INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
FRIDAY, JUNE 20
CLASS 1A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN 14 KOUTS 1
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CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
ANDREAN 4 JASPER 3
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SATURDAY, JUNE 21
CLASS 2A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
4:30 PM ET / 3:30 CT | BOONE GROVE (25-6) VS. EVANSVILLE MATER DEI (23-7)
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CLASS 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
8 PM ET / 7 CT | VALPARAISO (25-5) VS. EVANSVILLE NORTH (25-8)
PREVIEW: https://www.ihsaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024-25%20Baseball%20Preview.pdf
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NBA FINALS
• GAME 1: PACERS 111 THUNDER 110 (INDIANA LEADS SERIES 1-0)
• GAME 2: THUNDER 123 PACERS 107 (SERIES TIED AT 1-1)
• GAME 3: PACERS 116 THUNDER 107 (INDIANA LEADS SERIES 2-1)
• GAME 4: THUNDER 111 PACERS 104 (SERIES TIED 2-2)
• GAME 5: THUNDER 120 PACERS 109 (THUNDER LEAD SERIES 3-2)
• GAME 6: PACERS 108 THUNDER 91 (SERIES EVEN 3-3)
• GAME 7: PACERS AT THUNDER, SUN, JUNE 22, 8 ET ON ABC)
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WNBA SCORES
DALLAS 86 CONNECTICUT 83
ATLANTA 92 WASHINGTON 91
SEATTLE 90 LAS VEGAS 83
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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCORES
SEATTLE 9 CHICAGO CUBS 4
TEXAS 6 PITTSBURGH 2
TAMPA BAY 14 DETROIT 8
BALTIMORE 5 NY YANKEES 3
CHICAGO WHITE SOX 7 TORONTO 1
MIAMI 6 ATLANTA 2
PHILADELPHIA 10 NY METS 2
ST. LOUIS 6 CINCINNATI 1
MILWAUKEE 17 MINNESOTA 6
ARIZONA 14 COLORADO 8
HOUSTON 3 LA ANGELS 2 (10)
KANSAS CITY 6 SAN DIEGO 5
LAS VEGAS 5 CLEVELAND 1
LA DODGERS 6 WASHINGTON 5
BOSTON 7 SAN FRANCISCO 5
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MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCORES
COLUMBUS 4 INDIANAPOLIS 2
SOUTH BEND 5 LAKE COUNTY 4
FT. WAYNE 3 DAYTON 2
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COLLEGE BASEBALL WORLD SERIES
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
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MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER SCORES
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
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TOP NATIONAL NEWS HEADLINES/RELEASES
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NBA NEWS
FOR PACERS AND THUNDER, THERE’S NO LOOKING BACK NOW. ALL EYES ARE ONLY ON GAME 7 IN THE NBA FINALS
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Game 6 of the NBA Finals had been over for only about 10 or 15 minutes, and the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder were turning the page. What happened over the previous couple of hours in Indianapolis had already been deemed irrelevant.
The only thing on their minds: Game 7.
“A privilege,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
“A great privilege,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
A back-and-forth title matchup — Indiana led 1-0 and 2-1, Oklahoma City led 3-2 — will end on Sunday night with an ultimate game, the first winner-take-all contest in the NBA Finals since 2016. It’ll be Pacers at Thunder, one team getting the Larry O’Brien Trophy when it is over, the other left to head into the offseason wondering how they let the chance slip away.
“We have one game for everything, for everything we’ve worked for, and so do they,” Thunder guard and reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “The better team Sunday will win.”
History favors the home team in these moments: 15 of the previous 19 Game 7s in the NBA Finals were won by the club playing on its own court.
The Thunder played a Game 7 at home earlier in these playoffs and won by 32, blowing out Denver to reach the Western Conference finals. Indiana’s most recent Game 7 was at Madison Square Garden in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals; the Pacers blew out New York by 21 in that game.
All-time, home teams are 112-38 in Game 7s (excluding the 2-2 record “home” teams had in the bubble in the 2020 playoffs, when everything was played in Lake Buena Vista, Florida). But in recent years, home sweet home has been replaced by road sweet road; visiting teams have won nine of the last 14 Game 7s played since 2021.
“It’s exciting, man. It’s so, so, exciting,” Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “As a basketball fan, there’s nothing like a Game 7. There’s nothing like a Game 7 in the NBA Finals. Dreamed of being in this situation my whole life. So, to be here is really exciting. Really exciting for our group. What happened in the past doesn’t matter. What happened today doesn’t matter. It’s all about one game and approaching that the right way.”
The fact that Haliburton is playing at all right now is a story in itself. He looked good as new in Game 6 even with a strained right calf, something that he’s needed around-the-clock treatment on this week. The Pacers haven’t had to coax him into it; Haliburton’s own family is offering up constant reminders that he needs to be working on his leg.
“My family has been on me,” Haliburton said. “If they call me, they are like, ‘Are you doing treatment right now?’ … My family has been holding me accountable.”
There’s a lot of accountability going on among the Thunder right now as well. A different kind, of course.
They were massive favorites going into Game 6 — +3000 odds to win the series, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. That means a $100 bet on the Thunder would have returned a whopping $103 or so if they had won the game and clinched the title. A 36-9 run by Indiana turned a one-point lead early in the second quarter into a full-fledged blowout early in the third. And with that, a Thunder team that finished with the best record in the NBA this season now has zero room for error.
Win on Sunday, and all ends well for Oklahoma City. Lose on Sunday, and they’ll go down in history as one of the best regular-season teams that failed to win a title.
“If they had won by one, they would have probably walked out of this game with confidence,” Thunder guard Jalen Williams said of the Pacers before leaving Indy’s arena for the final time this season. “That’s what makes them a good team. That’s what makes us a good team. … They’re going to go into Game 7 confident, and so are we.”
The Thunder flew home after the game on Thursday night. The Pacers were flying to Oklahoma City on Friday afternoon. They’ll spend some time looking at film, then go through the final practices — which won’t be much more than glorified walk-throughs — of the season on Saturday.
And then, Game 7. For everything.
“I think we played to exhaustion,” Pacers guard T.J. McConnell said after Game 6. “But we have to do it again on Sunday.”
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: PACERS, THUNDER SET TO PLAY GAME 7 FOR NBA TITLE ON SUNDAY NIGHT
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — For the 20th time, there will be a Game 7 in the NBA Finals.
Indiana will play at Oklahoma City on Sunday night in the final game of the season, with the winner getting the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Home teams are 15-4 in Game 7 of the finals, but a road team — Cleveland, over Golden State — won the most recent of those games in 2016.
A look inside some numbers surrounding this matchup:
Odds are, nobody’s scoring 40
There have been only two 40-point scoring performances in Game 7 of the NBA Finals — and both came in losing efforts.
Jerry West scored 42 points in Game 7 of the 1969 series, but the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics in Bill Russell’s final game. And Elgin Baylor scored 41 points in Game 7 in 1962 — another Lakers-Celtics matchup — but Boston prevailed in that one as well.
Bob Pettit had the third-highest scoring total in a Game 7. He had 39 for the St. Louis Hawks against the Celtics in 1957 … and Boston won that game as well.
The highest-scoring Game 7s in a winning effort? Those would be by Boston’s Tom Heinsohn in that 1957 game against St. Louis and Miami’s LeBron James in the 2013 series against San Antonio.
Both had 37; Heinsohn’s was a double-overtime game, James got his in regulation.
And no team might break 100, either
Yes, these are high-scoring teams. Oklahoma City was No. 4 in points per game in the regular season (120.5 per game) and Indiana was No. 7 (117.4). The Thunder are second in that category in the playoffs (115.2), just ahead of No. 3 Indiana (115.1).
In Game 7, that might not matter much.
No team has reached 100 points in Game 7 of the NBA Finals since 1988. Or even topped 95 points, for that matter.
The last five Game 7s:
— 2016, Cleveland 93, Golden State 89
— 2013, Miami 95, San Antonio 88
— 2010, Los Angeles Lakers 83, Boston 79
— 2005, San Antonio 81, Detroit 74
— 1994, Houston 90, New York 84
The last finals Game 7 to see someone hit the century mark was when the Lakers beat the Pistons 108-105 in 1988.
Expect a close one
The average margin of victory in Game 7 of an NBA Finals: 6.9 points.
Each of the last eight such games have been decided by single digits. Only four have been double-digit wins: Boston over St. Louis by 19 in 1960, Minneapolis over New York by 17 in 1952, Boston over Milwaukee by 15 in 1974 and New York over the Los Angeles Lakers by 14 in 1970.
The closest Game 7 in the finals was Syracuse beating Fort Wayne 92-91 in 1955. That was one of six finals Game 7s decided by three points or less.
By seed
The Thunder are the 22nd No. 1 seed to play in Game 7 of an NBA Finals. Their 21 predecessors on that list are 12-9 in the ultimate game; seven of those games have been ones where both teams entered the playoffs as No. 1 seeds.
The Pacers are the fourth No. 4 seed to make Game 7 of the title round. Their three predecessors went 1-2 (Boston beat the Lakers in 1969, Seattle lost to Washington in 1978 and the Celtics lost to the Lakers in 2010).
Game 7 experience
It’ll be the fourth Game 7 for Indiana forwards Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner. Siakam’s teams have gone 2-1 in Game 7s, Turner’s have gone 1-2.
Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith is 2-0 in the pair of Game 7s in which he has played, with Indiana winning at New York last year and Boston beating Milwaukee in 2022. Both of those wins were in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league’s reigning MVP, has averaged 27 points in two previous Game 7s. Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton scored 26 points in his lone Game 7 to this point.
No player on either side has previously been part of a Game 7 in the NBA Finals.
New for some refs, too
The NBA doesn’t announce referee assignments until game day, so it won’t be known until Sunday morning who the three-person crew is for Game 7.
This much is certain: for at least two of the referees, it’ll be the first time on the Game 7 finals stage.
Scott Foster — who would seem a likely pick this year — worked Game 7 of the finals in 2013 alongside Dan Crawford and Monty McCutchen, and Game 7 of the title series in 2010 with Dan Crawford and Joe Crawford.
The most recent Game 7 of the finals was in 2016 and the crew for that game was Dan Crawford, McCutchen and Mike Callahan.
Outside of Foster, no referee in this year’s pool has been on the floor for a Game 7 in the NBA Finals.
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WNBA NEWS
CAITLIN CLARK AND NAPHEESA COLLIER LEAD EARLY FAN-VOTING FOR WNBA ALL-STAR GAME
Indiana star Caitlin Clark has an early lead in the fan voting for next month’s WNBA All-Star Game, the league announced Friday.
The guard received 515,993 votes and was followed by Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, who garnered 484,758 votes. There were three other Indiana players in the top 10 with Aliyah Boston third, Kelsey Mitchell seventh and Lexie Hull ninth.
This year’s game will be played in Indiana on July 19.
A’ja Wilson of Las Vegas and Breanna Stewart of New York were fourth and fifth in the balloting, respectively. The two were the captains for the All-Star Game in 2022 and 2023.
Sabrina Ionescu, Stewart’s teammate, was eighth, while rookies Paige Bueckers of Dallas, in sixth, and Kiki Iriafen of Washington, in 10th, rounded out the top 10.
Fan voting ends on June 28 and accounts for 50% of the overall vote. Current players and a media panel each account for 25%. The top four guards and six frontcourt players with the best overall score between the three groups are honored as starters for the All-Star Game.
The league’s coaches choose the 12 reserve players.
The two starters who receive the most fan votes will be the captains of the game and choose their All-Star teams with the results announced on July 8.
This year’s contest will have the traditional format of two teams playing against each other. Last season was a matchup of the USA Olympic team playing against an All-Star team.
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MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
DUKE WALK-ON STANLEY BORDEN, LAST PLAYER IN COLLEGE TO HAVE PLAYED FOR COACH K, TRANSFERS TO UTSA
Stanley Borden, the final basketball player still in college to have played for Mike Krzyzewski, has announced he is transferring to UTSA from Duke.
The 7-foot Borden was a walk-on for the Blue Devils, joining the team in 2021 — the last of the Hall of Fame coach’s career. He stayed for four years and despite not getting on the court much at all, he had fond memories of his time under Coach K.
“Everything that everyone has heard or said in terms of aura and energy is all there,” Borden said Thursday in a phone interview from Istanbul, where his family lives. “He jokes a lot and cusses a lot and you never knew if he was joking or being serious. Learning from the best as an 18- or 19-year-old at the end of his career was something I’ll never forget.”
Borden had one year of eligibility left after he didn’t play his junior year because of injuries to his elbow in the preseason and a finger that needed to be re-attached after a weight room accident. He wanted to find a school that he could play at in his final season of college basketball so he entered the portal.
“I was talking to a bunch of schools late in the process and many of them were starting their summer workouts right now,” said Borden, who had a few dozen schools interested in him. “There’s opportunity to compete for time and also develop. They want to help you get better and make you a better player.”
He played in three games for the Blue Devils this past season, grabbing a rebound and blocking a shot. He’s still looking for his first points in college, having played in five games total during his career at Duke. Still, he learned a lot in his time at the school where he earned a degree in computer science and played with some of the best players in the country at practice every day.
“Being around Dereck Lively II, Paolo Banchero, Cooper Flag as well as other great college players made me immensely better,” Borden said.
Despite not playing, Borden was a glue guy on the team and fan favorite. He made a name for himself as a sophomore when he wowed the Cameron Crazies during their midnight madness-type event. He walked onto the stage in sunglasses and a trench coat which he opened to reveal a saxophone. Borden borrowed the instrument, which he learned to play when he was younger, from the marching band. He put on a show much to the delight of the crowd and his teammates. The performance went viral.
Borden said he didn’t know if UTSA had any kind of opening event to start basketball season, but he’d be happy to come up with another musical number if the school did.
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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL NEWS
MLB ROUNDUP: CAL RALEIGH’S 2 HOMERS POWER M’S PAST CUBS
Cal Raleigh hit his major-league-leading 28th and 29th home runs of the season to help the visiting Seattle Mariners to a 9-4 win against the Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon.
Raleigh, who passed Johnny Bench for the most home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break, also singled, walked and scored four times. Mitch Garver homered twice and drove in five runs, and Donovan Solano had three hits and an RBI for the Mariners, who have won five of seven.
Seattle starter George Kirby allowed four runs and seven hits over five innings. Reliever Eduard Bazardo (2-0) threw one scoreless inning.
Caleb Thielbar (2-2) gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning for the Cubs, who have lost two straight for just the second time since early May. Reese McGuire and Ian Happ homered for Chicago, and Michael Busch had three hits.
Red Sox 7, Giants 5
Ceddanne Rafaela and David Hamilton combined for five hits, three runs and four RBIs out of the bottom two spots in the batting order and Boston spoiled Rafael Devers’ reunion with a road victory over San Francisco.
Meeting just five days after completing a blockbuster trade with Devers at the heart, the Red Sox rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win for the eighth time in their last nine games.
While Boston improved to 3-1 since the deal, the Giants lost for the third time in four games, with Devers going 0-for-5 in the opener of a three-game series.
Diamondbacks 14, Rockies 8
Eugenio Suarez hit two of Arizona’s four home runs to reach 300 for his career, and the Diamondbacks beat Colorado in Denver.
Suarez tied his season high with four hits. Ketel Marte homered, doubled twice and drove in five runs and Ildemaro Vargas finished a triple shy of the cycle to pace the Diamondbacks’ season-high 21-hit attack.
Mickey Moniak homered among his two hits and Ryan McMahon also went deep for the Rockies. Arizona’s Zac Gallen (5-8) allowed seven runs on 10 hits in five innings to beat Austin Gomber (0-1), who permitted nine runs on 12 hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Brewers 17, Twins 6
Christian Yelich went 4-for-6 with two doubles and a career-high eight RBIs, Jacob Misiorowski carried a perfect game into the seventh inning, and Milwaukee trounced Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Yelich twice hit bases-clearing doubles for Milwaukee, which matched a season high in runs. Jackson Chourio went 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs, and Joey Ortiz finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
Misiorowski (2-0) continued his dominant start to his big-league career. After pitching five hitless innings before cramps cut his major league debut short on June 12, the 23-year-old was perfect through six innings in his second start before the Twins finally dinged him for two runs in the seventh. He left with two runs allowed on one hit in six innings, and he walked one and struck out six.
Rangers 6, Pirates 2
Adolis Garcia had three hits, including a home run, drove in two runs and made two great diving catches in right field to help Texas beat host Pittsburgh.
Garcia backed up a strong outing by starter Jacob deGrom (7-2), who pitched six innings, allowing two runs as the Rangers snapped a three-game losing streak.
Joey Bart had three hits for the Pirates, who took their fifth loss in six games. Mike Burrows was tagged for four runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.
White Sox 7, Blue Jays 1
Luis Robert Jr. hit a two-run home run, Tyler Alexander pitched four scoreless relief innings and visiting Chicago defeated Toronto.
Andrew Benintendi added a solo shot and had two RBIs while Josh Rojas contributed two RBIs for the White Sox, who ended an eight-game losing streak by taking the opener of a three-game series.
Bo Bichette had three hits and an RBI for the Blue Jays, who have lost two straight.
Marlins 6, Braves 2
Rookie Agustin Ramirez homered and matched a season high with four RBIs to help lift host Miami past Atlanta, spoiling the major league debut of Didier Fuentes.
Janson Junk (2-0) allowed one run on five hits in five innings while making his first major league start since 2023. He struck out five without walking a batter as Miami ended a two-game losing streak.
Fuentes, who turned 20 on Tuesday, yielded four runs on six hits in five innings before departing after 87 pitches. He fanned three and walked one. He became the major leagues’ youngest starting pitcher since 2016.
Orioles 5, Yankees 3
Ramon Urias started the eighth inning by hitting a tiebreaking homer and visiting Baltimore continued its recent surge by beating New York.
Urias allowed the Orioles to regain the lead when he hit a full-count fastball off Luke Weaver (1-2). Pinch hitter Gunnar Henderson added an RBI single off Tim Hill later in the eighth.
The Yankees lost for the seventh time in eight games and wasted a big night from Aaron Judge, who hit a solo homer for a 3-2 lead, collected three hits and ended the night with a .371 average.
Phillies 10, Mets 2
Trea Turner’s RBI double snapped a tie and sparked a six-run seventh inning for Philadelphia, which completed its surge into first place in the National League East by beating reeling New York.
The Phillies have won eight of nine while the Mets have lost seven straight by a combined 51-16. The losing streak is the longest for New York since a seven-game skid from June 2-9, 2023.
Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil hit back-to-back homers off former teammate Taijuan Walker to tie the game in the sixth before the Phillies mounted their rally against Reed Garrett (2-3) and Justin Garza.
Rays 14, Tigers 8
Yandy Diaz homered twice and Matt Thaiss scored twice and drove in four runs to help host Tampa Bay hammer Detroit, moving the Rays to a league-best 21-8 since May 20.
Curtis Mead scored three times and drove in a run for Tampa Bay, which has won six of its past eight games. Rays starter Shane Baz (7-3) allowed five runs on four hits over 5 1/3 innings.
Riley Greene led the Tigers with two home runs and four RBIs. Detroit starter Jack Flaherty (5-8) lasted only 2 1/3 innings and allowed eight runs on six hits.
