Rockets’ move for Kevin Durant gives Houston one of NBA’s top star trios originally appeared on The Sporting News

The Houston Rockets have had an incredible offseason, and the NBA world is paying attention.

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Over the past few years, the Rockets have climbed out of the NBA gutter and managed to earn the second seed in the West last season. Although they were unable to get out of the first round, losing in seven games to the Golden State Warriors, they knew they were close enough to title contention to go all in.

With Rafael Stone looking to make a big splash, he traded for Kevin Durant. The future Hall of Famer and two-time Finals MVP should give Houston a needed go-to scorer in clutch situations and a proven postseason performer.

With the Rockets expected to be in championship conversations next season, Durant has clearly taken them to another tier in the NBA’s hierarchy. His arrival has also helped Houston form one of the best star trios in the entire league.

In Bleacher Report’s recent ranking of the top big threes in the league, the Rockets came in at No. 4. Their three-man crew of Durant, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson could easily break out as one of the most impressive units in basketball next season.

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With Durant and Sengun already proven All-Stars, Thompson could be in line to take that leap next season. Trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets and Cleveland Cavaliers, the Rockets have cemented themselves as the winner of the offseason, and it should translate to being a winner next season.

Although there are some valid concerns about the Rockets next season, they’ve already dominated with defense, and Durant should help them dominate on offense, too.

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It’s not shocking that Claire Masters has a planner to keep track of her schedule. 

The recent Tigard grad is about to start her freshman year at Portland State University, and she is going to be quite busy. It’s nothing new for Masters, though. 

At Tigard, Masters played soccer in the fall and softball in the spring all four years of high school. She also played on club teams for both of those sports. And if that wasn’t enough, she spent the spring season of her senior year at Tigard not only playing softball, but also running for the school’s track team for the first time ever. 

“It was really difficult,” Masters said. “It was tricky. I was very busy, and it can be very easy to get burnt out, but I think having good friends really helped.”

No matter the sport, Masters saw success. In her junior year, she started to get interest from colleges for both soccer and softball, and in January, something unexpected happened. The soccer coach at Portland State knew Masters played softball and passed her name and tape along to the school’s softball coach. 

Masters went on an official visit to the school for softball and received an offer to play. 

So when school starts in the fall, Masters will play for Portland State’s women’s soccer team, and in the spring, she’ll play for the school’s softball team, as well. 

Scott Eggelston, the girls soccer coach at Tigard, is confident that Masters can handle both sports in college. 

“There are very few people who can do D-1 sports at a dual level,” Eggleston said. “Even if they can, they might not do it because of what it requires. It’s tough. For Claire, her commitment to being organized is super important and why she will succeed.”

Pete Kostel, Tigard’s softball coach, agreed. He saw how Masters was able to show up during softball season while training for soccer and keeping up with her school work, which is why he thought she could run track this past spring as well. 

“The biggest thing in the beginning was if she was going to be able to be honest to herself,” he said. “She had to be honest with herself on if she could handle everything. She had to be honest about if she was feeling good enough to do a track workout after our practice or if she wasn’t. She had to do all that while not letting her grades slip.  Claire was able to do all that. She didn’t miss a beat.”

Masters didn’t make varsity in either sport her freshman year, but she was around the varsity teams a bit. She saw how hard those girls worked, and she saw them get offers from college. It led Masters to start taking the sports and her training more seriously. She started playing club again outside of school, and she saw herself getting better. 

The coaches also noticed. As a sophomore, she was starting in soccer and batting second in softball. 

“It was very nerve-racking at first, but once I played a few games, I was like, I’ve got this,” Masters said. “My confidence just grew from there.”

Kostel said he saw Masters grow not just in her on-field ability. 

“I saw a lot of mental growth and the mindset that grows from her putting her time in the weight room and doing those things to get better physically,” he said. 

Both coaches said Masters was quiet as a younger athlete, someone who showed up, worked hard and led by example. But as she became one of the veterans on each team, she started to speak up more, especially with the younger players. 

Masters agreed. 

“You want to be like a role model for the younger girls,” she said. “When I was a freshman, I was so scared. I wanted to make them feel comfortable.”

One thing that helps is a few familiar faces. Already at Portland State are former Tigard teammates Gianelly Gargurevich and McKenna Eggleston, Coach Eggleston’s daughter. Both were freshman at Portland State last year. 

As with most college freshmen, Masters will have a bit of an adjustment period when she starts school. While she’s not going too far away for school, she is leaving behind her family, including her twin sister, Ashley Masters, who is going to the University of Oregon. 

“It’s going to be hard,” Claire Masters said. “I feel like growing up, you just had a built-in best friend. We did everything together, so it’ll definitely be a big change for us.”

Claire and Ashley are the youngest of four. Their older sister is at Portland State, so Claire Masters said she’s a bit familiar with the school from visiting her sister. 

She’s also not forgetting about her schoolwork. Masters said she is majoring in chemistry but is thinking about changing to public health so she can learn how to be a physical therapist. 

“I think it would be fun to work with athletes,” she said. “It’s something I’m passionate about.”

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Winter to participate in Junior Pan Am Summer Games

Ava Winter will join the U21 Canadian Field hockey team at the Junior Pan American Games Aug. 9 through 23 in Asunción, Paraguay.

The 18-year-old Cowichan Secondary graduate appeared in all 12 games for the UVic Vikes in her freshman season in 2024-25. She was a Canada West champion, USports national champion and made the USports all-tournament team as a rookie.

