen days before pitchers and catchers are set to report for spring training. The contract includes a fifth-year club choice for $16 million that would take it to $80 million with a $1 million buyout, which would yield Ozuna $65 million in guaranteed money.

The Braves made the major commitment to Ozuna despite of having no confirmation there will be an assigned hitter in the NL in 2021. He prospered in the part in 2020, helping the Braves win the NL East and come quite close to progressing to the World Series. The Braves lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series in the wake of driving the series 3-1.

Ozuna’s value to the team, in the clubhouse and as arrangement insurance for 2020 NL MVP Freddie Freeman, was significant to the group’s expectations of winning a fourth consecutive NL East title and making another run for the World Series.

Ozuna, who has played with three groups in the course of the last four seasons, said he was happy to settle down in Atlanta.

“Since I was a kid I would dream about this day,” he wrote on his Instagram account. “The day that I could call a place home. Through ups and downs I’ve maintained my faith in this moment. Today I can officially say I’M BACK!!”

The deal drew prompt endorsement from Freeman, who posted on his Twitter account “love this!! Let’s go!”

Ozuna faced a challenge on himself after the 2019 season, turning down a $17.8 million qualifying offer from the St. Louis Cardinals, and marked a one-year, $18 million arrangement with the Braves in late January. The get paid off abundantly, as the slugger completed 6th in the National League MVP casting a ballot subsequent to driving the class with 18 homers, 56 RBIs and 145 absolute bases. He was third in the NL with a vocation best .338 batting normal and .636 slugging rate.

The wager? The $17.8 million qualifying offer by the Cardinals would’ve addressed 41% of his profession profit to that point.

While considered to some degree a cautious obligation subsequent to enduring a shoulder injury in 2018, Ozuna, who turned 30 in November, saw some activity in left field for the Braves while playing every one of the 60 games during the pandemic-abbreviated season. Nonetheless, the vast majority of his at-bats for Atlanta came as the group’s assigned hitter, opened after Freeman in the setup as the Braves won the NL East title subsequent to setting up the absolute best hostile numbers in group history.

“My power came because I’m healthy,” Ozuna said after the season. “… I just came ready and give my best to my teammates and let’s go play.”

Ozuna would open the season as Atlanta’s extended starter in left field if the DH isn’t restored.

The NL embraced the DH a year ago as a feature of baseball’s wellbeing and security conventions for playing through the pandemic. Ozuna made 39 beginnings as Atlanta’s essential DH.

Major League Baseball proposed renewing the all inclusive DH in talks with the players affiliation a week ago, yet the association dismissed the proposition, which likewise would have deferred the beginning of the normal season and extended the postseason field. It’s as yet conceivable the sides consent to reestablish the DH this year, or during exchanges for an new collective bargaining agreement after this season.

Prior to joining the Braves, Ozuna went through two seasons with the Cardinals, securing Paul Goldschmidt in the setup as they made it back to the end of the season games in 2019. In the course of the last five seasons, remembering the 60-game season for 2020, Ozuna has hit 130 grand slams, making two All-Star Games on the strength of his bat.

Since the beginning of the 2017 season, Ozuna has 357 RBIs, second just to the Rockies’ Nolan Arenado (384) and only in front of Freeman (343) among National League players, as per ESPN Stats and Information research.

In eight MLB seasons, he has a .276 batting normal with 166 grand slams, 594 RBIs and 505 runs scored for the Marlins, Cardinals and Braves.

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Some ‘telekinesis’ helps the Utah Jazz defeat the Mavericks 115-113 for their first home victory

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To be honest, after the 3-pointer he had just made, that was the only suitable reaction. Clarkson almost double-dribbled, almost ran out of time, and then almost committed a backcourt violation. His shaky running 3-pointer from the wing instead went in.

At the end, he could have done the same.

To be honest, after the 3-pointer he had just made, that was the only suitable reaction. Clarkson almost double-dribbled, almost ran out of time, and then almost committed a backcourt violation. His shaky running 3-pointer from the wing instead went in.

After catching Dallas in a preswitch, Clarkson zipped a pass under the rim to a wide-open John Collins. With 6.4 seconds left, he made an uncontested two-handed slam that proved to be the game-winning basket as Utah defeated the Mavericks 115-113.

During that last possession, Luka Doncic was on Collins down low. Doncic had his sights set on the corner, and Quentin Grimes started to cheat up the wing to meet Collins, who seemed to be expecting him to run up to set a pick for Clarkson.

The issue? He was left alone in the most hazardous area of the court when Collins chose not to go up.

“I’m just happy me and John had some, like, telekinesis action going on,” Clarkson stated. “I mean, he just read my eyes and knew what I was looking for.”

“Me and JC were just like looking at each other: ‘You gonna be open?'” Collins grinned as he spoke. “You can see JC saying (with his eyes), ‘No stay, Here you go.’ And it was just like a great play that shows our chemistry. We always had a JC-to-JC connection. JC made a great read, finished the play, and we finally got a home win.”

Collins completed a 28-point evening with the final dunk, maintaining his impressive recent play.

After it appeared that the home team was losing the game, he scored Utah’s final two baskets. Utah led by 16 points early in the fourth quarter after a solid third quarter, which has been unusual for the Jazz this season. Doncic then guided Dallas to victory.

The Dallas star finished the game with nine assists and 37 points. With 1:33 left, he helped Derrick Lively, giving the Mavericks a two-point advantage.

At that moment, Utah appeared to have no answer for a Mavericks team on the rise and was without Lauri Markkanen, who was hurt in the eye and missed the end of the game.

