While the Orlando Guardians aren’t having the best season in the XFL, they sure do have a punter who can chuck it.

During Saturday’s road game against the St. Louis Battlehawks, the 1-8 Guardians took a lead on a perfectly executed fake punt.

To start, Orlando punter Mac Brown, formerly of Ole Miss, threw an absurd pass to former Houston Texans tight end Jordan Thomas on 4th and 21 from the Guardians’ side of the field.

Thomas snagged the ball and stormed to the end zone to give the Guardians an advantage over the Battlehawks during the game’s second quarter. The entire touchdown play would go for 84 yards.

The touchdown pass is Brown’s second in two games on a fake punt formation, which could be a hint to NFL teams that he’d be quite an addition to any special teams unit.

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Thomas also deserved a ton of credit for hauling in the pass and making such an impressive scramble to the end zone.

Hey, maybe NFL scouts will watch this play and give both Brown and Thomas chances in training camp. Put those two together, and maybe you’ll strike gold on any fake punt formation.

A third-tier game in Germany was suspended on Sunday after the referee was doused in beer by an angry fan at half-time.

Relegation-threatened Zwickau’s match against visiting Rot-Weiss Essen did not continue for the second half because referee Nicolas Winter had a cup of beer thrown in his face by a fan, who was apparently unhappy with his decision to send off a Zwickau player and award a penalty to Essen before the interval.

Winter showed Zwickau defender Nils Butzen a red card for bringing down American forward Isaiah Young, then awarded Essen a penalty for handball from the resultant free kick.

Simon Engelmann scored from the penalty spot to equalise 1-1 before the break, when the home fans made their frustrations known.

The match officials waited, surveying the situation, before the leaving the field.

Magenta Sport TV showed the fan throwing the beer at the referee’s face.

LOS ANGELES – So now what?

Can it get any uglier?

What’s next from Dillon Brooks, the Memphis Grizzlies forward, after delivering a groin shot to LeBron James in Game 3 of the first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers? 

Brooks was ejected from the game after the flagrant 2 foul, James was left writhing on the court 17 seconds into the third quarter and inquiring minds wanted to know what James thought.

‘So do we have any more basketball questions?’ the woman moderating the Lakers’ postgame news conference asked at one point as reporters peppered James.

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Ah, basketball. Non-Brooks basketball. It’s worth the following paragraph.

The Lakers won Game 3, 111-101. Will take a 2-1 series lead into Game 4 Monday at Crypto.com Arena. Now, back to Brooks.

The drama started with Brooks trash talking James in Game 2. Then afterward calling James ‘old.’ Followed by the open backhand that struck James’ groin as James dribbled the upcourt early in the third quarter.

Brooks, who left after the game without talking to reporters, appears determined to disrupt James. Even if it requires low blows.

‘I’ve had this throughout my career with certain individuals,’ James told reporters sanguinely. ‘It’s easy. It’s literally easy if you want to …’

Breaking into a smile, James stopped himself from going any further.

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No further discipline for Dillon Brooks

Brooks was suspended for one game in early February after striking Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell in the groin.

Despite being a repeat offender, Brooks will not face additional penalties for his hit on James, a person with direct knowledge of the league’s decision told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the situation.

When asked if he thought Brooks should be suspended, James said: ‘I mean, I’m not part of the committee. So if he’s in the lineup, if out of the lineup, we’ve got to prepare no matter what. So I look forward to the challenges that Monday will bring.’

Lucky for Brooks, the issue of discipline will not be up to Lakers’ fans, who were booing him loudly – during shootaround! The jeers continued until he was ejected. (Not a rare sight, mind you. He’s been ejected six times since his NBA career began in 2017, according to spotrac.com.)

Pregame encounter between LeBron James, Dillon Brooks

Brooks is a seasoned agitator. Or, in the words of Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, an ‘idiot.’ Or in the words of Russell Westbrook of the Los Angeles Clippers, ‘trash.’ Brooks would likely relish harsh words from James too.

