Alaina Getzenberg is a staff writer who covers the Buffalo Bills and the NFL. She joined ESPN in 2021. Alaina was previously a beat reporter for the Charlotte Observer and has also worked for CBS Sports and the Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. You can follow her via Twitter @agetzenberg.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Krystle Bittner zoomed in on the picture of Keon Coleman to make sure it was really true.
Looking at photos of the Buffalo Bills rookie wide receiver’s photo shoot from the NFLPA Rookie Premiere, she noticed that someone had pointed out the bracelets on his wrists.
“I’m like, ‘Wait a damn minute,’” Bittner told ESPN.
What she suspected proved accurate upon closer inspection, that Coleman in his Bills uniform was wearing the friendship bracelets from her son, Logan. They mailed the bracelets to the wide receiver at the Bills’ facility just a few days prior May 11.
The bracelets are in white, blue and red — with most of the supplies ordered online, but the colors carefully picked in person to match the Bills’ colors. The bracelets — one with “Let’s Go Bills” and the other “Bills” — were sent with a letter from Logan, who is 10, and a message to Coleman.
The letter welcomed the 33rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft to Buffalo, explained how he started making friendship bracelets for players and that he hoped to meet Coleman at camp this year.
He also included a drawing of Coleman in his new uniform scoring a touchdown and some food tips for the 21-year-old, writing, “P.S. the best pizza is Imperial. Try Wegmans Sandwich Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies with the frosting in the middle.”
Coleman received the bracelets in one of about a dozen envelopes at his locker that he went through. He was still wearing the bracelets during and after Tuesday’s practice, and hasn’t taken them off since putting them on.
“I opened [Logan’s letter]. I’m like, they fire,” Coleman told ESPN. “I couldn’t do nothing like that at no [10] years old. I was like, that’s creative, and I was appreciative, so I just put ’em on and kept wearing them.”
Logan was stunned when he found out Coleman wore his bracelets for the shoot. On Monday morning, he ran upstairs and told his stuffed animals, “Hey guys, ‘Keon’s wearing my bracelet!’”
The Bittner family, from Spencerport, N.Y., are Bills season-ticket holders, and Krystle has taken a week off work the past two years to go with her son to training camp practices.
Last year, he began making friendship bracelets during camp to give to fans, including bringing a sign that encouraged fans to come get free bracelets. The first player that took a bracelet from him was former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs.
“I think right around that time was when you started seeing other stuff from like Tight End University … And he does watch NFL stuff on YouTube, so I think he wanted to do a Bills-y adaptation, and it was in the same few months following Damar [Hamlin and his cardiac arrest],” Krystle said. “And he just, I don’t know, Damar was very out and vocal about doing things to spread love and he knew it was small. Obviously, giving out friendship bracelets is not going to change the earth in any kind of way, but just doing something nice for other people and he’s that kid.”
At the first training camp practice, Krystle estimates they brought about 25-30 of the bracelets they made, which were gone in five minutes. Over the whole last year, they made almost 1,000 bracelets, giving some out at games.
Over the past year, they’ve made bracelets with a variety of messages for specific players, some with messages that have become inside jokes within Bills Mafia, like “Grape Davis” for Gabe Davis and “Little Stitious,” for Josh Allen, a noted fan of “The Office.” They’ve given bracelets to players from the active roster to the practice squad.
Logan likes to help out, like wanting to join his mom volunteering at the Micah Hyde Charity Softball Game on Sunday, despite having tickets with his dad in the stands.
The letter was the second Logan has written to a Bills player — the first was sent last year — and more are planned. The idea to write letters actually came from Logan struggling to write. Krystle worked with his teachers to find a way for him to practice writing without him really realizing he is doing so.
“I was like, ‘Alright, well it’s starting to get time to figure out what players we might want to send letters to, and it might do nothing, but the point is to just send them,’” Krystle said. “So, the first player he picked was Keon.”
Coleman has become an early favorite in Buffalo despite being a Bill for less than a month. His bright personality has caught attention in a variety of ways, along with his early embrace of Bills fans — the wide receiver noted a big box of Chips Ahoy also being sent to him at the facility earlier this month.
He reposted the bracelets and letter to his Instagram story on Monday. Krystle expressed happiness for Logan.
“He’s a kid that literally gives his entire soul to this team during the season, and … To have a player recognize his stuff and care enough to put it on is huge for him,” Krystle said. “A, he’s an only child and B, I think him feeling some type of connection to a player is huge for him. His confidence has gone through the roof in the last year, I would say.”
UEFA’s deadline for final squad submissions is midnight on June 7, when Southgate will have to select 26 players from Thursday’s list to take to Germany.
The expanded number Southgate announced at St. George’s Park on Thursday is indicative of a variety of fitness concerns which the 53-year-old admitted was unprecedented during his eight years as England boss.
“We’ve never had so many unknown situations,” Southgate told a news conference. “We’ve had tournaments where we’ve taken players where we know they will be back for a certain moment of the tournament. We’ve had tournament where we’ve had two English teams in the Champions League final and not had players for the games. They are different problems, but we are used to dealing with it.
“There are a significant number, that will be apparent to you looking at the players who have missed the last few games of the season and the players who are only just back for the last few games of the season.
“We’ve got an important physical challenge in that some players are going to need a bit more work, but we’ve got to make sure we push at the right times, get them the minutes they need in the games. Other players don’t need much at all and need refreshing.
“Everybody has a chance [of making the final 26]. There are definitely some players that we wanted to see. The reason for the longer squad, we were in a similar situation before the last Euros, and more time is going to help us make better decisions and might help us give a better balance of squad.”
Gordon, captain Harry Kane and West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen all missed their final club matches through injury, and James Maddison, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Guehi have only recently returned from lengthy absences.
Bayern Munich striker Kane missed his side’s final two Bundesliga games with back issues he has been dealing with since before their Champions League semifinal loss to Real Madrid a fortnight ago.
“Kane is pretty much clear now,” Southgate said. “He is quite relaxed about it. I think a sensible decision was taken not to push for the last game there.
“Back problems can just happen, but it is not something we are concerned about at this moment in time. Our understanding of it is that it is something that is pretty much clear now.”
However, Southgate admitted that Shaw’s prospects of proving his fitness in time for the Euros were small.
“I have to say, he’s up against it,” Southgate said. “He has missed a lot of football. The fact he has been our first choice in that position [means] we are probably giving him a bit longer than we might have done.
“I’m not sure what’s realistic at this moment in time. I’ve talked with him, our medical team are liaising with Manchester United very closely, but I’d have to say he’s a long shot.”
Rashford, 26, is the highest-profile omission, having been a squad member at England’s past four tournaments dating back to Euro 2016.
However, he has scored just seven goals in 33 league appearances this season as United posted their worst finish (eighth place) in the Premier League.
“With Marcus I just feel other players in that area of the pitch have had better seasons, it’s as simple as that,” Southgate said, while Rashford wished the squad luck in a post on Instagram.
Southgate was heavily criticised for continuing to select Henderson after the midfielder left Liverpool last summer to join Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia, a country whose human rights record has been widely condemned.
“Hendo has given himself every chance,” he said. “The determining factor has been the injury he picked up around the last camp. He missed five weeks and just hasn’t been able to get to the intensity in the games since then.
“He’s a fantastic professional. That was a really difficult call to make because he’s been so important, so supportive in my time here and I have to say all the boys I’ve spoken to — Ben [White], Marcus, Jordan, the three who were with us last time — they were incredibly professional. Considering the disappointment, they dealt with it very well.”
Other players cut include Chelsea duo Raheem Sterling, who has not played for England since that quarterfinal defeat to France in Qatar, and Levi Colwill, who made his senior debut against Australia last October.
Southgate has selected 11 defenders in the squad along with 12 forwards, although that includes all of England’s wide attacking options. He confirmed that number would have to be reduced by June 7.
“I think you can take too many forwards,” he added. “You can have too many options in certain areas of the pitch. Of course, with forwards you’ve got to give them love and make them feel special.
“If you’ve got too many, that can also be complicated. There’s a lot to think about over the next couple of weeks. I’d have loved it to be cleaner and more definitive, but it’s not the situation we’re in.”
England face Bosnia and Herzegovina in Newcastle on June 3 before taking on Iceland at Wembley four days later.
LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joc Pederson slugged a three-run homer for his 500th career RBI, Christian Walker went deep and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3 on Tuesday night.
The Dodgers had their four-game winning streak at home snapped as they got outhit, 12-6.
Every player in the D-backs’ starting lineup notched at least one hit as they won at Dodger Stadium for the first time since April 2, 2023.
“That’s who we want to be — never die, if you give us a chance, give us a breath, we’re going to drive a run across,” Walker said.
Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt (2-3) didn’t allow a hit until the fourth, when Shohei Ohtani doubled leading off. The Japanese superstar stole third — tearing his pants sliding — and scored on catcher Gabriel Moreno’s throw that went into left field. The unearned run left the Dodgers trailing 2-1.
“Never backed down, went right at them,” Walker said of Pfaadt.
