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The most unnerving part of a job search. MORE: These minority managerial candidates deserve a shot Impressions matter. Communicating and presenting the right image, both in print and in person, is essential. But most important, one must secure the opportunity to interview in order to land the job. The importance given to and stress of “The Interview” definitely holds true in the world of academia, where I have worked over the past several decades....

Well, maybe “fun” is the wrong word, but overreacting is exactly what happens, without fail every year, when players don’t meet expectations in the first 25 games or so. The sky is falling. Sometimes, the sky isn’t falling. Let’s take a look at five players who have struggled so far this season and figure out whether they’ll be just fine or whether the end is near. FAGAN: MLB Power Rankings — But sometimes, the sky is falling…...

Before getting into the methods for playing against friends, it is worth taking a moment to detail how to enable cross-play in MLB The Show 21. To put things simply, players should select the profile icon at the top-right corner of the main menu and then navigate to the “My Profile” tab. To the right of the player icon that is situated in the center of this menu, fans will see an option that allows them to turn on cross-play, and that makes it possible to play against friends across platforms....

The MLB The Show franchise has been developed by Sony’s San Diego Studio since 2006, and as such has been exclusive to Sony platforms until this year. On February 1, it was announced that San Diego Studio would be developing MLB The Show for the Xbox family of consoles as well. While a PlayStation-owned developer making a game for Xbox comes as a shock for many, it was later revealed the decision was outside of Sony’s control, as it was mandated by the MLB organization....

Seattle has pieces to deal, starting with top prospect Taijuan Walker, though he’ll only be moved in a blockbuster-type deal. Outfielder Dustin Ackley has, again, failed to live up to expectations and could be seen as a change-of-scenery candidate. Infielder Nick Franklin lost his second-base job when the Mariners signed Robinson Cano in the offseason, but he’s hitting .294 at Triple-A Tacoma. Here’s a quick look at some of the rumors attached to the Mariners … David Price and Ben Zobrist, Rays....

It’s possible because both teams had scouts in attendance for Detroit’s game against Toronto on Friday, according to MLB.com. Now before we go further we must say every team scouts every other team no matter what, so having scouts in attendance isn’t necessarily a big deal. At the same time, the game Saturday featured Marcus Stroman and Matthew Boyd pitching as well. The Braves are almost undoubtedly looking at some pitching help and the Cubs could be thinking about making a move themselves, but that is not quite as likely....

Kansas City placed closer Wade Davis on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a strained right forearm, retroactive to July 1, making him eligible to be reinstated July 16. An All-Star last year, Davis holds a 1.23 ERA across 30 relief appearances with 19 saves. Setup man Kelvin Herrera (1.40 ERA) is expected to inherit the closer role, but manager Ned Yost could opt for Joakim Soria (3.13 ERA)....

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the 27-year-old backstop could come up in trade talks this winter. Contreras is coming off the best offensive season of his career, belting 24 home runs with a 125 OPS+ in 105 games this season. He also dealt with a hamstring inury in August that caused him to miss a month. Contreras’ contract situation could also be appealing to teams. He’s arbitration eligible through the 2022 season, with free agency coming following that year....

In stark contrast to last year’s offseason, free agents are being signed earlier and players are being moved, but several big fish remain on the pond. This year’s winter meetings will take place between Dec. 10 and Dec. 13 in Paradise, Nev. Here are some of the bigger storylines as we march toward winter: The Eastern front The NL East has been, by far, the most fun division to watch this offseason....

Charlotte FC set a new MLS single-game attendance record in its home debut at Bank of American Stadium on March 5 with 74,479 on hand. The stadium, which also hosts NFL franchise Carolina Panthers, has a listed capacity 75,412. But the club didn’t need a sellout to break the MLS record previously held by Atlanta United at 72,548. By March 3, it had already sold 73,500 tickets, which was short of maximum capacity, but enough to knock Atlanta off its perch....