The full remarks when asked about an on-court verbal exchange with James, ‘I don’t care, he’s old. I poke bears. I don’t respect no one until they come and give me 40 (points). I pride myself on what I do on defense and taking any challenge on the board.’

Of course, James refused to take the bait.

What fewer may have seen was the pregame encounter Saturday night. James approached Brooks, who initially smiled. But that smile quickly disappeared as James continued talk.

Sternly, it appeared.

No microphones picked up the exchange that ended only after James walked away. But James looked pleased that what appeared to be a tense moment was caught on video and replayed on ESPN.

‘It’s very, very public,’ he said. ‘I like it that way.’

Restraint is the operative word for LeBron James

OK, so among reporters, James has limited his talk about Brooks. But perhaps Brooks’ disrespect fueled the Lakers when they outscored the Grizzlies 35-9 in the first quarter. Perhaps among his teammates James made clear his disdain for Brooks?

Nope, said Lakers coach Darvin Ham.

‘He’s a consummate professional,’ Ham said. ‘He doesn’t get caught up in a war or words. He goes out and speaks with his actions, speaks with his play.’

In fact, at times James seemed to go out of his way to avoid one-on-one situations with Brooks Saturday night. He finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

‘At the end of the day, my focus is to my teammates and us trying to figure out a way we can beat the Memphis Grizzlies,’ James said, ‘not how I can beat an individual on their team. If anybody know me, they should know that’s what I always been about. And, you know, that’s all that matters.’

LIV Golf unveiled its party hole – named the Watering Hole – at the Grange Golf Club over the weekend at LIV Golf Adelaide in Australia.

Similar to the WM Phoenix Open’s ‘The Coliseum’ par-3 16th, there was plenty of fun to be had at the Watering Hole thanks to numerous bars, and of course, a DJ (it is ‘Golf, But Louder’ after all). And just like the PGA Tour stop in Phoenix, the Aussie fans absolutely erupted when an ace was made.

On Sunday, fans showered Smash GC’s Chase Koepka with beer when he aced the par-3 12th for just the second hole-in-one in LIV’s short history.

‘A once-in-a-lifetime experience,’ said Koepka. ‘It’s something to always remember.’

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Matthew Wolff recorded LIV’s first ace last year at its event near Boston.

BOULDER, Colo. – Deion Sanders made his grand debut at Folsom Field here Saturday, coaching through the cold weather, revving up the sold-out crowd and taking a bow near midfield before kickoff. 

This was his moment – the first one with a big audience after he was named the new football coach at Colorado in December.

And what a time it was, even though it was chilly and overcast, with no real teams or official score in his first spring football game with the Buffaloes.

“I was amazed,” Sanders said afterward. “I didn’t know it would be like that. But the energy, just walking out the locker room with the team, it was unbelievable. It was one of those moments that you will never forget. It was one of those moments that was something to behold, like you had to be there.”

It started when Sanders led this team onto the field in front of 47,277 fans, most of them bundled up for winter but eager to take part in a revival effort unlike any other in major college football. Last year, the Buffs were 1-11 and quite possibly the worst team in the nation. Five months later, ESPN televised this game and showed Sanders taking off his white cowboy hat and bowing to a crowd that roared.

Who won?

It was a glorified practice, complete with kicking drills and situational scrimmaging. Sanders said he changed the original script for the spring game to avoid injuries because of the wet field. But it’s fair to say that Sanders and Colorado came away winners because they got nearly two hours of live coverage on national television to advertise his program, despite the Buffs having only two winning seasons in the past 17 years.

Sanders, also known as “Coach Prime,” also used the event as an opportunity to show off his program to dozens of recruits who traveled from across the county to watch in person.

He called it the “genesis of a new era.”

By the time the Buffs open the season at TCU Sept. 2, Sanders could have around 60 newcomers on a roster that is limited to 85 scholarships. He is likely to bring in even more players from other colleges through the transfer portal, which remains open until April 30.

