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UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky named a finalist for the Golden Spikes

· Yahoo Sports

With the UCLA Bruins sitting at No. 1 in the nation and Roch Cholowsky enjoying another beastly season, it’s no surprise to see the Bruins shortstop be one of the 25 college baseball players named as a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award.

Cholowsky was the only member of the 46-5 UCLA squad named a semifinalist. UCLA has relied on Cholowsky in the heart of the lineup this year and it’s paid dividends, with the potential No. 1 pick batting .338 with 21 home runs.

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The 21 bombs is tied for 13th in the nation. UCLA’s offense is 17th in the country and Cholowsky is a major reason why, driving in 59 runs in 51 games. While the season has been impressive, it’s also been expected, with Cholowsky being named a Golden Spikes semifinalist for the second year in a row.

Texas’ sophomore left-handed pitcher Dylan Volantis joins Cholowsky as the only other player to get named a semifinalist for the second-straight season. Georgia Tech, Texas A&M and Texas are the only schools with multiple players named semifinalists.

Last year Cholowsky, the first team All-American, was named the Baseball America Player of the Year along with earning the Big Ten Player of the Year. A year later he has a chance to bring home all three awards plus a Golden Spikes trophy.

Plenty of MLB All-Stars have won the Golden Spikes. Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Buster Posey and David Price have all won the award over the past 20 years. Last year it was Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy who won the Golden Spikes. Aloy was then selected 31st overall by the Baltimore Orioles.

Cholowsky is set to get picked even higher. The Chicago White Sox will have a chance at Cholowsky with the first overall pick but there seems to be plenty of interest in the top-five.

This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA's shortstop Roch Cholowsky named a Golden Spikes semifinalist

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Windhorst: LeBron James won't accept pay cut from Lakers

· Yahoo Sports

Based on what has been written in multiple reports, there is reason to believe that LeBron James wants to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers and that the Lakers want him back. The big question could therefore be how much money James will demand and how much the Lakers will offer him.

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He will almost certainly not be offered anything in the neighborhood of the $52.6 million he made this season. While Los Angeles is projected to have tens of millions of dollars in salary cap space this offseason, it also wants to re-sign at least a couple of its other current players who will become free agents, as well as look to sign at least one outside free agent who will help address its roster weaknesses.

Brian Windhorst warned people during Thursday's episode of "Get Up" on ESPN that James may not accept any real pay cut to stay with the Purple and Gold.

“The Lakers have a problem. The Lakers don't want to lose LeBron James. They don't want to lose his 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists a game, but they don't want to pay $50 million for it, because the rest of the league isn't going to come bidding $50 million. ... You've got to bring him a reason to take a pay cut and explain that yes, the team was 0-8 against the [Oklahoma City] Thunder this year, but if we acquire this player or these two players with the money you're going to leave on the table, we can overcome that. I think LeBron would be open to that.

“But the concept that he’s just not as good anymore and he’s only worth $30 million instead of $50 million, you’re not getting that from LeBron James. LeBron doesn’t believe in that. I don’t expect him to accept that. If you’re the Lakers, if you force LeBron to leave, he’ll go somewhere else and play for less money. He won't want to stay for the Lakers and play for less money if he thinks it's an insult.”

If James were to refuse to take a pay cut to stay with a potentially enhanced Lakers team next season and join another team for less money, it could come off to Lakers fans and plenty of people across the NBA as petty and possibly even vindictive. But because of the realities of the league's restrictive salary cap, James will have to accept substantially less money if he wants to prioritize winning a fifth championship.

As it stands, L.A., in all likelihood, can offer him more money than any other team he would seriously consider. One source close to him told ESPN that the superstar "loves it in L.A.," and according to another report, James and the Lakers have interest in continuing their partnership.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Windhorst: LeBron James won't accept pay cut from Lakers

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How I Cut My AI Usage by 60% and Got Better Code

· Dev.to

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