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Deadspin | Mets to retire Carlos Beltran’s No. 15 on Sept. 19  Mar 14, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; MLB former player Carlos Beltran talks with media before the game between Italy and Puerto Rico in a quarterfinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images   The New York Mets will retire Hall of Fame outfielder Carlos Beltran’s No. 15 jersey in a pregame ceremony at Citi Field on Sept. 19 before the team plays the rival Philadelphia Phillies.  Beltran was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year, with the induction in Cooperstown set for July 26. In February, the Hall announced that Beltran chose to have a Mets cap on his plaque.  “I want to thank (owners) Steve and Alex Cohen for this tremendous honor — it’s the highest possible tribute, and I truly feel blessed,” Beltran said in a statement. “The Mets hold a special place in my heart. This summer will be incredibly meaningful, from my induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame to this Mets Hall of Fame honor, with the cherry on top being my number retirement. I’m deeply grateful.”  Beltran played 839 of his 2,586 career games with the Mets across parts of seven seasons (2005-11). He earned five of his nine career All-Star selections while with New York. He played for six other clubs in a 20-year MLB career   Beltran also remains in a front office role with the Mets, as special assistant to president of baseball operations David Stearns.  The Mets will make Beltran their ninth player to have his retired number, following Tom Seaver (41), Mike Piazza (31), Jerry Koosman (36), Keith Hernandez (17), Willie Mays (24), Dwight Gooden (16), Darryl Strawberry (18) and David Wright (5).  The Mets said that outfielder Tyrone Taylor, currently assigned the No. 15 jersey, will change to No. 28.  –Field Level Media    #Deadspin #Mets #retire #Carlos #Beltrans #Sept

Deadspin | Mets to retire Carlos Beltran’s No. 15 on Sept. 19
Deadspin | Mets to retire Carlos Beltran’s No. 15 on Sept. 19  Mar 14, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; MLB former player Carlos Beltran talks with media before the game between Italy and Puerto Rico in a quarterfinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images   The New York Mets will retire Hall of Fame outfielder Carlos Beltran’s No. 15 jersey in a pregame ceremony at Citi Field on Sept. 19 before the team plays the rival Philadelphia Phillies.  Beltran was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year, with the induction in Cooperstown set for July 26. In February, the Hall announced that Beltran chose to have a Mets cap on his plaque.  “I want to thank (owners) Steve and Alex Cohen for this tremendous honor — it’s the highest possible tribute, and I truly feel blessed,” Beltran said in a statement. “The Mets hold a special place in my heart. This summer will be incredibly meaningful, from my induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame to this Mets Hall of Fame honor, with the cherry on top being my number retirement. I’m deeply grateful.”  Beltran played 839 of his 2,586 career games with the Mets across parts of seven seasons (2005-11). He earned five of his nine career All-Star selections while with New York. He played for six other clubs in a 20-year MLB career   Beltran also remains in a front office role with the Mets, as special assistant to president of baseball operations David Stearns.  The Mets will make Beltran their ninth player to have his retired number, following Tom Seaver (41), Mike Piazza (31), Jerry Koosman (36), Keith Hernandez (17), Willie Mays (24), Dwight Gooden (16), Darryl Strawberry (18) and David Wright (5).  The Mets said that outfielder Tyrone Taylor, currently assigned the No. 15 jersey, will change to No. 28.  –Field Level Media    #Deadspin #Mets #retire #Carlos #Beltrans #SeptMar 14, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; MLB former player Carlos Beltran talks with media before the game between Italy and Puerto Rico in a quarterfinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The New York Mets will retire Hall of Fame outfielder Carlos Beltran’s No. 15 jersey in a pregame ceremony at Citi Field on Sept. 19 before the team plays the rival Philadelphia Phillies.

Beltran was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year, with the induction in Cooperstown set for July 26. In February, the Hall announced that Beltran chose to have a Mets cap on his plaque.

“I want to thank (owners) Steve and Alex Cohen for this tremendous honor — it’s the highest possible tribute, and I truly feel blessed,” Beltran said in a statement. “The Mets hold a special place in my heart. This summer will be incredibly meaningful, from my induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame to this Mets Hall of Fame honor, with the cherry on top being my number retirement. I’m deeply grateful.”