Several players from last year’s team already have departed under the pressure of heightened competition, with more to come soon, Sanders said.  

“You all know we’re gonna move on from some of the team members, and we gonna reload,” Sanders said. “We’ve got to get some kids we really identify with, so this process is going to be quick. It’s going to be fast, but we gonna get it done.”

Who stood out?

Sanders’ youngest son Shedeur is the Buffs’ starting quarterback and ended his first drive by finding receiver Travis Hunter in the end zone for a leaping 14-yard touchdown catch.

Both came with Coach Prime from Jackson State. And both are probably the most important players on offense and defense, respectively. In Hunter’s case, he was the nation’s No. 1 recruit in 2022. On Saturday, he wore a gray uniform, which signified that he would play both offense and defense

“Travis is so good, he has the potential to be a top five (NFL draft) pick, offense or defense,” Sanders told ESPN during the broadcast.

Another standout was receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig, who has been at CU since 2020 but is not likely to be among those run off of the team in Sanders’ roster overhaul. He reeled in a 98-yard touchdown catch from Shedeur Sanders, catching it near his own 35-yard line before racing down the right sideline to score.

“I will say we’re heading in a great direction,” Shedeur Sanders said afterward.

How was the atmosphere?

The biggest previous crowd at Colorado for a spring football game was 17,800 in 2008. This one sold out at $10 per ticket, simply because of the hope that Deion Sanders has instilled in the program with his roster overhaul and flamboyantly confident personality.

But it wasn’t picture-perfect Saturday, at least in terms of weather. A full sheet of snow covered the field three hours before game time, requiring a snow plow to push it off. Cold air in the 30s chilled the crowd, too, which is exactly the kind of weather Sanders worried about before he took the job in Boulder.

The handlers in charge of Ralphie, the Buffaloes’ famed live mascot, even decided to hold her back from making her usual stampede on the field before kickoff.

“When I woke up this morning, I did not know it snowed until I went outside,” said Hunter, who is from Georgia. “Once I went outside, I thought to myself ‘we might have to play inside.’ ”

Light snow flurries still didn’t stop the crowd from showing up. Some even came to campus to watch the game even though they didn’t have tickets. About two hours before kickoff, CU fans Keith Carnes and Derek Brown were sitting near a television in the University Memorial Center hoping it would show the ESPN broadcast. They would have attended the game in person but couldn’t get a ticket.

“Normally this game is never heard of,” Carnes said. “Nobody in college football is worried about CU playing CU until now.”

Who was there?

Before the game, the crowd cheered as a lineup of all-time Buff greats were introduced in the end zone. That included former NFL quarterback Kordell Stewart, receiver Michael Westbrook and safety Chris Hudson. All played for CU in 1994, when the Buffs won a Heisman Trophy with the late Rashaan Salaam and finished No. 3 in the national polls.

“This was a welcoming kind of recommitment to the program, and we honored them,” Sanders said. “We gave them the flowers and the roses that they deserve … They built this. They established this. How can you not embrace them and give them the love and respect and honor that they deserve?’

How did Sanders really feel about it?

During the ESPN broadcast, he again thanked the person who hired him at CU – athletic director Rick George. Even though he’s been a head coach before, at Jackson State, Sanders still often expresses awe at his setting and situation in Boulder.

“It was phenomenal,” Sanders said. “I’m amazed and just stoked, if that’s the proper word, about the attendance and about the energy and electricity, and even all of you (the news media). I’m so thankful that God led me in this direction now. It’s been confirmed: The day was phenomenal. I’m really happy, appreciative and thankful.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

PHOENIX – The Milwaukee Brewer players were stunned, completely blindsided by the news, leaving them so enraged they couldn’t see straight.     

Really, we’re trading Josh Hader, our four-time All-Star closer, and three-time National League reliever of the year? 

In the middle of a pennant race? 

While leading the NL Central by three games on the way to a fifth consecutive postseason? 

