After a long off-season of patience and negotiating, Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies have agreed on a 13-year, $330 million contract. The deal also includes a no trade clause, and no opt outs. Harper, 26, is coming from a seven-year stint with the Washington Nationals, who drafted him number one overall in 2008. When the off-season began, the Phillies made it clear that they would spend as much as free agents Harper and Machado wanted. As soon as Machado signed a 10-year, $300 million contract with the San Diego Padres, all the focus went to Harper. However, one day before the Phillies signed him, reports showed that the Los Angeles Dodgers had made a late push for the all-star free agent.
        
Both the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers were pushing to sign Harper to a short-term deal, even after the outfielder stated he wanted his deal to be more long-term. The NL West teams offered short-term deals due to the fact that many long-term deals in the past haven't worked out. There are many examples of teams offering 10+ year contracts, and if you asked them now, they'd probably say they regret them. Giancarlo Stanton signed a 13-year, $325 million contract with the Miami Marlins. After a couple years into that deal, Miami traded Stanton to the New York Yankees. Alex Rodriguez signed a ten- year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers. Later into that contract, the Rangers traded him, also to the New York Yankees. Some other regrettable long term contracts in baseball are Albert Pujols' 10 year, $240 million contract with the Angels, and Robinson Cano's contract with the Mariners being worth the same amount over 10 years.

It's pretty clear however that times are changing, and teams have more money to spend than they used to. Bryce Harper is one of the top names in all of baseball, and was one of the most highly sought after free agent in awhile. Both  sides seem to have faith in one another that this contract will be worth while for everyone. It's also worth noting again that there are no opt-outs or trade clauses in this contract, so both sides are guaranteed to be with each other for the next 13 seasons. 
        
Harper made it clear to the teams interested in him that he wanted to be the highest paid player in the league. Harper is going to make $330 million dollars over the course of what could be the rest of his career. The contract is signaling that both sides are committed to each other for over a decade and shows that the Phillies are all in for the upcoming season and beyond.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment your thoughts and opinions down below!

To get news and updates on all things sports, be sure to keep it here, with Heated Sports!

After sitting out an entire season in attempt to protest his second consecutive franchise tag, running back Le’Veon Bell is now set to enter free agency. It appears as if Bell will finally be granted the contract he has been waiting for, however there will likely be a few teams attempting to land the star 27-year-old. Bell is projected to reset the running back market, and will likely become the highest paid player at the position. So, what team will be willing to spend big on one of the game’s most talented playmakers?

The last time we saw the 3-time pro bowler play, he rushed for 1,291 yards while adding another 655 yards through the air. The dual threat back thrived in the high-powered Pittsburgh offense alongside Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. Bell certainly proved himself as one of the top running backs in the league and deserving of a large contract. He was obviously aware of this, as he refused to play the 2018 season due to the 14.5-million-dollar franchise tag being insufficient. It appears Bell’s strategy succeeded, as he now enters free agency completely healthy, and will likely find a long-term deal.

Most teams could benefit from Le’Veon Bell’s talents, however, only a select few have sufficient cap space to bring in the superstar running back. Some favorable landing spots for Bell simply cannot afford the all pro back’s contract (the Eagles for example). While other financially capable teams already have a system or other running backs in place that would not benefit from Bell (Ravens, 49er’s, Colts).

There are two organizations that appear to be set up perfectly to land Le’Veon. Both with ample amounts of cap space and a need for an additional offensive playmaker, with the New York Jets and the Houston Texans both fitting the bill.

The Jets have struggled in recent years and went 4-12 this past season. They have appeared to find their franchise quarterback in Sam Darnold, but have not surrounded the 3rd overall pick with much offensive talent. New York desperately needs playmakers on offense around their quarterback, and right now is the perfect time while Darnold is under his rookie contract, contributing to their large 100 million dollars in cap space. The Jets have plenty of room to bring on Bell.

