Ufez Jones's profile

Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer, and Todd Helton elected to Cooperstown.: Beltre and Mauer are first-balloters; Helton makes it in on his sixth try. They will be inducted along with former manager Jim Leyland.

posted by Ufez Jones to baseball at 07:29 PM on January 23, 2024 - 4 comments

Shohei Ohtani signs record deal with the Los Angeles...Dodgers: In the biggest MLB contract so far, the Dodgers and Ohtani have agreed to a 10-year, $700 million deal.

posted by Ufez Jones to baseball at 09:17 PM on December 09, 2023 - 6 comments

Sports Illustrated accused of publishing articles written by non-existent, AI-generated authors.: Noting that several "authors" headshots and bios were available for sale from a third-party AI website under descriptions like "neutral white young-adult male with short brown hair and blue eyes" or "joyful asian young-adult female with long brown hair and brown eyes", Maggie Harrison at Futurism investigates suspicious pieces that have been published under the banner of the once-heralded magazine. The Arena Group, who runs SI's current publishing line, says the pieces were published by a third-party contractor named AdVon, who has assured SI that "all of the articles in question were written and edited by humans" and therefore this is all big misunderstanding. SI has admitted no wrongdoing, but has terminated their contract with AdVon.

posted by Ufez Jones to media at 09:41 AM on November 28, 2023 - 4 comments

The NBA Board of Governors approves new Player Participation Policy to combat excessive load management.: The policy, which only pertains to "Star Players" (defined as any player that has made an All NBA Team or All-Star Team in the previous three seasons*) includes measures to ensure that healthy Star Players will play in all nationally televised games and the In-Season Tournament, and will balance rest nights between home and road games in favor of away.

posted by Ufez Jones to basketball at 04:43 PM on September 13, 2023 - 3 comments

Stephen Strasburg Retires from Baseball: Stephen Strasburg is calling it quits on a career that saw him debut as the most highly touted fireballer in years, become World Series MVP in 2019 and finally be undone by frequent arm injuries -- all while in the uniform of the Washington Nationals. His 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings is seventh all-time but his 113 wins are 31 lower than anyone in the Hall of Fame. "It's a miracle what he was able to accomplish despite the glitchy pitching mechanics that scouts warned would be his demise," writes D.J. Dunston of Deadspin.

posted by Ufez Jones to baseball at 07:53 PM on August 24, 2023 - 3 comments