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Pirates call up top prospect Konnor Griffin: 19-year-old shortstop to make MLB debut as extension nears

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The Pittsburgh Pirates are calling up one of baseball’s best prospects. Shortstop Konnor Griffin will be summoned to make his MLB debut in the team’s home opener Friday, the Pirates announced Thursday. The news comes as the two sides are reportedly working on a long-term extension, which is expected to be in the range of nine years and $140 million, reports ESPN.

Griffin, 20 later this month, will be the first teenager to appear in the big leagues since Elvis Luciano and Juan Soto in 2019. The No. 9 pick in the 2024 Draft skyrocketed through the minors last season, slashing .333/.415/.527 with 21 home runs and 65 steals while climbing from Low Class-A to Double-A. Griffin is 7 for 16 (.438) with three doubles in five Triple-A games this year. 

The Pirates gave Griffin a chance to win the shortstop job in spring training, though he stumbled a bit (7 for 41 with 13), specifically swinging through too many pitches in the zone. We ranked Griffin has the third-best prospect in baseball entering spring training. Here’s the write-up:

The rap on Griffin during his amateur days was that he had every tool but the hit tool, the most important of the bunch. It was encouraging, then, to see him ease concerns about his swing-and-miss during his first pro season. He connected on more than 75% of his attempts while showing off the power (he cleared the 114 mph threshold) and speed (he stole 65 bases) combination that gave him a high ceiling. Griffin even kept his strikeout rate under 24% during a 21-game stint in Double-A, suggesting that he wasn’t just feasting on younger pitchers or those with less raw talent. Knowing when to adjust priors is one of the trickiest parts of evaluating players. Given everything about Griffin’s year, it would be silly to ignore how much higher his chances of reaching his star ceiling are now than they were 365 days ago.  

It should be noted there are not service time games being played here. Griffin did not spend enough time in the minors this year to push his free agency back. The Pirates will control him from 2026-31, though if the two sides complete their reported nine-year extension, service time will be moot, and Griffin will be tied to the Pirates for nine years.

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Griffin is being called up early enough that he will accrue a full year of service time and thus be eligible for a Prospect Promotion Incentive pick. Those are extra draft picks given to teams that do not manipulate the service time of top 100 prospects. To get a pick for Griffin, he would need to win Rookie of the Year, or finish top three in the MVP voting in one of his pre-arbitration seasons between 2026 and 2028. (The extension would also have to be signed after he appears in a game.)

The National League’s rookie class is stacked this year, with Griffin joining righty Nolan McLean (New York Mets), first baseman Sal Stewart (Cincinnati Reds), and second baseman JJ Wetherholt (St. Louis Cardinals) in the Rookie of the Year mix. Others like center fielder Justin Crawford and righty Andrew Painter, both of the Philadelphia Phillies, could factor into the race as well.

The Pirates are 3-3 in the early going. Thursday is a team off-day, then they’ll take on the Baltimore Orioles in Friday’s home opener. Utility man Jared Triolo has started five of the team’s six games at shortstop. Nick Gonzales has started the other.

A nine-year extension would still allow Griffin to become a free agent at age 28.

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‘Now that the cremation is over…’: Former India cricketer’s shocking disclosure about cricket commentary | Cricket News

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‘Now that the cremation is over...’: Former India cricketer’s shocking disclosure about cricket commentary
File Pic: Laxman Sivaramakrishnan (TOI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer and renowned commentator Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has made another explosive revelation about his years in cricket broadcasting, alleging that he was forced to return to commentary duties immediately after his elder brother’s cremation.The former leg-spinner, who recently retired from the BCCI commentary panel citing “colour discrimination”, shared the emotional incident through a series of posts on social media on Thursday.“My elder brother passed away a few years earlier. We finished cremation in the evening, minutes after that, The Director Broadcasting of BCCI called me and said, ‘now that the cremation is over, can you take a flight the next morning to commentate on Ind v Aus Test in Mohali?’. I went,” Sivaramakrishnan wrote on X.The 60-year-old revealed that despite personal grief, he prioritised his professional commitments.“I sacrificed the mourning and went. My mother passed away when I was doing commentary in Pune. Having done all that, I was subject to whatever I went through,” he added.