Beltran played 839 of his 2,586 career games with the Mets across parts of seven seasons (2005-11). He earned five of his nine career All-Star selections while with New York. He played for six other clubs in a 20-year MLB career

Beltran also remains in a front office role with the Mets, as special assistant to president of baseball operations David Stearns.

The Mets will make Beltran their ninth player to have his retired number, following Tom Seaver (41), Mike Piazza (31), Jerry Koosman (36), Keith Hernandez (17), Willie Mays (24), Dwight Gooden (16), Darryl Strawberry (18) and David Wright (5).

The Mets said that outfielder Tyrone Taylor, currently assigned the No. 15 jersey, will change to No. 28.


–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #Mets #retire #Carlos #Beltrans #Sept

Mar 14, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; MLB former player Carlos Beltran talks with media before the game between Italy and Puerto Rico in a quarterfinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The New York Mets will retire Hall of Fame outfielder Carlos Beltran’s No. 15 jersey in a pregame ceremony at Citi Field on Sept. 19 before the team plays the rival Philadelphia Phillies.

Beltran was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year, with the induction in Cooperstown set for July 26. In February, the Hall announced that Beltran chose to have a Mets cap on his plaque.

“I want to thank (owners) Steve and Alex Cohen for this tremendous honor — it’s the highest possible tribute, and I truly feel blessed,” Beltran said in a statement. “The Mets hold a special place in my heart. This summer will be incredibly meaningful, from my induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame to this Mets Hall of Fame honor, with the cherry on top being my number retirement. I’m deeply grateful.”

Beltran played 839 of his 2,586 career games with the Mets across parts of seven seasons (2005-11). He earned five of his nine career All-Star selections while with New York. He played for six other clubs in a 20-year MLB career

Beltran also remains in a front office role with the Mets, as special assistant to president of baseball operations David Stearns.

The Mets will make Beltran their ninth player to have his retired number, following Tom Seaver (41), Mike Piazza (31), Jerry Koosman (36), Keith Hernandez (17), Willie Mays (24), Dwight Gooden (16), Darryl Strawberry (18) and David Wright (5).

The Mets said that outfielder Tyrone Taylor, currently assigned the No. 15 jersey, will change to No. 28.

–Field Level Media

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#Deadspin #Mets #retire #Carlos #Beltrans #Sept

