Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows was carted off the field Thursday after colliding with left fielder Riley Greene while trying to track down a Josh Bell fly ball in the eighth inning of a 3-1 defeat to the Minnesota Twins.

Meadows was sent to a hospital, where he will be kept for overnight observation, according to The Associated Press.

While Greene made the catch, it came at a cost. Bell’s flyout shot toward left-center field. The 26-year-old Meadows, whom the Tigers selected in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft, came soaring in for the putout, but Greene was already in position to make the catch in the alley.

Meadows bumped heads with Greene. Both of their caps went flying as they hit the ground. Greene braced the fall with his right knee and got right back up, whereas Meadows dropped like a rag doll. He laid on his back with his arms up and blood on his face.

Eventually, Meadows returned to his feet, albeit with assistance from the Tigers’ training staff and the medical personnel at Target Field in Minnesota, per The Athletic. Then he got on a cart that took him off the diamond.

After the game, according to The Athletic, Meadows was taken on a stretcher to a local hospital. He was reportedly fully conscious and has his left arm in a sling.

“It’s a terrible feeling. I still feel terrible,” Greene said postgame, per the AP. “He hit my head. I don’t know where I hit him, to be honest, but I just really hope he’s OK.”

Greene and Meadows overlapped in the Tigers’ farm system while on their respective journeys to the bigs and are close. Meadows is in his fourth MLB season after making his major-league debut in 2023.

Meadows has started 11 of Detroit’s 13 games this season in center field. He’s hit a pair of extra-base hits and tallied two RBI while batting .250.

“That was an ugly, scary one, and there's a lot of concern for him,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said of the collision, per MLB.com. “When we got out there, it looked like he had bit his lip or inside his mouth, so there was some blood, and he was pretty out of it. …

“Those are scary collisions. You don't know what you're going to get when you get there. Obviously we're going to get him checked out for everything, but this one worries me.”

Detroit has dropped nine of its last 11 games, including five in a row, but the status of its center fielder is top of mind.

So much of the charm and success of The Masters is based around the consistency and familiarity of the tournament.

You turn on the television and you see those familiar vibrant green shades, the shimmering water on 12, the pinks and the creams of the blooming foliage. The course is the same every year, the traditions are the same every year, and you can throw tariffs, trade wars and the Strait of Hormuz at Augusta but sandwich prices will still be the same every year.

But as far as continuity goes, having last year’s winner, Rory McIlroy, tied for the lead after the first round of this year’s tournament at -5 might be a little bit much.

Perhaps time is simply a flat circle and we’re stuck in a seamless loop of Masters championships, unable to see where one ends and the next begins.

Or perhaps, just perhaps, he remains one of the best golfers on Earth, now experienced enough in tickling a ball around this verdant corner of northern Georgia to know the course well – and to be able to profit from those historic heartbreaks and failures.

At this stage it’s probably important to note that Sam Burns is right there too, the young American carding a strikingly consistent 67 in only his fifth participation here, with the best approach play of anyone at Augusta today.

But Burns is one of golf’s band of pre-superstars. He joins the likes of Ludvig Aberg, Tom Kim and Akshay Bhatia as those tipped to eventually win a major and this could yet be Burns’ week, the biggest of his life in that case.

Just ask Rory, though. The Masters is about proving it. Any idea of McIlroy being zen and at peace with the world now that he’s completed the career slam is far from the truth. By his own admission, once he had climbed to the top of the mountain it showed him “how many more peaks there were to conquer.”

Still, as he stuck his tee into the ground on the first hole today, the sun beating down, he noticed the familiar tremble. As he struggled to keep the ball on top of it, he knew. Those nerves were still there. It’s likely they will never go.

“That’s a good thing. That’s why we want to be here,” he said afterwards of that momentary tremor. “We want to be able to try to play our best golf when we’re feeling like that.”

It wasn’t a vintage start from McIlroy and it did require him to grit his teeth and push through it. He thought he played a round that was good enough for a two-under and instead he co-leads the tournament at five-under. The data supports that he wasn’t at his best, barely in the top 100 for fairway accuracy,

“But again, I used my head… I got up-and-down when I needed to,” he explained. “I didn’t compound mistakes. Again, that’s just a learning curve that you have to go through around here, and I did it well today.”

In his own words, McIlroy simply “kept swinging”. Still level to par through seven holes, he picked up five shots on the last 11 holes to join Burns as clubhouse leader while Justin Rose, who he beat in last year’s playoff, looked set to join him until his scorecard was blemished by a pair of late bogeys – ultimately joining a group on -2, three strokes back, that also includes fellow major champions Scottie Scheffler, Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffele.

All those players have put themselves in good position to be where they want to be on Sunday night but you simply can’t look past the advantage of having done it all before.

“I do think winning a Masters makes it easier to win your second one. I do,” added McIlroy.

“It’s hard to say because there’s still shots out there that you feel a little bit tight with, and you just have to stand up and commit to making a good swing and not worry about really where it goes.

“But I think it’s easier for me to make those swings and not worry about where it goes when I know that I can go back to the Champions Locker Room afterwards and put my green jacket on.”

The Masters: Round one leaderboard

-5 S Burns (US), R McIlroy (NI); -3 P Reed (US), J Day (Aus), K Kitayama (US)

Selected: -2 J Rose (Eng), S Scheffler (US), S Lowry (Ire), X Schauffele (US); -1 T Fleetwood (Eng), A Rai (Eng), G Woodland (US); E K Bradley (US), J Spieth (US), J Thomas (US); +2 M Fitzpatrick (Eng), L Aberg (Swe); +3 V Hovland (Nor); +6 J Rahm (Spa); +8 R MacIntyre (Sco)

Full leaderboard

Almost all the talk about Rory McIlroy in the build-up to this year's Masters related to the pomp.

In comparison, discussion about whether his game is there to secure a rare back-to-back Masters win felt somewhat neglected.

When last year's winner was finally able to focus on his golf on Thursday, McIlroy reminded everyone he is not in Augusta this week simply to serve up the Champions' Dinner.

He is here to play. And he is here to win.

The 36-year-old from Northern Ireland shares the first-round lead with American Sam Burns after carding a five-under par 67, ensuring anybody who was sleeping on his chances of going back-to-back had been stirred.

McIlroy was among only 16 players in the 91-man field to finish under par, with conditions expected to get even firmer and faster over the next three days.

England's Justin Rose, who was agonisingly denied his first Green Jacket by McIlroy in a nerve-jangling play-off last year, is three shots behind the leaders and alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler on two under par.

"I think winning a Masters makes it easier to win your second one," said McIlroy, who is aiming to join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only men to retain the Masters.

"It's hard to say because there are still shots out there that you feel a little bit tight with, and you just have to stand up and commit to making a good swing and not worry about where it goes.

"But it's easier for me to make those swings and not worry about where it goes when I know that I can go to the champions' locker room and put on my Green Jacket."

Completing the career Grand Slam last year - ending 11 years of heartbreak and hurt - was a huge relief for McIlroy.

As the champagne corks popped around him, the five-time major champion was already speaking about how he believed finally landing the Masters would "free" him up for further success.

Feeling liberated from the weight of history would, he hoped, provide autonomy between mind and body at the sport's biggest tournaments.

In practice, that did not immediately prove to be the case, leading to doubts about his form going into his Augusta return.

But by the midway point of his opening round, that freedom was visible in his swing and in his stride.

McIlroy did make a tentative start before finding his rhythm and clicking into gear with a flurry of five birdies between the eighth and 15th holes.

Ending with a 67 meant he carded his lowest opening round at Augusta since 2011. It was only the third time in his career he has shot under 70 on day one.

"I still have high expectations of myself, but my expectations are more did I make good decisions? Was I committed? Was I trusting? It wasn't my expectation that I'm going to go out and shoot 65," McIlroy told BBC Sport NI.

• Watson's call for lifetime bans shows PGA Tour-LIV scars still run deep
• Masters tee times for round two at Augusta

Some have wondered how McIlroy will deal with the additional responsibilities which occupy the reigning champion.

There is no doubt it is a completely different week for the previous year's winner, even more so for McIlroy given the magnitude of his achievement and the tumultuous journey to get there.

More engagements to attend. More interviews to conduct. More hands to shake.

Less time, some feared, to prepare.

McIlroy had warned, though, he was ready to get down to business once Tuesday's Champions Dinner and Wednesday's Par 3 Contest were out of the way.

When he stepped inside the ropes on Thursday, McIlroy was finally able to lock in and stoke the competitive fire which has fuelled his outstanding career.

This week's activities might still take a mental toll which ultimately affect his performance, potentially at the weekend as a long week nears it conclusion.

"It's a great start but there is a long way to go," said McIlroy, who started with a level-par 72 on his way to glory 12 months ago.

"It's a lot better than starting seven behind going into the second round like I did last year."

How experienced score-building sets McIlroy up for contention

McIlroy's opening round was a study in experienced score-building. He didn't have his best stuff tee-to-green, hitting five out of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens in regulation.

But he managed to recover from errant tee shots and duly attacked when in position.

As ever around Augusta's immaculately manicured turf, the par-fives were critical. He birdied all four of them despite not hitting a fairway.

There was no panic. He looked every bit the seasoned champion who has seen it all in his 18 years coming here.

He was in the trees on the second, 13th and 15th holes but didn't ride his luck. Instead, he took his medicine, chipped back into position and it yielded three birdies. In the rough on eight, he drilled a low fairway metal that chased up the green for a two-putt birdie.

When McIlroy's driver behaves, he can make the game look easy. That was the case on nine and 14, where he set up birdies with huge carries off the tee and controlled approach play.

His only slip-up came on the short par-four third, where he badly overcooked his second and took three putts from 49 feet.

Despite the wayward drives, McIlroy steered clear of the mid-range par putts that can ramp up the pressure and derail momentum.

As he said himself, it's a "great start" and nothing more. But given he was seven shots behind Rose at this stage last year, he will feel content with his first round as defending champion.

How did the other star names fare?

If any storyline is going to come close to the romance of McIlroy's win last year, it would be 45-year-old Rose finally securing a Green Jacket and becoming the second oldest winner in Masters history.

Rose was a shot behind McIlroy and Burns before dropping back after successive bogeys on 17 and 18.

Nevertheless, the Englishman focused on the clear positives after finishing inside the top 10 after the opening day for the 10th time in his career.

"I look at the big picture. It was a good round of golf on a day which was challenging. Small margins but overall a good start to the tournament and I can build on it," Rose said.

Scheffler, 29, has fallen below his lofty heights in recent weeks, lacking some of his precision from tee-to-green and paying the price for slow opening rounds.

But the two-time champion made a blistering start with an eagle on the second and a birdie on the third.

While the world number one could not add to the tally, he largely demonstrated the consistency for which is he famed to eke out a solid, if unspectacular 70.

Scotland's Robert MacIntyre plunged towards the bottom of the leaderboard with an eight-over par 80 – which featured a quadruple bogey nine.

The 29-year-old left-hander was picked out by some observers as a potential contender after finishing fourth at the recent Players Championship and a runners-up spot in Texas last week.

MacIntyre was already three over par in his round when his mood darkened further on the par-five 15th.

He emulated 1992 winner Fred Couples - who went from two under to six over in the space of three holes - by also hitting two balls in the water as they ended up posting nines.

Spain's Jon Rahm, who is known for his own tempestuousness and was heavily backed to perform well this week, also had a day to forget.

Rahm shot a six-over 78 - the worst Masters round of the 2023 winner's career - while his fellow LIV player Bryson DeChambeau carded a four-over 76. Much of that damage was done on the par-four 11th where posted a triple-bogey seven after taking three shots to emerge from a greenside bunker.

Three-time Grammy winner critical in Dodgers Tyler Glasnow trade originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Right-hander Tyler Glasnow has been with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the past three seasons after the Tampa Bay Rays traded him in December 2023. Outfielder Manuel Margot and cash were also in the trade with Glasnow, while the Rays received outfielder Jonny DeLuca and right-hander Ryan Pepiot. 

Since joining the Dodgers, the former All-Star (2024) has been a key part of helping the Dodgers win back-to-back World Series (2024 and 2025). 

The story of Glasnow becoming a Dodger is interesting, as it took a country music star to help the Dodgers acquire him. 

Country music star Brad Paisley played a critical role in the Dodgers' acquiring Tyler Glasnow

In a recent appearance on the YouTube show “Dodgers Territory,” Paisley said that he helped Dodgers' president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, acquire Glasnow. Paisley and Friedman invited Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander and other executives to his house to get the deal done. 

“Eight Tampa Bay Rays front office people walk in, and we've already got about 30 Dodgers,” Paisley said on “Dodgers Territory.” They stayed till four in the morning and called an Uber, one of the front office people with one of the team's faces planted in the front yard.” 

Friedman would call Paisley the next day, telling him, “You get the assists.”

After becoming a Dodger, Glasnow signed a five-year ($136.6 million) contract. In three seasons with the Dodgers, Glasnow is 14-9 with a 3.35 ERA and has 289 strikeouts in 236.1 innings. 

More News: 

• Athletics 33-year-old lefty dominates Yankees in historic outing
• Rockies rookie has a simple approach at the plate
• Phillies Rob Thomson gives optimistic update on Gold Glover's injury

ESPN hints at Chiefs' draft plans being closely guarded secret originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

As we get closer to the NFL Draft, most people in the know have a rough idea of what teams are thinking when it comes to their first-round picks, but the Kansas City Chiefs remain a mystery.

With Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach overseeing a soft reset of the roster, armed with two first-round selections, the Chiefs can go in any direction they want at No. 9.

Some think running back, others tight end or pass rusher, and in truth, all of those options are on the table for Kansas City.

But for ESPN's Matt Miller, he's not gotten anything definitive on Kansas City's plans.

"In talking to sources both in Kansas City and around the league, there seems to be no strong indicator of where the Chiefs will go with either of their first-round picks," Miller wrote. "The Chiefs will see how the board falls and have needs at core positions such as offensive tackle, wide receiver, edge rusher, defensive tackle and cornerback. A hot name to watch at corner is Jermod McCoy (Tennessee) ... if he makes it to No. 9."

More:Analyst makes bold Browns QB claim for 2026

Chiefs a draft mystery

The fact that they have two first-round picks helps that as well.

With so many options available at No. 9 and a host of needs, you can pick several players who the Chiefs could target. The same goes for their second first-round pick as well.

So, the Chiefs appear to be keeping things close to the vest as the draft approaches, not wanting to tip their hand in any direction.

Needing starters on both sides of the ball, just which way the Chiefs will go is anyone's guess, and right now, that is all people have regarding Kansas City's approach...a guess.

More NFL news:

• Path out of NFL cellar for Jets revealed
• Falcons urged to make big moves in NFL Draft
• Analyst details Rams need future plan at 1 key position
• Analyst urges Bills to double up on critical position for Josh Allen
• Mark Andrews has interesting response to Ravens' TE room changes
• Chargers urged to be aggressive in NFL Draft for Justin Herbert
• Analyst details draft plan for Chiefs that doesn't involve Patrick Mahomes

Steve Sarkisian can't be serious saying Arch Manning is 'underpaid' originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning was the highest-paid college athlete last year, but some believe he's undervalued.

One of those in firm belief the $6.8 million signal-caller deserves a bigger NIL payout is Steve Sarkisian. Manning's head coach recently advocated for his playmaker, saying Texas needs to break out the checkbook.

During an appearance with The Andy & Ari podcast on Thursday, On3's college football analyst Chris Low checked in with Sarkisian, who talked about the offseason in Austin and Manning's progression.

"Arch is probably the most underpaid quarterback in college football from what we're paying," Sarkisian told Low. From there, Low went on to say, "(Sarkisian) says he still has a text from Cooper (Manning) saying, 'We're not taking a dime. We want you to go out and get great players. And you can show this text to every player you recruit. And that's a big help."

Sarkisian sees a changing landscape in college athletics with some over-inflated values at key positions. The LSU Tigers spent over $40 million to rebuild their roster under Lane Kiffin, shifting the market in a major way. However, if it's something we've learned many times over and over during the NIL era is that some teams are willing and able to overpay for talent.

Regardless of the money, Manning is in a great position under Sarkisian who is known for building outstanding offensive schemes around his quarterbacks. Considering what Texas was able to put together in the second half of the season in 2025 and nearly make the College Football Playoff, there's a renewed outlook for what the next second could be.

More Texas football news: 

• Steve Sarkisian projected to stay at Texas into the next decade
• Russell Wilson takes stepson Future on first Texas Longhorns camp visit
• Steve Sarkisian blasts Ohio State players for not going to class
• Texas' Arch Manning skipped in top five of latest QB ranking
• Cooper Manning says media coverage of Arch has been ‘over the top’

When it comes to pure talent, there is no question that Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson is the top of the class. The Cleveland Browns are in desperate need of adding a top-notch pass catcher to their wide receiver room, but Tyson comes with a lot of risk that the Browns might not be willing to take.

Tyson has a long injury history in college, including a severe knee injury and a hamstring issue that has been plaguing him since October. He missed time with a hamstring injury this year, and it returned, forcing him to sit out athletic testing at both the NFL Combine and Arizona State's pro day.

This has been a giant red flag, and rumors have started circulating that Tyson could fall out of the first round because of his injury history. As a result of this speculation, Tyson is now set to hold an individual workout for teams on April 17th to try to rebuild his draft stock. As good as Tyson is, his injury history is not something the Browns should ignore.

This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Jordyn Tyson to hold private workout

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Everyone spent all week analyzing (and submitting) their Masters picksfor the 2026 edition of the prestigious golf tournament, but there's still plenty of value to be found after the first round tees off.

As the weekend unfolds at Augusta, the Masters odds will shift, creating unique (and short-lived) opportunities to jump on in-play markets.

The most important, obviously, is who will win the Green Jacket this year — and to help you follow along with the ever-changing Masters win probability, we've got a live probability chart (courtesy of Kalshi) for the biggest favorites, along with a snapshot of the leaderboard heading into each round of play.

Live 2026 Masters win probability

With the first round in the books, Rory McIlroy (25%) is now the current favorite after co-leading with Sam Burns at -5.

Scottie Scheffler's win probability at Kalshi has ticked up from 14% to 19% after finishing at -3, followed by Xander Schauffele at 8%, Burns at 6.8%, and Justin Rose at 5.4%. 

Current Masters leaderboard

Golfer	Score
Sam Burns	-5	6.8¢ +1370
Rory McIlroy	-5	25¢ +300
Kurt Kitayama	-3	2.2¢ +4445
Jason Day	-3	3.3¢ +2930
Patrick Reed	-3	4.7¢ +2028
Shane Lowry	-2	2.6¢ +3746
Xander Schauffele	-2	8¢ +1150
Justin Rose	-2	5.4¢ +1752
Scottie Scheffler	-2	19¢ +426
Li Haotong	-1	0.4¢ +24900
Nick Taylor	-1	0.6¢ +16567
Tommy Fleetwood	-1	4.2¢ +2281

Pre-tournament favorites to target at Kalshi

Jon Rahm (+1089/7.8¢)

Any LIV Golf discount attached to Jon Rahm has vanished, and it should have because the 2023 Masters champion is back in top ball-striking form.

Ludvig Aberg (+1738/5.1¢)

I firmly believe it's when and not if Ludvig Aberg wins at Augusta National, and he's heading to the 2026 Masters with three consecutive Top-5 finishes.

Matt Fitzpatrick (+2127/4.2¢)

It’s impossible to poke holes in current form ahead of Matt Fitzpatrick’s 12th trip to Augusta National, with a runner-up at THE PLAYERS and a win at the Valspar while gaining true strokes across the board.

Pre-tournament golfers to fade at Kalshi

Brooks Koepka (+5394/1.7¢)

Putting has been Brooks Koepka’s kryptonite in 2026 and in multiple Masters, so all the confidence in the world won’t carry him to a 2026 victory on the Augusta National green surfaces.

Justin Thomas (+7651/1.2¢)

A T8 at THE PLAYERS doesn’t give me enough confidence to back Justin Thomas in betting markets with him continuing to work his way back from offseason back surgery.

Patrick Cantlay (+7651/1.2¢)

Patrick Cantley has a single Top 10 across his nine trips to the Masters, and his last PGA Tour win was all the way back in August 2022.

Pre-tournament longshots to target at Kalshi

Nicolai Hojgaard (+7094/1.3¢)

With three Top 5s across his past eight worldwide events while gaining true strokes across the board, there are no current holes in Nicolai Hojgaard’s game.

Jake Knapp (+7651/1.2¢)

I love the course fit for Jake Knapp, and his current form is incredible. He’s pacing the PGA Tour in adjusted scoring average and Par-5 scoring while ranking second in bogey avoidance, after all.

Pre-tournament best bet at Kalshi

Xander Schauffele (+1489/5.9¢)

With a proven track record at Augusta National, excellent current form, and a pair of major championship wins, Xander Schauffele is my favorite bet to win the 2026 Masters.

The $1.00 Rule: The Foundation of Prediction Markets

The difference between sportsbook and prediction market pricing isn't actually that difficult. In fact, there’s a strong case that American odds are more challenging for beginner bettors to understand than prediction markets and their $1.00 foundation.

Unlike a traditional bet where you wager a specific amount to win a profit, 2026 Masters prediction markets operate on a binary contract system.

• The winning side: Always settles at $1.00
• The losing side: Always settles at $0.00

The price of a "Yes" contract is directly related to the aggregate belief about the probability that the event will occur. For example, if a contract for Scottie Scheffler is trading at $0.14, the market believes they have a 14% chance of victory.

Converting percentages to American odds

To compare prices of the 2026 Masters markets on Kalshi to a sportsbook like DraftKings or FanDuel, you must convert the percentage (the price) into American odds.

The Underdog/Yes Formula (Price below $0.50)

If the price is less than $0.50, the golfer is an underdog to win the Masters.

Formula: (100 / Price) * 100 - 100

Example: Scottie Scheffler is trading at $0.14 to win the tournament.

(100 / 14) * 100 - 100 = +614

The Favorite/No Formula (Price above $0.50)

If the price is higher than $0.50, the golfer is a favorite to not win the Masters.

Formula: (Price / (1 - Price)) * -100

Example: Scottie Scheffler is trading at $0.87 not to win the tournament.

(87 / (1 - 0.87))* -100 = -669

Here's a breakdown of how milestone prediction market probabilities translate to American odds:

Why the prices differ: The "Vig" vs. the Fee

Price display isn't the only way sportsbooks and prediction markets are different. As those new to either process will learn, how each business makes money while taking bets or predictions is also unique.

Sportsbooks: The Hold

Traditional books build a "margin" or "vig" into their odds. If both sides of a bet are -110, the book is effectively taking a 4.7% cut of the action. Some markets feature less vig, while others, like more obscure prop plays, often see a higher margin due to less certainty and greater perceived risk.

Prediction Markets: The Fee

Exchanges like Kalshi typically charge a transparent transaction fee rather than baking a margin into their event prices. This leads to "tighter" spreads and prices that more accurately reflect the true probability of the outcome.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Why do prediction market percentages sometimes add up to more than 100%?

This is known as the order book spread. Because there's a gap between what sellers want (the "Ask") and what buyers offer (the "Bid"), the aggregate of the "Yes" prices for all golfers might sit at 102% or 103%. High-liquidity markets usually stay very close to 100%.

Is $0.50 always equal to +100?

Yes. In both prediction markets and sportsbooks, a 50% probability represents even money or +100.

Which is more accurate: the sportsbook or the prediction market?

Historically, prediction markets are considered more "efficient" because they allow unlimited stakes from informed traders (the "smart money"), whereas sportsbooks often limit winning players or set lines to balance their own liability. 

It's also not uncommon for sportsbooks to adjust based on information from prediction markets.

What happens to my money if the price goes down after I buy?

Since these are traded markets, the value of your contract fluctuates in real-time. If you buy the Scottie Scheffler to win the Masters at $0.14 and he falls behind early in Round 1, the price might climb to $0.15. 

You can choose to sell at a loss or hold the contract until settlement.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

‘Tis the season for moves to happen, and as tough as it has been this past decade, just keeping a team together from season to season, Hokie Men’s and Women’s Basketball both got some good news. The big “sorta sports” news is that Tech’s President Timothy Sands is stepping down. Times are changing.

Good News on the Basketball Front for a Change

There is little argument over how difficult it is to hold together a program for more than one season at a time. It’s probably the most difficult part of a coach’s job in the modern (and hopefully transitional) era of NIL money and players chasing it from team to team and season to season now that job hopping is allowed.

The good news for Coach Mike Young and Hokie Men’s Basketball is that Ben Hammond has taken the decision to stay in Blacksburg for the 2026-2027 basketball season.

Hammond averaged 13.2 points a game starting 18 of 32 games played in this past season. He increased his number of 3-point attempts in 2025-2026, and even with his percentage down a bit at .431, that amounted to 132 points for the season. Hammond has two years of eligibility left. Hammond looks to have an even more productive role for the next run at the tournaments. Getting him back was a critical re-recruiting win for Coach Young, who is working to try to keep as much of a Hokie core team intact as possible.

In Super News for Coach Duffy and WBB

This week, the Lady Hokies saw two very important players make moves to announce their intent to stay in Blacksburg for the immediate (one would hope the adjective would go away) futures.

Leila Wells, started 17 of 33 games averaging 3.5 points per game with limited floor time. Where Leila really found her stride was on defense with 8 blocks and 15 steals in 2025-2026. The big thing about those numbers are the acceleration factor, she got better each game, and the switch from bench to starter.

Samyha Suffren has also announced her return to the Hokie Locker room, and with it she brings the probability of converting from being Coach Duffy’s afterburner off the bench to a regular starter at guard.

Samyha comes back with 2 more years of eligibility since she ended up sitting out almost all of 2024-2025 with an injury. That time didn’t seem to slow her down, though. Suffren just got better every game she entered off the bench. In fact, Coach Duffy seemed prone to using Samyha as a starter off the bench to mix things up and make it difficult for teams in the early going when grabbing and building a lead is critical. She played significant time in 32 games this season and averaged 8.8 points. Where she really made a huge difference, though was in floor defense. She managed 3 blocked shots, but 47 steals. Her ability to go fast on a break down the floor meant critical exchange flips in important points in games.

The University President Hits the Portal?

The President of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Dr. Timothy Sands, announced to BoV Rector John Rocovich that he was stepping down as President of the University once the BoV found a suitable replacement.

President Tim Sands to step down in the coming months | Virginia Tech News | Virginia Tech

From the looks of the news, Sands’s association with the University won’t end so he doesn’t seem to have the intentions of moving on from Blacksburg. It makes you wonder if he’s going to do some sort of Emeritus Professor role, but right now, it would be more than speculation to say anything else.

Sands has been in the position since 2014. Good luck to him in whatever he chooses to do.

We’ll be visiting more Comings, Goings, and Stayings as events occur.

GO HOKIES!!!!

The Cleveland Browns and general manager Andrew Berry have poured a ton of resources into rebuilding the offensive line in free agency. However, there is still one glaring piece missing: who will play left tackle? The team had Miami (FL) left tackle Markel Bell in for a visit, and they have now brought in one of the best left tackle prospects in the class for a visit.

Utah left tackle Caleb Lomu posted a picture on Instagram on Thursday showing himself inside the Cleveland Browns facility in Berea. Lomu has great body control, and his ability to recover and re-engage after initially being beaten is impressive. He is a fantastic athlete overall, and the athletic testing backed it up in addition to what you see him do on tape.

Lomu is a fluid athlete who you can pull and get in space in the run game to help create explosive plays because of his athleticism. He needs to refine his technique, which can be inconsistent, and will need to add more strength at the next level, but he has the tools and ability to finally answer the Browns' left tackle woes.

This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns hosting Caleb Lomu ahead of the draft

The Cleveland Browns' offseason program kicked off this week in Berea, and the most-watched quarterback battle in the league kicked off along with it.

The Browns' quarterback question is equal parts fascinating and discouraging. The "battle" appears that it will be more like a pillow fight because whoever comes out as the starter isn't exactly going to get the entire fanbase excited.

Deshaun Watson carries a semi-truck load full of baggage to go along with bad quarterback play, Shedeur Sanders has turnover problems and an inconsistency from an accuracy standpoint that is worrisome, and Dillon Gabriel, as option number three, is discouraging because he simply does not have the tools to be an NFL quarterback.

Head coach Todd Monken definitely has his work cut out for him in his first-ever season as an NFL head coach. But, regardless of their potential or outlook, they have to put someone out there to try and win on the field.

The Browns' quarterback battle was a headline topic on Thursday's "Get Up" episode on ESPN. Former NFL Player turned analyst Jason McCourty weighed in on the situation and gave his two cents on it.

"[Shedeur Sanders] would be my QB1 starting the offseason program, but he's going to have to earn that and keep it."

—@JasonMcCourty on the Browns' QB situation 🏈 pic.twitter.com/ThxtsKoTGw

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 9, 2026

What to watch for in Browns' QB battle

While acknowledging that Watson is going to be a part of the competition for sure, McCourty suggested that Cleveland start the offseason with Sanders as quarterback one while still making him earn the starting job. Sanders, unfortunately, didn't do enough last year in his seven starts to convince anyone in Cleveland that he is the long-term answer. Naming him the offseason starter just gives him a clear starting point; it doesn't do any more than that.