Collins and Clarkson supplied one.

“JC and John were unbelievable down the stretch,” Hardy stated. “Their poise really stood out. JC, made big plays. John made big plays all night. His energy is infectious for us.”

Clarkson finished a 3-point play on the other end after he was knocked down by a bucket. Then, with 36.7 seconds left, Collins dunk after rebounding a rejected Clarkson jumper to put Utah ahead 3 points.

Klay Thompson’s wing three to tie the game only served to set up the last play by Clarkson and Collins.

“They got confused on whether they were switching or not—sort of two guys went back out towards the corner and JC threw him a dart,” Hardy recalled. “But that’s JC and John understanding the moment together.”

Collin Sexton ended with 16 points and five rebounds, while Clarkson finished with 20 points and four assists. Kyle Filipowski scored 11 of his 14 points in a dominant second quarter, and Lauri Markkanen added 14 points before he left.

Six of the Jazz’s players were in double figures.

“Tonight’s not about like the X’s and O’s piece, the tactical piece. It was about the mental and the physical toughness the team showed throughout and really stuck with it against a good team tonight. That’s what we’re looking for,” Hardy stated.

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Dodgers Unveil Plans for Friday Parade and Stadium Celebration

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The Dodgers announced Wednesday night that they would celebrate their World Series victory on Friday with a parade in Downtown Los Angeles and a special ticketed event at Dodger Stadium. The full broadcast of both tournaments will be available on AM 570, local television stations, and Spectrum SportsNet LA. Fans will not be able to attend both events due to scheduling conflicts, transportation, and logistical issues.

The parade will start at Gloria Molina Grand Park on Spring Street in front of City Hall at 11 a.m. PT. The procession will begin with an official kickoff by Mayor Karen Bass and go for 45 minutes from 1st Street to Grand Avenue to 5th Street, ending at the corner of 5th and Flower Street. Dodgers players will ride double-decker buses during the parade. Due to extensive street closures and a shortage of public parking, those who desire to join the parade are strongly recommended to use public transportation.

At around 12:15 p.m., a special ticketed event at Dodger Stadium will start after the procession. The stadium’s entrance gates will open at 9 a.m., and parking gates for attendees will open at 8:30 a.m. There will be food and merchandise for sale. Before the team arrives, there will be entertainment inside the stadium, including DodgerVision scoreboards that will show the parade. This event will be subject to all Dodger Stadium policies and procedures, including the reminder that signs, bags, and other objects that are prohibited by our policies are not allowed.

At 9:30 a.m., SportsNet LA and local networks CBS 2, NBC 4, KTLA 5, ABC 7, KCAL 9, and Fox 11 will start airing coverage of every event on Friday. On AM 570, there will be radio coverage.

The Los Angeles Dodger Foundation, which is working to address the most important issues confronting Los Angeles with a mission to enhance social justice, health care, education, and homelessness for all Angelenos, will get a part of the stadium event’s earnings.

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Tuten Leads the Hokies with 4 Touchdowns and 266 Running Yards in a Blowout Victory

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Thursday night, Virginia Tech defeated Boston College 42–21 thanks to a school record 266 yards and four touchdowns from Bhayshul Tuten.

For the Hokies (4-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and never trailed en way to a second straight victory, Kyron Drones added two rushing scores and a touchdown pass.

Tuten completed 18 carries while also scoring on 83 and 61-yard touchdown runs, the latter of which came with 8:28 remaining to win the game. And he caught a touchdown pass from Drones that was 20 yards in length.

Tuten declared, “Every game is a special game.” “That’s how I look at it. I just felt a little better today. We had a bye week. I felt great throughout practice. I took the knee brace off (for a sore knee). I felt fast, I felt good, I felt fluid. I just came out and balled today, and that’s what we needed.”

After trailing 28-0 at the half, Boston College (4-3, 1-2 ACC) got within 28-21 on a 5-yard run by Kye Robichaux with 2:55 remaining in the third quarter, and they were on the drive early in the fourth. However, Robichaux was stopped on a fourth-and-1 at midfield, and Virginia Tech took advantage of the next play. With 11:02 remaining, Tuten scored on a 6-yard run to give Virginia Tech a 35-21 lead.

“That’s a good team that we beat tonight,” stated Brent Pry, the coach of Virginia Tech. “And we beat them soundly.”

With his 266 rushing yards, Tuten eclipsed the previous school record of 253 established by Darren Evans in 2008 versus Maryland. After removing Tuten from the game because of his proximity to the record, the Virginia Tech coaching staff decided to put him back in to break it. During the Hokies’ last drive, Tuten set the record with a 17-yard run.

“I normally don’t like that, but a school record at a place like Tech with so many great running backs, and he was deserving with his performance,” Pry stated.

Drones completed 14 of 18 passes for 164 yards and ran for 40 yards. Drones scored on runs of 11 yards and 1 yard on the Hokies’ opening two possessions. The Hokies finished with a season-high 533 yards, trailing just Tuten and Drones.

The Eagles finished with 372 yards, led by Thomas Castellanos, who passed for 205 yards and two touchdowns.

“I felt really good about the preparation for the game,” Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien remarked. “Obviously, I was wrong. We’ve got to prepare differently, better, whatever it might be. We’ve got to figure it out. … We’ve got to coach better. We’ve got a good coaching staff. We do. We have a lot of experience. But we didn’t play well tonight, so that’s on the coaching. We’ve got to coach better and hopefully we’ll get it turned around.”

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