Astros 3, Angels 2 (10 innings)
Mauricio Dubon scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the 10th inning as Houston defeated Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.
Jeremy Pena went 3-for-4 with a home run as the Astros earned their eighth win in 10 tries. Pena and Isaac Paredes homered as Houston’s first two batters of the game. Josh Hader (5-1) threw a perfect ninth inning, and Bennett Sousa worked the 10th for his second save.
Hunter Strickland (1-1) took the loss after Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings. Jo Adell and Christian Moore homered for Los Angeles, which was without manager Ron Washington (health concerns).
Royals 6, Padres 5
Salvador Perez’s RBI single snapped a tie in the eighth inning as visiting Kansas City stopped San Diego.
Lucas Erceg (2-2) got the win despite allowing a game-tying two-run single by Gavin Sheets in the seventh that capped the Padres’ rally from a 4-0 deficit. Bobby Witt Jr. and Jonathan India homered for the Royals, while India and Maikel Garcia had three hits apiece.
Carlos Estevez worked the ninth for his 22nd save despite giving up a homer to Manny Machado. Xander Bogaerts tied the Padres’ franchise record by collecting hits in his first three at-bats, giving him eight straight hits. The streak ended when he popped out in the ninth.
Cardinals 6, Reds 1
St. Louis scored five runs in the seventh inning to beat visiting Cincinnati for its fourth consecutive win.
Cardinals starter Andre Pallante (5-3) was effective through six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits for the Cardinals, who have won four in a row and five of six. Masyn Winn and Lars Nootbaar each had two hits and an RBI.
Brady Singer (7-5) gave up one run on four hits in six innings for the Reds, who have lost two straight. Cincinnati’s lone run scored on an eighth-inning error.
Dodgers 6, Nationals 5
Miguel Rojas hit a two-run homer and Clayton Kershaw inched closer to 3,000 career strikeouts as Los Angeles earned a victory over visiting Washington.
Kershaw (3-0) gave up two runs on five hits and two walks in five innings. He fanned four to move within eight of becoming the 20th pitcher with 3,000 strikeouts and the fourth left-hander.
Amed Rosario, Riley Adams and CJ Abrams homered for the Nationals, who had ended an 11-game losing streak on Thursday.
A’s 5, Guardians 1
Nick Kurtz homered for the fifth time in six games and Jeffrey Springs pitched 7 1/3 strong innings to lead the Athletics to a victory over Cleveland in West Sacramento, Calif.
Lawrence Butler had three hits and an RBI and Jacob Wilson and Luis Urias added run-scoring singles for the Athletics, who won for the sixth time in eight games. Springs (6-5) yielded a run on three hits.
Angel Martinez homered for the Guardians, who lost for the 10th time in 14 games. Tanner Bibee (4-7) gave up five runs (four earned) and 11 hits in his first career complete game, albeit an eight-inning outing.
–Field Level Media
WHITE SOX PLACE TWO PITCHERS ON 15-DAY INJURED LIST
The White Sox placed left-hander Cam Booser and right-hander Davis Martin on the 15-day injured list on Friday.
Those were part of five moves ahead of Chicago’s series opener against the host Toronto Blue Jays.
Booser has a left shoulder strain and Martin has a right forearm strain. Martin’s designation is retroactive to Tuesday.
Booser, 33, is 1-4 with a 5.11 ERA and one save in 30 relief appearances.
Martin, 28, is 2-7 with a 3.79 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) this season.
The White Sox also recalled right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez from Triple-A Charlotte, selected the contract of left-hander Jake Palisch from Double-A Birmingham and designated right-hander Caleb Freeman for assignment.
Neither Gonzalez, 23, nor Palisch, 26, has pitched in the majors.
Freeman, 27, made his MLB debut on May 5 and posted no decisions and a 5.40 ERA in five relief appearances.
PADRES-DODGERS DISCIPLINE: ROBERT SUAREZ, BOTH MANAGERS RECEIVE BANS
Major League Baseball suspended San Diego Padres right-handed pitcher Robert Suarez for three games Friday, while Padres manager Mike Shildt and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts received one-game suspensions following the conclusion of a feisty four-game series between the teams this week.
Suarez was given his ban, along with an undisclosed fine, for intentionally hitting Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani with a pitch in the bottom of the ninth Thursday night. It was in response to Dodgers rookie Jack Little hitting Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. with a pitch in the top of that inning, which prompted a benches-clearing incident with pushing and shoving.
Shildt and Roberts were suspended and fined undisclosed amounts “for unsportsmanlike conduct and for contributing to inciting the benches-clearing incident.” No other players received discipline, however.
Suarez is appealing his suspension. The managers, though, must serve theirs tonight when the Dodgers welcome the Washington Nationals and the Padres host the Kansas City Royals.
The bad blood between the local rivals began to bubble up Tuesday during the second game of the four-game set. Los Angeles’ Lou Trivino hit Tatis with a pitch, and Padres starter Randy Vasquez did the same to Ohtani soon after. Roberts was ejected from the game for arguing an umpire’s warning.
On Thursday night, after Tatis got plunked on the hand in a game the Padres led 5-0 at the time, Shildt shouted something toward the Dodgers’ dugout and Roberts ran out to confront him, prompting players to follow. Roberts shoved Shildt during the incident.
“We got a guy who’s getting X-rays right now, is one of the best players in the game, fortunately on our team, and this guy has taken shots, OK?” Shildt told reporters afterward, referring to Tatis. “And before this series, and I can back this up with complete evidence, the track records speak for themselves — teams that I manage don’t get into altercations like this because teams that I manage don’t throw at people.
“But also, teams I manage don’t take anything. And after a while, I’m not going to take it. And I’m not going to take it on behalf of Tati, I’m not going to take it on behalf of the team, intentional or unintentional. It’s really that simple.”
–Field Level Media
ANGELS MANAGER RON WASHINGTON (HEALTH) OUT INDEFINITELY
Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington will not manage the team for an indefinite period due to a health concern, general manager Perry Minasian told reporters on Friday.
The nature of Washington’s health ailment is undisclosed.
Bench coach Ray Montgomery will serve as interim manager, beginning with Friday night’s home game against the Houston Astros. Montgomery, 55, is in his fourth season on the Angels’ coaching staff.
Washington, 73, is expected to watch Friday night’s game from a suite inside Angel Stadium.
Washington is in his second season with the Angels and has a 99-137 record with the team. Los Angeles is 36-38 this season.
Overall, Washington holds a 763-748 record in 10 seasons. He guided Texas (2007-14) to the World Series in 2010 and 2011 with the Rangers losing each time.
The Angels also placed right fielder Jorge Soler (back) on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Wednesday. The 33-year-old is batting .207 with eight homers and 26 RBIs in 67 games this season and has 199 career homers in 12 seasons.
Los Angeles recalled outfielder Gustavo Campero from Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move. He was batting .320 with two homers and 17 RBIs in 32 games with the Bees.
Campero, 27, is batting .232 with one homer and six RBIs in 18 major league games over the past two seasons.
–Field Level Media
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COLLEGE BASEBALL NEWS
2025 COLLEGE BASEBALL ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS
First Team
Carson Tinney, C, Notre Dame
Tinney enjoyed one of the biggest breakout seasons of any hitter in the country and posted a .348/.498/.753 slash line with 13 doubles, 17 homers and 53 RBIs. In addition to his plus power, Tinney is an advanced defender behind the plate.
Andrew Fischer, 1B, Tennessee
Fischer thrived in his lone season at Tennessee and hit .341/.497/.760 with 16 doubles, 25 homers, 65 RBIs and an eye-popping 63-to-42 walk-to-strikeout ratio. He stands out for his advanced approach, but Fischer also possesses plus power to the pull side and a feel for the barrel.
Gavin Kilen, 2B, Tennessee
Speaking of players who flourished in Knoxville, Kilen hit a career-best .357/.441/.671 with 32 extra-base hits, a career-high 46 RBIs and 30 walks to 27 strikeouts. He tapped into more power this spring to go along with his advanced feel to hit. Kilen could be a first-round pick this July.
Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA
Cholowsky has long been a well-known amateur prospect, and this spring he hit the world on fire to the tune of a .353/.480/.710 slash line with 19 doubles, 23 home runs, 74 RBIs with 45 walks to 30 strikeouts. A plus defender at shortstop, Cholowsky also has an enticing hit-power combination and has a chance to be the first overall pick in 2026.
Daniel Cuvet, 3B, Miami
Cuvet continued to build on the momentum from his standout freshman campaign and hit .372/.450/.708 with 20 doubles, 18 home runs and a whopping 84 RBIs. Cuvet has some of the most impressive raw power in his class and has shown no issue getting to it in games.
Ike Irish, OF, Auburn
Irish is one of the more complete hitters in this year’s draft class. He has hit at every stop and this season was the best of his career, as he hit .364/.469/.710 with 13 doubles, a career-high 19 home runs and 58 RBIs. Where he sticks defensively is a bit of a question mark, but his comfortably plus arm plays both behind the plate and in a corner outfield spot.
DEVIN TAYLOR, OF, INDIANA
Another complete hitter, Taylor has one of the lengthier track records of performance of any bat in this year’s draft class. He most recently hit a career-best .374/.494/.706 with 33 extra-base hits, a career-high 66 RBIs and 52 walks to just 30 strikeouts. A left fielder defensively, Taylor’s bat could be enough to warrant a first-round selection.
James Quinn-Irons, OF, George Mason
Quinn-Irons enjoyed the best season of any mid-major bat in the country. He posted a gaudy .419/.523/.734 slash line with 42 extra-base hits, 85 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. Quinn-Irons has a big league body—with impressive tools to boot—and moves better than his 6-foot-5, 230-pound listing would suggest.
Alex Lodise, DH, Florida State
Lodise was the centerpiece of Florida State’s super regional run and hit a career-best .394/.462/.705 with 18 doubles, 17 home runs and 68 RBIs—all of which were new career highs. Lodise is also an above-average defender at shortstop with a plus arm, and this year he showed the ability to drive the baseball to all fields.
Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee
The cornerstone of Tennessee’s rotation, Doyle went 10-1, 3.20 with a whopping 164 strikeouts to 32 walks across 95.2 innings. Armed with one of the best fastballs in the country and an explosive delivery, Doyle simply overpowered hitters all season. He very well could come off the board within the first five picks of this year’s draft.
Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU
The 2025 NCAA strikeout king, Anderson was the ace of one of the best rotations in college baseball. He compiled a 3.44 ERA to go along with a sparkling 11-1 record and 170 strikeouts against just 30 walks. Anderson is armed with an impressive four-pitch mix and presents an exciting blend of present stuff and upside.
Anthony Eyanson, RHP, LSU
It’s no shock that Anderson and Eyanson were perhaps the best one-two rotation punch in college baseball. A transfer from UC San Diego, Eyanson took off in Baton Rouge. He worked a career-best 2.92 ERA with a career-high 143 strikeouts in 101.2 innings. Eyanson has always been an advanced strike-thrower, but this year his entire arsenal took a step forward.
Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma
In the wake of a quality sophomore season and breakout summer, Witherspoon this spring took his game to a different level. He went 10-4, 2.65 and posted a career-high 124 strikeouts against just 23 walks across 95 innings. Witherspoon has advanced command, but his pure stuff is arguably even more impressive.
Dylan Volantis, LHP, Texas
The lone freshman to be named a first team All-American, Volantis quickly cemented himself as one of the most effective relievers in the sport. Across 23 appearances that spanned 51 innings, Volantis worked a 1.94 ERA with 74 strikeouts against just 12 walks. He attacks hitters with a deadly fastball-breaking ball combination, a one-two punch that generated plenty of empty swings.
Gabe Craig, RHP, Baylor
A “fireman” in every sense of the word, Craig compiled a microscopic 0.56 ERA with 51 strikeouts to only three walks across 32 innings. He collected 10 saves in 24 appearances and his combination of strikes and stuff overwhelmed hitters.
Evan Dempsey, TWP, Florida Gulf Coast
Not only did Dempsey pitch his way to a 1.97 ERA—the second-lowest mark in the country—but he also hit .309/.393/.435 with 23 extra-base hits, 30 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. His pitching numbers are even more impressive considering 10 of his 15 appearances were starts. Across 68.2 innings, Dempsey collected 75 strikeouts and walked 20.
Second Team
C: Boston Smith, Wright State
1B: Jared Jones, LSU
2B: Ryan Daniels, UConn
SS: Aiva Arquette, Oregon State
3B: Ace Reese, Mississippi State
OF: Sawyer Strosnider, TCU
OF: Ryan Wideman, Western Kentucky
OF: Gavin Turley, Oregon State
DH: Wehiwa Aloy, Arkansas
SP: Jacob Morrison, Coastal Carolina
SP: Zane Taylor, UNC Wilmington
SP: Blake Gillespie, Charlotte
SP: Jamie Arnold, Florida State
RP: Tony Pluta, Arizona
RP: Antoine Jean, Houston
TWP: Bryce Calloway, New Orleans
Third Team
C: Easton Carmichael, Oklahoma
1B: Mulivai Levu, UCLA
2B: Nick Monistere, Southern Miss
SS: Marek Houston, Wake Forest
3B: Bobby Boser, Florida
OF: Mason Neville, Oregon
OF: Drew Burress, Georgia Tech
OF: Korbyn Dickerson, Indiana
DH: Justin Lebron, Alabama
SP: Jake Knapp, North Carolina
SP: Jack Ohman, Yale
SP: Joseph Dzierwa, Michigan State
SP: JB Middleton, Southern Miss
RP: Ty Van Dyke, Stetson
RP: Dylan Crooks, Oklahoma
TWP: Noah Sullivan, Mississippi State
BIG TEN UNVEILS 2026 BASEBALL OPPONENTS
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Each of the 17 baseball programs in the Big Ten learned their conference dates and opponents this month for the 2026 season. For the second-straight year, each team will play 10 league weekends with an additional series against a non-conference opponent worked in the 11-week slate.
During next year’s campaign, head coach Jeff Mercer and the Hoosiers will face all six schools they didn’t play in 2025. The only holdover opponents are regionally-protected rivalries against Illinois and Purdue as well as series against Maryland and Iowa.
After facing the two Los Angeles schools in their debut season, IU will meet Washington and Oregon in 2026 for the first time as Big Ten foes. The Hoosiers host Washington in Bloomington (March 6-8) to open the conference slate before making the trip to Eugene (March 13-15) for the first weekend meeting all-time against the Ducks.
Minnesota (March 20-22) comes to town for the first time since 2022 before IU heads back to Lincoln to face Nebraska (March 27-29) for the second time in three years. Home weekends against Rutgers (April 3-5) and Iowa (24-26) highlight the April slate. IU will head to Maryland (April 10-12) to face a familiar foe in its only road conference series of the month.
IU’s bye weekend during the 11-week stretch of conference play comes from April 17-19. Last season, IU’s bye weekend came at the beginning of May and featured a three-game sweep at Abilene Christian. If IU were to play at home next season – it would give Mercer and the Hoosiers three home weekends in April.
May features a trio of regional rivalries – including back-to-back weekends at Northwestern (May 1-3) and Purdue (May 8-10). The Hoosiers close the 2026 regular season with an annual series against Illinois (May 14-16). The Big Ten Tournament in Omaha is set to be played from May 19-24.
The rest of the 56-game regular season schedule will be released this fall.
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NFL NEWS
FIVE TEAMS THAT WON THE NFL OFFSEASON: WILL BEARS, RAIDERS HYPE TRANSLATE INTO WINS?
Offseason hype can be a blessing and a curse. Just ask last year’s Chicago Bears. The vibes were great a year ago at this time, when they were expected to make a major leap in Year 1 of the Caleb Williams era. Instead, they collapsed after a 4-2 start, firing their head coach before the calendar turned to December and losing 10 games in a row.
This year, the Bears are offseason darlings once again after the hiring of Ben Johnson and a series of strong player acquisitions. But I’m expecting the hype to be backed up when they take the field this time.
Chicago isn’t the only team that positioned itself for better days with their moves since the 2024 season concluded, though. With less than a month before the first NFL training camp opens, I highlight my top five winners of the offseason below and share my expectations for each squad entering the 2025 campaign.
CHICAGO BEARS
Bears’ offseason additions | Chicago’s 2025 draft class
After luring head coach Ben Johnson away from the division-rival Lions and upgrading the supporting cast around former No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams, the Bears should be viewed as a dark-horse contender in 2025. Chicago has beefed up its pass catchers and pass protectors to ensure it can go toe-to-toe with any offensive heavyweight in the league. The team drafted a pair of mismatch creators in TE Colston Loveland and WR Luther Burden III, who will keep opposing defensive coordinators up all night crafting game plans to neutralize the catch-and-run concepts that will be featured prominently on Johnson’s call sheet.
Given the veteran players added to the offensive line in free agency (Drew Dalman) and via trade (Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson), the Bears have given Williams enough support to help him dazzle this season. If Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo can add some spice to a defense in desperate need of more playmakers, the Bears could enjoy a worst-to-first rise in the NFC North.
My expectation for 2025: The table is set for the Bears to make a playoff run this season. They have upgraded their play-caller, playmakers and pass protectors to ensure Williams sparks a turnaround as a sophomore.
BALTIMORE RAVENS
Ravens’ offseason additions | Baltimore’s 2025 draft class
It feels like now or never for the Ravens after general manager Eric DeCosta signed Jaire Alexander to put the finishing touches on the best roster in football. The two-time All-Pro will team with Kyle Hamilton, Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins and first-round pick Malaki Starks to form a dynamic defensive backfield that can suffocate opponents with sticky coverage. The defensive upgrades should enable the Ravens to stymie opposing offenses that are forced into shootouts by Lamar Jackson and Co. With DeAndre Hopkins joining a group of pass catchers that already features dangerous playmakers like Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Isaiah Likely, the Ravens are one of the favorites to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LX.
My expectation for 2025: This is the year Jackson finally gets the monkey off his back and guides the Ravens to the Super Bowl. The confetti might not fall on No. 8’s shoulders, but the “Bullies of Baltimore” will finish the season in Santa Clara, California, competing for the Lombardi Trophy.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Patriots’ offseason additions | New England’s 2025 draft class
The vibes are different this year with Mike Vrabel returning to the franchise as head coach. The former Patriots All-Pro linebacker is turning back the clock with an old-school approach and an updated roster that could make opponents miserable, forcing them to play “Fight Club” in Gillette Stadium. The addition of grizzled veterans on defense like Milton Williams, Harold Landry III, Robert Spillane and Carlton Davis III adds toughness and playmaking to a unit that lost its way in 2024.
Offensively, the Patriots have upgraded the talent around Drake Maye to help the quarterback make a jump in Year 2. From solidifying the offensive line with Will Campbell, Morgan Moses and Garrett Bradbury coming on board to adding a WR1 (Stefon Diggs) and RB2 (TreVeyon Henderson) with big-play potential, New England has surrounded its QB1 with a much-improved supporting cast that should make the game easier for him. With offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels building clever game plans to accentuate Maye’s strengths as a mobile playmaker, the Patriots offense could light up scoreboards by season’s end.
My expectation for 2025: The Patriots should quickly close ground on their division rivals as a .500 squad that makes a push for a playoff berth over the final month of the season.
