Hello and welcome to another edition of <\/span>Free Agent<\/span><\/i>! Jason has been placed on the <\/span>PUP<\/span><\/a> (physically unable to publish) list this week, so I’ve been called up for <\/span>a spot start<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Real football doesn’t start for another week (and “week zero” of college football is mostly nonsense), which means this is still baseball season, baby. Watching America’s pastime has actually never been more affordable, despite <\/span>those $15 beers at Nationals Park<\/span><\/a>. Sharpen your pencils and grab your scorebooks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As I said, real football starts next week\u2014and you can join the fun by signing up for <\/span>the one and only official <\/span>Reason<\/span><\/i> survivor pool<\/span><\/a>. Don’t be lame, do it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Locker Room Links<\/b><\/h2>\n

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• Federal prosecutors have <\/span>accused<\/span><\/a> Daejon Labrayae Love of posing as a fake player for the San Francisco 49ers as part of a scam that defrauded more than two dozen women out of more than $1.3 million. Love allegedly “had romantic relationships with many of the victims and told them he wanted to build wealth and a future together,” before asking them to take out personal loans to invest in “nonexistent investment vehicles.” Getting deeply invested in a scenario that ultimately fails to reward you? Every 49ers fan <\/span>under 35 can relate<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
• Novak Djokovic was <\/span>upset in the first round of the U.S. Open<\/span><\/a> by Mariano Navone in a match that lasted more than four and a half hours and included at least one puke break for the 24-time major champion, who said afterward that “I didn’t enjoy myself.” Checks out.<\/span><\/li>\n
• End of an era: Lionel Messi <\/span>says he is retiring from international soccer<\/span><\/a>. Messi was the first player to score 20 career World Cup goals (though France’s Kylian Mbappe has already surpassed his scoring mark). <\/span>See them all here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
• The end of a different era: ESPN is <\/span>phasing out<\/span><\/a> its “BottomLine” score and stat ticker\u2014probably because we’re all already checking the scores and stats on our phones.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
• A bunch of kids from Cura\u00e7ao, a nation of about 150,000 people, <\/span>won the Little League World Series<\/span><\/a> for the second time.<\/span><\/li>\n
• Folarin Balogun, the <\/span>breakout star<\/span><\/a> of America’s World Cup run this summer, will be playing in the English Premier League this season. Everton <\/span>purchased Balogun’s contract<\/span><\/a> from Monaco for a reported 40 million pounds (about $54 million).<\/span><\/li>\n
• Elsewhere in <\/span>Reason, <\/span><\/i>Nick Gillespie explains <\/span>how the 2006 film <\/span>Idiocracy <\/span><\/i>predicted the future<\/span><\/a>\u2014and maybe offers some hope too?<\/span><\/li>\n
• Did you have a bad week? Buck up, at least you didn’t commit an error in <\/span>six consecutive games<\/span><\/i> like New York Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr. (Adding injury to insult, Lombard also tweaked his knee and could miss a few games, although maybe that’s for the best.)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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  This hasn’t happened to a Yankees player in more than a century <\/p>\n

  George Lombard Jr. has committed an error in 6 straight games, the longest streak by a Yankee since Chick Fewster in 1921. pic.twitter.com\/S58qmwsZLE<\/a><\/p>\n

  — ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) August 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n