This rationale by McCourty makes a lot of sense, and it does seem to be the logical move for this scenario. Cleveland fans want something to root for. Everyone knows what Deshaun Watson is at this point, and while Gabriel, like Sanders, is not a finished product, he showed that his skill set does not fit on an NFL field.

With Sanders, there is the unknown that if he cleans up the turnovers and the mechanics, he could potentially become a winning player on the field. That is not crowning him the long-term answer; it is, however, saying that at his ceiling, he could be competent enough to win football games.

We just have to find that ceiling, and you have to do it quickly before the 2027 quarterback-heavy NFL Draft.

This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns QB Shedeur Sanders to get first crack at starting gig?

Editor’s note: With several sports going on, Wildcat Wrap serves as a recap that focuses on the Arizona programs that we do not have the time to cover on a regular basis but are certainly worthy of recognition.

For a fifth straight season, the Arizona men’s tennis program has won a conference championship.

The No. 10 Wildcats took down No. 15 UCF 4-1 on Thursday in Tucson to clinch a share of the Big 12 regular season title. Arizona is 7-0 in Big 12 play with tiebreaker wins over one-loss TCU and Baylor. The UA plays at Oklahoma State on Sunday to conclude the regular season.

Clancy Shields has now led Arizona to back-to-back Big 12 titles in the program’s first two years in the conference. Last season Arizona won the Big 12 tournament championship after defeating UCF in the final.

Arizona won the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Pac-12 regular season titles as well as the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament championship.

Prior to 2022, Arizona had never won a conference championship.

This year’s Wildcats team is in the running for a top eight national seed in the NCAA Tournament, having won their last 14 matches. Arizona is 19-3 overall.

Jay Friend, the No. 5 ranked player in the country, wrapped up his final regular season home match with a 6-2, 6-3 win on the top singles court. Arizona also received singles points from Filip Gustafsson and Zoran Ludoski. Arizona opened the match by sweeping doubles play.

Arizona will be the No. 1 seed at Big 12 Championship, which runs April 15-18 in Orlando, Fla.

Swimming and diving

A pair of Arizona swimming and diving coaches earned Big 12 Coach of the Year honors.

Head coach Ben Loorz was named the Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year after guiding the Wildcats women to a second-place finish at Big 12 Championships. Nine Arizona swimmers were named All Big 12 First Team.

Arizona finished the year ranked in the top 25 nationally.

Dwight Dumais was named the Men’s Diving Coach of the Year. Under Dumais’ watch, the Arizona men placed in the top three of every meet this season, including a pair of first-place finishes at the Big 12 Championships.

Additionally, diver Luke Hernandez was named the Men’s Freshman of the Year after winning the Big 12 title in the 1-meter and platform events.

Hernandez was one of three male divers to compete at the NCAA Championships.

Women’s golf

Arizona concluded the regular season with a seventh place finish at the Huntington Bank Collegiate in Dallas. The Wildcats finished the tournament 1-over par.

Nena Wongthanavimok led Arizona with a 6-under across three rounds. She finished in a tie for sixth.

Arizona has a few weeks off before it competes at the Big 12 Championship April 23-25 in Dallas.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — There are ride-or-die caddies, and then there is Michael Greller, who has caddied for Jordan Spieth since he turned professional in 2013. And the former middle school math teacher has the gray hair to prove it.

Greller took his latest ride on the Spieth-coaster Thursday at the Masters, where the 2015 winner is trying to win his first major championship in nearly nine years. Despite the drought, Greller keeps showing up and keeping up. And, more importantly, making sure his boss man has an optimal environment to perform in.

Apparently, Greller felt that that was not the case on the par-5 15th hole in the opening round, which took more than a few souls throughout the day. Spieth hit his second shot in the right greenside bunker, then hit a mediocre shot, by his standards, to 30 feet. As he prepared to hit his birdie putt, Greller noticed something in the background he felt may have affected Spieth's line of sight. And he wasn't having it.

What made him so "agitated," asked a reporter after Spieth's round.

"Guy was repairing the divot on 16 and he didn't see. It was like—I'm not really bothered by much," Spieth said. "I don't really care normally about people, I care about like wind and stuff like that. I don't really care about people or noise.

"But it was like right when I'm looking up I was just seeing white just move. So I was like I just—he didn't hear—normally I would be like, hey, Mikey and then he normally says it and it's not an issue. He didn't hear him.

"No big deal. Still got into it and when I hit the putt I thought I hit the putt I wanted."

Unfortunately, the putt came up about five feet short, and Spieth missed the ensuing par putt. He remained unmoved by the situation, blaming the whole thing on himself.

"Hit a bad second putt, but no, it wasn't—it was just—that happens every week, something like that."

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The Wisconsin Badgers made sure they didn't go to Las Vegas, Nevada, for nothing as they defeated No. 2 North Dakota, 2-1.

Wisconsin secured its first Frozen Four win in 16 years, taking down the Fighting Hawks, a team that previously hadn't given up a goal in their first two NCAA Tournament games.

Now, the Badgers have a chance to win both the men's and women's Frozen Four tournaments. That's something that has only been done once in NCAA history, an honor Wisconsin had back in 2006.

There were two glaring takeaways from their win over North Dakota, and both played a huge difference in a 60-minute game no one expected would go the Badgers' way.

Daniel Hauser was nearly perfect

Hauser gave up a goal in the final minute, but other than that, he was lights out. The broadcast loved to mention the fact he's a 22-year-old freshman, but he looked like an established veteran in the net for Wisconsin against an extremely ferocious North Dakota offense.

The Badgers' goaltender made 21 saves. Keep in mind, the Fighting Hawks scored eight goals in their first two tournament games combined. Somehow, Hauser and company managed to hold them to just one in this Frozen Four matchup.

Wisconsin's early goals were the difference

Wisconsin finished with 15 more shots than North Dakota, but there's no doubt its first-period barrage decided this game. The Fighting Hawks were left stunned, and they couldn't get anything going until the final minute of regulation.

Simon Tassy got on the board at 12:54, and Ryan Botterilli followed him just 27 seconds later. A trio of Badgers earned assists in this one as Wisconsin punched its ticket to the national title game.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.

This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin hockey North Dakota Frozen Four win takeaways

Jordan Smith Jr. is a lead guard, an aggressive scorer, a good passer, and a versatile defender. A five-star recruit, the Arkansas commit led Paul VI (Chantilly, VA) to a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) championship, and a 33-3 record that includes a Chipotle Nationals appearance. For all this and more, the ALL-USA national team selection named the USA TODAY Sports Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

“I'm just a person that really just wants to win at a high level. I don't really care about my stats, scoring, rebounds, as long as we win the game,” Smith said during McDonald’s All American Game media day. “I really just want to impact winning.”

He certainly impacted winning, but his stats cannot be understated. He averaged 26.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 3.2 steals per game, and shot 56% from the field and 36.9% from 3. He stepped up in big games, recording 39 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, and 8 steals in a come-from-behind, double-overtime WCAC championship victory over St. John’s (Washington, D.C.), and tallied 35 points in the Chipotle Nationals loss to No. 1 CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, AZ).

Smith was the best two-way player in the country this season. He’s extremely strong and invites physicality, helping him guard multiple positions despite his 6-foot-2 height (his 6-foot-8.5 wingspan doesn’t hurt, either). On offense, he’s a downhill attacker, using that strength to barrel into the paint and go to the hoop or kick out. He is a good passer and one of the better playmakers in high school. He’s involved in most possessions on both sides of the ball.

“I can't get comfortable at any time. And I just got to keep having fun with the work and keep finding joy in basketball,” he said. “Because if I'm not having fun and finding the joy in playing basketball, then there's really no point in playing anymore. And by doing that, I feel like I can be the best of my ability.”

Smith has grown up with loaded Paul VI teams. Over his first three seasons, he played with a total of eight players who were three-star or better in older classes than him. This year, Smith was the sole ranked senior, operating alongside four-star wing Brian Mitchell Jr. and talented but unranked contributors like Ryan Bahr and Lawrence Brown III. Despite the lack of traditional Div. I talent, the Panthers were as good as ever, with the 33-3 record being their second-best since 2011-12.

They finished No. 2 in the Super 25 national rankings, spent extended time at No. 1, and beat ranked teams including No. 17 Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, NY), No. 3 Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, FL), No. 7 Principia (St. Louis, MO), No. 25 Logan-Rogersville (MO) and No. 12 Bartlett (TN), as well as other talented teams with elite talent like St. Mary’s (Phoenix), Archbishop Carroll (Washington, D.C.) and Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, VA).

In the WCAC championship game, Smith took over in the second half and overtime to overcome a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter. He went 9-for-15 from the field over the second half and overtime, accounting for 30 points in that span, and scored 17 of Paul VI’s 21 overtime points in eight minutes of play.

In the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) semifinals, he scored 36 points and had five assists and steals apiece. He had eight points and nine boards in the VISAA championship victory.

In the opening round of the Chipotle Nationals, the final high school game of Smith’s career, he scored 35 points, three away from breaking the tournament record.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY High School Sports Wire: Jordan Smith Jr. is ALL-USA Boys Basketball Player of the Year

Earlier in the season, La Liga launched a campaign to host one of the matches at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. They received the green light from FIFA and UEFA to move Villarreal-Barcelona to the United States, but after strong backlash from supporters, it was cancelled.

On the back of this, La Liga president Javier Tebas vowed to continue fighting to host a La Liga match stateside, but in the meantime, he has expressed his desire for other countries to see top-level Spanish football in the flesh. One of those is Morocco, who will co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.

Speaking this week during an interview with the Arab Press Agency of the Maghreb (via Cadena SER), Tebas opened the door to Morocco hosting a La Liga match in the future.

“Naturally, given the huge number of supporters of the Spanish League in Morocco, this is still very likely. We also like the idea of holding a match in the new stadium in Casablanca. Who knows? Why not?

“Our expansion in the Middle East and North Africa is extremely important. We have a huge fan base there, it could even be bigger than the Premier League. There is a historical relationship with Spain that is also reflected in football. It is very gratifying to see the recent successes of Moroccan football.”

How would supporters react to Morocco match?

Understandably, there was a lot of fan revolt when it was confirmed that La Liga were pushing to most a match in the United States. When it comes to possibility of one being played in Morocco, the likelihood is that there would still be unhappiness, but much less so given that the match would be much more accessible for Spain-based supporters, given how close the two countries are geographically.

It remains to be seen whether Morocco does host a La Liga match in the future, but for now, it is far down the pipeline for Tebas.

Looking to salvage one game of their best of four in Minnesota, the Tigers got a good start from Jack Flaherty and they wasted it. In the process, an outfield collision late in the game sent Parker Meadows to the hospital, though early signs are that he’ll be okay though likely to miss some time, and the Tigers slumped to 4-9 on the young season.

Well, if you had the Tigers, Mariners, Blue Jays, and Red Sox on your bingo card as the American League bottom feeders, you did better than most. The Tigers will finally come home for an extended stay at Comerica Park this weekend and through most of next week, with a chance to get right against the Miami Marlins and Kansas City Royals.

While the offense has drawn most of the criticism early on, it’s really been the pitching that the Tigers expect to lean on that has been the problem. That wasn’t so on Thursday. Colt Keith led off the game with a walk against young Twins starter Mick Abel, and Gleyber Torres lined a single to right field to set the table for the middle of the order. Riley Greene whiffed on a first pitch fastball and then took two called strikes, the final one earned on a Victor Caratini challenge. Kerry Carpenter followed him down on strikes, and Spencer Torkelson hammered a ball to left that James Outman ran down to turn the Tigers away.

Jack Flaherty got into trouble in the bottom half with a one-out walk to Trevor Larnach and a Josh Bell single, but Javier Báez made a great snag on a Matt Wallner hotshot up the middle, stepped on second, and while his throw was errant, Torkelson picked him up by tagging out Wallner to end the inning.

Once again, the Tigers got themselves into good scoring position as Zack McKinstry walked and Javier Báez dumped a single into center field. Parker Meadows and Jake Rogers struck out, and Colt Keith grounded out to end the inning and send steam coming out of most of our ears.

It’s not your fault though, Colt.

Flaherty worked through the second with the help of a strikeout of Royce Lewis and Jake Rogers cutting down Kody Clemens trying to steal second.

The Tigers got another runner on base in the third on a one-out double from Riley Greene. You know what comes next. Carpenter lifted a fly ball out to left, and Torkelson hit another ball hard, this time to Buxton in center field.

It just went on like this for a while. Báez doubled to center with one out in the fourth, and they stranded him too. Flaherty gave up a solo shot to Josh Bell to open the bottom of the fourth, but he rallied from there to put together a nice 5.2 inning outing with just one run allowed. He just didn’t get much help other than some early defensive work as noted. He departed in the sixth after allowing singles to Bell and Wallner, and then getting Caratini to fly out. Tyler Holton took over and Kody Clemens drilled a ball to center that Meadows hauled in to turn the Twins away.

Garrett Acton took over from Abel in the top of the seventh. He clipped Rogers with a pitch with one out, and Keith singled back through the box as Rogers hooved it to third. A Torres sacrifice fly got the run in to tie the game 1-1, but the big hit did not arrive as Greene sliced a drive down the left field line, where Outman made a nice sliding catch heading into the close wall in the corner.

Holton got into a little trouble in the seventh and you could feel this thing teetering, but he punched out Larnach to preserve the tie. Rather than taking some momentum from that, the Tigers were set down in order by Acton.

Then, in the bottom of the eighth, Will Vest took over. Bell greeted him with a drive up the left center field gap. Greene hauled it in but he and Meadows had a communication breakdown and Meadows kept coming, ultimately looking like they banged heads as they passed. Greene had it all the way and made the catch, coming through unscathed. Meadows was shaken up pretty badly and visibly bleeding a little from his mouth. He remained motionless though responsive for a long time before they finally got him up and on the cart to come off the field. It was pretty scary and the Tigers players were shook.

Báez took over in center field, while Kevin McGonigle, who had his first full off day to this point, took over at shortstop. We’ll have to wait for word on a potential concussion, but it certainly looked likely that Meadows will need a little time on the injured list.

Vest walked Wallner and Caratini singled to left. Vest settled down and punched out Clemens, but Vest was also sitting 93-94 mph with his fastball, which didn’t feel great. Lewis pulled a slow chopper to third for an infield hit, and Brooks Lee followed with a two-run single through the right side. 3-1 Twins. Lawd. Brant Hurter took over to get the final out.

Báez and McGonigle flew out to Buxton in center and Dillon Dingler struck out to end it.

Time to come home and re-group, Tigers. It’s been a bizarre start to the year so far. Only three teams in the American League have scored more runs as of this writing, and obviously the season just got underway, but the pitching has been wildly inconsistent, and they haven’t gotten it done at all in big moments in games so far.

Analyst makes bold Browns QB claim for 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Cleveland Browns' quarterback room is perhaps one of the most fascinating groups to watch over the next handful of months.

With Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, and Deshaun Watson, the players Todd Monken has at his disposal, who will separate themselves to be the starter in 2026?

Everyone has their thoughts on who it should be, and for most, it isn't Watson.

And for ESPN's Kevin Clark, when asked if Sanders should be the Browns starter in 2026, he gave a definitive response.

"Yeah, absolutely," Clark said on ESPN's GetUp. "I wouldn't bring anybody else into that room, I would not include Deshaun Watson in this quarterback competition. I think it should be Dillon Gabriel vs. Shedeur in camp. Maybe he's not your franchise guy for the next 10 years, but in 2026, let's see what he can do."

More:Mark Andrews has interesting response to Ravens' TE room changes

Should Sanders be Browns starter?

Well, we already know what the Browns have in Watson, so that isn't an option. Of Sanders and Gabriel, Shedeur showed far more last season.

Plus, he was the starter for the last handful of games last season, and he clearly has the most upside.

What Clark stated is right, let's see what Sanders has in 2026. He might not be the long-term option, but the only way you will know is if you play him for a prolonged period to see what he can actually do.

Is it Sanders' job in 2026? Clark thinks it should be, and so do I.

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Apr. 9—Max Henson said he loved the feeling of having a WPIAL singles gold medal around his neck last year at Bethel Park.

A change of venue for this year's tournament didn't alter the outcome for the Belle Vernon senior.

Henson closed out another impressive run to a title with a straight-set victory over Quaker Valley junior Will Meagher on Thursday under sunny skies at North Allegheny.

"This feels twice as good," said Henson, who won 6-0, 6-2. "I was looking forward to going after it again. There wasn't any pressure. High school tennis is fun. I just go out there and play my game."

Henson had two matches on his way to the finals. He won 10-0 in the quarterfinals before defeating North Catholic senior Justin Garvey, the No. 4 seed, 6-1, 6-3, in the quarterfinals.

Henson and Garvey's semifinal matchup was a rematch of last year's WPIAL finals, also won in straight sets by Henson.

Henson and Meagher faced off for the first time.

"Will is a very good player," said Henson, a Cleveland State commit. "He's got a good serve and good volleys. He was consistent off the ground.

"I just felt pretty good out there. I liked my second serve. I wasn't missing them."

Henson now has more than a month to plan strategy and prepare to defend his state title won last year in Hershey.

"It's an honor to be able to go back to Hershey," he said. "Those courts are fast. I like them a lot. Being there before and having success will really help me going back."

Meagher reached the WPIAL finals after losing, as the No. 6 seed, in last year's WPIAL quarterfinals.

"Max is a great player," Meagher said. "His serves are amazing. I felt I could've gotten a few more games against him. I think it was a little closer than the final score would let on."

Despite the finals loss, Meagher felt he played pretty well throughout the tournament and is looking forward to facing the best in Hershey.

"Obviously, the goal for states is to make it as far as I can, hopefully win a couple rounds, and see what happens," he said. "I know there is such amazing competition at states. Maybe I will see Max again."

A third spot to states from Class 2A was on the line in the consolation matchup between Garvey and No. 2 Silas Morris, a senior from Greensburg Salem.

Garvey was able to secure his second trip to states with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Morris, who had reached the WPIAL semifinals for the first time.

Garvey said he liked the way he was able to bounce back from his semifinal loss to Henson.

"I didn't play too well (Wednesday) against Max," said Garvey, who fell in the first round of last year's PIAA draw.

"But I stood in there and won a couple of games. I was able to come back today and trust my serve to help get me points. I was hitting some nice shots. I could've come up to the net more and finish off some shots, but overall, I did pretty well."

Morris, who aggravated a right ankle injury in his semifinal loss to Meagher, didn't back out of his consolation match with a trip to states on the line.

Despite being somewhat limited in his movement, he worked through the discomfort.

"I couldn't run, and changing directions, it really hurt," said Morris, who lost to Garvey as the No. 15 seed in last year's first round.

"It felt good to get to where I was. I was proud of winning sections this year. Last year, I didn't feel I was the 15th-seeded player and could've been put in a better situation. It was a tough draw last year. But I just wanted to come back and focus on this opportunity."

Sircar returns to the top

Advaita Sircar felt the elation of winning a WPIAL Class 3A singles championship two years ago.

The North Allegheny junior also felt the sting last year of coming so close to defending his title.

Sircar's motivation to be the best again helped carry him to another gold medal.

Sircar, the top seed and a Naval Academy commit, lost just one point in his first three tournament matches before defeating his Tigers teammate, senior Evan Kaufman, 6-2, 6-1, for the title on their home courts.

"It feels amazing to have had the chance to come back and win another one," said Sircar, who lost to Gateway graduate Adam Memije in last year's finals after defeating Memije for gold in 2024.

"Last year's loss was heartbreaking. Now, I am so pumped up. I am ready for states."

Sircar will head to Hershey next month seeking a title after finishing runner-up last year and as a quarterfinalist as a freshman.

Thursday marked the first time since 1999 that two teammates played for a WPIAL singles title in Class 3A. That year, Brandon Tung beat Bo Wiegand in a three-set, all-Shady Side Academy classic.

The last time it happened in Class 2A was 2012 when Sewickley Academy teammates went at it with Colin Kaye defeating Grayson Geller, 6-4, 6-4.

"It was nice to play someone who I know so well and who is a good friend," Sircar said. "It was nice to know that someone from North Allegheny would be the champion. It was a fun match. It came down to who was able to execute better."

Kaufman's advancement to the finals as the No. 6 seed also meant an automatic PIAA berth, but WPIAL gold was on his mind Thursday.

Despite coming up short to Sircar, the Case Western Reserve commit appreciated his position after not being able to enter the singles tournament last year.

A torn labrum late in his 2024 sophomore season kept him out until last year's WPIAL team tournament. He made the quarterfinals as a sophomore.

"(Advaita) and I have played a ton, so we are so familiar with each other. But I knew it was going to be a hard match," Kaufman said. "I didn't execute perfectly, and he played so well. That is why he came out on top. But I am so grateful to get back and compete for a spot at states. My shoulder feels great."

Upper St. Clair sophomore Carter Lichtman, the No. 12 seed, finished third in an injury walkover as fellow semifinalist, Gateway senior Logan Memije, was not able to play Thursday.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

NBA Courtside: Jayson Tatum on returning to MSG where he tore his achilles: "I'm not over it... In all honesty my life changed a little bit. I'm not thrilled. It'll probably be tough for me. Emotionally it was like the worst day of my life.... I'm nervous talking about it right now. I decided I was going to come back, just gotta go do it"

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This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Jayson Tatum on returning to MSG after tearing his Achilles there: I'm not over it, I'm nervous even talking about it

NBA Courtside: Jayson Tatum speaks on the night he tore his achilles: "I was in denial. I couldn't believe this happened to me.... I felt like that day was the best I felt in my career. For that too happen I was l like done with basketball"

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This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: "I was in denial. I couldn't believe this happened to …

Tony Jones: According to a team spokesperson, Joel Embiid woke up to intense stomach pain. He went to get checked out and it was determined that he had appendicitis. He is currently in surgery…..the pain was intense enough that he was immediately ruled out for tonight

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This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: According to a team spokesperson, Joel Embiid woke up …

Denver Nuggets: Injury Report ahead of tomorrow's game against the Thunder: QUESTIONABLE: Nikola Jokić (Right Wrist Injury Management) Jamal Murray (Right Shoulder Impingement) Aaron Gordon (Right Hamstring Injury Management) OUT: Peyton Watson (Right Hamstring Strain) Spencer Jones (Right Hamstring Strain)

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This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Nikola Jokić (Right Wrist Injury Management)

Tony East: Kobe Brown and Ben Sheppard won’t play tonight in Brooklyn, Pacers say. They’ll have 9 players available: Quenton Jackson, Taelon Peter, Ethan Thompson, Obi Toppin, Micah Porter, Jay Huff, Jalen Slawson, Jarace Walker, and Kam Jones.

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This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Kobe Brown and Ben Sheppard won’t play tonight in …

NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets came into the 2025-26 NBA season with the goal of developing their five first-round rookies at the same time while trying to win as many games as possible. Brooklyn undertook the task of the largest first-round in NBA history and while not every player has given a clear indication of their potential, head coach Jordi Fernandez looks on the class positively.

"It’s hard to give specific numbers for many reasons, but the exposure to competition has been outstanding. I think that’s something that we knew we wanted to do from the beginning," Fernandez said prior to Thursday's game against the Indiana Pacers. The Nets took guard Egor Demin with the eighth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and he was the first of five rookies drafted that saw varying levels of playing time during this rebuilding year.

"How much can we expose these guys? These guys are not going to sit. They’re going to play, whether they play in Brooklyn or Long Island, they’re going to play and they’re going to play minutes because playing real minutes and competitive minutes are the best player development," Fernandez continued. "I don’t have magic answers, but the game will put them in those situations."

With the exception of Ben Saraf, who was taken with the 27th overall pick, each of Brooklyn's rookies has played at least 1, 000 minutes this season with Demin (1,308) leading the way. Demin had the most successful season of the five rookies as he ends his first season in the league with 10.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 39.9% from the field and 38.5% from three-point land.

As Fernandez tells it, the goal was for all of the rookies to see varying amounts of playing time so that their development could be sped up for when the team is ready to win sometime in the future. While some on the outside have mixed emotions about Brooklyn's rookie class given the massive undertaking, Fernandez feels that all of the rookies have each given a reason for him to be positive about their future.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Jordi Fernandez gives overview of 2025 rookie class' performance

FIFA added new, even more expensive tiers of tickets for this year’s World Cup, asking up to $4,105 for a front category 1 seat at the U.S. opener against Paraguay in Inglewood, California, on June 12.

Last week, FIFA had asked for a top price of $2,735 for category 1 tickets for the match but added new “front category” pricing.

FIFA also added a front category 2 tier to its ticket sales website without public announcement, asking $1,940 to $2,330 for those tickets for the U.S. opener. The new categories were first reported Thursday by The Athletic.

The World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19 in 16 cities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Soccer’s governing body had in its Sept. 9 “ticket products and categories” information called category 1 “the highest-priced seats, located primarily in the lower tier” but appears to have withheld some seats from that category. It had labeled category 2 as “positioned outside of category 1 areas, available in both lower and upper tiers.”

FIFA did not respond to an email sent to its media office seeking comment.

FIFA added seats at up to $3,360 in front category 1 for Canada’s opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 in Toronto.

For round of 16 games, it added $905 seats in Philadelphia.

FIFA last week raised its top ticket price for the World Cup final to $10,990 during the glitch-hampered reopening of sales. The price had been $8,680 when FIFA sold tickets after the tournament draw in December.

FIFA’s category 2 tickets for the July 19 game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, were $7,380, up from $5,575, and category 3 cost $5,785, an increase from $4,185.

No tickets appeared to be available for the final on Thursday on FIFA's ticket site.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Justin Rose is back in contention at the Masters, one year after his playoff loss to Rory McIlroy.

Might be better off that he's not back in the lead, too.

Rose has held at least a share of the first-round lead a record five times at Augusta National, including last year, but he's never been able to carry it through the finish. So, Rose's bogey-bogey conclusion to his opening round Thursday, which left the three-time runner-up with a 70 and three shots back of McIlroy and early leader Sam Burns, might not be the worst thing in the world.

Only trouble is there are a whole lot of big names in the same pack giving chase.

Former Masters champion Patrick Reed was joined by Jason Day and Kurt Kitayama at 3 under, while Rose was in the group another shot back, along with Scottie Scheffler, Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffele — all of them major champions.

“Every hole you're just being patient through experience,” Rose said, “knowing that grinding out the pars is a good thing. Just eating up the holes is a good thing. You know, getting through Amen Corner is a good thing. All of these things — you just know how the golf course can play at times, yeah, so every little mini-victory you had out there was worth celebrating.”

Most of the best scores Thursday were posted by those with early tee times, who took advantage of a little less wind and much softer greens. By the afternoon, the breeze was swirling, the sun had baked the putting surfaces and many of them felt like concrete.

“Every player would say they would like it firm and fast,” Rose said, “but I think there’s, like, a boundary to that.”

The tough conditions left Schauffele pondering a slightly different approach to his second round Friday.

“Potentially attack less, to be honest,” he said. “You know, less attack and a little more conservative. I mean, there are some nice scores up there early from what I can see. ... You just have to be driving it really far to have a shorter club in, or got to be hitting your spots.”

Rose and Scheffler were both able to hit their spots early in their rounds.

By the end of them, the course was at its toughest.

Rose started off with back-to-back birdies at the second and third, added another at the eighth and twice reached 4 under on the second nine before finishing with consecutive bogeys. Scheffler got off to a similarly hot start with an eagle at the par-5 second and a birdie after driving the green at the par-4 third, only to play a birdieless final 15 holes in 2 over.

That also ended Scheffler's streak of four consecutive sub-70 opening rounds at the Masters.

But it left him very much in contention with 54 holes to play.

“I feel like I played really solid,” Scheffler said. “There were a few putts I felt like I made that lipped out or stayed right on the edge. But other than that, really, really a lot of good stuff. I hit it nice. Drove it well today. Hit some good iron shots.

“But you know, like you said, it got so firm late in the day. It was pretty challenging.”

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

North Carolina has already had a busy offseason, from its lengthy coaching search to the hiring of former NBA champion Michael Malone.

Now that the dust has settled, Malone and his staff must land key transfer-portal targets while convincing others to stay in Chapel Hill. They also need to make sure their prized high school commitments stay true to Carolina. Once that is settled, they can start putting in motion the blueprint for what North Carolina should be in the Malone era.

Here are some things Malone and his staff must do in the short and long term — beyond just winning games and trophies.

Retain Henri Veesaar and Jarin Stevenson

Malone must do whatever he can to bring back two critical pieces of his frontcourt.

After transferring from Arizona, Veesaar averaged 17.0 points and 8.7 rebounds, ranking eighth in scoring and fourth in rebounding in the ACC. He shot 60.8% from the field, second in the ACC and 21st nationally, and led the Tar Heels in 3-point percentage at 42.6%, the best mark on the team among players with at least 50 attempts. He recorded 15 double-doubles, second most in the conference and 17th nationally.

Stevenson averaged 8.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game while shooting 47% from the field and 29.5% from 3-point range. He was a valuable piece for the Tar Heels because of his two-way versatility and proved he could start and play meaningful minutes — something he never had the opportunity to do at Alabama.

Veesaar is projected to be either a late first-round or second-round pick, depending on the mock draft. Stevenson could enter the transfer portal and have plenty of suitors, but he is a Chapel Hill native.

The good thing about Malone’s arrival is his work with big men, most notably Nikola Jokic. Given his NBA credentials, that should help when he makes his pitch for why they should come back.

