UNC’s Walker hospitalized, ‘aware’ following hit
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Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer
North Carolina wide receiver Tez Walker was taken to an Atlanta-area hospital for further evaluation after taking a blindside hit late in the fourth quarter of a 46-42 loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday night.
Walker made a first-down reception as the Tar Heels were attempting a comeback but was hit without seeing the defender coming and fumbled. He was on the ground for several minutes and eventually was able to walk off with the help of trainers. But as he made his way to the sideline, he appeared unsteady on his feet.
North Carolina coach Mack Brown said during his postgame news conference that Walker was “aware and talking” but deferred further questions to the medical staff. UNC later said Walker had been taken to the hospital.
The loss was the second in a row for North Carolina, which opened the season 6-0 with hopes to make it back to the ACC championship game. But the Tar Heels have now blown double-digit leads in both defeats, to teams that came into their matchup with losing records.
Against Georgia Tech, Tar Heels’ defense appeared to revert to the lacking form from last season — particularly early on. Georgia Tech had 635 yards of total offense. In the fourth quarter, the Yellow Jackets scored 22 points and had 246 rushing yards alone. Brown called the defense “awful” in the fourth quarter.
“I’ve never seen anybody just take it and run for 10 yards a crack,” Brown said. “I told the guys I can’t answer what happened right now. I’ll watch it on the plane going home; we’ll adjust. We’ve got to grow up, man up and get ready to play next week.”
What made that fourth-quarter performance even more problematic was the fact that UNC held Georgia Tech scoreless in the first and third quarters.
“I’ve been doing this 35 years,” Brown said. “I’ve never seen two quarters that bad and two quarters that good. I thought we were beyond that on defense.”
Getting off to hot starts then losing has been a knock against North Carolina. Last season, the Tar Heels started out 9-1 before losing four straight to end the season.
“They’re crushed, and I’ve got to pick them up,” Brown said. “Everybody will be down on them. I thought they tried tonight. Started the game 21-7; they checked all the boxes until we didn’t. We’ve got to go back, don’t start pointing fingers, don’t start second-guessing, stay off the Internet, don’t be watching the news and go back to work and get better next week.”
NEW YORK — Dan Iassogna will be the umpire crew chief and work the plate during Tuesday night’s All-Star Game at Atlanta’s Truist Park.
His crew will include Marvin Hudson at first, Chris Segal at second, Jansen Visconti at third, Jeremie Rehak in left and Erich Bacchus in right, Major League Baseball said Thursday.
Iassogna, 56, will work his second All-Star Game. He was at third base for the 2011 game at Arizona.
He worked his first big league game in 1999, was hired to the major league staff in 2004 and appointed a crew chief ahead of the 2020 season. Iassogna umpired the World Series in 2012, ’17 and ’22 along with eight League Championship Series and seven Division Series.
Segal, Visconti, Rehak and Bacchus will work their first All-Star Games and Hudson his second after being in left field in 2004 at Houston.
Tony Randazzo will be the replay umpire in New York.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Athletics slugger Brent Rooker is adding his name to the list of Home Run Derby participants.
Rooker announced Thursday that he’s participating in the event, which takes place Monday in Atlanta. He will become the first Athletics player in the Home Run Derby since Matt Olson in 2021.
“Competing in the Home Run Derby has always been a dream of mine,” Rooker said in an Instagram post. “Can’t wait to make it happen next week in Atlanta! See ya there!”
Rooker, 30, entered Thursday with a .270 batting average, 19 homers and 50 RBIs, putting him on pace for a third straight season of at least 30 homers. He went deep 30 times in 2023 and had 39 homers in 2024.
His 58 homers since the start of the 2024 season rank him third among all American League players.
The only A’s to win the Derby were Mark McGwire in 1992 and Yoenis Céspedes in 2013 and 2014.
Other announced participants include Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr., Minnesota’s Byron Buxton, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz, Seattle’s Cal Raleigh and Washington’s James Wood.
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