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
Commanders’ offseason additions | Washington’s 2025 draft class
It’s hard to improve from good to great in the NFL, but the Commanders might join the league’s elites with an improved roster that features more blue-chip players around 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels. The trades for Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel place a pair of Pro Bowl-caliber players in marquee positions (left tackle and WR2) that should help the offense unlock another gear in 2025. If the team can resolve Terry McLaurin’s contract situation, the Commanders will have a chance to open the season with an electric offense that will put plenty of stress on defensive coordinators crafting plans to stop the juggernaut.
Defensively, the additions of Deatrich Wise and Jonathan Jones fortify a unit that is coming into its own under the direction of head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. If the Commanders continue to receive key contributions from their young defensive backs (Mike Sainristil, Quan Martin and Trey Amos), the reigning NFC runner-up could take the next step in 2025.
My expectation for 2025: The Commanders are built to run through the NFC with a superstar quarterback surrounded by a stellar supporting cast. If Washington can secure the NFC’s No. 1 seed, we could see a championship parade in the nation’s capital come February.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
Raiders’ offseason additions | Las Vegas’ 2025 draft class
The Raiders’ return to respectability is underway under head coach Pete Carroll. The Super Bowl XLVIII champion has installed a title-caliber blueprint that should make the Silver and Black competitive in his first season on the job. By reuniting Carroll with former Seahawks QB Geno Smith to help usher in a new culture, Las Vegas has jump-started the process with an underrated veteran who has a Pro Bowl pedigree. As rookie first-rounder Ashton Jeanty and budding superstar Brock Bowers settle into their roles as the designated playmakers in Chip Kelly’s offense, the Raiders can overwhelm opponents with an approach that repeatedly puts the ball in the hands of their best players in prime positions.
On defense, the return of coordinator Patrick Graham and top defenders Maxx Crosby and Christian Wilkins (if healthy) could help the Raiders challenge opponents with a fast-paced see ball, get ball scheme. Given Carroll’s history of producing quick turnarounds as a team leader, the squad’s mix of teachers and talent could lead to impressive results in his first season.
My expectation for 2025: The Raiders could emerge as a dark-horse playoff contender thanks to Carroll’s experience and expertise. The 73-year-old coach knows how to put together winning game plans, and his roster features enough talent to chalk up nine-plus wins.
WAY-TOO-EARLY BOLD PREDICTIONS FOR 2025 NFL SEASON: BILLS WIN SUPER BOWL; ASHTON JEANTY HITS 2,000 YARDS
The NFL is officially moving into vacation mode. During mandatory minicamps, we all had the chance to discuss how far these teams have come this offseason. Now, we’ll spend the next few weeks anticipating the start of training camps and the push toward the upcoming regular season.
Before we reach that point, The First Read wanted to throw out a little food for thought. It’s usually best to make predictions once camps have gone on for a few weeks or the season is just a few days away. We’re taking a different route this time around. Here are some way-too-early bold predictions to ponder for this upcoming year …
1) The Bills will win the Super Bowl.
This is bold simply because the Bills have dealt with so much heartache over the last five seasons. They’ve lost four playoff games to the Chiefs (including two AFC title bouts) and suffered another home defeat to the Bengals in the 2022 Divisional Round. This team has too much talent and smart coaching to continually miss out on opportunities to get over the hump, which is why this prediction makes so much sense today. Quarterback Josh Allen is coming off his first MVP season. The defense added some nice pieces in the 2025 NFL Draft, including speedy cornerback Maxwell Hairston and edge rusher Landon Jackson. The schedule also looks favorable, with Buffalo playing 10 games against teams that didn’t produce a winning record in 2024. There’s basically never been a better time for the Bills to earn the top seed in the AFC and potentially host a conference championship game. And if they can do that, they should win the whole damn thing.
2) Joe Burrow will be the league’s Most Valuable Player.
Burrow is going to receive a lot of attention for this honor because he got plenty last year, when the Bengals were stumbling and fumbling their way through a frustrating season that ended with them missing the playoffs for the second straight year. There were people out there loudly saying that Burrow deserved to contend for the game’s top individual award because of sheer productivity. He led the league in passing yards (4,918) and touchdowns (43) while only throwing nine interceptions. It is true that Burrow would’ve had a strong case if Cincinnati had made the postseason in 2024. It’s even more logical to think that more people will be singing his praises if he repeats those efforts. The Bengals made it clear that they wanted to keep his weapons happy (wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins both signed massive extensions). It’s also still a mystery as to what Cincy’s defense will look like after an offseason that has included contract disputes with All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson and first-round pick Shemar Stewart, the hiring of new defensive coordinator Al Golden and some high-profile personnel changes. If the Bengals return to the playoffs, then their offense is going to be prolific. That puts Burrow in a position to earn a lot of love.
3) The Eagles will be the first team to repeat as NFC East champs in 21 years.
We know this is one of the longest-running streaks in the league, but it’s time for it to end. That’s how good Philadelphia is going to be this coming season. As much as the Eagles have to fill in some holes left by key offseason departures — the defense, in particular, lost five key veterans — the core of the defending Super Bowl champions remains very much intact. Even with Kevin Patullo succeeding Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator, that side of the football remains stacked. Running back Saquon Barkley is coming off a 2,000-yard season, quarterback Jalen Hurts proved once again that he’s one of the most underrated leaders in the game and the receivers and offensive line still rank among the best in the league. As for the defense, coordinator Vic Fangio will help some new faces mature while an assortment of stars (including defensive tackle Jalen Carter, All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun and second-year defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean) should once again rank among the best in the business. Look, this team won 16 of its last 17 games last season and pounded Kansas City in the Super Bowl. Just as importantly, a good number players were around for that epic meltdown in the second half of the 2023 season. They surely learned a lot of about the challenges of success and how hard it is to stay on top, which will come in handy this fall.
4) The Broncos will snap the Chiefs’ streak of nine straight AFC West championships.
The Chiefs have reigned over the division since 2016 and they’ve barely been challenged during most of the years that quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been under center. Most of that success comes down to the Chiefs’ greatness but they’ve also been helped plenty by the ineptitude of the teams sharing the AFC West with them. Kansas City has been led by future Hall of Fame coach Andy Reid during that entire run of dominance. Every other team in the division has had at least four different head coaches within that same stretch. That churn appears to have slowed, though, with Pete Carroll (Raiders), Jim Harbaugh (Chargers) and Sean Payton (Broncos) now working in the AFC West. Of those three coaches — all of whom have either reached or won the Super Bowl — Payton is sitting on the most impressive team aside from the Chiefs. The Broncos have an elite defense, and it looks like they landed a franchise quarterback in Bo Nix in last year’s draft. We know Payton can coach up the offense, especially as the Broncos add more playmakers. We’ve also seen how Denver gave Kansas City fits last season in Arrowhead, with a blocked field goal keeping them from securing an impressive upset. Denver is good enough to win this division now. With the other teams also creating more resistance to the Chiefs — who went 5-1 in the AFC West after resting their starters in a Week 18 loss to the Broncos — Denver will earn its first crown since Peyton Manning was their quarterback.
5) Caleb Williams will throw for 4,500 yards and 35 touchdowns.
There’s a lot of anticipation surrounding the Bears’ second-year quarterback and his ability to make good on all the promise that made him the top pick in the 2024 draft. One thing that shouldn’t be doubted is whether he’ll become the first Chicago signal-caller to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. Williams won’t just reach that barrier; he’ll blow it away, especially when considering all the advantages he has working for him now. The Bears hired the best offensive mind available to be their head coach in Ben Johnson. They’ve rebuilt the offensive line, drafted more pass catchers (tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden III) and filled more holes on the defense. Williams threw for 3,541 yards and 20 touchdowns last season when he was running for his life and trying too hard to extend plays. Better coaching and an improved supporting cast will make life much easier for him, and the numbers will bear that out.
6) Daniel Jones will win Comeback Player of the Year.
Jones already walked into a great opportunity in Indianapolis because the Colts gave him a chance to compete for the starting job with third-year veteran Anthony Richardson. There’s every reason to believe Jones can win that battle because Richardson, since arriving in Indy as the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft, has been wildly inconsistent throughout his career and even lost his job for a couple games last season. Jones knows a few things about that path — the former No. 6 overall pick was benched and eventually dumped by the Giants last year — but there’s reason to be optimistic about him today. Jones signed with Minnesota after New York released hm, which gave him an opportunity to be around another beleaguered quarterback in Sam Darnold who was turning his career around with the help of a strong coaching staff. Now, Jones gets to work with a creative offensive head coach in Shane Steichen, who happens to be the same man who helped take Jalen Hurts from raw talent to MVP-caliber quarterback in Philadelphia. Steichen likes quarterbacks who can move, and his time with Hurts proved that he could think outside of the box when it comes to maximizing a signal-caller’s strengths. Steichen easily could be the man to take Jones to another level, especially when considering the Colts have better skill players and offensive line play than Jones ever enjoyed in New York. Nobody saw Darnold taking off when he arrived in Minnesota. Jones could do similar things in Indy if he stays healthy.
7) Ashton Jeanty will run for 2,000 yards.
Jeanty should be a heavy favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year, given the situation he’s walking into in Las Vegas. Head coach Pete Carroll is going to do what he always does — which is run the football like crazy — and Jeanty is a three-down back built exactly for this type of approach. So instead of simply predicting that Jeanty will win some hardware in his rookie season, it’s worth going a step further and having him make history. Nine NFL players have rushed for 2,000 yards in a season, with Saquon Barkley joining the club in 2024. None of those men accomplished the feat in Year 1. Yes, it’s a heavy expectation to place on a rookie. It’s also apparent that the Raiders won’t have that many weapons to rely upon in that offense, and we’re living in an era when running the football is trendy again. The Raiders will have to win games with a ground-and-pound approach. That puts Jeanty in position to do unprecedented things.
8) Travis Hunter will be more impactful as a cornerback than a wide receiver in his first season.
The Jaguars have grand visions for Hunter after trading up to take him with the second overall pick in this year’s draft. He wants to play on offense and defense, and the Jags are doing their best to make sure he’s a capable performer on both sides of the football. However, it’s also worth nothing a couple things here. One is that Hunter is far more polished as a defender at this stage of his career. He’s capable of lining up at cornerback from Day 1 and playing a huge role in a Jacksonville defense that was one of the league’s worst last season. The other fact worth remembering is the narratives coming out of Duval County recently. The Jaguars are spending more time coaching up Hunter at receiver because he needs more work at that position. Despite his success as a two-way player at Colorado, he’s going to need more reps to learn how to operate at that spot against top-flight defensive backs. That doesn’t mean he won’t have some impressive moments. It’s just that he won’t even be Jacksonville’s top target, as the team already has a strong receiver in second-year pro Brian Thomas Jr., who produced 87 receptions, 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie. The Jags don’t have anybody in the secondary with the potential to do what Hunter can do. That’s why he’s going to shine more on that side of the football.
9) CeeDee Lamb will break the NFL record for receptions in a season.
The Cowboys wide receiver will have an easier life with the return of quarterback Dak Prescott from injury and the arrival of wide receiver George Pickens via trade. Lamb already was one of the best receivers in the game, but those two factors will make him one of the most historic. Think about it. Lamb produced 135 receptions in 2023 with a healthy Prescott, which was 14 catches shy of the league mark of 149 established by former Saints receiver Michael Thomas in 2019. Lamb also generated 101 catches last season, when Prescott only played in eight games because of a season-ending hamstring injury. You pair Lamb with a receiver as dangerous as Pickens, and it’s likely that opposing defenses will be frustrated on weekly basis. Lamb has put together three straight 100-catch seasons despite being the focus of defenses tasked with stopping Dallas’ passing attack every year. With all the freedom coming his way this fall, CeeDee’s going to go off.
10) Kirk Cousins will start for another team this year.
It’s so difficult to navigate an NFL season, and it’s a safe bet that some hopeful team eventually will need quarterback help because of injury. Prescott was one of four different signal-callers who didn’t finish last season because of injury. Two years ago, the Browns started five quarterbacks, while the Vikings and Jets each started four. It’s a fact of life: Quarterbacks go down in this league. This is why Cousins has a decent shot of playing some place this year. It didn’t work out in Atlanta — the Falcons gave him $100 million in guaranteed money as a free agent last offseason and then gave his job to rookie Michael Penix Jr. for the final three games — but the franchise didn’t deal Cousins over the past few months. That leaves him trying to play the good soldier as a backup until a viable opportunity arises. If history tells us anything, some team will come calling for him sooner or later.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS
COLLEGE FOOTBALL LEADERS EVALUATING WEEK 0 START TO SEASON
As the back end of the college football season keeps expanding for upper-echelon teams, a proposal is now on the table to turn the early Week 0 window for select games into the new start to the season.
By moving the season up one week for all teams, not just those who obtain a waiver for an early start, the college football season would gain a 12th week as soon as 2026. It would also give teams an option for an additional bye week during the season.
All of the discussion about when to start the season comes as changes to the College Football Playoff format have been tabled for now. After moving to a 12-team playoff last season, the postseason could expand to as many as 16 teams with five automatic qualifiers and 11 at-large teams.
The proposed changes to the front and back ends of the schedule have come at the current gathering of Division I conference commissioners this week at Asheville, N.C.
“My view is we should have a consistent start date,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told Yahoo Sports. “The adage is teams make their most substantial improvement between games one and two. I think we should have a consistent start date. Labor Day weekend has been a good start date for college football.”
The new start date proposal would move Labor Day weekend to the second week of the season.
There are four games scheduled for Week 0 this season (Aug. 23): Kansas State and Iowa State will meet in Dublin, Ireland, while Fresno State is at Kansas, Sam Houston is at Western Kentucky and Stanford will play at Hawaii.
ATHLON SPORTS PREDICTS 12-TEAM 2025 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF FIELD, NATIONAL CHAMPION
The 2025 college football season is swiftly approaching, meaning the march toward a potential College Football Playoff bid has begun. The 12-team format will be utilized for the second season, with some notable changes.
This season’s College Football Playoff format will move to a straight-seeding model, meaning the top four teams in the final CFP rankings will receive a first-round bye. The changes come after the selection committee faced criticism when last season’s final rankings saw ninth-ranked Boise State (Mountain West) and 12th-ranked Arizona State (Big 12) earn first-round byes as conference champions.
With those changes in mind, Athlon Sports recently took a stab at predicting this season’s 12-team College Football Playoff field, along with the entire bracket and national champion. The predicted bids from each conference break down as follows: SEC (4), Big Ten (3), ACC (2), Big 12 (1), Mountain West (1), Independent (1).
First Round Byes:
No. 1 seed – Texas Longhorns (Sugar Bowl)
Texas is expected to enjoy its best season yet under head coach Steve Sarkisian, if Athlon Sports’ predictions come true. The Longhorns have been to the last two College Football Playoffs, and all signs point toward a third-straight appearance for Texas in 2025.
The biggest question mark for then Longhorns comes under center. Arch Manning has little experience as a starting quarterback at the college level, but is predicted to be one of the top quarterbacks in the country this season. If he plays up to his expectation, Texas will be hard to bet against this fall.
NO. 2 SEED – PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (COTTON BOWL)
A No. 2 overall seed in the College Football Playoff means that Penn State made it over the hump by not only beating one of, if not both Oregon and Ohio State during the regular season. But it would most likely mean that the Nittany Lions are Big Ten Champions for the first time since 2016.
Much of Penn State’s expectations will be predicated on the performance of quarterback Drew Allar this season. Opting to return to school instead of turning pro, Allar led his program to the playoffs last season and figures to do so again in 2025.
No. 3 seed – Clemson Tigers (Orange Bowl)
Clemson was back in the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019 last season. Defeating SMU in the ACC Championship game, the Tigers forced their way into the final field of 12 with the victory. They became the first three-loss team to make the CFP.
Athlon Sports does not expect the Tigers to taste defeat that often this fall, and that’s backed by their third-overall seeding in their playoff predictions. Just like Texas and Penn State, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik will be under a microscope this season with anything short of a CFP berth being looked at as a disappointment.
No. 4 seed – Kansas State Wildcats (Rose Bowl)
The final first-round bye goes to Kansas State, according to Athlon Sports. This will be the first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff for the Wildcats in year seven under head coach Chris Klieman.
Having won nine or more games in each of the last three seasons, Kansas State appears poised to take that next step in 2025. The Wildcats will not only have a first-round bye, but they’re also the only representative from the Big 12 in this prediction.
First-Round Matchups (Campus Sites):
No. 9 seed Alabama at No. 8 seed LSU
No storyline is needed for a matchup between the Crimson Tide and Tigers in the College Football Playoffs. These two longtime SEC rivals will also play during the regular season on Nov. 18 in Tuscaloosa. In this prediction, LSU would be the home team.
The last time these two teams met up came during the 2024 regular season. Alabama defeated LSU in Baton Rouge 42-13.
No. 12 seed Boise State at No. 5 seed Ohio State
This 5-12 seed matchup would be a first-ever meeting between these two programs. With Boise State expected to repeat as the Group of 6 representative in the College Football Playoff and MWC champion, they face stiff competition on the road against the defending national champions.
Despite being predicted to return to the CFP, for the second-straight season Ohio State would miss out on a first-round bye. This turned out to be a non-issue for the eventual CFP champions, but is interesting to see the Nittany Lions selected over the Buckeyes in this bracket.
No. 11 seed Miami at No. 6 seed Georgia
Carson Beck versus his old team would arguably be the most intriguing storyline entering this bracket. One year after leading the Bulldogs to a CFP bid, despite getting hurt one game before in the SEC title game, Beck’s return to Athens in a different uniform writes itself.
Miami narrowly missed out on the CFP last season, and to get there this season would be a major boost to head coach Mario Cristobal’s reputation in Coral Gables. Meanwhile, Georgia is looking to win its third national title since 2021.
No. 10 seed Oregon at No. 7 seed Notre Dame
Last season’s No. 1 overall seed vs. the eventual national runners up would make for an interesting matchup in the first round. Despite the success these two programs have enjoyed in the past, it would be the third time in history that they’ve met on the gridiron and first since 1982.
Oregon has never beat Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish won the first meeting in 1976 before the second meeting several years later. That matchup, played in Eugene, ended in a 13-13 tie.
Predicted National Champion
Athlon Sports predicts the Texas Longhorns to win the 2025 National Championships. The Longhorns not only earn the No. 1 overall seed in the publication’s prediction, but also has them taking down LSU in the Sugar Bowl, Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, and Penn State in the College Football Playoff championship game.
The national title win would be the first for Steve Sarkisian as a head coach. It would also be the first championship for the program since Mack Brown led them to the BCS championship game in 2009. Texas came up just short of the final game last season, losing to Ohio State in heartbreaking fashion in the national semifinal.
WISCONSIN SUES MIAMI OVER TRANSFER TAMPERING IN A LEGAL FIRST
The University of Wisconsin sued the University of Miami on Friday, formally accusing the Florida school of tampering with a football player under a financial contract with the Badgers.
The decision to sue could become a watershed moment in the current era of college athletics. Never before has a university accused another of tampering with one of its athletes, who did not have contracts before the dawn of name, image and likeness rights this decade.
