The Angels Shohei Ohtani, last seasons league MVP, was selected to play two positions again in the All Star game - (MLB photo)

2 Way All Star Shohei Ohtani notched his 9th win (9-4) prior to the All Star game break - (Vera26 photo)

The Brooklyn Nets Kevin Durant wants out of dodge - NBA - photo)   Is Kyrie Irving the sand in the Vaseline? - (NBA - photo)   James Harden was the first to flee the Nets BIG 3 - NBA - photo)   The WNBA's Allie Quigley knows how to win in life and the WNBA's 3 Point contests - (WNBA - photo)

SPORTS NOTES - MLB ALL STAR SHOHEI OHTANI is Selected AGAIN

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

Last season Shohei Ohtani was one of the top home run hitters in the league. His fast HR start stunned the world. We compared him to Babe Ruth who is the most prominent player in league history. This season Ohtani's home run production is down but he is second on the team behind Mike Trout with 18 at the time of this writing. Also this season the 6-4, 210lb (193cm, 95kg) talent has led the Angels in RBI's - NBA's ALL TIME BEST PLAYERS 1st and 2nd TEAMS

Tuesday July 12, 2022

MLB

BACK 2 BACK 2 WAY ALL STAR KEEPS RISING

What can you say when perhaps the best talent in baseball is selected to the All Star game again as a two way player. The Angels Shohei Ohtani, last seasons league MVP, was selected to play two positions again in the All Star game. It appears that the two way talent from Japan is gaining arm strength as he has more pitching decisions before the All Star break than he did all of last season.

Last season Ohtani registered 9 wins and two losses for the entire season. This campaign he has surpassed that 11 decision total before the All Star break. At one point this season he had a 3-4 record. As the season progressed he has found his rhythm and has reeled of five straight wins for an 8-4 record with 111 strike outs and only 20 walks in 81 innings at the time of this writing.

It appears that he and management are gaining confidence in his surgically repaired arm by having him start more games and watching his pitch count. In one game he pitched eight shutout innings with 13 strikeouts. The 28-year-old superstar's splitter is considered one of the best single pitches in all of baseball. During his active four active seasons pitching he has an overall 21-9 record.

Ohtani is a left-handed batter. He is a designated hitter and occasional outfielder known for being able to hit with homerun power. Last season he was one of the top home run hitters in the league with 46. His fast start hitting home runs stunned the world. We compared him to Babe Ruth who is the most prominent player in league history.

This season Ohtani's home run production is down with 19 but he is second on the team behind Mike Trout at the time of this writing. Also this season the 6-4, 210lb (193cm, 95kg) talent has led the Angels in RBI's with 54 thus far. He currently has 112 career home runs.

As a baserunner, his sprint speed and feet-first sliding technique have allowed him to be a league leader in stolen bases, bunt hits and infield-hit rate. Scouts have timed Ohtani running from the batter's box to first base in as little as 3.8 seconds.

For the 2021 season, his 28.8 feet-per-second sprint speed ranked in the 92nd percentile of all players, as did his 3.51 second 80-foot split and he also recorded the fastest home to first average sprint time in the Majors at 4.09 seconds, while recording a career-high 26 stolen bases.

In summary… Ohtani is proving that he is a unique talent and is Japan's gift to America.

NBA

THE BROOKLYN NETS WALLS HAVE BURNT DOWN

We told you so when I wrote about the BIG 3 NO HAPPY NETS. Well it took a lot of drama but what was perceived to be the next coming of a super team has burned down to ashes. When James Harden requested a trade, that was the beginning of the end. His wish was granted and he is now a Philadelphia 76er. In two seasons the Nets failed to win a title with their BIG 3 and their walls have come tumbling down.

COVID was an issue and Kyrie Irving took advantage of it by not taking COVID shots (for the team) and again was a disruption for another franchise. It seems wherever Irving goes he is the sand in the Vaseline. With all of that drama Kevin Durant who was supposed to be the pillar of strength for the side has thrown in the towel and has requested to be traded.

It must occur to Durant that leaving the Golden State Warriors over not feeling respected enough was a mistake? There is no telling, but for sure he would have won another title if he was on this season's title winning Warriors team. It's possible that when Klay Thompson went down with injuries for two and a half seasons that he and Stephen Curry would have been enough to lead the team to another title during the lean years.

The realty is… enough is enough of playing the game of should, woulda, coulda… Durant wants out of the Big Apple (New York/Brooklyn). The question is what team would sell off a major portion of their franchise talent to compensate for his huge salary?

WNBA

WNBA STAR QUIGLEY WIGGLY OUT of REJECTION

If there ever was a story about never say die or quitters never win attitude it would apply to the WNBA's Allie Quigley. For the now 36-year-old veteran it wasn't easy to become a WNBA player. What stands out is she turned a lemon into lemonade.

Saturday Quigley won her fourth 3 Point contest including 2017, 2018 and 2021. She went out in the first round in 2019, and there was no All-Star Game during the COVID-19 bubble season in 2020. Never down or out after she did again she announced that she is retiring from competing in the contest... BUT… she said that after winning last year.

What's so remarkable about her career is All Star Cadence Parker and Quigley were drafted in 2008, with Parker at No. 1 and Quigley at No. 22 in the second round. Quigley was cut five times by four teams before sticking in the WNBA for good with her current club the Chicago Sky in 2013.

"Sometimes things you really want to accomplish are not going to happen right away," Quigley said. "It's a journey, even for first-round picks. You've just got to stay the course, you've gotta be coachable, a good teammate and just continue to learn," she related to ESPN.com.

Although being 36 is the death nil for an athlete which for many is past their sell buy date Quigley has it all going in her. This season she is averaging 10.8 points per game. To put icing on the cake her wife is teammate Courtney Vandersloot and the defending champion Sky are currently in first place. WHO-DA-THUNK-IT?

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