Author: Benjamin Gomez

(News4usonline) The sports world has seen many dynamic siblings play together and against each other at the professional level. Each sport has several iconic sibling duos. Tennis has Serena and Venus Williams. Brother acts are all over the NFL. The Manning brothers (Peyton and Eli) first come to mind. There’s Jason and Travis Kelce. Then there’s Jaylen and Sammy Watkins as well as Shaquill and Shaquem Griffin. And the list goes on and go. The NBA has the Gasol (Marc and Pau), Ball (Lonzo and LaMelo), and Morris (Marcus and Markieff) brothers. The WNBA is represented by Los Angeles Sparks…

Numbers don’t lie. The legend of Stephen Curry gets more mythical each and every time the Golden State Warriors sharpshooter crosses midcourt. Just any player who tried guarding the two-time NBA regular season MVP during the month of April. Curry went on a scoring tear not seen in NBA annals. As a result of his prolific scoring spree in April, Curry has single-handily brought back to the brink of a postseason berth after the Warriors looked like they would write this season off.  The expression April showers bring May flowers usually refers to the blooming flowers as a result of…

The National Football League (NFL) oversees approximately 2, 200 players and together with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) they have developed and adapted COVID-19 health and wellness protocols to help ensure that players were keeping their minds in the best possible shape while the world was dealing with the pandemic. The NFLPA represents all players and they dedicate themselves to the wellness of those players both on and off the field. Dr. Amber Cargill is the Director of Player Wellness for the NFLPA and it is her job to ensure that all active players have the resources and…

Is this the end of the line for Albert Pujols? Not many people are asked about retirement at only 41 years of age, but not many people have had the kind of career that Pujols has had. The Major League Baseball slugger entered his 21st season this spring with questions about his pending free agency. Pujols’ wife, Diedre, sparked a frenzy with a social media post referring to the 2021 season being Pujols’ last of his storied career. And it has been a majestic one. Coming into the 2021 season, Pujols was sitting on 662 home runs for his career.…

The Los Angeles Angels have not made the postseason since 2014. If you’re an Angels fan, you have to be asking how is that even possible when the team has the best player in the game in Mike Trout? It can hardly be debated that Trout isn’t deserving of his top billing. Still, the Angels are in a playoff drought and haven’t won a playoff series since 2009. This season might be the year that changes everything for the Halos. The Angels ball club made some predictable front office changes. General manager Billy Eppler was let go and former Atlanta…

Cromwell Field at USC was the site of the Trojans 2021 Pro Day. With no National Football League (NFL) combine being held this year, USC’s NFL prospects had to show out at home rather than perform in Indianapolis, Indiana, where the combine normally takes place. Seven Trojans were invited to attend and showcase their skills, but cornerback Olaijah Griffin was held out due to a positive COVID-19 test. Griffin started all six games for the Trojans in 2020, excelling in the Trojans’ new defensive scheme which left him in many man-to-man coverages collecting 22 tackles and an interception while holding…

A lead is never safe in the NFL (National Football League). The same can be said for the merchandise leaderboard among players. The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) released the top 50 player merchandise sales list from March 1, 2020 – Nov. 30, 2020 as part of their quarterly top 50 list, which reports sales of all officially licensed NFL player products from online and traditional retail outlets as reported by more than 80 NFLPA licensees. Some of the names on the list and their rankings are surprises. Some are not. What might be considered to be an eye-opener,…

The optimism around Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei ‘Sho Time’ Ohtani is high after an impressive spring training debut on the mound.  In just one inning, Ohtani struck out five of the Oakland A’s batters.  His pitches were hitting 100 mph on the radar gun. He looked comfortable and confident, reminding everyone why he was one of the most coveted two-way players since Babe Ruth.  Ohtani signed with the Angels in December 2017, in his rookie season he was limited to only two months as a two-way player before suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament which led to Tommy John…

So far, so good for the Utah Jazz. The NBA is at the halfway point of its shortened 2020-21 season. And Utah stands alone at the top of the food chain as the best team in the league. Already off to the best start in the history of the franchise, Utah has been kicking butt and taking names along the way.     They’ve already beaten the pants off of the Los Angeles Lakers. They’ve whipped up on the Milwaukee Bucks a couple of times. Oh, yeah, they’ve already handled the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Philadelphia…

The National Basketball Association (NBA) celebrates Black History Month every season but this season the NBA’s celebration will extend beyond February. The NBA will host a league-wide celebration that supports the pursuit of racial justice. After a time of great civil unrest in 2020, NBA players and organizations became more active and vigilant in confronting systemic racism and social injustice. Players used their platform to spread awareness of the injustice happening throughout our nation. The NBA and its players continue to spread awareness with new initiatives beginning in February and beyond. During the month of February, NBA players are wearing…

The football programs at both UCLA and USC have taken strides in the right direction after forgettable 2020 recruiting cycles. The Trojans have one of the best recruiting classes in the Pac-12 and in the nation this year, but is it enough to keep the Bruins in hibernation? When you combined both the spring and fall enrollment of student-athletes, USC landed over a dozen four-star recruits. Head coach Clay Helton and his staff have been hard at work during the pandemic to get the Trojans back on top of the Pac-12. You can’t mention USC’s outstanding recruiting class without talking…