The only other team that would make sense for Bell are the Texans, as previously mentioned before. Houston also has ample cap space with 78 million. Like Darnold, Deshaun Watson’s rookie contract makes a huge free agent signing possible. Contrary to New York, Houston is coming off of a successful 2018 season, winning their division and hosting a playoff game. With Deandre Hopkins and Deshaun Watson, the Texans have one of the best duos in the NFL to build around. Adding Le’Veon would open up more opportunities in the passing game, and take some attention away from Hopkins. Bell would create a more well-rounded offense where Deshaun Watson could be able to unleash his full potential. Houston could very well pursue Bell with all they have and offer him a huge deal.

Houston and New York provide two seemingly perfect landing spots for Le’Veon Bell. However, in the end, the Jets are the most likely destination. After leaving what appeared to be a Super Bowl contending Steeler’s team, it is evident winning is not all the running back considers. It is likely he ends up wherever the money takes him, and New York’s cap space is almost unmatched. They will likely offer Bell what he wants in order to revamp their offense. If this mega deal is offered, it is hard to picture Bell turning down the opportunity to be paid and play in the New York market. 

​Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment your thoughts and opinions down below!

To get news and updates on all things sports, be sure to keep it here, with Heated Sports!

One day before the important game on Saturday, Philadelphia fans were informed that young goalie Carter Hart would be ruled out due to a leg injury suffered Thursday night in Montreal. Hart, an important piece to the Flyers’ recent success, was replaced by former starter Brian Elliot. The game, overshadowed by the excitement of the environment, was an important one that would potentially foreshadow the playoff picture. Currently, both teams are out of the playoff race, with Pittsburgh just outside the cut line. One of the biggest games of the season was also Claude Giroux’s 800th career game for the Flyers.

At the eight-minute mark, Pittsburgh’s star center, Sidney Crosby, scored his 26th goal of the season to get his team a good start. Four minutes later, Sean Couturier tied the game for the Flyers with his 25th goal of the season. During the course of the game, there were plenty of aggressive hits. The Flyers’ veteran right wing, Wayne Simmonds took a shot at Pittsburgh’s Brian Dumoulin, which resulted in penalty time and a scuffle between the teams. Dumoulin would quickly recover, and he skated off the ice under his own power.

In a defensive minded second period, Pittsburgh’s Justin Schultz, supported the only offense in the game scoring his first goal of the season at the halfway point of the period. Rain started coming down relatively hard during this point of the game, which made the ice very sticky and slick. This would eventually cause problems for both teams as they had to overcome the rain and try their best to play. Seven minutes into the third period, Evgeni Malkin scored his 19th goal of the season, and extended their lead to 3-1. With three minutes left in the third period, James van Riemsdyk scored his 16th goal to trim the deficit to 3-2. Pittsburgh started playing less defense, which prompted the Flyers to start playing more aggressively and out skating them on the ice. With 20 seconds left in the game, Jakub Voracek scored the tying goal and forcing the game into overtime.
        
Two minutes into overtime, Claude Giroux scored the game winning goal and sealed the win for Philadelphia. As the crowd roared, the Flyers saluted the crowd who stuck through the rain and walked off the ice, with this win hopefully being a turning point for the Flyers at this part of the season. 

Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment your thoughts and opinions down below!

To get news and updates on all things sports, be sure to keep it here, with Heated Sports!

​So, in case anyone wasn't already aware, Duke and North Carolina is easily the biggest rivalry in all of college basketball. At the time of their first matchup of the season on February 20th, they both were ranked in the top 10, with Duke being the number one team in the nation.

This has a lot to do with future number one pick Zion Williamson. Zion has been a monster on the court and has been the focal point of the blue devils this season. However, within the first thirty seconds of the game, Zion landed awkwardly on his left foot and blew through his shoe entirely. Now as impressive as that might be, everyone is still very concerned about Zion, his knee injury, and about his future for the remainder of the college basketball season.

