August 2025

There were 1,614 posts published in August 2025 (this is page 25 of 162).

Evan Link, now confident, aims to lead Michigan’s offensive line resurgence in 2025 season

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — At this time last year, it was something of a surprise to Michigan football fans (and the media, too) that Evan Link ended up beating out Andrew Gentry for the starting right tackle job. Entering his sophomore year, after spending his freshman campaign on the scout team, it was Gentry’s job to lose, but he turned out to lose it.

For Link — who had a bit of an up and down season in 2024 — as it turns out, he was just as surprised as anyone that he would be the first one out there on the field.

“I would say just because, to be honest, I wasn’t really expecting last year, and that was a complete shock,” Link said. “It was a surprise to me, but it was a great opportunity. And I think this year — obviously, playing 11 games — a lot more, I know what I’m doing out there. I have that confidence that I can compete with the best people out there. I mean, Derrick and TJ challenge me every day. So if I can compete with those two guys, I can compete with anybody in this country.”

This year, it’s different. Though he was at right tackle last year, he moved to his native left, starting with the ReliaQuest Bowl on December 31. He entered spring ball and fall camp knowing that he was likely going to be the starter, and he had confidence after having his best games against Northwestern, Ohio State, and Alabama to close out the 2024 season.

But he still got pushed by the other players on the depth chart. Ultimately, he says, it helped him refine his game and make him better.

“I think I’ve taken a lot of strides in my mental game and physical, a lot of things that were lacking last year,” Link said. “I think I’ve gotten a lot better at. I really think that competition in camp helped me get there. (Andrew Babalola) was a lot — was really good at some things that I need to improve on. So I have to compete with him and Blake (Frazier) in that regard as well. Really helped me improve my game and take it to another level.”

Link appears to be not only more confident in himself and his own abilities as he heads into year three, but he’s feeling like the offensive line unit, as a whole, will have a much better showing than it had a year ago. The testing from the defensive front has made a big difference, and now Link and the O-line are ready to show the world on Saturday that the typical Michigan OL will be back in 2025.

“I’ve been very excited for this first game, especially with the way our unit’s been playing,” Link said. “I’m just excited to see what we can do and just make this offense run.”

Fans will get to see whether or not those improvements come to fruition starting on Saturday when the Wolverines host New Mexico at The Big House. Kickoff will be at 7:36 p.m. EDT, and the game will be broadcast on NBC.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Evan Link gains confidence as Michigan’s starting left tackle in 2025

Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce engagement: TE’s father gives new details on proposal

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and pop music superstar Taylor Swiftannounced their engagement on Tuesday on Instagram. But the couple actually got engaged about two weeks earlier, according to Kelce’s father, Ed Kelce.

News 5 Cleveland interviewed Ed Kelce on the topic and he revealed how the proposal went down. It’s as romantic as you might have imagined.

Kelce popped the big question at a garden in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. His father explained.

“He got her out there, they were about to go out to dinner, and he said, ‘let’s go out and have a glass of wine,’ … they got out there, and that’s when he asked her, and it was beautiful,” Ed Kelce said. “They started FaceTiming me and their mother and her folks to make sure everybody knew. So, to see them together is great.”

Naturally, Ed Kelce was at an open practice for the Philadelphia Eagles when he got the call. He knew instantly what the news would be.

The news comes at a time when the couple is already dominating the news cycle. A recent appearance by Swift on the New Heights podcast broke records.

On Tuesday, Guinness World Records formally acknowledged Swift’s highly-anticipated podcasting debut on the Kelce brothers’ New Heights podcast on Aug. 13 set the world record for most concurrent views for a podcast on YouTube with 1.3 million viewers. Quite a day for the Kelce and Swift families.

The power couple has been open about being in the spotlight, with Kelce speaking to GQ for an in-depth profile recently. He addressed their fame and handling the relationship under intense scrutiny.