The Dodgers pulled to 4-3 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth. Miguel Vargas doubled leading off, took third on Mookie Betts’ flyout and scored on Ohtani’s RBI single to make it 4-2. Ohtani stole second after Freddie Freeman struck out and he scored on Will Smith’s RBI double to center.
Ohtani went 2 for 4 with a strikeout, scored twice, drove in a run and stole two bases. He leads the majors in extra-base hits with 31 and total bases with 127. Betts was hitless in three at-bats with a walk on his bobblehead night.
Reliever Michael Grove walked Kevin Newman to open the seventh. After Corbin Carroll struck out, Ketel Marte singled to extend his career-high hitting streak to 20 games — longest in the majors this season — and Pederson followed with a blast to the right-field pavilion against his old team, making it 7-3. Pederson ranks fourth with 76 homers at Dodger Stadium since his big league debut in 2014.
“It’s fun hitting homers everywhere,” Pederson said.
Walker hit his 21st career homer against the Dodgers leading off the sixth. He credits Pederson for loosening up the clubhouse since the designated hitter signed a one-year deal with the D-backs in January.
“He’s fit in great,” Walker said. “His kind of low maintenance, fun, anything can happen is good for this clubhouse. Knowing when to to take things seriously, knowing when to laugh things off is important. I’m trying to learn from Joc.”
Pfaadt allowed three runs and four hits in six innings. The right-hander struck out seven and walked one.
Dodgers starter Gavin Stone (4-2) gave up four consecutive singles in the first, when the D-backs led 2-0 on RBI singles by Eugenio Suárez and Moreno.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks RH Ryne Nelson (2-3, 7.06 ERA) faces Dodgers RH Tyler Glasnow (6-2, 2.90) in the series finale Wednesday.
Dave Berry is joined by Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Adam Gorney to discuss Jaden Rashada‘s lawsuit against the University of Florida and coach Billy Napier.
Former AIG Women’s Open champion Georgia Hall says the British Open returning to St Andrews will be a “great links test” and has made it a “priority” ahead of a busy summer of women’s golf.
Hall, who made her major breakthrough at Royal Lytham six years ago, is excited with the challenge at this year’s AIG Women’s Open.
It will mark the first big event to be held at St Andrews since a major refurbishment of the historic R&A Clubhouse.
“It’s the home of golf and it’s my favourite place to be,” said Hall, speaking at a media day in St Andrews for the year’s edition on August 22-25 – live on Sky Sports Golf. “I love it here and I think it will be a great major championship.”
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Georgia Hall showed off her skills in the Open Zone ahead of the AIG Women’s Open
“I think the crowd will be phenomenal,” said 28-year-old Hall. “I know the R&A will set the course up as a great test for us and I hope that we get some windy weather so it’s a true kind of links test for everyone involved.
“It will be great from a personal point of view to have family and friends come out and support me, which I don’t get much on the LPGA.”
Hall, who first played at St Andrews as an amateur, says the place brings back happy memories, saying: “I was 16, that was a long time ago, but to win the silver medal and have my dad caddie for me was pretty special. But when the wind blows this course can get quite tough.
“I remember the first two rounds I got paired with Laura Davies as well so she’s just a British idol. It was a great experience for me. It’s pretty special and it can’t come quick enough.”
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Henni Koyack is joined in the Open Zone by Hall to look at how her putting helped her claim the title at Royal Lytham & St Anne’s four years ago
“What I’ve learned is that it’s really hard to win a major – you can’t back off on a Sunday,” added Hall. “The pins are tucked but everyone wants to win here more than just a normal Open just because St Andrews is the home of golf.
“Links golf suits me more than any other type of golf. You need to be a natural and have a kind of imagination around the greens and they’re a lot slower here as well which suit me.
“I’m just going to prepare myself as much as possible. I need to improve my putting and just to be in a good mindset.
“This is a priority. It’s the biggest event in women’s golf.”
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David Newton is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Carolina Panthers. Newton began covering Carolina in 1995 and came to ESPN in 2006 as a NASCAR reporter before joining NFL Nation in 2013. You can follow Newton on Twitter at @DNewtonespn.
“He’s doing fantastic with it,” Canales said Monday after the first full day of voluntary workouts. “So, for us the formations are pretty vanilla so we can just teach the concept we want out of each route, the depth, the footwork we want.
“As I expect him to do, he’s really mastered that part of it.”
Young, the top pick of the 2023 draft, loves Canales’ technique and having only one primary voice in his ear. He said the latter in particular has been “super important” after a disastrous rookie season in which he went between then-coach Frank Reich and offensive coordinator Thomas Brown as playcallers.
That was difficult because, according to multiple sources close to the situation, the coaches had different philosophies.
“Really, it’s the consistency he has,” Young said of Canales. “He has a very calming presence. He’s someone you can have a conversation with, talk with. Good, bad or indifferent, you can tell there’s an emphasis on teaching. At times, of course, we’re passionate. With coaches there’s a lot of yelling, a lot of emotion.
“His style is very [positive]. He wants to make sure he communicates. It’s not just, ‘Oh, that’s a bad throw’ or ‘You missed.’ It’s constructive. If you miss something or do something wrong, it gives you something tangible to, ‘Hey, let’s get our base in order.’ It’s something you can think about and apply. It’s been really good for me.”
Young needed a positive change after a rookie season in which he ranked 29th out of 30 qualified quarterbacks in Total QBR (33.4), 33rd in completion percentage (59.8%) and 28th in touchdown passes (11).
“They do a great job of having a clear reason for things,” Young said. “Whether it’s fundamental or scheme, you can tell there’s a lot of thought, when we talk about things, how we talk about things.”
Canales in particular was impressed by Young’s accuracy that in his eyes has looked more like the quarterback who completed 65.7% of his passes his last two seasons at Alabama than it did last season.
“Deep balls, short, intermediate, he’s a really accurate passer,” Canales said. “One of the things I really love is I can really focus on the footwork, his base and the mechanics of where his eyes are at when I know the ball is hitting the receivers.”
Canales hopes the result will be similar to what he had with Mayfield at Tampa Bay last season and with Wilson and Smith in Seattle.
Mayfield had a career-high 4,044 yards passing and 28 touchdown passes with Canales as his offensive coordinator. Wilson had a career-high 4,212 yards passing and 40 touchdowns in 2020 with Canales as the passing game coordinator. Smith had a career-high 4,282 yards passing and 30 touchdowns in 2022 with Canales as his quarterbacks coach.
Young said having new players and “new juice” to the offense also will help him bounce back from last season.
They also traded up in the second round to draft Texas running back Jonathon Brooks, who is expected to be cleared medically from ACL surgery before the start of training camp.
“I’m super excited to have new pieces,” Young said. “Now, it’s on us to put the work in, to build the chemistry, to get the reps on the field and make it translate.”
United States men’s national team manager Gregg Berhalter has named Josh Sargent in his 27-player roster for upcoming friendlies against Colombia and Brazil, the team’s final matches before squads are due for Copa América.
Forward Sargent is expected to make his first appearance in USMNT camp since the 2022 World Cup after he had to withdraw from the Concacaf Nations League Finals in March due to injury.
Sargent scored 16 goals in 26 league games for Norwich City in England’s second-tier Championship this season after missing four months of action following ankle surgery last August. He appeared to hurt his ankle again last week but was still selected for the upcoming camp, which players will begin reporting to on May 28. Berhalter said Sargent has a little bit of foot swelling going on that the medical staff wants to get control of.
Sargent’s return adds to a crowded USMNT forward pool that includes Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright. Berhalter said on Monday that he sees Wright playing a winger role, a position Berhalter feels currently lacks depth.
“So, then that would leave us with three strikers, and when you look at all the guys, they’ve been doing well when given the opportunity,” Berhalter said. “Between their club form and what they’ve done for the national team in the past, we think it’s a talented group of strikers.”
Eighteen of the 27 players on Berhalter’s latest roster took part in the 2022 World Cup. All but one player on the roster was with the U.S. for its Concacaf Nations League triumph in March, the lone exception being injured defender Sergiño Dest, who tore his ACL in training with Dutch club PSV Eindhoven last month.
Defender Shaq Moore, who plays for MLS’ Nashville SC, appears to be Berhalter’s answer for greater depth at right-back following Dest’s injury.
“Obviously, with Sergiño going down, we have to figure out the right-back situation,” Berhalter said, naming off Moore and Joe Scally as potential “like-for-like” options. Berhalter also said that Tim Weah could be utilized as a wing-back, as he has at times for Juventus.
“We just wanted the ability in this training camp to have options to have flexibility. Some of it may revolve around a back three,” Berhalter said. “But the first objective is to see how we’re gonna fill that right-back position because we know that we’re going to be missing Sergiño.”
Tyler Adams, Gio Reyna, Matt Turner and Tim Ream, all coming off club seasons in which they saw little playing time over the final three months, were included in the squad, while goalkeeper Zack Steffen was left off by Berhalter despite making 14 starts for Colorado since his return to MLS.
Berhalter will select his final Copa América roster in the days after the friendly matches against Colombia on June 8 in Landover, Maryland, and Brazil on June 12 in Orlando, Florida.