Lock in commitments of Dylan Mingo and Maximo Adams

North Carolina must do what it can to keep its two incoming bluechip freshmen, point guard Dylan Mingo and small forward Maximo Adams.

Mingo, who is a consensus top 10 player nationally and the No. 1 prospect from the state of New York, is committed to the Tar Heels but has yet to sign. His older brother, Kayden, just enter the transfer portal and it should get very interesting in the coking weeks.

Adams, who is considered the favorite to replace the outgoing Caleb Wilson, is a consensus top 25 prospect nationally. While he has signed with UNC, he could still choose another school of hos choosing.

Player development

If there was one issue that plagued UNC throughout the Davis era, it was the lack of player development. A prime example is former Tar Heel Elliot Cadeau and his success at Michigan.

Cadeau was an inconsistent yet solid point guard at UNC. Davis and the Tar Heels let him go, and he became an important part of Michigan’s national championship team, winning the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award. He averaged 10.5 points and six assists per game while shooting 41.1% from the field and a career-high 37.6% from 3-point range.

His replacement at UNC was Colorado State transfer Kyan Evans, who averaged 10.6 points and 3.1 assists while shooting 47.1% from the field and 44.6% from 3-point range, the latter ranking 24th nationally. However, Evans struggled mightily at UNC, averaging just four points and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 32.8% from the field. He was eventually benched for freshman Derek Dixon, who also had his share of struggles.

Malone was one of the better player developers in the NBA, given his work with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. UNC’s players will almost certainly benefit from that.

Rebuild NBA pipeline

Yes, championships matter. North Carolina has made three Final Fours and won one national title without a surefire lottery pick on any of those three teams. However, having recognizable names in the NBA who represent your school also matters. The players trying to get to UNC are thinking about what comes after college — the NBA.

Right now, Carolina has only eight active players on NBA rosters, which is tied for the 12th most with Villanova, and just three of them are starters. That’s also less than programs such as Baylor and Gonzaga, whose success has mainly come in the 21st century. Kentucky (27) and Duke (25), programs on the same tier as the Tar Heels, have far more.

Even worse, the last time North Carolina had a representative in the NBA All-Star Game was Vince Carter in 2007. Yeah, that’s a long time ago.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: What Michael Malone must fix

Robert Whittaker says Israel Adesanya needs to find a way to reignite his passion amid his skid.

Former two-time UFC middleweight champion Adesanya (24-6 MMA, 13-6 UFC) dropped his fourth straight fight when he was finished by Joe Pyfer last month at UFC Fight Night 271. While Adesanya still looks competitive, he is now starting to lose to the newer crop of fighters in the division.

Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) wants his former foe to reassess everything.

"I think he needs to find that hunger," Whittaker told Fox Sports Australia. "It's easy to say he may be a little comfortable at the moment. He's got money, he's reached the top of the mountain, he's done everything. He's ticked every box. What is there he needs to achieve anymore?

"He needs to find that drive to continue doing what he's doing, to continue to light that fire, that hunger, that love for the game. I don't think it was a bad thing. We all learn from our losses, and I think this is a good point for him to just make those decisions and work out where he needs to go and what he wants to do."

Also a former UFC champion, Whittaker will look to prevent himself from falling into similar territory by seeking new life at light heavyweight. Whittaker is coming off back-to-back losses to current middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev and Reinier de Ridder. He recently spent time training with Adesanya to help him prep for his fight against Pyfer.

"If he wants to press on, I'm 100 percent with him," Whittaker said of Adesanya. "I love working with him, and I'd love to see his journey continue. I'd love to see him get back up there."

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As Danny Sprinkle looks to retool his backcourt through the transfer portal ahead of his third season with the Washington Huskies, one option who has emerged is former Buffalo guard Daniel Frietag.

According to a report from Rising Ballers Network's Dylan Lutey, the Huskies are among a handful of high-major programs taking a look at, alongside California, Creighton, Ole Miss, Oregon State, and Penn State, after he posted 19.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 36.1 percent from three-point range across 23 appearances in his one year with the Buffaloes.

After initially signing with the Wisconsin Badgers as a four-star recruit, the 6-foot-2 guard played sparingly in the Big Ten during his freshman season before opting to transfer down to get playing time. Now, with more experience under his belt, Freitag won't be making a financially driven decision as he looks for his next home.

Buffalo guard Daniel Freitag (@DanielFreitag_) has heard from the following he tells me:

Ole Miss
Creighton
Cal
GCU
Washington
Penn State
High Point
Portland
Oregon St

After transferring from Wisconsin the 6-2 guard had a monster year averaging 19.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.3… pic.twitter.com/PpazFsAB6k

— Rising Ballers Network (@dylan_lutey) April 8, 2026

"I'm looking forward to hopefully calling this last spot my last spot," Freitag said in an interview with Matt Michaels. "At every stop I've made, I haven't valued money a ton. I definitely want to be respected, and I know my worth, although I know if that drives your decision-making, things can be a little weird."

After losing sophomore guard Zoom Diallo, who averaged 15.7 points per game last season, to the transfer portal while freshmen JJ Mandaquit and Courtland Muldrew are also looking for new homes, the Huskies will need an infusion of scoring in the backcourt.

Although he wasn't able to crack the rotation during his first stint in the Big Ten, the Huskies would likely lean heavily on Freitag as a rotational scorer behind junior Wesley Yates if he were to make his way to Montlake.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: UW basketball reportedly in contact with high-scoring Buffalo G

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Simon Tassy and Ryan Botterill scored 27 seconds apart in the first period and Wisconsin defeated North Dakota 2-1 on Thursday to put the Badgers in the Frozen Four title game for the first time since 2010.

The Badgers (24-12-2), seeded third in their region, will play the winner between Michigan and Denver in the championship game Saturday. Wisconsin has won six titles, its most recent coming 20 years ago.

Wisconsin defeated North Dakota (29-10-1) for the first time in the NCAA Tournament after going 0-3 against the Fighting Hawks. Wisconsin, which beat a No. 1 seed for the second time in a row, had gone 1-11-2 in its previous 14 meetings with the Hawks.

North Dakota, which came less than a minute from being shut out for the first time in more than a year, has gone a decade since winning its eighth national championship.

Daniel Hauser stopped 21 shots for the Badgers, including tough glove save through traffic while sitting down on a 6-on-5 with 2:05 left.

Front-line center Ellis Rickwood scored North Dakota's lone goal on a 6-on-5, and Jan Spunar made 35 saves.

The Badgers' defense limited a North Dakota offense that entered the game third nationally in scoring (3.8 goals per game). But Wisconsin’s forecheck dictated the early points and set the tone.

Wisconsin dominated the first period, taking 18 shots on goal to four. The Badgers scored twice 27 seconds apart when Tassy and Botterill hit the back of the net from the right circle.

Even when the Hawks had chances, they usually failed to take advantage, going 0 for 5 on the power play, including a 5-on-3 in the second period that lasted 1:56. Ollie Josephson also missed a chance in that period to score on a breakaway.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Vancouver Canucks will be missing Evander Kane when they begin their three-game California road trip on Thursday. After morning skate, Head Coach Adam Foote confirmed that Kane did not make the trip and said, "He's going through some stuff. He's been fighting through it. Along with that, and us wanting to go with some young guys."

While Foote has mentioned a few times that Kane has been dealing with an injury, no specifics have been released. This includes what the injury is and when exactly Kane suffered it. Kane has missed three of the last four games for Vancouver and has skated in 71 of the team's 77 games this year. 

With Kane out for the road trip, the question now is whether or not he will play again this season. The Canucks have only five games left, with the final regular-season game scheduled for April 16. Kane is an unrestricted free agent this season and ranks sixth on Vancouver's roster with 31 points. 

The Canucks kick off their California road trip on Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings. Thursday is a must-win game for the Kings, as they look to secure a spot in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm PT. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:

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Michigan vs. Denver Score, Live Updates, Highlights From 2026 NCAA Frozen Four originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Michigan and Denver will go head-to-head in a Frozen Four matchup on Thursday night to determine which team will take a massive step toward winning an NCAA championship.

Denver, which owns the record for most NCAA titles with 10, has reached the Frozen Four for the third year in a row. The Pioneers won the championship in 2024, but they fell in the semifinal round last year.

Michigan, sitting right behind Denver with nine trophies, will try to capture its first national championship since 1998. Can the Wolverines finally end their title drought?

Follow along right here for the latest updates and highlights from Michigan vs. Denver.

Michigan vs. Denver score

Michigan vs. Denver live updates, highlights from 2026 Frozen Four game

8:05 p.m. ET: Puck drop should begin around 8:45 p.m. ET.

7:43 p.m. ET: Wisconsin beat North Dakota to advance to the National Championship. Daniel Hauser was brilliant behind the net.  

Welcome to NESN's live coverage of Michigan vs. Denver. Updates will be provided here before the Frozen Four game begins.

How to watch Michigan vs. Denver: TV channels, live streams

• TV channels: ESPN2
• Live streams:ESPN app, fubo

Michigan vs. Denver will air nationally on ESPN2. The game will also be available to stream on fubo and the ESPN app.

Now you can watch ESPN without cable. Stream live NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB and college sports, plus "SportsCenter," "First Take" and all your favorite ESPN shows — anytime, anywhere — only in the new ESPN app.

Michigan vs. Denver start time

• Date: Thursday, April 9
• Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

Michigan vs. Denver is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 9. The Frozen Four game will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

NCAA men's hockey tournament schedule, results 2026

Thursday, March 26 — Regional Semifinals

Friday, March 27 — Regional Semifinals

Saturday, March 28 — Regional Finals

Sunday, March 29 — Regional Finals

Thursday, April 9 — Semifinals

Saturday, April 11 —Finals

NCAA men's hockey tournament champions by year

Here are the last 10 tournament champions:

As most of you probably suspected based on last evening’s question of the day post, this evening’s will be the flip side of that. As with any team in any sport, there are always players who are sort of unsung heroes or who have a bigger impact overall, leading them to be somewhat or completely underrated. There are also those guys who are brought in that either starred in college or for a previous professional team, who just never live up to the hype, despite some fans still believing they are or were great for your franchise.

So this evening’s Phinsider Question Of The Day is:

Who is your all-time most overrated Miami Dolphins player and why? This can be someone who is overrated because of the hype they received, the massive contract they signed, or another reason you believe applies.

Please share your thoughts and answers in the comment section below-

The Professional Fighters League is postponing it’s scheduled PFL Mena event for May 8.

With uncertainty in the middle east due to the U.S.-Iran conflict, and a temporary ceasefire in place, it would be understandably difficult to host a major sporting event in the region. Although PFL didn’t use the military conflict as a specific reason, the promotion went ahead and called for a postponement for the card in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

“The Professional Fighters League today announced that PFL MENA 9, originally scheduled to take place in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia on May 8, has been postponed as the league finalizes updated event plans for the 2026 PFL MENA season,” PFL officials wrote in a statement.

“All previously announced bouts will move forward as part of the 2026 PFL MENA season opener, with updated event details, including date and location, to be announced soon.

All ticket holders will receive a full refund, which will be processed within the next 30 days.

“The Professional Fighters League remains committed to the continued growth of mixed martial arts across the region and intends to return to Al Khobar later this year as part of its 2026 event calendar.

“Further updates will be announced soon.“

PFL returns to action this Saturday for PFL Chicago, headlined by a matchup between former Bellator champ Sergio Pettis and the undefeated Mitch McKee.

On their latest Chicago Draft Room, Ari Temkin and Jacob Infante take a deep dive into Alabama offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor. Would the 6’7”, 352-pounder be a steal or a swing-and-miss if the Chicago Bears took him at 25?

What about some other left tackle options in the first round?

The fellas also discuss Dane Brugler’s The Beast and a wish list for pick #25, with some notes on the prospects they’ve had their eyes on all draft season. After that, they lay out The Seven-Pick Blueprint, which is how the Bears should attack rounds 2 through 7 to build the most complete roster possible.

And finally, they get into the Caleb Williams and Troy Aikman story that keeps popping up.

It’s sure to be a jam-packed hour of Bears and NFL Draft stuff that you won’t want to miss!

Ari and Jacob will be live at 8:00 p.m. (CT), so head over to the 2nd City YouTube channel to get in on the fun or watch the embed right here.

Podcast version right here asap.

Our 2nd City Gridiron Podcast Channel is available on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Audacy, and other popular podcast platforms, so hit subscribe wherever you get your audio. Our YouTube home is also called 2nd City Gridiron, so subscribe there for our pods and other video content.

The 2nd City Gridiron team now has a merchandise store! Show some support for our team of content creators right here!

The Calgary Flames would more than likely prefer to forget what happened the last time they met the Colorado Avalanche.

The 9-2 final score painted the picture of a blowout loss, but a closer look reveals that the Avalanche scored five goals in the first five minutes of the game, so just calling it a blowout kind of comes up short.

Well, the theme of the regular season has been the revenge game, and Calgary has a chance to follow the rule and steal one from Colorado at Ball Arena.

Can they pull off the upset, or will the Avalanche once again be too much for the team from Cowtown?

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche have won the West and Central Division while still seeking the Presidents’ Trophy, but will their home-ice struggles come back to bite them yet again?

Colorado is 3-1-6 at home since returning from the Olympic break, which is kind of ironic, considering the Avalanche’s reward for regular-season success is home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Avalanche will be without Nazem Kadri, who left during the second period of Colorado’s victory over St. Louis. Just when they finally got to ice their full arsenal of forward talent.

Projected Lineup:

Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog — Brock Nelson — Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton — Nicolas Roy — Joel Kiviranta
Parker Kelly — Jack Drury — Logan O’Connor

Devon Toews — Sam Malinski
Brett Kulak — Josh Manson
Nick Blankenburg — Brent Burns

MacKenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood

Calgary Flames

The Flames still have problems scoring; in fact, Nazem Kadri’s 41 points (while in Calgary) would still be tied for the lead on the roster.

The Flames did test the Dallas Stars their last time out but fell 4-3 in OT. This does display a capability to steal one, and after what we saw from Colorado on home ice against Vancouver on April Fools Day, anything is possible.

Projected Lineup:

Yegor Sharangovich — Mikael Backlund — Matt Coronato
Joel Farabee — Morgan Frost — Matvei Gridin
Connor Zary — Ryan Strome — Aydar Suniev
Victor Olofsson — John Beecher — Adam Klapk

Yan Kuznetsov — Zach Whitecloud
Olli Maatta — Hunter Brzustewicz
Brayden Pachal — Zayne Parekh

Dustin Wolf
Devin Cooley

Barclays Center got one last regular-season home game Thursday, and the timing was awkward for the fans. The Nets and Indiana Pacers both sat star power again while the lottery picture stays front and center, leaving the building to host something closer to a late-season tryout than a showcase.

Jordi Fernández didn’t pretend that’s what people sign up for when they buy tickets. But when he was asked what he’s appreciated about the fan base during a season in which Brooklyn entered the night 12-28 at home, he went straight to the one thing that hasn’t wavered.

“Yeah, I mean the loyalty and the support has been amazing, especially going into a season that we didn’t win a lot of games,” Fernández said. “But all our guys worked and played hard, got better, and to feel the support for what we’re trying to do and the plan we have is pretty special.”

That’s the tightrope this team has walked for months. The record hasn’t been good enough, and the home record shows it. But Fernández keeps pointing back to effort, to growth, to the idea that the group has kept showing up for the work even when the standings stopped being kind. He said the fans have shown up, too, and that it’s felt.

“So, I appreciate them showing up, and the way we play is because we feel that support,” Fernández said. “We are going to keep getting 1% better and we’re going to find that success that everybody wants and sustain it.”

For a second-year coach, the relationship with the borough has been part of the assignment. Fernández said he wants fans to feel like they’ve watched a team that reflects Brooklyn’s personality, even if the product has been uneven and the roster has been young.

“Yeah, I think that it’s a group that is going to represent the borough and go out there and fight and get better,” Fernández said. “Not always going to be perfect, but I think that we give our best and we compete. I think that we’ve shown that.”

He also pushed back on the idea that youth and constant change should soften expectations. The Nets have leaned heavily on young players all season, but Fernández said the group never used that as a shield.

“The challenges of the new group and the youth, it’s never been an excuse,” Fernández said. “But they’ve shown how much they care, and I think that feeling of support has been very important for us.”

So even with a final home game that won’t feature the full names fans want to see on the floor, Fernández said the message is simple. Appreciation first. Then a promise that the work won’t stop.

“Well, obviously, to appreciate what they do for us. It means a lot, from the support that we get in our events that are not in the arena, like Practice in the Park and all the other community events,” Fernández said. “I think this is the reason why we do this, is to impact in a positive way the community, but also to show them and promise them that we’re going to keep working, getting better and competing so when they watch us play, they’re proud of what we’re doing.”

Brazil extended its negative run in the opening round of the Copa Sudamericana group stage.

On Thursday (9), Botafogo began its campaign in the tournament with a draw against Caracas at Nilton Santos Stadium.

The Venezuelan side opened the scoring in the first half, and Arthur Cabral found the net in the second.

Watch the match goals below:

The match marked Franclim Carvalho’s debut as Botafogo’s head coach.

With the result, Brazilian football reached six matches played in this opening round of the Copa Sudamericana group stage.

Only São Paulo left the pitch with a win, after beating Boston River away from home on Tuesday (7).

Check out all the results for the Brazilian teams in the competition so far below:

Barracas Central 0 x 0 Vasco

Boston River 0 x 1 São Paulo

Deportivo Cuenca 1 x 0 Santos

Montevideo City Torque 1 x 0 Grêmio

Puerto Cabello 2 x 1 Atlético-MG

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

Yamaha seems set to call up Toprak Razgatlioglu as Alex Rins’ replacement in their factory MotoGP line-up, which could also pave the way for Jack Miller to remain at Pramac into 2027.

Having only just started his MotoGP career with Pramac this season under a factory Yamaha deal, Razgatlioglu is already being linked with a move following Fabio Quartararo’s anticipated switch to Honda and Rins’ ongoing struggles in 2026.

The paddock has been buzzing about Quartararo’s move to Honda for some time now, fuelled by his frustrations over Yamaha’s development progress. In response, Yamaha has acted quickly, with reports suggesting they’ve lined up Aprilia star Jorge Martin as his successor.

Now it seems the team are leaning towards pairing Martin with Razgatlioglu for the 2027 campaign. That shift would leave Rins out in the cold once his deal expires at the end of next year. But Razgatlioglu stepping up could work out well for Miller, too, whose current contract is also set to run out soon.

Everything is lining up for Jack Miller to remain at Pramac, as Yamaha plans Toprak Razgatlioglu’s move

That is according to Fox Sports Australia, who report that the 29-year-old is now likely to start the new regulations era as a factory rider. He signed a two-year deal to move over from World Superbikes, and Yamaha have been keen on him ever since.

The Turk will replace Rins, which then opens the door for Miller to stay at Pramac. With next year’s regulation changes set up as an ideal opportunity to bring in fresh talent, Yamaha is expected to promote from within, and Moto2 standout Izan Guevara seems the obvious choice.

If Guevara does step up, it shouldn’t put pressure on Miller’s position at Pramac. Having spent 12 seasons in the premier class, he offers exactly what Yamaha needs: a proven presence who can help develop their V4 engine and steady things during the transition period.

The Australian has also been an important support for Razgatlioglu during his early days in MotoGP. And as the three-time World Superbike champion continues adjusting through his final season of the 1,000cc era, that relationship should only grow stronger.

This year marks Guevara’s fourth season in Moto2, but it’s only now that he’s become a serious title threat. After picking up his first win in Valencia last November, he already has two podiums under his belt just three races into this campaign.

Read more:

Jacob Bridgeman, a former Clemson Tiger, ensured that his first round at Augusta National Golf Club was anything but quiet.

Bridgeman shot a 1-under 71 in his Masters debut on Thursday, finishing with a 50-foot birdie shot on the 18th hole that sent him into a tie for 10th and gave Clemson fans a moment to hold onto. It wasn’t a flawless round, but it was one that showed exactly why his game translates so well to a stage like Augusta.

He opened with an early birdie on the par-5 second and settled into a rhythm through the front nine. That rhythm was tested on the fifth hole when a tee shot drifted into the trees and beyond the gallery, forcing him into a scramble that resulted in his first bogey of the day. Bridgeman's confidence didn't spiral after that moment, however, as he answered with controlled golf the rest of the front side, making the turn at even and keeping himself within reach of the top of the food chain.

The back nine brought forward some golf that you only see at the highest level in Augusta, Georgia. On the par-5 13th, Bridgeman delivered one of his sharpest shots of the day, setting up a birdie that pushed him back under par and gave him real momentum. That was short-lived momentum, however, as a missed short putt on the 14 hole gave that shot right back, and one hole later, things nearly unraveled when his second shot on 15 found the trees. Instead of allowing the situation to deteriorate, he managed to recover and secure a par, a moment that, while not prominently displayed on the scorecard, held equal significance to all his actions throughout the day.

That response carried over immediately. Bridgeman stepped onto the par-3 16th and converted another birdie, climbing back to even and positioning himself in the middle of the pack heading into the final stretch. A composed par on 17 set the stage for one last chance on 18, where he stood at even par with an opportunity to either finish solid or find something more.

What came next was the swing of the round without a doubt. From roughly 50 feet, Bridgeman rolled in a birdie shot that most players, when they play, try to get close to the hole with. But alas, the putt dropped, the crowd reacted, and in one swing, the entire tone of his round changed. Instead of walking off with an even par at 72, he posted a 1-under, 71, and jumped into the top 10, turning a steady rookie debut into a statement finish.

Former Tiger Bridgeman just sunk a 57 footer at the biggest tournament in golf and just waved like it was nothing. pic.twitter.com/Xqi0NcSk5N

— Barstool Clemson (@BarstoolClemson) April 9, 2026

For Clemson fans, it was a familiar kind of performance. Not perfect, but tough, composed, and opportunistic when it mattered most. Bridgeman didn’t just survive Augusta on Thursday; he showed he belongs there. Sitting just a few shots off the lead heading into Friday, he is not only playing his first Masters but also positioning himself as a potential threat later down the line.

Former Clemson OC Tony Elliott gets contract extension at Virginia

📸 Jim Dedmon, Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images https://t.co/4y8y82B9gapic.twitter.com/wXCstR1pAK

— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) April 9, 2026

Follow us @Clemson_Wire on X and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.

This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Former Clemson golfer Bridgeman hits 50-footer, finishes -1 at Masters

What. A. Game. The Wisconsin Badgers are heading to the National Championship Game after a 2-1 win over the North Dakota Fighting Hawks, escaping in a thriller to continue an impressive season for Mike Hastings’s crew.

It was a strong start for the Badgers, who scored two goals in the opening period and outshot North Dakota 18-4. A Simon Tassy goal at the 7:06 mark got things started, while Ryan Botterill followed that up with a goal less than a minute later at the 6:39 mark.

Wisconsin was aggressive and quite dominant in the first period, while not committing a penalty in the period. Things were a bit different in the second period, as North Dakota outshot the Badgers 12-7 and had a pair of power plays, including some 5-3 action.

But, the Badgers were able to kill the penalties, thanks to some incredible play from goalie Daniel Hauser, as they headed into the final 20 minutes with a 2-0 lead. In the third period, it was more similar to the first, with Wisconsin being on the attack for much of the period until North Dakota went empty-net at the end of the game.

The Fighting Hawks had some life with less than a minute left as Ellis Rickwood scored right near the net to get North Dakota within one. But the Badgers held on for the final 52 seconds to get the win and make their way back to the NCAA Championship Game.

With the women’s team winning the championship last month, Wisconsin now has the chance to become the first team to win both the men’s and women’s hockey championships for the first time since 2006… when the Badgers did it.

Wisconsin will now face the winner of Michigan and Denver on Saturday afternoon, with the game set to start at 4:30 p.m.

AUGUSTA, Ga. ― Justin Rose wasn't alone in struggling on the second nine during Thursday's Round 1 of the 90th Masters Tournament, but he's one of a handful of players in the field that remembers the last time this event was this tough.

With the lack of precipitation and temperatures rising throughout the weekend, the course is only going to get more challenging. Rose's comparison went back to 2007.

More: Masters leaderboard, scores, pairings, videos, more

“This course can play harder if it's windy, right, and I think that's the only thing that would make it play harder really," he said. "But 2007 for me — I know Shane (Lowry) probably didn't play in 2007, but when Zach Johnson won, I felt like that was very crispy, cold, windy. That was probably the toughest I've seen it play.”

For reference, 2007 is the last time a Masters champion finished with a winning score over par.

Rose sits three shots behind the lead after what was a solid round through 16 holes. He finished bogey-bogey on Nos. 17 and 18, two of his three squares on the second nine.

A three-time Masters runner-up (2015, '17, '25), he knows as well as anyone that the leaderboard Thursday is rarely reflective of the final standings 54 holes later.

“I think the lead at this point is irrelevant. I think there's so much golf ahead that, yeah, there's no point in even looking at who is doing what at this moment in time," Rose said. "It's just about, like I said, just executing your strategy, feeling like you can run the clock down, playing as well as you can, and then towards the end you've got to kind of figure out if you need to change your strategy, but until the final few holes really it's just about doing as good as can you do.”

Rose tees off with Justin Spieth and Brooks Koepka at 9:55 a.m. ET Friday.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Justin Rose contending once again at Masters, where he has 3 seconds

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Stop me if you’ve heard this before… Rory McIlroy leads the Masters. The defending champion joined Sam Burns atop the leaderboard after an opening-round 67 on Thursday. In his 18th appearance at Augusta National, this is only McIlroy’s second time shooting 67 or lower to start the tournament.

While the Northern Irishman is without doubt the favorite to win now, who else has a chance? Or, perhaps more interestingly, who doesn’t?

History suggests the list of potential champions is smaller than you might think. Stats guru Justin Ray shared on X the fact that the winner in 79 of the 89 editions of the Masters was within five shots of the lead after 18 holes.

The Masters Masters 2026: Rory McIlroy's liberation arrived right back where it began

Rough Start Masters 2026: Bryson DeChambeau's week in Augusta could be over early if this historic stat holds true

Masters 2026 Masters 2026: Bone-dry and fast conditions could make this Augusta National's toughest test in a long time

With McIlroy and Burns at five under par, that means only those who ended Thursday in red numbers are likely still in the hunt. There are 16 players under par after 18 holes. Among the group is the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Patrick Reed and Justin Rose.

As for pre-tournament favorites missing from that group, most prominent is Jon Rahm. In fact, the 2023 champion failed to register a single hole under par, carding a 78 and his first birdie-free score in 37 career rounds at Augusta.

Andrew Redington

Similarly, Bryson DeChambeau would have to do something that has never been done in history. He triple bogeyed the 11th hole en route to his opening-round 76. No Masters champion has ever slipped on the green jacket after making a triple bogey.

As for other names we can eliminate with the five-shot rule, you’ll find Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama, Robert MacIntyre and Cameron Young.

The highest Round 1 score by a Masters champion? Three-over 75, courtesy of Arnold Palmer in 1960 and Craig Stadler in 1982.

You know what they say, you can’t win the tournament on Thursday but history would suggest 75 players have just lost it.

Masters 101: Answering all your frequently asked questions

How to watch the 2026 Masters

Power Rankings: Every player in the Masters field, ranked

Tee times for Round 1 and Round 2

50 defining Masters Moments, ranked

The most memorable Rules issues in Masters history

Every course change ever made at Augusta National

A brief history of Masters prize money payouts

15 people who ended up in the Masters penalty box

The Champions Dinner Tell-All, from those inside the room

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – Illinois head baseball coach Dan Hartleb is calling on his veteran leaders to step up as the team hopes to shift things into high gear down the stretch of the regular season.

Illinois is 16-15 overall and 7-8 in conference play.

The Illini pitching has been respectable in year one under Dillon Napoleon’s leadership – a 4.47 team ERA, tied for sixth-best in the Big Ten.

Run production has been inconsistent.

“We really need to go out and start swinging the bat,” Hartleb told WCIA on Thursday. “Just looking for that high level competitiveness.”

The Illini head coach doesn’t believe it’s an ability issue, but rather mental.

“We just need to do a better job of playing to our abilities,” he said. “We’ve got a number of guys that if you look at their overall production, it’s not where it needs to be. They’ve performed at a higher level in the past. We need those guys to step up and produce… They’ve got to get out of their own way and as a coaching staff that’s part of our job to help them get out of their own way.”

In the data-driven world of 2026, the Illini are tasked with processing and using valuable information – while also not thinking too much on the diamond.

“I think when you’re prepared and you’re confident, you can go out and just be yourself and show the best of your abilities,” Illini senior outfielder Nick Groves said. “So comes with the night before and batting practice and practices. And in that way you can just go out and have fun.”

Groves is hitting .319 on the season.

Illinois is set to host New Orleans for three games – starting with a 6 p.m. start on Friday in the non-conference series opener.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com.

Are you ready for the NFL Draft yet? Well you better be soon, because it’s just around the corner for the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks!

While the Seahawks only have four draft picks entering April, there’s still plenty of intrigue in terms of what they’ll do at cornerback, running back, edge rusher, and even safety following some very notable free agent departures. This might be one of those rare drafts in recent years in which quarterback is not anywhere near presence of mind for Seattle.