“When there is not a camera on us, we’re just two people that are in love,” Kelce told GQ. “It can be perceived as something else because of how much it is talked about and how much we are tracked whenever we do go out, but I would say that it’s as normal of…. It happened very organically even though from a media standpoint it was being tracked. It still happened very organically.

“Nothing I’ve ever done has been a controlled, organized process. When I say it was so organic, we fell in love just based off the people we were sitting in a room together with. We are two fun-loving people who have the morals to appreciate everyone for who they are. We share all those values. It kind of just took the f*** off.”

On3’s Alex Byington and Nick Schultz also contributed to this report.

Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce engagement: TE’s father gives new details on proposal

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and pop music superstar Taylor Swiftannounced their engagement on Tuesday on Instagram. But the couple actually got engaged about two weeks earlier, according to Kelce’s father, Ed Kelce.

News 5 Cleveland interviewed Ed Kelce on the topic and he revealed how the proposal went down. It’s as romantic as you might have imagined.

Kelce popped the big question at a garden in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. His father explained.

“He got her out there, they were about to go out to dinner, and he said, ‘let’s go out and have a glass of wine,’ … they got out there, and that’s when he asked her, and it was beautiful,” Ed Kelce said. “They started FaceTiming me and their mother and her folks to make sure everybody knew. So, to see them together is great.”

Naturally, Ed Kelce was at an open practice for the Philadelphia Eagles when he got the call. He knew instantly what the news would be.

The news comes at a time when the couple is already dominating the news cycle. A recent appearance by Swift on the New Heights podcast broke records.

On Tuesday, Guinness World Records formally acknowledged Swift’s highly-anticipated podcasting debut on the Kelce brothers’ New Heights podcast on Aug. 13 set the world record for most concurrent views for a podcast on YouTube with 1.3 million viewers. Quite a day for the Kelce and Swift families.

The power couple has been open about being in the spotlight, with Kelce speaking to GQ for an in-depth profile recently. He addressed their fame and handling the relationship under intense scrutiny.

“When there is not a camera on us, we’re just two people that are in love,” Kelce told GQ. “It can be perceived as something else because of how much it is talked about and how much we are tracked whenever we do go out, but I would say that it’s as normal of…. It happened very organically even though from a media standpoint it was being tracked. It still happened very organically.

“Nothing I’ve ever done has been a controlled, organized process. When I say it was so organic, we fell in love just based off the people we were sitting in a room together with. We are two fun-loving people who have the morals to appreciate everyone for who they are. We share all those values. It kind of just took the f*** off.”

On3’s Alex Byington and Nick Schultz also contributed to this report.

Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce engagement: TE’s father gives new details on proposal

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and pop music superstar Taylor Swiftannounced their engagement on Tuesday on Instagram. But the couple actually got engaged about two weeks earlier, according to Kelce’s father, Ed Kelce.

News 5 Cleveland interviewed Ed Kelce on the topic and he revealed how the proposal went down. It’s as romantic as you might have imagined.

Kelce popped the big question at a garden in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. His father explained.

“He got her out there, they were about to go out to dinner, and he said, ‘let’s go out and have a glass of wine,’ … they got out there, and that’s when he asked her, and it was beautiful,” Ed Kelce said. “They started FaceTiming me and their mother and her folks to make sure everybody knew. So, to see them together is great.”

Naturally, Ed Kelce was at an open practice for the Philadelphia Eagles when he got the call. He knew instantly what the news would be.

The news comes at a time when the couple is already dominating the news cycle. A recent appearance by Swift on the New Heights podcast broke records.

On Tuesday, Guinness World Records formally acknowledged Swift’s highly-anticipated podcasting debut on the Kelce brothers’ New Heights podcast on Aug. 13 set the world record for most concurrent views for a podcast on YouTube with 1.3 million viewers. Quite a day for the Kelce and Swift families.

The power couple has been open about being in the spotlight, with Kelce speaking to GQ for an in-depth profile recently. He addressed their fame and handling the relationship under intense scrutiny.