Berhalter faces some tough decisions, particularly with several young players also eligible for the 2024 Olympics, where the USMNT’s under-23s will compete later this summer. The long-term goal, he said, is about preparing for the 2026 World Cup on home soil.
“We’re really using these games to see both individually and collectively how we can perform,” Berhalter said. “And when you get to play against teams like Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay, what you get is information, and that information is going to help you grow and help you improve as you go towards 2026.”
“This summer presents an opportunity for us to progress and grow as a team as we continue to build towards the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” Berhalter said in a statement.
“We have a talented group of players and are excited about the opportunity to compete against some of the best teams in the world.”
The USMNT’s two longest active winless streaks are against Colombia (seven games) and Brazil (11 straight losses). The USMNT last earned a result against Colombia in 2005 — a 3-0 victory in Fullerton, California — and against Brazil in a 1-0 win in the Concacaf Gold Cup semifinal in Los Angeles in 1998.
Brazil or Colombia is likely to be the USMNT’s opponent in the Copa América quarterfinals if the Americans advance out of Group C.
Teams are required to submit their final rosters for Copa América by June 15, three days later than initially required.
Last week, CONMEBOL confirmed that roster sizes for the tournament would be expanded to a maximum of 26 players per team.
Copa América will be played entirely in the U.S. with all 10 CONMEBOL countries and six guest teams from Concacaf.
The tournament kicks off on June 20, with the USMNT in Group C alongside Uruguay, Panama and Bolivia. The final will take place on July 14 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
NEW YORK — Ty France hit a go-ahead RBI single in Seattle’s four-run ninth inning against reliever Clay Holmes, and the Mariners rallied to beat the New York Yankees 5-4 on Monday night.
The Mariners ended New York’s seven-game winning streak with the big inning against Holmes (1-1), who blew his second save in 15 chances.
“We’ve had a of lot crazy wins here, over the last seven, eight years that I’ve been here, but I don’t know of anything wilder than that one,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “Tremendous effort by our guys just hanging in there.”
Luke Raley, who had two of Seattle’s three hits off starter Marcus Stroman, hit an infield single to Gleyber Torres and Julio Rodríguez scored on the second baseman’s error. Mitch Haniger followed with an RBI single and Dominic Canzone lifted a tying sacrifice fly to the warning track in right.
“I just think we never give in,” Raley said. “Obviously Holmes has been throwing the ball really well and we’re able to kind of dink and dunk them for a couple of runs. So always good wins to be able to do that.”
France followed by grounding a 2-0 sinker to right field for a 5-4 lead to give Seattle its second late comeback win on a 10-game trip two days after rallying in the eighth to beat Baltimore.
“Two good ball teams and obviously we see kind of where we stand and we can go out and beat these guys and just good confidence,” Raley said. “Coming in here it’s a tough place to play and just being able to walk away with the opening game of a series is great.”
Eduardo Bazardo (1-0) allowed an RBI single to Jon Berti in the bottom of the eighth that pushed New York’s lead to 4-1 before the comeback gave Seattle its second win in 23 games when trailing through eight.
Andrés Muñoz got the last three outs, stranding Juan Soto at first for his ninth save. Muñoz fanned Aaron Judge on a 100.8 mph fastball and finished it by retiring Alex Verdugo.
Verdugo drove in the first three runs for the Yankees, who were 28-0 when leading after eight. Verdugo hit a two-run single four batters in and added an RBI single in the fifth off Seattle starter Logan Gilbert.
Stroman allowed a run in 7 1/3 innings before Holmes was scored upon for the first time in 21 appearances this season. Holmes also had a 15 2/3 scoreless streak stopped and his season-opening streak of 20 straight appearances without allowing a run was the second-longest in team history behind Dellin Betances’ 26 straight outings to start 2015.
“It was one of those outings where I feel like my stuff was there,” Holmes said. “Maybe trying to go for a little too much chase with a couple of guys there. Some balls found some holes and it didn’t go our way there.”
It was the third time since joining the Yankees in a trade from the Pirates in July 2021 that Holmes allowed four runs.
“It just didn’t really bounce our way that inning,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Gilbert allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mariners: INF J.P. Crawford was activated off the IL after missing 23 games with a strained right oblique and struck out as a pinch hitter in the eighth . … INF Jorge Polanco (hamstring tightness) missed his sixth straight game. … INF/OF Sam Haggerty suffered a torn Achilles tendon in a collision with the center field fence during a game with Triple-A Tacoma over the weekend. Haggerty appeared in eight games and was optioned to the minors last week. … INF Leo Rivas was optioned to Tacoma to make room for Crawford.
Yankees: RHP Gerrit Cole (right elbow nerve inflammation and edema) will face hitters for the first time on Tuesday since getting injured in mid-March. On Saturday, Cole threw his first bullpen session in which he sat down in the middle for a break simulating an inning. “I think bouncing back from the two-up bullpen with some guys standing in on him and I know feeling good yesterday coming in,” Boone said. “So yeah, we just want to continue to progress and continue to stack good days and that’s another step along the way of getting out there on the bump and facing hitters.” … RHP Ian Hamilton was placed on the 7-day COVID-19 injured list after feeling ill before Sunday’s game and getting sent home. … RHP Clayton Andrews had his contract selected from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre and RHP Colby White was designated for assignment.
UP NEXT
Seattle RHP Bryan Woo (1-0, 0.93 ERA) opposes New York RHP Clarke Schmidt (5-1, 2.49) on Tuesday.
The first time Javar Bowden visited Athens, in 2023, he planted his flag on the radar for Kirby Smart, Todd Hartley and company. Since, the two-sport star out of Panama City (Fla.) Bay High School …
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England vs Pakistan’s T20I on Sunday broke attendance records for women’s cricket at Headingley.
More than 10,000 tickets were sold for the match, the highest ever at the ground.
Stephen Vaughan, Yorkshire chief executive, said: “The crowd and the atmosphere around the stadium was awesome.
“You could feel it walking around the ground. It was a really great crowd, with people from all communities, families and children, and lots of smiling faces.
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England finally make a breakthrough past stubborn Pakistan attack with two quick wickets
England won the Third T20I by 34 runs to complete a 3-0 series clean sweep before the first of three ODIs against the same opposition, starting on Thursday at Derby, live on Sky Sports.
“I hope the girls watching from the stands on Sunday will be inspired to go on to pick up a bat and ball if they haven’t already and go on to play cricket, either recreationally or at a higher level potentially enjoying rewarding careers in the sport,” Vaughan added.
“The rapid rise of women’s cricket both on the international and domestic fronts is very exciting – and here in Yorkshire we are proud to support this, especially as we have the highest amount of women and girls playing cricket in the country.
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Highlights of the second T20I between England and Pakistan at the County Ground
“We congratulate England’s women on yesterday’s strong performance and look forward to giving the men’s side a warm welcome back to Yorkshire on Wednesday.”
England take on Pakistan in a three-match ODI series starting on Thursday May 23 at the County Ground in Derby live on Sky Sports (first ball 1pm).
Women’s Metro Bank One-Day International Series vs Pakistan fixtures – live on Sky Sports
May 23: 1st Women’s One-Day International – The Incora County Ground, Derby, 1pm May 26: 2nd Women’s One-Day International – The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton, 11am May 29: 3rd Women’s One-Day International – The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford, 1pm
In the history of the NHL’s foray into the world of replay review, there are two moments that stand out as crucial landmarks, the key signposts that pointed us toward where we wound up. The most recent came in 2013, when Colorado center Matt Duchene scored a goal despite being roughly a mile offside.
The play is, to this day, widely misunderstood. The linesman didn’t somehow miss the fact that Duchene was offside; rather, he thought that the Nashville Predators had directed the puck back into their own zone, which would negate an offside call. But the optics were terrible. Everything about the play looked wrong, up to and including Duchene’s muted celebration. He knew he’d gotten away with one, as did everyone watching. And, eventually, the confusion and frustration of such an obvious missed call coalesced around a seemingly easy solution: Why don’t we have replay review for these plays?
And now we do, and it’s awful, but hold that thought. Because for the other key moment, we have to go back even further. Now it’s the 1999 Stanley Cup Final, and we’re in triple overtime of Game 6. With the Buffalo Sabres fighting to extend the series, the Dallas Stars’ Brett Hull collects a rebound and scores the Cup winner.
Hull’s skate is clearly in the crease, and for just about all of the previous four years, that had meant an easy no-goal call, thanks to a cut-and-dried rule that we all hated. But this time, there’s no pause for a review, no announcement from the officials. Hull scores, the celebration is on, and next thing you know, Gary Bettman is out there with the Stanley Cup while fans around the world watched replays and tried to figure out how a goal we were sure had been waved off 100 times before was now allowed to count.
This play is misunderstood, too, although most of that falls on the NHL. There’s an interpretation of the 1990s crease rule that allows for players to be in the crease if they have possession of the puck, which Hull kind of, sort of does. There was reportedly a memo about exactly this sort of play that had gone out a few weeks before Hull’s goal, although nobody thought to mention it to the fans. But none of that really matters, because the apparent lack of any formal review would be the last straw for a rule that clearly wasn’t working. The NHL ditched the crease rule that summer, one of the very few examples from Bettman’s era of the league admitting a mistake and taking action to correct it.