“While we reluctantly bring this case, we stand by our position that respecting and enforcing contractual obligations is essential to maintaining a level playing field,” the school said in a statement provided to ESPN on Friday.
Though Wisconsin’s lawsuit only refers to the player as Student Athlete A, the subject of the case is cornerback Xavier Lucas, who left Wisconsin and enrolled at Miami over the winter without ever entering the transfer portal.
It was reported at the time that Wisconsin refused to put Lucas’ name in the transfer portal. Lucas signed a two-year contract with the Badgers in December 2024 — a deal that gave the football program nonexclusive rights to use his NIL but also prohibited him from committing to enroll or participate in athletics at another school.
Lucas enrolled at Miami in January.
Wisconsin’s lawsuit alleges that a Miami staffer and a prominent alumnus of the school met with Lucas and his family and offered him money to transfer.
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NHL NEWS
STARS SIGN D NILS LUNDKVIST TO 1-YEAR CONTRACT
The Dallas Stars re-signed defenseman Nils Lundkvist to a one-year, $1.25 million contract on Friday.
Lundkvist, 24, recorded five assists and a plus-4 rating in 39 games this past season.
“Nils brings a unique combination of offensive ability and defensive reliability to our lineup,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said in a statement.
“His puck-moving skills, vision, and hockey sense are assets that elevate our game in transition. We’re thrilled to have him back and excited to see how he continues to grow and contribute to our success.”
Lundkvist has totaled 44 points (nine goals, 35 assists) in 183 career games with the New York Rangers and Stars. The Swede was selected by the Rangers with the 28th overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft before being traded to Dallas on Sept. 19, 2022 in exchange for a conditional first-round selection in the 2023 draft and a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2025 draft.
The Stars also signed forward Mavrik Bourque to a one-year, $950,000 contract extension. Bourque, 23, recorded 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 73 games last season.
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GOLF NEWS
JEENO THITIKUL EXTENDS LEAD TO THREE AT WOMEN’S PGA
World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul is halfway home to her first major victory, as she will take a three-shot lead into the weekend at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Frisco, Texas.
The 22-year-old star from Thailand followed a first-round 68 with a 2-under-par 70 on Friday to reach 6-under 138 at the Fields Ranch East course at PGA Frisco.
She has a comfortable edge over Australia’s Minjee Lee, who shot even-par 72, and Japan’s Rio Takeda, who birdied her final hole (No. 9) and four of her last six for a 71.
Lexi Thompson also posted a 70 in the second round and holds fourth place at 2 under.
The course played even tougher than the day before, and only one player managed to break 70. England’s Charley Hull posted a 3-under 69 to move to 3 over and ensure she’ll make the cut after an opening-round 78 set her back.
Thitikul entered the day with a one-shot lead and spent most of her round hovering around even par. After beginning on the back nine, she had two birdies and two bogeys through 16 holes before a birdie-birdie finish. Thitikul made a 12 1/2-foot putt at the par-3 eighth before two-putting from 59 feet at the par-5 ninth.
Thitikul has five wins to her credit on the LPGA Tour and placed in the top 10 of seven majors. Now she will get to play from ahead and defend her lead in a high-pressure situation.
“I think it’s depend on the wind,” Thitikul said of the weekend to come. “If you can be committing with the wind you see and then calculating really good and putting yourself like tee-to-green really well and then making par, I think it’s good enough.”
Thompson had a bogey-free round nearly in the bag before stumbling at No. 18 when her approach found a bunker.
Thompson, 30, stopped competing full-time after 2024, but she is making her seventh start of 2025 and is in great form, having tied for fourth last week at the Meijer LPGA Classic.
“When I’m home I’m grinding and practicing and still working on my game,” Thompson said. “Any time I tee it up — even saying I was stepping away from a full-time schedule, any time I tee it up I want to come out here and compete and win.”
A win this weekend would give Thompson her second career major title, 11 years after her first.
The only American in red figures besides Thompson is Auston Kim, who shot 72 Friday and is tied for fifth at 1 under with South Korea’s Somi Lee (73) and Japan’s Chisato Iwai (72).
Kim would be a major upset story if she were to win on Sunday. She is ranked No. 98 in the world, has never won on tour and never finished better than tied for 30th at a major.
“My mindset today was just staying in it,” Kim said of her two-birdie, two-bogey round. “I didn’t really feel like I had hit any superhuman shots. I didn’t want to. I didn’t have to chop it out of the rough today like I did (Thursday). I think that’s just a testament to how smart I was playing.”
World No. 1 Nelly Korda turned in a 2-over 74 to slide to 2 over for the tournament, tied for 16th.
The projected cut line was 7 over par, meaning Rose Zhang (79 Friday) will squeak in on the number. Notable names to miss the cut included Allisen Corpuz (8 over), South Korea’s A Lim Kim (8 over), defending champion Amy Yang of South Korea (9 over) and two-time major winner Lilia Vu (9 over).
Former World No. 1 Jin Young Ko of South Korea withdrew due to illness. She was on track to miss the cut after an opening-round 74.
–Field Level Media
TIM PETROVIC, STEVEN ALKER JOIN LEAD AT KAULIG COMPANIES CHAMPIONSHIP
Tim Petrovic fired a 66 and New Zealand’s Steven Alker posted a 67 to join Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina for the 36-hole lead at the Kaulig Companies Championship, the third major of the PGA Tour Champions season, on Friday in Akron, Ohio.
Gonzalez was a first-round co-leader and shot 68 on Friday to stay in contention. The leading trio is 5-under-par 135 after two rounds, one ahead of Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, whose 66 Friday brought him to 4 under. Sweden’s Freddie Jacobson (67) is alone in fifth at 3 under.
Petrovic balanced seven birdies against three bogeys Friday at Firestone Country Club, finishing by rolling in a birdie putt at the par-4 ninth to grab his share of the lead.
Petrovic, 58, is the surprise of the week thus far. He has yet to win on the PGA Tour Champions and entered the week a pedestrian 38th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.
“I’ve been hitting it well the last few weeks and I just haven’t had much to show for it because I haven’t really had many putts,” Petrovic said. “Then made a couple long putts early, I’m like, ‘Oh, wait a second, maybe we’ve got something going here.’”
Alker, the 2022 and 2024 Schwab Cup winner, is hunting for his second senior major championship. He birdied four of his first six holes Friday before dropping off a bit, with two bogeys and a birdie the rest of the way.
“If you get a good start around this golf course you kind of don’t have to be as aggressive as you normally would be,” Alker said. “Yeah, just pleased to get under par again out here.”
One of the rounds of the day belonged to Jimenez, the current Schwab Cup leader with three wins under his belt already in 2025.
He was 5 under par through 16 holes before taking his only bogey of the round at No. 17. If not for that bogey, he’d be part of the tie at the top.
“You need to have a lot of patience here,” Jimenez said of Firestone. “It’s a golf course that you have a couple slopes in the fairway, 4, 8, 9 … It’s a very fair golf course overall. You need to hit good, here is no luck, you need to hit good to score well.”
Angel Cabrera of Argentina, the PGA Tour Champions newcomer who won the first two majors of the season, is not far behind at 1 under after shooting 68 Friday.
–Field Level Media
JUSTIN THOMAS, TOMMY FLEETWOOD TIE SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER FOR TRAVELERS LEAD
Justin Thomas and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood joined Scottie Scheffler atop the Travelers Championship leaderboard on Friday in Cromwell, Conn.
Thomas rolled in five birdies in a row and Fleetwood pocketed a pair of eagles on the back nine at TPC River Highlands to rocket up the leaderboard. Thomas posted a 6-under-par 64, tied for the low round of the day, and Fleetwood shot a 65 to reach 9-under 131 for the tournament.
Scheffler, the defending champion who held a share of the lead after opening with a 62, managed a 69 that included a water ball and a double bogey at No. 17.
The trio was one stroke ahead of Australian Jason Day, who posted his second straight round of 66 to get to 8 under. Austin Eckroat, who was tied with Scheffler through 18 holes, struggled to a 71 Friday to land tied for fifth with Denny McCarthy (64).
Thomas was 1 under through his round and coming off a bogey at No. 10 when he caught fire. A 15 1/2-foot birdie at the par-3 11th hole got him going, and he capped the run with a pair of even longer putts: 26 feet at No. 14 and 27 feet at No. 15.
“I didn’t feel like I drove it very well,” Thomas said. “I kept it in play and kept it in front of me, which is a big part of it, but I just kind of kept it out of trouble. I would much prefer to be hitting the middle of the club face and doing that, but it’s still a good sign on a really windy day like this.”
Fleetwood’s eagles came at the par-5 13th and par-4 15th holes. After reaching the green in two and making a 10-footer at the 13th, he pitched in from in front of the green at No. 15 — which was playing just 299 yards — and holed out from 90 feet.
“(At) 15, the tee shot there was unbelievable looking at it, and it pitched right into that upslope, and I was a bit gutted where it pitched and then chipped it in,” Fleetwood said. “Would have been happy walking off — obviously walking off with two birdies, but two eagles was a big bonus.”
Scheffler and the rest of the field battled unusual wind gusts that threw them off.
“I would use ‘robotic’ as maybe the word. It’s not as robotic,” the World No. 1 said. “I think when you’re playing under no conditions or very light winds, I think you can hit a similar flight on every single shot and it would be fine. On days like today you have to work the ball both ways. You have to hit low shots, hit high shots. You’re always playing a different type of shot, especially in conditions like this.”
He was in agreement with Day, who had a busy day with seven birdies and three bogeys.
“You wake up, and I knew I had an afternoon tee time, and I’m sitting in my bus and the bus is moving,” Day said. “I’m like, ‘That’s pretty strong wind to move the bus.’
“Then you get out here and I decide to check the weather, and it was 15 to 20 miles an hour but gusts of 40. That’s usually one where you’re like — you’re looking forward to it, but you also know it’s going to be a grind through the day.”
U.S. Ryder Cup captain and 2023 Travelers winner Keegan Bradley posted an even-par 70 and is tied at 6 under with Canada’s Nick Taylor (68). Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy had five bogeys against four birdies for a 1-over 71, dropping to 5 under with Eric Cole (67), Patrick Cantlay (68) and Harris English (68).
The $20 million signature event does not include a 36-hole cut. Ireland’s Shane Lowry (73 on Friday; 5 over for the tournament), Rickie Fowler (77; 7 over) and Tony Finau (74; 7 over) all continued to struggle with their respective games.
–Field Level Media
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NASCAR NEWS
STUBBS: BEST TRACKS FOR 5 MARQUEE DRIVERS TO CLAIM FIRST WINS OF ’25
With 16 races of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season complete going into Sunday’s 400-miler at Pocono Raceway, several stars remain winless as the circuit nears the halfway mark.
Here are five big-name drivers who have yet to win this season — and the track where they’re most likely to break through.
–Chase Elliott
Elliott has been consistent this year, as he sits fourth in points and has yet to finish outside the top-20. But that consistency hasn’t translated to race-winning speed very often, as Elliott has only led 95 laps. This is a rare situation where numbers do lie — statistically, the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has looked the part of a championship contender, but he’s failing the eye test.
Pocono history: 15 starts, one win (2022), four top-fives, 10 top-10s
Track where’s most likely to break through: Watkins Glen (Aug. 10)
Elliott has won twice before at Watkins Glen, and while his last victory at the New York road course came in 2019, it remains one of his best tracks. Eliott has not won on a road course in the Next-Gen car, but he’s finished top-five in both road course races this season.
–Tyler Reddick
Big things were expected of Reddick after a Championship 4 appearance in 2024, but those expectations are yet to be realized. The No. 45 team has shot itself in the foot several times in recent weeks, and while Reddick is all set to coast into the playoffs on points, it’s slightly worrying that he’s been unable to get back to victory lane in the 23XI Racing Toyota.
Pocono history: Seven starts, zero wins, two top-fives, four top-10s
Track where he’s most likely to break through: Chicago Street Course (July 6)
Reddick was the runner-up in Chicago a year ago and has turned into a fantastic road racer in recent years. Chicago is as big of a wild card as any race on the schedule, but that may be exactly what Reddick needs in order to see the checkered flag.
–Chase Briscoe
Briscoe’s first year at Joe Gibbs Racing has seen its share of highs and lows and his playoff positioning is in jeopardy, but a win would solve that problem. A lack of overall pace hasn’t been the issue, seeing as Briscoe won three consecutive poles at Charlotte, Nashville and Michigan, but being unable to put an entire race together has cost the No. 19 Toyota team.
Pocono history: Five starts, zero wins, zero top-fives, zero top-10s
Track where he’s most likely to break through: Dover (July 20)
Dover hasn’t been great for Briscoe, who doesn’t have a top-10 at the track in four starts. But the No. 19 team with Martin Truex Jr. knew how to get around the “Monster Mile,” as Truex won at the one-mile oval in 2023 and finished third in 2024. If crew chief James Small can use those notes, Briscoe could snag his first win with JGR.
–Ryan Preece
Preece and the brand new No. 60 team have put together a solid season so far for RFK Racing. He is only 19 points out of the playoffs going into Pocono, and has shown winning speed in several races this season. With a cut line that will be constantly moving over the next 10 weeks, a win is his best bet — and his only sure one — to make the playoffs.
Pocono history: Eight starts, zero wins, zero top-fives, one top-10
Track where he’s most likely to break through: Richmond (Aug. 16)
Short tracks are clearly Preece’s best track type, and while Richmond doesn’t appear to be a great track for him on the stat sheet, it’s probably his best shot to win at a non-superspeedway.
–Kyle Busch
For the second straight year, Busch is in danger of missing the playoffs. With his winless streak officially eclipsing two full seasons, a win for Busch in one of the last 10 races would be one of the biggest of his career.
Pocono history: 37 starts, four wins (2017-19, 2021), 11 top-fives, 18 top-10s
Track where he’s most likely to break through: Daytona (Aug. 23)
It’s hard to trust that Busch and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevy will have winning pace at any track other than the drafting ovals of Atlanta and Daytona. Daytona in particular seems to be a better track for Busch, who had a runner-up finish at the 2.5-mile tri-oval in August 2024.
–Samuel Stubbs, Field Level Media
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TOP INDIANA NEWS HEADLINES/RELEASES
INDIANA FEVER
(FEVER RELEASE)
EIGHT INDIANA FEVER PLAYERS LEAD WAY IN WNBA 2025 ALL-STAR FAN VOTING FIRST RETURNS
INDIANAPOLIS (June 20, 2025) — Today, the WNBA announced the first fan returns in WNBA All-Star Voting 2025, presented by Ally, with eight Indiana Fever players included in the Top 40 – the most of any team. Four players are included in the leading 10, including 2024 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year and 2024 All-WNBA First Team selection Caitlin Clark – who led fan voting last season – as well as Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull.
Fans can continue submitting their votes at the link here.
The eight Fever players included in the Top 40 of fan first returns are:
1. Caitlin Clark, Guard – 515,993
3. Aliyah Boston, Frontcourt – 446,961
7. Kelsey Mitchell, Guard – 277,664
9. Lexie Hull, Guard – 217,438
16. Natasha Howard, Frontcourt – 158,331
23. Sophie Cunningham, Guard – 95,116
30. Damiris Dantas, Frontcourt – 72,262
38. DeWanna Bonner, Frontcourt – 56,775
After all votes are tallied, players will be ranked by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups – fan votes, player votes and media votes. Each player’s score will be calculated by averaging the weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes. The four guards and six frontcourt players with the best score will be named as starters for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025. Fan voting will serve as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score.
After the starters have been determined, the league’s head coaches will select the 12 reserves. The head coaches will vote for three guards, five frontcourt players and four players at either position regardless of conference. Coaches may not vote for players on their own team. The announcement dates for both the starters and reserves will be shared later this month.
The two All-Star captains – the starters who receive the most fan votes – will then draft their respective rosters by selecting first from the remaining eight players in the pool of starters and then from the pool of 12 reserves. ESPN will broadcast the results of the roster draft for the 2025 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game during an hourlong edition of WNBA Countdown on Tuesday, July 8 (7 p.m. ET).
Throughout the voting period, fans may submit one full ballot each day via WNBA.com and the WNBA App. All WNBA players currently on team rosters will be available for selection. Three “2-for-1 Days” will allow fans to have their votes count twice on June 14, June 20 and June 27 through WNBA.com and the WNBA App voting platforms. Each “2-for-1 Day” will be designated from midnight ET – 11:59 p.m. ET.
INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
BACK-TO-BACK BLASTS BY CLIPPERS DEFEAT INDIANS, 4-2
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Back-to-back home runs by Micah Pries and Milan Tolentino in the fifth inning secured a 4-2 win for the Columbus Clippers over the Indianapolis Indians on Friday night at Huntington Park.
Tied, 1-1, in the bottom of the fifth inning, Thomas Harrington (L, 4-7) issued a leadoff walk to Dom Nuñez. After recording the first out, Pries launched a two-run homer to right field for a 3-1 advantage. Tolentino followed with a solo shot to center field for a 4-1 lead.
The Indians (42-30) opened the scoring in the third inning. Alika Williams doubled on the first pitch of the frame, and he advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Ronny Simon roped a single up the middle to bring home Williams for a 1-0 lead.
The Clippers (32-38) knotted things in the bottom of the fourth inning, 1-1, when Brayan Rocchio tripled with one out. C.J. Kayfus brought him home on a single but was thrown out by left fielder Nick Solak attempting to advance to second base.
Following the fifth-inning homers, a sacrifice pop up from Williams scored Brett Sullivan to cut the deficit, 4-2, in the seventh inning. As the ball drifted deep into foul territory in shallow right field, Sullivan tagged up and beat the first baseman’s throw to the plate. Indy loaded the bases with one out in the eighth inning but did not cash in.
Clippers RHP Vince Velasquez (W, 4-2) allowed just one run across 6.0 innings in his fourth win of the campaign. Harrington allowed four runs across 5.1 innings with six strikeouts, taking his seventh loss. Luis Frías (S, 3) blanked Indianapolis in the ninth inning for his third save.
This week’s six-game series between Indianapolis and Columbus continues on Saturday night at 7:05 PM. Indy is yet to name a starter and LHP Joey Cantillo (0-0, 1.80) is set to take the mound for the Clippers.
INDY ELEVEN
(ELEVEN RELEASE)
#INDVLV PREVIEW
- Indy Eleven vs. Las Vegas Lights FC
Sat., June 21, 2025 – 7:00 p.m. - Carroll Stadium – Indianapolis
- Follow Live
- Watch: WISH-TV
- Stream: CBS Sports Golazo Network
- In-game updates: IndyEleven
Stats: #INDvLV MatchCenter at USLChampionship.com
2025 USL Championship Records
Indy Eleven: 3-3-5 (-1), 14 pts; #8 in Eastern Conference
Las Vegas Lights FC: 4-6-3 (-9), 15 pts; 8th in Western Conference
Setting the Scene
Indy Eleven hosts Las Vegas Lights FC on Saturday at 7 pm ET on WISH-TV and CBS Sports Golazo Network.
| IND | LV | |
| 11 | Games | 13 |
| 19 | Goals | 9 |
| 46 | SOT | 42 |
| 12 | Assists | 7 |
| 20 | Goals Conceded | 18 |
| 46 | Shots Faced | 51 |
| 2 | Clean Sheets | 7 |
Series
This will be the third meeting with Las Vegas leading 1-0-1.
