Aric Almirola Races To Another Top-10 At Texas

Stewart-Haas Racing's Aric Almirola finished 10th in Sunday's O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Before the green flag even dropped, Almirola dealt with brake issues, but it didn't stop him from leading early laps after starting on the pole. Unfortunately, on Almirola's first pit stop of the day, he committed a blend line […]

Jake Odorizzi Dealing With Back Stiffness

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi (back) was scratched from his scheduled start in Sunday's intrasquad scrimmage game. Manager Rocco Baldelli described it as mild upper back stiffness and said Odorizzi has been dealing with it for a few days. The veteran starter was able to long toss, which seems to indicate that it's not […]

Alexandre Pantoja Drops Decision To Fellow Top-10 Flyweight

After earning a 6-2 record in the UFC's flyweight division, Alexandre Pantoja earned a top-five spot in the division, entering the contest ranked No. 4. His opponent, Askar Askarov, entered ranked in the top 10 as well. Statistically, the numbers weren't too far off, with Pantoja landing 40 strikes compared to Askarov's 44. He also […]

Ryan Blaney Dominates, Finishes Seventh At Texas

Penske Racing's Ryan Blaney finished seventh in Sunday's O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Blaney and the No. 12 team have been very strong on the 1.5-mile tracks this year, and today was no different. Blaney started from the outside pole, and first took over the lead on lap 69. Blaney would assume […]

Askar Askarov Opens Up Main Card With Victory

Askar Askarov remains unbeaten and continues to impress, defeating Alexandre Pantoja by unanimous decision. After his split draw with Brandon Moreno, Askarov has gone on to win his next two bouts. The former ACB champion connected with 41 significant strikes and two takedowns. With the win over the No. 4-ranked Pantoja, he may have himself […]

Austin Dillon Wins At Texas

For the second straight week, the Cup Series had a surprise winner. Richard Childress Racing's Austin Dillon won Sunday's O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Dillon started in the 21st position and quietly ran just outside the top-10 all day. A great strategy call, after a caution with 29 laps to go, put […]

Khadis Ibragimov Drops Third In A Row Saturday Night

Khadis Ibragimov's run in the UFC has been far from memorable. His three UFC losses have come by every way imaginable; knockout, submission and decision. Ibragimov was only able to land four significant strikes along with 10 total strikes. With the loss, Ibragimov may be out of the UFC and back in M-1 Challenge. Due […]

Roman Dolidze Shines With Highlight-Reel Knee

Roman Dolidze remained undefeated, and did so with style. Late in the first round, Dolidze threw a dangerous left high kick on Khadis Ibragimov in which Ibragimov ate the knee and dropped heavily to the mat. Impressing in his UFC debut, Dolidze only needed 19 significant strikes to get the job done in less than […]

Nad Narimani Unable To Turn It Around

Nad Narimani faced another hard night at the office, dropping his second bout in a row. As expected, Grant Dawson used his wrestling skills to keep Narimani controlled on the mat for 8:11. Prior to the night's contest, Narimani was averaging just under 65 points per bout on DraftKings. The 33-year-old English fighter still has […]

Grant Dawson Continues To Roll

Grant Dawson stepped out of the Octagon with another impressive unanimous decision. He landed an impressive 136 strikes, along with 53 significant strikes. He only landed two takedowns but collected 8:11 of ground-control time. The 26-year-old showed off some impressive striking as well, throwing two flying knees. Also as expected, Dawson tried to lock in […]

Joe Duffy Has Disappointing Night Saturday

Irishman Joe Duffy was unable to get back into the win column Saturday night against Joel Alvarez. In 2:25 minutes of action, Duffy landed 14 significant strikes and one takedown. That takedown would serve as his downfall, getting caught in Alvarez's guillotine choke and tapping out in the first round. Duffy was the night's highest-salaried […]

Counter Strike: Global Offensive DFS Picks (7/20/20) - DraftKings, Daily Fantasy

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another edition of my Counter Strike: Global Offensive DFS picks. I have to admit, I am having a ton of fun playing and covering eSports DFS at RotoBaller! As always, I will do my best to give you the stats and info you need to build the best lineups possible for […]

Joel Alvarez Scores Big Saturday Night

DraftKings' lowest-salaried fighter for this event, Joel Alvarez scored the biggest victory of his career by defeating Joe Duffy in the first round. Landing 18 significant strikes just over two minutes of action, Duffy decided to take down the young Spanish fighter. Shortly after the takedown, Alvarez locked in the guillotine choke and made Duffy […]

Montel Jackson Contained On The Ground Saturday

Montel Jackson was unable to let his striking work for him on Saturday night. Veteran Brett Johns kept Jackson on the mat as much as possible, with 8:42 of the 15-minute battle spent with Johns in control of Jackson on the mat. Jackson did outstrike Johns nearly three times as much, landing 80 strikes. Twenty […]

Brett Johns Works Game Plan To Perfection Saturday Night

Brett Johns did exactly what he needed to do, and that was control Montel Jackson on the mat. Earning the unanimous decision over 15 minutes of action, Johns earned eight takedowns on 19 attempts. It was obvious the game plan was not to stand up and strike with Jackson. In all, Johns had 8:42 of […]