The symmetry is almost perfect. A little too perfect, really. Because now, all these years later, we’ve got another replay debate involving the Dallas Stars. Once again, it’s about a player in the crease. Once again, it’s from Game 6, in overtime, of a series the Stars are trying to close out, just like that infamous 1999 goal.
And who’s in the middle of it all? Our old friend Matt Duchene.
Here’s the play in question, if you somehow missed it. It’s Friday night, or early Saturday morning depending on where you are. We’re midway through the first overtime, and Mason Marchment appears to score what would be the series winner. But the referee on the ice waves it off immediately and emphatically, and (to his credit) even explains why to the audience: Contact in the blue paint, no goal.
And then we all watched the replay and … oof.
That’s Duchene in front, number 95. He skates right up to the Colorado crease, but stops just short, or maybe not. He’s screening Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev and then there’s some contact with defenseman Cale Makar, pushing Duchene a little closer. At some point, there’s very light contact with Georgiev, who ends up out of position and unable to stop Marchment’s incoming shot.
Is that goalie interference? You know the drill by now — nobody knows, none of us understand the rule, they’re flipping coins, etc. You also know that it’s not true, and that the rulebook isn’t all that complicated, and that with just a few minutes of actually learning the rule, it’s possible to get about 90 percent of these, but at this point, people seem to love putting on a show of feigned ignorance.
In this case, it all comes down to whether Duchene is in the crease or not, and it’s close. Based on the replays we see, he doesn’t seem to be. Maybe he is once Makar arrives to make contact, but that would be a case of the defending team forcing the attacking team into the crease. To my eyes, this goal looks like it should count, although there’s a case for both sides. But the call on the ice is no goal, and the league has been deferring to that with what seems like increasing frequency this season, which is what the rulebook says we should do. So we’re in that dreaded 10 percent, where we’re not really sure. And there’s a series on the line.
Eventually, the word comes down. The call on the ice stands. No goal. And it’s fair to say that most fans watching didn’t seem to agree. One of the things that happens when you go around like some sort of self-anointed expert writing guides to controversial rules is that fans like to send you their thoughts when those calls happen. My unscientific survey says that you think the league got the call wrong, in very large (although certainly not unanimous) numbers. The vast majority of you thought the Stars got robbed.
The best thing you can say about that call is that it didn’t end up mattering, because Duchene himself scored in double overtime to end the series. Puck don’t lie, and all that. That was a tough result for the Avalanche, but probably a lucky one for the league, which ended up with a controversial no-goal, but not a no-goal that will live in infamy.
No harm done, right? Well … maybe.
In the big picture, the right team won and we can all move on. But we shouldn’t do that. Because this is pretty clearly the game giving us a message. Come on, it’s Matt Duchene, in Game 6 overtime of a Dallas Stars playoff clincher? The hockey gods couldn’t be any more obvious here. They’re practically putting a big flashing neon sign on the ice, and that sign says “Fix replay.”
So let’s do that. Let’s fix the replay system, in the best and simplest way that we could: By getting rid of it.
Dump it. Trash it. No more replay review, for interference or offside. It’s time to do what the league did in 1999, and read the writing on the wall. This time, we’ve even got a chance to do it before the inevitable disaster that will ruin a Stanley Cup Final.
The goaltender interference rule isn’t as complicated as you think, but it’s a terrible fit for replay review because almost all of the various contingencies are subjective. Was contact incidental? Did it prevent the goalie from playing his position? Did he have time to recover and reset? All of that falls into a gray area of an official’s opinion. Yet we still stop the game for extended reviews under the pretext of “getting it right,” searching and scanning for the one freeze frame that will get everyone to agree. We never, ever find it. Instead, we end up with a decision that nobody agrees on. One fan base thinks it’s obvious in their direction, the other thinks it’s obvious for them, and everyone else shrugs and isn’t completely sure, no matter how many angles we get.
If your system is in place because you have to get it right and nobody thinks you do, then your system is broken. Get rid of it.
Then there’s offside, a play that’s at least theoretically objective. You’re over the line, or you’re not, and unless it’s one of those outlier plays where we have to argue about possession, we should be able to find that one freeze frame that lets us all agree. And we do! Occasionally. But most times, we don’t. The angle isn’t quite right, or the footage isn’t quite clear enough, or it ends up being too close to call. And through it all, there’s a good chance that the entry we’re reviewing happened well before the goal, maybe with a few changes of possessions in between. What are we doing here?
We put the system in place to catch a repeat of that initial Duchene miss, and over a decade later, we haven’t had a single one. Instead, we’ve got video coaches watching every zone entry, looking for get-out-of-jail-free cards. We’ve got linesmen who are pretty clearly letting close plays go, because they know that replay is lurking. We’ve had guys changing lines, completely out of the play, getting caught on technicalities that decide a Game 7.
And through it all, a generation of fans have been taught not to get too excited about a goal, because you never know when that random replay is going to take it off the board. A league starved for offense has taught its audience that some goals have to be stricken from the record, just because. Every exciting moment is followed by a shot of a listless coach staring down at an iPad. Countless games ground to a halt. Excitement sapped out of buildings.
All in the name of just getting it right, which nobody thinks we’re actually doing.
Everybody’s mad all the time. Literally every fan base thinks the Toronto situation room is biased against them personally. Everyone pretends they don’t understand interference. Nobody can squint hard enough to know which blue-line pixel we’re supposed to be fixating on. We’re all yelling at each other, constantly. The league’s own broadcasters are accusing the refs of betting on games. It’s all become a contest to see who can be the angriest, all the time, at the loudest volume. It’s exhausting.
Nobody thinks this is working. But we’re convinced we have to keep doing it, because what if we go back and something gets missed?
Well, what if it did? You old-timer fans out there: How many missed offside calls do you remember being mad about, back in the day? Sure, Leon Stickle, which was in 1980. How many others? What about goalie interference? Was that a play you spent a lot of time thinking about back in the pre-replay days?
Not really. Instead, we all understood that sometimes there would be a close call, and sometimes it would go against your team, and that was life as a sports fan. That’s not to say we didn’t get mad, or complain, or spend roughly 30 years crying about it. But we understood that it was how sports worked, and we didn’t expect the entire game to grind to a halt a few times a night so that we could find one frame of footage to obsess over, all while getting most of the calls right but some of them wrong, because that’s sports.
I’m not saying we ditch replay entirely. There are elements of the game in which it works perfectly, exactly the way it’s intended. Keep it for figuring out if time had expired before a goal, absolutely. Use it for determining if a puck crossed the line, as long as you understand that sometimes you just won’t be sure. Keep using it for kicked-in goals, if you insist, although that won’t work all the time, either.
But offside reviews that come down to a millimeter? No. And goalie interference calls that are almost entirely subjective? Absolutely not. Because right now, we’re not getting it right, at least not the way we were promised. We’re arguing more, not less. And we’re not making anyone feel better about NHL officiating. We don’t need to do this anymore.
I know it. You know it. And the hockey gods know it, too, which is why they hit us between the eyes with a decidedly over-the-top message on Friday night. This time, they were even kind enough to do it in a way that didn’t cost a team a series or create a controversy that we’ll remember years from now. Next time, we might not be so lucky.
Duchene got us into this mess. Maybe he can be the one to save us, too. Scrap replay review, accept that there will be calls that don’t go your team’s way, and live with it. As we found out in 1999, that option isn’t perfect, but it’s a lot better than the inevitable alternative.
(Photo of referee Dan O’Rouke: Claus Andersen / Getty Images)
Michael Rothstein is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Rothstein covers the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein.
A special committee of NFL owners has spent the past nine months investigating potential changes to league rules for team ownership, an attempt to grapple with a shrinking pool of potential team buyers amid soaring team valuations.
One of the possibilities on the table: allowing institutional wealth, including private equity, to invest in NFL franchises, which the league has never permitted.
Owners will likely discuss — and potentially vote on — the committee’s research and findings at league meetings in Nashville this week.
“They’ve been very deliberate in the way they’ve evaluated different alternatives,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in March. “We’re making progress. I think there’ll be some changes, maybe as early as May, probably closer to October.”
A move to allow private equity firms or institutional wealth to invest as limited partners could free up cash for owners to pursue projects such as stadium renovations and would represent a large shift in how the league has historically operated, with the majority of franchises traditionally run as family businesses with single-family ownership.
As the league continues to explore changes, what could this mean for teams? For private equity funds? If this happens, how could this all work?
What is private equity?
Private equity firms pool money from investors into a fund that then acquires stakes, or outright purchases, of public or private companies, real estate and other assets, with the goal of eventually selling the investment at a later date for profit.
These types of firms back or own companies worldwide. In recent years, sports-specific groups such as Arctos Partners, RedBird Capital and Blue Owl’s Dyal HomeCourt Partners have emerged to invest in teams and leagues.
In 2010, private equity companies struck 23 deals worldwide worth close to $1.9 billion in the sports franchise, esports and sports gambling industry, according to Preqin, which tracks private equity data.