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

‘That’s why I retired’In another post, Sivaramakrishnan hinted that the same individual was one of the major reasons behind his decision to step away from commentary duties earlier this year, although he stopped short of naming the person publicly.Back in March, just days before IPL 2026, Sivaramakrishnan had announced his retirement from BCCI commentary, alleging discrimination based on skin colour and claiming he was sidelined in favour of newcomers.The former India spinner, who represented the country in nine Tests and 16 ODIs, had earlier opened up in interviews about battling depression, anxiety and severe emotional trauma during his commentary career.

Laxman

‘I thought I was going to die’In a deeply personal interaction with the Indian Express earlier this year, Sivaramakrishnan spoke about experiencing a mental breakdown during the IPL in the UAE during the Covid-19 period.“I was down completely and I didn’t want to see myself in the mirror,” he had said. “Whenever I was awake, I thought I was going to die.”He described terrifying hallucinations, sleepless nights and emotional isolation, while also alleging years of racism and appearance-based discrimination within cricket circles.Sivaramakrishnan further claimed he was often denied high-profile on-air roles because he was considered “not presentable”.“I’ve never done a toss or a presentation,” he said earlier, adding that producers allegedly told him they had been instructed not to put him in those positions.The former spinner also recalled painful experiences from his early cricketing days and said such incidents severely damaged his self-esteem at a young age.

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Towering statue of Pele unveiled in Guadalajara ahead of FIFA World Cup | FIFA World Cup 2022

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Pele's statue installed in Guadalajara

Pele’s statue installed in Guadalajara


A large statue of soccer great Pele was unveiled Thursday in the Mexican city of Guadalajara to commemorate his achievements with the Brazilian national team.


Pele, who died at age 82 in 2022, won one of his three World Cup titles in Mexico at the 1970 edition of the tournament.


“This monumental figure of this great player, who played here and scored a great goal, is a great gift to the people of Jalisco and to all visitors,” Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus said. “Pele loved Guadalajara, and the Brazilian national team fell in love with it because the Mexican public gave them everything in 1970.” 

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The 9.5-meter-tall (31-foot) statue is located in a public square called Plaza Brazil outside the Jalisco Stadium, which hosted matches in the 1970 and 1986 World Cups. For its 1970 title run, Brazil played its first-round, quarterfinal, and semifinal matches at the stadium before beating Italy in the final at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.


“People who come to the Jalisco Stadium now will stop to take pictures. This statue will be a landmark, especially since it depicts a football star like Pele,” Lemus said. “It’s a great gift for the World Cup.” 
In the 2026 World Cup, Guadalajara will host four first-round matches: South Korea vs. Czech Republic on June 12; Mexico vs. South Korea on June 18, Colombia vs. Congo on June 23, and Uruguay vs. Spain on June 26.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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First Published: May 22 2026 | 12:32 PM IST

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Pro reveals details of insane tattoo bet with caddie

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On Sunday, Lottie Woad enjoyed what is becoming a regular tradition in her pro career.

With a final-round 69 at the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati, Woad, who is 22, won her second LPGA event (and third event in total) since turning pro in the middle of last year. Woad’s victory was the latest highlight in her rapid climb up the food chain in the women’s game. It was also a moment of affirmation for one of her more … eclectic competitive rituals: a bag of gummy bears that has served as her good-luck charm.

As the story goes, the tradition started with Woad’s caddie, David Taylor, a veteran LPGA looper who evidently shares her sweet tooth.

“So, back in the UK, we’ve got kind of little supermarket called Marks & Spencer, and they do this sweet called Percy Pigs, and it just so happened that Singapore had one of these little small supermarkets, and I came across it one night when we were out for dinner,” Taylor said. “So, I took them and I put them in the bag, and I said, ‘These are some birdie sweets.’”

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Caddies are famously adept at discovering motivational tools for their players, and in Taylor’s case, the key to Woad’s heart was simple.

“Now, every player is driven by different things, some are financially driven, Lotte is in fact driven by sweets,” he said. “So, I put them in the bag, and I said, ‘Every birdie you make, we get one each.’ So it’s not she’s going to hit some mad sugar rush or anything.”