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In the end, Michigan basketball was too big to fail <div id="zephr-anchor"><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">On a night where they shot a season-worst 2-of-15 from three, where their injured star looked like a shell of himself, where they lost the rebounding battle and played a style and pace for more conducive to their opponent’s strengths, on a night where seemingly everything that needed to happen in order for Michigan to be once again deprived of its long-awaited second national championship … none of it mattered.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">To quote Ellis Pine, “you can’t stop what’s coming,” and Dusty May’s Wolverines have seemed like they’ve been coming for the top of the college basketball mountain since November.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">That statement is a far cry from the days of the not-so-distant past when no level of success felt like a certainty for the maize and blue.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">A little over 24 months ago, Michigan was at a crossroads. “Breaking point” might be a more accurate descriptor.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">The Wolverines had just gone 8-24 overall and 3-17 in the Big Ten, good for the worst season in the modern history of the program. Ann Arbor legend Juwan Howard was shown the door after five up-and-down seasons, and weeks later, Michigan beat out the likes of Louisville and Vanderbilt to hire May away from Florida Atlantic.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">Three Michigan players — Nimari Burnett, Will Tschetter and walk-on Harrison Hochberg — experienced every moment of the 8-win season and still chose to stick with the program through the transition. On Monday night, 741 days after May was hired, all three climbed the ladder inside Lucas Oil Stadium to cut down a piece of the national championship net.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">Of course loyalty, while an attractive subplot and an easy storyline to latch onto, might not be the central theme of the 2025-26 Michigan Wolverines. Not the team that just became the first in the history of college basketball to win a national championship with five starters who all transferred into the program.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">So what <em>is</em> the central theme?</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">May’s potential to be one of the primary faces of the next wave of great college basketball coaches wasn’t exactly a secret in 2024. A year earlier he had taken Florida Atlantic all the way to the Final Four, and then proved it wasn’t a fluke by winning 25 games and earning an 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament a year later.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">In just six seasons as a Division-I head coach, May had already earned the reputation for pairing a remarkable basketball mind with an incredible knack for identifying talent. That combination made him the perfect hire for a power conference program looking for a quick turnaround after falling on hard times.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">Two such programs — Michigan and Louisville, both coming off of 8-24 seasons — came calling. Ultimately, UM athletic director Warde Manuel won the battle by selling May on the notion that we have more resources, more institutional support, and a better overall living arrangement for his family in Ann Arbor than anywhere else that might come calling.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">“Louisville is an unbelievable basketball school. But this was the right fit for me, my family, and it just felt right,” May said at the time.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">An agreement was made, and both sides got to work.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">NIL and the transfer portal have both opened the door for instant turnarounds to be more of a thing in college basketball than ever before.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">A decade ago, a coach brought in to take command of a Big Ten program that had just gone 3-17 in league play would have merely been expected to show an aptitude for the job and some tangible signs of progress in year one. Now, if you’ve got the bankroll, anything is possible, and it’s possible right away.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">May convinced Burnett and Tschetter to stick around, he brought big man Vlad Goldin with him from FAU, and he signed Tre Donaldson (Auburn), Danny Wolf (Yale), Roddy Gayle (Ohio State) and Sam Walters (Alabama) from the transfer portal to form the nucleus of a team that seemed on paper like they should have been able to compete right out of the gate. They did. Michigan won 27 games, captured the Big Ten Tournament title, and advanced to the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual semifinalist Auburn.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">With the bar raised, May used Michigan’s deep pockets to go to work again. While Gayle, Tschetter and Burnett all returned, each of UM’s five leading scorers in 2025-26 was a newcomer.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">UAB’s Yaxel Lendeborg was the highest-ranked transfer in the country according to most who rank that sort of thing. When Donaldson bolted for Miami, May simply replaced him with North Carolina floor general Elliot Cadeau. Everyone knew Morez Johnson was destined for a breakout sophomore season, and May made sure it happened at Michigan and not conference rival Illinois. And then there was Aday Mara, a 7-foot-2 center who had played sparingly over two seasons at UCLA before emerging as a star for the Wolverines this season.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">Identifying talent is still a skill that can pay off big in this brave, new world.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">A healthy chunk of May’s imports have fit a similar description: Big, long, athletic, versatile and active. He seeks out monsters who can control the paint on both ends of the court, and is especially fond of players who can effectively guard multiple positions.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">The results speak pretty loudly.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">Michigan will end this season ranked No. 1 in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency. They rank first in the country in effective field foal percentage defense, second in the country in two-point percentage defense, and third in the country in block percentage. Offensively, they were fourth in the country in overall efficiency and fifth in the country in two-percentage.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">In each of Michigan’s last four games of the NCAA Tournament, the Wolverines held their opponents — Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona and UConn — to their worst field goal shooting performance of the season.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">Michigan’s 2025-26 squad won’t just be remembered for its gaudy 37-3 final record, it’ll be remembered for the way in which it won a hefty chunk of those 37 games.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">In simpler terms, it’ll be remembered for just how severely it kicked the shit out of teams all season long.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">In its capturing of the Players Era Festival championship during Thanksgiving week, the Wolverines became the first team in the history of the AP poll to beat three straight ranked opponents all by 30 points or more. The last of those was a 101-61 championship game slaughtering of a Gonzaga team that, up until that point, had looked every bit as dominant as May’s team had.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">When the dust finally cleared on Monday night, Michigan had won 29 of its 37 games by double figures. It won an astounding 11 games by 30 points or more, and its seven wins by 40 points or more are the most by any team in the history of the Big Ten.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">From the jump, confidence was never lacking with this group. Nor should it have been.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">Lendeborg, the eventual First Team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year, was the first to raise eyebrows with a public declaration.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">“I feel like we’re the best team in college basketball,” Lendeborg said after the Players Era Festival triumph in November. “We might be the best Michigan team ever. We’re going to try to go for that.”</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">Instead of shying away from their star’s bravado, the rest of the Wolverines leaned into it.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">“We say it before every game when we step onto the court,” Morez Johnson said in February of Lendeborg’s initial proclamation. “Everybody truly believes that.”</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">Yaxel laughed last on Monday night, telling a national TV audience:</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">“We’re the best team in college basketball, and we want to go down as one of the greatest ever.”</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">Despite the Big Ten’s perennial status as one of the two or three best conferences in college basketball, the league has been burdened for the past two and-a-half-decades with the stigma of having won zero national championships since Michigan State cut down the nets in 2000.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">From 2001-2025, Big Ten teams played in eight national championships and astoundingly lost them all. Michigan accounted for 25 percent of that total, falling to Louisville for the title in 2013 and getting blown out by Villanova on the first Monday in April five years later.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">No trend was too tall for this team. Neither was any opponent.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-component"><p class="duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1">In the end, Michigan was simply too big to fail.</p></div></div> #Michigan #basketball #big #fail