In the previous matchup on Aug. 24 at Las Vegas, midfielder Jack Blake recorded two first-half assists in the Boys in Blue’s last match prior to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals at Sporting Kansas City.
Vegas took a quick lead in the second minute, but Indy Eleven evened it in the 26th on a beautiful left-footed strike from forward Sebastian Guenzatti off an assist from Blake on a deft strike into the box.
Las Vegas countered in the 43rd to take a 2-1 lead, but Indy Eleven responded with an impressive turn and fire from Elliot Collier in tight space off a quick pass from Blake in the third minute of first-half stoppage time.
- Scoring Summary
- LV – Jean-Claude Ngando (Christian Pinzón) 2’
- IND – Sebastian Guenzatti (Jack Blake) 26’
- LV – Valentin Noël (Christian Pinzón) 43’
- IND – Elliot Collier (Jack Blake) 45’+3
- LV – Khori Bennett (Grayson Doody) 45’+4
- Discipline Summary
- LV – Raiko Arozarena (caution) 21’
- LV – Jean-Claude Ngando (caution) 33’
- LV – Gennaro Nigro (caution) 54’
- IND – Ben Mines (caution) 56’
Indy Eleven line-up: Yannik Oettl, Logan Neidlinger (Karsen Henderlong 84’), James Musa, Josh O’Brien (Ben Ofeimu 45’), Ben Mines, Jack Blake (Maalique Foster 45’), Laurence Wootton (Cam Lindley 72’), Tyler Gibson (captain), Elliot Collier (Ethan O’Brien 63’), Sebastian Guenzatti, Romario Williams.
Indy Eleven Subs Not Used: Hunter Sulte, Maverick McCoy.
Las Vegas Lights line-up: Raiko Arozarena, Gennaro Nigro, Maliek Howell, Emrah Klimenta (Ousman Jabang 45’), Grayson Doody, Christian Pinzón (Coleman Gannon 79’), Jean-Claude Ngando, Andre Fortune II (Charlie Adams 79’), Joe Gyau (Solomon Asante 79’), Khori Bennett (Vaughn Covil 89’), Valentin Noël.
Las Vegas Lights Subs Not Used: Elias Gartig, Austin Wormell, All Gue.
- Match Statistics
- Stat LV IND
- Shots 20 9
- Shots on Target 7 3
- Saves 1 4
- Fouls 11 14
- Offsides 0 1
- Corner Kicks 8 4
In the only meeting at Carroll Stadium, the teams played to a scoreless draw in chilly and windy conditions in the Boys in Blue home opener on April 1, 2023.
Series 0-1-1 | GF 2, GA 3
- Previous Meetings
- Aug. 24, 2024 L 3-2 Away
- Apr. 1, 2023 T 0-0 Home
Ofeimu “Team of the Week”
Defender Ben Ofeimu has been selected to the USL Championship Team of the Week for Week 15 after leading his team to its second consecutive clean sheet in a 1-0 win vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Saturday. The Boys in Blue have had nine different players named to the Team of the Week in 2025!
It is the sixth time that the 24-year-old Ofeimu has earned this recognition since he was acquired by Indy Eleven on April 11, 2024, and his third first-team selection.
The West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, native anchored the defense with 15 clearances vs. Pittsburgh, surpassing his previous Boys in Blue best of 12 at Pittsburgh last season. The 6’4 Ofeimu also led his team in tackles won (2) and he added three aerial duels won, 64 touches, 31 completed passes (six in the final third), one chance created, and a shot on Saturday.
The seven-year USLC veteran is tied for 19th in the league in clearances with 58 this season, and he is tied for second on the team in aerial duels won (23) and blocks (5).
Second Straight 1-0 Win in June
Midfielder Jack Blake netted the game-winning goal in first half stoppage time off a smooth sequence from midfielder Aodhan Quinn to give Indy Eleven a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Saturday.
The game-winning goal came in the second minute of added time after a forced turnover by defender Finn McRobb. McRobb quickly pushed the ball to Quinn, who threaded a pass in front of the goal. Blake controlled the ball with a quick double touch before slotting a left-footed shot into the goal. It was Blake’s third goal of the season and his 35th career strike in the USL Championship.
Quinn, who has been dominant in the midfield, recorded his fifth assist of the season, tied for second in the USLC. The veteran midfielder is tied for third all-time in the league with 55 career assists, and has 111 total goal contributions (56 goals, 55 assists), ranking 22nd all-time.
Defensively, the Boys in Blue recorded their second straight shutout. Goalkeeper Hunter Sulte opened the match with an early clearance and earned his 11th clean sheet with Indy Eleven, good for a tie for second on the franchise all-time list with Owain Fon Williams.
Ben Ofeimu and Elvis Amoh each recorded key defensive saves in the first half to deny Pittsburgh inside the box. Defender Pat Hogan added a crucial block in the 30th minute to keep the clean sheet intact. Hogan maintained his lead in the USLC in clearances with 86.
Indy controlled much of the first-half possession and nearly broke through in the 17th minute when Amoh fired a shot from inside the box that was deflected, leading to a right-footed strike from Blake that just went a bit wide. Moments later, Quinn tested Pittsburgh keeper Eric Dick with a strong effort inside the box.
The Boys in Blue earned several corners throughout the match, including three from midfielder James Murphy. Murphy continued to press through Pittsburgh’s defense early in the second half, with an assisted shot by Blake. Pittsburgh pushed late but was denied by a key defensive stop from Quinn after a dangerous shot inside the box.
- USL Championship Assists in Consecutive Games Streaks
- 2. Aodhan Quinn (PHX) 5 2021
- 4. Aodhan Quinn (OC) 4 2018
- Aodhan Quinn (IND) 4 May 3-28, 2025
- USL Championship Regular Season 55 Goals & 30 Assists
- 1. Enzo Martinez (BHM) – 76 goals, 51 assists
- 2. Aodhan Quinn (IND) – 56 goals, 55 assists
- USL Championship Regular Season Goal Contributions
- 3. Aodhan Quinn (IND) 111 (56 goals & 55 assists)*
- 4. Solomon Asante 110 (52 goals, 58 assists)
- Aodhan Quinn USLC All-Time Rankings
- Games Started | 259 | 1st
- Minutes | 22,720 | 2nd
- Assists | 55 | T 3rd
- Appearances | 273 | 5th
- Indy Eleven Goals in a 5-Game Stretch
- Elvis Amoh 7 Apr. 19-May 10, 2025
- Tyler Pasher 6 Nov. 2, 2019-July 22, 2020
- Augi Williams 5 May 8-22, 2024
- Manuel Arteaga 5 June 4-18, 2022
- Eamon Zayed 5 July 13-Aug. 3, 2016
- Eamon Zayed 5 May 21-June 11, 2016
- Blake Smith 5 May 28-June 17, 2014
- Indy Eleven Goals in Consecutive Games Streaks
- Tyler Pasher 6 Nov. 2, 2019-July 22, 2020
- Elvis Amoh 5 Apr. 19-May 10, 2025
- Augi Williams 4 May 8-22, 2024
- Sebastian Guenzatti 3 Aug. 26-Sept. 15, 2023
- Stefano Pinho 3 May 28-June 8, 2022
- Tyler Pasher 3 June 1-15, 2019
- Dane Kelly 3 Apr. 15-28, 2019
- Dane Richards 3 Aug. 19-29, 2015
- Kleberson 3 July 19-Aug. 2, 2014
- USLC 50+ Regular Season Goals Best Strike Rate
- 7. Romario Williams – 62 goals, 153 app., 160.7 mins/goal
USL Career Regular Season Rankings
Individual Rankings
- Goals
- 17. Romario Williams (IND) – 62
- 23. Aodhan Quinn (IND) – 56
- Assists
- 2. Solomon Asante – 58
- 3. Danny Barrera – 55
- Aodhan Quinn (IND) – 55
- Games Started
- 1. Aodhan Quinn (IND) – 259
- 2. Sean Totsch (LOU) – 255
- Minutes
- 1. Sean Totsch (LOU) – 22,979
- 2. Aodhan Quinn (IND) – 22,720
- Appearances
- 4. Yann Akra – 277
- 5. Aodhan Quinn (IND) – 273
- Team Leaders
- Stat Player Number
- Goals Elvis Amoh 4
- Assists Aodhan Quinn 5
- Shots Jack Blake 21
- Shots on Target Jack Blake 9
- Chances Created James Murphy 14
- Crosses Aedan Stanley 27
- Fouls Won Jack Blake 20
- Duels Won Elvis Amoh 49
- Aerial Duels Won Pat Hogan 30
- Clearances Pat Hogan 86
- Blocks Pat Hogan 7
- Interceptions James Musa 17
- Tackles Won James Murphy 15
- Passes James Murphy 489
- Minutes James Musa 990
USL CHAMPIONSHIP STATS
- Individual
- Category Player Rank Total
- Clearances Pat Hogan 1 86
- James Musa 11 68
- Ben Ofeimu T19 58
- Assists Aodhan Quinn T2 5
- Jack Blake T20 2
- Maalique Foster T20 2
- Shots Jack Blake T10 21
- Interceptions James Musa 12 17
- Goals Elvis Amoh T15 4
- Clean Sheets Hunter Sulte T15 2
- Saves Hunter Sulte T18 23
- Shots on Target Jack Blake T18 9
- Team
- Category Rank Total
- First-Half Goals T3 11
- Goals 6 19
- Conversion Rate 6 18%
- Shots 18 124
USL CHAMPIONSHIP HONORS
- Elvis Amoh
- Jägermeister Cup Team of the Round-Bench (4/29)
- USL Championship Team of the Week (Week 8/9 – 5/6)
- Jack Blake
- USL Championship Team of the Week (Week 2 – 3/18)
- USL Jägermeister Cup Team of the Round (4/29)
- Maalique Foster
- USLC Team of the Week – Bench (Week 4 – 4/1)
- USLC Team of the Week (Week 5 – 4/8)
- Pat Hogan
- USL Championship Team of the Week (Week 2 – 3/18)
- Ben Ofeimu
- USL Championship Team of the Week (Week 15 – 6/17)
- Aodhan Quinn
- USLC Goal of the Week nominee (Week 4 – 4/1)
- Bruno Rendon
- USL Championship Team of the Week (Week 3 – 3/25)
- Hunter Sulte
- USL Championship Team of the Week (Weeks 13/14 – 6/10)
- Romario Williams
- USL Championship Team of the Week (Weeks 13/14 – 6/10)
COACH SEAN McAULEY
Head coach Sean McAuley earned the USLC “Coach of the Month” last May and he was a nominee for USLC Midseason “Coach of the Year” after leading his team to a 12-match unbeaten streak in a two-month span from April 17 through June 15.
The Sheffield, England, native led Indy Eleven to the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals with four straight wins, including a 2-1 victory at MLS-side Atlanta United.
McAuley is in his second season in Indy after previously serving as interim head coach/assistant at MLS-side Minnesota United FC. McAuley helped Minnesota to playoff appearances in his first three seasons, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2020.
In 2015, he hoisted the MLS Cup with the Portland Timbers. McAuley began his playing career with Manchester United and played for Portland Timbers and the Scottish U-21 National Team.
USLC: 17-14-14 | USOC: 5-1-1 | OVERALL: 24-15-15 (.583)
TEAM HIGH/LOWS
- Single-Match Highs
- Shots: 17 | May 28 vs HFD
- SOT: 8 | Mar. 15 at MIA
- Possession: 58.4% | May 28 vs HFD
- Corners: 11 | Mar. 29 vs COS
- Single-Match Lows
- Shots: 4 | June 4 at BHM
- SOT: 1 | June 4 at BHM
- Possession: 30.2% | May 10 at SAC
- Corners: 1 | Mar. 22 at LEX, May 10 at SAC, June 4 at BHM
- Opponent Highs
- Shots: 20 | June 4 at BHM
- SOT: 7 | May 28 vs HFD
- Possession: 69.8% | May 10 at SAC
- Corners: 8 | Mar. 29 vs COS, May 10 at SAC
- Opponent Lows
- Shots: 4 | June 14 vs PIT
- SOT: 0 | June 14 vs PIT
- Possession: 41.6% | May 28 vs HFD
- Corners: 2 | May 16 at ELP
USL Championship Regular-Season Player Milestones
- 60 Goals
- Romario Williams – 62
- 50 Goals
- Aodhan Quinn – 56
- 40 Goals
- Elvis Amoh – 44
- 30 Goals
- Jack Blake – 35
- 20 Goals
- Maalique Foster – 20
- Edward Kizza – (19)
- Elliot Collier – (18)
- 50 Assists
- Aodhan Quinn – 55
- 20 Assists
- Cam Lindley – 28 (T25 on USLC All-Time List)
- Jack Blake – 23
- 15 Assists
- Maalique Foster – 16
- James Murphy – 16
- Aedan Stanley – 15
- 110 Goals+Assists
- Aodhan Quinn – 110 (56 goals, 55 assists)
- 70 Goals+Assists
- Romario Williams – 73 (62 goals, 11 assists)
- 50 Goals+Assists
- Jack Blake – 58 (35 goals, 23 assists)
- Elvis Amoh – 52 (44 goals, 8 assists)
- 30 Goals+Assists
- Maalique Foster – 36 (20 goals, 16 assists)
- Cam Lindley – 33 (5 goals, 28 assists)
- 20 Goals+Assists
- Elliot Collier – 25 (18 goals, 7 assists)
- Edward Kizza – 21 (19 goals, 2 assists)
- 10 Penalties Converted (attempted)
- Aodhan Quinn – 25 (28)
- Jack Blake – 11 (13)
- Romario Williams – 8 (10)
- 250 Appearances
- Aodhan Quinn – 273
- 200 Appearances
- James Musa – 213
- 150 Appearances
Jack Blake – 180
Cam Lindley – 169 - Romario Williams – 155
- 100 Appearances
- Elvis Amoh – 140
- Ben Ofeimu – 138
Aedan Stanley – 138 - Elliot Collier – 117
- Pat Hogan – (98)
- 250 Games Started
- Aodhan Quinn – 259
- 200 Games Started
- James Musa – 200
- 150 Games Started
- Jack Blake – 152
- 100 Games Started
- Cam Lindley – 146
- Aedan Stanley – 134
- James Murphy – 119
- Romario Williams – 115
- 20,000 Minutes
- Aodhan Quinn – 22,720
- 15,000 Minutes
- James Musa – 17,620
- 10,000 Minutes
- Jack Blake – 12,926
Cam Lindley – 12,656 - Aedan Stanley – 12,025
- James Murphy – 10,651
- Ben Ofeimu – 10,363
- Romario Williams – (9,789)
- ROSTER BREAKDOWN
- Goalkeepers (3): Reice Charles-Cook, ^Ryan Hunsucker, Hunter Sulte
- Defenders (9): Pat Hogan, ^Maverick McCoy, Finn McRobb, James Musa, Josh O’Brien, Ben Ofeimu, Bruno Rendon, Aedan Stanley, Hayden White
- Midfielders (7): Jack Blake, Oliver Brynéus, Cam Lindley, James Murphy, Logan Neidlinger, Aodhan Quinn, Brem Soumaoro
- Forwards (5): Elvis Amoh, Elliot Collier, Maalique Foster, Edward Kizza, Romario Williams
- ^USL Academy Contract
INDIANA BASEBALL
ALL-AMERICAN HONORS CONTINUE FOR HOOSIERS
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A trio of Indiana baseball players were honored by the latest publication to release its 2025 All-American teams. Baseball American provided its All-American and Freshman All-Americans on Friday (June 20) afternoon, giving a nod to three Hoosiers in the process.
Junior outfielder Devin Taylor is on his way to becoming the third unanimous All-American in program history. He was named a First Team selection by Baseball America, joining Ike Irish (Auburn) and James Quinn-Irons (George Mason) as the top three outfielders in the country this season.
Taylor’s bat was once again outstanding during the 2025 campaign. He slashed .374/.494/.706 while hitting mostly out of the second spot in the lineup. He had a career high in RBIs (66) while providing his usual supply of home runs (18) and base hits (80). He also stole 12 bags while walking 52 times on the year.
It is the fourth All-American honor of the year for Taylor and the sixth in his career. It also puts him within striking distance of program history. Kyle Schwarber and Dustin DeMuth were both unanimous All-Americans in 2014. If Taylor is selected in D1 Baseball’s All-American team, he will become third in IU history to be a unanimous selection.
Redshirt sophomore Korbyn Dickerson – a First Team All-Big Ten selection – was named a Third Team All-American by the outlet. It’s his first career All-American honor after slugging 19 home runs and leading the team with 77 RBIs. He was picked as an All-Big Ten Defensive Team selection in 2025 as well after fielding his spot in center field at a .985 clip.
Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley continues to rack up the Freshman All-American honors after his prolific rookie campaign. He was a Second Team Freshman All-American selection (DH) by Baseball America. He also inches closer to becoming just the second freshman in program history to win four Freshman All-American honors in the same season (Josh Pyne – 2022).
Hanley, if honored by D1 Baseball, would be the first IU freshman in program history to be selected by all four major outlets in the same season. He would hold the title as Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a unanimous Freshman All-American in the same season.
Taylor’s Postseason Honors (2025)
– First Team All-Big Ten (OF)
– Big Ten All-Tournament Team (OF)
– ABCA/Rawlings Midwest First Team All-Region
– Perfect Game First Team All-American
– NCBWA Second Team All-American
– ABCA Second Team All-American
– Baseball America First Team All-American
Hanley’s Postseason Honors (2025)
– Big Ten Freshman of the Year
– Second Team All-Big Ten (At-Large)
– Big Ten All-Freshman Team (1B)
– ABCA/Rawlings Midwest Second Team All-Region
– Perfect Game First Team Freshman All-American
– NCBWA First Team Freshman All-American
– Baseball America Second Team Freshman All-American
– ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove National Finalist (1B)
Dickerson’s Postseason Honors (2025)
– First Team All-Big Ten (OF)
– Big Ten All-Defensive Team (OF)
– ABCA/Rawlings Midwest First Team All-Region
– Baseball America Third Team All-American
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INDIANA SOFTBALL
BROOKE MANNON SIGNS WITH INDIANA SOFTBALL
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ––– Indiana Softball head coach Shonda Stanton announced the signing of transfer Brooke Mannon to the program.
Mannon comes to Bloomington after spending two seasons at Arizona. Mannon will have two years of eligibility left for the Hoosiers.
The West Jefferson, Ohio, native is a pitcher and utility player.
She made 33 appearances with 15 starts in the circle when at Arizona. In 2025, Mannon made four starts over seven appearances in the circle. She had a 1-0 record, a 3.71 ERA and eight strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched. She also held opposing hitters to a .111 batting average. In her freshman campaign, Mannon made 11 starts in 26 appearances in the circle with a 7-3 record. She compiled a 4.96 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 53.2 innings pitched. She also held opposing batters to a .257 batting average.
As a utility player, she scored three runs and reached on a hit-by-pitch in Tucson.
At Arizona, she was part of two NCAA Tournament teams. Mannon helped the team win the Fayetteville Regional in 2024 before falling in the Super Regional at Oklahoma State. The Wildcats hosted a regional in 2025 as the No. 13 overall national seed and reached the regional final before being eliminated by Ole Miss.