“Everybody still asks me, ‘Why did you trade Hader?’’’ All-Star reliever Devin Williams, who assumed the closer’s role, told USA TODAY Sports. “To this day, I still don’t know. I still can’t figure it out. 

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“When that happened last year, it just brought us down. It wasn’t something that was quickly forgotten. And rightfully so, to be honest with you. I mean, trade your [expleitive] closer? That’s how we won last year. I was No. 1 in holds. [Brad] Boxberger was No. 2 in holds. Hader was No. 1 in saves. That’s how we won. Then, you trade the guy at the end, and say it’s going to be fine. 

“You can’t just put numbers in a computer. A computer algorithm doesn’t tell you how different it’s going to feel doing this. These are people. There’s a lot of chemistry stuff. You see how that turned out for us.’’ 

The Brewers, who traded Hader to the San Diego Padres for closer Taylor Rogers and two prospects, immediately collapsed. 

They went to Pittsburgh and were swept. After spending 95 days in first place, it took them five days to fall out of first place. They were never again the same. 

They wound up sitting at home in October for the first time since 2017, missing the playoffs by one game. 

“It shocked us really, we weren’t expecting it as a first-place team,’’ starter Brandon Woodruff said. “We’re humans. Guys have relationships. Hader is a great dude. A great clubhouse guy. It didn’t affect just a few guys, it affected everybody. 

“It was the perfect storm. Everything just kind of crumbled.’’ 

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Said outfielder Christian Yelich: “Nobody makes the moves with the intention of it not working out, but obviously it is what it is. It didn’t work out. We make mistakes on the field, it’s fair to say they made a mistake there. They’ll admit that. We fell apart.’’ 

The Brewers had a choice this spring, keep brooding about the trade, or do some self-reflection, even challenging one another, making sure they were strong enough to withstand future adversity. 

Well, after players were paired off during spring training to eat dinner, and report the next morning what they learned about each other, the front office organized a full team breakfast the first day of each road trip, and the players laid down instructions to minimize their time on cell phones and spend time talking to one another, voila! 

The Brewers have become a tight, close-knit team, who genuinely like hanging out with each other, enjoy arriving early to the clubhouse, and guess what? 

They’re doing a whole lot of winning, too. 

The Brewers are off to sizzling 14-6 start, tied for the third-best 20-game start in franchise history.

“I feel like now we are way more together than last year,’’ says shortstop Willy Adames. “We do a lot of stuff off the field, and hanging out, and last year we didn’t do any of that kind of stuff. It was bad last year. The vibe was not there. Then you go home, turn on the TV, see the postseason, and think, ‘Man, we should have been there.’’ 

Craig Counsell, who has managed more games than any Brewers manager in history, sensed last year that the clubhouse vibe wasn’t quite right. The Hader trade just exposed it. He spoke with veterans at the end of the season, talked with the front office, and changes were made. 

“I remember talking to Couns about it at the end of the year,’’ 2021 Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes said. “There was something missing. We had multiple conversations about it, how we can get guys to hang out more, go to lunch together, go to dinner together, just getting to know your teammates a little more.’’ 

They opened the season with homegrown rookies Garrett Mitchell, Joey Wiemer and Brice Turang. They brought in veterans Luke Voit and Brian Anderson. They traded for Atlanta catcher William Contreras and outfielder Jesse Winker from Seattle. And they signed veteran free-agent starter Wade Miley, one of the most beloved clubhouse figures in the game. 

The clubhouse vibe dramatically changed, even with the early-season injuries to starters Woodruff, Adrian Houser and Aaron Ashby. 

“The personalities are different in here now,’’ Williams says. ‘Guys want to come in here every day versus last year when it wasn’t like that. There were some guys, to be honest with you, it just seemed like they really didn’t want to be here when they showed up for work. 

“There’s just a conscious effort to be different as opposed to last year.’’ 

The Brewers, who implemented a team breakfast on the first day of each road trip in 2018, complete with an omelette station, went a step further this spring when Counsell paired up two players for dinner. He wanted players with different personalities and backgrounds to get to know one another. 