As part of the Seahawks’ pre-draft process, they’re conducting “top 30 visits” at team headquarters in Renton. The term “top 30 visit” is an undeniable misnomer but this is what we’re working with. A top 30 visit simply means every team gets a maximum of 30 formal in-person meetings with non-local* college prospects. Those players are brought into the team facility for interviews and a physical. An official visit doesn’t mean they are the top 30 prospects in the sport or a top 30 prospect for a specific team.

*- A local prospect is defined by the NFL as someone who attends college or is from a “local metropolitan area as defined by a current Rand McNally map.”

Former Washington Huskies running back Jonah Coleman recently met with the Seahawks, but he counts as a local visit. There’s no limit to how many local visits a team can have.

As a reminder, not every pre-draft visit means the Seahawks will take all of these players nor are they realistically going to get them. However, top 30 visits (and official NFL Scouting Combine visits) are historically a good hint that we’ll see at least one of these players taken either in the draft or as an undrafted free agent. Last year the Seahawks notably held formal visits with Jalen Milroe, Bryce Cabeldue, and Nick Emmanwori.

This is the tracker for all confirmed or reported official top 30 Seahawks visits, as well as local visits. We will update this post with any new names over the next few weeks.

Seattle Seahawks top 30 visits scheduled

• LSU safety AJ Haulcy
• San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson
• Toledo cornerback Andre Fuller
• Georgia cornerback Daylen Everette
• South Carolina cornerback Jalon Kilgore
• Kennesaw State running back Coleman Bennett
• Toledo running back Chip Trayanum
• Missouri edge rusher Zion Young
• Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr
• Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald
• Oklahoma EDGE R Mason Thomas
• Auburn EDGE Keyron Crawford
• New Mexico EDGE Keyshawn James-Newby
• Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood
• South Carolina cornerback Brandon Cisse
• Texas A&M edge rusher Cassius Howell
• Central Florida edge rusher Malachi Lawrence
• Arizona cornerback Treydan Stukes

Seattle Seahawks local visits scheduled

• Washington running back Jonah Coleman
• Oregon State safety Skyler Thomas
• Washington State cornerback Colby Humphrey

The offseason only started this week, and the Red Storm have their eyes on several top players in the portal, already arranging visits for a couple of power-conference transfers they hope to land.

First reported by Dushawn London of 247Sports and Zach Braziller of the New York Post, former Kansas State guard Abdi Bashir, Jr., and former Kentucky forward Mouhamed Dioubate are expected to visit the St. John’s campus early next week.

Both transfers are ranked as four-star by 247Sports, and each has experience playing in the tri-state area. Bashir spent his first two seasons of college ball at Monmouth in New Jersey, averaging 13.2 points on 37.8% shooting from the floor and 38.4% from three, breaking out as a sophomore with a team-high 20.1 points per game. Dioubate is a Queens native who attended Flushing’s John Bowne High School before transferring to Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut.

The sharpshooting Abdi Bashir made the high-major leap last season when he moved closer to his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, and transferred to Kansas State. With the Wildcats, Bashir ranked second on the team in scoring with 13.2 points per game on 42.1% shooting and 44.4% from three on 8.4 attempts per contest, but a stress fracture in his foot ended his junior season after 18 games.

Although Bashir doesn’t exactly fit the bill of the physical two-way type of guard Pitino typically recruits, the junior guard is a lethal microwave shooter who can fire over defenders with his 6-foot-7 stature and knock down shots at all three levels. The standout performance of his junior campaign came against an eventual Second Weekend team in Nebraska last November when he scored 26 points on 7-of-15 from three in a razor-thin 86-85 loss for the Wildcats.

He can also create for others as a shooting guard, holding a respectable 16.9% assist rate as a junior, which was better than those of Ian Jackson (13.4%), Oziyah Sellers (10.0%), and Joson Sanon (5.8%).

Dioubate is a more obvious fit for St. John’s. The rising senior forward averaged 8.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game on 54.2% shooting and 21.4% from three.

It’s clear in recruiting Mouhamed Dioubate that Pitino wants a tempo-pushing, defensive-minded wing who can replicate what Dillon Mitchell brought to the 2025-26 Red Storm. He is somewhat undersized at the power forward position, standing at 6-foot-7, but he makes up for it with his blend of quickness and brute strength to carve out space inside, and his long wingspan to force rejections and frustrate opposing shooters. Dioubate can start fastbreaks with his underrated ball-handling ability, maintaining the transition scoring prowess the Johnnies had with Mitchell.

Pitino and his staff aren’t stopping at Bashir and Dioubate, casting a wide net to fill out the six scholarship vacancies for the 2026-27 season. St. John’s is linked to gritty Georgetown guard KJ Lewis and Arizona State freshman center Mor Massamba Diop, a 7-foot-1 big man with an intriguing skillset. The Johnnies are also in the running for star center Flory Bidunga, who won last season’s Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award with Kansas. Bidunga is considering offers from the Red Storm, Michigan, Duke, and Louisville.

Analyst urges Bills to double up on critical position for Josh Allen originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Buffalo Bills finally addressed the elephant in the room this offseason with the signing of DJ Moore to give Josh Allen the No. 1 weapon he's needed for years.

While the signing of Moore was seen as a good move, some are still skeptical about the entire receiver room and whether it is good enough to take the Bills to the Super Bowl.

Khalil Shakir, Moore, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer, and Tyrell Shavers are the options for Allen (not counting tight ends). Is that enough?

NFL.com's Nick Shook doesn't think so and wants Buffalo to add another receiver in the draft.

“Yes, the Bills need reinforcements to their front seven but we should not forget the receiver-focused narrative (and their prior moves of relative desperation) that followed them into the 2025 playoffs," Shook wrote.

"Injuries decimated a group that already lacked a fearsome threat at the top of the depth chart, a reality that has been painfully true for the Bills since the departure of Stefon Diggs. Although they added DJ Moore via trade, the Bills shouldn't stop there. Buffalo should make this a priority."

More:Analyst details Rams need future plan at 1 key position

Who could Bills target?

Picking so late in the first round, Makai Lemon and Carnell Tate will likely be off the board, but maybe someone like Omar Cooper Jr. could be someone the Bills look at.

Also, defense is a need, with some mock drafts having the Bills adding a pass rusher and others a linebacker, so the franchise has multiple avenues to go down in the first round.

But is receiver really the main area of focus for Buffalo? You could make that case. It is one injury away from being the exact same group as last season. 

So, getting a little insurance, plus a potential long-term option at the position, isn't a bad idea.

More NFL news:

• Analyst reveals Commanders' biggest draft goal
• Falcons urged to make big moves in NFL Draft
• Kyle Hamilton makes brutally honest statement on Ravens' standards
• ESPN hints at $80 million Lamar Jackson problem for Ravens
• Chiefs owner makes Andy Reid comment fans will love
• Bills urged to trade for Pro Bowl WR
• Ravens urged to make stunning NFL Draft trade

Center back Isa Haas highlighted the importance of holding the FIFA Series, a competition the Brazilian Women’s National Team will play starting next Saturday (11), both for the preparation of the participating teams and for the legacy it will leave for football in Mato Grosso. In a press conference this Thursday (9) at Cuiabá’s training center, the 25-year-old defender stressed that the tournament is a chance for teams and players to develop.

“This competition is very good for everyone. The National Team improves, women’s football improves, and we improve. Of course, everyone is fighting for their place; I’m always continuing to fight for mine, and everyone here knows very well how Arthur works. We have to make the most of every call-up, every moment we are here, because the range (of options) is wide,” she said.

Before the arrival of the Canarinha in the state capital, the CBF organized Joga, Mina! in partnership with CONMEBOL and the Mato Grosso Football Federation (FMF), with the aim of promoting the development of women’s football through seminars, talent identification with tryouts, and support for youth categories.

Isa Haas spoke at a press conference this ThursdayCredits: Lívia Villas Boas/CBF

With the matches being played at Arena Pantanal, the FIFA Series will allow future players to watch the stars of Brazilian women’s football up close.

“It’s a pleasure to be here, and it’s a privilege to keep promoting women’s football more and more in a country as large as Brazil. Some states are still seeking that growth, Mato Grosso is on that path, and we are very happy. We hope to leave a legacy. We don’t just want to come here, play our matches, and leave. We want to show what women’s football is capable of producing and leave a legacy so that this keeps growing more and more,” she explained.

In the competition, Brazil will face South Korea, Zambia, and Canada. In the defender’s view, coming up against different footballing styles will be important for the National Team’s preparation for the 2027 World Cup.

“Being with the National Team is always a challenge, and that is very important for us to grow as athletes. They are teams and playing styles that are completely different. We will probably face different obstacles in each match and different moments in each game. That will be very good for our preparation and for each player to leave her mark,” she said.

Isa Haas is back with the National Team after recovering from a nose injuryCredits: Lívia Villas Boas/CBF

Called up for the first time in October 2024, the player from Montenegro, Rio Grande do Sul, has made 16 appearances and scored one goal for the Canarinha. On this occasion, she was called up as an América of Mexico player, where she has been playing since the start of this year and had a difficult beginning due to a broken nose. She recovered from the injury and said she is enjoying the experience in Mexican football.

“Unfortunately, my start was a little complicated, and because of that it took me a while to get a run of games and feel good. Now I’m already playing, getting more minutes and confidence, and understanding how Mexican football works. Obviously, the team I’m on plays in a different way and keeps the ball more. It’s a league with a lot of physical strength, and that helps me a lot in my game. I’m really enjoying it,” said Isa Haas, who has also played for Internacional, Sevilla-ESP, and Cruzeiro.

With Isa Haas among coach Arthur Elias’s options for central defense, the Canarinha will make its FIFA Series debut next Saturday (11), against South Korea at 9:30 p.m. (local time) at Arena Pantanal in Cuiabá.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry gets grief for an inability to find a decent wide receiver, but he has been pretty successful when it comes to acquiring defensive tackles.

A year ago, the club drafted Mason Graham in the first round and signed Maliek Collins as a free agent. Together, they formed a stout presence in the middle of the defensive line until Collins was lost for the season with an injury.

This year, it was Kalia Davis who joined the team in free agency, a signing that has surprisingly gone under the radar for a player who started every game a year ago for the San Francisco 49ers in a playoff season.

Berry has some other roster holes to address in the draft, but if he wants to add more firepower to the defensive line, it could be worth keeping an eye on Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald.

Name: Kayden McDonald

Position: Defensive Tackle

Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 326 pounds

College: Ohio State Buckeyes

2025 Defensive Stats: 14 games, 65 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles

Career Defensive Stats: 34 games, 85 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles

Average “Big Board” Position as of Publishing Date from Mock Draft Database: 31st overall, projected first round

The Draft Network’s Grade/Round Value: Round 1 – Pro Bowl Caliber

What an Expert is Saying

Lance Zierlein at NFL.com:

A talented run defender, McDonald plays with natural leverage and rattles pads with his initial contact. He’s quick to locate ball-carriers, play off blocks, and rally to the action. His technique is a bit underdeveloped, and he’s not a natural drain-clogger against double teams, but he still managed an unusually high tackle rate as an interior defender. Quicker hand strikes should allow for more efficient reps and earlier wins at the point. He offers limited rush value, so his money will be made by giving grief to centers and guards as an even-front nose tackle with starting potential.

What an Expert is Saying (Bonus Round):

Dane Brugler at The Athletic:

A one-year starter at Ohio State, McDonald lined up as the nose guard in defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s versatile front. After handling a backup role as a sophomore, he became a starter in 2025, as the Buckeyes had to replace all four starters from their 2024 national title-winning defensive line. McDonald emerged as an All-American and was the most dominant defensive player on several of Ohio State’s 2025 tapes, which says a lot considering the defense’s talent.

McDonald’s powerful skill set is at its best when he acts as a run defender. He resets the line of scrimmage with his initial burst and power, attacking and shucking blocks from a leveraged position. He plays games of peek-a-boo (and often wins) with ball carriers willing to test A-gap run lanes, and his awareness allows him to fill up the stat sheet with line-of-scrimmage stops. However, he had just 695 career snaps (32 defensive snaps per game in 2025), and his inexperience will be more noticeable against NFL blockers.

McDonald will require time to develop a pass-rush identity, but his dominant run-game qualities will make him immediately useful from different interior alignments. He projects as an early-down rookie, with a role that should continue to expand.

Fit with the Browns

As good as the Browns defense can be, there are still too many times when the unit can’t stop the other team from running the ball when it matters. Adding a player like McDonald, who at the college level had the strength to dominate blockers and be a disruption in the backfield against the run, would be beneficial.

McDonald struggles as a pass rusher, but the Browns have Maliek Collins and a guy named Myles Garrett to take care of that, so the coaches could probably live for the time being with having to coach up McDonald in that area while being an asset in stopping the run.

Browns Player Drafting Could Impact

Mason Graham is set, and the Browns just signed Kalia Davis in free agency, so he should be comfortable as well. Maliek Collins was name-checked by owner Jimmy Haslam in the offseason, so he should be OK, but he is the old man of the group, so you never know. 

That would leave Mike Hall Jr., who has done little in his two years with the Browns, and Sam Kamara as the potential odd men out. 

Priority: Low

What are your thoughts on Kayden McDonald? Should the Browns select a defensive tackle in the first round for the second year in a row? Let us know in the comments!

AUGUSTA, Ga. — When the 2026 Masters started, there were 10 LIV Golf players in the field of 91, with five of those being past champions.

Overall, it was not a great day for LIV Golf players at Augusta National Golf Club, with many players struggling, including its two best in the field.

More: Masters leaderboard, scores, pairings, tee times, videos

Here's a look at how each LIV golfer performed in the first round of the Masters.

Masters 2026 first round: How each LIV player did

• Sergio Garcia: Even-par 72
• Dustin Johnson: 1-over 73
• Tyrrell Hatton: 2-over 74
• Cameron Smith: 2-over 74
• Charl Schwartzel: 3-over 75
• Tom McKibbin: 3-over 75
• Bubba Watson: 4-over 76
• Bryson DeChambeau: 4-over 74
• Jon Rahm: 6-over 78
• Carlos Ortiz: 8-over 80

None of the LIV golfers shot under par on Thursday.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Masters 2026: What every LIV Golf player shot in first round

Brazil U-17 coach leads training session at CarfemCredits: Nelson Terme / CBF

A big match. That is what Brazil U-17 head coach Carlos Eduardo Patetuci expects for the game against Argentina, which takes place on Friday (10) at 8 p.m. at Estádio Ameliano Villeta, valid for the third round of the South American Championship in the category.

“I expect a great match. It is a historic rivalry, Brazil and Argentina, and also because qualification is at stake. So, in our third match, with a win we can secure an early place in the semifinal, and being a clash with Argentina, it becomes even more important. But we have had three good days of training, we prepared well, with strategies specifically for this match against Argentina, and we will go in strong looking for the win and qualification for the semifinal,” he said.

The Seleção coach highlighted the importance of his team staying calm during the match.

“It is a game that requires emotional control, calmness, patience, knowing how to play the game, understanding the moments of the match, when to speed up play, when to break the rhythm, when to keep possession, because the game fluctuates, and within those fluctuations we have to have the balance to make the most of our good moments. In the moments when we may be facing some difficulty, we need to stay balanced to regain control of the game and, in that way, take advantage of opportunities and go for the win,” he stated.

If they beat Argentina, in addition to early qualification, the Brazil U-17 team will also secure a place at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

According to Papillion, Neb., native Mya Babbitt’s Instagram, the 2026-27 Iowa State women’s basketball team has picked up their first transfer in. The Millard South alumna has one year of eligibility remaining.

In three seasons with the Golden Flashes, Babbitt appeared in 84 games and started in 60 of those games. The 5-foot-8 guard set a Kent State single-season program record with 83 3-point baskets made.

In the 2025-26 season, her averages include 16.1 points per game, 90.5 percent at the free throw line (86-of-95), four rebounds per game, 1.7 assists dished out per game and 1.5 steals per game.

Babbitt had a solid prep career with the Patriots. She led Millard South to the Class A state title as a senior, scoring 30 points in championship game and setting all-division record with eight three-pointers in the semifinal game. She also set school records with 1,733 points and 333 three-point field goals as four-year starter.

Babbitt also has the single-game scoring record with 42 points at Millard South. In the game, the Cyclone connected on 10 3-point baskets which tied the Class A record.

With 1,733 points at the end of her high school career, she finished fifth all-time on Nebraska’s Class A scoring list.

She played club basketball with Nebraska Attack.

Dodgers cut ties with 26-year-old pitcher who made MLB debut with White Sox originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are making a change with their minor league pitching depth. 

There are far too many arms battling for Major League roster spots, and the 26-year-old was not showing enough to stick around in the organization. 

According to his MLB.com transaction log, right-hander Nick Nastrini was released by the Dodgers on Thursday. He was a fourth-round draft pick by the Dodgers in 2021, but was traded to the Chicago White Sox near the deadline in 2023. 

"Nastrini has not appeared in the majors since September 2024. He started the 2025 season down at Triple-A Charlotte," Leo Morgenstern of MLB Trade Rumors wrote.

"The Marlins and then the Dodgers claimed him off waivers in quick succession last July, and he finished the 2025 Triple-A season with an 8.56 ERA in 47.1 innings for three organizations." 

MORE: Yankees outfielder once battled ostrich in 11-plate spaghetti-eating contest

Nastrini made his Major League debut with the White Sox in 2024, making starts in eight of his nine outings. The results were less than pretty, as he allowed 28 earned runs and walked 36 batters compared to just 26 strikeouts in 35.2 innings. 

Improving his command will play a significant role in his path back to the big leagues. 

More MLB news:

• Explaining the absurdity of 2 MLB players named Max Muncy
• He almost retired, but instead he hit his first grand slam
• White Sox are holding a Pope Leo XIV promotion
• This slider is really good and moves the entirely wrong direction
• Jo Adell robbed 3 home runs in the same game
• Red Sox new pitcher pays tribute to dad after 44-mile drive to MLB debut

Athletics 33-year-old lefty dominates Yankees in historic outing originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Athletics received an outstanding pitching performance from left-hander Jeffery Spring on Thursday, who had no-hit stuff. Springs took a no-hitter versus the New York Yankees into the seventh inning until first baseman Ben Rice singled to right field. 

Springs’ performance — striking out six and walking one — helped the Athletics get their first 1-0 shutout victory over the Yankees since April 25, 1979. It is also the Athletics' first at the Yankees' home field since July 14, 1972, according to MLB’s Sarah Langs. 

The Athletics had had chances to score more runs on Thursday to pad their lead, with infielder/designated hitter Max Muncy having two extra-base hits in four at-bats. Muncy had a triple to right field in the seventh inning and a double to left field in the ninth inning. 

Springs came over to the Athletics in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2024, along with left-hander Jacob Lopez. The Rays received two minor leaguers and right-hander Joe Boyle. 

The New York Yankees received an incredible pitching performance of their own

Despite the Yankees' offense going silent, left-hander Ryan Weathers. Over eight innings, Weathers allowed seven hits, one earned run, and struck out seven. 

Right-hander Paul Blackburn also pitched a solid inning of relief, striking out one and allowing one hit. 

More News:

• Rockies rookie has a simple approach at the plate
• Pirates manager Don Kelly is excited about Konnor Griffin's extension
• Marlins ace appears perturbed about his removal in loss to the Reds

Aline Gomes celebrated her second consecutive call-up to the Brazil Women’s National Team in an interview with CBF TV after training this Wednesday (8) at CT Manoel Dresch in Cuiabá. At 20 years old, the forward is getting the run with the Canarinho that she had hoped for, in order to show her game and feel an emotion that “there’s no way to explain.”

“I’m very happy. It’s the first time this year that I’ve come in for two consecutive call-ups, and that’s a source of great pride and happiness for me and my family. Being here in Brazil with this wonderful group of players—I’ve already played against and alongside some of them—and seeing everyone again to do this work for the national team is something you just can’t explain. You have to be here every day to feel it,” she celebrated.

Since joining Pachuca in Mexico in January this year, she said she went through a “difficult” adaptation process to a new league. Aline left the North Carolina Courage, where she had played since July 2024, to move to Mexican soccer, which now features several Brazilians.

“At first it was a difficult adjustment, because going from the United States to Mexico is a big difference. But the way people embraced me and have treated me since day one made all the difference. I’ve been there for two months and already feel like I’ve been there a long time. I’m fitting in better with the style of play and managing to play better. I started this year on the right foot and I’m feeling really good,” said the player developed at Ferroviária.

Aline Gomes during a Women’s National Team training session in Cuiabá for the FIFA SeriesCredits: Lívia Villas Boas/CBF

Young in age and experienced in her career, the São Paulo native from Tabatinga has positioned herself as one of the candidates for a place on the national team since 2023, when she was called up for the Finalissima against England and a friendly against Germany. At the Women’s World Cup, she was one of the three alternates chosen by the coaching staff and gained important experience that now helps her wear the Canarinho shirt.

Aline Gomes has made eight appearances for the senior national team and is still searching for her first goal. In the youth national teams, she won the South American U-17 Championship in 2022, the same year she also played in the U-17 World Cup and was part of the historic third-place finish at the U-20 World Cup. She also won the CONMEBOL U-19 Development League in 2023.

This time, she was one of the 26 players chosen by coach Arthur Elias for the FIFA Series, a tournament that will begin next Saturday (11) in Cuiabá and includes the national teams of South Korea, Zambia, and Canada.

“We know how difficult all of them will make it for us, but with the work we do every day, there’s no way our expectations can be anything but the best possible, especially at home and with our fans pushing and supporting us from start to finish. Everything is in place for three very good matches, and I hope and believe we’ll come away with victories in all three,” she concluded.

See the schedule:

April 11 (Saturday): Brazil vs South Korea - 9:30 p.m. - Arena Pantanal

April 14 (Tuesday): Brazil vs Zambia - 9:30 p.m. - Arena Pantanal

April 18 (Saturday): Brazil vs Canada - 9:30 p.m. - Arena Pantanal

*The announced times are based on local time

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

2026 Premier League Darts schedule, scores, results and updated table originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The 2026 Premier League of Darts will take place every Thursday night for 17 straight weeks, beginning on Feb. 5 and ending on May. 28.

Here are all the facts you need to know to keep up with which players are in a position to make the play-off night in late May.

2026 Premier League Darts confirmed dates, fixtures and results

Night 1 - Ultilita Arena, Newcastle (February 5)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

MORE: 2026 PDC Premier League of Darts lineup revealed: Big names left out

Night 2 - AFAS Dome, Antwerp (February 12)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

MORE: 2026 Premier League Darts prize money explained

Night 3 - OVO Hydro, Glasgow (February 19)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Night 4 - SSE Arena, Belfast (February 26)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Night 5 - Ultilita Arena, Cardiff (March 5)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Night 6 - Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham (March 12)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Night 7 - 3Arena, Dublin (March 19)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Night 8 - Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin (March 26)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Night 9 - AO Arena, Manchester (April 2)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Night 10 - Brighton Centre, Brighton (April 9)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Night 11 - Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam (April 16)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Night 12 - M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool (April 23)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Night 13 - P&J Live, Aberdeen (April 30)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Night 14 - First Direct Arena, Leeds (May 7)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Night 15 - Utilita Arena, Birmingham (May 14)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Night 16 - Utilita Arena, Sheffield (May 21)

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Play-off Night- The O2, London (May 28)

Semifinals

Final

2026 Premier League Darts table, updated standings

* = one or more wins were credited via advancing against a player who withdrew

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• PDC announces darts schedule for 2026: World Championship, Premier League and more
• Ranking the best PDC Darts moments from 2025: 9-darters to shocking upsets
• 7 darts players who could be in Premier League Darts one day

Masters cut line tracker 2026: Projected cut, rules, updates for Friday's leaderboard originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Augusta National can never be categorized as easy to play, but wind and a firm course made it particularly difficult in Thursday's first round. Some of the world's best golfers are already in trouble ahead of Friday's cut.

Cameron Young, Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland all got off to slow starts on Thursday, while Rory McIlroy missed a number of fairways early on but played well enough otherwise to keep himself safely away from the cut line for the time being.

Among those not at risk of being cut, barring a complete reversal of fortune on Friday, are Sam Burns and former champion Patrick Reed, who each stormed to the top of the leaderboard with early tee times on Thursday.

Here's a live look at the projected cut line at the Masters and which players are at risk of falling short of the weekend.

SN's MASTERS HQ:Live Masters leaderboard | Masters TV coverage | Live streaming

What is the Masters cut line in 2026?

• Cut line: +3
• Players inside cut line: 55

The projected cut line for the Masters in 2026 is currently 3-over par. The cut line in 2025 was 2-over par, but it was as high as 6-over par in 2024.

The Masters takes the top 50 golfers plus ties into the weekend, and there are currently 55 players in line to make it to the weekend. The cut line will almost certainly continue to fluctuate between throughout Friday's second round.

Here are some of the biggest names below the cut line as of late Thursday.

Notable players in danger of missing Masters cut

The following players are among those below the cut line at the moment:

• Bryson DeChambeau (+4)
• Nicolai Hojgaard (+4)
• Sungjae Im (+4)
• Patrick Cantlay (+5)
• Min Woo Lee (+6)
• Jon Rahm (+6)
• Robert MacIntyre (+7)

MORE MASTERS 2026:

• Ranking the 30 best golfers in this year's Masters
• Odds, betting favorites, expert picks for the 2026 Masters
• Complete list of golfers playing in the Masters

Masters Tournament cut rules

Only the top 50 players (plus ties) make the cut at the Masters. This rule was put into effect during the 2020 Masters to keep the weekend field small during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before the rule change, any player within 10 strokes of the leader after 36 holes advanced to the weekend. This was in addition to the top-50 players in the field (plus ties), so it made for a larger field advancing to the weekend. 

The rule change established that the Masters cut is the most difficult among golf's four majors. The top 60 players make the cut at the U.S. Open, and the top 70 golfers do so at the PGA Championship and the Open Championship.

MORE MASTERS NEWS:

• Complete list of Masters winners by year
• Why Augusta National always hosts the Masters
• Who has won the most Masters of all time?
• History behind the famous Masters green jacket
• Inside Augusta's iconic Amen's Corner

How many players make the cut at the Masters?

91 golfers teed off on Thursday in Augusta, four fewer, but many won't make it to the weekend. Only the top 50 (plus ties) will make the cut, while the rest of the field will have to watch the rest of the action.

53 golfers made the cut at the Masters in 2025, but 60 made it in 2024 due to a significant number of players tied.

Masters leaderboard 2026

Florida football's spring practice is nearing a close, with the Orange and Blue Game coming up on Saturday. The annual intrasquad exhibition is the final salvo of an offseason schedule that includes 15 total workouts.

On Tuesday, following the Gators' 13th practice of the season, nascent head coach Jon Sumrall held a press conference to discuss the program's status as well as other items of interest. Among the topics were observations from recent practices, the philosophy of penalties, the status of the O- and D-lines, the new blind transfer rule, offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, and several more.

Sumrall spoke for the full 30 minutes of the conference. Take a look below at an abridged transcription of what he said on Tuesday.

Jon Sumrall's opening statement

"All right, practice 13 today. Went indoors — wasn't like we couldn't go outside, but they didn't want to be slipping and falling on the grass. There would be a time and a place to work, plenty of wetball — you know, weather-type practices — but with only getting 15 in the spring, I really wanted to take the time to make sure we were intentional about the work we got and not waste a whole lot of reps slipping and sliding.

"We're still very much at a foundational stage of installing, just base things, kind of recalibrating and kind of getting back to the ground level of some things this week as we close so that we can really have an idea of what we can build around and who we're going to be to some degree, it's really early.

"But all in all, some good work today, a lot of different situational stuff at the end, that y'all weren't out there for, but a red zone period, two minute situational period where you're going to be thrust into action for his fast field goal or Toro field goal up, and when can we clock it and all this sort of things."

"But guys have been working hard. I like the intent. It's been good so far. Scrimmage Saturday was good. Back and forth a little bit. Thought you saw some offensive skill players make big plays. You know, I think the depth of our D line is showing at times. I think the first, you know, if you call it grouping a half of the O line, is kind of where we're trying to figure out who's in the right seats and who's where what's the right mixture of players to put our best foot forward.

"I wasn't pleased on Saturday with a couple of offensive procedural issues that we had come out of the huddle when we were in huddle situations once or twice, didn't really like. Thought the quarterbacks did some good things. I thought.

"On Saturday, one thing that you felt the quarterbacks both do okay was run. I don't think anybody's going to confuse any of them with Michael Vick, but they have enough ability to create and extend plays.

"And so we saw that a couple times on Saturday, I was pleased with, but I thought we had production it in the secondary on Saturday. Corners made a couple plays. One of them was a gimme. Like one of them was a tip ball, I could have made an interception on. But I did feel more productivity out of the secondary, uh, from making competitive contested plays.

"But, but like where we're at, long way to go, uh, guys have been giving great effort. We have a lot to improve upon.

How would you describe your overall philosophy approach to penalties?

"The operational procedural ones drive me freaking nuts. Like, if we don't have enough guys online scrimmage, that's common ass sense. It's not real hard. Are you on the ball or off the ball? Like, that makes me lose my mind You know, there are DPIs that are bang, bang, and if it's a close play, I don't really get real frustrated.

"There are some personal files that will drive me crazy because they're stupid. If a guy is playing through the echo, the whistle when it happens it's a little different, you know? So I think no two are alike.

"But yeah, there's some, you know, we talk a lot about the Gators don't beat the Gators around here. Like, we got to not beat ourselves. You can't beat anybody until you don't beat yourself. And so there's a lot of work to do in that.