In 2024, she was an NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete.
She prepped at West Jefferson High School and was tabbed as the No. 17 overall recruit in the class of 2023 according to Extra Inning Softball. Mannon was named the 2023 Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year while being heralded as a First Team All-American by Extra Inning Softball.
She was a three-time first-team All-Conference selection, three-time All-State player and a three-time first-team All-Central District standout at West Jefferson.
Mannon played travel ball for the Ohio Hawks and helped them to two Elite 8 finishes in Alliance National Fastpitch.
ELLA TROUTT SIGNS WITH INDIANA SOFTBALL
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ––– Indiana Softball head coach Shonda Stanton announced the signing of transfer Ella Troutt to the program.
Troutt transfer to IU after spending her freshman year at Georgia. She will have three years of eligibility with the Hoosiers.
The Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., native is a pitcher and made six appearances with two starts in the circle in her lone season at Georgia.
She had a 2-0 record with a 7.68 ERA in 13.2 innings pitched and recorded seven strikeouts. She earned victories against Western Carolina (Feb. 16) and UMBC (Feb. 28). Against UMBC, she set a career-high of five strikeouts.
Troutt also scored a run as a pinch runner in a win over Longwood (Feb. 16).
She was a part of Georgia’s 35-win season and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2025. Troutt helped the team to a regional title as the Bulldogs won the Durham Regional and took No. 3 Florida to three games in the Gainesville Super Regional.
Troutt also was named to the SEC’s First Year Academic Honor Roll in this past season.
Prior to Georgia, Troutt was a standout at South Walton High School where she was named team MVP for the Seahawks in her senior year. She concluded the season with a 0.62 ERA, striking out 193 batters in 91 innings for a 2.12 strikeouts per inning average. At the plate, she hit .492 with a .560 on-base percentage, knocking seven home runs and driving in 33 runs.
In travel ball, she played for Georgia Impact and Impact Gold where she helped her team place fifth at the PGF tournament in 2023 and won the Alliance Super Cup Championship and TFL Championship in 2022.
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PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL
JACOBSEN TO REPRESENT USA BASKETBALL IN U19 WORLD CUP
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Basketball has announced that Purdue men’s basketball sophomore Daniel Jacobsen is one of 12 players to make the U-19 National Team roster, the organization announced today.
It marks the second straight year that Jacobsen has made the Junior National Team, helping the USA U-18 team win gold at the AmeriCup last summer in Argentina. Jacobsen was named to the All-Star Five second team after averaging 9.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in just 16.2 minutes per game. He set an AmeriCup record with 19 blocks in the event, surpassing current Indiana Pacers standout Myles Turner (18) for the top USA mark in the tournament’s history.
The 12 athletes will continue to train at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the next few days, before departing for the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup, scheduled June 28 to July 6 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Purdue has been well-represented with USA Basketball on the U18 and U19 squads. Two years ago, Myles Colvin played in the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup in Hungary. Four years ago, both Jaden Ivey and Caleb Furst won gold medals for USA Basketball while Zach Edey won bronze with Team Canada. Both Ivey and Edey were named to the FIBA U19 World Cup 5 All-Star Team with Chet Holmgren, Victor Wenbanyama and Serbia’s Nikola Jovic.
In 2019, Trevion Williams won gold with USA Basketball, while Carsen Edwards won bronze in 2017. Lastly, Caleb Swanigan won gold in 2014 in the U17 World Cup before winning gold in the 2015 U19 World Cup.
Jacobsen becomes the seventh Boilermaker since 2015 to be named to the U19 National Team, by far the most for any school in the country. Kentucky, Duke and Oklahoma State are next with four representatives each.
Jacobsen appeared in just two games for the Boilermakers last season, before a broken leg sidelined him for the season just one minute into the second game of the season. Since his injury, Jacobsen has added about 30 pounds and now stands 7-foot, 4-inches and around 250 pounds. In the opener last season, Jacobsen scored 13 points with seven rebounds and three blocked shots, one of just three Big Ten players in the last 20 years to reach those marks in his college debut.
The team will open pool play on Saturday, June 28, against Australia at 2 p.m. ET. All FIBA U19 World Cup games will be streamed on the FIBA YouTube page.
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INDIANA STATE TRACK
MARTIN TABBED USTFCCCA GREAT LAKES REGION MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD COACH OF THE YEAR
NEW ORLEANS – Indiana State Cross Country and Track and Field Program Director and Head Coach Angela Martin was selected as the 2025 USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year, it was announced Friday by the organization.
Martin, who was named the region’s coach of the year for the third straight season, was also named the MVC Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year. She guided Indiana State to its fourth straight MVC Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship while also leading the Blue and White to the MVC Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field titles during the 2024-25 campaign.
The Sycamores scored 208 points on the men’s side, eclipsing the 200-point mark for the second straight season and becoming the first school since Northern Iowa in 2008 and 2009 with back-to-back 200-point championships on the men’s side. The Sycamores’ four-peat as conference champions was the second in program history, having also accomplished the feat from 2011-14.
Indiana State surpassed the 200-point mark on the men’s side for the second straight season with 208, winning the MVC title by more than 50 points for a second straight year and completing back-to-back 200-point championship scoring totals for the first time in program history. The Sycamores finished with 140.5 points on the women’s side and won the conference title by more than 20 points for a second straight season.
As a team, Indiana State had six conference champions and 18 all-conference honorees in its 2025 MVC Championship run. The Sycamores broke four program records (Casey Hood – 100m; Will Staggs – pole vault; Wyatt Puff – shot put; Emerson Fayman, Trent Jones, Caden Emmert, Jason Dworak – distance medley relay) and set 24 program top-10 marks during the course of the 2024-25 season.
The Sycamores continued to make noise on the national stage this season, with 11 men’s entries in the 2025 NCAA East First Round, marking the third straight season with double-digit men’s entries in the regional round. Will Staggs qualified for the NCAA Outdoor National Championships, where he placed in the top 10 nationally in the pole vault and was a Second Team All-American, while Wyatt Puff broke the school record in the shot put at the NCAA East First Round. Of the 11 entries for the Blue and White at the NCAA East First Round, eight placed above where they were seeded entering the competition, showcasing the Sycamores’ ability to compete with the best in the nation.
Indiana State also had a pair of men’s track and field athletes earn MVC specialty awards this season, continuing their trend of being among the best in the conference under Martin’s direction. Casey Hood Jr. was named the MVC Most Valuable Athlete at the MVC Outdoor Championships after scoring 20.5 points across three events, and he was also the MVC Most Outstanding Men’s Track Athlete as the highest-ranked athlete among conference champions. Will Staggs was named the MVC Elite 18 Award winner, which goes to the student-athlete with the highest GPA to also medal at the conference championships.
Friday’s announcement marks the sixth Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year honor for Martin in her career, having earned two men’s coach of the year honors (2023 outdoor, 2024 outdoor, 2025 outdoor) and three women’s coach of the year accolades (2013 outdoor, 2022 indoor, 2025 indoor). Martin has earned at least one Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year honor in each of the last four seasons.
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VALPO MEN’S BASKETBALL
MEN’S BASKETBALL WELCOMES SADER SERVILUS TO PROGRAM
The Valparaiso University men’s basketball program and head coach Roger Powell Jr. have announced the addition of Sader Servilus (Montreal, Quebec, Canada / Fort Erie International Academy), a 6-foot-4 freshman guard who joins the program for the 2025-26 season.
“I like the coaches, staff and players at Valpo,” Servilus said. “They really want to compete and win. I really like Coach Roger, he tries to make everybody family and I like that a lot. They have a good culture and that made me want to come here right away. Coach really cares about his players. It’s not just about basketball, it’s about life. He’s going to help me grow as a player and as a human being.”
Servilus averaged 18 points, five rebounds and four assists this season en route to National Preparatory Association (NPA) Defensive Player of the Year honors for Fort Erie International Academy in 2024-25. He brings a winning pedigree with him to Northwest Indiana after helping his team to a 30-3 record last season and garnering a national championship while representing Quebec a few years back.
“I bring energy to the court,” he said. “I’m going to do everything I can to win. I’m really happy to have an opportunity to play at the next level; this means a lot to me and my family after all of the work I put in to get there. I can’t wait to play, get better every day and win.”
Servilus also enjoys track & field and soccer. He originally played soccer as a kid, but transitioned to basketball because all of his cousins were playing the sport. He also enjoys watching Anime. He plans to major in psychology at Valpo.
“We’re really excited about this young man,” Powell said. “He embodies grit in his play style, the way he defends and his body size and strength. He has a chip on his shoulder. He continues our tradition of Canadian players, especially tapping back into Montreal. I’m excited for him to come here and grow into a nice player in the Missouri Valley Conference.”
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SMALL COLLEGE WEB SITES
UINDY ATHLETICS: https://athletics.uindy.edu/
MARIAN ATHLETICS: https://muknights.com/
INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/
EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/
WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/
FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/
ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/
ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index
TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index
BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/
DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/
HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/
MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/
HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/
OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx
ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index
IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/
IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/
IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/
PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/
INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx
GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/
ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/
GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/
HOLY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php
TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/
VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index
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“SPORTS EXTRA”
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
June 21
1916 — Rube Foster of the Red Sox pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the New York Yankees. Foster struck out three and walked three and pitched the first no-hitter at Fenway Park.
1938 — Pinky Higgins of the Boston Red Sox extended his consecutive hit string to 12, with eight hits in a doubleheader split with the Detroit Tigers. He went 4 for 4 in an 8-3 win in the opener and 4 for 4 in a 5-4 loss in the nightcap. The next day, Higgins struck out against Vern Kennedy in his first at-bat to end the streak.
1939 — The New York Yankees announced Lou Gehrig’s retirement, based on the report that he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The 36-year-old star remained as the team as captain.
1941 — Lefty Grove’s 20-game consecutive win streak at Fenway Park ended with a 13-9 loss to the St. Louis Browns. The streak spanned from May 3, 1938, to May 12, 1941.
1950 — Joe DiMaggio gets his 2,000th hit, a 7th-inning single off the Indians’Marino Pieretti, as the Yanks win, 8 – 2. DiMaggio joins Luke Appling and Wally Moses as the only active players with 2,000 or more hits.
1956 — In a rare double one-hitter, Chicago’s Jack Harshman outdueled Connie Johnson and George Zuverink of Baltimore as the White Sox beat the Orioles 1-0.
1964 — Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a 6-0 perfect game against the New York Mets in the opener of a Father’s Day doubleheader. Bunning threw 89 pitches and struck out 10, including John Stephenson to end the game. The no-hitter gave Bunning one in each league and Gus Triandos became the first catcher to handle no-hitters in both leagues.
1970 — Detroit Tigers shortstop Cesar Gutierrez had seven hits in seven times at bat in a 9-8, 12-inning victory over the Cleveland Indians. Gutierrez had six singles and a double.
1989 — Carlton Fisk set an American League record for homers by a catcher and drove in three runs to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 7-3 victory over the New York Yankees. Fisk hit his 307th homer as a catcher to pass the Yankees’ Yogi Berra.
2000 — Eric Chavez hit for the cycle in Oakland’s 10-3 win over Baltimore. Chavez doubled in the second inning, singled in the fourth, tripled in the fifth and finished off the cycle with a homer in the seventh.
2005 — Jeff Larish matched a College World Series record with three homers, and J.J. Sferra drove in the game-winning run with a bloop single in the 11th inning as Arizona State rallied for an 8-7 victory and eliminated hometown favorite Nebraska. Larish’s record-tying third homer tied it in the bottom of the ninth, and Sferra’s single in the 11th punctuated the 4-hour, 7-minute game.
2006 — Jose Reyes hit for the cycle in the New York Mets’ 6-5 loss to Cincinnati.
2009 — St. Louis’ Tony La Russa joined Connie Mack (3,831) and John McGraw (2,763) as the only managers with 2,500 victories following a 12-5 win over Kansas City.
2011 — Minnesota tied a major league record by opening with eight consecutive hits against San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner, en route to a 9-2 win. Ben Revere had two hits and two RBIs to highlight an eight-run first inning.
2021 — Jacob deGrom pitches five scoreless innings to lead the Mets to a 4-2 win over the Braves. This extends his scoreless innings streak to 30 innings, lowering his ERA to 0.50. He becomes the first pitcher in history to go twelve straight starts of giving up to one or no earned runs topping the record set by Bob Gibson in 1968.
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June 22
1925 — The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 24-6 with Kiki Cuyler and Pie Traynor each hitting a grand slam and Max Carey getting two hits in the first and eighth innings.
1930 — Lou Gehrig hit three home runs to lead the New York Yankees to a 20-13 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics in the second game of a doubleheader. Babe Ruth, who hit three homers in the nightcap the previous day, hit two homers in the opener and one in the nightcap for the Yankees. Ruth tied major league records for five homers in two games and six homers in three games.
1944 — Jim Tobin of the Boston Braves threw a five-inning 7-0 no-hitter in the second game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies.
1947 — Cincinnati’s Ewell Blackwell almost duplicated Johnny Vander Meer’s double no-hit record by following up his June 18 gem over Boston. Brooklyn’s Eddie Stanky singled with one out in the ninth to end Blackwell’s bid. Blackwell ended up with a 4-0 two-hitter.
1962 — Baltimore Orioles first baseman Boog Powell became the first batter to hit a home run over the center-field hedge at Memorial Stadium. The 469-foot clout came off Don Schwall of the Boston Red Sox.
1982 — Philadelphia’s Pete Rose doubled off St. Louis pitcher John Stuper in the third inning to move into second place on the career hit list. Rose moved ahead of Hank Aaron with hit No. 3,772.
1994 — Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 31st home run of the season in Seattle’s 12-3 victory at California, breaking Babe Ruth’s record for most homers before the end of June. Ruth needed 63 games to reach 30 homers in 1928 and 68 games in 1930. Griffey did it in the Mariners’ 70th game.
1997 — The Atlanta Braves, behind a four-homer, nine-run third, beat the Philadelphia Phillies 12-5. Chipper Jones, Fred McGriff, Michael Tucker and Jeff Blauser homered in the inning.
2002 — The Detroit Tigers ended Luis Castillo’s 35-game hitting streak. Castillo went 0-for-4 and was left on deck when the Florida Marlins finished off a four-run, ninth-inning rally to beat the Tigers 5-4.
2007 — Miguel Tejada goes on the disabled list with a wrist injury, ending a run of 1,152 consecutive games played, the fifth-longest run in major league history.
2010 — Jamie Moyer serves up the 505th home run of his major league career, to Russell Branyan, in a 2 – 1 win over the Indians. Moyer ties Robin Roberts for the most homers surrendered in the majors.
2013 — Francisco Rodriguez earned his 300th career save, finishing off Milwaukee’s second straight 2-0 victory over slumping Atlanta.
2015 — ESPN reveals it has obtained a copy of a notebook belonging to Pete Rose which contains evidence of regular betting on baseball games during the 1986 season. The notebook was seized during a police raid on one of Rose’s associates in 1989, after Rose was banned from baseball by Commissioner Bart Giamatti, and had been under court-ordered seal since. Its content corroborate the contents of the Dowd Report, which led to Rose’s suspension, and make it even less likely that current Commissioner Rob Manfred will reverse it, as Rose has pleaded for him to do.
2020 — MLB owners agree unanimously on a plan for a 60-game season beginning around July 24th – if everyone signs off on health and safety protocols.
2021 — The Arizona Diamondbacks snap their franchise record 17-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
2022 — One day after setting a personal best as a hitter with 8 RBIs, Shohei Ohtani sets another one on the mound as he racks up 13 strikeouts in 8 scoreless innings in a 5 – 0 win over Kansas City.
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June 23
1917 — In baseball’s greatest relief effort, Ernie Shore of the Boston Red Sox came in for Babe Ruth with nobody out and a man on first. The base runner was cut down stealing and Shore retired all 26 batters he faced to gain a 4-0 victory over Washington. Ruth walked Eddie Foster to open the game and was ejected after arguing with umpire Brick Owens.
1932 — Lou Gehrig plays his 1,103rd successive game in a New York uniform, equaling Joe Sewell’s record with one team (Cleveland).
1950 — Hoot Evers’ winning home run in the ninth inning gave the Detroit Tigers a 10-9 victory over the New York Yankees as the teams combined for 11 home runs, a major league record. The Yankees hit six and the Tigers five.
1963 — Jimmie Piersall, playing for the Mets in New York, hit his 100th career home run and celebrated by running around the bases backward.
1971 — Rick Wise of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds and hit two homers. Wise became the first pitcher to hit two homers while throwing a no-hitter.
1973 — Pitcher Ken Brett of the Philadelphia Phillies hit a home run in the fourth consecutive game that he pitched in June. He beat Montreal 7-2.
1984 — Chicago’s Ryne Sandberg hit two late-inning home runs off St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bruce Sutter to tie the game twice as the Cubs went on to win 12-11 in 11 innings. Sandberg led off the ninth inning with a solo home run to tie the game 9-9 then hit a two-run, two-out homer in the 10th to tie the game 11-11. Willie McGee hit for the cycle and drove in six runs for St. Louis.
1993 — Seattle OF Jay Buhner hits for the cycle in the Mariners’ 8 – 7, 14-inning win over the Athletics. He is the first Mariner player to ever hit for the cycle..
2003 — Stealing second base at Pacific Bell Park in the 11th inning, Barry Bonds becomes the first player to hit 500 home runs and steal 500 bases in his career. The Giants’ left fielder may not only be the charter member of the 500-500 club, many believe, including him, he will most likely be its only member, as no one else may ever reach this plateau.
2008 — Felix Hernandez hit the first grand slam by an American League pitcher in 37 years, then departed with a sprained ankle before he could qualify for a win in Seattle’s 5-2 victory over the New York Mets. The shot to right-center off Johan Santana was the first home run by a pitcher in Mariners history, and the first slam by an AL hurler since Cleveland’s Steve Dunning went deep against Oakland’s Diego Segui on May 11, 1971.
2013 — David Wright homered, tripled and matched a Mets record with four extra-base hits to back Matt Harvey’s splendid start in a lopsided 8-0 victory over Philadelphia. Wright went 4 for 5 with two of New York’s season-high seven doubles.
2020 — After the Players Association ratified proposed COVID-19 safety protocols, an abbreviated 60-game season will begin July 23rd or 24th.
June 24
1936 — Rookie Joe DiMaggio hit two homers in the fifth inning and added two doubles in the New York Yankees’ 18-4 victory over the St. Louis Browns.
1950 — Wes Westrum of the New York Giants hit three home runs and a triple in a 12-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
1955 — Harmon Killebrew hit his first major league homer, off Billy Hoeft at Griffith Stadium, but the Detroit Tigers beat the Washington Senators 18-7.
1962 — Jack Reed, a substitute outfielder, hit a homer off Phil Regan in the 22nd inning to give the New York Yankees a 9-7 win over the Detroit Tigers in a game that lasted 7 hours, 22 minutes. It was the only homer Reed hit in the majors.
1968 — Jim Northrup tied a major league record by hitting two grand slams in one game as the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 14-3.