He got left-hander Hoby Milner and and infielder Luis Urias together one day, reliever Joel Payamps and Winker another, reliever Javy Guerra and Yelich on another. 

It created some rather interesting conversations with Winker reminding Payamps that he once hit a walk-off against Payamps, only for Payamps to tell Winker he also broke his bat three times. Milner and Urias spoke about their different upbringings and family. 

“We just made a point of trying to connect with each other,’’ Counsell said. “I think clubhouses in general are like anywhere else, you have your friends, you have people that you are close to, and people you’re not close to, and those are the people you need to connect with. That’s what really brings teams together.’’ 

Brewers GM Matt Arnold, recognizing the value, too, made a conscious effort to change the clubhouse dynamic. They believed that Winker, who was an outcast in Seattle, would be a perfect fit returning to the NL Central where he played five years for the Reds. And Miley made such an impact in his 2018 season with the Brewers they were convinced he’d be the ideal centerpiece to make everyone feel comfortable with each other. 

“Wade Miley, honestly, has helped us more than anyone getting everybody connected,’’ Woodruff says. “He’s just old school. He wants to talk. He wants to interact with everybody. And he can talk with anybody. He just goes out there and pitches, showing you can go out there and have fun, and do your job, too. 

Miley, who contemplated retirement after last season after pitching for eight teams in his 12-year career, instead returned on a one-year, $4.5 million contract, and has been everything the Brewers envisioned, going 2-1 with a 1.50 ERA in his first three starts.

“Man, I just love it here,’’ Miley says. “I’m just here to keep it loose. People get too stressed out with this game, and it only makes it worse. You got to joke about it.’’ 

The Brewers realize that a close-knit clubhouse doesn’t win you a pennant, but it sure can make the grind much easier, providing an edge that can’t be quantified by numbers. 

“Missing the playoffs by one game stunk last year,’’ Arnold said. “We had to assess the mix, the vibe, the culture. We asked, how can we make it great, how can we make Milwaukee a destination.’’ 

And, yes, they dissected the Hader trade, evaluated what went wrong, and determined it was a valuable lesson. 

“We definitely learned some things throughout that process,’’ Arnold said. “Josh Hader meant a lot to a lot of people here, including me. He was a great player for so long. Just the challenges of existing in our market, we have to make some tough decisions that are not popular and go against the grain. It was not a white flag trade 

“We had to weather that last year, we learned some lessons from it, and we will making decisions going forward.’’ 

There’s nothing that can be done now. Hader is gone. The Padres aren’t trading him back. The Brewers players are focusing now on returning to the postseason, year, vowing never to look back. 

No one is holding a grudge. 

No one is still angry. 

It’s a new year. 

And as the Brewers will tell you – opening a new tradition by putting a cheesehead on top of anybody who homers – it sure is a new vibe. 

“It is what it is, we’ve got to let it go,’’ Woodruff said. “The trade hurt us, but at the end of the day, we are professionals. We have to show up and do our job, and we didn’t do our job. 

“It was a valuable lesson to everyone.’’ 

The Las Vegas Athletics?

The Oakland A’s, after spending the last 20 years trying to build a new ballpark in the Bay Area, say they are finally out. 

They just doled out more money on a 49-acre lot in Las Vegas than they’re spending on their entire player payroll – and plan to open the 2027 season in a brand new $1.5 billion retractable-roof stadium. 

Then again, they don’t say who’s coming up with the money. 

They are asking Nevada officials for $500 million in public funding by the end of the legislative session on June 5. If the tax package collapsed, the A’s can simply renege on their deal and get their money back. 

It’s a shame it has even come to this. 

It could have all been avoided if MLB had simply told the San Francisco Giants two decades ago that the A’s could move to San Jose, or if the A’s had an owner who actually wanted to keep the A’s in the East Bay instead of running the franchise into the ground. 

