Now To Rio, Full Of Olympic 2016 Jitters

It could almost have been a vacation. U. S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday to be whisked to a basketball game and a dinner of steamed buns atop a balcony overlooking the city’s Ming Dynasty Yu Garden. America’s top diplomat even took time to post on Instagram from Shanghai’s neo-classical Bund, where he lauded the students and business leaders “building bridges and ties between our countries” as the neon lights of the Lujiazui business district twinkled in the background.

Michael Malone’s individual film reviews this week keep encountering a distraction at the end. His eyes wander from what’s transpiring on the court and focus instead on his team’s sideline, where the Nuggets are about to erupt into a celebration they’ll someday tell their grandchildren about. His objective, of course, is to leave Jamal Murray’s Game 2 buzzer-beater in the rearview mirror for the time being.

The Rockies still hope Michael Toglia, their 2019 first-round draft choice, will eventually turn the corner. It hasn’t happened yet. Indeed, Toglia has gone in the wrong direction this season. Wednesday, the first baseman/right fielder was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. The Rockies recalled utility player Hunter Goodman to take Togila’s place on the 26-man roster.

Sean Payton is Rice Krispies. He snaps, crackles and pops. And that’s just at postgame news conferences. But when he sees the right quarterback, the record scratches and he stops. In what is the Broncos’ most important draft since 2018, the answer is simple: trust the coach. He doesn’t make it easy.

Whether the Broncos move up, down or stay at No. 12, they are confident in their ability to land an impact player in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday. The quarterback position has been the central focus of draft talks since the team benched Russell Wilson for the final two games of last season.