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ESPN host Stephen A. Smith on Monday said that celebrated Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani is “harming the game” of baseball because Ohtani, who is Japanese, uses the help of an English translator during press conferences.

Smith’s comments were made during First Take, during a discussion of Ohtani, whose Era is 3.49 and who will both pitch and hit in the upcoming All-Star Game — the first player in Major League history to be chosen for both positions.

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Esports-focused talent management firm Loaded has added Maria 'Chica' Lopez to its illustrious roster, which includes top gamers like Shroud, AnneMunition, Ninja, DrLupo, CouRage, Summit1G, MLB pro Bryce Harper, and entertainment multi-threat Jordan Fisher.  

Loaded will work with the pro streamer and competitive gamer on key aspects of her career, including entertainment opportunities, sponsorships, media licensing, merchandising, book publishing, partnerships, appearances, and more. 

Lopez, 26, launched her career on Twitch while she was still in college, and has quickly become one of the platform's most popular female competitors, according to Loaded, with 1.2 million Twitch subscribers and 6 million followers across all social platforms. Lopez, 26, frequently competes in Fortnite, and was also the first female gamer to join the Team SoloMid (Tsm) pro esports organization -- though she subsequently departed to become a full-time solo streamer. 

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Bryce Harper is going to be a girl dad.  The Philadelphia Phillies baseball star and his wife Kayla Harper are expecting their second child together and announced the exciting baby news on Monday with a sweet photo of them holding a sonogram while surrounded by pink heart balloons.  "Girl dad!" the athlete wrote in a caption on Instagram.  Over on Kayla's Instagram page, the future mom of two added, "Evening things out this year with Baby Girl Harper Coming early December 2020." After tying the knot in 2016, the couple celebrated another milestone with the birth of their first child, son Krew, in August 2019.  Now, in less...

After years of speculation and rumors, last night it was finally confirmed that Ewan McGregor will be returning to the Star Wars franchise to reprise the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi. An Obi-Wan spinoff of some description has been in the works for a long time, and as recently as last year, Academy Award-nominated director Stephen Daldry was developing the project as one of the Anthology movies, before the failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story forced Disney and Lucasfilm to rethink their big screen strategy.

The announcement also revealed that the Obi-Wan Kenobi spinoff will be a limited series exclusive to Disney Plus, marking the third Star Wars show headed to the upcoming streaming platform after Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and the currently-untitled Rogue One prequel following Cassian Andor. With the studio hosting their D23 Expo next weekend, it seems likely that we’ll get plenty of new information about the show,...

Bryce Harper, Christian Yelich and Nolan Arenado ... you are Not better than Cody Bellinger, so says Jerry Hairston Jr., who tells TMZ Sports the Dodgers star is the 2nd best player in the Mlb!! "Outside of Mike Trout, he's the best player in baseball," the former World Series champ says ... "I think he will be the Mvp." Of course, Belli is in the middle of an Epic season ... dude has 25 home runs, 62 RBIs and is...

Aaron Nola -- one of the Mlb's best pitchers -- says baseball should Not move on from umpires in favor of automatic strike zones, telling TMZ Sports, "I don't think it should happen." Of course, balls, strikes and umps have been a huge topic in the sport recently ... especially after Nola's famous teammate, Bryce Harper, got ejected for arguing a strike earlier this week. It's led to all kinds of baseball players and pundits wondering...

San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer says he's stepping away from the Mlb team to take some "personal time" in the wake of a physical altercation with his wife that was captured on video.  TMZ Sports posted footage of Baer knocking his wife, Pam, to the ground during an altercation in a public park in San Francisco on Friday ... while his wife screamed for help.  Both Pam and Larry had chalked the whole thing up...

When the Manny Machado contract details emerged, it was only a matter of time before the other major Mlb free agent found a home as well and it seems like the Bryce Harper trade rumors are now focused on two teams. Bryce Harper trade rumors As of Saturday night, Mlb Network’s Jon Heyman reported that there were two teams in Las Vegas negotiating with Harper’s agents. One of those teams is the Philadelphia Phillies. While Phillies are seen as the favorite (and may well be), team Harper has been negotiating in Vegas with two teams who were there to see […]

The post Bryce Harper trade rumors: Phillies have competition for Harper’s services appeared first on Monsters and Critics.

Aaron Judge says he'd consider switching positions if the Yankees signed Bryce Harper -- telling TMZ Sports, he'll do whatever it takes to help his squad land the biggest fish in free agency.  Of course, Harper is currently shopping for the right fit -- and with the Yankees willing to write huge checks, they're still in the running.  Judge is excited about the possibility -- explaining, "Anytime you can add an Mvp to a team,...

There's no need for Bryce Harper's free agency tour to continue ... 'cause Phillies legend Ryan Howard says Philadelphia is the Perfect landing spot for the Mlb superstar!!! We got Ryan out at Jay Glazer's Merging Vets & Players Super Bowl Party on Wednesday when he explained to us why the X's and O's just make sense for both Bryce and the Phils. In fact ... Howard says it's so clear the fit works --...