Who knows for sure if the A’s really do wind up in Las Vegas, and if they do, just how long will it last before the A’s start looking for their next city? 

It’s going to be a colossal failure in Las Vegas. 

Look, baseball can barely survive in Phoenix, which is the fifth-largest city in the country with 1.6 million residents, and the 11th-largest TV market.  

Las Vegas has the same weather as Phoenix, brutally hot in the summer, with just 646,000 residents and the 40th-largest market. 

The A’s try to counter the argument by saying they will rely on the tourism of Las Vegas. 

Please. 

Tourists are not coming to Las Vegas in the 110-degree summer days to catch a ballgame. They will be in the casinos and lounging at the luxurious pools 

Oh, and this talk of building an entertainment district like the Ballpark Village in St. Louis, or the Battery in Atlanta, believing that it could draw 10 million tourists. 

Are you serious? 

Who is in the world is going to be hanging out at an entertainment district outside of a ballpark in the desert when you can be enjoying the cool comfort of a casino with blackjack tables and a sportsbook just an arm’s length away? 

Oh, and how about the fantasy insisting that loyal A’s fans will now make the trek from the Bay Area across the desert to see them play in Las Vegas? 

Zero chance. 

Just ask the good folks of San Diego, who were passionate Charger fans, but are so disgusted by the franchise’s move to Los Angeles that they refuse to spend a dime buying a ticket to support them. 

Sure, the Raiders will forever be a gold mine and tourist attraction for all NFL fans in Las Vegas. 

The expansion Golden Knights are wildly successful in the NHL. 

The NBA will probably work, too. 

But the Las Vegas A’s? 

Good luck. 

If the A’s think they have trouble drawing fans in Oakland, baby, just wait until they’re in Vegas. 

They ain’t seen nothin’ yet. 

Sticky situation

It’s time for a renewed urgency by Major League Baseball to develop a baseball with an enhanced grip to avoid the drama that surfaced this past week. 

It’s a terrible look for everyone when future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer is suspended 10 days for either using too much rosin or having an illegal foreign substance on his hand. 

Scherzer insists it was only rosin, but the umpiring crew, led by crew chief Dan Bellino, says it was clear there was an illegal substance, causing his ejection and automatic 10-game suspension. 

“MLB needs to employ available scientific methods (not subjective),’’ said Scott Boras, Scherzer’s agent, “to create verifiable certainty of rules. It’s not a rule, it’s a standard, because a standard is subjective. A rule is specific, objective, and it has identifiable criteria.’’ 

While Boras obviously is supporting his star player, the point is clear. It can be subjective. What one umpire’s view of stickiness is another’s view of tackiness. It’s not fair for the umpires to be the judge, jury, and pitch-clock watcher while doing their own jobs.  

“No one can explain what is too sticky,” Boras said. “There are no units of stickiness to quantify. How do you appropriately enforce? MLB attempts to level the playing field by using standards that are not measurable…. 

It’s almost like the NBA’s conundrum with their referees having different viewpoints of flagrant fouls. 

One major-league executive, who is on the competition committee, said he is hopeful that MLB can develop baseballs to be used at the Major League level within two years. It needs at least a 90% approval rate by pitchers. 

A new baseball with a tacky surface is being used at the Class AA Southern League for the first half of the season. A similar test was tried last year, but was abandoned when it became clear it was not working. They have been experimenting with different baseballs since at least 2016, hoping to find a solution. 

Well, time is of the essence, before it’s too late. 

Can you imagine the outcry of a World Series game decided by a sticky vs. tacky debate? 

Around the basepaths

► The San Diego Padres quietly are worried about All-Star left fielder Juan Soto, who simply hasn’t been the same player since his arrival from Washington.

The Padres believed it was simply getting adjusted to his new surroundings when he was traded at last year’s deadline, but his woes continue. He’s badly pressing, the Padres say, although he tells USA TODAY Sports, “I’m starting to feel a bit more comfortable, little by little.’’