1983 — Don Sutton of the Milwaukee Brewers became the eighth pitcher in major league history to strike out 3,000 batters. Sutton’s 3,000th victim was Cleveland’s Alan Bannister in a 3-2 win over the Indians.
1984 — Oakland’s Joe Morgan hit his 265th home run as a second baseman, breaking Roger Hornsby’s career home run record for that position. Morgan’s homer off Frank Tanana was the 267th of his career and led the A’s to a 4-2 win over Texas.
1993 — Carlton Fisk of the White Sox, plays his 2,226th and final major league game, surpassing Bob Boone’s record of 2,225 for most games caught.
1993 — The Marlins obtain OF Gary Sheffield and P Rich Rodriguez from the Padres for P Trevor Hoffman, Andres Berumen and Jose Martinez. The Fish will give Sheffield a four-year contract extension in September.
1994 — Jeff Bagwell hit three homers, two in one inning to tie a major league record, as the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 16-4.
1997 — Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners struck out 19 batters — one short of Roger Clemens’ major league record for a nine-inning game. He became the first AL left-hander to fan 19, but the Oakland Athletics won 4-1.
2002 — Both starters in the first game of the Anaheim-Texas doubleheader — Joaquin Benoit and Aaron Sele — threw 96 pitches, 53 strikes and 43 balls. Benoit and the Rangers won 8-5.
2003 — Brad Wilkerson hit for the cycle, going 4-for-4 with four RBIs, in Montreal’s 6-4 win over Pittsburgh. It was the first cycle in the majors this season and was performed in sequence — single, double, triple and homer.
2014 — Brothers B.J. and Justin Upton tied the major league record for brothers homering in the same game as teammates, accomplishing the feat for the fourth time, in Atlanta’s 3-2 win over Houston. Other brothers who had homered in the same game four times were Jeremy and Jason Giambi for the Oakland A’s and Vladimir and Wilton Guerrero for the Montreal Expos.
2015 — Pavin Smith homered and drove in three runs and Brandon Waddell turned in another strong College World Series pitching performance, leading Virginia over Vanderbilt 4-2 for the school’s first baseball national championship.
2017 — Three different Oakland A’s players, Matt Olson, Jaycob Brugmand and Franklin Baretto, hit their first career home run in a 10-2 win over the White Sox.
2019 — The Yankees tie a record belonging to the 2002 Rangers by homering in their 27th straight game on their way to defeating the Blue Jays.
2018 — The Dodgers set a National League record with seven solo home runs in an 8-7 win over the Mets.
2021 — The Chicago Cubs throw the first combined no-hitter in franchise history beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0. It was the seventh no-hitter of the season.
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June 25
1934 — Pitcher John Broaca tied a major league record by striking out five consecutive times but pitched the Yankees to an 11-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Lou Gehrig had better luck at the plate, hitting for the cycle.
1937 — Augie Galan of Chicago became the first National League switch-hitter to homer from both sides of the plate in the Cubs’ 11-2 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1950 — Chicago’s Hank Sauer hit two home runs and two doubles to send the Cubs past the Philadelphia Phillies 11-8.
1961 — Baltimore and California used a major league record 16 pitchers, eight by each side, as the Orioles edged the Angels 9-8 on Ron Hansen’s 14th-inning homer.
1968 — Bobby Bonds, in his first major league game, hit a grand slam off John Purdin to help San Francisco to a 9-0 win over Los Angeles.
1988 — Cal Ripken Jr. plays in his 1,000th consecutive game.
1998 — Sammy Sosa broke the major league record for homers in a month, hitting his 19th of June leading off the seventh inning of the Cubs’ 6-4 loss to Detroit. Sosa passed the mark set by Detroit’s Rudy York in August 1937.
1999 — Jose Jimenez, a rookie right-hander having one of the worst seasons than any other NL pitcher, threw St. Louis’ first no-hitter in 16 seasons, outdueling Randy Johnson in a 1-0 victory over Arizona.
2002 — Luis Pujols of the Detroit Tigers and Tony Pena of the Kansas City Royals became the first Dominican-born managers to oppose each other in a major league game.
2007 — A fan charged at Bob Howry during the Cubs’ 10-9 win over Colorado after the reliever helped blow an 8-3 lead in the ninth inning. Howry gave up back-to-back RBI singles to Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe and a three-run homer to Troy Tulowitzki. The fan then jumped onto the field from the roof of the Rockies’ dugout and made it a few feet from the mound before security guards tackled him. Howry earned the victory when Alfonso Soriano hit a game-ending two-run single in the bottom of the inning.
2010 — Arizona’s Edwin Jackson pitched a 1-0 no-hitter against Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field.
2010 — The Cubs suspend pitcher Carlos Zambrano indefinitely after he throws a tantrum in the dugout after giving up 4 runs in the 1st inning of a 6 – 0 loss to the White Sox. “Big Z” blames first baseman Derrek Lee for letting a Juan Pierreground ball past him for a double that starts the rally, although the hard-hit ball was hardly catchable. Tom Gorzelanny replaces Zambrano who is removed from the game by manager Lou Piniella.
2011 — Cleveland’s Tony Sipp balked home the only run with the bases loaded in the seventh inning of a 1-0 loss to San Francisco. Sipp slightly flinched his left arm before throwing a pitch to Emmanuel Burriss, allowing Miguel Tejada to score and sending San Francisco to its fourth straight win. There also were two errors in the inning by second baseman Cord Phelps that spoiled a strong start by Justin Masterson.
2013 — Eric Filia drove in a career-high five runs, Nick Vander Tuig limited Mississippi State to five hits in eight innings, and UCLA won 8-0 for its first national baseball championship.
2014 — Tim Lincecum pitched his second no-hitter against the San Diego Padres in less than a year, allowing only one runner and leading the San Francisco Giants to a 4-0 win.
2015 — The San Francisco Giants hit four triples in a game for the first time in 55 years, including a pair by Brandon Belt in a 13-8 win over the San Diego Padres. Brandon Crawford and Matt Duffy also tripled for San Francisco, which had not tripled four times in a game since Sept. 15, 1960, when Willie Mays hit three and Eddie Bressoud one at Philadelphia.
2018 — The St. Louis Cardinals record the 10,000th win in team history with a 4-0 defeat of the Cleveland Indians.. They are the sixth major league team to do so.
2019 — The New York Yankees set a new major league record by homering in their 28th consecutive game.
2021 — Philadelphia Philles pitcher Aaron Nola ties Tom Seaver’s 51-Year old MLB record of ten consecutive strike outs in a 2-1 loss to the Mew York Mets.
2022 — Three Astros pitchers combine to no-hit the Yankees, 3 – 0.
2023 — George Springer leads off the bottom of the 1st for the Blue Jays against the Athletics with a homer off Luis Medina. The 55th leadoff home run of his career gives him sole possession of second place on the all-time list, behind only Rickey Henderson. The Blue Jays win handily, 12 – 1.
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June 26
1916 — The Cleveland Indians wore numbers on their sleeves in a game against the Chicago White Sox. It marked the first time players were identified by numbers corresponding to the scorecard.
1924 — New York right-hander Virgil Barnes faced his older sibling, Jesse, marking the first time brothers started against one another in major league history. Jesse got the loss when the Giants beat the Boston Braves 11-7.
1938 — Lonny Frey of the Cincinnati Reds had eight hits in a doubleheader split with the Philadelphia Phillies. Frey had three hits in a 10-3 opening-game loss and collected five in the nightcap, which the Reds won 8-5.
1944 — In an effort to raise funds for war bonds, the New York Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees played each other in a six-inning game at the Polo Grounds. More than 50,000 fans turned out. Each team played successive innings against the other two teams then would sit out an inning. The final score was Dodgers 5, Yankees 1, Giants 0.
1962 — Earl Wilson of the Boston Red Sox pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park. Wilson, the Red Sox’s first black pitcher, also homered in the game.
1968 — St. Louis’ Bob Gibson pitched his fifth consecutive shutout as he blanked Pittsburgh, 3-0, in the first game of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium.
1970 — Frank Robinson hit two grand slams to power the Baltimore Orioles to a 12-2 victory over the Washington Senators.
1976 — Shortstop Toby Harrah played an entire doubleheader for the Texas Rangers without handling a batted ball by the Chicago White Sox.
1983 — New York’s Rusty Staub tied a season record with his eighth consecutive pinch hit. Staub equaled the 1958 mark established by Dave Philley of the Phillies when he singled in the ninth inning off reliever Ron Reed in the Mets’ 8-4 loss to Philadelphia at Shea Stadium.
2000 — Minor league sensation Alex Cabrera hit a two-run homer in his first major league at-bat for Arizona as the Diamondbacks beat the Houston Astros 6-1.
2003 — Edgar Martinez, who already holds the Mariners’ all-time records for games played, at-bats, hits, doubles, total bases, extra-base hits, walks and runs scored, passes Ken Griffey Jr.’s mark for team career RBIs. His two-run homer in the Mariners’ 10 – 6 victory over the Angels gives the All-Star designated hitter 1,153 RBIs – one more than Junior.
2006 — Oregon State beats North Carolina 3-2 for its first College World Series title.
2015 — Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg resigns in his third season with his team in last place.
2019 — Vanderbilt University defeats Michigan 8-2 to win the College World Series.
2021— The Arizona Diamondbacks end their record streak of consecutive road losses by defeating the San Diego Padres 10-1.
2023 — Louisiana State University wins the 2023 College World Series with an 18 – 4 win over the University of Florida in the final game, one day after losing 24 – 4 to the Gators. Paul Skenes is named the recipient of the College World Series Most Outstanding Player award. It is the Tigers’ seventh title overall, and first since 2009.
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TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
June 21
1919 — Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wins the women’s U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championship with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Marion Zinderstein.
1932 — Jack Sharkey scores a 15-round split decision over Max Schmeling to win the world heavyweight title in New York.
1960 — Armin Hary of West Germany becomes the first man to run 100 meters in 10.0 seconds at a meet in Zurich, Switzerland.
1964 — Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches a perfect game against the New York Mets. The no-hitter gives Bunning one in each league and the Phillies’ Gus Triandos becomes the first catcher to handle no-hitters in both leagues.
1964 — UEFA European Championship Final, Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain: Marcelino scores the winner as Spain beats Soviet Union, 2-1.
1965 — Gary Player becomes the third man to win golf’s top four pro titles when he captures the U.S. Open. Player beats Kel Nagle by three strokes in a playoff round. Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan had won the U.S. and British Opens, the Masters and the PGA.
1970 — Britain’s Tony Jacklin becomes the first English golfer in 50 years to win the U.S. Open, beating Dave Hill by five strokes.
1970 — FIFA World Cup Final, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City: Brazil and Pelé become first team and player to win World Cup 3 times, beating Italy, 4-1 in front of 107,412.
1971 — Lee Trevino beats Jack Nicklaus by two strokes in a playoff to win the U.S. Open.
1975 — S. Kaye Bell becomes the first woman to train the winner of a $100,000 stakes race when she sends Mr. Lucky Phoenix to win the Michigan Mile and One-Eighth Handicap at Detroit Racecourse.
1986 — 1985 Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson, signs 3-year contract to play baseball with the Kansas City Royals.
1988 — 42nd NBA Championship: LA Lakers beat Detroit Pistons, 4 games to 3.
1994 — Lori McNeil upsets five-time champion Steffi Graf 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) in the first round of Wimbledon. Graf becomes the first reigning women’s champion to lose in the first round.
1997 — The New York Liberty beat the Los Angeles Sparks 67-57 in the WNBA’s inaugural game. A crowd of 14,284 attends the game at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
2003 — Lennox Lewis retains his heavyweight title when a cut stops Vitali Klitschko after six brawling rounds. All three ringside judges had Klitschko winning 58-56, but ring doctor Paul Wallace orders referee Lou Moret to stop the fight.
2005 — French Open winner Justine Henin-Hardenne loses in the first round at Wimbledon. The Belgian becomes the first Roland Garros women’s champion since 1962 to lose her opening match at Wimbledon when she’s beaten by Eleni Daniilidou of Greece, 7-6 (8), 2-6, 7-5.
2012 — Miami’s LeBron James caps his title bid with 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, Chris Bosh adds 23 points, Dwyane Wade scores 20 points and the Heat finish off the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, winning 121-106.
2015 — Jordan Spieth becomes the sixth player to win the Masters and the U.S. Open after Dustin Johnson three-putts from 12 feet on the final hole at Chambers Bay with a chance to win the championship himself. The 21-year-old Spieth becomes the youngest player to win two majors since Gene Sarazen in 1922 and was the youngest U.S. Open champion since Bobby Jones in 1923.
2018 — Arizona center Deandre Ayton is the first pick of the NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns.
2022 — MLB Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani has career high 8 RBI in 11-inning 12-11 loss to Kansas City Royals in Anaheim, California.
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June 22
1918 — Molla Bjurstedt wins the women’s U.S. Lawn Tennis Association title for the fourth straight year, beating Eleanor Goss 6-4, 6-3.
1937 — Joe Louis knocks out Jim Braddock in the eighth round at Chicago’s Comiskey Park to win the world heavyweight title, which he would hold for 11 years.
1938 — In a rematch portrayed in both countries as good vs. evil, Joe Louis of the U.S. knocks out Germany’s Max Schmeling at 2:04 of the first round at Yankee Stadium to retain the world heavyweight title.
1949 — Ezzard Charles scores a 15-round unanimous decision over Jersey Joe Walcott at Comiskey Park in Chicago to win the vacant world heavyweight title.
1977 — John Ziegler is named the fourth president in NHL history, succeeding Clarence Campbell.
1979 — Larry Holmes stops Mike Weaver in the 12th round to retain the WBC heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden in New York.
1980 — UEFA European Championship Final, Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy: Horst Hrubesch scores a double as Germany beats Belgium, 2-1.
1981 — John McEnroe throws a tantrum in his 7-6 (5), 7-5, 6-3 first-round win over Tom Gullikson on the opening day at Wimbledon. McEnroe’s return of Gullickson’s serve is ruled out by chair umpire Edward James. McEnroe shouts his famous line, “You cannot be serious.” He then calls James the “the pits of the world” and an “incompetent fool.” Tournament referee Fred Hoyles is called to the court after James hits McEnroe with a point penalty. After McEnroe’s arguments with Hoyle go unsatisfied, Gullikson holds serve and McEnroe curses Hoyle on the changeover, prompting another point penalty. He is later fined $1,500.
1991 — NHL Draft: Oshawa Generals center Eric Lindros first pick by Quebec Nordiques.
1994 — The Houston Rockets, led by Hakeem Olajuwon, win their first NBA title, beating New York 90-84 in Game 7 of the finals. Olajuwon gets 25 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks.
1994 — FIFA World Cup: USA beats Colombia 2-1 in round match at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, 1st WC win since 1950.
1996 — Michael Moorer beats Axel Shultz in 11 for IBF heavyweight boxing title.
1999 — In one of the greatest upsets in Wimbledon’s 113-year history, top-ranked Martina Hingis loses 6-2, 6-0 in the opening round to Jelena Dokic, a 16-year-old qualifier ranked 129th.
2001 — Karrie Webb sets two scoring records in the LPGA Championship in shooting a 7-under 64 for a three-stroke lead. Webb, at 11-under 131, breaks the 36-hole scoring record by two strokes. Webb shoots a 29 on the front nine for the lowest nine-hole score in the 47-year history of the championship.
2006 — The U.S. soccer team is eliminated from World Cup play with a 2-1 loss to Ghana.
2007 — For the first time, Americans are taken with the top two picks in the NHL draft. Chicago selects Patrick Kane with the first pick. Philadelphia then selects left wing James vanRiemsdyk with the second pick.
2012 — Jerry Sandusky is convicted on 45 counts of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years. The accusations had led to the firing of Joe Paterno, Penn State’s beloved coach who died of lung cancer Jan. 22. Penn State’s Board of Trustees ousted Paterno for what was called his “failure of leadership” surrounding allegations about Sandusky.
2012 — NHL Draft: Sarnia Sting (OHL) right wing Nail Yakupov first pick by Edmonton Oilers.
2014 — Michelle Wie wins the U.S. Women’s Open for her first major championship. She beats top-ranked Stacy Lewis by two shots.
2017 — Washington point guard Markelle Fultz is the first pick of the NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.
2018 — NHL Draft: Frolunda HC (SHL) defenceman Rasmus Dahlin first pick by Buffalo Sabres.
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June 23
1917 — In baseball’s greatest relief effort, Ernie Shore of the Boston Red Sox retires 26 batters for a 4-0 victory over Washington. Shore relieves Babe Ruth with nobody out and a man on first, who was cut down stealing.
1917 — Molla Bjurstedt win the women’s U.S. Lawn Tennis Association title for the third straight year with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory over Marion Vanderhoef.
1922 — Walter Hagen becomes the first native-born American to win the British Open. Hagen shoots a 300 to beat Jim Barness and George Duncan by one stroke at Royal St. George’s Golf Club.
1939 — Former football great Bronko Nagurski beats Lou Thesz to win the National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight title in at the Coliseum in Houston. Thesz was largely considered the greatest wrestler of all time. Houston Mayor Holcombe reportedly presents Bronko with a $10,000 diamond studded belt.
1961 — Cubs Ernie Banks ends his 717 consecutive-games-played streak.
1963 — Julius Boros wins a three-way playoff to take the U.S. Open. Boros beats Jacky Cupit by three strokes and Arnold Palmer by six.
1969 — Joe Frazier TKOs Jerry Quarry in 8 for heavyweight boxing title.
1972 — President Nixon signs the Higher Education Act of 1972. Title IX of this congressional act bars sex bias in athletics and other activities at colleges receiving federal assistance.
1974 — Sandra Haynie wins the LPGA championship by two strokes over JoAnne Carner.
1980 — West German wins European soccer title (2-1 against Belgium).
1985 — Laffit Pincay Jr. rides Greinton to a 1 3/4-length victory over Precisionist in the Hollywood Gold Cup, to join Willie Shoemaker as the only jockeys in history to surpass $100 million in purse earnings.
1988 — Charlotte Hornets & Miami Heat begin their NBA expansion draft.
1991 — A Mazda becomes the first Japanese car to win the Le Mans 24 hours race, overtaking a Mercedes in the last three hours. Bertrand Gachot of Belgium, Johnny Herbert of Britain and Volker Weidler of Germany are the winning drivers of the rotary-powered Mazda.
1996 — Michael Johnson breaks the world record in the 200 meters, running 19.66 seconds at the U.S. track and field trials in Atlanta. The previous mark of 19.72 was set by Italy’s Pietro Mennea in 1979 in Mexico City.
1999 — The Hockey Hall of Fame waives the usual three-year waiting period and announces that Wayne Gretzky will be part of the Class of 1999.
2001 — Ilya Kovalchuk is the first player born in Russia to be taken with the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft when he’s selected by the Atlanta Thrashers.
2003 — Barry Bonds steals second base against the LA Dodgers, becoming the first player in MLB history to have 500 career homers and 500 steals.
2005 — Tim Duncan comes up huge in the second half and is chosen finals MVP and Manu Ginobili has another breakthrough performance to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Detroit Pistons 81-74 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
2008 — Félix Hernández of the Seattle Mariners hits a grand slam home run against New York Mets, 1st pitcher since Steve Dunning in 1971.
