MPIX, gets my vote.

Thanks for the links, specifically the links to "Once Upon A Time In America" the music is so captivating and sets the mood for the movie, there is no way you can separate the emotions the music adds to the scenes

One thing I try to keep in mind when shooting sports action shots, the face the emotion that can be shown on the player's face. A rule of thumb I try to use in the majority of my sports shots is something I heard during a seminar, "Nobody wants a shot of #10 running down the sideline away from your camera", but a great shot would be #10 running down the sideline toward you and your camera. If you can't show the emotion on a player's face it become a crowd shot. So I focus on the chest and number area of the player to capture the emotion on the player's face

I see examples in ads daily and some work done by far more advanced photographers where the rule of thirds might have been violated. It is meant as a guide, brings me to the example used at times comically, a photographer focuses the camera then holds up his thumb. It is merely a guide. My rule of course as Jerry stated is the crop should eliminate the distractions you do not wish to have in your image/frame. It's you call what you wish to capture

Lightroom/Photoshop

I would first call Apple tech support and see if they have any remedies you may not have tried.
I agree with forg the symptoms sound like you may have lost your hard drive. Good luck with getting up and running.

Hope the Easter Bunny stopped long enough to leave that you camera and lens you asked for in your Easter Basket

Zenfolio, you shoot, you edit, your customers go to your website, it's easy to set-up your website without code, you upload your work, your customers make their selections, and you can go back to shooting,
If you choose Zenfolio, under the shameless self promotion category pls use my referral code 6PR-UT2-Q8Z, it will entitle you to get a discount on the plan you choose

On the lens, not on the camera body, mounting the monopod or tripod on the tripod can stress the camera body conneciton.

The first rule is do not leave any batteries in your flash, especially if it's not being used.
I have use a Canon Compact Battery Pack CP-E4N to power my flashes, it saves on recycle times. I have used Sanyo Eneloop, and Power X NIMH batteries.
For many years I preferred Duracell Alkaline batteries, I have found that they seemed to be prone to leakage versus other Alkaline battery brands. I use Alkaline batteries as back up batteries.
If you follow his advice of Gary Fong, he says using an ISO setting of at least 800 will reduce flash recycle time and prevent overheating

I suggested removing the battery to see if there was some saved setting in functions that might be preventing you from achieving sharp focus.

Don't throw yourself under the bus, my first attempt at shooting a game was with a point and shoot camera, the players looked like matches that were stuck in a sand box. My first DSLR was a Canon XT when it broke the price threshold, and was selling for under $1,000. My first lens that I a Canon 70-300 lens, the entry level of that lens. I financed my purchases over a period of time. My purchase of the Canon 70-200 mm 2.8 lens did not take place until I had saved money to buy the lens, either by combining money that I had gotten for birthdays, etc. to finance that lens.
You might try taking the camera battery out of the camera, before you do you may wish to record the settings you had the best results with before removing the battery, the camera body will when re-started with the default battery settings.

Yes, you have show the coach that you are willing to offer some of your work either for their yearbook, or the team webpage if they have one. Most of the players love to see action photos of themselves playing during the game. In most instances where shooting from the the dugouts provides a great chance to get action shots of the base runners, in some cases the photographer for the opposing team has come into the home dugout and shot. I have also gone into the visiting teams dugout to take shots of base runner. It is a you scratch my back I will scratch yours situation, or quid pro quo situation. At time the visiting team photographer and I have been in the same dugout at the same time. It was great to talk to the other photographer if they were not so puffed up or taken with themselves to talk about shooting sports.

The most preferred lens, and the most affordable is the 70-200 2.8 lens. Mount you camera on a monopod, it will save fatigue and give you a better chance to get sharper better focused shots. Most High School games are played in seven innings, or longer in playoff our tournament play. If the field is surrounded by chain link fencing, you can press your lens against the chain link to get a clear sharp focused shot of the pitcher. If the field has netting behind the back stop you can get great shots of the pitcher's delivery, the batter in the batters box.
Shooting out fielders is difficult unless you have a longer lens, i.e. 100-400, or as mentioned a 200-500 lens. Shooting outfielders is difficult, most fields have a crown affect to help water drain, so depending on the angle if may be difficult unless you pre-focus your shots. You will learn which field a left hand batter or right hand batter's hit will usually travel to a fielder.
Shooting over the fence is difficult, because you have to use a ladder, or something to elevate you above the fence line, you will find that your legs will scream from moving up and down from the ladder.
You might ask the coach if he has any problems with you shooting from the field during pre game or infield practice. Some schools prohibit photographers from shooting from the field itself. The GHSA (Georgia High School Association ) prohibits photographers from shooting beyond the dug outs. Once the game starts the umpires totally control what happens on the field itself. In most cases the home plate umpire is considered the lead umpire and controls access to the field. So a great idea is to approach the umpire and advise them you intend to shoot the game, you will not hinder play. Don't just pop up on the field. A few times I have seen umpires stop game play to warn a photographer about shooting position. Do not offer to show views of close plays that might be contrary to the umpires call on specific plays you might have captured. Shooting from the dug outs is a great place to shoot, most usually have two openings so you can shoot from the openings. If you shoot from a dug out, be silent and be the photographer cheerleader. Be aware that some associations and tournament organizers have a rule that even first and second base coaches must wear a batting helmet.
I have included a link to a lens simulator that will give you a view of a specific lens on a specific camera body maging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/simulator/

Most photographers who shoot sports will have a 70-200 2.8 lens in their bag, especially when shooting indoor events. If you watch most college games in person, you might notice the photographers using a lens a body for near shots, when the play moves to the far end of the floor, using a second body with a longer lens to get those shots. As play under on goal is finished, you can see, what I call rotation to the second body to capture the far end of the floor or basket. Depending on the location I was allowed to shoot from, lighting, I have also used a 50 mm 1.4 lens, a 28 mm 2.8 lens, a 28-135. The biggest challenge is to use the lenses and bodies you have to get the best results at a specific venue