"Within the scrimmage environment, sometimes I'm enforced the pen. Sometimes I won't because I want a situation situationally see some things you know, like in the game, when we play on Saturday, I'm not for the offense or for the defense and for both. I'm for the team. And so I may feel like we need to extend a situation, create a situation, manipulate a situation.

"But, yeah, the procedural ones are the ones that drive me crazy where it's like, we don't know how to get on the ball. Like that that ain't real hard."

First chance for fans to put eyes on the team; what kind of impression do you want to leave them with?

"The spring game? I want guys who play fast and physical. We're not going to be perfect. There'll be some mistakes made. I might make one on Saturday. We may put a bad play call in, but I want them to feel that our guys enjoy playing the game and that they're going to play with an edge and a chip on their shoulder.

"Now, when we play against each other, Orange and Blue game, we're on the same team. So we all play for Florida. And so we have to do some things that are a little bit different.

"We won't make the quarterbacks just completely live. They'll be tag off or two below. It won't be stay away from them either. It won't be like a three-yard halo around them. So I will make them a little bit more contacted, but not with a whole lot of physicality.

"But I want them to feel our guy's intent, and that there's some urgency, and that we have some physicality about us. You know, when you go in that stadium, it's sacred. We don't go over there very often. We go there once a week right now on Saturdays and there has to be a different vibe when you go into the stadium."

What do you make of the competition in the defensive back room right now? What are you looking for?

"Consistency. There's enough talent in the room. There is. I don't know if we're mature enough yet in that room. All right? So, Ben's done some really good things. Cormani's done some really good things.

You know, Deei did some nice things on Saturday. Like, they're all like I've seen a lot of guys step up at certain spots spots and flash but you can't be a one hit wonder.

"You know, at corner, you have to have a short memory, you have to be ultra competitive, you have to have a swagger or account confidence about you. But I don't know yet is the talent good enough in that room, yes, is the maturity and the competitive character in that room where it needs to be not consistent enough for my liking for us to be a championship time. football to me.

"We ain't there yet. But there's been some Flash, but Flash doesn't win long term. Flash might make a play and then makes a play for the other team too. So we've got to be a lot more just down in, down out reliable.

What are you looking to get out of the scrimmage? Are you looking for 40 minutes of competitive action or what?

"We're gonna celebrate playing tackle American football. Okay? Like, we're gonna tackle the gal with the football.. And it will not be two split teams that are drafted, like, hey, there's an offensive defense on the sideline, offensive defense on that side.

"It's going to be offensive versus defense. So the offense will be in blue. The defense will be in white. The defense will be called the orange team, because we're not going to wear actually wear orange and blue, because that would be be ridiculously confusing for two teams to be in a color jersey.

"The quarterbacks will be in orange still. We will keep score. The offense will get six points for a touchdown. They'll get three points for a field goal. They're going to get one point for an extra point. Okay? That's.. It's an extremely unique football scoring in the offense. Now, for the defense, there is some radical scoring.

"Now, I did omit one part. The offense can go for two from the 3 R line. Okay? They can also go. No, but there is one part that's unique here. I think I put in the rules for bustering them. I think they can go for maybe three from the five and four from the ten So if they're down late because the defense has some unique scoring it still too.

"So the defense gets I believe it's three points for a three-and-out, if I'm not mistaken, one point for any punt that's forced that's not a 3 and out. They get six points for a turnover. So there's a defensive scoring method. It'll be released later this week. It's what I've done the last four years. So the defense has a way to earn points.

The offense earns in the conventional manner other than the four pointoint play that's kind of unique that I put in there a couple years ago, just so if the offense is down by four at the end, we can go for four. But the defense gets rewarded for stops, turnovers. A fourth down stop, we treat as a turnover.

"So statistically in the box short, I look at a fourth down stop as a takeaway, because it's takeaway on downs, and so the defense will have scoring. you'll see different rotations in there. So I wouldn't put a whole lot.

"When you look into the who are the ones, we ain't there yet. Like, yeah, there will be a depth chart. There will be guys that start game one, but right now, who's a starter or nobody? Who's a backup everybody."

What was your reaction to the rule that came out on the NCAA regarding blind transfers?

"Yeah, I get the intent of the rule, I do. ... Probably wouldn't be here if I didn't do that...

"But no, I understand the intent. I do. The guy's withdrawing from school outside of a portal window to enroll at a different school is a walk on, and then later be put on scholarship or rep sharing and IL money like it's like, all right, is there really a portal window that is it ever closed?

"I'm in the minority here, too, though. Like I do think we should have more binding contracts with legitimate buyouts on players but I also, as a first yearade coach, I would right now, I would love to have a second portal window, because I've gone through the spring now, and I'm like, okay, here's my team.

"Now, here's where I'd like to add, maybe a player or two, which I don't have the luxury to do (now)."

Do you anticipate having potential attrition, or can you guys still add somebody this offseason?

"Yeah, we've scoured the ranks. We've looked at a lot of high school kids that are out there, JUCO kids. It's funny. I feel that a call from somebody about a player that I've had before that's in the portal still right now, you know, like, so there, there's still maybe some vehicles to add a player or two.

"You know, there's still some, we still have some room for non-designated student athletes to be added as walk-ons, potentially two, if we don't find the right scholarship type worthy players... to maybe add six or seven, but I wouldn't count on us having like some big additional six or seven signees, and there might be one or something, but I don't know."

Would you have to be a grad transfer, or would somebody have to leave at this point?

"Technically, they're not even allowed to do that right now to. So, yeah. But yeah, the rules have really, it's like, as soon as you think you know the rules, they change right now. It's like it's just an ever-evolving movement.

"But I do think there should be a caveat for grad transfers, having kind of a get out of jail free card, like a monopoly like him, hey, I graduate. I want to do something different, maybe. Cause they still believe they're not going to school most of them."

The defensive scoring method you said you'd done the last four years? Where'd you come up with it?

Yeah, I don't really know. It came out of my brain. I didn't want to take the time to split up teams because the reason I came with it, my first year at Troy, we had like nine offensive linemen available. But we couldn't go two teams with 9 O-linemen. To have two teams, you need 10.

"And so I just said, 'Well, let's just go offense first defense. Let's let the offense get points by how the offense gets points. Let's get the defense opportunity to get points,' and I did it that way, and then it just kind of made sense. I'm like, yeah, sort of like this.

"So we're stuck with it. But as long as we're ever healthy enough, like we have the, we're not very, we need to develop our competitive depth on this roster.

"Like, I don't feel really good in full disclosure. I am very uncomfortable with the depth of how competitive we are. And in this league, you better be. We're not there yet at all. Like, it's kind of it's a little uneasy for me. So we need to challenge some guys to go play football.

"You know, and here's the other deal. Like, if I said, who are the proven players, like, who are the household names on our defense?

"You'd say, 'Well, Jayden Woods, I think one year of college football. Right? There's some other guys, Miles Graham, Aaron Childs, Bryce (Thortnon). There's some others.

"But like Jayden would be one of the first ones and he's a (second)-year player. And so there's still a lot of youth to who we are. And this is a developmental game. I don't know any way you get better at football other than playing football or practing. You have to go play it.

"You don't get better by, you know, doing a three-point contest. ... I don't know if we've box scored that in the past, but Scott and them they'll figure something, I think."

What are your thoughts on the president's executive order?

"Well, if the president says an executive order, I guess there's a chance it's going to hold up. If I said it, probably not as going to have a chance.

"I'm for the five-for-five concept. I am. You know, right now, like the coaches, he proposed at the AFCA deal a four plus nine model, which I'm great with, too. It's just then you have to start really getting technically into the math of like how this works. Five-for-five is cleaner.

"So I'm for it. I do think it would make it a little bit more black and white on — like all these appeals for a sixth year, ninth year, eighth, seventh year, COVID year. 'I went to the G League year, D League,' whatever you call them, in basketball.

"Like all these, those guys — God bless the basketball coach — I tell Todd, I'm like, so who's an eligible in basketball? Who's eligible? Like I don't get it. So I don't know. But yeah, five-for-five would be clean. D2 has already approved it... it's been approved already and going into effect."

"It's been an FBS Division 1 issue that has not been approved, but Division 2 has already approved it."

Do you see spring games continue now that there's no spring portal and the blind transfer restriction?

"Yeah. I didn't care that there was a second portal window the last few years. I still had a spring game to some extent. Because if a guy's going to leave and there's another portal window, they're going to leave either way. I got I don't, you know, I just don't I don't do things out of fear of like, well, what could happen?

"Like, we're going to scrimmage Saturday and somebody could get a bruise or bump. You can't live in fear. And so, to me, we are still getting better at the game of football, and we are so young and underdeveloped with a depth of our roster.

"I'm not saying we don't have some veteran players. Don't take that the wrong way. Jaden Baugh is a veteran improving player in college football. But his backups, not here, they're not.

"You know, the O line, we've supposedly got a starter or two back, but like, we got to compete. And so there's just, to me, I don't I think everybody is different in how they want to approach it. I'm not knocking or judging if somebody doesn't want to do a springing. That's their call. It's your team, you run your team however you want.

"The mindset I want our team to have is like, we are always ready to go play, and we will never back down to playing. And we have to create a little bit different edge here than what we've had. And so we're going to go play."

You hear good things about the defensive line — is it that good?

"The offensive line, you have to operate five is one. Like, you know, and the offensive line is the only position group that needs nobody else to play well for them to do their job, but everybody else in the offense needs them to play well.

"You follow what I'm saying? It makes the quarterback's job, he needs the O-line to play good. The O-line doesn't need the quarterback to play good to play good. So it's the most unique unit in football because it's five guys operating as one, and that's working combination blocks. That's working targeting in pass pro.

"Now, there are some one-on-one situations. You're a tackle and it's an obvious known passing situation. You're matched up against a designated pass rusher, a DPR, and it's like, whoa, that's real speed. You better be ready to set on that. And so and we're mixing and matching the O-line groupings.

"I'm not at peace with where we are there, but we'll figure that out, and we'll play the game around who our people are the best. The difference on the D-line is a guy can go make a flash play by himself independent and people go, man, the D-line's playing really good.

"Well, the other three guys sucked on that play. But Jeremiah McCLeod made a play. All right? Or Jayden Woods made a play. Brendan Bett made a player a couple weeks ago, Kalu, D.K. Kalu made a couple plays.

"So the D line, one guy makes a play, flashes, creates a TFL, everybody's, oh, D-line's playing so good and play, well, that actually didn't gray out as good as you think. But, you know, it's like a D lineman can make one play out of every six or seven or eight snaps — pretty good player.

"The O-line, if you do a good job, one out of seven or eight snaps, you're fired. So it's just a different standard. And I think operationally, the O-line, it's harder to get the unit to play as one, where the D line, one-off guys can go make a play and make everybody feel good about how the group's playing, even though there's still a long way to go within the group."

What led you to bring Phil Trautwein onto the coaching staff?

"You know, when you put a staff together, you go into it with an open mind. I've walked into every time I've taken a job, and I've not been like, I'm not one of these guys that's had a list where it's like, I'm just going to call these ten guys, and they're ready to go, and we're going.

"It's like, when I took the job at Troy, I took two weeks to make my first new hire, and my AD there is now the deputy AD at Georgia Tech. He thought I was like, maybe just hanging out and not going to hire people. I'm like, no, I want to get this right. To me, it's ready, aim, shoot, not ready to shoot aim, like measure twice cut once.

"Phil had been brought to my attention a little bit ahead of me even taking this job. And then, as I was walking into this job and I'm going, okay, I start with coordinator. Who are going to hire a coordinator? And so I land where we're going to land there.

"And then you start to build around the coordinator. And I always include the coordinators and hires. I don't ever just go out and hire whoever I want and say, you're stuck with these people. I don't let them hire just whoever they want, either. It's a collaboration.

"So as we walk through putting the staff together, Buster and I had conversations about Phil, I had a few phone calls with Phil. You know, we're working through what that would look like. We flew Phil in for a face-to-face meeting, an interview, felt really good about it.

"Reached out to a lot of people that maybe had worked with him, been around him, all the way to Coach Meyer and Steve Addazio, talked to both those guys about Phil before making the hire. And so a lot of homework done to make that decision.

"And then, you know, he's really good at his job in and of itself, coaching, recruiting just what it takes to do the job well. And then you add in, he's a former Gator who was a captain here in a two-time national champion. It's like, that's the cherry on top.

"I didn't hire him because of those things hiring him because the coach and the man and the recruiter it all checkeds, but then you take that package with the other and it's like, home run. You know what I mean?

"And so he's been great. He's great with our guys. He's got great, great attention to detail. He's really disciplined in how he does things. Phenomenal recruiter, great relation guy, really, really fired up. He's here, and it's cool to be able to bring a guy back that means so much too.

"You know, the first scrimmage Saturday, he looked at me and he's like, 'This freaking awesome.' Like, he's it means something to him, which is really cool, but he's doing a great job."

How's it been collaborating with coaches from different areas as far as discipline, trading ideas and things that nature?

"Yeah, you know, there's some things that we've done practice schedule-wise and maybe more specifically non-practice day-wise that Buster's, Brad's brought to the table, you know, myself and Coach (Joe) Craddock and Coach (Greg) Gas(parato), who were with me as my coordinators.

"Most of what we're doing is what I've done, but then there's been some additional things that, you know, I think going back to the question last week about, you know, can you learn something from a guy like Ron Zook is what I got ask him, you can learn from Ron Zook or anybody I can learn from Buster Falkner and Brad White.

"And so we put things together as a staff. There are certain things that Buster offensively needs that maybe I hadn't done in the past, practice schedule-wise, and we're going to embrace what he needs to help put that side of the ball in a position to be successful.

"But yeah, we call out the good at and the bad. You know, I think, you know, I've said this before, but the culture, the standards of your program, all it is, the combination of what you promote, encourage, add it up with what you tolerate and allow.

"If you tolerate loaf and allow loafes, you're going to be a lazy football team. If you promote or encourage great effort and call that out too, then you got a chance to reinforce We want this team to p a great effort to strain. And so we show a tape in front of a team meeting every day, our non-practice days of, heyey, that set the standard.

"That was not our standard. And it gets called out. I don't care who y'all It gets called out. So we do it offensively and defensively segmented as well, but there's times in front of the team, we call things out that aren't right, because there has to be an extreme level of accountability for growth."

How have you seen player leadership grow since the beginning of camp?

"You know, I define leadership — you know, it's an action, not a role. So, like, you're not a leader just because you've been here a certain amount of time or because you have a title of head coach. You actually have to like, take on the actions of leading.

"And the first level of leadership is lead yourself well. Like, show up on time to breakfast check, where the right gear to practice. Like, lead yourself. Everybody needs to do that, where I think we have to do a better job is continuing to develop some emerging leaders who are maybe not quite vocal yet, but have some capacity to take on more. and then empower the ones that are already known and established leaders to getting guys to come with them.

"You know, when you get to be at the stage of a Miles Graham, you need to start developing other people around you to lead with you. It's not okay to just say, I'm doing my job. Now now you have to get others to do it like you're doing it at the level you're doing it. And so the guys are taking some ownership.

"We still have work to do. It's never-ending — I mean, it doesn't. You've never like, you don't just wake up when they go, "A, we've arrived. Everybody's leading. We're good. We can take the week off. You have to fight for it every freaking day. And so.

"But there's been some good guys, you know, emerging and stepping up."

Are there any spots that you're starting to feel a little more comfortable with?

"Yeah, I'd say the D line is one that I didn't know if I felt like we were good enough to play winning football in the league. I think we can. How's that look? We still have to figure out the rotations and the patterns and the subpackages and those groupings. But that's one that I feel better about.

"The receiving group, I think, one through five, I probably feel pretty good. We need to elevate past the top four or five So those are two that I think I knew the receiving group, but yeah, the deal line would probably be the one that I've developed the most confidence in for the last month."

What about stand-outs?

"I've seen a lot of different guys step up and be active and make plays. I think there's a lot of different types of play styles in there, you know, and different body types, but there's good length, there's good athletic movement. There's also good size.

"And like I said, there's a lot of different types of players, you know, and so you can maybe like Emmanuel's play into the field, but we can kick him in on some subpackaged stuff. You know, Jaylen Woods is playing to the boundary, but if a team wants to get big and try to match this, we can put him to the field.

"And so just moving the whole front around in different spots is probably what gives me some hope with what we can do defensively."

There's something unique about the way Coach Trautwein goes about it. Is there something unique about the way you guys about it?

"You know, his voice will elevate when needed. He's not just constantly a yeller. He's a really intentional teacher and communicator. He's very direct in communication I think his level of thoroughness matches up with the best line coachaches I've been around.

"Usually, the line coach are the ones that give out the tests that look like the Bible. You know, you get a test to take for like an install and you pick it up and it's like, all right, how many pages are this is this thing? Like, his test, tips, reminders for his players is really, really lengthy and very thorough.

"And so I think that's probably what sticks out. And I just think his consistency. You know, I think, in going back to the discipline comment I made about him, like, all you got to do is a look at him. You see what he was as a player and then look at what he looks like now as just an adult after football. You don't lose that weight that he's lost and carry himself the way he does without being really, really disciplined. And so he's disciplined with what he eats.

"He came to my house. We had like 30-something players in the house for Easter and a lot of the coaches came as well for lunch. And we're eating, you know, honey baked ham and turkey and mac and cheese and all this stuff, all this, you know, really healthy food. And Phil is like there, and he brings his own food or something, doesn't even eat. Like, he's just really regimented.

"And I think that usually filters over to your players, but I think that's a great characteristic and trait to have with an O line coach, because you just got to be very consistent. There's going to be a bad snap. Stay the course, keep going."

Have any offensive transfers stepped into that leadership role and helped the rest of the team really adjust to the new scheme?

"Yeah. I would say, you know, I think it starts probably with Aaron there. I think he's been good for the quarterback room because being a quarterback that's transferring with a coordinator, there could be this preconceived, like, hey, it's just his job the rest of the room didn't have a shot. I've seen AP really pour into the other guys in the room and try to help them with maybe some nuances that are within the structure of the offense.

"So he's been very helpful in that regard to Tramell and Will and Aidan and all the guys in there at the top to bottom, you know... And then Bailey, I think, his flash, Harrison's flash, all those guys, Harp, is, you know, I think settling into his own a little bit, but those guys' familiarity does help him for sure."

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida football's Jon Sumrall talks Gators spring football

Eight of the world's best darts players will again feature in the Premier League in 2026.

Reigning champion Luke Humphries is among them, alongside world champion Luke Littler and seven-time Premier League winner Michael van Gerwen.

The league phase takes place over 16 weeks from 5 February, with the play-offs at London's O2 Arena on 28 May.

Here are the current standings and the order of play for each of the weekly nights.

Premier League Darts 2026 table

Night one fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 5 February - Utilita Arena, Newcastle

Quarter-finals

Josh Rock 2-6 Jonny Clayton

Luke Littler 4-6 Gian van Veen

Luke Humphries 6-5 Gerwyn Price

Stephen Bunting 2-6 Michael van Gerwen

Semi-finals

Clayton 4-6 Van Veen

Humphries 2-6 Van Gerwen

Final

Van Veen 4-6 Van Gerwen

• Report:Van Gerwen beats compatriot Van Veen to win opening night

Night two fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 12 February - FAS Dome, Antwerp

Quarter-finals

Luke Littler 6-5 Luke Humphries

Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Josh Rock

Jonny Clayton 6-4 Stephen Bunting

Gerwyn Price 6-5 Gian van Veen

Semi-finals

Littler 4-6 Van Gerwen

Clayton 5-6 Price

Final

Van Gerwen 3-6 Price

• Report:Price ends Van Gerwen's unbeaten start in Antwerp debut

Night three fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 19 February - OVO Hydro, Glasgow

Quarter-finals

Stephen Bunting 3-6 Gian van Veen

Luke Humphries 6-2 Josh Rock

Michael van Gerwen v Luke Littler (bye) - Van Gerwen withdraws because of medical issue

Jonny Clayton 6-3 Gerwyn Price

Semi-finals

Van Veen 6-5 Humphries

Littler 1-6 Clayton

Final

Van Veen 2-6 Clayton

• Report:Clayton beats Van Veen for third different nightly winner

Night four fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 26 February - SSE Arena, Belfast

Quarter-finals

Luke Littler 3-6 Jonny Clayton

Stephen Bunting 6-4 Luke Humphries

Michael van Gerwen 5-6 Gerwyn Price

Gian van Veen 2-6 Josh Rock

Semi-finals

Clayton 0-6 Bunting

Price 5-6 Van Veen

Final

Bunting 6-2 Van Veen

• Report: Bunting silences critics as Rock hits nine-darter

Night five fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 5 March - Utilita Arena, Cardiff

Quarter-finals

Michael van Gerwen 1-6 Luke Humphries

Gian van Veen 4-6 Jonny Clayton

Gerwyn Price 6-5 Stephen Bunting

Luke Littler 6-4 Josh Rock

Semi-finals

Humphries 4-6 Clayton

Price 3-6 Littler

Final

Clayton 4-6 Littler

• Report: Littler spoils Welsh party for first night win of season

Night six fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 12 March - Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham

Quarter-finals

Josh Rock 1-6 Stephen Bunting

Jonny Clayton 6-3 Michael van Gerwen

Luke Humphries 6-4 Gian van Veen

Gerwyn Price 5-6 Luke Littler

Semi-finals

Bunting 3-6 Clayton

Humphries 6-5 Littler

Final

Clayton 6-1 Humphries

• Report: Clayton overcomes gout to crush Humphries in final

Night seven fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 19 March - 3Arena, Dublin

Quarter-finals

Gian van Veen v Michael van Gerwen (bye) - Van Veen withdraws because of medical issue

Stephen Bunting 3-6 Luke Littler

Josh Rock 0-6 Gerwyn Price

Jonny Clayton 3-6 Luke Humphries

Semi-finals

Van Gerwen 5-6 Littler

Price 6-1 Humphries

Final

Littler 6-5 Price

• Report: Littler comes back from 5-0 down to stun Price

Night eight fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 26 March - Uber Arena, Berlin

Based on league table after night seven

Quarter-finals

Jonny Clayton 3-6 Josh Rock

Luke Humphries 3-6 Michael van Gerwen

Luke Littler 6-3 Stephen Bunting

Gerwyn Price 6-1 Gian van Veen

Semi-finals

Rock 3-6 Van Gerwen

Littler 6-4 Price

Final

Van Gerwen 4-6 Littler

• Report: Superb Littler takes out 170 twice to beat Van Gerwen

Night nine fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 2 April - AO Arena, Manchester

Quarter-finals

Michael van Gerwen 3-6 Stephen Bunting

Gerwyn Price 6-2 Luke Humphries

Gian van Veen 6-5 Luke Littler

Jonny Clayton 4-6 Josh Rock

Semi-finals

Bunting 2-6 Price

Van Veen 6-3 Rock

Final

Price 6-2 Van Veen

• Report: Price wins in Manchester after Littler and Van Veen spat

Night 10 fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 9 April - The Brighton Centre

Quarter-finals

Luke Humphries 5-6 Jonny Clayton

Gerwyn Price 3-6 Josh Rock

Luke Littler 4-6 Stephen Bunting

Michael van Gerwen v Gian van Veen

Semi-finals

Clayton 6-4 Rock

Bunting 5-6 Van Gerwen

Final

Clayton 6-5 Van Gerwen

• Report:Clayton goes top with win in Brighton

Night 11 fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 16 April - Rotterdam Ahoy

Quarter-finals

Luke Littler v Gerwyn Price

Gian van Veen v Luke Humphries

Michael van Gerwen v Jonny Clayton

Stephen Bunting v Josh Rock

Semi-finals

Littler/Price v Van Veen/Humphries

Van Gerwen/Clayton v Bunting/Rock

Final

Littler/Price/Van Veen/Humphries v Van Gerwen/Clayton/Bunting/Rock

Night 12 fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 23 April - M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool

Quarter-finals

Gian van Veen v Gerwyn Price

Stephen Bunting v Jonny Clayton

Josh Rock v Michael van Gerwen

Luke Humphries v Luke Littler

Semi-finals

Van Veen/Price v Bunting/Clayton

Rock/Van Gerwen v Humphries/Littler

Final

Van Veen/Price/Bunting/Clayton v Rock/Van Gerwen/Humphries/Littler

Night 13 fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 30 April - P&J Live, Aberdeen

Quarter-finals

Josh Rock v Luke Littler

Stephen Bunting v Gerwyn Price

Jonny Clayton v Gian van Veen

Luke Humphries v Michael van Gerwen

Semi-finals

Rock/Littler v Bunting/Price

Clayton/Van Veen v Humphries/Van Gerwen

Final

Rock/Littler/Bunting/Price v Clayton/Van Veen/Humphries/Van Gerwen

Night 14 fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 7 May - First Direct Arena, Leeds

Quarter-finals

Gerwyn Price v Jonny Clayton

Luke Littler v Michael van Gerwen

Josh Rock v Luke Humphries

Gian van Veen v Stephen Bunting

Semi-finals

Price/Clayton v Littler/Van Gerwen

Rock/Humphries v Van Veen/Bunting

Final

Price/Clayton/Littler/Van Gerwen v Rock/Humphries/Van Veen/Bunting

Night 15 fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 14 May - Utilita Arena, Birmingham

Quarter-finals

Josh Rock v Gian van Veen

Gerwyn Price v Michael van Gerwen

Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting

Jonny Clayton v Luke Littler

Semi-finals

Rock/Van Veen v Price/Van Gerwen

Humphries/Bunting v Clayton/Littler

Final

Rock/Van Veen/Price/Van Gerwen v Humphries/Bunting/Clayton/Littler

Night 16 fixtures & order of play

Thursday, 21 May - Utilita Arena, Sheffield

Based on league table after night 15

Quarter-finals

2 v 7

3 v 6

1 v 8

4 v 5

Semi-finals

Winner of 2/7 v Winner of 3/6

Winner of 1/8 v Winner of 4/5

Final

Play-offs fixtures & order of play

Semi-finals and final - schedule to be confirmed based on league standings

Premier League Darts format and points system

Premier League Darts is played across 16 initial weeks in the league stage with quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final each night.

Each of the eight players is guaranteed to face the other seven in the quarter-finals in weeks one to seven and 9-15, with week eight and week 16 fixtures done off the table. It means we will get fourth v fifth in Sheffield on the final league-stage night, with the play-off spots potentially on the line.

Players earn two points per quarter-final win, an additional point if they win their semi-final and five for winning the night.

The top four players after the group stage progress to the play-off night at London's O2 Arena on 28 May, with first facing fourth and second against third in a best-of-19-leg match. The final, which is the best of 21 legs, follows.

If players are level on points after the 16 weeks then places are decided by nights won and then matches won.

Brazil assistant coach Davide Ancelotti has tipped Chelsea's 18-year-old winger Estevao Willian to be the surprise package at the summer's World Cup.

Former Bayern Munich and Real Madrid assistant manager Ancelotti will be part of his father Carlo's Brazil coaching staff at the tournament taking place in the United States, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July.

"The guy that will surprise you is someone that is not so well known," Ancelotti told BBC Radio 5 Live's Euro Leagues podcast.

"We have a lot of attacking players. We have a lot of talent and a lot of different profiles. And if I have to give you a name, Estevao is one of the rising talents of Brazil."

The highly rated teenager has scored eight goals and provided four assists in 34 appearances for Chelsea after joining from Palmeiras last summer for an initial fee of £29m, agreed in 2024.

Estevao missed Brazil's recent friendlies against France and Croatia having only returned from a hamstring injury for Chelsea against Everton right before the international break on 21 March.

But he was on the scoresheet in Chelsea's 7-0 win against Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-final last weekend.

"He is a really big talent," said Ancelotti of Estevao, who made his Brazil debut at the age of 17 in September 2024 and has five goals in 11 caps.

"He is a really good finisher, so he is someone that can dominate in Europe as a talent for the next years."

• Euro Leagues: Davide Ancelotti Special
• Dirt pitches, dodging dogs and choosing Chelsea - the making of Estevao
• Will Chelsea wonderkid Estevao hit heights of Yamal?

'Neymar still has a chance'

Before moving to England, Estevao scored 27 goals and provided 15 assists in 83 games for Palmeiras, surpassing Brazil legend Neymar's record at Santos to become the first under-18 player to record a combined 20 goals and assists in the Brazilian top flight.

But Estevao's hopes of playing a World Cup alongside his childhood idol remains a doubt after Neymar, 33, was left out of Brazil's last set of friendlies before their World Cup squad is announced.

The former Barcelona and Paris St-Germain attacker returned to Santos in January 2025 and helped his boyhood club avoid relegation last season, but has not played for Brazil since 2023 amid his struggles with injuries.

He was due to make his return to the national team last year after a 17-month absence but was forced to withdraw from the squad with a muscle injury.

"At the end, it is a decision of the manager that he will take and he has time to take it," Ancelotti said.

"The final list will be out on 18 May. Of course, he is the top scorer of the national team and he has a chance. He has a time to do his best and try to get into the list."

Brazil's all-time top scorer Neymar has 79 goals in 128 appearances, eclipsing greats like Pele, Ronaldo, Romario and Zico.