Tough Debut For Canadian Fighter Malcolm Gordon

Malcolm Gordon ran into a road block to kick of his UFC debut in the form of fellow debuter Amir Albazi. Gordon kept the bout on his feet for the first couple of minutes showing his ever-improving striking game. Around two minutes in, Albazi brought the fight to the ground and caught Gordon in the […]

Amir Albazi Impresses With Triangle-Choke Victory

Amir Albazi impressed in his debut with the UFC's first triangle choke of 2020. It only took about two minutes for Albazi to get the bout to the mat. In just a bit over four minutes of action, Albazi landed 12 significant strikes and 28 total strikes. The one takedown he landed was all he […]

Nathan Eovaldi Will Start Season Opener

Boston Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi will get the Opening Day start against the Orioles on July 24, the team announced on Saturday. Eovaldi will become the sixth different Opening Day starter for the Red Sox over the past seven seasons, as injuries and roster moves have forced the team to turn to the 30-year-old […]

Jacob deGrom On Track For Opening Day

The New York Mets were pleased with how starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (back) performed in his simulated game on Sunday. He remains on track to start on Opening Day against the Braves. DFS players should, however, take note that deGrom will likely be placed on a pitch count of about 80-85 pitches in the opener. […]

Sam Hilliard (OF, COL) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 24% of leagues ANALYSIS:  Sam Hilliard’s power exploded in 2019, clubbing 42 home runs between the majors and Triple-A last season, this after just hitting nine dingers with a .126 OPS in 2018 at Double-A. The 6’5”, 238-pounder is surprisingly fleet of foot as well, swiping at […]

Austin Voth (SP, WAS) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 2% of leagues ANALYSIS: Austin Voth was a popular name in sleeper circles during spring training due to his breakthrough month-plus last year, but he seemed to be on the outside looking in for the fifth spot in the rotation. However, when Joe Ross decided to opt-out […]

Robert Gsellman Questionable For Opening Day

New York Mets relief pitcher Robert Gsellman is dealing with some right triceps tightness. Manager Luis Rojas stated that Gsellman is "in a progression" right now. Rojas would not commit to having Gsellman in the Opening Day bullpen. In 2019, Gsellman produced a 4.66 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and struck out 60 in 63 2/3 IP. […]

Masahiro Tanaka Could Face Live Hitting On Tuesday

New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (head) threw another bullpen session on Sunday, his second bullpen session since suffering a concussion on July 4. Manager Aaron Boone said that Tanaka could start facing live hitters as soon as Tuesday, putting him in line to miss no more than one start at the beginning of […]

Yoenis Cespedes (OF, NYM) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 36% of leagues ANALYSIS: All signs point to New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes (heel, ankle) being at, or close to, full health by Opening Day. Cespedes has looked impressive at the plate and in the field in summer camp. In fact, the Mets are so impressed by his progress from […]

T.J. Warren Working To Expand His Range

Indiana Pacers forward T.J. Warren has been working to expand his range from beyond the arc, according to teammate Doug McDermott. "He's really expanded his range; he' s knocking down a lot of threes," says McDermott. Before the shutdown, Warren was shooting 37.5 percent from beyond the arc with an average of 1.1 threes made […]

LPL DFS Picks for 7/20/20: DraftKings, FanDuel League of Legends

Hello, eSports enthusiasts, and welcome back to our continued eSports DFS coverage of League of Legends for DraftKings and FanDuel! We have no LCK games for this slate so it will just be a two-game LPL slate. My name is Billy Hoffer and I'm a big fan of LOL, CSGO, and COD and have been […]

Dorian Finney-Smith Getting Reps At Center

Dallas Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith spent time getting in reps at the center position during Sunday's practice, according to head coach Rick Carlisle. The Mavs are thin in the frontcourt with Willie Cauley-Stein opting out and Dwight Powell (Achilles) sidelined. Before the shutdown, Finney-Smith was averaging career highs in multiple categories. It's unclear if the […]

Deandre Ayton Improving From Beyond The Arc

Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton has been making strides with his perimeter shot, according to head coach Monty Williams. Ayton has only attempted three shots from beyond the arc this season. However, Ayton is working on improving his shot and it sounds like Williams is encouraging him to take more shots from beyond the arc. […]

Howie Kendrick (1B/2B/3B, WSH) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 30% of leagues ANALYSIS:  Not many players have a career-year at age 36, but that’s exactly what Howie Kendrick did last season in Washington. The veteran infielder hit for a cool .344 with a .966 OPS along with 17 longballs in 370 PA. That performance wasn't a fluke […]

C.J. Cron (1B, DET) - Week 1 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 34% of leagues While his 2019 surface stats look unremarkable (.780 OPS, 25 HR in 499 PA), C.J. Cron made leaps in hit quality last year. He set career highs in average exit velocity (91.1 MPH), barrel rate (15%), and hard contact rate (41.1%). He also cut his […]