San Francisco Giants inching closer to a record they really don’t want

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Entering the All-Star break, the San Francisco Giants had the best record in baseball at 57-33. Since the All-Star break, they rest comfortably in the Major League Baseball cellar with a record of 12-25.

Despite Matt Moore’s near no-hitter in a 4-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night, the Giants’ current slump has them inching towards an all-time record. And not just any record, but an exclusive record that they want absolutely no part of.

If San Francisco can’t get things turned around over the next 35 games, they will have unfortunate honor of becoming the only team in baseball history to do a complete 180 after the All-Star break.

The Giants are on pace to be the first team ever with the best record before the All-Star break and the worst record after it (@EliasSports)

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 26, 2016

The team’s current slump defies explanation. There’s really no way around that, and no one on the team can make any sense of what’s happening.

“I really don’t feel this is going to be who we are. To me, I think we’re a much better team than this. We’re going to figure it out. We have to figure it out. It’s just going to happen,” first baseman Brandon Belt, who was batting .302 at the mid-way point but only .213 since, told the Los Angeles Times earlier this week. “It has to be one of those things where we put it all together. That’s what we did in the first half. I think it’s going to happen. We just have to get our butt in gear.”

For such a talented team, it’s remarkable to watch the Giants’ current slide. To go from perennial World Series favorite to staring an all-time record for futility in the face is, obviously, completely unheard of.

Baseball – Larry Brown Sports
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Ray Allen motivated by extending 3-point record over Steph Curry?

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Ray Allen is looking to make an NBA comeback after two seasons off, and the 41-year-old has made it clear he would only return for a chance to win a third championship. But is Allen also motivated by his most impressive personal feat?

With 2,973 three-pointers converted in his career, Allen is the NBA’s all-time leader in three-point shooting. Stephen Curry, who, having made 1,593 three-pointers in his career, is more than halfway to breaking Allen’s record after just seven NBA seasons. Allen has played 18.

According to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, Allen wants to hold onto his record. In an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich Show” Tuesday, Washburn speculated that distancing himself from Curry is one of the driving forces behind Allen’s desire to play another season.

“Ray wants to play again. I’m sure about that,” Washburn said, as transcribed by Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk. “I don’t think he particularly enjoys watching Stephen Curry rain threes and challenge his record and be called the best shooter in the world. I think that bothers him. I know Ray wants to extend his all-time three-point record.”

If Curry can remain healthy and his skills don’t decline dramatically, he should surpass Allen in about six more seasons. If Allen returns for another NBA season (presumably in a limited role), he might be able to add another season to that.

While Curry is likely to break Allen’s record at some point, we can’t assume he’ll be the same Steph Curry at age 34. Any three-pointers Allen hits at this point are basically a bonus, though it seems like that is not his top priority based on the teams he is hoping to join.

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Pogba completes world record 105 mn euro Man Utd return

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Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – The world record for a transfer fee was shredded Tuesday when French superstar Paul Pogba completed a sensational return to Manchester United from Juventus for 105 million euros ($ 116 million).

After a weeks-long wrangle, United announced Pogba had signed a five-year contract, marking his return to a club that had let him go for a token fee in 2012.

In Turin, Juventus confirmed media reports that Pogba had been transferred for 105 million euros, which will be paid over two years.

The fee may rise by five million euros “on achieving given conditions,” it said without further details.

The sum, equivalent to 89 million pounds, smashes the 85 million pounds for the transfer of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, “thus making Pogba the most valuable player in the sport’s history”, Juventus said.

“This is the right club for me to achieve everything I hope to in the game,” said Pogba.

“I am delighted to rejoin United. It has always been a club with a special place in my heart and I am really looking forward to working with Jose Mourinho.”

The newly-appointed Portuguese has been tasked with bringing back the glory days to the 20-time English champions after three lean years since Alex Ferguson’s retirement.

– Pogba the key –

And the former Chelsea boss believes Pogba can inspire United’s revival.

“He has the chance to be at the heart of this club for the next decade and beyond,” said Mourinho.

“Paul is one of the best players in the world and will be a key part of the United team I want to build here for the future. He is quick, strong, scores goals and reads the game better than many players much older than he is.”

Pogba made just seven appearances during his previous spell at the club as a teenager before leaving for Juventus when his contract ran out.

He now returns as one of the world’s most famous players after winning four consecutive Serie A titles and leading France to the Euro 2016 final.

“Thanks @juventusfc and all Juventini. Goodbye means nothing, it is the time we spent together that matters,” Pogba posted on his official Twitter account.

It is the first time since now Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane joined the Spanish giants as a player in 2000 from Juventus that Madrid haven’t got their hands on the world’s most expensive player having also bagged Cristiano Ronaldo from United in 2009 for a record fee.

United brought the long-running transfer saga to an end in the early hours of the morning UK time.

The reported fee does not include agent’s fees. The transfer had stalled for weeks over how the two clubs would share the sizeable payout to Pogba’s representative Mino Raiola.

And the huge cash outlay will lead to questions over how Ferguson — one of the greatest managers of talent in football — allowed Pogba to slip out of United’s hands four years ago over differences with Raiola.

In his 2015 book ‘Leading’, Ferguson described his first meeting with Raiola as “a fiasco”.

“He and I were like oil and water,” Ferguson wrote.

“From then on, our goose was cooked because Raiola had been able to ingratiate himself with Paul and his family and the player signed with Juventus.”

Raiola, who also represents two of United’s other new signings, Armenian playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan and star Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, is set to make millions from the deal.

Mourinho insisted United’s financial muscle should be a source of pride not embarrassment.

“When other people break records, I don’t think it’s a reason to be sad. I think it’s a reason to be proud with the dimension of a club that can do that and can attract players of this dimension.”

However, the Portuguese boss has hinted Pogba’s arrival will signal the end of United’s spending spree.

“Our fundamental market is 75 percent done,” he said during United’s pre-season tour of China.

“When we sign one midfield player that crucial work will be done.”

Mourinho’s reign got off to a successful start on Sunday as Ibrahimovic scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over Premier League champions Leicester City in the Community Shield.

The post Pogba completes world record 105 mn euro Man Utd return appeared first on World Soccer Talk.

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