But before we dive into what Zion's future might look like, let's talk about what happened during the remainder of the game. This was the most anticipated game of the college basketball season so far, and the ticket prices proved that, coming close to Super Bowl value. According to Fox Business, the average resale price for a ticket was $3,296, which is mind-blowing. For comparison, the average resale price for a Super Bowl ticket earlier this month was $4,656, so it's safe to say that a lot of people would have loved to see this game live.

After Zion went down, Duke just seemed flustered for the remainder of the game, especially on offense, with the final score being 88-72 in favor of the Tarheels. Other stars like RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish stepped up, scoring 33 points and 27 points respectively. Those two carried the team, with the remainder of the roster only putting up a combined 12 points. It looks like Zion will be out for at least a few weeks, so players like Tre Jones need to step up big time in future games for Duke if they want to remain towards the top of the college basketball rankings.

Now back to Zion, by far the biggest question that has been asked since his injury is "Should Zion shut down for the remainder of the season?" Initial reports are that this injury is just a minor knee sprain, and he is already being ruled day to day. So, it doesn't seem like Zion will miss that much time, unless he chooses another route. There have been talks in recent week about the idea of Zion sitting out the remainder of the season to preserve his NBA draft value, and avoid potential injury. After this knee injury, those talks have been kicked into high gear, but the question remains, what will Zion choose to do?

NBA legend Scottie Pippen was quoted over a month ago on ESPN's "The Jump" saying that Zion has done everything he needed to do to secure himself being the number one pick in this year's draft. Pippen continued to say that the best thing for Zion right now is to call it a season, and not risk any serious injury. Zion saw these comments and made a statement saying that he does not plan on sitting out. He mentioned that he loves playing for Duke and Coach K, and likes the team and atmosphere that he's been around so far this season. Now only time will tell if this minor injury has changed his mind at all. I don't think anyone would blame him, or be upset with him, if he chose to sit out, except maybe Duke fans.

As for my personal opinion, I think Zion will be back on the court for the Blue Devils when he is 100% healthy, and not a day sooner. If I were Zion, I wouldn't come back until the tournament, or maybe the ACC tournament, but no sooner than that. It seems like Zion takes his commitment to Duke seriously, and still has a goal set to win a championship with his teammates. Zion can very well make that goal a reality if he's back on the court next month.

​​Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment your thoughts and opinions down below!

To get news and updates on all things sports, be sure to keep it here, with Heated Sports!

​​After being revealed as a secret team, the San Diego Padres have signed free agent Manny Machado. The deal is reported to be a 10 year, $300 million deal with a five-year option. Machado is joining the Padres after being a part of the Orioles and Dodgers last season. The Padres are coming off a very disappointing season going 66-96 with a negative 150 run difference. After signing Eric Hosmer last offseason, the Padres went into 2018 with a positive outlook. With the team going 31-50 at home, they struggled all season on the road. Now that Machado and Hosmer are at the corners, the defense should be significantly better.

The Machado signing means one thing, where and when will Bryce Harper sign? According to recent reports, the Philadelphia Phillies have been rumored as the top team in the sweepstakes. That being said, the San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals still have a fair chance to sign the all-star outfielder. Harper might change his terms due to the signing of Machado, and might revalue his worth. MLB GM’s knew that whoever would sign first, would immediately affect the other. The Padres are giving Machado a hefty paycheck, so any team looking for Harper, better have the guts to spend that much as well.

Earlier this week, the Giants reported that long time manager Bruce Bochy is going to retire at seasons end. This could change Harper’s mind, because maybe he won't want to get comfortable with Bochy, and then having to learn a new manager’s play style. In Philadelphia, Gabe Kapler showed promise leading his team to a much-improved season in 2018. That proved for now that Kapler is looking like he has a home for quite some time.

​Bryce Harper wanted to make his decision by the time Valentine’s day came around, but that clearly didn't happen. My prediction is that Bryce will sign late this week to the Philadelphia Phillies for the same amount as Machado, including a player option. 

​Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment your thoughts and opinions down below!

To get news and updates on all things sports, be sure to keep it here, with Heated Sports!