Sep 10, 2020 4 min read

Sandoval out with Giants

The San Francisco Giants released Pablo Sandoval on Thursday, parting ways for a second time with the former fan favorite and 2012 World Series MVP.

Sandoval ends a second stint with the club after he rejoined the Giants following parts of three seasons away with the Boston Red Sox after winning a third World Series in five years with the Giants in 2014.

The Giants posted a thank you to the Kung Fu Panda noticeably heavier. He recently shared how his wife and children healed from the coronavirus, and manager Gabe Kapler gave him time off to monitor the situation from afar.

Newly acquired infielder Justin Smoak was added to the major league roster.

In addition, left-hander Drew Smyly was activated from the 10-day injured list after dealing with a sprained index finger on his pitching hand. Right-hander Rico Garcia was optioned to the team’s Sacramento alternate site.

Denver’s Sutton hurt

Top Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton injured his right shoulder at practice Thursday.

Sutton landed awkwardly after catching a high pass and was being looked at by trainers as the open media period ended.

There was no immediate word about the nature or severity of Sutton’s injury, which occurred 48 hours after the Broncos lost their best player, linebacker Von Miller, to a serious ankle tendon injury at an indoor practice Tuesday.

Sutton’s injury came with the Broncos practicing outside, and it occurred about an hour after the third-year receiver spoke on a Zoom media call about the need for every player to step up with Miller likely out for the season.

Last season, Sutton caught 72 passes for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns while working with three different quarterbacks. He had 42 receptions for 704 yards and four TDs his rookie season.

Dallas most valuable

Forbes estimates the Dallas Cowboys are the NFL’s most valuable franchise at $5.7 billion, the 14th consecutive year they’ve held that distinction.

According to the magazine, Jerry Jones’ team is also the most valuable franchise in the world.

After the Cowboys, the six-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots are second in the league at $4.4 billion followed, by the New York Giants at $4.3 billion, the Los Angeles Rams at $4 billion and the San Francisco 49ers at $3.8 billion.

Rounding out the top 10 are the New York Jets ($3.55 billion), Chicago Bears ($3.52 billion), Washington ($3.5 billion), Philadelphia Eagles ($3.4 billion) and Houston Texans ($3.3 billion).

The teams with the biggest jumps from last year include the Jets, Eagles and Seahawks, all at 11%.

The bottom three teams are the Detroit Lions ($2.1 billion) at No. 30, followed by the Buffalo Bills ($2.05 billion) and the Cincinnati Bengals, who finished last in the standings at 2-14 in 2019 and are worth $2 billion. They are also the only franchise without any increase from last year.

On average, each team in the NFL is worth $3.05 billion, an increase of 7% from last year. And four teams (Cowboys, Giants, Patriots and Rams) are worth at least $4 billion.

The Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are No. 23 at $2.5 billion, an increase of 9% from last year.