Albert Pujols wants to play, but his career may be over after being cut by Angels  —  The Los Angeles Angels knew this day was coming.  —  Albert Pujols sensed it, too.  —  The Angels believed that Pujols, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, simply was no longer an everyday player, citing his .198 batting average and .622 OPS.

Longtime Baltimore Orioles pitching coach Ray Miller dies at 76  —  MLB, Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates  —  Longtime pitching coach Ray Miller, who served as manager of the Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles during his career, died Tuesday at the age of 76, it was announced Wednesday.

Jose Altuve celebrates his birthday by getting revenge on taunting Yankees fans  —  NEW YORK — It was merciless, cruel at times, but Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve refused to succumb to the taunts.  —  Instead, ever so quietly, he vowed to get revenge.  —  Oh, baby, did he ever.

Yankees call up Miguel Andujar after injury to Gio Urshela  —  Miguel Andujar made some noise in Triple-A Thursday night, hitting two home runs, and Friday afternoon the one-time Rookie of the Year finalist is back in the big leagues.  While the Yankees have not announced the results …

Mets beat Cardinals in second game of doubleheader to salvage split  —  If the purpose of these seven-inning double headers is to save time, the Mets' Game 1 loss to the Cardinals definitely tested that logic.  It got better for them in the second of the twin-bill Wednesday evening in St. Louis, when their offense decided to wake up.

Packers' draft class might not help much in 2021, but has plenty of future upside  —  No analysis of the Green Bay Packers' 2021 draft would be complete without first examining the team's rift with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.  —  My reporting confirms that of ESPN's Adam Schefter …

Intercollegiate Athletics next steps  —  In November, I announced the establishment of the Athletics Working Group to conduct a thorough assessment of Intercollegiate Athletics on the UC Riverside campus; review challenges and opportunities; and make recommendations on the long-term sustainability of the program.

Baseball Stars Mookie Betts and Andrew McCutchen Get Animated for Disney Kids Series (Exclusive)  —  Baseball all-stars Mookie Betts and Andrew McCutchen are getting animated!  —  Betts, who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and McCutchen, who takes the field for the Philadelphia Phillies …

Where does Atlanta Braves pitcher Huascar Ynoa's big night rank among other pitchers who rake?  —  If only all these position players could hit as well as Atlanta Braves pitcher Huascar Ynoa, we wouldn't be hyperventilating about the feeble state of batting averages across the major leagues.

Kansas City Royals score a run after umpire Angel Hernandez is ‘blinded’ by scoreboard  —  The Kansas City Royals jumped out to a three-run lead before the Cleveland Indians rallied to score the final seven of the game on Tuesday night.  —  However, the play that led to the game's second …