Woad is careful to point out that she’s not exactly housing gummy bears during the course of competition. The candies are a boost that helps to break up the monotony of life on the road.

“I don’t know, we’ve done it the last few events that we remembered,” Woad said with a grin. “Yeah, I think people think that we’re like stuffing our faces with sweets during the round, but like realistically we’re eating like four gummy bears.”

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But Woad’s moment in the sun at the Kroger Queen City Championship was dually rewarding, and not just for the sugar high of a pro victory. As Taylor explained in an interview with SiriusXM, he’d made his pro an unusual promise: The next time she won an event, she could choose the design for the next tattoo on her caddie’s body.

Woad’s victory in Cincy meant that she had earned that right, and as you might expect, there was only one option that made sense.

“Actually, about one hour ago, I got a text message from her, and she’s finally chosen what to get,” Taylor said with a laugh. “She’s chosen the piece, and it is, in fact, going to be a little gummy bear with a crown on it.”

A gummy bear with a crown — fitting for the first crowning of a new LPGA heavyweight player-caddie pairing … and one that just so happened to come in the Queen City.

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You can’t put it on kids

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Former India player Aakash Chopra has questioned Ruturaj Gaikwad for attributing the Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) early exit from IPL 2026 to a young and inexperienced team. He highlighted that the blame shouldn’t be put on kids and that the seniors need to own up.

CSK were eliminated from IPL 2026 after an 89-run loss against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on Thursday, May 21. The visitors were bowled out for 140 in pursuit of a 230-run target.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India batter opined that Gaikwad should have spoken about the underperforming seniors instead of the youngsters while reflecting on CSK‘s exit in the post-match interview.

“He said that’s a very young team, that they cannot show that much faith in youngsters, and that they don’t have enough experience. I am wondering why those who have experience aren’t being spoken about. The talk should have been about Sanju Samson, Rutu, Shivam Dube, and Dewald Brevis. The talk shouldn’t be about Ayush Mhatre, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, or Urvil Patel. What they did was excellent,” Chopra said.

“The talk should actually be about the elders. Rutu, how was your season? Kids bring bravado and an attacking approach. They don’t bring consistency, and how will they bring consistency? They are kids. So whose responsibility was it? You said you would open and don’t want to let Mhatre open. You needed to score runs. I agree that anyone can have a bad season, but you need to own up. You can’t put it on kids that they didn’t do well,” he added.

Ruturaj Gaikwad aggregated 337 runs at an underwhelming strike rate of 123.44 in 14 innings in IPL 2026. Shivam Dube (270 runs at a strike rate of 158.82 in 12 innings) and Dewald Brevis (151 runs at a strike rate of 127.96 in eight innings) also weren’t at their best this season.


“The mistake was in the auction as well” – Aakash Chopra on CSK’s IPL 2026 exit

Dewald Brevis was one of the two overseas batters in CSK's IPL 2026 squad (Image via X/@IPL)Dewald Brevis was one of the two overseas batters in CSK's IPL 2026 squad (Image via X/@IPL)
Dewald Brevis was one of the two overseas batters in CSK’s IPL 2026 squad (Image via X/@IPL)

In the same video, Aakash Chopra reckoned it wasn’t the youngsters’ mistake, highlighting that CSK had also erred in the IPL 2026 auction.

“In that interview, it seemed like it was the kids’ mistake. It wasn’t the kids’ mistake. The mistake was in the auction as well. You had two overseas batters, and they weren’t even like-for-like. You played with three overseas many times,” he said.

While acknowledging that Gaikwad might not have had enough time to reflect on the loss before the post-match interview, the cricketer-turned-commentator opined that his comment was odd.

“Plenty of problems that can be talked about later, but I found that one comment odd. Putting your responsibility on someone else is not the nicest way of doing things. You might not have got enough time to think about it post-match, you reacted suddenly, and you don’t mean it perfectly, but it still felt slightly odd as the kids have done decently. It wasn’t about them at all,” Chopra observed.

However, Aakash Chopra concurred with Ruturaj Gaikwad that the Chennai Super Kings were hit hard by injuries in IPL 2026. While terming CSK the ‘Chotil Super Kings’ because of the number of injuries they have endured, he pointed out that even Sanju Samson got injured while keeping in their last league game.

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