“When there is not a camera on us, we’re just two people that are in love,” Kelce told GQ. “It can be perceived as something else because of how much it is talked about and how much we are tracked whenever we do go out, but I would say that it’s as normal of…. It happened very organically even though from a media standpoint it was being tracked. It still happened very organically.

“Nothing I’ve ever done has been a controlled, organized process. When I say it was so organic, we fell in love just based off the people we were sitting in a room together with. We are two fun-loving people who have the morals to appreciate everyone for who they are. We share all those values. It kind of just took the f*** off.”

On3’s Alex Byington and Nick Schultz also contributed to this report.

Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce engagement: TE’s father gives new details on proposal

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and pop music superstar Taylor Swiftannounced their engagement on Tuesday on Instagram. But the couple actually got engaged about two weeks earlier, according to Kelce’s father, Ed Kelce.

News 5 Cleveland interviewed Ed Kelce on the topic and he revealed how the proposal went down. It’s as romantic as you might have imagined.

Kelce popped the big question at a garden in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. His father explained.

“He got her out there, they were about to go out to dinner, and he said, ‘let’s go out and have a glass of wine,’ … they got out there, and that’s when he asked her, and it was beautiful,” Ed Kelce said. “They started FaceTiming me and their mother and her folks to make sure everybody knew. So, to see them together is great.”

Naturally, Ed Kelce was at an open practice for the Philadelphia Eagles when he got the call. He knew instantly what the news would be.

The news comes at a time when the couple is already dominating the news cycle. A recent appearance by Swift on the New Heights podcast broke records.

On Tuesday, Guinness World Records formally acknowledged Swift’s highly-anticipated podcasting debut on the Kelce brothers’ New Heights podcast on Aug. 13 set the world record for most concurrent views for a podcast on YouTube with 1.3 million viewers. Quite a day for the Kelce and Swift families.

The power couple has been open about being in the spotlight, with Kelce speaking to GQ for an in-depth profile recently. He addressed their fame and handling the relationship under intense scrutiny.

“When there is not a camera on us, we’re just two people that are in love,” Kelce told GQ. “It can be perceived as something else because of how much it is talked about and how much we are tracked whenever we do go out, but I would say that it’s as normal of…. It happened very organically even though from a media standpoint it was being tracked. It still happened very organically.

“Nothing I’ve ever done has been a controlled, organized process. When I say it was so organic, we fell in love just based off the people we were sitting in a room together with. We are two fun-loving people who have the morals to appreciate everyone for who they are. We share all those values. It kind of just took the f*** off.”

On3’s Alex Byington and Nick Schultz also contributed to this report.

Neemias Queta has a lot to prove with the Boston Celtics next season

Neemias Queta is set to take over the starting big man role within the Boston Celtics rotation. Queta spent last season as the fourth-string center, but has found himself with added opportunity due to the departures of Luke Kornet, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis.

Furthermore, Queta is scheduled to take part in the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket tournament this summer, where he will anchor the paint for the Portuguese national team. As such, Queta will be heading into the 2025-26 NBA season full of confidence and hopeful that he can prove himself as an NBA talent.

During a recent episode of “The Big Three” podcast, A. Sherrod Blakely was joined by Bobby Manning to discuss whether Queta can make an impact for the Celtics and whether he’s ready to be a starting-level player for a team that won a championship in 2024.

You can watch the full discussion by clicking on the embedded video above.

Watch or listen to the “Celtics Chronicle” podcast on:

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3QnlPcS

Spotify: https://bit.ly/40JRevf

Apple: https://apple.co/45sAUBG

Substack: https://bit.ly/3WoA0Cf

This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Neemias Queta has a lot to prove with the Celtics next season

Astros’ Yordan Alvarez returns from injury after 3 ½ months

HOUSTON (AP) Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez was reinstated from the 60-day injured list Tuesday after sitting out since May 3 while he recovered from a fractured right hand.

