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Every day, or close to it, Aaron Judge does something noteworthy, if not unprecedented. A towering home run — or two. An intentional walk with — gasp — two outs and the bases empty in the second inning. A record matched. Another record broken. Jaws dropping has become a daily occurrence going on five months.

And so his teammates and his manager have been asked, on an almost daily basis, to describe what they’re witnessing from the extraordinary slugger. By this point, the questions are met with headshakes. Formulating an answer has become an increasingly difficult mental exercise for members of the New York Yankees.

“Running out of words, honestly,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday after Judge clubbed home runs Nos. 50 and 51 in a win over the Colorado Rockies. “Just running out of words with what he’s doing. We’re getting on the train [to Washington]. I gotta get the thesaurus out and get to work.”

Judge has 51 home runs in 130 games, putting him on pace to break the American League record he set in 2022 of 62. He’s batting .333 with a .465 on-base percentage and .732 slugging percentage while playing center field almost every day. He leads the majors in fWAR. At age 32, he’s better than he’s ever been.

“I guess we’re on the on-pace portion of the season,” Boone joked last week. “Look, anything’s possible with him. I think he just wants to be great every day and help us win. So, nothing would surprise me.”

All this success comes despite a start to the season that saw Judge batting .178 with a .674 OPS and four home runs in 27 games. Since then, he’s become a pitch-mashing machine, slashing .377/.506/.844 with 47 home runs and 109 RBIs in 102 games. On Monday, he added a defensive gem: a leaping catch at the wall to rob an extra-base hit and turn a double play against the Washington Nationals.

“It’s hard,” said Gerrit Cole — one of baseball’s most thoughtful and well-spoken stars — when asked to describe Judge’s four-month onslaught last Thursday.

Cole had just watched Judge smack his 48th home run and tally his 16th intentional walk in a win against the Cleveland Guardians.

“It’s so impressive because when you look around the league and you see guys with high batting averages — .330, .340, .350, the guys in the past — there’s a fair amount of bunt hits and infield hits. This guy’s sitting at .330 and I’m not quite sure he has an infield hit all year. They’re all doubles and homers.

“So, it’s like there’s no one to compare to him. Certainly not walking around right now — outside [Barry] Bonds. I mean, so, it’s just … what a wonderful experience to have him on my team and being around him.”

A little earlier that afternoon, Giancarlo Stanton, one of the few people ever to know what it’s like to club home runs at that clip, offered a contemporary measuring stick for his teammate’s tear.

“He’s playing a video game,” said Stanton, who banged 59 home runs for the Miami Marlins in 2017. “All of us are out here grinding.”

Three days later, Marcus Stroman decided video games were yesterday’s news.

“It’s maybe even better than video game numbers,” Stroman said. “You know they say, like, ‘Oh, this guy’s like a video game.’ It’s better than that.

“I’m just trying to be present and take it all in, to be honest with you, because it’s something you may never see again. I’m just trying to witness it and really feel it in the moment.”

During a game last week, Stroman stood next to fellow starter Nestor Cortes in the Yankees’ dugout and marveled at Judge’s abilities.

“He was like, ‘Oh man, this guy’s incredible,'” Cortes recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I watched this in 2022 all year. It felt like every time he goes up to bat it was either a homer or a walk, and that’s exactly what’s happening now.”

The reality is Judge is better than he was in 2022, and he’s reached another level in August. In 21 games this month, he’s batting .425 with 12 home runs and a 1.544 OPS — all tops in the majors. Of 181 qualified players, 169 have an OPS at or below Judge’s .986 slugging percentage. He has hit four home runs in his past five games, seven in his past seven games and nine in his past 11 games.

With the outburst, he became the first player to ever have 50 home runs, 120 RBIs and 100 walks before September. He’s the fifth player ever to hit 50 home runs in three different seasons. With a month and change remaining, he’s on track to become the third player with multiple 60 home run seasons. There’s no sign of him — or the questions — slowing down.

“Hard to wrap your head around it,” Boone said. “We talk about it a lot, just what he’s doing, because I get asked about it all the time. Not just in these pressers, but people coming up to you. I’m kind of running out of words to say you’re witnessing greatness. You really are. He’s just kind of better than everyone.”

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Florida freshman WR Wilson to debut vs. Texas

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Florida freshman WR Wilson to debut vs. Texas

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida has offensive help on the way with a freshman receiver who just might make a difference against No. 9 Texas on Saturday.

Dallas Wilson is practicing for the first time since injuring his left foot in training camp and is scheduled to make his collegiate debut against the Longhorns, coach Billy Napier said Monday.

Napier called Wilson’s availability “a big deal.”

“Three good days of work last week, and I thought he handled the load well,” Napier said. “He feels really good. So far, so good.”

Wilson, a 6-foot-3, 213-pound newcomer from Tampa, was the star of Florida’s spring game in April. He caught 10 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, and all indications in fall practice pointed to it not being a fluke.

But Wilson injured his foot late in camp, spent weeks in a protective boot and watched from afar as the Gators (1-3, 0-1 SEC) struggled to move the ball and find the end zone. Florida scored 16, 10 and 7 points, respectively, in consecutive losses to South Florida, LSU and Miami, raising speculation about Napier’s future in Gainesville.

Quarterback DJ Lagway has been the focus of the team’s offensive woes. The sophomore who went 6-1 as a starter last season missed most of the year dealing with injuries and looked rusty when the season began.