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Indore News: नगर निगम का बजट आज, नए कर का बोझ नहीं, पुराने प्रोजेक्ट और नर्मदा योजना पर रहेगा फोकस

When I arrived to cover the Minnesota Vikings for the St. Paul Pioneer Press in 2000, it was clear I was dealing with a star-studded roster.

The team boasted future Pro Football Hall of Famers; wide receivers Cris Carter and Randy Moss and defensive tackle John Randle. Plus, there were a ton of other stars including quarterback Daunte Culpepper, center Matt Birk and running back Robert Smith. The Vikings were loaded with star power.

The talent around the team wasn’t relegated simply to the roster, however.

That summer I first laid my eyes on a 16-year-old high school junior named Larry Fitzgerald Jr. The son of a local media member and close friend of Vikings’ head coach Dennis Green, Little Fitzy was a ball boy during training camp and on game days. It turns out, Larry Fitzgerald Jr. is very likely the most famous former NFL ball boy in history.

On reporting date, fellow reporter Kevin Seifert pointed out Fitzgerald to me and said “that’s a bad man.” Seifert didn’t say that about any of the actual Vikings that day.

Fitzgerald was already known as the best Minnesota high school prospect in years and he was considered one of the best high school players in the country. Seifert told me the buzz was that the kid was, no doubt, headed to the NFL in a half decade or so. Seifert was on the money. I’m not sure the Hall of Fame was mentioned or not.

But this weekend of course, that’s exactly where Little Fitzy is headed. He will be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Fitzgerald will be remembered as one of the best and most productive wide receivers in league history after an incredible 17-season career with the Arizona Cardinals.

I have a ton of memories of being around Fitzgerald, but there’s one that stands out among them all.

One day after training camp, a nameless Vikings’ wide receiver camp body was getting extra work on a JUGS machine, catching balls. He was being tutored by Fitzgerald, who was showing this player how to properly approach the incoming ball. This was a child instructing a grown man an NFL team deemed good enough to attend training camp.

Larry Fitzgerald Jr. was special even back then.

In addition to his incredible natural football ability, Larry Fitzgerald Jr. stood out for his politeness and good nature. You could tell he was a good kid from the first time you met him.

There was no I’m-going-to-be-a-star attitude. He was genuine and he worked his tail off with the rest of the ball boys. There was no entitlement. It was as if he was using his time around an NFL camp as an internship for his future. He passed with flying colors.

I’ve always cherished following his career from his days at Pittsburgh in college to his days of dominating the NFL and I’ve enjoyed running into him over the years now and again.

Enjoy Canton, Little Fitzy, you’ve earned it.