Christian Yelich Really hated Manny Machado when the two played in the Nlcs this fall ... but the Mvp says he's willing to squash the beef under one condition. If Manny Signs With The Brewers!!! You'll remember ... Christian went off on Manny after the Dodgers star banged into Yelich's teammate at first base while running out a grounder in the October series ... callin' Manny "a dirty player." "It's a dirty play by a dirty player," Yelich...

Mlb players everywhere are rootin' like hell for Bryce Harper to ink the richest free-agent deal of all-time ... 'cause it means they'll get Paid eventually too -- so says Anthony Rendon. Harper's (ex?) Nationals teammate tells TMZ Sports if Bryce signs the rumored $400 Mil deal he's expected to be offered -- players will have Huge bargaining power over teams. "Obviously if he drives up the free agency market, then I think it's going to help...

Kyler Murray's making the right call picking baseball over football ... so says Dave Winfield, who made the same choice more than 40 years ago and had things work out Pretty well. Of course ... D.W. is one of only six dudes to ever be drafted by Three different pro sports -- but he chose the diamond over them all -- and says he's glad Kyler's doing the same. "It's pretty intelligent to play baseball," the Mlb...

If Bryce Harper's stomach is making the call ... the Cubs, White Sox, Mets and Yankees have a Clear advantage in signing him, 'cause he says NYC and Chicago have the best food. In case you've been living under a rock ... Harper is poised to sign the richest free-agent deal Of All Time -- some say up to $400 million -- but he's given no clear indication on where he's going. We got Harper Thursday night...

Nationals superstar Trea Turner's offseason is already off to a great start ... dude just tied the knot with his smokin' hot ex-gymnast star fiancee!!! The 25-year-old shortstop met Kristen Harabedian at Nc State years ago ... when he was tearin' up the baseball diamond and she was killin' it on the mat. The two dated forever ... but decided to make things offish on Saturday ... with a dope wedding at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in D.

Jon Stewart Really wants the Mets to be good -- and Really wants 'em to sign Bryce Harper -- but he's also been around long enough to know they'll bungle it. "There's no way Bryce Harper is coming to the Mets," Stewart told us in NYC ... "It's not possible!" Harper is reportedly looking for a Massive new contract (some say $400 Mil) with his eye on several teams. But Stewart says fellow Mets fans shouldn't hold their breath.

When you're about to get one of the richest contracts in sports history ... what do you get your wife for her birthday? Bryce Harper got his wife The Backstreet Boys!! The Mlb superstar took his wife to see the guys at Planet Hollywood in Vegas over the weekend -- and not only got her backstage for a meet and greet ... but, had the guys take her on stage for a 5-on-1 serenade! Check out the...

Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading sponsor of Lyme disease research in the United States, brought together scientists, philanthropists, celebrities and patients for the sixth annual LymeAid, an event aimed at raising funds to make Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure.

This year’s benefit dinner and concert raised more than $1 million, of which 100 percent will go directly to fund research and education projects for Lyme disease.

“Support for Lyme disease research continues to grow, perhaps because of the increasing numbers of people who are severely impacted,” remarked Linda Giampa, executive director, Bay Area Lyme Foundation. “We are honored to have renowned scientists and up-and-coming researchers lending their expertise to our efforts, and taking the time to educate and engage philanthropists and high-profile personalities through our annual LymeAid event.”

Multiple Bay Area Lyme Foundation research projects are supported by funds raised at LymeAid each year, including studies...

Friday night’s Vegas Strong Benefit Concert at T-Mobile Arena united the Las Vegas entertainment industry and close-knit community for an evening of live performances and heartfelt video tributes honoring victims and survivors of the October 1 tragedy.

Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons Sings at Vegas Strong Benefit Concert

More than a dozen A-list entertainers and homegrown talent convened to benefit the Las Vegas Victims Fund in front of a capacity crowd of 12,000.. The full lineup included Imagine Dragons, The Killers, Boyz II Men, Jay Leno, David Copperfield, Penn & Teller, Carrot Top, Cirque du Soleil and Blue Man Group; appearances by Bryce Harper, Kurt Busch, Wayne Newton; and tribute videos from Jason Aldean, Celine Dion, Elton John, George Strait and the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

The evening commenced as Carrot Top welcomed an arena of thousands of supporters. He introduced messages from Vegas Golden Knights players who shared their pride...

Jay Leno and Bryce Harper are joining the force of Las Vegas entertainers and homegrown talent to take the stage Friday, December 1 at T-Mobile Arena for the Vegas Strong Benefit Concert, a special evening of entertainment supporting the victims of the October 1 tragedy.

Leno, a Las Vegas headlining comedian; and Harper, Washington Nationals outfielder and Las Vegas native; will join Boyz II Men, Cirque du Soleil, David Copperfield, Imagine Dragons, Penn & Teller, The Killers, and more for an unprecedented fundraising event benefiting the Las Vegas Victims Fund.

Harper said, “I was born and raised in Las Vegas, and my pride for this great city runs deep. In the wake of this terrible event, the world has seen what I’ve always known to be true: how strong our city is and what a tight-knit, supportive community we have. I’m proud to be a part of the Vegas...