• Ancelotti's secret weapon - his son
• Vinicius: Eight years at Real Madrid, 20 cases of alleged racist abuse

'Vinicius best player in the world'

One player who will carry Brazil's World Cup hopes on his shoulders is Vinicius Jr.

The forward has eight goals in 47 appearances for Brazil and has been influential for Real Madrid again this campaign with 11 goals in La Liga and five more in the Champions League.

"Vinicius is a football star because of his talent," Ancelotti said.

"He's one of the most talented players in the world, so he carries this weight because everyone expects him to win the game alone and the expectations on him are higher than any other player - maybe only Kylian Mbappe right now."

The 25-year-old has also had to deal with discrimination since moving to Spain, where he has faced 20 incidents of alleged abuse in eight years.

The latest incident came in Real Madrid's Champions League knockout phase play-off tie at Benfica in February, following which the Brazilian winger said "racists are cowards".

"Having a manager like my father is really good - in being close to the stars," the Brazil assistant said.

"We just focused on what he [Vinicius] could improve and he has room for improvement. Even if he's one of the best, maybe personal opinion, the best player in the world, but everyone has room for improvement.

"So we focus on that because we have a manager who is a specialist in making stars not feel alone and he always did that with stars like Didier Drogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski."

Ancelotti, 36, held discussions to take charge of Scottish side Rangers last season before taking up his first managerial role at Brazilian side Botafago - only to be sacked five months later in December 2025.

The Italian, however, has continued to work with his father, who was named Brazil boss in May 2025 after four years at Real Madrid, where he won three Champions League titles and two La Liga titles over two spells.

Five-time World Cup winners Brazil have not lifted the trophy since their last triumph in 2002 but Ancelotti believes the Selecao "will be ready for the World Cup".

"It will be difficult because it will be after a really long season," said Ancelotti.

"There are players that will reach the World Cup with more than 60 games and this is not good. It will be not good for the show or the people that are watching.

"So we will take care of the players physically. It will be important because the weather will be so hot. It will be a competition that will be decided by small details.

"But I can say that we have a really competitive team that can play football that could be efficient in a competition like that. So we are positive."

Brazil will face Morocco in their World Cup opener on 13 June in New Jersey before taking on Scotland and Haiti in Group C.

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Hunter Brown's injury could create an opportunity for Astros' No. 7 prospect originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Ethan Pecko's path to professional baseball has been a wild one. He wasn't able to pitch during his senior year in 2020 due to the pandemic, and he also didn't pitch his first year of college after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and then La Salle dropping their baseball program. 

This left him with few options, but he was able to transfer to Towson and was able to catch the attention of a few big-league clubs. 

While he likely could have been drafted higher if not for two lost seasons, he was drafted by the Houston Astros during the 2023 MLB Draft in the sixth round and immediately showed his value in the minors. 

MORE: Astros' biggest offseason regret is clear amid Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier's injuries

Hunter Brown's injury could create an opportunity for Astros' No. 7 prospect

During his first year in the minors, Pecko won the Astros' Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award. However, a strained forearm would cost him two months of the 2025 season, delaying some of his development. 

But he started the season healthy and has been able to miss barrels in his limited innings in High-A while he gets stretched out. 

With the recent injury to Hunter Brown, who is dealing with a Grade 2 right shoulder strain and has been shut down from throwing, MLB Pipeline believes this could create an opportunity for Pecko. 

"The 2023 sixth-rounder from Towson utilizes a five-pitch mix highlighted by a fastball that ranges from 93-98 mph with good shape, and he creates deception with a low three-quarters arm slot and good extension. Hunter Brown's shoulder strain could create an opportunity for Pecko sooner rather than later."

Houston did call up Christian Roa in place of Brown, but he is viewed as more of a bullpen option than a starter. Other options include Spencer Arrighetti, who has shown what he is capable of, and also J.P. France.

However, it could be on Pecko to make a few starts once he gets stretched out down in the minors.

More MLB news:

• Pressure builds for the White Sox to call up their local left-handed ace
• A brand-new Culpepper era is fast approaching the Twin Cities
• Travis Bazzana looms as the missing piece for the Guardians lineup
• Orioles' No. 3 prospect primed to be next man up once stretched out
• MLB analyst urges Blue Jays to sign former White Sox, Red Sox pitcher

The Blue Jays outrighted Josh Fleming and Austin Voth to Triple-A Buffalo, and both pitchers elected free agency April 9 in lieu of reporting to Toronto’s top farm team.

Fleming, 29, allowed four runs (all earned) in three innings in his only big league appearance of 2026 on April 6 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The left-hander also appeared in one Triple-A game with the Bisons, allowing one run in 3.2 innings in a start in Omaha.

MORE: Blue Jays announce two-way player’s pitching debut

Voth, 33, also made just one appearance for Toronto. He allowed one run in 2.2 innings against the Chicago White Sox on April 5, and was designated for assignment the next day.

For Voth, the quick turnaround was enough to cause whiplash. He was with the White Sox for most of spring training until he was released from his minor league deal on March 20. The Blue Jays signed him five days later, assigned him to Buffalo to begin the season, and selected his contract on April 5.

Voth’s only big league appearance came that night — coincidentally, in Chicago. Now he will presumably look to latch on elsewhere for the 2026 season.

MORE: Dodgers postseason hero in lineup vs Blue Jays despite father’s death

Voth is 17-19 with a 4.69 ERA in 208 career games for the Washington Nationals (2018-22), Baltimore Orioles (2022-23) and Seattle Mariners (2024). He spent all of last season in Japan going 3-10 with a 3.88 ERA as a starter for the Chiba Lotte Marines.

More to come on this story.

He’s got one round in the books after a month away from golf to rest his ailing back, which is progress for Collin Morikawa. He just never expected the return to be so nerve-wracking.

“Honestly, it's probably the toughest round I've ever played,” the two-time major champion said after a 2-over-par 74 in the first round of the Masters Tournament on Thursday. “You know, I'm just fighting. Like, it's a battle. I don't think I've been able to get comfortable out there and trusting the entire body. So I'm proud of the way things kind of played out. You know, yeah, the expectations are kind of thrown out the window right now.”

LEADERBOARD: 2026 Masters scores, tee times, videos

Morikawa, who won at Pebble Beach in February with a 22-under score, had gone 30 days without competition before teeing it up at Augusta National. He experienced back pain on a practice swing on the second hole of the first round of the Players Championship on March 12.

“I think it's a trust factor, right? I think when it happened out on the course at The Players, you know, there's a certain doubt factor of, like, is this going to happen, is this not?” Morikawa said. “I've been hitting balls for the past week and a half, but not comfortably. By that, it's just more like my head gets in the way, and the head can stop so much. When I teed it up on Tuesday on No. 1 (for a practice round), I mean, I honestly didn't know if I was going to make contact.”

LIVE: Masters 2026 leaderboard: Live updates, round 1 scores, predictions

The good news was he didn’t experience any back pain on Thursday. But now there are other problems. Walking was the hardest part, he said.

“It's just a trust thing,” he said. “My legs don't want to trust that it's going to hold up the back and the rest of the body. When that's feeling wobbly, plus thankfully this course is firm. The legs just don't feel comfortable right now. They don't feel strong like they're underneath me. I don't think it's really muscle loss. It's just a trust factor and saying that the legs are under there that you can go fire the way I used to. I use so much of my lower body to hit my shots that, you know, today and this past week of hitting balls, it's been a lot of upper body just kind of firing.”

There was some concern about Morikawa’s long game after three days on the Augusta National range, both in terms of the number of balls hit and the longest shots. On Monday, his longest drive was 284 yards on 56 shots. On Tuesday, it was 280 yards on 45 shots. He also hit 45 balls on Wednesday, with his longest shot being 279.

In his warmup before Thursday’s first round, he hit 41 balls with a long drive of 277 yards.

Once the adrenaline kicked in, he averaged 310.6 yards off the tee, with his long drive being 314.5 yards. Still, he called some of his drives “little dinks,” noting the fairways were firm and allowed a lot of roll.

For the round he had four bogeys and two birdies.

After the Players Championship, he took his extended break in order to be ready for the Masters.

“Out of all the events, probably not the one I want to skip,” he said of the Masters. “You never know if you're going to find some luck and be able to figure something out. So we were able to grind it out today, and hopefully we can grind it out for three more days.”

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: At 2026 Masters, Collin Morikawa battles trust issues after injury

Florida State has made it a mission to get their 2028 recruiting going early. On Thursday, they hosted blue-chip offensive lineman Sam Walker out of Central High School in Carrollton, Georgia.

This was the second visit for Walker to FSU as he also took an unofficial visit back in November for their game against Virginia Tech. This time, the 6-foot-4, 320 left with a scholarship offer from Seminoles.

Walker has compiled a pretty stacked list of offers so far although the total isn't extremely high. Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee have all extended offers to him as well.

247Sports doesn't have a ranking for Walker. Rivals industry rankings see him as the No. 225 player nationally and the No. 13 interior offensive lineman. They have deemed him the No. 24 prospect in the state of Georgia as well.

Walker hasn't taken an official visit to Florida State yet, but that is surely to change now that he has an offer on the table.

Contact/Follow us @FSUWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida State news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Matthew on X @StarConscience

This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: FSU Football: Florida State offers elite OL Sam Walker

Jonny Clayton came from 5-2 down to beat Michael van Gerwen 6-5 and claim his third nightly win to move top of the Premier League.

Van Gerwen missed four match darts in total as the Welshman reeled off four straight legs to take the win in Brighton.

Victory takes Clayton, who began the evening in third, three points above Luke Littler after the world champion was beaten by Stephen Bunting in the quarter-finals and failed to add to his points tally.

While Van Gerwen had the edge both in terms of average and checkout percentage in the final, Clayton produced when it mattered as he made the seven-time champion pay for failing to wrap up the match at 5-2 and 5-4 and forced a decider.

Clayton then finished it in style, hitting two 180s in the leg before sealing it on double 16.

"I thought the game was over at 5-2 up for Michael," Clayton told Sky Sports.

"He missed, he gave me a chance. You've got to take chances. That last leg was probably my best of the game.

"I'm back on top of the table, Luke Littler can start chasing me again."

Despite falling just short of a first nightly win since the opening week in Newcastle, Van Gerwen's run to the final helped him shore up his play-off place and open up a four-point gap to fellow Dutchman Gian van Veen in fifth.

Littler slumps to quarter-final loss

It is back-to-back quarter-final exits for Luke Littler, and the world number one was a long way from his best as he fell to a 6-4 loss to Bunting.

Littler was booed by the crowd on his way to the stage after his spat with Gian van Veen last week and failed to get going at any stage, averaging just 83.94 in what could have been a far more comprehensive defeat but for Bunting's slack finishing.

Defending champion Luke Humphries also suffered another damaging defeat to leave him facing a real battle to reach the play-offs.

Humphries had the darts for the deciding leg against Clayton but missed a match dart before the Welshman secured a 6-5 win on the bull.

With six weeks remaining, Humphries is still without a nightly win and is now seventh in the table, five points off fourth.

Premier League Darts night 10 results

The Brighton Centre

Quarter-finals

Luke Humphries 5-6 Jonny Clayton

Gerwyn Price 3-6 Josh Rock

Luke Littler 4-6 Stephen Bunting

Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Gian van Veen

Semi-finals

Clayton 6-4 Rock

Bunting 5-6 Van Gerwen

Final

Clayton v Van Gerwen

Premier League Darts table 2026

Premier League darts week 11 fixtures

Thursday, 16 April - Rotterdam Ahoy

Quarter-finals

Luke Littler v Gerwyn Price

Gian van Veen v Luke Humphries

Michael van Gerwen v Jonny Clayton

Stephen Bunting v Josh Rock

Premier League Darts format and points system

Premier League Darts is played across 16 initial weeks in the league stage with quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final each night.

Each of the eight players is guaranteed to face the other seven in the quarter-finals in weeks one to seven and 9-15, with week eight and week 16 fixtures done off the table. It means we will get fourth v fifth in Sheffield on the final league-stage night, with the play-off spots potentially on the line.

Players earn two points per quarter-final win, an additional point if they win their semi-final and five for winning the night.

The top four players after the group stage progress to the play-off night at London's O2 Arena on 28 May, with first facing fourth and second against third in a best-of-19-leg match. The final, which is the best of 21 legs, follows.

If players are level on points after the 16 weeks then places are decided by nights won and then matches won.

The latest news on the Houston Astros and from around MLB:

Astros making roster moves:

While it would be franchise malpractice not to put Cristian Javier on the IL after he left his last start after just one inning with shoulder pain, there is some encouraging news:

Tatsuya Imai’s slider is unique, and that is what makes it special:

Astros pay their respects to Davey Lopes. The former second baseman and manager passed away at the age of 80 yesterday from complications associated with Parkinson’s disease.

Today in 1965, the Astrodome opened it’s doors for the first time:

The Tigers and Mariners are off to very suboptimal starts:

The Athletics pitchers probably can’t wait to move to Las Vegas:

Also, the A’s just shut out the Yankees 1-0. They haven’t shut the Yankees out and won 1-0 in over 46 years.

While Yankee pitching has been tremendous…

The Yankee bats have gone cold…

He’s a World Champion as a player, a World Champion as a manager, a lock for the Baseball Hall of Fame, and now an author:

The NL Central has more teams with winning records than the American League. Read that again.

World Series losses are hard to get over, even for the nice people North of the Border:

You don’t see this every day, even if it didn’t happen quite like it does in “The Natural”:

Now, if you’ve never seen The Natural: A) Shame on you. B) Here is the clip I am referencing:

When you steal 3 HRs in one game, the Baseball Hall comes calling:

It seems a little odd, to have the game on getaway day start three hours later than the rest of the series. But, due to the rescheduling of the games on Tuesday and Wednesday, here we are. Though at least the D-backs don’t have far to go. Google Maps tells me that Citizens Bank Park and Citi Field are only 111 miles from each other by road – 117 if you want to avoid tolls. Though I think the closest parks, discounting those located in the same city like the Mets and Yankees, might be the Orioles and Nationals. Again per Google Maps, those two are 38 miles apart. There was a lengthy dispute when the Nats relocated, about them encroaching on the Orioles territory.

This is the rubber game of the series, after the teams split the first two, and give the D-backs a chance to climb above .500 for the first time in 2026. It’s the fourth opportunity they have had to do so. But they have gone 0-3 previously and been outscored 29-7 over those three games. The most recent and closest was the opener in New York, where they got walked off, and here we are again. If past form is any guide, they should be optimistic, with starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez yet to concede an earned run this year. Discounting opener types, the record such streak to start the season is four games, most recently by Chris Carpenter and Zack Greinke in 2009.

Though the most famous such is probably Fernando Valenzuela in 1985. He didn’t allow an earned run until the ninth inning of his fifth game – and two of the preceding ones were complete game shutouts. That gave him a 41-inning scoreless streak to start the year, before a Tony Gwynn home-run ended it, also giving Valenzuela a 1-0 loss. For the D-backs, E-Rod’s 12 innings is the longest by a starter to open the year since Merrill Kelly went 14.1 innings to kick off the 2022 campaign. Though for relievers, Shelby Miller went 13.2 without an earned run out of the bullpen last year. We’ll see how far Eduardo can go today!

North Dakota vs. Wisconsin Score, Live Updates, Highlights From 2026 NCAA Frozen Four originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

North Dakota and Wisconsin will meet in the first game of a Frozen Four doubleheader on Thursday night.

North Dakota shut out Merrimack and Quinnipiac in its previous NCAA Tournament matchups. The Fighting Hawks have reached the Frozen Four for the 23rd time in program history.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, beat Dartmouth and Michigan State to punch its ticket to the Frozen Four. The Badgers have won six NCAA championships, but they haven't captured the title since 2006.

Follow along right here for the latest updates and highlights from North Dakota vs. Wisconsin.

North Dakota vs. Wisconsin score

North Dakota vs. Wisconsin live updates, highlights from 2026 Frozen Four game

6:36 p.m. ET: There was a late penalty with 6:22 left in the second. A hold by Luke Osburn. Another chance for North Dakota. Right when I started, there was another penalty on Wisconsin. A great opportunity for North Dakota with a 5 on 3 edge. Ben Dexheimer got hurt by his foot. Ouch. Hauser with some pretty great saves as Wisconsin made it to even strength. 

6:24 p.m. ET: Several turnovers took place early in the second. Tassy was one of the many Badgers players attempting to score. North Dakota power play coming up with 10:46 left in the second. Wisconsin didn’t give in and was right back at full strength. Only two shots on goal by North Dakota. 

6:11 p.m. ET: Hauser with a massive save early in the second as Will Zellers tried to make an impact. Wisconsin’s goalie was busy to start the period. Montgomery attempted to score but Spunar kept things tight. Hauser got dropped, but there was no penalty. 

6:04 p.m. ET: The second period has started. 

End of the 1st Period: Wisconsin: 2, North Dakota: 0

5:47 p.m. ET: Wisconsin could not score during the power play. Spunar was being tested towards the end of the period. The first ended, with Wisconsin dominating early. 

5:38 p.m. ET: With 4:33 left in the first period, there was a holding penalty on Josephson. Can Wisconsin take advantage of the power play? 

5:34 p.m. ET: Immediately after, Ryan Botterill with a transition shot right down the middle. It went though the legs of Spunar. Just like that, it’s 2-0 Wisconsin. Ben Dexheimer and Joe Palodichuk with the assist. 

THE FLOOD GATES HAVE OPENED!

30 seconds later, Ryan Botterill makes it 2-0 for the Badgers! #MFrozenFour x 🎥 ESPN2 / @BadgerMHockeypic.twitter.com/lrXvbD1h1j

— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) April 9, 2026

5:33 p.m. ET: A door was accidentally opened close to Hauser’s corner. That could have been bad. With 7:04 left in the first period, Tassy landed a massive goal, ending the shutout streak for North Dakota. Vasily Zelenov with the assist. 

Simon Tassy scores the first goal of the 2026 Men's Frozen Four! #MFrozenFour x 🎥 ESPN2 / @BadgerMHockeypic.twitter.com/NTpr3DhJQ3

— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) April 9, 2026

5:27 p.m. ET: Hauser with a massive save to spoil what could have been a massive goal by Ollie Josephson. 

5:25 p.m. ET: Quinn Finley and Christian Fitzgerald attempted to get past North Dakota’s defense. Montgomery with a close shot attempt, but Spunar with a great save. Montgomery’s been all over the ice early on. Simon Tassy attempted to score following multiple turnovers. Montgomery came flying to the other side, but to no avail. 

5:15 p.m. ET: Jan Spunar with an early save for North Dakota. Wisconsin's Blake Montgomery with a clean attempt, but Spunar with the first great save of the game. Hauser with a massive save, and another with 15:16 minutes left in the first period.

The NCHC Goalie of the Year comes up clutch early for @UNDmhockey! 🥄

📺: ESPN2#theNational // #MFrozenFourpic.twitter.com/G82meiRNWL

— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) April 9, 2026

5:10 p.m. ET: North Dakota got the puck first. Hauser blocked an early goal attempt by North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks took control early on. Keaton Verhoeff was making things tough for Wisconsin early. 

5:06 p.m. ET: The first period has started. Daniel Hauser is in goal for Wisconsin. Jan Spunar is in goal for North Dakota. 

5 p.m. ET: WE ARE LIVE! North Dakota vs. Wisconsin, two of the best teams in college hockey, face off for a shot at glory. 

4:56 p.m. ET: Here's your lineup for North Dakita and Wisconsin: 

The starting group! #UNDproud | #LGHpic.twitter.com/KuGmFNKQZr

— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) April 9, 2026

How the Badgers are lining up for their Frozen Four game against North Dakota: pic.twitter.com/hmpfIuDz4u

— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) April 9, 2026

4:30 p.m. ET: Both teams have taken the ice and are ready to get the Frozen Four started! 

Both No. 4 @BadgerMHockey and No. 2 @UNDmhockey have taken to the ice for pregame warmups.

This is Wisco’s 28th NCAA Tournament appearance, and ND’s 23rd. #MFrozenFour | #NCAAHockeypic.twitter.com/vHiAaXOTJ5

— Jennifer Streeter (@JennyStreeter3) April 9, 2026

4 p.m. ET: We are about an hour from North Dakota vs. Wisconsin and the T-Mobile Arena looks ready for some hockey! 

The stage is set for the #MFrozenFour semifinals 🧊🏒 @BadgerMHockey takes on North Dakota at 2:00 p.m. PT followed by @umichhockey and Denver 👊 pic.twitter.com/KOxd48Whmr

— Big Ten Hockey (@B1GHockey) April 9, 2026

Welcome to NESN's live coverage of North Dakota vs. Wisconsin. Updates will be provided here before the Frozen Four game begins.

How to watch North Dakota vs. Wisconsin: TV channels, live streams

• TV channels: ESPN2
• Live streams:ESPN app, fubo

North Dakota vs. Wisconsin will air nationally on ESPN2. The game will also be available to stream on fubo and the ESPN app.

Now you can watch ESPN without cable. Stream live NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB and college sports, plus "SportsCenter," "First Take" and all your favorite ESPN shows — anytime, anywhere — only in the new ESPN app.

North Dakota vs. Wisconsin start time

• Date: Thursday, April 9
• Time: 5 p.m. ET

North Dakota vs. Wisconsin will start at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 9. The Frozen Four game will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

NCAA men's hockey tournament schedule, results 2026

Thursday, March 26 — Regional Semifinals

Friday, March 27 — Regional Semifinals

Saturday, March 28 — Regional Finals

Sunday, March 29 — Regional Finals

Thursday, April 9 — Semifinals

Saturday, April 11 —Finals

NCAA men's hockey tournament champions by year

Here are the last 10 tournament champions:

Augusta National lived up to the hype in the opening round of The Masters.

There were whispers throughout the week that the course would be playing as difficult as it has for years. There hasn’t been a drop of rain on the grounds all week, and it’s playing firm and fast already.

Shane Lowry, after shooting an opening round 70, said this was as hard as he has seen Augusta in his years of playing The Masters.

His Ryder Cup teammate, Tommy Fleetwood, had an up-and-down round. He was chasing down Patrick Reed for the lead early, but tripped up on the back nine to fall back to one under par.

He said if he agrees with the 2019 Open Championship winner, Lowry, afterward.

Tommy Fleetwood responds to Shane Lowry’s comments about Augusta National

Fleetwood felt the full force of Augusta on his back nine, dropping three shots. He was asked about Lowry’s comments after his play on Thursday, and he admitted that the Irishman could be right.

He said, “I mean, potentially, yeah. We’ll see. They can do whatever they want with the golf course, can’t they? That’s the beauty of it. I think you never quite know what you’re going to get out here until you hit into the first green, see the ball routes on the first.

“For sure they’re having absolutely perfect conditions to make it as firm and fast as they want. It’s up to them what they want to do with it. Yeah, it’s an amazing test, and as a major and as the Masters should be I guess.”

If the course is like this on a Thursday, it will be absolutely brutal come Sunday unless they make some changes. But that would make for a drama-filled final round, so perhaps they should just let it be!

Tommy Fleetwood says how he can bounce back from late bogeys on Thursday

Fleetwood’s round fell apart late, as he bogeyed two of the last three holes down the stretch. He said how he plans to respond to that.

The Englishman said, “That’s done now, so there is nothing to do about it. 16, poor iron shot. 18, hit two lovely shots in. It was such a quick putt from the back of the green. First one I leave eight feet short, whatever it is.

“Then you see that one dribbles down and goes four feet past from eight feet. It was in a spot. Feel like I should get down in two. Of course, you should get down in two, but I didn’t.

“It’s done now, isn’t it? Nothing to do. Do a bit of practice, go home, get up tomorrow, and go again.”

It’s the right approach, but thinking like that is easier said than done. Especially now, he has all night to stew on it.

The 2026 NBA Play-In Tournament begins Tuesday, and will feature the teams that finished 7 through 10 in the East and West standings, with a chance to earn the final two playoff spots in each conference on the line. Let's break it down:

Play-In Tournament schedule (all games on Prime)

Tuesday

• East team TBD vs. East team TBD: 7:30 p.m. ET

• West 8th place (Clippers or Trail Blazers) vs. Phoenix Suns 10 p.m. ET

The winners advance to the playoffs as the No. 7 seeds; the losers will play again on Friday.

Wednesday

• East team TBD vs. East team TBD: 7:30 p.m. ET

• Golden State Warriors vs. West 9th place (Clippers or Trail Blazers)

The winners will play again Friday for a shot at the No. 8 seeds; the losers will be eliminated.

Friday

• East team TBD vs. East team TBD 7:30 p.m. ET

• West team TBD vs. West Team TBD 10 p.m. ET

The winners advance to the playoffs as the No. 8 seeds; the losers will be eliminated.

How the play-in tournament works

The current format of the play-in tournament was introduced during the 2020-21 season. Teams that finish 7 through 10 in the standings will participate in a two-round tournament for a shot at the playoffs as the seventh and eighth seeds.

From the NBA:

Each conference’s No. 7 team in the standings will host the No. 8 team. The winners secure the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. The losers will get another chance to earn a playoff spot.

Each conference’s No. 9 team in the standings will host the No. 10 team. The winners will advance to the final stage of the Play-In Tournament. The losers are eliminated.

The losers of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchups will host the winners of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 matchups. The winners secure the No. 8 seed in the NBA playoffs for its conference. The losing teams are eliminated.

The 2026 NBA Playoffs begin April 18.

The New York Knicks and Boston Celtics meet in a high-stakes Eastern Conference clash with major playoff seeding implications as both teams continue to battle near the top of the standings.

MORE: Luka Doncic injury stokes debate about NBA 65-game rule for postseason awards

How to Watch Knicks vs Celtics

• When: Thursday, April 9, 2026
• Time: 7:30 PM ET
• TV Channel: Prime Video
• Live Stream: Prime (try for free)

Boston enters this matchup as one of the most dominant teams in the league, powered by the elite two-way play of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Celtics have consistently been among the NBA’s best in offensive rating and three-point shooting, allowing them to stretch defenses and create mismatches across the floor. In recent meetings, Boston has been successful in exploiting spacing against New York, forcing the Knicks into difficult defensive rotations while controlling the tempo through efficient half-court execution.

– Live Stream Knicks vs Celtics with Prime –

New York, however, has built its identity on physicality and discipline, with Jalen Brunson playing at an All-NBA level as the engine of their offense. The Knicks have thrived when they dominate the glass and slow games down, turning matchups into grind-it-out possessions where their toughness shows. If they can limit Boston’s perimeter looks and win the rebounding battle, areas that have defined their biggest wins this season, they have a legitimate chance to flip the script in what feels like a potential playoff preview.

This is a great NBA matchup that you will not want to miss; make sure to tune in and catch all the action.

Live stream Knicks vs Celtics on Prime: Start your free trial now!

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Former All-Star says NBA Draft lottery is rigged and has the receipts originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Former NBA All-Star guard Jeff Teague has made a name for himself outside of basketball.

Although he was a solid NBA guard in his playing days, he's remained in the spotlight in retirement due to his humorous anecdotes and occasionally controversial takes.

His latest take on the NBA lottery is no exception. In one of the more recent episodes of his Club520 podcast, Teague said that the lottery process is rigged, adding to his reputation for bold and debatable opinions.

Not only did he provide the take, but he showed evidence.

“No disrespect to the league, I feel like it’s no way you trade Luka, AD get hurt sh*t hit the fan. They like get the team out of Dallas then all of a sudden we going to give y’all Cooper everybody calm the fu*k down, come on man. New Orleans Chris Paul leave they want to move the team, they fu*ked up they get Anthony Davis. Come on man. Derrick Rose go to Chicago, come on.”

Jeff Teague says the NBA draft lottery is rigged:

“No disrespect to the league, I feel like it’s no way you trade Luka, AD get hurt sh*t hit the fan. They like get the team out of Dallas then all of a sudden we going to give y’all Cooper everybody calm the fu*k down, come on… https://t.co/xaOLxYAW4Fpic.twitter.com/vrUJPiGkwS

— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) April 9, 2026

Teague called his career quits at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season.

Is the NBA Draft Lottery Rigged?

There have been multiple occasions where many suspect something fishy from the NBA. Last season is a prime example of that when the Dallas Mavericks had only a 1.8 percent chance to land the No. 1 overall pick. Yet, they landed it and selected potential Rookie of the Year, Cooper Flagg. 

The Mavericks were a long shot to land it. On top of that, they had just traded away their franchise player, Luka Doncic, to the Los Angeles Lakers a few months prior. 

That is one of the many examples one could point to. Nonetheless, there is no concrete evidence that the lottery is rigged. 

For decades, the lottery has been heavily scrutinized because of how high the stakes are and how some outcomes appear convenient or surprising. 

More NBA news: 

• Zion Williamson is the reason Anthony Davis was traded to the Lakers

• Lakers’ LeBron James urged to play for Knicks in possible final season

• What is tanking in the NBA? Explaining controversial strategy for teams trying to land No. 1 pick in draft

MIAMI – The UFC 327 pre-fight press conference took place Thursday in advance of the highly anticipated and stacked event.

With a loaded lineup on tap Saturday at Kaseya Center (Paramount+), key matchups that are scheduled such as the Jiri Prochazka vs. Carlos Ulberg vacant light heavyweight title headliner, the Azamat Murzakanov vs. Paulo Costa light heavyweight co-main event, Curtis Blaydes vs. Josh Hokit, Dominick Reyes vs. Johnny Walker and Cub Swanson vs. Nate Landwehr.