Expansion franchise Atlanta christened Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a 3-0 victory against Dallas on Sunday. Having used Bobby Dodd Stadium temporarily, Atlanta moved to the newly built venue — also home to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons — this week and snapped its four-match winless streak in front of a sell-out crowd of 45,314. Leandro Gonzalez Pirez gave Atlanta a 14th-minute lead when he snuck in at the back post and bundled the ball home....

Having endured a miserable start to life in MLS, Minnesota finally recorded its first victory with a 4-2 win over Real Salt Lake. McNamara’s winner raises questions The Loons fell behind early at their TCF Bank Stadium home, Luke Mulholland opening the scoring for Real Salt Lake. A Kevin Molino header brought them level at the break before a stunning start to the second half saw Minnesota take control....

Major League Soccer’s midweek action saw the Columbus Crew added to the teams eliminated from playoff contention, leaving eight teams alive for six playoff berths across the league’s two conferences heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. The Crew’s demise was one few could have envisioned before the season began, what with Columbus having reached the MLS Cup final a year ago. The big Kei Kamara blockbuster shook the team before the summer, while a myriad of injuries through the season ultimately proved too much for the Crew to overcome....

The Royals have an incredible streak currently going for side-to-total parlay bettors as they begin a four-game series at Cleveland tonight where the Indians are -170 favorites to win at least three of the games. In tonight’s opener, Carlos Carrasco — fresh off the DL — is a -160 favorite over Yordano Ventura with a total set at 7.5-flat. Kansas City (30-22, +8.01 units) has won six straight with home sweeps over the White Sox and Rays to take a two game lead in the AL Central, a division where the top four teams are separated by only five games....

MORE: Storylines heading into Spring Training Sho Darvish, Yu’s brother, was arrested in October after being accused by authorities of placing bets on American and Japanese sports. He and seven others were accused of taking 18.5 million yen, or $150,000, worth of bets based on the scores of 16 MLB games and 28 Japanese professional baseball games from May 12-18. It’s not known if any of the games involved the Rangers....

Take a look at a scouting video: MLB DRAFT: Live: Track the first round of the MLB Draft! “Fulmer is an eye-of-the-beholder guy. If you look at the stuff and numbers, he looks like a top-10 talent. I am in that camp. If you look at the effort in his delivery and his size then you think he will be a reliever.” — Jim Ellis, Scout.com “Some fear Fulmer’s effort in his delivery points to the bullpen, but he has been as good as any college pitcher as the spring has unfolded....

The Blue Jays agreed to deals with both players Friday. Morales will get three years, $33 million, according to Fox Sports . Gurriel, who defected in February, agreed to a seven-year, $22 million deal with the Blue Jays on Friday, MLB.com first reported . MORE: Worst free-agent signings of all time Encarnacion and Bautista are expected to reject the Jays’ qualifying offers and are reportedly seeking $100 million contracts this winter....

Everyone else, though, is very ready for what should be a fascinating offseason to get going already. Here are the five storylines everybody will be talking about — six, if you want to count the Justin Turner discussion that isn’t going away anytime soon. RIVERA: Questions Yankees must answer this offseason The owners will say they have no money This, of course, has already started. And, there’s no denying that the bottom lines for baseball team owners — a group with overall healthy bottom lines — have not been helped by their baseball holdings this year....

Marlins ace Jose Fernandez was impressive on the mound and at the plate as he appeared in his first major league game since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2014. It was an emotional debut for the 2013 National League Rookie of the Year, who pitched six innings of three-run ball. MORE: The most important comeback stories of the playoff race “I almost teared up before I threw my first pitch,” said Fernandez (via MLB....

Now more than ever in Major League Baseball, fans are seeing what the NFL and NBA dream of: true parity. Big-spending teams don’t always win. More franchises are putting together cores of high-quality young players who are leading a new generation of stars, something fans haven’t seen in a long time. MORE: Grading every MLB team’s offseason With so much talent across the sport, teams can come from outta nowhere like a Randy Orton RKO and upend contending squads....