Since 2015, there have been at least 150 such deals per year with at least $1 billion spent annually, including a peak of 226 deals in 2021, according to Preqin. In 2022, private equity firms spent close to $86 billion in the sports industry, including RedBird’s $1.3 billion purchase of Serie A soccer team AC Milan from Elliott Management. As of April 23, there have been 31 deals worth $20.1 billion this year, according to Preqin.
Why would the NFL want private equity investments?
Private equity firms could inject millions of dollars into teams to create liquidity for majority owners while also offering the league a bigger pool of potential minority owners.
Currently, NFL rules prohibit institutional ownership — including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and private equity firms — in teams and stipulate a team’s primary owner must have at least a 30% stake in the franchise unless granted an exemption. A franchise can take on limited partners, but no more than 25, including the majority owner, are allowed to buy in. A new buyer can take on up to $1.2 billion in debt to acquire a team (existing owners have a $700 million debt limit). The Green Bay Packers are an exception as they are publicly owned by shareholders in the franchise.
Meanwhile, team valuations are escalating. The Denver Broncos, for example, sold for $4.65 billion in 2022, and the Washington Commanders were purchased for $6.05 billion a year later.
Both of those clubs were purchased by a majority owner with limited partners — the Walton-Penner family and an investor group, including former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and F1 star Lewis Hamilton in Denver, and Apollo Global Management co-founder Josh Harris alongside limited partners, including Magic Johnson and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt in Washington.
While there are 813 billionaires in the United States and 2,781 worldwide, according to Forbes, there’s no guarantee they’re interested in investing in sports or the NFL. So with valuations rising, the pool of individuals or families able to buy an entire team is shrinking, increasing the need for limited partners to help pay for a franchise.
However, limited partners typically have little to no decision-making power in NFL teams, which might not be appetizing to some of those wealthy enough to invest in a franchise, said Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Washington Capitals, Wizards and Mystics.
“These people are really rich and successful. They’re used to being the center of the universe. And now you go, I need a quarter of a billion dollars. Fantastic, what do I get? Nothing,” Leonsis told ESPN. “Do you have any control? Any role? No, you’re passive investors. You’ll get your name on a website somewhere or something and you get to tell people I own a piece of an NFL team.”
Currently, the NFL only allows individual or family limited partners. While being a minority owner could offer a path toward future majority ownership — Harris, Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper were all minority stakeholders in the Pittsburgh Steelers at one point — there is no guarantee an individual will be willing to write a $200 million or $300 million check with little say over the investment.
Enter institutional wealth, which could be more amenable to passive investment. Arctos, for example, advertises on the company’s website they are “long-horizon investors with no aspirations for control ownership.”
There are other reasons for the NFL to consider private equity. For example, there is variance of wealth among NFL owners. Some owners have a vast amount of their fortune tied up in their teams and therefore less access to nonteam-related cash, so private equity firms could provide those owners with liquidity.
For other majority owners, who have multiple sports franchises or businesses and whose wealth comes from sources outside of the team, allowing private equity to purchase minority shares in a team can free up cash for stadium or real estate deals, or other personal, business or philanthropic purposes.
“These people are not just the owners of sports teams,” said Brad Humphreys, a sports economist and professor of economics at West Virginia University. “Look at where most of these guys made their money. It’s not in sports. It’s somewhere else.
“You’d probably love to have $100 [million], $200 [million], $300 million cash infusion so you can go and invest that in some other of your very profitable business ventures where you made your money before you bought a team.”
Taking on a limited partner isn’t free cash for owners, however.
“The pitfall is you are giving up some of your future profits in order to get a big infusion of cash right now,” Humphreys said. “That’s a trade-off that these teams have to make.”
Why would private equity want to invest in the NFL?
Money. The goal of a private equity firm is to generate returns for its investors. And the league, which has existed for over a century, has shown no signs of financially slowing down.
“They’re immensely profitable,” Humphreys said. “The profitable companies, the stock price goes up, right? And everybody makes capital gain. You think of that analogy for minority ownership in a pro sports team.
“NFL teams are profit-making machines, and private equity would want to both share in the short-term year-to-year profits and also the long-term capital gain.”
NFL valuations — as well as those in other leagues — are augmented by media rights deals. Unlike most other leagues, where teams have contracts with local and regional networks, the media rights for all NFL regular and postseason games are national and have grown each time a deal takes place. For example, in 2021, the NFL signed 11-year deals with ESPN, Fox, CBS, Amazon and NBC worth at least a reported $110 billion, according to The New York Times. The previous deals the NFL signed in 2011 with ESPN, NBC, Fox and CBS, were nine-year deals for a combined $42.2 billion, according to Forbes and the Times.
While other American sports have popularity and interest, none are as big in the U.S. as the NFL. Of the top 100 telecasts tracked by Nielsen in the U.S. last year, the top 42 were NFL games or NFL-related programming. College football had three programs in the top 100 (Ohio State-Michigan, the SEC championship game and the Georgia-TCU national title game), and men’s college basketball had one, its national championship game. The highest-rated non-NFL broadcasts were the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Oscars and Ohio State-Michigan.
Plus, there’s the prestige factor. Bill Yates, a senior associate at the Sports Advisory Group, which advises investors and teams during the purchase and sale of sports teams, said a stake in an NFL team would be “a jewel in the crown” for some investors.
What are the possible structures of institutional wealth investments with the NFL?
This is the main unanswered question, as the special committee has yet to publicly propose concrete parameters of what an NFL private equity plan might look like. At the league meetings in March, Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, one of the committee members, said the group shared its research with other league owners and highlighted possibilities of what could come next, but he declined to share specifics with ESPN at the time.
Guidelines from other leagues could inform the NFL’s private equity structure. For example, the NBA and NHL only allow private equity and sovereign wealth funds to buy passively into organizations — meaning the funds don’t have any real decision-making power. It remains unclear whether the NFL would allow investments from pensions or sovereign wealth funds.
According to an NFL source with understanding of the operations of the league and how team finances work, the committee is addressing other potential concerns, including whether cross-ownership — meaning when a firm takes limited partnership stakes in multiple teams — would be allowed, whether a fund investing in a team also has stakes in gambling entities, and which investors back the private equity funds. The league could remedy some of those concerns with a vetting process. The league might also seek to determine whether current players are investors in a private equity fund seeking ownership, because current NFL rules stipulate that players cannot own equity stakes in franchises.
The league will also need to decide whether private equity investors would be passive partners.
Exit strategies are another question. Opportunities to purchase an NFL team or a stake in a team don’t arise very often. But private equity companies need to realize returns for their investors and might look to sell their stake faster than the league is accustomed to. Owners would have to decide whether they’re comfortable with that pace.
One of the major cashouts by a private equity firm in American sports occurred in the NBA. Dyal HomeCourt Partners bought a minority stake in the Phoenix Suns in 2021 for a reported $1.5 billion. When Mat Ishbia bought a controlling stake in the Suns in 2023 for $4 billion, Sportico reported Dyal HomeCourt sold some of its stake for a reported 158% markup from its initial investment.
“If you are managing one of these funds, sports has traditionally been an asset play,” Yates said. “More like a buy-and-hold stock, in that you are typically not getting huge dividends, but you are increasing the asset value so that if and when the time comes that you are prepared to sell your asset, you are obviously making a lot of money.”
Figuring out the parameters of private equity investment — if owners even approve it — will take time.
How do private equity investments operate in other leagues?
The NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, WNBA and NWSL, as well as international soccer clubs, allow some form of private equity investment in teams.
The NBA, MLS, NWSL, NHL and MLB all allow for up to 30% of their franchises to be owned by private equity firms or, in some cases, sovereign wealth funds. This doesn’t mean one fund can purchase 30% of a team. Some leagues cap how much a single fund can invest. MLS and the NBA, NHL and NWSL allow for up to 20% ownership by one fund. MLB has a 15% cap.
In the NWSL, subject to board approval, an institutional investor can hold a majority stake in a franchise provided the firm isn’t investing in other clubs. Sixth Street Partners is the majority owner of Bay FC, for example, with Sixth Street CEO Alan Waxman as a co-chair of the franchise along with former U.S. women’s national team player Aly Wagner.
Other leagues allow cross-ownership. MLB, for example, has no cap on how many teams a private equity fund can invest in. The NBA and NHL have a five-team cap, MLS caps at four and the NWSL at three.
The NBA’s five-team limit applies to most funds, but Dyal HomeCourt Partners has a partnership with the league allowing the firm to invest in an unlimited number of teams. Dyal bought into the Suns, Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings. Arctos has shares in franchises across sports, including the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Giants and Real Salt Lake.
In the NWSL, investing funds must have raised at least $100 million overall and must hold their NWSL investment for a minimum of five years with a minimum buy-in of 5% of the franchise. If a fund wants to divest from a NWSL team, the transaction must be approved by the majority owner and the league, and the majority owner receives the first right of purchase. The NWSL can also force a fund to divest if the fund or any of the investors in the fund violate NWSL rules.
In MLB, which was one of the first major American sports to allow private equity investments, a firm must hold onto its stake in a team for at least five years if it owns pieces of multiple teams. There is no minimum hold in MLB if a firm only has a stake in one team, which was a parameter established over a lengthy process to create and implement MLB’s private wealth investment rules.