He’s at his best when he hits line drives to left center, but has been mostly rolling the ball over these days.

The result?

He’s hitting a career-worst .192 with just seven extra-base hits this season, and has a slash line of .223/.381/.387 in 75 games with the Padres. Yes, he continues to draw walks, but is considered a below-average baserunner with one stolen base in the 75 games.

The Padres plan to be in heavy pursuit for free agent Shohei Ohtani, and if they land him, Soto could be the one traded, realizing they likely wouldn’t be able to meet his contract demands after already rejecting $440 million from the Nationals.

► Now that the A’s may be moving to Las Vegas and the Rays are hopeful of finding a permanent home in the Tampa Bay area by the end of the year, baseball could soon be ready for serious expansion talks. 

The top two choices are clear: Nashville and Montreal. 

► Ohtani’s price tag continues to soar as he’s off to one of the greatest starts by a pitcher in history. He has yielded a 0.64 ERA, a .092 batting average, and a .115 slugging percentage in his first five starts. It’s the lowest by a pitcher with at least 20 innings to start a season since 1893 when the pitching mound was moved to its current distance of 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate. He has yielded just eight hits this season, and has given up three or fewer hits in his last nine starts, the second-longest streak since at least 1901. 

While speculation continues to build where he may land as a free agent, the Dodgers and Padres are the clear-cut co-favorites. He loves Southern California. 

► Please send your prayers to beloved scout Dave Yoakum. The former Chicago White Sox executive is revered in the scouting industry for tirelessly helping thousands of scouts, co-founding the Professional Scouts Foundation. Now, the family is asking for your help with prayers. 

► Bryce Harper is taking not just a page, but a chapter out of the modern-medicine book of miraculous recoveries by potentially returning to the Phillies in two weeks. He is attempting to play baseball quicker than any known player in history after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery. 

Harper underwent surgery Nov. 23, 2022, and could return perhaps May 5, just 163 days later. It would be two months earlier than the Phillies originally projected. 

Remarkably, the average time for a player to return to the baseball field is 382 days – 219 days more than Harper’s targeted return – according to a study of position players who underwent Tommy John surgery by the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, as The Athletic reported. 

“I don’t want to just be the fastest,’’ Harper told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “I want to be smart about it, too. I don’t want to be dumb. This isn’t just some rinky-dink surgery that I had. It’s a big-time surgery.” 

► The Cincinnati Reds would love to lock up the other two members of their young trio of starters now that they have signed Hunter Greene to a six-year, $53 million contract. They are in negotiations with left-hander Nick Lodolo and have had preliminary talks with Graham Ashcraft. 

► How stunning has the Chicago Cubs offense been this season? They have already scored at least 10 runs six times in their first 19 games, equaling their entire total in the 2022 season.

“We knew in spring training this could be a special group,’’ Cubs first baseman Trey Mancini told reporters, “and it is.’’ 

► Meanwhile, on the South Side of Chicago, they can no longer blame Tony La Russa. They are off to a dreadful 7-14 start, failing to win a single series this season. 

► The Royals may consider staying on the road for the rest of the summer. They are 1-12 at Kauffman Stadium this season, outscored 52-15 on their recent six-game homestand. They are 4-16 overall, the second-worst start in franchise history, hitting .203 and averaging a putrid 2.95 runs a game 

► While the pitch clock certainly has had a dramatic effect on the game this year, the banning of infield shifts has had basically no impact on the offense. The 9.1 runs per game is unchanged from two years ago with the .248 batting average just .02 higher. The batting average in balls put in play by lefties (.286) is actually down 0.1 from two years ago while the batting average for right-handed hitters when the ball is put in play is up 10 points (.305 from .295). 

The biggest difference, besides the games being 27 minutes shorter, is that stolen bases have increased from 1.7 per game compared to 1.2 per game in 2021, with a 80.8% success rate, including 94.1% stealing third base. 

► Best news of the week was White Sox closer Liam Hendriks’ message that he is now cancer free. He could return to the White Sox before June. Hendriks began treatment in January for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. 