Although Lagway’s mechanics seemed improved in the team’s 26-7 setback at Miami on Sept. 20, his offensive line got manhandled and allowed way too much pressure for anyone to notice. Lagway completed 12 of 23 passes for 61 yards against the Hurricanes.

Napier used the off week to get Lagway more live-action reps in hopes of getting him “caught up.” But he also reiterated the need to “play better around him.”

“Each position group needs to step up,” Napier said. “More detail, eliminate errors, eliminate penalties, whatever the case may be. I just think more detail and better overall play around him. And, obviously, he needs to continue to get back closer to being himself.”

Adding Wilson to the mix should help.

The Gators haven’t shown much depth at receiver. Freshman Vernell Brown III has been Lagway’s go-to guy, catching 18 passes for 219 yards. But Eugene Wilson III, J. Michael Sturdivant and Aidan Mizell have been mostly underwhelming.

Dallas Wilson has been unable to help — until now. The Gators are confident he will change the narrative against the No. 1 scoring defense in the SEC.

“Just having him out is going to be amazing for us,” Lagway said. “His ability to go deep, his ability to make plays underneath and be able to make miraculous plays with the ball in his hands, it’s going to be great to have him back.”

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Finebaum mulls leaving ESPN for U.S. Senate run

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Finebaum mulls leaving ESPN for U.S. Senate run

SEC Network host Paul Finebaum said Monday that he would consider leaving ESPN to run for the U.S. Senate, representing Alabama.

The 70-year-old Finebaum said during a recent interview with Outkick that he’d run as a Republican to fill the seat vacated by former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, who has said he’ll run for Alabama governor in the 2026 elections. Tuberville’s current Senate term ends in 2027.

The qualifying deadline to run for Senate is Jan. 26, 2026. Finebaum said he would likely have to leave his hosting and analyst duties if he decided to run. He told Outkick he’d make a decision within the next 30-45 days.

Finebaum said he hadn’t seriously considered politics, but the assassination of Charlie Kirk was the impetus to give a run at politics further thought. He noted that he had received a “text” from “one or two people in Washington” gauging his interest in politics.

“[It was] something I never thought about before,” Finebaum told Outkick.

Finebaum is currently registered as a Republican in North Carolina, where he works for the SEC Network. He told Outkick he recently moved to Alabama, where he hosted a radio show for years, and would re-register there.

Finebaum hosted radio shows in Alabama for almost 30 years before joining ESPN and the SEC Network. He started his media career as a newspaper writer and columnist.

“Alabama has always been the place I’ve felt the most welcome, that I’ve cared the most about the people,” he said. “I’ve spoken to people from Alabama for 35 years, and I feel there is a connection that is hard to explain.”

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Petrino overhauls staff, fires defensive assistants

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Petrino overhauls staff, fires defensive assistants

Bobby Petrino has fired three defensive assistants just one day after being named interim head coach at Arkansas as part of an overhaul of the Razorbacks’ coaching staff.

Petrino dismissed defensive coordinator Travis Williams, defensive line coach Deke Adams and defensive assistant Marcus Woodson in the latest moves after being appointed interim coach for the rest of the season to replace Sam Pittman, who was fired Sunday following five-plus seasons as Arkansas’ head coach.

“I just felt like how we performed on Saturday gave me an indication that maybe Sam had lost the team a little bit because they generally had played really hard for him throughout his tenure,” Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said of the move, which came on the heels of a 56-13 home loss to Notre Dame.

Petrino, 64, returned to Arkansas in 2023 as offensive coordinator after serving in a number of jobs. In four years as the Razorbacks’ head coach, he went 34-17, including consecutive seasons with double-digit victories in 2010 and 2011.

“Coach Petrino, as we met yesterday, he accepted this opportunity with the understanding that he also wanted an opportunity to formally be a candidate for our head coaching position, and he will have that opportunity, but we’ll also subsequently run a search for our next head coach at the same time,” Yurachek said.

Pittman’s dismissal, Petrino’s temporary promotion and the defensive assistant dismissals weren’t the only changes. Chris Wilson was named the team’s interim defensive coordinator.

Petrino had high praise for Wilson, who was in his first year with the Razorbacks as an assistant defensive line coach.

“My experience [with Wilson] goes way back to having to battle against him when he had all the great defensive linemen at Mississippi State,” Petrino said. “Very, very impressed with what he’s done throughout his career. Guy’s got a Super Bowl ring. He brings a lot of credibility into the room.”

Several defensive players posted cryptic messages on social media following the firing of Williams, who had served as the team’s defensive coordinator since 2023. Yurachek and Petrino encouraged players to welcome change amid a 2-3 start to the season.

“The No. 1 thing is, you have to get used to change. You know, your whole life there’s going to be change. So how we handle that, our attitude on how we handle that, will determine how quickly we improve,” Petrino said.

Petrino was involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in April 2012 that left him with four broken ribs. At first, he said he was riding alone, but a police report revealed a woman was riding with him. The woman turned out to be a former Arkansas athlete who was in a romantic relationship with the married Petrino. The coach had given her a job in the football program and a $20,000 gift.

Petrino was fired by then-athletic director Jeff Long for misleading his bosses about what happened with the accident and his relationship with the football staffer.

Pittman, 63, went 32-34 with the Razorbacks.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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