Blake Snell’s performance during the Dodgers’ 7-2 defeat to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night might be best understood as an extension of his spring training regimen. Despite the loss, there were aspects of Snell’s outing that hinted at a successful return to form.

Making his season debut after being sidelined for the first six weeks, Snell showcased impressive velocity. His fastball reached a peak speed of 98.1 mph, with an average velocity clocking in at 95.9 mph. This power demonstrated that Snell’s physical health was intact, offering a positive takeaway from the game.

Though the final statistics painted a grim picture—five runs (four earned) surrendered, along with six hits and two walks over three innings—Snell’s performance wasn’t as bleak as the numbers imply. The underlying aspects of his gameplay indicated potential for improvement as he regains his rhythm in subsequent matches.

So he was healthy, at least.

Snell’s final line was ugly – five runs (four earned), six hits and two walks in three innings – but he wasn’t as bad as his numbers suggested.

Snell struck out five batters, as the Braves whiffed on 16 of his pitches. The stuff was there.

What was missing was sharpness, and that was expected, considering he was initially scheduled to pitch in a minor league game on this day. A recent back injury to Tyler Glasnow forced Snell back into the rotation earlier than expected.

Snell loaded the bases in the first inning before registering an out, but he managed to limit the damage to a solitary run by striking out two of the next three batters.

The Braves added four runs in the second inning, two on a bases-loaded single by Ozzie Albies, who practically scraped a changeup off the ground, and two more more on a line-drive hit by Matt Olson, who pounced on an elevated slider.

Snell departed the game after throwing 77 pitches in three innings.

But Snell looked to be a series of small adjustments from returning to his customary form, and the starter opposite of him showed how much of a difference a week could make for a pitcher in his position.

Sidelined with an oblique strain until last week, Strider made his season debut in Colorado and was charged with three runs, four hits and five walks in 3 ⅓ innings.

A former All-Star and 20-game winner, Strider was much better against the Dodgers. He blanked the defending World Series champions over six innings, limiting them to a hit and two walks.

What it means

The loss was something of a reality check for the Dodgers.

In the series opener the night before, they scrapped and clawed against reigning Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale to earn a 3-1 victory.

If that game demonstrated their ability to capitalize on opportunities to win difficult games, their loss on Saturday was a reminder of how unthreatening their offense can look on certain nights.

The Dodgers let Spencer complete six innings on 91 pitches and they collected only two hits in the first seven innings. Their only runs were scored on a two-run homer by Andy Pages in the bottom of the ninth inning.

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Who’s hot

Certainly none of their hitters.

But left-hander Jack Dreyer pitched a scoreless fourth inning and retired the only batter he faced in the fifth.

Dreyer has not allowed a run over the 8 ⅓ innings he’s pitched in his last eight games. His earned-run average has dropped from 4.35 to 2.41 over that period.

Who’s not

Brock Stewart wasn’t active for long.

Three days after he was moved to the active roster, the talented-but-fragile reliever was back on the injured list, this time with a bone spur on his left foot.

Stewart missed the first six weeks of the season as he was recovering from a procedure he underwent last September to clean up his right shoulder. He pitched two scoreless innings in his brief time on the active roster – an inning on Wednesday against the Houston Astros and another on Friday against the Braves.

The Dodgers acquired Stewart from the Minnesota Twins last year in exchange for outfielder James Outman.

Up next

In a showdown of breakout pitching standouts, the Dodgers will start Justin Wrobleski, who is 5-0 with a 0.56 earned-run average as a starting pitcher. The Braves will counter with Bryce Elder, who made an All-Star team in 2023 but has been mediocre since. Elder will enter the game with a 3-1 record and 2.02 ERA in eight starts.

Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini are at the center of attention once again as a video showing them engaging in flirtatious behavior has resurfaced. The footage, captured in the presence of several reporters, adds another layer to the ongoing controversy surrounding their alleged affair.

This story has been a hot topic in the NFL community for the past month, ever since Page Six released photos of Vrabel and Russini holding hands at an adults-only resort in Arizona.

Following the revelations, Russini stepped down from her position at The Athletic, and Vrabel has sought counseling. Meanwhile, additional videos that once seemed harmless are now fueling speculation about their purported secret relationship, which has become a public spectacle.

The latest footage comes from an episode of a Barstool podcast, featuring Vrabel and Russini competing in a Family Feud-style game.

During the episode, Russini, who appears to be seated on her bed, is asked a provocative question: “Tell me something a man might do to get a woman in the mood.”

Without hesitation, she replies, ‘Kiss her! This is good advice for you guys.’

Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel both appeared on ‘Barstool Feud’ during a Covid lockdown 

Their previously-innocuous interactions are going viral in light of their alleged affair scandal

Vrabel then weighs in out of nowhere to respond: ‘I’m paying very close attention. I’m so excited.’

While there was no reason for anyone on the call – or for viewers watching at home – to think anything untoward of the comment, the revelations of the past few weeks have given the comments a different meaning altogether.

The clip has now gone viral, with one X user commenting: ‘These bozos [are] just clowning now!’

Another added: ‘Vrabel taking notes like it’s a gameplan review is sending me.’

Earlier in the week, a separate clip from the same interview also went viral, after Russini made a wild comment about having sex with her husband.

The interview is believed to have been filmed in April 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Russini and Vrabel are on the Zoom call but seemingly in separate locations.

Russini and husband Kevin Goldschmidt were married in New Jersey in September 2020 

Russini was asked to name ‘something you close your eyes to do?’

The NFL insider then bizarrely responded: ‘When you have sex with your husband or wife.’

The rest of the guests burst out laughing while some squirmed awkwardly. It appears Vrabel is using a laptop to the side of his camera shot and briefly pauses what he is doing and shakes his head at Russini’s answer. 

Barstool chief Dave Portnoy, an avid Patriots fan, replied to the video on Thursday night: ‘What the f*** is this clip!!! I disavow! There is no way this can be real. Can we just play some football! Hut hut! Blue 42! Blue 42!!! Hut! Hut!’

It is not the first time Russini has been caught saying something disparaging about her husband, Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt.

A clip from a 2021 episode of ESPN’s Get Up was recently unearthed, during which Russini discussed her marriage.

‘I’m married to someone average,’ she said at the time. ‘I don’t post a lot about him. If I was married to someone beautiful, I’d over-post too.’

Her ESPN co-hosts later gave Russini a chance to correct herself, to which she explained: ‘We’re average together.’

Vrabel has been married to his wife, Jen, for over two decades and they have two children

‘And you know what the worst part is,’ she continued. ‘He sent me a text during that segment – not watching ’cause he actually works for a living — and he said, “Good luck today. Be great on Get Up.”

‘So the guy’s got a heart of gold, and here I am on national TV killing him,’ she laughed. ‘Look, we’re average together, but he makes me above average because he married me. I am so sorry, I need to really stop killing my husband on television. I’m going to be divorced by Christmas!’

This weekend, meanwhile, Vrabel was spotted making a tense return to New England Patriots practice amid the ongoing scandal.

Vrabel was seen barking instructions during punt-protection drills and physically demonstrating techniques to sixth-round draft pick Namdi Obiazor. 

The Vrabel and Russini scandal escalated further on Thursday when video footage emerged of them arriving for a romantic boat trip that allegedly took place just months before she gave birth to her first son.

Russini and Vrabel reportedly hired a vessel for two or three hours in June 2021, when he was still coaching the Tennessee Titans and she was reporting on him for ESPN.

A source with knowledge of the rental said Vrabel and Russini were the only people on board, and that claim was supported by a signed company waiver reviewed by TMZ.

Patriots’ billionaire owner Robert Kraft has said they are fully supportive of Vrabel 

Then, The Daily Mail obtained video footage of the couple walking along the dock of a private rental company near a lake in Putnam County, Tennessee. Russini could be seen strolling a few steps ahead of Vrabel.

But it’s clear that Russini is pregnant at the time of the video when she turns around to speak to Vrabel. The pair were dressed for a day on the water, wearing T-shirts and shorts.

Vrabel and Russini were said to be hesitant to have their pictures taken with fans that day. It was also alleged by TMZ that she declined to have a photo taken with fans, while he agreed on the condition that it not be posted online. 

Russini went on to give birth to her first of two sons, named Mike, in August 2021. TMZ reported that Russini named him after her brother, Michael Russini, not the now-Patriots coach.

North Korea has made a significant amendment to its constitution, mandating a nuclear counterattack in the event of leader Kim Jong Un’s assassination, as revealed in a recent report.

The update was highlighted by The Telegraph, which noted the change occurs during a period of increased global tension following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other high-ranking officials in a recent conflict.

Previously reported by Fox News Digital, Khamenei’s death resulted from an Israeli airstrike in Tehran, executed as a part of a joint military initiative by the U.S. and Israel earlier this year.

North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly, which convened on March 22 in Pyongyang, ratified this constitutional change, according to the report.

In a display of military strength, North Korea launched two cruise missiles and three anti-ship missiles from the destroyer Choe Hyon on Sunday, April 12, 2026, as reported by North Korean state media. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service/AP)

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) briefed senior government officials this week on the update, according to the report.