After taking questions from the media in from of a vocal crowd in "The Magic City," all 10 fighters participated in staredowns as the days wind down to the deepest event of 2026 so far. During two of the five faceoffs, UFC CEO Dana White had to intervene as the co-main event and featured bout had a little extra aggression shown by the fighters involved.

Checkout the video above to see all the UFC 327 press conference faceoffs

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Video: UFC 327 full pre-fight press conference faceoffs; White separates two

Several former North Carolina State male athletes alleging sexual abuse and harassment by a former trainer employed by the university say they were forced to suffer in silence, according to a report from ESPN.

Eleven Wolfpack athletes who played at NC State between 2013 and 2024 spoke to ESPN on the condition of anonymity, alleging former trainer Robert Murphy would use the guise of medical treatment to engage in misconduct, which included inappropriate touching of their genitals and non-standard drug testing procedures in which Murphy required them to be nude while he observed them.

They also alleged Murphy kept his job despite raising concerns to the university.

Nine of the people who spoke to ESPN are part of an ongoing civil case against the school that includes 31 total plaintiffs. One of the athletes told ESPN he received unwanted touching of his genitals when he went to Murphy with back pain.

The athlete, listed as John Doe 1 in court documents, according to ESPN, went home to shower rather than in the locker room following the incident, telling ESPN he remembered thinking to himself, "Did this really just happen?"

In 2022, former soccer player Ben Locke filed a complaint to campus police that led to a Title IX investigation. The investigation found Murphy's conduct while treating a male athlete was "unwelcome and of a sexual nature," "pervasive" and "sufficiently severe."

ESPN reported that a senior athletics official at NC State told investigators allegations had been made as early as 2014 or 2015. Moreover, former men's soccer coach Kelly Findley told investigators he reported his concerns about Murphy to the university as early as 2016.

Murphy left the university in 2022, and there is an ongoing state criminal investigation of Murphy. A request for comment to NC State was not immediately returned to USA TODAY Sports.

"The health and safety of students and student-athletes is paramount to NC State Athletics and the university," NC State wrote in a statement to ESPN. "Sexual misconduct of any kind is unacceptable. ... As this is a pending legal matter, responses to this legal action will be made through the appropriate legal channels and the university cannot comment further at this time."

Locke, along with former wrestler Kiernan Shanahan (2019-20) and men's soccer player Parker Cross (2020-21), were among the three players named in the lawsuit against Murphy. All the others were labeled as "John Doe."

"I'm a Christian, I saved myself for marriage. So Rob is the only person outside of my wife who has touched me," Cross told ESPN. "I've got to feel that for the rest of my life, that this [expletive] has touched me."

Locke said that as men, and especially as college athletes, they are not as readily accepted as potential victims of abuse, with a lot of the public thinking that, "[I] should be able to defend myself."

"Then you add in, 'You're a Division I college athlete, you're strong, you're fit, you're all the things,'" Locke said.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Former NC State athletes detail alleged sexual abuse by ex-trainer

GREENSBURG, Pa. — Frostburg State’s pitching staff has the lowest earned run average in the Mountain East Conference (MEC), and it showed why on Wednesday.

The Bobcats (25-6) threw seven scoreless innings against No. 19 Seton Hill, and got just enough offense for a 3-2 upset victory, extending their winning streak to 17 games.

It also extends a three-year streak with at least one win over a ranked opponent.

“We knew ahead of time, we were coming into a really hostile environment, really good team,” FSU head coach Anthony Williams said. “One of the best in the region. They don’t lose here at home a whole lot. We knew it was going to be a tough place to play. Midweek road games, anything can happen. So I was just really proud of the fight in our guys.”

Frostburg’s 3.77 ERA was tied for seventh in Division II with Colorado Mesa as of Monday.

Kamden Sowers started and allowed one earned run on four hits with no walks and a strikeout over two innings.

Bryce Bauer, Branden Brown and John Smith each tossed a scoreless frame.

Ty Morris entered in the sixth and went nine up and nine down on 29 pitches.

“Our pitchers, it was really an outstanding performance by them,” Williams said. “Just passing the baton mentality for our guys. Ty Morris was awesome, three innings of scoreless ball. Kept his pitch count down so we could use him this weekend.”

Joey Serafin came in as the closer in the ninth.

The Griffins (25-7) loaded the bases with one out, but Serafin struck out the final two batters to seal the win.

“When it got a little hairy, bases loaded, gets two back-to-back strikeouts,” Williams said. “Throw a 3-2 slider with two outs and the bases loaded. Those are scenarios you think about in the backyard as a little kid. Just awesome to see him have the confidence.”

Seton Hill scored the game’s first two runs on a passed ball in the first and a Mason Metz RBI knock in the second.

With two on in the top of the third, Drew Jourdan hit a ground ball past third for a two-run single to even the score.

In the top of the sixth, Konner Pittman pinch hit with runners on the corners.

The Allegany College alum grounded into a double play, but Ryan Bouma scored from third.

Pittman slashed .390/.460/.544 with 71 hits and 55 RBIs last year for the Trojans and led ACM in batting average and was a first-team All-Region 20 selection.

It ended up being the winning run, as Frostburg was retired in order across the final three frames.

“You gotta take what you can get,” Williams said of the offense. “If you make quick outs on soft contact against good arms, you’re gonna make it really easy for them. Our approach is always grind out at-bats and not be up there free swinging all the time. We have to be a team that has a high on-base percentage.”

The Bobcats left seven runners on, including the bases loaded twice.

The Griffins stranded six runners, but didn’t leave more than two until the ninth.

Frostburg’s 17-game win streak is the second-longest in program history.

The 1984 squad won 22 in a row and reached the school’s first NCAA tournament in Division III.

“I think about it more now that people keep asking me about it,” Williams said of the streak. “Which I understand, it’s awesome and I’m really proud of the guys. But it’s really a byproduct of just consistent preparation day in and day out.”

The Bobcats travel to Washington, Pennsylvania, to face Wheeling for a four-game conference series beginning on Saturday at 3 p.m.

The Cardinals (24-8) are second in the MEC with a 10-2 mark, trailing Frostburg’s 15-1 record.

“I’m just really excited that we had this type of atmosphere and environment going into a big series with Wheeling,” Williams said. “That’s just going to fire our competitive juices up. It’s easy to get complacent when you’ve won a bunch of games in a row, but we’ve really fought hard against it.”

The end of an NBA regular season can be finicky. Half the league is no longer trying to stack wins, if not outright tanking. General mid-tier contenders are trying to steal rest for the upcoming postseason without losing too much ground in the standings. It's a delicate balance to strike and some falter.

Everyone is just kind of in a weird holding pattern until the playoffs actually tip off in late April.

This year is a little different. It's not often you see not one but two NBA title-caliber heavyweights in a position to manipulate their playoff bracket at the very end of the season. That's the position the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder and the upstart San Antonio Spurs find themselves in at the top of the Western Conference standings.

You see, the Thunder have already clinched the top seed in the West. The Spurs, meanwhile, are the solidified No. 2 seed. No matter what happens between now and Sunday, that will not change. What could change, however, is where the Denver Nuggets, who control their own destiny for the No. 3 seed, will finish. Both the Thunder and Spurs are in a unique position of influence to potentially position the Nuggets where they want in the West playoff bracket.

Here's the skinny.

Oklahoma City visits the Nuggets in Denver on Friday night. The Nuggets will then finish the regular season in San Antonio on Sunday. If the Thunder, who have nothing to play for until the postseason begins, really want the Nuggets out of their bracket in the No. 4 or No. 5 slot, they could punt Friday night's game (assuming their elite B squad doesn't pull out the victory anyway). They could try to ensure that a red-hot Denver squad, a team many rightfully fear as a dark horse for the 2026 NBA title, would have to play the Surs in a potential No. 2 vs. No. 3 second-round matchup.

The Top 3 teams in the Western Conference are all 9-1 in their last 10 games.

Thunder
Spurs
Nuggets pic.twitter.com/eWlTijb0EW

— SleeperHoops (@Sleeper_Hoops) April 8, 2026

The idea is that this would soften the Thunder's theoretical path to the Western Conference Finals, where one of the bruised-and-battered Nuggets or Spurs could be waiting for them. The same sentiment holds true for the Spurs, but in trying to beat the Nuggets on Sunday, so they wouldn't have to see them in the second round.

To be clear, neither the Thunder nor the Spurs should necessarily fear the Nuggets. Both have proven they have the chops to go all the way. Especially the Thunder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander because, you know, they've actually done it. But, in essence, why play against a Serbian Kaiju like perennial MVP candidate Nikola Jokić and an All-NBA level Jamal Murray if you don't have to? Why make your playoff run harder by squaring off against another title contender less than halfway through the playoffs?

The NBA postseason is not just about who has the best team on paper. It often becomes a question of who can survive an extended two-month battle of attrition. Health and energy matter just as much, if not more, than the talent you have. Playing the fellow heavyweight Nuggets in the second round would qualify as an unnecessary toll on both the Thunder and Spurs. That is, if they can and want to actively avoid such a matchup.

The Thunder and Spurs have a fascinating playoff bracket question ahead of them. How they answer it may likely dictate the trajectory of the entire Western Conference postseason.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Thunder, Spurs can manipulate Nuggets out of 2026 NBA playoff brackets

ACCIDENT — When things looked grim, Northern skipper Phil Carr reminded his club that Allegany still had to get the final three outs: There’s no clock in baseball.

Northern had squandered a golden opportunity to win it in eight innings, and after a two-run single by Cole Ricker in the ninth, the Huskies found themselves in a 4-2 hole with just three outs to play with.

After Northern got one run back, Allegany left-hander Sebastian Stewart appeared to spin the winning strikeout on a breaking ball in the dirt. The ball spurted away from the catcher, and the tying tally scampered 90 feet home on the dropped-third strike to force another extra frame.

The teams battled darkness as the contest stretched into the 10th inning, but Northern’s Elliott Myers-Shirer must get an ample dose of vitamin A. He drew a free pass on a 3-2 pitch to push the winning run across and send the fourth-ranked Huskies to a 5-4 win over No. 1 Allegany on Wednesday.

“It was a heck of a game,” Carr said. “There were some situations where both of us could have won the game. Then both of us gave the other team the opportunity to get it tied.

“We were running out of daylight, but didn’t have a clock. So you just keep grinding and you keep playing and we found a way today.”

Wednesday’s thriller was the latest chapter in what’s been the Western Maryland Athletic Conference’s premier rivalry over the last four years. The last three Class 1A West Region I finals came down to Northern and Allegany.

Northern (5-2) won its fifth straight and upped its mark in the WestMAC to 3-2. Allegany fell to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the league.

Tied at 4 entering the 10th, Allegany put two runners on with nobody out before a double play started by third baseman Caleb Hinebaugh and a groundout erased the threat.

Allegany got the first out of the next half-inning. Northern drew four straight walks to end it after more than three hours.

“It was a battle,” Allegany manager Jon Irons said. “We don’t expect anything less when we come up here. We had our opportunities to win it at times and we had been coming through and there’s opportunities early in the season here. Couldn’t get the timely hits at times today that we had been.

“It felt a little bit like a playoff game, and that’s good experience for us.”

The first six innings featured a pitchers duel between two All-Area first-teamers a season ago in Allegany right-hander Kohen Madden and Northern righty Landon Yoder.

Yoder needed just 50 pitches to get through five innings and pitched into the ninth. Madden exited after six frames with a 2-1 lead.

Madden was in line for the win after Allegany plated two runs in the sixth. Madden leveled the score with an RBI single to right field, and the go-ahead tally crossed when a single by Daulton Harper to left got under the left fielder’s glove to let another run score.

With Madden out of the game in the seventh, Emmitt Lipscomb lined an RBI single to left to force extra innings tied at 2.

Stewart entered with Northern runners on first-and-third with nobody out in the eighth, and the lefty walked the tightrope to strand the winning run at third thanks to back-to-back clutch strikeouts and a diving catch by Allegany center fielder Kyran Freeman.

“We should have won it in the eighth with nobody out,” Carr said. “Less than two outs with somebody at third, you’ve got to put something in play. We even tried two safety squeezes with two hitters, and they fouled them off.”

Northern’s Jake Chambers was 3 for 3 and scored twice, and he received the Barry Bonds treatment late with three intentional walks in the seventh, ninth and 10th innings.

Myers-Shirer had three RBIs, Hunter Beitzel singled twice, and Hunter Livengood was 2 for 4 with a double — his two-bagger lowered Northern’s deficit to 4-3 in the ninth before the dropped-third strike.

Myers-Shirer, the Northern catcher, also threw out a would-be base-stealer at second to stamp out a potential Allegany rally in the eighth.

Madden went 4 for 4, Ricker was 3 for 5 with two ribbies and Freeman doubled.

Allegany finished with an 11-8 edge in hits and Northern made all three of the game’s errors, but the Huskies took advantage of 11 Campers walks.

Yoder didn’t walk a batter in his 8 1/3 frames of work. He allowed four runs (two earned) on 11 hits with three strikeouts on 106 pitches.

“Landon was really good against a team that’s been hot swinging the bat,” Carr said. “He did a great job. He was locating really well today.”

Beitzel threw 1 2/3 shutout innings in relief to register as the winning pitcher.

Madden wasn’t sharp at times and stranded Northern runners in each of his first five innings, but the right-hander found his groove late by striking out the side in order in his final frame.

The right-hander struck out 11 across six innings, allowing a run on five hits and two walks.

“Kohen gave us a solid start,” Irons said. “We’re still working on tweaking some things, location over velocity, those types of things. And I think he’s doing a good job with that and hopefully by the time we get to May, he’s pitching his best.”

Northern is off until Monday when it hosts Mountain Ridge (1-7, 0-3 WestMAC) at 4:30 p.m.

Allegany has no let up in its schedule, as the Campers host Washington County power Clear Spring on Friday at 4:30 p.m.

The matchup will be between two of the last three state champions in Class 1A. The Campers are the defending title holders, and the Blazers won it all in 2022 and ‘23.

“There were a ton of good lessons in this game today and we had a ton of inexperienced kids getting experience in high pressure situations,” Irons said.

“We can take a lot away from this, from the experience that we gain and mistakes that we can correct and be ready for playoff baseball.”

Analyst details Rams need future plan at 1 key position originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Los Angeles Rams' offense is locked and loaded ahead of the 2026 NFL season, and even with the uncertainty surrounding Puka Nacua, L.A. is still a formidable unit.

But we are only talking about this upcoming season, and as we know, teams plan ahead two or three years, and there is one position that L.A. has to think about long-term, and that's receiver.

With Matthew Stafford getting on in age, that position warrants consideration as well, because Stafford won't play forever.

But for NFL.com's Gennaro Filice, having a future plan at receiver should be the Rams' plan in the upcoming NFL Draft.

“Davante Adams is heading into a contract season at age 33, while Puka Nacua recently entered rehab with one year remaining on his rookie deal,” Filice wrote. “Even if you operate under the assumption that the Rams ultimately will extend Nacua, this receiver room could use another playmaker for 2026 and beyond.”

More:Falcons urged to make big moves in NFL Draft

Should Rams look at WR in the draft?

Holding the No. 13 overall pick, the Rams could get a nice weapon if they choose to go down that route, and there are options. Carnell Tate, Makai Lemon, and Omar Cooper Jr. are the three that the Rams could look at.

But the question is, will the Rams want to use such a high pick on a receiver? We've seen several mock drafts with the Rams taking an offensive lineman, so we aren't exactly sure if the franchise will add another weapon.

However, with Adams aging and Nacua's future, at least right now, a little murky, the Rams could be well served getting another weapon for Stafford, not just for this season, but for the years ahead as well.

More NFL news:

• Analyst reveals Commanders' biggest draft goal
• Is 1 Ravens draft selection inevitable?
• Kyle Hamilton makes brutally honest statement on Ravens' standards
• ESPN hints at $80 million Lamar Jackson problem for Ravens
• Chiefs owner makes Andy Reid comment fans will love
• Bills urged to trade for Pro Bowl WR
• Ravens urged to make stunning NFL Draft trade

CUMBERLAND — If you sat down a dozen of Bobby Cavanaugh’s former baseball players, you’d hear a dozen of the same stories.

To his high school players, he was a strict but fair disciplinarian who won nearly 400 games with bunting and fundamentals.

When it came to his pee-wee and farm system players, he believed that every kid plays. He put an emphasis on having fun learning those fundamentals and to play the game the correct way.

He never cussed, he always looked like a coach adorned with a pair of khakis, a T-shirt and a whistle around his neck, and he always treated others with respect.

Coach Cavanaugh died in 1984 before I was born, but the words of his ex-players, a dozen of whom returned as guest coaches at Coach Cavanaugh’s Baseball Farm System camp last weekend, made you feel like you knew him.

Former Fort Hill baseball head coach Jeff Brode, 57, did not play for Cavanaugh, but he participated in the pee-wee baseball infrastructure Cavanaugh helped build at local playgrounds around the area.

Now his son, current Fort Hill coach Tanner Brode, and the rest of the Sentinels’ staff are trying to keep Cavanaugh’s legacy alive with a camp bearing his name.

“It’s great that they’ve decided to do something like this,” Jeff Brode said. “There are usually not many baseball camps. ... We always have football this, football that, and it’s good to try to build up a different sport.”

Cumberland sports aficionados know the name Bobby Cavanaugh well, and they probably know it from his basketball rivalry with Allegany’s Bill Bowers.

Bowers got the better of him on the hardwood compiling a 567-164 record with 11 state championships from 1927-55, but Cavanaugh wasn’t far off with a 525-216 mark and seven state titles in 30 years at Penn Avenue and Fort Hill (1929-58).

Cavanaugh’s main passion was on the ballfield, where his Fort Hill teams went 387-164-3 — a remarkable feat with an average of 16 games a season in those days.

Fort Hill won five pre-Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association baseball state championships in 1938, ‘39, ‘48, ‘49 and ‘58, as well as 10 Allegany County titles in a time when there were eight county schools.

Cavanaugh was a member of the inaugural Maryland State Association of Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame class in 1992.

As an athlete, Cavanaugh, a native of Waterbury, Connecticut, was a four-sport star at Washington College in Chestertown. He quarterbacked the football team and made a 55-yard drop kick in a 3-0 win over St. John’s College in 1923.

Cavanaugh was inducted into the Washington College Hall of Fame in 1981, was the first football, basketball and baseball coach at Fort Hill and refereed the first football game played between Allegany and LaSalle high schools.

What isn’t gleaned from a record book, however, was Cavanaugh’s profound impact on youth baseball in Cumberland and the surrounding area.

In the 1940s and ‘50s in Cumberland, Dapper Dan Little League sponsored 16 teams, and there were more kids who signed up and went undrafted because there weren’t enough spots.

Those youths, therefore, had no place to play organized baseball in the summer.

Cavanaugh, Cumberland’s first full-time playground director, began what he called his “farm system” in 1950, a camp for those undrafted players to hone their skills and for younger kids not old enough for Dapper Dan to learn the game and get drafted the following year.

Each “farm team” was affiliated with a Dapper Dan team, and players who didn’t play much in Dapper Dan were eligible to play on the farm team.

Youths aged 8-12 learned how to bunt — a trademark of all Cavanaugh teams — swing the bat properly, run the bases, apply a tag, catch with two hands and field a ground ball.

At the conclusion of the camp portion, a pee-wee season began. Cavanaugh even went as far as to score the games and report standouts to the newspaper, so those “B league” players felt as important as the Dapper Dan ones.

Cavanaugh had his Fort Hill players act as student helpers, and local youths umpired the games, with Cavanaugh overseeing with a watchful eye to make sure the rules were being properly applied.

It was a feeder system for umpires as much as it was for players.

He ran the camp for 26 years, and former Cumberland Times Sports Editor Suter Kegg put the scope of his impact in perspective in a 1984 column following Cavanaugh’s death:

“Consider that an average of 350 youngsters, boys and girls, have played baseball in the farm system. Multiply that by 26, then add the thousands he tutored as a scholastic coach in all sports, plus those who came under his influence as the city’s first full-time playground director, and you’ll come up with a total to stagger the imagination.”

While the primary goal of Fort Hill’s camp last weekend was to introduce baseball to those in grades second through sixth, honoring the legacy of the program’s most legendary coach was a close second.

“When first taking over, we wanted to tie it back to some of our roots with Fort Hill and Fort Hill baseball,” head coach Tanner Brode said. “He was the best to ever do it, in my opinion.

“Just hearing how those guys, our guest coaches, revered him, and how much they respected him and the stories they could tell and that they’re still carrying on that legacy. They’re trying to live life the way that he did.”

One of those guest coaches was Olin Perkins, 79, who played for coach Cavanaugh from 1962-64 at Fort Hill.

Perkins went on to play four years of baseball at Frostburg State before earning his master’s degree at Towson and returning to Allegany County as an elementary physical education teacher.

While he didn’t play in Cavanaugh’s farm system, Perkins saw it first-hand as a helper and umpire, which he did for four years.

“It was actually coach Cavanaugh that really got me interested in teaching kids and coaching,” he said. “That’s why I went into the profession that I did.

“Coach Cavanaugh was really a great coach. He knew fundamentals and we practiced game situations and that led me into playing for coach (Bob) Wells at Frostburg State.”

Gus Caporale, 78, the owner of Caporale’s Bakery in Cumberland, a business that’s in its fourth generation of family ownership spanning more than 120 years, played for Cavanaugh.

Cavanaugh’s insistence on a “right way” to do things left an impact on Caporale too.

“Coach Cavanaugh ran such a class-act program and was a class-act guy,” he said. “Such a role model for all of us. I remember coming up, you couldn’t wait to play for coach and for Fort Hill. Then when you got the opportunity to take the field in that uniform, you thought you had made it.

“Coach taught us all to do our best and do things the right way, which we have all tried to carry with us throughout our lives.”

Cavanaugh was known for his squeeze play. If you faced one of his teams with a runner at third and less than two outs, you knew a bunt was forthcoming.

According to Fred Bartik, 73, who played for him from 1967-69 at Fort Hill and took part in his farm system as an eight-year-old, other teams could easily steal his signs if they wanted to.

“I always like to tell everybody that the signs he had for bunts and steals and all were the same every year, and he started coaching in 1937 when the school opened up,” Bartik said. “No indicator.”

It didn’t seem to help.

“Anybody that coached against him will tell you that he was notorious for a squeeze play,” said Wes Powell, 72, who played for Cavanaugh at Fort Hill and attended his camps as a player and as a helper.

“Everyone knew it was coming and tried to stop it. And it was just repetition at practice every day, every day. That’s what made him so good.”

Cavanaugh had pound-for-pound the best coaching staff around; his former players can’t recall him ever having an assistant.

Bill Dean, 80, shared memories of his 1963 Fort Hill team that won the City title over Allegany and imposing 6-foot-7 pitcher Steve Vandenberg — who went on to play at Duke on a basketball scholarship — and the county crown over Mount Savage and Bobby Robertson, a 1971 World Series champion with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“Coach Cavanaugh is a person you will never ever forget,” Dean said. “He was a wonderful man. He treated everybody with compassion and dignity. If you got down on yourself or something like that, he was always encouraging.

“We won games with the bunt when everybody knew it was coming, but they couldn’t stop it. Fundamentals were key to his game — back up every throw, catcher at first, middle infield to pitcher back from the catcher, outfield to every base. He made sure we did the little things the right way. Simple stuff, and it became automatic.”

Homer Hardinger, 81, played for Cavanaugh from 1959-62 and shared his memory of a freshman-year Robertson, years before he clubbed four homers in the 1971 NLCS and three in Game 2 alone.

“(Coach) went out to John Price and he says, ‘don’t you throw it in there (belt) high,” Hardinger said. “Well, John did, and Bobby hit it out over the trees. And I’ll never forget it because I was playing left field when the ball hit the bat. I said, ‘Oh my, good night.’ And the ball went forever.”

Tom Mullaney, 66, a Bishop Walsh graduate who now lives near Dean in Dover, Delaware, played in Cavanaugh’s league.

He stopped playing baseball after his freshman year at Bishop Walsh, but he rekindled his love for the game by helping his former coach the following year.

Cavanaugh didn’t drive, and Mullaney and a friend who owned a car would collect Cavanaugh in the morning to go to their pee-wee league event. They’d stop at a local establishment at lunchtime for a refreshment and then take the coach home.

At around 1-2 p.m., they’d come get him for his next session and then take him home again afterwards.

“The other part of being a rec coach at that point, we umpired all the little league games,” Mullaney said. “We had to know the rules inside and out to be able to do that. Coach would come and he would do sessions with us. It was like classroom-type sessions, and we’d do scenarios, and we’d have to figure out what was the right call and how to go about those things.”

Mullaney went on to play for the undefeated 1978 Bishop Walsh baseball team for Ted Femi, a legendary coach in his own right whose son, Brian Femi, is the head coach of the St. Michaels team Allegany defeated in the Class 1A state championship game last season.

Near the end of Cavanaugh’s life, Mullaney was stationed in Las Vegas, and he’d call his former coach and report how Keyser’s John Kruk, a member of the AAA Las Vegas Stars, was doing.

Kruk was a career .300 hitter in the MLB and made three All-Star appearances in 10 seasons with the Padres, Phillies and White Sox.

Mullaney remembers playing youth ball with Paul Ackerman, who first suited up for Cavanaugh in the first grade in 1963.

Ackerman, 68, a 1975 Fort Hill graduate, signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the summer of 1979 and played in the organization for five years.

“The man was one of the most wonderful people that I’d ever met in my lifetime,” he said. “Gave me my chance as a first-grader competing against third- and fourth-graders, and I had a 60-year career in baseball.

“Almost like a second father to a lot of us way back in the day. Much more than just a coach.”

When the Atlanta Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract in 2024, they thought they had finally solidified the quarterback position. However, Cousins failed to deliver and was released at the start of the 2026 league year.

The 37-year-old still managed to pocket $98.7 million for his 24 games of service in Atlanta. Fans initially rallied around Cousins as the team got off to a 6-3 start in 2024, but his play fell off down the stretch and he evenually lost his job to Michael Penix Jr.

Always one to land on his feet, Cousins secured a new contract with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency and is expected to help mentor the projected No. 1 overall pick, Fernando Mendoza.

Once Cousins officially signed with the Raiders, the Falcons posted a thank you on social media. This post did not go over well with the fans, many of whom questioned why the team was thanking Cousins in the first place.

Here's how fans reacted to Falcons' tribute to Cousins on social media.

Falcons fans clap back at Kirk Cousins tribute post

“you’re laughing? he robbed us of $180 million, two playoff appearances and a fifth round pick and you’re laughing?” pic.twitter.com/iAMUXLeYG3

— Rise Up Ryan (@RiseUpReader) April 7, 2026

pic.twitter.com/ZNV0KyD8Ca

— Carrie (@carrielynnxox) April 7, 2026

Thank you for signing for vet min and causing the team to pay 8.7M. Stand up guy!

— 8chainz (@8chainz07) April 7, 2026

Thanks for lying about an injury and costing games and a playoff spot!!!

Good riddance https://t.co/Ymu3MZF3Gv

— Dalton (@daltine_cracker) April 7, 2026

Falcons thanking this dude for robbing them blind 😭 https://t.co/ehLMzpWpw1

— 2K SA (2026 NFL MVP) (@BarkleysBurner_) April 7, 2026

Kirk Cousins on the Falcons pic.twitter.com/09yyxlM4EP

— Austin (@AustinPlanet) April 7, 2026

Now why would do this lol 😂 they about to tear him up in the comments lol 😂 https://t.co/qJug3GawNz

— ✨E Da Goddess 🇯🇲✨ 🐩 (@LadyE_tellem) April 7, 2026

whatever that mean https://t.co/KPZZq6BioK

— brooklyn (@yagirlbrooklyn) April 7, 2026

pic.twitter.com/7FQ7jkXcT0

— CountryBoiJay (@j2kuntry) April 7, 2026

Death, taxes, Kirk Cousins accidentally revealing team activities he just signed with pic.twitter.com/coKrnksTAv

— Miles Garrett (@MilesGarrettTV) April 8, 2026

Still doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut. https://t.co/lzud5TcSRj

— BroTalk (@BKsquared7) April 8, 2026

This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Atlanta Falcons fans clown Kirk Cousins over farewell post

A new report suggests that rivals Kentucky and Louisville are top contenders for, arguably, the best point guard in this month’s college basketball transfer portal.

For Kentucky and Louisville, the 2025-26 season fell below the programs’ lofty standards. After winning 27 games — 18 in the conference — last season, the Cardinals regressed this past season. Posting a disappointing 11-7 record in the ACC and getting bounced in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. While frustrating, it was still better than the Wildcats.

Despite what many felt was a strong roster to begin the season, Kentucky finished 22-14 and posted a sad 10-8 record in the SEC this season. Making matters worse is that after reaching the regional semifinal a year ago, they barely got past Santa Clara in the opening round of the tournament. Then they were soundly thrashed by Iowa State in the round of 32.

Coaches Pat Kelsey and Mark Pope are starting to feel the pressure of the high expectations for their programs, and they will both look to the transfer portal to have a better season in 2026-27. Oddly enough, both schools are targeting the same player.

Robert Wright III is a top target for Louisville and Kentucky

According to 24/7 Sports basketball analyst Travis Branham, Louisville has been one of the most aggressive teams in the portal and is expected to pursue BYU guard Robert Wright III as they look to replace Mikel Brown after he declared for June’s NBA Draft.