“Baseball really wasn’t on my mind, but you always hope that he’s going to be OK and can be back because that’s what he loves to do,” White Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz told reporters. “But when you get the news, the first thing you think of is his life. Is he going to get through this? Is he going to have a normal life? 

“It’s hard to replace Liam Hendriks as a person and a player, so having him around is a huge asset.” 

► Best performance of the week: Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts, who spent two nights in the hospital with his wife who was delivering their second child, rushing to Wrigley Field, entering the game in the sixth inning inning to pinch hit and play shortstop for the first time since 2013, and then turning a double play. 

“That,’’ Betts told reporters, “was like a dream come true.’’ 

► The most surprising team in baseball, scouts say? 

The Pittsburgh Pirates, who are off to their best start since 1992 with a 15-7 record. 

The most disappointing? 

The Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals, who already are a combined 11  games out of first place. 

► Yes, there was actually a baseball game at Fenway Park that lasted just 1 hour, 57 minutes, the quickest game at Fenway since Oct. 1, 1989, between the Red Sox and the Angels. 

Now, if there’s a game that ever goes that quick between the Yankees and Red Sox on national TV, with advertising dollars suddenly evaporating, don’t be surprised if the Fenway pitch clock suddenly becomes inoperable. 

► Can we start working on the Hall of Fame plaque for Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw right now? 

Kershaw won his 200th game this week, and joined Hall of Famers Bob Gibson and Walter Johnson as the only pitchers to win at least 200 games with 2,800 strikeouts for one team. 

► Yes, New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso actually has more homers this year (10) than the entire Washington Nationals team. 

► The early NL Cy Young favorite? 

Look no further than D-backs ace Zac Gallen, who hasn’t permitted a run in 21 ⅔ consecutive innings, with a major-league leading 39 strikeouts. He generated 32 swings-and-misses and struck out 11 in his Friday start against the Padres. 

One of the best kept secrets in baseball? 

“Not anymore,’’ says Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth. 

► Baseball lost one of its superb athletes this week when Dave Frost, 70, passed away from injuries related to a car accident last month. 

This is a guy who once scored 25 points against Bill Walton and UCLA while playing for Stanford. It was the most points scored by a single player against that UCLA team, which included Jamaal Wilkes. 

“If he had not hurt his back,’’ said his agent David Sloane, Frost’s agent, “he would have made the NBA. 

He instead was drafted by the White Sox, and won 16 games for the Angels on their 1979 AL West title team, earning the team’s MVP award over fellow 16-game winner Nolan Ryan. 

► Don’t be surprised if MLB tries to incorporate a designated pinch-runner in the near future, allowing a pinch-runner to enter the game once, while still permitting the player he subbed for to re-enter the game just once. It’s an experiment they are trying this year in the Atlantic League. 

After all, says one MLB official who is in favor of the rule, baseball is the only sport that does not have free substitution. 

► It took 2,168 days, but Rockies outfielder Kris Bryant finally hit another home run at Coors Field. His last one there occurred on May 9, 2017, when he played for the Cubs. 

► Houston Astros utilityman Mauricio Dubon certainly is making his presence known while filling in for injured Jose Altuve, hitting .333, with a 16-game hitting streak, while not trying to dissect his success. 

“The power of belief is strong,’’ Astros manager Dusty Baker says. ‘Don’t try to figure out why, just keep doing it. When you’re talking to surfers: “When you ride that wave, just ride it all the way to the beach and jump off and go back and catch another one. If you start worrying about it or thinking about it, then you’ll fall off, so you just ride it.’’’ 

► Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa has become a book aficionado, telling the St. Paul Pioneer Press that “it’s a great way to keep evolving, keep trying to get better as a human.’ 

His reading list: 

“Legacy’’ “Atomic Habits” “The Dad’s Edge’’ “How to Really Love Your Child. “The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck” “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom” “Surrounded by Idiots” “Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know” “The Art of War” 

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