Alvarez returns after playing four rehabilitation games for Double-A Corpus Christi, where he went 7 for 15 with four doubles, four RBIs and a stolen base.

He has been out more than 3 ½ months with the small fracture in his right hand that was initially diagnosed as a muscle strain.

His return should be a big boost to the Astros as the postseason approaches after he led the team in batting average (.308), home runs (35) and RBIs (86) last season. Houston entered Tuesday leading the AL West with a 1.5-game lead over Seattle.

The 28-year-old Alvarez hit .210 with three homers and 18 RBIs in 29 games this season before his injury.

Rangers Cy Young hopeful Nathan Eovaldi likely done for season with shoulder injury amid career-best effort

Nathan Eovaldi’s career season is likely done.

Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young told reporters on Tuesday that Eovaldi has a rotator cuff strain that will likely end his season.

The news is a blow to the Rangers as they fight to stay in the playoff hunt. Texas (66-67) is seven games behind the first-place Houston Astros in the AL West and 5.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the American League’s final wild-card berth. 

It also means the likely conclusion to an exceptional age-35 season for Eovaldi. In 22 starts, Eovaldi boasts a 1.73 ERA and 0.854 WHIP with 129 strikeouts and 21 walks in 130 innings pitched. His ERA and WHIP are career bests by a significant margin. 

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In 10 previous seasons with 100-plus innings pitched, Eovaldi’s best ERA was 3.39 (2013) and his best WHIP was 1.107 (2024). He has a career ERA of 3.89 and career WHIP of 1.249 in 13-plus MLB seasons.

Eovaldi’s ERA would lead MLB if he’d thrown enough innings to qualify. Eovaldi briefly took the official ERA lead last week when he pitched his 130th inning in Texas’ 130th game. To qualify for the ERA title, a pitcher must have one inning pitched for each game played by his team.

Eovaldi missed most of June with a triceps injury. He’d since returned to pitch nine games before the news of his rotator cuff strain.

Despite his exceptional play, Eovaldi was not selected to play in July’s All-Star Game. Eovaldi has twice been named in All-Star before. But his effort did place him in the Cy Young conversation. As of last week, Eovaldi had the fourth-shortest odds (+5000) to win the AL Cy Young, well behind odds-on favorite Tarik Skubal (-165).

Rangers Cy Young hopeful Nathan Eovaldi likely done for season with shoulder injury amid career-best effort

Nathan Eovaldi’s career season is likely done.

Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young told reporters on Tuesday that Eovaldi has a rotator cuff strain that will likely end his season.

The news is a blow to the Rangers as they fight to stay in the playoff hunt. Texas (66-67) is seven games behind the first-place Houston Astros in the AL West and 5.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the American League’s final wild-card berth. 

It also means the likely conclusion to an exceptional age-35 season for Eovaldi. In 22 starts, Eovaldi boasts a 1.73 ERA and 0.854 WHIP with 129 strikeouts and 21 walks in 130 innings pitched. His ERA and WHIP are career bests by a significant margin. 

[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season]

In 10 previous seasons with 100-plus innings pitched, Eovaldi’s best ERA was 3.39 (2013) and his best WHIP was 1.107 (2024). He has a career ERA of 3.89 and career WHIP of 1.249 in 13-plus MLB seasons.

Eovaldi’s ERA would lead MLB if he’d thrown enough innings to qualify. Eovaldi briefly took the official ERA lead last week when he pitched his 130th inning in Texas’ 130th game. To qualify for the ERA title, a pitcher must have one inning pitched for each game played by his team.

Eovaldi missed most of June with a triceps injury. He’d since returned to pitch nine games before the news of his rotator cuff strain.

Despite his exceptional play, Eovaldi was not selected to play in July’s All-Star Game. Eovaldi has twice been named in All-Star before. But his effort did place him in the Cy Young conversation. As of last week, Eovaldi had the fourth-shortest odds (+5000) to win the AL Cy Young, well behind odds-on favorite Tarik Skubal (-165).