#Larry #Fitzgeralds #Hall #Fame #induction #years #making">Larry Fitzgerald’s Hall of Fame induction is 25 years in the making  When I arrived to cover the Minnesota Vikings for the St. Paul Pioneer Press in 2000, it was clear I was dealing with a star-studded roster.The team boasted future Pro Football Hall of Famers; wide receivers Cris Carter and Randy Moss and defensive tackle John Randle. Plus, there were a ton of other stars including quarterback Daunte Culpepper, center Matt Birk and running back Robert Smith. The Vikings were loaded with star power.The talent around the team wasn’t relegated simply to the roster, however.That summer I first laid my eyes on a 16-year-old high school junior named Larry Fitzgerald Jr. The son of a local media member and close friend of Vikings’ head coach Dennis Green, Little Fitzy was a ball boy during training camp and on game days. It turns out, Larry Fitzgerald Jr. is very likely the most famous former NFL ball boy in history.On reporting date, fellow reporter Kevin Seifert pointed out Fitzgerald to me and said “that’s a bad man.” Seifert didn’t say that about any of the actual Vikings that day.Fitzgerald was already known as the best Minnesota high school prospect in years and he was considered one of the best high school players in the country. Seifert told me the buzz was that the kid was, no doubt, headed to the NFL in a half decade or so. Seifert was on the money. I’m not sure the Hall of Fame was mentioned or not.But this weekend of course, that’s exactly where Little Fitzy is headed. He will be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.Fitzgerald will be remembered as one of the best and most productive wide receivers in league history after an incredible 17-season career with the Arizona Cardinals.I have a ton of memories of being around Fitzgerald, but there’s one that stands out among them all.One day after training camp, a nameless Vikings’ wide receiver camp body was getting extra work on a JUGS machine, catching balls. He was being tutored by Fitzgerald, who was showing this player how to properly approach the incoming ball. This was a child instructing a grown man an NFL team deemed good enough to attend training camp.Larry Fitzgerald Jr. was special even back then.In addition to his incredible natural football ability, Larry Fitzgerald Jr. stood out for his politeness and good nature. You could tell he was a good kid from the first time you met him.There was no I’m-going-to-be-a-star attitude. He was genuine and he worked his tail off with the rest of the ball boys. There was no entitlement. It was as if he was using his time around an NFL camp as an internship for his future. He passed with flying colors.I’ve always cherished following his career from his days at Pittsburgh in college to his days of dominating the NFL and I’ve enjoyed running into him over the years now and again.Enjoy Canton, Little Fitzy, you’ve earned it.  #Larry #Fitzgeralds #Hall #Fame #induction #years #making

Follow Sportstar for extensive coverage of the tenth edition of the TNPL, from live scores and match reports to exclusive analysis and features.

TOSS

Tiruppur Tamizhans won the toss and chose to bowl first.

PLAYING XIs

Nellai Royal Kings: Athish SR(w), D Santhosh Kumar, Ajitesh Guruswamy, U Mukilesh, Rithik Easwaran, Sonu Yadav(c), Muhammed Adnan Khan, Ramalingam Rohit, Emmanuel Cherian, NS Harish, Rocky Bhasker

Tiruppur Tamizhans: Tushar Raheja(w), Amit Sathvik, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Mohamed Ali, Uthirasamy Sasidev, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore(c), M Mathivannan, S Mohan Prasath, R Silambarasan, Esakkimuthu A, T Natarajan

Published on Aug 09, 2026

#TNPL #Live #Allround #batting #display #propels #Nellai #Royal #Kings">TNPL 2026 Live: All-round batting display propels Nellai Royal Kings to 206/8  Follow Sportstar for extensive coverage of the tenth edition of the TNPL, from live scores and match reports to exclusive analysis and features.TOSSTiruppur Tamizhans won the toss and chose to bowl first.PLAYING XIsNellai Royal Kings: Athish SR(w), D Santhosh Kumar, Ajitesh Guruswamy, U Mukilesh, Rithik Easwaran, Sonu Yadav(c), Muhammed Adnan Khan, Ramalingam Rohit, Emmanuel Cherian, NS Harish, Rocky BhaskerTiruppur Tamizhans: Tushar Raheja(w), Amit Sathvik, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Mohamed Ali, Uthirasamy Sasidev, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore(c), M Mathivannan, S Mohan Prasath, R Silambarasan, Esakkimuthu A, T NatarajanPublished on Aug 09, 2026  #TNPL #Live #Allround #batting #display #propels #Nellai #Royal #Kings

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