2011 — NBA Draft: Duke point guard Kyrie Irving first pick Cleveland Cavaliers.
2013 — Courtney Force claims a Funny Car victory against her father at the Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals. In their first final round matchup, Courtney Force earns her second victory of the year and third in her career. She improves to 4-2 against her father, John Force, a 15-time Funny Car world champion.
2015 — The NHL’s Board of Governors approve the proposed 3-on-3 overtime change.
2016 — LSU point guard Benn Simmons is the first pick in the NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.
2017 — NHL Draft: Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) center Nico Hischier first pick by New Jersey Devils.
June 24
1910 — James Braid wins his fifth British Open with a four-stroke victory over Sandy Herd.
1911 — John McDermott becomes the first American-born winner of the U.S. Open when he beats Michael Brady and George Simpson in a playoff. McDermott finishes two strokes better than Brady and five strokes better than Simpson.
1913 — John Henry Taylor wins his fifth and final British Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake, England.
1922 — American Professional Football Association renamed the National Football League.
1922 — Charter NFL club Chicago Staleys renamed Chicago Bears by team founder, owner and head coach George Halas.
1928 — John Farrell beats Bobby Jones by one stroke in a 36-hole playoff to win the U.S. Open.
1947 — Jim Ferrier wins the PGA championship by defeating Chick Harbert 2 and 1 in the final round.
1958 — Brazil, led by 17-year-old Pele, beats France 5-2 in a semifinal of the World Cup. With Brazil up 2-1 in the second half, Pele scores three consecutive goals.
1968 — Joe Frazier stops Mexican challenger Manuel Ramos in 2nd round TKO at NYC’s Madison Square Garden in his first heavyweight boxing title defense.
1968 — Canada’s Sandra Post beats Kathy Whitworth by seven strokes in a playoff to become the first non-U.S. player and rookie to win the LPGA championship.
1979 — Rickey Henderson debuts for Oakland & steals his 1st base.
1980 — The Atlanta Flames relocate to Calgary, Alberta. The NHL team keeps the name “Flames.”
1990 — Criminal Type becomes the first horse to win consecutive $1 million races after capturing the Hollywood Gold Cup. He had previously won the $1 million Pimlico Special on May 12.
1991 — The NHL’s Board of Governors adopts instant replay.
1992 — NBA Draft: LSU center Shaquille O’Neal first pick by Orlando Magic.
1995 — Stanley Cup Final, Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, NJ: New Jersey Devils beat Detroit Red Wings, 5-2 for a 4-0 series sweep; Devils’ first Stanley Cup finals appearance.
1998 — NBA Draft: Pacific center Michael Olowokandi first pick by Los Angeles Clippers.
2000 — Rick DiPietro is the first goalie drafted No. 1 when the New York Islanders select the 18-year-old star from Boston University at the NHL Draft.
2001 — Karrie Webb, 26, captures the LPGA Championship by two strokes to become the youngest woman to complete the Grand Slam.
2004 — NBA Draft: Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy power forward Dwight Howard first pick by Orlando Magic.
2010 — John Isner outlasts Nicolas Mahut in the longest match in tennis history. Isner hits a backhand winner to win the last of the match’s 980 points, and takes the fifth set against Mahut 70-68. The first-round match took 11 hours, 5 minutes over three days, lasting so long it was suspended because of darkness — two nights in a row. Play resumed at 59-all and continued for more than an hour before Isner won 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68.
2010 — John Wall is selected as the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft by the Washington Wizards, and a record number of Kentucky teammates follow him. Four more Wildcats are among the top 30 selections, making them the first school ever to put five players in the first round.
2011 — NHL Draft: Red Deer Rebels (WHL) center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins first pick by Edmonton Oilers.
2013 — Bryan Bickell and Dave Bolland score 17 seconds apart in the final 1:16 of the third period and the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup with a stunning 3-2 comeback victory in Game 6 over the Boston Bruins.
2016 — NHL Draft: ZSC Lions (NLA) center Auston Matthews first pick by Toronto Maple Leafs.
2018 — Harry Kane scores a hat trick to propel England to its most emphatic World Cup victory and into the knockout stage. With John Stones heading in twice and Jesse Lingard curling in a shot, England beats Panama 6-1 and scores its most goals ever in a World Cup game.
2021 — The Chicago Cubs throw the first combined no-hitter in franchise history beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0. It was the seventh no-hitter of the season.
2022 — American Katie Ledecky wins the 800m gold medal in 8:08.04 at the World Swimming Championships in Budapest; completes 400/800/1500m treble for unprecedented 4th time at a single worlds.
2024 — The Florida Panthers win their first title in franchise history defeating the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7. MVP: Connor McDavid (Oilers C).
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June 25
1921 — Jock Hutchinson is the first American to win the British Open, a nine-stroke victory over Roger Wethered in a playoff.
1926 — Bobby Jones becomes the first amateur in 29 years to win the British Open. Jones finishes with a 291 total for a two-stroke over Al Watrous at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England.
1932 — Gene Sarazen wins the U.S. Open by shooting a 286, the lowest in 20 years.
1935 — Future world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis moves to 20-0 with 6th round KO of former champion Primo Carnera of Italy at Yankee Stadium, NYC.
1948 — Joe Louis knocks out Jersey Joe Walcott in the 11th round in New York to defend his world heavyweight title. Louis announces his retirement after the fight.
1952 — Jim Turnesa wins the PGA Championship with a 1-up victory over Chick Harbert in the final round.
1966 — Buckpasser sets a world record in the 1-mile Arlington Classic in 1:32 3-5 and becomes the first 3-year-old to win more than $1 million.
1969 — Pancho Gonzalez, 41, wins the longest tennis match in Wimbledon history by beating Charles Pasarell in a 112-game match, 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9. The match is played over two days and lasts 5 hours, 12 minutes.
1978 — In Buenos Aires, Argentina wins the World Cup beating Netherlands 3-1 after extra time.
1981 — Sugar Ray Leonard wins the WBA junior middleweight title with a ninth-round knockout of Ayub Kalule in Houston.
1988 — MLB player Cal Ripken Jr. plays in his 1,000th consecutive game.
1988 — UEFA European Championship Final, Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany: Ruud Gullet & Marco van Basten score as the Netherlands beats Soviet Union, 2-0.
1991 — Nine-time champion Martina Navratilova survives a first-round scare from Elna Reinach to win her record 100th singles match at Wimbledon.
1994 — FIFA World Cup: 1,500th goal in Cup’d history scored by Caceres of Argentina.
1997 — NBA Draft: Wake Forest power forward Tim Duncan first pick by San Antonio Spurs.
1997 — NHL approves franchises in Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus, and Minnesota-St Paul.
1999 — San Antonio wins its first NBA championship, defeating the New York Knicks 78-77 in Game 5 of the Finals. The Spurs, keyed by finals MVP Tim Duncan’s 31 points, becomes the first former ABA team to win the championship.
2006 — Asafa Powell matches Wallace Spearmon’s world best in the 200 meters, winning the Jamaican national championships in 19.90 seconds.
2006 — Bernard Lagat becomes the first runner in the history of the U.S. track and field championships to sweep the 1,500 and 5,000 meters, after winning the shorter race.
2008 — NBA Draft: Oklahoma power forward Blake Griffin first pick by Los Angeles Clippers.
2013 — UCLA wins its first national championship in baseball with an 8-0 win over Mississippi State.
2014 — John Norwood’s home run in the top of the eighth inning gives Vanderbilt the lead, and the Commodores beat Virginia 3-2 for their first national championship.
2015 — NBA Draft: Kentucky center Karl-Anthony Towns first pick by Minnesota Timberwolves.
2017 — Jordan Spieth needs an extra hole and an amazing final shot to finish off a wire-to-wire victory in the Travelers Championship. The two-time major champion holes out from 60 feet for birdie from a greenside bunker on the first hole of a playoff with Daniel Berger at TPC River Highlands. The 23-year-old Texan joins Tiger Woods as the only PGA Tour players with 10 victories in the era since World War II.
2019 — NHL Draft: Barrie Colts (OHL) defenseman Aaron Ekblad first pick by Florida Panthers.
2020 — Liverpool FC clinches first EPL soccer title in 30 years with 7 games to spare as Chelsea beats second-placed Manchester City, 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.
2021 — Philadelphia Philles pitcher Aaron Nola ties Tom Seaver’s 51-Year old MLB record of ten consecutive strike outs in a 2-1 loss to the Mew York Mets.
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June 26
1910 — For the second consecutive year, Hazel Hotchkiss wins the singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles at the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships. Hotchkiss beats Louise Hammond 6-4, 6-2 for the singles title.
1925 — Jim Barnes wins the British Open with a one-stroke win over Ted Ray and Archie Compston at Prestwick Golf Club in South Ayrshire, Scotland.
1959 — Ingemar Johansson knocks out Floyd Patterson in the third round at Yankee Stadium to win the world heavyweight title.
1976 — Japanese professional wrestler Antonio Inoki fights American boxer Muhammad Ali, at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.
1990 — Jennifer Capriati, 14, defeats Helen Kelesi 6-3, 6-1 in the first round to become the youngest winner of a match in Wimbledon history.
1991 — NBA Draft: UNLV power forward Larry Johnson first pick by Charlotte Hornets.
1992 — UEFA European Championship Final, Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden: In a huge upset Denmark beats Germany, 2-0.
1993 — NHL Draft: Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL) center Alexandre Daigle first pick by Ottawa Senators.
1995 — The U.S. Supreme Court upholds a random drug-testing program in Vernonia, Ore. The 6-to-3 decision allows public high school officials to require student-athletes to submit to random urinalysis as a condition of being allowed to play interscholastic sports.
1996 — NBA Draft: Georgetown guard Allen Iverson first pick by Philadelphia 76ers.
1999 — NHL Draft: Long Beach Ice Dogs (IHL) center Patrik Stefan first pick by Atlanta Thrashers.
1998 — Jamaica becomes the first Caribbean nation to win a World Cup soccer match since Cuba beat Romania in 1938. Theodore Whitmore scores in the 40th and 54th minutes as the Jamaicans beat Japan 2-1.
2002 — In one of the most extraordinary days at the All England Club, seven-time champion Pete Sampras, 1992 winner Andre Agassi and No. 2-seeded Marat Safin all lose — throwing the Wimbledon tournament wide open. For the first time in the Open era, five of the top-eight seeded men’s players are eliminated before the third round.
2002 — NBA Draft: Shanghai Sharks (China) center Yao Ming first pick by Houston Rockets.
2003 — NBA Draft: St. Vincent–St. Mary HS (Akron, Ohio) small forward LeBron James first pick by Cleveland Cavaliers.
2005 — Justin Gatlin cements his status as America’s fastest human by winning the 200 meters, becoming the first man in 20 years to sweep the sprints at the U.S. track and field championships. A day after winning the 100, Gatlin wins the 200 in 20.04 seconds. The last man to win both races at the U.S. meet was Kirk Baptiste in 1985.
2008 — Two stunning second-round upsets happen at Wimbledon as former champion Maria Sharapova and two-time runner-up Andy Roddick are ousted.
2008 — NBA Draft: Memphis point guard Derrick Rose first pick by Chicago Bulls.
2011 — Top-ranked Yani Tseng wins the LPGA Championship by 10 strokes and, at 22, becomes the youngest player to win four LPGA Tour majors.
2012 — Major college football finally gets a playoff. A committee of university presidents approve the BCS commissioners’ plan for a four-team playoff to start in the 2014 season.
2013 — Seven-time champion Roger Federer is stunned by 116th-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second round of Wimbledon, his earliest loss in a Grand Slam tournament in 10 years.
2014 — The United States reaches the knockout stage of consecutive World Cups for the first time. Germany beat the U.S. 1-0 to win Group G, but the Americans held onto second place when Portugal defeats Ghana 2-1 in a game played simultaneously.
2014 — NBA Draft: Kansas small forward Andrew Wiggins first pick by Cleveland Cavaliers.
2015 — NHL Draft: Erie Otters (OHL) center Connor McDavid #1 pick by the Edmonton Oilers.
2017 — Helmsman Peter Burling and Emirates Team New Zealand wins the America’s Cup with a resounding romp against software tycoon Larry Ellison’s two-time defending champion Oracle Team USA. They win Race 9 to clinch the 35th America’s Cup match at 7-1. Burling, at 26, is the youngest helmsman to win sailing’s greatest prize in a competition that dates to 1851.
2021 — Tour de France: The largest pile up in Tour history is caused by a spectator with a sign during Stage 1. The spectator is apprehended and arrested.
2012 — Stanley Cup Final, Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL: Colorado Avalanche beats two-time defending champions Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 for a 4-2 series win; Avs 3rd championship in franchise history.
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TV SPORTS
Saturday, June 21
AUTO RACING
8:55 a.m.
FS1 — FIM MotoGP: The Brembo Grand Prix of Italy – Sprint Race, Tuscany, Italy
10 a.m.
FS1 — NXT IndyCar Series: Practice, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
11 a.m.
FS1 — NTT IndyCar Series: Practice, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
1:30 p.m.
FS1 — NXT IndyCar Series: Qualifying, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
2:30 p.m.
FS1 — NTT IndyCar Series: Qualifying, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
3:30 p.m.
CW — NASCAR Xfinity Series: The Explore the Pocono Mountains 250, Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
7 p.m.
ESPN — Men’s College World Series – Finals: TBD, Game 1, Omaha Neb.
ESPNU — Men’s College World Series – Finals: TBD, Game 1, Omaha Neb. (UmpCast)
FOOTBALL (WOMEN’S)
3 p.m.
ESPN2 — 2025 Women’s National Football Conference Championship: Washington vs. Texas, Frisco, Texas
GOLF
1 p.m.
GOLF — PGA Tour: The Travelers Championship, Third Round, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.
1:30 p.m.
NBC — LPGA Tour: The 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Third Round, Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, Frisco, Texas
3 p.m.
CBS — PGA Tour: The Travelers Championship, Third Round, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.
GOLF — LPGA Tour: The 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Third Round, Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, Frisco, Texas
Midnight
GOLF — PGA Tour Champions: The Kaulig Companies Championship, Third Round, Firestone Country Club South Course, Akron, Ohio (Taped)
HORSE RACING
9 a.m.
NBC — The Royal Ascot: From Ascot Racehorse, Ascot, United Kingdom
12:30 p.m.
FS1 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races
LACROSSE (MEN’S)
4 p.m.
ESPN — PLL: New York vs. Philadelphia, Baltimore
7 p.m.
ESPN2 — PLL: Boston vs. Maryland, Baltimore
MIXED MARTIALS ARTS
Noon
ESPN — UFC Fight Night Prelims: Undercard Bouts, Baku, Azerbaijan
3 p.m.
ABC — UFC Fight Night Main Card: Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (Light Heavyweights), Baku, Azerbaijan
MLB BASEBALL
Noon
MLBN — Regional Coverage: Detroit at Tampa Bay (12:10 p.m.) OR Baltimore at N.Y. Yankees (1:05 p.m.)
4 p.m.
FS1 — Texas at Pittsburgh
7 p.m.
FOX — Regional Coverage: Kansas City at San Diego OR N.Y Mets at Philadelphia
10 p.m.
MLBN — Regional Coverage: Washington at L.A. Dodgers (10:10 p.m.) OR Cleveland at Athletics (10:05 p.m.)
RUGBY (MEN’S)
1 p.m.
ESPN2 — MLR Eastern Conference Final: TBD
9 p.m.
ESPN2 — MLR Western Conference Final: TBD
SOCCER (MEN’S)
8 p.m.
FS1 — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: Curacao vs. Canada, Group B, Houston
10:30 p.m.
FS1 — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: El Salvador vs. Honduras, Group B, Houston
SOCCER (WOMEN’S)
7:30 p.m.
ION — NWSL: Bay FC at NJ/NY Gotham FC
10 p.m.
ION — NWSL: Chicago at Portland
SOFTBALL
5 p.m.
ESPNU — Athletes Unlimited: Talons vs. Volts, Norman, Okla.
7 p.m.
MLBN — Athletes Unlimited: Bandits vs. Blaze, Wichita Kansas
WNBA BASKETBALL
1 p.m.
ABC — Phoenix at Chicago
8 p.m.
NBATV — Los Angeles at Minnesota
_____
Sunday, June 22
AUTO RACING
7:30 a.m.
FS1 — FIM MotoGP: The Brembo Grand Prix of Italy, Tuscany, Italy
10 a.m.
FS1 — NTT IndyCar Series: Warmup, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
11 a.m.
FS1 — NXT IndyCar Series: The Grand Prix at Road America, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Noon
NBC — IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: The Saleh’s Six Hours of Glen, Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y.
1:30 p.m.
FOX — NTT IndyCar Series: The Xpel Grand Prix at Road America, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
2 p.m.
FS1 — NHRA: Qualifying, Virginia Motorsports Park, North Dinwiddie, Va.
PRIME VIDEO — NASCAR Cup Series: The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM, Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa.
4 p.m.
FOX — NHRA: The Virginia NHRA Nationals, Virginia Motorsports Park, North Dinwiddie, Va.
BIG3 BASKETBALL
1 p.m.
CBS — Week 2: Detroit Amps vs. Miami 305, Boston Ball Hogs vs. DMV Trilogy, Houston Rig Hands vs. Chicago Triplets, L.A. Riot vs. Dallas Power, Baltimore
COLLEGE BASEBALL
2:30 p.m.
ABC — Men’s College World Series – Finals: TBD, Game 2, Omaha, Neb.
ESPNU — Men’s College World Series – Finals: TBD, Game 2, Omaha, Neb. (UmpCast)
GOLF
1 p.m.
GOLF — PGA Tour: The Travelers Championship, Final Round, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.
3 p.m.
CBS — PGA Tour: The Travelers Championship, Final Round, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.
GOLF — LPGA Tour: The 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Final Round, Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, Frisco, Texas
NBC — LPGA Tour: The 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Final Round, Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, Frisco, Texas
11:30 p.m.
GOLF — PGA Tour Champions: The Kaulig Companies Championship, Final Round, Firestone Country Club South Course, Akron, Ohio (Taped)
HORSE RACING
12:30 p.m.
FS1 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races
4 p.m.
FS1 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races
LACROSSE (MEN’S)
Noon
ABC — PLL: Utah vs. Denver, Baltimore
MLB BASEBALL
1:30 p.m.
MLBN — Regional Coverage: Texas at Pittsburgh (1:35 p.m.) OR Atlanta at Miami (1:40 p.m.)
4:30 p.m.
MLBN — Regional Coverage: Kansas City at San Diego (4:10 p.m.) OR Boston at San Francisco (4:05 p.m.)
7 p.m.
ESPN — N.Y. Mets at Philadelphia
NBA BASKETBALL
8:30 p.m.
ABC — NBA Finals: Indiana at Oklahoma City, Game 7 (If Necessary)
SOCCER (MEN’S)
7 p.m.
FOX — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: Haiti vs. U.S., Group D, Arlington, Texas
FS1 — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: Trinidad and Tobago vs. Saudi Arabia, Group D, Las Vegas
10 p.m.
FS1 — CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: Mexico vs. Costa Rica, Group A, Las Vegas
WNBA BASKETBALL
3 p.m.
ESPN — Indiana at Las Vegas
7 p.m.
NBATV — New York at Seattle