The revised policy outlines procedures for retaliatory action if North Korea’s leadership is incapacitated or killed.

“If the command-and-control system over the state’s nuclear forces is placed in danger by hostile forces’ attacks … a nuclear strike shall be launched automatically and immediately,” the updated provision states.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech at the inauguration ceremony of Saeppyol Street in Pyongyang on Feb. 15, 2026. (KCNA via KNS/AFP)

Reuters previously reported that North Korea revised its constitution to define its territory as bordering South Korea and remove references to reunification, reflecting Kim’s push to formally treat the two Koreas as separate states.

That marked the first time North Korea included a territorial clause in its constitution.

Last month, Kim pledged to further strengthen the country’s nuclear capabilities while maintaining a hard-line stance toward South Korea, which he has called the “most hostile” state.

Kim Jong Un reportedly observed missile test launches in North Korea on Sunday, April 12, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service)

Kim has also accused the United States of “state terrorism and aggression,” and signaled North Korea could take a more active role in opposition to Washington amid rising global tensions.

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PHILADELPHIA — In the era before social media took over and brand marketing became the norm, there was a time when team sports still had room for pure, unfiltered moments. One such moment featured Charles Oakley, the Knicks’ tough guy and unofficial mouthpiece. During a playoff series against the Sixers, Oakley turned to a ballboy and said, “Go get that broom.”

The Knicks had just finished sweeping the Sixers in the first round. Their adversary, Charles Barkley, played the villain throughout the best-of-five series, a role that Oakley detested. In a move that captured the essence of their rivalry, Oakley wanted to make a statement.

Gerald Brown, the ballboy, dutifully fetched the court sweeper, setting the stage for an iconic photograph at The Spectrum. Captured in the picture were Oakley, along with Mark Jackson, Sidney Green, Johnny Newman, and Eddie Lee Wilkins, each grasping the broom in a symbolic gesture.

This moment, immortalized on the back page of The Post, was the ultimate insult and a testament to the intensity of their rivalry.

CHICAGO (WLS) — On Saturday, family and friends came together to honor the memory of a high school basketball player who tragically lost his life while traveling in an Uber on Chicago’s West Side.

Eighteen-year-old Damarion Johnson and the Uber driver, identified by relatives as 38-year-old Jassen Cho, were fatally shot shortly before 8:30 p.m. on Thursday in the 200 block of North Homan Avenue, located in the city’s Garfield Park neighborhood.

Johnson had been a dedicated participant in Project sWISH Chicago, a basketball initiative aimed at supporting inner-city youth. Heartbreakingly, he is the second teenager associated with the program to fall victim to gun violence since November.

On Saturday, members of Project sWISH gathered at Homan Square Park to hold a vigil and release balloons in his honor, celebrating a life filled with potential and promise.

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During the tribute, every dribble and expertly executed fadeaway by sWISH members served as a poignant reminder of their fallen teammate, whose presence is deeply missed on and off the basketball court.

“This is the place where they fellowship every Saturday, right? So, this Saturday is no different, except we’re not here celebrating with him. We’re celebrating for him,” Project sWISH Chicago founder McKinley Nelson said. “Hope the family doesn’t mind, but we took it upon ourselves to put this memorial together for our little brother.”

Members of Project sWISH Chicago came together alongside Johnson’s family at Homan Square Park to remember him in an emotional balloon release.

“He was telling me that he was about to go home, going to call me, and I, basically, said, ‘Okay,’” Johnson’s cousin Rejiveon Hudson said. “Then after that happened, I got the news that this happened, and I was completely devastated.”

Security video obtained by ABC7 showed the moments when a gray SUV pulled up beside Johnson’s ride before someone in the backseat of the SUVleans out of the window and opens fire on the white car, killing the teenager and the driver, who relatives identified as 38-year-old Jassen Cho. He was a financial analyst, DePaul University grad and Albany Park native who drove for the rideshare company as a side job and died days before celebrating his one-year anniversary with his girlfriend.

The shooting happened before the high school student, who attended Christ the King Jesuit College Prep, was supposed to commit to a college with a full-ride basketball scholarship.

“The tragedy of this whole thing is that we had an official visit set up in a couple of weeks with a school in Wisconsin,” said Troy Caldwell, head varsity basketball coach at Christ the King Jesuit College Prep.

“This is really an unfortunate situation,” said Jason Sanford, Interim Chicago Deputy Mayor of Community Safety. “We’re working hard. The Chicago Police Department, working on the investigation.”

SEE ALSO | Project sWish Chicago hosts ’29 Hours of Peace’