On weekday mornings, Nevada Sports Net will recap three big headlines of the day in its Morning Download. Read below for today’s topics.
1. Marlins continue to make rotation room for Reno’s Robby Snelling
The Miami Marlins traded their second starting pitcher in as many weeks Tuesday, dealing Ryan Weather to the Yankees after trading Edward Cabrera to the Cubs. The Marlins are deep in starting pitchers, both at the big-league level and upper end of the minor leagues. Those two trades could pave the way for Snelling to make his big-league debut this season, perhaps with a spot on the opening-day roster. Miami’s five-man starting rotation as of now includes Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, Max Meyer, Braxton Garrett and Janson Junk with Snelling and Thomas White high-end prospects poised for the next level. Snelling, who turned 22 last month, went 6-2 with a 1.27 ERA in 11 Triple-A starts to end last season. He also won a minor-league Gold Glove last season. MLB Pipeline listed Snelling as the No. 5 left-handed prospect in the minors. His Triple-A teammate, White, topped that list. We caught up with Snelling earlier this offseason.
2. Nevada alum Toa Taua protected by new UFL team in Columbus
Former Nevada running back Toa Taua was “protected” by the Columbus Aviators, a new UFL team taking over players from the Michigan Panthers after that franchise moved out of Detroit. Taua played last season for the Panthers before spending training camp with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. Columbus’ move paves the way for Taua to continue his career in the UFL. Last season in Michigan, he rushed for 365 yards and six touchdowns in the regular season before adding 119 more yards and two scores in a pair of playoff games. Taua played for Nevada from 2018-22 and rushed for 3,995 yards while scoring 37 times.
3. Harlem Globetrotters’ 100 Year Tour coming to Tahoe
The Harlem Globetrotters’ “100 Year Tour” will run through Northern Nevada next week with a performance Jan. 21 at the Tahoe Blue Events Center. The action starts at 7 p.m. with tickets starting at $47.40. The Globetrotters were founded in Chicago in 1926 with their entertaining brand of basketball featured in more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 countries and territories.