The Washington Nationals and Vice President Bob Boone are parting ways over the team's vaccine mandate for all full-time staff, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
Driving the news: The Nationals informed staff of the vaccine mandate on Aug. 14. Employees had until Aug. 26 to provide either proof of full vaccination or one dose of the vaccine or apply for an exemption, per WashPost.
What began this week as a funny headline — "High school dupes ESPN, ends up on national TV" — has taken a dramatic turn, unearthing one of the wildest sagas in years.
Catch up quick: On Sunday, ESPN aired a high school football game between IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida) and Bishop Sycamore (Columbus, Ohio). IMG won, 58-0.
In his debut season, Wander Franco is on pace to break records set by baseball greats like Ted Williams and Ken Griffey Jr., DRays Bay reports.
Franco has reached base in 48 of his first 53 games as a big leaguer. He’s one of just two players under 21 to reach base in that many games over his first 53 games — Willie Mays was the other.
American Oksana Masters rode her way to her second Tokyo Paralympic Games gold medal in as many days Wednesday — crossing the line in the women's H5 para-cycling road race in 2:23:39.
Why it matters: Masters' win marked her 10th career Paralympics medal. This is her first summer Paralympics. She won gold in the women's time trial H4-5 event Tuesday. Masters won the eight other Paralympic medals at the winter Games, mostly in Nordic skiing.
The NFL will restrict media access for a second straight season amid the coronavirus pandemic, permitting only team employees inside the locker room when players are present.
Why it matters: Sports teams already operate like media companies, churning out content, growing audiences and publishing news updates. Keeping journalists at a distance gives them even more narrative control.
U.S. Army veteran Shawn Morelli added to her Tokyo Paralympic Games medal count, when the defending champion won the women's cycling time trial C4 on Tuesday morning Japan time.
The big picture: Morelli won Team USA's first medal of the Tokyo Paralympics, with her silver medal performance in the women's C4 3000-meter individual pursuit last week. Morelli took up cycling three years after she lost her sight in her left eye in a 2007 Afghanistan bomb blast, which also left her with neck and nerve damage.