The NHL requires private equity and institutional wealth investments to be passive. There is a $20 million minimum buy-in for minority stakes, and there is a minimum five-year hold period after an investment in a club. The NHL does allow pension and sovereign wealth funds to invest in their teams, but potential deals are evaluated case-by-case. Active players are not permitted to invest in franchises, which means they could not be part of any funds buying in.
Leonsis said it took a year for the NBA to write its rules about sovereign wealth and pension fund investment, which he helped devise. He then used the rules and created an example with his own franchises. The Qatar Investment Authority holds 5% in equity of Leonsis’ Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Wizards, Capitals and Mystics. Per league rules, the QIA must be a passive investor.
“What is it that we want to achieve by bringing in these next-generation new long-term partners?” Leonsis said. “And the first thing was, we don’t want them to think that they’re partners and owners. We want them to be silent partner investors.
“I think that’s very consistent with their thinking, too.”
What’s next?
NFL owners congregate in Nashville, Tennessee, for another round of league meetings starting Monday.
The five-member committee of the Atlanta Falcons’ Arthur Blank, the New England Patriots‘ Robert Kraft, Denver Broncos CEO Greg Penner, Haslam and Hunt led a presentation to other NFL owners at the league’s annual meeting in March. Cowboys COO Stephen Jones told ESPN at the March league meetings his team had done its own private equity research and “want to hear it all out.”
At the March league meetings, the committee presented ideas to the full ownership, and there was what Goodell described as a “lengthy discussion,” but nothing was decided or voted upon.
“I don’t want to put a timeline on it,” Hunt told ESPN in March. “But I would expect in the near future we would make a recommendation that could possibly be voted on.”
Hunt said some owners have “changed their thinking on it and are more open-minded” to private equity, amid the committee’s individual and group discussions with owners.
At the conclusion of the March meetings, Goodell said the committee “came very close to sort of outlining the approach” the NFL might implement. Even if a vote happens this month and is approved by at least 24 owners, it doesn’t necessarily mean firms would immediately be able to invest in teams. Details would still need to be finalized, which would take time — as would vetting processes of firms or funds looking to invest.
If the NFL allows institutional investing, for some clubs it might mean nothing at all. Whether to take money will be at the discretion of each owner.
Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.
DENVER — Minneapolis is going to party like it’s 2004. For the first time in two decades, the Minnesota Timberwolves are back in the Western Conference finals.
The Wolves, who trailed by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, stormed back to dethrone the defending champion Denver Nuggets 98-90 in Game 7 on Sunday night.
In the process, they overcame a 15-point halftime deficit, the largest such comeback in a Game 7 in NBA playoff history.
With Minnesota’s 22-year-old breakout star, Anthony Edwards, struggling through a 6-for-24 shooting night, Wolves four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns turned in the most impressive performance of his nine-year career.
Towns, the franchise’s No. 1 pick in 2015 and the longest-tenured member of the team, scored 23 points with 12 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. More importantly, he gave about as effective a one-on-one defensive effort against Denver’s three-time MVP, Nikola Jokic, as anyone could be expected to give.
Jokic finished with 34 points and 19 rebounds but shot 13-for-28 and 2-for-10 on 3-pointers.
It was Towns’ fifth 20-point effort of the postseason, with all five of them coming on the road.
The Wolves used a 32-9 run from the 10:50 mark of the third quarter to the 11:14 of the fourth to wrest control of the game from the Nuggets. While Edwards started just 1-for-9 from the field, he found a rhythm late, scoring nine points in the third — including a stepback 3 to beat the quarter buzzer.
Rudy Gobert, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year, added an unexpected offensive punch in the fourth quarter, scoring 8 of his 13 points in the final frame — including a miraculous, arcing turnaround jump shot — after starting the game 1-for-5.
Minnesota went ahead by as many as 10 in the fourth on an Edwards corner 3 with 3:05 remaining, causing the Nuggets to call timeout as Edwards screamed and jumped for joy, hugging a courtside fan.
The 20th meeting of the two teams between the regular season and playoffs since the start of 2022-23 turned out to be a classic. It also was the most compelling game of the series. Only two of the first six games of the conference semifinals were decided by fewer than 10 points, while three games involved a final margin of 25-plus points.
“I think if we played that team a hundred times, it’d be 50-50,” Denver coach Michael Malone said after Saturday’s practice. “You just have two really talented teams [that are separated by] depending upon the day, who gets hot, who’s making shots.”
The Wolves will face the Dallas Mavericks for the right to represent the West in the NBA Finals. Minnesota will host Game 1 on Wednesday.
The Timberwolves open as -150 favorites to win the series over the Mavericks, who check in at +130, per ESPN BET odds.
“I would say it’s another step forward,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said before the game when asked to sum up his team’s season. “We’re trying to build something here, you know?”
After a generational college run at Iowa, Caitlin Clark started her professional career this week in Indiana, where the median college graduate earns $52,267 annually, according to the U.S. Census American Consumer Survey.
She’s one of the biggest stars in the country with major name recognition and commercial appeal as she enters the WNBA. She sells out arenas, inked a $28 million Nike endorsement deal and made television ratings skyrocket — and her pro potential has prompted widespread arguments about the economics of women’s basketball.
In her first season with the Indiana Fever, she’ll modestly surpass that Indiana median with $76,535 in salary. Even considering the WNBA’s five-month season, it’s a pittance compared with many other athletes, especially those hyped as having the potential to change the trajectory of their sports.
Victor Wembanyama, the top pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, made $12.16 million in his first season, roughly 80 times more than Clark per game. The NFL’s No. 1 draft selection, Caleb Williams, will earn about $1 million in salary in 2024, plus a signing bonus that will net him upward of $7 million. Even Paul Skenes, who was the top pick in the 2023 MLB Draft but is far from a household name, signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates worth about $9.8 million, which includes a $9.2 million bonus.
The WNBA’s revenues far trail those of other major North American leagues. But Clark’s salary also lags behind professionals in niche sports like bowling, surfing and bull riding.
The base salary for a contracted player in the Professional Pickleball Association is $75,000. The top five ranked players on the PPA Tour will average $1.5 million this year in prize money and payouts. Ten players in the Professional Bowlers Association made more last year than Clark’s rookie salary. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association featured 25 bull riders whose paychecks exceeded $76,535 with the top-ranked rider making nearly Clark’s entire four-year contract worth ($338,056) in 2023 from National Finals Rodeo earnings.
Clark’s relative small salary has become such a national conversation that even the president weighed in on it.
Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all.
But right now we’re seeing that even if you’re the best, women are not paid their fair share.
It’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve.
One major difference between the WNBA and its counterparts across many other sports is that WNBA players earn a smaller fraction of league revenue. While NBA players have negotiated a 50-50 split of basketball-related income, WNBA salaries represented 9.3 percent of the league’s revenue in 2023. Kelsey Plum, the Las Vegas Aces star and first vice president of the players association, has repeatedly said that WNBA players want a bigger piece of the pie, not necessarily a raw salary bump. “We’re not asking to get paid what the men get paid,” she said. “We’re asking to get paid the same percentage of revenue shared.”
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has pushed back on the narrative surrounding Clark’s pay. At the CNBC Changemakers Summit, Engelbert explained that Clark could earn up to half a million in WNBA wages in 2024. However, that additional compensation relies on Clark using team and league marketing agreements as well as earning individual honors and advancing in the playoffs.
Nothing is guaranteed beyond her base salary, which resembles the paychecks seen in leagues far newer than the WNBA, which is in its 28th season. The No. 1 pick in the Pro Volleyball Federation, Asjia O’Neal, is earning $60,000 in the PVF’s inaugural season. The PWHL is also paying its players an average of $55,000 in its first year. The newer leagues have said that their sponsorships and media rights are important revenue drivers. But the WNBA draws major sponsors, too, including Google, Nike and CarMax, and has rights deals with ESPN and Amazon.
Given the WNBA’s position in the major sports landscape, perhaps it’s unreasonable to compare Clark to Wembanyama, Williams or Skenes. But she’s also just being out-earned by the lowest paid NBA player on a two-way contract ($559,872), some NFL practice players ($12,000 per week minimum) and minimum-salary earners in the NHL ($750,000).
1. Future Olympian, 18, earned $80,000 winning one multi-day event this spring and totaled $219,000 in five 2024 events.
2. Finnish pro ranked No. 15, $77,350 prize earnings in 14 events, never finished higher than third in 2023.
3. According to Sports Business Journal, the Charlotte Hornets entertainer makes an annual salary of $100,000 — not even the highest among NBA mascots.
4. Miami Marlins signed the 17-year-old catcher to a 1-year deal worth $75,000 in the 2024 class. He’s been assigned to the Dominican Summer League Marlins in the minor leagues.