“I’m incredibly excited and honoured for the opportunity to go,” Winter said. “I’m looking forward to getting the chance to compete on an international stage against the top players and teams from across the Pan-Americas, all while representing Canada.”

Shawnigan Lake School grad to row for Canada

Shawnigan Lake School graduate Alessandra Tuttle will compete for Canada in the Junior Pan Am Summer Games in Paraguay. Tuttle will row with Team Canada as a member of the women’s four and women’s eight crews.

Tuttle will return to Brown University in the fall to row with the Bears.

Fall 2025 Cowichan Bulldogs coaches named

The Cowichan Bulldogs will have experience along each of their four fall teams’ sidelines as four veteran bench bosses have been named as head coaches. 

The peewee Cowichan Bulldogs will be coached by Kyle Bellis while Opie Williams has been selected to lead the junior bantam Bulldogs into action this coming season. The bantam team will have Trystan Ryder as their head coach this fall and Justin Young has been named the head coach of the midget squad.

Cowichan pair hit gold at U23 rowing worlds

Two rowers with ties to the Cowichan Valley have won the women’s eight event at the U23 World Championships. Mira Calder and Ellexi Fulton were members of Rowing Canada’s crew, in Poznan, Poland July 23-27. Calder is the daughter of Brentwood College School head of rowing David Calder while Fulton is from Cowichan Bay and attended Shawnigan Lake School.

Jr. girls flag football back for fall season

Back for its fourth year, the CWFL’s junior girls flag football league is set to run on Wednesday nights from Sept. 10 through Oct. 29. All games are at the Cowichan Sportsplex from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Registration is $50. All that’s needed are running shoes.

Email cowichanwomensflagfootball@gmail.com for more information.

Health has historically been the only thing that could hold Giancarlo Stanton back from producing massive power numbers, and he’s proven in 2025 that he’s still a threat to go yard whenever he’s in the lineup. Stanton has 10 home runs in 39 games this season and enters a pivotal AL matchup on Sunday sitting on 439 home runs for his career. He has an .898 OPS against right-handed pitching this season, and the Astros will send righty Jason Alexander to the bump for the 1:35 p.m. ET first pitch.

Alexander sports a 5.97 ERA on the season, and that’s a big reason why Stanton (+350 in the MLB home run odds) is one of our top MLB HR picks on Sunday. MLB home run props are available for almost every player in every game at various sportsbooks, and SportsLine’s proven computer model can help you find value for your MLB betting picks. New users can also use the latest DraftKings promo code to receive $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket and get $200 in bonus bets instantly after your first wager of $5 or more, and take advantage of one of the best sportsbook promos:

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every MLB game 10,000 times. It’s up 55.9 units on its individual MLB HR picks this season after hitting two of its three MLB HR picks on Saturday, and has called two three-leg parlays paying at least 80-1 this season. Now, the model and SportsLine’s team of Data Scientists have revealed their betting projections for some of the most-bet MLB HR prop bets on Sunday. You can find even more picks in their daily blog, and see their top MLB props for Sunday here, along with game picks for Twins vs. Royals and Cardinals vs. Cubs.

Best MLB home run picks for Sunday, August 10:

MLB Best Home Run Bets 8/10

For more real-time, free picks every day: Inside the Lines Blog.

Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees (+350, BetMGM)

George Costanza bobble head night was two months ago at Yankee Stadium, but today would’ve been more fitting as the Yankees are facing Astros RHP Jason Alexander—sharing a name with the actor who played Costanza. Stanton has looked like his usual self since returning from injury, hitting 10 HRs in 39 games. Nine of those have come against right-handed pitchers, and all 10 have come in his last 28 games after a slow start. We have fair value here, setting Stanton’s line at +350 to homer—but we had to go with a Yankees hitter against Jason Alexander today. It’s BetMGM offering the best price here, and you can also use the latest BetMGM promo code to get up to $1,500 in bonus bets if your first bet loses:

Shea Langeliers, Athletics (+400, bet365)

Langeliers is on a tear at the plate. He started the week with a five-hit, three-homer game and followed it up with a 3-for-4 performance yesterday that included a double and a home run. Over his last 10 games, he’s raised his batting average from .253 to .274. He’s crushing left-handed pitching this season, hitting .409 with a 1.085 OPS. On the road, he’s even better—batting .311 with a 1.049 OPS and 17 HRs in just 43 games. Cade Povich has struggled at home, allowing a .301 average and .944 OPS to opponents. We set Langeliers’ line at +350 to homer, but you can find this price at bet365 and also use the latest bet365 bonus code to get $150 in bonus bets instantly after your first $5 wager:

Riley Greene, Tigers (+500, BetMGM)

Greene is due for a home run. He’s hit just one in his last 17 games, but today’s matchup is favorable. Greene has hit 24 of his 26 HRs this season against right-handed pitchers and owns a .919 OPS against them (compared to .580 vs. lefties). Jack Kochanowicz has allowed 17 HRs this season—14 of them to left-handed hitters, who also have an .879 OPS against him. We set Greene’s line at +314 to homer, making this a tremendous value with the listed price available at BetMGM:

Where to bet MLB props on Sunday

Here is a look at betting sites that will offer MLB HR props on Sunday: 

More MLB picks for Sunday 

You’ve seen the model’s MLB HR prop picks for several players on Sunday. Now, get MLB projections for every player prop at SportsLine.

Need more from SportsLine? See today’s best MLB picks from SportsLine’s Bruce Marshall, who is on an 87-80-1 roll (+1399) on MLB picks. 

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