However, they are expected to receive competition from Kentucky, which currently doesn’t have a traditional point guard on the roster after graduation and portal departures this week. With a lack of impact point guards on the market and a high demand, Branham suggests that Wright III could end up being one of the highest-paid players in college basketball from a portal bidding war.

After transfering from Baylor last year, Wright III had a breakthrough season for BYU. Posting 18.1 points (second on the team), 4.6 assists, and 1.2 steals — both were tops for the Cougars.

Related Headlines

• Flory Bidunga Enters NCAA Transfer Portal: Top 5 Landing Spots
• New Rumors Link St. John’s To Pair of Big Additions in Transfer Portal
• Report Reveals Huge Price for Michigan, Duke & Arizona To Replace Departing Stars in Portal

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Wings traded Diamond Miller to the Connecticut Sun for Rayah Marshall on Thursday in a swap of frontcourt players.

It's the second time that Miller, the No. 2 overall pick by Minnesota in the 2023 WNBA draft, has been traded in less than a year. The Wings acquired Miller from the Lynx last August.

The 25-year-old Miller averaged 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 15 games for the Wings, who tied Chicago for the league's worst record last season at 10-34. Her career averages are 6.5 points and 2.2 rebounds.

Marshall was the last pick of the second round at No. 25 overall last year and averaged 1.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 15 games for the Sun, who finished just one game better than Dallas and Chicago.

The Wings have the No. 1 pick in Monday's draft after getting Paige Bueckers in that spot last year. Bueckers was honored as rookie of the year after averaging 19.2 points, 5.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds.

___

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

The 2026 NFL Draft is set to begin on Thursday, April 23 in Pittsburgh, PA. The Buffalo Bills are currently set to make their pick at 26, unless president of football operations/general manager Brandon Beane finds reason to trade up or back, and perhaps even out of Round 1 entirely amid what many see as a draft deep in second- and third-round talent.

The hype of free agency is well behind us now, but the Bills had decided to pounce before that point, anyway. Buffalo pulled off a trade with the Chicago Bears ahead of free agency to bring wide receiver DJ Moore to One Bills Drive.

Adding a productive wide receiver was sound business, and doing so ahead of free agency made fiscal sense. But president of football operations/general manager still has his work cut out for him even after coming to terms on a deal that kept Connor McGovern in-house to reprise his role as the team’s starting center. Are they targeting another wider receiver in April’s draft, or perhaps someone to dominate the trenches along the defensive line?

Most analysts and fans agree the team needs to improve in the defensive trenches and now at outside linebacker where edge rushers will attempt to feast in new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s 3-4 base system. But not everyone is convinced defense is the go-to early, with some folks hoping to see another wide receiver added — someone who will succeed on the boundaries.

It’s anyone’s guess who the team will draft with their current selections in each round, but we’ve begun to learn which prospects the team has met with in an extended and often official capacity. So who has One Bills Drive been meeting with in the days leading up to the draft?

Below you’ll find the answer to that question, and a list of prospects who’ve met with or are scheduled to visit with the Bills. It’s a thorough list broken out by position and with meeting capacity noted. Where and when available, each player below will carry a link to our individual prospect analysis and coverage of said visit.

Be sure to check out the list of prospects that representatives from the Bills met with at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.

Top-30 visits below are listed alphabetically and by position group.
As of 5 p.m. EDT on March 24, 2026, we have information on EIGHT (8) known top-30 visits.

Buffalo Bills 2026 NFL Draft top-30 visits

Cornerback (1 prospect)

• Andre Fuller, CB/DB (Toledo) (Round 7 projection) (per Stick to the Model)

Defensive Tackle (2 prospects)

• Gracen Halton, DT (Oklahoma) (late Round 3 projection) (per Halton’s IG story)
• Christen Miller, DT (Georgia) (per Ryan Talbot)

Linebacker (2 prospects)

• Josiah Trotter, LB (Missouri) (mid-Round 2 projection) (per Ryan Talbot)
• Kaleb Elarms-Orr, LB (TCU) (Round 4 projection) (per Ryan Talbot)

Safety (1 prospect)

• A.J. Haulcy, S (LSU) (late-Round 2 projection) (per Ryan Fowler)

Tight End (1 prospect)

• Justin Joly, TE (NC State) (per Ryan Talbot)

Wide Receiver (1 prospect)

• Chris Bell, WR (Louisville) (mid-Round 2 projection) (per Ryan Talbot via Bell’s IG story)

2026 NFL Draft prospects Bills have had multiple interactions with (4)

• Malik Benson, WR (Oregon) (Private Workout, Pro Day) (Round 7 projection)
• Denzel Boston, WR (Washington) (Private Workout, Combine) (late-Round 1 projection)
• Gracen Halton, DL (Oklahoma) (Top 30, Zoom) (late Round 3 projection)
• Andre Fuller, DB/CB (Toledo) (Top 30, Private Workout) (per Stick to the Model) (Round 7 projection)

Private Workouts (3)

• Andre Fuller, DB/CB, (Toledo) (per Ryan Fowler) (Round 7 projection)
• Malik Benson, WR (Oregon) (Round 7 projection) (per Ryan Fowler) (Round 7 projection)
• Denzel Boston, WR, (Washington) (late-Round 1 projection) (late-Round 1 projection)

Zoom Meetings (2)

• Gracen Halton, DT (Oklahoma) (per Justin Melo) (late-Round 3 projection)
• Malik Muhammad, CB (Texas) (per Justin Melo) (late-Round 3 projection)

Pro Day visits (3)

• Malik Benson, WR (Oregon) (Round 7 projection)
• Jarod Washington, CB (South Carolina State) (per Tony Pauline) (UDFA projection)
• Xavian Sorey Jr., LB (Arkansas) (privately met w/ Bills before pro day, per Tony Pauline) (UDFA projection)

2026 NFL Scouting Combine meetings

Cornerback (1)

• Daylen Everette, CB (Georgia) (per Stick to the Model) (early Round 4 projection)

DE / EDGE / OLBs (2)

• Jaishawn Barham, LB/EDGE (Michigan) (per Josh Reed) (early Round 4 projection)
• Malachi Lawrence, EDGE/DE (UCF) (per Tom Downey) (mid-Round 2 projection)

Defensive Tackles (3)

• Brandon Cleveland, DT (3-tech) (NC State) (per Bills Roundtable) (UDFA projection)
• Bobby Jamison-Travis, DT (Auburn) (per Bills Roundtable)
• Christen Miller, DT (1-tech) (Georgia) (per Andy Young) (Round 2 projection)

Punters (2)

• Jack Stonehouse, P (Syracuse) (per Sal Capaccio) (UDFA projection)
• Ryan Eckley, P (Michigan State) (per Sal Capaccio) (UDFA projection)

Safeties (5)

• Dillon Thieneman, S (Oregon) (per Matt Parrino) (Round 1 projection)
• Robert Spears-Jennings, S (Oklahoma) (per Josh Reed) (Round 7 projection)
• Jakobe Thomas, S (Miami) (per Muki Hawkins) (Round 5 projection)
• Jalon Kilgore, S (South Carolina) (per Muki Hawkins) (Round 3 projection)
• Kamari Ramsey, S (USC) (per Arye Pulli) (Round 3 projection)

Wide Receivers (7)

• Omar Cooper Jr., WR (Indiana) (per Ryan Talbot) (late-Round 1 projection)
• KC Concepcion, WR (Texas A&M) (per Chris Brown / Matt Parrino) (late-Round 1 projection)
• Denzel Boston, WR (Washington) (per Tom Downey / Matt Parrino) (late-Round 1 projection)
• Jordyn Tyson, WR (Arizona State) (per Matt Parrino) (mid-Round 1 projection)
• Antonio Williams, WR (Clemson) (per Ryan Fowler) (Round 3 projection)
• Germie Bernard, WR (Alabama) (per Lance Lysowski) (late-Round 2 projection)
• Skyler Bell, WR (UConn) (per Storrs Central) (late-Round 3 projection)

Freiburg took a first step towards the Europa League semi-finals with a 3-0 victory over Celta Vigo, while Ollie Watkins scored a brace in Aston Villa's valuable 3-1 at Bologna on Thursday.

Playing in their first ever European quarter-final, Freiburg drew first blood in the 10th minute from club record scorer Vincenzo Grifo who curled into the far right corner from the edge of the area.

The second came in the 32nd from Jan-Niklas Beste, who tapped home a cut-back from Igor Matanović. Germany defender Matthias Ginter headed the third in the 78th off a corner kick to leave Freiburg well-placed to go through.

"We annoyed them and had very good moments. We defended very focussed, scored and were very disciplined in the second half," Freiburg coach Julian Schuster told broadcasters RTL while warning that next week's return leg will be "very tricky."

Villa win after shaky start

Villa are also well placed after a slow start in Italy where Bologna had a goal nullified because Santiago Castro was ruled just offside before his attempted cross was deflected in by Villa's Ezri Konsa, and Lewis Fergusen hit the underside of the crossbar.

Villa then led out of the blue just before the break when Konsa headed home a corner kick. Watkins doubled the lead in the 51st after Bologna lost the ball deep in their own half. Jonathan Rowe pulled one back in the 90th but Watkins completed a brace from close range in stoppage time.

"It could've been different. They had a disallowed goal and if that turns and it was 1-0 and stayed that way it would've been a long way back for us. We got lucky. They played tough today," Watkins admitted to TNT Sport.

Forest avoid defeat in Porto

The second English club, Nottingham Forest, got a 1-1 draw at former European champions Porto, who took an 11th-minute lead from William Gomes who tapped in a ball across the goalmouth from Gabriel Veiga at the far post.

Forest were gifted an instant equalizer when Martim Fernandes played a long backpass to goalkeeper Diogo Costa who was however outside his penalty area and unable to stop the ball from going in.

The bizarre goal rattled Porto who lost their momentum. Forest had an Igor Jesus goal disallowed because he was deemed to have fouled Costa but Forest keeper Setfan Ortega then also needed to be on his guard against Gomes.

"We'll take it. Back to the City Ground, everything to play for. It's going to be a good game," Forest captain Ryan Yates said.

Sporting Braga and Real Betis drew 1-1 on Wednesday. The return legs are next week Thursday.

Crystal Palace defeated twice finalists Fiorentina 3-0 on Thursday in the Conference League quarter-finals and Mainz downed Strasbourg 2-0.

FA Cup winners Palace led when Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a 24th minute penalty, sending goalkeeper David de Gea the wrong way.

It was 2-0 eight minutes later when Tyrick Mitchell scored in off the post on the rebound of Mateta's effort saved by De Gea. Ismaïla
Sarr headed the third in the 90th to put Palace in command of the tie which concludes next week in Florence.

"What a night. I dreamed about scoring that goal for nights. I did and I am so happy," Mateta told TNT Sports.

Mainz in command against Strasbourg

In Mainz, Kaishu Sano opened the scoring in the 11th, getting the ball in midfield, playing a one-two with fellow Japanese Sota Kawasaki, running past two defenders and scoring in off the right post with a deflected shot.

The hosts marched on and made it 2-0 in the 19th when Stefan Posch had plenty of space to volley a Paul Nebel corner kick into the roof of the net.

Strasbourg improved after the break as Valentin Barco hit the crossbar and Diego Moreira was denied by goalkeeper Daniel Batz on the rebound as Mainz held on.

"It was a very good first half from us but there is still a second leg where we have to confirm it," Mainz defender Danny Da Costa told broadcasters RTL.

Two more 3-0 wins

Elsewhere, Spain's Rayo Vallecano claimed a 3-0 victory from first half-goals by Ilias Akhomach and Unai Lopez plus a 74th-minute penalty converted by Isi Palazón.

Shakhtar Donetsk left it late before beating AZ Alkmaar with another 3-0 scoreline from Pedrinho's 72nd minute stunner into the top right corner followed by an Alisson Santana brace in the 81st and 83rd.

The return legs are next Thursday.

2025 F1 Academy champion Doriane Pin has opened up about the influence seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has had on her career.

During an appearance on the Beyond The Grid podcast, Pin fondly recalled looking up to the Ferrari driver as she grew up.

"The one who inspired me is Lewis Hamilton, mainly because when I started watching Formula 1 when I was very little with my dad at home, it was Lewis Hamilton winning titles," she explained.

"My first memories are when it was his first title with Mercedes, second title for him now in 2014. So that was my first memory when he fought with his team-mate Nico Rosberg. So, he inspired me a lot."

Transitioning from a fan to working with the Briton at Mercedes was inevitably a daunting prospect. Asked if it felt surreal to have her childhood hero watching her progress through the F1 Academy, Pin said: "Yes, it was. It was because I was watching him for a very long time, and the first year I joined Mercedes, he was still in Mercedes.

"So, I was able to have some advice and support from him, and it's still up to last year. We discussed a bit sometimes when we see each other, and he's there to help and very easy to talk with. So, I'm glad we met and I'm glad I had the chance to get some advice from him."

Doriane Pin, Prema Racing

Pin joined the Mercedes junior programme when she entered the all-female racing series in 2024. Backed by the Brackley outfit, the 22-year-old secured the title in her second year in the championship. 

After clinching the title, Pin has signed with Mercedes as a development driver.

"I can ring anyone," Pin said when asked of the support from Mercedes. "They are very good. Very, very close to each other, helping each other, very friendly as well.

"I met a lot of amazing people within the team, and very proud to have this chance to be with the Mercedes family, learning from them, spending time with them and winning with them as well."

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.

If you hadn’t known Stephen Curry was battling a knee injury, a recent performance against the Houston Rockets proved he came back right where he left off.

Coming off the injury, which sidelined Curry for two months, he scored 29 points in a limited 26 minutes of action against the Houston Rockets, while nailing five of his 10 three-point attempts. Curry’s long-awaited debut provided a glimmer of joy in what has been an underwhelming season for the Golden State Warriors.  

The superstar may have shown no signs of rust in his first game back, even though his knee problems aren’t in the rearview.

The Challenges of Curry’s Knee

What made Steph Curry’s knee injury and recovery process difficult was how tricky his injury actually was.

Curry was dealing with what the team described as “runner’s knee” ever since he lefta game against the Detroit Pistons early on Jan. 30.

Runner’s knee typically involves pain and swelling around the kneecap area. Though Curry initially expected to be back soon after Jan. 30, his knee continued to flare up. There was no magical remedy that could have fast-forwarded his comeback.

During his absence, the Warriors slipped to the 10th seed. The team also ran out of bodies to suit up while Curry was out, relying primarily on young and sometimes unproven players. The injury has been an invasive thought on his mind. Each day carries a question mark of how his knee will respond.

“Every day I wake up, first thing I think is how this is going to feel. That’s been a struggle throughout this whole process,” he recently toldESPN’s Anthony Slater.

Curry’s knee likely needs to continue being monitored. It will take some time for him to adjust to playing on his knee post-injury.

“There’s nothing structurally wrong with my knee,” he said to Slater. “So it’s not like I’m compromised out there. It is a new normal, though, if that makes sense.”

Curry has the green light to play in NBA games now, but it may still be a recurring issue in the future, given his age.

Adapting to the Injury

If Steph Curry’s performance versus the Rockets is any indication of how his knee will hold up, the Warriors don’t need to worry. 

But the Warriors will still play it safe with their MVP the rest of this year. Especially, as he continues to increase his minutes load slowly but surely. He has come off the bench in the first two games since he returned, hovering around the 25-minute mark. 

Steve Kerr echoed this sentiment during a recent press conference following Curry’s return to action.

Curry is slowly creeping up on 40 and has already endured a series of injuries, even before the runner’s knee diagnosis.

He knows that his recovery process requires adjustment now to maintain the health of his knee going forward. An extended period of rest without the rush of gearing back up for NBA action would be ideal. That will have to wait until Golden State’s 2025-26 season ends.

“It’s just a matter of understanding what I need to do off the court to make sure everything around my knee is strong and firing the right way,” the 38-year-old told NBC Sports Bay Area this week. “I’ll take full advantage of the offseason, whenever it is, to have a full reset. And then you just figure out what it looks like going into next year.”

It’s Not Yet Over for Curry

The Dubs are locked into the Play-In Tournament. It will likely face the Portland Trail Blazers in the 9/10 game. It is difficult to imagine a world in which the Warriors decide to call his season a wrap unless he or the medical team believes there is an issue. The team will need their franchise hero at his best if it wants to sneak into the playoffs.

Curry’s longevity remains nothing short of amazing over his 17-year career. Advances in sports science have helped athletes bounce back quicker than ever, still play at high levels, and maintain that for a longer period of time.

Steph Curry’s knee injury is by no means the official kickoff of an imminent farewell tour. But it is a reminder that each ailment must be taken seriously as he enters the final chapter of his career. 

The post Warriors Must Continue Managing Steph Curry After Knee Injury appeared first on The Lead.

NFL Mock Drafts 2026: Comparing Steelers Pick Projections From Top Experts originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Add SportsNet Pittsburgh as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It's a new era for the Steelers, who hired Mike McCarthy as the 17th head coach in franchise history earlier this year. The hiring marks a massive cultural shift for an organization that has seen only four head coaches since 1969, and McCarthy returns to his hometown with a desire to lead the Steelers back to championship glory.

Armed with 12 draft picks, Pittsburgh will enter the 2026 NFL Draft with the ability to address multiple needs. Experts are increasingly pointing toward the offensive line as a priority with prospects from college football powerhouses emerging as potential anchors for McCarthy's system.

Whether the team stays focused on the trenches or utilizes its deep pool of draft capital to trade up for a dynamic playmaker, this draft could serve as a major turning point for the franchise.

Here are the latest projections from draft experts on how Pittsburgh will use its picks.

On The Clock mock draft (Steelers.com)

Three Steelers Audio Network personalities made selections in the first Steelers.com mock draft:

Notable: All three personalities have Pittsburgh drafting a wide receiver in the first round.

Peter Schrager's mock draft (ESPN)

Schrager's latest mock was released on April 7:

Matt Miller's mock draft (ESPN)

Miller's latest mock was released on March 30:

Vinnie Iyer's mock draft (The Sporting News)

Iyer's seven-round mock draft was released on April 1:

Field Yates' mock draft (ESPN)

Yates' latest mock draft was released on March 24:

Tom Fornelli's mock draft (CBS Sports)

Fornelli's latest mock draft was released on April 1:

Ryan Wilson's mock draft (CBS Sports)

Wilson's latest mock draft was released on March 30:

Notable: Wilson has the Steelers trading up in the draft, sending two of their second-round picks (Nos. 53 and 76) to the Seahawks for No. 32.

Nate Tice and Charles McDonald's mock draft (Yahoo Sports)

Tice and McDonald's latest mock draft was released on April 8:

Lance Zierlein's mock draft (NFL.com)

Zierlein's latest mock draft was released on March 31:

Todd McShay's mock draft (The Ringer)

McShay's latest mock draft was released on March 24:

Mel Kiper's mock draft (ESPN)

Kiper's latest mock draft was released on March 17:

More Steelers

• Latest Steelers news
• How 'Renegade' became Steelers' pump-up song
• Complete history of Steelers championships

A brand-new Culpepper era is fast approaching the Twin Cities originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Minnesota Twins fans likely had to do a double-take when their team selected Kaelen Culpepper with the 21st overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Unfortunately, he is not related to the former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper, but he is still an incredible athlete. 

He made a name for himself as a high school baseball player in Tennessee, where he hit .394 as a senior. That would catch the attention of Kansas State University, where he would go on to play his college ball. 

By his junior year, he was one of the top prospects in the draft class, while also moving from third base to shortstop.

MORE: Twins 'biggest regret' is missed opportunity with $73.5 million trade chip

A brand-new Culpepper era is fast approaching the Twin Cities

Coming into the 2026 season, Culpepper currently sits as the club's No. 2 prospect, right behind outfielder Walker Jenkins. What sets him apart from other prospects is his ability at the plate. 

He punishes fastballs and has an impressive in-zone contact rate, but if he really wants to stick in the big leagues, he will have to cut down his groundball rate. 

And despite some other players likely more in tune to be called up this season, MLB Pipeline sees a world where Minnesota keeps Walker Jenkins down and calls up Culpepper.

"Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez could also play their way to the other Twin City. But given the time and reps missed by those outfielders because of various injuries, they could get more time in Triple-A. Culpepper, the club's first-round pick in 2024, is on the fast track, performing well across High-A and Double-A in his first full season and making the jump to the highest level this year."

Culpepper could be a versatile option for the club, giving players like Royce Lewis a chance to rest. He could be utilized at third base, shortstop, and second base, giving the club more options. 

If Minnesota wants to be a contender this year, it will have to keep its core healthy, and having a versatile option could help ensure they do just that.

More MLB news:

• Travis Bazzana looms as the missing piece for the Guardians lineup
• Orioles' No. 3 prospect primed to be next man up once stretched out
• MLB analyst urges Blue Jays to sign former White Sox, Red Sox pitcher
• Previous reports hinted at Roman Anthony having defensive question marks
• MLB analyst sets the stage for Yankees' rotation regression despite elite ERA

The NBA‘s tanking debate picked up steam this week after Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie made a puzzling late-game decision against the Golden State Warriors.

The Kings held a one-point lead with just over three minutes remaining when Christie called for an intentional foul on Seth Curry. The timing raised eyebrows since Sacramento was already in the penalty, sending Golden State to the free-throw line.

MORE: 76ers announce Joel Embiid surgery after abrupt injury report change

The Warriors went on to win 110-105, handing the Kings their 59th loss of the season. The move sparked immediate criticism and prompted the league to launch an investigation.

NBA reaches decision on Kings coach Doug Christie investigation

Questions swirled about whether Christie deliberately tried to lose the game, especially given Sacramento’s depleted roster and position in the standings. The NBA wrapped up its review on Thursday and released findings that cleared Christie of any intentional wrongdoing.

“The NBA has completed an investigation of the Sacramento Kings and Head Coach Doug Christie’s decision to foul intentionally late in the team’s game against the Golden State Warriors on April 7,” the statement read.

“The league’s investigation determined that Christie mistakenly believed that the Warriors were not in the penalty and therefore instructed his team to foul in an attempt to stop the clock and utilize one of the team’s remaining timeouts. The investigation found that Christie made no intentional effort to give the Warriors a shooting foul, or to cause the Kings to lose the game.”

MORE: Longest active playoffs drought in the NBA

According to the league’s findings, Christie thought Golden State was not yet in the penalty. He wanted to stop the clock and save a timeout, a standard late-game tactic. The mistake came down to a mental lapse rather than any deliberate strategy to tank.

The Kings entered the matchup severely undermanned. Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and De’Andre Hunter all sat out following season-ending surgeries. DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook were also unavailable Tuesday night.

Sacramento leaned heavily on younger players down the stretch of the season, but team sources insisted there was no lack of effort despite the roster situation.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — One year ago, Bryson DeChambeau held the solo lead at the Masters on Sunday. After his very next round at Augusta National, he was nine strokes behind the clubhouse leader, looking for answers from an unforgiving course. And not even his homemade club could keep his card clean. 

DeChambeau finished his first day at the 2026 Masters at 4-over, far behind clubhouse leaders Sam Burns and Rory McIlroy (-5). After his round, a visibly frustrated DeChambeau nonetheless spoke to the media. His normally analytical mind was spinning its wheels in mud, trying to figure out how everything had gone so wrong so quickly. 

“Everybody has an ability for weird things to happen,” DeChambeau said in a short postround interview, “and today I just did not have my irons under control, which is weird.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS

DeChambeau held at even par through the first 10 holes of the day, erasing an early bogey on 2 with a birdie on the very next hole. But he was clearly holding on desperately to a rattling train, and at the 11th, the train jumped the tracks. 

After a strong drive, DeChambeau’s approach found a greenside bunker, and he needed three shots to get out. He walked off the hole with a round- (and possibly tournament-) killing triple bogey. “Bunker was softer than I anticipated,” was all he said afterward. 

A closing bogey left him at +4 on the day, and he exhaled heavily as he walked from the 18th green to the scorer’s building. 

One of the more fascinating stories of the practice side of Masters week was DeChambeau’s admission that he’d be using a literally homemade club in his bag this week — a 3D-printed five-iron. He used it only once Thursday, flying the green on the seventh hole and punching out of the bunker to save par. 

While bringing a homemade golf club to the Masters seems like wheeling up Magnolia Lane on a loud Harley, there’s sound science behind what DeChambeau is doing. Plus, each club needs to meet certain USGA criteria to ensure it’s a proper fit. DeChambeau noted that the club takes about eight hours to print; full completion to USGA-conforming specs takes about a day and a half. 

DeChambeau won’t tee off on Friday until 1:20 p.m., and by then the leaders may well be double-digits ahead of him. Winning may be out of reach this year, but DeChambeau will need to figure out what went so wrong Thursday if he wants to win someday.

Proposed Red Sox trade sees Boston finally cut ties with Triston Casas, land 4.56 ERA starting pitcher, catcher prospect originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Boston Red Sox were off to a brutal start in 2026, but have gotten it together lately, with a record of 4-8 and dead last in the AL East. They’ve finally figured out some of their problems, and their new guys are finally getting into gear. 

One of those news guys is their new first baseman, Willson Contreras, who’s proved he should be the everyday guy. With that in mind, Sports Illustrated’s Ryan Shea proposes that the Sox should finally move on from their previous first baseman in Triston Casas, and deal him to the New York Mets.

MORE: Proposed Orioles signing sees Baltimore land $37 million two-time All-Star, Gold Glove ace to replace Zach Eflin after injury news

The trade would look like this: 

Red Sox get: RHP Christian Scott, NYM prospect C Kevin Parada

Mets get: 1B/3B Triston Casas

“The Boston Red Sox would make this deal because it lets them turn one volatile asset into two controllable upside pieces while addressing multiple organizational needs at once. Triston Casas, despite his talent, comes with real uncertainty right now—he struggled in 2025 (.182 AVG, .580 OPS in limited time) and is coming off a major injury. Rather than betting entirely on a rebound, Boston could cash him in during a “buy-low but still valuable” window and redistribute that value across the roster,” Shea wrote. 

MORE: Orioles predicted to sign $61 million All-Star, former Cy Young candidate after devastating Zach Eflin news

The Sox would get in return a pitcher who showed promise in nine games in 2024 before going down with Tommy John, and a solid AAA catching prospect. They’d finally end the Casas experiment as well, giving them more time to focus on other problems. 

Casas seemed like he was going to be the first baseman of the future, but with the major injuries he’s sustained over the years, this seems like the correct course of action.

MORE MLB NEWS

Marlins predicted to put $56 million Cy Young, two-time All-Star on trade block after starting another Cy Young campaign for 2026 season

$131 million two-time All-Star ace predicted to part ways with Mets, test free agency right after New York acquired him

Cardinals predicted to cut ties with, put .300 AVG breakout slugger on trade block after MVP-level start to 2026 season

Red Sox Set To Face Struggling Former Teammate At Perfect Time originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Coming off back-to-back victories over the Milwaukee Brewers and their first series win of the season, the Boston Red Sox will look to keep rolling when they kick off their road trip on Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, they have an appetizing matchup against former teammate Dustin May, who's off to a terrible start with the Cardinals.

Boston acquired May from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline last summer after failing to land Joe Ryan, sending prospects James Tibbs III and Zack Ehrhard in return.

The next Red Sox foe: Dustin May pic.twitter.com/hg1hdybDkx

— Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) April 8, 2026

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, the deal backfired on both ends. May was a bust for Boston, going 1-4 with a 5.40 ERA in 28 1/3 innings.

Not surprisingly, the Red Sox let him walk over the offseason, allowing him to sign with St. Louis. Meanwhile, Tibbs is off to a ridiculous start in Triple-A for the Dodgers and looks like he'll reach the Majors later this season.

On the plus side for Boston, May's struggles have continued with the Cardinals. Over his first two starts for them, he's 0-2 with a comically bad 15.95 ERA, 6.46 FIP and 2.73 WHIP.

That puts the Red Sox's lineup in a terrific spot to tee off on Friday. Boston's bats have been cold to start the year, but they'll have a great opportunity to break out against May if his pitching woes continue.

More MLB: Red Sox Desperately Need Underperforming Hurlers To Start Pulling Their Weight

Cowboys trade rumor could lead to blockbuster deal with Chiefs, Raiders or Chargers originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Dallas Cowboys franchise tagged wide receiver George Pickens earlier this offseason, and there hasn't been much news since on a potential extension for the 2025 breakout star.

Pickens had a career season this past year with 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns on 93 receptions, earning Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors.

However, the Cowboys could be hesitant to extend the 25-year-old due to his behavioral issues, which could lead to his eventual exit from Dallas.

SportsBoom's Jason La Canfora believes Dallas could trade Pickens instead of handing him a massive extension, similar to what they did with edge rusher Micah Parsons when they shipped him off to the Green Bay Packers last August.

"I don’t believe Jerry [Jones] subscribes to the calculus of having two receivers on a mega deal and his quarterback at the top of the market," an NFL negotiator said to La Canfora.

"Jones has never been above picking favorites, and being willing to vastly lay-out more than the market for players who indulge him and play to his ego, while those who resist some of his overtures, like All Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons, end up going elsewhere to get paid. I’d suggest Pickens ultimately ends up in that category," La Canfora said.

Chiefs, Raiders, and Chargers could have interest in Pickens