5. The MLS midfielder made a $75,325 base salary in 2023 as the 789th highest paid player.
6. The Professional Pickleball League base starting prize money and payouts for a contracted player is about $75,000.
7. The golfer made $78,414 from participating in 11 events (best finish tied for 23rd) in 2023.
8. Despite not placing in a majority of competitions, the 20-year-old ranked No. 26 and earned $76,439 in 2023.
9. The chess grandmaster made nearly $80,000 for winning one tournament — the Grand Swiss — in November 2023.
10. Ranked 481st worldwide in total earnings, the Fortnite player won $83,475 last year.
The WNBA’s current position in its evolution is often compared to when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird entered the NBA, which spurred a wave of popularity that the league has ridden for decades. When Bird was drafted in 1978, he signed a five-year contract with an average annual value of $650,000 (that figure does not account for inflation). Johnson’s average salary was $460,000 over his first five seasons.
Proponents of the WNBA hope that Clark can help encourage similar rivalries, with rookies like Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky and numerous other players bringing previous history in the NCAA Tournament and other matchups.
At an April donor event, Southern California head coach Lindsey Gottlieb cited Clark’s salary as a reason to advocate for more money toward women’s college basketball. Although Clark and USC star JuJu Watkins have lucrative endorsements, Gottlieb said that neither is “going to get paid her value and worth in terms of the basketball.”
The hope for Clark and other WNBA players is that change is on the horizon. The league historically has struggled to sustain its financial footing through investment. Within the past decade, even legacy franchises such as the New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks almost folded. Teams have lacked adequate practice facilities, and players have often competed overseas to supplement their incomes.
Now, teams have become generally more competitive and new ownership groups in Atlanta, Las Vegas, New York and Phoenix are focused on making WNBA life more attractive, fiscally and with perks. The WNBA has pursued more corporate partnerships and media deals to improve the value of the league. The league had an estimated $200 million in revenue in 2023, doubling its 2019 total, according to Chiney Ogwumike, former vice president of the players association. The WNBA recently announced it will spend $25 million in each of the next two seasons on charter flights. And it hopes a new media rights deal — the current one, which nets about $50 million combined from broadcast partners, expires in 2025 — will provide another influx of cash.
Consider the NWSL’s new broadcasting deal that pays $60 million annually compared to the previous amount of $1.5 million, which helped increase the salary cap 40 percent from 2023 to 2024. Now multiple players’ contracts pay in the high six figures annually and are valued at seven figures over their lifetime. No WNBA player has ever signed a million-dollar-plus contract.
That million dollar barrier may fall before Clark signs her next deal. And yet her salary may never reflect what other stars get in similar positions without a significant change in the finances of the WNBA.
(Visual data: Drew Jordan / The Athletic; Illustration: John Bradford / The Athletic; Photos of Caitlin Simmers, Caitlin Clark, Hugo the Hornet, Charlotte Thomas, Sofiane Djeffal and Vidit Gujrathi: Aaron Hughes / Getty Images, Gregory Shamus / Getty Images, Matthew Grimes Jr./ Getty Images / Atlanta Braves, Meg Oliphant / Getty Images, Sofiane Djeffal / Getty Images, Vidit Gujrathi / Hindustan Times)
HOUSTON — Kyle Tucker homered twice to tie for the major league lead with 15 and drove in four runs, leading the Houston Astros over the Milwaukee Brewers 9-4 on Sunday for their ninth win in 11 games.
After striking out in his first three at-bats, Tucker decided to change his cleats from a pair of lime green Astros mascot Orbit-themed ones to his normal orange pair.
“I just didn’t really have great first three at-bats with them,” Tucker said. “I just decided to come in and swap them back out for my other cleats and it ended up pretty well for me.”
Jose Altuve hit his 37th leadoff homer in a four-run first inning and Jake Meyers had three hits for Houston, which took two of three from the Brewers and improved to 21-26 with its third straight series win.
“You’ve just got to pile up wins, especially series wins, throughout the year,” Tucker said. “At the end of the year it will be what it is.”
Tucker hit a solo homer to right in the sixth off Thyago Vieira and a three-run, opposite-field drive to left in the seventh against Mitch White.
“He’s playing on a different level right now,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “He’s a really, really good player.”
Tucker tied Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson at 15 home runs after his third multi-homer game this season and the sixth of his big league career.
“I just try to get pitches over the plate and try and barrel them up and they just happen to fall for homers,” Tucker said. “It’s not like I’m trying to lift the ball and start hitting them. It just kind of comes with pitch selections and trying to barrel balls to the outfield.”
Rookie Spencer Arrighetti (2-4) won his second straight start after going 0-4 in his first five. He allowed four runs and six hit with six strikeouts and two walks over 6 1/3 innings, his big league high.
“I think my general presence is getting a little better,” Arrighetti said. “Obviously, that team runs really well and I gave up a couple stolen bases, but as soon as that happened I feel like I was able to make a good adjustment with controlling the running game a little bit and still being able to execute pitches while doing that.”
Colin Rea (3-2) gave up five runs, eight hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings.
“He didn’t have command of his stuff and Colin’s a command pitcher,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.
After Christian Yelich’s RBI single in the first, Houston went ahead for good on Altuve’s homer, Jon Singleton’s run-scoring groundout and Meyers’ two-out, two-run double.
Brice Turang had a two-run single in the seventh and scored on Yelich’s single.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: LHP DL Hall (knee) pitched one inning and struck out one for Class A Wisconsin on Sunday in a rehab start.
Astros: OF Chas McCormick (hamstring) went 2 for 4 with a single, double and a stolen base as the designated hitter for Double-A Corpus Christi on Sunday. Ryan Pressly (sore finger) threw a bullpen on Sunday. He has not pitched since Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Brewers: RHP Joe Ross (2-4, 4.61) starts for Milwaukee against LHP Ryan Weathers (2-4, 3.81) on Monday to open a three-game series at Miami.
Astros: LHP Framber Valdez (3-1, 2.95) starts for Houston at home on Monday in a series opener against LHP Reid Detmers (3-4, 5.19) and the Los Angeles Angels.
The spring transfer portal window is closed and a lot of movement has come to an end as rosters are being finalized for the fall. Here is a look at the five biggest linebackers to hit the transfer portal this offseason.
1. ELIJAH HERRING, Memphis
Tennessee’s loss is Memphis’ huge gain here as Herring led the Volunteers in tackles this past season with 79 and he’s the top-ranked linebacker right now in the transfer portal. There is not a clear reason why Herring, who was really emerging as a top linebacker in the SEC, left Tennessee but it could be because there was a position coach change. Either way, the Tigers are getting one of the top players in the portal and he could be an immediate contributor in Memphis’ defense.
A five-star in the 2022 class who is a Florida State legacy, Jones came to Georgia with lots of hype and the potential to be a significant player in the Bulldogs’ loaded defense but it never really materialized. After switching from edge rusher to linebacker, Jones didn’t have much success there either and is now headed to Florida State, which was seriously considered throughout his recruitment, for a restart.
Could Dumas-Johnson be the steal of the transfer portal at the linebacker position? Georgia’s defense is absolutely loaded and he totaled 34 tackles and 3.5 sacks in just nine games this past season. The former four-star from Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances had 126 tackles and 9.5 sacks in his Georgia career and now he’s staying in the SEC at Kentucky and could be a key piece to the Wildcats’ defense.
Losing Barham was a massive hit to Maryland’s defense but a huge gain for Michigan as the former four-star linebacker from Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances totaled 95 tackles and seven sacks during his first two seasons with the Terrapins. The Wolverines have not utilized the transfer portal as much as other teams and especially loaded up at defensive back as Barham is still the lone linebacker they’ve taken from there.
USC coach Lincoln Riley said after signing Curtis that he felt the four-star was the best inside linebacker in the country and he performed really well as a freshman with 40 tackles, two sacks and two fumble recoveries. But Curtis decided to hit the transfer portal as USC, Ohio State and Wisconsin were his final three in recruiting and he’s now headed to play for the Badgers.
Seconds into the Los Angeles Chargers‘ 2024 schedule release video, one thing becomes abundantly clear — this won’t be your ordinary NFL schedule unveiling.
It’s set in the world of “The Sims,” a life simulation video game series where players can create characters and control their lives through various objectives and tasks.
In the Chargers’ world, there’s a scene of John and Jim Harbaugh fighting, reminiscent of the movie “Step Brothers.” A portrait of Bill Belichick’s dog, who became a star during the 2020 NFL draft, is at a Foxborough retirement home.
Halfway through the video, Joe Burrow, wearing his Super Bowl suit, arrived at a 7-11 gas station manned by Ja’Marr Chase. In October 2023, the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver posted a photo of the gas station on social media before wearing a 7-11 chain in game that month, a nod to his belief that he’s always open.
Taylor Swift appears at a window while Travis Kelce records an episode of the “New Heights” podcast with his brother, Jason, prompting Travis to join her in her private jet.
And that’s just a sampling of the many cameos and inside-NFL jokes featured in the video.
The attention to detail came to life through a collaboration of the Chargers social and video team working together, according to Jason Lavine, Chargers Vice President of Content & Production. As of Friday evening, the video has over 36 million views on X.
There were multiple factors of the video that Lavine believes resonated with audiences.
The Sims games have sold 200 million copies since the first game’s release in 2000. It was also announced in March that a Sims movie starring Margot Robbie is in the works.
“That helps us a tremendous amount too, just because it’s a part of, what we’re trying to do is be a part of the zeitgeist of culture,” Lavine said. “And we got very lucky that that movie was coming out. So we felt like we were a part of culture.”
Coming off the success of their anime-themed schedule release videos in the past two years, there was external talk about what the Chargers would do this year. Those videos went viral each time — last year’s eclipsed 20 million views on X — and set up a potential trilogy.
But they went in a different direction and wanted to show they could do it without anime, Lavine said.
“I thought they had figured out a way to take the success of anime and actually figured out a way to do just as well,” he said. “And I truly thought that was an impossible task. And I thought they had pulled off the impossible.”
Allie Raymond and Hannah Johnson, members of the Chargers’ social media team, pitched the idea in late February. Lavine said it was a resounding yes and an idea that fit the team’s mission when creating a schedule release.
Raymond and Johnson played the game and built out specific scenes and characters that are customizable mods.
David Bretto (Director, Creative Video), Tyler Pino (Sr. Director, Production) and Megan Julian (Director, Social Media and Content Performance) then took the raw assets that were recorded and pulled them together.
Lavine said a separate group of five to seven people part of a “joke team” worked to “build out concepts that then can be whittled down to what can flow and make for the best piece.” A smaller group of Raymond, Johnson, Bretto, Pino and Julian decided which ones would go in the video.
The challenge with The Sims is that there’s only so much customization that is possible. If done correctly, it can align as closely to what is intended for a character. Therefore, there could be a Sims world where a character reminiscent of Russell Wilson becomes upset when fellow Pittsburgh Steelers QB Justin Fields enters the room.
“It takes a lot of filming and redoing of things, because there’s only so much control you can have over these characters,” Lavine said. “They have a life of their own. That’s the point. So it takes an incredible amount of time to get it just right and fill the different angles and scenes you need to build these sequences.”
The original video was over five minutes long, but they were able to cut it down to its final length: 3 minutes and 20 seconds. According to the Chargers, a schedule release video has to be fast enough that people will be forced to go back and watch it.
Multiple views also increase the chance of fans identifying the many Easter eggs, like a 28-3 nod on the happy hour sign outside of a club where Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins is DJing or George Pickens watching himself get drafted by the Steelers in 2022
Easter eggs have been a strategy of the Chargers’ social team for five to six years, Lavine said. He added that the team believes the internet will have respect for the level of sophistication of their jokes.
“From an NFL fan standpoint … other fans can do nothing but tip their cap and smile because of the level of detail this team went to find jokes,” Lavine said. “And inside jokes that resonate with fan bases that are diehard fans, [and] the people who are casual football fans.”
Emma Hayes said she is “reinvigorated and re-energised” by the prospect of her new role as head coach of the United States women’s national team after winning the Women’s Super League (WSL) for the seventh time in her final game as Chelsea manager.
Chelsea’s emphatic 6-0 victory over Manchester United secured their fifth consecutive WSL trophy and marked the end of Hayes’ 12-year reign at the west London club.
Her tenure at USWNT will begin with a friendly doubleheader against South Korea at the start of June before heading into the Olympics later in the summer.
“It’s not tiring thinking about going to an Olympics, is it? It’s different, a different energy. I’ll feel reinvigorated and re-energised with something else,” she told a news conference Saturday. “Sometimes people think you need a rest. Sometimes you just need a change.
“So, Monday, I have to speak to a handful of players and staff, as I have been doing in the background anyway, Tuesday I’m on a leadership call with U.S. leadership and on Wednesday, I fly to New York. Pressers Thursday, in Denver Friday to meet with the staff, and get prepared for the team to arrive on Monday. And listen, they deserve my full attention and they will get that from me.
“Those preparations have been put in place in the background, so yeah. I’m having one night. Tonight and [6-year-old son] Harry’s birthday party tomorrow. That’s all I need. I’ll be ready to go [on] Monday morning.”
When she initially announced her departure in November, Hayes cited wanting more time with her family, especially Harry. Moving to the U.S. means a far less hefty schedule, permitting her more family time and the chance for a quieter life, something she stated she cannot wait for.
“It’s taken its toll on me rather than change me,” she said of her now-former job. “I categorically cannot carry on, so I am absolutely leaving at the right time. I don’t have another drop to give.
“There’s so much to the job, not just this, it’s dealing with people, when you deal with people, I set such high standards for myself, but maintaining that has become impossible. I can’t keep up with the demands from players on a daily basis, in terms of their emotional needs, in terms of everything, and I found that to be gruelling this year, to be honest with you.”
It has been a turbulent season for Hayes, who almost faced walking away from her final season in charge of Chelsea without a trophy after losing the Conti Cup final to Arsenal, crashing out of the FA Cup in the semifinal and falling short against Barcelona to reach the Champions League final.
This, along with the injuries the team has faced including long-term injuries to Sam Kerr, Millie Bright and Mia Fishel, has made this trophy all the more special.
“I think it did take its toll, plus the transitioning of new players, young players and you know, the diminishing role of some of the senior players,” she said.
“But that’s why for me this is the best title, because we’re not stupid, we know we weren’t at our best. But for us to win a title, wow, like I’m sorry, I don’t think you guys realise how hard it is to win and win and win and win, some of these teams don’t change their teams or they’re in the peak of their eras and they play a game a week.
“I almost can’t believe we’ve won the title. Can’t believe it. Two games to go in the title, we’ve got a 19-year-old on the right-hand wing in Maika Hamano, and Aggie [Beever-Jones] is 20. No one talks about that enough. It’s not Sam Kerr. I respect that City have lost Bunny Shaw. Look what we lost this year, and when you watch Millie Bright’s performance today, she’s had to play the last three games, and we all know she hasn’t been at 100 percent, but what a leader.”
However, Hayes stated that the door is never fully closed and she could potentially return to the club, just not as a coach.
“If I were to ever be around club football again, I don’t suspect it will be in coaching. But when my tenure is done with the United States, if Chelsea ever need me, they know what my number is.”
After Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk finally meet in the ring this weekend, boxing should have its first undisputed heavyweight champion in nearly a quarter-century.
These are the two best fighters from a strong era of heavyweight boxing. Both have reached their mid-30s still undefeated, and both are determined to reach the pinnacle of their careers by winning every major title belt in their division — a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since Lennox Lewis did it in 1999.
“Not only will we be crowning the undisputed heavyweight champion, but the two participants in the fight have never, ever lost a fight,” promoter Bob Arum said. “Now, how rare is that?”
Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) has held three of the world’s major titles for nearly three years, while Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) holds the fourth after a career in which he has worn all four championship belts at different points.
They’ve circled a winner-take-all meeting for years — and after false starts, detours and delays, they’re finally together for a fight that will happen deep into Sunday morning in Saudi Arabia to reach a Western audience on Saturday.
“I’m ready for a good fight,” Fury said. “And if it’s tough or easy, either way, I’ll be ready.”
The last heavyweight to hold all four major belts was Lewis, who beat Evander Holyfield in 1999 by unanimous decision in Las Vegas. His undisputed reign only lasted about six months, thanks to one of the infinite turf disputes seemingly created whenever sanctioning bodies are involved.
The current monumental moment in boxing history is happening at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena, and that’s no coincidence: Oil-rich Saudi Arabia is spending lavish amounts of money to make the world’s top fights, steamrolling the typical grudges and turf disputes between elite boxers and their territorial promoters.
These fighters’ camps have been at odds for years — Fury’s father head-butted a member of Usyk’s entourage on Monday, leaving John Fury with blood streaming down his face — but money made their grudges go away. Fury reportedly could make $100 million or more in this bout, and a lucrative rematch is highly likely in the fall.
This fight was delayed twice after Fury said he needed more time following his embarrassing performance against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Fury barely got a split decision to beat a mixed martial artist competing in his first professional boxing match, and the effort stoked speculation as to whether Fury is finally headed downhill.
The 6-foot-9 Fury has never possessed a classic prizefighter’s physique, but he looked excessively pudgy when he fought Ngannou, and most observers related his poor conditioning to his overall lack of preparation for the bout.
But Fury showed up in Saudi Arabia to meet Usyk looking noticeably slimmer, and now some are wondering whether he overdid it — whether he will have the bulk to withstand Usyk’s body work while retaining the strength to respond with his own power shots.
Fury simply laughs at the speculation, trusting his own training and strength to power through any challenge, no matter the measure of his waistline.
“(Forget) his belts,” Fury said. “I’m coming for his heart. That’s what I’m coming for.”
This is a fascinating tactical fight: The 6-foot-3 Usyk is smaller than Fury, but the Ukrainian’s work rate and high-level skill have proven insurmountable for nearly all of his opponents. Usyk seems likely to pressure Fury in an attempt to get inside the Briton’s superior wingspan, while Fury is likely to pull out every trick and stratagem in his enormous stockpile to keep Usyk off balance and frustrated.
Both fighters have knockout power, yet both are obviously durable. Fury is motivated to atone for his last performance, while Usyk has a chance to complete his stunning rise from cruiserweight stardom to heavyweight supremacy.
